novelPrivate #1
| ← Ch.058 | Ch.060 → |
Edited By: Sebas Tian
Neutrality.
It was being fair and not siding with any sides.
It was a comforting idea because no one would attack since they were neutral.
To the weak, neutrality was an idea they could only dream about.
The strong pressured them to either side with them or with the enemy, so this was an exit where they could be freed from it.
It was the best shield where it allowed them to increase their strength peacefully.
'Right, it's like a dream. '
A powerless neutrality didn't exist.
All they had to do was destroy the weak that chose to be neutral.
Power was required in order to protect the neutrality.
Sharp teeth and claws that even the strong couldn't ignore and could actually counterattack them.
The dungeon shop was the only one in the demon world that was neutral.
No demon king could ignore the dungeon shop's neutrality. The rulers that had a sin and superhuman strength in the demon world. It also applied to the six kings.
The most intelligent one within the dungeon shop. Bifrons's existence was art itself and they were looking at a chessboard and various artwork.
It was different from an ordinary chessboard. It was a game that Bifrons created and it was called Encantro.
The game starts with 60 horses and the idea of x, y, z axis was added to it. On top of that, the horses were able to advance in rank and even change and the idea of having support and ambushing the enemy was added to it.
Since there was about a dozen rules that were added, it was useless to compare the difficulty level to that of ordinary chess.
The more one plays, the more complicated and difficult it gets, so it's difficult for someone with an ordinary mind to enjoy this game. In the entire demon world, there were only about 10 people that enjoyed this game. Bifron, the creator of this game, was included in that number.
But Bifron didn't care. They created this game so that they could enjoy it. And if this game was revealed to the demon world, then the number of players will probably double. The demon world was that big and there was a variety of races.
Bifrons looked across.
Even though the seat was empty, they were able to see someone. A character that they created a long time ago.
They were Bifrons's old friend.
Their old friend made a move. They spoke while looking at Bifrons.
'I knew that giving you the nickname Most Intelligent was too much. '
Bifrons made their move. They nodded.
"You're right. I just like analyzing and I just happen to be talented in calculating. On top of that, I'm using my calculating skills to operate the dungeon shop's system... I'm probably below average when it comes to scheming and knowing about worldly affairs. No, that's most likely it."
Whenever Bifrons met their old friend, they ended up looking back on themselves. And they always agreed with their own statement. It was true that Bifrons had an extraordinary mentality, but it didn't mean that the affairs of the world were all in the palm of their hand.
'Samael looked like they've been thinking about a lot of things lately. '
Their friend made a move. With that one move, over 100 different possibilities were created.
But those possibilities were only within the set rules.
Instead of making their next move, Bifrons took a step back. They replied as they looked at the entire board.
"They've always been like that. They're probably worried about the balance breaking within the demon world. The conflict between the King of Pride and the King of Envy is something they've never experienced during their short life."
Their friend didn't push them to make the next move. They touched their chin. The friend could be considered as Bifrons's alter ego, but their physical appearance wasn't the same. Today, they were filled with darkness, making them look like a Nightshade.
'Are those two really risking their lives? Do they really want to take away each other's sin and power?'
It was a different question of whether the other kings were just going to spectate.
Bifrons smiled after hearing their friend's question.
"Mammon, the King of Greed... in the history of the demon world, they were the strongest and they left a lesson that hasn't been forgotten."
They finally made a move. The silhouette of their friend didn't move. They just moved their eyes within the darkness and looked at the board.
The soldier killed the knight and took away the sword and shield. In order to rise up to the knight rank, they were looking for a horse.
Bifrons spoke.
"They moment they obtain both the sin and power, they'll become the enemy of the entire demon world."
The demon world already experienced Mammon, the King of Greed.
The other kings won't allow anyone to stand above them ever again.
'Does that mean everyone is just a coward? The highest king in the demon world. I know they want to be a god, but are they scared of being the enemy of all the other kings?'
Their friend made a move. It was an impulsive move. This kind of "impulsive" move actually made it difficult for Bifrons.
Impulse.
No calculations.
That's why it couldn't be predicted.
"It was like that all this time. But there's no law saying that it would remain this way. That's the world."
If everything could be calculated and if everything happened according to that calculation, they would be able to predict the future.
But in reality, "Laplace's Demon" didn't exist.
Bifrons used impulse to go against impulse. They spoke as they tasted the pleasure of breaking away.
"I think this balance will last a little bit longer."
'Because I'll have to kiss peace goodbye?'
"Yeah, it should so that we can stay in and play with objects like this."
Their friend made their move. It was another impulsive move.
Bifrons made another impulsive move as well.
&
The advantage of having a carriage was that you could do anything you wanted even while it was moving.
Catalina was wrapped up in her cape and was asleep. Yong-Ho was next to her and kept on falling asleep and waking up.
Skull was really skilled at driving the carriage. Despite the fact that the carriage was running on an unpaved road, it didn't shake as much as when riding a horse. Even if the carriage had a function where it controlled the shaking, their driving skill was amazing.
'Maybe they were a driver and not a knight in their past life. '
It was a common idea in the human world, not in the demon world, but a good knight can become a good leader. It would be difficult for them to become a horseman.
Yong-Ho glanced out of the window. The landscape was mixed with different things and it was familiar. It meant that the dungeon wasn't far.
'I do have to make a decision. '
Yong-Ho closed his eyes again and fixed his posture. He touched his chin and started thinking.
When he informed Ophelia of the dungeon's current situation, Rikum was downstairs, not in the room. It's because he hasn't told Rikum about Greed and Aamon.
Greed and Aamon's existence.
Hiding it wasn't hard. There was a high chance that he would continue hiding it from the other spirits.
'I need to make sure the others don't say anything. '
Catalina, Eligor, Skull and Ophelia were the only ones that knew about Greed, but not Aamon.
When he first obtained Aamon, the spirits that were with them were the only ones that knew.
He didn't think too much about it. The Treant couldn't talk and the Goblins, Jon and Ron, didn't even know what Aamon was. There's a possibility that they already forgot.
Yong-Ho was thinking about something else and not about Greed or Aamon.
As a demon king, what was he going to do with the Power of Evolution?
When the Power of Evolution is used, it's noticeable. But if it was only used on himself and on some of the spirits, then its effects will decrease. Especially now when they're short-handed.
Of course not all demon kings are able to completely hide their power.
With Foras, the spirits that participated in the fight knew about their power.
They only knew that it created a cold atmosphere and froze the enemy.
'Is there a way to make only a few know about the details and for the rest to have a general idea? Or maybe something else... or lie by saying that I borrowed the power through an artifact. '
The latter sounded much better.
On top of that the'evolution' could become a motivational factor for the spirits. Just hiding it without any reason wasn't proper.
'Okay. '
Yong-Ho somewhat made a decision and after opening his eyes, he stuck his head out the window. As expected, he saw the House of Mammon's entrance.
&
"Welcome back, sir."
The Dungeon Meerkat must've told everyone because when the carriage reached the entrance, Eligor and the other spirits were all waiting there.
They looked surprised because the group left with horses, but came back in a carriage. Since Eligor was an experienced butler, he greeted Yong-Ho with a smile.
Yong-Ho happily looked at the spirits. The spirits that he looked at first were the salamander and Treant.
He immediately activated the Power of Evolution.
'Oh, I knew it!'
They must've either trained or helped with the construction because their development rate was now at 100.
The development rate didn't fill up at the same rate. If the spirit was already skilled or experienced the development several times, then the rate slowed down.
The salamander was already strong when they first met, and despite the fact that they participated in every battle after obtaining them, their development rate was only now at 100.
Since it took so long to fill it, he should've really thought about what kind of skill he was going to develop, but Yong-Ho immediately made his decision. He already thought a lot about it ever since the salamander became his.
Instead of going into the dungeon, Yong-Ho looked at the salamander and Treant happily, so the other spirits naturally focused on them. The Goblins and the Orcs were watching with interest.
"Grr?"
The salamander must've been a bit anxious because they let out a nervous sound.
Yong-Ho came back to his senses after hearing it and smiled again. After raising his hand up, he took out a ring from the pile of items that he received from Ophelia. It was a gold ring that had a complicated message engraved into it, but other than that, it was an ordinary gold ring that didn't have any functions.
The way Yong-Ho slid the ring into his middle finger made it seem like he was in a musical. He approached the nervous salamander.
[Race: Salamander (M)]
[Type: Monster Spirit (Mid Rank)]
[Element: Fire Level 2]
[Individual Trait]
[Simple and honest]
[Individual Skill]
[Physique / Strength]
[Development Rate: 100/100]
[Physique Level 2# ★★ (2)] -> [Advancement route revealed upon development]
[Agility Level 1# ★★☆ (2. 5)] -> [Advancement route revealed upon development]
[Mana Level 2# ★☆ (1. 5)]
[Strength Level 1# ★★ (2)]
This was the salamander's current stats and it was going to change.
Yong-Ho placed his hand on top of their head. The salamander nervously closed their eyes and the other spirits, especially the Orcs, gulped and tightened their fists.
Yong-Ho purposely gathered his mana around the gold ring. He released the mana that contained the Power of Evolution into the salamander's forehead.
He chose agility.
Yong-Ho also closed his eyes. Based on the image that he created on his head, he released more mana.
Light enveloped the salamander. Because of the large amount of mana, the Orcs were close to passing out and Rikum kept on gulping. The spirits that experienced the Power of Evolution before watched excitedly.
"Roaaaar!"
The salamander roared. And at the same time, the strong light disappeared as if it exploded.
And then it showed.
They were different from before. The ordinary-looking lizard was no longer there.
Their legs were longer. They looked more like a Griffon than a lizard and like an amphibian, their smooth head was now covered in scales and it also had a shell. And a horn that wasn't there before appeared, making it look like they were wearing a stylish helmet.
But that wasn't the biggest change. The other spirits were all looking at one area as well.
Large wings.
They were red wings and looked similar to a bat's wings. The salamander later realized that they had wings and their eyes widened due to the shock.
Out of all the evolutions in the past, this one had the biggest change.
"Whew."
There was a big change because Yong-Ho used a lot of mana. After releasing a deep sigh, he took a step back. After taking a look at the salamander's entire body, he looked through their stats.
[Race: Salamander (M)]
[Type: Monster Spirit (Mid Rank)]
[Element: Fire Level 2]
[Individual Trait]
[Simple and honest]
[Individual Skill]
[Physique / Strength / Agility]
[Development Rate: 0/100]
[Physique Level 2# ★★☆ (2. 5)]
[Agility Level 2# ★★★ (3)]
[Mana Level 2# ★★☆ (2. 5)]
[Strength Level 1# ★★ (2)]
[Salamander - Assault Type]# [Salamander - Swift Type]
The new route that appeared was significant. When Yong-Ho lightly touched the window of light, a new silhouette appeared above the salamander.
The assault type made them look more aggressive and the swift type looked like they would be much faster than they are now.
'They might really become a dragon. '
Feeling satisfied, Yong-Ho took a few steps back and kept his distance. The salamander was looking at him with a flustered expression, so Yong-Ho smiled and pointed towards the sky.
It was obvious what he was trying to say.
'You can fly since you have wings!'
Yong-Ho thought that a chicken or an ostrich might become sad if they heard it, so he pointed to the sky again. The salamander must've made up their mind because their expression changed and they nodded their head. After flapping their wings, they quickly crawled on the hill that was located above the dungeon entrance.
Everyone looked at the salamander.
The salamander looked at the sky and started running as if they made up their mind. They threw their body towards the bottom of the hill.
"Fly!"
Someone yelled. And the salamander reacted to it. They flapped their wings and created a fire. They flew within the remnants of the fire.
The Goblins jumped up and down excitedly. The Princess Ant reacted to it as well and the Kobold couldn't stay still as they barked.
And the salamander turned around. The fire spirit created a red path in the demon world's sky and after creating a strong wind, they landed on the ground.
Was this the end? No. He wasn't planning on sending them away after the salamander got a taste of flying. After making a cheerful sound, Yong-Ho shook his head.
They reacted to his hand movement and Yong-Ho reacted to their movement. Before Catalina or Eligor had the opportunity to comment, Yong-Ho sat on the salamander's back. Their spine was sticking out like a handle, so he tightly grabbed onto it.
'But why did something like this appear? Did it affect the evolution because they thought about me riding on them?'
If that was the case, then he felt bad, but Yong-Ho stopped thinking about it. After feeling satisfied by how nice the handle felt, he yelled.
"Let's go!"
The salamander reacted. Instead of climbing up the hill, they flapped their wings. After releasing the fire again, they flew up towards the sky.
Private plane. No, a private dragon!
If his friends heard this joke, they would start cringing. But Yong-Ho laughed out loud after thinking about the word play. He looked far ahead while feeling pleasure from the thrill.
The demon world's sky.
And the demon world's ground.
The flow of mana that looked like it was swirling.
A cool wind blew through all of that.
The wind was blowing from the other side of the demon world.
~Private #1~ End.
| ← Ch. 058 | Ch. 060 → |