After he was done with assigning the stats, he shifted his focus to the items in his inventory. He wanted to finish up everything today before he fell asleep.

The first were the items that he got from the system after finishing the trials. The system said it was stored in his inventory.

With only a thought, everything that he had gained from the system appeared right before him. The first was a folded paper and a small sword. It was the size of his palm.

He picked up the sword first.

[Ruler's Blade [soul weapon]: this sword takes its full form when the user pours soul energy into it. All stats are doubled when in use, but the user's life force is slowly taken away in the process.]

Aren looked at the description of the blade and couldn't help but frown.

"What the hell is this?" he muttered. If it was any other awakened, the sight of such a soul weapon would instantly make them drop to their knees and beg for it, but not Aren. He had two soul weapons now and each one was good, and they didn't have any unnecessary drawbacks like what this one had.

There was no way he was going to use a sword that would be slowly killing him, all for just double power. If it was ten times the power, then maybe he would have considered it, but for double, there was no way he would.

"Tsk, maybe I'll find where to sell it. It's worthless to me," he said and tossed it to the side before picking up the piece of paper. He unraveled it, and it was a map of a massive maze, and the only thing that was written other than that was the number 2 at the edge.

Aren looked at the map, a slight look of confusion on his face as he tried to figure out what it was, and then it clicked. This definitely had something to do with the second trial.

"Could the second trial have something to do with a maze?" he asked. He scanned the paper even more for any other detail, but there was nothing.

"Tch, now it's got me all curious," he muttered as he folded the paper and dropped it to the side as well, and now he finally found focus on what he gained from the Butler's soul.

First was the unique skill. He wasted no time, checking it immediately.

[Unique Skill, Shadow Domain.]

[Shadow Domain: one hundred meters of pure darkness under your control, control all shadowy reality. All shadow abilities are doubled in strength. Cooldown, seven days.]

"That's crazy," Aren muttered with a smile. The skill was insane. He had thought he would receive some sort of soul skill since it was from the Butler's soul, but instead, he actually got something shadow related. It seemed his shadow power didn't allow him to hold other types of skills.

Now that he had seen the skill, the next thing that came to mind was the memories of the butler. He wanted to know what was inside. He shut his eyes and spoke, "System, show me the memories."

Instantly, Aren's mind was pulled into some sort of warp. By the time he opened his eyes again, he was no longer on his bed, but rather inside the memories of the butler. And what he saw, right off the bat, sank his heart.

The butler stood on a battlefield. The ground was scorched, mountains destroyed, everything dead. Bodies of humans littered the floor in hundreds of thousands. Their heads were decapitated, bodies burned, mutilated, every sort of death that could be imagined.

And in the midst of all this blood and destruction, the butler stood.

But he wasn't wearing his clothes as a butler. No, he was dressed in crystal armor from head to toe. His long hair flowed in the wind, and his hands gripped his sword tightly before him. His eyes pierced through the smoke and clouds of darkness, locking onto a figure that stood in the distance, none other than Angel Elton.

She floated there a few feet off the ground, her eyes locked on the butler.

The butler, who seemed to be in immense pain, took one step forward. He gritted his teeth and then spoke.

"You lied to all of us. You promised us a way out. Look at what you have done now!" he bellowed, a tear streaming down his cheek.

But Elton's face held no emotion.

Seeing this, his rage grew even more. "How could you do this to people who served you? How could you do this to us? We gave everything," he roared.

Then suddenly, Elton smiled. Not a happy smile, but the smile of someone diabolical. She looked straight at him, as if piercing through his soul.

"Your world has lived its use. If these humans here are the best all your evolutions can bring you to, then this world is ready to be rid of. We have already taken those that are of use. You should come with us as well," she said calmly.

But the butler defied her. He shook his head. "I'd rather die than walk with you after what you've done."

She frowned slightly. "No one is dying here. You will be following me, whether you want it or not, and you will serve me," she spoke.

He gritted his teeth. "Over my dead body," he said and shot forward.

His feet exploded against the ground, cracks spreading where they left behind. He shot through the air at terrifying speed, and when he was in range, he slashed.

But the sword cut through her.

An afterimage.

She appeared behind him, and before he could react, she struck his back with her palm. An explosive force erupted like a bomb. His body was thrown away, slamming into the ground and rolling for several meters before stopping.

He skidded, stabbing his sword into the ground to halt himself.

She looked at him and slowly shook her head. "There is no use fighting back. Nothing you do will matter anymore after this," she said.

But he shook his head. "Like I said, over my dead body."

She lifted her hand, and an image appeared.

It was a beautiful young girl, no more than fifteen years old.

The moment the butler saw her, he froze.

That was his daughter. His world.

Elton smiled when she saw the look on his face. "I will spare your daughter and make sure she gets somewhere safe if you come with me," she said.

"How do I believe you?" he asked, "after everything you have done?"

"You do not have a choice. If you refuse, I will kill you, and then kill her, so you lose that way. But if you put your trust in me and follow me, then your daughter will be safe," she said.

The butler hesitated. Giving up was something he never wanted to do. But faced with such a choice, there was nothing else he could do. The life of his daughter weighed heavier than anything else.

He let go of the sword, and it fell to the ground.

He looked at her. "Fine. I will serve you for all eternity, as long as she remains alive."

Elton nodded. "I will keep my word," she said, stretching out her hand for him to come.

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