Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

The Lieutenant leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. ”Zishan Walker, have you been using Demonic Magic to consume human souls to become stronger? And what exactly is your connection to the Nether Hollow Domain?”

Zishan’s jaw dropped. ”Do I look like I have a horn?!”

”...”

”...”

Zishan pointed at his forehead. ”Seriously! Look at me! Do you see anything sticking out of my head?!”

The Sergeant glanced at the Lieutenant, while the Lieutenant simply stared back at Zishan as if he didn’t know how to answer him. This young man seemed to be quite hard to deal with.

”What?” Zishan asked. ”Isn’t that a reasonable question? You’re accusing me of being connected to Demons!”

”Demons can disguise themselves as other races,” the Sergeant eventually explained. ”There would be no point in infiltrating Cyrune if they walked around displaying their horns.”

Zishan slowly lowered his hand.

”They can do that? Woah... that’s honestly cool—” He cut himself off and gave a light cough. ”Anyway, it’s strange that they can do that...”

[The System was flabbergasted by the sudden change of the Dumb Host’s tone.]

”Shut up! I’m not talking to you!” he yelled when the Lieutenant was about to answer him.

”Is he sick in the brain?” the Sergeant asked, spacing out while looking straight at Zishan. ”This kid is crazy...”

”Hey! I can hear you! You—”

The Lieutenant gave a heavy sigh. His stare at Zishan hinted that it might have been a lot easier dealing with enemies on the battlefield than having a full conversation with this kid in front of him.

Zishan was weirded out, but he still straightened his posture. ”I apologize for the strange behavior, sir! You can slap me on the cheeks or make me do push-ups if you want—”

”Hayyyy!” The Lieutenant exhaled a longer sigh.

”...”

”...”

”Anyway, yes, they can do that. They have the ability to imitate any race’s appearance and walk normally in our daily lives like the real ones. There were even some cases where they integrated so deeply into Human society that some eventually forgot they were Demons. One case happened when a demon fell in love with a human girl—”

”Wait, wait, and there’s like an event where the dude was forced to come out of his human form to protect the one he loves, right? Right? Damn! I actually like those kinds of stories~!” Zishan’s eyes were shining brightly. ”Continue! Continue! Don’t cut it!”

”...”

”...”

Seeing the blank faces of his superiors, he quickly coughed his way out of the awkward situation again. ”I apologize, sirs! I got too carried away!”

This time, both men just sighed. Even the Lieutenant himself lost his strict composure earlier. This kid was so talkative that he’d never run out of things to say.

”Anyway, regarding that. That demon was actually one of those peak powerhouses in the past, having fought high-level mages all on his own just to protect his lover,” the Lieutenant continued.

”What happened after that? Did he die?”

The Lieutenant shook his head. ”No one knows. Perhaps those who have lived for millions of years knew something. I don’t even know if those legends still exist. But Others say he escaped to the Nether Hollow Domain with the woman he loved.”

”Damn!” Zishan slapped his lap. ”That’s quite a story!”

The Lieutenant just ignored his remark and continued, ”Anyway, just like what I said. They can look completely Human or take the appearance of any other race.”

Zishan had thought the matter would be over the moment they took one look at his beautiful hornless forehead. Instead, he had just discovered that Demons could walk around Cyrune looking like normal people.

He frowned at the two officers. ”Then why did you let me point at my head like an idiot?!”

”You answered before we could say anything,” the Sergeant replied.

”Oh.” Zishan thought about it for a moment. ”Tch! Fine.”

There was no point arguing when they were technically right.

The Lieutenant then asked one of the soldiers standing near the entrance to bring something from a locked chest at the side of the tent. The man took out a small object wrapped in cloth and placed it on the table.

When the cloth was removed, Zishan saw a dark cube about the size of both his fists placed together. Several lines and strange symbols were carved into its surface, and he could faintly sense Mana coming from inside it.

”What’s that?” he asked.

”A Magic Cube,” the Lieutenant answered. ”Place your hand on it.”

Zishan stared at him, a little suspicious of such a sudden request. ”Why? Are you trying to frame me or something? Or kill me before I grow? Like those stories where they try to kill the protagonist before he can grow stronger—”

”Just shut up and follow my orders,” the Lieutenant said. ”This Magic Cube will just tell us whether you’re Human or not.”

”Couldn’t you have started with this before accusing me of eating people’s souls?!”

The Sergeant sighed.

Zishan ignored him and looked at the cube again.

The Lieutenant explained that Magic Cubes were used to identify a person’s race, Level, and basic Stats. They were especially useful when dealing with races capable of hiding their natural appearance, because an ordinary disguise wouldn’t change what the Magic Cube detected.

”Oh!” Zishan’s expression brightened. ”So this thing is basically an Appraisal Skill turned into a rock!”

”That is not how any Magic Engineer would describe it,” the Sergeant replied.

The Lieutenant pushed the Magic Cube toward Zishan. With no other choice but to follow, he placed one hand on top of it. The Magic Cube felt cold against his palm.

The carvings covering the dark stone started glowing. Mana flowed through the lines around its surface before several words appeared above the cube.

[Race: Human]

A grin spread across his face as he looked at the two officers. ”See? I told you.”

He was already about to pull his hand away when the Lieutenant stopped him. ”Keep it there. The reading isn’t finished.”

Zishan clicked his tongue, though he left his palm where it was. ”How much more does this thing need? It already answered the important part.”

The light running through the Cube grew brighter, and several more lines began forming beneath his race.

[Level: 50]

[Ascent: Unascended]

[BASIC STATS]

[STR: 101]

[VIT: 81]

[AGI: 87]

[PER: 55]

[INT: 62]

[WIL: 65]

The Sergeant went silent. The Lieutenant leaned closer to the Magic Cube and read the numbers again.

Zishan already knew what his Stats looked like, so he wasn’t nearly as surprised. In fact, seeing them displayed in front of two military officers made him feel rather proud.

Then, another line appeared.

[Remarks: AN ERA-DEFINING PRODIGY]