Soul Devourer Chapter 8 Episode 18 — Alcohol, Food, and a Pale Face
After conquering the SS-Rank dungeon, Jin said he wanted to thank me, so I decided to accept his hospitality. However, it was still daytime.
I wondered if we were going somewhere to enjoy a meal, perhaps at a high-class restaurant rather than a nightlife establishment.
As I was thinking that, the car gradually slowed down and came to a complete stop. The driver walked around to the back seat and opened the door.
I got out after Jin, and what spread out before me was an utterly unremarkable building.
Without hesitation, Jin started walking toward a shop that looked like a café. I followed him inside, where a middle-aged-to-elderly proprietor bowed deeply to him.
「I have business downstairs.」
「Understood.」
The proprietor moved to a door at the far end of the establishment, unlocked it, and gestured for us to proceed. Jin walked through the door without hesitation.
As we descended the stairs, completely private rooms lined the left, right, and front.
From farther inside, waiters dressed impeccably in uniforms carried what looked like expensive dishes on trays and delivered them to the private rooms.
“Here we are, Hunter Matsubara. Please.”
Jin headed toward the private room at the very back, opened the sliding door, and gestured for me to enter. I gave a slight bow and sat down at the far end, and Jin sat down as well.
“Hunter Matsubara, here is the menu. What would you like to order?”
When I opened the menu he handed me, I found everything from familiar staples everyone knew, such as mapo tofu and xiaolongbao, to expensive-looking dishes I had never even seen before, all accompanied by numerous photographs.
“I’ll leave it to you, Jin-san. I don’t have any allergies or food preferences, so anything is fine.”
“Understood. Can you drink alcohol?”
“I can.”
Well, I have【Sober】, so I can't get drunk no matter what I drink…
Jin pressed the call button, and a waiter immediately came over to take our order. Once we had finished placing our orders, he looked at me and…
“Hunter Matsubara. There is a special service available after the meal. Would you be interested?”
A special service?
“Yes, absolutely.”
After that, we enjoyed our conversation while sipping the expensive liquor that was brought out first.
“I’ve thought this ever since Hunter Matsubara single-handedly defeated〈Kowloon〉and out〘Regalia〙……You truly are in a league of your own.”
“If there is a difference between me and other Hunters, I suppose it would be our Unique Skills. If I had to put it simply, I was just lucky.”
“Is that really so? Even if someone obtained a powerful Unique Skill, they wouldn’t become strong without being motivated to work as a Hunter.
…
The fact that you were able to defeat SS-Rank Dungeon Bosses and other〘Regalia〙is undoubtedly the result of Hunter Matsubara's own strength.”
“It makes me happy to hear you say that.”
“Even so, I was surprised that you took on America.”
“I never intended to make America my enemy. I thought it would be over once I defeated the root of all evil: Rex, but……in the end, I wound up facing an entire army.”
“…China and America… conflicts occurred between both countries, but what was it really like in Russia?”
“Well, something similar happened there. Some members of Russia’s foremost forces,〈Semi-Tsar〉went out of control, and it developed into a conflict.”
“Did Russia’s〘Regalia〙not get involved?”
“No, she had nothing to do with it.”
“I see. ……Changing the subject, which was stronger, our nation’s〘Regalia〙or America’s〘Regalia〙?”
Jin was an S-Rank Hunter himself. Perhaps because he was a〘Transcendent〙powerhouse, he was simply curious.
“Well……I can’t say for certain which one would win, but between Haoran and Rex, I think Haoran would have the advantage. However, if it were Haoran versus Angelica, I’d give the edge to Angelica.”
This was assuming a one-on-one fight, of course.
First, Haoran versus Rex.
Rex would have the advantage in stats through【The One】, but I believed【Void Magic】would still give Haoran the upper hand.
Transfer, position swapping, teleportation…… against Rex, who specialized in close-quarters combat, it was fundamentally a bad matchup.
Against Angelica, on the other hand, she could summon monsters endlessly through【Pandemonium】, with levels and stats equivalent to Haoran’s.
Just as I had dealt with Haoran in the past, she could summon 1,000 Elder Liches and wear him down through sheer numbers.
If she could drain his Magic Power completely and catch him off guard with《Failnaught》, Angelica would have a more than sufficient chance of winning.
I wouldn’t say matchup was everything.
However, there was no denying that the compatibility between Unique Skills could determine the course of a battle.
As we talked about such matters over drinks, I savored the succession of exquisite dishes that arrived one after another.
However, a single dish wasn’t enough to fill me up, so from then on, we decided to order several dishes at once. Plates of food and bottles of alcohol were emptied almost as soon as they arrived.
Witnessing the scene, Jin’s face gradually grew paler, as though he were calculating the bill in his head.
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E/N:
The bill's coming out of his paycheck 😂!
Stay tuned!
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