Black Market Diablo Fantasy

The game I'd transmigrated into made raising ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stats anything but easy. Characters were bound by fixed limit values, and extraneous factors like luck or traits exerted a heavy influence. Even downing a hidden piece like the Elixir of Myriad Forms would only boost your stats by around 10 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if you got lucky.

Stat growth was brutally demanding, yet the requirements were endless—maybe that's why the game's difficulty was utterly shattered.

"Master... You're really gonna do it?"

"Obviously. Can't just toss out something this precious."

Ignoring Lilia's worried gaze fixed intently on me from the side, I uncapped the glass vial.

Pop!

Hmm. A thick, cloying stench of blood assaulted my nostrils. No helping it—raw and unprocessed as it was.

Unicorn's curse? None of my business. Compared to the effects, that was a bargain.

Gulp.

I forced my mouth open and poured the viscous fresh blood straight down my throat. It was liquid, sure, but it clung disgustingly to my gullet like sticky sludge. At the same time, my limbs began to tremble uncontrollably—was this something I shouldn't have eaten?

Blue windows popped up one after another before my eyes, but I had no time to pay them any mind right now.

Ugh... blech...!

I wanted to spit it out immediately, but that would just waste the money. I squeezed my eyes shut and collapsed to the floor.

A unicorn's blood could boost a wide array of stats: stamina, strength, agility, mana, holy power. A rare elixir that raised a whopping five different ones.

And with my talents, I could squeeze out 120% efficiency.

"Ah, this is really no good..."

My stomach churned so badly I wondered if it needed processing first. Unable to hold back any longer, I toppled over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠onto the ground—

A welcome message floated up before me.

This is huge. Averaging over 40.

Right after breaking the curse, it had only been +20. Massive progress.

The mana stat change was especially...

"Master. Your mana feels like it's surpassing 4th Circle now, doesn't it?"

"Yup, yup. Just a little potion boost."

Now, all I needed was the resolve, and I could ascend to 4th Circle. With my 3rd Circle foundation perfectly solidified.

It was finally time.

Of course.

"But first, check this out."

I pulled out the precious stone chunk I'd stashed away. Cracked in places, it might look like ordinary rubble, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Something like this, I think.

Using fragments basically required an expert. They didn't follow standard magic systems—runes were key.

"Piest."

I swished my finger through the air, and the fragment began to glow.

"Master, you can do that too?"

"Pretty cool, huh?"

Even I was amazed. Honestly, I hadn't expected it to work and planned to ask Lilia. But it was too easy.

Reactions stirred within my body already.

"Lilia."

"Yeah?"

"Mind handling from here?"

In the game, it auto-activated after this point. I had no clue how to use it in reality.

But I had the top magic instructor right here.

"What? You freed me but don't know how to use it?"

"Pretty much?"

"Hmm... Then close your eyes and stay still."

At Lilia's words, I slowly shut my eyes.

A foreign something seeped into my body. And a faint pain etched itself into the circles at my heart's core.

Vrrrrm!!!

Mana boiled within me. The once-rampaging Circle of Torrents calmed like the sea before a storm, then reignited like a discharged battery.

"You're holding up well? This hurts more than you'd think."

"Really? Feels tolerable."

"Engraving into a circle... How could it not? You're not circle-less like me."

I'd never dwelled deeply on that. No reason to.

More importantly...

As the trusty blue window confirmed, an alien power stirred within me. Distinct from my existing mana, it felt independently controllable.

This must be the lightning.

Just what I needed—my attack power was lacking.

Dodging or nullifying defense was simple enough. But raw firepower had always been the issue, and this would fill the gap nicely.

Lightning attributes poured everything into offense.

Crackle! Zap!!

Just a light surge of mana, and dark-red sparks danced across my body.

This was plenty of prep.

"4th Circle. Here I come."

I declared it to Lilia, who watched from the bed, then sat cross-legged on the floor.

I stood at the brink of 3rd Circle. Crossing from end to start wasn't easy by any means.

Far harder than start to end.

Vrrrrm.

I gently closed my eyes and settled my mind. Felt the mana flowing through my body, then honed in on the heart's circles.

Three rings orbiting my heart. And now.

I forged a fourth.

"Inhale."

Entering immersion, I concentrated my body's mana toward my heart.

Normally, you'd just shape the gathered mana into a ring. But with the fragment, that halved the effect.

The key is syncing lightning with mana.

Where Circle of Torrents once clashed mana against mana.

Now, mana clashed with lightning to circulate.

I ignored the whispers in my ear and breathed slowly. The pain dwarfed my first circle formation, but...

Endure. Endurance raises completion quality.

No complacency here. No more being overlooked.

"Nngh..."

Bearing the dizzying pain, I sank into the mana.

When the boundary between mana and lightning blurred.

A hazy sensation washed over me, like deep underwater.

Ah, this...

Dreamy.

*****

Lilishbea, firmly in the ranks of great demons—Lilia watched her current master, Dante.

No matter how I look at it, he doesn't seem human at all.

The one who subjugated her through an unknowable true name, beyond even fellow demons. And right after, that alien power she'd sensed.

No way a human could possess that.

...Did he lose consciousness in immersion?

Worried, she hurriedly rose from the bed to check on Dante.

Dante's death meant Lilia's end. Even after millennia, she had no desire to vanish.

"Ah. Good, he's fine."

Dante had completed it, then blacked out from exhaustion. Just fatigue-induced collapse.

Not stamina shortage... Overambition, maybe.

No matter how near-perfect, a human vessel had limits. Packing a ferocious circle, aggressive lightning, and even holy power into it?

One upheaval was predictably grueling.

"Master."

"........."

"Hey."

"........."

No response, naturally.

She called him "Master" endlessly, but...

Doesn't sit right.

A great demon like Lilishbea calling someone "Master"? Absurd.

"Dante."

"........."

She closely examined his sleeping face. Porcelain skin harmonizing with perfect features. Gray hair capping near-flawless beauty.

Yeah. No ordinary human.

"How are you more demonic than me?"

Was he secretly an incubus? Humans didn't look like this. Even the Throne of Lust fell short.

She, a demon, had nearly fallen for it. Seemed a few women already had.

Amazing, Dante.

Undeniably human flesh. How to describe it? Like he'd shattered the god-ordained human limits.

Those absurd talents too.

Body, magic, even holy power. Treating himself like an external calculator to wield super-circle magic? Ridiculous.

Lilia—great demon Lilishbea—for the first time in millennia, felt intense fascination toward a human.

Her first subjugator. Her master.

The transmigrator, Dante Vergilius.

"This is fun, Master."

She simply waited for her soundly sleeping master to awaken.