"The Demon King requests your presence, insisting that the first part of the payment must be made in person. Do you agree, or would you prefer to remain anonymous?" Sergio asks.
"I don't think I'm anonymous now. See how he referred to me as Guild Master? He already knows who I am, so there's no reason not to go see him." Cain shrugs.
More attendants come in pushing carts carrying chests of gold and platinum bars for him the other two VIP sellers, and Cain gathers his share before excusing himself to meet the Demon King, following Sergio to a private room on the second floor. The entrance looks like a bank vault; the door is thick and covered in a runic script, closing and locking behind them to prevent interruptions.
"King Aggramor, it is a pleasure to meet you." Cain greets the nondescript-looking Demon lounging on the sofa. He's changed disguises from when he was in the Auction, no longer looking intimidating. Cain understands neither is his natural form and briefly wonders if he's a Mimic like Neffie, or more correctly, an advanced version of one, given that he's over level 300.
"Likewise. You and your Guild have been a pleasant surprise to me for a while now. I'm an ancient Demon, you see, and I've gathered a lot of knowledge. The relevant bit today is a skill I created to assist my rule called [Census]."
Cain wonders about the King mentioning his Guild being surprising to him. After all, they're from different sides of the continent. But the King looks like he will explain, so Cain waits patiently.
"When [Census] is paired with my class skill [Council Meeting], you get an effect that should finish the upgrades to some of your Companions. The Demon and Dragon in particular, as most of them are under my purview. The Dragons don't like dealing with other races, so I've been appointed to do it for them in the Central Continent."
Sergio looks positively lost at this point, searching the room for something.
"The Dragon is here. This particular form allows her to travel with ease." Vala informs the auction master, guessing his confusion.
"I thought I had gone crazy there for a moment since your group is mostly Beastkin with no Dragon in sight." The King is looking at him like he's an idiot, a notion made even more plausible by the fact the King seems to be able to see through disguises. That makes Cain wonder what he looks like to the Demon King, or if he can only identify that it is a disguise and not see the proper form behind it.
"It's easier if I just show you," Aggramor says, and flood of information fills Cain's mind.
[Form Recorded]
[Form Recorded]
It repeats seemingly infinitely, filling his consciousness. Cain closes his eyes, letting them flow through him.
"Not bad. Most pass out. Just think or say summary to see it in a more manageable form."
[Summary] Expand Categories to see details
[Demon Kings] 1
[Demon Queens] 2
[Demon Lords] 93,216
[Ancients] 1
...
The list goes on and on, and the notifications are still coming in, so Cain mutes them.
"That's the Census of the Demon Kingdom and its allies by species. It's not knowledge that I would usually share. Still, the Visionaries saw that we would be working together in the future, and sharing it with you will create another Legendary Demon for my Kingdom once your skill upgrades her."
"For your Kingdom?" Vala asks.
"I am the only remaining Demon King. All demons are part of my Kingdom." He says as if it's an obvious fact.
"And as part of your Kingdom, you can keep tabs on them?" Cain asks.
"You catch on fast. Yes, I was surprised to see young Nefertiti show up on the Census. Your people are doing an excellent job with her, though. One like her is a real handful, even with a full staff. Plus, a Succubus that isn't a single mother. How rare is that? Your Guild is utterly fascinating."
[Companion Vala ready for Upgrade. Initiate now?] Y/N
[Upgrading]
Vala begins to grow, her height shoots up to 210cm and her skin shifts to a deep burnished Bronze color, much like Cain's Progenitor form. Her wings have also adjusted to her new appearance, still leathery but now fading from Bronze at the base to a deep black at the edges. Her eyes glow red before fading to emerald green with goat-like slotted pupils. Her hair is now long and black, tightly woven into multiple braids.
Then her clothing changes to a form-fitting leather suit with gold-trimmed black metal plates on her shins, thighs, and upper chest, leaving much cleavage exposed and her torso only covered in the leather suit that seems to have been painted on over most of her body. Cain would say it's latex the way it stretches to fit tightly, but it's textured like black leather.
It looks more like an Assassin than a tank outfit to Cain, but Demonic armor is deceiving; the leathery parts are often most durable.
Sergio is in shock, sitting on the floor with his mouth agape, while Aggramor claps happily.
"A Blood Dancer, a direct descendant of the Progenitors. Every hit recovers health and mana for her allies, and her very Aura will leech health from her enemies and empower her friends. They've been extinct for millennia because they were so dangerous that the other Kingdoms didn't dare to let them live to enter the battlefield."
[They were as fast as the Oath Breakers and carried deadly cursed blades. Many fell to them during the war between heaven and hell.] The Inquisitors add.
"You know, in your Progenitor form, you could make a whole family of them. Bring the species back and conquer the continent. It would be a lot of fun." Aggramor suggests with a wink.
"Nope, not acceptable. No getting the Companions pregnant when we don't even have kids yet." Misha blurts, before she flushes bright red while Aggramor laughs.
"Not until after you have your own, is it? Sounds like you've got a busy life ahead of you, young man."
Misha is overwhelmed by embarrassment, burying her face in Cain's chest as the tail of her Felian disguise wraps around herself and her ears flatten as if making herself more compact will make her invisible.
[Companion Laura Ready for Upgrade. Initiate now?] Y/N
"Yes! My turn. I will be huge and glorious."
"Not Indoors, you won't. Could you wait until we get outside? Auctioneer Sergio, can we access the roof?"
"Yes, of course. I don't know what you've done, but a huge Dragon indoors sounds bad."
"Just upgraded the quality of a few of my Summoned Companions, a part of the payment for the Armor. What did you need that for anyhow, King Aggramor?"
"I've got a young child who is following the path of the Paladin. It's perfect for their level one hundred advancement present."
The child of the reigning Demon King is an aspiring Paladin? How's that for ironic. But then demons aren't precisely what Cain expected them to be either.
The roof of the auction looks to be a private garden, with benches, shrubs, and grass surrounding white gravel pathways. But it's open enough for Laura to transform. She shifts into her draconian form, and Aggramor comes to scratch behind her horns.
"You're one of the largest Opal Prismatic Dragons I've ever seen, and you want to be bigger?"
"You should see some of the others. Especially that Primordial Golden Dragon, that thing is so massive it's unfair. It makes me look like a newly hatched whelp."
Now Aggramor understands the problem. Laura is from a tiny species of Dragon but dreams of being one of the gigantic species that blots out the sky.
"You might not get as large, but you will be just as mighty after this update. Don't put yourself down; you're a beautiful specimen of Opal Prismatic Dragon."
Cain starts the transformation, and Laura's form begins to shift. Along her spine, the smooth scales give way to large, ridged plates and her horns darken from white to silver. She's got a look of intense concentration on her face, and Aggramor can see her form slowly growing. As she does, her tail grows a pair of short white spikes on top of the tip, and then her form settles. Roughly a meter longer than she was and lightly armored, as the ancient Dragons were.
"Did I grow?"
"An entire meter. Plus, you got new armor scales on your spine and chest and upgraded horns." Cain confirms.
"You're now likely the largest of your species to ever grace this world with their presence." Aggramor says proudly, and Laura smiles.
"Thank you, Demon King. That means a lot to me."
Laura flies a few circles around the building before landing again, radiating happiness. "I'm fast too. Just as fast as Danni, maybe even faster."
That should be the case. Laura is Legendary now. No, make that Ancient Quality, she has been upgraded by his skills.
[Skill: Advisors detects Legendary Companions. Restrictions are removed on Legendary Companions, and their Bonded Forces are upgraded to options of Epic Quality.]
Companions upgraded to advisors and at Epic Quality didn't qualify for Glory of the Mark, only the set quality of Epic. But it seems that now they do, plus their Bonded Forces got an upgrade. Those two will be truly terrifying in combat after this, and it almost feels unfair how he got the better end of this deal with the Demon King.
