[Devour the defeated Wild Boar (Bronze V) (F)?]

Alex steeled himself and responded mentally.

Yes.

The corpse of Wild Boar burst into red and blue static sparks, and blue system screens flooded Alex’s vision.

[Monarch’s Gluttony: Host, this constitution does not suit your body.]

[Monarch’s Gluttony: Host, the devoured being has no talent.]

[Monarch’s Gluttony: +10 Evo Points, +100 Vitality.]

Suddenly, information filled Alex’s mind.

I can use Vitality to either strengthen my body, relieve myself of fatigue, or heal my wounds.

"This... is crazy," he whispered and used half of the Vitality to strengthen his body and the other half to relieve him of his fatigue.

His muscles widened and constricted, becoming much stronger and more agile than before.

[System: +0.7 Combat Value.]

At the same time, all the fatigue that he had built up by running for the crates and charging at the Wild Boar disappeared into smoke.

Alex’s lips curled upward, and he mumbled, "This is awesome."

All of a sudden, a shadow dwarfed him, and a hand grabbed his light brown tunic by the neck.

Alex slightly raised his head, and his eyes met Salak’s furious gaze.

"Why the hell did you do that?"

Alex placed a hand on Salak’s wrist and muttered.

"You wanted me to prove myself."

Salak’s anger erupted, and he lifted Alex off the ground.

"Ugh," Alex groaned, and Salak growled.

"You think you are smart, don’t you?"

Alex gripped Salak’s arm and tried to free himself, but his struggle was fruitless.

After a moment of panic, Alex calmed down and asked loudly.

"What are you doing?"

Hearing him, Salak’s fury burned hotter. His grip tightened, and he snarled, "I am punishing you for stepping out of line."

Got you!

The corners of Alex’s lips trembled and threatened to lift upward, yet he muttered while forcing them down.

"You had said that you are doing this for the talented Players... yet you aren’t allowing them to grow. Do you really want them to reach the heights they are meant to? Or maybe you are actually trying to turn them into your slaves?"

His words reached everyone. Instantly, the mood between the Players became tense, and all of them stared at Salak with blank faces.

Wrinkles appeared across Salak’s forehead. Feeling the tension, he let go of Alex and whispered in a sharp tone.

"Let’s see how long that sharp tongue can keep you alive."

Alex placed a hand on his chest and breathed raggedly while staring at Salak’s back with a smug smirk on his face.

When you use the role of a savior to justify your cruelty... You cannot do things that contradict your claims.

Salak reached the other five Players of his group and looked at them.

Even though he hadn’t done anything to Alex, the mood was still the same.

Salak clenched his fist and turned his head toward the three baits standing a couple of steps away from them and roared.

"Stop wasting our time and move!"

The three Players trembled at his words and moved once again.

Alex caught up with the members of his group, and everyone except Salak gave him a look of compassion.

Seeing this, Alex grinned and thought.

Everything’s going according to plan.

A few minutes later, another Wild Boar attacked them, but this time, everyone moved.

The Players worked in accordance with Salak and Alex, and within a couple of moments, they killed it.

Alex allowed another Player to take the kill, and they began searching for the next prey.

The bright sun didn’t move from its spot as if it were frozen.

After a couple of hours, Alex stared at the screens before him.

[Monarch’s Gluttony: +2 Evo Points, +10 Vitality.]

[System: +0.1 Combat Value.]

[Host: Alex Blade (Anomaly)]

[Race: Human]

[Talent: Hall of Great Evils (SSS)]

[Level: 0 (110/200) (F)]

[Rank: Bronze V]

[Combat Value: 6.5]

[Evo Points: 140]

[Skills: Mark of Subservience (S), Monarch’s Gluttony (S), Seed Of Evolution (S)]

[Quest: Hunter I — killed 9/10 Bronze (V - I) entities.]

[Time Limit: 8 hours.]

Killing the same entity decreases the amount of Evo Points and Vitality I obtain by devouring them.

He clenched his fist and felt the raw strength coursing through his body. He was already as physically strong as Salak, if not stronger.

"I only need to kill one more Bronze entity to complete my quest," he mumbled and turned around toward the holographic dome.

Without ceremony, he sprinted forward.

Salak brought down his axe and severed the head of a Wild Boar.

"How many Wild Boars have you killed?" One of the group members asked him.

Salak turned his head toward him and said, "Eight."

"I see..."

Salak instantly felt that something was amiss. He looked around frantically.

"What’s wrong?" The same Player from before asked worriedly.

Salak muttered through gritted teeth.

"That Alex bastard! He is going for the crates at the center!"

He let out a furious howl and dashed toward the dome.

[System: Host Alex, you have entered the Protected Zone.]

Alex’s eyes instantly locked on the four crates placed at the center, and he began to think.

[Rare Newbie Crate]

Which one of them is the right one?

A Player could only open one of the four Rare Newbie Crates, so he only had a single chance at obtaining the item that would allow him to break things even further.

As he neared the crates, his steps slowed down, and he glanced at the crates.

"Amelia was the one who had obtained it, and as she had gone out with Julian, she most probably opened the one at the south."

With bated breath, Alex stepped closer to the Rare Newbie Crate at the south and touched it.

[System: Host Alex, you have opened a Rare Newbie Crate.]

[Loot: Rare Cloudy Mirror Shard]

[System: Host Alex, the obtained loot has been placed in your inventory.]

"Yes!" Alex’s face brightened.

"You bastard!" Salak shouted from behind and dashed at him.

Alex immediately turned around and raised his arms in defeat. "I give up."

"Huh?" Salak stopped.

Alex glanced at the crates from the corner of his left eye and said, "I didn’t know a Player could only open one of them..."

Salak frowned.

Looks like he didn’t know it either. Alex remarked inwardly.

Salak shook his head and raised his axe at Alex. "That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you ran away for your personal gain!"

"I am sorry. I won’t do it again—"

"No! Try doing that in Nyxare!" Salak declared and swung his axe at him.

Alex stumbled backward and fell on his butt. The axe went past his abdomen.

"W-Wait!" He pleaded with a terrified face.

Salak grinned. "That’s the look I wanted to see on your face!"

He raised his axe above his head and said, "Goodbye, lowborn!"

The axe split the air and descended onto Alex – however, it failed its target because all of a sudden, Alex rolled to the side, shot to his feet, and closed the distance between them.

"What?!" Salak’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Alex glared coldly, another arrow appeared in his free hand, and with a wet slick, he stabbed both arrowheads at the sides of Salak’s neck.

The axe fell out of Salak’s hand, and he staggered backward.

"H-How..." he whispered, dumbfounded.

Alex didn’t answer. He gritted his teeth and leapt at him.

"Die, you bastard!" He shouted and jabbed the arrowheads at Salak’s neck.

Salak tried to scream, but his vocal cords were already punctured and flooded by hot blood. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

After a few stabs, his eyes lost their glimmer, and a system screen materialized before Alex.

[Kill: Player (Bronze V) (F)]

[Experience: +10]

[Evo Points: +10]

[Devour the defeated Player (Bronze V) (F)?]

"Yes," he whispered. Salak’s corpse exploded into blue and red static sparks.

Blue screens appeared, but he ignored them and mumbled while breathing heavily, "Why didn’t you save him?"

"Heh. Why would I stop such great entertainment?" Julian responded from behind.

Alex raised his head and looked at the boundless blue sky.

"I will come for you."

Julian raised his sword and said with a bright smile, "I hope you do."

Alex sighed and closed his eyes.

The next moment, he felt a slight burning at his neck and then nothing.

[System: Host Alex, you have died.]