Treasure Hunting System： The Ocean Conquerer

The ground in front suddenly began to bubble and boil as a colorless liquid frothed, releasing an even more putrid stench. Wisps of dark green smoke mixed within drifted upwards.

A rotten, claw-like hand emerged from the liquid, grabbing the muddy ground beside it, its bone fingers sinking deep. With a sudden pull, it tore its entire body out.

”Oh! Damn it, Lucy!” Juanlu exclaimed, becoming physically ill at the sight of the creature before him.

The creature was an upright boar, but the problem was that the large chunks of fat on its body were covered in what looked like traces of rot. Fat maggots could be seen crawling all over its putrid flesh, secreting nauseating pus.

When this monster emerged, the stench in the air intensified, even mingling with Magic Power. This made it impossible for Juanlu to filter out the smell, even using his Magic Power, unless he completely exhausted his body’s supply. If the surrounding Magic Power mixed in, the smell couldn’t be eradicated and would go straight into his nostrils.

The boar monster looked down at Juanlu and cracked a hideous grin. Pus and fat maggots spewed from its gaping mouth, the thick liquid dripping with maggots onto its round belly. Then, like gel, it spread out, prompting the maggots hidden within its rotten belly to emerge. The scene nearly made Juanlu vomit.

After a few cackles, it snapped its mouth shut, the strong bite force crushing the maggots clinging to its rotten teeth. Dark green juice sprayed in all directions.

Juanlu felt like gouging his eyes out. He was about to vomit.

AHHHHH!

Everything about the monster assaulted him, challenging his every sense. The surrounding environment was just as bad.

The sphere on the Bat, burning with flames, was swung out furiously by Juanlu. He had to scorch this hellhole with fire. His skin was crawling, and he couldn’t stop shivering, purely from physical and psychological discomfort.

The fiery sphere drew a straight line, fiercely striking the enemy’s body and tearing open a green-tinged hole. Flames engulfed the rotten flesh with sizzling sounds. It was like the flesh had been ignited by oil, yet the flames couldn’t spread.

The maggots shriveled under the flames, but the monster seemed unaffected. It didn’t even scream, instead laughing as it charged at Jason.

The Fireball that had pierced it rebounded, striking through from behind and returning to Juanlu’s side, only to be swung out furiously once more. Yet, it had no effect. The wounds on its body didn’t seem to affect it, even when pierced through and still burning with flames. When Juanlu attacked its head, it simply blocked with its arm.

Attacking as if it feared neither death nor pain, its body, like a tank, charged straight for Juanlu. Fortunately, the monster was bulky, allowing Juanlu to evade it easily.

”Let’s see if you’re immune to attacks,” Juanlu said, swinging the Bat and letting the flying sphere cut into the monster’s flesh. Oily flames burned, flying out wildly.

The monster kept charging. As its flesh dwindled, its speed increased. Eventually, its speed surpassed Juanlu’s. It struck him with a palm, sending him flying into the swamp. Putrid liquid splattered onto him.

The multiple attacks had exhausted much of his Magic Power. He had to retract the Magic Power air system over his face, letting the putrid smell assault him. But the tension of battle and the pain in his body made him forget about it; he no longer cared.

The monster, now becoming skeletal, moved with increased speed, its flesh having been greatly reduced by Jason.

Given the circumstances, Juanlu had to abandon the Bat’s long-range attacks and resort to melee combat. The long-range sphere mode of the Bat was just an inherent feature of the weapon. His true strength lay in melee combat, though he had rarely demonstrated this aboard the ship. Since boarding the ship, he had barely participated in any battles. Alka and the others who specialized in combat had taken over all such aspects. He could only satisfy his urge to fight during regular training.

This allowed him to engage in a back-and-forth battle with the monster. In fact, thanks to the instructor’s training, he was completely overwhelming the monster in melee combat. This helped to ”slim down” the monster even faster, further reducing the remaining flesh on its body.

Yet the monster seemed to have no weakness. Even with its head smashed by Juan Luo and reduced to a skeleton with only bits of flesh clinging to it, it kept fighting.

Seeing the monster, now riddled with holes and gaps and reduced to nearly a skeleton, Juanlu smiled. He spat hard to the side; the surrounding environment was still utterly disgusting.

”This time, let’s see if you die.” He ignited a fierce flame on the Bat, then leaped and smashed it heavily onto the enemy’s head. The arm it used to block, already reduced to bone with mere scraps of flesh clinging to it, shattered under the impact. Then, its skull was struck. The fragmented skull broke apart, and with it, the last bit of flesh on its head disappeared.

This blow completely knocked the monster to the ground.

It seems this monster relied on its flesh to sustain life. As its flesh disappeared, many of its attributes diminished, though its speed had increased.

Juanlu watched the monster fall into the swamp mud, its shattered bones quickly becoming covered by the putrid liquid. He exhaled heavily. He wasn’t unscathed, but his injuries were bearable and not life-threatening.

Truth be told, the monster’s Difficulty seemed mismatched for this level. Mainly because its attack methods were too clumsy. When its attack methods became agile, its other attributes had become too weak. The only real challenges were its thoroughly disgusting body and the environment. But fortunately, at least the battle was won.

However, before Juanlu could fully exhale, the corpse lying on the ground rose again. The swamp’s putrid liquid flowed over its skeleton, reforming its flesh. These flesh chunks were all that Juanlu had previously removed and discarded everywhere. Even the charred, rock-like pieces of flesh gathered together again.

He tried to prevent it, but it was no use; putrid streams surged from all directions.

”Dammit...” Juanlu muttered, looking at his remaining Magic Power—less than half was left.

Taking out the last bits of food from his Pocket Ring, he began eating. The Energy previously stored within his body started depleting. His already slightly slimmer form thinned again. He had almost returned to his state before he last ate.

Yet, due to the surrounding environment, the food in his hand acquired a stench, quickly showing signs of decay. Juanlu looked at the situation, frowning deeply, cursing his instructor wildly in his head. However, the crisis left him no choice. He could only force himself to take a large bite. He forgo chewing, swallowing it down recklessly.

UGH... He forced down the nausea and continued eating.

Soon, the food was consumed, and his Energy was finally fully restored.

This time, I have to be more cautious. I must locate its true lethal weakness.

The battle resumed.

It wasn’t long before the enemy fell in the swamp again. Even its bones were shattered into fragments.

Juanlu collapsed to his knees in the swamp.

This time, it really must be dead, right?

However, the previously discarded pieces of flesh, scattered all over, began to gather again, drawn by the swamp water, converging on its remains.

It’s happening again... What am I supposed to do? Juanlu fought back his nausea, desperately trying to come up with a solution.

He reached out and grabbed the largest piece of flesh he could find. Disgusting pus immediately smeared his hand, and the stench assaulted his nostrils. Looking at the lump of what appeared to be rotten flesh in his hand, Juanlu observed it closely.

It really does look like boar meat... Wait a minute... Damn it!