Mixed Blessing System

Hearing Lothur's question, that giant toad said without looking at him. "As I said, just because someone has access to that place doesn't mean he will get something. Not everyone is compatible."

"On the other hand, even though everyone will always have their interests and there is a chance that you will get something there, that doesn't mean that I and others will miss out on something. Members of our species do not easily access some parts of that place. So if a human like you can access those areas, we won't lose anything."

"Ultimately, everything in that place is contested. So only those worthy of the opportunities and resources will prevail." He said.

Beasts respected strength above all else!

When a stronger being emerged and showed dominance, most of these creatures would agree to submit to that individual and accept their leadership without complaint.

Of course, these were not blind creatures who would give eternal loyalty to their superiors. On the contrary, as long as they were the strongest, these superior beings would have the loyalty of the inferior ones without much trouble. But if such individuals showed weakness...

Well, even a glorious tribe leader could become a dish for their subordinates!

Because of this way of life, beasts saw no problem in a worthy being coming to their home and using some of their special places.

They would even be annoyed if this newcomer entered their home and took the food out of their children's mouths. But in someone like Lothur only being willing to compete for resources and eventually getting them, well, that did not irritate them.

But they also would not simply give people like Lothur a chance to submit to such challenges. Instead, that sort of thing was given only to those with merit, respect, or great strength.

In Lothur's case, everything would be different as a beast would speak for him.

"I see..." He commented to that giant toad, realizing that he would not have that much trouble as long as he made his name among these beasts.

The demon was silent as it listened to all that, wondering what to do to escape this situation.

But with its current strength, it would be impossible for it to escape from Lothur or that toad.

'What do I do?'

'I have to find some way to get stronger fast!' It thought. 'Maybe such a place could have some useful resource for me?'

Lothur then asked. "What about this demon? What do you intend to do with it? Do you have any beasts in the vicinity capable of killing demons?"

That blue creature was startled by this question and looked at the giant toad.

That house-sized creature answered the human. "Yes, but not in that lake we are going. An acquaintance of mine can do that, but it lives near the third lake."

Upon hearing this, the demon felt a shiver run down its spine, discovering that it could die faster than it had thought.

"Lothur, I'm coming with you, OK? You're not going to leave me with that beast, are you? If you do, your return under its watch won't happen!" This creature said in a low voice, only for it and the human holding it to hear.

Lothur looked at this creature, knowing it was planning something, but could not help but silently agree.

There were no guarantees for him that the toad would keep its promises until the end. So taking the demon with him was the best he could do.

The toad continued its speech. "As to what I'm going to do with it, well, I'll probably trade its Soul Bone for something. We'll see..."

...

After some more time running through the dark woods of the Three Great Lakes Region, Lothur's group reached one of the shores of that first great lake on their way.

Upon arriving there, he and the demon were faced with a beautiful sight. The main thing there was the lake, so large that one could not see all its limits.

This body of water embellished the area, reflecting the starry sky and bringing the thermal balance that made night and day in the area pleasant.

At the same time, the shores had different kinds of plant and animal organisms, which made the surroundings somewhat magical at this time of night.

"That..." Lothur opened his mouth as he saw the colorful shores of this lake.

Special trees lightened the darkness with their glow, revealing many beasts lying and sleeping in the surroundings.

"Those are some of my neighbors." The giant toad spoke as it looked toward a large rock that stood on the part of the shore of this lake. "Let's go this way, quietly."

"Some of my neighbors who are awake further ahead will clear your passage, kid."

"OK," Lothur said, soon afterward keeping his words to himself as he moved silently around the area, looking at those beasts.

Several of them were at level 16, but they were only the underlings of beings of the same level as the great toad leading the way.

Lothur noticed this as he looked to a rock in the distance, where some beings at the same level as the toad were looking in his direction.

'Unbelievable!' He thought to himself. 'I thought Peters City was not so weak... But the difference between a strong place and that area is gigantic!'

'I wonder what the level of the capital is? The imperial family should be led by someone as strong as the humans in the area, right?'

But then, as his thoughts wandered, Lothur heard the spiritual voice of one of those creatures.

"Waloon, what are you doing with these two? Why are a human and demon with you here?" A giant dark green lizard asked as it looked at that toad.

The other level 17 creatures watching the surroundings of the ancient shrine of the humanoid sea beast species also watched this group, finding the presence of a demon there curious.

Beasts did not like demons, but since that specimen was so weak, none of them paid much attention to this creature.

The giant toad then explained. "Haha, I made a deal with this human regarding the possession of this little demon. So I am paying my debt."

"Guys, let this human enter the Immortals Well. He is willing to take a risk and prove his talents by entering this underwater cave."

Everyone there looked intensely at Lothur, impressed that such a human had captured that demon and still made a deal with this toad.

They could feel that the demon was not in its natural condition. So it was not hard for them to associate this with Lothur and then determine that he must be talented.

On second thought, they were also curious about the arrangement of Lothur and this toad since it was undeniable that the demon was more useful to the human there. That way, one would expect him to refuse to make any kind of exchange or even be planning to 'run without paying.'

"Is this true? Did you give up this demon? Aren't you going to fool one of our own, human?" A monkey, over 5 meters tall, asked Lothur this while its muscular body cast a shadow over the human and the demon.

Gulp!

'What a powerful creature!' Lothur could not help but admire it, noting it must be one of the strongest in the surrounding area. After all, it had thumbs and could fight almost the same way as humans but using a giant body of a beast.

As such, it could not be underestimated!

"Yes, of course..."