***
"Meow!"
I yelp at the at the sudden sensation of gravity losing its grip on my body. I must have been rolling in bed and fell off. Likely because of that strange dream I've just had. Silly quirk of mine, making me meow when startled, now coming natural even after all this time... It always made her smile.
The memory of the dream is fading fast, but the bizarre nature of the being I've met in it sticks to mind. The wrongness evoking some primal emotions deep in my core. Hard to describe what I saw especially after waking up -and the scale of its existence, I couldn't comprehend it.
We talked about reincarnation, and I was being stubborn. It's appalling how I could talk back faced with- unsure if there are even words to describe it... but dreams are weird like that. I kept arguing that having to lose your memories after death is stupid, rejecting the idea of not being myself anymore. This Something. No, that's disrespectful- this Being tried to persuade me but I just wouldn't listen.
Bad idea. There was a mention of going to Hell...
My eyes snapped open and I braced myself expecting to hit the floor. Instead of my bedroom I've found myself up in the air, few meters from the rapidly approaching ground covered in white sand. This is going to suck!
At least on that part I was right... Landing on stone with the color and consistency of wet chalk took the air out of me and I coughed up a mouthful of some disgusting black sludge. I'm actually covered in the stuff and more is dripping on me from above where I lay down, sprawled on the ground, retching at the foul thing.
"Fuck―"
I get on my knees trying to crawl away but all I can do is vomit more of the sludge. After another coughing fit, black dripping from my nose I scramble away from the now sizable pool of this tar-like substance.
After wiping stains from my face caked in black and sand with a thin arm, then swinging it to the side to get the stuff off of me, —Thankfully it doesn't stick to your skin and falls away easily. I freeze at a sudden realization.
My hands. They are so small, like a child's... And blood red in color.
Wide eyes trace intricate spiraling patters on my arm. They look like someone took a knife to me and carved shallow grooves in my skin. But the surface of my body feels smooth. And it's not just the arms. I'm covered in them ―and butt naked.
Movement behind my back startles me from the wonder of this disturbing fact. I whip my head around only to discover I now have a tail. Long and thin, like a monkey's. Taking one step back from the shock I fall on my back, then sit there not understanding, arms and tail wrapped around my knees. Trembling. Or was it the mountain that just shook? I can't tell.
This is all so wrong, I must still be dreaming.
There is a lone big tree to the side, looming over me. Its bark the color of bleached bone is covered in cracks. From the exposed roots all the way to the tips of its naked branches; some of which have broken off and crumbled to the ground. It looks like it could fall apart at any moment. From one of those still unbroken, and right above the sole spot of color in the surroundings -the black stain on the surface of stone, in what appears to be a shallow ravine on a mountain's side. A tattered piece of graying cloth hangs there swaying in the wind.
I look around trying to make sense of the situation. What happened? After I finally managed to fall asleep last night I...
A horrifying realization strikes me.
"I― I can't remember my name..." I think I blacked out for a moment just now, but then scramble my mind trying to remember and notice some of my memories fading, just like a dream I had before everything went to hell. Everything related to my name is being forgotten, as if consumed by a dark fog.
The bone like tree cracks along the lines crossing its trunk and breaks apart, crumbling to the ground in a cloud of dust and what smells like salt. But I don't pay it much attention.
Looking at the gray turbulent sky, idly moving my palm through the sand and my thoughts confused... There is a flash deep within the overhanging cloud. But thunder never comes. I just fall on my back and lay there, not moving, mind blank― just like the surrounding walls of stone. It must have been raining at some point. Yeah, must be the rain.
In my current state― don't think I would notice even if the world was ending around me. The sky kept flashing silently high above. A storm is coming.
And then there came the sound of the trumpet.
——
I 'wake up' and open my eyes.
Not true again. I need to be careful when it comes to lies - even if it's just in my own head. Wouldn't want to blurt something out and regret it later. At least according to the Hag I wouldn't like the consequences.
Demons don't sleep, another 'great' thing about hell.
But it's easy to let yourself go a little deeper while in meditation. It's good for your mental health when you are a demon and can't really dream anymore. Often it leads us to reliving the past in vivid details― And since demons live very long lives there is a lot to go through.
Why did I go back all the way to the beginning? Must be my current location, the place where I was born anew.
I glace at the only plant living on this mountain. Likely the only one for miles. There is not much left in the wasteland since that day. Well the rose was not around at the time, or at least I didn't notice it.
Hell, how long has it been since then? So much has happened.
It's now much darker and still covered by a cloud of thick miasma. The goatman was more tainted then I though; Rose likely never had so much to go through at once. Lemures can't compare to a proper demon.
> Consumed essence: Demon (13) Chort (27)
>
> Horns +3
>
> Strength +4
>
> Resilience +4
>
> Magic +4
>
> Perception +2
>
> Agility +4
>
> Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
A Demon huh, Not surprising ―well someone lost one of their summons.
I consumed the duo I salvaged from the ambush as soon as there was almost no Taint left - you can never get it all out. I didn't get much out of them, they were dead for far too long before I brought them up here. You still always get a tiny part of power from whatever you kill. The act of killing forms a link - a connection, between you and the victim. No sure how that works, some soul mojo. Or maybe it's karmic? But the remaining essence will slowly leave a corpse if left alone.
Likely just how the system in this world works. Simple explanation, if you can call something like the system 'simple'.
The crazy goat though? He was a treat. His remains are already mostly just a pile of salt. I've finished going over my gains, assimilating what was left of its essence while mindful of any of the nasty stuff. I think my best advantage in this world is all those cultivation stories I've read in the before. It's not something practiced in this world as far as I know, although that doesn't mean much. But I've never heard it being even mentioned. Tilting fields doesn't count.
+4 with five attributes seems to be my current limit with this method of absorbing the essence. Bad roll on Perception there.
Mortals just kill things or gain new knowledge to grow stronger. I guess that's where the demons hold another advantage as they can consume the essence from their victims - all of it. Or rather what is left lingering after death. Sometimes literally. I have some very sharp teeth for a reason.
Succubi are an exception. Those scary fuckers can -and will, suck you dry while you are still alive if given a chance. There might be others I don't know about. A stupid summoner might also supply their own vitality to sustain a demon in a mortal realm but that take a special kind of fool.
Sigh. There's only so much you can learn from a Swamp Hag... She, or what's left of her soul, might might actually be somewhere around. This is hell after all. I chuckle to myself.
Well that's enough of that; this meditation session made me all melancholic for no reason.
It's time for some system maintenance. I don't feel like going back home right now, might be this rush of power is getting to my head but I've gained a lot of confidence and this place is much safer these days than back in the day. I scratch my forehead at the base of my horn. Itchy. They've grown a fair bit during my meditation.
After shaking off the sand and dust that were carried by the wind while I was sitting here remembering the past, my senses extend out.
-I don't feel anyone nearby.
With one last look around I prepare myself for what's to come. Getting a lot of power at once is nice― the process, not so much.
My view is filled with swarming golden symbols arrayed in mystical ways. They soon rearrange themselves into words and numbers as I withdraw deeper into myself
> Name: Meow
>
> Race: Hell Spawn** (4)
>
> Class: Red Imp. (12)
I look at my name with some mixed feelings -When you think about it I've sure dodged a bullet there. I don't want to think about possible alternatives. Stupid hell. Stupid rules.
But my little devil heart can only smile at the numbers ―Hell yeah! a level in my race, and then 2 whole levels in the Imp! Is it my birthday or something? No wonder I've been feeling like there's current running through my body. This is huge.
> Traits: ????, Humanoid (1), Horns (5), Wings, Tail (2), Digitigrade (1).
>
> +2 points available
I've lost the [Small] trait. Not sure how I feel about it; sure helped me to sneak around and gave some nice bonuses to my build... but I guess that's fine, it came with a lot of demerits as well.
And just look at my Horns. Billy boy sure had a nice pair and his head was mostly intact.
But still... getting 3 points from a single kill is almost as crazy as the stunt I've pulled there. I've killed a few demons before but never got a single one. Granted they were weaklings and the taint made me want to puke before I found out about this rose, yet I feel cheated. Lemures don't count as proper demon in my book, they are a joke and food in hell -bottom feeders. Just remnants of evil souls, empty husks really scavenging for scraps and eating this black shit that sticks to everything.
...I guess they are useful for something.
Well I did get a point after my last summon. Those kills must have contributed. That give me the whooping total of 4 new abilities in Horns alone.
I'm definitely picking the casting upgrades I've had my eye on -Magic is the best, but lets check the list to see what else is there.
> You have gained: Magi Focus (horns)
What I'm not looking forward is the headache this will cause.
> List of available Abilities (horns): Pierce, Serrated Blade, Iron Horn, Sense Danger, Rise Intellect, Horn Crown, Amplify Magic, Wild Magic, Uni Horn, Affinity.
Oh... Selecting the Magi Focus opened up a lot of new options, but at the same time many disappeared. As a Red Imp I'm magic focused anyway so it's fine. Charging the enemy head first is not for me, still something to keep in mind. I can already tell that the crown and Uni Horn are mutually exclusive.
Growing more horns or merging them into a single more powerful horn. Both have some appeal but there are also downsides. Like if you were to lose your single horn you are fucked. I had these options sitting there for some time already but could never convince myself in favor of either one. Same with Wild Magic, apparently a staple for any Imp, but ―random effects. Could be devastating, could be useless, or could get you killed. It 'just' causes magic to go crazy.
Can't deny, turning someone into a chicken sound like fun, but you can also learn a spell to do the same, no random changes in pigmentation involved. If you have a way of learning spells that is; good luck with that in hell. Now this is where mortals hold an advantage. Demons manipulate magic itself, directly without using spells. Again both methods have their pros and cons. Maybe one day I will get myself a summon from a honest mage, so we can make a trade.
Serrated Blade is for close quarters, so pass. Same as Pierce, that would instantly make my horns longer and deal additional damage - but I wonder if it could open any magic abilities up? Like piercing magic or something. Demons are annoyingly resistant. Iron horn, I don't care. Rise Intellect self explanatory and a likely candidate. Speak of the devil... I'm taking Amplify Magic as it comes with overpowering enemy resistance and even more power efficiency. Obvious follow up to the Magi Focus that makes me a better mage overall with both Demonic magic and Spells.
Affinity, I don't care. Don't want to specialize.
> You have gained: Amplify Magic
And... nothing new pops up. I might have to save up points for when I meet some additional requirements.
Lets jump to stats for now. And I will consider Rise Intellect.
> Attributes:
>
> Strength 12
>
> Resilience 15
>
> Magic 26
>
> Spirit 30
>
> Intellect 30
>
> Perception 12
>
> Agility 19
>
> ????:
>
> You have 16 available points.
Fun fact: Not all Races and Classes have the same set of Attributes. For example as a demon I have no Endurance, as I'm not a mortal. No Vitality either.
For Hell Spawns it's Magic and Spirit that hold us together. Traits can also affect how much gas you get out of each point. There's the Rise Intellect from earlier as an example, and [Small] cut my effective Strength almost by half - But now I'm a head taller!
...That's still pretty small, sometimes the system is weird like that. Shrug.
And another tip: Stay away from ???? in the menu. Curiosity almost killed This cat, when I put a point into my ???? Trait. Don't know, and I'm sure as hell not going to ask around - just a hunch it would get me in trouble. Point gone and I didn't get anything.
8 points per level this time, It was 6 ever since I hit level 7 in Imp.
I resist the urge to go full into Spirit as it won't help me much right now, So only 10 there. I'm bringing Agility to 20 in the hopes of unlocking something and then rest into caster stats. Magic to 30 and the last point for Intellect.
50 spirit should be enough for now.
Alright, time to check the Skills. Scrolling down the long list I spot a very interesting entry.
> Empower: Strengthen your Hellish physique with mana. The effect scales with user's Magic.
This must be what that crazy goat used to catch the boulder and survive the fall. And I got the option from draining his essence. Or did I meet the requirements? I'm taking it. One more point left.
Mischief II or Elementalist III. First is the reason why I brought agility up to 20 but now I have to make a decision since I got the Empower skill. You can't go wrong with elemental magic, but...
> Mischief II: Imps are infamous for their pranks. A set of rogue abilities, from picking locks to hiding in the shadows is a must if you wish to live through the consequences of your actions. Increases Luck slightly.
Yeah, the versatility of it is just too much. Magic is awesome but the first rank of this skill saved my ass more then once, and now allowed me to kill a lvl27 demon.
Let's pick magic Traits to compensate. And it's a wrap.
After not finding any new options available for my horns I decide to save the Horn points for later. And put one of the bonus points into Humanoid to get and upgrade to my mana channels. Then close the system unable to decide if I want to invest one into my wings as well, leaving the decision to my future self -Damn those sharks. I've already made a lot of changes, don't need to push it.
The golden symbols unravel themselves in flashes of golden light in my mind... and I'm immediately knocked out from the pain. Just like the first time.
―I overdid it again.
An old memory...
――——