Standing in the terrace, a wealthy looking man decked in gold sipped wine from a teacup. He overlooked the town with a gaze similar to a human staring at an antfarm.
He saw a teenage devil picking pockets, his skill was so great that his targets walked not knowing they were robbed. The young devil fished out the money and threw away the wallets without a second thought and ran away from the location.
A few devils who saw his actions patted themselves, but his victims were none the wiser.
Isen sipped his wine, as he looked at the scene below with fond nostalgia.
"Not bad." Though if it was him, he would have sold the wallets off rather than throwing it away.
Centuries ago, he too was one of the many rats in the underworld who committed various crimes. From theft, to blackmail, kidnapping and all sorts of other acts. He had spent decades in jail, but he still continued.
He smirked, oh how much he had grown. From a low-class rat to a Devil who stood at the peak of Mid-Class, only a step away from becoming High-class.
With the thought of High-class, Isen dragged his gaze from the view below to the side of him where a middle-aged devil had been kneeling for the past 10 minutes.
Seeing the devil's expression which was a mix of embarrassment, reluctance and submission, Isen's lips curled up, a sense of satisfaction welling up inside of him. 'This was the status I had spent centuries aiming for.'
"So, how is the operation?" he took a sip as he asked.
"All good Boss. The item is en route, it will be here within the month."
He nodded, a month wasn't too bad. Especially considering the need to be careful. If other devils saw him put too much attention on it, they would discover something was wrong and might aim for it.
"Good good." he commented, then he narrowed his eyes, "Make sure it arrives safe and sound, if something were to happen to it…," he left the sentence hanging, wanting the kneeling devil to fill it himself using his imagination.
Releasing the lid of his power, Isen released the aura of the Mid-Class Devil and had it press down on the devil.
"Ack!"
The kneeling devil suddenly felt a weight press about him, forcing him to lower himself further down. There was a sense of heat, as if the temperature had increased. It felt like an elephant stepping on his chest.
"Do I make myself clear? There can be no mistakes, no damage. If you so much as breathe at it wrong, I will harvest your organs and have you slave away for the next 100 years in the mines. Understand?"
The Devil felt a rush of fear, the mines he was talking about, it was probably that one. Remembering all the rumours of that place, he gulped as he answered fearfully.
"Yes! I-I will d-do my Best!" he shouted as if trying to encourage himself.
"Good. As long as it is bought safely, all of you will get a bonus of 10,000 Lilums."
He reined his aura back in, giving the devil a chance to catch his breath. A good threat every now and then makes devils honest.
The devil walked out with his legs still shaking which made it look like he was doing a strange dance. Ignoring it, Isen thought back to the item.
The Item was found two years ago by a gang. Recently when one of his men attacked them, it now belongs to him. According to records, it can strengthen anyone who wears it. A low-class can display the power of a mid-class with it.
When he obtained that item, Isen would have a chance at High-class! A High-class Devil at only 500 years old! It may not be anything special when compared to the brats of the pillar houses who were born with the title of High-class, but for the rest of the underworld, he would be a genius amongst genius.
It would elevate him from a pawn to a genuine king!
After that… Ultimate-Class! Isen's eyes glowed with desire, the pinnacle that a low-born like him could reach, a realm that only held a few dozen devils across the Underworld. The pinnacle of Status and power!
If High-class Devils are Kings, then Ultimate class are the chess players. The ones who determine the life and death of countless devils with their every action.
Even those damned Pillars could do nothing to him once he reached that level!
In his excitement, his demonic power exerted its pressure on the surroundings. Due to the lack of control, the table and chair he was sitting on creaked.
He pulled back his aura,"I am getting ahead of myself, I should first become a High-Class Devil before thinking about ultimate." He refilled his tea cup with more wine, "Only a month left! Even if it encounters some blocks, it would take at most an additional week."
He was shaking, causing the wine to splash everywhere. He was excited, too excited.
He gazed at a servant who was standing at the entrance. "Tell Vora to send a few girls for me to enjoy."
"Of course boss."
Isen sat on the terrace, his hand stretching towards the sky. "Before long, the entire underworld will tremble at the mention of my name."
He could already see it, countless devils kneeling and worshipping him. Serafall Leviathan naked at his side, leashed and looking at him like a pet would her master.
Isen dreamt of a glorious future, and that future would soon become his present!
Down below, a group of devils were chasing a thief. Some were flying, others were running. Some even threw around magic, ignoring the rules due to their anger.
…
"I saw him go this way."
"After the rat!"
"When i find him, im going to fuck him so bad its going to come out of his mouth!"
The roars and yells of a group of devils passed by his hiding place, the stomping of feet and the grinding of teeth were especially noteworthy. Bethel felt goosebumps when one devil announced he was going to rape him.
Rape was a crime in the underworld, well technically it only become a crime after the new satans came into power. Before then, rape was just another facet of devilhood. The strong can do anything to the weak.
Thankfully, Bethel came into the era of the new satans, he couldn't imagine how he would survive back in the old era where devils were the heralds of depravity.
Holding his breath, Bethel stayed silently still but he still had to inhale every other minute, causing him to silently gag every time he did so.
"If I could , I would gladly remove my nose." Bethel muttered to himself, his expression twisted as if he would throw up at any moment. Oh the things he did for money, he lampooned as he waited.
After counting for five minutes and not hearing the shouts of others Bethel being cautious counted another minute, his ears strained to hear any noise from outside. Not hearing any noise, he used [Door Opening] on the surface in front of him.
Phasing through the metal container, Bethel left the dumpster and greedily gulped the clean fresh air of the underworld.
"Oh sweet fresh air, I swear to never take you for granted." he solemnly promised.
Taking another breath of fresh air. Bethel lamented his bad luck. A few of his earlier victims of the day had found him, not one or two, but a dozen of them! and they had been chasing him for the last hour.
With a dozen devils after him, losing them was impossible so he had to phase through a dumpster he had marked earlier that day. With a sigh he leaned against the dumpster, his thoughts reviewing his earlier actions as he rubbed his shoulder.
A devil had attacked him with a Demonic bullet, a basic application of devil magic where the user compresses their demonic power to attack. Its strength is proportional to the devil, thankfully the devil wasn't very strong so it only felt like someone punched him with all their might.
Reviewing his actions, Bethel realized that he became arrogant. Not overly so, but there were traces that could be found in some of his actions. Normally he would always leave a gap of an hour between each two to three thefts, and would steal from different areas after it.
For example, this town could be divided into 8 areas. If he stole from 3 devils in area one, he would then go to area 3 to steal from three more devils. He would first steal from the odd numbered areas first, then he would go to the areas he marked with even numbers.
Yet, this time Bethel completely forgot to do it.
he reminded himself, wanting to somehow engrave this lesson deep into his very soul lest he would forget.
Suddenly, he felt something strange. His demonic power became very active, almost like it was boiling. If put into words, it felt like a madman dancing and being very active. It made him feel strange yet also made him pleased.
The feeling went as quickly as it came. He stood there dazed, blinking as if disoriented.
"What?" Bethel instinctively clenched and unclenched his hand, right now he felt like he had gotten stronger. He had gained a certain instinctive understanding that he could use his ability more times than before!
How? He was confused, he had thought he had an understanding over his powers, but now he felt as if he barely understood anything. His previous understanding of it was completely swept past.
He had always thought that his abilities were fixed, and the only way to gain more or improve existing ones was to increase his rank. Yet now, he clearly felt his power improve.
Startled, and curious, Bethel summoned his status panel to check if there was anything different.
[Name: Bethel
Path: Apprentice (Rank 9)
Abilities: [Door Opening]
Items: [Thieving Brooch] ]
There has been no change…hmm? He paused as he checked his quests tab. His intuition told him that there seemed to be something there.
[Quest: Work under an established Master for two years and Gain their seal of Approval.
Reward: Advancement, ???]
[Secret Quest: Uncover 3 the Principles behind Apprentice!
Reward: ???]
"Principles…?" What is that? He knew what it meant on paper, yet he did not understand how it would apply to his powers.
Bethel narrowed his eyes, before snapping himself out of it as he remembered where he was. Uncovering the secrets of the system should be done in private, not next to a dumpster.
Being careful of any more of his victims who might jump him he walked away. He had gained more than enough… involuntary donation. He currently had around 2250 lillums in his hands. That is more than enough for his purposes for this month.
With 1200 reserved for his apprenticeship, Bethel had 1050 lilums to play around with, excluding the portion reserved for his rent, which wasn't much since his home was basically a shack at the edge of town.
Food, rent and even his apprenticeship will be covered, Bethel felt a weight being lifted as his monetary requirements for this month have been largely solved.
Reaching the alley next to the inn he had booked a room in, Bethel phased through the wall and entered the room. Dumping his current dirty ones in a black bag so he could wash them later and changing into a new outfit, Bethel relaxed on the bed for a few hours.
Taking a small nap, he recovered his energy. Today had been an eventful day, he had used his ability many times to near exhaustion. He had only a single door opening left before he would have collapsed.
Waking up, Bethel yawned as went to the reception area to pay his bill. While walking towards the station, he bought meat skewers lathered in a dark red sauce. He enjoyed it.
When he reached the counter, he bought a ticket and then waited for the train. Bethel's mind wandered towards the issue of principle that the system had brought up, but he ignored it. He needed time, time to think without interruptions.
Subconsciously playing with the Thieving brooch, he waited for the train. His eyes drifted towards the ticket, the tickets destination was a town 3 stops away from his actual one. Thankfully, because it is away, Bethel didn't need to bribe anyone.
When the train arrived, he quickly got in and took a window seat in the inconspicuous corner. Hopefully he would be lucky enough to not have any passengers who would sit next to him.
Now that he had come far away from the town, and was making distance with it. Bethel felt another weight being lifted.
No one can feel safe staying in the same town as his victims. To Bethel, his victims were like Loan sharks, circling around him waiting for him to make a mistake so they could beat him up and suck him dry.
Tricking people, running away… there was an excitement, like the beat of a drum echoing through his veins. In a way, to Bethel theft was but an excuse to experience the chase.
The feeling of running away after being caught, the thrill of successfully hiding and escaping with his ill-gotten gains. To him, there was something calming at the act.
Shaking his head, Bethel wondered since when did he become like this? As he leaned against the window, his gaze drifted towards the sky. It was now morning, the sun had long risen, and the moon had set.
Pity, he would have loved to see it.
Bethel was deep in thought. Now that he had a few hours of peace, he was thinking about the secret quest he had uncovered.
"Uncover 3 Principles Behind Apprentice." Bethel murmured to himself, it was the quest that he gained after his successful escape.
Earlier this morning, he had checked his condition. With an instinctive grasp of his powers, Bethel knew that he could use his [Door Opening] 3 more times before he was out of energy.
Analyzing what he was doing when the sudden boost in strength, he hid away and successfully escaped, then he had a sort of enlightenment on himself… Was that it?
"One shouldn't flaunt one's superiority and be arrogant, and has to understand the insignificance of their own strength." Bethel recited the enlightenment he gained. At that moment he didn't have any thoughts when he mumbled it, he simply said the words that were on his mind.
In response, he could feel something deep inside him thrum as if responding to his words.
He rubbed his chin, Bethel had thought his system was a variant class system like from those Role playing games he used to play, except without the traditional levelling system.
As if his mind had woken up from a long nap, it shifted into overdrive, making connections about various concepts that he had ignored.
Classes, levels belong to western media. Transmigration, isekai and the like belong to eastern media. The entity who reincarnated him must have taken inspiration from eastern media. Amongst eastern media, there is another huge part of it.
Cultivation. The process of mortals rising to immortality and ascending to Godhood. Is his system not a class system but a cultivation system?
Yes, of course! He gained enlightenment, and he became stronger, that matches cultivation.
So the so-called path, is it a specific cultivation realm? But if it is cultivation, why did the system issue him a quest to become someone's apprentice for two months and receive their approval before he can go to the next rank?
Maybe the system is a combination of eastern and western. A class system combined with cultivation.
He thought it true and felt that it should be right!
"The system told me to become an apprentice! And my path is currently an apprentice as well!"
He felt like slapping himself, why didn't he connect the dots before.
Let us think that the system is a combination of class and cultivation.
Since he is currently a Rank 9 Apprentice, the next rank should be rank 8. So, it is in descending order.
The system issued a task to become an apprentice, was it a coincidence that he was also an apprentice rank? No.
Classes need experience, Cultivation needs energy and enlightenment. If combined, the resulting one would require both experience and enlightenment.
Experience could only be gained by acting. So an apprentice needs to become an apprentice. If his class was a thief, he would need to steal to gather experience!
And once he gathers experience, he can level up. To gather experience you need to "Act".
If so, where do the principles come into play? Was it something that merely let him get stronger? Or was there some other kind of secret behind them?
Bethel sighed, his head ached with pain. Checking the time, he had an hour before he would arrive at his station. Closing his eyes, he let his mind rest.
An hour later, Bethel exited the station, thankfully he didn't have to pay a bribe this time. He simply had to make an excuse on how he had gotten his cousin to buy a ticket and the brat had bought the wrong one.
Thinking of how he had to bribe the conductor when he went, Bethel felt his palms itch. A sentence popped into his mind.
'Money, easy to earn when getting your hands dirty, but also easy to lose.'
He walked, passing the red-light District, and entered back into the familiar street of his home. Bethel looked left and right before he phased through…
As Bethel stretched his hand, he saw something he had never seen, or rather he had never noticed before. When his outstretched hand touched the wooden walls of his house, a faint door seemed to appear.
There was a door, a transparent one on the wall!
Door Opening. His questions on why he couldn't phase through the ground, or why he could phase through lamp posts or tables were all answered.
His ability created a door, an invisible door he was only now able to see. The reason he couldn't phase through tables and other objects was because they were too small for him to create a door.
Why couldn't he phase through the ground, it was because a door can only be considered a door when it is vertical. His ability cannot be placed on a horizontal plane.
He stood there a few moments, a thought in his mind.
'What is with this day? First he uncovered a Secret Quest, then he had understood the underlying mechanism between how his power worked. Now, he finally discovered how his "Door Opening" worked?'
He remembered the resonance he felt when he uncovered the principle, did it allow him to better understand his power? So do these principles give you a greater understanding, or rather, resonate you with your powers thus allowing you to uncover its mysteries and its underlying mechanisms.
Bethel needed to uncover more principles.
Stretching his hand again, opening a door between him and the wall. He passed through it easily, there wasn't the faint discomfort he felt before when he phased-or rather crossed.
Bethel didn't even change his clothes, and simply jumped into his bed. Though he had slept for a few hours, he was still tired.
He relaxed with his eyes closed in content.
As he drifted off to sleep. Whispers echoed through his mind.
"Save me…Don't Save me…Save me…Don't Save me…Save me…Don't Save me…"
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Chapters 4,5 and 6 on Patreon.com/Lucinziel