Jason felt a strange sensation engulf his body. Power surged into him, coming from an unknown location and filling his body. His body healed, the torn edge of his abdomen regenerating mist and reforming his body at an unprecedented rate. Slowly, his abdomen reformed, proceeding to his waist and legs.

Meanwhile, he gazed at the interface that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

‘Haha, I did it! I will survive!’

[Evolution detected. Evolution interface granted by Mark of Sin.]

[ identified. Soul Records compiled. Bloodlines detected:

Darkmyst Shapeshifter Devil Drenam Fog Bewitcher

Options: or ]

‘Hmm, which one to choose. I have no idea which one would be the better option. And I also do not know if this other bloodline I apparently possess, likely from that brain, is better or not. I do not know what exactly each choice means and I have no idea which is better. What to do, what to do . . . Ah, well, I might as well take a chance.’

[ selected. Merging bloodlines. New bloodline Drenam Shapeshifter Devil formed.]

‘Haah, at least the grade did not go down. I don’t even know if higher or lower is better.’

[Status feature implemented.]

[Name: Jason Mendalez

Bloodline: Drenam Shapeshifter Devil

Rank: Esquire

Abilities:

Form Claws NEW! Induce Fear

Soul Power: 100

Essence of Sin: 10]

‘Ah, good! I now have another ability. It’s a pity that the grade is not as high as my claws, but its better than nothing.’

Another portion of his inherited memories flowed into his mind.

The nature of different types of devils are not that of one race. Devils with different bloodlines are not truly of the same race. This is due to the methods of reproduction of devils. Devils can reproduce like most species do, with two devils mating and producing a new devil. But the nature of devils make this occurrence extremely rare, as mating is difficult for such a violent species. Low ranked devils have high fertility rates, yet do not have the intelligence to mate properly. High ranked devils are intelligent and do mate, yet have extremely low fertility rates. The extremely selfish nature of devils, that will only act to obtain more advantages for themselves, does not help.

So, the other and most common occurrence, is that Hell itself will spawn new devils. Their bloodlines and location where they spawn are completely random, as Chaos is the essence of Hell. Thus, devils, along with demons, are categorized as beings spawned from Hell.

The grade of the bloodline is important, as it defines the limits of power for the creature. Merging with other bloodlines to obtain favorable abilities can be done, but the grade must be at least as high as the main bloodline.

Next is the concept of rank. Devils have a strict hierarchy, and the rank decides both the social standing and power of devils. Jason was currently an Esquire, which required having soul power of at least 100. It was the lowest rank after newly spawned devils. Once a newly spawned devil had devoured enough souls to become an Esquire, they would feel compelled to descend from the surface of Hell where devils spawned, to the next layer of Hell, where ranked Devils resided. Devouring souls from a lower ranked devil would barely raise the soul power of a devil.

As of now, Jason only knew of the next rank, Knight, which he would reach once he obtained 200 Soul Power.

Other than this information, he had felt a strange sensation, a sort of magnetic pull on his soul, compelling him to go to the next layer of Hell. It simply told him to go in a certain direction, towards the rock pillar he had been using as a landmark. It must have been extremely far and large, considering a few hours’ walk barely made it feel any closer, yet he could see it in the distance.

‘So, my goal is to get there and descend. What else do I need?’ Jason pondered, thinking about his short-term goals. ‘Well, there are some rewards that I would definitely need.’

[Interface Upgrade (Bloodline Analyzer I): Enables the host to determine the grade of a consumed bloodline, up to Grade 7. Cost: 1000 Essence]

[Interface Upgrade (Ability Analyzer I): Enables the host to see the abilities the host may obtain from current consumed bloodlines. Cost: 5000 Essence]

‘Damn, that costs more Essence than I’ve earned so far. I suppose I’ll have to kill anything I see. Oh, how exciting!’

And indeed, Jason was very excited. Despite the constant near-death experiences, the freedom to kill anyone he desired after being repressed all his life far exceeded any fear he felt. In fact, he quite enjoyed the thrill of fighting with his life on the line.

“No more doctors, no more psychics or shrinks! No more hiding in the dark, no more white rubber rooms! Freedom, free to do anything, kill anything, hunt anything! HahahahaHAHAHA!” His deranged laughter echoed through the empty wasteland.

After descending into uncontrolled laughter for a while, he recovered and collected himself, panting hard after his moment of instability.

He walked to the corpse of the spider devil, bending down to look straight at its lifeless eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Spider, for becoming a step on my path to power.’ He smiled sweetly at it.

Jason then set about collecting the materials from the corpse. Having some previous experience, he managed to skin some somewhat decent-looking pieces of skin. He scrubbed some of the powdery sand on the ground on it to dry it quickly, and fashioned it to a bigger knapsack then his previous one. Chewing on the rather tangy flesh of the spider, he worked on collecting its fangs, large triangular blades that he could use as throwing knives of some sort.

After a while, he finished harvesting it for materials, ending up with a large knapsack filled with leather, bones, fangs and claws. He ate the meat he could strip from the spider.

Gathering his meagre but growing possessions, he set out towards the gargantuan stone pillar in the distance.

While walking across the dark stone plains, he wondered whether he needed to sleep or excrete. He found no such urge so far, but it was better to prepare.

He scanned the surroundings for rocky outcroppings he could use for shelter. There might be other devils occupying them, but he welcomed the opportunity. In the distance, a large, rectangular stone stuck out of the flat ground, propped up by another rock to create a sort of tent-like shape underneath.

Considering the distance, it was quite large, which meant it was definitely suitable for shelter.

He jogged to the rock, noting that despite travelling for what could have been a dozen kilometers, he felt only mildly tired. He was certainly far stronger than he was when he was a human.

Upon approaching the rock that was elevated above the plains, he noticed a soul appear in the edge of his soul vision, and not long after, a large figure barreling straight at him.

He bent his legs and kicked off the ground to the right, but a massive clenched fist appeared in his vision, and Jason felt an overpowering blow knock him straight off his feet.