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Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 19




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Chapter 19:

The Power of Master and Apprentice 

THE SKELETON ARCHERS manning Hausen’s walls were now little more than dead stone statues. It was quite the sight to behold: an army of archers frozen at their stations, their arrows pulled back and ready to fire. 

“Excellent work, Fate,” Aaron exclaimed. “Now, let’s head inside!” 

I followed after Aaron. We passed through the wreckage of the outer castle gate, into the city. I had expected more skeleton knights to attack the instant we entered, but we saw no sign of monsters on the streets. Instead, the entire city was eerily quiet. I warily examined the empty streets and houses as we moved. 

“Now that we’ve taken care of the undead guarding the gate, the others have become aware of our presence. I expect more skeleton knights are even now marching toward us. Let’s head down the main street, straight to the castle, before they can intercept. With you here, those archers won’t be a problem. Can I count on you for that, Fate?” 

“Of course, Aaron.” 

The city of Hausen was about half the size of Seifort. Nonetheless, it was huge. How many skeleton knights and archers hid within these buildings? Just thinking about it sent a shiver up my spine. Bringing them all down would take at least a week, if not longer. 

Soon, waves of skeletons would be on us like ants on honey, just as Aaron said. We’d killed more than a hundred undead just to breach the gate, and those kills had built up a fair share of hate. No more slow readying of weapons—now, the skeletons would attack us on sight. 

“We’ll have to make a run for it. Are you ready, Fate?” Aaron asked. 

“Of course. I’ll keep an eye on the rooftops.” 

“And I will cut down anything that stands in our way. Let’s go!” 

We ran as fast as our Agility stats allowed, dashing down the city’s main street side by side. Forty skeleton knights appeared before us like a wall of bones and rusted swords. Above them, skeleton archers leered out from the rooftops of the main street’s abandoned shopping district. Behind us, the clacking of dry bone on cobblestone echoed as more undead followed in hot pursuit. Their strategy was clear—catch us in a pincer attack, letting the archers rain arrows down on us while we were busy engaging the surrounding knights. Though these skeletons’ hollow skulls lacked brains, they still strategized. Well, more than goblins and kobolds did, at least. 

The pincer attack would have worked on ordinary adventurers, but this was the holy knight Aaron, the Blade of Light. He had achieved the ultimate rank in Seifort, and I was his quick-learning apprentice. We would not be defeated so easily. 

“Fate!” shouted Aaron. “Ignore the enemies to the rear. Focus on breaking through and keep moving forward! If we stop, we die!” 

I knew my task. I aimed the black bow and loosed a series of magic arrows, each aimed at one of the skeleton archers pointing their own arrows back at us. I didn’t need to take out all the archers yet. I only needed to buy us enough time to make it into the castle. As the first wave of archers readied their bows, the black bow shot them down. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +12,900, Strength +14,400, Magic +11,100, Spirit +12,300, Agility +7,700. 

I shouted to Aaron as the metallic voice echoed in my head. “Aaron, you’re clear!” 

“Leave the rest to me!” 


Aaron charged another Grand Cross as he ran, but the tech-art didn’t simply flare around him. Instead, only his golden blade glowed. Then, sword shining with holy light, he mowed through the skeletons between us and the castle. 

“Listen well, Fate! I told you that imbuing bows with magic was almost impossible, but there are a variety of other ways to give weapons elemental attributes. Take my sword, for example. Grand Cross is a holy tech-art, but I can transfer its charge into my blade, imbuing it with the holy element. This is a relatively easy skill to master, so remember it!” 

I was amazed. Aaron could lecture me on the finer points of swordsmanship even in the thick of battle. Now, he’d taught me that you could charge weapons with tech-arts, letting them strike with elemental abilities. That would prove very useful, especially because tech-arts often required large quantities of magical power to execute. Grand Cross in particular required an immense amount. It was a devastating elemental attack, but its cost resulted in a lengthy period of recharging between each use. Aaron had found techniques to balance that cost. 

The question was, could I do it? It might be an easy technique for the Blade of Light, but that didn’t mean it would be remotely simple for the rest of us. One of my major takeaways over the last three days had been that Aaron was, indubitably, a virtuoso. He existed on a different level from normal humans. 

During training, I’d been amazed to find that Aaron could somehow dodge attacks with his eyes closed. For him, that sort of skill came naturally, though he’d claimed in complete seriousness that I could do it too. I’d replied, just as seriously, “I don’t have a third eye.” If I fell into a full starvation state, perhaps Gluttony’s ability boost would give me similar abilities, but exploring that possibility was too extreme a risk. 

Aaron and I charged straight toward the castle, carving a deadly path through the skeleton knights in our way. The castle stood tall, still far off in the distance. Inside it lurked the lich lord named The Genesis of Death. It must have known we were coming. It had to have heard and seen the clamor of battle. I expected a trap—something to ensnare us on our way inside—but even as we advanced down the streets, we ran into nothing of the sort, just more undead. 

Skeletons bore down upon us from every angle, alley, and rooftop. As we fought our way through the horde, I finally managed to kill a skeleton knight, snagging its Agility Boost. Now, I had no other skills to worry about acquiring in the city streets. 

In some ways, the city felt as though, at one exact point in time in the past, it had simply stopped. Even though the city had once been home to a bounty of experienced adventurers, there were no signs of battle. No signs of struggles or fights. Outside of the damage we caused in our fight with the skeletons, the city seemed to have been preserved just as it was the day it was overthrown. 

It was as though an unrelenting force had overwhelmed the citizens of Hausen, leaving none a chance to resist. Life had simply been crushed from existence. And that overwhelming force, the lich lord, had made a home of the castle we now approached. 

The grand gate into the castle hung from its hinges in a state of disrepair similar to Hausen’s outer gate. There was something eerily calculating in the way the lich lord had only used the force necessary to batter down both gates, and had otherwise wrought no damage upon the city infrastructure. 

“Aaron,” I said, “may I ask you a question?” 

“What is it?” 

“The lich lord. Is it as smart as a human?” 

“That’s what they say. It was clearly cunning enough to launch its siege at a time when it knew I wouldn’t be there to defend my home. To best the lich lord, you’ll need to utilize all the skills I’ve taught you.” 

Behind his words was a gentle reminder: Do not treat this as a battle with a crowned beast. Rather, approach your enemy as though it is an intelligent being. You will not slay this monster through sheer power alone . 

The lich lord was a crowned beast capable of tactical attacks and mental warfare. It was exactly the kind of enemy I wanted to face before I got to Galia. 

My Gluttony was still not satiated by the souls of the undead we had slain. I knew what it hungered for. It craved the source of the mouthwatering aroma that wafted from deep within the castle. Hunger pangs cried through my body: feed me, feed me! Gluttony’s urges had never pulled me along so forcefully. If my concentration slipped, I might plunge into full, uncontrollable starvation. 

As Aaron and I passed through the shattered gate and into the castle, the skeleton knights suddenly stopped at the threshold behind us. They hovered by the gate, glaring in wait, each seeming somehow disappointed. 

“It seems we’ve entered the lich lord’s territory,” said Aaron. “The other monsters don’t dare enter.” 

“There’s not a single skeleton in here,” I said, glancing around the empty castle courtyard. 

“When I last came here, the situation was very different. Don’t be fooled; don’t let your guard down.” 

Together, Aaron and I dashed through the decaying central garden, looking for a place to enter the castle keep proper. The entire time we searched, we heard only one thing—complete silence. 



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