Stay in control
Without hesitation, he lunged forward, his daggers flashing into his hands as he activated his skill with a whisper.
"Stealth."
The world around him dulled as his figure rapidly blurred with the surroundings. His speed surged, the skill giving him a sharp boost.
The three Spiked Rats shrieked as they ran towards, bristling with aggression. But their cries turned to confusion as their prey suddenly vanished.
Their beady brown eyes darted about, sniffing the air, their short claws scraping nervously at the dirt.
They didn't even see it coming.
Flick!
Riley shot forward like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye, he was upon them.
Schk! Schk!
His daggers moved in smooth, practiced arcs—one slicing across the exposed neck of the first rat, the second splitting open the white throat of the second before he dipped into a low roll, ducking under a clumsy tail-swipe from the third.
[-21!]
[-21!]
He lunged back at the monsters, delivering another swift strike towards the neck of the first two, before stabbing through the last one in quick succession.
After finishing his work on the monsters, he reappeared behind them, his daggers dripping with thick blood.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
All three rats collapsed in a heap. Their necks were torn clean open, blood pumping out in warm pulses that quickly soaked the forest floor beneath them.
They had barely even understood what had happened, let alone seen their attacker. The entire assault took less than ten seconds.
[+20EXP]
[+20EXP]
[+20EXP]
Three notifications blinked in front of him, but Riley barely even glanced at them.
He wasn't tired, but his body was shaking.
The hunger clawed at his stomach like a beast.
His breath grew heavier—deeper—his vision swimming slightly as he tried to push the sensation back.
It wasn't pain exactly. It was like an empty void inside his chest was slowly expanding, threatening to consume him from within.
"I need more…" He muttered, staggering toward the closest corpse.
He dropped to one knee beside it, placing a hand on its still-warm body.
"Gluttony."
The moment he spoke the word, his body moved on its own.
His jaw snapped open wider than it should've.
Like before, it was as if a spinning vortex had awakened inside his mouth.
The dead rat's body convulsed as if in protest before lifting into the air, piece by piece being torn away and sucked into Riley's open maw.
Bones, organs, fur, and flesh—all of it vanished into the abyss.
Seconds later, there was nothing left, apart from a few drops of blood where it died.
[Strength +0.8]
[Agility +1.2]
[Endurance +0.4]
[Vitality +0.6]
[Mana +0.4]
The system window popped up before him in glowing blue, but Riley's eyes didn't even register it.
Still on his knees, he crawled to the second rat, his breath ragged.
'More…' He mumbled inwardly, his fingers grabbing onto one of the monster's spikes, dragging it closer.
His mouth opened again—and the same pull began.
Schluck… Schluck… Fwup.
The body vanished piece by piece, faster this time—like his talent had grown hungrier.
The third corpse was next.
He didn't hesitate, not even wasting a second to think.
He simply opened his mouth and devoured it.
By the time the final body disappeared, Riley was on his knees, panting heavily.
His abdomen twisted with conflicting sensations—satisfaction, fullness, but also… restraint.
A terrifying sense that the hunger wasn't entirely gone.
However, compared to a few seconds ago, it had become tolerable. At least for now.
[Strength +1.6]
[Agility +2.2]
[Endurance +0.8]
[Vitality +1.0]
[Mana +0.8]
Another set of notifications appeared in front of him, as he absorbed the attributes of the two monsters combined.
He gripped the front of his shirt and doubled over, sweat dripping down his temples. His hair clung to his face as he bit down on his lip, trying to center himself.
'So this is it… the hunger of Gluttony…' He thought.
It was very different from simple starvation.
This wasn't a need for food. It was more like a need to consume.
He could still taste the monsters in the back of his throat—an earthy, metallic tang mixed with something wild and feral.
Their blood still smeared his lips, dried now into a dark red crust. He wiped them off slowly, his expression unreadable.
"I need to stay calm…" He muttered.
He had never felt anything like that before—not even in his first life, when he went without food for three days due to him being severely broke. Back then, all he felt was great discomfort, weakness, fatigue, the normal things an hungry person felt.
However, that feeling couldn't even be compared to this.
And he knew now why the system had warned him.
If he lost himself to this feeling—if he gave in—he wouldn't just be some hungry player.
He would surely become a monster.
Riley straightened slowly, brushing his bloodied hands against his pants. His breath came a little easier now, but he could still feel it—that lingering edge in his gut. A voice without words, whispering: More. More. More.
He clenched his fists and forced it down.
'No. I'm not going to be ruled by this.' He thought. 'It's my power, and I'm going to control it.'
'Status Window.' He called out, curious to see how much his status had grown since he consumed four monsters.
[Player ID: A Random]
[Level: 1(80/100)]
[Profession: Assassin]
[Class: Apprentice Assassin]
[Talent: Gluttony (SSS)]
[H/P: 52
[M/P: 76
[Magic Damage: 7.6
[Physical Damage: 5.4
[Magic Resistance: 7.6
[Physical Resistance: 2.8
[Attributes: Strength: 5.4; Agility: 12.8; Vitality: 5.2; Mana: 7.6; Endurance: 2.8]
[Skill: Stealth(level 1)]
[Description: Temporarily Boosts Agility By 50% for 10 seconds, and masks the user's presence. Deals 15 points of damage to target + 100% of user's mana to target. Cost: 10 Magic Points. Cool-down: 3 seconds]
[Attribute Points Available: 0]
[Skill Points Available: 0]
[Equipment: Basic Cloth Shirt, Basic Leather Pants, Basic Daggers(common)]
The moment Riley saw his status window, his eyes widened in shock.
'Wow… they have increased… so much!' He thought, staring at his current attributes in disbelief.