Chapter 296: Evaluation of the Party

Ryan closed Mirian’s screen with a simple thought, leaving the archer’s information behind. He slowly shifted his gaze toward Beatrice. The infernal was standing near the steps of the throne.

Beatrice was watching the argument between Helen and Karol in complete silence.

Her face showed no emotion. She kept her hands crossed in front of her body in a firm, protective stance. Ryan activated the inspection skill on the demon.

[CHARACTER STATUS]

› Race: [Demon]

› Threat Level: Infernal

› Elemental Manifestation: Fire, Darkness

› Strength: 3,470 | Magic: 1.833 | Agility: 6,320 | Psyche: 1.600 | Defense: 5,720 |

’Beatrice, you are a powerful infernal,’ Ryan thought as he saw the numbers displayed on the glowing screen. His eyes traced over each value very carefully.

’You have the darkness manifestation. That single element already places you above almost all the demons in your race, of course. Once you master that power.’ Ryan analyzed the implications of this in his mind.

’Ophelia had Abyssal as sentinels in her castle. Those guards also manifested the darkness element. It could be said that achieving that manifestation is a huge accomplishment among all demons,’ Ryan concluded.

He knew that darkness wasn’t a common element that just anyone could awaken. It was a sign of pure power within that race. And curiously, it did not depend on lineage. Ryan looked at Beatrice with a faint smile on his face. His mind traveled to the past for a brief moment.

He remembered what times were like when he first met her. Back then, Beatrice was merely a Principality-class demon.

She wasn’t exactly weak, but she was injured and could barely defend herself. Now, her numbers proved the results of following his orders and surviving by his side.

Ryan wiped Beatrice’s window from his sight. He slowly turned his face to look at the dragon waiting in the hall.

Lise maintained an expression of total indifference regarding the other girls’ noisy fight. She seemed bored by the humans’ attitude. Ryan used his skill on her to measure her true scope.

[CHARACTER STATUS]

› Race: [Dragon]

› Threat Level: SS

› Elemental Manifestation: Wind, Ice

› Strength: 5,670 | Magic: 14,233 | Agility: 4,930 | Psyche: 10,100 | Defense: 5,520 |

’And here I have another rarity who manifests two elements at the same time,’ Ryan thought as he read Lise’s screen.

Her magic value exceeded fourteen thousand points, a massive amount of energy capable of wiping out entire cities. Her psyche attribute also surpassed ten thousand points, demonstrating magical resistance and overwhelming willpower.

’I understand that is rare among dragons,’ Ryan continued to reflect.

’Normally, they are only born with one attribute. Lise has wind and ice at her disposal. But I only knew of one other similar case so far.’

’Janina.’ The name of Ophelia’s lethal dragon crossed his mind. ’Aside from her own base element, she manifests Darkness.’

A second thought struck him suddenly as he connected the pieces of information. Ryan frowned in his chair.

’Does that mean Janina is also a candidate for demon king? Then, what truly are dragons in this world?’

Ryan kept that big question to himself. He continued evaluating the power of the women in his party.

His gaze settled on Alicia. The young beastwoman flicked her long furry ears from side to side upon hearing Karol’s high-pitched shouts as she hung upside down.

Alicia seemed a bit worried about the argument. Ryan opened her status window immediately.

[CHARACTER STATUS]

› Race: [Beastman]

› Threat Level: A

› Elemental Manifestation: Earth

› Strength: 1,700 | Magic: 250 | Agility: 4,130 | Psyche: 250 | Defense: 3,520 |

’Alicia, you are practically an S-rank,’ Ryan evaluated upon seeing her base stats on the screen.

’And I understand that when she transforms, her power is amplified much more. I would have liked to see that in battle. Even though Alicia insists she wouldn’t like me to see her transformed. Why worry about something like that?’ Ryan wondered, unable to understand it.

He didn’t care what physical form she took. He only cared about the level of damage she could inflict on enemies.

Ryan closed Alicia’s screen without saying a word. Then he looked at the elven princess standing beside her.

Irina was looking at Karol with an expression of resignation on her clean face. Ryan checked her numbers in the system.

[CHARACTER STATUS]

› Race: [Elf]

› Threat Level: A

› Elemental Manifestation: Aether, Wind

› Strength: 1,100 | Magic: 350 | Agility: 3,830 | Psyche: 280 | Defense: 3,220 |

’Irina has also progressed a lot,’ Ryan acknowledged upon seeing her status window. Her defensive values had improved quite a bit since she left the safety of the village.

’I always thought about leaving her on the sidelines when it comes to fighting,’ Ryan admitted in his mind. ’Somehow, she always seemed like the most feminine and delicate of the entire party to me.’

’But I don’t see it that way now,’ Ryan thought, correcting his own view of the elven princess. Her stats showed great combat potential.

’I mean, she is highly talented with her own magic. I know she will become a formidable warrior with the right training.’

Ryan noticed an unusual detail in the elemental manifestation line that caught his attention.

’Also, that Aether element is rare among elves. I had never noticed it on her screens before,’ Ryan thought, analyzing the new word on the interface.

’Could that be the power she was training so hard with Kenia before we decided to come attack the demon king? She still hasn’t told me anything about that. Well, I suppose she hasn’t completely mastered it yet. She must want to hide it until she can use it well.’

Ryan evaluated, looking closely at each of his girls in the large hall. Their collective power had risen considerably. They were no longer the same ordinary adventurers he had met months ago. Now they were a lethal force capable of dominating many enemies if he ordered it.

Ryan rested his head against the hard back of his chair. He looked at the holographic windows that continued floating invisibly in his mind.

’In this world, titles and classes belong to the system. They are measures created and adapted solely for humans. However, the system itself translates the pure energy of this world into these numbers that we can perfectly understand,’ Ryan thought, finding the logic behind the screens he had just read and used.

’It’s not that they have a level system like us. Beatrice, Lise, Alicia, and Irina don’t see these blue windows. But I understand that demonic hierarchies have already existed on this continent for centuries. They naturally classified themselves from Legion to Abysmal in their own societies. That’s why the system shows me stats with a similar interface for races other than humans,’ Ryan concluded.

The system simply took a monster’s immense brute force and presented it in a format humans could read to take advantage of the situation in every fight.

While the girls continued arguing loudly in front of the throne, Ryan remained lost in his deep thoughts.

Karol’s high-pitched voice echoed throughout the room, demanding to be put down on the floor once and for all. Helen was laughing right in her face. Mirian kept scolding her for her obvious lack of manners.

Ryan ignored all the noise in the hall. He focused on his own body. He could feel a vast amount of heavy, dense energy flowing through his veins.

’But the level I have right now...’ Ryan thought, clenching his fists and feeling the enormous difference in his own muscular strength. ’It far surpasses my previous rank.’

Ryan cleared all his companions’ windows from his vision. He looked toward the front of the room, prepared to see the true and final results of killing Rigal with his own hands.

"Status," Ryan said aloud.