The Long and Winding Road of Talent
I poured the fermented blood of a satyr—otherwise known as "Endless Impulse"—into two paper cups until they were brimming. 'If it triggers a self-harm impulse... I can just heal it with Rising Flesh. But if it triggers a murderous or cannibalistic impulse... that might get a bit complicated.'
There were three types of impulses in total. I figured self-harm would be the easiest to manage. After all, I had the ultimate healing skill, Rising Flesh, which could perfectly reattach severed limbs. Even if they harmed themselves, I could just fix them as long as they didn't die. However, a murderous impulse that required killing someone or a cannibalistic impulse that made them crave human flesh seemed difficult to resolve.
'Still, feeding it to them now will make it easier to operate once we enter the underground floors... As for the impulses, I can suppress them to some extent if I command them. The problem is the side effects of forced suppression...'
They said that if the impulses weren't properly satisfied, it led to extreme anxiety, stress, and sleep disorders... That was a problem in its own right. For now, I could manage their fatigue by having them take Dawn Seven, but the future was the real issue. It would be great if they could satisfy it by killing and eating mushroom humans, but if that didn't work... well, I’d have no choice.
"Alright, you two. Drink this down in one go."
"Pardon? Ah... yes."
Kesia took the cup I shoved at her and drank it instinctively. Her expression twisted instantly. Perhaps because it was fermented satyr blood, it must have tasted absolutely atrocious.
"Ah..."
Kekere, who had been watching Kesia’s reaction, looked reluctant, but under my steady, piercing gaze, she eventually had no choice but to down it in one gulp.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Both of them had consumed the "Endless Impulse," also known as the talent supplement. Now, the effects would start to show.
"Umm...? Uh... uh-uh..."
Kesia, who had drunk it first, was the first to react. Her body began to shimmer with a healthy sheen. It seemed she had gained a "perfect" physique, one of the side effects of the supplement. Soon, her dull, faded scales fell away, and new, glossy, vibrant scales sprouted in their place. Furthermore, her sunken cheeks filled out... and her teeth fell out in a flurry. New teeth, like those of a shark, were growing in their place!
Thanks to the supplement, Kesia’s overall physical condition had improved. But then...
"Ah. Ahhh... ahh..."
Suddenly, like a madwoman possessed by insanity, she began to scratch at her arms. Soon, she started clawing at her face, neck, and chest with a desperate expression. The scales she had just grown were caught under her fingernails and ripped away. It seemed she had been hit with a self-harm impulse.
"Kesia, stop."
"Ugh... No. I don't want to. I don't want to... Ugh... ugh..."
"STOP!!"
"Kuh-hup...!"
Kesia barely managed to stop scratching at my sharp command. However, her skin was already torn by her nails, and blood was flowing down.
"You mustn't harm yourself. Understand?"
"Yes. Yes. Ugh. Ugh... Ah, I can't. I shouldn't. Ugh. I know. I shouldn't."
Despite my command, Kesia was still rambling and trying to scratch her arms. I used Rising Flesh on her. And then...
"KYAAAAA!!!"
Kesia writhed in pain... and she loved it. Her eyes rolled back slightly, and she completely... went over the edge. 'Wh-what is this...?'
Kesia, caught in the self-harm impulse, felt the intense pain of my Rising Flesh and began to drool while laughing... She had a look of extreme satisfaction. She even lost control completely, leaking some kind of fluid—whether it was urine or arousal, I couldn't tell. As the room became filthy in real-time, Cheshire’s expression turned a bit... sour.
"I-it feels good!! Ha-euut!! He-euung... Hehehehe. I-it feels good..."
"Uh... i-is that so..."
I didn't know what to do, so I just left Kesia, who was laughing like an idiot, alone. Honestly... it wasn't bad. It was actually good. I had discovered that I could suppress the self-harm impulse—which would have otherwise required cutting off a finger—with the extreme pain of Rising Flesh. How could I not be happy? 'Then again... Rising Flesh is painfully dirty even when I use it on myself.'
There’s a reason I use this skill for torture. There’s a reason people who are hit with this technique freak out and swear loyalty to me. Anyway, Kesia was satisfied, having triggered some strange synergy effect. It seemed the amount of pain that would have required cutting off a finger had been fully satisfied by Rising Flesh. Of course, since it was the "Endless Impulse," she would soon feel the urge to self-harm again, but I could probably use her relatively normally until then.
"Jo... Jun."
"Yeah?"
While I was distracted observing Kesia, something absurd was happening behind me.
"YOU CRAZY BITCH!!!"
Kekere was... swallowing Aram alive.
"Ugh!! Spit it out!! You crazy woman!! I said spit it out!!!"
Cheshire, Aila, and I slapped Kekere’s face repeatedly. Only then did she finally spit Aram out.
"Ugh..."
"KYAAAAA!!! Aram!!!"
Aram, whose upper body had been half-swallowed by the toad, wiped her face, which was sticky with mucus, and frowned. Cheshire, who had caught her, also ended up filthy.
"Ugh... the smell of saliva... damn it..."
"Are you okay?"
"Ugh... I smell all over... I need to wash again... Ugh, damn it. It’s disgusting..."
Aram was led to the shower by Cheshire. Kekere scratched the back of her head, looking apologetic, then flicked her tongue and looked at me. That look... it was like a bullfrog staring at a delicious piece of prey.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Ah, I know. But you keep looking so delicious..."
"Ugh. Damn it. And in the middle of all that, your speech has gotten faster."
"Oh? You're right? My speech has gotten faster! Wow! Amazing!!"
So this was the effect of the Endless Impulse... Kekere’s flaw had been compensated. Kekere, who had become a talent-holder, was now able to speak quickly.
"With this... I might be able to cast spells by the second... Ah... ideas... ideas are just flooding in... Amazing!! I’m incredible!!"
Kekere was even rejoicing that her brain was working well. Now that I looked, her hunched posture seemed to have straightened out a bit. They said it would make the body perfect... Kesia was still having a fountain show on the floor, and Kekere’s body seemed more robust as well. Yes, Kekere’s build and face had grown larger.
'Certainly... the effect is good. It’s good, but...'
The side effects were no joke. Kesia could be satisfied with Rising Flesh, but Kekere was feeling an intense cannibalistic impulse. How was I supposed to satisfy that...
While I was agonizing over that, Kekere, unable to control her hunger, extended her tongue slightly to lick my hand. She was trying to taste me.
"Where do you think you're going!"
-*SMACK!*
"Kya-hut...!"
When her tongue was smacked, Kekere retreated, making a strange noise. Just then, Aila pulled a pet human out of the terrarium on the table... Wait? A pet... 'human'? Could it be... does that pet 'human' count as a human too...? If so...
"Hey, toad."
"Yes?"
Kekere turned around at Aila’s call. Since Aila was a doll, it seemed she didn't trigger the cannibalistic impulse. "Eat this."
"Oh... that is... ah... gulp..."
-*SLURP!*
Kekere extended her tongue, wrapped it around the female pet human who was struggling in Aila’s hand, and swallowed her whole. Soon, her throat moved several times, and the pet human passed into her digestive stomach, not her storage stomach.
"Ahhh..."
Kekere, who had swallowed the pet human alive, sat down on the floor with a relaxed, frog-like expression. It was hard to tell her expression properly because she was a toad, but... she seemed to be smiling very contentedly.
"Is it satisfied...?"
"Yes... I am satisfied... Ah... it feels good..."
"I’m going crazy."
I rubbed my face and checked the situation, which had finally settled down. For now, Kesia, who felt strong self-harm impulses, could be left to harm herself and then healed with Rising Flesh to be satisfied. Kekere, who felt cannibalistic impulses, could be satisfied by using pet humans as a substitute.
"Problem solved?"
"Oh yeah."
Aila and I gave each other a light high-five and cleaned Cheshire’s dirty room. We wiped up the sticky mucus Kekere had spilled and cleaned up the fluid and fallen scales Kesia had left behind while "going over the edge." By then, Cheshire and Aram, who had finished their showers, came out.
"Cheshire, look... I, uh... fed her one pet human..."
"Huh? What?"
Cheshire looked at the terrarium with a panicked face. "Ugh... i-it’s okay... Li, Lily... was eaten... Yes. It’s okay... that can happen. I’m okay..."
Cheshire didn't look okay at all... It seemed the name of the pet human Kekere had swallowed was Lily... To think she had even given her a name... and had been that attached to her... Oh, my god...
"Uhm... Cheshire... that is..."
"No. I’m really okay... Actually, everyone gathered here to get me out of this place... this much is nothing."
I hugged Cheshire, who was tearing up. In a way, I felt terribly sorry because all of this had happened because of me.
"For now... let’s all get some rest."
"Yes..."
Fortunately, Kekere and Kesia didn't act like horses in heat anymore. It seemed that once the impulse was satisfied, the lingering effect lasted for a while.
The next day. We all pulled our hoods over our heads and entered the Twisted Alley.
"We have to find the manhole."
"Yes!"
"I understand!!"
"It’s a black manhole, right?"
"Right. Black. It has to be black. That’s the back entrance. We can only enter without being detected if we go through there. You all know that, right?"
"Yes!!"
We wandered around the Twisted Alley, searching for the black manhole cover. Before long, Aram found it.
"Here!"
"Oh..."
We ran to where Aram was. There, there was a manhole cover that looked very ordinary, but because it was in the Twisted Alley, it didn't look ordinary at all.
"If we go down here..."
"It’s the underground of the Black Market. It’ll be dark... and damp. Everyone is prepared, right...?"
"Of course."
"Yes."
"Good. Everyone, keep this in mind. Our goal isn't to fully conquer the underground floors. It’s a hit-and-run. Let’s go in."
Cheshire carefully opened the manhole cover. She went in first. Then Aram, Kesia, and Kekere followed. Finally, it was my turn.
"See you at the bottom."
"Yes, Aila. See you at the bottom."
I jumped into the hole. The viscous darkness swallowed me whole.