The King of the Demonic Heavens understands your concerns.
The King of the Demonic Heavens sponsors 1,000 AP.
"There's a perfect skill for you."
"A perfect... skill?"
I narrowed my eyes. The King of the Demonic Heavens was my contracted Divine Throne, but I still didn't trust him.
Yet I couldn't completely ignore his words. The reason this bastard was so insidious was because he never lied.
If the King of the Demonic Heavens claimed it was a perfect skill, there was a high chance it truly was.
The King of the Demonic Heavens shows you the skill.
Attunement.
Links the target to the designated owner. However, a mark of attunement must be left on the target's body. If the target possesses exceptional physical strength or mental fortitude, the attunement attempt may fail. Complete subjugation of the target guarantees 100% success.
The designated owner can track the location of attuned targets. Attuned targets are incapable of harming their owner. The owner can impose one restriction on each attuned target, which they must strictly obey.
Currently available attunement slots: 0/2.
Type: Skill
Rank: A
"...!"
My mouth dropped open involuntarily.
A skill like this exists?!
Even with the Setting Book for God's Atlantis, this was a skill I'd never seen before. And it was exactly what I needed. With this, I could confidently keep Kasha close and, if she wanted it too, take her to bed without worry.
"...What's the price?"
I asked the King of the Demonic Heavens, suppressing my surging greed.
There was no way the King of the Demonic Heavens would grant me such an extraordinary Skill out of mere goodwill.
As expected, there was a condition.
The King of the Demonic Heavens desires you to undertake a Trial.
The word "Trial" startled me.
Trials were similar to Missions, but offered far greater rewards.
The key difference between Trials and Missions was that while Missions indirectly interfered with Exiles, Trials allowed the Divine Throne to directly intervene.
Direct intervention doesn't necessarily mean chaos. If the Trial isn't legitimate, the System will immediately sanction the Divine Throne.
Having the System didn't eliminate the danger. If the Divine Throne truly intended to kill me through the trial, I would have no choice but to die. Abandoning the trial midway was impossible.
Is the King of the Demonic Heavens trying to kill me with this trial?
No.
The King of the Demonic Heavens had never shown me hostility. On the contrary, he had always been benevolent. Even if his attitude was a facade, I couldn't fathom why he would suddenly want to kill me.
The King of the Demonic Heavens isn't my only contracted Divine Throne. Zeus is also there. He wouldn't just stand by and watch me die from an unfair trial.
Under normal circumstances, I would have refused the trial. The King of the Demonic Heavens was far too suspicious. But the Attunement (A) Skill was something I desperately wanted.
It would be too much of a waste to give up Kasha now.
I stared down at Kasha, naked at my feet. Just looking at her like this made me start to get turned on again.
"...What kind of trial is it?"
The King of the Demonic Heavens has sponsored 1,000 AP.
"A truly excellent trial."
The King of the Demonic Heavens has revealed the trial details.
Ten Thousand Man Kill.
Kill ten thousand humans designated by the King of the Demonic Heavens.
The trial will take place in a space prepared by the King of the Demonic Heavens.
This is a special trial. Time on the Atlantis Continent will not advance while the trial is in progress.
The trial cannot be abandoned once started.
Trial Success Reward: Attunement (A)
Divine Throne Granting the Trial: King of the Demonic Heavens
"..."
The King of the Demonic Heavens, who had been singing about killing people for missions, had finally gone so far as to impose a trial to force me to kill.
This guy must be insane, I thought, but secretly I felt relieved.
Ten thousand? Does he think I can't kill that many if he orders me to? He probably means I have to defeat an enemy of similar strength... If time doesn't flow in Atlantis, there's no reason I can't do it.
He wouldn't summon an overwhelmingly powerful monster and tell me to fight it. Trials require the System's approval, which means it wouldn't accept a trial impossible to complete.
Trusting the System, I said to the King of the Demonic Heavens, "Alright. I accept the trial."
The Golden Collector yawns, bored, and falls asleep.
The Fallen Star giggles.
The King of the Demonic Heavens laughs.
You have accepted the King of the Demonic Heavens' trial: Ten Thousand Man Kill.
"Reviewing the trial. Please wait a moment."
"The trial's rewards have been deemed insufficient."
My brow furrowed.
The King of the Demonic Heavens, who sometimes acted with magnanimity, seemed to be acting rather stingy with this trial.
"Why can't he just splurge on the rewards? Like an SS-Rank Subordinate Skill or something..."
"Proposing to the King of the Demonic Heavens to modify the trial's contents or offer additional rewards."
"The King of the Demonic Heavens is reluctant."
"Proposing to the King of the Demonic Heavens to modify the trial's contents or offer additional rewards."
"The King of the Demonic Heavens accepts the proposal."
"Ten Thousand Man Kill.
Kill ten thousand humans designated by the King of the Demonic Heavens.
The trial will take place in a space prepared by the King of the Demonic Heavens.
This is a special trial. Time on the Atlantis Continent will not advance while the trial is in progress."
You cannot abandon a trial midway.
Trial Success Reward: Attunement (A), permanent stat increases based on progress.
Trial-Granting Divine Throne: King of the Demonic Heavens
"Begin the trial?"
"Wait a moment."
I carefully reviewed the trial information. The content remained unchanged, but a reward had been added. It seemed the trial's objectives hadn't been altered.
Permanent stat increases... Jackpot!
I was genuinely excited to see how much my stats would increase upon completing the trial.
"Hmm... nothing seems out of place. Alright, let's begin."
Trial initiated.
I felt a sensation of being sucked into another dimension.
I found myself standing in the middle of a road leading to a small village. Glancing behind me, I saw a forest path.
I hesitated briefly, wondering which way to go.
I decided to head toward the village. The trial I received from the King of the Demonic Heavens was the Ten Thousand Man Kill a trial requiring me to kill ten thousand people. To kill people, I'd need to go to a village where they lived, wouldn't I?
Ten thousand kills... This reminds me of the Game World from "Kill the Gay King." Back then, I slaughtered billions.
Billions of men were struck by lightning and turned to dust. To be honest, I felt nothing at the time. Guilt? It was just a Game World, and I was a God. Why should I feel such a thing?
This trial is probably fake too.
Kang Myungjin, the protagonist of the original work, also faced trials. His trials involved experiencing historical events from the past. To put it bluntly, the trials were fabricated by the Divine Throne using its power essentially a form of virtual reality. The only problem was that failure in the trials meant real death.
How many people are in that village? About 300? If 300 people band together and resist, it'll be quite a nuisance...
Come to think of it, killing ten thousand people would take at least a few days. Even if I killed a thousand a day, it would still take ten days.
If I set the village on fire, wouldn't they all die?
I wish I could use magic in situations like this. Nothing's as efficient for mass slaughter as magic.
Change the Status Window to Thunderclap Slayer mode...
My thoughts ground to a halt. Something was lying on the road. As I approached, I saw it was a basket.
Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!
The cries of a newborn infant came from within the basket.
Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!
"..."
Logically speaking, what are the chances of encountering an abandoned newborn on a road leading to a village? If this were inside the village, it would be somewhat understandable, but this is outside the village.
If someone wanted to kill the baby, they could simply do it themselves or abandon it in the forest. If they wanted someone to raise the baby, they would leave it in a conspicuous place within the village.
This is too contrived. It must be the King of the Demonic Heavens' doing.
The King of the Demonic Heavens has designated this baby. Kill it.
Ah.
Now that I think about it, the trial information window had stated, "Kill ten thousand humans designated by the King of the Demonic Heavens." It seems that killing humans not designated by the King of the Demonic Heavens won't count towards the trial.
"Fuck. This is going to make the trial take even longer."
I should have realized sooner and confronted the King of the Demonic Heavens about this... I sighed.
The King of the Demonic Heavens urges you: Kill the baby.
"You seem to be mistaken... Just because it's a baby doesn't mean I can't kill it."
I strode toward the loudly wailing infant. After all, this wasn't reality but the Game World. And this baby was likely just a virtual character within it.
I grabbed the basket and hurled it sideways with all my might. There was no need to dirty myself with the baby's blood and entrails by killing it directly.
You have killed 1 person.
The King of the Demonic Heavens rejoices.
The Fallen Star claps its hands.
The Lord of the Heavens glares at the King of the Demonic Heavens, resting his chin in his hand.
I entered the village.
The first to greet me was an old woman sitting on a chair near the village entrance. As soon as she saw me, she grabbed a water jar and a crude wooden cup and hurried over, her voice brimming with warmth.
"Young man... welcome to Mangru! It's been ages since we've had a visitor. We're so glad to have you! You must be thirsty. Here's some cool water drink as much as you like, no charge! It must have been a long journey to reach our village."
"...Is there poison in the water?"
"Ehehe! How could I? What do you take this old woman for? It's pure goodwill! If you don't want to drink the water, I won't force you! But you can't stop me from guiding you through our village. Our village was founded over 200 years ago..."
The old woman began rambling on and on.
The King of the Demonic Heavens commands you: Tear this old woman apart and kill her.
"..."
I frowned deeply. The King of the Demonic Heavens could designate who should be killed, but he had no authority over how they were to be killed. I would not tear this old woman apart.
"Hmm? What's wrong? Did this old woman do something to offend you...?"
The old woman, who had been chattering excitedly, now looked at me with genuine concern, her eyes searching my expression.
I scanned my surroundings and gripped the old woman's neck with one hand.
"Gah?! Ack! Kree! Ack!"
The old woman struggled, but her strength was no match for my grip.
Crack.
I snapped her neck and tossed her into a corner.
You have killed two people.
The King of the Demonic Heavens is greatly pleased.
My worry that the King of the Demonic Heavens might not designate targets proved unfounded. He marked everyone in sight.
"Hwaaaah! P-please spare me! If it's money you want, it's in the drawer here...!"
I punched the burly man in the chest, killing him instantly.
You have killed seven people.
The King of the Demonic Heavens still demands more.
"W-why are you doing this...? We haven't done anything to you... Aaaah!"
A plain housewife died when my fist smashed her face into pieces.
"I've killed 19 people."
"The King of the Demonic Heavens finds the woman's crushed face amusing."
"Hic... I'm sorry! Hic... I'll eat my meals properly and listen to my mother. P-please spare me! Hic... M-Mom...!"
I kicked children playing in the clearing to death.
"I've killed 32 people."
"The King of the Demonic Heavens praises your talent for soccer."
"Stop! Stoooop! Please... please stop... Don't kill the people of my village...!"
The Village Chief's daughter knelt before me, tears streaming down her face as she begged with clasped hands. She was quite a beauty.
"The King of the Demonic Heavens desires to torment this woman."
Perfect timing for my foul mood.
"I have killed 81 people."
I ignored that suggestion and yanked the woman down into the dirt.
"The King of the Demonic Heavens desires to beat this woman to death."
"I have killed 104 people."
"The King of the Demonic Heavens points to the child hiding in the wardrobe."
"I have killed 179 people."
"The King of the Demonic Heavens points under the bed. A girl is trembling there."
"I have killed 244 people."
"I have killed 315 people."
"I have killed 471 people."
I slaughtered every villager.
Though some begged for their lives or tried to flee, not a single one dared to resist me. Guards? There were none in this village.
I could feel the Demonic Heavenly Art stirring within me.
You have reached a certain level of progress. As a reward, your Strength has permanently increased by 1.
I found myself standing in an apartment complex, not a village. The sky was pitch-black, devoid even of the moon. This was the modern world.
I gazed up at the apartment building. The frigid air and the lights flickering through the windows, revealing glimpses of furniture, told me it was around 2 a.m.
Suddenly, my eyes met those of a man smoking on his balcony.
The King of the Demonic Heavens asks: What floor?
I counted the floors from the ground up.
11th floor.
The King of the Demonic Heavens declares the correct answer: 11th floor.
I walked toward the apartment building.