Devil's Rise

"It"s quite simple, really. You only have to please me," said Zat as he walked up to me with his phallus flailing about.

"Ple… Please you?" I said, looking at the Satyr with horror.

"Not to stroke my own ego, but pleasing me is a hard task. I know it"s your first time, but there"s a place you can learn. I"m not a monster, I always give trial takers a fair chance. Follow me. I"ll show you where you can start," said Zat as he walked off.

I sat there loss for words. He couldn"t mean what I think he means, right? There is no way he is truly that depraved, wanting me to do such an unsavory act for my last trial. No, I must be misinterpreting what he is saying. Yeah, I"m thinking too deeply about it.

"Well come on devil. I"m not going to sit here and please myself," said Zat as he walked out the door.

"This monster," I thought.

After thinking it over a bit I followed the Satyr out to the hallway. It surprised me at how extravagant this mansion was. No mansion wouldn"t even be the right word to describe this vast place. This was a castle, an actual castle of epic proportions. I had no idea how to even leave this place, it was so gigantic.

As I walked through the castle, I became more and more surprised. The theme of this castle was gold, solid gold! Slender braziers lit up the entire castle as their light wraps the castle in a warm radiance. Magnificent golden ill.u.s.trations of sculptured monsters looked down upon the marble floors of this luxurious castle. This monster sure knew how to live it up in style.

High, washed gla.s.s windows are hidden by draperies colored by the same gold as everything else. The curtains have been adorned with gilded linings and fancy ta.s.sels. We walked past one room where a grand throne of gold sits beneath a fairly plain looking canopy. No doubt that"s where he normally practices his forbidden art.

I followed him into a room, and what lay before me was a thing of wonder. Never had I seen so many books in one place. It was a 70-meter extensive library that held volumes and volumes of books. This library was ma.s.sive, overlooked by pastel-painted murals and ornately carved, golden trimmed walls. This was a true masterpiece of style and function. One day I had to get a library like this to show off my accomplishments.

"Welcome to my library Soulless, here you can find knowledge on just about anything," said Zat, as he led me to a dark corner of the library.

"Is this how he gets off? Taking unsuspecting trial takers to dark corners to please him?" I thought.

"Here lies the professions section. There are introductions on all types of professional occupations useful throughout the Myriad Realms. To please me, you must learn one of these professions. You have one hour to choose a book, after that, I will introduce you to your quarters," said Zat as he disappeared and the area illuminated.

I let out a sigh of relief.

"Why"d he have to be so cryptic using the words "please me" and then leading me to a dark corner? That monster is no good, I nearly had a heart attack," I thought.

I looked over the litany of books in front of me in excitement and awe but quickly regained my calm. I only had an hour to choose a book to a.s.sist me with this task. I was already an accomplished blacksmith, so I had to choose a new profession that was just as helpful. This was a rare opportunity, I would regret it if I wasted it.

"Alchemy of The Lost Ones"

"Shaking In Formations"

"Amused By Physicians"

"Future The End"

"Herbalism Pa.s.sion"

After sifting through the books a bit, I narrowed it down to these five books. Alchemist, Formation Master, Physician, Seer, u0026 Herbalist were the professions covered in the ones I choose. I wanted a profession that would be useful to me throughout my devilry journey. Something that would put me ahead of the rest of devils.

I took Seer out of the running pretty fast after thumbing through "Future The End". Though seeing the future would be cool, the requirements to learn the profession were too stringent. There was even an element of luck to every breakthrough in this profession. Considering I had just been kidnapped by a monster, I didn"t think luck was my strongest attribute. There was no way I could choose such a hard profession for the trial. There was no future for me in "Future The End".

Formation Master also got taken out of the running for the same reason. To learn formations, one needed to be a Viscount, to break through to Viscount, and then learn a profession would be two tasks instead of one. Although I had always wanted to learn formations and would have to learn them eventually, now was not the time. I returned "Shaking In Formations" to the shelf with a frown.

I skimmed through "Amused By Physicians", and was pretty excited at some descriptions it had for what an accomplished physician could do. But after thinking it over, I knew this wasn"t my path. Becoming a Physician was useless to me in the long run, I didn"t plan to spend my life-saving others, so I also discarded "Amused By Physicians". Sybil was always by my side to heal me. I didn"t see her leaving my side anytime soon, so learning this profession gave me no practical advantage.

I was left with "Herbalism Pa.s.sion" as well as "Alchemy of The Lost Ones". Alchemy and Herbalism went hand in hand together. I read through the introduction of "Alchemy of The Lost Ones". To be a good Alchemist, you also needed some accomplishments in Herbalism. Most Alchemists picked up Herbalism after studying Alchemy for some time to complement their profession.

I then began to skim through "Herbalism Pa.s.sion", Kyle would think he was in heaven if he got to read this book. It had all kinds of tips and tricks to mastering botany and descriptions of so many types of plant life. Identifying, growing, and curating plant life was the life of a herbalist. It was a very natural profession that calmed the minds of those that practiced it. Leading to the clarity of mind, that helps when dealing with breakthrough tribulations.

After looking over the introductions of each, I decided on "Alchemy of The Lost Ones". Fire Dao was a requirement for Alchemy and my strongest Dao path next to my Soul Dao. This would be the easiest profession for me to pick up in the shortest time and the most useful to my future devilry. I made my decision, putting back "Herbalism Pa.s.sion". One day I would learn Herbalism and Formation Mastery however, they were not what I could choose to learn in this trial.

""Alchemy of The Lost Ones", quite an interesting read you choose. It will serve you well in learning Alchemy," said Zat as he appeared by my side, his phallus still flailing about.

"My garden and alchemy lab are both open to your use. You have five years to reach, what do you devils call it? Viscount, yes Viscount proficiency in Alchemy. if you can accomplish that then you will pa.s.s my trial. If not, you will become my next filleted dish for another trial taker," said Zat as he teleported me to a private room.

I was shaken to the core by his words. I had five years to reach Viscount proficiency in a new profession. I doubted I could reach Viscount proficiency in blacksmithing if I had five years, let alone in Alchemy, a profession I knew nothing about. This task was inhumane. It truly was difficult to please that monster.

I could not dally, I immediately dove into "Alchemy of The Lost Ones" to learn more about my new profession.

~~~

About a month had pa.s.sed on Garden Isle before Jax got impatient.

"DEVIL NOT BACK? JAX NEEDS NEW BOOTY!" said Jax as he came out of his ball u0026 chain on Summer Flash.

The pirate winced in horror as he saw Jax once again. Jax had used and abused him for the past month. He hoped he wouldn"t come at him again.

"Good, hopefully, that ghost finds some new booty," thought the pirate.

"WHAT YOUR NAME?" said Jax to the pirate.

"My name is Roland Lynx, sir," said the pirate.

"YOU FIRST MATE NOW!" said Jax

"HOIST THE MAINSAIL, SET A COURSE FOR BOOTY!"

Roland was stunned. Since when was he first mate to this s.h.i.+p? He didn"t dilly dally though, he immediately hoisted the sail and set a course for the nearest pirate encampment he knew about. If the ghost got new booty, it would save his. He was eager to find "new booty" for the perverted ghost.

In a few days, they came upon a pirate encampment filled with many demonic pirates.

"Looks like someone"s bringing us a new s.h.i.+p," said the captain of the encampment.

"Pirates at the ready, let"s welcome them with open arms."

The pirates prepared for battle, as was customary in the Cove of Death. Unknown s.h.i.+ps were a wildcard to pirates, even if they housed other pirates who knew if they were friendly? It was always best for them to prepare for battle.

"YOU FOUND SOME BOOTY!" said Jax.

"RAISE THE JOLLY ROGER!"

A flag that would be soon be known and feared throughout the Cove of Death was raised. Everyone would grow to fear this flag for the horrors this s.h.i.+ps "captain" committed. On the flag lay a book with a hammer-ax in the middle. If Soulless knew his carefully crafted flag bearing his insignia would come to have such a despicable reputation, he would have never left it with Jax.

Darkness first shrouded Summer Flash, then the entire area, as strong ice-cold winds a.s.saulted the demons. An icy chill befell them as fear crept into their souls. The s.h.i.+p had disappeared right before their eyes in the darkness. While the icy winds howled in the air.

"It"s okay crew, just man your posts. This is only a simple trick. No need to worry," said the captain as he tried to rea.s.sure his crew even though he was shaking in his boots.

The captain knew the howling winds, and the darkness were telltale signs of a ghost s.h.i.+p. Ghosts that could commandeer a s.h.i.+p within the Cove of Death, and live within these waters were powerful creatures. Some ghost s.h.i.+ps of legend had existed in these waters for ages. There were no survivors when they struck.

The captain soon calmed down. The hammer-ax jolly roger wasn"t the calling card of one of those legendary ghost s.h.i.+ps. Unfortunately for him today a new ghost s.h.i.+p legend would be born in the Cove of Death. The legend of the hammer-ax ghost s.h.i.+p that hungered for booty, but never sought precious treasures.