Time slipped away as Lu Minghao ate his fill every day, digested it, and then ate again. Since he was in the sewers and couldn't see the sun, Lu Minghao had no idea how much time had passed. However, judging by how noticeably the food stores in his neighbor's home had dwindled, it had been at least a week.
"Belch~ Speaking of which, why haven't those giant rats in the Underground Kingdom made a move yet? So many of their kind have already disappeared."
Lu Minghao lay in the cavern, surveying the giant rats below. Their numbers had already fallen by a third. The ground, which had originally been packed full, now had quite a few empty spaces thanks to Lu Minghao's frenzied predation during this period. As a result, hunting without being discovered had recently been taking him much longer.
But strangely, even under these circumstances, those giant rats in the Underground Kingdom still showed no major reaction, as if they had no idea what was happening above. The giant rats on the surface were in the same state. Despite their limited intelligence having clearly alerted them to the danger, they merely gathered together and showed no intention of leaving.
"Although I don't know what these giant rats are planning, I still need to be more cautious lately."
As he spoke, Lu Minghao withdrew deeper into the cavern. The shadow beneath him immediately began to twist and stretch, finally sealing the entire entrance shut. This was a new use of Shadow Escape that Lu Minghao had recently developed. By manipulating shadows, he could turn them into a curtain, though it didn't have much defensive power.
However, the shadow's color itself was the best camouflage in the pitch-black sewers. Unless someone came too close, they would never notice anything unusual here.
"After digesting all these monsters inside me, I should be able to successfully advance to the peak of a Lower Demon. When that time comes, I'll kill all the remaining giant rats below, devour them, and leave. After all, the situation is far too strange right now. I keep getting an ominous feeling."
Inside the pitch-black cavern, Lu Minghao looked at the information on his talent panel and secretly estimated his own strength. He had already prepared to run. Everything here gave him an uncanny feeling—the unimaginable number of giant rats, their reaction after he had hunted so many of them recently, and the human who had been captured before. This entire chain of events was simply too strange.
Moreover, Lu Minghao always felt as if something were watching him from the shadows whenever he hunted lately. The ominous feeling in his heart had become increasingly distinct. In all likelihood, this place was about to become the center of some kind of incident.
Therefore, Lu Minghao planned to have one last chat with his good neighbor before running away. As for what would happen here, he had absolutely no curiosity about it. After all, he understood his own strength and position very clearly.
It might look as though he had been devouring giant rats left and right lately, but those giant rats were merely Lesser Demons. Furthermore, he had been hunting them in secret, and he was only a Lower Demon himself. To the true powerhouses of this world, he was an insignificant existence that couldn't even withstand a single glance.
He truly couldn't withstand even a single glance. Powerful pressure could directly crush Lu Minghao's body and soul. Therefore, he reminded himself every day that he was still weak, preventing his ego from swelling and causing him to court death.
"I really envy those protagonists. They come into the world with powerful strength right from the start. How unlike me, having to rack my brains just to survive in the sewers, with even a single meal being so difficult to obtain."
Recalling his experiences since birth, as well as the increasingly sluggish growth of his magic essence and physical strength due to the insufficient nourishment provided by Lesser Demons, Lu Minghao couldn't help sighing. As slimes, Rimuru had utterly surpassed him from the moment of birth, with top-grade potions and magic ore scattered everywhere.
On top of that, Rimuru had initially encountered a Calamity-class (Special S-rank) dragon. Known throughout the world by the title of Storm Dragon, Veldora was one of the five strongest surviving dragon species in the world. He had given Rimuru the name Rimuru Tempest, become his first friend, and directly granted him the strength of a peak Upper Demon.
"Forget it. Envy is useless anyway. Besides, being granted power directly can't be as meaningful as obtaining it through my own efforts bit by bit. I'm not envious at all!"
The next second, Lu Minghao forcibly kicked his envy aside. He was a slime who intended to become the strongest Demon Lord through his own strength, so how could he envy Rimuru, who relied on cheats?
Of course, there was one thing Lu Minghao didn't say aloud: if Rimuru's opportunities were given to him, he definitely wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. After all, who would seriously work hard when they could use cheats? It was only because he couldn't use cheats that Lu Minghao had no choice but to hide in the sewers and develop in secret.
"Sure enough, even in a reincarnation world, I still have to rely on myself!"
Looking at the talent panel in his vision, Lu Minghao's resolve grew firmer. Since he couldn't use cheats, he could only rely on his own efforts. As for anyone who said Lu Minghao's talents were themselves cheats—please, those were his own talents. They were his own power to begin with, so how could that be considered cheating?
Suddenly, the pitch-black cavern was illuminated. Lu Minghao's round body radiated a bright yet gentle light, while visible streams of magic essence continuously poured into him from the air. In just a few seconds, Lu Minghao's magic essence and physical strength increased severalfold.
Compared to when he had first advanced into a Lower Demon, Lu Minghao's current strength had increased by at least ten times. The two talents on his panel, which had originally contained only a trace of blue, had now each become half blue and half white.
"Peak Lower Demon. And I can clearly feel Gluttony's hunger for food. As long as I obtain enough food from here on, I'll become a Middle Demon."
Lu Minghao shook his jelly-like body, easily changing it into all kinds of shapes. A tentacle-like arm struck lightly, leaving a crack nearly ten centimeters deep in the cavern wall. The crack continued corroding beneath the poison carried by his arm.
"Although I didn't reach my initial goal, I can't worry about that now. I'd better make one last haul and get out of here."
Feeling the power inside him that seemed capable of destroying everything, Lu Minghao reminded himself once again that he was merely a weak slime. This was all an illusion caused by his sudden surge in strength. Although he currently felt as if he could destroy anything, in reality, without using poison, destroying even a village populated only by ordinary humans would still take considerable effort.
Still, compared to how he couldn't even beat a goose when he was born, this was already a massive improvement.
"Then this will be my last hunt. Although the nourishment provided by Lesser Demons has become pitifully scarce, there are enough of them to make up for it. Besides, after leaving these good neighbors, who knows when I'll be able to eat my fill again."
The shadow sealing the cavern entrance slowly vanished as it writhed. Lu Minghao's elastic body bounced to the edge of the entrance. Looking at the densely packed giant rats below, he muttered to himself. At that moment, his body had turned an eerie purple and radiated a dangerous aura.
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