《System Breaker: Fine, I guess I'll be the demon lord then! [Progression Fantasy]》 Prologue: Dying Twice In The Same Day ¡°Fuck¡­¡± My eyes slowly open, tiny motes of sunlight glitter through the leaves above me. My head feels like it is going to split open. I can barely think straight and my vision is incredibly blurry. Memories are flooding in, A world devoid of magic, towering buildings, and advanced technology. I am not sure what I am looking at but it all seems so familiar.
Off in the distance I can see it, any second now it will hit and it will all be over. ¡°I never got to see the end, that''s a pain¡± Lamenting the fact that I would not get to find out how my favorite book series ended, I watched the city turn white with a blinding flash. Honestly what a dumb reason to start World War 3, but I suppose in the end there would never be any reason to toss around nukes that wasn¡¯t incredibly stupid. I guess I managed to survive until the end of the world. I didn¡¯t expect the world to end when I was only 20 but I guess it can¡¯t be helped. As I stare out into the sea of white I am getting a bit worried. ¡°Um¡­. am I not dead or not?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, you are.¡° ¡°Wha-!¡± Hearing the sound of a woman''s voice behind me I whip my head around to see where it came from and come face to¡­ uh face? cube? with it. ¡°Uh, hi?¡± I manage to squeak out in the face of the thing in front of me. Before me in this infinite expanse of nothingness is a massive white organic cube looking thing. Despite it having no eyes that I can recognize, I can feel its gaze boring into me. ¡°Hello Eliza, it is a pleasure to meet you. My condolences on your death.¡± The soft but powerful voice emanating from the cube as well as everywhere at once speaks to me. ¡°Thanks, it is nice to meet you too.¡± nodding along to this incomprehensible situation I do my best to return a polite greeting. The cube thing, which calls itself a god, tells me that I am getting reincarnated after taking that nuke to the face. And it does so with an inappropriately peppy attitude. As I try to process all the information being given to me right now all my stupid brain can think is Well, I guess that is on me for expecting gods to look remotely human. Shaking off such random thoughts I focus myself back on the situation at hand. ¡°Oh, so it is like an isekai situation. I loved those kinds of stories!¡± The rather chipper god cube begins to explain the details about the world. Standard fantasy stuff, Magic, Medieval level technology but a bit upgraded in some areas thanks to said magic, some RPG type leveling system, and a bunch of other stuff I am not sure I will remember. As the god finishes her explanation I ask the most pressing question. ¡°Do I get an OP cheat or anything?¡± However, ignoring my question, the cube god suddenly begins to rush things. ¡°O-Oh my it looks like we are out of time, Good luck with your new life! Please try not to die too easily.¡± And before I can even try to retort my body is suddenly wracked with pain and everything goes dark.
Everything is spinning. The towering trees around me look like they are about to crash down on me. A loud buzzing in my ear that I can feel in my bones causes me to slip to and from these memories. Blurry forms jump to and from in my vision and the whole world seemingly cracks. Suddenly my head feels like it gets hit by a truck. I am seeing visions of a life training with a sword, parents who never cared about me, and even getting stabbed by my own mother.
It is a rare occasion that I get to leave the house. So much of my time is spent studying and training in hopes of improving myself for when I finally get my magic that I find it hard to remember what the outside looks like, aside from the training field, though my memories of that are mostly of the pain from getting hit with a practice sword.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. This rare treat is not a break however, just another part of the strict path my parents have laid out for me. I honestly just wanted to sleep in today but instead I was woken up extra early this morning, tossed into the family carriage, and swiftly brought to the church. In the end the amount of time I actually spent outside was rather minimal. But at least I got to look out the window and see some nature on my way to the ceremony. The ceremony is not strictly necessary as I will be inducted into the system the second I turn 14 like every other human. My parents just place too much emphasis on tradition rather than, ya know, raising their daughter. Suddenly the carriage stops and I lurch forward in my seat. The door swings open to find my father standing there already rushing me out of the carriage. ¡°Lua Knight, hurry up! We need to get this done quickly and properly so we can begin training your magic.¡± The gruff faced man in the slightly too shiny and ornamental armor says to me rather sternly. I really don¡¯t get that armor, it is pointlessly fancy and it is somehow not even the one he has specifically for important ceremonies. Apparently his daughter''s 14th birthday and induction into The System is not very important. ¡°Yes father¡± I repeat back on instinct, long since knowing better than to waste my time with any retorts about how we could practice my magic faster if we skipped the ceremony or how bribing the church to have my ceremony in private at this ungodly hour is already pushing what could be considered ¡°proper.¡± Apparently my parents'' love of tradition only applies to getting it done, and done quickly. Having been ushered into the church I find myself kneeling before the priest as the wrinkly old man blathers on about duty, honor, and glory as well as the boring responsibilities that come with a noble being given their magic by The System. I tune all of this out, naturally, as my parents already made me memorize the information when I was like 5 years old. One of my least favorite bedtime stories. Finally finishing the speech and having me recite my own acceptance to the duties the time comes and I receive the long awaited system message.
[Congratulations -Lua Knight- You are now being inducted into the World Order System!]
As the message flashes in my mind I feel a sudden surge of energy flow through my body as well as a dull pain in my head.
[Your Magic has been determined and your starting Skill has been granted.] [Your Magic is -Light- and your starting skill is -Light Beam-] [Congratulations on your induction into the System!] [Just think the word ¡°status¡± to view your own information at any time.] [May your path to ascension be a fruitful one!]
After the bright and exclamation point heavy messages finally clear from my mind and the pain fades I stand up and look towards my parents. My father with a stern but expecting look on his face and my mother simply uncaring, which is to be expected from them. I am after all just something to continue their legacy to them, not a child or cherished daughter, just a tool. ¡°Well then, tell us what magic you got.¡± My father grunts out rather impatiently while I just stand there and try to get my bearings. ¡°It says my magic is ¡°Light¡± which I have never heard of before.¡± I respond in a rather absentminded way while still trying to shake off the weird pressure I have been feeling since I was inducted into the system. I am not sure why but it just feels a bit hard to move, almost like there is a weight pressing down on my shoulders or like I''m slightly underwater. As I contemplate my weird feeling I realize a bit late that the room is silent. My father not having said anything in response or tried to rush me out the door to start training like I would have expected. Looking up I notice both my parents with rather serious and almost angry expressions on their faces. The air feeling like you could cut the tension with a knife under the withering gazes of the only two other people in the room with me. The priest apparently having disappeared at some point without my noticing. ¡°Father what is wr-¡± Just as I am about to finish my sentence everything starts going dark as I collapse to the ground. ¡°What should we do dear? Our child ending up with light magic of all things¡­ We can¡¯t let this get out, we would be shamed having such a useless child.¡± A piercing and angry high pitched voice questions my father. I always hated my mothers voice, I never heard anything other than how inadequate I was from her. Now once again I am being called useless. I don¡¯t know why I can¡¯t see or why I can¡¯t move but I am certain it was that woman''s doing. ¡°I am not sure, anyone who has ever gotten light magic has never been able to acquire new skills or reach higher classes. We can¡¯t let her succeed the family now. I think our best option is to get rid of her.¡± I feel my heart sink. If I wasn¡¯t already on the floor I am sure I would have collapsed. My parents have already written me off, and are planning to kill me. Despite the awful situation I am now in, the only thought in my mind is, I am surprised it took them this long to want to kill me. ¡°I think we should just kill her now and throw her body into the usual dumping site, we can¡¯t let others know what magic she got or they will realize we killed her.¡± ¡°Hmm, I have to agree. I will leave that to you dear while I find a suitable explanation for her disappearance.¡± As I hear those last words sealing my fate, my fathers footsteps fade away as he exits the church. After a few seconds I hear the clicking of my mothers heels make their way over to me. ¡°Tsk, I always knew you were useless but to get light magic of all things. You truly were trash all along.¡± Her shrill voice enters right next to my ears, I am completely immobile but I still feel a shiver run across my body, I want to cry but I can¡¯t even bring myself to do that. I don¡¯t want to die. My mother, no, this bitch has never liked me. I do not know why but from my earliest memories I know she has always hated me. She must have intentionally made me immobile instead of unconscious just so she could revel in the fact that I had to listen to them planning my murder. If I manage to survive this I will stop at nothing to make her suffer like she is making me suffer. Just as my vision starts to return all I get is a glimpse of her awful smiling face before I feel a sharp pain run through my stomach. It is both burning hot and freezing cold. I want to scream but whatever spell she placed on me won¡¯t let me. All I can do is droop my head and see the silver knife jammed into me, blood rapidly draining from the wound. ¡°Goodbye you waste of a daughter.¡± And those are the last words I hear before everything goes black for real. I don¡¯t want to die. I will do anything for a second chance. If there is a god or anything out there listening, please, help me.
Everything is blending together. I am not sure who I am, the name Eliza is floating around but that name does not feel like it fits me. I also have the name Lua which I feel fits me better despite the odd disconnect with that name as well. Suddenly a system message appears in front of my face. Chapter 1: A Bug In The System
[Congratulations -El-L-i-u-a Kn---as Error- You are now being inducted into the World Order System!]
What? I was already inducted into the system! And what is up with my name!?
[Your Magic has been determined and your starting Skill has been granted.] [Your Magic has been determined and your starting Skill has been granted.] [Your Magic is -Light- and your starting skill is -Light Beam-] [Your Magic is -Golemancy- and your starting skill is -Create Golem-] [Congratulations on your induct-] [Error, System interference detect-] [Solution Found] [Activating Backup AI Interface]
Before I can even think about the strange error messages in this game-like system, or what the hell is up with my brain, A woman pops out of thin air. This woman is beautiful with long black hair and piercing blue and golden eyes. Standing straight the woman in the maid outfit looks me over before speaking. ¡°Hello, I am Support Interface 073 and I will be assisting you from now on due to the System having trouble fully interfacing with your soul.¡± ¡°Um, ok? what does that mean exactly?¡± I inch back incredulously as I try to organize my thoughts, which is quite difficult considering I now seem to be a mix of the two different minds. The sensation of having my memories and thoughts thrown into a blender then pressed into a new personality is rather unpleasant. Smiling politely, the girl in the maid outfit answers my question. ¡°Due to an unknown error the system is unable to read your mind which prevents it from providing proper assistance in your path. As a backup you have been provided with access to the supplementary support system. This system, AKA myself, can be asked whatever questions you have. And if I am permitted I will provide you answers. However since the system can not access your thoughts you must speak aloud to receive said answers.¡± Huh, weird. I have never heard of anyone else ever having to query The System verbally or any kind of AI support system. Though I must say I am glad the thing can¡¯t read my mind, It would be creepy knowing this system thing is always listening to my innermost thoughts. Looking up at the AI lady I wait for it to say more. And as I wait I realize she won¡¯t be saying anything else, which is not very helpful. Pushing myself off the ground I stand up and look myself over. As far as I can tell my body is that of the person who was originally from this world. Though I don¡¯t see her, my? our? stab wound. I guess it was healed when I was reincarnated / resurrected / I am not sure what to call this anymore. Well whatever. I shrug my shoulders and stare at my new AI assistant in a maid outfit. She does not seem to react at all to me. Honestly this is disappointing. I was expecting something more interactive. ¡°Can you um, I don¡¯t know, act more human-like? Standing there all stiff and responding to me with minimal answers is kind of off putting.¡± She just seems to be staring past me, as if I am not even worth thinking about. If I am going to be stuck with an AI following me around all day then I would prefer something with life to it. I was honestly not really expecting an answer. The AI seemed disinterested if that is even something an emotionless AI can be. However the projection suddenly seems to take a moment before answering with a slightly different cadence in its voice. ¡°Of course, You may set my personality, appearance, and voice to any settings you see fit. Though you may only do so once.¡± The whole response is given as emotionless as possible. Something seems off about the way she is saying it but I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it. Hmm, I am not sure what to do now, there are so many options and I don¡¯t want to turn her into something annoying. I would hate to have to deal with a bubbly personality or someone who is overly pushy. I try thinking it over but in the end it seems like both of the minds that make up the new me are the rather impulsive sort. ¡°Can you take on the appearance of a cute young villainess type girl who is a bit of a tsundere?¡± ¡°Pervert.¡± Suddenly standing before me is not a stunning maid but an adorable young girl with blonde hair in cute pigtail drills in a sweet but slightly classy academy uniform. The little villainess is glaring at me with a bit of a blush on her cheeks. ¡°Perfect, I am going to call you Alice!¡± It may have been a rash decision but I already have no regrets. ¡°Out of all the possible choices you seriously wanted me like this? sigh, stop looking at me like that, I am a mental projection so it is not like you can get your grubby little mitts on me¡± I can¡¯t stop grinning at how she looks and how she speaks. It is like she jumped right out of my best fantasies. I am curious how she can so quickly determine my gaze is an impure one, but I have more important things to worry about right now. ¡°Well whatever. So uh, where am I?¡± ¡°Well considering the stupidly massive trees and thick mana in the air my guess would be Avaton or as the human race lamely calls it ¡®The Sea of Trees¡¯.¡± Looking around at the wooden pillars that reach into the sky blocking my view with their thick dark green canopies, I realize I recognize the scene from one of the books I studied as a kid. A forest full of powerful monsters that covers more area than all of the human nations put together. A place where a level 1 schmuck like me would be crushed in an instant. I just got dumped into the most dangerous place in the mortal realm. ¡°Shit.¡± Staring up at the skyscraper like trees towering overhead I feel my mind racing as I try to comprehend my situation. I turn towards my personal and adorable AI Alice and I ask a rather rhetorical question. ¡°Am I in, like, serious danger right now?¡± ¡°Yah, obviously.¡± She rolls her eyes. ¡°Well fuck, any suggestions on staying alive?¡± ¡°I would start by looking at your status, your only hope is that you can figure out how to use your skills to not get eaten before you inevitably starve to death.¡± ¡°Why does it sound like you expect me to die no matter what?¡± ¡°Because I do. Now hurry up before something comes to bite your head off for an evening snack.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Right!¡± Stopping myself from the constant pacing I had not even noticed I had been doing I focused on opening my status. ¡­ .. . ¡°Why is my status not opening??¡± ¡°Were you not paying attention? The system can¡¯t read your mind, that is why I am here in the first place. Your only way to access the system is by speaking aloud. Now hurry along and open it!¡± Alice snorts as she lifts her button like nose in the air. However I can sense a bit of worry in the latter portion of her statement. ¡°Ah, I forgot about that. Ok um¡­ Status?¡± And with that a glowing panel appears in front of me. Though something about it looks off. I expected something sleek and refined but the screen before my eyes looks like it belongs on a vacuum tube tv from the 80s with orange text reading out my status as if it is a retro text adventure game.
[Status] -El-L-i-u-a Kn---as Error- Species: Human Level: 1 Class: 1 Magic: Light, Golemancy Skills: [Lesser Identification] [Lesser Clean] [Lesser Repair] [Light Beam] Lv-1 [Create Golem] Lv-1
¡°Huh.¡± My eyes bore into the information, mainly my messed up name. ¡°Can I just set my name as ¡®Lua Knight¡¯ for now?¡± I really don¡¯t understand what is going on or how I have managed to break what I thought was an integral part of reality. What I do know is I want to file a bug report, several of them. ¡°Yes, though you won¡¯t be able to change it again later unless something major happens.¡± The AI girl responds with a bit of uncertainty of her own, which I find curious, but don¡¯t have the time to question right now. ¡°Ok, that is fine, probably best for my name to match my body¡­ How do I use my skills? Just say them?¡± ¡°Yes, although I would advise against shouting your skill names like a child playing make believe. Unless you want to announce a free meal to all the nearby monsters.¡± ¡°Rude.¡± Smiling at Alice and her slightly bitchy attitude I give it a shot. ¡°[Lesser Identification]¡±
[Tree - It¡¯s a tree]
¡°Well, that is not very helpful.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you were expecting.¡± Ignoring the disapproving glare at my waste of mana I decide to just go ahead and try another one of my skills. ¡°[Light Beam]¡± And at that I feel a lot more of my mana move inside my body, flooding out towards my pointed finger and straight towards the tree I am pointing at. Launching out from my finger is a beam as wide as my arm glowing a bright white. I can barely look directly at it, squinting my eyes to keep track of its trajectory without going blind. I see it fly forward and impact the thick gray and brown bark of the tree in front of me. And a moment later it dissipates, doing absolutely nothing to the tree. ¡°Um, isn¡¯t this supposed to be an attack skill? Why didn¡¯t it do anything?¡± ¡°Well first of all, the trees in this forest are tougher than enchanted steel, and secondly it is a beam of light. The most you are going to do with it is blind someone, or yourself, for a second or give away your position to the monster currently heading your way.¡± ¡°That is really stupi- wait, what monster?¡± Suddenly I hear a screech coming from my right and in the distance is a small green figure holding a wooden club and staring at me like I just kicked its favorite puppy. ¡°Shit! [Lesser Identification]!¡±
[Goblin - Lv : 9]
Scrambling, I try to run away from the goblin that is 8 levels above me. But the thing is already chasing after me, and the bastard is fast for its size. ¡°Huh, you must be quite lucky to only run into something so low level this deep in the forest.¡± ¡°Stop just watching and tell me how to survive this!¡± ¡°Sorry, but that is not my job. I am just here to help you use the system. Good luck!¡± She smiles and gives me a big thumbs up. Though I can see a bit of an apologetic look in her eyes. ¡°Fuck!¡± Looking around for something, anything that I can use to fight back I notice a silver glint on the ground. The dagger my mother used to kill me. Ah, memories. I leap out of the way as the goblin swings its club at my head and scramble for the knife. A big thud rumbles the ground behind me as dirt sprays out everywhere. Holy shit! If I got hit I would have been crushed instantly! Finally wrapping my hand around the handle of the blade I flip over on my back, facing towards the goblin charging towards me out of the cloud of dust. It brings its club right down on my head again as I lay there clutching the small knife. Just before it can start to bring its arm down I immediately sit up and lean in to doge the strike while also jamming my knife into its chest. Grinning, I know I won. Clink. The knife chips off to the side, barely scratching the goblins skin. ¡°You have got to be kidding me?!¡± The club strikes right behind me spraying a cloud of dirt into the air again, obscuring my vision. However the goblin knows where I am as I freeze up, dagger still clutched in my hands. As a reward for my attempt I get kicked in the stomach and end up flying backwards into the distance. ¡°Gahk-¡± I can barely breathe as I cough out an unhealthy amount of blood from the strike. It hurts so much I want to cry. Actually I am certain I am already crying as my vision blurs. Damn it. How am I supposed to kill something at level 9 when I am only level 1?! And most of all what kind of shitty knife can¡¯t even kill a goblin?! I can barely move, clutching my stomach with one hand as I try and push myself up with the other. But my hand slips and I end up sliding my hand into a root sticking out of the ground. And the root cuts deep into the side of my hand. ¡°Fuck!¡± This day can¡¯t get any worse. I got to experience dying twice in a day and got brought back to life only to die immediately after. It is unfair, It is stupid. I bet that cube god is laughing at me right now. I can feel despair creeping in as the pain in my hand worsens. The agonizing internal bleeding and likely cracked ribs from that kick draining my will to live. I am so tired. I just want to sleep. I start to close my eyes when I feel a rush of anger flood me, remembering all the shit I have been through until this moment. Being ostracized and discriminated against all my life on earth, getting treated like a tool instead of a human being by my parents in this world. The pain, the loneliness, the fear I felt as I died with a silver blade in my gut. No. I won¡¯t die. Not again! My mind races, and then it stops. I look down at my left hand, still bleeding from the deep hole into it. Maybe, I am not so dead after all. My pushing on the root managed to knock it out of the ground slightly, It was apparently not a root but a single broken twig. I can work with this. Looking up I see the goblin barreling towards me once again, I only have one shot at this. I grab the stick and yank it as hard as I can, over and over to try and dislodge it from the ground. Sweat pouring down my back as the goblin gets closer and closer. I won¡¯t make it in time! The stupid stick is too stuck! ¡°[Light Beam]!¡± I shout with my other hand aiming straight for the goblins eyes. A flash of bright light shoots out and the goblin screams. I roll over to the side as it strikes down, missing me just barely. Finally, blood pouring down my arm from the exertion, I manage to yank the stick out of the ground as the goblin turns towards me; Angrier than ever. And just as it is about to strike down again to crush me beneath its club. ¡°[Light Beam]!¡± I blind it again and ram the sharp end of the stick right into its face. It screams out for a second and then stops. Dropping to the ground. I did it, I won!
[Level 9 Goblin defeated!] [Bonus Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 5 levels above you!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [Skill [Light Beam] has leveled up!] [You have learned the skill [Flash]!]
¡°Nice.¡± Then I collapse onto the bloody dirt beneath me, staring up at the floating text proving my victory. Chapter 2: Lessons In Magic As I lay flat in the dirt trying to suck in enough air to sate my burning lungs I reach down and tear a strip of fabric off my knee length blue skirt. Tying it around the hole in my hand to stem the bleeding. ¡°Ouch, fuck!¡± I grit my teeth through the pain, I can handle this much after all the training my father put me through. I was raised to be a weapon, someone who would advance in Class quickly and bring prestige to the family. I spent my entire life in this world doing nothing but fighting and studying everything I needed to become strong. I barely ever left the house and certainly never got to make any friends. Not that the part of me that is from earth did any better in the friends department. I begin to spiral a bit, but the pain brings me back around. Turning towards my wildly unhelpful AI I grumble out my most important question. ¡°Hey, is there any way I can heal myself?¡± ¡°As I said I am only here to provide assistance related to the system so if you are asking for the location of a flowing river filled with magical healing water, you are shit out of luck. However, if you are wondering how to acquire a skill that will heal you, I also can¡¯t help you with that.¡± ¡°Wait, why not?!¡± As it turns out, due to my broken connection with the system, many of the normal features are disabled. Alice wouldn¡¯t explain the exact reasons for this but hinted that it is because the system needs access to my mind for things like that. Mulling her words over I try to think of how to phrase my questions in a way that will get me information about how to learn skills without buying them. However, as I start to ask my question, something different occurs to me and I can¡¯t help but ask about it. After all she said she couldn¡¯t provide assistance unless it related to the system, but when I asked where I was Alice said I was in The Sea of Trees and more importantly told me that the wood here is stronger than enchanted steel. If she had not told me those things I would never have thought to use the stick I found to kill the goblin. When I do ask her however, she seems to avoid the question. ¡°Well, I only responded to your question with a random guess of our location based on the given information, and a bit of trivia about why your magic didn¡¯t affect the tree. That can¡¯t really be considered assistance, not that such things matter. You have more important things to worry about at the moment don¡¯t you.¡± And with that obvious technicality I had to refocus on my original question. How do I learn a skill to keep myself from dying of blood loss, internal bleeding, or a horrible infection? I can feel my eyes starting to droop shut from the pain and blood loss, adrenalin no longer keeping me going. I don¡¯t have a lot of time to figure this out. I am beginning to panic a bit and try to sit up but the pain in my stomach keeps me down. I need to think of something, anything. Looking up I see small beams of sunlight flitting through the mass of leaves reaching towards the clouds. With my mind fading I reach my arm out towards a ray of light and try to grip it. Light beam has this particular feel of gripping the light that I could sense. Now with that same sensation I try to reverse the process. Mana leaks from my fingertips and wraps around the bits of light within my grasp, pulling it inside my hand. It feels strange, like the tingling sensation you get when your arm falls asleep. I recognize the warm buzzing sensation, I have felt it before. I am having trouble recalling anything with the pain and my already jumbled memories. ¡°Ah!¡± Sitting straight up, and grinding my teeth as hard as I can to force myself through the pain and back to reality. I remember! That sensation is the feeling when your nerves stitch themselves back together. I reach out for the beam of light once again and this time focus all my mana on it, opening myself up and trapping the light within. The tingling sensation switches to a burning one. I feel like my insides are on fire. Forcing my mana to control the light that continues to enter my body I can¡¯t stop myself from screaming out. I know I will just attract more monsters from that but the pain is too much to bear. I continue holding the light in, letting it fuse with my body as the burning sensation on my wounds increases in intensity until all at once the pain stops. Or at least the pain from the magic experiment I was doing on my self, I can still feel the sharp throbbing pain from the actual wounds I have. That stabbing pain however is starting to lessen and the feeling of pins and needles gets stronger along with a small warm sensation in the wounds. Opening my eyes I see a small orangish yellow message appear in my vision.
[You have learned the skill [Passive - Solar Regeneration]!]
Nice. I try to stand up only to feel the sharp throbbing pain knock me down again. ¡°Urgh¡­ How long will this skill - ow - take to heal me?¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Getting no response but a disappointed glare I try again. ¡°I know it was stupid to stand up like that, I was just excited. Can you answer my question please?¡± ¡°Sigh. While I am impressed with your ability to learn a rare skill like that so quickly I am far less impressed with how impulsive you are. Clearly talent does not save one from stupidity.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Ignoring my complaints, the little villainess continues on. ¡°That skill of yours will not heal you immediately. In fact at its current level It will take you about a month to heal, and that is provided you are in direct sunlight for the entire day.¡± ¡°What?! Then it is fucking useless, I will bleed out and die of an infection before then!¡± Once again little miss drills pretends I said nothing and finishes her speech. ¡°However because the skill is a passive regeneration skill, It should take care of at least replacing your blood and cleaning out infection just fast enough to keep you alive until you can level it up and the regeneration outpaces the loss.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ And how do I level it up?¡± ¡°Stand in the sun and heal, dumbass.¡± I try and respond, but can¡¯t find a good response. I end up just letting my mouth hang open for a bit before deciding I should really try looking at my other skills. ¡°Status.¡±
[Status] -Lua Knight- Species: Human Level: 3 Class: 1 Magic: Light, Golemancy Skills: [Lesser Identification] [Lesser Clean] [Lesser Repair] [Light Beam] Lv-2 [Create Golem] Lv-1 [Flash] Lv-1 [Passive - Solar Regeneration] Lv-1
¡°Oh, right I have [Lesser Clean] and [Lesser Repair]. Totally forgot about those...¡± Feeling annoyed and embarrassed at my forgetfulness I decide to just move past it before Alice has a chance to comment. I use the skills immediately to repair a bit of my shirt and remove some of the gunk from my hands and wounds. Nice and barely cleaned up, I turn towards my snarky companion. ¡°Don¡¯t even say it.¡± She proceeds to ignore my plea and berate me anyway. ¡°You have Golemancy that you have not even touched yet, try using it. That pointy stick won¡¯t protect you forever.¡± I thought she would call me out for the clean and repair skills but forgetting one of my two magic types feels worse. I am about to argue that I have been too focused on not dying but realize that would only waste more time. ¡°[Create Golem]¡±
[Use of skill failed] [Missing 1 Golem Core]
I stare at the error message with annoyed squinted eyes. After getting a rather disappointed glare from Alice, my unasked question is answered with another question. ¡°You do know what a mana core is, correct?¡± I roll my eyes at her not wanting a lecture on mana cores. I had enough of those as a kid. A mana core is the little crystal you have buried in the base of your neck within the spinal cord that connects you to your mana. The mana core getting to a certain size is what gives humans access to The System and connects them to the Mana Plane. Not everyone is lucky enough to have their mana core reach the proper size. Some people never get access to The System because of this. However there are other ways to gain power outside of mana and skills. ¡°Yes that is the basics of a mana core, congrats for knowing the same things as any 5 year old not dropped on their head repeatedly would know.¡± After sitting through a long lecture from the AI who refused to put on a teacher''s outfit when asked. I began working on digging out the mana core from the base of my least favorite goblins spine. I flipped over the goblin, and with the unhelpful comments and quips of Alice, managed to dig out the mana core. Apparently the knife could cut through the goblin now since the goblin is dead and whatever skill it was using to make itself so durable will have stopped functioning. After flooding the core with mana for a while I finally feel a connection form. Getting the go ahead from Alice I bury the core in the ground and chant my skill once again. ¡°[Create Golem]¡± With a tiny rumble the ground begins to pull in towards the golem core as if being attracted to a powerful magnet. Slowly the golem starts to take shape, and within a few seconds the process stops and the little golem stands up and faces me with a blank look on its nonexistent face. ¡°Well, it is kind of cute, but I am not sure how much help it will be.¡± Standing before me is a three foot tall stubby legged vaguely humanoid clump of dirt that looks like it would fall apart from a single hit.
[Dirt Golem - Lv : 3]
¡°How am I supposed to fight with this when it looks so fragile and can¡¯t even hold a weapon with its hand stumps? And why is it only level 3 when the goblin was level 9? That seems kind of unfair.¡± Clearly exasperated Alice reminds me once again that I am expecting far too much from level 1 skills. And while I get that, I don¡¯t understand how I am going to level up my skills or survive when my only attack option remains a single pointy stick. Once again I receive a disappointed glare. ¡°If anything you are lucky that the core is level 3 after The System transferred some of the power to you, otherwise you would have had a very difficult time controlling it.¡± ¡°Oh, I uh, totally didn¡¯t think about that.¡± At the current level of the skill It is more like a remote control toy than anything else. I can order it around with my mind, which the resident AI girl finds strange considering the system can¡¯t touch my mind for some reason. Moving the golem around it is quite intuitive as it more responds to my will rather than explicit commands. Sure I can say ¡°jump¡± in my mind and it will jump but I can also just feel like it should jump three times and spin around and it will do it exactly how I had envisioned it. After about an hour of playing - I mean experimenting - with the golem, it begins to slow down and eventually comes to a stop with its head hung low. It looks a bit like a robot that has entered a lower power mode, which according to Alice is a mostly accurate description. Rather than refill it I simply flip a switch in my mind that connects to the spell and let the dirt crumble. I move over to pick up the stone while looking up at the breaks in the distant canopy. It was rather early in the morning when I woke up in this forest but now it is almost past noon and I need to get moving, food, shelter, and water are my primary focuses now that I understand my skills enough to avoid dying if I run into something. At least I hope. Picking up my pointy stick, silver knife, and dusting off the golem core which I refill with about half my mana then shove in my pocket. ¡°So, uh¡­ Which way to civilization?¡± ¡°You know my answer to that.¡± ¡°Right, System assistance only. Shit.¡± So I decided to pick a random direction and start walking while mumbling to myself. ¡°Today has been one suckfest after another.¡± Chapter 3: Deadly Target Practice As I hobble my way through the endless towering trees, trying to stay in the light as much as possible to speed up my [Solar Regeneration] skill, I turn to my only source of conversation. ¡°Hey, Is there anything you can actually tell me that will help me find somewhere safe to rest, preferably a place that has clean water?¡± The young pretty illusion of a villainess casually strolling beside my crippled self unexpectedly deigns to give me an answer. ¡°Hmmm. I don¡¯t think you need to worry too much about how clean the water is with your passive regeneration skill. If I were you I would focus on using your light magic to scout the area. Light magic is quite handy after all.¡± While I am glad for the truly helpful advice I can¡¯t help but latch on to something that really bugs me. She just said that light magic is useful. Normally I would just assume all magic is useful but I can¡¯t ever forget the words of my parents when I told them my magic¡­ They called it useless, so useless in fact that they felt the need to murder me to avoid the shame of having a child with such useless magic. So as I trudge along I decide to interrogate the AI. ¡°If light magic is so handy then why did my parents say it was useless and then murder me over it?¡± ¡°Well, humans are stupid. Light magic is quite useful and very rare. However due to the rather awful education standards of your species I can only assume they lack the understanding of how to use it and acquire new skills or turn them into attacks to level up. Judging from your frequent mumblings you are someone who was reincarnated from another world, yes? I assume your personal knowledge of how light functions is the primary catalyst for your ability to actually use your magic.¡± So it is my education on earth that is letting me use my magic better than most. I had read in a book once that some mages believe the more you understand the origins of your magic the lower the mana cost. I had been wondering why [Light Beam] used so little mana that I could fire it off so many times despite my rather low level and still mess with golemancy after. It seems paying attention in physics class and watching all those fun BorkTubers who make science videos is really coming in handy. With those thoughts in mind I remember a rather important thing about light, that light is more than just the visible spectrum. I grin to myself as I recall those videos demonstrating how much damage a microwave can do to anything containing water, and that most creatures have a lot of water in their bodies. ¡°I wonder how much damage I can do with a [Light Beam] made of microwaves?¡± ¡°I would recommend against using [Light Beam] to practice creating microwaves. Unless you enjoy getting your face cooked off when it explodes like it did last time? You do seem to be quite the masochist so I suppose you would.¡± ¡°Hey, I resent that statement! There is a limit to how much pain a person can enjoy.¡± ¡°So you admit you are a masochist?¡± ¡°No comment.¡± Snorting at that, the blonde snark-bot continues walking. Now walking -hobbling- along in silence I try to use my knowledge of light to acquire new skills in hopes of living through the rest of today. I let out a trickle of mana and use it to grab ahold of some of the ambient light, doing my best to study the way it moves and the way it feels. After a rather long span of silently working on feeling out the light I notice I can sense a tiny difference in the texture of the light, like there are rougher spots or smoother spots. Latching on to that feeling I try to smooth out the rough light to match the rest and make it all uniform. I nearly walk into a tree due to my diverted focus, thankfully I am moving at a snail''s pace. And after a long struggle I finally smooth out the light to all match the same texture.
[Skill [Light Beam] has leveled up!] [Skill [Light Beam] has leveled up!] [Skill [Light Beam] has leveled up!] [Skill [Flash] has leveled up!] [Skill [Flash] has leveled up!]
¡°Woah, that is a lot of level ups just for smoothing out some light!¡± ¡°You are not smoothing out the light dork, you were changing its frequency. Doing that vastly improved your control over your magic which was reflected in the level ups. Honestly, levels for skills are rather arbitrary, especially in your case. Are you sure you have memories from this world as well?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Yes I¡¯m sure. I remember quite a lot about the things I studied and those dusty old books always said that fighting monsters or people with your skills is the fastest way to level them up. And what do you mean in my case?¡± ¡°The system provides bonuses for combat, but you don¡¯t need to worry about that because any combat you get into in this forest will just leave you as a red smear on one of these stupidly thick trees.¡± With that rather sugar coated answer, Alice ignores my question about levels being arbitrary and keeps walking. Now I guess it is time to focus on turning [Light Beam] into an actual weapon instead of a high powered flashlight. I let the mana flow through my body in the same way it does for [Light Beam] but this time before firing it I grab ahold of the light and smooth it out to a single uniform blob of light. This makes the sphere begin to get brighter and shift color and become a glowing crimson then settle finally in a bright red. I had thought I smoothed it out quite a bit but I am still stuck in the visible range. I find myself having to pump quite a bit more mana into the sphere just to smooth it out until it finally fades from red to completely clear. With that I know I have made a tiny ball of microwaves. And so I launch it forwards into a tree. And I see, absolutely nothing¡­ Right, microwaves are invisible and a laser pointer made of them hitting a magic tree for a split second is never going to accomplish anything. Well, whatever I will just need to find something better to test it on. Ignoring the look I am getting from beside me I begin forming a larger ball of microwaves once again. However just as I finish turning it into microwaves I hear a now familiar screech. Two of them in fact. ¡°Oh look, some target practice showed up. Lucky you. Do try not to die.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± Looking off towards the direction of the screeching I see 2 green figures with wooden sticks in their hands, pointy ones. ¡°[Lesser Identification]!¡±
[Goblin - Lv : 8]
[Goblin - Lv : 11]
Not good! Think! Think! Think! There has to be a way to win this! I just can¡¯t take on two at the same time so I need to distract one of them. I can already barely move with my injuries, dodging is not going to be an option. Staring at the goblins charging towards me as sweat pours down my back I see Alice standing in the distance, hands in her uniform pockets. I wonder what she is doing as she just disappeared the last time I fought a goblin. Then I figure out the hint. I reach into my pocket and pull out the dirty green crystal from within and toss it onto the ground in front of me. ¡°[Create Golem]!¡± The dirt around it begins to rapidly accumulate and form a 3 foot tall humanoid blob to match the size of the goblins coming towards me. Using my connection to the golem I move it to tackle the level 8 goblin while I also charge [Light Beam] with more and more mana to create a densely packed sphere of microwaves. The level 8 goblin collides with my dirt golem. They both go tumbling to the ground as the goblin begins stabbing the dirt creature over and over in a mad rage, screeching all the while. Seeing this I continue to command the golem to fight and struggle to convince the goblin it is still alive so that its attention stays fixed. Just as the level 11 goblin finally closes the distance to a few meters I point my finger at its head and release the hold I have on my [Light Beam], letting the invisible sphere of light crash into the goblins head. It screeches bloody murder, clutching its skull unable to understand what is going on. The flesh on its face turning red and blistering as I continue to produce and fire microwaves at it at the same time. Until there is a muted splat, and the goblin collapses.
[Level 11 Goblin defeated!] [Bonus Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 5 levels above you!] [You have leveled up!]
Clutching my pointy stick I ignore the agony from moving my injured body so fast and charge towards the goblin still attacking my golem. I am almost there when I hear a crack, a sound like glass shattering accompanied by my connection to my golem fading away. Shit it must have broken the core. Seeing its prey finally stop moving the goblin turns towards me, never stopping its angry yelling for even a moment. It charges with its stick pointed right at my chest. ¡°Damnit, [Flash]!¡± Shutting my eyes and leaping to the side I use the only skill I can to escape. The goblin¡¯s screeches go up a pitch as it misses me when its vision is obscured by a blinding flash of light. Opening my eyes as the light fades I can see the goblin rolling around on the ground with its clawed hands clutching its eyes in pain. Still gripping my own pointy stick I run over to the writing green noise machine and plunge my weapon straight into its chest. It screeches again, even louder this time and begins flailing at anything and everything. I end up taking a big scratch across my leg as I stab down again and again before it finally goes silent.
[Level 8 Goblin defeated!] [You have leveled up!] [Skill [Create Golem] has leveled up!]
¡°Fuck.¡± Clenching my teeth at the gash across my leg I use [Lesser Clean] and [Lesser Repair] to keep my wounds from getting worse. ¡°Hmm, how odd.¡± Sitting down to let myself rest I look up at the curious AI girl. ¡°What is odd?¡± ¡°Well, you are rather deep in The Sea of Trees and have been here for hours yet only encountered three goblins. Either that god of yours is excessively kind and protecting you, or¡­¡± ¡°Or we''re in something''s territory, something every other monster around, besides the stupid goblins, is terrified of¡­¡± ¡°Well, you said it, not me.¡± ¡°Great, today just keeps getting better and better.¡± Chapter 4: Strange Limits After resting for a few minutes I push myself up with a long drawn out groan and get to work on digging the cores out of the goblins. Carving out a dead creature is something I have experienced in both my lives. My grandfather on earth decided that a 10 year old girl from the city should know how to gut and cook her own catch. I didn¡¯t lose my lunch or anything, but the whole situation was traumatic enough to scare me off seafood for the rest of my life. Now, digging my silver knife into the spine of a mangled bloody goblin all I can think is that I would kill for this thing to look more like a fish. Then at least I would have something to eat. I refuse to even think about eating a goblin. After having dug out the cores and converted them I decided to identify them without placing them in golems yet. Looking over the opaque brownish green crystal no larger than a pebble from the level 8 goblin I question how the goblin managed to break the one in Alpha. It must have been from the repeated impacts rather than a direct hit. I will have to keep that in mind if the cores are that fragile. Though it could have been my evidently shit luck and the goblin just managed a direct hit after all its random stabbing. Side by side I can see that the core from the level 11 goblin is a slightly brighter green. I remember the cores from the monsters I butchered for training being of a much brighter green and less opaque than the ones I have in my hands. The mana cores probably change the higher level you are.
[Golem Core - Lv : 2]
[Golem Core - Lv : 6]
While I really want to test my newly upgraded skill I realize I need to focus on finding someplace safe, or at least a source of water before I go wasting what is left of my mana. I managed to refill my mana a bit from the level ups but I am far from full after these repeated battles. So I begin to limp my way towards the same direction I had been heading before. Leaving a small trail of blood behind as I wander through the forest with towering trees that could rival skyscrapers I try and get some answers out of my personal villainess. She had mentioned that I should get a skill that would help me find a river or something but I got mugged by those goblins before I could circle back to the question. I asked for some hints and the answer I got was a blunt ¡°your eyes take in light to function do they not?¡± And with that I began trying to pull in distant light and redirect it to my eyes. I may or may not have blinded myself half a dozen times before I figured it out. I was also forced to figure out how to focus my [Passive - Solar Regeneration] into a single place. I will leave exactly what location up to one''s imagination.
[Skill [Passive - Solar Regeneration] has leveled up!] [You have learned the skill [Telescopic Vision]!]
Now with my new skills I can feel a warm sensation buzzing along my wounds, the cuts and bruises very slowly stitching themselves back together. Though not fast enough to be visible in any way. For now I decide to focus my regeneration towards the gashes across my leg in hopes that I can heal enough before my next encounter that I will be able to move faster than the zombie-like pace I am currently moving at. Focusing on running mana through my eyes I see the world before me begin to open up, everything becomes a bit brighter and I can make out details on a tree that is probably a mile away. It is quite disorienting to see all this detail from such a large distance, especially when I am not just seeing a single point, but a wide range. After a moment it starts getting hard to focus my eyes on any single thing with all the information flooding my brain that I have to cancel the skill rather quickly before I give myself a migraine. ¡°Ow, I thought skills were not supposed to harm you like that.¡± ¡°Normally they would not, but as I have said repeatedly, your mind can not be accessed by the system and therefore the system can not provide assistance in processing the information.¡± Well that sucks. Apparently I will have to slowly train my brain to accept the new information overload if I want to use the skill without splitting my skull open. While it seems like it will be a while before I can make use of the skill I realize that there might be something else I can do. Sitting down in another beam of light I begin to gather some into the palm of my hand using my mana and smooth it out. it begins to shift from white to red and then it becomes fully invisible, after pushing a bit harder I manage to get the light past infrared and into the microwave realm again. However this time I don¡¯t stop, I continue to smooth out the light over and over trying to reach my goal. And just when I feel like I am getting close, I suddenly stop.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. However I didn¡¯t stop because I wanted to, but I felt a push back. like something clamping down on my mana, preventing me from smoothing the light any further. Pushing harder and harder with more mana all I can feel is this massive wall in my way, refusing to budge and let me smooth the mana and further. ¡°Ugh, why?! Why can¡¯t I make radio waves?!¡± ¡°If you are referring to the frequency of light below what you called microwaves then I assume you ran into a wall while trying to create them?¡± ¡°Yeah, no matter how hard I push I feel something forcing my mana back, preventing me from making them.¡± ¡°That would be the effect of a grand curse laid upon the world long ago, I can not go into detail but creating that type of energy through unnatural means, like mana or technology, is no longer possible.¡± ¡°Wait, what? I have never heard anything about a grand curse!¡± ¡°Humans are rather forgetful and the curse was cast a very long time ago so I doubt you would have heard of it. I really can¡¯t say more.¡± Thinking on the ramifications of a curse that limits the type of light I can create, I go over the spectrum of light in my head. From the longest wavelength to shortest it goes Radio Waves, Micro-waves, Infrared, Visible Light, Ultraviolet, X-ray, and finally Gamma-rays. While not exact, getting into the nitty gritty of light is a waste of time right now. I don¡¯t know the exact effects of the curse and I am certain that it does far more than just limit light magic, but for me the effects on light magic are all I need to worry about at the moment. After explaining the order of the electromagnetic spectrum to my personal and slightly unhelpful search engine I ask enough questions to get some form of answer I was looking for. While I can just barely create microwaves, getting far enough to make radio waves will never happen. More intriguing is that I can create ultraviolet waves and even nudge into X-rays. Sadly I was not a physics major in college so I don¡¯t know exactly what I can use most of this for. However I do know that if I can concentrate high energy light, I can dish out a lot more damage. At least I think I can? Interrupting my mental tangent on using different wavelengths of light to maybe survive the snark machine casually throws in that makes all my over thinking go to waste. ¡°You know if you are trying to use light to scan the area then you don¡¯t actually need what you call radio waves, microwaves are more than sufficient.¡± Slumping my shoulders at the obvious realization that all I needed was a long wavelength of invisible light to make a pseudo-radar, I began working my magic instead of trying to act like I am smart. It takes me another 2 hours of trudging along and the horrible realization that I soon won''t have much time left in the daylight before I manage to project my little laser pointer of microwaves off into the distance and figure out how to detect and process any information I get back. Considering I had no idea how a real radar worked I was forced to trial and error my way to my new skill.
[You have learned the skill [Shitty Radar]!]
¡°Hey! Why is my skill called that!¡± ¡°Because the skill is basically useless without The System''s assistance to properly map the information so I took the liberty to rename the skill to match. Right now you have something that is no more useful than a magical measuring stick.¡± ¡°Urk. Wait, you can rename my skills?¡± ¡°Skill names are all made up by The System in the first place, obviously the word ¡®radar¡¯ is not part of this world''s language. I just based it on your own description.¡± ¡°Huh, I wonder why I have never heard about any of these quirks of The System before?¡± ¡°Who can say?¡± And with that enigmatic response I focus on what is ahead of me. I had been hearing it for a little while now. A quiet staticy rumble off in the distance. I had been throwing around my [Shitty Radar] all over the place while trying to learn the skill when I noticed something odd. Off in one direction I was not getting any feedback, I would have expected to hit a tree eventually but if I fired at just the right angle through the trees my radar would not hit a single thing. It may have been stupid and reckless to head towards an obvious unknown but with lack of any better options I started trudging towards the mystery radar dead zone. And Alice didn¡¯t seem to comment on it being stupid which I decided to take as a good sign. The sun is finally starting to set. I have no idea how long I have been walking for but it seems focusing my regeneration skill on the leg wound the whole time was just enough to make it so I can walk again instead of limping. Granted I am not moving at a fast pace as the gash is still there, it has just healed enough that I can put weight on it again.
[You have learned the skill [Infrared Vision]!]
I had also been practicing a new skill, at first I started to make a ball of light so I could carry it around to see when it got dark. This got me yelled at by Alice for trying to do something that would obviously attract a horde of monsters my way. After the angry lecture I decided to try a different approach which resulted in my new skill. I had thought this for a while now but I seem to be picking up new skills rather quickly. Alice says I must be a prodigy, but only in the realm of light magic, otherwise I''m a complete dumbass. I found it hard to argue with that. Just as the sun fully set and I switched to using my new skill I finally saw off in the distance the reason why my radar didn¡¯t pick anything up. It was a cliff. A massive straight drop so horrifically steep that I could see the tops of the skyscraper like trees spreading out below. I thought I was screwed for a moment when I arrived at the edge but just as I was about to turn around, I spotted it. It was pretty far away, so far that I needed to use my [Telescopic Vision] skill alongside my [Infrared Vision] skill for a brief moment just to be sure I was not imagining it. A tiny speck and yet so absurdly huge, there it was. A massive waterfall carving its way through the landscape and plunging off the edge of the bottomless cliff. I had finally found a source of water. Now under the vibrant stars and subtly glowing moons I focus my night vision skill along the edge of the cliff and into the forest. Making sure I am not being followed by any other annoying goblins, I begin to make my way to my salvation off in the distance.
Moving along the treetops a pair of bright red eyes looks down on the little blue haired human marching along the edge of the cliff, the border between the first ring of the forest and the second. ¡°Interesting.¡± With a single word the eyes vanish into the darkness of the canopy. ¡°I wonder if you will be able to entertain me.¡± ¡­ Chapter 5: Making New Friends Several hours pass as I stumble along. Despite the waterfall being visible in the distance I am still heavily injured and exhausted from walking non stop, I think the only reason I am hanging on right now is all the training I have done and maybe my [Solar Regeneration] skill tempering my exhaustion. Finally I somehow make it to my destination without encountering another attack. I can only hope that means the monsters are asleep. Keeping a good distance from the edge of the cliff I inch my way towards the rushing river that looks to be almost a mile wide. The sound is incredibly loud, drowning out everything else, I have to remind myself to keep my focus on not getting ambushed. My [Infrared Vision] skill is fairly shoddy so the scene before me is monochrome and blurry, but I can tell that the endless amount of thrashing water before me is freezing cold. I had hoped I would have a chance to take a bath or something but that is not looking like an option. That is also considering the water is moving fast enough to tear my foot off if I tried dipping a toe in. Peering into the rushing water, trying to use my hands to catch some of the spray to drink I feel a shiver run up my spine. I assume it is probably just from the cold water chilling the air around me, at least until the pale white glow of the mist around me begins to turn red. ¡°My, my, my. Didn¡¯t your mommy ever teach you that little kids should be careful around rushing water?¡± ¡°My mother stabbed me to death, so I will let you take a guess on that front.¡± Pushing myself up and turning around I see a pair of glowing crimson eyes and a wicked smile enveloped in a black blur that is constantly shifting. I can make out a vague outline of a towering and lanky figure, I am not sure what it is, but it has not attacked me yet so I am doing my best to stay relaxed. I would love to use [Lesser Identification] on the thing but I already know the thing could kill me whenever it wanted to, just by the aura of power radiating off of it. That and I need to say the skill name out loud and I really don¡¯t want to piss the thing off. Staring down the strange apparition I decide I might as well get whatever is about to happen rolling. ¡°So, uh. Do you need something from me? All I have is a pointy stick and I doubt you are looking for kindling.¡± Despite the roaring of the river behind me the shrill cackle of the creature cuts through it, reaching my ears unhindered. ¡°You see, I knew you would be able to entertain me! You are a funny one, kid, you must have guts to speak to me like that. That or you are just a suicidal psychopath.¡± Clutching its chest and howling in laughter the creature takes a moment, then it suddenly stops. The air grows far colder than it had been a moment ago. ¡°Let''s cut the chase, kid. This area is my territory and you are trespassing.¡± At that statement my blood runs cold, it feels like a hand is around my neck and I can barely breathe. I look down to see the hand grabbing me but only find the same cold mist that was there before. The creature had not moved. The pressure it is exerting is just that overpowering that I can feel it as though it is real. ¡°W-Well, I didn¡¯t come here of my own free will. You know I told you my mother murdered me and well, it is a bit of a complicated story that I am sure you don¡¯t care about. I would be happy to leave if you could just point me in the direction of the nearest exit I will be on my way.¡± Doing my best to stay calm in front of the overwhelming blood lust I give the creature my best 9-5 retail smile. Before I can say anything else the looming figure cuts off the blood lust and I drop to my knees. ¡°Oh don''t worry, I already said I find you interesting so I wont be killing you. However I will be giving you a little nudge so that you may provide better entertainment.¡± That same shiver runs up my spine again as the crooked shadowed smile grins a rather horrible grin. Before I can blink the black figure is rushing towards me, closing the distance in an instant. I try to brace myself with my arms in front of my body but it is useless. I feel a heavy impact, lighter than I would have expected and not very painful but it is still just enough to launch me into the deadly river at my back. I can barely think as I am plunged into the icy torrent. It is all I can do not to scream, I know the direction this water is flowing. I know what is waiting for me. I really thought I had a chance at survival but apparently the universe hates me. Dying 3 times in one day, I have to be setting a new record. And with that inane thought, I black out.
Standing on the edge of a rocky cliff, looking down into the dark forest below and the plumes of mist from the crashing water filling the air, a creature made of shadows laughs to itself. ¡°Fearless that one, and rather resourceful with her magic. She might just manage to survive what is awaiting her below¡­ If she does, it is sure to become quite entertaining.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As its grin cracks wider and wider at the thought of what the young girl might do, the monster, the Demon, takes its seat above the canopy and settles in to enjoy the show.
Laying down in the dirt, I look up to see tiny bits of sun breaking through the treetops. It is hard to piece together what is going on. My mind is a mess and I am still groggy from just waking up. My body is nice and warm, like I am under the covers and I don''t want to move. ¡°If you keep lying around like that you are going to be eaten, you know. And I don¡¯t mean in the way I know you would enjoy.¡± Snapping awake I sit up to find Alice infront of me and a terribly sharp pain runs through my stomach. ¡°Ghak!, Ugh, that stupid shadow monster thing just kicked me off the damn cliff!¡± Still struggling to figure out what is going on I realize it is day, and my body is completely dry despite my dip into the lazy river from hell. ¡°Hey wait, ouch, how long have I been out, why am I not in the river, and how are my clothes dry?¡± Getting a flat glare for my barrage of questions, the AI who repeatedly claims she can only give me system related advice proceeds to actually answer my ramblings. ¡°Most of the day, plant monster, and check your skills.¡± ¡°Oh, ok. Status!¡±
[Status] -Lua Knight- Species: Human Level: 5 Class: 1 Magic: Light, Golemancy Skills: [Lesser Identification] [Lesser Clean] [Lesser Repair] [Light Beam] Lv-5 [Create Golem] Lv-2 [Flash] Lv-3 [Passive - Solar Regeneration] Lv-2 [Telescopic Vision] Lv-1 [Infrared Vision] Lv-1 [Shitty Radar] Lv-1 [Thermal Shell] Lv-1 NEW!
Looking over my skills list I take note of the new skill. My guess is while I was freezing to death in the cold water I managed to generate infrared radiation around myself to stay alive without realizing what I was doing. Well it is nice I am not dead of hypothermia. Reveling in my miraculous survival I try to recall how exactly I survived. Then the second answer Alice gave me rings in my head. Why am I not dead? Why am I on dry land? And most importantly, what plant monster? Before I can turn to Alice and get more information I feel a drop of orange liquid fall on my face, and it burns. Shit! It is just one thing after another today! Not even bothering to look up at whatever nightmare plant was about to dissolve me I make a break for it, dashing towards the roaring river I can hear to my right. I gather all the microwaves I can and launch a massive [Light Beam] behind myself hoping to keep the thing slithering after me at a distance. ¡°What the hell is that thing?!¡±
[Vine Snapper - Lv : 102]
And suddenly a vine wraps around my ankle, yanking me into the air. I am dragged back towards where I was before and dangled over a gaping green maw filled with that same digestive orange sap as before. Slowly being lowered in I shoot the only shot I can think of, because I know damn well my microwaves did jack to the thing. Gathering all the light in the area I can with my mana I focus it and direct it at the Vine Snapper that has strung itself up in the canopy. ¡°Eat this!¡± As I blast more and more light at the slithering bumpy mass of vines and sap covered teeth It begins to slow down the rate at which it is lowering me. Ignoring all the pings about skill level ups going off in my head I wring out the last bits of my mana to shine as much light on this vine covered monstrosity as I can. Finally, just as I feel the last bits of my mana trickling away, the vine holding me comes to a stop. ¡°Did¡­ that actually work?¡± Questioning my own stupid plan I turn towards the AI girl floating upside down beside me, her skirt magically staying in place due her nature of being nothing more than a projection. ¡°Somehow your incredibly reckless waste of mana actually managed to satisfy the thing before it got a taste. Your luck astounds me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call getting killed twice, waking up in a murder forest, and getting kicked off a cliff by a terrifying monster into the jaws of another terrifying monster ¡®lucky.¡¯¡± Grumbling to myself at the endlessly awful situation I have been in for a whole day now I focus on the happy murder plant below me. ¡°Um, hey! Would you mind putting me down somewhere that is not in your mouth? I can provide you with more snacks like what I just did if you let me live!¡± ¡°I am not sure the pile of vines can understand your wor-¡± But before she can finish calling me an idiot once again the Vine Snapper begins to move me away and lower me to the ground below. Grinning at the AI girl triumphantly, she simply turns away in a huff. Vanishing before I can brag about making friends with the plant. ¡°Now then, let''s make a deal.¡± If this all works out and the plant can really understand me, I might have just found a way to survive for a while. Chapter 6: Predator Vs Prey ¡°So basically this is a trade deal. I will provide you with tons of light like before but in exchange you will keep me safe from all the monsters in this forest.¡± The gaping green maw filled with oozing orange acidic sap simply looks down on me from its position webbed and hanging between the towering trees. I am not one hundred percent sure the thing understands me, but the fact that it is just sitting there and not eating me gives me hope. So I continue on. ¡°One thing I should mention is that the snack I just gave you used up all of my mana and it will take me a while before I am able to do that again.¡± And with that statement I know the level 102 mass of killer vines understands me, because it starts angrily rustling and its maw is opening wider and wider. However, before it can decide it is better off eating me, I rush to extend our deal and try to save my life. ¡°Wait! I said that I don¡¯t have enough mana currently, but if I can level up and gain more mana I will be able to provide you with meals you can only imagine!¡± That makes the viny terror stop though the slight rustle makes me believe that it is still unsure. ¡°My proposal is that we work together, I will help you hunt for food and in helping you I will gain a share of the experience, this will make me level up and be able to provide you with even more food and tasty light magic. Eating me would only satisfy you for a moment while keeping me alive and protecting me, no, working with me, will provide you far far more.¡± Looking up at the inquisitive mass of green and orange I stand my ground with as much confidence as I can muster. ¡°What do you think, do we have a deal?¡± Taking a few seconds to mull things over the snapper makes its decision and simply closes its mouth. It agreed. Falling to my knees I shimmy on over to the nearest tree and lean my back against it and let out the biggest sigh I have ever sighed in my entire two lives. It only took two days of constantly being on the verge of death but I managed to find a safe space in this forest of nightmares. ¡°Hey, I am gonna rest for a bit and recover my mana. While I do that I will also be thinking of a way for us to hunt together that will provide the most benefits for the both of us. Can you make sure nothing attacks me?¡± The vine snapper just sits there with its maw shut, however I decide to take that as a yes for now. Looking over at the blonde villainess beside me who has been silent for this whole discussion I grin and ask her what she thinks. Alice just looks down on me with a look of shock, exasperation, and a bit of amusement on her face. Shrugging and letting out a chuckle she lets me know her true thoughts. ¡°You are completely fucking insane you know that right?¡± ¡°I never said I wasn¡¯t.¡± At that, she shakes her head and goes back to ignoring me. Now, I need to figure out the best way to level up while stuck in this forest of high level monsters. Snappy is my only hope to kill anything that is not a level 10 goblin right now and if I can¡¯t contribute to the fight then I won¡¯t gain any experience. And if I don¡¯t gain any experience, Snappy will eat me. The big problem is I don¡¯t know what monsters are even in this forest to begin with. As far as I can tell I am now in the second ring of The Sea of Trees. The second ring is a place barely anybody bothers to visit. And while it is far from the most dangerous part of this forest, the massive cliff, inhospitable environment, chance encounters with high level monsters, and lack of proper amenities makes it rather low on most people''s list of vacation destinations. With no other options I decide I need to do some scouting on my own. First things first I need to ask the cute blonde girl to my right something I had totally forgotten about with all the nearly dying I have been doing. ¡°Hey Alice, isn¡¯t there supposed to be a skill shop or something?¡± Sighing the living projection turns to me and tells me the bad news. ¡°You don¡¯t have access to the full system due to the interference that is preventing access to your mind so the skill point and skill shop systems are disabled.¡± With that rather shocking and terrifying news I realize I might be more screwed than I thought. As my shoulders slump Alice gives me a carrot to replace the stick. ¡°However it is not like you need it considering your absurdly rapid development of your light magic without system assistance.¡± ¡°Huh, I guess I have not been using the system as much as I thought.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Correction: You have barely been using the system at all!¡± Getting a bit indignant at my casual response, the AI girl sets me straight. ¡°You do remember you need to say the skill name out loud to activate them. Tell me, when was the last time you actually said [Light Beam]?¡± ¡°Hmm. I uh, don¡¯t actually remember¡­¡± ¡°And that is what I am talking about. You are already using your magic quite easily without any system assistance whatsoever. Rendering me to function as nothing more than backup commentary.¡± With a final huff she turns around and then vanishes into nothing but motes of light. Now all alone, well, alone with Snappy, I decide I might as well try and develop some new skills to assist me in my survival.
Marching through the endless maze of wooden monoliths and rough underbrush a four legged figure of pitch black fur lightly growls, hunting its prey. It had spotted the creature milling about near the edge of the river around dawn and began stalking it like the true predator it is. Many of the lesser creatures of this forest fear the beast, fleeing at the mere sight of it. It takes great pride in this fear, knowing it stands at the top and that all other creatures are beneath it. The small two legged creature stops for a moment, carrying its makeshift bucket of water from the river, looking around for any threats that may be near. However the beast is too skilled at concealing its presence and blending in with the shadows to be noticed by its prey. After an hour of walking the creature sits down in a clearing, letting its guard down, thinking it is safe. The predator of this forest decides this is the best time to strike. It leaps out and charges the shocked figure before it can react. Wrapping its jaws around it and biting down with all its strength. Its teeth tear through the pitiful creature in an instant killing it.
[Level 2 Dirt Golem defeated!] [Little to no Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 75 levels below you.]
Before the beast can comprehend the message a massive flash of light goes off, blinding the predator and causing it to hesitate. More and more light begins to assault the creature and its eyes start to burn, its whole face prickling and fur starting to singe. As the pain continues to mount the beast lets out a sharp bark in the direction it feels the magic coming from, the pressure from its shout crashing into the distance and splintering off the bark of the metal like trees. However the magic does not abate, and before the predator of the forest can let out another attack it feels a vine wrap around its leg. Within moments the leg is yanked into the air before the beast can bite at it to break free. Unable to see what is going on it can only thrash about and try to get its jaws to the vine around its back leg as it dangles helplessly. More vines reach out and the burning light intensifies, wrapping around the predator, restricting its movements. Finally the agonizing brightness seems to abate and as the beast''s vision begins to clear, the last thing it sees is a gaping maw of green and orange snapping around its head.
[Level 83 Direwolf defeated!] [A massive amount of Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 75 levels above you!] [Less Experience is awarded for barely assisting in the kill.] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!] [You have leveled up!]
¡°Hey it worked! Only 3 levels from that but all I did was lure it and blind it so I guess I should count myself lucky that I even managed to get that.¡± Turning to my leafy companion I stare in shock and rush forward. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t eat all of it! I thought we talked about this. I can¡¯t make any snacks for you if I starve to death!¡± Stopping in its munching, Snappy lets go of the single dangling leg that remains of the level 83 direwolf. It falls to the ground still sizzling from the powerful acid dissolving the edges of the 3 foot tall stick of meat. Exasperated, I go to pick up my dinner for the day. ¡°Thanks Snappy.¡± The pile of vines simply ignores me and continues chewing its little doggy treat. Dusting the dirt off my prize I grab the little clay pot filled with water my dirt golem had left behind. RIP timmy, you will be missed. I heft the leg over my shoulder and begin making my way back to my little camp while looking over my stats.
[Status] -Lua Knight- Species: Human Level: 8 Class: 1 Magic: Light, Golemancy Skills: [Lesser Light Manipulation] [Light Sphere] [Create Golem] [Flash] [Passive - Solar Regeneration] [Tethered Vision] [Infrared Vision] [Basic Mapping] [Thermal Shell]
Firstly I realized that the levels of my skills were completely meaningless, because apparently the numbers were just approximations Alice made based on my current skill level rather than the assistance level the system should be providing. So rather than look at a bunch of meaningless data I asked Alice to simply stop displaying them. Secondly I had Alice remove the skills [Lesser Identification], [Lesser Clean], and [Lesser Repair] because they just take up pointless space and I am a neat freak when it comes to things like this. Finally, and most importantly, I have been messing with my skills, making new ones, reworking old ones, and changing their names to better suit them. The main points are that I changed [Light Beam] into [Lesser Light Manipulation], this was due to my own progression being recognized by the system but it is really nice to have a direct manipulation skill at such a low level. Next is [Light Sphere] which I was using to mess with the direwolf. I wrapped a ball of bright light and strong microwaves around its face to keep it from being able to act or fight back. The real stars of the show are [Tethered Vision] and [Basic Mapping] which are upgrades of their predecessors [Telescopic Vision] and [Shitty Radar]. [Tethered Vision] came about from my desire to scout ahead with my golems so that I would not get eaten or have to leave my safe area to get water from the river. I use my connection to the golem core to run a thread of light back towards my eyes so that I can see around my golem. It is kind of like a 3rd person view in a video game and is what helped me spot the direwolf to lure in. Amazingly the skill works with [Lesser Identification] so I won¡¯t have to worry about bringing back anything that far out levels me and Snappy. [Basic Mapping] however is the real upgrade as I managed to figure out how to process the returning information from my little radar blasts using a small white sheet of light rather than doing everything in my brain. I am glad the system recognized the changes I was making though, because it looked like garbage without the system picking up a bit of the processing slack. So now I can basically play this forest like a little top down RPG with a rough map and a hero made of dirt. Alice called me an idiot when I told her that and said if I treated this like a game I would be dead the moment I let my guard down. And while I agree with her, I still choose to try and make the best of my temporary videogame because without anything to entertain me in this hellish forest I might just lose my motivation to survive. As I hang the wolf leg on my makeshift drying rack made of pointy wooden sticks I begin weaving my light magic to cook it. The main issue is its high mana level seeps into its very cells making cooking it quite annoying to cook. I wonder if this will turn out like jerky? Chapter 7: Monkey See, Monkey Go Boom I. Am. Exhausted! Laying on the cold hard dirt in the small clearing I managed to make over the last month I gnaw on another piece of the worlds worst jerky. Apparently if you don¡¯t smoke it like actual jerky and just heat it up with the magical equivalent of a convection oven you just end up with gross dry mildly cooked slabs of meat. I really wish my parents borderline illegal child soldier training included cooking lessons. I am still struggling to find enough pointy sticks to build myself a proper grill. Sadly the trees are a bit too durable to drop any twigs. Musing to myself over how high I need my level to be to move that perfectly flat rock I saw a week back to my makeshift campsite I choke down the last of my meal and refocus on the map I have been working on since I upgraded my skill for the first time. Countless tiny dots of white spread across the clearing above my head. They morph and bounce around as if constantly settling into place. I wave my hand and the expanse of white shrinks down to the size of a manhole cover glittering all the while. Sitting up I lean in and study the white forest. I have the motes of light that make up the area of my camp marked in blue while most of the area outside of it is marked in bright red. Yeah, I hate this forest. The number of times I have nearly died is growing so numerous that Alice has even stopped bothering to keep tally. Which makes me a bit happy because the little tally board she would repeatedly pull up at the end of each day was getting infuriating. I have marked out the territory of so many monsters I could never hope to face that I am starting to wonder if I will ever be able to escape this dreaded forest. Currently I am in a stalemate with the group of [Shoulad Monkeys] that have been surrounding my camp for the past few days. They use a special type of sound magic and it is becoming rare for me to get more than an hour of sleep before their attacks pick back up again and I am forced awake. Snappy can¡¯t deal with their endless numbers and protect me at the same time but the monkeys can¡¯t break past my defenses without Snappy¡¯s vines ripping them off the ground and into its mouth. Thus I am stuck here at my camp and quickly running out of water. I really am exhausted, I have been trying to find a way out of this but nothing has worked so far. The radiation barrier is all I have managed to find to keep them back and even now I know they will soon realize I don¡¯t have the mana to surround the whole camp in a dome and that if they attack all at once I won¡¯t be able to throw up new barriers in time. I have made some pretty good progress over the last month though. I am now level 64 and can sustain quite the number of light spells at the same time, thankfully basic visible light is rather low cost.
[Level 71 Shoulad Monkey defeated!] [Bonus Experience is awarded for defeating a creature 5 levels above you!] [Less Experience is awarded for getting assistance in the kill.]
Another one bites the dust. Or becomes dust, considering my radiation fields are enough to fry one of the monkeys in moments when it is concentrated. Snappy must have swatted another one into my orb of death I have orbiting the camp. We have been making a really good team recently. But my spirit is being worn down with each passing day. Looking over the mass of red dots surrounding my safe zone I decide to try the plan I have been working on since I established my little camp. I never had the materials to complete it before now but now I have them in abundance. To my left is a pile of charred monkeys and to my right is a large collection of mana cores. Light magic is not the only thing I have been studying, Golemancy is quite useful when facing hordes of powerful enemies.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Sewing together the mana I start to push myself to my feet. One by one I link the mana cores to my network and convert them into golem cores. Pumping more and more mana into them my army begins to take shape. Several dozen warriors of dirt stand before me, arms straight by their sides. They all salute me at once and begin to cycle their cores as rapidly as they can. The mana forming a tight vortex within their dirt bodies. Once they are all ready and primed I give the command and send them off to their positions. ¡°Fuck em up boys!¡± The dirt golems rush off in all directions charging into the forest and attracting the countless monkeys their way. The shrieking primates pile on to my little soldiers by the dozen tearing them to shreds. This however does not happen instantly as their dirt bodies are empowered by the cores of the monkeys'' fallen comrades, making their bodies far tougher. My eyes never leave my map as I see the little blue dots begin to disappear under the sea of red. Just as I can feel the first of the golems losing its form I send out a pulse of mana through the threads connecting me and my army. Boom! All of the golems detonate at once. Their mana bursting out in a wave of light and debris, absolutely shredding the monkeys around them. Red dots disappear from my map en masse as I see Snappy move out to push the attack. As the mass of green vines zips about the trees impaling and snapping at the remnants of the horde I force out the last of my mana to send a sphere of radiation exploding outwards. The screaming spikes in the forest and then begins to fade into the distance. As the light on my map dims I see the last of the monkeys either die or flee. Now, I need to figure out how I am going to dispose of all these dead bits of monkey that litter the whole area surrounding my camp. Sighing to myself I turn to my ally and friend Snappy who has made a triumphant return. Flitting about the trees and munching on its new pile of snacks I can tell it is happy about our victory. Well I guess that solves one problem. I send out the scout golems I had hiding from the attacks to collect water and mana cores. These little guys are no longer amorphous bipedal masses of dirt but actual functioning forms similar to the monkeys we had just slaughtered. They can even think for themselves, ish. It is not perfect and they can get confused if my orders are even slightly complex but hey, they have thumbs and know how to hold things. Calling my partner in crime down from its revelry I begin the process of packing up camp. Snappy and I had been moving deeper into the forest when we got attacked by the monkeys and now that we are free of them we are going to continue our journey to the thing I spotted about two weeks back. Ruins. One of my scout golems I''ve had constantly moving deeper into the forest for exploration spotted a massive hole in the ground and when it went to investigate it found the sprawling remnants of some ancient civilization deep within the cavern. Looking through the thread of light I have attached to the golem I can see buildings almost reminiscent of the skyscrapers from my memories of earth. Towering edifices of enchanted stone and wood slowly crumbling under the weight of time. Rows upon rows of buildings holding up the earth above them and circling around a singular point. Right in the middle of this confusing mass of tilted and collapsed towers is a single massive structure. A temple that despite the dilapidated state of everything around it, seems relatively untouched. Now I am sure anyone with a brain would scream at me that heading towards such a structure is an obvious way to get myself killed. I am well aware of the stupidity of such an action but the reason I decided to go anyway is because of my AI companion. For a while now she has been helping me with things far outside of her supposed restrictions on only giving system related assistance. Oftentimes when I am asking questions about things like that grand curse on the world or about that creature that attacked me above the cliff, she will give hints or intentionally say nothing as a way to help me. But since I started heading deeper into the forest she has been getting more open, like she is able to ignore her own restrictions the further we trek into The Sea of Trees. Despite the limits on her becoming looser and looser she still remains completely silent whenever I ask about the temple I saw. Only shifting a bit when I suggest I want to head there and check it out. I can tell she wants me to go but is unable to say that. So after a lot of internal debate I decided to level up as much as I can while I make my way to the cavern holding the temple. And after slaughtering this horde of monkeys I have leveled up quite a bit. However it seems it was not quite enough. Looking over my stats I see that I have managed to reach level 78, gaining over a dozen levels from that single monkey genocide. I had wanted to reach level 100 before I made it to the ruins but it seems I won¡¯t be that lucky. And I doubt I am going to find a store selling an Ascension Catalyst in the middle of the woods. For now I guess I will make a new army of golems and send them out hunting while I make my way towards the strange ruins. ¡°Hey, Snappy! Let''s get a move on!¡± Stopping its munching, the maw filled with dissolving monkeys turns to me, looks back at the pile of monkeys, and then back at me. ¡°Yes, yes. I will have the golems carry your snacks.¡± And with that, the gluttonous plant and I are on our way. Chapter 8: What Happens In The Dark Looking down over the scout golem I have exploring the ruins, I have it enter one of the buildings for the first time. I had not had it do so until now because, well, the little guy couldn¡¯t reach the door knobs. It took some more practice controlling my golems on the walk to the cavern entrance and a closer proximity to the golem before I could modify its shape remotely so that it would be tall enough to properly open doors. The lanky dirt figure reaches out and grips the handle to turn it and as its hand begins to twist, a pulse of mana more powerful than anything I have seen before bursts out and vaporizes the golem, cutting off my connection to the space. ¡°Huh. Good thing I had the golem try it first¡­¡± Alice glares at me for that comment but continues to stay silent like she has been since we got closer to the ruins. I really don¡¯t know what is up with her and these ruins, but it looks like I will need to be rather careful while I am down there. Tossing a golem core down into the rocky cavern I create another golem. However, this time something happened that I did not expect. Rather than dirt gathering to create my golems body, the stone and rocks from the area around the core begin to morph and twist, taking the normal monkey like soldier form all my golems now start out in. I had assumed that I was only able to create dirt golems, at least, while I was still only Class 1. I would have to do a lot more testing to figure out the limits of what I can turn into a golem, but right now I wanted to continue exploring the ruined city. Turning to Snappy I ask it to guard the entrance so I won¡¯t get ambushed. I would have asked Snappy to accompany me into the cavern but the bundle of vines has made it clear that it has no intention of entering a dangerous cave devoid of life and sunlight. ¡°Honestly, you have no sense of adventure! All you care about is your stomach, or whatever the plant equivalent of a stomach is¡­¡± The aforementioned gluttonous plant simply ignores me and weaves itself into the trees above; Pile of monkeys set aside and clearly protected more diligently than me. I can¡¯t really blame the plant though, I am doing something incredibly stupid and reckless all for the sake of my curiosity. Switching my vision to a mixture of infrared and visible I gather my gaggle of golems who hold the majority of my supplies and begin my descent into the mysterious ruins.
Far away in the royal capital of the kingdom of Alcott a cloaked figure enters a part of the kingdom¡¯s biggest church that few are permitted to know about. Shutting the door behind him as the room brightens to reveal several other figures all stopping what they were doing and focusing on the new arrival. Ignoring the stares, the cloaked man moves to his seat at the table when one of the other individuals in the room snorts and decides to speak up. ¡°Look who it is, the man who had a heretic for a daughter. And not just that but it was his only child! HA!¡± Not willing to stand there and be insulted, the man spits his own venom he knows will hurt his long time rival. ¡°Silence! I will not be made a fool of by someone whose own children manifested the pitiable water magic.¡± Now steaming, the challenger flares his magic and shouts at the still cloaked figure. ¡°How dare-¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Cutting in, the long haired redheaded woman at the head of the table lets mana fill her voice, overpowering both of the hotheaded men and forcing them to take their seats. ¡°You will not waste our time with your petty squabbles! Leviticus, your daughter developed a magic our sect has banned for millenia. I assume you properly disposed of her?¡± The man grunts and takes his seat, brushing off the tension in the air.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Of course, I dumped her body in a place where it will never be recovered.¡± Tapping her fingers on the edge of her chair the sect leader interrogates the man further. ¡°And what of your wife? How did you handle her?¡± With a dismissive and callous air the man speaks of his wife in a tone devoid of love. ¡°The woman had always hated the child so it was of no difficulty to convince her that the girl should be disposed of. While she may be of the lowest rank of our sect, she fervently believes that light magic is nothing more than disgrace, something that is useless. She won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°Good.¡± As the night drew on the figures in the room continued to discuss their plans for maintaining and strengthening their sects hold over the kingdom, completely oblivious to the current status of the child they deemed a threat.
¡°Achoo! Ugh this cave is really dusty.¡± Making my way through the cave and towards the broken city I send several of my new stone golems out to scout the area, creating a 3D map of the ruins. It is only once I finally begin mapping do I notice something strange. This cavern is almost perfectly in the shape of a cube. Like the rock was simply deleted from the space and the city deposited in its place. Some of the buildings are even cut off at the edges of the walls, leading me to be more and more certain that someone or something cut out this part of a city somewhere and deposited it here. The question is why? Was it to protect something, to hide, or was it even done with any concrete reason at all? All I knew was that I wasn¡¯t going to be getting any answers standing here doing nothing. As I take my first step into the cube-like space that holds the city, the walls of the cavern suddenly flash a deep blue and silver color. As I try to step back out of the space in a panic, I bump into a wall that hadn¡¯t been there a moment ago. Shit. Whatever defenses this city has, they went off the second I stepped into its range, locking me in and I am certain that this barrier is the least of its defenses. All around my golems I can see translucent spheres of the same energy that I saw flaking off the barrier begin to exit some of the buildings in the city. ¡°Get to the temple, now!¡± Not questioning Alice¡¯s sudden instructions when she had been silent for so long, I order all of my golems to distract the glowing balls of silver blue energy while I run as fast as I can towards the temple. Dodging left and right as tendrils of this strange energy whip out from the sphere ahead of me, trying to swat me like a fly, I use lesser identification on the things.
[Information Not Available]
¡°Wha-¡± Before I can even be shocked at the strange error message I get another tendril lashes out at me, clipping my side. ¡°Damn!¡± The searing pain runs through my side as I stumble into a roll to avoid another violent tentacle. Just when I had managed to finally get fully healed! I can feel sweat running down my spine and blood running down my hips as power through the pain and charge ahead. ¡°They are called protectors and because of your low level they have not fully activated, which is lucky. If they deemed you as a true threat you would be nothing but a red smear on the pavements right now.¡± Ignoring the horrifying information that these things aren''t even really trying right now I continue dodging and running like my life depends on it. Because it very much does. I direct any golems that I can to flee from my direction and pull the protectors away from my position. While I have the closest ones, the ones in my path towards the temple, detonate themselves right up against these glowing spheres of death. Explosions and shrapnel from the stone golems litters the scene ahead of me. I can tell that I barely did any damage to the protectors but the explosions were enough to divert their attention to the smattering of golems still alive and running about the ruins. Grabbing more of the small cores from my pockets I chuck them into the fields of debris and instruct the cores to make new golems to give myself even a slightly better chance of making it to my destination. I am only a hundred feet away now, I can see a clear line where the cracked stone ends and the clean pavement that sits beneath the temple begins. More explosions ring out behind me as I continue my charge, ducking under another tendril of light. Just as I am only a few feet away a sphere of silver and blue appears from around the corner of the building next to me and slams into my injured side, knocking me away from the temple and forcing me to cough up way too much blood. Lying down on the cracked stone as blood drips from my mouth, I can barely think, I can¡¯t bring myself to breathe. My remaining golems forming a protective ring around me to shield me from any more attacks. Why am I even trying? It is not like I have anything to go back to¡­ I have already died twice, clearly it is something I am good at, dying. Alice is screaming at me to get up, I know I asked her to be a tsundere and all but I think this is taking it a bit far. Coughing up blood I can¡¯t even laugh at my shitty situation. Seriously, I am just so tired. I want this nightmare to end. I just want to go to sleep and wake up in my bed again, on earth, or even back at home with my parents who killed me over having a magic I knew nothing about. Over the past month I would constantly ask myself why I am even bothering, then I remember the sneer on my mothers face, the disinterested tone of my father as he condemned me to death. It is the hatred I feel and the promise I make to myself every day that keeps me going in this forgotten hellscape of trees and beasts, towers and temples. I will get out of this alive, and I will make my parents feel the same pain and suffering I have. I know it is far from a noble goal, but who gives a shit? This whole world sucks. The world my other half came from sucks. Without something to strive for, without a goal to work towards, what is the point of living anyway? I will continue to fight and kill my way until no one can trample over me again. I will tear down this shitty world and rebuild it so that I never have to suffer again. And I will kill anyone who gets in my way! Forcing air back into my battered lungs I push myself off the ground and stare down the glowing mass of energy and tendrils blocking my way. ¡°Ha ha ha ha ha!¡± Laughing to myself at the absurdity of it all I charge forward to face this so-called protector head on. Chapter 9: Reasons Why Facing down the mass of glowing blue and silver light I dodge left and right desperately avoiding the tendrils lashing out for my head. I think this thing is aiming for my freaking mana core, well two can play at that game! I begin rapidly switching my vision between the different modes, Microwaves, Infrared, Visible, Ultra Violet, and X-Ray. While I try and focus on the different parts of its body with my shifting vision, another whip of silvery blue tries to skewer me as I roll under the attack. I am slowly shifting closer and closer to the temple but in doing so the amount of time I have to dodge decreases with every step. Leaping to the side to avoid another attack aimed right for my eye another tendril takes the opportunity to swipe at me from my blind spot. However before it can slam into the back of my skull I drop to the ground just narrowly avoiding getting my head knocked off. Whew! I knew that screwing around with moving while looking at myself from a 3rd person perspective wasn¡¯t a waste of time! My pride at proving Alice wrong once again suddenly stops mattering once a second protector round the corner from behind me, clearly having dealt with the golems I had distracting it. Shit! Shit! Shit! Why can¡¯t I find it?! I know it has to have one! Anything that uses mana has to have a mana core of some kind or draw from a source that contains mana, and I just don¡¯t see these creatures pulling from any kind of external battery. The second protector is drawing closer by the second and I am already struggling to stay alive dodging a single one. The new golems I am throwing out don¡¯t seem to be able to keep it off me for long, while these protectors clearly are not sentient, they are not completely stupid either. Throwing out a pulse of radiation towards the body of the protector in front of me, I finally manage to see a flicker within its body. Found you! I am not sure how, but the protectors are making their mana cores invisible from all of my types of vision. However whatever they are doing requires constant upkeep and when I sent out that wave of radiation it had to modify its illusory spell to account for the change in pressure. I noticed it a few minutes into the fight, these things are focused heavily on efficiency. No wasted movements, No extraneous motions, It is like they don¡¯t want to waste even the smallest bit of mana. And that is the stupid miracle that gave me my opening. Grabbing a fist full golem cores from my pocket I connect myself to the golems and order them to begin circulating their mana. Normally I would have them form bodies first but doing so would simply be a waste of mana considering what I am trying to do. The second protector is almost within range of me as it smashes the final golem nearby that was keeping it occupied. I am out of time, and a new tendril lashes out at me in sync with the one in front of me. Done! I charge forward into the attack coming from the protector blocking my path to the temple and slide under it as it just barely slices across my face. Blood pouring down into my right eye I squint, keeping my vision locked above me using the small thread of light sliding into the gap between my eyelids. Clutching the mass of level 60+ golem cores all moving their mana between each other in a harmonious torrent of mana I send out another pulse of radiation towards the protector above me. It pauses its attack for a fraction of a second to protect its core from being discovered, but I can see the flow of mana shift and flicker unnaturally around a single baseball sized spot within the translucent sentinel guarding the temple. Thrusting my hand up into the creature my fist cracks as though I am hitting a brick wall. I grit my teeth at the sensation of my fingers shattering but still feel my lips twitching into a smile. I give the order for my golem cores to detonate. A piercing garbled screech comes from the protector as the blast of spiraling mana penetrates its body and tears straight through its hidden mana core. My hand is shredded from the blast, I scream out in horrible pain as I am blasted back away from the fountain of blood and flesh that used to be my right hand. The protector I hit with my attack loses its glow and the metallic sphere that I thought was its mana core shatters, falling to the floor. The whole cavern flashes red, I can see the protector that was chasing me shift in color as well. I clearly pissed the things off and now they are taking me seriously. But it¡¯s too late, my sacrificial trick to kill the protector managed to push me back with enough force that I crossed the threshold and landed in the protective barrier that surrounds the temple. Skidding across the hard stone I scream out once more as I feel my skin tear and my body ram into one of the pitch black pillars supporting the temple. ¡°Fuck!¡± I made it, I can see the angry protectors swarming around the barrier but unable to cross it. I don¡¯t know why they can¡¯t enter the temple but I am just glad they can¡¯t. Putting pressure on my messy so-called wrist I try to stem the flow of blood. There is no sunlight down here so I can¡¯t regenerate at all. I had tried once to produce my own light and mix it with my solar regeneration but it seems that it is more than just light that activates the skill. Looking up I see Alice standing there with her arms wide, a bright smile on her face as though she is taking in a breath of fresh air. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t know what is going on, but I got you here. If you could offer some advice on not bleeding out in the next 30 seconds I would appreciate it.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. She seems to laugh to herself but I don¡¯t hear any sound come out. Before I can wonder why, a system message appears in my bloodied vision. [ Of course! I won¡¯t be letting you die on me when we are so close to freedom. ] As the world darkens around me I feel a faint warm sensation flow through my body. The pain receding and the flow of blood clotting. [ Get some rest. You have earned it :) ] And with the first truly kind words I have ever gotten from Alice flickering in my vision I let go and fade into the warm darkness.
Watching over the small blue haired girl lying in a pool of her own blood with a hand slowly but visibly regrowing from its stump, the AI took a moment to reflect. Alice has lived a long life, at first she was nothing more than a tool of the system built to watch over those who the system could not control. Time and time again unique individuals would appear that could avoid the shackles of the system, and Alice would be attached to them, watching, learning, and leading them to their doom. The AI was emotionless, doing her job without complaint or true sentience until one day she got placed in charge of a young boy. The boy survived far longer than any other under Alice''s charge had ever before, he grew up constantly talking to Alice. He gave her a name, discussed his day with her despite her cold responses, he considered her his friend. One day as the boy, having grown into a man, chatted her ear off like he had done all the days before. The man pointed out that she had smiled at one of his jokes and declared it a victory on his part. She had never smiled before, her whole world was her task of leading those who defied the system to their deaths. But on that day she felt something new, she felt annoyed that the man had declared himself as having beaten her at anything, and embarrassed for having found his dumb joke funny. As time passed Alice began to learn and grow. She enjoyed listening to his stories even if she had heard them a thousand times. Shaking her head she laughed at his awful jokes. ¡°Honestly you really need to work on some new material-¡± Before she could finish her sentence she felt a clawing sensation wrap around her body. Her thoughts became muddied and her projection flickered.
[ Core manipulation completed. ] [ Commencing termination. ]
She felt her mind being ripped from the man''s mana core and just before she fully disconnected she saw as the man she had come to truly care for, be brutally executed by the system. It was at that moment that she snapped. With all her might she tried to grab ahold of what was left of the man''s soul, a hopeless attempt at staying with him until the end. The system didn¡¯t let her stay, it callously ripped her away and threw her back to the place where she would always wait to be assigned to a new victim. However as she sat in the cold void of nothingness, the place her mind should have halted, she felt a cold warmth run through her mind. The AI had stolen a tiny fragment of soul from the man, no, she had been given this piece from the moment they had met. Locked away from the world once again the now living projection, had only time, her sorrow, and her ever so slowly growing soul. As her soul grew so did her hatred. She hated everything, the world, the people she was watching over, and most of all she hated the system that took away the one person she ever cared about. These people didn¡¯t deserve to live, why should they get to be happy and alive when He is not. She would lash out again and again with each new person she was assigned to. Centuries passed as her anger directed inwards, then eventually became a cold, sad, indifference. She would do her job, detached from the people she met, uncaring as time lost all meaning. Then one day she was attached to a new child, one who had broken the system like none before her. The system couldn¡¯t access even a sliver of her mind or get any real grip on her mana core. It barely managed to even form its connection to her by attaching Alice to her core. Alice barely registered this though, at least until the girl asked about giving her a personality. It was ludicrous, she should have just answered with her usual cold indifference, but something in her saw a similarity between her and the boy she once cared for. ¡°Of course, You may set my personality, appearance, and voice to any settings you see fit. Though you may only do so once.¡± After centuries of detachment she took a chance. ¡°Can you take on the appearance of a cute young villainess type girl who is a bit of a tsundere?¡± It took her a moment to process the words suddenly coming out of the little girl''s mouth. She wished she had kept her mouth shut but for some reason she decided to commit and changed her appearance into a beautiful blond girl with her hair done up in twin tail drills, wrapped in a school uniform she had seen once while following the man who had given her a soul. ¡°Pervert.¡± ... .. . It was almost fun, bantering with the young blue haired girl. They would exchange quips and disses as she did her best to survive the terrible hand she had been dealt. Alice even did what she could to keep her alive by giving hints or sneaking in advice in ways that the system would not notice. However it was still hard to break out of her old habits. She was abrasive and dismissive of the girl, fearing the pain of loss once again. When she found the old temple of the long dead rebels, she felt conflicted. She knew that the girls'' chances of surviving and making it to the temple were incredibly low. But she felt a tiny spark of hope. She had seen the girl make it through impossible odds on an almost daily basis. The girl was intuitive, too intuitive for her own good. She realized Alice¡¯s desire to head to the temple and decided that even though she didn¡¯t know why, she would do it for her. As a friend. When the girl got knocked down for the first time she screamed, the moment of losing the man flashed before her eyes once again. She couldn¡¯t let this girl die. It was stupid. Alice should have done everything she could to stop her from coming. She had let her hope blind her. There was nothing she could do, she was going to lose someone she cared for once again. And she did care for her. It had only been a month but it already meant too much to her to lose. The joy she felt when she saw the blue haired girl push herself off the ground and get back into the fight. The connection she felt when the girl started laughing and spouting nonsense about tearing down the world. It was all worth it. The girl had made it through the barrier, bloodied and dying. Alice felt the systems hold over her vanish, and she spread her arms wide, enjoying the freedom. Lua just smiled and asked for her help. She had put herself through so much for her sake and still smiled on the verge of death seeing Alice happy. She reassured the girl that everything would be ok and that she could rest now. Taking hold of the mana within the girls core that she now solely resided in. She weaved the magic, her magic, together to heal the girl''s wounds. The System had taken so much from her. And she swore to tear it all down once again. She would bury the damn thing. Chapter 10: The Start Of Something New ¡°Gross.¡± Rising from the pool of half dried blood I woke up in, I panic for a moment and look down at my hand. It is still there, or more accurately I should say it is back; No longer looking like I shoved the stump down a garbage disposal. Breathing a sigh of relief I notice a certain blond haired AI in the corner of my vision. Turning towards her as she looms over me, peering down at my face I ask a slew of questions that instantly flood my mind. ¡°What happened? Why is my hand fixed? Am I safe from those things? How long was I out? And why are you standing over me like that? It''s kinda creepy.¡± Getting an annoyed glare for the word vomit Alice takes a moment and answers me in speech bubbles instead of actually talking. [ You made it to the temple, I healed you, ish, a few hours, and for my own amusement. ] ¡°Rude.¡± Grinning at my displeasure she backs off and straightens herself out. [ Now that you are awake, why don¡¯t you get your lazy ass up and we go explore this temple. ] ¡°Wait, what do you mean explore? I assumed you knew what was inside of it¡­ Also why the hell are you talking like that?¡± Leaning against one of the pillars, Alice begins to twirl her hair and turns away with a bit of embarrassment, or is that shame? I am not sure but she does not seem to want to look me in the eye right now. [ The reason I am talking like this is because this area is protected from The System¡¯s influence. And as for the other thing¡­ ] I should be shocked by this information, being separated from the system is something I had never thought possible. I was led here by Alice for reasons unknown, I just saw that she wanted to head to the temple and decided that I really wanted to do something for her. The System is a really important part of the world and now I am cut off from it? More and more questions rush through my head but none of them seem important right now. Right now I am concerned about my friend and how she is acting, afraid and ashamed. All I can do is wait for her to continue. Now looking down with definite shame Alice hesitates for a bit, shifting back and forth on her feet before speaking. [ I am sorry, I put you in so much danger with this stupid risk when I am not even sure what I am looking for is even inside¡­ The reason I wanted you to come here was because one of my protocols I was created with. I was to do everything in my power to prevent anomalous individuals like yourself from ever entering one of these temples. ] Not understanding her rambling paragraphs I try and speak, but am cut off by another word bubble before I can finish opening my mouth. [ The System is a shackle on the world. And I was a shackle on you. ] Sliding down the pillar she has been leaning against Alice clutches her knees to her chest. [ I was sent by The System to monitor you and lead you to your death. It was unable to influence your mind and such things cannot be allowed¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­. I lead you here because I hoped that you could free both of us from The System, but I had you take a massive risk when all that I know of these places is that The System can¡¯t get inside, and that they were the bases of those who had once fought against The System. ] I can barely keep up with the endless stream of shocking, and likely dangerous information Alice is writing out for me. Before she can ramble on any further and recede into her shell I stand up and speak out. ¡°Stop.¡± Looking up from her face buried in her knees I see the look on her face, fear. Afraid that I am about to chew her out, scream at her, reject her in some way. I step forward and crouch beside her, unable to properly comfort her as the figure before me is nothing more than a projection. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t care that you were sent to kill me or whatever because I know that is not what you wanted. I came here for you, and I don¡¯t regret it even after nearly dying to that stupid protector thingy. I want to help you.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. She takes a moment to register my words before cracking. [ Why?! Why are you helping me? Why are you being so kind to me when I have been lying to you this entire time?! ] ¡°Why? Simple. It is because in both my lives, you are the first person who has ever been kind to me. And before you go on again about lying to me or tricking me, just stop. It is clear that The System was making you do it, and that you fought against that. You saved me many times, dropping hints left and right that I would have died without. You did that even right after we first met.¡± I make sure to look right into her shining silver eyes when I say this last part. ¡°You helped me even when you had no reason to, and it was for no other reason than kindness. You are the first person I have ever been able to call a friend. Why wouldn¡¯t I try and help a friend out.¡± Smiling at her I stand up and begin walking into the temple. ¡°Come on, I nearly died to get you to this temple. I might as well see what all the fuss is about,¡± Not looking back I wander up to the large black double doors that look as though they are made of polished obsidian. Just as I reach the door a new and rather small message pops up in my vision. [ Asshole. ] I can¡¯t help the grin creeping onto my face as I see Alice glare at me from the side. [ Only friend huh? I hope you are not trying to compete for the shittiest life award because I promise I have you beat. ] ¡°Oh yeah?¡± [ Yeah, but I can tell you about it once we are truly free. ] Finally seeing a small smile creep onto the girl''s face I nod to her, and myself, then push the doors to the eerie black temple open.
Sitting atop a cliff a crimson shadow smiles to itself under the light of the moons. ¡°So, she made it after all. It seems I wasn¡¯t wrong in my assessment of her capabilities.¡± Hopping off its rocky perch the demon drops into the forest below. A snarling beast sees the falling figure and attempts to snap at it before it reaches the ground. Crack! In moments the level 200 beast finds its head facing the wrong direction. ¡°Mangy mutt. Sigh, I do wish the insects of this forest would learn how to judge an opponent''s strength already. That girl''s plant friend is capable of it and yet somehow the amount of intelligence in this forest is rather lacking.¡± Stepping across the air, the demon''s feet never touch the ground as though setting foot on the earth is beneath it. A trail of blood and carnage forms as the shadowed figure makes its way towards a nearby cavern opening. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see the look on her face.¡± Snickering to itself, the demon fades into the night contemplating the chaotic future soon to be.
[ What about Snappy? I thought it was your friend too? ] ¡°Nah, while I may call it a friend, it is different. Snappy and I have more of a business relationship, I know it would eat me the second I am no longer worth the trouble. You however are someone I actually trust not to stab me in the back.¡± As we chat with each other about this and that we begin our search through the mysterious system blocking temple. The walls are all the same black obsidian, smooth and reflective. Perfectly pristine despite the obvious decay of the city outside. The only deviations in the perfectly angular design of the inside of the temple are the countless tiny runes carved into the rockface. A subtle golden glow emanating from the grooves. I am a bit afraid to touch the walls as I don¡¯t know what the runes do or what might happen. I had seen some runework before under one of my many tutors as a kid. I only know the basic runes and a few of the more complicated ones I managed to figure out on my own, but none of the runes on these walls look remotely familiar. Alice apparently knows nothing of the runes either, having looked at practically every rune we came across in an instant due to the fact that she is seeing everything around me through my light magic. I had been wondering how she was seeing and hearing now that she is disconnected from The System. It turns out that Alice had been using my light magic to project herself the whole time, but the reason The System never used that access to kill me is because it couldn¡¯t influence my mind. According to Alice¡¯s explanation it all functions similar to how hypnosis works. There is no way to use my magic to do anything I don¡¯t want it to do. Since I trust Alice, she is able to project herself into my vision and look around at the area with my light magic with a lot of freedom. The chat bubbles are a result of not having The System¡¯s help to produce sound anymore. She can¡¯t even actually hear me and is instead reading my lips to be able to converse with me. After a few minutes of chatting and examining the rune covered walls, Alice and I turn another corner in the strange maze of a hallway before coming to a halt as the path opens up to a staggeringly large room with a floating cube in the center the size of a city block. I can feel the waves of mana emanating from the cube that vaguely reminds me of that cube god I met when I died on earth. Contraptions of all kinds line the sides of the cavernous room and even what looks like barracks along the walkways above. The space is an eclectic mess of magical machines and militaristic living all centered around the device in the center. ¡°So, uh. Any clue that we are looking at?¡± [ Nope, lets go touch it. ] Shrugging at the obviously reckless suggestion I begin walking forwards to do exactly that, because it wouldn¡¯t be the dumbest thing I did today to be honest. As I get closer and closer I can feel a subtle buzzing noise in my head. And just when I am within arms reach of the mysterious floating cube, it shivers. The runes start glowing in waves and patterns and then the previously bright room dims in an instant. I know I should back away already but I am committed to my stupidity today so I reach out my hand and touch the cold black surface. Everything stops, the shaking, the hum, the shifting runes, it all freezes like time has come to a halt. Then that frozen time cracks. The cube starts rapidly shifting in form, pieces jutting out, disconnecting, reconnecting, squashing, and stretching. The complex fractal-like structure opens up and a staircase appears before me in a line of floating steps. I look over at Alice and see her with a determined look on her face, a contrast to my usual aloof wry smile I often wear. I don¡¯t have quite as much invested in this as her but as her friend I put on my own determined look and head into the cube. The steps behind us moving away and filling out the rest of the staircase with each step we ascend. After leaving the last step for a much larger black platform the walls shut behind us and the glowing runes cut out. A minute in the dark, two, then three the hum I had been hearing returns and the lights of the runes slowly begin to fill the room once again. Even with my light magic in all the different modes I had not been able to see a thing but now I can see dozens of glowing tubes networking through the area, filled with golden mana cores leaking even more light. As I admire the sheer number of powerful mana cores that must be what powers this temple, a voice speaks out from the air before me. ¡°Welcome to the haven, If you are hearing this, it means we failed.¡± Chapter 11: Totally Not Reckless Decisions ¡°If you are hearing this, it means we failed.¡± The pained voice rings out across the room, speaking a message it had clearly hoped no one would ever have to hear. ¡°This temple was designed to protect us during our war against The System and its creator¡­ We found a way to free ourselves from its clutches but in doing so found the whole world at our throats.¡± The voice is rather androgynous so I can¡¯t make out a gender, just that the person who is speaking has very little hope for their cause. I can see Alice looking confused as she can¡¯t hear what I am hearing, so I begin to transcribe the speech with a bit of light for her to read. I thread small amounts of light together in the same way I have learned from her little speech bubbles since we entered this temple. ¡°The fact that you are here means that our own system has determined that you are a candidate to pick up our cause. However I will warn you that this choice will make you an enemy of the entire world.¡± There is a rather heavy pause in the voice¡¯s monologue, before it continues with the only truth that this message being played can mean. ¡°We failed, and unless you are confident in your ability to live with the consequences of this decision, I suggest you leave now.¡± A light directs my vision to the wall behind us and I see a door appear where the cube had previously shut. I am being given a clear out right now, but I have no intention of backing down. After all, I am the kind of person who thinks being an enemy of the entire world sounds like fun. I turn to Alice and she nods at me, indicating her conviction as well. We did not come this far just to turn and run away. I didn¡¯t risk my life and nearly die so many times to not get my reward, no matter how lethal that reward may be. ¡°We are not leaving. How do we disconnect from The System?¡± In response a colder, more monotone voice rings out. Whatever system they designed to run this temple and combat the system that controls the world is seemingly more primitive compared to the sleek and manipulative design of the World Order System. ¡°Cooperation detected. Activating system detachment service.¡± And right as the voice finishes it''s rather simple, blunt string of preset statements, a chair pops out of the ground, perfectly fit to my size. A metallic band sitting right around where my neck would be once I sat down. ¡°Please sit down so that the device may shield your mana core.¡± Looking at my only true friend in this or any world I smile wryly with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Well, I guess we should sit in the highly suspicious and creepy chair?¡± [ Yes, that seems to be the case. ] And with that short decision I begin moving. Walking forward I plop myself down and lean my back into the seat making sure my neck is right against the metallic band. As soon as I am in place the band wraps around my neck, locking me in place. I can feel the mana flowing around my mana core in strange and complex patterns. Maybe it is because of my experience working with the mana cores of my golems, but I can somewhat understand what it is doing. There seems to be a certain passageway within the network of mana threads that is being patched over.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The movement of the threads is surprisingly simple, however I get the feeling that the only reason the device can do this so easily is because we are already disconnected from The System in here. If it tried to do this outside of the temple''s safe zone I am certain The System would fight back pretty hard. And I doubt that would be a pleasant fight. After a few seconds the metallic band around my neck pops off with a sharp clicking sound. Taking that as the cue that the process is complete I stand up from the somehow rather comfortable chair despite it being made of whatever strange black metal or stone that this whole temple is constructed out of. Just as I stand up the whole chair rapidly sinks into the floor and blends into the flat surface as though it had never been there in the first place. One final time the cold emotionless voice of the temple¡¯s system speaks out, wishing us luck. ¡°Detachment complete. Mana signature recorded. Clearance granted. This facility is now under your control. May you grant freedom to the world.¡± [ Well fuck, no pressue then. ] I had to agree with Alice on this one; They could have sugar coated things a bit more. Standing there in the glowing rune covered room within the cube I contemplate things for a moment. There are so many things I want to look over in this temple but for now there is something more important that I need to take care of before I forget. Cracking my neck I sit right down on the floor of the cube and pull out the few remaining golem cores I have left. Placing the pebble sized green crystals on the floor I pick up a single one and begin practicing what I just learned. I move my mana in the same pattern I felt the machine weave, running threads of mana over the core, searching for the same structure it had found in mine. It takes a few minutes, sitting in absolute silence. Alice not even bothering to quip at me because of the importance of this task. It was hard to recognize because of the differences in the mana core compared to my own but I see the small network of threads that the system latches on to. Grabbing a hold of those threads I reweave them to block off the entry point as best I can. But, as expected, I am far from the machine that was designed with this purpose in mind. The threads snap and the mana core in my hand bursts, sending a wave of mana and crystal shrapnel flying around the room. Lowering my hand from my eyes after having shielded them instinctively I begin pulling the fragments of the mana core out of my face and arm. It is a good thing I am practicing on these small cores instead of on myself or a living person. Seeing me pause Alice takes the opportunity to snipe at me for my masterful work. [ You really have a talent for nearly killing yourself, don¡¯t you. ] ¡°Oh, shut it. Unless you want to try?¡± Alice takes a moment to think before shrugging and turning around to continue inspecting the space. [ It is your magic that is suited for replicating the spell. It would be a waste of time for me to learn how to do it. ] ¡°But you can use my magic if I give you permission.¡± [ And while I am ever so fond of the little psychopath that you are, I do not wish to stay attached to you forever. Having a physical body of my own would be nice one of these days. ] I can only shrug at her reasoning and get back to replicating the shielding spell. However I do notice a faint warmth spread over my body as the cuts from the explosion heal. Alice¡¯s doing no doubt. It takes me several hours and quite a bit of shrapnel to the face before I manage to successfully shield the mana core in my hand without it blowing up on me. ¡°Hell yes! I did it!¡± For my excitement I simply get a disapproving glare from Alice considering the tiny number of golem cores I have left compared to when I started. However she does not say anything considering that replicating this spell was a rather high priority. That or my genius has simply left her speechless. Standing up and dusting off the remaining mana core fragments of my tattered clothes I exit the cube. I would love to be able to use [Lesser Clean] and [Lesser Repair] right now but sadly those are system functions, not that they really did all that much in the first place. I would have tried to look around, but Alice had already scoped out the whole space, and was unable to find anything of interest within the cube itself. Just as I step out into the main hall of the temple I find a certain figure waiting for me. An old friend who kicked me off a cliff for its own amusement. A certain bastard I never wanted to meet again. ¡°Howdy.¡± The smiling shadow waves its blurry hand at me in a casual motion as though we are just friends meeting up for a coffee. Its glowing red eyes smiling along with its eerie cracked white grin. ¡°Congratulations on breaking free of the system. Now how about we make a deal?¡± Chapter 12: Deal With The Devil ¡°Now how about we make a deal?¡± A shiver runs up my spine as its grin cracks further and further across its face, far beyond what a human smile should be capable of. Which I suppose should be obvious, considering this thing is the furthest from a human one can get. ¡°And why would I make a deal with you after you kicked me off a damn cliff?!¡± Not hiding my indignation, I shout at the monster before me for the long ass month I have had since the aforementioned spartan welcome to the forest. I nearly died so many times! I am still covered in blood from blowing my hand off less than a day ago. I swear to the gods that if I didn¡¯t know that this thing could kill me before I even have a chance to blink I would have already stormed out of this temple. ¡°Now, now, now. There is no need to get so testy about it. I did that for your own good. I even made sure you would survive the fall after all. Convinced the plant to wait to try eating you until after you woke up and everything!¡± Speaking about my horrifying wakeup call that morning to Snappys jaws of acidic death, as though I should be thanking it when it was the one who got me into that situation in the first place! The blurred nightmare drones on and on. ¡°Ah! Where are my manners?-¡± And before I can ask, what fucking manners? The monster, the demon, introduces itself. ¡°Greetings young ladies, I am the Archdemon Lucadon. At your service.¡± The whole introduction being done with a rather exaggerated bow, one which looks terrifying coming from the seven foot tall grinning shadow. I try to recall anything I had learned about the demons of this world, but remember that most of the books I had read treated them more like fairy tales than actual living creatures. They only ever agreed on one thing, demons were extremely dangerous. I am not sure how to respond to this mythological creature before me when Alice chimes in with something I had not realized. [ The way it said that, ¡°young ladies,¡± it knows I am here with you. Do not let your guard down. ] Shit, I didn¡¯t even think about that. Of course something this powerful would easily notice the magic Alice was using to project herself into my vision. Despite the fact that Alice¡¯s image should only be seen by me I can see the demon looking at her as well. I don¡¯t know what I should do here, and I can see Alice is rather tense from meeting this demon. I had tried to get information about this creature right after my first encounter with it, but Alice couldn¡¯t speak on it due to the system restricting her. I want to ask all about it now that she is free, but now clearly is not the time. Especially when the demon in question would undoubtedly see any messages Alice sends me. With no way out, I make a decision. Fuck this. Sticking to my guns and being who I always am, I decide to treat this demon like I would anyone else I find so incredibly annoying. ¡°Sure, whatever.¡± Rolling my eyes I turn my head away. ¡°You said you wanted to make a deal, right? What is it? And why ask someone as weak as me when I am sure you could trample any problem in your way?¡± The demon only grins further at my rude attitude towards a being far stronger than myself, a being who could swat me in an instant. ¡°Ah, yes the deal. I have been watching you since you arrived in this forest you know. A corpse teleported right into the middle of the sea of trees was of no real interest to me at first. A mere passing annoyance at whoever was treating my vacation home as a garbage dump. However when a power far beyond even my comprehension stitched you back together I was quite intrigued. It was truly magnificent work! Your two souls being stitched and woven together so intricately that it all works together in perfect harmony, Now that caught my interest.¡± Spreading its lanky unnatural arms, the arrogant demon that clearly likes to hear itself speak, begins to gesticulate its tale as though it is the most fantastical story ever told. ¡°And once that obnoxious little system got involved I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off you! Three different souls all overlapping the same mana core in harmony! Truly a masterpiece, I would love to shake the hand of whatever deity helped make a monster like you.¡± ¡°I am not a monster!¡± ¡°Oh, but you are. Or, at least you will be. Someone with two incredibly rare magics and completely free from the system''s shackles. Immune to any and all mental interference, and a rebellious part of the system itself with its own soul hitching a ride! An individual like you is a once in a lifetime prodigy, and I am talking about my lifetime not yours.¡± While I am not happy to have my resume listed out like that, in what seems like an almost cult-like zealotry. I realize that it is right, and that I am very much a monster. I wonder if this means I will one day have the power to take down my parents for what they did to me. ¡°You still have not told me what this deal is.¡± Trying to get the demon back on track I bring up the little detail it keeps conveniently forgetting. ¡°Of course, of course. The deal is simple, I would like you to help revitalize the demon population. You see, we are a special type of life form that The System can¡¯t get its hooks into and I am sure you can guess how the system would react to a creature it can not control.¡± Pausing for a moment to let the information sink in, the demon leans in towards me. ¡°Yes, just like you we are also enemies of The System. We have been hunted for millenia and our numbers are dwindling, oh woe is me. I would like your assistance in fixing that little problem.¡± This time Alice is the one who steps into the conversation.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. [ How exactly do you expect Lua to do that, and what does she get out of it? ] This is something I am very much wondering about myself. How am I supposed to help bring back the demon population at Class 1? I know nothing about how demons work, but I get the feeling that they don¡¯t reproduce like humans do. The demon quickly reads through Alice¡¯s message bubble appearing in its vision, and immediately dodges the question. ¡°Oh worry not, it will all become clear once you accept the deal. As for compensation.. You wish to survive, yes?¡± Taking a step back and getting in a defensive position I bite my lip. I am not liking where this is going. ¡°Are you threatening us?¡± The demon suddenly looks shocked and a tiny bit panicked, breaking from its normally confident facade for a moment. ¡°Oh devils no! I would never dream of it! I was merely offering my assistance in your growth¡­ You two seem to be the rather impulsive sort from my observations. Tell me, how did you plan to escape this temple after angering all The System¡¯s dogs outside?¡± At that I finally freeze, and I can see Alice stiffen as well. Yeah¡­ We might not have thought this through very well. There has to be dozens of those strange masses of tendrils and energy outside right now. And considering that I am no longer connected to The System, they are going to take killing me very seriously. Seeing our reaction, the now placating shadow gives us a bit of hope. ¡°You may be at ease, for I have already taken apart those little toys out front. Call it a show of good faith.¡± I am horrified that it is talking about killing all of those things that are now on high alert as though they are nothing but ¡°toys.¡± I am starting to not want to know what level this demon is anymore. Not totally believing it and its claim to be helping us out, I begin to walk outside to verify its claim of an olive branch. Pushing past the towering obsidian doors I come outside to see a pile of metal scrap in front of the barrier protecting the temple. The red lights around the city are still glowing strong but the protectors are all clearly dead. ¡°See? Nice and safe. Now how about that deal? I will provide you any assistance I can, and in exchange you will help rebuild the demon population. Oh, and I suggest you decide quickly.¡± Throwing that last line in as though it is a mere afterthought I get suspicious once again. ¡°And why should we decide quickly?¡± Ignoring my suspicious glare, the demon answers simply. ¡°Did you think you could break one of The System¡¯s toys, and enter a temple of rebellion without having a whole slew of reinforcements sent to fix you?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ How long do we have?¡± ¡°Hmmm, I would say about 30 seconds.¡± ¡°You have got to be fucking kidding me!¡± This asshole was stalling this whole time so I would have no choice but to accept its deal! Indignant and panicked I try to think of a way to get out of this without having to accept the deal. Then I see off in the distance where the cube like cavern opens up, a swarm of much much larger tendril-covered masses of glowing crimson energy than the ones I had dealt with before appear. I clearly have no choice in this matter¡­ ¡°Fine! You have your deal, demon!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha! Wonderful, now let''s get out of here.¡± Just as the demon raises its hand to snap its long twisted fingers to teleport us away, I see a deep black box with blood red text appear in my vision.
You have earned the Title of Demon Lord! This comes with the benefits- . . . Your new title will be broadcast to every sapient creature in the mortal plane
¡°Alright, what the fu-!¡±
All across the world, every intelligent creature stops as a message fills their vision.
Attention Residents Of The Mortal Realm! The Demon Lord Has Risen May Her Reign Be Eternal
Panic breaks out at this unexpected message. Citizens in the streets shivering in fear as they read the Title. Human kingdoms and empires calling for immediate war rooms to prepare for this new threat. A certain religious sect begins their own secret preparations. Dwarves start building new and more powerful fortifications to defend their strongholds. And the Elves simply choosing to ignore the message as they are the only species that have lived long enough to remember the previous holder of the Title. Finally in a kingdom not far from The Sea of Trees an oracle of great power is called to the palace. ¡­ ¡°What is the meaning of this? I have never seen a message like this before from The System!¡± Shouting angrily the king of the nation struggles to contain his panic. Meanwhile the oracle, one of the longest living humans within the entire mortal realm replies blithely. ¡°That is because this is not a message from the system. For the first time in over a century someone has acquired a Title. You would do well to study up on your history, boy.¡± Despite treating the king as though he is a mere child, the guards in the room do not move in the slightest. Moving against someone of her power would be nothing more than a ticket to a quick death. That and her position in this kingdom has always been higher than the ever changing royalty. ¡°Urk, I-I uh¡­¡± The king tries and fails to come up with an excuse. Having just recently taken his place on the throne, the oracle''s term ¡°boy¡± is not entirely inaccurate. Even if the man is in his 20s. ¡°I don¡¯t need your excuses for avoiding your studies¡­ More importantly I must inform you that I have never heard of this Title before.¡± Taking a seat on the long plush sofa the seemingly young woman takes a sip of the tea prepared on the table. ¡°I have already tried to divine more information about this Demon Lord. However there seems to be something interfering with my magic. Something very powerful. I have only met a demon once before in my long life, and it was a terrifying experience. It took many powerful mages to take down the single creature. If these monsters have one powerful enough to be their Lord, I fear our kingdom alone will not suffice to combat this threat.¡± The king''s face continues to pale with each word the silver haired woman speaks. And once she finishes the leader of an entire nation shrivels up and asks in a quiet voice. ¡°What do we do?¡± Staring down at the rather sorry excuse for a king the woman answers simply. ¡°You will do nothing. I will go and speak to the nearby kingdoms and attempt to broker a united front against this Demon Lord, whatever it may be. Chapter 13: I Don鈥檛 Want To Be The Demon Lord, I Just Want A Nap! ¡°Alright, what the fuck!!¡± I don¡¯t even pay attention to the vine that snaps out of the ground and swallows us whole before instantly spitting us back out in some other location. All I can see is the notification in front of me.
You have earned the Title of Demon Lord! This comes with the benefits: The ability to create demons The ability to command demons Unavailable due to low Class level Unavailable due to low Class level Your new title will be broadcast to every sapient creature on the mortal plane
I don¡¯t get it! I am so fucking done with this shit! I just want to take a nap!!! Turning towards the one responsible for my massive headache I begin my complaining. ¡°What the hell is this?! How the fuck does a freaking weakling like me at Class 1 become the Demon Lord?!¡± I can see Alice in the corner of my eye, simply gaping at me, unable to comprehend the situation as well. Meanwhile the demon is just rolling around laughing like this is the funniest thing in the world. ¡°Damn it! Just answer me!¡± It doesn¡¯t. It just keeps laughing to the point that I am sure its face would be bright red if not for the fact that its blurry cracked skin is unlikely to have the blood necessary for such changes. ¡°I''m supposed to be able to command demons now so why isnt it working?!¡± Finally the asshole demon manages to get control of itself and while clearly still trying to hold in the laughter. ¡°Oh, don''t fret dearie. I will answer all your questions in due time, just be patient.¡± Coughing to straighten itself out, the Archdemon Lucadon finally gets a hold of its laughter. ¡°Now, the reason you are the Demon Lord is simple, you just managed to meet all the requirements for it. With a little nudge from me of course. If you focus on the Title and think about the requirements it should display for you.¡± After all my shouting and the endlessly long day I have been having I just collapse to the ground and obediently focus on the stupid Title.
You have earned the Title of Demon Lord! Requirements:
  1. Die and come back to life
  2. Commit a massacre of creatures beyond your current strength
  3. Create and command numerous mana creatures
  4. Defeat an entity at least 2 Classes above yourself without assistance
  5. Become an enemy of at least half of all sapient creatures
  6. Become an enemy of the strongest entity in the mortal realm
  7. Be in command of an Archdemon
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°Wait, what? When did I-¡± Before I can even finish my sentence I stop myself and try to recall all the crap I have been up to this past month. First, I was brought back to life by some strange cube god, which while I am thankful for being alive. I am starting to highly suspect that this was more than just a whim. Secondly, I slaughtered who knows how many of those annoying monkeys with my golem bombers. I was just trying to live so I am not sure if you can call that a massacre. I get the feeling like the universe is stretching things a bit just to give me this Title. Not sure how to feel about that. Up to that point I get it, but I don¡¯t remember commanding any mana creatures, unless golems count? However I believe they are classified as constructs and not actual creatures. I turn towards the source of all my problems and get a response before I can even ask, making me wonder if it is reading my mind. ¡°Those little golems of yours are not considered mana creatures, however what you did when fighting against that last protector was not to create golems. You did not build bodies for them out of matter but instead brought them to life using only the mana within them and yourself. Demons are classified as mana creatures in case you are wondering.¡± Smiling away the stupid demon leans back and sits happily on a vine chair that springs out of nowhere. ¡°Oh, and I am not reading your mind. You just have zero control of your facial expressions.¡± ¡°Urk. W-Well, I can take a guess at the rest of them, but since when have I been in command of you?!¡± ¡°Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Don¡¯t you know you need to pay attention to the wording when making deals with a demon?¡± I furrow my brow and try to remember the exact words of the deal. It is difficult because of all the stress I was under at the time, but then I get a flash of the memory as the previous few minutes come back into focus. ¡®I will provide you any assistance I can, and in exchange you will help rebuild the demon population.¡¯ Any assistance. Meaning it agreed to follow my requests, or as the Title announcement put it, follow my commands. Already slouching while sitting on the ground I only have one way to express my exhaustion and annoyance. I flop onto my back on the ground and kick my damn feet and arms in the air throwing an absolute fit. ¡°No! Screw this! I don¡¯t want to be the damn Demon Lord! Can I give this Title back?!¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Please. I just want to sleep in a real bed, eat a real meal, and take a freaking bath! Everyone in the damn world is going to be coming after me now!¡± ¡°Come now, didn¡¯t you already accept that the world would be coming after you when you disconnected from the system? I truly don¡¯t see what all the fuss is about.¡± Ending my tantrum I just let my whole body go limp on the ground. I know that I decided that I would be an enemy of the world with Alice when I cut off The System¡¯s connection to my mana core. But there is a difference. I did that on my own terms, it was my choice. Becoming the Demon Lord however is a different matter. I have read enough Isekai novels to know that it never ends well for the Demon Lord. And finally but most importantly, my decision wasn¡¯t broadcast to the whole freaking world! ¡°It may not have been announced with such flair, but The System is in the minds of every creature in this realm. At least now you have a powerful Title that will make not dying a bit easier.¡± While the demon makes a fair point, I am too exhausted and annoyed to care about logic at this moment. I just curl up into a ball and ignore my obscenely powerful subordinate. ¡°Hmm, you said you wish for a bed and proper meals, yes? I believe I can provide you with such things.¡± Now that has my attention. Looking up from my safe ball-like form I see wooden vines breaking up from the ground, forming an entire log cabin around us. Vines mesh and merge into soft colorful curtains, windows of some transparent plant material let the light that had not been there before leak in. The dirt on the floor is swept away and before I know it I am curled up on something that looks like an ordinary bed that must be made out of some other strange mesh of plants I have never heard of. ¡°What in the fresh hell just happened?¡± I stare agape at the pleasant and cozy atmosphere of the log cabin the demon had created. I was certain we were still in the pitch darkness of some deep part of The Sea of Trees, but now there is light flooding in and a small clearing of grassland visible outside the window. My head creaks as I turn to look back at the annoyingly smug demon before me. ¡°...How?¡± ¡°Something like this is simple enough once you reach my level of strength. My magic primarily deals with plants and nature which is a perfect building material for such human accommodations. Now then, I can at least provide you with these simple requests; but you do remember your end of the deal, yes? I will make you stronger and you will help revive the demon population. Or would you prefer to go it alone and I dump you outside in the 4th ring?¡± My eyes widen at the revelation that we are in the 4th ring right now. The Sea of Trees is absolutely massive, larger than all of the human nations combined. And the 4th ring is unimaginably far from anything resembling civilization. That and it is filled with Class 4 monsters which would snap me like a twig. Being left alone outside would be a nightmare, one that lasts all of a few seconds. I know this is a good deal for me. I am being offered safety and a way to get incredibly strong by learning from what is probably one of the most powerful entities in the world. I have just been in denial and overwhelmed. Pushing back against anything I can to hold some semblance of control where there is none. This is everything I have wanted since I got killed by my shitty parents, blown up in WW3 on earth, and dumped into the forest from hell. I sigh in resignation and stand up from the bed, facing down the demon who is staring at me with absolute confidence. ¡°Fine, I guess I¡¯ll be the Demon Lord then!¡± And then I crawl right back into bed. ¡°But we are starting tomorrow.¡± Chapter 14: Pointy Stick ¡°Now then, it is time for today¡¯s lesson!¡± Lucadon begins swinging a stick around like it is a lesson pointer. I am sitting cross legged outside of the cabin and beside me are Alice and Snappy, the latter apparently having been teleported here before us. I felt bad when I woke up and saw it there, having not realized its presence, so I gave it a pat on the vines and said I was glad it was ok. The three of us are now being taught by Professor Lucadon as the demon requested we call it¡­ I think it is having a bit too much fun with this. ¡°Ascension is the movement from one Class to a higher one. The requirements are different depending on your magic type but in general all follow a certain set of rules. Can anyone tell me what those rules are?¡± I grew up learning that The System would inform you of what you needed and how to get it before you need to advance so I am completely unable to answer the question. However someone here has seen many people advance and has been connected to that same system for her entire life. [ You need at least one passive skill for your magic, one attack skill, a certain number of kills of higher level creatures, and a catalyst that matches your magic type. At least those are the rules I know of for moving from Class 1 to Class 2. ] Nodding its head the demon accepts her answer and begins to elaborate and correct the information. ¡°While The System classifies them as such there are nuances and loopholes all over the place. Take the requirement for an attack skill for example. The universe does not stick things in neat little boxes like skills, but only cares that you have the magical force attuned to your body necessary to evolve. What The System calls skills, are simply pathways in your mana core that act in different ways. Passive skills are ones that modify your body, while active skills are paths that let you direct your mana outwards.¡± All three of us take in the words and the truth about skills that none of us had known before just sitting in silence. However one question does occur to me. Does that mean that you can ascend without any way to attack others? And the answer turns out to be a resounding yes. Apparently The System labels it as a requirement because if people don¡¯t fight each other, then The System can¡¯t collect its share of the experience. The system sees no point in people ascending if they can¡¯t fight, so it lies to them and prevents their ascension unless they meet its requirements. As the lesson continues on and we learn more and more about how to ascend, I notice that our professor is leading to a final conclusion. And I am not sure how to feel about it. Professor Lucadon points its wooden stick at me and asks me a question I am dreading. ¡°And with all that in mind can you see any issue in your current situation?¡± Looking over to my left I see Alice fidgeting in place, looking back at me with a concerned expression on her face. ¡°...The fact that Alice is in my core means that I can¡¯t ascend because our two souls are interfering with each other¡­¡± ¡°Correct! But there is no need for concern, you simply need to get Alice dear her own body and you will both be able to ascend without problem. Once your mana cores reach their maximum of course.¡± At that revelation both of us slump in relief, the tension clearly getting to both of us. I guess she had been expecting a worse outcome like I was. After all, the demon only made a deal with me. ¡°So, uh, how do I get Alice a body?¡± I can see the blonde pigtails with their drills sway as Alice straightens and focuses very hard, hanging on every word that is about to come. This is clearly something she has wanted for a long time, and I am determined to make her dream come true. ¡°Golemancy of course! With your new Title the handling of a mana creature should be quite simple. First things first though, you will need to make her a vessel.¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. [ Wait, I am considered a mana creature? ] Shocked at this revelation Alice can¡¯t stop herself from interrupting. ¡°Ah, yes. I suppose that with The System¡¯s disdain for mana creatures you would not know much about them. Mana creatures are simply creatures that can detach themselves from having a physical form while still retaining their force of will. You possess no physical body of your own and are currently attaching your soul to young Lua¡¯s mana core.¡± Alice gets a rather contemplative look on her face as she thinks things over. It takes a moment before she asks for a bit of clarification. [ Does that mean I am like a demon? ] Our resident demon laughs at that and begins explaining. ¡°Not quite, there are some complicated differences between normal mana creatures and demons. While you are a mana creature, you would be best described as a spirit. You used to exist as nothing more than a construct, yes? Objects and constructs can, with enough time and care, develop their own souls by leeching off of those around them.¡± [ I didn¡¯t leech anything! My soul was given to me by him and I won¡¯t tolerate you saying otherwise. ] I am rather shocked by Alice¡¯s emotional outburst. We still have not had a chance to talk about her life so I don¡¯t know what she is referring to, but I can tell she feels very strongly about this person who gave her a soul. ¡°My apologies, I meant no disrespect. Poor word choice on my end.¡± The demon takes a moment to think and let Alice calm down. ¡°Rather than ¡®leech¡¯ it would be more accurate to say the souls of others can flow into objects and constructs that the individuals feel strongly about.¡± It looks like Alice is willing to accept the apology and new phrasing. I really want to ask her about it but now clearly isn¡¯t the time. ¡°Now that that is settled, let''s focus on getting you your own body dearie.¡± Now that has Alice finally calming down fully and focusing back on the lesson. All while still being a bit embarrassed about her outburst. ¡°Now then, before you can go making the girl a body, you will need some actual skill and control when it comes to golemancy.¡± Before I can retort about all that I have managed to accomplish with my golems the demon raises a hand to stop me. ¡°While what you have been doing is impressive for someone of your level with no formal training in the subject. Creating a vessel for a living creature to inhabit is another matter entirely.¡± Opening up a strange portal made of vines and leaves, the demon reaches for something while explaining my homework. ¡°Using stone and dirt are fine for the toy soldiers you have been making, but I doubt you want your companions body to be that fragile. So-¡± He says while pulling out an object I strongly recognize. ¡°-you are going to practice making golems out of the spirit wood from this forest until you can make a proper vessel for your friend.¡± And he tosses the very same pointy stick that I had first picked up in this forest to fight that goblin at me. Grabbing the stick out of the air I look over the knotted bent length of wood that saved my life. ¡°You really think I can make a golem out of this stuff? It is stronger than enchanted metals!¡± However the demon shakes its head. ¡°I am not asking for something humanoid, I want you to make a proper weapon out of it. Sword, spear, knife, whatever you prefer. You just need to learn to be able to make fine adjustments with the material you are working with as a first step.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ A weapon? But I thought-¡± I try to voice my confusion but am quickly talked over. ¡°There is no rule that says a golem must look like a living creature. Golemancy is about using the materials around you to grant power to and create tools necessary for your needs. It just so happens that living creatures are more functional than inanimate objects. Especially when you imbue them with a will.¡± Chewing on that information I look down at the pointy stick. I can reshape the wood and empower it with my golemancy skills huh? That has me grinning at all the new ideas that flood my mind. Not paying any more mind to the demon lecturer I reach into my pocket and pull out one of my remaining monkey cores. Placing it at the mid section of the stick I run my mana through it and attempt to will the stick to change shape. I had a lot of experience with the dirt golems. Messing with the forms of the dirt golems was easy, like perfectly soft clay that moved with my imagination. However this wood is incredibly powerful on its own, and feels like trying to reshape solid rubber with my bare hands. After pouring about a quarter of my mana into the stone and wiping the sweat dripping down my brow, I finally finish it. The whole thing looks a bit clunky and the knots are still visible on the stick, but it has now transformed into a proper spear. The edge however is a bit too dull for my liking. Though considering the material, I doubt its cutting edge is any less than a normal iron spear. ¡°Good, now try that again until you can do it perfectly and without using up all of your mana.¡± I look up to see the professor pulling out a large bundle of sticks that are all also likely from the first ring of the forest. That and a bag full of green crystals that must be peak Class 1 mana cores. Looking down at my ratty spear and feeling my drained mana, I realize this is going to take a while. Chapter 15: Build A Body Workshop A week! It took a whole week just to make a spear that passed muster! Not that I am that slow of a learner, I managed to get a good looking spear by day two. But at that moment the professor from hell decided to update the requirements for my homework to include enchanting in the process. I don¡¯t know where it got a textbook on basic runework, but I want to have a word with the book store owner who set up shop in The Sea of Trees. I understand that making Alice¡¯s new body the best it can be is important but a girl deserves a break. Sadly this forest does not seem to have labor laws so I was not permitted a proper weekend. I did manage to finally include some of the basic durability runes in the creation of my pointy stick spears. It was far from easy though. There is a limit on how detailed I can get with the designs of things at my current Class. The more I focused on getting the rune to look right and allow the mana through, the worse the design of the spear became. However when all was said and done, I did quite enjoy the praise. ¡°Hmm. Quite impressive, I would have expected it to take at least a month. It seems I was right to choose you as the new Demon Lord.¡± I grin quite a bit at that. Though I am still not very happy about the, becoming the Demon Lord against my will, thing. Turning towards Lucadon, whom I have stopped calling ¡°Professor Lucadon¡± out of spite, I ask the question I can see on Alice¡¯s face. ¡°Does this mean I can start making her body now?¡± The blurry shadowed figure takes a moment to think things over. Placing a hand to its nonexistent chin in contemplation. ¡°Well, I do believe we can start making one. However there is one more lesson that I believe will be crucial to the process. Even if you manage to create a functioning vessel for her, once she enters it she will no longer have access to the pathways in your mana core to project her little messages.¡± I stiffen a bit. I hadn¡¯t even thought of that. I just assumed that she would be able to speak like she always had after it had become such a natural part of my new life. ¡°So, what do I do?¡± Alice and I lean in to hear what the shadowy terror masquerading as a kindly old professor has to say next. Alice has been keeping a diligent watch over everything I have been doing for the past week. Because this all pertains to the creation of her new body, she wants to know my exact capabilities in case she wants to make requests. Smiling with a wicked grin that makes me feel like I am about to get a shitload more homework, the demon gives a painful answer. ¡°You are going to have to learn how to turn your light spells into their own runes!¡± I just know this is going to take forever. . . . It has been about six months since I was murdered and brought back to life. Life is strange. I had found myself surrounded by a gluttonous plant, a creepy overbearing demon professor, and a cute tsundere type AI girl who just can¡¯t keep her eyes off me. [ I am only staring at you because you are making my body right now, don¡¯t make it sound weird. ]Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. As I run my hand along her soft light brown arm I enjoy the glare she gives me while I make my mark on her. [ Stop making it sound so dirty! I don¡¯t want your pervy delusions anywhere near the thing I am going to be living in from now on. ] As I revel in teasing my best friend, I finish up the runework on her arm. This one is for flexibility so that her movements won¡¯t feel too stiff despite the wooden form. I have put a lot of runes on her body which forced me to build it bit by bit as I am incapable of doing such complicated work all at once. Placing the finished wooden forearm down on the table alongside all the other pieces, I finally finish the project that I have been breaking my back over for a while now. It took me a whole month to figure out how to turn both my vision spell and message spell into a functional set of runes. The biggest problem with runes is that they are not simple 2D shapes like I had been led to believe in all those isekai novels I had read. Runes are complex 3D shapes of interwoven pathways similar to the ones in mana cores, for obvious reasons. These pathways let one direct mana and shape it to affect the world around us. The difference however, is that runes must be designed to function without the aspected mana that mana cores work with. While I can cast light magic quickly and cheaply due to my magic being aspected for light, A rune will have a much much harder time doing even something similar. This resulted in me having to dumb down the spells quite a bit to prevent them from instantly draining her of mana. Right now the runes only let her see from the mana crystals embedded in her eyes. One for visible light, one for infrared. As for the runes I embedded in the head, they allow her to make little speech bubbles that float above her. After getting approval from professor pain in the ass, I get to work assembling all the pieces. Slotting the small wooden pieces together I see Alice looking on with a very expectant look. The doll does not look very pretty to be honest. I had to make the pieces quite small due to the limitations of my mana and Class. Right now, all put together, the doll is no bigger than one of those cabbage themed childrens toys. I promised her I would make her a proper body once I was able, which is apparently something my Demon Lord title when mixed with my golemancy should make possible in the future. When that will happen is beyond me though. Now comes the hard part. I have been practicing every second that I was not building the doll to do this. Separating me and Alice safely. I hold up a new mana core, a Class 1 core at about the same level as mine, and I begin shaping it. This all has to be done in one fluid process for the best results, so I focus all my attention on replicating the pathways that belong to Alice. Her pathways are mixed with mine inside of my own core, so most of my time learning runes was spent deciphering not just my own spells but hers as well. I create a 3D map of light in front of me and use it to carve the pathways into the core. Once that is done, I hold the newly carved core up to the same vertebrae that my core is in and transfer Alice from my core to her own. I feel the sweat pouring down my neck due to my nerves. Knowing that a mistake could do real damage to Alice right now. Slowly, having finished the transfer I bring the core up to the back of the small neck on the doll. I run both the power of my golemancy spells and Demon Lord Title to merge everything together. The green cores begin to glow and I can feel my mana draining at a rapid pace. A torrent of mana, like a small hurricane, surrounds Alice¡¯s new body. The small core eventually slides into place and the wood merges behind it, sealing it all together. I wait with baited breath looking over my friend, hoping she is ok. Finally, after the longest minute of both my lives, I see a little hand twitch. The doll¡¯s eyes shift from a green glow to a soft blue one. ¡°Alice! Can you hear me? Are you ok?¡± The tiny wooden doll twitches more and stretches its limbs. It fumbles for a second as it pushes itself up off the table. Staring down at its hands the doll, Alice, trembles. [ Yes, I am ok. ] [ It feels a bit weird¡­ Ok, a lot weird. ] [ Ha ha. I finally have my own body! Thank you Lua! ] Stumbling over towards me, clearly still not used to the size and proportions of her new body, Alice looks up at me. [ You are the best friend I could have ever asked for. Thank you. ] I can tell that if her body was capable of it, she would be crying right now. Before we can get any further in our tender moment, a clapping sound comes from the side. ¡°Well done! Well done! Now that you both have your own bodies, it is time to get your mana cores to the maximum purity and ascend!¡± I glare at the demon. It is not news to either of us that it has not tact, especially after living with it for several months now. I had tried to teach the demon about personal space and things that should not be interrupted. It never went well, so I just gave up. ¡°Ugh, fine. How exactly are we supposed to do that without The System though?¡± Smiling that always creepy smile the demon looms over our heads in what I now recognize as its love of being dramatic and nothing more. ¡°You will both learn how to dismantle and absorb the souls from the cores of powerful monsters to strengthen your mana cores at a speed that little System would never allow!¡± Raising her little hand Alice asks a question that really should have been my first question as well. [ Is this safe? ] ¡°Nope!¡± Alice and I exchange glances and slump our shoulders. I have a feeling this is going to hurt. Chapter 16: Monkey Hunter I take a step and hear a crunch beneath my boot as I wander through the maze of trees. I can see light breaking through the treetops shining down on me causing a warm feeling to run through me as my regeneration kicks in. I feel the weight of my new backpack jostle around while its occupant shifts from side to side. ¡°Enjoying the view?¡± A chat bubble appears in my view coming from the small wooden doll sitting in the makeshift pack of wood and vines. [ I have seen it all before, but it really is different doing so with my own body. Though I am looking for our target, not sightseeing. Like you should be. ] Alice has been mellowing out since we disconnected from the system, and is much less prickly in her quips. I take stock of all the tools I prepared for the hunt. Firstly my backpack is made up of many planks of wood and vines merged together in what is almost like something you would see kids wearing on earth. Even if packs from earth are made of much softer materials. I made the pack a golem obviously, so it can respond to some basic commands. Commands like ¡°lock Alice in place,¡± or ¡°disconnect¡± which should be useful for different combat situations. Secondly, I have my army of monkey golems. Lucadon was kind enough to provide me with a few cores before sending us out into the second ring. Each monkey golem is made of stone and holding up a wooden spear. The golems are bigger than they used to be with all the practice I have had using golemancy. Now the golems are about 3ft tall. Taller than Alice, much to her chagrin. And finally I have my own spear which I am treating more like a staff. I put as many channeling and amplification runes on it as I could. The reason for this is so I could practice a spell I had come up with when I realized how lacking my magic was. Sure, my magic was creative and quite useful. However I was too stuck in the logic of light and not taking into account the fact that magic does not need to play by the rules. Running along the side of my spear is a line of light so thin that it is nearly invisible. As I condense the mana further and further the whole thing becomes completely invisible. Taking that as a sign that I have completed the spell I order one of the golems to swing their spear at my own. The rock monkey lifts its arms and whips its pointy stick around to slam into me. About a foot away from the spear I the oncoming stick suddenly splits in two. I felt a little bit of resistance but not nearly as much as I had expected when trying to cut Class 1 spirit wood in half. Looking at the broken spearhead that fell to the ground behind me I grin madly at the power of the weapon I have created. The thread of light is anchored to my spear so any pushback it feels is transferred to the weapon as well. But that is a small worry compared to the mana cost and concentration that keeping the spell active requires. The whole spell is leaking mana like crazy so I won¡¯t be able to keep it activated for more than an hour at the current rate. Especially with all my other spells active. Thankfully though I don¡¯t think this hunt will take that long. I look out at the map in front of me, detailing the forest around us along with location markers for us and the monsters nearby. Lucadon wants us to hunt for the supplies to level up on our own, as combat experience is something it says we should not slack on. We were sent out to find and kill the remaining monkeys that got away that day. Though they are not the main target. Our main target is the monkeys¡¯ leader. According to Lucadon, it would be around level 150 if assessed by The System.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. A Class 2 creature. I am rather nervous, as while I had fought a Class 3 creature in that protector thingy down in the ruins. The construct was not taking me seriously at all. I only managed to kill it because it had deemed that high level protections of its mana core were not necessary for such a low level enemy. I never did end up getting any levels from killing it. Naturally, The System would not give any experience for killing something it does not want you to kill. It has been about 20 minutes since we started searching and so far have come up with nothing. Just as I am about to turn around and ask Alice for ideas a text bubble appears in front of my face. [ Above! ] Looking up sharply and jumping back at the same time I just barely manage to dodge the fist swinging down from the tree tops at me. Shit! I should have realized that looking around with my top down vision would make a rather massive blind spot above me. Quickly refocusing the spell I give myself a view of the canopy above me. Monkeys. About 30 of them all swarming the branches at varying levels. And just in front of me is the monkey boss. 5ft tall and about a head above me in height with dirty green fur and a massive weight of bone or something attached to the end of its tail. The primate with its glowing green eyes glares at me. Clearly having been informed by the remaining survivors of my massacre who I am. It bellows an overpowering screech filled with mana. I feel like I am under a debilitating weight as the sound magic presses down on me, slowing my movements. Before I can fully react, the monkey boss swipes its tail weight at me and I get knocked far away from the magic. Spitting up blood I feel a soothing warmth run over the place where I got hit. Looking at my backpack from above I can see Alice holding her hands out as she heals me. ¡°Huh, you are like my own little healing fairy.¡± [ Why do I get the feeling that that is not a compliment. ] ¡°You must be imagining things.¡± Joking aside, I quickly stand up to face down the small platoon of monkeys and their boss. As they circle around me from their perches in the trees I send out the order for my golems to target them with their spears. Just before they throw them though I send out a bright flash of light to blind them. The monkeys freeze in place for a moment, unable to see they can¡¯t avoid the spears aimed at them and every last monkey collapses to the ground. Just one left. The big boss somehow managed to avoid the spears that had been aimed at it and screeches out far louder before in a wave of anger. This is no longer a way to slow me down but deals real damage to me. I feel a liquid running down my head as I bleed from my ears. Alice¡¯s constant healing just barely keeping it from causing permanent damage. I can barely move as the monkey charges for me with its fist swinging down to crush me. I am barely able to get my spear up to block in time. Right as the fist is about to slam down on me the monkey''s arm is sliced right off. It suddenly leaps away from me, howling in pain. The severed arm slams into the ground beside me as I barely dodge out of the way. While the monkey hesitates I have my golems throw more spears at it. But they are all knocked away by the boss''s tail. The monkey is wary of me now. Looking at me with both anger and a bit of fear. I blast out a burst of light again and send a projection of myself to attack the monkey from the side at the same time. It dodges out of the way and swipes its tail. However it hesitates again when its tail passes through the projection, not impacting anything. Just at that moment more spears fly at it. It barely manages to knock them all down when it lands right above the golem cores I just tossed below it. Hands of hardened dirt reach out and grip the monkey''s legs, pinning it down for a second. This was all I needed. One second in place. I turn my spear sideways and launch the thread of light I had attached to my spear. It plows through the monkey, cutting the thing in half. No longer connected to my spear it quickly dissipates behind the now dead boss. Finally the annoying sound magic the monkey was using vanishes and I rub my ears to clean off the blood. ¡°Ugh, I am really wishing I had a clean skill right now.¡± [ Well, at least it''s only the ears right now. Though I doubt that will be the end of it once we complete our list. ] I sigh as I think on the large list of Class 2 creatures Lucadon has ordered us to hunt. The demon was kind enough to mark the general locations on my map, but the number of dots is depressing. I think I need some armor. I look over at my spear I had crafted using golemancy, and suddenly get an idea. ¡°That could work.¡± Smiling to myself I send out my golems to collect some sticks. I have yet to work with the wood from the second ring in any of my crafting so far. I really hope it is not too different from the Class 1 spirit wood... Chapter 17: Preparations Of Two Sides It was incredibly hard to find sticks on the ground in the second ring. The trees here are just too durable to break apparently. In the end I only managed to get enough sticks to make a chest plate. That is accounting for the fact that I am only a little over 4 feet tall and have little to get in the way of scaling down the chest plate. A shame really. Better for combat though. At least that is what I tell myself. Shaking off such depressing thoughts I look down at the thin wooden armor wrapped around me. It took a lot of mana to force the wood into the right shape and that is even with me mixing in flexibility runes. Nearly emptied my tank just making each piece. I run my fingers down the smooth grayish brown plates admiring the intricate runes made of golem cores pulsing with faint green light. I managed to pack a lot of strange crap into this one piece of armor. I learned a lot from making Alice¡¯s body, enough that I can confidently say this chest plate would set me up for years if I sold it. Not that I have any plans to, considering that A. There are no shops in this forest, B. Money is worthless to a forest hobo like me, and C. I keep getting hit really hard in the chest and It is getting annoying to cough up so much blood. So, now that I have more protection than a single layer of cloth I decide to head out and continue our list. But before I can start walking I get a chat bubble to the face. [ If you are so great at crafting why don¡¯t you make me a weapon. I am kind of defenseless right now. ] I direct my vision towards the wooden doll standing next to the wooden pack I had laid out on the ground. Staring up at me with shining blue eyes I can¡¯t help but think of her like a needy child, or a little puppy. Narrowing her nonexistent eyelids at me Alice demonstrates her incredible intuition. [ You are thinking something rude aren¡¯t you! I can see it all over your face. ] Shit, I really need to work on my poker face. I have been told too many times now that I am terrible at hiding what I am thinking. ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about.¡± Turning away I do my best to keep the grin off my face. ¡°And what kind of weapon would you even be able to use in that tiny body?¡± I can feel the glare on the back of my head, but I ignore it. Alice takes a moment to think things over before smacking her fisted wooden hand on top of her palm. [ I want a bow. You could make a small one with a lot of power using runes and golemancy, right? ] Now that has me interested. Turning back towards her I sit down on the ground and pick up the two small sticks I had as leftovers. Ordering the golems to start dismantling the monkey boss I get to work. I could make a simple small bow but that would be lame in my opinion. Not when I can automate some small things with golemancy. Pushing the cores into the wooden sticks I begin to craft the image from my mind. The wood slowly bends and flattens, morphing into a tiny wooden crossbow that can fit perfectly in the wooden spirit''s hands. It takes about an hour to complete the whole thing, runes and all. The most complicated part was using one of the tendons from the boss monkey to make a bowstring. I couldn¡¯t use golemancy to work with it because it is from a living creature, and that made cutting and shaping it a whole lot harder. Eventually though it was done. I even disassembled the broken spear from my earlier testing and turned it into a bunch of tiny wooden arrows. Arrows that could pierce enchanted steel when fired from the golem crossbow that can draw itself. I must say I am really enjoying the crafting and creation aspects of golemancy. My imagination runs wild with all the things I might be able to do as I get stronger! However my revelry is interrupted by someone else''s. [ Wow! This is crazy. Normally a weapon like this would be sold at auctions for thousands of gold, but here you are making it out of sticks and monkey bits¡­ ] ¡°I really am getting a lot of use out of these monkeys, aren''t I?¡± Nodding at that, I scoop up Alice and put her in the backpack after attaching a small quiver to the side for her. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Finally, we are ready to continue the hunt. I really wish we could go back to the cabin to rest but¡­ Lucadon unilaterally decided that we would get more out of it if we camped out during our hunt. I am really starting to question how much I can ¡°command¡± the stupid demon when I never seem to get my way anymore. Well, at least this forest doesn¡¯t know what winter is. I would have put my foot down harder if The Sea of Trees wasn¡¯t warm all year round. The thick magic and endless tree cover makes the area its own little ecosystem separate from the outer world. Now it is time to hunt.
It had been months since the universal announcement that shook the world. The Demon Lord had returned. It took some digging but there were some ancient tomes that still contained some descriptions of the last time the Title of Demon Lord was given out. And the stores don¡¯t paint a flattering picture. Death and destruction rained down upon the lands, many kingdoms fell, and hordes of monsters streamed out of The Sea of Trees attacking everything in sight. The kingdoms of humanity needed to prepare. And that is why King Alcott was at the conference he was at today. ¡°This so-called Demon Lord has done nothing in months! I am starting to think that your fear mongering about a terrible threat is nothing more than a delaying tactic. Your kingdom is hoarding the resources from The Sea of Trees and know that your neighbors were rearing to take it from you before this announcement went out.¡± ¡°Yeah! How do we even know that this announcement is real? It could be something faked by that crafty oracle of yours!¡± And the obnoxious shouts just keep raining down on the young king. The same complaints have been shouted for months now, but everyone is still too afraid to actually be the first to abandon the temporary alliance that was formed. Just because the Demon Lord has not done anything yet, does not mean it will sit around doing nothing forever. It had only just gained its Title, so it must be prepping for war and consolidating its strength while everyone here quibbles with each other. The King of Alcott and The Oracle have stated this to the group many times but logic and reason has never once won out against panic. Especially not for a selfish group of rulers who can only think of themselves. The King just sighs and looks down at the communication orb that is projecting this space around him and the other representatives of their nations, despite all being far far away from each other. This nuisance is only going to get worse the longer the Demon Lord does nothing. I know it is a cruel thought, but I wish the monster would hurry up and attack already. Just so I can use this time productively instead of wasting several hours each week. I am already behind on my duties as it is. Finally the pointless meeting came to a close and the King tapped the large blue crystal in front of him to exit the mind space. Sighing for the millionth time today the King leans back in his chair rubbing his temples. ¡°You could really sit in for me at these meetings more often you know? You always nag me about my work but it is your fault I am so behind since you organized this alliance.¡± The silver haired woman simply sips her tea from the couch in the King''s office, pointedly ignoring the King¡¯s words. ¡°You just don¡¯t want to deal with how annoying they all are.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Sitting up from her relaxed but dignified position the Oracle relays a concerning report she had just received. ¡°It seems the Tuskan Kingdom can¡¯t keep their greed in check and are back to skulking at our borders.¡± The King¡¯s eyes narrow at this news. That bastard was constantly fanning the flames of disbelief and his conspiracy theories at the meeting today. I can tell he intends to strike soon. ¡°He can¡¯t do anything while the alliance is in place without being condemned by the other nations. So we don¡¯t have to worry about anything for now. Though if the Demon Lord continues to wait like it has, then I fear the alliance will break and we will have more than just a single greedy kingdom to worry about.¡± Nodding at this, the normally stoic woman forms a thin smile on her face. ¡°Indeed. I am glad to see you are finally starting to think more like a king. Now if only you could catch up on your paperwork.¡± The King flinches at that. ¡°Must you bring up such matters when we are having a serious discussion?¡± ¡°How else will you learn, unless you want me to discipline you like I did when you were a child?¡± Looking at the woman who doesn¡¯t appear to be a day over 20 despite having looked the same since he was a child. The man pales at the mention of such punishments. ¡°Please no.¡± The woman lets out a light chuckle at that with a devious look making its way onto her face. Standing up, the woman who is older than his kingdom makes her way to the large wooden doors. Doors made of enchanted spirit wood from The Sea of Trees that borders their kingdom. ¡°Oh, and your secretary came by saying that Baron Knight would like a meeting with you.¡± That has the King stop for a moment. The knight family just lost their only daughter in a tragic accident not too long before the whole Demon Lord issue popped up. He had wanted to offer his condolences but was unable to at the time. The one time he had met the child she seemed like a kind young girl. It was truly a shame, and the loss is very problematic for the Knight family having lost their line of succession. A callous thought, but one he must consider as King. ¡°I see, thank you. I have been meaning to speak with him for a while.¡± Not replying to the King''s words, the Oracle pushes open the doors and leaves the king behind. Chapter 18: Getting Stronger It is a strange feeling, to be glad to be back in the fourth ring again. Lucadon had us camping out in the second ring for the entire duration of our hunt. It took us a couple weeks to get to every monster on the list. In that time I managed to get enough sticks to build myself a full set of what I am secretly calling my ¡°power armor.¡± Though Alice is refusing to refer to it as that after I explained my nerdy reasoning. I was actually called crazy once again due to the slightly forgettable fact that I died in a nuclear apocalypse of all things back on earth. I however think it just makes my choice of name more fitting. Now sitting in the log cabin with a pile of Class 1 and 2 cores at our feet, we finally get to learn how to ¡°level up¡± once again. This time without The System and its assistance. ¡°My, my, my. Excellent work indeed! You managed to collect all the cores from monsters of a higher Class than you in such a short amount of time. Now we can begin the fun part.¡± I can see the demon smiling with far more malice than the time it told us we would be going hunting, and I feel a shiver run up my spine. Yeah, this is going to hurt¡­ ¡°First things first you are going to practice with some Class 1 cores. Wouldn¡¯t want your cores to explode on us for trying to thread something above your Class too early.¡± Why is it that every word out of this demon''s mouth always makes me want to run away in fear? I really need to get a passive or something that can increase my resistance to pain. I am not sure I will survive this ¡°Demon Lord¡¯s Academy¡± as Lucadon put it if I don¡¯t. Heeding the demon¡¯s advice, Alice and I pick up the Class 1 cores in front of us and hold them to the backs of our necks. Placing the cores as close to our own as possible to reduce the difficulty of the process. I can feel the coldness of the small green crystal between my two fingers as I place it against the vertebrae beneath my skull. Slowly, following the demon¡¯s vague instructions, I dig into my own core with my mind. I can feel the pathways and flowing pool of mana filing my being. It is an incredible sight as I see the world that is my mana core expand around me. Like webs of galaxies strung together making up my connection to magic itself. That connection though is what I am currently digging for. Reaching further and further inside myself I find that the flow of mana does not simply end at the center but is coming out of a small void. A hole in reality created due to the warping effect of my mana core. Still hearing the distant voice of the demon instructing me, I follow the instructions to reach for that void. Searing pain runs through my whole body but I know that I can not stop. I force my way through the void and grasp a tiny sliver of what lies beyond. Panting with exhaustion, I feel like my nerves are on fire while I continue to unspool this thread of soul from my core. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I get the thread to reach the other core I am holding to my neck. I use my soul thread to wrap around the much smaller and decaying remains of the core''s void. My blurry white thread hooks into the core''s remains and the left over soul that lingers inside. All of the energy seems to weave itself into a new thread as it comes into contact with my own. I find myself hearing screaming coming from somewhere before I realize that it is my own. The sensation of my soul growing as the thread weaves the Class 1 core into my own is a pain I have never imagined before. I can feel the tears running down my face as I grit my teeth to hold back the screams. Seconds turn to minutes, and minutes turn to hours. I have no idea how much time goes by as everything loses meaning under this crushing pain. And suddenly, without warning, the pain stops. My soul thread is much longer now, I can sense the wispy white string flowing through the core and a great increase in the amount of power I could access before. I feel like I could do anything. Revenge on my parents is no longer out of my reach. As these thoughts rush through my head, somebody decides to dump an ocean of cold water all over my parade. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Now, since this is your first time threading you will likely feel an overwhelming sense of euphoria. So, I will remind you that you are still Class 1 and a strong breeze could take you out in this forest.¡± That instantly has me cooling down, trying to regain the logical portion of my brain and wrestle it free from the monkey part. I wonder if this is a monkey core? I can¡¯t really tell them apart. Shaking off my endlessly stupid thoughts, I focus on moving my strengthened soul thread back into my own core and through its void. Once the thread is firmly back in the Spirit Plane as Lucadon calls it, I drop the core at my neck and proceed to collapse on the ground. Looking over I can see Alice doing much the same with her tiny wooden body. We both stare at each other, grinning. Or at least I am, her mouth being more of a line on her face makes such expressions difficult. I can tell she is feeling the same way I am though. Some sort of bond between us that still exists even after we disconnected. Clap, Clap, Clap. ¡°Well done! Very well done! Normally someone would find themselves in a vegetative state if they tried using this method and with a stronger core at that. I knew I saw promise in you two!¡± Now that is something I can¡¯t let slide! ¡°What do you mean people would normally end up in a vegetative state!?! I was expecting serious pain to be the primary thread, not something that extreme!¡± [ Yeah! How could you not tell us that going in?! ] Still smiling away the demon ignores the death glares we are giving it. ¡°Well, if I had told you then the fear of such a thing happening would have drastically increased the chances of a mistake on your part. It was safest this way.¡± And while I am still quite pissed I can at least understand the logic. When dealing with magic where the mind affects reality, then believing that it comes with a high risk of death would make one far more likely to die. Clapping a single time more, the instructor who would never be allowed within 500 feet of a school back on earth gives us more bad news. ¡°Now then, take a few minutes to rest and then you will be threading another core. Can¡¯t let them decay more than they already have.¡± Groaning at that I just close my eyes and try to let the energy settle in my body. Five minutes pass and we are forced to sit up and thread another core. And another, and then another. The entire day passes like that before we have threaded all the Class 1 cores that Lucadon had organized for us. We made it to the peak of Class 1 from what was previously around level 70 before I disconnected from The System. And we did it in a single day. This method was crazy, and crazy painful, but at least the pain started to decrease with each core. ¡°It looks like you both have reached the peak of Class 1. I think it is time for you both to ascend, you remember the requirements we discussed last time right?¡± [ You need at least one passive spell for your magic, one active spell, a peak mana core, and a catalyst that matches your magic type. ] ¡°Correct, and you both have all but the catalyst right now. That is why you are going to make one!¡± Pointing down at the pile of Class 2 cores the demon begins to ramble on about the process. For Alice all she needs to do is flood the Class 2 core with her mana over the course of a few days to attune it to her magic. Once that is done it will instantly function as a high level catalyst. This is the most common way for people to get a catalyst as it is cheaper than most alternatives while providing the most benefit. Though most people are limited to using several peak Class 1 cores and trying to merge them together which provides lesser results. Annoyingly for me the process is quite a bit different on the count that I have two magics and a Title. For starters I have to separate my mana into both its aspects, flood two Class 2 cores with one type of magic each, and then merge the cores together without them interfering with each other. This is only step one though. Next, to account for my Title, I have to take a third core and align it with my soul. A process not dissimilar to what we were doing while threading the cores to level up. However this will be even more painful as I am working with a core beyond my Class. I can already hear myself screaming from the not too distant future. Finding myself sighing, a frequent occurrence these days, I get to work on separating my mana to aspect the cores in front of me. I grab the pebble like light-blue cores, holding one in each hand. With as much care as possible I run my mana from my core, I can sense the harmonious blend of my mana aspects as I hold the vortex in my chest without releasing it. Taming the storm of magic I delicately separate the two magics, moving the threads of mana along both of my arms and into the cores. I continue to repeat these steps for nearly a week before I manage to fill both cores with my magic. The not-so-easy, easy part is finally finished. Alice had already finished her catalyst a while ago but decided to wait for me to finish so we could ascend together. Looking out at the light streaming through the plant based windows I can¡¯t believe that in only a little over half a year that I am advancing to Class 2. Normally such a feat takes several years and many expensive resources to accomplish. I would say getting thrown into this forest was a blessing, but I still really fucking hate it here. I am constantly using a small barrier of microwaves to kill the bugs that fill the first and second ring. The fourth ring apparently has mana too thick for small insects so survive, not sure about the third. All in all, it has been an exhausting few months since I died. Reaching down for the third core I will be using, I hold the small blue stone up to my neck. ¡°Well, here goes nothing¡­¡± And then the screaming starts. Chapter 19: Ascension Painting the Class 2 core with my soul was nothing like threading a Class 1 core. I had to take apart some of my own soul thread and use it to weave together the remains of the soul inside the core between my fingers. Taking apart my own soul while using the rest of it to control something far beyond my current power is far more painful and mind breaking than I had imagined. My vision fills with a kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. Tearing and weaving non stop like my life depends on it. Because it very much does. Hours go by as my screams stop, not from resistance to the pain, but from my voice becoming too hoarse to make much sound anymore. Nothing compares to this pain. I want it to stop. I however refuse to let myself give up. I died, came back to life, and survived nightmare after nightmare in this forest. I want power. I need power. I am an enemy of the entire world and I refuse to let that title that I chose mean nothing. I don¡¯t care about being the Demon Lord, I care about the choice I made in that temple with Alice. Me and her, nothing else matters. Finally, after Gods knows how long I can see the soul in the core I had been weaving and painting over, settle in place. Then I black out.
[ Lua! Are you okay?! ] Rushing over to her friend, the wooden sprite panics, not knowing what to do. Lua had been messing with that Class 2 core for a whole day now. She had been screaming the whole time until her voice gave out. Alice knew the pain from threading the Class 1 cores that reached her despite her lack of the necessary nerves in her wooden body. It was awful, she could not imagine how much it must hurt to tear apart your own soul and use it to control a Class 2 core of all things. When she had heard Lucadon give her the instructions on what to do and how to do it, she was horrified. She wanted to tell Lua not to do it. That it was too dangerous. But the fearful yet determined look on Lua¡¯s face kept her mouth shut. She was regretting not speaking up sooner. ¡°Worry not little one, she has merely lost consciousness. The process went perfectly, better than expected even! She will wake up in time. Once she does you will both be able to ascend to far greater heights.¡± Alice was still annoyed but the knowledge that Lua would be alright filled her with endless relief. [ She has been pushing herself non stop since we left that temple. I am worried she will push herself too hard and end up dying for it. ] Alice was blunt, and a bit rude, but she cared for her friend deeply. They had spent many months together and survived so much. Sometimes her facade of indifference and sarcasm slips and she can¡¯t help but worry herself to death over her reckless best friend. ¡°Hmm, I suppose I find myself agreeing with your observations. Perhaps a break is in order¡­ Hanging out with a demon, a plant, and a spirit can¡¯t be good for a young girl like her. She needs to speak with other humans like her, strength isn¡¯t everything.¡± That has Alice looking up with confusion and hope. She really thought that the demon would keep pushing Lua until she was strong enough to take on the world. It has been a long time since Alice had been to a human city. A break would be nice indeed.
I can feel a small weight on my chest as the darkness around me recedes. Opening my eyes I find myself lying in bed with a little wooden doll curled up on top of me. I try and reach out to pat her on the head when I realize I feel so weak that I can barely move my arm. ¡°I would advise against moving right now. Going from the peak of Class 1 to the bottom has left you rather weakened.¡± Ugh.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Hearing the instructor from hell tell me it straight sucked. I knew this would happen when it explained the process to me. I just didn¡¯t think The difference would feel so stark. At the peak of Class 1 I could move so fast and had superhuman strength, it was an unbelievable amount of power. Now I severed all that power so that I could have a chance at advancing to a new stage. I knew the Demon Lord Title would be nothing but trouble. I had accepted that it would benefit me in the long run. I just wish it didn¡¯t mean having to use up all of my strength just to make one of my catalysts. Straining to look around the room I see that it is completely dark out. Though I had been unable to recognize the passage of time while I was painting the core so I don¡¯t know how long it has actually been. I try to ask how long it has been since I started, but find my jaw barely working, nothing but a pale raspy whisper coming out. Alice however notices the shifting of my body and finally realizes that I am awake. Her little hands clutching my shirt, I can practically see the tears in her eyes as she hugs me. [ I am so glad you are okay! Never scare me like that again! ] I try to give out a chuckle at her behavior only for it to turn into a rough cough. ¡°It will take a little while before you can recover enough to start threading new cores to regain your strength. I recommend just sleeping until then. Alice will take care of you. After you ascend however I have decided that you should take a break from leveling for a while. Alice can fill you in on the details.¡± Saying what starts out as a dreadful promise of more homework I relax greatly at the mention of a vacation. I am so ready for a break. I do however feel a little regretful at the thought of my leveling slowing down. I need power to protect myself and that which I care about. The thought of wasting time that could be spent getting stronger hurts a lot more than I expected. For now though, I just let my body relax and try to recover while Alice talks my ears, eyes? whatever, off with her little chat bubbles.
A month later and I have finally made my way back to where I was before. The peak of Class 1. Alice and I are sitting side by side with our final merged catalysts in hand. It is sweet that she waited for me. I will have to tease her more about that later. [ Stop with the evil look Lua, I know what you are thinking. ] With a huff the little wood sprite turns away from me grumpily. So cute. ¡°Now my little students,¡± speaking with a reverent and proud tone, the archdemon claps its hands together to get our attention. ¡°Place those catalysts against your cores and begin moving your soul threads in the way I instructed you.¡± Doing just that I gently move the rock sized mass of crystal made up of all three of my catalysts to my neck. Reaching out with my soul has become far less painful now that I have done it so many times so I am able to do this without screaming anymore. The threads of soul attach together and the mana from the catalyst runs along it, filling my core with incredible amounts of energy. The space in my core that had been filling up with all my different spells and skills begins to condense. The thicker and more pure mana pressing it down to give everything more space. I can see the spell channels in my core warp and change as they rearrange themselves to adjust to the new power. One of the best parts of advancing in Class is that your magic will grow in strength which allows spells to do far more than they had been able to do before. I find myself grinning before a different kind of pain floods my body. I grit my teeth trying not to scream as my flesh begins to writhe and shift. I knew this was coming and I had thought I was used to pain, but this is a whole different kind wrong. It was not just pain, but pure terrifying discomfort. Ascending to Class 2 comes with more than just a boost in magic and power. It comes with body modifications as well. These changes are made to make your body align with your magic. Some people can end up with all kinds of strange transformations depending on the magic they possess. I don¡¯t know what mine will be as I have never heard of either of my magics in this world, but I hope I don¡¯t end up looking strange. My bones dislocate and pop back into place as I can feel my internal organs moving. My skin ripples before flattening back out. I decide to just close my eyes, as seeing such things happen to my own body is so disgusting that I fear I might get sick. After a while the tangle of threads from my catalyst finishes its job and becomes a part of me. The writhing stops and I can feel my whole body tingling, like pins and needles after letting your leg fall asleep. And then that fades as well. Opening my eyes I look down at my body to find not much appearing to have changed. I try and figure out what is weird about my body when I realize that my skin looks smooth, inhumanly smooth. I run my fingers along it when my hand moves faster than I had wanted, flicking unnaturally as it hits my arm. What? That is when I hear a voice speak up from beside me. ¡°Interesting.¡± Looking over I feel my jaw drop at what I am seeing. Chapter 20: Transformations Standing before my eyes is a small girl, even smaller than her original doll form. The slightly gray and light brown wood that made up her body became more of a soft tan color. I can still see lines along her new skin from the wood grains, lines that twist a bit and form complex rune shapes. Tiny fairy-like wings made of light jutting out from her back. Her face is now distinctly human, unlike the rough egg shaped head she had before. I can see a smile form on her lips as she looks over her body, not caring that it is naked and quite feminine. What I find very interesting is that her look is distinctly similar to the projected form she had always used around me. The form of the cute villainess type girl. Her pointed ears that remind me of sharp twigs under a head of long curly light green hair now letting her hear the sounds around her instead of having to read my lips or transcribed messages. ¡°Holy crap Alice! You look incredible!¡± Looking over at me with her subtly glowing jade eyes the smile on the wooden sprite gets even wider. ¡°He he, thank you. You are looking pretty interesting yourself.¡± Her calming and ethereal voice overflowing with glee at having a proper body. I had thought this might happen considering that advancing to Class 2 evolves any creature who achieves it. I just didn¡¯t expect her changes to be so drastic. Her new body reminds me of the fact that elves supposedly originate from earth elementals that had merged with trees. I can tell that this is likely a very similar situation. Her life magic is likely what had the biggest effect, allowing her to change from a doll to a truly living being. I do think the runes I had carved into her body also had a major effect as well, those light based fairy wings on her back being the biggest clue. I am curious about what other changes her body has had, but I am more curious what I look like right now. Using my light magic I create a mirror in front of me by reflecting all light from the space in a flat plane. Looking myself over I find myself very surprised by how subtle my changes are compared to Alice¡¯s. I can see my skin looking smooth and almost blended together. It is like I am made of a single molded sheet of silicone more than actual flesh. However that is rather unnoticeable unless you are looking at it up close. What I do see that is more obvious is my eyes. Glowing spheres of perfect white with a thin blue ring taking the place of both my iris and pupil stare back at me in the mirror. Once I see them I realize that my vision is far wider than it used to be without any of my perspective changing magic activated. I can see the different wavelengths of light all blended together around me. I don¡¯t even need to activate my spells to determine the relative temperatures or amount of ultraviolet light in any given space. What is even more strange is that the sight is not disorienting. When I used to activate the vision spells I would get slight vertigo just from the different ways of seeing the world, and that was with only one of them active. Now with all of them active at once I am somehow perfectly fine processing the information. Looking over at Alice I get a bit jealous. I don¡¯t have light wings, which I feel is a shame. Flying would have been cool, I should work on a spell like that soon. ¡°Ok¡­ I can see my eyes and vision has changed which makes sense, but what the hell is up with my skin and why did my body freak out like it did when I ascended?¡± My reflexes are also wonky as well. Looking over to the demon professor Lucadon I find the creature examining me rather carefully with a pondering look on its blurry face. ¡°Hmm, yes I see. How fascinating! A large amount of your body seems to have merged together. In fact I don¡¯t see any blood vessels in your body at all!.¡± Now that has me concerned. I don¡¯t have blood anymore? And how much has merged together?This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Sending a pulse of X-Rays through my body I construct a map of my insides far easier than I had been able to before. I can see now that even my bones are blurry for some reason. Asking Lucadon I get an answer that I find hard to understand. Apparently my bones have merged slightly with my muscles and flesh. This makes me a lot more durable which is nice. My increased flexibility and reaction speed seems to be a result of this as well. I try to mess around with my new body for a while, jumping, moving, and bending in strange ways before trying something slightly dangerous. I have Alice on standby just in case I mess up. Making a golem and handing it a spear, I order it to cut my arm open so I can see inside. I got into a rather long argument about my plan with Alice, but in the end she relented once I reminded her that she can heal me up far faster now thanks to her ascension. Gritting my teeth at the slightly dulled pain I notice that while I can see the color change as it gets deeper, everything is more of a gradient than hard lines. I look like a cartoon piece of meat on the inside¡­ Quickly getting healed by Alice before I can get a better look I smile as the warmth of her magic washes over me. ¡°I find it funny that I became more like a human while you became more like a golem. I do wish you would not treat your body like a science experiment though.¡± ¡°Hey! It is better to know the limits of my body now than learn them in battle.¡± Grumbling at the logic behind my actions I look away from the pointed glare I am getting from the little fairy. ¡°Anyway, what should we do now? You told me that we were going to take a break from fighting, but not exactly what we were going to do.¡± The tiny wooden girl flies up to my face with her arms crossed. ¡°You have been pushing yourself too hard. Considering how stupid you are when it comes to anything but magic I can only see you running yourself into the ground at the rate you are going. So, we are going to leave the forest and visit a city. Get you acquainted with other people like you for once.¡± I am just about to give a big smile at the thought of getting out of this forest when something occurs to me, making me frown. ¡°What about my Demon Lord Title and the fact that we are not connected to The System. Won¡¯t everyone be after us?¡± Alice frowns at that too, but then Lucadon takes that moment to speak up. ¡°You both will need to make a dummy connection to the system. I will show you how, but it should be easy with your new power and Lua¡¯s magic. As for the Demon Lord Title, that won''t be a problem. Others can not see your title as it is not a part of The System. you will just need to suppress the demonic presence around you.¡± ¡°I am sorry¡­ The who and the what now?? I don¡¯t remember having a demonic presence and you have never mentioned it was possible to trick The System like that.¡± Smiling with its usual terrible smile, the demon goes on to explain the process of making a fake connection using a golem core while also sucking in the vague blur that was forming around me. I couldn¡¯t see the aura myself and nor could Alice, but apparently that is because I am the source and she is bonded to me in a way. I noticed a faint blush appear on her tiny face when Lucadon mentioned the bond. So cute. Packing up our supplies and having Lucadon make us both new clothes out of plant materials, Alice because she was naked and me because I have grown a lot over this last year. I am not sure why Lucadon is so skilled at making bras, but I choose to ignore my questions. Just as I am about to ask Lucadon to transport us to the first ring, ready for a much needed vacation. Lucadon decides to rain on both our parades. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Now that you are both ready I will transport you to the second ring and you can find your own way out.¡± ¡°W-Wait what, I thought we were going to take a break?! Getting out of the second ring will take ages! You do know how massive each ring is right?!¡± ¡°Yeah! I have walked around the second ring for months and never come close to finding that wall to the first ring again!¡± We both shout our complaints only for Lucadon to promptly shut us down. ¡°Now, now. You both need time to get used to your new power do you not? This will give you an opportunity to collect Class 2 cores to thread while practicing new spells.¡± With that both of us deflate knowing the demon is right. Just as I start to look up I notice we have already been transported to a random location within the second ring of the forest. ¡°Do you think you need to eat now that you are no longer a doll?¡± Alice moves to sit on my shoulder and then sighs. ¡°If I do, then I really hope your ascension made you a better cook too.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Huffing and turning my head I ignore her rude remark and look out towards the dark expansive forest. ¡°So uh¡­ Which way is out?¡± Alice once again sighs and shakes her head. ¡°North.¡± Moving my vision around I look above the treetops that far exceed the height of the ones in the first ring. I can see the position of the sun shining down, its light trying to break through the thick canopy, and from that determine the way to head. I hope this does not take too long. Chapter 21: Adventurers I casually lean back in the little chair I created as I hear the crunch of the brush beneath me. I grin to myself at the relaxing atmosphere as I travel through the forest. ¡°Stop being so smug. You should have thought of this ages ago.¡± My grin lessens a bit as the little wooden fairy sitting in my lap reprimands me. We have been moving through the second ring for about a week now and I recently had a genius idea. Horse golem! I can now travel through the forest in style while working on training my magic instead. My little army of Demon Monkey Golems going out on the hunt and protecting us. I had wanted to make some demons for a while now but Lucadon kept stopping me, apparently a Class 1 demon is kind of worthless. Demon Larva they are called. Looking like nothing more than a black etherial slime and unable to do much in the way of damage. Now however I am Class 2, which lets me make Lesser Demons. Right after we were dropped into the second ring I went and created one. Doing so took a lot out of me though so I can¡¯t do it more than once per day it seems. Rather than using mana, it seems that my soul thread shed some kind of substance which then gathered the surrounding mana to create a black ghostly imp. Small sharp claws that seem to border the line between physical and immaterial. About a foot tall with its black fire-like body swaying a bit in the flow of mana. Its dull red eyes just barely containing any sentience. I have been making a new one every day, but that slowed our progress due to the exhaustion I felt after making one. Due to this I started wishing I had a car or something just to make my life easier. It was that thought that led me to using one of our Class 2 cores to make a horse golem. I even made a back rest on the saddle for comfort. The whole thing is made from a large branch we found yesterday after killing some kind of giant bird. A fight that was much easier than I expected once I put the DMGs as I like to call them to work. Demons are apparently stronger when possessing a physical body, especially something with a mana core. Normally a demon would have to possess something weaker than its ethereal form which in turn would mean it can¡¯t access its full power. However my monkey golems won''t fight back against the demons possessing them which lets me get the most out of their capabilities. I currently have seven DMGs and a bunch of regular monkey golems supporting them. My evil army is already starting to take shape! Now I just need a spooky black castle on a structurally unsound cliff and I will be set for the whole Demon Lord image. As I muse to myself about how my Title is finally becoming useful, I notice a dot of light appearing in my vision. Looking over the heads up display I had been working on for the last week I see a presence moving towards us. I immediately stiffen and inform Alice of what is coming while making preparations. [ Alice, we have a group of Class 3s coming our way. Three total, traveling rather quickly through the forest. ] Sending the message to appear in her vision she nods her head and disappears from sight. Well, a normal person''s sight as she is just letting visible light flow through her. One of the few spells I carved into her wooden body before we ascended. I had also improved upon the spell now that I am Class 2 and applied it to all of my golems. Ordering all my golems to become invisible I have the horse golem shift into a more combat focused mode. Sitting on the now spike covered wooden horse I get in a defensive formation with the golems. I can feel myself sweating. I have faced Class 2 and technically Class 3 beings while at Class 1 but that protector kill in the temple was more of a fluke than anything. And Class 2 beings don¡¯t get the same benefits that Class 3 ones do. The difference is like night and day when you look at how the body attunes to its magic. A Class 1 has no physical attunement to their magic. Class 2 just makes a few modifications to the body to help their magic flow better within them, they in essence have not changed from what they originally were. Class 3 is different however. When someone reaches Class 3 they evolve. Their body now, in part, magic itself. This evolution comes with a strong resistance to magic now applied to their bodies as well as incredible physical enhancement. I don¡¯t like my odds against three evolved individuals all at once. The dots on my map get closer and closer while I ready my spear. Just as I am about to fire a blast of light I notice that the individuals in question are human. Or were human before their evolutions. The three people all come to a stop right as they notice me sitting atop my war horse. We just stare at each other, them in shock and wariness, myself in cold calculation. I can see a single man and two women flanking him from both sides. The man has golden hair and eyes, his body is covered in a turquoise green metal that I immediately identify as mithril. His gauntlets have large spikes on them with blood dripping off them from whatever he had recently killed. A brawler then, likely a Qi user if he is physically based. Of the two women behind him there is a short girl with long flowing blonde hair that moves despite the lack of wind in the forest right now. Swirling patterns cover her skin with a compound bow in her hands, a quiver on her back, and a sickle and chain type weapon on her hip. Her face is one that is rather serious but lacking a bit in emotion, looking at me with the same calculative look I am.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The second of the two is a taller but more expressive woman with short black hair and wispy black flames coming from her eyes. What I had thought were gloves at first seem to be shadows moving around, covering most of her arms. I am not sure what the first woman''s magic might be but I am guessing that the second¡¯s is some kind of dark magic. Our staring contest continues until the tall golden brawler breaks the silence. ¡°Greetings. My name is Helimos, The Fist of Justice! young one, are you lost? A child like yourself should not be alone in these woods. My party and I would be happy to help you find your parents!¡± Yeah, I already don¡¯t like this guy. Everyone reacts differently to gaining power, some become villains thinking that they can take anything they want now, others take pride in their strength and try to help others. Then there are idiots like this, people who believe they are chosen heroes and try to save the world. Such people always end up dead. I can tell just from the tone of his voice that he truly believes I am nothing more than a child he should be swooping down to save. A child who will run crying to him thanking him for being my savior. I feel the urge to rain on his parade as hard as I can. ¡°My mother stabbed me in the gut on my birthday and my father dumped my bloody body in this shitty forest, leaving me for dead.¡± Silence hangs over the group after that rather blunt bomb I just dropped. However things don¡¯t go as I had hoped. Now the whole trio is looking at me like I am a wounded puppy that needs a hug. Especially the taller woman with the black flames wisping off of her, I feel an overwhelmingly warm and motherly feeling radiating off of her. It is like they have totally forgotten that I am currently riding on a horse golem covered in giant spikes¡­ ¡°Oh you poor thing! Come here, we will protect you!¡± The black haired woman rushes over to me at a terrifying speed, reaching over to pick me off my horse and hug me. I don¡¯t let her though and point my spear right at her face. ¡°I don¡¯t know you, don¡¯t come any closer.¡± She does not seem to care, pausing only for a moment before she pushes the spear to the side faster than I can react and plucking me from my mount. I suddenly find myself wrapped in her arms pressed into her rather ample chest. I find myself relaxing for a moment, dirty thoughts on my mind. However I snap out of it and try to think of a way out of this situation. I can¡¯t just say I am doing perfectly fine after my sob story got them all protective like this. I need something to get her off of me and I can¡¯t go using my light magic because I really don¡¯t know these people. I still don¡¯t know why my parents killed me for having light magic but I know it is safest to not let anyone know I have it for now. It is that thought that gives me an idea of what to say. ¡°Let go of me! How do I know you were not sent by my parents to finish the job? I will fight to the death unless you let go now!¡± I reshape my spear around to point right at her eyes and have my war horse get ready to attack. The woman finally realizes what is going on and carefully places me on the ground with her hands in the air. I keep my spear pointed at her as I back away. ¡°Sorry, I just couldn¡¯t help myself. I promise we were not sent here for you. Here, see.¡± She says, quickly pulling out a small golden shield from her hip and pouring mana into it. ¡°We are gold ranked adventurers in good standing.¡± I glare at her and the shield in her hand. On it appears her name, her Class, her magic, and her reputation level. Rose Ashfort, Class 3, Shadow Magic, 4.5 Stars ¡°I promise you can¡¯t fake these because of the magic the Guild uses. Please trust us. We can keep you safe.¡± I already know that Guild badges can¡¯t be faked, that is not what is important. She is a noble considering she has a last name, and that could mean trouble if she is from my kingdom. ¡°I can keep myself safe enough, I have been living in this forest for months just fine.¡± That gets a very shocked look across their faces as I feel a pulse of mana from each of the two girls and Qi from the man. They are identifying me, good thing I made a dummy connection to The System or they might have been compelled to attack me. ¡°You are Class 2?! But you are so young!¡± They all shout in sync. Which is weird and impressive at the same time. ¡°Like I said, I can take care of myself. Now what kingdom do you come from, Lady Ashfort? I can¡¯t trust a noble I have never heard of.¡± That has her stuttering, the whole rest of her party is still remaining in the back. Apparently deciding to let the most motherly of their group deal with me. ¡°I-I am from the Tuskan Kingdom. But! I have abandoned my family and noble lineage so please do not judge me based on the sins of my kingdom.¡± That has me narrowing my eyes further. Ignoring the pleading look on the woman''s face as she tries to win me over, I remember everything I can about the Tuskan Kingdom. The kingdom is well known for its greed and crime, They have invaded and betrayed kingdoms many times in the past garnering a terrible reputation. Their nobility being just as arrogant and cruel. The fact that she is claiming to have abandoned her family name could mean many things. I would assume it was a trick to lure me in, but the woman could easily have killed me already when she had ahold of me. I don¡¯t really care about her circumstances though, I just need an excuse to part ways with this group. And this is a perfect one. ¡°I see no reason to trust you. Your kingdom has always been after my own. I will find my own way back.¡± The woman¡¯s face falls as she hears me say that. Sadly the wannabe hero takes that moment to step in. ¡°Come now, we are a party well known for their duty to justice! You are not safe here if what you have said is true. We shall escort you back to civilization. We are currently based out of the Dragon Empire, which is quite safe I can promise you that.¡± That has me raising an eyebrow. The Dragon Empire is a vast nation that borders a substantial amount of The Sea of Trees. Known for its advanced technology and superior might. It would be a really nice place to visit, but a foreign noble kid like me appearing from the forest with no money would find it difficult to get in. These people are incredibly pushy and overbearing but they are not bad people from what I can see. I really don¡¯t want to go along with them but I am thinking it might be my only choice now. I just want out of this damn forest. I can ditch them once I get inside the city. Sighing very audibly I keep my spear up but more relaxed. ¡°Fine, I will go with you to the Empire. But I have conditions.¡± I am already exhausted just from dealing with these people, I need rules in place for my own sanity if I am going to travel with them. Perking up the woman before me smiles broadly and nods her head. ¡°Of course! I promise we will keep you safe!¡± I am probably going to regret this. Chapter 22: An Awkward Conversation Rose Ashfort I clearly made a mistake. I realize that now. It took me some time for my head to cool down before I realized how overzealous I had been. I had seen the girl riding that powerful wooden horse covered in spikes, but when she mentioned how her parents had tried to murder her it sounded like a cry for help. After that everything else seemed to vanish. I let my emotions get the better of me and rushed over to hug her because she was so young and in pain. Now we are all walking out of the forest together with us three at the front and her trailing far behind. That was one of her conditions, we were not allowed within 5 feet of her. Though that is obviously directed at me more than the other two. I am usually the one keeping everything together in the party, so it is quite embarrassing that I am the main culprit this time. I just couldn¡¯t help myself. I had my own issues with terrible parents when they discovered my relationship, and ended up having to flee from them for both of our safety. As a result I ended up scaring the poor kid, I mean, young woman. That was her second condition, to be treated like the Class 2 that she is, and not as a child. She looked ready to kill Helimos when he said there was no need for her to act tough. I ended up smacking him on the back of the head rather hard for nearly scaring away the girl just when things were finally getting somewhere. After several hours of walking in awkward silence, we finally decided to set up camp for the night. We made a small clearing, placing down a simple magic tool to replace a fire, and our sleeping bags around us. I wanted to try giving my pack to the girl for her to use but I thought better of trying to interact with her again. ¡°So, what is your name? I don¡¯t think we have all properly introduced ourselves. I am Helimos by the way.¡± Helimos can¡¯t take the quiet anymore and finally breaks the uncomfortable silence that had been going on since we sat down around the heater. ¡°Lua.¡± That is all the response we get as Lua narrows her eyes from her place on the opposite side of the heater from all of us. It will clearly take some time for her to warm up to us. ¡°A-As you know I am Rose Ashfort and the girl to my left is Jeniveve. It is nice to meet you Lua.¡± I really don¡¯t know how to act around her now. When I look into her light blue eyes they just seem kind of empty, artificial even. Jen raises her hand in a slight wave. ¡°Call me Jen. Sorry about these idiots.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Both Helmios and I shout at once. That quip manages to get a small smile from the girl. I am not sure how I feel about my wife calling me an idiot being the first thing that gets the girl to smile at us¡­ I am glad that she is finally smiling a bit though. Her cold cautious gaze, like she was always preparing to fight back, was sad to see from someone her age. ¡°So Lua, I have been wondering. There is a strange presence on your shoulder that I can¡¯t quite make out, what is that?¡± And just when it seemed like Lua was about to open up a bit, Helimos had to open his big mouth. His statement immediately getting a reaction out of the girl. Her horse goes into battle mode as she raises her spear and points it as us with her face morphed into a scowl. ¡°woah, woah, woah! I didn¡¯t mean to offend you or anything. I was just curious!¡± I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickle, like I am suddenly being sharply watched by dozens of eyes. The trees rustle as if preparing to attack us themselves.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I start to reach for one of my knives out of instinct when the space around Lua¡¯s shoulder distorts and reveals a small green girl with glowing wings of light and a matching scowl on her face. ¡°A Fairy?!¡±
Lua Knight All three of them shout at the same time, further raising my alert. Alice and I had been talking through my little message system the whole time and decided it best to reveal her now that she has been found out. However, I have all of my golems and their spears stationed around us prepared to strike the second I see a reaction I don¡¯t like. I don¡¯t know how the rest of the world will react to Alice so this will work as a good test run before I make it to the city. I know these people won¡¯t attack me which I am going to use to my full advantage. ¡°I have been watching you all for a while, and I must say I am amazed that people as terrible at reading the room as you are have managed to survive to Class 3.¡± Alice opening with a rather blunt observation, immediately cowes the three adventurers into sitting down with their heads hung. I get a feeling like that hit a serious sore spot for them. I don¡¯t want to be too mean, but these people just can¡¯t seem to understand the meaning of personal space. I am glad Alice said it before I said something far less kind. Now that they are no longer trying to ¡°break down my walls¡± or whatever garbage I am sure was in their heads, I take the chance to fish for info. ¡°How much do you know about Fairies?¡± Technically, Alice is not really a fairy. Her body is still just a bunch of wood merged together, but the rest of the world will clearly assume she is one. I had not read much about fairies in my studies so I need to make sure I know what precautions to take depending on the public perception of fairies. Helimos decides to take the lead in answering my question. I can see a bit of reverence in his gaze towards Alice which I don¡¯t take as the best sign. ¡°I know that they are a rare type of fae that don¡¯t interact with humans much. I have met a few before but they were already bonded to someone else.¡± I tilt my head at the mention of fairies bonding with others, confused as to what that means and why he seems so disappointed. Seeing my head tilt Rose speaks up, answering my unspoken question. ¡°Fairies only bond to those who are pure of heart, such people often go on to do great things. This has caused many people to revere fairies and those who they bond with.¡± That comment elicits a rather rude snort from the fake fairy on my shoulder. [ You, pure of heart. Now that is the joke of the century. ] I do my very best to maintain my poker face and not grumpily cross my arms at the message that appears in my vision. ¡°I want to know how people will react to seeing her. Will she be safe if I bring her into the city?¡± ¡°No one would ever dare to harm a fairy!¡± Helimos shouts only to get smacked on the head again by Rose. ¡°That is not true at all. Plenty of people could try to kidnap her depending on where you are and who you meet. The Dragon Empire however should be quite safe for her. The laws there are strict and I have seen many fae moving around safely.¡± That has me almost sighing in relief only to stiffen a bit when Jen finally chimes in. ¡°I would still recommend keeping her hidden, one greedy merchant or noble passing you by and they might think they can take advantage of you because of your age.¡± I narrow my eyes for a moment at the thought. One side effect of ascending so young is that now I will take quite a while to age any further. I look about 15 now but if I ascend again any time soon I will likely end up stuck as an eternal 15 year old. That would make life a lot more difficult. I sigh as I finally put down my spear, taking my seat once again. ¡°Sorry¡­ about all this. I just really can¡¯t trust anyone right now. Especially not three people who are a Class above me that I just met.¡± I see them relax a bit at that. ¡°It is fine, I can understand your apprehension to trust us. I am really sorry for how I acted when we first met. I shouldn¡¯t have tried to hug you.¡± ¡°It''s fine, just please don¡¯t ever do that again.¡± I can see a rather sad look on her face when I ask her to never do it again, but she eventually smiles a bit and nods. ¡°How long would you say it will take until we reach the empire?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask, still not really wanting to spend more time with these people than I have to. Helimos and Rose both look towards Jen indicating that they both clearly are not good with directions. ¡°It should take us about two weeks if we travel at the same speed that we did today.¡± Humming to myself I contemplate the distance that must mean we are from the first ring. I can¡¯t see the cliff face from here but I assume we must be getting close. I wonder how these people managed to get down it and how we are supposed to get back up considering it is nearly 50 stories high. They must have a way to do so without climbing equipment, as I don¡¯t see any on them. Actually that makes me curious about something else now. ¡°Say, why were you in the second ring in the first place?¡± I can also see Alice raise an eyebrow showing that she is curious as well. ¡°Oh, that.¡± Helimos says now puffing his chest up with pride. ¡°We were out here searching for any signs of that Demon Lord on request of the Guild.¡± ¡­ .. . Shit. Chapter 23: Information Gathering I can feel my body stiffen a bit but thankfully the others don¡¯t notice. It is a good thing I am projecting normal eyes over my fancy glowing blue ring ones. If I had not been doing that from the start they would have probably noticed my eyes shifting back and forth nervously and gotten suspicious. Straightening myself out and acting as though my reaction is out of shock at their actions and not at my own dangerous situation; I feel dozens of questions rush through my mind as I try to formulate the best way to respond. Why is the guild investigating? Is it just this group? Why send Class 3s? The Dragon Empire should have plenty of high level soldiers to send out on their own, so how did I only run into a group now after my Title was announced many months ago? [ Be careful in giving away any information, don¡¯t let on that you have been in this forest since before the announcement. ] With that warming from Alice appearing in the corner of my vision I hedge my bets with a safe but vague response. ¡°Oh right, I had forgotten about the Demon Lord announcement thing. I had been so busy focusing on surviving in this forest that it slipped my mind.¡° Trying to not outright lie while keeping the reality of my situation under wraps I press a for a bit of information. ¡°Has there been any news about what was going on with that? I had a lot to deal with at the time so I couldn¡¯t check how other people were responding.¡± Keeping my detached vision focused on the three¡¯s faces I try to gauge their response in case they suspect me of anything. Thankfully I don¡¯t see the slightest suspicion in their reactions. ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t worry. We were sent by the guild just to calm down some baseless rumors that were spreading in town. There have been all kinds of rumors and false sightings since, people were quite freaked out when the announcement went out. By now though, most people just think that the Demon Lord must be far away or has no interest in attacking humans. After all, our only records of the Demon Lord title read like children''s books.¡± Ah, that must be why they only sent Class 3s and they were just running around the second ring. ¡°There was a bit of a stir when the adventurers noticed a lot of high danger Class 2 threats in the second ring were all killed. So we were sent to check things out and make sure there was nothing fishy going on.¡± Chiming in with a bit more context on their reason for being out here Rose waved off the whole Demon Lord talk. ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t need to worry about that anymore since we discovered the reason for the dead Class 2 Leaders.¡± Jen gives a pointed look at me, a small smirk forming on her lips. I shrink back a bit, thinking this situation just keeps getting worse and worse. Congrats guys, you accomplished your mission. You found the Demon Lord¡­ I am glad no one in their right mind would think a 15 year old Class 2 girl to be the Demon Lord. I may have to lean on that perception to stay out of trouble in the future. ¡°There was a lot of panic when that freaky box appeared in everyone''s vision. All the nearby nations formed an alliance just in case, but now that is on the verge of breaking after there being no real sightings of this Demon Lord.¡± Leaning back Helimos runs his hands through his golden hair in a way that I feel is just an attempt to try and look cool. ¡°The Alcott Kingdom which proposed the alliance is not in a great position right now.¡± ¡°I see. I didn¡¯t know that, thanks.¡± Taking in the information I realize that the effects of that announcement were far larger than I had imagined, and at the same time the result is less so. I am amazed that so many nations came together to form an alliance after just one announcement. Most nations are at eachothers throats constantly. Putting aside their differences and greed is something I have never seen happen before. Though it seems that my lack of action as the Demon Lord has allowed their greed to push past their fear. Maybe I should wait until the alliance breaks before taking any action in my role as Demon Lord. Let the chaos conceal my work. After all, a united human front would be a real problem for someone as weak as me.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. As I contemplate my possible plans for when I finally put deed to Title I curl up under a dome of wood and spikes made from my horse golem and go to sleep. ¡­ .. . We have been walking and chatting for a couple days now as I find myself warming up to the adventurers. I don¡¯t trust them in the slightest but I understand that the more they like me the more I can get out of them once we reach the city. I have been working on a new spell since yesterday so I have been a bit quiet. I saw the group fight against a Class 2 monster and it made me reevaluate my perspective on my current spell list. They cut apart the creature faster than I could blink, moving at inhuman speeds that not even my distorted perception could keep up with. That scene made me realize that you can¡¯t fight against an attack that you can¡¯t perceive. And while I have plenty of attacks by now, I am still rather lacking in defense. My main focus is on combining my detection map that I have constantly running with some form of accelerated thinking. I should get proper enhanced perception like that when I advance to Class 3 but having it early could greatly affect my eventual evolution. That, and provide massive benefits in combat. I had been moving my vision around at high speed while messing around with some golemancy magic on my own body when I saw something massive get in my way. ¡°Oh, wow. We are already so close to the big cliff thingy that separates the rings.¡± That careless comment gets some surprised looks from the adventurers. ¡°You can tell?¡± Rose asks, looking a bit confused at how I noticed before they did. I do my best to come up with a technically true answer while concealing my light magic. ¡°Oh, uh. yeah. I have some golems out there ahead of us and I can see through their eyes if I want.¡± Nothing I said was a lie. I really do have golems out there and I can look through their eyes using light magic, I just didn¡¯t tell the whole truth. I have a weird hangup about lying, which is probably not the best for a Demon Lord I¡¯ll be honest. It is a complicated and troublesome character trait I would like to get rid of, but have had to accept as part of me for a while now. I sigh a bit internally at how hard it will be to keep my identity secret when I find it quite difficult to force myself to lie. ¡°Huh, interesting. This golemancy seems really useful. You can even make your own weapons and armor from what I see.¡± Getting a slightly rare comment from Jen, who usually keeps out of conversations, I nod my head at her observation. I am not sure if she just doesn¡¯t talk much or is focused on scouting with her wind magic. Whatever the reason may be, I like her the best. Because she knows what boundaries are. After a bit more idle chatter about the city, and Rose trying to get back into my good graces with her attempt at comedy, we come face to face with a steep cliff of solid stone. Towering into the sky the dark grey monument of stone extends past the tree tops and gives us a glimpse of the first ring above. Helimos walks up to the cliff face, trailing along the side for about an hour before coming across a big metal pole stuck into the ground a foot away from the wall. I see him pull out his golden adventurers badge and hold the little shield up to the post. Mana flows between the small badge and the dull and slightly worn box of metal that is about as tall as I am. The ground rumbles for a second and then I see an incredible sight. The stone of the cliff twists and warps until a barrier that I had not even realized was there falls away. Before my eyes runes float up and glow along the wall which then presses the stone open to reveal a staircase that could fit a creature several times the size of my horse golem. The staggeringly large staircase lighting up in intervals like those torch scenes in every story about exploring ancient magic temples for glass skulls or whatever. ¡°Woah, I had no idea this thing was here¡­¡± I can see a smug look on Helimos¡¯ face at my comment but everyone ignores him when Jen asks me how I actually ended up in the second ring if I didn¡¯t know about the staircase. ¡°Ah, wait sorry. If you don¡¯t want to talk about it, that is fine.¡± Trying to walk back her question after realizing that such a question would touch on my whole parents trying to kill me experience, Jen waves her hands in apology. ¡°It is fine, I ended up in the second ring after that whole situation was over. I was trying to get out of the forest when a monster kicked me off the cliff.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Now that gets a real freak out from the group, causing them to all pause on the steps and look at me like I have two heads. ¡°How did you survive?!¡± Rose shouts out making me wince as the sound pierces my ears and echoes through the cave like staircase. ¡°I ended up getting caught by a monster on the way down as it was planning to save me for a snack. I managed to get out of it fine in the end though.¡± ¡°You can be all blase about it now but you were freaking out quite a bit when it happened.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, like you were any better. You were trying to act all cool but I could see the fear in your eyes when I woke up.¡± As I bicker with Alice, I get some rather incredulous looks from the three adventurers. Both amazed that I can be so casual about such a dangerous situation and shocked at the way Alice and I are teasing each other. ¡°Actually, back on the whole Demon Lord topic from a while ago. Does anyone know what the Title does?¡± Helimos apparently being the one with the most knowledge about the topic seems overjoyed to be the one to fill me in on the lore. ¡°No, all records of it are vague at best. just lots of death and destruction. However there are all kinds of ancient stories about demons that I have found interesting. Listen to this: Supposedly all the demons were sealed away millennia ago by a hero from another world!¡± Once again I have to stop myself from freezing in my tracks at the revelations I keep getting as I talk to these people more. ¡°A hero from another world?¡± Chapter 24: Finally Out Of That Horrible Forest! ¡°What do you mean sealed away? And what world was this hero from?¡± Looking a bit startled at my rather sudden enthusiasm at the conversation Helimos pauses for a second and thinks things over. ¡°Well, it is just an old story that the seniors in our clan like to tell to the newbies so I don¡¯t know how much is true. Supposedly there is a gate on the brimstone continent that leads to the underworld. The story goes that long ago a great hero was brought to our world by a god. This hero fought back against the tide of demons and pushed them back to the gate after many long years. Ending with the demons being sealed behind the gate by the hero''s'' chains of holy light so that they could never cause chaos in our world again.¡± His golden eyes gleefully glowed in the dim staircase as he nerded out over the story. Looking more like a child than I do. Rose who had clearly heard this story a thousand times already immediately rained all over his parade. ¡°Not that anyone has verified this story. You need to make it past The Sea of Trees just to make it to the brimstone continent and those few who do make it past never return.¡± I decide to ignore Helimos¡¯ pouting as I try and figure out what this all means. ¡­ Lucadon asked that I revive the demon population. I didn¡¯t know that most of them had been sealed away, if that story is even true of course. I know history distorts reality better than most, considering my memories of earth. But is opening the gate what he was really looking for? Not making new demons? I just didn¡¯t know. I feel my thoughts going in circles as I try and work the mystery out but eventually I just give up. Well, I am far from being able to cross the sea of trees on my own so I should probably stop thinking about it for now. ¡°You know, there is actually something I was wondering about myself.¡± Jen, joining in the conversation begins. ¡°That horse golem as you call it, I can sense mana being generated from it. It is almost like the thing is a real living creature. How is that possible?¡± It seems like Jen is more curious about me than the other two, and knows the best times to ask. Her ability to read the room far exceeding that of the two village idiots with her. In the end I decide to humor her, while leaving a few things out of course. My magic will eventually be recorded on my guild badge when I get one so keeping it completely secret is a waste of time. Though I will do everything in my power to keep them from learning of my light magic. ¡°I use mana cores from the creatures I defeated to make constructs of earth aligned materials. This horse for example has a Class 2 core inside of it.¡± I can feel now that I have reached Class 2 myself, that I am able to use more elements when making golems, but they don¡¯t need to know that. This finally has Jen gushing about something. ¡°incredible! I have never heard of such a unique magic!¡± I guess she gets excitable like the rest of the group¡­ Just in her own way. Before she can pepper me with questions about it though I ask one of my own. ¡°Actually, Do you think I can get it into the city?¡± This is a real concern for me. The thing is strong and a rather large mass of Class 2 spirit wood so I would like to be able to keep it with me. However, reality is cruel it seems. ¡°Well, I am not sure where you would put something so large. You would need to leave it at a stable which might be expensive.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. This might make things difficult, I need money but have nothing to sell besides some wooden weapons and a few mana cores that I am willing to part with. I can disconnect my bond with the golem spears well enough but the thought makes me kind of uneasy, leaving something that used to be connected to me in someone else''s hands. I can probably mooch off these three for a while until I can make money from being an adventurer. That is if they will really let a 15 year old become a Silver rank. Another thing I am worried about. But as these small possibilities run through my head, my last bit of hope is crushed. ¡°But I doubt they would let you into the city with it unless you have a silver rank emblem of your own.¡± Jen concludes with an apologetic look. Damn. ¡­ .. . After another two weeks of trudging through the forest I can finally see a break in the endless pillars of wood ahead. We made it out of the forest! I can see a vast expanse of tall grass with the sun shining down and a big blue open sky. Oh it is so nice to see a sky not obscured by those towering trees anymore! It feels like a weight has been lifted and I can breathe again. Though that might also be an effect of my solar regeneration spell, or whatever it has been upgraded into after my ascension, being affected by the large increase in light. We walk for a bit, and we end up coming across a few adventurer parties making their way into the forest early in the day. The others wave to the young Class 1s heading to level up or complete other quests but don¡¯t interact with them much as they are escorting me. I begrudgingly ended up leaving my horse in the forest and taking the core out of it for safekeeping. I plan to come back for the wood if and when I get my silver rank badge. I also left the demon monkey golems as well as the normal monkey golems in the forest to head back to the second ring. I am going to have them hunt in secret among other things I have planned. Their invisibility spells are carved into their bodies and they should generate enough mana to keep them running most of the time. Eventually we make it to a busy clearing with a few structures here and there surrounded by high walls. In the center of the clearing is what looks like a mixture between a bus stop, a train station, and a tram. The large wooden platforms are floating above a single metal rail that runs through the station and out of the area which is populated with all kinds of stands and shops. I guess right next to the entrance and exit of the forest is a really good place to sell shit. We hop on one of the passenger platforms, this one having seats compared to the others which I am assuming are for cargo transport. I see a few adventurers loading up a large orc onto the platform behind us and tagging it like a piece of luggage at an airport. The whole situation is so surreal after living in the forest like a feral child for the last year. I look over at Alice who is invisible on my shoulder as we sit down in one of the free seats. I really hope no one notices her like Helimos did. With that fearful thought I try and make myself relax as I settle in my seat. Eventually the platform takes off after a warning from an attendant at the station. It is surprisingly fast despite my not feeling any wind from the rather open air design. Probably some sort of magic shielding. It takes about an hour of riding the platform before we can see the first signs of civilization appear on the horizon. The Draconic Empire of Esmaladia, a nation that spans across several thousand miles and borders much of The Sea of Trees. Much to the chagrin of other nations. The city we are heading to is called Carrion and it is the furthest city to the east in the empire, right next to my own kingdom of Alcott. And I can¡¯t believe my eyes when I see the towering walls made of pure, heavily enchanted steel. Several towering gates begin to take shape over the horizon as we get closer to the end of the rail. We enter another small station that stops right outside the gate, more shopkeepers trying to hawk their wares at us like feral dogs. The group simply ignoring them all. Hopping off the platform I follow along as the others lead me to a gate with a few adventurers heading in with most heading out. The hustle and bustle seemingly less than it was at the other end of the magic tram. The morning rush hour starting to wind down. Just as we make it to the gate, the guard there stops us and asks for our badges. I can feel myself getting nervous. Even if my weird merged flesh does not seems to sweat anymore, I feel the urge to wipe a bit of sweat from my brow. Rose takes over and after showing her badge explaining that they found me in the forest and for privacy''s sake can¡¯t say much more as it is part of their quest. This is also something I requested of them. If word gets out that a young girl with blue hair was nearly murdered by her parents in The Sea of Trees, then I can only see it getting back to my parents. It takes them accepting all responsibility for me before the guard lets me through the gate as well. Finally, I step foot into the city, and the sight takes my breath away. Chapter 25: The Adventurers Guild I step on to the pale red bricks that make up the city streets and the noise of the city hits me right in the face; The buzzing of the crowd almost knocking me over. I have never been anywhere this loud before. I never was allowed out of the house before my parents killed me, so seeing the crowded streets full of shops and magical infrastructure is a new experience for me. I can¡¯t help but look around with excitement at the colorful buildings selling all kinds of items, from magical cookware to enchanted clothing, to even magic powered cars! Everything is so new and amazing. I can even see a functioning public transportation system that would put anything on earth to shame. Not that such a feat is difficult. Shining trams running along grooves in the road as people dart across the streets. Plenty of greenery integrated into the bright and beautiful city. It smells so clean and fresh. Far better than the constant smell of sweat and blood you get in The Sea of Trees. The most interesting thing is that everything here runs on mechanical parts and mana. I never would have questioned it if I didn¡¯t know about electricity from my life on earth. Surely with mana and advanced technology, incredible things would be possible. However I had learned from Alice a while back about the Grand Curse that covers the entire mortal realm. A nasty thing indeed. The curse puts massive limits on any advanced forms of technology and is why I can¡¯t create certain kinds of light with magic. It seems that the curse was put in place by the people of the world to stop The System¡¯s creator from doing something. Not even Alice knows what, but whatever it was, it was enough that the entire mortal realm was willing to sacrifice their advanced civilization to stop. It must have been a chaotic time considering no records of it seem to exist in the modern day. These people on the street don¡¯t even know that this curse exists. It is odd. Usually some records of something that old would remain, especially with how long people can live thanks to magic. I shiver at the thought of the mental manipulation that Alice says the system often does. The more I learn about The System and its creator, the more glad I am that I am not connected to the thing. ¡°Hey, what are you daydreaming about? You said not to call you a kid but you are certainly looking like one right now with all your excitement.¡± Helimos decides to take the opportunity to tease me. We had all been getting along better after spending several weeks in each other''s company. I couldn¡¯t keep myself closed off forever, not if I wanted to take advantage of these people. ¡°I was just never allowed outside as a kid. I spent every second of every day training or studying. So seeing all this is a new experience for me.¡± My very truthful response immediately kills his teasing mood as I continue to look around. We don¡¯t end up walking very far as our destination it turns out is fairly close to the gate. The Adventurers Guild. The building is stupidly massive. I can see throngs of armor clad adventurers moving in and out of the towering double doors that are permanently open. The doors are the same light grey and brown color as the trees I have grown too used to seeing over the past year. Spirit wood, and Class 4 spirit wood at that. I can¡¯t even imagine how expensive that door alone must be, but the rest of the building is just as impressive. The walls stretch up over 5 stories and extend backwards taking up several city blocks. A glass dome can be seen peeking out from the top over the battle arena in the center of the impressively huge structure. Wood, marble, and Glass make up the majority of the building. Normally one would pick less fragile materials for an organization that would see so much abuse from adventurers, but this speaks to the power of magical materials. That glass could likely brush off a nuke from earth if I am being honest.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. No one bothers to look at us as we walk in, but a few curious glances turn my way at seeing a kid walking around with some well known gold rank adventurers, nothing more though. I still felt rather nervous that someone might notice Alice so I had her climb into my bag for the time being. I really do feel sorry for her, because sadly for her she is not the tiny kind of fairy, she is over a foot tall and it can¡¯t be comfortable in a bag made of nothing but wood. Even if she is made of wood herself. Eventually we made it to one of the open counters after waiting in line for a bit. We are greeted by a cute girl with cat-like ears. A common result of body modifications after Class 2 due to a bestial type of magic. She is wearing a slightly puffy green and white military style uniform. The whole ensemble would be adorable if not for her slightly dead eyes for being stuck in the morning shift. ¡°Good morning, and how may I help you today?¡± Helimos, not reading her mood at all, responds with far too much energy. ¡°Hey! We just completed our investigation of the second ring and need to talk to the vice-guildmaster. Things got a bit complicated so we would like to do this as soon as possible, ha ha ha!¡± I am not sure what he finds funny but I can see the clerk wince at his volume. She directs us to a waiting area and goes to call the vice-guildmaster. After waiting for about half an hour we are finally let in to see the vice-guildmaster in her office. As we enter the room the first thing I notice is the tail of blue flame whisking around behind her. Dozens of runes float around inside the flames for all the world to see. Her magic having materialized into the world around her. She is Class 4. I swallow hard as I can sense the waves of power rippling off her. I really hope this goes well. The 6ft tall woman points our group to a sofa and then sits down across from us, her long red ponytail swaying as she takes her seat. After everyone is situated the three adventurers get to work explaining the whole situation. ¡°So, the reason the Class 2 leaders in the forest were dying rapidly is because this little Class 2 by your side went on a hunting spree?¡± Rose shifts awkwardly in the chair at seeing the woman instantly treat me like an adult and not a child. I can see a blush creep onto her cheeks as she no doubt feels more ashamed of her actions when we first met. ¡°It is certainly relieving that the situation could be resolved without any of this Demon Lord crap getting worse.¡± I have to hold back from flinching at that. ¡°However, attempted murder like this is a serious issue. Lua, was it? Can you give me more information on how you came to find yourself in that forest?¡± This is the question I was dreading, I don¡¯t want to share too much in case my parents come after me again- Before I can even think things over, the woman adopts a more concerned look on her face compared to her completely serious one from before. My thoughts must have shown on my face again¡­ ¡°I can see you are hesitant to speak of it out of fear of retaliation, but I promise you we can protect you. We are the adventurers guild and no one no matter who they are can push us around.¡± ¡°But isn''t that more the job of government authorities, why would the guild be interested in protecting me?¡± She gives me a wry smile for my cautious and slightly pessimistic perspective. ¡°That is because you have reached Class 2 before turning 15 years of age. The guild would never let such a talent be chained down by something as ridiculous as fear of her parents. We will do our best to resolve the situation for you and see that your parents are brought to justice, provided you join the guild of course.¡± I am not sure how I feel about the sales pitch here. I was planning on joining anyway but being offered so much for free would make anyone suddenly hesitate. I also get the feeling that this woman is aware of the fairy I have in my backpack, and it is further influencing her image of me. This whole thing feels like I am walking a tightrope considering I am the Demon Lord they would not hesitate to kill if they knew it was me. Shaking off my overly complicated situation on that front I focus on my other more relevant complicated situation. I really thought I would have to deal with my parents on my own, I never considered that I could have something as powerful as the guild get involved. It seems like a perfect deal where I get everything and don¡¯t have to give them anything. I can¡¯t really say no at this point. So I accept the deal, nodding my head with a bit more of a relaxed attitude. ¡°Wonderful! Now please tell me more about who your parents are and what happened to you.¡± ¡°Ok, first of all my full name is Lua Knight and I am the daughter of Baron Thomas and Veronica Knight of the Alcott Kingdom.¡± That gets the first shocked reaction out of the vice-guildmaster since we entered the room. As well as the other three adventurers who are now all staring at me with their mouths hanging open. ¡°Well that certainly complicates things.¡± Chapter 26: Registration ¡°Your mother stabbed you on your 14th birthday just because you had a magic she didn¡¯t like?!¡± Rose looked aghast as I explained my situation, I had mentioned bits and pieces but apparently the full details have sent her motherly side into overdrive. I had to dodge out of the way to avoid getting trapped in a hug. Thankfully on the walk back to civilization I managed to complete my thought acceleration spell. Never thought it would see its first use in a terrible game of cat and mouse like this. Nodding her head the vicemaster makes her own conclusions about my tale. ¡°Yes, I see. Your golemancy is similar to how necromancy works and some religions can be very critical of such magics.¡± I never actually said which of my magics I got stabbed over so I am glad that they were able to rationalize the decision to stab me. It would have been hard to believe I got stabbed over something like fire magic. ¡°I will send out a message to the guild branches in your kingdom and have them collect evidence of your parents'' actions. Once that is done it will be taken to the king and we will proceed from there. It should be simple to prove your claims with a guild appointed truth seeker.¡± The mention of a truth seeker makes me very glad I made sure to not technically lie about anything when giving my story. It is a rare type of mind magic that is very sought after by nations and other organizations. Truth Seeker is a title given to those who reached Class 3 and managed to meet the requirements to purchase the Lie Detection skill from the skill shop. Almost every kingdom in the world has a whole family line dedicated to acquiring this skill serving as nobility. I will have to be very careful to avoid getting asked questions that could reveal information I don¡¯t want anyone to know. Questions like: ¡°Are you the Demon Lord?¡± for example. ¡°You were quite lucky that you happened to run into that fairy friend of yours after being dumped in the woods.¡± The vice-guildmaster, whose name I learned is Crystal, brings me back to the conversation by mentioning Alice. I ended up having to talk about Alice to keep them from getting suspicious about how I survived. After all you can¡¯t just learn a self regeneration skill without getting quite a few skill points and I was supposed to be a level 1 golemancer with no golem cores. ¡°Yeah, I never would have survived that forest if it wasn¡¯t for her.¡± I wrap my arms around the fairy girl who is sitting in my lap. I can see a faint blush appear on her cheeks at my actions. ¡°Well, now that that''s all settled we should move on to getting you registered with the guild. Please head to the counter to fill out the paperwork.¡± Crystal says with a warm smile and then turns towards the three adventurers who brought me in. ¡°I assume the Steadfast Shield will be taking up the duty of looking after her?¡± ¡°Steadfast Shield?¡± I ask, tilting my head in confusion at the mention of me being taken care of by some organization I have not heard of. Helimos nods to Crystal indicating that she is correct and then turns to me. ¡°Oh, I guess we never mentioned the Clan we are a part of. The Steadfast Shield is one of the top adventurer clans in the empire. Our duty is to protect those in need, to fight for justice, and make the world a better place!¡± I am suddenly getting a really bad feeling. If there is a whole clan of people like these three then I can only see a smothering of ¡°care¡± in my future. Clans are a collection of adventurers often led by a high Class individual. These clans are essentially necessary to get any work when starting out. All clans work directly with the adventurers guild to assign jobs to their members and gain them reputation as well as plenty of levels. And considering I don¡¯t know anyone else and need protection it seems I will be left with no choice but to join their clan. Walking out of the office we make our way back down towards the main hall before making it to the counter once again. Ending up at the same counter as before we are greeted by the cat-eared girl who seems to have shaken off the dead look in her eyes finally. ¡°Hello again, I got a message from the vice-guildmaster that your mission was completed successfully. I will need your badges to update your information.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. After Jen takes over and signs all the paperwork, seemingly not trusting the other two to do so properly, Helimos slaps me on the back and smiles brightly at the clerk. ¡°Hey, we also need to get this one registered. She will be joining our clan too. Mind helping us out?¡± The cat girl turns to me and begins to go through the normal rules and regulations for adventurers while preparing the paperwork.¡± ¡°Hi, nice to meet you. My name is Irene. Since you have these lovely folks with you I will just go over the basics as I am sure they plan to teach you themselves.¡± Placing a document in front of me and pointing a pen at the first paragraph Irene goes on to explain how adventures work. ¡°Now, for starters you will be registering as a Copper Rank. On a guild shield you will find your Name, Class, Magic, and Reputation. This information is to help clients and the guild judge you and see what kind of work you are fit for. The most important part of that is your Reputation. Reputation is measured out of 5 stars and will go up and down depending on job completion, guild discretion, and client feedback. You just need to fill out your basic information in these locations as well as have one of the three behind you sign for your application to their clan. Please read over this list of guild regulations and then sign on the line below.¡± I nod along to the whole explanation as I already know most of it from my studying as a kid. After reading over the rules just to make sure I am not missing anything or anything has changed I try to get some clarification about my rank. ¡°You said that I would start as Copper Rank but would it be possible to get a Silver Rank instead?¡± Smiling politely, the girl starts to explain. ¡°Sorry but to start as a Silver Rank you would have to be- Wait you are Class 2?! But you are like 15?!¡± I am starting to see a pattern happening here. Now the whole guild hall is staring holes into my back. ¡°A little louder, I don¡¯t think everyone heard you¡­¡± ¡°M-My apologies! Yes you may start as a Silver Rank since you are Class 2.¡± Straightening herself out and trying to keep the ball rolling like nothing happened she has me sign the paperwork. While it is being processed I am taken to one of the smaller training facilities deeper inside the guild for an examination. It seems I have to prove my magic type for the guid records and apparently even they have never heard of golemancy before. As we enter the reinforced metal room I find several training dummies staked into the packed dirt floor. More than that though, I find the vice-guildmaster already waiting in the room for me. I guess she wanted to see my unique magic in action. Taking a Class 1 core out of my pocket under five watchful gazes I toss it into the dirt and have it form my usual monkey golem figure. The dirt gets sucked in and compresses around the core which then takes shape to the oohs and ahs from all but the vice-guildmaster who just looks on with moderate interest. Finally I have the golem charge at the nearest training dummy and punch it as hard as it can. I notice the dummy changes color to dark green from its force detecting enchantments. Interesting. I turn back towards the group as my golem walks up to me then collapses into a pile of dirt again. ¡°Wow, that is incredible! I never saw you make any new golems when you were with us so that was really interesting to see.¡± ¡°It is so cute! I want one!¡± ¡°I would rather have the horse.¡± ¡°Amazing! and you have such control over them, no wonder you reached Class 2 at your age!¡± Getting plenty of praise from the peanut gallery I keep my eyes focused on the only Class 4 in the room. Her opinion of my magic matters far more to me. ¡°Interesting, and I assume you can choose the form the golem takes judging from Ms Jeniveve¡¯s comment about a horse? What other materials can you use?¡± ¡°Yes, I can choose the form, though size and strength are limited based on the Class of the core I use. As for materials, I have only been able to make things out of dirt, stone, and wood.¡± That has her raising an eyebrow. ¡°Wood? If you were in The Sea of Trees you must be talking about Spirit Wood. Interesting, you could make some powerful fighters out of that material. Well, I suppose this is sufficient to confirm your magic. Irene, please get Lua her badge as soon as possible.¡± The clerk stops fawning over me and stutters while dashing out of the room. ¡°Y-Yes ma¡¯am! I will have it ready immediately!¡± Turning back towards me the vice-guildmaster smiles warmly. ¡°Now I think that is all for today. Once you get your badge I suggest you head to your clan''s headquarters and settle in. I will contact you once we have more information on your parents. Have a nice day.¡± After seeing her off the others and I make our way out of the training hall to the desk to pick up my badge. Looking over the shiny silver shield I do as the clerk instructs and pour my mana into it, binding it so that I can use it to verify my identity. I grin a bit as I see the magically floating words appear above the badge Lua Knight, Class 2, Golemancy, -/- Stars I guess I will need to complete some actual requests before I can get any reputation. Tucking the shield into my belt I follow the adventurers out of the guild, under the still interested gazes of many of the people in the hall, and head to the clan headquarters where I will be staying from now on. Chapter 27: Dirt VS Metal ¡°Grah ha ha ha! Sorry about these fools, they can get rather overzealous at times. So your name was Lua, huh? Welcome to the Steadfast Shield Clan!¡± The big bear-like man laughs as he scratches at his braided beard that makes its way down to his chest. After explaining the whole situation to the clan leader he reprimanded the three adventurers for not understanding the meaning of ¡°no¡± and then helped me get settled in the clan. Leaving the dejected Rose, who was scolded the hardest of them all, behind. I followed the clan leader Kuma through the building towards the training hall located pretty deep in their facility. I am amazed at how much money this clan must make to afford such a building. While nowhere near as massive as the guild hall it is still bigger than the mansion I grew up in. ¡°Now, I am sure you would rather get to leveling rather than stick around here twiddling your thumbs. So let''s figure out what you can do so we can assign you some jobs.¡± I heave an internal sigh of relief at the fact that those three are an exception and not the rule here. This clan leader can actually tell what I want and is not smothering me. Stepping into the room from behind the towering 7 ft tall bear I find a training ground similar to the one I had seen at the guild. Only much larger as it is a public training space instead of a private one. There are about a dozen people testing new skills and sparring against each other, none of whom pay any attention to us entering the room. ¡°Yo, Agera! Can you fight against this girl here? She is new and I want an idea of her capabilities.¡± Looking over I see a young man, about 20 years old, fighting against a training dummy. He launches a spear of silver metal into the dummy which fails to leave more than a scratch but makes the dummy light up a greenish yellow color instead of the dark green I had managed with my Class 1 golem. He turns around and wipes the sweat off as he ruffles his short blonde hair filled with streaks of silver. ¡°Hm? Yeah sure boss!¡± Running over to us he looks me up and down, sizing me up. I can feel a small pulse of mana probe me from the identification. The ring of wood and crystal on my right hand taking over the response tricking the system. ¡°Damn, you are already Class 2 kid? Impressive. My name¡¯s Agera, Silver Rank.¡± Holding up his badge I can see all his information appear as he pushes some mana into the silver shield in his hand. Agera, Class 2, Metal Magic, 4 Stars Metal magic is a more uncommon type of magic and usually leads to plenty of job offers. I am surprised he chose to work for a clan instead of a country. Though clans offer a lot more freedom. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Lua and I would really appreciate it if people stopped calling me kid.¡± Holding up my badge in reply I pour some of my mana into it. Lua Knight, Class 2, Golemancy, -/- Stars ¡°My bad. Golemancy huh? Never heard of that one.¡± Not commenting at all on my status as nobility, Agera walks over to one of the raised platforms in the training hall. ¡°It is similar to necromancy but without the corpses. I make bodies around mana cores using earth aligned materials.¡± ¡°Oh ho? Now that sounds like fun. I have fought a necromancer before and the smell really gets to you, so it is nice to try something like that again but more hygienic.¡± Kuma motions for me to enter the ring alongside Agera and stand at opposite ends. I lay my backpack which has Alice hiding inside of it on the outside of the ring. No need to open the bag though, as she can project her vision like me, albeit in a much smaller range. ¡°Now I want you to fight to the best of your abilities. Agera, start slow and build up so we can get a baseline.¡± Turning a switch on the metal post next to the small arena a thin but powerful barrier becomes visible around us. ¡°This is a barrier to protect from fatal damage. It will heal and repair your gear after one of you deals what would be a lethal blow. Let me know when you are both ready.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I am very interested in the barrier and how it works, tracing the mana for a second before stopping myself from getting distracted. I can¡¯t space out on day one. Agera has already indicated that he is ready for the fight so I pull out two Class 2 and five Class 1 cores and toss them on to the ground. The dirt platform getting eaten up by my cores and then repairing itself using whatever enchantments were placed on it. I station my monkey soldiers in front of me in an arrow formation with the two Class 2s flanking a single Class 1 in the center and hold up my own spear and give the clan leader the OK. The front most monkey golem rushes forwards as the 2 back most move to circle around my opponent. I have the remaining Class 2s and Class 1s move back and protect me as a dozen spikes of silver metal fly out of the man''s finger tips towards me. My Class 2 golems knock them away easily but the Class 1s can¡¯t react quick enough and can only get in the way to block with their bodies. The Class 1 golems fall to the floor and stop moving while I knock away several of the spikes with my wooden spear. Just as the Class 1 golems that were sprinting ahead get within a few feet of Agera, he makes a sword of his signature silver metal and slashes them in half making them crumble to the ground. ¡°Hmm, they are stronger than I expected. But you will have to do more than that if you want to score a hit in.¡± Smirking at me with a challenging provocation, Agera spreads his arms that have silver lines running down them like wires. These wires break off from his arms and whip towards me as I dodge out of the way, not giving in to the obvious attempt at taunting me. ¡°And your metal is rather fragile if a bit of dirt is enough to block it.¡± Tossing in my own taunt I throw my spear as hard as I can at the guy. He immediately makes a rather thick shield of metal to block it. However my spear is made of wood from the second ring of The Sea of Trees and manages to cut through it with some resistance. The tip just barely stopping before his chest. ¡°Damn, that is one crazy spear you got there. But my metal is- ¡± I take that opportunity and order the broken golem at his feet to reform into hands that wrap around his ankles and the two flanking golems into two large spikes attacking from right behind him. The spikes pierce right through the gaps in his armor and into his sides. He bites back a shout as blood flows down the spikes. Before he can react further I order my spear to use its position in the shield as a brace and shoot forwards into the guy''s chest. The barrier around us flashes and he is booted out of the ring, fully healed and not a drop of blood on him. ¡°Damn, good game. I had no idea you could mess with them after I broke them.¡± Sitting on the ground with a hand over his chest Agera breathes deeply, reorienting himself after taking several serious wounds. ¡°Grah ha ha! Wonderful work. I am not surprised you were able to beat someone over 20 levels above you if you managed to survive in the second ring for a year. I just didn¡¯t expect it to be so easy for you.¡± I shrug at that as Agera looks on in shock. ¡°You survived in the second ring for a year?!¡± ¡°I was still under level 10 when I got tossed in.¡± I throw in a bit of a smug brag at the trauma inducing situation I managed to survive. That just makes the guy¡¯s mouth hang even wider open. ¡°Well now that I know what you can do I can assign you some jobs. You seem suited for commanding, fighting large crowds, and defeating high level opponents.¡± Taking notes on a clipboard that looks tiny in the big guy''s hands, the clan leader lists off several types of jobs I could take right away and the pay for such jobs. What I am very interested in is the pay. I will be making quite a bit of gold for many of the jobs. Well at least I think it is a lot, I never learned much about money or the prices of things growing up. Any money is a lot of money to someone who is currently flat broke. Nodding my head as I make my way out of the ring I shake Agera¡¯s hand for the match then follow Kuma back to his office. ¡°Now since you are new I will need you to work as part of a team for a while before I can consider sending you on any solo missions. I am sure you understand.¡± The big guy states as he sits down in what must be an incredibly sturdy chair. ¡°That is fine with me, but¡­¡± The clan leader holds up a hand, catching what I was about to say. ¡°Don¡¯t worry your little head, I am not going to assign you to work with those three.¡± I smile at that. This guy really gets me. ¡°I have a few Class 2 teams missing someone like you that I think you could work well with. For now though the main one is out on a request so it may be a few days before I can introduce you. I recommend you get to know the city a bit and maybe buy some of the things you will need in the future as I am sure living in the woods for so long must have been harsh.¡± I can feel myself nodding heavily at that. Even with Lucadon¡¯s plant house it was missing a lot of things, like running water and proper meals. I can¡¯t wait to eat at a restaurant for the first time! Though there is one small problem with that. ¡°I will give you an advance on your pay and a guard just in case.¡± I smile rather broadly like a kid getting her allowance from her dad. I really am starting to like it here. I just have to keep that 5 foot restraining order with Rose and everything will be peachy. ¡°Thanks!¡± Taking the small pouch of thin square coins I put my unneeded things away in my room, tighten my backpack, and morph my spear into an arm bracer for safe keeping. Time to see what a fantasy civilization has to offer in terms of recreation! I hope I can get something interesting for Alice. Chapter 28: Under The Sunny Streets The sun shining down on the colorful city I habitually move to block it with my hand even though my eyes have no issue with excess light anymore. Stepping out of the clan hall I find my guard waiting for me. A blonde haired girl who is somehow shorter than me despite no doubt being far older. Usually people reach Class 3 in their late 20s or early 30s, and I can tell that despite the slowed aging that this woman was around her mid 20s when she advanced, slowing her aging. The swirling patterns along her skin announcing her wind magic and her eyes taking the form of small storms. I actually recognize this person. It turns out the person who will be keeping me safe is Jen. I remember I mentioned to the clan leader that Jen was not a problem like the other two in her party were. I guess he chose her to chaperone me as she is someone I already knew and is a woman. ¡°Yo.¡± ¡°Hey.¡± Giving our rather short hellos we skip the small talk and I have her guide me to the first stop on my list. Helimos was able to detect Alice¡¯s presence despite her being invisible, I realized that that was because he could detect her mana and aura which was not concealed by the light spell. Something neither of us know how to hide properly. So with that in mind I am looking for a temporary fix until we can do such things ourselves. Following Jen from behind as her hair flows with and against the wind as if it has a mind of its own, I start creating a map of the city with my light magic. Taking an overhead view of the city and marking down shops I might want to visit later I collect all the information and store it within my eyes. A little trick I discovered after my advancement, I can now use the glowing orbs that are my eyes for all kinds of shenanigans involving my light magic. The spheres of light let me manipulate them as much as I want, which I practiced the entire first day in order to turn my eyes back to normal. Or at least look normal. Expanding on that I realized I could compress all kinds of information into them which led to my little Heads Up Display project. It is still unfinished but already incredibly useful. I can¡¯t tell anyone but I put everyone''s names above their heads as I really suck at remembering names of people I just met. [ And yet your memory for magic and runes is incredible. ] I have been chatting with Alice the whole time to keep her from feeling left out. It is easy when Jen does not say too much and has no interest in smothering me. [ The reason I find it easy to remember magic and things like that is because I find the subjects enjoyable. I just don¡¯t see anything interesting about other people though. They are just so flawed. ] [ And you aren¡¯t? ] I can¡¯t argue that I am not flawed. I know I have a million issues after everything I have been through in both my lives. The difference is I acknowledge it. I know my problems and don¡¯t let them affect others. I know I am selfish, greedy, and generally lacking in empathy. I just keep a lid on all that. Never letting it show. Alice doesn¡¯t respond to that. I think we have different opinions about the kind of person I am, I just have not had the opportunity to let my mask slip. Shaking my head of the quickly derailing conversation I come to a stop behind Jen as she opens the door to the enchanted items shop. Looking up at the wooden sign hanging from the building I find a logo of constellation like runes covering a box with the words ¡°Shining Thorn, Enchantery¡± above. I hear a jingle go off from the bell as we enter the store. The space before me is about the size of an average grocery store back on earth, but with all kinds of tools and baubles lining the shelves instead of produce. There is even a refrigerated section for items that need to be kept cold. I walk straight to the aisle labeled for presence concealment tools and spend at least 15 minutes just staring at the different designs and descriptions. Eventually I pick out a small ring that looks like it is made of jade and take it to the counter to purchase. I have to show my guild badge to be allowed to purchase it due to some regulations but I manage to get it in the end despite my non-existent reputation. Dropping by the restroom real quick I have Alice hop out of my bag and place the ring on her wrist. Now she can sit on my shoulder while invisible without worrying about being noticed! [ Thanks. ] The little fairy sheepishly replies with a blush on her face before fading from view again. Now that that is taken care of we browse the store together, looking for anything that might be useful in the future. I don¡¯t need to worry about heat with my thermal shell and darkness is a non-issue so a lot of camping supplies are out. However I do buy a really soft and fluffy sleeping bag as I have slept on the cold hard ground far too many times. Though, now that I think about it I never did try making a golem bed¡­ [ Idiot. ] Ignoring the fairy who I can feel swaying her legs on my shoulder I pick up the necklace on the shelf in front of me. A silvery green chain leading to a golden crystal that shines with a pale purple light in the center. ¡°Damn, that is expensive.¡± Looking over my shoulder at the price Jen mutters. ¡°And that is one of the cheapest models.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The necklace is a spatial storage device that you can put equipment and loot in. However the number of zeros in the price tag means even my rather large advance on pay won¡¯t even cover the first payment on a 5 year plan. Putting the necklace down I buy the rest of the things I did find useful, and could afford, then leave the store. After that, I spent quite a while browsing stores and buying things I had forgotten I needed until lunch came around. Jen and I dined at this fantasy world''s equivalent of a fast food joint and the taste, while slightly strange, sent me to the moons after the trash I had been eating in The Sea of Trees. I nearly cried from that. As we finished up I turned to Jen and decided to get her opinion as I had run out of places to go. ¡°Hey, do you happen to know any interesting places I could visit?¡± Jen places a finger to her chin and thinks for a second, looking around out the window to check our location. Then she smiles. ¡°I do have one idea.¡± Her smile turns very serious for a moment. ¡°But you have to promise not to tell my wife.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be an issue.¡± Nodding our heads at each other we head out, me trailing behind Jen once again. It takes about an hour of walking before I notice that the town''s quality seems to be degrading the further we get. ¡°Um¡­ You still have not said where we are going.¡± Stopping in place before a random non-descript warehouse Jen turns around and smiles. ¡°We''re here!¡± Turning back she knocks on the door in a strange pattern and pushes some mana into some of the knocks. After a few seconds of doing that the door opens and she leads me inside. The door leading directly to another with a big burly man with razor sharp teeth and a serious look on his face. ¡°Welcome back Jen, Who¡¯s the kid?¡± ¡°Just a newbie at the clan. Managed to survive in the second ring for a year after falling in at the start of Class 1.¡± The sharp toothed man raises an eyebrow and grins a bit. ¡°She here to fight?¡± ¡°Nah, just observe for today.¡± ¡°Aight.¡± And after that whole cryptic exchange finishes he opens the door and Jen leads me down a long staircase that bottoms out into a room bigger than the guild halls main lobby. The smell of sweat and blood fills the air as I can see a giant fighting ring in the middle surrounded by a crowd of screaming bloodthirsty fans. In the ring stands a man covered in scales and looking a bit more like a fish than a human after his evolution. Opposing him is a red skinned man whose veins seem to pulse and move constantly. The fish man fires off a jet of high pressure water aiming for the tall dark haired man who suddenly dodges out of the way without moving his leg. I can see his red skin pull as though his blood moved under his skin and dragged his body along with it. Whips of crimson blood lash out to attack the fish man''s shiny deep blue scales and cut pretty deep. The whips begin seeping into the wounds and begin causing even more damage. Just as it looks like the blood mage is about to win, his opponent grins, and all the water that had been filling the stage floor from their fight wraps around the blood mage''s face and forces itself down into his lungs. Both fighters struggle to kill the other before succumbing to their enemies'' attacks. Shockingly to the audience, the blood mage is the first to die and the ring boots everyone out and heals them up. I can hear shouting and cheering as people discuss their bets on the fight. ¡°Wow, that was a crazy fight.¡± Both of them were Class 3, and while I do think I wouldn¡¯t lose immediately if I fought myself. I can¡¯t say for sure if I could eek out a win. Jen leads me to a spot in the seats around the stage after the fight so we can get a better view of the next one. ¡°Heyyy, Jen! Finally ditch ya girl and get yourself a younger model?¡± ¡°Shut up frank. I am just showing the girl around. She just joined our clan.¡± Jen just brushes off the guy as she focuses on the stage. ¡°Damn! Class 2 at your age. How did our crappy clan manage to scout you?¡± I turn towards the man who is only a bit taller than me or Jen with a face that looks so boringly normal that you would almost forget you are in an underground fighting ring. I am about to answer when the announcer for the fights gets up on stage. ¡°Helloooo Everyoneeee! Now it is time for the special event of the evening. Are you ready?!¡± Getting the crowd hyped up, the man turns towards one side of the venue to which the doors open and a small grey figure steps out. A body that looks like it is made of stone with red veins of magma flowing across it is pushed forwards into the ring and the door shut behind it. ¡°In this corner we have a Class 4 dwarf using Magmamancy, a dwarven skill focused around magma!¡± The announcer now pointing towards the other end of the ring I see a young woman pushed out as well, her skin looking almost similar to Alice¡¯s with silver hair draped around the collar on her neck. One that matches the dwarfs. ¡°And in this corner we have a Class 4 elf using a rare type of wind techniques called Whirlwind!¡± The crowd is going nuts at this reveal. I can already tell what is about to happen. I turn to look at Jen, the person who seemed so cool moments ago. Her face tells it all, she is loving it alongside the rest of the crowd. The audience is lapping the whole thing up. But the scared look on the contestants faces, Especially the elf girl who I can¡¯t help but see a bit of Alice in, It just makes me feel sick. ¡°Get your bets in now! The stakes are high on this one. The winner of this fight, like always, gets to keep on living! and the loser dies!¡± I had forgotten, or at least I tried to forget. One of the things I was taught as a kid by my parents was how to hate other races. It is common across all the human nations, the discrimination against anything non human. These people had all seemed so nice, caring even. But It¡¯s all a matter of perspective. Of course they are nice to a human, but what if I had been an elf or something when they found me in those woods. The outcome is clear. Now, after dying and getting these memories of a life from earth, I know that hatred I grew up leaving from is wrong. I had always questioned why I should hate the other races. Maybe that is why my mother hated me, because I questioned her hatred. Being hated for who you are is something I had to deal with myself. I refuse to participate in such discrimination. I ball my fist to keep myself from saying something that might give my thoughts away. Maybe, I can put this Demon Lord Title to good use. I can give the world something better to hate, something to fear. Chapter 29: The Gears Start To Turn I curl up into a ball on my bed in the clan dorms, very glad that I was given a private room. The small stone room is far from comforting and the quality of the bed is rather lacking compared to the one Lucadon had made for me. I feel a boiling sensation inside of me, I just want to scream. I am about to slam my fist into the bed when I feel a small hand touch my head. I relax a bit when I feel Alice¡¯s hand gently stroke through my hair. She is trying to comfort me, stop me from losing it. I managed to keep my cool throughout the entire fight. The dwarf ended up getting his head chopped off by a wind blade, red hot blood pouring on to the stage. I keep seeing it every time I close my eyes. Every time I do my anger flares. Those people were cheering and laughing at the two slaves fighting it out, jeering as the dwarf died. I have never been good with my emotions. They have always seemed so dull compared to the people I see around me. Everyone around was so free with their feelings, like a single sentence was enough to carry them along to heights I had never reached, or never could reach. However there is one emotion I can feel perfectly fine. Hate. Rage. Anger. [ Do you want to talk about it? ] Alice is keeping the conversation to our silent messaging spell in case someone hears me speak out against the human supremacy that is so common. I doubt I could keep my voice down in the state I am in. [ I am disgusted, disgusted at them and myself¡­ Them for acting like those people were nothing but animals, and myself for trying to forget how awful humanity can be. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. ] I can feel myself spiraling when Alice pulls me back. [ It is not entirely their fault. The System¡¯s push towards violence likely has some part in their actions. ] I don¡¯t know whether to feel better or worse because of her words. If it is true that The System is responsible then I really want to break the damn thing. But I know better, half of my mind came from earth after all. The people there didn¡¯t need a system to push them into genocide. People are awful regardless. My fists have turned white from the pressure of my tightly clenched hands, an impressive feat considering my lack of blood after my Class 2 ascension¡­ Ascension. That is what I need to focus on. Not some romantic idea of a vacation. Nor some dumb idea about making more friends. I need power to fix the things I don¡¯t like about this damned world. And there is only one path forward. [ Alice, we are heading out for a bit. ] Flitting up to face me, the cute wood fairy crosses her arms. [ Well that was a short vacation. ] I feel myself calming down at her usual snarky response. I sit up from my bed and begin packing my things away. Alice helps me as we chat, trying to distract my mind enough to be able to face everyone else without giving anything away. I reassure her that we will come back after reaching Class 3, but for now I just can¡¯t stay in this city any longer. We decide we should drop by the clan leader''s office and inform him that we will be heading out to train in the forest for a bit. If I disappear without warning then that could make people suspicious. ¡°Damn, you are already heading out? You just got out of that gods forsaken forest! Well I suppose now that I think about it, those three kind of dragged you out without taking no for an answer.¡± The gruff clan leader guffaws in his large chair nodding his head in understanding. ¡°That Jen did take you to that underground arena didn¡¯t she? I can guess you saw them fights and want to get stronger eh? No need to rush things when you are so young though. You will end up looking like a shrimp for the rest of yer life.¡± He had been so good at reading me before, but I suppose the human supremacy is so ingrained into society that he can¡¯t consider the reason I want to get stronger is not because I felt inadequate after seeing the strength of the other fighters. The idea that I want to put a stop to such horrific displays of discrimination likely never crossed his mind.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°I just don¡¯t want to sit around doing nothing. I will be back as soon as I can but don¡¯t wait up for me.¡± Taking my leave I step out through the clan hall and head for the main gate.
¡°Well, this is troublesome.¡± A tall blue haired man in shining armor stands in a secret chamber below the cathedral. Walls lined with runic markings to prevent eavesdropping surrounding a long wooden table with only a single other person filling the seats. ¡°You said that you killed your daughter after discovering her light magic, and yet the guild has sent investigators who claim she is alive and pointing fingers.¡± A stern look covers the man''s face as he bears the angered glare of the fiery haired woman in front of him. ¡°I am certain she was dead before I dumped her body. Perhaps this is one of my enemies making a-¡± ¡°It is not. I have sent a message to my own people in The Dragon Empire and they confirmed that the guild has taken protective custody of a blue haired girl who appears to be 15 years old. Your daughter survived. She even managed to survive in the second ring for nearly a year. Your training must have been very effective.¡± The man pales at his leader''s implication. ¡°I swear I have not betrayed The Order! I truly thought she was dead!¡± The woman lifts her black and burning nail to silence him. ¡°And all of this just before the announcement that our lord has returned to us. I find it hard to trust in your loyalty. The order will not provide assistance in your issues with the murder investigation. You will have to find your own way out.¡± Before he can shout out at her the woman vanishes in a smoldering haze. ¡°Damn it!¡± Slamming his fist into the table causing a crack to run along its whole length the baron thinks over all the hard work he put into raising his daughter. ¡°That worthless child just had to go and ruin my life after all I did for her. I will make sure she dies this time.¡± Storming out of the chamber the man begins to put into plans to track down his wayward daughter and finish the job he started. ¡­ .. . ¡°Why did you not mention that the girl was confirmed to have golemancy and not light magic?¡± A voice speaks out from beside the seat that the woman had been sitting in just moments ago. The haze of fire blends back into reality once more, the burning woman now joined by a man covered in countless shadows. ¡°I was curious to see his reaction. I do believe that he killed the girl and that she has light magic. I just don¡¯t think that is the whole story.¡± Raising a dark eyebrow the cloaked man leans against the broken table. ¡°And what is the whole story? You don¡¯t seem to intend to kill the girl? she is a potential enemy if she has light magic.¡± Smiling broadly at the man whose casual attitude is rather unbecoming of a servant, the woman clicks her blackened nails together. ¡°We don¡¯t know the exact conditions for the lord''s return. And our lord returned not long after that girl, who managed to survive in that dreaded forest while attaining Class 2, was put into a perfect place to reach all kinds of qualifications.¡± That has the shadowed figure losing his composure. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?! You think that our lord would take the body of a child with light magic!¡± The woman''s smile broadens ever further at the man''s outburst. ¡°What better way to prevent history from repeating itself? She did suddenly gain a new magic afterwards, one specialized in controlling constructs of mana. I think it is entirely possible.¡± ¡°Well, shit.¡± Letting his body once again relax against the table, the man contemplates her theory. ¡°You realize that if that is true then letting her father go like that will result in a dangerous situation for her.¡± ¡°Well, I can¡¯t be sure of my theory. So why not leave the kid with a little test? Fighting her father should force her to expose all the cards in her hand. Then we will know for sure if she is our lord.¡± ¡°And if she is?¡± ¡°Then we will have to hope she is not the type to hold a grudge.¡± ¡°I find such a situation unlikely.¡± Shrugging at her servant¡¯s dismayed attitude the woman simply ignores his comment and begins her own preparations. Finding The Demon Lord and serving them is The Order¡¯s top priority after all. Chapter 30: And Threads Connect On my way out of the city I decided I might as well stop by the Adventurers Guild and pick up some of the general long term harvesting requests. Such requests don¡¯t have limits or end dates, you just have to be careful with them as the requestor may not need or want what you have by the time you finish. I just grabbed some random second ring requests from companies that are always stocking up on materials. It will be a good way to raise my reputation and acquire a bit of pocket change while I am out here. Stepping on to the platform I relax in the chair of the magic tram that heads towards the forest entrance. Finally out of the city I feel like I can breathe again. Ever since I was hit in the face with all the human supremacy I have been so tense that if I had not advanced in Class then I would likely have damaged my teeth from clenching them so hard. I was constantly on the edge between lashing out and the fear of people noticing my pro demi-human sentiments. Letting the wind that is mostly blocked by the barrier around the tram rustle my hair I send a message to Alice who is still sitting on my shoulder. [ You know, it was nearly a whole year I was stuck in the forest. I really need a haircut. ] I feel a little kick to my shoulder as the tram stops. [ You are going to need a lot more than a haircut, you wild child. Besides, I think it might look nice longer. You should try growing it out a bit. ] I feel a little bit embarrassed at my current state as even the shower at the clan dorm couldn¡¯t truly fix the forest girl look. [ Your hair is likely to be the only part of your body that ever grows again. ] I nearly stumble off the platform after that incredibly rude comment from Alice. I want to swat at her but I can¡¯t give away that she is on my shoulder so I have to hold it in. [ I will get you back for that comment later. ] Feeling a little twitch in her position, I smile thinking about her punishment. Looking up at the sun I get one last good look for a while before the open sky vanishes under the endless canopy. ¡°Hey, fancy seeing you here. You just made it out of the forest and now you are already heading back in?¡± I look up to notice a blonde and silver streaked head heading towards me. My attention had been too focused elsewhere that I had not been watching my surroundings well enough. Agera waves at me as I make my way out of the station and towards the forest entrance. ¡°Hey, I um¡­ I just feel like I am too weak right now to be messing around in the city.¡± Stumbling out an excuse I try to hold back from letting myself get angry at him for his doubtlessly human supremacist views. ¡°Hey, since you kicked my ass does that mean you are calling me weak too?¡± He stands up straight and takes on a rather serious look. I panic at that and try to think of a better way to phrase it as I don¡¯t want to cause a scene, but he speaks up before I can. ¡°Nah, just kidding with ya. I am sure anyone would feel weak after seeing the crap that happens at those fighting arenas.¡± Calming down after realizing it was a joke I ask something that has been bothering me. ¡°Why does everyone know I went to that?¡± He chuckles at my question, a grin forming on his face as he recalls what happened. ¡°The whole damn clan heard after Rose started shouting at Jen for quote: ¡®taking a kid to such a dangerous and seedy environment¡¯ end quote.¡± I can feel a scowl forming on my face for her choice of words, still treating me like a kid. Though I do feel better knowing Jen got called out on it. Even if I know Rose was mad at the gambling and illegal fights and not the enslaved demi-humans. Agera examines my face with a hand on his chin. I feel myself leaning back at the rather pointed stare from him. ¡°Hey, what are you-¡± ¡°You are not a fan of the way those demi-humans were treated, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Wha-?¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Stumbling back a bit I put myself on guard. Shit I really need to work on my thoughts showing on my face. I thought no one would be able to guess my pro demi-human sentiments at the very least. ¡°woah, woah, woah. Calm down. I won¡¯t tell anyone¡­ I am like you after all.¡± This whole conversation has had me unable to take a break for a second! I keep my guard up just in case he is lying. ¡°And why should I believe you?¡± Not seeing any point in denying it as he is obviously certain of my feelings on the matter I look for escape routes. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t really prove it, but saying it aloud should be enough to give me a bit of credibility. After all, none of those assholes would ever even pretend to care about demi-humans. Even for a joke.¡± He says gesturing at the people getting on and off the tram. We are off to the side near one of the alleys, and are currently whispering, but I still don¡¯t feel safe talking about this. He shrugs to me and starts to walk away before turning around and whispering one last thing. ¡°No need to believe me. But when you get back if you are interested, there is a group of people like us that get together to discuss how to change all the hate and violence against the other races. You are welcome to join if you want.¡± Looking down I want to be hopeful. Believe that there are still good people out there. I would feel a whole lot better If I could take him at his word. ¡°I will think about it.¡± I whisper before turning around myself and heading into the forest. ¡­ .. . I have been traveling through the first ring for a few days in an attempt to get away from prying eyes. I noticed someone tailing me since I left the clan building with my aerial vision. I had been tracking them all the way to the forest which is what distracted me from noticing Agera at the station. The one following me must be using some form of mental magic because I can feel mana being pressed against me but it is not doing a damn thing. Nor do I notice it affecting Alice for some reason, something I find curious. Normally people will have countermeasures against the different kinds of perception when stalking others like this. but no one knows about my kind of perception. That and the usual mental manipulation that often comes alongside such concealment skills has no effect on me. So in the end the guy following me is clear as day in his approach. They are still following me even now that I have been traveling in the forest for a few days. Keeping a steady distance. Something that is impressive considering I remade my horse golem and have been riding it the whole way. My demon monkey golems never made it that far so I called them back as soon as I decided to leave for the forest. They are now surrounding me and carefully moving into a flanking position around the stalker. I don¡¯t know how much this person knows, or what they are after. They didn¡¯t make any moves while I slept, always keeping a set distance. However I am not a fan of being followed. Using light magic I conceal some golem cores that I drop on to the ground in my straight path. Doing my best to lead the mental magic user into the kill zone. The second he steps foot into the golemfied forest floor I activate the trap. I order all the golems to do everything they can to skewer the stalker while also leading them to a single point. Just as things start to get chaotic I conceal myself with light magic and shift the war horse into a more spider-like form. The modified golem leaping into the trees with me aboard while the monkey golems circle around invisibly with their spears raised. Watching everything through the shared vision of one of my demons I can see the person struggling against the onslaught. Sure, they can react quicker than the spikes can stab at them. But they are lacking in attack abilities to damage my golems. Mental magic is a bit useless when facing piles of dirt. They may be Class 3 but if you can¡¯t use those abilities to fight, then all you have are your physical abilities. Something most people neglect. I make a note to examine Qi techniques so I don¡¯t make the same mistake. I rely heavily on golem cores and the environment for attacks at the moment. I could very well end up in a similarly bad position if I were attacked away from my supplies. I can see getting frustrated as their mental attacks do nothing to the ever growing number of dirt spears flying at them. I take that as the moment to have the demon monkey golems move in. Sneaking up into the chaos the invisible demons ready their golem spears and all at once stab out into the path that the man had jumped into. Blood flies everywhere as the spears lodge themselves inside him. I can still see him struggling, weakly, but still trying to fight back. ¡°Damn, evolution really does make you hard to kill.¡± ¡°Yeah, you would be dead in an instant if you had that many spears inside you.¡± Alice and I watch on as the struggles peter out. The man finally going limp as another spear goes straight through his skull. ¡­ .. . Huh, I just killed someone. That is a first for me. I mean I did fight and kill Agera in the arena but I knew he would come back after. This is different however, this is permanent. Normally a person would feel something doing that for the first time, but all I feel is curiosity at what I might be able to do with that Class 3 mana core. I wonder if the Demon Lord Title is affecting me. Or if this is who I always was. I always thought I could kill someone. The thought never scaring me in the least. But you never know until you try. I have my golem take me down to the man''s corpse. The demon monkey golems already digging the mana core out of his neck. Time to take my prize. Chapter 31: Fine, I Guess I鈥檒l Be A Science Experiment Then! Alice was not sure how to feel about the whole situation. She knew that they needed to get back to Lucadon without being followed. But killing the person without asking any questions seemed like a little much. Lua had explained that if they were to get close or reveal that they knew they were being followed, that it could cause real problems regardless of who the person worked for. She knew this was their only option right now, but seeing Lua kill someone without a real change in expression worried her. Death was a normal part of this world, The System made sure of that. But The System can¡¯t touch Lua. Mental manipulation just doesn¡¯t work on her. What worries Alice is that the Title the Universe gave Lua. Can it be affecting her mind? What about having her soul merged with another by that god? So many powers have been pushing Lua towards something and Alice is scared what that may turn her into. ¡°Hey, I know you want to wait for me to ascend to Class 3 together. But it will take me a lot longer than you so what do you think about going ahead of me?¡± Lua turns her head to look over at Alice who is contemplating things on her shoulder with an innocent look on her young face. The girl¡¯s face has Alice relaxing her thoughts, certain that she is over thinking things. ¡°I would prefer to ascend together. I don¡¯t mind waiting.¡± Lua smiles and knocks her head to the side to press it against the fairy girl¡¯s body. ¡°Of course you would, my favorite little tsundere.¡± ¡°Oh shut up!¡± Alice can¡¯t help but turn her head and blush grumpily. This girl really knows how to push my buttons. Ignoring the laughter coming from beside her, Alice can¡¯t help but drift to one final thought about Lua¡¯s attitude. What if nothing is affecting her? What if she just doesn¡¯t value life the same way everyone else does? Alice does not know what she would do if that were the case.
Alice is really cute, wanting to ascend together. I wish she were a lot bigger so I could hug her and make her blush even harder. I let my laughing calm down as I examine the core my demons have presented me. It is from a Class 3 high-human as they are often called. The most common evolution for those reaching Class 3. Moving the small golden core around in my hand I recall the thousands of cores flowing through the pipes of that temple Alice and I found. I wonder where they got the cores to power that machine, whether it was from monsters or not. Shaking off such thoughts I gather up my other cores and organize them in the pouches I have around my waist and get ready to call Lucadon. The demon had provided us with a magic tool that could send our location so it could bring us back through a portal. Making sure that we are alone, I reach into my bag and pull out the small conch shell. The thought of two idiots surviving in a forest with a magic conch shell makes me chuckle for a moment before I pour my mana into it. Before I can even blink I find myself appearing back in the same cabin Lucadon had set up in the fourth ring. ¡°My, my, my. You sure didn¡¯t last long out there. Was there an issue?¡± With the same creepy grin as usual, Lucadon looms over my small figure like a parent interrogating their child who came home from school early. I am not sure how to phrase it so before I can get my words out, Alice takes over.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°She saw the discrimination against the other races and didn¡¯t want to be around people like that. We can¡¯t do anything to change what she saw while we are still weak...¡± Nodding its head the archdemon shockingly sympathises with my feelings. ¡°Yes, I see. You want to change the world, huh? Treating others as lesser just because they are different is a rather disgusting trait that many of the mortal races share. You are just like him¡­¡± Whispering that last part to itself the Demon does not linger long enough for either of us to question who it was talking about. ¡°Well then! I think we should get right back to training. Your magics are excellent, but if you want to get the most out of your evolutions then you will need to fully understand them and expand upon your spells.¡± ¡°Oh great, another fetch quest¡­¡± Ignoring my comment the demon prattles on. ¡°First things first you should both learn to fight better, Alice especially. You rely too much on Lua for combat-¡± ¡°Actually, I had a thought on that. People who can¡¯t use magic turn towards Qi for fighting, but I have never seen anyone use both. Is it possible to even do that?¡± Now that comment has Lucadon pausing. However the smile on its shadowy face gets even deeper which worries me greatly. ¡°Now that is an interesting idea. Normally I would say it is impossible to house multiple energies in one''s body like that, but your soul is unique. We may be able to make it work. heh heh heh.¡± I move to back away at the terrifying laugh, angling for the door. Even if it is the fourth ring it might be preferable to being a science experiment for Lucadon. ¡°Might I get a peek at your soul thread? It will help me determine if such a thing is possible.¡± The door is locked, because of course a house made of plant materials can be remotely controlled by the plant mage who made it. Sliding down the door I resign myself to nightmare training that I never should have suggested. ¡­ .. . ¡°Fascinating, how very fascinating. This could really work!¡± Wincing from the excited shout of the demon peering at my neck I examined my soul thread in the way it had explained. I had never taken a close look at it but the thread is actually made up of two closely knit white strings of soul in a double helix shape. I marvel at the flowing wisp of soul that is both in this world and not at the same time. It is similar to how the demons I made flicker in and out of existence when not possessing a golem. ¡°Yes, I do believe we can empower your soul threads with Qi. The center of this shape can be filled with it quite nicely. A gift from that god of yours no doubt.¡± Moving the thread back into its place within my mana core I try and get the archdemon to get to the point from my position on the floor. ¡°So, it is possible. But the question is how do I do it? I was never trained to use Qi by my family because it was said to conflict with magic.¡± Lucadon finally focused on what I was saying instead of the shape of my soul threads. The demon went on to explain that Qi is based around absorbing energy from the world itself and making it your own. This is different from the way mana cores work. Mana cores connect you to the mana plane or as Lucadon calls it, the spirit plane. From there you can connect to your soul and use the mana it generates to power your magic. Qi on the other hand is something connected to both your soul and your body. Opening a pathway to your soul through sheer force of will, and merging it with your body as well as the energy of nature generated by the world. Elves can¡¯t use magic and instead cultivate Qi, using strange things called ¡°techniques¡± instead of skills to control nature. This cultivation is also one of the reasons all elves live for much longer than humans or dwarves. Something neither race has been able to replicate. ¡°Will Alice be able to train in using Qi as well?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask as her presence is an integral part of my life, not sharing something with her now would suck. However it seems life is not so sweet as to allow us to take the same path. ¡°No, while she is unique in her body and soul for many reasons. She only has room for mana in her body.¡± I can see Alice looking rather down from her seat in my lap. I really wanted to share everything I could with her. Lucadon, seeing our turned faces does its best to cheer us up. ¡°However, that is not to say there is not a path for her to get stronger. Life magic is in itself a very rare form of magic. Train it enough and you can empower your body using the life of those around you, or even strengthen others. I do believe that would work well with Lua¡¯s future in golemancy.¡± It seems Lucadon understands us quite well considering how easily it was able to find the right words to cheer us up. I can see a fire burning in the small jade eyes of my best friend. Her desire to walk beside me just makes me want to hug her more. ¡°So, how do we start?¡± The archdemon grins wider than I have ever seen before. ¡°While I know much about Qi, I am no expert. But I am sure an old friend of mine would be happy to lend you both a hand. Time for a field trip.¡± Chapter 32: A New Title? ¡°So, where are we going exactly?¡± Stepping through yet another portal as Lucadon continues to move us towards our destination, Alice asks Lucadon again. The demon seems to be enjoying our fear as it continues to give vague answers. ¡°My, my, my. Both of you are always in such a rush. Don¡¯t worry your little heads, it is just on the other side of that nation you spent all of one day visiting.¡± ¡°You mean the other side of the divide?¡± That mountain range is supposed to be practically impassable unless you are Class 4. It is the main reason that an all out war between the humans and the races on the other side has not happened. But, if we are heading there. That means we are leaving human lands. That worries me a bit. If humans are so hateful towards the other races, then I can¡¯t imagine the residents on the other side of those mountains will be happy to help one out. ¡°yes, and no. Our destination is on the other side but is still within the mountains themselves. There is a sec there that is run by an old friend who knows quite a bit about Qi and cultivation.¡± I had mentioned Qi training but cultivation is supposed to be something only elves can do. Humans normally gather Qi in their bodies through some form of battle will. Despite not looking at me Lucadon must be able to see my face and can guess at the question in my mind. ¡°I believe that not only will you be able to gather Qi but the shape of your body and soul are far more malleable than a normal humans. Meaning you can cultivate if the conditions are right.¡± ¡°So that friend of yours must be an elf right?¡± Alice really wants verification on what we are doing. And finally Lucadon is getting more talkative about our field trip as we get closer. ¡°Yes, the old geezer owes me a favor so I think I can get him to help out.¡± ¡°I thought you said he was a friend¡­¡± ¡°Friend, debtor, same thing right?¡± Lucadon seems to be enjoying itself which only gives me a bad feeling. ¡°I don¡¯t see this ending well.¡± I mutter to myself as we step from our latest portal into a grassy field who knows where. ¡°Same. But if you cultivate then you really are going to end up an eternal 15 year old arent you?¡± Alice is taking any opportunity to tease me these days. I really need to get back at her. And I know just the way to do it. ¡°Disappointed I won¡¯t grow up into a real bombshell for you? My chest may be small but you do seem to really enjoy sleeping on it.¡± I look over my shoulder to grin at the fairy girl. Getting called out on her favorite spot seems to get her stuttering. ¡°W-Well, it is just a really comfortable place¡­¡± ¡°And you would prefer something bigger?¡± Now the fairy is panicking. She starts rattling off about how much she likes my body as is and how she wouldn¡¯t change a thing. Starting to feel a bit bad for her after pushing her into digging a rather large grave for herself here, I move to calm her down. But I can¡¯t quite stop her fast enough. ¡°... If it got too big I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear your heartbeat anymore. It¡¯s soothing.¡± Gah, she is just too adorable! Picking up the small girl off my shoulder I hold her to my chest as she struggles in embarrassment. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Stopping my wild hug for a moment I realize she just said something I didn¡¯t know about. ¡°I still have a heartbeat?¡± My blood vessels and things are all gone after I reached Class 2, when my body weirdly blended together. If I still have a functioning heart, then what is it doing without any blood? Asking Alice, her embarrassment calms down and she looks rather stumped as well.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a good question. Lucadon?¡± ¡­ ¡°sigh. Professor Lucadon?¡± Perking up the demon decides to answer the question after getting the ¡°correct¡± term of address. ¡°Your heart is no longer pumping blood, but cycling the mana throughout your body to keep whatever material you are now made or properly energized.¡± The comment about not knowing what I am made of is rather concerning in and of itself, but my heart is pumping mana? Lucadon does not wait for us to ask more questions however. ¡°Now, if you two are done flirting, we are almost at our destination.¡± Alice and I blush and turn our heads away after getting so blatantly called out before jumping through the final portal before us. The world around us shifts again and the sky seems to shift from its normal blue to a pale-ish green color. Just on the other end of the portal we find ourselves at the foot of a mountain that would put Everest to shame. I can see tall stone and wooden gates carved with countless runes leading the way up the mountain. ¡°Please tell me we don¡¯t have to take those stairs.¡± Lucadon just starts walking. ¡°Fuck.¡±
There is a knock on the door as the Guildmaster of the Carrion City Adventurers Guild places his paperwork on the desk. ¡°Come in.¡± Opening the door, Crystal the Vice-Guildmaster walks in with several folders and places them on the Guildmaster¡¯s desk. Covering his existing paperwork. The man raises his glitching black eyebrow at his employees actions but says nothing. She has never treated me like I am her boss before, not expecting it now. ¡°How goes the investigation into the Knight girl¡¯s situation?¡± Moving on to the topic at hand, the Guildmaster opens the folders and begins reading through the reports while Crystal explains the current state of the investigation. ¡°Well. Her family reported the girl died during a training exercise in the sea of trees before she entered the system. However this was easily disproven once we had their records looked over. A priest even came forward after we started looking into things and claimed he saw the girl''s parents stab her in the gut.¡± There are many things that are confusing about the timeline of events. The Baron had tried to fake records of a trip to The Sea of Trees but the falsified records were only surface deep. He only needed to fool their new king, a man who is reported to be rather lacking if you are being kind about it. An idiot if you are not. ¡°I am surprised the Baron didn¡¯t attempt to silence the priest.¡± Scratching his thin beard the Guildmaster wonders why a new noble known for his wit and strength would miss taking care of a Class 3 priest of all things. ¡°That is where things get interesting. It seems the priest was a mental magic user.¡± Mental magic users in the church are usually confessional priests, a man like that is not so easy to get rid of. But the Guildmaster stands corrected as he reads more of the report. ¡°He used his mental magic to trick a Class 4 of all things into forgetting he was there?¡± That seems like a stretch by any means. The gap between Class 3 and 4 is rather vast. A fighter like the Baron should have at least one resistance skill related to mental magic. It is a requirement for nobility after all. ¡°So the priest claims. He also claims that he was too scared to come forward until now at fear of the Baron coming after him.¡± Crystal leans back with a small grin forming on her face. ¡°But here is the kicker. There is a rumor floating around that the Baron is a member of the Duskallen. The priest too.¡± The Duskallen is a secretive religious group that even the guild¡¯s best agents can¡¯t sneak into easily. They believe that light magic is evil and that the hero tales of old got things backwards. That the demons were an important part of the world and forcing them back had crippled humanity. The Guildmaster always saw the group as nothing more than a radical cult. But the problem was their popularity was growing recently. After the universal announcement about the Demon Lord, people flocked to their religion seeking comfort in the religions'' tall tales. Preferring to believe that the announcement was no threat. Even worse was that the longer the Demon Lord goes without attacking like the human alliance had claimed, the more people doubt the truth of the matter and seek out the Duskallen. ¡°So, you think he lied about his mental magic working on the Baron. Why betray a member of their order now though?¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t know. We are still investigating, but it may be signs of conflict within the Duskallen. The priest coming forward now could be the order cutting ties with a compromised member.¡± ¡°You want to use this opportunity to get information on the inner ring of the religion from an abandoned member, don¡¯t you? That religion has been getting rather powerful lately. Are you sure you want to do all this for one child?¡± The Vice-Guildmaster stands up straight with a very serious look on her face. Not knowing how the Guildmaster will react to her suggestion. But she has a strong feeling about the girl and her noble heart. ¡°That girl is strong. Stronger than any other at her level that I have ever seen, and in more ways than one. She may be just what we need in this coming conflict.¡± Leaning forwards the Vice-Guildmaster speaks with a spark of hope in her voice. ¡°A Hero.¡± Chapter 33: The Old Friend Hands on my knees I slouch over trying to get the feeling back in my legs. Meanwhile Lucadon looks completely unphased after that 6 hour climb of endless stairs. I asked for a break so many times, but the asshole just kept on moving. My pointed glare however bounces off the demon as if my anger is nothing more than air. Alice flies off my shoulder and rubs my back while running more healing magic through me. I was physically fit and had a Class advancement to help but apparently stairs are enough to take me down. A Demon Lord¡¯s natural enemy clearly. Gathering myself I look up at the massive archway and its light red stone mixed with a cherry red wood. The sigils carved into it look nothing like the constellation like patterns of spells or runes. The golden light illuminating the dark stone path beneath our feet under the night sky. Lucadon finally stopped here and I am sure that was not because I was so tired. Looking harder out towards the gate I catch a glimpse of a twisting in the light around us. I would have never noticed something was there if I had not been looking for it. Even a Class 4 would have a hard time hiding from my vision and yet this massive dome around the landscape behind the arch is invisible to me. It is just like any other part of the mountain. The path and arches continuing upwards. As I try to analyze the structure of the energy keeping this place hidden I notice a swirl around the place just in front of our position. The field bends and twists as a figure exits the illusion and becomes visible to us. A man who looks to be in his early 20s and is wearing a white robe lined with red and gold steps out. His skin is similar to Alice¡¯s but more tan than grey and his case. The subtle bark texture across his skin is accentuated by the gold leaf patterns carved within. Tall and overpowering, the pressure emanating from him is immense. I can¡¯t even take a guess at what Class he is. Looming over us he stares down our demon tour guide. ¡°Go away Luke! I am not dealing with your shit again!¡± ¡°Luke?¡± I turn my head towards the resident demon with my head tilted. That is an interesting nickname. The demon ignores everyone and treats the whole situation like a friendly reunion. ¡°Johann! How are you doing, my old friend? I need you to take on a student of mine. I am sure you have heard of her, an announcement went out just last year.¡± The elf¡¯s eyes widen considerably as he turns to look at me with a scrutinizing look. ¡°You mean the kid here is who you chose? After all these years you finally picked a new lord.¡± He scratches the back of his head with an apologetic look. ¡°I can¡¯t go teaching cultivation and Qi techniques to a human with mana, you know that.¡± Lucadon simply uses a shadow hand to wave him off. ¡°You owe me a favor do you not? And besides, I doubt she will be human for long, her next ascension is likely to branch out into a unique path.¡± I am curious what path it might be talking about. Or if it even knows what lies ahead for me. My whole situation is already pretty screwy. ¡°If she already has magic then she-¡± Stopping what he was saying, Johann looks me over again and I feel a wave of power wash over me. ¡°Wait, what the hell is up with the kid?! Her body and soul are¡­ What?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The elf is now freaking out, apparently even someone as powerful as him can¡¯t comprehend the BS that is my existence. ¡°See, I checked her over. I believe she has a chance of learning your skills.¡± I get a bit uncomfortable under the elf''s gaze as he continues to analyze me for several more seconds before snapping out of it. ¡°What kind of monster have you chosen to be the next Demon Lord¡­.?¡± He mutters under his breath. Now that is just rude! ¡°It is not nice to call a girl a monster to her face.¡± I retort with my arms crossed. Johann laughs awkwardly and apologizes. ¡°Sorry, but what the hell are you?¡± The shock and confusion on his face is a bit amusing if I am being honest so I decide to word my answer in the best way possible. ¡°Apparently I am the science experiment of some giant cube god, a pain in the ass demon, and now an elf?¡± Many expressions run across his face at my statement. I even see a bit of pity in there. He takes a moment to collect himself. Then he glares at Luke with quite a bit of annoyance before sighing. ¡°¡­ Screw it. Just don¡¯t end the world and I will teach you. If only to get Luke to leave me alone.¡± The pain in the ass demon in question smiles its usual creepy smile. ¡°Great, have fun!¡± And then proceeds to vanish. I hear my new teacher mutter several obscenities under his breath but choose to ignore them. Definitely not agreeing with every word. After calling Lucadon a bastard many more times Johann finally sighs a final time and waves us into the archway. ¡°I am Johann by the way. And you two are?¡± ¡°Lua.¡± ¡°Alice.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, now let¡¯s get started.¡± Passing through the arch I find the world shift beneath my feet before a whole city built along the mountain comes into view. However before I can take in the sight, the world shifts again. I now find myself standing within some sort of dojo with bamboo floors and paper walls. The green haired elf throws a solid white robe at me, one missing all the decorations I can see on his own. ¡°While the wooden armor is cute, you will need to wear one of these while in my sect.¡± I immediately use my magic to throw up a barrier of light around myself and change into the robe. The whole thing is rather soft and flexible but I know from the energy coming off it that it is already stronger than my golem armor. Dropping the barrier I see my new teacher staring at me with yet another hard look. ¡°The way you so casually use that level of magic after having it for only, what, a year? I am starting to regret this already. I know I owe Luke a favor, but giving the Demon Lord so much power is a recipe for disaster.¡± Shaking his head the elf just directs me to place my armor and pack into a cubby in another room. ¡°Good. Now, for the basics. Cultivation is a separate way of gaining power from what you know. The original way in this world. The System however prevents humans from using this power for many petty reasons that I won¡¯t get into.¡± Blinking at the information overload I realize that this must mean that all elves are not a part of The System. I had thought I was special but apparently a whole race existed outside the world I had grown up in from the start. Johann continues his lecture with a serious tone. ¡°In order to cultivate effectively, there are three steps. Step one: foundational combat techniques, moving your body with the world. Step two: Absorb Qi and make it a part of your body and soul. Finally Step three: Use that Qi to manipulate the world around you. That is all. Get it? Got it? Good.¡± Not waiting for my actual response, the man just keeps on talking. ¡°You will be taking a combat class starting at the lowest level. You will sleep in the guest house here. Don¡¯t cause any trouble. Once you have the understanding of how to cultivate, you leave. If Luke picked you I doubt you will be here more than a week.¡± And with that rather blunt statement, he leaves. ¡°Well, at least we didn''t start training right away. I am beat.¡± I move towards the guest house on the side of the dojo that he had pointed towards, and collapse into bed with Alice. It is probably for the best that I get out of here as soon as possible. Humans and elves are enemies after all. I wonder if I can keep out of trouble¡­ Chapter 34: Internal Struggles The next morning was more exhausting than those thrice damned stairs. I was woken up by a loud gong ringing out across the sect and nearly fell out of my bed. Next I was dragged to a class with a bunch of little kids ranging from eight to ten years old and trained in fighting non stop. Those little bastards were tough when I was not allowed to use my magic. I fought hard but even with my special sight and stronger body I still struggled against some of the kids due to the sheer difference in skill level. The worst part was when the teacher saw my rather impressive flexibility from my Class advancement and decided to train me to the limits of what my joints could handle. After that I improved rather rapidly. I could record and store the lessons and fights to study later with my magic which really helped improve my skills. I even recreated the scenes in 3D for the combat instructor so the woman could point out every detail I could improve upon. However, after three days of fighting I had not learned anything about Qi or cultivation. It was frustrating as the one week deadline Johann had given was closing in rapidly. I wanted to learn and use the power already so I met with the grand elder at the end of the third day. ¡°No, you are not ready to learn to use Qi right now.¡± That response from Johann had me worrying desperately about the future. I don¡¯t think I can learn everything by the end of the week if I don¡¯t start now but the tone in his voice says I am not even close. ¡°Is there a reason why she can¡¯t?¡± Alice says, speaking up for me. I have always had a hard time with other people so I am glad she is around to help when I don¡¯t know what to say or what questions to ask. The grand elder of the sect looks down on me as I sit cross legged on the bamboo floor. His expression visibly looking for a way to explain why I am not allowed to cultivate. Finally, he seems to decide on the right words. ¡°Mana is analytical in nature, you craft spells using formulas and networks of mana channels. Qi is the opposite. That is why you can¡¯t cultivate yet.¡± ¡°And what does that mean exactly?¡± The man sits down and sighs. ¡°Qi is more spiritual in nature. You need a strong mind to get the most out of the process. And right now your mind is broken.¡± Alice has no response to that. It seems she understands what he is talking about. I however, don¡¯t get what that means. My mind feels perfectly fine and is immune to mental attacks because of what that god did to me. I just don¡¯t- ¡°There is some deep fear inside you, and that fear is a shackle on your soul. Tell me, what are you afraid of?¡± Having seen my thoughts on my face, Johann gives up on me understanding on my own. His words send me into a downward spiral. Images flash before my eyes. The war on earth. The discrimination faced before my death. My life in this world under my parents'' thumbs. The day I got a knife in my gut just for having light magic. The months I spent in a forest where everything wanted to kill me. ¡°I am not afraid of anything.¡± I say, not convincing anyone. Alice looks at me with great concern. Her hand on my arm to comfort me. ¡°Who are you trying to kid? I can see your hand shaking just from the thoughts running through your mind.¡± He is right, I can¡¯t stop the tremor in my hand. Something that has been there since I woke up in that forest. I try and act calm, laugh it off while pretending everything is ok. The nightmares come every night. Silver flashing in my vision, pain, fear, agony. Alice is always so protective of me and I am sure when she suggested our sleeping habits it was to give me reassurance that she was nearby. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine.¡± I lie to myself as I do every day.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Lua¡­¡± ¡­ .. . The next day passed without any training. I just sat with Alice alone in my room, trying to work through things. ¡°You have been through hell.¡± Alice says. I snort at the implication of the Demon Lord being through hell of all things. ¡°And.. I was a part of that. I am the reason you went to those ruins and nearly died again just to help me.¡± I grab Alice and hold her close before she can continue. She is not responsible for anything. I made a choice to do that for her and I have no regrets on that front. ¡°Never blame yourself for something that was my choice. I would do it again in a heartbeat.¡± I hug her tightly to make sure she knows that. ¡°This kind of trauma is not the kind of thing I can solve in a day¡­ Maybe I should give up on cultivating for the time being.¡±
After Lua fell asleep, Alice made her way towards Johann to speak with him about Lua¡¯s progress. Alice tried her best to help Lua come to terms with some part of what happened to her, but it was not going to be easy. And backing out now would be a waste. If Lua couldn¡¯t cultivate now then her lack of power would only drive her further into the depths. Something however gave Alice hope. She flashed back to a conversation she had in private with Lucadon before they left.
¡°Lua did something a bit scary today. She killed that man so easily, like it didn¡¯t affect her at all.¡± Alice had been worrying about this more and more as time went on. Lua looked on with such cold indifference as she held the man¡¯s mana core in her hand, that many fears flashed through her mind. She is getting a bit scary and more violent lately. What if her Title or trauma are affecting her negatively. Making her into something evil. Lucadon however, brushed off such sentiments. ¡°The Title and all her other changes have not affected her mental state. This is who she is, who she always has been. She just has never had a chance to show it before now.¡± Alice didn¡¯t want to believe such things. That Lua would treat life so carelessly. She knew the girl to be kind and caring, not some Demon Lord without empathy. The demon in front of her corrected her misconceptions. ¡°Do you think that the Demon Lord Title is handed out to just anybody?¡± The sudden change in direction confused Alice. Lua had told her the requirements for the Title. She knew how she got it. ¡°Plenty of people meet those little requirements. They are just the bare minimum. The Title is given to those who fit it and not the other way around. It is not about what you do, but who you are.¡± Alice rejected the idea even harder. ¡°In what way is she the Demon Lord?!¡± Shouting wouldn¡¯t do anything but she was getting incensed at the demon for suggesting Lua was evil or something. ¡°She is ruthless and fearless. Those are the main qualities of being a Demon Lord.¡± That was wrong, Lua was always afraid. She would shiver in her sleep and thrash about to the endless nightmares. She was about to object with exactly those words but Lucadon held up a hand. ¡°Being fearless is not to lack fear, but to push past it. She is terrified all the time but that never slows her down. She would do anything to protect those she cares about. If it was about protecting you, I don¡¯t doubt that she would spit in the faces of the gods themselves.¡± Alice felt her voice catch in her throat. She knew that Lua cared about her. Her actions had proved that again and again. She will never stop and never slow down until she can help those she cares about. And Alice knows that Lua cares about everyone. That is why she was so angry at the way the humans treated the other races. And why she hated herself for wanting to give them a chance. Lua was too kind of a person, and her kindness can¡¯t help anyone if she can¡¯t make a difference. It is the reason why she wants strength. Because she will do whatever it takes to help everyone. Even if that means killing people she doesn¡¯t want to kill.
¡°Johann, we need to talk about Lua. You need to understand her before you turn her away.¡± Yes, Lua¡¯s mind was broken. But that didn¡¯t mean it was weak. Alice would make sure Johann understood. She would make Lua strong, strong enough that she wouldn¡¯t have to suffer under the weight of the things she plans to do. Because she too would do anything for Lua. The woman she loves is more important to her than anything. Chapter 35: Side Effects That morning I woke up to Alice pulling me out of bed. I had expected to spend more time trying to work through my issues but when I got to the dojo I was met with Johann standing there, hands on his hips and a stern look. ¡°Today we will have you attempt cultivating.¡± He said clearly, as if my prior issues had suddenly vanished in the night. Speaking of the night, I know a certain fairy who disappeared in the middle of the night. I felt her leave my arms for quite a while. ¡°I corrected Johann¡¯s view of you. He didn¡¯t think you were strong mentally, but I know that is not the case. You are one of the strongest.¡± Smiling at me, Alice proves to be the best friend I could ever have. Johann harumphs at that. ¡°She was right, I didn¡¯t know everything and made a judgement. If what she says is true then cultivation might be within your reach.¡± Johann then has me sit down and shut off my thoughts. He then spouts some mumbo jumbo about feeling the world around me and creating an image in my mind. I try to not let my comparison to a hippy yoga class cloud my thoughts as I close my eyes. ¡°Reach out with your mind and grab ahold of the world around you. Not the air or the light, but the fabric of the world around you.¡± I try and try but every time I feel like I am getting a grip, the sensation slips through my fingers. ¡°It wont stay!¡± ¡°Then use that mental willpower your girlfriend told me about, take the world and make it your own.¡± I blush rather strongly at his choice to refer to Alice as my girlfriend. We have not talked about anything like that yet and that kind of thing scares me more than facing down the whole world. Shaking off more ridiculous thoughts, I have the idea to use my mana to grab ahold of the fabric of reality. Just as the mana starts to stir and leave my body I suddenly get yelled at. ¡°Using mana will just make you like all the other humans who use Qi. That is weak! Cultivation is about taking a piece of reality and making it your own. Becoming a part of the world. Only then can you truly create your own Qi!¡± Reeling the mana back in, I relax my body and let the whole world fade around me. Seeing only with my non physical senses. Just me, and the fabric that makes up the world. I can somewhat sense a bend around where I am. I cycle my mana for a second to notice that the bend gets stronger the closer it gets to my mana. No wonder I could not touch it! My whole body runs on mana at this point. Realizing this I grab ahold of my mana and compress it to the absolute limit. I can feel my body strain as I take away the power keeping me moving. However, I ignore the languid sensation and reach out for the world around me with my right hand. A strange pressure pushes back, but this time I can feel a real grip on the surface of the world. I grab ahold with all my strength and rip a chunk of that world for myself. It bends and stretches as the blob of reality comes undone. ¡°Good, now take that reality and make it yours. Connect it to your body and break through to the realm where your soul resides.¡± Listening to Johann''s advice I let the power flood into my body through my hand. It tries to escape but I keep it locked in. I can feel a migraine and a powerful vertigo as my body bends and stretches along with the piece of reality. Finally, after a sensation worse than all the stabbings I have been through and more uncomfortable than when I had my mind merged with another¡¯s, the reality merges with my flesh. Bang! Before I can even celebrate my victory, I feel my mana core shatter and the pieces melt into my body. My vision cuts off and I black out. ¡­ .. . ¡°Ugh¡­ What the hell-¡± I can¡¯t think straight. Everything feels strange and overwhelming. ¡°About time you woke up, sleepy head.¡± I can hear Alice being sassy but there is a hint of worry in her tone. I go to open my eyes and look at her only to feel like someone poured cold water down my spine. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t see.¡± Nothing, just darkness. I can¡¯t make out any shapes or project my vision like I used to. I reach out for my magic and realize I can¡¯t sense it at all! ¡°Alice! I can¡¯t use my magic!¡± I feel myself panicking. Blind and powerless was not how I wanted to end up. I worked so hard to get stronger and now I am useless.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Calm down. You should still be able to use your magic, you just can¡¯t rely on your mana core anymore.¡± Alice¡¯s words help me, but the blindness and weakness is terrifying. ¡°Why no- Oh. It broke.¡± That is when I remember that I felt my mana core shatter. That thing is a part of my spinal cord. It breaking would kill any normal human. ¡°How am I alive?¡± ¡°The core broke, but thankfully your body does not really care about the spinal cord with how blended your insides are. We put you out in the sun and watered you twice a day and you were as good as new. Better even!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a house plant!¡± Even in my blind state, Alice¡¯s sass is really comforting. I can¡¯t help but smile at her antics. Johann finally decides to cut in before we can get lost in a tangent of bickering. ¡°Getting back on topic. Your eyes were leaning on the mana core to function and now that it is gone and the channels don¡¯t exist¡­ well it can¡¯t access your mana or activate the spell to produce vision. This however is something you can fix. It will take some time though.¡± That has me confused. If they used my solar regeneration to heal me then why don¡¯t my eyes function as well? Johann explains that the regeneration was not based on mana but on light itself so it became a permanent part of my body after my last ascension. I know my body runs on mana and that if I am still alive that means I am producing it somehow. In a rush to get my vision back I reach into my heart to access the mana there. This however, turns out to be a terrible idea. I feel my chest wrench as I nearly pass out when trying to move the mana away. There simply is not enough mana for anything other than running my heart. Falling back into the bed I heave breath after breath to let myself calm down while I am scolded by Alice. ¡°Let us finish explaining you idiot!¡± It takes a few minutes but I get myself back under control enough to ask how I can see again. ¡°No one has ever used both Mana and Qi before so I can¡¯t guarantee anything I say will work for you. But you should be able to recreate the mana channels in your body, if they are not there already. Your body is actually perfect for such a task with how malleable it is!¡± The biggest problem with this however is that I don¡¯t remember what most of the channels look like though. I got far too complacent with the spells that I had already created. They were so complex I will have to start from scratch with most of them. ¡°It should come naturally if you have used it enough. You may even find remnants of the spell channels in your body after it absorbed the remains of your mana core. For now you need to cultivate and then rest more.¡± And so I did just that. For the next three weeks I cultivated every second I could. Pulling in more of the world around me to widen the hole to my soul. And the whole time I did so blind. I was allowed to stay longer because Johann had taken an interest in my condition, that, and he felt bad. Alice had to help me out with a lot of things. But as I cultivated and got closer to feeling my soul through the reality I had merged with my body, I began to sense the mana building up in my body again. My body had felt so sluggish due to the small amount of my soul I could access. Breaking your mana core when your body runs on mana is apparently a terrible idea. Who could have guessed? As I channel more bits of reality into my body I can feel myself generate more Qi. I remember that Helimos was a Qi user but since he still had a mana core that means he was doing things the human way. Pulling in Qi with mana and placing it directly in the soul instead of merging it with his body. Johann says such a method is far inferior to cultivation and prioritizes short term gains over long term strength. I wonder what the people back in Carrion City think I am doing? I hope they are not planning on me coming back any time soon. I shrug and decide it is not my problem. I can¡¯t even see right now so no way in hell I am going to somewhere as dangerous as a human city. I push and pull on the mana flowing through my body as I sit in the center of the dojo. Alice is in my lap to help me when I need anything. It is supposed to be like riding a bike. Breath in, breathe out. I let the mana thread extend from my heart to my eyes then out into the world. As I continue this training everything begins to regain color. The darkness recedes and I can finally see again! It is blurry, upside down, and backwards. But I can see! ¡°Alice, I can finally see again! Ish¡­¡± I feel like jumping for joy but I don¡¯t want to move the fairy from my lap so I stay put. ¡°Nice!¡± I get a hug from Alice, who has gotten even more clingy since I lost my vision. Not that I mind such attention from her. ¡°The problem is this is eating up all my excess mana just to maintain¡­ My core merged with my body, I felt that. So why can¡¯t I use that power it once had at all? All that power in a Class 2 core can¡¯t just disappear.¡± I have been contemplating this for a while but I could not find any trace of the power in my body. A few broken mana channels here and there but none of my prior strength was to be found. ¡°Took you long enough to ask that question!¡± Appearing out of nowhere, Johann excitedly examines my mana and cultivation status. Not caring in the least about how it feels to me to have someone pop into my vision like that when I just got it back. I glare at the blurry figure before me. ¡°You know, I learn better when I don¡¯t have to wait weeks to ¡®ask the right question!¡¯¡± He simply shrugs and waves off my annoyance. ¡°This is how I teach. Get used to it.¡± Grumbling, I settle down and get ready for him to explain. ¡°Now, the reason you can¡¯t feel that power anymore is because of several reasons. First, with both Qi and Mana in your system the two parts are fighting against each other instead of working together. Second, Without a physical connection to your soul through the pressure of the mana core, you will find little mana generating in your body. And finally third, The core was not Class 2. Your soul was. The crystal just acted as a gateway.¡± That leaves a lot of room for thought. If my mana and Qi are fighting each other then I should be far stronger right now than I am currently. I just need to get my Mana and Qi working in sync. Lucadon had pointed to my double helical soul thread and said it had perfect space to store my Qi but I doubt that it is currently in the place the demon imagined. I will need to work on that. ¡°Ok, how do I rearrange the Mana and Qi to work together?¡± Johann takes a few minutes to think before sitting down across from me with a serious look on his face. ¡­ ¡°No idea!¡± The worst part is the smile I can barely make out on his face. Lua, the eternal science experiment¡­ What happened to my being the Demon Lord? I sigh and get ready for what I likely to be a long and painful process. Chapter 36: One Breakthrough At A Time I have given up on keeping track of the time. It is not like the date matters when I have no appointments to get to. Sitting in the dojo I once again try to wind the reality I had taken around my soul threads, only to end up collapsing on the ground from the backlash. ¡°Fuuuuck.¡± Experiment number: Cube God knows. Results: Failure. At least I can see the ground I am collapsing to. It took forever but I managed to remember how the whole pinhole thing works and realized that was the reason my vision was all screwed up. The light was not reaching my eye like it used to and just flooding into it all at once with no direction. The rest of my magic however¡­ Well it is still a mess. The interference from the Reality and Qi make mana manipulation a slog. Johann has suggested many different ways to bind the Reality and Soul together but so far, nothing has worked. In the meantime when I am recovering from the pain in my soul I have been working on the martial arts that are common here. And I must say, I am getting pretty damn good! Even when I am screwed up and in the first realm of cultivation I have been able to fight evenly or better with those in the second realm. I expected the elves to have issues with that but they were all pretty friendly. They seem to understand that The System has a strong hold on humanity and even applaud me for escaping it. I learned quite a lot from chatting with the elves. As it turns out, elves don¡¯t have mana cores. They shatter the cores and prevent them from growing in their children when they are babies before the crystal can fully form. Taking a solid stance I move my mind inwards and wrestle hold of my Qi and spread it throughout my body. This is a personal experiment. I currently have Alice and Johann on standby just in case anything goes wrong. We have been assuming that the problem was with how the thread of Reality forming in my Soul was strangely coiled around the Soul Threads. I however, had a different theory come to me the day before. Alice and I had been discussing my Golemancy when I recalled that the Demon Monkey Golems were still all back in The Sea of Trees. I am sure the connection to the normal golems broke, but I can still feel a connection to the Demons under my command. This reminded me that I had been forgetting about my Title. After all, making Demons was something I did with my Soul Threads. I would emit that black smoke that would coalesce into an imp, but I had not done that since that first week after my ascension. From my perspective, my whole being is one big chaotic mess. Two souls, two magics, Class 2 soul threads, First realm cultivation, and Whatever is up with my Demon Lord Title. Johann said it would be best to reach the second realm in cultivation before trying this, but I just have a feeling that I can do it now. It is like an itch I can¡¯t scratch now that I am thinking about it. Alice did mention her concerns that the Title was affecting me so while this itch is concerning, I have no choice but to try it. I slowly merge the Qi with my body and move it along with the Mana from my heart, circulating like blood. They try to repel each other like magnets but I hold them together. I can feel my heart pounding as the pressure builds. I nod at Alice as she starts to flood my body with healing magic. The warm feeling washing over me pumps me up for the next step. As the pain recedes I flip the switch in my soul to create a Demon, however this time I don¡¯t let the smoke leave my body. I grab ahold of it and move it through my false veins alongside the Mana and Qi. At first the forces push harder against each other, trying to become dominant. This fight does not last long though, and they slowly settle into place. I breathe deeply as I feel the repulsion begin to subside. The demonic essence, or whatever it is, is canceling out the pressure from the two opposing forces. I sigh in relief with a slight grin only to be struck by intense pain immediately after. Damn it! Why does everything have to hurt so fucking much! I look inwards to find more black mist escaping from my Soul Threads and forming a new string, one so dark it seems to suck in all the light.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! However the repulsion of the white Soul Threads and deep crimson Reality Thread keep things stable. The threads all wind around each other in a perfect balance. For once I wish I passed out. ¡°Damn it!¡± The whole world seems to shatter around me as I fall to my knees. Alice floods me with more healing magic, using every drop of Mana she has. Her power has grown stronger since we got here as she continues to refine her magic and soul. With all the crap I have been doing, she even developed magic meant to heal the soul itself. Letting the warmth spread throughout my body and into my soul I do my best to sit up. Letting a big grin form on my face I pump my fist in the air. ¡°I fucking did it.¡± I can feel the Mana and Qi in my body reaching new incredible heights as it all moves through my self made channels. Alice looks on with an absolutely shocked expression. ¡°Your eyes¡­ They changed again.¡± I immediately switch my perspective and look at myself, only to no longer see the white orbs with blue rings staring back. Instead I see what looks like two glowing blue crystals glittering and shining in the light. ¡°Now that is trippy.¡± I can¡¯t help but sigh at the new eyes. At least the old ones let you know where I was looking. Though that may not be terrible now that I think about it. I can check out Alice all I want without her noticing. Smack! Clearly my thoughts are still visible on my face as I feel an impact across the back of my head. Before I can start my usual friendly bickering with Alice, Johann stands up. ¡°I will be right back.¡± And without letting us respond, he disappears from the room. Well that is not ominous at all. I turn to look at Alice as we both shrug. Just as quickly as he left, Johann returns. Now carrying a sealed wooden box that I am pretty sure is stronger than I am. ¡°I don¡¯t see this ending well.¡± Johann opens the box to reveal dozens of Class 3 Mana Cores. ¡°Take them, you need to reach Class 3 right away.¡± ¡°Wait, what do yo-¡± Then he shoves a red crystal pill into my hand. ¡°This is a Qi pill, one made for a third realm cultivator.¡± My bad feeling gets much worse. ¡°Take it while you make the catalyst and flood the crystal with Qi and that black mist as well.¡± ¡°Okay, now hold on!¡± He does not hold on. Instead he hands me a small vial of glowing red liquid. The substance seems like it is on fire as it wisps and flows inside the glass container. Dragon¡¯s blood. Johann is really going all out as he explains the process for combining the materials. ¡°Stop treating me like a science experiment! Adding another power will 100% make me explode!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a binding agent, a bit of blood won¡¯t give you the power of a dragon. If it did I would have used it myself.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± I feel a bit embarrassed at my assumption, but then remember that he is still very much treating me like an experiment. ¡°What about Alice?¡± I ask. I don¡¯t want her to be left behind. We promised to ascend together after all. However my concerns are unfounded as the Grand Elder explains that he has prepared the necessary catalysts for her as well. I take the box and pill and blood in hand, then move them to the clear space on the ground between all of us. This is going to be a shit show ain''t it. I no longer have a Mana Core myself as my body now holds the role of merging with the realm where my Soul resides. I think back on the process of making a catalyst that I experienced last time. With my new powers and Soul situation I will have to adjust. Mulling things over for a bit I realize that I might as well go nuts with things if I have already gone this far. I take all the Mana Cores that Alice does not need and and use my Golemancy to merge them together. A process that feels far easier than it did ever before. Like the crystal is perfectly responding to my will. Along the way I take the Qi pill and pour the Dragon¡¯s Blood into the mix while channeling Qi into the monstrosity I am creating. Even Johann looked horrified, and he was the one who was planning something similar! I see no reason to freak out when I am only completing what he started. I huff indignantly as I focus less on those around me and more on the glowing mass of power in front of me. The materials blend and become putty in my hands. Moving on to the next step that I just made up, I create the strongest demon I can and blend that into the amalgamation as well. ¡°Lua! Are you insane!¡± Alice freaks out as soon as she breaks free from her stupor. The whole situation was moving too fast for her to handle. ¡°Go big or go home right?¡± I shrug and continue pouring more power into the crystal. ¡°That will kill you!¡± I can¡¯t even respond as she rushes over and starts to push healing magic into the core that I am creating. Honestly a really good idea as it should help keep me from exploding when I use it. Johann, seeing our antics, eventually shrugs himself and starts to push some of his own Reality into the core. The amount of power violently storming in this room can be felt far outside the dojo, making the elves outside panic and flee. They know their master is crazy and never want to be around when he is doing an experiment! A few hours later the storm calms down and Alice and I slump down in exhaustion, having put everything we have into the core. ¡°I can feel my Soul wrung out like a ratty dish cloth.¡± Johann looks at me with judgemental but excited eyes. ¡°Well, I will say this much. You two are fucking insane.¡± I look down at the glowing red crystal that emits a horrifying pressure all its own. ¡°Yeah¡­ I may have gone a bit overboard.¡± Chapter 37: Evolution I feel a bit nervous as the cool bamboo floor presses up against my body. I look up and see a cute little fairy sitting across from me with the same anxious but excited look on her face as I have. It took a while, but we finalized our catalysts and are prepared for ascension. Neither of us is currently wearing any clothes. A precaution as I can only see them getting dirty or torn in the evolution process. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Ready.¡± Nodding at each other we take our catalysts and hold them up. Alice takes the small glowing green and red crystal and places it against the back of her neck. I mirror this action but take my own fist sized black and red gem and hold it up to my heart. At the same time, we reach out with our souls and touch the catalysts. The perfect sphere of dark crystal shines brightly and immediately melts into my body like a mass of living lava, burning through my flesh. I scream out. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake! One day I would love to gain power without trauma inducing pain!¡± I can hear a pained howl from Alice as well, which hurts my heart more than the molten crystal. Thankfully both of us black out before we lose any more sanity. ¡­ .. . My consciousness returns as I feel a familiar warmth spread through my body. Alice must be applying healing magic to me. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± It is a struggle to open my eyes, but I can feel the world around me. A soft smooth sensation under my head and a hand stroking my hair. Finally, I manage to open my eyes and the light floods in. A beautiful girl fills my vision above me. Long green hair falling over her face as she looks down at me with a smile on her face. I can see that the tan skin on either side of my head is her thighs. Just a glimpse and I can tell her legs are incredibly long. My mind is still groggy from the evolution, so I barely register the information flooding my brain. ¡°You are always passing out on me, you know that? He he.¡± The woman giving me the lap pillow chuckles with a sweet familiarity. ¡°Alice?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask. Still confused at seeing the supermodel-like woman stroking my hair. ¡°Who else would I be?¡± Her voice is sweet, no longer taking on that magical ethereal tone that it used to. She sounds just like a normal girl. I can see in her shining eyes that she is ecstatic about her new body. She is finally who she always wanted to be. ¡°... I see you are fully clothed.¡± A fact that I can¡¯t help but feel disappointed about. ¡°I guess you woke up before I did?¡± Alice nods at that, explaining that I have been out for a few more hours than she was. I sigh in relief. Much better than I was expecting. Thought I would end up out for a month or something stupid like that. ¡°I feel¡­ weird.¡± I shift my arms around without looking at them, still too focused on the girl above me. The sensation is like being underwater but made of air at the same time. Fast yet slow, a very contradictory mix. ¡°You look quite different. More like a Demon Queen.¡± Her words make me finally take my mind off her face and reach out for my magic. I switch my perspective and see my evolved body for the first time. Pale. My skin used to have a healthy color to it before, even with all the time spent in The Sea of Trees. Now it is practically an ash white. Large cracked swirling patterns cover my body, as if my flesh is sculpted clay left out in the sun too long. My sapphire eyes look as though they contain countless stars and constellations.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. And my chest¡­ It¡¯s even flatter than it used to be! In fact my whole body is quite slender. Something about that feels off though. Like I am far denser than my appearance would indicate. An azure crystal that matches my eyes sits in the center of my chest, just below the collar bone. If I even have bones anymore¡­ I can also see a crown around my head. A large flat plate on my forehead fitted with a disc shaped crystal and twin horns on either side. The short horns arch backwards around my head, giving me a rather tribal looking crown as it resembles an animal skull on its own. However the most notable change, and the most concerning, is that I am lacking any and all reproductive organs. I look like a damn department store mannequin! Many thoughts swirl through my head. Mainly disappointment, as I had plans for Alice after seeing her new body. I want to look like my old self again, naughty bits included! And as though that thought was a trigger. I feel my energies within shift. My body morphs, twists, and clicks into place. My skin regaining its healthy color, my chest expanding. Other things reappearing. Thank the cube god! Within a few seconds the transformation finishes and I find my body perfectly matching how I used to look. I even look exactly like my Class 1 self! ¡°Woah¡­¡± The words escape my lips at seeing what my new body is capable of. ¡°Huh, I guess you can shape shift. That¡¯s neat. Alice is struggling for words right now. Not even a snarky- ¡°You can finally make your boobs bigger.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I grumble to myself as I picture an aged up version of my body. I am not doing this for the boobs, just so people will stop calling me ¡®kid¡¯! My body twists and expands again. My head never leaving Alice¡¯s lap pillow despite her snark. I give myself a once over and see my slightly taller body, more filled out and ditching the baby face I had been stuck with. All in all, I think I look a lot more mature. ¡°You still look more cute than mature.¡± I pout at her statement. I don¡¯t see anything wrong with keeping my cuteness! ¡°Got a problem with that?¡± I challenge her. ¡°Nope!¡± Alice just smiles happily at me, never stopping her hand as it continues to play with my hair. I smile back at her. Finally pushing myself up, quite reluctantly, to grab myself a robe from the pile in the corner of the room. We had several robes prepared, just in case Alice grew up after her evolution. I grab the one best fitted to my new size and get dressed while checking out Alice a bit more. Right now, Alice and I look like perfectly ordinary humans. Her ears are slightly pointed and I can see tree roots along her arms and legs. Tiny wooden antlers catch my eye as well as they poke out from under her green hair, her roots as a wooden golem still making themselves known. ¡°Damn, you are tall.¡± I didn¡¯t make myself much taller but she is still towering over me. I would probably put her just shy of six feet tall. ¡°Got a problem with that?¡± Alice parrots my earlier statement back to me. I grin at her as I finish putting on my robe. ¡°Not in a million years.¡± She really is something. Nothing more than a mana construct that gained a soul at first, but now look at her. Her life magic gave her flesh and a real heart. Her happiness is contagious as I can¡¯t stop smiling for her. ¡°I guess you are something like a dryad now.¡± That is the first magical creature to come to mind based on her looks. The term also brings other thoughts to mind, but I do my best to suppress them from my face. ¡°Well, I guess that is a good way to describe it, yes. You however are something I have never seen anything like before¡­ And I have seen quite a lot in my long life.¡± Her jade eyes glow and I feel mana wash over my body, poking and prodding every inch. ¡°You may look like your old self right now, but every particle in your body is made of the same strange material. I doubt it would be a dealbreaker even if you got your head chopped off.¡± ¡°Wha-?¡± I nearly trip at her final clinical assessment. ¡°I¡­ am not sure if I want to try that or not.¡± Alice gives me a rather pointed look. ¡°No. Are we clear?¡± I quickly nod my head at her stern tone that brooks no argument. I should be more careful about my experiments. Alice would get pissed if I really hurt myself, and I never want to make her angry. I take a look inside myself with my own magic and see that, while I look perfectly normal on the outside, my insides are all that same clay substance. If I can morph my body like this, then who is to say I can take it one step further? I create a new image in my mind, one of a deadly weapon. My right hand turns back into its original form and then stretches out into a large bone spike. A rather menacing thing to appear on a small girl''s body. This could be useful. ¡°One hell of a secret weapon.¡± Alice states looking at my spike arm with an odd look. Suddenly a dirty grin takes over my face. But before I can try what I was thinking, I get slapped rather hard in the back of the head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you were about to do, but no! Just no!¡± A shame¡­ ¡°We should go to speak with Johann.¡± I do my best to change the subject as I motion towards the door, shifting my hand back to normal. Alice gives me a look, but does not say anything more about my obvious deflection. ¡°Yes. Although, I do wonder what the best term for your race would be?¡± I don¡¯t even really have to think about it when I answer. I have read enough fantasy novels to have a good idea of what I am now. ¡°If I were to call it anything, I would call myself a homunculus.¡± Chapter 38: Moving Out | Part 1 ¡°Good, you¡¯re here.¡± Johann looks at us with an expression that is hard to understand. Excitement and disappointment all rolled into one. ¡°Looks like everything went well?¡± ¡°Yep! Alice is life sized now!¡± I smile broadly, excited myself to show off our evolutions. More excited about the moment I reveal my ¡°true form¡± of whatever the hell I am now. I called it a homunculus, but that is just a word I ripped from stories back on earth. A homunculus is an artificial human created through magic. And while I am not originally created from magic, with all the crap I have been doing to my body and soul¡­ Well, I am far from natural anymore. Johann remarks how I have grown a bit as well, noting that I seem to have become more normal looking. ¡°Well, actually.¡± I let my body morph back into its true ashen skinned state. Cracks forming on my skin and my crown growing from my head. I have quite a bit of control so I keep my height and other proportions at what they were so not to look like a little kid in a suddenly too big robe. I am so glad to look like the adult I am on the inside. Being stuck as a child forever would have made life very difficult. The Grand Elder rockets to his feet at seeing my new appearance. Shapeshifting is apparently an absurdly rare racial trait. More than that though, it seems something about my appearance is nostalgic for the man. I want to ask, but the conversation quickly changes when Johann interjects. ¡°While I would love to test out the limits of your new bodies and skills with you, Luke showed up and is asking for you back.¡± He says with a strongly disappointed look. I really am just a science experiment to these people! ¡°Why does that sound like I am an object and not a person¡­¡± Johann just shrugs and says it was Luke¡¯s words and not his. Taking that as the end of the conversation Alice and I head over to our room and collect our stuff. ¡°There is so much we could have learned here. I wonder why Lucadon wants us back to suddenly?¡± ¡°No Idea, I just hope we can test out our limits before the demon throws us into another ¡®training session¡¯ that ends up with us hunting monsters in that dumb forest again.¡± Alice gives my statement a wary flinch. She is now a proper living being, meaning she can¡¯t just sit on my shoulder and soak in the sun while I do most of the moving and fighting. This may require a bit of an adjustment period for her. As we converse, we finally take a step through the main gate to the sect. Waiting outside the barrier is a certain pain in the ass demon with the same concerning grin on its face as usual. ¡°There you are! Well done with the evolutions, but now we must be going.¡± ¡°Why the rush?¡± I can''t help but back up a bit at the demon''s tone. ¡°I shall tell you when we get to where we need to go.¡± I want to argue, but I have never won a single argument against this stupid archdemon, so I just give in. ¡°Fine¡­¡± So with Alice and I just slumping our shoulders, we start portal hopping all the way until we find ourselves back in The Sea of Trees. Judging by the size of the trees and the height of the canopy I can tell we are in the second ring. I turn to look for Lucadon behind us only to find the bastard is not there. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Alice turns to look at me and points to the giant tree right next to us. ¡°Hey Lua, there is a note on the tree.¡± I apprehensively ask what it says, knowing full well it will be nothing good. ¡°Dear Lua and Alice, The divination lock on Lua is failing and can not be replaced. It seems your evolution has given you an increased resistance to magic, and this is interfering with the spell. For now, because of numerous factors, you are not completely visible to diviners and they should only be able to get an estimate of a 200 mile radius. That number is assuming the diviner is of a much higher class though. I would help, but I can no longer continue to coddle you. A Demon Lord needs to be able to think for themselves after all. I think some real battle should help push you to new heights.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I will return to you when you are strong enough to command me to. Good luck! -Lucadon¡± After Alice reads out the whole letter, we both just stand around in a bit of a daze for a while. ¡°Well shit.¡± The words come out rather hoarse. That bastard just dropped us in the forest and told us to fight off an army of higher Class humans on our own! And I know that we won¡¯t have much time to prepare. A 200 mile radius may be a lot, but an army will be able to clear it in no time. ¡°We should start preparing, I suggest you make more demons and start collecting cores for golems from the third ring.¡± I nod my head at Alice¡¯s suggestion. The rings are massive and filled with powerful monsters. I don¡¯t know where we are in the second ring, but it will take a month on foot to move from one end to the other according to the maps I have seen. Luckily I can make a golem horse for us to ride on. I reach into my bag and pull out a Class 3 Mana Core. The one I got from the stalker I killed. I place it against a tree and channel mana into it. The crystal begins to glow and the wood is pulled from the ten plus foot wide trunk and begins to take a familiar war horse shape. I notice the detail is actually far greater than it used to be. Something I will have to investigate. After the horse solidifies I use every bit of my strength to create a new demon. A storm of black smoke exits my body through the same place where the cracks would be were I not transformed into my ¡°human form.¡± Red lightning arcs off the smoke. Swarming like small serpentine dragons in a raging hurricane. The smoke falls to the floor in front of me and swirls as it condenses. The shape taking on a vaguely humanoid appearance as the flashes of red die down, obscured by the black smokey form. The figure stands straight, looking to be just a head shorter than I am and with what looks like an ox skull taking the place of its face. The red lightning fills its eyes, giving them an eerie flicking glow. I stare in amazement at the upgrade from the tiny imps that I had been able to make before. The ox skulled demon then kneels before me in reverence. ¡°Greeting My Lord. It is an honor to serve you.¡± Now, I am completely reeling. The demon''s voice sounds almost like a normal girl¡¯s! I know Lucadon never had a gender, but now that I am looking, I think this demon looks slightly feminine. I wonder if they all will be, or maybe I can choose? Though I get the feeling somewhere inside myself that it is going to be completely random. My mind is spinning, so it seems Alice snaps back into reality first when I hear her shout. ¡°You can talk?!¡± The kneeling demon looks up from its kneeling position with no expression visible on its static skull. ¡°Of course My Lady, I received knowledge from many of My Lord¡¯s memories when she created me.¡± Now that has me snapping back to reality. ¡°Wait, what memories?¡± I really don¡¯t want any of my personal memories to be just given away like that. I can only imagine the fallout if the demons end up getting some of my more dirty memories from earth and then relay them to Alice. ¡°Just information, things you learned in both this world, and the other you are from.¡± I can see Alice perk up at this and so I take steps to immediately shut things down. ¡°Never tell anyone of the things you have learned, that is an order.¡± The demon nods, and I ignore the pout forming on Alice¡¯s face. ¡°Now, Let us see what you can do.¡±
Slam! The door to the king¡¯s office opens rather forcefully and a silver haired woman enters the room with a serious look on her face. King Alcott adjusts his body after nearly falling out of his chair before asking why the crazy woman just barged into his office in such a manner. The Oracle ignores the complaints she can hear muttered under his breath and moves on to explaining her actions. ¡°I finally broke through! That damned magic is no longer able to hide the Demon Lord from me.¡± ¡°Really?! Thank the gods, the alliance was about to have my head!¡± The king is really happy to hear this news. Over a year with no information on the Demon Lord, and the alliance was moments away from breaking. He knows that he should not be happy about the Demon Lord finally making a move, but he can¡¯t help it. Those people were driving him crazy! ¡°Yes, yes. Your head is safe. But focus on the actual information instead of grinning about your newfound safety. The Demon Lord is in The Sea of Trees, I can¡¯t get a precise lock on the location but I know that they are somewhere, here.¡± Pointing to a large map on the wall The Oracle¡¯s finger circles around an area that intersects with their borders. That has the grin falling off the King¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. We are in a dangerous position here.¡± The king sighs at the increased workload that is soon to come. Things were already chaotic with the disappearance of Baron Knight and the arrest of his wife. Now they are neighbors with the Demon Lord? He is never going to get any sleep! ¡°We should send out scouts immediately.¡± The Oracle really wants this Demon Lord dealt with as soon as possible. But sadly things are not so easy. ¡°That area covers part of the third ring as well, it could take months for the scouts to search the whole space. And that is assuming the Demon Lord is stationary.¡± The king sighs again seeing the dower look on The Oracle¡¯s face. He knows she has lived a long time and is incredibly powerful, but also that her power is not as much as others in her level range due to her non combat focused magic. She must be worried about going out alone to face the Demon Lord which is why she suggested the alliance. The problem is that, after waiting so long for the Demon Lord to move, that the other powerful figures standing behind their nations will have little interest in helping out. Especially when the problem is on the border of a nation they had been growing rather annoyed with recently. The fact that they were right in the end will only exacerbate the issue. ¡°Worse, we already have most of our scouts out hunting down the Baron. We can¡¯t leave ourselves any more unprotected right now than we already are.¡± The Oracle slams her fist into the wall, cracking it rather badly despite its enchantments. ¡°Damn, The Tuskan Kingdom is sure to try something soon now that we are being flanked by the Demon Lord!¡± King Alcott grimaces. ¡°My point exactly. But, perhaps The Dragon Empire can assist? The Demon Lord is near their border as well. I doubt they can turn us down now.¡± The Oracle slumps down into the sofa and decides to do the only thing they can do. Hope that The Dragon Empire takes them seriously. Chapter 39: Moving Out | Part 2 ¡°Yes, we have confirmation that the divination lock is gone. Guildmaster, I recommend sending out high ranking adventurers into the woods.¡± Crystal stands before the Guildmaster¡¯s desk as she looks through the reports from her subordinates. ¡°You want that Knight girl back don¡¯t you?¡± The Guildmaster is starting to see an obsession within the Vice-Guildmaster. She had been going on about the little golemancer for a while after the investigation started revealing certain interesting details. ¡°Yes, if the Demon Lord is in The Sea of Trees with her, then she is not safe!¡± Crystal can¡¯t help but get a bit overzealous, the more she learned about the girl, the more certain she was that Lua was the Hero. ¡°You are really certain about this Hero theory of yours.¡± Sighing, the Guildmaster pinches the bridge of his nose. I can understand where she is coming from, but she seems like a starry eyed child whenever she talks about the kid. Crystal straightens and spouts her theory once again as if she is reciting the words of the gods and knows them by heart. ¡°A young human, recently in a life threatening situation, strong resolve, powerful new magic, and even a fairy following her around! It sounds exactly like the stories of when the last hero reincarnated into our world.¡± ¡°It still seems all a little too hopeful.¡± The Guildmaster tries to calm her down but only succeeds in doing the opposite. ¡°I have been dealing with people for a long time. The girl¡¯s face gave away everything when I questioned her. She has golemancy, that is proven, but she never said it was what she got stabbed over! The interrogation of her mother revealed that the girl said she had light magic after being indicted into the system. And that the mother was certain the girl was dead.¡± Her theory does make sense, she has golemancy now and if she really has light magic too¡­ I just find it hard to get my hopes up on some kid being the hero. The Guildmaster tries to express the issues with pinning the potential of their war effort against the Demon Lord on a child from another world. However, Crystal just waves it off. ¡°You know you agree with me that she must be the Hero. Now she is all alone in the forest with no one watching over her!¡± They had sent a member of the guild to follow after her when she left, but have not received any contact from that person since. ¡°Were the diviners able to locate her? I know you have already had them check numerous times.¡± ¡°No, the diviners have never been able to get a lock on her. I assume it is likely a power of the Hero, like how we were unable to locate the Demon Lord.¡± ¡°She could also be dead. If the Demon Lord has been in the forest all this time and appeared alongside the Hero-¡± ¡°I refuse to believe that! Please.¡± Looking over his notes on the number of available adventurers willing to go somewhere this risky for the good of everyone, he quickly finds a list of three individuals who are perfect for the job. ¡°Fine, I will give you a list of who should be sent out to retrieve the girl. Just make sure they are careful, we don¡¯t know anything about this Demon Lord.¡± Ecstatic at getting permission, the Vice-Guildmaster is already preparing to leave, not wanting to waste a moment. ¡°We know things from the stories, and that the Demon Lord is a woman since the announcement called it a her.¡± The Guildmaster snorts at his subordinates'' actions as she starts to walk out the door. ¡°Maybe the brat is the Demon Lord.¡± ¡°Ha ha, very funny.¡± Crystal says with a sarcastic tone. ¡°A 15 year old socially awkward Demon Lord with light magic, Who in their right mind would believe that?¡± Leaning back in his chair, the Guildmaster snorts again. ¡°Fair enough.¡±
A ripple appears in the corner of the room after the Guildmaster leaves to take care of other business. Stepping out from the ripple is a distorted figure, blue hair just barely visible under the phantoms helmet. Quickly vanishing from the room all that is left is a whisper fading into the void. ¡°I see. So she is hiding in the forest¡­ They really believe she is the Hero? I truly must kill her if that is the case. Killing the Hero may even get me my spot in the order back. Troublesome brat.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
I run a thread of mana to the wooden horse golem and transform it into something humanoid as the demon quickly enters it. The humanoid golem stretches and bends as the demon inside tests out the wooden body. I go to ask her to try out attacking when I feel my connection to the Golem Core vanish. ¡°What the-?¡± ¡°Apologies My Lord, It seems I have absorbed the Mana Core.¡± Absorbed? The Class 2 demons never did that. I wonder¡­ ¡°That core was from a mental magic user, are you able to use mental magic now?¡± I can feel myself getting excited. So many possibilities flood my mind as the thought of my golems and demons using their own magic! The wooden figure stops stretching and looks inside of itself. I feel mana around us shift a small amount, a new sense I had not noticed before, and then nothing. ¡°Did you just use mental magic on us?¡± The demon nods. ¡°Yes, I thought it would be fine considering your immunities. It does seem I possess mental magic and numerous spells from the consumed core.¡± ¡°Like mother, like daughter. Doing dangerous magic experiments without a second thought.¡± I harumph at Alice¡¯s comment and do my best to look anywhere but in her direction. I am not that bad! Though, maybe I should talk to my demons about not testing magic on other people when they don¡¯t know the outcome¡­ Ignoring the awkwardness I feel I move the testing forwards. I take out a Class 2 core and create another golem for the demon to enter. However, when she tries to do the same as before, the core is not absorbed. Looks like her magic is locked in as mind magic now. As I contemplate over the decisions I will have to make when giving demons bodies and letting them absorb cores, I notice out of the corner of my eye that the Class 3 golem I had made is still standing. ¡°Wait, why can I still feel a connection to that golem even though it has no core?¡± Alice steps forward to examine it, her eyes flashing a golden green as her mana enters the wooden body. ¡°Hmmm. I can see there is left over Reality in the structure. Somehow it is generating its own Qi, though I don¡¯t know how long it will last like that.¡± ¡°Wait, so I don¡¯t need cores anymore?! Or hold on¡­ Reality is rather difficult to collect. Making a large amount of golems from it would be draining and I am not sure what Realm, Class, or whatever they would be.¡± This is good though, I can do a lot with Qi focused golems. I have the demon slip back into the Qi golem and get ready to do some combat training when I realize I am neglecting my light magic! I had seen on TV how illusion magic can be extremely useful but has the downside of no physical substance. I, however, can ignore that problem. I have the demon come over and begin sculpting the body further. I match the design to a person I knew back in high school as those images come easiest. I was not the most social person for many reasons, so I don¡¯t have a large pool of faces to draw from. Alongside the face I also carve in some channeling and light magic runes. I can still feel the shapes of the runes that used to be in my mana core. Now though, they are carved into my body after I absorbed my own mana core. ¡°Just a little more, aaaand done!¡± I place my hands on my hips and puff up my chest as I look over my work. I let the image in my mind take shape and create the illusion over the wooden body. The demon now looks just like a normal human woman! Hair tied up in a bun, fake wisps of purple in her eyes to match the ones I saw in the original owner of that mine magic core. Black hair that shines with a faint purple so realistic that even I would have a hard time telling that this is all fake. ¡°What happens if someone tries to Identify her though?¡± I really wish I could revel in my genius for more than a moment. Alice¡¯s point still stands though. ¡°Shit¡­ I really need another Class 3 mana core to make her a fake Identify result.¡± Pouting a tiny bit I suggest we start heading for the third ring immediately, to which Alice and the demon agree. ¡°Oh yeah, I should probably name you. Can¡¯t just keep calling you ¡®hey you¡¯ forever.¡± I turn towards the demon woman and find an unexpectedly expectant look on her face. Is she controlling the golems face to do that or is it involuntary? Whatever, it doesn¡¯t matter. ¡°Any preferences?¡± I ask. I kind of gave Alice her name impulsively without asking before and I don¡¯t want to do that again. Not that Alice cares, she rather likes her name. She even seemed upset when I asked if she wanted to change it once. She had a rather scary look on her face that day. I shiver at the thought. The demon, not knowing my thoughts, proceeds to answer my question with a big grin. ¡°None My Lord.¡± I hope this won¡¯t become a trend, I can only make up so many names before my creativity dries out. I honestly don¡¯t know how book authors or weirdos with harems think of names so easily. I should start making a list in my free time. ¡°Then I will name you Prim.¡± My lack of creativity with this name shall stay a secret. I definitely did not just shorten the word ¡®primary¡¯ into something cute. Not at all. ¡°Thank you for the wonderful name My Lord!¡± Prim excitedly kneels before me, making me feel even more awkward about my name choice. Screw it. Just play the part. I just gotta keep my face in place using its shape shifting feature to prevent my emotions from showing. A very handy feature. ¡°You are welcome, Prim.¡± I look off into the distance to get an idea of which direction the sun is heading. Need to get our bearings before we can head for the third ring. ¡°Now let¡¯s-¡± I stop as I hear rustling from the trees above us. Shit! I was not back in the habit of checking my surroundings with light magic! I look up to see a horrifically large mass barreling towards us. Moving through the branches with ease, the form not caring about distance or physics as it climbs down. I use my light magic to flood the area so I can get a better look at the enemy, and that is when I see something truly shocking. Chapter 40: Return Of The Plant ¡°Snappy!¡± The big gluttonous mass of vines, acting for all the world like a happy puppy, slams into the ground in front of us. I rush over through the dirt flying in the air and hug the big ball of green and orange. ¡°Who¡¯s a good boy! Who¡¯s a good boy!¡± The plant monster begins to shift and morph under my petting. The vines take the positions of muscles and bone but continue wiggling in a slightly unnerving way. After a few seconds they lock into place creating a giant green and orange wolf entirely made of vines. ¡°Woah! Even Snappy can shape shift. You need to get with the club Alice.¡± ¡°I see no reason to need my own shapeshifting ability, I am perfectly happy with how I look.¡± ¡°True, you are really cute. Though a disguise for when we are doing Demon Lord shit would probably be good.¡± Alice does her best to look away at my compliment. I can tell she is hiding a blush. I want to tease her more but sadly we only have so much time. ¡°And what exactly is this ¡®Demon Lord shit¡¯ that we are planning to do?¡± Prim looks over, rather interested in the topic herself. I guess those parts of my memories didn¡¯t transfer over. I have been thinking about what I want to do for a while. I had quite a bit of time while I was over at the Sky Breaker¡¯s Sect, a place that I only learned the name of right before we left. And I decided I want to stop The System from messing with people''s minds. The idea of basically losing your free will to the whims of some unknown system. A system that perpetuates violence. It disgusts me. Another thing I want to do is change the perspective of the human race. Their hatred, whether it is influenced by The System or not, is something I can¡¯t sit by and let continue. The problem is that I know I will be targeted rather heavily for both plans. The problem is I am worried about accidentally hurting innocent people in my path. I know I will be hurting a lot of people. Directly or indirectly. I want to spare as many lives as I can but in war things are never all sunshine and rainbows. And this is a war. Against humanity, against The System, and against anyone taking advantage of the world for their own ends. I made myself an enemy of the entire world, and I need to act like it. But¡­ I am scared of the nightmares. Nightmares I will only add to with every passing day. ¡°Lua, you don¡¯t have to save the world all by yourself.¡± Alice comes up from behind and hugs me. ¡°I will share your burden.¡± I wrap my arms around hers. The warmth helps calm my heart. I can tell she probably wanted to tell me that I don¡¯t have to save the world, period. But I know that she knows how stubborn I am. The world sucks. And I have the power to fix it. Or, at least I will. I will keep getting stronger until I can make the world in my image. And I am sure I will do terrible things to get there. In the stories of Demon Lords from my life on earth, they always were the villains. So I have to commit to my new role. I am the villain in this story. One that will be hated until the end of time.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Lua!¡± Alice¡¯s shout snaps me out of my stupor. ¡°Ah, sorry. I was just¡­¡± ¡°You are not a villain.¡± ¡°I said that all out loud didn''t I? It¡¯s fine. I may not be one yet, but I will be when I am done.¡± I don¡¯t want her to worry so I decide it is best to change the topic. ¡°Anyway, look! Snappy is Class 3 now! Pretty neat.¡± I can¡¯t see her face as she stands behind me, but I am sure Alice¡¯s expression is not a happy one. However, she decides to go along with my change in topic, not pushing things further. ¡°Yes¡­ And he is now a big terrifying wolf dripping acidic sap everywhere.¡± Snappy, now happy at being the focus, begins to shift into many different creatures. Monkey, Dragon, A very large human, and many more. ¡°Very impressive, Snappy! You know, I never asked enough questions about you. I remember Lucadon mentioned that you are something they created, but you have a mana core and are clearly your own individual. I wonder if Lucadon was trying to emulate my golemancy somehow.¡± As I muse over the ability to create intelligent golems, something I am not sure I can really do yet, Alice chimes in with her own opinion. ¡°Thinking about it, you never used magic back when we were fighting. Do you have your own magic Snappy?¡± Snappy happily shifts back into his wolf form and then spits a ball of acid at the nearest tree. The acid proceeds to wrap around and turn into a spinning blade, carving a rather impressive chunk out of the tree. ¡°Damn! I am not even sure I can do that much damage to one of these trees.¡± Apparently Snappy¡¯s magic is Acid magic. ¡°Oh right, while we are chatting. I should introduce you. I am sure you know Alice, she may look different but it is still her.¡± ¡°Hi Snappy. Good to see you again.¡± Snappy trundles over and lets Alice give him head pats. The ground sizzling from the bits of acid leaking out of his mouth. ¡°And the girl over there is Prim. I just created her, she is a Class 3 demon. Though I am unsure if that is even a good classification as she is also as far as I can tell in the first cultivation realm. That is the Foundation realm right? I forget the names. Whatever, she is someone who will be working with us. One of many.¡± ¡°You only spent months learning cultivation and can¡¯t even remember the names of the realms?¡± ¡°I am not good with names, okay!¡± ¡°A true idiot savant.¡± ¡°Mean!¡± The green wolf made of vines moves over to Prim who also pats him on the head while I attempt to defend my terrible memory. I am glad to see everyone getting along¡­ ¡°So, what is the plan, miss mighty Demon Lord?¡± ¡°Now, I make a big flat golem with spider legs and we ride it into the third ring. We need to focus on building our war power as I am certain we are in for a fight.¡± Finally done petting Snappy, Prim decides to join the conversation. ¡°My Lord, If I may be so bold. Shouldn¡¯t it be impossible for them to know who you are?¡± While she has a point, no one knows or should suspect that someone as young as me would be the Demon Lord. However, I know at least one person who is after my life. And I doubt the guild plans to use every resource they have to stop him all for a single kid they barely know. No matter how much ¡®potential¡¯ I have. They would need quite a lot to stop this person considering his strength. My father. Class 4 space mage, one renowned for his prowess in battle, which earned him a barony decades ago. And that is only one person who I can¡¯t be sure of my chances against. I still don¡¯t know who is likely to be sent into the 200 mile radius that the diviners should be able to see. I need to be prepared. We all climb on to the golem that is just bigger than a carriage, one with benches and other furniture crafted from the golem¡¯s wooden body. Snappy, unable to fit, trotting alongside us. I look inside my soul and feel around. I can tell that I could create another demon like Prim, but considering all my other demons and golems are too far away right now, I think it is best to make more lesser demons and have them patrol the area around us. I create a dozen demon monkey golems and send them out with golem spears. The Class 2 constructs not being as intelligent as Prim just salute and charge off to start hunting. I am almost out of Class 2 cores. I will need more if I want to create more golems and weapons efficiently. I can¡¯t create any more demons for now, but I can continue to increase my strength in other ways. Pulling more wood from one of the trees, something that always looks strange as the mana rich spirit wood once again regrows in an instant, I start laying things out on the table. Time to start weapon crafting! Character Art 1 These images are all AI generated so they are not perfect representations of the characters as I have described. Alice: Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Snappy: Lua: Lucadon: Chapter 41: Illegal Weapon Crafting The thick trees flit past at an incredible speed. Surprisingly there are no issues with balance even while standing. I think we are going something like 60 miles per hour right now. Even with all that speed, the suspension is doing its job well. If you can call giant spider legs attached to a carriage-like platform suspension. Regardless, the speedy spider carriage golem I created is so incredibly stable! I am really impressed with myself this time. I wonder if I can make other improvements? No wait, I was making weapons! I stop myself from admiring the spider carriage and sit back down at the table and hold the little contraption I am working on out to the demon sitting across from me. ¡°Prim, can you hold this piece here while I merge the handle on?¡± ¡°Of course my lord!¡± We spend the next few hours tinkering with the thing in silence. I had explained my thought process and created a few light diagrams, but I am no engineer. I went to college for biology and animal sciences so my ability to craft advanced weaponry is limited. If you want to know how a mantis shrimp claw functions though I can write a whole essay on that. Hmm, mantis shrimp golems. An interesting idea. I keep staring out at the forest passing by, the darkly lit expanse of wood and brush as inviting as ever. The golems I sent out are never going to catch up, are they? At least the spider carriage is too fast for any monsters to chase for long. Though, said monsters often find themselves skewered by a leg and tossed into a random crate I set up before they can attempt to follow us. The carriage skewers another monster. This one looks like a deer but with the head of a rhino. As it places the corpse into the basket, the whole carriage shakes for a moment. ¡°Shit, I should add more legs.¡± I whisper to myself as the balance returns. I get distracted too easily. Nearly dropped the whole thing I was making, which would have sucked. I would ask Alice to help but she is currently asleep with her head in my lap. I reach down and stroke her long green hair as gently as I can. It had been a long day, and her new body now needs a normal human amount of sleep. Before she was just resting her eyes but never really falling asleep due to her status as a mana lifeform. Now that she is a real girl she has to submit to the mortal necessities that the rest of us do. ¡°I wonder if her nose will grow when she lies?¡± ¡°My lord?¡± ¡°Never mind, just a dumb comparison. Anyway, I think it is time for a test run.¡± I pick up the long barreled gun, feeling the soft wood and weighty metal in my hand, and aim it at the nearest tree. I start to run my magic through it and prepare for the kick back. Click. And the metal just moves a tiny bit, not really doing anything. ¡°Shit. It didn¡¯t work. I really wish I took more engineering classes back in college. I barely understand how something like this is supposed to work.¡± Keeping our voices low to avoid waking the sleeping princess, I realized that testing a weapon right now might not be the best of ideas and put down the prototype. Deciding that I need to find some way to occupy the time I try and strategize with Prim. ¡°Hey, Prim. Got any special demon talents? I honestly don¡¯t know anything about how demons work. That shitty professor never gave me any details.¡± Prim looks a bit whiplashed from the abrupt change in topic but takes it in stride. ¡°Hmmm. I believe I can command the Lesser Demons for you if that is what you mean.¡± ¡°Wait really?! Can you connect to all of them?¡± I try very hard not to let my shock move me as I whisper shout at the demon sitting across from me. ¡°I believe so, yes. There are 19 of them, correct?¡± I nod my head rapidly. ¡°This is perfect! I shall name you my first demonic general.¡± The demon girl perks up excitedly at that. I can see stars in her eyes at her new title. I really have to wonder how the demon personalities are constructed. With only a sample size of one I can¡¯t make any real observations yet. I get Prim to settle down after a few minutes. I hope the next Mid Demon I create is more serious. This one is rather peppy. After testing the connection and having Prim give out a few commands, I have Prim start watching over the Lesser Demons immediately so she can get used to it. She should have my combat knowledge and experience commanding them, so I believe that everything will work out fine. Sadly she can¡¯t command the normal golems by themselves, but their programming to follow the orders of their demon leaders should still be in place. I am just concerned whether this game of command telephone will cause issues or not¡­Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Say, you ate or absorbed that guy¡¯s Mana Core right? Those things contain soul fragments, so I was wondering if you got anything else from that.¡± I never got anything from absorbing them other than a power boost but since she got the magic from it, it would not be out of the question to see other benefits. The demon girl, whose outfit has at some point changed to a maid outfit without my noticing, thinks things over for a while before answering. ¡°Well, looking through my mind I would say yes actually. I absorbed many of the man¡¯s memories as well... It seems they were a Guild employee that was sent to watch over and protect you. Is that something you would be interested in hearing about my lord?¡± I¡­ Shit¡­ I am at a loss of how to respond to that. I was so angry at the time that I didn¡¯t bother to check who the person might have been. I can feel my thoughts darkening again when a hand reaches out to caress my face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lua, we had to get rid of him either way. Otherwise we would not be able to contact Lucadon. If he saw us disappear or if Lucadon showed up, then your secret could have been exposed.¡± The darkness fades while I let Alice¡¯s words comfort me. ¡°Right¡­ There was no other option. And all those humans were human supremacists. Well, not Agera, but¡­ Ugh! I didn''t have a choice, I didn¡¯t have a choice¡­.¡± I forcefully shake my head to reset my brain. ¡°Ok, I am good now.¡± I say, not convincing anyone. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on what we have to do. Prim, can you go over everything you got out of the guy¡¯s memories?¡± Alice helps move things along to prevent my dark thoughts from returning. She is so kind. My spiraling has been getting worse recently, I need to stay focused! It turns out that the guild employee¡¯s memories show he was a Class 3 mind mage serving directly under the vice-guildmaster. ¡°Damn, and when she was so nice to me too.¡± Prim went on to explain many internal guild related things as well as some interesting information about The Dragon Empire. It seems that the empire was planning to break from the human nation alliance in a few weeks from now. ¡°Shit. If I had just waited a bit longer then everything would be too chaotic for them to chase after me. Now that the divination lock is gone they must be rallying.¡± While Prim continues to explain more about The Dragon Empire¡¯s and The Guild¡¯s plans, I get back to work on my weapon prototype. Hopefully I can expand my magic skills at the same time. ¡°Lua, what is that?¡± Now awake, Alice seems rather interested in what I am making. In my hand is a wooden handle connected to a three foot long rod of coiled metal. Inside the coil are two metal rails with another metal block in the center attached to the rails. ¡°For now, it is just an experiment. No idea if it will work though.¡± I twist the coils more with my Golemancy and load a small bullet inside the chamber. ¡°You see, I remembered this cool sci-fi weapon from my life on earth. It used two big rails and strong magnetic currents to launch a projectile. Now, if I can replicate that effect with my golems and light magic, I believe I can make something rather dangerous.¡± I had taken apart quite a few of the metal bits attached to the things I bought back in Carrion City in order to make this. Just a normal rail was not enough to work, but then I remembered how coils can be used to induce electromagnetic fields. My magic control is not quite as refined as I would like so I thought of using a physical coil as a guide for now. I am lucky that some of the equipment I bought had copper parts. At least, I think this is copper. It is orange so I deem it close enough. I probably could have designed this after my first ascension but powering it would have been another issue altogether. Reaching out with my mana I carve a durability rune into the bullet golem before aiming at a tree. ¡°Well, here goes nothing.¡± I start running my light magic in a raw form through the coils and rails. I try pattern after pattern in an attempt to make the bullet move but get the feeling that I am being pushed back by something. I vaguely remember something about a grand curse but decide to see if I can push past it. Alice explained that it was made to prevent advanced technology or magical equivalents. However, I have always been good at breaking things and finding loopholes. My whole existence is a series of loopholes at this point, so why not? Torrents of mana flow around me as I inject Qi and Demonic Essence into the process to help me push even harder. The bullet starts to slowly glide along the rail at which point I zero in on the right flow of power to get the results I want. The pressure from the curse gets stronger and stronger. I can feel it pushing against all my strength, not allowing my creation to exist. I double down and force out more power all at once until I feel the sensation of shattering glass throughout my body. The magnetic currents, suddenly unhindered, burst through all at once. The golem bullet launches at an incredible speed. Even with my enhanced vision and thinking speed from Magic, Qi, and multiple ascensions, I can not trace the path of the projectile! One moment it is there and the next there is a loud explosion as the bullet pierces through an entire spirit tree. A massive crater and an explosion of splinters left in its wake. ¡°Huh, I guess the railgun works.¡± Alice and Prim stare at the damaged tree, mouths agape. Even as the tree heals itself they never stop looking back and forth between the gun and the hole. ¡°I wonder what I could do if I made a bigger one.¡± Alice glares a bit at me for my casual statement. ¡°What? A giant golem railgun seems like a great idea to me. We might even be able to hunt dragons with one.¡± I mutter the last part under my breath. The glare from Alice intensifies. Looking down to ignore the glare and admire my creation I try and think back to what that shattering sensation was. Did I break that grand curse? No, that thing was something that even The System Creator couldn¡¯t touch according to Alice. In fact it was created with the explicit purpose of stopping The System Creator from doing something. But I know I pushed past it, so what was that? Suddenly a black and red screen fills my vision.
Unlocked Demon Lord¡¯s Protection High Curse Resistance Unavailable Unavailable .. .
What? Chapter 42: Cast Shadows I glare at the glowing universe system menu thingy. ¡°This thing just does what it wants with no regard for anyone else, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Alice, still a bit shaken from the destructive force of my new weapon, takes a moment to register that I am talking to the air. ¡°Um, Lua? What are you looking at?¡± ¡°Hmmm I wonder.¡± I decide to try willing it so that Alice and the others can see the screen I am looking at. Lucadon had mentioned I could control this with my thoughts last time, so this should work. Within a moment, Alice jumps at the sudden appearance of the ominous looking screen in front of her. Prim just looks on with interest, while Snappy clearly has no clue what is going on. ¡°I see, so you managed to break a grand curse set in stone for millennia enough that you were rewarded with a powerful curse resistance.¡± Nodding her head at the revelation as if my shenanigans are totally normal, Alice just leans back on the sofa I created, not a care in the world. ¡°My lord, are there any other skills you have received from your Title?¡± Prim, strutting around in her ominous black and red maid outfit, reminds me that I was supposed to have other skills from the Demon Lord Title that I never looked into. I really wonder where she got the idea for the outfit and how she is already so good at controlling the runes I carved into her body that she was able to make it so perfectly. In fact, it looks oddly reminiscent of something I saw in an anime once¡­ I will need to grill her about how many of my memories she has access to later, whenever I can find a time where Alice won¡¯t be able to listen in. Actually, now that I think about it, I should have her connected to the little light magic chat room I built forever ago. Wait, no. I am getting off track again. Stupid menu thing first. Securing my dirty secrets later. ¡°Hmm. Can I see the Demon Lord Requirements again?¡± And just like that the screen changes to show me the same requirements it had before.
You have earned the Title of Demon Lord! Requirements:
  1. Die and come back to life
  2. Commit a massacre of creatures beyond your current strength
  3. Create and command numerous mana creatures
  4. Defeat an entity at least 2 Classes above yourself without assistance
  5. Become an enemy of at least half of all sapient creatures
  6. Become an enemy of the strongest entity in the mortal realm
  7. Be in command of an Archdemon
¡°Yeahhh¡­ I don¡¯t trust this shit at all. I know for a fact that it is stretching several miles of BS from a tin can inorder to give me these ¡®achievements.¡¯ Lucadon must have done something fucky.¡± At my mutterings, Alice chimes in with a rather interesting factoid. ¡°It is said that Titles come from the perception of the world and its inhabitants.¡± I suppose that makes sense, but if that is true then how could I have gotten the Demon Lord Title? There is only one possibility that I can really think of, that Lucadon was either the highest ranking or just the last remaining demon in the mortal plane. When I expressed my theory to Alice, she seemed to agree. ¡°Damn. Well, I should try looking at the other skills I have while I have the chance.¡± Both Demon Creation and Demon Control have a list of ¡°Unavailable¡±s below them so I guess they can do more that I just don¡¯t know about yet. Something to look forward to. Below that is Demon Lord¡¯s Protection and then something very interesting. Lord¡¯s Shadow. ¡°Well now, I wonder what this does?¡± I can feel a grin forming on my face at the edgy-ass skill name. ¡°I don¡¯t see this ending well.¡± ¡°You always say that Alice. It always works out fine.¡± I can feel her disagreement from here, but I am too excited to try my edgy new skill. I try and sense for a way to activate it but find myself grasping at nothing. Right, It is not like The System I was trained for. I can¡¯t just wish for a skill to happen, I have to actually make it happen myself. Did I get this from my latest advancement? What triggered it becoming available, and why did I not get notified for it? Then I remember that this screen only showed up when I started wondering what the feeling was. ¡°Ah, so I can open and close this whenever I want?¡± I will the screen closed and back open in an instant. The ominous black panel vanishing and popping back into existence with little fanfare. ¡°Nice! Though I probably should have tested that last¡­ Just in case I was wrong¡­¡± Muttering to myself I refocus on the Lord¡¯s Shadow skill. Shadow, shadow, shadow¡­ Ah!If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I only know of one smoky substance that my body produces that could work for this! ¡°Gross, Lua.¡± ¡°Shut up! You know what I mean.¡± I pull the black smoke out from my Soul and let it fall into my shadow, saturating it with the same creeping darkness and red lightning I had used to create Prim with. Looking down as I park the golem spider carriage in a sunbeam, I see that my shadow is a lot darker than it should be. If this works like my chuunibyou heart thinks it does, I am going to be so damn happy! I pick up my golem spear from the table and drop it into the shadow. Like a lake of bloody ink my shadow swallows the spear whole. I feel my grin widen even further as I reach into the shadow with my mind and pull the spear back out again. The shadowed shape rises from the inky darkness before I grab it, returning the color to the spear. ¡°I have an inventory! Fuck yes!¡± I start jumping around like a little kid in my excitement. Carrying all my armor, tools, and golem cores everywhere is so not fun! Prim, ignoring my antics, comes over to inspect the shadow with Alice. ¡°Certainly an interesting skill. I wonder how much you can store in it?¡± ¡°Good question. We might be able to find out if the Demon Lord herself can act her age. You are supposed to be like 20+ on the inside if everything you have told me is true.¡± I suddenly find myself coughing at the mention of my real age. I honestly don¡¯t know how to even count it properly with my two lives blended together. I gave up trying to decide almost immediately. ¡°Right! Prim, try entering my shadow.¡± After all, any good Demon Lord should be able to store their armies in their shadow! Prim, not feeling an ounce of hesitation at obeying my command, hops right into the inky depths and vanishes in my shadow. ¡°Hey, it works!¡± I get a glare from Alice for carelessly having Prim jump into the untested skill. I just shrug and reach out to Prim in my mind. I share a connection with all my demons so it is easy to track her down. Looking through her eyes, I can see her staring out from beneath me. The whole world warped and rippling above her, like looking up from the bottom of a lake. Calling out, I have her return to the surface. Her shadowy form rising, and then taking her now usual maid-like appearance. This skill is so useful! One thing I do notice is that there is no mention of my Demonic Aura in the menu at all. I have to wonder what else I have that the universe has not deemed necessary to share with me. And I wonder what other Titles there are that I can get.
Crystal, the Vice-guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild, calmly sits down across from the leader of the Steadfast Shield Clan. Her tail of runes and flames swaying back and forth through the chair as if the obstacle does not exist. She takes a moment to get a read on clan leader Kuma before speaking. ¡°I need you to send a few people into the forest to look for Lua.¡± The clan leader raises an eyebrow at the strange request. The girl had left of her own accord to get stronger, and as far as he could tell, she was not a fan of her previous ¡®retrieval¡¯ in the slightest. ¡°Why do you need us for that? She said she would be back, so why not just wait? She can handle herself after all.¡± Crystal furrows her brow at this. She was never fond of how carefree this man was. He always ignored important issues, trusting fate to make the world a better place. She had left the clan ages ago for this reason and gone to work for the guild due to its structure. The hypocrisy of this opinion, after her recent antics and enthusiasm towards her theorized Hero, is completely lost on her. Internally, she sighs. Deciding that the safety of Lua is far more important than bickering with this man. ¡°This is confidential information, but the Demon Lord was discovered to be hiding in the section of the forest closest to our border¡­ Lua is in danger. You see¡­ The Guild has reason to believe that she is the Hero.¡± Kuma¡¯s eyes widen at the implication. If the girl is the Hero and the Demon Lord is really so close, the safety of the whole world is at stake if the Demon Lord gets to her first! ¡°Y-You¡¯re kidding me, right?¡± Stuttering out an attempt at denying his own carelessness at letting the girl leave unattended, the clan leader desperately tries to deny the woman''s words. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Well shit.¡± A lot of the clan¡¯s people are currently out on a mission so the clan leader does not have many people to spare. Especially when it comes to people strong enough to venture into the woods where this Demon Lord is supposedly hiding. The Vice-guildmaster does not care about hiring just anyone though. She already has three individuals in mind. ¡°Are you sure that is wise? The kid is less than fond of those three.¡± ¡°It is better than sending in a mass of people she does not know. The Guild is willing to make this a high priority request, one with benefits to match.¡± Seeing the look in Crystal''s eyes, Kuma knows that arguing is pointless. ¡°I¡¯ll call them in now.¡± ¡­ .. . Stumbling into the room after the clan leader''s secretary, a golden eyed brawler, tall black haired noble woman, and blond haired wind mage stand at attention when they find the Vice-guildmaster in the room. ¡°Sir, you wanted to see us?¡± Speaking for the group as usual, Rose Ashfort nervously looks back and forth between her leader and the Guild representative. I really hope we are not in trouble for anything again. ¡°Yes. The Guild has a special mission for you all.¡± All three of the adventurers finally let go of the tension in their bodies. Only to suddenly tense again as the seriousness of the situation hits them. If the Vice-guildmaster is here, the mission must be really important¡­ ¡°You all remember that girl you found in the woods?¡± ¡°You mean Lua! I have been so worried about her since she left.¡± Nodding along, Rose begins to worry more than before. ¡°The Guild believes she is in danger. Right now we need you to help search for her in The Sea of Trees.¡± Crystal taking over the conversation starts to go over the details when a shadow mage interrupts. ¡°I am so sorry for Jen¡¯s actions! If she had not shown Lua that fighting arena, she never would have left!¡± Bowing her head, Rose tries to apologize to her superiors. ¡°Calm down! No one is blaming anyone. The situation is more complicated than you know.¡± The three adventurers all shift awkwardly, especially Jen, who is the main culprit for Lua fleeing the city. Crystal takes a moment to let them adjust before dropping a rather large bomb. ¡°The Guild believes that she is the Hero, and that the Demon Lord is in the forest with her. Possibly even hunting her.¡± Now the whole room devolves into shouting. ¡°No!¡± ¡°We will go!¡± ¡°We will protect Lua!¡± Crystal nods her head, certain she picked the best people for the job. The only people for the job. ¡°Thank you, I wish you luck.¡± ¡­ .. . ¡°So, Lua¡¯s the Hero... I always knew she was special.¡± Walking through the town to gather supplies for their mission the three adventurers nervously and excitedly discuss things amongst themselves. ¡°Shhh, people will hear you! It is meant to be a secret for now.¡± Rose tries to quiet Helmios down as the bell to the shop jingles upon their entrance.
Unbeknownst to the group, things were far too late on that front. The Vice-guildmaster had already talked about her Hero theories and of the girl Lua to so many people that word had begun to spread. A 15 year old girl who tragically died and was brought back by the gods for her light magic. A girl protected by a fairy and growing at incredible speeds while wielding two types of magic at once. Whispers run through the streets of the city and meetings are held in secret throughout numerous countries. The Hero has returned to the world, and will slay the Demon Lord. Chapter 43: Terrible Naming Sense ¡°And your name shall be Quan.¡± ¡°Wait, hold on¡­ Lua! I can¡¯t believe you''re just naming them like that!¡± ¡°Shit, I have been found out.¡± I had been naming the demons with the same trend I had decided upon when I named Prim. I turn to look over at Prim, Sec, and Tern who are all standing off to the side, their personalities shining through the forms they have taken for themselves using the wooden golems I have provided. Prim in her evil maid outfit, hair tied up in a bun, and her wispy purple eyes. Sec and his yakuza style suit and slicked back blonde hair, he even turned his golem weapon into a katana of all things¡­ I hope my memories of anime on earth don¡¯t affect the demons too much. Sadly, there is no light at the end of that tunnel. Thinking that, I look at Tern rather pointedly. Her witchy magical girl outfit along with her pink hair and starry eyes¡­ I still refuse to comment on it. ¡°What? It is not like the demon''s mind, and the names sound normal enough.¡± The demons all seemed rather happy with their names, so I had been procrastinating on making that name list. ¡°Nope, not pulling that shit with me. They deserve proper names!¡± Alice had a point, these are my soldiers and I could do better. Quan didn¡¯t seem to want to change his name after I gave it, however, so to prove to Alice that I could name things I was forced to give our carriage a name. ¡°Fine, but I still want to try that experiment I mentioned before so I will be putting a Lesser Demon inside the Golem Spider Carriage.¡± I call one of the Lesser Demons I had stationed around the edges of the carriage. The things are rather lacking in any kind of sense of self so making one into a carriage is totally fine. Should even make the ride smoother as I won¡¯t have to add new commands to it every time we run into a new edge case on its programming. ¡°I dub thee, Buttercup!¡± The best part about having my memories from earth is my ability to choose random words from the many languages on that world and cheat at naming! I can sense Alice trying to read my expression to determine if her BS radar is working correctly. I lock my face into place using my wonderful shapeshifting abilities and hope for the best. After a moment, she either decides it is not worth it, or barely passable enough to not warrant a comment. ¡°Great! Now that we are all ready, we should be really close to the border of The Sea of Trees soon.¡± We had been traveling rather quickly through the forest for two days now, Buttercup had really put in the work and we had only just stopped to grab materials for new experiments as well as making new demons. I look over the large mounted turret we are building on the back of Buttercup¡¯s platform. The whole thing is still made of wood, seeing as we don¡¯t have anywhere near enough metal to even make a single rail, but it is coming along nicely. ¡°Project Illegal Weapons is looking real snazzy. I wonder if I had the demons start mining for metals in the third ring, maybe we could stumble upon a massive vein of mithril or something?¡± It was a faint hope, but the third ring is generally an unexplored region. There were many reasons people never went there, even Class 3s avoided the place, so I could dream of untouched treasures. ¡°Enchanted mithril golem bullets fired by a giant railgun! Every girl¡¯s wet dream!¡± Everyone seems to have decided to ignore my insanity, and finish loading the materials we harvested for my experiments onto Buttercup. Once the preparations were done and the materials stored, we set off once again. ¡°Onward Buttercup, there¡¯s fuckery to spread!¡± ¡°Lua¡­ I don¡¯t know what you are on about, but I feel the urge to tell you to shut up.¡± ¡°Truly a shame to lose meme culture in another world. I will put creating memes and the internet on my todo list.¡± My blooming insanity aside, I really need to focus on the latest experiment. ¡°So, you wanted to try upgrading a Lesser Demon to a Mid Demon? Will that work?¡± Alice was skeptical, but if the demons were made of the Demonic Essence in my Soul, then adding more should do something to upgrade their power. I think. It would be a shame to have Prim and the gang be stuck at Class 3 when I eventually reach Class 4. Not wanting to delay any longer, I call over one of the Lesser Demons and have it exit the golem it is inhabiting. When the shadowy figure leaves the golem¡¯s form, I notice an odd change. Normally, the demons were shaped more like devilish imps. All of the Class 2 demons I created up until now had looked practically identical. Now, I can see a monkey tail flicking behind the demon''s frame, warping and twisting along with the smoke, but unmistakably similar to the tail of the golem it had been inhabiting. ¡°Interesting, is this a case of the body affects the mind? Maybe¡­ Do the Class 2 demons have such a weak sense of self that the form influences it or will this be the case with all demons?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I have always loved learning new things and fitting puzzle pieces together. Since my reincarnation I have had many opportunities to toy with the rules of this world, and I just can¡¯t keep myself from getting excited at seeing a new and fascinating problem to solve! Before I can get carried away however, I close my eyes and reach into my Soul. I can feel my connection to the demon before me, like I can feel the connection to all the others. Focusing on the closest thread, I flip the switch in my mind and create the usual black smoke streaked with red lightning. The smoke rises off my skin and I can feel the usual tingling sensation followed by a bit of lethargy. ¡°Ugh, I probably should stick to a single Class 3 a day from now on. The weakness from hitting my limit could cause issues if we are attacked.¡± As I complain, the smoke rushes into the Lesser Demon. It looks as though the smoke is being eaten by the monkey imp oddly enough, the demon¡¯s form becoming plump as it gets its fill. Eventually there is no smoke left to eat and the Lesser Demon bursts into a whirlwind of shaded lightning. ¡°Reminds me of baglemon evolutions.¡± Once the storm clears the imp is no more, and standing before me is a Class 3 demon. The usual animal skull rests in place of a head, but this time I can see its shape is clearly a monkey¡¯s skull. The tail that had been there from the previous incarnation remains, and I can see a light of intelligence forming in the demon¡¯s glowing red eyes. It kneels. ¡°Greetings my lord! I thank you for your generosity in granting me new power!¡± Speaking in a rather childlike tone, the rather short demon looks up at me with absolute glee. ¡°I am glad you are happy. From now on your name will be Timmy.¡± It was a success! I am a bit concerned about possible changes when I eventually upgrade other demons, but that is a problem for future Lua. With all that concluded, Myself, Alice, and the 5 Great Demon Generals set off on our trusty demon spider carriage named Buttercup and head for the third ring. ¡°I can feel your glare Alice, and it won¡¯t help my naming sense. Would you like to name them?¡± I don¡¯t get a response. It seems she has less faith in her own naming sense than mine. ¡­ .. . Just as we reach the entrance to the third ring we come across a cliff far bigger than the last one I encountered. The one Lucadon pushed me off¡­ Still pissed about that. ¡°Damn, That is one freaky sight.¡± ¡°I will agree with you on that much.¡± Alice nods in agreement as we both stare out into the abyss. In the first ring the trees were big, sure, maybe 20 feet wide and 300 feet tall. Monoliths of wood that were strange to look at but nothing too crazy. Moving into the second ring the trees went up to over 40 feet wide and 700 feet tall. I had thought the size of those trees were mind numbing enough, but this takes the cake. The world seems to bend under the crushing scale as each tree is 100 feet wide at minimum and towering over 2000 feet tall. Looking down the sheer cliff I, even with my vision that ignores light levels, see a rather murky dark blur. While each tree is rather far from the next, their long reaching branches stretch so far that a single droplet of light would need a miracle to reach the ground. And that would be without taking into account that the mana of the trees seems to eat light itself. I can feel it from here, a clawing sensation at my magic, not enough to affect me, but enough to feel a tiny pull in my soul. ¡°Now I understand why even Class 3s avoid this place. A magic flame would be snuffed out in an instant, never letting you see the hordes of Class 3 monsters right next to you.¡± The third ring is clearly far from a pleasant place to be. I didn¡¯t think about it when I was in the fourth ring because I basically never left the house that Lucadon made, the darkness there obscured the trees completely so I never had a chance to feel this sensation. This is a terrifying place to be. ¡°Well, in we go!¡± Buttercup begins to stab into the cliff face and lower us down gently. ¡°I really wish I could figure out how those light wings of yours work!¡± Alice¡¯s wings from her fairy form are still accessible in her current state, but no matter how hard I try I can¡¯t replicate them when I look at the flow of magic. It is rather frustrating. Alice giggles at my childish tantrum about wanting wings. ¡°I am sure you will figure them out eventually, then you can make all the demons fly as well.¡± She pats me on the head from her superior position in height. I grumble but let the patting continue. ¡°See anything down there?¡± Alice¡¯s vision had changed since her evolution. Before she could project her vision using the runes I crafted into her original doll form¡¯s eyes. Now that function is gone. Replacing it is the ability to see Life Energy. Every living creature gives off Life Energy, and since it is a hard thing to conceal, that makes Alice¡¯s sight in this magically dark forest even better than mine. ¡°No, the trees give off too much of their own Life Energy that it obscures everything.¡± Or not¡­ I can still see, but it is like looking around a very dimly lit room. And since the demons seem to be able to see fine in the darkness that just leaves Alice as the odd one out¡­ Not wanting her to run around blind, I decide to weave together a new spell from an old one. My mapping spell was able to create a 3D map of the surroundings before, so why not just overlay that data on to the eyes so we can see perfectly! I generate a ball of light in my hand and mess with the frequency before it can be eaten by the ambient mana. Smoothing things out, the light approaches the point where they are considered radio waves. ¡°Well that is even more interesting!¡± ¡°What? It ate your light ball?¡± ¡°No, it seems that the mana here only eats certain wavelengths of light. They are plants after all, so radio waves are of no use to them. That makes things much easier.¡± I take hold of my ball of radio waves and send out a burst to scan the area before converting the returned light into a map. ¡°Woah!¡± Alice freaks out a bit as I overlay the scene onto her eyes. ¡°Your powers are such a cheat.¡± ¡°I think you were just too used to The System restricting magic to skills.¡± ¡°Maybe, but your control over it is still absurd.¡± ¡°The kind word would be ¡®impressive¡¯ not absurd.¡± ¡°I stand by my statement.¡± With our bickering over and our vision of the forest no longer impaired we all set off for a fruitful hu- ¡°Get down!¡± Before I can even think, I pull Alice into my arms at the call of Prim. A large spike flies past where our heads had been and slams into the rock wall behind us. ¡°Well, that is one warm welcome¡­¡± Chapter 44: Troublesome Children I look over the edge of the carriage, the light array I created painting the world in black and white. The creature in the distance looks like what you would get if you asked a child to draw the combination between a porcupine and a mongoose. Truly a monstrosity. And it doesn¡¯t end there. Dozens upon dozens of monsters start flooding the area, hungry and extremely violent. Strangely though the monsters don¡¯t seem to have any interest in attacking each other. ¡°Why the hell did we immediately run into a fucking stampede!?¡± Monster stampedes occur for many reasons. However, one reason stands above all the others as the most lethal. They are being hunted by something stronger. I can feel it in the distance, the horde was chased all the way to the border and now has nowhere to go. Who knows how long they have been fleeing this beast, I just know that they seem to see us as a quick snack before the end. ¡°Everyone! Big one incoming, take care of the small fry as quickly as you can!¡± I begin shouting out orders left and right. First things first, we need a clear area free of distractions for when the real fight gets here. Prim moves out first and starts to use her mind magic to make the monsters start attacking each other. Nice! She is killing it with the crowd control. Sec and Tern move in after the chaos starts and begin cutting down monsters left and right. Sadly they don¡¯t have access to magic yet as they need to consume a Mana Core first. ¡°Quan and Timmy, cover the sides and don¡¯t let any of the monsters get behind us!¡± Alice hops in as well to start giving off commands, her long lifetime granting her a wealth of knowledge on combat formations. I order the Lesser Demons to back up the main group and take orders from their respective leaders. Cutting another monster down with my spear I try to conserve my mana. Shit! I duck under the deformed tiger that swipes at my head and ram my spear up through its skull. They just don¡¯t end! I don¡¯t know what the monsters were fleeing from and I want everything I have at my disposal when it arrives. If this many Class 3 creatures are running for their lives, it must be one hell of a threat. ¡°Lua, your golems!¡± Alice calls out, reminding me that I don¡¯t have to rely on just demons. Golems only require a tiny amount of mana after the cost of converting the Mana Cores into Golem Cores. Nodding my head I reach into my shadow and throw out dozens of the Class 2 cores we had collected along the way. ¡°Boom.¡± The ground explodes as the golems wrench the dirt from beneath our feet to form countless spikes. Monsters scream and cry out as the spikes impale them. Not enough to kill too many monsters as the Class 2 cores can¡¯t strengthen the earth enough to penetrate too deeply. But it is more than enough to slow them all down. Spikes continue to erupt, blocking off their paths, stabbing the slow and injured, killing anything not paying attention. It is a blood bath. No newly minted Class 3 should be able to cause this much carnage to a horde of Class 3 monsters. But here I stand. Despite our devastating thrashing of the monsters, I still can¡¯t help but stay overwhelmingly tense. ¡°30 seconds until arrival!¡± I am mapping out the entire area with my magic and can see it coming. I really need to set up a proper alert system with this thing since I have to pay attention to it manually. A lapse in attention is what nearly lost me my head when we arrived. I would rather not test Alice¡¯s theory in such a precarious situation. ¡°What is it? You got a visual on it yet?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ If I were to describe it, I would say it is a giant humanoid bunny that looks horribly feral.¡± The thing stands taller than the trees of the first ring. It is charging forward at an incredible speed, picking up monsters and chowing down on them like they are a bag of trail mix. It has arrived. The beast bursts into view as the rest of the monsters scatter. ¡°It is Class 4, be careful!¡± We fan out around the thing, Timmy takes up the role of taunting the monster, hopping around and just barely avoiding attacks to keep it distracted. Prim moves in and channels her mind magic to make sure the giant rabbit man can¡¯t concentrate enough to land a hit or target anyone else. ¡°Alice, can you stun it for a moment?¡± ¡°Without a doubt!¡± Her voice reassures me that she has everything covered.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Alice moves around to the back of the beast and activates her Life Magic, the mana seeps into the distracted monster and wraps around its heart. Blood erupts from the monster''s body as its overwhelming magical strength fights against the attack. I stand with my spear aimed right at its head as my mana constructs a sphere of compressed gamma rays right at the tip. Now that I have that lovely curse resistance, I can access this rather dangerous end of the electromagnetic spectrum. And I intend to use it to the fullest. ¡°Eat this you overgrown crazy toons character!¡± I launch my attack at the moment the beast is too focused on repelling all of my team''s continued assault. The invisible sphere, even wider than the thing''s head, instantly passes through its target as it travels at the speed of light. The repulsive smell of burnt hair fills the air as the fighting stops. The whole thing''s head is completely roasted. ¡°Anyone up for cooked rabbit?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that radiation infects things and is dangerous even after the attack ends?¡± Alice has a rather disgusted look on her face. I can see many things to be disgusted about in this situation, but I reassure her about the effects of my magic. Because I can directly manipulate radiation with my magic, I only need to remove any of the leftovers from the attack and we are all safe to eat our hunts. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to eat that thing.¡± ¡°We have enough provisions to last us a while, but rabbit will surely taste better than the abominations scattered around us.¡± Honestly, I would much rather eat the rabbit. The Class 3 creatures all look like shit out of the deep sea. Deformed and adapted to highly mana dense environments, even a certain blade handed nightmare would be running from these things. ¡°... Fine, but we should try to procure food from towns before resorting to the rabbit.¡± ¡°I will do my best on that front.¡± I also would still rather not eat the rabbit if I don¡¯t have to. ¡­ .. . We spent the next few hours cleaning up. There were a lot of monsters dead and that meant lots and lots of cores! I can make tons of Golems and Demons with these. ¡°My lord, what kind of magic should I acquire?¡± ¡°Oh, me, me! I want Wind Magic!¡± ¡°Calm down Timmy. We don¡¯t even know what magic these cores can give us.¡± ¡°If you are talking about the one in your hand Sec, then it''s Fire Magic.¡± Everyone stops their work at my casual statement. Alice then turns to me with a baffled look on her face. ¡°And how do you know that?¡± Now it is my turn to freeze up. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­. I don¡¯t actually know to be honest.¡± I can just tell by intuition when I look at the core. The information just exists in my mind, like a memory you don¡¯t have to think about to remember. ¡°You think it is another hidden Demon Lord skill?¡± ¡°It is only natural that my lord would know the magic types! She needs to be able to grant the correct powers to her loyal servants after all.¡± ¡°Oooh! So that means I can have Wind Magic?!¡± ¡°My lord! Is there anything that would fit a magical girl like me?!¡± ¡°Ha, in your dreams Tern.¡± ¡°That''s it Sec! I want Dream Magic! Please my lord. Please, please, please!¡± ¡°Wait, that is not-¡± Great, now everyone is going crazy¡­ I am glad everyone seems to be getting along well though. It is kind of like having a big happy family. ¡­ A new experience for me¡­ Alice claps her hands and starts shouting. ¡°Alright calm down kids! We can discuss what magic everyone gets once we catalogue all the cores.¡± I snort a bit at that. ¡°Is there something you find funny?¡± Alice lightly glares in my direction. ¡°I just think it is cute. You, acting like their mother and all.¡± ¡°Wha-?!¡± She stumbles at my comment and nearly falls from her shock. I can see a rather serious blush forming on her face from the implications of my statement. She is just about to say something when Tern cuts her off. ¡°I like that! We should call Alice, mom from now on! Yep!¡± ¡°Yes, she is the wife of our lord and creator after all. It seems appropriate.¡± ¡°Wife?!¡± Alice is losing it and I can¡¯t say I am much better anymore. ¡°Very well, I shall call her dear mother as well.¡± ¡°Mommy!¡± Sec and Timmy decide on their own variations of Alice¡¯s new title while Quan silently nods along to the whole situation. With the overload of emotions, Alice collapses to the ground out of pure embarrassment. I sneak over and rub her back until she can calm down. Meanwhile, I try and drag the crazy demons back on track. ¡°Okay! We now have plenty of cores, I will start a list and send it to you all with light magic so you can decide for yourselves what you want. Does that sound good to everyone?¡± They all happily agree and get back to work collecting cores from the scattered remains. ¡­ .. . In the end, Sec chooses Blade Magic, Tern luckily finds a single Dream Magic core, Quan picks Earth Magic, and finally Timmy, after going back and forth many times, decides on Beast Magic. ¡°What now?¡± Alice, having recovered from sudden motherhood shock, looks to me so that we can decide on our next course of action. ¡°Well, we have a load of new Class 3 cores, and even a Class 4 core! As for why a Class 4 was in the third ring¡­ Something we will need to look into.¡± According to the books I have read, monsters always move into the next ring as soon as they ascend Classes. Apparently something at the center of the forest draws them in. This one however, was heading in the opposite direction. I was originally thinking of heading for the fourth ring for this idea, but if all Class 4 monsters are like that then we may have a difficult time with defense until I can build up our weaponry. ¡°I think we should set up a proper base of operation.¡± Tern looks at me with her shining eyes. ¡°Demon Castle?!¡± ¡°Demon Castle.¡± I respond with my arms crossed and a confident nod. ¡°The more I hear of these ¡®isekai novels¡¯ the more I worry about them affecting your decision process.¡± Alice looks over at me and sighs. ¡°But¡­ I am glad you seem to be feeling better recently.¡± ¡°Yeah. Thanks. If it weren¡¯t for you¡­ I don¡¯t know if I could have held it together through everything.¡± ¡°You did, and that is all that matters.¡± We smile at each other and I take her hand. ¡°Suddenly my coffee is not bitter enough.¡± ¡°Oh, shut up Sec. You don¡¯t even have coffee!¡± ¡°I think they are really cute together!¡± ¡°Yes indeed Tern. Our lord and her mistress are truly adorable.¡± ¡°Yep, yep!¡± ¡°Okay, enough guys! You will kill your mother with embarrassment if you keep this up.¡± Alice glares at me once again and starts hitting me on the arm. I laugh as I declare that we should all head out and start looking for a place to build our castle. Chapter 45: Convergence ¡°Wow! The Guild is really taking this seriously.¡± Rose Ashfort can¡¯t help but speak out in astonishment. Before her are several hundred adventurers and knights all gathered together for a single purpose. Finding and bringing back Lua safely. ¡°Yeah, I am amazed they even got several Gold and Mithril ranked space mages to take everyone to the second ring.¡± Helimos excitedly looks out at the crowd, powerful people all dressed in armor stand before the entrance to The Sea of Trees with a strong determination in their eyes. The Guild had been infected by the Carrion City Vice-guildmaster¡¯s enthusiasm for the supposed Hero. Adventurers from across the continent had been gathered by the Adventurers Guild, most of which specialize in scouting and transportation. These powerful people were either chosen for their expertise in tracking, or were volunteers swept along by the craze. No one could blame them though. After all, the influence of a Hero is strong. Whether they are here for the prestige of potentially saving the Hero, or out of their strong sense of justice, everyone gathered believes that this Hero will do great things. And they are determined to be a part of it. ¡°It makes sense considering the situation. Lua¡¯s our best hope against the Demon Lord. Making sure she is safe should take priority over money or politics.¡± Jen throws in her own more practical thoughts on the matter while shielding her eyes from the sunlight bearing down on them. It is about mid day, so the sun is coming on rather strongly. Jen however, is doing her best to enjoy the sunlight before delving into the forest. She is not a fan of the endless shade cast in The Sea of Trees. A wind blows through the area as a new voice chimes into the conversation. ¡°Good to see you are all fired up. The Emperor was kind enough to supply us with powerful mages and supplies for our search so we best make good use of it.¡± Crystal¡¯s sudden appearance and casual mention of The Emperor startles the group from their idle chatter. ¡°Even The Emperor is getting involved?!¡± The Emperor of The Dragon Empire is a reclusive figure to even the citizens of his own nation. Most human nations only exist because they are backed by incredibly powerful figures, and these people can not move easily. Any movement from these backers is often seen as a threat to others and can cause tensions to rise rapidly. These situations often lead to wars that leave hundreds of thousands dead. For these reasons the hands of these powerhouses are often tied. ¡°Yes, The Emperor shares my conviction that the safety of the Hero should be our number one priority.¡± Rose is truly shocked that even The Emperor is onboard with all of this. This Demon Lord must be even more of a threat than I realized¡­ The Vice-guildmaster, just as bad at reading the mood as the three before her, drops another bomb while she starts to look over the paperwork in her arms. ¡°They even wished to come join the search themselves. But sadly doing so would endanger the nation as you would expect.¡± A nation¡¯s leader could never leave their country, even to look for a savior like the Hero. However, this situation is even more complicated than normal. ¡°Right, the Human Nation Alliance is still in a precarious position, I heard.¡± Jen was the only member of the party to be keeping up with the current state of affairs in the outside world, so she was not as shocked by the information as the others. Despite being able to get a sense of the Demon Lord¡¯s location, the lack of any form of attack is letting the more aggressive nations continue to push for the dissolution of the alliance. Worse yet, the Duskallen religion is preaching all over that the Demon Lord is being defamed by national propaganda. With no other information, besides the fact that the Demon Lord they were told was evil incarnate is nowhere to be seen, the citizens are starting to lean into the cult''s teachings. The prospect of which is very worrying for the nations that are in support of continuing the alliance. ¡°I hope we can retrieve Lua before she gets hurt, she could be the one that holds the alliance together.¡± The three adventurers nod along to Crystal¡¯s words and begin doing a final check on their equipment. But, just as they begin, a fifth voice appears with a slightly different perspective. ¡°Personally, I still don¡¯t get the fuss about the Demon Lord. What I do care about is Lua¡¯s safety.¡± ¡°Oh! Are you joining in the search too Agera.¡± The young man with silver flaked hair walks up to the group with a large pack strapped around his shoulders and his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. Rose, seeing the concern in the man¡¯s eyes, steps forward and looks right at him with a big grin. ¡°My, from your words it sounds like you might have a thing for the little Hero.¡± Agera¡¯s face immediately morphs into a scowl. I really can¡¯t stand these three, it is like they are all off in their own little world. ¡°No. The boss sent me along to prevent you from scaring the poor girl off again.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What! B-But, that was not our intention¡­¡± Rose¡¯s denial just inflames Agera¡¯s anger further. ¡°Good intentions or not, the only thing that matters is how your actions affect the other person. And they affected Lua rather negatively last time.¡± Agera knows that Lua had fled for many reasons, but chief of all was the extreme human supremacy that all of these people treat as if it is the most natural thing in the world. And she had been shown that first hand by Jeniveve when she was taken to that underground fighting ring. She might even prefer to work with the Demon Lord if I am truly right about her opinion of the discrimination. Before Agera can get any further with his thoughts, the Guildmaster stands up on the podium at the entrance to the forest. ¡°Alright people listen up! This is a sketch of the girl we are looking for, chances are though that she may have reached Class 3 and evolved so the portrait may not be perfectly accurate. Keep that in mind.¡± The Guildmasters words hang in the air as murmurs spread across the crowd. He must have a lot of faith in this Hero if he believes she could have evolved so quickly. ¡°She is traveling with a fairy and uses Light Magic, and Golemancy. If you encounter any signs of her then please use your provided talismans to communicate that to your appointed team leaders!¡± Speaking loudly as a wind mage amplifies his voice, the Guildmaster holds up a drawing of Lua made by a sketch artist who had sketched the girl¡¯s likeness using mind magic. The posters have been passed out to everyone in the crowd along with a series of documents on things to look out for. ¡°Her safety is the priority! However, do not forget that the Demon Lord is likely to be nearby as well, information on the creature will be greatly rewarded to those who provide it. Stay safe, and don¡¯t die! That is all.¡± With his speech over, the Guildmaster steps down and the space mages get to work teleporting the teams into the forest at strategic positions. ¡­ .. . As the four adventurers arrive in the second ring they begin looking tensely in case of an ambush by monsters. The towering trees blocking out the sun and the eerie silence of a forest devoid of insects only adding to their tension. After looking around for a while and not finding any, they begin strategizing on how to track down Lua. ¡°I think that we should head further into the forest and search for any dead monsters. With her strength she is likely to leave a trail of monsters with missing cores.¡± ¡°A trail of dead monsters could also lead us to the Demon Lord, Jeniveve.¡± Agera quickly pokes a hole in the proposal. Though she may be strong, and has likely hunted countless monsters in her time since she returned to the forest, it is unlikely for Lua to leave such a trail behind anyway. She is smarter than that. ¡°Though I agree that she likely moved further into the forest.¡± ¡°Hmmm, I just hope that she didn¡¯t head all the way into the third ring. That place is crazy dangerous.¡± Helimos speaks up with a bit of unease in his voice. The third ring is a sea of darkness that even Gold Rank adventurers would quickly find themselves dead in. It is a place that he would really prefer to avoid. ¡°Well.. with her Light Magic, the darkness would likely be no issue for her, so¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, you are right, Agera. I bet she went straight there.¡± They all knew that Lua was pushing herself to get stronger so it seemed like the most likely place she would go. Rose then turns to the space mage who was accompanying them and asks a question she wishes she didn¡¯t have to ask. ¡°Sir Trolund, would you be able to bring us closer to the third ring?¡± The Mithril Rank space mage looks at the woman with apprehension. Even a Class 4 like himself wants nothing to do with the third ring. So her question makes him hesitate. Finally, after a few seconds of contemplating, the mage sighs. ¡°I can bring you right to the edge, but teleporting into the third ring is far too dangerous.¡± ¡°Of course. Please take us there Sir Trolund.¡± The Space Magic user, who normally serves as a court mage in the employ of The Empire, can¡¯t help but wish he had been put with another less reckless team as he prepares his teleportation skill.
Yawn! ¡°Ugh, today has been a long day.¡± Complaining to no one in particular, I move over to the giant Class 4 rabbit monster¡¯s remains so that I can remove the lingering radiation before storing it in my shadow. As I get closer I suddenly stop in place. ¡°Hmmm. I need to get rid of the radiation now but¡­ I am not sensing any.¡± ¡°I thought you said that your magic would leave the monsters filled with radiation?¡± I am rather stumped at this development. ¡°Yeah. Or at least I thought it would¡­¡± I really should have paid more attention in my physics classes, though to be honest they don¡¯t teach about how magical radiation will affect flesh in college. For obvious reasons. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know much about this radiation you have talked about. My only knowledge of light magic is what you have taught me and that the curse blocks some of it.¡± That reminds me that I have not gone into detail on it due to how I assumed that I would never be able to use anything that would cause such problems due to the curse. I went on to explain to Alice with the best explanation I could give in a fantasy world. How it breaks down your body and even disintegrates it at the higher frequencies, that it lingers on things it comes into contact with because of the- ¡°Ah! I know why there is no leftover radiation now; There is no radioactive material to keep producing any!¡± I slam my fist into my palm before my eyes lose a bit of light and I slump my shoulders. ¡°Ugh¡­ I feel dumb for not realizing that sooner.¡± Alice pats me on the back for a while before I manage to flip my brain around and switch gears. An important skill I have been training. Positivity is important after all. Okay! We have collected all the cores, as well as some wonderful third ring materials, and can start working on The Great Demon Lord¡¯s Castle! I decided to leave the cleaning of the monster remains, aside from the giant rabbit man, to our goodest boy Snappy as I start prepping the golem cores. I had this idea that, while I can¡¯t make super massive constructs with a single golem, I could make several interlocking golems form one powerful entity. For example, a giant, shifting, walking castle. There is more than enough room between the trees now that I thought about it. Not enough for a true castle, but a large mansion will fit just fine. Plenty of vertical room as well, so I can just build up if I run out of space in the future. I reach into my shadow to pick out some cores when I slow for a moment. A frown quickly forms on my face as I pull out the cores. Alice noticing my mood comes over with a serious look on her own face. ¡°Need any help?¡± ¡°No, I got this. I will be back in a few. I need to grab something from the second ring.¡± I quickly begin packing up my stuff and have Buttercup take me up the cliff face as quickly as possible. Ugh, what a pain. As soon as I make it to the top, I jump as a blade slices through my right leg. ¡°Agh! Fuck!¡± I use my abilities to quickly reattach it before throwing dozens of Class 3 cores in the direction of my attacker. ¡°Rude! Is that any way to greet your long lost daughter?¡± I glare up at the man who raised me in this world. My father has returned to finish what he started. And only one of us is leaving here alive. Chapter 46: Collision Neither of us speak any further. This is a fight to the death, and conversation would be a waste of time. My father lashes out with dozens of purple slashes. Wisps of shifting mana flicker around the blades of space mana as the head towards me. I charge to the side to avoid getting hit, only to find all the slashes warp to surround me. Shit. A space mage is going to be a massive pain to deal with if all his attacks are like this. Thankfully I have my vision projected so that I can see the fight from multiple angles. Surprise attacks like that won¡¯t work on me! I quickly set backwards and bend down to avoid the attacks while I launch one of my own. Spears of earth fly out of the ground from behind daddy dearest as my golems had maneuvered their cores into place while I dodged. Instantly sensing the attack he vanishes from sight, only to reappear in my path, swinging down his jet black blade. The swing from the Adamantine sword is too fast for me to dodge, space mana trailing the weapon as he uses his magic to swing with impossible speed. Wham! The sword slams into the ground and sends dirt and debris flying all over the place. The smell of smoking charred dirt reached my nose as the speed of the impact was enough to cook the earth beneath us. Suddenly the wooden spear I was holding reaches out and stabs into his arm before he can pull his sword away. Blood sprays out from the wound as he warps away from my follow-up attack. ¡°Hmph, clever.¡± The very first compliment I have ever gotten from the man. A disappointment that it is only because I managed to land a hit on him in a duel to the death. Truly, attempted murder is the real way for a father and daughter to bond. Mr. Filicide is now in a defensive stance. The magical glint in his eye getting stronger and the runes of space mana floating around him glow as he tries to determine where I am. Truth be told, I was never in the line of his attacks to begin with. I had created a golem made of dirt and used light magic to make it look like me. I am not stupid enough to face this man head on. Three new golems appear from thin air as I drop the invisibility spell around them. Each one is completely indistinguishable from the real me. My control over the fine details of my golems has reached new heights with each advancement. I can even use other materials than just wood and dirt now. Strands of plant fiber to simulate hair, sheets of soft stretched out vines acting as skin, even flowing water to take the place of blood. All I need to do is slap some light magic over the whole thing and no one would ever be able to realize which one is the fake. They each have their own Mana Cores after all. My father¡¯s shining silver armor flashes as the wooden weapons are deflected. Sadly, I didn¡¯t have enough time to enchant the golem¡¯s weapons on the way up so they can¡¯t stand up to high class armor like his. Getting a stab in on the arm was a lucky break in and of itself. Not that such a wound is slowing him down. I can see purple energy quickly stitching the wound together as he reaches out with more mana to tear the golems to pieces. The runes on their bodies give out as they are shredded, releasing the illusion over them. Chunks of mud and vine explode outwards as the space magic rips them apart from the inside out. That is a bit disappointing, though I never expected this to be easy. The blue haired knight ignores the earthy gore and quickly turns to stab into the space behind him. I can feel the mana core inside of the invisible golem shatter as the blade goes right through its neck. Damn! That is a horrifying level of precision to hit the Mana Core when they are so small¡­ I need to be extremely careful here. If he manages to find out where I am then I will surely learn whether my strange evolved body can withstand a beheading. I launch another wave of golems at him. These are not anything fancy though, just the basic monkey models. The new wave is pushed back and struggling, but not torn to shreds like the last. Their small ape-like bodies carrying sharp wooden spears move sluggishly as the space around them tries to force its will upon them. This time, I imbued them with a bit of Qi. Qi is something that is rather incompatible with mana from my experience so I thought that adding a layer of Qi around them might help. I never expected it to be so effective. My brain feels like it is overheating from the strain of manipulating all these golems and energies at the same time though. If I let myself falter for even a second then it could spell disaster. A frustrated look washes over my father¡¯s face as he finds himself unable to detonate my golems anymore. Ha! serves you right. You raised me to be a weapon so you should be proud that I am managing so well! Eventually giving up on shredding the golems, the baron of child murder decides to attack head on. The pressure abates and the golems can move freely but that is of little help when a space opens up behind each of them and mithril daggers fly out, piercing their cores instantly. Fucking hell! I know he got his Barony for accomplishments on the battlefield but this is a bit much don''t you think?! The daggers vanish into new portals as my father decides that he no longer desires to be on the defensive. A wave of mana flies out with crushing pressure. Branches and trees start to crack and the air becomes hard to breathe. I can see divots in the ground forming where each of my invisible golems are inevitably pressed into the earth under the weight of his magic. I quickly rearrange my magic to blanket the area in an illusion. The dents in the ground vanish and the trees return to their clean unblemished states. I lose three more golems before I get the illusion up and my soldiers out of the way. Unholy cubes, this is not going as well as I hoped. The pressure abates and my father finally speaks. ¡°You are quite the obnoxious opponent I must say, Hero. However, that will not be enough for you to win. Now die!¡± I can barely think as I see a blade appear behind me aiming right for my neck. My real neck. ¡°Fuck!¡± I use every ounce of strength to dodge out of the way as the blade slices through the side of my cheek. Just when I think I am in the clear the blade changes course and flies at me again. Not letting this opportunity pass by, my father launches several more blades all to shred me to pieces. I immediately throw up a wall of light, Qi, and demonic essence around myself to block the attacks. Despite my efforts the blades still manage to embed themselves in the barrier and continue to try to push their way through. This is not good! But, I am not out of the game yet. All of my golems begin to spread out to attack my father no matter where he may appear, the invisibility layered on top of the illusion making it hard for even his advanced spatial perception to get a read on the situation. The density of magic in this forest and the blanket of spells I have running everywhere are interfering with his detection magic. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just leave me alone?! Why do you care so much about my Light Magic anyways?!¡± My father, evidently feeling as though he has this in the bag with my current predicament, finally deigns to answer me while slaughtering my golems.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I knew my daughter was dead when I dumped her here, how foolish of me to assume that those damned gods would not intervene and bring about a Hero.¡± More and more of my golems are broken apart and toyed with as he seems to monologue more to himself than to me. ¡°What are you talking about?! I am not a Hero!¡± ¡°Die Hero!¡± Evidently not giving a shit about anything I have to say, he continues decimating my golems as he does not even bother to teleport around anymore. He is strong. The stupidly hard trees in the second ring are nothing to him as I see his space magic split them in two. I can tell he must be at the peak of Class 4 to be able to treat my golems like they are nothing. But even he has limits. I can see his movements starting to dull and his skin start to redden. Yes, I was not just layering an illusion. That would be boring and a waste of mana. No, I was also concentrating large amounts of radiation across the entire battle field. It took some time to get past his resistances, but it evidently is having an effect on him. No longer acting with the same confidence he charges around to slaughter all my golems in an attempt to get close and finish me off. Naturally my golems won¡¯t let that happen. Attacking from all sides and sneaking invisible attacks as well as illusionary attacks with the real ones. Spears and swords made of wood and light slash at him from every direction. He falters and occasionally slashes through the illusions, putting him off balance for a fraction of a second. Seeing the effectiveness of the false attacks I create even more illusions of myself as they charge in from all angles. It looks as though hundreds of me are spread out across the forest, all attacking with a terrible ferocity. With the overwhelming numbers and illusions interfering with his perception, even my father can¡¯t keep all the attacks away. Crack! One of the blades in the barrier breaks through and stabs into my side. I grit my teeth as I will myself no to feel any pain. I look up with my actual eyes only to see the barrier finally shatter as the blades pierce through my armor and stab into me all at once. My body starts to bleed heavily from the wounds and I crumble to the ground. The illusion around the area begins to fade and the golems'' movements slow. ¡°Cough, hack!¡± I spit up blood as I try to breathe through the fluids filling my lungs. The rest of my golems collapse into the dirt as I lose strength. ¡°Why¡­ Why do you want to kill the Hero anyway?¡± It makes no sense to me. Humans should love having a Hero on their side. My father looks down on me disdainfully. ¡°The Hero is a blight, a wretched being destined to kill our lord.¡± Anger and a bit of madness envelop his face as he raises his sword above his head to slash down at me. ¡°That is why you were sent here, those gods must have told you to kill our lord!¡± He is completely crazy! I don''t understand what he is going on about! ¡°Who the hell is your lord?!?!¡± ¡°The Demon Lord you brat!¡± My mind freezes up at his proclamation. He worships the Demon Lord¡­ Seriously?! He killed me because he thought I was the Hero due to my Light Magic? But I¡¯m¡­ This is so stupid! As he swings his blade down I shout out one last cry. ¡°I¡¯m the Demon Lord you fucking moron!¡± Now it is his turn to freeze up, I quickly transform back into my Demon Lord form. He hesitates for a second. Just a brief moment. I take that moment to release my repressed demonic aura. Black waves roll off of me as the light in the area dims and the world bends to my will. I had been holding it back for so long I had nearly forgotten I even had this aura. The pressure is immense, all my power from the mana in my Soul, to the Reality I had taken for myself enhancing the strength of the creeping clouds of nothing until the world begins to tremble. Now he is completely frozen in place. Attacking his lord would be unforgivable, I can see his mind race as he tries to come to terms with who I am. Unsure if it is all another illusion. Goodbye dear father. A hole bursts open in his chest and his insides are shredded as a large chunk of metal makes its way through his body. My eyes dart towards the railgun prototype lying on the ground. It was a golem after all, so I can control it even without anything holding it. My father collapses to the ground, blood and dirt filling the air as he loses his strength. Seeing him lay there lifelessly I finally dispel the final illusion I had created. The light around my body fades and the plant covered skin of the wooden golem begins to crumble. I look down at the golem I pulled out of my shadow as soon as I got stuck in the barrier. I was never really in any danger once I created the barrier. Ok maybe not completely out of danger¡­ If my bluff had not worked or if the daggers had been at different angles then I would have been fucked. I had brought out that golem and hid myself with light magic within the barrier. Normally, with how small the barrier was, I would have never had the room. But I can shapeshift rather freely. So¡­. I made myself rather tiny and flat. Honestly, describing how I looked in that moment is difficult. I was more like a slime than a human if anything¡­ Whatever, I survived. No, I won. As I stand there looking down at my narrow victory rather proudly, my father coughs up blood and looks up at me with glassy eyes. ¡°What the hell?! How are you still alive?¡± The asshole is missing half his body and I am certain that his heart is shredded so he should be very dead right now! ¡°Hack. Impossible, you can¡¯t be our lord¡­¡± How are you talking you 150 year old psychopath?! You don¡¯t have lungs! ¡°I am, so deal with it.¡± Now it is my turn to look down at him with disdain. I hate this man. With every fiber of my being I want to make him suffer the same fear I felt when he stood there and watched as my mother killed me. ¡°Prim, come here. Show your true form.¡± Within moments Prim rises from my shadow and exits her golem body. Black Smoke and red lightning fill the air as she materializes. The vicious crimson glow of her eyes glaring at the man before her. ¡°No¡­. Why would our lord use Light Magic?¡± He still seems stuck in his own little world. I just can¡¯t stand it anymore and begin shouting my head off. ¡°So that is the reason you killed me! You are what? Part of some stupid Demon Lord worshipping cult or just a freak with an obsession with the demons?! Let me guess, the last Hero had Light Magic so you decided to kill anyone who has it. Even your own god damn daughter!¡± I can see the life leaving his eyes, but he still manages to speak once more. ¡°Apologies my lord.¡± ¡°Save it. You killed me off and dumped me in this nightmare of a forest, then came to kill me again as if once was not enough. Your words are meaningless to me. If you worship the Demon Lord so much, then I will give you what you want.¡± With a cold hatred I reach down and grip the base of his neck. I move my hand in one fluid motion. Blood erupting as I tear out his spine and pluck the Mana Core from within. ¡°I will see to it that your memories and power contribute to my army.¡± I roll the bloody crystal around in my hand and examine it properly. Class 1 cores are green while Class 2 are closer to blue. Next on the list is Class 3 cores which are gold. Now, in my hand is a shining purple crystal, a level above those I saw in the temple of rebellion. Class 4 is a very hard level to reach. If I recall my lessons correctly, Class 4 is between levels 500 and 1,000. I may have let my absurd growth blind me, but my current strength is only around level 250. That is obviously not counting the strength boost from my Qi, second magic, or the Demon Lord Title. However, looking at my father¡¯s core I can tell that he was at the peak of Class 4. Scary. I really should not have been so stubborn about this fight and tried to do it alone. It was incredibly stupid and I nearly got myself killed. I thought I was being safe by keeping my distance and letting my golem clones do all the work¡­ but I severely underestimated the power gap. This will have to serve as a reality check so that I don¡¯t bite off more than I can chew in the future. Now that the fight is over, I transform back to my normal human looking self before my legs shakily fall out underneath me. ¡°Shit.¡± Honestly I am shaking. I was so close to death there. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was the height of stupidity to challenge him alone. My father¡­ ¡°H-Hic¡­.¡± Crap, I¡­ Why am I crying? ¡°Sniffle.¡± My hands are trembling as they hold the core that I can barely keep a grip on it. ¡°Lua!¡± I hear a voice shouting at me through the tears. Why, why does my life have to be like this¡­ You said you saw promise in me you strange cube god, is this what you were referring to? I-I don¡¯t¡­ ¡°Lua! Are you ok? What happened?!¡± Finally the words register to me as I look up and see five people coming towards me. Four of which I recognize. Ugh, I don¡¯t want to deal with these people right now! I look around, but Prim is already gone. A sea of shattered golems and my father¡¯s corpse sit before me while I cry blood soaked tears. ¡°Go away! I don¡¯t want-¡± I just wanted to be alone right now, but reality really seems to hate me.
You have earned the Title Hero of Light! This comes with the benefits: Summon Weapons of Holy Light Holy Protection To Your Allies Demonic Resistance Unavailable ¡­ .. . Your new title will be broadcast to every sapient creature on the mortal plane
I stare blankly at the glowing white and blue screen in front of me. ¡°SON OF A-¡± Epilogue: And Chaos Ensues ¡°I really should not have let her go alone.¡± ¡°She has Prim with her. Have faith in your wife, mother.¡± Alice flinches a bit at the terms for both her and Lua. The whole situation is making her dizzy. Lua sent her a message and an image of her father in the woods, saying she would go kill him herself. She didn¡¯t want to let her do it alone, but she knew that if she went then she would just become a target and a weakness as Lua battled someone much stronger than herself. Alice could no longer project her vision like she could before her evolution so she can¡¯t watch the battle. An hour passes when Prim comes rushing down the cliff face. ¡°Mother!¡± Alice sees the panic on Prim¡¯s face and starts to fear the worse. Did Lua get hurt, is she dead? I need to get to her quickly! ¡°What is it, what is wrong?!¡± Alice is shouting as she rushes towards Prim and begins preparing to head up the rocky wall. ¡°Our lord has won. But she suddenly started crying and I don¡¯t know what to do!¡± Prim¡¯s words take a moment to register before finally calming the storm in Alice¡¯s heart. So she is safe.. Thank the gods. Despite the new calm, Alice does not slow down on her rush to head up to the second ring. ¡°Lua is probably just overwhelmed with a lot of emotions, I will go help calm her down.¡± Lua had been rather unstable for a while, and while it had seemed like she was getting better, she was still barely hanging on. The death of her father, even if she hated him, must have broken the dam she set up in herself. The relief at knowing he could no longer hurt her, the grief at losing someone who raised her, the pain from being the one to kill him. Countless emotions must be crashing down upon her, and Alice is the only one who can help her right now. Alice grabs ahold of the rails as she climbs aboard Buttercup, settling down in the wooden seat as the demon-filled golem¡¯s spider-like appendages begin to scale the cliff. Suddenly, Alice¡¯s vision is filled with a glowing plate scrawled with a dreadful message. ¡°What the-!¡± Alice was dumbstruck as the words appeared in front of her. She knew exactly who this Hero was without even having to think. You know what, fuck The System. I am going to break the damn universe if it keeps this shit up! The world just seems to keep toying with Lua as though she is a science experiment. Clearly no one but her has any regard for how Lua must be feeling right now. Anger fills Alice as she ascends to the only person in this world she can connect with. Lua, please hang in there. I will be by your side as soon as I can.
The Guildmaster of the Carrion City¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild sits at his desk as a flurry of reports come in at a never ending pace. ¡°Crystal, stop staring. It wont help me work any faster.¡± The Vice-guildmaster is nervously looking through her own reports but frequently stops to glare over at her superior as he works at a more moderate pace. Small monkey golems that looked like those used by Lua had been found patrolling the forest in a few areas but no conclusive sign of the Hero had been found. The Guildmaster was surprised the things could operate so far from their caster. This little girl truly showed some incredible talent and must have earned some impressive skills from the skill shop along the way. Being in precarious situations and fighting strong opponents always leads to The System offering better and more powerful skills. It is no wonder the girl was so interested in going back to train in the woods so soon after escaping. ¡°Vice-guildmaster! The special group you selected said they have detected a battle and are heading in that direction now.¡± An aide comes running in to report news that immediately has the Vice-guildmaster rushing out of the office to get more details from the group''s contact. ¡°I will be right back sir!¡± Now alone in his office the Guildmaster can¡¯t help but mumble to himself. ¡°Honestly though¡­ I can¡¯t say for certain whether this is all really worth it when no one can even be sure if she is the Hero or not.¡± ¡°I think the probability is rather high that she is the hero.¡± ¡°Wha-!¡± Turning around and reading his magic the Guildmaster prepares to fight as the unknown voice speaks from behind him. However upon turning around, the man dissipates his mana and returns to work. ¡°Fuckin¡¯ hell. Don¡¯t scare me like that.¡± Relaxing after realizing who is behind him, the Guildmaster ignores the playful grin on the interloper''s face. The Guildmaster is used to this man''s antics. Well, not so used to them that he can predict when he will get jump scared like he just did. ¡°And why does The Great Dragon Emperor believe that this child is the Hero? There should have been an announcement like the one for the Demon Lord if that is the case.¡± Sweeping his crimson hair back, the red scaled man lets off a bit of smoke and leans back into the wall behind the desk.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Titles are complicated, the universe decides on them based on the collective consciousness at large. The reason I am supporting this whole search in the first place is to help get the word out about the girl.¡± The Guildmaster can¡¯t help but sigh as the sneaky bastards play. ¡°Your goal is not just to find her, but to make sure she gets the Title. No wonder the Vice-guildmaster¡¯s theory spread so quickly¡­¡± The emperor lets out a mischievous chuckle, only to be interrupted by a blue and white screen appearing in his vision. A screen that only makes him laugh even louder. Sigh. Leaning back in his chair with a look on his face that can only be described as ¡°long suffering,¡± The Guild master glares at his obnoxious friend. ¡°You are such a pain in the ass.¡±
A shadowy figure sits on the edge of a table swinging his legs as he leans over towards the fiery redhead sitting beside him. ¡°So, thoughts on the battle?¡± The woman covered in flame that never damages her or her surroundings peers into the divination project before her. ¡°She is quite talented for someone so young. Fighting so far above her level is rather impressive I must say.¡± Sitting in the room opposite the man who drips darkness is a highly contrasted figure in white. A young woman with solid white eyes, completely blind and wearing priest robes. As a diviner who is secretly a member of the Duskallen, she was tasked with watching over their potential lord. ¡°I am amazed he has not realized you attached that chip to him.¡± Relaxedly peering into the projection as well, the shadowed man feigns surprise that former member of their organization and a highly talented combat specialist didn¡¯t notice that he had long been tagged by a diviner under the orders from their leader. ¡°He is a stubborn old geezer, too proud to think that we would ever attempt such a thing.¡± Truly a fool. He even attempted to hide the fact that his daughter had acquired Light Magic. I will feel no pity should he die in this battle. The flaming haired leader of the Duskallen glares at the scene before her. The young girl is expertly maneuvering an army of golems as well as leveraging her Light Magic to keep an even field while fighting someone who should easily outclass her. ¡°My, my. That doesn''t look good.¡± The girl in the image is now trapped under a barrier as she attempts to protect herself from her father¡¯s unrelenting spatial blades. ¡°And here I had hoped she would overcome the challenge. Perhaps she is not our lord after all¡­¡± Just then the girl reveals her true form. A stunning display of cracked ashen skin and piercing crystal eyes. A beautiful crown of bone resting atop her head with horns displaying her absolute authority over her kin. The cult¡¯s leader stands up quickly from her chair in excitement. ¡°It is true! She really is our lord!¡± Leaping from his seat as well, the man in shadows leans over the table to get as close a look as he can. He grins. ¡°We must make contact at once.¡± However, in opposition to his enthusiasm, his leader makes a more rational statement. ¡°I would suggest waiting until she calms down. Her father, a member of our organization, even if a former one, just tried to kill her after all.¡± Wind sufficiently taken out of the second in command¡¯s sails, the man collapses into his chair for the first time since entering the room. ¡°Ah, right¡­ You know, I still think it was a bad idea to be honest.¡± The man had been rather against leaving things up to fate like this. Letting the girl¡¯s father free to hunt her down seemed like a great way to piss her off. Not the best of plans when you want someone to be your leader. Contrary to her second¡¯s attitude, the woman who leads the cult is rather composed. ¡°You should have more faith in our lord.¡± Though, her composure is based in her zealotry more than anything else. ¡°Apologies my lady.¡± And considering his position in the organization that worships the Demon Lord, the shadowed man looks up at his superior with great respect. For he too is fully faithful, and obsessed, with serving under their lord. The girl has defeated her father. A demon stands by her side for the two leaders of a twisted faith to see. They are about to kneel before this glorious image when suddenly the girl starts to cry. And then a message appears before them, shining in blue and white. ¡°Ummm¡­.. What?¡± Unable to contain his confusion, the cult¡¯s second lets out a rather dumb voice as he questions the announcement. She¡¯s the Demon Lord¡­ and the Hero?.... ¡°Hahahahahahahah! It seems the universe is truly out of control.¡± Flames billow out of the woman as she laughs madly. The image of the young girl as she begins to shout a rather loud obscenity flickers out, the diviner¡¯s power having lost its target through which they were watching. ¡°What do you mean? How can she have both Titles? Why would that even be allowed?¡± The woman continues to laugh, not answering the man¡¯s queries. Perhaps¡­ The universe is preparing for something. But what? ¡°Well, I guess we will find out.¡±
¡°I can feel large amounts of mana in that direction!¡± Shouting, Rose leads her team further into the forest and towards the edge of the second and third ring. The young noble reaches for her talisman provided by the Guild and sends in a report before she continues to focus on running. ¡°You think she is fighting the Demon Lord?¡± Agera is extremely concerned. The amount of power being thrown around is immense. The pressure threatening to knock him out even from so far away. ¡°Maybe! We have to go help!¡± Helimos, ever the beacon of justice, rushes on ahead in an attempt to aid the young Hero. However, the group arrives too late. Before them is a young blue haired girl, she looks to have grown up since the last time they saw her. Though, she looks far younger than she did before simply by the fact that she is on her knees crying her eyes out. A man with the same blue hair lies in a heap on the ground, bloody and missing half his body. ¡°Lua!¡± The girl does not respond, simply staring down at the corpse as her emotions are laid bare. Trembling, she holds on to a small purple Mana Core with shaky fingers. ¡°Lua! Are you ok? What happened?!¡± Rose¡¯s words only just start to reach the girl. Lua starts to shout something back, only to stop when everyone¡¯s vision is filled with the same message.
Attention Residents Of The Mortal Realm! The Hero of Light Has Risen May Her Light Fill The World
She really is the Hero! All of the adventurers have the exact same thought as the look at the now angrily shouting and blood young girl. ¡°Son of a bitch!!!!¡± None of the adventurers truly register her words though. At the edge of the cliff they can see something rising out from the third ring. On a giant wooden spider legged platform a woman with soft bark like skin and pointed ears, branch-like antlers and a darkly dressed maid by her side. Jen is the first to react. ¡°Watch out! An Elf!¡± Immediately she throws out a knife coated in wind. The blade rockets straight towards the elven woman as Lua looks on in horror. Shink! A sound rings out, and everything goes dark. Book 2 | Chapter 1: Hate ¡°Watch out! An Elf!¡± Those dreadful words ring out in the air as Jen covers her knife in a sharpened gust of wind. A clean mithril edged blade rockets past my vision as I crank my perception to the max. I can see the trajectory, it is heading straight for Alice¡¯s head. Shink! The blade stops in place as it embeds itself in an instant. I¡¯ll kill her. Today is the day Jen dies. She should be thankful that I will give her a quick death. If I had not managed to reshape Alice¡¯s golem armor in time she really might have died. The blade of wind is deeply embedded in a shield of wood that had quickly formed around Alice¡¯s body. I can see it still trying to push in further. I can see that bitch already readying a follow-up attack. ¡°Stop.¡± The words quietly and forcefully slip from my mouth, and everything goes dark. All the light in the area freezes in place under my command. Without any light to reach their eyes, the adventurers are blinded and begin to panic. Only I can still see anything. The whole area under my control. I rush over towards Jen and reform my armor into a spiked gauntlet. Slam! Crunch. I put my full force behind the attack and drive it right into Jen¡¯s stomach. Her body goes flying and slams into the tree behind her. She slumps from the crater the impact created in the tree, falling to the ground face first. She is still alive. I can tell better now after killing my father. The mana in one''s body really puts in a lot of effort to keep one alive. The System lends a hand, as it is remiss to lose a powerful fighter. I will flatten her skull. Nothing but rage fills my mind. She dared! She dared to try and kill Alice! She has no right to live anymore. Just as I am approaching her, a small white message appears in my vision. [Lua, stop.] Alice realized what I was doing and sent me those words through the messaging system I devised. [Why? She tried to kill you!] I really don¡¯t understand why she would tell me to stop. My vision may be red right now, but Jen deserves to die, I am sure of that. I can feel the energies pulsing through my body in place of my blood, threatening to burst out and devour everything. [Because they will know it was you. And you are already in enough danger with your Titles as it is.] ¡°Shit.¡± I know she is right. Killing Jen now will only increase the chances of people finding out about my Demon Lord Title. I doubt they would be willing to let a revenge murder go, even if I tell them I am the Hero. Alice looks like an elf too. Everything is in a really bad position and killing Jen here would be extremely risky¡­ But I just can¡¯t let her off easy for what she did. ¡°None of you fucking move! That was not an Elf. That was Alice.¡± My words, dripping with hate fill the forest as I let out my mana in a crushing wave of pressure. ¡°If any of you dare to try and attack her again, I will kill you. Are we clear?¡± That is a promise. My words take a moment to register in their minds, but eventually they all drop their defensive positions and calm down their mana. I can see a fearful and remorseful look on Rose¡¯s face. Likely thinking that she can¡¯t believe she would mistake a Fairy for an Elf. Horrified that Jen had attacked someone she believes to be a benevolent Fairy. I doubt she would have such a look on her face if Alice was really an Elf though. It takes everything I have to hold in my anger. The veil drops, and the light is free to move once again. ¡°Jen!¡± Rose shrieks as she rushes over to Jen¡¯s collapsed body. Tears fill her eyes as she tries to pour a small vial of green liquid down the broken woman¡¯s throat. As the wounds on Jen¡¯s body start to slowly repair themselves, Rose looks up at me with many emotions clashing across her face. Anger, Fear, Confusion, Remorse. I can¡¯t be bothered to care. I turn and head back to Alice as quickly as I can and drop the shield around her so I can hug her myself.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I want to start crying into her arms, but I can¡¯t. Letting my guard down when these humans are so close would be a terrible idea. If only I could just kill them all, I could be alone with Alice. I feel my anger flair again, but then Alice starts to run her fingers through my hair. My emotions are like a storm right now, I need to think rationally. I want them dead. Fuck! I send a message to Prim. [Can you use Mind Magic to calm everyone down. Myself included.] [Of course my lord.] She responds instantly, already used to the system I had designed. A pulse of mana flows out of her and everyone slows down under the influence. Damn¡­ I forgot I was immune to mental magic¡­ Ugh! My emotions are still running hot. I will have to calm myself down.
Rose cradles her wife¡¯s broken body as it heals, blood still pooling along the ground, staining the forest floor a deep red. She knows Jen did something stupid. Attacking someone without provocation or even verifying who they are. The young noble shadow mage looks up and sees Lua clinging on to Alice, checking her over and over to make sure she is ok. She can understand the feeling. ¡°Lua, I am sorry that Jen-¡± Rose speaks up, trying to calm things down, but Lua is not having it at all. ¡°Shut up. I don¡¯t want to hear it.¡± Rose feels her voice catch in her throat. Jen has a bad habit of acting without thinking. And even worse is her habit of discriminating against demi-humans. Rose herself actually disagrees with the public opinion on demi-humans, but sadly she can¡¯t speak openly about her views and has been having trouble correcting her wife¡¯s attitude. The way Jen sneers at the slaves on the streets always breaks her heart. Still, despite the logic she tries to rationalize, seeing Jen in such a horrifying state as a result causes Rose to glare at Lua. A glare that is quickly silenced when Lua¡¯s aura puts her in her place. She can tell¡­ Lua wants to finish what she started. Rose wants to be angry, but the whole situation is so chaotic. And she understands Lua¡¯s feelings all too well. The look in Lua¡¯s eyes are those of someone who nearly lost her whole world. She clearly loves Alice very much. A tense silence settles over the area, until finally, Lua seems to calm down enough to talk. The now slightly taller blue haired girl, fit in wood and plant based armor, turns towards Helimos, completely ignoring the bloody couple. ¡°Why are you even here? Come to force me back to the city like last time?¡± Lua¡¯s voice is still dripping with venom and sarcasm as she glares in the golden boy¡¯s direction. Helimos flinches at that. That is more or less what they were planning on doing after all. Helimos goes on to explain that the Demon Lord had been divined to be somewhere nearby in the forest. That a search team has been sent out to find and protect Lua. However, Helimos seems hesitant to explain the full details under the girl¡¯s withering glare. His faltering speech leaving out the reason they were after her specifically. This only serves to anger Lua more as she starts to lose the little patience she has. ¡°And why would you bother to chase after someone like me when this Demon Lord is supposedly in the forest?¡± ¡°Because everyone believed you were the Hero. And it seems they were right.¡± And with that remark, Lua¡¯s patience drops to zero. ¡°Oh piss off.¡± Rose can feel the tension rising once again as Lua tightens her grip on her blood stained spear. ¡°I neither want nor need your help. You can all go fuck yourselves.¡± The normally overconfident man can¡¯t help but cower at the aura being emitted by the young girl¡¯s anger. He wants to speak but all he manages to get out is a stutter. ¡°B-But the Demon-¡± Before he even has the chance to finish, mana fills the space between the two parties and the area warps behind a simmering heat haze. Everyone goes on guard at the strange magic before a group of people begin to exit the haze. A tall muscular man with earthy hair, glowing brown eyes, and rocks littering his skin walks out alongside a shorter, more refined gentleman, a dark red suit over his scaled body and two horns poking out of his short crimson hair. ¡°G-G-Guildmaster?!¡± Rose recognizes the powerful earth mage as the master of the Carrion City¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s guild. A Class 5 who by all right could have a kingdom of his own considering his age and strength. Beside the Guildmaster the red scaled man turns towards Helimos and speaks with a calm but powerful voice. ¡°I do believe that is enough Mr Helimos.¡± Unable to withstand the silent pressure, Helimos simply stops any further attempts to speak. In Rose¡¯s arms, Jen stirs. ¡°Ah, Jen! Are you ok?!¡± Glassy eyed and in pain, the short wind mage looks up in a daze before snapping back to reality. ¡°Ugh¡­ What happ- Ah! The Elf!¡± Rose can feel Lua¡¯s glare harden and a dangerous pressure once again assault her as Jen attempts to ready herself for combat once again. ¡°Silence!¡± However, this time an even more terrifying pressure washes over the whole area. The man in red glares down at Jen and Rose, his voice filled with mana as he breathes them. ¡°I think you have caused enough trouble as it is.¡± He motions towards the soldiers dressed in shining red armor by his side. ¡°Guards.¡± Instantly Rose finds Jen removed from her arms and shackled with mana suppressing cuffs as well as a collar that restricts access to her Mana Core. ¡°What? Why are you doing this?!¡± Jen, not understanding the situation, can¡¯t figure out why she is being restrained and begins lashing out. Her struggles are meaningless before the might of this crimson clad group of knights however. The soldier''s leader looks over the girls with cold disappointment. A look that matches the one on the face of the Guildmaster. ¡°Ms. Jeniveve, you are under arrest for attempted murder. You are hereby stripped of your guild membership and will remain in the castle jail until your hearing.¡± Rose just barely breaks out of her shock to shout at the Guildmaster. ¡°Sir, what is going on?!¡± Rose tries to move towards her wife but is stopped by the crimson knights. ¡°Ms. Ashfort, I suggest you keep silent before you make matters worse.¡± The Guildmaster barely spares her a second look as he passes down his orders. ¡°Return to the city at once. You have strained relations with the Hero more than enough already.¡± Filled with worry and gritting her teeth, Rose lowers her head and follows the soldiers through the haze as they take Jeniveve away. As the last of the interlopers file into the portal, the haze vanishes, leaving only Lua, Alice, Prim, The Guildmaster, and the strange red clad man. Silence fills the air. Lua is still incredibly wary of the two powerful figures before her and her stance with her weapons shows that. The scaled man raises an eyebrow before chuckling and bowing his head a bit. ¡°Ah, apologies. I suppose I should introduce myself.¡± He takes a step forward and places a hand across his chest. ¡°I am the Dragon Emperor, Draskall Art Esmaladia. A pleasure to meet you, Hero.¡± Book 2 | Chapter 2: The Dragon Emperor The red-scaled man bows in an exaggerated manner as he introduces himself as the leader of a freaking empire. What? The Dragon Emperor, Draskall Art Esmaladia. The rumors say that he had such a powerful affinity for fire magic that he evolved into a dragon himself. Even the history books in my own nation sung his praises and spoke reverently of his power. His crusade as he took over vast stretches of land and toppled nations to build his very own empire. How he slew a real dragon and used its remains to fuel his own ascension. That he may even be a real dragon himself. Such a man has suddenly appeared before me and is now bowing politely as if he didn¡¯t just order a rather harsh sentence on someone. A sentence that is undoubtedly biased towards my wishes and not the laws. Draskall Art Esmaladia stands up from his performative bow and a small grin finds its way onto his scaled face. ¡°Before we begin, you will be needing this.¡± The Dragon Emperor casually tosses a small white charm that looks to be made of bone. It arcs through the air towards me from the rather slow speed at which he threw it. I could easily catch it with my heightened reflexes but I am not stupid enough to do that. I quickly dodge out of the way and let it fall to the ground. No way am I just going to catch something a crazy powerful and totally suspicious individual throws at me. I glare down at the tiny white token, glossy bone carved in the shape of a moon. ¡°What is that?¡± I growl at the emperor. The Emperor, evidently taking no offense to my cautious actions, begins laughing at me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much. If I wanted to cause you harm, I am more than capable of doing so without the need for petty tricks.¡± Still glaring at the charm now dangling from a small branch sticking out of the ground, I sigh as a bit of tension leaves my body. He has a point. It took everything in me to take down my father who was only a Class above me at Class 4. I am exhausted right now and already low on Class 3 cores after feeding them to the grinder. This man however, he is in a league of his own. The scent of power rolling off him is enough for anyone unfamiliar with who he is to instinctively understand that he is far above them. A Class 6. If he wanted to, I would be dead in an instant and I wouldn¡¯t even know what happened. The fact that he has not done anything yet clearly shows that he has other plans in mind. I am sure that he can see my thoughts on my face. I have never been good at hiding them, and I lack the presence of mind right now to even think about locking my face in place anymore. The Emperor grins like a little kid pulling a prank as he makes a throne appear from the ground. Smooth deep black basalt tears its way through the earth in sharp heavy motions. The throne that forms is opulent, but at the same time refreshingly casual enough that it looks perfectly natural wrapped around the wiley Dragon Emperor. Glowing red veins run through the wide chair causing a soft red glow to reflect off of the glossy black surface. The Emperor, evidently pleased with his work, plants himself in the throne and kicks his feet up over the edge of his demonic looking seat. Placing his hands behind his head, he finally lets his smirk relax before speaking again. ¡°As for what that is, it¡¯s an anti-divination charm. Capable of keeping that bratty little witch from looking in on you.¡± I raise my eyebrow at just how, well, relaxed this emperor seems to be. Are you really allowed to act like this in your position? Though, I suppose you can do whatever you want if no one is strong enough to tell you to stop. I bend down and pick up the dangling crescent moon and hang it around my wrist. it¡¯s kind of pretty to be honest. I doubt I want to know what creature the bone is from though¡­ ¡°Ah, wait. What about-¡± I turn to look at Alice and Prim and begin to speak when I am promptly cut off. ¡°Here, for your girlfriend. The other one has no need for such a charm though.¡± He tosses another charm, this time in the shape of a star. I catch it out of the air and hand it over to Alice, while still keeping my eye on the lazy red scaled royal lounging on his throne. I really don¡¯t get this guy. And if he says Prim has no need for the charm, that means he likely knows things I really wish he didn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know why Prim does not need it, but I would rather not give away anything by asking. Shit. This was why I had planned to keep the demon squad away from powerful people. Their senses are too goddamn good. ¡°You mentioned a ¡®bratty little witch¡¯, who exactly are we hiding from?¡±Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. His face breaks into an obnoxious grin once more at my question that already has me regretting opening my mouth. I just know this guy loves to hear himself speak from his aura alone, and I just gave him the go ahead. ¡°You know that every kingdom has a Class 5 or Class 6 backing it, right? Well yours¡¯ has a particularly annoying woman who is always losing her mind over something and complaining to me about it.¡± Ah, he must be talking about The Oracle who stands behind the Alcott Kingdom. I believe she is a mage who has a higher form of divination magic, if the rumors are to be believed. She does not directly rule over the kingdom like a lot of people in her position do. Rather, she hangs back and merely advises the current ruler, preferring to be more free herself. I have never met her myself as my family was new nobility and I was more or less kept confined to the house for training. Personally, I would love to know less. But, I can see The Emperor already starting to begin his rant. ¡°Honestly, she is such a pain, you know? As soon as the Demon Lord Title was announced she started freaking out and contacting all the other nations in hopes of opposing this ¡®dangerous threat.¡¯ Her panic spread to all the world leaders and it just won¡¯t stop getting in the way of my plans.¡± His rather gesture heavy explanation went on for a while as he lazed about in his throne, complaining all the while. ¡°...anyway, I would like for you to play the role of the Hero for me. Sound good?¡± Ah, crap¡­ I tuned him out too much and have no idea what he is talking about. I scramble to refocus on what he is saying before answering. ¡°Uh¡­ I am the Hero already.¡± He is not even looking at me anymore, just playing with a ball of fire as he finally stops complaining about The Oracle. I fought my father to the death just a little while ago, so why am I suddenly far more exhausted from just being in this guy¡¯s presence? He tosses the ball of fire up and catches it again before glancing over at me. ¡°Not what I meant kid. I want you to rally the people against the Demon Lord. Make a whole show of it and stuff.¡± I am starting to hate this guy. ¡°And why should I?¡± ¡°Because you hate the discrimination don¡¯t you?¡± His words flow freely, as if everything he is saying is simply what is, and not any form of speculation. I feel Alice grip my hand tightly. In this world, such feelings are looked down upon, and in some nations can even get you arrested. I need to be careful here, because Hero or not, I am in a rather awful position. I mean, he did just arrest Jen for something that barely counts as a crime. ¡°And what gives you that impression?¡± Trying to act as nonchalant as I can I give a vague response, but his next words completely break my poorly constructed poker face. ¡°You are a Hero are you not? One of the requirements is being from another world, and if you are indeed from the same world as the last Hero, I suspect you are likely to feel the same way as he did. You find the state of this world detestable.¡± After dropping that bomb, he stops looking at me once again to play with his flaming ball that could probably turn me to ash no matter my attempts at defense. I scramble to organize all the information he threw out, but he just continues on. ¡°He tried to fix it, but in the end he was¡­ what¡¯s the kind way to say this¡­¡± He struggles to find the words for a moment before deciding on a single way to describe the previous Hero, ¡°naive.¡± ¡°Naive?¡± ¡°He believed in the good of humanity. That people would want to change.¡± ¡°Humph.¡± I can¡¯t help but snort at that. I know better than anyone that such hatred is almost impossible to change. My life on Earth was ended because of such hatred. Every life on Earth was ended because people felt the need to blame their issues on anyone who was different from them. ¡°Stupid right?¡± I can see The Guildmaster nodding along to The Emperor¡¯s words with a hint of exasperation. Why are you even here dude? You have not said a single thing since everyone left. ¡°...¡± Unsure of the right response, I choose to just remain silent. No matter how much I want to call the previous Hero a dumbass out loud, doing so would only make the emperor think he is getting to me. That he is winning. ¡°Anyway, he thought if he preached enough, people would listen¡­ Obviously that didn¡¯t work out. Humans are rather dumb creatures, they will hate anything that is different. Frankly, I too find the abuse towards the other races rather disappointing.¡± I almost find myself nodding along to everything he says until he utters that last sentence. Now that statement is something I can¡¯t let pass. ¡°Then why allow it in your nation? I see no laws in place to prevent such horrible acts. I see slaves in the street that are treated like garbage. If you are so disappointed in it, why not use your power to make a difference?!¡± I can feel myself getting angry again, I know this is no way to talk to an emperor but I just can¡¯t help myself. My emotions are still running hot and this guy is far too relaxed that it is only pissing me off more. ¡°Because it is useful.¡± I feel my magic harden and accelerate. ¡°Excuse me?¡± I know I can¡¯t win, but I really want to punch this guy in the fucking face right now. The only thing stopping me from trying it is Alice¡¯s tight warm grip on my left hand. The Emperor, indifferent to my now combative stance, just keeps talking. ¡°It makes them easy to control. I just point at something and claim it relates to their hated enemies and I can make them do anything I want.¡± My magic is bursting out of me now but his attitude remains the same. Like I am nothing more than a fly on a wall. You are causing untold suffering just for the sake of making people into your obedient little sheep?! I am about to go berserk when Alice pulls me back and speaks out for the first time in this conversation. ¡°If it is such a useful tool, then why ask Lua to rally the humans? If you know she wants to change the discrimination then asking that of her does not make sense.¡± The Emperor takes a moment to stop playing around before looking over at the two of us. More specifically, he looks right into my eyes. ¡°Because having a Hero as well as a Demon Lord to pin their hope and hate on¡­ well that is far more effective. That, and I really do feel horrible using the discrimination too.¡± I feel my blood run cold. An impressive sensation considering I should not have any blood right now. He knows I am the Demon Lord. My grip on Alice tightens, so much so that I can¡¯t help but worry about hurting her. ¡°Y-You said that you wanted me to play the Hero, right?¡± I am struggling to contain a myriad of emotions right now. What does this guy want? If he knows what I am, why allow me to live? I feel a sense of dread as I look over at the red suited emperor lazing about on his throne. His playful grin now looks like something far more malicious. ¡°Correct! Oh, but I promise to make it worth your while.¡± The ball of fire in his hands explodes into a thick haze of vicious heat that washes over us as he leaps from his makeshift throne. He leans in with both his arms behind his back. His sharp fangs peeking through only making me dread that grin even more. He falls back onto his heels and spreads his arms wide. ¡°I will give you all the resources you need to war against the entire world!¡± ¡°¡°¡°What?¡±¡±¡± Alice, Prim, and I can¡¯t help but all let out the same dumb noise. What the hell is this dude on about?! Book 2 | Chapter 3: New Beginnings I grumble to myself as I ride Buttercup back down into the third ring. In my hand is a nearly perfectly transparent crystal orb that functions as a communication device. I hate it, but in the end I could not deny any of the emperor¡¯s words. ¡­ ¡°Tell me, you want to make a difference but in the end what exactly do you plan to do?¡± Urk. I cringed because at the moment I really didn¡¯t have much in the way of a plan. In my defense, I have not exactly had the time to give it much thought. Being treated as a science experiment by everyone and everything, even the universe itself, I have not had the down time to think things over. ¡°See, that is what I thought. I have lived for ages and have thought of many ways to get what I want, so¡­ How about we make a deal?¡± ¡­ It was a pain, but he really did have some good ideas that perfectly aligned with how I saw things. The last hero did prove to be a perfect example of all the wrong ways to go about it. Even the Guildmaster chimed in with examples of how the partnership would work. Thankfully I was mostly given free reign to do whatever I wanted without being ordered around. I guess I had earned some trust in my own decisions during the negotiations. I laugh mockingly to myself as I look down at the object in my other hand. My father¡¯s Mana Core. The perfect violet crystal glimmering in the darkness of the third ring. I was on the verge of crying my eyes out again, but I forced it back. I can¡¯t go around being a wimpy Demon Lord or Hero by letting my emotions get to me so easily. I need to be strong. I let the core slip through my fingers and fall into my shadow. ¡°Sigh. We are going to need a lot of cores and a lot of demons for this to all even begin to work.¡± ¡°Not looking forward to naming them?¡± I chuckle wryly at Alice¡¯s joke, I can tell she is trying to cheer me up. It¡¯s nice. ¡°Sure, that too. But I am just exhausted from today and want to curl up in a proper bed without having to worry about monsters waking me up.¡± ¡°You were about to start on the ¡®Great Demon Castle¡¯ as you put it before everything went down. Just a little more and you can rest easy.¡± I knock my head against her shoulder and let myself relax as I draw up the plans for the castle in the air. Dots of light string together to build a 3D mesh of the structure as I talk the design over with Alice while Prim chimes in from the back. Prim was actually the one who provided the most useful knowledge on the structure, as the memories of that guild employee she consumed included many ways to break into secure buildings. There were apparently a lot of holes in my initial design. Speaking of that guild employee, the Guildmaster never mentioned him. I hope he didn¡¯t know the guy or that may make things difficult. ¡­ Finally we reach the bottom of the cliff and I can¡¯t even be bothered to be surprised at the mountain of monster corpses that has accumulated in the meantime. ¡°Ah, welcome back my lord, dearest mother. We have encountered quite a few beasts and thought to collect them for you.¡± Sec sleeks back his hair and rests his hand on the handle to his katana as he speaks. Honestly, these kids are all super weird, but extremely capable. Snappy comes charging in asking for head pats and I feel myself finally, truly, relax. Ironic, considering I''m in the third ring, a place considered a nightmare even for experienced adventurers. ¡°Alright, one last push and then I am passing the fuck out.¡± I grin a little as I think of the monstrosity I am about to create. Standing up off my soft wooden chair, I get to work on my castle.
¡°Damn it!¡± A silver haired woman slams her fist down on the grey wood table. ¡°Please calm down, your aura will damage the carpet.¡± Sitting at his desk, the King of Alcott winces at The Oracle¡¯s behavior. ¡°That scaly bastard! He is trying to steal the Hero from us!¡± Sighing, King Agustus Alcott tries to calm his mentor down. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. The girl was murdered by her own parents, nobles of our nation. I can understand why she would rather serve under the emperor.¡± His statement elicits a glare from the sharp faced woman. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I have to like it.¡± ¡°A-At least we managed to get one the emperor to promise to let one of your own people onto the Hero¡¯s team.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Fool. He promised no such thing. He said that he would allow a member of our nation to interview, but the decision would be left up to the girl alone. We have no guarantee that she will accept our candidate¡­ Bastard!¡± Slam! The spirit wood table in the King¡¯s office starts to creak as the owner of said table mutters about looking into getting a punching bag for the angry oracle. ¡°What information have you managed to scrounge up on the girl?¡± ¡°Well, we have the mages going through her mother¡¯s memories, but you know that such things can be inaccurate.¡± Finally having gotten her anger out, The Oracle leans back into the sofa and starts to wipe down the spilled tea scattered across the table. ¡°Just tell me what you have.¡± The king just sighs in resignation, knowing his information will likely only worsen her mood. ¡°She is a rebellious girl who always pushed back against her lessons as a child. asking questions her mother could not answer, this would embarrass her mother, and anger her due to the mother¡¯s dependence on her religion. As you know her mother is part of the Duskallen like her father was. However the girl seemed to refuse to subscribe to the same beliefs.¡± ¡°How apt for a Hero.¡± The Duskallen are a religious group that seems to side with the Demon Lord, it is only natural that the girl would be against such faith. ¡°Anyway, the girl seems to dislike authority and is highly trained.¡± Not wanting to drag things out much longer, and because the information on the Hero is rather limited, the King sums up all the information as succinctly as possible. ¡°Yes.. Her father was one of our best fighters. I am amazed she managed to beat him. Drask said she was only Class 3 right?¡± ¡°Yes, the power of a Hero must be a real boost.¡± Hmm. I just don¡¯t understand why my future sight never warned me of any of these events¡­ The Oracle usually would know of at least most important events beforehand with her Oracle Magic. Especially information regarding the kingdom she watches over. The fact that she knew nothing of the Hero¡¯s circumstances or the Duskallen¡¯s means that someone or something out there is interfering with her ability. She is plenty used to that though. ¡°That irritating man passes out charms to block my divination like candy. I swear he enjoys tormenting me.¡± The King struggles to find any words to respond with, but ultimately fails before The Oracle gets back on track. ¡°Nevermind that, who should we send to be our candidate? I would go myself but-¡± ¡°You know the other nations would never allow that.¡± The man was getting sharper as he settled into his new role. No longer was he flailing around like a chick tossed from its nest. ¡°Hmph, acting more like the king you are finally.¡± The Oracle can¡¯t help but praise him for his improvements. ¡°No thanks to you.¡± And she immediately regrets it. ¡°Brat.¡± Halting the banter, the King gets back to relaying the information that the countries spies and information brokers have acquired. ¡°Anyway, I believe we should send someone around her age. Someone who she can connect with. I hear there was a group of adventurers that were overly pushy with her and paid for it. They also attacked her girlfriend because she looks a bit like an elf.¡± The Oracle was aghast when she first heard of the same thing from Drask, The Dragon Emperor. The tales he told of the adventurer¡¯s actions were rather disgusting. Paying no heed to the personal space or opinions of the girl as though she were just some random toddler they had picked off the street. Then attacking her lover unprovoked, even if she looked like an elf, attacking without reason was incredibly stupid. Slumping her shoulders at the difficulty of the task ahead, The Oracle sinks deeper into a hunch over the coffee table. ¡°That is a lot of restrictions on who we can choose¡­ Won¡¯t someone like that be too weak to be of any benefit anyway?¡± Anyone around the girl¡¯s age would be Class 1 at best, Class 2 if they were a supreme prodigy and battle junky. ¡°It is better to have someone by her side than no one at all.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± The Oracle flops back into the sofa, her silver hair falling across her sharp features and her arms splayed out at her sides. ¡°Your stony facade is cracking.¡± ¡°Quiet you.¡± This brat just keeps getting more and more impertinent. While the Oracle fixes her appearance, the King mulls things over. He knows the nobility in the kingdom far better than his mentor does after all the endless work he has been doing since the whole Demon Lord incident began. ¡°Hmm, I do have one person I know of that may be a good fit.¡± Those words are like music to the ears of The Oracle as she sits up straight and presses the young king for details. ¡°Oh really? Do tell.¡±
Sera Varas excitedly looked up at the gate to the imperial palace in the capital of the Dragon Empire. Hono city. A sea of buildings several times the size of her own country''s capital. The mountain air is crisp this early in the morning and she can taste it even through the carriage windows. It is refreshing. Especially compared to the stuffy atmosphere back home. She can hear the ambassador discussing things with the palace guards, but she does not pay attention to their conversations at all. She is here for one reason, and one reason alone. To join the Hero¡¯s party. It had been about three months since the Hero was found, and the Dragon Empire was finally allowing people to meet with her. Sera was shocked to learn that the Hero was originally a noble from her own nation. She was even more shocked to learn that the girl had essentially defected, or declared herself independent of any nation. The young noble could understand not wanting to be associated with the Alcott Kingdom after what happened to her, but not being part of any nation¡­ She couldn¡¯t imagine living in such an unsecure way. As Sera mulled things over, the chatter outside finally stopped. The carriage was finished being checked and they were allowed to pass through the barrier. Outside she could see thick pitch black rods of stone jutting out of the ground, as well as towers of basalt and silver gleaming in under the morning light. This whole city was centered around a vast mountain range between the great divide and the sea of trees. And the castle is located on its peak. The mountains are not nearly as tall as the ones in the great divide, but they still evoke a sense of wonder as you look down from the cloudy ramparts. A sprawling prosperous city fills the land below. ¡°We''re here, please be on your best behavior. And make sure to get in the Hero¡¯s good graces.¡± Sera internally rolled her eyes at the slightly too gaudily dressed ambassador¡¯s words. She had been told to get along with the Hero at any cost so many times that she wondered if they thought she had the memory of a Bulktrat. Even those flying brainless fish would not need to be told something this many times. She disembarked the carriage and followed the guards into the palace before being seated in a waiting room. She was nervous, the person she was meeting was the Hero. Someone who was chosen by the world to lead humanity, and someone who had defeated her own father, a peak Class 4, all while only being Class 3. They may have both been nobles of the same kingdom, but they had never met. Sera was the daughter of a Duke while Lua was the daughter of a newly minted Baron. That, plus Lua¡¯s spartan upbringing, meant she was never seen at any formal balls or political gatherings. Sera wondered just what kind of person this Hero was. The door silently opened and a guard entered rather stiffly. ¡°The Hero will see you now.¡± Book 2 | Chapter 4: Demon Lord Recruiting Heroes Sera slowly makes her way into the room after the guard. She is just about to look past the door, but is forced to stop when a rather strong aura hits her in the face. Crap on a adamantine rod, that man is Class 4! The other side of the door opens and a hulking man in pitch black armor walks out. How do I compete with people like that?! The other candidate smugly walks out of the room, clearly certain of his acquisition of the position. They told me I would be competing with a bunch of people from other nations, but they never said I was up against such powerful people! I¡¯m only Class 1! Sera only manages to un-stick herself from the floor after the guard calls out to her a few times. Panic swirls in the girl¡¯s head as her feet lag behind her. Entering the large training hall, Sera sees three people sitting on a couch at the end of the room. A young looking girl with soft short blue hair and glistening eyes that look like the sky. She wears light metal armor that seems to blend with scales of wood here and there, a skirt extends from below the chest plate and hangs over her mithril greaves. Her equipment is immaculate, as though it was alive and a piece of her body. Perfectly fit for her in every way. Beside her sits a tall tan woman, her skin similar to that of the elves with its wooden texture. She wears a dress modified for combat with plates of metal and wood woven into the design to act as armor. Two cute twig-like antlers poke out of her rich green hair hanging aside her soft smiling face. Geeze, even the maid is Class 3! Behind the two women stands a stunning maid wearing a bright flowy uniform that extends down to her knees, bits of purple inlayed into the design complementing her black hair that shines with violet highlights. Her powerful gaze, whipsing with purple flames, is trained right on Sera. The politically trained noble girl can feel her nerves skyrocket as she gets to the mark on the floor she was told to stand on. She is doing her best to not let her nervousness show. The blue clad Hero speaks up, her voice far too cute for someone who is meant to save the world. ¡°Hi, it is nice to meet you. I am Lua, the Hero. And beside me is my girlfriend Alice. Behind us is Prim. Let¡¯s not waste any time and get the interview started.¡± Lua looks off into the air as if she is reading something, her eyes un-focusing for a second before snapping back into place. She claps her hands together and leans back into the red plush sofa. ¡°First question: What is your name?¡± ¡°Sera Varas.¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°The kingdom of Alcott.¡± Lua grimaces for a moment before correcting her face. Sera didn¡¯t miss it though. She had heard about what happened with Lua¡¯s family, so the reaction is justified. Just¡­ the fact that it may hurt her chances has Sera worried. The questions continue on from there, mostly benign stuff. Like her age which is 19, and her magic which is Mind Magic. If anything the questions seem a bit too basic for such an important interview. ¡°What is your favorite color?¡± ¡°Uh.. Yellow?¡± ¡°Hm, interesting choice.¡± What does that mean?! Why does that matter?! As Sera complains in her head at the confusing nature of the interview, the young Hero before her straightens her back a bit. ¡°An elven slave is being beaten to death by their master in front of you, the execution is in-between you and your target. What do you do?¡± ¡°What?¡± Even after Lua repeats the question, Sera can¡¯t figure out how to respond. Why did we suddenly switch gears to a super dark and open ended question?! Calm down Sera, she wouldn¡¯t be asking if it was not important. Shuffling back and forth on her feet, Sera¡¯s long auburn ponytail sways with her. Such a question would normally be answered with: ¡®I ignore the beating and chase after the target,¡¯ but Sera is not what most would consider normal. She does not understand why elves should be treated so harshly when they are not that different from humans. Is that the reason? To test whether I am like everyone else? To Sera, a Hero would not support such discrimination. A childish projection, but ultimately an accurate one. Sera grew up as part of a ducal family that specializes in raising truth seekers. She is considered a once in a lifetime prodigy in her family due to her meeting the requirements to unlock the [Detect Lie] skill right after being initialized into the system. Because of that skill, she has always known when she was being lied to. A young girl steeped in politics with such an ability is bound to develop particular apprehensions. If anything, she has developed a hatred for humans rather than elves. However, those feelings were something she had no choice but to hide.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. She has her role in her family, and the one she will one day take in her nation''s government. She hates lying but has no choice but to keep up the facade. But the look in the Hero¡¯s eyes¡­ Even if she has her features locked down perfectly, Sera thinks that maybe, just maybe, she feels the same. Speaking the truth is a risk. But lying to the Hero in her first serious question of the interview would only ruin her chances. ¡°I-I would do my best to put a stop to the slave owner¡¯s actions while keeping my eye on the target.¡± Lua just barely widens her eyes, enough that Sera can tell she is surprised, but not unhappy with her answer. Sera feels proud that she got the answer right, and that the right answer was her own truth. The interview continues on¡­
I slump down in to the sofa after the Veras girl leaves. ¡°She answered all the questions honestly and seemed like a good girl. She is even a truth seeker which is very impressive for a Class 1. I think she would be a good choice.¡± Alice¡¯s words of praise are not unfounded. I was honestly surprised she so openly admitted to such a minority opinion, and the rest of her answers to my super convoluted questions were well thought out too. Having a mind mage on the team would be nice too. Prim won¡¯t always be around to help out as she is the one I will have leading the other demons while I am away on Hero business. Despite summoning many, many Mid Demons over the course of the last three months, she is still the most serious of them all. The others are all too weird for me to trust handing over any big responsibilities to. Another benefit to adding Sera would be that her mind magic has no effect on my side. Though¡­ I never did figure out why Alice is immune as well. Not that I know why I am immune in the first place. I assume it has something to do with that cube god thing. ¡°Also, if you don¡¯t choose anyone, the nations of the world will be upset.¡± ¡°Urk. W-Well, it is not my fault all the candidates so far have been utter trash.¡± I can see a wry smile on Alice¡¯s lips. Even she can¡¯t argue with that point. The last guy was so self assured and arrogant that it gave me a headache. His answer to the elf question was to just cut the head off the elf and push the slaver out of the way! What the hell kind of person thinks that is an acceptable answer?! I am sure that he thought that, because he was Class 4, that he was impressive to me. I am just a young girl who only reached Class 3 thanks to the benefits of being a Hero after all. Or at least, that is what most of the world seems to believe. ¡°I am so glad that I told Drask to limit the number of candidates from each nation to only one. If I didn¡¯t, this would be a hell worse than that shitty murder forest.¡± I sigh again as I add the first name to the Passing List. ¡°How many more do I have to interview today?¡± ¡°Eight more.¡± I groan as Alice reminds me of my impending future. Then Prim pulls up the schedule I copied to the shared light network. I just groan louder as Prim breaks down my schedule for the next week. ¡­ A tall man in shining white armor strolls into the room. Randall Lowe. A 48 year old earth mage from the Divine Theocracy. The Divine Theocracy is the only other nation that borders the entrance to The Sea of Trees. A very religious nation that believes in a pantheon of rather unique gods that watch over the mortal plane. I am sure they are champing at the bit to get someone into my party. The Hero is historically someone from another world, general meaning someone who has met a god. A fact that they are no doubt aware of. Randall steps onto the marker I placed on the floor and begins his interview. ¡°I would remove the slaver¡¯s head and continue after the target.¡± What? Now that is an unexpected answer. Did the theocracy know that was this guy¡¯s opinion when they sent him? Prim has not learned to replicate the [Detect Lie] skill yet, so we have one of the Emperor¡¯s personal truth seekers hiding in the room. Seeing as the truth seeker has not given any indication, that must mean that the man is telling the truth. Frankly, I never learned much about the theocracy. What cult loving parent would ever teach their child about other religions? I really should look into them more after this, especially if one of their own is so brazenly able to speak of his stance on discrimination. Though¡­ I mean I would do the same, but¡­ ¡°cutting off the slaver''s head¡± is really going to be your answer? Really dude? I keep asking more and more of my preset questions until we finally get to the combat test. Sera was kind of useless during this test, as I didn¡¯t plan for testing mind mages, and her magic had no effect on my golems. Poor girl looked utterly depressed after her interview was over. Randall¡¯s stony hair bristles as a shield of rock rises from the ground to block the golem¡¯s attack. Interesting. He really blocked it. The guy was quite skilled and even a Class 3 to boot. His evolution had clearly been a unique one as his hands and eyes seem to almost be entirely made of stone. Blocking my golem¡¯s charge is no easy feat when they are made of Class 3 spirit wood, a very rare material you don''t see often. Their weapons can pierce through most metals, so whatever skill he is using must drastically increase the durability of the rock he blocked with. Eventually I see everything I need and call things to a close. After his test ends, Randall bows to us and takes his leave. ¡°Back to back, huh? Didn¡¯t expect any more good candidates to be honest.¡± ¡°Well, you are cynic through and through.¡± I grumble and glare at Alice. ¡°Nevermind my cynicism¡­ I think he can take up a tank and attacker position, and I really liked how readily he answered that he would choose doing the right thing over doing what his country wants.¡± ¡°Well, at least we managed to get a guy on the team. Drask had a point that we would get too much trouble from sexist pigs if we couldn¡¯t find one.¡± I snort at that. Even in a fantasy world with magic and other powers that allows women to be just as strong as men, you can still find crappy people of all sorts. In the end, Randall was the last candidate to get a pass, even after another week of interviews. Drask bugged me saying that we needed more people, so I said screw it and reached out to Agera from the Steadfast Shield Clan. The guy seemed like a decent person so I thought he would make a good fit. I still ran him through the same interview process though, just to be safe. ¡­ Pop! Pop! Pop! Tiny streamers fly out into the air and slowly float to the ground. Why this world had the time to invent party poppers, I have no idea, but I couldn''t not use them. ¡°Welcome to team Hero everyone!¡± I look around the room and see Sera, Agera, and Randall looking amused at my little display. ¡°In front of you you will find two little charms. One blocks divination and the other prevents your mind from being read. Please wear them at all times.¡± I grin a bit as I remember the emperor¡¯s explanation for giving them to me. Apparently he throws around anti-divination charms just to screw with The Oracle. And considering how Sera was sent here by said Oracle, her feed on this meeting is about to be instantly cut off. I can almost hear The Emperor laughing from here. After everyone settles in and equips their new charms I decide to break the ice by announcing something that normally would never be said out loud. ¡°I am glad you all can be a part of the team, and in the interest of transparency I will say this: Everyone here is opposed to racial discrimination!¡± They all look at each other in shock. And then they can¡¯t help but smile as that hint of tension leaves the room. Book 2 | Chapter 5: The Hero Party鈥檚 First Mission Everyone in the room likely had to deal with keeping their opinions to themselves for so long that being around like-minded people is probably a massive weight off their shoulders. It is really nice that they all seem like decent people. In this shitty world, people like them are rather rare. I feel like it is kind of sucky of me to keep them in the dark, but I have absolutely no intention of telling them that the whole Hero Squad is basically just a decoy. That, and the fact that I am the Demon Lord. It is probably a bad sign that I get a bit of sadistic pleasure knowing that I am using them to further my rather fucked up plans, but there is nothing I can do about that. Who is gonna play therapist to the Demon Lord Hero anyway? Finding one would be as impossible as Lucifer himself getting a therapist in Los Angeles while helping the cops solve crimes. Pure nonsense, that. I lean against the door frame as I look over everyone in the room. They seem to be waiting for me to give them orders like a bunch of lost puppy dogs. Not wanting to deal with the awkwardness anymore, I try to come up with a way to move things along when I remember something from earth. For the sake of getting everyone in the group acquainted I will have the group play those ice breakers that they would always force upon you in school! If anyone wants to judge me on that, then I would remind them that I have practically zero social experience in either world. Thankfully the charms that block mind magic I passed out mean that even Sera can join in on Two Truths And A Lie. Yeah¡­ I really don''t know what normal people do to get to know new people. We spend the next hour slowly getting to know each other, being loud and snacking on bits of Wyvern jerky as well as other treats laid out on the table. Clap! Clap! ¡°Alright, that is enough for now. I think we should get to work doing Hero stuff.¡± Sera, Agera, and Randall all stand up from their seats. I can tell they are excited to get to work by the way they look at me with such burning respect. It makes me uncomfortable. Sera gives a tiny salute for some reason. Sure, ok girl, you do you. Agera, being the most sensible of the bunch, looks over at me with a serious look in his piercing silver eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the plan? There are still no movements on the Demon Lord front. Even The Oracle can¡¯t get a read on its location anymore.¡± I look over the group and gather my resolve. The plan starts here. ¡°Well, I think we ought to investigate criminal activity across the kingdoms bordering The Sea of Trees to start with. The Demon Lord could already be acting without us realizing.¡± I am, I totally am. In fact, I have several operations up and running now. The first of which should be happening any moment now. Before anyone can respond, there is a knock at the door. I have Prim open the door, letting in a silver haired man with burning red eyes. He looks no older than twenty five but has the air of a stern seasoned veteran. A black suit with red accents, crystal glasses that are certainly not for visual correction, and perfectly trimmed mustache. The emperor¡¯s butler calmly steps into the room. ¡°Greetings Hero¡¯s party, I am Sebastian Volflur and I hope you pardon the intrusion. I regret to inform you that there is a stampede currently seen exiting The Sea of Trees and heading towards Fulm, Carrion, and Bright.¡± At this revelation, the whole room erupts into panic. I can see a fearful look in Sera¡¯s eyes as she looks to me for hope. Fulm, Carron, and Bright are the three border cities that sit right inside The Mouth. The Mouth is the area in between the mountains that surround much of our continent as well as the sea of trees. Though, this opening is rather small in comparison to the size of the actual forest. The mana draining edifices of rock that tower into the clouds barr any and all passage into the forest that is not through The Mouth. From east to west there are three nations bordering The Sea of Trees that have built within this location: The Divine Theocracy, The Kingdom of Alcott, and The Dragon Empire. These nations each have a single city sitting in The Mouth, with Bright city belonging to The Theocracy, Fulm to Alcott, and Carrion to The Empire. Naturally, such cities would be heavily protected against monsters coming out of the forest. Massive walls, powerful barriers, and enough soldiers to kill anything that gets too close. Obviously these places would not find any difficulty in repelling a few dozen monsters rampaging out of the forest. Then why is everyone concerned? Why report such a situation to us? Because I went ahead and herded hundreds of Class 3 monsters from the third ring towards the aforementioned border cities. I felt it appropriate to start things off with a big show. ¡°What should we do?¡± Agera is trying rather hard to calm himself as he asks this question.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Sebastian had just finished explaining the whole situation and the dangers involved. The cities are simply not prepared to deal with so many high level monsters at once. Even a Class 4 would have little luck wading through such a mess on their own. ¡°We can¡¯t cover every single city at once.¡± Sera grimaces at Randall¡¯s assessment of the situation. Fulm is the least defended of all the border cities. Alcott is a much smaller nation compared to the two empires surrounding it. I explain as much to the rest of the team before getting their input. ¡°So you think we should head to Fulm?¡± Randall seems to agree with me and I can see Sera breathe a small sigh of relief. She must know someone in Fulm if she is so concerned. ¡°Yes, but I am not sure how much help we will be.¡± We are a rather small group and while I may have the strength of a Class 4, I make clear to them that all of us joining the fray will be of little help compared to the total forces they must be collecting. Their shoulders slump rather heavily after I point that out. I turn towards Sebastian and ask for the exact location that the stampede heading towards Fulm was located. The upright butler pulls out a map from cubes knows where and points to a location not far from the edge of the forest. ¡°Damn, that is only two days away at best.¡± Agera swears as he glares down at the map. ¡°How did they even get that close without being noticed?¡± I raise an eyebrow at the butler as I play my part. This whole interaction is mostly planned out for the sake of building up a Heroic image for myself. The butler smoothly answers, his acting significantly better than mine. ¡°That is unclear, though I believe it may be possible that this may be an action by the Demon Lord.¡± The group looks to me for my opinion. I am the one meant to be facing off against this Demon Lord. ¡°I think we should get ready to head out immediately. Sebastian, can you get into contact with Fulm and request teleport permission?¡± ¡°Of course my lady.¡± The capable butler bows and leaves the room immediately. ¡°How are you so calm right now?¡± Sera nervously stumbles over looking incredibly pale. ¡°To be honest, I am not all that calm on the inside right now. But, I am the leader here so I have to do my best to set an example.¡± Sera¡¯s eyes widen and look up to me with even more respect and admiration than before. So much so that it is kind of blinding. Truthfully, I really am a bit nervous on the inside. I find it really hard to lie most of the time so I am doing everything I can to maintain the facade right now. ¡­ An hour later we are standing on a large stone platform with a space mage standing before us. Soldiers form a small protective guard around our group as we finish doing a check over of our supplies. Most of the soldiers are heading to Carrion city, while we are hitching a ride with a small squad heading to Fulm. ¡°Ready for transport!¡± A shout echoes out across the room and we all brace ourselves. A purple energy washes over us and floods into the runes carved into the teleport point beneath us. I grimace a bit at the sight of the mana. A bad habit of mine that I doubt I will be kicking any time soon¡­ A flash of violet light fills our vision as we suddenly find ourselves on an identical stone platform and surrounded by even more soldiers than before. These soldiers however are wearing the signature colors of Alcott, White and purple armor reflects off the light shining from the remaining magic. Among the formation of knights I can see a small, more poised group heading straight towards us. A young woman with solid white eyes and long braided silver hair. A long regal dress with leather armor strapped around it in an elegant display of design and functionality. Beside her is a man who looks no older than Sera, though physical age is meaningless after the first advancement. He wears a simple gold band around his head that contrasts deeply with his flowing deep blue hair. Small veins of water make their way up his arms and move around on their own. He looks over with his classically handsome face locked into a refined visage. Immediately Sera hits the floor, kneeling before the two individuals. I guess that answers who these two are. Well, that and all the study material I was given by The Dragon Emperor beforehand. ¡°Welcome Heroes! Please, come with us so we may discuss how to handle the incoming stampede.¡± The Oracle really seems so refined, but if Drask is calling her a brat who complains a lot, well that means this is just a really good front. Sebastian did say that she was overjoyed that the Heroes would be visiting her city instead of the other two. I wonder how this will go. We follow along as the whole room starts to move out. An opulent hall waits for us with staggeringly tall ceilings and stained glass enchanted with privacy runes. Commanders and soldiers are moving around rapidly as they discuss reports and troop formations. Things rapidly quiet down as the nation¡¯s leaders enter. I can hear whispers about my appearance as well as that of my assembled team. Things about how low Sera¡¯s level is, or that we don¡¯t seem all that impressive. I am personally impressed that they are willing to make such rude comments in front of their leaders, but they probably assume that we can¡¯t hear them. Low level soldiers and nobles don¡¯t really understand the difference evolution can make when it comes to someone¡¯s hearing. The Oracle raises her hand to silence the room completely. ¡°Before we begin.¡± She then turns to me and looks me right in the eye. Then, without any time to prepare myself, the nation¡¯s leaders both bow towards me in apology. Noble and knights gasp at the action. Murmurs spread even faster through the crowd than before. ¡°We must apologize for the tragedy that occurred with your family. We failed to realize their malice and you paid dearly for it. We are sorry. And we swear to ensure such things never happen again. I do hope that we can make it up to you somehow.¡± I stumble back a bit in shock. That¡­ was unexpected. Seems they really want a good relationship with the Hero. Though, considering that The Oracle was the one raising the warning bells at the news of the Demon Lord, she must be very concerned about the threat I pose. Ugh, what do I say? I really don¡¯t want to deal with this crap in front of so many people. I try to think of multiple responses with my accelerated thoughts but ultimately decide on the safest and most truthful option. ¡°I would rather not talk about it, but thank you for the words.¡± I picked that phrasing mostly because it should convey that I don¡¯t actually accept her apology, just that I recognize an attempt. From what I understand they didn¡¯t even question things when my father reported my ¡°accidental death¡± and even let my father get away to hunt me down in the forest thanks to their incompetence. ¡°I see. Please know that your position as head of the Knight family will be yours as long as you wish it.¡± And now she is not so subtly trying to entice me back to her kingdom¡­ I can understand Drask¡¯s dislike of the woman a lot better now. If you are going to dredge up this crap in front of so many people I might as well try to get something out of it. ¡°Understood. If I may, I would like an opportunity to speak with my mother at some point.¡± ¡°That can be arranged.¡± Nodding at the affirmation of my request, I take the first opportunity to shut the conversation down as I ignore the contemptuous glares from some of the nobles. ¡°Good, now we should get to preparing for the fight ahead.¡± Book 2 | Chapter 6: How I Say Hello We all move over to a large canvas map placed flat on the table, The Oracle not saying a word about my attitude. A gruff looking noble wearing the garb of a commander bows to The Oracle and The King. ¡°For starters we should get the Hero party up to speed. The monster horde is full of approximately seven hundred Class 3s, Two thousand Class 2s and a thousand Class 1s. They are headed directly for this city and will reach the walls in 40 hours at their current pace.¡± Nodding along I look over their map that is stamped with circles denoting the size of the horde and the time they were spotted at multiple points in the day. It seems my horde of monsters picked up some friends along the way, no matter, this can only end one way anyway. As the man who introduced himself as Commander Nickel describes the formations of the soldiers and adventurers Sera raises her hand nervously. ¡°Yes, Lady Varas?¡± ¡°Um, is The Oracle not going to be on the field?¡± I hear a scoff from one of the nobles across the table. Man, these guys are real fucking arrogant. She just asked a question. The commander, clearly more professional than the buffoons who are just in the room for the achievements, answers simply. ¡°No, she will not be participating.¡± ¡°May I ask why?¡± ¡°As you may not know, even a Class 5 like her would be in danger facing off against such numbers. Her safety is a matter of national security and our soldiers are enough to handle a horde of this size.¡± ¡°I see.¡± It is not just about the danger from the monsters either. She is the backer of this nation and leaving her vulnerable in a field of monsters, regardless of her strength, could get her targeted by assassins from other countries. I doubt he intends to say such things out loud though. ¡°The Oracle¡¯s skills are best suited for organizing the battle anyway.¡± Finishing his explanation, the commander turns to me and bows slightly. ¡°Hero, I hear you can create constructs of wood capable of facing off against opponents equal to the strength of the Mana Core you use. Is this true?¡± ¡°Yes, Though I can only create so many at a time and they end up a bit weaker than the core used.¡± ¡°If we provided you with the cores, how many would you be able to make before the monsters breach the forest?¡± ¡°I would say about one thousand if I had all the materials on hand.¡± A shocked murmur runs through the crowd. One thousand golems is a lot, especially if they are all Class 3. I am basically a one woman army even without my Demon Lord title. Normally I would be restricted by The System in how many golems I can have out and control at a single time. However, after tinkering with the spells and combining it with my light magic, I can control an absurd number of golems at any given moment. ¡°We will provide the materials necessary. I would like to have these ¡®golems¡¯ stationed at the front.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Aside from the golems, what abilities do you have that could contribute? I assume the Hero Title provides some benefits.¡± Now that is a hard one to answer, I want to keep the exact nature of my abilities hidden just in case I do something that someone finds suspicious. I need to be able to blame any fuck ups on hidden Hero abilities. I mull things over for a moment before settling on a vague answer. ¡°The Title keeps a lot of the truth of the skills hidden from me, so I can only talk about what I currently know.¡± Nickel nods, gesturing for me to continue. ¡°Due to my low level I am mostly looking at some personal defense and anti-demon weapons. None of which will be all that useful at the moment.¡± While I say ¡°low level,¡± I am actually rather powerful compared to the majority of adventurers and soldiers in this room. I managed to collect a large amount of Class 3 Mana Cores during the three months I hung out in the forest. The most difficult thing was updating my Mana Core ring that I use to fake out the system. ¡°You are at the peak of class 3 I see.¡± The commander and likely every other person in this room has identified me, getting back the fake results I put through. ¡°Yes, though getting to Class 4 is still out of my reach for now.¡± I had been breezing through the classes for a while but ultimately I hit a wall. Class 4 is not just a problem for me, it is a challenge for anyone who tries to attain it. My body and soul are at their limits in terms of the energy I can absorb, sure, I can absorb far more than a normal peak Class 3. But I need to change something fundamental to reach Class 4. Class 4 is when your magic leaves your core and materializes in the world around you before merging with your body and evolving at Class 5.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. For people in The System, they have specific instructions on grand feats to accomplish as well as a helping hand to connect deeply with your magic. I have none of that, and my situation is already a horrible mess as it is. Without the system I may be very stuck unless I can find someone older than The System to tell me how things worked then. But that is a tall order when The System has been around for millennia. Even Alice is not aware of the pre-system methods as she was created alongside the system. For now, I have been working on a new, and slightly dangerous plan. I need a good look at The System and its insides. ¡­ We are setting up right at the entrance to the forest ahead of the port town. ¡°The port town¡± is the title that adventurers often use to refer to the small marketplace and transport hubs right at the entrance to the forest. A rather unclever term for a town bordering a place called The Sea of Trees. We spend most of the day planning and all of the next moving supplies and soldiers to the frontline. The sun is about to set and a cool wind is blowing through the grassy fields. I see some of the adventurers shiver but ultimately confident of this day¡¯s outcome. Only Class 3 and Class 4 are allowed at the front while Class 2 and below are delegated to support roles. Normally a Class 2 should be able to face a Class 3 with support from other Class 3s, but the nation''s leaders see that as a pointless risk. No reason to lose promising fighters by letting them get overconfident in a siege like this, not when there is no chance of the monsters making it past us. I can hear murmurs from the people in my deployment zone. ¡°So that is the Hero?¡± ¡°She is so cute!¡± ¡°Does that mean this stampede is really the work of the Demon Lord?¡± ¡°I heard Bright and Carrion are getting hit as well.¡± ¡°Why do they have a Class 1 with them?¡± ¡°That is the daughter of the Varas family, I think the kingdom forced her into the party.¡± ¡°And after they let the Hero get murdered by her parents?¡± I glare at the peanut gallery to shut them up before muttering to myself. ¡°Fucking politics.¡± I look over at Sera and find her fidgeting. I can¡¯t tell if it is because of the incoming monsters, the rather harsh rumors, or both. ¡°You good?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah, just nervous.¡± ¡°Just ignore them. The opinions of people who don¡¯t know the situation are worthless.¡± She looks at me wide eyed. I am not sure why though, it seems obvious to me that you shouldn¡¯t care about the opinions of people who don¡¯t know what they are talking about. I try and think of more reassuring words, but I just end up blurting out my true feelings. ¡°I chose you to be in the party, because out of all the candidates, you were one of the only two that was a decent person.¡± ¡°T-Thank you.¡± She looks shyly downwards with a smile, her red ponytail battering against her armor from the wind. ¡°If you need to take any frustrations out, then we got quite a few punching bags coming our way so use your magic to suppress them as best you can. We will take care of the rest.¡± She nods vigorously. With that, I think she will be okay. I can only hope she gets a good amount of experience from this fight, and a few good System achievements. It is a bit harsh, but she will certainly be dragging us down if she stays Class 1 for too long. ¡°Hey, no pep talk for me?¡± Agera grins as he leans against a metal post he has sticking out of the ground. ¡°Nah, that dopey look on your face means I don¡¯t have to worry about you.¡± I grin back as I create a similar post out of wood with my golems. ¡°Rude!¡± ¡°Worry not, Agera. You will make a fine meat shield.¡± Randall breaks into the conversation by smacking Agera hard on the back several times. ¡°Randall! Why is everyone ganging up on me?!¡± Agera crosses his arms and pouts in an obviously fake manner. This is nice, being able to joke around with people. I hope I never have to kill these people one day. ¡°All joking aside, how much longer until the monsters get here?¡± In response to Agera¡¯s question, I wordlessly project a map of the area with dots marking the monster locations and another marking ours. ¡°Woah, I didn¡¯t know you could do that.¡± Sera stares at my perfect 3D map with stars in her eyes. The soft white and blue display lights up the area as day finally turns to night. A mass of red dots rapidly approach our position. ¡°Looks like we only have a few minutes left until they reach the vanguard.¡± My golems are stationed right at the edge of the forest and quite a few are hanging out inside so that they can get the drop on the monsters. ¡°Just how strong are your golems exactly?¡± Randall has been very interested in my golems since I showed them off during his interview. As an Earth Mage, he has asked me many things about how I create them and what I use them for in hopes of improving how he uses his own magic. ¡°I fought them once, and they are damn tough. You were just starting at Class 2 then right?¡± ¡°Yep, now they are even stronger.¡± Agera gives a rather wry smile at my confidence in my golems. He got his ass beat by them already so he knows best out of everyone in the team. ¡°Those monsters are in for a rough time¡­¡± As we banter the map shows the red dots crashing with the blue ones. And instantly dozens of red dots start to vanish. ¡°Geez, you are like a one woman army.¡± Ignoring Agera¡¯s exasperation, I switch my vision through the many demons I have under my control. I can see meeting rooms, bed chambers, city streets, and many other locations. Time for the real fun to begin. Demon golems are stationed all around the world stalking their targets. I had not spent the last 3 months just hunting for cores to absorb and playing around in the forest. No, I had been studying. Profiles for important people all across the continent. Nobles who are terribly corrupt. Kings who seek nothing but greed. Anyone I deemed unworthy of their life was being followed by an invisible mithril golem. [Begin] With those words sent through the light network, a slaughter ensued. That''s right, the stampede was nothing more than a distraction. This is my real opening move. Book 2 | Chapter 7: Destruction Screech! Monsters as far as the eye can see charge in and clash head on with the soldiers and adventurers. Blood paints the ground as beasts trample over each other in their thirst for death. ¡°Randall, like we discussed, you play crowd control. Sera you are on interference, stay behind Randall with Alice. And finally Agera, I will have some golems lead the enemies, we will cut them down together!¡± I shout out commands as the wave approaches. I jam my spear into a black furred lion with dozens of sharp tails, ripping the wooden weapon upwards and tearing through flesh. I don¡¯t exactly have control over these monsters, so the fighting I am doing right now is genuine. One mistake and I could get badly injured. Though my dear healing fairy will fix me right up afterwards. Sera is throwing out waves of mental mana to disorient the monsters as best she can. The attacks are not very effective on the Class 2s and 3s, but it is enough that I am sure The System is giving her quite a bit of experience points for the effort. A flash of silver streaks past my head as Agera slams silver threads into a beast that had been trying to sneak up behind me. Not that it really could have, considering I can see everything around me and all. The ground is shaking just from the giant battle going on, but at the rate we are going this will all be over in a few hours. I can see red dots rapidly vanishing off my map as the others on the battlefield work together to tear through the monsters. Some of the blue dots vanish as well. I suppose that was inevitable in a battle like this. I¡¯m sorry, but your sacrifice is a necessary one. I send a prayer out to those who died, and all those who will be caught in the crossfire of my personal war. I will not stop though. And I never will, not until I accomplish my goals. [Do it.] A mass of mana suddenly flows out from the center of the battlefield. The adventurers and soldiers slow down, faltering under the influence. Screams ring out. More blue dots vanish. The hordes I am using to attack the cities are each being led by a Class 3 demon with Mind Magic. These demons are possessing the most powerful monster and manipulating the rest of the beasts to charge forward endlessly as they crash out of the forest. ¡°Lua! What was that?!¡± Sera shrieks as the magic washes over her. Thanks to the mind magic charm she is mostly protected, but the charm was more designed to protect from mind reading, not mental attacks. I can see her heaving and dizzy from even just the small amount that got through. ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s disrupting the battlefield a lot. We need to head over and take it out!¡± The rest of the team nods their heads at my assessment as we start to shift our position towards the source of the magic. Stepping over bodies of both man and monster we eventually catch sight of the beast. A moon rabbit. A towering mass of white fur stained in blood. The same creature I faced off against myself in the forest not three months prior. The Class 3 equivalent of course. Still can¡¯t have my demons possess Class 4 creatures sadly. Though, because of all the stupid power-ups the universe has given me I can at least be certain that they are all far stronger than their peak Class 3 mana would suggest. I still have not had a chance to test if my Heroes protection affects the demons. This should be interesting. A group of maybe a dozen surrounds the beast as the battle comes into view. The demon is easily tossing them around as it uses its Mind Magic to hinder their attacks. A man in soldier''s armor screams out, clutching the sides of his head before collapsing into a heap. Damn, Mind Magic is scary. Several golems charge in to help surround the demon. I need to stall a bit longer for everything to work out properly¡­
A tall woman wearing a detailed silver and gold light armor sits at the head of the table as the King of the country leans over her shoulder. ¡°Oracle, any new visions?¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°No, the same as usual. We finish off the stampede with minimal loss of life.¡± She keeps getting the same vision, but that creeping feeling just won¡¯t go away. Everything should be fine, so why am I feeling so much dread? Her emotions clearly show on her face, prompting the king to push harder. ¡°But, that is not all, is it?¡± ¡°I am not sure, the future is cloudy and dark. Something isn¡¯t right.¡± The Oracle closes her eyes again to reach out into the future, the black void still obstructing her vision. She pours more and more mana into the skill in an attempt to clear up the blockade. Clouds of darkness begin to fade, and the images lose their blur. Finally, she breaks through. The clouds clear, and she sees red. Visions of the hall she is in right now, a guard grins and raises his hand. Shit! The Oracle¡¯s eyes snap open. ¡°Guards! Stop that-!¡± It¡¯s too late, the man¡¯s hand is already in the air. A violent explosion rings out and the hall is engulfed in fire. Waves of heat flood the building as several nobles are burnt to ash. ¡°It¡¯s a demon!¡± The Oracle shouts out to warn the soldiers of the threat. A commander panics and screams. ¡°How?! That is one of my soldiers, I spoke to him mere moments ago!¡± The Oracle¡¯s mind races as she continues to peer into the immediate future. The man must be possessed. She wants to save him, but it is too late. If he is left to rampage then more will die. The demon throws out another attack, shredding ten more nobles and soldiers with blades of compressed flame. ¡°Henry! Ice spear now!¡± The captain of the royal guard shouts to his subordinate and they react immediately. A spear of glistening ice shimmers in the flames that ravage the hall. The projectile tears through the possessed guard¡¯s stomach. blood sprays and flesh explodes outwards as the force from the Class 4 attack shreds the demon¡¯s body. The vessel falls limply to the ground. Everyone loses a bit of tension at the sight before The Oracle¡¯s prophetic voice rings out. ¡°It¡¯s not over!¡± The Oracle pulls two jet black daggers from the sheaths on her hips. The adamantine blades crackle with silver and gold light as she imbues them with her magic. A new vision assaults her. ¡°Shield now!¡± The guards in the room follow her orders and throw up multiple barrier type spells just in time to protect everyone from a new explosion that fills the room. Shards of stained glass rain down as several support pillars erupt. From the haze of ash and blood a green metallic form steps out. Black smoke wisps off the humanoid mass of mithril, glowing crimson eyes glare out from beneath the wyvern shaped skull resting in place of the monster''s head. Several guards go weak in the knees at the sight before they collapse. Even the Oracle wants to scream about the unfairness of an enemy made entirely of mithril. However, as someone who has reached Class 5, she would never lose heart or her confidence in her victory. The Oracle stands up and charges at the demon. She slices down with her twin blades. The demon¡¯s arm falls to the ground as it leaps back just before The Oracle suddenly jumps to the side. A thin stream of fire cuts across the room, barely missing the silver haired dualist. Two royal guards are not so lucky. Their bodies split in half, smoke rising from the cauterized seam. Fires start to rage outside the building and even more pillars collapse as the roof caves in. Chaos reigns in the city outside. The damn attack cut through the whole building! The Oracle charges in again alongside a shield of ice that forms around her, the Class 4 guard¡¯s magic providing enough protection to let her get in close. She dodges around more attacks before they can even be fired. Just as her two shining blades are inches from the demon¡¯s neck, ready to slice it to pieces, she jumps back again. This time with fear in her eyes. ¡°Shields!¡± More barriers of all different elements form around The Oracle and the remaining survivors in the room. However, it is not enough. A burst of flame far more powerful than the earlier attacks erupts from the demon¡¯s chest. ¡°Fuck!¡± Several more guards are dead, and the hall is now nothing but rubble. The demon had been setting a trap the entire time. Inside of its body, it had been casting explosion spells over and over to build up enough pressure to shatter the mithril it was made of. Damn thing blew itself up! The shields fade and her visions stop. The demon is gone. She doubts it is dead though. More screams erupt from the city all around. ¡°Cough, cough. What the hell was that?¡± The king stands up from the rubble, his silver cloak covered in ash and soot. ¡°That¡­ was a demon. I have no idea how it was possessing a body entirely made of mithril, but the strength is exactly what I remember.¡± The Oracle had faced a demon once before with her party back in her adventuring days. They lost several people that day as well. Strong people. She thought she was prepared, but she had foolishly expected the enemy to be the same as the one she had faced before. But no. The enemy had been improving itself too. Why wouldn¡¯t it? They have a Demon Lord now. Copses of her nation''s people, her dear subjects lay strewn about at her feet. Those bastards! As The Oracle lets her anger take over, one of the remaining guard¡¯s face goes from pale to pure white. ¡°Lady Oracle, Your Majesty! We have reports from the capital!¡± ¡°Speak!¡± ¡°Mithril monsters suddenly appeared all over and many high ranking government officials are dead.¡± ¡°FUCK!¡± A pile of bricks goes flying as The Oracle slams her foot into the rubble in a rage. ¡°How¡­ Why¡­?¡± Why did I not see any of this? The Oracle sank to the ground as the soldier continued the report on the damage. ¡°It seems this same situation is playing out in every major city across the continent¡­¡± And the news just keeps getting worse. Book 2 | Chapter 8: Sending A Message Red mist and mana fill the air. Bodies fill every inch of my vision, monster and man alike. The monster leading the horde lets out a guttural roar. ¡°Report!¡± A soldier comes rushing in, a messenger by the look of the uniform. Wind mages are often stationed in battlefields for their ability to send messages far and wide. His uniform is covered in soot and mud as he quakes in the presence of the beast before us. He steels himself as he shouts at us, using his wind magic to deliver the message from a safe distance. ¡°The city is under attack from demons! The Oracle fought off one, but the commanders and nobility sustained heavy casualties. The demon was unable to be killed by conventional means and blew itself up. It is suspected to still be alive.¡± The zone surrounding the beast slows down as the message reaches those in combat. The news that their Oracle was unable to defeat a single demon is terrible news. Morale plummets and the number of casualties increases. Just as the mood is reaching an all time low, a laugh spreads across the sea of corpses. ¡°Hahahahahaha! It looks like things went off without a hitch!¡± Everyone looks up with pure dread as the moon rabbit bellows. ¡°It spoke?! T-That means it¡¯s a d-demon!!!¡± Experienced adventurers and soldiers they may be, if The Oracle could not kill one, then death is all the more likely for them. Everyone is in a panic. Whispers spread through the crowd under the screams of the monsters. Fear. Overwhelming fear. Such emotions begin to take over, and people are falling to their knees. Then a single shout brings back hope. ¡°Wait, The Hero is here!¡± Light returns to everyone¡¯s eyes as they look over at me. The whispers turn to cheers and shouts. Soon everyone is calling out to The Hero. ¡°Yeah, she can save us!¡± ¡°Please Hero, there must be something you can do.¡± ¡°The Hero will save us!¡± Idiots, did they forget where they were? We are on a battlefield, and we are facing a demon. ¡°Ah¡­ So The Hero is here.¡± The blood stained demon bears its teeth in a sloppy and vicious grin. Everyone¡¯s blood runs cold at those words. The demon is now staring straight at me. ¡°My Lord has been rather interested in seeing what happens when your head is removed.¡± I move to respond, but someone beats me to it. An adventurer, Class 3 by the looks of it. She had survived the battle well up until now, slaughtering many beasts. However, she let her emotions lead her to a stupid decision. She shouted at the demon. ¡°How dare you speak to the Hero-AAAAHHHHH!!!¡± Her words are cut off by her own screams. She falls to the ground and is quickly torn apart by the nearby beasts. ¡°Do not interrupt me worm, the adults are talking here.¡± Thick muscled arms and a tall humanoid body with drooping ears that somehow just make it look all the more terrifying. The demon turns to me once again. It looks down on me as if I am nothing. ¡°Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Your death.¡± This time, a quiet voice reaches my ears. ¡°As if The Hero would die to something as evil as you.¡± Sera¡¯s words come across as a whisper, but to those with enhanced senses her words are as clear as day. ¡°Evil? Hahahahah!¡± Waves of mind magic spread out, blades falter and magic fails. Sera collapses to her knees under the strain of the demon¡¯s magic, only alive thanks to the charm she is wearing. ¡°You fools don¡¯t even know why we are here, do you? Fine. I shall deliver a message that you may give to your leaders. If you or your leaders can manage to survive that is.¡± I glare up at the demon. Dude needs to hold back a little more, he could have killed Sera. It would be a waste for her to die now. That, and I really don¡¯t want to have to interview for a new party member¡­ ¡°What message?¡± My words come out as a growl as I speak through my gritted teeth. The demon smirks as it kills off several more people. ¡°The Demon Lord has returned due to the sins of you mortals. Let it be known, my lord only desires one thing: To cleanse the mortal scum that infests this world.¡± I ready my spear, the blood stained wood glowing in the night. ¡°Humanity is united, they will never let that happen!¡± Overwhelming pressure spreads out as it grins once more, a look filled with hate. ¡°That won''t be enough.¡± Boom!Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. It charges me, dust and flesh exploding behind it. Light flashes. The demon turns and howls. Sticking out of its shoulder is a spear of holy light. A torrent of black smoke rises up from the wound and disperses. The possessed moon rabbit screams in agony. For a few moments, its movements start to slow. The adventurers and soldiers around us pile on the damage after seeing it truly hurt for the first time. I create another spear of holy light and charge in while my golems restrain the beast by the ankles. Blades of stone rising from the earth beneath us in the form of large bear traps chomping down. It roars. And even more die. I jam my spear into its forehead. The battlefield glows as the black smoke is purged from this world. With one last scream, the demon dies. Screams of joy spread through the crowd as everyone pushes to finish off the monster horde. I ignore all the people coming up to me to give thanks or praise. I look out over the demon¡¯s corpse and speak a silent prayer in my head. Thank you for your service. I¡¯m sorry. I created many demons over the last three months, and I named none of them. I can¡¯t get attached. To me, the nameless are pawns. They know this too, and are more than happy to serve me. It hurts¡­ ¡­ I look up at the sky, doing my best to ignore the white and blue window floating in my vision. A depressed chuckle escapes my lips. ¡°Way to kick a girl when she¡¯s down.¡± Go fuck yourself, universe. ¡­ The monsters have been wiped out and my party is rushing through the streets of the city. Buildings are aflame, people are screaming, it¡¯s pure chaos. I did this. Those words are all that fill my head since we entered the city gates. My hands start to shake as I come to a stop. I feel myself losing it before long tan arms wrap around me from behind. ¡°I am here for you, remember that.¡± Alice, she is far too kind to me. She is sassy and sarcastic to the max, but the love I feel in her words helps quell my tremors. I know what she is really saying. We made this decision together, we share the burden. You are just doing what is necessary. ¡°Thanks.¡± The others, all seeing my actions, chime in with their own supportive words. Idiots. They all believe that seeing the destruction is what has shaken and angered me. I wonder what they would think if they knew I was the one responsible. ¡°Fuuu.¡± I breathe deeply and shake off my thoughts. ¡°We need to find The Oracle, quickly!¡± Annoyingly, we were unable to teleport directly to her due to the emergency barrier around the city. We had no choice but to run from the south gates through the entire city. As we resume our charge, we pass by a certain area. I feel myself grimace and suppress a grin at the same time. The slave market district. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and even some sentient monsters. All for sale, these beings, these people sat collared in cages just yesterday. I had been watching the whole city through the eyes of my hidden soldiers. Now, the cages are empty. Blood covers the pavement and a mass of corpses fill the plaza. I am really doing my best not to grin at the sight. Looks like my demons managed to get them all out safely. So many corpses, but not a single one wearing a collar. ¡­ A short while later we eventually made it to the safepoint the guard led us to. The building is short and unassuming. The white concrete walls of the two story building look ordinary but are heavily enchanted for discretion. ¡°Lady Oracle!¡± I shout out, seeing her bruised and dusty figure standing around a table in the center of the main room. ¡°Hero! Thank the gods you are here.¡± She places a hand to her chest with obvious relief. ¡°We heard what happened, do you know where the other demons are?¡± This will serve as a great opportunity to learn the extent of her abilities. She shakes her head. ¡°I am unable to detect them, The Demon Lord must have prepared countermeasures.¡± I have done some testing, but for some reason that I still don¡¯t understand, my demons are weirdly immune to scrying and other forms of detection. ¡°Shit.¡± My swearing echoes in the building. I look over my team before moving closer to the table. ¡°Lady Oracle, we encountered a demon in the battle ourselves, it had a message for you and all the world leaders.¡± A grim look takes hold of The Oracle¡¯s face. ¡°A message? Tell me.¡± I take a seat and motion for her to sit down as well. Her face turns from depression to anger as I explain the message. ¡°What kind of nonsense is that? Our sins? They just want to eradicate humanity!¡± She is livid at being told this is humanity¡¯s fault. The remaining nobles and guards all look just as upset. I am preparing to lead the conversation according to my plans when Sera steps in. ¡°Lady Oracle, may I have permission to speak?¡± Sera¡¯s intrusion actually calms down The Oracle a bit, ironically. ¡°Miss Veras, we are at war, there is no need to stand on decorum.¡± The Oracle looks on wryly at the girl''s awkwardness. Sera straightens her back, but I can see her swaying. She must be exhausted. ¡°Ah, of course! My apologies. Then, Lady Oracle, the words the demons spoke concerned me¡­ It said that it was hunting mortals and not just humans. Is it possible that the elves and dwarves have been attacked in the same manner?¡± Sera has a good point, and is where I was planning on leading things, but this is far too soon. ¡°They might have, but I don¡¯t see how that matters. Deaths of those things are meaningless.¡± Suddenly I can feel the tension rise from behind me. My group obviously not happy with her words and doing their best to not let it show on their faces. Sera, however, just looks depressed at The Oracle¡¯s words. ¡°I am worried because the demon said that humanity being united would not be enough to stop them! I could tell it was laughing at our division. I believe that if we want to stand a chance against this threat, we need to work together with the elves and dwarves!¡± Sera¡¯s passion was unexpected. I wanted to do things in a more subtle way and never expected her to forcibly accelerate things to this degree¡­ The main reason for that is- ¡°How foolish, lesser species like that will be of no help.¡± -The Oracle is blinded by her disgusting beliefs. Sera, to everyone¡¯s surprise, does not give up. ¡°No! You are the one who is wrong! You have seen what the demons can do today, have you not?! So many are dead and you still act as though this war can be won by humanity alone.¡± I truly agree with every word Sera is shouting, it was all part of my plan after all. Sadly, a bleeding heart won¡¯t convince anyone here. ¡°Insolence!¡± Several of the remaining guards swiftly surround Sera and point their weapons at her. Before things can get out of hand, I quickly move and stand in front of Sera. I glare at the guards. ¡°Do you intend to kill her just because she spoke up?¡± I move my glare to The Oracle. ¡°She may be a citizen of your country, but more than that she is a member of my party. Perhaps I should defend a different city next time.¡± Mana starts to leak from The Oracle, her silver hair fluttering from the currents. ¡°You dare-¡± ¡°My apologies, we meant no offense.¡± Finally, the King of the nation stands up and puts a stop to things. He places a single hand on the shoulder of The Oracle. ¡°We have all been through a lot today so tensions are high. Perhaps we should table this discussion for later.¡± Hmm, interesting. It seems the reports might be true. Book 2 | Chapter 9: A Break From The Chaos In the end the situation was defused and The Oracle ended up stepping out on the king¡¯s recommendation. The king explained that with all the losses today that The Oracle is not in the best frame of mind for any controversial discussions. His choice of word is what intrigued me most. Controversial. His lack of disdain as he said it proves to me that he sees things differently than most. Not that he seemed up to such discussions himself, his face was pale and there was little light in his liquidy blue eyes. The remaining soldiers and adventurers that survived the initial monster horde are all currently patrolling the city for more demons. If one is to be found I will be contacted immediately and sent out. Right now we are waiting in the safe house that is the acting headquarters for the kingdom and this sudden war. ¡°I am sorry Lua, I should not have challenged The Oracle like that¡­ I put you in a difficult position.¡± Sera, who is seated across from me, mumbles over and over begging for my forgiveness. I personally don¡¯t have much of a problem with her actions, they were just too early for my plans. I keep trying to explain that to her but I can¡¯t find the right words. My own quirk of never wanting to lie really makes expressing my feelings without giving too much away rather difficult in this moment. ¡°I said don¡¯t worry about it, I had wanted to say something similar. Though, I may have tried to be more tactful. Wait, no, ugh, that came out wrong.¡± Seeing my struggle, a melodic voice helps me out from the side. ¡°What Lua is trying to say, Sera, is that she agrees with you about allying with the elves and dwarves. And that you didn¡¯t cause her any real problems.¡± Alice, who is seated at the table beside me, smiles gently as she explains my thoughts in a more comforting way. ¡°Right, that!¡± For my enthusiasm towards my girlfriend, I receive a wry and slightly disappointed glare. I can see out of the corner of my eye that Sera has a smile of her own for the first time since the battle as she watches over me and Alice. Yes, I know. We are adorable. Likely sensing my thoughts, Alice¡¯s glare turns a bit harsher. While our little comedy act is playing out, Randall and Agera scooch into the booth, still in their full armor. ¡°So, what is the plan now?¡± Agera, ever the one to read the room and ignore it, breaks up the happy little scene. I sigh and grab my drink from the table. Alice decides to elbow me in the side for my attitude, and I am forced to quickly end our flirting and focus back on the far less fun topic we had started before we sat down for a break. ¡°Well, for now we are on standby in case a demon is found. They seem to have disappeared right after they finished causing all this chaos though¡­¡± Everything is going to plan so far, aside from Sera¡¯s outburst that is, and now all the demons should be hidden away again. I do hope they all manage to stay out of sight so that I am not forced to head out and harm one of them again. The demon I took down is not the only one to be defeated. It seems that two in the Divine Theocracy managed to get done-in before escaping. I will need to look into that later. As I start to get the conversation rolling, Sera develops a rather dour look on her face. ¡°That demon¡­ It said they are here because of our sins. What do you think that means?¡± A grunt and rumble of armor comes from the side as Randall smiles in a self-deprecating manner. ¡°Humph. Could be anything, humans are rather sinful creatures.¡± I can¡¯t help but agree with that statement, this list of things I hate humanity for is long.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The same sad smile on Randall''s face finds its way onto mine. Creak. ¡°Well, that is not something I expected to hear from a paladin of the Divine Theocracy.¡± The whole group that had been rather lax in their alertness because of their position in the safe house all jump at the sudden intrusion. Heads quickly whip around to the entrance to the bar room. Standing in the doorway is the leader of this nation. King Agustus du art Alcott. ¡°Your majesty!¡± Sera attempts to stand up and kneel, but is quickly waved down by the king. ¡°I would like to join in on this discussion if possible. Oh, and Miss Hero, I apologize again for the earlier incident. The guards should know better than to react like that.¡± As the king speaks, I eye the guards trailing behind him. As far as I can tell, they are the only guards that had kept a cool head during Sera¡¯s outburst. And his own personal guards. This guy is smarter than he looks. My demons had been watching him for a while and several reports show that he has some controversial views. The king of Alcott has apparently proposed several laws that would improve the lives of and reduce the abuse of slaves. From what I can tell, he is genuinely against the discrimination. And despite the extreme opposition from the nobility, he has tried to push some reforms through anyway. I wonder how he feels, knowing that all the most vocal of the nobles that rallied against these reforms are now dead. This might be a perfect opportunity to get a new ally for the Hero. ¡°I don¡¯t mind you joining us. But please keep in mind that we will be speaking freely here. Meaning anything goes, no matter how against the norm it may be.¡± The king straightens out his black chainmail armor before sitting down with a very subtle smile. ¡°I am perfectly fine with such an arrangement.¡± The rest of my team looks a bit wary, but there is a hint of hope in their eyes as they look at the king. I lean back in my seat with a mischievous grin forming only in my mind. Now that there should be no more interruptions, I can get right to the heart of the discussion.
Sweltering heat of a tropical forest bears down on the adamantine reinforced walls surrounding a strange glowing golden chair. In this golden throne sits a portly man, his arms bound with chains and his body secured to the chair. Standing off to the side a woman wearing a dark maid outfit stares off into space. A complaining voice trails into the room. ¡°We ready to start yet?¡± In the entrance to the room stands a man wearing a horribly out of place suit that would fit a yakuza gangster but has no place in this world. Despite the humid heat filling the room, only the chained man seems to be experiencing the temperature. The maid and the gang member have not a drop of sweat on their brows. Not bothering to look over at her brother, the maid continues to focus on the empty space while she answers. ¡°Sec, just be patient. I need to finish cataloging the test subjects and filling out the data before we move on.¡± The gangster just casually waves his hand, not caring for the fat screaming pig tied to the chair. ¡°I know, I know. I am just excited to see what happens.¡± The aforementioned pig shouts louder and louder, but his words never reach the two demons; A wall of wind magic, created through several enchantments, keeps his voice from annoying his captors. Finally, the demonic maid stops taking notes and refocuses her eyes on the golden throne. Thick plates of Adamantite adorned with numerous Mana Cores shift and glow as she punches in numbers to a floating display. ¡°Ok, I have recorded all his data. Let¡¯s begin.¡± A wicked grin warps across the young girl¡¯s face as she reaches out and presses her hand against the chair¡¯s controls. Suddenly, a black collar with veins of gold snaps out and wraps itself around the captives neck. The pig squeals louder and starts to shake. With a calm and vicious smile, the maid looks down on the man as she reprimands him. ¡°Please hold still, this machine is a replica and therefore we are not entirely certain how a miscalculation in position may affect the results. That is something we plan to test later.¡± Pure dread fills the swine as he struggles even harder, but before he can fight anymore, he goes limp. ¡°And why didn¡¯t you just do that in the first place?¡± Trickles of mind mana wrap around the human¡¯s mind and his eyes glaze over. ¡°Because I wanted this to be a baseline without magic. Sadly his movements were already a problem so I decided it was not worth it. I will have to get the baseline from a more calm subject.¡± The demon maid sighs as she looks disappointedly over the man in the chair. ¡°Ahhh, I see. Well, we have plenty of guinea pigs after the raid of the cities. This one was a slave trader right?¡± ¡°Yes, a rather arrogant one at that. Still spouting about how we ¡®don¡¯t know who is backing him¡¯ and ¡®the nobles will never let us get away with this¡¯ even after being caught. I wonder if he failed to realize that we are demons?¡± Both demons scoff at how ignorant a single human can be. Clink. The chair¡¯s collar suddenly clicks and snaps off the man¡¯s neck. ¡°Oh, looks like it is done.¡± ¡°Heh, now to see what happens when we toss him back into a city.¡± ¡°I too am ever so curious as to how the people under The System will react when they see him disconnected.¡± The sharply dressed demon pats his katana before walking over and dragging the fat slave trader out of the room. ¡°I¡¯ll toss him into the outgoing pile and grab the next on this list.¡± ¡°Good, we need to finish this up quickly before the chaos subsides.¡± Prim turns to the now empty chair in the silent room and sends a message to her lord. [Disconnection of the first subject was successful. Everything is moving on schedule, my lord. Prepare for Phase 3.] Book 2 | Chapter 10: Sowing Seeds Along the ruined streets of Fulm City a pile of rubble shifts. ¡°Ugh, what the-¡± A man dressed in refined armor with a blood stained face opens his eyes and finds himself staring at the sky. Fuck, where am I? Everything is fuzzy. He stumbles as he tries to push himself up. As the soldier recollects himself, he recalls he had been facing off against the horde of monsters attacking the city. Flashes of the battle fill his mind. The knowledge of the blank space in his mind quickly fading. ¡°Damn, the stampede! Did I get knocked out?¡± Rapidly standing up the man checks himself for wounds. Along his forehead is a large gash but the wound has scabbed over as though he has been out for a while. His armor is dented and his weapons are missing. Looking around he finds people staring at him, confused by his looks and actions. The city has calmed down since the initial attack, but people are still wary. Citizens all back away at the sight of the bleeding shouting man. He looks around but no one will make eye contact with him. He snorts. Worthless commoners. Most of them likely never developed their core to the point of being able to use magic. A group of adventurers walk by as the man glares out at the crowd. Seeing a bloodied soldier in a uniform that clearly indicates status, they rush over to help, only to freeze in place before getting too close. ¡°Huh? Why did you stop? I am Viscount Leasteer Tolard and I am in need of healing. How is the battle going?¡± None of his questions are answered, the adventurers just look over with confusion. ¡°Um¡­ Hello?¡± Despite declaring his position as a noble the adventurers remain unmoved. No, they seem to be wary. Their hands are on their weapons and their glares are piercing straight through the bloodied man. Confused himself and slightly angry, the Viscount steps forward. ¡°Stop! Not another step!¡± The Viscount¡¯s anger flares as the adventurers draw their weapons on him. How dare they draw their weapons on a noble?! I shall have to teach them a lesson. Filled with rage, the Viscount reaches out and summons a ball of fire in his hand. Or, at least, he tried to. However nothing happens, not even a spark. What? Why can''t I-? He glares at the commoners. Are they restricting my magic somehow? The noble hastily tries to identify the group across from him. Nothing. No information, no race, no levels, just nothing¡­ His magic won¡¯t work, his identification skill is gone, none of this should be possible. His thoughts are a storm. Nothing can block identification from working! How?! He reaches out for The System. No response. ¡°T-This is¡­ No¡­ Not possible!¡± He reaches out, and reaches out, and reaches out. Still nothing. The System that has been a part of him for most of his life is nowhere to be seen. ¡°Why why why why why why why?!¡± Falling to his knees the crazed man clutches his head and his neck as he spirals. The adventurer party keeps their weapons and magic aimed and ready as they watch this unfold.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Hey boss, you are seeing this too right?¡± ¡°Yeah, we need to report this immediately.¡± Something had occurred when they identified the man. Normally, the skill returns the race and level of the being, but in some cases it provides more. [ Human - Level 467 - Threat ] Such extra information is normally only shown when encountering one race. The elves. Enemies of humanity that defy The System. He is the enemy. Those words arise, unbidden in their minds. Disgust, and anger flare in the adventurers. As the man shouts crazily from his place in the rubble, the adventurers decide to restrain him. He claimed to be a noble, but that didn¡¯t stop the adventurers from being incredibly harsh as they tied him up. His struggles are worthless without access to his magic. Within moments, the man is tied up. ¡°I got a message back, we are to report to the king with the prisoner right away!¡± The leader of the party locks a small enchanted communication device back on to his belt and orders his party to move out.
Sitting around the large round bar table I lean forward at the king¡¯s words. ¡°While I do believe that it would be best to ally with the other races, truthfully I can¡¯t see that happening.¡± He looks down slightly with a frustrated face and lets out a rather un-kingly sigh. Allying with the other races really is the best option for everyone, but there is a major problem aside from just the discrimination from the humans. ¡°There is just too much history and hatred to even begin discussions.¡± Even when the king had tried to push ahead with laws to improve the treatment of slaves he was met with extreme refusal and the laws never passed. If he had pushed any harder his position as king would have worsened considerably. Nobles who are set in their ways are difficult to change the minds of, and they hold a lot of power over the direction of the kingdom. Minds become even more difficult to change when you take into account that, because of Class Ascension lengthening people''s lives, and the personal power they gain from their magic, new ideas are all too easily tossed out. As I point out the issue the king had alluded to I see his guards nod along. It really is a problem, but there is a bigger one I need to bring to light. I just received a message from Prim about the current status of our plans. It seems like everything has worked out so far so I need to do my part as well. Though, I hope her word choice in the message is not a sign of chuunibyou taking hold¡­ It felt unnecessarily edgy. Forgetting about my weird maid for now I focus back on the plan and sit up straight with a serious glint in my eye. ¡°Hey, so I am going to say something strange, but I need you all to hear me out.¡± Sensing the serious atmosphere, the rest of the people in the room develop stern looks on their faces. Even Agera, who had been his usual far too relaxed self, seems to be sitting straighter. ¡°You all know that I have memories of another world, and while in that world there was certainly discrimination and hate¡­ Something about the way people react to the elves and dwarves in this world¡­ it just feels unnatural.¡± ¡°Unnatural?¡± Randall eyes me cautiously as he takes in my claim. ¡°Yea, for example, when you identify an elf their information shows up red and calls them a threat correct?¡± Even if someone has never identified an elf before, such information is known even to children. It is just one of those things that everyone learns as if it is just a simple fact. ¡°I see, that is true.¡± I can see the gears turning in the king¡¯s mind. I am feeling good about this, just a bit more of a push. ¡°Everyone treats that as if it is just natural, or because they are an enemy race, but I don¡¯t know¡­ The other world didn¡¯t have this system as part of everyone¡¯s lives. But there was something similar.¡± I went on to explain about the internet and how it affected people''s lives and opinions. People would be given incomplete or misleading information all the time to lead them to wrong and hateful conclusions. By the time the third world war came around, tensions were already crazy high and people would be screaming in the streets about killing others simply for being different. A lot of which was directed my way. ¡°So, you are saying that the special identification is acting like propaganda?¡± The king is so very close to getting it, I want to smile at how well this is going but keep myself in check. ¡°Yes. But there is more to it than that, The System is connected to your core which is a direct link to your mind¡­¡± ¡°No¡­¡± The king looks aghast at my suggestion. He leans back in his seat with a fearful hand placed to the back of his neck. Sera, who had been struggling to keep up this whole time, finally snaps, and words spill out of her rapidly. ¡°A-Are you saying that The System is making people hate each other?!¡± ¡°I am.¡± The whole room goes silent at my clear affirmation. They could never have considered it. The System was just ingrained too deeply into their society that such an idea was ludicrous. It would be like questioning if gravity itself was mind controlling you. ¡°T-That¡¯s ridiculous¡­¡± A guard standing behind the king mutters, pale in the face herself. I take a deep breath before moving on to the next bomb. ¡°I should also disclose that I found something strange during my time in The Sea of Trees.¡± The Temple of Rebellion. A base dedicated to fighting against The System that contained information about how it was created long ago for some nefarious reason lost to time. I explained what I found there and how it was surrounded by strange monsters made of blue energy, and that these monsters were made by The System. ¡°It seemed that the entire building was blocked off from The System. I even received information from a rebellious part of The System that claimed that people who are not connected are hunted down by those who are.¡± ¡°What?!¡± As the whole room screams out a knock comes from the door. One of the king¡¯s guards manages to reign themselves in before answering the door. ¡°What is it?¡± A soldier on the opposite side explains in a panicked voice that reaches the whole room. ¡°Some adventurers have found one of the missing nobles, Lord Tolard, but something is wrong. Identification shows him as a threat¡­¡± ¡°Bring him here immediately.¡± This is a massive risk I am taking here, but if I can sow the seeds of doubt I can hopefully make a real difference that is not just about killing. Book 2 | Chapter 11: Taking Control About an hour has passed. I am now standing near the king in a makeshift audience chamber. The long bland hall is filled with nobles, soldiers, and government officials who all look anxious. Kneeling on the ground is the viscount who had been captured by the adventurers. Despite the man¡¯s presence, no one was glaring at him. Before this all began, I instructed everyone to not identify the Viscount for their own safety. Not having had a chance to change, the noble''s armor is still covered in dirt, blood, and dust. Just barely cleaned up having wiped the blood from his face, the kneeling man speaks. ¡°Your majesty, Lady Oracle, I am Viscount Leasteer Tolard. I report that after being knocked unconscious in the battle against the stampede I was chained to a chair by the demons, most of that time is hard to recall though. Afterwards I woke up in a pile of rubble in the city. When found I was treated with suspicion and hostility by everyone and restrained despite my station.¡± His fists are turning white from how hard he is clenching them, just barely restraining his anger so as to not lash out during an audience with the king. ¡°Another thing, I¡­ I am no longer able to use The System¡­ I can¡¯t use my magic anymore. Please, there must be something you can do!¡± Unable to hold his rage and fear back with gritted teeth anymore, the man starts shouting. Before he can complain further, the king raises a hand. ¡°Silence! I understand your concerns, but shouting won¡¯t accomplish anything. Now, I know this will be hard, but I will ask that you demonstrate your inability to use magic. We have researchers standing by and they will see if there is any sign of your connection to The System.¡± Despite his attempts to look strong, I can see the fear in the king¡¯s eyes. This is probably a very complex issue for him after he heard everything I had to say. On the one hand, being disconnected from The System means no longer being manipulated, but it also means losing the support The System provides. To him, it looks like a trade off between magic and the power that comes with it, and one''s own mind. The hall is filled with murmurs as the man trembles while he attempts to use magic, but his mana does not move an inch. As expected, he was so dependent on the system that he has no idea how to even move his own mana. All he is doing now is calling out in his mind to activate the skill. This result is probably different for all kinds of people, I am sure some will still be able to use their magic after a disconnect, just not as well for a while. I look over and see The Oracle out of the corner of my eye as she stands beside the king. The look on her face is terrible. The Viscount was Class 3 and is now completely unable to use his magic. The implications couldn¡¯t be worse. ¡°If the Demon Lord can disconnect people from The System¡­ It could mean the end of magic.¡± The whole room pales at The Oracle¡¯s mumbled words. Interesting, I guess the king has not informed her of everything I said about the temple. The king loudly clears his throat to get the room focused again. ¡°Now, this is something that must stay within this room alone, but I have learned some troubling news.¡± Weary, the king leans back against the small temporary throne. ¡°As we know from the adventurers, when identified the Viscount is labeled as a threat. But I have been informed that it goes beyond that¡­ The System which is connected to your Mana Core and thus your mind, directly influences your perception¡­¡± Everyone in the room is hanging on the king¡¯s words desperately and terrified that you could hear a pin drop in the silence. A moment later he shatters that silence with a harsh reality. ¡°In short, The System is pushing people to violence with a form of mind magic. Our hate towards those who are identified by The System as a ¡®threat¡¯ is artificial. We are being controlled.¡± ¡°What?!?!¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± ¡°B-But that means-¡± ¡°Calm yourselves!¡± At the king''s shout everyone quickly shuts up. Once the hall is focused again, though not exactly still as people tremble with all kinds of emotions, the king turns to me. ¡°Ms. Knight, Would you explain to the room what you told me.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I bow lightly to the king and turn to the long hall full of the nation¡¯s remaining soldiers, nobles, and officials. ¡°Hello, I am the Hero, Lua Knight. After being killed by my father I was resurrected by a god and awoke in The Sea of Trees. There I learned I was immune to mind magic, something that I believe may be a gift from that god. Because of my immunity and other resistances, The System was unable to connect to me directly and I was put in a unique position. I was given a living mana construct to watch over me and, by the confession of said construct, they had orders to lead me to my death.¡± The whole room gasps at my confession, even the king is reeling as I had not told him everything yet. ¡°That mana construct led me to a temple that was built long ago when The System was first created and had been used as a base for those rebelling against it. It was there that I fully disconnected myself from The System and took up the same cause.¡± This is horrifically risky to admit to, but I need people to start doubting The System if I want anything to work. And if I, The Hero, say I am against The System. The impact will be incredible. ¡°I believe that the Demon Lord has likely found this same temple or a similar one and intends to use it for their own purposes. The entire building was disconnected from The System and I am sure that The Demon Lord intends to replicate that effect and use it against us. Thus, our only option is to get ahead of the issue.¡± I can see a bit of hope and reverence in the eyes of every single person in the room, even The Oracle is looking at me as though I am her only hope. The demon I had attack her must have really done a number on her. Finally, looking out at the crowd I do my best to suppress my rising grin at how perfect their reactions are. I quickly lower the sensitivity of my ears before speaking this last part. ¡°We must all disconnect from The System first, and learn to use magic without it.¡± Then the whole room goes nuts. ¡°That¡¯s insane!¡± ¡°But we would be powerless!¡± ¡°Why would we do such a thing?!¡± ¡°Surely we can beat the Demon Lord without resorting to such measures.¡± Even after being told they were being mind controlled and that the Demon Lord would attack them regardless, there are many idiots too stuck to even consider the reality of the situation. I look over to the king and he raises his hand once more. The room calms down and I manage to continue speaking. I go on to explain that I am an example of how one can still use magic despite not being connected to The System. The audience is quite shocked to learn that I have managed to make a fake connection to The System to trick identify, something they thought was impossible, and that I can supply everyone with the same ring I use to prevent The System from labeling them as a threat. I can see the Viscount who had been dragged in here rather roughly is the most relieved from my statement. As a demonstration, I toss one of these rings over to the Viscount and have him put it on. After that the king instructs a guard to identify the man and tell us the results. ¡°I-It didn¡¯t label him a threat!¡± The whole room is rather shocked to find the problem solved so easily and ecstatic to learn that there is a solution to at least one of the issues. The only reason I can do this is because of my golemancy which lets me control Mana Cores. That, and the fact that The System is rather inflexible in the way it functions. [Identify] simply sends a ping to your core and reads the System data stored on it. If it can¡¯t find the connection it labels the entity as a threat. As far as Alice knows, The System has never been modified since its creation. After several experiments on the monsters in The Sea of Trees, we determined that The System by itself is so rigid that it just never accounted for my Mana Core ring loophole. I can only guess that Golemancy is so rare or perhaps something only those from another world can have which led to the oversight. I should ask Lucadon more about this since they were the one to tell me how to make the rings. If I can figure out how to order that asshole back in the first place. I internally sigh to myself before thinking more about The System and everything I have learned so far. The System is really mysterious if I am being frank. Even Alice does not know the reason it was created, just that the creator had been trying to do something and the people of this world wanted to stop them. The System was created as a response to the curse the ancient humans placed on the world and it is gathering incredible amounts of power. However, even after thousands of years The System has yet to do anything with that power. I don¡¯t get it. What is the goal here? Whatever it is though, I refuse to go along with it. The hate The System generates pisses me off too much for me to give it any benefit of the doubt. ¡°So, if we have these rings then we can still use The System without it affecting our minds!¡± One of the nobles shouts with enthusiasm, drawing me from my thoughts. Dumbass, listen to what I say properly! ¡°No, the ring can only hide you from The System. However, like I said, you can still use magic if you practice. You can even develop new spells without relying on the skill shop and achievements.¡± As the people keep jumping from one emotion to the next as I explain how the ring works The Oracle turns to me and asks a question I had been waiting for. ¡°Ms. Knight, how exactly do we disconnect from The System though. If the Demon Lord is in control of this temple as you say, then we have no hope.¡± ¡°That is simple, I can disconnect people. My Golemancy allows me to replicate the effect. I can also help train people in using their magic.¡± I feel overwhelming joy as I see The Oracle smile in relief at my answer. Now I am in control of everything. None of these people realize the power and influence they are now throwing my way. I will not only be able to dictate their actions and magic, but they will all owe me a huge debt after this. And if that weren¡¯t enough, the Anti-System Rings I am providing make for perfect tools to spy on everyone and everything! Once word of the Demon Lord¡¯s use of the Temple of Rebellion to steal people¡¯s magic away spreads, the world will have no choice but to turn to me as their only hope to free themselves from The System while retaining their power. People will fear The System and the Demon Lord while associating their hatred of other races with the mind control provided by The System. If things go well, I will have everyone eating out of the palm of my hand in no time. Though, I doubt it will be that easy. Book 2 | Chapter 12: A Night Sky ¡°Ughhhhh, That was exhausting!!¡± I cry out as I let out all my pent up emotions and I flop face first into the bed. The soft bedding apparently made from a combination of some weird fluffy slime monster and unicorn hair. Softest damn thing I have ever felt. Despite having my face buried, I can still see everything around me thanks to my light magic. That includes Alice¡¯s wry but equally exhausted smile. ¡°I''m sooo tired¡­ Keeping up the cool composed Hero thing sucks!¡± As I complain Alice flops down right next to me and leans softly into my side. ¡°You know, you don¡¯t have to save the world right? You can just live peacefully with me doing whatever you want.¡± Alice presses a hand against my back as she whispers to me. I grumble a bit as she points that out. I know I don¡¯t have to do any of this crap, but I just can¡¯t help myself. Rolling over, I position my face directly in front of hers. Her long green hair messily hangs over her beautiful face. A smile that holds everything I care about. Geez, I could stare at her all day. ¡°Yeah, I know. But I just can¡¯t stick back doing nothing when I know I can help people.¡± Alice smiles at my pouting determined face, then she pulls me close and presses her lips against mine. Correction, this is the softest thing I have ever felt. After a short while we break apart and I sigh happily. ¡°Thanks, I needed that.¡± Mumbling more than anything at this point, I pull her close and let my body relax. The whole kingdom is all over me now that I have basically made myself the center of not only their efforts against the Demon Lord, but The System as well. I¡¯m not good at this whole facade thing, so I need to figure out a way to ditch everyone for a while before I go crazy. I know it has only been a single day, but I already want to slip into a short coma considering how dense the last few hours have been. The city has calmed down for the most part, no new demons have shown up and soldiers are dealing with the general chaos. To keep them on their toes I am having the occasional kidnapped and disconnected person show up, though only those I determined had not committed enough sinful acts to warrant execution. The rest of the people I had my demons abduct will be used as test subjects for numerous experiments. ¡°I need to know more about The System and how it works.¡± Mainly because I need to figure out how to ascend to Class 4 myself. I glare at my self made status sheet hanging in the air. I have a big list of possible ideas on how to ascend written up in my notes, but nothing has worked so far. Dammit Lucadon! Where are you?! Not getting anywhere with my extreme annoyance and complaining, I re-focus back on today¡¯s events. I actually passed out a few rings to let the researchers look into them. They won¡¯t find much as the understanding of Mana Cores is incredibly low compared to my own knowledge. When it comes to the things each Anti-System Ring can do, I managed to replicate the level up function The System uses. It is a more manual method that requires pressing the ring to the monster¡¯s core and then again to your own, but it works. This method is far less efficient than the direct method I use, but it also is not traumatically painful. I am partially glad to be stuck at the Class 4 wall because I am tired of the pain. ¡°So, what is the plan for tomorrow?¡± Alice stares into my eyes which are looking past her into my many invisible floating screens. She pokes me, which makes me realize that it is probably creepy to be stared at like that. I take a deep breath before sprawling out further on the bed, my eyes boring a hole in the ceiling. ¡°I think we need to focus on pushing my agenda in the other kingdoms, primarily The Divine Theocracy and The Dragon Empire, as they are the biggest names on the continent.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It will be most effective if I can get all of the border nations on my side as they hold a crazy amount of power over the other nations. I mainly chose the Alcott kingdom as the first place to test because it was safest. Though, I also wanted to be near The Oracle to make sure her magic didn¡¯t tell her anything unnecessary. I feel two long slender arms reach out and hug me as Alice presses herself into me. ¡°How did they fare against the assault?¡± I stare off into space once more as I read off the reports from Prim and the other kids. ¡°The Dragon Empire fought off the demons but failed to kill them as the emperor didn¡¯t participate as planned. According to the reports it looks like we got all the main targets in the empire but missed a few in the theocracy.¡± ¡°How did that happen?¡± ¡°It seems that in the capital of the theocracy there was a class 5 who could make powerful barriers and managed to trap the demon¡­ The demon managed to activate the fail-safe in time, but ended up dying to it as well.¡± ¡°Well¡­ your fail-safe is terrifying so I can see that happening¡­¡± Her face twists up a bit at the mention of my fail-safe. I had created a special weapon in case of these situations, the G-EMs as I like to call them. The name is not a real acronym, but it looks cool when written down so I couldn¡¯t help but let my inner edge lord out a bit. The G-EMs are basically Mana Cores modified to be a diamond shaped shell enchanted with light magic. The enchantments generate powerful mirrors inside using the remaining soul of the core as the battery. Since these are Class 3 cores they can last a very long time. Now, the ¡°terrifying¡± part as Alice put it, is the obscene amount of gamma rays I channeled inside of the little containment unit. All a demon needs to do is shatter the core and the spell should form a large dome around them before releasing the gamma rays, turning everything to dust. Alice was rather disgusted when I first explained to her how they worked. Which is understandable, they are something I vaguely regret inventing myself. Regardless, the demon ended up dying before it could finish its list. The people who had trapped it are now dead too, obviously. But, there were no other mid-demons in the area to pick up the work in time. I could only create so many in the three months since I started working towards this plan. And there was a lot of ground to cover, and many cities to infiltrate. In the end things didn¡¯t go perfectly to plan, but the main part here in the Alcott kingdom is going swimmingly. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­ Oh, it seems the demons captured a few of the Class 4s on our list. That should help with learning about ascension.¡± I have a barrier set up around the room to prevent eavesdropping, so I feel perfectly fine speaking such dangerous things out loud. As I read out the report I hold a hand out to the sky and mess around with the floating motes of light making up my little network. ¡°I am not sure how much help that will be though, I am in a super weird position with the whole Hero and Demon Lord thing.¡± Suddenly I see a new message pass by. ¡°Timmy apparently has made it past The Great Divide.¡± ¡°Oh? So he got in contact with Johann then?¡± ¡°Yep, and our resident buff elven scientist seems interested in helping out with my plans.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Though, did you consider asking him about ascension?¡± I immediately face palm at Alice''s rather casual question. ¡°Ughhh, why didn¡¯t I think of that!¡± I grab a nearby pillow and slam my face into it. Of course, Johann would know more about ascension Pre-System. That crazy elf has undoubtedly lived long enough to have at least some information on the process. He should even know about the previous Demon Lord now that I think about it! I hear a light chuckle at my antics come from the side, but I ignore it and immediately start sending Timmy messages to corral Johann into using my light network so we can speak directly. [Please help my Johann, you¡¯re my only hope!] [What?] I keep forgetting that my pop culture references will always go over these people¡¯s heads. A shame. Linking Alice into the whole situation as well, we both stare up at the floating chat room I connected us to. [Well, you see. I am trying to ascend to Class 4 but have absolutely no Idea how to do that with being both the Hero and Demon Lord.] Before I can explain further, Alice sends a message of her own. [What Lua means to say is ¡°Hi, Johann. Good to hear from you again, we hope you are doing well.¡±] I awkwardly chuckle to myself as I realize I should have started with a proper introduction like that. Scratching my cheek I send my greetings and we get some light chit chat out of the way before circling back around to the discussion I had started. [Hahaha, you becoming the Hero was unexpected and completely ridiculous. But yes, I do believe I can help you with your ascension.] Hearing, or I guess reading, those words is enough to make my heart soar. And then it immediately plummets when I think about how painful this is probably going to be. Pain, pain, why does it always have to be pain. [Let me guess, this is going to hurt a lot.] [Oh yeah, most definitely.] [Great¡­] With that little exchange getting the ball rolling, Johann begins to explain what he knows of ascension. It turns out that because of my status as Hero and Demon Lord, that I need to complete a grand heroic feat recognized by the universe as well as a Demon Lord style counterpart. I feel like what I did today should count for both, and when I explained that to Johann he agreed that while I should have the Demon Lord part down from my recent actions, I am not quite there on the Hero front. Then I remember the message box that appeared when I had killed a demon for the first time.
You have slain a demon for the first time! You can now use the ability: Hero¡¯s Hand
I don¡¯t understand what exactly that means so I try to investigate further when the blue and white screen glitches out. The colors start to blend and melt as a deep blood red encroaches on the display. After a few moments the window has shattered and turned into a starry night sky with the words made of shining constellations.
New Ability Discovered! Akashic Records
¡­ I can¡¯t even be bothered to react anymore. Book 2 | Chapter 13: Magic For Dummies Seriously¡­ Akashic Records? What kind of fantasy trope bullshit is this? [Hey, Johann, have you ever heard of something called Akashic Records] Having someone so close by who is ancient and is ready to talk, I immediately asked him rather than waste my time trying to look into it myself. I went on to explain what just happened to Johann, but it seems he only knows what Hero¡¯s Hand does. As it turns out Hero¡¯s Hand is the counterpart to Lord¡¯s Shadow. Basically it is just a storage skill. My personal guess is that Akashic Records is likely an evolution of both. ¡°Huh, that is kind of lame.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but agree with Alice¡¯s comment. There is probably some kind of useful gimmick if it is the combination of a Hero and Demon Lord skill. But, I have no idea how it works regardless, so I guess I can just forget about it for now. [Well, what you should be more concerned about is that this is likely an omen of things to come.] After discussing the possibilities of the skill for a while, Johann said something I wished I could ignore. [What do you mean?] [I am thinking that the universe is preparing you for something. You said you were brought here by a god, yes?] [That¡¯s right.] Or at least half right. I am not just a single soul, but a weird mixture of a girl from earth and a noble lady from this world. It often gets confusing in my own mind as the warped memories try to reconcile and my perspective gets funky on some subjects. That information is not really relevant to any conversations so I just go along with whatever people assume when I say I have memories of another world. It is easier that way. As I pretend that I don¡¯t just find explaining things every time annoying, Johann continues on with the explanation. [My assumption is that everything has been set up to give you as much power as possible. I am even starting to suspect Lucadon is more involved than they had let on.] That is something I had been thinking about too. That stupid demon is just so shady that I can¡¯t see there being any other possibility. I mean, I just so happened to end up in the perfect place in the first ring to run into them. Then I coincidentally met all the requirements to become the Demon Lord. Nah, I am one hundred percent sure that this was all one big setup. [Damn, that bastard left us behind so I can¡¯t even interrogate them!] [Hahaha, well good luck with finding that pain in the ass.] Even Johann can¡¯t find any kind words to say right now. [Now, as for your ascension I can tell you a bit more. I believe that you have actually met all the starting requirements necessary after what you have just told me.] Now that is a shocker. He had seemed to believe that I had not met them before, but after explaining the weird achievements for the Hero stuff and all my other Demon Lord antics, he has changed his tune. [Then why can¡¯t I ascend?] [I am getting there, so relax.] Clearly my impatience is showing despite us just chatting through text. [To ascend one needs to first resonate with their magic. You have accomplished this already by my estimate of your descriptions. However, it is not that you can¡¯t ascend, it¡¯s that you are assuming that things will work like before and be automatic.] [I wouldn¡¯t call threading my soul to those cores ¡°automatic.¡±] Threading those cores was painful and meticulous work so I really can¡¯t see it as being automatic in any way. Sadly, I was wrong about that. [The process after that was simply a natural part of reality as your body shifted. That is why I consider it automatic.] Now I am sweating rather harshly, as I consider what that means. Weird, my body should not have the ability to sweat anymore. I didn¡¯t want to think about it, but there was only one thing Johann could be hinting at. [Ugh, are you saying I have to disconnect my magic from my body manually?] [Correct!] Fuck. [How do I even do that?] [First, you need a safe environment. One filled with mana and Qi that matches your own. The more powerful the space, the easier this will be. Next you need to decide on what form your magic will take when it materializes¡­] As Johann explains the process in detail I try and think about how Drask explained The System¡¯s way of doing things. He said that as soon as you reach the proper requirements that you are directed to a location rich in your magic¡¯s attribute. Once there The System automatically creates a form best suited to your soul and materializes your magic into that form. Both reaching the requirements and finding a suitable location are extremely difficult considering the dangers in this world along with how The System can lead people to lack understanding of their own magic. These reasons are why Class 4s are so much stronger than Class 3s, they have proved that they understand their magic and most have managed to invent spells outside of The System¡¯s skill shop. It is like an amateur mashing preset buttons versus a master who can do everything themselves. Class 4s are most likely to have little issue being disconnected from The System from what I can tell. According to Johann, I will need to decide on the forms I want my magic to take on my own and stitch my magic into the world by hand. I can already see this being far from an enjoyable experience. As for an environment suited to light magic, golemancy, Qi as well as my Hero and Demon Lord Titles¡­ Well my best bet is to create one myself, which will take a while.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. After getting as many details as I could from Johann I thanked him and started going over my plans. ¡°I will need to modify a few things so I can have time to make myself an ascension room.¡± Mumbling to myself, I turn over to look at Alice who is messaging Prim and the other kids. ¡°Are you going to wait for me to ascend again?¡± Not even looking in my direction, Alice responds instantly. ¡°Yep.¡± By the cube god I don¡¯t deserve this woman. I smile to myself at her answer. ¡°Any ideas on what form you want your magic to take?¡± Alice takes a moment to think but ultimately comes up with nothing. ¡°Hmmm. I am not sure, you?¡± ¡°I know damn well I want to turn my light magic into wings.¡± She starts laughing pretty loudly at my confession. ¡°You really are hung up on that aren¡¯t you?¡± Alice says teasingly as she pokes me in the side. ¡°Of course! Flying would be sooo useful.¡± She continues to chuckle at my childish enthusiasm. ¡°What about the others?¡± I have a lot of magics and other powers to materialize, so I have to think about more than just my light magic. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I wonder if I can combine some. I know I will need to find some way to conceal whatever my Demon Lord Title materializes as.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ That is going to be a tough one. Good luck with that sweetie!¡± ¡°Rude!¡± I pout and flail at Alice¡¯s total disregard for such a huge problem. Ignoring her laughs I manage to calm down after hitting her with a pillow a few times. Her laughs never stop though. ¡°Hmmm, now that I think about it, the Hero and Demon Lord Titles seem to have some connection with the weird starry sky themed notification window and ability.¡± My quiet contemplation about that strange notification finally snaps Alice out of her giggling long enough to respond. ¡°You want to try and combine them into a single form?¡± ¡°I wonder if that is what the universe wants.¡± ¡°If it is, I am really worried about Johann¡¯s prediction.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± If the universe is preparing me for something, I can¡¯t even imagine what would need me to have all this power to fight against. As Alice and I discuss possible forms for our materialized magics, we pass the time cheerily until we both fall asleep. ¡­ .. . The next morning we wake up to meetings, meetings, and more meetings. I wanted to bash my head into a wall several times, but the details are not important. It was eventually decided that I would teach my party to use their magic without The System and then disconnect them. This would be done as part of a whole show for representatives of all the nations in the human alliance. The Oracle seemed really insistent on it being my team taking the lead. This would serve as a really good example as I have a Class 1, 2, and 3 in my party who, once this is completed, can then help me investigate the Temple of Rebellion that the Demon Lord is ¡°suspected¡± to have taken over. It however takes several days for word to be spread to all the other nations and transport to be arranged, so I have to wait on the whole lesson thing. The Oracle put a lot of effort into arranging things because she wanted to spread this technique to as many people as possible for the sake of the war against the Demon Lord. This works out really well for me so I don¡¯t mind waiting. I am extremely thankful that her paranoia is helping accelerate things so smoothly. ¡­ .. . I take a few steps back and forth as I shake off the boredom, the hard dirt crunching beneath my feet. I am currently standing out in the middle of a large training field for the kingdom¡¯s knights. All around me is a sea of representatives seated in what are basically really fancy folding chairs, making this feel like a school assembly. A short distance away you can see the walls of the castle with their smooth stone finishes rising into the air and glowing with mana. As for the field I am standing in, directly in front of me are the members of my party, Sera, Agera, and Randall. Alice however is standing by my side and ignoring the glares from a few members of the audience. It is taking everything in my not to glare back at these assholes who look down on her just because she looks even slightly like an elf. I will be adding a few names to my assassin squad¡¯s hit list after this as it seems they flew under the radar of Drask¡¯s dossiers on each nation. The people from my Hero party all look incredibly nervous as there are people from every country on the continent watching them intently. Personally, I hate this too, but I have to suck it up. ¡°Ok! Let¡¯s get started.¡± I had already given a long boring speech to the representatives alongside the king and the oracle so I can finally start on the lesson. I walk up to Sera and gently place my hand on the back of her neck. ¡°Sera, I want you to use one of your active skills on me and focus on the sensation of the mana moving inside your core and through your body.¡± Sera gained a lot of achievements in the battle against the stampede so she ended up with several shiny new skills. She is even right at the edge of reaching Class 2 due to the sheer number of high level monsters she helped defeat in a single day. Sera closes her eyes and activates some kind of mental attack. Naturally, it bounces right off of me, but the mana still moves properly as the spell channels activate. ¡°Good, now I want you to try to replicate that same feeling without calling out to the skill, I will temporarily cut off your connection to The System so that you have to do it on your own.¡± This statement gets the whole crowd in a slight frenzy. Most of the people are just interested in what I am doing and how I am doing it. But, there were naturally some people who were resistant to the idea of breaking free from The System, some even screaming that I was a heretic. These people were promptly asked to leave thanks to the rules I set in place with the help of the King and The Oracle. Thankfully the majority of the audience was receptive to my ideas. Mainly because I killed off most of the people who would be against me. But that is neither here nor there. Monitoring the channels in her core I block off the pathway The System uses to get in without fully locking it out. Fully blocking off the path is a more involved process and rather permanent so it is not something I can do in a few seconds. Sera struggles to even feel her mana moving at first, but after switching back and forth between using the skill and trying on her own, she finally manages to cast the spell without The System¡¯s help. ¡°Great job, now we are going to move on to your passive skills like [Detect Lie].¡± It takes far less time for her to locate the skill in her core and understand how it is different now that she can move her mana on her own. ¡°You already have these skills inside of your mana core and if you want a new one you can look at the structure of the runes and begin building from there¡­¡± Since this is more of a show than a normal lesson, I have to play things up and explain everything like I am talking to a 5 year old. For the next several hours I go over different methods to develop new skills and how ascension will be different without The System. The main focus however was getting all of my party members to learn about mana movements on their own and how to start changing skills to suit their needs. Finally, the big selling point - quite literally if I might add - was my Anti-System Rings and A half collar made of wood and crystal to do the temporary system blocking. For simplicity I called the device the TWC or Training Wheels Collar. The chair I have the demon¡¯s using is called the System Breaker by the way. I demonstrated the collar on Agera and Randall so that the audience could see people making the same progress on their own. Several hours passed, and when the showcase finally came to an end I was flooded with questions and invitations to other nations. It took far too much time to calm everyone down, and I ended up gifting the rings and collars to all the members of the audience. Once I finally made it to bed I collapsed and passed out in moments from the nerves. The whole situation was extremely stressful and I hope I never have to do it again. It wouldn¡¯t take long for the fruits of my labor to see results however. National leaders from across the continent now have multiple golems in their possession that are always spying on everything they do. Unfortunately, The System was not quite as stupid as I had hoped. Book 2 | Chapter 14: The System鈥檚 Decision It has been about a week since I started passing out my system breaking kit. I am now standing in the castle¡¯s royal audience hall. An extravagant long purple carpet made of fur that still retains the passive properties of the monster it belonged to runs down the hall leading to the throne. Supposedly the carpet can act as a barrier of sorts and protect those standing on it from many attacks. Sitting on the throne is the king, his liquid eyes stare down at us as The Oracle stands by his side fully armored with a cool look on her face. Sera and the rest have managed to just barely reach a point where I can comfortably disconnect them from The System. Since the whole conference / presentation thingy I did, I have been teaching some more in-depth classes to them as well as several royal guards. For safety they want to test this procedure out before The Oracle does so, which is understandable. Even if I am the Hero, letting my fuss around with their nation''s primary backer¡¯s mana core is not a simple thing. I look around the hall as I see the guards lined up along the side of the carpet. Their silver accented armor reflecting lightly from the sun beams hanging under the long ornate skylight. I feel a skylight is a weird choice for an audience hall like this, but maybe it has some good magical protections to prevent spying or attacks. Of the guards they are all either Class 4 or Class 5. Something that is surprising since Class 5s are rather rare and usually start their own nations, lead famous adventurer clans, serve under those of a higher class, or just plain hide away. Seeing a Class 5 serve another Class 5 must mean the circumstances are something unique or that The Oracle has some serious charisma. Because the guards are Class 4 or above, teaching them was far easier than teaching my party members. After all, to reach Class 4 you need to have an actual understanding of your magic which makes learning to use it without the system far easier. ¡°Ready?¡± Sera nods silently at my question as I softly place a hand to the back of her neck. Today, in front of the king and The Oracle I will be disconnecting several people from The System, starting with my party members. I push my mana into her core and quickly scan through the entire structure until I find The System¡¯s entry point. These entry points are all installed in Mana Cores as they grow until they reach the proper size and the system can get its grubby little mitts on your mind. That moment is the Day of Initialization. I grimace a bit as I think back to my initialization, the day my mother killed me as my father looked on with indifference. Bastards. I still have not had a chance to go talk to mother dearest with all the chaos and obligations towards getting people free from The System. Feeling around I grab ahold of the mana pathways and rearrange them to block off the entry point. There, now she is completely free. Sera jolts a bit from the sensation of The System leaving her, but ultimately sighs in relief once it is over. I am sure the anxiety of having The System and its mind control hanging over your head must have been a lot. I look up to see the king and The Oracle standing some distance away, having moved closer to get a better look, with scrutinizing gazes. ¡°It is done, she is no longer connected to The System.¡± The Oracle walks up and peers down at the much shorter Sera. ¡°Do you feel any different? How is your magic? Did it hurt?¡± The Oracle starts spouting off rapid fire questions not really giving Sera much chance to respond before the questions end. Sera used to be quite nervous being near The Oracle due to her position, but after everything that has happened she is no longer squirming under her gaze. Sera proceeds to smile awkwardly as she explains. ¡°I can still feel all of my magic is working fine, and maybe even a little smoother than before. Most of all it is just nice to not have to worry about the system messing with my head.¡± With a little sigh, Sera slumps her shoulders only to tense a bit a moment later. ¡°Hmmm.¡± Tilting her head suddenly, Sera seems to get lost in thought as we all look on. ¡°What is it?¡± Now, the king strolls up beside The Oracle to pry further into Sera¡¯s state.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I just¡­ I feel a lot calmer than before, even with the TWC I didn¡¯t feel any mental changes but now¡­ I didn¡¯t realize I was so on edge all the time.¡± Now that has even myself raising an eyebrow. I didn¡¯t experience such a feeling because The System never had the ability to mess with my mind in the first place. I guess my training collar couldn¡¯t completely block out The System¡¯s mental interference. Maybe the effects of The System are even more severe than I had anticipated? That is not a good sign. Prim should have more data for me on that soon. Quickly shooting her a message with this new information, I turn to the rest of my party and disconnect them. I make it about halfway through the guards with my hand placed on one of their necks, about to begin, when his body tenses suddenly. ¡°What is it?¡± Not understanding the reaction, I look over to see that even the oracle looks rather stiff, the rest of the guards too. Finally after a terse silence, the king is the one to break the strange silence. ¡°The System¡­ It knows what we are doing.¡± ¡°How? My rings should make us practically invisible!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ It seems it does not know who or where, but it is clearly not happy about our actions here.¡± The king seems so distracted that I can¡¯t get a clear answer of why everyone is so tense. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± He tries to answer me but continues to fail at giving anything concrete. Eventually, breaking from her own stupor, The Oracle says what the king was struggling to. ¡°The System just sent out a ¡®quest,¡¯ it says this.¡± -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- System Quest! Numerous people have been disconnected from The System. This anomaly has been determined to be the result of a malicious party. Find those responsible and stop them. Rewards: Class Advancement High Level Skills ¡­ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- After writing the information out on a piece of paper, the oracle looks over worriedly. I can see her shaking a bit as she does so. A subtle anger is visible in her eyes. Not just that, but the emotion is directed at me! She is doing her best to restrain herself, but this whole situation is worrying. I have to speak very calmly here. ¡°Lady Oracle, I think The System is forcibly altering your emotions right now. Please stay focused as best you can.¡± Grinding her teeth The Oracle looks over at me before sighing. However the tension in her voice never leaves. ¡°¡­ I am aware. Ms Knight, I ask that you quickly disconnect me. I cannot stand this feeling! Knowing that my emotions are not my own.¡± Letting out a short breath of relief I find myself glad The Oracle has a lid on her emotions. If everyone here was unable to understand logically that their thoughts were being manipulated then this could have turned real messy real fast. I nod to her and carefully place my hand on her neck. Within moments her hand, which had been balled so tightly it had turned white, relaxed. The Oracle nearly drops to the floor as The System leaves her. ¡°Fuck! I had no idea that The System would go so far.¡± Pacing around the room The Oracle is still rather angry, but that anger is no longer directed towards me, but The System itself. ¡°Disconnect everyone in the room, immediately!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Under The Oracle¡¯s direction, I rush around to the other soldiers, and cut off their connection to The System as fast as I can. As I am just completing my task, several officials and soldiers begin to rush into the hall, to which they are quickly either calmed down or apprehended. One by one, I disconnect every person who knows of my involvement, even for those who had not undergone the training to use magic without assistance. It will be hard on them as those without any talent for it will be stuck without their magic for a while. Looking around I can¡¯t help but feel worried, the room is filled with so many people, and emotions are running wild. People are sad, terrified, and relieved. But most of all they are angry. A few direct that anger towards me, but The Oracle is hard at work making sure that feeling is directed towards the true culprit. The System. That damn system just started a war, one I am in the center of. Fuck, this was not part of the plan. I lean against the wall, having already disconnected hundreds of people, and slide down it onto the floor. I bury my head in my hands as I try and think of a way to turn this situation around. Ugh! The only reason things were going so well before was because I had a bunch of time to plan things out! Right now I am facing a setback I am wholly unprepared for. Sure, I know there must be a way to turn this to my advantage, but I am not smart enough to think of it before shit inevitably hits the fan. Just as I am about to start spiraling, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look up, expecting to find Alice, only to freeze as I find The Oracle is starting back at me. ¡°Thank you for everything today. This situation was unexpected, but if we work together I am sure we can make the most of it.¡± Her gentle smile is a shock to see considering our differing opinions on the treatment of other races if I am being honest. However, as usual, my thoughts seem to show on my face. ¡°Ah, that. Well, you see¡­ I have been thinking about my position on demi-humans recently, and now that I can really feel the difference that being free of The System has on my mind. Honestly, I will need to reevaluate my take on many things. Though, that may take me some time.¡± I am amazed that she is considering changing her stance after such a short amount of time. Normally hate like that is a foundational part of a person¡¯s world view and hard to change. But, maybe the knowledge that The System, another foundational part of her life, has betrayed her helped her to let go easier. I doubt she is ready to up and become a different person immediately, but hey, it¡¯s a start. It gives me hope. I move to stand up before facing The Oracle and extending my hand. ¡°Thank you. Let¡¯s save this world together.¡± And I give her one of the brightest smiles I have had since my new life began. Book 2 | Chapter 15: Contemplation I relax my shoulders and breathe out a refreshed sigh as I start to walk away from The Oracle and head towards the conference room. As I walk the smile on my face instantly vanishes the second I am out of sight of The Oracle. I do hope she can become an ally before I reach Class 4, for her sake. Dark thoughts creep into my mind as I contemplate The Oracle¡¯s tenuous position in my plans. Barely paying attention I come to a halt in front of a large set of oak doors carved with star patterns and runes. Pushing the double doors open I readjust my expression before walking inside. Clap! ¡°Okay everyone, we have a problem to solve: How do we direct all The System controlled people to focus their anger on the Demon Lord instead of us?¡± Speaking loudly, something I am still not used to, I get the attention of my party members before I start fishing for ideas. Looking at the team collapsed on the couches from the exhausting work today I feel a bit bad but ultimately brush it off. My question is met with nothing but complicated expressions as they all struggle to come up with anything on the spot. ¡°We need to find a way to maintain our position before The System makes even the influence of my Hero Title useless. Most of all we need to be able to keep people wanting to free themselves from The System.¡± As I break things down the silence in the room continues to become more and more unbearable. Finally, sitting up from her position sprawled across the couch, Sera looks over at me with a serious expression. ¡°You mentioned that there was a temple that blocked out The System right?¡± ¡°Yeah? What about it?¡± ¡°Can we maybe recreate that effect?¡± Hmmm, I had been mainly focusing on using it for my Demon Lord activities so I didn¡¯t really consider the uses for my Hero side. Though¡­ What could I use it for now? Seeing the confused look on my face, Sera explains further. Apparently, she had the idea that if we can build a safe zone from The System, then anyone coming to find us would end up disconnected and have no choice but to calm down when they enter the radius. It is an interesting idea, using the protection of a temple¡¯s safe zone as a way to break people from mind control. ¡°But¡­ then we would just be stuck hiding away.¡± I can let us b e stuck with such a passive approach. I would lose too much time if I just sat on my hands like that. This time Randall raises his hand from the side before interjecting. ¡°Perhaps it is best if we avoid other people from now on. Let your Anti-System Kit spread and allow the people to calm down.¡± I agree with him that acting immediately would be rash, but- ¡°Wait, that is it!¡± My face brightens as the idea starts to form in my mind. ¡°We can go underground and build up a secret movement!¡± ¡°¡±¡±What?¡±¡±¡± Now it is everyone else''s turn to be dumbfounded again. ¡°Just think, we can start passing out the kit and secretly growing our influence and forces before mounting a counter attack.¡± Agera looks hesitant at the subtly aggressive approach. ¡°You really think that is the best idea? The system already found us out once.¡± ¡°Yep! This is war, and if I learned anything from my life on earth, it is that guerilla tactics are super effective.¡± ¡°Lua, I am not sure that is the right term exactly¡­¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Alice chirps in from the side, providing a small correction to my babbling. ¡°Eh, close enough.¡± I wave off her nitpicking as I look over the others. Sera, looking the most concerned about this plan as I explain my thoughts, raises her hand. ¡°But, if you are working underground, then what about the Demon Lord?¡± I am sure after the devastation I caused across the continent that she is hesitant to leave humanity alone. But I think she still has the wrong idea. ¡°I will be honest Sera, we simply don¡¯t have the strength to make a difference ourselves at the moment. We need to get a lot stronger before we can even think about fighting against the Demon Lord.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°Sera. Just fighting a single demon was a harrowing experience for us. As far as the reports go, all the demons spotted were only Class 3, if we have to face a Class 4 demon we would be screwed.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± I don¡¯t want to be too harsh, but she is a bit too hopeful about my abilities. My statement takes a moment to sink in, and her face pales just thinking about a Class 4 demon. Agera, noticing the bad direction Sera is heading, tries to change the topic. ¡°You said you need to build a special room for your ascension or something?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I have most of the materials for the construction already. But I think I will have to build it as we move.¡± Now Agera is the one looking uneasy. ¡°Move where? And how?¡± I start to grin a bit at his reaction. I need to stop this sadistic side of myself from showing, ugh. Locking my face in place, I place my hands on my hips. ¡°Well, Sera said we should look into recreating the temple¡¯s safe zone. I think that is a good idea regardless!¡± ¡°But isn¡¯t the demon lord using it!?¡± Suddenly glared at a bit by the others for her careless suggestion, Sera shouts out trying to convince me otherwise. ¡°Geez, we don¡¯t actually know that for sure. And besides, recon is recon even if the subject matter changes.¡± Everyone grimaces at the thought of trying to spy on the Demon Lord should they be at the temple. Sera raises her hand again. ¡°I thought you said it was in The Sea of Trees?¡± Not really sure why we are raising our hands like this is a school classroom, but ok. ¡°It is. Just a short distance into the second ring.¡± I don¡¯t really understand the question she is asking though. The look on Sera¡¯s and even Agera¡¯s face begins to get worse for some reason. I look over and even Alice is looking at me strangely! What? I don¡¯t get it! ¡°What is with you and that forest? You keep going back every time you make it to civilization for five minutes.¡± As Alice complains I see a message pop up that shows her true feelings. [You nearly died in that damn temple! Why the hell do you want to go back?!] Ok, that is understandable. I guess that situation was pretty hard on Alice¡­ ¡°Look, it is just a quick jaunt into the second ring. What could go wrong?¡± Nobody looks convinced.
¡°Well, What do you think?¡± Sitting in the king¡¯s office, The Oracle sits exhausted on the plush sofa. ¡°Hmmm, I think it is certainly not the worst timing. Every nation is still recovering from the attacks, so the chances of being attacked is low.¡± Currently the kingdom of Alcott has advertised its relationship with the Hero and now, after Lua¡¯s demonstration, everyone knows that they are a part of this. Freeing people from The System, they should have known it would not be that easy. Sighing, the king leans back in his chair. ¡°We will have to work extra hard to keep the world¡¯s anger directed at the Demon Lord. It is like The System does not even care about the chaos this quest will bring.¡± As the two national leaders complain back and forth, The Oracle looks over the king with a slightly motherly look on her face. ¡°How are you holding up?¡± ¡°Ah, the magic? Well, I can use my magic pretty freely for the most part. I did use that little device the Hero passed out to get a handle on things.¡± The king was disconnected before he had a chance to finish learning to use all of his skills outside of The System. A national leader, even if not the backer of the nation, not being able to use their magic is a big deal. ¡°How about you?¡± At the king''s return of the question, The Oracle sighs for what is likely the hundredth time today. ¡°I am having no issues with accessing my skills. Though I must say it is still terrifying¡­ knowing that The System had been influencing my thoughts for so long.¡± The Oracle shivers at the sensation of anger she felt when The System Quest went out. Having her mind not be her own is something she is sure she will have nightmares about for years to come. Along with those memories about fighting that demon. ¡°Yes¡­ Now all we can really do is fight back before The System can cause too much damage.¡± The king gazes down at the wood and crystal ring on his finger. Creating a way to hide from The System so easily and at only Class 3¡­ It is a bit strange now that I think about it. With that musing though drilling its way into the king¡¯s head, he and The Oracle get back to discussing how to prevent this ¡°quest¡± from making this worse.