Due to deal restructure text to speech player is currently unavailable. Will find a solution soon.

Chapter 717: 717

I wolf down the remains of the creature as quickly as possible, not willing to leave myself vulnerable on open ground any longer than I have to . I myself dropped out of a stone wall and this unfortunate being crawled up out of the floor, which means there could be more of my kind ready to appear at a moment’s notice from any surface around us . I won’t take the risk, not until I know if others like me are hostile or not . As my jaws crunch and tear, I try to examine this ‘profile’, succeeding in having it supplied within my mind after a few attempts .

Basic Profile:

[Coepi Demon Larva: Initial Demon Larva, The first phase of the demon life cycle . Beware the claws, they are stronger than they appear . ]

Well that didn’t tell me much . And what’s with the poor Latin? No matter .

[You have gained one Biomass . ]

And I can’t eat anymore . It’s actually a surprise that I managed to get through so much of a creature the same size as myself, in fact, it should have been physically impossible, especially since I don’t believe that I’ve increased in size . No matter, I can explore this and other questions shortly . Using my arms, I drag myself across the boiling rocks until I find a neat crevice where I can hide whilst I consider my next plan of attack . So far, I haven’t seen any other movement, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be more larvae popping out of the walls .

I was able to gain six Biomass from the creature I defeated, not much but I have to assume that there is something I can do with these ‘points’ . It’s clear to see that they are an important element of this game like world and I need to understand how they function immediately . After a short while, I worked it out .

[You can use skill points to purchase new skills or upgrade existing ones . ]

[Biomass can be spent to improve or modify aspects of your physical, monstrous form . ]

[Skills available to purchase:

Stealth: cost 1sp, improves your ability to hide and move unseen

Mana Manipulation: cost 1sp, Allows you to control mana with your mind .

Defensive posture: cost 1sp, Improves the ability to protect yourself .

Leaping Strike: cost 1sp, Increases damage and proficiency when making a jump attack .

Demon Fury: cost 1sp, Channel the rage of demon kind to increase damage . ]

[Body improvements available to purchase:

Demon Eyes +1: Improves eyesight .

Infernal Claw +1 : Hardens and sharpens your claws .

Purgation Maw +1 : Improves the strength of your bite .

Tar Hide +1 : Toughens and thickens your hide .

Pocket Stomach +1 : improves the capacity of your pocket dimension stomach . ]

Interesting…

So I’m able to spend my Skill points to purchase skills and upgrade ones that I already possess? Or did they reach a threshold? And these were the skills available to me right now? I wonder if leaping strike was available by default or if it appeared as a response to my actions . For now, I don’t see the purpose of purchasing stealth, I’ll rely instead on my own natural instincts and take different options to increase my offensive power . If there’s one thing that I’m comfortable with, it’s stealth .

As for the body improvements… This required careful thought . Only an idiot would rush a decision like this .

Eyes I dismiss immediately . What’s needed in this situation is pure combat power, I’m in a fight for my survival, not an easter egg hunt . After some consideration, I purchase three upgrades for my ‘infernal claws’, which consumes all of my Biomass, and the Leaping Strike skill . After I confirm my choices with the gruff voice in my mind, a strange sensation overcomes me . Knowledge seeps into my mind like liquid being poured straight into my memories . How to leap, when to leap, the best angles to use . Much of it aligned with what I already knew, but applied to my new body rather than a human form .

As to the claws, a slight tickling sensation was all I could feel as they changed shape in front of my eyes . They grew a little longer, a little thicker, and perhaps a touch sharper on the edge . These were all advantages that I can use in my next fight . Having spent my resources, it’s time to continue scouting my surroundings . If I’m lucky I may even run into another morsel that I can use to fuel my growth…

Or better yet, observe others of my kind to see how they interact . I also need to try and make use of the Skills that I’m yet to investigate, namely mana sight . If some strange form of magic exists in this odd world, then I need to understand it . I lever myself out of my hiding place and skulk through the dips and cracks between the rocks as I move around, every so often poking my head up to examine my surroundings . Less than a minute into my exploration I notice another of my kind creeping about the rocks .

Another prey? Before I can reposition myself to properly observe this specimen, I notice another has emerged somewhere behind me . Not good . Unwilling to be seen, I hide my presence and skirt around several rocks to circle around and put both of the demons on the same side of me . If they’re going to fight, I want them to fight each other rather than me .

Except there’s now a third . I hear it burst out of the ground right behind me, clawed hands scrabbling and shoving at the stone as it drags its body upward . I turn swiftly, cursing my bad luck . I can’t move quickly enough to hide before it sees me, the best I can do is face up to it and see what happens!

After another second of freeing itself, the newly born demon larva locks eyes with me and for a moment, it freezes . Then it screams and launches itself at me, claws extended and reaching for my face .

Well that answers that question…