“Level 10, 10, 10. Below, below. Oh! A twenty!” I was muttering my observations to myself, as we made our way towards the upper districts. My level sense was still not as accurate as I’d like, but it had certainly improved.

“What’s wrong Haell?” Mom asked, amused.

“Oh. I’m just thinking how I could beat up most people here.”

My mother chuckled. “I’m sure you can sweetie. I’m so proud of you.” She ruffled my hair. I knew she meant it both in jest and quite the opposite. With my levels, and my training that was more geared towards the dispatch of other humanoids; I should be able to defeat anyone here below the level of twenty. Which was most people, as those that start at the bottom like humans typically didn’t ever make it to the level of 20. Not until they’re well on their way to their graves. Even soldiers and other combatants were only better by a level or three on average.

And I’m not even a demon yet. Who knows what heights I’ll reach once I bring those epics and legends to reality.

I skipped across the arch bridge over the river, only to have my good mood instantly dashed by the sight of a templar. My metaphorical hackles instantly bristled at the sight of those fucking thieves when my mom placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“It’s okay, Haell. I do not mind.”

I took a deep breath, and nodded. It was just so infuriating. Back a month ago, when the goblins attacked, the person who repelled the goblin shaman that had managed to cross the tree wall was rewarded handsomely for their actions. Only… that person was not my mother, who contributed the most to the fight. Instead, it was given to that paladin who only did the bare minimum at the very end. Not to forget that the final strike was still delivered by the closing of Mom’s spell!

It wasn’t important. My parents were already fucking rich, they were powerful, and they had the highest rank of nobility a human may be awarded. A common knight. The reward given would have been negligible, but it’s the fucking principle of the thing!

I turned away, and marched briskly towards my destination. I ignored all the other templars that I came across as well, the ants were way too common here in the upper districts. I didn’t even know if they were that much more effective than common guards. And I wasn’t just saying that because of my own animosity towards them! I’d even admit that they weren’t bad at war, but I just questioned if they were any more capable in this sort of situation.

Not that I cared much about the people who lived here. It was populated mainly by manors that belonged either to the shepherds, humans who had been knighted, or were otherwise just very rich. There was also a big shrine for an angel to stay at in case they decided to visit, which has never actually happened in the entire history of the town of Latarus. But that part didn’t actually bother me much.

I was only here for the mall.

It wasn’t really a mall, or at least it wasn’t called that. But it was the merchant hall, inside a single very large building of stone, with wide glass windows, and a plethora of stores within. There was even proper air conditioning inside, thanks to various magical enchantments!

Moonwash immediately ran off on her own the moment we entered, and I nearly stopped her, before I decided to indulge the older girl. It wouldn’t be so bad, to make some more memories before I depart.

My friend fussed over the various clothes hidden behind the show glass. She went after furniture next, and other sorts of crafts being sold. Moonwash wasn’t a master of all of them, but she’d at least tried her hand at most things, and was competent in a terrifying amount.

I was proud of her.

We ate at a diner afterwards, just like in a real mall. For a moment I felt like I was back in my home world, but that time had long passed.

~~~

We finally visited the store that we came here for in the first after only an hour more spent perusing some useless shit. The place nearly looked unwelcoming, with its design that looked a lot less inviting than the carpets and glass of everything else here. This place instead had bare wooden racks and steel supports, but the worth of the store was not on the decorations. It was on the things that it sold.

I marveled at the monster parts on display, taken from all over the continent of Grandera. From the centaur plains, to the contested beaches, and even some that I knew could only be obtained within the impenetrable mountain wall. My shriek of joy was only matched by Moonwash’s own enthusiasm, and we swiftly dove in to claim our bounty.

I checked on the notes that she had helped me come up with. I told her everything I knew and loved about demons, and we looked through dozens of monster encyclopedias and other books to come up with what would make me into a demon.

The boxiall’s muscles for my musculature. The leg of a hornse, level 10, for my legs. The heart is from a murdle that I hunted, also over the lever of ten. My original idea was actually to use a bear’s, but it was apparently a very bad idea to try and alter a Mutation with something that was two evolutions higher.

Limiting my options to around the level 10 range, I started looking around for things that would fit. I would’ve loved to hunt them myself, but I wanted my demonhood to be perfect, and not just what I was able to find locally.

Moonwash saw what I was doing, and I didn’t need to ask for her help. She promptly joined my side with excitable suggestions.

In the end, I was able to secure the brain and the flesh of an evermarch. It’s a monster found in the plains, a regenerator that cares not for pain, although it was confirmed somehow by several famous alchemists that they do feel pain, as much as they’re able to ignore it.

I also bought the skin of a lavamander. It’s actually something that’s native to the Waricka Tropics, a territory that wasn’t even under our own. But the corcadian pirates and navies often come here to trade, and it seemed like our Regent Eden was more receptive of their presence, than what would be expected of an Angelorian ruler.

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Corcas were a species present all around the globe, but most native to the Waricka Tropi s. They looked like ocean-adapted crocodiles as big as walruses, with striking white scales interspersed with ocean blues.

I decided on the body of a Mirabird for my flesh. They were bulky migratory birds resistant to a wide variety of elements that could be found nearly anywhere, but loved to stay in high places. Which meant that they were more common in the impenetrable mountain wall.

Lastly, I settled on the bones of a Grollem. They were squat and fat humanoids, non-sapient, found in the southern rainforests. They relied on their tough skin and unbreakable bones to survive, but lacked in offensive prowess.

I had other plans for the Mutations I still lacked an upgrade for.

~~~

“I found some.” Luine appeared from the brush as we were having dinner in the middle of the wilderness. We’ve been here for more than a month, and while she and Baston were none the worse for wear, my party was more than a bit disheveled and tired.

“Wait really!?” I was able to summon my excitement regardless, after only a precious few seconds. I stood up, sat back down, finished my meal, and then we all got our gear together, in search of the quarry that we’ve come all the way here for.

It wasn’t hard to track down what Luine had found, the smoke rising into the air was a very good indication. We entered a burning meadow, finally finding exactly what I’d been looking for this past few months.

A goeath. A whole herd of them. They looked like goats, but completely demonic. They couldn’t wield magic in the traditional sense, but their jagged coal-black teeth were able to generate sparks that could start a big fire, and the horns atop their head enhanced the spread of the flames, allowing them to create favorable terrain for themselves, no matter where they were.

Judging by the stacks of dried wood fed into the blaze and carried in their mouths, these monsters were incredibly smart too.

“Level 40, 20, 20, 10.” Luine pointed at each of the four Goeaths resting on a peaceful meadow, only a single one of them staring towards our direction. The beasts were the final ingredient I wanted for my ascent into demonhood, and I wished to gather the materials myself.

We scurried underneath the bush, the strongest enemy clearly aware of our position as its head swiveled around to follow us. We decided to wait no longer, and charged straight for our chosen prey.

The lead goeath bleated loudly and took offense, stomping its hooves into the flaming earth. The rest of its herd took notice and prepared themselves for battle.

The air heated up around me, flickers of fire danced along the ground, growing only stronger with every step that brought us deeper into the territory. My party had similar expressions of discomfort, though Baston still looked unbothered. Luine was long gone.

The woman had dashed forward, unfathomably fast. She landed a slash on the strongest Goeath’s side, but it was shallow, for she had to maneuver away to dodge a well-timed kick.

The other goeaths quickly wheeled in on her, as Luine winced from the burns of the flaring flames around her. She fell back for a moment and led them away, after which the earth underneath the weaker ones rumbled, cutting them off from their leader.

“Tsk. The plantlife here’s all dead,” Baston complained, having switched to the element of earth when nature showed itself to be less efficient. The three weaker goeaths were successfully lured towards us, and we recoiled as the flames grew hotter by their mere presence. Baston held a fire wand in another hand, and began pushing the fire away from us, trying to extinguish what he could. I used my own horns to do the same. I turned their own flames against them.

…

…My attempt did nothing. They were very resistant to fire and heat, for very obvious reasons. The first of them crashed against Baston’s shield. The other was hit by Angerly across the face, followed by potshots from the rest of my party. The last one I smacked across the head with my sword, before I promptly ran away.

The level 10 goeath predictably followed, and I led it away from the others so that it may not benefit from the powers of its stronger brethren. The overpowering flames around us died down as we went further away, and I used my own magic to keep away the rest. My sweat flowed, and it helped mitigate some of the heat.

I watched my enemy closely even during the retreat, and I dodged all its attempts to skewer me with its horn, or to break me with its kicks. I led it away further and further, landing a couple of cheeky slashes during my evasions, but hardly doing lethal damage. Goeaths are decently tanky for their levels, and I knew that this battle was going to be a marathon.

I reached the edge of their burning territory. The goeth hesitated for a moment to follow, allowing me to get a good slash on its face. It snarled through the blood and ran after me, leaving its allies and advantages behind.

The flames tried to follow, of course. They flared up in response to the monster’s horns. But an application of magic extinguished the fire and cut off its spread, and suddenly there was nothing anymore for the enemy’s horns to latch onto.

I made a mental note to not use my own fire magic.

I heard a hellish bleat, and the demonic goat clanked its teeth together to produce a spark. That moment’s distraction cost it another nasty gash across its face.

The goeath didn’t take too kindly to that, lunging after me, but I’d already taken refuge behind a tree. The animal followed, I watched it for another attempt to start a fire, and I managed to get a stab at its torso when it did.

I felt a flare of heat just beside me, the attempted arson turned out to be a success despite the wound I inflicted. But the trees here were tougher than the ones back on Earth. I merely plucked out the spark as I went around the tree, allowing it to harmlessly dissipate into the air.

This seemed to enrage my enemy more, as it clamped its mouth repeatedly to set more of the forest on fire. I took this as the moment for a proper offensive, and I met my foe, slashing and smashing into its side, sending pieces of blood and gore flying across the air. The goeath of course fought back, and I did my best to avoid its own kicks, fighting through the pain during the moments that it did hit. The plantlife around us successfully caught on fire, but I could feel that my victory was close, so I stayed and dueled the hellish creature. We were close to each other, I was always at the cusp of danger, but my phenomenal ability to dodge allowed me to minimize my own injuries enough until it was the goat that started to flag.

As a last-ditch effort, the goeath flailed its head wildly, trying to catch me with its horns. That maneuver turned out to be a mistake for it, and a boon for me, as I managed to get a good chop on its neck.

Blood flowed freely from the slice, the monster staggered, confused and no longer able to resist. The bone of the neck was cracked, and another beautiful two-handed slash cleanly severed its head from the body.

I breathed, before quickly remembering to smother the flames around myself. The burns were bad, my body was one giant bruise, but it was nothing I couldn’t quickly heal.

As for my team… they were already done with their own prey, and I heard the standing applause from within the trees. The other animals drawn towards are fight were… discouraged from interfering.

I smiled.

I felt like a bloody demon already.