"It''s toote for that," Cassius said coldly, with the badass tattoo on his right arm having already transformed into a crimson glowing de. While still holding onto his heavy training sword with his free arm, he shed down using his entire body weight, which included the weight of his Newbie Equipment Set.


    SHING!


    Following a sparkling sh of bloody sword light, Cassius reappeared behind the tall, bipedal dog monster. His expression appeared rather displeased, despite the fact that the monster had multiple blood ruptures burst across its lifeless corpse.


    *Ding!*


    [You have killed an E+ Tall Elite Kobold!]


    [Experience bar moderately moved!]


    "With my Newbie Equipment 1 Set on, even a monster substantially weaker than I am is able to corner me as so," said Cassius. "If not for my speed being in another league, I might have had some issues without taking off my Newbie Equipment."


    Having gotten used to the sadism of the Idle Evolution System, he felt that it was only right to push himself at all times, even while in a situation like this one. This was why he feltpelled to keep his Newbie Equipment 1 Set and Newbie 1 Sword equipped. Unless death was a certain matter, he would try his best to hold on.


    "Now, with it dead, that means I can finally get one of those." Cassius''s striking blue eyes fell on an orangish three-pointed glowing object embedded in the protruding rib bones of the mangled Kobold corpse. "That is definitely a Magic Shard, and it is of the High E-Rank, which means that it''s worth upward of five hundred dors. As far as I''m aware, something like this would normally be quite hard toe by in a Gate like this one. Yet… there appear to be countless monsters just as strong if not stronger than this one here…"


    Cassius''s perceptive eyes caught the personal energy aura signatures of hundreds of formidable monsters, with not a single one weaker than the one whom he had just faced.


    Realizing that a tough and prolonged battle surely waited in store for him, he quickly extracted the Magic Shard and collected it inside his Inventory Space before sharpening his gaze against the sudden appearance of several giant bipedal dog monsters.


    "GRGhhhh!!!"


    The same moment that their primitive roars reverberated through the lush forest environment, Cassius felt a wave of dread wash over him. It didn''t stem from his own sense of terror, but because of the effects of Fear-inducing Skills, all simr to the ones used by the monsters in the E-Rank Savage Jungle Gate.


    Taking advantage of the period that their target needed to negate the Fear effects, the E+ Tall Kobold Elites lunged at him. Their hideous mouths were hung wide open, with their razor-sharp teeth ready to tear into some fresh meat.


    However, with a simple heel flick, Cassius evaded their yawning jaws, all while forcefully ignoring the effects of Fear through sheer willpower. The Tall Kobold Elites were still momentarily shocked over not tasting the deliciousness of human blood when, out of nowhere, a crimson jagged de shed the backs of their necks. Their eyelids closed for good in the very next instant, with the life in their eyes having already eluded the rest of their existence.


    *Ding!*


    [You have killed 4 E+ Tall Kobold Elites!]


    [Your EXP bar has greatly moved!]


    [You leveled up!]


    [You obtained 2 AP!]


    [You received 1 Stat Point in each of your Main Attributes!]


    After feeling a lofty amount of power rush through every fiber of his being, Cassius briefly nced at his system interface. He was pleased to see that he had finally advanced to Lvl 18. But with innumerable more monsters just waiting to fall under his de in this D+ Rank Gate, he was sure to experience plenty more power-ups.


    BZZZzzzzttt…


    Hearing a faint buzzing sounde from his right hand, Cassius looked down. The Serrated Devil de was buzzing in a lively manner, with it seemingly trying to pull the blood of the Kobold corpses toward it.


    ''Is it trying to evolve as well…?''


    Curious to see what would happen, Cassius let the de do what it wanted, which led to an instantaneous blood spurt for the Kobold corpses. The blood trickling out of their injuries defied gravity and levitated in an upward diagonal direction toward the upright Serrated Devil de. And then,pletely out of expectations, the blood sshed against the de before seeping into its surface.


    "This is… unexpected…" Cassius watched with a bit of awe as his tattoo de absorbed every droplet of blood from the first andst four E+ Tall Kobold Elites corpses. "What will happen next I wonder—?"


    Just as he asked that, a system notification rang out, which only served to further improve his mood.


    *Ding!*


    [|Serrated Devil de (D-)| has devoured dozens of gallons of E+ Common monster blood!]


    [|Serrated Devil de (D-)| – |Attack+3| – |Nears the Neutral D-Rank|]


    Cassius''s brows raised in intrigue. "It seems like this de now has the ability to devour the blood of enemies, which it can then use to increase its own stats and potentially even rank up?"


    Realizing just what this could mean for the future, he decided to cherish the Serrated Devil de even more. "...Speaking of which, I think this is an appropriate time to give you a new name…"


    The Serrated Devil de vibrated positively in response, sending Cassius into a state of deep thought.@@novelbin@@


    After a few moments of quick thinking thanks to his Perception Stat, his eyes brightened like light bulbs. He held the sword closer to his face and tightened his grip. "Your name," he dered. "It shall be Lilith!"


    OOOM!


    Lilith erupted in an effulgent myriad of scarlet energies. For a semi-intelligent item Spirit, a name meant a lot more than a tag for which someone could call you by. It was something far more than temporary, especially when it was bestowed by the master of the item. Furthermore, it often signified the potential path that could be taken by the item and subsequently, by its master.