《Living Life as a Demon》


 Chapter 1: Reincarnation

    Fair Water Village, Cromwell High School.


    I had recently been employed as a teacher. Despite being overqualified for such a job I am extremely happy with my employment.


    My mother had been having heart issues and only recently come out of hospital. My dad died when I was young and since I''m a lone child I decided to take it upon myself look after her. Due to the timing of everything I decided to put off getting my own place and moved back into my mum¡¯s house until she gets better.


    Since I wanted to stay within half an hour drive away there weren''t many suitable job vacancies. However not long ago I found that a teacher at my old school had recently retired and that a new position as a teacher was available. My old school was less than a ten minute walk away from my mums¡¯ house so it was the perfect opportunity.


    After being successfully employed I was shown around the school and allocated a class room to teach in, I then began teaching students. It seems I am considered by the students as a kind and cool teacher.


    I am currently in class 2B. A student named Jessica has come to see me during break time like I requested her to.


    ¡°Jessica there¡¯s something that¡¯s been concerning me.¡±


    Jessica is a shy and academically minded girl who is known to always be punctual and complete homework on time. However there¡¯s been something that¡¯s drawn my attention as of late.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡±


    She looks nervous and worried.


    ¡°I noticed that you did not complete your homework on time like normal today.¡±


    The truth is that this is the least that concerns me.


    When she entered class this morning she had a slight limp, skin makeup applied only around her right eye and an uncharacteristic blue scarf.


    ¡°Sorry sir I completed the homework but I ended up misplacing it this morning.¡±


    She averts her face from me when answering.


    I walk over to her and using my unused handkerchief I wipe off the makeup around her right eye. It was as I suspected; the makeup was concealing a black eye.


    Upon her noticing me uncovering her makeup her expression turns to shock.


    ¡°How did you get this black eye Jessica?¡±


    She turns to completely face away from me.


    ¡°I fell down the stairs.¡±


    I wish I could believe that, however with her limp and the way she¡¯s acting, I don¡¯t believe this to be the work of an accident.


    She was just about to run back to break when I unconsciously grab hold of her scarf to stop her. The scarf unravels.


    She suspiciously tucks her head in and tries to hide her neck.


    ¡°Can I have my scarf back please sir?¡±


    A sudden thought crosses my mind. What if she wasn''t being bullied by other students? After all as far as I could tell she was on good relations with everyone else in class.


    I immediately turn her around to face me.


    ¡°Jessica¡­¡±


    She has large bruise marks around her neck. Clearly this was a very serious case.


    Jessica¡¯s eyes are watering and her body is shaking.


    ¡°Plea-se *hick* don¡¯t t-tell anyone.¡±


    I gently hold onto both of her shoulders and kneel down to her height.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I tell anyone?¡±


    I try to use the most gentle and soft voice I can muster.


    ¡°Be-because *hick* d-dad *hick* wo-would kill *hick* me.¡±


    This was clearly a problem for the CPS. After calming Jessica I guide her to the principal¡¯s office to talk about how the school will handle this case. After we get Jessica eating some chocolate cake we call the CPS and inform them of the situation.


    After school ends I return to the principal¡¯s office where some people from the CPS had arrived and were trying to convince Jessica to come with them since it wasn''t safe. The problem was that Jessica didn¡¯t trust the people from the CPS and seemed to think they were conspiring with her dad.


    It seemed that trying to reason with Jessica was not going well. It was decided that I would look after her at my mum¡¯s house until the situation is resolved. I wasn''t too keen on looking after a student while also trying to care for my mum, but it seemed that Jessica wasn''t comfortable going with anyone else.


    After finally convincing Jessica it was safe, we got into the car driven by the CPS people. The reason why we used the car of the CPS people rather than walking home was because the CPS people needed to make sure that my mum¡¯s house was suitable for Jessica to stay at.


    Whilst in the car I noticed they took a wrong turn.


    ¡°Why did you take a left?¡±


    ¡°We are taking a detour to prevent being followed.¡±


    ¡°But this is a dead end.¡±


    Did he not realise that this road leads to a dead end?


    While a hint of doubt is floating in my mind Jessica starts kicking up a fuss.


    ¡°NO!! I knew it! This is the way to dad¡¯s house!¡±


    The CPS should know where her father lives, why would they go past her dad¡¯s house?


    CPS non driver: ¡°Stupid child!¡±


    I come to the realisation that these people were actually working for Jessica¡¯s father.


    CPS driver: ¡°We should be out of sight now.¡±


    The other CPS guy in the passenger seat gets out a gun. I quickly try to get out my phone to call the police when.


    *Bang!*


    I just finished typing the phone number when my consciousness fades.


    That¡¯s odd I¡¯m feeling warm and comfortable.


    Am I being treated in a hospital I wonder? I hope mum and Jessica are ok.


    After a long time I become able to move my body. I break whatever thing is encasing me and open my eyes.


    I can¡¯t see too well since I''m covered in some weird goo. I''m starving and I start eating the shell of whatever had been encasing me.


    Whilst eating the shell I managed to get the goo out of my eyes.


    I''m standing naked on top of a broken egg on the inside cliff edge of an active volcano.


    Before beginning to be too shocked I finish eating the remains of the egg. I then look at the large pool of larva beneath me.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Seems I''ve been reincarnated¡­


    If I have been reincarnated, then why have I retained my memories of my past life?


    Not only that why do I look like an eight year old? What kind of human gets born from an egg in a volcano and starts off looking like an eight year old!?


    If this is a different world, then maybe humans are born from eggs?


    I look around and no other eggs or people are in sight. More importantly I notice that there is no way off this cliff edge.


    ¡°What kind of human gets born stuck in an active volcano!?¡±


    Soon after yelling I start to feel something odd on my back. I rummage my hands around my back and discover folded wings stuck due to goo.


    After freeing my wings from the goo I spread my wings out using the muscles on my wing and back.


    However due to all the rising hot air from the lava my body gets lifted off the ground and I end up soaring upwards into the sky.


    Whilst gliding I noticed that I couldn''t see any villages nearby. Perhaps Humans in this world live differently to how they did in my world. It would make sense with them being born able to glide and having wings and such.


    After gliding down to the lake safely I take a look at my reflection.


    I have jet black hair, dark purple eyes, good looking face, wings that resemble bat wings and I even have horns.


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ am I a demon?¡±


    It¡¯s true that upon closer examination of myself I do resemble the classic depiction of a demon from a fantasy story. Perhaps could I have been reincarnated as a demon?


    If humans and demons are basically the same besides the wings and horns I wonder if they are friends.


    After all in fantasy stories demons are seen as mindless senseless beings that want nothing but destruction, they typically look less human than I do now as well, it wouldn''t be that weird to think that maybe demons are not hated by humans in this world.


    ¡°OK objective one: Find other demons or humans.¡±


    If possible eventually I would like to return to earth and help Jessica and mum. However since there are not many demons running around on earth, I think I''m unlikely to achieve this any time soon.


    But then again there are not many demons running about in this world by the looks of things¡­


    While contemplating my situation I suddenly get attacked by a platoon of Minotaur.


    ¡°I guess these guys are not friendly.¡±


    For some reason I don¡¯t feel scared. I feel much too calm. I wonder if this is because they don¡¯t pose a threat or because I don¡¯t get a sense of fear from death. I will assume the later and hope the former.


    ¡°Here goes nothing!¡±


    I dodge as the Minotaur¡¯s battle axe sinks into the floor like butter. Before the Minotaur could fully lift his axe out of the ground and back into a striking position I step close to the Minotaur and punch his stomach with all my might.


    The Minotaur staggers backwards slightly while holding onto his stomach and let¡¯s goes of his battle axe. I quickly try to pick up the battle axe, but it proves too heavy for me to wield. While analysing how to wield the battle axe whose size towers over myself I get surrounded by the rest of the herd.


    ¡°This seems bad.¡±


    The First Minotaur seems to have also recovered too. It looks like this is not a fight I can win.


    The Minotaur¡¯s all come charging at me like angry bulls, fortunately my agility is just enough that I can dodge their attacks without too much effort. I decide to make a tactical retreat and run away from the herd of Minotaur¡¯s.


    After running away for more than half an hour I decided I was probably far enough away to stop running. Since it¡¯s starting to get dark, I decided I would try and find some fruit to eat and then go to sleep.


    After rummaging around the jungle I managed to find something that looks like a purple banana. I peel the banana like fruit and try to eat it. However it seemed my body completely rejected the fruit.


    Looks like I''m carnivorous¡­


    I remember when gliding to the lake I didn''t spot any creatures smaller than the Minotaur in the nearby area.


    ¡°I''m expected to eat those Minotaur¡¯s!?¡±


    Seems living the life of a demon is not as simple as I had hoped. I go to bed with an unsatisfied stomach knowing that I will have to get food tomorrow morning.


    Sometime afterwards my ears pick up on the presence of a creature nearby. I awake and climb up into the trees waiting for the creature to come into sight.


    Not long after I can see something that looks like a black tiger coming out of the bushes. It¡¯s impossible to make out any more details and the different shades of the fur make it hard to focus on it.


    Seems like a nocturnal creature. These creatures don¡¯t come in a pack either; perhaps they are a type of scavenger.


    The beast looks to be frailer than a Minotaur but has more agility. As long as I can successfully get the initiative I should be able to kill it with a hard hit to the skull.


    I prepare my attack; I wait for it to wonder under me, I silently jump off the tree branch and strike with all my strength at the center of the beasts head, hoping my accuracy does not fail me.


    The creature receives the strike; I hear the sound of the skull crunchy slightly under my fist. The creature collapses to the ground.


    ¡°Thank god.¡±


    I had been starving and wasn''t sure if I would be able to make it through the night. I quickly ingest the black tiger meat raw. It stops me from being hungry, but at the same time I never got full. Even after consuming the whole corpse until nothing was left but bones, my stomach did not become full.


    I can¡¯t help but question how my small body can consume a beast bigger than myself and yet undergo no notable change in appearance.


    After shrugging my shoulders, I decide to not think too deeply about it now and get a good night sleep.

 Chapter 2: Minotaur Hunt

    I awake to a bright new day after surviving my first day in a new world.


    I do some morning stretches and think about what I''m going to do about today¡¯s lunch.


    Knowing that Minotaur¡¯s are amongst the most common and weakest monsters in this area I decide the sooner I can hunt them the better chance I will have at a stable diet.


    Even though I failed yesterday, I did eat a black tiger last night and because of that I feel like my body has become stronger. Before hunting I think it¡¯s important to find out exactly how my body works.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see, I guess first would be my wings.¡±


    I haven¡¯t had much chance to test out my wings since gliding over to the lake. I would like to know exactly how much lift they can generate in a pinch.


    I extend my wings out in a grand manner; I then proceed to use as much strength as I can to flap the wings. However to my dismay I can¡¯t flap the wings nearly fast enough to provide anywhere near the lift required to fly.


    ¡°These wings¡­¡±


    I thought I would be able to enjoy new found mobility with my new wings; however it seems that my wings focus more on strong bones and folding muscles, the muscles for flapping are pitiful. It seems they are supposed to act like gliders than actual wings.


    I guess if I get somewhere high or catch an up draft like when in that volcano they could prove useful


    While reminiscing over the time I was swept off my feet by the up draft in the volcano, a similar up draft gets created underneath me causing me to get launched into the air.


    ¡°Whoa!¡±


    I use the opportunity to analyse the surrounding area. It seems there¡¯s a herd of Minotaur¡¯s around the lake I was at yesterday. I guess like all creatures they need water. I also take note of a huge hydra taking refuge in a cave near the volcano.


    ¡°Not going near there!¡±


    I carefully land back where I flew off. I wonder if that up draft was created by something near the area. I check around but I can¡¯t see anything that looks like it causes an up draft that powerful to be produced. Was it just coincidence?


    I think back to the time when the uplift happened and remember my feet being swept off the ground. Then out of nowhere a localised up draft appeared under my wings and I took flight once more.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it!¡±


    It seems that I can somehow control when an up draft is made. Could this be a form of wind magic? I was sceptical about whether magic would really exist or not, but it looks like it really is a thing.


    Like most people who read fantasy novels I''ve always wanted to be able to use magic. After all, it always seemed so convenient.


    ¡°I wonder.¡±


    I park myself a little distance away from the lake the Minotaur group are resting at.


    If I can use wind magic, could I also use other types of magic? Like maybe fire?


    I concentrate on my right hand; I try to imagine a ball of fire forming. Nothing happens¡­


    I try again but this time I try to think of the heat gathering into the space above my hand, this time a small flame becomes visible; I concentrate on the flame and I imagine being the flame I begin consuming the oxygen around it.


    Once I do that the flame starts raging like a proper fireball spell known in fantasy novels.


    Wow I guess this world really is a fantasy world.


    I aim my fireball at one of the Minotaur¡¯s that¡¯s wondered just a little distance away from the main herd. It hits the Minotaur and his hands get burnt and it drops its battle axe. The Minotaur is looking over here pretty angrily; he taps his right foot against the ground a couple times and then makes a charge into my direction head first.


    It seems like after the fireball hits the target there¡¯s nothing to keep the fire going, or explode for that matter. In the end it only caused the beasts hands to get burnt. But I guess any ranged skill is better than none.


    I dash to the side to avoid the Minotaur¡¯s mad charge. The Minotaur ends up getting his horns stuck in the tree behind me. I make my way towards the Minotaur¡¯s battle axe; I try to pick it up like yesterday. However this time it feels lighter, not enough to move it fast or even freely, but definitely light enough for me to lift. Since the Minotaur¡¯s still stuck in the tree it¡¯s the perfect opportunity.


    I make my way over to the Minotaur, however just as I was about to arrive he breaks loose from the tree. He then taps his foot a couple times to prepare for his next charge. I''m closer to him than previously, but by momentarily dropping the battle axe I managed to dive out of the way in time.


    I turn around to find the Minotaur stuck in another tree.


    ¡°Looks like you didn''t learn your lesson. Let me teach it to you.¡±


    I grab the battle axe and head over to the Minotaur as fast as I can. Upon arriving I carefully lift the battle axe above my head slowly then using all my strength I sink it into the Minotaur¡¯s neck like butter.


    After killing the Minotaur I take many deep breaths.


    ¡°God that was exhausting.¡±


    It seems using magic to fly twice, then using magic to create a fireball and using all my strength and agility to defeat the Minotaur left me quite hungry. I''m lucky his friends didn''t notice.


    I quickly devour his body leaving nothing but bones; I gain a sense of renewed strength. I pick up the battle axe from earlier, only this time it seemed even lighter than before. Now I can move with it relatively quickly and even swing it fast. Still not perfect but probably to the same standard a Minotaur can.


    A demonic grin surfaces on my face.


    ¡°The hunt is on.¡±


    I dash from tree to tree with my battle axe. When I spot a Minotaur that¡¯s strayed too far from the herd I pluck them off. At first I use fireball to burn their hands forcing them to drop their battle axe. Then I wait for them to charge at me. I dodge, they get stuck in a tree, and then I kill them.


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    If they were to think of better battle tactics and pay attention to their surroundings more they could prove quite formidable. However due to their simplistic nature they become easy to predict and kill.


    After picking off about ten or so Minotaurs I gain strength beyond what I thought feasible only a day before. I can duel wield battle axes with great speed and precision whilst also displaying formidable agility. Getting possibly overconfident I decide to take on the bulk of the herd.


    I charge head into the herd of about fifty odd Minotaurs in frenzy.


    While slicing the heads off of various Minotaur I nimbly dive between them using their head and bodies as footholds on occasion. Like a predator I cause the herd of Minotaur¡¯s to avoid me in fear of their life, an open space opens up around me.


    Through the crowd a single Minotaur steps forward to oppose me. The Minotaur seems to be about twice as tall as the rest of the Minotaurs and the fur around his head is silver rather than the typical red. The Minotaur carries two battle axes, it seems like he is the leader of the herd.


    He taps his foot against the ground three times and then proceeds to charge towards me at unprecedented speeds. Using all my leg strength and dropping my two battle axes I only just manage to escape the charge in time.


    However before I could even regain my breath the Minotaur instantly changes the direction of his charge towards me again.


    ¡°Shit!¡±


    I didn''t think it was possible to change the direction of the charge so suddenly and to such extremes. It seems I might have underestimated my opponent.


    Since my legs are still tired I quickly unfold my wings and imagine an up draft. I take to the sky like a rocket and manage to just evade the Minotaur¡¯s second charge.


    I''m currently gliding in the air quite a distance above the Minotaur group. While trying to think up a strategy a battle axe sours through the air and tears through my left wing. I begin to lose stability and start crash landing. Using the last of my strength I use my remaining wing to guide my crash landing to a safe area away from the Minotaur herd. I crash land in a tree a few thousand meters away from the Minotaur herd.


    ¡°Damn, to think he could throw his battle axe so far so accurately. I really did bite off more than I could chew this time.¡±


    I look towards my broken wing in dismay. It is likely that they could be chasing after me this very second and not only are my legs tired, I''ve also lost the ability to fly. I''m not in a very good situation.


    Without the use of my broken wing I am unlikely to escape from the oncoming Minotaur herd. If fire magic and wind magic exist then maybe healing magic is also possible?


    ¡°It¡¯s worth a try.¡±


    I look at my wing and imagine it being repaired, however nothing happens. I then try to reminisce over what it felt like when my wings were working. I begin to imagine how it used to feel when different areas on my wings were touched previously. As if feeling the air on the skin of my wing I look towards my wings to find that they have been healed.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it works.¡±


    It seems magic is more about imagining how it feels as oppose to imagining how it looks.


    I dismount from the tree top and use wind magic to fly into the air.


    It had taken a good amount of time to completely heal my wings. It looks like the Minotaur¡¯s were heading towards the direction of my crash landing and had moved quite a distance away from the lake.


    ¡°Perfect.¡±


    They had left the bodies of the defeated Minotaur at the lake side. Since they destroyed one of my wings they probably won¡¯t be looking out for me in the air. This is the perfect opportunity to fly over to the lake while they search for me in the jungle.


    I glide over to the lake and land amongst the dead Minotaur¡¯s. I am extremely hungry, mainly due to the healing magic, but also the exhaustion of battle and flying made contributions.


    I begin to devour the remains of the Minotaur¡¯s I had killed earlier. I had eaten all fifteen of the corpses. I drink some lake water to wash out of my mouth and take a short bath in the lake to clean myself.


    I feel even stronger than before. Perhaps the excess food is instantaneously converted into various muscles and such. Though my muscles feel stronger they haven¡¯t changed in appearance, it is a very peculiar feeling.


    Since the day is nearing its end I search for a suitable place to rest for the night. After a little searching through the air, I find a very big tree which has a flat open top as if it had been cut horizontally some point in the past. It seemed like the perfect place to sleep for a flying creature like myself.


    As the sun sets I enter my slumber relaxing my body, today had been a long day, with much progress. It seems that as long as I look out for the Minotaur leader, I should be able to feast on the stragglers each day. Looks like the staple of my diet will be Minotaur¡¯s until I get stronger.


    ---


    Author note: I plan to release daily. I have a backlog of one chapter.


    At the moment when I write a new chapter before the next day I plan to release that chapter keeping my backlog at one chapter, Such as I did with this chapter.


    Since I only have a backlog of one chapter, if I''m especially busy for a few days it''s likely that I may not release a chapter that day.


    Hope everyone enjoys my story ^^

 Chapter 3: The Planned Attack.

    The sun rise marks the start of my third day in this peculiar world. In the first two days my body has grown stronger considerably and I had discovered some magic.


    As I do my morning stretches I consider my options.


    Option 1: Since I have not found any other demons or humans around this area I could spend the day exploring the landscape.


    Option 2: Since it has not been long since birth and there are many dangerous monsters, I should focus on increasing my strength and increasing my survivability.


    ¡°Option two seems safest.¡±


    I decide to go with option 2, since there was no guarantee that upon meeting with other demons or humans they would be friendly. In such a scenario I would be walking into the lion¡¯s den so to speak.


    Yesterday I had my ass handed to me by the Minotaur leader. If not for my successful discovery of healing magic I might not have made it out alive. However due to the events of yesterday it means I became aware of the existence of healing magic. Even more importantly I know how to use it and the drawbacks to using it.


    Healing magic takes time; it also requires a great deal of concentration on the various areas needing to be healed. The most noticeable effect of healing magic is that not long after use I become very hungry.


    Another thing to mention is that upon healing the wound, no scars remain. The wound almost reverts to before the wound even transpired, as if reversing the damage rather than actually repairing it.


    If I wish to battle the Minotaur leader I will need to gain more strength and agility than I currently possess. His insane charging speed and ability to instantly change direction seems to be the main features that separate the Minotaur leader from the other Minotaurs. Getting close seems to put me at a disadvantage.


    He can throw battle axes at me while I''m in the air but as long as I pay close attention to them, I should be able to avoid them by adjusting my wings and using wind magic. I also have the fireball spell. Though the spell only causes minor burns to the Minotaurs, I can vaguely manipulate it in transit which almost guarantees me a hit.


    Since the Minotaur leader will run out of battle axes to throw eventually as long as I can keep up the flying and fireballs I should eventually whittle him down.


    ¡°There is one major flaw with this plan.¡±


    I don¡¯t know how many fireballs or up drafts I can create before I run out of steam. If I run out of steam before he runs out of axes my wings become gliders and my movements become predictable, he will then likely get a successful hit with his battle axe throw and I will not be able to heal myself.


    ¡°Leading to my inevitable death¡­¡±


    I need to know how many fireballs it will take to kill him, how many fireballs I can cast and how many battle axes he has at disposal.


    After evaluating my plans for today I move into action. I unfold my wings and using wind magic I make my way over to the outskirts of the Minotaur herd covertly.


    I begin to experiment using the stray Minotaurs as target practise. Since my strength is many times more than yesterday I can easily avoid its attacks and charges. I imagine the feeling of heat and then imagine that heat consuming the surrounding oxygen to create the fireballs like previously. I then feel the heat move away from me to release the ball of fire.


    They tend to panic and block the first strike with their axe which causes their hands to become burnt and drop the axe. The Minotaur then charges at me using the horns on its head. While stuck in the tree I fire the fire balls at various parts of its body and experiment to see how many fireballs are necessary to kill the beast.


    After killing around ten of the stragglers and eating their remains I begin to analyse the results.


    It seems that around 20 fireballs are necessary to kill a common Minotaur. This can be decreased to around 15 if I focus on vital spots like the heart and head. The most successful strategy is to aim at the eyes first to cause blindness causing them to completely lose their bearing of their surroundings.


    It seems my limit is around 50 fireballs, though this has been increasing with each successive kill.


    What¡¯s most interesting is that I can fire all 50 fireballs and not feel any hunger until a few minutes afterwards. This implies that the hunger isn''t caused by the creating of the fireballs but rather replenishing the mana the fireballs consumed.


    This also means it¡¯s impossible to become so hungry from using magic alone for one to collapse, as the body will change its priorities from generating mana, to keeping your vitals and consciousness working after you¡¯re energy supplies drop below a certain level. Perhaps in worst case scenario the body will actually convert the magic back into energy supplies if the body is running critically low.


    Though I''m not sure whether the body can reverse the mana generating process so this is just speculation.


    ¡°With this it should be possible.¡±


    After analysing my results I decide it¡¯s time for the rematch against the Minotaur leader. I fly into the air using wing magic and fly above the main Minotaur herd.


    After finding the Minotaur leader amongst the crowd I begin the assault. I start by casting fireball at the leader¡¯s eyes; however it seems the leader spotted the fireball at the last second and managed to duck behind a fellow Minotaur causing the common Minotaur to get burnt instead.


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    ¡°Damn.¡±


    It seems he has spotted me, he roars, signalling the other Minotaurs to move away.


    That¡¯s odd for some reason I could understand the intentions behind his roar. It was as if the will behind his words were transferred into my mind somehow.


    ¡°Is this telepathy?¡±


    Though it¡¯s not exactly telepathy, it¡¯s more like an inbuilt translator.


    Before I get too distracted with my latest discovery I prepare my next fire ball. But while preparing he sends his first battle axe soaring into the air over to me.


    ¡°That¡¯s some crazy arm strength.¡±


    After successfully dodging the attack by manipulating the wind under my wings I manipulate my fireball slightly, changing the trajectory back on course.


    The Fireball hit¡¯s the target. What¡¯s more I managed to catch him off guard and successfully managed a strike to the eyes.


    ¡°Bull¡¯s eye! Literally¡­¡±


    It seems he wasn''t expecting the fireball to change trajectory. It¡¯s my lucky day.


    After staggering around a bit holding onto his eyes he regains his balance and picks up his battle axes. He then throws his battle axes towards me once more.


    ¡°Isn''t he blind?¡±


    I continue to use wind magic to navigate around his axes. It appears that even though he has not completely lost his eyesight, his accuracy has severely decreased. Only around a third of his axe throws are now on target.


    I continue to throw fireballs at him, however after getting hit by the fifth fireball he begins to take a more defensive approach. Likely due to his axe supplies starting to run low and he can¡¯t afford to take too many hits from the fireballs in case his movement gets impaired.


    He taps his foot against the ground three times and begins avoiding my fireballs by using his ridiculous charging technique.


    ¡°This is a pain.¡±


    I had only hit with around half of my fireballs, and now he¡¯s done this it¡¯s reduced to about a quarter. His axe throwing rate has decreased a bit, but it is definitely an unfavourable situation.


    The battle continues until he finally runs out of breath with all his charging. He had taken a total of ten fireballs and not only had he ran out of axes but also he had run out of stamina. His charging stops and he slowly staggers around on the ground.


    ¡°Finally!¡±


    He¡¯s a perfect target; I was beginning to get quite worried. I continue to spam fireballs, only now he can¡¯t avoid them. The fireball land one after another until he finally collapses dead on the floor.


    All of the other Minotaurs witnessing their leader fall to floor decide to flee and disperse into the surrounding forests. While gliding down I noticed that some were fleeing into the direction of a Cerberus.


    Even though the battle seemed one sided, I had been almost completely drained of mana. If he kept up his charging for much longer it could have been very dangerous. Perhaps I should have slowed my fire rate upon his defensive manoeuvre until he tired. Since there are other Minotaur herds in the surrounding areas I will take that into consideration.


    Upon landing I begin to tuck into my well-deserved meal with great vigour. It was extremely satisfying to say the least. The quality was of a much higher standard compared to the other Minotaurs. I was shocked that there was such a big difference from members of the same species.


    It seems that the stronger the opponent the tastier the meat.


    Upon completing the consumption of the Minotaur leader I felt a strong surge of strength from within me. I feel many times stronger than before, I even feel confident that if I encountered a Minotaur leader again that I could stand a chance in close combat.


    Feeling excited by my new found strength I decided I would put it into practise on some of the fleeing Minotaurs.


    ¡°The Hunt is on.¡±


    The corners of my mouth curl up into a demonic grin as I take flight.


    Instead of dodging the Minotaur¡¯s charges I faced it head on. Just before it impacts on my body I swing my fists towards its face and knock it into the floor with great force. Blood then starts to form a pool around its dead body. I then proceed to eat my earnings.


    I managed to kill and devour most of the fleeing Minotaurs. I didn''t kill all of them because some had wondered dangerously close to some strong monsters. Little do they realise that by putting themselves in danger they actually ended up being amongst the few to survive.


    In awe at my new found strength I take flight once more and head towards the tree I previously spent the night. The sky was darkening and I was growing tired.


    While flying towards the tree I hear a large roar coming from the direction of the volcano.


    For something to make such a thunderous roar, even I feel a dark chill down my spine. Fortunately the tree is in the opposite direction to the volcano.


    I go to sleep thinking about the ominous roar.

 Chapter 4: I Killed Cock Robin.

    I awake to my forth day in this peculiar world.


    While doing my morning stretches I listen to the relaxing sound of birds chirping nearby.


    ¡°Wait birds chirping?¡±


    My body freezes mid-stretch.


    If I can hear the sounds of birds chirping, doesn''t that mean there are birds near me? There are no creatures smaller than Minotaurs around this area. I take a deep gulp as I slowly turn my body around.


    Upon turning around I find a bird that looks like a robin.


    Well that¡¯s if robins were three times taller than an average adult human and had six giant bright red eyes.


    A breath moment of silence passes between me and the monstrous bird.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re friendly?¡±


    The bird opens its beak wide and performs an extremely loud and high pitched shriek.


    ¡°I guess not.¡±


    I immediately take flight and the bird gives chase.


    It seems that while using wind magic I am capable of out pacing the bird with relative ease.


    ¡°Perhaps I can beat it.¡±


    I look back towards the bird creature as it continues to chase after me.


    Its movements were gradually slowing; it seems this creature lacks stamina.


    I start to fly in reverse and begin to launch fireballs towards the robin. The fire balls hit the robin dead on. However it seems they prove completely ineffective, without even betting an eyelid it continues its charge towards me.


    While rethinking my tactics the bird¡¯s beak opens. Balls of fire start forming in front of its mouth.


    ¡°I''ve got a bad feeling about this¡­¡±


    As suspected the balls of fire begin to launch themselves towards me in quick succession.


    I try to avoid the fireballs, however due to the sheer quantity getting fired I fail to successfully avoid all of them. I close my eyes and brace for impact as my body gets engulfed in the flames.


    ¡°Huh..?¡±


    I open my eyes moments later to find myself completely unharmed. Though the flames engulfed me no pain was felt. I could feel that the flames were definitely hot, but for some reason they did not seem to burn.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    It appears I have a good amount of heat resistance just like this bird monster.


    I wipe the sweat off my brow and release a sigh of relief. The bird continues to send fireballs one after another in my direction. It seems it hasn''t realised that I am heat resistant, instead of trying to avoid the oncoming waves of flames I casually allow them to hit.


    It¡¯s a peculiar feeling; if I were to describe it, then perhaps it feels similar to a hot hair dryer but body size. The bird finally stops firing fireballs. We are currently both flying still in the air looking towards each other.


    My fire magic doesn''t work against it and its fire magic doesn''t work against me.


    ¡°A stalemate.¡±


    The bird looks exhausted and worried.


    Could this bird specialise in magic?


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    Though the bird looks quite large maybe it¡¯s actually weak close combat. While I''m stuck in contemplation the bird starts to dart away from me as if in fear. It seems the role has reversed.


    ¡°The hunt is on.¡±


    A familiar grin surfaces across my face as I give case to the monstrous bird.


    It took little time for me to catch up to the fleeing bird monster. Without losing any momentum I tackle the bird into the ground with great force.


    The bird monster seems to have stopped moving, I suppose the impact to the head was quite strong. I give one last punch directly to the head in case it was only concussed. I feel a small bone cracking sound under my fist and blood starts to collect around the birds head.


    Upon the completion of killing the bird monster I proceed to eat my earnings.


    Though the bird felt weaker than the Minotaur leader the meat was tastier. I guess that fire magic wasn''t for show.


    Upon eating the corpse like always I gain a sensation of my body becoming stronger.


    ¡°This really is convenient.¡±


    If it wasn''t for this ability to gain strength by consuming these monsters, I would still be hiding in the woods somewhere scared of the common Minotaur.


    It feels so long ago it¡¯s strange to think that it was only a couple days ago. Am I feeling nostalgic over stuff that happened not even a week ago?


    ¡°However this has raised a problem.¡±


    Though I was lucky this time and the bird monster happened to be fatigued and weak to close combat, what if close combat had been its speciality.


    What if I get stuck in an encounter with a monster which was not only strong in close combat, but was also heat resistant?


    ¡°Clearly my fireball wouldn''t cut it.¡±


    I need to learn to be more flexible in my magic. I haven¡¯t touched on either earth or water magic yet. Can I even use water and earth magic?


    ¡°hmmm.¡±


    If magic works on feeling rather than visualising then how would one feel the earth? I guess the earth under my feet is the first thing that comes to mind.


    I close my eyes and try to imagine what it would be like for the earth to raise underneath me. Imagining almost being inside an elevator I focus on the momentary feelings of acceleration and weight loss as well as the pressure that would be felt on the soles of my feet.


    Almost like a podium the earth rises underneath me.


    ¡°However.¡±


    Though a success at earth magic, how was a podium supposed to defeat a monster?


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.Not only was the shape wrong, the rate at which it rose was also inadequate. If I want to damage a monster I need something like a spike to rise quickly skewering the enemy.


    ¡°Perhaps I''m being too ambitious.¡±


    Though it didn''t go exactly as planned I decided to persist further.


    Next I imagine myself standing some distance away from where I am and the same phenomenon happening. I successfully raise the earth into a similar podium looking structure. Still unsatisfied I try to pay more attention to the pressure felt.


    After many attempts I had finally managed to successfully create a spike.


    ¡°There is one major problem.¡±


    Though after a great number of attempts I did manage to create the spike shape, it was much too slow.


    There¡¯s no way a monster would stand still as they see a spike slowly creep from the ground towards them. The amount of concentration required to make a spike far exceeds that of a simple podium or even a wall.


    In fact I would say the wall I managed to successfully create is much more practical than the spike.


    Unlike the spike the wall can be raised much quicker, not only that I also have more control over the tilt of the structure. Whereas the spike I could only make point straight upwards, with the wall I can tilt it as far as forty five degrees in any chosen direction.


    ¡°This could prove useful.¡±


    Looking at the morphed landscape around I begin to re-evaluate my magical situation.


    Though I have gained a useful defensive magic, my offensive magic has been at a standstill.


    Abandoning the spike idea for now I begin to refocus my attention on my fireball spell. I can¡¯t help but think that it was a little too weak. Even against the weakest creatures like Minotaurs, it can take as many as twenty shots to kill.


    I conjure a fireball in front of me. I go through the various steps until a raging fireball is in front of me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±


    The reason why I couldn''t make the flame any hotter was because there wasn''t enough oxygen around it for it to consume. The flame has to wait until more oxygen replaces the oxygen consumed.


    I stand looking at the flame for a few minutes until an answer comes to mind.


    ¡°It¡¯s so obvious!¡±


    I had been a fool! I was too busy thinking about altering the fire magic I didn''t think about combining the fire magic with magic I already know.


    ¡°Wind magic is the solution!¡±


    If the problem was that the fire wasn''t getting access to enough oxygen all I needed to do was to direct more oxygen towards it.


    I was already quite proficient in wind magic so I just needed to use wind magic to direct more air into the fire. Such a task should be quite simple for someone like me who¡¯s accustomed to using wind magic to fly.


    Though simple in theory it took a while before I could get the combination between wind and fire correct. It seemed that if I provide concentrate on wind magic making the air enter the flame I also need to then concentrate more on the flame consuming more oxygen.


    In the end I managed to come up with two new fire spells.


    ¡°Well fire and wind spells technically.¡±


    The first was a super powered version of the fire ball spell I had used previously. It simply channelled wind towards the flame and had the flame consume more oxygen progressively. It continued for about five seconds until the flame became hot enough to turn blue. I then fire the flame very quickly towards the target so the air consumption doesn''t falter.


    The second was something like a flame thrower. Using the wind magic I create something like a miniature cyclone from my hands. I simply use fire magic inside the cyclone and have the fire magic consume the oxygen accordingly.


    The technique can be sustained as long as I have mana reserves. Though very mana hungry the flame thrower should cause devastating damage in close combat.


    I look towards the scorched and morphed landscape around me and feel satisfied that my experimentation had been quite successful.


    ¡°But, damn am I hungry!¡±


    I fly into the air and quickly search for a nearby Minotaur herd. After quickly finding a Minotaur herd walking near a river not far away, I quickly dive over to the Minotaur leader.


    Needless to say they were quite surprised by my sudden arrival.


    I immediately begin scorching the nearby Minotaur leader and company with the new flame thrower spell. It proved very effective, after some time the whole herd was killed. The smell of cooked beef floats in the air causing my saliva to collect inside my mouth.


    ¡°I''m going to enjoy this meal.¡±


    I eat all the Minotaurs in the nearby area. However to my surprise the cooked meat didn''t taste any better than it would''ve uncooked. Though it did taste different and familiar it hadn''t the same zing that the giant robin had.


    ¡°Perhaps my taste pallet has changed somewhat.¡±


    I look towards the already dark sky. It appears that I had quite the active day today. I don¡¯t think I will be able to find the tree in these light conditions.


    Since I don¡¯t feel too safe going to sleep somewhere so low down, I use my earth magic to create something like an open top hut. Now raised from the ground with some walls protecting me I at least felt slightly more secure.


    Exhausted from the long day I swiftly enter my slumber.