Epic of Caterpillar

107 Endless Feasts

When the beast was confirmed dead, I quickly began to butcher it immediately while my family and servants rested on the side. I used my tentacles and threads to quickly butcher the massive body, while eating the crab giant rainbow-colored eyes, which were as hard as crystals, alongside some of its internal organs. The beast heart was massive, so I only took a big chunk and left the rest for my people.

It was fresh and very tender, filling my mouth with a deliciously sweet blood.

[You learned the following Skills]

[Heart of the Gemstone Empress]

[Gemstone Avalanche]

One hour and a half later several pots were boiling with pieces of the Crab Empress alongside veggies, mushrooms and other types of meat. The smell was delicious. Meanwhile, Rimuru and Mady were making other preparations like karage and croquets.

When everything was done, we had a big feast around a bonfire. The Crystal Crab Empress soup was delicious and full of flavors, its boiled meat was tender and juicy, melting on my mouth. I ate several plates alongside karage and croquets. The Starfish Dew wine went very well with this crab meat.

[You learned the following Skills]

[Multi-Colored Jewelry Spears]

[Gemstone Magic Affinity]

[Gemstone Empress Exoskeleton Creation]

[Multi-Colored Jewelry Orb of Gemstones]

After several hours, everyone was ready to continue so I saved the rest of the crab and inspected around the cave to find any treasures around. Sadly, the only thing that there was were countless eggs and some monster bones. I saved every egg I came across as they could be breed on my Kingdom. This crab meat is indeed very delicious and would be a delicacy.

When we got outside of the cave, it was around 5 PM, still having some time before night, we explored the rest of the biome until we reached its end. We didn't explore the Earth Shrine as it was empty and barely any monsters were inside.

Reaching the end of what I call Rocky Forest biome, we came across a more normalized forest, with dense trees and a lively atmosphere. However, the monsters here were as ferocious. We came across several new species, which made me quite excited about what skills could they bring to me.

There were green colored lions with brown mane named Verdant Nature Lions, alongside giant grasshoppers with intense kicking power named Giant Storming Grasshoppers. Their movements were fast but we were faster, as we disposed of several groups on the following hours, gaining EXP and a new meat to taste.

[You gained 951936 EXP] [The rest of your family gained tons of EXP]

[LEVEL 002/250?? EXP 2913266/3500000]

[The rest of your family gained tons of levels!]

As I saved the several corpses of the beasts, I began to inspect my map. It seems that we have already reached around 1/4 of the unexplored areas of the fourth layer. We will be doing a complete circular round to the entire layer before proceeding towards the fifth layer, which would take around 2 days or so…

As it already got late, we flew towards the floating carriage and prepared dinner with the new monster meat alongside the crabs. Another big feast happened. The humans were quite surprised over our almost endless appetite, but I think it has something to do with my blessing which is also shared with them.

Hmm, the Verdant Nature Lion wasn't bad at all, although familiar lions are more delicious, it had a nice flavor and a small hint of vegetables. The grasshoppers tasted like a flavorful shrimp, their legs in specific had the most meat, which was white and tender.

[You learned the following Skills]

[Verdant Lion Nature Call]

[Enhanced Kicking Power]

When everyone went to sleep, I decided to go on a small hunt by myself and spent several hours hunting the monsters around.

I found Verdant Nature Lion Kings alongside its Emperor, which had the power to control plants and had a sturdy wood armor. I contained myself to make the battle entertaining, as the Lion Emperor struggled for his life, ultimately dying while being incinerated by my [Pirokinesis].

[You gained 948900 EXP]

[You gained one level!] [LEVEL 003/250?? EXP 0362166/4000000]

Afterward, I quickly ate it without wasting much time. Its meat was indeed of higher quality than the lesser Lions, almost comparable to the familiars now. I also ate its soul, which seemed to be the most nutritious of the bunch, but it didn't give any soul stats. Its blood was rather plain and simple and its [Fragmented Sins] weren't enough to give me any stat increase for now.

[You learned the following Skills]

[Emperor of Nature]

[Phyllokinesis]

The second skill gave me the ability to slowly manipulate plants, this could come in handy on my Kingdom crops. I don't see much fighting potential on it, but I might be wrong.

The next prey was more grasshoppers, quite a lot to be honest. I found their nest, which was on a big underground cave. Although it wasn't as deep as the Walking Mushrooms and the Crystal Crabs.

I ended up beating more than one hundred giant grasshoppers alongside the Emperor and the Empress. I devoured a lot of the little ones and the Emperor and Empress entirely. To save time, I just consumed them with my [Dissolving Juices Secretion].

[You gained 1126000 EXP]

[LEVEL 003/250?? EXP 1488166/4000000]

[You learned the following Skills]

[Insect's Enhanced Surrounding Perception]

[Hive Mind]

The first skill did just what it said, it enhanced my perception of my surroundings, adding another layer on my reconnaissance capabilities.

Meanwhile, the second skill was quite interesting. It seems to make any of my summoned creatures without a soul to be able to work as one mind as if they were only one being. It could come in handy when creating a big army of undead soldiers.

These monsters [Fragmented Sins] were quite weak compared to the Crystal Crabs… Perhaps only very strong monsters can satisfy this new system. Their souls weren't anything special for me, but they will be useful for my children.

After beating the whole grasshopper lair, it was already quite late, so I went for one last prey before going to sleep.

Oh? I think I found it.

While walking, I came across a big group of Deer, these weren't ordinary animals, but a species of monster Deer named One-Eyed Illusion Deer. Which specialized in illusions, using their antlers to hypnotize their prey. The group was around 30 with a big Emperor standing proudly with his massive antlers.

I quickly approached using [Stealth] and [Camouflage] as I began to slash every monster in pieces, the beasts were confused as to what was happening because suddenly, several of their companions appeared completely slashed out of nowhere. The Emperor couldn't do anything as I quickly cut his head off with my Ollathir sword.

[You gained 973000 EXP]

[LEVEL 003/250?? EXP 2461166/4000000]

[You obtained a new Title]

[One-Eyed Mystical Deer Emperor]

Now that I think about it, I should've enslaved some of the monsters I came across, but I've been too focused on gaining experience than in increasing my slaves and mounts. Perhaps I will come here again and tame some of these monsters.

I quickly devoured the Emperor and ten deers, while I saved the rest for my family.

[You learned the following Skills]

[One Eye of Hypnotizing Illusions]

[Golden Illusion Antlers Creation]

Being satisfied with my \"grind\" I quickly went back to the floating carriage.

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[Day 95]

Today everyone oversleeps because of the effort they put on defeating the thousand or so crabs, so we ended waking up at 3 PM.

Well, it's not like it matters that much.

I quickly began to grill all the meat of the monsters I captured yesterday while making a nice Crystal Crab Hot Pot. There was also Aquarian coffee, ice rabbit milk, and cheese, bread and fruits.

The big meat eaters on the family are Nesiphae followed by Amiphossia, Ryo, Brontes, Gaby, and Mady. Although Rimuru also likes to eat a lot, but she prefers sweets and sometimes she prioritize them over a more nutritious piece of meat.

Because I cleaned most of this area last night, we decided to move at fast speed towards the next \"interesting location\", which is the \"Shadow Forest\" biome, another small biome that former around the Moon Shrine Dungeon. Similar to the Dark Miasma Forest, this place is covered on mist and its flora is mostly dark-colored. Some trees even have eyes for some reason.

We encountered several carnivore plants here, most of them looked like horrifying nightmare fuel beings with countless crimson eyes and slimy tentacles. These horrible plants were named Eldritch Octopus Rafflesia.

They began to swarm us on big groups so we began a big extermination, most of my wives were crept by such things, so they went berserk on them. I think we exterminated the whole population…

[You gained 1248000 EXP] [Your family gained tons of EXP]

[LEVEL 003/250?? EXP 3709166/4000000]

[The rest of your family gained some levels!]

Because I already imagined how bad they would taste based on their terrible odor, I just ate a bunch using [Dissolving Juices Secretion].

[You learned the following Skill]

[Repulsive Intoxicating Odor]

Hmm… I don't think I will ever use such a skill.

As we kept advancing, the mist became thicker, so I decided to completely dissipate using strong currents of wind using my [Wind Section] on my Library Skill.

As the mist completely dissipated, things began to look clearer, but just after that, a big group of dark-colored chimeras attacked us. It was a medium-sized group of 13 Dark Chimeras. These chimeras possessed two heads, one of a Goat and one of a Serpent, its entire body was dark-colored and had a giant crimson eye on their chest.

They seemed to be affected by the disappearance of the mist and attacked wildly, however, we quickly disposed of these crazy beasts in conjunction.

[You gained 903700 EXP] [The rest of your family gained tons of EXP]

[You gained one level!] [LEVEL 004/250?? EXP 0612866/4500000]

[The rest of your family gained some levels!]

These chimeras seemed to be a more acceptable meal, so I ate five and saved the rest. Their meat tasted different depending on their section. The goat part tasted like a very high-quality goat, while the serpent part tasted like a serpent… The body reminded me of lion meat.

[You learned the following Skill]

[Enhanced Biting Capabilities]

[Evil Phantasmal Eye]

After taking a small break, we quickly resumed our travels, reaching the middle of the biome, we encountered a very strong monster named Shadow Moon Bear Wolf Kaiser, that seemed to rule this place. It resembled the breed between a wolf and a bear, walking in four. It had extremely thick black fur, a wide back of around five meters and powerful and sturdy muscles.

Its head resembled a wolf with a very small nose. Its eyes were crimson red and it was able to spit blue flames that could even burn souls.

The beast was incredibly resilient and power, putting my children and the human in serious trouble. In the end, they still managed to pull through thanks to Ami's healing, Charlotte and Lilith distance attacks and Ryo and Evan powerful physical techniques, which were able to penetrate the monster defenses.

[You gained 863000 EXP from your servant's/family share]

[LEVEL 004/250?? EXP 1475866/4500000]

Although I told them that it was their prey and that I won't steal it from them, my children still shared the beast with the rest of us so I decided to make an improvised lunch with the monster.

I quickly butchered it while eating its skin, fur, eyes, brain, and heart. And then grilled it, seasoning it with Aquarian Salt and spicy sauce alongside a dark-colored sauce that resembled soy sauce. All of this obtained from the Aquaria Kingdom.

[You learned the following Skill]

[Consecutive Shadow Rampage]

[Kaiser of the Shadow Moon Pride]

The grilled Wolf Bear was incredibly delicious, it's been quite long since I've tasted such a good meat like this one. Kaiser Class monsters are by far more delicious than Emperor class monsters…

[You learned the following Skills]

[Kaiser of the Shadow Moon Supernatural Body]

[Curse Immunity]

After having such a nice meal, we were full of energy to keep exploring. On the way to the end of the biome, we came across a big nest of humanoid beings. These resembled Snakes but weren't Lamias, as they didn't have a human half.

They were more like Snake Beastman, with humanoid figures, having a snake body with human hands and a big snakehead. The woman clearly had breasts while the men didn't. They weren't intelligent at all and were rather barbaric, so we quickly disposed of them as it was useless trying to talk with them.

[You gained 1168000 EXP] [The rest of your family gained tons of EXP]

[LEVEL 004/250

EXP 2643866/4500000]

[The rest of your family gained some levels!]

When we killed all the warriors, which were wielding rock weapons, we entered the lair and found mostly mothers protecting their children. I didn't really care about this as I was about to eliminate them, however, my wives and the humans stopped me as they pitied their weakness.

These beastmen weren't as gifted as other races and this is why they were so weak and well, stupid. I quickly saw some potential if I could manage them to train and get stronger, and if they are compatible, some could even mate with the few lizardmen we have…

After a small-time thinking it, I quickly enslaved the whole bunch.

[You successfully enslaved 57 Tribal Shadow Snakeman] [177/9999]

I ordered the strongest of the Snakeman to tell the rest to quickly pack their things up. After some minutes, everyone was ready as I moved them over my floating carriage, which they were amazed of. Because their minds were so basic, they even began to worship me as a deity.

I suppose I will send them tomorrow in the morning to my Kingdom, through a flying slime.

For now, we descended once again as we feasted on the Snakeman we killed. Their meat was rather delicious and had several salty juices. It was quite addictive. I prepared several quick dishes alongside grilled steaks. Everyone loved this tribe and for a moment, we all changed our minds and thought about raising them as cattle. Because their attack was too sudden, I wasn't able to catch any of their [Fragmented Sins].

[You learned the following Skills]

[Snakeman Breeding Capabilities]

[Rock Lance Coated on Deadly Poison Throw]

[Venomous Tail Attack]

[Parasite]

\"Hmm? From where did I got [Parasite]?\"

It seems that these Snakeman had several parasites inside of them, and unknowingly they ended up being grilled inside with the meat. I checked everyone health and even their stomachs but didn't find any living creature inside of them, so probably all the parasites died.

As the feast was done, we quickly went back to the floating carriage as we encountered most of the Snakeman sleeping.

I decided to purify them from the parasites with my strongest healing magic, which successfully vaporized the critters inside of them.

Instead of going to hunt on this night, I decided to sleep. Tomorrow we may explore the last biomes left on the fourth layer and move on the fifth.

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Skill Fusions of the Day:

1) [Earth Shattering Third Arm] + [Triple Venomous Rock Tongue Attack] + [Ferocious Gemstone Claws Attack] + [Consecutive Shadow Rampage] + [Venomous Tail Attack] = [Overbearing Venomous Gemstone Third Arm]

*A powerful third arm that can grow any time on Kireina's back, its power is several times that of her normal arms, it's also enhanced by her natural flesh. It can cast strong Earth and Gemstone magic. Cost: 60 MP.

2) [Shining Crystal Storm] + [Gemstone Avalanche] + [Multi-Colored Jewelry Spears] + [Gemstone Magic Affinity] = [Gemstone Magic Grandmaster Spell Book]

*A new [Book] skill, which enhances the included spells alongside decreasing the MP cost. Cost per spell: 70 MP. Fuse Spells: 90 MP.

[Transcendent Magic: Metis Grand Magic Knowledge Library] Special effect has been triggered]

[Gemstone Magic Grandmaster Spell Book has been successfully assimilated]

[New section created: Gemstone Magic]

3) [High Royal Vampire Heart] + [Talented and Inspirational Musical Heart] + [Heart of the Furious Rock Tyrant] + [Heart of the Gemstone Empress] + [Kaiser of the Shadow Moon Pride] = [Sin of Lust Superior Overlord Vampire Heart and Pride]

*Passive. Increases the bonuses and capabilities of Kieina's heart.

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