Depthless Hunger: A Progression LitRPG, page 46
Despite the lack of coordination, both strikes hit at about the same time. The qi singed the beast's hide and his claws tore into it, sending it flipping over...
And it landed on its feet and suddenly began racing toward them.
Zae Zin Nim had better instincts than him, unleashing a series of qi bolts just as strong as her first. Kai instead hesitated, and when he examined the qi tearing into the monster's body, he realized a terrible change.
<
Monster: Gomodo
Threat: Gamma (III)
>
It looked like a gamma-ranked threat to him now. This monster didn't just appear lazy, something about its nature tricked a hunter's senses. He tried to call a warning, but it was already too late.
Even though the qi was burning its body terribly, the Gomodo just kept charging. At the last second Zae Zin Nim realized that she had made a mistake, but it was too late: the monster reared up and snapped its jaws around her arm.
Such massive jaws slamming closed should have torn off her arm entirely. Yet Kai was startled to see a line of blue flame extending out of its maw to her shoulder. It was her Coldfire behaving in a way that he'd never seen before. Zae Zin Nim looked shocked as well, as if she hadn't intended to defend herself that way.
The only one who wasn't shocked was the Gomodo, which resolutely tried to chew off her arm despite the flames.
Kai leapt in to assist, stomping on the monster's back hard enough to break its spine. Its jaws jerked open, allowing Zae Zin Nim to pull free. She quickly slammed her other palm against the side of its head, a blow that drove it to the ground. Betting that it still wasn't finished, Kai lifted his foot for another stomp.
Except the Gomodo moved faster. Its back jerked at the broken point, swiveling in an unnatural way and striking him hard enough to send him tumbling. Kai hit the ground and skidded back, pulling himself back to his feet and already fearing what he knew he'd see:
<
Monster: Gomodo
Threat: Delta (IV)
>
The Delta-tier threat reared up, its maw opening around Zae Zin Nim's head. She cried out in surprise and it slammed her to the ground, jaws closing around her neck. They were resisted by an aura of blue flames that lit up around her body, but the monster didn't seem to care. Even though it was scorched by dozens of wounds, it just kept biting down on her.
As Kai rushed to save her, the flames began to gutter out.
Chapter 82: The Agony of Excess
Even though Kai slammed his shoulder into the Gomodo's head as hard as he could, he barely sent the beast rocking back. Now that it was moving, it seemed like nothing could stop it. Zae Zin Nim had collapsed and he couldn't tell how much of the blood covering her was the monster's, but there was no time for that.
He'd already seen that even her full power hadn't been enough to stop it, so attacking the beast head on was senseless. Even though part of Kai wanted to roar in its face and charge, he couldn't let that part of him take control. Instead, as he rushed at its maw again, he spun into the air.
Upside-down over its head, he smashed his gauntlet directly into the Gomodo's face as it reached up to strike him. That earned him only the briefest reprieve, but it was enough time for him to land on its back. He took a moment to gather the perfect strike, just like he'd practiced, and in that time it began bucking wildly. It required all his focus not to be thrown off and instead to bring his hand down across the monster's middle.
His claws struck in a tight pattern, tearing through the monster's back. He left nothing to chance and swiped with his other hand, this time tearing the beast fully in half. Nothing was left but two pieces, thrashing out their last life.
When the Gomodo's tail struck his side, he realized how badly he'd miscalculated.
As the severed tail battered him, the upper half of the monster dragged itself around and snapped at his leg. He could only barely dodge it, which gave the tail time to slam him to the ground. Both halves of the beast seemed to be nearly blind, since it really should be dead, yet they still came after him with bloody-minded determination.
There was no time for clever strategy now. He just tried to kick the tail back with all the strength he could, even as he twisted away from the snapping jaws. That got him just enough space to punch the monster's head again, except it barely slowed down and managed to get its jaws around his shoulder.
Kai's vision went red and he almost gave in to his rage. A small part of him knew that would be a mistake: this monster could keep fighting even longer than he could. If it could keep attacking after being cut in half, it could survive long enough to kill him. He couldn't afford to trade blows with it in a bloody rage.
So, forcing aside the pain, Kai gathered all his concentration and focused on his free arm. He straightened his fingers, formed a claw, and thrust them directly through the Gomodo's skull.
Its body still thrashed, but without intention. He managed to pull his other arm out before the teeth tore it too much and then just lay on the ground as the upper body slowly died. Somehow the Gomodo's tail lasted even longer, laying waste to a circle of crops before finally lying still.
Everything hurt. As Kai lay there, he realized just how good the corpse was smelling.
He pushed the thought away along with the body and forced himself to his knees. The arm the Gomodo had bitten was still in bad shape, so he used the other to crawl closer to the body lying on the ground. "Zae Zin Nim? You alive?"
"Could be... worse..." She managed to sit up with a grunt. Her sleeve was bloody, but strangely there was no blood around her neck or torso. "The flames defended me... but they burned deep. By the end, I had... nothing left."
"Defensive skill. Sometimes those can drain all your reserves to save your life."
"Wasteful. I could have killed it with a few more strikes."
She scoffed, and Kai was about to argue, then he saw the look in her eyes. No, she knew how close she had come to death. It wasn't something he'd like to think about either, and he'd had a lot of near-death experiences. Since she clearly wanted some privacy to work through her denial, Kai limped back to the body.
Normally, he would use the fire stone to cook the monster and then eat it. But Zae Zin Nim was carrying it at the moment, and the body looked so juicy... before he could be disgusted with himself, he knelt down and began eating.
Strangely, the corpse seemed to be disappearing faster than his bites could justify. The Gomodo had been huge, so it should have taken him a day to eat the entire thing. Yet the fight had awoken something in him and he could feel his power exerting itself. Every time he took a bite, more of the body dissolved into raw power. As if he was consuming the monster's very essence.
That should have been a good sign, but not long after, Kai felt a searing pain in his stomach. He stumbled back, clutching both hands over his middle.
"I might have just done something stupid," he told Zae Zin Nim. "Can humans eat raw meat like this? I thought I could, but..."
"No, think about it logically." Her legs were a bit shaky as she walked over, but she had regained her casual grace. "There's no way you've started digesting the meat this quickly."
"It sure feels like it has! Fuck, that hurts..."
"Are you feeling the pain in your stomach? Or is it lower, in your dantian?"
Kai didn't think it was exactly either, but her comment was just what he needed. The pain might be physical, but its source was spiritual. There was some kind of conflict... like the Gomodo's strength was fighting everything else he carried. He didn't want to let go of any of it, so he pushed the sensation aside, trying to find an empty space that would ease the pain.
To his shock, it worked. His stomachache vanished and the meat began looking delicious again. This time it wasn't so hard to resist the urge.
"I feel better," he said, "but I don't understand why."
"I can only guess." Zae Zin Nim sat down just behind him, or rather crumpled. "Whatever you are might be new, but it probably can't just accumulate monstrous strength indefinitely. Think about it: after a few years, you'd have hundreds of monsters represented within you. If it's anything like other aspects of power, then you can't just throw everything together."
"Like how every system has only one Physique aspect, or how different cultivation paths will come into conflict."
"Yes. If you feel better, it seems you found a space for it. In theory, if it works like advanced cultivation, what you'll need to do in the future is combine the different pieces of your essence into one more powerful form. But I don't even know how to do that when it comes to my own sect's cultivation, much less... whatever you're doing."
"That's still helpful, thank you."
Her words actually made perfect sense to him. The Gomodo had been big and strong and tough, just like several of the other monsters he'd eaten, so it didn't fit into his soul smoothly. Maybe if he had been a genius or his new nature had come naturally to him, he could automatically have merged it into Direboar's Strength or Aquagorgon's Health. Instead, he'd just have to figure out how it all worked by painstaking experimentation.
"Uh, do you think I should eat the rest of it?"
"If you feel like it." Zae Zin Nim groaned and dropped onto her back. "Just leave the head so we have something to show all the peasants."
Future bites didn't cause any more pain or increase the power within him. Still, Kai was incredibly hungry and the monster was the only thing that sounded good, so he kept eating. As he did, he paid special attention to the strange interactions of his bites.
He had been afraid that the effect would have vanished, completely beyond his reach, but the phenomenon returned as soon as he went back to eating. Not only did more of the monster's flesh disappear, fragments of its skin vanished as well. Even though he hadn't tried to eat any of the rough skin, he felt as though he could taste it.
Eventually, in a surprisingly short time, he had consumed almost the entire body. Even his new ability failed to eat the monster's claws or spines, and he'd intentionally left the monster core and the head to serve as proof. Though he wondered if the core might have granted him something, when he tore it out it didn't smell even slightly enticing to him.
Once he was finally sated, he turned his attention inward.
<
Name: Kai Clanless
Total Power: 87
Cultivation: Qi Condensation 30% (14)
Physique Level: F-9 (48)
Soul Level: 5 (25)
Monstrous Hunger - VII (eta)
Direboar's Strength - III (gamma)
Aquagorgon's Health - III (gamma)
Gomodo's Stamina - II (beta)
Isulfr's Bite - I (alpha)
Rockspider's Claw - III (gamma)
??? (???)
>
"Gomodo's Stamina" had appeared among his other traits. That made for seven monstrous aspects, including the indecipherable one, which did feel like a lot. He had the feeling that it would be challenging to learn how to fuse them, but he might need to figure it out sooner rather than later.
Of course his Physique hadn't changed, stalled against the barrier as it was. He was a bit surprised to see that his Soul Level had increased to 5. The battle had been rough, but it hadn't been nearly as long or brutal as some of his others. When he mentioned it to Zae Zin Nim, she answered with a shrug.
"You may have seen your Soul Level increase after substantial battles, but I don't think it generally works that way. Usually it rises very slowly."
"You haven't talked about it much," he pointed out. "Do you have special techniques for it in Cloudspire?"
"Not really. They're considered a less important part of the soul because they're not essential to cultivation and eventually are dwarfed by it." From her position, Zae Zin Nim raised a hand and stared at the sky through her fingers. "I wasn't convinced, even if I can't pinpoint the exact benefit. Cultivators who were just fed thousands of pills by their sects and barely fought tended to have weaker Soul Levels."
"Huh. Another mystery for the-"
"Wait." Zae Zin Nim shot up to a seated position, all lethargy banished. Blue flames flickered weakly around her as she stared skyward. "Get ready."
Kai forced himself to his feet even though he still had no idea what she was talking about. Could he fight, if they had to? Consuming the monster had given him more energy than he'd expected, but his body wasn't anywhere near healed. Somehow he had burned through his qi as well, probably subconsciously when his life was on the line.
Then he saw them: Iroaki of Philaster was flying toward them again, and this time Barroguk Clanless stood behind her instead of an old merchant.
There was no time to run: Barroguk leapt down and slammed to the earth beside them.
Chapter 83: A Peasant's Reward
"Looks like some illegal hunting." Barroguk hefted his greatsword up to his shoulder and sneered. "That's bad enough on its own, and worse when it's by someone who's been permanently banished from the Hunters Guild."
"I took this assignment of my own volition." Zae Zin Nim spoke politely, but Kai could see that she assumed the conversation would end in a fight. She gathered what strength she had as she watched Iroaki circle around them on her diamond.
"So you say. By the time this story gets back to the Guild, the facts won't be so clear."
Kai took a deep breath and tried to think of a viable strategy. He wanted a rematch against the two elite mercenaries, but this was the worst possible time. Given their current condition, he didn't see any path to victory. Even escape might be difficult under such circumstances...
"Hey!" The shout took all of them off guard because there was absolutely no power behind it. All four combatants turned to the side just in time to see a farmer standing at the edge of the damaged field.
No, there were a lot of farmers. Some were just peering to see what the commotion was, but a lot more of them looked determined. The man who had yelled before spoke up again. "No Guild nonsense now. We paid good money for somebody to kill that thing."
"This is none of your concern." Barroguk swung the greatsword off his back and held the heavy piece of steel at full extension toward the crowd. Many flinched and a few gasped, but they didn't retreat.
Then a piece of fruit slapped into the side of his head. Barroguk turned to glare at the older woman who had thrown it, as did the others.
Beside him, Kai felt Zae Zin Nim tense. She looked like she expected an explosion of violence and intended to throw all her strength into one more attack, but none came. The silence stretched for a heartbeat, then a child threw a rock at Iroaki. Several others began to cheer and the old woman stepped forward with her hands on her hips.
"We saw those two nice young folks kill the beastie! You can't just swoop in and take it now. You may do things that way in the big city, but not here." Her words were joined by a chorus of jeers and a few more projectiles.
Taken aback, Barroguk and Iroaki actually retreated. The locals crowded around Kai and began urging him to follow. A few of the burlier farmers managed to pick up the Gomodo head and carried it back, cheering.
Having so many people around them shout over one another was a bit dizzying, but Zae Zin Nim looked absolutely flabbergasted. Kai leaned closer to her and spoke low enough that the crowds couldn't hear. "What is it?"
"Why didn't they attack the peasants?" she asked numbly.
"You expected them to just slaughter a bunch of random civilians?"
"Of course. They actually threw things at the elites! A few swings of that sword, or one good cast of those crystals..." She shook her head slowly. "I'll never understand this continent."
That suggested rather grim things about Cloudspire, but Kai's mood was too good to be brought down by that. He'd been keeping his eyes on the mercenaries the entire time and it looked like they were giving up. There were too many witnesses now, especially since the locals were spreading out. Even if the elites worked for the most powerful clan in the city, they couldn't just carry out an assassination in public.
He was a little surprised that everyone was so enthusiastic, though. If the villagers had been there in time to interfere with the final standoff, then some of them must have seen him eating the Gomodo. The crowds were a bit less rambunctious now that they'd reached a village square, so Kai decided to ask an older man.
"You were watching us?"
"Oh, not the fight. Too dangerous. A couple tried and didn't make it." The man shook his head sadly. "But when I heard everything get quiet, I figured I had to go look. Monster wouldn't want to eat my old bones, heheh."
"Then you, uh, saw me...?"
"Oh! Yes, that was right strange. But all hunters are strange, and at least you came out to help us. I figured you must be hungry after all that hard work."
Kai sat back, smiling in befuddlement. He was fairly sure that no hunter in the world would respond so positively to seeing him eat a monster like that. Most likely citizens in the north would have been after him with torches and pitchforks. But maybe, here in the south, he was just a curiosity. Hopefully they wouldn't go talking about it.
Though a lot of people wanted to talk to him, they came and went so quickly that it was all a blur to Kai. They were definitely happy that the Gomodo was dead, since it had been terrorizing their farms even longer than he'd known. When he made extremely clear that they weren't hunters acting officially, for the sake of the rumors, that only seemed to improve their mood. The Hunters Guild didn't seem to have such a good reputation among the villagers.
Everyone wanted them to stay for some sort of feast, but Kai insisted that they needed to get back. The entire event seemed to have rendered Zae Zin Nim catatonic, so he wanted to get her away from the crowds before anyone looked too carefully beneath her hood.
Once he insisted, some of the better dressed villagers brought him a heavy bag with the reward money. A full four thousand Eagles, instantly multiplying their funds. The Eagle was the highest denomination of Goralian Currency, so the payment included a lot of heavy gold coins that Kai had heard veteran hunters refer to as "fat Eagles." Each was worth a hundred Eagles on its own, which somehow made the whole thing even more unbelievable.
