Riley's eyes stayed fixed on the system window hovering before him, his lips curling into a smirk.
He felt a shiver of excitement run down his spine, and he took another glance at the talent details in disbelief.
[By consuming a creature, you can gain 40% of its attributes.]
"Forty percent…" he muttered.
That was almost half of the attributes of whatever monster he consumed!
Merely absorbing twenty percent was more than enough to make him rise faster than any other player in the game.
With that kind of boost, his growth would only accelerate from here. He wouldn't just catch up to the other players. No—he would outpace them entirely.
Riley clenched his fists, the veins along his forearms twitching with power.
"…With this," he whispered to himself, eyes glinting. "I'd be able to defeat it… the Novice Village boss monster."
His gaze shifted upward, toward the distant outline of the forest treetops, his eyes narrowing slightly.
The boss monster. The final hurdle of this starting region.
Just like everyone had been told at the beginning of the game, the only way to leave the Novice Village and gain access to the proper city—and with it, the real opportunities to grow—was to defeat the boss monster lurking in the outskirts.
A creature so powerful it dwarfed everything else in the surrounding forest.
Since Riley joined late in his past life, he hadn't participated in the raid, but he heard stories of how powerful the monster was.
Even the most powerful Beta testers had failed to bring it down after two trials. They had tried different strategies, but each time, the result had been the same.
Massacres.
The system didn't pull punches just because players were new. This wasn't a game that coddled its audience. If anything, the developers had made it a point to hammer that fact in during the early stages.
Riley's lips curled slightly as he recalled some of the old forum posts from his past life.
But eventually, they did beat it.
After their second defeat, the beta players decided to grind and try again another time.
And the one who had led them to victory was Terry, along with Yano, the head of the Noble Lions Guild.
Riley's expression darkened slightly as the image of Yano flashed through his mind.
However, the expression only lasted a few seconds, and his face quickly returned back to normal.
'I wonder… how much stronger will I get if I consume the village boss monster?' He thought, staring off into space, as if he could already imagine it.
But his daydream was cut short by a sharp sound.
Grrr!
His stomach growled, loudly.
Riley blinked, then let out a long sigh.
'Whatever, first thing's first.' He thought, dashing off into the bush ahead.
***
About ten minutes later.
Riley stood amidst a clearing layered with scattered leaves, panting heavily as steam curled from his skin in the cool forest air.
His chest heaved, but not from exhaustion.
No—what coursed through him wasn't fatigue.
It was thrill.
Excitement.
His bloodshot eyes gleamed with a feverish light, and his lips were pulled back into a twisted smirk.
A few drops of blood dripped down his chin, but he made no effort to wipe it.
"Haha…" A faint chuckle slipped from his throat.
Then another.
Before long, he was shaking from how hard he was laughing.
His hands trembled slightly—not from fear or weakness, but from the sheer ecstasy that still buzzed under his skin.
[You have devoured: Dire Wolf]
[Acquired: Strength +6.4, Agility +8.7, Endurance +4.3, Vitality +5.3, Mana +6.1]
"Ahahahahaha!"
Riley laughed loudly, clutching his stomach as the notification hovered in front of him.
His voice rang through the forest like a madman's cry, scaring off the birds hiding in the trees.
"This… this is insane!" he cackled.
The raw power now flowing through his veins was almost tangible. It felt like fire in his muscles, thunder in his bones.
When he clenched his fists, it was as if the very forest should tremble beneath him.
Everything was different now.
Before the evolution, Gluttony had already given him an incredible edge—but now?
Now he could devour even more. Twice as much as before. Each kill delivered a rush of strength so intoxicating that it was becoming harder and harder to stop.
Addicting. That was the only word for it.
And the worst part?
He didn't want to stop.
He couldn't remember exactly how many Dire Wolves he had hunted and devoured in the last ten minutes.
His memory was a blur of sprinting between trees, of his daggers slashing through hide and throats.
But he was sure it was at least ten.
Maybe more.
Their dying howls still echoed faintly in his mind, buried beneath the rhythm of his thundering heart.
Still breathing heavily, Riley brought up his status window, curious to see the results of his rampage.
But when the translucent display appeared in front of him, he froze.
His eyes widened.
His smile twitched.
[Player ID: A Random]
[Level: 5(50/1000)]
[Profession: Assassin]
[Class: Apprentice Assassin]
[Talent: Gluttony (SSS)]
[H/P: 724
[M/P: 771
[Magic Damage: 77.1
[Physical Damage: 87.3
[Magic Resistance: 77.1
[Physical Resistance: 59.2
[Attributes: Strength: 87.3; Agility: 108.7{+10}; Vitality: 72.4; Mana: 77.1; Endurance: 59.2]
[Skills]
—Stealth(level 3)
[Rank: F]
[Description: Temporarily boosts Agility by 50% for 20 seconds and masks the user's presence. Deals 40 points of damage to target + 100% of user's mana to target. Cost: 20 Magic Points. Cool-down: 3 seconds.]
—Spike Shot (Level 2)
[Rank: E]
[Conjure a thin metallic brown spike and shoot it. Deals 70 points of damage to opponents. Cost: 10 Magic Points. Cool-down: 5 seconds]
—Dash(level 1)
[Rank: E]
[Temporarily allocates 15 points to Agility. Cost: 20 Magic points. Cool-down: 10 Seconds]
[Attribute Points Available: 8]
[Skill Points Available: 4]
[Equipment: Basic Cloth Shirt, Basic Leather Pants, Basic Daggers(Common), Swift Boots(Uncommon), Storage Ring(Rare), Whispering Bracelet(Rare)]
"Wha…"
Riley's voice trailed off.
He managed to level up thanks to all the monsters he killed, but those numbers he was seeing on his attributes…
They weren't just above average—they were absurd!
His Strength, Agility, and Mana had all exploded. His Vitality and Endurance weren't far behind either.
He finally tore his eyes from the status window, laughing once again—but this time, it was lower, more composed.
He exhaled sharply and placed a hand on his abdomen, lightly clutching it.
His HP had fully recovered thanks to his increased vitality, and even the wounds on his body had fully healed.
And yet, the hunger remained.
Even now.
Especially now.
Each time he consumed a monster, his hunger only seemed to be getting worse.
Like throwing wood into a fire. The more he fed it, the larger the blaze became.
The thought sent another shiver down his spine, and he wondered just how worse it was going to get later on.
Riley cracked his neck and took a few steps forward, letting out a low sigh.
'I could decide to hunt for more wolves, but then… I'm sure I'll lose control.' He thought, his face squeezing into a frown.
His stomach rumbled once again, but he ignored it, walking forward.
'The secret quest…' He muttered, his brows furrowed. 'It should be around here.'