Mind Demon's Path of Domination

Dawn crept in and cleared away the haze of night.

A hand broke out of a tree hollow, smashing the wood in its path. The hand gripped the side of the tree and a demon walked out of the hollow, dark, metallic wings reflecting the early sun.

Golden eyes looked up in interest and Mark whistled.

He was perched atop a black-leaved tree at the bottom of an incredibly massive cliff. And spreading his Soul Sense out cautiously, he could sense some demons around. Already bustling around with the arrival of morning.

Demonlings. A little red-skinned Demon scuttled around beneath his tree, tailing another grey-skinned demon with obvious malevolent intent.

Mark couldn't help but smile at the sight.

Some months ago, he had been that weak, too.

He took a calm breath of the savage wilderness. Maybe, months or years from now, his current self and problems would also just be an old memory. If he could survive all the troubles in the first place that is.

The Naga, the half-snake, half-human creature, had also vanished from the area.

Soon, his gaze shimmered. His Soul Sense had found traces of what he was looking for.

Mark spread his wings wide and…

flap.

He flew through the air, blurred between the black-leaved trees, and soon landed.

Before him stretched a wide river, black water flowing with incredibly strong currents. On the other side of the river, Mark could see some other Tier 2 Demons—even the Naga—sipping on the black water calmly. Many of them had early morning hunts on their hands.

"They eat Demonlings?" he asked. "Why? They won't grow stronger eating them, right?"

"Middle Demons aren't intelligent," came a lazy reply. "They understand that hunting other Middle Demons is the easiest way to grow stronger, but their survival instinct is incredibly demanding, most of them are cowards."

Mark blinked.

Reol'ran chuckled. "Even your Dona is a coward, essentially. She becomes so skittish at night, almost panicking. Well, most demons are like her. But yes, that's what is required to survive out here—in fact, I think you are a bit too fearless. Fear is not a bad thing.

But at least, you are cautious, so it's not that bad."

"Well, I am not here to hunt…" he yawned, moving towards the black river. "But I thought there would be some Upper Demons around but it is mostly Middle Demons in this forest. And even they seem rare. It feels like I already am at the top of the food chain."

Reol'ran mockingly laughed and Mark didn't continue on that stupid thought process. Instead, he looked at his reflection in the river and blinked. Even Reol'ran grew silent. She could only watch the real world through Mark's eyes, so it was also now that she saw his appearance.

Soul Sense could not clearly show one's own appearance. It could, but it was a rather skewed sight, and through it, no matter how ugly you looked, you would seem to be the most beautiful thing in all of existence. Soul Sense was just like that.

But now, Mark could see his sight for real.

He had short, slightly spiky, and light grey hair. His eyes were like shimmering gold, but at the same time, it had a sort of depth to it—seemingly ready to devour anyone who so much as dared to look in. Abyss. That was an apt description. Then, his gaze moved to his body.

More than 4 meters long, he had incredibly well-crafted muscles. Any bodybuilder would have to bow in reverence to the sheer strength hidden beneath the looks, too. His skin, which used to be red, had also changed drastically.

It looked light purple now. Incredibly light purple. Somewhat of a distant shade of violet.

"I look somewhat human," Mark said, opening his mouth to look at the reflection of his fangs.

Except for his fangs, horns, and such—he looked human. If his purple skin was a bit lighter, he'd be a light-skinned human male. Of course, 4.5+ meters was an exaggerated size for a human.

"You do look human," Reol'ran said, amazed. "But the main change after evolution is still your wings. It looks metallic, but can still fly. If you get some kind of defensive wing demonic trick, it might be good for your fighting style."

Mark's gaze lingered on his reflection. Will he always change after every evolution?

After a while, Reol'ran asked, "If you want to change your size, why don't you use Alchemic Shapeshifting on yourself now?"

Mark didn't reply but put his hands into the river water instead. His Soul Sense wrapped around some of the liquid and they began to vanish. He was absorbing the Black Water into his World Space. The more he absorbed, the more he wanted to absorb.

Now, as long as the Black Water remained in his World Space, he would never lack Mindpower. He was going to have infinite fighting prowess. His enemies were going to cry.

"Tell me, Mark. Are you still afraid of using Alchemic Shapeshifting on yourself?"

Mark smiled. "I am cautious, not afraid. I will use it on myself once I have tested its effectiveness on some others."

"Well, there are a lot of Demonlings around."

"I know."

"Keep your soul sense spread around you for some meters. Someone might ambush you."

Mark waved his hand, summoning the Boss.

"Protect me with your life."

The Boss nodded.

Mark's gaze shifted to his Stats.

==•==

[Marcus Haeligarth Armanteuil Véxillarius Nócturnâ Aërglothur]

[Tier 2—Middle Demon]

[Physique: 101 (Below Low)]

[Mind: 101 (Below Low)]

[Soul Spheres: 1000/10K.]

___

[Resistances]

» Plant Poison Resistance (Low) (Tier 2).

» Heart Resistance (Low) (Tier 2).

» Dream Resistance (Low) (Tier 2)

» Physical Resistance (Pinnacle) (Tier 1).

» Mental Resistance (Pinnacle) (Tier 1).

==•==

His Physical and Mental Resistances were still not on par with his Tier.

Without any hesitation, he invested two hundred Soul Spheres into his Physique.

Trzz.

A queer amount of cold energy blasted out of the Violet Mirror buried in his World Space and began to run rampant across his body.

His hands and feet felt an icy chill, his eyes felt as if it was being frozen over.

When it passed, all the cold energy melded into his very physical being.

Mark's Soul Sense could understand the process much better than before, too. His Soul Sense could now work like an x-ray, watching into his own bones. The cold energy was assimilating into these bones and even the flesh, making them stronger.

His height, weight, and definitions, all changed.

That cold energy was the energy of the Soul Spheres. It was the Souls of beings he hunted, and the Violet Mirror was refining it into a purer form for him to absorb easily.

Mark took a deep breath.

Growing stronger was exhilarating.

[Physique: 301 (Tier 2) (Low)]

[Physical Resistance (Tier 2) (Low)]

Mark had the urge to max out his Physical stats. Yet, he restrained himself and used the remaining eight hundred Soul Spheres on his Mind instead. His Mind stat decided whether most of his demonic tricks worked against his enemies, so he had to max that out first.

Only if his Mind stat was Pinnacle would his Tricks become Pinnacle!

Once again, that cold energy burst forth from all over his body, but this time, it converged near his head and Mark felt a sense of calm wash over him.

At the same time, his Soul Sense began to expand and become crisper.

Golden eyes shimmered as they watched the Black Water River. Something was heading towards his hand from deep below. Something quite big.

[Mind: 901 (Tier 2) (High)]

[Mental Resistance (Tier 2) (High)]

Most of his Demonic Tricks also became stronger.

•> Dream Wings (High) (Tier 2).

•> Heart Input (High) (Tier 2).

•> Dream Shock (High) (Tier 2).

•> Parasite (High) (Tier 2).

Mark's cold gaze shifted to the other side of the river. From there, the Naga, a half-snake, half-human creature was looking towards him with a scowl on its face. To Mark, even that distant face appeared crystal clear.

"So that demon didn't drink water from this side—even though it was here at night—because there is some kind of predator underwater," he said, calm. The creature beneath neared him with incredible speed. So fast, Mark felt his skin prickle.

Mark stopped absorbing the Black Water into his World Space and absorbed the Boss Demon back into it. With a quick jump, he flew above the Black Water and in a blurring speed, appeared on the other side of the River. The Naga stared at him with its round eyes, full of wariness.

The creature from the water burst out of the river and Mark's soul sense watched it with cold battle intent. It was an incredibly huge snake, covered in lightning tendrils and just watching it, Mark knew the creature was no ordinary Middle Demon.

It was strong. Super strong. The Boss Demon was also no ordinary Middle Demon, but this one was even stronger than it. It was a feeling but Mark felt it was aptly thought of.

Its eyes, glowing with lightning, focused on Mark, and its form blurred through the water's surface with immense speed, headed fast toward him.

Mark laughed. "Brother Naga, let's fight it together!"

The Naga screamed.

Mark licked his lips. He needed some Soul Spheres to grow stronger—

—To reach the Pinnacle.