“Would you like to proceed with the reward draw?” “Confirm.” After witnessing the "Claw of Leviathan," Carlo was hoping to score a handy weapon. His recent promotion to mid-tier imp not only came with a slew of system perks but also significantly boosted his own abilities.
Carlo had shot up to 1.3 meters in height. Although still slender, this made him "tall" among his kind. His strength had grown too, and now, even without relying on sneak attacks, he could easily take down an imp.
But he still felt weak. Carlo figured it had something to do with his diet—living on demon eggs alone couldn't compare to a solid meat-filled diet. After all, in any battle, the meat-eater always had the edge over the vegetarian.
That’s why a decent weapon could change everything.
“The draw is complete.” While Carlo’s mind wandered, the system had already finished the draw. What... is this? He blinked at the item in front of him. A ball of fire? To be precise, it was a tiny flame, no bigger than a fava bean, dark purple at the edges, fading to pure black at its core. The flame flickered briefly before darting straight into Carlo’s chest. Carlo winced as pain shot through him, but soon, the flame settled inside his heart, pulsing in sync with the organ. A dark purple flame, a dark purple heart, both beating in perfect harmony.
Hellfire Seed. Effects: Ignite, Brand.
The system’s description was short and to the point. Carlo’s eyes lit up, and as he extended his hand, a small purple flame flickered into life in his palm. The air around him shimmered with heat. Tears almost welled up in his eyes—he could finally roast meat! This was a long time coming.
Next, Carlo spent 1,000 Evil Points to unlock "Basic Demon Combat Skills Mastery." A rush of memories flooded his mind, and countless fragmented images flashed before his eyes.
Carlo stared at his hands in wonder; he felt reborn. The demons, perched atop the pyramid of countless species, had honed their combat skills to perfection. Even just the basics were enough to transform Carlo, boosting his power to a whole new level. As he tested out his limbs, he found the techniques imprinted in his mind easy to execute. While his small frame slightly limited their full potential, the 1,000 Evil Points were well worth it.
Excitement gleamed in Carlo’s eyes. He licked his lips unconsciously. Imps—or rather, Evil Points—he was coming for them.
Before him was a demon that had already devoured several of its kin, resembling a grotesquely oversized mantis. Its legs were muscular, and its forearms were serrated blades, still glistening with bits of flesh. Carlo wouldn’t have dared approach it before. Even with a sneak attack, victory would have been impossible. This mantis demon was on the cusp of advancing from low-tier to mid-tier, needing just a couple more kills to complete its transformation. While Carlo’s move seemed risky, his recent string of easy victories had left him confident in his newfound strength. Demons weren’t meant to cower. Besides, Carlo had been eyeing this mantis demon's blades for quite some time.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
From a distance, Carlo hurled a stone at the mantis demon. The stone arced through the air perfectly, but just before it struck the mantis demon's head, a flash of cold steel sliced it to dust. What a fine weapon. Carlo’s eyes gleamed with greed. The mantis demon, enraged by the attack, screeched and vanished, appearing right in front of Carlo in an instant. Carlo thrust his dagger at the demon’s head, but the demon's blade arms blocked it, snapping the dagger in half. With a fluid motion, Carlo discarded the broken weapon and ducked under the demon’s next attack. Instead of retreating, he surged forward, slipping like a fish into the demon's guard. Thud. Carlo collided with the mantis demon, causing it to stumble back. Before it could regain its balance, Carlo pushed off with his toes, flipping gracefully over the demon’s head and landing behind it. During the flip, he grabbed hold of the mantis demon’s head. Crack.
Carlo landed lightly, disgusted, and tossed the severed head to the ground. Behind him, the headless corpse collapsed, blood spraying in all directions. As Carlo watched, a wisp of gray smoke rose from the corpse, drifting toward him and entering his body, making its way to his heart. The small, dark purple flame trembled and grew ever so slightly.
This was a new discovery—Carlo’s Hellfire Seed seemed to feed on demon souls. Every time he killed, that gray wisp would appear and be absorbed by the flame. Not that it bothered him much. Instead, he happily pried off the mantis demon’s blade arms and modified them into a pair of fearsome serrated daggers. With these new weapons, hunting demons became much easier.
Carlo had transformed from a hunter into a reaper. Over the next few days, he swept through the demon-infested beach like a storm. Low-tier imps, worth less than five experience points each, were slain with a single strike. Mantis demons, worth seven or eight points, fell in two or three moves. As for the mid-tier imps worth ten points, he had encountered two. After some effort, they too became fuel for his Hellfire Seed. Carlo’s experience points had climbed to nearly 500, and his Evil Points had grown to over 3,000. He spent 1,000 of them on "Basic Demon Magic Mastery," unlocking spells like Minor Charm, Minor Curse, and Minor Soul Torture—cool-sounding but mostly useless for his current needs. Except for one handy ability.
Carlo’s left hand held a serrated dagger, pinning down a freshly hatched imp, while his right hand conjured a massive ball of crimson flame. As the fire roasted the imp, its skin sizzled, and a tantalizing aroma filled the air. Once the meat was done, Carlo dismissed the flames and tore off a large chunk, savoring the taste. In truth, the roasted flesh wasn’t particularly delicious, but after living off demon eggs for so long, it tasted like heaven to Carlo.
He had only recently started eating meat. The Hellfire Seed couldn't be used for roasting; it would incinerate the flesh to ashes the moment it touched. Carlo had finally attained a modest lifestyle. When thirsty, he cracked open a demon egg. When hungry, he roasted meat. When bored, he roamed the area, harvesting experience and Evil Points. He had become the undisputed ruler of this stretch of the demon beach. During this time, Carlo’s mindset had gradually changed. He was becoming more like a demon—perhaps, becoming what he was always meant to be.
As Carlo enjoyed his meal, a chorus of imp screeches suddenly echoed from the distance, accompanied by a strange rushing sound, like a violent wind sweeping through. It was coming closer. Fast.
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