'This guy really enjoys laughing, doesn't he?'
Xaren thought silently as he observed the towering Fire Demon.
Floch's laughter didn't last long, though, as he quickly toned it down and got straight to business.
"Anyway, congrats on becoming Low Ranks. You're now proper Demons.
Since both of you are warrior types, all that's left is to unlock your auras, and you'll be off this world."
"??!!"
Both Xaren and Ilya's eyes widened in shock at Floch's casual statent.
While Xaren had assud the Demons might train their promising recruits sowhere else, he hadn't expected to receive such treatnt so soon.
Ignoring their obvious shock, Floch gestured to the room around them and continued.
"This is where wounded Low-Rank demons are treated after battle. As you can see, the facilities are far better than what you had before.
This is the level of care appropriate for Low Ranks—even for you who are at the very bottom of the rank.
At least in this portion of the Galaxy, this is the standard treatnt afforded to Low Ranks in most places."
Hearing this, Ilya furrowed her brows slightly before hesitantly raising her hand, as if she were a student preparing to ask a question.
"?"
"Um...what's a Galaxy?"
Ilya's question, seemingly so basic, made Floch pause and stare at her silently for a few monts. Just as she began to think she might have overstepped, the tall demon shook his head and replied.
"I'm not the one who's gonna teach you that."
He had ntioned it out of habit, but now that he thought about it, there was no reason to expect newly ranked demons—who hadn't even seen a fraction of the world they were in—to know what a Galaxy was.
Still, it wasn't his responsibility to teach such things, and he wasn't about to add it to his plate.
"Honestly, I'm just glad I'm not stuck with General Knowledge teaching duty. Soone else will handle that."
With a shrug, Floch continued.
"Anyway, do know that not every Low-Rank demon who promotes gets this kind of treatnt.
The two of you, however, have caught the attention of a very important higher-up, so you should consider yourselves lucky. Otherwise, you'd be stuck here for years."
Xaren nodded silently, the pieces finally falling into place. Floch's words explained why their situation didn't align with his assumptions.
'The question is, who's this Higher-Up?'
Floch didn't elaborate on that, though. Instead, he shifted the topic, a sly grin spreading across his face as he spoke to Xaren.
"By the way, since I'm the one who found you, I got so pretty decent rewards. So, you better keep performing well. The better you do, the more I get rewarded.
Don't worry, I'll help you out here and there since it benefits directly."
The candid nature of Floch's words made Xaren feel like he was overhearing sothing he wasn't ant to. A glance at Ilya showed she was feeling much the sa, judging by the uncomfortable expression on her face.
'In the past few minutes, she's shown more expressions than I've seen from her in days.'
Xaren noted this before shifting his attention back to Floch, listening as the man finally addressed the primary reason he had co.
"You, along with the other new Low Ranks, are going to be taking lessons with on how to properly use your wings like a proper demon should."
Floch's words reminded Xaren that he had indeed gained wings, though they had disappeared while he was unconscious.
'How do I bring them out? —I guess that's what he's going to teach us...'
"Demon wings are useful for much more than just flying, so our classes will be very intensive. As for your horns, they have another purpose too, and I'll be teaching you about that."
Floch's explanation made Xaren's eyebrows shoot up. He hadn't considered that demon wings could serve any purpose beyond flight, nor had he ever imagined horns could have a use beyond aesthetics—or in desperate situations, as makeshift weapons.
'Looks like I was pretty short-sighted about that.'
"All right, put on so shoes and follow ," Floch instructed as he turned to leave, and the two quickly slipped on the boots placed neatly beside their beds before hurrying after him.
Stepping outside, they found themselves in a compound filled with rows of buildings identical to the one they had just exited. At a glance, Xaren counted at least a dozen.
The area bustled with activity, vehicles moving back and forth in every direction.
'Oh, I rember seeing those on that world I was on before. They were just starting to beco popular. I think they called them cars or sothing like that?'
Beside him, Ilya stared wide-eyed at the vehicles. She had never seen anything like them before.
Though she could sense imnse magical energy radiating from the machines—their obvious power source—, their precise chanics were utterly baffling to her, akin to rocket science.
"When you're done with your wings training, you'll be assigned to a new unit in a different area. That's where you'll et other new Low Ranks from across the continent.
You'll stay there for the foreseeable future, taking missions and engaging in battles alongside your new colleagues.
Once you unlock your auras, Sir Naephas will take over," Floch explained as they walked.
Neither Xaren nor Ilya recognized the na Floch had ntioned, but the title "Sir" that preceded it was enough to tell them everything they needed to know: this was a High-Rank Demon.
"Even though you'd learn this eventually, I might as well tell you now. It doesn't cost anything," Floch said, holding up three fingers as he began to explain.
"We demons have three types of ranks. Nobility, Military, and Hierarchical.
Our society blends Aristocracy—where nobles inherit titles and power from their ancestors—and ritocracy—where authority is earned through achievents and ability."
Pointing at Xaren and Ilya, he elaborated on the Hierarchical and Military ranks.
"You two are at the very bottom of the Hierarchical ranks as 'Low-Rank' demons. In the Military Ranks, you're foot soldiers—also the lowest tier."
Floch then shifted his gaze forward, continuing his explanation with a brief comntary on Nobility.
"Those born into nobility inherit their power and privilege. Even within the sa Hierarchical rank, Nobility is always given preference.
That said, they're not allowed to throw their weight around in the Military. So still try, but if they're caught, it usually doesn't end well."
With that explanation wrapped up, Floch got to the point of why he'd bothered sharing this information.
"Just so you know, Sir Naephas—the one who's added you two to the list of those he's taking off this world—is an Upper-Class Noble."
Neither Xaren nor Ilya knew the exact ranks within the nobility, but the term 'Upper-Class' made it clear that Naephas held significant importance.
This raised the obvious question: why would soone so influential oversee a low-level demon training ground?
Floch answered before the question could even be voiced.
"You're probably wondering why soone like him is stuck on this backwater planet, right?
The answer's simple.
Just as unranked demons are tested to weed out the weak, so Nobles go through the sa process with their children."
In other words, his placent in this world was Naephas' test.
Xaren quickly pieced it together, while Ilya seed more preoccupied with the notion of soone powerful enough to test a High-Rank Demon.
'Oh well, if this Naephas guy is taking us off this world, I might as well make the most of it.
I've been putting in effort already, but now I'll push even harder so they value highly.'
Every effort he made now was toward the ultimate goal of one day becoming a Demon King.
But for Xaren, that long-term ultimate goal was more a ans to an end than an end in itself.
In the short term, Xaren made awakening his aura his goal.
'Then I must surpass the strength I had in my past life.'
This was his second goal. In his previous life, he had died at Level 390, an Interdiate Stage Grandmaster. This ti, Xaren wanted to surpass that level as quickly as possible.
With these convictions set firmly in his mind, he followed Floch to the training area.
It was located in the adjacent compound to the treatnt centre—a strategic choice, allowing swift access for those who sustained serious injuries during training.
Upon arrival, Xaren and Ilya saw nearly 50 other demons standing at attention under the glow of the morning sun, all facing forward in disciplined silence.
Floch instructed them to join the line and as they passed through the rows, their eyes caught on two familiar faces: Carack and Bjorn.
They refrained from speaking to them and quietly took their places in the line while Floch strode to the front of the group and began his class.
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