I stared at my reflection, my brown hair had been combed, a suit was worn, and my trusty notebook was also there. Today was the day when I would meet Ningguang Morax, and I had to do my best to make the best impression possible.

It has been months since I signed the contract, and yesterday I finally got an invitation. If I was human, I would have complained about how long she kept me waiting, but I was not, and neither was she. She was Lady Morax, the head of the pillar of Morax. One of the most influential devils in the world. in other words, I should be happy that she even wasted her time meeting a no-name devil like myself. Lucifer knows that other devils wouldn’t even waste a second of their time “evaluating” a low-class devil.

Devils are a peculiar species; they shout that their race respects power yet their standing is not determined by power at all. For example, for any non-devil, I would be considered a mid-class devil due to my demonic power being on the level of a mid-class. But to a devil, I am still a low-class devil since I did not take the test that would promote me from a low to mid-class. But the children of the pillar houses are born as high-class devils, due to the reason that they would naturally reach the level of high class at the age of 18.

In other words, devils are bloody hypocrites.

Thankfully now I am ready. I am at the peak of mid-class; my demonic power reserves have grown a lot due to me focusing a bit more on my magic than my body. that doesn’t mean that I have neglected training my body, but I have been mostly focusing on my transfiguration.

The only thing that has been learned was the breathing method, even if it was one of six levels. I can now use it at a moment's notice to increase the durability of my body, though making it become my regular breathing pattern isn’t still viable. Yet. I feel close, but I can only keep my breathing up for an hour.

Rather than the pain in my lungs, the inability to keep it for more than an hour is due to my lack of focus.

Dusting the non-existent dust, I once more checked myself in the mirror.

I look pretty good. My hair has grown longer, reaching my neck, but I didn’t cut it. long hair looks good on me. though it has been slicked back so I could appear professional. However, being a kid makes me look like a kid who is trying too hard to act mature. But who cares.

Patting my new, and extremely expensive clothes, and making sure that there is nothing on my well-polished shoes. I grabbed the letter of invitation from the Morax and exited my house.

Walking down the streets, everyone is staring at me, maybe it is due to the comparison between my attire and the surroundings. I look like someone who belonged to a quite wealthy, while the surroundings are well…it’s a slum, there is no better way to tell it.

Though the problem is, that this is my slum, I own it. kinda, at least I rule it. though I haven’t done anything ruler-like, maybe I should as long as it doesn’t cost money.

After all, currently, in terms of money, I have none. Buying the suit costs a lot, hopefully, it will give me back my investment.

Speaking of money, I pat my pockets, hoping to feel my new purse. But instead, all I felt was the fabric and my leg.

Shit, I forgot my purse. Quickly turning around, I power-walked back home.

-

I couldn’t help it. I gulped.

The floating mansion that was atop the mountain was a sight that would make people shake just seeing it.

“Halt! State your name and purpose!” the guards, standing in front of the gates yelled in unison.

Just using my senses I realized that each of them was high-class devils.

I showed them my letter. I hoped they would do nothing that would make my life harder. Maybe they will deny access due to me being a non-pillar devil. Or maybe they will think it’s a counterfeit and detain me…though it looks like my worries were unfounded.

Seeing the letter, they looked at each other. And they turned and nodded at me. the gate in front of me opened.

One of the guards came forward, a clipboard in his hands.

“Read and sign, unless you sign this, you are unable to go inside.”

[I hereby swear that I have no harmful intentions upon entering, I shall not harm the residents on the land nor shall I communicate with anyone who is outside the wards of the Morax. If I break these I would be teleported to the dungeons.]

Reading the contract, I read it again. Searching for anything that could screw me over. Seeing nothing, I nodded my head and signed it using the pen the guard handed to me.

“You can go in. Follow her, she will take you to meet Lady Morax.”

A maid appeared next to him, she gave me a look over and walked back.

Seeing this, I slowly trailed behind her.

My eyes looked at everything in wonder. The trees, the flowers, the animals, everything was beautiful. There were statues of all shapes and sizes.

The maid was silent, she did not talk nor did she look back. While I did have some questions that needed to be answered, it would be embarrassing to do so, mostly due to the fact her attention was not on me and that to gain her attention I would have to tap her on the shoulder, maybe she would perceive it as a threat and grab me by the arm and throw me to the ground.

Sigh. Have I mentioned how inconvenient being mute is? I should have bought something that could help me communicate with others instead of buying that. It would have been a much greater help in situations such as these.

I should look into buying something like that using my ability. I would have but currently, I have no money to buy anything.

We walked over to a circle. She stood right in the middle, so I followed her actions and stood inside.

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The circle glowed in green light and the land that the circle was on detached from its place and floated toward the jade chamber.

I looked at the ground, in little amazement. It would’ve been much more amazing if it wasn’t for the fact that I could already fly, which makes me wonder why they made something like this. Wouldn’t it have been much more efficient if she had just used a teleportation circle to teleport inside?

The circulator elevator brought us up, getting off it and stepping onto the giant floating island, the small paranoid part of me reared its cynical head.

What if we fall? What if the island malfunctioned?

I ignored it. this thing has been there for centuries, possibly. There is no way it would fall today. and even if it did, I have wings therefore I can fly.

“Lucrecio,” Yelan called out. She came forward and was about to ruffle my hair like always but I gave the best glare I could. Promising death and vengeance if she did that.

“Feisty today aren’t ya?” she smirked.

I don’t care what she says, it took me a long time to comb my hair, and I am not going to have a bad hair give me a bad impression on the ruler of this place. maybe once I’m stronger I can waltz in this place like they owe me money in my birthday suit, but currently, I am weak and insignificant, I need to do my best to make others like me, especially someone who could give me more money.

“c’mon, I'll take you to meet her.”

She walked forward and I followed behind. My eyes took in the pictures hung on the wall.

Some part of me thought that the entire place would be filled with pictures of the ruler, but no, rather than pictures of herself, she had pictures of animals or landscapes. It looks quite tasteful.

Stopping in front of a huge door, with two eastern dragons engraved on either side of the double doors, Yelan stopped and knocked on it.

“Ning, I've brought your guest.”

“Come in.” a melodious voice answered, the voice was beautiful yet it also held authority like a poisonous flower, beautiful to those who look, harmful to those who touch.

We entered the room, Yelan standing next to me.

There were some people there.

A purple-haired woman with cat ears(?), wait no that's her hair. She looked at me, her eyes widened, like she saw a ghost.

A pink-haired woman, a thick book strapped on her waist like some kind of weapon, looking at how thick it is, it is not impossible. Anyway, the pink-haired woman looked at me the same way the purple-haired one looked.

A woman with blue-grey hair, and wearing a lab coat, looked at me in amusement then chuckled.

A brown-haired woman wearing an eye patch was drinking from a gourd, though she stopped. “For a 9-year-old, you got pretty solid qi. Your qi is a bit too solid for someone-” She looked at me inquisitively but then took another sip from her gourd. She didn’t finish what she was going to say, making me curious about what she saw.

These people all stared at me, making me feel like I would be killed with a single wrong word.

“Hmm, oh look my guest has come, Beidou, Yan Fei, Natasha, Keqing, if you would. Yelan empty the room.” Ningguang Morax ordered.

Without another word, they went away. However, the one wearing an eye patch did seem to be happy to be leaving.

I looked at her. the head of the Morax. Ningguang Morax. White hair that fades into ash, fair skin. Her very presence commanded respect, even though she had an amicable smile on her face, she looked like those disciplinarians at first sight.

“Take a seat.”

I bowed in thanks. And took a seat in the chair right in front of her.

“Lucrecio, I have heard quite wondrous things about you from my knight. You even managed to be trained by one of the heroes of the devil race, the transcendent flash herself.”

The what in the what now!?

“Oh? I thought you would know of her. though considering your status, it is not surprising that you have not learned about her.”

“Simply put, the transcendent flash was one of the heroes of the devil race during the civil war.”

Oh. OH! So, wait, does that mean she is the same status as the four satans?

“Heh, anyway, I would be happy to lend you some books about the Civil War and other subjects. But for now, let's get the reason why I invited you here.”

The playful attitude disappeared, what remained was a mask of indifference—a calculating and analytical glint in her eyes.

I gulped.

-Ningguang Morax-

He is not him. at least not mentally. While he may be rex lapis in spirit and body, his mind is not.

A failed reincarnation? Or one that was hurried.

After she realized that the boy Yelan recommended was her ancestor. She tried to find information on any techniques that could explain his sudden reappearance.

Reincarnation is not something unheard of in our world, especially due to there being a multitude of reincarnations or spiritual inheritors among humans who have inherited the skills or memories of the heroes of the past.

But the same cannot happen to devils, for it is a fact that our souls are sent to oblivion once we are dead. So, the question is, how did her ancestor manage to reincarnate?

The only possible answer is that it was possible due to his divine heritage as the son of the goddess Nuwa who later was turned devil. His divinity may have shielded him from oblivion. However, according to the wards, he has no divinity currently.

“So? I am quite curious; how did you kill the previous ruler of your area and take his position?”

He took out his notebook from the inner pockets of his jacket and took out a pen he wrote in it.

[I poisoned his food for 2 weeks straight. Once done, he was easy to kill.]

She nodded her head in approval. Though if the journals were true, this was not at all the style of her ancestor, it is possible due to the lack of memory of his previous life or maybe death changed him.

She hoped that it was not the latter.

“Hmm. Do you have any aspirations?”

He stopped; she saw his mind churning trying to find an answer. He finally relented and wrote down the answer.

[to have my name inscribed in the ranking of the strongest beings on the planet.]

She was not surprised. Yelan already relayed the information to her.

She asked many questions, simply to cover the time. She already knew the ending of this evaluation; she was simply doing it to pass the time.

“The evaluation has ended.”

[just like that?]

“Yes. why? Where are you expecting more?”

[I thought I would have to fight someone. Or maybe you give me some sort of test.]

“a fight? A test? Heh.”

[don’t laugh! Cultivation novels lied to me!]

He pouted before his eyes enlarged and he erased his grievance.

“Cultivation novels? So, you read them as well?”

[you read them?] he wrote, his face confused and surprised.

“Well, of course, I do like reading them. it is quite funny.”

I especially liked imagining myself as the protagonist and his target my enemy. It feels great imagining yourself slowly destroying the Phenix house for all its worth.

“Did you know, that cultivation novels were written as a way to instill fear in foreign factions?” she informed him.

[wait what!?]

“Yes. It was centuries ago, that some person wrote a novel, where the protagonist was said to be stronger than Great Red and Ophis combined, and spread it to foreign countries. Some people were afraid, but due to the way it was written, many people thought of it as a journal of a mighty figure. However, once others started writing them, they made them more non-sensical by the day. So, the illusion was dispelled. But…for 23 days, most factions believed the Chinese pantheon to be the strongest.”

He looked surprised.

I guess he would be, it is quite a hilarious tale.

“Anyway, this Is my offer for you.” she passed down the contract that I had written days prior.

Taking the contract, his eyes read line by line, each line he read, his eyes enlarged comically. Then looked at her, his mouth kept opening and closing like a goldfish.

She found it cute.

[ is an adoption form.]

While she may be quite a saint when considering most devils, she is at the end of the day a devil. A devil of greed and lust. So, to have her honored ancestor as her adopted child? It was a very very tempting offer.

The offer was too good to resist.

“You will be given an allowance of 50,000 liliums per month.” She added.

-The End.

Umm…I am too tired to write something, so I will keep it blank.

Your criticism is very much appreciated. I mean seriously, I would like to improve. Cuz I wanna be the very best~ like no one ever was~

You can also read chapters in advance on p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m./ Lucinziel