Demon lord Taloth was wide awake, fury burning hot in his veins. Veins had bulged so much you could pop them with a needle if you had one.
Cracks began to spread out around his armrests on the throne as his clawed hand gripped them with great force. Taloth was seething before releasing his aura. The room's pressure descended on the lone messenger, crushing the lowly demon to a pulp.
The smear on the floor relaxed the Demon Lord somewhat. His veins began receding as a calm and relaxed demeanor replaced what had been moments ago. A malicious smile spread across the demon Lord's face as he reined in his aura, with only a smear on the floor as evidence of his lack of control.
Taloth stood up from the throne, letting his brain whir as he tried to come up with a reasonable report to give to the Demon King who'd just summoned him. Whatever had attacked his outpost on the "baby world" had destroyed his shrine, breaking the teleportation formation on that side.
This meant he would not send his troops within the expected three-day mark to cover the Imp's disaster class. That a sole native of the baby world had cleared his Imps so easily and thoroughly was a thought to mull over, but Taloth had more important things to consider, like which half-truth he could tell the demon lord that wouldn't end up with him becoming a smear in the demon king's throne room.
I'm screwed.
He really was. With a sigh, Taloth bent the law of hellfire, using his will to transport himself to the doors of the Demon King's court. Two Delizats stood guarding the doors, their entire demeanor sending chills through Taloth's spine even as he bypassed the pair of abominations that were hideous even by hell's standards.
The King's court was the second most important building in the Demon King's Stronghold—Obsidian Claw, second only to the King's quarters. Obsidian tiles decorated the floor and walls. The level of craftsmanship probably cost an arm and a leg, but the demon king was way beyond such expenses.
As Taloth crossed the midway mark of the throne room, he fell to his knees, blowing with his forehead touching the floor. That was the custom of the court, a way to humble the subordinates and let them have no doubts about the status quo. While they may be lords, ladies, princes, or princesses in their own respective domains, before the demon king, they were nothing more than fleas, easy to get rid of at a moment's notice.
"Rise and sit," a deep, almost guttural voice echoed around the throne room. The source was seated regally on the throne—Demon King Zephyr the VII. Those who managed to claim the throne stripped themselves of all names and would be known as Zephyr, with the number signifying how many monarchs had come before them.
Demon Lord Taloth rose to his feet, showing no emotion as he walked to take his place at the seats reserved for lords and ladies in the throne room. The court was not in session at the moment, so it was just Taloth face to face and alone with this being who was a demon to all other demons—the strongest of all demons in hell, allegedly.
"What is the update on the new world Earth?" the Demon King uttered in a booming and clipped tone.
The demon went straight to the heart of the matter, as he wasn't one to waste his time. A character trait that all demon monarchs seemingly possessed.
Seven hells.
Taloth tried not to dawdle, but it was pretty difficult, seeing as the creature looking at him impassively could kill him without moving. Yet, like all demons, Taloth hoped to deceive the demon king by putting up a facade of false bravado.
"My king, I have run into a little issue in my outpost on Earth. I, however, assure you that the issue will be resolved as soon as possible," Taloth said. His words were laced with honey and flattery, with the truth serving as a nice little bow.
Crack!
Pressure descended upon Demon Lord Taloth, his head, and shoulders bearing the full weight of the King's aura that seemed to target him alone. Such control the king possessed that he could impose his aura on a specific spot. Taloth's right shoulder hung loosely at his side, the pressure had broken it.
He could sense the second one on the verge of receiving the same fate when the pressure eased up. The Demon King himself hadn't moved a muscle, nor had his face even so much as twitched at what he'd just done.
"Try again. I'd advise you to speak the whole truth this time."
Devil nuts.
Taloth sucked in a deep breath—the shoulder he could easily heal, but he'd rather not do so, lest the Demon King deal with him permanently.
"My outpost on Earth was destroyed by a native of the world, my shrine alongside it, the act severing the teleportation formation between both worlds," Taloth said through gritted teeth. "I intend on sending stronger demons to reclaim my lost outpost. Within two months, I shall have recovered my outpost and will personally lead the charge to conquer the baby world."
Taloth carefully watched the expression of the Demon King, his hands already preparing to summon his soul blade. He might not be able to reach the king on time, but he'd die trying rather than on his knees begging for mercy.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Good," the Demon King said. The single word bounced off the walls and into Taloth's brain.
For the first time since he'd come into the throne room, the demon king looked at him straight in the eyes, a malicious smile cutting through his formerly stoic expression.
"You understand what happens if you fail, correct?"
"Yes, my King. I swear that I will not fail you," Taloth said with an audible gulp.
"For your sake, I hope you don't."
---
Nathan bit into a juicy fruit he'd gotten out of his bag of holding. It was his third of the morning. Crimson light spilled into the bare bedroom as he sat on the floor, munching up the weird fruit.
Surprisingly, he hadn't been attacked all night, and the fireplace hadn't set the cabin on fire—two things he was quite grateful for. It had been nice to get a good night's rest after all these days of fighting.
His mind felt fresh, his body in pristine condition, if you discounted the cramps he had from sleeping on the cabin floor. Wood or dirt, sleeping on the floor would always leave one sore.
With a lot of reluctance, Nathan got off the floor, folding up his bag of holding and tucking it in his pants pocket. The magic pants looked fresh under the crimson light, no doubt having re-knitted themselves while he was asleep—which was a shame, as he'd hoped to see it re-knit in real-time.
Stretching his limbs to shake out the kinks and dents in his body, Nathan set out to figure out what he was going to do today. One option was to build furniture, which Nathan had no idea how to do. At most, he might carve up a log into a chair with his sword, but he had no idea how to do that either.
I could learn.
He could if he did enough trial and error, but the real question was whether he'd rather spend his time trying to make himself more comfortable or trying to level up as fast as possible. Then there was the fact that the next upgrade available for the cabin actually had basic furniture, and it was bigger. The catch was that it was almost two-point-five times more expensive, which meant Nathan would have to work two-point-five times harder or smarter to get the coins needed.
Smarter, not harder.
Closing the door as he left the cabin, he decided on the strategy he'd rather employ. He'd work smarter, not necessarily harder. Working harder meant building a cabin like this on his own without the system. Working smarter meant squeezing the system for every resource it had to offer.
He knew which decision held more merit. After all, he wouldn't have thought about building a cabin with a fireplace, and even if he had, he probably wouldn't have managed to execute it as well as the system had. From this moment, Nathan had decided to make the system work for him by all means and routes possible.
Nathan looked around his stronghold, which only had a single building—the cabin. The rest was a clearing in each direction, with his cabin in the middle. From the look of things, Nathan estimated his stronghold to be the size of at least two and a half estates put together. So much land just for him.
Not like I can use it for anything.
He glanced around the clearing, squinting at the three wooden walls. Each of them had a means of exit: the eastern and western walls had small gates for foot traffic, while the southern wall had a bigger gate that a car could probably use to get in. The fourth or northern wall was something Nathan had discounted entirely, as it was just mounds of dirt and debris he'd pushed to the edge of the clearing, using it to complete the fencing of Blood Rock.
Meaning that the makeshift wall possessed no means of exiting or entering the stronghold—it was just a plain wall, and he didn't mind, to be honest. With a smile, he began to analyze what exactly he was going to do for the day, as he was free.
Dungeoneering or free hunting?
Dungeoneering seemed the safer of the two, with fewer variables to consider. But at the same time, he still didn't have any idea about the level caps of dungeons. The boss of the last one he'd entered was at level 13, with a badass skill of its own, and it was an F-ranked dungeon.
He had no idea what to expect if he did eventually decide to get into another dungeon. Would there be higher-level bosses in F-level dungeons? Probably. He estimated that at the F rank, the max range of the bosses should be around level 15 to 20, with level 20 being the system wanting to mess with humans.
Or maybe he was going about it all wrong. In games, dungeons were usually undertaken in groups or parties. If so, the fact that he'd soloed a dungeon and survived probably wasn't a small feat.
He'd gotten lucky.
The next time he'd get into a dungeon, he'd have to be at least at level 15—better if he was higher, or he'd be in a group. This meant he'd have to avoid dungeons until he met other humans, which he assumed would be soon.
Time till the tutorial ends?
Planet Grade: F
Populating World... Time till completion - 2 [15:32:27]
Spawning Dungeons and Monsters... Time till completion - 2 [15:32:27]
Tutorial Ongoing... Time till completion - 2 [15:32:27]
Strongholds: 4
Apparently, Nathan had a little under three days before the rest of the human population was released into the new reality—a reality he'd been dealing with for the past three and a half days.
At least I won't be alone.
The possibility of finally reuniting with other humans was like a cooling balm on Nathan's head. He hadn't known how much he'd been missing seeing other humans. The lack of human interaction had almost driven him nuts, and he was an introvert at heart. Shaking his head, he replaced the screen with another.
Status
Name: Nathan Orion
Moniker: N/A
Level: 12
Archetype: Blood Berserker
Class: Blood Pawn
Imprints: Balls of Steel, Skull Crusher, Demon Slayer, Bronze-Dungeoneer.
Strength: 17
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 11
Constitution: 10
Perception: 10
Dao: N/A
Faction: N/A
Ra'hal Coins: 5,240
Free Points: 2
Nathan closed the screen with a thought. The fight against the wolves had taught him that it was always valuable to have free points available. With his mindset and his free points at the ready, he made his way to the southern gate.
The hunt begins.