Okay, fine—the last few hours have been infuriating, but not everything about this situation sucks.
Let's start with the obvious: I look incredible.
Not that I was bad-looking before. I was a solid seven—decent bone structure, no major complaints. But this? This is different. Now, I'm staring at a face that could make angels second-guess their life choices, sharp enough to cut glass and twice as cold. Think Vergil from Devil May Cry, if he spent less time brooding and more time realizing how unfair it is to the rest of the world.
And my body? Gods. Every muscle is carved like some divine sculptor got way too invested in their masterpiece. I've never been this defined—not in my old life, not even in my dreams. It's almost ridiculous.
So yeah. The Demon King might be a cryptic, power-tripping asshole who dropped me into a death forest with zero instructions—but at least he gave me a god-tier glow-up.
I'm f*king motivated!
Too bad there are no maidens nearby, I won't be able to try the mighty "judgment nut."
Vergil would be disappointed
The living tattoos wrapping my body keep distracting me - swirling darkness etched with glowing spirals that seem to breathe as I move. Badass, sure, but I can't afford to keep admiring them when survival comes first. My stomach's already growling, a sharp reminder that whatever upgrades I got didn't include eternal satiety. I'll need to find food soon, before I start eyeing every rustling bush as a potential meal.
Shelter matters too. This forest reeks of predators, and I'd rather not test my new strength against something that considers armored humans a light snack. Maybe there's a cave, or I might have to climb one of these trees if night falls before I find better options.
Water. That's the real priority now. The metallic taste of thirst coats my tongue and throat, and no amount of supernatural enhancement changes biology's basic rules. If I don't find a stream soon, I'll be reduced to licking dew off leaves.
And while I'm at it, I need to figure out what else this body can do. That strange energy coiled in my chest feels like a loaded gun - thrilling until I accidentally pull the trigger. Best experiment carefully before I blow my own legs off.
The eerie familiarity of this place keeps nagging at me too. Like a word stuck on the tip of my tongue, the memory won't quite surface. Maybe it'll come when I'm not busy trying not to die.
Right. Moving now. Before the local wildlife decides to help me test those survival theories.
-----------------------------
The trees here weren't just alive—they were watching. Gnarled trunks twisted into sneering faces, their roots coiling like sleeping serpents. The air hung thick with the scent of iron and rotting blossoms, every breath tasting like blood and decay.
Mikall's stomach twisted, but not from hunger. It was something deeper, primal. The kind of instinctive dread that gnawed at your bones, whispering that you didn't belong. Not just in the forest—anywhere.
"This place... knows me."
A twig snapped behind him.
His body moved before his mind caught up—shadows bursting from his skin in inky tendrils. He gasped, watching in disbelief as they obeyed some instinct he hadn't known he possessed. The demon mark spiraling up his left arm flared—pitch black, like the void itself had inked its presence into his flesh. It pulsed with a strange, rhythmic heat, almost alive. Five claws of darkness lashed out with deadly precision, impaling the lunging beast mid-air before it could even roar.
The creature—some grotesque hybrid of wolf and scorpion—gurgled black blood, its limbs twitching violently before going limp.
Mikall froze, staring at his own arm, then the shadows, then the corpse. The tendrils pulsed once more, as if acknowledging his confusion, before retracting and dragging the body closer with a sickening squelch.
"What... the hell was that?" he whispered. His pulse pounded in his ears, but not with fear—something else. Familiarity.
Somehow, he knew this power. Not how to use it—his life was free of these supernatural things before. Muscle memory is a better description. It didn't feel borrowed. But he was sure that on the back of his mind, he knew where this came from.
He wiped gore off on the nearest tree, still shaken. "That was... easier than expected," he muttered, but this time, there was less certainty in his voice and more awe.
The bark hissed where the blood touched it, and he jerked his hand back. "Gross," he added under his breath.
His stomach growled—louder this time.
The corpse stank of rotten meat and copper. But this forest didn't seem big on grocery stores. Mikall sighed, crouching beside the thing.
"Guess I'm eating demon wolf tonight."
He reached out hesitantly, pressing two fingers into the creature's thick hide. It was still warm, but the unnatural black ichor oozing from the wounds steamed slightly in the cool air.
He called the shadows again, shaping them into a blade—jagged, uneven, but sharp enough. The skin peeled back with an awful sound, halfway between tearing cloth and cracking bone. Mikall was unfazed, he had done this too many times to be bothered.
As he carved out a usable chunk of meat, he glanced around. The trees hadn't moved, but they felt closer now. He was being watched—again.
He gathered dry branches and snapped his fingers, sparking the air with a flicker of red flame, something he just knew he was capable of doing. The shadows hissed at the fire, recoiling slightly, as if insulted by the intrusion of light.
Roasting the meat didn't help much. It still smelled like misery and tasted like ash. But it was warm. Filling. Barely.
He leaned back against a mossy rock, chewing slowly, letting his body rest. The forest had gone quiet again—not peaceful, but patient. Like it was giving him a moment to catch his breath before the next horror arrived.
Mikall wiped his mouth and stared into the darkness beyond the flickering firelight.
"You're not gonna make this easy, are you?" he asked the forest, or the titan, or maybe just the void.
Nothing answered.
But something out there moved.
[Magic: 750]
[Strength: 1.000]
[Spirit: 600]
{total: 2.350}