The next morning, the whole world was in a storm; any social media and news had one thing on their front page: a picture of Alexanderia with Ray by her side.
The youngest general finally announced a vice general for himself.
Ray had worn a kimono like Alexanderia in the picture; it was just her, and it showed most of her chest. With his long hair and blue eyes void of any emotion, he had gathered a big fan base around the world.
"How much do you think he paid to gain his position?"
"Dread Lord is one lucky guy."
"He's more like a villain than a proper military soldier."
Usually when one got promoted in the military, they held a conference to tell about their hard work and their future goals to the world. Having the support of people on one's back helped in many situations, yet there was no sign of Ray wanting to do any of that.
After hours of waiting for more information about him, new information leaked from within the military.
Colonel Doko had challenged him to a duel with no magic involved; as a result, he had such severe injuries that he was sent to the hospital.
"Not our colonel..."
"Maybe he paid the colonel too..."
"Colonel's biggest strength is his magic; it's normal for him to be defeated in a fistfight."
The post from Alexandria's official account just in five hours had 3 billion views, with millions of comments adding in each minute.
Meanwhile, Ray himself was bored from the time-consuming process; after ten hours of tests and background checks, he officially was a vice general.
"Even though it's mostly just a title, I'm going to utilize it as best as I can." A vice general was likely around level 7; Ray didn't even have the method yet to increase his level without having sex.
His plan was simple: if he could be Alexandria's favorite, the path would become much easier. "I guess I should show her some of my talents."
Last night, he had gone overboard on Rose because he knew they were being watched. Getting a general's affection was not going to be that easy.
If looking could kill someone, Ray would have died at least a thousand times throughout the day; everyone kept staring at him. After his fight with some stupid person who wanted to show off, it just got worse.
Most of them had their lives dedicated to their jobs, but now someone got into their dreams in an instant.
"Now, only the last step remains." Ray was faced with a wooden door with the word "A" carved into it.
He knocked a few times; after a few seconds, a voice echoed in his mind: "Come in."
There was only one word that Ray could use to describe the room that he stepped in: simple. White walls with a few lamps in the ceiling, plus a table in the middle of the room.
The table's surface was covered with many papers, with Alexanderia's figure barely visible behind them.
"Not so like a general's office, I would say." Ray looked for a place to sit, but there was no chair.
She didn't raise her head and continued reading the paper in front of her as she spoke: "Yeah, I really don't care about that stuff. Are you finished?"
"Yeah." They had told him many times that he held no true power over anyone, and if he wanted to do anything regarding the military, his superior had to approve.
"I'm here for something else."
"I'm all ears."
"One of my biggest interests from my childhood was crafting. As common knowledge, for the current me, it's impossible to craft a pure magic crystal." It was not a lie to some extent; it's just that the part about childhood was more like after his 100th birthday.
Alexanderia said nothing, and Ray continued, "I will just get to the point: lend me your magic, and I will create a death crystal for you."
"Impossible."
Thirty dark crystals came out from Ray's soul, floating in the air around him. "In the worst scenario, you will lose nothing."
She raised her head. "And you will die."
"I trust in my own talents." Dealing with magics that, in their own core, possessed danger, there was always the danger of things going very wrong during the process.
Her eyes narrowed on him; her annual supply of death crystals was only one crystal. Magic crystals were the main source of gaining experience for many people after their level 4, plus they could be used to level up one's weapon.
"How did you get so many dark crystals?"
Ray shrugged. "Money can do wonders."
Dark crystals were the ingredient for crafting magic crystals; for a pure magic crystal, at least twenty dark crystals were needed. And for one dark crystal, about a hundred heart stones were needed.
"Let's say it works; what do you want in return? How often can you do it?"
Ray thought for a second: "If everything goes smoothly, I probably can do it every six months. For my personal payment, this one is as my gratitude for protecting me. Next time, you yourself will gather the ingredients, plus fifty dark crystals."
"That's too absurd. Twenty." Her mind analyzed any possible outcome; that amount of dark crystals could cost billions.
"Forty."
"Twenty."
Ray exchanged a glance with her. "Thirty. Lower, and I will quit."
"Deal."
"The place that we do it is very important too. Due to my level, I already have my own crafting station."
"How do you have a crafting station without anyone noticing?" The whole thing became weirder. The devices needed for a crafting station were all under the control of the military.
"You will understand when you see it."
"When and where?"
Ray took out his phone. "Now, in my tower."
Alexanderia laughed. "You knew I would agree to it."
"There was no reason to pass."
She stood up, and for the first time, Ray saw her uniform up close, a black uniform with long boots and the symbol of a broken sword on her chest.
"Will you teleport us, or should I call for a car?"
The distance between the base and his tower was a two-hour ride; Ray already knew her answer.
Two dark portals appeared above their heads; screams of the dead came out from them. Darkness swallowed his entire world; after a second, they were on the first floor of their tower.
"No what?"
"Be patient, my General..."
With a small knife, he cut the palm of his hand; drops of blood fell on the ground, activating a secret door on the ground.
All the maids' memories were cleared about this place completely, and no one had the permission to go even near it.
Darkness greeted both of them in the underground bunker. Ray pointed at the small entrance: "Ladies first."