Arc 1: Luxuria

Chapter 3: The New Sovereign Part III

Haruki had almost recovered from witnessing Asmo's incomprehensible Stat and Skill distribution. Emphasis on "almost".

"What the hell is this?!" exclaimed Haruki, two arms extended to the vista in front of him.

Haruki couldn't help but scream and complain. He was now standing in the middle of a crater carved out from the land - a circular depression dug two meters from the ground and was around five hundred meters in diameter. The soil was a yellowish red, with a coarse and solid texture. It was clear that nothing can grow from this type of soil, which was bad news for a growing empire.

Most Demons do not need food for sustenance, so Haruki could probably forgive and forget. But in the middle of the cavity was a wide and circular three-floored tower, standing around ten meters tall, with the top built to be a bit round. From one's viewpoint, it looked like someone built a tower to resemble a huge and thick penis.

Asmo looked both proud and ashamed as he faced the phallic-looking structure. "The Luxuria Demons like Master had always loved this particular part of the body, so Asmo thought Master would be happy if his home was like this…"

Haruki had a growing headache. This particular structure was hanging a sign like "I love dicks" or something similar. Well, it was kinda true for him, but that was not the point. "It's too conspicuous! We'll be discovered if we don't hide this thing!"

The Familiar tilted its head - which means the entire round body - like an adorable puppy. If Haruki was not in a bad mood, he would have thought it was cute. "Asmo does not understand. Why must Master and Asmo hide?"

"Because we're weak chickens," replied Haruki unashamedly. "If the Humans find out that we have claimed this Territory, they will not think twice and annihilate us."

"But Master can raise an army?"

"With what resources? We barely had enough Mana to produce a couple of civilian and combat units. Not to mention we still need to build Vice structures to keep them fed and satisfied. Even if we summoned a Hero, he will be stuck at Level 1 unless I raise my own."

All factions in Verethragna Gloria required resources in order to develop. Aside from the usual 4X resources like food, lumber, stone and gold, there was also "Mana", a magical energy that can be harvested from nature. While Humans used Mana as fuel for their machinery and mystic tools, Demons were directly born from Mana itself, so a Sovereign must collect enough to "give birth" to citizens. In addition, Demons were beings created from the corruption of Mana into one of the seven deadly sins, so they needed to occasionally carry out "Vices" to temper themselves and grow stronger. Of course, Lust is the sin of excessive sensual pleasure, so Luxuria can build and organize facilities such as a brothel or a sultry dance hall.

Another option would be having the Lust Demons find partners outside of the territory, but this was extremely dangerous for the extremely weak Luxuria denizens. Haruki could capture a bunch of Human men and women as sex slaves, but that would only bring more trouble than what it's worth. Also, his morals hadn't degraded to doing something so sinister, especially if the inhabitants of this world were "real".

So, unless he was ready, creating more Lust Demons was out of the question. As for the Hero, all factions could instantly summon one at the beginning, but the level of the Heroes was capped equivalent to that of the Leader or Sovereign. As he was a weak-ass Level 1 Sovereign, any Hero he would summon had no way to get stronger.

As for Asmo, his role was relegated to a useless but unkillable team pet and should not be relied upon.

Asmo, the newly assigned mascot, finally realized his Master's intentions. "So, Master intends to hide and slowly grow his strength?"

Haruki muttered a "hmph" and crossed his arms. "Anyone insane enough to lead the Luxuria knows this. If we don't turtle up, we'll get wiped off the face of the earth in an instant."

"Turtle up?"

"Turtling" was a famous strategy from Haruki's original world. Emphasizing defense over offense, minimizing risk while maximizing safety. Then when given the chance, bait opponents and counterattack.

Haruki still had no "baits" in mind, so he needed to focus on securing the perimeters of his Territory. So, he ignored the flying creature's query and gave his first order. "Asmo, can you flag down the Corruption level to the bare minimum? We mustn't expose ourselves to anyone in the Territories near our vicinity."

"Understood, Master."

The concept of "Territories" and "Corruption" were very important in the game, as the two races functioned differently when it came to this mechanic. Humans conquered Territories by simply moving towards a piece of land and then building a settlement or a city. They could also invade other Human Territories through war, alliances or deals. It was all very straightforward and simple.

Demons, on the other hand, claimed Territories through the spread of Corruption. In the game's lore, Demons were an extension of the God of Corruption's will, his desire to defile everything that the God of Creation fostered. So, Demons could only take control of the land if they had already Corrupted it, either through plants, beasts, the minor races or most effectively, Humans.

Demons were exceptional at "stealing" Territories and were definitely not good neighbors. They could wait for several turns as the Corruption trickled from their Territory to adjacent ones, slowly but surely leading everything to depravity. Or like the Humans, there was also the option to wage war and forcibly take over other people's lands.

Players using Human factions must be swift and decisive when encountering Demons - destroy them first or their lands will become Corrupted. Once fully Corrupted, Humans can no longer make use of the Territory, even if they forcibly expelled the Demons. To make it fit for Human consumption once more, they needed to destroy the "heart" of the Demon faction that Corrupted it. On the other hand, Demons had no restrictions - they can forcibly control any territory through Corruption, even those of other Demons.

This "heart" was called an "Obelisk", the lifeblood of the Demons.

When Humans and other beings created by the God of Creation turn to Corruption, their desires, their obsessions and their sins gave way to the birth of Demons. And the Obelisks were the amalgamations of those writhing immoralities, gathering Corruption throughout the land until they became a manifestation of one of the greatest ills of humanity. That's right, the formation of the Obelisk preceded the birth of a Sovereign.

In fact, the life of a Sovereign and his Obelisk were intertwined. If a Sovereign was killed, an Obelisk could give birth to a new one. If the Obelisk was destroyed, the entire Demon faction would lose their powers and cease to exist. This, of course, included the Sovereign.

In Verethragna Gloria, a surefire strategy to beat a Demon faction was to prioritize finding and bombing the Obelisk rather than conquering all of the Demons' Territories. For the Demons, the Obelisk served as the faction's base of operations and unlike the Humans' Palaces, the Obelisk cannot be moved elsewhere. In other words, anyone playing a Demon faction had to ensure that their Obelisk was secured in a good, strategic location.

Unfortunately, Haruki's Obelisk was now inside this abomination of a tower that was very striking from both air and land. If he was playing the game, he would have restarted as soon as he saw his starting location.

Haruki sighed heavily, trying to calm down his raging emotions. There was nothing he could do - this bastard assistant had already chosen this place and made his future life ninety-nine times harder.

Being glared at, Asmo curled in itself like a timid shrew. "Does Master have any other orders?"

In an instant, Haruki wrapped the winged creature within both his hands. "M-Master?"

The fur was smooth, the body was squishy; ah, this was fluffy heaven. Haruki vented his emotions on the newly acquired "plush toy", squeezing and kneading with all his might. Asmo cried and protested, but he didn't dare move in fear of aggravating the Master further.

"Hmmm, this is comfortable." Haruki had now promoted Asmo from "team pet" to "comfort plush".

"M-master! P-please, no more! Ughhhhh…"

"Stop moaning, it can lead to misunderstandings."

"But you-you're crushing Asmo's entire body…"

"Don't worry, you have the 'Invulnerable' buff, you're not going to die."

"B-but, huhu…"

Taking full advantage of Asmo's smooth and sponge-like body, Haruki was now in a better mood. Without even slowing down his jostling and squishing, the gears on his mind kept running, visualizing the next steps of his action plan.

First off, he needed to know more about the area. Letting go of the harassed Familiar, he decided to utilize this loyal Assistant with his 300 Agility and 999 Resistance. "Asmo, explore the nearby Territories. We need to know where we are, including the nearby terrain and resources. Especially the settlements and the creatures, take note if they will be hostile to Demons."

"What?" Asmo looked dumbfounded. "But Asmo is not a Scout, Master."

"You are now," said Haruki, raising an eyebrow at Asmo's hesitation. "What're you afraid of? You can't be killed unless I die, and your Agility is up to par with a Wyvern. You can also use Stealth and Automatic Escape and you can teleport back to me as soon as you finish exploring."

"Asmo's Skills were given to ensure that he will not be lost or a hindrance when supporting Master, not to be a Scout!"

"Well, you can 'not be a hindrance' by helping me get more information about the area. And don't you dare slack off, open a Communication Channel so you can report to me as you go. Get going."

Asmo was stupefied at the blatant misuse of his Familiar Skills by his Master. He gave Haruki a withering look.

"Or you can stay and let my hands do the talking."

The bushy ball with bat wings was quick to change his tune. "Asmo understands! Asmo will now 'get going'."

Haruki watched as the Familiar flew towards the horizon. He could hear the creature babbling nonsense and his wings flapping, so the "Communication Channel" must have been opened now. As long as Asmo was within a hundred kilometers, Haruki could hear the sounds of his Familiar and the environment he was in. It was a very convenient Skill, though the Channel can only be linked between the two of them. But Haruki was never stingy in utilizing everything that laid on his feet.

Asmo might not be a cheat, but Haruki could force him to work in his favor.

The Familiar's Invulnerability bonus tied both of their lives, so Haruki wouldn't think Asmo would betray him. Majority of the creature's Stats were shitty, but the 999 Resistance meant he couldn't be mind-controlled. His Agility paired with "Automatic Escape" was perfect for a plushie that can only flee. "Master Detection" allowed Asmo to always know his location and with the use of "Specific Self Transport" he can teleport to Haruki within a moment's notice. Like Asmo mentioned, Haruki could guess that these Skills were put up to make the winged bouncy ball a little impractical yet undefeatable support guide who can attach himself to his Master at all times. Too bad he ended up with such a crafty owner like Haruki.

Asmo's (Hidden) Affinity was a little suspicious to Haruki, but as the "System Guide" he probably belonged to some higher order or something. Since the little pet had the "loyal assistant" setting coupled with trash combat Stats, he could probably do nothing harmful to his Master.

In the game, Affinity had something to do with how Heroes can be recruited beyond Summoning, but this was useless information for Haruki at the moment.

Now alone and in an unfamiliar place that told him he was far, far, far away from his home, Haruki had finally settled his apprehensions and disbelief. This was his life now - the Sovereign of Lust and the new king of the Lust Demons.

Looking up at the ugly, lewdly shaped tower that was now his new home, Haruki couldn't help but give a small grin. In his original world, Haruki wouldn't buy it even if it was given for free. But in this mysterious and free new world, Haruki could do whatever his heart wanted.

The game had just begun.