Lucien opened his eyes slowly.
The first thing he saw was a gray sky, without fire or smoke, covered by a faint mist that let the light through.
He was lying on damp earth.
The smell of the place was different.
There was no blood or ash.
He stood up slowly.
He looked around.
It seemed he was in a forest.
But this one looked very different from the forests full of blood and lava he was used to.
This one looked more "normal."
Tall trees, thick roots, leaves of a dull green.
It did not look like the same hell he remembered.
For the first time in a long while, the wind did not burn.
It was then that he remembered the conversation with Beelzebub.
Religious books were the kind of books most commonly found, and also the cheapest.
Because of this, it was common to find them on the street, or even to be given them by the highly religious people of the neighborhood.
Those, and some educational books on language, mathematics, and biology that he borrowed from the public school in the neighborhood, were the only kinds of books he had ever read.
That is why Lucien was aware of the name Beelzebub and what it meant for the infernal hierarchy.
Remembering that he had stood face to face with such an existence…
his body could not help but tense involuntarily.
He looked at his torso.
The clothes he was wearing were not the same as before.
In the Land of the Condemned he always awoke with the same clothes he had died in, but once he had stopped dying, his clothes ended up destroyed after every fight.
That was why he wore the hides of the beasts he hunted.
It was the most practical.
After all, once he reached a certain level, it was quite easy to tear the skin of weak beasts with his bare hands.
But now he was not even wearing his original clothes.
Now he wore a fitted white shirt, with dark buttons that shone with a metallic reflection.
Over it, a black vest with golden details that looked hand-embroidered.
The pants were the same color, and the boots, of polished leather, fit perfectly to his legs.
The outfit resembled what a noble of the Victorian era would wear, though of course Lucien was not aware of this.
Before he could think of anything else, a bluish light appeared before his eyes.
It was the status window.
But it was not the same as before.
Name: Lucien
Species: Demon
Class: Common
Physical stats:
Strength: 32
Speed: 29
Agility: 28
Endurance: 30 +3
(45 upgrade points to assign)
Special stats:
Mana: 15
Wisdom: 6
Swordsmanship: 50
Specialty: Swordsman
Skills:
Infernal Fire lv 1
Equipment:
Sword: Foetida
Clothing: Zebul
Level: 50
Zone: Pandemonium
HP: 200
Lucien stared at the window, astonished by the number of new things that appeared.
Everything seemed much more complex than before.
It seemed Beelzebub had told the truth.
Lucien was no longer a tormented soul, but a demon.
He began to read calmly.
Mana and Wisdom.
He did not quite understand what they meant.
This was not strange.
After all, when he was human he had never seen or read any fantasy series, much less played a video game.
He only relates concepts like magic of some children's shows he sometimes watched on the small television in his house, which only had access to public channels.
He moved on to his Swordsmanship stat.
The number was high.
It did not surprise him.
He had spent centuries fighting, killing beasts with a sword.
It was logical that this was reflected.
He kept reading until he reached the Equipment section.
Sword: Foetida
Lucien lowered his gaze.
The sword hung from his belt.
It seemed he had kept it even after ascending.
"So your name is Foetida," he said softly, with a small smile on his lips.
The instant he pronounced the sword's name, the window changed.
Foetida:
(Gift of the Lord of the Flies)
(Status: Excellent)
(Durability: 670)
(Edge: 500)
(Effect: each time this weapon pierces the enemy's skin, it will absorb their blood until they are left dry.)
(Secondary effect: When blood is absorbed, toxins are released that reduce the enemy's resistance.)
Lucien read everything in surprise.
Apparently he had kept it because Beelzebub willed it so.
Lucien had mixed feelings about him...
Despite being one of the most important demons, and therefore considered one of the greatest sources of evil on earth…
He could not deny that he had helped him a great deal.
"Although I cannot be naive, I very much doubt a demon would lend his help without a reason. I will have to prepare for the consequences of this help."
He also noticed that the window seemed to give much more information than before.
He tried saying aloud each item that appeared.
Each time he said the name of a stat, the window changed, showing its description.
Although most of the information about his physical stats he already intuited.
However, when it came to other things:
Clothing:
Zebul:
(Gift of the Lord of the Flies)
(Status: Excellent)
(Effect: reduces by 20% the damage of mana-based skills directed at the user and increases the power of his own by 5%.)
(Secondary effect: increases the user's physical endurance by 3 points.)
Lucien looked at his black vest.
It did not look like armor, but its presence felt dense, almost alive.
Then he opened the "Mana" .
Mana:
(Stat that measures the user's internal energy. Allows the execution of demonic skills.)
"I see, so that's mana. Now let's see wisdom."
Wisdom:
(Stat that measures the user's understanding of the demonic arts. Certain skills require a minimum level of wisdom to be used.)
Lucien nodded.
"It seems that to use these skills it will be important to increase mana and wisdom."
He was not familiar with the term HP either, so he also checked the information.
Health Points:
(Quantification of the user's health, if the number reaches 0 it will mean death)
"Basically it represents my life… I hope I can increase it at some point."
Finally he looked at his only skill, "Infernal Fire."
Infernal Fire:
(Basic skill of every demon.)
(Allows the user to launch a fireball with his hands.)
(Minimum mana required: 2 points)
Lucien raised his hand.
He did not know whether he should say the name or simply think it.
First he tried aloud.
Nothing.
Then he closed his eyes and tried to imagine it.
The air around his palm heated.
A fireball emerged from his hand, bright and stable.
Lucien threw it without thinking.
The flame struck a tree and split it in two.
The sound was dry.
The trunk fell with a dull thud.
Lucien watched the smoke rising from the wood.
It had been easy.
Almost natural.
Like walking.
He smiled faintly.
"I suppose this is what they meant by the basic skill of every demon. Even though I had never done it, it was instinctive."
He opened the status window again.
He had 45 points to assign.
He tried to put some into his special stats, but the system responded with a message.
(Upgrade points can only be assigned to physical stats.)
Lucien sighed.
"Then how do I increase the others?"
No one answered.
"Typical."
He decided to leave the question for later and assign the points as always.
He distributed the values evenly.
Strength: 41
Speed: 40
Agility: 40
Endurance: 41 +3
When he finished, he closed the window.
Silence returned to the forest.
He walked.
He did not know where, but something inside him told him where he had to go .
It was like an inner compass.
For hours he followed a natural path among the trees until the landscape began to open.
The ground changed from earth to stone.
And then he saw it.
In front of him, in the distance, rose black walls, so high they hid part of the sky.
Towers of dark metal, red lights on the walls, and an immense structure that extended beyond his sight.
Lucien stopped.
What lay before him seemed to be a kind of city.
If someone had asked him how he imagined the capital of hell, he would have thought of fire, chaos, and ruins.
But this was different.
Power.
Magnificence.
Divinity.
This was Pandemonium.
The heart of hell.
Lucien took another step, unable to look away.
For the first time in centuries, he felt something new.
Not fear.
Just expectation.