The Magical Body Devouring Spell

Scott was like a newly rich man who had suddenly acquired a fortune. His excitement was obvious, and his mind was filled with unsettling images. He threw his blanket aside and jumped out of bed. To his surprise, his legs buckled, and with a loud, despairing cry, he collapsed onto his back.

His body felt empty and hollow—he couldn't even muster half his strength. It was as if a thief had not only emptied a house but had stolen the door as well.

He grabbed a handheld mirror and angled it toward his body.

"What happened to me?" Scott was stunned.

It was as if he had been stranded in a vast desert for months, struggling against death. Only skin and bones remained. His deep, sunken eyes took up half of his face. There was no flesh left on him from head to toe. Faint purple veins hung weakly around his skeletal frame, devoid of strength. He looked like an earthworm dried out by the sun. His skin had completely turned to a shade of ash, eerily resembling that of a vampire.

Yet, this fear didn't matter... His vision was sharper, his memory enhanced. His crystalline mind calculated and analyzed his abilities. In the blink of an eye, his previous fear vanished like smoke in the wind. Scott nearly regained his composure out of sheer shock. However, his capabilities had only improved slightly compared to his previous state.

At that moment, he felt as if a ball of fire was raging inside his stomach—a roaring, expanding inferno of endless explosions.

Scott could almost hear every cell in his body, from head to toe, screaming in agony:

"Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!"

The hunger was so extreme that even the countless telepathic thoughts in the depths of his mind were consumed by it, devouring each other in desperation!

"I need food."

Scott had never imagined hunger could reach this level. It was a pain akin to drug withdrawal. He rolled on the floor before suddenly springing to his feet.

He dashed to the outer room and quickly returned with two cans of "Burning Storm Chicken", each weighing five pounds.

Despite its grand-sounding name, "Burning Storm Chicken" was nothing more than a genetically modified product created by wizard guilds using elixirs. They took ordinary chicken, altered it genetically, and classified it as a fast-growing product. The final canned meat was excessively fatty and tasted absolutely terrible. Most ordinary city dwellers avoided it.

However, since the canned meat—stuffed with a mix of bones and organs—was sold for a mere thirty dollars, it was considered a rare delicacy among the poor. It was also Scott's main source of protein—he always kept fifty cans stocked in his home at any given time.

The moment Scott laid hands on the can of Burning Storm Chicken, he was like a starving wolf who had just stumbled upon a freshly skinned, seasoned lamb. His eyes burned red, a deep growl rumbled in his throat.

No one knew where his strength came from, but his entire body pounced on the can of meat. His mouth opened wide—a gaping, bloody maw of a predator—and he started biting into it, disregarding everything else.

"Grrr! Grrr! Grrr!" The sound of his teeth colliding was like two industrial meat grinders clashing. Sparks flew between his saw-like teeth.

The Burning Storm Chicken was overwhelmingly salty, its smell pungent, and its texture excessively greasy. Yet, at that moment, Scott acted as if he were indulging in the most exquisite delicacy on Earth. He devoured the food voraciously, finishing the two-kilogram canned meat within a single minute.

A numbness spread between his lips and teeth, and his stomach swelled unbelievably. The meat of Burning Storm Chickens was extremely dense—when submerged in liquid, it could expand up to ten times its original size.

A thought trembled deep within Scott's mind, then suddenly leaped forward. It came from a great dream. The giant Leo of the Iron Sovereignty Guild was speaking:

"Earth Essence Devouring… This spell allows you to consume mana directly. It's a well-known spell in the world of the Great Sovereignty, but only high-level sorcerers can use it. You fools can't even attempt it."

"Later, I will teach you the Magical Body Devouring Spell. This spell is designed to help you eat faster so you can focus on training. It enables you all to consume food and restore energy at a much greater speed."

"When fully refined, this spell increases digestion power and speed by 15 to 30 times, allowing one to devour 500 pounds of beast meat per day. Even the toughest and most unbreakable skulls of magical beasts are crushed and fully absorbed, converted into the purest form of energy—mana. The mana instantly regenerates within the body's bones, causing the blood vessels to actively expand and granting supernatural strength."

"Remember, the Thousand Metal Refining Spell is not perfect. There is still room for improvement. However, if you fail to master the Magical Body Devouring Spell, you'll remain a failure—someone who can't even fill his own stomach. Don't even think about stepping into the realm of magic."

"Scott Walton, come here for me. Take this annoying 100-pound fish and eat it. I will teach you, members of the Iron Sovereignty Guild, this unique spell—the Magical Body Devouring Spell."

—

Scott's eyelids suddenly snapped open, revealing two round, bulging eyes. A loud rumble echoed from his stomach, as if a powerful engine had suddenly ignited!

For a brief moment, it felt as if countless beasts were stampeding out of his stomach. His abdominal skin stretched so thin that it was nearly transparent!

His stomach and intestines digested food at speeds dozens of times faster than a normal human. The Burning Storm Chicken meat was broken down at lightning speed, reduced to its simplest form of energy, and replenished Scott's dry skeletal frame with mana.

Even though the Burning Storm Chicken meat expanded tenfold when submerged in liquid, it couldn't outpace his digestion and absorption rate. His swollen belly rapidly returned to normal—then began to shrink.

"This isn't enough. I'm still hungry. I need another can."

Food slid down Scott's throat. With just two or three bites, he had devoured an entire second can of Burning Storm Chicken meat. But he wasn't satisfied. He grabbed more.

Five cans. Ten cans. Thirty cans…

In just half an hour, he had relentlessly consumed a total of 47 full cans of Burning Storm Chicken, drank an entire bucket of water, ate dry, and completely emptied his home's food supply. Only then did he let out a burp, wishing he had more to eat.

"The easiest way to burn 10 kilograms in a week—without dieting or exercise."

Scott bit his lip, then used his tongue to pick out a piece of meat stuck between his teeth. He thought calmly: "It still feels like I'm not full… Maybe I can eat one more can."

After finishing his last remaining can, Scott sat back, relaxed.

"Finally, I'm alive."

He was completely satisfied, exhaling deeply. Clenching his fist tightly, he examined his arm, trying to grasp the power now flowing from deep within his marrow.

After the insane digestion and absorption of the Burning Storm Chicken meat—powered by the Magical Body Devouring Spell—his body had undergone a transformation akin to heaven and earth shifting.

The beast meat had been converted into pure mana, flooding his body with immense magical energy. His dry veins were replenished, his shriveled muscles expanded, and his skeleton became as strong as reinforced steel. His body now felt incredibly durable.

Looking in the mirror, his face was still a bit pale, and his frame was slightly slimmer than before. However, beneath his dark, ashen skin, dense muscles—subtly defined—lay hidden. His physique resembled thick coils of steel cables.

Scott clenched his fists tightly. He pounded his chest twice—not too hard, not too soft—producing a deep, muffled thud. It felt as if eight or nine layers of hardened skin cushioned his chest; he didn't feel pain at all.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

He swung his arm, throwing seven or eight punches in succession. Instantly, three or four terrifying afterimages appeared in the air, and the force of his strikes tore through the empty space with a resounding boom.

"My punches are at least 10% stronger. My speed has increased by at least 30%."

Scott summarized his realization in a single sentence:

"The Magical Body Devouring Spell… is absolutely terrifying."

Recalling a fragment of a dream had given him a spell that could suddenly be applied in reality. Scott couldn't help but feel as if he had stumbled upon a priceless treasure falling from the sky.

However, as he sifted through the massive memory archive from his dream of the Magical Beast Blacksmith, he realized that while he could recall the first second with perfect clarity, the next second was shrouded in fog. The memories were scattered—completely useless.

"If only I could remember the dream world in full detail… Even if I could just sneak into the experiences of the Magical Beast Blacksmith from his youth to his death, then achieving the dream of becoming the greatest engineer would be too easy."

Scott sighed.

"I must be cautious of the shadow I absorbed. I don't know what it holds or the consequences of using it. For now, I should settle for the memories of the Magical Beast Blacksmith. But one day… I will have mountains of gold, oceans of silver. I will own luxury cars. I will be admired by all. I will be the most popular figure among millions of young men and women…"

Scott smirked mischievously, letting his imagination run wild.

At that moment, the crystal communicator suddenly emitted a "beep."

A virtual origami bird flew out from the holographic interface's right corner, circled around Scott's head twice, then—"Bang!"—it exploded, transforming into a glowing blue message strip.

"You didn't come to school today?"

A small avatar followed the message. Its eyebrows were slanted vertically, its entire face filled with confusion.

It was Ellen Vanitas.