The Time Had Come to Reap the Spoils

Under stress, the Poison Mist Centipede released its last wisp of poison, then curled its long, slender limbs around the Gale Ripple Moth.

The Gale Ripple Moth beat its scaly wings frantically, trying to take flight. But with the heavy Poison Mist Centipede weighing it down, it rose only two or three meters before crashing back to the ground with a thud.

The sharp pain jolted the dying Poison Mist Centipede into action. Its sharp mandibles and legs immediately sank into the Gale Ripple Moth's soft abdomen.

A squelch sounded as milky white fluid, like pus, oozed from the punctures.

The Gale Ripple Moth was in pain, but it seemed to have no vocal organs, so it couldn't cry out. It could only retaliate with its actions.

Its straw-like mouthpart plunged into the wound the bomb had blown in the Poison Mist Centipede, like a spear, and began sucking up its flesh and blood.

The two giant beasts grappled and fought to the death, rolling back and forth across the Arid River Valley like a pair of wrestlers. But their movements grew smaller and smaller.

When Gelman saw that the time was right, he nimbly leaped onto the Poison Mist Centipede's limbs and blasted away part of its head with his Blunderbuss.

Then he used his Meat Saw to chop off the Gale Ripple Moth's straw-like mouthpart.

He aimed his Blunderbuss at the Gale Ripple Moth's head and fired. The scattering pellets riddled it like a wasp's nest.

Bang!

The Poison Mist Centipede's raised upper body fell first, striking the hard-packed earth of the Arid River Valley.

Its long, flat body stopped curling, and its densely packed legs went still.

Then the Gale Ripple Moth collapsed onto the Poison Mist Centipede's body, like a lover following their beloved in death.

Its enormous pair of scaly wings fell limply to the ground, raising clouds of dust.

Suddenly, the Gale Ripple Moth's abdomen swelled like a balloon.

With several wet squelches, it expelled a number of eggs coated in mucus, which piled up like a tower.

"Does it lay eggs after death?" Gelman jumped down from the giant beast's corpse and gazed at it thoughtfully. "The creatures of the Dark Continent really are incredible. You can't judge them by ordinary standards."

"No, I should say that the creatures of the entire Hunter world are incredible."

He raised his Meat Saw, blood dripping from it like threads, and absorbed the beasts' Grudge.

This time was different from usual. Not only had he gained 2 Stat Points and 2 Spiritual Vision Pressure, but he had also obtained two Grudge Implements—

A new Lantern and a Flamethrower!

He hadn't acquired any new Grudge Implements in over a month. To get two at once now—he didn't know whether it was a coincidence or inevitable.

As usual, he put the 2 Stat Points into Stamina Aura.

Vitality Constitution: 20

Stamina Aura: 19

Spiritual Vision Pressure: 28

Grudge Implements: Meat Saw, Blunderbuss, Flamethrower, 3 Lanterns (4-minute cooldown)

Getting another Lantern meant Gelman could expand his range of exploration, and choose a new area for his next teleport.

As its name suggested, the Flamethrower was a weapon that could spew a great swathe of flames in front of him. It had tremendous destructive power.

Still, if these were all he had gained on this trip, he wouldn't be satisfied.

He glanced at the fallen giant beasts in the Arid River Valley, made up his mind, raised his Meat Saw, and walked over.

First, Gelman cut off a corner of the Gale Ripple Moth's scaly wing. Calling it a corner was an understatement—it was as large as a bedsheet.

He rolled up the piece of wing and tied it with his climbing rope.

Then he went over to the Poison Mist Centipede and used a syringe from his backpack to draw a large amount of venom from its mandibles. He tossed the syringe into a large jar and sealed it.

Finally, he split open the back shell of the Meat Sucking Bug with his Meat Saw. Among its clusters of incomprehensible organs, he found a vermilion stone about the size of his head.

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

But when he casually picked it up, he saw it change, its color shifting until it was nearly the same as his arm.

"Looks like it might be valuable. I'll take it back."

He had planned to take one of the eggs the Gale Ripple Moth had laid after death, too. But when he saw the disgusting mucus coating the shell, he changed his mind.

Gelman dismissed the manifested Blunderbuss and Meat Saw, then tucked the jar containing the syringe of venom into his backpack.

With the rolled-up scaly wing of the Gale Ripple Moth in his left arm and the Meat Sucking Bug's Color-Changing Stone in his right, he went over to the Lantern.

This was all he could carry by himself.

The Lantern could teleport Gelman himself, along with anything he could literally carry away.

Gelman held out his little finger to one of the Messenger Imps.

The Messenger Imp bounced happily and grabbed his little finger with both hands. With a buzz, it vanished with him like a phantom.

After a long silence, little mounds suddenly rose from the ground in the Arid River Valley, and one Meat Sucking Bug after another crawled out of the soil.

They crawled over to the Gale Ripple Moth's eggs and confirmed them with their antennae. Then they cracked one corner of an egg with their little heads and pushed their straw-like mouthparts through the break.

"Gulp, gulp." They sucked greedily.

Meanwhile, Gelman had returned safely to the human world, to the dark mine.

After returning from the Dark Continent, his Spiritual Vision Pressure had forcibly increased by 10 points, bringing it to 38.

The purple light of the Lantern illuminated his face as he studied the new traits projected by his Hunter Badge.

Beast Buster

Kleptomania

Beast Buster was a Positive Trait. It gave Gelman a boost when he faced beasts.

Kleptomania was a Negative Trait that made him crave food more than before.

Including the Kleptomania he had acquired earlier, he now had one Positive Trait and two Negative Traits.

He remembered the Lantern and looked over at it. Sure enough, the two lines of text displayed on it had changed again.

Lantern Location: Dark Continent · Arid River Valley

Cooldown: 8 minutes (countdown: 6:45)

It seemed he hadn't been wrong about how the Lantern's cooldown worked.

Gelman piled the spoils he had brought back from the Dark Continent in a corner of the mine. Then he went outside, made a round of the area, and returned only after confirming that the traps were intact and there were no enemies nearby.

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

Gelman left most of his things in the mine. Taking only the easily carried syringe of venom, he went to a nearby town and found its underground black market.

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

When the black-market merchant saw that Gelman wanted to sell a syringe of venom, he was initially disdainful.

But after taking samples and testing them several times, he realized it was a type of venom he had never seen before and couldn't help asking about it.

"Never mind all that. How much will you pay?"

Gelman had no intention of discussing his secrets with the black-market merchant, and he wasn't in the mood. He simply asked the man to name his price.

The black-market merchant gritted his teeth and offered a figure.

Gelman picked up the syringe and turned to leave.

"Hey, hey, don't go! We can negotiate!" the black-market merchant hurriedly called after him.

Only then did Gelman stop and turn around.