Date: Unspecified Time: Unspecified Location: Lil. Red Storm, Seed World, Devil Merchant Code, Inter-Realm City, Sector WS9909, Infinity Library, Study Room
Leaving the biblical trio to complete the Field Marshal's training in his stead, Wyatt made his way to his thousand other primordial spirits, who were helping the Hive Spirit compile all available information on the demon clam Clampedo and all mental-type acquirable physiques and traits. They had been working on it for three days, yet they were nowhere near finishing.
However, they did prioritize and successfully compile all the information available on the demon clam Clampedo. Since it comprised only 0.5% of the total data they had to process, most of it was already in the Dark Language they knew. Wyatt needed this information to help Corey acquire any mental-type physique or traits, especially since Corey's demon core originated from Clampedo.
The demon core that Belphegor gave Corey Park the day he recruited her and brought her to the Dark Realm was actually one of the many demonic pearl bombs created by the demon clam Clampedo. More accurately, the demon core had been artificially created by refining a Clampedo's demonic pearl bomb.
These demonic pearl bombs were remarkably similar to the demon cores that dark races are either born with or develop from infancy to adulthood. Some unnamed ancient devil discovered that these pearl bombs could be refined into artificial demon cores, which could then be bestowed on dark races who lacked one which was rare and when someone like that were to be born in any dark race they would most likely be mercy killed in the womb as part of natural selection. Later, a capitalist devil discovered that these artificial demon cores could essentially transform any being in the myriad realms into one of the dark races, allowing them to practice the dark power system seamlessly. This discovery fueled the dark races' craze for inter-realm invasions for numerous reasons.
The artificial demon cores refined from the demonic pearl bombs became a powerful tool for the Dark Races in their inter realm invasion. They helped divide the native forces of invaded realms, turning them against each other in civil wars while simultaneously defending against the invading dark races. This dual conflict ensured that the natives would lose both their realm and their freedom with the war.
What made these artificial demon cores refined from Clampedo's demonic pearl bombs even more prominent and highly sought after in the Dark Realm was their role in the slave trade. These cores were cheap, and bestowing them upon enslaved natives from captured realms significantly increased the slaves' value. Occasionally, some enslaved natives exhibited exceptional talent, driving their prices even higher and causing the slave trade to flourish.
As a result, demon clam Clampedo was domesticated and raised as a common pet in the Dark Realm, akin to how chickens and pigs were raised on Earth. Apart from using their demonic pearl bombs to create artificial demon cores, there were two additional reasons for their domestication: their valuable shells and their ability to survive in any environment with sufficient soul energy, which they used to produce their demonic pearl bombs.
These demonic pearl bombs served as both sustenance and a means of defense for the Demon Clam against its natural predators. The Clampedo was an intriguing creature. It resembled an ordinary clam, but its habitat was not limited to water—it could inhabit any element. Its shell allowed it to merge with their surroundings and swim through them. This not only provided camouflage but also enabled the Clampedo to plant its demonic pearl bombs on surfaces, thereby evading predators tracking or chasing it.
Tragically, despite the pearls' ability to be refined into artificial demon cores that helped others ascend to higher realms, the Clampedos themselves were shackled to the Demon Master Realm due to their low-grade demonic beast bloodline. They were unable to break through to the Demon Grandmaster Realm. Numerous sages from various dark races had attempted to solve this problem but failed horribly.
Thus, four tiers of artificial demon cores were available in the Dark Realm market:
i) Low-tier Artificial Demon Core: Created using the demonic pearl bomb of a Demon Student Realm Clampedo.
ii) Mid-tier Artificial Demon Core: Created using the demonic pearl bomb of a Demon Soldier Realm Clampedo.
iii) High-tier Artificial Demon Core: Created using the demonic pearl bomb of a Demon Scholar Realm Clampedo.
iv) Top-tier Artificial Demon Core: Created using the demonic pearl bomb of a Demon Master Realm Clampedo.
Any being who used one of these artificial demon cores would only reach the Demon Student Realm initially and would have to cultivate diligently to advance further. The advantage of purchasing the highest-tier artificial demon core was the ability to ascend to the Demon Master Realm faster than those who used lower-tier cores. Beyond this, there were no additional benefits.
However, this fact alone was enough to breed greed in the hearts of many ruling-class factions, families, clans, guilds, etc who were eager to expand their armies and influence across the myriad realms. The source of this greed was the theory that a demonic pearl bomb from a Devil Realm Clampedo could be refined into an artificial titled demon core that would allow any slave to become a devil faster, enabling its owner to mass-produce an slave army of devils.
That said, Belphegor wasn't generous enough to give Corey Park an average artificial demon core let alone the top-tier one. The one he gave her was of the lowest tier. Yet, Corey Park's achievements demonstrated that regardless of the tier of the artificial demon core created using the demonic pearl bomb of a demon clam Clampedo, it was possible to become a devil and advance even further. There were many examples of this in the Dark Realm. After all, many talented enslaved beings from the myriad realms had managed to rise to ruler-class status in the Devil Realm. Some even attempted to avenge their destroyed realms but failed miserably as the waters of slave trade in the Dark realm was too deep.