The Greedy Frog
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Hey, I Ruin Stories Chapter 31
🕑 Added 2024-05-23 21:56:47 +0000 UTCChapter 31: New Beginning
‘Chaos, quite satisfactory.’
I stirred things up enough that not a single individual had the time to breathe. So, it best be satisfactory.
‘Damage to the world was quite decent.’
Killing the hero, causing a continental war just for it to evolve into a world war between the world of magic and without.
Yeah, it was definitely worse than the previous two world wars that they had seen.
‘However, you left so many plots untouched, so many startings that you didn't see the ending of.’
True.
I ignited a flame for the students to abuse Dark Arts, I made sure that politics was messed up, I influenced Snape to the point of making him paranoid.
But honestly, I did not use them to the fullest like I should have.
‘I will not accept you leaving so many loose ends to the plots that you started.’
“I had already left that world, destroyed it to the point that it will take centuries to recover.”
The war cost them a lot and I dare say the death count and the general hatred that grew in that world has set their progress behind by at least a century. And it will take them longer than that to recover.
‘It was a little disappointing, seeing how you ended things.’
Kind of true, things progressed fast and I preferred that. Faster movement of plot leads to chaos, which was the goal.
‘However, it was your first world.’
Definitely an experience.
‘So, I shall not be that harsh on you.’ He would seem nice to the gullible. Even to me a few years back, he would have looked like a nice being.
But well, he is anything but nice.
‘Although I hope you will not disappoint me in your next journey, Darius.’
It was the first time he called me by my name, wasn't it?
Quite horrifying if you think about it.
It was the Devil after all.
‘You act like it is the first time you have met me.’
It wasn't the first time.
“It most certainly is the first time I have seen your form, or well, the structure of your form.”
What I meant was…
“The smoke figure instead of the creepy presence.”
And other than that, each time I came here, I either laid on the ground or sat on it. Rarely did I spend time here standing.
Even now I sat on the invisible ground. Not that you feel any pain here so even standing for extensive periods won't hurt. However, it just didn't feel right to stand for so long.
“You seeing this form simply means that your soul is growing stronger. And your presence has grown in this realm.”
I did feel stronger than last time. Not just in the sense that I was physically stronger or the powers I had were stronger than the past.
Instead, I felt better control over my powers, mind and surroundings.
I could sense the realm better. I could sense the energy of the realm.
This time, it wasn't just a dark space with nothing.
Now, it was a dark space with creepy energy flowing through it.
Precisely it wasn't just an energy that felt cold, now it was an energy that felt sinister.
‘You are gaining consciousness beyond the mortal plane. And as long as you manage to increase it further, get it to a position where you can see me fully and maybe even face me.’ He laughed, ‘Who knows till where you can improve. But if you do reach that level, you will not have to worry about running away from judgment. You will become a part of the cycle of life, an abstract being —like me.’
His words were compelling. It made me want to chase after this power that he spoke of.
But not blindly.
I would be a fool to blindly follow the Devil.
‘Do you even have a choice other than that?’
Sadly, he was correct.
“Not at the moment.”
‘And what are you going to do to get the chance to have a choice?’
In this scenario, there was only one correct answer.
“I accept going to the next world.”
The moment those words left my mouth, cackling sounds erupted around my ear.
It was laughter, ghastly laughter of the Devil.
‘This time, I won't even hint about your next journey —about your next world.’
This… was mildly annoying.
“Any reasons for that?”
‘This world was a little too easy for you. You faced no challenges.’
“So, you plan to make my powers weaker?”
‘Of course not!’
He laughed as I said that.
‘The Devil never lies. I told you that when you obtain a power, that power is adjusted to be at the peak of the world you go to.’ His voice echoed around me. ‘I won't weaken you. It is no fun seeing a weak man facing hurdles of gods.’
Some would disagree.
‘But it is also not fair that you have everything at hand.’
Well… not wrong.
‘Thus you will only know about the world once you get there, and this world will be a little special.’
If the Devil was excited, it was certainly something bad.
‘I went through your memories. I went through them even before you died.’
It certainly felt annoying to have someone read your mind. Yet nothing could be done about it. It was the Devil, the being strongest after God.
‘And the world I have chosen is one that you have no recollection of. All you know is the name of the world and the hero of that story.’
He wanted me to suffer, didn't he?
‘Oh, I don't.’ He barked out another laugh. ‘All I want is to see a man with great power being lost in a world he has no knowledge of. Power without knowledge causes the greatest chaos. And chaos is what I need, it is what you need.’
So the chaos I spread back there was not enough, huh?
‘It was decent, but nowhere on the magnitude of the chaos I want to see.’
“I will try.”
‘Do not fail, else you will have to suffer worse than any sinner has ever suffered.’
“Then give me something so that I don't have to suffer.”
If he was laughing previously, he was now guffawing.
‘Opportunistic, Sinister.’ His voice boomed. ‘I like it, I accept it!’
If he wanted more chaos, if he wanted to throw me into a world I had no recollection of, it was only fair I got something in return, wasn't it?
‘Very well.’ He calmed down after a while. ‘Then I shall give you options, options to your already existing powers.’
Huh?
“And that means…”
‘That means I will present you with three new powers, three options that you can either take or reject. And if you do take any of those, you will have to replace it with one of your already existing powers.’
“So, I can have only 5 powers at a given time?”
‘Precisely.’
That… wasn't too good. I might lose some great ability to take another ability.
‘Worry not. Even if you don't take the powers, they will still remain and you can always choose them again once you return back to this realm.’
So, I had the powers in my inventory and could replace my existing five with them but only when I was in the Devil’s realm?
‘Precisely.’
Well, that is fine then.
‘Then choose.’
And with that, just like the first time, I was presented with orbs of colored light.
Just three instead of five this time around.
An orb of cream-ish color.
Another of sharp, saffron color.
And finally one of silver color.
‘You may take a look at them, but when you go —you can carry only five.’
Agreeing with him, I decided to check what I was presented with.
So, I picked and the first color I chose was silver.
Which instantly made the silver orb fly towards me and it broke apart in powdery color the moment it reached my vicinity —something that didn't happen with the previous ones.
And the power, needless to say, went inside my nose and mouth. However, it didn't make me cough or choke, instead it made me feel a chill.
That chill definitely had a reason for it, as information regarding a certain power flooded my mind.
`Magic of the Dead.`
Necromancy.
The magic that could revive the strongest of beings and turn them into slaves that would even lick your feet if you command them to.
However…
“Doesn’t my Magic of the Darkness already include this ability?”
It gave me power over everything sinister, dark, evil or unorthodox.
And necromancy certainly wasn't orthodox.
‘What it gave you was the ability to revive the dead and make them listen to you.’
And this power doesn't do that?
‘This one makes you one with the aspect of death, anything regarding death you can control —except for giving a dead their life back, because that falls under the control of life.’
“And that means what exactly?”
‘Necromancy is your major power, but you have greater affinity with the aspect of death itself. You can sense death, you can smell death and you can be aware of death.’
“Like when I will die?”
‘Not exactly, but if you take the power… you will understand.’
Tempting, but I will wait for the other two.
And so I took in the saffron one.
`Magic of the Spring`
As the orb broke down into a ray of sunlight, I understood what power I had found.
Plant and vegetation manipulation.
Not exactly an offensive power from the knowledge that I received, but something that can certainly make you act like a fake God.
‘You might want to take that in.’
“I will decide soon.”
And thus I took the final orb. The orb of the cream color.
This orb, however, neither turned to a ray nor powder instead it turned to a gooey substance before quickly seeping inside my skin.
It made me shudder, but when I heard what it was —I understood immediately.
`Magic of Self-Anatomy`
Horrifying power.
It basically turned me into a person that could mold my skin, bones, muscles, organs and every single thing in my body according to my will.
It… was definitely something interesting.
‘So, what shall be your pick?’
“Oh, I will definitely take something.”
There was one magic that I had no intention of carrying to the next world. It was the one magic that I used the least.
“Swap Magic of the Runes with Magic of Self-Anatomy.”
‘Done.’
In the fraction of a second, I felt something being pulled out of my body while something new took residence inside me.
What I lost was the knowledge of the Runes. It vanished like it never even existed in my mind, and what replaced it was the ability to control my body to the last atom.
Great trade off if you ask me.
But the next choice was difficult.
Elemental Magic was ridiculously versatile, Mind Magic was something that would permanently be in my arsenal, Magic of Protection was extremely important as it protected me from debuffs and Darkness Magic… Darkness magic was something that always came in handy.
“You…” I looked at him, yes, I looked at the shadowy figure that stood taller than me.
And yes, instead of just a presence, I could now at least see a smoke figure
“You said you want to see something interesting, right?” A smile appeared on my face, one for a very stupid reason. “You want to see a challenging journey?”
‘I am listening.’
“Then replace Magic of Darkness with Magic of the Spring.”
A darn stupid trade off, but he did say he wants to see something interesting —and interesting I shall show him.
Needless to say, my choice took him by surprise —even if I cannot see his face, I can still figure that out.
‘Interesting… but very well.’ He cackled, ‘Done.’
With that, the sinister power inside me left my body, replaced by a very serene and peaceful magic of controlling vegetation.
‘Any more changes?’
Tempting.
I wanted to try the Magic of the Dead too. Being able to sense death was a ridiculously overpowered ability.
However, I just didn't want to let go of the other powers that I possessed at the moment.
“No… that shall be all.”
‘Very well then, you are prepared to leave.’
Soon, it felt so soon.
‘Do not worry. While you know nothing of the world, it will be one that will be more fun than your previous one.’
Didn't make me feel happy even by a bit. But I will take what I get.
‘I like that view on things.’ He surprisingly approved.
‘But leave now, create chaos greater than the past and show me plots that I had not seen before. Do what one doesn't think —and make even my Father widen his eyes!’
Once again, just like in the past —his voice boomed.
‘Go! And show me what you are capable of!’
With that, with his booming voice, the ground split open once more, my mind went numb once again and the darkness swallowed me for the second time.
Just this time, there was no voice in my head telling me about where I was to go, instead… instead it was silence.
The blissful silence.
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[A/N: Percy Jackson, A Song Of Ice And Fire (Game of Thrones) or Vampire Diaries. Which world do you want to see in the next chapter? Last chance to decide.
P.S. As for why he was confused about Magic of Darkness and Magic of the Dead despite having knowledge —It’s because he has too much knowledge, brain overload. When that happens and you are presented with an endless stream of knowledge, you get confused where to look. Simply put, he acted stupid and didn’t peek into his consciousness to deeply examine the powers.
Also, unlike with the first power up, this time he only got the knowledge of the powers when the orbs went inside him. It was only when he swapped them that he got the powers fully and understood their mechanism thoroughly (like reading about a gun and and seeing it in a book, vs having it in your hand.)]
