Immediately after the notification popped up, pain wracked my whole body.

It felt like an unbearable itch had seeped all over my skin, and my nerves had been set on fire.

I could faintly hear disturbing cracking sounds, as something unpleasant happened to my bones. I don’t know how long it went on, especially since I might have blacked out at some point. No, I definitely blacked out.

When I came to, the sun was only just peaking over the bottom of the single window in my room.

I sat up, feeling no discomfort after sleeping on the hardwood floor. In fact, I felt comfortable, a sharp contrast to the events of last night.

Frowning, I opened my status, and took a look at what had happened. Specifically, I wanted to see what the class ‘Quasi-Demon Lord’ did to me.

Quasi-Demon Lord:This individual has stepped upon the path towards becoming a Demon Lord, but is only halfway there at the moment. Body has been partially restructured.Primary Effects:All Stats x1.5Demon Lord’s Aura (Weak)

Huh. If getting to level seventy-five made me a Quasi-Demon Lord, then I think I just found out what happens when I reach level one-hundred.

This whole thing must be a result from my father’s blood though. It must run in me a lot stronger than it does Jasper, considering that he’s been stuck at this stage for about fifty years now.

I got up from the floor, and checked my stats.

Status:Name: Katariah Nadine SilverTitles: (5 Hidden)Race: Demon/ElfAge: 13Gender: FemaleMain Class: Quasi-Demon LordSub Class(es): Spell-Sword SaintLevel: 75Health: 4568Mana: 153600Strength: 813Stamina: 747Dexterity: 864Intelligence: 1176Wisdom: 936Luck: 1

I think I’m officially the strongest teenager on the continents. 

Hell, I now have a stat of over one thousand—my intelligence.

Though, I think my luck is broken. It’s never done anything. While most people’s luck is normally fixed, it can still increase due to fortuitous events. Even now, due to the increase in all of my stats, luck should have also increased.

I’m beginning to think that it only displays a one, due to the fact that it can’t go any lower. Maybe the actual value approaches zero or something?

Also, in addition to my main class changing, my sub class has also changed, becoming a ‘Spell-Sword Saint’.

From the description, it sounded like a combination between all three of my earlier classes—mage, swordsman, and smith. It gives active boosts to my abilities when making or using swords, and allows my magic to better flow in combat with a sword. I can probably channel mana through swords a whole lot better, then.

I noticed a few other things, as well.

For one, I seem to have gained quite a bit of weight.

Not in fat or anything, but my whole body feels many times more dense than it had been. I guess when the system says that my body was reconstructed, it means from the ground up, which would explain why it had been so painful. I would also guess that my body is now many times more resilient towards any number of things.

And, when looking in the mirror, I found that the changes weren’t just under the skin.

My skin seemed much clearer than it had been, like it had rid itself of imperfections. That also meant that the bags under my eyes, even after having been there for at least a year now, were gone. I never really did get enough sleep, preferring to work on new blades and ideas.

My hair was also longer now, reaching to the small of my back instead of my shoulders. It also seemed to have turned white at the roots, the silver fading gradually. It wasn’t a sickly white though, instead seeming to be like snow, in a way.

My horns had adopted a darker hue near their tips, sort of like when I go into〖Demonic Transformation〗, except the horns had turned red near the tips then, while now it’s more black than anything. My eyes had also had a slight color change, as I could now see little flecks of green suspended inside the fiery gold colors. Other than that, I just felt revitalized and fresh.

Well, until I grabbed a plate for breakfast, and accidentally broke the wooden construct, underestimating my new strength.

Somewhat abashed, I ate silently, before going to one of the many places to spar on the campus.

I decided that before doing anything else, I needed to get a handle on my power, and make sure that I don’t accidentally hurt someone.

Running around the outside of the training grounds in the same clothes I had used to smith Nightfall yesterday, I got a good idea of my top speed without using any fancy movements or mana. When I did use a tiny bit of my mana, I instantly crossed the entire training ground. I think I may have created a small sonic boom though, so I decided to not do that in the school. Luckily, it was still early in the morning, so nobody really had the energy to come and see what had caused such a large sound.

After that, I began testing the limits of my body.

...Which left me physically exhausted, as several five hundred kilogram rocks lay around me. Yeah, I had been able to pick them up. Other than the fact that it was difficult to find a grip on such a large object, it had been easier than I had expected.

It felt like I was beginning to be able to limit my strength, as well.

Just to be safe, I went through some old sword forms that acted a lot like Tai-Chi, and was designed to help its practitioners to concentrate and built control. Perfect for what I needed right now, since I definably need more control over my new strength.

Once the sun was about a fourth of the way though the sky, I stopped.

Other people had begun to arrive at the training ground, and I had begun to feel a little self-conscious in front of them. I even saw one of the teachers I’d curb-stomped during the exam. It was the one that stole my tent, and I felt gratified when I smiled wolfishly at her, and she paled. Thought, that might also be due to the horns, and the fact that I so obviously have demon blood. Then, I don’t know if I should feel good or bad about her reaction?

Oh well. I’ll just ignore it.

Pondering what I should do for the rest of the day, I went to visit Flavius in his office. He was buried neck deep under paperwork, so I asked him where the heroes were, not wanting to be dragged into helping him with the papers.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

For a second, he looked extremely happy, and vindicated, before telling me where they were. As soon as the word had left his mouth, I left. I could hear him calling for help behind me, but I had to save myself… 

The heroes were in a classroom, looking supremely bored as another familiar face taught them.

I think his name was…Cat? Cait?

Anyway, he had been the one who had taken the teacher’s exam with me, and had decided that winning is justice, no matter how his team won. I had given that dream an early death by proving to him that no, winning isn’t justice. Absolute power is.

That is to say, I crushed him in one move. The bottle of wine I had drunk before-hand hadn’t helped matters. I mean, I had wanted to hold back a little, but forgot.

The result of this is that I now absolutely terrify the man.

As soon as I walked in, the same scene from the training field with the other teacher repeated itself.

He saw me, and cut off mid lecture, his face draining of blood. He crouched down low, and held out his hands wardingly, like he was trying to calm down a large and hungry animal before running away as fast as his weak legs could take him.

So, not very fast.

The heroes noticed when his lecture about common warfare tactics puttered out, and started paying their full attention to the drama unfolding before them.

I put up my own hands, indicating to him that I meant no harm.

(Kai) “Hi again. Sorry about what happened during the exam—I had a little to drink, and forgot that people are fragile. Friends?”

I held out a hand, but he just squealed and ran around me, grabbing his teaching stuff as he went.

Huh, that was actually kinda fast. Sorry for underestimating you, Cait.

I huffed, and leaned against the podium he had set up for the lecture.

I have a bad feeling that I’ve got to keep people from fearing me, whether for my demon blood, or for my power. Though, I have a feeling that the two are connected. After all, who would be fearful of a weak demon? Sure, they might disdain it, and not care about it, but it’s not feared.

I’m not willing to live the rest of my potentially short life with everyone afraid of me. I like being liked, if it’s for the right reasons. If they just like me for the organs they could sell on the black market, then I should probably run. Or kill them. Either works.

The problem with this whole thing, is that it’s a product of countless centuries of warfare, religious zeal, and political maneuvering. All with a healthy dose of fearful superstition thrown in.

Right now, I don’t even know what could reverse all this, except maybe the need for cooperation. If everyone could come in close contact with demons, over an extended period of time, then maybe some of that fear would disappear.

That’s why I view the summit that's going to happen soon as such a good thing, since that contact could be forced, if the threat from outside is big enough. Also, maybe if the continent’s leaders become more afraid of the unknown outside factors than the demons near them.

Mh. It’s not my problem anyway…

In fact, since I had broken the world seal, I may have driven this place towards greater cooperation, and the redemption of the demons.

Now, if only the outside world would be so kind as to not break our little continents, then everything will have been fine.

As I was contemplating these issues, the heroes just stared at me as I spaced out.

I realized that I had been staring at empty space for the past minute or so, and tried to play it off.

(Kai) “Ah, yes. I just tested your patience, and as a group, I am pleased with the results. Whoever taught you the art of waiting did a fine job of it.”

There were a few confused looks around the small classroom, though Sarah just laughed.

(Sarah) “Please. I was taught patience by the best, and continue to learn more and more. Especially lately.”

Selina was the next to talk, and the first to voice what some of the others had been thinking.

(Selina) “Did something else happen after dinner last night? You seem…different somehow. Did your horns change color a little?”

Like most other things, I decided to mix in a healthy amount of truth, along with a good lie.

(Kai) “Mh? Yeah. I reached level seventy five, and my demon blood evolved a little. I got a small power up from that.”

Selina nodded, though I noticed that she seemed a little wary still. I knew it would be likely that she wouldn’t buy too much into my lie, but I wasn’t trying to fool her, as much as the heroes I didn’t know so well.

While Sarah and Gaby might understand that I wasn’t an enemy needing immediate killing, the others might not buy into that idea so much. And, I knew with absolute certainty that Selina knew that people were hellishly complex, and not bound by restrictions such as race, age, sex or nationality. 

Also, she would simply think that me becoming a Demon Lord in the near future would simply be ‘interesting’, and fun to watch. She wouldn’t try to kill me over it. Though, she may make me fight my old corpse, for entertainment. She’s an odd one like that.

Besides, she likes irony.

What’s more ironic than a growing Quasi-Demon Lord teaching heroes to fight?

Well, a few things, I’d imagine. It’s still near the top of the list though.

I would like to point out that Cait had been doing the heroes a grand disservice by trying to teach them the basics of military tactics.

They’re heroes for the gods sake! Most of them already know this, and those who don’t could easily learn from the other heroes.

So, the first thing I did as their new teacher was to have them introduce themselves, to me, and to each other.

While they had interacted with each other quite a few times before now, I figured that there were always things avoided in polite talk. Like war.

And so it was that we learned all about the whole, complete, and extended version of the legend of King Arthur for our first semi-official lesson.

As it turns out, he likes to talk about himself quite a bit. He wouldn't shut up. No, he couldn't.

Never meet your heroes, kids.

You’ll only be disappointed.   

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

Author's Note:

Posting this right after a seven hour long red-eye flight. 

I'm actually in another airport terminal at the moment, waiting for my next flight to Berlin.

It's a four hour wait, so thank the internet gods for free wifi.

—River.