Tap! Tap! Tap!
Lu Zhuoxing felt alarm bells going off inside his head. He already understood the situation a few days ago but his mind was still refusing to accept that this was his reality.
I really transmigrated, huh? Lu Zhuoxing muttered inwardly.
He had grown up reading web novels and had often fantasized over such stories. However, he momentarily found it hard to accept the situation when he found himself in one despite the fact that it has already been a few weeks.
This was probably what it meant to love a fantasy. Lu Zhuoxing cursed himself while trying not to stand out among the other monsters.
If he was a weak minded person, he would have already ruined himself. This was the case because he hadn't shown weakness to the troublesome fellow rapidly kicking his chair.
Calm down. Calm down. Let's backtrack for a moment. Taking a few steady breaths, Lu Zhuoxing gradually pushed away the whirlwind of chaotic thoughts.
As his mind settled and his body relaxed, a tide of memories surged forth as he began to remember!
When he transmigrated and first opened his eyes in this world, he found himself deep within the Orz Continent's most hidden place: the underground sanctum of the Dream God Church. Strange runes pulsed around him, encircling a five-sided star that glowed faintly beneath his feet.
According to the shadow priests of the Dream God Church, he was an orphan of unknown origin. However, they speculated that he might be a descendant of a Noble Vampiric House. Among the many Noble Houses, the Vampire Clans held considerable prestige within the Netherworld. In terms of combat prowess, they possessed exceptional regenerative abilities, immense strength, and heightened agility. Even more notably, their power increased with age. While there were exceptions to this pattern, the average noble vampire was still stronger than the average demon.
Perhaps it was more appropriate to call them one of the "ruling class". If fate had indeed placed him within a Vampiric House, then his future would be secured.
However, nothing in this world was ever so simple.
After a thorough examination, it was confirmed that he wasn't a vampire, neither noble nor servant. The only traits that faintly resembled a noble demon were his pale skin, humanoid figure, absence of typical demonic features like wings or horns, and most notably, his unique eyes known as the
But being labeled rare didn't make him safe.
If anything, it simply made him a walking target.
Aside from his unusual eyes, there was nothing particularly exceptional about him. He was certainly stronger and faster than a human, but by demonic standards, he was only slightly above average. As for his magical power, that was, without a doubt, his weakest attribute.
Simply put, he was no different from a low-class demon.
Yes, just like one would expect, those guys were basically the punching bags of higher class demons.
They were often used for target practice, errands, or worse, made to serve as living mana reservoirs in cruel experiments. In this harsh world, strength was everything, and hierarchy ruled. If you didn't have a name, lineage, or raw power, then you were little more than disposable fodder. Lu Zhuoxing understood this quickly. That realization struck hard on the second day of his awakening, when a horned brute twice his size tried to gouge his eye out just because he was "curious."
Fortunately, he managed to escape that predicament by landing a swift kick to the demon's groin, crushing his pride in one brutal blow, then immediately gouging out his eyes as a savage display of dominance.
It was an act born entirely of instinct, one that left even Lu Zhuoxing stunned.
Why had he been able to deliver such a crippling attack so casually? And more importantly, how many times could he do something like that before his luck ran out?
Naturally, he couldn't rely on ball-kicking and eye-gouging as a strategy forever. There would eventually be demons he couldn't overpower with raw aggression, even if he wanted to.
That was the true terror of being a low-rank demon.
He had thought his life was doomed when he first transmigrated into this world. But after spending some time here, he realized things weren't as terrible as he had initially feared.
For one, members of the Dream God Church were considered a "protected species" in the underworld. The denizens of this realm were forbidden from discriminating against or harming those who worshiped the Demon God. Anyone caught violating this decree would face severe punishment.
Perhaps this rule was established by the followers of the Dream God — the primogenitor of the demon race — to shield their own. Or maybe it was intended to preserve diversity within hell itself. Regardless of its origin, the law guaranteed a basic standard of living for low-ranking demons who followed the Dream God, so long as they hadn't been captured as prey or prisoners.
Armed with the knowledge he had gathered by questioning the shadow priests under the guise of memory loss, the first thing Lu Zhuoxing resolved to do was find a way to become an active member of the Dream God Church. Given his unique traits, there was no telling what kind of troublesome demons might come after him if he remained on his own.
Luckily, the Dream God Church wasn't as impenetrable as it appeared to outsiders.
Low-ranking demons often served the Church in various roles; some as attendants, others as guards, scribes, or ritual aides. Most of them weren't official clergy, but their affiliation still granted them the Church's protection and some measure of status. Lu Zhuoxing saw this as his foothold.
To his surprise, the shadow priests didn't reject his request outright. They didn't accept him either, at least not formally. Instead, they gave him menial tasks, such as sweeping the temple floors, cleaning bloodstained relics, and carrying ritual offerings. It was demeaning, but he endured it without complaint. He also needed the money too!
Another noteworthy detail of importance was that there were humans in the Netherworld.
Yes, actual humans of flesh and blood existed in this hellish realm. But that didn't mean the Netherworld was a place where humans could live comfortably, or even survive for long without support.
For one thing, the environment itself was brutal. The so-called "oceans" of this world were vast lakes of molten lava, bubbling violently at temperatures soaring well over a thousand degrees Celsius. Heat waves surged across the land unpredictably, capable of raising the ambient temperature in entire regions by over a hundred degrees in a matter of minutes. Demons, vampires, and undead could shrug off such fluctuations without much concern. But for ordinary humans, these conditions were nothing short of catastrophic.
It wasn't just the environment that posed a threat. The social structure of the Netherworld placed humans firmly at the bottom of the food chain, sometimes quite literally.
Unless they were loyal worshippers of the Dream God and granted protection under His dominion, humans held no special status. In fact, many were considered a delicacy. Vampires hunted them because of their blood they deem delicious, and certain demon tribes devoured their flesh in twisted rituals or as casual meals. Others were enslaved, used in arcane experiments, or forced to fight as entertainment in bloody arena games.
Thinking about that, Lu Zhuoxing felt his blood run cold. For the remainder of the lecture, it was as if he were lying on a bed of needles.
Maybe he was just being paranoid, but the latter part of Professor Mor'Karav's lecture—"A Hundred Ingenious Ways to Make a Human Scream"— added to his growing unease. That definitely wasn't part of the original syllabus.
As if that wasn't enough...
Tap! Tap!
There was a troublesome fellow behind him who had been kicking his chair for a while now.
The culprit was none othan than a demoness named Mira.
A pink-haired succubus with smooth porcelain skin, heart-shaped tail, twisted sheep horns curling above her ears, and irises to match her mischievous grin. Her uniform skirt was cut scandalously short, making it difficult to decide where to look, especially given her naturally bottom-heavy figure and a modestly sized bust to boot as well.
She had been messing with him since the start of the lesson, sometimes kicking his chair, sometimes even intentionally glowing his neck.
Damnit. What should do about this stubborn succubus?!
Without a doubt, she was dangerous, or rather, succubi as a species were.
Lu Zhuoxing — or Cassian, as he was now called — found himself in a situation not unlike that of a panda: rare, precious, and heavily protected. Bullying him came with consequences. But Mira wasn't using brute force or spells. She was using her innate racial talent of seduction and that made her far more treacherous.
If he fell for her tricks, there would be no recourse or way to redress his grievances.
Therefore, no matter what happened or how hard she kicked his chair, he couldn't look back!
I don't understand. What does she have against me to begin with? I doubt we know each other that well.
Looking back, he probably had an idea about why she was so interested in him.
It wasn't because of his charm or status, he had neither. It wasn't even his looks either, so there was only one thing that would have caught her interest.
The
He didn't know what they truly were or what they could do, but he'd caught Mira staring at him more than once — not at his face or his body, but directly into his eyes. It wasn't the flirtatious gaze she gave others. There was calculation in her stare, like she was studying him, dissecting him without a scalpel.
Succubi weren't just seductresses; they were highly intelligent, perceptive creatures. They could smell weakness… and secrets.
He had a bad feeling that Mira saw both.
Perhaps it was her nature. Succubi were drawn to chaos, after all.
Maybe she saw him as a puzzle worth solving, a wild card or maybe it was just entertainment. He couldn't tell which one scared him more.
Regardless, ever since Mira had laid eyes on him, she hadn't stopped bothering him. It was clear the succubus had every intention of conquering him.
However, Lu Zhuoxing showed no interests which must have probably frustrated her to no end.
Tap! Tap!
The kicking continued.
Lu Zhuoxing clenched his jaw, trying his best to endure, but the demoness was quite relentless.
With each passing moment, he felt his sanity slipping.
The kicks grew faster and harder. It was an unbearable, rhythmic assault. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Lu Zhuoxing snapped. He turned sharply and glared at Mira.
"Hey, can you stop that?"
His voice dripped with hostility.
But Mira only smiled before licking her lips in deliberate provocation.
"Whatever do you mean? What exactly am I doing?" she cooed.
Then, as if to punctuate her innocence, she gave his chair another sharp kick.
"C'mon, c'mon, tell me," she teased.
Lu Zhuoxing gritted his teeth, his patience wearing thin. But then, a spark of inspiration flickered in his mind.
Instead of scowling, he turned and flashed her a brilliant smile, then calmly faced forward, as if nothing had happened.
Mira blinked, clearly thrown off by his unexpected reaction.
For a moment, the incessant tapping stopped.
Lu Zhuoxing smiled inwardly.
He had learned one thing over the past few weeks: predators thrived on reactions. If you didn't give them what they wanted, their interest often cooled.
At least, that was the theory.
Of course, there was no way the succubus would stop with just that. He already expected it.
The moment Mira lashed out with another kick, fueled by annoyance at being ignored, Lu Zhuoxing subtly pushed his chair back and caught her leg mid-swing. Before she could react, he gave her smooth calf a good pinch, purely out of spite.
"Ouch! You—!" Mira yelped, her voice rising before she quickly clamped it down.
However, it was already too late by then. She had fallen into his trap.
It only took an instant for Professor Mor'Karav to hear her cute cry and roar like a bull.
"Mira, how dare you make noise in my class! You surely have guts!"
The entire classroom shook under that deafening voice. Those in the front rows had already covered their ears in pain.
But this was merely the usual volume Professor Mor'Karav used when reprimanding students.
"I'm sorry, Professor—"
Mira shot to her feet and apologized for her wrongdoing, only to be interjected by a furious rumble.
"Sorry? SORRY?!" Professor Mor'Karav's voice thundered across the hall, making the stone walls tremble and dust fall from the ceiling. "SORRY DOESN'T CLEAN UP STUPIDITY, YOU BRAT!"
Several students winced.
Mira, despite her usual bravado, stood rigidly at attention, her sheep horns drooping slightly under the sheer force of the verbal onslaught. Her cheeks were flushed from embarrassment along with seething frustration. Clearly, she wasn't used to being called out like this.
Lu Zhuoxing, meanwhile, calmly kept his head lowered, hiding the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
One point for me. Hehe.
Professor Mor'Karav jabbed a gnarled finger in Mira's direction and continued his verbal lashing.
"You think being cute makes you exempt from discipline?! Also, why are you saying 'I am sorry!' No such word in hell! Lift your head up and look me in the eye! You had enough confidence to seduce a body mid class but not look at me! Unacceptable! "And if I catch you pulling another stunt like that, you'll be running twenty laps around the Obsidian Quadrangle after class, you damn succubi!"
He guffawed, and the entire class erupted in laughter.
Mira clenched her fists at her sides, her cheeks burning with a mix of shame and fury.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhuoxing sat quietly in his seat, savoring every second of her humiliation.