A world of ruin

Once again the male would wake up to being snuggled by several women. Naked woman at that who happened to have all managed to gain a piece of him. A smile curved across his lips when he made note of their pleased and relaxed expression. It truly seemed like they all had an excellent night last night; though it was a shame that the male himself did not gain his bonus since he had slept a total of eight hours. In all honesty, he did find it weird that he seemed to only require a minimum amount of sleep to fully function. Though, he did not know what time it was presented either. If it was midday or still somewhat morning. Riyku would glance around the room for a solid moment as if to make sure that he was in fact still in this world. Once he confirmed that he would release a soft silent breath of relief.

'Maybe I should head into the Underworld today to get more information on why it came about so suddenly.' Riyku spoke internally to himself so as not to wake the girls. There were plenty of reasons he wanted to return to that world. Figuring out who those six slaves were supposed to be, as well as determining the depth of that castle. Sure it held similarities to the mansion, but in the end, it was still different. If anything else, he would want to know if these demons could come into this world through the same method he went into theirs. So many unanswered questions, but the most important one of all to him was the time ratio. He only felt like he was in that place for maybe an hour, two at the most. But when he returned it was way into the night. If he calculated it based on the time of day he left, he had to say that it was sometime around eight or nine. So to return past midnight meant that he had been absent from this world for five to possibly six hours.

Even if he did the calculations based on this venture that would mean for every hour he spent there, he lost three hours here. So a time ratio of three to one. This meant that he would need to be careful about the length of time he spent in that world. Still, it was impossible for him to move even if he wanted to. His eyes did shift towards the door when he noticed it slowly opening. It happened to have been Skylar, fully dressed in casual clothes as if he had been preparing to go somewhere. "You are all still asleep?" Skylar inquired to which Riyku would nod. "They are." Both of their voices seemed to have been hushed down, so as not to wake up the girls. "It is already past noon." Skylar would state to which Riyku blinked rapidly before sighing softly. "Just short of eight hours." Riyku would mutter which caught his attention. "Oh, it's nothing. I would rather let the girls get some sleep, but if you need them..." Riyku would trail off and Skylar shook his head. "It isn't anything like that. The head chef just asked if they were awake was all." Skylar would reply before turning on his heel. "I'll just leave you be then." Skylar smile as he left the room, Riyku would sigh lightly once he realized that Skylar was his only hope of being able to get an early start today.

Sometime in the middle of the day, everyone was up and about. Kristen, Lira, and Vex had all left to go take care of business with last-minute tune-ups on their gear. Meanwhile, Skylar and Mina seemed to have left to do some shopping for this evening. Riyku was the only one still in the Mansion, more so, having been the last one to actually be able to do anything. "Ah, Riyku. How was your evening last night?" A charming feminine voice peered from behind him which caused him to turn his head to look at a beautiful well-dressed individual. Her appearance resembling a more adult version of Mina. "Oh, you must be Aiya Novva. Mina's mother." Riyku seemed to recall having heard the woman's name from Mina several times before. The woman smiled warmly to his reaction before nodding softly. "I am. I have heard much about you from Mina and Skylar. I must take you for all you have done for them. Especially with your condition." Aiya would state with a small curtsy of gratitude. "Not everyone is willing to go out of their way to help complete strangers after all. I do hope that one day you will come to remember who you are." The woman would add, both her charming voice and warm smile would have any normal man or even a teen boy at that blushing.

"It was no trouble at all. If I may ask..." Riyku would fully turn around to face the beautiful woman. "Has anything strange happened here of late?" Riyku seemed to have hidden the look of concern quite well. Aiya would take a moment to asset the question before shaking her head. "Since I have only just returned this morning. I am afraid I do not know. You will be better off asking Walter, or the head chef." Aiya would reply to which Riyku would nod. "Thank you. I think I will." Still, Aiya had her curiosity. "Has something happened?" Of course, she would ask such a question. Though Riyku would simply shake his head. "No. The place just feels.... different." Riyku was covering up his reasoning for asking, but the words that parted his lips also held the truth in them. This reply caused Aiya to giggle softly, "Perhaps that is because you feel safe here compared to other places. I can only say this, because of what Mina and Skylar had told me of recent happenings. Which is why I will always welcome you with open arms, Riyku." Aiya stated with yet another warm smile. "I shall take that to heart. Thank you, Madam." Riyku would nod to her remark in which she would nod back with a soft smile. "If you will excuse me. I must be off to do some paperwork the school has left me. As well as other tasks that need to be tended to." Aiya would state as she walked past him, Riyku would follow her with his eyes which caused her to giggle softly. "Also, you should probably lock the door if you do not want to be seen in such a state. While I do not mind my daughter becoming part of a man's harem. I would hope that such a man will prove to be worthy." Aiya would add which caused Riyku's lips to curve into a smirk. "I can assure you that such a man plans to live up to those expectations." These words seemed to cause the woman to chuckle lightly before continuing onward.

"Geez... already at it first chance you get. Your libido knows no bounds, Darling." Seraphina seemed to have been resting upon his shoulder the entire time or perhaps she just showed up. "Yeah... yeah... Anyways. I should finish preparing." Riyku would return to the management process of his inventory which was upon his UI. Once everything seemed set and in order, he would dismiss the screen from his UI before leaving through the front door of the mansion. He was greeted with the chirping of birds, bright sun, clear skies and a lovely breeze. "Going back into that world?" Seraphina inquired to which Riyku would nod before shifting his head left and right as if looking for something. Though it did not take long, the white sphere seemed to have been hovering in the same place it was when he had left the Underworld. Approaching the sphere he would touch it with his hand which brought up a menu with a single choice.

'Return to the Underworld'

"Oh, so this is that sphere eh? Doesn't seem like much." Seraphina noted to which Riyku shook his head. "Are you coming with me?" Riyku would ask to which Seraphina would nod before seeping back into his shadow. Riyku would then press upon the choice button which would cause a dim bright light to envelop him. Once the brightness dimmed, the male could tell he was already in the Underworld. The skies were crimson, and the demonic castle were key factors. This time there did not seem to be monsters hanging out in the courtyard though. "So this is the Underworld. Wow... I really slept through all of this, huh?" Seraphina seemed to appear yet again out of nowhere, but this time she held some kind of second skin clothing that covered portions of her body, leaving much for the eye to enjoy.

"It is. Last time I came here there were monsters in the courtyard. Though they are no there this time." Riyku state before looking towards the doors which were closed. Moving towards them he would open them, without delay and to his surprise, there was no blackness covering the view of the room like before. In fact, the interior was open to view, as well as several monsters that roamed the halls. Little red cursors seemed to float above their head as well as text under the cursor that read, "Lesser demon." Riyku muttered. Seraphina had rested against his shoulder again while peaking into the lobby. "Interesting. It looks just like a demonic version of the mansion. If I were to guess, I would say those creatures are hostile though." Seraphina would state an already known fact to him. "I know. Though when I came here last time, I fought and killed a single demon. He wasn't super strong or anything, but was able to keep up." Riyku state to which Seraphina would nod lightly as she moved in front of him. "Are we exploring this place today?" She asked as she peaked her head in to get a better view of the place. "We are. I have the key to go to the second floor, but I want to explore the first floor. If it is a complete replica, then there should be rooms to look through." Riyku state to which Seraphina would nod. "Alright."

The moment Riyku entered the lobby all of the Lesser Demons looked directly at him before charging towards him. Kissing his teeth the male would step to the side to avoid a lunge attack which was followed by another and another. These small imps had no chance in catching him but seemed to persist until he kicked one up into arms reach and smashed his fist through the monster. The blood splashed everywhere, yet the other imps only continued their barrage meanwhile the male would evade continuously. None of them seemed to bother with Seraphina though which allowed her to use the shadows to counter-strike for Riyku. Killing a few by sending thorns of shadow through their bodies. Riyku would finish the last few off, with kicks and punches before sighing heavily. It was then that the bodies would expunge into mist particles and speed into his body.

'Lesser Demon defeated x20'

'200 souls acquired'

'220 Exp acquired'

The text had appeared upon his UI for him to glance at before looking to the upper righthand side of his screen to take note of his status. Above his name, there was this bright lime green bar, which as about half-way filled. As focused upon it, he noted text appear in the form of a percentage, '55.89%' If he had to guess, that was probably his experience points bar. Though it was weird that it would just now show up. Then again, experience points just now showed up as well. "Something wrong Darling?" Seraphina had called as she approached his side. Shaking his head he would shift his glance towards her. "No. My experience points bar just appeared and the amount of experience I earn has also appeared. It wasn't there before I came here either. Nor has the amount of experience I earn ever display for me when I was in the other world." Riyku would explain to which Seraphina would muse lightly. "Hmm... Not too sure. Nira could probably answer you that one." Seraphina stated which caused Riyku's brow to perk up. "Nira?" He inquired to which Seraphina would nod before replying, "She was something you created. Called herself an Artifical Intelligence."

Riyku did not fully understand what she meant, but he seemed to grasp a bit of it. "Well alright. I am not detecting any more hostiles on this floor. So let's go ahead and check out the rooms." Riyku would begin walking to the left wing of the first floor and Seraphina followed afterward. They would proceed to each room and give them a good look through. In truth, the rooms resembled their other world counterpart. You could tell which room was a guest room, and which room as a room for one of the servants. Still, they did not find anything intriguing in the least. That was until they came across some kind of black box with veins pulsating on the outside of it. If anything this box looked like a chest. "A trunk?" Seraphina inquired to which Riyku would shrug. "Maybe. Let's take a look." He would walk up to the box before reaching down to open it. When he did, he was flashed with a blinding light which dimmed down to reveal a pit of nothingness. "There wasn't anything--" Riyku was caught off which text appeared upon his UI.

'3500 Souls acquired.'

'Demon's heart acquired.'

'Black gem acquired.'

"I stand corrected..." Riyku would reiterate what he was about to say. "What did you get?" Seraphina inquired. Riyku would return to a standing position and look towards her. "Currency of this world, a heart, and a gem," Riyku replied which caused Seraphina to blink for a moment. "What? The currency of this world? A heart and a gem?" Seraphina seemed a bit baffled, but that was because what he stated was bizarre, to begin with. "Yup. The currency of this world is souls. Though, I don't know what this heart and gem are for. Guess I'll check into that later." Riyku would stuff his hands into his pockets and proceed out of the room. Seraphina would follow after him, without much of a word... mainly because she knew she would get anywhere with questioning him at this moment in time. She would tell that he was just as confused as she was, so, for now, she just followed along.

When they arrived back in the lobby they noticed that the Lesser Demons from before happened to return. "Umm..." Riyku was in awe. Just a few moments ago he had not felt any presences on this floor, but now there they were. All twenty of the same looking imps messing around like no one's business. "They appeared again?" Seraphina inquired as she peaked past Riyku to take a look. "I guess, I could take care of them. Show you a little bit of the Queen's power." Seraphina smirked as she stomped her heel on the ground as if to command her shadow to expand throughout the lobby floor. The imps noticed this sudden dark pigment of the floor, but before they could react several thorns pierced through their bodies and simultaneously they all exploded into dark mist.

'Lesser Demon defeated x20'

'200 souls acquired.

'220 EXP acquired.'

Text appeared on Riyku's UI yet again which caused him to look from the retracting shadow towards the text. "It's the same as before," Riyku muttered which caught Seraphina's attention. "What is?" She asked. "It says the same amount of Lesser Demons were defeated and I acquired the same amount of experience points as well as souls as before," Riyku replied to her which caused her brow to raise in thought. "Mmm... who knows. They are weak, but they provide you with stuff so it shouldn't be a problem. We still need to check out the right wing." Seraphina stated to which Riyku would nod. "Indeed. Though, I theorize that those twenty imps will again." Riyku stated as the two of them ventured through the right wing which would host the dining room, kitchen, resting center, and indoor pool.

Since the dining room and kitchen right next to each other the male would enter that room first. Taking note of perfectly set dining room table had been on display, but nothing on the plates or even in the glasses. He would push through into the kitchen which was also absent of anything. Aroma, prep food or personal. Though there was this weird shine that caught his eye. Approaching the bookshelf that the shine came from he would reach out towards it only for the shine to disappear before touching it and text to appear before him on his UI.

'Book of Monsterology acquired.'

"Okay..." Riyku muttered. "What?" Seraphina asked to which Riyku turned towards her. "I got a Book of Monsterology. Gimme a second." Riyku would reply before opening his palm out as if he were going to hold something in place. A second later dim particle lights would illuminate in his hand and form into a thick hard-cover book. Seraphina was not surprised by this feat since she had seen this happen several times, but she did give a curious look as to what the book was. "Is that the book?" She inquired to which Riyku would nod softly. "Perhaps. I did use Weapon Summon to summon it." When he turned the book around, he made note of the cover title that read 'Book of Monsterology' on it. "Yup it is. I guess we should look through it." Riyku would open it to the first page which revealed to be 'Table of Contents'. There was a list that followed this page:

----Humans----

----Demons----

----Angels----

----Lycans----

----Demis----

----Vampires----

----Ascended----

----????-----

The table of contents did not provide any page numbers, but more so just a brief summary of what was in this book. "That's weird... there are no page numbers. How will you know what page to turn to when you need to find something out?" Seraphina inquired to which Riyku would shrug. "I am not sure. Maybe there is some kind of hidden meaning to it. Hmm... Let's try... Lesser Demons." The male would speak out towards the book. The text 'Demons' would highlight and the book would rapidly turn pages before coming to a stop on a page that had a picture of the demons he had fought previously.

Name: Imp

Level: 55

Race: Lesser Demon

Category: Demon

Experience points: 10 Points

Drops: 10 Souls

Hunted: 40 Times

Weakness: N/A

Name: Verso the Demonic Butler

Level: 89

Race: Upper-Class Demon

Category: Demon

Experience points: 67,430 Points

Drops: 326 Souls, Key to floor two.

Hunted: 1 Time

Weakness: Holy Weapons

For now, that seemed to be all that was available; though it seemed both a picture of the Imp and Verso were on different pages of this book. "So this is the demon you fought yesterday?" Seraphina inquired as she read through the text before looking at the picture of Verso. "Yes. I am surprised that there is soo much information on one page, though it appears there might be more since some of the page is left blank. Well for the imps anyways, I don't think I'll be battling Verso any time soon." Riyku stated before closing the book and returning it to his inventory via Weapon Return. "Why was the weakness stated for Verso and not the Imps, aren't they both demons?" Seraphina inquired to which Riyku would shrug. "I am not sure. I do wonder, but maybe it was because I fought Verso with the Demon Slayer sword; which I guess could be classified as a holy weapon since it deals bonus damage to demons. Whereas the Imps, I only used my bare hands and feet and you only killed them with your shadow." Riyku would explain his thought to which Seraphina would nod. "I see, maybe you just need to discover it by contentiously fighting them or try using the Demon Slayer on them if they are there again." Seraphina would reply and Riyku would agree before the two left the kitchen and dining room to follow. They would provide down the hall towards the resting center which was like an infirmary. Upon entry they found it to be empty; however, there was another shine that displayed for Riyku to approach.

This time the shine was jammed inside of a medicine cabinet and when he reached out for it, the same process had applied as before.

'Lesser Tonic x2 acquired.'

'Lesser Mana Tonic acquired.'

If he had to guess the two items he got where probably rejuvenation potions. He had seen them in the store yesterday when he opened it up. So he would brush them aside and turn to face Seraphina who gave him a puzzled look. "Nothing too fun?" She inquired to which Riyku shook his head. "Some potions. Let's go." Riyku stated as he left the resting center and headed towards the Indoor pool. Pushing open the doors he was greeted with what a normal indoor pool would look like, with the exception of the crimson-colored water. Riyku would explore the area a bit more in hopes of finding anything as he did in the previous areas, yet nothing came up. A soft sigh of defeat and the male would proceed out of the indoor pool area with Seraphina who happened to just walk behind him the entire time. "Say, doesn't this place feel weird to you? Like... We've been here before?" Seraphina inquired. "Well, we have. Just not in this world." Riyku replied to which Seraphina shook her head. "No. I mean like this castle. I get this feeling I have been here with you before." Seraphina would state to which Riyku would shrug. "Who knows, maybe in a previous life. Though, I doubt it since this castle seems to be a replica of the mansion." Riyku would remark. Seraphina seemed to mule over the thought before coming to a stop when she bumped into Riyku. "Darling?" Seraphina inquired before peaking past him to see the imps had returned.

"Oh, maybe you should try out the Demon Slayer now," Seraphina stated, but Riyku was already head of her. Having the weapon in hand the male would dash around the lobby using shadow step while cutting down all twenty of the Lesser Demons in a matter of seconds. The blade would return to his inventory via Weapon Return and he would look over the text that had repeated a third time.

'Lesser Demon defeated x20'

'200 souls acquired.

'220 EXP acquired.'

This time he would bring out the Book of Monsterology and call upon the specific name, "Lesser Demon, Imp." Just to see if it would change anything and to his surprise, it turned towards the page of that he called upon.

Name: Imp

Level: 55

Race: Lesser Demon

Category: Demon

Experience points: 10 Points

Drops: 10 Souls

Hunted: 60 Times

Weakness: Holy Weapons

Once he read through the text he would see that it had updated with the number of times he hunted these Imps and the weakness. "Well, looks like you were right." Riyku would close the book and use Weapon Return to store it into his inventory before looking at Seraphina who was approaching him with a smile. "Glad to be able to help. Should we head up to the second floor now?" Seraphina inquired and Riyku would nod lightly towards her. "Let's go." Riyku would move up the steps and head towards the door. Upon reaching for the handle of the double doors a text box appeared.

'Use the second-floor key to open the door?'

Riyku would select the yes option which made the key materialize into his hand. The key itself looked like a normal olden key with the design fit for a demonic castle. Pushing the key into the lock he would turn it, which signaled the sound that it was unlocked. The key would disappear from his hand the door would steadily open for him; however... "What!? What is this!?" Seraphina exclaimed while Riyku narrowed his eyes to what befell of them.