Location: < 'Cave of the Larva Spawning Pool' > - One among many found through the upper stratums of the netherworld.

The thin demon emitted a disdainful snort in response, unconvinced by the idea.

Despite their skepticism and diligent search efforts, the demons couldn't locate any of the demon larvae they sought, even after thoroughly exploring the cave for a solid fifteen minutes.

Finally, the larger demon, his patience seemingly exhausted, declared, "I believe this cave is a dead end. We might as well abandon it and seek out another one."

The thinner demon, wearing a mildly irritated expression, reluctantly concurred with a nod, and together they turned to exit the cave, their hunt for demon larvae postponed for the time being.

Exiting the cave, the thin demon abruptly halted in his tracks, his gaze fixated on the ground as if he had just discovered something crucial.

Observing his companion's sudden pause, the fatter demon turned around with impatience evident in his voice, "Hey, what's taking you so long?"

The thin demon pointed to the floor and replied, "Look here, see these claw marks?"

Somewhat annoyed, the fatter demon, turned back and asked, "What about them?"

"Aren't they too small to be ours?" the thin demon inquired as he bent down to scrutinize the claw marks.

The fatter demon, now examining the neatly incised claw marks on the red stone floor, chuckled, "Indeed, they are too small to be mine. But how does that help us?"

The thin demon, running his fingers over the claw marks, a sly grin forming on his slickly gray leathery face, commented, "You know how with the System's Classes, even us lesser demons can get our claws on mana techniques?"

"Ya, the System calls them mana skills, but what does this have to do with anything?" The fatter demon interrupted, annoyance lacing his voice.

In response, the thin demon only smiled and whispered something under his breath.

Within moments, the fatter demon's annoyance transformed into visible surprise, a startled expression spreading across the dark green leathery skin of its face. The source of this astonishment became clear as the fatter demon's mana sense detected a pulse emanating from his companion's long and thin claws, currently in contact with the claw marks.

Seemingly just as surprised, the thin demon turned to his fatter companion, excitement lighting up his face as he explained, "There's a demon larva still in this cave!"

The fatter demon shot his gray companion a skeptical look, stating, "But where could the dumb creature even be? We just searched the entire cave."

In response to the inquiry, the thin demon turned his head toward the cave, excitement bubbling within him as he yelled, "It's in the spawning pool!"

"But demon larva shouldn't be that smart," the fatter demon retorted, an annoyed expression crossing his dark green face.

The thin gray demon turned to his green companion, a mischievous grin playing on his slickly face, before poorly mimicking the fatter demon's voice, "Well, this new System thing might have changed things."

Meanwhile, concealed deep within the blood-red liquid of the spawning pool, the nameless demon larva awaited patiently. It felt like hours to the demon larva, wondering how it would discern when it was safe to emerge.

Just as it teetered on the edge of giving in and surfacing, the demon larva experienced a peculiar sensation, difficult to convey—like its mind and gut were briefly pulled, akin to tugging on strands of hair.

Barely seconds later, a distant shout echoed through the cave, though to the demon larva, it sounded like a mumbled whisper.

"… in … spawning pool."

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The fragmented sentence was enough for the demon larva to comprehend that its hiding place had been discovered.

Understanding that it had no alternative, the demon larva resolved to seize the opportune moment to evade the demons and make its escape. Time was of the essence, and it knew it had to formulate a plan swiftly.

Navigating to the farthest end of the spawning pool, the demon larva ascended to the surface, allowing only its silver hair to protrude above the liquid before submerging once more. In this position, it waited with bated breath, exercising patience in anticipation of the right moment to execute its plan.

The demon larva's patience was rewarded as, before long, five long and thin claws followed by a leathery thin gray leg, dipped into the spawning pool right where the demon's hair had surfaced.

Seizing the moment, the demon larva swiftly extended its tail through the blood-red liquid at a speed that was only made possible by the time it spent acclimating to the resistance put of by the thick liquid.

As it had hoped, the tail punctured a small hole into the gray demon's leg, just above the claw.

With its tail's strike, the demon larva propelled itself through the spawning pool with remarkable speed, aiming for the opposite side, putting as much distance as possible between itself and the adult demon.

"Auuuurge!"

The fatter demon, positioned at the cave's exit, turned to its gray companion with a mix of surprise and concern at the sudden cry of pain.

Witnessing the clear distress of its companion, the fatter demon hurried over, anxious to understand the cause of the agony.

Recalling the recent events, they had observed the demon larva's silver hair briefly surfacing from the spawning pool. Acting swiftly, the thinner demon had extended its claw, attempting to grasp the demon larva moments before the unexpected cry of pain erupted.

As the fatter demon reached the far end of the spawning pool where the thinner demon had been, it found the thinner demon had already plunged into the pool in furious pursuit of the demon larva that had attacked it.

Enveloped in anger, the thinner demon had momentarily overlooked the sluggishness imposed by the thick red liquid, compared to its usual agility on land.

Additionally, the fatter demon, forgetting its role in blocking the cave's exit, and consumed by worry failed to maintain its position.

The combined oversight of the two adult demons presented the ideal opportunity for the demon larva to exploit. Seizing the moment, it propelled itself out of the blood-red spawning pool, dashing towards the cave's exit with determined speed.

Simultaneously, the gray, thinner demon, the swifter of the two, remained submerged in the spawning pool, still processing the unexpected turn of events.

For a few moments, it seemed like the demon larva had managed to capitalize on the chaos and slip away from the clutches of its pursuers. However, fate had other plans.

The fatter demon, panic etched across its face at the thought of facing Uggrock's wrath for letting such an intelligent specimen slip away, hastily extended its dark green arm.

With a stubby black claw pointed at the fleeing demon larva, the fatter demon muttered an incantation under his breath.

In response, a visible pulse of green mana radiated from the fatter demon's claw, encompassing the entire cave and blanketing the escaping demon larva in a thin layer of mana for a fleeting moment before dissipating.

As the green mana faded away, the demon larva crumpled to the red stone ground, succumbing to a sudden and deep slumber.

Meanwhile, the fatter demon also collapsed to the ground, exhausted from the exertion. The pursuit had come to an unexpected and temporary standstill.

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Location: < In the skies below the 'Temple of Birth' > - One of a few such places scattered through the isolated corners of the lower heavens.

A dozen angels, each with varying degrees of strength, surveyed the forest below them, their keen eyes searching for any sign of the elusive 'Temple of Birth' that the caregivers had been informed of during the tutorial.

The urgency in their collective mission was palpable; time was of the essence, and they needed to locate the youngest member of their coven before it was too late.

Despite the enchanting beauty of this wild part of the lower heavens, the angels were well aware of its potential dangers for a fledgling.

A single angel among them pointed towards a tall, slender mountain standing alone in the distance.

In unspoken accord, the small coven of angels adjusted their course, steering toward the solitary peak. With shared hope and determination, they set their sights on the mountain, each silently praying that the fledgling would be found there.

As the coven of angels neared the mountain, they realized it was much taller than the other dozen or so mountains that they had already investigated in the past few hours since completing the tutorial.

Breaking through a layer of clouds, the peak of the mountain came into view in the distance.

Excitement surged within the coven, and despite having already believed that they were moving at their maximum speed, they spread their wings even wider, somehow speeding up even more, eager to reach the mountain's peak.

A surge of relief washed over one of the caregivers as their eyes landed on the 'Temple of Birth,' encircled by a small settlement. But most importantly, in the open entrance of the temple stood the fledgling, seemingly unharmed.

So the caregivers shouted out, "There you are! We've been searching for you and this place! Get back, it's dangerous outside the temple!" Before landing in front of the small angel.

With a gentle stoop, the caregiver angel, more than double the fledgling's size, enfolded the tiny figure in a warm, protective embrace.

"Oh, I am so glad you're safe!" the caregiver angel exclaimed, a mixture of relief and concern evident in her voice.