Book Eater

What? There was no time for doubts. As soon as the unknown voice cut out, waves of knowledge entered Theodore Miller’s brain. The amount of information couldn’t be controlled by the human’s five senses. A few years of experience filled his head all at once.

Simultaneously, Theo had a hunch that he could now use ‘Lightning Bolt’ fully. Theo hadn’t learned mere knowledge; he had received the wisdom of the author of the book, [Lightning Magic Primer].

“...Lightning Bolt.”

He chanted the spell unconsciously. It was a spell which had failed just a few minutes ago, yet the results were quite different this time.

Rumble!

Blue lightning shot out the open window. The image Theo had visualized in his head was a complete success. The leaves struck by the lightning bolt were charred black. If the lightning bolt had hit a living creature, then it absolutely wouldn’t have been safe.

Success.

It was a spell he had failed to execute several hundred times. Theo had frequently failed to cast spells of even the basic elements. Lightning attribute magic was considered to have the highest difficulty, so it was bound to be even harder for him.

As he stared at the static electricity flickering between his fingers, Theo couldn’t feel anything but happiness. Had he really succeeded in casting Lightning Bolt?

This isn’t a hallucination...!

He folded his fingers which were trembling from the shock and felt the sweat on his palms. Theo realized this was the turning point of his life. He was a magician lacking in sensitivity and magic power, but this was his chance to break past the impossible and reach the 3rd?Circle!

Okay, let’s start over from the beginning.

Theo sobered up. The strange phenomenon had wiped away his depression and provided a ray of hope. At this moment, his thinking abilities returned to normal. His brain, which even first-class magicians had acknowledged, began analyzing the situation at high speed.

Everything had started when he found an unidentified book. He’d felt a creepy sensation on his left hand when he tried to pick up the book, and the book disappeared somewhere. Then, somehow, a strange tongue had sprouted from the palm of his left hand. The tongue had grabbed and swallowed the book, [Lightning Magic Primer] on the floor, and Theo had learned Lightning Bolt.

… No, just before that, he had heard a voice. Theo recalled the words the voice had said.

[Lightning Magic Primer has been consumed. Your comprehension is very high.]

[2nd Circle spell Lightning Bolt has been acquired.]

[After waking up from a long sleep, Gluttony is very hungry. Hurry and relieve Gluttony’s hunger. The time limit is 10 minutes from now. (1/5)]

The first two sentences weren’t important. Swallowing the book and learning Lightning Bolt was a secondary thing.

As Theo remembered the last sentence, he involuntarily mumbled, “...Gluttony?”

Unexpectedly, there was an immediate reaction.

Schwoop.

A hole appeared in his left hand, and a red tongue emerged. The hole didn’t just have teeth, there were lips as well. Theo observed the scene closely instead of being astonished or frightened. He was filled with expectations about whether the tongue could talk or not.

However, the answer came from a place he hadn’t expected.

[Severe hunger. If you want to talk to ‘Gluttony’, relieve its hunger. Feed it four more times to relieve its hunger. The remaining time is six minutes and twenty-four seconds.]

[Gluttony is a grimoire which comes from an era not recorded in the history books. It increases strength by eating magic items and likes books the most. The owner can benefit from providing food to Gluttony. However, if neglected, Gluttony might treat its owner as food.]

Although Theo heard the answer he’d been wondering about, he hadn’t expected this. It would eat the owner if it wasn’t fed? The words were chilling for Theo, who seemed to be the owner. Gluttony would eat him if he didn’t feed it anything in the next six minutes and twenty-four seconds. Theo felt a cold chill down his spine as he looked around hurriedly.

Books, books, books and books. Fortunately, food was piled up like a mountain around him. Theo looked around with his eyes, rather than moving his hands.

There is still time. It is in the single digits, but this is enough...

He moved down the shelves as he thought furiously.

Theo had obtained ‘Lighting Bolt’ from the book, [Lightning Magic Primer]. This meant that the food and the reward weren’t independent from each other. If he had to feed it books, then he should choose food which would benefit him. Theo knew the location of all the books, so his hand didn’t hesitate. The voice had definitely said that it needed four more.

Theo pulled out four books without any hesitation. They were books he had read a few times. Theo had understood them well, but they hadn’t helped him cast magic. Anyway, he’d memorized all the contents, so there wouldn’t be a problem even if he wasn’t rewarded with anything.

“Then...”

Theo took a deep breath. He aimed his left hand at the stack of books and called out its name, “Gluttony, eat.”

And the mouth answered.

Slurp.

The tongue stretched out again.

It seemed impossible to swallow several books at the same time, so the tongue twined around the top book like a frog. The books were sucked into the mouth on Theo’s palm in the blink of an eye. More than 500 pages had disappeared without a trace.

No, there were some traces left. Was it correct to say it was engraved in him?

[Fundamentals of Subduing the Elements has been consumed. Your comprehension is very high.]

[Affinity with the four elements has increased.]

[Gluttony isn’t satisfied yet. Feed it three more times to relieve its hunger. The time limit is five minutes and eleven seconds.]

He was right. As Theo had speculated, he received the knowledge of the book which was swallowed. The elements were the fundamentals of all magic. The criteria of becoming a master of each circle was to prove one’s mastery of elemental magic. Theo had known this after becoming a 2nd?Circle master.

Fire, water, wind and earth… The flow of magic for each element was now becoming more intense and familiar. However, there wasn’t time to feel emotional.

The tongue stretched out and grabbed the next book. It licked the cover, as if savoring the taste, before Gluttony swallowed the books in quick succession. At the same time, Theo was hit by relentless waves of information.

[The Circulation of Magic Power’ has been consumed. Your comprehension is very high.]

[Your sensitivity to mana has increased slightly.]

[Creating a Magic Circle - Fundamentals has been consumed. Your comprehension is very high.]

[You can create 2nd?ranked magic circles. The probability of success will drop sharply starting from 3rd?ranked circles.]

[Application of Defense Magic has been consumed. Your comprehension is very high.]

[You can alter the shape of the 2nd?Circle spell Shield.]

“Keuk!”

The aftermath was quite intense after the three books were eaten consecutively. Theo wobbled like he was drunk and decided to sit on the floor. He was sure he would’ve fallen if he hadn’t taken the initiative to support himself. His eyes were spinning, and his head felt like it was going to burst as a great deal of knowledge was transmitted into his brain. It took around ten minutes for everything to return to normal.

Damn, I’ll make sure to only feed it one at a time from now on.

Theo groaned as he pressed a hand to his throbbing temple. This was the first time he had ever gotten a headache this bad. It felt like his head was being stabbed with an awl. He didn’t want to experience this pain ever again. Theo had never imagined the recoil from consuming multiple books would be this bad. Still, the pain was worthwhile.

“Magic Power...”

He could feel magic power stirring in his body. It spread from his heart and moved through the blood vessels to every part of his body. However, it hadn’t accepted Theodore Miller. He usually had to concentrate very hard to even pull at the magic power in his body. The lack of sensitivity was a burden which was hard for him to bear.

His eyes turned red from his choked up emotions. Theo tried desperately to refrain from crying. He couldn’t be satisfied with just this. He had only reached the level of a 2nd?Circle Master. In order to graduate, Theo needed to master the 3rd Circle.

For the first time since entering the academy, after enduring all types of shame, the rope of destiny had finally appeared before him.

“... Yes, isn’t it full?”

Theo said in a low, subdued voice. He looked at his left hand on the ground and spoke to it. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝐥．𝗰𝗼𝐦

“It is supposed to speak after eating five books.”

He remembered...

The Gluttony Grimoire had the ability to speak. The voice had said to get rid of its hunger for that to happen. Theo didn’t know the identity of the voice, but it had never lied so far. So, he had to believe it for now. Indeed, the voice didn’t betray his trust.

Jjeok.

The mouth opened just like when it ate a book, revealing a seemingly endless abyss. The crimson tongue swayed like a cobra listening to a flute. A weak person would have been scared as Gluttony began to speak in a creepy, eerie voice, like a simmering swamp. Somehow, its way of talking made the gloomy atmosphere more prominent. It didn’t have eyeballs, but he could feel its gaze.

- Theodore, Miller.

After calling Theo’s name...

-?What...?do you... want to know??The greedy grimoire asked.