As the moon hung high in the sky, bathing the desert in its eerie glow, a group of massive werewolves, their fur the color of midnight and their eyes gleaming with intelligence, gathered at the wreckage left in the wake of the fierce battle between the pirate ships.
Their breaths hung in the cool night air as they approached the scene, their keen senses alert to any sign of intruders or danger.
The scent of blood and gunpowder lingered like a bitter perfume, evidence of the violent clash that had taken place.
The largest of the werewolves, their leader, known as Ulric, stepped forward, his voice a low, gravelly growl as he spoke to his pack in a language both ancient and hauntingly beautiful. "Search every inch of this forsaken desert," he ordered, his eyes narrowing with determination.
"The cargo must be recovered at all costs."
With a nod, the pack dispersed, their massive forms moving with an eerie grace through the dunes.
They examined the wreckage, their senses acute, and their eyes fell upon the remnants of the two ships. Splintered wood and tattered sails lay scattered across the sands, a testament to the chaos that had unfolded.
"Something is not right," Ulric sniffed as his bright yellow eyes scanned the surrounding land.
"What is it, Lord Ulric?" Another werewolf asked as he crept behind him, his walking step so elegant that one would think he was on concrete ground and not the soft earth.
"The plan to have other pirate crews ambush them while we take care of the guards was a brilliant one, Gadu." Ulric complimented.
"Thank you, my lord; you flatter this lowly one too much."
Ulric nodded. "But even if both ships were destroyed in their clash, don't you think something is missing?"
Gadu stepped forward and then stood upright on his hind legs to get a better view of the place.
He frowned. "The corpses are... too few!"
Ulric nodded. "I am not the only one who noticed."
"Maybe it's the mutated beasts of the earth. Their hunger for blood is always never satisfied."
"If that is true, then why leave the remaining corpses behind? Also, shouldn't we meet at least one of them?" Ulric asked.
Gadu's frown got uglier. In his werewolf form, he was not in the least the prettiest, but his frown was now even more pronounced.
"Someone was here before us?" Gadu added.
Ulric nodded. "They were smart too. Using the smell of the giant scorpion oil to hide their scent"
One of the other werewolves suddenly came back to report.
"We found nothing, my lord. The Eye of the Primordial Beast is not here."
Ulric nodded. "Spread out. It has not been that long ago. Even the deserts could not have entirely covered their tracks."
Ulric turned to Gadu, "This was your plan. I'm sure you know what is at stake here. Without that eye, the Two Great Packs cannot be joined in matrimony. Even after requesting assistance from the demons, if we fail, it will be a terrible shame. I'll advise you to find a way to clear up this mess."
Ulric turned to leave.
Gadu frowned. He could not help but allow his eyes to wander.
This entire thing had been his plan. He had too much riding on it to lose.
Just then, his eyes caught sight of a bullet shell on the ground.
He picked it up and sniffed a little. And then sniffed the air.
This bullet shell had been a short distance from the wreckage, and fortunately, it had not been covered by the oil.
He picked it up and also turned about to leave.
Meanwhile, back at the Crimson Leviathan, after taking the three magic stones, Captain Crimson left.
Lenny had asked for some more information before allowing him to go.
Lenny told Perseus to try and absorb the magic from the magic stone, but unfortunately, Perseus could not do it.
All he could do was sense that there was magic in the stone, but his ability to absorb it was nonexistent.
Apparently, only Lenny could absorb the magic stones to increase his power.
The system had issued certain alerts.
<Alert>
<Side Mission Completed: Loot>
<Complete two more side missions to unlock the skill: Thief>
According to Captain Crimson, they had another two days before they would reach the first resting point, a small town under the control of a magic school.
Lenny decided to use this time to explore the privileges that the Satan system had to offer.
Initially, Captain Crimson had prepared a run-down cabin for him, but after the violent display, he evacuated his own cabin for Lenny's use.
Lenny made himself at home as he sat on the ground, and then his consciousness went into the system.
Just like before, he willed, and he was now in the desert region.
This was the place he was going to train.
But first, he had to test the training qualities of the place.
The holographic screen appeared before him.
According to the screen, he needs to pay for every session he uses during his training.
Lenny decided to start low and walk his way up.
For this reason, he placed gravity at level 1, sand storms at level 1, the heat of the sun at level 1, and then put up a running distance of 100 kilometers.
This did not cost much. Not even the full body of an adult.
However, Lenny quickly noticed that the sun barely increased in intensity.
This was the same thing for the other elements.
This made him frown.
"Satan System, which level of training is the most optimal for my level of power to train strong and climb to the next level?"
<Processing...>
<Level 5 for all conditions>
Lenny nodded as he paid the required fee for Level 5.
It was two humans and one of the giant scorpions he had killed from the ship wreckage.
Instantly, it was as if he had entered a new world as the sun literally increased in size.
It was as if it had gotten...
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m