The vines extended along the channel opening and slipped beneath the water.
They wove and intertwined.
Soon, a net woven entirely from vines blocked the Water Outlet.
They could hunt now.
"White Chubby, come with me."
"Hmph~!"
With a response, White Chubby quickly followed Chaos.
He walked up to Agatha and stopped.
"Well? Are we good to go?"
"Yes, we're ready. Go ahead and organize them."
After receiving confirmation, Agatha turned toward the hatchlings, who had long since grown impatient.
"Line up."
Hearing that they could finally hunt,
the hatchlings obediently formed a row along the pool's bank, their round, slit-pupiled eyes fixed on the water.
The Underground River's water was clear. Even from the bank, they could see white shrimp and fish swimming below.
Chaos took his position at the far right with White Chubby.
Agatha raised her red head and surveyed the group. Once she confirmed that all the hatchlings were ready, she lowered her body too.
Watching the white shrimp swimming underwater made her feel a little hungry as well. She hadn't eaten much since waking from her slumber.
The tiny portion of fish Chaos had shared with her had barely been a taste. It hadn't filled her up at all.
"Remember, no fighting during the hunt. Whatever disputes you have, settle them after we're finished."
"That's all I have to say. Get ready."
"Roar~!"
With a roar,
[Splash~!]
Agatha, the largest among them, plunged into the water first.
The instant he heard the roar, Chaos pushed off with his hind legs.
The water was a little cool, but tolerable.
With the aid of the three views provided by Perceptive Vines, he flicked his tail and used the momentum to swim straight toward a large shrimp nearby.
Perhaps sensing danger, the fish and large shrimp that had been feeding peacefully all began fleeing for their lives.
That included the one Chaos had targeted.
It kicked its legs, released a string of bubbles, and shot more than ten meters away in an instant.
Chaos didn't chase it. Instead, he opened his Dragon Jaws and bit to the left.
A fish fleeing for its life swam straight into his bite.
The delicious flavor of fish spread through his Dragon Jaws.
Chaos hadn't held back with that bite. He had no intention of going ashore to eat.
His claws tore through the fish, and a cloud of blood immediately spread through the clear water.
He flicked his tail to hold himself in place and began eating underwater.
Before he had finished, one of the views from Perceptive Vines showed a translucent shrimp swimming his way.
He raised his left claw and grabbed it, catching its head with perfect precision.
His sharp claws pierced the shrimp's head, and he squeezed.
Its entire head instantly turned to mush. No pain, no struggle-in a single instant, the prey was utterly dead.
Nice. Another meal delivered right to my door.
Watching the hatchlings swimming after their prey, his emerald pupils widened slightly.
These hatchlings aren't exactly using their brains.
Still, they weren't all idiots. A few clever ones had begun copying his ambush tactic, letting the other hatchlings drive the prey around while they picked spots to lie in wait.
He tore off a piece of fish with his right claw and stuffed it straight into his Dragon Jaws.
Chaos: chewing o(￣ヘ￣o＃)~
Oh, right. I wonder if White Chubby has caught anything.
Let me look.
His emerald eyes shifted, and with the help of his three additional views, Chaos soon found White Chubby.
At that moment, White Chubby was chasing a fish with her Dragon Jaws open, trying to bite it.
Great. At this rate, even if she doesn't catch a fish, she'll fill up on water.
His Dragon Jaws parted slightly...
Just then, something miraculous happened.
Perhaps too panicked to watch where it was going, a fleeing shrimp crashed straight into the fish's head-headfirst.
Both the fish and shrimp had been fleeing at high speed, so the impact was considerable. One of the fish's eyes was knocked out, and both creatures rolled belly-up.
White Chubby reaped the benefits. Opening her Dragon Jaws, she caught both prey in a single bite.
The Blue Hatchling chasing the white shrimp glanced at the White Hatchling, then flicked its tail and turned to pursue something else.
White Chubby's pretty lucky.
Seeing that White Chubby had found something to eat too, Chaos stopped worrying about her.
His gaze continued roaming, and he soon found the target he was looking for this time.
[Splash~!]
The water churned as the Red Hatchling overtook a fish at a speed greater than its own. She opened her Dragon Jaws and bit off half its body, then scooped up the remaining half with a claw and stuffed it straight into her mouth.
Simple, brutal, and pure raw stats.
Though he had expected it, seeing Agatha's absurd burst of raw power firsthand still made Chaos a little envious.
Those were the stats a normal dragon dreamed of, unlike him, who had been born with a weakness debuff he couldn't even remove.
Just then, Agatha suddenly turned around in the middle of her hunt.
Wait, why is she swimming this way?
Agatha swam up to Chaos without saying a word and shoved a freshly caught, two-meter-long white shrimp into his arms. Then she flicked her tail, turned around, and rejoined the hunt.
Chaos: ...
He lowered his head to look at the large white shrimp in his arms.
Opening his Dragon Jaws, he bit off its entire head, and a delicious, fresh flavor immediately filled his Dragon Jaws.
As he chewed, the more he thought about it, the more awkward he felt.
Why does this feel like I'm being kept as some pretty boy?
Has that big little girl taken a liking to me?
Though he had become a green dragon through and through, his tastes hadn't changed. He still liked fair skin, beautiful faces, and long legs.
The Giant Dragon Species had pretty free-ranging kinks anyway.
No way am I letting myself be kept. I'll just remember this favor and repay that big little girl if I get the chance.
Yeah, that's it.
By the time he had sorted out his thoughts, he had finished gnawing through the two-meter-long shrimp in his arms.
Looking at his empty claws, Chaos had no choice but to keep hunting.
With the aid of three additional views, underwater hunting wasn't particularly difficult for him.
The Giant Dragon Species had incredibly powerful digestion. They generally digested as they ate, so they could consume several times their own volume in food.
As for where the digested food went, it naturally became nutrients that nourished their bodies and helped them grow.
After carefully checking how he felt, he estimated that he was about three-tenths full.
[Whoosh~]
As the hatchlings hunted, the entire pool gradually grew murky, and the smell of blood began to spread.
[Splash~]
He stepped onto the bank.
[Burp~]
His Dragon Jaws opened, and he let out a satisfied burp.
He glanced around. There weren't any other dragons on the bank; he was the first to come ashore.
But he hadn't been the first to finish hunting.
Agatha had stopped hunting underwater ten minutes earlier and turned to watching the hatchlings hunt instead.
She was absolutely acting like a supervisor.
With his belly full and his thirst quenched, he wanted to lie down for a while.
Chaos found a rock to lie on and quietly watched the water.
Before long, a second hatchling emerged.
It was the other red dragon among the hatchlings.
The second little raw-stat monster, too.
Before you continue