Chương 18: [1.18] Self-Evaluation (Part 1)

Once again, Angelica stared at her hand, and the Demon Growth System screen appeared. She started at the top again, but there were no prompts for her name, alias, or species when she focused on them. That made her panic for a second, thinking something might be wrong, either with herself, the power, or maybe her understanding. But when she got to Demon Rank, the expected pop-up, well, popped up. [Demon Rank. Your Rank in the Demon hierarchy, obviously, stupid Imp] Apparently the Growth System had some sass, mocking her for inquiring about something meant to be obvious. [The higher it is, the stronger you are, the more respected, and the more useful you will become to the cause] What was "the cause?" It seemed Demons were organized, somehow, possibly part of their own society. Hopefully, Angelica wouldn't get in trouble for not contributing to whatever it was.

But thus far, no one had come looking for her or made any attempts to reach out. Ideally, it would stay that way. [Upon reaching the Demon Rank threshold, Evolution will become available. No further Levels may be obtained until Evolution is triggered] So if she understood it correctly, when she reached Imp Lv. 20, she would be able to trigger an Evolution. And that would make her no longer an Imp? While the idea of giving up her cute puffball self was a bit sour, maybe she could revert to it with Transfiguration.

It sounded like leveling up was a good thing, but it didn't describe any of the benefits, nor did it actually tell her how to accomplish this. Hopefully something else would, so she moved on. [Essence is the physical form of raw magical energy emitted from each world. When the energy stagnates, it gives rise to Malignants. Defeating Malignants grants the Demon their Essence. Additionally, living beings will naturally filter the energy into Essence. Those with high Magical Proficiency, especially Summoners, may convert the energy into Essence manually. Demons have been cursed and cannot create it themselves, and thus must rely on other sources to obtain it] Okay, wow, that was a lot of information, Angelica's head reeled a bit. Alright, alright, break it down. So her world had magic energy, apparently. That alone was a bit of a surprise. But the description specifically said "each world."

As far as the former human knew, there were no other planets with life out there, unless their scientists had been shady with sharing information. Perhaps it just meant the inhospitable planets in her solar system also had some energy. At least she now had a better understanding of the ecosystem and transactional nature of Demons, Summoners, and Contracts. So Summoners would make Essence. Demons want the Essence. They complete jobs for the Summoners to get Essence. Okay, that was pretty simple.

But didn't that basically just make them day laborers? Even Demons had to work to make a living, huh? Sounds like they could also kill Malignants like the snake thing, but since she hadn't seen any more around, it seemed like it was slim pickings. Either there just weren't a lot of them to begin with, or they were hunted down quickly to get the Essence. As for what Essence actually did, well, there was a bit more to the description. [Essence is spent to increase Demon Rank. When the required amount of Essence is consumed, the Rank will increase. Multiple levels may be achieved at once if Essence is sufficient. Essence may also be traded to other Demons as currency] Currency, huh? So there really must be a Demon society with its own economics. Part of her kind of wanted to see it, if nothing more than to sate her curiosity and get inspiration for her webcomic. But becoming entangled at all was probably a bad idea. Angelica also got the gist a bit better now. She had 13 Essence.

If she got to 30, she could spend, or "consume," it to become Imp Lv. 2. Repeat that many times until Lv. 20. Trigger Evolution. Was that it, though? She kind of wanted to get to Lv. 2 just to see what would happen, if there'd be any noticeable difference. She should have asked for some Essence after all. Oh well, money was still better for now. [Growth Points] Okay, now that she knew what the GP acronym stood for, it felt obvious. [Growth Points are the representation of a Demon's dormant power. They may be spent to unlock new Skills, increase Skill levels, or increase base Worth. One Growth Point is awarded with each Demon Rank Level. Growth Points may be obtained through other methods on rare occasions] And of course it didn't tell her what those methods or occasions were. But the whole thing made a lot more sense now. Growth Points were the real prize and incentive to gain Essence and level up. Up until this point, she'd solely gained Skills by completing relevant actions or experiencing certain things.

At least that's how it seemed. Now it sounded like she could buy them, too? Which Skills, though? If she knew what was on the line, maybe she'd have more motivation to unlock them. There wasn't a convenient list she could see. Perhaps that came when she had GP to spend, or a higher Scrying Eye level. [Status as a Summoner has been forcibly incorporated into the Demon Growth System to prevent any errors] Angelica had moved on to the next section and already got an interesting message.

It sounded like the Summoning stuff wasn't a native part of the System, more like an add-on it tacked on just for her. Apparently, it was pretty adaptable. [Summoner Rank is the representation of status as a Summoner. When reaching the Summoner Rank threshold, you will advance to the next Summoner Rank, unlocking new abilities exclusive to more advanced Summoners. Whether other Summoners will recognize your ranking is another matter] [Current Abilities: 1 Bound Demon] Alright, so if she understood it, the System basically made Summoner Rank work like Demon Rank so it wouldn't cause any problems. But by the sounds of it, that wasn't how Summoners usually progressed. If Angelica ranked up and went out declaring herself with said title, it might raise eyebrows, good to know. What could those additional abilities be, though?

More Bound Demons was obvious, but was there anything else? [Experience is gained when performing actions as a Summoner. Examples of this include Summoning Demons, Binding Demons, issuing Contracts, giving Orders, Converting Essence, casting Linked Skills, and utilizing Runes] The gist was about what Angelica expected. Doing Summoner things gave her Experience to become a better Summoner. But she'd gotten more info than she could have hoped.

From the earlier Essence prompt, she knew about Summoners converting it, but that was scratched out for her. That was something she had already assumed she would be unable to do as a Demon, but now it was confirmed. What were Linked Skills, though? By the sound of it, maybe they were Skills cast in tandem with the Demon, or possibly other Summoners. And then there were Runes. Garvin had said the word a few times, and boasted that his fancy rod had some Holy Rune, or something like that.

Maybe Runes let them cast magic or Skills, similarly to Demons. If so, she was a bit curious about how to get them, sounding like she could possibly cheat the Growth System a bit by getting power from other sources. More thoughts for the future. [Health is the representation of a Demon's lifeforce as a percentage. Damage, status conditions, illness, and weakened constitution will all lower the percentage. If the percentage reaches zero, there will be no chance for recovery by any means, and the Demon's soul will be destroyed. Health capacity and rate of recovery scale with Might, Vigor, and Obstinance. The base value will also increase with each Rank level and receive an exceptional boost upon triggering Evolution] The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Alright, pretty simple overall. If bad stuff happened to her body, the number went down.

Still, she had to speculate why it was so low. It mentioned status effects. Since she had both Cold and Hunger Resistance, maybe those counted. Things like that would certainly explain most of it. Fatigue, both mental and physical, was likely another big factor. Weakened constitution was probably the rest. Her body was still relatively in poor condition compared to that of a healthy human.

Speaking of Cold Resistance, though, despite being essentially naked, she wasn't really that cold in the winter, even with the sun starting to set. It must have been all the hair she was covered in. And actually, she was up to 64% from the earlier 62%, so the apparent steady recovery was doing work. She fretted about how low her percentage must have gotten on the night of the trash incident. But thankfully, it had never hit zero. Soul destruction sounded unpleasant.

It went against the afterlife teachings of Vissiem, so she didn't want to dwell on it too much. Angelica skipped over MP, since she'd already read through it previously. She did note, though, that the description had been quite similar to Health, especially the scaling and capacity parts. The way they were presented, they almost seemed like a symbiotic pair of equal importance to a Demon. Now it was down to the Worth section. For the prompt of the title, it was fairly simple, and again, mocking.

[Worth is how useful you are, duh!] So Angelica moved along to each specific stat. [Might is strength incarnate. It increases the power of physical and magical attacks, along with any other ways you may wish to exude your will. Might can be increased by physical training, excessive use of Active Skills, and defeating enemies] [Vigor is the drive to push forward no matter what opposes you. It reduces damage taken from all sources and provides resistances, while also increasing stamina. Vigor can be increased by physical training, taking damage, or persisting in harsh conditions] [Competence is the capability to achieve a desired outcome. In combat, it increases accuracy and chance of Critical Hits. In general use, it increases dexterity and agility. It will also increase proficiency with most Skills. Competence can almost exclusively be increased by practice. It can also rarely be improved by gaining new knowledge or achieving great feats] [Lucidity is the understanding of truth and knowledge. It increases the potency of all senses while strengthening mental power and sanity. It also increases the strength of some Skills. Lucidity can be increased primarily by studying or learning previously unknown information. It can also be increased by taking damage from or defending against mental attacks] As if to accentuate the methods of increasing Lucidity, Angelica was hit with a: [Lucidity increased] [Lucidity has improved from Blinded to Impaired] The second bit was a surprise, and also a good example of how they could improve. Notably, she got a decent chunk of MP improvement, too, increasing the max to eighty. Her head also felt a sparse bit clearer from the bombardment of information, willing her to continue on.

[Obstinance is the resistance against the will of others. It primarily protects against direct control attempts, but also bolsters other, non-physical defenses. Obstinance is primarily increased by resisting Orders and binds during Summoning, but can also be improved by staunch refusals otherwise, and rejection of the zealous beliefs of others] [Beguilement is the effect your presence has on others. It decreases hostility while also improving chances of success during charismatic, charming, or seductive actions. Beguilement can be increased by positive or manipulative interactions with others. Higher Beguilement will also appease the Demonic Natures, making it easier to obtain and improve Attunements] Huh, that last part is different from all the others. Beguilement didn't improve Health or MP, so it made sense that it would enhance something else. But on the whole, this was likely where her "Worth" would fall behind all others. Angelica was a definitive social outcast.

She wasn't always that way, but after her failures, she had cut off pretty much all relationships, having since practically forgotten how to properly interact with others like a hermit. Hell, she wouldn't even know where to begin attempting to charm or seduce someone. [Creativity is the expression of self. It strengthens and alters Skills when using them in unconventional ways and makes it easier to combine Skill activations. Creativity can be increased by combining and experimenting with Skills, performing clever actions, or through artistic creations] Now, that would be her defining characteristic as an artist. It was already her highest stat by a wide margin, so she was eager to see it go even higher. [Malice is the pursuit of selfishness, accepting that it is best to put down others when it means your own rise. As the core Demon trait, it increases the chance of unlocking Skills without spending GP, and makes them easier to improve. Malice can be improved by performing malicious, spiteful, greedy, or just generally harmful actions. Higher Malice also reduces the amount of Essence required to improve one's Demon Rank] Okay, Angelica took it back, Malice would probably be her worst Worth. She just couldn't really picture herself ever being so selfish and narcissistic to actively harm others for her own benefit. [Afflict Mart Hucklebain with non-lethal poison - Order Complete. Orders Remaining: 0] [Malice notably increased] Welp, the system just had to prove her wrong. Apparently, her poisoning plan had gone off without a hitch. She kind of wished she was there to see it… Maybe the Imp was a little malicious, after all. Strangely, though, it hadn't said that the Contract was completed like it had all other times. Was it because someone else had issued it? Well, she wasn't going anywhere, anyways, not until the money was dropped off at the mailbox.

So she settled in, moving on to Attunements. [Attunements are the symbiosis with the Demonic Natures. They are the representation of a Demon's existence. Higher Attunement will increase the potency and reduce the Manifest Point cost of using all skills linked to that Attunement. Having a base or higher level of Attunement is required for purchasing most Skills. Attunement can be increased by unlocking and raising Skills of the linked Attunement, performing acts associated with the Attunement, or altering one's self to be further in line with the Attunement] Okay, Angelica could jive with that. It was sort of like picking a major in school. To become an actuary, she had to increase her mathematics "Attunement" by taking more and more advanced courses along that track.

That likely meant if she wanted the best Fabrication Skills, she would need to improve that Attunement as much as possible. Maybe it would even be in her best interest to get and train Skills she didn't really care about, especially if it meant it would make all the other artsy Skills even better. Reprint might have a use after all! She quickly ran down the Attunement list. They each had pretty short descriptions, but it was still helpful, since some weren't immediately what she imagined.

[Glacial Attunement is the embracement of cold, ice, and preservation. The more chilly conditions caused and the more time spent amongst it, the more the Attunement will grow] [Famine Attunement is the deprivement of sustenance to self or others. The more deprivation and related status effects caused, the more the Attunement will grow] [Destruction Attunement is the damaging of existences or items of value. The more ruination caused, the more the Attunement will grow. Special Note: Destruction Attunement is separate from Death Attunement] [Fabrication Attunement is the urge to create rather than destroy. The more objects created, particularly those of unique substance, the more the Attunement will grow] [Gnostic Attunement is the pursuit of hidden knowledge and secret truths. The more learned, especially rarer knowledge, the more the Attunement will grow. Special Note: Gnostic Attunement is separate from Heretic Attunement] Just by their descriptions, Destruction and Famine sounded like nothing Angelica wanted anything to do with. But in practice, they weren't too bad, inherently, at least with what she had so far. Stab had plenty of uses besides trying to kill people, and Hunger Resistance was only a win. She imagined, though, that both could get quite demonic, indeed. Glacial Attunement felt a bit more neutral.

On the whole, Angelica would say she preferred being cold to being hot, but there was definitely such a thing as too damned cold, so she didn't know how well she'd get along with it. Cold Resistance was nice, but she couldn't think of many uses for cold or ice-related skills off-hand for her simple introverted life. Maybe cooling down a drink that was too hot or keeping her apartment cool in the summer without needing to run the AC? Okay, perhaps it did have its merit.

But she also really enjoyed the warmth and coziness of a certain degree of heat, as long as it didn't reach the point of sweatiness. Could she attune with whatever the heat equivalent was while having Glacial Attunement, or did they like cancel each other out? Being warm in a cold room was the best, so a mixture could be pretty sweet. Fabrication and Gnostic Attunement were definitely right up her alley, though.

Well, Gnostic wasn't quite as ingrained, but she enjoyed learning new things, otherwise she wouldn't be spending her evening reading through all this. Just as a point of pride, she wanted to increase Fabrication as much as she could, even if she wished it had a different name. Assumedly, it would happen naturally with all the art she did, but she might focus on raising it if there were clear benefits. Now it was time to really move onto the meat of her list, the Skills.