Chapter 35 - Damm you, Damm you all

A few minutes had passed since Adam and Thaddeus had fallen into the "Gluttony" chamber. They remained silent, sitting on the ground, even though the young scientist had previously expressed a desire for a more open conversation given the circumstances. However, that didn't happen, as neither wanted to be the first to speak.

That was something Adam kept turning over in his mind. For someone like him, it had been an emotional whirlwind to go from almost completely trusting someone to suddenly suspecting that everything they had said up until that moment might be a complete lie.

Knowing he wouldn't get anywhere by staying put, Adam sighed deeply and stood up with some effort, relieved that the pain and injuries he had sustained during the fall seemed to have almost completely vanished.

"Where are you going?"

Asked Thaddeus, dropping any semblance of courtesy and speaking bluntly.

“There’s no point in just sitting around. We know these undead won’t attack us for some reason, so I’m going to take the chance to investigate this ‘Fragment of Gluttony’ more closely.”

Adam said, turning and heading toward the center of the vast room where the glowing rock was located. He wanted to examine it, to be near it, to touch it, to…

“Stop, you fool!”

But his walk and thoughts were quickly interrupted by a sudden jolt; Thaddeus had also gotten up and grabbed him by the shoulder before he could advance any further. The shock snapped Adam back to reality, making him shake his head as he wondered why he had wanted to approach the rock. He recalled the ominous description of it by the system and how part of the information had become corrupted with that strange message saying he should consume it… And the truth was, maybe he did need to, it didn't seem like a bad idea; in fact, not only did he need to do it, but he also genuinely wanted to.

“Hey!”

A new jolt snapped Adam back to his senses. He shook his head again, wondering why his mind was once more filled with the urge to approach the stone. Could it have something to do with the message? But why bother with something so trivial? It wasn’t as if the system was ordering him; he wanted to do it himself, after all…

*PAF*

This time, a hard and loud slap jolted Adam's head, fully waking him up from the pain and surprise. The pain helped him focus for a moment and form a theory. He realized he needed to stop thinking about the rock; as soon as he did, he felt his mind growing heavy again, as if he were falling asleep, and only the residual pain from the slap kept him fully conscious.

“Thank you…”

Adam thanked him while still rubbing his face, though Thaddeus's expression suggested that the slap wasn’t meant to help but to prevent him from doing something foolish.

"This place is affecting you more than I thought. Start talking—there's no point in keeping information that could put us at risk."

Knowing that Thaddeus’s words were true, Adam began to explain the state he was experiencing as best he could. He didn't mention his condition as a demi-lich but did detail everything he had observed about the curses in the Armada's weaponry and how they affected him opposite to what was expected.

"There's something inside my body... but not really. Consider it a type of external energy that currently resides within me for some reason."

The young man said as Thaddeus listened attentively, internally wrestling with all the new information he was receiving, until he finally responded.

"I see… I understand it now"

“Eh? Really?”

Adam was taken aback, briefly thinking that he was being mocked. How could Thaddeus "understand" something that even he wasn't sure about? The young scientist noticed his incredulous reaction, so he simply sighed and tried to clarify what he meant.

"Look, normally you wouldn't need to know what I'm about to tell you, but given the circumstances... I still can't believe my suspicions about you were right. For a moment, I thought you had figured out that the 'Ornaments of Justice' were made from refined fragments' residue. But when you didn't say anything or raise any alarms, I thought maybe you hadn't realized. Now that you've mentioned knowing about the hex-like skills... I can't tell if you're just really naive or incredibly stupid."

Wow, that insult had come out of nowhere, and Adam was sure he would have fired back if it weren't for the fact that his inaction about revealing the truth of the curses was justified—at least in his own mind. He had no idea what these so-called ornaments were, something that might have been obvious to anyone native to this reality, but not to someone from outside the setting. Not to mention that, from what he remembered, Kazue herself had tried asking about them and had only received strange looks.

Thaddeus took advantage of the boy's silence to continue.

"The point is, you're not the first to operate under a principle similar to what you're describing. The disciples themselves work that way—dead bodies mixed with machines, all powered by an inexplicable energy."

“How do you know that?”

Adam asked, increasingly baffled by where Thaddeus was getting all this information.

"*Sigh* As I was saying, 'Stratos Technology' is not unfamiliar with many of the phenomena occurring in the Citadel. Several expeditions have successfully recovered various items from this place, including specimens of some of its guardians and even smaller fragments of that stone. Of course, all of this has been kept secret and has been incorporated into various artifacts and weapons for use by the Ironclad Armada."

So that’s what it was about. ‘Stratos Technology’ had been tasked with exploring this place as much as possible and using everything they had discovered to bolster the military power of the Armada. If that was the case, it meant that Adam and the others had misunderstood what the third faction intended to do. However, there were still things he didn’t understand.

"If that's true, why do the skills from this place have false names? If they're provided by your company, why hide their true nature from the soldiers using them?"

That small disagreement made Thaddeus click his tongue in annoyance, realizing how little the young man knew about the level of information he had. It could have been extremely dangerous if not for the fact that he had done nothing with it.

"Did you know about that too? *Tsk* Well, whatever. Yes, as you said, we managed to integrate the functionality of those fragments into equipment and give them different names, even for those who can see specific information, like you... This was done out of necessity. The Armada needed those skills to succeed, but the preliminary version was outright rejected by the higher-ups due to being considered supernatural... Stupid ignoramuses who only hinder progress. Even my father didn’t grasp the benefits of this energy and agreed to discard all our research at that time. Still, they didn’t realize that... *Ahem*"

Thaddeus cut off his monologue abruptly, realizing he had been talking too much—a bad habit of his for as long as he could remember. He cleared his throat and coughed to regain his composure.

"Anyway, the point is, we have a rough understanding of how these beings work. I’d dare to say you have some sort of connection with the technology used by the 'Golden Pavilion' scientists, something you’re not aware of, because I genuinely believe now that you’re naive enough to have been telling me the truth all this time... Besides, why are they moving like that?"

“Eh?”

Thaddeus pointed behind Adam, and he, confused, turned around instinctively, only to be met with a completely bizarre scene. So absorbed were they in their conversation that they hadn’t noticed that all the disciples who had been wandering around had gathered close to them, staring with their empty eye sockets.

Immediately, Adam noticed them. Three of the disciples lunged at him with outstretched arms, grabbing him tightly and dragging him towards where they were.

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"Hey, stop—!"

The scientist shouted, trying to move or react, only to be restrained by other disciples who rushed at him. Unlike Adam, Thaddeus was simply held in place with his mouth covered.

It made no sense. Why had they changed their attitude so suddenly? Adam felt a cold sweat run down his body, fearing he would be attacked at any moment. However, the entities did nothing but pull him and position him in front of the big crystal. Oh no, he needed to think of something quickly. He tried to close his eyes, but... why should he? The Fragment of Gluttony was right in front of him, just as he had wanted, just as he had always wanted.

Adam stretched out his left arm and placed his palm on the rock. For a brief moment, nothing seemed to happen, but then a sharp, intense pain shot through his arm, causing him to leap back and scream in agony. At the same time, a strange miasma escaped from the fragment like vapor and was absorbed by an unusual chain-shaped tattoo that had appeared around his arm.

⌠Notice: Cursed Energy has been increased by 50⌡ ⌠Warning: Skill [Mark of the Damned LV10] has absorbed ‘Depraved Power of Gluttony’⌡ ⌠Warning: Skill [Mark of the Damned LV10] seal has weakened!⌡

Windows popped up in front of Adam one after another, but he couldn’t read them as he was too focused on clenching his teeth to endure the intense burning sensation in his arm, which felt as if it were throbbing strongly. But the oddity didn’t stop there. The disciples present released Thaddeus and began to walk toward the only functioning door that served as the exit from the ruined room, leaving the two boys alone inside.

Young Volta could hardly believe his eyes. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew for certain that his eyes hadn’t deceived him. Adam had literally absorbed part of the energy from the ‘Fragment of Gluttony’ directly into his body, something that shouldn’t have been possible under any circumstances. It was not only impressive but completely unexpected.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Thaddeus allowed him a moment to deal with the evident pain, but after a while, seeing Adam calm down a bit, he asked how he was doing, though keeping his distance.

"I’m going to assume you have no idea how you did that, right? Well, what’s done is done. We need to take advantage of the fact that the disciples left and try to get out of here. I’m not sure if we can make it, but it’s worth a try. By the way, here, you dropped this.”

Thaddeus continued, extending his hand to return the book that had fallen during the struggle. At first, Adam didn’t respond, but after a moment, he managed to regain his composure enough to look up, still silent, and relax his body a little. He still felt like his arm and head were about to explode from the tension, but he was able to steady himself and begin breathing more calmly.

Thaddeus's words echoed in Adam's mind for a moment. It was true that they needed to get out of this place, even in his condition. So, he tried to overcome his discomfort and decided to get moving, almost without realizing it, receiving the metal-bound tome without pages once more.

⌠Notice: [Ancient Dark Tome - Rank F] has absorbed a little bit of the ‘Depraved Power of Gluttony’.⌡ ⌠Notice: [Ancient Dark Tome - Rank F] has regained a small fraction of its power.⌡

Adam was taken aback by the information that flashed directly in front of him, while the cover of the tome glowed faintly with a slight indigo spark.

"I knew it"

Thaddeus thought, a faint but grim smile forming as he saw something he had been speculating come to fruition exactly as he had theorized. Meanwhile, Adam was so engrossed in reading the information window that he didn't notice it.

Dizzy, Adam managed to get up and, wobbling slightly, followed Thaddeus's instructions to leave the room. They emerged from the blue-glowing chamber into a completely dark corridor that only intensified his disorientation. Nevertheless, he kept his eyes on the scientist leading the way, hoping Thaddeus knew where to go. In his condition, Adam couldn't think clearly or navigate by the red arrow indicators, and in the pitch darkness, he wouldn't have known which direction to take anyway.

They walked in darkness for an indeterminate amount of time until Adam gradually noticed a light at the end of the corridor. Relieved and hopeful, he thought they had finally found the way to the upper floors and might even reunite with the others soon. However, his confusion and headache grew as they reached the source of the light, only to find themselves in another room very similar to the one they had left. This one, however, had a greenish glow and was filled with hooded figures strikingly similar to the disciples of Gluttony.

Before Adam could say anything or try to turn around, Thaddeus grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and forcefully threw him into the room, where he was soon surrounded by the disciples present.

[Your senses have been greatly enhanced] [Your perception has been greatly enhanced] [Your mental agility has been greatly increased]

“What...?”

Adam’s stats increased once more, but for some reason, he still felt disoriented. He couldn’t resist the skeletal hands that held him and carried him to the center of the vast room. There, he saw another large, glowing stone, this one a different color and resembling an emerald.

[Fragment of Greed - Rank B ] ⌠Additional Information⌡ ⌠It’s a sizable rock that gleams with an eerie viridian light. Once a powerful artifact of the ‘Greed Sect’ from the ‘Golden Pavilion’, this relic now lies abandoned amidst the crumbling remnants of the sect's underground ruins. The Fragment passively emanates an aura that can nullify the senses and perception of its victims. In addition, its presence weakens the cognitive abilities of the affected, slowing their thoughts. The rock's corrupting influence reflects its dark past, a remnant of greedy desires that once fueled the sect's insidious rituals.⌡ ⌠Cursed Vision Knowledge⌡ ⌠Warning: Direct contact ■■■ … CONSUME ■■■… IT ■■■ … NOW ■■■⌡

Soon, Adam’s screams filled the room again as he touched the stone, and the same process began anew. Thaddeus, observing from the entrance with a grin from ear to ear, seemed to take evident pleasure in the scene, or at least what it represented.

⌠Notice: Cursed Energy has been increased by 50⌡ ⌠Warning: Skill [Mark of the Damned LV10] has absorbed ‘Depraved Power of Greed’⌡ ⌠Warning: Skill [Mark of the Damned LV10] seal has weakened!⌡

⌠Notice: [Ancient Dark Tome - Rank F] has absorbed a little bit of the ‘Depraved Power of Greed’.⌡ ⌠Notice: [Ancient Dark Tome - Rank F] has regained a small fraction of its power.⌡

In this case, Adam’s heightened senses worked against him, as the pain and dizziness were far greater than what he had experienced before. Like a rag doll, he offered no resistance when the young scientist approached and helped him to his feet, supporting him with his own shoulder.

"Don't worry, we just need to get through five more."

Thaddeus said, almost humming with the joy he felt. Adam, too exhausted and furious to do anything, responded only with a weary and angry glare.

"Calm down, don't be like that. I assure you, what you're doing is a noble task, and I'm not lying when I express my immense gratitude."

Adam simply swallowed hard and allowed himself to be guided down another dark corridor, trying in vain to get his body to react. Once again, he failed to notice the grim smile or hear the last words of the man dragging him along.

"Seriously, you will be the cornerstone to improving humanity... To purge this damned world of creatures that don’t deserve to continue existing because they can’t see beyond their own noses."