On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

What has happened could happen was all thanks to my Origin, Pride. The way it works is pretty simple, but also absurd at the same time; it is not something that one can explain with logic.

Pride is an Origin that turns its possessor snobbish. It is defined by the possessor's unwillingness to lower their head and admit their defeat.

In honesty, rather than being snobbish, it requires its possessor to be unyielding, but since people often develop an inflated ego when they have pride, they tend to act snobbish instead.

Naturally, there is a reason behind why the Origin "requires" its possessor to be snobbish. It is one of the requirements to activate the broken ability of the Origin.

Pride is an Origin that allows its possessor to gradually match the power of their stronger opponent. It doesn't just happen however, since the possessor needs to be fearless toward said opponent for it to work.

This is where people tend to misunderstand what it means being unyielding and snobbish. Instead of erasing their fear, they ridicule their opponent—this is what I got from Lucifer's knowledge.

After the possessor gets over their fear toward their opponent, they just need to take their opponent's blow once and survive it. If they survive, they will gain 10% of their opponent's power.

The power the possessor gains can be accumulated, so in each blow they survive, they will close the gap between them and their opponent by 10%.

It might not seem much, but in a battle where attacks are constantly traded, the possessor of Pride can be stronger than their opponent in a matter of seconds. This is a cheat that will bring me to the top quickly.

Of course, everything has downsides. Since Pride only allows the possessor to gain 10% of their opponent's power, if the opponent fight the possessor with their real power hidden, the power the possessor gains will lessen significantly.

So, why does the insignificant amount of power matters that much? Because, by the time the opponent used their real power, the possessor will not be able to survive it, as the possessor would have been too tired at that point.

To simplify the matter, the easiest way to kill someone that possesses Pride, is to either kill them with your deadliest attack at once or waste their energy by attacking them with your limited power.

Furthermore, unlike Ilschevar's Origin, Wrath, that allows him to get stronger as long as he kills his opponents, I have to kill someone stronger than me to gain power. I will gain nothing by killing someone weaker or at the same level as me.

With that said, another easy way to kill me, the current possessor of Pride, is tiring me out by letting me fight with some cannon fodders, then kill me in one blow.

These secrets will die along with me, so no one will be able to figure it out. I will never lose or die, for no one will know how my power works.

'Oh, shit. What have I been thinking for the past 3 seconds? I need to get rid of my smirk first!'

As my accursed lips are pointing upwards, I look at the reaction of the people in the room. Millonia and Valeria are shocked either because of Ilschevar's miscalculation or how smug I look right now.

I, myself, am also shocked by how smug I look. I don't smirk because I want to. I smirk because my lips feel the need to. Fortunately, I can still control my facial expression, so the smirk disappears not long after.

"Kuhahaha. That was amazing, Layland," Ilschevar that is planted in the wall exclaims after laughing deeply. "I have countless of theories in my mind about what your Origin does, but I am still not sure if one of them is true."

I quirk my eyebrow and tilt my head slightly as Ilschevar gets himself out of the wall. He is not injured in the slightest, but he has dust covering some part of his coat.

As he pats his coat to remove the dust, I move my gaze to my bloodied arm. The veins in my arm have just burst for the second time today, and now it is time to heal them.

Channeling my Mana to the Demon King's Mark, it immediately shines brightly in blue. My burst veins rapidly heal afterwards.

The Mana it consumes is as crazy as ever, but since I have got 10% of the power Ilschevar put in his attack, I have enough Mana to completely heal them.

"I didn't expect, no matter how bright you are, you can obtain Pride as your Origin," Ilschevar remarks after he finished patting the dust off his clothes. "It is an Origin that we have only heard once for the past 500 years, and we don't know anything about it."

"Are you asking me to break it down to you?"

"It will never happen, will it?"

"That is very correct." I smirk. This time, I don't know whether it is my Origin acting up or something that I genuinely want to do. "Anyway, are you just going to end it here? I can still take you as long as you fight me with that power."

Even though I have managed to land a hit on Ilschevar, it was all nothing but a mere luck. I have just managed to catch him off guard, but I am still no way as strong as him even though he is in his current "sealed" state.

That is the reason why I am eager to fight him in that state. I just need him to attack me for another nine times, so I can be as strong as the current him.

I don't care even though I would still not be as strong as him when he uses his full power by then—that is something too early to dream about. I just want to raise my probability of surviving out there.

Ilschevar is still strong even though he limits his power after all. I think it will be enough to significantly raise my survivability.

"Hahaha. I get that you want to get stronger, but I won't fight you until you are as strong as Valeria." Ilschevar's eyes gleam coldly. "I can't risk killing a brilliant Candidate like you in a fit of rage, can I?"

"That is rich coming from someone who has attacked me out of nowhere."

"Hahaha! I just wanted to 'beat the Demon out of you.' You seemed lost after absorbing your Origin, so I did that to lead you back to the correct path."

"That is rich coming from a Demon." I look at Ilschevar weirdly, and he merely smiles at that. "Did you perhaps think, instead of absorbing it, I was the one who was absorbed by my Origin?"

I sigh then sweep my hair to the back after loosening my stance. Although Ilschevar doesn't show any intention to attack me anymore, I still can't let my guard down.

Turning my gaze to the two ladies who have been silently watching our exchange, I quirk my eyebrow as I wonder why I refer them as ladies rather than women, which was my usual way to refer them.

"I congratulate you for what you have achieved, Layland."

At Valeria's congratulations, I bow my head respectfully. "It was all thanks to your amazing guidance, Miss—"

"Put aside the honorific, and just call me by my name."

"... Are you sure?" I slightly widen my eyes then quirk my eyebrow as I look at Valeria. "If this turns out to be your excuse to punish me, you will regret ever doing so ... I love getting my ass spanked."

As Valeria blinks her eyes at the joke I have just thrown at her, Millonia chortles loudly beside her. I am honestly horrified by what I have said, but my goddamn Origin makes me unwilling to apologize for the joke.

"I... Seriously mean what I said." Luckily, Valeria takes my joke coolly. "If you love getting your butt spanked that much however, I will do—"

"Nah, it's fine. That was just a joke, so you don't need to take it too seriously." I wave my hand frantically at Valeria's genuine expression of willingness ... And hidden excitement.

"Kukuku! Why did you refuse it? Just take it, idiot! You should be grateful that Lady Valeria is kind enough to let you have your fantasy." Millonia giggles as she clutches her stomach. "Do you, by any chance, want me to do it for you instead?"

"You are not lucky enough to be allowed to touch my ass, bitch."

"Shut up. I have even touched your 'little brother'—there is no need to fuss over spanking your ass!"

I genuinely thought Millonia had changed for the better when she kept silent the entire morning before I underwent my Awakening, alas it turns out to be nothing but my delusion. She is just as annoying as ever.

Still, the moment I look at the relief in the two ladies' eyes, I can't help smiling at that. They must have worried that I would completely change after I had my Awakening, and now they are glad their worry is unfounded.

Honestly speaking, I have changed quite drastically—I am just trying my best to keep that change down because I am in front of the two of them.