I wolf down the remains of the creature as quickly as possible, not willing to leave myself vulnerable on open ground any longer than I have to. I myself dropped out of a stone wall and this unfortunate being crawled up out of the floor, which means there could be more of my kind ready to appear at a moment's notice from any surface around us. I won't take the risk, not until I know if others like me are hostile or not. As my jaws crunch and tear, I try to examine this 'profile', succeeding in having it supplied within my mind after a few attempts.

Basic Profile:

[Coepi Demon Larva: Initial Demon Larva, The first phase of the demon life cycle. Beware the claws, they are stronger than they appear.]

Well that didn't tell me much. And what's with the poor Latin? No matter.

[You have gained one Biomass.]

And I can't eat anymore. It's actually a surprise that I managed to get through so much of a creature the same size as myself, in fact, it should have been physically impossible, especially since I don't believe that I've increased in size. No matter, I can explore this and other questions shortly. Using my arms, I drag myself across the boiling rocks until I find a neat crevice where I can hide whilst I consider my next plan of attack. So far, I haven't seen any other movement, but that doesn't mean there won't be more larvae popping out of the walls.

I was able to gain six Biomass from the creature I defeated, not much but I have to assume that there is something I can do with these 'points'. It's clear to see that they are an important element of this game like world and I need to understand how they function immediately. After a short while, I worked it out.

[You can use skill points to purchase new skills or upgrade existing ones.]

[Biomass can be spent to improve or modify aspects of your physical, monstrous form.]

[Skills available to purchase:

Stealth: cost 1sp, improves your ability to hide and move unseen

Mana Manipulation: cost 1sp, Allows you to control mana with your mind.

Defensive posture: cost 1sp, Improves the ability to protect yourself.

Leaping Strike: cost 1sp, Increases damage and proficiency when making a jump attack.

Demon Fury: cost 1sp, Channel the rage of demon kind to increase damage.]

[Body improvements available to purchase:

Demon Eyes +1: Improves eyesight.

Infernal Claw +1 : Hardens and sharpens your claws.

Purgation Maw +1 : Improves the strength of your bite.

Tar Hide +1 : Toughens and thickens your hide.

Pocket Stomach +1 : improves the capacity of your pocket dimension stomach.]

Interesting…

So I'm able to spend my Skill points to purchase skills and upgrade ones that I already possess? Or did they reach a threshold? And these were the skills available to me right now? I wonder if leaping strike was available by default or if it appeared as a response to my actions. For now, I don't see the purpose of purchasing stealth, I'll rely instead on my own natural instincts and take different options to increase my offensive power. If there's one thing that I'm comfortable with, it's stealth.

As for the body improvements… This required careful thought. Only an idiot would rush a decision like this.

Eyes I dismiss immediately. What's needed in this situation is pure combat power, I'm in a fight for my survival, not an easter egg hunt. After some consideration, I purchase three upgrades for my 'infernal claws', which consumes all of my Biomass, and the Leaping Strike skill. After I confirm my choices with the gruff voice in my mind, a strange sensation overcomes me. Knowledge seeps into my mind like liquid being poured straight into my memories. How to leap, when to leap, the best angles to use. Much of it aligned with what I already knew, but applied to my new body rather than a human form.

As to the claws, a slight tickling sensation was all I could feel as they changed shape in front of my eyes. They grew a little longer, a little thicker, and perhaps a touch sharper on the edge. These were all advantages that I can use in my next fight. Having spent my resources, it's time to continue scouting my surroundings. If I'm lucky I may even run into another morsel that I can use to fuel my growth…

Or better yet, observe others of my kind to see how they interact. I also need to try and make use of the Skills that I'm yet to investigate, namely mana sight. If some strange form of magic exists in this odd world, then I need to understand it. I lever myself out of my hiding place and skulk through the dips and cracks between the rocks as I move around, every so often poking my head up to examine my surroundings. Less than a minute into my exploration I notice another of my kind creeping about the rocks.

Another prey? Before I can reposition myself to properly observe this specimen, I notice another has emerged somewhere behind me. Not good. Unwilling to be seen, I hide my presence and skirt around several rocks to circle around and put both of the demons on the same side of me. If they're going to fight, I want them to fight each other rather than me.

Except there's now a third. I hear it burst out of the ground right behind me, clawed hands scrabbling and shoving at the stone as it drags its body upward. I turn swiftly, cursing my bad luck. I can't move quickly enough to hide before it sees me, the best I can do is face up to it and see what happens!

After another second of freeing itself, the newly born demon larva locks eyes with me and for a moment, it freezes. Then it screams and launches itself at me, claws extended and reaching for my face.

Well that answers that question…