Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The Greed of the Black Sword 

“WHOA! This sword talked!” 

I dropped the sword to the ground, dumbfounded by its sudden comment. The merchant and nearby customers narrowed their eyes and glared at me. Their gazes said it all: What the hell are you doing? If you’re not going to buy something, scram. 

But I was far from caring about any of them. 

It talks. The sword talks. What is this…? I’d never heard of a sword with a personality—a soul? 

I analyzed it with Identify. 

Greed 

Type: One-handed sword 

What? That’s it? 

Identifying other weapons showed me information like durability and attack stats, but for the black sword, all I could see were its name and type. 

I carefully examined the mysterious blade. It was filthy, caked in oil and dust. Honestly, it was just like me, especially in the way it was regarded as trash. When I thought of it like that, I felt a kind of affinity for the sword. 

And I’d definitely heard a voice. “Buy me,” he’d said. 

There was an arrogance to his tone, but I didn’t sense bad intentions. And if the sword was going to do something troubling to me when I touched it, it would have done so already. I didn’t see any immediate risk in handling it again, so I gripped it decisively. 

“I thought you’d run away. My, you are an interesting one. So what’s it going to be? Will you buy me?” 

I took a last glance at the other old weapons. The only worthwhile blade among them was this black sword, Greed. A sword that could speak. I could make that work. 

“We’re not too different, you and I,” I said. “Consider yourself sold.” 

“Is that so? Well, pay the fat man his money. Looking at his face makes me sick.” 

I took Greed to the merchant, who was talking to another customer, and I placed my two silver coins on the counter. The merchant’s eyes flickered toward the coins. Then he shooed me away like I was a mangy stray. Horrible, right to the end. I left the stall, and I would not be back again. 

I took a rag from my pocket to wipe down the newly purchased Greed. However, the blade’s oily residue was stubborn, and it wouldn’t come off. If I’d had some soap… But I no longer had the money. 

“I’m counting on you, Greed!” 

“Our meeting is fortuitous,” said Greed. “Or is it…fate, I wonder? What is your name?” 

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t introduced myself. 

“I’m Fate Graphite.” 

“Hm. Fate indeed. I will not forget it. Well, what now?” 

I had known the answer to that question since last night. 

“I just got a weapon. What do you think?” 

“Hunting?” 

“That’s right! Monster hunting!” 

With my new partner Greed by my side, I headed from the Merchant District straight to Seifort’s southern gate. That gate was much larger than those of the other districts. A great deal of cargo and produce passed through it to the Merchant District, and it was wide enough for ten caravans to roll through simultaneously side by side. 

Not far from the southern gate was a territory called the Goblin Grasslands. Numerous goblins called it home, and spent their days attacking passing caravans to steal food. As far as monsters went, goblins were the bottom of the barrel, which made them perfect for rookie adventurers. 

There was one thing you had to be careful of when it came to goblins: they liked to attack from tall grass. Sometimes people chased one goblin down only to find themselves surrounded by others that had been hiding. That was a death sentence. This tactic was so well-known, it was a proverb: “A goblin in the open means a hundred in hiding.” 

I’d heard all this from an old adventurer who sometimes forced me to drink with him at the local bar. I never imagined his advice would ever actually be relevant to my life. 

My path to becoming an adventurer would begin with a goblin hunt. Thanks to the stats I’d earned from the bandit I killed, I would be able to slay a goblin, devour its soul, and make its power mine, too. 

Weaving between caravans, I made my way to the gate, where I found a sizable crowd of adventurers. Men and women alike were equipped with armor and weapons. I’d stumbled on a meeting place for adventurers, all of them looking to join impromptu hunting parties. 

A hunting party… That sounded nice. I had always been alone in my village; the only time I wasn’t by myself was when I was bullied. Even since arriving in Seifort, Rafale had worked me so hard I never had the chance to make any friends. 

Hunting parties were like the groups of heroes my father had told me about in his old stories. Fighting side by side, cheering each other up in the hard times and shedding tears together in the sad. As a young boy, listening to those stories always brought enraptured light to my eyes. 

“Friends,” I said without thinking. “That sounds nice.” 

“You’ve got me,” said Greed. 

“Uh, yeah… Yeah, I do.” 

However, Greed was an object. What I wanted were bonds with real, living people. The difference felt pretty stark. So I took a deep breath, plucked up my courage, and walked into the crowd of adventurers. 

It’s okay. I’m no longer one of the forsaken , I thought. After all, now I knew the truth about Gluttony. With that, I could make a monster’s power my own. Surely I belonged here in this circle of brave fighters. Surely a group would accept me. 

Right as I thought that, an adventurer about my age approached me. 

“That sword’s telling me you’re ready for a goblin hunt!” he said. “How about it? Wanna team up?” 

“Would that be okay?!” 

I was so happy I could have burst. I barely knew what it meant to be needed by another person. Merely being asked made me happy beyond belief. I was helpful, useful! 

“Well, you see, my usual hunting partner can’t make it today, so I’m stuck. What level are you, anyway?” 

“Level 1!” 

The young adventurer flinched. He scratched his head and said he’d just remembered some errands he had to get to, at which point he slowly backed away and skittered off. I was left with a strange, awkward emptiness. 

“Fate,” Greed said, “give it up. While you’re Level 1, everyone will be like him. Would you want to go into a life-or-death battle with someone you thought wouldn’t have your back?” 

My breath caught in my throat. I’d thought I was strong because I’d gone from all ones across the board to stats in triple digits. But really, I was just starting out. I was so used to being treated like trash that, for a moment there, I’d lost touch with what “normal” even meant. 

“I had my head in the clouds, didn’t I?” 

“Indeed. And, in any case, Gluttony isn’t a skill you should be showing to other people. That is as much as I can say.” 

“How do you know about my Gluttony…?” I hadn’t said anything about it, yet somehow, he knew. 

Greed let out a sly chuckle. “Because we truly aren’t so different, you and I. In time, you will understand, whether you like it or not.” 

With that pompous little riddle, Greed fell into silence. I still had questions, but for now, I suspected he was right. Things might break bad if other adventurers learned about my unique power. If it became known that I devoured the skills of those I killed, some adventurers might start worrying I would try to take theirs. It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for people like that to want to preemptively kill me. They’d want to get me while I was still weak. This was exactly the way a person like Rafale would think, and he couldn’t be the only one of his foul kind. 

Putting my own safety first meant hunting alone, just me and Greed, until I became so powerful nobody could touch me. 

We would start with goblins.