Chapter 171: Royal Blood!

Novak exhaled slowly.

He no longer remembered how many demons he had killed, nor how many battles he had fought. He no longer cared about such details.

All that mattered was the towering peak ahead, the Well of the Abyss, now looming close, just above his head. 

The core of the abyss was finally within sight.

Rather than rushing up the low mountain, Novak calmed his restless heart. 

Killing was in his nature, but he knew that the heart must guide the blade.

Though he had no aversion to killing, he refused to become a mindless demon, driven only by slaughter. This was one of the reasons he sought to strengthen his mental resilience.

Time had become a blur—he had lost track of how long he had been fighting, or how many demons had fallen to his hand. But even if he hadn't been counting, something else had.

Novak opened his evolution list and glanced at it.

Before entering the abyss, his experience bar had read: 

[Level 10 (37,200/150,000)]

And now, his experience was: 

[Level 10 (176,350/150,000)]

Time seemed impossible to measure in this abyss, but the relentless cycle of killing had never ceased. 

Aside from his level and experience, there were other indicators of how many demons he had slain.

At this point, all low-level equipment in his backpack had been cleared out before entering the abyss. Additionally, the blessing of the Cosmic Will upon the abyss was weak, meaning that after killing those demons, they rarely dropped any gear or skills.

In their place, his backpack was densely packed with vials of demon blood essence. Despite not devouring every demon due to the cooldown time of his ability, the blood essence of his slain foes—ranging from B-level to D-level—filled every corner of his storage.

For most people, these essences would only serve to strengthen their subordinates. But for Novak, they were priceless treasures.

Now, as he neared the Well of the Abyss, the number of demons around him had noticeably dwindled. Only a few devil eggs and harmless newly-born devils remained.

Unperturbed, Novak resolutely placed all the blood essence into his system warehouse.

Sure enough, the Gluttonous Face, who had been impatiently waiting, lit up with excitement. Its enormous mouth opened—wider than its face—and greedily devoured the blood essence. The sight was bizarre, to say the least.

Novak had often wondered if the gluttonous face possessed its own life and consciousness. But after several tests, he was confident it posed no threat to him.

Now, as the gluttonous face chewed through the blood essence, its gluttonous motions were unsightly, yet the miraculous benefits made the process undeniably worthwhile.

Choosing to ignore the awkward display, Novak shifted his gaze back to the mountain before him. The Well of the Abyss was finally within his grasp.

Flying swiftly over the eaves and walls, in a mere instant, Novak reached the top of the mountain.

Finally, he once again stood face-to-face with the Well of the Abyss.

The massive pit had a diameter stretching tens of thousands of meters, resembling a vast lake radiating with a dark, purplish-black light. 

This bottomless pool seemed to stretch into infinity, with no discernible edges.

This was the legendary Well of the Abyss—where the very will of the abyss was said to manifest!

The laws of the abyss were condensed in this place, a force so powerful that even beings like Gods were reluctant to venture into the abyss.

The stronger a creature, the more it would be shackled by the abyssal laws. In contrast, someone like Novak, a lower-level evolutionary, felt little of its oppressive influence.

In his past life, he had struggled so hard to reach this very point. Yet, back then, his objective had only been to complete the final tasks set by the demon hunter. He had reluctantly gazed at the enormous well, used a job transfer scroll, and fled.

But now, Novak had finally earned the right to stand here and stare at the Well of the Abyss—this embodiment of the abyss itself.

Just as his heart began to race with excitement, ready to examine the special notification that had popped up earlier, a faint sound suddenly echoed nearby.

"Human!? How interesting! A human in the abyss... and at the Well of the Abyss, no less!"

The voice spoke in the language of demons, catching Novak off guard for a moment.

As a former demon hunter in his past life, he understood a bit of the demonic language—thanks to the inherited memory of the demons.

Though, like different races, some demon dialects had distinct accents, making it feel a bit like regional dialects among humans.

However, the accent of this speaker was something Novak had not encountered before.

He turned to look.

The source of the voice left him momentarily stunned.

It was a large demon, wielding a harpoon, with a form that resembled a murloc.

"A Kou Tao Fish Demon?"

Novak softly uttered the name of this rare demon race.

The abyss was teeming with a vast variety of demon groups, numbering in endless diversity.

The Kou Tao fish demons were among them. A large number of their kind resided in the oceanic realms of the lower layers of the abyss. Not only were they physically strong and capable of living on both land and water, but they also possessed water-based abilities, making them a particularly troublesome enemy.

"Hmm? Not only can a human speak our language, but he knows my race as well?" the fish demon remarked, with a tone of amusement. "Interesting. But it's a pity—you'll die here today!"

Demons rarely wasted time talking. This one was clearly no different.

Novak narrowed his eyes slightly.

Why hadn't he encountered this Kou Tao fish demon the last time he came to the Well of the Abyss on the first layer in his previous life?

The answer came swiftly through his spiritual perception as he focused on the demon.

[Kou Tao Fish Demon, Submariner Durs-17 (Level 18)]

Wait—Durs-17? The number in his name could only mean one thing in the abyss. He was a direct descendant of the demon lord ruling this layer—a demon prince!

Demons were not only born from the Well of the Abyss but also through normal reproduction. 

No wonder this guy's arrogance is different from normal demons.

So, he was the heir to a demon lord!