I am...
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Gluttony - 13160/20000 DE
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'It's still so far away...'
I had spent the last two weeks now making sure to inject two times my full capacity of demonic energy into the demonic core every day, and although it was more than possible due to me regenerating just about 10% of my DE every hour, it was still taking quite a toll on my body.
"But seeing the number go up... It's quite addicting..."
On Earth, I had never truly understood how people could get addicted to those stupid games where numbers just got larger and larger for no reason. Now, though, I could sort of empathize with that feeling.
It did help to know that once this bar was filled up I would be rewarded with an SSR champion, but there was still an undeniable charm to the numbers in a vacuum as well.
'Come to think of it, did I even have any hobbies before?'
Even if my memories were a blur, I did have an inkling that I likely didn't have anything like that before.
'Why in the world did Selene agree to date me?'
It was truly a mystery, how the popular girl of our class with a bombastic could have ever fallen for someone like me.
Granted, I had known her for a long time, ever since we were small, but even that had to have a limit.
"Gob! Master, I have returned bearing great news!"
"So you say. Then, what's the verdict?"
Inspecting Gob who looked like he had come here straight after returning from their crusade, with his steel armor still covered in dirt and dried blood, he bowed his green, bald head.
"Four of the ten tribes have decided to join our cause! One goblin tribe, two orc tribes, and one harpy tribe!"
'Harpies? As in bird people?'
Despite my feeling like we had enough races that were capable of flying already, I wasn't about to complain.
Any military power I could get my hands on right now would be a boon, and I truly wasn't in a position to be picky.
Stretching my wings a bit, aware that they did not enjoy being holed up in the tower every day without getting to see the sun, which wasn't visible anyway, I spoke with dignity.
"You have done well, Gob. Tell the troops that they will have one week to recover."
Walking past my commander, he looked incredibly excited, "A week? Will we be venturing out to the Swamp of Malice after that?"
Without turning my head, as I was headed toward the elevator on the other side of the throne room, I confirmed his thoughts.
"That's correct. Next week... we will start to show our faces to the world outside of the Cradle."
"Gob, Gob!"
Ignoring the stupid sounds that my underling couldn't stop himself from making, my escape to the elevator was suddenly stopped by another voice.
"Seems like things are going according to your plan, master. I am happy."
'I wonder about that...'
"You should be, Tatiana. After all, wasn't this the reason why I became a demon in the first place?"
Nodding her head, the gorgeous demoness was as frank as ever.
"That's true. It's about time for our king to venture out to the outside world and start to make his mark in order to teach the feeble races what true fear is."
'Seems like she forgot about the dying part this time.
Taking a step toward her, once again reminded just how much my body had changed, I looked down into her crimson eyes.
"Is that so? Then, wouldn't it be suitable to make sure my own subjects knew of that kind of fear as well?"
Flaring my wings, and channeling the dark magic that I had become so accustomed to, my body flared up with a violent black surge of misty power.
Sadly, Tatiana didn't even flinch as she simply stood there with an aloof face as usual.
"Unfortunately I believe that our king has to become a lot stronger to instill fear in this loyal subject of his."
"How boring..."
Withdrawing my demonic energy, I stopped playing around with her as I already knew it would be meaningless.
Even if I didn't know much about her, there was no doubt that she was a lot more powerful than I was.
"By the way, master, what are your plans after entering the Swamp?"
'...my plans?'
Truth be told... I didn't have any.
I was just acting in line with Gob's suggestion of expanding our kingdom, but I truly hadn't thought about how this would happen.
I just figured that if I managed to get enough goblins and orcs to the Swamp, they would be able to construct... something.
"...what should I do?"
"You should make sure to prepare a seed of corruption as soon as possible. I don't think that's a reason to postpone your crusade, but I think it would be wise that as soon as the monsters have been able to create a stable outpost you come back here and start preparing one."
It made sense, as the seed could supposedly create a construct that was worthy of becoming the abode of a demon. According to her earlier explanation, it also grew in accordance with the soul that was linked to it, meaning it could even become a large city in the future if my Sin grew powerful enough.
If I did put such a construct in the Swamp, there would be no doubt that I would have managed to extend my influence there, even more so if I got a suitable Sin to rule over it.
'But it costs 50000 DE to create one...'
===Status===
Name: Aldric the Demon King
Race: Corrupted Malakim
Level: 21
Strength: 22
Agility: 22
Stamina: 32
Intelligence: 94
Free stat points: 14
Demonic energy: 20/470
Traits: [Blood of the Patriarch]
Skills: [Demon Claws], [Flight], [Claws of Darkness], [Glow], [Feathers of the Underworld], [Hysteria]
Talents: [Light magic - Beginner], [Dark magic - Apprentice]
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As my DE capacity was now 470, and I was able to more or less use that capacity twice over the course of a full day, it would still take me...
'470, 940, 1410...'
It would take me almost two months to create one seed. And during those two months, I wouldn't be able to hunt any monsters as I would have to spend all my DE on creating the seed.
Then again, I wasn't sure if I had much of a choice.
Though the orcs and the goblins possessed relatively good craftmanship, it was nowhere near the point where I could proudly call the village they had created an abode of a demon king. Even now after the orcs had helped expand it, as well as create walls of stone to surround it, it was still incredibly basic.
Most huts were still made out of black wood, with some crafted by one of the few orc geomancers, and there weren't any real facilities except for one extra large hut in the middle that acted as a meeting spot.
It was truly fortunate that monsters didn't have to defecate as there weren't any toilets in...
'Are there even any toilets in this world?'
Yet another perk of being a demon had shown itself to me, as I couldn't help but think about my classmates having to struggle with getting used to the fact that they most likely didn't have any toilets to use.
In fact, there were many perks like this to my newfound form. I also didn't have to sleep, although I could if I wanted to, and I didn't have to eat. My entire being had been crafted for the sole purpose of becoming a symbol of fear that the three nations would unite against, and therefore there was no need for me to have such mortal traits.
'Come to think of it, I wonder how strong my classmates have become? Maybe they have even managed to attain their third class improvement.'
Just like always, my heart was a bit wrought when thinking of my old friends, and more importantly, thinking about Selene. No matter how much I had accepted this life as my own, it still left a bad taste in my mouth when I remember the fact that my girlfriend and I were separated after only one day of being together.
Don't get me wrong, it had been a great day, having even held hands when walking home together, but it had still only been a day.
'Wait...'
Then, a very scary realization dawned upon me. A realization that I had hoped would never come to me, as it was something absolutely detrimental to my psyche. A blow that carried such heavy repercussions that I was almost about to completely change my list of priorities.
My relationship with Selene had been my very first romantic experience in my life, and as we had gone no further than holding hands, my already white face paled even more.
'I... I am a virgin demon king...'