“Yeah.”
Moving carefully, I stepped into the field of flowers. As expected, the goblin king was still focused on its food. Anxiety made my heart beat rapidly in my chest, and I focused on keeping my breath calm and quiet. Eventually, I made it to the withered tree. The goblin king’s wet chewing echoed in my ears.
“Fate, now!” Greed’s signal came loud and clear through my Telepathy.
I brought the black sword’s blade down onto the goblin king’s jutting shoulder. With my first attack, I separated its log-sized arm from its body.
I loosened for a moment, thinking my preemptive strike a success, but Greed’s voice snapped me back to attention.
“He’s not dead yet, Fate. Get back!”
I dashed backward as the goblin king raised its club and brought it down through the withered tree. It crashed into the place where I had stood. The force of the swing sent the club deep into the earth, and rocks flew in every direction. A direct hit like that, and I would have been dead.
“That was close. Thanks.”
“Don’t let your guard down yet. Here he comes!”
The goblin king roared and raised its club high. Blood poured from the gaping wound that was once the monster’s right arm.
I was prepared to dodge the strike when Greed spoke. “Believe in me, Fate. A club like that is nothing to my strength.”
“In that case…!” I put my faith in Greed, stepped forward, and slashed with the black sword in a flash of light.
Greed’s blade was sharp, and the goblin king’s club toppled to the ground, cut off at the handle. But I couldn’t let up from there. I leapt into the air with Greed raised high above my head. The goblin king roared as it fell to its knees, and I amputated the monster’s remaining hand.
Even broken and defeated, the goblin king glowered at me as I stabbed Greed into its face. I drove the sword deeper and deeper until I felt the disgusting pulp of flesh around my wrist, and then I drove deeper still. At last, I pulled the sword free and shook the fresh blood of the goblin king from the black blade.
Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +21,000, Strength +24,000, Magic +5,230, Spirit +4,560, Agility +11,200. Skill added: Health Regen
That had been a true battle with an enemy of equal level, more tense than any I had experienced before it. In the chaos of combat, the ever-present feeling that I could die at any moment had pulsed within me. Thus, winning came with a sense of accomplishment—of surviving, of emerging the victor—like nothing I had ever known. Was this the true pleasure of monster hunting?
The battle was won, and I fell to my knees, my body released from its nervous adrenaline.
“You did well,” Greed said. “And your stats grew nicely, meaning we can release my First Level.”
“First Level?”
“My new form. Wielders of the black sword can grant it new forms in exchange for a stat sacrifice. So how about it? Want to try?”
“Just how much of a sacrifice are we talking here?”
“Our starting point was when you first picked me up. If you sacrifice all the stats you’ve earned since that point, you can awaken the First Level.”
In other words, after all the work I had done to get more powerful, I had to go all the way back to where I’d started in order to strengthen Greed. On top of that, I’d have to sacrifice even more stats to unlock the Second and Third Levels.
Then, however, Greed made it clear I had a choice…of sorts.
“When my wielder attains a certain stat level, they must either awaken my First Level or relinquish their right to wield me.”
In other words, I made Greed stronger or I gave him up.
“And I have to choose now…?”
“Yes. So long as you wield me, it is unavoidable, as with the hunger of your Gluttony.”
I asked Greed how much of my power he intended to take.
“I am as greedy as my namesake, and I will take everything I can. Now make your decision. We grow stronger together, or you grow stronger alone. Make your choice! But let it be known: my higher levels will not disappoint.”
There was nothing else to weigh. Greed was my only partner, and if we grew stronger together, there was nobody I could trust more.
“I understand. Do it.”
“You won’t regret it. Here we go!”
It was as if my words had signed the contract. Greed began to glow. At the same time, I felt power draining from my body. As the glow faded, I found a black bow in my hands.
“This is the form of the First Level. You may now wield me in two forms: the one-handed sword, and this black bow.”
I used Identify to check my stats. As expected, after sacrificing all the stats I’d earned, I was now back to where I’d been when Greed and I first met.
Fate Graphite, Lv 1
Vitality: 121
Strength: 151
Magic: 101
Spirit: 101
Agility: 131
Skills: Gluttony, Identify, Telepathy, Conceal, One-Handed Sword Technique, Two-Handed Sword Technique, Strength Boost (Low), Vitality Boost (Low), Vitality Boost (Medium), Health Regen
However, my skills remained.
Chapter 11:
A Brief Respite
T HE SHAPE OF THE great black bow cast a graceful arc. Despite its hefty appearance, it was fairly light. Greed called this form the black bow.
“Hey, Greed. We don’t have any arrows. Am I going to have to buy them?”
“Unnecessary. This is a magic bow. It crafts arrows from magical energy. We also happen to have a perfect opportunity for you to try it out. A hobgoblin is aiming at you from those trees to your left.”
I turned to the left just as a filthy, stinking arrow flew past my face. If I hadn’t moved, the literally shitty arrow would have killed me. He could have told me earlier!
Shitty arrows only meant one thing: a hobgoblin archer. Or, as the local adventurers called the dangerous creature, a shitslinger.
It seemed my battle with the goblin king had woken this one. Because it attacked from a distance, I couldn’t engage the hobgoblin archer with a short-range weapon. To add insult to injury, any hit from this monster would weaken my stats.
This was a job for my new weapon, Greed’s awakened power: the black bow.
I ran from the shitty arrows and took cover behind the goblin king’s corpse.
“It’s too dark. I can’t work out where the archer is firing from,” I said.
“No problem. If you know your enemy’s approximate location, the magic arrow will home in on it. It’s safe and secure even for rookies. Just shoot the arrow and watch it fly.”
I’d never used a bow before, but it sounded like that wouldn’t matter. I confirmed the arrows were coming from between two trees in the distance; the hobgoblin was likely hiding somewhere in that area. From over the top of the goblin king’s corpse, I pulled the bowstring back. As I did, a black arrow formed and set itself upon the string.
So these are the magical arrows Greed was talking about.
Then, without properly aiming, I released the bowstring.
The arrow flew through the air, correcting its course in midair as it disappeared into the trees where the hobgoblin hid.
Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +170, Strength +230, Magic +110, Spirit +110, Agility +350. Skill added: Night Vision
The metallic voice echoed in my head. The hobgoblin was done for—and with so little effort. This bow was going to be extremely useful. As long as the arrows weren’t somehow intercepted, I could fire a hundred shots and never miss a single one.
I had heard tales of magic-wielding monsters who attacked from long range. Closing in on them with only the black sword would’ve been like sticking my hand in a hornet’s nest. But with the black bow, I could fight them. As long as I continued hunting solo, survival meant I would have to be versatile and learn to take multiple approaches myself. The more aces up my sleeve, the better.
It
was also fortunate I’d absorbed the Night Vision skill from the fallen hobgoblin archer. With that, the nighttime scenery was once more as clear as it would’ve been under the noonday sun. This skill would make progress much smoother on my evening hunts.
My hunger satisfied, it was time to head home. As I took a last glance at the body of the dead goblin king, I had an idea. I lopped off both its ears. Since goblin kings were rare monsters, you could earn quite the sum for them at the trading post. If I took the ears to the trading post myself, it would draw too much attention, but if I passed them off to someone else in secret…like, say, as a donation to an orphanage…nobody would suspect a thing.
Specifically, I was thinking of the orphanage in the slum near my old hovel, the place where I’d brought the girl after I saved her from her kidnapper. I could stuff the goblin king’s ears in a bag, write “donation” on it, and throw it through a broken window.
A gift from he who suffered from Gluttony—he who knew the true meaning of hunger.
With the money from those ears, the nuns could treat all the orphans to a feast. I bet that would make the girl I’d helped happy, too. Buoyed by that hope, I passed through Hobgoblin Forest and the Goblin Grasslands, onwards toward the Kingdom of Seifort.
I had work yet to do before the night was over.
***
The morning sun rose. I returned quietly to Hart Manor and the bed in my room. I was utterly exhausted. In the end, my work took all night.
For starters, one of the orphanage nuns had almost caught me with the goblin king’s ears, though somehow I managed to sneak away.
After that, I had headed to the high-end Merchant District shop I’d run across earlier. By the time I got there, Rafale and his siblings had apparently left, since the curtains in the windows were open. I was still curious as to why so many holy knights had met in secret, so I decided to return another night. But first I’d need some sleep. Fortunately, Lady Roxy had given me the day off to do just that.
My exhausted body had been through the wringer: the hunger, the goblin hunting, and everything else that followed. I closed my eyes and was immediately swallowed by slumber.
***
Knock-knock.
Someone was knocking at my door. I woke at the sound and was bowled over to see who entered. It was the first time she’d ever been in my room.
“How are you feeling?”
It was Lady Roxy. I glanced at the clock and realized it was past noon. I’d been asleep for quite some time. Roxy wore her white light armor, which meant she’d made time during work at the castle to come back and check on me. To think she went so far just to look after her servants… She truly was kind.
Luckily, I’d slept so well I had recovered from the night’s activities.
“I’m much better,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear it. But, please, don’t overdo it. I brought you some fruit. Would you like to try some?” Lady Roxy took a plate from a basket she carried. It was full of luscious grapes larger than my thumbnail. “These are grown on the Hart family estate up north. They arrived at the manor this morning.”
“They look amazing. Is the Hart family known for its vineyards?”
I had already heard from the other servants that the Harts’ grapevines were famous, but it felt prudent to act like I didn’t know. Lady Roxy had a look on her face like she was just aching for me to ask about it.
“It is! We are also well-known for our wine. The grapes served with the manor’s meals are from our vineyards. They’re absolutely beautiful. I plan to return to the estate in the near future. We can go together, if you like.”
“Would that be okay?!”
If the Hart family estate grows grapes this perfect, it must be a truly beautiful place.
I wanted to see it myself. And if my master invited me, I couldn’t refuse. We sat on my bed for a time, picking grapes from the plate, until another knock came at the door, followed by a voice.
“Lady Roxy, it’s time you returned to your duties.”
The voice belonged to a young woman—the most serious of Lady Roxy’s servants, her secretary. She was the head servant and was quite kind, but she was strict about punctuality. I was always getting chewed out for my own lack of it. For her part, Lady Roxy hurriedly dabbed at her mouth with her handkerchief.
“Oh, I must get back to work. Help yourself to the rest of the grapes, okay? Bye!” She gave a shy, dainty wave and left.
Since inheriting her father’s responsibilities, Lady Roxy had been relentlessly busy. The head servant told me that among the five esteemed families of Seifort, Lady Roxy was officially the youngest family head. As such, her skills and level fell far short of her new peers’, and she encountered struggle after struggle.
It was the kind of hardship that came with being of the highest rank. A peasant like myself, with no authority or influence to speak of, lived in an entirely different world.
If I could make it to those ranks somehow… Could I ease Lady Roxy’s burdens? An impossible thought.
To chase away my feelings of helplessness, I decided to head to my old bar. It had been a while since I’d shown my face. I figured I should at least let the owner know I was alive. He probably thought I was dead of overwork from the Vlerick gatekeeping job. Besides, today was my day off. Maybe Lady Roxy would tell me off about it later, but I felt like I’d earned the right to a few drinks!
Chapter 12:
Rumors at the Bar
I GOT CHANGED and headed out, telling the other servants that I was feeling better and where I was going. They were good people, and they told me to go out and enjoy myself. They even promised to keep it a secret from Lady Roxy.
I left the Holy Knight District for the Merchant District. It was just past noon, so I had time to kill before the bar opened. I couldn’t do any real shopping, though. I still hadn’t received payment for my work at Hart Manor, so I only had one silver and twenty copper coins to my name. I also needed to save some money for drinks. Therefore, I headed once more to the flea markets in the back alleys where I’d first found Greed.
Back then, in my dirty patchwork clothes, that arrogant shopkeeper hadn’t even given me the time of day. Now that I was a servant for the Hart family, and dressed accordingly, nobody would treat me like a nuisance.
I passed from stall to stall, bargain hunting. Turned out Identify was extremely handy for just this kind of thing. I didn’t even need a trained eye for quality; I could literally see any item’s worth. With this, I thought maybe I could buy high-quality items on the cheap and resell them for profit… But then I realized that wouldn’t work because I didn’t have anywhere to sell anything, let alone customers.
Putting those thoughts aside, I took an elegant plate in hand and used Identify on it.
“Whoa, this is amazing!” I cried. “This guy did a fantastic job putting a broken plate back together. You can’t even tell! Looks like the other plates are the same, too.”
The owner of the stall glared my way. He’d been bartering with a customer right next to me. Seemed like the customer heard me too, because they shoved the plate they were going to buy right back at the shop owner in a rage. Then the two started arguing.
“You cheated me!”
“I didn’t cheat anyone!”
It was…more than a little awkward, so I escaped back to the street before they roped me into the whole mess.
“Hoo boy. Almost got ourselves into some pretty hot water there.”
“You need to be more careful,” Greed chided me. “Merchants hate people who walk around using Identify.”
“Why don’t you tell off the dirty merchant cheating people with his lies?”
“Ah, but truth doesn’t always put food on the table. The ends may at times justify the means.”
This kind of dishonesty seemed common among struggling flea-market merchants. Anyway, I put that shop behind me and continued digging through the stalls for bargains. Then I found something truly interesting on a s
helf lined with hats and helmets. It was terrifying, but something about it drew me in. I took it in hand and used Identify.
Skull Mask
Durability: 20
Hides the wearer’s identity from others by making them appear as a stranger.
Now this could come in handy!
It seemed Greed agreed. “You’ve found something very special. This is an enchanted piece of equipment made for masquerades. It’s an antique, but with a little magic, it’ll still work.”
Forty copper coins. Not too expensive, either. I would need the mask for monster hunting. I’d soon be at it almost every night, and if I went maskless, adventurers would eventually be able to identify me. The ability to disguise myself would be critical to hiding who I was while I ate.
I gave forty copper coins to the old merchant at the stall, wrapped the mask in a rag, and tucked it in my shirt. I’d made a valuable find. Of course, in a kingdom the size of Seifort, rare items occasionally popped up at flea markets. It would be a good idea to make a habit of dropping by to look for the odd bargain.
In any case, it was time to head to the bar. Any longer in the markets, and I’d probably find something else to suck my money up.
***
When I entered the local bar, I found it crowded with scruffy, unkempt men. What were they all doing drinking this early in the afternoon? The bar had always been empty at this time before. But stranger things had happened, so I headed over to my old corner at the counter.
My usual spot was the only seat still empty. On the counter in front of the seat I found a single flower in a cup. As I sat, I tried to work out what it was.
A voice called out to me. “Hey, you can’t sit there. That spot belonged to one of our regulars, before he…”
It was the barkeep, who walked over, took a look at my face, and gasped.
“You’re alive?! I was convinced you were dead!”
That explained the flower, then. The barkeep had taken my absence over the last week as a sign the Vlericks had finally done me in.
Berserk of Gluttony (Light Novel) Vol. 1 Page 7
