Chapter 780

Chapter 780: Replacement of the Servant

Things related to demons?

Could this Dark Iron Dwarf be looking to summon a demon servant to replace the fire element?

That was impossible; Ironforge would never allow a demon to openly serve as a guard or receptionist for the Thorium Brotherhood here.

But Jesse didn’t ask further and simply followed Rueg down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs was a deep underground corridor. Rooms on both sides held many metal items, some displayed and some hanging. Some looked like weapons, others like tools, and some might have been unfinished pieces.

Rueg casually tossed the two damaged elemental wristbands into the pile of tools, and Jesse asked, "Is it just you here?"

"Most of the time, yes," Rueg said. "This place is too far from the anvil of the great forge. Thorium Brotherhood members who come to Ironforge usually don’t want to stay here. I’m here to guard the Thorium Brotherhood’s property—this building—and to see if I can help the Brotherhood find some business."

"This is the Thorium Brotherhood’s property?" Jesse asked. "Did you buy it here in Ironforge?"

"No," Rueg replied. "Many dwarves, like you, have forgotten history. The Thorium Brotherhood existed long before the Three Hammers War. Back then, our leader chose to side with the Dark Iron. Though the Dark Iron Tribe lost and got kicked out of Ironforge, the Bronzebeard chieftain didn’t get rid of the Brotherhood. He kept our property, including this building."

The dwarf led Jesse to a dim room opposite, brushed dust off a stone table, and said, "Sit."

He sat on a low stool across from the table and stayed quiet for a while before saying, "You must summon demons, right, Jesse Seso? I’ve heard rumors about you. You used terrible Black Magic to kill the Demon Lord Azgath at Nethergarde, and you have thirteen demon servants always with you."

"I know succubi can turn invisible," he said, glancing at Jesse. "Are they nearby now? Can I see them?"

"I don’t have thirteen demon servants," Jesse replied. "And don’t you think this room is too crowded for fifteen people?"

The Dark Iron Dwarf nodded. "I agree that rumor is ridiculous. If you had thirteen demon servants, how could you manage? But it’s a shame. I was hoping you’d give me one…"

So that was it.

Leaning against the warm stone wall, Jesse said, "So it’s a succubus."

"Is that wrong?" Rueg asked. "Summoning a succubus… what man wouldn’t want that? If you can’t pay thirty gold coins, just giving me a succubus would be enough."

"That fire element isn’t that important to you. It’s far from worth thirty gold coins," Jesse said.

"It is important, but if I can have a succubus, it’s nothing, Seso," Rueg said anxiously. "So even without many demon servants, you really can summon a Sayaad Demon, right?"

Jesse felt the guy was nearly forgetting about the fire element. Now it seemed like Rueg needed him, not the other way around.

"Of course," he said calmly.

Rueg bit his teeth excitedly, muttered a dwarf phrase, and said, "Summon a succubus for me. Make her obey every command—any command. If you do that, I won’t hold you killing Feddel against you. I might even teach you some basics for talking to flames…"

"You can teach me?" Jesse asked, surprised.

"Isn’t that fair?" Rueg replied. "You introduce me to demons, and I introduce you to flames. We both get what we want. When I was young, I was a Pyromancer apprentice. Though I left Shadowforge City over different beliefs, joining the Thorium Brotherhood shows I have skills beyond an apprentice’s."

"Introducing you to demons is fine," Jesse said. "But I can’t help you summon a succubus, Rueg. The summoning spell is part of the contract. Any succubus I summon accepts my invitation. So even if I forced her to obey you, she’d be my servant, not yours."

Of course, Jesse cared more about Molofeel’s reaction.

If he got too close to other succubi outside, Molofeel would be unbearably annoyed. Summoning another succubus openly and making a contract… who knew what would happen? Even if Molofeel obeyed him without question, Jesse would struggle to sleep.

"In other words, you need to summon your own succubus."

"Really? You’ll teach me the spell?" Rueg said. "I’ve barely met any warlocks who can summon succubi, let alone ones willing to teach me the spell!"

"Just remember your promise," Jesse said.

"Absolutely," Rueg said, standing up eagerly. "Besides the spell, what do I need—spell materials, a magic circle, sacrifices?"

This guy really knew what he was doing; teaching him to summon a succubus shouldn’t be too hard.

Jesse said, "The spell material needs a Soul Shard. I’ll handle the magic circle. For the sacrifice, it should be a token tied to love."

"A token of love?" the Dark Iron Dwarf asked. "What’s that? Can’t you be more specific?"

"For example…" Jesse replied, "a wedding ring, a love token—anything related to love works. What kind of demon shows up depends on how strong the feelings linked to it are."

"So, it’s pretty broad," Rueg nodded understandingly. "That’s fine. But the Soul Shard… what is that? Sounds tough to get."

"Here," Jesse said, pulling a small Soul Shard from his bag. "Since I killed your fire element servant, I’ll use my Soul Shard as part of the payback."

After a day of prepping materials, memorizing spells, and such, the next evening, Rueg hung a sign in Dwarven on the outside door and locked it tight.

Jesse asked, "What do those Dwarven runes on the wall outside mean?"

"’Friendly Thorium Brotherhood, the amazing fire element will guide you to know our craft,’" Rueg explained in Common. Then he suddenly realized something and turned back. "So you don’t get Dwarven! That’s why you killed Feddel…"

"Sorry again," Jesse replied.

"Alright, no problem, dragon-slaying hero. Teaching you about flames is an honor. Compared to that, a dim-witted elemental is nothing."

The Dark Iron Dwarf smiled, his attitude totally changed from before.

Jesse figured that titles like dragon-slaying hero or deeds in Grim Batol didn’t mean much to him; what really mattered was getting help to summon a succubus.

They went into an empty room. Jesse skillfully drew a shadow-boosting magic circle with wolf blood Rueg bought from a hunter. After his tries in the Dagger Association, this kind of circle was a big help for newbies summoning demons, even for someone like Erlan Drudgemoor, a human with weak shadow skills. For a Dark Iron Dwarf who already knew some summoning tricks, it was even better.

Rueg watched Jesse finish the circle, staring in awe and clicking his tongue. Jesse glanced at him and held out his hand. "The summoning token, Mr. Ruig."

The dwarf pulled a black iron ring from his pocket and handed it over. "This thing, I hope it works."

Jesse nodded. He didn’t care about the ring’s story, as long as the dwarf said it was love-related.

He put the token on one side of the circle and tossed the Soul Shard onto it. Rueg took the paper with the chant Jesse wrote and mumbled it through. "I’ve got it memorized; can I try now? Will you keep me safe? Can you handle a succubus alone, Mr. Seso?"

Jesse didn’t answer but drew the Azuresong Mageblade a bit and sheathed it again. A bright arcane flash lit the whole room in silvery blue. The heavy magic power surged, overwhelming anyone with even a hint of magic sense.

Rueg gulped and said, "I’ll start then."

Jesse nodded. The Dark Iron Dwarf stared at the symbols on the circle, then slowly closed his eyes and chanted in Demonic. "Inhajet, Tuliokseroni…"

He said it pretty well, just a slight Dwarven twang. Jesse almost thought he’d learned Demonic before; maybe it was a Dark Iron thing, since their Dwarven and Common sounded like mean Demonic muttering.

Halfway through, Jesse saw the iron ring tremble. He held his breath and stayed alert—it meant the chant was kicking in.

Dark Iron Dwarves were way better at Black Magic than humans. No wonder Dark Iron warlocks looked down on Stormwind humans, annoying Zardeth so much.

"…Tayatan Saidini, Binoduxis."

As the chant ended, the room went dark—a sign the Sayaad was coming.

"What’s wrong?" Rueg asked, looking around. "Did it fail? Why no demon?"

The Soul Shard was drained; no doubt Rueg had connected with something in the Twisting Nether, and it had answered.

Jesse used Detect Demon and instantly felt a shadow darting along the wall toward them, while Rueg was clueless!

"Dukh, Hedoniloinmos!"

He shouted the spell and pointed at the shadow. Chaotic void energy in the room snapped into chains under his command, pinning the shadow to the corner!

The choking spell clamped the demon’s neck. The Sayaad burst from the shadows, clawing and thrashing to break free of Jesse’s magic.

She was a beefy succubus, muscles tight, wearing a rough outfit of crossed chains and leather straps, and holding a hooked war dagger. She looked like a killer thug, not some seductress.

She glanced up at Ruig, then at Jesse. "Who wants to be my master, huh? My summoner’s no warlock! And you, human, I want you more… Ha! Let me go, and I’ll give you a night you’ll never forget!"

The succubus raged. Jesse held her down and said, "Maybe not what you pictured, Mr. Ruig? Want to kill her and try again? Could be the token’s fault."

"No," Rueg said.

Jesse looked at the Dark Iron Dwarf and saw him staring, eyes glazed.

"This is perfect… exactly my type, I… cough… what next? How do I become her master?!" Rueg asked urgently.