Chapter 25: The Price of a Soul

The humans did not look upon Adam with gratitude or awe. Their fear curdled into something uglier: greed."The beast... it’s intelligent! It helped us!" the scout argued, her voice strained as she watched Adam disappear into the canopy. "We should retreat!"

"Retreat?!" the axe-wielder spat, his eyes gleaming with avarice. "Are you blind? That thing is no mindless monster! Its scales, its wings... the Alchemist and Beast-Taming Guilds would pay a fortune for a specimen like that! It’s tired from the fight! This is our chance!"

The Captain’s face, once marked by caution, now twisted with calculation. The mage nodded eagerly. "He’s right, Captain. The power it displayed... we could harvest components of incredible potency."

Their words, spoken so clearly in the common tongue he once used, felt like physical blows to Adam. The fragile hope that perhaps connection was possible shattered into a million pieces. They didn’t see a person, they saw a prize.

It happened in a flash. As Adam processed their greed, the scout, trying to prevent the madness, was knocked aside by the shield-warrior.

The mage chanted a quick spell, and bands of shimmering energy shot towards Noodle, who had been watching from a nearby branch, concerned for Adam. The spell wasn’t meant to kill, but to capture. The bands of light constricted around the tiny Voidspalk Kitten, yanking him from his perch with a terrified yowl.

"NOODLE!" Adam’s mental roar shook the very leaves around him.

Any lingering hesitation, any shred of his old human morality, evaporated in that instant. A cold, ruthless fury he had never known consumed him. They had threatened him, and that was one thing. But they had laid hands on his friend. The law of the dungeon was the only law that mattered: You hurt what is mine, you die.

He dropped from the canopy not like a savior, but like a meteor of vengeance.

The humans’ expressions turned from greed to sheer terror in a heartbeat. The Captain yelled, "Form up! Kill it!"

It was no contest.

"I don’t care anymore."

Adam used Phantom Onslaught. He didn’t appear to move, he simply was among them. One moment he was in front, the next his tail whipped around, shattering the shield-warrior’s leg with a sickening crunch.

A Mantis Slash decapitated the axe-wielder before his weapons could even be raised. The mage tried to cast a defensive spell, but Adam’s Crystal Shard Shot pierced his throat, the chant dying in a gurgle.

The Captain, to his credit, stood his ground, his holy sword flashing. "Demon!" he screamed.

Adam looked him in the eyes, and for a fleeting second, the human saw not a beast, but a chilling, intelligent coldness. Then Adam struck. His fangs sank into the man’s armored shoulder, the Paralytic Neurotoxin acting instantly. The Captain collapsed, rigid and helpless, his eyes wide with the horror of his own dying body.

The scout, the only one who had shown a shred of reason, stared in mute horror at the carnage. She dropped her bow, holding up her hands. "Please... I didn’t want this..."

Adam looked at her, then at the paralyzed Captain. The law was absolute. There was no room for mercy, for second chances. Survival was a binary state. He ended them both quickly, a small, bitter mercy in the face of his wrath.

The silence that followed was deafening. Noodle, freed from the broken spell, scrambled over to Adam, nuzzling him frantically, his small body trembling.

Adam looked at the human corpses. A morbid, systematic curiosity rose within him, overpowering the last vestiges of his revulsion. ’Can I?’ The system had rewarded him for consuming monsters. What about humans?

He willed Noodle to store their gear—the swords, the armor, the staff. Then, steeling himself, he began the grim task.

The system responded instantly, and the flood of notifications was staggering.

[ Consumed Human Warrior (Lvl 18). EXP +75. EP +95. ]

[ Consumed Human Mage (Lvl 19). EXP +80. EP +100. ]

[ Consumed Human Scout (Lvl 17). EXP +70. EP +90. ]

...

The EXP and EP poured in, far more dense and potent than from any monster of a similar level. With each consumption, a new, chilling message appeared.

[ Skill Fragment Acquired: Human Ingenuity (0.2/1.0) ]

[ Human Ingenuity (0.5/1.0) ]

[ Human Ingenuity (0.8/1.0) ]

[ Human Ingenuity: 1.0/1.0! FRAGMENT COMPLETE! ]

[ New Passive Skill Acquired: Human Ingenuity ]

Effect:Your human intellect is further refined and enhanced. +5 to Intelligence. Unlocks a deeper understanding of complex systems, languages, and tactics.

But that wasn’t all. A final, overarching notification, written in a stark, blood-red font, dominated his vision.

[ First Human Party Hunt Completed. ]

[ Bonus: +5 Skill Points. ]

[ System Note: Significant EP/EXP yield and unique Skill Fragments detected from ’Human’ prey. Prioritizing this prey type is highly efficient for Host’s growth. ]

Adam stared, his blood running cold. The system wasn’t just allowing this, it was encouraging it. It was marking humans as a premium resource.

The massive influx of energy triggered a cascade of level-ups, the requirements scaling as he grew stronger.

[ Ding! Level Up! Level 22 -> 23! Next Level: 0/120 ]

[ Ding! Level Up! Level 23 -> 24! Next Level: 0/125 ]


[ Ding! Level Up! Level 24 -> 25! Next Level: 0/130 ]

[ Ding! Level Up! Level 25 -> 26! Next Level: 0/135 ]

[ Ding! Level Up! Level 26 -> 27! Next Level: 0/140 ]

He had jumped five levels in a matter of minutes. His saved Skill Points now totaled a staggering 17.

He was now Level 27, a true powerhouse.

He stood amidst the gore, the glow of the forest feeling sinister now. Noodle pressed against him, seeking comfort. Adam felt no triumph, only a profound, unsettling stillness.

The system had held up a mirror, and he saw a monster staring back. A efficient, ruthless, and now exponentially more intelligent monster.

The path to power was clear, and it was paved with the bones of his own kind. The Abyssal Glidewing Serpent had truly shed its last human skin.

The deep dark had finally claimed his soul completely.