The Insider System

Chapter 99: Temptation

Donny slowly opened his eyes to see he was outside and it was daytime already. He knew this meant the shield would already be either with his brother, or on its way which meant there was no way he would be able to get it back. Trying to sit up, Donny felt he was too dizzy.

Getting his head up to look around he saw he had been moved by someone into an alley and left behind a pile of garbage. The spear he had borrowed was also gone so it looked like he was going to owe some money to his neighbor. Once he got up off the ground he inspected his fingers where his fingers used to be.

He was now missing most of his pinky and the one next to it on his right hand, and since he had no money it would just have to be that way for now. Donny was actually able to make a lot of money because of how strong he was but for the last few years he had been too busy fighting off the people his brother hired.

He guessed he no longer had that problem, so once he got a new spear and shield he would go to the Fighters guild to get some work. Once he saved up enough money he planned to hire the same person who had taken the shield from him to steal it from his brother. It should be much easier for the thief to take it from his brother, so he hoped they wouldn't charge as much.

Looking at his status Donny saw his health was almost 2/3 of the way back, but the real problem was his stamina. He guessed massive blood loss really put a burden on his body's ability to restore his energy. He needed to get home so he could sleep more; he just hoped no one was waiting for him when he got there.

After a few steps Donny heard someone behind him say. "It took a while, but it was just how I told you it would be." Donny didn't stop, this wasn't the first time he had heard the voice, but he knew this time it would be much harder to refuse. "That brother of yours is a real piece of work wasting your parents fortune to go against their wishes and leaving you on the street to rot now that he has the shield."

Donny didn't want to hate his brother, but it was hard when all these words were all true. His brother had hid his jealousy well until their mother had passed and he inherited the full amount from her but Donny had always known that his brother wanted the shield and it went past just wanting it because it gave great strength to those who wielded it.

His brother wished he had never been born, and to Donny this hurt more than if his brother just hated him. "If you'd like I can get your shield back for you." Donny knew this only sounded like a good offer because there were no conditions to it but he would be a fool if he said yes. "It's fine you don't really need it, you passed its test long ago."

The shield had been made by the God of Metal as a test to find suitable demigods he could recruit but the practice had been stopped a long time ago when he no longer had divinity to spare so now the shield was just a really strong weapon that his family treated as an heirloom.

It still tested its users apparently and ever since he passed he had been hearing the voice every now and then. Donny knew it was most likely the Demon Lord because the gods who had already ascended couldn't talk to you if you weren't near something like an altar but he really wished that it wasn't actually him because people said the Demon Lord didn't waste his time.

What they meant when they said this was those he spoke to were those he could win over so if he was hearing the Demon Lords voice there was something inside him that would eventually lead to him taking one of the Demon Lords offers. From the fact that the voice always brought up his brother there was a good chance it had something to do with their relationship.

If there ever came a day that he started to hate his brother for everything he had done to him, Donny was sure there would be very little stopping him from agreeing to whatever the voice offered, but to be honest he couldn't see it getting worse than what had just happened, so if he could just get home and go to sleep there was very little chance he would ever cave.

Of course his plan was to deal with the temptation while he slowly made his way home, and from where he was at the moment it would take over an hour. "If you would like I could give you a new shield it wouldn't be exactly the same, but it would give you a chance to work on some of the other elements you have an affinity for."

One of the things the shield tested for was a Metal or Earth affinity. Either worked, but you needed metal to make it fly like he and his brother could. Their father had an earth affinity so he could only hold it like a normal shield. "If you don't have something like the shield all your mana control training will be for nothing."

This was true because Donny hadn't reached the level where he could keep his mana stable outside his body without something holding it in shape. "I'll be fine." Donny tried his best not to answer most of the time, but the voice was really picking at his weak spots. The shield helped with mana training so it was an invaluable tool for those who had hopes of becoming a demigod with their own efforts like Donny.

Without it all his effort would go to waste, and Donny valued all the time he had spent with his father while they had trained together, and the thought of all that being useless was hard for him to accept. This was something only he would know, so the fact that the voice knew to use it against him was unnerving.

"I'll get the shield back!" Donny knew him yelling like this was the opposite of a show of strength and that his weak state was affecting his self control. "I know you will, but how long will it take, and why would you even want it if I'll give you something much better?" Donny could feel some form of aura coming from behind him; he guessed it was a glimpse of the power his new item would have if he were to accept.

Donny wanted to look, but if something was actually waiting behind him he might just reach out and take it before he could stop himself. "You've already mastered Metal, so I figured you would want to move on to either Dark or Unholy, but the way I see it with your talent you can do both."

Donny had been granted three affinities when his Intelligence had reached 10 but if he could change that he would be fine with just one because his other two were the reason the Demon Lord would ever even notice him.

He had done what people said to do if you had an Unholy affinity and wanted nothing to do with the demon lord, and never used it, but in the end it hadn't worked. Donny guessed the gods looked for those who had potential even if it wasn't to look for friends, but enemies, and the Demon Lord had just happened to notice him.

"The way I see it you'll be twice as strong if you use two elements instead of just one." As the voice said this Donny could feel the two sides of the aura flare as if to emphasize their distinct nature. "By that logic wouldn't it be best if I used all three?" Donny said this just to prove that he understood the voice only wanted what was best for it and not him but he wasn't expecting for the voice to agree.

"If that's what you want." Donny felt a third aura form inside the other two but from his years of experience with the Metal element he could tell this was just a replica made by combining the right principles, but it would function in about the same way.

Donny just did his best to ignore what was going on behind him because he had regained his composure. Now that he was out on the street the noise all the other people were making made it easier to drown out the voice. It was too bad there weren't any brothels on his way home. That was the one thing that could drown the voice out completely.