“How does my finger taste?” The giggling voice transmitted into his head.

“Like shit.” Alphonse spat. The burns around his body had already healed, thanks to the notable increase of the constitution stat.

“Rude, even after giving you such a gift.” Gluttony scoffed. “Do you know how many people would kill to become my apostle?”

“Well, sorry for not showing my appreciation when I almost die every fucking day.” Alphonse said, then Gluttony’s words reminded him of something. “Wait, did you bring me here?”

“More like guided you here?” A joyful laugh sounded in Gluttony’s throat. “Ah shut it, I get it! Time to go, Alphonse. These bastards are biting at my heels. They’re just jealous!”

The voice was cut off when another thought appeared in Alphonse’s head. Is Gluttony controlling the gateways? I’ll need to ask him whenever he appears again…

Alphonse looked around. An entrance to a stairwell was at the side of the room. There was nothing else inside the room. Cups, plates and candleholders lay shattered around the place. Like someone had ransacked the area. There was nothing else.

With a sigh, Alphonse climbed the staircase. He wondered where he would pop up. There weren't exactly many buildings around the jungle. If there was, they were buried underneath the dense undergrowth.

The young man approached a wooden latched door that was locked with a padlock. Grabbing hold of the lock, he squeezed his hand as the metal deformed under the pressure. With a yank, the lock snapped. He reached up, lifting the wooden door as it fell to the floor with a bang. Dust surged within the room like a cloud as Alphonse climbed up.

Jungle roots and vines, made any features within the room difficult to make out. If he had to guess, it looked like an old brick building. Something out of place compared to the building the old man had taken him to. Different neighbourhood?

Alphonse approached the door and kicked it open. The door had long rotted away. It crumbled at the touch. He stopped. A haze of thought shrouded his striking blue eyes. What to do now? 100 constitution wouldn’t help him against that monstrous opponent. He needed something else… something more. Shaking his head, he decided to just walk forward. After all, he did not know where he was.

The sweltering heat of the tropical jungle wasn’t an issue anymore, thanks to the tiger’s scales added with the extra constitution. The temperature was mild.

Trudging past the exotic flowers and vines that littered the floor, [ Ground Perception ] was busy sending images into his mind. Anything that moved, even the slightest amount, turned into a picture. He heard a thudding before the picture transmitted into his mind. It had a thick body with enormous forearms. It leapt toward Alphonse.

Alphonse dodged to the side as the monster’s fists crashed down where he was standing. It was a gorilla. It flashed its menacing teeth, the beast's massive fists smashed onto its chest, booming sounds clapped his eardrums.

Alphonse reciprocated with the smile, showing his pearly white teeth. He stood still as the monster charged at him. Every move it took left a thudding sound. The gorilla’s heavy weight rocketed forward. Alphonse’s head lurched back as a burning sensation travelled up his oesophagus. A vile greenish-yellow liquid squirted from his mouth as it covered the beast.

A wretched scream filled the jungle as its body disintegrated. Then it stopped breathing. It wasn’t long before he heard more of them, the images of their travelling bodies entered his mind. Looked like he was about to have a feast. The thought of food grumbled within his stomach, the pain brought with it a primal urge to consume. The beasts appeared in view as he flashed a grin, a thin line appeared across the throat of the gorilla. It was its weakness. Activating [ Flicker Steps ] he tore through the jungle, his cleaver flashing within the tropical sun. The beast's head fell to the ground without resistance. He was the predator. He began his slaughter.

***

Hunger is satisfied.

Chef’s Kiss activated

Recipe: Gorilla Warrior’s arm

Gorilla Warrior’s arm: Well cooked, covered in jungle leaves and smoked underground. The meat is falling off the bone.

[ Rating D+ ]

Stat boost 20% from set bonus.| 24.8 -> 29.7 strength added| 14.6 -> 17.5 constitution added

For 3 hours +5% strength

Trait extracting…

Rare trait extracted - Heightened strength: Increase strength passively by 10%

Hunger's Evolution is taking place…

Form part obtained - Gorilla Warrior’s forearm: Greatly expand the muscles in your forearm to increase strength and durability. +15% unarmed damage and durability.

Alphonse looked down as his forearms expanded. He felt his strength surge. Using [ Brutal Strike ] to increase the velocity. He swung his arm like a sledgehammer as the tree smashed apart.

What if I had it together with the armoured beetle? With the thought, a blackish-blue exoskeleton formed around him like a suit of armour. He could feel the added weight of the horn on his head.

I’m done being weak. Let's use this to the fullest extent. Alphonse grit his teeth. [ Ground Perception ] was used to its fullest extent. It was clear he could stack his forms, so he began looking for ants on the ground. Just like the beetle, he began looking for a rare breed. He started walking as a trail of ants entered his mind.

Alphonse stopped as he looked down. A large mound of dirt was dug up, and an army of ants left the colony in search of food. The armoured young man closed his eyes as he fully focused on his skill. It seeped down into the dirt. An enormous ant came into view. Claws emerged from his fingertips as he started digging down. The ants swarmed him, their sharp pinscors attempted to clamp down on him, but his armour was too thick.

Soon, another mound of dirt was dug up as he tunnelled down into a dirt cave system. It looked like it was made of some sort of clay. The tree’s roots had vast holes bitten out of them as the ants burrowed right through them.

With [ Flame Brand ] covering his hands, he made his way through the tunnel and stood in front of the massive ant. It clearly wasn’t the queen, but a warrior ant. Just what he wanted. He couldn’t imagine taking the form of the queen ant. The thought of giving birth to tiny ant babies made his carapace crawl.

“Oh, you’re a big bug.” Alphonse smiled. He stomped into action, launching himself against the ant.

He wanted to test the strength of his future form. Alphonse’s body crashed into the beast, avoiding the herculean pinscors. He sped up, fist punched the side of the insect's mandibles. A dense thud resounded throughout the tunnel system. It only seemed to anger the ant as it thrashed to the side, sending Alphonse crashing into the wall. Blood spurted from his mouth. His eyes shone despite the pain. The intense strength of the ant was what he was looking for.

Once again, he dashed forward. The insect had low intelligence, meaning that it did not know how to fight. The advantage of the human brain. Alphonse stepped to the side and leapt up on top of the ant, his black shadowed teeth sunk into the exoskeleton.

Hunger's Evolution is taking place…

Form obtained - Elite-Soldier Ant: Increase strength by +20%

Rare skill obtained - Pistol punch: Punch with extreme speed.

Black mandibles sprouted from the corner of his mouth. The exoskeleton changed. Instead of getting large, it had compacted.

Alphonse sent his arm back and punched down at the ants skull. [ Pistol Punch + Fire Brand + Lethal Strike ] were all activated as his fist screamed through the air. An explosion rocked the tunnel system as blood and scattered pieces of the ant’s carapace shout outward like shrapnel.

The screeches of the ant army scratched at his ears.