The creature stood in front of it, its body of rotten flesh covered in eyes, staring down upon me. My jaw was gone, replaced with black, dripping flesh. My eye was gone again, my sight cut in half. I couldn't move with my leg shattered, and my hands were mushy messes after removing the small creatures from my body.
With my remaining eye, a hovering purple square floated. On it were words that I could read, and even with my blurred vision, they were clear to me.
What is this? An illusion? No... it felt real.
I looked past the screen and back at the monster. It stood still, waiting for me to die from my wounds.
Okay, I have some time, as long as I don't threaten it, I should be fine for now.
Bringing my eyes back to the screen, reading it was simple; understanding was the hard part.
You Have Proven Your Hunger, Your Bravery, and your pain.
As I finished reading, the words began to fade.
With Your Suffering, You Have Been Deemed Fit To Acquire The Demon System.
The Demon system? What in the world is that? As I thought about it, a piercing sensation sent shockwaves through my body. Looking down, I couldn't see a wound, although there was nothing on me, I felt a new warmth inside my chest.
Begging Assimilation.
The heat within me began to build up, causing my head to spin and ache. The heat was too much; my broken hands scratched my chest, trying to release the heat.
It felt as if I was going to explode. A gurgling scream came from my ruined mouth, as black blood spilled out.
New Creature Analyzed
New Skills Developed
Demonic Regeneration lvl 1Acquired
Heightened Perception lvl 4 Acquired
Due to Extreme Damage, Heightened Perception lvl 4 has been sacrificed to force the upgrade of Demonic Regeneration lvl 1
Demonic Regeneration lvl 1-> lvl 3
Pain shot through me as the messages popped up in my vision. I convulsed on the cave ground, the heat in my chest dispersed, spilling itself across my entire body. My leg bent back into place, the bone snapping back into its proper position. The pain of this was incomprehensible. I tried to scream, but I had lost all control of my body.
Due To Overwhelming Pain, a new skill has been acquired.
Pain Resistance lvl 1 Acquired
The pain in me reduced slightly, but the pain was still too much to handle. I felt my jaw start to reassemble, flesh growing out of my face, tendons reattaching themselves, muscles flexing and spasming as they reformed. My bone cracked and began to grow to fix the missing pieces. I could taste again as my tongue began to develop fresh taste buds.
My broken throat was next to fix itself, and with it, my voice has returned to me. The feeling of my body realigning itself felt like torture. I screamed a cacophony, my body spasming against the cave wall.
The monster in front of me backed away at the sight of me twisting and writhing, my screams scaring it slightly.
Pain Resistance lvl 1-> lvl 2
I did not even feel a difference in my pain.
Pain Resistance lvl 2 -> lvl 3
Pain Resistance lvl 3 -> lvl 4
...
Pain Resistance lvl 4 -> lvl 10
Pain Resistance has reached the max level
Starting the evolution of Pain Resistance
Pain Resistance lvl 10 -> Pain Nullification lvl 1
With those final words, I finally felt the pain dwindle to a mere burning sensation. I could still feel my bones realigning and my muscles contorting to heal, but instead of immense pain, it was discomfort. The pain had transformed from being ripped apart to as if I had fallen onto a hard floor from a height of 5 meters.
After a few moments, that pain within me had completely dissipated, and with a final "Pop," my eye had reformed inside of my head. I could finally see clearly again!
The monster blinked wildly as it looked upon my fixed body. Its face showed shock and confusion, as if it were thinking of how this woman had fully healed.
It snarled as it opened its face once again to show me its two sharp fangs. It brought its front legs up as if to drive its sharp talons into me. As it did, my eyes widened. I planted my hands into the wall against my back and pushed off to dodge the creature's attack. I rolled to the side just in time, the monster's talons piercing the stone where I had just been seated. I ran to the height of the monster, trying to distance myself as much as possible.
How am I supposed to kill this thing? It's way bigger than the other ones I had killed, so I can't just smash it.
The creature screamed at me as I thought of a way to defeat it. It dove at me, and as I tried to side step it, one of its talons slashed my leg. The pain was less than I expected, but that did not mean my body did not react. I felt my calf spasm, and I tumbled to the ground. I pushed my hand against the wound, trying to halt the blood and contortion. To my amazement, after a few moments, the cut on my leg began to heal.
Watching in real time, I saw muscle begin to reform, and skin begin to grow and reattach itself. The pain was gone after a few seconds as well!
What has happened to me?
Did this Demon system truly give me these new powers?
I looked up at the monster again to see it skittering towards me. While being in this position on the ground, I could not dodge in time as it descended upon me. It slammed its talon into my waist, sending a piercing pain through my body. But I withstood it without much trouble.
The monster had me pinned down, its drooping face was right above where I lay, the creature flashed a cruel grin and then showed me its fangs. It dug its talons deeper into my flesh, causing it to turn black and bubble. I screamed as it did this, pain engulfed me for a few seconds, even with this Demon System...
I looked up at the beast while biting my cheek. Its foremost eye blinked, and with it, it brought its fangs down. I twisted my neck, avoiding its bite, and it got stuck in the ground. I grabbed at its legs that were stabbing deep into me and pulled with all my strength. After a moment, I dislodged its talons and swung my arms, tossing the beast to the side.
The monster cried out as it rolled across the ground and slammed into the cave wall. The beast looked at me with rage in its multitude of eyes. But behind that rage, I saw something else. I saw fear. A big smile plastered across my face, the giant lump of rotten flesh was actually afraid!
But even though I was afraid, I still had no way to kill this thing. I doubt I'll get lucky enough to throw it around again, and I don't think punching it would be very effective. Getting lost in my thoughts, the monster took action again.
It plunged its talons deep into the walls and began to climb up the side of the cavern.
Is it running away? But it has the advantage? Is it truly that scared, or just stupid?
I watched as the monster scurried its way up into the darkness.
How high is this cave really?
The sound of its stabbing dissipated as well, leaving me in silence once again. What a terrifying creature. The thought of being turned into one of those made my body shiver. That would be a terrible fate.
I looked around the cave, still on guard just in case it came back, but after a few moments, I finally relaxed. I looked at my hands; they were perfect, no black bubbles, no missing flesh, just my pale skin. Signing, I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.
I haven't felt like this since the moment I was born...
Was this truly thanks to this thing called the Demon System?
As I thought about it, a purple square opened in front of my eyes. The letters looked like weird scribbles and patterns, but I was able to read them. On the square, even though I could read the words, I could not fully comprehend what they meant.
Name: ####
Title: ####
Race: DemonBorn(Mythical)
Tier: 1 (fledgling)
Class: Devourer(Mythical)
Lvl: 1 (5/100)
Blood: (1/100)
Skills:
Intrinsic: Gluttony lvl 1
Tier 1: Demonic Regeneration lvl 3- 17 blood
Tier 2: Pain Nullification lvl 1- 644.2 blood
What is all of this!? I examined the screen, trying to understand what I was reading. Was this really all about me? The name was empty, so that definitely matches me, but what is the rest of this? Also, blood, what does that even mean?
I scratched my head as I looked at the words again.
Demonborn? I looked at the race part of the screen, getting curious about it. Suddenly, the screen disappeared, and new words appeared.
Demonborn are powerful creatures born in Mortuus Lux, known as creatures of pain. Demonborn are said to be in short supply due to the dangers of the realm below.
I am a demon. Mortuus Lux is the name of this world. If this is all true, then I am learning what this place is.
As I finished reading, I focused on the next word in the list, hoping for a description like the last one.
Fledgling, the lowest tier of DemonBorn
Is that it? I thought I would get a little more information! I sighed and moved on.
Devourer, a class that belongs to only one person across all realms, allows infinite growth through the process of devouring enemies.
Infinite growth? That sounds amazing... Is that why, after I ate that smaller monster earlier, I gained a skill? This seems too good to be true. Is it as powerful as it sounds?
Speaking of skills... why do I have three? I only remember acquiring two! I focused on the ones I saw earlier. trying to display a description once again.
Demonic Regenerationlvl 3: boosts the regeneration of physical damage by 130% if you are of the DemonBorn race
130%!? That's a huge amount, no wonder my wounds healed so quickly... This is an amazing skill! So next is Pain Nullification lvl 1. I focused on the skill the same way I did with the previous one.
Pain Nullification lvl 1: nullifies pain to a certain degree.
That's why I didn't feel as much pain; it's a great skill to have, but it wasn't one I got from the monster I ate; it's one I acquired through my own situation. So does that mean I could acquire skills like that as well? It also didn't have a percentage; is it something I have to feel to understand?
Finally, I looked at the skill that I had not seen before.
Gluttony lvl 1: A skill acquired from the class devourer. When devouring a living organism, you have a chance to obtain either a new skill or upgrade an already acquired skill. It also allows forcibly upgrading an acquired skill using the blood bank.
So I got this skill from my class, and it lets me grow by eating my enemies. I see, so as long as I keep killing, I can grow stronger. And now I understand what blood means!
I looked back on the skills and what surprised me
Tier 1 Demonic Regeneration lvl 3- 17 blood
Tier 2 Pain Nullification lvl 1- 644.2 blood
Why is the cost of pain nullification so high? I noticed the large price difference, and the only difference between the skills was the tier. So skills have tiers, and that affects the cost to upgrade them, too. That is good information to know.
Looking at my almost empty blood bank, it looks like I have a long way to go on forcibly upgrading Pain Nullification.
After checking over the purple screen one more time, I finally decided to take a break. I bent my legs and planted myself on the floor. I thought about my experiences, and of that dream I had before unlocking the Demon System. It felt so real, but I'm not sure if my mind was playing tricks on me while I was on the brink of death.
I thought of the woman who saved me, but also killed me? That made no fucking sense! I thought of Orobas, was it a demon like me, but on a higher tier? It sure seemed demon-like... but even the literal Demon King didn't compare to that white-haired woman; she was terrifying. Just thinking about her made me shiver. Her power was amazing...
Letting out a deep breath, I brought myself to my feet. Maybe one day I can be like them, but for now I need to survive and find a way out of this cave. I started walking before I felt a familiar beat beneath my feet.
"Badump"
Well shit...