I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 430: Prince of Thunder Skills

”So Kaedor, Loryn, which one attacks first?”

”Master? Which one?” Kaedor inquired, his skeletal features expressing genuine confusion even as he clicked his rings together nervously.

”Master wants to place bets on who will attack first,” Loryn said, his purple eyes gleaming with understanding. Despite his usual serious demeanor, there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

”My money is on Stormfang. It’s already marked you as a threat, and it’s the most territorial of the three. Hunger will make it aggressive rather than cautious.”

Kaedor’s entire posture shifted at the mention of a bet. His rings stopped their nervous clicking and began a different rhythm.

The calculating pattern of a merchant evaluating profit potential. His skeletal hands moved in subtle gestures as his mind worked through probabilities and outcomes.

”A wager, Master?” Kaedor’s voice carried barely contained excitement, his merchant’s instincts overriding his earlier shock at the ecological devastation. ”Oh, this is interesting. Very interesting indeed.”

He began pacing, his robes swishing as he moved, and his rings clicked together as he threw his hands around to think.

”Stormfang is the obvious choice, which means it’s probably wrong,” Kaedor muttered, half to himself. ”The Blessed One is powerful but cautious. It’s survived this long by being smart, not reckless. Hunger might make it desperate, but desperate enough to challenge a demon army? No, no...”

His pacing intensified.

”The Voidweaver is a possibility. Spiders are ambush predators, patient, but starvation affects them differently. They can survive longer without food, but when they do hunt, they commit fully. Still, it’s nested deep in the swamp, secure in its web fortress...”

Kaedor spun to face Jack, his voice taking on the confident tone of a merchant closing a deal.

”The Hydra will strike first,” he declared, rings clicking in triumphant rhythm. ”It’s the most aggressive of the three. Nine heads mean nine sets of hunger driving it forward. It won’t wait. It can’t wait. The moment it realizes its territory is barren, it’ll attack whatever seems like prey.”

He rubbed his bony hands together, almost gleefully.

”Plus, young master, the Hydra is intelligent enough to recognize opportunity but not patient enough to properly evaluate risk. That combination makes it the most likely to strike first and think later.”

Loryn watched this display with barely concealed amusement before turning to Jack. ”Young master, if I may observe. Kaedor becomes significantly more animated when money is involved.”

”Money focuses the mind, shadow demon,” Kaedor retorted, though there was no real heat in his voice. ”A proper wager adds stakes that sharpen analysis and reward accurate prediction. It’s not about the tokens themselves. It’s about proving the superiority of one’s reasoning!”

His rings clicked even faster.

”Though the tokens certainly don’t hurt.”

Jack’s smirk widened behind his visor. ”My money is on the Alpha.”

Both Kaedor and Loryn turned to stare at him, surprise evident in their expressions.

”The Alpha panther?” Kaedor’s voice carried genuine disbelief. ”Master, with respect, the Alpha is a single creature compared to three Disaster-class entities. Why would it attack first? It’s survived this long by being cautious, by avoiding Stormfang. Starvation would make it desperate, certainly, but not suicidal enough to challenge your demon army.”

”Unless,” Loryn said slowly, his analytical mind working through Jack’s reasoning, ”young master believes the Alpha won’t attack the demon army. It’ll attack the other survivors. The Mistborn or minotaurs. Smaller, more manageable prey than the Disaster-class entities.”

Jack’s red eyes gleamed with approval at Loryn’s deduction. ”The Alpha has survived where thousands of others died. That takes intelligence, adaptability, and the ability to recognize opportunity. It won’t challenge my demon army directly. It’ll hunt my protected species, testing the boundaries to see if I will retaliate.”

He gestured toward the jungle.

”Stormfang, the Voidweaver, and the Hydra are used to being apex predators. They’ll hesitate before lowering themselves to scavenging or challenging something they perceive as equally powerful. But the Alpha? It’s been a survivor, not a ruler. It’s already adapted to living in the shadow of a stronger predator. Testing boundaries is exactly what a survivor would do.”

Kaedor’s rings clicked in a new rhythm.

He was grudgingly impressed.

”That’s... actually brilliant reasoning, Master. The psychology of a survivor versus an apex predator. The Alpha has nothing to lose by testing boundaries, while the Disaster-class entities have pride and territorial dominance to consider.”

He paused, then his merchant’s instincts flared.

”However, I maintain my position. The Hydra’s aggression and multiple heads driving it forward make it the most likely to attack first. I stand by my analysis!”

”Then we have our wager,” Jack said with satisfaction. ”One hundred thousand death tokens are the stake.”

Kaedor’s skeletal features somehow conveyed both excitement and nervousness at once. One hundred thousand tokens were a fortune, especially for a demon who was confined and trapped.

But it was also a challenge to his analytical abilities, his decades of experience reading patterns and predicting outcomes. The merchant in him couldn’t resist.

”Agreed, Master! One hundred thousand death tokens!” Kaedor’s rings clicked with finality, sealing the bet.

Loryn inclined his head respectfully. ”I accept the wager as well, young master. Though I admit, serving you has taught me that your reasoning often proves correct even when it seems counterintuitive.”

”Flattery won’t change the outcome, shadow demon,” Kaedor muttered, though his tone carried grudging amusement. ”The Hydra strikes first, mark my words!”

Three Disaster-class entities are starving in a wasteland.

One Alpha panther that had survived impossible odds.

His protected populations of Mistborn and minotaurs serve as bait.

And now, a wager that would make the waiting more interesting.

”Then we wait,” Jack said calmly. ”And see who knows these creatures best.”

His smirk was evident in his voice.

”Though I should warn you both. I’m rarely wrong when placing bets. It’s something I did a while ago, and I was fairly good at it.”

Kaedor’s rings clicked nervously at that statement, but the merchant demon’s pride wouldn’t let him back down from a wager once accepted.

Jack moved away from Kaedor and Loryn, finding a massive tree at the clearing’s edge. He settled against it, his back pressing into the rough bark as his mind turned inward.

Two new levels meant opportunities.

His Prince of Thunder class had five skill slots available, but only three skills currently filled them.

All legendary classes required the user to create their own skills. No system-provided abilities or pre-made templates. Everything had to be designed, tested, and refined through personal experimentation.

Jack reviewed his current skills:

Red Web - A web of red lightning spreading across all surfaces within fifty meters. The web could retract to trap opponents, slowing them by 35%. Damage calculated as Magic stat multiplied by three for each second a target remained ensnared.

Static Snare - A snap of his fingers releases a spherical discharge of lightning. Damage is calculated as Magic stat multiplied by six.

Static Shroud - A second skin of lightning that is released upon contact with enemies. Damage calculated as Magic stat multiplied by 4.5. Defensive and offensive simultaneously.

Three skills.

Two empty slots remaining.

Jack’s mind worked through possibilities. He needed versatility.

Something for range, something for crowd control, something that could adapt to different tactical situations. His current skills were all close to medium range. He needed something with reach, something that could strike from a distance.