Chapter 118: Food

Chapter 118: Food

Here I am, alone in the desolate city, a noble human on his graceful hunt. Only my prey isn't a powerful beast, a majestic dragon, or a sneaky griffin.

No, it's a goddamn sparrow. A bird not much bigger than the oversized pigeon, and apparently blessed with the agility of Biscuit when he is trying to steal some food.

I stalk my nemesis with inhuman determination... well, let's call it a determination of a bulldozer, as I'm currently crashing into walls here and there, unable to fully control my speed.

I can't help but see the irony: A mighty me reduced to a maniac chasing down a bird. Yet as I plow through the city and the walls, I think how absurdly ridiculous it all is.

But! I can't give up. At this point this is personal! I swear this little asshole did laugh after I missed the last attack.

I swear this sparrow did laugh at me! I'm not crazy.

I boost my body more and then push to the side to dodge one of the houses while my [Perception] tracks the animal that continues to fly in between houses at dizzying speeds while all the orbs I threw at it miss.

Surely either something's confusing my vision, my perception, or some sort of field is redirecting my attacks slightly.

In just a short moment after the start, we pass a lot of distance and I'm leaving craters behind me as I continue to pump more and more kinetic energy to propel myself to the point you could call it flying.

The bird flies inside the house and I brace myself against the impact as I come crashing inside while sending waves of perception into the surroundings to track it.

It flies outside and I follow it only to stop a moment later after the bird out of nowhere doubles its speed to stop a few seconds later, looking back at me.

Haaaaaaaa.

Haaaa.

I stomp once, releasing all the kinetic energy I hold, making my surroundings crack and sending a shockwave into the street that breaks all the windows and cracks some walls.

Then I activate Mana regulator once more and lower amount of mana going to my Kinetic Heart.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

My return is shameful as I run back through the streets that I bulldozed through while following the sparrow. The houses I hit, and the cobblestones I destroyed. I have lost and somehow I'm sure I feel the bird's gaze on me as I move back to the group.

“Where is the bird?” the icy guy asks the moment I come back only to be poked by Cipher who just looks at me and shrugs his shoulders.

“I already ate it.” I say and Cipher stops him once more before the man says something else.

“You are lying!”

Oh no, Isabella, please don't make it worse.

“You didn't catch it at all! It ran away!”

You can't break a man's pride like that. That's just pure evil.

“I think it only wanted to play with you,”

Nope, it's just a normal ugly bag.

So yeah, I got scammed by the system once more.

Another thing is Cipher. The man is slowly pushing me more and more. He is asking for bigger things, using his water skill as a trade card.

At some point I almost feel like just grabbing him by the neck and forcing him to become my personal water dispenser, but I decide against it. Yes he is annoying but he is useful too, he is already dealing with the trio of natives, taking care of his group and only asking somewhat reasonable things.

He knows the moment I find a better way to get water he is out and probably with a few bruises so he is milking it as much as he can, always careful to not step over the line.

So I just push my growing annoyance to the back of my mind.

Oh, he also keeps using some weird skill. It shows itself by collecting his mana in his eyes. At first, I thought it might be some sort of manipulation skill, maybe hypnosis so I kept my Reinforcement construct running and focusing on defense against mental attacks, but later after watching the movement of his mana and the man I think it's not it.

My suspicion is that it's some skill similar to [Perception], collecting information, maybe doing something else. He always uses it when dealing with me so it also might be something similar to Isabella's skills that allows her to know my intentions and partially my feelings.

I could try to ask him, even force him to tell me but I find it fun trying to find it out on my own.

I stop my thoughts right there, catching a similar mana signature on the edge of my [Perception].

Not waiting a moment later I grab the girl and jump high into the air and while being high up I push against the air, propelling us even further in a weak imitation of flying.

When we reach the place where I felt a signature one word sounds in my mind.

(Asshole!)

Goddamnit, you silly dog, how the hell did you get here?

Biscuit runs towards me, his pink tongue sticking out and his short legs making his body wobble from side to side, the doggo seemingly shaking his butt and it wags its short tail.

I ignore Isabella's excited screams and caress the best doggo of the second... of the third floor.

He continues to shout in my head and it takes a while for him to calm down and then when I expectantly look at him, his head turns to a group of people, all of them looking similar to the trio of natives we met. There is some fear in their eyes and they look towards me, their eyes ticking in between me and Biscuit.

“What is it, Biscuit, your friends?” What did this silly dog do this time?

(Food.)

Huh?

His voice in my head somehow sounds proud and one massive purple tentacle appears from his back pointing at the group of scared people.

(Food!) he repeats happily.

Biscuit?