"Hunt?" Adam tilted his head, confused. "Heret, with all due respect, but I’m not going to beco best friends with you and co here once a month for a picnic. I have no desire to hunt without one arm. I need to get back to base and recover."
Despite the rather stiff reply, Heret only got a smile.
"Sure, you have done your work as we have. Our paths should part as life goes on. But, you misunderstand ."
Adam shrugged and continued eating. He wanted to hear Heret’s offer.
Risha, who was sitting to Adam’s left, looked at one or the other. If sothing was going to involve Adam, she wanted to be at the forefront too!
"You see, I know how Phantoms regenerate their limbs. For many monsters, there is no need for such thods, we can do it through long-term regeneration, energy absorption, or by consuming the right resources for it. We don’t have laboratories, but... hah, so monsters don’t need anything at all but a few minutes."
Adam nodded deeply. He knew what Heret was talking about. The last ti he lost his right arm, he had two choices: either wait a few months for his arm to be created from his cells in the lab or eat a regenerative monster.
The first option was long but safe. The second, on the contrary, could regenerate any limb, but many Phantoms died as the regenerative monsters killed them both during the fight and from within during the failed absorption.
For Adam, it was a success. His aura and energy were powerful enough to suppress all attempts of the regenerative monster to break free.
’Hmm, now that Heret ntioned it...’ Adam thought with a great frown. ’What choice do I even have? Then, I wasn’t even a K2-Phantom, and the lab needed months to create my arm from genes. How long will it take them now? A few years?’
Naturally, there was more energy in his one arm now than in his entire body when he was a K1-Phantom.
The difference in strength was great, as well as the recovery ti.
"Hey, Adam, are you listening to ?"
Heret’s voice echoed, bringing him out of his musings.
"Yeah, sure. I was just thinking about it. Go on."
"Anyway. You can go back to your people and use your technology to heal your arm, or go with and Vorx to the blood pond."
Adam raised an eyebrow. "The blood pond? You know, for sothing involving blood, it’s pretty hot in here."
"Hah, I assure you, neither cold nor heat is a problem for blood, especially if it’s a breeding ground for the regenerative monsters!" Heret exclaid with excitent. "There are tons of them out there!"
"Wow, I didn’t expect such a reaction from you. You’re usually pretty reserved, unlike this fool." Adam pointed to Vorx, who was speed-eating the maggots, one by one, for the amusent of the other serpents.
Heret shrugged, taking a sip from the goblet.
"Sorry, I’m just glad to get back into a routine. A day ago, Vorx and I went to the blood pond for the first ti in months."
Adam’s eyes went wide for a mont as his gaze ran down the long table.
"So, all this food and at from the blood pond?"
"Nah, only a small part of it, but a lot of the at is from there, that’s right." Heret shook his head. "You see, before all the events with Arnoth, Kreyna, and the Light Legion. The strongest of the serpents would go to the blood pond to hunt. Because of the survivability of the regenerative monsters, it always takes a lot of energy to hunt them."
Adam chuckled as he leaned back in his chair.
"Got it. You’re suggesting I go hunting with you at the blood pond to use the regenerative monster to heal my arm, right?"
"Yeah. You can think of it as a farewell hunt. Hah, we get a good portion of at, you get a new arm. Seems like the perfect deal to ."
It wasn’t far from the truth. Adam had no reason to refuse.
"Good, where is this blood pond located?"
He could go back to the Red Tower, but it was unlikely that Orel or anyone else had a proper regenerative monster locked away in the basent. He would have to go on a mission or contact the lab at the Upper Ring.
Heret smiled, pointing down.
"A little lower than our castle, and a few hundred ters north. The entrance to the starting caves is behind the castle. Hah, it took and Vorx quite a while to clear the passage. Your attack covered it with debris."
Despite their casual conversation, Adam could feel the tension rising, and he knew where it was coming from.
Before it was too late, he turned to Risha.
"Hey, you’re going with us, right?"
In a heartbeat, her eyes went wide like a kitten’s. She seed to have lost hope of being invited.
"Of course!" Risha exclaid. "Pffft! As if you could not call out!"
"Hahaha!"
The feast continued at its own pace. Gradually the food and drink beca less as well as the serpents’ strength. Everyone enjoyed the rest and especially the celebration of a great victory, but eventually, everything ca to an end.
Adam and Heret stood aside, sitting on the wreckage not far from the castle.
In silence, Adam watched the last part of the feast and Risha who was arguing vigorously with Vorx about sothing.
"If those two weren’t a monster and a human, I’d think they were related." Adam grinned.
Heret threw burning coals into a heavy stone tube, exhaling smoke through his nostrils like a dragon.
"Yeah, sotis Vorx is too spirited. I feel like he has an endless supply of energy."
Adam glanced sideways at the ruined castle.
"Hey, you have sothing else to say about the blood pond, don’t you?"
"Sure." Heret nodded deeply. "The blood essences. It’s harder to get them, but it’ll make your recovery even easier. Maybe it’ll help you advance in evolution. You’re at the limit of your level, right?"
Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Agh, I don’t know the terms yet, but it already scares ."
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