Hospitalized

It felt like a dream. Everything that happened felt like a dream. Even though I saw it happen before my eyes, it doesn't feel real. I sat up in my hospital bed. Shortly after the Monster gave me the Skill Card, I passed out from a wound that it gave me. I looked through the hospital gown that I was wearing down at my torso. On the side of my waist were three slashes, claw marks, that the humanoid Monster gave me. Thanks to the healers here, the wound healed pretty quickly, but whenever I see it, it's like I can feel the Monster's claws ripping through me. I shuddered.

The deaths of the party members were still fresh in my mind.

After we decided to keep going in the Dungeon, we made it to where the Boss Monster should be. However, all that was there was the ripped apart corpse of what seemed to be a giant spider. We were confused, but even after we searched around the area, we didn't find anything that could've killed the Monster.

I asked Ella if we should leave, but she refused to, saying that we should at least check if the magic stone was still inside the Boss Monster's corpse. I was reluctant to go near the corpse, but Hanson wasn't. He went to the corpse and was about to start searching for the magic stone, but before he could even touch the giant spider's body, he was attacked.

Blood sprayed everywhere. One moment, Hanson was completely fine, and in the next, his body was cleanly dissected into three pieces. I remember clearly. Elizabeth screamed. Ella tried to knock an arrow. Ray stood still, completely frozen.

We couldn't see it. Before I knew it, Elizabeth's scream was cut, and so was her body. Ella couldn't even place her arrow on her bowstring before she and her bow were bisected by something I couldn't see. As for Ray… the two of us made eye contact. I could see the fear in his eyes, but then, they became empty as his head fell from his neck, splattering blood on the cavern floor.

The look in Ray's eyes is something that I'll never forget.

I don't know why the Monster decided to spare me. I don't know why it showed itself and gave me a Skill Card. It slashed me with its claws, but it didn't go beyond that. Why spare me after killing the rest of my party? It didn't make sense. Also, why was the Monster able to speak? I've never heard of a Monster having the ability of speech before.

After that, I passed out from my wound. I was told that since no one left the Dungeon after a certain amount of time, the Dungeon Managers sent some people to check on us. When they arrived, they found me unconscious beside the corpses of my party members.

I was confused, but thankful that I was still alive. After all, if I died, then who would take care of Marie and Dad? I want to help Dad out of his condition. I also want Marie to live a more normal life. I want her to focus on school and have a good social life, something that I gave up on 4 years ago.

Speaking of my sister, when I first woke up, she was here. At the time, it was night. She was sleeping on a chair next to the hospital bed with tear stains on her cheeks. She must've been stressed out. It was a shock when Dad suddenly became unresponsive, but when Mom left without saying a word, Marie took it much worse than I did. After all, she was just a 12 year old kid at the time.

Not only was I her older brother, but I was also the only one that was there for her. It was my responsibility to take care of her and take our parents' place. I know that Marie has been wanting me to quit being a Hunter because of the danger, but the pay is just too good despite being an E-Rank Hunter. I also never even finished high school. It would be hard to find a job that pays as well as this.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not greedy for money or anything. I hope that Marie can live a normal life, so that's why I'm trying to get enough money for her to get into college. I've decided that once that happens, I can focus more on Dad if he still has his condition. And after that, I can pay more attention to myself. My loved ones come before myself.

Shortly after I woke up and the doctors checked on me, some people from the Hunter Association came into my room. They started questioning me. They asked me about what happened in the Dungeon.

"It was a normal Green Level Dungeon with spider Monsters," I told them, "It was normal up until we made it to the Boss Monster."

"How so?" they asked.

"It was already dead," I responded, "The Boss Monster was killed by another Monster."

"What kind of Monster was it?"

"I don't know," I said, "It was too fast to see. All I know is that it had claws. I don't know why, but it spared me."

I decided to lie a little bit. I didn't want to talk about how I got a Skill Card from the strange Monster. Although, I might get in trouble if they find out that I lied, I just felt like it would be a bad idea to tell them that a humanoid Monster spoke to me and gave me a Skill Card.

"So you didn't defeat it?"

"There's no way I could have even fought against that thing," I said grimly, "I'm only E-Rank. Even the C-Rank in our party got killed instantly."

Shortly after I finished answering their questions, they left me alone. I felt a little bad about lying, but this just felt like something that I should keep a secret. I hope keeping this to myself doesn't cause any problems in the future.

Once I was alone in my hospital room, I took a deep breath. So many things were happening so fast. After I calmed myself, I muttered the words 'Status Window'.

Name: Marin Skye

Age: 20

Sex: Male

Job: The Avatar of the Envious Glutton

Strength: 10 / Speed: 12 / Vitality: 9 / Magic: 1

Skills: Envy of a Glutton(S)

I now have a new Skill. In the Dungeon, before I went unconscious, I had used the Skill Card by tearing it. Since waking up, I hadn't been able to check my Status Window or see the details of the Skill. This was the first time that I'd opened my Status Window since waking up.

First, I looked at the new Skill that I got. When I saw that it was an S-Rank Skill, I got really excited. I honestly wasn't expecting an S-Rank Skill. At best, I thought that it'd be an A-Rank, but it turned out to be an S-Rank Skill, which not that many people have. While smiling, I checked the details of the Skill by reciting the name of the Skill in my mind.

Envy of a Glutton(S): A Skill that can only belong to the one chosen as The Avatar of the Envious Glutton. By eating a part of a Monster or human, the user will randomly gain one of the target's Skills or a random amount of one of their Stats. The target will still possess what the user takes.

I read the Skill's description… I read it again. Then, I reread it. I don't how many times I had to read the Skill's description before I processed what it said.

"What the hell?" I asked no one in particular. "I have to eat Monsters or people to use this Skill."

Eating a person was completely out of the question. As for eating Monsters, I wasn't even sure if that was safe. Though the Skill's description says "eating a part of", so maybe I can get away with eating someone's hair or something. If not for the fact that I have to eat questionable things, this Skill would be amazing, completely deserving of being an S-Rank Skill.

After looking at my new Skill, my gaze shifted to my Job.

The Avatar of the Envious Glutton: Only the person chosen by the Envious Glutton can possess this Job. This is a Job that can only belong to one person at a time. With this Job, the user will be able to grow as The Avatar of the Envious Glutton, becoming an icon of envy and gluttony.

"What the hell?" I repeated, "What is this supposed to mean?"

Despite my living conditions, I've never really been envious of anyone. I was only envious of my former party members recently, but no other occasion comes to mind. As for the gluttony… I don't think I've ever been someone who eats a lot, even before the incident with Dad. Honestly, I'm not really sure if I'm cut out to be an "icon of envy and gluttony", not that I want to be or anything.

The Envious Glutton… Is that the identity of the strange Monster? I'm so confused! What should I do? I have this strange Job and unusual Skill! What does it mean when it says that I have to be some "icon of envy and gluttony"? This makes no sense!

I touched my temples as I contemplated. With this Skill, I will surely be able to get stronger. I'll be able to grow after 4 years… The stronger I get, the more it will benefit me and my family. I'll be able to kill stronger Monsters and get higher grade magic stones. Then, I'll be able to get more money.

"I've decided," I said to myself as I put away my Status Window, "I'll use this Skill that I've been given. I don't care about being some icon of envy or gluttony. With this power, I'll be sure to make life better for my sister and father. I always need to remember... that they come before me."