Chapter 9 The Instructor, Encounter

The Instructor, Encounter

Demon Lord Skill [Omnipresent Harmony].

"??"

I tilted my head.

"??"

I tilted my head again.

Yes! I don’t understand this at all!

Why isn’t this a hero skill to begin with?!

Does that mean I’m not worthy of a hero skill, you idiot?!

Die, Sieg!

I can’t make sense of it! I give up!

Maybe if I get it appraised in town, I’ll learn something…

But I feel like a Demon Lord skill would be entirely misunderstood…

People call those with hero skills “heroes,” so does that mean I’ll become a Demon Lord…?

…Will I be persecuted or something?

If I were in their shoes, what would I do?

It’s obvious.

I’d execute myself by hanging.

It’s too suspicious! Just think about it logically!

You’d want to eliminate anything that seems dangerous, right?

A wise man avoids danger! And I’m the one in danger!

Sigh…

Anyway, there’s an immense amount of magical power swirling inside me.

A tremendous force ready to activate at a single trigger.

A power that feels limitless, capable of anything.

This must be the magical energy mass that flew toward me back then.

The energy ball that flew at Sieg during the Iron Rat incident was smaller than the earlier one.

Does the size depend on the Demon Lord?

No, the danger level of a Demon Lord doesn’t correlate with its size… What does that mean?

I pondered for a while but couldn’t come to a conclusion.

Well, no point dwelling on it.

I’m good at hypothesizing, testing, and experimenting, so I’ll figure it out later.

My curiosity about this mystery keeps growing.

I want to return and investigate as soon as possible!

Now that I think about it, who would believe I survived that explosion?

If that cursed village was damaged, it would definitely be blamed on me…

I have a terrible feeling about this.

Maybe I should just fake my death and go somewhere else?

After all, I don’t have many close friends… Though, old Mostur and Meiria would be sad. Sigh…

I don’t want to go back!

With those heavy thoughts, I surveyed my surroundings.

The sun had set quite a bit, and I realized I’d been unconscious for hours.

I need to find a place to camp.

The surroundings felt like a feather-soft blanket, but lighting a fire on living creatures is terrifying.

If I get shaken off, I’ll definitely die this time.

Is there a safe place to rest?

In the distance, I spotted something that resembled a building.

A building on top of Jiz?

Honestly, this is unbelievably intriguing!

Could someone actually live there?

It sounds like a story worth bragging about for a lifetime!

With that in mind, I dragged my aching body toward the mysterious structure, feeling a childlike excitement.

With no landmarks, I couldn’t gauge the distance, and I ended up walking far longer than expected.

The soft, spongy ground made walking difficult. To make things worse, enormous fleas would suddenly leap out, scaring me senseless.

A meter-long flea is nothing short of a monster…

After about an hour, I reached the building.

It was roughly the size of a medium-sized house in town.

Despite my fatigue, I decided to investigate the area around it.

So far, no signs of traps…

Its design resembled ancient magical civilization but looked too new.

It could easily pass as something built yesterday.

The ancient magical civilization was thought to have disappeared at least a millennium ago.

If this is authentic, it’s a groundbreaking discovery!

But who would believe me anyway…

As the sun set, I entered through the front.

I felt as if I passed through something, though I hoped it was just my imagination.

Despite its ancient origins, the layout seemed familiar—designed for human inhabitants.

The entrance led to a spacious living room.

Normally, I’d use my [Presence Detection] skill, but I didn’t want to risk using [Copy] right now.

While versatile, [Presence Detection] consumed three times the magical energy of the original.

If I forced it, I’d likely get another nosebleed.

Assuming it’s just a nosebleed…

The room was eerily silent.

I scanned my surroundings but noticed nothing unusual.

It felt lifeless, devoid of any human presence or vitality.

There were very few objects around.

Three undecorated, unlit lamps stood out.

Something about the atmosphere felt unsettling.

Well, time to explore further.

The next room seemed to be the kitchen… or something similar.

I opened the door slowly, holding my breath.

The room was empty.

There were some cooking tools of unfamiliar shapes, but most were items I recognized.

I gently touched a large, pan-like object hanging on the wall.

It was an ordinary frying pan.

When I turned it over, I noticed a magical circle etched on its underside.

Could this be a magic tool?

I tried channeling magic power into it, but after a faint glow, nothing happened.

Maybe I was using it incorrectly?

I carefully placed it back where I found it.

I opened a nearby shelf, hoping to find food, but it was completely empty.

Luckily, I had provisions in my storage bag, so I wasn’t too worried.

I returned to the living room.

…? One of the previously unlit lamps was now glowing.

I tilted my head in confusion and slowly opened another door.

This appeared to be… a study?

While it resembled a study, the bookshelves lining the walls were barren.

If those shelves had been filled with books from that era, they’d be priceless treasures…

Feeling slightly disappointed, I approached a table with a curious box resting on it.

What was this?

It was a square box with a transparent, hard surface on one side.

I tapped it lightly, sensing something contained within.

I had never seen this type of magic tool before…

I’d have to examine it more thoroughly later.

Beneath the table, I spotted a magic circle identical to the one in the kitchen.

What purpose did it serve?

Driven by curiosity, I channeled magic power into it.

Once again, it emitted a faint glow before going inert.

"??"

Ugh, I don’t get it!

Having found nothing of significance, I returned to the living room.

Strangely, more lamps were now lit.

The next door I opened led to… a toilet?

The structure resembled those in noble mansions, with a luxurious design.

Did ancient magical civilizations use paper for hygiene as well? Fancy.

I inspected what seemed to be a built-in shelf.

As expected, another magic circle was engraved there.

It didn’t appear to be a trap—nothing had happened the last two times.

For the third time, I directed magic power into it. But then—

Clunk!

A sound echoed from the living room.

I froze, holding my breath to assess the situation.

What was that noise? What’s happening…?

Quietly, I closed the toilet door and tiptoed back to the living room.

All the lamps were now glowing brightly.

More doors had appeared.

What on earth is going on…?

These new doors looked entirely different from the previous ones.

They were made of metal, etched with intricate, glowing magical patterns in an unfamiliar hue.

This was too suspicious!

My instincts screamed to leave, but my curiosity wouldn’t let me.

I’d come this far—I might as well face whatever awaited me!

Steeling myself, I held my breath and carefully opened one of the doors.

To be honest, I was careless.

Since nothing had happened so far, I had let my guard down.

“W-what… is that…?”

I couldn’t suppress my surprise and accidentally let out a sound.

It was a bedroom.

But not an ordinary one.

The entire room was metallic, resembling a chamber more than a bedroom.

On a metal altar-like bed, something—or someone—was lying down.

It was a stunningly beautiful woman.

She had long, silver hair and a face so perfect it seemed artificial.

Her outfit resembled that of a maid from a noble household—black and white, intricately tailored.

She lay completely still.

Was she a doll?

I found myself drawn to her, approaching with an almost hypnotic lack of caution.

I leaned closer, studying her face intently.

Snap!

Somewhere, a sound echoed—sharp and sudden.

My heart jumped.

Her eyes opened.

And our gazes met.