Human Ambition(2)
"Slurp!" Herbert put down the empty bowl in his hand, and his hand reached out for another bowl of noodles, only to be swatted away by the fat cafeteria manager, Robert.
"How much have you eaten already? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. EIGHT LARGE BOWLS! At this rate, there will be no food for the rest of us!" Robert was incensed that so much food was consumed by Herbert.
"Don't you guys cultivate that Grand energy? In the webnovels I read, the main character can cultivate for months on end and use it to sustain himself. I have to rely on normal food for energy." Herbert had simply grabbed the bowl and was talking in between slurps of noodles.
"It doesn't work like that, you madman! Even if you are an anomaly, did they not teach you how Grand energy works?" Robert was exasperated just by talking with Hebert. It felt like he was talking to a wall, but maybe talking to an actual wall would have been more engaging than with this blockhead.
"You can give me an explanation what I eat, okay? If you want to complain about my eating habits, you should complain to the division leader directly." Herbert poured the contents of the bowl into his mouth, stacking more on top. There were now nine bowls.
"Fine, fine. I won't disturb you anymore. Just make sure to limit your eating ability. You're like a black hole, devouring everything that goes into your mouth." The cafeteria manager had just been trying to persuade to eat less, since it meant more work for him.
However, he knew that the division leader valued Herbert the anomaly a lot, even though he didn't know the reason. He went to the kitchen, cooking up more bowls of noodles for Herbert to eat.
"Wait! I still want to know how Grand energy works!" Herbert had seriously wanted to know how this power worked, but the cafeteria manager had taken it as a joke instead. This Illuminati base had a library where people could enter, but even the most common books was locked out for him, as he was not even Rank 1 yet.
As Herbert slurped down bowl after bowl, energy started to fill him again. At this moment, he put down the last bowl of noodles in his hand. Herbert still did not feel full after this binging session.
"Do you have any chicken breasts? Just boil them for me, no need to add any seasoning or anything." Herbert looked at Robert with gluttonous eyes. Now that his energy had returned, what he needed was enough protein to repair his body's muscles.
"You could have told me earlier. I also have to practice my Grand energy refinement too!" Robert sighed, as he took out some chicken breasts from the fridge. He directly prepared a pot of water, before he turned on the electric stove, and threw in the chicken breasts.
The ice on the chicken breasts started sizzling in a few minutes, and soon enough, they were done. Robert handed the stacked chicken breasts to Hebert on a plate, before repeating the process.
"How much food did you guys prepare exactly? I think there's about 10 chicken breasts on this plate." Herbert hurriedly chewed up all the chicken breasts while he talked. The Explosive Power Art really used up a lot of energy to train with.
"Not enough for 20 more years at the rate you're eating..." Robert casually muttered under his breath as he continued to do more chores for Herbert.
"20 years? No wonder there's starvation everywhere... Not that it matters anyway, now that most of the human populace are dead or monsters." Herbert felt more comfortable the more he talked with Robert. It was probably the first time since the apocalypse that he had conversed with a normal human.
"Don't be so pessimistic. They're not exactly monsters. Once they gather enough Grand energy, they can evolve to obtain intelligence. That's when they reach the Humanoid danger level." Robert took out 5 more plates of chicken breasts.
As all the chicken breasts were eaten, Herbert's body started boiling. After the training earlier, he had looked like an average male, but his fitness was slowly increasing overtime. The food he had consumed were all efficiently converted into nutrients for him to rebuild his body.
Naturally, only the impurities remained inside his body. "Do you have a washroom somewhere? I really need to go." His digestive system had become faster at processing food along with his newly found hearty appetite.
"Over there. Just remember to flush often, I don't want to work as the plumber for your toilet." Robert wrinkled his nose at the thought of it.
Herbert swiftly entered the toilet, and sat down on the toilet bowl. As he expelled his bodily waste, he started to contemplate about things he could do to increase his own power level.
"Let's see... So far, we have the Explosive Power Art as my main power source. It is still very likely I can't deal with the enemies. Maybe I could get more information about them? Companions are out too..." Herbert organised the information that he had learned yesterday neatly in his mind.
"There are other techniques to develop my strength as well, but they should be exclusive to those people who cultivate that Grand energy. I should delve into the technique used to modify those people's bodies. I can't control what items they are giving me. Alright, it's settled. Convincing the division leader to give me more access to knowledge should be my main focus!"
Herbert flushed the toilet, and headed out of the cafeteria. He headed straight for the main hall again, as Johnathan had revealed last time that the division leader always stayed there.
When Herbert arrived, he brashly flung the doors wide open, alerting the division leader to him immediately. She had been busy writing down on some papers, and slammed her hand heavily in her desk as she stood up.
"What is the meaning of this? Treat me with more respect or else!" Her hand turned into a whip, which lashed out slow, but heavy strikes at Herbert. Herbert quickly dropped to the ground with all his strength, avoiding all the blows.
"After learning the Explosive Power Art, did it degrade your brain muscles? What a muscle-head!" The division leader glared angrily at Herbert, who rose up from the ground.
"At least your physical ability have improved. Now speak, what are you here for?" The division leader had carefully controlled her attacks to test Herbert's agility. She snorted and sat down again, crossing her legs.
"I want to gain full access to the Information Chambers!" That was the official term for the Illuminati library. Herbert had thought that it was a good name for a mysterious organisation like the Illuminati.
"I can only grant you access up to level 3. Further up and we will have to become a core member." A serious look appeared on the division's leader face, as she furrowed her brows.
Following that, she tossed a card to Herbert, which he caught between two fingers. "I may have underestimated you. I never thought a normal human would take the initiative against us to obtain more intelligence. I'm looking forward to your test."
"Huh?" Herbert felt that there was something wrong with this scenario. Why did they look like they placed no importance on Black Tower? Was his previous conjecture incorrect?
"Who is this Black Tower exactly?" Herbert's expression had soured, after he comprehended that he had been wrong the whole time.
"Like I said, he's a Rank 4 official of the Illuminati. As for the rest, you will know when you reach the location." A slight smirk appeared on the division leader's face as she said this. Herbert wanted to wipe it off her face, but he was at their mercy now.
Power! I need more power! Herbert clenched his fist until it was white. Then, Herbert took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He had noticed that something was wrong with him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shifty_DaoistMage
Shifty_DaoistMage Procrastination
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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