Ryan expected to find the dungeon empty.

  He was barely beginning to enjoy its mysteries after receiving the strange reward from the power of that scroll, which had dissipated following the attack from that mysterious demon girl.

  "I didn't think I'd find a human here... you certainly have guts."

  She lunged at him in a heartbeat. In her hand, a short sword wrapped in a searing fire cut through the air violently: one, three, seven thrusts.

  Ryan could barely track the blade's path, dodging thrust after thrust thanks to the superhuman reflexes of his new body.

  "S-shit, stop it already."

  "Ha, are you going to beg for your life?"

  Without giving him a second to catch his breath, she spun on her axis and delivered a powerful kick, sending Ryan flying through the air until his back impacted violently against the stone wall of the dungeon.

  "Ahg! That actually hurt. What is it with this world—the prettier a girl is, the more violent she is?"

  "Are you trying to mock me even when you're about to die?" Her face wore a smile full of confidence.

  Ryan stood up, brushing off the dust. As he rose, his eyes locked onto the girl, analyzing every millimeter of her posture.

  'If it hadn't been for that scroll's ability earlier, I’d be dead right now. I didn't feel her presence until her blade was at my neck. She’s highly skilled.'

  She charged again, convinced the human was on his last legs. However, Ryan had to seize the moment and make his move while she remained overconfident, thinking he would be an easy prey.

  When she launched a new kick to finish him off, he didn't retreat.

  "You got overconfident."

  With a technical and precise movement, Ryan blocked the kick using his arm like a hook behind her neck; upon receiving the impact, he leaned as if he were about to fall and used that instant to sweep her legs, slamming her forcefully against the ground.

  "Agh..." she groaned.

  Before she could get up again, Ryan pinned her down, shouting directly into her face:

  "Stupid, listen for once! I am a demon!"

  For a moment, the girl watched him in surprise.

  "A demon?" she replied from the ground, staying in the same position she had landed in.

  Noticing this, Ryan lowered his guard and backed away.

  "Do you just attack anyone without even knowing if they're human or demon? How can you be so idiotic?"

  "I would notice a demon from miles away, but you don't look like one. You have no horns, and besides, you used that human magic..."

  "About that, it wasn't something I used. It simply activated when I defeated the golem."

  "That's not possible. I've entered many dungeons to train and I’ve never seen that happen."

  "Well, maybe it’s just an ability he left active before dying to protect himself, right? Anyway, like I said, I’m a demon. Demon, do you understand?"

  The girl finally stood up. She still looked at him with incredulity and observed him closely until she finally noticed his red eyes.

  "Fine, I admit I jumped the gun, but it's not common to see a demon without horns. What happened to you?"

  'I want to know that too, but more importantly, I lost the chance to analyze that scroll...'

  Ryan sighed.

  "Anyway, what are you doing here? I come here every day and I know you've never been here before. Who are you?"

  'Actually, it was Aiden who always came, and this place used to be empty.'

  "I don't have to tell you."

  "Even though you were about to kill me? Aren't you going to apologize?"

  "..."

  The girl turned her head, looking at the dungeon wall.

  "Fine... I’m sorry for attacking you without checking if you were human or not. Satisfied?"

  "How proud you are, I only asked for an apology."

  "And I did it. Leave me alone, huh."

  "Fine. By the way, I’m Ry... Aiden."

  "Ryaiden?"

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  "Aiden. Aiden is my name..."

  'Damn it, for now I'll accept the name Aiden. I don't want to get confused later and have problems.'

  "I see. My name is Circe and, well, I'm here for the sentinel duels. I wanted to train a bit before participating."

  Aiden looked at her with confusion. Although he wasn't sure he fully understood, he knew more or less what she was talking about. He reflected for a moment.

  "What's wrong? Does it surprise you that a girl is participating? It's quite normal. By the way, are you here for the same reason?" she asked curiously.

  "No, not at all. I just like this place, that's all."

  "How strange... anyway, I'm leaving."

  "I'm leaving too. We're going to the same place, I assume."

  "If you're not here for the sentinel duels, what business do you have at the castle?"

  "That doesn't matter. Let's just go, or go your own way, whichever you prefer. I don't care."

  Aiden walked to the dungeon entrance. His wyvern was right where he had left it, but he didn't see any other, which made him wonder.

  'Then how did this girl get here?'

  The girl stood in front of the dungeon entrance and let out a whistle. Almost seconds later, a black wyvern entered and positioned itself in front of her. Circe began to pet it; it was behaving like a puppy.

  "You certainly spoil him."

  "Yes, this is my knight, Nyx."

  "What a strange name."

  "Don't mock him. And what is your wyvern's name? It's a female, isn't it?"

  'It's a female? How do you tell them apart? And what was the name again?'

  "Yeah, exactly, and her name is Vue."

  Once they finished talking, both mounted their wyverns and left the dungeon. Circe went at full speed, far superior to Aiden, putting a great distance between them. Although it wasn't a race and Aiden didn't care.

  When he was near the castle, Aiden saw Circe from afar talking to another girl, a woman with yellow hair. Aiden landed by the main entrance, right where they were. When she saw him, Circe threw a mocking comment his way.

  "I thought you’d gotten lost. You're so slow you couldn't keep up with me. Ha, ha."

  "I wasn't even thinking about following you, shut up."

  "Young Aiden, Circe, do you two know each other?"

  "Young Aiden? Why are you speaking to him with respect?"

  "Well, he is the son of the Demon King Rohan."

  "WHAAAAAT?! WHAAAAAT?!"

  Circe shouted in surprise. Not only had she just found out that Aiden was the son of the Demon King, but she had been on the verge of killing him after attacking him. Surely every hope of being accepted as a sentinel had vanished.

  "Aiden, right? I'm really sorry about earlier. I'm sorry, I'm very sorry."

  'How her attitude changed...'

  "But what did you do, Circe?"

  "Ehem, well... I attacked him and tried to kill him."

  Aiden sighed.

  "Whatever, I don't care about any of this. I'm just leaving."

  Aiden went into the castle, leaving them alone.

  ◇◇◇

  "You're hopeless, Circe. Always so impulsive. Although to be honest, you're in luck, because since it's Aiden, it doesn't matter much whether you attacked him or not."

  "Why do you say that? What do you mean?"

  "Well, he is the useless son of the castle, the weakest one, and everyone wants him dead for being a bastard."

  "I understand calling him a bastard, but how can you say he's weak?"

  "Yes, you must have noticed, right? If you fought him and he's still alive, it means he begged for his life..."

  "He didn't seem weak to me at all. Maybe he hides his strength within the castle. How interesting..." Circe murmured.

  "What? Did you say something?"

  "No, nothing. Let's go, we have to do the sentinel trial, I already feel in top form."

  ◇◇◇

  Aiden, who was already inside the castle, felt that having fought a little gave him more confidence and helped him better understand the power demons possess. But he was troubled by the fact that he couldn't sense Circe until the very instant she attacked him.

  'Sentinels, huh? Although I don't care about that. I just wanted to spend more time in the dungeon. Maybe I'll go at nightfall...'

  The excitement made Aiden's heart throb—he who had been sent here with clear disadvantages just because of the hatred of a petty deity. Now he would take advantage of those disadvantages to create all his strengths from scratch.

  But suddenly, murmurs could be heard outside.

  When Aiden went out to look, the higher-caste demons were gathered in the main entrance hall. He observed that they were arguing with a girl.

  "That violent demon?" Aiden murmured as he approached the crowd.

  "But I won. I'm supposed to choose whoever I want to be their sentinel," Circe said with annoyance.

  "Sure, those are the rules, but how did you choose the bastard? Are you insane or what?" reproached a demon dressed in armor and a cape who looked quite strong.

  'What the hell? Are they talking about me?'

  "But Lord Ash already has two sentinels. And besides, Lords Igniel and Solaris are not in the city and I know they don't accept anyone."

  "Circe, even if you say that, the reality is that this is the order established by the Demon King. If you choose Igniel, Ash, or even Aedan, who is the first son, he would have no right to refuse."

  "What? Is that how it is?" Circe questioned herself for a moment.

  "Wretch, stop complaining so much."

  The voice that resonated belonged to a woman pushing through the crowd to stand in front of Circe.

  "It's Leonor, Lord Ash's strongest sentinel," people in the crowd commented.

  As expected, Katherin, Ash's other sentinel, was by her side. And, of course, Ash also arrived at the scene.

  'Speaking of violent demons... why did I even come? I don't want to get involved with that trio of idiots.'

  They continued arguing. The girl who was with Circe earlier tried to intervene; she wanted to make Circe reconsider her choice, but Circe refused to listen. She, who had won the sentinel duels, had already chosen whom she wanted to serve.

  "Young Aiden!" Circe shouted upon realizing that Aiden was present. She looked at him with eyes that seemed like those of a happy puppy after seeing its master.

  'I'd better leave...' Aiden turned around, thus avoiding the gazes that began to point at him with suspicion.

  Circe's voice directed toward him made him the target of the crowd's stares, and they didn't hesitate to start whispering and speaking ill of Aiden.

  "Why would the winner want to be the useless bastard's sentinel?"

  The murmurs wouldn't stop; demons commenting and criticizing the weakest and most useless son in the castle. But the problem perhaps wasn't his weakness, but the fact that he was a bastard of the Demon King.

  "Young Aiden, please allow me to be your sentinel," Circe shouted with excitement. Her words silenced the murmurs of the crowd for a few seconds. "I have won the duels and I have made my decision."

  "But Circe, are you sure about what you're saying?" her friend asked with doubt in her eyes.

  "Of course, Helen. I’ve already decided. I only want to serve as Young Aiden's sentinel."

  "What stupidity. You're going to regret this decision." The murmurs started up again and the rejection toward Aiden grew.

  Although Ash was present and hated that useless brother so much, he didn't say a single word; he limited himself to observing. Perhaps he was already satisfied with the sentinels he had, or perhaps he simply wasn't interested in Circe.

  The rest of the demons remained whispering, but Aiden was surprised. Why did this girl suddenly ask to be his sentinel? There wasn't a single reason he could think of. After all, to the world, Aiden was a despised being.

  'Is it a game or a trap?' Aiden couldn't help but ask himself.

  "So, Young Aiden, will you allow me to be your sentinel?"

  She bowed while Helen watched her with uncertainty, her face showing that she was no longer surprised by how often Circe messed things up.