The Power of Gluttony

Under God's Eye View.

Duncan and the others hid in the nearby bushes. The Druid had specially prepared herbs that could mask their scent.

Severus said gravely, "That monster is ravenous. It'll definitely come back."

The Witch was wearing a fur tunic. Crouched less than twenty centimeters from Duncan, she asked in a low voice, "Doesn't the Church have Witch Hunters?"

"Why didn't the villagers ask the Church for help?"

"Something happened in Dacia," Severus replied.

"The Huns destroyed the great temple where the Sarmatian barbarians held their rites. They even burned the Sacrificial Sanctuary to the ground."

"They say a legendary monster appeared in the flames."

"But the Huns soon drove it back, and the monster fled into Gothic territory."

"To spread its faith among the Goths, the Church sent all the nearby Witch Hunters there."

Were the Huns really that fierce?

Duncan had no idea what tier of legendary monster had appeared, but unless it had ties to the mythological era, it might genuinely be no match for the Hunnic army.

The Raven Queen, Triss, knitted her brows. "What about those Amazon Priestesses?"

"They were probably all killed by the Huns," Severus said grimly.

The Amazon Warriors of Ancient Greek legend had actually always lived in places such as Asia Minor, Phrygia, and Thrace. They had nothing to do with South America's Amazon River. The descendants of this people had eventually settled in Sarmatian territory, where a considerable number of female warriors still remained.

Sarmatian Warriors were quite famous in this era.

But by now, the Huns had probably wiped them out. Under the immense pressure exerted by the Huns, even the Empire had been forced to cooperate with the barbarians to resist their invasion.

The Huns had long since thrown the Goths into utter chaos.

Early on, they had adopted Arianism, a branch of Catholicism, but the Church had denounced its teachings as heresy, even sparking internal conflict. The Church's eagerness to help the Ostrogoths now was probably an attempt to eradicate the influence of those heretical teachings among the Goths.

Although the secular powers were locked in bitter warfare, the Church had continued sending missionaries into barbarian lands. There were even Catholic missionaries in regions conquered by the Huns.

Although this is an Earth in a parallel world, the broad course of history probably hasn't changed much.

Duncan frantically recalled the history he had studied and pieced together a fairly clear timeline.

The first point on the timeline should be the Han-Xiongnu Centennial War.

After migrating west, the Xiongnu mingled with other peoples across Eurasia, gradually forming new Hunnic tribes. [Note: Strictly speaking, the Huns were no longer truly Xiongnu, as their population had undergone repeated intermixing. However, some customs and ethnic characteristics remained very similar.]

Once their power grew, they began invading the Western world.

Their first campaign destroyed the powerful Kingdom of Alania.

When I fought the Hunnic Eagle Archer, there were troops from the Alan Auxiliary Army among the enemy.

In their second campaign, the Huns and the conquered Alans destroyed the Ostrogothic Kingdom founded by the Germanic people.

I remember seeing Gothic Auxiliary Cavalry in the battle a few days ago, too.

After destroying the Ostrogoths, the Huns turned on the Visigoths, forcing hundreds of thousands of them across the Danube River into the Roman Empire. The Goths later inflicted a crushing defeat on the Roman emperor, shaking Rome's foundations. Rome could no longer control the rulers and territories under its authority.

The Huns had sent the Visigoths fleeing in disarray. In their subsequent rebellion, the Visigoths had then crushed the Roman army, even trapping the reigning Roman emperor, Valens, in a wooden house and burning him alive.

This was the prologue to the Empire's downfall.

Since this is a parallel world, a lot of the details will probably differ.

But this must be the period when Attila, the Scourge of God, was active. In other words, the Hunnic Empire formed from the Hunnic tribes has effectively already emerged.

Perhaps the existence of supernatural powers had delayed the fall of the other powers, while also allowing the Empire to cling to life a little longer.

Good thing I played so many games set during the barbarian invasions.

Duncan gradually worked out where he stood in history. That meant he could roughly predict some of the changes the world would undergo next.

The Western Roman Empire would fall, and the Middle Ages would begin.

Within the Dimensional Space.

The projected image before Duncan suddenly shifted slightly, and a line of text slowly appeared.

Historical point anchored.

Parallel universe—Medieval Earth.

Legendary points unlocked.

The legendary points possessed by No. 1 Human Form can be used to strengthen your soul. After the connection to the human form is severed, they can also raise the corresponding human form's rank, allowing it to ascend into a legendary supernatural being, such as a heroic spirit, saint, demon, angel, demigod, or deity.

The faction you join will influence the source of the legendary points you gain, and their effects will continue to develop in future history.

—Legendary points: 0.

A symbol resembling a currency marker appeared at the very top of the projection screen. When Duncan focused his consciousness on it, a detailed breakdown soon appeared.

—Roman legendary points: 0.

—Germanic legendary points: 0.

—Celtic legendary points: 0.

—Hunnic legendary points: 0.

[Note: You are in the medieval period following the end of the mythological era. The faction legendary points you possess will influence the future a thousand years from now. If the corresponding legend vanishes completely from history, No. 1 Human Form will no longer be able to improve through subsequent legendary points.

Medieval Earth has already reached the twilight of the mythological era. No. 1 Human Form cannot ascend to deityhood through conventional means.]

Holy shit.

Did I just unlock a new feature?

When Duncan turned his attention to the Raven Queen, Triss, beside him, he actually discovered that she had one legendary point marked on her.

—Raven Queen—Triss (legendary points: 1) [Skull marker] [Friendly unit]: The target unit is the last High Priestess of Roman polytheism. After death, this target may ascend into a Lower Heroic Spirit, existing within the World Will as a heroic spirit during certain periods.

[Note: If the target's legend vanishes completely, the resulting heroic spirit will also fade away in the future.]

[Only an immortal heroic spirit can fully merge into human history and follow it to the end of time.]

[An immortal heroic spirit will only disappear completely when all humanity has perished!]

Did this unlock the main storyline?

Duncan instinctively approached it with the mindset he had used when playing games, but he soon realized that this was a main storyline in an extremely open-ended world.

After all, what No. 1 Human Form chose to do was entirely up to him.

It was simply that his final achievements would determine No. 1 Human Form's state of existence. If he died as some insignificant nobody, then he would have ruined the character he was leveling. No. 1 Human Form would bring no benefit whatsoever to the Dimensional Space.

But if No. 1 Human Form accomplished something in this world, then he would have successfully leveled the character. He could be summoned into the Dimensional Space as a heroic spirit, and might even directly influence the next human form in the future.

For now, Duncan could only guess at the specifics, since No. 1 Human Form was still under the control of his consciousness.

He needs to become a Lower Heroic Spirit at the very least.

Only then will No. 1 Human Form count as a character I haven't ruined. Otherwise, he'll just be a wasted character.

Dying in obscurity as a nobody would mean squandering this precious opportunity to descend through a human form.

Angels, demigods, and deities are out of the question for now.

This is the medieval era.

I've spent almost a whole day just camping out for a Ghoul.

Duncan kept his attention on the large map, thinking to himself, My best chance right now is still to ascend into a heroic spirit. In the last Law of Causality projection, I became a Lower Heroic Spirit thanks to the Raven Queen, Triss.

Now that I'm stronger, ascending No. 1 Human Form into a Higher Heroic Spirit shouldn't be too difficult, as long as I seize the opportunities.

For the time being, he would stay out of anything involving deities or the foundations of faith.

Staying alive came first.

But in the secular world, amid the struggles between the various powers, he could show what he was capable of.

Duncan soon began forming a few ideas.

This turbulent era would be his grand stage. How far No. 1 Human Form could go would determine the final outcome of leveling this character. Still, there were things he would be better off leaving alone, such as faith in God.

After all, one of the emperors had been Julian the Renegade, who had tried to revive polytheism. One account held that his sudden death on the battlefield had been the result of a plot by believers within the Empire.

Based on what Duncan currently knew about the true nature of this world, it really would not be difficult for the Church to kill an emperor.

Looks like that Witcher, George, has legendary points too.

Duncan could not help glancing at the Druid beside him.

Hmm.

A Two-Star Blank unit.

Someone like that would probably leave no trace in history after his death.

"It's here!"

Just as Duncan was pondering legendary points, a red marker suddenly appeared at the edge of the map.

—Ghoul [Supernatural creature] (one-star, silver-gray) (Hostile)!

Duncan shifted his view over and saw a strange-looking creature, very different from the Ghouls he had imagined. It looked like a humanoid monster covered in black hair, with sharp claws and fangs, and it reeked all over. Its skull had regressed into an apelike shape, and it crawled along the ground with its body hunched.

This monster was not the undead creature found in games, but a being of flesh and blood, like a demonic beast.

The Druid beside him suddenly spoke. "I have a feeling."

"It's nearby."

The Witch, Triss, moved her lips slightly. Soon, the sound of startled birds taking flight came from the woods.

A faint trace of foul odor drifted through the air.

Duncan took the Northern War Bow in hand and looked toward the approaching Ghoul. "It should be over there," he said quietly.

"Don't alert it."

"Wait for it to come closer."

From the monstrous shadows of the woods, a twisted creature covered in black hair crawled out. Slime dripped from its mouth. Its hunched body had dark brown skin, covered from head to toe in thick black hair. Following some scent, it reached a spot in front of the group and began digging open the grave before it with its sharp claws.

Now!

An arrow whistled through the air as Duncan shot the Ghoul in the neck. But the blow, which should have left an ordinary person gravely wounded and near death, merely made the monster howl in pain.

What a huge health bar!

This was Duncan's first encounter with a supernatural creature. The Ghoul's health bar was about three times that of an ordinary soldier, and a normally fatal wound could not kill it outright.

Severus grabbed the Oak Shield and a one-handed hammer, then charged.

The Witch remained where she was, but amid the trembling hum of the wind, invisible magical power seemed to flow. The monster abruptly appeared to be trapped in place.

Sorcery.

Magic in the medieval era had yet to form a systematic discipline, and Duncan had no idea how many supernatural abilities the Witch possessed.

The Ghoul tried to flee.

The monster had a little intelligence. It would attack ordinary people who were alone, but it would also run when faced with powerful enemies.

Severus slammed his shield into its body, cutting off its retreat.

Hit!

Duncan shot an arrow into the Ghoul's head. The shaft nearly pierced through its skull, and the monster's long health bar dropped almost to nothing. Its hunched, black-haired body collapsed to the ground, twitching incessantly.

At the sight, Severus cautiously approached with his shield raised, glancing at Duncan.

That man.

When he had offered to help, he had made only one request: that he be allowed to deliver the final blow.

Farron Throwing Axe.

Headshot!

Duncan swung the Farron Throwing Axe in a savage chop, almost splitting the Ghoul's head in two. A pool of foul, murky matter spilled out, along with a small yellow clump that looked like fat.

Damn.

This man is good.

Severus's pupils contracted slightly. Although Duncan was using a Farron Throwing Axe, a light, short-handled axe, the way he delivered the chop inevitably reminded Severus of the berserkers of Gaul. The barbarians were most skilled with blades and axes, with axe techniques being the fiercest and most brutal. Severing an enemy's head with one savage blow of a two-handed axe was the signature move of a barbarian berserker.

In their early battles against the Imperial armies, the barbarians had relied on axes to break through armor, as the Imperial Legion's armor was thick and sturdy.

They also lived in the forests of Greater Germania, where axes could be used to fell trees in daily life. As a result, a large proportion of the barbarians' elite infantry were skilled with battle-axes.

Apart from being poorly protected, refusing to follow orders, and being prone to charging without permission, these elite infantry were among the finest foot soldiers of their time in every respect.

Later, the Empire reformed its military.

Constantine I recruited barbarians into the Imperial Legion and reorganized the army into frontier troops and field armies. Foreign Barbarian Mercenaries were also established, and some Imperial forces came to include fierce warriors skilled with battle-axes.

That single blow from Duncan made the Druid before him immediately label him a "Barbarian Warrior."

Of course.

At present, his most basic fighting techniques were really just powerful chops, slashes, and thrusts. He was still some distance from being a true barbarian veteran. But he often carried a Farron Throwing Axe, so it was inevitable that some people would mistake him for a Frankish barbarian.

After all, of all the barbarian peoples, only the Franks could throw axes with much accuracy.

No. 1 Human Form was a frontier farmer.

If they were discussing ancestry, the Raven Queen, Triss, was probably the only one here who counted as a Roman Greek of relatively pure descent. Severus was also of Gallic barbarian origin.

He's an expert!

Severus was now certain that Duncan was no ordinary man.

A faint glimmer appeared.

In the projected image, a faint light rose from the Ghoul's corpse and merged into No. 1 Human Form.

—Gluttony [Special ability]: You can consume several days' worth of food in a single sitting. Your digestive capacity is greatly enhanced, and your stomach transforms into a supernatural form. By eating, you can slowly raise your maximum vitality, eventually gaining the tenacious vitality of a one-star supernatural creature.

This really was a major haul.

Duncan had claimed so many kills, yet only the barbarian berserker had granted him the "Sturdy" talent, slightly increasing his maximum vitality.

The ability granted by killing this supernatural creature was clearly a tier above that.

What if I killed a dragon?

The Law of Causality projection showed a dragon in Iceland. It even killed me and Triss.

After seizing the special ability "Gluttony" from the Ghoul, Duncan now knew where to find his next path to greater strength.

Human enemies mostly provided combat techniques.

Only by killing supernatural creatures could he acquire all kinds of special abilities.

Why did it have to be the medieval era?

If this were the mythological era, wouldn't I be soaring already?

Of course, in the mythological era, he might also die especially quickly.