《Muzumi》


 prologue Part 1 -- Hell

    My father is an idiot, I can''t understand how a stupid, bland and boring person like him managed to transcend into Godhood and become the guardian of hell.


    It requires countless centuries of training and enormous amounts of luck for someone to grow their soul into that of a god. Yet my father somehow managed to do it a few thousand years ago and fight the last guardian and ruler of hell for his domain. What¡¯s even more unbelievable is that a rookie like him actually managed to kill the old ruler and take his place.


    Now, you probably think that my father is amazing but to be honest he¡¯s not. If anything this just makes him the biggest idiot in the universe to me. Out of all the domains you can contest for, hell is the worst, I mean come on, its hell. The ruler of hell always gets hated and ridiculed  by the other gods. Not to mention the countless amounts of mortals who end up fearing and hating the ruler of hell.


    They also wrongfully attach biased views to my old man such as the most evil creation in the universe and all sorts of other nonsense but do they even know what being the guardian of hell is even actually like? No.


    Being the guardian of hell is the worst job of all. Your job is to take all the dead and call them down to hell, and then they get judged and sent either to be reincarnated, destroyed, or imprisoned depending on the verdict of a council of Gods sent down from heaven.


    Your pretty much a god damn errand boy, the other Gods don''t even let you make any decisions and if you flaunt your powers or responsibilities too much they end up sending someone down to make your life even worse.


    My old man, does his job to the letter and gets no respect, he¡¯s the best guardian of hell since the beginning of time itself but no one appreciates his work and he gets treated like dirt. Even though his work is way harder than all those lazy Gods in heaven who just sit around and indulge in entertainment every second of their worthless existences


    Ahhh but enough about my useless old man, there is a lot more important things for me to consider, you see I am in deep shit right now and my life is at risk.


    My name is Muzumi the third prince of the devil. I have two older brothers. My oldest brother is Kuro and the other is Shiro and I am pretty sure that they want to kill me.


    Those annoying maggots are jealous of me because I am not a useless weakling like them. Our father began training us on our fifth birthdays. The training gets harder and harder the stronger we get and I managed to become stronger than both of them by the time i was 10 years old.  Kuro was 15 at the time and his strength in death magic was comparably to a leaky faucet, Shiro was 12 and he could barely summon a few drops of drops of death magic before passing out while my own death magic was already at the level of a roaring river.


    But do I get any respect for working my ass off? No, instead those two useless losers ended up hating me and my old man just because he would always praise only me for being far more adept at death magic than anyone else.


    Normally I would never even bother thinking of those two idiots as anything more than specs of dust but lately due to some circumstances I need to be on guard.


    My old man suddenly declared that he was going on one of his rare vacations with my mother, who is a half-immortal he met a long time ago, and left hell under my older brothers rule till he would come back.


    The last time he took a vacation was 300 years ago so it was really unlucky of me that he decided to take one when there is still one thing in hell that I am not strong enough to protect myself from, the seal of the devil.


    And yup you guessed it, my idiot father left the seal of the devil with my oldest brother Kuro who like I said, hates my guts.


    My old man doesn¡¯t know that those two idiots hate me so he just casually left the only thing that can destroy my soul with Kuro and left without so much as a day¡¯s warning¡­


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    The first thing Kuro did when my old man left was bind my magic with the seal of the devil and chuck me into The valley of death. The valley of death is where all the warrior and battle fanatics get grouped before they get selected for their trials. Now as u can imagine, the council is rather slow with sorting out souls and getting trials completed, and what with their constant ¡°lunch breaks¡± and ¡°bathroom breaks¡± and with the valley of death being a valley with millions of warrior souls¡­..


    Endless war, The valley of death is the single most chaotic place in the universe as the war never stops and billions of souls constantly fight each other till there dead corpses become completely unusable and then they possess the bodies of other warriors by battling there wills.. Ugh¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­ long story short if u combine the spiritual and physical attacks u receive¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Any normal mortal would get instantly obliterated in less than 0.2 seconds.


    Even I, the third prince of the devil would get easily overrun in a few hours with my death magic sealed but my older brothers underestimated my intelligence.


    The Palace of hell lies in the center of hell on top of a very steep mountain called Carcalo it¡¯s pretty much just vertical.  Now that I think about it, it would be more suitable to call it a pillar than a mountain.


    Anyways surrounding the palace are 5 domains that hold different type of souls. The two most dangerous are the valley of death and the forest of the forgotten. The forest of the forgotten contains millions of extremely vengeful grudge holding souls. It¡¯s even more scary than the valley of death because the level of the spiritual attacks you receive can sometimes compare to that of a demigod. Those souls are no joke and if my idiot brothers weren¡¯t idiots they should have chucked me there instead. Without death magic to protect me from those scary bastards I would have gotten possessed and my soul slowly would have been devoured by whatever sick thing took over me.


    After I smashed into the valley of death bloody and tired from the 2 hour fall the first thing I did was to dig deep into the ground. Now I am no normal mortal I was 17 at the time and the third prince of the Devil my physical strength is at a very high level and doing something like digging a tunnel was something easy for me to accomplish. I also do not need to breathe, one of the perks of being the son of the devil is that I can convert spiritual energy into things like food and oxygen. As far as I was concerned I could live deep underground in the valley of death for an eternity.


    But instead, I started digging a path towards Carcalo. On the way I happened to dig close too some super gross decomposing flesh and all sorts of disgusting rotting carcasses so overall it was a really shitty experience. I reached the base of Carcalo when I noticed that the earth in front of me was too hard to dig through, so I dug straight up and into fresh air for the first time in days.


    Well I say fresh but as always there was the stench of death and decay, but hey as the prince of the devil u get used to all sorts of sick stuff and air is air right?


    After I got to  Carcalo I did the first thing that came to my mind, I started climbing. I had to fight off a few spiritual and physical attacks from some fallen angels who flew up to battle with me but it was no big deal I wasn¡¯t getting dog-piled too hard and 1v5 scenarios were nothing to worry about. Arial battles were really fun though, especially when I jumped on the back of one of the dead angels and drove my hand into her heart and steered the angel by pulling her hair. Then I  used her sword to run through all the rest.


    Pity that her body shook itself into pieces and was unusable after a few minutes, but at least I happened to take advantage of her and fly a few miles higher before jumping off.

 prologue Part 2 -- Riverside

    ___ Hi Yuzu here, just wanted to tell everyone that i messed up and accidentally cut off my prologue too early so I am just going to split it into three parts, here''s part 2---


    After a few hours of climbing Carcalo with my bare hands, I finally reached the first of the three rings of Caraclo. The rings were essentially hollowed out areas that ran around the entire circumference of the mountain and inside each ring was a river that looped around into itself. The river was unique because it was always flowing fast but without a start or end.


    Inside the river were a large number of undeads in essence form that needed to be sorted out and then thrown into one of the 5 domains.


    Essence form undeads are like ghosts but once taken out of the river they would solidify and become physical form undeads. The river was kinda like a storage box for new souls that would arrive in hell, and each of the 3 rings had souls based on their strength. With me being on the third ring, I had the weakest soul strength undeads to work with.


    And now we arrive to the present. Here I am on my hands and knees shoveling undeads out of the river with my bare hands so I could manipulate their soul energy with my own to try and decay the bindings around my own soul that are stopping me from using my death magic.


    Magic is essentially the conversion of spiritual energy or otherwise known as mana, to create or manipulate the elements or laws of the world. One example of magic is making a simple fireball, this would classify as elemental magic. Law magic is magic such as increasing the gravity in your immediate surrounding area or increasing your strength by condensing mana all around your body. A few centuries ago, in the past law magic used to be called arcane magic but that word felt to limiting to all the things you could accomplish so it simply got restated into law magic.


    Now I am a practitioner of a special type of law magic known as death magic which is the control of and manipulation of souls. Which is one of the reasons I can manipulate a different type of energy than my spiritual energy, something called soul energy.


    Death magic requires the use of spiritual energy and also generally no magic uses up your actual soul energy because that would be the same as self-destructing your own existence, but that¡¯s not to say that I can¡¯t manipulate my soul energy to force other soul energy to gravitate to my own or do my bidding.


    My idiot brothers have no idea the powers at my disposal. They truly did underestimate me if they thought that mere bindings on my magic would render me useless. True practitioners of death magic can manipulate their own soul energy to devour the soul of a being like a dragon without so much as lifting a finger.


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    I am not at that sort of level yet but something like creating a pull effect on other soul energy and making the soul suicide to decay the bindings on my death magic is child¡¯s play.


    I am really tired, and extremely pissed off it took me close to 4 months to climb up to the first ring and I am already 18. I spent my birthday with bloody hands climbing up a god-damn vertical mountain and now I had to sit here on my ass and shovel dead people out of some stupid river and constantly use my soul energy like a god-damn flute.. UGH!! I wish I could give my brothers the ass whooping they deserve but they have the seal of the devil and I have no means to fight against them. The only thing I can do is lay low and bide my time.


    --- 2 Months later ¡ª


    ¡°It seems as I am getting close...¡± I muttered under my breathe, I''ve finally managed to corrode the bindings around my soul enough that a few more minutes and I would have access to my death magic again. I am sitting here on the cold River bank with my eyes closed so I could focus on my soul energy when suddenly I notice a presence nearby.


    ¡°You''ve got to be kidding me¡­¡± I notice that there¡¯s two presences coming straight at me from above and that there closing in fast. It¡¯s most likely my brothers come down to finish me but I have no idea how they know that I am alive and here.


    ¡°Hello dearest Muzumi, fancy seeing you here¡±


    I turn around and see my older brother Kuro standing above me looking down at my pitiful state with a smug smile on his face. Just looking at him makes me want to rip his throat out but I know that I am at a disadvantage so I have to suck it up and see if I can talk my way out of this.


    ¡°What do u want Kuro, I¡¯ll forgive you for tossing me of a cliff and leaving me to die so just leave me alone, if you bother me I¡¯ll tell father and I am sure he won¡¯t be too pleased¡±


    Kuro raised his eyebrows and says ¡°Don¡¯t worry Muzumi were just here to finish the job we started it seems as if you¡¯re a lot more resourceful than we thought¡±.


    Suddenly my expression becomes serious, I have to figure out a way to get away from these idiots alive. An idea pops up in my head


    ¡°Well okay Kuro but you¡¯re going to have to catch me first idiot¡±, I turn around and jump into the river

 prologue Part 3 -- Curse

    ¡°Well okay Kuro but you¡¯re going to have to catch me first idiot¡±, I turn around and jump into the river.


    ¡°Quick after him Shiro!¡±


    Both of them start running alongside the river to keep up with me but the river has a pretty strong current. Being inside the river is very exhausting though, I was still trying to corrode the bindings on my soul and at the same time I had to now try to keep my mana from spilling outside my body into the river as it¡¯s power was trying to disperse all my energy. Being a living creature in the river is extremely annoying because of it''s properties and I have to deal with it.


    This is like trying to juggle while walking on hot coals. I feel like some sort of clown in this god-damn river but I am just hoping that I¡¯ll buy enough time for me to finish freeing my magic.


    ¡°This ends now Muzumi!¡±


    I hear Kuro shout something behind me and as I turn around I see the seal of the devil in his hands glowing with read mist pouring out of it. Suddenly my body flies out of the river and lands a few meters from where Kuro and Shiro are standing.


    ¡°You are such a resilient Bastard Muzumi, but you¡¯re going to die today, I¡¯ve had enough of your sarcastic remarks and shitty attitude. I am the first prince of the devil and a third prince spare like you has too much liberty around here. I am going to be taking your life for your insolence!¡±


    I stare at Kuro dumbfounded with my mouth wide open before cackling with loud laughter


    ¡°What are you talking about Kuro, to this day you won¡¯t admit that you¡¯re just jealous of me because you¡¯re just a weakling without father¡¯s toys!¡±


    ¡°SILENCE!¡± growled Kuro


    ¡°Even now you mock me, well, you will mock me no longer! Death is no longer enough of a punishment for you. Despair because now I will destroy your Soul!¡±


    Shit, I am still not done decaying these bindings on my soul and now this idiot is about to try and destroy me. A giant beam of energy shoots out from the seal and before I have any time to think it hits my body


    Imagine having millions of needles inserted into every pore on your skin, that¡¯s what it felt like. I started screaming in pain as the seal first started its physical assault to eradicate my body.


    I only had a few seconds before the spiritual attack would begin so with determination I didn''t know existed inside me I grit my teeth and focused all my energy on decaying the bindings, I was so close!..... Just a little more¡­!!


    After a few seconds I felt the spiritual attack begin its assault, my skin was already burned into nothing and my muscles were also getting worked. But... what¡¯s this....! I felt hope surging through me maybe I can make it alive yet!


    This brain-dead imbecile of a brother had no idea what he was doing. The seal was actually decaying the bindings for me! I could feel them breaking apart and now I was finally able to use my death magic!


    ¡°Death Art 17 Demon Soul shield!¡±


    Countless undead essences from the river sprang out and flew towards me and swirled all around me. After a second they spiraled together and formed a giant shield in front of me blocking the attack of the seal


    ¡°Death Art 3, Soul Sustain!¡±


    More undead essences rushed to me and covered me in a bright black light. After short moment all my physical injuries were immediately repaired and I was back in peak condition!


    ¡°HOW!?¡± Kuro had his eyes wide opened and started at me dumbfounded


    ¡°Kuro you¡¯ve gone too far this time, don¡¯t expect any mercy from me, I am going to tear your soul apart............. Final Death Art, Demon soul Blade!¡±


    A giant great sword formed from the undead essences in front of me. I grabbed it with one hand and rushed towards Kuro and in an instant I was already just a meter away from him. I then swung the great sword aiming for his head!


    -CLASH!-


    A loud metallic noise filled the air and when the dust settled I saw Shiro standing there with his longsword looking at me with lifeless eyes, and then for the first time in a year he spoke to me


    ¡°I am sorry Muzumi, but I am the second son of the devil and Kuro is the first. It¡¯s my duty to protect him from all harm and obey his command¡­..I hate that it had to come to this¡­¡­.. But master Kuro hates you too much¡­ ¡­..I can¡¯t do anything besides obey his wishes¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Shiro! Come on don¡¯t tell me you actually want to serve this useless tadpole for the rest of your life! Have some initiative and live your own life idiot!¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I was acting strong but to be honest inside I was panicking. I thought to take Kuro by surprise but Shiro intervened. Shiro used to be the weakest of us three and even now his death magic skill is abysmal but a few years ago my dad grew tired of him being the weakest and threw him into the valley of death and told him to climb back himself. It took him 2 years to get back and when he did get back he wasn¡¯t the same weak crybaby Shiro anymore. At first I was happy because me and Shiro got along well, but then I realized that he just turned into a brainless pawn and kept spouting nonsense about duty and being the guardian to the first heir of the king, blah blah blah. Basically he just became another giant idiot who had  no ability to think for himself.


    If me and him fought each other I would win easily but with the seal of the devil helping him¡­. I had no chance. 1v1 against him or the seal I could probably win but with both of them teaming against me¡­. I wasn¡¯t confident.


    ¡°HAHA Die Muzumi!¡± Kuro yelled


    The seal of the devil shone again and I was surrounded in a barrier that seemed to weaken my strength.


    ¡°Get him Shiro!¡±


    Shiro charged at me with killing intent, he entered the barrier easily and it didn¡¯t seem to weaken him at all. He slashed at me again and again but each time he did I would parry his blow and return with one of my own. After a while his injures were starting to overwhelm him and he backed off. He managed to injure me a little too but with my Death Arts and countless souls next to me in the river I was able to restore myself.


    The situation was getting worse for me though, the barrier around me seemed to get stronger and stronger and I was growing more and more weak. Eventually Shiro would be able to overpower me and I¡¯ll run out of mana and be unable to heal myself.


    After a few minutes of Shiro backing off and restoring and then coming at me again and again that¡¯s exactly what happened the barrier even started exerting some sort of gravity on me, under these conditions I wasn¡¯t able to do anything.


    ¡°Looks like this is the End brother, you¡¯re too weak to continue fighting and with no mana I don¡¯t have to worry about any of your tricks¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re so pathetic Kuro, first you take advantage of me when I am sleeping to bind my magic and now you get your own younger brother to fight your battles for you while you sit back and use the seal of the fucking devil like some sort cleric casting support magic and barriers! I¡¯ve never seen someone as incompetent and uselessly prideful like you, you¡¯ll get nothing out of destroying me besides your own misery!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Kuro was seething with anger and suddenly the barrier around me shattered, I was secretly celebrating but before having the chance to do anything out of the seal in my brothers hand shot a tiny red beam that collided with my mind


    I felt my soul directly come under attack and immediately my soul started breaking down. Ugh this is the strongest magic the seal can use, Soul shatter, to be honest I am surprised that Kuro knew how to use it but I don¡¯t have the time to be surprised, at this point no matter what I do there¡¯s no way I can stop my soul from breaking, I don¡¯t have enough mana to put up any resistance.


    Seeing no way out there was only one thing I could do and that¡¯s to take this idiot out with me. If he became the ruler of hell when my father moved on to something else in a few centuries, than hell was truly doomed and there was no way I would let  home sweet home get ruined.


    ¡°Forbidden Series, final Death Art number 10, Soul breaker!¡±


    With the last of my mana I activated the strongest of the forbidden series death arts.Then I began converting my soul energy into a curse, and shot it directly into Kuro.


    ¡°AHHH!¡± Kuro started screaming and spasming before suddenly stopping and falling down. What I had just done was shatter his soul, cursed it and sent it all over the mortal world. Putting him back together was virtually impossible, not even my father would be able to do it as the curse completely hid the presence of the shards of his soul.


    Having used all my soul energy¡­¡­I was slowly¡­¡­losing my existence¡­..even now I am just an echo¡­¡­¡­


    Ah¡­. Curse my luck.


    Hello all, yuzu here =)  this sounds like the end, but I assure you, it¡¯s just the beginning.

 Chapter 1 -- Pleasantries with Death

    -Yuzu here, I''ve noticed that alot of people are skipping the prologue, the story might be a bit confusing if you choose to skip it as there is alot of important information there. Happy readings


    (Chapter 1) Pleasantries with Death


    ¡°Where¡­¡­¡­.Where... am I?¡±


    I was alive, somehow, wait am I alive? What¡­¡­. What¡¯s going on, I shouldn¡¯t be able to think on account of me destroying myself but I was still able to recount all that had happened in the past few months and who I was.


    I was surrounded by mist and on some sort of marbled tiled floor, I bent down to look at the floor but was surprised when I wasn¡¯t even able to see it due to the mist all around me. I could only feel its hardness and coolness under my feet


    ¡°You¡¯re in my Domain Muzumi.¡±


    A voice that seemed to echo throughout my being rang out. I looked around suddenly feeling an irrational fear.


    ¡°Who are you? Show yourself!¡±


    ¡°I have many names mortal, some call me the End, some call me the Devourer of All, I prefer being known simply as, Death.¡±


    ¡°I am not a mortal, I am the third prince of the Devil, I have god blood in my veins at most I should be a half-immortal.¡±


    ¡°Yes I suppose you are correct but we outer circle gods refer to all existences besides those of the inner circle gods as mortals.¡±


    ¡°Outer circle? Inner circle? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Well, we have a lot of time so I don¡¯t mind explaining to you. At the beginning there was something known as the void, the ever expanding nothingness, and from this nothingness came many somethings.¡±


    ¡°Huh? I don¡¯t understand?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry mortal, there are many things involved with creation that even the inner circle gods are simply incapable of understanding, just listen.¡±


    ¡°Continuing from where I left off, these Somethings that came out of the void were all the current outer circle gods. You may recognize them as things like ideas or entities of existence, they are all around the mortal worlds and their influences mix together to make what you would call the universe.¡±


    ¡°My brothers and sisters include, Chaos, Faith, Life, Order, Miracle, Norm, Magic and many more that you cannot understand, as for me, I am Death.¡±


    ¡°My work is directly involved with my sister Life, she is my counterpart. Not all outer gods have one but like my two brothers, Chaos and Order, my own counterpart is sister Life. She makes souls and I End them, without her I would have nothing to End and without me her influence would grow too strong and she will end up getting devoured by the void.¡±


    ¡°Counter parts to us Gods exist to keep our influence in check, if there is no balance to our influence the void ends up devouring us. Already many outer gods who recklessly grew there influence have been destroyed. But for the last countless eons, the current set of outer gods have flourished and created a balanced system you would know as the universe.¡±


    ¡°As for inner circle gods, those are the gods that exist within the universe and manage the many worlds. They are all existences that have ascended into godhood by growing their own souls through many trials.¡±


    ¡°Your father was such a being, you would know him as the Devil, but there are actually countless Devils and heavens all across the universe, this is the work of another brother of mine, known as Coincidence¡±


    ¡°Is his counterpart outer God Randomness?¡±


    ¡°Yes, good observation, many ideas that exist are outer gods or indirectly related to one. Originally Magic was an outer god that was part of my brother Miracle but then Magic''s influence grew over the years and he branched out to be a god on his own.Like this, influence on the universe directly affects your power as an outer circle god¡±


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    Suddenly the voice of Death grew more solemn ¡°The strongest outer circle God right now is Chaos, and the weakest is Order. Chaos is far too reckless, he thinks that he might be able to grow strong enough to challenge the void but he does not know what sort of power the void has¡­and it will be a pain to remake the universe if he ends up dying¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Now, I''ve done explaining creation to you mortal, consider yourself lucky as no one besides outer gods know of it.  it is due to a whim of mine that I even bothered informing you. So moving on let me explain why I reformed your soul¡±


    ¡°You should thank my sister faith, I owe her a favor for helping me out a long time ago and she was very interested in your future as you are the only mortal that has no path. your''e one of a kind, due to some sort of freak accident you are destiny-less¡±


    ¡°She cannot see into your future no matter what she does so she was rather quite furious and mystified as to why brother Luck decided to end your life.¡±


    ¡°Wait, an outer god killed me? Why?¡±


    ¡°It was found recently that brother Chaos forced brother Luck to end your life. I guess that the reason might be because somehow he arrived to the conclusion that your existence was the only existence that could decrease his influence in the universe as you are, destiny-less. Since your future cannot be seen you are the only thing that can possibly effect his influence and he¡¯s been rather quite meticulous recently in building influence and eliminating threats.¡±


    I was shocked at what Death was telling me, this is crazy I am just some random being in the universe, why am I destiny-less? What does that even mean¡­..?


    ¡°So, let¡¯s talk about what me and sister faith have planned for you Muzumi. we are collaborating with sister Life to re-incarnate you as a human without any God-blood in your veins in the world that you came from. Additionally we''re working together with Magic to completely hide the fact that you are still alive from Chaos, but Chaos has many gods working for him and we have estimated that we can hide your presence for at least 200 mortal years before he finds out. Use this time wisely and grow to at least the strength of an inner god so you can protect yourself¡±


    ¡°Wait, inner god in 200 years? That¡¯s impossible!¡±


    ¡°Hmmm if it¡¯s impossible then maybe that¡¯s all you would ever amount too, how can you ever hope to fight against Chaos if you can¡¯t even do something so simple.¡±


    ¡°It seems as if everything that needs to be discussed has already been said, walk through this portal and you will be reincarnated as yourself, only without God-blood and back to the age when you were at your weakest yet oldest.¡±


    The ground shook and in front of me appeared an archway with glowing light coming out of it ¡°wait¡± I said ¡°what do you mean by weakest and yet oldest?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, also, I might¡¯ve forgot to mention that you will have to take a¡­¡­trial of sorts to earn your right to a second life¡­¡­¡­ don¡¯t worry I am sure it¡¯s going to be easy for someone like you¡­.hahahaha¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡­.! Trial¡­¡­.!? What trial..?¡± I called out but then I felt a pulling force and all of a sudden I was hurtled inside the portal and everything went black.


    ---Hi Yuzu here, I¡¯d just like to mention thank you for reading my fiction, my goal is to update it very frequently (at least 1 chapter a day, hopefully more) and that I would love it if you guys told me what you think! Super nervous as this is my first fiction but I have awesome plans for it!! =) <3

 Chapter 2 -- Desperation

    (Chapter 2) Desperation


    ¡°Ugh¡­..my head¡­¡­.my head hurts¡­¡±


    Groggily I slowly came to, after Death chucked me into the portal I don¡¯t remember what happened but¡­.where am I? I look around me and notice that I am on some sort of gigantic hill way up in the sky, there are clouds all around me and also the top of the hill where I am, it is oddly flat as if some god cut off the rounded part of the hill and made a platform.


    There are also interesting markings faded out on the floor and nearby there are many pools of collected rain water where the ground has collapsed into itself slightly. It¡¯s so hard to see far away as the clouds are dense and there are mists all around me.


    I get soaked in a matter of minutes from all the moisture in the air, thankfully for some reason the air is warm or I would be freezing, as I casually look down at my clothes I feel shock!


    Wait what... what¡¯s with these commoners¡¯ clothes? And what¡¯s this!!  My hands are so small! Even my body is that of  a five year old or a six year old¡­. What does this mean??


    I suddenly remember what Death told me, oldest yet weakest, he must have reverted me back to a day before my Death Arts initiation where father fed me a soul and then used the secret necromancers ritual to attune my soul to the Death Arts. Wait! If that¡¯s true then all that training that I did¡­.. Countless hours of work¡­¡­¡­.Its¡­.¡­¡­.. It¡¯s all been reset! I am just a stupid weakling again¡­¡­¡­¡­! Ugh!! What the hell DEATH Why?!?!?!


    I sit down all of a sudden shocked by what this means. I am weak again, there¡¯s nothing I despise more than weakness¡­¡­


    After about 30 minutes or so I slowly get out of my numbed state and look around I''ve began to feel thirsty¡­. Right I have no God-blood in my veins and I can¡¯t even feel my mana pool yet, I am going to die from thirst and starvation if I don¡¯t do something. I get up on my feet feeling small and weak and shakenly walk towards a pool of water. I kneel down and cup my hands and begin drinking.


    The water feels very refreshing and tastes surprising clear and fresh! The water around here must be completely clean of all impurities.


    I was confident that I would be able to complete whatever sort of trial before with my magic and strength¡­¡­. But now that everything¡¯s been reset I start feeling a sort of panic¡­¡­..


    Well no use worrying about it. Right. Death said I have to do a trial or something, I start to look around more closely, the total width of the hill top that I am on right now is surprisingly small, around 40 meters total, and in the distance on the other end from where I am I see a rope bridge leading into the mist¡­


    That rope bridge¡­.. Its swaying a lot ¡­ it seems as if I leave this hill area the wind picks up¡­..


    The rope bridge also isn''t very well made, the rope is frayed already at the parts visible to me and the wooden planks look infested with rot¡­¡­¡­


    I grit my teeth. I had to continue on-wards and the sooner the better, I am not hungry right now but I do feel kinda empty¡­.. At this rate hunger will affect me if I postpone this trial or whatever it is and I just want to get it over with.


    I stomp towards the rope bridge with new-found determination and stop right in front of it before carefully putting one foot down to check how stable it was.


    -Creeeeeaaaaak...


    This bridge isn''t stable at all¡­.. Well, I already guessed that though, there¡¯s nothing I can do besides continuing on.


    I then completely move my body onto the bridge, I am actually thankful  that I have the light body of a 5 year old now, it¡¯s probably the only reason the wooden plank didn''t crumble underneath my weight.


    Slowly I began to inch forward before all of a sudden a HUGE gust of wind crashes into me! The wooden plank crumbles underneath me and I feel my body being tossed into the mist!


    In panic I manage to tangle my arm around the ropes of the bridge but I was now hanging onto the bridge with just one hand and my body was weighing me down.


    I couldn''t¡­. I couldn''t drag myself up! God-damn weak body! I am just a 5 year old!!.... Ugh, I felt my grip slowly loosing as my hand started getting tired¡­ and now!! All of a sudden the part of the rope I was holding onto began giving away under my weight!


    Is this how I was going to die? From  Falling off  a god-damn bridge!


    Hell no! I am the Third prince of the devil! I refuse! With determination I swung my other hand onto the rope and tried to pull myself up with all my might!


    I could feel the rope unraveling even faster now but it was all or nothing! I kept pulling myself higher and then I let go with my other hand and surged upwards aiming to grab the next wooden plank!


    Success, somehow I managed to secure a firm grip on the plank right as the rope snapped under my weight, then I moved both my hands onto the plank. Now came the hardest part of pulling myself to safety.


    But right as I was preparing my strength the worst thing happened. Another Gust of wind came rippling towards the bridge and again it swayed violently!


    ¡°ARGGGGH!¡±


    I screamed loudly as I felt my arm shudder from the abuse of being tossed around but I refused to let go! Letting go meant death!


    After what seemed like an eternity but was probably just a few seconds the wind died down, but¡­ I was so tired¡­.. I felt like¡­. I didn''t have the strength to pull myself up¡­¡­


    No! NO! NO! I am not going to die like this, how pitiful would it be if Kuro saw me now, he would be laughing his head off at my weak pitiful state.


    I bit my tongue and with everything I could muster I started pulling myself up¡­¡­


    Somehow I managed to get my elbow over the plank and then I swung my leg over to another plank and managed to drag myself onto the bridge.


    Safe¡­ I then got onto my feet and looked at my hands, they were both bloody and chaffed from when I had to hang onto the rough planks with all my might¡­


    With an exhausted body, bloody hands and sore arms I slowly edged forwards.


    Every time the gusts of wind would blow through I would quickly grab the rope rails and hang on with all my might. And when the wind settled down for its brief moments I would carefully edge forwards taking care that my weight was evenly distributed between two planks so the chances of them collapsing would be lower.


    ------1 Hour later-----


    The mist suddenly cleared and I saw the end of the bridge just a few more meters from me, but I dare not rush it, I had already learned my lesson, carelessness would only get me killed, so I continued proceeding with caution until finally¡­.


    I stepped of the rope bridge! And then I collapsed onto the ground and started breathing heavily. I could also suddenly feel hunger building inside of me, crossing the rope bridge had taken so much out of me.


    After a few minutes I got up and took note of my surroundings.


    It seems as if currently rather than being on the top of another hill I was on the side of it on some sort of ledge, and right next to me where stairs that spiraled upwards probably leading straight to the top of the hill, now this is just a guess but the top of this hill is probably leveled out too¡­. Also, I say hill but they were also a lot more vertical than horizontal, there was a slant yes but it was very slight¡­ I then think about Carcalo, the central mountain in hell that was more of a giant pillar, these hills are very similar to it.


    And also, considering that Death mentioned something about a trial, my trial is probably waiting for me at the top of these stairs.


    I then looked more carefully at the clothes I was wearing, they were simple commoner clothes some sort of white tunic and rough pants made from some sort of animal hide, and I am guessing these are the standard clothes of the world I am being sent too. Even though I was the prince of the hell of this world, I truly didn''t know what actually happened in the land of the mortals and thus I was curious to see what kind of sights the mortal world had to offer.


    With such thoughts I began to brighten up and tore two small strips from my tunic and wrapped them around my hands, the bleeding had stopped already but it would help the healing process if I covered my wounds.


    I then looked at the stairs, and with a casual attitude began slowly continuing on-wards.


    After a few minutes I noticed something that surprised me. Growing out of the rocky side of the hill, was a branch, smiling at my luck, I broke of the branch that was as big as my leg, the length was comparable to a sword for a 5 year old, the weight was light and the place that it was broken off at was sharp.


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    Now that I had a weapon I didn''t feel as weak as I did before, I was an expert martial artist who trained in the way of the sword, having a weapon like this although, wasn''t a huge power boost, would at least give me a chance against something like a rabid dog or a small wolf.


    After another 20 minutes I finally reached the end of the stairs, there I noticed that the surroundings were rather quite different than from the first hill.


    First off the area was bigger, from side to side was around a 200 meters, also towards the center were some sort of stone ruins with carved markings on the floor, on the fallen pillars  and on the half collapsed walls, additionally there were also a few trees on this hill and even more puddles of water everywhere.


    -Crack!-


    I jumped in fright and took cover further down the stairs, I had just heard a noise on the other side of the ruins¡­ that meant¡­¡­ that I am not alone.


    This must mean that I have to defeat whatever¡¯s here to finish this trial, I smirked slightly, I am the third prince of the devil whatever foe I am to fight will die here today.


    I slowly creeped out from the cover of the stairs and walked into the ruins slowly yet carefully.


    ¡°HAHAHA Welcome to the heavens dungeon . Oh?  You¡¯re just some scrawny kid? HAHAHA what sort of god must  have  you pissed off to get thrown here, well today you¡¯re going to be my lunch, feel honored that the first guardian Great Demon eye will devour your flesh!¡±


    From around the side of the Ruins came a Giant one eyed cyclops he was close to 3 meters high and had bulging muscles everywhere and a huge rusted double sided axe in his hands.


    Instantly all thoughts of fighting this monster left my mind and I started to panic, there¡¯s no way I can kill this thing the only thing to do is¡­.Flee!!


    Gripping my stick firmly I quickly started running as fast as I could but then¡­


    From behind me I heard a loud noise, when I turned around I could see the Monsters weapon heading straight at me!


    A Gigantic double sided Axe that must have weighted at least a thousand pounds landed right in front of me as I had just ducked narrowly escaping with my life!


    ¡°HAHA Kid, there¡¯s no Point trying to run away, these ruins that your in are magical, once two beings are detected inside them, if one leaves the ruins your body will be obliterated into nothingness, so come here and die obediently, I haven¡¯t had any good flesh to eat in ages!¡±


    Surely enough, all the marks around me in the ruins were faintly glowing¡­¡­ I cursed my luck, it seems as if this stupid trial was rigged from the start! Those stupid Outer gods are just playing with my life for their own amusement!


    -Crunch!-


    Suddenly I was thrown to the side as the Monster casually whacked me with his hand. Ugh now he was just playing with me¡­. I could feel¡­¡­ my consciousness going away¡­. NO! No! I started to panic I had never felt so afraid in my life before I ¡­ I ¡­ I DON¡¯T want to die¡­


    Wait... that¡¯s not right I remember¡­ I''ve been in this sort if situation before. That¡¯s right after my Death Arts ritual before being taught any magic I defied my father and refused any training because I was just a lazy idiot back then¡­ I didn''t want to train because from my older brother¡¯s experiences I knew it was painful and exhausting ¡­ and then what happened? Yeah I remember my father threw me into a gladiators ring with nothing but a sword with three ogres that were far stronger than me.


    Back then I was so weak and it was just me against them, I had no strength and no one helped me and I would keep getting beaten to the brink of death before resting for the day and then I would get thrown back into the ring¡­¡­ I remember that I promised myself in that ring that I would never be weak again¡­.. That¡¯s right it¡¯s the same now, it¡¯s me all alone and so what if I am against all odds? Even me dying to Kuro was because I grew too conceited¡­ I killed myself, it was my own weakness that killed me. I am strong, I know I am strong even now I can win!


    It took me 5 months to kill those ogres but eventually I had managed to do it long ago without any magic or sword skill¡­. So what if I can truly die if I make a mistake now? I am using my strengths wrong, I am smarter than this one eyed idiot it¡¯s time to stop playing around!


    I quickly got up and started dodging and weaving in between all the pillars and broken walls, this one eyed Monster was too big to follow me properly and his stupid chatty mouth told me that these ruins are magical¡­ which means that he probably can¡¯t break through them.


    He was just toying with me so far, he could have killed me back I was still panicking but now I¡¯ll make him pay for his mistakes.


    Think, think what can I do? How can I win, as I was dodging and weaving through the ruins the Monster was getting more and more furious!


    ¡°Stop making me angry brat! Hold still!¡±


    Angry? Oh! That¡¯s it maybe I can make him angry enough that he¡¯ll make mistakes, I think I have enough power to kill him If I can just somehow get up to his eye¡­


    Bam! His axe came crashing down just a few inches away from me, I had just narrowly avoided dying.


    ¡°Hey you retarded excuse of a monster, you missed me again! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know how to aim correctly! You¡¯re a Joke fatty!¡±


    ¡°ARGGGH!¡±


    The cyclops was being reckless now and charging at his fastest speed into the walls of the ruins before quickly picking up his speed and charging again, this is not good! I am going to be caught in a matter of seconds at this rate, I quickly look around and notice a pillar that has fallen like a ramp, I guess it¡¯s now or never! I am going to risk it!


    I ran to the start of the ramp and stopped and just as I predicted the Monster was charging straight at me, I ran some calculations in my head¡­.. Now!


    I quickly ran up the ramp and right before the cyclops was about to crash into me¡­ I turned around and jumped up to his head with both my hands around my stick aiming for his eye!


    ¡°AHHH!¡±


    We both screamed loudly, me frond the impact of his body colliding with mine and him from having his eye skewered through!


    But instead of me flying off into the distance, I had managed to wrap my legs around the cyclops head right when he collided so I was still attached to him!


    I knew that I wouldn''t be able to kill him just by taking his eyesight out, I had to personally drive the stick into his brain! Now was the hard part!


    The cyclops started screaming loudly as I twisted and turned my stick deeper into his head, then! He wrapped his huge hand around my small body and began squeezing!


    ¡°AHHHH!¡±


    Blood started coming out of my mouth and I screamed now it was sink or swim if I back down I would get crushed, by his hand! With all the strength I could muster I drove the stick deeper into his head!


    After 10 seconds finally the Monsters grip loosened and as it did I fell down lifelessly, a few of my ribs were broken and I was bleeding from cuts and injures¡­.


    10 more seconds later, the cyclops body suddenly started spasming!


    ¡°Ha¡­ to think¡­. That I the first¡­¡­.guardian of the Heavens Dungeon would¡­¡­.get killed ¡­..By a brat like¡­..you¡­..ha¡­.. Well kid¡­.. I am only the first¡­¡­.my 99¡­..senior guardians¡­..will avenge me¡­¡­because the only way ¡­.to escape this dungeon¡­¡­.is to kill the last¡­. Guardian¡­..ha¡­..¡±


    Suddenly I was filled with dread¡­ wait¡­ 99 guardians?  First floor? Heavens dungeon? If what this this monster is saying is true then¡­


    I quickly got up and dragged my broken body over to the other side of the ruins and then for the first time I saw it¡­


    ¡°Fuck¡­. Another rope bridge¡­..¡±


    Then I passed out.


    ---Yuzu here, just wanted to say thank you for reading my work! trying to stick to a chapter a day or more schedule, but my tuesdays-thursdays are really busy so i don''t have much time to write then but.... the other days i can write more!


    please feel free to leave a comment, review, point out any mistakes and share your thoughts! <3

 Chapter 3 -- Determination

    (Chapter 3) Determination


    From all directions howling gusts of winds assaulted me. I couldn¡¯t see anything as there was no light and everything was pitch black with only the demonic howls of the wind keeping me company. I had my arms folded into my chest and was walking around aimlessly in this abyss. I don¡¯t know where I was and yet for some reason I couldn¡¯t stop moving my body forward. There was some sort of force compelling me to keep moving¡­¡­


    Then all of a sudden a large amount of candles appeared out of nowhere and made a row in front of me and near the end of the row, far off into the distance I saw a door¡­.


    My body stopped moving and again, some sort of mysterious force slowly affected me and made me look down¡­


    From the small light of the candles I noticed that underneath my feet was also a candle, only that it was extinguished.


    Then all of a sudden bright red smoke started appearing from the first candle in front of me and slowly took the shape of a giant demon and rushed at me!


    ¡°No!¡±


    -¡°Gasp!¡± my body slowly rose into a sitting position as I woke up, my dream still fresh in my mind.


    ¡°What¡­. A strange dream¡­¡± I muttered.


    I looked around still a little confused from my dream and noticed that the body of the cyclops lay not too far away from me. I remember that I had collapsed on the floor of the ruins after my fight with the monster.


    I noticed that most of my body was caked with dirt and dried blood and that I was aching all over. When I went to stand up I found that I couldn¡¯t do so as pain shot through my body from the simplest of movements.


    I probably have a few cracked ribs, they are the biggest problem because over time all my other injures will heal but cracked ribs will take at least two or three months to heal without magic¡­


    I smiled bitterly, the fact that I had passed out after killing the monster meant that its soul had long since left. Without a soul I wouldn¡¯t be able to do any death magic¡­. As for using my own spiritual energy to use death magic, that would be impossible without the necromancers ritual initiation first. The main requirement for the ritual was a fresh soul too.¡­


    ¡°Soul¡­ I need to kill something and use its soul¡­ it can¡¯t be anything weak either¡­¡±


    This meant that I would somehow need to defeat the second guardian and be in a good enough condition after the battle to do the ritual¡­


    Suddenly I was hit by a wave of dizziness and started feeling hungry all of a sudden. Ugh, I need to eat something before doing anything else. After that I will think about how to proceed from here.


    I looked at the body of the cyclops. Hmmm¡­. If I have something sharp I can cut it open, eating raw meat is disgusting but I don¡¯t think have any choice right now and I¡¯ve done it before¡­


    I started crawling slowly to a fallen pillar nearby and after reaching it, I used it as leverage to slowly lift myself up. There was some pain but when I got onto my feet it became easier. I then shuffled forward to the other side of the cyclops¡¯s body and found what I was looking for.


    It was the giant axe that the cyclops used as a weapon, the axe was way too heavy for me to lift but at the end of its handle was a chain attached to a sharp bladed ornament similar to a handle-less dagger.


    I then knelt down and unattached the blade from the chain and moved towards the body of the monster. Now was the gruesome part. I didn¡¯t want to eat much raw meat, just enough to sate my hunger for now.


    --20 minutes later¡ª


    Ugh, that was gross, monster meat in general tastes bland but this monster tasted just like fleshy cardboard¡­.


    Now that my hunger was somewhat sated out from just a small portion of leg meat, it was time to inspect my spiritual energy.


    Earlier, due to hunger and because I was underestimating the trial I hadn¡¯t bothered with training myself a little so I could at least utilize some elementary magic. But now that I knew how difficult it was going to be for me to advance I had to do it


    I couldn¡¯t use death magic as the nature of the magic was violent and you needed to absorb the soul of another too withstand it. But simple elemental and law magic at least I would be able to train myself to use. It would take me at least three months to cultivate my mana to be strong enough to defeat the cyclops one on one without being so desperate but at the moment I had no options but to be patient and slowly grow my strength.


    At the same time I also had to wait for my ribs to heal. Okay let¡¯s see here, being a specialist my understanding of magic other than death magic was actually really pitiful. I knew how to use fire magic the best, second was my proficiency with ice magic.


    As for healing magic, water magic, and earth magic, I had no insights or knowledge in those. It¡¯s really ironic that I had never bothered learning any healing magic since my death magic had its own ability to repair the body using the souls of others¡­.


    It was actually just conceited of me, thinking back, I was being far too over confident. Since I lived in hell and was surrounded by countless souls to use Soul Restore I never bothered preparing for situations where I would be in a place with no nearby souls like this Heavens Dungeon¡­.


    I also wasn¡¯t able to manipulate my soul energy, as the requirement to be able to manipulate it and cultivate it also required you to absorb another soul first¡­.


    But it¡¯s not all that bad. My understanding of law magic was also fairly narrow but I was an expert in body strengthening magic, using your mana to enhance your strength! This was the most important magic to me right now and because I was also a martial arts I had learned this magic. Body strengthening meant that my weak body would have exponentially better attack and defense! This was vital!


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    I walked into the center of the ruins and sat down on the floor with my legs crossed and began to meditate.


    My spiritual energy was very weak¡­ I remember that as soon I absorbed the soul all those years ago it tripled my mana but right now I have even worse spiritual energy than when I was 5 years old in hell. This was because the god-blood was removed from me and I am just a normal mortal now.


    This meant that it would be even harder to cultivate and grow my mana¡­.. But at least the way to cultivate was very simple!


    All you had to do is use any sort of magic till your mana was completely exhausted! I took a deep breath and focused my mind, using magic the first time was always the hardest¡­


    Deep within myself I had to first sense my spiritual energy, I already knew what its presence felt like so I had an advantage over a total novice but¡­..


    Only after 10 whole minutes did I finally reach my goal! Yes! I slowly started converting my mana into magic by willing it to obey my command and make what I was visualizing a reality. And then¡­.slowly¡­.. A small flame appeared in my hands!


    --- 2 Months later ---


    I look around at all I have accomplished and feel a little proud over all my work, after I managed to use magic it had been slow progress but I had now reached a decent level.


    I had used ice magic to slowly freeze the entire body of the Monster to preserve it and then I ate it slowly, little by little every day. There now was only a small amount of meat left as using mana constantly had increased my appetite.


    Also, using fire magic and the nearby sticks from the trees I had been able to cook the meat and only had to eat raw meat for the first 3 days, but the biggest improvement is that I managed to make myself a weapon!


    I was currently wrapped in a cloak that I had managed to make from the cloth that was on the cyclops and had a large spear tied on my back! The spear took me a lot of time to make and the process was also exhausting.


    Using ice magic I slowly froze the monsters axe and then broke it into three parts. I used the bottom most part of the handle to work on making myself a spear. The handle was also too thick for me to use so I had to cut it in half!


    Using ice magic, body strengthening and the blade as a pick I was slowly able to cut the handle through the middle but now came the hard part!


    I had to hammer away at one of the halves of the handle until it caved into itself using a hammer like tool made from another part of the axe attached to a stone from the ruins using some cloth as rope.


    It took hours to complete but finally I had a piece of metal that I could hold in my hands! Then I had to figure out some way to attach the blade to the handle¡­.


    I didn¡¯t have any rope but I remembered that rope was made from fibers found within plants. After that it took me a whole month to figure out how to make rope. I had to constantly experiment using the leaves from the trees nearby and plants I found but I managed to gain a few insights into where the fiber was and using both magic and effort I managed to eventually make enough rope to work with.


    Then I used the rope to attach the blade onto my spear¡­. Now I had a weapon and I was also I able to use body strengthening magic too lift around 150 pounds with both hands, albeit with a lot of effort¡­


    My strength was lacking considering I was only as strong as a normal mortal man but¡­ my defense was considerably better! I was confident now that I could at least exchange blows with the cyclops using magic, body strengthening and my martial arts insights!


    As for my magic, I could freeze things, but very slowly, I was able to create a small fireball but unable to throw it as that required insights into either special magical incantations or wind magic¡­. Mortal mages might know the incantations but I knew of none besides those involved with death magic.


    But although right now my magic didn¡¯t seem very practical for battle I was confident that it would be helpful!


    Imagine if somehow I was able to get in contact with my enemy, I now would be able to burn or freeze them! My magic could end up saving my life, it¡¯s all about how it¡¯s applied, even the smallest fireballs or the slowest ice magic if used effectively can mean the difference between life and death.


    I had also practiced a lot with my spear and got more used to my body and how strong I was, I am now able to use the spear very well and although my body was slow to adjust to all the fast movements and techniques I was trying to execute, using body strengthening magic I was able to achieve good results.


    Now it was time. There was nothing else left for me here so I decided that¡­..it¡¯s time to challenge the next guardian!


    I stood silently in front of the rope bridge, before clearing my throat and saying


    ¡°Death, just you wait and see, I promise that I will kill every single guardian and earn my right to a second life¡­..this is my determination! I will win and come out alive!¡±


    I smirked and then with my cloak billowing all around me, I entered the mist...


    ---Yuzu here, sorry for the short chapter but I felt like this would be a good part to end it, tomorrow most likely double chapters! Maybe more! Hope you¡¯re all excited for the battle that is too come¡­.

 Chapter 4 -- Hunger

    (Chapter 4) Hunger


    This is strange, the last rope bridge only took me a few hours to cross but it has already been around half a day and I am still on this one¡­


    Additionally, this time my pace while crossing the bridge is a lot faster too. Besides slowing every now and then due to the winds or complications with the bridge itself I was moving very quickly. I should have already arrived by now¡­¡­. If the distance was the same as the first hill to the second that is¡­.


    Step after step, I slowly moved forward¡­. The only thing keeping me company were these mists and the howling wind¡­. These cruel bridges really did take a lot out of a person¡­¡­


    Finally after about 11 more hours I saw the mists part and a ledge appear in front of me, next to the ledge were stone stairs similar to the second hill.


    As soon as I got off the bridge I slowly sat down, I knew I was close to the second guardian but after walking across a rope bridge for a whole day I felt really tired.....


    Not to mention I was starting to get really hungry too, I had already finished eating the monster meat before leaving the second hill and a whole day of walking had naturally made me hungry.


    It made me annoyed that I had to fight on an empty stomach but¡­. It seemed like I had no other option, and the sooner I fought and ate whatever monster is on this floor the better¡­.


    A few more minutes later I no longer felt tired and then began sauntering up the stairs.


    I reached the top after a few moments and when I did I noticed that there was a small hut in the distance and the width from one end to other was about the same as the last hill, around 200 meters.


    Carefully I walked forwards toward the hut with my spear drawn, being as silent as possible.


    The hut had cloth curtains blocking the view of whatever lay inside. When I was close enough to touch the hut I dared not even to breathe. Then slowly, I grabbed the curtains on the Hut¡­¡­ and threw them aside!


    With my spear ready I scanned the area inside, there was a straw bed in a corner of the hut but besides that it was completely empty!


    ¡°Welcome to the third plateau of the Heavens Dungeon kid, I am the Third of the 5 witches of Calevra and the Second Guardian, now do me a favour and die!¡±


    Shocked I quickly turned around and saw a fireball soaring through the air right at me!


    I ducked out of the way and rolled under it, a second later and I would have been dead!


    ¡°Oh? For such a small brat you¡¯re pretty fast, entertain me kid, I¡¯ve been terribly bored ever since I arrived here.¡±


    ¡°Wait, more importantly what do you mean by the third plateau? What¡¯s a plateau?¡± I replied, trying to stall for time so I could better assess the situation.


    ¡°Plateau? Boy do you not know what a plateau is¡­¡­ ha, I suppose you haven¡¯t been properly taught by your parents, a plateau is a mountain or hill that¡¯s leveled out at the top¡­¡±


    I felt surprised, so that¡¯s what these are called¡­¡­she¡¯s also right about my parents¡­¡­¡­


    While she was talking I was able to look at her closely, this¡­¡­...witch¡­¡­. was a tall woman with a staff in her hands, she looked really bland, or rather¡­.she had a very average face that you could not help but forget¡­. Bland features, small eyes, and a face not aged but neither young¡­. She also wore a black robe that covered her entire body.


    She could use magic, and based on that magic that she just used¡­. A true leg sized fireball with decent speed¡­¡­..this was going to be hard. The only thing I could count on was my strength, if I could get close enough to her and strike her vitals with my spear¡­¡­.I could win!


    Trying to take advantage of my quickness to surprise her I charged at her with my top speed!


    Surprise did appear on her face as I had closed the distance between us in just a matter of seconds but she muttered something under her breathe and in a flash of light she disappeared!


    ¡°wha¡­ what?¡±


    Bewildered I looked around but I couldn¡¯t find her anywhere, until suddenly I heard a loud crackling sound coming from above!


    Just half a meter away was a fireball headed straight at me!


    This time I wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge completely so I used more mana to make my body strengthening magic stronger and braced myself.


    The fireball collided into my shoulder and I felt searing pain shoot through my arm! I looked down and noticed that part of my cloak had burned and I had burns on my shoulder.


    But I had gotten lucky! The fireball only managed to clip me and then soar past and hit the ground harmlessly. Although if I had taken the hit directly, then¡­. I might have been too injured to continue!


    Forcing myself to forget about the pain I looked up and noticed that the witch had teleported and was hovering in the air above me. This filled me with fear, this witch knew both elemental magic and law magic¡­. Which meant that fighting her would be very difficult!


    I ran away dodging the fireballs she kept chucking at me and hid behind the hut to buy some time to formulate a plan.


    Just like I suspected, she stopped throwing fireballs because she didn¡¯t want to burn down her home.


    Right now my strongest, most effective method to kill her is¡­. Ineffective! This witch is taking care to stay away from me since she already knows about my speed, it is also going to be hard to get close to her with her teleportation magic!


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    But from what I know of teleportation magic, it has a weakness! If something was physically holding her down, she would be unable to teleport!


    Also, most likely she knows of many other spells. So although she would be easier to kill than the cyclops in close range, my chances on winning against her are looking grim.


    Then¡­.suddenly an idea comes to mind! Yes, maybe like this I¡¯ll be able to win, I begin to focus on my mana and channel it to the soles of my feet and then visualized the magic I wanted and willed it into existence.


    In front of me with a flash of light appeared the witch no longer hovering but with her feet planted on the ground and then she began chanting loudly!


    ¡°Not Good¡± I mutter


    She is probably preparing a lethal wide ranged spell, I turn around and run away at my top speed!


    ¡°Too late!¡± I hear the witch shout


    I look behind me and see a sea of ice covering the floor and coming straight at me! She probably means to freeze me and then finish me off!


    I then turn around and run back towards the sea of ice and jump as high as I can!


    Still, the wave of ice hits me and my legs get trapped. The witch seeing me trapped in ice slowly walks towards me.


    ¡°Well kid, looks like this is going to be the end of you, got any last words¡±


    I stare back at the witch before slowly breaking into a smile and saying


    ¡°I win¡±


    I easily slip out of the ice that seemed to have tightly trapped me before and rush towards the witch with my spear!


    ¡°WHAT?¡± the witch shouts and then starts muttering under her breath, she was trying to teleport away!


    I am still a few meters away from her before suddenly her muttering stops and she looks confused¡­.then she finally looks down and notices! Her feet are trapped in ice!


    ¡°You¡­.You can use magic?!¡±


    I was now in striking range and with a battle cry, I ran through her heart with my spear!


    Just now back when I was still next to the hut I had started freezing and imbuing the floor with my ice magic, initially I meant to try and surprise her later if she walked over the frozen and slippery ground but after she used ice magic¡­another plan came to mind!


    When I started running away from her I was still freezing the ground and leaving traces of my mana, but when I noticed the wave of ice coming towards me I stopped freezing the ground and turned around. Then I ran back to a spot where I had stepped on before and jumped up so only a part of me would get trapped.


    Then had come the hard part, if the witch had decided to kill me from afar I might have died, but since she didn¡¯t and even walked towards me slowly she gave me enough time to guarantee my success!


    First I used fire magic to create a small steam effect around my legs to melt the ice and set me free.


    Then using the traces of my magic under the ice I waited until she got close and then from where I had previously froze the ground I willed my ice magic forward to trap her feet. Because the ground was already ice¡­she didn¡¯t notice the additional cold around her ankles!


    As soon as I had accomplished that, I rushed forward and took the easy kill.


    Now that I think about it, it truly was a strange coincidence that both the witch and I decided to use ice magic at the same time¡­¡­¡­.¡­Hmmmmm? Coincidence? Didn¡¯t Death say something about Coincidence¡­..?


    But now was not the time to think about those things! Finally, finally I would be able to use my death magic. As soon as I absorbed the soul of the witch I would be able to use Death Arts 2, soul sustain and start to take in energy from my surroundings. Using mana to create food was already a magic used by mortal mages. Death Arts soul sustain was very similar, only that the energy was directly absorbed without the hassle of eating!


    I put the witch¡¯s body on the ground and started initiating the necromancer¡¯s ritual, taking a drop of my blood I put it on the witch¡¯s body and then sent my spiritual energy inside her and began searching for her soul¡­..


    What?  I can¡¯t¡­..I can¡¯t sense her soul what does this mean?


    All of a sudden the witch¡¯s body started shaking and then¡­.. She started melting!


    Slowly but surely the witch was melting! And after a few seconds all that was left of her¡­¡­¡­.. Was a puddle!


    Horrified I stared at the body? What was going on? Where was the soul and why did her body melt?


    Then a large wave of dizziness hit me¡­¡­..I was¡­¡­¡­¡­. So hungry¡­¡­.. So exhausted after using the enormous amounts of mana I had to use in the last battle¡­¡­.


    Feeling a sense of foreboding I looked into the distance and saw another rope bridge leading into the mist.


    What if¡­¡­. it took another day¡­..or maybe 2 days to get to the other side¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    I was so hungry¡­¡­¡­¡­so hungry¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    -Yuzu here, thank you for reading the chapter <3, Next chapter is going to pretty cool, I am so excited!

 Chapter 5 -- Starvation

    (Chapter 5) starvation


    For the first time since I had arrived in this dungeon, Night came, although there was no visible sun in the sky, only clouds and mists all around me, before the sky was at least bright but now¡­.


    Everything darkened.


    I had set-out into the mists on the rope bridge a few hours back. I didn¡¯t waste any time after killing the witch as I was bitter and hungry and she didn¡¯t leave me many materials to salvage.


    I did make another cloak from the curtains of her hut though, the cloth was stronger and the cloak I was wearing before had been burned.


    The rope bridge swayed violently.


    The weather was getting worse and worse¡­. And for the first time cold creeped into the air. The frigid winds battered my body and sent me shivering, combined with the darkening sky a sense of foreboding filled me.


    So hungry¡­¡­.


    Another few hours passed and the sky had completely blackened. There was no visibility and I couldn¡¯t even see anything ahead of me. At this point I used the rope rails to guide me forward. Many times where the wooden planks were broken I would stumble  and catch my self-using the rope rails, I dared not let go of them. Without something to hold onto, I would have long ago stumbled to my death or have been caught by these frigid gusts of wind and carried off into the darkness.


    Step by step, I trudged onwards, slowly losing my sense of reality. My mind started thinking about all sorts of irrelevant things as I continued walking forwards with my hands wrapped around the rough rope of the bridge¡­.Ah¡­..now that I think about it¡­..a few months ago why didn¡¯t I just cut part of the bridge and use its rope?.....How short sighted of me¡­¡­I had spent all that time creating rope from scratch for nothing¡­¡­..


    I had been so excited back then, experimenting with the plants and fibers of the tree I just didn¡¯t realize something so simple¡­¡­..


    Mortals can be so short-sighted sometimes¡­¡­¡­.


    So hard to stay awake¡­¡­¡­¡­..So hungry. So tired. So cold.


    --Rumble¡­.


    The sky suddenly started making loud booming noises and then¡­¡­.


    -Crack!


    A streak of lighting flashed only about 300 meters away from me! I was shocked into alertness, the loud noise of the lighting had deafened me momentarily.


    Feeling disturbed I continued on slowly and then¡­¡­. With a loud crackle the sky opened up and it started raining heavily!


    I was already damp from the mists but now I was soaked and it was getting even colder¡­.


    My teeth started chattering uncontrollably and I wrapped my cloak tighter but still, after only a few minutes the cold began to seep into my bones¡­.


    So¡­..hungry¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Then after another few moments the flashes of lighting got more and more frequent and the wind started picking up¡­¡­.I was on a rope bridge in the middle of a storm!


    I was panicking as the bridge swayed wildly and now my progress was even slower, I had to carefully edge little by little while desperately holding onto the rope rails.


    ---1 day later---


    So¡­.hungry¡­..


    With sunken cheeks and heavy legs I kept continuing, step by step, on this cursed bridge¡­


    The storm had not let up even once, it was still going strong after a whole day¡­.


    So¡­..Cold¡­..


    A small amount of spiritual energy had recovered a while ago and I was using it sparingly to heat my body up so I wouldn¡¯t get hypothermia. But I could only use it every now and then and only for a small amount of time or I would die from over exhausting my mana¡­.


    Every time I used my mana, an excruciating pain would shoot through my stomach and I would feel uncontrollable hunger pangs take over my body¡­


    At this point I had no plans about what I would do when I finally got off this bridge. All I knew was that if I gave in to my exhaustion and stopped moving forward I would die¡­.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    -Howl¡­¡­-


    Is my mind playing tricks on me? From the flashes of thunder I could see¡­. Shadows of howling demons all around me in the rampaging wind¡­¡­.


    What¡­¡­Is this nightmare¡­¡­¡­..


    -12 hours later-


    It has now been¡­¡­. 2 or was it 3¡­¡­¡­?


    3¡­¡­¡­. days since I last ate¡­..I think¡­¡­¡­I wasn¡¯t sure of anything anymore


    I ran out of the ability to heat my body 6 hours ago¡­¡­my mana was now¡­¡­¡­.completely exhausted¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    My ears, hands and feet felt like they were burning¡­¡­ The cold¡­¡­..what is it doing to me?


    While I was lost in thought suddenly, the mists parted in front of me¡­. The Fourth plateau of the Third guardian had appeared!


    As soon as I arrived to the ledge I collapsed onto the ground and shuddered softly¡­..


    I almost passed out but then a painful hunger pang jolted me awake¡­¡­right¡­¡­.I had to beat the guardian.


    Maybe, maybe finally I would be able to eat¡­¡­.I¡¯m so hungry¡­¡­.


    I willed my body to stand and after a minute, started shuffling up the stairs leading to the top.


    On the top of the plateau were¡­.. bones of all sorts of animals and creatures scattered everywhere¡­¡­.besides that there were no hints of life¡­¡­¡­I roamed around but I couldn¡¯t find anything but a sea of bones everywhere I looked¡­..where was the Third guardian¡­.?


    -RATTLE!-


    I looked behind me and saw¡­¡­that the bones were coming to life!


    After 15 seconds some bones came together to form¡­. a Wolf like skeletal beast!


    Its eyes had glowing white flames within them.


    I¡­.I knew I should be preparing for battle but suddenly I felt so weary¡­..what sort of sick joke was this?


    Was there some sort of god¡­ playing with me? Every step forward I took in this dungeon was like¡­¡­walking deeper and deeper into my own demise¡­¡­It seemed like everything was planned from the beginning to make me fail¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Now here was a monster that was just bones¡­¡­Nothing to¡­..eat¡­¡­


    While I was having my depressed thoughts the undead beast rushed at me and head-butted my body!


    ¡°Ah!!!!¡± I screamed


    I was thrown away from the impact and my bones creaked as i soared through the air¡­..


    Slowly, 30 meters from where I was standing before, I rolled to a stop amongst the bones¡­.


    I now also had my flesh ripped apart by the sharp bones on the ground when I landed¡­..


    Cuts and bruises littered my body and fresh blood poured out onto the dried blood from previous battles.


    Was I ¡­.. Going to die¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.I am so hungry¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I am so¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    So¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­scared¡­¡­¡­.


    Although I was a prince of the devil¡­¡­¡­¡­currently my body was that of a five year old and for some reason¡­¡­¡­¡­..for the first time I felt like a child¡­..


    Someone¡­¡­¡­¡­someone please¡­..help!


    Help!


    I don¡¯t want to die! Please I don¡¯t¡­¡­.I don¡¯t¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    No¡­¡­¡­..no one is coming¡­¡­¡­I am all alone¡­.I¡¯ve been alone the moment I entered this Heavens Dungeon¡­¡­¡­¡­


    That sick Outer God¡­¡­¡­.Did he think that I was capable of doing something like this¡­¡­¡­Death¡­¡­


    HaHa! His name is Death¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. How ironic, I met Death¡­¡­¡­..and in exchange¡­¡­he gave me Death......!


    Well Fuck him¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡¯m¡­¡­¡­¡­.not going to die¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    A blood red haze slowly came over my eyes ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.. My vision¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.everything was getting blurry¡­¡­¡­


    Hungry¡­..So hungry¡­¡­¡­ This beast is going to be my food I¡¯m going to¡­¡­¡­..eat ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    I felt something change inside me¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..like¡­¡­¡­¡­something was breaking and all thoughts left my mind¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.Till there was only one remaining¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Eat.


    -Yuzu here, hope u liked the chapter, the next chapter I have planned is going to be really fun for me to write as there¡¯s some cool things in it! Thanks for reading! <3

 Chapter 6 -- Slaughter

    (Chapter 6)  Slaughter


    In a land long forgotten and shrouded by mists and howling winds was The Heavens Dungeon.


    The Dungeon was completely inaccessible as the entire area had been detached from the mortal world and placed in a pocket dimension of an extremely powerful god.


    The laws of the Dungeon might seem similar as the laws of the universe but¡­..They had been tampered with.


    Created by powers that mortals would simply not understand, the Dungeon had many peculiarities.


    The Dungeon would get more and more dangerous as one progressed through it. Also the guardians of the dungeon were monsters and beings from long forgotten lands and empires that behaved in interesting ways. One quirk of the guardians, if one bothered to notice, is that¡­..if you asked them how they got here¡­¡­they would not know why!


    It appeared that the guardian¡¯s memories, of both the intelligent beings, and the beasts had been tampered with.


    All they knew was that no matter what, if anything or anyone entered their plateau, they must fight them to the death!


    Additionally both food, water and sleep¡­.everything was strangely no longer needed for the Guardians!


    The mental state of the guardians was also hazy¡­..almost as if they had been pacified by some sort of mind control¡­.


    As for the dungeon itself, all sorts of strange weather and other problems would begin affecting you.


    Take the Rope bridge for example, the distance from one plateau too another was not fixed, it could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days crossing it!


    Sometimes it seemed as if the length of the rope bridge altered while you were on it, as if a God was purposely making your passage through the Dungeon more and more difficult¡­


    In those mists, on that rope bridge that sometimes could never end¡­¡­ One could end up going insane!


    But while the Dungeon seemed to make your life worse like it was playing with you, sometimes it seemed that it was helping you!


    Oddly enough, despite the size and power greatly differing from one guardian to the next¡­.. If you gave it your all, it was possible to win no matter who you are!


    The power of the guardians would never exceed past what would be completely beyond the person progressing through the Dungeon¡­.


    How odd that strength would be adjusted depending on the strength of the person himself¡­¡­.


    All throughout the Dungeon. There were signs of tampering.


    Another peculiar thing about the Dungeon was that if someone ever bothered back-tracking and would go to a plateau that they had already crossed¡­.They would notice something shocking!


    The guardian that they had previously defeated, would be back again! And not only that, their strength would also have been adjusted to match that of the dungeoneer¡¯s growth.


    Although the Dungeon did offer fairness in battle¡­.It was by no means, a fair Dungeon. It would take someone enormous amounts of luck or power to be able to pass through all 100 plateaus and out of the 100¡¯s of unfortunate people who had been thrown into it¡­¡­.Only one had ever managed to clear it!


    The man who had managed to clear it, went on to become a powerful God in a world far far away¡­..


    If you would ask the God how he had managed to clear the Dungeon for advice, he would tell you that you needed an extreme amount of mental strength, and be willing to do anything to survive! Also, that the Dungeon contained a trick within it¡­. All you needed to do was get to the rope bridge on the other side! The guardian would not follow you on it! Fleeing unfavorable battles sometimes would be the best method of survival.


    But the current unfortunate soul who had been thrown into the Dungeon, was clearing it at an unbelievably fast pace using a very different method of his own¡­¡­


    On the Fourth Plateau of the Heavens Dungeon was a small frail child weak from starvation¡­..


    The child had collapsed in front of the Guardian from hunger and mental trauma and was about to be killed when¡­.


    His small hand shot up and wrapped around neck of the undead beast while it was closing in for the kill¡­.


    As soon as the hand gripped the beast, the beast grew furious, how dare its prey touch it!


    But strangely the beast wasn¡¯t able to tug his neck free, its legs thrashed wildly but it''s body would not budge from the grip of the child¡­


    Then slowly, the child began to stand up and raised his head.  The moment the Beast saw the child¡¯s eyes it began to feel fear!


    The eyes of the child were Hollow and lifeless, it was like staring into an endless abyss¡­ The beast¡¯s animal instincts from when it was alive were telling it¡­..to run away from this child as fast as possible!


    Then suddenly, the child began to squeeze the neck of the beast and the bones began cracking¡­.


    -CRACK!-


    The body of the beast fell to the ground as the boy held the decapitated head of the beast, then the boy now using both his hands, began to exert force onto the head¡­


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    -SHATTER!-


    It only took a few seconds for the head to completely shatter under the mysterious power coming from the boy, and the beast¡¯s glowing eyes slowly darkened and then glowed no more.


    The boy walked over to where his spear had fallen from before and picked it up, and then expressionlessly, he sat down and began slicing flesh from his left thigh.


    After doing so, he began eating his own raw flesh.


    As the child was eating a small part of himself, a blood red mist slowly started coming out of his skin before forming an aura all around him.


    The child was now no more.


    Instead, there was some sort of feral beast in his place, from the aura alone, any nearby being would sense an undeniably large amount of blood thirst coming from the beast¡­.He was Hungry.


    The beast got up and disappeared into the mists.


    The beast then began clearing the Dungeon very fast, it would arrive at a plateau and engage the guardian in combat, before brutally murdering the guardian with it''s strong mysterious power. The Guardian it encountered after the undead, was a giant spider.


    Normally the spider would strike fear into a person¡¯s heart, but the emotionless beast only saw food¡­...


    After the battle, it ripped open the spiders flesh with its hands and devoured it.


    But the beast was still hungry, it wanted¡­..more flesh.


    After only a year, the beast had managed to clear its way to the 60th guardian. Many of the battles were brutal and one-sided, but sometimes the beast would encounter a foe that give it many gruesome injuries. Interestingly though, the injures of the beast began healing slowly as it traversed through the mists on the rope bridges. The unique blood mist aura around it seemed to have many interesting magic¡¯s working within.


    Another year passed, now the beast was on the 95th guardian. Over the last year, the beast had lost its tunic and cloak and only had rough ripped trousers on. A large number of scares littered its body but the most interesting trait was that the beast still¡­¡­


    Looked starved, if anything it looked even weaker than before, it had thin bony hands, stick-like legs and sunken cheeks. Due to  a large amount of mana being spent every waking moment on body strengthening magic sub-consciously, the beast had gotten weaker and weaker from the times in the Dungeon where it would sometimes go many days without edible food. There was a large amount of undead and toxic guardians within the dungeon.


    The 95th guardian was very different from the previous guardians though¡­.


    The guardian wasn¡¯t a monster, or large insect, neither was it some sort magic user¡­..


    The 95th guardian¡­..Was Himself!


    Or at least an echo of himself, with some strange magic the guardian was identical to the beast, it also had a blood red mist around it, only that it appeared as a sort of living shadow.


    The battle against this guardian would be the hardest he had encountered so far!


    Both the beast and the guardian with extremely fast movements danced around each other.


    They were both extremely fast! The beast and the guardian were moving in quick blurs and exchanging intense savage blows with their spears.


    Both sides began to start suffering from injures but the shadow¡­.seemed to somehow heal!


    No matter how many times the beast struck the shadow it all seemed useless, even striking vital spots would only make the shadow retreat for a few moments.


    The beast steadily began racking up even more injures and slowing down, yet the shadow was still at its peak speed!


    The climax of the battle was getting closer, in just a few moments, the beast would finally slip up and suffer a fatal blow, and the guardian could  sense his victory!


    With heavy labored breathing the beast was now on the defensive. It was simply parrying blows and retreating until finally, the shadow managed to skewer the Beast through the leg!


    The Beast howled in pain but then¡­.


    The howl turned into a roar, an intense bloodlust filled the beast and with claw like hands it grabbed the shadow! Abruptly the blood mist aura around the beast began thickening and swirling intensely.


    With strength far surpassing the beast¡¯s power from before, it roared again and tore the shadow apart!


    The shadows scattered and in place of the shadow was a ghost like echo of the guardian¡­.That looked just like the beast.


    The guardian stared back at the beast before slowly fading into nothing.


    Then for the first time in two years, emotion flickered across the features of the beast, it seemed to remember something.


    ¡°Wha¡­¡­..What?¡±


    After not speaking for so long the beasts voice was raspy and cracked but, it had spoken!


    Then Muzumi¡¯s consciousness faded and he collapsed from his injuries into a deep sleep.


    -Yuzu here, thanks for reading the chapter and supporting me, I appreciate it a lot. <3

 Chapter 7 -- The Blood Mist

    (Chapter 7) The Blood Mist


    I¡­¡­I was in a dream


    Everything was a blur, I couldn¡¯t focus on anything and I felt like something else was commanding me.


    I saw myself do many things, I was¡­¡­fighting.


    Fighting endlessly.


    So much time had passed and every moment of it was spent either walking forward through the haze or fighting monsters.


    I defeated all sorts of enemies, smart ones, strong ones, fast ones¡­¡­.


    They seemed to fear me but I couldn¡¯t understand why.


    After beating them¡­I don¡¯t remember what I did everything seemed to get even hazier then¡­¡­.. But I remember feeling very hungry¡­¡­..


    This dream was so disorienting, sometimes I would go to sleep and wake up while fighting another monster¡­..


    Was this me? Who¡­.Who was fighting?


    I don¡¯t think it was me fighting¡­¡­.ah¡­¡­..I am too tired to think¡­¡­¡­..going to sleep again¡­..


    Then¡­¡­¡­..more time passed ¡­ I had spent so much time in this dream¡­¡­¡­.


    Ah¡­¡­..another monster¡­¡­.this monster is very strange though. It looks so familiar. Why does it look familiar?


    It was some sort of¡­¡­¡­shadow?


    The way it moved¡­¡­¡­I had seen it before but I just couldn¡¯t¡­¡­¡­.I couldn¡¯t remember¡­.


    It was attacking in such an odd way¡­¡­.. It looked like a child but fought like an animal¡­¡­¡­


    This fighting style¡­¡­..I feel like I¡¯ve seen it before¡­¡­.


    Oh¡­..I was losing¡­¡­¡­¡­I hate losing¡­¡­..


    I really hate losing. I hate losing more than anything else¡­¡­ why was I losing? I had always won before¡­..


    Sometimes I would get injured but I would never feel like I would lose¡­¡­..but now I was losing¡­.


    Ah¡­¡­.It got my leg¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­it doesn¡¯t hurt though¡­¡­why doesn¡¯t it hurt?


    I¡¯ll probably lose now¡­¡­.I won¡¯t be able to move around fast after that¡­¡­¡­.


    Hm. I am not going to lose though, just you watch stupid shadow¡­¡­¡­ you¡¯ve made me¡­.


    Mad¡­¡­


    I started feeling hungry¡­¡­..ah I remember¡­¡­¡­¡­..when I start feeling hungry I feel even more tired¡­¡­.


    I want to go to sleep now¡­¡­..so tired¡­¡­¡­and so hungry ¡­¡­..even more than ever before¡­.


    Oh. I killed the shadow some¡­¡­¡­¡­somehow


    Wait¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­what¡¯s this¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­that shadow¡­¡­¡­¡­a person came out of it¡­¡­¡­..


    I feel like I know this person¡­¡­¡­¡­..ah but I am so tired¡­¡­¡­¡­Who is he¡­¡­..?


    I think his name was¡­¡­¡­¡­.I can¡¯t remember¡­¡­¡­what was his name?


    What was it...Oh¡­¡­¡­was it¡­¡­¡­¡­.Muzumi?


    Muzumi...Who¡­.who¡¯s that?


    WAIT


    I was awake now. I don¡¯t feel tired anymore¡­


    I remember. I remember. I remember!


    I AM MUZUMI


    THAT¡¯S ME


    It looked just like me but it seemed like an animal? Why was it attacking so recklessly?


    Was¡­¡­.I was also attacking like that¡­.what poor martial technique.


    I suddenly started feeling disturbed¡­


    WHATS GOING ON? WHERE AM I? IAM MUZUMI THE THIRD PRINCE OF THE DEVIL.


    The haze...¡­..the haze was clearing and then I saw¡­..


    I was on a plateau there were mists all around me. The dream had cleared.


    ¡°Wha¡­..What?¡±


    Suddenly pain shot through my leg and I noticed that there was blood pouring out of it¡­


    The sudden shock of feeling something for the first time in so long¡­¡­.Immediately I blacked out


    - A few hours later-


    ¡°Ugh¡±


    I just woke up¡­.but my head hurts really bad¡­ there¡¯s also this strange Mist around me.


    It looked like a mist of blood, and it was hovering right outside my body like some sort of aura¡­


    AHHHH my head, why does my head hurt so much!


    EAT


    Who¡­. Who said that? My head was hurting even more now.


    EAT


    ¡°STOP I¡­. IAM DONE EATING SO JUST¡­¡­¡­..JUST STOP¡­¡­¡­please¡­..stop¡±


    Slowly the Blood Mist around my body cleared¡­.


    ¡°What¡­ what is going on?¡±


    I started scanning the area around me and tried to remember where I was. Right, let¡¯s see I remember I was in the Heavens Dungeon¡­


    I remember I fought that witch and then¡­¡­then I was so hungry¡­


    As soon as I started thinking of my hunger from back then the Blood Mist started leaking out of my body. In panic I immediately stopped thinking about it and focused all my attention on my physical state instead.


    The Blood Mist cleared again as I observed my body.


    I was unbelievable thin, my arms and legs were bony and there were many scars on my body. Interestingly though the wound that I had suffered yesterday on my leg had disappeared and in its place was a scar.


    I got up onto my feet and began testing my body¡­.It felt so familiar yet odd.


    I sighed and then sat down with crossed legs and closed my eyes. I needed to meditate.


    I used my spiritual energy to start taking account of all the changes in my body.


    After some light inspection I was shocked at what I had discovered.


    There was some sort of strange magic on the inside of my skin all around my body, if I probed the magic I would start to feel the desire to eat again. Even though currently I wasn¡¯t all that hungry it seemed as if this strange magic could actually cause me emotions.


    Also, my mana pool had increased by an enormous amount!


    I tried to recall what had happened in the dream, I was beginning to understand what had happened. Somehow from my mental trauma and starvation, my desire to eat had created an odd type of law magic.


    I remember from my old man¡¯s teachings that Death magic had been created long ago by a mortal man.


    The mortal man had felt some sort of great loss, and in his grief he tried to defy the world and resurrect his loved one by willing her back into existence. Some sort of accident had occurred from his unstable mana and in the end he had gained the ability to manipulate soul energy.


    My mana pool probably increased from the use of magic constantly, I was probably sub-consciously using body strengthening magic the entire time, and from the speed and strength of all those battles I think it¡¯s safe to say that I am right.


    Who was fighting all those guardians though? Perhaps it was me¡­..but that voice that I heard¡­¡­..


    Oh! I remember hearing legends of martial artists becoming half beasts by being immersing themselves within their instincts.


    Perhaps I just fell prey to my instincts and somehow I became feral? Or maybe it has something do to with this strange magic¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Hmm, what do I call it? It was made from my desire to devour¡­..Oh that sounds good, how about Devouring magic.¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I didn¡¯t have any insights into devouring magic right now but it seemed to have countless mysteries hidden within.


    Until I gained a soul and absorbed it I wouldn¡¯t be able to inspect my soul and try to have a closer look at what was going on.


    Right. I still can¡¯t use Death magic but my battle prowess has increased by so much, even though I look frail I feel very sturdy, and my mana pool is so large¡­


    It¡¯s still not comparable to when I was in hell, back then I had a mana pool of a Death magic practitioner who had cultivated spiritual energy for 13 years but¡­.. I am far stronger than when I was 7 years old in my other life.


    In spiritual energy alone I probably compare to when I was 9 or 10, it seems like continuous battles are good for cultivation.


    Well, I can¡¯t really say anything about that being true or not though. My understanding of what happened to my body is just speculation.


    Am I seven? I am not sure, I am again just guessing based on my height. Since my body is the same as it was in hell, at this height I should be seven now¡­.Ugh, I wish I could remember what had happened better.


    I remember some of the battles but everything else was a blur.


    Which Guardian did I just defeat? There were so many, I think I should be close to finishing this Heavens Dungeon by now but I am not sure.


    Hmm, well no use thinking about useless things, I should find out eventually. All I can do now is get used to my body and the improvements to my mana. With a little practice I think the fire and ice magic I can use now will be very potent and useful against these guardians.


    I started training to understand my body better and sure enough, there were some massive improvements compared to two years ago.


    Although I was bony, the skin of my entire body had hardened form the harsh weather and constant battles and abuse. My defense was very high for my age.


    Additionally I could use body strengthening magic extremely well. I had already far surpassed the level of this magic compared to when I was in hell. I could use body strengthening like breathing, it was so natural to me.


    The efficiency of mana used was also very good, I wouldn¡¯t strain my mana in the slightest unless I tried to increase my strength by a lot.


    In a Neutral state I was as strong as two adult men.


    From straining my mana I was about as strong as four adult men.


    From there I could gain bursts of strength even surpassing that, but the drain on my mana would be very great.


    As for other magic, I was able to use elementary level hell-fire now. Hellfire was a type of fire magic which contained chaotic elements inside it, it spread more quickly and grew faster.


    Additionally, now I could conjure elementary level Death-frost. Death-frost was ice magic that contained chaotic elements and was colder and tended to form into sharp needles and edges.


    I could also use an extremely inefficient method of food conjuring, I was able to make small black pellets that contained some energy and I would at least be able to live off of them. It was a waste compared to Death Arts 3, Soul sustain, but I guess it was better than going hungry again.


    Food was loosely linked to spiritual energy, but not completely so. If you ate food you wouldn¡¯t really replenish much spiritual energy. Spiritual energy was best restored from the passage of time or meditation.


    It took me a while to make the black pellets. I had no knowledge into food conjuring so the toll on my mana was very great as I was just trying to will the food into existence. Not knowing magical formations or having instructions on food conjuring made it very draining.


    But at least some of my fears went away¡­ I didn¡¯t want to fall prey to my instincts again¡­


    After a few days of training I began feeling a lot more fluid with my body. The martial arts techniques I could now use were very advanced. In this aspect, although I could not compare to the power I had commanded before I had at least kept my understandings from my training in hell.


    I was extremely strong for my age.


    The Blood Mist¡¯s presence was still within the layers of my skin though. After some careful consideration I chose to risk it and experiment with this Blood Mist.


    I began associating hunger with the blood mist and after a few minutes of thinking I managed to achieve the results I wanted.


    ¡°Blood Mist¡±


    Simply from saying those words, the blood mist formed all around me and hugged my skin tightly like an aura.


    I still felt in control so I started observing the effects of the blood mist.


    Some very interesting things were noticed, as I cut myself I felt my suspicions were indeed correct. Slowly the cut began to heal due to the embrace of the blood mist.The mist  contained a regenerative effect.


    Most surprisingly though, I felt my spiritual energy slowly recover, it was almost like¡­.the Blood Mist was devouring the mana in the air around me, refining it, and making it my own.


    The mana that filled me was different than normal mana too, I felt stronger and wilder as the foreign spiritual energy mixed with my own.


    Actually, rather than feeling wilder it was more like I felt¡­..Bloodthirsty.


    The Blood Mist made me feel emotion, good to know


    I would get more easily agitated under its effects and the need to fight and kill would also start to grow inside me.


    Controlling this Blood Mist would be difficult as completely surrendering to my desire to devour would be dangerous but¡­ I believe it would be usable in battle if I kept my killing intent in check and didn¡¯t go overboard.


    ¡°What an odd sort of law magic¡­..What other mysterious will I discover in this Devouring magic?¡±


    I walked towards the rope bridge in the distance and felt an odd feeling of nostalgia fill me. I was again challenging this dungeon.


    I had awoken from my dream


    ¡°Blood Mist¡± I whispered, and again I took a step forward onto a rope bridge shrouded by the never-ending haze and howling winds.


    -Yuzu here, Thank you for reading. I would like to talk about a few things that have been on my mind lately. Looking back at my prologue i realized that my english and writing style were both very bad (was i drunk when i wrote it...? Lol). I would like to apologize for it and I''ve been doing my very best in increasing my standards since then. Thank you for sticking with me on my journey to becoming a better writer and have fun creating this story.


    P.S. I''ve gone back and edited alot of the mistakes in my prologues, its kinda readable now at-least.. again....sorry

 Chapter 8 -- The Shadow Guardians

    (Chapter 8) The Shadow Guardians.


    Different hues of dried blood painted the make-shift spear that I had made long ago.


    The rope connecting the handle and the blade had been frayed and worn out. It had over-lived its usefulness so I discarded it and used my fire magic to create and intense heat. Then I fused the two parts of my spear together.


    It was still a poor weapon but I had spent so much time with it that I had grown fond of the spear. It was MY weapon.


    I had done this when I was still on the platform of that odd shadow guardian. Now I was on the rope bridge steadily making my way to the next plateau.


    A few hours passed.


    I sighed in relief as I saw the next plateau. After my¡­..awakening, I was not in the mood for spending 5 days on another stupid rope bridge.


    I climbed the stairs up to the top and saw a small desolate landscape, without any hint of life and littered with rocks.


    In the middle of the area was a full body suit of armor¡­¡­..Oh! It was coming to life!


    Shadows flickered in-between the gaps of the suit of armor and then the armor moved¡­..


    ¡°Welcome to my domain, I am the 96th guardian of Heavens Dungeon and the 4th of the 5 Shadow Guardian. You must have defeated my younger brother, Echo, to arrive here.


    ¡°Come child, I haven¡¯t had a good fight in ages! I The Shadow Knight will honor you with a battle!¡±


    What an idiot, he must be the valorous knight type. I hated grand and over-bearing characters like this guy. They reminded me too much of those pompous Gods in Heaven that my old man had to suck up too.


    I was already getting agitated, I could feel my blood thirst leaking out of me¡­Ah¡­¡­I am going to devour this idiot¡­..Kill..


    Wha? No, stop! Get a grip Muzumi, calm down¡­.okay¡­okay I am fine, just gotta keep my emotions in check


    Let¡¯s stay relaxed¡­¡­.ah¡­..much better¡­.


    I charged at the Knight leaving a small red blur caused by the blood mist behind me. I appeared in front of the Knight by closing the distance of 50 meters in just a few seconds. Then I swung my spear aiming for in-between the gaps of the knight¡¯s armor!


    -Clang!-


    The knight had a sword in his hand. I hadn¡¯t noticed it before but it must have been sheathed behind his back. The speed of the knight was fast and he had stopped my blow with very quick movements. This might end up being a difficult battle!


    I pushed myself away from the knight and slowly began circling around him, he mirrored my movements and also began circling. We were both trying to find each other¡¯s openings within our stances.


    ¡°You fight like a warrior, child¡­.how interesting.¡±


    I clicked my tongue in irritation, this stupid arrogant knight and his chatty mouth. I am going to shut him up!


    We both charged at each other and started swinging our weapons, the knight used a very weird martial arts that seemed to focus on heavy blows. This martial arts would be very strong against a larger opponent like some monster but with my small child body¡­..I had a big advantage!


    His strikes seemed to sacrifice a lot of speed for strength, although his defense and parrying were on point and it was very hard for me to find an opening, it was similarly difficult for him to hit me.


    With quick movements, I was able to dodge his seemingly sluggish attacks.


    I was a little disappointed. If this knight broadened his vision as a warrior and utilized more of his speed in his attacks, he would be much more dangerous¡­


    After a few minutes of intense skirmishing, I was able to figure out how to win.


    The strongest weapon in my arsenal is the combination of both my martial arts and my magic!


    I still hadn¡¯t used any magic, I would get close to him and then strike him with it! I already knew the weakness of these shadow creatures too. They seemed to recover from direct blows, the only way to kill them was to rip them into pieces!


    It was a shallow and unimaginative strategy, but one that was both tried and tested as being extremely successful.


    Then, I finally saw an opportunity.While the knight was thrusting his blade at me, I purposely let myself get clipped by one of his blows and then twisted towards his body!


    I was now in touching distance, I focused my entire mana pool into my finger tips and willed all of my mana into magic!


    ¡°Death Frost!¡±


    A deathly chill exploded out of my hand and instantly covered the body of the knight, the entire suit of armor and the shadow creature inside were both instantly frozen!


    Then, with a casual blow I obliterated the frozen shadow knight into tiny pieces.


    This sort of magic looked incredibly strong, but I had to be within touching range while being very focused to use it and for it to be effective. Also, to achieve the effect I wanted I had to exhaust almost all of my entire mana pool!


    But, I didn¡¯t care in the slightest about using so much mana, I would do anything to win!


    Additionally, my Blood Mist would regenerate the mana at a much faster pace than meditation. By the time I would reach the next plateau, I would already be fully recharged.


    I felt regretful about destroying the knight¡¯s sword in the process. It would have been a good upgrade from my spear as it was both a well-forged weapon and I was a martial artist that trained in the way of the sword.


    Without wasting any time, I walked towards the next rope bridge. Confident that my injuries would heal and my mana would recover on the way to the next guardian thanks to the blood mist.


    -10 Days Later-


    ¡°Ha¡­¡­ha¡­¡­..ha¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    I was breathing heavily while sitting on the ground the recent battle had almost been the death of me!


    I sat there, recalling the events of the last 10 days while letting my blood mist heal my injuries¡­.


    The battle after the Knight had been difficult, it was against a giant Shadow snake-like creature, it had spared no time on introductions and immediately engaged me in combat.


    I was very used to fighting against formidable enemies though. Every single battle here in the Heavens Dungeon had been against an enemy that was capable of taking my life. Yet I was confident that unless I fought something that was unbelievably stronger than me, something so strong that I had absolutely no chance, I would still be able to win. The giant snake had a weakness that it mostly relied on charging attacks to deal any real damage. If I took care while  being near its head and tail I would be able to fight it.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    I then used hellfire to strike at the snake, and it had reacted splendidly. It seemed very afraid of fire like any normal beast. From that knowledge, I slowly cornered it and then dealt a killing blow by severing its body in two pieces from exerting my mana into body strengthening magic.


    The 98th guardian had been a lot harder to defeat. It was a giant shadow dragon. I had originally been afraid as I knew that I had absolutely no chance if the shadow dragon was as strong as a real dragon¡­


    Back in hell, I had tried challenging a zombie dragon, and those only had about 40% of the power of a real one, and I had almost died¡­.I was 16 at the time.


    But after a few attacks from the dragon I was able to estimate that the shadow dragon¡­..was not even 2% as strong as a real dragon. From the knowledge in my past life, I knew that all dragons had a core within them, and that striking the core would instantly kill them.


    Sure enough, I had managed to get close to the shadow dragon after a while of battling and when I did I condensed hellfire into my right hand.


    Condensed hellfire had the ability to cause explosions when used, using this property I focused my mana and aimed the hellfire directly at the core of the dragon, which lay in the center of its chest!


    Sure enough, the core was destroyed and the shadow dragon slowly crumbled into nothingness.


    The 99th guardian had given me more difficulties than any other guardian though¡­


    So far, he had been the strongest one in the entire dungeon.


    The 99th guardian was a shadow man, he was neither tall nor short, and held a shadow blade in his hands.


    Without exchanging any words, we immediately engaged in combat. His speed and strength were on par with me using my strongest continuous form of body strengthening magic. He also could use an extremely advanced form of martial arts. His attacks were complex and fast, and his defense was also incredibly formidable. He utilized many feints and all parts of his body while fighting. But the most surprising thing was¡­.That he could also use magic!


    Some sort of Shadow-flame and Shadow-Frost magic had come assaulting me. I wasn¡¯t able to rip his body apart under these conditions and I was slowly racking up more and more injuries until I finally decided to risk it and borrow power from the blood mist.


    During the battle I gave in slightly to my urge to devour and the blood mist began thickening and swirling all around me.


    My strength and the pace at which I was recovering from injuries and absorbing mana had greatly increased!


    Then the fight had gotten extremely bloody, we both had the same recovery rate and he could also continue casting magic over and over again.


    The battle had gone on for hours.


    But then, my slight advantage in strength due to the blood mist began showing as I started attacking recklessly and overpowered the shadow¡­.


    I somehow managed to push the shadow onto the ground and slash its body into many pieces.


    While it was crumbling, it finally talked.


    ¡°My name is Large Echo, the first lieutenant of the Shadow legion and the oldest of the Echo Brothers¡­¡­.My youngest brother¡­¡­¡­Echo¡­¡­¡­.he followed me in my footsteps and learned the Echo Arts¡­¡­but my other brother¡­.ha¡­¡­he was a dreamer¡­¡­he wanted to live as a dragon slayer¡­¡­and go on many adventures¡­¡­¡­¡­and rescue many people¡­¡­¡­ah¡­¡­.what is this nightmare¡­¡­..and will¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­will it ever end?¡±


    Now, thinking back on the battle I realized that whoever was the final guardian, and the next enemy, was probably the leader of this Shadow Legion.


    This lieutenant had already pushed me so far, I don¡¯t think I would be able to fight this leader at my current power.


    I needed some sort of triumph card¡­Hmmm¡­


    An idea came to me.


    Could I¡­¡­Could I possibly?


    Yes, my mana was now very large, maybe just for one spell, I would be able to use the Death Arts.


    Death magic was very violent in nature and using it without absorbing another soul was considered impossible but, there was a secret not known by many people.


    If one would be able to cultivate enough spiritual energy and grow their mana pool large enough, you could use some Death magic briefly if you had knowledge of it.


    The repercussions on using the Death magic would be very high though. Death magic was involved in soul manipulation and willing the soul to create magic. Forcing your own non-reinforced soul to use death magic would result in extreme fatigue.Also, you probably couldn¡¯t use any of the higher tier Death Arts, but the death Arts were extremely powerful!


    Only just the Third Death Art, was death magic that could make your worldly needs no more, Soul Sustain!


    The Death Art I had in mind though was¡­..Death Art 6, Soul crackle.


    It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, using my mana to create a soul tearing lighting attack that also contained a spiritual attack within, this was Soul crackle!


    ¡°Yes, perhaps, with this I will be able to win against this leader of the shadow legion.¡±


    Having found an answer to my problems and now recovered from most of my injuries, I got up onto my feet and started walking towards the bridge in the distance.


    As I got closer though, I was pleasantly surprised, the bridge this time wasn¡¯t a rope bridge¡­..It was made from steel!


    ¡°It seems as If the final battle draws close¡­¡±


    -Yuzu here, hope your excited for the Final Battle inside Heavens Dungeon next chapter! Also marking the end of the first Arc in my story, The Heavens Dungeon Arc. Thank You very much for reading <3

 Chapter 9 -- Lord of Shadows

    (Chapter 9)  Lord of Shadows


    A storm was brewing.


    The clouds thickened and churned. Then, with loud thunderous roars flashes of lighting struck out from the heavens and demolished entire sections of rock and earth on the towering plateaus inside the Heavens Dungeon. The elements raged on, the winds blasted through the air and dispersed the mists that surrounded the entire landscape.


    On a large steel bridge was a child grimly yet firmly stomping his way to the last plateau in the Heavens Dungeon.


    ¡°I can¡¯t fucking believe this¡­.¡± I muttered under my breath


    Hahahahaha! I should have guessed, last battle coming up against the final guardian in this shithole and a fucking storm hits me. Would it have been too much to ask to fight under good conditions, some bright light? Maybe some weather that wasn¡¯t¡¯ fucking freezing. I couldn¡¯t even see a damn thing! Stupid fucking wind was bashing against my face!


    Maybe it was the Blood Mist, or maybe it was just me being me, but I felt extremely agitated. As soon as I got to this ¡°Last boss¡± Asshole, I am going to rip his arms off and force them down his throat.


    I don¡¯t even give a fuck about my Blood thirst getting out of control, this stupid storm has really killed my mood.


    Ah! I could see the next plateau, wonderful. This time there were no annoying stairs to climb either, the steel bridge directly connected the top of the last plateau and this one.


    Now let¡¯s get this over with.


    As soon as arrived, I could see shadows swirling into the center of the plateau, great. Looks like I¡¯ve got an idiot who likes grand entrances here. Oh look! How shocking! The shadows were forming into a man! I never woulda guessed!


    Can I just go back to fighting animals? Clowns like this guy made me so mad¡­.


    ¡°Greetings!¡±


    ¡°Welcome to the final plateau of the Heavens Dungeon mortal, it has been many many centuries since someone managed to get here. I remember the last mortal very well, he was a specialist in light magic and had a great advantage over me! I was defeated after a hard battle but since then I¡¯ve gotten much stronger.¡±


    ¡°My name is Shardock, THE LORD OF SHADOWS! You must be very formidable to have defeated The Shadow Guardians, but I am far stronger them them!¡±


    ¡°How interesting! The one who managed to make it here is but just a child! I can smell the scent of both a warrior and animal in you¡­¡­¡­..How interesting, although you are so tiny your aura is so formidable, what a gigantic presence you have!¡±


    ¡°Are you done talking¡± I yelled


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wet since I got here then beaten bloody countless times! I¡¯ve been Starved and Frozen! Not to mention I briefly went Insane! Now I¡¯ve had to listen to an idiot go on and on about random bullshit that I don¡¯t care about! Do me a favor and die quietly!¡±


    Suddenly it started raining heavily.


    ¡°ARRRRRRGH! THAT¡¯S IT! I AM FUCKING DONE WITH THIS PLACE!!!!¡±


    Instantly I charged at the large shadow man. Out of his hands appeared two shadow axes! This guy was probably a berserker type fighter!


    Testing the waters, I started with a fast thrust aiming for his head.


    The thrust was blocked by the axe in the Shardock¡¯s right hand and with his left, he struck out with a downwards strike!


    I narrowly avoided it with a quick dash back but as I looked at the strike colliding with the ground I felt my spirit plummet.


    The ground in the vicinity of the axe was shattered and the axe was deeply embedded within it.


    ¡°Not good¡±


    If Shardock¡¯s blows were that strong then¡­..I needed to avoid them at all costs! I couldn¡¯t take a hit like that with my current level of defense so¡­..Getting hit meant death!


    I needed to dodge all his blows, and parrying was now not an option. My spear would most likely break and I would lose my arm.


    But I was a martial artist! I had spent hundreds of hours training evasive techniques in my past life, and those techniques were actually the most compatible with this new body!


    Not to mention that I had spent the last 2 years constantly battling, my body was conditioned for the movements I wanted to execute. It had also grown sturdy from the constant abuse and I  had a greater chance to dodge with my small and thin frame.


    -Smash!-


    Shardock was charging at me using extremely reckless attacks, there were many openings in his defense but¡­¡­..He was a shadow creature! So what if I could strike back? Doing so would only put me in a bad position. Since he was a shadow creature unless I could completely rip parts of his body apart, attacking under these conditions was useless!


    Especially since the difference in our strength was so huge.


    After constantly retreating for a few minutes, I decided to risk it and see what I could do, I ducked under his swing and jabbed at  Shardock''s body.


    Alas, the result was exactly what I had predicted, Shardock was not even fazed and simply kept up his assault!


    Why was he charging like this though? Oh! I understand, he means to tire me out and doesn¡¯t know that thanks to my Blood Mist I could recover from my injuries and replenish my mana pool.


    As for running out of stamina, due to a quirk of body strengthening magic as long as I had the mana, I wouldn¡¯t feel physically exhausted.


    After a few minutes of constantly retreating I decided to use some of my mana on magic.


    I began condensing Death-frost in my hand and then after a few seconds¡­.


    ¡°Death-frost!¡±


    A large beam of ice magic shot out of my hand and collided with Shardock, he grunted as his shoulder began to freeze and sharp edges protruded from it.


    Then...... he chopped of the frozen section of his body with his axe!


    Shadows leapt up from the ground and into his shoulder, and in a quick moment¡­.he had completely healed!


    This Lord of Shadows could use some sort of¡­.Shadow magic?


    ¡°Shadow Arts 4, Shadow Prison!¡±


    Shadows surrounded mw from all sides and slowly formed into¡­. a cage!


    ¡°Hold still and die child¡±


    This prison was dangerous! I had to get out of it quick, I then started recklessly burning through my mana and blasted Death-Frost at the bars of the cage.


    Slowly¡­.they were freezing¡­¡­¡­


    Faster!


    Shardock had entered the shadow prison behind me and was now in striking range!


    With a roar I slammed my body against the frozen bars and crashed through them.


    My hands and arms were bleeding from cuts received by the sharp edges of the Death-Frost, but I had narrowly avoided taking a blow from the Lord of Shadows.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    This was not good. This guy knew some sort of odd law magic called Shadow magic, if this was true than I had to end this fight quickly before he used any other Shadow Arts.


    I had to use my triumph card, Death magic!


    ¡°Death Arts 6, Soul Crackle!¡±


    Although I couldn¡¯t sense my soul energy yet, it emerged from within me and a white glowing aura surrounded my hands.


    I dropped my spear and began funneling all my mana into my hands¡­


    Ugh¡­¡­.Not enough!


    I was out of mana! I had used a little too much during the battle!


    Then I felt my Blood Mist slowly clear¡­¡­¡­..At the same time, the Death magic was now complete!


    -Kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri kiri-


    Two balls of white lighting were now in my hands, their offensive power was¡­..extreme!


    My Blood Mist had disappeared¡­.. Probably due to trying to use more mana than I had, it was gone for a while¡­..


    Well it was still okay! All that meant was that I had to end this battle quickly!


    It was all or nothing!


    I then was pleasantly surprised as I noticed that I had a bit of mana left still¡­ How? Oh, perhaps it was due to the Blood Mist dispersing?


    Well, no time to be conservative, I¡¯ll use this all on Body strengthening magic!


    Shardock was charging at me again and was only a few meters away from me. In the few seconds it had taken for me to use Soul Crackle, he had tried to take advantage of it and strike me.


    Instead of running away though, I charged right at him!


    This action momentarily surprised him as I had been running away the entire time. This was my chance!


    I struck out with the ball of lighting in my hand aiming for the Shardock¡¯s chest.


    But¡­.somehow, he read my attack and was swinging his attack to block it!


    The axe and Soul Crackle collided into each other and then¡­¡­..


    The shadow axe was obliterated and pieces of shadow fragments scattered everywhere!


    With my other hand, I thrust towards the Chest of Shardock!


    ¡°Uuahhhhh!¡±


    Shardock began screaming as his body was tearing apart from the Soul Crackle''s lighting!


    He had believed that his defense would have been strong enough but in the end he was just an arrogant idiot! If you see unknown magic being used you should be more careful!


    He was fighting so recklessly and arrogantly¡­.


    It was true that he was very strong, and could probably kill every other creature in this dungeon using his Shadow Arts but in the end he had under-estimated me.


    The Shadows dissipated and the floating essence of a man stood there¡­ and slowly said


    ¡°Hmm? I am dying¡­.. But I have died before¡­¡­.I remember¡­¡­¡­. Perhaps this is all a bad dream kid, in these mists are the souls of the lost........everything is a haze¡­¡­¡­.a never-ending nightmare ¡­..¡±


    ¡°Maybe for you Shardock. But for me, this place has been a brutal reality.¡±


    ¡°Listen to me! I will take you out of this nightmare! Give your soul to me and trust me!¡±


    ¡°I will bring you to the world outside this shithole! Submit!¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­¡­submit? How interesting¡­¡­¡­.Very well kid¡­¡­¡­Take me out of my¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.nightmare¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    I leaned forward and grasped the floating essence¡­¡­I could¡­¡­¡­¡­.I could sense it! I could sense Shardock¡¯s soul!


    I then immediately began the necromancers¡¯ ritual, I bit my thumb and let blood pour onto the essence. The blood mixed into the floating essence, now was the time!


    ¡°I invoke upon my right as the Third Prince of the Devil and seek the path to becoming a supreme practitioner of the Death Arts. In blood and soul, I aspire to Death and in Death I will find strength.¡±


    ¡°Shi Ni Naru Genjitsu!¡±


    The essence of Shardock began glowing and then transformed into a small ball of light and entered my body.


    I could feel some sort of force tugging on Shardock¡¯s soul but he was resisting the pull. He had done enough! Now it was my turn, with the ritual invoked my soul was now absorbing the soul of the Lord of Shadows!


    After a few minutes, the ritual was complete. I suddenly felt extremely strong. My mana pool¡­¡­..had quadrupled in size!


    I could now also sense my soul and its soul energy. Oh? It had some very interesting changes to it¡­¡­what is this red aura around¡­¡­¡­¡­.?


    ¡°Ack!¡±


    Suddenly I began coughing out blood!


    Oh right, the price of using Death Magic without a reinforced soul was very high¡­.


    It would take me four months to recover from the repercussions of using Soul Crackle¡­¡­..


    Firstly, I would feel very weak and would not be able to convert my mana into magic at all during the first few days.


    Then slowly, bit by bit I would be able to use magic¡­¡­.the price to pay for using Death Magic was¡­.


    I would miss out on four months of complete cultivation! My mana pool wouldn¡¯t get any bigger as the way to cultivate your spiritual energy and thus increase your mana pool was through the extensive use of magic.


    This was only just from using Death Art 6, the price of using a stronger death art would most likely be¡­.death!


    With Shardock''s soul I was able to use death magic now though. When I recovered from my condition I would most likely have enough spiritual energy to effectively use the first 8 Death Arts, then by increasing my mana pool later on, I would slowly unlock the ability to use stronger Death Arts


    I was satisfied with the result of the battle! I had finally managed to clear the Heavens Dungeon and I had also absorbed a very powerful soul.


    Gheesh, my mana pool had actually quadrupled¡­..


    Far in the distance, on the other side of the Plateau was an archway very similar to the one Death threw me into.


    It began glowing softly and a portal formed, it seems as if that¡¯s my exit.


    Then I walked towards the Portal and in a jolly mood I entered it.


    After many Battles and experiences the Child had defeated all 100 guardians of the Heavens Dungeon, every single battle had been fought with his life at risk and through extreme tenacity he had managed to do the impossible and gain his right to a second life.


    As the child walked through the Portal something very strange happened.


    The Shadow of the child seemed to swell and flicker¡­¡­¡­.before quietly returning to normal.


    -First Arc to my story ends with this chapter, how will Muzumi fair in the world? What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter coming soon!


    (Lol¡­.<3) ~--Yuzu

 Chapter 10 -- Arrival

    (Chapter 10) Arrival


    There was bright light all around me and I closed my eyes.


    I felt some sort of pull on my body and then suddenly I felt extremely dizzy. After a few seconds my confusion faded and I slowly opened my eyes¡­.


    Ah! I was on beach!


    Finally, I was now in the mortal world! What sort of amazing adventures would I be able to go on?


    Feeling happy and excited I began taking note of my surroundings, in front of me was a never-ending body of water, the sea!


    Behind me was a thicket containing palm trees and bushes.


    I strolled along the beach marveling at the soothing smell of the ocean and the warm, gentle breeze that enveloped my body.


    Oh? This is peculiar, the beach is beginning to curve into itself? I wonder why¡­¡­..


    Wait¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding, I began running quickly along the beach.


    After a few minutes, my fears were confirmed¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°You got to be fucking kidding me¡­¡­¡­¡±


    I was¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I was on an island!


    A very small island!


    In the middle of the fucking sea!


    ¡°Oh god¡­¡­.why¡­¡­.why me?¡±


    I bet Death is probably fucking laughing his head off right now¡­¡­¡­ha ha, I¡­¡­¡­¡­..I can already imagine the conversation between Death and the other outer gods¡­


    ¡°Oh, I have a good idea guys. Let¡¯s make Muzumi a weak 5 year old. Make him go through an impossible trial and then¡­.HAHAHA, get this, and then¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.We¡¯ll leave him on an island! HAHAHAHAHAHA, in the middle of fucking nowhere!¡±


    This Death guy had either a really fucked up sense of humor or I had accidently killed his parents in another life¡­¡­Considering that the latter option was impossible it must be the first¡­..


    At this point¡­¡­¡­I didn¡¯t even care anymore. Everything seemed to go wrong for me, all I could do now was move on¡­¡­.


    Let¡¯s see, how am I going to get of this island? I could make a raft from the palm trees but I would be taking a lot of chances¡­¡­¡­who knows how far I am from land? I could be thousands of miles away¡­¡­


    Oh well, I really don¡¯t want to sit here and wait around for something to happen, raft it is!


    I started to get hungry so I began mediating to use my soul energy as a tool to sense the soul energy of  nearby creatures. It only took me an hour and when I gained the ability to sense nearby presences I noticed¡­¡­¡­..that the island was teaming with life!


    Many fish swam in a nearby small coral reef, and there are crabs as well.


    I went fishing with my spear and managed to catch a medium sized grouper after a lot of difficulty.


    Firstly, I couldn¡¯t hold my breath for very long due to not having access to my magic and I was also as weak as a 7 year old now. But my hunger kept making me try again and again until I eventually got lucky and skewered a grouper.


    When I got back to the island with my catch, I used a very small amount of magic to create a spark. Then, using sticks and shrubbery collected from the island I made a fire. A spark was about the most I could do at this point with my fatigued condition.


    I roasted my fish and had a large bite of the cooked flesh.


    Bliss hit me like a wave.


    I had been eating bland monster meat or magic made supplements for so long¡­¡­


    My first bite of real food in two years! The only thing I could feel was joy! The fish tasted so good!


    While I was eating, I felt my Blood Mist slowly return to me, I could feel its presence again underneath my skin. It felt very faint though, it seems like it would also need some time for it to recover fully and be as strong as it was before.


    Two days after, I realized that I could now use some weak frost magic. I started cutting the palm trees by slowly freezing a small section at the base of the tree and then chipping away at the frozen part with my spear.


    It was very exhausting though. It took me a lot of time to freeze a portion of the tree, chip away and then wait for my mana to recover. Then i had to do the whole process over again.


    Having my mana limited and my magic so weak made the whole process take¡­¡­¡­7 hours per tree!


    -3 days later-


    Somehow I had managed to make a raft. Making rope from scratch using the plants around me had taken a while but the raft was built decently and would be able to hold together through a small-scale storm.


    I really, really, really hoped that I didn¡¯t suffer through a storm while out on the sea though¡­¡­.


    I fucking hate storms.


    Just because the raft would hold together didn¡¯t really mean anything either. If the waves of the storm got too high, I would probably get shaken off and thrown into the waters.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Alright, today was the day that I would head out!


    My days as a man of the sea had begun!


    --Muzumi¡¯s Mental Sailors Log¡ª


    - Day 1: Boring waves, boring sky, everything¡¯s boring. All I did today was lay here on my back all day on this boring raft floating away with the boring ocean current.


    - Day 2: I was mediating today and feeling my soul energy. My soul has changed in very interesting ways. There is a red aura around it which I am guessing is due to my devouring magic. Very strange though, I¡¯ve never heard of magic that effected the soul this       way. Maybe my old man might know something about it?


    - Day 3: Couldn¡¯t catch any fish today, but I am really smart and had already prepared for something like a food shortage. Back in the heavens dungeon I had made a pouch using my cloak right before the fight with Shardock. The pouch was filled with black pellets that are food supplements. I would be good on food for about 20 days even if I didn¡¯t catch any fish. I really wanted to eat fish though¡­¡­¡­.


    - Day 7: Bored


    - Day 9: I¡¯ve recovered enough magic to make life a little bit easier, I made an oar with ice and tried speeding up my journey but got bored of it after a while. Good exercise though.


    - Day 15: Finally! Luck is on my side! I saw a ship far in the distance and its heading my way. Time to start waving and yelling like a mad man!


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    In a world that its inhabitants called earth, many different kingdoms and nations had sprung out from the aftermath of countless wars. There are currently five major powers that held control of 5 of the 6 giant continents on earth.


    To the West is a forest continent that was ruled by the kingdom known as Elairva. It was exclusively ran by a race known as elves. The elves were similar to humans with the only differences being long ears, better complexions and a higher talent for magic. The elves are extremely secretive and only those who had extreme magic talent would be allowed within its country as students for its many prestigious academies.


    To the North is a snow shrouded kingdom called Delvore ruled by a race known as the dwarfs. These dwarfs had created gigantic cites on the faces of mountains and cliffs using stone and iron. They are known as master craftsmen and had a friendship with all the other kingdoms. The other kingdoms sought out their expertise in forging and crafting weapons and other items used in warfare.


    To the south is a chaotic land with many different habitats and dangerous wildlife. The demi-human race known as beast-men ruled over the land and had established the primal kingdom of Scarr


    In the center of all the continents was the most mysterious continent known as Miasma. It was rumored to be ruled  by a legendary humanoid race known as the Demon-race but those were only rumors and superstitions. The continent was filled with extreme danger! It was littered with monsters and chaotic landscapes. Entering it without being the strongest of heroes would mean death! Many strong adventurers had entered the continent seeking glory and fame but few had ever survived. All those who had survived and come back, only had one message for the masses¡­.Death! That is all that awaits in this land!


    To the East are two continents both occupied by humans. The north-eastern continent was ruled by the Kingdom of Rorak. The south-eastern continent was ruled by the Kingdom of Sarok.


    All the continents were separated by large bodies of water that would take months by ship to cross.


    In the south-eastern kingdom of Sarok are many small countries each ruled by their own kings and queens, but they all had to answer to The Supreme-king that ruled over all the countries and whose gigantic city lay in the center of the continent.


    The 5th princess of a very small country within the south-eastern kingdom, was currently leading a voyage to the North-eastern kingdom of Rorak.


    The 5th princess was very troubled due to recent events that had forced her to leave her country, little did she know that she would encounter someone on her trip that would change her life.


    -Yuzu here, thanks for reading. If you were bored with this chapter the next one will be alot more fun (I had a plan for this chapter but it took me longer to write than I expected.)

 Chapter 11 -- Encounter on the Seas

    (Chapter 11) Encounter on the Seas


    My name is Gracelynn Helix the 5th Child of the Helix clan. The helix clan is the family that rules over Helia, a small coastline country in the Kingdom of Sarok.


    Due to the peace-treaty 50 years ago between the kingdom of Rorak and Sarok, my country has flourished and prospered under the rule of my family and the absence of war.


    I have four older sisters and one younger brother. My younger brother is the heir to the throne and will one day rule over the kingdom in my father¡¯s place when he reaches the age of succession.


    All my older sisters were married off or engaged to other princes around the world to better the relations between our countries and increase trade. Currently I am the only princess who isn¡¯t engaged to anyone¡­A few months ago on my 11th birthday, my father invited potential suitors from all around the world to see if there was anyone who wanted my hand in marriage¡­.


    I know that eventually I would have to marry someone but¡­¡­¡­¡­.my birthday had ended up as a disaster¡­¡­¡­..


    The prince of a wealthy country called Harlax began pressuring my father¡­¡­..for my hand in marriage.


    There were a lot of problems though¡­¡­¡­¡­..the prince¡­¡­¡­¡­.is a 34 year old man named Boris.


    I didn¡¯t¡­¡­¡­¡­..I didn¡¯t wanna marry a geezer like him!


    But he started pressuring my father¡­¡­¡­.and even managed to drive away all the other people who had come seeking for my hand in marriage¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    I would have to marry him as soon as I reached adulthood at 16 years old¡­¡­¡­..and he would be 39 years old!


    He was also super gross¡­¡­ A shifty personality and an ugly face¡­¡­¡­¡­I would rather die than marry him!


    My father tried to politley decline him but then he began to threaten my father and he was just the ruler of a small country¡­¡­ so reluctantly¡­¡­¡­¡­..daddy agreed to him!


    I¡­¡­¡­..I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..I couldn¡¯t go through with the marriage! So I told daddy that I would rather die than marry him but¡­¡­¡­..He didn¡¯t take me seriously.


    So I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­on the eve of my engagement party I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I ran away!


    After I was found and captured by the guards¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.everything¡­¡­¡­..everything that happened after¡­¡­¡­.was a disaster.


    Boris was furious at my dad and demanded justice for the insult he had been given¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­and then¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    My father had to publicly disown me!


    I was exiled from the clan and stripped of my last name¡­¡­..


    I suppose I am just Gracelynn now¡­¡­..


    Then¡­¡­..then my father put me on a ship and gave me funds to pay for school tuition and live well for 10 years. I was then accepted in an academy for magicians in the north-eastern kingdom. The academy was so far away from home.................


    I was free from my family¡¯s obligations but I would never¡­¡­¡­I would never see them again¡­¡­.


    All because of Boris!


    I¡­¡­.I hate him!


    Just because I was pretty he made all those terrible things happen¡­¡­.


    I had very fair skin and blue eyes. I also had glossy silver hair that was very rare. Just because I looked this way¡­¡­.I had¡­¡­¡­¡­.I had lost everything!


    First I had cried because I would never see my family again but¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­I wouldn¡¯t let this stop me!


    Just you see Boris! I am going to become a strong magician and one day I¡¯ll make you pay for ruining my life!


    Wait, why has the shipped stopped? What¡¯s going on?


    ¡°Madam Gracelynn, The captain sen''t me ta get ya, he told me to tell ya that we got a complication"


    ¡°What? What complication?¡±


    I looked towards the door of my cabin, thinking about what the sailor had just said, complication?


    ¡°Very well, lead me to where he is.¡±


    I got up from my bed and opened the door, the smell of the sea hit me.


    Then, I followed the sailor as he led me to the upper deck. There, at the stern of the ship was the ship¡¯s captain.


    ¡°Hello Jeffery, I was told that there was a complication?¡±


    ¡°Madam, we¡¯ve found a¡­¡­¡­..boy¡­¡­¡­..stranded on a raft a few meters away from us. My look-out has reported that he¡¯s about 7 years old and is carrying a spear. Do you wish to rescue him?


    ¡°A boy? On a raft? Yes, quickly bring him up, what harm could a boy possibly be? Also where are my hand-maidens, Haiden and Felberta?¡±


    ¡°They are currently in the kitchen preparing dinner with the ships cook¡±


    ¡°Bring them to the dining gallery, I and my maidens will meet the boy there after you bring him up to the ship.¡±


    ¡°Very well madam¡±


    I walked quickly back to my cabin to wash my face. Then I began heading towards the dining gallery.


    As soon as I entered the dining gallery I found my maids were waiting for me. My maids had taken care of me since I was born and very important to me. I then proceeded to tell them that the look-out had found a boy and we had rescued him.


    After a short while¡­¡­..


    The doors to the dining hall opened and in came a boy¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..a very very thin boy¡­¡­..


    His black hair was overgrown and unkempt, he didn¡¯t have a shirt on and besides a dirty pair of trousers had no other clothes¡­¡­his entire body was filthy from the sea.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    His eyes were so peculiar, they were hazel and there was an orange ring around his pupils¡­..but there was something even more interesting about his eyes¡­¡­..They seemed to be screaming something¡­¡­¡­..he looked so¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Hungry


    ¡°Jeffery! Can¡¯t you see how hungry and thin this boy is? Good heavens he¡¯s starved! Quick get him some food!¡±


    After berating the ship¡¯s captain I turned around towards the boy.


    ¡°My name is Gracelynn and I am currently leading this voyage¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re safe now. You¡¯ve probably had a very difficult journey¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.we¡¯ll get you fed immediately¡­¡­¡­umm may I ask what your name is?¡±


    ¡°Muzumi¡±


    A very quiet raspy voice replied.


    ¡°What a strange name, I¡¯ve never heard of anything like it before, what does it mean?¡±


    A faint smile played on the boys features and he replied


    ¡°I was named after the color grey in an old and forgotten language. I had two older brothers Kuro and Shiro. Kuro means black and Shiro means white. My father named me after the color grey.¡±


    ¡°Your father seems like a very interesting man, it would be wonderful to meet him.¡±


    Suddenly the smile faded from the boy and a bitter expression covered his face.


    ¡°I am sorry M¡±lady but due to some¡­.unfortunate circumstances¡­¡­¡­..My father is currently in an unreachable place.¡±


    Suddenly I felt guilty and stupid for not being sensitive


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have asked you that¡­¡­¡­.it¡¯s clear that you¡¯ve been through a lot. You don¡¯t have to worry about that anymore, we¡¯ll take care of you on this ship.¡±


    The boy strangely spoke like a prince¡­¡­..I had been under strict education when I was young so it was understandable that as a former princess I would be eloquent but this boy¡­¡­.Maybe his father was a noble?


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble my saviours like that M¡±lady. If you would drop me off at the closest village or city that would be enough for me.¡±


    With an inquisitive expression upon my features I asked


    ¡°Closet city? Why would you want to be left there? You¡¯re just a small boy without any family. How would you survive?


    The boy was silent for a moment before carefully responding with¡­


    ¡° I have¡­¡­¡­¡­certain talents¡­¡­¡­¡­.I am confident that I would be able to seek employment¡­.Also, its very kind of you to worry about me but like I said, I don¡¯t want to trouble you.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡­..I understand. Very well, it seems as if your food has arrived. Please enjoy it and under my decree everyone on this ship is to treat you as a guest. I will now retire to my cabin, if you wish to discuss anything with me just ask someone on the ship to deliver a message. Good day.¡±


    As I got up to leave the dining gallery, I glanced at the boy behind me¡­¡­.he looked so thin........what sort of horrible circumstances must he have suffered to look like that?


    -15 days later-


    I had talked a few times with Muzumi in the dining gallery, oddly he spent a lot of his time there.


    At first we simply discussed affairs of state and he had a lot of questions regarding territories and recent changes in the kingdoms. He seemed very out of touch with the world, I thought I had been right with my assumption that he had noble blood in him but¡­¡­¡­¡­.His understanding was even lower than that of a commoner.


    I suppose he must have not been taught world geography or history by his parents, many nobles did find those subjects to be less important than others.


    I thought I would be able to be-friend him but he seemed to keep¡­..some distance between himself and others. He wasn¡¯t trusting at all.


    Probably because of his harsh past, it¡¯s truly sad that someone as young as him had already suffered through some sort of calamity in his life.


    Although I had been exiled from my own country I still had luxuries and a small fortune to rely on. The child had nothing and his family was dead¡­¡­.My misery paled in comparison to his¡­..He was even about four years younger than me. Also, he wasn¡¯t the only child who had suffered through so much. What about all the countless child slaves that nobles and royalty kept for their own petty amusement?


    My self-anguish seemed childish now that I reflect on it¡­¡­I truly was being selfish and short-minded.


    That¡¯s right¡­. I need to be firm in my resolve to become a great magician and study hard at the academy. Not for some petty revenge but for my own sake. I would become someone strong and admirable and earn back my right as a princess of helix with my own power.


    Just you wait father, I will come back stronger than ever one day.


    ¡°Madam Gracelynn! We have a situation!¡±


    I was roused out of my thoughts from the loud rapping and voice at my door.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We¡­¡­.we are being followed by pirates! Their ship is as fast as lighting! ¡­¡­they will catch up ta us in minutes!¡±


    -Yuzu here, so my sleep schedule was all messed up and I¡¯m in the process of resetting it. I was being very unproductive and wasting time and for that I am sorry. Hopefully my brain can just shut-up and let me sleep¡­¡­Anyways, thanks for reading! <3

 Announcment

    This fiction is officially on hiatus for the foreseeable future. Despite my confidence in the story, I was largely left dissatisfied with my writing quality. I also felt that the plot would become boring after a certain point and this fiction lacked.....direction.


    If you enjoyed reading Muzumi I would like to apologize. I might pick it up again in the future.


    I Haven''t uploaded a chapter for 7 months but it wasn''t due to hopelessness, rather I went back to the drawing board with a brand new idea that i felt was much more interesting.


    Over the last 7 months I was working tirelessly to increasing my writing quality and storytelling skills.


    Now i feel confident in writing again, I have started writing another fiction. Darkstory.


    This story sings to me.


    It connects with me intensely. The words just flow when I write it, please do check it out. I will be fully committing to Darkstory and make it a long well-developed and interesting fiction.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Again I''m sorry for ending Muzumi the way i did. before it even truly began,  though some idea''s that went into Muzumi fit nicely with my new story.


    The tone of Darkstory becomes similar to Muzumi''s without the faults.


    I still think I''m far from being a great writer but I sincerely think that Darkstory will be my best work.


    Link to Darkstory here http://royalroadl.com/fiction/4259</a>


    Thank you all so so much for reading, I don''t take any of my followers, viewers and favouriter''s for granted, Thank you for liking Muzumi and I really hope you like Darkstory as well.