Galaxy's First Ruler

Despite being underground, the Dreamers could still feel the cold and an occasional gust of wind.

One such flurry swayed Tomislav's hair when he confronted the two Viscounts about the purpose of their visit. Normally, the Nobles from a well-established house instead of answering would have berated Tomislav's behavior.

But this was Dungeon, here odds could turn in favors and favors in odds for even a King.

"So what?"

Viscount Trifon spread out his hands and shrugged. Again, though despising, his words were ultimately right. So what if they were here because of Darkness Seeking Compass or for anything else? Nothing could change the fact that they were already in the Dungeon.

"It's true that we came here hoping to get a Darkling as rewards. But it seems like something is interfering with the compass."

Viscount Rayko took out and pointed at the red needle which was making mayhem within the compass. Tomislav remembered hearing about Darklings. In the last Galactic War, before he was even born, they had gone extinct. He had never seen one, but it was spread through words of mouth that the Darklings were the only creatures in the Galaxy that were made of pure Darkness.

And like every other pure element-based creature, one could get them in rewards by killing their spawned form i.e. Crawler in Dungeons.

Thooo!

Ellington spit out clotted blood, hearing Rayko's words. The hot red veins in his eyes became even redder but the voice that came out of his mouth was low and bone-chilling cold.

"Darkling? Don't flatter yourself, Rayko. We both were there in the last Galactic War. Have you ever seen a Darkling cut and bite Dreamer's head off?"

Everyone became silent, and even Viscount Rayko couldn't seem to have any answer to Ellington's question. Tomislav, standing amid them, again tried hard to remember the details about the Darklings.

The Darklings, like their kinds, could impart the element of Darkness to any of the Dreamer's Skills. Not only that, they could exponentially enhance the Dark spells and Skills. Except for the pure Light, the effect of all other elements used to diminish on them. But the most bizarre thing about them were the stories of their origin.

"Aren't Darklings nothing but the Creatures of Darkness given a body by the 'RECORD'?"

Tomislav heard Christin's feeble voice as she neared herself to her captain.

Thump!

Tomislav's heart pounded, and he looked at the rotating needle a third time. For the first time after starting their journey, he felt an unimaginable fear taking control over his body. A guess that had kept eluding from his senses, came rushing to his mind as he saw Christin's blushed face.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Ellington looked at Christin in doubt, making Trifon laugh out loud.

"Haha! You are looking at a Demon."

"What if…"

The power of the word Demon was so huge that it even overshadowed Tomislav's rough voice.

"Demon? I have only seen a few Demons, most of them as images in Scrolls, and none looked as pretty as her."

SMACK!

"What if…"

The two perky breasts of the naked beauty became red along with her face, hearing Ellington's remark over Christin. And Tomislav's dazed voice got overpowered again by the sound of slapping on Ellington's back. None noticed Tomislav's strange state other than Christin.

"Viscount Rayko, as much as I abhor myself to say this, but I am here to propose a deal. Only by combining our strength, we can go out of here alive. Whatever is up there won't take long to come down and…"

"SHUT UP!"

The shrill scream, originating from behind the two Viscounts of House Venomous Rose, caught everyone off guard. Viscount Ellington almost ran backward, and a rose materialized in Rayko and Trifon's hand. But from the dull background came out a mummified face, walking slowly as if he was dragging his upright body.

Berb was a man people often used to ignore and forget about. Not even Tomislav knew of his past to the fullest.

But the shout brought Tomislav out of his petrified state. Christin had her hands on his bearded cheeks, and he saw Berb throwing him a bottle of yellowish liquid.

"Viscount Rayko, I know you and your nephew are strong enough to handle a few deadly Crawlers. But don't forget who brought you here without losing a single man. And who saved you from standing in the place of Viscount Ellington? Or have the Priests on your planet stopped chanting the ancient songs of Blessed Ones?"

Berb's unexpected presence and questions silenced all the Viscounts. The accusation in his last sentence was alone enough to carry out a generational massacre if proven true.

"What nonsense are you spouting? How… How dare you even ask something like that to me?"

Viscount Rayko stuttered to complete his words. If this thing were to spread, he couldn't bear the consequences. Tomislav knew that as he saw the slight wicked smile on Berb's face and put a hand over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Berb. But I can handle it now from here."

"Haha! Okay, Captain."

Tomislav took a deep breath and looked in the eyes of all Viscounts.

Some things had more value than Skills. Some things were more precious than pure Elemental beings. And some things were beyond Rank.

Leveling-up wasn't enough in the System called RECORD.

"What if the Darkness Seeking Compass isn't faulty? What if there is no interference?"

"What gibberish is this? Don't you even know how any compass works?"

Tomislav looked at Viscount Rayko and approached him.

"May I have it?"

Viscount Rayko and Trifon shared a look before Rayko and handed the compass over to Tomislav. The two compasses were identical. There were no marks on or inside them. Only a red needle kept rotating, covering all directions.

"If I remember the principle behind Darkness Seeking Compass correctly. It was to locate the Creature of Darkness within a Darkling. And not the Darkling itself."

Even before Tomislav had completed his words, a brilliant flash of light glowed in Trifon's eyes. Alas, none could see it.

"What if the compasses are pointing at the Creatures of Darkness as intended, but there are just too many of them around us?"