My body, my eyes—hell, my very existence hurt.
It hurt terribly.
Two days. It had been two entire days since I began training with Asmodeus, and I hadn't slept for even one second.
During that period, I had practiced two thousand sword swings, both horizontally and vertically, on top of his so-called simple workout, which was actually more like torture in disguise. And at nighttime? No rest time. What I did instead was spend the time practicing the mana breathing technique he was drilling into me.
Of course, whenever I messed up even the slightest bit, he never stopped himself from slapping me.
Hard.
By this time, I was really wondering,what was I even thinking making a contract with him.
Nevertheless, I had learned something Interesting during the middle of this hell.
First of all, only I could see him. That made it easy because I didn't have to worry about people noticing that I was literally roaming around with a demon king for god's sake.
I even tried it by talking to him in front of some random town commoner kid. The kid didn't even react.
Even though I already had this knowledge from the game, I didn't want to risk anything. After all, I wasn't some divinely gifted protagonist with a divine system telling me everything. And I certainly didn't have plot armor. If I screwed up, I was done for.
Second, Asmodeus had been using my own body to absorb the energy out of the surroundings—just a little enough to respond to me physically. That is so he could touch me.
Which I don't know how, turned into repeated slaps.
When he was for the first time got released from the Abyss, he had used Kameron's energy, which had been all over the underground. This was something that was not in the game. Perhaps the protagonist's system had stopped him from doing so.
And the third and most importa—
Slap!
"What the hell are you doing, getting distracted again?"
His frustrated voice rang within my mind.
"Pay attention, brat," he instructed, voice quiet, almost bored—which somehow made it worse.
"You told me you only have a month. Remember that."
His expression didn't change. Not even a flicker of sympathy.
This bastard… He really had a talent for pissing people off, especially when they were already at their limit.
But there was nothing I could do. So, I clenched my teeth and continued my sword swings.
After a while..
"Alright, brat. Stop."
I almost collapsed on the spot.
But before I could even get a second of rest, he continued.
"Now, I'll teach you about the bloodline ability you possess .A weak, pathetic copy of mine, naturally." His lips twisted into a self-satisfied smile.
Tch,I clicked my tongue.
This bas— No, it's useless, cursing him is just a waste of breath.
"The bloodline ability you now possess—Monarch Sovereignty—is one of the most powerful bloodline abilities there is," he told me.
I nodded, already familiar with this from the game. "I know."
"It allows its user—me—to manipulate the darkness of this world."
He turned to me, his face suddenly serious.
"Now, a question, brat. What is darkness, in your opinion?"
I furrowed my brow.
That. was a good question.
I never actually thought about it before.
Observing my confused look, he sighed.
"Pay attention carefully, brat. Darkness is just a form of energy—plain and simple.".
This world and all that exists in it is made of energy, and this energy possesses its own will.
All living things possess positive and negative energy." His eyes narrowed.
"And darkness? Darkness is negative energy."
He paused for the words to be absorbed before he went on.
'In the philosophical terms"
"Even the Feelings such as grief, anger, despair—that's darkness as well. And most of all." His voice fell a little. "Death itself is darkness."
His crimson red eyes fixed on mine.
"I'm telling you all this because if you don't know your own power, you'll never be able to use it effectively. The more you know, the more powerful you'll become. Got all that?"
I swallowed.
Seriously, for someone so punchable, he was a hell of a teacher.
"Yeah, I get it," I said, looking him straight in the eye.
"Good," he said with a smile. "Then let's get started."
He took some time to give me some instructions , telling me what I should do. And then he told me to sit down and concentrate.
"Try to feel the darkness around you. Continue with the mana breathing method I had instructed you to use," he commanded.
And I attempted it.
An hour went by.
Then two hours.
Then three hours.
Nothing.
No amount of concentration would make me sense anything.
The irritation whithin me was rising with each second.
How in the world am I supposed to look for something when I don't even know what I'm searching for?
"You're doing it all wrong, brat."
I opened my eyes to find Asmodeus staring down at me, his expression utterly disappointed.
"When I first described what darkness really is, perhaps you weren't paying attention," he said, annoyance seeping into his tone.
"What do you mean? I was listening!" I retorted.
He sighed. "Forget everything I said before."
He folded his arms.
"Answer me this—what is a bloodline ability, based on your knowledge of the game?"
I scowled. "A bloodline ability is a manifestation of our soul's essence. The power of our soul itself. The more powerful the soul, the more powerful the bloodline ability."
"Exactly," he nodded. "Now, brat, think about the answer you just gave me now. The solution to your problem is in there. Find it."
I frowned. "If you know the answer already, why can't you just tell me?"
"I can't help you in this. You must do it yourself." He retreated, disappearing within the tattoo on my arm. "You have until morning."
And then I was left alone.
I clenched up my fists, going over it all in my mind.
I started thinking for the solution in the answer I just gave him..
After a while....
then—it hit me.
All living beings have different energy—some positive, some negative.
If I couldn't find darkness in my surroundings.
Then I will just look for it within myself.
I made myself remember each and every agonizing memory from my previous life.
My mother's betrayal.
The girl I used to love.
My father's death.
The loneliness throughout life.
Each misfortune life had hurled at me.
Then, suddenly, Daemon's memories started to appear—the anger he felt when someone talked about him behind his back, the sorrow of being abandoned, the hopelessness of being considered weak.
All of it.
Every negative emotion stared coming into my mind.
And then—in an instant—I felt it.
Energy.
Short faint- Dark, crushing, overwhelming.
I started absorbing it ,the moment I sensed it. The process started weakly at first because I could only sense a small amount of energy, but as it kept coming, it became strong—like a maelstrom.
Unlike the mana, which started to store itself into my existing core, this energy started creating up a new one on its own.
It was like my head was about to break in half, like my soul was tearing itself apart. But I clenched my teeth and endured it.
I had to.
"That's enough."
The words of Asmodeus echoed in my mind. Gradually, I opened my eyes.
He was standing in front of me, observing with a pleased smile.
"Good job, brat"