I Died and Became a Noble's Heir-Chapter 386: Infernal Viscount

Jack stared at the reward line. Five volumes of Demon Arts techniques. Everything from basic fundamentals to advanced mastery. And two unknown rewards marked only with question marks. Whatever those were, they had to be significant if the system was keeping them mysterious.

’Yes,’ Jack thought without hesitation.

[Quest Accepted!]

The notification faded, and Jack looked up at Dreknar. The demon god was grinning with satisfaction, clearly pleased with himself for designing a task that would push Jack further than anything before.

"Questions, little lamb?" Dreknar asked mockingly. "Or are you going to stand there processing like some kind of broken mechanism?"

Jack’s mind was already working through implications and strategies. Hearts wouldn’t be an issue, considering he had so many in his system storage.

Two Infernal Barons or higher meant finding demons with nobility titles. Those wouldn’t be easy to locate, let alone kill. They’d have territory, guards, and political connections. Killing them would make noise. Draw attention. Possibly start conflicts with other demons who respected the hierarchy.

And forming a contract with a beast meant finding something powerful enough to be worth the effort. Something that would actually give him extraordinary power and accelerate his growth at a profound rate.

But before all that, there was something else Jack needed to know. A name that had been sitting in the back of his mind.

"I have one question," Jack said, meeting Dreknar’s gaze. "Valdoren. Does he have a title?"

Dreknar’s expression shifted. The amusement subtly receded, giving way to dark amusement as he smirked.

"Valdoren," the demon god repeated, his voice carrying weight. "Yes, the lich has a title. Infernal Viscount, to be specific." His grin returned, his mana flowed outward as he got excited. "Why do you ask, little lamb? Planning to add him to your list?"

Jack’s lips curved into a grin that could only be described as shit-eating. Pure, savage satisfaction at learning exactly what he’d hoped to hear.

Valdoren the Magnificent. The lich who’d orchestrated Jack’s ten-year coma. Who’d trapped him in darkness while the world moved on without him. Who’d stolen a decade of his life for whatever twisted purpose a lich pursued.

He was responsible for his coma, but there was more to the story than just that.

And now Jack knew he held a noble rank. Infernal Viscount. Which meant killing him would count toward completing Dreknar’s fourth task.

Two objectives with one target. Retribution and advancement would be combined from this one endeavor.

"Just gathering information," Jack said, his grin not fading. "Making sure I know who’s worth my time." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Dreknar laughed again, the sound booming through the throne room with genuine amusement.

"Oh, you’re planning something," the demon god observed, his green flames blazing brighter. "I can see it in your eyes, little lamb. That shit-eating grin. That unwavering determination." He leaned forward, his massive frame casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the light. "Good. Valdoren has been annoying me for centuries with his constant scheming. If you kill him, I’ll consider it a personal favor."

Jack filed that information away for later. A demon god owing him a favor could be helpful down the line.

"Anything else?" Dreknar asked, settling back into his throne. "Or are you done wasting my time with questions?"

"I’m done," Jack confirmed.

"Good." Dreknar waved one massive hand dismissively. "Then get out of my throne room and start working on your task. Come back when you’ve actually accomplished something worth reporting."

Jack closed his eyes.

The throne room dissolved around him like smoke caught in the wind. The black stone walls faded. The red drapes blurred into nothing. Dreknar’s massive form became translucent; those green flames were the last thing to disappear as reality shifted.

Then Jack was falling, but only for a heartbeat.

His consciousness abruptly returned to his physical form. The sensation was like being dropped into cold water.

Jack’s eyes opened.

He knelt in Dreknar’s shrine beneath the Kaiser manor, his hands still clasped in prayer position. The green flames atop the columns had settled back to their regular flickering. The chains no longer thrashed against stone. The tapestries hung motionless against the walls.

Everything was quiet again. Still.

Jack slowly uncasped his hands and stood, his muscles protesting slightly from kneeling motionless while his soul had been elsewhere. He rolled his shoulders, feeling his body settle back.

’This will be fun,’ Jack thought, his mind already shifting to logistics and planning. ’And this one is going to take significantly longer than the others.’

One thousand demonic essence. Two Infernal Barons. One beast contract.

And somewhere in there, Jack was going to find time to kill Valdoren the Magnificent and find out the mastermind behind the attack. But with Valdoren being level 89, he would be powerful.

And since he was a lich, it meant Jack would need to grow his army. Because who knows how many creatures he has working for him?

He walked toward the shadow wall that separated Dreknar’s shrine from the rest of the manor’s lower levels. The stone parted around him automatically, reality bending like a ripple in water.

Jack emerged into the corridor, torches flickering to life as he passed.

He reached the storage room door and pushed it open, stepping back into the everyday world of the Kaiser manor.

Servants moved through hallways in the distance, preparing breakfast and helping any of the nobility who had yet to leave. Morning light filtered through the windows, casting a soft gold hue over everything.

Jack walked through the corridors with purposeful strides, ignoring the occasional servant who bowed as he passed.

His mind was still processing everything Dreknar had revealed. Jack was in a trance.

The lich had orchestrated Jack’s ten-year coma for reasons that remained unclear.

"Jack!" Slyph’s voice jolted Jack’s mind back to reality.

"Ah, you’re here already," Jack said as he realized Serpahina had already retrieved Rhys and Slyph.

"Yes, you summoned us?" Rhys asked nervously.

"Yes, we’re going to go dungeon hunting before we leave for our journey to Caeloria."

"WHAT!!! We’re going to Caeloria," Rhys asked as he was caught off guard.

"Yes, we will be there in a month or so. And you need to train and grow stronger before we do, and I have to go collect some beasts."

"How long will we be in the dungeon?" Slyoh asked.

Rhys was pacing back and forth. Clearly mentioning that they would be heading back to Caeloria.

"We will spend five days in the dungeon." Jack retorted as he stared at Rhys pacing.

"Five days? So we’ll be gone for five hours then."

"Hah, no. We will spend five days’ worth of time in the dungeons."

"Are you crazy?? That is not healthy or sustainable. No one in their right mind would spend even a day in a dungeon." Slyph argued.

Jack chuckled. "Well, I must be bat shit crazy then, because I spent three weeks in a dungeon before."

"Yeah three hours.... ..... ..... ..... ...."

Slyph stopped looking at Rhys and looked back at Jack. "You said three hours, right?"

"Three weeks." Jack grinned as he stared at the little spirit.

"HOW ARE YOU ALIVE???? YOU SPENT MORE THAN A YEAR IN ADUNGEONN???"

"Because I refuse to die and I have things I need to accomplish. Now, meet me at Draven’s Pantheon in an hour, and we’ll head out. And fix Rhys, he looks broken."

Slyph turned around and stared at Rhys as she contemplated how Jack had survived almost a year and a half inside of a dungeon.