Chapter 11: The Massacre

I didn’t stop until I reached a thick branch several meters above the forest floor.

Standing there, I glanced down at the ground below before a laugh escaped my lips. ℴ

"Cool."

Then came the river.

I recognized it instantly as the same one I had leaped over while testing [Enhanced Jump], and the moment I saw its clear, gently flowing water, an overwhelming thirst hit me.

My throat suddenly felt as dry as sandpaper, making the cool stream almost impossible to resist.

I hurried to the edge, crouched down, and cupped my hands together, greedily gulping down mouthful after mouthful of crisp, refreshing water until the dryness finally faded.

As I lowered my hands, something beneath the surface caught my eye.

Fishes. Big ones. Fat, silver-scaled things drifting lazily through the current as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

My stomach growled on cue, reminding me just how long it had been since I’d eaten. 5 minute, by the way.

I stared at them for a moment before a thought crossed my mind.

Could I even catch one?

I crouched lower at the river’s edge, my eyes locked onto the fish gliding through the crystal clear water as my fingers twitched in anticipation, ready to strike the moment one came within reach.

Five minutes later, I finally had my answer.

After an embarrassing number of misses, enough splashes to scare away half the river, and more than a few choice curses under my breath, I managed to snatch a fat fish right out of the water. It flailed wildly in my grasp, its gills opening and closing in desperate gasps, but I didn’t give it the chance to escape. I bit down without hesitation.

Ding!

[Evolution Devourer Activating]

[You have consumed the brain of Sivergill]

[You have gained passive skill: Gill Adaptation]

Almost immediately, something shifted along the sides of my neck. It wasn’t painful, just a faint tingling sensation that spread beneath my skin. I reached up instinctively and ran my fingers over the area. There was nothing visible, but I could feel it.

A new ability.

Gill Adaptation allowed me to breathe underwater, which meant that if I was ever dragged into deep water, drowning was no longer something I had to worry about.

A grin spread across my face as I licked the last traces of fish blood from my lips before deciding to put the skill to the test.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I plunged my head beneath the surface, half expecting the familiar panic that came with holding my breath, but it never came.

There was no choking, no burning sensation in my lungs. Instead, cool water flowed effortlessly through my gills as I continued breathing as naturally as if I were standing on dry land.

The realization sent a thrill racing through me.

This... this could be useful.

Naturally, I wasted no time taking advantage of it, remaining submerged as I hunted down and devoured the fish lurking beneath the surface, no longer limited by how long I could hold my breath.

By the time I emerged from the river, I had already eaten enough to push myself into the next level.

As I climbed onto the bank, however, I couldn’t help but notice something strange.

After killing my first fish, I hadn’t gained any new skills from the ones that followed.

The same seemed to apply to my stats as well, though those only increased after I had killed several more.

I wondered why that was. Was it because they were all the same species, or did it have something to do with the quality of their brains?

I had no way of knowing, and honestly, it wasn’t something I needed to figure out right away. Even if fish had stopped giving me anything useful, there were plenty of other creatures out there to hunt. Sooner or later, I’d find something worth eating again.

Besides, I’d already gained the ability to breathe underwater, and I still had several free stat points waiting to be distributed. For now, that was more than enough. There was no point worrying about a problem that hadn’t even become one yet.

After leaving the river, I made my way back toward the place I had abandoned earlier, where I had left the ogre to fight.

I was close enough now that caution became more important than speed, so I activated Camouflage, my body gradually blending into the surrounding forest as I advanced one careful step after another.

Before I saw anything, the smell reached me first. It was blood, and an overwhelming amount of it.

The battlefield soon came into view, and the scene that greeted me made my footsteps slow to a halt.

Twisted limbs were scattered across the dirt, shattered weapons glinted beneath the fading sunlight, and the stench of death hung so thick in the air that it clung to my skin like a second layer.

Whatever had happened here hadn’t been a fight.

It had been a massacre.

The clearing where the ogre had fought the humans looked like someone had gone overboard with a paintbrush dipped in red.

Chunks of flesh and splintered bones were scattered across the ground, while the center of the battlefield was occupied by the ogre itself, standing hunched over as it heaved for breath.

Its massive spiked club had been planted into a mound of corpses, as though it needed the pile of bodies to keep itself upright, and blood, some of it its own but most belonging to its victims, dripped steadily from its wounds before disappearing into the crimson lake pooling beneath its feet.

Its beady eyes flickered without focus, making it look as though it might collapse at any moment.

Yet despite the state it was in, one fact remained unchanged.

Every single human was dead.