30 November Year 2367

*Clank*

The mechanical clanking sound rang out again and Telfer awoke from his trance. A wrench was thrown into his plans yet again. It was as if fate was toying with him at every turn in this life. First was coming home to an abusive father. The second was being forced to comply to a terrorist organization. The third was being tortured by a psychopath. There was no way Telfer was going to let fate continue to decide his life. He had to start prepping for the Demon Kingdom.

*Slap*

Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

2 red handprints were left on Telfer's face. He looked at Claire and asked, "How long until we reach the Demon Kingdom? Please tell me more about the Demon Kingdom as well." Claire looked at Telfer, albeit a little stunned by Telfer's actions. She covered her mouth and giggled. She took a deep breath and said, "You're really funny you know? What kind of training did you go through to turn yourself into amnesiac? There's still one more hour until we reach the Demon Kindgom. As for more information on the Demon Kingdom, it's basically where strength rules. Whenever a disagreement arises, the 2 parties will duel. The loser has to listen to the winner. Disagreements can occur over anything. Even the position of King can be decided through fighting. In fact, the King is decided by a tournament every 10 years. There is another method but I don't think it will affect you. Since fighting occurs so regularly, Demons enter Martial Houses where they will be taught magic and martial arts. Basically, everyone seeks strength. There's really nothing more I can teach you other then the cities and what not, but that's way too much to go through. Here's some mana crystals for you. If there's nothing else, I will be taking my leave."

Claire stepped out of the medical room, leaving Telfer to his own devices. "Strength huh?" Telfer opened his status window.

Status Window Name: Telfer Berkley Age: 12 Race: Ghoul Gender: Male Stats Health: 120/120 (50/50) Heath regen.: 10/min (20/min) Energy: 70/70 (100/100) Energy Regen.: 3/min (8/ min) Mana: 40/40 (40/40) Mana Regen.: 2/min Strength: 6.5 (8) Agility: 7 (10) Dexterity: 6.5 (8) Stamina: 8 (10) Intelligence: 8 (5) Wisdom: 8 (4) Skills

Ghoul:

Mass Transfer

Magic Spells:

Poison Hand (Poison Magic)

Cloak (Illusion Magic)

Self created skills:

Yama's Strike

I still don't know how I measure up against Demons.

Telfer sat down on the floor and fumbled with the sack of mana crystals absentmindedly. There was nothing he could do in 1 hour except cultivate his mana. Telfer sat down on the pure white floor and started cultivating. Why is the mana here so thin? I guess I will just sleep. Telfer frowned for a moment before lying down. Meanwhile, the father and daughter pair were observing him through a security camera placed in the medical room.

"Papa, did you pick up the weird smell of him? It made him seem really strong. But it doesn't make sense. He's clearly a newborn with those stumps on his head. He asked me about the Demon Kingdom as well. Do you think...he's a spy?" Claire's eyebrows pinched together as she scrutinized the screen. "Let's just leave it. The moment we enter the Kingdom, we will just drop him off. We probably won't run into him within this vast kingdom." Claire's father glanced at the screen before moving off.

"Everyone get out of the shuttle. We need to inspect it."

A voice rang from outside the shuttle.

"What's happening?" Telfer sat up with a start. He was fully awake and ready in case he had to escape from another psychopath.

"Timothy, we need to get out. The guards are doing a routine check."

Telfer grabbed onto Claire's hand and eas promptly led out of the shuttle. The guards were covered in armor, so Telfer was unable to make out their faces. Their glow on their armor pulsated along with the glyphs that were inscribed on them. Some of them sported special features such as wings or a long tail. Every single one of them was armed with a gun and a sword. One of the winged guards glanced at Claire and Telfer and spat, "Oh, it's a shuttle filled with ghouls. When were ghouls able to get a shuttle?" The guard continued walking forward and bumped into a wall.

"Which idiot can't see properly?"

The guard whipped his head around and found Claire's father towering over him. A dangerous glint appeared in Harrison's eyes. "Who called me an idiot?" Harrison's hawk like gaze immediately caused the guard to step to the side. "I'm very sorry sir. It was an accident." Although Telfer could not see the guard's face, he could hear the sweat droplets hitting the armor within.

"Hmph. Hurry up and get the inspection done." Harrison glowered at the guard before joining Telfer and Claire.

"At once sir." The guards immediately entered the shuttle. After 5 minutes, the guards filed out and sent the trio on their way. As Telfer started to board the shuttle once more, Claire immediately held out her hand and shoved Telfer back down. Telfer stumbled onto the ground in shock. "I forgot to say this but, this is where we part. I wish you a good day!" Claire waved at Telfer cheerfully and slammed the door shut.

*Vroom*

The shuttle roared to life and sped off, leaving a cloud of dust. Telfer looked at the disappearing speck of light blankly.

HUH? JUST LIKE THAT?

Telfer roared with anger in his mind. The last thing he wanted was to be ditched in this unfamiliar land. Telfer stood up and patted the dust off while sighing. Just then, a familiar voice rang out. "HAHA! THIS DIPSHIT GOT REJECTED BY THAT GIRL!" Telfer spun around and was met with the guard who had slipped up just now. He scanned the guard and clenched his fist. Strength rules huh? 

"Oi. The idiot who called me a dipshit. Let's fight right here, right now."

Telfer stormed over to the guard and winded up his arm. 

"HAHA! Am I hearing this right? A lowly NEWBORN ghoul wants to challenge me. Right here as well? You fool, we have to go to the Duelling Arena first." 

The guard burst into laughter and clutched his belly. His wings flapped about wildly. An oppresive aura poured out of the guard's body as he stared down at Telfer. "Let's go then." Telfer followed behind the guard to an area filled with countless stages. A massive crowd surrounded the stages where demons fought each other. "Let's register first." The guard gestured at a counter that was near the stages. 

"We are here to register for a fight. I'm Pelakos, a third level Ifrit." 

The guard pointed at himself. The lady at the counter looked at Telfer expectantly. "Oh, I'm Timothy, a newborn ghoul." The lady looked at Telfer strangely before registering their fight. 

"Here are your passes. You will be fighting at Arena 2E in approximately 20 minutes time. Anything else?" 

The lady handed both the guard and Telfer a piece of paper. The guard removed his armor and passed it to the lady for safekeeping. "Your first fight huh? That's really unexpected but I'm still going to crush you." Pelakos walked off as he grinned maliciously at Telfer. A massive body on which flames burned without end. A mouth filled with sharp teeth that spouted flames every time he spoke. The massive wings that were as large or even bigger than Telfer. Finally, the horns and vicious claws that seemed like they could rip anything apart. Telfer knew without question that Pelakos would be a difficult opponent. 

Shit. Why did I loose my fucking cool? 

Telfer grimaced as he looked at Pelakos disappear to some other stage. Suddenly, he spotted a rack of masks beside the counter. An idea flashed through his head. "How much for one of these?" Telfer picked up one of the masks and placed it on the counter. It was made of a plastic-like material and had 2 streaks of red coming down from the 2 eyeholes. The lady looked at Telfer strangely again before saying that masks were free for all fighters. Telfer quickly put the mask on his face and walked off. That was way too embarrassing even for someone like him who was used to kissing his boss's ass. As he walked, the mask slowly fused itself onto his face, no matter how much Telfer pulled at it, it would not come off. Telfer struggled with it but eventually focused onto the task at hand. Telfer furrowed his eyebrows as he walked towards Arena 2E. The only 2 real attacking skills he had at his disposal was Poison Hand and Yama's Strike. Mass Transfer did not really cut it as he was more likely to use it to dodge attacks. As for Cloak, it was self-explanatory. Weak if used alone but could be effective if paired with Yama's Strike. If Telfer could land Yama's Strike accurately, the high consumption of mana would be worth it. The last weapon that Telfer had was the sword. But the sword was to be used only in the most desperate circumstances. Even if he cloaked it, it would consume his mana too rapidly. 

"The fight between Timothy, a newborn Ghoul and Pelakos, a third level Ifrit will commence shortly. Please place your bets if you want to."

Telfer proceeded to the waiting area and continued to contemplate his approach but eventually shook his head. He looked up at the TV which was streaming the current match. One of the fighters was a ghoul. There were a few times where the ghoul dodged while there were moments where he took the attack head on. As the fight progressed, the ghoul had a couple of bruises on his body while his opponent was covered in cuts and wounds. 

That's it! Thank you so much!

Telfer grinned at the TV and clasped his hands together. A new method to approach this fight appeared in his mind. The match eventually ended in the ghoul's victory and it was time for Telfer to step onto the stage. One of the employees directed Telfer towards a staircase which led to the stage. As Telfer stepped onto the stage, boos rang out from the crowd below. Pelakos had stepped onto the opposite side of the stage as well. 

"Wearing a mask? No difference, I'm still going to crush you." 

Pelakos cracked his knuckles and leaned forward, preparing to charge Telfer the moment the fight started. A flying robot counted down the fight. 

"3, 2, 1, GO!" 

*BOOM*

Pelakos's immense body rammed into Telfer, causing Telfer to fly back and crash into the stone surface. Blood trickled out of Telfer's mouth under the mask. 

Shit. Status.

Status Window Name: Telfer Berkley Age: 12 Race: Ghoul Gender: Male Stats Health: 80/120 (50/50) Heath regen.: 10/min (20/min) Energy: 70/70 (100/100) Energy Regen.: 3/min (8/ min) Mana: 40/40 (40/40) Mana Regen.: 2/min Strength: 6.5 (8) Agility: 7 (10) Dexterity: 6.5 (8) Stamina: 8 (10) Intelligence: 8 (5) Wisdom: 8 (4) Skills

Ghoul:

Mass Transfer

Magic Spells:

Poison Hand (Poison Magic)

Cloak (Illusion Magic)

Self created skills:

Yama's Strike

 A third of Telfer's health disappeared into thin air with the intial charge. It was the worst start imaginable. 

"Oi. You were the one who declared the fight. Come at me then."

Pelakos stood there smugly with his arms folded. Telfer got up and stood still. After a few seconds, Telfer raised his arm and waved at Pelakos to come over. 

"SON OF A BITCH! BLAZING WHIP!"

Pelakos snarled and a whip of flames appeared in his hand. Pelakos charged Telfer once more and flung the whip down on Telfer. 

"Mass Transfer."

Telfer stepped to the side as a drop of sweat formed on his head. Where he once stood was a path of flame. If he had not stepped to the side, he would have been roasted alive. Telfer beckoned at Pelakos again. Pelakos's pupils dilated and a Breath of Flames shot out from his mouth. Telfer activated Mass Transfer again. 

That's it. Keep coming you big idiot.

Telfer kept avoiding Pelakos for awhile. The stage was continuously ruined as Pelakos slammed Blazing Whips into it. While Pelakos breathed heavily as his strength was being sapped away, Telfer was relatively unharmed with only his hairs being singed. The boos from the crowd got louder and louder as time passed.

"STOP BEING A PUSSY AND FIGHT ME DAMNIT!"

Pelakos roared and pounced at Telfer once more. Blazing Whip appeared once more. However, Telfer noted the clear decrease in the intensity and length of the whip. 

Chance!

"Mass Transfer."

Telfer stepped straight into the range of the whip and activated Mass Transfer once more. Poison Hand wrapped itself around Telfer's right arm which flew straight into Pelakos's groin.

"GOT YOU NOW! ARGHHHH!"

Pelakos scrambled back while clutching his groin. Telfer grinned at him and leapt at Pelakos once more. He could imagine his impending victory already. Telfer enhanced his left knee and aimed at Pelakos's nose. 

"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! BURNING LAND!"

Flames exploded all over Pelakos's body as well as the stage. The stage could now be described as hell on earth. Telfer's knee flew into Pelakos's nose but the latter was relatively unaffected. Instead, the flames from the surroundings were absorbed into Pelakos's body.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE NOW!" 

Pelakos grabbed onto Telfer's leg and flung him onto the stage. Telfer's mask cracked as blood came pouring out of his mouth. Flames covered Telfer immediately. 

"Surrender or die in this fiery hell."

Pelakos walked over and picked up Telfer by his neck. 

"I will... never surrender."

Telfer activated Mass Transfer on his mouth and bit down with all his might. Pelakos's hand came right off and purple blood came shot out of it. 

"YOU BASTARD!"

Pelakos hand regrew right away and he raised his body to smash Telfer to pieces. Meanwhile, a system notification came.

"Host is losing 3 health per second due to being burned by flames."

It's now or never. 

Telfer flung Pelakos's hand at him before activating Cloak. Pelakos brushed the hand aside and yelled.

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

Mass Transfer.

"Right here. Yama's Strike."

Telfer's left arm materialized underneath Pelakos's chin before jetting upwards. Pelakos's eyes rolled over and Burning Land ceased immediately. 

The flying robot held up a screen, "Winner: Timothy". The crowd went silent for a moment before bursting into an uproar. A newborn ghoul had beaten an Ifrit at the third level. Nevermind the difference between the 2 races, the 2 level difference was nothing to be laughed at. Telfer walked off the stage and into the public area in a daze. Countless demons were waiting there for him. 

"Timothy, would you like to join our Martial House?"

The same question was repeated over and over again in Telfer's ears as many hands jostled for his attention. Suddenly, a hand picked up Telfer and said, "Boy, you are coming to my Martial House." 

End of Chapter