Oh! Just as I was staring at the system quest again, my eyes wandered to the stat window.
[Signature Skill:
Primordial Assimilation (Efficiency 1)
[(Description: Allows the user to steal the unique abilities of other creatures by consuming their Arcana core/heart)]
This… How didn't I think of this before? My eyes moved on their own to locate his heart with the [eye of Sanguine] on.
It wasn't anything like a human heart; it was shaped like a sphere, though it was still a muscle that served the same purpose.
Most of what made it odd was, it had a weird thing going on with temperature. It wasn't orangish-reddish like his entire body, or any human's. Bright red mixed with blinding white lights embraced it completely.
Just as I was trying to observe its function, a chilling thought rang in the back of my head, Wait a second… What does consume mean?
[Eat.]
"..."
I wasn't sure if I was ready to commit cannibalism just yet…
[Newbie Giftpack. His Signature skill. Daily quest completion rewards.]
Maybe… I was.
I tried to imagine how that one dagger beside Alya was covered in blood, or how that giant coffin's every nail was fully dripped in her blood. Then I imagined Alya's memories, her smile, and the time we spent together.
I glanced back at Sue's ugly, wrinkled face. His pleading, but slowly growing confident eyes, not an ounce of guilt at what he had done in them. They were clearly ready to do it all over again.
"The fucked up person who didn't want to change was truly irredeemable," I whispered.
"Hmm?"
With a thought, I spun Sue to the other side as he looked around, startled. His back fully towards me, the fabric of the soft silk robe brushed against my hand as I placed it exactly on the white–red light on his chest from behind.
I was still imagining everything bad Sue might've done in this type of job, his mindset, his ugly face. I couldn't risk hesitation when I removed it...
It needs to be instant.
"W–What are you doin…" Before he could realise what had happened, I was touching the rubbery, wet texture of his heart.
"Gah!" Blood escaped from his lips as his eyes widened with horror.
"Undo of shift!!" He screamed.
A hole appeared in my chest, wide enough to reveal a part of my heart. A weird sensation of something grabbing it also hit at the same time.
It's been less than five minutes. His cooldown is… Either less than five minutes or it has no cooldown.
I thought, touching the bloody hole on my chest as bits of blood gushed from my entire body to it, filling it back to perfection.
The sensation of someone touching it also vanished after three seconds. All harm for the next three seconds was transferred to me… Crazy.
Ignoring my no-cooldown suspicion, I could simply kill him right now. It would complete the quest. Take our revenge, and we could get out.
But that was based solely on my gamer mind, that thought, there has to be some cool down for something this overpowered.
All while knowing mine own had no limit, even at 1 efficiency, at least not mentioned.
Man… I just didn't want to eat a human heart. I admitted with a bitter smile. Maybe I still had some humanity left in me.
I felt the texture of the heart again, thinking over the usefulness of his skill, and my reasoning on its cooldown.
I inhaled deeply, No… Is not an option. My exhale came out shaky. It was an awkward thing after all that yap about being free.
Sue's face turned paler, filling with more horror the more he stared at my chest, and my hand that was still in his chest.
"I wonder… Will your heart taste bitter, too?" I asked softly as he began to whimper, mumbling in what sounded like prayers.
Time slowed down as my hand tightened around his heart. In one single moment, I had placed his heart in my mouth, chewing on it.
"Primordial Assimilation," I muttered immediately.
The heart was incredibly warm, even hotter than it had looked, balanced by the sour taste of blood that tasted like strawberries to me.
I bit once, then twice on the rubbery texture, my long fangs piercing through it with ease till it was mushy, slippery on my tongue.
[Signature skill, Undo of shift acquired successfully. (Efficiency: 80—>1)]
[(Description: Allows its user to transfer all and any damage done by its target to the target for 0.50 seconds. Can use only once every nine hours.)
I was right, it did have a time limit.
As the heart landed fully in my stomach, a loud system notification rang. My face burned, reddening as every drop of my blood started to have a pulse of its own. My entire body grew redder than a tomato, all hints of pale white in my skin vanishing.
"Undo of shift! Undo of shift! Undo of shift!" He yelled again and again. He shouldn't be able to use it any longer; my skill stole it literally.
Sue slowly turned to me with pupils so wide they'd pop any moment, his lips trembling as his jaw widened too. "Monster…" His index finger pointed at my lips, wearing a lipstick of dripping, bright-red blood; the juices that escaped from his heart as I chewed it.
This was pure fear.
My lips curled upwards, revealing two long white fangs as I picked up the red lantern, letting him see my features better.
"Ahhh!! Monster! Demon! Monster!" Tears escaped from his eyes, snot and drool dripping, the more I stared at him with my glowing red eyes.
"Undo of shift! Undo of shift! Undo of shift!" He repeated insanely as his life force began to vanish from his horrified eyes.
Three seconds ticked, and I knew it; he had passed away. His temples were still wide open, showing black pupils filled with unnatural horror. A nasty sight, but... Felt good, somehow.