I sat on my broken throne (Malak had glued it back together with bone paste, but it still wobbled), looking at my finances.
"Zero," I said.
"Yes," Rax said, reading the scroll. "We are completely broke. We have no food, and the skeletons are threatening to go on strike if we don't give them calcium supplements."
I sighed. I tapped the dead Smartphone in my pocket. I needed money to buy a lightning crystal to charge it.
"We need a sponsor," I said. "Who is our nearest neighbor?"
"Baron Gorn," Rax said. "A Hog-Demon. He runs the iron mines. He is a 3-Star Warrior."
I did the math.
Me: Strength 8 (Below 1-Star).
Gorn: Strength ~50+ (3-Star).
If we fought physically, he would snap me like a twig. I couldn't beat him in a duel.
But I didn't need to beat him. I just needed to rob him.
"Prepare the carriage," I said, standing up and hiding my trembling hands in my pockets. "We're going to negotiate."
______
[Baron Gorn's Manor - The Dining Hall]
Baron Gorn was a massive creature. He had the head of a boar, tusks dripping with grease, and muscles that looked like boulders under his velvet vest.
He was eating a turkey leg. He didn't stand up when I walked in.
"The Pig Prince," Gorn grunted, wiping his mouth. "I heard you moved into the ruins. Come to beg for scraps?"
The air in the room was heavy. Gorn was releasing his Aura. It felt like physical pressure, pressing down on my chest. It was hard to breathe.
Warning, my instincts screamed. This guy can kill you in one hit.
I forced myself to smile. I pulled out a chair and sat down, acting bored.
"I don't want scraps, Gorn," I said. "I want an investment."
"An investment?" Gorn laughed. He slammed his fist on the table. The wood cracked. "Why would I invest in a failure? You have no mana. You have no army. I could crush your head right now."
He stood up. He grabbed the handle of a massive battle-axe leaning against his chair.
"In fact," Gorn sneered, "I think I will. A Prince's head would look good on my wall."
Rax squealed and hid behind me.
Okay, I thought, sweat trickling down my back. This is it. If he swings that axe, I die. I can't dodge it.
I had to strike first. And I had to make it terrifying.
"Sit down, Gorn," I whispered.
I didn't shout. I activated [Gluttony].
I didn't aim for him—he was too strong; he might resist it. I aimed for his Aura.
My shadow shot under the table. It wrapped around his ankles.
Gorn tried to step forward, but he froze.
"What?" Gorn looked down. "My Aura... it's draining?"
"Your defensive energy tastes like bacon," I said, keeping my voice steady.
The shadow surged up his legs. It wasn't holding him physically—he was strong enough to break the shadow if he flexed hard enough. But he didn't know that.
All he felt was his Power vanishing.
"What did you do?!" Gorn panicked. He tried to channel his energy to swing the axe, but the moment the energy left his core, my shadow ate it.
Slurp.
Without Aura to reinforce his muscles, the axe felt heavy. He stumbled.
I leaned forward, resting my chin on my hands. I looked him dead in the eye.
"You rely too much on your Aura, Baron," I lied. "To me, you're just a juice box."
I pointed a finger at his chest.
"I can eat your Aura," I said. "Then I can eat your mana. And finally... I can eat your soul. Do you want to see what eternal darkness feels like?"
My shadow flared up behind him, forming a massive mouth.
It was a bluff. I couldn't eat a soul yet. I was barely Level 3. But Gorn didn't know the mechanics of my system. He just knew that his 3-Star power was useless against me.
Gorn dropped the axe. CLANG.
He fell back into his chair, shaking.
"Y-You are a monster," Gorn whispered.
"I'm a Prince," I corrected. "Now. About that loan. Ten thousand gold. And a lightning crystal."
Gorn nodded frantically. "Take it! Take whatever you want! Just call off the shadows!"
I snapped my fingers. The shadows vanished.
I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly. I wanted to collapse, but I kept my posture straight.
"Pleasure doing business," I said.
As we walked out of the manor, Rax looked at me with worship in his eyes.
"Boss! You overpowered a 3-Star Warrior!"
"No, Rax," I whispered, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead. "I just convinced him that he couldn't win."
I looked at the Mana Battery I had secured from Gorn's table.
We survived. But next time... I needed to be strong enough to actually back up my threats.