“How much magic power do you have?”

“Approximately 65,000.”

Lee Shin pondered.

‘The minimum bet is 10,000, the maximum is 50,000.’

Fortunately, the amount wagered was decided by the one receiving the challenge.

“If we wager 10,000 each time, we can fight a total of six times.”

“That’s assuming I’m always the one being challenged. But if I lose one more time, I’ll be the one who has to challenge others.”

“Even if you lose this time, you can just gather more magic power and challenge again to reclaim your lordship.”

At those words, Gremory gave a bitter smile. She gestured toward Lee Shin.

“Come here.”

Lee Shin followed her to the window.

Beyond the large glass pane stretched a vast territory.

The beauty of the landscape was so breathtaking that it was hard to believe demons lived there.

“I am a great lord who rules over this land and 26 demon legions.”

“……”

“Though I have fallen, 13 of my demon legions still remain loyal and have not abandoned me.”

Gremory gazed at Lee Shin with sorrowful eyes.

“Losing my lordship means losing this land and my devoted followers. How could I possibly describe such humiliation and loss?”

Lee Shin realized he had spoken too rashly.

He had experienced the same thing.

When he could no longer continue his career as a pro gamer, he had felt that same sense of loss.

People around him said he was rich, still young, and had no reason to worry. But their words were nothing more than nonsense, completely oblivious to how he truly felt.

Just as gaming was everything to him, Gremory must have had her own deeply cherished pride.

Lee Shin spoke.

“Of course, I don’t intend to lose either. Since we can choose the battlefield, as long as we prepare properly, we will have the advantage.”

As a former pro gamer, Lee Shin knew better than anyone how crucial it was to fight on favorable terrain.

“Do you happen to know how much magic power the 71st-ranked Demon Lord has?”

“The current 71st-ranked Demon Lord, Caim, has 91,000 magic power.”

“So, 90% of 91,000 would be… 81,900. That means we need at least that much to qualify for a challenge.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, if I’m confident in victory, instead of betting just 10,000, wouldn’t it be better to wager more and quickly qualify for a challenge?”

“That means the wager depends on how prepared we are.”

“Exactly. We also need to consider my condition and the opponent’s personality.”

“Alright. I’ll trust you completely.”

Gremory, the 72nd-ranked Demon Lord.

Once ranked 56th, her palace was as beautiful as its owner. Even the Palace of Versailles couldn’t compare to its splendor.

During his stay, Lee Shin received exceptional hospitality, from his meals to his sleeping arrangements.

Wherever he went, ten beautiful maids followed him, attending to even the smallest details.

He was beginning to understand why Gremory said that staying in the Demon Realm forever could be a blissful life.

But there was no time to indulge in such comfort. A challenge could come at any moment, and he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

He immediately began his training.

“I need practice to get a feel for things. Can we do live training?”

“Of course.”

Gremory placed her hand on Lee Shin’s shoulder. In that instant, he felt the entire space around him distort.

Flash!

[Demon Lord Gremory and her contractor, Lee Shin, have arrived at the First Battlefield: Asteia.]

An unidentified voice echoed through the air.

“I shall conduct a mock battle with my contractor, Lee Shin.”

Gremory spoke.

[This is a mock battle between Demon Lord Gremory and her contractor, Lee Shin. The outcome of the war will not affect rankings or magic power. A fixed bet of 50,000 magic power has been placed.]

[50,000 magic power has been converted into magic stones and distributed across the battlefield.]

[Please select a race.]

Gremory turned to Lee Shin.

“You need to choose a race.”

“A race?”

“Demons are not deployed in ranking battles. The more demons that perish, the weaker the Demon Realm becomes.”

“……?”

“Instead, humans who have sinned and fallen into hell, orcs, elves, dwarves, and the monsters native to the Demon Realm participate in ranking battles.”

“So, we can summon them using the magic power we gather?”

“Yes. First, choose one from humans, orcs, elves, dwarves, or monsters.”

Choosing a race…

‘This is just like a game.’

It felt very similar to Space Craft, a game he had played endlessly during his pro gamer days.

However, unlike Space Craft, which only had humans, monsters, and divine beings, the ranking battles of the 72 Demon Lords had five different races to choose from. That meant there were even more factors to consider.

Lee Shin spoke.

“I’ll choose humans.”

“I suppose you’re most familiar with your own kind.”

“Well, something like that.”

During his pro gamer days, his main race had always been humans.

Here, "humans" seemed to represent the same concept, so it felt like the closest choice.

“But humans are considered too weak, so almost no one uses them.”

“I’ll try them all, one by one.”

“Alright. Then I’ll choose monsters.”

And so, the game—no, the war—began.

Lee Shin’s first opponent was none other than Gremory.

Lee Shin surveyed the terrain.

Cliffs encircled the area like towering walls.

A single narrow passage in the center served as the only entrance and exit.

Lee Shin was standing with four barely clothed humans. In front of them stood a large building.

As he gazed at the structure, a message imprinted itself in his mind.

[Headquarters: A building that summons slaves and stores the magic power they gather.]

‘Slaves?’

Only then did Lee Shin take a closer look at the four humans.

They hesitated, cautiously observing him. One of them, a man, spoke nervously.

“Uh, um… Contractor, sir?”

“Hmm?”

‘They can talk?’

Lee Shin was startled.

Despite the similarities to a game, this was undoubtedly reality. They weren’t just units; they were living, breathing beings who could think and speak.

“Shall we start gathering magic power? That should be the first step…”

“Ah, right. Let’s do that.”

At that moment, another explanation surfaced in his mind.

[Slaves: They gather magic power and iron ore and construct buildings.]

[All humans and buildings are telepathically linked to Lee Shin. You can issue commands through your thoughts.]

‘This system is pretty convenient.’

Following the instructions, Lee Shin gave his first command.

‘Gather magic power.’

The slaves immediately rushed toward eight black stones near the headquarters.

Though their faces looked strained, they relentlessly hammered at the stones, breaking them apart and carrying the fragments back to the headquarters.

‘So those are magic stones.’

Still, watching fellow humans toil under his orders didn’t sit well with him.

[Magic Power: 38]

As the slaves deposited the stones, the number steadily increased.

‘Alright. It’s a game. Just a game.’

Lee Shin cleared his mind and refocused on playing.