The Slums Reek of Opportunity
The moment I arrived in this stinking back alley, a wet splat of black mud hit the ground. The viscous sludge immediately began to bubble and rise, forming a torso like a mannequin before delicate facial features settled into place. The eyes spun wildly. Bones clattered and scraped inside the mud. Muscles tightened with a grinding sound. Then, with heavy thuds, a heart began to beat. From within the filth, a man with a decadent appearance stood up.
“Huu…”
Tight, solid muscles. Jet-black nails and claws that marked me as a demon. I ran my tongue once over my slightly protruding fangs. My body was intact, and the stench assaulting my nose proved my senses were working too. It seemed I had crossed over properly.
The mud that hadn’t fully formed into flesh wriggled once more before my expensive equipment, bought with hard-earned points, materialized over my body. Finally, I pulled the massive black axe that had thrust up from the ground and gave it a spin.
“Huuup… It smells like shit right from the start… Ugh.”
Of all places to open my eyes, it had to be a slum reeking of filth. Did some of it get mixed in when my body was forming? I lifted my arm and sniffed. Thankfully, I didn’t smell.
“So, what now?”
I reopened the mission window.
The Academy — A Small Battlefield
Time Remaining Until Mission Start: 252 Days
— Secure an identity.
— Enroll in the 93rd Victoria Academy.
Hmm… An identity, huh.
I looked around. A street littered with foul-smelling filth. Makeshift shacks built from shabby planks in uneven rows. The people occasionally passing by were filthy and dressed in rags. In the distance, I could see castle walls and an old-fashioned fortress. It looked like a typical medieval fantasy world. In that case, forging an identity shouldn’t be too difficult.
“Then what do I need before enrolling?”
First, some kind of disguise to hide the fact that I’m a demon. Was there anything useful in the shop?
Shop access is restricted while visiting an external world.
“You fucking—”
A sudden surge of curses rose in my throat at the abrupt shop lockdown. Really? They pull this shit now?
I pressed my thumb hard into my brow. Why was the shop blocked? The reason was obvious. It wouldn’t be fun if I could just solve every crisis by shopping. The pattern had always been the same, yet I hadn’t considered it. How careless. To make such a mistake.
With a face full of deep irritation, I swept my left hand across it. What’s done is done. There was no point dwelling on the unchangeable. Let’s reorganize.
What did I need right now? An identity, money, disguise tools, and if possible, a force I could stably control would be ideal.
I spun the axe with a whoosh while thinking, and soon a brilliant idea that could solve everything in one go came to mind.
Where was I? I didn’t know which city, but it was a slum. And where there are slums, there are gangs.
“Turning. Gang.”
The problem was that I didn’t objectively know the extent of my own strength. But someone who could swing a hunk of iron over fifty kilograms like a tree branch was unlikely to lose to some back-alley thugs. One or two stabs could be recovered with my Demon Lifeform trait. This was a sure thing.
Today, I would become a righteous robber!
My plan was simple. First, beat up anyone I saw. Follow the chain upward, take over one gang, and if possible, swallow the entire slum of this city. If I encountered someone too strong, I would execute the Thirty-Six Stratagems. In that case, as the legitimate successor of the Green Forest’s martial arts, I would evolve from robber to bandit. Perfect.
It was a sloppy plan, but it had no gaps. After all, the ultimate plan is always improvisation.
I walked through the slum, spinning the man-sized axe like a pen in one hand. Most of the poor avoided eye contact or turned and ran at the sight of my menacing appearance. I had no use for small fry like them. What mattered now were those who looked connected to a gang. For example—
Those bastards huddled together like dogs, watching me warily. Each had a cute little hand axe or adorable dagger tucked at their waists like they were showing off. Those bipedal pigs whose arms were thick with fat. Ah, we made eye contact.
How should I approach this for maximum fun? After less than a second of thought, I drew a gentle arc at the corner of my mouth and waved my left hand in greeting. At the same time, with my right hand, I stopped spinning the axe and released a pitch-black aura from it. A menacing aura that clearly said I would split their skulls if they ran.
“Hey, friends. Good morning, afternoon, and evening. Business going well these days?”
“Uh, y-yeah… Well, you know, moderately.”
My friendly attitude seemed to cause a brief lag in their brains. The biggest fatty among the group stuttered in reply. The others didn’t know how to take it either, so they kept reaching for their weapons, pulling their hands back, stepping backward then forward again. They looked incredibly busy.
“Reeeally? I’m not doing so well, though?”
“…Oh, shit.”
“To think you’d mock me… This is just too sad, isn’t it?”
The moment my attitude flipped, the group of piggies finally realized they were fucked and tried to run. A few of them, whether brave or just reckless, reached for the weapons at their waists. Their judgment was dull and slow. I couldn’t tolerate anyone trying to survive with such pathetic decision-making.
Taishan Giant Strength Axe, Second Form — Horizontal Slash.
The horizontal strike caused the two closest lumps to slide apart from the waist down. The power exceeded my expectations, and the corner of my mouth twitched.
“Friends? If you run, you all die, okay?”
I should have said, “Even falling is so slow,” at a time like this. These things always come to me too late. I clicked my tongue in regret and shook the blood off my axe onto the piggies.
“Now then, shall we have an honest conversation about how much money you have in your pockets?”
“So you’re saying I’m at the Expert level?”
“Y-yes, sir. That’s correct.”
I had no hobby of stripping men naked, so I listened to the explanation from the piggy wearing only his underwear, turning it over in my mind.
It seemed this world classified human strength into four stages. The stage where one could sense basic mana—Starter. The stage where one could properly manipulate mana within the body—User. The stage where one could project mana onto weapons—Expert. And the stage where one could enforce their own laws upon the world—Master.
Since I could draw aura from my axe, I was an Expert. Apparently, that put me on the level of the knight commander of this city, Marjanta. Besides me and the knight commander, there were no other Experts in this city.
“Then where is the organization you belong to, and how many members does it have?”
“Ah… that…”
Thwack.
I swung the axe roughly and cut the trembling lump beside him in half before asking again.
“The organization’s location and numbers?”
“U-uh…”
“How many comrades and their deployment?”
Ah, this was fun. I wasn’t sure if it was right to enjoy slicing humans apart, but whatever. I’d be doing a lot more of it from now on.
Today, as always, the peaceful city of Marjanta was home to the peaceful slum organization called the Eight Arms, which engaged in peaceful extortion, tribute collection, and kidnapping. In a small city like this where only the knight commander was an Expert, major incidents rarely occurred.
Sword User Paldun, who had boldly engraved his organization’s name into his own, was enjoying his usual hobby in his hideout.
“Now, who did you say you were?”
“I am… the daughter of Mandolo Cranes, master of the Mandolo Merchant Guild… Iria Cranes.”
“As expected of a nouveau riche girl, you’ve got some nice flesh on you.”
“Eek…!”
Paldun grabbed Iria’s bare nipple tightly and shook it. Unable to cover herself or resist, Iria hung her head low, biting her lower lip hard in shame as she endured.
“You should have been more careful when walking around.”
“Ahh…”
“Didn’t your father tell you to only use the main roads?”
“Uuu…”
When Paldun’s hand slid downward and stroked her tightly closed mound, Iria’s body trembled violently and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Ah, it’s a shame I can’t taste a premium product like this. Lucky for you, right?”
“Hic… sob…”
Slap!
Paldun’s hand struck Iria’s cheek. Her head whipped to the side and her cheek swelled instantly.
“Answer me.”
“Sob… Y-yes, yes…”
“Since I’ve shown you mercy, isn’t it only right that you repay me?”
“Yes…”
The sound of a buckle being undone made Iria’s shoulders flinch. From the shabby pants that slid down came a black, foul-smelling cock that rose up. Iria instinctively stepped backward.
Slap!
After another slap sent her to the floor, Paldun grabbed her by the hair, dragged her over, sat on the sofa, and shoved her face in front of his cock.
“If you want to repay me, start sucking.”
“P-please… forgive me…”
“This bitch still hasn’t come to her—”
Paldun’s hand rose once more. The moment Iria instinctively curled up—
BANG!!!
A vibration that shook the entire building stopped Paldun in his tracks.
“Kyaah!”
“Stop them! Fuck, stop them!”
“Boss! Call the boss!!”
The desperate screams that followed made Paldun’s face crumple instantly.
“Goddamn it, I was just about to have some fun!”
He shot up from his seat, thought for a moment, then—
Thud!
He kicked Iria.
“Aaaah!!”
“It’d be annoying if you tried to run. Tsk, guess I won’t be getting my money’s worth.”
Paldun left without even pulling up his pants, grabbing his sword and heading downstairs. Iria remained on the floor, sobbing quietly.
The fear of not knowing what would happen to her. The anxiety of possibly being sold off. She wanted to see her father’s face again.
“What the hell? Why is this bastard charging at me with a hard-on?”
“Fuck! Why is there an Expert here?!”
“How should I know, you idiot? As a righteous bandit of the Green Forest, I’m confiscating everything you own.”
“What the fuck are you—KYAAAAH!”
That voice just now… It definitely belonged to the man named Paldun. Had the man who killed the guards died? Without putting up any real resistance?
Iria’s body shook violently. She was completely naked, without a single thread covering her. This was the slums, and outside was a monster who had single-handedly wiped out a slum organization. If she was lucky, she would be raped, tormented, and sold. If unlucky, she would be killed on the spot.
Knock. Knock knock. Knock. Knock.
At the sound of knocking, Iria’s body shrank in on itself. Please, please just go away. There’s no one here, so please.
“Wanna~ build a snowman with me~?”
The voice was so cheerful it bordered on playful. Iria felt a chill run down her spine and covered her mouth. She clenched her jaw tightly so no sobs would leak through her teeth.
“Hmm… Is no one there?”
When no answer came, the monster paced in front of the door for a few minutes before turning away. Thank goodness. I wasn’t discovered. Once that monster leaves, I’ll find my clothes and escape the slums. If I can just run to Father and cry in his arms, I can forget all of this.
The moment Iria’s tension unconsciously loosened—
CRACK!
A massive axe blade suddenly smashed through the door.
Shiiiing… Drip.
“Ah… Uwaa…”
Caught off guard while relaxed, the strength left her lower body and she wet herself. She had made a sound. Iria’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.
The axe blade slid back out. Through the gaping hole in the wooden door, a pair of gleaming golden eyes peered inside and soon met Iria’s gaze.
“Heeeere’s Johnny!!”
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
The stress she had endured to its limit, combined with the incoming terror, proved too much. Iria couldn’t hold on any longer and lost consciousness.