Starting as a Demon Warlock to Become a Lord

As Limon kept his vigil, a faint rustling and a barely perceptible shift of the sand behind the dune signaled an approaching presence. In a fleeting moment, a diminutive figure astride a Dudu bird emerged atop the sandy elevation.

It was, indeed, Laradoa.

Limon's wariness subsided, and with a mental command, he directed the demon imp to standby. Then, he nimbly dismounted the boulder.

Laradoa urged his Dudu bird forward, its hooves churning up billowing clouds of yellow sand as it hastened towards Limon.

Upon reaching the boulder's base, Laradoa alighted from the Dudu bird with a characteristic "hum hum" sound. Despite being a grown male, sporting a neatly groomed mustache, there was an ineffable charm about him that Limon found curiously endearing, as if he were a living embodiment of natural cuteness.

Laradoa's gaze swept over the demon imp on the far side of the boulder, the scattered remnants of shattered bones carpeting the ground, and the glistening, unclaimed crystals. His eyes widened in astonishment.

He exclaimed, his voice tinged with a blend of amazement and intrigue, "This is truly astounding. Is this the creature you have summoned? Hmm... It bears no resemblance to the elemental beings I am acquainted with. There's a certain air of darkness about it, an almost sinister aura. Adventurer, might you be a black magician?"

The eight major professions, broad as they were, encompassed a multitude of specialized branches.

The warlock profession, renowned for its summoning prowess, had various offshoots, with the black magician being one such神秘的分支. Black magicians were known to deftly wield the potent forces of darkness and possessed the uncanny ability to conjure dark and otherworldly creatures.

Limon offered a barely discernible nod. Since Laradoa had misconstrued him as a black magician, Limon saw no reason not to capitalize on this fortuitous误解.

It seemed evident that demons were not a common sight in this world. Otherwise, Laradoa would not have been so visibly taken aback by the demon imp, his confusion and lack of familiarity betraying his ignorance of such beings.

"Hehe, black magicians are a rare and somewhat peculiar lot in Arizela. However, I sense no such strangeness in you, adventurer. Very well, very well. Power, after all, knows no moral boundaries. Adventurer, if you would be so kind as to hand me the blue bird. I am here to settle your rightful reward. I have calibrated the memory of the blue bird to record only a single day's worth of data. Should the time limit be exceeded, I fear I won't be able to accurately tally the number of kills."

Limon carefully retrieved the stunned blue bird from his shoulder and proffered it to Laradoa. Upon accepting the blue bird, Laradoa fell silent, his lips moving in a hushed, unintelligible mutter. In response, the hitherto mute blue bird emitted a soft "coo", as if engaged in a silent, mysterious communion with Laradoa.

"Huh..."

Laradoa gasped, his eyes widening further as he looked up at Limon in disbelief.

"It's simply incredible. The adventurer managed to dispatch a staggering 368 undead in the span of a single night. Could it be that every single undead that emerged from the quicksand pool met its end at your hands?"

The blue bird was an unerring witness, and the piles of broken bones strewn beside the quicksand pool served as mute testimony to the carnage.

Coming to terms with this realization, Laradoa's face lit up with a broad smile. "This is splendid news. With this, we can rest easy for at least half a month, knowing that the threat of the undead in the quicksand pool has been quelled."

In a buoyant mood, Laradoa pivoted and retrieved a card from the cloth bag on his bird. He then produced a pen from the pouch on his waist and scribbled something on the card.

After writing, Laradoa handed the card to Limon.

"This is the commission record card. Present it to President Lalasa at the Adventurer's Guild. She will see to your payment. You have executed this mission with remarkable aplomb. I am most satisfied. I truly hope that the next adventurer who undertakes this task will possess a fraction of your ability. In that way, the undead in the quicksand pool will be eradicated in no time."

This was a card approximately half the size of a palm, adorned with an intricately engraved giant tree. Beneath the tree were several lines of information columns. Somehow, Laradoa had filled in the columns with what appeared to be engraved-looking fonts, yet without the use of magic ink.

It must be some form of magic or technology intertwined with magic.

With that, Laradoa mounted his bird and departed, his spirits visibly lifted.

Laradoa was both delighted and astonished that Limon had managed to clear the undead in the quicksand pool with such efficiency.

He was glad that he could now turn his attention away from the vexing undead for the next half month. He was equally amazed by Limon's strength. Over 300 undead! How could an ordinary adventurer possess such physical stamina and magical prowess?

Among the adventurers who had previously accepted this task, the most prolific undead slayer had been a warrior, who had managed to fell 78 undead in a single night.

This was achieved at the cost of his complete exhaustion. When Laradoa had rushed to the quicksand pool the following morning, the warrior had been spent. In contrast, Limon was brimming with energy, as if he had just awakened from a restful slumber.

After Laradoa's departure on the Dudu bird, Limon set about tidying the battlefield.

Taking no chances, Limon elected not to send the demon imp back to the abyss just yet. Instead, he lingered nearby.

Limon was only vaguely aware of the quicksand pool's boundaries. If he were to accidentally stumble into the quicksand, the demon imp might at least be able to pull him to safety. Having already tasted death once, Limon held his life in the highest regard.

The sole spoils of the previous night's battle were the crystals, tiny shards dropped by the undead.

They were minuscule, smaller than the fingernail of a little finger, and took the form of a multi-faceted rhombus, a deep, impenetrable black.

It took Limon a painstaking two hours to retrieve all the crystals concealed within the broken bones.

Of the 368 skeletons dispatched the night before, Limon had only managed to recover 127 crystals. It seemed that not every undead yielded a crystal, suggesting a certain element of chance was at play.

"Return!"

With a mere thought, the ground beneath the demon imp's feet fissured open. The demon imp sank into the gaping crevices filled with flowing magma and vanished back into the abyss.

After dispatching the demon imp, Limon swung himself onto the bird.

"Heh!"

With a soft exhalation, he flicked the reins in his hand.

The bird let out a shrill "Auntie" and took off with a bound, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake.

An hour and a half later, at the east gate of Arizela, Limon, astride the bird, emerged in the bustling market outside the city.

Today, Arizela was as vibrant as ever, its gates thronged with a ceaseless stream of pedestrians and camels.

Adventurers and caravans came and went, while patrol soldiers, clad in gleaming brass chain mail and brandishing weapons, kept a watchful eye.

At the city gate stood two guards, resplendent in fine silver chain mail. They stood tall and proud, their bearing a testament to their courage.

One was a veritable giant, towering at 2.5 meters, while the other was of more average height, approximately 1.8 meters. Their weaponry differed as well. The giant guard wielded a long-handled axe, while his counterpart held a sword and shield.

In Arizela, adventurers enjoyed a certain status, for they were professionals, and professionals commanded power far beyond that of ordinary folk. It was a universal truth that, in any world, the strong were held in high esteem.

Following the ebb and flow of the crowd and listening to the cacophony of voices, Limon entered Arizela through the east gate.

He made a beeline for the Adventurer's Guild. After returning the Dudu bird, Limon made his way back to the Adventurer's Guild.