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Chapter 163: The Master of Gluttony
Chapter 163: The Master of Gluttony
A bright red flower had bloomed on the tree.
The two women studied the flower with great interest.
Wow, such a beautiful flower.Huh? There wasnt a flower like this yesterday, right?
Yes. Also, although it looks small compared to the massive size of the tree, the flower isnt small either. Its comparable to peonies no, its bigger than them. Its almost
almost as big as a persons head
Shimizu felt a chill for some reason when she arrived at this notion.
She turned and looked around.
Chief Shimizu?
Nothing Um, I was thinking that its about the size of a bowling ball.
Oh, that might be true.
(What was that chill just now?)
She didnt understand why, but she felt her skin crawl when her eyes landed on the flower again.
W-we should head back. We cant afford to waste time here. Hurry up.
R-right. Everyone, were returning to the City Hall!
Shimizu urged them to leave quickly.
For unknown reasons, she didnt want to stay any longer.
The moment they turned their backs on the flower, nay, the tree
Eh?
Hmm?
They cocked their heads simultaneously.
What were they talking about again?
They didnt know, and they couldnt seem to remember.
Since they couldnt remember, they assumed that it wasnt a big deal.
Thus, they departed from where they were.
*****
Those trees are classified as monsters.
I gather Ichinose-san, Nishino-kun, and Rikka-chan after finishing my research.
Ichinose-san and Rikka-chan each has a towel around their neck, probably because theyve just had a bath.
There are glasses of milk on the table awaiting them.
Monsters?
Ichinose-san asks as she drinks milk.
Yes, and theyre a tricky species.
The Right to Question told me that the trees were monsters.
It also elaborated on the various skills and characteristics of said trees.
The trees selectively attack people without skills
By defeating monsters, we can level up and gain skills that will help us defeat stronger enemies.
However, the trees tend to only attack normal people.
In other words, they target regular civilians
Nishino repeats what I said with his hand on his chin.
After a moment of pause, he says, The trees are everywhere in the town, right? Many of them have penetrated through parts of buildings and cars. That means the citizens that disappeared
Yes, you can say that theyve been turned into nutrients for the trees.
Those that decided to hide at their house, those that were disabled, and those that were in hospitals.
People who chose not to fight or were not in the condition to fight were silently eliminated by the trees.
The population is too small.
Nishino-kun has raised such a suspicion.
This is the reason why.
The residents were taken unawares by the trees and were absorbed by them.
Rikka-chan jumps up from her chair.
Hold up. Then why wouldnt we notice? If something that strange is going on, how would we not notice it? If theyre really attacking people without being found out, then that means they have skills that Ah
Rikka-chan has answered her own question.
She waits for my confirmation while sweating cold sweat.
Shes on the mark.
Thats also why I described them as tricky.
As Aisaka-san has just now predicted, the most annoying aspect of these trees is that they possess skills that resemble Cognitive Inhibition. Not only that, they consume the existence of the people that they intake.
Therein lies the true horror of these trees.
Because of their Cognitive Inhibition-type skills, nobody would realize that someone is being attacked.
Unless we pay close attention to the trees, we wont even be cognizant of the fact that theyre there.
Its a perfect defense measure that prevents them from being assailed by skill-possessing humans.
The trees absorb all evidence of their victims existence, including others memories of them.
Thats why we cant tell who has disappeared and when.
Thats the truth behind Nishino-kuns sense of discomfort.
What an astonishing truth
Youre lying what even is that
They accurately perceive the threat levels of the trees.
Their faces are bitter as if theyve been fed earthworms.
The population does not match, yet no one ever questioned it.
This is the answer to the mystery.
These trees have extremely cunning and malicious traits.
This world is truly messed up.
Im scared
Buri buri.
Rikka-chan shudders.
Does that mean that we can be forgotten as well? Natsun, Onii-san, Nisshi, my parents
The trees only ambush those below LV 1, meaning we arent within their range of targets. As for the others I dont know.
Thats
Our parents, relatives, and friends could have already been devoured by the trees and forgotten if they havent raised their levels.
The memories we have with them would be deprived from us too.
Evil is the only way to describe them.
I remember I still remember my dad and my mom. I still remember everyone in class
M-me too I still remember them
!
Rikka-chan and Ichinose-san dig through their memories in a frenzy whilst trembling.
On the other hand, Nishino-kun is thinking with a crunched-up face.
Nishino-kun?
In that case, we have to take action as soon as possible.
It is as you say.
Now that weve figured out that the trees are monsters, we cant leave them alone.
We must eliminate them when we can.
But how are we supposed to kill those big trees?
The Right to Question has taught me a way to do so.
The Right to Question mentioned a method to slay the trees.
Its disturbing how easily it provided the information, but we have no choice but to try it out.
First thing in the morning tomorrow?
No, we act now.
The Sun has set and the outside is pitch dark.
Nonetheless, with Night Vision skills activated, we wont face any problem.
The Dragon isnt showing any signs of activity either, so we can move freely without a worry.
(It would be the worst case scenario if the trees have bloomed)
The Right to Question has also brought up another unique characteristic of the trees.
If the trees have bloomed and that characteristic of theirs gets awakened, well be neck-deep in trouble.
We have to prevent that from happening.
Its our turn to shine.
Well eradicate all the trees in this region and have them literally uprooted.
*****
Isnt it about time you spill the beans? What are you so afraid of?
Inside one of the rooms of the City Hall, Igarashi Touka was questioning a man sitting in front of her.
The trembling man was one of the surviving members of the Self Defense Force.
There was no one else except them in the room. Simply put, they were alone.
T-thats
You cant answer? Even though its me whos asking?
Im sorry! Ill answer! Please dont hate me!
The Self Defense Force member despaired over the look of disappointment that Touka was giving him and groveled at her feet.
Touka smirked at the figure of the desperately begging man.
Enchantment.
A skill to manipulate other peoples will and to brainwash them into following her orders.
The skill had leveled up after she evacuated from the school, so without the appropriate resistance skills, the target would become like this Self Defense Force member.
(That sorry excuse of a father failed to extract any decent information out of Towada-san. I have to take matters in my own hand)
A Dragon attack.
Because of that mess, the conversation between Fujita and Towada was interrupted.
She had been eavesdropping on their discussion in the adjacent room.
(A monster in the neighboring townthats what Towada-san said)
A Dragon had suddenly appeared.
At first, she thought Towada was talking about the Dragon, but his reaction towards hearing about the news made her doubtful.
The survivors of the Self Defense Force were indeed surprised, but that was it.
Their reactions were too light.
What did that mean?
(The Dragon is not the monster thats in the neighboring town)
There was something else, something else that scared them more than a Dragon.
(This issue cannot be put on hold for long)
That was why she opted for this forceful interrogation.
She was reluctant to use Enchantment unless it was necessary.
Nevertheless, their situation called for its need.
They werent in the position to choose.
If they continued to be in the dark, there was a chance that it would come back to bite them in the future.
Tell me. Whats in the neighboring town? Whats the source of your terror?
What in the world was frightening them to this extent?
She had also seen her fair share of strong monsters.
Those were terrifying experiences, and she had already stared Death in the eyes several times.
Even so, those experiences were not enough to explain the abnormal terror that the JSDF members were feeling.
I dont
Pardon? I didnt catch that.
I dont remember.
Sorry?
For a moment, Toukas brain failed to process what the man had just said.
We dont remember anything. We dont remember what we were attacked by
Is this a joke?
Its not! We really cant recall anything! All we know is that a mysterious monster has slaughtered our colleagues or who were assuming were our colleagues. Thats the only way to explain it!
He didnt appear to be lying.
They were attacked by a monster, yet they were oblivious to the identity of the monster.
What he claimed were clearly contradictory.
Please look at this
?
The man presented a photo to her.
It was a group photo of the entire Self Defense Force.
Nearly fifty Self Defense Force personnel were inside the photo which had the military base as its background.
This man, Towada, and the other surviving members were among the fifty personnel.
And whats wrong with this?
These people were probably once our brothers-in-arms
Probably? Surely you remember the faces of your colleagues?
The man shook his head side to side.
I dont remember them. Any of them I dont remember anyone other than the members that are with us right now! They should have been my brothers-in-arms! We should have fought together but I dont remember any of them! For some reasonI
The way he shed tears as he held his head did not seem like an act.
He really had no idea who the other members were in the photo.
That was why he was scared.
Something must have happened, yet he couldnt remember what that something was.
That only served to amplify his fear.
(Memory loss? Or perhaps)
Touka tried to calmly analyze the mans words and actions.
(Its similar its similar to the discomfort I felt from Shimizu-san and Gramps)
Previously, Touka had brought up the topic about the diminished population, but no one except her held any doubt about the situation.
Both were about memory and awareness.
She was certain that they were related somehow.
Could it be that the monster in the neighboring town is
She looked outside the window.
Illuminated by the moonlight, the trees that grew everywhere appeared eerie spooky to her.
*****
It was suffering immensely.
Not enough.
Not enough at all.
It shook its body to check if there was anything in its proximity.
Footsteps, breathing sounds, tremors in the air, and vibrations from the ground.
With these as its reference, It searched for preys and devoured them.
You have gained experience.
A voice.
However, it didnt matter.
Not enough.
It wasnt enough at all.
It extended its roots, stretched out its branches, spread its pollen, and shed its leaves to seek for more preys to feast on.
Not enough. Not enough. Not enough.
More. More. More. More. More.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
Gluttony has been activated.
You have acquired the skill Regrowth.
Not enough. Not enough. Not enough.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
Gluttony has been activated.
You have acquired the skill HP Auto Recovery.
You have acquired the skill Shock Absorption.
You have acquired the skill Endurance.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained experience.
You have gained
The voice continued to echo in its mind.
Not satisfied. Not satisfied. Not satisfied.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
At one point, It stopped hearing the voice.
Nothing. There was nothing.
It eventually realized that there was no prey left for It to eat.
Still hungry
According to its instinct, according to its skill, and according to its desire
The Tree of Gluttony began to move.