Pushing open the door, Bethel strode inside the shop. The disappointment of yesterday was long forgotten, and he was ready to embrace new possibilities.
As he stepped inside, he witnessed the old lady gazing at a letter with unwavering attention. Curious, but he did not see the need to walk behind her to read what was written.
Standing in front, waiting for her to finish reading it so he could get today's work.
The old lady snorted disdainfully, her face scrunched up as if she was looking at a pile of excrement, and then threw the letter towards Bethel and grabbed the calendar on her desk and started flipping through it.
She cursed while flipping the calendar. Her words were both enlightening and very off-brand for her. "Maggot-brained," "Hole-stuffed," "Caterpillar penis" were a few from the many he added to his vocabulary.
Turning back his attention from the old lady towards the letter, curious about what made her like this.
—
ID: 3338955S-L
Dear Miss Nikelia Gilio,
It is with grand magnanimity that the Office of the Mayor of Scalock informs you of your selection as a participant in a most prestigious endeavor.
To test the skills of the Tailors of Scalock, the Great Mayor has proposed a contest. You are tasked to present the finest garment to the office within 2 weeks. The specifications of the contest are in the attached appendix.
Low-quality products will not only be not accepted, but will have you fined for the insult.
A blue seal was stamped at the end.
—
"Is this real?" he asked while also memorizing her name. 'So her first name was Nikelia? What a waste of a good name on a hag like her,' he clicked his tongue.
Honestly, Bethel couldn't believe what he was reading. As expected of the underworld, even contests were mandatory, Bethel chuckled.
"Uh-huh," the old lady exclaimed and then smacked the calendar back to the desk. "Yes, that is real. And sadly for me, I cannot refuse," she spat out.
The old hag stared him straight in the eye. Bethel could almost see a vein throbbing on her forehead, and her teeth gnashing.
Bethel reread the letter and even turned it around, but he didn't find what he was looking for. "So… is there a reward? Will they compensate for the materials?" he asked, hoping to divert her attention. She seemed pissed enough to take it out on him, a handsome yet innocent bystander.
"Hah, compensate?! They would rather cut off their limbs than give out money. At most, they would reduce my taxes for a few months."
Welp, that went well. Diversion failed.
"So, no compensation, no reward. And a maybe on the tax reduction?"
Bethel couldn't believe his ears. What a scam, no matter what happens, the mayor won't lose out on money and would only maybe earn a few fewer lilums in taxes. One person paying less taxes is basically nothing in a town this big.
"Heh, if the bastard is greedy enough, he might increase the taxes of the losers."
So not only will he spend nothing when rewarding the winner, rather he might earn more? Bethel did not know if he should feel angry or admire him.
"I have an… errand for you to run."
Her tone carried no tone of a request or task. There was a slight pause when she said the errand, as if she was unsure if she could classify it as such.
Bethel stopped and turned back, a brief confusion passed his face. The old hag would normally never word it like this; if she had something she wanted him to do, she would simply say so.
"What is it?" he asked in trepidation.
"I want you to go to the Coral Forest."
The moment the words left her lips, a chill passed down his spine. Every hair on his body seemed to stand. Did she say what he thought she said?
He had heard of that place. It was a place created by the First Leviathan, a place where trees were made of coral, which gave the forest its name.
There were rumors that the forest held ultimate class creatures.
"Should I post a mission?" he asked uncertainly. Afterall if she wanted, she would have said so. The fact that she did not meant one thing… but he was hoping he was wrong.
Gilio snorted, "If I wanted to post a mission, I would say so. I can not let people know. Even if I don't care about the prize, it doesn't mean others don't. They might sabotage me, so I cannot use the usual channels to get the materials. That is where you come in."
Bethel swallowed his saliva before he spoke, "Lady Gilio, I am a Low-class Devil," he said defensively.
"Exactly. Your demonic power reserves are pathetic, making you unattractive to most creatures there. Only a few weak creatures would seek you out. Most of which you could either kill or escape… the ability of flight is rare amongst those creatures, so unless you are a terrible flyer you should be able to survive most problems."
No, sorry, I am a crippled devil without any wings, Bethel wanted to retort, but he stopped himself. His inability to fly was one of his greatest secrets. Wings and demonic power were what separated devils from most races.
A flightless devil… Bethel recalled those novels he read where the protagonists were subjected to abuse and discrimination because of some defects. He did not want to experience such a life.
So, he couldn't use that excuse.
"Isn't there someone else who could go?"
"No. Now go, bring me the materials." She denied and wrote down something on a piece of paper and held it out. "Before entering, go to Coruard and meet Raloc. He can show you the locations of the materials and chart you a safe path."
Shoulders sagging, he grabbed the note and read it. The moment he read it, his eyebrows twitched. These items… Bethel sighed. As expected, it will not be easy.
What a terrible couple of days. Yesterday he gained a ticking time bomb, and today he was going to place that had a significantly high chance to become his tomb.
Lamenting his fate, he walked back out of the shop. He could feel the gaze of the old hag burning a hole in his back.
'Maybe the old hag is memorising my figure so she could host my funeral? Tsk, even though she herself was the one who said that I won't be in any danger,' Bethel speculated what she was thinking.
Heh, with yesterday's sealed artifact and today's "errand", it was like someone was manipulating his life so that it would lead to his death. He chuckled depreciatingly, though a small corner of his mind couldn't help but be attentive.
Was everything really a coincidence? A shiver crept up his spine, as if remembering some long-forgotten trauma.
He was in no way ready to enter a dangerous forest; his current clothes were for working, not for exploring a deadly forest. He first needed to go home for a change of clothes.
Entering his home through [Door Opening], Bethel opened his closet and searched for appropriate clothes. He needed something that not only offered freedom of movement but also some rudimentary protection.
He pulled out clothes after clothes, forming a small mountain of garments on his floor.
He may lack many things, but clothes were not one of them. Two years of work were piled in his closet, though most of what he made was taken by the old hag; she would, every once in a blue moon, let him keep what he made.
Not to mention that he would also occasionally sew some stuff at home for practice or because he was bored.
While he was searching through his closet for appropriate outdoor wear, his gaze fell upon the "Reward" that he received yesterday. Bethel stared with a complicated expression.
"Should I take it?"
…
Spires of corals grew out of the ground. The corals were like spears that towered over the land and were ready to stab into the heavens. The corals varied in colour; some were happy yellow, and others were bloody red.
Streams of acid, Lakes of boiling water, and rivers of blood, all such strange yet magnificent bodies of water, existed within this forest of corals.
Amphibian-like monsters darted between coral to coral, some bigger ones rested within housed sized corals.
A deadly place, a place that can easily lead yesterday's hunter to become today's prey.
Within this deadly place, where even High-class Devils can fall, a group of devils was seated on the ground in a circle, they sat close to a lake of glaciers emitting bone-chilling cold. In the middle of the circle, there was a lamp which gave off a comfortable heat.
"Why do we have to travel through this place? Couldn't you find a better route?" complained a grey-haired devil who held his hands open towards the lamp.
"Oh, stop bitching, there is a town a couple of miles away. You can rest there," replied a bald woman who had tattoos covering every inch of her visible skin. She too was inched close to the lamp, rubbing her body with her hands to bring some warmth to he cold body.
"If only the boss got one of those fancy teleportation licenses, none of this would have happened," a devil who was wider than the norm commented as he tore into a leg of some creature. Fresh blood spattered with every bite.
The tattooed woman scrunched her face in disgust, "Can you not eat properly? Bah, if you are not going to cook your meat, at least make sure to not make a mess." She scooted away, afraid of being splattered.
The fat devil looked at the woman in pity, "I feel sorry for your tongue for not being able to enjoy food in its pure form. What you call Cooking is simply the act of destroying the inherent purity of the meat." The man sighed but did not continue, his attention occupied with his food.
The other two devils inwardly rolled their eyes and continued their discussion.
"Teleporting needs permission. Unless you are one of those noble fuckers, all teleportion are strictly monitored. Not to mention the fact that you need a special certificate to even apply to learn Teleportation, and after learning it, you would need to pay yearly to keep renewing the license," the grey-haired devil answered.
"Tch, those pompous diamond dildo fuckers always hoarding the good stuff," the woman cursed. Her face twisted in fury.
"That is why this mission is important!" the grey-haired said, his tone passionate as he caressed the wooden box placed next to him, "as long as the Boss gets this, our plan to flip the underworld will go exactly as planned."
The fat devil paused his eating, a look of slight suspicion flashed through his eyes. 'Isen… I hope you have not changed as much as it seems.'
The tattooed woman, meanwhile, nodded lightly, "Boss alone can't face off against all dildo-stuffed fuckers, we also need to get stronger." She glared at the grey-haired man, silently condemning him.
Grey hair's expression changed as he chewed his lips, "You make it sound so easy. Not everyone is like boss who can reach the peak of the middle-class at such a young age. I have been stuck in a bottleneck for the past centuries, making it hard to go past mid Low-class."
"Heh, unlike you, I am already High Low-class. Within a decade, I will reach the peak of low-class," the woman commented smugly, her nose seemed ready to pierce the sky.
Meanwhile, the fat devil looked at the two devils with an unreadable expression. As a senior devil who had been stuck in the peak of low-class for centuries, he really wanted to tell them not to have high expectations.
Those damned Satans! He cursed them, he cursed them for placing foolish ideas on the youth. "All devils have the potential to become High-class," my jiggly ass.
Just a bunch of nonsense propaganda. If devils truly had such potential, why would those nobles work so hard to reincarnate non-devils to their peerages?
He shook his head; there was no point in thinking of such things. They were obviously nonsense.
Throwing away the bone clean of meat, he stood up, "C'mon, we need to reach the town. Once we do, it will be the final stretch."
The grey-haired man grumbled as he stood up, the box next to him once again strapped to his back. It contained the key to their plans, and its importance was like a huge weight on his mind. He was ready to sacrifice his life for its safety.
The tattooed woman stood and patted her butt, "Finally, we can leave this angel-blessed place. Hope there is a good place to blow off steam in the town."
The three continued their trek. Each with their own thoughts.
…
Bethel sat alone in a seat on the train. He was humming quite happily; his luck when it came to his seatings was excellent. He didn't have to sit with a stranger.
He wore a dark grey jacket with tiny white stars scattered across it. The jacket was unzipped, showing a dark blue shirt underneath. He wore black denim pants and black shoes.
Placed next to him was a backpack, which was filled with items Bethel thought he might need. After all, he had never even been to a regular forest, and now he was about to go to a deadly one; packing everything that could be useful was better than being underprepared.
Coral Forest, one of the six most dangerous zones in the underworld, his mind drifted towards it. Maybe if he didn't have a system that told him to get a job, he might become one of those hunters, scavenging through deadly forests to achieve fame and fortune.
Then again, without the system, he would be just a devil with bottom-of-the-barrel demonic power reserves. What greatness could he achieve in a place where countless devils die each day?
Diverting his thoughts from his destination, Bethel grabbed his journal from his backpack. Flipping through the already filled pages, Bethel started plotting the 'skeleton' of his future goals.
Task One: Gain approval and advance to rank 8.
Task two: Pray to all gods that the next advancement quest will not be time-locked.
Task three: Complete that quest and Advance to Rank Seven.
Task Four: Check if you are Mid-class. If my power is mid-class, then go to the promotion exams. If not, then advance into rank 6.
Task five: Continue advancing until I have High-class level of power, after which get promoted.
Task Six: go to the human world…
Pausing his writing, Bethel continued tapping on the paper. He stared at the last task with a mix of longing and uncertainty.
It was his home. Maybe it wasn't as good as he remembered, but home was something that every person kept in their hearts. Even if it was terrible, home was irreplaceable. At least that was true for him.
Maybe if he lived for a few decades, he would regard the underworld as his home, but until then… Bethel cleared off those useless thoughts. He had more serious problems.
What was more serious than his longing for home? It was a simple question that he had been keeping close to his heart.
Did Bethel transmigrate to another world, or did he simply reincarnate in the same world?
This was something he had been thinking of ever since he learned of the existence of the human world.
This world is separated into multiple planes.
The Overworld, which is commonly called the human or mortal world.
The Underworld, which is separated into Hell, Hades, Yomi, and others.
The Above worlds, which there seem to be multiple, such as Heaven, Olympus, Asgard, and others possessed by various pantheons across the world. They are also called Divine worlds.
There are many realms in this world, and from what he has heard, in the human world, the supernatural is kept as a secret from ordinary humans.
What does that mean?
It means that if Bethel had been born in the Human world, he would have been ignorant of the existence of the supernatural.
So, did he come from an entirely different world? Or were his origins in the human world located above the underworld?
He stared out the window, his mind churning with various thoughts.
"Excuse me, would you mind if I sit here?" A sweet yet mature-sounding voice cut through the thoughts that were churning like a whirlpool and brought him back to reality.
Turning, Bethel saw a brown-haired woman smiling at him. The moment Bethel saw he had an instinctive reaction to gulp, which he stopped.
Neck-length brown hair that perfectly framed her face. Sharp, Elegant violet eyes that seemed to have witnessed much. She wore a charcoal black dress that hugged her voluptuous and buxom figure.
She had a mature yet playful smile. Her violet eyes twinkled with some strange emotion Bethel could not identify. She had this aura of approachability, yet there was also this wall that seemed present.
Bethel identified all of these traits in the seconds that he turned around.
"Sure," he didn't say anything more as he was unsure of himself. He had met quite possibly the most beautiful woman in existence. As someone who went to the red light district to eat his meals every so often, Bethel had seen women of different shapes and sizes, yet she seemed to have blown off all of them.
The brown-haired lady took a seat opposite him; her every action exuded effortless grace. She caught him looking at her and smiled.
Bethel's instinctive reaction was to look away, fighting against his instincts. Bethel merely smiled back, and he turned his attention towards the window as if he hadn't been caught looking.
For a minute, his mind churned with thoughts on how to strike up a conversation with the lady.
Should he start with a pickup line? Will using the 'Did it hurt when you fell from heaven' line be considered an insult?
Maybe the weather… his attention was locked on the clear purple sky. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't encountered rain ever in the underworld.
Fuck! He should have bought a book on how to strike a conversation with Devils; all of his social-fu as a human seemed ineffective against Devils.
Whatever, he was not in a place where he could actually start a relationship. He was currently just caught off guard by her beauty; mere physical attraction should not affect him. He nodded to himself self-righteously, making himself feel better.
He pulled his attention away from the window and began thinking of what his future abilities would be.
What kind of ability will he gain at rank 8? Will he gain an ability at rank 8, or will it only enhance his already existing one? What would an enhanced door opening be like?
Maybe open doors on non-tangible surfaces? The unknown was truly bothering him; not knowing which direction his future would take was not something he liked.
It made him feel less of a person and more of a puppet of the system.
"That jacket, did you make it yourself?"
Bethel turned his attention back to the woman, her gaze curious as she examined him, or rather, his jacket.
"Yes… how did you know?" he asked back. He was curious how a woman whom he had never met realized he had made it. Did he have the word "Tailor's apprentice" on his forehead or something?
She giggled, "Don't be so surprised. The way you hold your pen gave it away. Let's say you have a tailor's touch."
Tailor's touch? Bethel looked at his hand holding the pen; he got nothing. Maybe it was his lack of experience, but in his eyes, there seemed to be nothing different or special in how he held his pen.
"It is a good jacket. You must have put a lot of effort into it."
"Thanks. But it isn't that good. Oh, I forgot." Bethel placed his hand on his chest and did a light bow, "The name's Bethel. Could I have the honour of learning the name of a fair lady such as yourself?"
The woman giggled, hand covering her mouth. "Oh my, what a charmer. You call me Vena."
"It is an honour to meet you, Miss Vena."
Bethel pumped his fist inwardly. Yes, he got her name!
"Same here."
She hummed as she scanned him, her attention going to the bag next to him. "So, do you have your own shop?"
"Not yet. I am still apprenticing."
She showed a look of surprise, "Oh, they must be quite a teacher for you to still work under them with your skill."
"Please, Miss Vena, my skills have a long way to go," he denied it. An apprentice should not be arrogant. That was what he summarized as his principle, and he would follow it.
At least until the day would come when he would have an actual reason to be arrogant.
"No, maybe you are not an excellent tailor, but from your jacket I can tell that you have surpassed most tailors."
He scratched his head; he did not know enough about others to give a clear answer. So he simply diverted the question.
"What do you do, Miss Vena?"
"Me? Oh, I am retired. These days i mostly rely on the dividends of my investments."
Perking up, Bethel stared at Vena with interest. Investments are a way to earn money passively. Truthfully speaking, he was interested in such a prospect but did not know how to pursue it. Not to mention that he barely had money for himself, how was he supposed to give to others?
Still, he was interested. Just because he was broke now didn't mean he would be forever. Learning a few tips might help him.
"Intereted? How rare, normally devils your age would find such topics boring."
"Hmph, what's not to like? Pay money to get more money? Who would dislike such a good thing?"
"Sigh, if only my daughter would think so as well instead of wasting her time pursuing her hobbies."
Crack! Crack!
Did you hear something? No, must be the sound of his heart shattering.
Quickly composing himself, Bethel replied coolly. Sounding unaffected by the heartbreaking news he got.
"So any tips?" Bethel asked, mentally erasing her previous line from his brain. What you don't know can't hurt you.
"Hmm, let me think," she tapped her lips with her index fingers. "If you want stable investments, you need to invest in raw materials. For example, rather than investing in a restaurant, invest in a farm. After all, tastes and trends may change, but their materials will not.
"Though you would need to keep in mind, for stability, you would be sacrificing profits."
Though she didn't explain, Bethel quickly found the answer.
If a meat of unknown amount is 100 Lilums, then a meal made from that meat might be 400 or even 600 Lilums. Sure, they might have some additional ingredients such as spices, vegetables, but even they might only increase the cost from 100 to 200 Lilums. Even then, you would have double or triple profits.
Bethel rubbed his chin. That would be a good investment choice. Though for the current him, it's like a monkey wishing to bite the moon.
"Though if you are looking for profits, then…" Vena explained various points which Bethel all noted down.
"Current Stop: Scafis, next Stop: Coneed," the train's speakers blurted out as they stopped.
Vena looked at him curiously, "Where will you drop?"
"Coruard," Bethel replied and then added, "I need to pick up some materials for my teacher."
"Coruard? Do be careful, Coral Forest is right next to it. Make sure not to wander there and also…" Vena warned that it was like the concern shown by a grandma to a child they met on the road.
She went on explaining many things, as if afraid he would not understand.
When she told him not to accidentally wander into Coral Forest, his lips twitched. His old hag of a teacher is telling him to go, and her,e a random, yet extremely beautiful woman was advising him not to go.
Sigh, if there were another choice, he would definitely not go. Who would listen to an old hag when there was such a beautiful woman as Miss Vena showing concern for him?
They continued conversing, well, Miss Vena carried the conversation by herself, mostly. Bethel, who had been stuck in a somewhat monotonous life, lacked the ability to carry the conversation.
He couldn't exactly teach her the 100 ways to steal and not get caught. Thankfully, he had some smarts, so he was not stumped and could continue conversing with her.
Vena leaned back, her fair hand cupping her cheek. "Sometimes I can't help but worry about that daughter of mine who seemed to have shed all responsibilities and acted like she had no worries."
"She is simply at that age. I remember when I was young, I too used to act like nothing in the world could hold me down. When she grows up, it will go away, afterall dreams are temporary, but reality is forever." Bethe,l after listening to Miss Vena talk about her daughter, had already labelled her as a child.
After all, who else but a child can waste entire days watching anime and reading manga? Maybe a human teenager can also act like that, but teenage devils are all part of the working class.
Vena looked at him with a strange expression, "How old are you bethel?"
"Sixteen. Why?"
Vena had a strange smile. "Nothing, hopefully when my daughter reaches your age, she can be as responsible as you," she lied through her teeth. Even a devil like her was feeling shame.
Wanting to divert from her shame, Vena asked a question.
"Do you have dreams?"
He looked at her, eyebrow raised. He felt something off, but he ignored it.
"Why did you suddenly ask about dreams?"
Vena looked thoughtful as she spoke, "Do you know about Great Red?"
He blinked; his curiosity was now piqued. Who wouldn't be curious when the conversation would shift to such an exalted figure, "The strongest being in existence, right?"
She nodded in affirmation, "Yes. Great Red, also known as the Dragon God of Dreams. Do you know, Oroboros, the Dragon god of Infinity, is said to be slightly weaker than Great Red?"
"Huh? Really?"
"Exactly. In this strange world of ours, even infinity must bow before the dream. So, isn't it reasonable to say that dreams might hold some special power?"
"Not really," Bethell replied, "i dont know what effects Dreams hold due to the influence of Great Red, but no matter what, the dreams of mortals are just that, mere dreams. They do not hold much authority in reality.
"Maybe the dreams of Gods and other such beings might have some power."
"So, is it you conjecture that dreams are useless?" Vena asked.
Bethel shook his head, "A dream is like a condiment. It exists just to bring some additional flavour to reality. To those whose real lives are terrible, they drown themselves in dreams. But to those whose lives are amazing, they might hardly even care about dreams. So no, dreams are not useless."
Vena spoke, her smile a bit wider, "I am curious, do you not have any dreams?"
Bethel leaned back, "No. I have goals. And my goal is to become a High-class Devil. Well, not really, but it is true that I cannot achieve my goal without being a High-class Devil."
Vena lifted an eyebrow, her fingers pinching her chin, "High-class devil being a mere prerequisite, I am really curious what kind of ambitious dream you have."
"Ambitous? Maybe so, but I will pursue it."
"Arriving at Coneed. Passengers, please get ready."
"Oh, looks like it is my stop." Vena got up, "It was nice talking to you. Here," she held out a card.
"My card. If you ever come to Gremory territory, make sure you use it." Bethel took the card, but he felt slightly embarrassed at the fact that he did not have something to exchange with her.
"...Sorry, but i dont have anything to give."
"Heh, no matter," she smiled, "Hopefully we will see each other again soon." She waved as she departed.
He watched her leave, his gaze lowering to her butt before he turned away.
Leaning back, Bethel sighed with emotion. Too bad he didn't have a phone, or else he would have definitely asked for her number.
He looked at the card she gave him. It was dark red. In the center, there was brown hair that looked similar to Vena's own hair, and under that was a Stylized V.
"Dreams… do they really hold power?"
--
4 chapters on Patreon.com/Lucinziel