It was very rare for a Demon Lord to descend with their real body, mostly they would just use an avatar to communicate with the person who summoned them. Descending into the mortal world with their real body causes an expulsion force upon them.
But Lord Black Horse had no followers, Edward wouldn’t even be surprised if he was one of the first followers Lord Black Goat had in over a thousand years.
This was caused by Lord Black Horse being a haughty and arrogant person, he had the belief that his followers should be able to seek him out instead of the other way around. Not only that, his rituals were complicated, and the prayer one had to say was very specific.
He didn’t even bother to spread his name and incantations around. He was a bonafide failure as a Demon Lord. But that didn’t mean he was weak. He was the Ruler of the 39th Floor of the Sulfur Tower.
The closer one was to the First Floor of Sulfur Tower the stronger they were. As the Ruler of the 39th Floor, he was very strong. There were only a few Demon Lords that were vastly stronger than him.
‘He probably appeared in person because he was so excited that someone finally called him.’
Lord Black Horse circled around Edward. Finally as if nodding in approval manifested a throne out of a dark and ghastly mist. The throne was gothic and ethereal, ready to fade at any moment. Sitting on the throne Lord Black Horse stared down at Edward.
“Who is the mortal that dared to summon me?”
“Lord Black Horse, this humble one has heard of great things about you. You’re the Ruler of the 39th Floor, you fought 5 Demon Lords at the same time, and you even corrupted an apostle of the God of Wind.”
Hearing the endless praise flowing from Edward’s mouth, Lord Black Horse nodded, feeling extremely gleeful. With each nodding of his head, the golden ornaments shook, creating baleful screeches.
Edward clearly had a talent to bootlick.
“Lord Black Horse, I have information that would greatly assist you in your quest to wed Elizabeth, Ruler of the 16th Floor.”
“Ho, what is it?”
Lord Black Horse stared at Edward in intrigue; it was surprising that a mortal knew of his quest. But he just chucked it up as his conquest has spread far and wide because of his fame.
“May I request the esteemed one to first sign a contract first?”
Edward wasn’t stupid why would he give information if he wasn’t going to get anything in return? He wasn’t going to get scammed for free and it's not like he could do anything to him. The moment Lord Black Horse tried to use his power he would immediately get kicked out of this world.
“Tsk.”
“Here read it, but if I find out you’re lying, you’ll know the consequences.”
An aged scroll unraveled in front of Edward. He examined it quite carefully, it wasn’t uncommon for Demons to try and trick mortals by adding small keywords or traps that would cause the one signing the paper to suffer.
The contract basically read, that if Edward gave false information his soul would be instantly forfeited to Lord Black Horse, not only that the information has to be true and can’t just be rumors. In return, Lord Black Horse has to give a blessing to Edward. Seeing as the word blessing was too unspecific, Edward changed it to, “Lord Black Horse has to give Edward Moonchild the Horse Bone Blessing.”
Passing the scroll back to Lord Black Horse he stared at Edward in intrigue. This follower clearly had a lot of information about him, considering that he specifically listed the blessing he wanted.
Suppressing his curiosity, Lord Black Horse signed the contract. The changes weren’t too bad, and cultivating such a unique follower sounded fun. It would be nice if he could spread his name more in the mortal world.
Seeing as the contract was signed by Lord Black Horse, Edward too signed it.
“Hmph, you better spit out the information now, the contract is monitoring your soul.”
“Of course my lord.”
Edward coughed as he thought about how he wanted to present the information to him. He didn’t want to sound too confident, because that would make him look very suspicious, but the contract also forced him to not say anything deceiving.
“My lord, did you know Elizabeth has a flower collection?”
“Of course.”
“Then you should know that Elizabeth’s flower collection is also incomplete.”
“Hmm.”
Staring at the goat that feigned confidence, Edward wanted to slap him. He originally created this character as a comedic relief but now, he was the one standing on daggers to talk to him.
‘He definitely did not know that.’
“Then my lord have you considered what would happen if you completed Elizabeth’s flower collection?”
“You’ll be one step closer to wooing her.”
“So where are the last flowers located then?”
“My lord, have you heard of the Ghostface Lily?”
“Of course.”
He seriously wanted to slap this goat right now.
“Legend says, the Ghostface Lily only grows in a place that borders the kindest part of humanity and the most evil part of humanity. In the Nile River that circulates through the World of Gods, the Nile River provides endless wealth for humans. It can enlighten the common mind. But, no one knows that the Nile River is actually man-made. It was made by the God Kings to provide help for their followers, but ever since their death, no one knows the real reason why the Nile River exists. But, there is a certain rumor, that the Nile River can only flow because of the countless sacrifices of the followers.”
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Lord Black Horse gave a long face. Seeing as Edward was still breathing and not dead, the information he provided was probably true. That meant he had to provide his end of the deal. He wasn’t unhappy about giving Edward strength; he was more unhappy with the fact that he had to go to the World of Gods.
If a Demon Lord descended there, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was immediately besieged by countless Gods.
Trying to keep his dignity in front of Edward, he commanded in a domineering tone.
“Kneel in front of me, my follower.”
Edward scurried over to the throne as he groveled in front of the goat. The goat waved its hoof as it placed its hoof lightly over his head.
Edward’s bones started to shake in distress. Blood started to rush from his throat as his body cried out in agony and pain. Just the lightest touch from this goat was enough to kill him. Luckily the goat wasn’t trying to kill him, as 2 red lines started to travel across his body.
The red lines traveled through his body, every part that they passed through, his skin ripped as the muscles were exposed to the world. It wouldn’t be strange if anybody called Edward a skinless human, because that was exactly what he was right now.
Edward gritted his teeth, in extreme pain. The Horse Bone Blessing was a way to temper the body, it tore off the mortal skin, crushed the bones, and tempered the muscles in the body so one could be suited to use the blessing.
Edward was so close to passing out from the pain multiple times. But his rationality told him that if he passed out, the blessing would fail and the goat would look at him differently than before. He couldn’t pass out.
Each minute felt like an hour, only when the pain ended did Edward smile. He had reached Tier 1 and gained a great blessing. Edward coughed out the blood stuck in his throat and smiled at the goat.
“Thank you, Lord Black Horse, for your gracious gift.”
The goat just waved its hoof, staring at Edward with more appreciation. Most humans would have passed out or died from the pain but the human sprawled on the ground, covered with his own skin and blood, was still conscious and even thanked him.
“Don’t mention it, all you have to do is to not disappoint my power.”
As the goat stood up from the throne, the world’s will acted upon him. Time was up for him, he couldn’t stay in the mortal world for too long. Seeing the goat disappear in front of his eyes, Edward breathed a sigh of relief.
[The Author’s Privilege has been Activated.]
[Character Edward Moonchild has reached Tier 1.]
[You may choose a character that you have interacted with, to allow you to see a selection of 3 random skills that you can gain.]
1. Annie Moonchild
2. Silvia Fota
3. Nicolas
4. Lord Black Horse
Edward was dumbfounded, this Author’s Privilege was quite broken. Obviously, he selected Lord Black Horse, he was way more powerful compared to the other characters.
[Lord Black Horse has been selected, please choose one of the 3 skills.]
1. Heart Full of Pride: As long as you have pride in your heart, your body’s strength will be greatly increased, and you’ll be able to heal any injuries as long as pride fills your heart.
2. Tongue of Arrogance: With each sentence you speak you’ll naturally sound more arrogant, those who listen to you will have the urge to beat you up.
3. Horse Hide: The more you get beaten up the stronger your body will be. Eventually, your skin can leave your body allowing you to have a clone made from your skin.
Seeing the skills, Edward’s mouth twitched. Those skills really matched that goat. It didn’t take him a long time to decide which skill was the best.
Of course, it’s the Heart Full of Pride! He wasn’t into masochism so why would he choose Horse Hide, also what if someone killed him instantly. What’s the point of having Horse Hide at that point? He didn’t even bother to look at Tongue of Arrogance, an AoE taunting skill? He already had one, with his Minor Harem Halo.
[Character: Edward Moonchild]
Titles: The Demonic Prince, The Author
The Demonic Prince: +75 charm, 15% increase in constitution
The Author: The Author’s Privilege
Occupation: Apprentice Cultist (0/10)
Biography: Edward Moonchild was born on December 2, 1012, in the Fourth Era. Born on the Planet, World of 3 Nations, he has always been weak from birth. This weakness was caused by a miscarriage, he luckily survived, but easily got sick. Luckily he was born in the Moonchild family, an influential family in the kingdom of Hard Iron. He never had to worry about work and was constantly pampered by his family as the youngest. He was handsome and had a unique charm causing many women to be attracted towards him. After a meeting with a certain Demon Lord, it seems like his fate might be changing for him.
Personality: Calm, collected, scheming, ambitious, and carefree.
Unique Skills:
* Minor Harem Halo: You can easily captivate and enchant people of the opposite sex.
(This skill can be upgraded when one’s harem reaches above a thousand.)
* The Author’s Privilege: As the author, most of the characters in this world are of your creation. Any physical contact with characters allows you to see their character panels.
When you advance in a tier you can select a skill from a character that you have interacted with.
(Can be upgraded as the user becomes stronger.)
* Horse Bone Blessing: Your body has rapidly changed to adapt to the transformation of the Horse Bone. Most importantly your bones have been greatly strengthened. Your current transformation can allow you to change your skull and will enable you to have minor control over brimstone fire.
(Can be upgraded as the user becomes stronger.)
* Heart Full of Pride: As long as you have pride in your heart, your body’s strength will be greatly increased and you’ll be able to heal injuries as long as pride fills your heart.
(Can not be upgraded.)
[System’s Remark: A stronger weakling that can only rely on his face.]
Seeing his interface, Edward smiled. He finally got rid of that shitty title that decreased his constitution. Not only that, he felt more powerful than ever. Endless strength was coursing through him, he felt as if he could easily destroy a tree with one punch.
To advance to a Tier 2 cultist he must complete 10 successful sacrifices of any kind, and then he’ll be promoted. This would be quite easy for him but if there was a cultist that only knew one Demon Lord who didn’t prove much benefits. Once they advanced to a Tier 2 Cultist, the requirements for the sacrifices would get increasingly harder, which would be hard to match with their strength.
Not only that he was also in a very advantageous position, most cultists began their journey by being contacted by a random demon at their lowest point in life. So they basically sold their soul and body, working as a slave for some random demon, who wasn’t even a Demon Lord.
Finished checking his interface, Edward got out of the forest. He wondered what the goat’s character system looked like. Unfortunately, he was in too much pain to look at, before it disappeared.
Walking onto the main road, Edward suddenly stopped. It was just his intuition, but he felt that something was wrong. As if there was an eye staring at him from the darkness. His body had already started to change underneath, prepared for any unexpected situation.