Galaxy's First Ruler

"Yes."

The little wormhole crumbled and one more Skill got added into Aldrich's arsenal.

Aldrich wasn't overly enthusiastic about the Skill. The only thing he was concerned about was the Laws and their application. From the first time that Aldrich had got to listen to the Language of LAWS out of the Sugaar's mouth, Aldrich was curious about some things.

That Ancient Saying had three Laws mixed within, and Aldrich could feel Wind, Electricity, and a third unknown Law. But from the name of the Crawler, and the Skill's requirement, he was sure that two of the three were Law of Storm and Law of Thunder. The only thing that troubled him was that he did not know how to go from Law of Wind to Storm or Law of Electricity to Thunder.

"Sigh! Haha, so many new things to learn."

Aldrich sighed and let out a low pleasant laugh. He would be lying if he were to say that this momentary problem hadn't excited him. He didn't know how much time it would take, but once mastered, he could do it better than Sugaar.

Houuu!

A sudden chilly breeze hit him at the tip of his 'thing', making him look down again.

"Oh! I forgot about this…"

Aldrich was still naked, with only a tiny stream of black shadowy smoke coiling around him. It was the Devil's aura. He took out the House Venomous Rose staple white greatcoat and pants, without the rose insignia, and wore it. The Rumok on his hand glowed blue as he pushed the aura into the greatcoat. But the amount of Devil's aura wasn't enough to make the white greatcoat pitch black.

Aldrich looked at the gray-colored clothes and shrugged his shoulders. He preferred whites, but the color of clothes wasn't even the last thing he cared about.

Aldrich looked at the last reward, hovering lonely in the vast Plaza, awaiting him to touch it. So far, the last rewards hadn't fared advantageous for him. And now that he had got a Viscount Ranked Skill, the little hope he had for it to turn out to be a decent Item or Skill was fleeting, too.

Aldrich's mind involuntarily went to Sugaar's red jacket and forgotten baseball cap as he touched the black ball.

[…

Skill: Serpent Slither (Baron)

Nature: Passive

Minimum Usage Condition: Perception 90

Consumption: NA

Description: Dreamers can speak and understand the language of serpent-like creatures

Warning: Speaking and hearing the serpent language will exert heavy pressure on Dreamer's Perception

Warning: Perception-based Skills are subjected to some interference

Warning: Dreamer will understand the language even if not desired

Do you want to equip the Skill?

…]

Aldrich felt deeply complicated about the Skill. Since his childhood, he had only dreamed of learning more and more, and at a later stage, he even tried to master those dreams. But even he was susceptible to some things, as such was human nature.

Aldrich was a great fan of the book series Harry Potter. So when he saw the Data related to Skill, he couldn't help but exclaim.

"… Why not just name it Parseltongue?! ... Yes."

The Black Ball crumbled, and Aldrich was more than happy to get a Passive Skill. Irrespective of the warning, the first thing Aldrich did was to use the Serpent Slither.

Hisssss! Hussss!!

A sheepish smile came upon his face, but it got buried soon, too. Aldrich took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He looked down and at the bottom of the crater, he saw a bluish-green glow like a reflection of a lake.

It was the portal to the next Plaza.

Aldrich drank a few SP and HP potions and brought himself to the optimal state.

"These are about to run out…"

Aldrich muttered and made a count of his resources. The Penalty had made him use most of the potions he had, including his treasured Heart Venom potion.

"Daddy…"

Aldrich was thinking about the losses he had suffered when Sha spoke out.

"Yeah? Feeling hungry? Disco Ball is waiting for you."

"…"

"…"

"Daddy… The… Potions…"

Aldrich narrowed his eyes as Sha mentioned potions. It would be a huge trouble if she started to focus her appetite on potions too.

"What about them?"

"That… That… Daddy… make… them."

For a moment, Aldrich felt he had heard wrong. He couldn't believe that the Shadow Homunculus was actively suggesting ideas to him now. It would be wrong to say that he hadn't thought of making potions. But there had never come a time when he needed them and he couldn't find plenty of them lying around. And making better and more effective Potions for the sake of research had one of the bottommost positions on his priority list.

"If it goes on like this, then I guess I will have to make a few. Tch!"

Aldrich stared at the portal and dived into it, wondering what kind of being he would get to see.

Zoooom!

*

[…

You have entered the Plaza de los Nueve Pilares

…]

Aldrich came out of the portal and the Broken Faith materialized in his hands. He had decided to slay whatever may come in his path now regardless of its Stats. As the Penalty was going to be exacted, anyway.

But Aldrich hadn't arrived at a valley surrounded by storms and thunder, nor was he in some kind of ruins. All around there was a light fresh air intermingled with honey's sweetness. To his right, there was a garden of roses, lilies, and other flowers in full bloom. And on his left was a small waterfall, whose water ended in a crystal clear lake.

Everything was brimming with the light and pleasant noises of birds. The buzz of the bumblebees and the flutter of butterfly's wings painted a serene and heart-pleasing picture.

"Daddy. Behind. You."

Aldrich snapped his head back as Sha's words rang in his mind and raised the Katana to slice everything in half. But there was no beast in front of him, nor was there an enormous creature. Aldrich could only see a little fairy in front of him, hovering above the vibrant green grass, and there was a notification between him and her.

[…

Attacking Crawlers is prohibited in this Plaza

…]