The Emperor Class

“How long does it take to reach….”

“Gujash?”

“Yes. How long does it take to reach Gujash through these portals?”

“Two hours should be sufficient.”

“Do you mind if I ask some questions in the meantime?” Dreu waved his arms and kicked his legs in a swimming motion, showing that he had little control over his progress in the portal. “That would help me pass the time while we slowly get there.”

“What is on your mind?”

Dreu first talked about the invasion and the overwhelming advantage of the demon forces. He described all the battles he was part of before he got to the burning question in his mind.

“How are they giving humans such a hard time?” Dreu passed briefly to collect his thoughts. “I fought those demonic soldiers. They were numerous but they were weak individually. The castle defenders were all veterans compared to me. In terms of experience, training and skills, they all vastly outrank me. Yet, it looked like they were defeated in a very one-sided battle. The demons had the advantage from the very start.”

“It’s all Eglallin’s doing.”

“She cast a buff on all of the demons?”

“In a way. Did you notice something abnormal about the way the humans had been fighting those demons?”

Dreu took a whole minute visualizing the humans and recalling the training Bayard provided him. Once he compared what he was taught and what he visualized, one flaw jumped out that he missed during the heat of the moment.

“They were attacking with all their might when engaged with the demonic soldiers. Why were they doing that when they only needed a fraction of their strength? I’d imagine veterans like them wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake.”

“Do you know the three reactions humans have when faced with fear?”

“Fight, flight or freeze?”

“Correct! Those are battle hardened veterans so flight and freeze are out of the question. Yet, their fighting styles change if they experience fear. That’s the secret weapon of the demons.”

“They are battle hardened veterans as you described. There’s no way they can be afraid of those demonic soldiers.”

“That’s where Eglallin comes in. Demons have an inherent aura that causes fear in low level humans. The demoness has a spell that increases the potency of that aura by several magnitudes. No human is safe from that aura when the demoness is involved because no human could fully overcome the fear they experience. Feeling fear, those veterans are subconsciously overexerting with each attack and they won't realize until fatigue has settled in. Now you know how the demons managed to reach the capital.”

Dreu absorbed the new information and took a while to process all of it. The more he thought about it, the more everything made sense. He could see how a combination of this aura and portals to strike from unexpected directions would be a very potent combination. In addition, the demons had the initiative during the entire invasion. They picked where to strike, resulting in the humans being reactive to the attacks. The human forces were isolated and destroyed with ease. Therefore, the humans offered little resistance throughout the entire war and would have experienced a total defeat if it weren’t for the intervention of the two demi-gods. In the end, the demons achieved nothing if all the humans were indeed resurrected by Rowan.

“I know you are deep in thoughts,” interrupted the portal guide, “but I was told to assist you with one matter before we exit the portal.”

Dreu followed the guide’s gaze until he noticed a thick tome floating towards them. The guide grabbed the tome and turned towards the young man.

“Eglallin did want to leave a parting gift due to fate bringing you two together. You may learn two spells from her arsenal. Pick two and I’ll teach it to you. Don’t dawdle too long or I won’t have enough time.”

“I don’t know any of her spells. Do you have any recommendations?”

The guide shrugged her shoulders and stated that the tome had over a thousand spells. Many of these spells were far too niche to be useful but Eglallin liked to record them should they ever become useful. Dreu then asked if he could take a look at the contents to which the guide asked him if he could read the demonic language. After he shook his head, the young man thought deeply while he recalled his brief interaction with the demoness. Other than her fireball spells and the ability to float, he remembered little else. He then thought about the earlier conversation and turned to the guide.

“I wish to learn the spell Eglallin used to increase the fear aura.”

“Excellent choice! What’s your second spell?”

“Does she have one that can summon portals like the one we’re in?”

“I’m afraid she doesn’t have that in her arsenal. Very useful but also very challenging to master, even for the demoness.”

“Shadow double?”

“That’s Braglames’ spell. The demoness has never been taught about it, nor does it fit her fighting style.”

“What type of spell does Eglallin excel in?”

“She excels in curses, summoning and chaos flames.”

“Then I’ll learn her strongest summoning spell!”

“You’re not compatible due to your Emperor Class.”

The next several minutes were the longest minutes in Dreu's life. After a lot more questions, he finally decided on a curse protection spell. He wasn’t sure how well he would fare with offensive spells when he had so little knowledge on his mana situation. A spell that required a lot less spamming would suit him better. Given how thick the tome was, he doubted he would have sufficient time to dig into it more and find the perfect spell. At the same time, the young man was amazed the demon knew so many spells. He could only imagine how many lifetimes he would need to know that many spells.

“This will be a little painful,” said the guide.

Before Dreu could register what was said, he felt incredible pain throughout his body. The pain soon became so unbearable that he blacked out. Before he lost consciousness, he thought he heard a voice.

"Wake up, sleepy head! Time to get up for breakfast!"