Chapter 140 - Order Of Non-Aggression

Wain gained power over an entire area of the World of Darkness. Moreover, energy crystals began to grow in that place because of his influence. This was clear from the crystal's description.

It was surprising to Wain, but given his strength and power of his souls in Soul Altar, such a change was nothing out of the ordinary.

'Probably my main soul had the biggest impact on this Void. There is boundless power lurking in Nameless King. I doubt crystal growth is so easy to start. I was able to defeat the wyvern, but it was a formidable foe, and the wyvern lorded over the area many times more than I did. However, I didn't see a single crystal along the way.' Wain thought as he walked down the icy tunnel.

Wain looked up and saw a faint blue glow in the ceiling. He realized what it meant and destroyed part of the wall with one mighty blow.

"One more..." Wain muttered, staring at the blue crystal. It was slightly smaller in size than the last one.

Wain took the crystal and moved on.

...

After a few minutes, Wain reached the main square. On the way, he used all his souls. 

Two days ago, in this place, he killed the previous ruler of this Void and caused severe damage to this cave. However, all the cracks and destruction had already disappeared, the ice was recovering quickly.

As Wain said, all the monsters in this Void were humbly waiting for him to come. To his surprise, there were more than three hundred of them. It was a formidable force, considering that every one of the monsters was First Chronicle.

When they saw Wain, they looked at him in amazement. Most of the monsters had not seen Wain fight or how he defeated the wyvern. Moreover, he was too different from them in appearance.

Wain stood in front of the crowd of monsters, but he said nothing. For starters, he had to show them who was in charge here.

Crack.

He kicked the ground with all his might, causing a massive slab of ice to break off. But, Wain didn't do it to show his strength. It was to create a platform for him to stand over the monsters.

Tremble.

[Activated Title Effect - Mentor Inquisitor]

Suddenly a silhouette of death appeared above Wain with a bloody scythe. Then Wain released his aura, which looked like boundless darkness. The monsters felt as if they were in the middle of an abyss. The pressure coming from Wain was terrifying.

At that moment, each of the monsters realized that Wain was their ruler. He was the sole owner of this place.

After a while, Wain's aura calmed down, and he calmly said, "Now each of you belongs to me, as does everyone here. If anyone wants to argue with that, I'm always up for a fight. But, you must be prepared that before you die, you will experience the torments of hell."

The monsters shuddered, though some of them smiled quite a bit. They preferred their leader to be cruel and powerful.

Wain slipped his hand under his cloak and pulled out a blue crystal. When the monsters saw it, they were stunned. They could feel how much energy was hidden in that crystal.

Some of the monsters even drooled with anticipation. However, they knew that obtaining such a crystal would be very difficult. In their world, the strong got everything, and the weak got nothing.

At that moment, the monsters looked at each other angrily. They were looking for potential opponents and competitors for these crystals. They knew that most of the crystals would be taken by their leader, but they could try to get the rest.

"Quiet. Settle down quickly." Coldly said Wain, and the monsters did as he said.

"I understand that every one of you dreams of getting these crystals, and I'd like to take 90% for myself, no, 99%." Calmly Wain said.

He didn't wait for the monsters to react and said, "However, I won't take even one crystal. All of the energy crystals that grow here will be distributed to you. I repeat I will take nothing for myself."

The monsters were stunned. To them, Wain's words sounded like the ravings of a madman. However, they knew that Wain was serious. They had no reason to doubt it.

"But, on one condition," Wain said slowly.

The energy crystals were useless to him. He had no ice attribute, and he was human. Wain could not use the crystals, so he found another use for them.

"Each of you will receive an equal number of crystals. You will collect them and put them into the common treasury. Every three days, you will receive the same amount of crystals as the others. Moreover, all kinds of battles are forbidden from now on." Wain said coldly.

He was the owner of this area and could subdue monsters using his power, but he could not forbid them to fight each other. It was impossible. Even if they held back as long as Wain was in this Void when he left, no one would care about his words.

However, there would be no conflict if the monsters had some good reason not to fight.

Wain thought this was the best use of energy crystals in this situation. His idea was that the monsters would gradually become stronger, and their number would grow.

Monsters would absorb energy from the environment and use crystals. At this rate, Ice Caves would quickly become much stronger and larger.

Wain did not yet fully know how the Voids worked. However, he assumed that if the strength and number of monsters in the Void did not change, it would not lead to anything good.

'If I can get into this Void, then other creatures will be able to someday. Moreover, I'm sure that there are various battles and shifts of power going on all the time in the World of Darkness. Most likely, the Voids can fight each other and take over other territories. It's going to be interesting, but I have to be prepared for that.' Wain thought.

He had received many different perks from the possession of Ice Caves, and that was just the beginning. Wain understood that his area was weak and small, but this venture had great potential.

When the monsters heard Wain's words, they did not believe it at first. However, they had no reason to argue. Wain, as a leader, gave up the crystals, which was already a real feast for all monsters.

Now, however, even the weakest of them couldn't worry about getting nothing. Each of the monsters would get much stronger over time, and they wouldn't have to kill each other to do it.

In any other situation, this was impossible, but Wain was a special leader because of his inability to absorb energy from crystals. Simply put, Wain masterfully wrapped his disadvantage into advantages for hundreds of monsters.

Wain looked at the monsters and said coldly, "Is that clear to all of you?"

The monsters nodded. They weren't going to argue with Wain. Moreover, they all agreed with his idea. Even in their dreams, they couldn't think that suddenly energy crystals would appear in their area, and the owner of Void wouldn't have a claim on them.

"Okay." Calmly Wain said and stomped his foot again with force.

Then he furiously began pounding the floor with each blow exerting more force. The monsters were shocked. They didn't understand what Wain was doing.

After a few minutes, however, a massive crater appeared in the cave's center.

Then Wain stood on the crater's edge and threw two blue crystals into the center.

"All the crystals you find should be here. That's all." Wain said calmly and stepped aside.

The monsters stared at the crystals and looked at each other for a while, but none of them attacked each other. Instead, the monsters eventually dispersed into the tunnels and started looking for crystals. 

The monsters were not the smartest creatures in the universe, but they could figure out that collecting crystals was profitable in this situation.

After an hour, the number of crystals in the crater reached a hundred and gradually increased. All the crystals were the same size. The monsters did not collect the ones that had not yet grown.

Wain smiled and closed his eyes. He had completed his task as the owner of this territory and could now go about his business. Since he had slept for two whole days, he was full of energy and ready for a new challenge.

Wain concentrated, and his Seal of Darkness shone brightly. He sensed where the fluctuating energy was coming from and headed in that direction. Then the floor beside him turned to ink, and Wain found himself in another dimensional rift.

There, as always, was a door of ink with eyes and a door to Sven's bar. Wain could have stopped by Sven's now, but he saw no point in doing so.

He had no souls to trade for Void Souls, as his main concern at the moment was to accumulate Soul Essence and level up. He would still have a chance to talk to Sven and buy unique gear.

Wain looked at the inky door and, after a while, smiled. Behind the door, the bony arms appeared again, destroying the door and turning it into a massive gate.

This time Wain was not wary. On the contrary, he was excited, for this was what he had been waiting for. Wain wanted to be in Purgatory again and fight the strongest.

Wain opened the gate and walked for hours down the long passage.

...

"Sorcerer's Soul... I wonder where I'll end up and what form I'll get.." Wain muttered as he opened the gate at the other end of the tunnel.