{aggressive munching noises in the background.} "Ahm nom nom nom. Mash-ter, dis meat is sho delicious!" "Don't speak with your mouthful, Ukyo!" Said Master as he spits some food toward me because he was also speaking with his mouth full. "Ahhmm nam nam! Thank shu, Master!" The cocogoat meat was splendid. I had never tasted something better than this tender and juicy meat. Tragedy soon came when we finally finished eating the cocogoat. There was no more meat left, not even a little bit. :c

{Swallowing noises coming from Ryoga} "Master? What is that you're drinking?" "Oh? This is my special travel wine. I usually don't drink from it, but this meal called for some." "Can I have some?" "You're too young to drink alcohol." "But not too young to kill monsters? Stop treating me like a child, Master!" "Well, you are still a child." I was so over it. How could he?! I know that I now looked like a kid, but that was because I had regressed as a demihuman without drive. In actuality, I was much older than I appeared. Anyhow, I would let Master call me cute and tiny; all he wanted, he earned it after preparing the most delicious thing known to mankind.

I was now happily cleaning my mouth when I realized Sparks should've been nearby. "Master, could you use your legendary weapon to find some specific monster?" "Well, of course, it can't be anything too specific, but I can track something down with enough details." "Great! You think you can find a terrible wolf for me?!" "Ah, what?" "A terrible Wolf!" "I know what you said, but why?" "I have a hunch that an old friend is nearby, that's all." Master was reluctant, but he eventually trusted me.

Ryoga picked his long fishing pole up and began searching the area for Wolves, and sure enough, he managed to find Sparks in no time. "Rawr Grrrr!! Rawr!" Sparks was understandably angry as he was dragged towards us but soon recognized me. "Mpphh?" Sparks tilted its head, and when it realized it was me, it ran to me to lick my face again. "Sparks!" "Woof, Woof!" "How did you know that he was near?" Ryoga asked, but I couldn't tell him. Whenever I tried to say anything about E, my lips closed shut on their own, and I got a massive headache.

"I'm sorry, Master. I wish there was a way I could tell you, but I can't; something is blocking me every time." "Uh? Well, I'll just have to get it from you then." Master opened his HUD and began playing around with it as I sat still, petting Sparks. "Found it, Slave Crest Mind READ!" Ryoga tried to use some unique technique with the power of the slave crest on my chest, which was successful. I was soon asleep with Master Ryoga on my mind, looking at my memories.

{Ryoga}

What is all of this? There are walls around many of her memories, and it seems like she has intentionally blocked them off her own. I have seen this kind of damage before, and it occurs when severe trauma is suffered, but it doesn't explain why she can't tell me about whatever is bothering her now. She mentioned something about travel. Could she have traveled to another realm during the hunger mirage? I need to check her most latent memories. I dug more into her most recent memories until I saw strange images of time. It was like time was flowing at a weird pace.

I was about to get to the bottom of everything when I saw a tall men-like figure in Ukyo's memories, but the figure's voice was muted, and when I thought I was looking at her memories still, I noticed that the figure turned around to face me as it smiled. WHAT THE?! The thing before me forcefully made my soul come closer to it as I tried to end the Mind-reading spell. I desperately tried to turn the skill off, but it wouldn't. The mysterious creature held me by the neck and brought me closer to him.

"It is best if you let this erased timeline go. Do you want to know why Ukyo is shocked and scared about mentioning me? Well, this is why. I am E, and it would be best if you stopped using outside system spells." 'What did you do to her?" "I didn't do anything; I simply reversed her severe mistake with one of my playthings." Tsk! BS! This guy was full of BS, but I couldn't deny that he was something to be afraid of. To be fair, it was my own doing to try to find out what was wrong with Ukyo, but dam.

"So I'm full of BS? I see; how about I make you a deal, then... You seek power, don't you?" "I won't hear your deal! It already sounds like the type of thing a devil might offer." "Ah! Smart guy! But you're not wrong. I ask for things in return for any deals." "Like my soul?" "Puff, don't make me laugh. Your soul is worthless to me; I made it a thing in this world, so it means nothing to me." "What do you ask then?" "Entertainment, if you give a good show, I'm sure to notice, and if I feel like it, I will grant you power whenever you need it if it's entertaining enough."

"Entertainment? How would I even know what you find entertaining?" "I'm sure you will figure it out. Anyhow, I'm in a good mood, so I will answer 3 of your questions as a little gift for managing to catch my attention with your unique cheating mind-reading spell." 3 questions, I had to think carefully about what I should ask, but I was also extremely weirded out by the thing speaking to me.

"You said you were an administrator, but I have no idea what that is. So my first question is, What's an administrator?" "Uhmm, how should I explain it to a lowly mortal like you? I'm what many would call God or the Devil, depending on your worldview. Administrators are the most powerful God race, or at least they used to be." "Why do you say it like that? Did you kill them all or something?" "Exactly." What?! No way this thing was a genocidal maniac. How could it be so calm about the erasure of its people? "They had it coming, you know?" Did it reread my mind?! "Oh, sorry, you didn't mean to say that to me. It's just that your thoughts and voice sound exactly the same for me."

"Why can't I cancel the spell?" "Because I'm having fun looking at your confused face. It's like you'll knock yourself out by my mere presence, which I find funny." The thing said it was fun to them, but I couldn't notice any emotions coming from its monotone voice. It was like I speaking with an AI. "Anyhow, I wish you good luck with what is coming. I'm sure you will find my next game fun! I have great things planned for your world and good, entertaining challenges for the heroes."