For the second time today, I was building a fire. The difference was that this time I wasn’t doing it in order to keep myself warm but to try and cook the wolf meat that I got from killing a stray wolf that attacked me.

For a level 15 like me, a level 20 wolf would have been challenging if not for the 20% bonus to stats that demons get during the night. It didn’t take long to kill it. After I silenced it with Dark Surgery so that it can’t call for back-up, I started attacking it with hit and run tactics. The good thing about the curse the gods gave me is that the monsters are twice as aggressive, so the thought of fleeing never even registered in the wolf’s mind, but it’s still a pain in the ass. After he was too weak to even stand, I used Blood Drain on him, that way I gain Health and a meal so it’s 2 birds with one stone.

One thing I learned from my experience with trying to skin the wolf is that I can’t for, the life of me, do it properly. I had about 16 different chunks of fur, some of them with meat and blood on them. If I had more time at my disposal maybe I would have done a better job but you need to take everything you can from a monster corpse before it disappears. A monster corpse disappears, usually, in about a few minutes. After I noticed that I won’t make it in time I cut him into pieces and put him in my bag. Good thing he didn’t have much blood in him, otherwise it would have been a pain to wash the bag afterwards.

I’ll admit that I only know a few recipes when it comes to cooking and most of them don’t take more than half an hour to prepare but I was confident that I could cook the wolf meat. The problem with my logic was that I never cooked anything on an open fire before, barbeques excluded of course, and I didn’t realize it would turn out so bad. Half the meat was turned to charcoal while parts of it were uncooked. It makes no difference to me if the meat is cooked or not but although the food didn’t taste bad because of my Iron Stomach skill, it didn’t taste good either. Because I was so bad at cooking, the system didn’t register my action as cooking and I didn’t gain the skill. It was actually a little depressing.

In conclusion it’s safe to say that I may need to find someone to teach me cooking and tailoring if I ever want to be self-sufficient.

Regarding my intensive training that should increase my strength, stamina, intelligence and wisdom, it’s not going as well as I have hoped. As I understand it, Marbas was probably an OP character since he was young because I’m pretty sure that all the things I would need to do to increase my stats could kill me. The most notably deadly was probably his training for increasing affinity with the basic 4 elements.

To increase earth affinity he decided to bury himself alive and stay there for a week. He said there were other methods to increase affinity such as creating a contract with an earth elemental, working as a blacksmith or farming the lands but because these methods took time, a lot of energy or intensive negotiations with crazed elemental beings that normally don’t want to be disturbed, he opted for the first method.

The training for the other elements was equally deadly. To increase his water affinity he wore weights and walked from the base of the river all the way to the spring, all the while fighting monsters. To increase his wind affinity he flew in the middle of a hurricane with nothing but a raincoat and he increased his fire affinity by setting himself on fire after drinking the highest grade Health Regeneration Potion. He gives a new definition to the term over the top and glutton for punishment.

I started first with my strength and stamina training. If I had to name a reason why I did that, it would certainly be because it was the only training that I could do in the forest without any preparation. Intelligence training involved reading a long list of books or doing experiments while wisdom training, although it was the safest by far, involved playing games such as chess, shogi, chaturanga, makruk, shatranj, xiangqi or any other game that involved strategy and I was lacking both a partner and the game.

The first training I did was accurately named ‘bat under branch’. It involved tying your feet to a sturdy branch of a tree and doing sit-ups. Fearing that the branch may break under my weight I choose a low hanging one, high enough so that I didn’t hit my horns on the ground but low enough so that I wouldn’t fall to my death. The problem was that, while I was doing my training, a wolf came by and for over 3 hours he played with me like I was a piñata. I may have overlooked the fact that I would be difficult to untie your feet while hanging upside-down and nearly impossible to do so while you were also tired.

I learned that it was still possible to move even if your stamina hit rock bottom but it hurt like hell and you moved incredibly sluggish. After five hours of sit-ups of doom, I gave up trying to untie myself the normal way and converted a soul to stamina and used Flight to escape from my predicament. Souls were like instant health potions for me and the fact that I had to use one of them meant that I was reducing my chances of surviving a tough battle.

In conclusion, you could say that the training was a success. After enabling the notifications and reading them even I was surprised.

You have gained 4 strength, 2 vitality and 12 endurance from intensive training.

Killing Intent +105

Because Killing Intent reached over 100 you have gained the skill Murderous Aura

Murderous Aura (Passive, Beginner level 1)

All enemies in a 5m radius are 0,05% slower for every point in Killing Intent you have. Weaker enemies have a 5% chance of gaining Fear, Terror or Faint debuff. You get 2% more experience for every kill. You gain more Infamy with every kill.

Along with the fact that I was tired, hungry and incredibly angry, I decided that I will eat the wolf raw. I think that the wolf knew something bad was going to happen to him because, for the first time, he tried run away. He obviously didn’t get away. Even if it was the last thing I did, I was prepared to chase him to the ends of the world. I didn’t bother with cooking this time. My cooking skills were non-existent. I did take his fur despite my lack of tailor related skills.

It was finally daybreak by the time everything was finished and I was ready to sleep until Armageddon. Because I didn’t want my sleep to be disturbed by some wandering monster I decided to sleep in a tree by making a hammock. Between to branches, that were high enough this time, I had four rows of rope going around them with a distance of about 30 cm between them. I used leaves and the wolves’ fur I had to make a more comfortable bed and used the head of a wolf as a pillow. It was a bit uncomfortable and smelled like blood but I slept like a log.

“Status window!”

Stat Window[quart=Character name,Title]Frost,N/A[/quart][quart=Race,Affiliation]Demon Lord ,Demon Race[/quart][quart=Profession,Level]Surgeon of Death,16[/quart][quart=Fame,Infamy]0,600[/quart][quart=Affinity,Satiety]Poison,98%[/quart] [quart=Health,Mana]600,400[/quart][quart=Stamina,Vitality]930,32+6[/quart][quart=Wisdom,Endurance]12+2,40+8[/quart][quart=Strength,Intelligence]29+5,25+5[/quart][quart=Agility,Luck]30+6,0-50[/quart][quart=Attack,Defense] 54,59[/quart] Equipment bonus:

Novice Pants : Defense +1

Novice Shirt : Defense +1

Novice Boots: Defense +1

Novice set: Defense +1

Unused points: 5

Race bonus:

-10% stats during the day

+20% stats during the night

Profession Bonus:

- You are able to learn tailoring

- You are able to learn farming

- You are able to learn trading

- You are able to learn cooking

- You are able to learn blacksmithing

- You are able to learn architecture

- You are able to learn Mystic Arts

- You are able to learn Martial Arts

You are under the curse:

- Wrath of the gods: -50 Luck

“When did I gain a level?” I asked myself unsure if I was really level 16 or I didn’t see well because I was so sleepy but it was probably true and gained it after I killed the last wolf. I didn’t really check all the notifications I got back then because I was on a killing spree. I always had an anger problem but this was the second time I lost my temper in 2 days. If this keeps up, I may need counseling. I will never let Manna see this side of me even if I have to die a thousand times over.

It was strange seeing all my stats so inflated considering I was only level 16 but with the bonus I got during the night, I had 32 extra stats and adding to that the 38 extra stats I got from training and doing different tasks in the beginner city, I was probably as strong as a level 24 warrior, a level 26 assassin, a level 7 mage, a level 24 thief or a level 41 random character which meant I was strong for my level but still as good as dead if I were to fight one of those level 70 holy knights, especially during the day when I was 10% weaker.

“Skill window!”

Identification (Active, Beginner level 8)

Diagnosis (Passive, Subskill, Beginner level 6)

Iron Stomach (Passive, Special, Intermediate level 2)

Brewing (Active, Beginner level 6)

First Aid Treatment (Passive, Beginner level 2)

Manipulation (Passive, Beginner level 2)

Blade Mastery (Passive, Beginner level 3)

Medical Knowledge (Passive, Beginner level 1)

Dark Surgery (Active, Beginner level 2)

Soul Conversion (Active, Beginner level 3)

Demonic Pact (Passive, Race Skill, Max level)

Contract Bound (Passive, Max level)

Soul Gathering (Passive, Max level)

Mana Affinity (Passive, Race Skill, Max level)

Night Vision (Passive, Race Skill, Max level)

Flight (Active, Race Skill, Beginner level 1)

Blood Drain (Active, Beginner level 5)

Shape Shift (Active, Beginner level 1)

Murderous Aura (Passive, Beginner level 1)

Looking at his skills and stats, Frost sighted. Feeling movement at the base of the tree, he closed the windows and while sighting again, spoke in a voice that was equally soft and filled with hostility.

“Why don’t you stop hiding, Paimon. I know you’re down there.”

After a few moments, the sound of air blowing through the leaves was heard and a demon was flying just near where Frost made his hammock.

“How did you know I was here?” asked Paimon.

Hidden quest: Tracking the Trickster completed.

You have leveled up

“My fiancé used to be a mage. One of the things she told me was that mages can’t use spells beyond their field of vision. It was a nice trick but even you can’t use that kind of magic otherwise you wouldn’t be a demon but a demon-god. For how long have you followed me?”

“Since you fought in front of Nightwood and were chased by knights. I have to admit, it was really entertaining to see you hanging from a tree while screaming profanities. I had to use Silence on myself so that you wouldn’t hear me laughing. Even now I can hardly stop laughing while thinking about it.”

“So, you were going to just watch as a whole battalion of holy knight came into the forest and killed me?” said Frost. He was angry but the exhaustion of the whole day’s ordeal made his too tired to even scream at the moment.

“I sincerely would have lent a hand if I thought you wouldn’t have had a chance of escaping but like I said, I’m a demon and …”

“And deception is in our nature” interrupted Frost. “You could have helped me a little bit more.”

“But then you wouldn’t progress as fast. Well, now that you found me, I might as well help you with your training.”

Hidden quest Finding a friend, completed.

You have gained a level!

You have gained the skill Soul Searching.

Soul Searching (Passive, Max Level)

A skill used by mages that dabble with necromancy. You are able to detect the souls of all living things. The range increases with each stat point in Focus by 0.1 %.

You have gained a new stat: Focus

Focus +5

Focus

You can focus your spell and skill to achieve better results. Every 25 point of focus increases you critical hit rate by 0.5%. You are prohibited from distributing stat points to this stat.

Paimon looked at Frost a bit surprised.

“Your skills are a little weird. Four skills in particular are very weird. I know how you got Blood Drain but Soul Gathering, Soul Searching and Soul Conversion are necromancer skills. You’re not even a mage so knowing these skills should be impossible for you. It looks like Marbas really liked you otherwise he wouldn’t give you such an excellent bonus.”

“He did say I would get something extra if I did better than expected” (or at least the quest window said so.)

“Since you gained the Focus stat and you already have so many Necromancer skills, why don’t I train you to be a real mage? It may be very entertaining.” As Paimon spoke, he had a huge smile on his face. It was the kind smile that gave Frost shivers. He knew that the kind of training that wouldn’t be pleasant or even remotely possible under normal circumstances. Thinking about Marbas’s training; a shiver went down Frost’s back. He wanted to refuse but he knew all too well that he would die if he didn’t get his help.”

“I… I’ll be in your care.” The words were painstakingly spoken while knowing full well that he was literally making a deal with a demon.

“Great! Let’s get started.”

“Now?” asked Frost. He was incredibly tiered and wanted nothing more than to sleep in his hammock.

“It’s not like we have time waste. We have more or less 6 days. If we don’t get you in shape by then…”

Paimon stop talking to let the words sink in. He basically told him that he would have to skip a few days of sleep if he wanted to survive which made Frost reluctant to do so but agreed none the less.

While Frost was stuck inside the forest, outside of Spiriton, Manna, Fallen, Rose and a man dressed in black by the name of Tricks were ready to start their level grinding.

“Now, let us introduce ourselves since we aren’t all familiar with each other and their professions. My name is Rose and I’m a level 24 Thief.” Rose was wearing red colored leather armor that matched her hair and made a pose at the end of her introduction.

“My name is Tricks. I’m a level 24 Assassin.” The man was dressed in black certainly looked like the textbook definition of assassin. By the look of his avatar, he seemed to be in his early 30s.

“Come on Taylor, can’t you get a bit more pumped up?” said Rose.

“Sis, you can’t just scream my real name inside the game. It’s common courtesy to use my in game name.”

“Sorry, it was just a slip of the tongue.”

“It’s fine. Let’s move on.” said Tricks while sighting.

“My name’s Fallen. I’m a level 16 archer. I’ll be in your care.” Fallen bowed after saying the last part. He knew he probably had the lowest level out of everyone here but nobody paid too much attention because they were focusing on Manna.

They all knew that Manna had a unique profession but she never told them what it was. Everybody was curious, even Tricks looked interested in it.

“Hello. My name is Manna. I’m a level 19 Blood Witch.”

Everybody was surprised but they didn’t know how to react. They never heard of a witch profession so they didn’t know if it was a good or bad profession to have. The one who broke the silence was Rose that cheerfully and shamelessly asked:

“Cool. What does it do?”

“The Blood Witch is like a fusion between lots of magical professions. I can summon, enchant, create potions and use a multitude of spells; at least that’s what my master told me. The best skill I have at the moment is called Familiar Blood Pact. I can summon up to two monsters that I personally killed so even though we don’t have a tank in our party, I can provide one. Watch! Summon Familiar: Death Knight”

A man wearing a black armor appeared in a flash of light. He was pale faced and both his hair and eyes were white making him look like a blind old man.

“Is that Gallant? He’s your familiar? What is he? He looks like a corpse” said Rose.

“He is a corpse. Master turned him into a Death Knight and afterwards I made him a familiar. It’s a shame his level wasn’t really high but at least he makes a good meat shield.”

“Wow Manna, you can really hold a grudge. May the gods have mercy on you, you stupid gamer.” Rose said while putting her hands together making a prayer.

“He’s not in there. I don’t really know what happened to him but he never showed up after I finished the ritual; maybe the skill deleted his character or he stopped playing or there was interference from the GM. Either way, I don’t really care. Shouldn’t we start hunting already? I know you’re curious about my profession but seeing it in action will be better them me talking about it.”

“You’re right. Manna, your Death Knight will be our tank and agro the monsters. Me and Tricks will use our agility with hit and run tactics. Fallen and Manna will be in the back. Fallen, you’re in charge of getting monster. Does everyone agree with this?”

Everybody nodded but then Manna raised her hand.

“I would like to buff everyone before we start.”

“You can buff as well? Damn, I want to be a witch.” said Rose.

“Me too” said Tricks and Fallen.

“There are just some small buffs but they do help a little” said Manna.

“Blood boil! Evil intension! Blood money!”

“I don’t see any difference. What do they do?”

“Blood boil cancels health regeneration but increases damage by 0.5. Evil intension increases critical rate, damage and drop rate. Blood money increases the drop rate.”

“We could either become rich or die incredibly fast” said Rose. “I like it.”

“It’s not like we need health regeneration. Our tank is undead/summon. I’m an assassin so I rather have more damage. Rose is a thief so she has high agility and low defense, no use there. Manna’s a mage… sort of… so I presume she has low health and defense and prefers long range while Fallen is an archer and in the same situation. We just have to avoid big groups of monsters or not use Blood boil” said Tricks.

“Enough talk. We are wasting buffs here” said Rose while running towards the nearest monster.

And so the group started to hunt to increase their levels while Frost was being tortured tutored by Paimon.

Note: I’m sorry it took so long to write a chapter. I wasn't feeling to well for a very long time.