Chapter 1: The Knight Who Kneels After Defeat

“Just a mere Horned Demon, why is it so agile and powerful? I was so close… so close to winning!”

Su Nian, filled with regret and unwillingness, knelt on one knee, trembling hands gripping the hilt of his sword to support his body as he stared at the low-tier demon before him.

As a man who had traveled from the 21st century, Su Nian was initially thrilled when he found himself reborn as a child in this world of swords and magic.

Unfortunately, he was not the chosen hero, nor did he possess any system or cheat abilities.

He didn’t even have a talent for magic.

But he refused to settle for mediocrity.

To become stronger, he trained diligently and finally, at the age of 18, was admitted to the Knight Academy.

(The protagonist is an adult, so no need to worry about that.)

This time, he ventured into the eastern outskirts of the Monster Forest to hone his combat skills and gather some materials.

When he spotted a low-tier demon, a Horned Demon, Su Nian was ecstatic.

These humanoid demons were weak, but the horns on their heads were incredibly valuable, often used for inscribing magic arrays.

Encountering one was a stroke of luck!

If he could just cut off the Horned Demon’s horn and sell it, he could finally afford the longsword he had been eyeing.

Today, his luck was off the charts!

In the next moment.

Su Nian charged forward like a wild stallion, like a raging boar.

“Just a Horned Demon? Take this, you bastard!”

After a fierce battle…

“Why is this happening?” Su Nian muttered to himself, growing more and more alarmed as the fight dragged on.

Why did the Horned Demon know human combat techniques?

Moreover, it was incredibly agile.

Several times, his powerful strikes were effortlessly dodged.

Chu Tian, on the other hand, was handling the situation with ease.

Also a traveler from the 21st century, Chu Tian had awakened the [Irritation Value System] as soon as he arrived in this world.

As long as his actions caused others to experience negative emotions, he could earn “Irritation Points.”

The uses of Irritation Points were varied, and currently, his ability to transform into a Horned Demon was thanks to these points.

As for why he chose to transform into this particular creature.

The reason was simple.

He had tried provoking people in the safety of the city, using words or actions to annoy or anger them, in order to earn Irritation Points.

But this method was inefficient.

Ordinary insults or minor annoyances didn’t generate much [Irritation Points].

In the city, he couldn’t do anything too extreme.

So…

Chu Tian decided to go big.

He spent half of his accumulated Irritation Points-50 to exchange for the Horned Demon skin and another 50 for [Basic Agility].

His plan was to use the Horned Demon’s weak but valuable nature to lure adventurers into attacking him.

And it was already proving effective.

With the Horned Demon’s body, he landed a claw strike on the man’s chest.

“Ding dong, absorbed anger, Irritation Points +2”

He narrowly dodged a sword strike.

“Ding dong, absorbed resentment, Irritation Points +2”

He pointed at the horn on his head, taunting his opponent.

“Ding dong, absorbed anger, Irritation Points +4′′

Indeed, compared to trivial provocations, earning Irritation Points during combat was much faster.

For this reason.

Adhering to the principle of squeezing every last drop, Chu Tian continued the fight until the man before him was completely exhausted, with no strength left to continue.

He asked the system in his mind how much he had earned in total.

“Ding dong, this battle has yielded a total of 127 Irritation Points.”

However, not only did he manage to recoup his losses, but he also made a profit.

Moreover, the Horned Demon’s skin could be reused, and his basic agility could be upgraded to intermediate agility with 500 points of frustration value.

In that case, it was time to end this.

The negative emotions during the battle were just the appetizer.

The true feast was the negative emotions of being defeated by the Horned Demon and facing imminent death…

Delicious!

Su Nian knelt on one knee, gasping for breath as he stared at the Horned Demon before him.

He had no strength left.

Was he going to lose?

Damn it.

He, a transmigrator, was actually going to be defeated by a mere trash-tier Horned Demon.

If he had lost to someone like a Sword Saint, Demon King, or Hero, he wouldn’t have been this disheartened.

“Ding dong, absorbed despondency, frustration value +4.”

But what truly drove Su Nian to despair hadn’t even begun yet.

The next moment.

The Horned Demon walked up to him, and with a kick, sent the sword in Su Nian’s hand flying.

Instantly losing his support, Su Nian collapsed to the ground.

The small wounds on his body and his exhausted strength made it impossible for him to get up.

Then, he heard a voice that filled him with terror.

“Choose: kneel and beg for mercy, or die?” The Horned Demon’s deep voice came from Chu Tian’s mouth.

Su Nian’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the Horned Demon.

Was he hallucinating?

Since when could a mere trash-tier Horned Demon speak the common tongue?

Far stronger than an ordinary Horned Demon, and capable of human speech… it was a mutated Horned Demon!

As Su Nian pondered this, he suddenly felt darkness envelop his vision.

A large hand covered in black armor gripped his neck.

“Ugh…”

The sudden suffocation made it impossible for Su Nian to think further.

His hands instinctively clawed at the massive hand.

“I’ll say it again.”

“Choose: kneel and beg for mercy, or die?”

The Horned Demon lifted the man in front of him with one hand.

The force of gravity made it even harder for Su Nian to breathe.

“Ugh… ugh…”

The suffocation grew stronger, and his powerless arms weakly tugged at the Horned Demon’s hand.

His legs dangled in the air, finding no leverage, and could only flail instinctively.

But it was all futile.

He was going to die.

This thought flashed through Su Nian’s mind.

Was he really going to die like this?

He had just started to integrate into this world, on the verge of beginning his life as a knight, ready to dominate like a protagonist in a novel, achieve greatness, and win over beautiful women.

Should he beg for mercy?

But as a man, a knight, he had his pride and dignity.

Even if it meant death… he couldn’t…

As the suffocation intensified.

His struggling hands began to tremble weakly.

His eyes started to turn white, and his mouth opened unconsciously.

The fear of death gradually consumed Su Nian’s heart.

His once firm resolve began to waver under the terror of death.

“Ding dong, absorbed fear, frustration value +21.”

He didn’t want to die… he didn’t!

If he begged for mercy… could he live?

“No…”

“I… don’t want to die.”

With the last of his strength, Su Nian shook his head, signaling his willingness to beg for mercy.

“Whoosh “

Feeling air rush back into his lungs, Su Nian gasped for breath.

Then.

Su Nian looked at the Horned Demon before him, who could end his life at any moment…

He understood.

The next moment.

Su Nian’s trembling knees bent, his palms overlapping in front of him, and his head bowed to the back of his hands.

“Ugh… please… spare me.”

In that moment.

The humiliation of kneeling and begging for mercy from the enemy after defeat brought tears to Su Nian’s eyes.

He silently cursed his own incompetence and regretted his underestimation of the opponent.

He lacked the courage to die and could only live on in disgrace.

Just then, as Su Nian knelt, he felt a heavy weight pressing down on his head.

In an instant, he realized.

Oh no!

While he was kneeling, a lowly horned demon had stepped on him.

The immense humiliation of being stepped on while begging for mercy after defeat etched this moment deeply into Su Nian’s memory.

“One day, I will kill this horned demon before me!” Su Nian silently vowed in his heart.

As Su Nian made this resolution, a different sound echoed in his mind.

“Ding dong,…”