Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Demon King Qlus, Descends! #1
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Roiling space! Colors so bizarre it was beyond belief! My thoughts were stretching out! I had no fucking clue what was happening to me! This sensation was even more intense than when I died and reincarnated!
—Zwooooosh!
With that, I crossed through the passage to another world...!
"Graaaah!"
I descended into the Middle Realm!
"Grahk...!"
I knew for damn sure I'd descended into the Middle Realm. The world around me had stopped churning. My vision was blurry. My mind was foggy as hell. My senses felt unreal.
My stomach was roiling... I felt like I was gonna puke!
"Hah, huff... huff...!"
But I forced down the nausea. Puking wouldn't do me any favors.
What the hell was my condition right now? Were my feet on the ground? No. I was face-down. Realizing that, I took stock of the sensations across my whole body.
Sensations rioting all over the place. I had to calm them down. So this was the pain of dimensional travel. Crystal clear now. No way I ever wanted to go through that shit again.
"..."
As fast as possible. I settled my mind and regained my senses. No telling what dangers I might be in right this second.
Kartiya had told me that demons who performed the descent ritual usually ended up dropped in some remote backwater.
Was this that backwater?
"Kuhk... Hoo. Haa..."
Soon my breathing steadied, and I lifted my head.
"Huh."
I saw green.
A space thick with lush greenery.
"Forest...? No, jungle?"
I let out a breath and tested my voice on purpose. It came out fine.
Couldn't tell if it was a forest or a jungle. Anyway, there were fucking plants everywhere, rocks scattered here and there.
"Hand axe!"
I immediately groped inside my coat, grabbed the hand axe, and gripped it tight!
Forest or jungle, whatever—this was pure wilderness. The kind of wild where wild was an understatement. No way this place wasn't dangerous. Far from safe.
If I'd been a normal demon, I'd probably be fine, but I was just a demon who'd barely scratched the basics. Barely any different from a regular human. And humans can't survive in the wild without training.
"This is just the beginning."
The start of survival itself.
And it had begun now.
I heightened my tension and stayed alert to my surroundings.
"..."
—Rustle.
—Rustle.
Insects and birds flitted through the trees, grass, and vines. Right now, I was so fucking scared my body felt like it was gonna shake apart. I swallowed that fear! I'd been lucky! I hadn't run into anything yet!
Honestly, forget bears—even a wild dog would fuck me up bad! And in the Middle Realm's forests, it wasn't beasts like that. It was monsters.
"Good. Nothing yet."
No bullshit—I was basically dropped here buck naked.
"Gear."
I checked inside my coat first. The stuff I'd stashed in the inner pocket. Everything was there. Simple tools, black magic book—all accounted for. What a relief. Losing it in the dimensional passage would've been pure despair.
Demon Realm high-class coat.
Right now, this coat was my entire fortune.
I had to treasure it.
From here on, the will to survive was absolutely crucial. My starting point was this forest. So.
"Gotta find water."
A stream or a creek. Something drinkable. Demons might be demons, but they still needed water. These fuckers died without it too.
Let's see.
First off, to avoid getting lost... I had to move carefully. Pick a distant tree as a target and head straight for it, right?
—Crunch crunch.
I pushed forward, mimicking that. Hand axe gripped tight. Finding water should be like in the army.
—Crunch crunch.
—Crunch crunch.
—Crunch crunch.
Plants.
So. Fucking. Many.
"Ugh, this goddamn hand axe."
The hand axe sucked for hacking through plants. What I needed was a machete. But you can't make something outta nothing.
Thinking that, I kept walking.
—Snap!
"...!"
But every fucking time I heard shit like that, it felt like my heart was gonna explode!
—Flutter flap!
"Motherfu...!"
Some weird bird-like thing burst out, and small critter-like things zipped past.
These little bastards!
"Ecosystem must be... thriving."
Were all those monsters?
Lots of small ones meant there were big ones eating them... Just a moment's lapse, and terror crept in.
Fear emotions piling up like a chain reaction, swarming like insurance salesmen. Should I post a "No Fear Allowed" sign?
Could I even become the Demon King like this?
Right now, demon, Demon King—fuck all that. I was just a primitive caveman. A straggler at that.
"...Let's go."
I gritted my teeth.
And pressed on.
Small monsters. If I got a chance, I'd hunt some. Never done it before, but to survive here, hunting was essential. Gotta eat, right?
That's when it happened, as I was walking.
"Hm?"
Here and there on trees and vines, I spotted fruits. Red ones. Blue ones. Shit I'd never seen on Earth.
Fruits.
Fruits, huh.
"Gotta gather these."
I cautiously approached a tree with blue fruits... No way this was some plant monster, right?
"..."
Thinking that, I eyed the tree. Didn't look like it, but I was too anxious to just grab one.
—Grip.
Hand axe clutched tight, I checked for danger.
"Looks good."
Thank god, just a tree.
I reached out and picked a blue fruit. Scanning around carefully.
"...!"
Nice!
Acquired one fruit! Felt like a goddamn achievement just for junk loot!
The blue fruit was a bit bigger than a tangerine, soft-skinned, juicy inside. Probably packed with pulp.
"This."
No clue if it was edible. First time seeing it. Could be poisonous. Demons had some poison resistance, but I wasn't dumb enough to test it on myself.
"Kartiya."
If Kartiya were here, she'd know all about it.
Anyway, chance to test it would come.
For now, stash it.
Good thing I'd brought string and a small sack. I put the blue fruit in and kept moving.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As I walked, I encountered all sorts of fruits. Some looked like Earth's, others totally alien.
I carefully gathered them into my sack.
Better to stock up as much as I could carry. Not too heavy yet. Whatever it was, grab first, ask questions later.
"Fruits aplenty... and the things eating them."
Small ones.
So, plenty of small monsters. Flying squirrel-like things, spider-dog sizes. Plump big birds.
I'd spotted tons on the way here.
—Grahhh!
—Kaaah!
Some ate fruits, others scrapped among themselves. Fun to watch fights, but when I lunged to catch one, they bolted like lightning.
—Scamper!
"Bastards. So damn fast."
They scattered quick.
"Hm."
I noted the fruit a bird-like one was eating. I had it in my sack too. Poison-free? Or special bird physiology?
Just mark it and hold off.
Can't eat yet.
Like that, maxing out observation and vigilance, that's when.
"Found it...!"
I finally spotted flowing water!
"Phew!"
Seeing water eased me up, mood skyrocketing! Yeah. Can't live without water. Securing that one thing naturally lifted my spirits.
"..."
No other critters?
Checked first, then sneaked to the stream, staying low. Good, nothing. Scooped water with my hands, splashed my face.
"Haa..."
Cold water on my face calmed me down.
—Swish.
Pulled out my canteen from my bosom and filled it.
"Gotta drink."
Normally, guzzling stream water's a bad idea. But I'm a demon. Got a bit of demonic power inside. Should be fine.
That's what I'm banking on.
—Gulp gulp.
"Ahh. Water tastes good."
Something in my mouth made me feel alive.
Refilled the canteen and backed off from the stream.
Next task ahead.
Water secured, so next up.
"Time to dig a pit."
Dig a pit right away. Can't just sleep out here. Nighttime predators were a given. So, dig a hole, make a shelter.
Still daytime.
Plenty of time before sunset. But with only the hand axe for tools, even starting now might be tight.
"Gotta move fast...!"
—Dash!
I kicked off to scout a good spot. Shelter location was key. But if I found and made a proper one, I could rest there. So, find it.
Funny image: Demon King scouting for a pit to dig.
Demon Kings were supposed to dominate monsters, lord over them, right? But right now, I dominated jack shit.
—Rustle rustle!
Like that, I searched for a pit site.
For survival, what couldn't I do!