Chapter 817
Nom!
Wrath licked his lips with his tongue, savoring the aftertaste of the mint chocolate chip ice cream.
‘Is it really that good?’
Raon tilted his chin as he popped the last bead of ice cream in the box into his mouth.
– Mint chocolate is satisfying no matter when you eat it! It’s cool and bittersweet, so you never get tired of it!
Wrath grinned foolishly, saying today’s ice cream was especially delicious.
‘I’m glad.’
Raon gave a small chuckle and closed the lid of the now-empty bead ice cream box.
‘It was worth coming out even if it was a hassle.’
Wrath had kept howling after seeing the reward message, claiming he lost the battle of wills, so Raon had to silence him with ice cream. What a truly exhausting Demon King he was.
‘Are you satisfied now?’
– This king is still hungry! Eat a cookie!
Wrath shouted to eat a cookie, wearing an expression like an emperor about to conquer the continent.
The more time they spent together, the more absurd he became.
“Haa…”
Raon sighed and bit into a cookie he bought from the downtown area. The sweetness of the chocolate chips and pineapple embedded on the surface harmoniously coated his mouth without clashing.
– Kyaaa! This is good too! The chocolate is delicious, and the pineapple is tasty!
Wrath rubbed both cheeks and giggled in delight. It was amazing how his descriptions of flavor always remained so lacking, even though he only ate food he liked.
‘Is this guy really that one?’
It was still hard to believe that this cotton candy happily munching on a cookie was the same absolute blue Demon King he had encountered in his mental world a while back.
It almost made one suspect he had a split personality.
‘Sigh.’
With a cookie in his mouth, Raon called up the reward message he hadn’t been able to properly read because of Wrath.
[You have received the sincere recognition of a Transcendent.]
[You have accomplished an impossible feat.]
[All stats increase by 30 points.]
[The trait [Demonic Eye of Wrath] has been upgraded.]
[The trait [Snowflower’s Armor] has been upgraded.]
‘They’re giving me a lot.’
Even though it was just a swordsmanship match where he held back his strength, since his opponent was the former Holy Sword Alliance leader Darkhan, all stats rose by 30 points, and two traits leveled up. It was more than expected.
‘And then…’
Raon lowered his gaze to look at the next message below.
[You have toyed with the Demon King of Lust.]
[All stats increase by 40 points.]
[The title [Tongue That Toys with Heaven and Earth] has been upgraded to [Tongue That Toys with Dimensions].]
Because he had even received Authority from Lust, the stat boost was even greater.
But what really mattered wasn’t the stat increase—it was the title upgrade.
‘So that’s how this turned out.’
Originally, the title was [Tongue That Toys with the World], then it became [Tongue That Toys with Heaven and Earth], and now it had strengthened into [Tongue That Toys with Dimensions].
For a title to be upgraded twice—Raon let out a dry chuckle even while accepting the reward.
[Title: Tongue That Toys with Dimensions]
Granted to one who has defeated a being of a higher order through words alone, without using force.
Effect: Causes a significant level of mental confusion when speaking with those of a higher order.
‘Huh?’
Raon’s eyes widened as he read the effect of the title.
‘Significant level?’
When it was [Tongue That Toys with the World], the confusion effect was weak. At [Tongue That Toys with Heaven and Earth], it became moderate. Now, as [Tongue That Toys with Dimensions], the confusion effect had reached a significant level.
His words already worked well enough, but with this effect active, he felt like he could sell water as wine.
– Nooooooo!
Wrath, who had been enjoying the cookie and sucking his fingers, jumped like a live fish.
– This brat doesn’t need that kind of title! Even if he just runs his mouth, Demon Kings come offering tributes—why upgrade his title!
Wrath screamed at the air, saying it made no sense.
‘Ah, right. You always said my tongue was beyond Heaven and Earth—dimension-level, even. I guess you were right.’
Raon tapped Wrath’s head and chuckled.
– They definitely heard that and made it like this!
Wrath gritted his teeth at the message, saying he was still in a power struggle with them.
‘But does this work on you too?’
– O-of course not! It’s a power created from this king’s Authority—how could it work on me!
Wrath shook his head while darting his eyes away. He even started whistling, which made it obvious it did work.
It seemed they’d grown close enough that he now told lies, too.
‘Got it.’
Raon smirked while watching Wrath roll his eyes. Of all the rewards today, this title upgrade might have been the greatest.
‘Now, for the last one.’
Raon took a slow breath and called up the final message.
[The trait [Lust] has been unlocked.]
He read the message about the unlocking of [Lust], arguably the main event of the day.
[Lust]
Allows one to build various forms of affection with those who meet their gaze. The more affection built with more individuals, the more one’s stats, soul level, and physical resilience increase.
‘This is insane.’
Raon swallowed dryly after reading the description of Lust. He’d worried a lot due to the implications of the name, but the actual effect was nothing but beneficial.
– That’s because your Lust is weak.
Wrath smacked his lips at the description. He snorted, saying if Raon’s Lust had been stronger, the ability would’ve had a more explicit meaning.
– You’re worse than a monk. I even thought your Authority might never awaken, but I guess you’re not entirely devoid of Lust after all.
Wrath rolled his eyes in circles and jabbed Raon with his round elbow.
‘Mm…’
Raon turned his gaze away with an awkward smile.
In his previous life, he never even felt romantic affection, let alone dated anyone. In this life, revenge came first, so he hadn’t been able to pursue love either.
But after seeing Sylvia and Edgar sacrifice for each other and eventually reunite to share their love, he found himself harboring a faint wish—if he survived and completed his revenge, maybe someday, he could have a normal love with someone.
That emotion might’ve been what awakened [Lust].
‘But what’s this about physical resilience?’
Raon tilted his head as he read the last part of Lust’s description.
He understood everything else, but he couldn’t wrap his head around why Lust would strengthen the body.
– W-well, to satisfy Lust, the body needs to be durable?
‘Huh? What are you saying?’
– P-put simply, you can’t die, right?
Wrath moved his lips quickly, as if embarrassed.
‘Ah, so it’s about multiple meanings…’
– Ack! This king doesn’t know either! Stop asking!
With his face flushed red, Wrath yelled that it was a good thing anyway.
‘Hmm…’
Raon frowned again as he looked back at the message.
‘Build various forms of affection with those who meet your gaze, huh…’
That part he could roughly understand.
It didn’t seem limited to just romantic or sexual interest—it could include familiarity, goodwill, and friendship too.
‘Wrath.’
– Stop calling me!
Wrath waved his chubby hand, annoyed.
‘This ability activates when making eye contact, right? Just wondering.’
– Hmph! You think that works unconditionally? It doesn’t work easily on those whose soul is of a higher order than yours! Besides, this king doesn’t even have a shred of affection for y—
Just as Wrath scoffed and denied it—
[You have gained the affection of <Wrath>.]
[All stats have increased.]
[Your soul level has increased.]
“……”
– …….
Raon and Wrath both fell silent as they stared at the newly appearing message.
– N-no! That’s not true!
Wrath screamed with his face bright red.
– This cursed system is spouting lies!
‘Thanks, Wrath.’
Raon calmly nodded and placed a hand on Wrath’s shoulder.
– Get lost!
* * *
The next day.
Raon headed to the training grounds at dawn for morning practice.
The Light Wind Division swordsmen were warming up with basic exercises under The Gambling Monster’s orders.
“Seeing them in person, they’re not bad.”
Martha clicked her tongue briefly as she watched the swordsmen’s movements.
“Looks like they’ve been training diligently every day just like The Gambling Monster said.”
Burren nodded, acknowledging the decent growth.
“Mm. They haven’t been slacking….”
Runaan blinked her sleepy eyes as she looked at the Light Wind Division.
“Hm…”
Raon crossed his arms and frowned slightly.
‘I want to wreck them…’
– W-wreck them? Your own subordinates? Are you insane?!
Wrath opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
‘I don’t mean literally. I want to train them hard.’
Raon waved his hand with a chuckle.
– Then just do it.
‘The Gambling Monster gave a warning.’
– That boozehound?
‘He said not to push them too hard since the Light Wind Division trained diligently while we were away.’
The Gambling Monster must’ve still been thinking about yesterday’s event. He had come early this morning and asked Raon not to pressure them excessively, saying the division had been doing their best to train.
Because of that, Raon couldn’t act recklessly.
Even Rimmer said the Light Wind Division didn’t miss a single day of training, so forcing them too hard would prick at his conscience.
– Didn’t expect you to care about something like that.
‘I’m still mindful of how others see me.’
– Bullshiiiiit! Of all the humans this king has seen, you’re the most oblivious to how people feel!
Wrath scoffed in disbelief.
“If they’d just slacked off completely, I could beat them senseless, but since they didn’t, it’s hard to go all-in.”
Martha furrowed her brows. She mumbled that since even Krein and the others showed signs of effort, it was hard to attack them outright.
“It’s not that they’re slow. We just grew too fast while we were away. We can take it slow with them.”
Burren calmly suggested they let them grow at their own pace.
“No, that’d be too late.”
Raon firmly shook his head. They were bound to go on a mission soon, so he had to make sure they grew quickly before that.
“Then what do you propose? Forcing them might not be the best approach.”
“I have a method.”
Raon grinned and approached Dorian.
“Dorian.”
“Yes?”
Dorian flinched and turned his head, still munching on snacks.
“While you were training to death, doesn’t it bother you that they’ve been taking it easy?”
“Mm, I guess it kinda does…”
“You were tortured by Jarek until your cheeks hollowed out, but those guys clearly ate and slept well.”
Raon pointed toward the Light Wind Division as he met Dorian’s eyes.
“Now that you say it… yeah. None of them even look like they lost weight!”
Dorian chewed aggressively as he scowled.
“Right?”
Of course, they were already pure muscle, so there was no fat to lose, but Raon didn’t bother mentioning that.
“So how about showing them how hard you’ve been training?”
Raon pointed a finger at Krein, who was glancing this way.
“Beat up your rival and let them know how tough our training was.”
“Got it!”
Dorian shouted energetically and stepped forward.
“Hey! Let’s spar!”
He strode up to Krein and jerked his chin.
“Me? With me?”
Krein pointed at himself, confused.
“I’ll show you how much I’ve grown while you were lounging around.”
Dorian clenched his fist, declaring he’d crush him in one go.
“Hah!”
Krein narrowed his eyes sharply.
“You’re not even scary on your own. You’ve just been riding on the squad leader’s coattails. No one ever paid attention to you, you damn weed-head!”
He bared his teeth as he looked at Dorian’s green hair.
“Yeah, right!”
“Know your place!”
“Stick to shouting supply lines like you always do!”
The other swordsmen glared in disbelief.
“Then how about this?”
Before anyone realized, Raon had stepped forward, standing between Krein and Dorian.
“Krein and Dorian will spar, and everyone will follow the training method of the winner.”
Raon smiled as he looked at Krein and the swordsmen behind him.
“Ugh…”
Krein trembled slightly, intimidated by Raon stepping in.
“The division leader might help him.”
He shook his head, clearly mistrustful.
“I swear I won’t help at all. And if Dorian can’t finish it within five exchanges, we’ll count it as your win.”
“Five exchanges?”
Krein raised his brows in disbelief.
“You’re seriously underestimating me! If I fight Dorian ten times, I’d win seven of them!”
He shook his head, saying it wasn’t just about skill but also their fundamental temperaments.
“Then let’s see it. What, not confident?”
Raon narrowed his eyes and tilted his chin.
“Grr… I’ll do it.”
“Good.”
Raon licked his lips like he was looking at a fish that had just bitten the bait.
“Let’s get started right away.”
* * *
Krein pressed his lips together as he faced Dorian in the training ground.
‘Maybe with other team leaders, but I’ll never lose to him.’
It was clear even at a glance that Burren, Martha, and Runaan had all grown tremendously stronger. They weren’t precise measurements, but they seemed to be top-tier Masters now.
But Dorian was different. He had lost weight, but his aura and energy flow didn’t seem to have changed. Compared to himself, Dorian even looked weaker.
‘Still, there must be something.’
If Raon had proposed a match like this, then he must have taught Dorian some new technique.
But Krein had also been training as hard as he could. He was confident he could withstand five exchanges no matter what.
‘I can’t lose to a supply parrot.’
As one of the Light Wind Division’s top seven, there was no way he could lose to Dorian, who only shouted about supplies every day.
Srrring—
Krein drew his sword, sensing the gaze of his fellow swordsmen cheering from behind.
Chiiiiing!
Dorian, wearing a calmer expression than usual, raised his sword to mid-guard.
“Both of you ready?”
Raon checked their conditions and quickly lowered his hand.
“Then begin!”
He announced the start of the match and immediately stepped back.
“I haven’t been slacking either!”
Krein bit his lip and lunged with his sword gripped in both hands.
A thrust that pierced through the opponent’s aura to target a vital point. It was a common sword technique, but after two months of training, its speed and power had transformed completely.
Paaang!
Dorian advanced with accelerated footwork and swordsmanship that made it unclear what he was aiming for.
‘It’s over.’
Krein smiled. The moment his sword pierced the space, the outcome was decided.
If Dorian’s skills hadn’t changed, he wouldn’t be able to react in time to stop it.
Whoooosh!
Just as Krein was about to gloat and pierce Dorian’s side, Dorian’s sword curved and dropped like a stream through a mountain valley.
Claaang!
As if he had read Krein’s attack, Dorian perfectly blocked with a curved sword path.
Tuuung!
Krein’s sword was flung back violently. Yet Dorian didn’t counterattack and simply waited.
“Get your stance ready.”
Dorian gave a calm nod as if offering another chance.
“…You’ll regret that.”
Krein bit his lip and pulled his sword from the ground.
‘Focus.’
He had underestimated Dorian, despite knowing there might’ve been some change.
He couldn’t rush to victory; he needed to subdue him calmly.
‘Then let’s go with variations.’
Dorian had always been weak to unpredictable sword techniques. If Krein focused on the transformation sword techniques he trained with The Gambling Monster, he could win.
Whooom!
Krein took a deep breath and charged at Dorian. He loosened his grip and drew constellation-like trajectories in the air.
Chiiiiing!
A transformation sword technique that struck five times in one move repeated four times to produce twenty strikes. It was “Rightward Fourfold Impact Slash” from the Ten Thousand Returns Sword Manual, analyzed by The Gambling Monster.
‘This will work!’
Believing he could subdue Dorian, Krein thrust his sword with all his might.
“Hm.”
Dorian once again calmly slashed downward, as if he could see through every move.
Clang-clang-clang!
Dorian’s blade rotated smoothly, erasing all the variations of Rightward Fourfold Impact Slash. It felt like he was reading Krein’s thoughts.
Chiiiiing!
His sword, as if it had anticipated this situation from the start, cleanly overpowered Krein’s and stopped right in front of his neck.
“It’s over.”
Dorian calmly tilted his chin, eyes serene as if in meditation.
“Ugh…”
Krein stared at the blade held to his neck and trembled.
“I-I lost.”
He finally admitted defeat and lowered his head.
“What… What just happened?”
“Krein lost? And that badly?”
“They’ve always been equals though.”
“T-this doesn’t make any sense…”
The Light Wind Division swordsmen gaped at Dorian, stunned by how he had overwhelmed Krein.
“What the hell… His aura and energy are the same—why did he get so strong?!”
Krein shouted in disbelief, grabbing Dorian’s arm.
“Why do you think?”
Dorian nodded as if he’d been waiting for that question.
“It’s because I did exactly what the division leader told me.”
Like a parrot, he repeated Raon’s instructions and lowered his sword.
“It’s not even that hard. I lost weight and it’s a great training method.”
Dorian smiled, saying the training at the Holy Sword Alliance had been excellent.
“Division leader!”
Krein bit his lip and knelt in front of Raon.
“Please let me do that training too! I’ll do anything!”
“Please, me too!”
“We’ll all do it!”
The Light Wind Division swordsmen shouted, volunteering to undergo any training as they shattered their own mental barriers.
The gap shown by Dorian—who hadn’t seemed that different—instilled both crisis and anticipation.
“I’ll show you. It’s not that hard.”
Raon lifted his chin and smiled deeply.
– W-what! So you planned all of this from the start?!
Wrath clacked his teeth in disbelief.
‘Of course.’
– See! This brat doesn’t need a title about his tongue! He wrecks everyone with his regular one!
Wrath screamed, demanding to know why Raon was given such a title in the first place.
“Get ready, everyone. It might get a little tough.”
Raon looked at the fired-up eyes of the Light Wind Division and gave a thin smile.
– But how are you gonna do this? Wallet guy didn’t get stronger from training—he got that strong from Mind’s Eye!
Wrath blinked wide, asking what Raon was thinking.
‘Sensing danger isn’t that hard. If you get beaten to the brink of death, it’ll come naturally.’
Raon grinned, confident it would work.
– …Is this guy even human?
