CHAPTER 30: HUGE BOOST IN ATTRIBUTES, AND NEW S RANK SKILL

The only reason Lion Beast attacked Damian was because of the demon scent on him. But after speaking with Nataly, Agatha, and others, they all assured Lion Beast that Damian was a good man—a loyal member of the hunter company.

"I’m not a demon," Damian said. "But you said I have a different smell?"

"Yes. Your scent is just like the demons’. Is there something you’re not telling me? Because if that’s all I’ve got, then I’ll come for you. And we both know... you won’t be so lucky next time."

He paused.

"You also have a high-ranking demon as a friend... and you speak the demon language. Mind enlightening me on that?"

Damian’s situation was a mess. Explaining his connection to Leo alone was impossible. If it were just the smell, maybe there’d be something he could do. But Leo? That wasn’t something he could spin away.

He was stuck.

The only option left was to run and hope the problem faded. But fleeing the city wouldn’t solve much—not with someone like Lion Beast hunting him. That kind of power could track him anywhere.

What Damian needed most now was a way to hide—from the hunter, and from everyone else.

"I can’t explain these things to you," Damian said, his voice calm but firm. "What I can say is that I’m not a demon, and I’m not your enemy."

Lion Beast chuckled, cold and skeptical. "You expect me to believe that? To me, you’re a demon who infiltrated the hunter company. The others—naïve as they are—can’t see it. But I can."

"So what now?" Damian asked. "We seem to be at an impasse."

"Now you try to hide," Lion Beast replied, the threat unmistakable. "It’ll be useless. I’ll find you. And I will get my answers. Sound fair?"

The call cut off.

Damian stared at the silent screen. His options were shrinking.

Then Leo appeared, stepping into the room with a bag in hand.

"You left this behind—demon parts. Your apartment was crawling with hunters. I grabbed it before they could." His gaze was steady. "What’s the plan? Kill the SS Rank hunter?"

The other demons with Leo turned their eyes toward Damian, waiting.

Damian’s mind raced.

"Killing him isn’t the answer," he said. "If we do, more SS Ranks will come. Stronger ones. We’ll be facing a storm we can’t control."

Leo nodded, thoughtful. "I agree. That move would only make things worse. Are you going to hide? I have a place—somewhere safe. I can shelter you."

Shelter wasn’t enough. Damian didn’t want to stay down there forever. He wanted to be able to leave and do his own things. For that to happen, he had to hide his smell.

"How can I hide my smell from him?" Damian asked. "He called me and said he can track me down because of my smell."

"I assumed that would happen. That hunter is known for his extraordinary senses... Honestly, I don’t know if you can."

Damian had something in mind.

"Do you have any demon friend who’s incredible at camouflaging? A demon that might be able to avoid getting tracked down by Lion Beast?" he asked.

Leo didn’t know why Damian wanted to know that.

"I do have a friend. A high-ranking demon who can change his appearance, hide his aura, and mask his smell pretty damn well. He’s one of the best spies we have."

Now that was the tricky part. What Damian wanted was a piece of that demon. It didn’t have to be something big. All he needed was a tiny part of the demon to absorb—and hopefully gain that skill/

He already knew the skills he learned through his system were related to the demons he absorbed. It wasn’t random.

"Can you maybe... get a piece of him for me? Even a fraction of his skin will be enough," Damian said.

Damian knew he was saying too much. Anyone would see that request as strange. Leo and the other demons might start asking questions to figure out why Damian really wanted the demon parts.

"I can try," Leo said. "If a tiny piece of his skin is enough, then I think I can get that. But more is impossible."

"It’s enough."

"All right."

Leo left after that. He picked up his phone and called his demon spy friend. Damian stayed in that room, waiting. Leaving that underground base was just suicide. He knew Lion Beast would be doing everything he could to get him.

The waiting for Leo seemed to last forever. Hours passed, and Damian was still inside the room, waiting and waiting.

Eventually, the door opened. It was Leo. He had something in his hands—a plastic bag with a piece of skin inside.

"I got what you asked for," Leo said. "No idea why you want this, but take it."

Leo tossed the plastic bag to Damian and then left, leaving him alone in the room. Damian looked at the bag, feeling excited.

That plan could work in his favor, sure, but it could go wrong too. He was basically tossing a coin and hoping things went his way.

But what really excited him was that he was, for the first time, absorbing a high-ranking demon! If Leo’s friend had a power similar to his own, then that demon could fight S-rank hunters.

Damian opened the plastic bag. He had no idea what would happen after absorbing that piece of skin. He placed his hand on it and started absorbing it through his system’s power.

For the first time, Damian felt a sharp pain all over his body while absorbing a demon part. It was so intense he wanted to cry—but he didn’t.

He made no noise, afraid the other demons in the underground base would hear him.

Damian lay on the bed, rolling from side to side. The veins in his body felt like they were about to explode, and it was as if someone had smashed him in the head.

The power of a high-ranking demon was difficult to absorb—at least with his current level of strength.

It took a while for the pain to fade. Those fifteen minutes were the longest of his life. But after the pain came the reward.

[+25 to all attributes]

[A Thousand Faces Demon (Rank S): This ability allows the user to mold not just the body, but the aura—perfect for espionage. It’s a well-known ability of a famous demon, the One Thousand Faces Demon.]

[This ability can be improved.]

That was exactly what he was looking for! An ability capable of changing his face, body, smell, aura—everything! He was more concerned about his smell, since Damian already had no aura that others could sense.

And the +25 to all attributes? That had been a pleasant surprise. So much so that his system now categorized him as a D-rank user!

He had reached a new level of power with just that piece of a high-ranking demon. Damian hoped for more chances to absorb S-rank demons in the future, but he knew the odds were slim. He was lucky to get that piece, all thanks to Leo’s help.

Anyway, Damian wanted to test his new ability. He concentrated and activated the skill. It was a strange ability to use.

When he did, it was like he could see himself in his mind, staring at a mirror. Then, just like editing a character in a game, Damian could change his appearance. The more changes he made, the higher the mana cost would be.

"This skill can’t last forever, but if my plan is just to keep my smell hidden, then I think it might," Damian realized.

A skill like that had a high mana cost—it was an S-rank ability, and a good one. But Damian wasn’t planning to change his appearance completely. Hiding his smell was enough for now. That would give him the chance to leave the underground base.

Leo came to his room after a while. The demon already saw Damian as a mysterious person with no aura, but Damian still had a smell—one that Leo was already familiar with.

But after using his new ability, Damian didn’t have that anymore. He was a complete ghost now.

"I can’t sense anything from you now," Leo said as he opened the door. "What did you do?"

Leo was curious about what Damian had done to achieve that. Damian already knew the demons would grow suspicious after he asked for a piece of an S-rank demon, but it was either that or have Lion Beast on his back forever.

"It’s a secret," Damian said. "But now that guy can’t sense me anymore, right? At least I hope so. I just want to chill and not have multiple S-rank hunters chasing me down."

"No way he can sense you," Leo said. "You’re fine. Are you planning on leaving?"

"Maybe, I don’t know," Damian said. "I need a new apartment, one that no one knows about. Maybe you can help me with that?"

"Sure, no problem," Leo replied.

Damian was eager to leave that underground facility and test his new ability to see if Lion Beast would be unable to track him.