Chapter 28 – I Choose You (3)

With the 13 Tamagotchi sold out I had earned 10,400 points. Excluding 10% interest rate of using the Dark Store and the 30% to handover to Gourmandi, the gross profit came to 6,552 points, so my share was roughly about 63%. The only work I did was to dominate slimes, evolve them once and put them in Jewels of Space. I could supply about 30 slimes per day, and the remaining number of slimes were around 250 which were the result of the several past days of effort. I would be able to earn more or less 125,000 points by selling all 250 slimes. The 160,000 points debt might end up being settled in no time.

However, I couldn’t always be in the abyss. It would take more time to come back after the Transfer ends. Thus, I decided to leave the rest of the work to Laila. The slimes dominated using my ‘Dominator’ Authority could evolve upon reaching their growth limits anyway. There wasn’t a need for me to do it personally just to raise them.

“We will be able to settle the debt as well as prepare funds for war at this rate!”

Laila was excited.

Looking at it in the short-term, Laila’s words were right, however, the products would lose ‘scarcity’ if they were to be released all at once. We needed to let the fish become impatient, now that the bait had already been sprinkled.

“Release no more than 10 into the market per day until business gets well under way.”

“My Lord. I hear that the dark merchants are receiving numerous inquiries regarding this. A hundred, or two hundred should rapidly sell out.”

“We must look far ahead. It may be beneficial for the immediate moment, but releasing too much of the stock will also draw the attention of those who oppose us.”

“Ah…”

Laila slowly nodded her head.

Carpediem the Destroyer. I had investigated about him these past few days as well. He was one of the Demon Lords, and was someone who receive a small amount of protection from one among the Four Great Kings, the Lion King.

‘I’ve roughly understood the power structure of the Demon Lords.’

The Four Great Kings were in the midst of war for the sake of making sure the Demon Lord they each supported became the last one standing. They were attempting to become a true god in their endeavors, by taking command of the Demon Lord who obtained the Great Star, ‘Soul of the Colossus’.

It was most likely correct to say…that Uriel Diablo had been embroiled within that war only to have been defeated, and he had set foot onto Earth as a last resort. And yet, millions of humans had been annihilated, and 499 heroes had died, just to kill one runaway.

I had to make it so that such a thing would never…never again happen. However desperately Minshik tried to become a hero, I was certain of one thing.

‘It’s impossible to face all of the Demon Lords.’

The abyss only grew more terrifying the more you came to know about it. Earth was literally nothing more than a stepping-stone. The mere thought of it sent me cursing helplessly.

That’s why I had to do it. I had to enter the eye of the storm myself, to kill or contain the other Demon Lords using Uriel Diablo’s body.

The Absolute Domination Company was the beginning of it.

For starters…I managed to make a plan to earn points to build a foundation and kill Carpediem the Destroyer, thus raising my reputation. Now I needed to find a method to enhance my ‘self’ on Earth at the same time — indeed I couldn’t rest; not in the abyss, nor on Earth — and I did have another idea for that as well.

‘It’s possible to send Lv5 and below equipment or dominated familiar through a Dark Gate.’

I wasn’t certain whether what I’d ‘dominated’ would truly carry over to my real ‘self’ or not, but taking into account how ‘Universal Man’ worked, there was an extremely high possibility of sharing whatever was dominated. If that was the case…then by using the Dark Gate, wouldn’t I be able to send things that would help me and accelerate my growth, as well as other necessities?

‘The criterion for level 5 is vague as well.’

I stared at the shadow kaim flying about above my head. The shadow kaim’s current stats were at the standard of a Lv5, however, its potential showed that it was capable of growing up to a maximum of Lv6. Looking at it the normal way, it was correct to determine level by the immediate stats. That being the case, what if it were possible to send a familiar that was weak at present, but possessed infinite potential for growth, through the Dark Gate?

I was already thinking of putting the idea it to the test.

‘…The egg of a dragon.’

I considered just sending it in its egg-state.

All dragons were powerful. This was an unchanging truth. Most dragons appeared from ‘Purple Gates’ as far as I remembered. These monsters were so peerlessly powerful to the point of giving birth to rumours saying how a nation would fall when a dragon appeared.

In the case of liches, it was fine if they were suppressed from the get-go, but for dragons there was no such thing. The adult dragons were especially worse, and the more aged ones even possessed wisdom, so you would have no other choice than to simply spectate the destruction of a city until they tired themselves out.

Also, there was a notice yesterday that the Dark Company had gotten hold of 10 or so dragon eggs. It was written as a message on the very top area of the Dark Store.

If only I could send just one of those!

My heart started racing at the mere thought of it.

The likes of wyvern riders weren’t even worth mentioning. Dragon rider. Stories of knights that could handle dragons could only remain a dream. That dream could be made into reality, however, the eggs would begin to be sold from today.

‘The price is the problem.’

The egg of a dragon should be very extremely, though not as much as a dragon itself. But the amount of points I had on me at present was just barely met 20,000. Even if I were to release the Tamagotchi stocks, selling would take time, but it wasn’t possible to know when the dragon eggs would be sold. Dragons were among the most powerful monsters. There was nothing like a powerful dragon for raising the influence of a Demon Lord and his territory!

Some of the Demon Lords would also be tempted by the eggs, but still I may be lucky enough to take one for myself. Securing even a single one would be a huge success. At worst I would lose nothing.

“I shall go to the Dark Company. Make preparations.”

“Understood, my Lord.”

I immediately began moving.

..

There was quite the bustling activity going on in the center of the Dark Company. There stood a line of towering buildings level with the skies as ever, but there was a considerable number of people gathered here to get their hands on a dragon egg or to spectate. The crowd looked to be around a thousand. I saw a vampire, death knight, naga queen, even a titan. Monsters capable of terrorizing nearby regions by simply making an appearance were gathered here in one spot. Among the crowd I could see several Demon Lords as well, and no one but their loyal subordinates approached the midst of those Demon Lords.

“Uriel Diablo? Isn’t that Uriel Diablo?

“It must be him, seeing as how the Queen of Thorns is attending to him.”

“I had heard the rumours, so he truly did awaken! But still…where did he find the guts to show up here?”

“He must have been unaware that Carpediem the Destroyer would be here.”

“Go. It’ll only be our loss if we stay for no reason and get involved.”

The various monsters made a commotion upon seeing me.

They had quite the high intelligence, judging by their conversations. They showed a different side to them as opposed to the times when they had invaded Earth, which I felt was quite novel, but I couldn’t ignore the person who had walked up right before me.

He had a massive presence. He wore a tight-fitting suit over a body so fat, it made me suspect that he was afflicted with extreme obesity. The extreme awkwardness of his appearance reminded me of the feeling I got when faced with nonsensical problems, but this was ‘Carpediem of Destruction’ himself.

‘Mind’s Eye.’

[The target possesses higher ‘Prestige’ than the level of ‘Mind’s Eye(Lv9)’.]
[Limited information only will be displayed.]

Name: Carpediem
Occupation: Demon Lord
Titles:
 Destruction (Lv10, ???)
 Incarnation of Desire (Lv9, ???)
Stats: ???
Potential(500+60/500)
Special Notes: None
Skills: Roar of Annihilation, Desire Eruption, Submerging Cave, Bat Swarm

It was limited, but now I knew that his overall stats itself was similar to mine. I also found what skills he had at least.

He was accompanied by an entourage made up of 7 members. Among them were powerful monsters; dullahan, dragon cavalry and the like.

Carpediem approached me and laughed loudly.

“Uriel Diablo! You had woken up after all. Heheheh!”

“We are not close, so I would like for you to screw off.”

There was no finer example of ‘shutting the door in someone’s face’.

Carpediem frowned slightly.

“I even had the intention of showing some of that so-called mercy if you had lowered your head, seeking for mercy, however…Tsk tsk, maybe you’ve yet come to terms with reality because you’ve only just woken up? What do you say, Laila?”

“Do not speak my name with that filthy mouth of yours. There is only one person who has the right to put my name to his lips.”

Carpediem turned his head to steal a glance at Laila who stood by my side.

Laila made a face full of contempt, as if having seen an insect, and then stood even closer to my side.

“Your feisty look is also beautiful…but I am magnanimous. My proposal remains standing. Become my other half, and I can still afford saving that small territory as well as this fool standing before me who still hasn’t woken to reality.”

Laila didn’t even retort as she gnashed her teeth.

The reason why the territory had been protected until now was in part due to Laila’s prowess in war, but it was a scheme by Carpediem in truth. According to my investigations, all this time he had only been cruelly pressuring her with the intention of making her his companion, not for the sake of taking the territory. Before my awakening, the state of the territory had reached its limits; if I had awoken just a little later than when I did, the outcome would have drastically differed.

I placed my hand atop Laila’s ahead, and glared at Carpediem.

“Looks like you did not hear me telling you to screw off.”

“Do you perhaps, believe in Andalton Bruxelles’ sphere of influence?”

So it seemed the rumours had spread well.

I ignored Carpediem as I made my way toward the center. We were enemies in the end. I became even more certain of it, having seen him for myself. It was like comparing water and oil. It was either him dying, or me, nothing else. I could read the violent desire in Carpediem’s eyes.

“Keheheh! Laila Diablo! Come to me whenever you change your mind. I shall make sure to leave a place for you always.”

As he walked away in the other direction, Carpediem let out a vulgar laugh as if it were only a matter of time before he got what he wanted. But would events play according to his expectations, I wonder?

I turned my gaze around. Dark merchants were busily moving about in the center region, and there were nine eggs on top of a beautiful flower craftwork, placed there so everyone could see them. They were dragon eggs.

I breathed out in agitation.

Upon laying my eyes on them, my pupils began to tremble.