[Name: Demon Envoy Link]
[Type: One-time skill]
[Effect: Powerful]
[Description: Form a pact with a creature through a soul contract, placing a curse mark on the creature, binding both in a master-servant relationship, with the Demon King as the master and the Demon Envoy as the servant.]
[Note 1: The Demon King can enhance the abilities of the Demon Envoy through his own cultivation, and also draw power from the envoy's abilities.]
[Note 2: The Demon King and Demon Envoy share a deeper bond. Once the pact is sealed, if the envoy rebels, the Demon King can eliminate it regardless of distance.]
[Note 3: All actions of the Demon King and Demon Envoy are affected by the basic contract rules: the envoy cannot resist the Demon King's commands.]
[Note 4: The Demon King must choose his pact partner wisely. Once the contract is formed, a part of the souls of the Demon King and Demon Envoy intertwine, forming a psychic channel linking them. The pact cannot be undone unless the envoy dies. If the envoy under contract dies, the Demon King will also be affected. Choose your pact partner wisely!]
A Demon Envoy isn't a specific role but a status. Unlike the Demon Officers and Demon Legion Commanders under the Demon King's command, of which there can be countless, a Demon Envoy can only be born through the [Demon Envoy Link].
Normal Demon Officers, Demon Legion Commanders, and the Demon King share a typical hierarchical relationship with possibilities of betrayal and defiance. But a Demon Envoy, bound by a soul contract with the Demon King, would almost never betray him. Throughout the ages, Demon Envoys have usually held the most crucial positions among the demons.
With that said, Xia Mi needed to carefully consider who he'll choose as his first Demon Envoy.
The top choices would definitely be powerful beings like dragons or demons.
The primary criterion is strength. His first Demon Envoy must be a creature with SSS potential for growth.
As night deepened, Xia Mi planned his next moves and gradually drifted to sleep.
The next morning.
Lureia was still asleep on her soft bed, vaguely sensing a shadow blocking the sunlight from the balcony.
She was sure she had closed the curtains last night.
Blinking her drowsy eyes open, Lureia saw Xia Mi standing beside her bed, silently watching her.
Her sleepiness vanished instantly.
She retreated a few steps under the covers.
"Why are you here?"
"I used a portal."
"That doesn't mean you can just enter someone's room, you jerk!"
"It's already nine in the morning."
"It's just nine..."
"Anyone who's still in bed at nine is basically a lazy dog, a waste, a maggot, a flat runway, a rat, a cockroach."
"I stayed up late reading, that's why I overslept! And did you mix in something weird in that list?"
Who wakes someone up by insulting them?
Lureia's golden hair was tousled, with a few strands sticking out.
"I'm going to the clearing from yesterday. Are you coming?"
"Of course!"
Lureia slowly got out of bed, her hands instinctively covering her modest chest.
"Turn your eyes away."
"I'm not interested in flat plains."
"What do you mean by plains..."
Xia Mi turned and entered the portal. "Hurry up, the portal lasts only a minute."
The flat-chested elf, having wanted to retort, found herself without a target.
Having learned from her previous mistake, she no longer went to the balcony first thing in the morning. Using [Self-Clean], she changed and promptly entered the portal.
...
In a clearing surrounded by maple trees, ten kilometers from Illy Village, Xia Mi called the slime out of the cave after moving the stone covering it.
[Name: Slime]
[Race: Demon · Ordinary Monster]
[Level: 1 (1/30)]
[Status: Normal]
It had gained only a little experience overnight. At this rate, reaching level 30 would take forever.
Taking out his Monster Codex, Xia Mi began researching how to level up the slime.
[Slimes don't feel hunger but can gain experience by eating tree sap, playing, or fighting.]
Xia Mi placed a bowl of tree sap in front of the slime, which bounced over to it.
[Experience +30, Slight increase in size]
[Level: 2 (1/50)]
It worked.
He tried the second method by throwing a stone in the distance. The slime hopped over and fetched it.
[Slime is playing, Experience +2]
This method was effective too.
Xia Mi treated the slime like a pet dog, playing with it for an hour, and it leveled up again.
[Level: 3 (12/70)]
[Intimacy +1]
[Status: Resting (The slime is tired and needs a break)]
Seeing this, Xia Mi refrained from throwing more stones. He left the ordinary blue slime to sunbathe in the clearing and found a spot to rest.
It felt like a simulation game.
He approached Lureia, who was sitting under a maple tree. She quickly stashed a book into her storage space.
Xia Mi stared at her for a while.
"It's... Just a personal diary. I wouldn't show it to you," Lureia said defensively, her pointed ears turning slightly red.
"Who writes diaries these days?"
The dense canopy blocked most of the sunlight, with only a few beams filtering through, landing on their shoulders.
Xia Mi lay down, hands behind his head, legs crossed, enjoying the breeze.
Lureia sat next to him, her gaze wandering.
"You're quite relaxed."
"What else should I do? There's not much to do right now."
Lureia's tense shoulders relaxed.
"By the way, where do you rank in strength among the new generation of elves?"
"Of course, I'm the strongest! Whether it's looks, strength, or popularity, I'm universally acknowledged as NO.1 in the academy!" Lureia said, blinking unconvincingly.
Xia Mi glanced at her, and she quickly averted her eyes.
"Really?"
Lureia remembered her life in the Elven Forest.
"...Actually, I'm a bit weak... I'm always at the bottom of my year... I've tried to improve, but nothing works...
"My luck is awful... I'm always the prey during hunts... Teachers always pick on me... I always get the worst items from treasure chests... I always face the toughest opponents in contests... I can't seem to break free..."
Xia Mi, thinking of offering comfort, paused as Lureia's bravado faded.
Frankly, based on his observations, Lureia was incredibly weak.
But the mood had shifted. This was the first time he'd seen Lureia so downcast, and it wasn't the time for teasing.
He looked at Lureia, who was lost in thought, her eyes distant.
Seems he hit a nerve. She'd lost her earlier vitality.
The two sat quietly, the rustling leaves the only sound.