Ben dropped the argument and shifted his focus back to their surroundings.
The fleshy wall around them started to collapse, and a dim blue light filtered in from above.
The digestive liquid evaporated into a thin mist, and they landed gently on solid ground.
Even though they were safe, Elvira still clung to him.
Ben looked down at her, ready to say something, but more of the worm's remains peeled away.
Above them, an entire ceiling of glowing stalactites came into view.
They shimmered with a soft blue light that filled the space.
Ben slowly swept his gaze around the area.
He wondered what else might be hidden here.
Then he noticed it.
Something floated in the air.
A shimmering object, fractured and deformed.
It was jagged and full of cracks, but it stayed intact and released a starry aura.
It looked like a piece of the night sky had been trapped in crystal.
"Elvira... you seeing this?" Ben asked.
"That... that looks like an Empyrean Crystal," Elvira said.
She raised an eyebrow and finally let go of him.
She stepped closer to the floating crystal, her eyes fixed on it.
The crystal hovered exactly where the worm's body had been moments before.
"This thing must have been inside the worm," Ben said.
He remembered the clanging sound from his earlier strike. "So, what is this crystal used for, anyway?"
Even without any system notification, he felt the huge amount of energy coming from it.
But his pickaxe could not harvest it, so he had no idea what its real use was.
Elvira did not look away from the crystal as she answered. "Each clan in the higher layers has one of these.
They use them to create large-scale barriers.
Those barriers protect their territories."
"I see..." Ben said.
He watched the faint glow leaking out through the cracks.
Then something she had said earlier came back to him. "By the way, you mention Aetherian both as a clan and a race sometimes.
Does that mean your clan includes multiple races?
Or do other clans also have Aetherians?"
Elvira crossed her arms and nodded. "Yes.
Each race has its own specialty.
The Brakarim have brute strength, so they make excellent fighters.
The Grumlok have insane regeneration, so they are almost unkillable."
"Every major clan is made up of different races.
Each plays to their strengths." She gave him a curious look. "Why ask this now?"
Ben shrugged and looked at the fractured Empyrean Crystal again. "Just curious."
The King Ant, the Hell Worm, and now this crystal.
All of it reminded him how little he knew about this world.
Even with his system and cheat-like abilities, there were still many ways for him to die.
His priorities shifted.
Before anything else, he needed a safe place.
He needed a stable base where he could learn about this world before he even thought about helping Elvira reach her goals.
Elvira sighed.
There was a hint of regret in her voice. "It is unfortunate this crystal is broken.
Otherwise, we could have built our own clan."
Ben blinked. "Wait, what?
Is this thing really that good?"
Elvira turned to him with a serious face. "Yes.
Even in both of my past lives, I never found an Empyrean Crystal.
The barrier it creates does more than protect an area.
It forms its own domain.
Inside that domain, you can set rules."
"Rules?" Ben asked.
He was interested now.
She nodded. "Yes.
Inside the domain, it is like being a god.
For example, you could set a rule that anyone who lies will be struck by lightning.
If they lie, lightning will really fall on them."
She paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, there are limits.
The effect is weaker on people who share your bloodline.
It will not work on anyone stronger than you.
But for clan management, this crystal is a godlike tool."
Ben's mind moved through possible uses one after another. "Can you fix it?"
Elvira shook her head, her lips pressed tight. "No.
This thing is beyond our understanding.
Honestly, I do not even know what kind of energy is inside it."
She frowned slightly. "The fact that it was inside a Hell Worm is already strange."
Ben scratched his chin. "Hm.
What if it is produced by the Hell Worm?
All that junk it eats has to go somewhere, right?
Maybe this crystal is the result."
Elvira's eyes went wide.
Her face brightened like a child seeing a new toy. "You mean... this is man-made?"
Ben shrugged. "It is possible."
Elvira's thoughts pushed ahead.
If this crystal could be created, there had to be a method.
Maybe it was lost or forgotten, but it might still exist somewhere.
If others had made it before, she might be able to figure out how to craft her own version.
"That is... fascinating," she whispered.
Her eyes gleamed. "If we can figure out how to recreate it, imagine what we could achieve..."
'I wonder if this thing is like a diamond,' Ben thought. 'Formed under huge pressure, squeezing all the leftover junk until it turns into something valuable.'
'Just like how diamonds are really just compressed dirt, not worth much on their own.'
He let that idea sit in his mind while he stared at the fractured Empyrean Crystal.
The process must have needed an absurd amount of pressure and energy.
He remembered an article he had read once.
It said those kinds of forces could turn a dinosaur into mush in seconds.
Even steel would fail under that level of pressure.
He could not imagine how much power it would take to form a crystal like this.
CLANG.
Without thinking, Ben swung his pickaxe at it again, hoping for a different result.
[Please upgrade the pickaxe to harvest this material.]
The same message flashed in front of his eyes.
He let out a heavy sigh.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing?!" Elvira snapped.
She stepped closer and glared at him. "Even if we cannot use it to make a clan, it is still an Empyrean Crystal.
I am sure we can find some use for it."
Ben shrugged and held the crystal out to her. "Then you take it."
Elvira's eyes lit up, and her excitement almost slipped out of control.
"For real, my beloved? No backsies, you know. Once it is in my hands, it is mine."