That bitch almost fooled me. I really thought her name was Vilola.
---
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
GLUTTONY – Target locked: Sera (player-#035)
Emotional resonance: low-grade
Extraction efficiency: reduced
---
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Pending Completed:
+ Strength +1
+ Agility +2
+ Stamina +1
For current level and status, say or think: status.
---
"Whoa... I get all of this?" He blinked. "But where's her ability? Huh. What did I do wrong?"
Status, Kade thought.
---
[STATUS SCREEN – KADE]
Class: some joke, apparently
Rank: -
Stamina: 7
Intelligence: 15
Agility: 12
Strength: 9
Special Ability: Gluttony – YOU CAN FEED ON THE DEAD
Restriction: ???
---
He stared at it. "Stamina and strength. Makes sense. Where I grew up, daily meals weren't exactly guaranteed. You dumb system."
He shifted the dagger still lodged into his right shoulder, grimacing. The wound still throbbed — but duller now, less angry. Kade touched the skin around it, surprised. Had it already started closing? "...Buff effect?"
His frame felt slightly fuller. Not jacked, not yet, but the change was there. Posture straighter. Breaths smoother. It was subtle, but real.
"Restriction is still locked," he muttered. "Maybe I just have to figure it out myself."
Then it hit him. That fat bastard with the iron skin — Donovan. He hadn't given Kade anything. No bonus, no glow, no ping.
"Huh."
Kade focused.
Activation of: GLUTTONY failed.
He tried again.
Activation of: GLUTTONY failed.
A third time.
Activation of: GLUTTONY failed.
He let the thought fade, watching the corpse rot in silence.
"So it is what I think it is..."
That system message back with Sera. Emotional resonance. Low-grade. It had to be connected to feelings.
A sinking realization.
"...It can't be that fucked up, right? That they have to... actually *like me?"
In that moment, the interface flickered again. A new line appeared.
---
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
RESTRICTION REVEALED: YOU CAN ONLY TAKE FROM WHAT LIKES YOU.
---
Kade stared. Then he laughed.
"Whoever came up with this," he muttered, shaking his head, "you're really messed up."
He glanced down at Sera. The way she'd called his name before dying. That tiny moment of... connection. Enough to feed off, apparently.
"I don't even know what a relationship is..." A pause. "Then again, probably it doesn't have to be one."
His sharp smile returned.
---
Branches crunched underfoot as he moved again, weaving through moss and decay. The forest breathed murder, but he was used to that kind of air.
Others weren't.
He passed claw marks on bark. Blood spatter on ferns. A voice crying out, quickly silenced. In the distance, fire crackled.
They were already forming groups. Hunting. Making deals.
"Idiots."
He stopped under a dying tree to rest. Blinked. A shimmer in the air.
---
[KILL RANKING – LIVE UPDATE]
1st – Sera (player-#035): 5 Kills (DECEASED)
2nd – Nor (player-#088): 2 Kills
3rd – Kade (player-#080): 2 Kills
---
"Damn... guess I can't use my name anymore."
He watched his rank blink. Then drop.
New name on the board:
2nd – Vox (player-#076): 4 Kills
"Wow. A double kill? Just who would do such a horrible thing? Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
He moved again, absentmindedly rubbing at his shoulder. The healing had definitely accelerated. Strength bonuses? Some hidden passive? He'd test it later.
A twig snapped behind him.
He didn't turn right away. Just stood still.
He didn't turn right away. Just stood still.
Another sound. A breath—too soft to be wind.
Not again, he thought. Not a third one.
He shook his head slightly. It didn't reach his eyes.
His side twinged again, but the pain was distant now. Background noise.
Another step. Small. Light.
He turned.
It was a boy.
Maybe twelve. Too clean. Too quiet. Standing still, eyes wide. No weapon drawn. No fear.
Kade blinked.
The kid was looking at him. Not with terror. Not even distrust. Just... openness.
It was faint. A flicker. But Kade smelled it this time. The trace.
Trust.
That scent of something real.
And suddenly Gluttony responded. It didn't activate. But it stirred.
Kade stared at him for a long second.
Then he spoke.
"Don't do it, kid," he said, voice flat. "Don't like me."
The boy didn't get it at all—but he didn't bother pretending."Are you going to kill me?" he asked.
Kade tilted his head.
"I'm not really afraid of it," the boy added after a pause. "They say it's supposed to be scary when you've got something to go back to or whatever. I can't really imagine that being the case."
For a second, Kade's mind flicked to his mother.He shoved the thought away like trash.
"So, do you want to die, kid?"
"…No. Not really?"
"Good," Kade said. "Live, little one."
He stared at the boy for another moment, then crouched down to eye level. His voice stayed flat, but something colder moved beneath it.
"If you don't wanna die," he said, "then show me your status."
The boy blinked. "How?"
"Open your status. In the bottom-right corner, there's a button to reveal it. Click that."
Kade's dagger didn't move, but neither did his eyes.
The boy hesitated, then did as told. A soft chime echoed—barely audible—and the translucent panel flickered into the air between them.
Kade leaned in, eyes scanning.
Then he froze.
"...Huh," he muttered.
Ability: [Soulbound]
Bound Target: #080 – KadeStatus: Active
Effects: +Focus, +Regeneration, +Shared Fate
"Shared fate…?"
[Warning: Soulbind established. Death of one will result in mutual deletion.]
Kade didn't move.His expression blanked for just a second.
Then—
"You little—"
He stopped.
Not because the boy flinched. But because the system wasn't joking.
He felt it now. That tether. Faint, pulsing, buried under skin.
"Already bound? Fuck!"
The boy tilted his head, confused. "Huh?"
Kade exhaled slowly. No grin. No sneer.
And for once —Kade had no idea what to do.