< The Power of Gluttony (2) >
Shaolin Temple located in Songshan, Hanam Province.
Amidst the turbulent atmosphere caused by the sudden change, a giant man appeared inside the temple where outside visitors were being restricted.
“Oh, really! Where on earth have you been and why are you only coming back now?”
“Hahahaha! I have something urgent to do! Sorry about that! Did you keep me waiting long?”
“···I didn’t really wait. I just had some time to kill since I didn’t really have anything else to do. It was right after the conflict with the Demonic Cult.”
“Yeah, yeah. Instead, I brought you some gifts here and there, so relax, buddy!”
Harley burst into her usual refreshing laughter at the response of Gu Gwang-ma Mok In-gwang, who could not hide her joy even in her discontent.
The monks of Shaolin Temple were turning away all visitors at the foot of the mountain, but this was an exception.
No matter what anyone says, he was nothing less than a benefactor to them.
Crunch crunch—
“···I’m just asking just in case. What are you doing now?”
“Huh? You’re eating meat? Why, give me a bite? … This is precious, so I don’t give it to just anyone….”
So, even when they see such an antics, they only show a look of discomfort and give a sidelong glance, but they cannot bear to strongly rebuke him.
But that was only to a certain extent, and I couldn’t just sit by and let them continue to eat meat like that in this land of the Buddha.
“Hmm.”
Harley was conflicted as she looked back and forth between the piece of meat in her hand and the strange-looking wooden figure.
Soon he nodded solemnly as if he had decided on something.
“Tseuup— Yes, a man shouldn’t be stingy with his food. Come, let me share this special precious meat of mine. Be grateful? Because this is really precious!”
“No, that’s not it···.”
And the moment he slowly brought the meat in his hand forward—.
“Ahem, big. Your Majesty? This is the Brahman realm where the Buddha is worshipped. At least inside this temple, please refrain from eating meat…”
A monk approached reluctantly and spoke softly, trying to control his expression.
With an awkward expression, as if he had never thought he would have to say it so directly.
“···Oh, that’s right. That’s right!”
Gulp—!
Harley nodded, quickly retracting his outstretched hand and stuffing a large piece of meat into his throat, swallowing it.
Then, he licked his lips and roughly wiped the oil off his hands on his pants, then raised the corners of his lips.
“Hahaha! Sorry about that! I’m not used to this culture! I’ll be more careful in the future!”
Quick admission and apology for one’s mistakes.
In fact, I don’t know if that was truly a reflective attitude, but in any case, the monk who achieved his goal put his hands together with an uneasy look on his face and withdrew again.
“There’s nothing we can do about it! Let’s eat meat next time we get the chance!”
Although his reaction seemed as if he had been waiting for an interruption, it was not because he was reluctant to share the meat, but rather because he had at least a modicum of shame left in him.
‘Just a little, should I eat a little more? When you fight, you’re bound to lose, right? If we just consider this as something like that… Yeah, wouldn’t one head’s worth be okay?’
Harley glanced down at her arms, clenching her fists, and lightly licked the corner of her mouth.
As always, the unprecedented power felt in my palm.
But within that power, which was as usual, there was something, though very faint, clearly different from before.
‘「Food God」···. It definitely lives up to its name, right? Even though it’s still just a seed.’
To be honest, I didn’t like the skill’s name from the beginning.
Because it is a word that is often seen in all kinds of media, including TV, it somehow has a very entertainment-like feel.
But those were all just prejudices and preconceptions.
God of Food.
I don’t know about anything else, but it was a skill that had the word ‘God’ in it.
There is no way such an ability could be ordinary.
If I had to express that ability in one sentence, I could say it like this.
‘The pinnacle of predatory behavior, capable of devouring even gods.’
Perhaps the reason why this skill was created is not simply because he consumed the meat of ‘Greed’ while possessing the ‘Power of Gluttony’.
The fact that he had previously eaten some of the wings that contained the power of the Heavenly Sword would have also had a significant effect.
At that time, there were no significant changes other than the development of tolerance for divinity, but the karma remaining in his body reacted all at once due to this incident and evolved.
In that situation, it was inevitable that Tam’s meat would be missed.
Although he fell and became incomplete along the way, he was a monster destined for destruction who had even reached the level of divinity.
It is only natural that a part of divinity is contained in that body.
But Harley shook her head, trying hard to suppress her appetite.
‘No, let’s not be greedy. Moderation is important in everything. Once the seed has been firmly established, there is no need to be greedy.’
The very act of ‘death’ brings about a tremendous decrease in status.
Even a perfect god must pay a huge price for resurrection after dying, so how much more so for Tam, who was already imperfect?
Even if you eat all of that huge body, the amount of divinity you’ll gain will probably be nothing more than a rat’s tail.
In that case, it would have been much more efficient to use it to restore the Gangwhan region as originally planned.
‘There will always be other opportunities in the future.’
He was confident.
The confidence that it won’t be long before you’ll be able to achieve what you want.
‘If you do what you have to do, the time will come on its own. Just like it has been so far.’
Of course, before that.
There was something I had to take care of first.
Wasn’t there one very important thing left that had been put off?
“But friend?”
“···What is it?”
“When I came here, I heard that people were saying that we were the light of the world or the light of a new world.”
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“······.”
“Wow—you really don’t like that, do you? The people who were there at the time must have been the ones who started the rumors. If someone who was there at the time had just corrected it, wouldn’t such a strange name have been given to them? What do you think, buddy?”
As Harley continued speaking with narrowed eyes, Mokin-kwang closed his mouth tightly and averted his gaze.
As you said.
If he himself had stepped forward to correct the nickname when it had not yet been properly established, there was a good chance that the name would have changed.
Even though nicknames are given by people, it would be impossible to easily ignore the words of someone who already had a proper nickname and who had performed exceptionally well in a crisis situation.
But instead of coming to the forefront, he chose silence.
In fact, it was a natural thing from his point of view.
Rather than revealing the humiliation of having his nickname taken away and becoming a ‘mad dog’, it would have been a million times better to become a ‘gwangma’.
“That, I couldn’t help it. After you suddenly disappeared, the chaos continued for quite some time, and when it was somewhat resolved, everyone was busy returning to their own bases… Besides, nicknames are something that the person in question can decide on at will….”
“Oh my, why is this guy’s tongue so long all of a sudden? I’m not saying anything! Are we such shallow people that we can argue over such trivial things? This is disappointing!”
“···Ahem, is that so?”
Mokin-kwang’s face brightened at Harley’s generous words.
I thought I was going to have another fight with that big, narrow-minded guy, but it seems like that was just my own delusion.
‘That’s fortunate. Well, he’s not the type of guy who would say anything just because of his looks…’
But Harley wasn’t finished talking yet.
“Hahaha! Let’s just have our own conversation! That’s how we became close in the first place!”
“···Our food? Let’s get close?”
“Yes, yes! Just like when we first met!”
Knock knock!
Harley smiles brightly as she clasps her rock-like fists together.
The shock caused his wild muscles to twitch violently again and again.
Along with that, a vague, but not so old memory flashed through Mokin-kwang’s mind.
Gulp—
His expression hardened at the resurrected traumatic memory, but of course Harley didn’t care about such a trivial reaction.
A conversation between bodies, where bodies collide with each other.
Isn’t this the best way to have an honest conversation without pretense?
‘This is a perfect opportunity. I’ll take this opportunity to check how much has changed.’
The best way to know about changes in your body is to try it out yourself.
And Mokin Gwang, who was known for his sturdiness, was the perfect target for that.
“Okay, okay! Let’s go, buddy! Hahahaha!”
“······.”
Unlike Harley, who confidently led the way to the training ground, Mokin-kwang was unable to refuse and forced himself to move forward like an animal being dragged to the slaughterhouse.
Some time had passed since then.
Only one person was able to walk out of the chaos-filled training ground unharmed.
‘Whew, that’s refreshing. It’s a good thing I needed to suppress that guy’s madness once more.’
Although he has become a completely normal, sensible person since meeting Harley, before that, he was one of the most lunatics in the Gangwan world and was called ‘Mad Demon’.
Since it has been quiet recently, no one knows what kind of reaction will occur when there is a change, so periodic management is essential.
That is—this was not an unnecessary venting of anger, but rather a part of his treatment, and rather a pure favor that could not be appreciated enough.
‘There weren’t any monsters in Geumodo who knew about the Gwangjesimgyeol, but since I also have the Gwangjesimgyeol (改), I guess it’s not that lacking.’
If you continue to follow that path, it wouldn’t be too far off to think that Mokin Kwang will reach the top.
Of course, the process may be a bit painful and difficult, but isn’t that how all processes of gaining insight are?
‘So, shall we start the real work now?’
Harley, who had happily dealt with the matter that had been piling up, immediately requested an audience with the head of the Shaolin Temple.
In order to start a more serious home theater rehearsal.
***
It was not surprising that the communication attempted by Zhuge Liang in Beijing was connected to Hugo.
Even though she is a genius, this is the first time she has officially used magic.
Therefore, it is entirely possible that there may have been a slight error in goal setting.
[···It seems that my calculations got messed up while I was asking for help from Prince Ju Kang-in. I was anxious on my own, and everyone else was not feeling well, so I had no choice but to ask for help from the prince···]
Because of that, he developed a close bond with both of them, and it was said that the thread of causality was connected to him as he approached them to save them.
‘That in itself is great enough, actually.’
Anyway, it wasn’t a bad thing since it reduced the time it took.
The sooner the better for this one.
Hugo tried to communicate with her again, encouraging her as she was very nervous, not knowing when she would be caught, and told her to relay the information to Zhuge Liang’s headquarters.
[Are you sure it’s okay? It’s been quite some time since the commotion I heard outside stopped. No matter how careful I was to keep the activation secret, if a master comes near, he might notice something strange.]
It was really good.
Because right now, she had deliberately removed everything around her that could be a nuisance.
But since he couldn’t say it out loud, all he could do was to console her with trustworthy and reassuring words.
[···Whew, I see. I’ll try again. Actually, I feel a little more confident after trying it once. Seriously, I can’t believe I spent all those years lying in bed because of something like this.]
Thanks to that, her voice, which had been trembling with anxiety, regained its determination.
I thought the communication was cut off like that…
[···In fact, this is all thanks to Confucius. If I were still in a weak state like everyone else, I wouldn’t have even been able to attempt something like this.]
Unlike before, the voice continued hesitantly, as if he was hesitating about something.
A small sense of anxiety that seemed to have disappeared faintly appeared in it.
[···Will we be able to meet again?]
Of course, Hugo’s answer to that was already decided.
[Of course. Didn’t you promise? To tell me what happened at the Murim Alliance meeting.]
[···You remembered?]
[Of course. I have already bought the souvenirs. Young lady, have you been exercising hard all this time?]
[I did it every day until yesterday. I haven’t done today’s portion yet because I’m trying this.]
[Fortunately, there’s still a long way to go until midnight. If you quickly contact Jegal Se-ga, exercise, and go to sleep, it’ll be just right.]
[···Tsk, I see.]
As we exchanged such pointless words, I felt Jegal Hye-mi’s tension ease up a bit.
It seems that this conversation was not entirely without its merits.
[I have now arrived near Beijing. I will find a way somehow, so don’t give up on me either. No matter what happens, I will definitely save you.]
[······.]
A word of confidence, based on unwavering truth.
Jegal Hye-mi’s answer was cut off for a moment.
[···Okay, then I’ll wait.]
And with that faint reply, communication with her was completely cut off.
Now, after she has rested for some time, she will contact Zhuge Se-ga and tell him her current location and the surrounding situation in as much detail as possible.
Of course, if that happened, his journey here would have been in vain, but he didn’t care about such trivial matters.
After all, the only excuse he had for going to Beijing was to gather information.
“Okay, then now···”
Hugo nodded with a serious expression, finishing his lingering thoughts.
There was a brief pause as a message from Jegal Hye-mi arrived, but wasn’t he in the middle of something very important right now?
‘Let’s see, next one is… Baeknyeonhasuo? Let’s skip this one. If you build up a resistance to such a low-quality elixir, the effectiveness will only decrease. Oh! Thousand-Year Three Kings. Yeah, this should be enough. But it’s still a shame… I guess I’ll have to call Harris and find some proper elixirs.’
Hugo swallowed the elixir on the spot without even doing any ritual to control its effects or refine it.
Normally, it would be something that should never be done, but for him who possessed the “power of gluttony”, it was now something that did not matter.
Woohoo—
As the energy flowed, waves spread around him and the internal energy within him boiled over.
Hugo, a top-class player in his early twenties—Ha Seung-hoon.
His internal energy was already sufficient to be considered the best in the world in terms of quantity alone.
