My fascination grew as I watched the conductor. They seemed to be in control of the smaller beasts that were fighting the big one. Then they made a move and the big one followed along.
The dude was controlling the whole fight. What the hell?
Though I really wanted to talk with this conductor person, I had five more fallen to address.
The sixth was a larger Lacertillian that looked more like an alligator than a lizard, dressed in now shredded furs of a variety of creatures. Must have had a furrier profession. Holes dotted the man, bitten and torn from wide mouths that I assumed were from those little guys running around. I’d get around to focusing on them soon, I promised myself.
You have devoured Level 64 Lacertillian Primal Slayer. Their highest stat was Vitality. Your base Vitality has increased by 24 points. Bonus stats from eating a Lacertillian Primal Slayer of a higher level than yourself. All stats increased by 12. Bonus experience earned.
DING! Class: Hypocrite Revolutionary has increased from Level 53 to Level 56!
DING! Race: Omnis Vorare has increased from Level 40 to Level 42!
As the fight had progressed, it must have moved deeper into the park, as I moved further and further in with each consumption. That likely meant that the level of the remaining would be higher as I progressed.
Though I did feel a twinge of sadness that the people here had died on account of a quest for which I was the primary benefactor, what I mostly felt was my excited hunger for the power they would provide. I’d eaten so many different things at this point that guilt no longer threatened to bubble up. Also, I didn’t seem to get the diminishing returns from consuming other humanoids, as presumably they were more unique than a squadron of concrete gorillas.
Numbers seven and eight lay side by side, though they fell in opposite directions. They were the same race and wore the same clothes, so I assumed they were twins or siblings close in age. They both bore jagged neck wounds and were covered in blood, their heads having rolled in the space between their bodies.
You have devoured Level 66 Elven Shadow Rogue. Their highest stat was Perception. Your base Perception has increased by 24 points. Bonus stats from eating a Elven Shadow Rogue of a higher level than yourself. All stats increased by 12. Bonus experience earned.
DING! Class: Hypocrite Revolutionary has increased from Level 56 to Level 59!
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
DING! Race: Omnis Vorare has increased from Level 42 to Level 43!
You have devoured Level 66 Elven Shadow Dancer. Their highest stat was Agility. Your base Perception has increased by 23 points. Bonus stats from eating a Elven Shadow Dancer of a higher level than yourself. All stats increased by 11. Bonus experience earned.
DING! Class: Hypocrite Revolutionary has increased from Level 59 to Level 62!
DING! Race: Omnis Vorare has increased from Level 43 to Level 45!
You have devoured the Shadow Dagger, Common. All stats increased by 10. Consuming magic items does not grant experience points.
You have devoured the Dancer’s Dirk, Common. All stats increased by 10. Consuming magic items does not grant experience points.
You have devoured the Shade Leathers, Common. All stats increased by 10. Consuming magic items does not grant experience points.
I’d now gained nearly as many points as from consuming the legendary cube, and my body was pulsing from my new-consumed power. The last two were close enough to the fighting that I would need to get involved to avoid distracting things attacking me while I ate.
I walked closer to the roaring battle and focused my perceptions on the flitting little monsters, of which there were six. Little was perhaps more of a relative term, as they were the size of horses. Standing on thick hind legs with two large claws, the creatures were covered in a shaggy yellow fur, their large heads bearing the floppy ears, black nose and lolling tongue of a golden retriever. Their little upper paws pedaled the air excitedly.
They were adorable! They even had great big, sharp teeth.
Veloci-labrador. Level 80. These large, weirdly adorable creatures are always ready to play with their food before tearing it asunder. Their highest stat is Agility.
The big grey beast was… not adorable. At all. First, it was the size of a two story house. Second, it had appendages that looked like elephant trunks capped with eyes that erupted out from numerous places across its bulbous grey body. Third, it didn’t seem to possess a head at all, and it must not have needed to eat as it had no discernible mouth.
Aberrelephantine Gazer. Level 90. A twisted experiment gone horribly wrong, gazers can appear in numerous forms and vary from the size of an apple to a small moon. Their highest stat is Endurance.
The conductor was the last for me to identify. He wore a modern suit, though it was frayed and patched in areas, with straps of other pieces of armor placed over it. A satchel hung at his side and shifted heavily as he waved his wand. His hair was a silvery grey down to his shoulders, and his darker beard hung just as low. I thought at first he was another human, but his ears were flared out as if the points of elven ears went both up and down.
And his bright purple eyes never blinked.
Talui Battle Conductor. Level 82. The Talui are an ancient race found on the frozen tundras of the poles of several planets through the multiverse. His highest stat is Endurance.
I felt Ravenous Cloak spike in its drain. Someone was looking for me, or at least in my direction. Figuring it must have been the gazer, and wanting to test my upgraded stats, I dropped the cloak.
My sudden appearance surprised the conductor and his control slipped. The gazer fired several beams directly at the man, but a thick wall of magical ice formed and took the brunt of the damage. Other beams lanced out at the dino-doggos. One of them was similarly distracted by my appearance, but it didn’t have a defensive mechanism and was blasted apart.
“Damnit! Not cool, man!” I shouted as I leapt at the gazer.
