After a moment of still sound, Lin forced the door open.

The rusty frame squeaked, as the door blew inwards, violently smashing against the wall.

He peered into the manor.

Lin closed his eyes, rubbed them, and blinked again.

Do my eyes deceive me? he wondered.

For, the bountiful manor he had gifted Jinda had been destroyed.

The walls, once blooming with décor during the previous Lust’s reign, were tattered, ripped to shreds like paper.

The wooden interior was wrecked, splinters jutting out from every direction.

Delicate paintings were hung along the surviving walls, slanting and titled, draping like cloth.

Fine tabletops were overturned, and shattered glass sprawled across the floor, reflecting the dim light like morning dew glistening on blades of grass.

It was nothing short of a pure wreckage.

Carnage in its finest form.

“Did… was the damage conceived by Greed?” whispered Lin. Just how much wrath had been drawn out?

Lin scouted the room. He checked every corner – the ruins just followed along.

It seemed the whole manor had been demolished on a spur.

Wait… wondered Lin. This abolishment… doesn’t seem like that of a mindless rampage.

It seemed organised and formatted.

As if this Greed was searching for something.

“No… She wouldn’t know about that…” Lin murmured to himself. Even if this Greed came here searching for it, the secret basement was protected with an ancient ward.

Only the ones with a strong will would even have the possibility of discovering the derelict place.

Although simply discovering it would not suffice enough. It had been abandoned long before Lin’s rise to power. He never would have discovered the secrets himself – It was the mysterious figure Natas who had informed him.

“Lin, you have potential to become a great demon lord.”

“Who are you? Leave at once!”

Back then, Lin had let pride consume him. He was blinded by power.

Even now, his pride still drove him. However, instead of getting controlled by it, they now had a symbiotic relation.

That man – Natas, was an absolute monster. Even by my current standards, he is someone that I begrudgingly admit I cannot beat.

“Ahh… every previous demon lord of Pride has given me the same greeting.” he muttered, looking down at his feet.

I was immature. This man had randomly appeared in my room, greeting me without warning.

And so, I lashed out… Only to be defeated with relative ease.

“Hmm… Your enthusiasm is nice. However, for true Pride, you ned both strength and conviction. Just conviction will bring you nowhere,” he commented, after graciously plummeting me down.’

“D-Damn you! I can’t lose to you, or anyone! I swear I’ll get my revenge on the humans one day!”

Even now, that belief stands firm. Humans have done… far, far too much for me to forgive.

Perhaps this was just a catalyst – an excuse for him to start the war.

‘The humans have already declared war!’ ‘Tensions have been emerging for generations!’ ‘Humans are believers of God, and enemies of Satan!’

But deep in his heart, Lin had always wished for this to happen.

He tried his best to reach peace negotiations – the entire demon population was still more important than his grudge, but a little part of him always hoped…

Someone lash out right now and let a mass conflict begin! He would violently think when envoys had gone to and fro the nations.

‘Humans were the cruellest creatures out there’ In the beginning, right after his fall, those were the words that echoed deep inside his head.

But as he grew and matured, Lin saw a new outlook.

All humans, just like demons, are inherently born innocent. But I will cleanse the corruption of evil nobles.

He soon realised it wasn’t the villagers who chased him, killed his parents and sent him to the slums.

It wasn’t the villagers who wanted to drive him away and kill a child.

No, it was the mayor who wanted him dead. She had used her authority to deceive the common folk.

Years after the incident, right when Lin became a [Demon Lord] – a month before Natas’ visit, Lin had personally travelled to the outskirt village.

By his hand, he killed everyone there. The children, the women, the sick, the injured. Everyone.

Lin felt remorse now. For butchering the innocent, but back then, his mind had been clouded with vengeance.

“Really, child? You wish to instigate your hatred on the human race, but what good will that bring? Besides, against the human court mages, you are nothing but an apathetic fool.”

“Shut it, old man! I will kill the humans. Every single one of them, just like what they did to me!”

“With your power?”

“My power is absolute!”

I sprung up from the ground, attempting to land a punch on the middle-aged man, but he easily avoided the attack, and hit me with such a force that it would have killed any ordinary foe.

“Now, child, do you concede?”

“…Damn it! I swear I’ll get stronger! Just you wait, you geezer!”

After that, I got beat many, many times afterwards. Eventually, I realised, much to my disgrace, that Natas was far stronger than me.

And so, I could do nothing but idly listen to him.

“Child, I like your spirit! Come with me, and I will help you exceed your limits!”

“Wait.. No! Not yet, I have to establish myself among the other [Demon Lords]!”

“You? Gain respect with that power? You speak big.”

“I’m on par with Lord Gluttony, and he’s a respected [Demon Lord]!”

“That fool? Kahaha!”

Months of hellish training began much to my displeasure.

However, even I could not deny it did not help. Natas had helped me unlock an intrinsic ability of [Defiant]. It was a loophole, but proved to be an immense upgrade.

Before, all Lin thought [Defiant] could do was pierce through defence.

Although it sounded plain, it was an unfathomable force in battle.

Even the weakest spell, if aimed correctly, could smash through I’onit armour and deliver a fatal blow.

But – this new ability made him far more formidable. It was after this that he began to rise to power, amongst the older generation of [Demon Lords].

From that time, only Lolopop and himself survived.

That was a hundred years ago – such was the power of high stats.

Although by both human and demon standards he should have been dead, Lin felt nothing but power, as if he were still in his prime.

His high health stat gave him vast pools of vitality. The only way he could die of natural causes was from reaching the hayflick limit – although Lin suspected the system could somehow bypass that as well.

For, you see, there was a secret, unawakened power of [Defiant].

All debuffs were reversed. Any spell sent to slow him down would only speed him up. And so, Lin spent decades deleting and refining his skill set.

Single-use moves that would put the user in a state of extreme exhaustion would instead recover his stamina, letting him use it again while also recovering.

“Dammit! Why am I still losing to you, Mr. Natas?”

“Skills do not mean everything – there is also technique. Many of your attacks are clumsy and predictable. Kahaha!”

“Teach me how to fight with technique!”

“Aah, I do appreciate the enthusiasm. I will come back in a year. Acquire the level 10 version of the melee skill by then.”

“Yes, Mr. Natas!”

Lin had been growing at an astonishing pace, climbing the ranks like it was nothing.

Predictably, he had garnered the jealousy of some of his fellow [Demon Lords].

“Hey, Pride. Envy and I don’t like you.”

“Yeah. You’re getting strong abnormally fast. I bet you’re bribing the other [Demon Lords] or something!”

“Could you two buffoons leave me alone? It is a hindrance.”

“Huh? You talking down on us?”

“We hate your attitude! We’ll knock you down a peg or two!”

Lin had fought and won – at the cost of losing the [Demon Lord] of Wrath.

However, the public display ended up working to Lin’s advantage, and soon after, he was well respected for both his strength and intelligence.

Days turned into weeks. Weeks into months, months into years.

This whole time, Lin had been training, working up to [Melee Lv10]. He had even ascended [Defiant] into {Egocentric}.

But Mr. Natas did not come back.

Up until this day, he had never seen the old man again.

Perhaps… imagined Lin, my reminiscing is a linger of affection?

Lin creeped into the basement, carefully unbolting the trapdoor, and walked inside.

Before stopping right in his tracks.

Everything was gone.

The basement was empty, and totally devoid of life.

He began feeling the magic in the air, but found no signs of tampering. Someone had been here recently – from the faint aura exhorted, the person was stronger than Jinda.

He hadn’t sensed this pattern yet, though he suspected it to be that of Greed.

Although… it isn’t her who had tampered with the room. No, the magic is even fainter – aged, even.

Lin took a deep sigh.

He could not find the perpetrator if the items were stolen so long ago.

Although Lin was not told to keep this secret room safe, he still felt it as a loss.

If one of these days, Mr. Natas came back, Lin may be unable to look him in the face.

This room clearly had some importance to him, thought Lin.

Lin dingily draped himself out the basement. If Greed had gotten here first, then he had no further idea where she would have gone.

He begrudgingly decided to return to his manor, disheartened about returning fruitless.

----------------------------------------

Wrath sat around, humming a light tune.

He couldn’t sleep after what happened. He needed to consult with Lord Pride and decide on the next course of action.

Clearly, Mistress Greed was after something – or rather, someone.

Even Wrath could tell that much. However, she didn’t evaluate and go into detail.

To her, Wrath was probably a mere messenger.

Wrath shifted on his bed, turning around to avoid the irritating gleam of moonlight.

But with even the slightest movement, his bedsheets would scrunch, creating a loud and distracting sound.

It was also too humid. And winter was approaching soon.

Wrath sighed, before looking out his window to admire the delicate flower-house decorated with vibrant plants, each one a delicacy that had been imported from foreign lands.

I just can't sleep. Wrath complained, restlessly looking at the large flower bed, his eyes glazing.

Then, Wrath saw a slight glint – a shimmer outside his window.

It was the undeniable shine of armour. Wrath squinted again, tightening his eyes to make the figure out in such darkness.

He couldn’t see well, but it seemed to be…

“Lord Pride!” bellowed Wrath, before stopping for a moment, realising the absurd volume of his roar.

He awkwardly rose from the crinkly bed, changed from his sleeping attire to a more formal one, and bolted down the stairs.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Lord Pride seemed perplexed, noticing Wrath awake at such an… unholy hour.

But right now, that didn’t matter. Wrath wanted to lift the weight built up on his chest so he could rest easy.

“Lord Pride! I met with Mistress Greed, and she told me to tell you-”

“You met with Greed?” interrupted Lord Pride, his eyes narrowing onto Wrath. “From your appearance, I believe there was no kerfuffle. What does she want?”

Wrath nearly whistled in admiration. It was expected that Lord Pride could analyse the situation so fast he predicted an outcome even before Wrath had finished speaking.

Getting right down to business was the attitude Lord Pride gave.

Not rushed or hurried – calm, concise, efficient.

“Uhm…” reported Wrath, “She said to meet you in your garden in three days time.”

Lord Pride cocked his head. “Is that all?” he questioned, sometimes doubting Wrath's ability to tell a full story.

“Yes, Lord Pride!”

Wrath waited for a moment as Lord Pride seemed deep in thought. Maybe he’s assessing the situation? Wondered Wrath.

They stood like that for a while, the silence so still that a gust of wind could drown them.

Finally, Lord Pride responded. “Alright.”

And with a one-word, anticlimactic sentence, Lord Pride took his departure, leaving Wrath alone.

He walked to his bed. Tiredness swallowed Wrath whole, as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

----------------------------------------

Maybe I should have set the deadline a bit earlier?

Three days might not sound like much, but I don’t have anything else to do in these three days!

I guess I could farm some more slimes, but the XP and stats I get now are pretty minimal, so it won’t make a difference at all.

But… I hate, hate, hate waiting.

Three days of pure boredom?

Nu-uh, not on my list!

I’m sure I’ll be able to find something to entertain me.

Currently, I’m making a morally questionable gladiator battle.

Slimes can’t consciously think, so it is moral, right?

Oh well, who cares anyway. Even if it's immoral, if I don’t get caught, then it's all good!

What am I doing exactly?

Well, apparently after a day, the ‘friendly fire’ option is turned on for the slimes, and their natural instincts or whatever kick in, making them fight each other.

So I aged some slimes, allowing for them to kill each other.

Then, I numbered the slimes, and dumped them in a cramped arena to fight for their lives.

I’m in high spirits right now, since…

“What? Are you kidding me?”

In a state of annoyance, I fire a shadow bullet, disintegrating all the slimes at once. I glance back again, and Harlew looks scared – no, terrified once again.

She might actually be sentient!

Doesn’t matter right now though. Why?

Because slime no. 27 lost, that’s why!

It was so close to winning, but then this stupid slime no.12 came in and killed it!

I-I’m no sure loser…

Come on though, can you blame me?

Desperate times call for desperate measures, no?

And that also applies to the world of entertainment. At least, I think it does…

Actually, I’m sure it does! I’m a [Dungeon Master] for a reason – I’m the master of this dungeon! If I make the laws, I can do whatever I want.

So, unfortunately for you slimes, no animal welfare team or whatever will come save you!

…

…

I still don’t get why I got the titles [Player of Lives] and [Manipulator]…

Well, that aside, do animal welfare groups even exist here?

I mean, my whole time here, I’ve only seen monsters. Sure, some monsters (excluding that cancer looking Supreme Kemoth, and those weird ‘Patau ants’) resemble animals, but I haven’t seen an actual animal yet.

Not a single one.

Just monsters.

I don’t know if the term ‘animal’ refers to an ‘animal’ or ‘monster’ - though I feel like people living on Travia associate ‘animal’ with ‘monster’ since ‘animals’ probably don’t exist.

Yeah. The terminology is confusing, no?

I want to make some super-slimes and watch them battle it out! These guys are so wimpy it barely passes as entertainment to me…

And then, a brilliant thought pops up in my head.

I can extract souls for my own benefit, right?

So… Is it possible for me to give a soul away? At this point, a single slime won’t do much to help me grow stronger – I’ve basically hit my limit stat-wise.

So, why not give that soul to someone else? It seems like a waste if I hoard it all for myself.

Scouting the room I only find one possible test subject, Harlew.

I quickly do a check-up with {Omniscience} to ensure it’ll work, and I get the golden thumbs up. Alright, here goes nothing!

Although I get how to do it in theory, it’s still difficult to pull in reality.

I guess I’ll try on a random slime first?

Oka, here goes nothing…

I close my eyes and attempt to navigate the ‘spiritual’ plane.

I try to press further, but my vision begins to get hazy. I feel as if I just jumped into a muddy swamp, the murky water obscuring my vision.

Swimming in this… mental reality is hard.

I dig further, attempting to dredge up the souls bound to my own.

But I’m stuck.

I can’t push any more.

I force my body to swim deeper, but my limbs won’t allow it.

I have to make it to the bottom!

I don’t understand this despair – I don’t even know why I’m so desperate to reach the souls.

I feel like I’ve been here before. But I don’t remember when.

Blub . . . Blub… blub blub

The last thing I see is my vision fade black.

Well, I feel like shit now.

Seriously, what was that?

I tried to grab some souls and transfer them… but I drowned or something?

Huh? When I say it, it sounds even less plausible.

Where's the sense, logic or seasoning behind that?

{Omniscience} gets kind of annoying sometimes, so I’ll summarise instead.

To put it simply, the ‘spiritual plane’ is sort of like a mental stronghold. This mental stronghold can only be accessed with the support of the system – a hidden benefit that comes along with the [Champion] title.

But, how does the spiritual plane come in handy?

Answer: it doesn’t.

There's no benefit from this spiritual plane, since only you can enter yours, and there’s nothing there.

At least, that’s the common knowledge about these mental fortresses. Well, it isn’t really ‘common’ knowledge since only those with the [Champion] title can access it – and only a percentage of [Champions] even figure out how to get in there.

Entering this spiritual plane is sort of like going underwater, since the physical mind can only last so long in a spiritual, non-physical mind.

What is the secret, unknown benefit though?

… I don’t know.

I’ve just got a gut feeling that there’s something important in there, although I can’t specifically remember what it is.

Talk about wasted effort.

All I can really recall is me wanting to dive down deeper, but I didn’t even see any souls there – the bottom was far away from eyeshot.

Besides, why on earth would the souls I took be sent to my personal spiritual plane of whatever?

See?

Even {Omniscience} thinks it was a wasted journey. It even had no correlation with souls at all!

Oh yeah. Apparently, souls form the core of the body, and exist in between the physical and spiritual world, so I guess you could call the semi-physical?

Hmm… core of the body… core of the body…

Core of the body!

Right! Ignore the previous unintentional misfire - I think I know where to go this time.

I just have to go find my ‘core’ and extract some souls. Sounds easy enough…

…

Er… I, uh… I have absolutely zero idea where to find this ‘core’!

I’ve spent at least an hour searching, but I couldn’t find anything.

What I mostly did was close my eyes and hum around, but nothing happened.

Sigh

I guess even with the help of {Omniscience}, some stuff is unfeasible.

I don’t want to come out empty handed, so I would rather.. Inefficiently compromise.

What did I do?

I dumped Harlew into the slime room and bolted the three doors (now made of steel) shut.

The other slimes can’t friendly-fire, so Harlew should be able to rack up a bunch of XP points and bulk up.

Sort of like those pet raising sims?

Well, I left Harlew inside there for a bit, and jumped out of my dungeon.

I don’t have anything worthwhile to do, so after hopping out my dungeon, I sneakily entered the heart of Alaznia.

I quickly checked, and found an army secretly mobilising under civilian eyes. Huh. In demon territory, they did the exact same thing.

Is that some sort of military tactic?

Oh well. Mobilising entire armies has nothing to do with me.

I turn, about to leave, when {Omniscience} eavesdrops on something.

Oh yeah, speaking of language, when [Appraisal] underwent ascension and became {Omniscience}, the ‘language subtitles’ stayed, but there was also a second option known as ‘language dubbing,’ where instead of seeing text, the words that come out of their mouths directly translate into Japanese for me to listen to.

It would’ve been helpful if I were still a greenhorn, but seeing their mouth movement and speech out of sync feels kind of weird.

Besides, I can speak the common tongue well enough, so I prefer to keep dubbing off.

Subtitles are still nice though, because it allows me to hear stuff otherwise inaudible, such as a whisper.

Good for eavesdropping aw well.

As I was saying, a comment piqued my interest. Here, I’ll replay it.

<[Dylpickle]: Have you heard? [Hero] Melony, [Hero] Raph and [Hero] Mat have all moved to [Hero] Ray’s place.

[Kevdev]: Really?>

Alright, stupid parents with no naming sense aside, the four [Heroes] have apparently all gathered in one place.

Sort of like the [Demon Lords], except it seems these guys actually get along with one another.

But… Why does the name ‘Ray’ sound so familiar? I don’t know why, but I feel a sense of déjà vu right now.

Nah, forget about it.

My mind always trolls around and plays tricks with me. No, not really, but I wanted something cool to say!

“I am one with nature”

“My eye – it burns!”

“Fufufu… You already fell into my trap.”

Yeah. Something like that. Though, I don’t think my mind always trolls around and plays tricks on me is very cool…

Re-entering my dungeon, I quickly find the location of the poshos in the kingdom. I’ve managed to narrow it down to this huge plot of land where a bunch of richies live.

…

It wasn’t me finding it, more like me giving {Omniscience} two key words: ‘rich dudes’ and ‘near border’ – though technically I did all the hard work, since {Omniscience} is my skill.

Y-yeah…

I’m such a hard worker?

Overpowered cheat skill? I got no idea what nonsense you’re spouting.

I quickly warp around the pace, before I find a huge mansion that definitely belongs to this Ray.

Why am I so confident about my judgement, you ask?

… There's literally a huge battle going on in some arena-looking place.

I probably just arrived at the climax, because I see a young boy – probably no older than 15 – unleash a massive wind-imbedded spell, and it disintegrates a flame phoenix.

Talk about out-of-the-world!

No wonder the humans seem so confident. With power like that on their side, I would be pretty cocky too!

Although that’s merely relative. These guys are no stronger than Porky stat-wise, and although their attacks seem flashy, it isn’t really that impressive. The boy shoved all his mana into the winning attack, which isn’t a smart move out on the battlefield. And it looks like the woman expended all her mana as well.

“…What?” I speak out loud, barely containing my shock. Forget what I said before - the woman created three more phoenixes out of thin air!

Which means… the mana to magic efficiency was actually really high. She might be the strongest in the group, the weakest probably being the guy sitting on the side stand with a sword. Everyone else’s stats have grown, but this guy is still level 1!

Seriously, that guy’s been lacking.

I don’t know why though, but the mana signature on that guy and the woman both seem vaguely familiar.

Mana signatures are sort of like fingerprints – everyone has their own unique pattern of magic which they passively release from the body. However, scientists or whatever in Trivia haven't discovered a way to mass-produce conjurings for it. so they use blood signatures instead.

Seriously, thank you, {Omniscience}!

I could use this discovery and become a renowned scientist spoken about for generations to come.

Not bothered to develop a hypothesis, gather data and stuff though, so some other person can work on mana signatures.

After a while, I watch the four [Heroes] pack up, and return to the gigantic mansion – one that dwarfs Lin’s manor.

And then, it hits me. The familiar mana signature.

I recognise one of the [Heroes]. That one.

That woman – Melony. I can’t exactly remember when, but I’m sure I’ve seen her mana signature somewhere before.

I just can’t recall when and where…

I can feel some memories prodding me from the corner of my mind, and I try drawing upon them, but… nothing happens.

This is like that feeling when you feel a sneeze but can’t get it out!

Ultimately, my hopeless mind fails to dredge anything up, so I go to sleep feeling unsuccessful.

The sleep was nice though, since no matter where I rolled, the fuzzy beanbags would cushion me.

I awake the next morning feeling fresh and renewed.

Might as well check up on Harlew.

I open the three steel gates, peering my head through, and I get greeted by a huge slime, its diameter almost up to my waist.

Et tu, Harlew?

What happened to you?

Name: Harlew

Level: 19 Rank: C Class (primary): None Class (secondary): Scavenger

Health: 742

Damage: 573

Mana: 657

Defence: 647

Speed: 356

Titles: [Kin Eater], [Ally Hunter], [Monster Hunter]

Skills: [Dissolve Lv7]

Extra Skills: [Stomach Lv3], [Regenerate Lv4]>

What?

How did she get so strong in such a short amount of time? And Harlew even got two extra skills?

Seriously, what is going on?

Okay?

Technically, that is grammatically correct, but it's still kind of hard to properly decipher.

Is {Omniscience} just some dopey fraud of a skill?

See?

The guys avoiding eye contact and everything! So {Omniscience} is really just a fake, useless and unneeded.

Wait, I was just kidding!

Don’t leave me alone like this. Abort! Abort!

Return to me, {Omniscience}!

Whew. That was a close call.

…Why am I even getting held up by a stupid, one-sided argument anyway?

Harlew notices me, and quickly er, blobs around to face me, charging towards me.

Aww, I knew Harlew missed me!

I shower my arms, keeping them outstretched to give Harlew a pat as she closes in…

Only to get knocked onto the ground.

Harlew seems to be trying to melt me or whatever, but it doesn’t really do anything considering my defence stat is way higher than that.

Maybe she’s mad cause I killed a bunch of her siblings in front of her?

Bah, Harlew can’t be talking!

I mean, she literally has the title [Ally Hunter], no?

I guess I should keep Harlew in pecking order though. Don’t want her going all psycho maniac and bust my beanbags up.

I pour some mana into [Aura], and a, well, an aura of death begins hovering around me.

Harlew flinches away, scampering to the farthest corner of the room. She’d probably be whimpering if she could, but slimes have no voice boxes.

She’s subdued now… at least I think she is?

Oh, oops. Harlew fainted from the sheer pressure of my [Aura].

I lug her back into the mob spawner, and leave the dungeon.

Inhumane?

Tell me about it, I happen to have experienced a lot of inhumane. If I can handle it, I’m sure Harlew can handle a mere fraction of that!

Besides, she isn't even a human, and animal welfare doesn’t exist, so it's not like anyone’s going to come and try to stop me.

Rise and shine!

…

Ah, right. I forgot time passed slower in my dungeon, though not as slow as the storage. Only faint rays of sunlight pierce the sky.

Apart from that, it's pretty much pitch black – the conjured street lamps of these poshos all turn off after midnight to conserve magical energy.

Apparently, that’s how some conjurings work. The commonly used ones are conjured into weapons and stuff. These need the user to supply mana into the tool before it releases its pre-emptive spell.

Alternatively, most every-day conjurings work on ‘passive’ mana gain instead - they basically suck in the magical energy in the atmosphere. Sounds like a miracle, right?

Except these conjurings are far weaker than mana-supplied conjurings, so they’re really only ever used for everyday life.

I mean, you really expect the flare spell embedded in these lamps to kill a monster?

You’d have a better chance feeding the monster a burger and waiting a few years for it to die of a high cholesterol count.

But, that now brings something to mind. If I think about it, my [Dark Magic] isn’t just magical creation. Warping and coating also needs manipulation to work, right?

So… Just what exactly is [Dark Magic]? It’s a bit suspicious – no way some overpowered cheat skill would be so cheap in the skill shop.

Not only that, but Katherine and Doug seemed surprised when I pulled off a few tricks with it when I went to beat up Porky.

Sure, I was trying to leave a cold impression – and it probably worked after I saw their expressions.

But it felt kind of incomplete to me. More of a lukewarm display of my magic - not that they need to know about that.

Well, the point is, [Dark Magic] seems too overpowered.

Not complaining though - works well for me!

I sit around, and wait to watch round two of the [Hero]’s battle.