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Where is this?
How long has it been? Aren"t I supposed to be dead?
It was a sea of darkness around me. The only things linking me to reality were the sounds of waves crashing against the coast and the suffocating feeling I was experiencing. Is it a lack of oxygen?
d.a.m.n it! Where am I? Didn"t I die after saving that loli? Why am I still alive? And why are both my legs still attached…
I tried to get a feel of my surroundings by waving my limbs around, however, I soon encountered resistance. It was thin and hard but not overly hard. My first impression of it was a wall.
Have I been wrapped in some strange material? Don"t tell me it"s really a wall…
As I pondered these questions, I continued struggling around within this enclosure. Each time I slapped the wall-like structure, it echoed back a dull sound.
As time pa.s.sed by, breathing became more and more difficult. At this rate, I will suffocate to death if I do not break out of this enclosure soon.
It would be an utter disgrace if I died before figuring out the situation. Don"t tell me I reincarnated once more? I guess it"s possible. I reincarnated from Earth into an alternate world so what"s stopping me from reincarnating once more?
With the a.s.sumption that I had reincarnated again, I increased my efforts to break out of this enclosure. I tried a variety of methods to escape, such as increasing the strength of my attacks and continuously attacking the same spot. Soon the wall relented and cracks began forming at the spot I attacked. As the spider web of cracks spread, beams of red light began to fill my sight.
I guess this isn"t the western human realms huh… My curiosity only intensified as soon as I realized this fact. I doubled down on my attacks and soon a large hole was formed in the wall. My oxygen-deprived self immediately stuck my head through the hole and took a deep breath of fresh air.
However, the expected relief came with a few surprises. The air was scorching hot and scalded my airways as I inhaled it.
*cough cough*
What"s up with this air? Why is it so hot and is that sulphur I smell!?
The sounds of waves crashing filled my ears once more but this time, it was much clearer. As I looked around, I discovered the ident.i.ty of that wall; it was a red eggsh.e.l.l-like material. Behind that egg was a blood red sea crashing onto an equally eye catching blood red coast paved with gravel.
*crack*
I swung my head around to locate the source of that "crack", and noticed several other egg-like objects around me. Some had already hatched while others quietly laid there, wobbling from time to time. Among them was an egg which had just hatched and from within it came a small imp.
Oh...so I"m in Purgatory. Purgatory!?
Ahhhh...I just died once and now I"m in such an amazing place! This can"t be real!
Cough...reality...forget it. I"ve already died and reincarnated twice, reality can just take a back seat.
Hmm...that imp climbed out of an egg and I climbed out of an egg...which means...no way. This joke aint funny at all.
However, reality begged to differ as I looked down. It was a pair of skinny, scaleless and crimson hands, equipped with a sharp set of claws; a small imp"s hands. My legs were a similar glossy red...I guess I"m really an imp……...NOOO! At least turn me into an esteemed race like the fallen angels! Can I get a reroll…
I"ve no idea why I react so strongly whenever a serious situation arises but becoming a devil is actually not that bad. At least I"m alive and I could slowly evolve my way into a greater devil...who knows, I might even be able to make it back to the human world and find Nicole and Roscar.
However, does time here pa.s.s at the same rate as the human world? Or is it like those Chinese novels where a year here is equivalent to tens of years in the human world. By then Nicole would be a granny with a whole herd of Nicolettes and Nicholases...or maybe it"s not even possible to return!
*rumble…*
Who"s making all that noise...oh, it"s my stomach. Well, I guess now"s not the time to be thinking about such things. First, I"ve gotta secure some food.
I mean, I"ve never had an actual deviled egg...I wonder what would these eggs taste like. Does it taste like a chicken"s?
I picked up a stone and smashed into one of the unmoving eggs with the pointed side of it. As expected of a weapon of ma.s.s destruction! The eggsh.e.l.l barely stood a chance and cracked after two hits. An actual devil"s egg...not those fancy smancy deviled eggs from Earth, but an actual devil"s egg! I"m getting excited just thinking about eating it.
As the eggsh.e.l.l broke apart, a stench of death wafted into my nose. With a quick glance inside, I immediately lost my appet.i.te...I guess calling it a devil"s balut would be more appropriate. I think I"ll give this a pa.s.s!
I think I"ll pa.s.s on the other eggs as well…
As I left behind the blood sea, I headed towards the outer edges of the beach. It was uncomfortable walking barefooted at first, but thankfully my feet were no longer the fragile feet of a human. Even stepping on a sharp rock was only a minor discomfort. It was just a matter of getting accustomed to it.
The blood sea slowly faded into the distance as I continued on my path. Soon the sounds of battle crept into my ears, piquing my curiosity. I quietly made my way towards the source and found two small imps furiously fighting. Each of their attacks were aimed solely towards each other"s weak points, their objective clear; to murder the other party.
The battle soon devolved into who could strangle the other to death first as both their hands wrapped around each other"s neck. As the razor sharp claws bit into the exposed neck, blood dripped down their hands.
A minute later, one of them laid dead on the floor while the other was severely injured. The survivor was barely able to breathe at this point and would likely die a moment later. I approached them out of curiosity but as soon as that survivor spotted me, a frenzied look crossed his face. He roared at me and tossed the nearest rock he could find at me.
The speed wasn"t too fast and was easily caught by my hand. With a casual flick of my wrist, I tossed the rock back at him.
*crack*
The rock seemed to be unusually effective as it impacted the imp"s chest with a loud cracking sound. Its body convulsed momentarily before falling still, his head tilted to the side with his eyes wide open. Dead.
Me: "..."
Isn"t he too weak?! I know it"s the first mob encounter but is it alright to be so flippant about giving away experience points?!
Hmm? I seemed to have inhaled some kind of soul after killing that imp. The spectral form of that red imp struggled desperately as its misty body rushed into my nose and mouth. I hastily covered them both but it was useless; the soul pa.s.sed through my hands and into my body.
Did I just eat a soul? Gross...what"s with this horrible setting!
However, that disgust was soon replaced by a welling sense of power and curiosity. As the soul dove into me I felt a warm rush of power in my body. My stomach was no longer growling and after testing out my punches, they seemed to have grown stronger.
Huh...is this the effect of consuming that soul?
As for the other imp that died earlier, its soul did not rush into my mouth. It must"ve been consumed by that survivor or perhaps it simply dissipated. If killing a monster allowed me consume its soul as nourishment, haven"t I turned into one of those RPG characters who kill monsters to raise their levels!?
Woah...this is awesome! I finally have a hack-like ability...However where did this ability come from? And why did I end up in this strange place after dying in the human world?
A mult.i.tude of questions to answer but none of them were important right now. For now, filling my stomach took precedence and that means it"s time to hunt for some small imps.
Other than small imps, this place was filled with even more small imps. The little scamps engaged in a deadly battle royale where the victor ate the loser"s corpse, gaining the right to live and grow stronger in the process. As for me, I"ll pa.s.s on consuming their corpses. As for their souls...don"t you even think about escaping my clutches.
Soon, I found my second group of prey. It was a pair of small imps currently engaged in a battle with each other. My trusty sword and buckler were gone so I had to rely on a pair of rocks as my weapons. While these were very primitive weapons, they still packed a punch with my current arm strength. This was even more so if I threw them in a dart-like fashion with the pointed edge targeted at the enemy.
In a remote corner of Purgatory, beside a pile of rocks, these two imps battled to the death. They had a frenzied look in their eyes similar to the other two imps I met earlier. I guess they were newborn imps as well; driven into a frenzy by their hunger.
It was a vicious fight where every strike left a b.l.o.o.d.y wound on the other. Soon, the fight devolved into a brawl where they grappled with each other as they fell to the ground, kicking and biting.
Taking advantage of their fight, I sneaked towards them. After reaching the optimum range, I broke into a running charge and threw both my rocks at one of the imp"s head. It rushed through the air and crashed onto the imp"s head causing it to bleed.
Thanks to his dimwittedness, the other imp misunderstood my actions as a sign of alliance and intensified his attacks.
Kid, I"m sorry about cheating your feelings...I picked up another rock and tossed it towards that silly imp without a trace of remorse on my face…
After absorbing their souls, not only had my hunger been sated significantly, my body brimmed with power as well. As for those two corpses...truth be told, as I laid eyes on those two corpses, a strange feeling crept up on me…
My hunger did not fade completely and instead the thought of eating those two corpses slowly entered my mind… This wasn"t normal. I didn"t plan on eating these corpses but my body had the urge to consume their flesh...previously, I did not experience this urging when I had just broken out of the egg…
In the end, I prevailed over the hunger. After all, I"m not a true devil; I could not stoop to that level just for power. However, an interesting idea came to me.
I placed the corpses next to a conspicuous looking boulder and climbed atop the boulder with a rock the size of a head tucked underneath my arms. I laid down with my trusty weapon of ma.s.s destruction ready by my side. The trap had been set and now I just had to wait for the prey.
As expected, I did not have to wait long before another small imp took the bait.
10 minutes later, a small imp found the corpses and rushed towards them. Since I was near the blood sea, this was probably a newly born imp. With its low intelligence, the thought of this possibly being a trap had never crossed its mind.
The imp took a sniff of the corpse before surveying its surroundings. Having checked that its flanks were clear, it bit down on the left arm of the corpse. Delicious! That was the expression I saw on its intoxicated face. This was probably the first meal of his life and it was someone of his own race! However, this would also be its last.
As he took his second bite, I made my move.
*splat*
The rock descended from the heavens, smashing his head in a horrific explosion of brains and gore, dying my face with blood and cerebral fluid.