A few days later, in the library, Aria focused on playing with the two small stones in his hands, making a scraping sound.

Fortunately, there was no one else other than him cause the sound was quite disturbing. After all, that was not a favorite gathering place for kids.

His very poor talent forced him to find another way to absorb spiritual energy into his spiritual space, which was still pitch black and with nothing at all.

Even though there’s progress with his sword practice, he still didn’t have enough energy to activate it in the [Soul Map].

Luckily, he got two spiritual stones that his sister gave him. So, he was no longer a blind man looking for something he never knew what it looked like. He could just focus on these stones.

It's just...

"It's still too slow."

He complained his progress was at a snail pace.

Now he could come up with two ways of harvesting spiritual energy. One was an orthodox way. The other was a small bonus from the spiritual beast in his stomach.

He pondered ways to speed up both. The former one was out of the question. He could only accelerate it with better talent.

Meanwhile, he needed the accumulation of energy to improve his talent. It was a loop. With one chain broken, he could only stop and look for another way.

While the next one…

“I have to make the most of this stomach of mine.”

Physique

Ventriculus

Limit Modification: Complete

Effect:

- Extremely improves the overall performance of the digestive system

- Increases the thickness and resistance of the walls of the ventricles against external forces

- Secretes particular acids to kill most types of pathogens, bacteria, and viruses

- YOU CAN EAT MORE WITH LESS CHOKING

Limit Ability: Unlocked (5/5)

Hyper Eating

Cost: Calories; The amount based on the intensity of activity

Duration: 30 minutes

Cooldown: 24 hours

- Controls the intensity of muscle contractions of the ventriculus wall at will

- Controls the amount of gastric acid and enzyme secretion at will

- Controls the absorption rate of digestive nutrients at will

Supernatural Modification: Unavailable

A few days ago he managed to modify his ventriculus to its limit, and he was surprised by it. He immediately tried how this ability worked.

At first, he felt the movement in his stomach become very distinct as if a hand was there squeezing his stomach.

He tested by eating some foods. The result? Unusual pain, very uncomfortable. But it didn't last long.

He tried several times by swallowing various foods that his hands could reach at that time. The pain reappeared and disappeared alternately, which seemed only to occur if there was food coming in.

He cursed this stupid ability. Eating was such a necessity and enjoyment in itself, but it became torture with this ability.

Only then did he realize, he seemed to have no digestive restrictions. Realizing that the duration was not over, he wanted to work the ventriculus to the maximum as he kept stuffing his stomach with anything edible around him.

Even though he was sweating from the pain that was inflicted, but as the duration ran out, his eyes started to sparkle.

"Jackpot!"

He found that he could keep its work in super turbo mode as long as the duration hadn't run out. It saved so much time to harvest as much energy as possible.

However, there was a new problem. The limitation of this ability. Aria summarized that there were two possible limitations to this ability.

The first was the pain itself. So far he could hold it. Holding it for a full thirty minutes, hmm… he could push himself if he wanted to.

He just didn't know if this pain would increase with higher-level energy. If so, Aria had to think twice about this way of torturing himself.

Stuffing his stomach to the full had always been his favorite activity, but if it turned into the activity he hated the most, he didn't know whether to call himself stupid or swear at the system. But that could be found out later.

The next one, he didn't have access to a large supply of food to take full advantage of this ability's potential.

Yup, he's got a pond full of fish, but could he devour all of it without the inhabitants of his home finding out?

It required careful planning and silent action. He didn't want to show all he could do without reassurance, it was his ultimate secret after all.

It seemed he had to devise a special strategy to reach his objective.

…..

One week later, Aria was standing beside the pond. This place had always been his favorite place to chill in his home.

He would become a witness for the last moments of the fish that had become friendly with his stomach for several years.

A few days ago he managed to persuade his father to help him change the inhabitants of this pool.

Garreth didn't refuse his request, he just warned him to be more careful. Because spiritual fish were more dangerous and could attack him back.

Of course, Aria understood that perfectly. Therefore, he chose this kind of swordfish.

Among the existing tier-1 fish species, this type of fish was the weakest one. Its advantage was only in terms of breeding.

Therefore, it became a scourge for weaker water dwellers and a food bank for stronger predators.

Aria could only silently lament the misfortune of his old fish, which soon would be the first offering to welcome a new owner of the pond.

"Are you feeling pity now?"

Aria looked at Rosalind who was approaching here, not forgetting with her teasing. He only grunted in annoyance in response.

Rosalind laughed, "You know, Uncle Goto can help you save some fish before they are eaten by those swordfish."

Rosalind stood beside her brother, also watching the guards who were about to spill five buckets of swordfish to the pond.

"Of course, all of this will have to be postponed and take a lot of time and effort, but you can eat your fish one last time."

“No need,” Aria refused the offer.

“Just let them be the fodder for the next fish. That way, they can grow faster. When there are more of them, they will eventually end up in my stomach.”

Rosalind giggled, "All you think about is food."

“Humph, as if you don't want any of it. I'm sure you'll ask some immediately when they've grown bigger,” Aria was being scornful at his sister's words.

'And again, it doesn't mean I will give up all these fish just like that,' Aria quietly said to himself.

Yes, this was part of Aria's plan, on the bright side. However, the hidden one lay elsewhere.

Aria looked to the far side of the pond from his residence. That part was covered with thickets of plants until it reaches the edge of the pond.

So, nothing could be seen behind it from here if he didn't come directly to that side. He refused Rosalind's offer with the intention that no one would approach that place.

"Of course, after all, that was your promise years ago."

Rosalind smirked triumphantly, as she watched her brother's face darken. Maybe he remembered his weaker self in the past where he had to agree to all her willful demands.

…..

A few days later, it was still very early for the sun to show itself, Aria had already slipped towards the pond.

It was different this time, he didn't want anyone to see him, so he didn't make a morning prank like always. Instead, he silently sneaked out of his room from the start.

Feeling safe, he circled the pond towards the furthest side. There, he crept slowly between the bushes, making sure his movements were as minimal as possible, as he didn't want to disturb the plants touching his body, which might have caught the attention of the guards who happened to be setting their eyes this way.

Then he reached a hidden mound of earth, obviously not visible from the outside. Not far from there, there was a dug hole that could be guessed from the mound beside it, but now it was filled with water from the pond, and fish. Full of fish.

Aria smiled his plan almost worked out.

The dug hole that was probably more than three cubic meters that he had painstakingly made since a few days ago. Now, it had performed its function properly.

Looking at the number of fish that have difficulty swimming because it was too packed. Perhaps, only the fish themselves were almost two cubic meters, which is definitely enough to test his ability.

The only thing he regretted was he couldn't process these fish properly. That's also the reason he didn't want anyone to see.

He didn't want to be mistaken for a primitive or barbarian. Of course, what he avoided the most were lectures from his mother.

One night class was enough, he didn't want any more extra classes.

Didn't want to linger much longer for fear of being caught, he immediately killed and cleaned the fish one by one.

Even though he wouldn't have time to process these fish, at least he wouldn't put live fish in his mouth, that would be too much.

A few minutes later, it's done. Those lively fish were now scattered without life all around him.

"It's just like slaughter-fest."

Aria saw that his hands were now covered in fish blood. He just shook his head.

“Alright.”

He activated his Limit Ability as he took the fish to his mouth.

The smell of rancid fish was not too strong because it hadn't been long since these fish died.

He ignored the remaining blood as he took a bite at its flesh. Without chewing, he immediately swallowed while taking the next bite.

'Damn, it's starting to hurt now.'

Even though it hurt, he continued to speed up his mouth. His other hand was not so idle. It was ready with a fish the moment he finished.

He continued to do so without stopping and accelerated his movement even though he was sweating bucket from the pain.

As time went by, the volume of fish around him continued to shrink, while the carcasses of fish scattered everywhere.

Even so, it was quite exhilarating because his first trial turned out to be successful. If he could put it to good use, he would get an enormous return.

Of course, he did not forget to always remember that there was a duration limit. This became his concern.

Even though his arms and mouth didn't stop moving, he occasionally closed his eyes to make sure he was still in a safe area.

When the timer in his head showed five seconds remaining, he immediately stopped eating. He didn't want any food left in his stomach even though there was still a little time remaining. Just trying to be safer.

He looked at the accumulated energy in this one pre-breakfast meal. And the result made him smile widely, it's worth it.

His energy increased by more than fifty points. One or two months like this were more than enough to make basic modifications from zero to reach the limit in [Physique].

But he didn't want to get carried away with euphoria just yet. There were still things that need to be done.

When time ran out, he could only breathe a sigh of relief. The pungent smell of fish and blood in his mouth became very strong, so he needed fresh air.

Of course, before leaving the place, he needed time to clean it up. If not, the rancid smell of fish that were scattered around will attract unwanted attention. And all of that had been included in his calculation.

But there was one thing that he missed.

"Damn it, something like this should be included in the calculations, I was too rash.”

Aria's face turned ashen. His body now was squirming uncomfortably. He should have realized this possibility when he ate too much.

Now, he regretted not being more thorough with all his plans.

Oh, a plan that failed was the same as planning to fail. Damn it, this was not the time to remember useless words of wisdom at a time like this.

Suddenly…

*PPRREEEETTTTTT*

“I HAVE TO TAKE A BIG DUMP NOW!!”