Earth's SSS Pornstar to SSS Combat God in Another World-Chapter 20: Gaining Abilities through Devouring
Kobolds were monsters in the end. They started by sniffing Walter like he was fine meat, circling too close again, noses wet and greedy, tongues too quick.
They ended up a good hundred feet away, tied to vines and hanging upside down, each one wearing a small red bump on the head like a badge of stupidity.
Their pug like faces twisted with hunger and shame. Even the elder was not spared.
He had two bumps, one on each side, after being scolded twice. The old dog coughed lightly and tried to argue anyway.
"I am an elder of these young kobolds. Where would my face go, hooman?" he said, meek as a whipped dog.
"You are a bad dog," Joji said, shaking his head. "Bad. Bad dog."
The old hooligan had been harvesting Walter’s sweat earlier, wiping the man like it was assistance, then licking it up when he thought no one was watching.
When Alaric caught him, the elder had claimed it was for spice.
That excuse popped a vein in both Joji and Alaric, and the smacks that followed were honest.
While Walter kept processing the ogres, and Alaric patrolled the perimeter up in the trees, Joji walked back to the cave ogre’s carcass.
He crouched near the ruined grey bulk, eyes narrowing like he was weighing a tool.
Then he spoke to the air, to the thing only he could hear.
"Ay, Sir Engine, can my body even handle eating this?"
"Naturally. One may even gain certain skills from these beasts."
"Yet be warned, you may also take on flaws born of the selfsame gift."
Joji already knew hill ogres carried strength that could shame strongmen, all wide shoulders and grit packed into ugly flesh.
Cave ogres were different. They saw in the dark like it was noon. What truly hooked his attention was the regeneration.
"Yo... if monsters can eat and get stronger, why can’t I?" he murmured.
Earth had nothing like that. Not without fraud pastors and lies attached.
He did not delay. He hooked his fingers into the ruined socket and plucked an eyeball free.
It was a deep black orb, the size of a man’s fist, slick and heavy in his palm. He did not let disgust talk him out of it.
He pushed it into his mouth and bit down. He expected rot and bile.
Instead it tasted like rare steak with no seasoning, strangely clean, with a thick gelatin slip that clung to his tongue.
"Kinda tastes weird, but... alright."
He reached for the other eye. A hand clamped on his forearm.
"Are you unwell?" Alaric blurted, shock cracking his voice. "Seven hells, Joji, what are you doing? Why in God’s name are you eating ogre eyes?"
His other hand went to Joji’s brow, as if madness might be found by touch.
Joji shrugged him off and ate the second eyeball anyway.
"Joji... you’ve gone mad. Mad, I tell you," Alaric said, half-hysterical now, fingers raking through his own hair as despair washed over his face like ash.
"Chill, man." Joji slapped Alaric’s hand away from his own hair. "I didn’t die, did I? Stop tweaking, that ain’t cool."
He understood Alaric’s fear. Not all monsters were edible. Some needed preparation. Some needed fire and salt and prayers.
He just had not expected Alaric to react like Joji had started chewing on a corpse of kin.
Joji wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist.
"I’ll tell you a small secret. Come closer."
Alaric leaned in, still staring at him like he might sprout horns.
"I can eat anything," Joji said. "It’s like a talent I have."
Alaric was not the type to doubt a brother without reason. He swallowed and nodded once, slow.
"Why didn’t I know about this?"
"I discovered it a few months ago." Joji lifted one shoulder. "At least I know it’s real now. Keep it between us."
Alaric’s face hardened into oath.
"I swear by my honor and our sole brotherhood."
Joji trusted him, but trust did not mean carelessness. No one could know about Sir System. That kind of secret drew envy like blood drew flies.
"Come," Joji said, turning back to the carcass. "Help me open that cave ogre up. I’ll eat its heart."
Alaric hesitated, spear turning in his sweaty palms. Then he nodded, grim and uneasy.
"Wait. Let me do it," Walter cut in.
He stepped closer, knife ready, eyes bright with purpose.
"Which part do you need here, sir knight?"
"I want the heart," Joji said.
Walter moved smoothly. He slid the blade in, found the line, and worked with quick, confident cuts.
Aura flickered around his hands, not clumsy at all.
"You move like a knight already, Walter," Alaric said, and this time the praise sounded earned.
"Yeah, and you learned to move aura like it’s natural." Joji watched him work, impressed even if he didn’t wanna show it. "Man... you’re a damn genius."
Walter’s cheeks colored.
"Your praises make my heart flutter, good sirs. Many thanks."
He lifted the heart free and held it out.
It was purple, human shaped in the rough idea of it, but the size of a grown man’s head.
Joji took it and bit in. He used aura on his teeth to chew, jaw working hard against the stubborn meat.
He washed mouthfuls down with water. The taste was violently fishy, thick and metallic, like swallowing a tidepool.
Even tied upside down, the kobolds gawked. When Joji met their eyes, all of them shivered at once.
’Demon. Not a man. A demon.’
Joji forced the last piece down his throat, clicked his tongue once, and looked through the air as if reading words only he could see.
Then he checked his status window.
{Name: Joji of Sins Crossroad}
{Constitution: Embryonic Storm Bringer}
{Age: 21}
{First Job: Knight}
{Aura: 13.3} (⇧ 0.2)
{Mana: 2.5} (⇧ 0.3)
{Brawn: 5.6} (⇧ 0.2)
{Quickness: 5.4} (⇧ 0.3)
{Wisdom: 20.4}
{Stamina: 16.2} (⇧ 0.1)
{Charisma: 17.9}
{Fortune: 27.5}
{(NEW) Eyes} {Rank: C}
{Cave Ogre Eyes - To see through night and darkness as though it were noon-day.}
{(NEW) Regeneration} {Rank: D}
{Runt Troll Regeneration - To regenerate wounds and, in some measure, to heal even the vital organs.}
{Progress of Training and Arts}
{Fundamental Level of Swordsmanship}
{Measure of Proficiency: 65.4%}
{Intermediate Level of Swordsmanship}
{Measure of Proficiency: 12.2%}
{(NEW) Fundamental Level of Close Combat}
{Measure of Proficiency: 12.4%}
{Everhart Tempest Arts Series: 3/10} {Rank: S}
{Lightness of the Wind Art}
{Measure of Proficiency: 9.2%} (⇧ 0.2)
{Emerald Blade Wind Art}
{Measure of Proficiency: 8.5%} (⇧ 0.1)
{Protectorate Barrier Wind Arts}
{Measure of Proficiency: 7.7%} (⇧ 0.1)
{Titles and Achievements}
{Everyman}
{Can do, learn, and master pretty much any kind of job.}
{A Passive Skill Borne Forward from Your Former Life.}
Joji read the status window, and a grin split his face. It kept widening, like it was going to scrape the sky.
Then the grin slipped, because his skin started to itch. Not in one spot. Everywhere.
"What the?"
He did not wait to see if it got worse. The system loved surprises.
"Alaric. Take charge here for now. Let me rest in the cave for a few minutes."
Alaric nodded, eyes following Joji until he slipped into the dark mouth of the cave.
Inside, Joji tore off his clothes and armor with hurried hands, stripping himself naked like a man fleeing fire.
The itch crawled over him in waves. It was not pain. That was the cruel part. It was pleasure bait.
A tickling irritation that begged to be scratched, promised relief, then threatened to make you chase it until you went mad.
His skin began to flake.
He tried to breathe through it, tried to keep his mind clean, but the sensation climbed and climbed.
He gave in and scratched once. A large skin ripped free like a suit.
Joji froze, then grabbed the loosened layer and pulled. It came off in a wet, ugly sheet.
Underneath was new skin, smooth and pale, the old scars faded as if someone had rubbed them with an eraser.
The itch shifted to his eyes. He did not scratch this time. He snatched up a piece of his armor and used its glassy reflection.
His irises had changed. The light blue was gone, turned ocean deep, and his pupils looked larger, almost too large.
It made him look wrong. Like an anime character back on Earth.
"What the fuck is this?" he bellowed, voice echoing off stone.
Then his mind snapped to the entrance, to Alaric’s boots, to the possibility of panic and blades.
"Don’t come near, Alaric. I’m alright."
He did not want Alaric close while he looked like this. He did not want the weirdness to sour what they had.
Joji stared at his reflection again. It was strange, but it was not monstrous. Not exactly.
With a breath that felt like swallowing pride, he made peace with it, whether it was self deception or the truth.
Then he dressed again, armor buckled fast.
When he stepped back out, Alaric saw it at once.
"What? What happened to your eyes? You suddenly look more handsome."
Walter leaned in too, curious, and nodded.
"It is true, sir."
Joji blinked, stunned.
"What do you all mean? Am I not handsome before?"
"It’s not that," Alaric said, searching for words like a man trying not to insult a king. "You just look like, erm. A bad guy."
Walter did not bother with softness.
"Sir, we have come with life and death. I would agree. I would say clearly that you have a villainous visage."
Joji went speechless for a beat. Then he shook his head hard, like he could rattle the comment loose.
"Let’s focus on those costumes, not me. How was it?"
