Becoming a Shadow in the New World

Anyway, desires can be restored after a period of rest, and as long as they're useful to you, Tsubaki, that's fine.

"Sigh... alright, but I'll take less this time. My master won't say anything if it happens once or twice."

The woman in front of him, with her long, flowing hair, pretty face adorned with glasses, and a serious yet intellectual air, was named Zhenluo Tsubaki. She was a modern-day half-demon and one of his biggest freeloaders.

In people's minds, demons are treacherous, cruel, dark, and evil creatures that obtain lifespan and souls from humans through transactions; these are the old demons.

As mentioned earlier, a three-way war once took place in World One, fought between demons, fallen angels, and angels. In that war, a large number of people from all three sides died, leaving them so few in number that they had to rely on humans to reproduce, which meant they were the demons' pawns.

It allows humans to reincarnate into other races, resulting in hybrids. This also increases their strength and potential. Although it is expensive, it is worth the cost.

It's not that humans can't have chess pieces; it's just that having bloodlines from other races provides a certain advantage. But if you think about it from another perspective, even some pure-blooded individuals can't get chess pieces, so for a pure human to get a chess piece is itself an affirmation of their talent, potential, and strength.

Each set of Demon pieces can only have one King. The stronger the King, the greater the boost. Pieces other than the King are the King's minions.

A king has a limited number of pieces, meaning he cannot reincarnate indefinitely.

For every owner of a set of King Demon chess pieces, given a limited number of pieces, the answer is obvious: should they collect pieces with ordinary talents or those with exceptional talents as their followers?

In a situation where human reproduction is essential, using the old demonic system for trading would only damage their reputation. Therefore, they switched to using human currency for transactions, and the scope of transactions expanded from power, wealth, and fame to things like helping with games, relieving psychological stress, and finding lost pets, making it feel more like a Yorozuya (Odd Jobs Shop).

Chapter Six: Shinra Tsubaki

The first demon he encountered was when he had just moved to Itogami Island, and he accidentally summoned it at that time... Who was it again?

Shido glanced at Shinra Tsubaki, who was cooking, and thought about it carefully.

It seems...maybe...perhaps...that the one summoned back then was the real Tsubaki...right?

When he learned that he needed to charge a demon for his services, he considered giving up the summoning, since he was short of money. Shinra Tsubaki then said that the quality of his spiritual desires was so high that he could pay him instead of charging him money. Although he would feel listless after collecting the desires, he would only need to rest for a few days.

With a try-it-out mentality, he agreed. After his desire was taken away, he did feel uncomfortable, but he recovered quickly. To be precise, he only felt uncomfortable once.

It's not that they didn't take any desire from him, but rather that the amount of desire they took wasn't as fast as he recovered.

In an instant, he realized this and immediately hid his emotional fluctuations. Although he still looked weak on the surface, he was already popping champagne inside.

If he hadn't been so rational, he probably would have signed a long-term contract on the spot. He remembered her saying that ordinary people need several days to recover their mental state, so as an extra, he couldn't possibly recover in just one day.

But he couldn't convince himself to give up his long-term meal ticket, so he just needed to find a way to recover in a day without being discovered.

Find several demons to sign contracts with, and then summon them every few days, filling a week. Without exchanging information, as long as they believe that he is the only demon he has signed contracts with, then in their minds he only summons them every few days. As expected of him, he easily came up with a method that perfectly fits the character of a minor character.

"Alright, the food is ready. Come and eat. I'm going to clean up now."

"Oh, okay, thank you."

As for the half-dead state that Tsubaki Shinra mentioned every day, the reason was not because her desires were taken away, but because of the magic tempering method that was maintained 24 hours a day.

Although he actually practiced basic swordsmanship for an hour and a half today because of Nazuki-chan, he hasn't stopped his daily basic training.

Controlling the magic power within the body and compressing it into the flesh, while refining the magic power, gives the body the pressure that can only be felt in the deep sea. It is a training method that is so reasonable that it cannot be more reasonable. The only price is that you are listless every day, constantly enduring the pain of your body being torn apart and then instantly repaired, plus the possibility of accidentally turning yourself into mincemeat.

Every time he thought about this deal that perfectly suited his supporting actor persona and allowed him to get a year's worth of free meals, Sid couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Huff, huff, huff huff huff...!!!"

Sid's background radar suddenly sounded an alarm, instantly snapping him out of his smug, silly grin.

"Huh, that's strange."

After Sid came to his senses, the extra radar immediately stopped. He looked around and found that apart from the bespectacled girl who was bending over while cleaning, perfectly showing off her slender waist, there was no one around him.

"Is it just my imagination? Oh well, I'm too lazy to think about it. Let's eat first."

Shinra Tsubaki, who was sweeping the floor with her back to Sid, looked nervous and had a slight blush on her face. Her serious demeanor from the beginning had completely disappeared.

Jinra Tsubaki felt that Shido liked her, and this was not just a wild guess, but a conclusion she reached after a year of observation.

Sid was a very hardworking person in her eyes. She knew that Sid would train alone after school every day. As the vice president of the student council, she could easily do something as simple as checking the surveillance footage. It wasn't just training after school; Sid would do extra training after completing her daily magic swordsman training when she was mentally exhausted.

This hardworking person was willing to sacrifice his own spiritual desires to summon her. Although he could recover in a few days, the mental exhaustion he experienced during that time would never disappear.

Sid would occasionally glance at her and grin foolishly, but she didn't dislike it. To be precise, she quite liked Sid's foolish grin; just looking at him gave her a sense of happiness and made her feel very cute.

She was well aware of her popularity. As a pawn (queen) of a pure-blooded demon, her lover was destined to be taken as a familiar by her master, Sona. With her master's potential, even if he was originally an ordinary person, he would have the potential to become a high-ranking demon (A-rank) after becoming a familiar. It can be said that becoming her lover would bring both power and influence.

It might sound a bit boastful, but she knew that few people in school could match her figure. Coupled with her good looks, she was often stared at by boys with disgusting gazes. Although they would quickly look away after she glanced at them, she was still very familiar with those disgusting, lustful looks from the boys.

Sid's gaze was completely different from the way the boys at school looked at her. His eyes were clear, without a trace of lust, and were simply a smile that came from a feeling of happiness.

At first, she was puzzled as to why Sid would smile happily when he was alone with her. As time went by, she came to the conclusion that Sid liked Tsubaki Shinra.

This explains why Sid, who works so hard, still summons her every time he recovers, and why he smiles happily when he looks at her. It's because he likes her, so much so that just being with her makes him smile like an idiot.

She didn't know what to do about Sid's crush. She could directly reject his confessions, but to say that she didn't like him and asked him to give up his feelings felt a bit unreasonable, and she might be accused of being delusional.

Moreover, she mentally simulated the scenario if Sid confessed to her, and she found that she couldn't be sure whether she would choose to reject or accept, so... she decided to play the ostrich. Anyway, Sid didn't seem like the type to confess on her own initiative, so she would just pretend that she hadn't realized that Sid liked her.

If Sid had A-, no, B+ strength, she wouldn't need to think so much; she could just say she liked him directly. But she has a master, and she's a pawn like the Queen. Her master is the sister of one of the Four Great Demons. She has to think about her master's interests. Forcing her master to take on followers in this semi-coercive way will only backfire.

In short, she planned to keep her distance before Sid confessed his feelings to her, to prevent herself from falling too deeply in love.

"By the way, Tsubaki, I summoned you so early, you probably haven't eaten yet, come and eat with us."

"Ok."

Looking at the chopsticks in her hand, Shinra Tsubaki fell into deep thought. When did she sit down?

"that…"

She stood up, wanting to decline.

"Should I answer someone else's call afterward?"

"Yes, after that..."

"Don't worry, I'm in great shape this time. My trading volume is definitely equivalent to several of yours. Just take it and treat it as a vacation."

I simply can't refuse. Fine, this is the only time. I'll keep my distance next time.

With this in mind, Tsubaki temporarily put aside her idea of ​​keeping her distance and instead focused her energy on chatting with Sid.

Chapter Seven: Xiao Family Siblings

"Remember what I said, Sid. Things are not peaceful these days. Don't wander around at night. Stay home if you can."

"Don't worry, I've remembered everything. See you next time, Tsubaki."

"Okay, see you next time, Sid."

Seeing that Shinra Tsubaki's figure disappeared into the magic circle, Sid picked up the magic circle flyer that had turned back into paper, threw it into the cabinet where he had started, drank a bottle of milk that Ita had given him from the refrigerator, and then fell down onto the bed with his back to it.

"Both Natsuki-chan and Tsubaki-hime said that something bad might happen recently. One is a coincidence, but the fact that both of them said it proves that something bad is indeed going to happen recently. It seems like it's the perfect stage for a Shadow-level powerhouse to make their appearance."

It's decided. I'll go to the school to gather intelligence in three days. For now, I'll focus on training.

A pure white crystal appeared in the air and drifted to Sid's bedside.

"Inhale~ Exhale."

Sid took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and his body, buried under his pajamas, tensed up the next second.

The Triple Magic Body Tempering Method is the same as his Magic Tempering Method, which he maintains 24 hours a day. The only difference is that it is amplified to three times the original power.

Actually, he wanted to maintain the triple training method 24 hours a day, but he could maintain the one-time method by instinct, while the three-time method required his full concentration, otherwise he would really die.

However, even though the training was theoretically so rigorous that a moment's slackening would lead to death, he still managed to spare a sliver of his attention for the suspended white crystal. In that pure white space, Sid's figure appeared out of thin air.

"Let's learn fire magic today."

As this thought crossed my mind, magic books appeared in the space. Just seeing them in front of me was enough to make me feel hot; they were undoubtedly fire magic books, and top-tier ones at that.

The white crystal block was referred to as "The Library," or "The World's Largest Magic Book Vault" for short.

The library came to us on its own after the world merged. As it was called, it contained a vast amount of magical knowledge. When one's consciousness was projected into it, the speed of time in the outside world would slow down tenfold.

Currently, after his comparison, he has found that all the magic he saw in World 1 has corresponding knowledge in it, confirming that it is a product of World 1.

When Sid first saw the library, it made some strange noises, then stopped in front of him. After translating the noises with the knowledge recorded inside, it translated a few words.

"Cross...resurrection...consistent."

This is completely untranslatable! (sigh)

He didn't know its origin, nor could he find any information about the library inside, but just based on the knowledge recorded inside, if it really contained all the knowledge of World 1 as he guessed, then it would definitely be one of the most top-tier treasures.

Since no one came to the library, he just used it himself for the time being, since the library had come to him on its own.

After using the library for a while, Sid felt he needed to retract the preface, which stated that this was the world's most precious treasure, bar none.

The magic used by people in the three worlds is different. In World 1, the magic is "magic" power, which can be used to transform various elements. Most people in World 1 are suited to be mages. In World 3, the magic is "power" power, which is difficult to control once it leaves the body. Most people in World 3 strengthen their bodies to fight in close combat. In World 2, both types of magic are used, but the top-ranking people release their magic power out of their bodies.

In theory, it is very difficult to change a person's magic. The only way to change it is to combine with someone from another world and produce offspring that combine the characteristics of both worlds.

The library can be altered, even if he obtained the method of alteration first and then used the library to change the magic. But this method was originally derived from the knowledge recorded in the library, and what's even more terrifying is that it can be spread.

Gamma is the weakest of the Seven Shadows. Although she doesn't say it outright, Sid knows that Gamma is always concerned about this. So after he changed his magic, he went to find Gamma as soon as possible. Gamma's combat talent is not good, and she is not suitable for close combat in World 3, but she is very smart and is suitable for magical combat in World 1.

The initial idea was to have Gamma use the library to convert a wisp of magic, then absorb it into his body and use that wisp of magic to influence and change the magic throughout his body. It seemed simple enough, didn't it?

Gamma couldn't see the library. Yes, he just couldn't see it. Even if the library were placed right in front of him, he wouldn't be able to see it.

But this was a minor issue. Since Gamma couldn't see the library complete its transformation, he used his magic to transform his entire body. Anyway, that little bit of magic would dissipate in a few days and wouldn't affect his body. That was what he thought at the time.