[Author's Note: Asmodeus will use his new name from henceforth]
---
On the very first day of his rebirth, Miles was quick to understand the Demon Lord's intentions. While he promised to help them regain their damaged primal souls, the sneaky bastard had failed to mention the price they had to pay for this help—accomplishing tasks in exchange for his assistance.
This was basically imposing forced labor on people who had already agreed to help for free, just because you're an obnoxious bastard who likes being in control of every situation.
No mission, no experience points, and in turn, no aid.
With his birth, he had already received the task to find out more about the current state of the world. The previous information the system fed him was a summary of this world's history and had nothing to do with the present or the possible future.
Unfortunately, Miles was still a child. He could not speak or move. He could only gather information through the maids, who gossiped a lot while taking care of him. From what he learned, they were currently living in the western province of Domus—which he soon learned meant Home.
Remnants of humanity had built a megacity surrounded by towering walls and protected by a barrier to keep them safe from the void creatures. This city, considered humanity's last hope, had managed to keep them safe for centuries—making it deserving of the name.
From what he heard, Miles came to understand that the Tudor family had ruled as governors of the western province for a decade, earning their place as one of the most powerful and influential families in the country. This reflected in his life, as he was only given the best at all times.
Influential and political figures from other provinces visited to see the newborn of the Tudor family, whom they already nicknamed the laughing heir. Rumors of his reaction during birth had spread, making him the talk of the town for over a year.
At the age of one, Miles could speak fluently and walk properly. Upon realizing this, Robert Tudor fetched the best tutors to teach him everything they could. His intelligence and ability to grasp anything stunned his tutors, leaving them with nothing but words of praise.
He was a genius—and this excited his family. What they didn't know was that this child was one of the Seven Princes of the Underworld, a being that had existed for over ten thousand years.
Soon, Miles came to learn more about his family. In this world, people with talents were the most valued, but the Tudor family didn't have any talent users among them. He always questioned how such a family had climbed the social ladder. That was until his father handed him the Tudor family biography on his second birthday and asked him to read it.
The Tudor family was a family of scientists who had created revolutionary inventions that allowed people to harness the power of Gnosis and fight back against void creatures even without talents. However, it was the Gno-static Rifle that earned them global recognition.
It was a weapon that fired compressed, lethal Gnosis energy in place of bullets. This weapon changed the game for humanity and allowed them to conquer a good portion of the land on which the country was built.
Robert Tudor was the youngest son of the ancient Tudor family, who decided to take a different route in life and become a politician. His success so far was still largely attributed to his family's fame; however, only Miles and those within the Tudor household knew of the bad relationship between Robert Tudor and the rest of his family.
Not only were they against his political career, but they also disapproved of his wife. That was why, since his birth, Miles had never set eyes on his relatives.
The most shocking revelation he got from reading the family biography was finding out that he was born into an atheist family that wanted nothing to do with the Church of the Seer—probably because they were more science-inclined.
Three years since his birth, he lived without ever making contact with his target. Within this time frame, Miles gathered enough information to reach the 2% threshold, granting him his first 100 experience points—instantly leveling up upon reaching the requirements.
"Happy birthday to youuuu!"
Robert, Elizabeth, and some servants chorused while Miles stared blankly at the cake with four burning candles. This was his fourth birthday, and apart from his first, the rest had been as lowkey as this one.
"Make a wish! Blow out the candles!"
Miles was lost in thought as he glared at his stats, genuine curiosity flickering in his eyes.
---
Name: Asmodeus
Mortal Name: Miles Tudor
Sin: Lust
Level: 1 [1 Unused Point]
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 30
Health Points: 5/5
Energy Points: 5/5
Stamina: 10
Fleshcraft: 0%
Primal Soul: 0.1% (Recovery in progress)
Elder Arts/Arcana: 40%
Skill:
Fox Fire (Active)
Mission Status:
Gather Information on This World (2% complete)
Time Limit: Nil
---
By leveling up, his primal soul had been restored by 0.1%, surprisingly granting him a few energy points and access to his oldest—and arguably favorite—skill, Fox Fire.
'With my damaged primal soul, Fox Fire's capabilities should have diminished greatly,' he lamented.
It took him four years just to recover 0.1% of his primal soul. How long would it take before he could make significant progress?
"Are you okay, baby?"
Elizabeth's worried words snapped Miles out of his reverie, reminding him he was not alone. He gave a brief nod before blowing out the candles.
Everyone cheered—except Miles, who returned his attention to his stats. Upon leveling up, he had gained one stat and one talent point. He quickly assigned the talent point to his primal soul, which led to the awakening of this ability. That led him to believe if the talent point were invested in his Fleshcraft, he would awaken a portion of his ancient martial arts.
"Miles, make a wish," Robert said, pulling his attention back.
"Newspapers. All the newspapers since this year."
Miles' request sounded more like a demand.
His strange request left everyone stunned. They exchanged confused glances, wondering if they heard right. What four-year-old would want newspapers as a birthday gift?
"A-are you sure?" a servant asked, and Miles turned his attention to her.
"Did I stutter?" he retorted, though his childish tone made his words sound less offensive.
If he wanted to get stronger fast, he needed more experience points to level up. To gain more experience points, he needed more information as the system requested. The fastest way to acquire that information was through news.
The logic was so simple that Miles was furious he hadn't thought of it sooner.
---
The rest of the birthday party went on without a hitch. Everyone ate tasty meals and lots of cake. Miles had a little before returning to his room, where nearly a hundred newspapers were piled up next to his reading desk.
He never fancied human food. Only their alcohol was enough to excite him—but he was too young to drink. Miles could only endure, waiting for the day he would turn sixteen and become legally old enough to drink beer.
Domus Talent Academy records the highest ever admittance this year.
Central province produces the most talented students for the tenth time in a row.
Expedition beyond the walls fails woefully, leaving 7 champions and 30 military personnel dead, and several others missing.
Tudor family influence plummets amidst the rise of the Martin family.
Muller Martin runs for governor with an approval rating of 45%. Robert Tudor has finally met his match.
The Martin family's Gno-skeleton suit, a game changer in the war against void creatures.
Smart, devoted, innovative, ambitious, and talented—the Martin family has proven superior to the Tudors in every way.
The Preacher acknowledges Muller as the next governor of the western province.
Breaking news: Muller's approval rate skyrockets to an all-time high of 70% with the unveiling of the exo-skeleton prototype. Could this be the end of Robert Tudor's reelection bid?
One after the other, Miles took his time to go through every single newspaper brought in, and he could only chuckle as the current world situation unfolded before his eyes. The Tudor family was busy bearing daggers against each other while another family aimed to replace them in the spotlight.
There were many other important topics, but the Tudor reelection bid was the most interesting for Miles. According to what he knew, once elected, a province governor served for ten full years. He was born in the sixth year of Robert's second tenure, and his fourth birthday marked the tenth year of that tenure.
It was September 21st, and the election would take place in March of the following year—leaving his mortal father with less than a year to fix his image and regain control of the election.
"He will lose," Miles concluded after putting everything he had seen so far into consideration.
Unless Robert planned to rig the election, he was bound to lose.
Ding!
An annoying bell rang in his head as a series of messages popped up.
---
Mission Status:
Gather Information on This World (10% complete)
+800 experience points
Level up?
Sub-task acquired:
Help Robert Tudor win the election.
Reward: 200 experience points and 1 talent point
---
"Just two hundred? That stingy old bastard." Miles raised an eyebrow, visible disgust on his face.
For every 2% of information gained, he was awarded 100 experience points. Small, but Miles didn't complain—since he would gain a total of 10,000 experience points from the entire ordeal. However, asking him to help tip the election in Robert's favor, in a four-year-old body, for only 200 experience points?
That was pure exploitation.
The Demon Lord was just too shameless.