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Beast Devourer: I Grow Stronger by Eating Monsters

Chapter 12: They Thanked Me for Saving Them. I Told Them I Didn’t. · Nov 01, 2026

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Chapter List (186)

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1 Chapter 1: My Retirement Was an Execution 2026-11-01
2 Chapter 2: A Prophet Said I’d Kill My Boss, So He Tried to Execute Me First 2026-11-01
3 Chapter 3: They Couldn’t Kill Me, So They Overloaded a Dimensional Rift 2026-11-01
4 Chapter 4: They Blew Up the Facility to Kill Me, So I Fell Into Another World 2026-11-01
5 Chapter 5: I Woke Up Under Two Moons With Something Called Predation 2026-11-01
6 Chapter 6: I Had No Magic, So I Killed a Magic Wolf With Scrap MetalSilence. 2026-11-01
7 Chapter 7: Predation 2026-11-01
8 Chapter 8: I Ate a Monster’s Fire Organ and Unlocked Magic 2026-11-01
9 Chapter 9: I Wasn’t Going to Save Them—Then They Offered Me Fifty Crowns 2026-11-01
10 Chapter 10: I Didn’t Save Them for Free 2026-11-01
11 Chapter 11: I Ate a Monster’s Stone Gland and Turned My Skin to Rock 2026-11-01
12 Chapter 12: They Thanked Me for Saving Them. I Told Them I Didn’t. 2026-11-01
13 Chapter 13: I Reached the Human Kingdom and Found Slaves at the Gate 2026-11-01
14 Chapter 14: To Enter the City, I Had to Let Them Track Me 2026-11-01
15 Chapter 15: To Enter the City, I Had to Let Them Mark Me 2026-11-01
16 Chapter 16: I Found a Monster That Could Evolve Predation 2026-11-01
17 Chapter 17: Mercenary 2026-11-01
18 Chapter 18: I Blackmailed a Corrupt Official Into Giving Me a Level 14 Hunt 2026-11-01
19 Chapter 19: I’m Level 3. The Monster Is Level 14. So I Rigged the Battlefield. 2026-11-01
20 Chapter 20: I Trapped the Level 14 Monster. Then It Got Faster. 2026-11-01
21 Chapter 21: I Killed a Level 14 Awakened and Predation Evolved 2026-11-01
22 Chapter 22: Six Cannibals Tried to Eat Me. They Picked the Wrong Prey. 2026-11-01
23 Chapter 23: Predation Never Said I Could Only Eat Monsters 2026-11-01
24 Chapter 24: I Ate a Human Heart and Stole His Skill 2026-11-01
25 Chapter 25: Monsters Weren’t Special. I Can Devour Human Skills Too. 2026-11-01
26 Chapter 26: A Noblewoman Saw My Stolen Skills and Started Investigating Me 2026-11-01
27 Chapter 27: The Crimson Sorceress Knew My Name Before We Met 2026-11-01
28 Chapter 28: The Crimson Sorceress Offered Me a Deal. I Wanted the Monster Instead. 2026-11-01
29 Chapter 29: The Crimson Sorceress Wants the Same Monster I Do 2026-11-01
30 Chapter 30: The Crimson Sorceress Offered Me 200 Crowns. I Still Said No 2026-11-01
31 Chapter 31: I Don’t Work for You 2026-11-01
32 Chapter 32: The Crimson Sorceress Figured Out How I Steal Skills 2026-11-01
33 Chapter 33: The Crimson Sorceress Is Useful. That Doesn’t Mean I Need Her. 2026-11-01
34 Chapter 34: We Followed the Mirehorn’s Blood Trail Into a Leech Nest 2026-11-01
35 Chapter 35: I Took the Bite Instead. 2026-11-01
36 Chapter 36: I Saved the Crimson Sorceress. She Asked If I Cared. 2026-11-01
37 Chapter 37: A Noble Used Slaves as Monster Bait. He Ruined My Hunt. 2026-11-01
38 Chapter 38: Then He Ordered Me to Leave. 2026-11-01
39 Chapter 39: Then His Bloodline Awakened. 2026-11-01
40 Chapter 40: I Killed a Noble. Predation Offered Me His Bloodline. 2026-11-01
41 Chapter 41: Our Level 21 Target Was Killed by a Level 34 Elite 2026-11-01
42 Chapter 42: The Level 34 Elite Learned Our Weakness. I Found His. 2026-11-01
43 Chapter 43: I Overfed the Level 34 Elite Until Its Armor Opened 2026-11-01
44 Chapter 44: Tomorrow I Kill It. 2026-11-01
45 Chapter 45: The Elite Learned My Trap. So I Became the Bait. 2026-11-01
46 Chapter 46: I Crawled Under a Level 34 Elite to Kill Its Second Heart 2026-11-01
47 Chapter 47: I Killed the Level 34 Elite. Predation Gave Me Six Choices. 2026-11-01
48 Chapter 48: I Devoured My First Elite and Unlocked a Second Authority 2026-11-01
49 Chapter 49: I Unlocked FORGE. Now I Have to Choose: Eat It or Build With It. 2026-11-01
50 Chapter 50: I Can Put Monster Skills Inside Weapons 2026-11-01

The situation after the fight was worse than Raven had estimated from a distance.

The man beside the wagon wheel was still alive.

Barely.

Harlan.

Two ribs probably broken. Possible spinal injury.

Raven checked his pupils.

Responsive.

Movement in the feet.

Good.

He wasn’t paralyzed.

”Don’t move him yet.”

The archer looked at him.

”You know medicine?”

”Enough to keep you from killing him while trying to help.”

She looked offended.

”We were going to—”

”Have two people lift him and drag him back to the wagon.”

Silence.

Raven pointed at Harlan’s back.

”If he has an unstable fracture, you could finish what the monster started.”

The woman closed her mouth.

The other wounded man lying beside the road was dead.

Claw through the chest.

Nothing to do.

The merchant introduced himself as Darius Hale while Raven used part of the caravan’s medical supplies to stabilize Harlan.

Raven learned several things quickly.

First: Darius talked too much when he was nervous.

Second: healing magic existed.

Third: none of them had enough of it to repair broken bones.

And fourth: Greyhaven was roughly a day and a half away if the wagons could keep moving.

That last one mattered.

”The agreement,” Raven said.

Darius looked up.

”Now?”

”Yes.”

”My man is barely alive.”

”And he’ll still be barely alive whether you give me the map now or an hour from now.”

Mira, the archer, looked at Raven with obvious disgust.

Darius, on the other hand, seemed more accustomed to negotiating with unpleasant people.

”You’re right.”

He opened the third wagon.

Pulled out a leather tube.

The same one Raven had noticed earlier.

Inside was a map.

Parchment. Ink. Not especially detailed, but enough.

Forest. Road. Rivers. Several cities. Mountains to the north. And a border much farther to the east.

Raven recognized absolutely nothing.

Perfect.

Darius pointed.

”We’re here.”

Raven memorized the location.

”Country?”

The merchant looked at him.

”Asteria.”

”That’s a kingdom?”

A pause.

”Yes.”

Now all three of them were looking at him strangely.

Mira spoke first.

”Where are you from?”

Raven looked up.

”Far away.”

”How far away do you have to come from to not know you’re in the Holy Kingdom of Asteria?”

”Pretty far.”

The answer didn’t satisfy her.

Not his problem.

Darius continued.

”Greyhaven is here. If we stay on the main road, we’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon. There’s a garrison, a Mercenary House, temples, inns...”

Raven pointed at a symbol.

”This?”

”A village.”

Another.

”This?”

”Marden Fortress.”

”Border?”

Darius shook his head.

”The western border is much farther out. This road leads deeper into the kingdom.”

Raven studied the map.

Asteria. Human kingdom. Church. Mercenaries. Money. Civilization.

He needed to learn how all of them worked.

”I want a copy.”

”That’s the map we use.”

Raven looked at him.

Darius sighed.

”You can keep it. I have another one in Greyhaven.”

”Good.”

Mira crossed her arms.

”You also promised to pay him.”

Raven looked at Darius.

The merchant gave a nervous laugh.

”One hundred crowns.”

He pulled out a small pouch.

Raven accepted it.

Coins.

Mostly silver.

He had no idea what they were actually worth.

He’d find out later.

”Food.”

”Of course.”

Darius gave him dark bread, dried meat, fruit, clean water, and something wrapped in leaves that smelled like cheese.

Raven inspected all of it.

Mira raised an eyebrow.

”You think we’re going to poison you after you just saved us?”

”Yes.”

”Why would we do that?”

”I don’t know.”

He packed the food away.

”That’s why I check.”

Mira opened her mouth.

Darius raised a hand.

”Leave it.”

She looked at him.

”He ate a raw lithic gland.”

”Yes.”

”And then his hand turned to stone.”

”I saw that too.”

”And you’re going to act like that’s normal?”

Darius looked toward Raven.

Raven was cutting another section from the Ravager’s corpse.

”No.”

A pause.

”But I’d prefer the strange man who can turn his hands into stone remain in a good mood until we reach Greyhaven.”

Mira seemed to consider that.

”Fair point.”

Raven ignored her.

He had started processing the creature.

The remaining lithic gland. Teeth. Claws. A section of hide. Meat.

Darius explained which parts were valuable.

Raven listened.

Not because he wanted to become a professional monster hunter.

Because information about which monster parts mattered could tell him which organs produced specific abilities.

And there was another detail.

People in this world already used monster parts.

Weapons. Alchemy. Armor. Medicine.

Maybe Predation wasn’t completely alien compared to their existing practices.

Just much more direct.

Raven stored several pieces.

Then cut meat from the thigh.

Mira looked at him again.

”You’re going to eat that too?”

”Yes.”

”Why?”

”I’m hungry.”

”We have normal food.”

Raven looked at the meat.

The interface had displayed:

High-density magical biomass.

”This is better.”

She decided not to ask.

Good decision.

It took nearly two hours to get the caravan moving again.

The second wagon had lost part of one wall.

One wheel was damaged, but functional.

One of the horses had a wound that needed bandaging.

The other trembled every time it smelled the Ravager’s blood.

Harlan was placed on an improvised rigid board.

The dead guard was wrapped in a blanket.

Raven didn’t ask his name.

He didn’t need to know it.

Darius insisted on taking the body with them.

Raven didn’t object.

It wasn’t his wagon.

When they finally started moving, Raven walked beside the caravan instead of climbing aboard.

Darius leaned out from the driver’s seat.

”You can rest.”

”I’m fine.”

He wasn’t.

But he preferred walking.

It gave him better control of his surroundings.

Mira rode the only horse that wasn’t harnessed to a wagon.

She watched him occasionally.

Raven noticed.

He said nothing for the first ten minutes.

Then:

”Ask.”

Mira blinked.

”What?”

”You’ve been wanting to ask something for ten minutes.”

”How do you know that?”

Predator’s Instinct.

”Your face.”

She looked annoyed by the answer.

”What was that magic?”

Raven kept walking.

”Fire.”

”I saw that it was fire.”

”Then you know.”

”You didn’t use an incantation.”

Raven looked at her.

”Do I need one?”

The woman went quiet.

Darius was listening from up front.

”Most mages do.”

Interesting.

”Most?”

”Some Bloodline Arts are instinctive. Some Skills too. But a man without a catalyst throwing fire from his bare hand...”

Darius studied him.

”That isn’t common.”

Raven raised one hand.

His skin briefly turned to stone.

”And this?”

The merchant almost pulled too hard on the reins.

”That is definitely not common.”

Raven deactivated Stonehide.

”Good.”

Mira pointed toward the forest behind them.

”You ate that thing and then did that.”

Raven didn’t answer.

”Can you steal abilities from monsters?”

Silence.

Darius turned his head.

Now Raven had his full attention.

Raven considered lying.

He saw no benefit.

They didn’t know enough yet to be a threat.

And their reaction could give him information.

”Yes.”

The wagon kept moving.

Wheels over dirt. Horse hooves. Wind.

Mira stopped smiling.

Darius didn’t seem to know what to say either.

Finally:

”I’ve never heard of a Skill like that.”

Raven looked at him.

”Skill?”

”An ability granted through Awakening, Bloodline, blessing... depends.”

”Does everyone have one?”

”No.”

”Can they be stolen?”

Darius slowly shook his head.

”Not that I know of.”

Raven filed that answer away.

Not that he knew of.

Important.

”And eating monsters?”

Mira grimaced.

”People eat some of them.”

”That wasn’t what I asked.”

She understood.

”No. Eating a Ravager doesn’t give you Stonehide.”

Raven looked at his own hand.

”It does for me.”

Silence returned.

That was going to be a problem.

Not immediately.

Eventually.

Raven could feel it.

An unknown ability attracted attention.

Attention created questions.

Questions created interested people.

And Raven had a great deal of experience with what happened when powerful institutions became too interested in one person.

He would have to learn.

Then decide how much to hide.

He wasn’t going to pretend to be weak.

But that didn’t mean advertising every ability he possessed to anyone who happened to walk by.

There was a difference between fear and stupidity.

An hour later, Darius stopped the wagon beside an open clearing.

They needed to check on Harlan.

Raven also needed to change his bandages.

Mira started a small fire.

Raven watched.

She used flint.

Not magic.

Interesting.

They prepared food.

Darius offered him stew.

Raven accepted.

No reason to refuse food he’d already paid for.

He also cooked a thin strip of Ravager meat.

Mira watched him place it over the fire.

”You’re still doing that.”

”Yes.”

”Does it taste good?”

Raven tried it.

Chewed.

The meat was tough.

Very dense.

It tasted vaguely like pork with an unpleasant mineral aftertaste.

”No.”

”Then why?”

The interface appeared after several bites.

”Stonehide Ravager flesh consumed.”

Magical biomass assimilated.

Minor Experience gained: 4

Raven kept eating.

”Because it works.”

Mira once again decided she didn’t want the explanation.

Darius sat across from him beside the fire.

The man looked somewhere between his late thirties and early forties. Brown hair with gray near the temples. Short beard. Good traveling clothes, though now covered in mud.

He didn’t look like a noble.

He didn’t look poor either.

Merchant.

Potentially useful.

Raven pointed toward the map.

”Explain Asteria.”

Darius raised an eyebrow.

”The entire kingdom?”

”Enough that I don’t accidentally do something that gets me executed.”

Mira laughed.

Raven looked at her.

She stopped.

Darius thought for a moment.

”That’s still quite a lot.”

”Start with the important parts.”

And that was how Raven began learning where he had fallen.

The Holy Kingdom of Asteria.

Formally ruled by a crown.

In practice, heavily influenced by the Church of Eternal Light.

Nobles. Knights. Mercenaries. Temples. Guilds.

Slavery, legal under certain conditions.

Raven stopped the merchant.

”Slavery?”

Darius looked at him cautiously.

”Yes.”

”Debt?”

”Among other things.”

”Race?”

A pause.

”That too.”

Mira watched Raven, waiting for a reaction.

She got none.

”Continue.”

Darius did.

Beastkin. Demonkin. Criminals. Debtors. Prisoners of war. People born under certain contracts.

Any of them could end up being sold depending on the territory and local laws.

Raven ate another piece of meat.

”The Church allows it?”

”The Church regulates many of the servitude brands.”

Raven gave a short laugh.

”Of course.”

”What?”

”Nothing.”

Darius continued.

He explained mercenary ranks. Currency. Monster threats.

The Stonehide Ravager was a Common creature, but one of the more dangerous ones for travelers without an Awakened combatant.

Raven pointed to that word.

”Awakened.”

Darius explained.

Levels.

Ranks.

The existence of a barrier when someone reached a certain point.

Raven listened carefully.

When Darius finished, Raven mentally opened his Status.

Level: 3

Rank: Common

He had a long way to go.

That was fine.

He preferred knowing there was a scale.

It also meant the Ravager wasn’t special.

Level nine.

Common.

The creature had been able to tear through those guards with ease.

And according to Darius, beings existed that could destroy entire cities.

Raven looked toward the forest.

So he was still near the bottom.

Very near the bottom.

Strangely, that didn’t bother him.

It meant there was a lot left to eat.

They resumed their journey before noon.

As they traveled, the forest began to open up.

First came clearings.

Then abandoned fields.

Eventually, Raven saw a fence.

Worked wood.

Farther ahead, smoke.

Not a fire.

Chimneys.

Civilization.

Darius pointed.

”There’s a rest station about two hours ahead. We can spend the night there if Harlan holds on.”

”Healer?”

”A basic one.”

”Then he should make it.”

Mira looked at him.

”You talk like you don’t care.”

Raven kept walking.

”I don’t know him.”

”That doesn’t mean you have to be indifferent to whether he lives.”

”That’s exactly what it means.”

Mira frowned.

Darius intervened before she could answer.

”Mira.”

”What?”

”Leave it.”

She tightened her grip on the reins.

Raven wasn’t offended.

He had heard versions of that conversation many times.

People convinced that concern for strangers was an automatic moral obligation.

Maybe it was for them.

Not for Raven anymore.

He had spent years pursuing objectives described as necessary to protect people he would never meet.

He had seen how many atrocities could be justified by claiming they were done for others.

He didn’t need to repeat the mistake.

If Harlan lived, fine.

If he died, nothing would change for Raven.

The caravan continued.

Twenty minutes passed.

Then thirty.

Harlan woke.

Groaned.

Tried to move.

Darius stopped the wagon.

Raven checked his pupils again.

Better.

”Did we win?” Harlan asked weakly.

Mira exhaled.

”Yes.”

The man looked around.

Then found Raven.

”Who...?”

”The man who killed the Ravager,” Darius said.

Harlan blinked.

He studied Raven’s clothes.

The bandages.

Then his gaze fell on the dried bloodstains.

”Thank you.”

Raven continued adjusting the bandage around his side.

”No.”

Harlan looked confused.

Raven finished tying the knot.

”No what?”

”You don’t need to thank me.”

Darius smiled faintly from up front.

Maybe he already knew what Raven was about to say.

Raven stood.

Looked at the injured man.

”I didn’t save you.”

Harlan frowned.

Raven picked up his knife.

”I killed the monster because there was something in it for me.”

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