Reborn to Devour: A Demonic LitRPG

I took my time returning to the mountain. I allowed for the gentle breeze to brush over my scales and the feeling of grass beneath my feet. Even the fake sun was welcome to coat my body in its unnatural warmth.

I had left a world of madness, a snapshot into the past that once was. The creator of that place, the physical embodiment of Want did not outright tell me what they hoped I would accomplish for them, but, it was heavily implied that a return to the way things used to be would earn me their friendship. A world that I had no desire to return to quickly.

It wasn’t a proposal that was made under the noses of the other Follies, but I had a suspicion that these desires were not shared amongst the rest nor was it the task they wished me to accomplish when I eventually stood before the empty throne of Hell.

I spat at the ground, my caustic spit bubbling the nature below. A black mark scarred the otherwise pristine landscape.

Notice

Congratulations!

Congratulations! You are now Level 25.

Your Stats have increased.

You have unlocked Level 7 Transformation. Please choose one of the following:

Thick Scales, Draconic Breath, Serrated Teeth.

Reward from completing the Starving Cave is being determined.

I didn’t choose a Level Up. It seemed that this was part of Want’s reward. I looked at the potential paths in front of me. I didn’t want to call them underwhelming. But they weren’t as flashy as some of the abilities that I gained from the Dungeons. Perhaps that was the point, to incentivize taking a little risk.

I quickly took [Thick Scales]. In the face of these high-powered attackers, my scales have been as good as paper-mache; no better than skin.

Horrendous pain like a thousand cigarettes being put out against my muscles covered my body. I dropped to one knee and felt my skin vibrate like an earthquake. Cracks formed along my body like tectonic plates. They ground against each other with great amounts of pressure.

Then a popping sensation.

A stretch of scales that extended from my pinky to my forearm separated from my body. Red flesh and flowing blood greeted me through the crack. The great fault-line caused a cascade of ripping and detachments. My scales flaked away and surrounded me like a suit of armor carelessly removed.

Then, new hardness took its place. I felt the textural equivalent of sheetrock bubble from my muscles and harden in a latticework over the exposed flesh to create new scales. Only once everything stopped and locked into place did the pain end.

I hadn’t realized I had dropped to all fours and panted toxic blood onto the landscape. My shattered claws dug jagged trenches into the earth; a blind reaction to the otherworldly pain.

I pushed myself to my feet and inspected the aftermath of my latest transformation. At a glance, it did not look much different. The same black scales greeted me as though they did not rip themselves free from my body. I ran a finger along my chest. I could feel small pricks on my fingertips like sharp Velcro. I looked more closely to see that my body was covered in numerous tiny spikes.

I stretched my body and did a few exercises to test my mobility. I ran for several paces, jumped, flew, and threw some punches. I did not feel any restriction from my new scales that would indicate that I had made a mistake.

Two messages appeared at the same time, notifying my transformation completion along with the Dungeon Reward. Additionally, Want’s appreciation was made known to me. My eyes widened a bit upon reading the contents.

“Holy shit.”

Skills:

Thicker Scales: (Passive): Many animals have natural defenses that protect them from the attacks of rivals and predators. Humanity copied it as best as they could with their own armor to save their lives. Weapons and armor engaged in a constant arms race to nullify the other. Metal to block metal. Kevlar to stop bullets. Maybe this will stop a gun, but will it stop a missile?

+50 Base Armor

1% of Body will be converted into additional armor.

Corpse Eater: (Passive): Beasts eat to grow. The strongest beasts are the ones that manage to eat the best prey. In a place where eating is seen as an unnecessary act of decadence, you have been reminded of why a starving animal is the most dangerous. It doesn’t matter if meat can talk if you get stronger for eating it.

+50 Body

+20% Stat gain if you consume the flesh of a demon you killed. 5% Stat gain from corpses you didn’t kill.

Hoard: (Passive) (Unique): Want can manifest in many different ways. In wealth. In power. In love. Some choose to show it off for the world to see while others hide it away so that nobody can touch it. Oh dragon, show the world why the most dangerous beast is the one that sleeps on a bed of gold.

+20 to All Stats

Creates a special realm that XP can be deposited into. For every 1000 XP, deposited, get a stat point. Can be deposited and withdrawn whenever the user desires.

Upon dying, XP in the hoard will be lost at a greater rate.

My hands shook with excitement. After all, stats were king. XP bought levels and gear and access to growing stats. Holy sword or a punch with one-thousand strength behind it, what was more valuable?

I checked my XP total after being thrown in the Dungeon. I had a bit over 200,000 XP left available to me. Two hundred stat points that I could do whatever I wanted with right now. I drained my account and spread the increase across all my stats. I could feel the strength suddenly flow throughout my body as each XP fortified my body.

With more energy than I knew what to do with, I ran towards the mountain at full speed. The ground passed beneath me in a blur as I imagined my original opponents racing beside me. I was nowhere near able to compete with Grendel in the midst of their [Momentum], but, perhaps Huī would be a more achievable goal this time.

Provided he was actually trying last time.

I reached the crater Grendel created the last time. My wings spread wide and I took to the air at speed. I heard wind whistling by my ears and my scales grow cold from the air around me. A shadow appeared above me. But, this time, it appeared that Nyomorult was not interested in repeating the death that its previous form experienced. My [Aura of Fear] augmented by the influx of stats, seemed to serve me well in keeping the shadowy beasts that dwelled on the slopes of the mountain from trying to attack me.

Unimpeded by any form of beast, I landed in front of the gates to return to the school upon the peak. I stopped myself before I reached the gates that led inside. However strong I had become, I was still unwilling to try the ruler of the mountaintop.

It did not take long for me to be noticed. A disciple from within quickly turned and ran to retrieve someone capable of allowing me entrance.

The lumbering form of Grendel descended the steps and approached me. Mana stretched around him before finally allowing him to step through and reach me. The troll had a questioning look in his eyes as he observed me closely. Clearly, I did not return the way that was intended of me.

“I was wondering what happened to you,” Grendel commented. “Since you did not return through the Portal you were sent through, I can only believe that you-“

“Lived,” I finished for him. I stepped closer, getting into his personal space and pressing a jagged claw into his flesh. Not enough to do much damage, but enough to prove a point. “Now, who should I be pissed at for not letting me know that he could see through disguises? Was it Charles that set me up, or are you a bad informant?”

“You failed to mention to me that you were marked by Wrath as an enemy,” Grendel replied stoically. “If you believed that you were manipulated into dying, why did you return here instead of running back to Styx and telling Charles exactly what you think about his treachery?”

I paused for a second. I know that I raged against Charles while I was in the Cave of Starvation, but I did not truly believe that Charles had set me up. Killing his best employees was not the way that Charles operated. He picked me because he knew that I was capable of doing the job and likely even sweetened it so that I would keep working for him in the future.

There was only one reason why I returned to this place.

“It is more than a job now. Have you ever been in that damn place?”

“I have never suffered the misfortune of offending my master to the point that he would send me there,” Grendel answered. “The ones that do get sent in usually leave shortly after returning.”

“If you ever do, you’ll understand. Even the most patient angel would take shit like that personally. I must be the one that kills your master.”

Grendel looked at me for a moment before shrugging his shoulders and turning back to the entrance of the school. He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. I still hated being chaperoned around like a toddler, but that would all end soon enough.

“Then it is water under the bridge. You look much stronger and you have proven yourself worthy of becoming a disciple.”

I passed through the mana barrier to see the demons inside cowed and with their ears down like beaten children. All of their faces pointed in the direction of the pinnacle of the mountain. An angry tirade crashed down the mountain like an avalanche. The contents of the rant I could not help but smile at.

“Alive! Alive! How? It doesn’t make any sense!”

Each word made the demons we passed flinch with trepidation. But, for me, each furious intonation was music to my ears; the sparkle in my eye and the wind beneath my wings. It was a hidden reward that Want neglected to mention to me.

“No, Master, I would never doubt your ability in choosing a disciple! This one presses his head to the earth and apologizes to nine generations of your family!”

We reached the upper echelons of the school. The instructors and senior members watched me with a mixture of wariness and respect. A powerful new member was worthy of celebration, but it seems that they would have to drink behind closed doors.

“Holy shit, I guess you were as badass as your Hell Express tape showed,” Gunagala said in awe. “I bet on you doing well. Made some money for once.”

Huī stood beside the kangaroo and nodded. Some other seniors, presumably the ones that lost out of the bets over my life frowned and looked at me with the bitter eyes of a surprise loser. The wolf’s mouth spread wide to show a smile that would have appeared threatening if I hadn’t met the demon already.

“They didn’t know you like we did,” Huī agreed with a laugh.

Soon after, we reached the top of the mountain. Through the gate, the master waited. He was slamming his face against the ground in penance for the words that he said to the true master. The nail in his forehead pushed deeper into his face and released new blood to stain the paper charm that covered his face.

“Master! How could you do this to your favorite disciple? Why did you have to find anyone else? Wasn’t I good enough?”

“Hello, Senior Brother,” I greeted with the joy of someone that met a long-time friend. “It seems that I passed your test.”

The zombie’s head snapped in my direction. I could hear the sound of teeth grinding underneath the paper. Their hands clenched with the intention of striking me again. He rose to his feet and strode towards me, an aura of hatred emanating from his body.

Before he could reach me, mana rumbled through the sky and forced Senior Brother to his knees. He smashed his head into the ground several more times.

“I wasn’t going to do anything to him, I promise!” Senior Brother called to the heavens. “He passed my most difficult test and proved himself to you. To harm him now, I would accept being ripped to shreds by your hands for the rest of time, Master! Please accept my shame! Please accept my blood! Please accept my worship!”

The mana, seemingly satisfied with Senior Brother’s groveling, left the zombie’s body. He stayed on his knees with his face pointed skyward for another moment before rising back to his feet.

“You did well,” Senior Brother complimented cordially as though I were not present for anything that just happened. “My Master is so wise and clever to reach out his grace to you. Rough and undisciplined as you are, you possess what is required to learn the arts of my Master.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother,” I replied with a mocking voice and a small bow.

I could see Senior Brother’s hands clench again before quickly releasing. A long, ragged exhale left the zombie’s mouth like a mother that is stopping herself from beating her unruly child in a grocery store.

“Grendel, please teach our newest disciple the basics of our arts and allow him to use our training Dungeons as much as he wishes,” Senior Brother instructed. “Once you have deemed him worthy, I will teach him myself. Please be as hard on him as possible so that day will not come for a long time.”

Grendel joined me in a bow and escorted me off the pinnacle.

“I will show you to your meditation room,” Grendel instructed. “I have some other things to get to, but I will be sure to begin your training soon.”

“Please teach me well,” I replied with a grin. “I wonder if anyone else had as difficult an orientation as I did.”

“None of the disciples that passed ever had to go through the Cave of Starvation,” Grendel answered. “It is meant to destroy anyone that the master doesn’t like.”

“I wasn't thinking about this school. I was thinking about the demons I recently parted ways with. I wonder if they are fairing much better.”