Chương 18: Decisions, Decisions...

Tonight was a nice haul. I have the feeling that I might get to choose a new upgrade soon. I ran into a bit of a problem, but it was solved quite easily, those were just regular, incompetent guards, like I remember them. I suppose my activities actually led to some guards being deployed in the area… I would have rather avoided killing them, as murdering guards will definitely get me more attention than butchering commoners, but it's not my fault if that guy insisted on opening that damned closet!

Well, I could have not eaten the entire front door and presumably led them inside, but how was I supposed to resist that fat lump of steel? I ate so much that the flesh upon my skeletal frame had expanded a great deal, and I was fairly certain that some dried-looking organs were forming within me as well. At first, I thought that consumption of steel and flesh was going to lead me to develop a semblance of a flesh body over my metallic parts, but no.

It was all a nonsensical mess, as I found out that eyes were randomly growing on me like they were strawberries, and the flesh that I grew was a reddish brown, and looked more like ropes that were spreading over my limbs rather than actual muscles. For now, it seemed that all of this additional meat on my bones served no purpose. The lack of current use of this wasn't going to deter me from continuing, though. The taste was good enough to warrant daily consumption.

In any case, I always limited myself in time during my outside ventures. I would set up a little something using my music box so that I would play for a few seconds at a low volume when it was time for me to head back into my attic. I would always take a little snack amongst the remaining stock of the smith on the way back, and I would just wait for the day to pass by. It was a bit of a boring routine, but it worked well for me so far.

The rate at which I acquired experience was frankly quite low, and I would probably be faster by being more aggressive and violent in my approach, but the idea of running into another Benait, or worse, was far from enticing to me. Killing those two guards today was probably going to bring more guards as a result, and if I kept on killing feeble, useless guards, it would eventually lead to one showing up that would be able to carve right through me–Or worse, it might attract a mage!

I was not too keen on the idea of eating fireballs for breakfast. Not to mention that I was still as bad at mana manipulation as I had always been, or at any kind of energy manipulation for that matter, I couldn't consciously conceal my energy signature, as they called it, so if one of those robed bastards noticed something, I wouldn't be able to easily shake them off. Of course, tearing their heads off would solve the problem, but laying hands on mages was even worse than with guards.

Those fuckers always belonged to some organisation or worked for the local government… Though I remember that Benait's flesh was especially scrumptious compared to the rest… In fact, men with relatively strong physiques seemed to be more nourishing than the rest–But still, Benait had seemed a bit different. Devouring him had made my flesh grow in greater amounts and allowed me to put myself back together seamlessly. Maybe there were special effects depending on who I ate?

His sword had also been some of the best steel I had gotten to get my jaw on… Mmh… No, I shouldn't do it. Way too dangerous, and for now, I can't do much with what I eat anyway, it's not like the steel reinforces my body or something, it was like the negative emotions I was constantly harvesting. It was all being stocked for now. I did not have any outlet to use any of this good stuff just yet, so taking risks for things I had no idea the use of would simply be idiotic…

But damn was this little voice in the back of my head loud. My taste for the things 'Living Steel' allows me to consume has grown quicker than I realised. To begin with, I felt no repulsion whatsoever toward feasting on raw corpses or munching on solid steel. Yep, it must be the transition from human to what I am now that is to blame. Don't you even say anything, system! I wasn't going to… Sure. Oh, and the kid down there is having another night terror… That boy needs to man up.

I've only scared him a handful of times by this point. No need to exaggerate this much. Seriously, his parents have tried basically everything–Except check the attic–And nothing has worked. I would understand if I tormented him every single night, but I hadn't done anything in more than a month now, instead paying visits to some other kids to harvest some of their delectable fear… Children grew fearful quickly, and they tended to remain afraid for a while. They also deserved it anyway. Miss Nebulo, if I may…

I believe that the boy's deep-rooted fear of you and the fact that you have been pulling negative emotions whilst sitting in the attic just above him have begun to corrode his mind and spirit Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. How come? The smith and his wife called a bunch of people to check a whole bunch of stuff. Shouldn't they have noticed something like this happening?

Your innate ability, 'Tormentor', is engraved upon your being, and as far as everything is taken into account, you are a superior being Yep, I knew this since the day I was born. What I mean is simple: Your absorption of negative emotions and the effects it can have on other nearby people can not be detected by the sort of amateurs that the child's parents have been calling for help. Not to mention that you absorb negative emotions, not negative energy Is there that big a difference between the two?

I feel like both have a lot to do with the other. I try to think back about my studies on all the different types of energies. These lessons had been some of the most boring, especially since the majority of energy manipulators used mana and nothing else. It was what was most abundant, and it was the easiest to use, so it was a no-brainer to focus more on that than the more elusive ones.

But if my memory serves well, then I am fairly certain that the handful of negative energy users tend to hang out in places overflowing with remnants of negative emotions, as this was where they were able to actually practise and have a chance to grow their own personal reserves… They are strongly linked, but still not the same at all.

Energy manipulators, regardless of which type they choose to specialise in, will be sensitive to the movements of energy overall, but emotions are not an energy by themselves, so unless an expert comes by and pays close attention, no one can actually notice your absorption of negative emotions Alright, I get the point, but then, wouldn't me stocking all of this up in the same place create negative energy that they could detect?

'Tormentor' is not a run-of-the-mill innate ability. Its methods are not as simple as the regular storing of inner energies Sure, I can buy your explanations, but the kid's mind and spirit being corroded? I doubt this is hidden because of my ability. It's not like 'Tormentor' has a function to conceal the damage it causes, right? I am sorry for any confusion.

What I mean is that due to being damaged caused directly by the abnormal presence of a heavy amount of negative emotions, it is harder to notice without taking a direct look at the mind or spirit of the boy, which is a skill few possess, if the damage was caused by a true energy, then many more would be able to take notice that something is amiss Makes sense, I quite like it when you are helpful like that, system! Keep going like this, and I'll let you take the empty spot of younger sibling that is open.

It would be my honour! By the way, what will happen if his mind is corroded too much? And is it happening to other people in the house?

As you can observe, corrosion to such areas makes one especially susceptible to madness and delusions, due to his own fear of you, and the strong stream of similar emotions amongst those that you collect is causing him to have recurrent nightmares, sleep paralysis, and hallucinations of you If left unchecked, it could lead to such symptoms permanently, or alternatively, death As for the other residents, they are barely affected due to the stream of negative emotions forming from a specific direction, whilst you are in the attic, it just happens to pass right over the boy's bedroom in particular Mmh, and here I thought I could potentially weaponise it…

Well, I can, but I would have to set up camp inside my target's home for a long while for it to be effective… Even after several months, a young child is barely affected, so I would guess a grown adult might take even longer to experience corrosion. Still, it was giving me a good idea of what my future abilities might look like, but nonetheless, the sweet terror of this accidental victim of mine was delightful. If he could just have his nightmares without screaming, it would be even better.

Loud sounds like these take me out of my dormancy. I could make it so that screams wouldn't wake me, but that just sounded like a bad idea. So I had no other choice but to listen to the screams of terror until sunrise. Admittedly, they were far more enjoyable when they couldn't hurt your ears. I decided to stay put for a few days, only coming out of the attic to steal some steel. Just as I expected, it did not take long for more guards to show up.

These guys were clearly more serious than the previous two–And by whatever god's name, they brought not one, but two damned mages! They were easy to spot as they walked through the street that I could watch through the dirty window. For some reason, they always insisted on wearing robes like they were clerics or something. I couldn't know for certain what the purpose of these two mages was, but I was confident that they were up to no good…

Trying to get in the way of my bountiful harvest of experience like filthy interlopers! Worst of all, this new group was actually doing its job properly! They even stopped right at the blacksmith shop to ask questions about what was happening, and of course, the wife of the smith couldn't keep her mouth shut and just had to mention the figure that their son was seeing every night, and how other children of the area had made mention of an 'eerily' similar silhouette in their own rooms.

Who the hell are you calling eerie, you dog-woman?! The first thing I'll do when I leave is turn your lovely home into a slaughterhouse! The guards and mages kept neutral expressions the entire time, so I had no idea if they actually took her seriously or not… But thankfully, none of them said to check the attic, so I'll assume that they don't just believe that woman at face value. But if they actually ask around and find out that she had been telling the truth, wouldn't it put this house in the limelight?

It was here that the sightings of 'me' were most common after all! Crap… They'll probably be patrolling tonight too… Should I stay and take the risk of being found in here, or go and take the risk of being discovered outside? Urgh… This is just awful.