Chapter 36: Bigger the stronger, how to be stronger?

Demons.

There were hundreds of different kinds of demons out there.

There were Dungeon Demons, Dream Demons, Flame Demons, and a bunch more. The variety was nearly innumerable. However, these demons could be further categorized into different subcategories.

Elemental Demons, Physical Demons, Mental Demons, and Unique Demons.

Elemental Demons had elemental demonic tricks. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and all of the other similar abilities. If a demon had one of those, they were most likely an Elemental Demon.

Dona was an Elemental Demon with the Flame Bloodline, for example.

Physical Demons were Demons with Physical Abilities. Shapeshifting, Gigantification, or similar abilities would be counted under this category.

Then, there were purely Mental Demons. Succubus, Incubus, or Wrath Demons. Such creatures would all be categorized under this category.

Finally, came Unique Demons, Demons with powers that allowed them to survive in Other Worlds without the help of other Demons.

Mark was one such Demon.

There was still Impure Demons with multiple Bloodlines instead of one but they would end up having no abilities at all, so they were the weaklings, always. They had no abilities other than their overpowered physical bodies.

Now that they knew the origin of Hunters, a Hunter could also be categorized this way. After all, Hunters were flawed demons in the end.

But there was one demonic trick that all Demons, no matter what kind they were, shared in common that a Hunter had never awakened in history.

That was… Soul Devouring.

All Demons, even those with an Impure Demonic Bloodline, had this demonic trick. This trick was the crutch by which they grew stronger. No Hunter could get this ability.

Mark contemplated this fact as he sat on the couch, waiting for Yuri to deliver the guide to reach Tier 1. It would probably not be too helpful, but it should show him the path to follow.

***

Yuri looked at the projected image on the wall with intense eyes.

Mark was petting the head of the sleeping Dona on his lap as he looked at it. His own eyes were even more intense than hers.

There was a grainy image of a grasshopper-like demon with the power of the wind in the projection. It fought and killed off multiple Hunters surrounding it with wind blades before it stood up straight and looked around warily.

Blood dripped from its hands.

"That thing is a Dungeon Demon that came around three years ago. It was ignored due to the large number of such things around at the time—A-Rank Hunters weren't too prominent those days, and Hunters, in general, were rare—but then the grasshopper Evolved and killed too many.

"The few A-rankers stormed it, and it became history. But someone caught the sight of it evolving in camera."

"I see," Mark's eyes shimmered as the image zoomed in on the Demon. S~eaʀᴄh the NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The grasshopper demon's eyes suddenly grew blank, and it looked around at the carnage it had caused with a wrathful expression. Then, it trembled, fell limp on the ground, and thrashed about for a long time.

A black, mucus-like substance began to ooze out of its skin.

After a while, the demon slowly stood up, and its figure had changed entirely.

Mark was full of awe.

"Evolution!" he said.

The Demonling had become something better.

It had evolved.

It had become a Tier 1 being.

It now looked humanoid, with tens of grasshopper blades sticking out of its back. A cold shine in its eyes made even Mark's hair rise.

He'd probably die if he faced it in battle.

"Its size also increased. Do Demons become bigger as they evolve?" he asked with even more awe.

Moreover, he didn't understand how it had evolved. It seemed dazed for a second, writhed on the ground for a while, and stood back up as a better version of itself.

What am I missing?

How could I evolve?

There was something he was missing, and he felt he already knew what he was missing. But at the same time, he couldn't understand what it was. It was irritating.

Yuri smirked. "You sure are quite ignorant about Demon matters while being a demon. Let me show you something amazing, then. A Tier 1 Demon and a Tier 0 Demon are fundamentally different creatures altogether, including size."

She clicked the remote in her hand, and the images of different known demons appeared on the screen one after another.

Some of it was camera-captured pictures, while others were paintings. Mark saw a pattern among all the images—the stronger the demon she showed, the bigger in size it was.

"As you can see, Demons grow exponentially in size as they rise in strength." Yuri nodded and showed an artful painting. "This is the image of the Boss Demon deep inside the mega-dungeon that a Hunter drew. It is a Tier 2, and look at the sheer size of it."

It looked like a bus.

Its body shape itself was brimming with sheer strength, too. Strangely, it looked like a Hulk in battle armor.

Mark looked at it with a bit of wariness and then nodded.

That was the strongest Demon in this World currently.

And.

Will he also become bigger as he grows stronger…?

That seemed uncomfortable.

Honestly, he didn't want to become a giant. Still, if all the demons of higher levels were going to be giants, he would be interacting with creatures of his similar size all the time.

His world would just be bigger than humans themselves. He wouldn't feel like a giant if everyone were giants.

He didn't have to care, really. He didn't have to limit himself to be more… human.

He was a demon.

His world would be bigger.

Still, Mark wished he had a way to shrink himself or something similar. But for now, he just had to focus on evolving.

Yuri continued with a curious note, "If I am right, Tier 4 or 5 Demons should be colossal. They must be so huge, we would probably look like ants in comparison."

The memory of the colossal giants flashed by in Mark's mind. "Indeed, they are colossal. So big, you cannot see the sky if they were before you."

He still remembered it vividly.

"But the size is not the only thing different between different tiers of Demons. Tier 0 Demons with… demonic tricks have three abilities at most—usually—but a Tier 1 Demon would have four of them."

Mark nodded. Both he and Dona had only three demonic tricks, but Tier 1 Demons usually have four. He had learned that from the internet, too.

Of course, only Demons with a pure bloodline would have demonic tricks. Impure Demons would still probably not have any abilities.

But he was a Demon with the unique Ephemeral Dungeon Heart Bloodline. He was bound to gain a unique ability when he evolved.

"That's as much as I could figure out…" Yuri sighed. "You will gain a new ability, and your physique will evolve and become bigger. Tier 1 Demons are usually as big as a small car, so that's an expectable size."

Mark nodded.

For one, he still wanted to evolve. Knowing he would get a new demonic trick only made him want to evolve even more.

I will steal Shiden's ability after evolving, and then, I can change my size to suit my tastes at will. But evolving now is paramount.

"So, how do I evolve anyway?" he asked calmly.

Yuri replayed the video of the grasshopper and got to the point. "As you can see, evolving is not that hard. I have done a bunch of cross-references and come to one conclusion. In all the cases that a Demon ever evolved, they were always in intense situations."

"When a Demon at the pinnacle of Tier 0 encounters a deadly crisis or engages in intense carnage, it grows dazed. Soon after, its eyes light up as if it has figured something out, and then it evolves. That has been the pattern in all of the cases documented."

Mark sighed. "So the answer is to put myself in an intense situation as you suggested earlier…"

"I am sure it is the intensity you need to break through your limit." She took a deep breath. "Something like a deadly fight, a massacre, or something similar. You need to do something like that and be able to break through."

This was also one of his guesses. Maybe, he could find that missing bit if he put his own life at risk, but doing that with no prior understanding seemed foolish.

He didn't like the prospect very much.

He liked to have a better sense of the situation instead of blindly being a brute and hoping for good luck, but there was no way in front of him that seemed better than just going at it head-on.

"Why, you ask?" Yuri dragged. "In my opinion, the evolved Demons sensed something within themselves, which changed them entirely. That must be why they evolved. You also need to sense that. It should be evident once you evolve."

"I have to sense something, huh?" He looked at his hand. That somehow made incredible sense to him.

But what did he have to sense?

He felt as if the answer was obvious, but he didn't know it.

But it was not like he had not already fought intense battles. The fight with Choi Sung could have been deadly if it went wrong—

No.

That wasn't even that deadly now that Mark thought of it.

He frustratedly rested his chin on his hand and then asked a serious question, "What do you suggest I do?"

"You should enter the Mega-Dungeon…" she said seriously. "You can see truly life-threatening big giant things from afar, so you can ignore them and fight with some demons of your own level in the peripheral. You can give the hunted souls of the demons you kill to Dona and let her reach the pinnacle until you evolve."

Yuri pondered. "Or maybe I can arrange a Dungeon Demon for you to battle. They come out often, and some don't get discovered by the government until it's too late. I can find one of those for you to fight."

Mark contemplated.

What was he missing?

"I have to prepare some things; then I will go to battle."

"I'll follow you," Yuri said, "I want to see some things with my own eyes. And it would be best if we go out tonight because I know the location of a Dungeon Demon who had just built a Dungeon some days ago."

She showed him the image of a lonely house. It was a Dungeon.

"The Demon there should be weaker than you, but it would have already summoned some demons into its turf. Are you interested?"

Mark nodded and stretched himself.

As long as it was a Tier 0, he was not afraid.

It was time to fight, evolve, and grow stronger.

Before that, though, he had some things to do. He looked at a hamster that was sound asleep on the nearby table.

"I'd also like some of your bodily juices before you evolve," Yuri said, "so that I can compare the before and after Life Structure. It will be useful in the future."

Mark gently rested Dona's head to the side and smirked.

"Why not?" he asked.

The Scientist blushed softly.

He leaned back and revealed his cock to the woman by removing the simple boxers on him.

Yuri understood the cue and came closer without hesitation. Even though her face was red, she seemed somewhat calm. Then, she began to pleasure him with her soft and tender hands.

Mark groaned inwardly in satisfaction.

When she saw it was not working even after ten minutes, she looked up at Mark with flushed cheeks and tied her short hair to her back.

"I've never done this for anyone," she said.

Then, the pretty scientist opened her mouth and gently devoured his cock before beginning to bob her head up and down. He could feel her slick tongue wrapping around his manhood, inexperienced and clumsy, just like Dona.

He just laid back and experienced it with bliss.

One of his hands moved down and adjusted her position before beginning to pleasure her own flower.

In the end, she went to her research area with a mouthful of research material, and her drenched pussy was also gently given release by her demonic consort... with his rather skilled hands.

Mark chuckled as his cock twitched flaccidly.

The Scientist was walking with trembling legs, but he kinda liked playing this woman slowly.

She was someone he wanted to keep for the long run.

Dona sniffed the air in her sleep, subconsciously stuffed his flaccid member into her mouth, and began chewing gently.

He groaned in satisfaction and rubbed her head before looking at the hamster again.

He had to get ready for some battles.

Damn, Dona had gotten way better at this.

He clenched her butt.