[You have overcome a challenge with odds that were impossible to overcome! Incredible!]

[You have gained a tremendous amount of experience toward your class!]

[Your actions have led to an enormous shift. You have earned 750 contribution points.]

[The usage of the skill -Lesson Learned- was successful. You have gained a significant amount of experience!]

[You have gained a new sub-skill, -Unimpressive-]

[Significant achievement!

Legendary survivor

Description - You are the first recorded entity from your world to encounter a Ninth-rank demon and survive to tell the tale!]

[Rewards are being calculated…]

[Error: Experience and rewards withheld until the next trial begins]

Verity, mid-swing, looked around him frantically. "Send me back!! Send me back right now!! You can't just end things like this!!"

A soft light lit up the dark space he had been transported to, and a familiar figure came into view.

The imp.

"A feisty one, aren't you? Fortunately though, I can't do that even if I wanted to. The trial is over."

Verity grit his teeth. "I don't give a sh*t about your trial!" He pointed his spear toward the imp. "I said send me back right now or I'll make you!!!"

The imp, who always wore a smile, let out a dry chuckle. If he wished, he could simply kill Verity here and now, but… that would have been a waste.

He fixed his neatly arranged bowtie and his eyes stared straight into Verity's. "...And what are you going to do if I send you back? Die without accomplishing anything? Do you think you stand a chance against that demon?"

"I can't know until I try! So stop babbling and send me back!!"

The imp let out an exasperated sigh. "I already told you, I can't do that, and even if I could, I wouldn't."

The imp looked away as if saying 'Yell at me all you want, it won't change anything.'

Verity's eyes trembled with fury.

He was angry. So much so that he did not know what to do with himself.

Still, he set his spear down, and he sat in the lotus position.

He took several deep breaths, under the curious eye of the imp, and after the tenth one, he stood back up.

The imp wishtiled. "Maybe I should purchase a book on meditation to–"

"Imp," Verity interrupted. "Just tell me this one thing. Was that world… Was any of it real?"

The imp seemed to ponder for a moment, and its grin stretched to his ears. "Why would I answer you? I'm just here to send you to the next trial, human."

Verity looked up at the imp. "...My tutorial points. I have quite a bit now…and this is still the tutorial as far as I know."

The imp raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I'd want those?"

"Do you not?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then?"

The imp spun in the air lazily. "There are still excellent purchasable items in the tutorial shop, you know? Are you certain you're fine with throwing them all away?"

Verity did not even hesitate. "Yes, if you'll answer just two questions of mine."

The imp snickered and he snapped his fingers. "Ask away!"

"First, was that world real?"

The imp thought of his answer for a second, then shrugged. "Yes… in a way, it was real, but it's not a place you'll ever be able to reach again."

Verity nodded, surprisingly satisfied with that answer. "Even if I can't go back… will I ever be able to encounter those from that world?"

"...Depends who you are referring to."

'That feline-woman he seemed fond of… or perhaps his master's Knight? He did not have that many connections beside the Spear of Hell… I wonder who he'll ask about…!!' The imp thought excitedly.

"...The demon. The one without a name."

The imp's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth as a wave of laughter overcame him. "Yes!! Yes you will! Certainly, without a doubt, you will meet that demon again!"

Verity let out a long sigh, caging the raging flames within his heart.

He could have his revenge, and that was all that he needed to know.

The furious embers would not die until that demon was vanquished, but for now, rationality had returned.

"I would say thank you, but I did pay a hefty sum for this, so just send me to the next trial already."

The imp wagged his finger. "Ah, before that. Rewards are in order." The imp lowered himself, approaching Verity. "You will be bestowed with an Alias! Exciting, isn't it?"

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

Verity narrowed his eyes. "Can I refuse if I don't like it?"

"Well, not exactly, but you do have more than one option!"

In a flash of bright light, several names appeared before Verity.

He stared at them for only a second, and he picked one. The imp smiled, giving the impression he had known Verity would choose this one.

[You have acquired an Alias.]

As the system announced his new Alias, Verity scoffed. "...Fitting."

And with a snap of the imp's fingers, he was whisked away from the dark room.

—

Somewhere on Earth.

"I-It's over, the demons have won… Run my dear, run…!!"

A dying Protector held his daughter's hand. Mere moments prior, a demon had taken his heart right out of his chest and crushed it.

The girl, no older than twelve years old or so, cried all the tears in her small body. She cried and she cried. When she had woken up this morning, alarms had rung, warning of an army of demons and monsters heading straight for the city.

Still, she had not been nervous. She had believed that with her father out there, one of the strongest Protectors within the Western Hemisphere Defense Coalition (WHDC), everything would be fine.

How wrong she was.

A demon was an existence far too different from a mere monster. They could never be defeated by a single Protector, no matter how strong he was.

The girl had seen videos of her father's raids, she had even personally seen him in action. He was strong, stronger than common sense should have allowed.

He could lift a truck with his bare hands. He could run faster than a speeding car. He was almost like a superhero from the stories that were popular before her time.

But she looked at him now, powerless, lifeless, and she could not help but despair.

The demon snickered as he looked at her. He found the scene amusing, entertaining even.

Humans were such pitiful creatures.

So weak, so useless, yet incredibly greedy.

Had it not been for the demon's arrival, they would have conquered nearly every dungeon out there, slaughtering countless numbers of monsters.

Watching them care for each other was almost revolting. They pleaded, they begged, they bargained.

But Kal, the demon, was certain that no human had ever listened to a goblin's pleas.

He laughed.

'Not like I've ever spared anyone either, hahah!'

He stretched his shoulders, and he began walking toward the two.

The girl backed away, distancing herself from her father's corpse.

She did not want to die.

Her hands were wounded from the rubble and her beautiful sea-colored dress was all muddied and ruined.

"P-Plea–"

GRRR

A roar, loud, powerful.

Both the girl and the demon raised their heads.

The sky had darkened, ominous clouds obstructing.

GRRR

Another roar, this one much, much stronger.

The girl and the demon were mesmerized by the skies, and then, it happened.

It was one, then two, then it poured. Not rain, lightning bolts.

Across the world, just as it had been six years ago, lightning bolts poured from the sky.

Were they here to steal from the humans again? Would millions, tens of millions of people disappear without a trace once more?

The girl's eyes filled with fear.

Would she disappear?

How unfair. They were already losing on every front. Why were the heavens against them too?

A bolt struck mere meters from her, right on the sidewalk, and when it dispersed, the girl saw something that shocked her.

It was a person, a man. He was rather young, his hair kept short, and he wore a strangely medieval-looking armor.

In his right hand was a spear, the very weapon her father wielded, but the man's spear was quite particular. It was of a black so deep one could almost become lost within it.

The demon also turned to look at the man. "Hm? I've never seen a spell like this before, how strange."

The man clutched his head, and he turned around. "Couldn't that imp have been gentler…?"

He seemed carefree, uncaring, as if the world wasn't coming to an end at this very moment. He spotted the little girl, covered in mud and wounds, and he tilted his head.

Then his gaze shifted to the demon before her. Human-looking. Long black hair. A single golden line on his forehead.

The man's entire demeanor changed. His eyes grew colder, his hands tightened, and he moved without hesitation.

'Seventh Stance - Violence'

[The skill, -Beyond Reason- is being activated. Your stats have been increased accordingly]

BOOM

The demon's head exploded. It regenerated immediately. "Not one for chit chat I see… But without aura, what can yo–"

BOOM

His head exploded again.

He regenerated it once more, and he leaped back, preparing to speak a Word.

BOOM

Again, he tried to create distance.

Without his mouth, he couldn't use any of his abilities, and only geniuses could manipulate their anatomy freely at his level. 'Does he realize that what he's doing is pointless…? Without Aura, it doesn't matter how many times you kill me…. I'll just wait for you to tire out and…'

'Eighth Stance - Fraud

Third stance - Gluttony'

Three stances all at once. This was the fruit of Verity's labor, something he had not been able to show off all that much since he always found himself against opponents that were impossible to beat.

In the span of a dozen minutes, he pierced through the demon hundreds, thousands of times, and with each blow, his attacks grew more powerful.

The girl watched with wide eyes. 'This… this can't even be compared to Dad… and he's one of the strongest there is…!! That's what everyone on TV says!!'

Still, what could he do without Aura?

Without it he would neve–

"No, that's not right, is it?"

Verity looked down on the demon. The latter had managed to hit him a few times, hence a small trickle of blood rolling down his cheek, but that did not matter.

"You guys are just like us in the end. You do get tired, it just takes more time."

The demon was on his knees. His head, and his arms had been blown off, he tried, but he couldn't regenerate anymore.

'W-what kind of human is this?!! Does he not get tired!?? How could he keep this up for so long?!!'

"The same way a mage's brain is harmed if they overuse magic, the same way a warrior's muscles scream if they overuse aura, that energy of yours, miasma, it's not infinite, is it?"

Indeed, demons could theoretically convert an infinite amount of mana to miasma for whatever use they deemed fit.

However, even they possessed limits to how fast, and what volume of mana they could use at once. Too much, and their cores would suffer greatly.

"I had an inkling before, but after hearing what that demon said once he'd received my master's strike, I was more or less sure. If it truly was infinite, he would have just healed himself then and there, but he didn't, even saying that he would probably die soon."

He grabbed the stub that was the demon's head. "So tell me, is the reason you're not healing yourself… because you're scared for your core?"

Verity plunged his hand in the demon's lower right abdomen, and he retrieved an obsidian orb from it. "If they attacked you hundreds of times, even an idiot could have figured out where it was just from the way you moved."

And he crushed it. The demon was not even given the grace of last words.

[You have slain an enemy.]

[You have contributed to the collective quest.]

Third trial

Stage : Tutorial

Objective : Halt the immediate demonic advance

Reward : Performance dependent.

Failure Penalty : Death

The girl tried to approach Verity, but too many messages were being said at once for him to care.

[Withheld experience and rewards will now be distributed.]

[Your class has leveled up.]

[Your class has leveled up.]

[Your class has leveled up.]

[You have reached a milestone.]

[You have received the skill -Gambit-]

[Your class is witnessing your heart. Your first Gambit is being set automatically.]

[You are under the influence of a Gambit, -Arch-nemesis-]

'Hmm… that's… interesting.' Verity thought.

[You are being given a reward.]

[Something incredible is happening! You possess an element that influences the reward!]

Verity's chest, where the rune of Truth was inscribed, began to glow.

[A skill is being created.]

[Error: the scale of the reward is disproportionate to the scale of the achievement. Your Foolishness stat is being depleted to compensate!]

'What the-'

[You have gained a new skill, -Demonic pressure-]

Verity was somewhat curious about all that had just happened but…

'Ah, who cares?' He looked around. 'There are more demons to kill.'

He spared the girl tugging at his sleeve only a glance.

"If you don't want this to happen again, become stronger."

And he leaped away.

The girl stared at him fading into the distance, and she returned to her father's side. There was not a shred of life within him. He was just a lump of flesh now.

She cried, and she clenched her fist.

She recalled the man who had just saved her. She had gotten a glimpse at his face during the furious battle, and at his unusual eye color.

She swore to herself.

"I'll become just like him… so that no one ever has to die like this again..!!"

End of Volume 1: The Tutorial

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