My SSS-Rank Gluttony Talent: I Can Evolve Limitlessly
Chapter 53: More of a glutton everyday

Chapter 53: More of a glutton everyday

He lowered his spear slowly, eyes darting around the ruined village square.

"...It just left?" he muttered under his breath.

His legs nearly gave out beneath him as he dropped to one knee, his heart still pounding like a drum in his chest.

The silence following the aftermath felt heavier than the fight itself, as he tried to make sense of whatever just happened.

For some reason, he felt like whatever attacked him wasn’t just a monster, but something more.

However, he could only make speculations, at the end of the day, he was still clueless.

All he knew was how weak he was... rendered helpless against a single swipe of the beast’s hand.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Suddenly, a round of applause echoed around him, and Terry’s eyes widened slightly in shock.

He turned his head slightly, only to find a small group of players approaching him all around, clapping their hands with warm smiles on their faces.

"Damn..."

"That was insane..."

"You chased that thing off!"

One of the players—a young man in a blue coat—grinned wide. "You are a hero, Terry! I thought we were done for."

Another nodded, "I’ve never seen anything like that. What kind of attack was that barrage? It looked like a divine skill or something!"

"That crazy demon was forced to run with its tail between its legs. Haha."

More players gathered around him, clapping with admiration.

Terry simply kept his gaze on the ground, his knuckles tightening on his spear.

He didn’t even lift his head to look at the group of players, too ashamed to do so.

’I didn’t do anything...’ he thought bitterly. ’That thing... it stopped itself.’

His eyes lifted for a moment and caught sight of someone standing behind the crowd.

Yano.

Unlike the rest of the players, he wasn’t clapping.

He stood with arms crossed, his brows furrowed and mouth set in a tight frown, eyes locked onto Terry’s.

Terry looked away almost immediately.

He rose to his feet without a word, turned his back on the crowd, and began walking through them.

The players parted for him like a wave, still applauding, some even trying to pat his back or get his attention.

"He’s an actual hero..."

"I never thought I’d see that beast run away... but he managed to do it!"

"He defeated it!"

But Terry said nothing.

Each word spoken by the crowd felt like knives stabbing into his chest because he knew the truth about what happened.

He wanted to scream—to turn around and shout at them to stop clapping for him... to stop calling him a hero.

’I didn’t save you all. I barely did anything.’ he thought.

But deep down, he knew they wouldn’t listen.

He doubted they’d even understand.

Brilliant flashes of light rapidly sparked around his feet, coating his legs in a dense layer of energy.

FWOOOSH!!!

Then with a sharp boom, he shot into the air like a comet, a streak of white light bursting out of his feet.

The clapping faded behind him.

The players looked up, shielding their eyes from the radiant light, murmuring among themselves.

"Damn... he can fly, too?"

"How cool!"

*

Riley’s body shimmered slightly, fully reappearing within the northern exit.

"Ugh..." he grunted, clutching his head with his hand.

A barrage of notifications immediately started pouring before him, making him feel extremely dizzy.

He couldn’t even focus properly on the notifications, as they were simply too much.

[You have devoured: Dire Wolf]

[Acquired: Strength +6.7, Agility +8.4, Endurance +5.3, Vitality +5.9, Mana +6.1]

[You have devoured...]

[...]

[...]

[...]

[Level 5 player killed!]

[+50EXP!]

[You have devoured: Basic Human]

[Acquired: Strength +0.4, Agility +0.6, Endurance +0.5, Vitality +1.2, Mana +0.6]

[You have devoured: Basic Human Alchemist]

[Acquired: Strength +0.5, Agility +0.7, Endurance +0.7, Vitality +1, Mana +1.3, Skill: Basic Alchemy(E-rank)]

[You have devoured...]

[...]

[...]

[...]

"Damn it..." he muttered, his hands briefly skimming through a few of the notifications.

’I messed up... I really messed up...’ he thought, falling down on his knees with a hand on his face.

The notifications floating in front of him were all about the insane amount of monsters, players and even NPC’s he had killed during his rampage.

He didn’t know how long he went berserk, but from what he could see, he caused immense amounts of damage.

He even killed a lot of normal villagers... which definitely included tens of women and children.

[Due to your actions, your relationship with the Novice village has been affected!]

[Relationship with "Novice Village" has shifted: Neutral —> Hostile!]

’I knew it...’ Riley thought, hitting his fist on the ground.

With the huge number of guards and NPC’s he killed, it would be more shocking if his reputation with the NPC’s didn’t drop.

That meant that from now, he couldn’t publicly walk within the village, or the NPC’s would instantly attack him.

The guards would also attack him whenever they saw his face, and if he was caught, he would be killed or thrown into prison.

To be honest, there was no actual way for any of the NPC’s in this village to kill him or even overpower him and throw him into prison.

With how strong he had gotten, they simply wouldn’t stand a chance, and even if the villagers all attacked him at once, he doubted they would be able to land a scratch on him.

Even now, he could feel all the power he gained from absorbing those monsters coursing through his veins.

He had already gotten a lot stronger than before, and he could tell his skills had increased also.

But still, that didn’t mean he liked this new development.

Though he hated to admit it, him going berserk... killing all those people was mainly his fault.

He had allowed himself get consumed by gluttony, devouring monsters over and over again without letting his body get properly accustomed to his power.

Devouring Harty had been the trigger that made him go berserk, and if he had known... he wouldn’t have consumed the NPC at that moment.

’I wasn’t even that hungry then... I was just so eager to consume him.’ he thought, scoffing under his breath. ’I guess... I’m becoming more and more of a glutton every minute.’