“Lee Shin? Is your name Lee Shin?”

“Yes.”

“Weren’t you called Kaiser?”

“That’s just a nickname of mine.”

“I see.”

Gremory accepted it without much concern.

“Then, it’s time for me to fulfill my part of the contract.”

She was likely referring to healing his wrist.

“Come here.”

Lee Shin approached Gremory.

As the distance between them shortened, he could see her beautiful face more clearly.

Her perfectly proportioned features, flawless skin without a single blemish.

Lee Shin blushed without realizing it.

Seeing this, Gremory smiled as if she found him adorable and raised her hand.

Her delicate fingers, as smooth as jade, gently rested atop Lee Shin’s head.

Soon, Gremory spoke.

“You have deteriorating eyesight and dry eye syndrome. Your lower back shows early signs of a herniated disc, and your wrist had carpal tunnel syndrome even before the injury.”

“……What?”

“How did your health get this bad? It seems like you've been sitting still for long periods, keeping your eyes open and only moving your fingers intensely.”

‘That’s exactly what happened……’

Only now did Lee Shin realize that his body had already been in shambles before the attack.

It was as if he had collected every occupational disease of a pro gamer in one package.

“But don’t worry, I’ll heal you now. And as a token of our contract, I’ll make sure these symptoms never return.”

“Th-Thank you.”

The thought of never suffering from these issues again was an absolute blessing to Lee Shin.

Flash!

A dark light flowed from her hand and seeped into Lee Shin’s body.

Lee Shin instinctively closed his eyes.

He could feel something warm, like an unfamiliar energy, roaming inside his body.

After a moment, she withdrew her hand and spoke.

“Check for yourself now.”

Lee Shin opened his eyes.

‘Huh?’

He flinched in shock.

The world before him was suddenly much clearer.

‘Were my eyes always this good?’

The world looked different.

It felt as if a thick fog had lifted, leaving everything crisp and vivid.

‘My wrist?!’

Lee Shin carefully rotated his right wrist.

It moved astonishingly smoothly, without the slightest pain.

‘This is unreal!’

He could hardly believe it.

The wrist that had caused him so much despair had healed in an instant.

He had suffered so much.

He had prayed countless times for his wrist to recover.

‘And this woman just did it so easily……!’

Only now did Lee Shin truly realize how extraordinary Gremory was.

As promised, not only had she healed his wrist, but she had also diagnosed and cured all of his bodily ailments.

‘I still can’t let my guard down, but at the very least, she seems to keep her promises.’

Regardless of anything else, his body now felt as light as air.

He felt refreshed, as if he had been reborn.

The hidden issues in his body had all disappeared.

His condition was perfect.

“Now, I believe it’s time for me to fulfill my part of the contract.”

Lee Shin said.

“I need to learn about the ranking battles. Who is my next opponent, and how strong is our force?”

Gremory seemed pleased with his proactive attitude and smiled contentedly.

“First, I should explain the origins of the ranking battles.”

She began her explanation.

The ranking battles trace their origins back to an ancient conflict—the Great Celestial-Demonic War against the angels of the Heavenly Realm.

After their defeat in the Great Celestial-Demonic War, the once-proud Demon Realm fell into shock.

Indeed, the Demon Realm was stronger than the Celestial Realm.

However, due to the angels' meticulous strategies, the demons suffered a crushing defeat. Contrary to expectations, it was the angels who were more adept at war.

The Demon God Lucifer was enraged and declared,

“I shall restructure the hierarchy of the 72 Demon Lords to better suit warfare!”

Thus, the 72 Demon Lords began to engage in constant power struggles. Those who were inept at war naturally fell into ruin.

However, fighting each other to redefine the hierarchy only served to weaken the strength of the Demon Realm.

To prevent this, Lucifer, after much deliberation, devised a special method of warfare.

“And so, the current ranking battles were born. These ranking battles will be very different from the wars you have known.”

With that, Gremory explained all the rules of the ranking battles.

As he listened, Lee Shin's expression grew puzzled.

‘This is… exactly the kind of war I’m very familiar with?’

The ranking battles of the 72 Demon Lords.

They were strikingly similar to the real-time strategy (RTS) game he had once played.

By sheer misunderstanding, Gremory had ended up recruiting the most perfect contractor possible.

The ranking battles among the 72 Demon Lords were remarkably similar to a real-time strategy (RTS) game.

To prevent the lands of the Demon Realm from becoming devastated by war, the ranking battles were conducted in separate dimensional spaces.

There were a total of twelve such dimensions.

‘This is basically a map.’

The ranking battles were initiated through challenges.

To qualify for a challenge, one's magic power had to be at least 90% of the opponent’s. Once this condition was met, the opponent could never refuse the challenge.

Once a ranking battle was set, both sides wagered an equal amount of magic power and began the war on equal footing, regardless of rank or faction.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely fair.

While challenges could not be refused, the challenged party had two privileges:

1. They could choose the battlefield.

2. They could decide the amount of magic power to wager, anywhere between 10,000 and 50,000 units.

By selecting the battlefield, they gained a geographical advantage, and they could wager a large amount of magic if confident in victory or a small amount if unsure.

The wagered magic power would then materialize as magic stones and be dispersed across the battlefield.

While Demon Lords could participate in the battle themselves, ranking battles were usually fought by their contractors.

Contractors gathered the magic stones spread throughout the map and used the accumulated power to summon warriors for battle.

The more magic stones collected, the larger the army.

‘This is literally gathering resources and spawning units.’

The war continued until one side was annihilated or surrendered.

In summary, the rules were as follows:

1. The game began when a qualified challenger issued a challenge to the Demon Lord ranked directly above them.

2. The challenged Demon Lord decided the map and the amount of magic power to wager.

3. The battle was fought by either the Demon Lord or their contractor.

4. The wagered magic was spread across the battlefield, and both contractors gathered it to produce units and wage war.

5. The victor claimed all the wagered magic.

As he listened to the rules, Lee Shin asked,

“Since you are the lowest-ranked, Lady Gremory, wouldn’t that mean you never have to accept a challenge?”

“That’s not true. I still have to accept challenges from high-ranking demons who wish to become a Lord.”

Gremory sighed before continuing.

“There are several high-ranking demons who have long since qualified to challenge me. Each and every one of them has been eagerly eyeing the position of Demon Lord.”