Chapter 14: The Feast

I stood over the ogre’s massive corpse, licking the blood from my lips as a single whisper echoed through the back of my mind.

Eat.

The urge settled deep inside my chest, impossible to ignore, and honestly, I saw no reason to. There was nothing to gain from resisting it.

I stepped closer, my heavy feet sinking into the blood-soaked earth until I stood over the ogre’s enormous head.

The beast remained slumped against the tree where it had fallen, my stone axe still buried deep in its skull.

Even in death, it looked terrifying.

The sheer size of its body was enough to remind me how close I’d come to dying. One mistake. One poorly timed dodge. That was all it would have taken for our positions to be reversed.

Reaching for the axe, I planted one foot against the ogre’s forehead and gave it a hard pull.

The blade came free with a sickening scrape as steel tore through shattered bone, the sound echoing through the forest and leaving behind a dark, jagged hole in the creature’s skull.

Warm blood immediately began flowing from the ruined wound, dripping down the creature’s face before soaking into the soil beneath it.

Without giving it a second thought, I crouched beside the corpse and drove my claws into the fractured bone, forcing the crack wider until the skull finally gave way with a sharp crunch.

Only then did I reach inside, my fingers sinking into something warm and soft before closing around the brain.

For the briefest moment, my human instincts screamed at me to stop. This was disgusting. This was insane. But the hunger was stronger.

It drowned out every trace of hesitation until there was nothing left but the overwhelming urge to feed.

Before I could think twice, I lifted the brain to my mouth and took a bite.

The texture was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

Soft and almost creamy, yet strangely rich, carrying a warmth that spread through my body the instant I swallowed.

The second bite came easier than the first, and by the third, I wasn’t thinking anymore, instinct taking over as I devoured the rest of the brain until nothing remained.

A familiar blue notification appeared before my eyes.

Ding!

[Evolution Devourer Activated]

[You have consumed the brain of an ogre]

[You have gained +1 stat point]

[You have acquired the skill: Rage]

Another screen unfolded.

Rage (Active)

Description:Every successful attack you land and every injury you endure generates Rage. Once the Rage Meter reaches 100%, it can be activated at any time. While active, your physical power is doubled for 20 seconds. When the effect ends, you suffer temporary exhaustion proportional to the intensity of the enhancement. The Rage Meter is completely depleted upon activation. Rage accumulated outside of combat remains stored but begins to decay gradually after an extended period without fighting.

Effect:

- Doubles Physical Strength for a short duration.

- Causes exhaustion when the effect ends.

- A pulse of heat surged through every muscle in my body before quickly fading.

A grin slowly spread across my face as I looked over the notification.

My first active skill.

Opening my status screen, I immediately noticed a new rage bar beneath my attributes.

Name: Sylas Stone

Level: 6

Class: Unknown

HP: 415/415

MP: 245/245

Rage: 0

Once it filled to one hundred percent, I could activate it and fly into a frenzy for twenty seconds.

Twenty seconds with double strength?

How insane was that?

In a life-or-death situation, those twenty seconds could completely turn the tide of a battle.

What would’ve been certain death could suddenly become an opportunity to kill my enemy instead.

A chuckle escaped my lips as my greed grew stronger, and before long, my gaze drifted away from the ogre and settled on the human corpses scattered across the battlefield.

The battlefield was littered with five of them.

Some were barely recognizable after the ogre’s assault, while others remained mostly intact, their lifeless eyes still staring blankly at the sky.

Before I realized what I was doing, my gaze had drifted to their heads instead of their mangled bodies, and an unsettling thought crept into my mind.

I was wondering what their brains tasted like.

Thinking about feasting on them like some sicko.

There wasn’t even revulsion attached to the idea anymore.

Only curiosity.

My eyes lingered on the corpses for another moment before another question surfaced.

Would [Evolution Devour] work on humans too?

If I ate their brains, would I gain stats and skills from them as well?

There was only one way to find out.