T-Virus Modification! Mature Stage!

Roy had been thinking all this time: if Spider Queen Alanya had stood at a distance by the Lava River and fired a Shadow Arrow or Web Spell at him, he probably would have truly died there.

Yet Alanya had not cast any such magic. Not just her—along the entire way, Roy had not seen a single demon use magic in the true sense of the word.

If he had not clearly seen the [Magic Power] attribute among his own stats, he might even have thought that magic simply did not exist in this world...

Now came the question. The [Magic Power] attribute had been with Roy from the moment he was born. In other words, not only did he have it; other demons should have magic power as well. But if they had magic power, why had no one ever cast magic?

Could demons that could not use magic even be called demons???

Roy observed for a long time before vaguely forming a few guesses.

The first guess was that Lower Demons had reserves of magic power that were too low to meet the conditions for using magic. The second was that even if they could cast magic, its power was too weak, making it less efficient than fighting with their bodies, so Lower Demons did not like using it.

As for the final guess, the demons of the Upper Abyss had magic power but lacked inherited magical knowledge, so they simply did not know how to use magic!

Simply put, they had not studied enough and had no education...

Thinking about it, the third guess seemed more reliable. The Upper Abyss was chaotic beyond belief, full of fighting and brawling every day. It was basically another version of a human slum. Even though Demonic Language existed, Roy had never seen a demon capable of writing Demonic Text. Under such circumstances, it would be stranger if there were any inheritance of knowledge!

Perhaps only after accumulating enough strength in the Upper Abyss, completing an advancement, and standing out from the crowd could one enter the worlds below and obtain knowledge and inheritances related to magic. If that was really the case, it would explain why no higher-level demons could be seen in the Upper Abyss. High Demons were elites, after all. They would not deign to live in a slum...

Feeling as if he had accidentally uncovered the truth, Roy was immediately invigorated. If things really were as he guessed, could he create magical skills for himself?

It was not impossible. Roy was an anomaly mixed in among the Demon Group. Since he could modify himself through the Private Customization System, he did not need to follow the usual path of demon evolution!

If Roy could gain the ability to use magic first while most demons in the Upper Abyss could not fight with magic, the benefits would speak for themselves!

Roy had always felt intellectually superior, as a human, to a group of Lower Demons with muscles for brains. The thought of crushing them not only in intelligence but also in strength made him positively delighted.

Once he thought of it, he did it. It was time to grind hard!

No matter what plan he made, the first priority was ensuring a supply of souls.

The first thing Roy thought of was the T-Virus. He had already drawn this material, so he definitely had to put it to use. Roy estimated that exchanging and materializing the T-Virus would require around a hundred "complete low-grade" souls. Once materialized, the T-Virus would not only greatly increase his Physical Strength, but it might also give him the superpower of Telekinesis! After all, Roy's original definition of the T-Virus had been [Perfect Fusion].

Although Telekinesis did not seem to count as magic, Roy was not that demanding. As long as it was useful, why ask for more?

Thus, Roy entered full grinding mode and began a massive slaughter. This killing was not for the sake of eating, but purely for hunting souls. Every Weaker Demon and Demonic Creature that encountered Roy immediately found itself in terrible luck!

Sneak attacks, ambushes, traps—Roy used every method at his disposal, all for the sake of Harvest Soul!

Quite a few demons were cunning as well, but that usually referred to Demonic Creatures that had lived in the Upper Abyss for a long time, or Old Demons who had entered the Mature Stage. Their cunning was hunting wisdom developed through prolonged hunts. But for weaker demons and Demonic Creatures, they had not lived long enough for such wisdom to take shape. They could not be considered cunning at all. Their Combat Methods consisted of charging at an opponent and fighting until it was over!

This stage was also the most dangerous stage for these demons and Demonic Creatures. If they got through it, they could gradually become smarter. If they did not, then death was their only outcome.

That was why Alanya had been surprised by Roy's intelligence. In her impression, a Little Demon of Roy's Body Size should have been in this dangerous stage. How could he possibly be so cunning?

And now, Roy specifically targeted demons and Demonic Creatures at this stage. To Harvest Soul, he had even brought out the Soul-Snatching Dog mode of taking cheap shots. How could those weak demons and Demonic Creatures possibly resist?

After spending around four days, Roy collected approximately one hundred and twenty low-grade souls. Since they came from demons and Demonic Creatures, they varied in size. Once he estimated that he had enough, Roy impatiently found a safe dwelling and began his T-Virus modification plan.

Opening the System Interface, Roy watched as the souls he had accumulated vanished one after another. In the end, an Injection Gun appeared in his hand!

The T-Virus exchange ended up costing him a total of one hundred and fourteen souls. It was the largest expenditure Roy had made to materialize anything so far. Yet when he actually held the Injection Gun in his hand, Roy hesitated a little.

It could not be helped. This was a virus! Injecting a virus into himself really required some courage. What if the system decided to screw him over?

However, after struggling for a while, Roy still chose to trust the system. He pressed the Injection Gun against his arm and pulled the trigger, injecting the blue liquid.

After the injection was complete, Roy casually tossed aside the Injection Gun, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began waiting quietly.

Before long, an intense burning sensation arose from within his body and rapidly spread to every other part of him. His limbs, tail, and even brain were all seized by that powerful heat.

Then, that burning sensation swiftly transformed into overwhelming pain!

Roy cried out in agony. Every cell in his body was multiplying madly. His muscles, internal organs, and bones all swelled, while his blood surged through his body at a frenzied speed. The pain brought by this rapid physical growth nearly drove Roy mad. His hands could not stop scratching all over his body, tearing his skin until it was covered in blood...

He did not know how long passed before the pain finally began to ease. Only then did Roy slowly Came to His Senses and inspect his body.

It was only at this point that Roy discovered that he seemed to have finally left the ranks of Little Demons behind!

His body's rapid expansion had brought his height to around two meters, nearly doubling his previous Body Size. The muscles in his arms, Legs, tail, and every other part of his body bulged high. The Demon Wings on his back had benefited again, becoming broader, with stronger wing bones. His Wingspan had directly increased to over three meters.

Reaching up and feeling around his head, Roy discovered that even his Demon Horns had grown. They now protruded from his skull and curved outward.

His palms had grown larger, and the nails on them had become longer and sharper, beginning to gleam with a cold light. With a light scrape against a stone, they immediately carved a scratch into it with a sizzling sound.

Claws like these seemed Steel-hard even without system modification, right? Should he just add the [Adamantium] attribute next time?

The tail behind him had become thicker and longer as well. Now, simply standing there, Roy could feel his own power!

Even Roy himself had not expected that a single dose of T-Virus would bring such enormous changes. It felt as though it had directly turned him from the Juvenile Stage into the Mature Stage. Over a hundred souls had been incredibly worth it!

Opening the System Interface, Roy discovered that his attributes had increased tremendously.

[Name]: Roy

[Race]: Demon

[Bloodline]: Mixed blood of at least four different kinds

[Demon Name]: Bakelongsha...Ramos

[Form]: Mature Form

[Rank]: Lower Top Tier

[Attribute]: Dark

[Strength]: 66

[Speed]: 35

[Magic Power]: 9

[Vitality]: 74

[Loaded Material]: T-Virus, Xenomorph Blade Tail, Demon Wings.

[Skill Ability]: Telekinesis (Virus Enhancement)

[Evaluation]: It seems you've been rescued!?

Looking at the changes in his attributes, Roy could not help but marvel. The T-Virus enhancement had given him a full fifty-point increase in Strength! Speed had increased by around twenty points, while Vitality had increased the most, by at least sixty points!

No wonder the skin he had Scratched raw was now completely free of marks. It had healed under his powerful life force!

And according to the evaluation, Roy had skipped over the Lower Middle Tier and directly reached the Lower Top Tier. Even his previous Premature Birth condition had been eliminated. He had completely made up for it...

However, what delighted Roy most was that he had actually seen Telekinesis appear among his Skill Ability!

Although he had thought it was possible for him to gain a superpower before, seeing it truly appear still felt unbelievable. He immediately could not wait to try using it.

Roy extended his hand. As his sharp nails moved with his fingers, he hooked them upward. A fist-sized stone on the ground immediately floated up at his command. Wherever Roy pointed, the stone shot there with a whoosh. This marvelous technique of controlling something from afar delighted Roy endlessly.

However, after playing with it for only a short while, Roy suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his head. He could no longer concentrate, and the stone fell to the ground with a smack.

Damn it! Only then did Roy notice that his magic power had been completely depleted!

Using Telekinesis actually consumed magic power!? And during the enhancement just now, the T-Virus did not seem to have increased his Magic Power attribute at all!?

Roy was a little dumbfounded. Then how exactly was he supposed to increase magic power!?

Special thanks to the first helmsman, MemoryTyrand, and thanks as well to all the other Readers for their donations. I did not even notice yesterday that my contract status had changed.