Chapter 2: The Apprentice Hero and the Demon King Meow

Ron was not experiencing the Spirit Realm Resonance for the first time.

The previous resonance occurred ten years ago, when he was still in middle school. Suddenly, his mind was flooded with the memories of a demonic youth from another world.

At that time, there was no mention of “resonance syndrome.” Yet Ron quickly adapted to this state. Whenever he was bored in class, he would manipulate the character from the other world, indulging in youthful impulses without restraint.

The Demon Clan’s number one succubus? Conquered.
The strongest human saintess? Conquered.
The dignified Empress of the Empire? Conquered.
Even the chicken by the village entrance—he insisted on turning it into a lady and tasting it.

As his alternate self grew stronger in consciousness, he sensed that his real-world self was also affected. He began to view those around him with the mindset of a demon king—becoming arrogant and irritable.

When he unified the entire world in the Spirit Realm, the influence of his consciousness on reality reached its peak. Each day, his mind hovered between the student he was in reality and the demon king in the other world. The vast disparity between these two lives was intolerable, tormenting him endlessly.

Without any diagnosis of resonance syndrome, his internet searches only led him to terms like “split personality.” Ron himself doubted the authenticity of those otherworldly experiences in his brain.

Tormented, he decided to let the demon king in his consciousness die, so his life could return to normal.

And so, he orchestrated his own assassination.

At the moment he founded the continent’s first unified empire and ascended the Iron Throne, he ordered his most loyal maid to stab him from behind.

After that, the demon king’s consciousness vanished, and he finally felt cured of that bizarre affliction.

The demon king in his mind had been named Ron Brand.

Ron snapped back to reality, the rhythmic ticking of the monitoring device echoing beside his ears.

Words continued to flicker before his eyes:

[Your current condition is extremely dire.]
[Death has shattered your soul into countless fragments, and the power you retain is nearly depleted.]
[Fortunately, the demon king’s authority still lingers in part, allowing you to clearly perceive information about the young girl.]
[The girl before you is named Vivian Borlis, an obscure apprentice mage.]
[Because of poverty, she cannot afford tuition and has already been scheduled by her teacher for early graduation. She is now taking her final exam.]
[Her exam is to complete a subjugation quest, so she set out on the path of a hero with a simple staff and a “Primer on Magic Missiles,” seeking to defeat the bandit gang.]

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[She examines you curiously.]
[This necklace, a graduation gift from her teacher, should not have any magical reaction.]
[Due to your days of struggle, this is not the first time Vivian has noticed the necklace’s anomaly.]
[This time, Vivian finally decided to investigate it thoroughly.]
[Will you reveal yourself proactively?]

A question suddenly appeared within the text.

Ron knew it was his consciousness making a choice, presented by the stabilizer in written form.

He decisively chose “Yes.”

Since he had donned the stabilizer to ease his suffering, the Spirit Realm invasion scenario was now unavoidable.

The irrational gates of madness, swarming Spirit Realm entities, and the bizarre environment that followed—these would beset him regardless, even if he removed the stabilizer.

This was a psychological expectation Ron had prepared for well before coming here.

To survive in the Spirit Realm scenario, Ron needed more power.

If he didn’t reveal himself and change his current predicament, he would not gain any strength.

[As Vivian gazes at you, you transform into a cat and escape from her hands.]
[“Wow!” Vivian’s eyes lit up at your sudden appearance. “Turns out a cat can spring from a stone, not just a monkey!”]
[Saying this, Vivian proudly clapped her hands and, with a questioning tone, said to you, “Do you know what ‘a monkey springing from a stone’ means? It’s a reference from Journey to the West, a novel written by Emperor Ron.”]
[As she spoke, Vivian unceremoniously scooped you up.]
[You tried to resist, but your strength was no match for Vivian.]
Had he become so weak?

Ron knew that with only soul fragments, his power would be drastically diminished, but he hadn’t expected to be unable to contend even with a lowly apprentice hero.

[Vivian nestled you against her chest.]
[The familiar suffocating sensation returned.]

Seeing this, Ron hesitated for a moment about removing the stabilizer.

Though this wouldn’t let him escape the Spirit Realm scenario, it would allow him to physically experience sensations within the Spirit Realm.

Having learned the truth behind this suffocation, he suddenly felt it wasn’t so torturous after all.

Damn, had he known the true nature of the cage, he wouldn’t have lingered in pain day after day.

[You snap out of your reverie of tenderness, attempting to speak your purpose, but your words all turn into meaningless meows.]

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[Your soul is so weak that you can’t even utter meaningful phrases. You need to reclaim another soul fragment before you can speak properly.]

Upon reading this, Ron instantly understood: to grow stronger, his best option was to collect his missing soul fragments.

He wondered how many pieces his soul had been split into after the assassination, and where his body might be.

[“From now on, your name is Ron!” Vivian declared, naming you on the spot.]
[Emperor Ron is Vivian’s favorite historical figure; her favorite novel is the one you plagiarized from reality, and she has often lamented your descent into the mad demon king.]
[The young girl has no inkling of your past deeds—oblivious to your depravity, corruption, and perversity… Your unchecked youthful impulses led you to create countless unique records in the continent’s history.]

Damn…

Indeed, no one judges oneself more accurately and ruthlessly than oneself.

He had certainly acted with reckless abandon in his consciousness, even experimenting with all sorts of strange things out of curiosity.

[Even though a cat springing from a stone amazed Vivian,]
[She quickly forgot her suspicions, charmed by your cuteness.]
[Her immediate concern was to defeat the bandit gang.]
[Most heroes on the continent only hunt demon generals infected by the demon king’s soul fragments; few bother with bandit gangs. As the kingdom gradually decays, the bandits become more rampant.]

Demon generals infected by the demon king’s soul fragments…

Reading this, Ron immediately saw hope for growing stronger.

Did this mean that his soul fragments were still active across the continent?

Though they seemed to bring disaster, their activity meant they would be easy to find.

Ron’s mind raced.

He realized that by guiding Vivian to hunt these soul fragments, he could reclaim them and grow stronger—a highly feasible plan.

But it all hinged on his ability to speak first.

Ron reclined in his chair, pondering how to steer Vivian toward seeking the demon king’s soul fragments without being able to speak…

[Vivian took you along as she set out again, lingering near the bandits’ hideout for some time.]
[At this moment, you sensed the presence of another soul fragment.]

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