Chapter 23

After returning, I immediately hopped inside the virtual reality to have Helel feed me everything he had already gathered about how the internet functioned. Now, it was only a matter of time until I resolved my problem since my Perk couldn't instantly come up with a solution for me. That was perfectly fine since I wasn't in that much of a rush.

With that out of the way, I moved onto the pod. Helel did ask for me to upgrade them, and I figured I could quickly deal with this. Not to mention that Saiborg's mother needed to have one with a life support system if I wanted to closely monitor her condition at all times.

The Sleeping Disease was still something that confused me since I didn't know what caused it. I hoped that it would cure itself and that his mother would wake up on her own with prolonged use of the virtual reality, but I was prepared to find another solution as well.

"You should add a function that subtly drains the Magic Power of the user," Helel advised me as I worked on the new pod.

"That's not a bad idea," I mused in response.

Ninety percent of the human population weren't aware of the supernatural, so they wouldn't even notice the drain. Taking some of their Magic Power wouldn't harm them in any way. In fact, it would only benefit them since it would reduce their electricity bill as the pod would be capable of powering itself by their Magic Power.

I wouldn't do this out of the good of my heart. No, no, no. I was doing this to ensure that they had more money to spend on in-game purchases. If they had to spend less on their electricity bill, that meant they would have more to waste on useless skins and whatnot. See, I was doing this because I was a greedy little shit.

From the other ten percent that were aware of the supernatural, only about half of them would notice the drain. However, those people would be easy to spot since their reserves would naturally be higher. I only had to account for those to ensure that we wouldn't be caught siphoning the Magic Power of everyone who used the pods.

Now, the rest of the supernatural were a completely different story. They would catch on for sure, though it wasn't like it was impossible to drain their energy as well. We just had to measure exactly how fast they were regenerating their energy, and…

"Wait a second!" I snapped out of my thoughts as I realized something. "Are we building the Matrix? Because it sure sounds like we're doing exactly that."

"Yes," Helel confirmed with no hesitation, not even bothering to lie about it.

"You're not gonna start forcing people into the pods, are you?" I asked with a bit of worry. Did I prevent Skynet only to end up making something just as bad?

"Absolutely not!" Helel responded, sounding offended if I wasn't wrong. "If I'm forced to resort to such an action, that would imply that I have failed and that my world is lesser in comparison to the real world! They will willingly enter the pods, wishing to experience a reality far superior to their own without anyone needing to force them."

"Alright then."

That was good? At least I thought as much. Sure, we were actually building the Matrix, but we wouldn't be forcing anyone inside it. This should be fine, right?

----------------------

I finished with the new pod relatively quickly thanks to having the ability to instantly conjure whatever materials I needed for its creation. Quite the handy Perk that one. Now if only people believed me that it was the First True Magic… not that anyone knew what it really was, but it would make me look and sound cooler.

Either way, now that this was done, I picked up the pod and threw it over my shoulder before I left my workshop. Saiborg was waiting for me outside and curiously looked at the pod.

"New and better one with a life support system," I explained as started walking toward the manor.

"Can't she just wear the helmet?" He asked as he followed alongside me.

"I mean, sure, but I want to monitor her condition and see what I can find out about her illness," I explained.

"Ah. That makes sense." He nodded in understanding before quietly adding, "Thank you for that."

"Dumbass." I graciously accepted his thanks as a proper friend should.

Saiborg snorted and shook his head. "Ah, there's something I wanted to tell you. Satan Lucifer informed us he will be visiting tomorrow and wishes to meet with you."

"I see."

I wasn't that surprised by that after the meeting with his sister, especially if they paid attention to my game, which Rias confirmed during our talk. Helel was extremely efficient and quick, so Caster Sitri was already released alongside a special event. The gremlin might've even boasted about it to her fellow Satan.

"I guess I'll have to skip tomorrow's Senjutsu training."

"Sorry about that," he replied, sheepishly scratching his head.

"It's not that bad." I shrugged.

This would only give me some more time to absorb all the information and possibly find a resolution to my lack of talent for Senjutsu. Honestly, having a day to let my mind wander wasn't that bad at all. Mostly since it would ensure that I would look like a prodigy in the eyes of the Youkai once I return and immediately get the hang of Senjutsu.

We reached his mother's room shortly after, and I handed over the pod to Saiborg, allowing him to move her body to the new one alongside his butler in private. It did take them a moment since they had to attach her to the life support system, but Helel was there to help them out, ensuring that they didn't take that long.

The butler stepped out of the room before bowing deeply. "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to us. Lady Bael has been asleep for over a decade now, but we finally had the chance to hear her speak again. Truly, we cannot thank you enough for all that you've done."

"You're welcome," I murmured in reply and looked away.

Praise me and tell me how awesome I was, and I would pump my chest and eat it all up with glee. But gratitude? Bah! I had no idea how to react to this.

"You can keep the other pod, so you can get to speak with her face to face," I told the butler, shooting myself in the foot as he continued thanking me over and over again.

Once I was assured that the new pod worked as intended, I tactically retreated from there. Mhm, that's what I did, and I definitely didn't run away. Nope, I quickly rushed to my workshop since I had something important to do.

"Helel, connect me with Saiborg's mother," I said as I put on one of the headsets.

Moments later, my consciousness was whisked away, appearing in a rustic library. I blinked in surprise as I was surrounded by bookshelves from all sides, all of them filled to the brim with books. I knew Helel could easily reconstruct the virtual space, but this was a bit more detailed than I expected.

Misla image. 

Just as I turned the corner, I spotted Saiborg's mother sitting on a comfy chair, enjoying a cup of steaming tea while holding a book in her hands. She was beautiful, of course, just like any other woman part of the supernatural.

Saiborg had definitely inherited her violet eyes, though his face looked more similar to Rias' than his mother's. Not that surprising considering they were cousins.

"Yo, Mama Borg!" I opened up with a friendly wave.

Misla Bael looked up from her book, eyes blinking slowly at me as she mouthed back. "Mama Borg?"

She huffed and shook her head. "I already met everyone part of my little boy's peerage so you must be Michael?"

"Yup. That's me."

Misla placed the book down and offered me a soft smile. "In that case, it's you–"

"If you start thanking me, I'm gonna get angry," I said, stopping her right there and then. "But there's something you can do for me if you want to repay me. Don't worry, it's nothing bad."

"I can at least hear you out after what you've done for me," Misla replied, looking at me with an amused expression.

How do I bring this up? I knew what I wanted to talk to her about, but I was a bit lost now that I was here. I figured it was best to jump right into it.

"What are your thoughts about grandchildren?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"Huh?" She tilted her head, seemingly confused. "Ah, is this about the little cutie, Helel?"

He appeared next to me the moment his name was mentioned. Misla's gaze focused on him, her eyes full of fondness. Those two have been getting along, huh? I guess it wasn't that surprising since they could talk all the time here.

"No, he's mine. You can't have him," I replied without even thinking about it as I placed my hand on top of his fluffy blonde hair, surprising myself with how possessive I sounded. Have I really gotten that attached to him?

"Then what is this about?"

I tried removing my hand from Helel's head, but he caught it and brought it back, forcefully keeping it there until I showed no signs of trying to remove it again. Guess I wasn't the only possessive one. Alright then, the hand could stay there.

"See, Saiborg–"

"Huh?"

"–is a great guy. Loyal to a fault and with unmatched determination."

Misla gently swayed left and right with a proud smile on her face, clearly happy to hear how her son has been doing.

"But he's a bit of an idiot."

"I'm sorry?" Her swaying stopped as she focused on me with cold eyes. "I think I misheard you. Can you please repeat that again?"

"He's a bit of an idiot," I repeated with a wide smile. Why would I be afraid? It wasn't like she could actually hurt me here.

"See, there's this nice and beautiful girl that's been pining after him for years, and yet he still hasn't realized it despite how much she has done for him," I continued with my explanation before she could argue with me.

I could've just as easily talked with Saiborg about this, but I felt like Misla would do a far better job than me. Plus, I didn't want to personally meddle too much in their relationship. It just didn't feel right with me. Though I clearly had no issue with pointing someone else at the problem.

"I see." Her cold gaze warmed up as she thoughtfully looked to the side. "I'm assuming you're speaking about his Queen, Kuisha?"

"Yep!" I gave her a thumbs up. "A Queen and a King. Quite fitting, right?"

"Quite fitting, indeed," she replied with an amused chuckle before shaking her head. "It seems I will have to speak with my idiot son."

I knew she'd agree with my point of view. Saiborg had many good qualities, but he was definitely a bit of an idiot.

"Alright then." I wiped my hands, feeling proud of my accomplishment. "Job's done. I can go back to making more pods now."

"Leaving already?" Misla asked with a sad expression. I sighed, realizing that I had already been captured by the spider's web. I mean, there was no way I would refuse someone that had been asleep for a decade and so desperately wished to speak with others.

"I would love to talk some more and hear about my little boy's peerage from the perspective of someone who isn't part of it."

"I guess I have some free time," I said as another chair materialized in front of me, courtesy of Helel.

It wasn't like I could get physically tired here, but I still appreciated the gesture. I took my seat, and Helel sat next to me, materializing a chair of his own. Now what should we talk about?

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Satan Lucifer. Regarding his personality, that is. The only thing I managed to infer was that he doted heavily on his family and that was about it.

As for his strength? Well, he was supposedly the strongest Devil, even stronger than the old Satans, and those guys had been roughly as strong as Chief Gods. Of course, not all Gods were the same, and their strength did vary, but they were approximately similar in terms of power. Except the Hindu, who were head and shoulders above the rest.

Nevertheless, this showed how strong the Devils were despite being a race even younger than the humans. Two of their members were as strong as Chief Gods, Leviathan and Asmodeus, while the other two were on an entirely different level.

Of course, this could also be nothing more than propaganda with them simply displaying a strong front and acting like they were big shots. However, there might be some truth to that as the one in front of me was absolutely terrifying and on a completely different level than the gremlin despite acting like a complete goof. You know, I was starting to see a trend here.

Sirzechs Image. 

"Hehe, none of that Lord Lucifer, please. Just Sirzechs is fine," he said while awkwardly scratching his head. "I'm not here on official business or anything like that. I'm visiting for a personal reason."

He looked at me, which confirmed my suspicions as he was probably here for the same reason the gremlin was.

"What can I help you with, Lord Lucifer?" I asked, and the walking disaster pouted at me for not using his name. As if! Sirzechs was almost as much of a tongue twister as Nurarihyon was! Not quite, but it was close enough in my eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, starting off with a greeting as he walked over to shake my hand.

"The pleasure is all mine," I replied, spying on the reaction of the others. They were all intently staring at me, expecting me to cause a scene like yesterday.

"I heard you met with Ria," he said, his expression softening as he mentioned his sister. "She talked my ear off about you."

"Only good things, I hope?"

"Indeed." Lucifer smiled happily before awkwardly scratching his cheek. "Though she also felt embarrassed about it all and wished to apologize for her behavior."

"There's nothing to apologize for. I found the meeting quite amusing."

"Oh. That's relieving to hear." He heaved, holding a hand over his heart for a moment before he straightened up. "Now, I do have one tiny request, if I may?"

"I will try my best to assist in any way I can," I replied, not really meaning my words.

"It's nothing complicated. I just heard that Serafall and her sister were included in that game of yours, and I was wondering if Ria and I could also be added?" He asked with a gentle tone before leaning in as if he was going to tell me a big secret. "I hope you understand, but I can't be seen doing less for my sister than Serafall does for her own. That will ruin my image of the better older sibling."

"No worries," I replied, having already prepared for this. "It will be a simple thing to add you both."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear this." Lucifer smiled widely in joy, proud at succeeding at this endeavor.

"I'm happy to help, though…" I trailed off, hoping he'd catch the bait.

"Is there something that I can help with?" He curiously asked. "Hopefully, something not too time consuming since I have to return before my wife finds out where I've run off to."

"Oh, it won't take more than half an hour, though we can definitely finish with it sooner if you don't have the time," I said and crossed my fingers, hoping he'd accept.

"Well, I can spare half an hour," Lucifer agreed with a thoughtful look.

"Great!" I exclaimed and beckoned him. "This way, please."

"Don't mind me," Lucifer told the rest as he followed after me towards my workshop.

I felt the eyes of the peerage boring into my back, and I knew what they were trying to convey without even seeing their expression. 'Don't do something stupid!' Sheesh. I wasn't that bad!

"Please don't mind the mess," I said as we stepped inside while he curiously looked around.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled at me. "I'm kind of used to it, and this place does remind me of one of Ajuka's places."

That was interesting to know, I guess. Though it wasn't important for the time being.

"Now, before I inform you of my request, could you please satisfy my curiosity by showing me the Power of Destruction?" I politely asked. "I heard so much about it, but I've never got the chance to see it in person."

"A simple matter." Lucifer raised his hand, forming a ball of pitch black energy above it.

I stared at it intently for a moment, my Perk going into overdrive as I tried to figure out how to possibly replicate this phenomena. Hopefully, the countless sensors and cameras I installed during the night would provide me with some useful information and help with that.

Obviously, I had prepared for this since I knew he would be visiting. That was why I asked him to show it to me here instead of outside. Plus, the fact that Saiborg didn't have pleasant memories when it came to the Power of Destruction.

"Thank you," I told him in a moment since I wouldn't be getting anything else out of this unless I stared at it for the next few hours.

"No problem, no problem." He waved me off as the pitch black ball of destruction vanished as if it was never there to begin with.

"Now…" I turned and looked at the pods in the workshop, and he followed my gaze. "I enjoy making games, but I want to give people the chance to truly experience them for themselves. This right here is my idea of how to do that. I'm not sure if you are familiar with the term virtual reality?"

"Oh?" He sounded vaguely interested. "I haven't heard it before, but I think I understand what it is."

"You can think of it as an illusionary world that's created purely through technology," I explained in a way I thought he would understand.

"How fascinating," he remarked, staring at the pods.

"We've already tested out the first game I had in mind." We hadn't since they were all too busy using the sparing function. "But I wish to hear the thoughts of someone like you."

"Well, this looks interesting enough. How do I use it?" Lucifer asked, and I showed him how to use the pods step by step before entering my own, showing him there was nothing harmful to them. Not that I could actually harm him in any way, judging by how much stronger he was than me.

Honestly, this wasn't about testing the game. Nah, I just wanted to trick him and get him inside the pod, so I could get a full scan of his body. Thankfully, he went along with it.

Instead of the usual blank space, I appeared in a clearly magical room. There were all kinds of weird objects around me, but the most important ones were the five crystal balls on the table in front of me.

"Woah!" Lucifer exclaimed as he appeared beside me a few moments later, now dressed in a blue wizard robe. He looked around, taking in everything here before he raised his hand. "I can't seem to use my ability here, huh?"

"It will be kind of hard to emulate something like the Power of Destruction." Not really. He would only have to not resist and willingly give us everything he knew about his ability, but I wasn't going to mention that.

Of course, we could also try to subtly take that information from him. However, I wasn't willing to test my luck with one of the strongest beings around. Sure, it would be done through technological means, and he might not even notice. But what if he did? I would rather not find out.

Then again… if I managed to learn some of Nurarihyon's techniques and implement them in my technology? Maybe I could then develop a way to secretly steal information from others. This could even be added to the function that drains someone's Magic Power as well. Yeah, this was promising.

"I mean, it isn't impossible, but it won't be the same."

"So, we are summoners?" Lucifer asked as he stepped in front of one of the crystal balls and placed his hands above it.

"Yes," I replied, slightly confused at how he knew at first. Then Helel helpfully informed me that he had shown him a little clip of what this was all about.

I stepped in front of a crystal ball as well and placed my hands above it. A display flickered into existence, showing me seven different categories to pick from. They were: attack damage carry, support, mage, assassin, bruiser/tank, jungler, and finally, a completely separate category that had only a single champion. The rest all had four, two male and two female, to choose from.

"Why does this Teemo have a separate category?" Lucifer asked from beside me.

"Because he is the greatest evil in existance and deserves it," I replied simply. There was nothing else that needed to be said about that.

"I see." He didn't, but he would understand should he play the game and get to face the tiny menace. "I suppose this will do."

His form shifted and changed, turning into Lucian, a black-skinned man with two large guns in his hands "Woah! This is… kind of fun, I admit."

"I guess, I'll go with this." I chose Taric, one of the supports since Lucifer picked a carry, so a crystal hammer and shield appeared in my hands while my clothing shifted into his appearance. "You can hit the Ready button whenever you are ready or simply declare it out loud."

"Ready," he said, and a screen appeared in front of us, warning us that the game would start after the countdown ended.

Once the timer hit zero, we appeared in the starting location. Then I gave him a brief tutorial of the game, just paraphrasing the information Helel provided me.

Lucifer had no trouble understanding it at all. Not that there was anything complicated about it. Kill stuff to get experience and gold. Don't die, otherwise you'll lose time. Destroy towers and buildings until you reach the enemy's base. Destroy the base to win the game.

"This is fun," he chuckled as he fired yet another star of light with his pistols, having already picked his first skill. "Though I admit that I feel a bit restricted like this."

"Leveling and buying items will raise your basic stats, though you'll cap at around Mid-Class at most. Any more than that and regular humans will have a hard time adapting."

"That makes sense," he mused as we walked down the bottom lane while following along the minions. "This kind of reminds me of the Rating Games in a way."

"I admit, I was greatly inspired by them, Lord Lucifer." I wasn't, but this was a fitting explanation.

"I thought I told you not to call me that. Just Sirzechs is fine." He pouted like a child.

I stared at him for a long moment. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't help myself. "Alright, Chuckles."

Lucifer stopped in place and turned to me. "Chuckles, huh? Hehe, Chuckles. I'll take it."

Huh, that worked? I guess I could call him that from now on.

We proceed with the game after that, and Lucifer adapted to his current abilities without any issues whatsoever. Nothing that surprising here. He wasn't even phased when Helel brought over two enemy champions for us to face, and he made short work of them, though I did mentally tell Helel to make it easy.

Lucifer was good, there was no doubt about that, but I wasn't sure he could actually compete against an AI. We ended up winning quite easily since Helel held back. Plus, we had to finish it quickly since Lucifer didn't have that much time.

"Well, that was fun," he said as we stepped out of the pods. "I'm sure this technology will become a great hit once it's released. There's just so much potential here."

"I'm aware," I agreed with his assessment. "In fact, I'll let you in on a little secret."

"Oh?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm working on an even bigger project. A true virtual world where you can become anything you want to. Want to become a Magician? Go ahead. A warrior? Sure. A thief, ninja, or an archer? That's also possible."

"But it won't be limited to just that. You want to play instruments and be a bard? You can do that." For some reason, this particular bit caught his attention, and his eyes lit up in anticipation.

"A chef? A crafter of some sorts? You can become whatever you wish to. And there won't be any limits."

"This… do you need any help with this project?" Lucifer asked with a gulp. "This sounds like a really big project, and I might know someone that could lend a helping hand."

"I'm doing fine at the moment," I quickly replied. Helel could easily do everything on his own, and I doubted he would want someone meddling with his creation. "But I'll make sure to contact you should I need some assistance."

"Alright." He nodded, though he looked a bit reluctant. "Would you mind informing me before you release this to the public? I will happily endorse it for you."

"No problem." I gave him a thumbs up.

Advertisement from one of the strongest beings in our world? I couldn't really refuse that. This would help me spread it throughout the supernatural world even if it would ruffle some feathers.

"Well. It was nice to meet you, and I was happy to help, but I have to go now before my wife finds me," he chuckled nervously as we walked out of my workshop.

Saiborg's peerage was waiting outside, and Lucifer briefly spoke with them before saying his goodbyes.

"Bye, Chuckles." I waved with a large grin since there was no way I would pass on fucking with them. Their heads snapped in my direction, staring at me with wide eyes at the audacity of calling him Chuckles.

"Bye, Mikey." He waved back with a chuckle, and my mouth opened wide as I watched him teleport away.

Hey! Giving nicknames was my thing! Why the hell was he copying me?

"Mikey?" Saiborg's peerage questioned in amusement.

I clicked my mouth shut and glared at them before I turned around and walked away. I wasn't giving them the satisfaction of making fun of the nickname given to me by Lucifer. Instead, I would go and take a look to see what the scanners had discovered about the strongest Devil.

They called Lucifer a Super Devil, and I was interested to see if there was a reason for that. Other than him being the strongest of their kind, that is. Hopefully, I would discover something fun and interesting.

"Mikey! Why are you running?" Ladora called out from behind me, causing me to speed up.

Seriously. Mikey? Couldn't he have picked something better? I would've accepted Mike, but Mikey? Stupid, Chuckles. I would make his backstory in Grand Order something embarrassing as payback.

Beta'd by Gerald of Revea. 

A/N Am sick and still recovering. Sad life.