Free Web NovelGrid's expression was endlessly serious.
Right.
He had actually expected this.
Ever since Grid said a new mission had come down and that there might be a way.
Still, it was definitely a tempting proposal.
After all, there was no place that produced more casualties than war.
Su-ho asked,
"Are the people of the West Demon Realm very dangerous?"
- Just think of them as barbarians without intelligence. That place has no concept of civilization.
"How can that be?"
- They were just born that way. Violent, barbaric, aggressive.... On top of that, they outnumber us by two or three times, so if we fight a straightforward war of numbers, we lose.
"Then that means we have to fight without being straightforward and stuff in a whole lot of technique."
- It'll definitely be a good opportunity for you too. Their levels are usually newly organized around the opposing Demon King.
"What level are you?"
- I'm a Constellation. I don't have a level concept. So even in this war, I probably won't be directly involved for the most part.
"Then how does the war happen?"
- There are Demon Realm player residents in the East Demon Realm, aren't there? I'm just a sort of symbolic role that exists for the event. The real fighting will be done by the people of the East Demon Realm. Of course, it's a different story when the Demon King is a player.
A slight shadow passed over Grid's face.
He was thinking of the previous Demon King.
- That's why I'm asking you. You're currently my only partner, and among the players I know, you're the player with the greatest power.
"Are there no talented people among the East Demon Realm residents?"
- None. After the first player Constellation in the Demon Realm was born, this world was reset once.
"Reset? What do you mean by that?"
- Why are you so surprised? Worlds that belong to the system are all the system's playground anyway. Whether it resets a world or does whatever it wants to an individual player, it's all up to the system. Of course, I'm an exception there, since I'm a Constellation.
Grid spoke flatly.
It was the attitude of someone who had been exposed to violence for so long that he now accepted it as only natural.
For a moment, Su-ho thought he saw his future self overlapped on that face.
Was that why?
A sudden fear rose in him.
That if he failed at everything, his world too might be reset once again like the Demon Realm, and everything might repeat.
'No, that will never happen.'
Su-ho shook his head, then asked,
"But if the East Demon Realm loses the East-West War, what happens then?"
- I don't know.
"You don't know?"
- I've only experienced the East-West War once, back under the previous Demon King. And we won. That's also the reason he was able to become a Guardian God.
- So the East-West War must've been his promotion trial.
Grid nodded.
- His level was already high enough. And if the East Demon Realm loses the East-West War, it'll probably go beyond becoming a wasteland and enter the process of destruction. Then the system will probably initialize this world once again. A world full only of mindless barbarians like the West Demon Realm wouldn't be interesting from the system's point of view. Ah, of course, that's just my guess. It's not confirmed.
"Sounds possible. But even now, can't you find a player in the East Demon Realm who looks usable as the next Demon King and raise them up?"
- No. There's no time. And even if there were, there isn't a talent there who satisfies my eye.
Su-ho nodded.
Well, sure.
After seeing me, anyone would probably find other players lacking.
"Got it. I'll participate. I just have to join in and win for you, right?"
- Right. Thank you.
"Still, for a Demon King, you're pretty nice. Whether the world gets reset or destroyed, it wouldn't matter to you since you're a Constellation, but seeing you still try to look after your own world."
At Su-ho's words, Grid let out a faint laugh.
- Seriously. Even if it gets reset after destruction, it seems I can't help giving it my best every single cycle.
A lot could be felt from Grid's words and expression.
But Su-ho didn't continue that topic and changed the subject.
"Then you should raise my trait rank too, right?"
- What trait rank?
"What do you mean what? Are you going to stop at Partner? I'm the one who's going to participate in the war in your place, no less."
- You really do take meticulous care of these things. I was going to raise it anyway.
As Grid gestured with his hand, system notifications began to rise.
[ The Demon King of Greed acknowledges you. ]
[ The Demon King of Greed categorizes your existence differently. ]
[ The trait information for 'Grid's Partner' changes. ]
[ You have become the 'Apostle of the Demon King.' ]
[ You have succeeded in making a Great Demon into a Demon King. ]
[ You have achieved an incredible accomplishment that no other player has ever managed. ]
[ The system acknowledges your supreme accomplishment and gifts you 30 bonus stats. ]
Wow.
Before, the bonus stats had only been given in tens, but now it was 30 at a time.
Which made sense.
He was no longer a Great Demon, but a Demon King.
'And on top of that, a Demon King I personally made with my own hands.'
This much of a reward was only natural.
Still, seeing the title Apostle of the Demon King in front of him left him a little unsatisfied.
"So Avatar comes after Apostle, right?"
- And?
"Since we're doing this anyway, why not go all out and raise me all the way to Avatar too?"
At Su-ho's request, Grid stared at him for a while, then nodded.
- Sure.
"Huh? Really?"
- Why? Want me not to?
"Ah, no, not that. It's just weird because you accepted way too easily."
- The strangest things feel weird to you. Now that we've already come as far as the East-West War, is there any point in playing tug-of-war with you at this stage?
"True enough.... Then I'm asking."
[ The Demon King of Greed fully acknowledges you. ]
[ The Demon King of Greed categorizes your existence differently. ]
[ The trait information for 'Apostle of the Demon King' changes. ]
[ You have become the 'Avatar of the Demon King.' ]
[ You are the first player to succeed in becoming the Avatar of a Demon King. ]
[ You have achieved an incredible accomplishment that no other player has ever managed. ]
[ The system acknowledges your supreme accomplishment and gifts you 30 bonus stats. ]
System notifications streamed down.
This time too, it was 30 bonus stats.
Just as Su-ho was about to check his status window in satisfaction, additional system notifications rose.
[ By becoming the Avatar of the Demon King, you can now inherit and use the Demon King's power. ]
[ By becoming the Avatar of the Demon King, you have acquired the 'Demonic Energy' stat. ]
[ Due to the effect of New Blood, some stat information changes. ]
[ The Demonic Energy stat changes into the True Demon stat. ]
[ The True Demon stat becomes even stronger. ]
[ You have achieved a great accomplishment, and the system gifts you 10 bonus stats. ]
"Oh."
The corner of Su-ho's mouth rose as he saw the extra notifications.
Right, if the being in question was a Great Demon and a Demon King, then if it had magic power, it would naturally be Demonic Energy rather than ordinary mana.
But that Demonic Energy too had been absorbed into True Demon, and in the process he had gained 10 additional bonus stats.
"Check status window."
[ An Su-ho ]
As a result, his bonus stats had piled up to 180, and it was the first time in his entire life as a player that he had ever had this many stacked up.
As Su-ho broke into a broad grin, Grid, who had been watching, said,
- Looks like you've piled up quite a lot of bonus stats.
"Yeah, 180. Thanks to you. Seventy of them came thanks to you."
- Then you must've gained the Demonic Energy stat too.
"It changed into True Demon."
- Silver rank?
"Yeah."
- What's your Silver-rank True Demon stat at right now?
"361. Why?"
At the words 361, Grid grinned.
- Now that you've become a High Player, I suppose I can tell you. For a stat color to become Gold, the Silver stat has to reach 500. Since you happen to have 361 and 180 spare bonus stats, why not raise it right now?
"Ah, seriously?"
- All your security clearance levels should be unlocked now, so there's no reason I can't tell you. For reference, when you go from Gold to the next one, that also requires 500.
"That takes a lot. Still, thanks for the tip."
Information he had never expected.
Su-ho invested 139 of his 180 bonus stats into True Demon and brought the stat to 500.
[ The True Demon stat has reached 500. ]
[ The True Demon stat grows another stage. ]
[ Congratulations! The True Demon stat has increased in level and become Gold rank! ]
It had finally become Gold.
How long had he been waiting for this moment?
The system notifications continued.
[ You are the first player to acquire a Gold stat. ]
[ You have achieved an incredible accomplishment that no other player has ever managed. ]
[ The system acknowledges your supreme accomplishment and gifts you 20 bonus stats. ]
He had achieved the first Gold stat among all players.
Thanks to that, he had received another 20 bonus stats.
'Just like money makes money, stats make stats.'
This was why being first mattered.
Su-ho refreshed his status window again.
[ An Su-ho ]
Just looking at it made a wave of satisfaction wash over him.
As Su-ho was about to distribute his stats again, he asked Grid,
"I've got 61 bonus stats left. In that case, would it be better to keep raising True Demon now that it's become Gold, or should I raise the rest of the Silver stats to Gold too and make them all match?"
- Keep raising one stat. That's better.
"Okay."
A nice, crisp answer.
As expected, once you had the qualifications, nothing was blocked anymore.
Only after investing every last one of his bonus stats into True Demon did Su-ho close the status window.
- Guooooh! Power is surging through me!!
Right after the stat distribution was finished, Jack suddenly struck a front double biceps pose and rejoiced in the power surging up through him.
As a summon, he was affected by the magic power Su-ho possessed.
With the corner of his mouth curled up in satisfaction, Su-ho asked Grid,
"So what do I do first now?"
- Since you've become my Avatar, you need to understand the power I possess and learn how to use it.
"Ah! Come to think of it, I saw among the system notifications earlier that I can now inherit and use the Demon King's power."
- Right. An Avatar is essentially the same as a proxy, so you're qualified to inherit and use my power. Actually, you can use it even if you only become an Apostle, but the types and the efficiency of the power itself are different.
"So, what do I do first?"
- First, now that you've become my Avatar, we need to organize a new Demon King Army. And the very first step of that is to bring the subordinate Great Demons who failed to become Demon King under unified submission.
"Huh? I thought they would automatically submit."
- No way. No matter that the beings of the East Demon Realm have more intelligence than those of the West Demon Realm, a demon is still a demon.
"Man, this really did get annoying. Then let's hurry up and go make them submit."
- Let's.
The corner of Grid's mouth curled up in a grin as he answered.
