Rise of the Demon King: Caleb Gonzales's Rat Race

Chapter 4: Making Plans

Level 100. That wasn't too bad. Who was he kidding? He barely managed to level up once. If his encounter with the demon wolf was anything to go by, it was that it would be impossible for him to accomplish anything on his own, even with the system. He had gotten lucky with the demon wolf. Next time, he probably wouldn't be as lucky.

Then he realized something. "Wait. You said permanently. Does that mean I can still go back to my world temporarily?"

[Correct. The user can temporarily go back to their own world every ten levels, but it will consume resources.]

That didn't sound like a good trade off. "If I don't go back every ten levels, will I be able to go home quicker?"

[No.]

"What if I don't want to go? Will I be able to exchange for other stuff like items or skills?" he asked.

[Yes.]

That was much better. Even though he wanted to go home, he didn't think it was worth having the system take him there for maybe a few days before he had to come back. He would be constantly aware of how much time was left until he returned, making it impossible for him to relax. If that was going to be the case, he might as well just use the opportunity to get stronger and level up even faster so he could return home permanently.

"About my past lives? Can you tell me more about them?" Caleb asked.

[That information is restricted until the user reaches the appropriate stats and level.]

"But you just mentioned I was a mage in a previous life. In fact, you said I was the strongest mage in the Nazinar Empire," he said as he waved his paws.

[That was an emergency to ensure the user's survival. It will not happen again.]

Jabbing a finger at the system, Caleb said, "You said you were here to fulfill my wishes and make sure I have a good life. I can't do that if you prevent me from using everything I can. As a demon rat, there's no way I would last long enough to reach level 100 without them."

[Considering the user's request...]

[The user has made a valid point and will be allowed to gain access to one of the abilities the user had in previous lives at every level.]

That was good, but that was nowhere near enough. "That's not fair. If I can only gain one ability per level, I would only have two right now. We both saw what happened when I used [Fireball]. You need to let me gain more abilities than that."

[It's not feasible. The user's body won't be able to handle the strain of drawing on too many abilities from previous lives.]

"Then do something about it," he said as he crossed his arms, which was a feat he didn't think he could perform as a demon rat.

[Considering the user's request...]

[The user can also earn abilities for increasing their stats and accomplishing quests.]

Caleb wanted to push more, but he didn't think the system was going to let him get away with it if he tried again. For now, he needed to plan how he was going to accomplish his goal of reaching level 100 and returning home. The goal seemed so far off that it was like a dream. In times like this, he remembered the advice his teachers gave him.

He needed to make small goals first that would help him reach his ultimate goal. At first, he thought to set his goal to reach level 25 when he could take a humanoid form, but decided that was still too far off. Instead, he made it his goal to reach level 10 so he could obtain a special gift from the system instead of temporarily heading back home.

However, he couldn't do this alone. If he were like the demon rats in the game, he would have felt more confident about being able to level up. Unfortunately, he wasn't a giant, hulking monster that could knock heroes down with one swat of his paws. No, he had to get creative. If he could find others of his kind, maybe he could form an army.

Other species of demons did it all the time, like goblins and demon wolves. If they can do it, so can he. He just hoped that they would be more like him than the game. Otherwise, he was going to have problems enacting this plan. He doubted that they would listen to him if they were 20 times his size and could squash him like an insect.

Also, there was something that had been bugging him for awhile. "System, what should I do with this corpse? Can I use it?"

[If the user eats the corpse, the user can grow stronger.]

Caleb immediately recoiled in disgust. "Eat it? Can't I just somehow save the corpse into my inventory or something?"

[The user can't store the corpse.]

He glared at the message. Caleb really didn't want to eat the corpse. Just thinking about it made him sick. No one in their right mind would eat a corpse just because someone told them to, and that wasn't talking about how unhygienic it was, but the system did say he would grow stronger. If he wanted to live, then he was going to have to do this.

Holding back his disgust, he bit into the corpse. His teeth were able to go past the fur and break the skin, but he found he couldn't go any further. Confused, he tried again with no results. All he ended up tasting was fur and blood. Spitting out the bits of fur he had swallowed, he glared at the corpse before turning his attention to the system.

"System, why can't I eat the corpse?" he asked.

[Unable to understand the user's question.]

"I said I couldn't eat the corpse," he said as he pointed at it.

[That is something the system can't help with. The user's Strength stat is simply too low to properly bite the corpse.]

In disbelief, Caleb slumped forward. His stats were so pitiful that he couldn't even eat the corpse. Did that mean he couldn't eat regular food? He knew his stats were bad, but he didn't think they were that bad. From what he remembered in the game, there were plenty of 'hero' characters with low stats. He had seen some go as low as one before.

Admittedly, that had been reserved for the Mana stat, but his point remained. The only way he could currently fix this issue was by using the available stat points he had earned for leveling up. It seemed like a waste to use the six points he received right away, but he had no choice. With a sigh, he started adding them to his Strength stat.