chapter 35

Thulhu now fully understood how extraordinary power worked in this world.

Rank one classes were called ‘extraordinaries’; rank two were ‘elites’; rank three were ‘experts’; and rank four ‘masters’… To progress further in a specific field, one required a special occupation!

Meanwhile, some occupations could be quite unreliable.

Some occupations stopped at rank three on record. Unless a specialist somehow figured out a way to get to rank four on their own, there was no chance of progressing further.

This kind of research was extremely time- and energy-consuming.

It was obvious that choosing a different occupation was far more cost-efficient.

However, picking up a second occupation also meant a late start.

But this was different for Thulhu with his cheat codes. As long as he had enough XP, he might be able to force a breakthrough.

According to Roald, to become an [Apprentice], one needed a mentor and had to study hard; to become a [Soldier], one had to work out very intensely.

But Thulhu didn’t have to work that hard. As long as he had enough XP, he could become an [Apprentice] or [Soldier] at any time!

That was Thulhu’s edge. Of course, he could also choose to work hard like ordinary people. After all, while Thulhu’s attributes panel was extremely helpful, he still had to meet some conditions. For example, the spell Corpse Princess required a special occupation in order to level up. And earning an occupation was sure to be much more difficult than learning skills!

At that moment, he heard Roald say, “An occupation system at the ‘master’ level is called an ‘inheritance,’ which contains four occupations and the corresponding training, potions, and rituals, as well as more information. Extraordinary families, churches, and many secret groups were established based on these inheritances. Our family also has one!”

Thulhu could tell that Roald was very proud but struggled at the same time.

“The Demon Hunter inheritance? I learned some of it when I was younger,” Thulhu said honestly.

“You were too young to handle the power of the ritual before you left home. The time wasn’t right either… it wasn’t yet dawn… so father didn’t say much about it.”

Roald took a deep breath. “Our family’s inheritance starts with rank one [Demon Contractor], then rank two [Demon Hunter], rank three [Demon Hunter Expert], and then rank four [Demon Hunter Master]. It’s a complete system. You can advance further, but the secrets of that are with the Goddess of Light Church…”

“Do we literally… hunt demons?” Thulhu finally asked the question.

“No!”

Roald’s response was sad and desperate. “What is the demon? The demon is just a code name! Humans imagine what it looks like and give it this so-called title. No one knows exactly what it is, or even its real name! Maybe just uttering its name will contaminate your soul, or just staring at it from behind will kill you. No matter where it goes, the land cracks, rivers dry up, and nothing is left except nothing itself. Anyone who catches its attention falls into the deepest despair!”

Roald’s words sounded very imaginative to Thulhu.

Obviously, the demon in this world was totally different from what Thulhu understood a demon to be in his past life.

The demon in this world was something beyond description. If Roald’s comments were true, the demon in this world was also a god!

“That’s right. The demon is the incarnation of chaos and mess. Living in the abyss, its power is beyond terrible. The demon gets no joy from its worshippers and takes no offense at curses. What it does is all according to its own will, and it can give or take power. It revels in chaos and celebrates the horrible consequences of its own actions.”

It seemed that the demon in this world resembled some evil gods in Thulhu’s past life. Evil gods didn’t show mercy to even their followers.

Thulhu thought this to himself.

Roald continued, “The demon has always existed in this world and brings fear and despair. Demon hunters don’t fight the demon, but hunt down its ‘subordinates.’ We also call them ‘The Contaminated.’ Subordinates receive the power of the abyss from their lord. This fight can be traced back to the dark ages before history. The earliest demon hunters realized that human beings could never kill the demon – we are all just ants in front of it. However, demon hunters can use the demon’s power to fight its subordinates! This was how the occupation came into being!”

“You’re saying… we use the demon’s power?!”

Thulhu’s eyes opened wide and he was extremely astonished. “Why would it allow that? Also, that means we can never defeat the demon, right?”

Thulhu couldn’t fathom a bunch of demon hunters going up to the demon and killing it with its own power.

He couldn’t help picturing that weird scenario.

“I told you, as a human being, don’t even try to understand the demon’s will. Perhaps our fights and struggles are nothing more than a game to it.” Roald forced a smile, but his eyes showed great determination. “But as long as we can prevent its subordinates from overrunning our world, we’ve achieved our highest goal!”

“I see…”

Thulhu had to say that this occupation seemed quite hopeless to him.

“To become a demon hunter, you have to have great determination and a strong will, or you can be easily corrupted!” Roald warned Thulhu. “I’m a demon hunter, but I don’t want you to choose the same path!”

“Corrupted?”

Thulhu’s heart sank when he heard the word.

“Unlike [Soldier] and [Apprentice], we only have two further major options after reaching the level of [Demon Contractor]: one is to stick to our original path, and the other is to become [The Corrupted]!”

Roald explained, “The rank one occupation is called [Demon Contractor], and we have to start by signing a contract with the demon through a ritual called Staring Into the Abyss! If you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. We have to fall into the eye of the abyss before we can obtain a small amount of demonic power. Of course, that power doesn’t really come from the demon; or at least, it’s reduced thousands of times. We call it the power of the abyss, which is still more than enough for an ordinary to become an extraordinary!

“After becoming a [Demon Contractor], one has to have a strong will and use the power responsibly. The higher one’s rank is, the greater the danger. So, after reaching rank four, we need faith. Historically, it is the Goddess of Light who offers us help!

“…As for the rest,” Roald’s voice dropped, “they worship the demon and become ever closer to the evil power. They’ll gradually no longer be human! It is said that this dark career path was first inspired by those monsters contaminated by the abyss!”