[Notice: you have wiped out a full party.]
[20,000 exp has been obtained.]
The most he had ever gotten since he arrived in the game.
Kai stood at the center of the room, no longer in his humanoid form.
He had reverted back to his monster body—twirling mist and a red glowing orb pulsing at the center of his chest.
Right before him, like a macabre buffet, lay the shattered corpses of the players Lyra had killed in his stead.
As soon as he gave the order, he watched as Lyra snapped her fingers. A massive shockwave erupted, shattering the bones in their bodies like glass. The sound echoed through the chamber—sharp cracks followed by dull thuds.
Hell, if he hadn't turned into his monster form before she did that, his subjects would have seen the noticeable damage on his skin.
All that remained were the skins of their game characters, perfectly laid before Kai, just waiting for him to devour them.
Lyra stood at the side, positioned right in front of the group of knight skeleton monsters. Most of them already had their levels increased just from the fight that took place.
Kai stared at the corpses for a while, noticing the shimmering light at the edges, indicating they were already set to disappear from the game.
'Here I thought I would watch her fight so I could finally gauge her strength. I did try to go through all her skills, but there were way too many. I gave up halfway.'
He kept his eyes on the corpses.
'But if she can easily kill this many players with just the snap of her fingers, then she's a walking time bomb. The only thing holding her together is her loyalty towards me. Loyalty alone isn't enough to guarantee anything, sadly. I need to be feared as well.'
Kai kept his gaze steady on the five corpses, wondering if there was any way he could accomplish a feat to prove himself stronger.
A one-on-one combat would most likely end in his loss. But then again, as it stood, fighting him would probably be the last thing on her mind.
He sighed internally.
'Let's get this over with. Then I check the forum once again.'
Stretching his hands forward, he began. A gust of dark mist whooshed out of his palm, covering the entire dead bodies before him like a shroud.
[Notice: You have devoured five players.]
[All skills and attributes have been gained.]
The first thing Kai noticed were the memories he suddenly inherited from the individuals he swallowed.
From what he could tell, most of the memories he received were mainly from their in-game characters and nothing of who they were in the real world.
Memories—fighting techniques, places visited, strategies employed—all etched themselves into Kai's brain in less than a moment. The information flooded in, sharp and immediate.
And if that wasn't enough, due to the fact he figured out how to manipulate his form, he gained a new blessing from the system as well via his dungeon blessing skills.
[You have gained a new blessing.]
[All Master:] All orders shall be carried out just at the glance of your eyes. Those who look into the deep red abyss will be forced to carry out your orders.
Kai stared at the notification for a while. The skill already piqued his interest in less than a few seconds.
So much so that the other notifications coming in felt like mere noise.
[You have gained new skills.]
[Tracker:] This skill allows you to scan for anything 100m away.
[Second Healer:] You can heal minimal injuries of those around you.
[Aim Lock:] You can lock your ability onto a single player regardless of position or distance.
[Barrier Magic:] You are now able to summon a large barrier to protect yourself.
Staring at the skills, Kai made sure to keep a calm composure on the outside.
Then, internally—
'Holy fuck.'
He slightly looked at Lyra, who of course immediately tilted her head to the side, wondering why her lord was suddenly looking at her so intently.
'I got a new blessing that lets me grant orders? And it doesn't seem to have any type of restriction. I know I should probably question the convenience of this, but who am I to judge the game. This is exactly what I need to cement my reign as lord here.'
Without uttering a single word to her, Kai turned around, walked back to his throne, and then settled comfortably on the chair.
The stone was cold beneath him, but familiar now.
Once he was seated, he finally spoke.
"Knight skeletons, excuse yourselves. I would like to have a word with Lyra."
The knights acted without hesitation, marching out of the room in synchronized steps. The door closed with a heavy thud right after.
Now, Lyra was the only one standing before Kai, her arms positioned right in front of her as a sign of respect.
"My lord, is there a problem?"
Silence.
'Dammit, what order should I give her? It needs to be something she doesn't ever see herself doing, but she has no choice but to do it anyway.'
Then an idea struck him.
"Do you trust me?"
Lyra seemed a bit confused by the question.
"Of course, my lord."
"The first time you arrived in this world, you seemed disgusted by my mere presence."
"That was only because I didn't know what you were, my lord. An ignorance on my part."
Kai shifted his seating position, leaning forward slightly.
"So you see me as something more now?"
"That is correct, my lord."
"I will decide that for myself."
Lyra's expression almost shifted into a frown, but it wasn't from anger. Rather curiosity and doubt.
"My lord, forgive me for saying this, but do you doubt my loyalty?"
There was silence for a while.
The air between them grew heavy.
"No. But authority remains authority."
As always, his words meant no sense to her, and had her trying to understand the deeper meaning behind it.
Suddenly, Kai's eyes glowed with an intense red light. The light instantly reflected in Lyra's eyes, piercing through whatever defenses she might have had.
It felt like her body had gone numb, just waiting for her brain to give her the orders she needed before she could do a single thing.
Her limbs felt distant.
Foreign.
Not her own.
"Lyra, I, the Shadow of Victims, command you—kill yourself."
...
[A/N]
I would like us to do a new challange next week.
25 powerstones = 1 extra chapter at the end of the week.
50 powerstones = 2 chapters at the end of the week.