4-24. Demon Core
The smell of rot pervaded Benedict’s nostrils, cloaking him in a blanket of death from which there was no escape. It was difficult to remember a time when that smell didn’t cling to everything he touched. Even before the world had transformed, he was familiar with it, and he’d become even more so since everything had changed. However, there was a part of him that tired of that cloying, sickly sweet smell, making him regret the class he’d chosen.
It gave him power, and it had allowed him to steadily progress, especially since that lunatic king had locked him in the dungeon that had been his home for more than a year. It may have been even longer; time was difficult to gauge when one never saw the sun, after all.
Benedict could have escaped. His minions were strong enough to rip his shackles from their anchors on the wall. But then what? The men who routinely slaughtered his minions were strong enough to give him trouble, which was an untenable risk that he refused to take. After all, why would he, aside from the ability to live somewhere more comfortable? He had everything he needed in the labyrinthine dungeon, and he’d reaped the benefits of his situation, progressing to level fifty-nine, which had put him into the top ten.
It was during his most recent inspection of the power rankings that he’d discovered something incredibly interesting, though:
| Planetary Power Rankings (Earth) 1. Elijah Hart – Level 81 2. Oscar Ramirez – Level 77 3. Sadie Song – Level 75 4. Hu Shui – Level 73 5. Niko Song – Level 72 6. Davu Adebowale– Level 68 7. Anupriya Pandey – Level 65 8. Benedict Emerson – Level 59 9. Ram Khandu – Level 59 10. Gunnar Lindstrom – Level 59 11. … 12. …
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