The Grand Arena was loud. Like, "my ears are ringing" loud.
Thousands of demons filled the stands—nobles, soldiers, and commoners—all screaming for blood. In the center of the arena stood the Pillar of Judgment.
It was a massive crystal monolith, glowing faintly with blue light.
The rules of the Selection were simple:
Touch the crystal.
Pour your Mana into it.
The crystal glows.
If it glows bright enough, you get to lead an army. If it doesn't, everyone laughs at you.
I stood in line behind my siblings, bored.
"This is stupid," I thought.
I had zero mana. My channels were blocked. If I touched that thing, absolutely nothing would happen. It would be a jagged zero.
Perfect.
That was the plan. I would touch it, get a score of zero, shrug, and say, "Oh well, guess I can't go to war. Good luck, guys!" Then I would go back to bed.
"Third Prince Darius!" the announcer bellowed.
Darius stepped up. He shot a glare at me—still trying to figure out if I was a secret genius or just lucky—and placed his hand on the crystal.
VROOOOM.
The crystal lit up like a lighthouse. A beam of blue light shot into the sky.
"Level 6 Mana!" the announcer screamed. "Incredible!"
The crowd cheered. Darius smirked. He walked past me, bumping my shoulder.
"Top that, brother," he whispered.
"Good job," I said flatly. "Very shiny."
Next was the 1st Prince. He just punched the crystal. It glowed red. Level 7. The crowd went wild.
Finally, it was my turn.
"Seventh Prince Valerius!"
Booing. Actual booing. Someone threw a rotten tomato. I sidestepped it effortlessly thanks to my new Agility +8.
I walked up to the crystal. It was taller than me, humming with ancient energy.
"Alright," I muttered. "Time to fail efficiently."
I reached out and placed my palm on the cold surface.
I waited for nothing to happen.
But something did happen.
The crystal wasn't just a measuring tool; it was a siphon. It tried to pull mana out of me to measure it. I felt a tug in my chest.
Tug. Tug.
The crystal was trying to take energy from me.
And my Authority took that personally.
[Warning: Hostile Drain Detected.]
[Gluttony of the Monarch responding.]
"Wait," I thought. "Don't respond. Bad Authority. Sit."
Too late.
Inside my soul, the hungry shadow woke up. It felt insulted that this glorified rock was trying to eat us.
You want to eat? the shadow seemed to say. No. I eat.
[Authority Activated.]
My hand didn't glow. Instead, the shadows around my fingers turned into black liquid. They seeped into the crystal.
The crystal didn't light up. It went dark.
The blue light inside the monolith started to swirl, spiraling down toward my hand like water going down a drain.
Slurp.
The humming sound stopped. The light vanished. The massive crystal turned a dull, dead gray.
Then—
CRACK.
A spiderweb fracture appeared under my palm. It spread instantly. Crack-crack-crack.
The crowd went dead silent. The announcer dropped his microphone.
The massive Pillar of Judgment, which had stood for a thousand years, groaned.
SMASH.
It exploded.
Not a magical explosion—it just shattered into a pile of gray dust, completely drained of all energy.
I stood there, holding a handful of dust.
[Consumed: Ancient Mana Crystal (Large)]
[Mana Blockage Cleared: 10%]
[Mana Capacity: Level 1 (Awakened)]
"..."
I looked at the pile of dust. I looked at the silent crowd. I looked at the Emperor's balcony, where my father was actually leaning forward for the first time in his life.
Well, I thought. There goes my 'fail quietly' plan.
I could panic. I could scream "It was an accident!"
But that would look pathetic.
If I looked guilty, they would execute me for destroying a national treasure. But if I looked arrogant? They would think it was a power move.
I brushed the dust off my hands. I didn't flinch. I didn't apologize.
I turned to the announcer, who was shaking.
"It broke," I said, my voice bored.
I looked at Darius. His jaw was on the floor.
"Hey, Darius," I called out, casually kicking a piece of the broken crystal toward him. "I think your 'shiny' toy was a bit fragile. Next time, get better equipment."
I walked away.
The silence held for three seconds. Then, pandemonium.
"He... he destroyed it?"
"He didn't fill it with mana... he overloaded it!"
"No, he consumed it! Did you see the darkness?"
"The 7th Prince... he's a monster!"
I kept walking, keeping my face completely blank. Inside, I was sweating bullets.
I just ate the national monument, I panicked internally. That's definitely coming out of my allowance.
As I reached the tunnel, a shadow fell over me.
It was the General of the Demon Army. A huge, scarred minotaur. He blocked my path.
I stopped. "Can I help you, General?"
The General looked at the destroyed crystal, then back at me. He grinned, a terrifying sight.
"I have not seen a Demon crush the Judgment Pillar since your grandfather," the General rumbled. "You have been hiding your fangs, little Prince."
"I like my privacy," I said.
"Privacy is over," the General laughed, slapping me on the back hard enough to rattle my teeth. "With power like that, the Emperor will not let you sleep. Prepare yourself, Valerius."
He stepped aside.
I walked into the darkness of the tunnel.
Great, I thought sarcastically. Now I'm not just 'Average'. I'm 'The Guy Who Breaks Stuff'.
I checked my status.
[Mana: Level 1]
At least I could use magic now. That was cool. But looking at the terrified faces of the guards as I walked past, I realized my "Easy Life" plan was currently on fire, falling off a cliff, and landing in a pit of spikes.
"I just wanted a nap," I sighed.