1. Welcome to University - Part 3
âThen letâs make a deal â, the stranger continued, flashing a disturbingly calm smileâ What are you good at?
âW-well... âCharlie replied, looking awayâ, some people say Iâm smart.
âHow interesting.
The man knelt and firmly grabbed Charlieâs face, forcing him to hold his gaze.
âThen, youâre going to entertain me with your intellect.
No sooner had he finished speaking than the lights went completely black. Charlie felt a superhuman force dragging him toward a chair; despite resisting with absolute desperation and trying to break free, his efforts were useless. Within seconds, in the pitch-black room, he felt himself being secured to the chair and heard the clanking of the metal chains locking him down.
âYouâre all set â, the man stated.
Instantly, the lights flashed back on. Charlie noticed his entire body was immobilized, with the sole exception of his right hand. Stretching out in front of him was an incredibly long table, packed with the food the man claimed as his. Only the space closest to Charlie was clear; there, someone had placed a tablet.
Charlie still couldn't wrap his head around the situation, until the strangerâs words brought him back to reality:
âDid you know that from the exact moment you stepped foot on this campus, your fate belongs to me?
Charlie looked at him, bewildered.
âThat means I can subject you to any of my whims. For instance... âhe leaned into whisper in his earâ , punishing you if you fail a test.
Charlie noticed how much the man salivated as he spoke those words. Without a doubt, that monster still saw him as a juicy piece of meat.
âThat tablet is programmed to display nothing but the exam. Itâs a thousand questions, and your time limit runs until I finish eating â, the man continued, gesturing toward the feastâ. This table is modular. Iâm going to sit at the far end, and every time I finish a section, Iâll remove that block and drag the rest toward me to keep devouring. Your exam will end when Iâve removed every single block and we are face-to-face.
Charlie let out a sigh with a glimmer of relief, noticing that the structure seemed to stretch out for several yards.
âIf your results donât amuse me... well, you already know whatâs waiting for you.
The warning coincided with a new growl from the manâs stomach, a sound so cavernous and brutal it pulverized the little relief Charlie had started to feel.
Without wasting any more time, the giant walked to the opposite end of the table to resume his banquet.
Charlie tapped the tablet screen. A welcome message flashed; he swiped it, and the first question appeared. It was an algebraic equation so trivial he solved it almost without looking. In less than a minute, he tapped the correct answer and moved on. Then to the next one, and the next. None of them posed a real challenge; it looked like a test even an elementary schooler could pass.
However, just as he reached question ten... BBBBBBbbbrrrrrWWWWwwwwrrrrrrrOOOOoooooooooAAAAAAAaaaaRRRRRRrrrrrrPPPPPPPP!!!!!
A thunderous burp echoed from the far end. The stranger disassembled the first block of the table with a sharp snap, tossing it aside to drag the rest of the feast toward him.
âThat block had enough food for ten people... and it took him a split second to devour it allâ, Charlie thought in horror.
Distressed, he picked up the pace. The frenzy became absolute; the questions flew past his eyes at a speed he could barely process. Time blurred into a desperate race until the metallic echo of the last block being detached froze him in place. Time was up. At that exact moment, the tablet screen went completely black, remaining lifeless no matter how hard Charlie pressed the power button.
âDrop it, or youâre going to break it â, the stranger warned as he approached. He shoved Charlie aside with a single hand and picked up the device.
He walked a few steps away, pressed his thumb against the fingerprint scanner, and a blue light illuminated his features. After a brief review, the man turned back toward him, locking him in a gaze dripping with condescension.
âYou... UUuurrrrPPppp!!... got an excellent score... but Iâm not surprised. Iâm truly sorry.
Charlie broke into a cold sweat. He couldnât believe his end had come so soon.
The man broke the chain with a hand and with the other slammed his palm against Charlieâs face and lifted him off the ground without the slightest effort, like a child picking up a toy. Suspended in mid-air, Charlie could see his tormentor salivating heavily.
GGRRRrrrrwoOOOooorllllrrrr!!!!!
The rumbles from his midsection grew deafening; despite the astronomical amount of food he had just ingested, that gargantuan belly showed no signs of slowing down its demands. It was insatiable, a literal black hole.
âIâm ready for dessert â, the man sentenced, pulling Charlieâs head toward his open jaws.
Suddenly, a subtle notification chime shattered the tension from the tablet. The man stiffened, glanced at the screen, and dropped Charlie, who crashed onto the floor, utterly clueless as to what was happening.
Incredulous, the young man slowly blinked his eyes open.
âThe point count is wrong â, the giant muttered, consumed by a deep rage. Then, he looked down at the floor with contemptâ. Stay here. In a few minutes, youâll get an email with new instructions so youâll know how to find me.
Without another word, the man turned on his heel and walked out of the room, leaving behind the heavy echo of his footsteps.
Charlie still hadn't processed what was happening, but he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't care about understanding the reason behind his luck; it was enough to know that, for the moment, he was safe.
Shortly after, he received a new notification on his screen, directing him to a different room. Charlie left his quarters, but as he walked down the hallways, strange, cavernous sounds began to echo against the walls.
BBBEEELLLCCCHHHHHHHHH! BUUUUUUOOOAAAAARRRPPPPPP!!!!! UUUUUUURRRRRRRRRPPPPP!
They were belches so loud they caused vibrations like mini-earthquakes. Terrified, Charlie quickened his pace until he reached the designated spot.
Pushing the door open, he found the man picking his teeth with a toothpick, sitting completely relaxed in a chair identical to the one Charlie had occupied during the test. However, what froze his blood was his anatomy: his belly had expanded drastically, and every now and then, the surface of his skin twitched with internal spasms.
âI hate sore losers â, the stranger stated, breaking the silence.
Charlie took a few steps forward, unable to believe his eyes.
âThere was some information I kept from you â, the man continuedâ. There was no fixed passing score. You were competing directly against someone else.
An oppressive knot formed in Charlieâs throat as the puzzle pieces clicked together in his mind.
âBut... URRRRPPPP!!!... Jezz!... Stop moving man!.... well, there was a hidden rule, a detail your opponent knew very well. He had the 'privilege' to use internet-accessible devices because of how long heâs been trapped here, though it came at a cost of a hundred points.
In that instant, Charlie choked back a gasp. A distinct bulge, bearing the recognizable silhouette of a human face, pushed against the taut skin of the giantâs gut, writhing in the middle of a tortuous digestive process. Those movements barely bothered the man, who merely let out a faint BURRP! and gave himself a couple of slaps on his massive belly, completely unfazed by the grotesqueness of it all.
âThis cheater â, he added, sinking a finger into the soft mass of his stomachâ, tried to play smart by hacking the system to bypass the sensors. He made me believe his score beat yours. Thatâs why I assumed you lost. Lucky for you, I caught the fraud in time and went to give the culprit exactly what he deserved.â
With that, he belched again, hacking up a tablet that smacked Charlie right in the face.
âHa! Ha! Excuse me for that â, he said with a mocking tone and fake guiltâ. Cheaters give me gas, literally.
URRRP!!!
But seeing how shell-shocked Charlie was, the man felt he should do something to calm him down. He snapped his fingers to bring him back to reality and flicked his index finger, ordering him to come closer.
Charlie, though still terrified, complied. He shuffled forward, dragging his feet. Suddenly, the giantâs gut rumbled again, a violent growl making it clear it was demanding more food. Charlie froze, wanting to run, but the leaderâs hand clamped around his arm, shutting down any escape.
âEasy, easy â, he murmured with a seductive slownessâ. I don't blame you for being scared. I'm still hungry, but I promised you that if you entertained me with your intelligence, I wouldn't do anything to you, remember?â
With his free hand, the man gently stroked Charlieâs head and pulled him closer to his body.
âUse your hands to give daddy abelly rub and relax. Just imagine youâre resting on a huge pillow... and help me digest this loserâ. His voice wavered intoxicatingly between mockery and sensuality.
âYour score was impressiveâ, he went onâ. Your intellect far exceeds the campus average. That means education on the outside is improving, and that gets me excited.
Charlie experienced a bewildering sensation. Despite the horror he had just witnessed, a part of him was beginning to enjoy the closeness and the submission to this wild beast.
âAt first, you asked me if I was the leader â, the man said. Suddenly, a hiccup interrupted his words, forcing him to thump his chest to get some reliefâ. And itâs true. I am the leader of team âSnacks,â which you now belong to. My name is Dean. In this university, you don't study; you come here to survive different challenges led by guys like me. And if you fail... well, you already know where youâll end up.
Saying this, he rubbed his majestic belly once more.
BBBBBBUUUuuuuuuuRRRRrrrrrrrRRrrrrPPPPPPPP!!!!!
Wet, sloshing noises rose from his throat as he released another proud, powerful belch. Forced out by the strength of the exhale, a metal badge and a crisp uniform with the word âSnacksâ embroidered across the chest flew out of his mouth.
âJust in time â, he chuckledâ. From now on, youâll wear this. Congratulations on surviving, at least for today. So far, your performance satisfies me.
Dean gently pushed Charlie aside and stood up, displaying an astonishing and incoherent agility considering the gargantuan size of his belly. âGet some rest, Charlie. Tomorrow, things will get... a lot more interesting.











