Riley's eyes remained fixed on the alpha wolf's corpse, lips slightly parted, breath shallow and ragged.
A thick string of saliva hung from the corner of his mouth. He swallowed a hard gulp.
Salivating over a dead monster's body wasn't sothing he exactly loved, but then, he couldn't help it when he was so hungry.
His stomach twisted again, another deep, grumbling growl echoing from within, louder this ti.
He took a single step forward, his fingers twitching.
Growl!!
A sudden, furious snarl rang out across the clearing, sharp and full of rage.
Riley froze.
His head slowly turned to the side, eyes narrowing.
The injured wolf—the one he had left alive earlier—was still there.
Its leg was still mangled, blood still dripped from the spike embedded in its limb, but its eyes burned with defiance.
It had dragged itself several inches forward, its lips curled back in a desperate snarl, baring its bloodstained teeth.
"Oh..." Riley muttered, tilting his head, his voice absent of concern or urgency. "You're still there."
He stood upright, exhaling slowly as the haze of hunger montarily lifted. His body relaxed. His right hand raised lazily, and without ceremony or hesitation, he activated his skill.
"Spike Shot."
A thin brown spike burst from his palm and shot straight through the air.
Squelch!
The spike punched through the injured wolf's skull, piercing directly between its eyes. The beast let out a weak grunt, and then its body went limp.
[Level 5 Dire Wolf killed!]
[ 40 EXP]
The notification popped up in Riley's vision, but he barely spared it a glance.
His eyes were already back on the alpha wolf.
The scent of fresh blood was everywhere now, thick in the air, flooding his senses like smoke in a sealed room.
He crouched in front of the alpha's corpse, lips slightly parted. His fingers brushed against the wolf's fur, but only briefly.
His mouth opened wide, about twice than a normal human.
Then the devouring began.
The alpha wolf's body was pulled in, bit by bit. Fur, flesh, bones—everything was swallowed into the gaping maw.
The process only took seconds.
And then—nothing.
The body was gone. Not even a scrap of fur remained.
Riley's mouth slowly closed, his jaw clicking back into place with a faint snap. He exhaled, his breath visible in the air like mist.
But the hunger didn't vanish.
His stomach howled once more, louder this ti, as if mocking the feast it had just received.
[You have devoured: Dire Wolf — Alpha Variant]
[Acquired: Strength 4.1, Agility 6.5, Endurance 2.2, Vitality 3.1, Mana 2.9, Skill: Dash (E-rank)]
The string of glowing text floated in front of him, but Riley's eyes barely focused on it.
He was still too hungry.
There were three more bodies nearby—wolves he had slain during the battle. They lay motionless beneath the trees, blood still fresh around their corpses.
He didn't hesitate.
His body moved on instinct, feet gliding across the forest floor like a phantom. He stopped before the nearest corpse and crouched again.
His mouth opened, wide and unnatural.
And once again, the devouring began.
The body vanished in a matter of seconds, sucked into the abyss.
[You have devoured: Dire Wolf]
He didn't stop.
The next wolf lay just ters away. He approached, crouched, and consud.
[You have devoured: Dire Wolf]
The final wolf was slightly further, but it didn't matter.
He made his way over, panting slightly now. His movents were still smooth, but there was a sluggishness creeping in at the edges. His legs ached. His throat burned. But the hunger refused to leave.
He devoured the third wolf without blinking.
[You have devoured: Dire Wolf]
[Acquired: Strength 3.1, Agility 4.1, Endurance 2, Vitality 2.3, Mana 2.5]
[Acquired: Strength 3.3, Agility 3.7, Endurance 1.9, Vitality 2.5, Mana 2.3]
[Acquired: Strength 2.9, Agility 3.9, Endurance 2.5, Vitality 2.1, Mana 2]
The numbers piled up in front of his eyes, stat boosts appearing in long chains of glowing text.
His body trembled slightly, twitching with newfound strength, his muscles pulsing as the absorbed power rushed into his limbs.
Still, Riley barely noticed.
The only thing he was aware of was the low, echoing growl that ca from within him.
His stomach rumbled again.
Sohow louder than before despite him already consuming three large wolves.
He stood slowly, straightening his back, his arms limp at his sides. His breaths ca in short gasps now, his face pale beneath the flickering shadows of the forest canopy.
His hands pressed against his abdon.
"Hnnngh..." he hissed through clenched teeth, his fingers curling. "Still... not enough?"
A shiver ran down his spine.
His body had grown stronger—he could feel it—but his hunger remained the sa.
If anything... it was growing.
He stumbled a step forward, eyes scanning the forest floor as if hoping to find another wolf to consu.
'I'll just... endure it for now.' He thought, his face cringing in annoyance.
It was actually quite difficult having to fight with his stomach rumbling all the ti, but sohow, he never lost focus whenever he was fighting.
'I shouldn't be too far away...' He thought, narrowing his eyes at the path ahead.
[Gluttony Talent has finally reached the threshold for Evolution: 200 Evolution Points!]
[Would you want to Evolve it now?]
[Yes/No]
A notification suddenly appeared in front of him, and Riley's eyes widened in shock.
'It has reached the threshold?' He thought, his eyes sparkling in excitent.
He rembered seeing sothing about evolution points when he checked the talent details, but he never really bothered to track it since then.
But to think it managed to hit the threshold due to him evolving monsters left and right.
'Yes!' He answered.
[Talent Evolving...]
[Talent Evolving...]
[Evolution Complete!]
[Would you like to see the new talent details?]
Riley's brows furrowed slightly at the notifications.
A part of him had expected to feel pain, or his hunger to suddenly spike up, but he felt no changes.
However, he didn't think about it too much, simply checking the new details of the skill.
[Talent Details: Gluttony (Unique SSS)]
[Description: You have awakened the embodint of consumption. Through Gluttony, you may consu skills, abilities, attributes, and even the talents of others. Absorb what you devour. Beco what you consu. ]
[Effect 1: Absorption] — By consuming a creature, you can gain 40% of its attributes. You also have a 30% chance of absorbing one of the creature's skill or trait.
[Effect 2: Hunger] — Your hunger will never be satiated.
[Warning:] Gluttony will grow stronger the more you use it, but so too will the hunger.
[Warning:] Hunger must be managed. Failing to control it may result in... consequences.
[Effect 3: Evolution] — Whenever you consu a creature, you gain evolution points. Evolution points can be used to evolve the talent when it reaches a certain amount.
[Evolution Points: 0]
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