I finish stowing the demon bodies for my scapegoat plan and I hear clapping hands behind me.

"Bravo! Bravo! The feared demon slayer!"

I hear these words in a voice I'd rather never hear again. Inside my mind I know I am neck-deep in shit and I just turn around.

"There he is, ladies and gentleman. The hero, anointed by the Seraph. The one that will defeat evil!"

In front of me is a troll, not unlike my first form but a distinct individual. He has stag horns just like Kochurearc described. Yes, it was this guy in front of me that slaughtered the Flame Fist tribe.

"Who are you?" I ask him. I know who he is even though I've never seen this troll in front of me.

"Who am I? Oh, Puh-lease!

Allow me to intruduce myself, I am...

I cut the bastard off. "Fuck you, Luci. I know very well who you are."

He is startled and stops imitating Axl Rose, but his cretin smile never leaves his face.

"Wow, wow, aren't we touchy today? Yes, yes, You guessed my name. Congratulations. But do you know the nature of my game?"

"Besides world domination like every other third-grade psychopath villain? Dunno. Or is it world destruction?"

"Good grief, why would anyone want to destroy the world? And then what, stay stranded in a charred rock? No. I want to SAVE the world."

I'll Keep him talking. I need to find a way to defeat him, but I don't know his abilities. I won't even try to appraise him because I bet he has the resistance just like me. What can I do? Physical violence is useless. I doubt this guy regenerates less than I do. Magic, brainwashing, is a no-go. I already know he has a magic stat four times as high as me.

I can only try to escape.

"Save the world from whom?"

"From stupidity. You've seen what humans did to this world. They had seventy-five centuries to rebuild and all they could do was to sit and cower in their mana-dead towns. Give Earthlings seventy-five centuries and they will colonize the galaxy!"

I just begin to construct a teleport spell. Gotta hightail it.

"Counterspell." He casts with absurd speed.

"There is no running away, my creation. Yes, I made you. You are almost my masterpiece."

"What do you want?"

He sits on a piece of rubble.

"I want to talk. It has been so long since we last talked, I missed you so much, SON. I've sent you here to test the waters. Connecting to a dead world is bloody difficult. But I sent you with my masterpiece, the best skill ever!"

"The [Loot Crate Maniac]. Is THAT piece of crap your masterpiece?"

"A skill that can grant any skill! What else could be better? It is the gift that keeps giving."

"Ok, I'll bite. If that skill is your masterpiece, why give it to me? It is obvious that I'll oppose you."

"Because that is your true purpose! Eat and grow, gather skills and..."

With uncanny speed, he rushes forward and puts a hand on my chest.

"... let me farm them from you!"

"Skill Steal: Emperor's Might!" He shouts.

Soul vessel damaged. Foreign assault in progress.

Pain, indescribable pain floods me. I feel something moving inside my very being looking for something. I can't move. I can't even scream.

He removes the hand. Looking at the palm, he sees... nothing.

"Failed? Failed!? FAILED!!!! How could I possibly fail in my assimilation?"

I spit blood.

"Asshole. That skill is long gone. I burned it."

"And now I have to endure this long cooldown. Oh, the wonders. You are dismissed Mr. Skill Farm. But let's take a look at you, to see what juicy skills I can get next time."

Appraisal attempt blocked. Caster: Lucifer.

"[Appraisal resistance]?? Seriously? Well, that is a twist I didn't predict. Great. You are worthless to me with my skill in cooldown. Farewell."

"Egress." He vanishes.

Fuck. That asshole is going to rob my skills? That is why he attacked the Flame Fist. To steal their [Fire Immunity] skill. Even I want that one.

What do I know about this guy? He is fast, he is dangerous, he created the LCM skill. He is more powerful than Zahariel at his prime. He can steal skills but somehow he needs to know what skill to take. I bet he needs to speak the skill name. And his steal skill has a long cooldown that triggers even in failure.

Do you know what it feels like?

That [Skill Steal] gimmick of him, was min-maxed to the extreme of usability. Anymore tweaking and it would be a broken skill.

I need a way to deal with one-trick-ponies.

But now I got a slave convoy to intercept.