11 CHAPTER X: MALIGNMENT (1/2)

I misjudged the Lord's cunning mage's caution. No, the world I knew was too small.

My only source of information was the book. And there was no mention of surveillance magic in the book.

But I should have at least expected it, whether I knew anything about it or not. The magic Lord used was clearly not necromancy, but there is no rule that says a necromancer must use only necromancy. In the first place, I have no right to complain.

The countless owls that appeared from the strange magic circle I had drawn were released from the window and scattered into the night forest. The only lucky thing was that Lord hadn't left any owls inside the house. But even that luck didn't seem to help him get out of this situation.

The Lord called Luu and ordered the frightened slave in a sharp voice.

”Lu, feed them when they come back. They are servants - my eyes, my ears, my loyal servants who are more useful than you.

”Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. ...... Sir. So, ...... what do we feed the .........

Meat. Fresh, raw meat, dripping with blood. No need to touch it.

Lou was scared, but I wasn't.

Eyes, ears. Worse. I don't have the skills to enjoy a nighttime stroll through the eyes of countless road warriors.

The skeleton knights that roamed the mansion were good guards with no concept of fatigue, but they didn't have the wits to report the actions of their comrades. He had no vocal chords.

But not that owl. The owl had eyes and ears, so it was likely that what went into its eyes and ears was immediately transmitted to Lord.

To go hunting at night under these circumstances is impossible. It's too risky. Even now the Lord is wary of his surroundings.

Night hunting meant two things to me.

To build up my strength and accelerate my rank mutation and to eat. And right now, it was the latter in particular that mattered.

Undead rank mutation is not a simple enhancement. It can add new disadvantages.

Advantages and disadvantages are two sides of the same coin. Ghouls have higher physical abilities than Flesh Men, almost entirely surpassing the latter, but unlike Flesh Men, they need food to survive.

It's not possible. They need it.

What the wights have. It's-- it's an intense hunger. It's an intense hunger that can completely blow away reason.

Perhaps that's the primary reason why wights attack people and why the undead are called demons.

What I experienced when I was first mutated was truly a kind of hell that I had never experienced before in my life.

The impulses that scorched my brain and shook my instincts. My thoughts were filled with the words ”I want to eat,” and everything in front of me, from Lord and Luu to the other undead that Lord used, looked like ”food.

It was only by sheer luck that I managed to resist the urge and head out to hunt quietly at night.

Barely, just a little, my need for survival outweighed my appetite. Had the slightest slip of the button occurred, I would have turned into a demon controlled by my appetite, and I would never have put my survival needs above my appetite again.

The appetite of a corpse is not something that can be endured by guts.

The time I had was almost gone. In my experience, if you don't eat anything, a wraith's hunger reaches its limit in about three days.

From that point on, it's a race against reason. Last time I lasted half a day. It will last about that long this time, too.

But I'll lose if I fall into that state.

The wraith's power is inversely proportional to its hunger. The hungrier I get, the lower my power gets.

I don't know how far it will go, but I don't think I have time to wait too long.

I follow Lord and hunt. I don't have much strength, but that's no problem against a hexenbiest I'm used to hunting. You have backup.

He pushes down the hunger that is smoldering like a fire and just concentrates on following orders.

Kill, kill, kill that lump of living flesh in front of you. I'm starving. Blood splatters and warm bodies roll around. But I can't touch it now.

If he finds out I've turned into a wight with intelligence, he'll put fetters on me. It's just lucky that I don't have strong fetters on me at this stage.

I couldn't decide what to do. Originally, I had planned to hunt and save my strength and attack him in his sleep.

But now Lord is on constant alert. He's cornered.

I used my machete to block the flying debris, and sliced through the black ape lurking in the trees.

The only bright spot is the mutation. The next time a mutation occurs and you're no longer a werewolf, you won't be so hungry. It won't solve the root of the problem, but it will buy us some time.

Is it possible?　It took me only about three months to become a werewolf, which is much shorter than the time it takes for a typical carnivore to mutate - six months to a year. But the next mutation is supposed to take several years.

A miracle. We need a miracle.

He cheated his hunger with his thoughts, and swung his sword at the pack of night wolves that surrounded him, and bled them to death. Then, Lord suddenly shouted in a quizzical voice.

...... end, you're not moving fast enough, are you?

”......

What's wrong with you?　You don't seem to be ...... hurt.

......

The Lord's cloudy eyes surveyed me as if to check the tone of my work.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to be doing in the future.

...... Where did you get the sense of discomfort?

It's a good idea to keep your eyes peeled for the latest news on the web.

It was no wonder that Lord, who was always watching my battles from close up, felt something strange. I thought I was moving as usual, but I couldn't help but feel rushed.

He just swung his weapon mindlessly. Shake. Shake. Blood splatters, and a drop accidentally goes into my mouth.

I've never been a drinker, but perhaps intoxication is what I'm feeling now. A tremendous heat rushes up my esophagus from the depths of my stomach, shaking my thoughts.

It's not enough. Blood alone is not enough. The swollen appetite shakes my reason and I start to wobble on my feet.

”What's wrong?　End, what's going on?

His movements were clearly lacking in finesse. The Lord shouted sharply.

A drop of blood didn't quite satisfy his hunger.

No. Not yet, not yet. I can't be found out. I have to survive.

No purpose. No reason. I just want to live. Even if I have to sacrifice everything to do it.