Adam's thoughts returned to Arch Devil Gorael.
The lack of active recruitment, the minimal, bare minimum security around a valuable mine… to Adam, it was strategically puzzling.
With his awakening, the years spent in ignorance, the lack of growth in terms of knowledge and wisdom, was offset with hell's inheritance.
And within his inherited knowledge and wisdom, possibilities were fostered in his mind.
'Was Gorael intentionally keeping this territory underdeveloped, perhaps as a reserve? Or was his attention focused elsewhere, on grander schemes in deeper layers of hell, leaving this domain merely a supply line for raw materials?'
Although his knowledge regarding the deeper layers was lacking, the latter option still seemed more plausible.
This meant that the current circumstances suggested an opportunity; a vast, underutilized space that a new, ambitious devil could exploit.
That Adam could turn into his playground!
The 1st layer of hell had was under a powerful restriction which expelled any devil that reached the 2nd realm: Awakened Devils. Only from the 2nd layer onwards would Adam come face to face with stronger entities.
If put in simpler terms, the 1st layer was like a tutorial or trial grounds.
The opportunities and resources that could interest stronger, more powerful devils in hell's lower layers was limited. Because of this, higher rank devils only had one real goal when contacting the 1st layer: to 'recruit' new devils.
Yet, Arch Devil Gorael took on a very uninterested attitude towards the 1st layer.
This also meant that this was the only chance Adam would get at building up his foundation restriction free.
The ores mentioned by the demon, from what he understood, were likely a form of hell-ore. A valuable material for crafting various demonic armaments, for strengthening fortresses, or perhaps even for fueling portals to other realms.
'Being powerful devil, Gorael probably wouldn't even care if his territory in the 1st layer were to be… lost, right?' Dangerous greed-filled thoughts whispered in Adam's mind.
Their steps remained unimpeded as they traversed the hellish terrain.
They traveled for what felt like hours, though time in hell was a fluid, irrelevant concept.
Adam relied on his internal compass, his demonic instincts, to guide him towards areas where the presence of other established devils felt weak or nonexistent.
Along the short journey Adam had felt the presence of at least 3 other devils, their distance from one another was roughly every 3-5,000 kilometers from one another.
Although rarer, the endless realm of hell meant that devils were basically an inexhaustible entity and resource; a true ever present force of twisted nature itself.
The miasma occasionally grew thicker, coalescing into swirling vortexes that would ensnare lesser creatures, driving them mad or simply dissolving them into nothingness.
Such occurrences were common.
Adam and his horde moved through them with impunity, the miasma merely reinforcing his own power, a dark cloak rather than a threat to him. Hell's blessed children of the dark had certain impunities to such events.
Distant cries of demonic beast filled the rumbling air. Occasional fighting among demons echoed, leaving maddening roars to fill the void.
Just as the perpetual red sky began to shift into a deeper, almost bruised purple hue, the lead scouting demons sent a mental pulse of excitement.
'They had found something.'
Adam quickened his pace, his powerful legs carrying him over a rise of sharp, obsidian-like rock. Below him, spread out in a massive, desolate basin, was a sight that made even his newly demonic heart quicken with a dark, profound satisfaction.
The basin was vast, easily tens of square kilometers, and unexpected untouched by stronger devils. No visible demonic structures, no tell-tale scorch marks of recent battles, no overwhelming presence of a residing devil…
It was raw, unblemished, and unmarked by an owner. But it wasn't entirely empty.
At the center of the basin, a colossal, jagged spire of black rock pierced the bruised sky, its height easily a kilometer high. Around its base, the ground was strangely disturbed, almost as if it had burst forth from beneath the ground. And emanating from the spire itself, Adam felt a subtle, yet unmistakable, resonance. It was an energy signature, demonic and powerful, far more profound than the mere miasma that radiated from hell.
It felt dormant… but alive.
The demons at the front of his horde, sensing the potent aura, began to snarl, their instincts conflicted between fear and a ravenous curiosity.
Adam, however, felt a different sensation. His inherited knowledge, the vast demonic library within him, began to churn as the answer was fed to him.
This spire wasn't just rock. It was a dormant Nexus Point: a raw conduit of abyssal energy, capable of shearing the fabric of hell into a small port, where power could be drawn directly from the endless core energy of hell itself.
And, most importantly, it was an ideal location for the construction of a dimensional gate, perhaps even a gateway to far more than just mortal realms.
It was perfect!
Not just free, but powerful and unclaimed.
An unexpected boon, a true piece of fortune in this chaotic, brutal world. He turned to his kneeling demon captain, his red eyes gleaming with newfound purpose.
"This is it," Adam stated, his voice ringing with a chilling authority, "This is our territory. And that spire… that is our foundation," He paused, a wicked plan already forming in his mind, a strategy born of human suffering and demonic ambition.
"Now, clear it. And find out what else this 'unclaimed' land holds."
An order to look for threats, resources, or hidden demons.
The demons roared, a sound of triumph and anticipation, their chaotic energy now focused, directed by their new devil master.
The hunt had begun, and weaker demonic beast and resisting demons were cleared out in droves.
Adam blurred into a black shadow as he raced towards the black obelisk, his hand gently caressing the sleek black surface once he near it.
The faint warmth on the surface was slowly receding; like a stone just taken from a fire pit.
'It just came out.' Adam thought in amazament.
The sheer timing of finding the nexus point was nothing short of a miracle.
Hell was a realm of many opportunities and treasures; some of the resources of hell were enough to make other civilization's eyes go green from greed. Even the bodies of demons and devils were great materials for research and alchemical parts, but only if one had the capabilities to remove the chaotic hell energies that filled their bodies.
As Adam was focused on observing the obelisk, tracing its magical current with his eyes to see where nodes of power could be extracted from. He was trying to calculate how to best mold the structure while utilizing the natural nodes of energy with the most efficiency. How best to use the fundamental demonic runes within his mind.
The fundamentals of demonic runes flowed in his mind.
As he studied, he was seemingly oblivious to the pair of red eyes glowing behind him with greed, their bugling eyes tracing his steady figure. The small figure observed him, slowly moving closer to approach the newborn devil, drool dripping out of its deformed mouth...