Shadow Slave

Even though there was a considerable chunk of the colossus left uneaten, Sunny ordered Imp to return. By the time the small creature climbed back to the surface of the island, the members of the cohort had gathered around Sunny.

"Huh? Wait... the little rascal looks different!"

Indeed, Effie was right. The scrawny fiend was different from how he had been before. Firstly, he had grown - just a few days ago, Imp was barely as tall as Sunny's knee, but now his head was on the same level as Sunny's abdomen.

The vital areas on his wiry body were now covered by black plates that resembled a suit of light armor, each glinting with a dark metallic sheen. The same went for his long, sharp claws and triangular teeth..

Imp's face twisted in a grotesque grin, and he raised his chin with pride. After that, the little fiend threw a furtive glance at Nephis.

Sunny smiled. "Congratulations, ugly. You have officially graduated from an unseemly gremlin to an unsightly goblin."

Imp's grin grew a bit forced. He glared at Sunny and hissed.

Nephis looked at them for a few moments. "...I don't know. I think he is a little cute."

The little fiend froze, then swelled with smugness.

Sunny shook his head and sighed. "Are you blind? Well, whatever. Let's see what exactly changed..."

He summoned the runes, waited for the shimmering symbols to reveal themselves, and studied them with a focused expression.

Most of the runes seemed the same:

Shadow: Ravenous Fiend.Shadow Rank: Transcendent.Shadow Class: Devil.

the Rank nor the Class had changed. So, the evolution must have been tied strictly to Imp's

he was not too disappointed.

little creature...]Shadow Attributes: [Lucky], [Marvel], [Ravenous], [Shadow

his head a little.

was good! Before, Imp possessed an Attribute called [Lesser Iron Body]. Sunny had expected one epithet to change, but not both of them. Not only had "lesser"

'I wonder...'

had implied that Imp's body possessed qualities of metal. What about the

on the shimmering symbols

Shadow's body is akin to blessed

'Jackpot!'

being entirely like metal. What did it mean? It meant that the little fiend's whole body was now as resilient as a weapon forged out of Transcendent steel would be. In other words, nearly

initial goal of toughening up the Ravenous Fiend. However, he still wanted to know

Sunny

metallic ring and a piercing shriek. "Ah! Goddammit! What the hell?! That

Sunny cradled his other one and glowered at the scrawny fiend, who had fallen

a composed look. "...I'll do no such thing, you heartless despot. Come here, poor thing... shall

in front of him with wide eyes. What the hell was

'D-don't tell me...'

influence how people felt about him, as

'That must be it!'

glanced at Sunny with a vindictive grin. ...But there was something

sheen of his face. Imp's sharp steel teeth had also been black a few moments ago, but now they were shining with a red-hot glow and radiated scorching heat. It

'What the...'

blinked a couple of times, then shifted his gaze quickly