1 Chapter 1

I lay on my bed as I was getting closer and closer to the end of Custom Made Demon King. My finger scrolled faster and faster as I greedily read the words on each page as I neared the end of the story. I paused momentarily as I clicked the next chapter button, the internet on my phone dying as the page refused to load. I quickly swiped up and switched to my cellular data, but even that failed to resolve the issue. My annoyance grew as I switched back on my wifi and gave my phone a few good smacks, trying to will the page to load. All of a sudden, a page did load, but not the one I expected. I seemed to have somehow clicked on some sort of questionnaire or survey while smacking my phone.

[Do you like Custom Made Demon King?]

I stared at the survey in annoyance as I tried to look for the little "x" that would allow me to close the page, but I found none. I felt my curiosity grow as I looked back at the question. Then, an odd feeling came over me, making me comply and start answering the questions. I felt the phenomena take hold of me, making me less hesitant, so I busily clicked through the survey and answered the questions that appeared. Even though I could still feel my normal emotions, those being my fear and trepidation, however, they were not enough to break me out of the trance I was in. I felt more and more like a passenger in my own body.

I answered questions such as [What type of system would you like to have?] and [What race would you choose to be reborn as?]. Whatever had hold of me seemed to be able to read my mind as it answered that I wanted Roy's system but with less of an emphasis on art. Then it answered 'Demon' next since I knew the most about demons and would like the freedom that the race would offer me. This process continued for a few minutes until I felt my body become my own once more. I looked down at my phone, expecting to see it return to normal, hoping that this had just been a strange hallucination brought on by sleep deprivation. However, there was one final question on the screen of my phone.

[Would you like to be Reborn in Custom Made Demon King?]

I froze as I read the question. It may be crazy and a product of the fact that I have read too many reincarnation novels in my life, but I had no doubt in my mind that if I answered "Yes," I would be reborn. I thought about my life here on Earth. It wasn't bad; I was lucky to live in a developed country where my biggest worries were about homework and whether I had enough money to buy the latest Dark Souls game, but I wanted more. I lost myself in fantasy and sci-fi stories because I wasn't content with my boring life here on Earth. Knowing that I certainly was crazy, I answered "Yes" to the question. I expected the survey to be over since that felt like a fitting last question, but one more popped up. I was disappointed for a moment until I read the real final question.

[Choose one of the following Starting Perks:

- Gamer's Mind

- Accelerated Growth

- Noble Birth]

I looked at the three perks I got to choose from and immediately recognized the benefits of each of the options. [Gamer's Mind] was an extremely generic but also invaluable perk for any reincarnator to make sure they were able to cope with their new worlds as well as the potential actions they would need to perform in their new world. [Accelerated Growth] was pretty self-explanatory and would just boost my rate of growth. [Noble Birth] seemed to be the worst choice on a surface level when I first saw it, but it seemed like it could be the most immediately useful one for fast progression right off the bat. I was sure if I chose this one, then I wouldn't be reborn as an egg on the beach.

I would most likely be born to some High-Rank demon or maybe even a Demon Lord, which would give me access to plenty of souls immediately. However, that wasn't a risk-free path. From the moment I am born, I would have enemies and other demons trying to kill me, depending on how important and or powerful my parents are. It was the most high-risk, high-reward path I could choose. It would also grant me a degree of control over other demons at the same rank as me while making demons at lower ranks than me more willing to follow me as a bonus effect. It was a solid option, but one that I didn't choose.

That left [Accelerated Growth] and [Gamer's Mind] for me to choose from. I wanted to obtain a faster rate of growth, but I knew that protecting my mind was my first priority. With that said, I chose [Gamer's Mind] and then completed the survey. For a moment nothing happened and I began to feel silly about my actions, but the next moment a hole opened up where I was standing, causing me to fall down into the void. The last sensation I felt was my body, mind, and soul being shattered as everything faded to black.

- - - (Unknown Amount of Time Later) - - -

I awoke to the feeling of being partially submerged in a warm, sticky liquid. I reached out and felt the smooth surface that surrounded me and kept me contained within what I knew to be an egg. For a moment, I couldn't believe that I had actually been reincarnated, but no matter how improbably it was, I moved on quickly, knowing that the beach would be my best opportunity to get plenty of souls early. I would also need to check my system to make sure that everything was in order. I then called up my status screen and began to inspect it.

- - - Status - - - 

Name: Aurelion Amon Bloodthorn … Samuel Korhn Abaddon

Race: Demon

Bloodline: At least three different kinds

Attribute: Dark

Hierarchy: Newborn

Magic Power: 0

Body Modifications: None

Perks: Soul Peer, Demon Blood, Gamer's Mind

Skills: None

Low-quality souls: 0

High-quality souls: 0

Superior-quality souls: 0

- - - Status - - -

I looked at my status and confirmed that this system functions off of souls, and then I looked at the home screen of the system to see all the functions of my system. They were [Status], [Inventory], and [Create]. First, I clicked on [Create] and watched a drop-down menu with the options [Skill], [Item], [Body Modification], [Perk], and [Other] appear. With that quick scan of the system and its various functions done, I turned my attention to the eggshell. I began to hammer away at it with my fists first to crack the shell. Once the cracks spread, I used my claws to puncture through the weak points to the outside of the shell.

As I began to rip my way out of the shell, I grabbed the pieces of shell that I broke off and shoved them in my mouth, filling my famished stomach as I did so. The crimson moon hanging high in the dark sky and the sound of the dark water, turned crimson by the moon's light, lapping at the rocky beach, were all beautiful, causing me to pause briefly. I scanned the beach that stretched as far as the eye could see in either direction to find the tens to hundreds of thousands of eggs on the beach around me. Still more washed up onto the shore every second. I watched as a particularly large wave shattered a dozen eggs on some rocks.

I thought I saw the pale light of a few weak souls appear momentarily before they were washed away by the water. I turned back to the beach and squinted through the green smoke that was released whenever the water touched the slightly glowing red and black rocks of the beach. Speaking of rocks on the beach, I bent over and picked up a suitable-sized stone before I charged toward the closest egg to mine. The reason I wanted to act quickly was that the beach where demons hatch would undoubtedly be the easiest place for me to collect souls. Roy didn't get the chance to capitalize on this due to his lack of knowledge and shock, but I had no such issue, especially with [Gamer's Mind].

I gathered as much momentum as possible on my short and stubby newborn demon legs as I raised the rock above my head. I brought it down hard on the demon egg before me, shattering the egg and impacting the meaty head of the demon inside. It screeched and cried out as I bashed it a few more times, hearing the snap of bones and the wet thuds as the stone connected over and over again. After a few moments, the baby demon was dead, and a soul with a weak glow floated up from the corpse. 

I immediately got to work crafting a weapon that would help me harvest souls more easily.

- - - - - Chapter End - - - - -

I am rewriting this story since I made the MC too powerful too quickly before and I feel like I didn't do a very good job in general.