Eva isn’t in pain anymore. She sits up inside the tent with Jammie, the last surviving healer in the expedition team. She doesn’t attempt to converse, nor does she want to.

  Eva’s too focused on her class skill Summoners Insight.

  Summon(Tiffany Day)

  Race(Human)

  Level(38)

  Last Ability Used(Class Skill/Aura of Constitution)

  Eva is sweating. She wants to think that Tiffany has simply revealed her true level, but deep down she knows that isn’t true. She saw it, or more precisely felt it.

  A class advancement-

  It was a familiar feeling when she underwent hers. Being ripped away from the world itself. Receiving the honor of speaking with The First Cultist, the Devil of Worship. The overwhelming feeling of inferiority.

  Eva wasn’t sure why she felt it at first, but she knows that it came from Tiffany. She really was level 6 when they first met. Eva replays memories of their conversations. The questions she had were all something that someone who had no idea of how the system worked would ask.

  Tiffany really had leveled up 32 times in little over three days. That’s insane, it shouldn't be possible, but that’s what happened.

  Eva needs to speak with her brother about this. With him, they can slay her before she gets too powerful.

  Eva hears a grumbling outside of the tent “Uh Ev- ugh, Evan. Da captain' back and what not.”

  Eva gives a sigh of relief. She wants to go out and greet her brother, but she is so tired that it just isn’t possible. Not like such a gesture would matter to him anyway.

  The tent flap flips open and Toulif walks in. Eva stares at her brother as he looks down at her in silence.

  The captain’s gaze switches to Jammie “Leave.”

  The healer blinks for a moment “Yes.” and exits the tent.

  As soon as he leaves, Toulif takes off his mask and Eva’s eyes widen at his expression. He looks tired, to say the least. It must have been a very exhausting fight.

  Eva speaks formally “I take it you have slain the Roach Empress.”

  Toulif grabs the bridge of his nose and winces “Eva.”

  Eva frowns at his reaction “Yes?”

  He lowers his hand and stares at her with a dreadful seriousness “What have you done?”

  Eva is stunned.

  ---

  I’m standing right outside of the tent that Eva’s in. Toulif walked in to talk to her, but I didn’t follow. I’m biting my nails out of nervousness and not because of the massive four armed blue demon standing next to me.

  How do I go about this? What do I even say? Sorry for killing your cultist friends and forcing you to do what I want. Don’t worry, I got you hard drugs to make up for it!

  I frown. There is no way this works.

  The blue demon taps my shoulder and I look up at him. He looks at me with a concerned face, but his soul says he’s confused. He speaks with a voice that's hard to understand clearly “Ya a demon, or a hummi?”

  I blink at the demon. I’m honestly kinda surprised. I got used to everyone just assuming that I’m a demon, that it throws me off when someone expects me out of nowhere. “I’m a demon.”

  The blue demon tilts his head at me with a frown “Ya sure?”

  I frown back and cross my arms “Of course I’m sure! Why wouldn’t I be sure?!”

  The demon grins “Nah! Nah! That’s somthin a hummi would say!”

  I blink rapidly as I try to work my jaw “What?! How did-!”

  The big blue bastard starts laughing and the other cultists start looking our way. I start to sweat slightly. There is no way this is how I’m found out.

  The real demon looks at me while scratching his cheek and a smile on his face “Yas a hummi for sure, sure. Ya had magic of a demon, ya a hummi tho-” He blinks for a moment “How’d a hummi get demon magic?”

  My one eye darts around to see that all the cultists outside the tent are now watching the conversation. Shit. “Cause I am a demon! A human can’t use demon magic!”

  The blue demon blinks again “But ya can?”

  My eye twitches as my earlier nervousness starts shifting into rage. My face starts to contort, but my rage suddenly disappears. Huh, do I need to keep pretending to be a demon?

  I blink with my one eye, then sigh. “Ya got me! The jig is up! I was a human the whole time! Ya happy.”

  I feel shock and surprise come from all around me. Fuck, this is how it goes huh. I furrow my brows as I realize I’m feeling surprise come from right in front of me. I look up at the demon and his face is dumbfounded “I’s was right?!”

  He was right? Wait, he didn’t know? ARE YOU FU-

  I punch him in the gut and he is sent flying into a nearby wall. I manifested Aura of Constitution, but I didn’t focus it. I wasn’t trying to kill him. “No! You’re a dumbass!”

  The cultists shrieked back from my aura. I drop it as fast as I can, but the damage is already done. Terrifying Presence has filled them with a newfound fear of me. I sigh, this gonna be a pain in the ass.

  Toulif runs out of the tent and looks at me. He grabs the hilt of his sword as he stares. Whatever he’s feeling is too complex for me to make out, but I can guess.

  My eye widens as Eva walks out behind him. I lock eyes with her. Well, I can’t see her eyes behind her mask, but the effect is the same. “Hey, uh, Evan. You look good.” Why the fuck did I compliment her? Shit!

  Her soul is also unreadable. The blue demon pulls himself off the ground. Surprisingly looking not that hurt. He wipes a drop of blood from his mouth as our attention is drawn to him “Nah worries, peps. I was askin for it.”

  A small smile forms on my face. Yes, he’s gonna cover for me! “Yep, it was his fault I punched him!” I smile at Eva but she flinches. I pause at that and look around me. Everyone is still scared. It’s getting kind of annoying to be honest.

  I look down at my body and I’m covered in filth. My new armour is mostly clean, save for a few splashes of Abominable Serpent blood. The armour design itself may be a little disturbing though.

  I grin as I think of a way to break the tension and clean myself. “Charlie!” I swerve my head to him and he flinches. “Water me!” I spread my arms wide and smirk.

  He stares at me for a moment before slowly retrieving a bucket and placing it at my feet. I stare at him with a deadpan expression and lower my arms. No one is saying anything and is just staring in silence. A magic circle forms at the base of the bucket and it’s suddenly filled with water. My eye widens as I look into my reflection in the water.

  I don’t look well.

  My face is covered in scars, splashed in red and green blood. A massive vertical scar on the left side of my face, where my eye used to be. My other eye is bloodshot and tired. My once blond hair is blackened and matted and haphazard. What happened to me?

  I bring my hand to my face and wipe grime off my brow. I look back at Charlie and he looks back with a fear I understand. “Sorry. Thanks for the water Charlie.”

  He blinks and nods. I grab the bucket without talking to anyone else and bring it away from the camp to wash myself.

  That could have gone better.

  I bring myself a few turns away from the camp and take off my armour. I look down at my body to see all the scars from past battles I had.

  A large mark on my abdomen where the Roach Gladiator had impaled me from behind. Large gashes around my ribs where compound fractures had occurred. My left arm and part of my chest are covered in burn marks from the Abominable Serpent.

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  All over are small scars from the thousands of Roach Legions that bit me. I grab my ear and feel a gash from one of those bites.

  “I can’t believe it’s only been three days.”

  Fighting has been extremely fun at times, but this is the consequence of doing that. I wonder how long I’ll live if I keep going at this rate. How many times can I jump into the deep end without my floaties?

  I think about the esoteric question as I stare into my reflection.

  Probably until I get sick of swimming… Or I drown.

  I start to wash myself. It’s quite difficult to do without a cloth or anything, but I manage. It takes about twenty minutes, or I think twenty minutes has passed. I run into a problem though.

  My hair is far too notted. I can’t get it loose without pulling long chunks out. With my current strength I could accidentally pull out a lot of hair.

  I frown as I realize that I’m going to have to cut it. I raise my brow as I use Soul Conjuration to make a soul-knife. I bring the knife to my hair and the flames don’t set my hair ablaze. Friendly fire will not be tolerated.

  I look down at the now murky water. My hair now doesn’t go past my shoulders. In fact, my hair is only a few inches long now. Still very much haphazard, but not much I can do about that without a comb.

  I feel much better though. The new look will take some getting used to, but I don’t mind it too much. I also notice that my muscles are noticeably bigger. I think I’m taller too! I’m just glad that I look more like a warrior now, than some murder hobo.

  I frown as I put my armour back on. What should I do when I get back?

  I need to somehow get Eva to trust me. That seems like an impossible task right now. I furrow my brows as I think of possible solutions, but nothing seems right. The only way that I’ve found that would work is the most difficult.

  I’m gonna have to tell the truth. I’ll tell her that I’m human. The hard part is if she will even believe that in the first place. Me being a demon just fits so well, that it was incredibly easy to lie about it.

  And she knows I can do psychic damage. Something only demons can do apparently. Will saying I’m a human, only make Eva trust me less?

  I will tell the truth eventually, but now isn’t a good time. They are too scared of me, so I’ll start with reassuring them that I’m not a threat to them… Somehow.

  I walk back as I think of ways to do just that. I make it back to the camp and as I turn the corner-

  Two hands made of rock grab my ankles. I’m suddenly hit with an oppressive feeling throughout my body. I use Instant Position to move just a few feet back reactively. A blade swings where my neck used to be and I tumble backwards from the sudden attack.

  Toulif appears above me and swings down mercilessly. I use Magical Aura Manipulation to coat just my arm with aura and block it. My eye widens as the blade digs into my bone.

  I kick Toulif in the leg and he barely stumbles. He lowers just enough for me to headbutt him and that gets him to pull away.

  I manage to pull myself up back to my feet, but from behind Toulif the blue demon from earlier swings. He strikes me right in the gut with his small hammer. The attack was weak so I-

  “Unravel!”

  I vomit up blood as my insides convulse and rip. I grit my teeth as another rock hand grabs my ankle. I grab Toulifs sword to stop it from piercing my head. I don’t have time to think-

  Fuck it.

  “Obscene Presence!”

  I activated it for the shortest amount of time possible. I wasn’t trying to kill them after all. Toulif and the demon immediately recoil. The rock hand stays firm, but it doesn’t matter.

  I Instant Position to the other side of the camp to catch my breath. I don’t even think about why this is happening because it’s obvious.

  They want to get rid of me-

  I should have paid more attention to their souls when I returned. I cough up more blood as I slowly put my insides back together. It’s even worse than when I got hit by the Roach Empress.

  I look back at the camp. Toulif and the blue demon stand in front of me. Gent is laying on the ground.

  (Cultist / level 53)

  (Cultist / level 38)

  (Jinn Warrior / level 32)

  Everyone else is currently crammed inside the tent. They must have figured if they left, I would notice.

  Toulif speaks without breaking eye contact with me. “Gent, what’s your sanity at?”

  Gent groans as he grabs his head. “I- It’s” He bites his lip “73… how?”

  Damn that’s fast. The trait Serial Killer probably has something to do with that. “Look, I don’t-”

  “Don’t let her heal!” Toulif stabs the ground and a black spike launches out of the wall. I block it with Aura of Constitution and it still stabs straight through my arm, but it is enough to stop it from reaching my head.

  I feel that same oppressive feeling from before. I conjure a soul-sword and block an attack from behind. How the fuck did the Jinn Warrior get behind me?! I yank my arm out of the spike and the spike dissipates.

  The demon tries to pull back but I grab his wrist on his lower right arm. He tries to pull back farther anyway but he blinks at me as he realizes that he instantly lost the contest of strength. With aura coating my arms I swing the demon as soon as Toulif reaches me.

  They are both sent flying as the massive demon slams into him.

  A pillar of rock shoots out of the ceiling and I catch it before it slams into my head. A massive slab breaks from the ground in front of me and wacks me, sending me careening backwards.

  Gent is getting annoying-

  Toulif launches himself at me and sends a black arc from his sword at me. The crescent shape of black energy slams into rock as I disappear.

  I Instant Position directly in front of Gent with my aura fully manifested. Terrifying Presence causes him to freeze, he gasps and his eyes go wide. I grab his wand and crush it in my hand, then headbutt him into the ground. He grunts as his skull cracks and the rocks beneath him break.

  Looks like I held back enough to not kill him-

  “Dark March!”

  I vanish and the spot where I was once standing explodes as Toulif swings his sword into the ground. I feel exhaustion fill me as my mana hits 3% from my constant abuse of Instant Position.

  I use Magical Aura Manipulation to push Mana Cycling past the safe limit. I grit my teeth as my soul groans from the strain. My Excessive Momentum is sitting at 46% increase in stats currently.

  Toulif sprints at me with an unbelievable speed. With Quick Thinking I blow Frost Breath on the ground in front of me and as soon as he reaches me-

  Toulif slips-

  Toulifs soul dims as shock fills him. I kick him in the gut and he is sent flying. My momentum increased to 60% and the blue demon somehow appeared behind me once again.

  I catch his hammer in my hand and his eyes go wide. “Unra-” His hammer explodes as I crush it with my aura. I slam my fist into his chest and he is flung into another wall.

  I raise my brow as I see him almost completely uninjured from the hit. How is he so fucking durable-

  Toulifs sword stabs into my left side and it burns- A black corrosive liquid drips from his sword. I focus my aura on the wound as he pulls the sword out and kicks me in my other side.

  Rocks crack and crumble as I ricochet off the ceiling and sent tumbling along the ground. The stab wound is incredibly painful despite my high leveled Pain Tolerance. I try to heal it, but the black acid is slowing it considerably. “Fuck!”

  Toulif rushes me again and I decide to ignore the stab wound. I coat my Aura of Constitution on my legs and wait for him to get closer. Toulif reaches me and screams “Dark March!”

  I launch myself into the ceiling as he swings his sword down. The dungeon shakes from the impact of Toulifs sword slamming into the ground. I grit my teeth at the display of power.

  I kick off the ceiling, but I don’t go for Toulif-

  I rocket through the tent and it rips apart. I grab Charlie by the collar and pull him with my momentum. I wrap my arm around his neck as I dig my feet into the ground to slow myself to a stop.

  “Stop fighting! Or I’ll rip his fucking head off!”

  The other two cultists freeze from seeing my aura and Eva flinches. Toulif walks over to Eva’s side and starts whispering something. The blue demon that’s somehow unscathed also regroups.

  I use this time to heal the stab wound in my side and refill my mana. I scoff as I realize just how bad the situation has devolved. I whisper “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna actually kill you. Just hold on, and you’ll be fine.”

  I start to think how I can calm everyone down, but I honestly have no idea what to do at this point. When my mana reaches about 89%, Eva suddenly yells out to me. “Amendment!”

  For some reason my entire body locks up at the word and Toulif stabs his sword into the ground. My eye darts around to find where the spike is going to come from.

  I gasp as Charlie’s back explodes open as a black spike pushes through him and severs my right arm at the shoulder. My arm falls to the ground and Charlie slumps forward as the spike dissipates.

  What?-

  You have slain a (Cultist / level 17)

  -

  Very little experience rewarded

  (Instant Position) has leveled up! (6 → 7)

  (Terrifying Presence) has leveled up! (1 → 2)

  Congratulations, you have evolved a skill

  -

  (Quick Thinking) becomes…