Beast Devourer: I Grow Stronger by Eating Monsters

The contract supervisor’s name was Garrick Venn.

Raven needed less than thirty seconds to decide he didn’t like him.

Not because of how he looked.

Garrick looked fairly ordinary: around fifty, moderately overweight, brown hair thinning on top, expensive clothes beneath an administrative robe, and a private office on the second floor.

What caught Raven’s attention was the ring.

Gold.

Too expensive for everything else he was wearing.

Then the furniture.

Better than what was downstairs.

Then the bottle of imported liquor behind the desk.

Raven had spent far too much time around corrupt officials not to recognize small financial inconsistencies.

Garrick read the contract.

Then looked at Raven’s Copper badge.

”No.”

”I’ve already been told that.”

”Then we’ve saved ourselves some time.”

”I want an exception.”

The man laughed.

”Level three.”

”Yes.”

”No Blessing.”

”Yes.”

”No proper equipment.”

Raven looked down at his damaged tactical vest.

”Debatable.”

Garrick studied him.

”The Gloom Stalker killed two workers.”

”I read that.”

”And a Copper mercenary who decided to investigate without authorization.”

”That wasn’t written there.”

Garrick paused.

There.

Raven filed the detail away.

”Now you know.”

”Why isn’t it in the contract?”

”The investigation is still open.”

Lie.

Not entirely.

There was something else.

Raven sat down without being invited.

Garrick frowned.

”What are you doing?”

”Trying to understand why a contract that should be Iron has been sitting unclaimed long enough to gain an extra forty-five crowns.”

”Mercenaries are free to choose their assignments.”

”And why the dead Copper isn’t mentioned.”

Silence.

”You’re not very good at pretending to be stupid,” Garrick said.

”I wasn’t trying.”

The man rested his fingers on the desk.

”What do you want?”

”The contract.”

”You can’t take it.”

”Yes, I can.”

”The rules—”

”No.”

Raven pointed at the paper.

”If you actually cared about the rules, that contract would’ve been pulled the moment an Awakened was confirmed.”

Garrick said nothing.

Raven continued.

”You would’ve sent an assessment team. Then you would’ve officially changed the classification. Instead, you scraped off the seal, added more reward money, and left it on the wall.”

Garrick leaned back.

Behind Raven, Darius became very still.

”That’s a lot of assumptions.”

”Yes.”

Raven looked at the ring.

Then the liquor.

Then the small ledger sitting near Garrick’s hand.

”How much are you skimming?”

Garrick’s eyes changed.

Predator’s Instinct reacted.

Not fear.

Alarm.

”Get out of my office.”

”So quite a bit.”

”Guards.”

Raven didn’t move.

”If you call the guards, this conversation becomes public.”

Garrick stopped.

”I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

”Of course.”

Raven pointed at the contract.

”Sixty-five crowns are posted.”

Garrick didn’t answer.

”How much did the mill owner actually pay?”

Silence.

Darius slowly turned toward Raven.

Raven continued.

”One hundred.”

Nothing.

”One twenty.”

Garrick’s jaw tightened slightly.

Raven smiled.

”More.”

”You’re making up numbers.”

”Yes.”

Raven leaned back.

”But you’re telling me when I’m getting close.”

Darius covered his face.

”Raven...”

”One fifty.”

Nothing.

”Two hundred.”

A tiny twitch near Garrick’s left eye.

Raven saw it.

”Two hundred.”

Garrick stared at him with open hatred.

”You can’t prove anything.”

”I don’t need to.”

”Then leave.”

Raven lifted the contract.

”Give me the mission.”

”And what do you get besides dying?”

”Experience.”

Garrick blinked.

”What?”

”Doesn’t matter.”

Raven placed the contract on the desk.

”You have a problem. The target was underestimated. Someone died. The client is probably already asking why it’s still alive. If you reclassify it properly, you might have to explain where the rest of the deposit went.”

Garrick didn’t move.

”I have a different problem. I need something strong enough to kill.”

Darius muttered:

”Somehow that sounds even worse when you say it like that.”

Raven ignored him.

”Our problems complement each other.”

Garrick stared at Raven for a long time.

Then:

”You’re level three.”

”You keep repeating that.”

”It will kill you.”

”Maybe.”

”And then I’ll have another corpse.”

”No family.”

Raven placed his Copper badge on the desk.

”No House.”

He pointed at his registration form.

”No sponsor.”

Another silence.

”No one will come asking questions about me.”

That landed.

Raven saw the decision forming behind the man’s eyes.

It wasn’t concern.

Calculation.

Exactly what Raven had expected.

If Raven died, Garrick could record a stupid foreigner who had voluntarily taken a contract above his classification. Maybe keep whatever reward went unpaid too. Perhaps even use Raven’s death as justification to raise the price on the client again.

Raven knew the type.

Garrick opened a drawer.

Pulled out a different sheet.

”There is a procedure.”

Darius gave an incredulous laugh.

”Of course there is.”

Garrick ignored him.

”Voluntary exceptional-risk contract. The mercenary acknowledges that he is accepting an assignment above the recommended classification and waives compensation for death or disability.”

Raven took the paper.

”And?”

”The House retains a security deposit.”

”How much?”

”Thirty crowns.”

Raven looked at him.

”No.”

”It’s mandatory.”

”Then we don’t have a deal.”

”You want the mission.”

”You want it gone.”

Garrick pressed his lips together.

Raven pointed at the original contract.

”Ten.”

”Twenty-five.”

”Ten.”

”Twenty.”

”Five.”

”You just went lower.”

”I’m losing patience.”

Darius looked like he was enjoying this far too much.

Garrick glared at him.

”Fifteen.”

Raven thought.

He could afford it.

”Ten, and I get access to the dead Copper’s report.”

Garrick went still.

”No.”

”Then five.”

”Ten.”

”And the report.”

”Field summary only.”

”Body location included?”

”Yes.”

”Wounds?”

”Yes.”

”Last sightings?”

”Yes.”

Raven extended his hand.

”Deal.”

Garrick looked at it as if he wanted to cut it off.

He didn’t shake.

Instead, he pulled out a seal.

THUMP.

A red mark appeared across the document.

EXCEPTIONAL RISK WAIVER

Beneath it, Garrick added the mission code.

”You have seventy-two hours.”

”After that?”

”The contract reopens.”

”Full reward.”

”Sixty-five crowns.”

Raven looked at him.

Garrick held his gaze.

”The posted amount.”

”Naturally.”

Raven didn’t need to push further.

Not yet.

He took the mission.

Garrick opened another drawer and removed three sheets.

”Report.”

Raven started reading immediately.

Darius leaned closer.

The first report included a sketch.

Long creature. Quadruped. Black-gray fur. Overdeveloped forelimbs. Low-set head. Long tail used for balance.

Gloom Stalker.

Appropriate name.

Original Estimate: Level 7–9. Common.

Second report.

Larger tracks.

Structural damage inside the mill.

One missing animal.

Then the mercenary.

Raven reached the injuries.

His expression didn’t change.

Cervical trauma. Four puncture wounds to torso. Right leg partially torn off.

But there was something else.

Distance between final blood trace and body: approximately 18 meters.

Raven pointed at it.

”It dragged him.”

”That’s what we think,” Garrick said.

”No.”

Raven looked at the sketch.

”Eighteen meters isn’t feeding behavior.”

Garrick frowned.

”What?”

”If it wanted to eat him, it could’ve done it where it killed him.”

Raven turned to the next page.

The corpse had been found in front of the mill entrance.

Visible from the road.

”It left him there.”

Darius looked at the report.

”Why?”

Raven thought of the Nightfang.

Territory.

Hierarchy.

Behavior.

Predator’s Instinct almost seemed to react to the idea alone.

”Warning.”

Garrick crossed his arms.

”A monster leaving warnings?”

”Animals on Earth do it.”

”On Earth?”

Raven ignored the slip.

”It marked its territory.”

He read another line.

No other Gloom Stalkers observed in the area.

”And it probably evolved after establishing it.”

Garrick looked less pleased now that Raven was treating the mission as something other than suicide.

”You still want it?”

Raven kept reading.

The final page contained a revised assessment.

Estimated Level: 14

Rank: Awakened

Known Capabilities:

”Low-Light Camouflage”

”Burst Step”

Enhanced Claws

Possible Evolved Trait: Unknown

Level fourteen.

Raven was three.

He didn’t confuse a disadvantage with impossibility.

But he wasn’t stupid either.

He needed preparation.

Terrain.

Habits.

Probably another ability before facing it.

”Yes.”

Garrick took ten crowns from his pouch.

”Then try to die outside the mill. The owner already complained about the blood.”

Raven looked at the man.

For the first time since they’d entered, Darius looked genuinely disgusted.

Raven didn’t.

Not because the comment was pleasant.

Because it confirmed exactly what he’d already understood about Asteria.

Cruelty wasn’t an anomaly.

It was administration.

Raven stored the reports.

”If I come back, I want the sixty-five.”

Garrick smiled.

”If you come back, you’ll have them.”

Raven noticed the emphasis.

If.

He stood.

Darius followed him toward the door.

Just before they left, Garrick spoke.

”Ashford.”

Raven turned.

”Yes?”

”One thing.”

The supervisor placed both hands on the desk.

”Don’t confuse killing a Common Ravager with being able to face an Awakened.”

Raven studied him.

”I don’t.”

”There’s a qualitative difference.”

”So I’ve been told.”

”Then you understand that it doesn’t matter how much training you have.”

Raven put away his Copper badge.

”Everything matters.”

And walked out.

Darius waited until they were downstairs.

Then he spoke.

”Did you just blackmail the contract supervisor on the same day you registered?”

”No.”

”Raven.”

”I didn’t threaten to report him.”

”You told him you knew he was stealing money.”

”That’s an observation.”

”And you used that to force him into giving you an illegal mission.”

”He stamped the document.”

Raven lifted the permit.

”Now it’s legal.”

Darius stared at him for several seconds.

”I’m starting to understand why your government tried to kill you.”

Raven kept walking.

”They had different reasons.”

They passed the contract board.

Cedric Valemont was still there with his companions.

He saw the red paper in Raven’s hand.

Then the missing contract.

His expression changed.

”No way.”

Raven kept walking.

Cedric stepped in front of him.

”They gave you the mill contract?”

”Yes.”

”You’re Copper.”

”That too.”

”Level three.”

Raven sighed.

”Does everyone in this building have memory problems?”

Cedric almost snatched the document from his hand.

Raven caught his wrist first.

Not violently.

Yet.

Predator’s Instinct reacted when Cedric tried to pull away.

Stonehide began creeping over Raven’s knuckles.

Just a little.

Enough for Cedric to feel the hand gripping him suddenly become much harder.

His eyes dropped.

Raven released him.

”Don’t touch my things.”

Cedric stared at the hand.

The skin was already normal again.

”That was...”

”A Skill.”

”Without a Blessing.”

”I never said I didn’t have Skills.”

Cedric looked at the mission.

”Evolved Gloom Stalker.”

”That’s what it says.”

A small smile appeared on his face.

”Then you really are stupid.”

”Possible.”

”You won’t even make it to sunrise.”

”Also possible.”

Cedric seemed irritated that Raven wasn’t arguing.

”And you’re still going?”

Raven looked down at the contract.

Level fourteen.

Awakened.

Burst Step.

Camouflage.

Unknown Trait.

And beyond that creature was the Carrion Maw.

Level sixteen to nineteen.

The thing that could directly improve Predation.

He wasn’t going to reach it by staying level three and hunting warehouse rats.

”Yes.”

Cedric stepped aside.

”Then I hope they charged your deposit.”

Raven kept walking.

”They tried.”

Darius laughed again.

The Mercenary House library occupied almost the entire second floor.

Raven spent the next four hours there.

He didn’t head straight for the mill.

That would’ve been exactly the kind of stupidity everyone expected from him.

First, he read about Awakened.

The transition normally occurred after surpassing Level 10 and fulfilling a developmental condition. The change wasn’t merely numerical. Mana channels expanded. The body became capable of sustaining greater reinforcement. Existing Traits could intensify. Some species developed entirely new abilities during evolution.

A newly evolved Awakened could be several times more dangerous than a Common of the same type.

Raven made a mental note.

Then he searched for Gloom Stalkers.

He found three records.

Nocturnal predator.

Dense forests.

Ruins.

Caves.

Ambush hunter.

Higher intelligence than an ordinary animal.

It used Low-Light Camouflage by reducing the way its fur reflected light and mana.

Not invisibility.

Camouflage.

Better.

Burst Step was more interesting.

The monster accumulated mana inside the rear limbs and released it in an explosive contraction.

Ten to twenty feet of almost instantaneous movement.

High consumption.

Required recovery between uses.

Raven stopped.

There it was.

A powerful weapon.

With a limitation.

Everything had one.

He needed to know how many times it could use the ability before exhausting itself.

Maybe the dead mercenary could tell him something.

Not by talking.

Through his corpse.

Raven looked up the mill’s location.

Seven miles northeast.

Abandoned farmland near secondary woodland.

Few houses.

Perfect.

Then he read the most important part.

Known biological source of Burst Step:

Primary Trait-bearing tissue: posterior mana tendons and adrenal node.

Raven memorized it.

If he killed the creature...

he knew exactly what he’d have to eat.

He closed the book.

A shadow fell across the page.

Darius stood in front of him.

He was holding two glasses.

He placed one down.

”Beer.”

Raven smelled it.

”Poison?”

”Yes. My master plan is to survive a Ravager thanks to you and then murder you inside the Mercenary House surrounded by witnesses.”

Raven drank.

”Mediocre plan.”

Darius sat down.

”When are you going?”

”Tomorrow.”

”I thought you were in a hurry.”

”I am.”

”Doesn’t look like it.”

Raven closed the book.

”The target knows its territory. I don’t. It’s faster. Stronger. Has more mana and a higher Rank.”

Darius waited.

”Going today wouldn’t be courage. It would be feeding it.”

”But tomorrow isn’t?”

”Tomorrow I’ll know more.”

Darius looked at the stack of books.

”Do you always do this?”

”Read?”

”Prepare like this.”

Raven took another drink.

”Before killing people, yes.”

Darius slowly set his glass on the table.

”Sometimes I forget you said you were some kind of soldier.”

”I never said soldier.”

”That doesn’t make the sentence better.”

Raven looked out the window.

Greyhaven was beginning to darken.

The first magical lamps were coming on in the streets.

People moved beneath them.

Mercenaries returning.

Slaves carrying merchandise.

Priests dressed in white.

Nobles climbing into carriages.

An entire city operating according to rules Raven was still learning.

Corruption included.

Maybe especially corruption.

On Earth, Garrick would’ve been some bureaucrat accepting bribes to manipulate military contracts.

Here, he did exactly the same thing with monsters.

Different accessories.

Same people.

Raven pulled out the notice.

Gloom Stalker

Level 14

Awakened

Predation didn’t react to the paper.

It wasn’t food.

Not yet.

Darius followed his gaze.

”If Garrick thinks you’re going to die, he’s probably already deciding what to do with your deposit.”

”I know.”

”That doesn’t bother you?”

Raven folded the contract.

”He helped me get the mission.”

Darius stared at him.

”That’s a very strange way to look at corruption.”

”Corruption is only useless when you don’t know how to use it.”

He tucked the paper inside his vest.

In another world, a corrupt official had just sent a man with no family, no title, and no god against something he legally shouldn’t have been allowed to face.

Garrick saw foreign trash.

An easy way to make a problem disappear.

Raven saw access.

Information.

Money.

Experience.

And if the records on the creature were accurate...

an ability capable of turning mana into explosive movement.

The only question was which of them was right about who was using whom.

Raven finished his beer.

Tomorrow, they’d find out.