Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 281: Storm Tamer (4)

"Did you see that?" Ruby whispered into Robin’s ear as they entered the dungeon. She held back her laugh but did a poor job at it.

Robin didn’t turn around to see what Ruby was talking about. It had to be because someone like John Black had been turned into a porter for them. Although it was an internal matter between John and Adrian, the fight gave Robin a gist of what kind of man Adrian was.

’Acting timid before him might have been the right decision after all,’ Robin thought.

The latter half of Adrian’s fight with Vernian wasn’t telecasted as there were no media personnel there to do so. However, word of mouth spread fast from the hunters who were there.

Although they had seen the fight from a distance, they weren’t sure what they saw, but for a moment, it looked like Adrian had turned into a monster and outmatched the White Tiger clan leader.

At first, Robin didn’t believe any of that nonsense. He had had the displeasure of meeting Vernian once in Brazil during some negotiations.

That’s how he knew no one in the entire world could stand up to him, even though he wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the official hunter rankings.

Robin always wondered why someone like Vernian wasn’t on the list and if he was all that strong. But upon meeting him once, Robin knew why Vernian was a nameless being.

’A deity like him stands beyond the realm of mortal comparisons.’

To think someone could rival such strength was comical in Robin’s vision. That was until he met Adrian. The sole reason Robin insisted that Adrian was a part of their upcoming exercise was to gauge his strength with that of Vernians.

Although he was not as strong, Adrian was still a forbidden man. Robin couldn’t pinpoint it, but something about him reminded him of Vernian. Maybe they were related, but he couldn’t be sure as he, like all those before him, had never seen Vernian’s face.

’It’s going to be an interesting day.’

***

A wave of uncontrolled mana hit them as soon as they entered the dungeon. Apart from Michaela, all of them were unaffected by the wave, as it happened all the time in trans-dimensional dungeons.

"What was that?" Michaela mumbled, getting closer to John.

"It’s just a mana wave," John replied, wrapping one of his arms around her. "It’s nothing special. Don’t worry, I’m here to protect you-"

No sooner than Ruby heard John acting all high and mighty, she couldn’t help but laugh. For someone who had been slapped to oblivion moments ago, John sure was upbeat.

"What are you laughing at?" John snarled at Ruby, prompting Robin to step in.

"I should have informed you about it, but she has a habit of laughing whenever she is exposed to mana," Robin said hastily, scrambling for an excuse. "The mana wave must have caused her reaction. I apologise for any misunderstanding that might have arse because of it."

"...I see," John replied, nursing his bruised ego.

Ignoring the chatter, Adrian focused on analysing the dungeon like he always did. They were on a small island, much smaller than the troll dungeon he had been to before.

’It’s unlikely any monster will be on such a small island.’

<I don’t feel any mana from any creature either, Master.>

Adrian nodded as he knew monsters preferred to live in areas with dense mana and other monsters. The island barely had any mana, so even if there were any monsters, they were small fries.

’The ocean, on the other hand...’

Adrian thought as he turned to see the raging water body before him. It was a vast and stormy place, with dark clouds hanging heavy in the sky. The fierce winds were enough to rip any sails that headed their way.

And the waves, they’ll ensure anyone who dared to step foot in the sea would get thrown on the rocky shores and ripped to shreds. Thankfully, the trees took most of the brunt from the winds, leaving the island fairly peaceful.

"Let’s set up a camp first," Adrian advised. "We can plan our next steps later."

***

"It’s going to be peaceful? My ass!" Ruby complained loudly.

Well, they all expected things to be peaceful since there weren’t any monsters in the vicinity. Unfortunately, they found it wasn’t the case. Fortunately, they would be the party’s food source for a while. But that didn’t make hunting the Demon Crabs any fun.

Firstly, the Demon Crabs were known to be masters of evasion. Their ability to swiftly scuttle across sandy terrain and disappear into crevices makes tracking and catching them tedious.

Hunters often find themselves engaged in a frustrating game of cat and mouse as they chase after these creatures, only for them to vanish at the slightest hint of danger.

The Demon Crab’s inclination to hide in inconvenient locations added to the annoyance. They were known to burrow deep into the sand or seek refuge in hard-to-reach caves, forcing hunters to contort themselves into uncomfortable positions to get within striking distance and inevitably miss the shot.

If that wasn’t enough, the crabs had a knack for mischief. They would often destroy traps or make their own to slow the hunters. Sometimes, they even group together and ambush unsuspecting hunters.

"It’s a fun exercise, isn’t it?" Sophia remarked, dropping a few more crabs into the stock. "But it doesn’t look like they are having fun..."

"Of course it is," Adrian replied, looking at Aris, who was having fun hunting the crabs. "They’ll get used to it soon... I hope they do."

Back in Nexaria, hunting Demon Crabs was one of their lessons while they were training to become heroes. It taught them a lot about teamwork early on. Besides, the crabs tasted mind-blowingly good, a good reward for their hard work.

"Alright people," Adrian yelled as John brought the last crabs needed to last them a couple of days there. "We’re done with the hunt! Let’s carry these back to the camp and rest for the night!"

However, Adrian didn’t share a crucial detail with them: the Crabs weren’t just for their consumption alone.free𝑤ebnovel.com