"… And that's where we stand now."
As Rey listened to Ater's full report, he found himself blown away by all he heard.
Not only was he pleasantly surprised, but he was also shocked by just how much Ater knew and how many steps he had taken on his own.
'I never even told him about my [Doppel], yet he figured it out on his own.'
Thanks to that, he was able to preserve the dead bodies of the important players that he killed—all so Rey. Oils copy their Skills later.
"Great job, Ater! You even went ahead and took action regarding the investigation of the vermin in the Alliance."
After seeing the names on those packets of meat, Rey knew that a lot of people—if they could even be called that—would have to be purged from the Alliance.
It was the best route to take.
"I will acquire all those names from the Royal Council's inventory and inform the Shadow Slaves to investigate and execute them."
Rey smiled and nodded at Ater, pleased to have such an autonomous and intelligent person by his side.
'Should I have sent him to the Dark Gathering while I stayed in the Capital instead?' Rey smiled internally.
He wondered how different things would have been if Adrien had to deal with Ater and not him.
'Would he have been able to locate Adrien's real body and capture him?'
It was all speculative anyway, so there's no need to think too deeply about their matchup.
'Maybe next time, then.' Rey mused, and he furthered his discussion with Ater on other matters.
'I'm surprised he was even able to turn them all into Undead. That's not a part of his Skills, so… ah, he must have shapeshifted and used the Skill of the Claudius guy…'
Rey realized that Ater probably didn't need to preserve their corpses for him since he could just copy them directly from him.
Still, it was smart for Ater to have Undead that could end up being useful, one way or the other.
"What are your plans now, Master?"
Rey raised his brow as Ater asked this question.
"The Dark Undertaking is over, and in due time, the Dungeon Raid will be concluded as well. I was just curious about what you planned on doing after that."
Rey rubbed his chin upon hearing the question. It would be a lie if he said there hadn't been any planning on his end. However, nothing was concrete enough to be considered a proper plan.
"I want to defeat lots of stronger enemies so I can Level Up more. Despite killing a thousand humans, I barely Leveled up two times. If this keeps up, I will probably fall off and be surpassed by the likes of Adonis."
His Enchanted Items were giving him quite the advantage when it came to Base Stats, thanks to his ability to Equip a lot higher than normal.
But what of it?
Eventually, if he wasn't careful, others would catch up to him.
"I see. I do not believe you need to worry about that—at least, not for the time being. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to grow stronger in the near future." Ater responded with a smile.
Rey wondered if his thought process was too childish after looking at Ater's doting smile.
He blushed a little in embarrassment.
"What did you mean by plans, then?" Quickly asking to change the topic, Rey found himself rushing through the question.
"A-ah… I was talking about what you plan on doing with this place. This United Human Alliance…"
"What do I plan on doing? I don't understand…"
"Do you ever consider the possibility of leading this entire Nation? Perhaps… becoming the king?"
"E-eh?"
"I can make that happen, Master. If you rule this place, then it will be a lot easier to—"
"What are you talking about, Ater? Me being a ruler? I'm only sixteen!" Rey slapped his hand on his forehead as he stared at his Familiar in disbelief.
He couldn't believe Ater was thinking that far already.
'This guy is seriously giving me too much credit.'
"I do not believe your age is an important factor, though. You have done and achieved more than what most would never dream of in their lifetime." Ater responded calmly.
Sighing very loudly, he shook his head while raising one hand to show his lack of interest in the suggested position.
"The answer is no. I would rather be a fighter and leave all the administrative stuff to those in charge than to govern everything myself."
"But you can merely leave a proxy behind while you fight. Besides, do you not believe that the strongest should be the one to lead?"
"Of what use is strength without maturity and cunning to back it up?" Rey answered in swift motion.
Surely, Ater would have to agree that a leader needed more than raw power to be able to properly lead a group of people.
If they didn't have the skills necessary for commanding the respect, trust, and fear of those that followed them, then not was no use.
"That is why you have me, Master."
Ater's answer caught Rey off-guard. He didn't expect his Familiar to be so adamant on the subject.
And he had no further rebuttals to give.
"The answer is no." Rey maintained his ground, squeezing his fingers on the surface of his palms.
'There's no way I would want to be such a high-profile person…'
He was still struggling with balancing his dual identities, yet Ater wanted to suggest something even more draining?
No way!
'Getting stronger comes first! If I'm strong enough, I can just influence Conrad and Vida to do whatever I want, as Ralyks—of course.'
He could enjoy his time with his classmates as Rey, while also building his strength and commuting the necessary evils as Ralyks.
It was straining and convoluted, but thanks to his list of Skills, Rey was convinced that he could do all of it.
There was no need for more.
"I understand, Master. Then, please forget I said anything…"
"Your idea wasn't bad, Ater. Maybe when I grow older and become a lot more responsible." Rey laughed, clearly making light of the issue.
Ater shrugged and gave a slight chuckle too.
"Yes. Maybe…"