Reincarnated With The Degenerate System-Chapter 234: Moving Forward Part 1

Before everyone became too preoccupied, a decision was made.

"Everyone, meet me in the training room. One at a time. Alexa, you’re first."

The playful atmosphere shifted immediately. The girls exchanged glances, and reluctantly followed my command.

Eleven minutes later.

Alexa arrived first, closing the door behind her. Her usual confidence was still there, but tempered with genuine curiosity.

"Guild Master? What’s this about?"

"Sit down." The gesture indicated the chair in the center of the room.

She complied without hesitation, settling into the seat. Her posture remained relaxed, trusting.

"Remove your jacket. I need access to your ti.." I clear my throat. " Your chest."

A blush crept across her cheeks, and her hands fidgeted slightly with the hem of her jacket. "Guild Master... here?"

"This is important, Alexa. Trust me."

"Alright."

The jacket came off, leaving her in a fitted blouse that did little to hide her figure. She looked uncomfortable, vulnerable in a way that was rarely seen from the usually confident woman.

"Just your blouse now. You can keep your undergarments."

Her breath hitched, but she unbuttoned the blouse with slightly trembling fingers, letting it fall open. The lace beneath was visible, and her face burned crimson, but she didn’t protest.

"This might feel strange. Possibly uncomfortable. But I need you to stay still and trust me. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Guild Master." Her voice came quieter than usual.

My hand reached out, placing palm flat against her chest, just above her heart.

The chant began—words in a language that doesn’t exist in this world, syllables that carried weight and power.

Magic responded immediately, flowing from my magic core, through the arm, into the point of contact.

A circle materialized in her upper chest part, glowing with intricate patterns that rotated slowly.

The Slave Seal.

A binding between master and slave.

Alexa gasped as heat began building where my hand pressed. Her body tensed, muscles tightening.

"Endure it," the words came firmly but not unkindly. "The seal needs to set properly. If you move now, it could damage you."

She bit her lip, small sounds of discomfort escaping as the heat intensified. Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair.

The magic circle grew brighter, casting everything in ethereal blue light.

Through the process, my eyes remained locked on hers. Watching for signs of real distress, ready to stop if needed.

But Alexa was stronger than she looked. She endured, jaw clenched, breathing hard but steady.

The seal began its final phase. This was the moment that mattered most.

"Alexa." my voice carried command now. "Do you take me as your master, and will you give me your life?"

This wasn’t a game. The seal required absolute commitment. Once formed, it couldn’t be undone. She would be bound in ways that went beyond any contract, any oath.

Her life would be in these hands. The control was absolute, far stronger than my own mind control.

Her eyes widened, perhaps finally understanding the magnitude of what was happening. Breath came in short gasps, whether from the pain of the seal or the weight of the question was unclear.

Then, through the discomfort and the heat and the fear, she spoke.

"Yes."

One word. Unwavering.

"Yes, I take you as my master. My life is yours."

The seal flared brilliantly, then contracted, sinking into her skin.

The magic circle compressed, shrinking down until it formed a permanent mark—a intricate pattern of runes that would remain invisible to normal sight but always present.

The connection snapped into place.

Suddenly, her presence could be felt in a way that was similar to Shadow but different.

Not a soul link, but something else. A tether. Her life force was now tangible, traceable. Her location, her condition, even her emotional state—all of it became accessible.

Alexa slumped forward, gasping for air. The hand caught her, steadying her.

"It’s done," my words came softly.

She looked up, her eyes glazed with exhaustion. She wanted to ask a question, but I commanded her to leave first.

By the end of this, there would be a true inner circle. People bound not just by influence or loyalty, but by magic itself.

People who could be trusted with the truth, eventually.

People who would stand at the side when the real challenges came.

The door opened, and Rhea stepped in.

"Your turn," I smiled lightly. "Have a seat."

***

***

***

The next day, I called a full assembly of my top combatants. One hundred, each one handpicked over the months since taking control of the guild.

Now, all of them were bound to me through slave seals. There was no reason to hold back while making them stronger. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Shadow sat on my shoulder, her green eyes scanning the crowd with interest. She had grown slightly over the past few days—now closer to the size of a large cat than a small bird.

Her appetite for monster cores was insatiable, and each one she consumed seemed to accelerate her development.

"You’re all wondering why I called you here," I began, letting my voice carry across the assembled crowd.

"The answer is simple. You’ve proven yourselves. Your loyalty, your skill, your dedication—I’ve been watching, and you’ve earned something that very few in this world will ever receive."

None of them said anything. They just waited.

"I will train you to wield power that will elevate all of you to S-Rank and above that level."

"That’s impossible," someone muttered from the back—,an A-rank hunter. "S-rank isn’t something you can just train for. It’s a wall most Seekers never break through."

"You’re right. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible. The gap between A-rank and S-rank isn’t just about power—it’s about fundamental understanding of their ability, about breaking through limiters that most people don’t even know exist."

I let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

"But you’re not operating under normal circumstances anymore. The seals you’ve accepted aren’t just for show. Through them, I can transfer information that accelerates your learning."

"Of course not all of you will grow stronger in an instant. That’s why I handpicked you. I believe you have the best chance to understand the logic behind what I will teach."

I began pacing slowly across the front of the assembly, Shadow adjusting her position on my shoulder with each movement.

"The transfer of knowledge will be brutally painful, and some of you might even incur permanent brain damage."

The atmosphere in the hall shifted instantly. Faces that had been flushed with excitement moments ago turned cold, pale.

Several people took unconscious steps backward. Others exchanged worried glances.

"But don’t worry, it won’t be enough to kill you," I continued, keeping my tone flat. "Worst case scenario, you’ll lose all motor functions. Paralysis, loss of speech, maybe some memory degradation. And I have all the money and skills necessary to cure you afterward."

The silence that followed was deafening.

I wasn’t lying—not even exaggerating. The knowledge transfer spell I planned to use was derived from elven magic, one of the most sophisticated and dangerous techniques.

Even back then, in a world where magic was commonplace and healers were abundant, the spell had been avoided by most mages.

The success rate was abysmal. Maybe five percent under ideal conditions.

The elves who had taught it to me had warned that the human mind wasn’t designed to receive information at such compressed speeds.

Neural pathways would burn out trying to process condensed information.

But Seekers weren’t normal humans. They were individuals whose bodies had already been fundamentally altered by exposure to foreign energy from the towers.

Their brains had developed additional neural pathways to process the combat information and instincts that flooded into them during their Awakening.

More importantly, they were connected to the Arena, that mysterious place that governed all abilities.

The knowledge transfer should—theoretically—have a higher success rate with them than it would with ordinary people.

But I couldn’t guarantee it.

Seeing that they were all mostly against it. I smiled and started.

One by one, they came to me. I first taught the most basic way to harness mana into their cores.

Unlike Qi breathing, this method was easier to grasp. They only needed guidance on how to build a magic circle.

Once that was done, it became another source of energy. Like an additional battery. Which should, in theory, increase their overall power.

As for learning spells, that would come later. Even if the transfer succeeded, they didn’t have Arden’s insane comprehension, so it would still take time.

With that plan in mind, I began the spell, and thankfully, I was right. All of them endured it, though most were bedridden for a few days. The headaches were just their brains trying to adapt.

As for Alexa’s group, they immediately went into seclusion, training in both Qi and magic at the same time.

Days passed with nothing happening. According to Samantha, Darkness has decided to focused more on their more important matters, giving me time to breath.

Or so I thought. She sent reports instead. More and more tower echoes were appearing across the country. Mythical and other guilds tied to Darkness were trying to monopolize them. The only exception was the one in my city.

This made me more cautious, so I began my own preparations by clearing the 17th tower first. The news of another victory shock everyone, and we even kept going until 18th floor and cleared it.

Because of our performance, our stocks held their value, and even my investors trusted my leadership.

It also helped that we secured the rights to the materials. The higher the floors, the more valuable they became—practically printing money for shared revenue at the end of the year.

Of course, that money would immediately vanish into the black hole of my expansion plans.