Living alone in the jungle is brutal. It made me appreciate Tuqu village even more but I can’t return there anymore.
I had made peace with that. I had been living in a cozy cave for the last 2 years. Time always goes by so fast. I had defeated the previous owner of this cave. Not quite like the red beast as it was more of a blue bird. Its wings resembled arms. I either got stronger or this thing wasn’t as strong as the red beast. It didn’t have the intelligence of the red beast.
My day started with swinging my fan. I don’t have the safety that a village provides so this was my answer. I would exercise and swing my fan. My condition was still terrible but not to the point that I would get exhausted from using 5 hairpin skills.
I had done some organizing and every attack created by my fan were now hairpin skills. Because of this, I had to make [Hairpin: Azure Hairpin] even better as it would become my new trademark. In normal magic, it would be my [Azure Spear].
This continent was unforgiving to Misha but… if I ever get children, I would send them here to train. It will prevent them from becoming weak like the Misha on Kaledon.
I swung my fan and 3 icicles accurately pierced the head of some snakes that had invaded my home. Poison was also a concern. I know nothing about poisons but the small booklet Inti had written for me had some tips and ways to create antidotes against simple poisons.
Beauty was still important to me and all this exercise had turned my killer body even deadlier. It was exhausting though. I dispelled the [Ice Mirror] and stopped admiring myself.
It had taken a while but I was back to hunting down the Imposter. Inti had told me, before I left the village, that he had seen Kuska talk to me the day before I killed him. But I was not near the village at that point. He apologized and said he might have been mistaken but I don’t think that’s the case. That Imposter might have talked Kuska into killing Jafliximus.
The trail of her mana still lead deep into the continent but it was easier to follow. I had made calculations based on how strong the trail got after following it for a certain distance. It’s still very far away.
I might have to defeat another beast and take over his residence. It's easier to find a lair of one of these beasts than any other alternative that could act as a temporary home. So I have made it a point to just hunt those beasts down. It also helps me get stronger and get the hang of my Hairpin Fan.
Traveling was done by foot. Flying draws too much attention. It could also cause multiple of these strong beasts to target me and attack me. I’m confident in beating one but more than one is going to end up with me fleeing the scene. It will either take too long or I would end up as their snack.
I had considered teleporting but it seems teleporting is a luxury for relatively flat terrain. It’s possible to teleport into a hill or mountain and that is going to suck. I don’t have any skill that can scan the area so teleporting is only for short distances and distances I can see, which is hard with all these trees.
The mana trail split off. The thicker trail continued deeper into the continent while a thin one branched off. Probably another of her [Blood Sacrifice Clone] or BS clones as I call it. This world needs fewer BS clones so I decided to kill another Imposter.
[Sink] can’t be used here so I need another skill that can embarrassingly kill her. I could turn her into an ice statue and feed her to a random beast, using her as bait.
That’s what I will do! I will collect BS clones and use them as bait! I’m a genius!
I hopped on my fan and glided down the hill toward the BS clone. The trail got thicker until I spotted a destroyed area and a black haired woman that looked like me throw a body in a portal.
She looked up and smiled. “Oh there you are! Come and give your sister a hug!”
“Shut up imposter! You’re not my sister!” I returned her greeting by dropping icicles on her. A large and inefficient mana circle appeared behind her, judging by its runes it’s some sort of golem.
The earth shook and a golem, the size of a house, rose from the ground.
It still had jungle sticking out of it but it certainly was an earth-based skill. I tried to cast [Hairpin: Tsunami] but I somehow forgot how to use it.
“Haha the look on your face! Did you forget who I am? I’m the mother of Curses!” I recalled how to use [Hairpin: Tsunami] and a swing of my fan sent a wave of water at the golem.
The golem tried to resist but got washed away. I landed next to the Imposter and wanted to end the fight with a [Meteor Slap] but I somehow forgot how to use that too.
“You and your obnoxious abilities!” I opened my fan and blocked a barrage of [Rock blasts] and [Splinter].
“That is a very sturdy fan you have. Is it a skill too? The longer I let you run around the more delicious you become! I can already tell that I would feast on your heart!”
I swung my fan and sent a freezing gale at Imposter. “Why is everyone only interested in me for creepy reasons!”
The memory on how to use [Meteor Slap] had returned but I held off on using it. Imposter had created some distance. Her body was regenerating with black goop. I hate this.
I attempted a [Flare] and I forgot it. I had queued up a [Water Blast] to test the waters. The [Flare] failed as I had temporarily forgotten how to use it but the [WaterBlast] went out.
“Wow as expected from my little sister! You already found out how to deal with it!”
“I’m not your little sister! You stole my face! That doesn’t mean we’re related!” I kept swinging my fan as this strange amnesia only seems to affect skills. Imposter kept trash talking but I could see that she was having a hard time.
I smacked a [Boulder] aside with my folded fan. The golem kept sending [Boulders] at me.
“Haha! You look like those humans and their sport called Baseball!”
I smirked. “It seems you have been absorbing more than just skills. You somehow have developed a sense of humor.”
“Ugh, you have no idea! It’s extremely hard to make sure I don’t absorb some personalities when I absorb skills! Did you know that the personality of a person greatly affects what skills they can and will learn?”
I smacked a [Boulder] at Imposter. “I didn’t know that but I can imagine. You with your shitty personality have a higher affinity for shitty skills than I do.”
Imposter shot a black blob at me. “Ha! That’s rich! You have a shittier personality than I have!”
A [Boulder] got smacked into the blob as I didn’t want to get near it. “What?! I am not on a massive killing spree to turn into an ugly black blob!”
“Isn’t it cute?” Imposter was making a creepy expression while stroking some black blob that was seeping out of her shoulder. It was extra creepy since she still had my face.
“Everything disgusts me lately, where are the funny, pretty or cool opponents! Why do I get all the creeps?!” I used [Hairpin: Tsunami], but I had forgotten how to use it, causing it to fail, followed by [Hairpin: Azure Hairpin].
The [Hairpin: Azure Hairpin] tore a hole through Imposter's body. I spun around and queued up more hairpins. It skewered the golem as only the first one failed. I ran at the Imposter while keeping up the [Hairpin: Azure Hairpins]. I queued up [Meteor Slap] the moment an attack failed due to me forgetting it and landed a satisfying [Meteor Slap] on the imposter.
The golem collapsed as its source of mana had disappeared. The mana trail that lead me to this BS clone dissolved.
That was easy but she might be using this as a trap. Also, she might have more obnoxious abilities. I used [Cleanse] as I had some status effects on me. I didn’t notice that those got placed on me.
The chase continued. I was interested in what had happened here but the longer I take the more individuals will get their hearts eaten.
The trail took me to a mountain that looked intimidating. It had a snowy top. I did get curious. What would live there? My attacks surely would get a big boost. The jungle was humid but with that much snow around, it could make a huge difference.
Anything that wants to mess with me up there will get destroyed! I glided up with confidence. Let the beasts come! The moment I get to the snow they’re all toast! I don’t know how to use [Avalanche] but making some snow collapse would do the trick. It’s also mana efficient. Not that I care about that.
The air was thin and chilly. Flying this high always came with problems as the ambient mana and air are thinner. I decided to abandon neat landings and I jumped in the snow. I love fluffy things and snow is no exception. Moreover, I’m a water user. Somehow water users don’t mind rain, snow, or hail as much as other users do. Sure, snow is cold but it’s so fun!
I made snow angels, made water clones and held snowball fights with them. I felt like a child but I have been sealed away for most of my life. I don’t care about acting like an adult. Adults get sealed away and stressed! I’ve had enough of that! I like myself more when I’m playful.
A strange bear was looking at me from a distance. I rolled a ball of snow and sent it rolling after him.
The rolling snowball chased the bear and it ran away. “Haha! Run mini beast!”
The snow started to give off an orange red glow as the sun was setting. It was beautiful! I had messed around in the snow for a whole day. It completely de-stressed me. De-stressing myself is as important as taking care of my looks.
I fanned some snow away to make walking easier and stumbled on a cave. The cave was strangely warm.
“Hello beast? I’m here to steal your home but if you want to relinquish it without a fight then say so!” I kept my hand to my ear but no sound.
That’s strange. The beasts would normally react. Not because they understand me but because something is trespassing on their home. Curiosity got the better of me and I entered the cave. I’ve seen so many different types of beasts so nothing should surprise me now.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
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I’m surprised… An ice two-winged dragon is talking to me but… I can’t understand Draconian. I tried to clarify that I can’t understand him. I’m not sure what he is thinking.
“Hey Mr. dragon, do you mind if I stay here for a bit?” The dragon kept talking and talking. He must be lonely because wow he has a lot to say!
I sat down quite bored. I’m curious about what he has to say but he doesn’t seem to be able to understand Nayala. Would he understand Kaledonian?
I tried in Kaledonian. No luck. How about old Kaledonian? The dragon reacted. He started another topic, I assume. ” Can you nod 3 times if you can understand me?”
The dragon nodded.
“Can you speak this language?”
The dragon shook his head. What a pain in the ass.
“I guess its time for you to stop talking then! It’s my turn! I’m Azu and I need to stay here for some nights. Also, only dragons can understand Draconian!”
The dragon seemed shocked. I rubbed my temple. Is this really a dragon? Weren’t they supposed to be dangerous, wise and imposing? Why wouldn’t this dragon realize that Draconian is the language of dragons and only dragons can speak and understand it… He surely doesn’t think I’m a dragon, is he?
“Hey you don’t by any chance think that I’m a dragon, are you?” The dragon cocked his head.
“Look! I look nothing like a dragon!” I twirled around, pointed out my humanly figure, my lack of horns and tail. The dragon seemed honestly shocked. Is…is this world doomed? Or have the dragons declined too?
“How old are you? Can you count? Carve a vertical line in the rock for every human year, a cross for every 10 years, a triangle for every 100 years and a square for every 1000 years.”
The dragon started to carve in the wall and was struggling. I waited… and waited…
This world is doomed. This dragon is failing at simple math. He had put down 15 vertical lines and then realized that he could put down a cross and 5 lines.
So his new attempt had a cross and 32 lines but he then realized again that he could put 4 crosses and 2 lines.
The wall was slowly getting filled with his scribbles and he melted the wall with dragonfire to erase his embarrassing mistakes. I realized that this might take a while if his age is up in the triple or quadruple digits so I got comfortable and went to sleep.
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I woke up after a good night rest and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I looked up at the wall. The dragon had drawn a dragon claw. What is this supposed to mean…
The dragon was still sleeping. I remembered the event when a dragon briefly helped out with my escape. Agnis seemed annoyed as the dragon seemed to be living in his own world and quite useless.
What happened again? He wanted the dragon to solve a riddle for him but the dragon gave many non-answers and ended derailing the conversation completely. The dragon wasn’t very useful in the end and only caused Agnis more headaches. Which reminds me that Agnis might be the only non-dragon that knows Draconian.
I looked at the wall. This dragonclaw carved in the wall adheres to none of the rules I imposed on this dragon. What was it thinking? Was it thinking at all?
The dragon woke up.
“Hey! What is that supposed to be! How am I supposed to find out what that means?!” I pointed at the carved claw on the wall.
The dragon pointed at his claw.
“Yes, and what about your age?” The dragon looked shocked yet again.
“You know what? Agnis was right, you guys are a pain in the ass, thank you for letting me stay. Bye!” I got ready to leave but the dragon started talking in Draconian again.
“I can’t understand that!”
The dragon made wild gestures.
“5 words?”
The dragon shook his head and made another gesture and made a cross with his arms.
“10 words?” The dragon got excited. I assume he is going for the first word now. But wait wasn’t this dragon unable to do math?
The dragon flapped his wings.
“Wind? Flapping? Wings?” The dragon got frustrated. It flapped its wings and flew up.
“Flying?” The dragon got excited. “So first word is fly or flying?”
The dragon nodded and started on the next word. He pointed at himself. “Dragon? You?”
The dragon shook his head and pointed at me. “Me? Fly me…”
The dragon got excited again and started some strange movements.
“Monster? Beast? Dragon? Big?” I had no idea what word the dragon was going for. I wanted to give up after half a day but the dragon kept going.
“Ugh… big dragon? First dragon?” The dragon seemed to react. I might be close.
“Original dragon? Your father?” The dragon stomped on the floor in frustration. “Hey not my fault that you didn’t bother to learn Kaledonian or Nayala!”
The dragon pointed and got excited.
“Huh? Wait you mean Kaledon? He was a dragon. Wait… you want me to fly you to Kaledon?”
The dragon got very excited and spat ice and fire everywhere to celebrate.
“Absolutely not! Go fly there yourself!”
The dragon hung his head and started more strange movements. I’m not bringing him to Kaledon, it’s a pain in the ass and I have things to do here. He is a dragon he can do that by himself.
I got curious to his reasoning and tried to figure out why he wanted to go to Kaledon.
One of the biggest mistakes of my life. It took 3 days to figure out what he meant. Basically, he doesn’t know where Kaledon is located…
“My headache…. Just fly north, you can't miss it…” The dragon was shocked, bowed his head and flew off.
What just happened? I rubbed my head. I took some equipment out of my dimensional pocket and brewed a potion to combat headaches. The potion didn’t work as well as I hoped. At least I had this cave to myself for now but it’s best to leave tomorrow morning. The dragon might come back and ask me where north is. I don’t want to deal with that.
The next morning came and I hopped on my fan and flew off.
So the legendary dragons are either idiots or useless? Is this world going to be ok?
I was lost in my thoughts when a large eagle targeted me.
“Ooh, I can vent! Here take this!” The eagle got blown away but kept coming back for more. I kept swinging my fan until it gave up.
It only made my tired. This was quite ineffective for venting. I need to [Meteor Slap] something. And I had a perfect target! Another mana trail had split up. This time I won’t put up with her bullshit. I will rush her and [Meteor Slap] her before she can do or say anything.
I ascended and calculated the right trajectory. This all will go very fast. I will miss or crash into the floor if I mess up and I will lose the element of surprise. I queued up multiple [Meteor Slaps] in case she has some obnoxious skill like that amnesia or a multi-hit barrier.
Wind direction: northeast. Distance: 1513 meters. Target: Imposter. I dove down.
The imposter was fighting a human that evaded all her black goo and fire magic by just dancing. I accelerated and grabbed my fan. The momentum would carry me toward the imposter.
The imposter noticed me but it was too late.
“Die Bitch!” My fan exploded as the [Meteor Slap] scored a direct hit on her face.
I tumbled over the ground and rolled into a puddle of mud.
“Yuck!” I pulled myself out of the mud. “Just my luck…”
It seems my lucky ambush got balanced out by the misfortune of rolling into a puddle of mud. It was a cheap shot but the BS clone had been one shot. No obnoxious abilities to deal with!”
The human said something but I couldn’t understand him.
“I’m sorry I only speak Nayala.”
The man continued speaking in his local language while dancing.
“Hey! I know you can understand me!”
“Tsk, anyway thanks for saving me. Cya! I will never understand women and their mud masks…” The man danced away.
“Huh? Hey! Ugh…” I used my water magic to get rid of the mud.
“How unsexy…”
I continued to follow the trail and ambushing BS clones. Most of my ambushes succeeded and those that failed ended quickly since I still had the element of surprise. The source was getting very close. I might be able to kill her before my 5th year on this continent and 6th year of my freedom ends.
Is what I thought… I had arrived at the source of this mana trail. It was a mountain of BS clone corpses. It was revolting. Does Imposter use this as a trashcan? I had to [Incinerate] the mountain of corpses. This imposter has a terrible taste.
It took days to get rid of the queasy feeling and to get over the horrible sight.
A new trail had appeared. The pile of corpses was hiding this trail. This imposter has a big problem if that another pile of corpses!
It took another year to get there. I was getting so tired of this nonsense!
I was staring at an enormous black blob with legs and 3 bulky arms.
“Hahaha! How do you like this goose chase! I hope you like this curse! Distilled, concentrated and refined, just for you!” Its voice was distorted and all the hairs on my body stood up. This thing doesn’t seem strong but at this point, I’m well aware that being strong isn’t everything as it’s straightforward. The most terrifying opponent is an obnoxious opponent. I’m sure this thing scores high on the obnoxiousness scale.
I sighed as I pulled out my hairpin.