The explosion of flavors onto his tongue was not one Nero was ready for.
Mostly because it was largely unpleasant.
His brows trembled and his eyes watered.
However, he persevered and bit off a huge chunk before grinding it under his teeth and swallowing.
Trying his best not to retch in disgust, he found himself unwilling to look at the other large chunks of meat.
'That tastes awful.'
Not only did it taste rancid, there was also a faint flavor he couldn't quite get off his tongue that clung to the roof of his mouth with the grease.
Back in town, finding wild game was impossible as it was impossible for them to exist without any form of corruption.
However, the livestock raised by the church were completely safe to eat. However, it had been a long time since he had eaten fresh meat since only those that had a lot of money could purchase it.
This, on the other hand, did not taste like the meat of those livestock at all. It was, completely nasty.
But it was not inedible.
And so, with that in mind, he toughened up and began eating the rest.
With the heat acting to help soften up the flesh, it had become tender enough to eat as long as he didn't try eating the hide or the fat which seemed to contain even more of that rancid stench.
Shoveling the meat into his mouth as fast as possible, he felt a faint trace of something swirling from his stomach, all the way into his chest.
The it disappeared.
Everytime he took a bite and swallowed, the same thing happened.
Over and over again until all the meat was gone.
He collapsed to the ground, his stomach a little swollen. He had satisfied whatever hunger he had, but that was not the reason he had endured such torment.
He sucked in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.
He envisioned it.
He envisioned himself, the true him...
Wisps of steam wafted off his body as the sound of cracking and squelching could be heard.
His body was transforming.
Eventually, the sounds stopped. The transformation was completely.
Picking up the Silver Blade, he glanced at his face.
He heaved a sigh of relief.
He was back to normal.
Suddenly his expression changed.
He could feel the heat that had been gathering in his chest slowly flowing out of him.
Five minutes later, he didn't feel it any more.
The transformation slowly came undone as the last ebbs of the energy faded away.
His corrupted form, or the Black Body, had been assumed again.
He let out a sigh and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.
He was still for a moment.
'Oracle, what exactly is this energy?'
{The Heretic does not have enough Seals of Sin to access this information}.
His brows trembled.
'Looks like I'll have to wait untill tomorrow to get my answer.'
Since he had used up his requests of the day, he decided it was time to rest.
He had had his fill of the rancid meat, and he had gained a Seal of Sin, pushing him a step closer to his goals.
Watching the heat fade away from the embers, his mind went blank.
So much had happened in such short time.
And with the wag things were, it seemed it was only a matter of time before it got worse. He had lost his arm, but thanks to the Divine Elixir, he had gotten away with it.
The next time he threw himself into such a dangerous situation, perhaps, it wouldn't be his hand that would be missing.
Perhaps it would be his life.
He sincerely doubted he was as special and worthy as the Divine Oracle had painted him out to be. After all, he was just a fragile, unprepared human in a wasteland filled with entities that could squash his body and soul into crumbs with nothing but a thought.
Jumping in so unprepared into battle would be the end of him.
His brows creased together,
'I have to become stronger. And smarter.'
The details of the battle with the Pig Demon replayed in his mind.
There were many ways things could have gone wrong. There were also more than a dozen ways he could have played his card better in retrospect, without having the need to endanger himself so much.
If another creature had appeared during, or after the fight, the odds of his survival would have dropped drastically.
He groaned and covered his eyes,
'I really do need to get better.'
He glanced down at the Silver Blade. Its edge was already sharp enough.
It was his arms that were still too weak.
He closed his eyes and huffed deeply.
'I can think of that once I get some sleep.'
Unable to fight the demons anymore, he let himself drift off.
***
When he woke up, Nero looked around. Seeing that nothing around him had been disturbed, he sighed in relief and rose to sit down.
He was still for a few minutes before he rose up.
Outside the cave, there was a dim sprinkling of light.
He had fallen asleep when the sky had already begun to darken, so that meant it as already the next day.
He had successfully lived through to see another day in the damned wastelands. Most people wouldn't last a whole day out here. He was either extremely lucky, or an even worse fate awaited him.
Since he didn't think he was lucky, Nero could only count his stars and pray it wasn't the latter.
Picking through his rations, he quickly downed something before picking up the Silver Blade and stepping out of the cave.
It was time to go hunting again.
And this time, he had decided to make conscious decisions on what to do.
'I'm not strong. Going after more powerful beings could potentially be more rewarding. But the risks do not outweigh the rewards.'
The best thing he could do, would be to target and hunt down weaker Abominations. That way, he would be able to gather the Seals of Sin more efficiently.
That way, he would reach his goal faster, and would be able to resume his journey.