These past few days, Orsaga hadn't just been idling around.
Thanks to the three-to-one time dilation, he had plenty of spare time to sort through his own issues.
For instance, the rather chaotic inherited memories in his mind—he was actively working to sift through them, extracting anything useful, and trying to consciously absorb the information.
Rather than letting it all just sit passively in his brain.
If he didn't digest those memories, they'd never truly be his—just some secondhand attachments dangling from his mind.
Given his current limitations, Orsaga prioritized absorbing content that would benefit his combat abilities.
Most of his time was spent exploring his bloodline, researching spells, and enhancing his close-combat prowess.
One of the reasons Tharion and the others were so obedient…
Was precisely due to some of these efforts—namely, a few curse-type and mental-type spells.
As mentioned before, demons primarily advance through tapping into their bloodline, slaughter, and soul plundering. But besides that, the knowledge within their inherited memories also allows them to train supernatural professions, much like other races do.
Unlike many other species that need to actively seek out knowledge of supernatural professions, demons, dragons, elemental spirits, and other extraordinary beings are born with a vast amount of this information encoded in their blood. Though most of it is basic and conventional, it still puts them ahead of the starting line.
In this regard, even among supernatural creatures, demons hold an overwhelming advantage.
If a demon is dissatisfied with the knowledge carried in their blood and seeks higher-tier information, they have several options: trade with other beings, plunder, or commit acts of slaughter and destruction that please the Abyss itself. The Abyss, in turn, may reward them with what they seek.
As the origin of all Negative things, the Abyss represents the "evil" side of the multiverse.
Though it doesn't possess a complete self-awareness, through endless eons it has accumulated a vast trove of precious knowledge and artifacts through sheer instinct. While these are of no use to the Abyss itself, they are incredibly valuable to its native creatures. Any demon that manages to earn the Abyss's favor might gain access to these coveted treasures.
Compared to other species—many of whom are often left without a clear path to follow—demons in the Abyss, even those with muscles for brains and no grasp of magical theory or career advancement, don't really have to worry.
The path is there. As long as you kill enough, everything else falls into place. Whether you succeed or get turned into spell components or lab rats just depends on your own luck. After all, demons who fail and get used as materials are everywhere.
With such a backdrop, the warped thinking of Abyssal beings often leads them down bizarre career paths.
For example, there was once a Balrog who pursued the profession of Sword Saint. Since he liked using swords anyway, why not wield a massive ten-meter-long executioner blade as a Sword Saint? Then there's the Eight-Armed Serpent Demon—eight arms, and with the tail included, that's nine limbs. Why shouldn't it become a martial artist?
Rumor has it there's even a Holy Light Demon in the Abyss—yes, a demon that can purify evil with holy light. Orsaga had nothing to say about that. In a place as insane as the Abyss, a demon wielding holy light isn't out of place at all. Pull ten demons at random for an inspection, and you'll find all ten are mad—the only difference is how deeply the madness runs.
Compared to those outlandish predecessors, Orsaga was arguably even more unusual—he wanted to become a spellcaster.
Specifically, the kind of close-combat warlock that could punch out a Meteor Burst or kick out a Hurricane Spell.
With a physique like his, it would be a shame not to make use of it.
As for whether that still counts as a warlock?
Orsaga had a very down-to-earth take:
"As long as I can still cast spells, no one can say I'm not a warlock."
After all, demons like him—unpretentious, diligent, and obsessive about principles—tended to stick stubbornly to their ideas.
"And if anything ever goes wrong… it probably isn't my fault. It's the world's problem."
To enhance his learning efficiency and expand his arsenal, Orsaga even went out to the ancient forests on the border and set a few fires. That cleared the place of pesky distractions like wildlife.
Then he visited some remote regions and harvested a wave of "leeks," gathering every evolution point he could without disturbing the balance of power.
In total, he amassed over 300,000 evolution points.
He used them to evolve four new talents:
[Spellcasting at Will]: Spells in your hands become more fluid and diverse, as natural and intuitive as a part of your own body. (41,500 EP)
[Innate Talent – Martial Arts]: Born for combat, you can master any martial technique at extraordinary speed and surpass your teachers, provided you meet the learning conditions. (65,500 EP)
[Overclocked Brain]: Your brain's development skyrockets. Previously dormant areas are now active, greatly enhancing learning abilities and perception. (74,500 EP)
[Plague Origin]: Disease becomes your weapon. You can mold and modify plagues at will, as long as you use mana to create them. They're an extension of your own body. (87,900 EP)
As his strength grew and his talents multiplied, Orsaga finally began to map out his future path.
No one can do everything.
Even with an evolution system, Orsaga knew he couldn't afford to be a jack-of-all-trades. Choosing a focus was essential.
In the Abyss, slaughter is the eternal theme—there's no time for leisurely soul-searching. Killing everything in your path is the only goal worth planning for. But thanks to the time-dilated world he was currently in, he had the luxury to carefully consider his strategy.
He ultimately chose a developmental path built around:
[Spellcasting], [PhysicalBody], [Soul], [PlagueOrigin], [Pain and Torment], [Elemental Affinity – Bloodflame], and [Mana Trait – Corrosion].
Versatile in both melee and ranged combat. While not without flaws, the route was solid, with no glaring weaknesses. If developed well, it could hold its own anywhere.
Going forward, aside from saving a portion of evolution points to patch up any gaps, the majority of his resources would be funneled into these categories.
He also revised his evolution point allocation system. From now on, Orsaga would reserve one-quarter of all points as a contingency fund, while the remaining three-quarters would be automatically distributed across the areas he had identified as core development fields.
With everything adjusted and mapped out, Orsaga had finally clarified his own identity and sketched out a rough blueprint for the future.
1. Crude but effective hand-to-hand combat techniques.
2. Bloodline spells whose effects he knew but not their principles.
3. Growing strength, but a worldview and level of experience still lagging behind.
Self-awareness is a virtue.
And demons are no exception.
Recognizing your weaknesses and doing everything you can to address them—that was Orsaga's current objective.
---
Dispelling the swirling gray-black mist in his hand, Orsaga stood up from his chair, casually picked up an apple, and took a bite.
Through the plants growing over the top of the pavilion, his calm gaze rose to the sky, locking onto the blazing midday sun.
Basking in the sunlight, Orsaga felt… slightly uncomfortable.
In any world, the sun typically symbolizes the sacred, imbued with special meaning. Its light naturally possesses purifying and anti-evil properties.
Were it not for the protection of [Crimson], even though he was a Lesser Demon and wouldn't be harmed by sunlight directly, Orsaga still wouldn't willingly expose himself to it.
That instinctual aversion was deeply rooted—sunlight felt like being a fish yanked out of water. It weakened demons significantly. And with the additional world-suppression effect here, the discomfort was even worse.
For demons at the Juvenile Demon rank, the sun in this world, combined with suppression forces, could literally roast them alive.
That's why so many dark-aligned creatures learn spells like [Veil of Darkness] or [Summon Overcast Skies]. Without a home-field advantage, demons—who love launching interdimensional invasions—don't exactly have it easy.
The apple in Orsaga's mouth was bright, juicy, and one of the finest varieties.
But to a demon's taste buds—so different from a human's—it tasted like dirt. Even using [Overclocked Brain] to access his human memories of what apples once tasted like didn't help. It just made it taste… weird.
For demons, the most delicious things in existence were souls and flesh, preferably from highly emotional beings. Those who were truly good or truly evil were the most flavorful—rare delicacies of the highest quality, useful for much more than just eating.
Flesh and souls from other demons were technically edible, but they lacked flavor. Barely passable in a pinch.
With a wave of his hand, a long snake hidden in the courtyard grass was yanked into Orsaga's grasp.
About a meter long, with a pointed head and a body covered in alternating jade-green and blood-red scales forming mask-like patterns.
Ignoring its frantic writhing, Orsaga pressed his fingers lightly to its throat, slicing it open and severing both its blood vessels and venom sacs. He tilted it over his apple like a seasoning bottle and let the contents drizzle down.
Then he took another bite.
'Hmm…'
'Now it had some taste. The venom added a pleasant spicy kick. Acceptable.'
After finishing, Orsaga casually tossed aside the snake's carcass, wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin from the table, and made his way toward his laboratory.
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