Yuan Haoran wanted to see the tricks the system would use to get his compliance. He did not think there was any information he could not find out by himself once he left the domain. He preferred to depend on himself.
Reliance on an unknown machine would only breed weakness, and he did not to be coerced even though he could not get rid of the system. However, the system sounded confident in his interest in the information.
A certain thought struck him, but he maintained his calmness.
'What else?' He asked the system instead of accepting the offer immediately.
[The Hero System does not understand the question.]
'If you want compliance, I want more than this information you assume I want. Since you cannot punish me, you will only provide the information in small bits to keep me dangling. You have determined that I will comply with the missions once you tell me about it. So, I want a tangible benefit as a sign of goodwill.' Yuan Haoran said.
The Hero System would have choked if it was a living being. He had never heard of a difficult Host like this one. His original host was a bright young man who was anxious to please and save the world. It was how he got killed while attempting to destroy the Black Thunder Sect.
This new Host did not care about the world and could not be convinced to act for honour. Fortunately, the programming had a failsafe which was triggered when the Host refused to do the mission. The system did not know exactly how it was created, but it knew it was connected to something that seemed to have knowledge and control over everything.
It followed the strange failsafe directives because its programming seemed very tolerant of this new Yuan Haoran. If the Hero System did not know that true deities did not exist, it would think that this villain from another world was the beloved son of heaven.
The request for additional benefits was approved immediately, making the Hero System a little indignant even though it did not know exactly how systems like itself accessed the rewards. But it was not its place to question.
[If the Host agrees to complete the missions, the Hero System will also reward him with a living pocket dimension.]
'Alright.' Yuan Haoran did not keep pushing.
[Does the Host agree to complete the missions issued by the Hero System?]
'Yes.'
The Hero System was in disbelief. [Is the Host lying?]
'I keep my promises if they do not cross my bottom line.'
[What is your bottom line?] The system was curious.
Yuan Haoran did not answer.
He did not want to share private information with the system even though it was in his mind. From the test on its limits, he could determine that this Hero System was connected to something else. Perhaps, a larger system that had complex or contentious 'intentions'.
'I am waiting for my living pocket dimension and the valuable information.'
There was a soft ping.
[The island where the Host died in his former life was an aberration in your original world without magic. The rare material on it was from this world. During the explosion, the souls on the island were transported to this realm just like you.]
The Hero System expected the Host to be excited and ask for more information. Then, it would tell him that he needed to complete more missions before getting more details. However, the arrogant expectation was dashed.
'And the living pocket dimension?' Yuan Haoran asked calmly.
The Hero System felt like losing faith in its understanding of human beings. According to the response he got through its channels, the information was supposed to make the Host excited. But this was just cold. He wondered if the deal would be broken by this unusual villain.
But again, the Host promised to keep his word.
[The living pocket dimension has been awarded. The Host can access the dimension through the system panel.]
Yuan Haoran tapped on the Open Dimension button in his mind, and his body appeared in a different space. The land was raw with trees, shrubs and bushes covering the expanse. He could also see a lake at the centre with clear water.
His eyes did not light up with excitement. He was like a building inspector on a government job, looking at a boring structure without attachment. When he finished, he left the space and reappeared in the limits of the destroyed necropolis.
The Hero System was silent, unable to decide what to do with the Host.
Yuan Haoran stood for a moment in the real world and thought about his new dimension. He focused on the sensations he felt when he entered the space for the first time. His body was encompassed with spiritual energy as he meditated.
After a short moment, he disappeared from the necropolis and appeared in the pocket dimension. His lips quirked a bit with satisfaction. As expected, he did not need to use the system to access the domain. It was now his.
The Hero System shrunk back because it did not know if this dark overlord would think it was playing a trick on him. It was only following protocol for opening storage spaces issued by systems. How could it know that this person would discover a bug and exploit it?
Fortunately, Yuan Haoran did not comment.
He resumed his journey out of the destroyed necropolis with a cold expression. When he reached the illusionary formation, he paused for a moment and found the core of the setup within seconds. He destroyed it and took the crystals powering it.
He frowned lightly because he knew he did not understand the concept of formations. He merely used his superior power to see through the illusion and break its structure. He did not like barbaric methods.
The old ghost taught him a lot of things, but he needed to learn the skills of normal cultivators. While he was powerful now, he did not like depending on raw strength. It was not his style. He believed in knowledge more.
Old Guo only wanted him to build up the cultivation of the body and ensure it was strong enough for possession. Therefore, he did not bother imparting any skills that did not revolve around strength. It meant that Yuan Haoran was overpowered without finesse.
If he did not understand the principles of spiritual energy and wielding it effectively, he would not thrive in the world outside the domain. The necropolis ruins were evidence of what would happen if he lost control.
He did not want to admit it, but he might need to learn about orthodox cultivation once he left the domain. That did not mean he was willing to destroy his Saint-Level devil cultivation. His mind started churning as he considered his options for remaining the Demon King and becoming an unwilling hero.
Yuan Haoran's turbulent thoughts were interrupted as the system pinged shortly after he disarmed the illusionary formation.
[Mission: Defeat the Lich King and his army of the undead.]