Volume 4 Chapter 7. Filling up the tank
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“No! Please, no! Have mercy! Have meAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
I threw away the skin and bone bag which I turned him into and burped a little.
The floor of the shack I repossessed was littered with the remains of people I ‘ bumped into,’ becoming my sustenance.
[8 days been added]
“This should make it 3 months. Enough time for me to fix myself.”
I kicked aside the nearest pile of human remains.
There were so many, each of them coming from the slums, all of them useless and weak, only God for me to feast upon and gain power.
“But why aren’t I gaining EXP?”
I looked at my hand and clashed it.
I have been killing humans for a week now, but I felt no change, not even a level up.
“Are humans so weak now, that I can no longer gain EXP from them? Or I am so damaged that I am unable to grow stronger.”
‘We should probably stop being humans and transform into ducks.’
“Not now Ducky, I am thinking.”
I sat on a chair and looked into the darkness of a corner.
Things aren’t all bad now. With so many bodies, I managed to increase the size my real body can take on. I could probably make avatars now if I wanted to… no, I don’t want a repeat of what just happened. I am keeping myself together. Literally.
But I want to make sure that the people I will work with won't stab me in the back….
“Bah, I will deal with it when I get there…. deal with it… Shit, I am stupid!”
I jumped out of the chair and dashed out. looking for the first idiot I could find.
“Hey friend, do you have a penny?”
With the clothes I stole from one of the random victims, I got clothes better than you would see around here.
Brown pants that weren’t tattered, good boots, a black coat with some fur on its sleeves.
It was understandable for this guy to see me as somebody who has money.
“Friend, I have a better proposition for you.”
I slightly kneeled down, facing the man, only realizing that he was blind, a scar was running through his eyes, that looked quite infected.
“What would you say, to have a well-paying job? With warm food and good clothing.”
The man smiled, showing me his yellow teeth.
“Friends look at me. I am blind. What use can you have with me?+
“ True. A blind man isn’t good for me. But a man who could tell that I was here, with money no less, that is someone who I need.”
I slowly grabbed his hand and helped him stand up.
“If you may follow me, I can bring you to a warmer place, so that we can discuss your employment.”
I led him to a back alley where there was no one and put him next to the wall.
“Before we make the contract, tell me more about yourselves. What did you do before we met? Who were you?”
The man looked down on the ground for a while before speaking.
“I-I was a guard for a noble family for almost three decades. They took me in when I was still a kid on the streets and trained me. I served them with devotion, and I did everything they told me to do. But then ‘HE’ came!”
The man's face was distorted by anger.
“Who is he?”
My business senses were tingling, telling me that if I played my cards right, I could make an even more favorable result for me.
“A nobody. A mercenary who was kicked out from his gang and came to serve my master, who accepted him. At first, everything was fine, but like any sickness, things started to become worse. He made several mistakes and broke rules, while he managed to push the blame on me. Thanks to our connection the lord didn’t punish me severely, but the bastard challenged me to a fight.”
“And he beat you up like that?”
“HE CHEATED! At the training he never had such skills, he must have used some sort of drug or magic to strengthen himself! I will make him pay, even if that’s the last thing I will ever do! I will reclaim my honor!”
“I understand. I also have some debts to settle with some people….And what would you say if I could make sure that you will win?”
“…What?”
“You know, even the odds. I can make you just as strong as him, or even stronger.”
I snapped my fingers.
This did nothing but, this blind dud couldn’t tell it.
“The terms are quite simple. You will work for me for a year as my aid and protector. In exchange, you will receive payment of ten gold coins in a day. I will even heal your eyes and give you a boost that will make sure you will defeat that guy.”
He looked at me with his white eyes in shock, not understanding what I was saying.
“That’s right, old-timer, I can make you see the beautiful world that surrounds us and the blood that flows in your friend. So, what do you say?”
“…Who are you?”
“Just call me Dealmaker. Or boss!”
I grabbed his hand and shook it.
[Contract has been made.]
[Contract Details: Derek Colt will work for Nameless for a year. In exchange Nameless will restore Derek Colt’s sight, pay him with ten gold coins every day of his employment and he will give him enough strength to defeat the adversary of Derek Colt.]
When our hands parted, I felt the energy leave my body, flowing into him, turning his eyes back to normal.
“M-My eyes! I can see! Thank you! Thank you…”
“You are welcome. I will let you get used to your new eyes. Meet me tomorrow before this shack. You will have a busy day tomorrow since you have an idiot to kill.”
He nodded and ran away, leaving me alone in the allay.
“Nice. With that, I can be sure not to be stabbed in the back. But I feel like something’s missing…”
‘We need ducks!’
“…No, not that. Something…something tasty.”
I felt hungry, even though I had just eaten. Is it perhaps…?
“Madness. I hunger for madness.”
Yes, since I landed here, I only eat sane people. They were very tasty, but they didn’t have the nutrition I needed.
“If I were missing some screws, where would I be? Right here, but if not then I would seek help… At the hospital. A church. Ugh, I will have to step on holy ground? I hope this stat will not worsen my allergy.”
I scratched my cheek as I was thinking, making me look at the body I was currently occupying.
“….I should probably put on something better for the occasion.”
*****
When the night fell, and the moon shined bright, the church of Asteria stud illuminated with the various sources of lights, cast by lamps, candles, and torches.
Underground of this beautiful building was a dark secret.
A dungeon, spawning almost three times the size of the church itself.
In it, several diverse types of prisoners were held.
There were the heretics, the sacrileges, pillagers.
But the must-numbered ones were the ill ones. Those who couldn’t be cured by the holy magic, those whose minds couldn’t be saved.
Now they rot here, slowly becoming increasingly animalistic as their rationality disappeared, as they tried to keep the flame of the single candle given to them alive.
These candles were specially made, they only provided the only light, they didn’t release heat or burn anything other than the match and the vax, which was also cold, even melted.
These candles when lit only lasted for 5 hours and the inmates only received one a week, the priests telling them ‘Only god's servants may bask in light’ or ‘ those like you do not deserve to see.’
The only speech of light that could be seen here was coming from the lamp of an apprentice priest who was on his rounds.
It was a boring task, with most of the inmates sleeping around this time.
In his boredom, he was humming the music he heard in a tavern when he sneaked in without anyone noticing it.
“Help me! Help me! Help me! Help me! Help me!”
The sudden screaming scared him, but most of the inmates here were like this. He quickly lost interest and walked away.
“Help me!”
The malnourished turned away from the metal door and looked into the darkness of his cell.
For his crazed eyes, which adapted for the darkness, he could tell that there was something with him, looking at him in the corner.
The voices in his head that tormented him since birth whispered in his head, telling him to do things.
“…Do you like music?”
This wasn’t like the voices he usually heard. He could feel it vibrate his insides.
“No? Then what about a nursery rhyme. I only know one, so stop me if you know this one.”
The shadows in the corner became darker and darker, becoming like ink.
“ Here I go.”
“No, no, no.”
“
London Bridge is falling down
Falling down, falling down
London Bridge is falling down
My fair lady
“
As the song went on, the darkness separated from the wall and took on the form of a man.
“Go away! Go away! Go away!”
The inmate screamed but it was no use, there was no one to hear him.
“
Build it up with iron bars
Iron bars, iron bars
Build it up with iron bars
My fair lady
“
The thing took its first step towards him, its feet making a wet sound.
“
Iron bars will bend and break
Bend and break, bend, and break
Iron bars will bend and break
My fair lady
“
Now the monster was right in front of him, looking down at the scarred man.
The inmate closed his eyes and didn’t dare to move.
he felt his chin gently grabbed by a soft hand that gently lifted his head.
For the first time, the voices silenced themselves.
For the first time, he knew silence.
Hypnotized by this comfort the inmate opened his eyes.
The monster looked down on him, his face nothing more than a black hole.
Then from the darkness, as if they were just born, two flaming balls of light appeared, shining down on his face.
“
BUILD IT UP WITH FLESH AND BONE!
FLESH AND BONE, FLESH AND BONE!
BUILD IT UP WITH FLESH AND BONE!
MY! FAIR! LADY!
“
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
The screams echoed through the entire dungeon, waking up several other inmates who also started to scream.
The screaming stopped one by one, by the guards or by… other means.
At daybreak, as the guards went through the cells, they discovered that several prisoners were dead.
Not something that wouldn’t unnaturally happen considering the state they left the inmates, but the way they all died caught their eyes.
They were all missing their insides, no flesh, organs, or bones. There were not even bones.
The only thing that remained was their flabby skin and a small quantity of some mysterious black liquid that was dripping out from the bodies.
*
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[
Name: None
Race: Broken Memory
Age: 1.345. 654
Job: [Mad Alchemist Master] [King of Crossroads] [Bain of Creation]
LV: 1/ 100
HP: 1000/1000
MP: 10/5000
STR: 4000
VIT: 10
SPD: 300
MRES: 2000
DC: 6 months, 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes,
Skill PT:0
Physical attributes: [Dark Vision] [Liquid Body] [Madness Embodiment] [Immortality]
Skills: [King of Crossroads Contract Creation, LV: Max] [ King of Crossroads Wish Granting, LV: Max] [King of Crossroads Business Sense, LV: Max] [Alchemy Mastery, LV Max] [ Masterful Golem Creation, LV: Max] [Masterful Abomination Creation, LV: Max] [ Masterful Summoning Magic, LV: Max] [Divine Telekinesis, LV: Max] [Divine Weapon Summon, LV: Max]]
Titles: [Broken Soul] [Enemy of Creation] [Escapee of the Void] [Killer of worlds] [Taboo Breaker] [Eater of Kin]
]