Yolo - Greed Sin Imp

I lost my voice in an encounter with a creature bound to a Human Tamer. But my inability to sound out words didn't affect the Impan language, a complex system of hand signs and grunts. After Redrock taught Forge and me the Falaran language, I felt the pain of being unable to communicate with those who did not understand Impan.

When all the Imps signed the Dungeon Minion contract with Lord Rai, they acquired Falaran and English from him, but he learned nothing from them. My trusted companion, Forge, was my translator whenever I needed to speak to the Dungeon Lord. However, I found notes on the ground in the Falaran language made by Amon, who used his tail to communicate with Lord Rai before signing the contract.

When the Dungeon Lord commanded Amon, Forge, and me to accompany Nazrat into Rodwin's Ruins, I felt compelled to voice my concerns. So I went to Lord Rai's side and used the tip of my tail to etch my thoughts onto the floor. It caught his attention since I wrote it in English, which seems to be his native tongue.

"Right! I am in a Golem body, and Timun is a Dwarf. The Imp Race hates us and won't allow us to pass unless Nazrat proves to them that I am Dungeon Lord, which will be difficult. He also pointed out that Imp tribes won't approve of a Warrior Caste Imp leading a Hundred Imps with twenty Leader Caste Imps among them. One of the Human Imps has to pretend to be the leader, and the other 19 must go with the Non-Imps back to the Dungeon in the carriage. Yolo also feels the Dungeon Lord's name should not be invoked to avoid unnecessary confusion and hostility," Lord Rai relayed.

"Yolo has always thought things through. I suggest you take his suggestion," said Forge.

"I approve of Yolo's plan. Since the Black Carriage has a capacity for 25 people. There is enough room for the 19 Human Imps, the triplets, Timun and I to ride in. Valgrind, will you go along with the Sin Imps and pretend to be the leader of the rest of the Imps." Lord Rai suggested.

"I will obey the Lord, though I think Nazrat is more capable in this task," Valgrind replied.

"Since you are still a Classless Clay Rank, we can pretend that you just became Human and put me in charge to represent our tribe," Nazrat suggested.

"Since Valgrind doesn't have a Slave Mana Tattoo, it should be more believable. But that also means Valgrind can't be seen walking around Rodwin, or he will be killed on the spot. So I will take these five in the Black Carriage, drop them in the forest outside Rodwin, and point them toward the Ruins before returning here." Redrock suggested, and Lord Rai nodded his head.

I then add another concern on the floor, which Lord Rai reads.

"Even if we get through the first ruin, the Imps in the second ruin near the Dungeon will consider it an invasion unless they agree to receive our Imps in advance." Lord Rai read it aloud.

"Isn't that obvious? There is no point worrying about the other side if we can't get through the first one." Forge reasoned.

"True! Is there anything else to consider?" Lord Rai asked.

No one raises another issue.

"Then I wish the five of you good luck! But if they refuse on either side, focus on returning here or the Dungeon if you cross the time limit. All five of you are too important for me to lose for a shortcut." Lord Rai's words were met with a unified bow of gratitude from all of us.

After boarding the black carriage, Redrock drove us out of Rodwin and dropped us off deep within the forest near the ruins. He pointed us in the direction we needed to go before going back.

It took us 20 minutes to get there and another 10 minutes to reach the ruins on foot. When the Ruin came into sight, I was awed by its huge size. Moonlight illuminated the structures that have been slowly degrading over millennia or more. The one my tribe had come from was tiny in comparison. This site may have served a purpose other than being a teleportation point in the distant past. I saw hundreds of Imps guarding, resting, eating or working at the edge of the ruins. They all are wearing armor that must have been collected from humans they killed or forged by their Smith Caste. I could tell from the sizes that they all are Clay Rank. I couldn't find any Iron to Steel Rank Imps among their number. I reasoned those Imps were led elsewhere. They didn't notice us until Nazrat beat his chest to get their attention.

"I am Nazrat! The voice of my Tribe Chief Valgrind! We have come here to seek an audience with your High Chief for safe passage through the Obelisk." Nazrat announced.

"Present your Chief!" One among their number yelled, and Valgrind stepped in front of Nazrat so they could get a good look at him.

Nearly a thousand Imps gathered outside the edge of the ruins to face our small group. Only one Stone Rank Leader Cast Imp came out to meet Valgrind. He has the same body shape as a Human Imp, which means he killed and ate a Human recently, but I can't tell if he has a Human or an Imp mind. Before he reached us, Nazrat whispered a prayer in Impan to find the believer among those Imps and started mumbling numbers in random increasing order until he stopped at 255.

Their tribe stopped a few meters away from Valgrind. He wore a full set of Bronze Armor covered in dried blood and wielded a one-handed Battle Axe in each hand. I guessed that the armor and weapons belonged to the Human he killed and ate.

"I am Torak! I lead the Imps in these Ruins. Since you don't have a Slave Mana Tattoo, you must not belong to a Human Master. We have been tricked many times by enslaved Human Imps who lure us out like this to capture us. So we needed to see if he was free, though I never heard of one who only leads five Imps." Torak informed us in the Impan language after looking at each of us. His eyes focused on Valgrind, but Nazrat stepped between them to explain.

"Today, his mind was taken over by the Human he consumed. The rest of our tribe, who number 77, have picked me to speak on their behalf until his Human mind accepts the leadership position." Nazrat explained.

"Where are they?" Torak asked as his ears twitched to sense any hidden Imps in the forest behind us.

"They are all hiding near Rodwin, awaiting one of us to summon them if we get safe passage from your tribe," said Nazrat.

"Why are they hiding?" Torak asked.

"We thought it might convey the wrong intention if we came to you in full strength," Nazrat explained.

"That it would! So, which tribe do you hail from?" Torak asked.

"We belong to the tribe that lives near the Dungeon. A human summoner captured us to sell us at the market in Rodwin. However, our Chief killed and ate him before we reached the town. We were about to return to our home on foot, but the human mind in our Chief told us about your ruins, and we figured why not ask for safe passage from your High Chief." Nazrat lied in Impan.

"The High Chief of our tribe is hunting monsters to Rank Up in the Underworld with those strong enough to help him. So I am in charge of these Imps till then. But what will you offer us in return for safe passage?" Torak asked while staring at Valgrind's Gold storage ring on his finger.

Valgrind suddenly remembered his ring and hid his hand behind his back, but it was too late.

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"Chief, please offer its contents," Nazrat politely requested.

Valgrind reluctantly nodded without saying a word and pulled out a book related to Holy Magic and Knight Combat techniques.

"We already have a few of these from the Humans we caught. Do you have something unique?" Torak asked after inspecting the books and returning them.

Valgrind gulped and nodded, slowly taking out a platinum, silver, and gold helmet with a Spiral Mithril horn on its forehead and diamonds studded all over it. The smith who created it must have been of high Rank to work with such materials and make such a beautiful piece.

Torak smiled as his Imps made sounds of surprise.

"That will certainly please our High Chief! Give it to me, and I will grant your tribe safe passage to your home." Torak promised.

Valgrind appeared hesitant. The helmet was important to him. My desire to steal it from him was strong, but Valgrind was not my enemy. He is a fellow Minion so that I can control my urges.

Nazrat glanced at the helmet and then at Valgrind before interrupting the exchange.

"We will be presenting this helmet to our High Chief back home! So you cannot have it!" Nazrat declared.

Well, there goes the plan.

"Hahah! There are a thousand of us. If we cannot make a trade, we will forcefully take it from you. But I am willing to give you another chance to hand it over and return home with your tribe," Torak warned.

"Then I will invoke the Impdom Law of Final Resolution. I propose a duel to the death between the two of us. If you win, you can have the Holy Knight Helmet. However, if I am victorious, I will pick 255 of your Imps as my prize and safe passage for my tribe." Nazrat declared.

"But you are a Warrior, and I am a Leader. Impdom laws forbid inter-caste duels." Torak countered.

"I don't know who taught you the Impdom Laws, but Imps of different tribes can duel any caste as long as the challenger is a lower rank than the one being challenged," Nazrat stated confidently.

There were no tribes when the last Dungeon Lord was alive. But most Imps don't know the true history unless they have the skills to relive the past lives of our ancestors like us.

"Sounds like you're making it up," Torak replied.

"Sounds like you are afraid you will die at my hands with that weak Human Body you got," Nazrat taunted.

Nazrat had defeated 100 Imp Warriors over the past year. He told me the 'Challenger' skill gave him a 100% chance of succeeding in taunting single or multiple opponents of the same Rank and 50% if they were one Rank above. If it succeeded, they would lose their reason and attack with rage.

"You dare call me a coward? Fine! We will duel, but I will take that helmet and eat your whole tribe when I am done with you!" Torak promised.

It seems the taunt worked well enough to cause him to rage into a cannibal.

"You hear that!" Nazrat yelled at the Imps behind Torak. Even the Imps watching from the tops of the ruins could hear everything with their heightened hearing. Many of them nod in acknowledgment.

"Nazrat! You don't need to duel to the death! I am willing to surren_" Valgrind tried to protest, but Forge interrupted him with a slap.

"Shut up Human! Imp society runs on 'Might make right'! You should get used to that!" Forge scolded Valgrind, who looked wronged for trying to stop the fight. But Forge stopped him from ruining Nazrat's chance to clear his last requirement.

I knew Nazrat had been stuck at Clay Rank because he wasn't willing to fight a Leader Caste Imp of Stone Rank out of a misplaced sense of Pride for the Imp race. Even when Redrock offered him the opportunity to kill the Stone Rank Imps he captured, Nazrat always refused because he couldn't kill another Imp just to Rank Up. Now he has enough reason to do it.

"I am going to enjoy sucking your_" Torak was interrupted when Nazrat sucker-punched the right side of his helmet. Before Torak could recover, Nazrat jumped on him, causing him to fall to the ground on his back. Nazrat attempted to use Feral Fang, but a war axe was raised to protect the exposed neck. Torak kicked Nazrat in the groin before kicking him off to get back on his feet.

"You will bleed to death with a Hundred Cuts!" Torak yelled and then activated a skill.

"Frenzy!" Torak yelled and started swinging his dual war axes in a flurry as he charged toward Nazrat.

"A barbarian skill?" Nazrat replied, and he chanted a prayer for Pain nullification in Impan. He took on the attack, which left several deep wounds on his body, and didn't scream in pain or flinch. Then, Nazrat chanted a prayer to restore his flesh, and all the wounds were healed in a few seconds. Torak saw this and got enraged even more. So he kept slashing away at Nazrat, who kept praying to restore his flesh by expending Mana. He also rotated the prayers for pain nullification, restored stamina, and rejuvenated morale to keep taking the attacks. Throughout it all, Nazrat kept giving Torak a sinister smile as if he was enjoying it.

"WHY ARE YOU SMILING?" Torak yelled after slashing Nazrat for the 50th time and then saw it healed.

"I will tell you after you are done!" Nazrat replied and accepted more cuts with a smile. His response enraged Torak even more, and he kept hacking away at Nazrat's body for 2 minutes before the Frenzy Fury skill timed out, severely weakening him. He was panting because he ran out of Stamina and Mana.

"You done? Five Priest Skills granted me a larger mana pool than a normal Warrior. But now you are out of Mana and Stamina, and I still have all my stamina," Nazrat pointed out.

Nazrat turned around to whip his tail, stabbing Torak's right eye with the arrow tip. After that, he sucker-punched Torak again, forcing him to back away to recover from his daze and some stamina. Nazrat then drummed his chest to temporarily raise his strength before ramming into the dazed Torak, whose body was too slow to react. The impact made him fly right into a group of Imps who had come closer to watch the fight. They cushioned his fall, but they were pinned down when Nazrat jumped on Torak one last time to deliver a feral fang to his neck, causing a fountain of blood to spurt out as he ripped away the vocal cords along with the main blood vessels. Torak passed out from blood loss and died.

"Hahaha! I did it!" Nazrat exclaimed as his body glowed with white light, indicating he had fulfilled a rank-up requirement.

Nazrat shouted, "I choose Pride-Zealot Imp!" before roaring fiercely. Torak's Imps backed away as Nazrat's body grew from 5 feet to 10 feet tall. The hair on his body changed from black to pure white, and his muscles became even bulkier. As he walked in a circle around Torak's corpse, his footsteps made loud thumps. He also inspected the changes to his body and flexed his new muscles.

"I must thank you for helping me Rank Up. As a reward, I will not waste any part of you," said Nazrat as he ripped off the limbs before consuming them like carrots.

Torak's Imps watched in horror and shivered with every crunch of bones. They were worried they would be next.

The head was the last, and Nazrat smashed it open like a coconut and poured the contents into his open mouth. After the first bite, Nazrat smiled in satisfaction.

"The Frenzy Skill? How lovely!" Nazrat announced and tossed away the broken skull. He then went over to Torak's Imps, who panicked and were about to run when he grabbed one by its tail to stop it from escaping.

"Please! Don't eat us!" One of the Imps yells. He belongs to the Hunter Caste.

"I want my prize of 255 Imps! And a safe passage for my tribe!" Nazrat exclaimed.

"Choose whoever you want! Go wherever you want! But our Chief will come after you to take revenge." The Hunter Imp warned.

"What Rank is your Chief?" Nazrat asked.

"Silver! He will return to the ruins once he reaches the Gold Rank!" The Hunter Imp answered, and Nazrat let him go in shock.

That is a very high rank for an Imp. Did we kick a killer bee nest for Lord Rai? He said he didn't want a war with a powerful Imp tribe, and we did just that!

"I think I messed up." Nazrat softly said to me.

"You did, but you Ranked Up. Anyways, Lord Rai said he would be sealing the Dungeon entrance. So unless they find the Gemstone Mine or another way to get in, the Dungeon will be safe." I point out.

I noticed that the rest of the Imps had disappeared below the ruins. They must have gone to raise the alarm and get their Chief to come up and deal with us. Since Torak mentioned he was busy trying to rank up, I doubted he would stop it over the death of a Stone Rank Imp. Therefore, we still have time to secure the path to the Dungeon.

Nazrat then proceeded to pick out the Imps until he amassed 225 in front of him. I could see they were all frightened by Nazrat. From my Ancestor's memories, I knew that Stone Rank Imps don't grow this big. But the Sin Tree always customized the evolution to fit the Imp's desires.

"As per the Impdom Law, you are all my prize from the Duel. But who among you believes that our Dungeon Lord will return to us and deliver us to a grassland full of meat, eggs and honey?" Nazrat revealed.

Almost all of them raised their hands. They looked at each other and were shocked that every one of the 225 was a believer.

"I am here as his messenger. I will lead you all to his paradise, but the Imps living in the Ruins near the Dungeon may try to stop us. If they refuse to let us pass, we will fight them!" Nazrat exclaimed, which was met with cheers from the Imps who believed.

As the Imps cheered, Valgrind came to Nazrat's side to speak to him, and I overheard their conversation.

"Nazrat! This helmet belonged to my Grandfather. Thank you for fighting to let me keep it. I can't believe I almost surrendered it," Valgrind said as he approached Nazrat's side. Forge followed close behind.

"I'll be honest. I did it for myself. However, I did realize that it was important to you. But our Lord would have cursed me if I had let you give it away," Nazrat revealed.

"Well, I owe you for it," Valgrind replied.

"By the way, what does it do?" asked Nazrat.

"The Mithril Horn on the helmet triples Mana, gathering speed for the wearer, and the Diamonds were Rune smithed to triple the Mana Pool of the wearer. It's meant to make Mage Knights never run out of Mana during a battle," Valgrind explained.

Nazrat looked at Valgrind, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.