Arthur moved ahead cautiously, watching for any signs of Nezar following him. However, he soon noticed that Nezar was in a lot of pain and couldn't chase him anymore. Nezar could only roar in anger while Arthur made his escape.
Demons were skilled at handling souls and used soul fragments for various things. They could put soul fragments into living beings, turning them into monsters under the demon's control. These fragments formed a unique "soul network" that allowed demons to sense through their creations.
But splitting soul fragments had risks. If someone else ate or purified these fragments, it would hurt the demon's soul. Arthur had used this trick to get away from Nezar, but it had hurt Nezar quite a bit.
Arthur knew he couldn't go back to his cave until he figured out how to deal with Nezar. Finding a new hiding place was tough, but Arthur had decided to explore the underground world carefully. It was a long-term plan, so he didn't need to hurry.
Arthur chose a direction and started his journey. Along the way, he hunted for prey to gather more souls, just in case something went wrong in this unfamiliar world.
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As he went on, Arthur noticed something. He had a feeling that what Nezar had said might be true. Strong demons had probably moved to the lower abyss, leaving mostly lower-level creatures in the upper abyss.
Here, the norm was fighting and hunting. Demons hunted monsters, and monsters also hunted demons. That's because monsters could turn into demons if they ate demon flesh and absorbed demonic energy. This explained why lower demons looked so strange and had mixed bloodlines.
To survive, Arthur had to be more ruthless when hunting. He realized he had become emotionally detached from killing, even when it was other demons.
When he faced stronger prey, Arthur couldn't always win, but his strange tail helped him in many fights against equally strong opponents. It made him better at fighting, whether he attacked sneakily or charged in headfirst.
After collecting enough souls, Arthur decided to make his demon wings better. He made them bigger, with a wingspan of over two meters when fully extended. He also changed their attribute to "Flight."
Now, he could fly on his own, expanding his hunting territory and facing flying demons and monsters. However, he noticed that he wasn't very fast.
Arthur had already planned to make his wings even better. He wanted to add the attribute of "High-Speed Flight" next.
As he traveled and hunted more, Arthur noticed something strange. Creatures in this upper abyss world seemed to rely mostly on physical fighting. Despite their amazing abilities, he hadn't seen any demons using magic in their battles. This absence of magic puzzled Arthur.