Episode 6 New TargetWhoosh.
Flames erupted. Intense heat. My body melted under the extreme temperature.
The stored energy was consumed. My melted body regenerated.
I immediately altered my traits.
I deactivated Two Hearts. My body was melting again. My core disappeared.
Instead, I equipped Rapid Metabolism. Death's Countdown activated.
My physical abilities improved. My skin hardened proportionally to my increased strength stat.
It was barely endurable.
'Charge straight through!'
I leaped into the flames.
This was a race against time.
If my stored energy ran out, I'd die from shock.
I had to end this battle before that happened.
I trusted my increased stamina and hardened skin.
Whoosh.
My entire body burned.
Swallowing the pain, I pushed forward.
Flames obscured my vision. I lashed a tentacle toward where I estimated the Giant Rat to be.
But my tentacle sliced through empty air. A miss.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
The Giant Rat cried out.
Its screeches sounded like mocking laughter.
'Fuck, should I have run away?'
Just as regret washed over me-
Thud.
The flames sputtered out.
Squeak?!
The Giant Rat panicked.
I regained my senses. The brightly glowing Artifact had gone dark.
The frantic rat waved its tail. But the Artifact remained silent.
It wasn't broken - the Giant Rat had simply exhausted its mana.
We stood mere inches apart.
A single tentacle lash could capture the Giant Rat now.
Capturing it would end this battle.
Squeak!
The Giant Rat tried to flee. Too late. My tentacle seized its tail.
I yanked the tail. Despite its massive size, the Giant Rat came flying toward me.
It struggled violently. But the difference in strength was insurmountable.
Gripping the tail, I swung it downward.
Crash.
The Giant Rat smashed into the ground.
Yesterday's scenario repeated itself.
I grabbed the tail again and swung.
Crash.
The Giant Rat collided with the wall.
Its legs twitched feebly.
Time for the final blow. I prepared to deliver the killing strike.
My vision suddenly swam. My energy reserves hit rock bottom.
Ravenous hunger overwhelmed me.
Dizziness struck.
'Fuck... Need to eat something.'
I scanned my core for nearby prey. But nothing edible lurked in these deep tunnels.
My strength failed. The Giant Rat slipped free. Though presented with a perfect opportunity, fear overcame the rat. It fled, limping from some injury.
'Wait... Why must I only eat dead prey?'
A paradigm shift occurred. I didn't need to restrict myself to corpses.
I devoured the food right before me.
The rat's frantic struggles intensified - I'd just swallowed its tail.
Fresh and still alive.
The dizziness vanished. Correct approach. I focused on fully swallowing and digesting the tail.
The tail flopped like a freshly caught fish.
I moved my tentacles.
Bound the Giant Rat tightly.
Its thrashing nearly broke my grip.
Squeak squeak!
The Giant Rat convulsed in agony. I couldn't care less.
This wasn't human - just a rat bastard that tried to kill me.
Whether it died painfully or peacefully mattered not.
The tail finished digesting. Clang. The Artifact wedged between tail segments fell loose.
I kicked the Artifact away. Should the rat regain mana, trouble would resume.
I swallowed the Giant Rat's hind leg.
Though I wanted to consume it whole, the rat's size made that impossible.
Piecemeal consumption was necessary.
Nutrients flooded my system. The rat's death throes intensified.
But struggle proved futile. The Giant Rat couldn't escape my tentacles.
Sustained energy flow. Energy expenditure amplified my strength.
My quintupled stats granted tremendous power.
From the moment my tentacles seized it, the Giant Rat's fate was sealed.
Squeak... squeak...
Halfway through consumption, the rat's breathing stopped.
Its heart ceased beating.
Only then did I deactivate Death's Countdown.
"Haaah... That was tough."
I hadn't nearly died. Just suffered some bodily pain.
"Should I have used the Rainbow Shell instead?"
While digesting the rat carcass, I reviewed the battle.
What if I'd equipped the Rainbow Shell instead of Rapid Metabolism?
After careful consideration, I reached a conclusion.
My judgment hadn't been wrong.
Equipping Rainbow Shell would leave me weaker than the rat.
Unable to overcome the strength difference, I'd have been forced to flee.
Though fire resistance would've helped, energy consumption would've been similar.
Energy shortage would've increased my death risk.
[You have acquired an Exceptional Mutation.]
Near the end of consumption, I gained a trait. Just one - Exceptional Mutation. The trait that defined the Giant Rat.
I equipped Exceptional Mutation.
Anticipation grew - what ability would I gain?
[Trait Acquired: Prey's Intuition]
[Prey's Intuition: You can vaguely sense future events. Particularly sensitive to matters concerning your own survival.]
I immediately opened my Status Window.
All stats had increased by 1.
Including mana, which had stubbornly remained at 0.0001 without fluctuation.
I sprinted toward the Artifact.
Magic. I needed to try using magic.
Picked up the fallen Artifact.
Channeled mana into it.
Mana usage came instinctively.
Like a baby learning to use its hands without instruction
I naturally understood how to wield mana.
Whoosh.
Light erupted from the Artifact.
Flames spewed forward.
The flames didn't last long. Duration matched the Giant Rat's earlier usage exactly.
'My mana equals the rat's.'
Depression set in. Being compared to a rat stung.
'But I can grow stronger. Shouldn't compare myself to a rat!'
I rallied. No point in rat comparisons.
I'd grown stronger by consuming others.
Now I'd eat goblins and grow stronger still.
Comparing myself to a rat felt pathetic.
"Alright. Time to train!"
I began Artifact training.
[Devour Level has reached LV3.]
[New skill unlocked.]
[Skill Acquired: Swarm Consciousness]
Just as training commenced.
My Devour Level increased. Halting training, I checked the new skill.
Anticipation grew - what ability would this be, like Trait Enhancement?
[Swarm Consciousness: Control your swarm. The swarm unconditionally obeys your commands.]
Confusion struck. A swarm? Where would I get a swarm?
Currently, I operated alone.
'What the fuck am I supposed to do with this skill?'
For the first time in ages, I cursed the System vehemently.
Useless thing. Couldn't even give me something usable.
At least provide something functional.
But the System remained silent.
Rather than relying on that bastard, I'd find answers myself.
Opened my Status Window. Sought methods to expand my swarm.
Scoured the Status Window for about a minute.
Then realized.
The clues had been there from the beginning.
Evolution and Trait Bestowal - granted since initial awakening.
Trait Bestowal grants your existing traits to "offspring" you birth.
Evolution involves entering a female host to evolve.
You couldn't just enter a host, evolve, and leave.
'Fuck... So that's why my level wasn't increasing?'
Finally understood. The reason my level stagnated. Why my size didn't grow.
My growth direction had been wrong.
"Fuck, then I'm not a Predator!"
Fury erupted. I'd completely misunderstood why my level wasn't rising.
Thought it was because I wasn't eating stronger enemies.
The real reason was entirely different - how absurd.
Skitter.
Vibrations announced approaching cockroaches.
I devoured every cockroach that came near.
"Shit. Then I'll clear this dungeon and find a woman."
I discarded conscience and morality. Those were lost when I became a monster.
Since I'm already a monster, might as well fully embrace the corruption.
Blame the god bastard who made me this monster if you have complaints.
"Fuck, starting today - special training. I'm getting out of this dungeon fast."
A new purpose emerged.
Escape the dungeon. Find a woman to serve as host.
Preferably a beautiful woman.
As a monster, I'd indulge in all the sex I couldn't experience as a human.
I commenced special training.
Used the Artifact.
Duration. Power. Mana distribution.
Frantically immersed in training.
When awareness returned, morning had come.
"Keeeeeeeeek."
A goblin's cry replaced morning alarms.
I stopped training. Went outside. Planned to observe how far the goblins traveled.
Intended to claim any good locations in advance.
Goblin cries grew nearer.
The familiar silhouette of the Big Goblin appeared.
But the Small Goblin was nowhere in sight.
Only when the goblins came closer did I realize.
The Small Goblin had been there all along.
Perched on the Big Goblin's shoulder.
Motionless.
Already dead - a corpse.
That bastard actually did it - killed his companion.
Thud.
The Big Goblin placed the Small Goblin's corpse in a remote cave corner.
Severed an arm. Ravenous, it devoured the arm voraciously.
Only bones remained within moments. Discarding the bones, it returned into the caves.
The Big Goblin vanished.
I quietly approached the corpse. Jackpot.
Could reap benefits without effort.
I covered the Small Goblin's face.
Planned to eat the nutrient-rich eyeballs first.
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