Beast Devourer: I Grow Stronger by Eating Monsters

Tags: [Dark Fantasy] [Isekai] [Devouring System] [Monster Evolution] [Ability Steal] [Ruthless Protagonist] [Weak to Strong] [Monster Hunting] [Weapon Creation] [Firearms] [Magic] [Harem] [Survival][No NTR] [No Yuri]After years of service, Raven decided to retire.Then a government oracle saw a future where Raven killed both the nation's leader and Black Hound's commander.For men already terrified of how much he knew, that was enough.His final mission became an execution.Betrayed by his own unit and thrown into a collapsing dimensional anomaly, Raven saw a series of messages appear before his consciousness disappeared.[Compatible world located.][Host survival probability: critically low.][Searching for compatible Authority...][Unique Authority acquired: PREDATION.]Then came the explanation.[PREDATION]Living organisms survive by consuming resources, adapting to threats, and eliminating competition.Kill suitable organisms.Consume their biological material.Extract Traits from their bodies.Integrate what made them stronger.Survive. Adapt. Evolve.Raven stared at the last word.“Evolve?”The system answered.[Become something that can survive.]---Raven awakened in a brutal world of magic, monsters, slavery, religious fanaticism, and kingdoms where strength decided what laws applied to you.Everything could kill him.And almost everyone cared more about their own survival than his.Raven understood that perfectly.He had spent most of his life around people like that.The real question wasn't whether he could survive this world.It was:What would he be willing to lose to make sure he did?His morality?His humanity?Or eventually...the distinction between himself and the monsters he hunted?Raven had no intention of saving this world.He only intended to make sure it couldn't kill him.Then he killed his first monster.[Target defeated.][Compatible Traits detected.]Night VisionPredator's InstinctEnhanced SinewSelect one Trait to DEVOUR.Raven chose.Predator's Instinct.A second message appeared.[Selection confirmed.][Consume compatible biological material from the target to begin assimilation.]Raven looked at the dead creature.Then at the message.Then back at the creature.“...You want me to eat it.”[Correct.]A long silence followed.Raven sighed.“I've followed worse orders.”And took out his knife.---Kill.Devour.Steal what made his prey powerful.Grow stronger.Every monster became a potential upgrade.Every dangerous creature became an opportunity.And Raven soon discovered something much more disturbing.Predation didn't classify only monsters as prey.Humans.Beastkin.Demons.Saints.Anything alive could possess something worth taking.And eventually, Raven unlocked another Authority.[Evolution requirements fulfilled.][Secondary Authority unlocked: FORGE.]Monster bones.Fangs.Organs.Magical metals.And abilities stolen through Predation.All of them could now be combined into weapons based on designs this world had never seen.Firearms built from monster corpses.Ammunition powered by stolen magic.Weapons that grew more unnatural with every creature Raven killed.This world saw monsters as threats.Raven saw resources.And as kingdoms, churches, nobles, and creatures far beyond humanity began turning their attention toward him, they all made the same mistake.They wondered what kind of monster Raven Ashford would become.Raven was asking a different question.What would he have to eat to become something even monsters were afraid of?