Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Otherworld Demon King Survival Guide.

Episode 66: Strengthening My Foundation (15)

Was that really a human?!

For a moment, I was so baffled as to why a human would be here that I almost had a mental shutdown. Whatever the reason, it was definitely not normal.

An armed adult male? Plus, he looks raggedy, like a homeless person. Just looking at him, he might be a psychopath serial killer! It was impossible for a sane person to venture into this jungle alone!

It was scary, but!

We could not avoid a fight as long as Lumica was over there!

We had to lure him to a battlefield favorable for us!

“Waaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Damn, he’s crazy!”

Turning around, there was a man drawing a longsword, screaming like a mad warrior and chasing after me! Even his hair was red! The color of crazies!

He was fundamentally different from the others I had seen so far. Iron weapons? We were at the stone tech level, and he had iron? This was dangerous.

“Master! He’s coming!”

“Yes! I know!”

Matching Sharan’s speed, I raced down a familiar path. Should I lead this guy to the dungeon?

“Raaaaaaage!”

His speed was faster than expected. And Sharan doesn’t have great stamina. We wouldn’t be able to reach the dungeon at this rate. So, I quickly changed my plan!

-Brake!

I hit the brakes hard and immediately turned to the right.

“Sharan! We’re heading back to the lake! The three of us – you, me, and Lumica – have to work together!”

“Yes, Master!”

“Sharan, keep a distance from me and come for backup when I signal! Get ready for a sneak attack!”

“Got it!”

-Zoom.

Sharan immediately moved to the right. After confirming her position, I headed back to the lake.

-Thump thump thump!

“Stop right there!”

“You bastard!”

The human warrior was still chasing! Why? Why was he so intent on killing me?

As I headed towards the lake,

“Master!”

Lumica, who was in the middle of the lake, called out to me loudly.

“Lumica! Prepare your Water Arrow! Attack when the time is right!”

“Okay!”

Lumica started casting her magic.

I had to fight for my life against that human. Honestly, I was a bit hesitant, but he was chasing me to kill me! Even if there was some misunderstanding, he was chasing me with that longsword!

When I needed to kill, I needed to do so decisively!

Otherwise, I’d be the one who died!

“…!”

I checked his gear. He was not wearing full-plate armor or anything. He had cloth armor, leather gauntlets, and leather greaves, wielding a longsword.

The sword was scary, but with that level of armor, we could hurt him.

-Zoom!

I made a dash and jumped, landing near the lakeside. I immediately turned around, spear in hand.

“…!”

-Thud thud thud!

With a twisted face and sword at the ready, the human warrior was charging. He was fully intent on killing me. This realization made my spine tingle, but!

I’d faced real battles more than once. Was I supposed to be scared now?

I took a deep breath and,

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

I released my Demon Breath!

-Whoosh!

“Huh?”

The charging warrior seemed momentarily startled by the sight.

At the same time,

“Lumicaaaa!”

I called out Lumica’s name.

Swoosh!

Swiftly, I threw my body to the right.

Zing!

Zing!

Zing!

Lumica, who had been waiting behind, immediately fired her Water Arrow. The scene seemed to move in slow motion. Three Water Arrows shot towards the warrior.

“What!”

The charging warrior quickly raised both arms in defense, but,

Spurt!

The power of the Water Arrow was equivalent to a spear strike. The arrows pierced his leather gauntlets, and blood spurted out!

“This damn bastard!”

I didn’t miss that moment! Rolling on the ground and rising, I charged towards the warrior with my spear, swearing along the way. A sort of bonus!

“Huh?!”

All this happened in the blink of an eye. He tried to strike with his sword, but his arm was already injured. Without hesitation, I thrust my spear towards his torso.

Thud!

It seemed he wore something beneath his cloth armor. My spear didn’t penetrate. It was, after all, a wooden spear studded with stone, which had its limitations.

But I had used all my weight in that thrust, focusing on one point. And since it didn’t pierce through,

Boom!

The off-balanced warrior fell backward.

Groan!

“Ghaaaaak!”

Adrenaline surged. I immediately retrieved my spear and swiftly stepped on his chest. Take him as a prisoner? I didn’t feel confident subduing someone of my own size. Deciding quickly, I raised my spear in reverse grip, and then,

Stab!

I drove the spearhead into his head.

“Gasp…!”

It was over.

Whether an animal or a human, if there was a hole in the neck, death followed. I immediately distanced myself.

“Choke, cough!”

The man clutched his throat, struggling, and soon died.

“…”

…I won.

“Phew, phew! That crazy bastard! Why the hell did he come charging with a sword!”

“Master!”

“Yes, Sharan! I’m fine! He’s already dead!”

“That’s a relief!”

“Master!”

Both Sharan and Lumica approached me. They looked serious. We calmed each other and then examined the corpse together.

“Master! This is that…!”

“A human. It’s a human.”

“Yes… a human.”

This was Sharan’s first time seeing one. Lumica, however, had seen a few before. Technically, this was also my first time seeing this creature called “human.”

“…”

It was unfortunate to meet a human for the first time under such circumstances.

It was sad, but, well.

I was a demon, after all. This was bound to happen. There was no reason for regret. I brushed it off and asked Lumica,

“Lumica, what happened?”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure. I felt something, so I came out and saw this human standing there.”

“Hmm… Then?”

“I was just observing him quietly… For a bit? Yes, for quite some time. Then he tried to approach, and that’s when you showed up.”

Seems I arrived just in time.

“So, you were planning to eat him if he came closer?”

“Well… I was thinking of sucking his blood if he drowned…”

That was the water spirit, Rusalka, for you.

“Good. I’m glad you’re unharmed. You are alright, right?”

I comforted Lumica, touching her shoulder. Lumica blushed, avoiding my gaze, and responded.

“Well, it’s not a big deal. Nothing really happened in the first place…”

A bit tsundere, wasn’t she?

“Thanks for your help. Without the Water Arrow, it could have been dangerous.”

“That’s what I wanted to say, Master.”

“You want a reward?”

“Um, yes. If it weren’t for me, Master could have been hurt.”

“Hehe, of course you should get one.”

But not right now.

“For now, Lumica, you don’t know much about humans, right?”

“As I’ve said before, I’ve only sucked their blood a few times. I don’t really know them that well.”

“That’s enough for now. Let’s inspect the corpse.”

We needed to gather spoils and information.

“Hmm.”

First, the corpse.

A scruffy-looking man with red hair. He seemed pretty ordinary. He was slightly smaller in stature than me. His gear seemed light but decent. What would you call someone like this?

Mercenary? Warrior? Or maybe a soldier? Knight?

I was not sure, but why did he come here alone? Was his scruffy appearance due to wandering in the jungle for days? Did that mean there was a human settlement nearby?

As I was thinking,

“Master, this is interesting.”

Sharan said, holding the longsword.

Come to think of it, she was probably seeing something like this for the first time.

“It’s shiny and feels cold. What is this?”

“It’s called a sword. Made of iron.”

“Iron?”

“It’s a weapon made of a good material.”

It was an overpowered item to us, who were still in the Stone Age tech level.

“Let me see.”

“Yes, Master.”

I immediately took the sword and inspected it.

“Wow…”

Was this a real sword? Honestly, it was my first time holding one. It was lighter than I expected, maybe around 1.5 kilograms or less.

“Amazing.”

This was a great find.

An iron sword?

Did such cheat items even exist?

However,

“Hmm?”

There was an emblem on the pommel, the rounded counterweight at the base of the handle. It had some kind of engraving.

An emblem.

It resembled some kind of tower or spire.

“…An emblem?”

Let’s see.

“Let’s undress him for a moment.”

“Master?”

I immediately began to undress him. I removed his leather gauntlets and carefully took off his blood-soaked cloth armor. Although it was my first time handling a human corpse, I managed to remove his clothes without any discomfort.

As I pondered,

“A necklace.”

A necklace emerged.

“…”

And that necklace also had the same emblem engraved on it… Could it be…

Could he be from a prestigious family?

I hardly knew anything about the humans of this region, but this wasn’t ordinary. A sword with an emblem and a necklace? These were items usually reserved for the wealthy or well-off.

“Could he be an aristocrat?”

Why would someone like that venture all the way here?

There was no way to find out now that he was dead.

But why?

“No, more importantly, if he’s an aristocrat…”

That could be a significant issue. If the scion of a prominent family went missing in the jungle, wouldn’t they initiate a search? As this thought crossed my mind, I felt the urge to destroy the evidence.

“Mana Extraction.”

ㅡWhirring.

Not sure if it would work, I immediately initiated the mana extraction spell. The moment I placed my hand on his chest,

ㅡSwoosh!

“Ugh…!”

It was working! My hand was sinking in! But the sensation felt strange! My mana began to deplete at a rapid rate…!

However, it wasn’t insurmountable.

ㅡThunk!

Eventually, I extracted a mana stone, and with it, the corpse dissolved into a dark liquid, which was absorbed by the ground.

“The body disappeared!”

“Master! Is a human also a monster?”

I honestly didn’t expect it to work!

It was beyond anything I’d imagined!

“I genuinely didn’t think that would work!”

While it was indeed surprising, there was something even more crucial than extracting a mana stone from a human at this moment.

“…”

ㅡGulp.

I swallowed hard.

My gaze was fixed on the set of equipment items spread out before me.

…For us, still in the Stone Age tech, these were dream-level top-notch equipment.