431 In a heated contest betting is prevalent

Vincent was enjoying eating the delicious salad. He was already on the fourth plate after not eating anything in the morning. But a telepathic message from Kazumi halted his enjoyment of the food.

Vincent turned his head and saw Kilo eating like a person starved for days. No one would guess Kilo is noble from afar because a noble would be ashamed to eat in this manner.

Not to mention Kilo was grabbing the vegetables with his hands, crushing the food, and eating as if he wanted to murder the poor delicious and well-presented salad.

On Kilo’s table were six empty plates, and one of the maids was signaling another maid standing near the slope to bring the next food cart.

On the maids’ faces were no traces of confusion or shock. They acted professionally and unbothered while serving Kilo. As if they knew beforehand what was going to happen in probably paid extra to help Kilo while in this strange state.

Vincent decided to check Kilo’s status window quickly. But before he looked at the information, Vincent noticed Kilo glaring at the food with a pair of bloodshot eyes. It gave the impression of watching someone enact revenge. Kilo looked like a wild beast from many angles.

Vincent began to wonder what Kilo had drunk before the contest. Whatever it was, it didn’t appear to be something safe to consume, giving the impression of being a drink only those pushed into a corner and having nothing else to lose would attempt to drink.

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[Name] Kilo Blackheart

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[Race] Human

[Age] 22

[Condition] Healthy, Bottomless Belly (35 minutes), Hangry (35 minutes), Strengthen+2 (15 minutes), Dexterity+4 (15 minutes), Insight+4 (35 minutes)

[Traits] Mana Tempered Body Stage One

[Class] Mage

[Stats] Strength 11 || Agility 14 || Perception 16 || Mana 450

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[Third Eye activate.]

[Bottomless Belly description.]

[Enhances the flexibility and expandability of the user’s food storage in their bodies by ten times even if this is more than one.]

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[Third Eye activate.]

[Hangry description.]

[The afflicted is cursed with an insatiable rage because of hunger, and the afflicted will become blinded by rage and hunger if they don’t eat.]

[Upon the sight of food, the afflicted will consume food relentlessly even if the afflicted can’t fit more food in their stomach.]

[Only by eating can the afflicted lessen the anger raging inside their bodies.]

[The afflicted will become hostile to nearby living beings within one minute of no food consumption.]

[The afflicted will attack anything nearby within two minutes of no food consumption.]

[The afflicted will seek, attack, and eat any living being to satisfy the cravings of anger within three minutes of no food consumption.]

[Prolonged duration without food will cause irreparable mental damage, irreparable organ damage, and aggressive personality change.]

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[Third Eye activate.]

[Strengthen description.]

[The user has their strength increased depending on the quality of the ingredients used and the technique used in to combine the ingredients.]

historical

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[Third Eye activate.]

[Dexterity description.]

[The user has their agility increased depending on the quality of the ingredients used and the technique used in to combine the ingredients.]

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[Third Eye activate.]

[Insight description.]

[The user has their perception increased depending on the quality of the ingredients used and the technique used in to combine the ingredients.]

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Vincent frowned upon discovering the curse Kilo inflicted on himself to win at all costs. He could also feel the resonance of someone else using Inspection and guessed it was Darwin.

Vincent raised the cutlery in his hands. The audience became surprised to see Vincent stop and raise his hands as if he was about to admit defeat.

The audience saw Vincent open his grip and the cutlery falling. The whole area became silent all of a sudden. Only Kilo’s munching sound as he ate like a wild beast and the thud of the fork and knife landing on the surface of the table could be heard.

[Vincent. Are you going to make what Kilo consumed known? I thought he was going to drink an ordinary potion, to be honest. But how in the heck did Kilo brink a curse as dangerous as that in the academy?]

-It is time to start the game of the best cheat.-

[Phew... you got me worried for a second. So the contest between the cheat of money, trickery, and connections against an overpowered cheat storage skill is about to begin at last.]

Vincent smirked while stretching his arms, cracking his knuckles, and finishing with his neck.

“After noticing how my competitor wants to see me naked, I have to take this fun little game seriously. Furthermore, if nobles like to eat food without cutlery, then I want to try eating like high-ranked nobles too.” Vincent announced while mocking Kilo and nobles in general.

Not many nobles liked what Vincent said, yet they couldn’t complain because Kilo was eating worse than a commoner. The contest was secretly known to many as the contest between a pure born noble and a married into nobility.

The Blackheart family’s noble-born son supposedly represented all the pure born nobles, yet it made them feel slightly embarrassed to say Kilo was a noble like them.

This was the first time many students became embarrassed to look at the villagers of paradise island in the eyes.

Vincent turned his head and told the maids beside him, “Prepare to work hard because I feel famished all of a sudden. I can eat all I want without reservations now that I don’t need to eat with formalities.”

Vincent lifted his plate and sent a sonar-like intent from his hands. It only took one second for the exact positions of all the vegetables, the dressing, and the seasoning to flash in his mind.

Vincent moved the plate close to his face and began eating instead of using Soul Dimensional Storage. The plate was white instead of translucent, and the maids were in a favorable place for the green light to remain unseen.

However, Vincent decided to see the reactions of the maids and move his hands accordingly to hide the food dematerializing and entering his mouth. Fortunately, his worries were put to rest. The maids only looked at his hands to see if he was cheating or not.

Kazumi left Vincent’s body and looked around.

Kazumi saw Vincent flawlessly store the food on his next plate. Biro didn’t notice, nor did the maids or the presenter. On the other hand, she saw Darwin talking to someone.

Kazumi curiously approached and overheard Darwin quietly talking to a villager with the appearance of a fighter. Darwin told the villager to inform the investigation unit about an illegal potion imported into the academy.

Things weren’t as they seemed. Darwin knew what Kilo consumed because of his skill, yet many of the teachers were frowning with their gazes locked on Kilo. As if they had an idea of what Kilo was being affected with.

Kazumi turned around as she was approaching Vincent. She noticed Biro had a different air around him. His gaze was mostly locked on Kilo and his actions. Moreover, Biro looked more calm and cautious than he usually is. It gave Kazumi the impression Biro was ready to act promptly.

‘I better not tell Vincent about this now. He needs to focus while I watch his back. But one thing is making me wonder.’

‘Is the contest more important than stopping this huge event and announcing Kilo using a dangerous curse to win? Or is Darwin protecting us? Would the Blackheart family have a reason to attack us openly with the excuse for slandering a Marquis family?’

‘Heh... maybe I am overthinking it.’ Kazumi pondered while traveling back into Vincent. She decided to keep quiet and observe to her best capabilities.

“Next!” Vincent announced after placing the empty eighth plate on the table.

The audience began to wonder who was going to win now. Kilo was at the first plate of the third tray, while Vincent sped his eating considerably after joining Kilo to eat in a manner unfit to call them nobles.

The next plate was placed on the table, and the maid removed the cover. It was a vegetable and meat stew. Vincent smirked, lifted the hot plate, and he began the act of fake eating.

A chef made the food with a cook class. Thus the food was made with mana to taste better.

Vincent had increased Minor Element Tolerance to thirty percent, and his Pain Mitigation became twelve percent with the harsh training. This allowed Vincent to feel the intolerable hot plate as tolerable.

All the audience and the maids beside him couldn’t believe Vincent was eating, or more accurately, swallowing the stew as if it had been left on the table for an hour and became cold.

“Ladies and gentlemen. A surprising shift is happening on the Lionheart side. The food is being eaten at an astonishing rate, but the results are still against the Lionheart side as it is one cart behind.”

The presenter kept announcing everything that was happening with a loud voice, yet he never mentioned how Kilo was acting or looked strange. It appeared the presenter was also bribed to keep quiet.

Ester looked at Iris and Lilith. She nodded and climbed down the VIP stand alone.

Ester looked around and saw a gathering of students and villagers. It was as Vincent and Kazumi expected. People were betting on who was going to win.

“I want to place a bet. Is this an honorable and safe betting corner? I want to bet a lot of money, and I don’t want to get scammed.” Ester said what Kazumi suggested her to say.

One of the students managing the gambling corner turned his gaze and noticed Ester with a bag of coins in her hand. Then he moved his gaze at her neck and later the noble insignia on her maid outfit.