Chapter 198: Greed (15 — begging for monthly tickets!)

"There, there, don't be scared."

"Take a deep breath."

"Feeling dizzy is normal."

【"I say… it's just a chicken, was all that really necessary?"】

Nie Nasha stared in speechless silence at Herbert, who was muttering on and on at the little chick in his hand.

Was all that really necessary?

"No, you don't understand — I'm expressing my reverence for life here."

"After all, it's a little life the monastery raised for two and a half years!"

He had no idea what the nun had been guarding against when she'd handed him a meat chicken with a sharp beak…

Herbert combed the fluffy grey fuzz on the chick's head into a middle part with his finger, and nodded in satisfaction.

Now, it really looks like you.

"Little chick, little chick, don't blame me, you're a dish from the world of the living; go early this year, come back early next year."

Mumbling the magic that makes food taste better, Herbert pinched the chick's neck between two fingers and gently squeezed them together.

Crack.

Without so much as a single soft cluck, the entire head was snipped clean off by Herbert's scissor-like fingers.

After gaining the Blade Demon's shapeshifting ability, every part of his body could now transform into a killing edge.

When the chicken head hit the ground, Herbert felt a change.

A warm current surged from his fingers into his body, jolting his spirit and leaving him feeling a new strength within.

It works!

This is the power of conquest!

Herbert's heart raced with excitement as he anxiously awaited the reward to follow.

And then… there was no then.

Apart from that warm current, Herbert felt nothing else at all.

Hmm?

"…Why does it feel like there's no feeling at all?"

That's it? That's all there is?

Just a little warm?

Honestly, Herbert really wished he had a data template that could visually display changes in numbers.

Don't I deserve a system panel?

Deep Blue!

Deep Blue, it's your turn to come out!

Under his tireless summoning, Deep Blue did not appear — but Nie Nasha, worn down at last, could no longer stand it.

【"Well? What more were you hoping for?"】

She seemed to have completely forgotten her earlier embarrassment; there was no trace of shyness in her voice, no difference from her usual manner.

But it was precisely this composed attitude that ended up revealing a great deal.

Herbert picked up on it, grinned to himself, and chose not to provoke her any further at that moment.

The promise just now had already amounted to a formal confession; if he kept pushing, it would likely make her walls of the heart thicken completely.

The two of them would be together from now on — there was plenty of time and plenty of chances.

No need to rush it in a single moment.

So Herbert acted just as he always did, complaining:

"But that's all? Just a tiny bit of effect? Just a little vitality topped off and that's it?"

Seeing him so at ease, Nie Nasha let out a breath of relief, relaxed further, and retorted:

【"Then what were you hoping for? To get stronger in an instant?"】

【"Please, it's just a weak little beast that isn't even a magical creature — being able to give you a little vitality is already pretty good."】

In academic circles there is a view that once humans become professionals and master power such as magic, they too can be regarded as a kind of magical beast.

And between magical beasts and ordinary mundane beasts there is an essential difference — their levels of life are far apart.

Herbert at this moment could be regarded as a powerful magical beast with high-tier strength; for a mundane creature, its power simply wasn't enough to have much effect on him.

Herbert could of course understand this point, but he still felt a touch of disappointment about it.

Tch.

No drop-rate boost.

I thought it would be a legendary one-shot-nine-nine-nine!

This is it? This is it?

Weak!

As he sighed, Herbert could only shake his head helplessly: "Sigh, that's all it is? Then why'd you make it sound so tense earlier?"

It was Nie Nasha's uncharacteristic reaction that had made him expect far too much from this ability.

Honestly, false alarm!

You made me burn the big move I'd prepared ahead of time just so you wouldn't interfere.

【"Heh, I was worried about you."】

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

【"Besides, haven't you realized? Even so, this is still a very powerful ability."】

"Eh? But this little bit of energy…"

That little bit of energy probably wouldn't even last through one hand's work — what's it good for?

【"What 'eh' are you 'eh-ing' about."】

Nie Nasha corrected him, none too pleased:

【"It's not that one chicken can provide you with this little energy, but… that even one chicken can provide you with energy."】

"…Oh?"

【"Its flesh and blood, its soul — to you it's negligible, but a portion of it was still taken by you. Doesn't that say it all?"】

"Oh!"

Herbert suddenly grasped the crux of the matter — there was no level penalty.

In game terms, that meant he wouldn't be locked out of gaining experience just because his level was too high!

Looking at it that way… it was the type that won by quantity.

As long as he could kill in massive numbers, he could reap massive benefits.

The completion condition seemed a bit difficult — carrying out large-scale slaughter wasn't something easily done.

If he wantonly piled up too much killing karma for no good reason, he'd surely be hunted down by the Knights and even the righteous gods' faction.

But… what if there were a just cause?

What about an assembly-line industrial slaughter?

Or even heading to a battlefield like a flesh-and-blood mill?

What kind of scene would that be then…

【"You finally noticed, hehe."】

Sensing the tremor in the boy's heart, the Harmonious God chuckled low within him:

【"Right now, you're very greedy…"】

Greedy enough to not even let a single chicken go.

【"But remember what you've said — I'll be watching you the whole time. If you fall into confusion, I won't go easy on correcting you~"】

A shadow-tentacle snaked out and made a vigorous whipping motion toward Herbert's backside.

Whoosh— Smack!

Herbert just curled his lip in a smile, ignoring Her utterly non-threatening threat.

Tch, childish!

"Hehe, what are you saying?"

"Haven't I always been very greedy?"

If he weren't greedy, he never would have set foot on the path he walked now.

Herbert felt no shame in this greed of his — on the contrary, he took pride in it.

There was nothing wrong with being greedy.

When your ability matched your desire, you felt no pain.

What caused pain was only the contradiction between lagging ability and ever-growing greed.

【"True enough~ You've always been a greedy fellow~"】 Nie Nasha laughed as well.

She silently watched the confident, soaring youth.

Herbert, you're far too greedy — wanting to take everything before you into your arms.

Not just them, but even I… hehe.

Truly greedy indeed.

Still, the fact that you can think this way — I… don't dislike it, you know.

(End of Chapter)