Imp to Demon King: A Journey of Conquest

A sigh escaped his lips as he realised he could divide demons into two categories.

'The first ones are individuals like Bart, Garduck, and Sam. They gave up on power and focused on surviving the demon realm's harshness with sweat and effort. The seconds are those like him and the one from yesterday. They lust for power and don't care about making others suffer or betray them to reach it.'

He gazed at the bright morning sky, a frown stretching his forehead and doubts flashing in his eyes.

'Where does Shihan, the imps, djinn, and satyr come from? Did the demon den birth them with enough knowledge to make them operational?'

After all, they only knew about their abilities but hardly spoke about the demon realm, only mentioning how demons acted.

'That would explain her disgust when she mentioned what she could do.'

Believing his theory might be true, he stepped to Luna's house, impatient to resume their essence training.

Once inside, he noticed the green-haired beauty eating breakfast on a makeshift table.

Their eyes crossed, making his heartbeat hasten in his chest.

After a brief silence settled, she snorted.

"Humph. Why is your hair black now, and what are those wings?"

'He?! Now that she mentions it, why did no one ask me earlier?'

The question struck him as he pushed his lips with his finger pensively.

"They won't question their lord. But I'm different. I don't care."

Luna's dismissive shrug and grasp of his thoughts made him chuckle and scratch his fiery hair.

He explained to her about his yesterday's evolution and Tiamat's presence in the territory, too afraid to see her confront the child-like primordial goddess to keep it a secret.

"So, your essence flows better and turned dark because she added her chaotic and saltwater element to yours? Fascinating."

She muttered, eyes sparkling with interest. Like a thirsty traveller, she wanted to discover everything and drink this new knowledge. After all, she had never heard of a god contracting a demon since no one trusted them... not even themselves.

After pondering for a moment, she pushed herself off the wooden chair and shockingly palpated his body.

'What the?'

Face reddening, he observed her shamelessly pull his robe and feel his scale-like skin with the utmost focus before stepping back.

Solemness covered her features as her eyes narrowed into determined slits.

"I'll evolve soon, too."

He notcid the yearning flashing in her eyes.

Despite the arduous process, with the demonic altar, a bright ray of hope pierced the darkness.

"Gather the imps. I'll teach you how to absorb natural, demonic essence today. They should meet their evolution requirement in a few days now!"

She pondered before the door as Adam searched for the little demons.

As a succubus queen, her next evolution would require thousands of essence points. But they were few in the territory, meaning each individual could absorb more essence. Its quality was decent, too, making it easier to assimilate to what lesser demons had access to usually.

However, the point vivifying the territory in her eyes was the potential for the altar to grow. If it could reach the fifth level, no subject would remain a lesser demon for more than a day.

An evil smirk split her lips as a path towards vengeance appeared beneath her feet, one that would lead her to the top and make those fools regret everything they dared do to her!

But that would be for later.

For now, she had to confirm this bizarre lord's intentions and trustworthiness.

"We're here. Let's start immediately!"

Adam's voice resounded behind, accompanied by the imps' excited growls.

When she turned, her cheeks uncontrollably puffed before her mouth opened.

"Hahaha!"

She held her sides in amusement as she saw the six troublemakers climbing on Adam's head, back, shoulders, and legs.

Meanwhile, Adam sighed at their shenanigans.

Since he was now a little different from them, they kept playing with his wings and hair as if wanting to become like him.

Still, the genuine affection warmed his heart and relaxed his nerves. No matter what others thought, acting with authority taxed him mentally compared to his carefree gamer life.

After a brief moment, Luna recovered her composure as he sat before the altar.

"The technique is not complex. Breathe the essence, but don't let it dissolve into your system. You'll get minimal gains that way. Instead, control it to circle through your entire body before letting it merge into your demonic core."

Like a teacher, she paced before him, a finger raised to emphasise her point.

"We each have different bodies, so there is no specific technique. You'll have to find the method that works best for you. A word of advice: Don't focus on speed alone, and take your time. The more places you make the energy travel into, the more attuned to your essence it'll become, meaning you'll absorb a higher percentage."

He tucked his fingers around his chin, her words seeping into his mind.

Then, he focused on an imp to make his stats appear, worry flashing in his eyes as he didn't know how to explain the process to them.

LVL: 12

Exp: 942/7000

HP: 240/240

Vitality: 24

Strength: 24

Agility: 24

Demonic essence: 5

"How do they have five already?!"

His eyes widened in shock.

"Don't tell me you underestimated imps? How do you think their species spread like a plague in the demon realm for thousands of years without facing the threat of extinction despite all the chaos they caused?"

Luna snorted at his ignorance before patting an imp's head.

"They're the demons who privilege survival the most. They don't actively seek power, but when it's presented freely, they'll take it to increase their survival chances."

"I see... That's a relief. They'll soon evolve."

He patted the ones next to him with a smile, noticing they were already focusing on gulping the demonic essence.

"What are you relieved about? They're a step ahead of you. You should be ashamed."

Luna rolled her eyes before focusing on herself despite the glare he threw at her.

'Says the one who wanted to kill them!'

After an inner venting session, he focused, too.

A peaceful silence settled in the small village, occasionally disturbed by Bart and the other demons carrying wood to the warehouse before returning.

The morning sun continued on its course, its rays growing brighter before dimming as he failed, again and again, until orange hues colored the evening sky.

DING

[Demonic essence increased by one.]

"Finally! I found a working method!"

He leapt to his feet, arm tensed in a triumphant pose as the notification resounded like an award in his ears.

"Congratulations, my lord."

Surprised, he turned, noticing the smiling Shihan sitting nearby.

His eyes enlarged as he saw Bart, Garduck, and all his subjects' sweating foreheads and focused frowns.

"Why is everyone here?"

"We can't remain weak. Therefore, we all gathered to improve after working."

Everyone offered a determined nod, eyes sparkling with a sense of purpose.

As demons who lived in cruelty but desired peace, there was one thing they all knew. It had been branded into their flesh, bones, and souls: to get peace, they had to have the means to defend it.

Noticing their unwavering determination, his plan to create an elite team didn't seem so far anymore.

"Continue like that. I want everyone to evolve before three days pass!"

A satisfied grin stretched his lips before he continued, his voice turning colder.

"But first, we'll go greet these bandits and tier up! Eat and rest. We'll leave when the moon rises!"

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