[I cannot believe you said those words to her…]
Damn, here she began the sermon again. Dea's words echoed inside my head loudly. I was still collecting my thoughts after Goddess Bona Dea cut the connection between us abruptly. Somehow it just ended strangely, knowing that she and I had bickered before. Did she have a mood swing or what?
[I do not know what happened exactly. But your acts towards her would be considered blasphemy.]
"Oh, come on! Enough with the sermon, please! I'm trying to survive another day here! Don't make it harder for me!"
[... You really are something…]
"Got any probs with that?", I snorted.
[No… Haaaah…]
Dea paused for a brief moment. Did she just sigh on me?
[I shall continue what has been left off by her.]
Oh? Would it be a sign of any progress at all?
"Ah, okay, okay…", I stood up slowly and lifted the spear in my right hand, inspecting every nook and cranny. "What does this skill slot mean? Can I like… Err… Infuse a skill into it?"
[It is just as how it says. I suggest you infuse [Devour] into it so that your spear automatically activates the skill after you kill your target.]
"I don't have problems understanding your words there but… Can I ask you something?"
[Feel free to ask.]
"Can I just 'eat' my target as it is?"
This question had been bothering my mind from the beginning.
"Why should I put my life at risk when I could just devour all the monsters in the vicinity without fighting them directly? I could just sneak up a little bit and get an easy kill."
[Your skill, [Devour], has some problematic features that will never allow you to use it on a living target.]
"Then what happened to the behemoth earlier? Wasn't it still alive when you forcefully activated it?"
[Farenna…]
"What is it?"
[I do not believe you are this dull…]
I regretted asking her. In my mind, I could imagine her having an expression like someone looking down on some nasty bugs.
[You lost your senses and logic. How did you know it was still alive?]
"Wait, are you saying I was crazed enough to the point I didn't even realize it was already dead!?"
[Your first stab killed it instantly. A real one-shot.]
"A real one-shot…", I mimicked her words.
I was kinda happy knowing that I could one-shot a creature that big. Even in my past life I had to struggle a little bit just to defeat a behemoth since it was known for its tankiness.
[Goddess Bona Dea also explained the cause of losing your logic and sanity, your racial skill: [Berserk]. You will only feel joy when fighting. For the current you, you are not able to control it.]
She stopped her words for a moment.
[Thus, Goddess Bona Dea suggested a weapon that could one-shot your target.]
I didn't even know how to feel about this. It should be obvious that I should avoid using something I couldn't control. But why did I feel this dejected?
[Fighting to the heart's content is your racial trait. As I have said before, your attitude will affect your future evolution.]
"Hmm…"
[This, without a doubt, shall also affect your evolution tree.]
"Will I turn into a mindless monster if I keep fighting like that?"
[I cannot say it will not happen.]
Damn it. I stared at the spear I was holding and tightened my grip on it. My mind was in shambles, imagining myself becoming a mindless monster that could only kill for fun.
[Is there any more question?]
Dea broke the ice suddenly, pulling me out from my wild imagination. Then I recalled seeing a new curse in my status panel. Was it called the Curse of Wrath or something?
[The Curse of Wrath is one of the curses belonging to the Seven Deadly Sins series. For further information, you must raise your synchronization rate and evolve into a higher being.]
I completely forgot that I was given a task for that specific thing, raising my synchronization. And also, a lot of things were in my mind at the moment. I started with the most obvious thing, the loots.
"I didn't even check the materials I got from that behemoth earlier. Can you take 'em out for a moment, Dea?"
[Affirmative. Accessing the Dimensional Storage…]
Not long after, a pile of thick leathers and 2 big ivory tusks appeared in front of me, as well as a bunch of red meat. After seeing the meat, something suddenly flashed in my mind.
"Dea, isn't today the 3rd day after I got out from the crevice?"
[It is indeed the 3rd day.]
"Then…", I could feel a grim look take over my face. "Why didn't I feel hungry at all?"
[...]
Dea didn't even respond. Why didn't I realize it sooner? I used to be a big eater in my past lives so the fact that I felt no hunger nor thirst made me shudder. I became more and more anxious as time went on.
[Do I really have to explain this as well?]
Without saying anything, I nodded my head in panic.
[Have you forgotten you have a skill named [Devour]? As far as I could tell, you have been eating a lot.]
"What the fuck!?"
[Now let me tell you how to infuse your skill, [Devour], into your spear.]
***
It has been 3 hours since I stayed still behind this damn boulder. The heat from the scorching ground I was sitting on spread through my entire body. I could feel a drop of sweat slipping between my butt cheeks.
"Ugh…", I wiped down the sweat that ran down my forehead. "Why is this place getting hotter all of sudden?"
The dress I was wearing was drenched in sweat. The rise in temperature was the reason.
"Appraisal."
[Spear of ??? (Indestructible). Rarity: EX. Skill Slot: [Devour].]
After letting Dea roast me for my stupidity, I finally infused my skill into the spear. Based on her explanation, it would automatically activate the skill after stabbing it.
[With your accurate precision, aiming at your target's vital point is the most efficient way to make use of it.]
She repeated her words again.
"Hey…", I propped the spear against the boulder I was leaning to. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
[My calculation is never wrong as I have access to the world system.]
"Haaaah…", I let a big sigh out of my mouth.
Just at the same moment, I heard a continuous thumping sound far from me. The ground was shaking with each thump, and it was easy to guess that something big was walking. The sound was getting closer and closer.
"It's here…", I took a glance at the source of the sound while still hiding. "It's time for revenge."
Around 25 meters from the boulder I was hiding at, a gigantic creature was walking slowly towards my direction. It was the same monster I had hunted before, a behemoth, but much bigger. If this one was an adult, the one I had hunted was a juvenile. The difference in size was just that much.
"Haaah…", I took a deep breath and started calming myself down. "I can do this without messing up…"
I readied my spear up and mustered my resolve.
[I suggest you prepare to activate [Devour] from your spear now. Do you want me to assist you with it?]
"Yes please."
[Permission granted. Pre-activating the skill, [Devour].]
The spear then changed its color to jet black. It was a scene I never expected to see. I slapped my cheeks as hard as I could.
"Okay, let's go."
I dashed from the place I was sitting on, while running at high speed. I held the spear with my right hand and was leaning forward to reach even higher speed. The balance between my body and the spear was surprisingly firm, considering that it was almost twice my height. It was as if time was flowing so slowly. The calmness inside my head was strengthened by the resolve I gathered before.
[You must aim for its head.]
"I know."
Seeing me charging towards its direction, the behemoth roared, showing its terrifying tusks. It then charged towards me. The gap between us shrunk and in a blink of an eye, I was already in front of it.
"Dea!"
[Affirmative.]
In a split second, I instinctively closed my eyes and there, I saw a faint light trail in the dark, connected to both its forehead and my spear. I raised my spear as high as I could and tightened my grip on it, while also preparing to jump. I surrendered my body to the guidance and lunged my spear at the brightest point of the trail. My spear whistled loudly as it pierced through the air and…
Stab!
I could hardly tell what happened at the moment, so I opened my eyes just to find out that my spear was stuck on the middle of its forehead. The sensation of something being stabbed was almost non-existent.
"Eh…?", I was struck in awe and bewilderment.
Everything was in slow motion. Its enormous body then began to crumble into ashes and from the forked tips of my spear, a black gigantic jaw appeared and swallowed it whole. The force it made when it charged towards me just vanished, along with its body.
[Congratulations. You have gained 25 EXP. You leveled up to 3.]
Dea's voice broke the ice.
[You have acquired Thick Leathers x8, Big Bones x10, Behemoth's Meat x26, Infernal Core x1. Automatically stored.]
The next moment, I found myself laying down on my back while laughing and crying at the same time.
*Farenna's newest status:
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{{{ Status }}}
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Name : Farenna
Gender : Female
Age : 8 y.o
Race : Lv. 3/30 Blood Nymph (↑1 Lv. Up)
Status : Sealed
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Sync. Rate: 10.01%
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HP : 200/200 MP: 90/100
SP : 55/70
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STR: 12 LUK: 5
AGI : 15 DEX: 10
INT : 12 VIT : 23
Unallocated pts: 10
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Equipments:
· Weapon : Spear of ??? (EX)
· Headgear : None
· Armor : Rough Golden Gown (Rare)
· Torso : None
· Feet : None
· Misc. : Sealing Chains of Hell (EX)
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Skills:
· Appraisal Lv. 3
· Devour (EX)
· Bona Dea (Unique)
· Crafting Lv. 1
· Weaving Lv. 1
· Weaponize Lv. 7
· Berserk (Mutation)
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Blessings:
· Blessing of Purity & Chastity
· Blessing of Growth (Inherited)
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Curses:
· Curse of Wrath
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Titles:
· Regressor
· Goddess' Apostle
· Rotten to the Bone
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