Devil's Rise 22 The Libra

James headed to the DMV first to register his organization and get his Devil Mark as a Devil Knight. It was another terrible trip to the DMV. James waited for hours on end for two simple tasks. Whoever created such an organization as the DMV was true evil! [Organization formed: Libra] It surprised James Libra was free in the Xertzul Abyss. A one-word organization was much more majestic than a long-winded organization name. With his official organization formed and recorded at the DMV James headed to see Kyle. Considering he had made it to the Knight realm, he didn't expect to have any difficulties going to see his follower. As long as he didn't create any problems he wouldn't be violating his Devil Ancestors will. Sybil and Jurrath had long ago disappeared into the book. The book had its own space for Aspects. The 'Young Noble Lounge' was now a popular spot in the slums of Hudson City. All the commoners loved heading their to hang out and partake in felweed. Kyle's mastery of the Wood Dao had improved since he got the new Wood Dao Art from James. The felweed he was growing was becoming more distinct. As a dark elf, Kyle was naturally talented at botany. He envisioned a day he could create the best felweed strain for miles around. "Kyle I am now ready to take you on as an official follower!" "Yes, young master! This humble servant will serve you well." It seemed Kyle had taken James' advice to heart and visited Azon; he was now a proper lackey ready to do his master's bidding. [Devil contract established with Kyle, the Dark Elf] [Kyle will serve Libra faithfully, enacting James' will!] [Libra will provide resources, cultivation arts, and protection to Kyle.] [Follower added: Kyle, the Dark Elf!] James had taken the first step needed to make his organization! Now that Kyle was an officially contracted follower, James could entrust him with much broader tasks. "Kyle, your young master wants to expand his organization! Libra must become a powerful organization feared throughout the Xertzul Abyss. One day we will become as well respected as the DMV, feared throughout the lands!" "Yes, young master!" "Good Kyle, you are the acting head of my organization. You must serve me well. I want you to recruit followers who practice Wood Dao. Your young master could not gain many Arts yet. We must use the Knight level Wood Dao Art I gave you as our foundation!" "Your young master will quickly find a Baron level Wood Dao Art or even higher to help you and the new followers you recruit! We must expand and grow, we will focus on felweed for now since that is your specialty. You must purchase farming lands and establish a store for selling herbs." "Young master, this servant will go back to his hometown and recruit a few old friends of mine. Dark elves naturally are proficient in the Wood Dao! I should be able to recruit a few to expand your influence, young master." Little did James know soon he'd have an entire tribe of Dark Elves he was responsible for. Backed by a noble devil, and able to grow felweed all day? Even being offered Baron level Wood Dao Arts? Even given the organization leader's word for protection? James did not understand how tyrannical other devils were with their follower contracts. Just being protected was enough to sway most people into becoming followers. The Abyss was a place where the law of the jungle reigned. He was just starting out, so his contract was much too generous. In a well-established organization like [Mountain Shadow] followers would have to work hard and contribute much to the organization before it provided them any resources or cultivation arts. "That would be for the best, Kyle! I am leaving all responsibility up to you. Here is an official devil mark for the organization, with it you can recruit new members. They will automatically have basic contracts equivalent to yours established with the organization by touching the mark." "Thank you, young master! Your humble servant will not let down your trust in me." James headed back to his hut. He was now broke after giving all his fel shards to Kyle to establish his organization. I guess I better do my mandatory task and grab some fel shards before trying that pocket realm thing. Now that James was a Devil Knight completing tasks would pay him well. Hopefully, he could recoup a bit of fel shards so he wasn't a broke young master. A young master without resources was hopeless! James took a task to survey the waterholes. He hoped to find a Knight level turtle demon beast so he could have a second soul servant. James brought out his fiery serpent soul out to inspect it. It was a large ghostly anaconda with wisps of fire around it. James had to use around half of his Devil qi to summon it. The qi would sustain it for around twelve hours depending on how much it battled. It would respond to simple commands. With James' initial Knight level Soulflame qi it had the battle prowess of a completion level Esquire. The fire serpent soul could easily restrain initial Knight level demon beasts as restraint was its specialty. After a few days of surveying, James finally found an alligator snapping turtle demon beast in one of the waterholes. This was the perfect demon beast soul for his art! He sent the fiery serpent soul to restrain the alligator snapping turtle. It quickly coiled around the turtle and pulled it out of the water. This fight was simple. The turtle demon beast was only at the initial Knight level, not able to escape the binding of the fiery serpent soul. James just had to watch out for its jaws and the water spit attacks it was doing. With the turtle demon beast restrained, James eventually landed his dagger on the turtle's head. His soul orb could barely contain the Knight level demon beast soul. It was ferocious and full of resentment. An Esquire level beast soul had restrained to its death! Tempering this Knight level soul would take James a long time. James stored it in the orb and would worry about it later. He would have to gain an understanding of the Electric Dao before he could make the soul servant, anyway. James finished up the surveying task and collected his reward. They paid him 10 medium grade fel shards for his work. Defeating young masters, and asking for compensation is way quicker than working for a living. The fel shards were much needed by James though. Now he at least wasn't broke anymore. James felt this amount of fel shards would be enough for now. He headed back to his hut and began reading 'Exploiting Pocket Worlds'. Exploiting Pocket Worlds was simple for James to digest as it just detailed the basic structure about properly exploiting a pocket world. Pocket worlds apparently were any realms which allowed creatures from Tier 1-3. Since the Tutan World was a Tier 2 pocket world the strongest existence in the realm would have to be the peak of Tier 2. The world laws restricted stronger creatures.Realms that allowed Tier 4 to Tier 6 creatures would be classified as Lower Worlds according to the realm classification listed. This information made James feel very weak. His entire Devil Clan only had the strength to be the hegemony of a Lower World. The information did not go into detail of realm classification beyond that as it was unnecessary to the topic covered. The resources available in a pocket realm were four-fold; the populace, the natural resources, the power system, and relics. They classified it as a power system because different realms used distinct ways to denote cultivation. The Xertzul Abyss James was from used the Devil Noble ranking system. Tier 1 in one system would be comparable to Tier 1 in another system, but there were always exceptions. There were nearly infinite ways in the cosmos to increase one's power only by using one which is best for oneself would a cultivator come out on top. The populace was the most important resource when dealing with a pocket world. Once you subdued the populace, you would have easy access to the other 3 types of resources in a pocket realm. It was the most important but also the hardest to deal with, apparently. If the local populace was not handled, it was very difficult to gain access to the other forms of resources. The denizens of Pocket realms did not like foreigners intruding into their everyday life. To deal with the natural population of a realm one could either have an alliance, conquering, chattel slavery, or full-blown extermination. Some realms had fully chaotic creatures with no sentience, so extermination was the only option when dealing with that world. Conquering or chattel slavery were the most favorable options when establishing a foothold in a pocket world. Once you had that established you had full reigns of the world. Since it capped strength in pocket worlds, it was very difficult to take over a pocket world. Unless you had overwhelming force at their same cultivation level. James felt he was understanding more of the Xertzul Abyss he lived in. He could see why Battle Devils had their own association. If one wanted to take over a Tier 2 pocket world, they would need a Tier 2 Battle Devil helming their troops. Just as If one wanted to take over a Tier 3 pocket realm they would need a Tier 3 Battle Devil helming their troops. He could see how being a Battle Devil would be a very lucrative profession even backed by its own association in the Abyss. After the populace came natural resources. The natural fauna and wildlife nurtured in different realms would all be unique with original properties. If there was a highly sought use of a particular product from a world, then it would quickly allow a devil to become a tycoon. Natural resources were renewable, so they were the second-best resource to gain from a pocket world. The third resource to gain from pocket realms were their cultivation systems. The grand Daos were endless. Every single cultivation system was a gem to learn from and study that could improve one's own cultivation. One's cultivation path spang out from one's own understanding. Interacting with alternative cultivation systems was very helpful to any cultivators foundation. The fourth and last resource was the most mysterious, but also could be the most rewarding. Cultivators loved to leave inheritances behind. Strong cultivators saw it as a mark of pride to leave behind a great inheritance. Some scattered their inheritances through the Myriad Realms. Entering a relic site could be the good fortune of a lifetime for a cultivator. They built some relic sites when a cultivator reached the end of their natural life. They would entomb all their knowledge within a final resting place to accrue a last batch of good karma for a favorable reincarnation. Cultivators also frequently left relics even when they were not on their deathbed. Karma was illusionary but real, and the best way to accrue it was by leaving behind relics. To get the knowledge stored in a relic, one would have to use their own effort. This was the working of the world. Preparation is the forefather of success. For James to be successful during his coming expedition he would need to prepare properly. He felt that he was not ready to embark into the pocket realm. A young master had backing in the world.

The reason James could live a life of leisure was he was backed by Count Kogthoz, who was backed by the Rez'gal Empire. The stakes would definitely raise when James entered pocket worlds! He would no longer have his status as a noble devil. His very life would be on the line!

Chapter end