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The wetlands were a truly beautiful place. We wandered around while watching our steps. There were grasses and giant trees everywhere. Mostly trees that grow near swamps and wet areas, with very long roots spread everywhere to absorb the most water possible.

There were certain areas covered by thin mist, creating an atmosphere of wonder and mystery. We couldn't see the entire place because there was mist everywhere, but even then, it was a beautiful landscape.

The tree where we were moving to was right in front of us, just a few kilometers from where we were. Pyuku seemed excited, pointing at the distance and constantly saying the Slimes were definitely there.

As everyone talked and discussed about various things, my father and I chatted about whatever.

"Whew, this place sure is more refreshing and colder than the desert~ It is a nice change of pace I guess!" My father said. "If it's a wetland though, I bet there's a lot of freshwater fishes and crustaceans around! I hope we can find some big fish and crabs around. Shrimp too if possible! Hell, I will eat a huge salamander if we find one. They have such tender skin and meat."

"Wait, salamanders?" I wondered, rising an eyebrow. "I don't think I have yet eaten one! Are they tasty dad?"

"Of course! Well, there's a bunch of different types though. Depending in their elemental affinity, their taste can vary greatly…" My father was a foodie just like me, so he loved talking about the beasts he has eaten. "Usually fire salamanders have a smoky flavor, and give a lot of fire elemental essence, can help your physique get stronger I think. Oh, but the wetland salamanders are the softest and tastiest. If you roast them well enough, you can even eat their soft skin! Their meat is so tender, more than fish usually."

Without realizing it, Aquarina and I started to drool. We had breakfast like four hours ago, so we were already getting quite hungry. "Really? Maybe we should definitely catch some then!" I said.

"Well this place's big and full of monsters, so it shouldn't be hard to attract them." Aquarina said.

"We've suppressed our Auras, so it shouldn't be a problem." Shade commented behind his daughter. "In fact, we've gotten here just a few minutes ago and I can already sense some monsters slowly creeping in."

"They're really energetic, huh? And they're not coming from just the grasslands. There must be many underground rivers where they move, perhaps even caves." Nepheline was sensing them with her deep connection with the earth.

"Wait, they're coming already?!" I asked.

"Ahh, I can sense it too…" Aquarina said. "The water is rising…"

SPLAAASH!

Suddenly, a huge amount of water exploded out of the ground, as several gigantic beasts surged, rushing towards us. They seemed to be three different types of monsters, coming on their own groups.

From what I detected, 25 Giant Green Swamp Salamanders, Tier 7 Monsters. 33 Algae-Covered Giant Swamp Crab, Tier 7 too, and lastly, 36 Wrathful Mudskippers, Tier 6 monsters. They looked really pissed! Were they some sort of territorial eusocial group of monsters that attacked anything that gets inside their territory because they perceive it as a threat?

The monsters here were sure oversized too. Well, anything in Cloudia is grossly oversized. These monsters were at minimum five meters tall. The Salamanders were the largest at over ten! But they were salamanders, just like dad said, they're really tasty. And if I'm on vacation, I want to enjoy it by eating tasty food.

"Alright guys! Let's hunt them!" I roared, stepping forwards and targeting the salamanders in specific. My friends got slightly pissed I jumped into the action very quickly, thinking I was going to steal all their prey.

"Hey! Sylphy! Don't you dare steal all the monsters for yourself!" Kevin roared, leaping into the air with a burst of emerald winds from his legs, rising his axe towards the nearest beast, a giant green crab opened their claws, aiming to tear him into shreds. "RAAAH!"

With a furious roar, he hacked through the crab's giant claws and then his two claws further descended into the crab's head, shattering it into pieces and making the beast's innards explode. The creature instantly fell, dead.

BAAAM!

"W-Woah, that thing was sure weak, just one hit? Seriously…" Zack wondered.

"That was Tier 7 monster though, Zack. You've just gotten really strong, hahaha!" I laughed.

My dragon wings led me to a trio of giant salamanders. Two of them opened their jaws, greeting me with a rain of acidic saliva bullets. I slashed them with my sword one after another, while avoiding a few others as I flew in midair.

I gave a burst of flames from my legs, pushing myself right above them before the third salamander attempted to chomp me completely. Pointing Scarlet downwards and imbuing her with my Yggdragon Aura of Flames, I descended like a rampaging meteor.

CRAAASH!

A burst of flames roasted the three Tier 7 monsters in a single strike. The salamanders, each one of ten meters of height, were nothing against this powerful, overwhelming attack.

"Oops… I think I overdid it; they got a bit too roasted." I sighed. "Well, the meat below should still be edible, right?"

"You overdid it!" Laughed Aquarina. "Sylphy, you have to be more delicate, so the monsters don't end up into pieces. They won't give anything good if you destroy them to that level!"

As she lectured me, my girlfriend kicked the shell of a crab and burst its entire body open, its innards exploding everywhere. A second after that, a group of mudskippers swarmed her, but she cut them all with a barrage of slashing attacks using her pair of daggers, releasing countless slashes of cold, icy water blade aura.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

"Are you sure you should be telling me that when you're just doing the exact same thing, Aquarina?" I asked, looking at the massacre she had unfolded.

"Oh…" Aquarina quickly realized it as well. "Hahaha…! W-Well, let's be a bit more careful. I am still not used to how strong we've gotten lately…"

"Okay, the last one to hunt a salamander that isn't destroyed into pieces gets to eat the burned ones!" I said, sprinting into action.

"Hey! Wait for me!" She followed behind.

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