A Demon Lord’s Tale: Dungeons, Monster Girls, and Heartwarming Bliss
Chapter 21: The Demon Lord of Creativity — Part 2

The Demon Lord of Creativity — Part 2

All I need to do is become the sole Demon Lord capable of anything and everything, The Demon Lord of creativity. Aw hell yeah, that sounds badass as fuck. I’ll open up a brand new path for all Demon Lords to come. I shall show them that it would only be right for them to follow in my footsteps!

The most important tool in fulfilling my newfound ambition would be none other than Weapon Transmutation. Fortunately, I had everything I needed to make good use of the ability. Iron wasn’t all that difficult for me to obtain. All I needed to do to get my hands on it was literally buy it off the catalogue. Likewise, I was also able to easily fulfill the other requirement, the ability to form concrete images within my mind. Practicing magic had led me to become much more skilled in the art of delusion. Even Lefi’s given me the thumbs up and told me that my ability to cast spells is at least above average. I’m confident I’ll be able to churn out something decent.

Truth be told, weapon transmutation was not the only skill that had caught my eye. Enchant had done the same. The skill’s effects did exactly the same thing it described. It allowed me to imbue a weapon with magic-based techniques. Magic-based techniques were similar to magic, but of a different vein. Their effects were driven by logic as opposed to the power of one’s imagination. As a result, scholars and other academics cared more for magic-based techniques than they did magic itself. According to Lefi, anyway.

To be more specific, Enchant was capable of enhancing items with magical effects by engraving them with magic circuits. I was capable of engraving both the circuits provided by the spell as well as any that I happened to know. The former of the two categories would be expanded upon each time the skill gained a level. At level one, it only came with a pair of seemingly worthless skills: Lesser Spell Range Boost and Lesser MP Cost Reduction. Yeahhh, I should probably take some time to learn myself a few magic circuits.

The number of circuits an item could hold and the effectiveness of each was dependant on three factors: the size of the item, the shape of the item, and most importantly, the quality of the item. Of course, quality denoted the literal quality. Better made items were far more suited for enchantment than poorly made ones. However, the individual qualities associated with the base materials also played a role. For example, an item made of mithril would be far more suitable for magical enhancements than an otherwise identical one made of iron. Unlike Iron, Mithril was a substance that naturally overflowed with magical energy. Thus, it would result in greater compatibility with magical enhancements. Any magical enhancements engraved into it would also be more powerful than those engraved into the identical iron weapon.

Huh. Those two level one enchantments don’t really amount to much, but they honestly don’t look all that shabby. That little bit of extra oomph they give might make a difference in a fight. And I was kind of planning to learn more magic anyway. Might as well, right?

Contemplating the two circuits the skill came with sparked a thought: I wanted to enhance my weapons. I wanted to enchant each to have more devastating effects than the last. I wanted to ultimately end up with some sort of endgame weapon with all sorts of different special effects plastered onto it. Just like in RPGs. That thought in mind, I immediately hit the purchase button and learned both Enchant and Weapon Transmutation, after which I immediately glanced at my stat page.

***

General Information

Name: Yuki

Race: Archdemon

Class: Demon Lord

Level: 32

HP: 2511/2511

MP: 7180/7180

Strength: 713

Stamina: 744

Agility: 652

Magic: 992

Dexterity: 1310

Luck: 72

Skill Points: 3

Unique Skills

Magic Eye

Translation

Flight

Skills

Item Box

Analyze VIII

Martial Arts Mastery IV

Primordial Magic IV

Stealth V

Enemy Detection IV

Sword Mastery I

Weapon Transmutation I

Enchant I

Titles

Demon Lord from Another World

Supreme Dragon’s Owner

DP: 32041

***

Woo! Looks like I succeeded in learning both.

My level had gone up quite a bit since I last looked. And all my stats, luck included, had risen accordingly. Oh thank god. I’m so glad my luck actually does rise every once in a while. Man, I was worried it was going to be stuck at 70 forever.

The reason I only had three skill points remaining was because I had thrown everything I had into Analyze. I’d long since decided to invest in the skill until it was max, given how useful it was. My ultimate goal was to have it show me Lefi’s stats. It’s already level eight, but I still can’t see shit. God damn. Why d-WAIT A SECOND! What’s with that weird ass title!?

I slid my finger over the title in question and gave it a quick tap in order to check over its details.

***

Supreme Dragon’s Owner: A title granted to the individual fearless enough to tame the dragon that reigns supreme over all else.

***

I blinked a few times as I stared the description down. So uh… The hell did I do to deserve this? Hmm… I mean I guess I did basically feed her until she got used to me, which is what people do to tame wild animals. So I mean, it isn’t really wrong, but… She’d totally kill me if she found out I was basically treating her like a pet. I could totally see her throwing a fit and stamping her feet in anger.

Speaking of titles, Lefi had totally seen the title indicating that I had come from another world, but she didn’t pay it much heed. I even tried pointing it out to her by telling her that I hadn’t started off as one of this world’s denizens, but again, she hadn’t really reacted. She had basically just brushed me off with a disinterested grunt. It didn’t really seem like she cared.

While it wasn’t possible for me to declare that I didn’t have any regrets about leaving Japan behind me, I really didn’t care all that much either. My death back there was a fact. It, like everything else that had ever happened to me, was already all in the past. Living life as a Demon Lord was fun, after all, and enjoying the moment was what mattered. I had long ago decided that whatever world I was in would be the world I belonged to. And that was that. That resolution alone would never change. And that’s why… it’s okay for me to put my past, my old life, behind me. Anyway, moving on. It’s time to use me some skills! Woo!

First thing’s first, I decided to go for a trial run in order to get a better feel for the way the skill worked. I used a bit of DP and bought myself a fist sized iron ingot. Kinda a bit late to be asking since I’ve already gone ahead and bought the damn thing, but what the hell’s this doing in the catalogue anyway? Damned thing has got more variety than a variety store.

“I see that you are doing something strange again, Yuki,” said Lefi, as she wandered over.

“Are you going to show us a new magic trick?” added Illuna. The younger of the two girls had just lost to Lefi in Othello, so she had puffed up her cheeks at the dragon in a childish expression of indignance, but that had all changed the moment she noticed that I was about to do something. She, like her Othello partner, had curiously started walking towards me.

“Uhhh… kinda, but not really,” I said. “And Lefi, how about you don’t try to make it sound like I do weird shit all the time?”

Like, come on! All I ever do is test whether or not certain things are actually possible.

“Anyway, you guys are free to look all you want, but honestly, it probably ain’t gonna be that fun to watch.”

Seeing the two monster girls’ expressions brought a wry smile to my face. The vampire girl’s eyes were brimming with curiosity. She couldn’t wait to see what I had in store. Likewise, the dragon girl was equally invested in my actions. She tried to feign disinterest by calling me weird, but she was definitely every bit as curious as Illuna.

My first product was going to be a dagger. The image I had in my head was that of an army knife. Specifically, the type that typically had everything from handle to blade made entirely of stainless steel. Its form was easy for me to imagine. All I had to do was recall the days I used to play first person shooters. The knife I had in mind was exactly the one I always used for close quarters combat.

Magical energy flowed into the ingot as I sharpened my image of the weapon. Only after said energy evened out did I finally activate the skill. The raw material began to morph. It moved in an eerie, disturbing fashion, almost like a creature with a mind of its own, as it took on the form of the dagger I had in mind. Eugh… that’s gross.

“Hmmm… Not bad.” I nodded as I looked over the completed product. It looked exactly as I had imagined it. The blade, which was nice, thick, and meaty, sat at the comfortable length of twelve centimetres. Every bit of it was made purely of iron. The only problem I had with it was that the grip was a bit edgy. I should probably wrap some sort of rope or something around it later.

Opening the item box, I pulled out a random piece of monster meat and sliced at it in order to test the knife’s edge. The motion was smooth; the knife slid right through my test target without any noteworthy resistance. Wow, this blade seems pretty tough. I didn’t cast or forge it, so I was thinking it might be kinda brittle. But guess not. How’s that work?

I suspected that the answer to my question was that the magical energy somehow operated alongside the molecules within the iron in order to manipulate it, but of course, that was just a random conjecture. Anyway, enough of that. Let’s analyze this thing and check it out.

***

Demon Lord’s Dagger: A dagger crafted by a Demon Lord by the name of Yuki. It doesn’t have a name. Quality: B-

***

Analyze shows quality now? That’s neat. Pouring so many points into it has really paid off. For some reason that not even I was able to explain, I somehow knew that an item with a quality rating of B- was fairly decent, and that it was worth roughly a thousand yen more than the average knife. Though, I guess that doesn’t really make much sense, does it? Yeah, iunno. Not even I can make much sense out of what that means, and I’m the one that’s somehow sensing it.

My first attempt at creating a weapon had proven successful. According to Weapon Transmutation, it had to do with my dexterity stat. The higher the caster’s dexterity, the higher the quality of the good produced. Heh, nice to see that overinflated dex stat I’ve got is finally proving itself useful. I swear the damned thing’s just been sitting there doing nothing up until now.

A confident smirk showed itself on my face as I turned towards the (imaginary) demon lords learning from my example. Now listen up, maggots! If you girls want to become real men, real Demon Lords of Creativity, then you’ve gotta invest heavily in dex! That’s a firm rule, boys! No questions or rebuttals.

“How interesting,” said Lefi, as she focused her gaze on the newly crafted knife. “I see that you have casted one of the blacksmithing magics used by the mountain people to create a weapon. I admit, it does appear rather well made.”

“Wow Yuki!” added Illuna. “You can do anything! You can make all sorts of cool stuff, and you can even cook! You’re so cool! You’re just like a mom!”

Uhh… I mean, I know that’s a compliment, but I’m really not sure how I’m supposed to feel right about now.

“Heh, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. That was just a test run. This time, I’ll go all out and make something even better.”

I opened the catalogue again and bought a second iron ingot, one that weighed about ten kilograms. I wanted to work with mithril instead, but I couldn’t afford it. ‘Kay. I’ve got the gist of this whole Weapon Transmutation thing. Time to make myself a real weapon.

The plan was for my second weapon to be a larger, double edged version of the first. Wait a second. The effectiveness of any magical circuits created through Enchant depend on the shape of the weapon, right? I guess that means I should probably make it all flowy and streamlined and stuff, since I’m going to be casting a lot of water magic. What if… I made it look like a drop of water? Yeah, that could be cool.

And so, I followed my heart and created the exact item I had just described.

“…” I was rendered speechless by the “greatsword” that lay in my hands. Though iron had been the only thing used in its creation, the resulting weapon was tinted with a dim shade of blue. I looked at its handle and traced my eyes along it to find the “blade,” which looked… exactly like a drop of water. A fat, stubby drop of water.

“Wow! It looks just like Shii!”

Illuna was spot on. The blade bore a striking resemblance to our resident slime.

“…And what would that be?” asked Lefi, in a totally serious tone of voice.

“A uh… weapon. Yeah, a weapon.”

“Intriguing. Could you explain to me the method by which you intend to use it?”

“Uhhh… well… first, you grab it by the grip. And then you see the part that has all those like… watery markings on it? Yeah, you use that to just smash stuff. Yeah.”

“I see,” nodded the dragon girl. “I do admit, it appears quite powerful.”

Wat? How? I. Really? What?

I felt the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. Thank god I didn’t use any mithril on this. Would’ve been heartbreaking to waste so much DP on what ended up as an oversized piece of junk. Oh man, it would’ve taken forever to recoup the cost.

“A-Anyway, whatever. Moving on.”

I once again began scrolling through the catalogue and reached for the button to purchase a hefty chunk of iron, but stopped myself right before I did. Wait! I still had that one thing!

Instead of buying another ingot, I instead opened up my inventory and grabbed one of the black pointy things I had lying around inside of it. A single glance was all that was needed to immediately identify the object as a horn. Specifically, it was one I’d looted off a monster that was basically just a rhinoceros beetle the size of a car. The beetle had torn up massive trees with said horn with ease. And upon killing it, I’d obviously ripped it off the monster’s corpse because it had seemed like a handy thing to have around.

Observing the horn again reminded me that it was of a decent size and had a fair amount of weight to it. It was obviously far harder than wood given its ability to tear right through the trunks of trees. Which means it’s pretty much the perfect material for a greatsword!

I had been using iron because I assumed it was the standard material used in weapons, but according to the part of my brain that knew a lot more about Monster H*nter than was otherwise necessary, there was no problem with making use of the horn. Alright Yuki, enough of that. Focus. No more random bullshit, no more whims. Just focus. All you need to do is make something simple. Sharp. Decently heavy. That’s it. Don’t bother overcomplicating the blade’s shape either. All you need is for it to have a grip and be double edged.

Two thirds of my remaining magical energy flowed into the horn as I sharpened the mental image of the weapon I wished to produce. The mana cost was only as high as it was because the horn was a far better material than the iron ingots I’d been using to date.

And so, after most of my mana had been drained, I finally activated the skill. I happened to see Lefi approach me with a huge grin plastered all over her face the moment I did. She moved right beside me and whispered into my ear. “F. L. O. W. E. R.”

Wait what? Flower?

“HOLD UP! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT!?”

The skill had activated and crafted a weapon based on the image I had in mind. From the sword’s grip extended a blade, or rather, a stalk. A stalk with a flower blossoming atop it.

Analyzing it produced the follow menu page.

***

Demon Lord’s Greatsword: A beautiful weapon crafted by a Demon Lord by the name of Yuki. A flower blossoms from its tip. Quality: A-

***

My thoughts had been interrupted at the last second; Lefi had made me suddenly think of a flower near the very end of the transmutation process. And as a result, the sword had morphed to take on the form of well… a flower. Oh come the fuck on! Why the hell did it have to have this retardedly good quality rating too!

“W-what the hell, Lefi!?” I stammered.

Weapon Transmutation didn’t allow me to ever retransmute anything that had already gone through the transmutation process. The skill could never be used on the same target twice, and my mana had already stopped flowing through the item. The process was done. There was no turning back.

The horn I had used in the process was the only I had. It was of course possible for me to hunt another beetle, but I had no doubt that the process would be time consuming as all hell. I’d yet to see any others of its kind.

In other words, I was going to have to live with the fact that the flower-blade I had in hand had become my most powerful weapon.

“What a beautiful flower,” said Lefi between stifled laughs. “It is both beautiful and a functional weapon. How impressive!”

“You do know I only had one of those, right?”

“I fail to see the problem. You simply have to use the sword you have in hand,” said the dragon girl. A bit of a giggle escaped her lips each time she started a new sentence. “I am sure it will allow you to slay many a monster.”

The dragon girl was unable to hold her laughter any longer. She fell onto the floor and started rolling around with her arms wrapped around her sides. Her laughter was so loud that it resounded throughout the entire throne room.

“God damned childish little shit… At first I just thought you looked childish, but you totally act like a god damned brat…” I grumbled. “The first spell you taught me was some weird flower shit too. Makes it pretty obvious that something’s up with you and flowers. Hah! What a fair maiden you are, oh great Supreme Dragon. To think that you would like both flowers and sweets!”

“I-I fail to find fault in my preferences!” cried Lefi, indignantly. “And they are of little importance to begin with! They matter not!”

“I mean, I really don’t care what you’re into. You do you. Only complaint I’ve got is that they really don’t suit your image. Iunno about you, but when people say the world’s strongest dragon, I really don’t think up some snot nosed brat.”

“You dare! That is a claim I cannot forgive!” roared the dragon girl. “Very well! I shall illustrate to you what it means to pick a fight with none other than the Supreme Dragon!”

“Supreme Dragon, my ass!” I shouted back. “You keep going on and on about that fancy title of yours, but you ain’t got shit! All you do is laze around like a potato! Supreme Dragon? More like Subjugated Dragon if you ask me!”

“I cannot believe you! You dare insult my title again!?” Lefi stamped her feet against the ground as she reddened with rage. “Prepare yourself, Yuki! For I shall show you the reason for which the term Hell was defined!”

The vampire girl observing our argument heaved a heavy sigh before turning towards her pet slime and speaking in a barely audible tone. “Ugh, they’re doing it again. Come on, Shii. Let’s go play somewhere else.”

Although the flower-blade pissed me off, it had great stats, so I ended up doing exactly as Lefi said and used it as my main weapon for quite some time. God damn it… I need more materials…