{Chapter: 15: Thanks to Great Salt}
Dex had to admit, if nothing else, he owed Salt a debt of gratitude. If it weren't for his summoner's ineptitude—or rather, his sheer luck—who knew what kind of opportunistic entity would have seized the chance to step into this world instead?
It was almost comical how things had played out. Dex hadn't expected much when he was pulled from the Abyss, but to find himself in a situation where he was summoned by a clueless rookie who had been duped by his predecessors? Now, that was truly a stroke of fortune.
The "pitfall" in this situation lay within the very magic circle that had been used to summon him. When Dex first laid eyes on Salt's magic book, he quickly noticed that a portion of the knowledge inscribed within it was not just flawed but outright malicious. Someone had deliberately tampered with the content, embedding misinformation and traps within the summoning formula.
The summoning circle, at least on the surface, was supposed to call forth a relatively harmless magical creature known as an "Angry Ape." A beast of moderate strength, difficult to control but not inherently malevolent—an entity that a summoner, even one as inexperienced as Salt, could theoretically handle with the proper precautions.
However, a proper summoning ritual generally consists of five essential components:
1. [Search] – Identifying entities that can be summoned.
2. [Communication] – Establishing a link with the intended summon.
3. [Summon] – Transporting the entity from its origin to the summoner's location.
4. [Restriction] – Enforcing control over the summoned creature to prevent it from turning on its summoner.
5. [Expel] – A failsafe mechanism to send the summon back if something goes wrong.
Salt's summoning circle, however, contained only the first three steps. The final two—[Restriction] and [Expel]—were missing entirely, replaced with nonsensical, meaningless runes. This meant that Salt had no method of controlling whatever entity he summoned, nor did he possess any means of banishing it if things spiraled out of control.
Worse still, the [Communication] component of the circle was riddled with fraudulent elements, artificially simulating the presence of thousands of sacrifices through illusionary auras. It was a textbook example of magical deception, a classic bait-and-switch tactic designed to trick summoned creatures into believing they were being offered an irresistible deal.
Under normal circumstances, a summoned demon would quickly see through the deception. The Abyssal Contracts that bound demon-summoner relationships required genuine offerings to be valid. If the summoning was based on deception, the contract would simply fail, and the demon would be sent back to the Abyss—annoyed, perhaps, but ultimately unharmed.
But the real problem here was that Salt's magic circle lacked the ability to expel a failed summon. Instead, it functioned like a one-way gate, forcibly pulling in whatever demon happened to respond to the call. It was akin to inviting a demon into a banquet hall and telling them, "Eat as much as you want—no restrictions, no consequences!" It was an all-you-can-eat buffet of recklessness and poor decision-making.
The irony was almost poetic.
If Dex hadn't been the one to answer the summon, but rather another lower-tier demon, the outcome would have been catastrophic. Most lesser demons, upon realizing they had been deceived, would have immediately taken their "payment" by consuming the summoner—Salt wouldn't have lasted a heartbeat. After all, it was a golden opportunity to wreak havoc on an unprepared world.
In that sense, Dex could barely be considered a savior—if only by comparison. He chuckled at the thought. He wasn't about to advertise his self-proclaimed heroism, though; the last thing he needed was people worshipping him for "sparing" them.
As for the root of the problem—the summoning ritual itself—Dex quickly realized that the misinformation in Salt's magic book had been intentionally planted. This was the work of a long-dead sorcerer, someone who had once wielded great knowledge but had likely been crushed by the World's will. As a final act of revenge, this sorcerer had distorted the teachings within the book, ensuring that any future spellcasters who tried to use it would be led astray, potentially bringing disaster upon themselves and their surroundings with the world at stake.
It was a classic "If I die, then I'll make sure no one else has an easy life either" mentality.
This wasn't an isolated case, either. Many similar instances had occurred throughout history—failed summoning attempts that resulted in demons feasting freely upon unsuspecting summoners. Occasionally, such schemes ended with the summoned demons being defeated, but more often than not, the outcomes favored the Abyss.
Dex wouldn't mind encountering more situations like this—an effortless way to slip into a new world without restrictions? A dream scenario. But he knew such opportunities were rare, akin to winning the cosmic lottery.
As he adjusted to this world, Dex became more aware of its unique properties. According to his internal "Abyssal Clock," the time ratio here was 3:1 compared to the Abyss. For every three hours that passed in this world, only one hour elapsed back home. That was favorable—three times the duration to operate here before being forcibly dragged back.
However, there was a significant downside: this world's magical energy was abysmally low. The ambient mana in the air wasn't even one-twentieth of what could be found in a demon's training ground like Wailing Village, where billions of creatures absorbed and cultivated magic daily.
Despite the lack of magical density, there were still spellcasters present. Based on the intelligence gathered from the Kingdom of Marton, Dex surmised that magic here was in a primitive state—structured but inefficient, with spellcasting methods that seemed clumsy compared to Abyssal standards.
There might be a handful of prodigies capable of pushing past these limitations, but ultimately, the environment itself served as a bottleneck, restricting true magical advancement.
Upon his arrival, Dex's strength had been cut in half due to the world's rejection of his presence. Now, after some time, he had mostly recovered—but only thanks to a particular safeguard: [Armed Rune - Scarlet].
Demons, by nature, were treated as unwelcome invaders in most worlds. The moment they crossed into foreign planes, the world itself would move against them. A 50% strength reduction was actually mild—some worlds would suppress an intruder by as much as 70% to 80%.
This was precisely why demons tended to massacre indiscriminately upon arrival—absorbing souls and bathing in blood was the fastest way to reclaim their lost strength.
Even now, Dex could feel the world rejecting him, constantly trying to expel his presence. Every attempt to draw mana from the atmosphere required brute force, as though he was siphoning energy against an ever-increasing resistance. It was only a matter of time before he was forcibly ejected back to the Abyss.
Even with [Armed Rune - Scarlet], which granted him temporary resistance to this rejection, his time here was limited.
But that was fine.
Dex had no desire to remain in this world forever. He wasn't here to settle down—he was here for a purpose.
And as long as he accomplished what he came for, it didn't matter when the world finally decided to throw him back into the Abyss.
For now, he would make the most of his time here.
*****
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