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*****
To verify the nuances of the system's experience points, Fenech had worked himself to the point of utter exhaustion.
First, because he didn't want to kill every single Fire Demon, he had to exert extreme control over his strength. Furthermore, due to their inherent resistance to *Explosion* magic, he was forced to rely solely on physical combat.
Fighting exactly one thousand Fire Demons had nearly worked him to death. During the process, he had to use the *Zafkiel: Dalet* (Fourth Bullet) twice to rewind his personal time and restore his physical state just to keep going.
Now that he had his test results, he had no desire to continue the battle, even though plenty of Fire Demons remained.
Despite the time-reversal, a deep mental fatigue clung to him. Moreover, the remaining demons appeared to number fewer than a thousand. Based on his deduction that one thousand was a critical threshold, it was highly likely that the experience yield wouldn't shift again until he hit the two-thousand mark.
Fenech used Skywalk to hover in the air. The Fire Demons, unable to fly, could only crane their necks and stare blankly from the ground. A few of the smarter ones tried to climb the walls and leap at him, but they didn't seem to consider whether the fall would kill them.
Fenech then retracted the water shield protecting the *Violet Special Fried Chicken Rolls*. The demons, who had been fruitlessly attacking the barrier for hours, froze in confusion.
Their bewilderment quickly turned to jubilation. Thinking they had finally breached the defense through sheer persistence, they swarmed the pile of rolls on the ground.
With their low intelligence, they didn't stop to wonder if this was a trap. They simply grabbed the rolls and stuffed them into their maws. Those who had been trying to figure out how to bring Fenech down immediately abandoned their schemes and joined the feast.
Though he had summoned a vast quantity of rolls, there were still five or six hundred demons left. In a frantic, shoving frenzy, the entire pile vanished in seconds.
Afterward, they looked up again, staring longingly at Fenech. The sight was so absurd it almost made him laugh.
"Since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you eat your fill just this once!"
Because the mystery of the system's experience mechanics was finally solved, Fenech felt a sense of profound relief that outweighed his exhaustion.
And so, a rain of fried chicken rolls began to fall from the sky.
To the Fire Demons of this volcano, today was a day of historic significance. They had endured pain unlike any they had known, but they had also tasted a happiness beyond their wildest dreams.
Of course, this only applied to the demons still standing. As for those Fenech had already beaten into the dirt, their day was purely miserable—an unrelenting experience of the greatest pain of their lives.
Given the Fire Demons' massive appetites, Fenech spent nearly half an hour summoning food before they were finally satisfied. By the end, almost every demon was collapsed on the ground. Some were down because they were beaten, others because they were stuffed to the point of immobility.
Consequently, when Fenech finally descended from the air, they didn't try to attack him. They simply watched him with their glowing red eyes.
"Where is your King?" Fenech asked, picking a demon who looked particularly bloated.
He had overheard some of them earlier discussing whether to bring him to their King. He suspected this "King" was very likely a true Fire Giant—Surtur.
At full strength, Surtur was terrifyingly powerful. Based on the original story, a single strike of his sword could cause the total collapse of Asgard. That level of destructive power was far beyond what Fenech could currently withstand.
However, that was Surtur at his peak, bolstered by the fulfillment of the prophecy. Currently, Surtur was likely only on par with Thor—perhaps slightly stronger, considering Thor hadn't yet experienced the loss of his family that would eventually unlock his full potential.
The demon blinked, stared at Fenech for a moment, and asked, "Who are you?"
Fenech felt a wave of helplessness. He had introduced himself at the start and repeated it twice, and this guy was still asking who he was?
"A sorcerer of Kamar-Taj. I've come to bring a gift to your King!"
Fenech dropped the talk about "sparring." He summoned a chicken roll, waved it in front of the demon, and said, "I'm bringing this!"
Even though the demon was too full to move, its mouth twitched at the sight of the roll.
"Do you know the way?" Fenech asked again, handing the roll over.
The demon took the roll and thought for a long while with its limited brainpower. Finally, it said, "The King does not wish to be disturbed."
"I am bringing a gift, not a disturbance!" Fenech said, feeling like he was tricking a toddler.
But the Fire Demon's IQ was lower than even a toddler's. Hearing this, it replied without further thought, "Then I will take you there!"
The reason the Fire Demons were willing to interact with Fenech after he had beaten so many of them was twofold. First, he had only killed one unlucky soul; the rest were merely injured. Second, and more importantly, the *Violet Special Fried Chicken Rolls* possessed a "Joy" attribute. It gave them the happiest feelings they had ever experienced, creating an instinctive fondness for Fenech.
Because the demon was too stuffed to walk, Fenech had to wait for it to digest a bit. He also took the opportunity to rest and recover.
Resting inside a volcano was an experience Fenech had never had before, but with the aid of his *Golden Ars Magna*, he found it bearable. Glancing at the nearby lava, he turned his attention to his system.
Though he had defeated over a thousand demons, the experience gain was modest—about five points, roughly equivalent to five days of standard skill training. Since the Fire Demons were physically fragile and lacked the "quality" of stronger foes, they were essentially just fodder, providing very little experience.
After about an hour, many of the injured demons began to recover. Fenech had to summon more rolls just to pacify the grumpy "wounded."
He had expected the demon to lead him outside, but to his surprise, the path led deep underground. Staring into the pitch-black abyss of a tunnel, Fenech pulled out his *Orb of the Sea*, activated its "Glow" attribute, and followed the demon inside.
The winding, tortuous underground passages were a torment for Fenech to navigate, but for the Fire Demons—who were natural climbers with night vision—it was effortless.
They walked for two full hours. Just as Fenech began to suspect he was being led into a trap, a glimmer of light appeared ahead.
Exiting the tunnel, Fenech took a deep breath and immediately scanned the environment. Below him was a vast, cavernous hall. On the otherwise empty floor stood a throne, and seated upon it was a giant who looked as if he were forged from living magma.
A massive longsword rested at his side. He appeared to be sleeping.
"That is our King!" the Fire Demon said, pointing at the giant before scurrying down a nearby pillar.
Only then did Fenech notice the walls and pillars were covered in Fire Demons—thousands more than he had seen in the volcano above.
(End of Chapter)