Splash!
The surface of the water erupted in rolling waves. The fishing line on Ur's rod went taut in an instant, snapping straight as it shot across the water.
"There's something on the hook!" Levy yelped.
Ur grabbed the rod and jerked it upward. The pole bent even further; it nearly formed a U-shape. But even with that, whatever was on the other end showed no intention of being pulled out of the sea.
Something was wrong.
The moment Ur held the rod, he sensed the anomaly, and he wasn't the only one. The red-haired boy beside him stiffened as well; faint ripples of magic were rising from below the surface.
'Don't tell me… he hooked the monster?' the redhead thought, a ridiculous idea flashing through his mind.
Ur's unusual struggle quickly drew the attention of the surrounding fishermen. Soon, dozens of eyes turned toward him.
Then, with a sudden burst of strength, Ur yanked upward. A creature exploded out of the water, shooting straight toward him.
At that exact moment, the fishing line tore clean apart.
Snap!
"Ah!" Levy shrieked at the sudden attack.
But Ur was already moving. His right hand flashed to his waist, drawing the cheap sword he carried. A streak of steel arced through the air, and the airborne creature split cleanly in two. A faint wisp of magic poured out of its body and into Ur's.
Thud. Thud.
The severed halves hit the ground. Only then did everyone finally see what it was.
A massive eel.
No, calling it an eel wasn't quite accurate. It only resembled one. Its actual form was some eerie variant, grotesque and oversized. Because compared to a normal eel, this thing was enormous. Over two meters long, and its body pulsed faintly with magic. It already halfway transformed into a full-fledged monster.
Seeing that it wasn't the monster they had been hoping for, the onlookers gradually lost interest. Most of the people here dealt with monsters regularly; a half-formed magical fish barely warranted more than a glance.
Only a few gave Ur wary looks.
That slash had been fast. Too fast for an average wizard to react to. Of course, this group he "threatened" consisted mostly of rookie nobodies.
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"Levy, go gather some firewood," Ur said.
Levy had finally recovered from the scare. She nodded quickly and ran off to collect wood.
Before long, a campfire crackled to life, and the two halves of the eel, cleaned and prepped, were roasting over the flames. With the mix of heat and spices, a mouthwatering aroma drifted through the air.
"Ur, the eel's ready!" Levy said, brushing on a final layer of seasoning.
"Great. Thanks, Levy."
Ur grabbed one massive half of the eel and started devouring it. At the same time, he continued questioning the red-haired boy about the demon and the wealthy patron behind the bounty.
The boy answered normally at first, but the longer Ur ate, and the longer that heavenly smell wafted over, the hungrier he felt.
He wanted to ask Ur for a piece, but felt too embarrassed. The internal struggle tied his face in knots.
Though before he had made up his mind, the entire eel had already disappeared into Ur's stomach.
The redhead stared, dumbfounded. Sure, mages and fighters tended to eat more than ordinary people. But this? This was insane. This was eating like a pig.
No, even a pig wouldn't eat like this!
Fortunately, he didn't know that Ur had only eaten to about thirty percent capacity. If he did, he might have fainted on the spot.
As Ur's HP grew, Void Hunger's digestion had become terrifying. If he actually tried to eat seriously, he could devour half a cow in one sitting.
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"Hey! Look at the water! What is that?!" Just as Ur swallowed the last bite of eel, not even bothering to wipe the grease from his mouth, a panicked shout rang out from the coast not far away.
"So many monsters! Why are there so many?!"
"This is bad! They're rushing toward land. Everyone move back! Get away from the water!"
Panic swept through the crowd. People began retreating in a frenzy, shoving and stumbling over each other.
A massive wave surged out of the ocean, slamming into the shore. It rose five to six meters high, carrying countless sea monsters with it, and swallowed the nearest group of people whole.
In an instant, the wave swallowed the nearest group of people. They barely managed a single scream before being dragged beneath the water, snuffed out of existence.
They barely had time to scream before they vanished completely from this world. The sight drained all color from the faces of the survivors.
Levy clutched Ur's sleeve, face bloodless. Even Ur's eyes narrowed.
The situation had already gone far beyond the scope of their original mission. Even Ur's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the scene unfold.
Far too strange.
A coordinated assault by this many sea monsters. It was unheard of. Even veteran monster hunters beside them were staring in shock.
"Are these monsters appearing because of that demon?" Ur murmured as he stared at the countless monsters swarming toward them.