The Demon That Laid Dormant

Not-Demon Like Demon

"Huff huff huff..."

I panted heavily as my feet continued to work. I must have completed at least 10km and with all the push-ups and squats I did, it must have been a great gain. My frail body was energetic again. This was truly a splendid feeling. I could run like the other kids of my age and drench my body in sweat.

<The system really gave you a hell lot of energy.>

"I know right?"

<Still gonna run?>

"Nah, not anymore. I am going to do some exercises before going home. I bet no one wants to see trash like me doing exercises.

<Self-burn? Now that's rare.>

"Not for long."

<You gotta get a hold of the system first.>

"Hmm... it should have popped up by now..."

<What?>

Tring!

{Daily training complete}

"Sweet!"

<How... did you?>

"You see, in RPGs, you have to do some specific actions to gain some EXP without grinding, and that is called training. I guessed that my 'training' would be running or exercising and bingo! I hit the bullseye."

<You sure you never played RPGs before?>

"Probably."

Yes, I never touched games in my entire life, RPGs are out of the question. But I, surprisingly enough, was pretty knowledgeable about these kinds of stuff.

But wait...

Why did the system didn't give me any EXP? I am pretty sure that this message indicated that I have completed the daily training. Then the system must have rewarded me with some EXP... right?

"Hmm..."

Nothing came to my mind even when I racked my brain hard.

<What happened?>

"The system... it's not giving me any EXP."

<Huh? That's not how it was supposed to be...>

As I expected. The system should have given me EXP but it didn't. Did it have something else for me?

"Well, not that I can force it..."

I jogged my way to my apartment after that.

***

Phew... that was good. I felt relieved when I threw my just-got-out-of-bath body on my hard bed. It was hard but it felt like a marshmallow to me. Man, beds are the best!

<You seem pretty lax.>

"I am."

<Don't you have training?>

"I can only do so much on my own."

<Well, considering how much of big trash you are, there's really nothing you can do right now.>

Those words cut deep.

<I want to help you, but since you are still trash lying by the road, I can't help you. Be strong, and then maybe I will help you.>

"I am going to ignore those unforgiving comments but I want to know how you will help me?"

<Do you know what they called me in the divine realm?>

"You never told me so how do you expect me to know."

<The Devil Instructor.>

"The Devil Instructor?"

<Yep.>

I found that hard to believe. Could this guy, who acted like a cute girl sometimes and like an idiot some other time, teach someone?

<You just thought of something rude, right?>

"Huh... at least you are good at guessing."

<Rude!>

How nostalgic.

"So, that means you are going to teach me how to use my powers?"

<Yep.>

Well, that made sense. Even if I became powerful, I would still be a kid who was given a knife. And that would be dangerous for me too.

"I see... well, I will be looking forward to that."

'You should.'

"Now... how do I open the status?"

<Just say status or think about it.>

"Status."

A purple screen with words written on it was floating in front of my eyes. If I was the Ken from before meeting the Goddess and Lan, then I would have never believed what was going on. Not like the things that happened to me were believable...

The screen was translucent with a tinge of blue surrounding its corners and edges. Honestly, it was quite beautiful.

I glanced at the words to get a brief of what was written.

-----------------------

NAME: KEN RAIZER

RACE: ??? DEMON

LVL: 1

MP: 1

STR: 2

AGI: 2

DEF: 5

INT: 8

DEX: 1

EXP: 0

-----------------------

What's with those question marks? And it was really true that I was a demon. Damn, it feels surreal at this point. I want to pinch myself really bad but I know that it is not a dream or anything like that.

<Woah, your INT and DEF are quite high...>

"Must be because of all the bullying and studying I went through."

<You didn't need to tell me that.>

"And you didn't need to exclaim like that if you knew this already."

<...>

He didn't say anything. I am pretty sure he is sulking about what I said. It sure feels good to have him like this.

Never mind that. For now, I gotta focus on what I have in my hands.

"Hey, what's with those question marks?"

<Even I don't know. Usually, I and the system should be able to determine your rank, but it seems like we cannot.>

"Rank? What is rank? Is it some kind of demon hierarchy?"

<Yes. There are seven ranks in the demon hierarchy- Minions, Baron, Viscount, Earl, Marquess, Duke, and Lord, Minion being in the lowest and Lord being in the highest of the chain.>

So what is my rank? Why is it not showing anything? Damn, it is making me feel nervous. What if I were a Minion? From the ranks, I can say that Minions are the weakest and are most probably what we call commoners and I don't want that. it was practically screaming that it was the weakest and the lowest in the hierarchy. I want to escape this weak fate of mine, not unite with it again.

I ran my eyes over the status screen carefully and scrutinized the stats. It would be great if I had some EXP. I still didn't know the weight of 1 EXP and that thing bothered me to no end. And there was nothing to test with it too. Really, frustrating.

"Hmm..."

<Why do you go into that thinking world every time?>

"Because I am not an idiot like you?"

<Those are some sharp words...>

"I am flattered."

Since there was nothing to do, I should not work up my mind like that.

***

[Next day]

"Wah~ A good sleep after a long time!"

My bed was extra fluffy when I was sleeping. Such a nice feeling...

<So what are you gonna do today?>

"I am going to show my face in the scums' gathering place."

<School?>

"What else can I mean?"

<You sure about that?>

"Yeah, or else I am gonna be expelled due to low attendance and that is the only place where I can learn something useful."

<Low attendance?>

"You think I can handle that torture every single fuckin' day? Even I have a limit to how much I can endure. If I went into that hellhole every day then I would have jumped off the school building a lot sooner, not three years later."

<Your life is a mess.>

"No need to remind me something I've known for my whole life."

<Aren't you a sad guy?>

He is messing with me and it's pissing me off. Gotta do something.

"If you don't shut up I am going to cut off the connection for five days."

<What?! Don't do something that harsh! I will die from loneliness.>

You were alone for who knows how many years and you are saying that you from loneliness by staying alone for five days?

<Uwahhhh!!>

... seriously, he is pissing me off so much.

"You are a demon right?"

<Why... do you ask?>

"Because you don't seem like a demon."

<Huh? What'd ya say punk?!>

And now he sounded more like a third-rate delinquent.

"Sigh... let's just leave at that leave it at that."

I picked up my bag and headed towards the single door of my apartment.

Every time I pass under this, I pity myself. Is that a bad thing? Of course, it's a bad thing.

***