Brand-new abilities in the second stage!

A dozen or so minutes later.

Trembling, dumbstruck, and overwhelmed by the honor, he followed beside that great being with his head tucked down.

He had never, ever imagined that this great Outer God from the Warp would actually be persuaded by him, would actually spare his life, and would actually take him as a servant.

He had actually...

Become a slave to a great Outer God?

At that moment.

He gazed tremblingly at that vast, awe-inspiring, indescribable shadow, and tears of joy seemed to spill from eye sockets he did not even have.

After all, what undead did not want to accomplish something earth-shattering? What skeleton enjoyed staying forever in some godforsaken graveyard?! But which big shot in the Spirit Realm would take in a stray skeleton like him? Even if he wanted to be their dog, they would turn him down for being unable to fetch a bone.

And now...

He gazed reverently and tremblingly at that indescribable figure.

He had actually been blessed with the chance to become a great Outer God's dog...

His ancestors must have blessed him!

[Ding! Salgon's reverence for you +50!]

[Ding! Salgon's eyes brimmed with grateful tears because of you. Gratitude +70!]

[Ding! Salgon is willing to offer you his eternal loyalty. Fervor +50!]

Clatter-clatter-

Fragments dropped all along the way.

Lin En: "..."

This fucking bastard was shedding them with every step!

But now that he was his master, he certainly could not go back and pick them up. That would be too embarrassing. Yet leaving them there was such a waste. He really wanted to beat this bastard to death.

"But listen carefully."

Lin En's commanding, masterly voice rang out.

"Since you want to be my servant, your life is in my hands from now on. I shouldn't need to teach you how a servant ought to behave, should I?"

Salgon immediately dropped to one knee with impeccable form and declared fervently:

"I will say nothing I shouldn't say and ask nothing I shouldn't ask! My master's commands are my will, and wherever my master points is the direction I shall advance! If my master tells me to steal chickens, I will never chase dogs!"

"..."

Lin En closed his eyes and said majestically.

"Mm. Very spirited."

[Ding! Salgon's fervor for you +30!]

Of course, Lin En had not taken him in because he could abduct little girls. He had genuinely thought it over: if he wanted to properly integrate into human society in the future, having a dog to do his bidding would indeed be all gain and no investment.

He had never expected reality to be so fragile, either.

And judging by what he had learned, everything in that world was inseparably linked to the Spirit Realm, the world that overlapped it.

With a local skeleton covering for him, whatever he did in the future ought to go much more smoothly.

"So you're sure my... uh, wife will be all right down there?"

Lin En cast him a majestic glance.

Wife?!

Salgon's pupils jolted.

Then he immediately understood. His master must mean the noble girl who had fallen with them. Truly, His Majesty the Outer God was in a league of his own!

He had only descended a day ago, and he had already bewitched a noble into becoming his wife! It was just as Salgon had guessed: his master was in no hurry to invade the entire world. Instead, he intended to proceed gradually, first establishing an identity in human society, then slowly bewitching the whole city, corrupting the Church, and twisting reality. From that foothold, he would launch his conquest of the entire world!

[Ding! Salgon admires your far-reaching foresight. His worship of you +50!]

Lin En: "???"

Salgon shuddered violently and said fervently:

"Rest assured, Your Majesty! Although you have withdrawn your projection, the aura remaining within your vessel will absolutely deter any creature from approaching! At least in the Second Layer of the Spirit Realm, not a single being would have the courage!"

What a joke! That was a vessel that had housed His Majesty the Outer God!

Never mind those little ghosts-even a Great Demon would have to tread carefully!

"I see."

Lin En rubbed the chin he had not grown.

Well, that was a relief.

More importantly, though, he was not sure whether that body would burst outright if he recklessly descended again now.

"Let's go. Come to where I live first. I'll assign you a task once we're back!"

"Yes!"

Lin En looked toward the billowing black mist ahead.

He had been away for a whole day, after all.

His Valkyrie must have missed him at least a little by now. Hehehehe. He wondered what she would think when she saw him looking like this.

The next moment.

Bzz-

The instant he touched the black mist, Lin En teleported directly to his lair at its very center, bringing his newly acquired servant with him.

"Master, this place is..."

Salgon stood humbly behind Lin En, gazing fervently at the place wreathed in rising black mist.

Lin En glanced around, then extended a tentacle with unimaginable speed and sucked everything scattered across his room's floor into his body: Strange Tales of an Otherworldly Catgirl 2, half a steamed bun, and all the blush-inducing comics he had drawn to pass the time over the past ten years.

After all, he had a servant now. Would letting this skeleton see these things not undermine his dignity as a great master?

"This is my birthplace, as well as my divine domain."

Lin En spoke with solemn dignity.

Bzz-

The pupils within Salgon's ghostly flames instantly trembled.

"Your birthplace and divine domain..."

He immediately noticed the walls formed from black mist that writhed like water, the little wooden bed that looked shabby yet radiated a great aura, the equally great washroom, and the battered... enormous black pot set up in the very center of the room.

Dazed, Salgon reached out and instinctively touched the pot.

Lin En's heart lurched.

Fuck, I'd been so busy dealing with the stuff behind me that I'd forgotten to put away what was right in front of me!

But the instant Salgon touched it, an unimaginably calamitous aura surged from the pot and struck him head-on. He felt as though needles were stabbing his back, and his soul nearly collapsed.

It was as if countless grotesqueries of the Warp had once been cooked in that pot, as if terrifying beings of a standing no lower than his master's had struggled inside it.

"Is this my master's demonic artifact? I can feel countless anguished emotions struggling within..."

Salgon immediately dropped to one knee and said fervently.

"My master's power needs no explanation!"

Lin En: "??..."

The miserable image of himself enduring the pain of stewing his own flesh in an iron pot just because he wanted a bite of meat instantly surfaced in his mind.

And that had been the first time he had ever tasted meat broth...

"Enough. Shut up."

Lin En waved him away with a dark expression.

He had already forgotten all about it, and this fucker's single remark had dragged every awful memory back up. Of course that thing had stewed countless anguished emotions of mine.

But that was not the point.

Lin En's gaze blazed.

He immediately opened his panel. He remembered that advancing had unlocked brand-new abilities and skills.

[Lin En]

[Race]: Gigantified mutant aberrant tadpole

[Authorities]: [???], [???]

[Standing]: ???

[Status]: (Joy of advancement) (Bad memories) (Pleasant fantasies of abducting little girls)

[Calamity rank]: 2

[Satiety]: 1541/30000

[Bound vessel]: Link Lucifer

[Abilities]:

----

[Emotion devourer (II)]: Can devour emotional fragments as nourishment for advancement. New: Can grant a follower the ability to harvest emotions. Maximum: 3.

[Filth Power Returns to the Source]: Can consume a certain amount of satiety to forge it into a piece of origin substance. Current maximum conversion rank: 1.

[Origin Energy Echo]: Can fuse two pieces of origin substance into one. Their associated Sequence has a chance of being retained. No cost.