Dungeon of Niflheim

Chapter 999: Chapter 999: Pork on the menu (2)

Frost moved at a decent pace not drawing any attention to himself, soon passing through the entirety of the first floor which was predominantly a dense forest throughout just like outside. He was a D-rank adventurer so he shouldn’t be hunting on the first floor anyway no someone of his recorded level even travelling solo should hunt on the 2nd or 3rd floor where E-rank curved tusk boars and black hide pigs ran amok, their flesh being the main target of the butchers positioned outside.

While a D-rank boar would certainly fetch a higher payout they weren’t as densely populated and a lot tougher to take down so people rarely travelled into the monster lairs deepest regions unless out of curiosity or a wish for a challenge.

Curious about the allure of the meat on the menu and after finding the dried jerky more appetising than expected Frost took the time to hunt a black hide pig, using no weapon only a chakra enhanced fist to land a single swift blow to its head, destroying its brain and ending its life in an instant.

Soon after making a temporary campsite the smell of barbeque swarmed him, and he couldn’t help but take a massive bite out of one of the lightly charred legs.

"Oh that’s really good, it’s almost sweet." The taste was sublime and he now knew the reason for the meat’s popularity. Even with simple cooking skills and a lack of seasoning the flesh was delicious. It was a shame most of the meat would end up going to waste, he was just one man after all, it’d be a tall order to have him devour an entire pig that easily weighed north of 70 kilograms.

Frost did his best though, chomping through as much juicy flesh as he could before disposing of the rest with fire and a quick burying of the bones like your average adventurer would do.

"Perhaps I should invest in some monsters solely for their meat quality, there’ll be a gap in the market with the [Pork Abattoir] no longer being in service, it’d probably make Nanna happy too." As he walked through the dense foliage environment, occasionally sampling strips of juicy pork meat Frost couldn’t help but want to take advantage of his little excursion here.

Niflheim had a lot of people to feed, a number that was continually growing so it’d be unwise to not seek out a means to produce their own food. Experimental farms for wheat, vegetables and even a few fruits were already in place, proving that the ground around the Dungeon was incredibly fertile.

"Definitely a wise investment." With the pork juices swirling in his mouth and his stomach gloriously filled to the brim Frost was determined to isolate some of today’s bounty to restoring his own version of the [Pork Abattoir].

He may no longer control Niflheim with an iron grip, but he still very much cared about its future prospects and unlimited potential.

Following this brilliant idea Frost picked up his pace and soon reached the end of the [Pork Abattoir] where a guardian stood in place before the final room.

"Siqggii!" A massive boar with four curled tusks, a black furred hide and hooves bigger than Frost’s head barred the way forward. It squealed in a threatening manner towards the invader, ordering Frost to leave lest he wished to end up skewered on its tusks.

The monster was an upper D-rank, four tusked boar chief, a creature infamous for its charging ability and dense hide but to someone with Frost’s strength it was nothing to be scared of.

Unbothered by the monster’s primal threats Frost stepped into the boar chief’s domain, his eyes looking up and down its body as if savouring how it would taste after a thorough cooking. Such a gaze rattled the monster, sending shivers down its spine before rage overcame it. It would not stand for such disrespect, if anyone was to be the prey here it would be Frost.

The boar charged forward as a result, lowering its tusks so as to pierce its foolish prey in a single motion.

"Just a beast in the end haaaaaa." Frost shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, he restrained all aspects of his aura, giving him the outward appearance of a mere D-rank but even so he expected better from a monster lair’s guardian.

When the boar attacked him with a bullish charge he simply and very easily sidestepped out of the way, bringing his right hand down like an axe upon the back of its head.

Don! A loud dull sound echoed as a result.

The boar collapsed to the floor, its vision growing darker, a ringing appearing in its ears and then nothing, it passed out, the blow to its brain being too much.

"[Summon ice golem]" Frost struck only once, temporarily disposing of the lair’s guardian before summoning an ice golem with a rough humanoid shape, far from what Maya was capable of producing but more than enough to handle a mere boar chief as well as anything else that may or may not appear while he got to work.

"Watch the boar, fight it if it wakes but try not to kill it." He gave the golem a simple order before stepping beyond the crude natural arena and into a snug stone lined room that housed something not all that dissimilar to what once dwelled within his own chest.

"Grrrr." The moment Frost stepped over the threshold and came under the influence of the monster lair’s heart/core he felt a hunger in the depths of his stomach, an intense almost uncontrollable hunger. He started to salivate as he drew closer to the defenceless and delicious looking orb.

"As expected." He wiped the drool that accumulated around his lips and used his willpower to keep his desire in check. It wasn’t as strong a feeling as what he felt back in [Beginner’s ice magic] but it was of a similar strain. His body craved it, screaming at him to devour every morsel, that it would make him stronger, better, more.....complete.

This intensity only grew with every step he took, the harmless orb somehow dancing in his vision, bouncing up and down, releasing an alluring scent, begging to be eaten by a predator such as himself.

A continually stretching smile donned his lips as Frost loomed over the orb, feasting on it with his eyes. He had no idea what would happen once he started eating. Would the monster lair shake and tremble? Would the core summon legions of pigs and boars to rush to its defence? Would there be some kind of counterattack from it? A battle of wills? He didn’t know but it didn’t deter him from his goal.

"Well I’m not getting any younger let’s take a bite and go from there." He wouldn’t take an actual physical bite mind you, the core wasn’t made of flesh after all, closer to jade or crystal, hardly appetising.

He instead followed his instincts, wrapped his hands around the orb, pulled it close to his chest and started cycling the power that dwelled within him.

In response the orb pulsed as if in terror, it shook, vibrated and trembled, letting out silent screams as a stronger power enveloped it and slowly ate it.

Frost felt a vast amount of life energy enter his body as the orb was slowly ground down, shrinking a centimetre in diameter every few seconds. And as it did the DP levels in his body skyrocketed causing him to tremble as well, his emotions flaring wildly as his desire to eat grew and grew.

Beyond the hall that contained the monster lair’s core the world was shaking, every floor and every room suffered from extreme quakes. The monsters inhabiting the [Pork Abattoir] reared their heads and looked towards the core as if hearing a cry for help. A second later over 50% of these monsters started charging towards the core’s room seeking to defend their lord and master. The rest however simply panicked, acting like headless chickens as they ran either in circles or towards the lair’s exit.

When a monster lair was destroyed the monsters residing within would be split between three states, some would immediately die, some would be weakened, normally choosing to remain in the dead monster lair until death came for them while another group would be set free, no longer bound by the monster lair they’d escape beyond its enforced boundaries becoming free monsters no different from those born in the natural world.

What decided which bracket a monster would fall into no one knew but perhaps the reactions being displayed here could offer some insight.

"What’s going on?" A D-rank adventurer who was in the middle of hunting with the rest of his party asked aloud as the two boars they were in the middle of hunting suddenly squealed and ran off into the depths of the lair.

"Something must be happening with the core." A bespeckled woman who always travelled with a book on hand offered an educated guess.

The monsters dwelling in a lair would only panic like that if their home was under attack.

"I doubt a predatory monster managed to sneak past the watchful eyes of the guards outside ....someone must be up to no good."

"Should we intervene?" Another member of their party queried, a frown evident on their face.

It could be a single person lured into making a mistake or it could potentially be a group who were intentionally causing trouble. The former they could perhaps deal with if they weren’t too strong but the latter....without an official request adventurers weren’t prone to risking their lives.

"No we’ll leave immediately; I don’t want to be roped into this mess." The D-rank leader shook his head not wanting to be associated with the situation in any shape or form.

The adventurers thus packed their things and started heading outside, keen to leave the vicinity before the guards called in help from the nearest town.