Mind Demon's Path of Domination

"What do you need from us?" The Blade Demon asked calmly.

Ryan stared into the man’s sharp gaze, unflinching. "I want only one thing." He bowed slightly while standing on the man’s palm. "Even though we had a rough start, I cannot deny that all of you are my seniors when it comes to this journey of seeking power."

Most of the demons surrounding Ryan nodded. Nobody disliked a humble junior. Everybody disliked an arrogant one. Mark had been an arrogant ass, who even scammed his seniors. But Ryan, his clone, didn’t seem too bad. He even seemed like the only remaining hope they had.

"So, from seniors, I only want one thing. And that is power."

They all squinted.

"What kind of power?" Someone asked.

Ryan was prepared for that question. "I want you guys to teach my clone. I want to learn under your tutelage and turn this clone into an absolute battle machine. No, I want to be overall mentored by the best tutors out there."

Reol’ran was a powerful creature. But Mark wouldn’t say that he wouldn’t reach his current level without her. She sucked at being a good teacher, and was even worse when it came to really taking him to the next level.

He had noticed her pattern more than once. She was a very prideful woman and she would never agree to being a bad teacher. If she hadn’t been a bad teacher, how would he still not have all his demonic tricks mastered?

Yes. Reol’ran might be a genius herself when it came to using her own powers or fighting herself, but obviously, that didn’t carry onto teaching others to be like her. She was the sort that was meant to fly high in the sky without looking back.

If she weren’t in her sealed state, Mark had a feeling he would be in constant awe of her talent. He genuinely believed that. But even then, geniuses were often bad teachers.

He wanted a wide array of perspectives instead. And he wanted all these sealed demons to teach him, make him stronger. Until one day, his clone---Puppet---alone would be a terrifying force by itself.

"You want us to bring your clone to a battle-machine level?" The Succubus smiled. "Even I would treat such a clone as precious. It is indeed a great thing that you ask of us. And if I am seeing this right, this clone of yours doesn’t even have the Soul Devouring Ability."

"Indeed, I am completely blank." Ryan smirked. "But, wouldn’t you say a blank canvas is better to paint on than anything else?"

She squinted in interest. Then asked all of a sudden, with no hint of seduction in her tone for the first time: "What is your goal with the battle strength? What is the standard you want us to take your clone to before we are helped in return?"

Everyone wanted to know that. Mark had an answer, so did Ryan.

"I want you to make my clone be capable of fighting Tier 5 creatures like some of you while being a Tier 3 creature myself."

That caused a burst of silence.

"Are you kidding with me, kid?" The Blade Demon snarled. "Or is your intention to scam us again?"

Ryan shook his head. "I am completely sincere. What, is it impossible?"

"Impossible?" Succubus smirked. "No, I’ve seen it done before. But that only happened once in my life and I still have goosebumps when I think of the person who did it."

The Blade Demon also grew silent. "Even I do when I think about him."

Ryan was surprised. "Who is he?"

The Succubus and the Blade Demon, who seemed to share some vendetta against each other, looked into one other’s eyes for the first time. It was as if they could feel the shadow hidden deep within each other’s hearts.

"He was a legend that was around years ago. A creature who must be so beyond us by now." The Grey-winged Humanoid sighed. "Rumor has it that he visited all the worlds in the Otherworld. Apparently, there is almost nothing he hasn’t tried. His power progression was incredibly solid from Tier 1, he even fought Tier 2 creatures in just a month after being born."

"Who is this person?" Ryan asked.

Blade Demon sighed. "We’re derailing. Anyway, as far as I know---no one other than that person has done something as drastic as fighting two tiers above. Well, there are some deviants among the Mavericks, but he was called a deviant even within Maverick circles."

"I mean, he killed a Tier 5 creature right after becoming a Tier 3. His Domain was supposedly capable of devouring other domains," Succubus said with a dreamy look. "I was once inside that domain. I felt like I died that day. I had never been the same since then. As if I’ve lost something."

The Blade Demon chuckled. "Maybe it’s your brain that you lost."

Ryan couldn’t help the smile that flickered through his face and the Succubus glared at him. He obediently shut up. It was a good punch line. Blade bro knew what he was doing.

"Anyway," The Succubus said. "If you think any of us can help you achieve this impossible dream, you are far too delusional. That is an impossible dream. If it were possible, we would have done it ourselves. Ask for something else or lower your standards."

The Blade Demon snorted. "I can help turn your clone into a normal Maverick. You can fight an entire Tier higher if you train like I tell you to. I mean, when you are a Tier 2 Pinnacle, you will be able to fight Tier 3 Pinnacles. Of course, you’d have to find ways to get around their Domains"

Ryan was surprised. That was stronger than his main body. Of course, only if he didn’t consider Clown’s Circus, that is. That was his cheat in battles of equal forces.

"I mean," Ryan said. "I never expected you bunch to be capable of bringing me to that level."

They frowned. Blade Demon asked, growling: "Then why did you demand it?"

Ryan licked his lips. "You guys might not be able to help me achieve my dreams. But..." He pointed up into the sky. In the sky, there was a castle there. It was carried by chained giants. Collossal creatures who could even crush Tier 5 existences like bugs. But they were chained and walking around in chains like slaves.

They all had a sudden realization. "You want to enter the castle."

Ryan smiled. "There is opportunity inside, right?"

Their eyes lit up. "Yes," The Succubus said. "Big, big opportunity. And if you can do what you boast you want to do, you will find great things there."

Ryan’s eyes began shining too. "Like what?"

"Like the ability to kill Tier 5 creatures while being Tier 3."