In a certain war camp, the members were buzzing louder than usual. They had always been a bit on edge due to their eccentric leader, but now a big shift happened.
Three soldiers of the camp sat around a table playing with a few handmade cards when one of the put his mug down. The mug was filled with extremely cheaply made beer, but it gave him enough of a buzz to work.
"What are we gonna do man? Do we leave this camp?"
One of his pals dropped a card on the table before shaking his head, "You wanna get yourself killed by that freak? He said no deserters. I ain't taking such a chance."
"What if we just all run away at the same time? He can't bother chasing after us, right?", the third one suggested. Tensions were already running high in the war agains the Dragons, but the recent change made everyone restless.
"Why did that Magus have to retire now? We were making such good progress as well."
"Shh!", his friend grabbed his arm and squeezed it tight as he whispered, "Don't say such things out loud. You want that monster to hear it?"
The man was about to retort that such a man wouldn't visit their makeshift saloon, a leader was meant to patrol and strategize, not drink. Yet the moment he gathered the energy to raise his voice, he felt his heart jump as the man who entered their place was the very monster that lead them now.
Swallowing his words, he quickly took his drink and took a big gulp, averting his eyes from the being that walked up to the counter. The bartender, a mage of Rank 3 himself, stared at the man with a frightened look.
While the Magus that retired was a figure that spread fear, his student had been making the rounds of being even worse than the master. His Rank was only at the top of 5, yet his powers made him capable of beating 2 Rank 6's. Due to his power and his master that approved of him, the active leaders of the War Campaigns accepted the student as the new leader.
The man's face was covered in scars, a black cloak covered his body, while a hood hid most of his face. Despite his attempts of hiding his presence, not a single soul didn't know who it was.
Their leader, feared by the Dragons and his own men, simply pointed to a bottle behind the bartender. Following his instructions, not a word was said as he poured the leader a simple glass of milk.
Many would've laughed at him for his choice of drink, but none would even dare utter a single remark. Even the bartender tried to force a smile as he lightly pushed the glass towards him.
The saloon was silent, not a word was uttered. Only the sound of mugs hitting tables and cards being played reverberated through the room. People stayed as quiet as possible, and even their leader, who was meant to keep moral high, took part in the silence.
None dared to stand up or leave, choosing to make as little noise as possible.
Minutes went by slow as the man drank from his glass. Eventually, he finally left, waiting a few more seconds to ensure he was truly gone, the men and women slacked sighs of relief as they started to talk again. Slowly, the atmosphere grew back to before their leader entered, accompanied by degrading remarks about his choice of drink.
The leader left for his own tent. The moment people saw him, they quickly chose a different route to avoid him entirely. The previous leader would've been greeted with respect and revelry, but the monster the replacement had become gained none of that.
Entering his private tent, a few mages were inside. The moment they noticed his presence they smiled endearingly to him.
"Got another round of insults?", a demon remarked. Compared to a dozen years before, the demon had grown in size and strength. Were it not for his horns being small and broken, he would've been a prime example of a perfect demon.
'Yes. It seems my powers of telepathy are not well known,' the man thought as he stood in front of a table covered in maps and little figures that were meant to visualize their forces.
"Hihihi, those little kids are just playing around! Want me to eat them?", a green bodied girl with some hefty endowments commented with a happy-go-lucky attitude. She slightly levitated in the air, unwilling to touch the ground for some unknown reason. A green radiance covered the side of the tent she floated in.
Due to her status as a being of pure nature, she cared little for covering herself up, only using a few vines to hide her privates after learning it from her savior. The demon couldn't help but stare at her alluring figure, taking peeks at random intervals, but trying his hardest to hide it.
"Please, don't listen to her, Darling, she's just joking around," a beautiful Mermaid princess spoke up with a light tone as she had a smirk on her face. Her beauty was no less than the dryad's figure, but she wore plenty of clothing that hid most of it. Only her modest bosom was being emphasized due to her bra.
The demon found her equally as alluring but in a different way. Sadly, both their figures were adjusted and formed to try and please a single man, one who showed little interest in them.
"Hey Bluey, I'm being serious!", floating in the air, she placed her hands on her hips to emphasize her point, "Insulting Master should be punished."
The princess felt like the dryad had a point, but couldn't give in, "Well, punishing them is fitting, but the state of the camp is already on the edge of collapse. Doing such a thing, would only break it all up."
The dryad got close, pressing her face close to the princess as she rebuked back, "Are ya saying the master can't lead those little kids?"
"What? No, I-I mean..."
'Stop it. You're both correct. According to procedure they should be punished, Gaia is technically correct. But Nerina is also correct that any rash action could result in the camp disbanding.'
The women looked towards their master for a moment before backing off. The demon spoke up after some time. "Why not just disband in the first place. You didn't want this position, it was forced upon you, no?"
'Correct, Astaroph, I do not desire this station. I have no plans to attack the Dragons.'
The girls frowned for a moment, only having the demon nod in response. The human race was always hounded and herded by the Dragons to the point they escaped underground to live there.
Only recently did humans tread back on the surface of the earth, claiming the land and killing off any Dragons that dared to resist. Other species suffered the same treatment from the Dragons. Due to their inherent superiority, the Dragons looked down on all other sentient life, treating them like livestock.
They finally were pushing the monsters back, but both the retired and current leader of the war camp saw little use in fighting any further.
'We have conquered enough land to live and prosper in. If we focus on building up our strength and foundations, the Dragons won't pose a threat.'
"But Master, what if they come after us for revenge?", the princess didn't like leaving such a big potential risk out in the open, but the Master waved it off.
'Not a single Dragon has come after us for our slaughter of their species. They are locked to their domain. As long as we don't breach their land, they won't ours.'
"So like a tree won't split off and stay in place?", the dryad asked with a pensive look.
The man simply nodded. The princess didn't agree with his way of thinking, but she wasn't going to talk back any further. If her master was set on something, rarely did her suggestions do much of anything.
"So what do we do now? I don't mind going around telling the men the camp has disbanded," the demon spoke up as he crossed his arms, already thinking on how he would handle the troublemakers.
'We will build a country. Show the others there's no need for further bloodshed. Peace and tranquility should be the goal of all sentient beings. We will punish evil with evil, and kindness with kindness.'
The princess shook her head, "A simple way of ruling, but quite easy to understand. You do know that we will have to come up with a set of rules and laws to control the population."
'I hope I can count on you for that.'
The princess showed a smug look towards the dryad, who didn't feel like giving in, "Then I'll help with building the city and towns! I'll put plenty of nature between all the buildings!"
'That would be delightful.'
"I'll help with the overal control of the place. Creating a group that will police the people shouldn't be that hard for me."
'Thank you.'
The man flashed a small smile, a rare one for even his closest associates. The road was more than prickly and troublesome, but the people present were more than willing to spend the rest of their lives aiding their savior and master.
---
In the middle of absolute nowhere stood a lone black castle. Nothing lived there. Nothing grew. No grass pushed through the cracked earth, no insects crawled beneath the stones, and not even a drop of water remained in the barren soil. There was only the castle, standing alone beneath an empty sky.
And yet, some people still lived in the castle. Sitting on a simple chair, a single man stared out in the desolate wasteland with a pensive look. Being alone and having the time to just think gave the man a strange peace he wasn't used to.
Without a single sound, a maid appeared behind the man. And despite her lack of noise, the man in the chair noticed her without any problem.
"Report?"
"The Undead Heir has been destroyed, but it has diverted a lot of the prepared troops meant for Sabaoth."
"So he was useful in the end. A shame for such a piece, but his value pales in comparison to the results."
The maid nodded, as if the man in front of her could see it. "The True Heir will achieve Rank 4 soon. The Demon God has given him the pathway, but not the pill we prepared for him. We believe he is also being used as a tool by the God."
"It's fine. His trick matters not. He's starting to catch up to his expected level. What's next?"
"He should arrive back on Aurora soon. His goal will be the Tree of Life and the Goddess Gaia to revive his friend."
"Yes, a far descendant of an aid to the Great One. He is worthy of revival in that sense. Have the Bloom and Gale family strike him to give him a chance to get used to his newfound powers and set up a trial or two for him in order to get to the Tree of Life."
"We have come up with the following trials," stepping forward in absolute silence, the maid lowered her back as he slowly brought her hands to the man. Seeing the papers between her hands, he grabbed them and went through them one by one.
"He's a Rank 4, no point in pushing him in useless wars, but he might be able to train while helping Frigus get back on its feet. Have some men of the decoy cause a ruckus near him like last time. It should set their sights on him eventually."
The maid suddenly spoke up despite her Master still reading the documents. "What should we do about his return? He will arrive at Her city, do we use some of plants?"
"No point, I've already arranged a card that should be good enough to get him out of trouble."
"I see."
Waiting for her Master to finish the selection of trails, he picked out two and gave them back.
The maid vanished not long after. Sitting alone again, he stared into the wasteland. The silence that lingered as not even winds were allowed to exist in this place hurt the man in the deepest part of his heart. Closing his eyes, the man tried his hardest to forget about the sight before him. As he imagined the castle and dead land around it, the land that was once dried out and dead turned into a blossoming world.
A truly beautiful and picturesque city appeared. Nature thrived on the streets as being from all kind walked hand in hand. Smiles on their faces, children played in the streets without a care. Their laughter and joy reverberated through the streets. Passerbies couldn't help but smile looking at their innocence and joy.
Sunlight shone softly into the city, making the dryads float happily near the ents that were letting the large mutated flies eat their apples. Orcs and goblins played around with sticks as if they were re-imagining an old fairy tale while a slime and medusa-like creature were playing chess.
The sky was filled with harpies and bird-like beasts that flew in formation as they sung their beautiful song. The river that ran through the city was populated with tons of fish and mermaids. No matter where one looked, one would only find harmony and peace.
Even a Dragonoid human was sitting on a bench while eating from snack that was given to him by a tentacle monster that was making them with all her appendages.
It was the ideal world, free of conflict and strife. A place so pure, the man did everything in his powers to protect it. Yet now, once he opened his eyes once more, the absolute desolate land was all that remained. The stark contrast made his heart ache.
Clenching his hands into fists, he felt anger rise in his heart. Letting out a sigh, he let his frustrations go, for it would be useless to continue to feel the rage. He had been waiting for so long, an excruciating wait so long, he forgot how many eons it had been, how many resets he had survived.
And yet, time was the one thing he had. Time to plan, time to scheme, time to fester. Soon, all things would end as his masterplan was making headway. All he needed was for the True Heir to grow faster and faster, to achieve the paradise of the past.
'Soon Great One. Soon, my dear Master.'
---
Opening his eyes, the world before him came into view. All his defenses and arrays were still active, nobody had disturbed him in his rest. Getting up from his seated position, Lucas felt he world on a level he had never experienced before.
The details and scope of his willpower had been extended by an absurd amount. His body felt tougher and the mana coursing through his veins felt like exploding. The mere thought of creating a fireball instantly shot mana through his body to fire off a small fireball, that exploded and destroyed a fourth of all his defenses.
Even Lucas couldn't understand what happened, just thinking about lower level spells made them appear, not even wasting any time reciting the runes needed. Clenching his fist, the raw power vibrating through him gave him a feeling of satisfaction he rarely felt.
He had stepped out of the shackles of a normal human being long ago, but now, he had turned into something different from a human. He took his first step in the realm of the Demigods.
Ranks 0 to 3 were considered a mortal realm, Ranks 4 to 6 the Demigods plane and Rank 7 and 8 were true Gods. And it wasn't hard to tell why Rank 4 was such a big step forward.
Looking at his ring with a Rank 3 core, he almost laughed at the great difference between quality of mana. His own core had far surpassed the total mana he could've stored before. He laughed at his own arrogance, thinking he could've killed someone from Rank 4 before becoming one, but quickly stifled that self deprecating smile since he actually did achieve it.
Removing the ring, he would have no use for it right away, unless he got a better core of course. Instead, he tried to experiment with his spells, testing their overall power and speed. Everything from his body to his spells had gotten a major upgrade, it was simply incredible, and extremely unfair.
The extreme disparity between Ranks truly divided the mages. Lucas had always kept the mages from the Underground in the back of his mind. They were beings of massive power that played with countries and created wars to see who was better at empowering lesser beings. They were toys to be played with. The only worth they had was as experimental subjects.
And yet, Lucas felt so far removed from a normal human being that he understood it. Going up against even higher Ranked mages would only be depressing, but anything below you was free to play with however you wanted. The only thing the lesser Ranked mages could do was plead and pray for an even stronger mage to save them.
Making his way to the obelisk that would let him out, he noticed an old man sitting next to the river. A fishing rod was stuck in his hands. Despite his lack of sight, the little barrel next to him was already filled up with fish, for one didn't need to see in order to fish.