Gourmet Hunter (HxH Fanfic)

Beneath the desert lie ancient river valleys, mountain ruins, palace remains, and the remnants of lost capitals.

Quicksand forms due to various factors, usually maintaining a delicate balance. But once that balance is disrupted, it creates a sinkhole.

Among the folktales circulating in the three great oasis kingdoms, there are several stories of lucky prospectors who accidentally fell into quicksand but weren't buried alive.

Instead, they were transported to ruins or tombs filled with treasures… places most people could only dream of finding.

In life, everyone gets at least one stroke of luck.

However, when the bottom of a quicksand pit is a giant maw, forget about luck… because the Abyssal Maw is one of the most dangerous creatures in the desert.

It hides deep beneath the sands, motionless as a mountain, only opening its jaws to capture prey. Once someone falls in, without rescue, death is certain.

Every time the Abyssal Maw opens its mouth, it creates a massive pit. But soon after, the wind blows sand back in, burying the pit and restoring its hidden state.

Because of this, no one has ever seen the Abyssal Maw's full form. Those fortunate enough to escape have only glimpsed its nightmarish teeth, like the jagged fangs of a horned crocodile, capable of slicing any creature caught in the quicksand clean in half.

The desert's sands are fluid, shaped by strong winds into ever-shifting dunes. A dune formed in the morning might be completely flattened by evening.

As a result, even though the Abyssal Maw is an ambush predator, those traversing the desert have no way to predict its lurking position… not even armored bulls can sense it.

Around thirty armored bulls had fallen into the Abyssal Maw. In the frantic rescue efforts, a few managed to escape, while others died on the spot. Given the current situation, saving even ten people would already be a miracle.

Amid this chaos, Law's decision to ride a wooden plank down into the Abyssal Maw's pit shocked everyone attempting a rescue above.

On the flowing quicksand, the wooden plank moved swiftly, while the Abyssal Maw's exposed teeth, with over a hundred of them, were scattered unpredictably. A single misstep would mean being bisected.

This wasn't a rescue mission… it was suicide.

"Quick, help!"

A young man shouted as the rope in his hands was yanked forward by Law. Seeing Law's reckless charge, he feared he wouldn't be able to hold on and might get dragged down, so he called for others to help pull.

Hearing him, three or four burly men nearby rushed over and grabbed the rope, bracing like a tug-of-war team.

Inside the quicksand pit, Ali and the others stared in shock as Law slid down on the wooden plank.

"Are you an idiot?!"

Yaya gripped her oversized wrench tightly, as if it could give her some sense of security. She thought Law was just making things worse, wasting manpower for nothing.

But the moment her scolding left her mouth, her expression froze.

Law held the rope with one hand, raising it above his head to avoid the meter-long teeth that could sever it. His feet seemed glued to the plank, moving as one with it.

With subtle shifts of his upper body, he steered the plank, weaving effortlessly between the jagged teeth.

While Law was controlling the wooden board under his feet, he quickly scanned the twenty-two people trapped in the pit… including Gel.

Four had already been unfortunate enough to be sliced in half by the teeth.

In an instant, he memorized everyone's positions, his mind rapidly calculating the most efficient rescue route… even factoring in how many people those outside the pit could save.

Once the plan formed in his mind, Law immediately swerved, narrowly dodging a set of jagged teeth that snapped shut behind him, making those trapped in the quicksand break out in cold sweat.

'Compared to the reef rapids at Marvando, this quicksand is nothing.'

Law thought silently, swiftly passing the first person in need of rescue. As he flew by, he reached out, grabbed their collar, and with a sharp pull of his arm, hurled them straight out of the fifty-meter-wide quicksand pit.

Since the ground outside was soft sand, Law didn't need to worry about controlling his strength, and he could just throw them as hard as possible.

He had once trained rigorously in reef racing at Marvando, navigating the reef rapids multiple times, traveling safely from the inner harbor to the outer harbor. His sense of timing and judgment had long become as natural as breathing.

Now, after another year of devilish training by Biscuit, his body's coordination had reached new heights. Sliding across the quicksand on a wooden board, dodging the snapping jaws while rescuing people at the same time is just a trivial matter for him.

"How is this even possible?"

"What a monster… If it were me, my legs would've given out!"

"I heard there's a sport in the outside world called surfing… is this what it's like?!"

Watching Law effortlessly glide through the snapping jaws on his wooden board, tossing trapped comrades to safety one after another, the crowd stared at him with awe.

Soon, Law had thrown all fifteen people, including Ali and Yaya, out of the quicksand pit.

Finally, he approached Gel, who stood calmly on the back of a sinking armored bull. The others had already been pulled to safety by ropes.

Gel's gaze was fixed on the faint Aura emanating from Law's feet. This meant Law knew Nen, and yet, during their previous interactions, he had allowed his life force to leak freely, pretending not to be a Nen User.

Normally, unless there was a need for deception, Nen Users would always maintain Ten, never dropping it even while sleeping.

Ten was a technique that required constant practice, and there was a widely held belief among Nen Users that maintaining it could preserve youth or even extend lifespan.

Because of this, Nen Users who believed that philosophy would keep Ten active at all times after mastering it, never releasing it carelessly.

Gel could have escaped easily, but she hadn't left immediately. Instead, she had been thinking about how to save at least one person on her way out.

But after some consideration, she hadn't come up with a good plan… until she saw Law arrive.

'Is he just a kind-hearted guy?'

Gel watched as Law effortlessly rescued fifteen people, confirming that he was indeed a Nen User.

When Law reached Gel, he suddenly let go of the rope, leaping from the sliding board onto the armored bull where she stood, preparing to carry her out of the quicksand in one jump.

"I can handle it myself."

Gel deliberately glanced at Law's feet to make sure he noticed.

Seeing her pointed gesture, Law didn't mind and said, "You go first."

Gel didn't hesitate. With a powerful push of her legs, she shot into the air like a rocket, leaping toward the edge of the quicksand pit.

Her jump sent the half-sunken armored bull plunging deeper into the sand, while the quicksand rose to Law's calves in an instant.

Seeing this, Law kicked off as well, launching himself toward solid ground.

Once he landed safely, the members of Desert Hawks immediately crowded around him, thanking him excitedly, their eyes filled with respect.

The people of Goro Kingdom admired strength, and those who proved their capability naturally earned their admiration.

"Tam, you're incredible!" Ali, having narrowly escaped death, clapped Law on the shoulder enthusiastically.

"Let's get out of here first." Law said.

After diving into the quicksand, he had converted fifteen pages. The group still had nearly ninety more potential pages waiting to be filled, though he couldn't guarantee he'd get them all.

Still, as long as someone was in danger and he could save them, each rescue would mean another page.

Hearing Law's words, Ali nodded and immediately began barking orders, directing the team to retreat while assessing their losses.

Though Desert Hawks wasn't a disciplined military unit, their execution was sharp. Under Ali's command, they quickly regrouped and moved away from the territory of the Abyssal Maw.

The people had been saved, but thirty armored bulls had been swallowed by the quicksand.

Once Desert Hawks had retreated about a kilometer, someone spotted a small group of about ten armored bulls circling them from a distance, like wolves stalking prey.

"Sand bandits… nine of them."

Someone reported after checking with binoculars.

Ali said coldly: "These nine bastards are scouts. The others must have gone back to gather reinforcements. Move quickly… we need to reach the boulder field as soon as possible. The terrain there will give us an advantage."

Sand bandits were the kind of scum that the people of the three oasis kingdoms wished they could skin alive. Running into them was something they had all expected… and dreaded.