“You probably starved to death in your past life,” Bertha commented when she brought him the fourth plate filled with meat, baked potatoes, and a nutritious vegetable soup.
She didn’t sound shocked about his seemingly endless hunger and teased him instead.
Percy had no time to respond to Bertha. Hunger had taken over his body. The same hunger drained seven copper coins from his pouch.
That was worth it!
He rubbed his belly in satisfaction. Maybe it was a little over the top to splurge more than a dozen copper coins on meals spread across the day, but Percy didn’t mind it as much as before. Eating strengthened his body, especially after a rank-up. His muscles were growing slowly and he was also amassing some meat on his bones. Percy had been skin and bones for most of his life, so the change was appreciated.
His body tried to break out of that habit now that his mana stimulated his muscle growth, but it required a lot more nutrients to supply the mana and supplement enough nutrients to natural growth and recovery.
One way or another, Percy didn’t feel as stingy as he used to be. Growing stronger increased his survivability in the wilderness. As long as he was strong enough, Percy could hunt more monsters in the wilderness…stronger monsters. That would earn more money, which could then be used to buy even more food, among other things.
Once Percy finished his afternoon meal, he returned to the Guildhall. He greeted the staff with a smile and flashed his teeth toward Dave and his friend. Dave responded with a grimace, which startled some Adventurers. Percy chuckled and returned to his tower of books after checking the guild mission to look for Leonhard’s gathering mission. There were some material-gathering missions, which made it a bit difficult to pinpoint the baker’s mission. However, he found it after thorough research.
The rewards were the lowest among all material-gathering missions, but Percy didn’t mind. He checked the mission content and registered the mission under his name at the counter before welcoming his books inside the library.
Nobody returned the books to their shelves, which was what Percy had hoped for. He reached for the book atop the tower and sat down to get started.
Back to studying.
Studying was the best he could do right now. It was necessary to catch up to the other Adventurers, who were physically stronger than him, well-trained, and more experienced. Percy was still frail and inexperienced, and his knowledge was lacking. To top that, he was currently injured – even if that was presently solved by the excessive mana coursing through him – preventing him from training like others.
Thus, until his wounds were healed tomorrow, Percy could study to increase his survivability even more. It helped him survive against the pack of Berserk Rabbits and overcome certain deaths facing the Hill Hog mother. However, Percy wasn’t satisfied. He needed more!
**
Percy’s routine for the next three days was simple. He would get up with the rising sun and eat his fill at the Angel’s Brew Inn while chatting with Bertha. Once his stomach was filled, Percy would visit the Guildhall to listen to the daily news shared by the receptionists before picking a few simple missions to complete. The missions weren’t his primary focus, but Percy wanted to experience the life of an Adventurer while looking for ways to help Leonhard.
He looked out for Leonhard’s herbs but didn’t manage to enter the deeper parts of the forest. In fact, Percy never stayed long in the outskirts of the forest either. Most of the time, he was discovered by a bunch of Berserk Rabbits, whose population transformed slowly into a problem.
On the first day, Percy managed to hunt a pack of 11 Berserk Rabbits. That was easier than expected. His blade easily cut through the Berserk Rabbits, and he wasn’t even close to sustaining an injury. After advancing to Mortal-3, Percy was faster than the Berserk Rabbits. Once done hunting, Percy returned to Raewood to meet Kevin. He returned to the Guildhall and studied until his stomach notified him to fulfill his sacred duty: to eat more.
He ate something at the Angel’s Brew Inn and treated himself to a few cookies at the bakery. Percy avoided talking about Leonhard’s mission, but the baker seemed to have noticed something. He was still kind, but something about their relationship had changed. Or was it about to change? Percy was unsure, but he didn’t like it.
After eating, he visited the butcher to get the Berserk Rabbits’ pelts, paws, and eyes, alongside some copper coins for the monster meat. Negotiating with Erdwin was rather fun. That was unexpected but not something Percy disliked. On the contrary, negotiating with Erdwin was quite calming.
Percy returned to the Guildhall with a small fortune in his pockets, where he focused on studying again.
The second and third days passed similarly. Percy completed some missions, earned a decent reward, and hunted a bunch of Berserk Rabbits. On the second day, he discovered two packs of five and eight Berserk Rabbits, and on the third day, he was surprised by a pack of a dozen Berserk Rabbits after he’d already hunted two smaller packs.
In total, Percy managed to slay 46 Berserk Rabbits in three days. That was a lot, but Percy wasn’t too excited about hunting this kind of monster anymore. He disliked himself for not daring to enter the deeper parts of the forest…for failing to complete Leonhard’s mission.
That was how Percy entered the forest with more ambition on the fourth day. Unexpectedly enough, Percy discovered a lone, dying Gnoll not even five minutes after entering the forest.
The feral, hyena-headed humanoid monster didn’t notice Percy at first. It was too busy dying from the massive gashes covering its chest, back, and neck.
From his understanding of Gnolls and how they’ve been described in the Beginner Monstrology, Percy knew that the average Gnoll was a monster at the Peak of the Common Rank. That was above his weight class, but Percy didn’t think rationally at this moment.. All he could see was a dying monster. It might have been strong in the past, but it was weak and on the verge of death. Meanwhile, Percy had grown stronger.
He attacked the Gnoll with overwhelming confidence.
And was humbled by the dying humanoid beast right away.
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…
Percy survived, but he groaned in unbearable pain and winced as fountains of blood poured down his arms and legs. He was lucky to be alive and not to end up impaled by the Gnoll’s spear.
The humanoid monster had been closer to death than expected, yet it fought valiantly, attacking Percy in ways he never expected to be attacked.
Fighting a Gnoll wielding a spear was different from hunting some Berserk Rabbits or to killing a raging Hill Hog.
I am such a brickheaded idiot!
Percy cursed himself, staring at the Gnoll's corpse, while the strength in his legs threatened to leave him.
He didn’t have a drop of mana left in his body either. Percy had been forced to infuse the iron dagger with mana to block the Gnoll’s spear thrust and sever its already injured hand. Unexpectedly, the situation worsened after the Gnoll lost the ability to wield its spear. The monster released the weapon and pounced on Percy, scratching and biting him, ready to shred his throat into a mass of flesh and blood.
In its wild and uncontrollable rage, the Gnoll jumped straight into Percy’s dagger, which dug deep into the monster’s chest, but that was also how his arms and legs transformed into a bloody mess. The monster missed his neck but its claws cut deep into his arms, legs and chest.
Tears welled in his eyes as certain death approached him. But he was not dead yet, and crying about it wouldn’t help him survive either.
He had to make a decision.
Percy was injured and exhausted. He was still in the forest and too far from the town to reach it with the little strength reserves he’d left. A small pack of Berserk Rabbits might as well be enough to land the finishing blow in his state.
His eyes hovered on a bunch of interfaces for a second.
[Gnoll – Elderly/Corrupted – 632 Prosperity]
[Gnoll’s Spear – Damaged/Trash Quality – 154(442) Prosperity]
[Gnoll’s Leather Armor – Damaged/Trash Quality – 84(209) Prosperity]
Darkness burst from Percy’s hand as he unleashed [Consume]. The darkness expanded, revealing several rows of razor-sharp teeth, which dug deep into the Gnoll’s flesh as they swallowed the Gnoll and his armaments.
The sound of breaking bones resounded before eerie silence filled the surroundings. As the darkness retracted, a new interface appeared before Percy.
[Goods worth 870 Prosperity have been consumed.]
Once [Consume]’s effect ended, Percy felt something change. His Prosperity skyrocketed, but that was only the beginning. Something he’d been waiting for happened. At last, a mana flood infiltrated his mana-drained body from all sides.
[Your Tier increased by one rank]
That’s exactly what I needed! The corner of his lips curled into a victorious smile.
Ranking up using normal means was a lot slower than using Prosperity. That was one of the many things he’d learned in the last few days.
But what surprised Percy a little was that his rank didn’t increase even though he’d used his Ego dozens of times daily. The day before, Percy was tired of waiting any longer. He’d been using Prosperity on his leather pouch, bag, and clothes, trying to give lame excuses by telling himself that he had to test a few things.
It might be important to find out if he could use his Ego to add Enchantments to his Armaments – possibly to create a spatial storage with the Coin of Prosperity – but Percy was more focused on how to use his Ego to accelerate his rank up efficiently to produce any usable results.
His progress was still slow in his eyes, but Percy learned something important. Using his Ego to consume bigger things – rewarding more Prosperity – accelerated his rank up much more than using [Consume] on smaller objects, whether it was to devour them for their Prosperity or to upgrade them.
That was why he needed the Gnoll corpse: To rank-up and embrace the mana flood.
But the excitement of finally upgrading his rank was quickly replaced with a pained groan.
The surge of mana filled him with vigor, yet Percy could tell that his wounds wouldn’t stop bleeding anytime soon. He continued bleeding severely, and it was only a matter of time before he would bleed to death.
At least the rank-up gave him enough strength to run back to Raewood. That was necessary if he didn’t want to attract any more monsters. He was already in danger, his life on the line, and couldn’t afford to stay idle.
Percy wasted no time and rushed back. He emerged in the open plains through the forest’s thickets and charged back to the town, only to feel the strength leaving his legs much faster than expected.
Blood spurted out of the deep gashes all over his arms and legs as he rushed back home. His sight grew hazy, and it wasn’t long before Percy struggled to keep walking.
Thus, he did something to fill his body with vigor once more.
Give me another rank up!
Percy screamed in his mind, but [Consume] didn’t trigger. It activated but didn’t follow his will to use his accumulated Prosperity to give him another rank up.
Why?!
Percy panicked momentarily but called upon his interface instead of giving up.
『Percy 』
[Ego – Coin of Prosperity]
[Tier] – [Mortal-4]
—
[Empty]
『Coin of Prosperity』
Prosperity: 879
➛Consume
He reacted instinctively and tapped his leather pouch while using [Consume]
[Two Silver Coins have been consumed. 210 Prosperity has been added.]
“Rank up!!!” Percy cursed between two heavy breaths, willing his Ego to follow his command. It obeyed.
[1000 Prosperity have been deducted.]
[Your Tier increased by one rank]
Following the second rank up in quick succession, Percy was once more filled with a surge of mana and vigor. He was filled to the brim, enough to clear his vision. Percy’s legs felt like he was standing amid a wildfire, but he ignored the pain and focused on the strength filling his entire body. He didn’t know how long the strength would stay by his side and rushed back to Raewood even faster.
Vigor and uncontrollable hunger filled Percy’s entire benign. Yet, upon arriving before Raewood’s gates, something changed. The vigor dispersed, and the pain crashed down like a dam.
An exhausted scream escaped Percy’s lips. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to warn the guards. He was familiar with them and smiled through the pain.
I will be fine…
A moment later, the world around him turned dark.