Evolution: From Little Devil to Devil Empress

Chapter 96: Knights [5] - Addiction

In fact, if one wanted to become a Knight Apprentice, it would usually require years of hard work and frequent consumption of extraordinary materials to make their Life Force more apparent.

However, for Liora, becoming a Knight Apprentice seemed as simple as eating a meal.

”Besides the fact that my strength is already far beyond the Knight Apprentice rank, and my powerful soul makes it easier to spot any abnormalities, the main reason why I succeeded so quickly is that I didn’t possess any Life Force before.”

As a Devil that had reached the Lesser Devil stage, Liora had long been familiar with her own body. Every bone, drop of blood, and even demonic energy had been seen and memorized by her.

Thus, the moment an unfamiliar object—or rather energy—appeared within her, she was able to spot it instantly.

”Unfortunately, becoming a Knight Apprentice didn’t enhance my strength much. My total power has increased by about five percent.”, Liora whispered as she clenched her fists and felt their force.

But this had already been expected by her.

A Knight Apprentice was only equivalent to a Little Devil, while her current strength was that of a Young Devil.

There was one stage difference between the two, and the actual gap in strength was massive.

”However, the fact that my strength increased at all means that the information contained in my inherited memories is not wrong.”

”Practicing the power system of other worlds can indeed help me resolve the suppression of these worlds, both easier and faster.”

With that in mind, the faint disappointment that had just arisen within Liora’s heart instantly vanished. She no longer minded that her strength had barely increased.

Instead, she was filled with expectation.

Although becoming a Knight Apprentice didn’t allow her to undergo a transformation, there were still many ranks waiting for her.

True Knight, Great Knight, and perhaps even a rank beyond that.

Thinking of this, Liora showed no intention of getting up.

After extending her perception and ensuring that no one had tried to come near this place, she continued her ”training”.

”To advance to a True Knight, a Knight first has to reach the peak of the Knight Apprentice rank. The way to do this is quite simple: by improving the quality and quantity of their Life Force.”

The way to do this was equally simple.

One could either practice and improve their physical strength through hard training, or...

”...Or they can simply devour the extraordinary ’resources’ of this world.”, Liora whispered.

Her gaze shifted to the many objects that were neatly stacked on top of each other, not far away.

These objects were all kinds of things, including rare, colorful plants that were almost impossible to encounter, disgusting-looking potions that smelled awful, and even a couple of corpses belonging to the beasts of this world.

These were the ”resources” that Liora had previously mentioned. They were all either items that could enhance one’s physical strength, like the plants, or items that contained Life Force, like the beast corpses.

Regardless of their kind, though, Liora didn’t care.

Grabbing a strange plant that looked like a nut but shimmered with white brilliance, she brought it closer to her mouth and threw it in.

As her teeth crushed it into pieces and her tongue sent them down her throat, the fragments turned into pure energy that flowed down, part of it enhancing Liora’s physical strength and the other merging with her Life Force.

As a result, Liora noticed that her Life Force had improved, both in terms of quantity as well as quality.

This enhancement was very small and would have been very difficult for any other person to spot, but Liora easily captured it.

”It’s true!”, she thought, and without any hesitation, turned to the rest of the resources in front of her.

With a reach of her hand, she picked up another strange-looking plant and tossed it into her mouth while operating the Nightweaver Technique and dissolving it into pure energy.

--

Time quickly went by.

Although Liora was a Lesser Devil and had witnessed things that ordinary people would never, she had never had such a surreal experience in her life.

Even she—with the Evolution System—had never made such rapid progress before.

By just eating a few plants and devouring a couple of corpses, she had quickly advanced through the Knight Apprentice rank, soon reaching its peak.

This made her wonder whether she had been reborn in the wrong world and if it was actually better to practice through devouring ”resources” than swallowing souls.

Of course, Liora instantly crushed those thoughts the moment they appeared.

She knew that the reason she made such progress was that she was already very powerful.

Otherwise, any other Knight Apprentice that devoured these resources would need to spend some time to adapt, not only to digest the energy contained in these resources, but also to become familiar with their newfound strength.

If any other Knight Apprentice dared to ”train” as recklessly as Liora, they would have long exploded and turned into a bloody mist.

Of course, Liora didn’t complain.

--

Liora didn’t know how much time had passed. Immersed in her ”training”, she had soon lost track of time.

All she could remember was that she mechanically picked up resources and devoured them, like a mindless beast that had not eaten its fill for years.

Just when Liora was about to pick another resource from the side, her hand suddenly froze in the air, and, with some reluctance, she took it back.

This was not because she felt that she should stop, but because the items given to her by Eleanor had been completely consumed.

Whether it was the plants, potions, or the corpses of the beasts that other Knight Apprentices would turn red with greed over, they had turned into Liora’s meal.

”Only by losing something can one understand what it means to have it.”, Liora regretfully shook her head, driving away the reluctance that had appeared within her heart.

”No wonder cultivators like to constantly pop pills and magicians enjoy drinking potions. The feeling of constantly getting stronger through no effort and without facing any danger is truly addictive.”