Becoming the Dark Lord

“I’ll have to explain a few things about where we are,” Luke continued. “By the way, you once said you grow stronger with beast cores, right? I have a few.”

The wyvern hatchling studied the tent with open curiosity.

“It’s bigger than the one you have in your lair.”

“The one in my bedroom? Yeah. It’s definitely bigger. And it’s not pink.”

“This one doesn’t have the nice decorations your sister used to add. Those corpses, to make it look more imposing.”

“The dolls…? Yeah, I don’t really walk around with dolls.”

“You still have much to learn from her, human.”

Luke began updating Franky on their location and his objective here. Now that he had reached where he needed to be and figured out what he was looking for, he could technically let the hatchling go.

“I thought this would be the moment you’d leave,” Franky said.

“Our partnership needs to last a bit longer. Unless, of course, you want to stay here. I wouldn’t recommend it. This is a dimension. It’s nowhere near the size of a real world.”

“I… I’ll stay a little longer,” the hatchling replied.

“And for a moment I thought we were finally getting rid of the baby,” Artemis commented.

“Alright, no more stalling. Time for the cores,” Luke said, pulling several of them out.

“I don’t want to absorb a core from a beast I didn’t kill,” Franky protested.

“You don’t have the strength to kill a level fifty beast. You’re basically level one.”

Luke placed a core directly in front of him.

“I refuse. I am a powerful monster.”

“You accepted the wyvern core back in the tutorial,” Luke pointed out.

“T-that was different. I was influenced by a humiliating defeat and didn’t want to give that other human the satisfaction,” Franky muttered.

Luke sighed. “If you fight a level fifty beast right now, you die. Just absorb these cores, and a few more after that. Once you can kill one on your own, you won’t need me feeding you cores anymore.”

Franky clicked his tongue.

“The faster you do this, the faster our partnership ends. Isn’t that what you want?” Luke asked.

“O-of course,” Franky replied.

“All that time hibernating scrambled your brain, snake. The sooner you absorb cores, the sooner we go our separate ways.”

The wyvern hatchling placed a claw on one of the cores. After a few seconds, cracks spread across its surface until it shattered completely.

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has successfully absorbed a Rank E Mana Core.]

[Rank E Cores (1/100)]

Luke set down more cores.

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has successfully absorbed a Rank E Mana Core.]

[Rank E Cores (2/100)]

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has successfully absorbed a Rank E Mana Core.]

[Rank E Cores (3/100)]

Luke opened the familiar interface.

[Familiar: Frankzaroth

Race: Ancient Wyvern

Rank: F

Familiar Skills: [Accelerated Flight (Rare)], [Fireball (Common)], [Wyvern Roar (Epic)]

[Evolution to Rank E]: To evolve from Rank F to Rank E, the familiar must consume Rank E Magical Beast Cores.

Rank E Cores (3/100)]

Nothing had changed except the core counter.

Franky glowed faintly for a moment. When the light faded, he looked down at his own body.

“I think I got a little taller,” Franky said.

The size was mostly the same. Maybe just a bit thicker. Less fragile than before.

“I hope I turn back into a snake when I evolve,” Franky added.

“I’m not sure Darwin would agree with you on that,” Luke replied.

Franky snorted, then went back to absorbing the cores.

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has successfully absorbed an E-Rank Mana Core.]

[E-Rank Cores (6/100)]

[E-Rank Cores (7/100)]

[E-Rank Cores (8/100)]

…

[E-Rank Cores (24/100)]

[E-Rank Cores (25/100)]

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has awakened a new skill.]

[E-Rank Cores (26/100)]

“S-something happened, human,” Franky said.

“I saw it,” Luke replied.

All the cores had been absorbed. Luke opened the familiar interface.

[Familiar: Frankzaroth

Race: Ancient Wyvern

Rank: F

Familiar Skills: [Accelerated Flight (Rare)], [Fireball (Common)], [Wyvern Roar (Epic)], [Wyvern Bite (Epic)]

[Evolution to Rank E]: To evolve from Rank F to Rank E, the familiar must consume E-Rank Magical Beast Cores. ℯℯ𝑙.

E-Rank Cores (26/100)]

“You get new skills too?” Luke asked. “I thought that only happened when you ranked up.”

“Of course I do. I am a powerful sna—” Franky stopped himself. “I mean… I was a powerful snake.”

Do weak familiars not get skills at Rank F? I should’ve asked Evangeline more questions.

Luke had skimmed a few materials about familiars after leaving the tutorial, but never cared enough to dig into paid resources. His only real concern back then had been whether it was possible to break the bond he had with Franky. With most familiars, it was. With rune-born familiars, it wasn’t. That didn’t stop the familiar from leaving, but the bond itself would remain.

Luke tapped the new skill.

[Wyvern Bite (Epic)]: The wyvern delivers a devastating bite, concentrating enough force in its jaws to crush flesh, bone, and metal. The impact is violent enough to tear through light armor and hurl smaller enemies to the ground. The brutality of the strike leaves deep wounds and causes continuous bleeding, gradually weakening those who survive. The bite’s power scales with the wyvern’s strength, becoming increasingly destructive as the creature evolves.

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Luke was impressed. A wyvern’s true weapon was its bite, so it made sense that it scaled this aggressively.

“Maybe you’ll unlock more,” he said. “Either way, cores aren’t exactly easy to come by. At least not where I am. There aren’t many beasts around.”

“At least Mr. Shitpants is slowly growing to the size of a chicken,” Artemis commented.

“A chicken? What is a chicken?” Franky asked.

“A chicken is an animal from my world,” Luke explained. “It survived a massive extinction event and is descended from gigantic beasts that once ruled the land.”

“That sounds very powerful,” Franky said thoughtfully. “Maybe I am a chicken. It suits me.”

“No, you’re not a chicken,” Luke replied. “Only extremely powerful creatures are chickens.”

“Then I am a chicken,” Franky declared proudly. “I survived not one world, but two. My old one, the place where you found me, and now this one. See? I am the greatest of chickens.”

“Of course you are,” Luke said dryly. “If you say you’re one, who am I to argue with a mighty chicken?”

“At last you recognize my value, human,” Franky said, puffing out his chest.

Footsteps approached.

“Bastard, at this pace we’ll reach the forest in—”

Layla opened the tent and froze. “Ah! A rat!”

“A rat? Who are you calling a rat, you human rat!” Franky snapped.

She blinked. “A talking rat?”

“I am not a rat! Human, may I throw a fireball at her? Who is she?” Franky asked.

Luke sighed. “Layla, why are you in my tent at night?”

“The gray woman asked me to call you for dinner. Don’t get any ideas, you bastard.”

“I’m not thinking anything, Layla.”

“And what is that?” she asked, pointing. “Where did you even get that thing?”

“That’s a talking creature I made a deal with some time ago.”

“Every day you show up with something new,” Layla said. “Two beautiful women following you for mysterious reasons, which I assume is blackmail. A talking necklace. And now this.”

“Welcome to Arkham Asylum,” Luke replied.

***

A few days passed as the group made their way toward the forest. Along the road, they found corpses, bodies being torn apart by ghouls. The creatures were weak by Luke’s standards, but they served their purpose. They were good experience for Angie.

Franky was surprised when he saw her. They had never been formally introduced, and he still remembered the statues from the tutorial.Even as Luke made steady progress, he felt slow. Too slow. His thoughts drifted to Allison, and he wondered what his friend might be doing now.

A scream snapped him out of it. One of the ghouls shrieked as it charged him. Luke raised a hand and fired a shadow ball. He advanced while casting, burning through the ghouls as they rushed forward. Angie moved alongside him, spear in hand, striking with precision. She tightened her grip and threw it.

The spear flew straight and true, piercing two ghouls in a single motion.

[Angie has slain a Ruin Ghoul: Lvl 21]

[Angie has slain a Ruin Ghoul: Lvl 21]

**The [Valkyrie] class of Angie has reached Level 19!**

“These rats are funny. They scream when they burn,” Franky commented as he launched fireballs at ghouls crawling on the ground.

“Why is everything a rat to you?” Luke asked.

“Why isn’t it?” Franky shot back.

“Okay. That was oddly philosophical, snake.”

Franky continued blasting the fallen ghouls, laughing whenever the explosions made the corpses twitch.

“Dead rats,” he said, cackling.

“That’s how psychopaths are born,” Artemis remarked.

“I think he’s just an idiot,” Luke replied.

Layla stayed back, providing support with her bow whenever needed. Luke crouched beside a dead creature, a beast whose corpse the ghouls had been devouring. He shoved his hand inside.

“That’s disgusting. And it’s rotten,” Layla said, grimacing.

“I noticed,” Luke replied as he tore out the heart.

“I could have done that, my lord,” Angie offered.

Luke split the heart open. A core was lodged inside.

“Here, snake. Another one for you.”

[Your familiar Frankzaroth has successfully absorbed a Rank E Mana Core.]

[Rank E Cores (31/100)]

Not every beast left a core behind. Finding one felt almost like fishing. Rare. Valuable.

“Let’s move.”

“Seriously? Walk more?” Layla complained.

“If you want to stay behind, that’s your choice.”

“That’s not what I mean. We’re already close to the forest. Resting for an hour won’t kill us. Your routine is insane. When you’re not walking, you’re busy making potions.”

Luke glanced at the group.

Am I pushing too hard?

He looked at Charlie and Angie.

If I ask them, they won’t say anything.

“Alright. We’ll move away from the carcasses and stop.”

After half an hour of walking, they halted on top of a hill, gaining a better view of the surrounding area. Luke sat down and drank a healing potion. The night before, he had given Charlie a considerable amount of blood.

I really am running at full throttle.

But Layla was right. He needed to rest. If Luke didn’t sleep, his body never fully recovered. Worse, it slowed his HP, stamina, and mana regeneration all at once. He might be a superhuman, but he still had biological needs.

Luke stretched his arms overhead. Without warning, Angie stepped in behind him and began kneading his shoulders.

“A massage?” he asked.

“Yes. To help you relax, my lord. You’re very tense.”

At another time, he would have brushed it off, said he didn’t need it. Right now, though, he really did.

“You’re surprisingly good at this, Angie. Even with stone hands.”

Is she good at massages because she read everything about the human body in those medical books?

She worked methodically, pressing into each point along his shoulders before moving up to his neck. Charlie watched in silence, occasionally glancing down at her own hands and mimicking Angie’s movements in the air.

“In my memories, based on what I inherited from Angelica, humans enjoy this,” Angie said calmly.

“They do. A lot,” Luke replied. “Did Angelica have memories related to massages?”

“Very few. I combined her knowledge with my own analysis and applied what I’ve observed about humans. Massage is relaxing for beings with flesh-based bodies.”

Luke felt his eyelids growing heavy.

“I have no problem continuing, my lord. You may turn and lie down. I can keep going until you fall asleep.”

“Don’t say that, or I might actually consider taking you up on it.”

“I’m serious.”

He hesitated. “Just a little.”

Luke lay down, and Angie continued the massage. Charlie stood nearby, watching in silence, eyes half-lidded.

“Wow. She’s kind of terrifying,” Artemis commented.

***

The group eventually reached the Spore Forest. A thick green mist hovered among the trees, heavy and poisonous. They stopped in front of a dark cave.

“Look at this, human,” Franky said, launching a fireball that sliced through the darkness and exploded softly against the cave floor.

“Congratulations,” Luke replied flatly. “You just announced our presence to every enemy nearby.”

“Thank you,” Franky said proudly.

That was not a compliment.

Red eyes gleamed from within the cave. Wolf-like monstrosities burst from the shadows and charged them. There were only six.

Angie surged forward, her spear flashing as she struck each creature with precise, fluid motions. She spun the weapon, then lunged, pinning one of the beasts against the cave wall.

[Angie has slain a Red Fang Wolf - Lvl 19]

[Angie has slain a Red Fang Wolf - Lvl 19]

[Angie has slain a Red Fang Wolf - Lvl 19]

[Angie has slain a Red Fang Wolf - Lvl 19]

**[Angie has reached Level 10! Stone Angel (Rank F)] (+2 bonus point to all attributes, +5 free point)**

[Angie has unlocked a Race Skill]

Luke hurled shadow orbs at the wounded survivors.

[You have slain the Red Fang Wolf - Lvl 19]

[You have slain the Red Fang Wolf - Lvl 19]

**Your second class [Witch] has reached Level 18!**

“Well, we’ve got ourselves a place to stay,” Luke remarked.

Layla looked toward the forest, unease in her expression. “No one’s managed to explore much of this place. Anyone who enters dies from the poison.”

“That’s not a problem for me.”

And it wasn’t. Not for him, nor for Angie or Charlie. All three were resistant to poison. Charlie was completely immune, and Angie wasn’t affected at all, being a statue.

“One treasure is still missing,” Luke continued. “And this is the one area no one’s explored. The chances of a temple hidden in this forest are high.”

There was only one group that might already be operating here.

The Alchemists.