"So now I can use Mana in my voice to affect people even more with my music and the things I say?" He asked incredulously. "It's like this ability was made for me!"
I nodded at him. "Yes, the more powerful you are, the greater the power of this ability."
I believe that with enough power, it wouldn't be impossible to persuade an entire country, which is what made me so shocked by this ability, but since that's just my guess, I chose not to tell him.
"Woah!" He laughed excitedly as he reached for his lute and began trying to use demonic magic to repair it.
I was curious to see how he would do using demon magic for the first time, so I just stood there quietly watching.
It took a few minutes and a lot of sweat, but he actually managed to restore the instrument to the point where it was usable again, which made the man very excited.
As he was literally spinning around while strumming the strings of his instrument, I noticed that the [Noble Mark] on his back was still visible, but with a slight change.
Curious, I wanted to see it again.
"Stop for a few seconds, take off your shirt." I said in a firm tone.
But when he heard that, the man froze and looked at me in fear. "Wait, I know you're not human and all, now you're my master, but you know, I'm interested in women, you didn't revive me to make me your sex slave, right?!"
Hearing his question made me stop for a second and realize that what I said could really be misunderstood, but the way he was looking at me made me a little stressed.
"Idiot, I'm only interested in women too, I want to see the [Noble Mark] I put on your back to revive you." I rolled my eyes as I grabbed one of his wings and pulled him closer to me.
With my Middle-Class Devil strength, dragging him towards me was like dragging a child.
"Ouch! Wait, that hurts, stop, I'm sorry, I was just worried, you don't have to hurt me!" He said as he was dragged and started to take off his shirt, until the shirt got stuck on his wing. "My shirt won't come off, am I going to have to cut the fabric now that I have wings?"
After asking that, he began to flap his wings slightly with curiosity.
Letting go of his wing, I explained. "Just imagine that you are storing your wings inside you and they will disappear."
Hearing this, the man did as I told him and his wings quickly disappeared from his back, allowing him to take off his shirt. "Cool!"
Now without his shirt obstructing my view, I could see that the pentagram on his back was transparent, like the invisibility effect in games from my other world, where players on the team of the invisible player knew he was invisible and could see him as if he were translucent, but enemy players couldn't.
This made me wonder if other people could see it too.
Deciding to test it, I made two small mirrors with magic and gave one to him. "Take this mirror, try to see if you can see the [Noble Mark] I left on your back through the reflection."
He took the mirror from my hand and was shocked by it, staring at the small object in amazement. "Woah! The reflection of that is so clear!"
Noting his comment mentally, I positioned my mirror in the exact spot and let him control his mirror to try to see the mark.
"What should I be seeing?" He asked, confused.
"A drawing of a red pentagram." I gave him the most basic description of the mark.
"I don't see anything, just my smooth skin." He said.
Surprised, I decided to try something. "Try channeling your Mana into your back somehow, to try to make it appear."
Hearing my instruction, he began to concentrate, and slowly the mark began to appear.
"I see it! A drawing of a five-pointed star with some strange symbols on each point and a smaller shooting star at the top!" He said excitedly.
"Can't you read what's written on the other points?" I asked, surprised.
"No, to me the symbols are constantly changing, as if they were alive." He said confused.
"Right, let me try to translate that for you." I said as I made a sheet of paper and ink, writing down what I was seeing on his back, but instead of using English, I wrote in the same strange language I was reading.
Surprising new words appeared after the mark stuck to his body.
|-----------------------------------------
| Character Status |
|-----------------------------------------
| Name: Varen Holt
| Race: Whisper Devil
| Level: Low-Class Devil
| Master: Adam Morningstar
|------------------------
| Stats:
| Strength - i0
| Agility - i0
| Durability - i0
| Magic - i0 -> i1
|------------------------
| Demonic Powers: Creativity Magic, Devil Whisper.
|-----------------------------------------
After writing everything that was on the Mark, I was surprised to notice the similarity of his stats screen to another anime I had seen in my other world.
"Maybe my creativity magic is making these things more similar to knowledge I'm already familiar with?" I asked myself in surprise.
And seeing how his Magic had gone up one point, it was clear that it had improved because he used magic to repair his lute, as if it were a Gamer System... or a System from a certain world of gods.
"Can you read this, Varen?" I asked as I handed him the transcript I had made.
"How do you know my name?!" He asked in shock as he looked at the paper. "Yes, now I can finally read it!"
"Your name was written on the symbol, probably recognizing it as your true name to connect you to me as my servant." I explained, without worrying too much.
Reading the explanation of [Creativity Magic] and [DevilWhisper] several times, Varen became even more excited, until his gaze returned to the stats and he asked. "What are these stats?"
Thinking about how it worked in that anime I saw in the other world, I decided to explain it that way. "Basically, when you practice a certain stat, you gain experience in it, and when you kill a creature and use a certain stat, you gain even more experience in that stat. Every 100 points, the letter changes, going from i0 - h100 to a900 - a999, finally reaching s1000. When you reach s1000, you can evolve from a Low-Class Devil to a Middle-Class Devil."
Hearing this, Varen's red eyes began to shine. "So as long as I practice and exercise a certain area, I'll be able to keep getting stronger indefinitely?"
"Yes." I nodded.
I understood his excitement. Unlike normal people who depended on talent to evolve and could be stuck at a certain level for the rest of their lives because they didn't have enough talent, with this system, my Devils could grow infinitely.
Hearing this, a conflicted smile appeared on Varen's face as he looked at the lute in his hand with indecision.
I remained silent.
"You know, I became a bard after running away from home. My father wanted me to become a city guard, just like him, but I had no talent for swords, while magic was always something exclusive to the nobles or the rich. I knew that if I became a guard, it would only be a matter of time before I died at the hands of some random bandit... Now, after dying as a bard, the profession I chose for safety, you give me back the choice to be a warrior, and even give me the opportunity to be a mage, but in the end I only have an innate ability to be a bard... the only path I could follow when I had no talent." He said melancholically.
It was truly ironic, but I smiled and replied calmly. "Who says you can't follow all paths?"
Hearing this, he looked at me in astonishment. "What do you mean?"
"Your innate magic, [Devil Whisper], serves both as magical support with illusions and as a direct form of attack with screams. Demonic magic can help you with anything you can imagine, and your demonic body is extremely talented, allowing you to improve yourself physically to defeat any experienced warrior through brute force alone." I said smiling as I saw his eyes, now red from becoming a Devil, shining brighter and brighter. "I think it's foolish to focus on just one stat while ignoring the other three, so why not be a complete warrior who uses all his advantages?"
With my encouragement, a huge smile appeared on his face as he made up his mind.
"Yes!" He said excitedly. "I'll really be able to follow all the paths I had to abandon, or even never had the opportunity to follow!"
As he said this, unbeknownst to him, the tail on his back was wagging from side to side, like a Golden Retriever.
Combined with his blond hair and big smile, Varen really did look like a big Golden Retriever now!
Extending his right hand to me while bowing his head slightly in respect, Varen spoke. "Let me introduce myself, Master Adam, I am Varen Holt, the bard who set taverns ablaze with stories and songs!
In my glory days, I made rough warriors laugh with tales of bravery and cry with heartbreaking ballads... a master of words, if I may say so myself!"
Shaking his hand with my firm right hand, I remained silent as I listened to the newborn demon unconsciously use the innate ability [Devil Whisper] for the first time.
"One night, I was called to entertain a band of mercenaries after a victory. I sang a song so sharp that it mocked their leader, subtle as a breeze, and he laughed... only to send a henchman to stab me in the back on my way out! Ha! I died with the echo of my own audacity, but you, master, brought me back with this Devil Mark! The Fallen Star shines on me now, and I'm alive to tell the tale... no, to sing it! My voice is yours, and I swear it will echo your name throughout the world!" He said with a huge smile.
His seemingly imperceptible use of it allowed me to see the scene he described as if I were there, even imagining him singing my name across the world, something I had never imagined, with a smile on his face.
Returning the use of [Devil Whisper] to him, I replied. "Very well, Varen, I am Adam Morningstar, the first demon in this world, and you are my first servant. Together we will write the best and most beautiful story, one that will be sung for thousands of years!"
As soon as I said that, I could see Varen's eyes marveling, traveling through the various possibilities of what I had just said.
'It's going to be interesting to have you by my side, Varen.'