Cannibalism.

  A term meaning the act of carnivores or herbivores eating members of their own species.

  Of course, I knew that such things happened occasionally among animals.

  'I just didn't know I'd be the target!'

  I crawled desperately.

  Having many legs made crawling speed fast.

  Fortunately, the mother Red Dragon Centipede didn't thrust her face in my direction.

  Instead, my other siblings... that is, not the ones who had just been born, but the somewhat grown older brothers and sisters, hovered around me and devoured the smaller siblings.

  Sorry, my siblings. I will survive first.

  ───────────────

  [Demon] : Red Dragon Centipede

  [Realm] : Early Qi Condensation Stage (9 stars)

  ───────────────

  ───────────────

  [Demon] : Red Dragon Centipede

  [Realm] : Early Qi Condensation Stage (8 stars)

  ───────────────

  ───────────────

  [Demon] : Red Dragon Centipede

  [Realm] : Early Qi Condensation Stage (10 stars)

  ───────────────

  The demons devouring my siblings were all demons remaining in the Early Qi Condensation Stage.

  Fortunately, I wasn't their target. Part of it was because I quickly escaped before being eaten, but also because they didn't bother chasing after those of us who moved quickly.

  'Whew, that was terrifying.'

  Most siblings who fled quickly like me survived. Meanwhile, most of those who stared blankly at our big brothers and mother were eaten.

  This was truly a world of survival of the fittest.

  Teaching even newborns the lesson that to survive, one must move diligently.

  'Phew... they won't chase me this far, right?'

  Among the eaten siblings was one who had been eating my eggshell. The thought that I could have ended up in the stomach of the mother Red Dragon Centipede or my older siblings made me dizzy.

  'I almost died right after being born.'

  I stayed vigilant of my surroundings for a while, then breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Keeeeee—"

  The cry of a Red Dragon Centipede rang softly. I looked around, startled by the sigh I had unknowingly let out, but there was no one nearby.

  'Come to think of it, I'm hungry.'

  Didn't I eat grass earlier?

  I don't think it was a small amount. Is it because I'm a baby that I'm constantly hungry? I put my mouth to the lush grass growing around me and chewed and swallowed.

  Crunch crunch— gulp.

  It feels like my hunger is filling a bit... but it also disappears quickly. What on earth is this?

  'Huh?'

  It was while I was continuing to eat grass.

  A sweet yet intense smell wafted over. It was the kind of scent that naturally stimulated appetite. I crawled toward the direction of the smell.

  'This is...'

  I arrived at where the fragrance was leading.

  There were numerous demons in this place. It seemed I wasn't the only one drawn by the fragrance.

  ───────────────

  [Spirit Herb] : Wulong Herb

  [Grade] : 9th Grade

  ───────────────

  The surroundings were filled with spirit herbs labeled Wulong Herb. The demons were busily chewing and eating the Wulong Herbs.

  'I want to eat it. I want to eat it.'

  Drawn by a powerful impulse, I took a step toward the Wulong Herb.

  It was an action guided by instinct. I had a feeling that eating that would lead to achievement and realm advancement.

  Just as I was about to enter the Wulong Herb field...

  "Pikyaak!"

  "Ssssisss—!"

  'Oops!'

  The demons who had been guarding their positions bared their teeth at me. They looked ready to pounce if I came even a little closer.

  ───────────────

  [Demon] : One-horned Rabbit

  [Realm] : Early Qi Condensation Stage (1 star)

  ───────────────

  ───────────────

  [Demon] : Red Jade Snake

  [Realm] : Early Qi Condensation Stage (1 star)

  ───────────────

  A One-horned Rabbit with the typical form of a white rabbit but with a yellow horn. A Red Jade Snake whose entire body was made of red crystal.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  They didn't look particularly strong.

  In the case of the Red Dragon Centipede siblings and mother who had reached Qi Condensation Stage, they made my knees weak just by looking at them.

  'Early Qi Condensation Stage. And only 1 star... Is this something I could handle?'

  A question suddenly came to mind.

  I retreated from the spirit herb field and observed them from a distance. A One-horned Rabbit opened its mouth toward a Wulong Herb attached to a tree.

  Crunch- crunch-

  Sharp teeth dug into not only the Wulong Herb but also the tree trunk. The tree crumbled without resistance and entered the One-horned Rabbit's stomach along with the Wulong Herb.

  '...Huh. It even chews up the entire tree?'

  I completely gave up on the spirit herb after seeing that. I didn't even think of challenging them.

  How could I defeat a monster that chews up entire trees? I'd be lucky if I didn't say goodbye to this world if I tried.

  'Realm really is important, huh.'

  As a reader of cultivation world novels, I knew well the enormous gap between beings with and without a realm.

  It seemed things weren't much different here.

  I swallowed a sigh as I looked at the spirit herbs.

  'Tsk. There are so many spirit herbs, they could share some. Stingy creatures.'

  The One-horned Rabbit and Red Jade Snake didn't fight and amicably shared the spirit herbs. So why not me?

  Is it because they're displeased with the intrusion of someone like me who hasn't even reached Qi Condensation Stage?

  Fortunately, the demons here only ate the Wulong Herbs and showed no particular interest in me.

  It probably means that the 9th grade spirit herbs taste better than a demon who doesn't even have a realm yet. I headed toward another place where a different fragrance was coming from.

  ※※※

  Day 2 of reincarnation in another world.

  Life... no, a demon's life is not easy, I realized. It's more fierce than when I was human.

  Getting up in the morning is a given, but even sleeping at night cannot be done easily.

  Because I might get eaten while sleeping!

  I actually almost got eaten once.

  By a demon named Flame Cat.

  A cat with flames around its head. When I was about to fall asleep, it lunged at me, and I quickly crawled away.

  After that, I slept in a hollow I dug in a tree.

  I'm not a woodpecker, so I felt some self-loathing while digging the tree. Well, when you want to live, what can't you do...

  Anyway, the real problem isn't sleep.

  It's 'food'.

  I still haven't had a proper meal.

  Grumble— The sound from my stomach was proof of that.

  I've been continually grazing on grass since my reincarnation, but my hunger hasn't subsided. Eating spirit herbs might make it a bit better... but all the spirit herb fields I've explored in the vicinity have been occupied by Qi Condensation demons.

  The strength is draining from my body, and at this rate, it seems I'll die not by being eaten by some other creature, but from starvation.

  '...I wonder if there's a spirit herb field occupied by mother demons or siblings somewhere?'

  For a moment, I thought I might be able to benefit from my siblings. After thinking for a while, I shook my head. Expecting familial affection from demons is too human a way of thinking.

  It seems difficult to overcome the current situation with a human mindset. So... let's change the way of thinking.

  If it can't be solved with a human mindset, let's try thinking like a demon!

  'Plunder! Predation!'

  Take and devour!

  This is the demon-like way of thinking.

  At least, that's how the creatures I've seen so far have been.

  'But how can I defeat Qi Condensation demons?'

  I had an instinctive feeling that I needed to eat 'spirit herbs' to satisfy this hunger.

  It wasn't just a feeling. Recalling my knowledge of the cultivation world, cultivators... that is, those who cultivate, display skills called Cultivation Methods based on 'spiritual energy'.

  In other words, the spiritual energy from spirit herbs serves as MP.

  It seems impossible to display Cultivation Methods with a demon's body right away, but anyway, I thought absorbing spirit herbs might at least have effects like increasing physical abilities.

  Similar to how in martial arts novels, leftover medicinal effects seep into the body after taking pills.

  'Hmm....'

  The reasons for eating are sufficient.

  But I had no suitable method.

  Eat stealthily?

  High probability of getting caught and dying.

  I'd be lucky if my organs don't get pillaged instead.

  Find a spirit herb field with no owner?

  Other creatures move by smell too, so that's impossible. If I can smell the scent, there's no way other demons can't.

  Amid all this, one piece of information in the status window caught my eye.

  [Supernatural Power] : Predation Evolution

  'Right...! I have a supernatural power!'

  Is it because I'm in a demon's body? I hadn't thought about using the supernatural power. I need to focus. To forget such an important thing!

  I wanted to open the status window and look at the supernatural power in detail.

  ───────────────

  【Predation Evolution】

  

  Classification : Supernatural Power

  

  Effects(3)

  ?Can eat anything.

  ?Absorbs the abilities of the consumed target.

  ?Can evolve based on possessed abilities when advancing realms.

  ※ Additional abilities will be unlocked when advancing realms.

  ───────────────

  'Hmm, can eat anything, absorb the abilities of what I consume, evolution route is determined based on that, and additional abilities are unlocked when I advance in realm... Just from the description, it sounds good?'

  I felt I needed to examine the ability in detail.

  For example, in the case of 'Can eat anything', is it simply that there are no restrictions on the type of food, or that I can eat objects that would kill others if they ate them, without penalty?

  While the former seems more likely than the latter, it's still uncertain.

  'It would be good to test by eating a poisonous herb... but since my life is at stake, it's not easy to implement.'

  This world is not a game.

  I have only one life, and if I die, it's over.

  Of course, there might be another life waiting as I reincarnated this time... but I can't throw away my life based on such uncertainty. Moreover, I actually like this world.

  Despite having a demon's body, isn't this a cultivation world? If I just raise my realm, I can live for over hundreds of years. It's a shame there's no modern civilization. But that's a problem to think about later.

  Now let's focus only on surviving.

  I tried to think of it like a game.

  I concretized the goal and arranged it clearly in my mind.

  [Quest : Eat Spirit Herbs]

  ?Content : Eat spirit herbs to raise your realm and satisfy your hunger!

  ?Success : Realm advancement, Delete debuff (hunger)

  ?Failure : Death

  I think it's roughly like this.

  Now I need to accomplish this goal through my supernatural power 'Predation Evolution'.

  I recalled the abilities of Predation Evolution.

  Evolution requires realm advancement, so that's on hold for now.

  The remaining two are 'Can eat anything' and 'Can absorb consumed abilities'.

  What can I do with these?

  Simply eating grass didn't activate it. Does that mean there are specific targets for activation?

  'In the case of grass, is it because there are no particularly absorbable abilities? Or because I didn't think about using Predation Evolution?'

  I'm not sure.

  'I'll experiment.'

  With the thought of using Predation Evolution, I grazed on nearby grass. It's hard to eat spirit herbs, but grass is plentiful around.

  Crunch crunch—

  [Predation Evolution is activated.]

  [You have consumed 'Moonleaf Grass'.]

  [Characteristic, acquired.]

  'Ohhh...!'

  Success at once.

  So I needed to have the thought of using it.

  I continued to eat other grasses.

  [Predation Evolution is activated.]

  [You have consumed 'Featherlight Grass'.]

  [Characteristic, acquired.]

  [Predation Evolution is activated.]

  [You have consumed 'Moonleaf Grass'.]

  [Characteristic, acquired.]

  Including the first time, I succeeded in acquiring 3 characteristics by eating a total of 20 times. Based on the statistics so far, the success rate is 15%.

  'Not bad? Though it's a shame only Lightness came out...'

  ───────────────

  [Characteristic] : Lightness (3 stars)

  ?Content : Your body becomes lighter. Movement speed increases.

  ───────────────

  Overlapping characteristics merged and the stars increased. That's the 'star' in achievement. I feel like I can move more nimbly.

  'The characteristic effect is good too? Movement speed increase.'

  It was a satisfying option.

  I continued to eat grass to raise the achievement of the characteristic.

  [Characteristic, acquired.]

  [Characteristic, acquired.]

  [Characteristic, acquired.]

  ......

  ......

  After using Predation Evolution to eat about 93 times, I stopped eating grass.

  [Characteristic] : Lightness (10 stars)

  Because even after acquiring the characteristic, the achievement no longer increased. It seemed that the achievement limit was 10 stars.

  I turned my head.

  'Is there anything else to eat besides grass?'

  Having reached the growth limit with grass, it was time to find something else. I wondered if there was something more helpful for combat.

  Grumble— My stomach kept growling with hunger, but I endured. Unlike ordinary demons, I am a being with human intelligence. I won't be defeated by mere hunger......

  This is a time for patience.

  I endured.

  I'm used to enduring.

  I survived for 3 years in a tiny one-pyeong room. This level of hunger is nothing... while giving myself this auto-suggestion, I scouted for the next predation target.

  Sparkle— Something entered my eyes.

  'Oh, come to think of it, there's this?'

  What caught my eye was none other than a 'stone'.

  What characteristic comes to mind with stone?

  'Hardness.'

  If I eat that, wouldn't I get a [Defense Characteristic]?