Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Hungry Prince
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Hungry Prince.
No need for any detective work. After blatantly using the Authority of Gluttony, the constellation's identity was obvious even without checking.
'Gluttony Demon God, Beelzebub.'
One of the seven Demon Gods representing the Seven Deadly Sins, alongside Mammon. It had to be him.
'Getting attention from two constellations right as the Tutorial begins. And from Demon Gods, no less.'
Constellation attention was never commonplace.
Only a tiny fraction of players—those who achieved standout feats or displayed overwhelming power during the Tutorial—ever caught a constellation's eye.
Besides, receiving interest and being chosen were two entirely different things.
Even if you were lucky enough to draw interest, fail to live up to their expectations, and the constellation would quickly lose patience and leave.
Yet here Se-woon was, drawing interest from two constellations right from the start. And not just any—two of the strongest Demon Gods from the forces of evil.
'More importantly, what now?'
He'd gotten lucky with Mammon, but would the Gluttony Demon God really overlook a human using his Authority without permission?
As he pondered this, Beelzebub's gaze never wavered.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Hungry Prince' opens its mouth as if to say something, but first stuffs the meat in front of it into its maw. And just like that, Se-woon knew.
How to deal with this Demon God.
'Authority of Gluttony.'
Kwajik!
Wuduk!
Se-woon unleashed the Authority of Gluttony on the wolves he'd slain in succession.
Each time, a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth materialized, swiftly devouring the wolf corpses.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Devoured 'Brown Wolf'. Absorbed nutrients. Strength +0.1, Agility +0.5. Regrettably, after the first time, the stat gains dwindled to mere decimals.
But raising his stats wasn't the goal right now anyway.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Hungry Prince' cheers at the sudden feast. 'Perfect.'
The Gluttony Demon God indeed.
It was thrilled over mere Brown Wolf carcasses—the weakest of monsters.
Part of him wanted to stuff it with endless food until it couldn't speak, but unfortunately, the first monster wave hadn't brought that many wolves.
And half of them had been handled by others.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Not a valid target. As he'd half-suspected, he couldn't use the Authority on monsters others had killed.
Soon, the wolf corpses around him vanished in a flash, ending Beelzebub's meal.
Se-woon lifted his head toward the empty air where the gaze had lingered and murmured softly.
"No way this fills you up, right?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Hungry Prince' drools, claiming this is mere appetizer. Tamed—no, negotiated—with. Done and done.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kyaeng!"
"Huk, huk!"
Not long after Se-woon finished taming—no, negotiating—with the Gluttony Demon God, the others succeeded in taking down all the wolves too.
Of course, only a few, like Kang Han-cheol, had actually faced the wolves. The rest had cowered behind, screaming or trembling.
"W-We won!"
"We beat the wolves!"
"We did it! Hahaha!"
Yet the cheers from those who'd hidden were the loudest once the wolves were down.
Those who'd fought panted raggedly, clutching shaking hands.
'No casualties. Well, I handled over half the pack myself.'
In his previous life, the first monster wave had left plenty injured.
The office worker who'd grabbed his sleeve had even died horribly, throat torn out.
Shivering amid the cheering crowd now, he didn't look long for this world either.
⚔ TUTORIAL: CHAPTER 1 – ADAPTATION ⚔ Successfully cleared the first wave. All participants receive 50 points. The wave's success triggered rewards. 50 points—barely enough for a lowest-grade potion from the shop.
But that wasn't what Se-woon wanted.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Calculating individual contributions... 🏆 RANKINGS 🏆 1st: Jeong Se-woon 220 points 2nd: Kang Han-cheol 80 points 3rd: Yoo Seo-ah 40 points '220 points. Decent enough.'
During the Tutorial, individual contributions accumulated just like the rankings floating above.
This was only for their camp, but later it would rank everyone in the Tutorial.
Higher points and ranks meant bigger clear rewards—and higher chances of constellation sponsorship.
Naturally, Se-woon's goal was...
'First place.'
Crushing every other participant.
He already had two Demon Gods' interest, so constellations didn't matter. But the Tutorial's top reward was tempting even for him.
'Time to head out.'
The first wave had taught him plenty.
One key takeaway: the need for a weapon.
Even with the Treasure Vault of Greed, his sub-average stats limited what he could handle.
He planned to use a weapon to push those limits.
'And gather more fodder.'
It was part of his deal with the Gluttony Demon God, Beelzebub, but the Authority of Gluttony was no loss for him either.
Stats were a player's primal strength.
Higher stats would let him wield higher-tier treasures from Mammon's vault.
As he turned from the crowd toward the forest...
"Wait."
Tak.
Someone grabbed his wrist.
Turning, he saw a long-haired woman with a tense expression. She'd rushed over the moment he turned away.
No introductions yet, but Se-woon knew her name.
'Yoo Seo-ah.'
He didn't remember everyone here.
But Yoo Seo-ah? Impossible to forget.
She was a top ranker, alongside Kang Han-cheol, even on the Tower's upper floors.
'Her nickname... Whirlwind, right?'
Earned for her dual-wield style slicing through enemies like a storm.
"Where are you going?"
"Scouting the area. Sticking around here won't help."
Ppakjik.
Her eyes narrowed at his curt reply.
But Se-woon had no intention of being polite or explaining his plans in detail.
With the Tutorial underway, every minute counted. Explaining himself constantly would slow him down endlessly.
What he needed was charisma.
Prove himself through skill and action alone.
He needed people strong enough to follow orders—and follow them to the letter.
"Instead of scouting alone, let's all gather and discuss first."
"What good's discussing among ourselves?"
"Plenty. At least it calms people's anxiety."
"And then what? When the next wave hits, they'll just hide again."
He had no plans to drag along those who couldn't or wouldn't keep up.
Se-woon wasn't some saint.
Dragging the unmotivated through the Tutorial? They'd collapse the moment they entered the Tower.
The Tower was raw wilderness. Pure survival of the fittest.
"Still, we don't know when more wolves might come! Leaving alone like this..."
"Three hours."
"...Pardon?"
Se-woon pointed to the system message overhead.
"Pay attention to that from now on."
⚔ TUTORIAL: CHAPTER 1 – ADAPTATION ⚔ Time until second monster wave: 2 hours 57 minutes. "I'll be back before the next wave. Discuss all you want till then."
"But still..."
"Honestly, better spend that time finding a sturdy stick."
With that, Se-woon shook off Yoo Seo-ah's hand and stepped into the forest where the wolves had come from.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kyaeng!"
The forest was wolf central. Seemed like one appeared every four or five trees.
They ambushed or swarmed, but mere Brown Wolves.
With his past memories, experience, and growing familiarity with Ten Paths Subduing Legs from Mammon's vault, they were no challenge.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Devoured 'Brown Wolf'. No further nutrients can be absorbed from this entity. Regrettably, even the decimal stat gains hit a limit.
He'd puzzled over the Authority's mechanics at first, but Beelzebub's reactions clued him in.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Hungry Prince' says it's sick of this meat now, while sucking the scraps off a wolf's ribs. The Authority's user—Gluttony Demon God Beelzebub—was key to its function.
But he couldn't conjure monsters from thin air.
"Hang in there a bit. Hunting something tastier right now."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Hungry Prince' gulps down the entire rib bone, eyes sparkling. Setting aside the Authority of Gluttony's limits, he'd learned new things about the Authority of Greed—the Treasure Vault of Greed.
First: Its treasures emerged only as intangible 'power.'
'Probably the physical forms crumble, leaving just the power imprinted on me.'
Disappointing, but not a dealbreaker.
Imbue the power of a vault sword into a suitable item, and it became that sword.
Of course, limits applied.
Treasure Vault of Greed unlocked. [Gram, Sword of the Chosen] Sword of wrath wielded by Sigurd, slayer of dragons. With it, Sigurd felled the mighty dragon 'Fafnir'. Pasus-
The moment Gram's power infused a decently sturdy-looking branch, it crumbled to dust and scattered on the wind.
Overwhelmed by the sword's immense power, it vanished.
This applied to objects—and to Se-woon himself.
The Ten Paths Subduing Legs manual had been basic Shaolin fare, adaptable enough.
Try unleashing something like Flame Dragon's Breath now? He'd end up like that branch.
To avoid that...
'Gotta raise my stats first.'
Enough to handle the vault's treasures.
Otherwise, all those treasures were meaningless.
In that sense, the Authority of Gluttony fit him perfectly right now.
Second...
Treasure Vault of Greed unlocked. [Goblin Saliva] Saliva from goblins laced with mild toxin. Paralyzes foes; ideal for coating claws or venom needles. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Invalid target. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Constellation 'Raven with Bowed Head' frowns at your reckless use of its treasure. The Authority of Greed couldn't be used on anyone but Se-woon.
He'd tested it on a wolf with a useless vault item, wondering about the camp folks.
Experiment over.
'Limits the usable treasures quite a bit.'
No physical forms, only power.
Manuals, spells, monster physiques—usable only within what his body could handle.
Most abundant gear-type treasures? Useless without gear sturdy enough to hold their power.
Se-woon, pondering efficiency, couldn't help but feel the pinch.
"Weapon first."
Even without treasures, weapons reduced strain and improved monster kills.
A weapon in this forest? Seemed odd, but he'd found a sword here before regressing.
No Journey's Compass skill to guide him now, though.
Treasure Vault of Greed unlocked. [Hyena's Snub Nose] Low-grade monster with a hyena's head. Uses superior sense of smell to track prey. Crude, but Mammon's vault brimmed with substitutes for Journey's Compass.
"That way."
Sensing a rusty iron scent deep in the forest, Se-woon quickened his pace.