CHAPTER X

Good. It seems that I have recovered some of my strength. Good, good. Right now I can use some of my buffs. Fighting one of those clawed monsters shouldn’t be a problem but I am still not sure what to do if I encounter more than one.

I had spent a lot of time in this cave and now I think I am ready to venture out.

I would still need a weapon to use and I think the claw of those beasts would do the trick. As they were sharp enough to rip through boulders they would probably be enough to defend myself from any monster that I encounter…hopefully.

God I am starting to hate this place…the lack of human interaction is not an issue as most of them are traitorous bastards anyway. It is the routine that is boring me

Train eat read and practice magic.

Yes practicing magic, it seems that I was slowly gaining back the control over my mana and now I can use some third and second tier spells. As in C and B class spells. I tried an A class spell but the leach-back was devastating as I suffered from massive mana poisoning.

Thankfully there is an herb here that has the same effect of that plume that Master Ousay had given me and I was not stupid enough to try a high tier spell without having that with me.

I stockpiled on food and smoked meat and herbs before I gathered all the books inside the cabin in the spatial ring that the old man had left. The house looked very boorish without the things that decorated it…I don’t know if I will be able to come back to this place but no matter…I only have to move forward.

I headed out in the direction of the mountain passing by a familiar place I saw the leftovers of the same monster that was ravaged by his own kin.

Only bones were left and thankfully his claws were there too. I treaded carefully toward its carcass and ripped its free arm out. The other hand had the claw still deeply stuck on the ground and would be but a waste of time to try and take it out.

The hand had three long sword like knifes. I have no idea how they are capable of using their hands for anything other than slicing things up…but it does not matter.

As the flesh was now rotten and fragile due to the long time it spent on the surface I managed to break the “fingers” apart making three separate claws I used a piece of cloth on the base of every one of the claws as a handle so that I don’t cut myself swinging it around

I tried a couple of test swings it seems capable of handling heavy sticks although not as strong as my Devourer. I packed all three makeshift swords into my bag.

This will have to do…

I headed then toward the mountain.

I don’t know how much time I had spent walking but no matter what the mountain still looks very far away but that did not discourage me from seeking it.

I left at night time and now day is soon to rise and with it as the master said monsters will come out…I will be needing a place to sleep in, at least until the daytime passes.

Finding nothing of the sort nearby, I kept on walking. While occasionally looking around me in order to not get ambushed or to walk in some monster’s territory.

Day came up and the dark star soon replaced the four moons. Once it shone its light on the land I felt slightly more energized. I felt the whole world change with it, the star had some sort of effect on the environment but I gave it no mind and kept on walking, the road ahead of me is still way too far.

I instantly jumped sideways once I felt killing intent coming from behind me.

Looking back I saw that the wolf that was supposed to be bringing me food was behind me.

“What are you doing here” He said.

“I decided to visit the dragon.” I responded as I had nothing to hide from him.

“You are not ready yet.” Said the wolf.

“Who decides whether I am ready or not. I am bored, there was nothing to do in that cave, I will be going to meet this dragon and if he has a way out of this place it is better that I know of it sooner than later.”

“Our leader did not save your life so that you could throw it away. You have to wait…”

“I don’t care. If he saved my life then I thank him for it but I have something to do, and I can’t do it staying in this place. I need to speak with that dragon.”

“It is true. He owe us nothing” said a familiar voice, it was the wolf leader he seemed to have appeared out of nowhere

“I saved his life because our ancestors had given us this task. The last human that was here was the one that saved our race. We owe him our lives. And thus, saving this human is a promise that we must fulfil. But if you young human still wish to reach that dragon…it will take you months of travel on foot. I can get you halfway there but the rest you will need to walk yourself. The closer we get to the mountain range the heavier the pressure becomes. If you fail to reach the top you better go back and wait until you are stronger.”

I said

“Thank you for the help but I will travel alone.”

“Good luck young lad.” Said the white wolf

“Thank you…I never got to know your name”

“My name is Zhareb what is yours young lad?”

“Mine is Asura, Asura Shirogami”

“It was nice to meet you I do hope that we meet again.”

“Goodbye…” I said

Then the wolf nodded and disappeared with the other black wolf.

Ughh that was awkward…anyway I need to keep going forward. That mountain will take a lot of time to reach.

Walking for god knows how long I began to hear the sound of hooves. I crouched under a batch of violet grass and slowly climbed a hill that was covering the view.

Thousands of creatures that resembled buffaloes yet were three times bigger and were far more imposing, horns and purple jewels imbedded on their foreheads, they ran in a line almost afraid of something crushing whatever laid in their path. One of them had stumbled to only be crushed under the hooves of the passing horde it even caused more stumbling in the line that was once perfect to be turned to complete chaos.

It was but a moment later that I understood the reason why they ran like that. It was because their life depended on it. Two giant beetle like monsters were following the horde they were at least ten meter in height and more than thirty in width as for the distance between their horns and back it was probably more than eighty.

They both had a dark purple color carapaces but one of them had a singular horn on its face that shimmered in a faint purple color, the other had a two large fangs with the same shimmering light that were situated on the side of what probably was its mouth, this one clamped its fangs together into the colocation of the stumbling buffaloes tearing flesh from bone in a single bite.

Blood and gore painted the scene showing what true horrors hid in this world. This scene just taught me how dangerous this world truly is.

The other beetle now joint its mate in a feast of fresh spasming meat. They both eat to their heart’s content while I prudently hid my presence and remained unmoving atop the hill.

I decided to wait until they had finished their meal to proceed forward, there is no point trying to pass by them risking myself getting discovered.

It was but few moments until they had finished eating, then both their horns began to shimmer in a perkier light than before they became brighter and their carapace looked even glossier. After that they both let out a screeching sound and moved in the same direction that the horde went at a speed far too incompatible with their size.

I should probably take more caution walking toward the mountain, meeting one of those beetles unprepared would probably end my journey.

I approached the massacre scene and noticed that although a huge portion of the meat was eaten, there still remained a lot here. Yet surprisingly the purple jewels that were embedded on the heads of the buffalo like beasts had all disappeared.

It seems that monsters here do not rely solely on the nutrients that the meat of their prey provides for them…I think they use whatever is in those jewels to reinforce themselves considering the way those beetles had acted and also the way their horns had reacted…

I searched through the chunks of meat and gore and luckily managed to find an intact head of one of the buffaloes it was buried deep underground and probably was missed by the two beetles.

I placed my hand on the jewel and found it too sturdy to be removed casually so I grabbed a one of my makeshift swords and carefully cut away the jewel.

It was almost as big as my fist when I removed it, it gave a pulse from now and then but seemed to not react to anything. I tucked it away in my bag and continued on with my destination.

It is a long way to go and I have nothing but time…

I only stopped for eating or other biological needs, according to the Zhareb it would take me a lot of time getting from the cave to the mountain where the dragon resides, the area I am in right now is a huge open plane and I need to get to the mountainous area that is still way too far. I should probably use the time I have to practice. Instead of walking probably running and even carrying some weights would prove beneficial. Yet doing so in the day is probably not a good idea as most life forms seem to become active during this time period.

Surprisingly I have yet to hear the roar of the second dragon as it had not done so since the first day I had come here.

I kept on doing my training and running by night and sleeping by day for many days and rarely ever encountered any beasts. Thankfully though I found a dear that resembled the one that the wolves had been bringing me for sustenance sleeping by. It was a wonderful treat and sleeping on a filled stomach was too much of a bliss to pass on.

The dear’s meat was fantastic and it had helped me for days to come. It was energizing and very delicious yet the pressure emitted from the mountain range only increased the closer I got. The food helps a little but only reinforcing my body would help me withstand the might of this pressure.

The food became scarcer the closer I got the main mountain but I was prepared for such a case and stockpiled on dried meat and some herbs. What was amazing was the fact that the clothes I wore never got dirtied or got torn…the fabric of this item is truly incredible.

I probably spent more than twenty days in the open only sleeping in caves or hiding myself well under a bush or a casual tree but the closer I got to my objective the harder it was to find a good cover to sleep under. At one point I began to travel day and night. This had proved to be a bit more beneficial as I encountered more beasts at daytime and casually took care of them. None was strong enough to cause me to worry except for once where I had met the same creature that I am using their claws as swords now.

He actually looked larger than the others and his fur was even darker than his brethren. Almost pitch black, I was lucky enough to notice it following me and that was enough for me to prepare an ambush for the poor soul, however even after landing a critical strike with one of the makeshift swords that penetrated the middle of the monster’s chest he was still able to retaliate with few swings that were surprisingly fended by the clothes I was wearing. I had thought that that would have been my last day as a living man but this item is sturdier than rocks.

I finished off the beast by plunging another sword into it but this time after dodging a horizontal swipe of his claws I plunged the sword directly into the beast’s head.

It dropped dead almost immediately his body was still in spasm as I separated his head from the rest of his corps and carefully extracted the jewel on his head.

It seems that the only creatures that did not have this jewel were the wolves… does this have to do with them being sentient beasts? A question to be looked at later on.

I grabbed the jewel and the new claws and placed all into the almost bursting bag. Not forgetting to carve some of the finest pieces of meat out of the creature’s body for food later on.

I am finding myself becoming truly not giving a damn about anything that is happening around me.

The fact that I am enjoying monster meat and not caring for this too dire of a situation being that I am probably the only human in this lost world is reason enough for me to believe that I am becoming crazy. None of this would have happened if I did not agree to going to the competition…none of this would have happened if she did not betray me…none of this would have happened if I had decided not to lend them a hand. It was all my fault I should have only cared for myself, I should have only gave a damn about myself…a demon they said…I am starting to believe that true demons are in fact humans. However, what is done is done…I will take care of everything once I exit this place and I will be damned if I did not pay back all those that had betrayed me ten times their due.