While number Five was puzzled, Egon picked up the broken remains of the Cave Hoppers.
Though they had weak genes, he also understood that even a small increase in speed could make a difference in his current position.
Without any delay, Egon activated his unique skill: Genesis Overclock.
As soon as he did, his whole being shook. Every cell, every DNA strand, every gene went into overdrive.
His charcoal-red body began to radiate a faint silver glow from the tiny gaps in his skin cells.
Every fiber of his being had transitioned into the Overclock state.
In this state, Egon could focus and accumulate other parties' genes into himself.
Number Five rubbed his eyes in disbelief as Egon's palm glowed ethereal silver, and the Cave Hopper's remaining parts shriveled like a dried corpse.
Ding!
< Gene Accumulated: Cave Hoppers (F) >
< Speed +0.20 >
Following the notification, Egon instantly felt the tiny vibrations in his muscles and tissues. His speed definitely increased, albeit barely.
Nevertheless, this confirmed that Genesis Overclock worked just fine.
For now, he could only accumulate the genes in his own cells (Genebank). However, once the unique skill upgraded to a higher tier, he could integrate them into himself and evolve to a higher species.
"What did you do with the dead hopper, Nine? Why has it turned out like this?" Five asked as he came closer to inspect.
"I don't know. Somehow it got dried when I touched it," he replied casually, feigning confusion.
He wasn't worried about his secret leaking to these Imps at all.
Their low brain processing capabilities meant they mostly relied on their instincts to judge the situation.
Something as complex as plotting betrayal wouldn't even cross their minds.
That being said, he decided to be careful whenever he used this Skill in the future.
Hearing Egon's reply, Number Five's eyes lit up.
"You might have awakened a demonic ability, Nine. Try to use it once more. Here, take this one as well."
He hurriedly handed the other corpse of the Cave Hopper to Egon, keeping his eyes locked onto his palm to watch the magic once again.
Egon raised an eyebrow. He had nearly forgotten about demonic abilities. Demons, Monsters, and Beasts all have their bloodline abilities.
His Bite Skill had originated from that.
Accepting the corpse, Egon used the Unique Skill once again, curious to see how many times he could use it.
The corpse became a dried-up husk once again, and he didn't feel any weakness after casting it a second time. In fact, he felt like he could do it many more times, which was a big relief.
However, the disappointing part was that this time the Cave Hopper gave him +0.17 in speed, a little less than the first time.
This basically meant the physical enhancements after each successful accumulation would decrease.
However, that's just normal.
If he could grow stronger indefinitely by storing weaker genes, wouldn't he be invincible easily?
Shaking off the thought, he noticed Number Five now looked at him with more fervor.
"That's it!" Five roared excitedly, his voice overflowing with emotion. "You're our hope, Number Nine. Only you can wipe the shame of our species. You can prove everyone wrong. That the Imps are not the weakest! We can be stronger too!"
Tears were already gathering in Five's round, orange eyes, streaming down his ugly, earnest face.
Egon watched him with a faint smile touching his own impish features. The overwhelming instinct of self-survival, which had driven him since his transmigration, suddenly shared space with a softer more complex emotion.
He didn't know if it was residual kinship from the former owner of this body, or simply the human desire to protect the weak and marginalized.
Whatever it was, he didn't dawdled too much
.
As his path demanded, he knew he would not be staying in this backwater region for much longer. His goal was evolution, which would inevitably separate him from the tribe of unclassified imps.
Heartless? Selfish? Egon now cared nothing for such opinions.
When did those people cared for his being in his past life? He had to suffered alone. No one's there to help him.
Moreover, In this brutal, black-and-white world of monsters and demons, kindness and sympathy had no place.
"You're praising too much, Five. Come now, let's find more preys," Egon said, leading him to deeper parts of the Western Tunnels.
Five smiled and joined in right behind. From there on, they started hunting much faster. Not just Cave Hoppers, they also targeted the tougher Rock Beetles.
Rock Beetles were a significant source of nutrients for the Imps, so Egon spared the extra carcasses in a makeshift bag for the tribe.
The rest, he subjected to the violent, efficient process of Genesis Overclock.
His physical strength rose by 1 point after accumulating a dozen Rock Beetles' genes. His Vitality also received a noticeable increase.
After a few hours of relentless hunting and gene accumulation, Egon checked his progress:
[ Strength: 4.3 ] (↑1.3)
[ Agility: 4.5 ] (↑1.5)
[ Vitality: 4.8 ] (↑0.8)
This progress might not look like much in pure numbers, but compared to the inherent stagnation of an average imp's existence, it was a phenomenal leap. Egon had achieved over 35% progress in his core physical stats in a single afternoon. He was rapidly outgrowing the baseline capabilities of his species.
Number 5, while unable to see the System interface, was certainly noticing the change. Number 9 was moving with an almost liquid grace, his strikes were decisive, and he seemed tireless, shrugging off minor scrapes that would have sent a normal imp whimpering back to the nest.
Five, fueled by adrenaline and awe, tried to keep up, but he was clearly struggling with the pace Egon was going.
The light filtering down from the cracks above was fading, painting the cavern walls in long, shifting shadows. It was the twilight hour, the transition from the relative safety of day to the lethal danger of the night when the Night Orcs and other nocturnal predators began their hunts.
Before leaving the Western Tunnels, Egon paused. He gathered a strong, foot-long wooden stick and found a naturally sharp piece of rock that fractured with a keen edge. Using another stone, he began patiently and methodically lashing the sharp rock blade to the stick using tough, fibrous root material he'd stripped from a resilient patch of moss.
Number Five watched Egon's hands move, completely stunned by the meticulous, purposeful craftmanship. Imps rarely manipulated the environment beyond basic foraging; so creating a tool was an act of genius in their eyes.
"What are you making, Nine? It's getting late. The Night Orcs will soon be out for hunt," Five whispered urgently, his eyes darting nervously around their surroundings.
Egon laughed faintly, the charcoal-red skin stretching across his small face. He held up the finished stone axe, admiring its balance.
"This is a weapon called Axe. It can give us extra strength we lack. Here, this one is for you."
He threw the second, hastily crafted stone axe toward Five, who, lacking Egon's inherited human coordination and enhanced Agility, failed to catch it. It clattered against the rock floor.
Five picked it up and glanced at the strange object with confusion.
"This weapon is called axe you say? How should we use it?"
His rough, clawed fingers ran tentatively over the sharp edges of the stone blade.
Egon stood up, holding his own axe. "It's nothing difficult. Hold it with one hand and use the sharp edge to cut down your foes. Our teeth might be strong, but this thing can deal more damage if we wield it with enough force."
Five did as he instructed, awkwardly gripping the short handle. He took a tentative swing, feeling the satisfying weight of the rock head amplify his meager physical strength. Very soon, his eyes lit up with joy. He swung the stone axe like a possessed person, realizing its potential instantly.
"Ohehe, it's incredible! We never thought such simple things could make us so strong! Thank you, Nine! If we can make one for everyone, we can be a force to be reckoned with for those ugly orcs!"
"Uh, let's not go that far," Egon cautioned, putting a lid on the imp's rapidly growing ambitions. "Still, we can use these simple weapons to defend ourselves."
With the meat carcasses secured in the bag and the two new stone axes clutched in their hands, they headed toward their tribe, unaware that a greater disaster was waiting for them at the nest.