The Book Eating Magician Chapter 3:

The Greedy Grimoire #3

What? There was no time to have 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 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 . This was a magic which had failed just a few minutes ago, yet the  results were quite different this time .

Paijijik!

Blue lightning shot out the open window .  The image Theo had visualised in his head was a complete success .  The leaves which the lightning bolt passed by turned 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 even failed frequently in the basic elements . Lightning attribute magic was considered to have the highest difficulty level, so it was bound to be even harder for him .

Seeing the static electricity on his palms as if he had experienced an earthquake, Theo was glad .  Had he really succeeded in Lightning Bolt at once?

‘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 .  This was his chance to reach the 3rd Circle which had been impossible for him!

‘Okay, let’s start over from the beginning . ’

This was when Theo sobered up .

The strange phenomenon had cleared his confusion and depressed emotions, giving him a ray of hope . At this moment, his thinking abilities returned to normal .  His brain, which even first-class magicians had acknowledged, began doing a high-speed analysis .

This situation had started when he found an unidentified book .  He’d felt a horrible touch on his left hand when he tried to pick up the book and the book then disappeared somewhere .  After that, 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 understanding is very high . ]

[2nd Circle magic ‘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 important thing wasn’t the first two sentences .  Swallowing the book and learning Lightning Bolt was a secondary thing .

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

Unexpectedly, there was an immediate reaction .

Jjeok .

A hole appeared in his left hand, and a red tongue emerged from it .  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 that hunger . Feed it four more times to relieve that hunger . The remaining time is 6 minutes and 24 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, it was something he hadn’t expected .  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 6 minutes and 24 seconds .

Theo felt a cold chill down his spine as he looked around hurriedly .

Books, books, books and books .  Fortunately, the food was piled up like a mountain . 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 his feet while thinking continuously .  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 a stack of books without any hesitation .

They were books he had read a few times but hadn’t helped him .  Theo had understood them with his head, but he couldn’t use the 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 pointed at the pile of books with his left hand and called out the 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 .  This was like a frog eating .

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 understanding is very high . ]

[Affinity with the four elements has increased . ]

[Gluttony isn’t satisfied yet . Feed him three more times to relieve his hunger . The time limit is 5 minutes and 11 seconds from now . ]

 

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 that the elemental magic could be used freely .  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 savouring the taste, before Gluttony swallowed the books in succession . At the same time, Theo was hit by relentless waves of information .

 

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

[Your sensitivity to mana has increased slightly . ]

[’Creating a Magic Circle – Fundamentals’ has been consumed . Your understanding is very high . ]

[You can create 2nd ranked magic circles . Starting from 3rd ranked circles, the probability of success will drop sharply . ]

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

[You can alter the shape of the 2nd Circle magic ‘Shield’ . ]

 

“Keuk!”

The aftermath was quite intense after the three books were eaten instantly . Theo wobbled like he was drunk and flopped down on the floor . It was obvious he would’ve fallen if he hadn’t done that .  

His eyes were spinning, and his head felt like it was going to burst like a boiling kettle, after receiving a great deal of knowledge .  Theo felt dizzy, like he had a high fever . It took around 10 minutes for his status to calm down .

‘Damn, from now on I will feed it one by one . ’

Theo muttered inwardly as he pressed a hand to his still throbbing temple . This was the first time he had ever got a headache . It was a terrible pain, like his head was being stabbed with an awl .  He didn’t want to experience this pain ever again .  Theo had never imagined this dizziness would occur while eating one book at a time .

Still, the pain was worthwhile .

“Magic Power…”

Magic power was 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 .  Just quickly pulling at the magic power usually required a huge concentration from him . 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 .

Right now, he had only reached 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 .

“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 .  It was a hole with no visible bottom . The tongue popped out of its dark hole and flickered like a snake listening to a flute .  This would be a scary sight for a weak person .

Before long, sounds began to  emerge from Gluttony’s mouth .

-I, eat magic, greed, grimoire, Gluttony .

It was 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 .