The palace was silent, yet Mike could feel the weight of the Demon King's gaze pressing down on him.
One look alone had terrified him into submission.
Without thinking, he fell to his knees, bowing deeply.
The Demon King exhaled slowly, a faint hiss of air.
"Who are you? Your scent… it is human."
Mike's head remained on the floor, completely submissive.
He could not speak, not even a whisper.
The Demon King's gaze burned into him like fire.
"Take him for execution," the Demon King commanded.
Mike froze. Fear shot through him as he was struck across the head repeatedly, each blow sending sharp pain through his skull.
SYSTEM
-2 HP
[You are near death]
Blood trickled across his face, but he shouted through gritted teeth,
"My lord! I swear to obey your orders as a slave. But if you kill me today, famine and death in the Dark Territory will only worsen!"
He spoke with an unexpected confidence, his face intimidating despite his weak state.
The Demon King paused, stopping the guards moving toward him. Mike smiled inwardly.
"Human… you have courage. You are lucky. You are the only human here; killing you today would be wasteful. Guards! take him with you."
The guards obeyed, dragging Mike away. The Demon King muttered to himself,
"Could he be right about the famine…?"
In the meantime, Mike found himself in a cage. Though weak, he ran his fingers through his hair and grinned.
"I'm a genius," he muttered, a malicious smile curling across his face.
"They are fools… I'll exploit them all, one lie after another."
He did not realize that ninety percent of what he said was true; his life had hung by a thread.
SYSTEM
HP: 1/3
In a fantasy world of dragons, demons, and mystical creatures, Mike was the unlucky human the only slave in the Dark Territory. Famine plagued the land, especially under the Demon King's rule.
A man in dirty white clothes, with light-yellow hair, red eyes, and pale skin, knelt in the sun, his jaw clenched as hunger gnawed at him.
"I'm going to starve… at this rate…"
He began hallucinating, seeing food on the ground. Desperate, he tried to eat it but it was hot and inedible.
"This isn't my life… I was rich, I could eat whatever I wanted… now even this is impossible!"
Mike had been summoned into this world on the day of his wedding. Once the richest man in Africa, his death had been reported as overindulgence in food.
The truth: he had been transported to another world, weak, surrounded by foolish demons.
SYSTEM
•Power: -1
•Force: -1
•Speed: -1
•Agility: -1
•Class: None
A demon approached, pointing to Mike.
"We can eat this human."
Mike's grin widened, his face twisting into a joker-like expression.
"I am the Demon Lord's slave," he said gleefully. The demons froze and fled.
The next morning, after a long night in the cage, a succubus named Neva, in charge of slaves, approached. Mike moved quickly in front of her, bowing deeply.
Neva scowled at the sight of a living human. She raised her rope a special tool for disciplining slaves.
SYSTEM
-2 HP
Mike bowed lower, knowing that one wrong move could kill him.
"Please… don't hit me! I can help in many ways. I know a lot, even how to increase worker efficiency… I can farm too!"
Neva laughed, gripping the rope.
"Farming… here in the Dark Territory? Are you serious?"
Mike said nothing, but his expression told the truth. Neva considered him for a moment.
"You have twenty days," she said.
Even she doubted he could succeed but if it were possible, it might save thousands of demons.
She hoped the famine would end.
…To be continued
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