BXBX NOVEL Chapter 63 Gluttony
Dressed in a white and clean robe, he looked like an immortal from a painting. His black eyes sparkled brightly, and he smiled softly as he scrutinized the girl's body, but there was no lust in his eyes.
Of course, those two people were Elyra and Adam. Completing their tasks earned them a total of five "F" rank magic stones and one "E" rank magic stone. Adam carefully watched the flow of magical energy through her magic channels.
"As expected of a nymph...the ability to control magic is amazing and can in no way be compared to other creatures." Adam narrowed his eyes and smiled, thinking to himself. "Although demons are catching up to nymphs in some places,... In controlling magical energy they should be inferior."
Did Adam envy the nymphs? Perhaps, however, he felt that envy was unlikely to lead him to anything good. Since Elyra was capable of learning the magical stones on her own, he had only to bore and wait.
In between, Adam closed his eyes, sinking his mind into the space of the system. The white space seemed still as normal and unchanging as ever.
"There is true beauty in simplicity." Adam remembered a quote from his past life.
White color. Pure and serene, without a single speck of dirt, as if reflecting the state of the world - without sins and the like.
Urrr...
Adam clutched his stomach and grimaced in pain. The feeling of hunger was unbearable and he could barely contain himself. For the last week, and especially after assimilating the magic stones, Adam had felt the hunger grow stronger and more fierce.
It was as if a beast that had slept for a thousand years had awakened and wanted blood to quench its thirst. Was this the true form of the sin of Gluttony?
His eyes blurred as if Adam were drunk, and his stomach twisted with intense and almost unbearable pain. The once-white space began to be stained with the scarlet color of blood, and a devilish whisper said: "Eat it! Eat it!".
An unpleasant itch appeared in Adam's heart as he struggled to resist. The only result, however, was a coughing fit of blood.
"Aaagh!" The tight grip on Adam's heart wasn't helping him come to his senses, it was as if the opposite was happening - making him focus on the pain and thus only increasing the pain.
His eyes blurred, while the devil's whispering turned into a distinct and indifferent speech, as if God reporting the truth, or worse, a sentence for the sinner.
"To resist sin is tantamount to suicide. You are a demon, not a man. Every time you resist, you will be wounded, and if you continue at this pace, you will be left with nothing but a dried-up body."
The voice told of unchanging truth and sounded as ruthless as if it had pronounced its final verdict. Though Adam was in great pain and his ears were ringing, the voice could be heard clearly and reached his mind without difficulty.
Adam grimaced and sighed, ceasing to resist the hunger. It was unknown if it was the right decision, but the sudden pain began to fade while Adam gained self-awareness and regained his sensory awareness.
What would satisfy his hunger? Adam thought about it, but couldn't find an answer. There were no magic stones in his hands, and the ones Elyra had he could not take away. The answer is simple: Elyra would simply die from the backlash.
Closing his eyes, which by now had turned scarlet while the pupils were snake-like, Adam turned back to his body. The pleasant coolness and humidity of the cave made his head cool a little, but still, his gaze was clouded with hunger.
Adam stood up quietly and not a single rustle emitted from his body while he walked quite deftly and silently out of the cave without attracting any unnecessary attention or distracting Elyra, who had begun to make her way to the 'E-' rank.
It was night, but Adam could see everything as clearly as day. With the Night Vision ability, which in-game slang would be considered a "passive skill", he could walk through dark caves and feel free.
However, some changes to his Night Vision could be noticed even without straining.
Have you ever seen images through a thermal imager? I guess that's what you could call Adam's current state of mind. With this new ability, Adam could see clearly through walls and detect traces of nymphs.
Adam could easily travel long distances in a short period with his Blazing Run ability. The nymphs around him could only see a glare of light and then feel a gust of wind hitting their faces, but they couldn't see Adam.
The nymph that was dressed in knight's armor looked at the trail left by Adam and furrowed her red eyebrows. She had short red eyes as well as scarlet eyes. She had her hand on the hilt of her sword and was ready to pull the sword from its sheath at any second.
"Captain Lily! We couldn't catch up with him!". Suddenly, a voice rang out and the female knight named Lily saw a beautiful woman with black hair and eyes of the same color. She frowned. "Emily, quickly explain the situation to me."
Emily was breathing heavily and her hands were in her lap while her knight armor looked a bit dirty. There was a dark and gloomy aura that surrounded her hair and beautiful black eyes.
With a heavy sigh and an almost gasping breath, Emily looked at Lily and inhaled the air, causing her chest to heave upward and downward as she took a breath.
"Ha-a... Captain, we couldn't catch up with him. There was a swamp on the way, which we alas could not pass through. On the way, we were attacked by monsters and several knights were injured!".
Gloom colored Lily's beautiful face, her lips tightened and the grinding of teeth could be heard. She turned around and looked fiercely in the direction Adam had gone, feeling irritated and worried.
"Send the wounded to Victoria, you and Rika come with me!" Lily ran forward without waiting for the two nymphs.
One of the nymphs named Rika looked at Emily and sighed. With an annoyed look, she grabbed her wand and walked forward. Though her posture was hunched over and devoid of any enthusiasm.
***
A roar echoed throughout the forest, and the trees shook with loud and heavy footsteps. Some trees collapsed on the spot, while wild animals scattered on all four sides.
A disaster-like picture is how one could describe the state of the central part of the forest. A bear, which looked something like a grizzly bear, was sitting on fallen trees.
Black shiny hide that glistened brightly in the darkness of the night. Long and sharp claws that would be the envy of even one character with claws. The eyes were sunken and sharp like a blade colored red.
The aggressive aura around the bear was a good reason to change his route and get farther away, but not to run into him. Adam stopped abruptly when a large figure appeared in his vision.
He frowned and his eyes narrowed while a slight shock appeared in his heart. The bear was huge, comparable to a three-story house. While the bear's aura was not something that could be ignored.
"D+ rank..." Adam frowned and prepared to run away. "I don't have the gifts of vodka and balalaika, so they're not going to let me go."
Even if he fought the bear now, he would end up trampled like a worm. But even if he wanted to, Adam could not move as if his feet were glued to the ground.
At the same time, hunger suddenly flared with renewed vigor and Adam clutched his stomach. His scarlet eyes, which were already half-returning to their state, suddenly turned scarlet again.
"R-ar?"
A sudden growl that was deep and loud caused Adam to freeze in place while the bear's bloodthirsty eyes were focused on his face.
Boom...boom...
The rumble of the bear's footsteps synchronized with Adam's heartbeat, which had already gained control of his body. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into a fist. He no longer had any chance of escape and his only choice was to fight.
"Vortex of Darkness!"
A sudden scream made the bear stop its steps while a small whirlwind appeared on the battlefield, growing bigger and bigger with every second, making the bear wary.
When the whirlwind had already reached the size of a bear, it stopped growing and headed toward the enemy at breakneck speed. Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Field of Darkness!".