Chapter 15: The Ambush

The taste was... different from the beasts I’d devoured before.

The ogre’s brain had been rich and heavy, carrying a savage strength that matched its monstrous body, but this was lighter, smoother, almost strangely delicate.

The moment I swallowed, a familiar warmth spread through my body.

It wasn’t as overwhelming as before, yet I could still feel it flowing through my veins before gradually settling deep within my muscles.

The last trace of hesitation disappeared with it.

The voice telling me this was wrong still existed, buried somewhere in the back of my mind.

But another voice had grown much louder.

Survive. Evolve. Grow stronger.

And in this world...

Strength mattered far more than guilt.

I finished the brain, wiping the blood from my mouth just as the blue notifications I’d been waiting for materialized before my eyes.

Ding!

[Evolution Devourer Activated]

[You have consumed the brain of a level 9 Human Brain]

[You have gained +3 Stat Points]

[Skill Acquired: Blade Dance (Active)]

Another active skill?

Up until now, every skill I had gained from consuming monsters had been passive, so seeing something that required activation made me excited.

Before I could think any further, the skill’s description appeared in front of me.

Blade Dance (Active):

Description: The user enters a state of unparalleled agility, unleashing a relentless flurry of sword slashes within a short burst of time. Each strike is swift, precise, and seamlessly flows into the next, overwhelming enemies with sheer speed. The number of slashes depends on the user’s dexterity and weapon proficiency.

Duration: 5 seconds

Effect: Delivers a rapid series of slashes, increasing attack speed by 50% during activation.

Bonus: If at least 5 strikes connect, the final hit deals +25% bonus damage.

Cooldown: 2 minutes

I exhaled slowly, letting the realization settle in.

It was a technique built for speed, for precision, for absolute carnage.

Oh yeah... this had been worth it, especially now that I finally had a weapon worthy of using it.

Wiping the blood from my lips, I turned toward the next one without a moment’s hesitation and dug in.

The warmth of human blood coated my tongue, and that same strange, electric rush surged through my veins once more.

Ding!

[Evolution Devourer Activating]

[You have consumed level 8, Human Brain]

[You have gained +2 stat points]

[You have acquired a new skill: Silent Steps (Passive)]

I froze mid-bite as the skill’s description unfolded before me.

Silent Steps (Passive)

Description:The user’s movements become instinctively lighter and more controlled, reducing the sound of footsteps and minimizing disturbances in the surrounding environment. Whether traversing dense forests, rocky terrain, or creaking wooden floors, the user moves with remarkable silence, making it significantly more difficult for enemies to detect them through sound alone.

Effect:

- Reduces footstep noise by 60%, greatly decreasing the likelihood of detection through hearing.

- Lessens environmental disturbances caused by movement, such as rustling vegetation or shifting loose debris.

Oh.

Now this... this combined with [Camouflage] was deadly.

I could sneak up on prey without making a sound, get close enough that they wouldn’t even notice I was there until it was too late, or better yet, launch a surprise attack they would never have a chance to react to.

I turned to the next corpse, another human dressed like a tank. I didn’t let myself stare for long.

The more I looked, the more likely I was to hesitate, so I ripped its skull open, reached inside, and extracted the brain.

More brains meant more strength.

With that single thought in mind, I sank my teeth into it.

Ding!

[Evolution Devourer Activating]

[You have consumed Level 8, Human]

[You have gained +2 stat points]

[You have acquired a new skill: Thunderous Roar (Active)]

Thunderous Roar (Active): Unleashing a deafening roar imbued with raw power, the user sends a shockwave through the air, stunning all enemies within range. The sheer intensity of the roar momentarily overwhelms foes’ senses, disrupting their movements and leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Effect:

- Stuns all enemies within a 6-meter radius for 2 seconds.

- Enemies with lower Constitution or weaker willpower may be stunned for an additional 1 second.

Cost:20 Rage points

Cooldown:25 seconds

Another active skill.

From the description alone, it looked like a Berserker-type ability capable of stunning an opponent.

Unlike my other skills, however, this one consumed Rage Points instead of mana.

I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not, but I couldn’t deny how excited I was.

Another powerful skill had just been added to my growing collection.

Satisfied, I pushed myself to my feet and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand before instinctively glancing down at myself.

Blood was everywhere, soaked into my arms, smeared across my chest, and splattered across my legs, while its thick, metallic scent clung to me so heavily that it drowned out everything else.

My stomach was full, and my body felt stronger than ever, but my heart... I didn’t know how to describe it.

It wasn’t exactly heavy, yet it felt strangely off in a way I couldn’t put into words.

I had just eaten people.

No... their brains. Not that the distinction really mattered.

They had been human.

And not long ago, I had been human too.

A strange sense of disquiet settled over me.

It wasn’t guilt exactly, nor was it disgust. It was something harder to put into words, an uncomfortable awareness that I’d crossed a line I could never uncross.

Somewhere along the way, what should have horrified me had become... acceptable.

No word in my vocabulary could truly describe the feeling.

It was as though the human in me recoiled in quiet horror while the monster merely wondered whether there were any brains left to eat, leaving me caught in a profound existential dissonance that neither side could fully claim.

But enough of that bullshit.

Reality didn’t care about my moral crisis, and neither did this world.

This was something that had to be done, something I could never undo, so there was no point in dwelling on it.

I took a slow, steady breath, forcing the last traces of hesitation from my mind.

I should have no regrets.

Survival came first before anything else, and if becoming a monster was the price I had to pay to keep living...so be it.

I clenched my fists, feeling the raw power coursing through me as I took in the changes.

My body had evolved. I wasn’t just stronger anymore; I was something else entirely.

With that thought lingering in my mind, I brought up my stat window, the glowing text reflecting off my bloodstained hands.

Name: Sylas Stone

Level: 6

Class: Unknown

HP: 415/415

MP: 245/245

Rage: 0

[Stats]

Physical: 39

Mental: 5

Social: 0

Stat Point: 11

[Skills]

Innate: [Evolution Devourer]

Passive: [Camouflage] [Nightvision] [Iron Gut] [Regeneration] [Venomous Bite] [Boar Tough Hide] [Enhanced Leg] [Sharp Vision] [Cragdillo Scale] [Wolf’s Prowess] [Sticky Grip] [Gill Adaptation] [Rage] [Silent Step]

Active: [Blade Dance] [Thundering Roar]

I glanced at my status window, and a smirk tugged at my lips.

In less than a day, I had already grown this much stronger.

I shook my head.

Insane.

Just as I was about to think about how I was going to distribute my free stat points, something caught my sharp gaze.

There was movement ahead, partially concealed behind a thick shrub.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a tangle of overgrown leaves and twisted branches, but my sharp vision picked out what the darkness was trying to hide.

Beneath the foliage, a figure crouched low, so well concealed that I would have missed it if not for the faint outline my eyes managed to catch.

It was watching me.

A chill crawled up my spine, and the instant whatever was hiding in the bushes realized I’d spotted it, it burst from the undergrowth, scattering leaves in every direction.

Every muscle in my body tensed as I tightened my grip on my axe, ready to meet the charge.

But the moment I got a clear look at the creature barreling toward me, my breath caught in my throat.

A goblin?

Before my mind could make sense of what I was seeing, its arm whipped forward, and a spear shot through the air, slicing toward me with deadly precision.