Gluttony (5)

A massive, hefty level 50 monster. The infamous Giant Honey Bear. It let out its final breath with a weapon impaled through it and crashed to the ground with a thud, shaking the nearby earth like a minor earthquake.

The Honey Bear lived up to its notorious reputation—it was no pushover. Even a well-synced three-person party averaging mid-level 30s nearly got wiped out. And they were a solid team! Experiencing the difficulty firsthand, I could see why it was considered the strongest early-game monster.

Anyway, we won.

"Phew, good work everyone!"

I sheathed my blade first and turned to offer my thanks. Behind me, the bald guy—Eurat-chacha—and the kid were wiping sweat from their faces, looking utterly drained. The silent tank who'd been quietly taking hits until moments ago finally spoke up, his voice laced with clear irritation.

"Party leader, no more solo acts from now on, got it?"

Hearing that, the kid—Jjayo-raneun—mumbled in his defense.

"But we couldn't just let the newbie die... Plus, looks like they took the wrong quest or something."

Jjayo-raneun and Eurat-chacha traded a few barbs ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that, sparking a minor argument. Then, out of nowhere, it splashed over to me.

"Je-bub-eo-twaeyo, what do you think?"

"Bub sis, what's your take?"

Suddenly hit with all the attention, I panicked. I hadn't been listening to a word of their conversation. Scratching my cheek, I stalled for a bit before finally speaking up.

"Sorry, wasn't listening."

At my response, both of them deflated with heavy sighs and plopped down on the ground just like me.

"I get the gist of your thinking. Water under the bridge."

"Yeah, me too. We'll discuss next time."

Eurat-chacha apologized quickly, and Jjayo-raneun accepted just as fast. Watching them hug it out, they looked like a wholesome father-son duo.

"Medetashi, medetashi."

I grinned at the heartwarming sight, nodding along. This is a healthy relationship, I thought to myself.

"By the way, any rewards? It's an elite monster, after all..."

I brought it up first, and Jjayo-raneun rummaged through his inventory, pulling out an item. It was shaped like a seed—coated in black, sticky muck with a tiny green sprout poking through, surrounded by ominous dark effects. Nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like your average seed, but definitely one.

"The description says... 'It will take root once it finds its owner.'"

I felt a strange pull toward that seed. An unfounded certainty bubbled up that I was its owner.

"Hand it over. I feel something."

Unlike my usual roundabout way of speaking, the words came out blunt and direct. Jjayo-raneun passed it to me without hesitation.

Then the seed stirred to life. The muck peeled away as roots dug into my palm, and a stem snaked between my fingers. It moved like a starving beast, climbing my arm with an insatiable hunger that could never be sated. After a few seconds, it settled, wrapping my hand like a crude gauntlet.

As the quest window popped up, Treib—an NPC who seemed to appear out of nowhere—walked toward me with a smile. The researcher stopped before me, knelt on one knee, lifted my right hand—the one where the seed had taken root—and pressed his lips to it. Then he looked up at my face and asked politely.

"Would you perhaps grace the lab with a visit tomorrow?"

* The promised day had arrived. Nothing fancy—just the very next day.

"Lab time, let's go!"

I logged in first thing, ignoring everything else, and sought out the gloomy girl. Knocking on the request office door, she peeked out with her disheveled hair looking as unkempt as ever. Spotting me, she ducked back in, emerged in a crisp white researcher uniform, and led me to the lab as agreed.

"D-don't touch any other th-things, absolutely. Stick right b-behind me."

She drilled that into me repeatedly.

"Ugh... Treib can't find out..."

Tristis kept glancing around nervously. Worry etched every line of her back as she led the way.

Whatever. Not my problem, so I didn't care much. Yesterday's words still stung in my chest, though.

Anyway, we reached the lab. She authenticated through the stringent security system step by step, even unlocking the massive steel door.

Finally, a glimpse inside the world tree. But more importantly, I needed to uncover its link to the quest. Why were these researchers blocking monster hunts? This was my golden chance to dig into the truth—no room for half-assing it.

Hiss— Steam hissed as the ironclad security fully disengaged.

"C-come in..."

The lab interior was jaw-dropping. Built around the enormous world tree, it was massive, with green nutrients visibly pumping upward along the outer walls. Endless research docs, simple machines mixing and transferring solutions—it was a spectacle. About twenty researchers bustled about with weary expressions, scribbling reports or decanting flasks in rote repetition.

But up close, they weren't researchers at all. Robots. Just metal hulks disguised as humans. That's when I sensed something off.

Tristis stared at my shocked face and said clearly,

"Ten minutes. Exactly ten, then we leave."

Ten minutes? Plenty. Enough to see and memorize everything.

Long desks overflowed with stacks of research bundles and papers.

As Idiot had said, the researchers were obsessed with monsters—especially flies. I skimmed and memorized the docs. They all focused on flies, but notably, Treib's name appeared on every single one.

Glancing casually, I tossed out a compliment.

"...Impressive stuff."

No reply. Tristis either didn't hear or ignored me, pacing anxiously ahead. She and I were probably feeling the same tension right now.

Silence stretched on for a while after that. Then, passing one room, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face through the translucent glass.

"...Isn't that the kid from the newbie party?"

Je-bub-eo-twaeyo—that was her name. No clue why she was in the lab, deep inside no less, but she was definitely on a fly-related quest.

I looked away indifferently—but Tristis didn't. Her face drained of color as she grabbed my hand and bolted for the exit.

"Tr-Treib! Treib was there...! Tour's o-over!"

She must've spotted Treib in the same spot. I got dragged out before even hitting ten minutes.

"Hah, huff... I-I'm going. No more f-favors like this!"

She was so flustered her breathing was ragged. My suspicions about Treib deepened. Abuse? Violence? Abusing his position for shady deeds? Torture? Or worse, sexual assault? No way to know.

Tristis shook off my hand and hurried back to the request office.

"Tch."

I smacked my lips in regret. A bit more time and I'd have nailed down their research. Especially that secretive room—what was inside? So frustrating to miss it.

Anyway... I'd gotten a rough idea. Best head to the sword dojo and chat with Idiot.

From what I saw, they were curious how far the flies could grow, what they could eat. Their freakish reproduction rates too. Seemed like they'd experimented by feeding them various things, but no papers on the details. Intentionally hidden or shredded? Stink of something fishy.

"What could it be..."

Hoping for a solid answer, I headed to the sword training hall, vague expectations riding on her.