To ordinary wizards, the countless bizarre varieties of demons were merely materials they occasionally used, much like the various Underground Beasts, ranging from weak to powerful. But to wizards passionate about this field, demons were like fine wine, worthy of careful savoring. Growing stronger did not necessarily mean they would study stronger demon species. Even a high-rank wizard might delve into the lowliest imps. As long as the research went deep enough, it could still open new doors, reveal new discoveries and more secrets, and even uncover realms unknown to the demons themselves.
Watching the lively little creature flick its tail nervously, Ruger unconsciously recalled what his teacher had said when they first met, back when his teacher was still an apprentice in a human body.
Of course, he could not yet do what a high-rank wizard could, but that did not stop his eyes from shining.
The vicious-looking imp had only just steadied itself when, without even bothering to remove the matter clinging to its body, it shrank back under Ruger's gaze.
After a while, seeing that Ruger had not pounced, it turned and crawled toward the maggot remains on the ground, stuffing handfuls into its mouth.
Ruger watched with interest.
Then he glanced at the earth beneath his feet, a strange expanse of ground that was healing.
But this so-called healing did not extend everywhere. He had seen plenty of cracked ground along the way.
The notes mentioned a legend that the world's first demon had been born from a river. Could this have something to do with that river?
Ruger's thoughts wandered.
The scene beneath his feet looked more like the Abyss was bleeding.
He shook his head and approached the imp.
Demons grew swiftly. In this short span of time, the imp had merely scavenged some