Apotheosis of a Demon - A Monster Evolution Story

08 – VILLAGE DISCOVERED

Five days since the start of World of Yggdrasia’s beta test. New information continued to be posted and constantly updated on the VR chat forum. Efficient skill leveling, types of monsters, information on the game world’s countries, etc.

[Chat Board 7 – *Please use the in-game common language]

“So yeah, instead of killing mobs willy-nilly, it’s better to grind your skill with a decently strong monster.”

“But you’ll just get bogged down if you have low magic. Efficiency would go to shit.”

“System’s too annoying in the first place. Why do you have to use MP to actually use your combat skills?”

“Go use items. Don’t you know about magic recovery potions, idiot?”

“That’s fucking expensive. Those are one silver a pot, how the fuck do I afford that sort of drinking?!”

“It’s around 6 small silvers a bottle here, in Quarancinq.”

“That’s dirt cheap! Where’s that?”

“Lessee… Around the middle-left part of the world map, I guess? Architecture looks Eastern European-ish.”

“That’s way far… I’m in Katrosvingt. Looks like an Eastern country. Other side of the map from you.”

“Hey, the world’s round! You’re just right next door!”

“Has anyone tried crossing continents?”

“Don’t think so. Even the fastest and most expensive express ship takes at least a few weeks.”

“So do you just twiddle your thumbs while on the ship?”

“Apparently if you log out from the ship you’ll log back in there. Or if you logged out for too long, you’ll show up at the nearest Temple. Monsters attack the ship anyway, so you can level your weapon skill.”

“So pretty much only people with free time are going to travel. Also, can we fish?”

“I saw fishing gear on the market. Right, so the central continent’s medieval European style, how about the other countries? I’m at the Holy City Ayune, smack dab in the middle of the central cont. Closest country to the world tree. Good weather’s coming soon.”

“Damn, that’s nice… If only my time zone fit with yours. I’m in Soixansept Kingdom, btw. Bottom left of world map. Kinda like a tropical island.”

“Most convenient medieval world ever. They have flush toilets.”

“Food looks great too, but not edible. At least alcohol works fine.”

“Still no food with buffs yet, right? Can’t wait for the next update.”

“So fed up with the damn bar. It’s just sweet, nothing else.”

“Stop complaining and go eat real food. VR can’t fill your stomach.”

“Hey, anyone knows about that rumor of weird monsters recently?”

“What do you mean? How weird?”

“Lots of different types. They have different colors or special skills, kinda like sub-species of the main one. People in other countries have been talking about that in the other chatrooms.”

“Oh yeah, I know about that. Haven’t seen them myself, but apparently they show up here and there. The adventurer’s guild has information on them now. There’s a compilation of eyewitness reports on some other website, too.”

“Like an event monster or something? Checking out that site now.”

“Ooooh, right, that might be the one that attacked my friend.”

“Hostile, then.”

“Yeah. Charged in right when it saw the party. It looked like a hobgoblin but with red skin. Friend’s party was 4 people, killed it, but lost one of their own. They told me, ‘It’s just a game, but I could actually feel the madness. I damn near pissed my pants’. So weird…”

“Just checked out the website. So right now, we have info on around 10 of them. Maybe it’s actually a new event?”

“How strong are they generally? Anything new?”

“Apparently you can win with combat skill 2 or 3. Also I heard there’s this new one in the western forest of Seize Kingdom. Looks like a white mist or a ghost or something.”

***

[NO NAME] [Race: Ghast] [Low Demon (Low-Rank)]

・A low demon made of dust and gases. A fragile spiritual lifeform.

[Magic Points: 132/150] 20↑

[Total Combat Power: 145/165] 22↑

[Unique Skill: Reroll] [Simple Identification]

Two days since I fought that beta tester.

That reminded me, the beta players could only picked the Human race. Unless they had some really good intuition, I don’t think they’d realize that monsters could be players. And I hadn’t realized how desperate I’d become – I actually looked for help from just a normal player.

I did a few more tests and experiments during the two days. Didn’t grow my strength much, though. The forest didn’t have any other monsters aside from me and the caterpillar-type, so I wandered around and hunted some normal animals too.

Speaking of which… the human mind really is good at adapting.

It wasn’t that I adapted to this body and no longer felt the sense of disconnect, no. It was still there. I only adapted to that feeling of disconnect itself. Like getting used to living with permanent nausea.

So I started widening my area of activity a little bit, but I only found less and less caterpillars, with normal wild animals taking their place. Rabbits, foxes, wolves, boars, birds. The foxes and birds ran away as soon as I approached. The wolves and boars I fought, and here was where I discovered that no normal beasts could harm me.

I assumed that in a straight fight, the wolves could win against red caterpillars, and the boars had a chance against the black caterpillars too, if they were allowed to charge into and crush the bugs. But unlike monsters, wild animals had little magic. They had around the same amount as the snakes I saw.

What did this mean? Monsters used magic to fight, but the wild animals’ meager amount of magic only allowed them to fight purely physically.

I still received 1 and 2 damage from the black caterpillar and that player’s physical attacks, but that was because they strengthened themselves with magic. I was a spiritual life-form, a Ghast with resistance to physical damage. The wild animals’ unenhanced strikes couldn’t harm me.

Which meant the snakes might actually have been a kind of newborn monsters, not wild animals, since they did use magic.

In the end, I was barely getting any stronger, despite my wholesale murder of the fauna.

Back to the present. What was I doing? Well, I was busy getting chased by armed people.

“That way!”

“Over there!”

“My turn! [Stone Bolt]!”

Holy crap was that close! I only just managed to hide myself behind a tree trunk scant moments before the rock bullet bounced off the bark. The projectile looked like a normal rock, but it was magic, which meant it could hurt me just fine. I had actual proof.

Three humans wielding swords and staves were my opponents.

They could have been normal NPC adventurers, but players were much more likely to be the kind of people who would charge this deep into the forest so thoughtlessly.

[Young Man in Swordsman Equipment] [Race: Human ♂] [Adventurer]

[Magic Points (MP): 55/65] [Hit Points (HP): 118/120]

[Total Combat Power: 145]

[Young Woman(?) in Magician Equipment] [Race: Human ♀] [Adventurer]

[Magic Points (MP): 57/75] [Hit Points (HP): 58/80]

[Total Combat Power: 144]

[Young Man(?) in Warrior Equipment] [Race: Human ♂] [Adventurer]

[Magic Points (MP): 63/70] [Hit Points (HP): 94/110]

[Total Combat Power: 148]

The swordsman’s appearance looked truthful enough, but I had a feeling the magician lady was fudging her age. And the warrior’s movements looked somehow disjointed. My hunch told me he was actually fat in real life.

We’d been playing tag in the forest, and obviously, I wasn’t any closer to victory. All of them had around the same power as me, with at least one confirmed magician. I didn’t know if the others also had spells.

The unfamiliar forest hampered their steps quite a bit, but then again, my best speed was only about a power walker’s. I couldn’t lose them, and they couldn’t catch me.

…really, would you people please stop? Moving at this speed was dizzying the crap out of me.

So you must be wondering how I got into this mess. Well, after that fight with the meathead player, I wandered here and there, partially to watch for other beta players, partially to look for more black caterpillars. It was then that I found a small farming village.

My curiosity spurred me to get closer…no no no, I wasn’t going to attack the people. Really. Just the large cattles, like a cow or a horse. Maybe they’ll give me some good experience. I just wanted to test it out.

I thought it’d be an old, poor village. Instead, the farming community actually seemed quite well-off. However, the farmhands weren’t human, but… elves, I supposed? Elves and beastmen with dog ears and cat ears. They showed no liveliness, no vigor in their work, their necks bound by some strange-looking collars.

Who were these people? Slaves? Some human came along once in a while, at times to give orders, at times to give the slaves some steamed potato and soup. So it actually wasn’t as bad as it could be, but in the end, the only ones not working were the humans.

I was curious about them, or to be more precise, about their animal ears and tails. I approached to try to get a closer look, but just as I neared the fields, I hit something invisible. It gave me a jolt and pushed me away.

What was that? It even damaged me a little bit. I stayed rooted on the spot, confused. A few moments later, some armed farmers began to show up from the building, so I panicked and ran away.

They were just normal villagers. I was sure I could take them, but it would get much too troublesome if they sent soldiers to hunt me down.

The farmers stopped chasing me once I entered the forest. Relieved, I decided to continue hunting some animals in the nearby woods and wait until the heat dies down. It was then that I met the group of three. They suddenly attacked the moment they found me.

And so here I was, running off deeper and deeper into the forest. Yet the group didn’t even think twice before giving chase. They didn’t seem to care about how they’d get back out again.

Damn, that rock again! Why the hell wasn’t the magician running out of magic? Was she taking drugs? And another one-oh crap, she’s readying some fire this time!

Right. That. Is. Enough!

[Reroll]

The flame blazing at the end of her staff exploded. The woman wailed, in surprise and pain.

Wait, what? Did I just Reroll the magician’s spell? I can actually use the skill on someone else?

…Oh, wait, crap.

[NO NAME] [Race: Ghast] [Low Demon (Low-Rank)]

・A low demon made of dust and gases. A fragile spiritual lifeform.

[Magic Points: 65/150]

[Total Combat Power: 72/165]

[Unique Skill: Reroll] [Simple Identification]

My magic just plummeted from the improper use of my unique skill.

Damn it, I couldn’t engage them any longer. All three of them were too surprised to continue giving chase, so I took the chance to run off.

Right, looked like I lost them. Still, I kept on gaining distance, cutting through the forest without rest. Not like I could ever get tired.

I killed whatever caterpillars and animals I encountered along the way. After a whole three days of constant travel without stopping, I found a simple, primitive hamlet, hidden deep inside the forest.