My SSS-Rank Gluttony Talent: I Can Evolve Limitlessly-Chapter 47: Food…

Riley staggered out of the cave, the world around him spinning in spirals, as though reality itself was tilting sideways.

His eyes were thousands time sharper than ever, and his vision was capturing every little thing going on around him at the same time.

He could see the slight twitches of the grasses, and even the tiny ants crawling in between them.

The slight rays of light shining down on the grasses looked so clear to him... so bright that they gave him headaches.

The wind brushing through the grass sounded like a roaring tide in his ears, and the scent of the soil felt suffocating.

He stumbled forward, gripping his head with a loud groan, before dropping to his knees.

"Ugh... dammit..." he grunted, his fingers digging into the soil.

Sweat clung to his brow, and the veins beneath his skin pulsed violently with each throb of his heart.

His stomach twisted again, even harder than the last, sending an unbearable jolt of pain through his gut.

It was as if there was a beast gnawing at his insides, biting down on his intestines with its spiky teeth.

His throat quickly dried up, as though he hadn’t drunk water or tasted food in weeks.

"What... the hell is this..." Riley muttered weakly, slumping forward on all fours.

His mind swirled with confusion and pain.

’Why do I feel this way...? Is this... the hunger the system was talking about?’ he mumbled inwardly, trying to stand back up on his feet.

But his body seemed to have tripled in weight for some reason, and he could barely lift his hands back up.

He gasped, panting heavily.

Then, a long howl tore through the field, piercing through his ears like a cannon blast.

Riley winced, snarling as his entire body tensed. He slowly raised his head, blinking past the blurs in his vision.

There—just beyond the tree line—a Dire Wolf stood.

It was hunched and growling low, eyes narrowed as it locked gazes with the kneeling human.

Riley stared at it—and something within him shifted.

"...Food," he mumbled, his voice hoarse as the words slipped past his lips without thought.

He subconsciously stretched a hand at it, his arm trembling uncontrollably almost as if it would fall off.

And then—

Crack!

His fingernails rapidly stretched, growing into sharp, jagged claws.

His body bulked out, his muscles almost tearing through his clothes.

His shoulders widened, and his frame grew larger, almost twice what it was before.

His jaw snapped open, his mouth stretching abnormally wide, almost touching his ears.

Long fangs grew out of his gums, replacing his former, ordinary teeth.

Szzz!

Thick, black smoke started oozing out of his skin, forming a thick shroud of darkness over his body.

Growl!

He growled, the sound low and inhuman.

"I... need... to eat..." he rasped.

The Dire Wolf flinched.

It took a hesitant step backward, ears flattening. Its instincts screamed at it to run... far away from whatever creature was standing in front of it.

Then Riley fully rose back up on his feet, letting out a deep snarl.

The darkness coiled even tighter around him, making him look like a silhouette sent from the pit of hell itself.

The wolf quickly turned around, trying to run away from Riley.

However, it was already too late.

Riley suddenly lunged forward, his movement a blue.

His clawed hand shot out and grabbed the Dire Wolf’s hind leg before it could flee.

The beast howled, twisting and thrashing desperately, claws digging at the dirt as it tried to escape. But it was useless.

It could only wriggle weakly, like a worm in a spider’s web, as Riley slowly dragged its body back toward him—inch by inch.

"...Food..." he mumbled again.

The wolf thrashed harder, howling and snarling in panic, but Riley didn’t even blink.

He lifted the writhing creature into the air, brought it close to his large, gaping mouth.

Then—

CRACK—

His mouth snapped even wider than before, to the point where his jaw reached his chest. C

The moment the Dire Wolf’s snout neared his face, a forceful suction erupted within Riley’s mouth.

WHOOOSH!

The Dire Wolf’s body was immediately sucked in, leaving no traces behind.

The whole process didn’t even take two seconds, and the Wolf was fully devoured by Riley.

Riley stood frozen, his body trembling slightly.

A system notification flashed across his eyes, but he nonchalantly waved it away.

"...More..." he growled, his voice deep and hoarse, almost like a growl. "I... need more..."

His lips stretched into a maniacal grin.

And then—

Fwoosh!!

He shot forward, the force at which he took off leaving a crack on the earth.

He blitzed through the forest with inhuman speed, splitting the wind loudly with his speed.

Every beast nearby instinctively froze. Rabbits hid. Birds scattered. Even apex predators cowered.

However, Riley kept on moving.

Whatever he saw, was instantly devoured without even a thought.

It didn’t matter whether they were wolves, birds... or even insects, every single thing he came across was sucked into his gaping maw.

*

Meanwhile...

"Six silver, that’s my final offer, if you can’t agree, then leave my shop," the NPC, a man with short black hair barked, crossing his arms.

"But come on," the player pleaded, placing his palms together hoping the man would at least reconsider. "It’s an uncommon grade potion, not even rare! I could get three of these from another vendor for the same price."

"How about... four silver?" he said, raising up four fingers.

The NPC’s stare however, didn’t waver. "Six, six silver coins. If you can’t afford it, then get out."

The player, a lightly armored archer named Hart groaned in annoyance, running a hand through his hair.

"This is daylight robbery, I swear," he muttered, low enough that the NPC wouldn’t react. "Damn cheapskates... I should’ve just bought from that hacker dude. His was three silver... three... why am I so unlucky...?"

Then—

Growl!!

A deep, guttural growl tore through the air, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Conversations halted. Traders paused mid-pitch. A flock of pigeons exploded into the air, wings flapping in panic.

Hart’s head jerked up instantly.

’What the hell was that?’ he thought, his face squeezing into a frown. ’A monster attack?’

Another growl followed—louder this time. It rumbled through the ground, vibrating under his boots like an approaching earthquake.

Gasps broke out from nearby players.

Hart turned toward the southern gate, where the sound was coming from.

And the moment he saw what stood there, his mouth went dry.

’What... the hell?!’ he thought, his jaw dropping to the ground.

There, standing just past the gate entrance, was a towering figure cloaked in thick, roiling darkness.

Two red orbs glowed from within the void, sending chills down whoever saw it.

Several players instinctively activated their defensive skills, the entire square turning silent, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

The figure’s mouth opened wide—far too wide for anything human.

And then it mumbled, low and feral:

"...Food..."

The monstrous figure slowly stepped past the southern entrance, fully entering into the novice village.

Szzz!

The smoke around it hissed slightly, wriggling as if to show the creature’s excitement at the crowd before it.

Everyone stood frozen.

Not a single player moved. Their mouths hung half open, their weapons forgotten at their sides. It was like they were all caught in a nightmare they couldn’t wake up from.

Most of them were only newbies, who had just logged into the game mere hours ago.

None of them would have expected something like this to happen... from what they heard about the game so far, nothing like this was supposed to happen!

The air grew cold.

Suddenly—

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

A few NPC’s screamed in horror, pointing at the monstrosity before them.

Shopkeepers leapt over their counters. Merchants dropped their crates and ran. Stall tents were overturned, herbs and potions clattering across the stone road.

Within seconds, the market square turned to chaos—except for the players, who remained rooted in place, still trying to process what they were seeing.

They weren’t sure if this was supposed to be a quest, or whether they were meant to flee... but at the end of the day, none of them were able to move.

And then—

WHOOSH!

The dark figure vanished, leaving behind a blur of wind and smoke.

Gasps rang out among the players, confused about what just happened.

"Where’d it go?!"

"Where is it?!"

Thejr eyes darted around wildly—until a chilling sound brought their attention back to the center of the square.

Swoosh!

The creature had reappeared.

And it was standing right in front of a black haired man, the very NPC Hart had been bargaining with seconds ago. freēwēbnovel.com

"No—No please!" The man screamed, stumbling backward as he raised both hands in surrender. "I–I’m just a humble merchant! I didn’t do anything! Please—please don’t—!"

The figure didn’t respond.

It tilted its head to the side, slowly lifting a clawed hand.

"...Food..." it muttered. "I... need... food..."

And then—

The creature grabbed the man by the face, its long fingers wrapping around Huron’s head like a vice.

"No, no—!"

The monster’s jaw cracked wider, and a powerful suction erupted within its gaping maw.

SHHRRRRRP!

In an instant, Huron’s entire body was yanked upward, and sucked straight into the monster’s mouth.

There was no blood, neither were there any remains, only the faint echo of his dying scream as he was devoured whole.

Hart—frozen just a few meters away—felt a chill run down his spine. His heart thudded so violently it hurt.

His fingers trembled.

’What the hell... is going on?’ he thought.