'Mmm... Should I get going?' The Commander asked himself as he picked his nose.
Standing at about 190 centimeters tall, he couldn't be considered tall when compared to other Monsters. His muscles weren't as developed as the other Monsters' either.
Still, the massive and sharp tusks that extended beyond his mouth made his appearance much more imposing.
The skin that covered those muscles was completely green.
Its scaly aspect made the skin look much sturdier.
He remained right outside the Demon Lord's Palace for a bit.
It was in perfect condition, unlike the rest of the city.
The only city in that Territory.
Which made it the Capital of Sloth.
The City of Atsel.
"Commander!" They shouted in unison, greeting the one higher in Rank.
"Yeah, yeah." The Commander whispered before yawning.
He stretched his arms up.
'Must be nice being a Lord. No one above you to kneel in front of. Must be nice being Lord...' The Commander thought as he stared at those kneeling. 'In a Kingless World.'
"Commander."
He stared at the Monster greeting him.
The Commander yawned before,
"Think you can give me a lift?" he asked.
"Huh?"
The Monster was covered by a brown and thick hide.
Four tusks protruded.
"Think you can give me a lift?" The Commander asked.
"Of... Of course." The large Boar-like Monster couldn't really refuse.
A Request coming from a Commander isn't much different from an order after all.
"Name?" He asked as he nonchalantly climbed over the Monster's body.
"My Name is Borus, Commander."
The Commander clicked his tongue.
'A boring Name. Fitting, for a random means of transportation... Yawn...'
Borus didn't move.
The Commander lay flat on the Monster's back.
"Whe... Where to?"
"South-east. Going to bring something for the Lord."
Immediately, the Boar-like Monster felt a great deal of pressure.
"Yes. Yes, of course."
They started moving.
'For the Lord... For the Lord...!'
Borus' four legs started moving faster and faster.
"Slow down."
"Huh?"
Since it was a mission given by the Lord, Borus felt time was of the essence.
Making the Lord Of Sloth wait wasn't something he could afford.
"I can't nap on the way if you're going too fast."
The Commander closed his eyes, and Borus walked.
'The Lord doesn't care much, so this should be fine.'
In the middle of the night, the two moved through the City of Atsel.
While it was mostly a city in ruins, the nightlife was vibrant.
Vibrant in screams, jeers, tears, and blood.
Monsters of all kinds could be seen.
Some even had Human-like appearances.
Some might even be Humans.
Much like inside the Territory of Lust, the night was when most of the inhabitants were active.
The reasons were slightly different though.
Those in Sloth couldn't be active during the day.
Or rather, refused to.
There was no greater pleasure than sleeping through the day for them.
Once night falls though...
"Stop." The Commander ordered suddenly.
Borus' body froze at the word.
An arrow passed by a second later, missing his tusks.
'What... Have I gotten myself into?' The Boar-like Monster's body started shaking.
"Sooorry about that. Didn't see you there, Lin."
"It's fine, Ani." The Commander answered before turning his head to the side.
Borus' body started trembling slightly.
He recognized Ani, the one walking closer and closer, bow and arrow in her hands.
She had a muscular and well-defined body.
Her height seemed to be the same as Lin's, the Commander laying on Borus' back.
Just like him, her skin was green.
Just like him, sharp tusks extended beyond her mouth.
Just like him, she was a Commander of Sloth.
"Look away." Ani said.
"Why should I?"
"I don't like your eyes. Look away."
"I'll look at whatever I want to look at."
His gaze was fixated on her face.
She had expected it to move towards the cleavage that was unapologetically shown off by the revealing bikini top she wore.
"Tsk." Ani clicked her tongue. "Skinny as ever, I see."
"Yeah. Muu... Muscle work isn't for me." Lin said as he yawned. Only then did his eyes move away from her ferocious face.
A lean body.
Muscular arms and shoulders.
A slim waist and a defined abdomen.
He didn't care much about the rest of the curves she possessed though.
Lin only cared about those muscles. Muscles he had never managed to obtain.
The two were Orcish Fiends.
One was a female, the other, male.
Yet only one of the two Orcish Fiends had the muscles and the physical strength that was expected from Orcish Fiends.
"Keep going." Lin said as he tapped Borus' body.
Ani stared at them as they got further and further, a smile on her face.
"We can get that rematch anytime! I'm ready!" She shouted.
Lin raised a hand and lazily waved.
"Lethargic fucker."
"Commander, is that-"
"Lin? Yes."
The kneeling Soldier remained silent.
"Skinny, isn't he?" The Commander asked.
Surprised to be talked to this way, the Soldier took a second to respond.
"I'm sure you will easily beat him once more." It seemed like a good response to him.
"Once more? No..." She smiled as Lin disappeared in the distance. "I've never beaten that fucker once."
"Huh?"
"Can you believe that? I've never beaten him, despite his Strength being much lower..."
"How is that possible?"
"Want to hear about it?"
The Soldier nodded.
"Mm. It's a long story so..." Ani thought for a bit. "No." She turned around and started walking. "It'd be a hassle to tell it. And get back to your training, lazy fuck. You wouldn't want me to pummel you again, would you?"
"Yes, Commander!"
"Yes...?" Ani cracked her knuckles. "You would?"
"Yes... No! No, Commander. I meant-"
"Hahaha! Get back to it. Now."
"Yes, Commander!"
***
"It is, but..." Her slender fingers took hold of a flock of hair. "You care about them, so it's different."
"How so?"
"Well, you gave them life, didn't you?"
"Yes." Mark said as he scratched his head. "Only after taking it away from them."
"Mmmm..." Elisa brought a finger to her chin. "Sounds fair enough."
"Fair?"
"Yep, fair. Everything has a cost. You have to kill them to Revive them. Wait... You couldn't have Revived me if I had died then?" Elisa asked as she turned around to look at him.
"I guess not. Though it wasn't always like that..."
'So the options wouldn't have been to Devour or to Revive, but rather, to Devour or not to Devour..." She thought as she stared at him. 'He still hesitated, so that's a good thing. I don't really care about what happens after I die, but I would rather be eaten by random animals, not by-'
"What do you think?" Mark asked as he turned around.
Having lost herself in thought for a bit, Elisa hadn't heard the rest of his words.
She scratched her neck and looked away.
"Caring about your Underlings might have something to do with it."
"Huh?"
"Or perhaps... You trying not to care."
"Mm. I'm not sure about that. The Magic Skill has Conditions attached. I just can't check those Conditions anymore-"
"You're forgetting the important part. It's a Skill, yes. But beyond that, it's Magic..."
'True. I got used to thinking about Reviving and Devouring as the same things in a way. Since they were the two options available for most of my time inside the Dungeon... One is due to my Titles, the other is a Magic Skill. Huh. Now that I think about it, Reviving is the only Magic Skill or... Ability... That didn't use Mana. It never consumed Mana Points. I'm guessing it won't be the case now. Could that be the reason why...? Because it costs too many Mana Points? Maybe... More than what I have? If that's the case, then-'
"Got that?" Elisa asked.
"Yes." Mark answered confidently.
"Good."
He hadn't heard a thing.
"So what do you think?"
'Shit.' Mark cursed internally.
"Can you repeat that?"
Elisa chuckled.
"No."
"Mmm..."
They remained silent for a bit.
"Understanding Magic with one's gut..."
"Mm?"
"That means experiencing it, right?"
"I guess. Not just that though."
"But you agree that learning a certain Magic Skill would be easier if you've already used the Magic Skill once."
"Probably, yes. Though the question becomes why did you lose the use of it in the first place."
"Something about a Seal being lifted. A Seal that allowed me to... Or I guess a Seal that raised my Affinity? What's Magic Affinity anyways? The System won't explain a thing about it."
"Ughh..." Elisa rolled her eyes. "It's not the System's job. Affinity is... Mm. You would have to look for the right person to check your Affinity with different Magic Types."
"It's like compatibility then, huh? What yours?"
"That's a personal question."
"You don't have to answer."
"Wind and Water. Though I could never learn Water Magic no matter how hard I tried-"
Headache-
"Want me to take some of it off?" Mark suggested.
"Let's do that..." Elisa massaged her forehead and lay the back of her head against the tree. "Tomorrow."
The word made Mark's heart beat a bit faster.
Tomorrow.
For the first time in a while, there was a tomorrow.
For the first time in a long time, he would see the sun.
