Emerging from the darkness was a man in a black hooded cloak, shrouded in a mostly blackened attire.
He had a dark mask on, and he appeared just like the famed Dark Adventurer.
No… he really was him!
The one who stood before Rey was none other than Ralyks.
Then, he knelt before the seated boy.
"Master…"
As those words echoed in the room, Rey shrugged slightly as a small smile formed on his face.
"You should transform back to your normal form." He said.
"You mean as a ca—?"
"No! You know fully well what I mean." Rey swiftly interjected.
This completely broke his cool vibes.
"Understood, master."
Instantly, a swirling surge of energy circled around the Ralyks that knelt before Rey, and in no time at all, it had become a handsome young man with red hair and ebony skin.
His crimson eyes shone brightly in the room, and his lips curled up to form a devilish grin.
"That's more like it." Rey nodded, staring at his Familiar—Ater.
"You may rise."
Ater rose to his feet, his tall figure looming over Rey who sat comfortably on his bed.
"You can sit down if you like. We have quite a bit to discuss, after all."
Upon hearing that, Ater began to float in midair and crossed both legs together as he sat on nothing but empty space.
Rey noticed this, and a spark of curiosity appeared in his eyes.
"How are you able to do that? Float, I mean."
Ater didn't have any Skill related to flying, yet he had displayed the ability to fly a few times—both as Ralyks and in his normal form.
How was that possible? Some kind of Magic Spell he had?
"Ahh… I think it just comes naturally to me. Sort of like how walking is to humans—maybe even running or crawling."
Once he heard this, Rey's eyes widened considerably.
'Oho! So that's how it is.'
Just the same way humans didn't have a Skill for walking or running, he didn't need a Skill for flying.
'It must come naturally to his race.'
"Alright then. Back to important matters. How was your first day as Ralyks?" He asked, folding his arms as he rested on the wall behind him.
Rey had previously planned on using his [Replicate] Skill to become both Rey as Ralyks, but Ater had suggested himself acting as Ralyks.
There were several advantages to this, so Rey decided to leave things up to him.
Thankfully, Ater was good at acting, so he played his part well.
'There were some parts where he acted a bit too cold, but I can see my Ralyks persona acting that way, so it's forgivable.'
In the end, it didn't matter who was behind the mask, as long as they got the job done.
'And I think he did considerably well.'
"It was puzzling for the most part. Master, I do not understand why you waste your time with those inferior entities." The moment Rey heard this, he nearly coughed out loud.
'The hell…?!'
Ater had just spoken his mind, and Rey could definitely feel he was being honest, which was why his comment was even more effective on him.
"W-what do you mean?" He asked, clearing his throat as he spoke.
"Well, the resources you are spoonfeeding them are indeed making them stronger, but I can not comprehend why you would choose to aid them so much."
The ebony man stared honestly at his master, and his gleaming red eyes showed no regard for any of the Otherworlders at all.
"Other than Adonis, none of them possess any real value. Perhaps Adonis would be useful as one of Master's servants, but I see no reason for your charades around him… or the rest of them."
Ater remained calm, his demeanor a mostly stoic one, but his eyes showed some kind of genuine confusion.
… As if he couldn't comprehend his Master's action.
"Could there perhaps be some deeper reason to this that I can not figure out?" His face seemed to say.
Rey didn't know what to tell his Familiar.
He was frozen in his seated position, wondering how to justify his actions to someone who was driven by nothing but cold-
hearted utility.
"You really think they have no value?"
"Perhaps they can be used as fodders in war, but even then, you already possess powerful abilities that allow you to make fodders of your own without relying on any of them." Ater responded.
"I understand there is a war, and I understand that every leader requires followers, but I find it difficult to believe that these ones will be of much use in the end."
Rey shook his head slightly as he stared at Ater.
'He's only saying this because he's pretty much stronger than all of them. Other than Adonis, I don't see anyone getting stronger than him—especially if he begins to Level Up.'
However, there couldn't be a lot of Adonises, and Ater came in short supply.
In the end, rather than merely seeking out the best of the goods, it was also prudent to grow the lesser valued products and make them worth as much as possible.
In essence, the weaker Otherworlders had the potential to grow stronger by training them and helping them grow.
'That is my intention. I want to make them strong enough to actually stand against the Dragons.
And it wasn't impossible!
'Just by looking at their growth today, and how their Stats have advanced so far, I honestly think it's only a matter of time that they reach Level 100.'
It was possible that they would arrive at that Level once the entire Dungeon Raid was concluded.
Rey couldn't even imagine what Level Adonis would reach once the entire thing was over.
'They're currently being polished. Given enough time, I'm sure Ater will see their value.'
Besides…
"Utility isn't the only reason I make such decisions." Rey smiled in response to Ater's questions.
Perhaps he was just being sentimental, but he genuinely wanted to see those eight grow strong too.
'In this world, it's better to be strong rather than weak. They all stayed because they wanted to protect this world and stop the Dragons. The least I can do for them is give them the opportunity to become strong.'
One could perhaps describe it as an act of benevolence. Others could call it selfless, or even patronizing.
But for Rey, none of those mattered much.
'Most of what we do as humans isn't fully logical.' He sighed and rubbed his head.
Even now, he couldn't help but wonder if Ater was right—and if there weren't any better ways to go about what he wanted.
However, since his current arrangement was working well, there was no need to change anything.
"I guess there are reasons that you just can't recognize." Rey finally said to Ater, who had been waiting for an answer.
The moment he heard this, his eyes widened in surprise.
He instantly bowed his head in respect.
"I understand, Master!"
Whatever Rey meant by those words could have been misinterpreted by Ater, but the boy didn't notice any of that at all.
He was just happy that Ater wasn't asking him the question any longer.
"Now then… on to the real issues."