Arthur ran through the hot underground terrain, carrying a rabbit-sized creature on his shoulder. He carefully navigated a dark forest, avoiding twisted branches that belonged to devil trees. These trees would rapidly ensnare anything they touched with their fallen branches.

The forest also had areas covered in dense white spiderwebs. Roy had to be cautious around these webs, as they signaled the presence of spiders hunting nearby.

Suddenly, a strange cry echoed through the forest. arthur swiftly lay flat on the ground, placing the creature on his back beside him.

A massive black shadow flew overhead. Fortunately, it didn't notice arthur lying on the ground and continued on its way.

arthur had been ready to abandon his prey if the shadow had spotted him, as it would have been the first target for the shadow.

After avoiding various dangers, arthur reached the base of a huge, decaying tree on the forest's edge. At the tree's roots was a naturally formed, large hole, which became Roy's shelter.

Before entering the tree hole, arthur checked the camouflage he had left behind and made sure there were no signs of his presence. Then he covered the hole with rotting branches and leaves and entered the makeshift shelter.

arthur had been in this underground world for over a week and had gradually adapted to its life. Although he still faced many dangers, he had learned to avoid them through careful observation.

During this time, arthur had primarily learned how to hunt. In this world, there were not only demons but also various monsters, creatures similar to beasts in the human world. arthur had difficulty distinguishing between lower-level demons and monsters based on their appearance. Most lower demons acted on instinct, engaging in hunting, killing, and destruction, without displaying much intelligence. In other words, they had low IQs.

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However, having a low IQ didn't make them easy to deal with. Demons were the dominant species in this world, even the lower ones. As they grew from juveniles to adults, their physical strength increased significantly, and they moved up the food chain.

Juvenile demons remained in the lower layers, but adult demons gradually moved up to the lower middle layers, and with time, they could become mature demons, which were still considered lower-level demons. arthur hadn't seen a middle-level demon yet, but they were somewhere above, and he hoped to find them eventually.

arthur suspected that there were entrances to the lower world within this underground realm, but he hadn't discovered them yet. These conclusions were based on his observations and guesses, but he had limited exploration capabilities.

During this time, arthur had experienced some physical changes. His body had grown slightly stronger, and he had gained a bit of height. His power, speed, and magical energy had also increased. He couldn't fully understand the "activity" attribute, but he believed it related to his vitality and ability to recover from injuries.

arthur realized that relying solely on external weapons had its limitations, especially when he encountered adult demons with strong defenses. So, he started thinking about transforming his own body.

However, this transformation required a lot of souls, and Arthur had been collecting them. He also discovered that the quality of souls varied based on the intelligence and emotions of the creatures. Higher intelligence and stronger emotions led to higher-quality souls.

arthur had captured several prey during his time in the underground world, which gave him a few soul light groups. Although they were smaller than the one he obtained from the four-eyed little demon, they were sufficient for his plans.

After eating a strange insect-like creature to satisfy his hunger, arthur summoned the system interface to begin his first physical transformation.