Chapter 7

Sometime later the mound of Goblin bodies had been stripped and laid out in two long rows. Twenty two bodies in total, including the three Goblins who had attacked him first. He had made Opal climb down and drag them up into the camp one by one. At the end was the crown of the spread, the large muscled Goblin which Rain had found away from the rest where it had apparently fallen on a tent and bled to death, which wasn’t surprising considering its jaw had been ripped clean off.

“You can turn away if you want.”

Opal tilted her head. She was sat by the fire, a certain witch spitted over it and slowly roasting.

“No, I want to see.”

Rain shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He snatched up the nearest body and laid into it, blood fountaining around his teeth as he took great bites. It didn’t take him long, his teeth were strong enough to crush bone to fragments simplifying the matter of eating a once living thing greatly. By the end all that was left was a few bones and a skull.

Rain let out a contented sigh.

“Regretting your choice to watch Goblin girl?”

Opal stared at his stomach. “...”

Rain raised an eyebrow but moved onto the next making quick and bloody work of it. He belched as he sat back.

“Are you going to keep going? Surely you can’t eat anymore?”

“Just watch.”

Rain rested a paw on his belly as it growled, then abruptly it began to shrink. Mass disappeared below his paw and he let out a grunt as the feeling of his bones elongating and thickening washed over him. He curled his toes and stretched his digits out enjoying the addictive sensation.

He turned his head to see Opal with her mouth hanging open.

“I thought I was seeing things at the great lake but you really do digest that fast.”

Rain smirked. “Well if I didn’t I’d be here for weeks eating all of these Goblins.”

“R-right.”

He rolled over and moved onto the next Goblin, quickly grinding his way through it, and then the next, then a pause to digest, then the next and so on.

It was when he was nearly halfway through the group that Opal piped up again.

“H-hey, what’s going on. Are you ... Are you bigger?”

Rain finished stuffing a limb down his throat and turned to her.

“You didn’t think I was just eating for fun, did you? I eat, I get bigger. I won’t feel safe taking on levelers or bigger monsters unless I do, Goblins are one thing but they aren’t exactly heavyweights.”

“You want to take on levelers?” Said Opal wide-eyed.

“Yes?”

“That’s-! Do you even know how strong they are!? I’ve seen a leveler behead a bear in one blow!”

“I know. And that’s not even close to what the top leveled can do.”

“You’re crazy. My tribe would only take on levelers if they were seen struggling with really weak monsters and even that was considered incredibly risky.”

“I guess I’ll need to get strong then.”

Opal scowled at him.

“Hey I’m not planning on just marching right up to the first leveler I see, I’m not stupid. This is a dungeon right? Obviously any levelers that come in here are going to be fighting monsters at some point. I figure there couldn’t be a better time to lay an ambush than while they are distracted fighting. I just have to sneak up behind and get them in the neck or back.”

“Hmpph. Madness. You don’t know this dungeon.”

“Actually you’re right I don’t, so hey, there’s something you can do instead of just ‘carrying stuff’.”

She grumbled but turned back to the fire and poked at the slowly cooking witch.

Rain continued making his way through the line of bodies. By the end he was pushing himself and managing nearly two Goblins before having to pause to digest.

At last, he came to the end of the line and he found himself facing the big Goblin.

He eyed the horrendous scarring that covered the Goblin, clear signs of long term abusive mutilation. “You really weren’t treated well, big guy. I suppose that lines up with Opal’s story about life in a Goblin tribe ... Well, I hope I killed the one who did this to you at least. Now you’ll live on as part of me, maybe, I don’t know if it works that way ... probably not...”

Avoiding the lifeless gaze of the Goblin Rain started on his arms. The Goblin wasn’t just taller than most Goblins but also broader, with fingers like sausages, something that Rain found he appreciated as he ate. What few sausages he had managed to get his hands on in his past life were rarely appetising, often they had a sheen of rot and he had made himself sick more than once trying to eat them. Not that he had a lot of choice, it was either risk it or starve. Those who would feed him were few and far between, most often charity came from out of towners who didn’t know his story, and least often from locals. Those with a lot of levels and wealth were least giving of all, either afraid of the town ranker’s wrath or just uncaring. He held a petty grudge in his heart for that type of person. The way things worked tended to favour those who had connections and wealth and as power and wealth are wont to do it did not create particularly pleasant people.

He tore free a bicep and began devouring it.

I’m not the one to change things as much as I hate how things are. He mused while chewing. I’m just a bitter survivor who’s become a dangerous monster with a need for revenge ... and to eat.

His mind drifted to fantasies of finding Brax and Myra and making them suffer for what they did. As he mentally played out his bloody revenge he tore into the Goblin all the faster, shredding it with his teeth, mincing bone with as much ease as muscle. He ripped it’s heart free and bit into it causing blood to explode out the sides of his muzzle. Skull cracked and brains scooped, organs gobbled and ears chewed.

By the end of it he was laughing, just think of what he would do to them! He forced down the last bit of Goblin meat, greedily gulping it down.

“H-hey. Are you okay?”

“What?” said Rain. “Of course I’m okay, I feel great!”

“You’re crying...”

Rain blinked and realised it was true. He quickly wiped at his eyes and looked away.

“It’s nothing. Just some dust in my eye.”

“...”

Rain ignored her and settled a paw on his distended stomach as it began to digest. It didn’t take long before it efficiently began to break down what he’d eaten, growling and gurgling in the process. He groaned as waves of growth washed over him, this was a big one and he felt his joints popping as they surged. He cracked his jaw and paws in satisfaction as his now larger body settled into its new size and his stomach returned to being flat and toned.

He climbed to his feet and found Opal staring up at him. She had to look up quite a bit further than before. The top of her head used to come up to his jaw, now it was about level with his clavicle. He’d grown a good five or six inches he judged, more than when he had eaten the giant toads. Not surprising he mused considering he’d just eaten half a tribe of Goblins.

“Big.” said Opal.

Rain scratched his chin. “Yes. Still hungry though.”

“I can fish.”

“Huh?”

“I can fish a little.”

“Well that works out because I need to wash all this blood off me anyway.”

Rain towed the Goblin girl away from the pile of bones. He paused on the way, noticing that she’d only eaten part of the witch. Not willing to let a meal go he grabbed the spit from the fire and walked and ate.