Lucifer arrived without thunder.
No blazing descent.No tearing of skies.No angelic screams or demonic fanfare.
Reality simply… adjusted.
One moment, the island existed as it always had—poor, broken, overlooked. The next, it gained a new resident, standing barefoot on its cracked stone shore, hands tucked lazily into the pockets of a black coat far too elegant for the place.
Lucifer Morningstar inhaled.
Salt. Rot. Old seaweed. Fear.
He looked around.
A few wooden huts leaned against one another like drunks after a tavern brawl. Fishing nets were torn, docks half-collapsed, boats repaired with prayers rather than skill. The soil looked exhausted, as if even the land had given up trying.
In the distance, villagers froze mid-step.
They stared.
At him.
A stranger had appeared out of thin air.
Lucifer scanned them with mild curiosity. Thin bodies. Calloused hands. Eyes dulled by survival rather than hope.
"…Charming," he said aloud. "It's worse than Hell's storage room."
The system chimed instantly.
[Starting Territory Confirmed!][Name: Unregistered Island No. 773.][Population: 2,143.][Threat Level: Moderate.][Resources: Extremely Low.]
Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
"Moderate by whose standards?" he asked lazily.
The system ignored the question.
[Congratulations, Host!][This is your starting territory.][Objective: Build your empire step by step.]
Lucifer looked down at the cracked ground beneath his feet.
Step by step.
He smirked.
"Well," he murmured, "let's not rush things."
The villagers hesitated before approaching. Eventually, an old man stepped forward, leaning heavily on a crooked staff. His back was bent, his beard thin and gray, his eyes sharp despite everything.
"W-who are you?" the man asked. "And… how did you get here?"
Lucifer tilted his head, studying him.
Names held power. Titles held authority. But this world did not need Lucifer Morningstar, Ruler of Hell.
That would complicate the vacation.
"I'm… a traveler," Lucifer said smoothly. "You may call me Lucifer."
The villagers flinched at the name.
The old man frowned. "That's… an unusual name."
Lucifer smiled faintly. "I've been told."
The system chimed again, excited.
[NPC Interaction Detected!][Reputation System Unlocked!]
Lucifer glanced at the translucent panel hovering beside him.
"Oh? We're unlocking things already?"
[Current Reputation: Neutral.]
Neutral.
How quaint.
The old man cleared his throat. "This island has nothing to offer travelers. If you're looking for work, we barely feed ourselves. If you're looking for trouble…"
His voice trailed off as several armed villagers stepped forward—armed being a generous term. Rusty spears. Bent swords. A broken shield held together by rope.
Lucifer sighed softly.
"Relax," he said. "I'm not here to take anything."
The villagers exchanged uneasy glances.
"I'm here," Lucifer continued, eyes glinting with amusement, "to build something."
The system did not wait.
[Tutorial Quest 1: Build 10 Houses.][Reward: Basic Infrastructure Unlock.]
Lucifer stared at the quest window.
Ten houses.
He glanced at the existing huts.
"…These barely qualify as fire hazards," he muttered.
The system helpfully opened another panel.
[Building Panel Unlocked!][Available Structures: Basic Wooden House.]
A schematic appeared—simple, crude, painfully inefficient.
Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose.
"You want me to build?" he asked.
[Yes!][Manual labor or resource management recommended.]
Lucifer chuckled.
Manual labor.
He snapped his fingers.
The world shuddered.
Not violently—just enough to remind reality who it was dealing with.
The cracked ground smoothed. Trees straightened, their growth subtly accelerated by a whisper of authority. Wood bent, shaped, assembled itself with impossible precision.
Ten houses rose from the earth in seconds—solid, warm, structurally perfect. Roofs sealed against storms. Walls insulated against cold. Foundations aligned flawlessly with the land's natural flow.
Lucifer blinked.
"…I may have overdone it."
The villagers stared.
Someone dropped a spear.
The system froze.
[…]
[Building complete.][Evaluation: S-Rank.]
A pause.
[ERROR: Construction speed exceeds expected parameters.]
Lucifer smiled innocently.
"Beginner's luck."
The system recovered quickly.
[Tutorial Quest 2: Defeat the Wolf Pack Threatening the Village.][Threat Level: Low.]
Lucifer glanced toward the forest.
He could already feel them—malnourished beasts driven desperate by hunger, their instincts sharpened by fear.
"Wolves?" he said. "That's your idea of danger?"
[Be careful, Host!]
Lucifer sighed.
"Fine."
He walked toward the forest, hands still in his pockets. The villagers watched nervously as he disappeared beneath the trees.
The wolves emerged moments later.
Red eyes. Black fur. Too many teeth.
They growled.
Lucifer looked at them.
That was all.
The wolves froze.
Their bodies convulsed—not in pain, but in transformation. Shadows coiled around them, flesh reshaping, bones reforged by hellish law rather than natural evolution.
When it ended, the forest stood silent.
Where wolves once stood now knelt creatures of obsidian fur and burning eyes—perfectly obedient, perfectly lethal.
Lucifer blinked again.
"…Ah."
The hell wolves bowed their heads.
Lucifer waved a hand dismissively. "Stay. Guard the island. Don't eat anyone unless they deserve it."
They vanished into the shadows.
The system screamed internally.
[Quest complete.][Reward: Combat Experience.][ERROR: New Species Detected.][ERROR: Unauthorized Evolution Path.]
Lucifer returned to the village.
The villagers stared at him like he had personally rewritten their nightmares into guardian angels.
"Wolves are handled," he said casually.
Someone fainted.
The system, determined to function, pressed on.
[Tutorial Quest 3: Increase Population Happiness.]
Lucifer hummed thoughtfully.
Happiness.
He looked at the villagers—hungry, tired, afraid of the future.
"…This should be easy."
He stretched, then subtly adjusted reality.
Clouds gathered, then dispersed, leaving behind perfect sunlight. Soil regained fertility. Crops sprouted healthier overnight. Luck bent slightly in favor of fishermen. Disease lost interest in the island.
Nothing flashy.
Just… better.
The villagers felt it immediately.
They smiled without knowing why.
Children laughed.
Elders stood a little straighter.
The system chimed.
[Population Happiness: 12% → 89%]
[SS-Rank Achievement Unlocked!]
[ERROR: Achievement overflow.]
Lucifer watched the villagers celebrate quietly.
"…Huh," he murmured. "That is nicer than screaming."
Night fell.
The system, ever diligent, delivered its final warning of the day.
[Alert!][High-Level Threat Approaching!][Be careful, Host. A Dragon is coming!]
Lucifer looked up at the sky.
"…A baby lizard?"
The villagers panicked.
"D-Dragon?!"
"We're doomed!"
Lucifer sighed.
A massive shadow descended. Wings blocked the moon. Heat washed over the island.
The dragon landed.
And immediately—
It knelt.
Its massive head bowed low, wings folding respectfully.
Lucifer stared.
"…You," he said slowly. "Guard the island."
The dragon purred.
The system went silent.
Then—
[?????]
[ERROR: Threat converted to Guardian Entity.]
Lucifer smiled.
"Good system," he said kindly. "You're learning."
Somewhere in its core, the Empire Construction System felt something it had never experienced before.
Fear.
✦ End of Chapter 2 ✦