(Ashen POV)

No time was allotted to me this morning. Not even five minutes after I read the world system log did I get another piece of news. The elf king Nylian Eir De Les Syngewood, or just king Nylian, as it was simpler and much easier on my mind, had just declared war on the Demonican Kingdom, on his first day of being king no less. Just what does he think he is? I ravaged his troops, beat his hero and he still wants to declare war on me and the Britgar Holy Kingdom at the same time? If a single man could hold all the ego in the world, they still wouldn’t stack up to him. How did he think he could win? Not only does the Demonican Kingdom house millions of demons, undead, and other similar races, but it houses the dragon god Oronix. Two gods, a dragon on the level of gods, and half a thousand combatants more competent than the vast majority of all the people in the world, and the old demon lord to boot.

I doubt his entire military could kill a single castle guard, let alone the entire castle’s military might, combined with the entirety of the demons and undead that would surely fight alongside us. But, the slightest chance exists that they could win, against all odds. Exploiting weaknesses is the only tactic a weaker military can win a war. Exploiting strategic or physical weaknesses seems like their only true chance at victory, so I am going to be on high alert for any knowledge on anti-demon items, weapons, and spells, and should this information come to pass, then a proper defense can be mustered accordingly. Without the advantage of knowledge on this world's strange history, I must take precautions in dealing with potentially lethal encounters. Knowledge of my resistances and immunities shouldn’t be widely known, so there is a chance they might attempt to exploit a presumed weakness.

Thinking that I’m a demon, they would be quick to use holy magic, but my resistance to life magic grants me a step below complete immunity. When they see that that doesn’t work, they’d likely move onto frost or water magic, assuming it could extinguish my flames. When they see that that was ineffective as well, they would likely use the other types of magic as well, and only earth and air magic would have a real chance at hurting me, due to my resistances in those categories not being as high. It was mostly because I never got around to min-maxing my build but also worked to get into people’s minds. When you think of a fire demon’s weakness, water or frost comes to mind, with holy being a close competitor. Fire nearly never makes one think of earth or air, other than fuel and oxygen. I may be weak to defend myself against earth and air, but protection doesn’t strictly mean defense.

If I have the time, I could melt any earth that gets near, and super-heat and air into plasma, and then my fire and lightning immunity would block the damage. It almost sounded like I was the final boss, being more or less immune to all elemental magic, mental magic, emotional magic, and having a step below spiritual magic immunity. Then you slap complete arcane mastery on top of that, and then max level and the best armor, and you get an infinite player-respawn machine. I never really thought about myself like that, but I guess I really seem unfair in most people’s eyes, this world, and my old one. To the other players, it must’ve seemed like I was the admin’s prized pet or a cheater, but to not be banned for cheating in the ten-year span of the game would be literally impossible. And to this world, the world system already told me, I appear like a god amongst gods.

Perhaps even to the other players that are the new gods, maybe to them even I appear inhuman. Though they might know of my player status, do they really think of me as such? I’ve slaughtered far more people than I ever thought I would or could, so to them it must make me look like a proper demon lord. No man from earth would kill hundreds of thousands and feel no remorse apart from a small afterthought, and I am basically no different. But that’s all in the past, I already came to terms with my actions, and although they aren’t great, I can live with knowing that I committed them. It was what needed to be done, and I can’t worry about the past now. The future is already something I should be dreading, but with the upcoming war that is being waged, not even I can truly think of the future in a positive light, not for now at least.

Over the months since my arrival, I have tried to think down the line, into the future, trying to secure my own foothold in fate, but now it all seems like a secondary task. Now, I feel like I’m not even trying to anymore, but my actions make great leaps and bounds in terms of securing the future. If a small stroll turns into a war, what would happen if I were to jog or run even? If I were to accidentally cause the end of the world, what would my brother say to me? Likely a whole lot of scolding and yellings, with a few exaggerated expressions and actions. The thought alone forces my mind and spine to shiver slightly. But, moving on from the horrid thought, I still have the whole war to deal with. Although a level-based hierarchy was implemented for the NPCs, that isn’t to say that they are all exactly trained to work as an actual military.

But, I do suppose that I should give the top NPCs a chance to experience the war in earnest. I’d have to make them count, probably as generals, which means only the high-leveled combat-focused NPCs will join the fray. Premium, Misfortune, Planthra, Titan, Arath, Rubidia, Hellion, the Elder Twins, and the Weeping Willow Sisters, would all act as massive pillars of strength, each more than strong enough to slaughter the world countless times over, should they will to. It’s been ages since any of them have seen any real combat, so this could be a good warm-up for any future conflicts, which I don’t doubt will come. Knowing my luck, I’ll have to fight the entire world at some point, with the only mystery being when. The world can wait to fight me, I have no interest in doing so, and it would rob me of the world I now reside upon.

In the meantime, before the war begins in full, I might as well get started with some of the minor tasks that I have piled up from the months past. I can start with the simple task of using each of my summoning spells, mostly to make sure that they still work, and to see if their effects have changed at all. The first creature I summoned was a lesser fire elemental, as it cost me next to no mana, and my expertise in fire magic would grant me greater insight into any abnormalities with the elemental. A dome of fire was cast forth from my hand, and when the flames grew sparse, the visage of a legless fire elemental was before me. Just like every other lesser elemental, they had a small stubby extension at the bottom of their body, and two arms and a vague head, all made of fire, although the color and brightness changed from area to area.

[Titles Gained: Summoner, Advanced Summoner, Ancient Summoner, Master Summoner, True Summoner, Arcane Summoner, Advanced Arcane Summoner, Ancient Arcane Summoner, Master Arcane Summoner, True Arcane Summoner] [Awarding 229 Attribute and Skill Points]

That certainly wasn’t expected, but not unwelcome. I figured I had all the titles from the spells I looked over, but this proves me wrong. I suppose some titles require me to cast the spells before giving me the title. That means I have to cast every spell I know just to get all the titles that I’m owed. That could be disastrous, to say the least. Alright, everything up to tier 21, nothing more, or at least without proper precautions. I should really avoid using tier twenty spells, as their power only increases exponentially with each higher tier, and that could be hazardous for the safety of the world, and it would be a pretty selfish move after all. My strength already far outclasses all but a handful of individuals in this world, and to increase it any more is simply not needed, but that doesn’t deter me from doing non-dangerous things to increase it anyway.

I can focus on getting more power later, for now, I can focus on running tests with the elemental. Its mana seemed stable, and there was a very visible link to me, as its own mana had a taint of mine. Other than the link, it seemed like everything was normal, and it would stop existing after my mana ran out, it died, or I unsummoned it. I was unsure if this was the case with all elementals or just the lesser variants, or even just with all summons in general, so I’d have to continue to find out the answer. I’d have to stop myself before too long, as the war is something I cannot afford to ignore, but for today, it should be fine. Without knowing where the time went, I had spent over two hours constantly summoning, inspecting, testing, and unsummoning nearly every summon I had, leaving only the most powerful ones outside of my trials.

The results were interesting, to say the least, but some were more trouble than I’d care for. It seems that all the elementals acted the same, and would despawn after any of the three requirements were met, but the non-elementals worked differently. Any creature I summoned could potentially live indefinitely, as long as mana was constantly fed to them, and they didn’t die, or I didn’t wish for them to despawn. That was only the case up until the summons that was around dragon tier. Drakes also followed the same change in the rules, but dragons and more powerful summons didn’t need a constant feed of mana, and couldn’t be despawned easily. It also seemed like they had a large amount of independent will on top of their strange summon conditions. It made me think of betrayal from the summons, but that was unlikely, no matter how many there were, at least to me it seemed so. During the time I spent studying my summons, I managed to snag a bunch more titles.

[Titles Gained: Fairy Summoner, Angel Summoner, Demon Summoner, Treant Summoner, Merman Summoner, Gryffin Summoner, Giant Summoner, Wolf Summoner, Undead Summoner, Drake Summoner, Dragon Summoner] [Awarding 295 Attribute and Skill Points] [God Domain: Summoning has been Denied] [Summoning Spell Tree Unlocked]

As I read through the titles, something caught my eye. There was no title for anything in the air element, very strange because every other element had one, life even having two. I wonder what it meant, perhaps nothing, or perhaps something big? If it was just a fluke In the world system, then that would be disappointing. I know that my air magic is my weakest Magic's, but I'm still one of, if not, the best air magic users in all of Sugarea, and presumably this world. So far, I've yet to see a tier 18 or higher spell be used by a native of this world, so my air magic was likely the best in this world, so maybe it was a fluke? But what then? It's not like I particularly care about the titles or points, maybe air summoning magic is just too simple to get a special title from it's lower tiers. Perhaps with the best summons, I could unlock a greater title than I would have received now. A thought worth waiting to find the answer to. As for now, the more glaring issues of my prior actions have finally flared up, and now I must deal with them.

Lord Ashen, as requested, three small settlements are being developed. The old gnome spoke to me telepathically.

Lord, we have started the first part of building schools and towns, we only need the teachers in two days. The demon elder spoke to me the same way.

Lord Ashen, the preparations are underway, and soon a few groups of citizens will start to make use of the land around to develop more towns, as per your request. The old lord of Wheatberg pitched in too.

Oh lord Ashen, preparations are complete, and the guild is ready for your quests. The guildmaster said as well.

Each message was almost overlapping, but my high intelligence or wisdom likely sorted them out. I don't give my intelligence and wisdom stats as much credit as they deserve. Sure, I don't technically get smarter or wiser with each point put in, but it does go a long way in short-term and long-term planning. Intelligence sets things up for an eventual larger benefit while wisdom goes for an immediate benefit. Together, they improve life significantly, making every task slightly more optimized and efficient. But every good thing has its downsides, it just so happens that the downsides get weaker the higher the stat is. Being oversensitive to cognitive stimulation can lead to freezing in times of need, but increasing it past the point where you can perceive the world thousand times slower, and that trouble is avoided.

Similar drawbacks can occur with the other stats, but this one was the most noticeable. The idea of it all made me think about the gnomes, and how they became fallen. The world system made me believe that someone or something had cast a spell to fall them, but that leaves the question of intent and reason to be answered, which was a much harder case to crack. Something that is certain, is that the spell exists, and that means someone had created it at some point and might have even used it on the gnomes as a trial run or test of sorts. If that were the case, then that person would be on par with an average Sugarea player at least, and likely around the power of an old god, if not one directly. Which makes me think further. Could it have been an old god? And while thinking of it, what are the old gods?

Primordial gods of powerful domains, that was what everyone knew and believed, but I wanted to know what they are. What race, if not directly a god race, were they? Some believe humans, others think that they are a multitude of races, but I have no reason to believe either at the moment. The new gods are mostly human or variants of, with few exceptions, so it wasn’t impossible for the old gods to be similar in regards to them being players transported here. But they were here for several millennia, so their likelihood of being players was slim. The average player wouldn’t have matched their power in levels, unless they somehow gained that amount of power here, through natural or artificial means. Either way, the sheer chance of them being players was ignorable, so I shouldn’t worry about it.

The one thing I should worry about is the magical old gods, like the old god of fire. Assuming their actual strength didn’t decrease from losing their domain, they have the potential to use an elemental barrage. While fire would be ineffective against me, that isn’t to say that the old god of air, earth, or life couldn’t do some severe damage. Which makes me think of yet another thing, my battle with the human hero and his party. The spell that his companions used did almost exactly one million damage, holy damage to be exact, but it felt weaker than it should. I haven’t been able to see my health in numerical form, be it because of a lack of accessibility or lack of effort, I was still unable. I had a bit over 8 million health before, so that attack did quite the amount of damage to me, and could kill me if used to greater effect. I wonder…

I estimate your health stat to be around 448,920,000. Vron spoke to me, probably hearing my thoughts.

Ah, thank you Vron. That number was incredible, almost like I was on par with a world boss now.

Of course, father. Vron ended the telepathy, and I was left to think about the sheer power that I accumulated.

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(Hairz POV)

It’s been months now, but I haven’t yet had a good chance to talk to him. His duties as king and demon lord have likely robbed him of any free time he would have had. If I had a chance to catch him again, I’d likely try to stay closer to his side. I know we had a brief run-in, and really didn’t talk much, but I still owe him something for the closure he gave me. I might not have much of a relationship with him, but he doesn’t seem to dislike me in any noticeable way. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that he thinks well of me if he even finds me noteworthy, but it all matters not. I know the kind of person he is, and he wouldn’t harm others that don’t harm him, directly or indirectly. I cannot recall any moment where I have done him any wrong, as I tried so desperately to avoid such careless death sentences. For now, I might as well just stop by the town hall, and speak with his underlings about a potential meeting.

Be it formal or informal, I still wanted to speak with him, just one last time would be nice. Knowing his important issues kept his schedule filled wasn’t a deterrent, not for me at least. I was prepared to wait for years if I needed to. I still had a long time to figure out my life, as being part dragon grants me an abnormally long lifespan, longer than a pure-blood elf even, over 1400 years. I figured that I should use the power he gave me for his sake, as it could strengthen his opinion on me and I’d feel like I’m being of use and returning the favor. Although, I doubt I could repay the depths of the generosity that he gave me in full. Even if only partially, I will give him something of value for his time and effort. Whether I can give him something physical or not, I can feel a deep impulse begging me to repay him, and I just can’t ignore it.

Could this be the result of a racial trait? Ogres were prideful and honorable, often repaying favors, but half-ogres were much the opposite. Dragons had many personalities, so I had no way to know if this came from my dragon heritage. There was also the small chance that this was due to the person I felt the need to help. Was it from that time with his mana pool? Or because he is a demon? A demon lord? A god even? Or maybe something more? Or perhaps something much simpler? I just felt like repaying a good deed with a good deed. Race doesn't need to play a part, I just wanted to be nice. I can be nice despite preconceptions about my race, about me. I can stand out from the crowd and be different from the others. I don't have to be a beast any longer.

I haven’t had a chance to be in a proper city since I was young, back in the small ogre village beside the mountains. Until it was torched and crumbled to the ground, I was quite content with my city life. But since then, I have been fated to never settle down, 'less my home be subject to the same hell that my village suffered. I still have yet to get over my memories, but I am healing. I must overcome my trauma on my own, so I mustn’t rely on others. It is the only way to get stronger as a person. I just hope my strength can hold out long enough to allow me to overcome the trauma. I have little to my name, so I must make my belongings last, as using the guild for quests and rewards was a risk I shouldn’t take often, as the adventurers don’t take too kindly to any that stray far from humans.

Although, after Lord Ashen took over the town, it seems like that hatred of non-humans dried up, but didn’t go away completely. Their hatred was either lessened or restricted in some way. Maybe open aggression against non-humans was outlawed? It would explain the recent swarm of demihumans in the town and the reduced conflict. If that was the case though, what would that mean in the long run? Would this town become the third bastion of the demihumans? Will Lord Ashen protect them as he would anyone else? From what I knew of him, he didn’t seem like the kind of demon that discriminated or looked down upon other races. He went as far as to help me without asking for anything in return. Maybe I sated his curiosity? Perhaps that was all he wanted for his effort? Even if it was, it wasn’t something I actively tried to give him.

All in all, he doesn’t seem like a bad lord for the city, the opposite in fact. The town has become a safe haven of sorts, a place where crime is ridiculously low, and the economy is better than the capital of this kingdom, or, the bandarainian empire I should say. The Demonican kingdom now rules over Wheatberg, officially at least. I must say, it is a welcome change, one that should have happened years ago, and to more cities. The tax is low, the crime is low, the economy is booming, and the racial tensions in the city have been greatly reduced. For once in my life, I can say that this is a safe place to live. Maybe I should get a proper home here, instead of camping out in alleys or rooftops. It would allow me to settle down and reflect on my past in a more secure environment. I’d have to think about it, and maybe, just maybe, I could be happy for more than a moment.

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(King Nylian Eir De Les Syngewood)

My troops stood shoulder to shoulder, in lines that stretched into the horizon. Hundreds of thousands, to millions of my men, stood ready for the infernal fight to come. Our march onto the demon lands was bound to be a long one, and the water between us would surely be a long journey, but we elves know not of withdrawing our anger. We are persistent, and once we bite our victim, our fangs don’t let them go until they drop dead. Those pitiful demons would stand no chance against a proper elven military. Their lackluster nature denies them any chance of comradery if their lord is slain. With our precautions, that demon lord will fall like a tree in the woods. Their crude strategies and minds aren’t covered by their strength or their magic. Having the upper hand in physical combat and magical combat doesn’t guarantee victory, and we would soon prove that.

“Your majesty, the army is prepared to move out, just give the order.” One of the high-ranking generals spoke to me.

“Yes, yes. Begin the march across the land and water at once!” My words made them turn in unison, acting like one massive organism, and they started moving altogether.

Finally! My conquest of the Etchrabin Mainland begins today! This land will be mine! Those pitiful nations have no chance to beat us mighty elves. Only the other elven nation shall be spared their lives, with all else being purged into the abyss of history. We elves are all that needs to be in the natural order of the world, there is no room for any other dominant race. Some might put up a difficult fight, but all shall eventually fall to our might. That accursed Britgar holy kingdom has lasted far too long, almost mocking our military prowess. They shall be the next to fall after the wretched demons are wiped from the history of this world. They have no place in this world, not after all the war that was sparked over them, and certainly not after their relentless and brutal nature of slaughtering swaths of villages and devouring the people.

They are a stain upon this world, one that must be cleansed with absolute prejudice. They disgust all of us elves and most of the other dominant races of this world. They are repulsive creatures, ones that defy justice and defy the natural order of the world. They are a plague that must be ended. Just thinking of them makes my lips draw blood, and forces my hands to grip tighter until they turn past white. I despise their very existence, and I always will. This feeling is shared between them and the other races, yet they retain my full unadulterated hatred. Once they are all gone, I might finally find peace in my soul. All their unrighteous acts have disgraced the world, and brought shame to all of us. We elves have tried our best to counteract their horrid nature, by being the best we can, but little has come from it.

We wage war to purge the impurities that are the other races, for that is the greatest good we can deliver on this world that has blessed us with life. We must keep our goal in reach, and if we must slaughter innocents for the greater good, we must shoulder that guilt for the sake of the world. We mustn't be selfish in our emotions, and let us slip into the disgusting nature of those dogs that are the other races. We have no choice but to force ourselves through the pain and misery we cause and are cast onto us, it’s the only way to better the world, it’s the only way forward. For, if we fail this endeavor, the world will surely fall into the same pit of hell that the others crawled out from. Their lives must be sacrificed to secure the world, as it is of much greater importance than any of their pitiful and shameful lives. This is the only way forward, and I must do it for the sake of my people, for the sake of all that is good and holy, for the sake of it all.

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(Ashen POV)

It’s been a week since the war was declared, and I have yet to hear any news other than that their army was moving. I guess our countries were quite the distance apart, but still. I feel like something should have happened by now, something at all. Other than the initial construction of the new towns, everything has been quiet. The guild has received fewer quests, but the amount that I have added has filled the gap. Some were hesitant to accept my quests, but some eventually accepted, having little money or strength for a different quest. Most were simple, and for the most part, they were all completable within a day, for a moderate reward, better than similar quests at least. It seemed that more quests were taken over time, so maybe it was just a hesitance issue that sorted itself out once the other adventurers learned of their legitimacy.

I feel like something’s off though. Almost indescribable, like a vague looming sense of danger or abnormality. Not exactly threatening but not peaceful either. It is a strange feeling, one that I haven’t felt before. I wouldn’t call it paranoia, but like a lesser version of it, like a general feeling that something bad might happen. It’s really hard to put into words, but the best I can say is that something feels wrong. Maybe it’s nothing, or maybe it’s something, I won’t know until something happens. It might go away? Maybe it’s just a random thing that happens every so often? I’d have no way of knowing, but it is still possible. I might as well just ignore it, as it doesn’t have much of an effect on me, at least at the moment. So where was I, ah, right. Xylith wanted me to secure appropriate clothing for our child.

Which means… baby-sized armor. Likely some cloth-like material, designed for protection, comfortability, and functionality. It shouldn’t restrict movement, and it shouldn’t weigh much, while also being protective. This seemed impossible, but there were a few choices I could make. Wurnmiv, a light silky-smooth cloth that was slightly resistant to magic and slashing damage. Foulmart, a more rough but highly protective cloth. And Haercold, a very protective and flexible cloth, that was comfortable but heavier than the other two. If I had to choose, I’d pick them all. I’d make clothing that incorporates the three materials and utilizes each of their strengths to cover the others’ weaknesses. Like having Wurnmiv underneath at the joints, Haercold on the outside in clumps, like you would with plate armor, and have the rest be Foulmar.

I don’t have much skill when it comes to sewing or crafting, but my skills are adequate enough to do this much, even if I had to cheat and use magic to fill the gaps. With the finished picture in my mind, I started. My hands sped around the strips of cloth, and before a full minute passed, the three sheets turned into a single set of armor, both leg and torso protection. I didn’t know how I did it, but it seems like my hands knew how more than I did. Perhaps this is just the way to compensate for crafting? Does the world system do this for you? Or is this just an odd situation? I wouldn’t question it though, as I do not need to if the end result was positive. The process was mitigated, and the product was what I wanted, so overall, it was a successful attempt at crafting an item not native to the game.

It brings me back to the days when I made new spells almost every day. I made so many of them, and as a ‘thank you’ from the admins, they made me gain more XP towards leveling each of them up. It was only a double XP modifier, so it wasn’t anything particularly broken, and on top of that, I was already able to kill higher level monsters with the spells, and thus, level them up faster. It was unfair to the other players, and I understood why, but I would have leveled them to max in due time, it just sped up a tedious process. I made many spells over the decade of my playtime. So many that players started calling me many names. Minidev, admin’s pet, and the god of magic were the three most common ones, and to be fair, all of them made sense. I made so many spells, that it made me look like a developer or admin, and the sheer amount of magic spells that I not only made but mastered, made me like a god of magic.

Thus, I was known then on as the god of magic, much like the other twelve maxed out players had their own nicknames. My brother was known as the immortal slayer. It had two meanings, the one most thought of was his ability to kill ‘immortal’ beings, and the lesser thought one being that he was ‘immortal’ since he was part dragon, and he killed stuff, thus an immortal slayer. The other maxed out players had a variety of nicknames, all of them fit their playstyle. The two most notable ones were Darksoul Champion the shadow king, and Arachnophiliac the chain decimator. Their names were evident in their playstyles, with Darksoul Champion being an assassin build and Arachnophiliac being a combo build. They were the two most famous max level players, other than my and my brother since we constantly were doing stuff that made everyone look at us with various expressions.

From the time when we cleared all the dungeons in a week, to the time when I solo fought a level 1050 world boss, we made so many reckless and genuinely hilarious decisions in the past. We all had a blast, and together, we made the most popular guild, mostly known for having max level players and for the dumb actions the guild took. I remember back when there were the Inter-Guild Competitions that the admins hosted, and we fooled around so hard that we ended up almost winning. We came in second place, losing to Red Eye, another guild with a max level player and level 900’s. They took the game super seriously, almost opposite of our guild, as we mostly took a laid-back approach, and mostly kept things as a game. Sure, sometimes we would work our asses off to do some random difficult task, like collecting materials for an item or just trying to accomplish something meaningful.

I remember those times fondly, and I can only smile at the thought of my guildmates. They brought so much joy to my life, and together, we made something that was so iconic, that I heard our guild’s name twice on the news. Well, someone in our guild heard it, as they actually watched the news, but still, we somehow got mentioned, and it still amazes me. I don’t remember the details, but it still makes me chuckle from time to time, as just the thought of our guild being recognized for anything news-worthy was a thought that honestly surpassed me. Only every so rarely were video games brought up at all, and for certain people to be talked about in those video games was next to unheard of for public newscasters, yet it happened twice!

That’s something I couldn’t ever forget, no matter how many crazy things I do. Speaking of crazy, I have done some truly bizarre things in this world haven’t I? I made a moon. A moon. And I spent a crazy amount of mana trying to make the giant rock, and trying to stabilize the orbits of the other moons and the planet around the sun. Overall, it took most of my mana, nearly 73 million, which was almost all I had at the time. I also uplifted a race. That still shocks me, even after a week, it still impresses me with what I was able to do with a little effort. The feat that surpasses both of those was overwhelming the dragon god Oronix with mana. The literal dragon god, in the flesh, and I used every bit of power, and only barely emerged victorious. Being a dragon, his strength is roughly 50 levels higher than someone of the same level. You combine that with the fact that he is a level 1050 god, and you get a monster that has the same magical prowess as an admin.

I wouldn’t be surprised if I was on par with an admin now, but wouldn’t be disappointed if I wasn’t. Admins were made to be unbeatable, and even if you defeated one, your account was deleted. So, in the end, you couldn’t survive an encounter with them, even if you kill them. But in a strict one on one battle, I would probably emerge victoriously. My magic was too strong to be countered, and my physical abilities weren’t anything to scoff at either. My tactics and strategies would also prove invaluable in combat since admins didn’t fight often, their power was about the only thing they really had going for them in a conflict. Unless you couldn’t deal more damage than them, a head-on battle was unwinnable. Thus, with my game knowledge, I could likely set a trap that could dispose of even an admin.

[Title Gained: Enemy of Creation] [Awarding 1000 Attribute and Skill Points]

What?

[Titles Gained: Marked by Time, Marked by Will, Marked by Creation, Marked by Destruction, Marked by Nothing, Marked by All] [Awarding 4500 Attribute and Skill Points]

WHAT!?

Don’t think this strength shall prevent your death. A strange echoing voice spoke all around me, fading into the background of my thoughts.

What just happened? What the hell was that voice? Why did it say “don’t think this strength shall prevent your death”? Was that a threat? Likely. But then again, I got a total of 5500 attribute and skill points from what seemed like nothing. Just because I thought that I could kill an admin, the system thinks I can or did? Does that mean I really can? Not important right now. I need to worry about that voice. It said the strength won’t prevent my death. Is it talking about the attribute and skill points? Probably, but I don’t know for certain. Why now all of a sudden!? Why must stuff like this keep happening to me at random!? First the whole dark seal thing, then the whole god’s decent, and now this? Does the world enjoy toying with me? Or does it simply never take a vacation? Does it enjoy doing this to me?

I’ve had enough. No longer shall I be the toy of the gods or whatever is doing this all to me. I’m done with it all. I will finally bite the bullet. I am going to do what I prolong doing for all this time now. For once, I am going to finally do something that should have been done long ago to make my strength in this world skyrocket. I will finally cover the area of expertise in which I lack. I must do it now, for I have no choice anymore. I didn’t want to do this brother, but I simply cannot stand all of the danger I keep ending up in. I must take a stand for my safety and well being, I need to approach your area of specialty. I can no longer rely on my magic alone to survive, I must utilize the very system that was afforded to me by the world that is trying to get rid of me. I must use my skill points, here and now. While I’m still under the castle’s protection.

[Current Attribute Points: 13535] [Current Skill Points: 23593]

Yes.

[Strength: 1000]

[Dexterity: 1000]

[Constitution: 1000]

[Intelligence: 8000]

[Wisdom: 8000]

[Charisma: 1000]

[Vitality: 1000]

[Willpower: 6835]

[Luck: 1000]

[Perception: 1000]

[Current Attribute Points: 0]

[Skills Gained: Side Step, Shadow Step, Soulbind, Spiritual Domain, Decay Life, Fury Strike, Lion’s Roar, SuperNova Body, Aura of Decay, Nurturing Aura, Holy Aura, Divine Aura, Demonic Aura, Aura of Chaos, Aura of Healing, Aura of Death, Aura of Life, Aura of Order, Rage, Body of Nails, Stoneskin, Ironskin, Leadskin, Steelskin, Diamondskin, Godskin, Cloak, Sneak, Stealth, Imperceivable, Hesitant Rage, Devil Eye, Demon Eye, Death Glare, Dodge, Evasion, Saving Grace, Death’s Door, Gate to Hell, Assassinate, Power Strike, Crushing Blow, Steadfast, Fortress, Castle, Indomable, Ignore Armor, Body of God, Universe Catalyst] [Current Skill Points: 16]

I purchased every skill at the max level, leaving nothing to chance, leaving me with no other skills to buy that I didn’t already have. Your attempts to survive are pointless. That voice rang out again. I doubt it would be much longer before I met the person it belonged to.

I started reading through my skills, just to make sure of their abilities. I could have all of the auras active at once, and could deactivate them at will. Most of the other skills were activatable, but not passive. Overall, I was filled with a sense of power after getting them all. I felt more capable than ever. I was truly ready to fight everyone in the world now. I did not need to hold back in this world any longer. Even if I tried in the past, I don’t have a reason to keep myself in danger. If I can get stronger, I will. Whether I acquired the means through sheer work and dedication or handouts, I will emerge victorious from all battles. I will not fall so easily. I will kill all who get in my way. I will. I will. I will? I will!? What am I saying? These thoughts are not my own. I don’t think that way. Not again!

This is the same kind of thoughts as to when I had the dark seal. I will not be forced to think that way again. I don’t want to think about such horrific thoughts. I can’t do such things. I don’t want to hurt others needlessly. I mustn’t allow myself to fall into that line of thinking, I need to keep some semblance of humanity. I’m lucky that I didn’t go into my true demon form before I caught myself. There’s a chance that I wouldn’t have recovered if I did. That situation would be horrible. I would cause so much trouble for those I care about, especially my brother. I can’t cause him trouble, he’s done nothing wrong to me. I don’t want to ever hurt him. I just need to relax. I need to calm down. I need to breathe. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Slowly. Out. In. Out. In. Out. Ever so slowly. In. Out. In.

I need to be calm. I need to focus on. I need to be in the right mindset before something bad happens again. My feeling was right, something bad happened, and not even five minutes after I got that feeling. If only I properly prepared myself or thought of something different, then this wouldn’t have happened. Let’s just hope I can deal with whatever threat looms before me. I need to be calm before I make any moves from now on. I need to be level-headed. Alright. I should stop thinking of combat. If I keep thinking about it, it might spark another sequence of horrid thoughts. I should focus on the task Xylith had given me. I should get back to preparing for our child. Maybe that can restore my mind. I can only hope. I can only try. I will have to try to get the clothing perfect, otherwise, she might make me redo it, and I don’t think my creativity can hold up to the demands of a soon-to-be mother.

I might as well make variants of the armor, just to have backups in case she doesn’t like the one I made initially. I can spend as much time as I need to make it as appealing as possible, but I don’t think I can make something suitable for a baby, but I can try. I’m going to stick with simple designs, just to have something, without having anything potentially bad. It’s not a bad choice to do this, it is a solid idea, as having broad clothing means they can be used more often. Like having a blank shirt as to one with a design. The one with the design looks better, but can’t be worn in every situation. While the blank shirt is simple and can work in a multitude of situations. Like how black and white go with most sets of clothing. Their basic nature allows them to be used more commonly, and just generally look good with every other color.

It’s rather hard to make simple look bad, at least that was what I thought. It was possible, and to do such, intent was required, as the sheer possibility of making something simple look bad was just so low that no amount of human experimentation would lead to it unless they tried. Sometimes it would, yes, but the vast majority of the time it wouldn’t. Regardless, I have a few hours to make as many sets of clothing for our child. Wait. The child will have some special rules applied to it, wouldn’t it? In Sugarea, demons grew very fast, reaching the early stages of maturity around three years old, so would that work now as well? Or will Xylith’s demon side counteract it? And make the child age slower? But what if it’s the opposite? What if they grow incredibly fast? What then? I could just give them regular armor, right? Yeah, they could just wear regular armor if they reach adult size quickly enough.

Let’s just hope that our child turns out normal, as normal as a child of the old demon lord and the current demon lord, who is also a god, and of a technically non-existent species. Demon isn’t a race, It’s a collection of several races. So me being a half-demon means I should be one of those races, but I’m not. My race clearly states I’m a half-demon. But since demon isn’t an actual race, what is it? Is it a new race now? Am I the only one of my kind? Or is it something else? Does it act as one of the demon races? Do I count as one of the demon races now? I guess I’ll just have to wait for our child to be born before I can get a proper answer. My bet is on demon being a unique species, that only I have, at least, out of every demon I’ve seen so far, I should be the only one. Right?