Beast Devourer: I Grow Stronger by Eating Monsters

Something passed through the space where Raven’s head had been.

He didn’t see it completely.

Only a black distortion.

THUD.

The creature landed behind him.

Raven rolled.

A claw struck.

Wood exploded.

Raven got to his feet.

Now he could see it.

Partially.

The Gloom Stalker was much larger than the drawing. Nearly seven feet from snout to hip, not counting its long, muscular tail. Massive hind legs. Relatively light forelimbs. Dark fur covered in grayish patches that seemed to shift depending on the angle.

Not invisibility.

The eye simply lost track of its edges.

That was worse than it sounded.

When the creature moved slowly, it blended into the shadows.

Its eyes were pale blue.

Not yellow.

Awakened.

Probably an evolutionary change.

Raven raised the knife.

The creature didn’t attack immediately.

It watched him.

Raven watched back.

”So you were here.”

The Gloom Stalker opened its mouth.

Narrow teeth.

Designed more for puncturing than crushing.

Raven backed away.

The monster advanced.

One step.

Two.

Then it disappeared.

Not literally.

Burst Step.

Predator’s Instinct screamed.

Raven dropped.

The creature crossed thirteen feet with almost absurd violence. The displaced air struck his back as its claws tore through a wooden support column.

Raven felt splinters hit the back of his neck.

Too fast.

Far too fast.

If Predator’s Instinct hadn’t reacted before the acceleration began, he’d probably already be dead.

The Gloom Stalker turned.

Raven didn’t wait.

He jumped through an opening in the floor, dropped to the first level, and rolled.

Pain shot through his shoulder.

He got up.

Above him, wood broke.

Then silence.

Raven ran toward the side exit.

Not because he was fleeing.

Because the first phase was over.

Now he knew something important.

Burst Step wasn’t simply running fast.

It was almost instantaneous acceleration.

But the monster had to align its body first.

Hind legs.

Spine.

Direction.

It couldn’t easily correct its path once the burst began.

That could kill Raven.

Or it could kill the monster.

Depending on who understood the difference first.

Raven stepped outside.

Waited.

Nothing.

”Come on.”

Silence.

The Gloom Stalker didn’t follow.

Raven looked toward the second floor.

Smart.

The creature knew he wanted to lure it outside.

That complicated things.

Raven picked up a rock and threw it through a window.

CRASH.

Nothing.

”Fine.”

If it didn’t want to come out...

Raven pulled out the first bottle of oil.

He went back inside through the ground floor.

Didn’t advance more than ten feet.

Smashed the bottle against a pile of wood.

Oil spread across the floor.

He extended one hand.

”Ember Spark.”

The flame caught.

FWOOSH.

Fire.

Raven stepped outside and waited.

Smoke began rising.

One minute.

Two.

The Gloom Stalker roared inside.

Raven smiled.

Every living thing had priorities.

Breathing tended to rank near the top.

A window exploded.

The creature came out.

Not through the door.

It jumped from the second floor and landed on all fours.

Daylight struck its fur and, for the first time, Raven saw it clearly.

Large.

Lean, more than he’d expected.

Most of its muscle concentrated in the hind legs.

Old scars.

And something strange around its neck.

A row of small dark plates beneath the fur.

Evolved Trait.

He didn’t know what it did.

Bad time to find out.

The Gloom Stalker spotted him.

Growled.

Raven walked toward the corridor he’d prepared.

He didn’t run.

The creature followed.

Raven took another step.

Distance: forty feet.

Thirty.

Twenty-five.

The hind legs lowered.

There.

Raven turned.

Burst Step.

The creature vanished from its position.

Raven was already diving behind the wall.

The Gloom Stalker landed on the stakes.

One partially punched into its right paw.

Another snapped.

The creature roared and rolled.

Raven appeared.

Ember Spark.

Flame to the eyes.

No serious damage.

Disorientation.

Raven threw the knife.

Not at the torso.

At the injured leg.

The blade penetrated.

The Gloom Stalker turned with a speed that was still far too high even without Burst Step.

Raven backed away.

The claw caught his chest.

Stonehide.

The skin beneath his vest began to harden.

The blow landed before the transformation finished.

THUD.

Raven went flying and slammed into the wall.

Pain.

No air.

The vest plate had distributed part of the force.

Stonehide absorbed another part.

Even so, Raven felt a rib give.

Not completely break.

Maybe cracked.

The Gloom Stalker jumped.

Raven saw the attack.

He couldn’t get up in time.

Stonehide.

Left forearm.

His skin turned to stone.

Raven raised the arm.

The jaws closed.

CRUNCH.

Brutal pressure.

Stonehide prevented the teeth from fully penetrating.

It did nothing about the force.

Raven felt his elbow protest.

The creature shook its head.

Raven punched it in the eye with his right hand.

Once.

Twice.

Not enough.

He pulled a Ravager claw from his belt and drove it into the creature’s gums.

The Gloom Stalker released him.

Raven kicked the injured leg.

The monster retreated.

Raven stood.

Breathing hurt.

A lot.

Mana: 12 / 18

Too much expenditure.

The creature was injured too.

Just not enough.

Its right leg was carrying less weight.

That mattered for Burst Step.

Raven retreated toward the second trap.

The Gloom Stalker followed.

It had lost its patience now.

It wasn’t hunting anymore.

It wanted to kill him.

Better.

Emotion reduced intelligence.

Raven knew that from humans.

Apparently monsters weren’t much different.

The creature charged normally.

Raven waited until it was close.

Then ran.

He crossed over the rope.

The Gloom Stalker followed.

Its paw touched it.

The rope snapped tight.

The beams above the barn gave way.

CRACK.

The creature heard it.

Tried to accelerate.

Mistake.

Burst Step activated just as the beams fell.

The monster escaped the first ones.

The last beam slammed into its back.

BOOM.

The Gloom Stalker crashed into the ground beneath a cloud of dust and broken wood.

Raven turned immediately.

He didn’t celebrate.

Never assume a kill.

The creature got up.

Faster than expected.

The beam had opened a long wound across its back.

Blood.

But it was still moving.

Awakened.

Raven finally understood the qualitative difference everyone had been talking about.

A Common animal that size would have been seriously incapacitated.

This one wasn’t.

More mana.

Stronger body.

Greater recovery.

It wasn’t simply eleven levels.

It was another category.

The Gloom Stalker roared.

The plates around its neck lit up.

Dark blue.

”That’s new.”

A wave of mana traveled through its body.

The wound in its leg didn’t close.

But the bleeding slowed.

Its muscles tightened.

Predator’s Instinct reacted violently.

The creature disappeared.

Burst Step.

Faster.

Raven barely managed to turn.

The claw caught his side.

Incomplete Stonehide.

Pain.

Three grooves tore through clothing and skin.

Raven hit the ground.

This time, he couldn’t get up immediately.

The Gloom Stalker appeared above him.

Raven saw the teeth.

Too close.