Power of Gluttony

Under God's Eye View.

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

Severus said in a deep voice, "That monster is extremely hungry. It'll definitely come back."

The Witch was wearing a fur coat at the moment. She crouched less than twenty centimeters from Duncan and said solemnly, "Doesn't The Church have Witch Hunters?"

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

Severus replied, "Something happened in Dacia."

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

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

"But it was quickly driven back by the Huns, and then it fled into Gothic territory."

"To spread the faith among the Goths, The Church transferred all the nearby Witch Hunters there."

Were the Huns really that fierce?

Duncan had no idea what level of Legendary monster had appeared, but unless it was connected to the Mythological Era, it might not necessarily be able to defeat a Hunnic army.

Raven Queen Triss frowned tightly. "What about those Amazon Priestesses?"

Severus said in a deep voice, "The Huns probably killed them all."

The Amazon Warriors of Ancient Greek legend had actually always lived in Asia Minor, Phrygia, Thrace, and other places. They had nothing to do with South America's Amazon River. The remnants of that people had ultimately settled in Sarmatian lands, and even now, there were still quite a few female warriors.

Sarmatian Warriors were rather well-known in this era.

But they should have been utterly destroyed by the Huns by now. Under the tremendous pressure of the Huns, even the Empire had no choice but to cooperate with barbarians against their invasion.

The Goths had long since been chased into chaos by the Huns.

They had embraced Catholicism—Arianism—in their early days, but The Church denounced that doctrine as heresy. It had even sparked internal conflict within The Church. The Church was now helping the Ostrogoths so eagerly probably because it wanted to completely erase the influence of heretical teachings among the Goths.

Though secular powers fought one another fiercely, The Church had always sent missionaries into barbarian lands to proselytize. Even regions conquered by the Huns had Catholic missionaries.

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

Duncan desperately recalled the history he had once learned and pieced together a fairly clear timeline.

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

"After the Xiongnu migrated westward, they merged with other peoples across Eurasia and gradually formed new Hunnic tribes." [Note: Strictly speaking, the Huns no longer counted as true Xiongnu, since their people had merged many times over. However, some of their customs and racial traits remained very close.]

"As their power gradually grew, they began invading the western world."

"The first battle was the destruction of the powerful Kingdom of Alania."

"When I fought the Hunnic Eagle Archer, there was an Alan Auxiliary Army among the enemy forces."

"The second battle was when the Huns, together with the conquered Alans, destroyed the Ostrogothic Kingdom founded by the Germanic People."

"I remember Gothic Auxiliary Cavalry appearing 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 and into the Roman Empire. The Goths later crushed the Roman Emperor, shaking Rome's foundations. Rome could no longer control the princes and territories under its rule."

The Huns sent the Visigoths fleeing in utter disarray. Then, during their subsequent rebellion, the Visigoths crushed the Roman Empire's army and even trapped the Roman Emperor Valens inside a wooden house and burned him alive.

This was the prelude to the Empire's fall.

"Since this is a parallel world, many details are probably different."

"But this must be the era when Attila, the Scourge of God, was active. In other words, the Hunnic Empire formed by the Hunnic tribes had effectively already emerged."

Perhaps because supernatural powers existed, the fall of other powers had been delayed somewhat, while the Empire's lingering survival had also been dragged out.

"Luckily, I used to play quite a few games set during the Barbarian Invasion era."

Duncan gradually sorted out the era's key points. That meant he could roughly predict what changes would happen in the world next.

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

Within the Dimensional Space.

The projected image before Duncan suddenly changed slightly. Then, a line of characters slowly appeared.

"Historical node anchored."

"Parallel universe—Medieval Earth."

"Legendary Points activated."

"The Legendary Points possessed by No. 1 Human Form can be used to strengthen its soul. After severing the connection to the Human Form, they can raise the corresponding Human Form's rank, allowing it to advance into a Legendary Heroic Spirit, saint, demon, Angel, Demigod, Deity, or other supernatural existence."

"The faction you join will affect the source from which you gain Legendary Points and will further ferment throughout future history."

—Legendary Points: 0.

A currency-like icon appeared at the top of the projected interface. When Duncan focused his consciousness on it, a subdivided category quickly appeared.

—"Roman Legendary Points: 0."

—"Germanic Legendary Points: 0."

—"Celtic Legendary Points: 0."

—"Hunnic Legendary Points: 0."

[Note: You are currently in the medieval period at the end of the Mythological Era. The faction Legendary Points you possess will affect the future a thousand years from now. If the corresponding legend completely vanishes from history, No. 1 Human Form will be unable to improve through subsequent Legendary Points.

Medieval Earth is already at the end of the Mythological Era. No. 1 Human Form cannot advance into a Deity through conventional means.]

Holy shit.

Had a new feature been unlocked?

When Duncan turned his gaze toward Raven Queen Triss beside him, he surprisingly discovered that she had a small amount of marked Legendary Points as well.

—"Raven Queen Triss (Legendary Points: 1) [Skull Mark] [Friendly Unit]: The target unit is the last High Priestess of Roman Polytheism. After death, this target may advance into a Lower Heroic Spirit and exist within the World Will as a Heroic Spirit during a specific period."

[Note: If the target's legend completely vanishes, the Heroic Spirit born from it will also fade away in the future.]

[Only an Immortal Heroic Spirit can completely integrate into human history and reach the end of time alongside humanity's history.]

[An Immortal Heroic Spirit will only completely disappear when all humanity is extinct!]

Had the main storyline begun?

Duncan instinctively thought along the lines of how he used to play games, but he quickly realized this was an extremely free, open-world main quest.

Because what No. 1 Human Form wanted to do was entirely up to him.

Only the final achievement would determine No. 1 Human Form's life form. If it died as an obscure nobody, then No. 1 Human Form would effectively be a ruined build, unable to bring any benefit to the Dimensional Space.

But if No. 1 Human Form accomplished something in this world, then its build would count as successful. It could be summoned into the Dimensional Space as a Heroic Spirit and might even directly affect the next Human Form in the future.

As for the exact details, Duncan could only guess for now, because No. 1 Human Form was still under the control of his consciousness.

"At the very least, it needs to become a Lower Heroic Spirit."

"Only then can No. 1 Human Form be considered not ruined. Otherwise, it's just a failed build."

To die in obscurity as a nobody was equivalent to wasting this precious chance for a Human Form's descent.

"Angels, Demigods, and Deities are out of the question for now."

"This is the medieval era."

"I've been camping a Ghoul for nearly a whole day."

Duncan's attention remained fixed on the large map. He silently considered, The best chance right now is still advancing into a Heroic Spirit. During the last Law of Causality deduction, I became a Lower Heroic Spirit because of Raven Queen Triss's help.

Now that I'm a little stronger, as long as I seize the opportunity, it shouldn't be difficult for No. 1 Human Form to advance into a Higher Heroic Spirit.

For the time being, he would not interfere with matters at the level of Deities or involving the roots of faith.

Staying alive mattered more.

But in the struggles among the various secular powers, he could fully show what he was capable of.

Duncan quickly formed some ideas.

This turbulent era was his grand stage. How far No. 1 Human Form could go would determine the final result of this build. But there were some things he had better not touch, such as God's faith.

After all, there had been an Emperor of the Empire called Julian the Renegade. He had been the Emperor who tried to revive Polytheism at the time. One theory claimed that he died suddenly on the battlefield because believers within the Empire had plotted against him.

Based on the truth of the world Duncan currently understood, it would not be difficult for The Church to kill an Emperor.

"It 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.

If such an existence died, it probably would not leave any trace in history.

"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 viewpoint and saw a strange-looking creature. It was vastly different from the Ghouls he knew from before. It looked like a humanoid monster covered in black fur, with sharp claws and fangs. It reeked horribly, its skull was degenerated like an ape's, and it crawled across the ground with a hunched body.

This monster was not the undead type found in games. It was a flesh-and-blood creature more like a magical beast.

The Druid beside him suddenly said, "I have a feeling."

"It's nearby."

Witch Triss's lips moved slightly. Soon, startled birds could be heard sweeping through the air from the woods.

A faint, almost imperceptible stench drifted over.

Duncan held the Northern War Bow and looked toward where the Ghoul was approaching. "It should be over there."

"Don't alert it."

"Wait for it to come closer."

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

Now!

Amid the whistle of an arrow cutting through the air, Duncan's shot struck the Ghoul in the neck. But an attack that should have severely wounded or killed an ordinary person only made the monster let out a pained shriek.

"That health bar is huge!"

This was Duncan's first time facing a supernatural creature. The Ghoul's health bar was around three times that of an ordinary soldier. Normal lethal wounds could not kill it immediately.

Severus picked up his Oak Shield and one-handed hammer and charged forward.

The Witch stood still, but amid the trembling hum of the wind, invisible magic seemed to flow. The monster appeared to be trapped in place all at once.

Sorcery.

Magic in the medieval era had not yet formed a complete system, and Duncan had no idea how many supernatural abilities the Witch possessed.

The Ghoul tried to flee.

The creature had a little intelligence. It attacked isolated ordinary people, but fled when it encountered a strong enemy.

Severus slammed his shield into its body, cutting off the monster's retreat.

Hit!

Duncan's arrow struck the Ghoul's head. The arrow nearly pierced through its skull, and the monster's long health bar immediately bottomed out. Its black-furred, hunched body fell to the ground and twitched nonstop.

Seeing this, Severus warily raised his shield and approached, while also glancing at Duncan.

That man.

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

Farron Throwing Axe.

Headshot!

Duncan swung the Farron Throwing Axe in a fierce chop, nearly splitting the Ghoul's head in two. A pool of foul-smelling sludge spilled out, along with a small clump of yellow, grease-like substance.

Hiss.

This man was formidable.

Severus's pupils contracted slightly. Although the other man used a Farron Throwing Axe, a light short-handled axe, the posture of his chopping strike reminded him of Gaul's Berserkers. Blades and axes were the weapons barbarians excelled with most, and axe techniques were the fiercest and most overbearing of all. Lopping off an enemy's head with a savage blow from a two-handed axe was the signature move of a Barbarian Berserker.

In the early days of fighting the Empire's armies, the barbarians relied on axes to break armor because the Imperial Legion's armor was thick and sturdy.

Furthermore, because they lived in the forests of Greater Germania, axes could be used for chopping trees in daily life. Thus, a large portion of the barbarians' elite infantry were skilled in using battle axes.

Aside from being fragile, disobedient, and prone to charging on their own, these elite infantry were among the finest infantry forces of that era in every other respect.

Later, the Empire reformed its military.

Constantine I recruited barbarians into the Imperial Legion, restructured the army by establishing border troops and Field Armies, and formed foreign Barbarian Mercenaries. As a result, some Imperial troops also gained fierce warriors skilled with battle axes.

Duncan's strike directly caused the Druid before him to label him a "Barbarian Warrior."

Of course.

At present, his most basic fighting style was really just chopping, slashing, and stabbing. He was still some distance from being a true barbarian veteran. However, he often carried a Farron Throwing Axe, so people inevitably mistook him for a Fran barbarian.

After all, among the many barbarian peoples, only the Franks could throw axes with any real accuracy.

No. 1 Human Form was a border farmer.

If they were talking bloodlines, Raven Queen Triss was probably the only one here who could be considered a relatively pure Roman-Greek. Severus was also of Gaulish barbarian descent.

"He's an expert!"

Severus was now certain that Duncan was no ordinary man.

A faint glimmer appeared.

On the projected image, a faint glimmer from the Ghoul's corpse merged into No. 1 Human Form.

—"Gluttony [Special Ability]: You can eat several days' worth of food in one sitting. Your digestive ability is greatly enhanced, and your stomach evolves into a supernatural form. You can slowly increase your maximum vitality through eating and ultimately gain tenacious vitality equivalent to a One-Star supernatural creature."

As expected, this was a huge gain.

Duncan had claimed so many kills, yet only the Barbarian Berserker had given him the "Sturdy" talent, slightly increasing his maximum vitality.

The ability gained from killing a supernatural creature was clearly on another level.

"What if I slay a dragon?"

"During the Law of Causality deduction, it showed that Iceland had a dragon, and it even killed Triss and me."

After taking the special ability Gluttony from the Ghoul, Duncan already knew where his next path for increasing his strength lay.

Human enemies provided more combat techniques.

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

"Why does it have to be the medieval era?"

"If this were the Mythological Era, wouldn't I be soaring?"

Of course, he might also die especially quickly in the Mythological Era.