Chapter 139 — Insane Experiment I

[Hidden Cave - Immediately After Escape]

The cave was small, barely large enough for the four survivors, but it was deep enough to hide them from casual detection and defensible if discovered.

Damian immediately began pulling Giant corpses from his spatial ring, the massive bodies materializing in the confined space, making it even more cramped.

The other three survivors watched in confusion as he started examining the bodies with methodical intensity.

Marcus Feng collapsed against the cave wall, his breathing labored, blood still seeping from multiple wounds.

Gerald Moss was dead. He’d died during the fighting, an axe through his chest ending him instantly.

The two remaining survivors were Isaac Reeves, a construction worker with hands like stone and surprising combat instincts, and Thomas Kane, a former SFD officer who’d been on vacation when the portal formed.

Both were D rank, both wounded and both looking at Damian with growing concern.

"Kid, you need to rest. You’re injured, exhausted and pushing yourself too hard."

Isaac’s voice was rough and filled with concern.

"We’re already prepared to die here. Getting caught in a spontaneous portal basically means there’s no realistic way to survive. But... you don’t need to kill yourself trying to save us."

Thomas nodded agreement, his grey hair matted with blood and sweat.

"We’ve lived our lives. Had careers, families and experiences. But you’re just sixteen years old and more talented than anyone I’ve ever seen. It’s not right that you should die here with us."

Damian didn’t respond, his attention completely focused on Nathan Greaves’ research notebook, cross-referencing information with the Giant anatomy he was examining.

His eyes were bloodshot, his hands moving with frantic precision, his mind working at speeds that looked almost mechanical in their efficiency.

Marcus tried again, his voice carrying genuine worry.

"Damian, please. You need to heal yourself, rest and recover your strength before–"

"I am healing."

Damian’s voice was flat and emotionless.

"My Self-healing skill is running constantly. My injuries will be manageable within a few hours. But injuries aren’t the problem.

The problem is that we’re facing elite military Giants who are individually stronger than humans of the same rank, and they outnumber us by margins that make victory mathematically impossible with conventional approaches."

He flipped through the notebook frantically, comparing notes to what he was seeing in the Giant physiology.

"They don’t use skills or techniques. Pure physical enhancement and combat training. But their baseline strength is roughly triple what a human of equivalent rank can achieve. That’s genetic, biological and fundamentally built into their species."

His hands were shaking slightly, though whether from exhaustion or something else was unclear.

"I want that strength! I need that strength if we’re going to have any chance of surviving this."

"What are you talking about?"

Thomas moved closer, trying to see what Damian was studying.

"You can’t just take another species’ genetic advantages. That’s not how awakener abilities work."

"Maybe not through normal methods."

Damian’s voice carried a manic edge now.

"But I need to find a way, a method to help us get through this alive!

The possibility of consuming Monster flesh and using specialized techniques to break down and incorporate their biological advantages into human physiology."

"..."

Complete silence in the cave.

"That’s insane! Nobody’s ever tried that because it’s fundamentally against human nature to consume sentient beings.

These Giants speak, they organize, they have culture and intelligence. They’re not mindless beasts!"

"I don’t care."

Damian’s eyes met Marcus’s, and the businessman actually flinched at what he saw there.

"They’re trying to kill us. They’ve already killed twenty of our people. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure the remaining survivors make it out of this portal alive.

If that means crossing lines that make me a bloody monster, so fucking BE IT!!"

The three survivors exchanged troubled glances.

’The kid is taking all this on himself. Blaming himself for the deaths even though he warned us it would be dangerous, even though we all volunteered knowing the risks.’

Marcus watched Damian’s hands continue their frantic work, dissecting, examining, taking notes.

"At least rest for a few hours. Let yourself recover before attempting whatever insane experiment you’re planning."

"No time. We need every advantage we can get before the Giants find this cave."

Damian pulled out a knife and started cutting into Giant flesh with clinical precision.

"Marcus, take Isaac and Thomas. Go find Major Ryan and his group. Warn them that Giants are the species we’re facing.

Tell them to gather everyone and bring them here. This cave is defensible and I can protect it once I’ve finished preparing."

The urgency in his voice finally penetrated their exhaustion.

"The Giants will be systematically searching this portal world.

Ryan’s group staying in one location just makes them easier to find and eliminate. Constant movement and consolidation is our only chance."

Marcus struggled to his feet despite his wounds.

"You’re right. We need to move. Isaac, Thomas, let’s go."

The three men prepared to leave, casting worried looks back at Damian, who’d already returned to his frantic work.

Kuro had long since retreated into Damian’s shadow to recover, the raven’s injuries severe enough that he needed time in that strange space where he seemed to heal faster.

The survivors left, and Damian was finally alone.

He pulled up his status screen, examining the changes from the recent combat.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Name: Damian Valcor

Age: 16

Rank: C-

Talent: S

Core Attributes:

Strength: 170

Speed: 175

Stamina: 179

Vitality: 190

Aura: C-

Will: 230

Perception: 160

Intent: Slaughter

Skills: —

Shooting: A

Hand Combat: A

Telekinesis: A

Macro Vision: A

Sonic Blink: B

Self-Healing: B

Aura Control: B

Aura Magnification: 2×

Weapon Arts: —

Omega Point - S: Level 3

Abyssal Slaughter - SS: Minor Success

Devourer Body Art - ???: Forming

Bond: Kuro (C- Rank)

- Unknown Entity

- Talent Unknown

━━━━━━━━━━━━━

And in his weapon arts section, something new was forming. It was still incomplete and still theoretical, but it was taking shape.

’This is my theory and my experiment. I’m the test subject for something that’s never been attempted’

His hands moved with mechanical precision, preparing Giant flesh, extracting specific organs and tissues that Nathan’s research suggested would be most effective for Aura assimilation.

’Twenty people died following my orders. I knew the risks, I warned them, they volunteered anyway. But they’re still dead because I led them into that ambush.

I’m not a god! Higher rank doesn’t mean I can effortlessly crush D rank opponents when outnumbered a hundred to one. That’s not realistic. Giants are elite warriors trained for brutal warfare.

But my luck is catastrophically bad. Of all the Monster species we could have faced, we got Giants. Born with inhuman physical strength with no fancy techniques or skills to exploit. Just overwhelming power and military discipline.’

He stared at the Giant flesh he’d prepared, his stomach already rebelling at the thought of what came next.

’This art I’m creating, this Devourer Body concept, it’s based on consuming Monster flesh and blood, breaking down their biological advantages through specialized Aura circulation, incorporating their strengths into my own physique.

Breaking the limits of human biology by integrating non-human genetics through controlled Aura transformation.

It might have side effects. Might change me in ways I can’t predict. Might fail completely and just kill me through toxic consumption.

But I have to try!

Because otherwise, everyone here dies. All survivors would die because I wasn’t strong enough to protect them.’

So... He began eating.