Isaac felt he was drowning in the deep ocean. It was cold and as if his body was getting pulled to the bottom. Strangely, the longer he sank, the warmth he felt.
"Master, the meeting begins."
Isaac was sure that he was dead. However, after hearing a soft voice of a woman, he realized this darkness was not death.
He could still feel every part of his body. Then, he opened his eyes.
A woman with pointed ears stood in front of him. The clothes she was wearing were very familiar. Isaac had often seen his servants in the Nether Realm wearing those clothes.
Isaac still couldn't grasp the situation, but he felt a déjà vu. "Yes… what?"
Then, Isaac saw the woman walking ahead, as if leading him. His feelings told him to follow her.
The two of them walked down the large hall. The walls along the hall shined in golden colour, while the floor was made of marble tiles covered with a red carpet. Isaac felt the familiarity once again, as if he had visited this place before.
"No…"
Not long after walking, they arrived at a large gate with unique carvings.
Only then was Isaac convinced. "There's no mistaking it… This is the assembly hall in the Nobles? Impossible," he mumbled.
"Please, Sir." The woman bowed respectfully, then the gate began to open.
A squeaky sound was heard. Isaac's eyes tried to peek through the gap in the gate. Not long after, the gate opened wide.
An enormous circular conference table stood in the centre of the room. The nobles that Isaac had killed and forgave seemed to sit relaxed in good condition.
'I went back in time…'
He had just returned to the past. Right on the day the game of Earth would begin!
Isaac's entire body shook at the sight before him. All of this seemed absurd. He couldn't believe that after experiencing death, he would come back to the past.
'I don't know what happened, but it's amazing.'
Excitedly, Isaac stepped into the meeting room. His eyes scouted for an empty seat.
'There it is.'
Isaac sat down. He looked at the two demons next to him in disbelief. On Isaac's right, a demon with a male stature but a feminine face. While on the left side, there was a male demon with goat's horns on the forehead. Isaac was very familiar with these two demons.
The demon with goat's horns realized he was being watched. Then, he turned his head and looked at Isaac with a sneer.
"You are not a Duke. Stop looking at me like that."
Like royalty, they had high self-esteem. Isaac didn't want to cause any trouble on an important day like this, so he kept his mouth shut and smiled at the goat-horned demon.
Even though all the Nobles in the Nether Realm were realm lords, they were actually divided into three castes.
The first was Baron, the lowest caste of the Nobles. They were the lowest ranked Nobles, with a total of 72 demons. Then, above them were Earls, middle-class Nobles. There were 28 demons.
Lastly, was the Duke, the axis of power in the Nether Realm. They were the top rank Nobles. There were only eight of them. Although eight demons had different ranks, their strength was almost the same. The Baron and Earl had always been the Duke's vassals, like a swan following its mother.
If seen in the order of chairs, their sitting position clearly separated their class. Isaac sat in the back seat near the gate, which was where the Barons sat. The further away they sat from the entrance gate, the higher the grade was.
Isaac's eyes looked at his surroundings.
On the other side was a bright red skin demon with smouldering hair. The demon's face looked uncomfortable.
There was also a 3 meters high demon. He had the eyes of a cat. Isaac was very familiar with the demon. He was Edric Vassago, one of the eight Dukes.
Then, Isaac found a demon figure that caught his attention. A purple-skinned demon with pointy ears. Isaac wouldn't forget this demon. He was Baron Gustav. The demon responsible for destroying Isaac's dungeon.
Isaac's eyes suddenly turned full of hatred.
'You…'
The hatred was not directed at Baron Gustav. He saw the figure of another demon. A demon who had betrayed his loyalty and devotion.
Who else but Gavin Bael—the demon currently ranked at the very top among the 108 Nobles.
'Gavin Bael… you will pay for everything you did!'
Suddenly, from above the hall came a bright light.
Slowly, the light disappeared, and the figure of a man with three pairs of white wings appeared. His face was pure white, and he had beautiful golden hair. A divine aura radiated from him.
He was Gabriel, the Messenger Angel.
"All nobles. Before starting the game, I briefly re-explained the objective of the game."
Instantly, the atmosphere began to tense up. The sound died down into the silence. However, the atmosphere was broken when one of the demons shouted.
"Bastard! You're taking too long!"
He was Hugh Barbatos, a burly demon with black hair and ruby-red eyes. He was a Duke, ranked eighth out of all the Nobles.
Without looking at Hugh Barbatos, Gabriel raised a hand. His previously open palms turned into fists. Hugh Barbatos' voice immediately dissipated.
Then, Gabriel said, "Let's continue."
All the demons seemed to be listening with serious faces.
"Each of you will get a Dungeon. You fight each other until one Dungeon is left. Inside the dungeon you can create a defensive field and monster soldiers. But of course, to build all that, it's not free. You need zenny."
Zenny was the currency in this game. It was used to exchange various resources needed to build military strength as well as dungeon defense.
And to get zenny, they needed effort.
"Kill humans, and you will get zenny," Gabriel added.
The angel looked around, observing the expressions on the faces of the Demon Lords. They looked impatient to start the game.
"I guess that's all. Let's start the game."
Then, a transparent blue screen appeared in front of the Nobles. The image of a map was displayed on the screen.
"The map you are looking at is Earth, where you are playing the game. One of the worlds located in the Mortal Realm. Choose a landing location for your dungeons."
Everyone was silent. They were busy appraising the landing location.
Landing was the most crucial part of the game. Not only did it determine the strategic location but also financial conditions.
Most demons would choose a densely populated area. The more humans, the easier it was to collect zenny, and the more resources they could buy.
However, landing in a place with a high population didn't necessarily guarantee victory.
In his previous life, Isaac chose to land in Beijing. This choice was intended to make farming easier, but it was a wrong decision.
Based on Isaac's memory, 40 % Nobles landed in Asia, especially China. The rest were scattered in various parts of the Earth.
'Big countries with high populations will definitely be ruled by Nobles, especially by Dukes. I would be killed if I were among them.'
In China there were 10 Dungeons. One of them belonged to Duke Hugh Barbatos. Because of this, Isaac lost in farming, he lacked zenny and had many competitors.
But now, thanks to his past knowledge and experience, Isaac had determined the ideal landing location.
China-North Korea-Russia tripoint.
This place was the border of three great countries, and two of them had high populations. So Isaac could target the three countries at once. Besides, Isaac's Dungeon would be far from the other Nobles.
'This time he has to succeed.'
As Isaac sank into his plans, one by one, the nobles diminished. They were enveloped in blue light and then disappeared.
The originally crowded hall was now quiet.
"Lord Isaac Constantine? You are the only one left in this hall. Have you made your decision?" Gabriel asked.
In this majestic room, only Isaac and Gabriel were left.
"Of course I have."
Then Isaac chose the landing location he had chosen.
[Are you sure?]
[Yes/No]
He pressed the option 'Yes'. His body was enveloped in a blue light and then vanished, just like any other noble.