My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

Lucen squinted into the distance. The grass was shaking, the ground was also trembling with scathing sounds of many legs crawling over it.

It wasn't visible yet, but Lucen could see it.

[Mana Sense] put the Red Snapper Fiend around five meters tall. Beside it were three Stalkers, each around three meters in height.

The Red Snapper Fledglings all around them were fleeing with terrible screeches. But Lucen knew they weren't going far.

Red Snappers often ate each other, so they would run from the Fiend. But they would wait on the other side of the grass for any human moving too far from the herd.

If you got caught in that situation, then you would have to fight almost thirty Snappers at once.

They also needed to protect the caravans.

Set sprinted between the Squires, giving out rapid orders. "Callan, defend the servants. Ymir and Arielle, help with the Stalkers. Everyone give Duran and Garin space to operate."

He reached Lucen and took only one look at him before sighing. "Lucen, do as you like, but don't hinder Duran's hunt."

Lucen didn't like the way Set said that. It made it look like he was purposely sabotaging Duran only.

He would sabotage Garin, too.

Lucen was sure a potent burst of [Serpent's Call] could take down the Fiend.

But then he would be out of mana.

Tharic landed beside him noisily. His black hair was dirty with random clumps of dirt. He noticed Lucen's gaze and ran his hand through them.

"Got slapped into the mud."

"And you're still alive?"

Tharic snickered. "Courtesy of Kedral. Set put me on Stalker duty with you."

Lucen tilted his head. "I'm on Stalker duty?"

Tharic blinked. "Oh, you want to hunt another Fiend. I'll tell you this, Lucen. I haven't met anyone as crazy as you."

"Most people call it bravery."

"Bravery is fighting to protect something against overwhelming odds." Tharic's eyes flashed, a crooked smile revealed itself. "Crazy is for people who fight when they have nothing to fight for."

Lucen shook his head. He was fighting for a lot—freedom, safety, power—but his reasons wouldn't make sense to anyone else, because they didn't have the Devourer's system.

The more he killed, the closer he got to power. Each kill he got from a Snapper brought him closer to getting something good. He glanced down, willing his status to appear.

[Discovery: 52%]

Discovery was his chance of getting a skill or even Spirit Light from something he killed. Fifty-two seemed large, but he still ended up without much most of the time.

The best way to get rewards was to kill more monsters or kill stronger ones. Quantity or quality.

The gargantuan form of the Red Snapper Fiend came into view. A red, purple, and blue-colored crab the size of a two-story building. Its claws were serrated and wickedly sharp.

Its four crimson eyes rose over the grass, orbs balancing on tentacle-like appendages. They pointed right at them and began glowing.

Lucen paled. It could fire from there?

Four red beams of light hissed through the air at Knights. One went straight at Ymir and her group, another at Lot and Tenibri, and two went towards Arielle.

Each ray of light was large enough to swallow ten people.

Ymir raised her hand to cast a spell, but before she could, Garin appeared in front of her and slammed his black hammer into the stone road.

A wall rose around them and blocked the red beam. Stone melted in seconds, hissing and bubbling, but it held.

Lot stared at the beam of pure heat coming at him uninterestedly. Tenibri shrieked and raised his hands. A ball of water appeared in front of them, boiling and hissing as the beam sank into it.

But strangely enough, Tenibri generated more water than what was evaporated. Soon the red beam dissipated, and there was still more water.

For the final two beams, Arielle simply glanced at the female Knight beside her.

Lucen believed her name was Samara.

She had short-cropped dark purple hair and tired eyes. Her blacksteel armor glinted under the crimson glow of the burning ray.

Samara raised her shield and braced herself, green light erupted from the it.

The light beam devoured them, red light easily washing over them and scorching the ground.

Lucen sensed they were still alive inside though.

When the red beam subsided, they were unscathed. The attack had scorched a deep black groove in the earth but left a small circle of space unharmed.

Duran jumped down near Samara. "You really used the bare minimum mana to protect yourself, huh?"

"I didn't need more than that," said Samara. She was emotionlessly watching the colossal beast approach them.

"Come on, let's kill it." Duran's eyes were also fixed on it.

Samara shook her head slowly. "No. Red Snapper Fiends charge their beam ten seconds faster than Stalkers. Thirty seconds until it fires again. I will stay back and keep the caravan safe."

Duran laughed, shaking his head. "Always worried about meaningless things. Watch me then."

The Fiend clambered on the road, each step of its four pointed legs shaking the stone. Duran and Garin shot forward. Lucen smiled and broke into a slow run around the creature.

Garin kicked and hopped over the ground in dizzying bursts. He leapt up, wind rushing over his hair, and stretched out his hands to summon his hammer.

All four of the Fiend's eyes turned towards him.

Garin's eyes widened. "I thought it was thirty—"

It wasn't the red beam the Red Snapper Fiend released. Rather, the air rippled in an invisible wave.

Garin's descent slowed. Then he started flying backwards, speeding up until he disappeared into the distance.

On the ground, Set blanched and turned to Tenibri. "Sir Tenibri, can you please get him?"

Lot's eyes flashed with irritation. But before he could say anything, Tenibri took off.

Winds swirled around him and shot the gloomy Knight from the ground. His form tore through the air after Garin.

Duran didn't wait for anyone to help. He sprinted across the stone like an imaginary figure, body flickering in and out of existence.

The Snapper slammed its pincers down at him, but Duran teleported onto its arm.

The ground was shattered by the Snapper's errant blow, the shockwave rippling over the stone. Before it could reach the caravan, Samara slammed her shield into the ground, imbuing it with a copper-brown light.

The shockwave died out as it reached the glowing stone ground.

Lucen was still flanking the Fiend when a Stalker appeared. Lucen's head was only as tall as one of its legs. There were multiple spikes jutting out of its wide back.

He jumped back as a pincer snapped at him. Its eyes lit up with crimson light, blasting a ray of energy at him. Lucen skipped sideways, the deadly light drawing black lines across the ground.

There were two Stalkers between him and the Fiend. Running past them didn't seem like an option.

Lucen cast [Stalker's Edge] and started waiting for an opening. The red light finally stopped, the stone was molten red and hissing loudly. Lucen stopped and stretched his back.

"We'll have to make this quick."