8 Nouveau riche~
Note: POV shift midway, do tell me if you think 1st or 3rd PPOV is better... The previous chapters consisted of mostly events, background, and internal monologue... MC should have more dialogue from here on... (It also makes the character more real? idk)
PS: Feel free to suggest low magical worlds for starter worlds so I can gain some ideas~
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Eve's curiosity piqued, she felt drawn to explore this surreal forest, to uncover the mysteries hidden within its gnarled branches and shadowy depths. With each step forward, she braced herself for the unknown, eager to unravel the secrets of this enigmatic underworld.
With a mixture of trepidation and excitement coursing through her veins, Eve took her first step into the surreal landscape that she now called home...
...
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...
One demon's leisurely stride carried it deeper into the eerie forest, its hooves treading upon the scorched earth with an air of nonchalance. Despite the desolate landscape and the twisted, haunted appearance of the trees that loomed overhead, the demon moved with a relaxed grace, as if it were simply taking a casual stroll through the woods...
The demon's humanoid form bore a striking resemblance to a satyr, with muscular limbs that moved with a sinuous grace. Its body was adorned with a crescent moon pattern etched into its chest, the outlines seeming to glow softly under the dim light of the abyss.
A pair of slightly curved horns protruded from its forehead, their surfaces catching the faint glimmer of the occasional lava pools in the hellscape forest. The demon's form seemed to shimmer with an ethereal glow, casting eerie shadows that flickered and danced across the forest floor.
Behind the demon swayed a tail, flexible and lethal, its end adorned with a curved bladed tip that glinted ominously in the dim red lighting of the abyss... With each sway of its tail, the demon seemed to exude an aura of danger, a silent warning to any who dared to cross its path.
Its eyes, gleaming with an otherworldly intelligence, scanned the surroundings with a calm detachment, taking in every detail with a predatory focus. Despite the eerie silence of the forest, the demon moved with an unsettling confidence, steady and vigilant...
Trailing behind the demon were several floating balls of silk, each varying in size and shape. Within these ethereal cocoons, something squirmed and writhed, hinting at the presence of living beings trapped within...
A while later, the demon reached what seemed like a cave entrance and promptly entered, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. With a casual flick of its wrist, the cocoons were set down with a thud. In the demon's left hand, a blade made of invisible energy coalesced, unseen by others. With practiced precision, the demon used the blade to slice through the top of each cocoon, revealing the grotesque and ugly faces of demons within.
[Img here]
The imprisoned demons blinked in confusion as they were freed from their silk prisons. However, their moment of bewilderment was short-lived as they quickly realized their predicament. With feral growls, they attempted to break free from the remaining silken wrapping that bound them, their desperate struggles echoing through the cavern.
Meanwhile, the satyr-like demon remained unfazed by their screams and struggles. With a calm demeanor, it raised its hand, which began to glow with a bright, ethereal light. The imprisoned demons' collective wails grew even louder as they thrashed violently against their constraints, their fear and desperation palpable in the air.
With a steady gaze, the demon continued to channel its power, the glow intensifying with each passing moment. Despite the chaos unfolding before it, the satyr-like demon remained poised and determined...
This demon... was naturally—Eve...
...
Eve found her perception of time warped and blurry in the desolate abyss, with no natural markers to distinguish between days and nights that passed by...
She could have created an item using her stockpile of souls to track time, but as a demon, she had little need for such earthly concerns and simply thought that it was a waste...
Despite this, Eve still found herself slipping into the habit of sleeping, a remnant of her human past.
As for sustenance..., Eve relied on hunting demonic beasts that roamed the upper abyss. These creatures, resembling animals from her previous world, provided her with nourishment in this bleak landscape. Unlike low-ranking demons, who were either too humanoid to consume or too grotesque to even look at, she still hunted them nonetheless, just like her current predicament now...
Eve continued to intensify the ethereal light in her right hand as she directed it towards the demon, bathing it in the radiant glow. This method, although typically used for nurturing and healing, had the opposite effect on beings of darkness and evil, like the demon.
Eve watched, as the demons' faces began to blister and boil, their flesh emitting black and green smoke as if it were being dissolved by acid. Their agonized wails echoed through the cave and beyond the forest, filling the air with despair. After a few minutes of this intense purification, silence fell...
All that remained of the demons was a pool of black liquid, its consistency akin to tar. Hovering above it were medium-quality souls, freed from the corrupted forms they once inhabited.
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I promptly collected the souls into my system as I opened my status...
...
𖤐──Custom Made Demon Queen──𖤐
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[Image here]
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『Create & Edit: <Skills > <Items > <Morphology > <Special Effects> 』
𖤐─────𖤐─────𖤐
[Name: Eve]
[Race: Demon]
[Bloodline: At least six types...]
[Hierarchy: Top-level 『Low Rank Demon』]
[Alignment: N/A]
[Form: Pre-adult]
[Title: 『Reincarnator』 『First Born of the Batch』 『Angel of the Abyss』]
[Demon Name: Ikapati Enos Asklepios Ishthrax Baphomet Manalmon Eve...]
[Attribute: 『Dark』 『Light』]
[MP: 630/630]
[Strength: 1-> 2]
[Defense: 3-> 4]
[Mind: 58-> 63]
[Agility: 4-> 8]
[Dexterity: 15-> 20]
[Stamina: 26-> 34]
[Charisma: 69-> 97]
『Racial Skills:
<Soul Peer> <Demon Blood> <Soul Devouring Addiction> <Contract >』
Talent: 『Psychic Magic: <Mind Slash> <Telekinesis >』 『Absorption』 『Greater Heal』
Skill: 『Soul Weapon』 {NEW}『Silk Production』 {NEW}『Lesser Mimic』
[Items: 『Prism Necklace』]
[Soul in Possession: 6,666 Low-quality souls | 137 Medium-quality souls]
𖤐─────𖤐─────𖤐
...
I nodded approvingly as I stared at my status panel, scrolling through the various stats and abilities I had acquired since arriving in this hellish world...
"I don't know exactly how long I've been in this hell world...," I muttered to myself, "but it should have already been a few months give or take..."
With a sigh, I clicked on the selfie of myself in the system, studying the image that appeared on the screen. "I must say... I am one mystifyingly ugly gal..." I joked half-heartedly, my spirits dampened by the reflection staring back at me.
I mean, sure, if comparing my looks to the grotesque demons in the upper abyss, I may as well be a goddess, but... "Is it just me or do I look too much like a man...?" I mused aloud, a hint of self-consciousness creeping into my voice.
I bore not the feminine pride women call as "breasts"... Instead, I had a flat chest and somewhat muscular arms... and it sure as hell doesn't help that I'm practically bald...
I couldn't help but sigh again at my predicament, the only saving grace that made me sure I was even a woman in this demon form was that I didn't have a third leg...
...
At least that skill I made with the system worked wonders... I crafted the skill "lesser mimic" using only four low-quality souls. I didn't really need a full-blown transformation to traverse the abyss without garnering too much attention; it was simply my milky-white color that stood out too much!
So, I devised a simple yet effective skill that allowed me to change the color of different parts of my body. Nothing too complicated, but it got the job done~
...
Another thing worth noting was that I had grown from a hatchling to a preadult demon! And along this growth, my stats also followed...
"A thing I did notice was the rate of growth..." I mumbled as I pondered on this matter... Whatever the reason was, it seems that my low strength and defense were a persistent matter; a trait that came along with my very being as a demon... On the other hand though, my mind and charm stat had grown wonderfully!
This was always welcomed as the mind stat is her main source of power and as for the charm stat... it was so she would look pretty--er...
However, one thing did bother me: my name had gotten one word longer when I grew older and my features more prominent..., "Baphomet..." Isn't that like a very popular demon back in my day?
Back in the day, fantasy stories about isekai and mythical creatures were a boon! As I got older though, trends changed, and technology advanced... Heck, I even remember a few years before I died that there was a full-dive VRMMORPG in the market!
Sadly, it seemed like it had an age restriction of up to eighty-five years old so I wasn't even able to experience it... 'Life is such a tease...' I thought as I remembered my love for playing games...
...
Well, let's not get sidetracked!
"So Baphomet, huh?" I questioned.
If I remember correctly, he should be a fairly popular demon that had goat or ram-like features... "I even had a colleague that yapped on about Baphomet..." Whether or not it was his religion and he was trying to convert me or he was a fan of DnD was beyond me...
"..."
Anyway..., I think he said that it was a demon lord that had a penchant for natural weapons such as claws, fangs, horns, and more...? basically, a demon that governed on the love for beast-like features, mazes, and malevolent deeds...
A shiver ran down my spine as a thought came through me, "Am I like... its descendant...?"
I don't get this demon name thing and why it only appeared now, but I would guess that it only appears when meeting a certain criterion... where in this case, my features are reminiscent of a satyr...
*sigh*
"Whatever... I'm just glad I don't have a goat head and the creepy goat eyes..." I huffed as I examined my other talents. They seemed to have evolved into better versions through repeated use and practice, so that's nice...
A novel skill I also developed was silk production! I dedicated a whole thirty low-quality souls to it, I made it so that it can emerge from any part of my body. Though I only ever release them from either my tail or fingertips...
I also ensured it was heat-resistant~ don't want it melting in this hellscape filled with lava...
As for where to use the rest of my stockpile of souls though... I have no idea~
"Wings maybe...?"
"Nah...," from the fragmented inheritance I received, there was a bloodline purification pool in the middle abyss, and demons who reach high rank may even gain their wings... I can just let nature take its course and gain it naturally. If need be, I can always just fly using telekinesis or add wings to myself through the system for the cool factor...
This way of thinking is what made me rich in my past life... Other than hard work and perseverance, I lived life in frugality! Plus, having grown up poor and then becoming rich later in life made me feel guilty about spending... Hence, I always spend with care... most of the time... sometimes...
...
I spent a long time mulling over this problem of wanting to make modifications yet not knowing which...
'Breath attack? Hmm...maybe~'
'Eye powers...?' Sounds too chuuni for my liking... maybe...
'Magic hair?' Hell no, I'm bald...
"Okay! This isn't going anywhere, how fun~" I said aloud, probably looking like a crazy demon... First, let us think this situation through, what are my main troubles right now? That would probably be strength and defense...
So I need a medication that should patch this up or at least lessen the risk of being abused by this weakness...
"..."
"?!" a light of realization dawned on me as I finally knew what to do..., "100 push-ups! 100 sit-ups! 100 squa-" I stopped abruptly feeling silly "Ehehe~ just kidding..."
No, but seriously... Super soldier serum...?
Meh... it's a safe method, but doesn't have many benefits in my opinion, and should be reserved for the production of beefcakes... t-Virus, on the other hand, sounded promising... It offers plenty of benefits like overall enhancement of both body and mind to superhuman levels and even psychokinesis! A skill similar to what I have now...
While its side effects can mean turning me into a zombie and infertility, I can just poof it away with the right amount of souls!
Seemingly having finally decided on which modification, my pupils suddenly dilated as I had another idea... this time it was not a false alarm of a joke like earlier, but a real genuine idea!
Since I was simply looking for benefits and can just poof the side-effects away... why not just go big or go home and go with...
Suddenly, a syringe gun materialized in my hands, its sleek design catching the dim light of the abyss. My gaze fixated on the label affixed to it...
"The G-virus..."
...
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Gimme stones~ They serve as my motivation~ -xoxo-
