During the Dark Ages

Bartos held out his hand and Colin could see a spatial ring on his finger. Suddenly, seven books of varying sizes appeared appeared in front of him and he quickly caught all of them by creating a platform of demonic energy.

"These are all the evolutionary guides and grimoires I have with me. You can get the regalias later and we can start making the cursed weapons once we arrive at our destination. In total, that will be nine tier 4 soul cores." Bartus said and Colin's eyelid twitched, he only had fourteen soul cores which made him hesitant to give nine of them away, especially when he had little idea of what he was gaining in return. With a sigh, Colin summoned nine of the fourteen soul shards he had and handed them over to Bartus, who took them with a greedy smile on his face. Colin kept back the soul shards he got from the Corpse Lord, the shadow leopard, the illusory butterfly, the lightning eagle and, of course, the mind crab.

"Bartus, can I ask you quick question? I killed a seriously powerful tier 4 beast recently. The system called it a Mind Crab, the Psychic of the Sea. I have never encountered a beast with a name like that, but maybe you have?" Colin asked and Bartus had a thoughtful look on his face

"The beast you encountered must have had a title. Creatures that have titles are very powerful since they are recognized by the system, and from what I've been told, titles are usually accompanied by unique traits. Can I see this beast's soul crystals?" Bartus asked

"I haven't removed it yet, once we reach our destination, you are more than welcome to have a look." Colin responded and Bartus nodded his head in agreement. Colin then turned his attention to the seven books he had just purchased. Each of the books were found in thick leather and looked worn by age, each book varied in thickness and color of the leather. Colin chose a medium sized, black book with two red eyes painted onto it and a golden inscription that read 'True Demon Species'. Opening the book, he was greeted by a drawing of a human with red eyes, the word 'Halfling' written above it and the system status written below.

'I guess this is the evolutionary guide for the True Demons.' Colin rightfully thought, as he continued looking through the book. It gave the description for each skill as well as the description of his race. He continued and as he read, he realized there was more information as the author made more and more notes on each evolution. Over time, Colin became engrossed in looking through the evolutionary guide and couldn't help, but admire the fierce apparearance of each evolution.

His tier 5 evolution was called a Demon Viscount and in this form he gained an extra pair of wings, which from the drawings, were his most notable feature. At this evolutionary stage he gained three skills, [Demonic Inventory], [Demon Core] and [Astroprojection]. [Demonic Inventory] basically allowed him to store things in an alternate dimension, similar to what the storage ring does. The [Demon Core] skill description was rather vague, but from what he understood, it basically allowed him to create a territory where he would have absolute control. He didn't know exactly what it meant, but he will know more once he got the skill himself. [Astroprojection] allowed him to project his consciousness outward from his body, a far distance away. Based on the description alone, Colin was sure it was an OP skill, but he was equally sure that there were some restrictions imposed on this skill.

His tier 6 evolution didn't look much different from the last one, except he seemed to have gained smaller horns in his forehead and the hands and feet of the creature took on a darkish coloured. This evolution was called Demon Duke and he once again gained three skills, [Demonic Authority], [Demonic Ritual: Dark Spirit Creation] and [Unholy Garments]. [Demonic Authority] allowed him to have some type of influence over lesser evolved demons, maybe even downright having the ability to command them. [Demonic Ritual: Dark Spirit Creation] allowed him to create some type of entity using a fragment of his 'soul'. He had no idea what this creature can do or if he can even control it. [Unholy Garments] allowed him to create close using demonic energy, the same as the cursed regalia.

His tier 7 transformation was the last one mentioned in the book and the most terrifying of them all. The author made many side notes about this evolution, most of them cautions towards whosoever were to fight them. This form was called Demon Prince and this evolution had three pairs of wings and the hands all the way to the elbow as well as it's leg was black and Colin could see sharp nails jutting out. The horns were longer, which made the creature looked even more terrifying, this evolution gives two skills more, [Wraith Transformation] and [Portal Creation]. [Wraith Transformation] allowed the user to become some kind of intangible spirit that was immune to physical attacks and 'not bound by the laws of nature', whatever that meant. And lastly, [Portal Creation] allowed him to create portals to places he has been before, a convenient skill to have.