Caleb swore up and down that he didn't know why he said that. He didn't have aspirations of ruling the world. He really didn't. He wasn't a power hungry or ambitious person. Unfortunately, there was no taking his words back. Once the words came out, he immediately regretted it, as they took it at face value. His army of eleven was determined to crown him the king of the world.
It wasn't his fault. Okay, it was a little bit his fault. He could have said something else, but the question had really caught him off guard. It wasn't like he could tell them about his plans to return home. A part of him felt guilty that he was essentially abandoning them. However, this wasn't his world. He wasn't meant to be here. It had been a freak accident.
"My king," Gloria said for the hundredth time. "Why not send us to search for more loyal subjects?"
"There's no need,"
The question was how was Caleb supposed to plan world domination. It wasn't like he had any references to it outside of TV and video games. Of course, he couldn't follow what he had seen either since it was always the villains plotting world domination, and all their plans obviously ended in failure. If he tried to copy what they did, he would be just setting himself up for failure.Besides, not all the situations could be used, even if he wanted to. He wasn't a millionaire who could use his wealth to dominate whatever industry he forced his way into. This wasn't an urban setting. Caleb was clearly in a fantasy setting with things stacked against him, even if he did have a system trying to help him every step of the way.Immediately turning to the only one who could help, he asked, "System, do you have any ideas on world domination?"[The user needs to be more specific.]"I mean, can you give me ideas or plans to start?" Caleb asked.Unfortunately, the system is unable to help in this
Caleb wasn't sure what to feel when he saw the message. On one hand, it was the system's way of helping. On the other hand, it wasn't much help. All the quest said was to complete the first step to world domination. It never specified what the first step was. Basically, the system was leaving it up to him to figure out what to do. Then it would reward him.He sighed. Well, he supposed he would at least be rewarded for his efforts. It was nice that he got a chained quest. The rewards would surely get better as he completed each part. He tried to imagine what kind of rewards he would get. Maybe it would allow him to level up more than once. That would be great, but how would picking skills apply?After allowing himself a brief moment to think about the possibilities, he returned his attention back to the issue at hand. None of that mattered if he couldn't even complete the first step. Since the system was leaving it up to him, he would have to figure out what would be the easiest thing
Caleb stared in disbelief at what he heard. He must have been mistaken. There was no way that they had just suggested they make a scene so they could draw attention to themselves. What was more unbelievable was that he was really considering the idea. It was crazy, but he had hit a wall in trying to recruit more members. If this was the only way, then he might have to go along with it.Staring at the eager looks on their faces, he sighed and said, "I approve of your idea."Immediately, they all perked up, ready to move. Caleb was already beginning to regret it, but he didn't take his words back. It wasn't like they had no clear idea of how to do it. In fact, they had actually presented a clear and well thought out plan. It was actually quite terrifying, and he had to double check to make sure their Intelligence stats were still lower than his.He was still suspicious that the system might not have been so truthful about the stats, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. All
"My king, we have captured them," Gloria stated as his followers pushed forward the demon rats they had encountered.Caleb stared at them and the prisoners for a moment as he tried to process what he was seeing. What happened to his initial assumptions? He had assumed that the demons that would poke their noses after the initial warnings would be other demons. Instead, rat demons actually showed up to sniff around their territory. Where had they even come from anyway?As if sensing his question, Gloria continued, "We caught them sniffing around our borders. They were probably checking to see how strong our defenses were."Since he hadn't been constantly checking the map, which he should have, he didn't catch this. It was a good thing Gloria and Dennis had been nearby to catch them. With only eleven followers, they had to figure out how much territory they claimed they could actually defend. Claiming too much land would make it difficult to patrol and guard it.On the other hand, if th
Even though Caleb was still very much creeped out by the skill, he didn't hesitate to abuse it. Since the demon rats wouldn't be missed, he put them to work and had them reveal anything they knew. Unfortunately, it didn't yield any results. Since they were disposable, they didn't really know much and couldn't properly convey it to him because of their speech problems.However, he was able to confirm that they would lead him to the next if he really wanted them to. While he wanted to jump on the idea, he knew better than to go through with it. He didn't know how long the brainwashing would last. What if it suddenly wore off while they were leading them to where the nest was or right as they were in the middle of the nest? Things could get ugly.No, he needed to wait for the brainwashing to wear off before brainwashing them again. Caleb monitored them for a week, but the brainwashing showed no signs of wearing off. In that time, other demons came to investigate, like he had expected. The
When another week passed, Caleb had enough. There didn't appear to be any signs of the brainwashing wearing off, and it probably never will. He couldn't say for sure, but it was beginning to look like that was the case. In that case, there was no point in waiting longer to see when it would wear off. Their territory had been constantly harrassed by several demons already.Other demon rats had been sent as well, but Caleb had them easily subdued and brainwashed. They couldn't give him any valuable information either, but he now had a dozen brainwashed demon rats. That would mean his army was two dozen strong if he included himself. They should be more than enough to attack the demon rat nest.Of course, he couldn't leave their own nest unprotected. While they were gone, some other demons might invade the place to take it for themselves. Since he had no faith in the brainwashed demon rats, it meant his own followers had to be left behind to stand guard. He also had to determine how many
Caleb's followers rushed towards him, even those who couldn't have possibly heard him. They lined up in front of him, with the brainwashed followers in front of his regular followers. His eyes scanned the assembled demon rats to make sure they were all there. All twenty three demon rats were waiting to hear why he had them assemble."It is time," he said.The quicker ones were quick to catch on to what he was saying and vibrate in place. Seeing how excited they were was a bit unnerving. He still sometimes thought of them as the baby demon rats he cared for, but he forced himself to ignore it. Of course, the brainwashed demon rats didn't react at all and simply stared at him with blank expressions."We will be attacking the enemy nest," Caleb clarified to make sure everyone was on the same page.The ones that hadn't caught on immediately perked up as Gloria asked, "When will we be leaving?""We will be leaving right away. There's no need to postpone it any longer," he said. "However, s
As soon as the words left his mouth, his followers rushed forward to stand in front of him. They were prepared to take on whatever they were about to face. Caleb didn't think to retake the lead. He was perfectly happy to stay behind them and let them do all the work. Admittedly, it felt a little scummy to use his followers as a shield.Of course, he didn't count the brainwashed ones. If they died, he wouldn't bat an eye. He would be a little upset over losing the meatsheilds, but it wasn't like they swore to serve him or he had raised them himself. It might even be better to let the enemy destroy itself. That way, he didn't have to worry about the brainwashed demon rats after the fight.Suddenly, a couple demon rats burst out of the cave entrance. Immediately, the brainwashed demon rats in the front attacked. They sank their teeth and claws into the unsuspecting demon rats. Since the numbers coming out of the cave were small compared to his forces, it didn't take long for his forces t