My thoughts stayed on how my body felt. The cut across my midsection stopped bleeding as long as I didn’t move too much. My shoulder hurt and I couldn’t move that hand at all. Only using my right hand slowed me down, but bite by bite I could feel energy rushing through me, then immediately getting used up. I didn't think my injuries were as bad as the spitting dinosaur fight had left me, because of my Improved Body, but I really didn’t know.
The shuttle sheltered me from the wind that slowly picked up. It helped blow away the scent of blood that settled over the area. It also helped ground me just a little bit more, which was good. Time ticked by as I ate more and more of the cat and felt better. My midsection healed up. Not completely, but on the surface it mended, and it wasn’t going to bleed anymore. At that point, I started cutting into the chest of the cat. It was harder without my spear, but that was in the bushes and I couldn’t go get it right this second.
The tooth cut through the bone and tendon, and I found the heart. It was bigger than the last couple I’d eaten, and I took the first bite. Power rushed through my body, almost like a lightning bolt, as I swallowed. A surge of it went directly to my shoulder. I quickly took another bite, then another. The energy flowed from my shoulder down to the tips of my fingers, which I couldn’t move. There was a flash of pain that quickly receded.
Then it was gone, and my hands were empty. I couldn’t even remember what flavor it was, only that it was pure energy.
[You have devoured an Alpha Jungle Cat and gained the potential skill Claw Strike.]
I tried to move my left fingers and they twitched. I wasn’t healing as fast as I wanted, but it was progress. The potential skill made me wonder, but I pushed it to the side as I carved off more meat. I wasn’t fully healed yet, and I needed to be before I tried to figure out new skills or abilities.
The tiny blood devourers stuck near a pool of blood that had gathered under the cat. It slowly got smaller, which was both interesting and terrifying. They were a black blob floating on the surface of deep red, and I wondered how many of them had survived.
I paused after swallowing for a moment. “That’s for your help, little guys,” I whispered, thinking of Noseen. Right before they left, they’d mentioned level 25, so that was something to look forward to. Maybe getting some freaking answers. Though, level 742… When I compared it to my level 14, I understood why they thought I was squishy. Compared to them, I was the fly. I let out a shuddering breath, still shocked I’d lived. The cat had been level 17. If I hadn't gotten that first drop attack in, I knew I'd be dead. Same with the distraction from the little blood devourers. Yet, I’d won, by being smart. With help, but still, I was alive, barely.
Concern trickled down my spine. I hadn’t heard anything from John, and it’d been pretty quiet out here for a little while. I ate chunks of meat faster, shoving it into my mouth without swallowing and trying to just fill my stomach. That didn’t happen. I was like a bottomless pit as I carved more and more away from the cat's bones. I kept the fur as intact as I could as I cut, though. It might be useful later.
Finally, I could move my fingers slowly with complete movement. That had to be enough for now. Quickly I cut the biggest section of fur off the cat and tossed that into my inventory. I yanked what was left of the bones and meat in as well, and tried to stand up. I wobbled and had to use the shuttle for support. Once I was steady, I moved to the bushes and grabbed my spear. Then I tried to retract the bent shaft. It was a struggle. It had a slight curve in the metal now, and I could only reduce it by half. That made attaching it to my belt almost impossible, so I carried it over my shoulder with one hand.
The spot of mosquitoes on the ground, along with the blood, had vanished, and I wondered if I’d see them again. From what I thought I’d learned, they didn’t have a long life cycle, but they’d helped kill something big and had leveled. Maybe they would become like Noseen someday? No clue. I’d need to ask them next time I saw them, adding that to the running log of questions I had.
The bigger question that filled my mind now was, how did Noseen leave? In the past, they’d mentioned getting booted from their vacation, but what had booted them, and had that been teleportation? My only conclusion had to be that this world was vastly different from what I thought, and I knew nothing outside of the jungle. Should I tell anyone about that conclusion? I didn’t know.
The wind picked up a little more, and I could see the dark clouds approaching. This wasn’t going to be a downpour, this was going to be a legit storm. Back at the colony, everyone would be tying down anything that could move, and people would be crowding into the solid structures and away from the tents. I faintly heard a crash of thunder and shivered. We might need to wait to head to the compound until after the storm passed. The sun headed toward the horizon, but the storm would darken everything before sunset. I let out a sigh and limped toward the shuttle.
That’s when I realized the shape I was in. Wet blood soaked my clothes. Brown stains from eating raw meat covered my hands, and I assumed my face was a mess as well. Manic laughter crept up my throat, and I fought to not let it spill out. I lost the fight as it escaped, filling the air for several moments.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
This was what a devourer was, and I was a devourer.
Somehow, my stomach wasn’t even full, and I’d just eaten most of a giant jungle cat. And it had tasted damn good. I’d gone into the jungle just a normal person from earth. Now I left the jungle something else. Something stronger. A Devourer.
Fuck, I’d killed a level 17 beast, at level 12. Yeah, I’d had help, but it was dead and I wasn’t. That was the part that mattered. And better yet, I was stronger for it. I still had to check out my levels, and allocate my free points, but I could feel the difference.
Shaking my head, I knew I couldn’t climb into the shuttle like this, though I didn’t have a change of clothes with me. There should be some in the supplies, so I tore off my shredded left sleeve and yanked out my canteen. I soaked the cloth with water and used it as best as I could to clean up my face and hands before drinking some of the liquid to clear my mouth. Hopefully, my breath didn't smell like raw meat.
It didn’t take long to clean up as much as the circumstances would allow, and then I tossed the dirty rag into my inventory. Even though I’d cleaned out my inventory of dead things, I’d need to do that again before I gave the crystal back to John. Right now, I didn't dare give up what was left of the cat, and the fur had to be useful. I climbed up the side of the shuttle carefully, with my spear in one hand. My spear needed to be fixed sooner rather than later, right now it was hard to carry and got in my way. It had been too important to my survival to leave in this state. The tooth worked well enough as a knife, but it needed a handle, and even the sharp Devourer tooth didn’t have an edge like the crystal did when I activated it.
Hopefully, John didn't freak out when he saw me. I knew even with cleaning up I looked horrible. I glanced around from the top of the shuttle as the wind blew about. The air smelled damp, and the breeze felt chilly against my skin. The dark clouds mocked me and my hope for leaving the jungle.
I glanced down into the hatch before jumping inside. John lay on the floor, head facing up with his eyes closed. Several black dots covered his face.
“What the ever-living fuck?”
***
[Warning: you have been removed from the Sanctuary for breaking the level limits. The time remaining on your vacation pass is forfeit.]
I popped into existence as pain shot through my head. I floated in the air outside the tunnel that headed through the mountain leading to the Sanctuary. It was the same place I’d entered the restricted area. I knew I’d be booted as soon as I transformed, and had resisted the forced teleport as long as possible to provide a distraction for Alex. Alex needed to be smart and attack while the creature was distracted. Not that I really worried about Alex taking out the cat. Between the spit and the crystal spear, Alex should be fine. I just didn’t want to risk it. Too much revolved around them. I personally didn’t dare attack the creature, because of the contract I’d signed before I headed into Sanctuary. While there wasn't much the owners of this planet could do to me, I didn't want to leave just yet, and forcing me to leave the planet was on that short list of things they could do.
[Quest Complete: Visit the Sanctuary on Mondas.]
I froze at the quest completed notification, as my feet touched the ground. My many eyes narrowed, studying the screen. It couldn’t be that easy. The Devourer of Light and Knowledge couldn’t see that as a repayment for what it had done during the war. My eyes blinked, and I closed the notifications.
It was a trap, a way for me to feel better without actually doing much to settle the debt. I understood what the ancient devourer was doing, and I wasn’t going to fall for it. They might be letting me off the hook, but I would see this through. This debt would be concluded when I said it would be. My resolve solidified, especially as Alex's circumstances came to mind. Crash landing on a system planet from somewhere not yet integrated, struggling to learn what the system was, and somehow surviving. Alex wasn't the only one, either.
Better yet, the owners of the planet didn't have a clue. No one monitored the Sanctuary. The System enforced the rules that had been created, which is how I was here and not still there, but the planetary government pretty much ignored the place. As long as the humans stuck under the level limit, they wouldn't be forced to leave. That gap provided Alex with protection, and a safe place to learn, for at least a little while longer.
The sounds of creatures fleeing through the surrounding jungle reminded me to cloak my aura and levels. I didn’t need to create a stampede everywhere I went on this planet. That was rude, after all.
I stretched upward, twisting my shape and form into something more fitting for the area I was in. While my terror form was great for scaring creatures, it sometimes felt uncomfortable, and it always left me hungry. My stomach growled and I rose into the air. My form changed with each beat of my wings.
Three sets of wings carried me aloft, as scales took over from the spikes. I gained hands, legs, and a smaller head. My eyes shifted to a smaller form, though I could see just as well. The trees were quickly left behind as I flew upward. The mountain blocked the view of Sanctuary, but I touched the connection I’d left behind.
Alex still lived.
The cat had to be dead for that to be the case, with how long it had been. That wasn’t going to be a long, drawn-out fight. That my baby devourer had survived was good enough for the moment. My stomach rumbled again, and I growled lightly into the air.
Alex wouldn’t hit level 25 for some time, and I needed a snack.
I turned and headed north as my speed increased, the mountain vanishing from sight. While I could hunt, getting a ready-made meal in the capital sounded better.
All Alex had to do was be smart, and not get into any trouble. It shouldn’t be hard. They were at the shuttle and should be flying back to the compound at any moment. I hoped I’d see them again. I’d done everything that I could, for now.