Chapter 215: Enjoying Lunch, Moving Deeper Into The Whispering Caves Dungeon

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Carlos and Daniela scrambled to the table the moment the steaming plates touched down on the wooden surface. The rich aroma of honey-glazed chicken and fried rice filled the entire kitchen, making their stomachs growl in anticipation. Noir padded over quietly and sat politely beside the table, his black fur gleaming under the soft overhead lights as he waited for the scraps he knew would eventually come. Instead of leftovers, however, a huge plate of Teriyaki-style chicken was placed right in front of him, shocking the young divine beast completely.

The boy-like wolf wagged his tail happily and began eating the freshly cooked meal with surprising ease. Normal dogs and wolves were usually very sensitive to hot temperatures and would wait for food to cool, but Little Noir the Third seemed not to care at all. He even appeared to enjoy the food while it was still piping hot, chewing with clear delight.

This simple moment showed once again that he was indeed not a normal dog or wolf at all, but a true divine beast. All the usual weaknesses such animals suffered from did not apply to him in the slightest. Thus Little Noir the Third could freely enjoy delicious human cuisine in ways no ordinary canine ever could.

"Looks like he’s enjoying it, haha," Daniela said with a warm chuckle as she watched the wolf pup devour his portion. "Hm?! Oh, hot, hot!" she muttered suddenly while taking a big sip of soda to cool her tongue. "Phew...! Hm! It’s really good! I’ve never eaten chicken like this before!"

Carlos nodded firmly as he continued eating with focused determination. "It’s delicious... Umai, as Ren would say."

Riven sat down next to his wife and carefully tested the food himself, taking a few thoughtful bites from both types of chicken he had helped prepare. The tender meat was incredibly flavorful. This particular species of spirit beast proved to be truly delicious, and when cooked properly it created a wonderful meal that lingered on the tongue.

The honey, just as Elisa had described earlier, was unique and completely unlike normal honey. It carried a more teriyaki-like taste than he had expected, full of strong, sweet and tangy umami along with a faint sweet spiciness similar to fresh ginger.

"Wow," he said while mixing some of the vegetables with the fluffy rice. "This might be the greatest new seasoning we’ve ever discovered. If we started a honey farm using these spirit bees we could make billions for sure."

"Haha, well, I guess maybe we could start something like that at one point? It wouldn’t be a bad retirement plan!" Elisa chuckled while enjoying her own plate with obvious pleasure. "Hmm! Damn, it’s really good!"

"It really is!" Daniela continued eating at a rapid pace, her plate already almost empty. "Can I get seconds?!"

"Me too!" Carlos called out immediately, revealing that his own plate was nearly clean as well.

"Hahaha, fine. We cooked a lot," Riven said with a relaxed laugh. "I wonder if the ninjas wouldn’t want to join us for once?"

"Ah, maybe they want to keep watch outside for now," Elisa replied thoughtfully. "After you talked about the Fenrir Cult earlier, they really got high on alert and haven’t left their positions on the rooftop since..."

"I guess it’s not bad, right?" Daniela asked with a bright smile. "We’ve got some real guardians here, and ninjas are cool!"

"Very cool," Carlos nodded in agreement while already eyeing the fresh plate of honey-glazed chicken with fried rice that Riven was preparing for him. "Yummy." He licked his lips in pure anticipation.

Far from the cameras, the shouting hunters, and the warm family atmosphere inside the house, Riven’s Shadow Self and Vladimir continued their steady advance toward the Whispering Caves. They were already hunting the next target on their list with quiet determination.

The Whispering Caves were quite similar in overall appearance to the Dark Cave Labyrinth, yet much smaller in scale. The interior was filled with dark underground swamps that glowed faintly under the crystal light. One wrong step could easily send a careless explorer plunging into a pond of poisonous waters filled with lurking creatures.

Vladimir and Riven’s Shadow Self, however, were not so careless. They easily maneuvered across the dark, damp caves with practiced precision, glancing at the smooth blue stone that covered every surface around them — the ceiling, the walls, and the uneven floor.

Faint light generated by clusters of crystals hanging from the ceiling illuminated the main cave chamber. From there the space expanded into several branching smaller caves, most of which led only to isolated pockets of weaker monsters.

As they moved silently through the darkness, completely undetected, they observed several teams of hunters actively hunting nearby. Hunter Association agents were also present, carefully gathering resources and transporting them toward the exit. This location was clearly a large gathering site where a great number of mana stones were mined every single day.

"Looks like this corridor leads straight to the boss," Riven said through his Shadow Self. At the same time, back home, he continued connecting to the avatar through his Psionic link while calmly washing the dishes after enjoying a good meal with his family. The ninjas had finally been offered their own plates and all three of them had leaped down from the rooftop to join the meal, while Noir remained outside keeping a quiet watch.

"How so?" Vladimir asked, his voice low as he scanned the path ahead.

"I can sense a strong trail of mana that leads deeper into this dungeon," Riven explained through the Shadow Self, narrowing his crimson eyes. "Then it gathers into a massive sphere of mana, or perhaps a signature of some kind. That’s also where the dungeon core is located. Looks like the Boss is guarding it personally. So it’s exactly as I imagined. Even if most of these monsters are not very intelligent, they still protect the dungeon core by pure instinct, including the final boss."

"I guess we cannot keep avoiding conflict any longer. This long corridor that leads there is full to the brim with monsters," Vladimir sighed heavily. Both of them continued moving deeper into the dungeon without slowing their pace, the oppressive atmosphere of the Whispering Caves pressing in around them from every side.

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