Chapter 3

The demon vaults off tree bark, sliding through the brute's legs and escaping another blatant charge. With its broad, hairy back exposed, the demon swipes its new, sprouting claws across it, spilling blood and rending flesh.

One, two swipes and the demon dashes away in time to avoid the brute falling on its own back in an effort to crush it. Something in the demon has evolved. When it ate that winged-serpent and sprouted sturdier fangs, new claws, something else evolved as well. Something greater than mere physicality.

Rather than slash at the brute while it's down the demon scurries up a gnarled tree, taking the high ground as for the first time it attempts to use to power within its crystal. Realizing the innate connection, it shares with the crystal, the demon wills the power within, the power it has earned from the moment of its birth to manifest in its palm.

A swirl of pink mist becomes apparent as the brute lugs back onto its feet— having faced off against many opponents and now the demon without stopping to heal, its fate is all but sealed. It searches, left, right, too late to look up as the demon leaps from the tree top, a soft red coating of power, of Essence coats its clenched fist and blazes as it descends, "Reais Smite!"

The blow rattles the brute, knocking out teeth and sending it stumbling back into a tree. The demon holds onto the brute as it slams against the bark, summoning more Essence into its fist for another strike but in its greed leaves its back vulnerable to the pair of the brutes extra arms.

Snatched off the demon finds itself held and restrained, unable to fight off the brute's considerable strength as it recovers. In the centre of its bloodied chest lies the deepest pink crystal its seen yet, glowing like the fowl's did.

The demon gasps, overcome with fear of being obliterated the way its foot was. The brute roars spittle in its face and with a single arm flings the demon into the ground. As its soft, brittle bones crack and its head fills with its own blood the demon does all it can and pulls on its only source of power.

Flooding its entire body with Essence, overriding its senses with the scent of blood— its own and that of the brute the demon screeches, "Wrreee!" 

[{Blood Rush} Active!]

Uncaring for its own well-being or even its limitations, the demon rips its arm from the brute's grip, snapping it in half in the process as it leaps onto the creature twice its size and sinks its fangs deep where blood gushes the most.

The brute bellows out in agony, slapping itself frantically as the demon skitters across its body like a rodent, biting and sucking wherever blood pools. The winged-serpents did good work on the brute, already parts of it seep with poison and acid burns. The demon slashes into these gashes as the brute trashes about unable to get a grip on the scurrying foe.

It's not long before the massive creature tires, groaning onto its knees in a pathetic final struggle against poison, acid and the vampiric bites of the demon. It succumbs by a tree, using what little strength it has left to slam its back as well as the clinging demon into the gnarled bark of the tree.

The demon is unfazed, draining the brute gives it the strength to withstand its laststand and soon the brute struggles no more, crumpling by the base of the tree as its blood is drained into the demon.

[{Blood Rush} Disabled!]

As the last drop drains down the demon's gullet it awakens from its frenzied state, eyes bloodshot, mouth and torso drenched in the blood of the brute. The demon flinches and whimpers in pain forgotten, finding its arm twisted to the side and part of its rib sticking out its back and chest.

However, the crystal of the brute is set for the taking and so are the crystals of the winged serpents it fell. Gently, it dislodges itself from between the bark of the tree and the brute's corpse, undecided between feasting on all three corpses for what it is beginning to understand is strength and growth. It decides to pluck out the brute's crystal, smashing it in its hand the familiar and warm pink mist erupts, funnelling into its own. With a vicious, yet soothing crack its arm snaps back into place and its ribs sink back into its flesh.

4 ESQ Absorbed! 

5 Essence Points Absorbed! 

Crystal Essence Level 2—>3!

Similar words had sought its attention when it devoured the winged serpent, its crystal had taken a deep hue at that moment as well, like it does now. Many things the demon was curious about began making sense with each creature it gorges on and each crystal it absorbed into its own.

Tilting its head to the side it turns its intrigue to the talk of points, what would it do with these points? "Can I eat that?"

As though responding to its curiosity, the words fade and replace with another it'd seen before.

Name: —

Race: Demon

Class: Vampiric

Age: Immortal – 17days.

Crystal Essence: [Pink]- Lvl.3— 16ESQ

[Available Essence Points— 10]

Faith:2[+]

Agility: 2[+]

Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}

When it had seen these words before its instinct was to swat them away, some of that persists but now having devoured the winged serpent and drained the four-armed brute of its blood, the demon wonders. There is a difference in what it had seen before and what it sees now.

"Rraar?"

It lingers on the changes, for one it now has a higher, stronger numbers and soon deigns this to be better than less. Also, the addition of new symbols beside the numbers that hadn't increased prompts a separate set of words the longer the demon stares.

Faith— Attribute manipulating and bolstering Essence of Reais and its perks.

Agility— Attribute manipulating and bolstering Demonic rapidity and its perks.

Even with its increased intelligence and patience, the demon fails to understand what any of this means. It's most significant takeaway however comes from its use of Essence in its fight with the brute.

Perhaps these points are for that, to make its smite stronger and faster. Sniffing the demon swipes at the words and they fade back into the Identity Sheet and with but a thought its uses up all ten points on [Faith].

In an instant it senses a difference, now vividly aware of the power, the Essence of its crystal flowing throughout its body, not only its left hand. The pathways reach every point of its body and it finds that it can control the flow, willing it with but a thought to strengthen its claws, fangs or even manifest right before its eyes.

But exercising this new ability is exhausting. The demon cuts flesh from the brute and fills its stomach before reminding itself of the winged serpents and their crystals left behind. Retrieving their corpses, the demon sits by the brute's corpse as the wind howls through the forest, with this much flesh and crystals it will be sometime before it goes hungry again.

Plucking out their crystals the demon shatters them in its hand, absorbing both into its own.

2 ESQ Absorbed! 

2 ESQ Absorbed!

5 Essence Points Attained!

Crystal Essence Level 3—>4!

Again its crystal deepens in hue and a bright mirth fills its centre knowing this means it grows stronger. This time it chooses to spend all five new points into [Agility] and unlike with [Faith] it doesn't sense any immediate changes beyond a slight weight and height gain in its flatfeet and legs.

In bliss it ties one of the winged serpents around its neck and snacks on the other, slowly piecing together the pattern of how it grows. Every 4ESQ must mean a new level and every level brings five points it can spend on its attributes.

Tired of thinking the demon nestles into the brute's corpse, wishing there were a crevasse it could hideaway in but glad to have a bounty of food nonetheless. It was a good hunt.