Hunger. That was the first feeling I felt when I came too. Thirst soon followed.
[Title One Who Fell To Darkness has been acquired.]
What. I looked around but only the source of the voice could not be seen. Instead in front of me was some sort of screen displaying what the voice has just said. The landscape around me was filled with fire. Even the sky looked like it was burning. Yet I didn’t feel any discomfort.
[Due to Title One Who Fell To Darkness the skill Dark Knowledge: Lv1 has been acquired.]
As the voice spoke what the screen displayed changed to match what the voice said.
I tried standing up but found myself unable to move. In fact on closer inspection I lacked anything close to what legs are supposed to look like. Instead my lower body looked like that of some kind of larva. What was this form? I didn’t seem to have either arms or legs.
[Do you wish to use skill Dark Knowledge to inspect yourself?]
The voice rang out once more. “Yes”. Since I didn’t know what I was I did as the voice suggested.
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Race: Hellish Larva
Level: 1/1
HP: 1/1
Mana: 0/0
Vitality: 1/1
Agility: 1/1
Strength: 1/1
Intelligence: 10
Unique Skills:
Skills: Dark Knowledge Lv1 (New) Fire Resistance: Lv5
Unique Titles: One Who Fell To Darkness (New)
Titles:
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So I’m an Hellish Larva huh. Not that I know what that is.
[Do you wish to use skill Dark Knowledge to inspect Hellish Larva?]
So Dark Knowledge can do that to. Seems like a useful ability. “Yes”
[Hellish Larva. A Hellish Larva houses the unborn body of an Lesser Imp. If destroyed before the Lesser Imp is born the Lesser Imp will die within 1 minute unless transferred to another Hellish Larva.]
Wait I can’t be an Imp. I’m a Human. Sure while I have no memory of being one I know instinctively that I am one. However despite how much I complained the voice didn’t answer me.
What felt like several months passed without change. On multiple occasions I tried moving the strange form I was inhabiting but I failed every time. As more timed passed I noticed other Hellish Larva around me. I spent a lot of time observing them. Their body was white without any legs or arms. Instead it was divided into multiple small fragments like what you would expect to see on a larva. They seemed to have some resemblance of a face however I was unable to see much more as my position prevented me from seeing them from the front.
As more timed passed I felt my body getting hotter. Even so it didn’t feel bad instead the feeling felt good. However the feeling of hunger and thirst still plagued me. The feelings that had been with me since I was first born into this world had never ceased. In fact they had gotten stronger as more time passed. By human standards I should already have been dead. Yet this strange body of mine persevered.
[Requirements for evolution have been fulfilled. Do you wish to evolve into Lesser Imp?]
For the first time in what felt like forever the voice echoed in my head. So It was finally time for me to be born huh. While I had complained for a long time I wasn’t as against being born as I had thought I would be. Maybe I just wanted to move around since I had been stuck in here for forever.
As I was thinking the larva around me started convulsing as their back split open and small red figures emerged from the opening in the larva. Deciding to not waste anymore time I answered the voice inside my head. “Yes. I wish to evolve.”
As I finished the sentence unfathomable amounts of pain shot through my back as I felt it split open. Yet as it did my body changed. Suddenly I had both legs and arms. And I could finally move.
As I surveyed the area around me I saw hundreds of the small red creatures. They were engaged in multiple small fights as they fought against each other. Suddenly the smell of blood hit me and my stomach reacted strongly. How could blood smell so delicious?
Driven by the smell of blood I approached one of the smaller groups. Three of the small red figures where engaged in a stalemate each waiting for the others to make a move. All of them had major wounds however they didn’t seem to pay any attention to them. Sneaking up on one of the unsuspecting creatures without as much as a thought I bit into its neck. As it screamed out in pain blood flowed down my throat and the feelings of hunger and thirst started to slowly disappear. Even as the creature collapsed on the ground I continued biting into its neck and drinking its blood.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
[Gained 3 Attribute Points from killing Lesser Imp. Skill Stealth: Lv1 has been acquired.]
The voice from before echoed inside my head once again. Being brought back to my senses I looked down on the creature I had just killed. For the first time in my life I had killed something. I had killed another living being, something that was probably even on of my kin. Still I didn’t feel regret or shame. Instead I was overwhelmed with the feeling of pleasure and fear. How could killing something feel that good.
While I was busy contemplating the other two creatures had attacked each other and after what must have been a fierce struggle one of them had come out on top. The creature was busy with devouring its opponents corpse.
While my heart and brain here against it my instincts urged me to attack the unsuspecting Imp. But a growl of my stomach quickly finished the fight between my Human part and Imp part before it even started. As if in a haze I sneaked up on the Imp and bit down on its neck. The already heavily injured Imp collapsed and I quickly finished my meal.
[Gained 3 Attribute Points from killing Lesser Imp. Title Ambusher: Lv1 has been acquired.]
The voice inside my head spoke once again. As I had killed my kin my attributes had increased. I vaguely remembered them all being at 1 before I evolved so I suppose they increase as I eat.
“Inspect” I said as I looked at myself. Yet out of my mouth came a growl instead of words. Still the voice in my head did as I wished and my information appeared one more.
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Race: Lesser Imp
Level: 1/15
HP: 10/10
Mana: 0/0
Vitality: 10 +
Agility: 10 +
Strength: 10 +
Intelligence: 10 +
Unspent Attribute Points: 6
Unique Skills:
Skills: Dark Knowledge: Lv1 Stealth: Lv1 (New) Fire Resistance: Lv5
Unique Titles: One Who Fell To Darkness
Titles: Ambusher Lv1 (New)
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So my physical attributes had increased yet my Intelligence remained at 10. Though it had been at 10 before I was born as well so perhaps its condition for rising is different. Seeing as the other Imps were approaching me with hungry eyes I decided to inspect my status in further detail later. Not wanting to get devoured I quickly ran away from the remnants of the larva into the wasteland. Some Imps followed me however due to my headstart I managed to escape.
After escaping from the Imps I slowed down. With no knowledge of where I was it would be smarter to survey the area instead of running around mindlessly. Up ahead i spotted what looked like a hill so to gain an understanding of the surrounding area I decided to head there.
Upon arriving at the top of the hill I surveyed the area around me. I saw countless Lesser Imps running around. Some traveled in groups while others traveled alone. There were also other creatures, among them there were dogs with fur made of fire and horses with burning manes.
“Inspect” I said as I observed the creatures.
[Small Hellhound: A newborn Hellhound Small Hellhounds have a vicious appetite which consist mainly of Lesser Imps and Hellish Larva. As they grow older they will form packs to increase their hunting area.]
[Young Harbinger: The infant form of Harbingers. They are the fastest creatures on the first layer of Avernus. They are strong enough to hunt packs of Lesser Imps and Small Hellhounds alone. When they evolve into their adult form they will form groups to avoid being targeted by stronger devils.]
So I was on the first layer of Avernus. Avernus is the first circle of hell but I didn’t know that it also had layers. “Inspect first layer of Avernus”.
[The first layer of Avernus contain newborn devils of different kinds. Amongst the common ones are Lesser Imps, Small Hellhounds and Lesser Infernals.]
So I belong to one of the common creatures of this layer. That probably means i’m weak. Well I’ll just have to do my best to survive with the skills I have. I guess I’ll take a detailed look on them.
“Inspect Stealth”
[Stealth: When sneaking it’s harder to detect you. The higher level of the skill the harder it is to detect you. This skill is countered by Sense Creature of equal or higher level.]
“Inspect Fire Resistance”
[Fire Resistance: Reduces the amount of damage taken from fire based attacks. Also reduces the damage taken from environmental fire based effects.]
“Inspect Dark Knowledge”
[Dark Knowledge: At lower levels this skill allows the user to identify different devils and show their detailed status. At higher levels it allows the user to identify higher tier devils as well as research dark lore. When used by devils it also functions as the humans inspect skill.]
“Inspect Ambusher”
[Ambusher: Increases the damage dealt when ambushing. The increase depends on the level of the title.]
[Skill Dark Knowledge has increased to Lv2.]
It seems like Dark Knowledge increases in levels as I use it. That's good to know.
“Inspect One Who Fell To Darkness”
[Dark Knowledge is not powerful enough to inspect One Who Fell To Darkness.]
So if I raise Dark Knowledge I'll be able to inspect it. It took some time to raise it to Lv2 so it will probably take some time before I'm able to inspect it.
Well now that I know what my skills and titles do I should spend my attribute points. My stealthy nature is what allowed me to survive this far so I should probably increase my agility quite a bit. And my human intelligence is also giving my advantage against my kin. I mean for fucks sake once they start feeding they dont notice their surroundings at all. But increasing my vitality and strength might also be useful.
In the end I increased my Agility and Intelligence by 2 and my Vitality and Strength by 1. As I finished distributing the attribute points my stomach grumbled. Seems like it’s time to go out and hunt. I spotted a lone Imp and headed towards it.