I stood over its twitching corpse, claws dripping, blood seeping into the cracked labyrinth stone beneath my feet. The thing let out one last gurgled breath before going still. Its single remaining eye still looked at me—no, through me—as if it didn't understand how a pup like me had killed it.
I answered with silence. Just a cold glare.
[System Notification]
You have defeated: Ravaging Slashtail (Feral Beast – Tier 1.5)
EXP gained: 22
Crystal Core: Acquired
Devour available: Yes – Slot 2/2 Used
Processing…
Stat absorption: +2 Agility, +1 Endurance
Devour Skill Progress: 97% to Level 3
"Another one down…" I muttered under my breath, my chest heaving.
That makes… what? Seventeen of them? No, eighteen. My claws ached from the repetition, my muscles felt heavier each time I moved, but I didn't stop. I couldn't. I came here for a reason.
Six days of hunting. Six days of tearing into flesh, gnawing bone, and absorbing cores with my fangs. Every kill wasn't just survival. It was training. A step toward achieving my goal.
This wasn't about glory. This wasn't revenge.
This was efficiency.
I remember my first kill—messy, ungraceful, exhausting. But now? This one dropped clean. One slash to the legs, disrupt its balance. Then a feint to the left, bait its instincts. Finally, the real strike—under the ribcage, straight to the heart.
Fast. Calculated.
Just like I was trained to do in my past life.
"I'm close…" I crouched beside the beast's corpse, yanking the crystal from its ruined chest cavity. Its glow pulsed weakly, like a dying ember. But to me, it was fuel.
With a gulp, I swallowed it whole. The energy hit my core like fire through frozen veins.
[System Notification]
Devour Skill: Level Up!
Level 3 Reached – Slot capacity increased to 3
New Function Unlocked: Crystal Auto-Assimilation (Cooldown: 6 hours)
A smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. "Finally."
Three slots meant triple the momentum. No more waiting to absorb. No more pauses between kills. I could now chain my hunts with precision.
"At this rate…" I looked toward the narrow crevice I'd used to enter this deeper section of the labyrinth. The shadows trembled with distant howls. More prey. More progress.
I turned and began to walk, careful to mark my scent trail along the wall. No surprises. No backtracking. Everything had a purpose now.
Six days ago, I was flailing against meat sacks barely stronger than starving cubs.
Now?
Now I'm choosing my fights.
I found the second monster near a dried-out blood pool—evidence of a previous kill, maybe even one of mine. It was crouched low, drinking what little liquid remained. I could tell by the jagged horns and lean muscle structure—it was another Ravaging Slashtail. But this one looked bulkier. Older. More experienced.
"Perfect warm-up."
It sensed me before I even moved. Turned sharply, eyes glowing with feral instinct. Then it charged.
I sidestepped the first lunge, letting its cl😊 aws pass inches from my face. Its breath reeked of rot. I ducked under its second swing and slammed my foreleg into its stomach. The beast reeled but recovered fast, baring fangs.
My blood was singing. This wasn't panic. This wasn't survival.
This was joy.
I moved in. Slashed its eye before it could dodge. It howled and flailed wildly—I leapt onto its back, locked my jaws onto the side of its neck, and twisted.
The snap echoed.
Blood sprayed against my snout, hot and thick.
I held on until it stopped struggling.
[System Notification]
You have defeated: Ravaging Slashtail (Feral Beast – Tier 1.5)
EXP gained: 25
Crystal Core: Acquired
Devour: Slot 3/3 Used
Stat absorption: +2 Strength, +1 Vitality
I panted, licking the crimson from my lips.
There was no time to waste. I had a goal, and I intended to reach it.
For the next three days, I hunted nothing but Ravaging Slashtails and Cragling Imp. They were the most common weaklings in this zone of the labyrinth. Predictable. Manageable. Exactly what I needed to push my Devour to its peak.
By the time I downed my thirtieth kill, I felt it—beneath my fur, inside my bones.
Something… awakening.
The wild heat in my blood. The tightening pressure around my heart. It was building, day by day, with every kill.
Until the morning I met the third type.
It wasn't like the others. This one had a proper killing aura:
[Target Identified: Gloomspike Panther – Tier 2 Beast]
Sleek, black-furred, twice my size. Fangs longer than my foreleg. Its amber eyes locked onto me the moment I stepped into its territory.
The grin on my face widened.
"This… will be fun."