After finishing his meal and disposing of the remains to avoid attracting unnecessary predators, Olthagia gathered some rubble and soil to cover and block the entrance of the cave. This way, anyone attempting to enter would wake him from his slumber.
In a life-or-death crisis, even if it meant compromising his potential, there would be no other choice.
Once everything was prepared, Olthagia opened his system panel and issued a command.
[During my advancement, use all available Evolution Points as the foundation to optimize my entire physical structure and demonic bloodline in the best possible way, in coordination with the automatic transformation triggered by the advancement. Note 1: The host must retain the ability to exit the transformation process at any time. Note 2: To the extent that it does not compromise the optimization, adjust the host's appearance to align with personal aesthetic preferences. If this would lead to optimization failure, this note is nullified, and all other commands take precedence.]
The first part of the command reflected Olthagia's desire to leverage the Abyssal Baptism triggered by his advancement. He wanted the evolution system to use the Evolution Points as a basis to harness the power of the Abyss and further optimize himself, hoping to achieve significant gains with minimal effort.
Digging a path is hard, but speaking up and patching holes is much easier. With the Abyssal consciousness paving the way, the system only needed to follow up with optimizations, while Olthagia lay back and reaped the rewards. It was a fair and reasonable arrangement!
If it worked, great; if not, no harm done. It was worth a try.
As for Note 1, it was exactly as it sounded. Olthagia didn't want to be caught off guard if a demon intruded while he was immobilized. He needed to ensure he could temporarily exit the transformation process if necessary—a lesson he had learned the hard way.
Note 2 was also straightforward. Although he was a demon, Olthagia's aesthetic sensibilities were still closer to those of a human. He didn't want to end up with a half-human, half-wolf face. If possible, he'd prefer to look decent. However, as a demon, strength was ultimately the top priority. If appearance adjustments compromised his power, he was willing to let it go.
With everything in place, Olthagia lay down in the pit he had dug inside the cave, closed his eyes, and began his first advancement by channeling his energy.
According to the inherited memories of demons, the advancement from an Infant Demon to a Lesser Demon was the most crucial step in a demon's life. This advancement would determine the path he would take, while future advancements would determine how far he could go on that path.
As he fell into a deep slumber, the power of the Abyss was invoked. The rewards from the Bottomless Abyss traversed countless obstacles and directly reached Olthagia, enveloping him. The Abyss spontaneously began purifying his demonic bloodline, extracting the most superior aspects.
In the depths of his consciousness, Olthagia seemed to see countless branching paths appear before him. These were the potential advancement directions for an Infant Demon. Countless shadowy figures roared before him, their expressions ranging from ferocious to savage to insane. They displayed countless abilities, all revealed to Olthagia.
The normal advancement of demons doesn't offer so many options to choose from; it is determined by their individual strength and achievements. Reaching a comprehensive score of 15 points in all aspects allows for advancement, but could a demon who barely meets the 15-point threshold and one who reaches the 25-point limit possibly receive the same treatment?
The answer is impossible. The range of choices available to the two differs significantly. Moreover, Olthagia, having slaughtered over a thousand demons on the banks of the Nether River, is undeniably the top of his class in this year's Nether River Kindergarten.
His displayed brutality and strength perfectly embody the values of demons and the main theme of the Bottomless Abyss. In human society, such actions would be commendable. Therefore, the consciousness of the Abyss has shown him special favor during his advancement, granting him an Abyssal Baptism several times more potent than that of his peers.
Faced with a plethora of branch choices, Olthagia, somewhat dazzled by the options, eventually settled on the Mutated Balor within the Balor branch after careful consideration. This choice was influenced by his awakened demonic bloodline, which is of the fire attribute, specifically the mutated Blood Flame, surpassing normal demons in both aggressiveness and growth potential.
As he made his selection, the advancement officially began. The power of the Abyssal Baptism started to flow into his body, and the evolution system, following Olthagia's command, subtly integrated itself into the process. The power of the Bottomless Abyss did not reject this intrusion, as it recognized it as part of Olthagia's own strength and will.
Thus, the originally predetermined Mutated Balor underwent a further mutation under the guidance of the evolution system. Some powers that would normally be wasted or unabsorbable by Olthagia were now fully utilized.
In the cave, a black-red giant cocoon automatically cracked open, turning into countless particles of dust.
From it emerged a demon approximately 2.4 meters tall.
His face, though still adorned with tattoo-like slender patterns, was largely human-like and strikingly handsome, with an air of profound malevolence in his features.
His tall and well-built frame was covered in perfectly proportioned muscles—neither too bulky nor too lean, adhering to the golden ratio. The once snake-like scales had transformed into a bone-like exoskeleton, resembling armor, with only some joints retaining scales for flexibility.
The whites of his eyes remained blood-red, but now featured golden vertical pupils at their centers. His teeth were denser and longer than a human's, designed for greater tearing power. Two curved demon horns, about 5-6 centimeters thick and over 20 centimeters long, adorned his head, complemented by shoulder-length crimson hair.
The fingers on his hands and feet had increased from three to five, becoming both stronger and more dexterous.
The tail at his rear had significantly elongated, previously somewhat short but now nearly 1.7 meters long, covered in tiny barbs, resembling the tail of an alien from sci-fi movies, albeit more slender and elongated.
Extending his forked, snake-like tongue, he licked his lips and took a deep breath.
Olthagia felt an unprecedented sense of well-being, as if power surged from every part of his body, giving him the sensation that he could now easily defeat his former self with a single punch.
If it weren't for the fact that he knew he was just cannon fodder outside the Wailing Forest, with countless beings capable of killing him with a single punch, he might have even felt a bit inflated!
According to the memories in his bloodline, the ranks of demons are: [Infant Demon] - [Lesser Demon] - [Low-Rank Demon] - [Mid-Rank Demon] - [High-Rank Demon] - [Greater Demon] - [Demon Lord] - [Demon Prince], and the [Demon Prince] is also known as the [Abyss Prince], signifying that their authority and power are second only to the consciousness of the Bottomless Abyss, making them the most favored princes of the Bottomless Abyss!
With eight ranks in total, Olthagia is currently only at the second rank. Therefore, he understands that the road ahead is long, and he suppresses his excitement, planning for the journey to come.
[Host: Stuart Ogarisa Asalonne… Curif Olthagia]
[Race/Level: Demon Race/Lesser Demon]
[Strength: 40 (5)]
[Speed: 39 (5)]
[Constitution: 37 (5)]
[Magic Power: 41 (5)]
[Soul: 42 (5)]
[Abilities: Soul-Devouring Evolution (evolves autonomously by continuously devouring souls), Slaughter Evolution (evolves autonomously through continuous combat and slaughter), Combat Instinct (innate strong combat talent), Flesh Extraction (can extract the essence of flesh by touching the target), Magic Trait - Corrosion. Pain (compared to ordinary magic, it has corrosive properties and can inflict extreme pain on the target), Elemental Talent - Bloodflame (possesses high temperature, erodes flesh, and burns life energy and soul), Exoskeleton - Bloodthirst (evolved from his own scales, has high physical hardness and a certain degree of energy resistance, and can automatically repair damage by absorbing blood and consuming magic power), Energy Vision (can see through most substances and perceive energy), Abyssal Contract (has the ability to autonomously accept summons and can sign contracts with other beings using the power of the Abyss as a medium. Note: No one can violate the contract, not even a Demon Prince)]
[Skills: Fireball (Bloodline Spell. 10%), Flame Arrow (Bloodline Spell. 10%), Life Drain (Bloodline Spell. 10%), Pain Strike (Bloodline Spell. 10%), Soul Strike (Bloodline Spell. 10%)]
[Evolution Points: 0]
[Note: The values in parentheses for body and soul represent the standard level of a normal newborn Infant Demon. Each increase in points enhances the current strength by one-fifth. For example, 6 points are one-fifth stronger than 5 points, and 7 points are one-fifth stronger than 6 points, increasing in percentage terms. The percentage in the skill brackets represents proficiency in that skill. When it reaches 100%, it will advance to a higher-level skill.]
Looking at his data, Olthagia nodded in satisfaction.
Although his identity had been reset, it was as if he had upgraded from a musket to a cannon in terms of hardware.
According to the information recorded by the evolution system, if it weren't for the Abyssal Baptism consuming most of the energy, he wouldn't have been able to directly reach his current level.
All of Olthagia's innate talents had been enhanced, and he had also gained new abilities: Exoskeleton - Bloodthirst, Energy Vision, and one of the most crucial abilities for a demon—the Abyssal Contract. A demon who couldn't master the Abyssal Contract was unworthy of being called a demon.
Without the Abyssal Contract, how could one visit other worlds and conduct friendly visits?
As for the newly acquired skills, they had little to do with the system. Instead, they were innate magical abilities that awakened automatically once his bloodline and strength reached a certain level.
These abilities came with a certain degree of proficiency. While not allowing the user to master them perfectly, they could be used with relative ease. Moreover, being bloodline-based spells, they were all instant-cast, requiring only sufficient mana to be used continuously without any restrictions.
Before awakening these spells, Olthagia had been able to shape his Blood Flame into forms like fireballs or fire arrows. However, those were merely crude imitations with no real significance, far from the efficiency of mature spells, where one part of effort yielded ten times the result.
Additionally, he could sense that if he were to learn other spells, they could also be added to his skill list. Once added, the possibility of casting failure would be automatically eliminated. Releasing a spell once would make it available for use at any time, and learning it once would mean mastering it forever—once proven, always proven!