Chapter 100: Chapter 099

Henry made a significant decision last night. Before he was to proceed with anything else he had planned, he had decided to look for a new home in earnest. For now, Henry set aside the matter with the female monster hunter, Alayne. 

She had seen and heard too much about him and he wasn’t sure if she would keep her mouth shut after she returned to civilization. As things stood, she was his captive, and someone he just confessed his love to.

He didn't know if that was the right thing to do but he just wanted to get it off his chest. 

The recipient of the confession herself, Alayne, was pretty much dazed by Henry's honesty and she was not able to look Henry in the eyes since and also avoided him as much as she could.

With all that said, the matters of love wasn’t Henry's concern right now.

Henry’s current abode was much too open and vulnerable to nearly all manners of threat. There was protection against the elements but it wasn’t perfect. If there was a heavy downpour, the water could easily flow into the cave and cause a shallow flood. Thankfully, that had yet to happen. Moreover, enemies could simply waltz right into his home without any trouble, provided the enemies were strong enough to deter the monsters in the vicinity of his territory. Threat from the air was also a thing and his abode was extremely exposed to the air.

Henry knew he couldn’t rely on the monsters to deter any threats or uninvited guests as the monsters would sometimes be the threats themselves, especially in his absence.

He had a place in mind. It was a place he had only seen from afar. It was a small mountain range located in the northwest, sandwiched between the lands of the Lavans and the territory of the Zeva Clan. The specific place he had his eyes on was a large cavern that one could enter from the side of the mountains. The entrance was large enough to fit Henry in his original size, and more, through.

The exterior of the cavern was flanked by a small grove of trees that were abundant with fruits, though a quarter of them was poisonous, but that should be a problem as Henry could just filter the poisonous ones out. On the opposite flank, there was a large pond, constantly filled by a waterfall from the highlands on top of the mountain range. The pond had a river that flowed down to the foot of the mountain on a gentle slope.

Though that place was closer to those two tribes, it was not easy for those two tribes to reach due to the treacherous terrains. The arduous and strenuous climb could be bypassed by simply flying, a privilege Henry had. Sarynn could easily scale the mountain via the river. As for Yula, she could simply ask for a ride from Henry or Sarynn and it wasn't as if she was completely helpless without the two. She could fashion grappling hooks and limbs out of her shadows but that was a taxing feat, one that she would rather avoid.

All in all, this new place was perfect for Henry as his new home. Since it was at quite a high altitude, they could see threats coming from a mile away, be it from the land or the air. They didn’t need to worry about their rear as it was defended by the cloud-high natural rocky formations.

And it all boiled down to one last issue. It was quite possible that the cavern was already inhabited by some animals or creatures. In the worst case, it might be a nest or a hive that was housing hundreds or thousands of creatures.

When Henry arrived in front of the cavern’s entrance, he saw and smelled nothing that indicated there was anything living inside the cavern but he wasn’t convinced with just this much of an assessment. He assumed his human appearance lest he got easily spotted in his true form.

As much as Henry was fond of being in his true form, the inconvenience was starting to show. He quite liked his Dragon form as he could rest on any type of surface and he would barely feel any discomfort. Alas, that came at the price of inconveniencing his surroundings and easily exposing himself to any eyes from afar.

Henry stared into the entrance of the cavern. He first looked at the ceiling, where all the ambushes tend to be. Aside from a few stalactites, nothing stood out that could be considered a trap. Since the cavern ran deep, Henry couldn’t see anything beyond the reach of the light. His night vision was only activated once he was completely submerged in the darkness. He wasn’t able to use his normal vision simultaneously with his night vision.

Not to say it was completely impossible. It was possible, in fact. Nadea had told him of the solution when he had asked. The solution was separating the vision of each eye but that was not a feasible idea. Henry learned that the hard way when he tried that “solution”. The experience was like an acid trip on steroids and he never tried it again.

Henry picked up a pebble by his feet and tossed it into the cavern. He heard the bouncing of the pebble echoing clearly across the entrance path. The pebble travelled deep into the tunnel of an entrance and the echoes faded out with distance.

Really? This place is unclaimed? Not possible but one way to make sure.

Henry shrugged and took a step into the cavern. The moment he did so, he felt a threatening aura emanating from the depths of the cavern.

I knew it. Surely I wasn’t the only one that could see the potential of this cavern.

Unperturbed by whatever was within, Henry continued treading into the cavern and the darkness eventually swallowed him up once he walked inside deep enough. His night vision came on and immediately, he was greeted by a group of assailants, in the form of palish, scrawny, and furless monsters that were slightly larger than his human form.

Oh, sweet Jesus!

The monsters that emerged from the darkness resembled the Wendigos he knew from his former world but instead of a deer’s skull, it was a tiger’s skull. To be precise, it was the skull of a sabretooth tiger with a pair of tusks jutting out. Their forelimbs weren’t long but they were bulky and not to mention, fast.

A swipe came from one of these monsters and Henry barely dodged the claws. The monster growled when it realised it had missed and lunged at Henry without a moment’s delay. Henry tutted and countered with a bolt of lightning he threw with a thrust of his palm. The monster went flying backwards but it flipped to its feet before it was carried anywhere far.

The other monsters launched themselves at Henry right then. Henry threw an Aura Blade that struck the lunging monsters but it wasn’t enough to kill them. They were merely stopped and they were barely harmed.

Okay… they are not as feeble as they looked. Well, shit.

Henry groaned inwardly and cast a vast blanket of flames at the monsters.

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The monsters shrieked and leapt to the walls or ceiling to avoid the fire.

Whoa, that’s some quick and clever response.

The monsters snarled at Henry and tossed themselves at him.

Henry sighed and assumed his humanoid Dragon form.

The human form is really inefficient when it comes to combat.

He complained in his heart and lunged at the monsters in response to their assault. The monsters were utterly shocked by Henry’s abrupt and drastic change in his appearance. They shrieked in terror and tried to retreat but two of them fell into Henry’s large grasp. With a good squeeze, Henry snapped the neck of the two monsters he caught. The remaining four stared warily at Henry as they slowly backed away from him without breaking sight.

Henry chased after them and the monsters sprang away in a panic. Henry caught one by the leg and smashed it onto the ground. The sound of flesh rupturing and bones cracking bounced across the walls vehemently. Henry himself even felt the shivers from that sound but it was something unavoidable and indispensable. Fear was a great edge in combat.

Judging by how the monsters were shirking in fear, Henry understood these monsters probably had only ever preyed on the weak or only ever been in a fight where they always had the high ground. Henry was a foe, not prey, and he was more formidable than these monsters could handle.

Still, the monsters did not give up. Using the terrain to their advantage, they tried flanking Henry but their efforts amounted to nothing. A blazing breath from Henry illuminated the long hallway and instantly incinerated two of the monsters.

The last two gave up on any notion of retaliating. Just as they turned around to run, Henry stopped their movements by increasing the gravity on them. They let out a faint shriek before they choked on the air that turned as heavy as rocks in their lungs. Henry promptly ended their suffering by stomping their heads flat.

Good gods… Just what the fuck are these things?

Henry muttered to himself as he inspected his kills. Their Murux Hearts were nothing to write home about. They were small and the colours were dull. He didn’t obtain any new abilities after he consumed them. The monsters’ flesh didn’t smell delectable, so he didn’t even bother with having a taste test. What was surprising about these monsters to Henry was that their skull-like heads were their actual skull. In fact, they had two sets of skeletons. More precisely, there were two layers, an exterior one and an interior one.

If he pitted these monsters against the human monster hunters, they would not fare well. These monsters were quick, agile, and durable. It once again brought home the fact of how dangerous Ulrum actually was.

Putting aside those vapid thoughts, Henry trod deeper into the cavern. While walking through the seemingly endless tunnel, he made a mental note of the dropping temperature. It was getting colder and colder the deeper he went. On the flip side, he was going up a gentle slope instead of a descending one. This way, he wouldn’t need to worry so much about the cavern flooding if there was a downpour.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of small furtive steps scuttling in the shadows of the distance. He wasn’t alarmed. He took a whiff of the air and frowned in disgust. The air was getting foul and it wasn’t a good sign if he wished to turn this place into his new home. Whatever was causing that stench, he would need to get rid of it first and foremost.

Henry eventually came into a large cavity that truly held up to it being a cavern. Henry whistled in awe, or at least he tried to. He wasn’t able to blow a whistle with the mouth of a Dragon. His mood was overturned when he saw what was spread before him, piles of half-eaten carcasses and bones. These were the source of the stench.

One thing Henry felt was missing was the presence of faeces and urine. Animals were known to shit and piss where they ate, especially if they lived in a confined space such as a cave. But no matter where Henry looked, he didn’t find any spot where the monsters answered the call of nature.

Do they not shit or piss?

Such a question lingered in Henry’s head. Regardless, those were not his concern. It was even better if there were no faeces or urine. It would save him the trouble.

This is a lot of work to clean but… the end result would be worth it. But before that, where’s the rest of them?

Henry cast his gaze into every corner of the naturally-formed chamber. He didn’t see any more of those monsters and their scent was covered up by the stench of their mess. Henry then closed his eyes and used his Bio-sonar. The moment he did, he shuddered at the multiple pings that were returned to him.

Oh, ho? I see. Clever bastards.

Henry faced one of the waste piles and shot a Firebolt at it. Immediately, three monsters sprang out of the pile and lunged at Henry, avoiding the Firebolt in the process. Henry swiftly cut them down with Jetstream Breath. Their dying shrieks and throes echoed across the cavern.

As if that was the cue, all of the other monsters made themselves known by emerging from the waste piles they were hiding within.

Holy… shit. That’s a lot of them.

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