Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

Gluttony of Gluttonies 

I KEPT A CLOSE EYE on the kobolds as I began to move. 

“Fate, do you have a plan in mind?” 

There was a hint of amusement in Greed’s voice, like he already knew. 

“I’m going to fight like a starving man.” 

“Ah, you finally get it. It’s about time you leveled up from regular old battle strategies. It’s been a real pain watching you scrabble. Anybody can fight, but for us, it’s like nibbling at crumbs. Far from gluttonous.” 

I made sure to stay downwind of the kobolds and readied the black bow. My target was a kobold junior. The magic arrow pierced its eye with unparalleled accuracy. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +880, Strength +890, Magic +350, Spirit +400, Agility +780 

The echo of the metallic voice in my head was a signal: the hunt was on. 

I released a second and third arrow at the kobold juniors, and the droning voice informed me of my rising stats. The kobolds fell into disarray as they realized they were no longer safe. However, the crowned kobold let out a roar to silence them. It had determined my location, and it barked orders to the surrounding kobolds. As I expected, even though this crowned kobold was viciously strong, it was also exceedingly cautious. Its personality had been evident from the scouting parties it sent earlier. 

The crowned kobold stood in place, unmoving. It sent two kobold warriors and ten kobold juniors to the area in which I hid. 

“They’re coming. Time to get moving.” 

“Yeah.” 

I silently retreated deeper into the trees. Come to me. Follow the scent to your prize… 

I proceeded until I found a boulder and hid in its shadow. I knew they would find me; they would have no trouble following my scent. But I needed that; I needed them to find me. I needed them to take the bait. 

“They’re here, Fate.” 

I peeked my head out from behind the rock and analyzed a sinewy, muscular kobold warrior with Identify. 

Kobold Warrior, Lv 40 

Vitality: 50,000 

Strength: 50,000 

Magic: 27,000 

Spirit: 28,000 

Agility: 45,000 

Skills: Agility Boost (Medium) 

I beat them in terms of strength and vitality, but only by a little. That meant the kobold juniors were first on the menu. 

The kobolds surrounded the boulder where I hid, and as they did, the first strike was mine. I leaped up on the boulder, letting loose multiple shots from the black bow. Five, six, seven kobold juniors perished. None would escape. The kobolds tried to run for cover, but the magic arrows chased them down. Every arrow hit its mark. All ten kobold juniors died in their attempt to corner me. 

I’d learned from hunting goblins that even weak monsters could give you decent stats if you ate enough of them. I felt a smile curl upon my face as a familiar metallic voice echoed in my head. Only the two kobold warriors remained. I beat them in terms of stats now, but the difference wasn’t profound. If I could take one out while they reeled in dismay at the loss of the juniors, the second one would be easy. 

And delicious. 

I jumped from the boulder and shifted Greed from black bow to black sword. The nearest kobold warrior, coming back to its senses, brought its right paw down in a swipe, aiming to shred me to pieces with its razor-sharp claws. Too slow. I evaded the strike and lunged forward, cutting the beast’s trunk-like body in two. Blood sprayed into the air as the kobold warrior’s torso slid to the ground. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +50,000, Strength +50,000, Magic +27,000, Spirit +28,000, Agility +45,000. Skill added: Agility Boost (Medium) 

With these stats, beating the remaining kobold warrior would be a cakewalk. To me, the monster was now no different than a kobold junior, and just as easy to hunt. Instinctively sensing a change in my bloodthirsty aura, the kobold warrior crept backward, keeping distance between us. Then it turned and broke into a sprint, running on all fours. No doubt it meant to go crying to the crowned kobold for help. 

“Don’t let it get away,” Greed said. 

“I won’t.” 

I transformed Greed back to the black bow and fired several arrows at the kobold warrior; its tail whipped as it ran. The arrows pierced the back of the kobold’s head one after another, ending its life before it had a chance to make a sound. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +50,000, Strength +50,000, Magic +27,000, Spirit +28,000, Agility +45,000 

An immense rush of satisfaction surged through me, as though Gluttony itself reveled in the feast. I grappled to control the pulsing joy as I analyzed my current stats. 

Fate Graphite, Lv 1 

Vitality: 161,641 

Strength: 161,621 

Magic: 82,051 

Spirit: 84,701 

Agility: 136,041 

Skills: Gluttony, Identify, Telepathy, Conceal, Night Vision, One-Handed Sword Technique, Two-Handed Sword Technique, Strength Boost (Low), Strength Boost (Medium), Vitality Boost (Low), Vitality Boost (Medium), Agility Boost (Medium), Health Regen 

I was creeping toward the crowned kobold’s stats. One more kobold warrior, and we would be about even. 

I headed back toward the ravine and the waiting crowned kobold, this time by a different route. I peeked through the trees as I went. The kobolds were still at the ready, now in a battle formation surrounding their leader. The crowned kobold was nothing if not wary. 

You can wait as long as you want, I thought, but your underlings won’t be back. They were a meal, and now their power is mine, and I will use it to kill you. 

I pulled the string of the black bow and released a magic arrow. It twisted and turned as it sped through the trees, ignoring the kobold juniors as it neared a kobold warrior in the middle of the formation. 

But just as it was about to sink into the kobold’s neck, it stopped. The crowned kobold caught the arrow in its bare hand. 

How is that even…? I gulped, and sweat rolled down my forehead. I ducked into the long grass beneath the trees, quieting my breath as I hid from sight. 

“GRAAAAHHHHHH!” 

I couldn’t see the crowned kobold, but I heard its roar. Did it already know where I was? I peeked out again and saw it stomping around the battle formation, its ears pointed up on alert. Then it turned toward my cliff and stopped. 

Damn it. It knows where I am. 

The crowned kobold unleashed another roar and glowered at me across the distance. The kobolds surrounding it now knew where I was too, and they let out menacing howls. 

This was bad. My stats were still a long way from matching the crowned kobold’s, and if it came to combat at close quarters, the odds weren’t in my favor: there were thirty-five kobold juniors, two kobold warriors, and The One Called Howl. 

But I couldn’t run, either. If the kobolds beat me, it would strengthen their resolve, and their attacks on the estate would grow more vicious. I thought of the faces of the villagers I had spent the day picking grapes with. The smiles and joy. The kindness with which they accepted a novice like me. Each of their faces passed through my mind, and at the center of them was Lady Roxy, smiling as she offered me her hand. 

I gripped the black bow. I didn’t want to lose any of them. Power surged through my body with that thought. 

“Prepare for battle, Greed!” I shouted. 

“I knew you’d say that. Avoid the crowned kobold, and concentrate on picking off the formation!” 

Greed did not advise me to retreat. He knew how I felt and understood my message loud and clear. All that was left was to win! 

The two kobold warriors on either side of the crowned kobold were difficult targets, being protected. My only option was to start by feasting on the kobold juniors to steadily raise my stats. 

Now that the crowned kobold had given away my position, there was no use hiding. I stood up from the grass, readied the black bow, and fired as many shots as I could, every one of them at a kobold junior. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +10,560, Strength +10,680, Magic +4,200, Spirit +4,800, Agility +9,360 

Twelve down. Not enough. I hungered for more. 

Now that it had seen the black bow’s attacks, the crowned kobold knew the pack’s current location in the ravine made them all easy targets. It sent the kobold juniors into the forests on the left and right. 

The juniors tore through the rustling grass toward me, darting between trees and keeping out of sight. If my concentration slipped for an instant, they would have me surrounded. Arms crossed, the crowned kobold watched from the ravine. 

There was only one place for me to go: straight at the crowned kobold and its two kobold warriors. Now that the remaining kobold juniors had spread out and dispersed, this was my chance. Even if it was a trap, it was better than standing still and letting them come to me. 

Through my Telepathy, I could tell Greed felt the same. His powerful voice echoed through me. “Fate! Keep the crowned kobold occupied with the bow, then cut it down at close quarters with the black sword.” 

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one that has to fight it.” 

“Ha. But what choice do you have?” 

“None.” 

I leapt from my position, black bow at the ready. I fired my first shot as I ran, a message sent straight to the crowned kobold’s forehead. Without missing a beat, I fired a second arrow, this one aimed at the neck of the kobold warrior standing to the right of its leader. The crowned kobold stopped both arrows, swiping away the one aimed at its head and catching the one aimed at its minion. 

What the hell kind of reaction speed is that?! 

The crowned kobold sent me a snarling grin as it snapped the black arrow in its hand. The arrow, made of magical energy, dissipated into light particles and vanished. Frontal attacks with the bow were useless. They worked on lower-ranked enemies, but not this crowned monstrosity. It saw every arrow and stopped them without trouble, even the ones I had fired from hiding. Direct attacks meant nothing to it. But I wasn’t going to stop. 

I fired arrow after arrow, and the crowned kobold knocked away every single one. It moved with a grace and skill that contrasted with its hulking body. But I only needed to keep it occupied long enough to close in. Then I could use the black sword. 

My target was either of the kobold warriors. If I devoured one of their souls, it would raise my stats to just above the crowned kobold’s. That was the only way to quickly bring the odds into my favor and even the playing field. 

“GRAAAAAHHHHHH!” 

The crowned kobold roared, and the twenty-three kobold juniors hidden in the forest raised their heads. They dashed in to surround me. 

I had expected this. The difference had only ever been in whether I waited for them to come to me, or whether I planned for them to come to me. The situation now, where I was battle-ready, was vastly superior. On top of that, the timing was perfect, because I could use the kobold juniors. 

I sent the black sword through the chest of an incoming kobold junior and charged with its body toward the crowned kobold. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +880, Strength +890, Magic +350, Spirit +400, Agility +780 

The crowned kobold glared as I closed in. I swung my sword, launching the junior at The One Called Howl’s face as I hid in the flying corpse’s shadow. The crowned kobold growled in irritation as it tore the body to pieces with its claws. Then it turned on its heel and launched a second attack behind it, toward where I now stood. 

“Ugh!” 

A sharp pain ran through my left shoulder. The crowned kobold’s claws had slashed through it. In return for that pain, though, I had gotten close enough to launch an attack on the kobold warrior to the crowned kobold’s right. 

It was time to eat. 

The kobold warrior showed its fangs as it attacked, but it was no match for me. I brought the black sword down with my right hand and sliced the kobold in two. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +50,000, Strength +50,000, Magic +27,000, Spirit +28,000, Agility +45,000 

As the metallic voice spoke in my head, my stats grew. I now had the power to take the crowned kobold’s attacks. As it bore down on me from behind, I turned and stopped it with the black sword. 

The attack was heavy. Even though my stats were a touch higher, the difference between the crowned kobold and I was minimal. The One Called Howl was still far larger than me. The kobold’s attack pushed me back; its massive bodyweight threw me. I had intended to stop the attack, but it sent me flying. I smashed into one of the huge rocks behind me. 

The attack knocked the wind out of me, and my consciousness pulsed white. Greed set alarm bells ringing through my Telepathy. 

“Wake up, Fate!” 

Greed’s voice brought my vision front and center to the approaching crowned kobold and his remaining kobold warrior. Now that they had me pinned, they would push in to continue their attack. 

I rolled on the ground, just barely evading the crowned kobold’s next blow, which shattered the rock it had thrown me into. As I watched the stone turn to dust, however, I realized that “shattered” was too light a word. The crowned kobold’s attack completely pulverized the rock. 

The monster’s destructive power was unbelievable. If I was hit by that strike, I was, without a doubt, dead. Still stunned, I didn’t realize that when I rolled out of the way, the kobold warrior’s kick was waiting for me. It struck me so hard I thought my spine would break. 

It made me think of the Vlerick family, and of Rafale. It made me think of how I had worked in their place, and the excuses they’d bandied to inflict their violence on me. If I could take torture like that day after day, I could take this! 

I gripped the kobold warrior’s leg, and with all the power I could muster, I tore the limb straight off. Then I snatched the black sword up from the ground where it had fallen and put an end to the beast. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +50,000, Strength +50,000, Magic +27,000, Spirit +28,000, Agility +45,000 

I haven’t just reached your level now, I thought. I have surpassed it. 

My wounded shoulder was healing thanks to Health Regen. A most valuable skill. 

This new feast had filled me with a bounty of power, and I analyzed my stats with Identify. 

Fate Graphite, Lv 1 

Vitality: 272,201 

Strength: 272,301 

Magic: 140,251 

Spirit: 145,501 

Agility: 235,401 

Skills: Gluttony, Identify, Telepathy, Conceal, Night Vision, One-Handed Sword Technique, Two-Handed Sword Technique, Strength Boost (Low), Strength Boost (Medium), Vitality Boost (Low), Vitality Boost (Medium), Agility Boost (Medium), Health Regen 

With all the kobold warriors dead, the kobold juniors shook with fear and doubt. Their formation broke. They were dogs, in the end, and powerless against their instinctive fear. 

Keeping my distance, I turned to face the crowned kobold, abandoned as the kobold juniors scattered. It glared at me with pure loathing.