At a nice campfire, a disguised demon was gazing at the youngster casually grilling marshmallows with incredible wariness, albeit trying to hide it.
Anyone in Infinite would have agreed that Demons were one of the hardest species to deal with for three reasons.
1. They were unbelievably powerful. They were born with godly magical talent and near-infinite lifespans. This meant they would pretty much always become powerhouses.
2. They were incredibly scheming. Long ago, their race had suffered a lot from unfair magical contracts. Ever since their youths were taught to never let anyone exploit them.
3. They were very knowledgeable. Perhaps because they were born already strong, but many embarked on a learning Quest.
How was one supposed to negotiate with a stronger, wiser, and extremely careful enemy? This was now Jack's current dilemma.
Luckily, he knew perfectly how to address the issue.
"Hello there…want some marshmallows?" he kindly offered the Demon.
He did not introduce himself, mention his reason for inviting the Demon, or say anything about what he knew.
In the tense situation, all he had done was offer food.
"Woo!" (Marshmallows!!!)
The little wolf didn't hesitate one bit to gobble one of the warm gooey delicacies. As far as it was concerned, its task was already over.
Anyone seeing this scene would have either found it funny or felt offended and turned talons.
But this Demon wasn't doing any of that. He was instead inwardly spiraling. He was displaying a poker face outwardly, but he was freaking out.
- What was the man's goal?
- Had he poisoned the marshmallow?
- What if this entire place was one giant trap?
- Perhaps the fumes from the campfire were poisonous?
"How about you take a seat? It's comfortable." Jack pointed at the logs next to him, the Demon frowning ever so slightly.
- This was definitely a trap!
- Should he simply run away?
- But, this man knew his identity!
- Plus, he positively seemed weak!
- Still, perhaps he was hiding his power…
The Demon circulated his mana, prepared for everything, already having created a custom plan for his assault.
1. He'd use a lightning-fast attack in order to be out of danger before any trap could spring upon him.
2. He wouldn't show any killing intent on the off chance that the man was a disguised master.
3. If the man was really weak, he'd capture him and interrogate him. If the human was a powerful master, he'd bootlick him.
That's when the Demon dashed forward with incredible speed, his body enveloped by countless tendrils of darkness.
— Zoom!! —
Jack never saw him coming. In fact, his current abilities weren't even sufficient to detect the moment the Demon even started moving. The gap between them was an abyss.
But, he could guess what he would do. He nonchalantly took a pumpkin out, carving part of it out.
[Pumpkin Carving! Increased Resistance!]
This would make sure his body would be able to move even when confronted with the torrent of dark mana the Demon would no doubt emit.
He knew the Demon wouldn't come from his back, for it would be way too obvious, and his kind tended to overthink A LOT! Still, that left three directions.
That's why all this while he had been sending body signals subtly. From posture to the way he grilled marshmallows, everything screamed: "weaker side = right".
An experienced Demon would naturally subconsciously attack his weak spot. With this, he was all set.
"Want some roasted pumpkin seeds?" Jack suddenly offered, extending his hand toward the right, still looking at the campfire.
In his eyes, the Demon had remained in place from start to finish, only for his face to suddenly twist in utter horror.
The Demon was going insane.
- He had moved unseen
- He had reached the human
- The man had offered him food just as he was about to strike
- From start to finish, the human hadn't shown any power whatsoever, nor had he even bothered looking at him.
That's when the Demon came to the only logical conclusion…this man was a big boss! An incredibly impossibly strong yet humble big boss!
In the man's eyes, a young 374 years old demon like him was nothing but a gust of air! It was the first time in his entire existence that he could sense his heart beating so fast.
What kind of crazy existence had he encountered today!
"They're good, you know?" Jack called out to the stunned Demon.
"?!?"
"The pumpkin seeds. Anyway, how about you take a seat?" He instructed, the silly Demon scurrying to obey
[Successfully Scammed a Powerful Elder Demon!]
[Affinity with silly Demon +++!]
[…Silly Demon…Silly… Error!]
[Error! Error!]
Jack couldn't help but chuckle at the system having a breakdown in the background. It had been forced to use the nickname he had given the Demon.
Still, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't help but find the man silly.
He was now showcasing a gigantic grin and eyes full of admiration. It was as if he was looking at a living god. As for keeping him fooled, it wouldn't be too hard, right?
"So, how is Shadow Fang holding up nowadays? Are the kids eating well?" He playfully asked.
"Oh great one, it's like this…."
Thus started a tale full of confidential secrets. The silly Demon happily babbled about his organization, assuming Jack to be an ally and trying to please him.
The demons didn't especially need mana to survive, but they would much rather lose their eyes than lose their ability to use magic.
A long time ago, mana had left the world, and thus they had followed, leaving the humans to become the overlord of Infinite. But, knowing they would one day come back, they had left spies.
That much Jack already knew, but the man even told him all about their current plans. They were still preparing and had discovered some key information.
The Empire hadn't been idle this while and had been preparing for war. Not only had they made deals with various magical species, but they had also planned to use the Braves.
1. The Empire had dragons…and others.
2. There would be mass Player Recruitment.
The flames of war would eventually engulf the whole continent, and Jack had to get ready for this. He'd need to increase his personal strength and the power of D.L.
He couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster as he pictured his faction fighting against all others while supporting the demonic side.
As long as he ensured the Pumpkin Farm's safety beforehand, everything would be fine. He'd have the opportunity to cut loose and destroy the self-righteous Church of Light.
It would be like cutting down his desperate past himself, in a sense…
"Great One?…"
"Oh, I was lost in thoughts for a moment." Jack smiled as he saw Moon Moon on the side, its cheeks full of marshmallows as if a squirrel. "I have a mission for you…."
"!!!"
"You should be aware that there's a system that screens the people who enter the City and makes them glow based on their race and karma, right?"
"Of course! Every non-human besides pets are classified as black, and it's the same for anyone they consider evil."
"We'll play a little prank on this system of theirs. Here, you should be able to do this much, right?" Jack passed a paper over.
"?!?"
As the Demon kept reading, his eyes showed awe. It contained instructions on how to sabotage the device in a very creative and ridiculous way.
Still, it wasn't that easy to accomplish as it would require a very powerful mage since they needed to access the deepest part of the powerful artifact which would take time.
This wasn't especially hard for the older Demon. But the problem was the last line: *PS make sure no one knows. How was he supposed to accomplish this?!
"Having trouble? I'll send a distraction to help you." Jack mentioned.
"Thank you, oh Great One!!" The Demon left, skipping happily while chuckling.
This defense system modification was incredibly perverse…
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
In a flash of blue light, a Newbie spawned.
[Welcome to New Leaf+ Village!]
New players arrived daily at this place, and there were three types:
1. The confused and ignorant ones
2. The frightened ones that knew how harsh this specific village was
3. The excited ones that simply couldn't wait to start their adventure
But at this moment, one Newbie showed a different reaction. A young girl with long flowing black hair and amethyst eyes suddenly broke into a most charming smile.
There was relief, pure happiness, and, most importantly, incredible resolve in her eyes. She would follow in her brother's footsteps!
All the ones that saw her smile forgot to breathe for an instant. How could someone be so beautiful?! But then they came back to their senses, puzzled.
There were plenty of beauties around since it was a game, many even objectively prettier than her. Perhaps it had just been the lighting stunning them...
That's when an I.R.L. recruiter stepped up in a hurry.
There was something about this girl…she was special! He wasn't sure why, but she would go far for sure. This was the gut feeling he was getting!
He rushed toward her, only for her to flee at full speed.
"?!?"
Actually, she had never seen the man and had been rushing toward the nearest chicken field. With incredible momentum, she went to slaughter a level 2 chicken.
This was what heroic meant! She was perfect. She was already kicking ass, and— She had just died.
"…."
"You feathery bastards, I'll murder you!!!" She kept screaming, only to die over and over again.
"…."
The more the recruiter watched and the more confused he got. how was she so bad?! It was almost as if it was her first time gaming ever! Then, why wasn't she showing any hesitation?!
There was only the simple goal to become as strong as her brother in her mind. Only then could she help him!
Little did she know he was about to overturn the biggest City the players had access to…
