‘It hurts… It hurts so much. It''s hard to breathe. My body feels like there’s a raging flame inside of it. It… it feels like it’ll explode me into nothing.’


    Kenny stayed still for a few minutes, laying on the ground. The reformation of his body was complete, but that didn''t solve his hunger problem. Although he could now eat demon flesh without much consequences, there were barely any down in the depths of the chasm.


    At this point, Kenny didn''t have the strength to even stand up. His resolve was weakening by the minute… no, by the second.


    ''Kenny, get up.''


    ''I can''t.''


    ''Get up.''


    Kenny thought of an idea to conserve as much of his energy as possible..


    With a raspy and shaky voice he said:


    "Come forth."


    Kenny stood up, his legs shaking and his face looking exhausted and pale. He climbed onto the King Arachnid''s back, layed there and let the King Arachnid do the walking. He layed there, reminiscing about the life he had before being trapped in this hell hole. He couldn''t stop himself from almost tearing up, but in the end, didn’t. He was tired of always feeling pain. Although it''s only been three weeks since he''s been trapped inside Purgatory, everyday was a struggle, a hell. Not a day passed by where Kenny didn''t go through a hardship.


    The mistake Kenny made was thinking it couldn''t get any worse than this. How wrong was the poor 15 year old boy.


    The King Arachnid had encountered one or two F-Rank demons, and thankfully not much struggle was made in defeating the demon.


    Kenny climbed down from the King Arachnid and walked up to the demon his servant had killed, summoned his regalia, and cut the demon into pieces. He didn''t even try to roast it with his flame, Kenny just dug in. He felt a tiny burn in his stomach, but not anything that would hurt. Kenny began to feel sadness and pain as he munch on his meal.


    ''It taste like shit.''


    ''Kenny, stop drowning in self sorrow. From now on, this is going to be your life in purgatory. Pain will become common, so will despair and fear. The faster you accept and get used to this, the better.


    Kenny felt discouraged by Aragons words, but couldn’t help but agreed with him. He now knew the kind of place purgatory was, it was a place full of dangerous Demons that would kill you, even if just out of fun. Before coming to purgatory Kenny didnt think of it like a place of what he sees now. He thought there were no struggles and that slaying demons wouldn’t be this hard and fearsome. Oh… How wrong he was indeed.


    Kenny even chuckled at his past self''s stupidity as he continued to munch on the demon, he even went so for as to quench his thirst with the blood of the damn thing.


    Although the monster didn''t taste good whatsoever, it felt good to have his stomach full and not starved.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    To not waste his energy Kenny continued the journey on the back of the King Arachnid, and throughout it Aragon began to teach Kenny about the demon language and basics of controlling Xin now that he is part demon.


    Although learning the Demon language was quite an easy task for Kenny, Xin on the other hand was a struggle.


    ''You have no talent.''


    Kenny sighed.


    ''I know.''


    ''Pay attention. To control Xin you must train both your mind and body. With your mind, imagine moving Xin through your body and into your arms in order to strengthen them.''


    ''It''s easier said than done.''


    ''Close your eyes and relax all your muscles. In a moment, you should feel the Xin circulating throughout your body. Now, with your mind, move it into your arms.''


    Kenny closed his eyes and relaxed all his muscles. He sat there for a while, not moving.


    “I can''t do it no matter how much I try, and It isn''t even remotely useful in battle if I have to meditate in the middle of a fight.”


    ''If you become skilled enough in controlling your Xin, you''ll be able to do subconsciously.''


    ''Alright.''


    Kenny closed his eyes and tried over and over again.


    ***


    Kenny wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he guess that mabye weeks had gone by, and Kenny was still stuck in the dark chasm.


    “How big is this damn crack in the ground?”


    Kenny sighed.


    ''Danger.''


    Kenny quickly summoned his regalia and jumped off the King Arachnid.


    ''Where?''


    ''Coming in from behind, I''d estimated that it''s a D-Rank.''


    ''Alright.''


    Kenny hid behind a rock and levitated his flame towards the King Arachnid. He waited for a few minutes, then heard stomping. He couldn''t see the demon but knew it was pretty big if it''s stomping was that loud. The thing finally came into the distance of the flame.


    It was a giant tiger-looking thing with all black fur and red eyes. It was a little smaller than the king arachnid, but still fierce looking.


    Kenny''s plan was simple every time he fought a demon. He would use the king arachnid as bait in order for the demon to focuse it''s attention on it. He would then swoop in to kill it. Quite simple, but effective.


    The demon began to attack the King Arachnid with it''s claws. The Arachnid battled with the giant tiger like Demon, and as it did, Kenny prepared himself, then dashed with great speed and swung his sword. Unfortunately, the demon noticed Kenny and stopped the sword with its mouth. Kenny tried to take his sword back, but the demon didn''t let it go. It then raised its claw and slashed Kenny''s left eye. Kenny retreated back as he ordered his servant to attack.


    The King Arachnid raised one of its sharp legs and peirced the distracted demon through its torso.


    [You have slain a Demon].


    [You have reached Rank 3]


    [You have received a new Gift].


    Kenny groaned as he covered his hand with his eye. He then removed his hand, his wound began to heal slowly. After a few seconds, the wound was completely healed and he felt no pain, only a little discomfort.


    He turned and finally saw the notification.


    “Rank 3! Hahaha!! Yes!!”


    He opened his status window and read:


    [Name: Kenny]


    [Titles: (Reanimator), (Ghost Of Death)]


    [Rank: 3]


    [Gifts: …(Sword Master)]


    [Blessings: None]


    [Regalia: (Survivor''s Blade)]


    He tapped on his new gift and read:


    [Sword Master: Makes the user more efficient in using a sword they have marked as their own.]


    [Sub Gifts: (???), (???)]


    ''Simple but very useful… Sub Gifts? I think I''ve heard of them. Some people receive Gifts with sub Gifts. They are sort of like extensions from the main gift and act as support.''


    Kenny looked at his regalia.


    [Would you like to mark this sword?]


    "Yes."


    Red markings enveloped the swords blade.


    Kenny looked up at the demon and walked over to it.


    ''Hopefully it works this time.''


    Kenny put his hand on the slain demon.


    [Would you like to Reanimate this Demon?].


    "Yes."


    [Reanimation failed. Would you like to try again?].


    "Yes."


    [Reanimation successful].


    Although Kenny couldn’t see it quite well, a black mist began to emit from the demons body, but mostly around the hole the King Arachnid had left in it. After a while the demon stood up, a red portal appeared in front of it, and it walked inside.


    Kenny was relieved. He had tried reanimating all the demons he had slain before but his attempts were not successful.


    Now, he had a new companion.