Chapter 112: Giant's Stomach
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 112: Giant's Stomach
I obtained a red fruit from the giant's blood.
-Th-This is...!!!
'Do you know what it is?'
-No. I have no idea. What could this be?
“....”
Even Helena, who was practically a walking encyclopedia when it came to the Labyrinth, didn't recognize this fruit.
Lafnel or the head of the Alchemist Guild probably wouldn't know either. Forget Helena’s disciple, Tower Lord Mabel—I wondered if anyone at all knew the true nature of this fruit.
'Olivia might know.'
If it was Olivia, who was basically a living Labyrinth walkthrough, she might have some idea.
-Are you going to eat it?
'Right now? You want me to eat a fruit when I don't even know what it is?'
-The Bracelet of Growth only produces things that are beneficial to its owner anyway. Let’s just eat it and see what kind of effect it has.
'No, lady. You just want me to eat it because you're curious.'
-Of course it’s because I’m curious! I’ve never seen anything like this in all my life. Aren't you curious too?
'I am, but... what if something bad happens after I eat it?'
-Oh, please. Even if something goes wrong, you have the Saintess. And if there’s anything I can do to help, I absolutely will. Come on, now. Don't be a coward and give it a try.
'...'
-Now is the time to be bold. I have a feeling. In cases like this, nine times out of ten, you either get an insanely broken ability or reach the level of a transcendent being. Come on, hurry up.
This woman was really pushing me to eat it since she wasn't the one doing the tasting.
'What if my body grows huge?'
Or maybe my frame wouldn't be able to handle the giant's power and I'd explode.
'Surely not. Am I being too paranoid?'
After a moment of deliberation, I decided to eat the Giant's Fruit.
It didn't look particularly dangerous to begin with. Besides, Olivia had told me that the Bracelet of Growth only spits out things helpful to its owner.
As an adventurer, it would be unforgivable to let a fruit that looked exactly like a legendary elixir just sit there and rot.
Time for an adventure.
'I'll eat it.'
-Good. If anything happens, I'll help you immediately.
I could feel Helena’s heart racing. She was in a state of extreme excitement.
There was only one reason: a new hidden element of the Labyrinth that even she didn't know about was about to be revealed.
People who are obsessed with a certain genre always get worked up when new information surfaces.
Helena, the Labyrinth otaku, was hyper-excited over a fruit she’d seen for the first time today. I guess I had no choice but to meet her expectations.
'Whew. Nothing bad's gonna happen, right?'
Praying that there would be no issues, I bit into the fruit.
Crunch.
The bright red fruit was about the size of a cherry. As I bit into the Giant's Fruit, sweet juice gushed out.
'It's sweet.'
-It's sweet? And?
'It's a bit tart.'
-Is it underripe?
'I don't know. It doesn't feel underripe. Hmm. It strangely tastes a bit like an apple.'
It was like a green apple. The crunchy texture was similar, too. The taste wasn't bad, but the skin was slightly astringent.
I was supposed to eat this raw, right? Surely there wasn't some specific way to—wait?
As I swallowed the second bite, a surge of vitality began to swell within my body.
“Oh...!”
-What is it? What's happening?
'Strength... the strength in my body...!'
In real-time, my muscles repeatedly expanded and contracted. I quickly chewed and swallowed the rest of the fruit. There was no seed.
'A seedless apple...!'
Once I finished the seedless, pea-sized apple, a pain nearly three times greater than what I felt during mana adaptation washed over me.
“Guaaaagh...!!!!”
I collapsed, clutching my stomach.
The pain was immense. However, it wasn't entirely a bad sensation.
I had experienced a similar kind of pain several times during my childhood.
'Growing pains.'
Yes, this was similar to growing pains. I was experiencing them right now.
Though my body didn't get any larger, I could feel my muscle density increasing to an absurd degree as the fibers repeatedly tore and healed themselves.
Furthermore, my stamina seemed to be skyrocketing. Also, a massive amount of air entered my lungs with every breath. Had my lung capacity increased as well?
While my physical abilities were being dramatically enhanced, all the wounds on my hands began to close up.
-Is this... super-speed regeneration...?
'Really...?'
-The speed at which your wounds are healing is on par with a troll's.
'Holy...!'
The wounds on my body were truly knitting themselves back together. Even the muscle aches were vanishing.
And at the same time, an extreme hunger surged within me. I was starving. I was so hungry. I needed to eat.
-A massive amount of energy is being consumed for physical regeneration. You have to satisfy that hunger. Quickly, take something out and eat! If this hunger persists, your maximum vitality will eventually be drained!
'Are you kidding me?'
I hurriedly pulled out hardtack and water from my inventory and began shoveling them into my mouth like a madman.
It seemed my body had gained an effect that allowed for extreme physical regeneration by consuming calories.
'It's not enough...'
But no matter how much I ate, the hunger wouldn't go away.
-You're still hungry? Even after devouring ten servings right there?
'I'm hungry... I think there's a fundamentally different problem.'
-That can't be. It's not using calories for regeneration? What on earth is it? I've never seen a case like this. Is it a different type of ability from something like Obesity Regeneration?
Helena was flustered. Even she couldn't find a solution.
The hunger deepened. This wasn't a craving for food. My body was yearning for something fundamentally different.
'Could it be...'
I stood up and approached the giant's corpse.
Why did the smell of blood suddenly seem so delicious?
Gulp.
My mouth watered.
One step. Two steps.
I drew closer to the giant's body.
-W-Wait! What are you doing! A raw corpse...! Ahhh!
Despite Helena’s protests, I pressed my mouth against the giant's flesh.
I felt a powerful urge that I had to eat this. I had to eat the monster's meat.
Mana.
Yes, what I was lacking right now was mana.
Rip.
I tore into an open wound and bit off a chunk of flesh.
The giant's blood smeared all over my face.
Munch, munch... Gulp.
“Ah.”
Finally, I felt a sense of fullness.
The hunger subsided slightly.
Yes, monster meat was the answer.
-Wait! Are you really okay? It's not good to eat it raw!
I had just eaten ten servings of food in one sitting and was still hungry.
The fact that I could devour that much in two minutes and still swallow meat without any trouble meant something had already changed. Eating a bit of raw meat wasn't going to hurt my stomach.
'I'll be fine. I think my stomach... has changed.'
To be precise, it had become like a giant's. By eating the Giant's Fruit, I had gained a Giant's Stomach. While the physical enhancement was important, the fact that my stomach had become incredibly large, sturdy, and remarkable was even more peculiar.
“You there, porter. What are you doing?”
“Ah, Saintess.”
“Wait, your face is covered in blood. Did you bury your face in the giant's corpse...? Why on earth...?”
“Well, you see.”
“Are you... possessed by a demon?”
“No. It's not that.”
“Is it a curse? Saint Shower!”
“Whoa! Argh.”
The Saintess poured consecutive purification sigils over me.
It didn't hurt at all, and while being purified felt good, it was excessively bright.
“It's not a curse either. Then what are you doing? If you've lost your mind, go ask Rosier for a hug. Don't go burying your face in a corpse by yourself...”
“I'm telling you, I haven't gone crazy.”
“If you haven't gone crazy, then why was your face buried in a giant's corpse? Do you have any idea how creepy you are right now, porter?”
“Well, it's... it's a side effect of an accessory I have.”
“Is it another one of Lafnel’s creations? I mean, what kind of accessory makes you eat a corpse?”
“It's hard to explain in detail, but it's a side effect. It seems I have to eat monster meat to return to a normal state.”
“Hah... so that's why you were gnawing on a giant's corpse?”
“Yes. But Saintess.”
“Yes?”
“Can I... eat just a little bit more? I'm still hungry.”
“....You are an oddity. A total freak. It's absurd just watching you. Honestly. One minute you're eating a sandwich and suddenly you're stripping naked, and now you're eating a monster's corpse? Anyone watching would think you're more of a heretic than the actual Heretics.”
“I agree. It's quite unfortunate.”
“Sigh. Do as you please. Just eat it cleanly and cut away the parts with your saliva so it doesn't rot. Understood?”
“Yes. I'll clean up after myself.”
The giant's corpse was a commodity, after all. If there were bite marks all over it before it was sold, the price would drop.
'Phew. At least I can breathe now.'
After tearing into the giant's flesh, the hunger finally faded.
-The pros and cons are very clear.
'Tell me about it.'
The effects of the Giant's Fruit were as follows:
First, physical enhancement. From strength to overall stats, I felt like everything had increased significantly.
Second, a high-capacity stomach. I had gained the so-called Giant's Stomach. Normal food couldn't satisfy me; I had eaten ten servings and was still hungry. In exchange, I gained super-speed regeneration. It seemed this could only be sustained by eating monster meat.
'As long as I can supply monster meat...'
-You can keep using super-speed regeneration.
Furthermore, since I didn't get sick from eating raw monster meat, I could potentially hunt and eat as I went to recover my body in real-time.
Gaining a cast-iron stomach that could handle anything I shoved into it was an added bonus.
'It's not bad. In fact, it's great.'
Since I could never truly get full, I could eat as much as I wanted of whatever I liked.
And I could use super-speed regeneration as long as I ate monster meat? For someone like me who had a subspace pocket, this wasn't even a penalty.
'A reward. This is a real reward.'
I felt like I had received a fair reward for my efforts.
It was time to accelerate my conquest of the Labyrinth.
Especially since my stamina had reached absurd levels.
'I'll be able to make consecutive trips to the Labyrinth without feeling fatigue.'
Olivia was right when she said the Bracelet of Growth was the best support artifact.
I doubted only giants gave fruits. If I fed it the blood of boss-level monsters, wouldn't it guaranteed to give me a fruit every time?