Is It Wrong To Devour Monsters In The Dungeon - Chapter 12.1 (Patreon)

We are all made of star stuff.

I'd always loved that quote, ever since I heard it. It made not only the human race as a whole, but me personally sound more amazing than I actually was.

I was told of it by an old teacher in my first year of High School and it gave me a new outlook on life. It didn't change much, but, it was enough to pull my head out of my ass a little bit.

It was a lesson that stuck with me, because for all it was philosophical, it struck home for me that no matter my life style, no matter how powerless or weak I was in comparison to those famous and rich people…they were not better than me, they were not superior to me.

Because in the end we were all just stardust, tiny little fragments of creation formed in a cosmic fire.

As it turned out, that flame was more divine than cosmic.

And that flame was inscribed upon my back and I could call upon it at will with a single word.

"Blaze." I chanted.

A massive aura of flame burst into existence around my form, glimmering embers of creation itself cladding upon and through my form, strengthening me.

And creation leapt at my command and destroyed my foes. With a thrust of my hand out towards a bunch of killer ants rushing my way, a wave of burning divine creation rushed forth and swept over them, burning their existence to naught.

'…This is pretty amazing.' I couldn't help but look down at myself in a little bit of awe.

The flame itself was so easy to control. I could shape it with my will and control it, bend the very flames themselves even after I unleashed them.

And the increase in ability was far more than I as expecting. With the aura of flame enhancing my body, I felt like my physical abilities had practically doubled.

Right now, I feel like I could take on the Soma Familia and win even as just a level one.

I've only been in the dungeon for ten minutes, but just a small burst of its usage, had me down on the seventh floor already.

Though, the mind drain with it is something else.

It's a good thing I've stocked up on a ton of mind potions. Especially since I needed to recover my mind after filling up those barrels before making my way to the dungeon.

Six whole barrels, three filled with healing powder, three filled with poisonous powder.

Considering the usual drop of them was barely enough to fill a small vial and were worth five thousand valis, I've…probably got enough sitting in those barrels to be worth a couple million valis at least and enough when made into potions that it will probably be worth over five million.

I'd had to drink three full mind recovery potions to fill them, even with mu magic stat being nearly fourteen hundred at this point.

Letting the flames enshrouding my form dissipate, I made my way over to the carcasses of the killer ants and with my gauntlet clad hands, the only armour I was wearing right now besides a pair of armoured boots and punched into their chests and pulled out their magic stones one by one, like every other monster I'd slaughtered on my way down here.

And then munched them down.

Just as I finished, the wall cracked and burst apart at my side, much quicker than I was expecting and a rather large killer ant burst free, mandibles gonig straight for my neck.

I backhanded it before it got too close and tore it from the wall easily. It landed hard on its back and skittered wildly trying to turn itself back onto its front to attack me as I raised a single finger, golden light vibrating into existence atop it.

'They're not a challenge at all.' I clicked my tongue in disappointment. Even in my base, without using Vesta, I doubt anything even on the eleventh floor could challenge me, hell I think I could take that minotaur Bell fought.

Amazing as it was being as strong as me…I'd need to go down passed the eighteenth floor to mind a single monster that wasn't a Monster Rex that could give me a challenge.

I've always loved a good scrap and ever since I got Typhon, my love of fighting has increased massively. Since I got here, no fight has got my blonde pumping as much as that first struggle against that goblin I woke up to strangling the life out of me.

...I wonder....

Eh, it's worth a try isn't it?

"It's your luck day mate." I grinned at the killer ant, lowering my finger glowing with energy, at the same time it turned around and snapped at me.

I caught it by the throat, holding it aloft and then began walking, making my way towards the end of the seventh floor even as it thrashed in my grasp.

As I made my way down the cavernous corridor, multiple killer ants rushed around the corner.

I held up my free hand and unleashed a beam of light that pierced through the first and then the second easily and a simple kick snapped the third and lasts neck.

I ripped their magic crystals free.

And then instead of eating them myself, I forced them down the throat of the killer ant in my grasp.

_________________________

I may be making a dumb decision.

Creating an enhanced species just for a good fight.

But, it would be stupider to try for the eighteenth floor and beyond right now. For one, I can't beat the Goliath…yet. And the Loki Familia, hadn't went down for the expedition and killed it yet.

But, there was a method to my madness.

I only fed it a few on the way down to the eleventh floor, which was easy to make my way to. I was just way above the usual strength required to get there and not only had I studied the dungeon maps in advance, my new sonar ability gotten from a Bad Bat magic crystal, made it even easier to find my way.

And while enhanced species, irregulars, are much stronger than usual, there was also something else about them. Sometimes, in the process of mutating, they gained new abilities.

New abilities I could take from devouring their magic crystals after I killed them…after enhancing them.

Once down there, the area really opened it. It was a bit surreal to be honest, to find myself stepping from a dark cave to a wide open, murky forest covered in a mist, with light white grass and huge dead, gleaming white trees.

'Though, they're landforms from what I've read.' I mused. Natural growths in the village that could be used as weapons by monsters.

I made my way straight to one of the said landform trees and slammed the chittering screeching killer ant, already having grown noticeably into it, pinning it there.

And then let crystal flow from my hand, spewing out over its torso and locking it to the landform.

"Stay there for a bit mate, I'm gonna make you a nice big dinner." I grinned, cracking my neck and turning around, the ominous roars and grunts of monsters hidden within the depths of this floor echoed in my ears, faint shapes visible through the mist. "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!" he shouted challengingly.

He was right by the stairs, so nothing could come from mist behind him and take him by surprise.

He was doing a dumb thing, but he wasn't entirely stupid

Besides, in the end, this was only to both see if I could get a decent fight here and to test if there was a possibility of farming new abilities from monsters like this.

As it is, I've already got most of the useful abilities I can get from monsters and there's less than ten monsters left with powers I want and need.

My challenge did not go unanswered.

They rushed through the mist in the dozens, roaring all the ways, pre-spawned in advance for adventurers to be caught unawares by.

Huge white furred gorrila's, titanic and fat green skinned bipedal pig like creatures over eight feet tall. Bats as large as eagles swept down from the ceiling, while ugly little imp-like creatures skittered through the legs of the uge orc's, carrying little stone daggers and swords.

Now this was promising!

With a massive grin, I opened my mouth and roared, a wave of sound erupting from my throat and expanding outwards.

The sound wave stunned most of them, the silverback's, orc's and imp’s stopping in their tracks with pained cries, though not the Bad Bats as they swept down towards me with razor sharp fangs and unleashed sharp sound waves of their own.

Too bad, just as they were not damaged by my own, I was not damaged theirs.

"Blaze!" I laughed, fire erupting around my form and I punched out, unleashing a massive wave of fire that swept over them and tore them from the air, dropping their steaming corpses to the ghostly white grass below.

With them taken care of, I bound forward towards the land dwelling monsters. With a flame enhanced leap, I shot through the air towards one of the huge orcs and with a laugh, clasped my gauntlet clad fists together and brought them down in a hammer blow.

The huge leathery skinned beasts skull cratered inwards and it toppled over to land on its back, while I landed on its big fat belly.

As I did, the monsters around me regained their bearings and rushed me. A little imp that was beside the orc launching itself at me with a screech.

Only for me to punt it in the face and send its head flying off its neck off into the distance.

I spun lightly off the beasts belly, dodging a silverback's clawed swipe and lashed out with a counter elbow that crunched its skull and dropped it to the ground dead.

And then I pushed off, wind swirling and mixing with flame around my foot and launching me forward with explosive speed. I tore through the assembled monsters in a flaming, burning blur

And soon, all that was left was a single unarmed orc, stuck in place, its red, pupilless eyes wide and its body trembling.

It was a monster of pure instinct.

And I instilled the instinct of fear within it.

But I can tell you one thing better than anyone else. The predominant instinct of a monster, is to fight, kill and ascend upwards out of the dungeon.

I know because I get a first hand account of those instincts every time my falna is updated.

Fear of a single being alone is not enough to stop a monster in its tracks.

With a roar, the beast shook off its terror and reached for one of the dead trees. It pulled it up with a single hand, excess bark falling away from the tree to reveal a huge broad sword as long as I am tall and thicker at that.

It raised the blade up high in the air and charged towards me with thundering footsteps.

…This presented a good chance to try something.

As it rushed me, I held my hand out and focused.

Crystal swept out of my palm and elongated, bit by bit into a crude jagged blade a split moment later.

'Yeah, not even close.' I clicked my tongue.

Even from that single use alone, I could tell that was the best I could get it. Shaping the crystal I could make, wasn't possible beyond rough, crude shapes unless I did it over my body.

Which meant I couldn't just spawn weapons into my hands.

I heaved the crude crystal blade up over my shoulder and threw it like a javelin.

It pierced the orc's face and killed it dead just as it got within five feet of me, "I wonder if blacksmith or metal shaping would let me do it?" I wondered aloud.

Not that I'll actually get them, I'm not a smith or anything. And even if I did, I'd rather focus on combat abilities.

With a shrug, I got down to business and began harvesting the magic stones of the monsters I'd just slain.