“Kill the others, Varen.” I commanded, my voice cold.

  Varen hesitated for a few seconds, but after taking a deep breath, he accepted this and took the sword from one of the men to cut down the others.

  The first one he killed was the rat that had stabbed him, the only one he really took pleasure in killing, the others were clearly only because of my command.

  But I didn't feel bad about it.

  Even if I was ordering him to do something that his temper didn't take kindly to, he should still do it.

  I want to trust my servants with my life, and for that they must also show loyalty to me.

  The weak and indecisive way the girl in the anime I watched dealt with her Peerage was a big waste of potential for me.

  She had extremely powerful servants, but all with problems that prevented them from exercising their full power.

  I don't want something like that.

  If my servants have any problems, I'll be the first to help them deal with them, but they'll have to deal with my problems just the same.

  After killing the three adventurers, Varen turned over their bodies before searching Craig's body.

  “Master, they had a total of 3 silver coins and 44 copper coins, that's enough to sustain us for a week.” Varen smiled after counting the loot, his mind a little better from the slaughter.

  "Well done, Varen. Now let's see the result of our first battle." I said as I pointed to the Noble Mark on him.

  This was the way I thought of making him think even less about killing other humans, and focus now only on the reward he would receive for having done so.

  Changing the view of it from a distressing task that I ordered him to do, to a rewarding task that I gave him.

  Varen quickly took off his shirt and showed me the mark.

  Using my magic I quickly copied what I saw on the mark with a smile on my face.

  |-----------------------------------------

  | Character Status

  |-----------------------------------------

  | Name: Varen Holt

  | Race: Whisper Devil

  | Level: Low-Class Devil

  | Master: Adam Morningstar

  |------------------------

  | Stats:

  | Strength - i0 -> i63

  | Agility - i0 -> i74

  | Durability - i0 -> i21

  | Magic - i1 -> h101

  |------------------------

  | Demonic Powers: Creativity Magic, Devil Whisper.

  |-----------------------------------------

  When Varen saw how much his stats had risen, the smile on his face got even bigger.

  “Master, I can feel my strength getting stronger right now!” He said excitedly, looking down at his hands.

  “Yes, Varen, whenever I upgrade your Noble Mark your strength will grow corresponding to how much your stats have gone up, and your stats will grow based on how challenging the battle was and the enemies you faced.” I explained with a proud smile.

  Not only did his stats go up, but mine did too after his upgrade.

  Just as the Skill's explanation said, I always get a percentage of the gains my minions make after each Mark upgrade.

  Sure, the upgrade I got isn't as big as his, but that's because I only have one servant, what if I have two, three, five, ten servants?!

  ‘There will come a time when I won't need to do anything else and I'll automatically become more powerful...’ I thought excitedly.

  Just as I'd imagined, seeing the gains he'd made in strength from killing those humans had helped a lot to lessen the mental burden he was feeling because of it.

  'Maybe Noble Mark is also influencing this to some extent... not bad.' I thought.

  After confirming the winnings, Varen gathered up the four bodies of the adventurers after we had looted everything of value they had and I used my magic to burn their corpses.

  Unfortunately Craig's armor, the best of the bunch, didn't fit any of us because it was too big, and since we didn't have an inventory skill, or any dimensional storage equipment, we just took the armor of two smaller adventurers and discarded our previous clothes.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Sure, I still kept my black cloak made of magic, which helped me hide my face and gave me privacy.

  These new armors weren't the best or most valuable, but they were already better than the unprotected bard's outfit Varen was wearing, or my magic armor that didn't protect anything.

  As for weapons, Varen took the dagger from the rat that stabbed him in the heart, while I took the sword from another adventurer.

  None of us were interested in axes, so we just burned them.

  “It's a shame to burn such valuable equipment...” Varen commented in frustration, strumming a sad tune on his lute.

  “It would be an even greater shame to have to deal with the problems that would arise from arriving in town with four sets of armor and weapons from other well-known adventurers.” I explained, receiving a nod from Varen.

  “Come on, we still have some wolves to kill.” I said after making sure the bodies were really burnt beyond recognition.

  In a few moments, monsters would gather here because of the smell, maybe even other humans, so it was better not to risk it.

  Varen also wanted to get out of there and we went to the place where the mission indicated there might be wolves.

  We walked in silence through the forest, the acrid smell of blood and scorched earth trailing behind us as the sound of leaves under our boots echoed.

  The guild's mission to eliminate five magical wolves on the road west of Ironvale seemed trivial after the confrontation with Craig and his companions.

  “Those wolves are going to be a bore after Craig, aren't they, master?” Varen asked, trying to sound light-hearted as he adjusted the stolen dagger on his belt, the new armor still a little loose on his bard body.

  Despite receiving greater power after becoming a Devil, his physique was still the same aesthetically.

  “Probably,” I replied, my Middle-Class Devil senses picking up a distant rustle. “But I want more than wolves' teeth today...”

  Before I could explain, the ground shook beneath our feet... it wasn't the step of a wolf, but something bigger, something that made the trees sway and the birds flee in panic.

  I raised my hand, silencing Varen, who slowly dropped his lute to the ground with wide eyes.

  My keen ear caught a strange sound: a slimy gurgle mixed with a high-pitched hum, as if the forest were alive.

  “Master, what is it?” Varen whispered, his right hand already gripping his new dagger, while his left was ready to conjure another fireball, despite the low amount of Mana he had after the battle, trying to be ready for whatever was making that noise.

  “I don't know...” I muttered, narrowing my eyes in the direction of the sound. “But it's no ordinary wolf.”

  We carefully made our way to an uneven clearing, and what we saw made my heart race with curiosity and excitement.

  In the center, a puddle of bubbling mud glowed with a greenish hue, pulsing as if it were breathing.

  Around it, six wolves lay, their gray fur marked by fluorescent green veins, their eyes glazed in a trance as if they weren't thinking.

  From the center of the puddle, something emerged... a slime, bigger than any horse, with a viscous, translucent body full of bubbles that burst, releasing a greenish gas. At its core, an irregular crystal pulsed like a heart, exuding raw mana.

  “A Mana Slime?!” Varen exclaimed, taking a step back. “I heard some drunks in the tavern talking about that... they appear where mana leaks out of the earth, but this one is gigantic!”

  “There's a reason I'm more excited than just wolves...” I said, a smile breaking out on my face. “Even though I've lived in the forest for years, I've never seen a Slime as big as this.” The crystal in the core screamed power, making me feel that it could be useful or valuable.

  The slime noticed us, letting out a low gurgle as slimy tentacles rose up, whipping the air.

  The wolves stood up, trembling, snarling like puppets under the monster's control.

  “Varen, take care of the wolves!” I ordered, my right hand glowing as I conjured a long spear of fire. “I'll get the slime.”

  “Okay, master!” Varen replied, the savage grin returning as the demonic blood pulsed in him.

  With a snap of his fingers, he released a gust of wind with his creation magic, hitting the wolves with a surprise blow.

  Two of them staggered, not realizing that the wind would suddenly attack them, falling face-first into the earth, groaning, while the other three hesitated, confused.

  “Dance for me, you mongrels!” he shouted, laughing as he advanced with the speed of a Low-Class Devil, punching an unsuspecting wolf in the snout and sending it flying into a tree.

  You could see that whenever we got into a combat state, our demon blood influenced us a little to a more extreme side than we normally showed, especially in Varen...

  But I didn't wait on the sidelines.

  I shot towards the slime with my Middle-Class Devil speed, spear slicing through the air.

  I didn't want to lose my new sword to a corrosive monster like a slime.

  A tentacle came towards me, but I jumped over it, spinning around and driving the firearm into the slimy body.

  The flames exploded as they hit its surface, causing the slime to bubble and sizzle, but within a few seconds the flame began to fall apart.

  ‘Damn, mana weapons are still too weak...’ I thought in frustration, stopping supplying mana and letting it finally fade away.

  The slime's crystal glowed brighter, resisting, and the slime counterattacked with another tentacle.

  I conjured a rope of shadows, wrapping it around the appendage like a live snake, trapping it as it retreated, but it was so slippery that it was difficult to hold with just one hand.

  Using my other hand, I conjured a fireball, just like Varen did, and threw it at the Slime.

  The ball exploded near the core, sending out a wave of heat and flames that made the monster tremble, but the crystal still pulsed, apparently intact.

  Green gas began to spread, stinging my eyes, but my Devil's Durability kept me steady.

  Seeing that Varen had dealt with the wolves, I shouted. “Varen, attack every chance you get, this will be great XP for you!”

  Hearing my command, Varen nodded and started throwing small magic attacks at the Slime, wanting to do as much damage as possible to the monster before I killed it.

  This was very common in RPGs in my old world, as long as you participated enough in a battle against a monster, even if you were low level, you would still get XP for taking part in the battle.

  My friends and I used this to raise characters from low level to maximum level in no time, now I was trying to replicate the same with Varen.

  Continuing the battle, I stepped forward and used Devil Whisper, making my voice cut through the air like a whisper: “Stand still.”

  I didn't know if the slime would understand, but I tried my best to focus my intention on the words.

  Fortunately, the slime hesitated for a second, its tentacles wavering, but that was exactly what I needed.

  With a quick gesture, I conjured a sharp blade of wind, and threw it with all my strength at the core.

  The crystal cracked with a loud pop, and the slime collapsed into an inert puddle, the gas dissipating as the wolves fell for good, free from their trance.

  The clearing fell silent, except for the gasping sound of Varen, who ran up to me with a smile. "Master, that was insane! Look at that crystal!" He pointed to the cracked core on the ground, still glowing a faint green.

  I picked up the crystal carefully, feeling the mana pulsing from it. “This isn't just loot, Varen,” I said, turning it over in my hand curiously. "It's pure power. We'll just tell the guild that we killed the wolves, but this crystal stays with us."

  “What about the bodies?” Varen asked, looking at the scattered wolves.

  “All we need are the teeth, which I think are intact. As for the ears, we can burn them a bit and make it look like some fire magic eroded their fur.” I replied, tucking the crystal under my black cloak. "The guild must believe our story, and no one needs to know about the slime. I don't want prying eyes on this."

  Hearing my explanation, Varen became excited and quickly got to work.