The Fang of Gluttony

Fortunately, the claws had barely grazed his chest before Simon's kick sent the Ravenous Hound flying.

The creature writhed on the ground, convulsed twice, and then fell still. From its body emerged a spirit essence, a bolt of white lightning that instantly embedded itself into Simon's forehead.

Simon felt a surge of warmth flood through his body, and the pain in his shoulder, leg, and chest began to abate. The wounds contracted, and the bleeding ceased. The heat enveloped the injuries, causing them to heal at a visibly accelerated rate.

"Astonishing," Simon marveled, watching the rapid closure of his leg wound. "This spirit essence can enhance healing a hundredfold."

Though he had experienced it before, he was still in awe. A message appeared in his mind:

"Level 2 Spirit Source User: Spirit Essence 2/20"

Sensing this new information, Simon felt his strength slowly returning. He sat up, pondering, "It seems that killing an elite species of a level 2 spirit source beast yields two spirit essences at once. I wonder how many I would gain from slaying that one-eyed frog now."

As he rose, Simon's gaze fell upon the Ravenous Hound's corpse. He noticed its left forelimb, with claws nearly ten centimeters long, beginning to retract and shed. Intrigued, Simon's mind raced.

A white line emerged from the retracting claw on the left forelimb, swiftly darting towards Simon's left hand. The line embedded itself into the back of his hand, and simultaneously, new information materialized in his mind.

"Acquired Special Ability: Fang of Gluttony (Left)."

Simon immediately sensed something new growing within the back of his left hand, a tingling itch, akin to the sensation of additional fingers sprouting from his flesh. The feeling was peculiar; he could sense the growth as if it were an extension of his own body.

Involuntarily, his left hand clenched into a fist. He watched as four small lumps emerged on the back of his fist, followed by white claws piercing through the center of each lump. These claws, composed of a material similar to teeth, continued to extend outward until they reached approximately ten centimeters in length.

He could feel the power and sharpness within these claws. "So, this is the Fang of Gluttony?" Simon took a deep breath and dragged the claws slowly across the concrete floor of the corridor.

A screeching sound echoed, leaving four white trails on the concrete. He raised his left hand again, examining the four sharp, white claws protruding from the back. The sight reminded Simon of Wolverine from the X-Men.

The four white claws slowly retracted into the back of his hand, and the small lumps vanished, leaving his hand perfectly restored. Simon stood up, feeling a mix of relief and lingering fear from the battle with the gluttonous hound. Although he was significantly injured, he had gained much. He glanced at Lily Grace, who was also rising to her feet. Her face was still pale with traces of fear, clearly not yet recovered from the recent terror.

"Don't be afraid, it's over now," Simon reassured her, suppressing his urge to ask if this beast was indeed the one that killed her father, not wanting to upset her further.

Lily Grace nodded slightly, her small face still pale. She walked over to the carcass of the gluttonous hound and, in a show of defiance, stomped on its head with her small shoe. Though the kick was not strong, it expressed her hatred for the creature.

Simon watched with a smile, thinking that despite her fragile appearance, the girl had a surprisingly strong spirit.

With food no longer an immediate concern, and finding the gluttonous hound's body too grotesque to consider for any use, Simon decided to leave it behind. He led Lily Grace to the house he had initially entered, beginning a thorough search for useful supplies.

"Remember, anything edible, drinkable, or useful, like nails, wire, ropes—grab them all," Simon explained to Lily Grace.

She nodded in understanding.

"By the way, when did you first notice the flooding outside?" This question had been nagging at Simon for a while. He had refrained from asking earlier to avoid upsetting her, but now that she seemed more composed, he couldn't hold back any longer.

He had gotten drunk the night before and woke up to find the city submerged. But what about Lily Grace? What had she experienced?

Hearing his question, Lily Grace lowered her head slightly. After a moment, she replied with two words: "The day before..."

"The day before? You mean you woke up to this situation the day before yesterday?" Simon asked.

This time, Lily Grace looked up and nodded.

Simon thought to himself that the day before yesterday was the fifteenth. He had also woken up on the fifteenth to find the city flooded. It seemed their situations were quite similar.

"When you woke up, was it just you and your father? What about your mother? And the neighbors?"

Lily Grace shook her head. Seeing the puzzled look on Simon's face, she added three more words: "They were gone."

Simon gave a slight, wry smile, wondering if she had trouble communicating or if she was just sparing with her words. He realized that talking with her would involve a lot of guessing. "You mean your mother and the neighbors were all missing?"

Lily Grace nodded again.

"Alright," Simon said, deciding not to press her further about what happened afterward. Communicating with her was proving to be quite challenging.

Based on the scene, he could roughly guess what had happened. The father and daughter had likely been attacked by corpse beasts. Lily Grace had hidden in the wardrobe, while her father was killed by the gluttonous hound.

Seeing Lily Grace still looking at him, seemingly awaiting further questions, Simon smiled gently and said, "It's nothing. Let's go find some supplies."

They then went their separate ways to search for useful items. Their efforts were fruitful; Simon discovered a bag of rice in the kitchen, originally fifty pounds but still more than half full, along with half a bag of flour and some noodles, which delighted him.

Lily Grace found several boxes of nails, a coil of thin wire, and two rolls of electrical wire. The house had been recently renovated, so these were likely leftover materials from the construction.

"Excellent," Simon said, his eyes lighting up with admiration.

His next plan was to find a more suitable place to settle and then reinforce the raft. These materials would be incredibly useful for that purpose.

Carefully, Simon began transferring the newly acquired supplies to the raft, which was tightly moored just outside the window. Although the raft was substantial, the increasing load caused it to sink deeper into the water. Simon realized that, for now, they couldn't add much more to it.