Basra, Moira, and Reina looked at each other before finally looking at the young boy on the corner of the round table. The center of their eyebrows rose, and the corners of their lips sank as they involuntarily pushed the middle of their bottom lips upward.
"Aww, Sweetie, don't cry. We're going to show you why they call us the Elite Three."
"No one calls us that," Basra quickly corrected with a grave expression to make sure Alec didn't get the wrong impression.
"But she is right about the first half. I told you we were going to crack formless magic. If that means I have to keep you from turning into a monster, so be it." Reina was determined.
Alec had given them an impossible request. Their initial reaction couldn't be helped.
"Thank you. And I wasn't about to cry."
"Of course not."
"I wasn't."
"Yeah-yeah."
"I wasn't!"
"Mhm, definitely."
…
"Setting that aside for a moment, though, what's the plan?" Reina asked, interrupting Basra and Moira's harassment. She looked at Alec.
"Even if we agree to help you, how are we going to stop you from turning into a monster?"
"Isn't that why I asked you guys, you teachers, for help?"
"Good point, but don't you have any ideas? Like, how are you feeling? Can you feel the monsterification process begin to take root somewhere we can cut off?"
"I definitely would like to live, but if possible, I would prefer to keep all my limbs." Alec hugged himself and slid backward in his chair to put some distance between himself and Reina's suddenly ravenous look.
"Beggars can't be choosers, Alec."
"I know, but—"
"You said that the monster sated your hunger far more than anything else you've eaten, didn't you?" Basra suddenly broke out of her thoughtful silence and interrupted them.
Alec nodded.
"I'm not sure if it's something since I don't know much more about monsters other than killing them, but isn't that a clue towards their existence?" Basra asked Reina.
"Did you eat the entire sheep?" Reina turned to Alec before answering Basra's question.
After all, if he ate the entire monster sheep, it wouldn't be strange if he wasn't as hungry as when he just eats a plate or five for dinner.
Alec shook his head.
"I think you are onto something, Basra. But in order to figure out why the meat of a monster is better at sating Alec's unnatural hunger than regular food, we first have to figure out why Alec is unaturally hungry."
The three teachers all looked Alec up and down as his outside could reveal the truth.
'Should I tell them…?'
Alec knew the answer. It was due to his skill, [Gluttony]. But in order to explain that, he would have to explain the System, and in order to explain the system and how he got it, he would have to explain his transmigration and the reality of their existence.
It was a convoluted explanation that would give him a one-way ticket straight to the nearest asylum.
'For now, I'll stay silent until I come up with a reasonable lie.' Alec decided.
"I think we need to take a look at what happens when he digests food." Reina narrowed her eyes and looked at Alec's stomach.
"Is it—"
"It's not worms." Alec interrupted Basra with a glare.
"The healers in the infirmary checked me out and declared me very healthy. They said that their Scan didn't reveal anything, what that now is—"
"That's it!" Reina smacked one hand against the table and pointed at Alec with the other excitedly.
"We'll use Scan while you eat!"
"What is Scan?" Alec asked.
"Let's do it right now!" Reina stood up excitedly.
"What is—"
"In the first place, can you even use Scan, Reina?"
"Huh, isn't Moira going to use it? She has more mana than me."
"Do you know Scan, Moira?"
"Nuh-uh."
Basra turned back to Reina with a 'What did I tell you?' expression.
"I guess we'll have to—"
"What the fuck is Scan?!" Alec demanded, his patience worn thin.
"No need to shout, Alec," Reina
"Scan is a, it's technically a medically inclined spell of the life-attribute. It lets healers and physicians peer below the skin of their patients to identify what's wrong with them and make healing easier."
"I see. So if we use it while I eat, we should get an idea of what happens to my food and stomach."
"Exactly."
"Guess I'll just have to learn it then," Alec said with a nonchalant nod.
"..."
"It's not that easy…?" Basra said doubtfully. Given the confidence Alec said it with, she was no longer sure. She could only turn to Reina.
"It's not that easy to learn new spells, Alec. Scan is also pretty advanced," Reina said, slightly condescending, like she was talking to a child.
Alec frowned.
"Sure. But I have a feeling that I'm good at learning new spells."
'I can't explain [Reader] to them, though.'
Alec focused for a moment as the spell formations for the spells he had seen before flashed across his eyes.
"The spells I can cast with the mana I have right now are Fireball, Waterball, Airshot—huh?
"What?"
"Nothing. Pebbleshot, Magic Missile, Icicle, and Spark. I haven't tried spells that require more mana for obvious reasons, but as soon as I condense my circle, the number of spells I can cast will soar."
"That's great and all, but Scan is a lot more advanced than the basics of basics, Alec," Reina said gently.
"I can guess. But all I'm saying is that I'll give it a try when I condense my circle. You'll see then whether I'm right or not."
"How far away do you think you are?"
"Not far. I mentioned that eating that sheep also boosted my mana, right?"
"You did not. You should have led with that." Reina's face was blank.
"Yep. If you had done that, I would have thrown myself at the chance to get you to eat more monsters."
"What?"
"Is that true, Bundle of Trouble?" Moira asked with a frown.
"I mean, I drained all of my mana and then some when I cast Pebbleshot, but when I woke up, I had more than before. The only explanation I can think of is that I gained mana from eating that sheep."
Moira's expression darkened.
"That is not good," She said with a voice more grave than anything Alec had heard from her.
"Why not?"
"If that gets out, it means people will risk monsterification if it means getting more mana."
"Oh…"