Varreth was extremely baffled about how Simon was able to advance his demon heart in less than twenty four hours, and two answers came to his mind when he pondered on this oddity.
The first is that Simon had killed so many candidates or beasts, and devoured their demon hearts to advance his.
However, Varreth immediately knew that this conclusion was wrong because of so many things.
The first was that Simon was a Minor Lesser Demon the last time he saw him in the barrier, and majority of the candidates were Fiends.
For Simon to have advanced from a Minor Lesser Demon to a Superior Lesser Demon, Simon would have needed to consume and refine the hearts of between twenty to thirty Minor Fiends.
Even if Simon had the ability to battle twenty to thirty Fiends- a feat which was abnormal- there was no way he could refine the hearts of so many Fiends in less than twenty four hours.
Consuming the hearts of other demons was a method many demons used to progress their heart ranks, but it had its cons.
Consuming so many demon hearts without fully refining it could cause mutations on the demon’s body, and it could also cause the mind of the demon to become even more twisted that it already is.
Consuming demon hearts came with its own risks and benefits, and if Simon had truly consumed the hearts of so many candidates and beasts in such a short period of time, it would have shown as a mutation on his body or in his eyes.
’There are demons who consume other demons and beasts without having mutations using a technique, but their state of mind is always unstable.’
’His eyes are extremely clear... Cold, indifferent, and seemingly ancient, but still okay... which means his state of mind is okay’
’That can only leave one other option... A treasure.’
Varreth’s eyes glinted with a sharp light of realization, then he scanned Simon with a thoughtful expression for anything odd.
His eyes instantly went to the Chaos Wraps and the second ring on his finger- the spatial ring.
’Those seem to be normal black wraps. He didn’t have those things around his arms before, so I don’t know why he’s wearing it now.’
’As for the ring... Hmm... That seems to be a spatial ring. Strange. He didn’t have that with him too.’
’Could the treasure or artifact be in his spatial ring?’
What Varreth did not know was that he had been right in his conclusion.
The reason why Simon was a Superior Lesser Demon now was because of the Chaos Wraps which transformed and advanced his Chaos Flame.
Unfortunately for Varreth, the Chaos Wraps were like normal clothes to his senses and even to the senses of Demon Kings.
Unless Simon used its abilities or something similar to what happened with Thorgan occurred, there was no way Varreth or anybody else would suspect the Chaos Wraps.
"You say that I’ve enjoyed the second trial, but to me, it seems you’ve profited a lot from it. Only a treasure can increase your heart rank by so much in less than a day."
Simon raised a brow and gave the Odrasil a weird look but didn’t say anything. Though inwardly, he was slightly surprised by Varreth’s analysis.
Not many demons could come to such a conclusion.
’Yeah. The Odrasil were known to be more cunning than the average demon.’
He looked at Thorgan.
"Are you ready?"
Thorgan looked at Simon, then he nodded.
"Yeah. I can see why you wanted to kill him. I also don’t like him."
"For your sakes, I’ll advise you two to leave. I’m giving you the opportunity now. I’ve not done anything to either of you, and I have no desire to fight you guys."
Once again, Varreth showed that the Odrasils would rather avoid a fight than partake in one.
’Typical.’ Simon inwardly shook his head.
"Hey. Why are you telling us not to fight? Are you that much of a coward? You in what army believes you can defeat us? Me and third brother can whoop your ass!"
"..." Simon looked at Thorgan with a deadpan expression.
Thorgan looked at him with a confident smile. "Isn’t that right, brother?"
Simon did not answer, and Thorgan became confused.
Had he said something wrong?
Just as Thorgan wondered what he had said wrong, the trees around them suddenly split open and dozens of transformed candidates walked out of the trees.
"What the-"
Thorgan was stunned to the core, and he subconsciously took a step back.
"You should really keep quiet at times." Simon said with a shake of his head, and Thorgan could not refute his words.
However... "How could I have known that zombies would come out from the damn trees?"
Simon did not reply because his reply would achieve nothing. However, he knew that Thorgan’s words were valid.
He too did not expect the enslaved candidates to come out of the tree, though he was not so shocked by it because he had seen such a thing before.
Odrasils could store their slaves or followers inside the trees they grow, almost like the trees had a separate space inside them.
’No. Not almost. There is another dimension inside the trees. I wanted to enter in my past life, but my danger senses warned me not to. It felt like I’d never find my way out without the assistance of an Odrasil.’
Despite the thoughts he had, Simon calmly and indifferently observed the enslaved candidates around them.
There were close to fifty candidates around them, each emitting the aura of a Superior or even Supreme Fiend.
Every single one of them had bodies made out of dried wood, and Simon calmly shifted his gaze to Varreth.
"Can you see why I said you should go and leave me alone. I have no enmity with you, and we have not reached such a point yet. Things can still be settled."
Simon smiled coldly. "Nah. I don’t think so."