Vahl watched the Outworlder from atop his throne of cultists. He had bent them into a shape that pleased him after being summoned to Nowhere. Unlike a normal summoning however, their stupid summoning had not been meant for him at all. Which was great, until they tried to tell him what to do without offering anything valuable.
All they wanted to do was make sure their silly little lich ascended, which made no sense to him as he didn’t even know what a lich was anyway. If they wanted him to do something, all they had to do was kindly sacrifice half of their remaining life-force upon completion. And he would have happily killed whatever or found whatever they wanted. It was as basic a transaction as possible.
Yet, they tried to make him bend to their will. Force him.
Force. Him.
You did not force a Devil. Well that was unless you were a Devil. Then you forced Devils all the time. Then again, you didn’t ignore a Devil either, so this Outworlder was either stupid, ignorant, or both.
The Outworlder was a funny little thing. While Vahl had never met an Outworlder before, he thought this one looked very curious. Maybe that was the nature of Outworlders. This one had colorful, odd looking robes and was covered in thousands of small dark polka-dots. Much like the spots on a fellcat.
Vahl watched the aura of the Outworlder as it walked over to one dead cultist and stared at it. Compassion? No. Confusion? Oh for sure, but maybe some element of compassion as well. Also some fear. He mused to himself.
Vahl watched his prey as he rested his head on his hand, using one of the cultist’s heads built into an armrest. Dislodging some of the dead cultist’s teeth made his elbow sit a little better before watching the little Outworlder move to another cultist.
This cultist was still moving, heaving a little bit too, and the Outworlder was very invested in it. Vahl watched as the Outworlder took the cultist’s knife and slit the suffering greyskin’s throat. Vahl smiled a wicked smile that nearly touched his ears as he watched the pain and trepidation roll through the outworlder’s aura. Pain, regret, and a grim determination was interwoven throughout the aura.
Speaking of which, it seemed that though this Outworlder was obviously a First Rank being, it had absolutely no aura control. Odd. Vahl wondered where it came from to have absolutely no control. “Maybe it got here the same way I did…”
Vahl watched as the Outworlder moved to another Dru’ven. The Outworlder seemed to stare into space before the Dru’ven’s features went gaunt and thin as the Outworlder tore something from their attribute. “Wait what?!” Vahl lifted his head and looked deeply into the unaware outworlder’s aura, pushing his senses to the max.
He traced the mesh of magic that had newly interwoven in the little Outworlder’s aura. If he not actively seen it take the Dru’ven’s attribute skill he wouldn’t have believed it. Yet there it was, right in front of his infernal eyes. The Outworlder had taken some skill directly from its Grace, and now it was emulating the same pattern.
“Unbelievable.”
Vahl launched himself across the room of bodies and grabbed the Outworlder by the arm.
“What did you just do?!”
~~~
Tara watched in horror, now fully awake after the additional Life Energy had dripped into her pool, thirty five EXP points worth. She was still tired, still worn. Yet her nerves were stretched thin as Ken was held, arm locked in place by a Rank Three Devil.
She wanted to scream, she did scream, as the Devil held Ken in a vice grip. The Devil’s Mana flowing off of it in waves, coating the room in Infernal Energy.
Ever since Tara entered the void and found her connection to Ken, she had been able to gather a lot of information from the things she had seen. From Attributes to Mana concentrations, but she didn’t know what most of the information meant.
She had no idea what the difference was between Grace and Insight, however, she knew that they were both integrated aspects of magic that each consisted of two other lesser Attributes. In Insight’s case, it was a combination of Will and Intelligence. But what that meant was lost on her.
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What was not lost on her was the sheer concentration of Insight, Grace, Vitality, and Karma this Devil had. Unlike Ken, who had two Vitality and Karma, a single attribute of Insight and Grace, the Devil had ten Insight alone. Its single Attribute was more than everything Ken had combined.
The Devil stood almost seven feet tall, with a strong, lithe, crimson body and two elegant horns carved with intricate runes and designs protruding from its head. The Devil’s eyes burned a low amber, its naked wings powerful, yet delicate in form.
“Answer me!” It seethed.
Ken righted himself, surprised.
“How did you not see the seven foot tall devil on the throne of bodies?!” She yelled into the void.
“Ken!”
She called, praying he could just hear her.
She watched Ken compose himself as he addressed the creature.
~~~
Kenshiro felt like his arm was surely going to break, yet as he stared into the literal eyes of what could only be a Devil, Kenshiro could not help but want to cross himself.
“I’ve gone to Hell. I’ve died and gone to hell and now the devil is going to eat my soul.” was the first thought that entered his mind.
The panic and fear that gripped him showed on his face like that of a frightened child.
“I said, what did you just do, Outworlder. Answer me and I might spare your pathetic life.” The Devil growled at him, eyes never wavering.
“What?!” Kenshiro was able to eke out.
“I said,” Kenshiro’s arm started stinging as the devil twisted, “What did you just do to the greyskin? The Dru’ven. What did you do to it.”
Kenshiro looked at the Devil wide-eyed, trying to find the words that were just out of reach. Fear keeping them at an arm’s length.
The Devil continued to apply pressure until the pain pulled Kenshiro back into the suck. The focused state of decision. Kenshiro glared up at the Devil and tried to rip his arm free but to no avail. He was about to ask the Devil ‘What do you want?!’ but he already knew what the Devil wanted, he just wanted to know what exactly it was talking about.
“I took the Grey skin’s Share Memory Skill thing! Why?!” he choked out, not knowing if lying would even help him in this situation.
The Devil let go of his hand and took two steps back, as an impish grin traced up its face. The smile was full of malevolence and hunger. The Devil stopped a foot or two away as his eyes shifted, thinking as Kenshiro began to nurse his arm. Kenshiro spared a look at the dagger that had clattered to the floor when the Devil grabbed him, seemingly out of nowhere.
“What do you want?” Kenshiro spat. His voice tinged with pain and frustration as he flicked his eyes back to the tall, crimson creature before him.
“I want you…” It paused. The words pouring slowly from the creature’s mouth, as if savoring them like a delicious treat. “To take a Skill from me. Can you do that, Outworlder?”
The Devil's eyes stared through him as if seeing something Kenshiro could not see. The sense of danger subsided slightly, enough that Kenshiro almost stooped down to grab his dagger. Almost instead, he clenched his fists—eyes darting around for a way out.
“Tell me…” the Devil started again. “Tell me, can you take any Trait or Skill? If so I will happily trade you whatever you desire if you take a single Skill from me.” the Devil’s words were filled with honey, amber eyes aglow with greed and hunger.
Kenshiro did not know what to say. He knew what he wanted, the thought came to him instantly. He wanted his wife. He wanted to save Tara. He wanted to get the hell out of this sucky dungeon and go home with his wife.
“I want my wife.” Kenshiro stated resolutely, trying his best to not say anything too stupid. He had heard enough stories of Devils from his grandma and movies to know that you had to be careful with how you worded things with Devils. Or at least he guessed that was the case, seeing as this was the first time he had talked to one.
“Your wife..?” The devil cocked its head and closed his eyes before opening them again with a knowing expression. “Where is she? Tell me who or what holds her and I will return her to you. Unless she is dead, then there is no bargain.”
Kenshiro watched the Devil. Mind racing, trying to remember the quest he had been given before it appeared in his vision again.
Quest: Tutorial
Description: Complete the following task and learn how to save your wife.
* Accept the Title Conduit of Souls. (Complete)
* Accept the Class Skill Eater. (Complete)
* Consume a Beast Core and assign it to an attribute. (Complete)
* Find out where the Defuse Infernal Mana is coming from.
Success: +1 Attribute PointFailure: Game over
“I was told that if I found out where the Defuse Infernal Mana was coming from I would learn how to save my wife. I’m guessing that is…you?” Kenshiro stated before another notification popped into his vision.
Quest: Tutorial - Complete! Reward: +1 Attribute Point
New Quest!
Quest: Deal with the Devil
Description: Claim this temple for Tara, Venerated Spirit. If you have to make a deal, do it. We will figure it out. Just don’t trade your soul. Please.Success: +5 Attribute PointsFailure: Ken, it’s me. Tara