Woah.
‘Woah, this is hard to control.’
I know, right? It feels like swimming but without all that water, which makes it even more important to never stop flapping otherwise we’re going down.
‘You guys remember that feeling when your stomach drops during flights? Yeah, it feels worse, so don’t fall again.’
14 moons. 14 days have passed since I left the cave, now wandering aimlessly around the Belzac forest. There were no signposts or something to give me directions, so this place was more or less a maze to me.
After exploring around the area in front of the cave and mountains, I’ve noticed that it wasn’t much different compared to the place I was born. Although the variety of plants and monster types did surprise me in a good way. I guess being stuck in a cave for two months made me really miss seeing more vibrant and lively colors. Although I was mostly hunting them, I was just glad other living things were around.
In my search for a D rank monster to test out my strength, I decided to travel away from the cave entrance. Like a novice traveling to a new hunting zone after leveling too much, I had to find greener pastures. Most of the prey I found were only E rank, at best.
Of course, not like I could complain about it. I was level nine after these two weeks, after all. Some of them I had to hunt down, while others were foolhardy enough to attack me head-on. The one enemy I had the most problem with were some dog-sized flying mantises, who could zig-zag in the air while threatening me with their sharp razors.
However, with my fire elemental magic, I still made the rank difference clear to any of them, turning each adversary into experience fodder, really. With [Inferno Magic], the advance form of [Fire Magic], my fire power had increased majorly with the spell [Inferno Blast].
In addition, my evolution bonus, [Pyrokinesis], was a godsend that allowed me to spam all these fire attacks without burning down the forest. In fact, my control over my flames was so precise, I could create a barrier or armor of fire without the need of a specific spell. Frankly, my fire elemental attacks were far superior compared to my other elements.
And I love it.
Now, back to the present.
After that flying mantis encounter, my parallel minds told me to do some flying training. This was what I was doing right now with their help.
I found out my wingspan had grown after my evolution during one of my [Humanize] tests, and when I tried flapping my wings, I could gather enough wind and thrust to push myself up. Well, for only a bit, though. The musculature, or maybe Strength, in my wings weren’t enough to keep me afloat, so it was necessary for me to use mana to empower those limbs when I fly.
I was overjoyed when I took my first step towards the sky. The human desire to conquer the skies, the dream of Icarus and Daedalus, and now I would be the one to make that ambition come true!
Unfortunately, there were some complications.
First, [Humanize Lv. 3] took away the hunchback and made me as tall as a 5-year-old, but it did not change the weight distribution of this body. How was I to fly in my “human” form, when standing was already a challenge? I couldn’t conquer the skies just yet.
Secondly, flying was not so easy. Birds made it look super easy, to the point I wanted to believe they were biological anti-gravity machines. This whole defying gravity using mana was hardcore stuff. Thankfully, practice made perfect, and I was getting better at controlling my mana in my wings. Progress was decent.
Enough for today. Our mana is under 2/3rd now.
‘Whew, good work. I think we can go have a tour around the forest’s skies soon with how much we are improving the control of our mana output. This whole process just requires a ton of practice, that’s all.’ #3 motivated us by saying the obvious. Still, hearing it made me feel happy with my efforts.
I shakily descended to the ground, being careful to do it slowly to prevent any accidents. Once that familiar earthy feeling in my feet returned, I activated [Humanize], waited for the smoke to disappear, struck a pose, and…
“Kra Sasa!”
…yelled a cool catchphrase!
‘What the hell…was that?!’
A pose and a cool catchphrase, I answered with full confidence, but my parallel minds just looked at me as if I was weird.
‘You call that cool?! Wha—? How the…We’re supposed to understand the Original’s, our, decisions and actions but that was…lame!’
‘Lame. Lame. Lame! OMG, the cringe.’
Pff, shut it already. Look into how I imagined it and you'll understand why I did that. The pose is cute and when our voice comes back, it will blow people away! Invest in this now, girls.
‘I admit, the pose doesn’t look that disastrous, considering how our appearance is “cool” looking, but what is "Kra Sasa" supposed to mean? From our understanding, it's apparently just some sounds you made up.’
Well yeah, it’s the cute sounds that make the pose, right? Who cares what I meant to say?
‘‘‘‘‘…’’’’’
…
W-What was this silence?! Even the other parallel minds, #4 and #5, were looking at me in a way only friends would look at their idiotic friend. Wait, was I that idiotic friend?
G-Guys, come on, I’m just five years old! You saw my profile. The profile doesn’t lie. Cute me some slack.
‘You have the mind, no, six minds of a 15-year-old in your head, girl,’ Manager Mind scolded me. ‘The last time I checked, you’re at the age range of a magical girl, but we aren’t magical girls! It’s cringe if you’re suddenly acting like that out of nowhere! Please, the dark memories are still there, don’t make another ‘school day during Halloween’ scene!’
‘Yeah, those magical girl animes Mama loved to watch even now were good if you’re doing it in private. But, gods! The black history! How you showed up at kindergarten and even first class in one of those outfits, shouting out all those quotes and making those poses! Gaaaaaaaaargh! Help me, I’m dying!’
‘… Please never do this ever again, Original Mind. The last thing I want to die from was embarrassment.’
Oi, come on. We were five and six. The other kids didn’t care, in fact, some of them even liked it! Instead of acting like a bunch of cringetopia andys, maybe stop and just appreciate things as they are?
“Kra Sasa!”
The moment I did it again, my parallel minds froze for a second, grimaced, and began cradling their heads to hide their hug blush. #2, however, chose to let out her anger to hide her embarrassment.
‘Oof, you bitch… if you want to play that game, then eat this. Remember the time with those slimes?!’
What are you talking about?
‘Come on, I know you still remember it. If you don’t, then how about this. Girls, join in!’
With a commanding shout, my collective parallel minds saluted to #2 and began rummaging through my memories before finding something. With this condensed memory pack, hidden deep in my mind, they groaned as they touched it before sending it straight to me.
It was the fourth day after leaving the cave.
My storage was full with fish and I also had some of the meat and fruits I took from the orcs’ camp before leaving. I wouldn’t starve, of course, but I didn’t like eating the same thing for two months. Sure, I endured it in the cave ‘cause I had to, but the orcs’ rations made me remember I couldn’t live off fish alone.
Four days. All spent on hunting and foraging the deep well of cooking ingredients this place had to offer. Mhmm, I took in the aroma. The sweet, delicious luxuriousness of the spice and herbs complimenting the meat as it was grilled over the flame. Nothing gourmet, but, mhmm, chef’s kiss. Variety was the core of a healthy life.
Not to mention all the strawberries… I meant, fragassas. The name was different, but this was essentially this world’s version of strawberries. It was sweeter, bigger, and smelled amazing. Imagine strawberry perfume and shampoo! Oooh, how I missed eating these things when I lived in the Belzac mountains.
Suffice to say, it was awesome to be greeted by the sun every dawn, again. Those F ranks were also able to stave off [Battle Frenzy], although I didn’t feel too satisfied by them. I honestly needed bigger targets.
While I was enjoying the renaissance of my new life, I didn’t neglect my goal to escape this place. I pretty much chose a direction and just kept going until I went to sleep, and it would continue the next morning. Although, admittedly, I wasn’t even sure if I was going in circles or not.
Anyways, during the fourth day, I found a shack. A shack in a forest. OMG. A human could be living there… Oh, forget that option. The hut looked like it had seen better days.
Its walls were covered in moss, only missing around areas that had a hole. I was no architect, but this place mustn’t have had any visitors for ages now. I didn’t think any humans were in there, so the possibility of a monster using this place as a home sounded more plausible.
Still, I approached it. Cautiously, I sneaked around after covering myself in some mud to hide most of my scent. In its vicinity, I noticed a few corpses, actually, skeletons. And strangely, they were the bodies of monsters I was quite familiar with.
Identify.
Garms.
All of the skeletons found close to this place belonged to the monster species that nearly killed me. I know, “it’s kill or be killed” in this world but I was still not exactly happy I had to experience that.
With further investigations, there were no other skeleton presents, so I just assumed all the humans who lived in this hut made it out alive. It might be dangerous, but I had to search for information, particularly about this world.
However, I shouldn’t neglect language and culture, either. It was to prepare myself for my return to civilization. If there were any history books concerning the gods, then that would be even more helpful.
My upgraded [Enhanced Enemy Sense], [Detection Sensor], seemed to be picking up one signal from inside this hut. And, I wasn’t kidding about this description, as I had an image similar to a sonar working whenever I spent mana on the skill.
Just to be safe, all buffs activate.
With all my buffing spells and my [Draconic Barrier] activated, I entered the hut.
It wasn’t very big from the outside, but it looked more cramped on the inside than I expected. The room was decorated very plainly; nothing special nor fancy to be found. The single bed, chairs, bookshelves, and pretty much all the furniture was made from wood, so the moss hadn't been merciful to them either. Though, from the little that was left untouched, I could recognize they were masterfully made by an artisan’s hands.
Gotta be honest, I had no real opinion on quality woodwork. Still, from the few that I saw at the homes of my Papa’s friends, I could tell that these weren’t of lesser value. It was just a shame that everything was ruined by nature.
I wondered if the guy who lived here made all this.
Nevertheless, pondering on that wouldn’t be much help. Looking through the bookshelves would be more practical.
Compared to the furniture, the books were actually in a much better state. There still were some traces of degradation but I was lucky the pages weren’t rotten. Maybe they applied something to preserve it better? I couldn’t use [Identify] to find it out, sadly.
Contrary to my excitement, the reading itself was a big disappointment. I mean, it should have been obvious I wouldn’t be able to read a single word, right? I couldn’t understand the orcs either, meaning I had no translation skill hidden somewhere in my profile. There were also no illustrations or maps. Sad, but it would be a waste to leave them here so I stuffed them into my storage.
Oh?
Something fell out from a book I was about to put in my [Storage Magic]. It was a sheet of parchment and it looked like something was drawn on it.
Hmm, are those…pointy ears? A kid, an adult with long hair, and one wearing a bow and sword. All three have pointy ears with wood brown coloured hair.
Ahhh, could these be elves?! Could this possibly be a drawn picture of an elven family?! Oh my, the fantasy power is back. Yeah! Oh hold on, does this mean there could be dwarves too? Beastmen? Maybe also halflings? Dragonewts existed, at least.
Ooooohh.
Ha. Kid, thank you for this picture~ I won’t be able to return it to you or your parents now, so I’ll be keeping this for a bit until we meet. I’ll keep that mental note when I eventually visit the elves, hopefully.
“Kraaaaaa!”
Waaaaaaaahhhhh! Elves, elves, elves!
Yes, I was fangirling over this. Could you blame me? This was my first pseudo-encounter with a different race! How could I not be excited?
…Wah? [Prediction]? Above? …Woah!
Something suddenly dropped from the ceiling! Was it raining, or what was it actually? Looking closer, it looked like a blob but some reason it was moving around! A translucent, gelatinous monster with liquid tendrils extending from its body was on the floor.
It was none other than the classic, fantasy monster — the slime! Also known as the weakest monster in any fantasy world not involved in pen and paper sessions, usually used to train up heroes-in-training.
I couldn’t believe another fantasy classic just popped up from nowhere. So, that was the signal indicated by the sensor. I should be mindful of how the sonar couldn’t tell things up or below, or maybe it could once I leveled it up a bit.
On a closer look, the slime was actually quite cute… if it wasn’t using its gel tentacles to touch everything. The form, the blue color, and the plain appearance were just perfect. The only thing that seemed to be missing was the "slime core." Pretty sure that was supposed to be its nucleus, its brain.
Hmm, can I…touch it?
Just a teeny-weeny pinch on that smooth surface.
Oooooh, so bouncy~
I wondered what slimes ate. I heard slimes were carrion eaters who would take any scraps left behind from a monster’s kill, so I guess some meat would do. How about a fish?
Here, little guy. How about a fresh fish, caught about a few weeks back from a cave lake? Don’t worry, it was kept safe in a time-stopping spell! Can’t get it fresher!
The fish fell out of my hand and landed right on the slime with a "boing" sound.
Kyahhh ~… Oh, oooh… Oh no.
I squealed at the sight of the bouncy gel. It was so cute… were it not for the fact that the fish sunk into its liquid body and disintegrated.
It was a slow process; the scales dissolved into nothingness until there was only muscle and meat left. I don't know how long I was watching but when I woke up from my trance, nothing but a skeleton was left. And even that wasn’t safe for too long.
Eiiiiiiikkkkkkkk. Th-That is so gross. What the hell is this abomination of a monster supposed to be? Where is my cute, harmless and friendly slime I just befriended with? Where is the imagery I had of the weakest monster in the whole world?
If-If that thing had landed on my head, would my-my head have ended up like that fish.
In my horror, the slime lunged towards me but was stopped by my [Draconic Barrier]. This thing was definitely a bad slime!
Ew, this-this thing must die! Fire Ball!
The searing flame flew out of its magical circle, crashing right onto the gel creature’s body, evaporating it into thin air. I think I might have freaked out a bit, but that was terrifying! It might be weird of me to say this, considering I butcher monsters, but watching that fish turn into nothingness horrified me.
Phew, let’s just get out of here.
… But, some rumbling from above me stopped my casualness.
With the sound of a churning beast reverberating from the ceiling, buckets of liquid were slowly squeezing themselves through the wall cracks and any moss in the room. I didn’t need to listen to [Prediction] to know that I had to get the fuck out of this shack in like, now!
What followed me out of the shack wasn’t the small and lovable slime, but a tentacle monster of the highest order of Lovecraftian eldritch horrors. Arguably, it was just a bigger slime with a bunch of gelatinous appendages moving around like a microbe, but I knew better!
I want to slap the face of the person who invented this monstrosity. Whoever thought it would be cool to create a being that can disintegrate anything it engulfs while having the mobility to chase after its prey with no sense of fear, pain or fatigue. And why does it have this gruesome appearance of a terror of the unknown.
Somebody had to stop this thing from destroying the world. The overlord of malice had appeared. A hero was needed.
… Or a flamethrower. Burn it with dragon fire!
Earth Spears. Petal Flames. Flame Explosion. Inferno Blast. Spark Fire Breath!!!
It seemed neither my parallel minds nor I remembered this fight too well, so we weren't sure what we did in this fight besides destroying the shack. Fortunately, by gaining experience and leveling up a ton, it proved that we killed a D rank monster.
Equally, two of my skills had also improved. [Earth Magic] reached level 10 and gave me the evolved version [Terra Magic], while also combining with [Fire Magic] to create [Lava Magic], a sort of compositional element. My group of parallel minds also grew to five, so that was nice.
But, now that I thought about it, this was my first D rank monster I had found in this section of the forest, right? Which I had forgotten. Correction; that I chose to forget.
I had to say, this was one memory I wish I had kept sealed up. So it would never, ever come back. Sometimes it was best to leave anything related to eldritch horrors in a space of nothingness.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Stop it, stop it! Not that thing! Anything but that thing!
‘Next time, please, think of your parallel minds when you do something stupid again!’
Alright, alright, alright! Burn everything. Burn all my memories.
‘‘‘‘‘… Haaaa, I want to creep into a bed with a bucket of ice cream.’’’’’
Name: * Level: 9 Race: Young Crimson Spark Dragon
Age: 3 Months
Status: Health: 1207/1207(+343) Mana: 4625/4625(+679)
Strength: 911 (+235) Intelligence: 1234 (+381)
Vitality: 457 (+115) Wisdom: 529 (+131)
Agility: 1815 (+470) Stamina: 899/899(+257)
Effects: None
Skill Points: 3000 (+2700)
Unique Skill: [Spark Fire Dragon Lv. 6] [Spark Fire’s Fire Boost]
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Lava Magic Lv. 1] (New) [Holy Magic Lv. 10] [Holy Amp]
[Holy Magic Efficiency] [Sacred Magic Lv. 1]
[Fire Magic Lv. 10] [Fire Amp] [Fire Magic Efficiency]
[Inferno Magic Lv. 1] [Earth Magic Lv. 10] (+1) [Earth Amp]
[Earth Magic Efficiency] [Terra Magic Lv. 1] (New)
[Wind Magic Lv. 6] (+1) [Space-Time Magic Lv. 3]
[Space-Time Magic Efficiency] [Draconic Magics]
[Draconic Barrier Lv. 1] [Silent Casting Lv. 5] (+1)
[Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 3] (+1) [Mental Stability Lv. 2]
[Mental Warfare Lv. 2]
Physical skills and related:
[Unarmed Technique Lv. 1] [Draconic Claws Lv. 2]
[Draconic Fangs Lv. 1]
Senses and movement skills:
[Stealth Lv. 8] (+1) [Accuracy Correction Lv. 3] (+2)
[Prediction Lv. 5] [Detection Sensor Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 4] [Enhanced Vision Lv. 3] (+2)
[Night Vision Lv. 7] (+1) [Presence Killer Lv. 5] [Evasion Lv. 8]
[Acrobatic Lv. 8]
Resistances:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 7] [Pain Resistance Lv. 8]
[Holy Resistance Lv. 4] [Fire Resistance Lv. 6]
[Earth Resistance Lv. 4] [Wind Resistance Lv. 2] (+1)
[Water Resistance Lv. 1] [Health Recovery Lv. 2]
Stat growths and related:
[Stamina Recovery Lv. 3] (+1)
[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 5] (+1)[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 7] [Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 5]
[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 5] [Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 6] [Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 4] [Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 4] [Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 6] [Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 5] (+1) [Enhanced Stamina Capacity Lv. 2] (+1)
Other:
[Trap Creation Lv. 3] [Identify Lv. 10] [Battle Mind Lv.2]
[Cooking Lv. 6] [Dismantle Lv. 6] (+1) [Parallel Thoughts Lv. 5] (+1)
[Humanize Lv. 3] (+2) [Pyrokinesis]
Ability List: [Flame Blast] [Spark Claws] [Spark Flame] [Spark Fire Breath]
[Spark Fang]
Spell List: Lava spells:
[Lava Ball]
Holy spells:
[Minor Heal] [Cure] [Modest Heal] [Smite] [Light] [Holy Protection]
[Holy Strength] [Purify] [Sacred Smite]
Fire spells:
[Fire] [Firebolt] [Imbue Fire] [Fire Ball] [Strengthening Flames]
[Flame Spear] [Petal Flame] [Flame Explosion] [Inferno Blast]
Earth spells:
[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike] [Rock Bullet] [Sturdy Earth]
[Earth Spears] [Earth Crash] [Earthen Shackles] [Terra Wall]
Wind spells:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash]
[Swift Winds] [Wind Blast]
Space-Time Spells:
[Haste] [Storage Magic]
The Light spells:
[Shine]
Titles: [The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] [Otherworldly Reincarnator]
Authors"s note: Don't forget to fav the chapter!
Woah.
‘Woah, this is hard to control.’
I know, right? It feels like swimming but without all that water, which makes it even more important to never stop flapping otherwise we’re going down.
‘You guys remember that feeling when your stomach drops during flights? Yeah, it feels worse, so don’t fall again.’
14 moons. 14 days have passed since I left the cave, now wandering aimlessly around the Belzac forest. There were no signposts or something to give me directions, so this place was more or less a maze to me.
After exploring around the area in front of the cave and mountains, I’ve noticed that it wasn’t much different compared to the place I was born. Although the variety of plants and monster types did surprise me in a good way. I guess being stuck in a cave for two months made me really miss seeing more vibrant and lively colors. Although I was mostly hunting them, I was just glad other living things were around.
In my search for a D rank monster to test out my strength, I decided to travel away from the cave entrance. Like a novice traveling to a new hunting zone after leveling too much, I had to find greener pastures. Most of the prey I found were only E rank, at best.
Of course, not like I could complain about it. I was level nine after these two weeks, after all. Some of them I had to hunt down, while others were foolhardy enough to attack me head-on. The one enemy I had the most problem with were some dog-sized flying mantises, who could zig-zag in the air while threatening me with their sharp razors.
However, with my fire elemental magic, I still made the rank difference clear to any of them, turning each adversary into experience fodder, really. With [Inferno Magic], the advance form of [Fire Magic], my fire power had increased majorly with the spell [Inferno Blast].
In addition, my evolution bonus, [Pyrokinesis], was a godsend that allowed me to spam all these fire attacks without burning down the forest. In fact, my control over my flames was so precise, I could create a barrier or armor of fire without the need of a specific spell. Frankly, my fire elemental attacks were far superior compared to my other elements.
And I love it.
Now, back to the present.
After that flying mantis encounter, my parallel minds told me to do some flying training. This was what I was doing right now with their help.
I found out my wingspan had grown after my evolution during one of my [Humanize] tests, and when I tried flapping my wings, I could gather enough wind and thrust to push myself up. Well, for only a bit, though. The musculature, or maybe Strength, in my wings weren’t enough to keep me afloat, so it was necessary for me to use mana to empower those limbs when I fly.
I was overjoyed when I took my first step towards the sky. The human desire to conquer the skies, the dream of Icarus and Daedalus, and now I would be the one to make that ambition come true!
Unfortunately, there were some complications.
First, [Humanize Lv. 3] took away the hunchback and made me as tall as a 5-year-old, but it did not change the weight distribution of this body. How was I to fly in my “human” form, when standing was already a challenge? I couldn’t conquer the skies just yet.
Secondly, flying was not so easy. Birds made it look super easy, to the point I wanted to believe they were biological anti-gravity machines. This whole defying gravity using mana was hardcore stuff. Thankfully, practice made perfect, and I was getting better at controlling my mana in my wings. Progress was decent.
Enough for today. Our mana is under 2/3rd now.
‘Whew, good work. I think we can go have a tour around the forest’s skies soon with how much we are improving the control of our mana output. This whole process just requires a ton of practice, that’s all.’ #3 motivated us by saying the obvious. Still, hearing it made me feel happy with my efforts.
I shakily descended to the ground, being careful to do it slowly to prevent any accidents. Once that familiar earthy feeling in my feet returned, I activated [Humanize], waited for the smoke to disappear, struck a pose, and…
“Kra Sasa!”
…yelled a cool catchphrase!
‘What the hell…was that?!’
A pose and a cool catchphrase, I answered with full confidence, but my parallel minds just looked at me as if I was weird.
‘You call that cool?! Wha—? How the…We’re supposed to understand the Original’s, our, decisions and actions but that was…lame!’
‘Lame. Lame. Lame! OMG, the cringe.’
Pff, shut it already. Look into how I imagined it and you'll understand why I did that. The pose is cute and when our voice comes back, it will blow people away! Invest in this now, girls.
‘I admit, the pose doesn’t look that disastrous, considering how our appearance is “cool” looking, but what is "Kra Sasa" supposed to mean? From our understanding, it's apparently just some sounds you made up.’
Well yeah, it’s the cute sounds that make the pose, right? Who cares what I meant to say?
‘‘‘‘‘…’’’’’
…
W-What was this silence?! Even the other parallel minds, #4 and #5, were looking at me in a way only friends would look at their idiotic friend. Wait, was I that idiotic friend?
G-Guys, come on, I’m just five years old! You saw my profile. The profile doesn’t lie. Cute me some slack.
‘You have the mind, no, six minds of a 15-year-old in your head, girl,’ Manager Mind scolded me. ‘The last time I checked, you’re at the age range of a magical girl, but we aren’t magical girls! It’s cringe if you’re suddenly acting like that out of nowhere! Please, the dark memories are still there, don’t make another ‘school day during Halloween’ scene!’
‘Yeah, those magical girl animes Mama loved to watch even now were good if you’re doing it in private. But, gods! The black history! How you showed up at kindergarten and even first class in one of those outfits, shouting out all those quotes and making those poses! Gaaaaaaaaargh! Help me, I’m dying!’
‘… Please never do this ever again, Original Mind. The last thing I want to die from was embarrassment.’
Oi, come on. We were five and six. The other kids didn’t care, in fact, some of them even liked it! Instead of acting like a bunch of cringetopia andys, maybe stop and just appreciate things as they are?
“Kra Sasa!”
The moment I did it again, my parallel minds froze for a second, grimaced, and began cradling their heads to hide their hug blush. #2, however, chose to let out her anger to hide her embarrassment.
‘Oof, you bitch… if you want to play that game, then eat this. Remember the time with those slimes?!’
What are you talking about?
‘Come on, I know you still remember it. If you don’t, then how about this. Girls, join in!’
With a commanding shout, my collective parallel minds saluted to #2 and began rummaging through my memories before finding something. With this condensed memory pack, hidden deep in my mind, they groaned as they touched it before sending it straight to me.
It was the fourth day after leaving the cave.
My storage was full with fish and I also had some of the meat and fruits I took from the orcs’ camp before leaving. I wouldn’t starve, of course, but I didn’t like eating the same thing for two months. Sure, I endured it in the cave ‘cause I had to, but the orcs’ rations made me remember I couldn’t live off fish alone.
Four days. All spent on hunting and foraging the deep well of cooking ingredients this place had to offer. Mhmm, I took in the aroma. The sweet, delicious luxuriousness of the spice and herbs complimenting the meat as it was grilled over the flame. Nothing gourmet, but, mhmm, chef’s kiss. Variety was the core of a healthy life.
Not to mention all the strawberries… I meant, fragassas. The name was different, but this was essentially this world’s version of strawberries. It was sweeter, bigger, and smelled amazing. Imagine strawberry perfume and shampoo! Oooh, how I missed eating these things when I lived in the Belzac mountains.
Suffice to say, it was awesome to be greeted by the sun every dawn, again. Those F ranks were also able to stave off [Battle Frenzy], although I didn’t feel too satisfied by them. I honestly needed bigger targets.
While I was enjoying the renaissance of my new life, I didn’t neglect my goal to escape this place. I pretty much chose a direction and just kept going until I went to sleep, and it would continue the next morning. Although, admittedly, I wasn’t even sure if I was going in circles or not.
Anyways, during the fourth day, I found a shack. A shack in a forest. OMG. A human could be living there… Oh, forget that option. The hut looked like it had seen better days.
Its walls were covered in moss, only missing around areas that had a hole. I was no architect, but this place mustn’t have had any visitors for ages now. I didn’t think any humans were in there, so the possibility of a monster using this place as a home sounded more plausible.
Still, I approached it. Cautiously, I sneaked around after covering myself in some mud to hide most of my scent. In its vicinity, I noticed a few corpses, actually, skeletons. And strangely, they were the bodies of monsters I was quite familiar with.
Identify.
Garms.
All of the skeletons found close to this place belonged to the monster species that nearly killed me. I know, “it’s kill or be killed” in this world but I was still not exactly happy I had to experience that.
With further investigations, there were no other skeleton presents, so I just assumed all the humans who lived in this hut made it out alive. It might be dangerous, but I had to search for information, particularly about this world.
However, I shouldn’t neglect language and culture, either. It was to prepare myself for my return to civilization. If there were any history books concerning the gods, then that would be even more helpful.
My upgraded [Enhanced Enemy Sense], [Detection Sensor], seemed to be picking up one signal from inside this hut. And, I wasn’t kidding about this description, as I had an image similar to a sonar working whenever I spent mana on the skill.
Just to be safe, all buffs activate.
With all my buffing spells and my [Draconic Barrier] activated, I entered the hut.
It wasn’t very big from the outside, but it looked more cramped on the inside than I expected. The room was decorated very plainly; nothing special nor fancy to be found. The single bed, chairs, bookshelves, and pretty much all the furniture was made from wood, so the moss hadn't been merciful to them either. Though, from the little that was left untouched, I could recognize they were masterfully made by an artisan’s hands.
Gotta be honest, I had no real opinion on quality woodwork. Still, from the few that I saw at the homes of my Papa’s friends, I could tell that these weren’t of lesser value. It was just a shame that everything was ruined by nature.
I wondered if the guy who lived here made all this.
Nevertheless, pondering on that wouldn’t be much help. Looking through the bookshelves would be more practical.
Compared to the furniture, the books were actually in a much better state. There still were some traces of degradation but I was lucky the pages weren’t rotten. Maybe they applied something to preserve it better? I couldn’t use [Identify] to find it out, sadly.
Contrary to my excitement, the reading itself was a big disappointment. I mean, it should have been obvious I wouldn’t be able to read a single word, right? I couldn’t understand the orcs either, meaning I had no translation skill hidden somewhere in my profile. There were also no illustrations or maps. Sad, but it would be a waste to leave them here so I stuffed them into my storage.
Oh?
Something fell out from a book I was about to put in my [Storage Magic]. It was a sheet of parchment and it looked like something was drawn on it.
Hmm, are those…pointy ears? A kid, an adult with long hair, and one wearing a bow and sword. All three have pointy ears with wood brown coloured hair.
Ahhh, could these be elves?! Could this possibly be a drawn picture of an elven family?! Oh my, the fantasy power is back. Yeah! Oh hold on, does this mean there could be dwarves too? Beastmen? Maybe also halflings? Dragonewts existed, at least.
Ooooohh.
Ha. Kid, thank you for this picture~ I won’t be able to return it to you or your parents now, so I’ll be keeping this for a bit until we meet. I’ll keep that mental note when I eventually visit the elves, hopefully.
“Kraaaaaa!”
Waaaaaaaahhhhh! Elves, elves, elves!
Yes, I was fangirling over this. Could you blame me? This was my first pseudo-encounter with a different race! How could I not be excited?
…Wah? [Prediction]? Above? …Woah!
Something suddenly dropped from the ceiling! Was it raining, or what was it actually? Looking closer, it looked like a blob but some reason it was moving around! A translucent, gelatinous monster with liquid tendrils extending from its body was on the floor.
It was none other than the classic, fantasy monster — the slime! Also known as the weakest monster in any fantasy world not involved in pen and paper sessions, usually used to train up heroes-in-training.
I couldn’t believe another fantasy classic just popped up from nowhere. So, that was the signal indicated by the sensor. I should be mindful of how the sonar couldn’t tell things up or below, or maybe it could once I leveled it up a bit.
On a closer look, the slime was actually quite cute… if it wasn’t using its gel tentacles to touch everything. The form, the blue color, and the plain appearance were just perfect. The only thing that seemed to be missing was the "slime core." Pretty sure that was supposed to be its nucleus, its brain.
Hmm, can I…touch it?
Just a teeny-weeny pinch on that smooth surface.
Oooooh, so bouncy~
I wondered what slimes ate. I heard slimes were carrion eaters who would take any scraps left behind from a monster’s kill, so I guess some meat would do. How about a fish?
Here, little guy. How about a fresh fish, caught about a few weeks back from a cave lake? Don’t worry, it was kept safe in a time-stopping spell! Can’t get it fresher!
The fish fell out of my hand and landed right on the slime with a "boing" sound.
Kyahhh ~… Oh, oooh… Oh no.
I squealed at the sight of the bouncy gel. It was so cute… were it not for the fact that the fish sunk into its liquid body and disintegrated.
It was a slow process; the scales dissolved into nothingness until there was only muscle and meat left. I don't know how long I was watching but when I woke up from my trance, nothing but a skeleton was left. And even that wasn’t safe for too long.
Eiiiiiiikkkkkkkk. Th-That is so gross. What the hell is this abomination of a monster supposed to be? Where is my cute, harmless and friendly slime I just befriended with? Where is the imagery I had of the weakest monster in the whole world?
If-If that thing had landed on my head, would my-my head have ended up like that fish.
In my horror, the slime lunged towards me but was stopped by my [Draconic Barrier]. This thing was definitely a bad slime!
Ew, this-this thing must die! Fire Ball!
The searing flame flew out of its magical circle, crashing right onto the gel creature’s body, evaporating it into thin air. I think I might have freaked out a bit, but that was terrifying! It might be weird of me to say this, considering I butcher monsters, but watching that fish turn into nothingness horrified me.
Phew, let’s just get out of here.
… But, some rumbling from above me stopped my casualness.
With the sound of a churning beast reverberating from the ceiling, buckets of liquid were slowly squeezing themselves through the wall cracks and any moss in the room. I didn’t need to listen to [Prediction] to know that I had to get the fuck out of this shack in like, now!
What followed me out of the shack wasn’t the small and lovable slime, but a tentacle monster of the highest order of Lovecraftian eldritch horrors. Arguably, it was just a bigger slime with a bunch of gelatinous appendages moving around like a microbe, but I knew better!
I want to slap the face of the person who invented this monstrosity. Whoever thought it would be cool to create a being that can disintegrate anything it engulfs while having the mobility to chase after its prey with no sense of fear, pain or fatigue. And why does it have this gruesome appearance of a terror of the unknown.
Somebody had to stop this thing from destroying the world. The overlord of malice had appeared. A hero was needed.
… Or a flamethrower. Burn it with dragon fire!
Earth Spears. Petal Flames. Flame Explosion. Inferno Blast. Spark Fire Breath!!!
It seemed neither my parallel minds nor I remembered this fight too well, so we weren't sure what we did in this fight besides destroying the shack. Fortunately, by gaining experience and leveling up a ton, it proved that we killed a D rank monster.
Equally, two of my skills had also improved. [Earth Magic] reached level 10 and gave me the evolved version [Terra Magic], while also combining with [Fire Magic] to create [Lava Magic], a sort of compositional element. My group of parallel minds also grew to five, so that was nice.
But, now that I thought about it, this was my first D rank monster I had found in this section of the forest, right? Which I had forgotten. Correction; that I chose to forget.
I had to say, this was one memory I wish I had kept sealed up. So it would never, ever come back. Sometimes it was best to leave anything related to eldritch horrors in a space of nothingness.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Stop it, stop it! Not that thing! Anything but that thing!
‘Next time, please, think of your parallel minds when you do something stupid again!’
Alright, alright, alright! Burn everything. Burn all my memories.
‘‘‘‘‘… Haaaa, I want to creep into a bed with a bucket of ice cream.’’’’’
Name: * Level: 9 Race: Young Crimson Spark Dragon
Age: 3 Months
Status: Health: 1207/1207(+343) Mana: 4625/4625(+679)
Strength: 911 (+235) Intelligence: 1234 (+381)
Vitality: 457 (+115) Wisdom: 529 (+131)
Agility: 1815 (+470) Stamina: 899/899(+257)
Effects: None
Skill Points: 3000 (+2700)
Unique Skill: [Spark Fire Dragon Lv. 6] [Spark Fire’s Fire Boost]
Skill: Magic skills and related:
[Lava Magic Lv. 1] (New) [Holy Magic Lv. 10] [Holy Amp]
[Holy Magic Efficiency] [Sacred Magic Lv. 1]
[Fire Magic Lv. 10] [Fire Amp] [Fire Magic Efficiency]
[Inferno Magic Lv. 1] [Earth Magic Lv. 10] (+1) [Earth Amp]
[Earth Magic Efficiency] [Terra Magic Lv. 1] (New)
[Wind Magic Lv. 6] (+1) [Space-Time Magic Lv. 3]
[Space-Time Magic Efficiency] [Draconic Magics]
[Draconic Barrier Lv. 1] [Silent Casting Lv. 5] (+1)
[Magic Power Enhancement Lv. 3] (+1) [Mental Stability Lv. 2]
[Mental Warfare Lv. 2]
Physical skills and related:
[Unarmed Technique Lv. 1] [Draconic Claws Lv. 2]
[Draconic Fangs Lv. 1]
Senses and movement skills:
[Stealth Lv. 8] (+1) [Accuracy Correction Lv. 3] (+2)
[Prediction Lv. 5] [Detection Sensor Lv. 1]
[Enhanced Olfactory Sense Lv. 4] [Enhanced Vision Lv. 3] (+2)
[Night Vision Lv. 7] (+1) [Presence Killer Lv. 5] [Evasion Lv. 8]
[Acrobatic Lv. 8]
Resistances:
[Physical Resistance Lv. 7] [Pain Resistance Lv. 8]
[Holy Resistance Lv. 4] [Fire Resistance Lv. 6]
[Earth Resistance Lv. 4] [Wind Resistance Lv. 2] (+1)
[Water Resistance Lv. 1] [Health Recovery Lv. 2]
Stat growths and related:
[Stamina Recovery Lv. 3] (+1)
[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 5] (+1)[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv. 7] [Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 5]
[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 5] [Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 6] [Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 4] [Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 4] [Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 2] (+1)
[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 6] [Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 2]
[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 5] (+1) [Enhanced Stamina Capacity Lv. 2] (+1)
Other:
[Trap Creation Lv. 3] [Identify Lv. 10] [Battle Mind Lv.2]
[Cooking Lv. 6] [Dismantle Lv. 6] (+1) [Parallel Thoughts Lv. 5] (+1)
[Humanize Lv. 3] (+2) [Pyrokinesis]
Ability List: [Flame Blast] [Spark Claws] [Spark Flame] [Spark Fire Breath]
[Spark Fang]
Spell List: Lava spells:
[Lava Ball]
Holy spells:
[Minor Heal] [Cure] [Modest Heal] [Smite] [Light] [Holy Protection]
[Holy Strength] [Purify] [Sacred Smite]
Fire spells:
[Fire] [Firebolt] [Imbue Fire] [Fire Ball] [Strengthening Flames]
[Flame Spear] [Petal Flame] [Flame Explosion] [Inferno Blast]
Earth spells:
[Earth Wall] [Rock Blast] [Earth Strike] [Rock Bullet] [Sturdy Earth]
[Earth Spears] [Earth Crash] [Earthen Shackles] [Terra Wall]
Wind spells:
[Wind Bullet] [Wind Cutter] [Air Shield] [Wind Slash]
[Swift Winds] [Wind Blast]
Space-Time Spells:
[Haste] [Storage Magic]
The Light spells:
[Shine]
Titles: [The Light] [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood] [Otherworldly Reincarnator]
Authors"s note: Don't forget to fav the chapter!
