Wizard Lord:I can Extract Anything

Slimew was a cultivating insect in the Aisen Hive. From birth, he had lived in the dark, damp catacombs of the hive system. He grew up eating moss, sang amidst the towering mushrooms, ran through tunnels, and swam in subterranean pools, leading a life of freedom and contentment.

Occasionally, he fantasized about the world beyond the hive. According to the priest insects, the world outside was nothing but endless yellow sand, yet it also held a magnificent starry sky.

Slimew longed to see the real starry sky, imagining it to be even more beautiful than the star mushrooms scattered among the glowing moss.

Over a month ago, the priest insects he knew left the underground hive. They said the Mother Insect God had issued a divine command for all insect nations to go to the surface and face the celestial invaders.

Slimew had witnessed the power of the priest insects—flames, thunder, and brilliant starlight capable of easily killing the most fearsome subterranean spiders. With such power, Slimew believed it would be a one-sided war. Soon, he expected to hear tales from the priest insects about the surface enemies, their glorious victories, and the splendid starry sky.

However, a month ago, Slimew suddenly felt a wave of sadness. This sadness almost overwhelmed his thinking organs, leaving him immobile for days, even unable to move for his favorite mushrooms.

Slimew didn't understand what this sadness meant, but once it faded, he resumed his daily work. Each Black Crystal Insectoid had its duties; Slimew's was cultivation. The billions of insects consumed vast amounts of food daily, mostly fungi cultivated by the cultivating insects.

Slimew never considered his role inferior, nor did the Black Crystal Insectoids have such a concept. They all shared the same Mother Insect, and each task was merely her allocation.

Today, Slimew was cultivating fungi as usual. The black subterranean soil was moist and filled with tiny fungi. Slimew spat into the soil, his slightly acidic saliva killing any remaining fungi instantly. Then, he retrieved some white fungal spores from his chest shell and scattered them into the cleared soil.

These were his favorite fungi, known as warrior fungi, typically reserved for warrior insects, but as a cultivating insect, he occasionally tasted some. The fungi were delicious, making him feel stronger with each bite.

One spore, two spores, three spores...

Soon, he filled the entire cave with spores. But just as he was about to move to another cave, a faint sound traveled through his limbs into his auditory organs.

Something was approaching, its footsteps heavy and unlike any Black Crystal Insectoid he knew. Moreover, the source of these footsteps was rapidly nearing his cave.

"Could it be the surface enemies have arrived?" Slimew felt a flicker of terror.

As a cultivating insect, his body wasn't built for combat. In dangerous situations, they typically hid behind priest and warrior insects.

"Hide!"

Slimew quickly decided. He scurried to the cave's edge, swiftly dug a hole with his forelimbs, and buried most of his body. The part above ground he covered with moss and mud, blending seamlessly with the environment thanks to his natural camouflage.

Bang!

Three strange creatures entered the cave. These beings were short, clad in silk garments usually worn by priest insects. Slimew was astonished to find they lacked shells, their tender flesh exposed to the elements.

"Aren't they afraid of being attacked?" Slimew wondered.

He soon got a better look at their faces. Truly terrifying faces. Their heads were large, yet their eyes were pitifully small. How could they see anything with such tiny eyes? In the hive, creatures either had no eyes or very large ones. They had no antennae, replaced by hair-like structures. Were those regressed antennae? What could such small antennae do? Using them to hear seemed foolish.

After observing for a while, Slimew concluded these creatures were hideous—more so than any insect in the hive.

Their voices traveled through the ground to his limbs, reaching his auditory organs. They seemed to be conversing.

Soon, they began digging up the spores he had just planted. One even tossed a spore into its mouth to taste it.

Heavens, these creatures eat anything.

Slimew watched silently from his hiding spot. Despite his disdain for these creatures, their power kept him from making a sound. They emitted an aura only present when priest insects went into battle.

He watched as one of them dug up his newly planted spores. Each one they took made his heart ache.

Such excellent spores—given time, they would yield a bountiful harvest.

But before Slimew could lament too long, Richard lifted him from the ground, having detected him with their mental powers upon entering.

"What do they call this insect type again? Cultivating insect?"

"Let me check... Yes, it's a cultivating insect."

Richard looked at the meter-long, struggling cultivating insect in his hand, feeling a surge of excitement. He had tasted the spores earlier, noting their life-enhancing properties that could promote body development and accelerate evolution.

Now, having found the insect that cultivated them, he might be able to cultivate these fungi himself in the future.

"How do I use this slave stamp again..."

Richard held the slave stamp provided by the command. This magical device contained a soul school slave mark spell, developed by Grand Wizard Stockholm, specifically designed for creatures below tier one. Once marked with the slave stamp, the creature would naturally obey the wizard's commands.

Richard infused the stamp with mana and pressed it onto the cultivating insect. Slimew's thinking organ spun with dizziness, and he no longer felt the same aversion to these creatures.

"What have they done to me?" Slimew thought in terror.

Richard released his grip, retrieving a spore with his mental powers to communicate with Slimew.

"Alien, tell me how many of these spores you have."

"Alien?" Slimew felt the discrimination in the term. He wanted to question, to curse, but his words turned into answers.

"I have a bag of warrior fungi spores."

"Where are they kept?"

"They're in... they're in..."

Slimew instinctively resisted revealing their location, as it would lead these creatures to their settlement. But the more he resisted, the more pain he felt—pain not of the body but of the soul.

Due to the slave mark, Slimew now had two personalities: one as the alien slave Slimew, the other as the Black Crystal Insectoid Slimew. They battled for control over his body, like beasts tearing at each other.

Eventually... the alien slave Slimew won, or rather, the alien slave did. The Black Crystal Insectoid Slimew became mental debris, irremovable even if the slave mark were lifted.

"They're in our settlement."

Richard nodded in satisfaction. The slave mark worked well; he had been ready to dispose of the insect if it hadn't.

"Good, take us there."

"Yes... Master."

...

The deeper they ventured into the underground lair, the hotter and more humid it became, akin to a volcanic hot spring.

On the way to the Black Crystal Insectoid settlement, Richard passed through several cultivation caves, encountering many cultivating insects. All became his slaves.

Given their abundance, cultivating insects were valued at just one magic stone each by Grand Wizard Black Tower. Ellie and Lawrence weren't interested in such small sums.

In these caves, Richard encountered many strange creatures, collecting numerous biological specimens. Curiosity about the world is an essential quality for wizards.

Among these discoveries, a fungus known as priest fungi delighted the wizards. Exclusive to priest insects, this fungus stimulated mental growth and healed soul injuries. Though its effects were mild, they thrilled the wizards, especially Richard.

Ulysses' soul injury required significant soul crystal resources to heal, and soul crystals were expensive. Using the fungi to aid Ulysses would save Richard a substantial amount of magic stones.

Following the tunnels, the wizards soon reached the Black Crystal Insectoid settlement Slimew mentioned.

The settlement was in a large cavern, its floor covered with giant blue luminescent fungi. Below them lay a layer of hair-like glowing moss. Black Crystal Insectoids moved among the gigantic fungi, their limbs brushing the moss with a faint rustle, occasionally emitting low rumblings.

The entire cavern appeared ethereal and eerie.

Lawrence waved his staff, and a pitch-black bat emerged from his shadow. This shadow creature, contracted from the shadow plane, was perfect for stealth due to its ability to hide in shadows.

The shadow bat slipped into the settlement and returned shortly to Lawrence's shadow.

"No warrior insects, no priest insects," Lawrence reported the bat's findings.

"None? Seems we've lucked out," Richard said, pleased.

With the Black Crystal Insectoids' retreat, many insects had entered the lairs, engaging in guerrilla warfare with the wizards. Yet, given the lair's vastness, there were surely untouched areas.

Finding such areas was akin to stumbling upon free treasure.

"But the shadow bat brought back an odd message..." Lawrence added hesitantly. "It said there are peculiar things among these insects."

--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there 

patreon.com/LegendaryTL

Thanks!