A scene far beyond Tonpa's understanding unfolded before his eyes, delivering an unparalleled shock that sent his heart into a frenzy.
When the spider land crab's legs stabbed out, with the speed was comparable to that of a bullet and the force strong enough to penetrate steel plates, they were caught so effortlessly, and the person who caught it was just a teenager.
Tonpa stared at the spectacle with his mouth wide open. Then, when he saw Law single-handedly topple the towering spider land crab to the ground, he was utterly dumbfounded.
The spider land crab's massive, house-sized body seemed to crumple as if struck by an invisible force, crashing heavily to the forest floor.
Boom!
When it fell to the ground, it crushed a large number of trees, and the noise it made startled a large number of birds and animals.
The deafening noise traveled far, startling nearby examinees. However, they did not know what was happening, and could feel a slight vibration from the ground.
In the distance, on the top of a peculiarly shaped red rock mountain, a burly man with bulging muscles saw this scene from afar and let out an amused whistle.
The legs of the spider land crab are shaped like the trunk of a bamboo tree, and are even longer than the big trees in the dense forest. They support the body of the spider land crab and allow it to hang above the forest intertwined with dense tree canopies.
From an elevated vantage point like the burly man's, one could see multiple stationary spider land crabs camouflaged among the bamboo trees.
"From the way it fell, it seems that they didn't cut off the crab's legs, but used brute force to knock the spider land crab to the ground. He seems to be a tough character. I wonder if he is one of the examinees this year."
The sturdy man was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and tight boxer briefs. Wearing clothes that exposed most of his body to the air was a suicidal act in a forest like this.
It's because there are many venomous creatures and unseen insects whose bites could spell doom in the Amaromi Forest.
As someone who was fortunate enough to watch the 'live broadcast', Tonpa could answer with confidence: the one who toppled the spider crab wasn't just an examinee, but also a mere teenager.
From the moment the crab's massive body hit the ground, Tonpa understood one thing with absolute clarity: he can mess with anyone, but he must never mess with Law.
The overwhelming visual impact not only terrified the seasoned 'Rookie Crusher', but also let him realize that Law was in a league of his own compared to other examinees.
'I must never provoke him!'
This thought etched itself deeply into Tonpa's mind.
The most intimidating feature of the spider land crab lay in its structure. Much like ordinary spiders, its body wasn't particularly large, but its extended legs gave it an imposing size.
Excluding its 20-meter-long spindly limbs, the spider land crab's torso was roughly the size of a small house.
After toppling the spider land crab, Law and Buhara approached to inspect the aftermath. They saw light green blood constantly oozing out of the hideous-looking spider land crab, and it was unmistakably dead.
"Do you still want to eat?" Law looked at the spider crab in front of him and suddenly lost his appetite. To him, it looked nothing like a crab and everything like a giant spider, so it was hardly appealing.
"Of course." Buhara replied without hesitation.
Law immediately cast a look of admiration towards Buhara.
As soon as Law touched the spider land crab, the relevant information flooded into his head.
Spider land crabs are non-toxic creatures and are classified as D-level ingredient. Although they are large in size, there are not many edible parts of them. There is only a piece of meat in the outer shell of the abdominal cavity and sparse bits within its limbs.
Although it is rated as a D-level ingredient, spider land crabs were rarely targeted by Gourmet Hunters due to their meager meat supply.
There are many criteria for rating ingredients, with taste being the main factor influencing the rating.
Being rated as a D-level ingredient does not mean that spider land crabs's danger level is D-level, but that their taste is worthy of the D-level standard.
Of course, the difficulty of obtaining and the degree of danger of the organisms are also comprehensive criteria in the overall grading. However, in terms of ingredients alone, taste was the dominant criterion.
Tonpa ran over to meet Law. At this time, he had completely given up on messing with Law and listed him as someone who should never be provoked.
There are not many edible parts of spider land crab, and after some persuasion from Law, Buhara finally gave up on the idea of eating the entire spider land crab.
He originally thought that the whole spider land crab could be eaten, but he didn't expect there was only a small amount of meat.
Law cut off one of the crab's legs, stripped away its hard outer shell, and extracted the meat. Then, he started a fire on the spot.
Whether it was removing the shell and extracting the meat or drying off the moisture from the leaves and branches, Law completed it all effortlessly with his hands.
By making good use of God Hand, Law can accomplish many things. It can be said that God Hand is a true all-purpose skill for survival and exploration.
After the fire was lit, Law skewered the crab meat onto a branch and suspended it over the flames.
The spider land crab's leg was thick in diameter, but once the shell was pried open, the meat inside was no thicker than a typical crab stick and had a yellowish hue.
Law only prepared one skewer, but Buhara, being his usual gluttonous self, had already skewered over a dozen sticks of meat and placed them haphazardly over the fire, without considering whether the heating was even.
"You two..."
Tonpa was dumbfounded again when he saw these two started barbecuing on the spot. This was the Amaromi Forest where dangers were lurking everywhere, not a place for leisure picnic or camping!
'With the dense forests around us, a ferocious beast might jump out at any time. How could they have a BBQ in such an environment?'
"Buhara, share one skewer with Mr. Tonpa later." Law said as he took out the two spices he had exchanged at Amamori Village and sprinkled them evenly on the yellowish crab meat, which immediately released a rich aroma under the heat of the flames.
"Fine…" Buhara was a little reluctant, but still agreed in the end.
Hearing this, Tonpa's face twitched and he didn't know what to say.
Law and Buhara's behavior have been challenging his cognition.
'The meat of spider land crab was rated D-level, so eating it should provide at least a small stat boost. Even if the increase is small, it is better than nothing.'
Even if it was just a casual roast, Law still took it seriously. On the contrary, Buhara, with more than a dozen pieces of meat squeezed together, just wanted to roast them so that he can eat them.
Sizzle…
The spices dried under the heat, clinging to the surface of the yellowish meat sticks. Tiny charred bubbles formed, reminiscent of the caramelized spots on a crème brûlée, which is visually pleasing and appetizing.
After roasting for about four or five minutes, Law picked up his skewer, blew on it to cool it down slightly, and popped the meat into his mouth. He chewed while exhaling small puffs of hot steam.
The taste transmitted by the tip of the tongue is polarizing, one side is the taste of spices, and the other side is the sweetness of crab meat. The two tastes seem to be incompatible and cannot be blended together.
Despite this, the taste is still pretty good, though it fell far short of more premium ingredients like white liver. After all, it is only a D-grade ingredient.
After devouring the crab meat, Law checked his stats and, as expected, they only increased by the bare minimum of 0.1%.
Buhara, however, was thoroughly enjoying himself, and even Tonpa, who was lucky enough to receive a skewer, couldn't help but praise its taste after finishing it.
Once the barbecue was over, the trio continued along the river. Occasionally, they heard screams coming from a certain direction, which were likely people who were unfortunate enough to fall into natural traps.
Not only can screams be heard from the woods from time to time, but screams can also be heard from the other side of the river. It seems that the people traveling by water must have encountered something too.
With the Amaromi River as a signpost, the group avoided getting lost. After walking for about half an hour, they came across a massive spider web stretched across their path. Hanging from the web were dozens of cocoons wrapped in white silk.
Upon closer inspection, these cocoons were actually humans tied tightly up in spider silk, with only the upper halves of their faces exposed.
When the bound individuals noticed Law's group, their eyes lit up with desperate pleas for help, but their bodies were unable to move at all.
It's not that the spider silk binds them tightly, but that venom had been injected into their bodies.
What these trapped individuals likely hadn't realized was that even if Law and the others saved them, they'd still perish without the antidote to the venom.