I silently trailed behind the party that had gathered together back at the hall.

The reason was simple. Its because I wanted to see how these 20 members actually hunted.

Pardon me for doing this, but with this black cloak and skull mask Im wearing, theyll find me as a suspicious person. It wont be funny for me if I were to be surrounded by 20 warriors from all sides.

Even so, I really wanted to see. I wanted to observe their teamwork, how they enhanced their power through it and how they complemented for each others weaknesses. In my case, even though Im alone, Im pretty sure their tactics will still benefit me.

This will also serve as the training Greed had mentioned earlier. I had to test if I could stand my ground without losing to my urge, even if there were monsters right in front of me.

This feeling was close to a dog who as been placed with bait right in front of it. Moreover, it also knew that its not the only one whos after the bait. Under this kind of condition, Im quite worried that the [Gluttony] skill would go berserk. Well, its still in semi-starvation state so I could manage it somewhat.

The clouds started to cover the sky, and the warriors Ive been following kept moving without light under the darkness of the night.

U~n, I dont think all of these 20 men had acquired a night vision skill. Then why are they doing this

Greed then told me the reason via Mind Reading.

Id assume they have magic tool similar to your skull maskThe monster we are hunting is a nocturnal typeMagic tools that allow them to see in the dark is a must in order to able to hunt properlySince it was mass-produced in Gallia, magic tools with a night vision skill should be sold in markets around the world. However, since the creation method is lost now, its a luxury item that not everyone can buy.

[I see. I dont have much trouble since my number of skills keeps increasing over time, but ordinary people will have to prepare various kind of equipmentThere seems to be no end to that no matter how much money one has.]

In contrast, my equipment only consisted of Black Sword Greed. The skull mask is only used when I want to conceal my identity.

[Should I also procure more equipment]

Hahahahayou dont need to do such tiresome thingYou have the [Gluttony] skillYour stats and skills will only keep increasingOthers cant do that so they have to rely on tools.

According to Greed, buying equipment and tools will be redundant. I could easily solve the problem by devouring monsters with useful skills. Thats about right.

But even so. It seemed fun to have various magic tools. I snorted at that thought.

Hawhy do you even bother bringing unnecessary trash on your journey? Itll be just a nuisanceAll youll ever need is me

Magic tools are rubbish. Greed really wanted to stress that to me.

Well, itll be wasteful if I were to lose Greed now that I have unlocked his second form. But if I tell him that, hell definitely turn cocky. So I wont say it.never.

I only had this one magic toolthe skull mask. Ill definitely cherish this one.

Because I intended to hide my real identity and act as the Mukuro the warrior for quite a while. Especially since I couldnt meet Roxy as Fate, so Ill have to don this mask at almost all times after I arrive in Gallia.

Once there, itll be inevitable.but Im going to devour a lot of monsters. I dont want her to see me as that monstrosity. If she were to reject me, Ill end up regretting this whole journey. I dont think I could fight in that circumstance. So Ill be needing the mask to conceal myself.

Oi, FateYoull eventually lose sight of your own self if you keep using that mask, and that will create a gap in your heart that the [Gluttony] Skill can take advantage ofIf you do that, just discard me

[I understand thatI understand of what you saidIll be counting on you]

Hahahaawell saidYou can prepare yourself to become a big shot

I wont be easily muddled by that.. Its because Greed has a bad habit of talking big.

He said that Id be able cut anything once I unlocked the second rank, but when I did, theres still this limitation attached to it. Well, even then its still really strong

Then again, its irritating having to sweet talk Greed from time to time.

While having a headache from hearing Greeds laughter, I maintained my distance and kept track of the warriors in front of me. Gradually, the scenery changed from grassland.to that of the desert.

[It seems really wideAs if the desert stretches beyond the horizon]

This is the sandmens worktheyve been expanding the desert for a while nowIf this goeas onin years this region will completely sink under the desert

1000 years.is such a distant time. I dont think Ill even live that long to see all that to happen.

When I was still in my excitement for visiting my first desert, the warriors had started to fight.

It has begun

[YeahI can see that]

After I watched the fight for a while, I realized that this party was magic-based group.

5 magicians hurling fire magics acted as the base, decimating the sandmans. 10 acted as barricade to hold the sandman at bay. 5 of the warriors unexpectedly served to lure the sandmen and grouped them up.. And so on.

Everyone played a solid role, gathering the sandmen in one place. And then, the fire magic would finish the job. From distance, it seemed like an assembly-line work that was easy to do.

There was no wasted moves as far as I could tell. Those moves were the work of warriors experienced in sandman hunting.

I was in awe while watching it, but meanwhile, Greed was yawning.

Such a boring huntDoing the same thing over and over againtotally boring

[If that sowhat do you consider as a good hunt]

Kill all sandman by levelling the entire areathats what I consider a good hunt

Are you stupidcouldnt you recall the time we destroyed the valley back at Hearts territory? If I do that again, the aftermath will be troublesome.

Other than that, I had to test myself on enduring the semi-starving state.

[If I fight too fastIll end up satisfying [Gluttony] skill tooWho said that I need to endure in this state]

Whats in the pastis in the pastTake this for exampleI didnt say that you have to do that nowComeFateWell start our sandman hunting soon

Greed then suggested that I shouldnt do it like the way I handled the goblins back then, but instead opt to kill 1 at a time.

Fight the sandman while enduring the urge from the [Gluttony] Skill for a while. Kill it, then move on the next.

Now that you mentioned it..seemed like the urge coming from the [Gluttony] skill had become quite ridiculous.

After all, some time had passed due to me watching the group hunting, so I guess its for me to start as well.

I stopped hiding, and walked away from the group of men.

After several sand hills, I finally encountered 1 sandman.

The Appraisal skill quickly activated.

SandmanLv30

Durability: 1760

Strength: 890

Magic: 1330

Spirit: 1760

Agility: 100

Ability: Magic Strengthening (Medium)

The power level was similar to that of a Noir Gargoyle. But it moved so slowly due to its low agility. So as long as I didnt make a big mistake, it shouldnt be able to catch me.

Okay then, how should I fight it? The magicians with the huge party back then fought it using fire magic. Perhaps its weak to fire.

Its about time for the fire magic I had obtained from the Noir Gargoyle to see some use.

I thought the distance was still a bit too far, but lets try it anyways. I pointed my left hand toward the sandman, then quietly invoked Flame Bullet Magic.

Un, it takes time to activate a magic skill. Finished forming the flame bullet, I aimed at the sandman, then released it.

HahahaFateYou aresillyThere is nothing in there

Not only the flame bullet I created didnt even reach the sandman, it also actually flew to another direction.

Sand flared up grandly. The sandman noticed it and began moving slowly. Theres considerable space before it can get close to me.

Puwhat was thatAre you becoming clumsy due to the effect of the [Gluttony] skill

[Laugh as you likeIts my first ever use of magic, so thats normalNext time]

Greed then stopped laughing and told me.

Cant be helpedIll assist you a littleChange me into the bow form

As told, I changed him into the bow form and aimed to the sandman.

[This timeare you gonna shoot magic arrow as usual]

Not exactlyInvoke the flame bullet magic before while shooting the magic arrow.

I pull the bow string, and the black arrow will be formed from my magic power. And usually, I shoot right after.

There was something more to add this time, according to Greed.

I tried to invoke the Flame Bullet Magic while aiming. At that moment, the black arrow began to flash red.

[This isthe arrow is infused with burning fire, isnt it?]

How is that? With My magic bowyou can infuse the arrow with magic skillIn other wordsthe elements used will vary with Fates skill repertoire

Moreover, it was much faster than preparing a magic. A normal magician wont be able to do the same thing, but this make it possible for me to release multiple magic in a short time.

Go! The flame magic arrow flew at staggering speed, and directly hit the sandmans head.

Feeling good

[Yeahthe best It was a bulls eye]

Seeing the sandman in blaze, I decided to not use normal magic anymore. Ill just use the black bow in the future. Suited me better.

Gluttony Skill Activated

Durability+1760Strength+890Magic+1330Spirit+1760Agility+100 will be added to your stats

Magic Strengthening (Medium) will be added to your skill

As I devour the sandmans soul, I closed my eyes, feeling slightly filled.

Now its time to take a break from the hunt to endure the urge. By repeating this, I wondered if itd be possible to suppress the starvation state beyond the semi-starving level. I could only believe in Greeds words for now.