Oh, ye foolish ones below, hear me now, you soon shall know!
He comes with sword in hand so bright,
To cleanse the world and bring the light.
A mirror held within his grasp,
Where truths are seen, none may surpass.
With but a strike, the veil shall fall,
Our sins laid bare, exposed to all.
Oh, he shall rise when time is done,
The final hour has begun!
Prepare, ye seven, heed the call,
The underworld won't stand for all!
A popular melody sung in the olden memories of the underworld.
...
I awoke to a barren land beneath a sky steeped in crimson, the air thick with an eerie silence. A blood-red moon loomed overhead, casting its ghostly light upon the desolate terrain.
Something felt wrong.
My body was... unfamiliar. Sluggish. Small. I had the frail form of a snail, my shell brittle and delicate as if a single touch could shatter it.
Yet, despite the grotesque nature of my being, my mind buzzed with fragments of memories and visions of a gloomy verdant forest. Amidst the towering trees, a silver-haired woman ran with desperate urgency.
She was holding a hand.
Whose? I couldn't tell, but something deep inside me screamed that it was mine. The perspective felt too personal, too intimate. Whenever I reached for more, whenever I tried to dig deeper into that memory, an unbearable pain erupted in my skull, a searing agony that felt like it was carving through my very soul.
I gasped, or at least, I thought I did. Did I even have lungs anymore?
I shook the thought aside. There were more pressing matters.
My awakening had thrown me into utter confusion. This form? This fragile, crawling thing, I could feel that it wasn't truly me. It was unnatural as if my very essence had been severed from what I once was. A detachment so profound it was suffocating.
Then, I saw them.
Words. Floating before my eyes, clear as day.
---
Name: Malvos
Race: Demon [Infant]
Species: [Demon Larva] - Lvl. 1
General Skill: [Comprehension] - Lvl. 1
Racial Skill: [Universal Language Discernment] - Lvl. 1
HP: 100/100
SP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Stats:
[Vitality]: 5
[Strength]: 5
[Wisdom]: 5
[Agility]: 5
[Available Stat Points: 0]
Skills:
[Available Skill Points: 0]
---
'Malvos, huh… that must be my name.'
The thought came instinctively, as though the name had always been mine. But where had it come from? Why did it feel... natural?
My gaze flickered over the strange display, my mind grasping at the meaning behind each term. And strangely enough, I understood. Not in a way that felt like learning something new, but as if the knowledge had always been there, waiting to resurface.
Race—what I was in the grand scheme of existence.
Species—a more refined classification, a subgroup of my race.
General Skill—an ability inherent to all living things.
Racial Skill—exclusive to my kind, something unique to demons.
HP—my life force, my well-being.
SP—linked to my physical condition, a measure of endurance.
And MP…
I hesitated. Unlike the others, I couldn't quite place its significance. It felt familiar, yet distant.
Moving on, I recognized Vitality as my stamina, Strength as my physical prowess, and Agility as my movement speed. But Wisdom? That one eluded me.
Still, the knowledge had settled into my mind as if it had always been there. How? I had no idea.
Then, something shifted.
---
General Skill [Comprehension] has levelled up!
Comprehension (Lv1) → Comprehension (Lv2)
Experience Points Gained!
---
I blinked. A new notification had appeared, the words forming in my vision with an almost hypnotic clarity. And with them came an unfamiliar sensation, one that sent a shiver of pleasure through my core. It was... blissful. Addictive, even.
'Level up?'
Did this mean the skill had improved? If so, then what had triggered it? I hadn't activated anything to have caused the level-up.
But then again… I had been analyzing things, breaking down their meaning. That was comprehension, wasn't it? The act of understanding.
If simply thinking about something could increase my skill, then what would happen if I deliberately pushed its limits?
Excitement flickered within me. I needed to test this.
My gaze shifted to my surroundings, absorbing every detail. The land was bleak and desolate, the ground a jagged expanse of red stone, lifeless and unyielding. Darkness clung to the edges of my vision, only held back by the haunting glow of the crimson moon.
"If I'm a demon… and I was just born here, does that mean—"
---
General Skill [Comprehension] has levelled up!
Comprehension (Lv2) → Comprehension (Lv3)
General Skill [Comprehension] has levelled up!
Comprehension (Lv3) → Comprehension (Lv4)
General Skill [Comprehension] has levelled up!
Comprehension (Lv4) → Comprehension (Lv5)
---
I froze.
The rush was overwhelming. The same intoxicating sensation flooded through me, stronger than before. And then—
---
A large amount of experience has been acquired!
You have levelled up!
Demon Larva (Lv1) → Demon Larva (Lv2)
4 Stat Points Acquired!
1 Skill Point Acquired!
---
'What the hell…?'
My body shifted. It wasn't drastic, but I could feel it. I had grown. My shell was a fraction sturdier, my movements slightly more fluid. It was subtle but undeniable.
It was thrilling.
But why had I gained so much experience all at once? Were there rules to this? Conditions I hadn't yet grasped? The system felt... exploitable. But to what extent?
I glanced back at my status, noting the changes. My available stat points had increased, meaning I could enhance my attributes. As for skill points, they were likely used to strengthen existing abilities.
At least, that's what I thought.
I attempted to allocate a skill point to my [Comprehension] ability, but nothing happened. Frustration prickled at me. Was there another requirement? Something I hadn't yet unlocked?
I let out a breath, an odd sensation, considering I wasn't even sure I had lungs. I needed more information.
Enough about that though.
Standing in the middle of nowhere, I wondered what it was I should do next. What next requirements should I assume going forward?!
I had no idea, but one thing that was clear enough was my need to achieve more level-up moments.
I enjoyed every rush that came with the notification, enough to want it to keep happening on a usual basis so without a doubt, to level up is my first goal, my primary aim in this obscure world.
But first, I need to figure things out.