Time to Harvest Spoils

The Gale Ripple Moth frantically flapped its scaled wings, attempting to fly. However, burdened by the heavy Poison Mist Centipede, it only managed to rise two to three meters off the ground before crashing back down with a "thud."

The intense pain stimulated the dying Poison Mist Centipede. Its sharp mandibles and legs immediately burrowed into the Gale Ripple Moth's soft abdomen.

A "squelch" sounded from the puncture, and a white fluid resembling pus flowed out.

The Gale Ripple Moth cried out in pain, but it seemed to lack vocal organs, so there was no howl. It could only retaliate with action.

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Its straw-like mouthparts, like spears, pierced the wound on the Poison Mist Centipede's body, which had been caused by a bomb, and began to suck out flesh and blood.

The two giant beasts grappled in a death match, like two wrestlers, rolling back and forth on the dry riverbed. However, the amplitude of their movements gradually decreased.

Seeing that the situation was almost resolved, Gelman lightly leaped onto the Poison Mist Centipede's limbs and used his handgun to blast off a corner of its head.

He then used his meat saw to sever the Gale Ripple Moth's straw-like mouthparts.

He then aimed his handgun at the Gale Ripple Moth's head and fired a shot. The scattered bullets turned its head into a honeycomb.

"Bang!"

The Poison Mist Centipede's originally bulging upper body fell first onto the hard earth of the dry riverbed.

Its entire flattened body no longer coiled, and its densely packed legs ceased to move.

Next was the Gale Ripple Moth, which fell onto the Poison Mist Centipede's body as if in a lover's suicide pact.

A pair of huge scaled wings fell powerlessly to the ground, stirring up clouds of dust.

Suddenly, the Gale Ripple Moth's abdomen bulged violently, like an inflated balloon.

With several "plop, plop" sounds, several white eggs covered in mucus were ejected from its end, stacking into a tower.

"Laying eggs after death?" Gelman jumped down from the carcasses of the giant beasts, watching thoughtfully. "The creatures of the Dark Continent are truly incredible; they cannot be viewed with ordinary logic."

"No, it should be said that all creatures in the Hunter world are incredible."

He raised his meat saw, which dripped blood like threads, absorbing the grudges of the giant beasts.

This time, unlike usual, he not only gained 2 "Attribute Points" and 2 "Spiritual Vision Pressure," but also obtained two "Grudge Tools"—

A new lantern and a "Flamethrower"!

He hadn't obtained a new "Grudge Tool" in over a month, and now two appeared at once. He wondered if it was coincidence or inevitability.

As usual, he added the 2 attribute points to his Stamina Aura.

"Vitality Constitution: 20" "Stamina Aura: 19" "Spiritual Vision Pressure: 28" "Grudge Tools: Meat Saw, Handgun, Flamethrower, 3 Lanterns (4-minute cooldown)"

Having obtained another lantern meant Gelman could expand his exploration range, and the next teleportation location could be in a new area.

As for the "Flamethrower," as its name suggested, it was a weapon that could spew a large sheet of flames forward, with astonishing destructive power.

However, if these were the only gains from this trip, he remained unsatisfied.

He glanced at the fallen carcasses of the giant beasts in the dry riverbed for a few moments, made up his mind, raised his meat saw, and walked over.

Gelman first used his meat saw to cut off the edges of the Gale Ripple Moth's scaled wings. Although they were described as edges, they were still as large as a bedsheet.

He rolled up the edges of the scaled wings and bound them with climbing rope.

Then, he went to the Poison Mist Centipede and used a large syringe from his backpack to draw out a large tube of venom secreted from its mandibles. He then discarded the syringe into a large jar and sealed it.

Finally, he used his meat saw to cut open the Meat Sucking Bug's carapace. Amidst a mass of incomprehensible organs and tissues, he found a crimson stone about the size of his head.

At first, he thought it was a gallstone or something similar from the Meat Sucking Bug and paid it no mind.

But when he casually picked it up, it changed, gradually turning a color similar to his arm.

"It should be something good, let's take it back."

He had originally planned to take an egg laid by the Gale Ripple Moth after its death, but after seeing the disgusting mucus on the eggshell, he dismissed the idea.

Gelman made his materialized handgun and meat saw disappear, then stuffed the jar containing the venom syringe into his backpack.

He held the rolled-up Gale Ripple Moth wings in his left hand and the color-changing stone from the Meat Sucking Bug in his right, and walked to the lantern.

This was all he could carry by himself.

The lantern could teleport not only Gelman himself but literally anything he "could carry."

Gelman extended his little finger towards one of the Messenger Imps.

The Messenger Imp happily hopped up, grabbed his little finger with its hands, and with a "buzz," it vanished with him like an illusion.

After a long period of dead silence, small mounds suddenly rose from the ground of the dry riverbed, and Meat Sucking Bugs emerged from the soil.

They crawled to the Gale Ripple Moth's eggs, confirmed them with their antennae, then used their small heads to crack open a corner of an egg. They then inserted their straw-like mouthparts into the broken part.

"Gulp, gulp," they sucked greedily.

Meanwhile, Gelman had also successfully returned to the human world, to that dark mine.

After returning from the Dark Continent, his "Spiritual Vision Pressure" had forcibly increased by 10 points, becoming 38.

The purple light of the Lantern illuminated his face as he gazed at the new traits he had gained on this journey, projected from the Hunter Badge.

"Beast Buster"

"Gluttony"

Beast Buster was a positive trait, granting Gelman a bonus when facing beasts.

Gluttony, on the other hand, was a negative trait, making him crave food more than before.

Including the Kleptomania he had acquired earlier, he now possessed one positive trait and two negative traits.

He thought of the Lantern again and looked over, indeed seeing that the two lines of text displayed on the Lantern had changed once more.

"Lantern Location: Dark Continent · Arid River Valley"

"Cooldown: 8 minutes (Countdown 6:45)"

It seemed his guess about the Lantern's cooldown pattern was correct.

Gelman piled the spoils he had obtained from the Dark Continent in a corner of the mine, then took a stroll outside to confirm that the traps were intact and there were no enemies nearby before returning.

He sat in the corner of the mine, maintaining the "Zetsu" state, and slept through the night, waking at dawn on the 26th.

Gelman left most of his belongings in the mine, taking only the easily portable poison syringes, and headed to a nearby town to find the local underground black market.

For now, he could only trade with black market merchants.

When the black market merchant saw that he wanted to sell a syringe of poison, he was initially dismissive.

However, after repeatedly sampling and confirming, he discovered it was a poison he had never seen before, and couldn't help but press for details.

"Don't worry about it, how much?"

Gelman had no intention of discussing his secrets with the black market merchant, nor was he in the mood for it. He simply asked the man to name his price.

The black market merchant gritted his teeth and gave a figure.

Gelman, however, picked up the syringe and turned to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go, we can negotiate the price!" the black market merchant quickly called out to Gelman.

Only then did Gelman stop, turn around.