Advancing to Lesser Demon

After eating, he cleared away the other party's remains to avoid attracting pointless predators that might disturb him.

Orsaga found more broken stones and dirt to conceal and seal the cave entrance. If anyone tried to enter, they would wake him from his sleep.

If it truly came down to a life-or-death crisis, there would be no helping it, even if it damaged his potential.

Once everything was ready, Orsaga opened the system panel and issued it an instruction.

During my advancement, use all current Evolution Points as the basis. Cooperate with the automatic transformation during advancement in the most optimal way to further optimize all of my bodily structures and Demon Bloodline. Note 1: During the transformation, the host must retain the ability to withdraw from it at any time. Note 2: While preserving the optimization effect, make the host's appearance conform to his own aesthetic preferences to a certain extent. If this would cause the optimization to fail, this note is void, and all other instructions take priority!

The first part of that instruction meant that Orsaga wanted to take advantage of the abyssal baptism triggered by his advancement. He wanted the Evolution System to use Evolution Points as a foundation, draw upon the Abyss's power, and optimize him once more. He wanted to see whether he could leverage a small force to move a great weight and get something for free along the way.

Digging the road was difficult, but talking and patching holes was much easier. With the Abyss Consciousness charging ahead and carving the path, the system only needed to follow behind and make supplementary optimizations. Orsaga merely had to lie down and inspect the results. Fair and reasonable!

If it worked, great. If not, forget it. Either way, he would not lose out.

This counted as an experiment.

As for Note 1, it meant exactly what it said. Orsaga did not want some demon to break in while he was unable to move. That would be awkward. He had to ensure that he could temporarily withdraw from the transformation. That was the lesson he had learned on the riverbank.

Note 2 meant exactly what it said as well. Though he was a demon, Orsaga's aesthetic sense still leaned toward that of humans. He did not want to walk around with a half-human, half-wolf face. If possible, he wanted to make himself look better. However, as a demon, strength was ultimately the foremost factor. If it affected his strength, then he could pretend he had never said it.

Once everything was fully prepared, Orsaga lay down in the pit he had dug within the cave, closed his eyes, and mobilized his power to begin his first advancement.

According to the demons' Inheritance Memory, advancing from an Infant Demon to a Lesser Demon was the most important advancement in a demon's life, because it determined which path he would take. Future advancements merely determined how far he could travel down that path.

After he fell asleep, the power of the Abyss was stirred. A reward from the Bottomless Abyss crossed countless obstacles and arrived directly where Orsaga was, enveloping him and spontaneously purifying the Demon Bloodline within him, extracting its more exceptional parts.

In the haze, Orsaga seemed to see countless branches appear before him. They were all advancement paths for Infant Demons. Countless phantoms roared before him, their expressions savage, vicious, or crazed. They displayed countless abilities before Orsaga's eyes.

A normal demon's advancement did not offer so many options. It was determined by their respective strength and achievements. One could advance once every aspect of their overall attributes reached 15, but could a demon that had barely reached the passing line of 15 be treated the same as one that had reached the limit of 25?

The answer was obviously no. The range of choices available to the two differed by an unknown extent. Moreover, Orsaga had slaughtered more than a thousand demons on the banks of the Styx, making him the undisputed first place in this class of Styx River Kindergarten.

The brutality and strength he had displayed perfectly embodied the values of demons and the main theme of the Bottomless Abyss. In human society, it would have been the kind of thing worthy of commendation. Thus, the Abyss Consciousness paid special attention to his advancement, granting him an abyssal baptism several times stronger than others of the same level.

Faced with the countless branching choices, Orsaga was nearly dazzled. After weighing his options, he ultimately chose the Mutated Flame Demon branch of the Flame Demon path. The Demon Bloodline he had Awakened was fire-attributed, and it was mutated Bloodflame at that. Both its offensive power and growth potential exceeded those of normal demons.

As soon as he made his choice, the advancement officially began. The power of the abyssal baptism poured into his body, while the Evolution System took advantage of the opportunity to blend into it according to Orsaga's instructions. The power of the Bottomless Abyss did not reject it, because in its view, that was originally Orsaga's own power and will.

Thus, the predetermined Mutated Flame Demon underwent another mutation under the Evolution System's guidance. Some power that Orsaga normally could not have absorbed and would have wasted was fully utilized as a result.

Inside the cave, the enormous black-red cocoon automatically cracked apart and turned into countless specks of dust.

A demon roughly 2.4 meters tall stepped out from within.

Though his face still bore some slender markings resembling tattoos, it was generally close to human in appearance and exceedingly handsome. An ingrained, wicked aura showed between his brows and eyes.

His figure was tall and straight, covered in perfectly defined muscles. He was neither overly bulky nor too thin, perfectly matching the golden ratio. The scales that had once resembled Snake Scale had transformed into an exoskeleton resembling bone armor. Only at certain joints did scales remain, to ensure flexibility.

The whites of his eyes remained blood-red, but compared to before, there were now golden Vertical Pupils at their centers. His teeth were denser and more slender than a human's, and possessed greater tearing power. Two backward-curving demon horns grew from his head, each five or six centimeters thick and more than twenty centimeters long. Beyond that, he also had Scarlet hair that fell to his shoulders.

The fingers and toes on his hands and feet had changed from three to five, just like a human's. They had become both stronger and more dexterous.

The tail behind his buttocks had lengthened considerably. It had once seemed somewhat short, but it was now nearly 1.7 meters long and covered in countless tiny barbs. Its shape somewhat resembled the tail of an alien from a science-fiction film, only more slender.

He extended his long, forked tongue, somewhat like a snake's, licked his lips, and took a deep breath.

Orsaga felt better than ever before. Power seemed to surge from every part of his body, and he felt as though he could punch his former self to death with one blow.

If he had not known that outside Howling Forest, he was merely cannon fodder and that countless beings could kill him with a single punch, he might have gotten a little carried away!

According to the bloodline memories, demons were ranked as Infant Demon—Lesser Demon—Lower Demon—Middle Demon—Upper Demon—Great Demon—Demon Lord—Demon Prince. A Demon Prince was also called an Abyss Prince, meaning that his authority and power lay only beneath the consciousness of the Bottomless Abyss. They were the Bottomless Abyss's most favored princes!

There were eight ranks, and Orsaga had only reached the second. He understood that the road ahead was still long, so he restrained the excitement in his heart and began planning his future journey.

Host: Stuart. Ogarisa. Asaron... Corifor. Orsaga

Race/Level: Demon Race/Lesser Demon

Strength: 40 (5)

Speed: 39 (5)

Constitution: 37 (5)

Magic Power: 41 (5)

Soul: 42 (5)

Talents: Soul Devour Evolution (autonomously evolves through continuously devouring souls), Slaughter Evolution (autonomously evolves through continuous battle and slaughter), Combat Instinct (innately possesses extremely strong combat talent), Flesh and Blood Absorption (can absorb any flesh and blood it comes into contact with and extract its essence), Magic Power Trait—Corrosion. Pain (compared to ordinary magic power, it is corrosive and can make targets experience an extreme degree of pain), Elemental Talent—Bloodflame (possesses the traits of High Temperature, corroding flesh and blood, and burning life energy and souls), Exoskeleton—Bloodthirst (evolved from its own scales, possesses extremely high physical hardness and a certain degree of energy resistance, and can automatically repair damage by absorbing blood and consuming magic power), Energy Vision (his gaze can penetrate most substances and see through energy), Abyssal Contract (possesses the ability to accept summons voluntarily and can use the power of the Abyss as a medium to sign contracts with other beings. Note: No one can violate a contract, not even a Demon Prince)

Skills: Fireball Technique (Bloodline Spell, 10%), Fire Arrow (Bloodline Spell, 10%), Life Drain (Bloodline Spell, 10%), Pain Strike (Bloodline Spell, 10%), Soul Impact (Bloodline Spell, 10%)

Evolution Points: 0

Note: The values in parentheses for the body and soul are the standard levels of a normal newborn Infant Demon. Each additional point increases the current strength by one-fifth. For example, 6 points is one-fifth stronger than 5 points, and 7 points is one-fifth stronger than 6 points, increasing by percentage. The percentages in parentheses in the skill section represent proficiency in that skill. Upon reaching 100%, it will advance into a higher-level skill.

Looking at his stats, Orsaga nodded in satisfaction.

Although his assets had been wiped clean, he had at least completed a complete hardware upgrade.

According to the information recorded by the Evolution System, if the abyssal baptism had not supplied most of the energy, he could never have directly reached his current level.

All of his original talents had been strengthened once, and he had gained Exoskeleton—Bloodthirst, Energy Vision, and Abyssal Contract, one of the most important abilities for a demon. A demon that could not use Abyssal Contract was not qualified to call itself a demon.

If they could not even use Abyssal Contract, how could they visit other worlds and conduct friendly exchanges?

As for the several new skills, they had little to do with the system. They were innate spells automatically Awakened once his bloodline and strength reached a certain level.

They came with a certain degree of proficiency. It was not enough to make the user master them perfectly, but it was enough for him to use and withdraw them with barely any difficulty. Moreover, because they were Bloodline Spells, they were all instant-cast. As long as he had enough magic power, he could use them continuously without any restrictions.

Before Awakening these spells, Orsaga could also shape Bloodflame into fireballs or fire arrows, but those were merely inferior imitations with the right appearance and no substance. They had no meaning whatsoever and could not achieve the efficiency of mature spells, where one part effort yielded ten parts result.

Beyond that, he could sense that if he learned other spells, they could also be added to the skill panel. Once added to the skill panel, the possibility of casting failure would automatically be removed. Cast it once, and he could cast it anytime. Learn it once, and he would know it forever. One certification, eternal certification!