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Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 19




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Chapter 19:

A Greedy Way to Go 

THE CROWNED KOBOLD was unlike its companions. Even though it sensed my higher stats, its fighting spirit refused to waver. A vital hate flooded from its sharp, half-moon eyes. I will kill you, they said, even if it means we both go down. 

By and large, the crowned kobold had a careful nature. But here and now, with its back against the wall, it had changed. For a time we stayed still, eyes locked. Using Identify, I analyzed the monster’s skill. 

Brawl: Increases attack power for close-quarters combat. Unlocks the organ-crushing tech-art “Ruinous Strike.” 

So that was Brawl’s tech-art. I had witnessed it when the crowned kobold turned that boulder into dust. Despite my higher stats, at close range, I would lose if I took more than one hit from that attack. My bones would be powder, and I would be dead. The key was to stay out of range. 

“Fate, let’s end this quickly,” Greed said. “With your current stats, you can access my First Level secret technique, Bloody Ptarmigan.” 

“You have a secret technique?!” 

“I do. With it, you can end this boring back-and-forth and blow this beast sky high.” 

I kept careful watch on the crowned kobold as I spoke. “What do I have to do?” 

“Simple. Give me ten percent of your stats. All of them.” 

When I unlocked the First Level, I had lost almost the entirety of my stats. Now, to use a secret technique, I had to give a portion of them up? Ten percent for access? This black sword was as greedy as its name implied. 

“Bring it down to five percent, and you’ve got yourself a deal.” 

“No can do. The minimum is ten percent. You want a stronger attack, you give me more stats.” 

“Stingy, aren’t you?” 

Greed laughed. “My name should tell you all you need to know.” 

Just how many more of my stats would the black sword take before he was satisfied? His greed was a bottomless pit. At the same time, I wanted to avoid close-quarters combat, if at all possible. The crowned kobold was more experienced in battle. If I threw myself into a full-on assault, it might catch me with a Ruinous Strike. That would mean bye-bye to my internal organs. But if I kept my distance with the black bow, the kobold would knock Greed’s arrows away. I’d seen as much earlier. Still, there was no other choice. I changed the black sword to the black bow and fired a single shot, which doubled as a threat. 

The crowned kobold seized the neck of a nearby kobold junior and used it as a shield against the magic arrow. The junior frothed at the mouth as it died. 

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

I made up my mind. “Fine. Do it, Greed!” 

“That’s my boy. Ten percent of your stats… I am going to enjoy this!” 

My stats left my body in a cold rush through my left hand. Immediately, the black bow changed before my eyes, growing dramatically larger and more ominous. 

So this was what happened when Greed absorbed my power. Even as the black bow’s wielder, I felt unfathomable pressure emanate from the change; it was impossible to ignore. This had exceeded the scale of any ordinary weapon. It was something more . 

“Drop the stupid look and get to it. The crowned kobold won’t wait.” 

“Then let’s finish this.” 

“Shoot arrows just like you always do. Pull and release! The bow will take care of the rest.” 

My amplified weapon was immensely powerful, and it was my last shot. If the bow didn’t cut it, there was no way I could handle the crowned kobold on my own. 


Just as Greed had warned, the crowned kobold moved. It meant to attack me, regardless of the black bow’s transformation. The monster raised its thick arms as a shield and charged. Even if it lost its arms, it could tear out my throat with its fangs, or otherwise finish me with kicks from its Ruinous Strike. This was a kamikaze attack. 

Time to put both of us to the test, and find out if the crowned kobold could withstand the force of the transformed black bow’s power. 

“Fate! Fire!” 

In time with Greed’s call, I launched the Bloody Ptarmigan attack. The kickback was incredible, and the force pushed me backward. An arrow launched from the bow with a scream of lightning and turned into a thick column of darkness, which swallowed the crowned kobold and washed over the remaining kobold juniors as they scrambled to escape. The ravine turned into a great river of shadow. 

 

All that remained after the attack were deep scars across the land. Not a single trace of kobold, not even a strand of hair. But I knew from the metallic voice ringing in my head that the crowned kobold had been annihilated. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +218,480, Strength +218,690, Magic +132,350, Spirit +143,400, Agility +141,380. Skill added: Brawl 

Its power spent, the black bow slowly returned to the form I was most accustomed to. 

It’s over. I let out a relieved breath, but I was suddenly struck by a euphoria that surged through my body, produced by the soul I had just devoured. The elation coursing through me was so intense it hurt. 

I screamed. I had to let it out. Why…? 

I was left writhing on the ground in rapturous satisfaction as the feeling clawed up my throat. This wasn’t just joy. The feeling welling in my body was madness . Feasting upon the soul of the crowned kobold gave my Gluttony such pleasure that it hurt; I was losing myself. 

Somewhere within the delirious haze, I heard Greed. 

“Fate, you must endure! If you can’t, you’ll end up in a state similar to starvation, or worse. You must endure!” 

“Easy for you…to say… This is…” 

I bashed my head into a nearby rock in an attempt to keep my thoughts straight, heaving as I begged the waves of Gluttony to subside. 

“Looks like the worst is over,” Greed said. 

“Yeah, that was the worst. Is it always going to feel like that when I take down a crowned beast?” 

I wiped the drool away from the corners of my mouth and put a hand to my forehead wound. Health Regen had taken care of it. It was so reassuring to carry that ability into battle. 

“Your body is simply reacting to the first high-quality soul it has ever eaten. Now that you’ve tasted it, Gluttony won’t go mad with ecstasy again. That said, who knows what’ll happen if you eat something at the level of the Divine Dragon?” 

“The living embodiment of heavenly calamity?! There’s no way I’m going to be able to eat something like that!” 

Greed laughed. “Maybe.” 

I sagged in place and looked up at the sky. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, and moonlight bathed the land. I had stopped the kobolds’ advance, but as the moonlight brought clarity, the state of the ravine left me dumbfounded. 

“By the gods. We. Wrecked. Everything. This ravine was so beautiful before, but now…” 

“Nothing to worry about,” said Greed. “To win the battle you may as well make it total domination. This is a prime example. Right, Fate?” 

“What’re we going to do about…all of this? When the others see this tomorrow, they’re going to freak out.” 

“It’s not a problem, Fate. In a thousand years, the shape of the land will be nigh unrecognizable. So you decimated the ravine. So what? You’re overreacting. Even a century, and it will be good as new.” 

It seemed pretty clear that for Greed, an inorganic object, time flowed in a very different manner. A century? But what am I going to do about all this…this desecration…now? 

Trees had fallen to the ground, uprooted. The once vibrant natural beauty of the ravine was now a portrait of tragedy. I had saved Lady Roxy’s family estate from disaster, but…how in the world was I going to save what had become of the land itself? 

Not a single good idea came to mind. 



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