Novels2Search
The Demon's Domain
4. New Normal

4. New Normal

Adrest’s prey this time was one of those black squirrels, it's twitchy nature made it tough to sneak up on but similar to the deer creature, Adrest took advantage of the time it took to drink. With nearly no hesitation Adrest sprang to action and leapt towards the oversized black squirrel.

It had fast reflexes and raised its head just before the sword came down towards its head, the squirrel charged forward with its vicious teeth gleaming in the light and dark claws outstretched. The sword, with little resistance, went into the animal’s head. Adrest got a terrible scare when for just a second after entering the head, the beast's claw continued moving and ran a gash up his forearm.

Near screaming at the unexpected pain, he used his good arm to pull the sword out and pickled up the bounty with some difficulty. What surprised Adrest was that even though his arm was in pain, it wasn’t nearly as much as he expected for such a large cut, and it wasn't bleeding nearly as badly as he would've expected. But right now, it was just another question for the pile. Adrest had to quickly get back to relative safety before something found him with his sword arm injured.

Getting back, he tossed the carcass to the pillar and waited impatiently bouncing on his feet. Sure enough, when ashes rode the wind into the air he gained 30 (lp). Adrest opened the Lodestone and selected the repair option. The sub menu contained different choices such as armor, weapon, vassals, and most importantly, self. He selected that god-sent option and it said calculating for just a moment before saying “Heal to full health for 12 (lp)?”

Selecting yes, that same inky blackness as before came out of his own shadow and enveloped the injured arm for just a moment before falling away and revealing pristine skin below. Amazed, Adrest turned his arm slowly in the light still not quite believing what he saw, but soon shook it off and continued to explore the menu.

The next thing of interest he found was near the bottom of the screen, a small option called inspect. Clicking, it had several options such as blueprint, equipment, self, and other. Curiously, Adrest clicked on the self option, and it read, “Inspect yourself for current status, conditions, race, boons, etc.”

Curious, and his previous world’s game sense, started racing and argued with himself that it must be fate, since it costs 5(lp) for a self-inspection, and that was all he had left. And with that being all the push he needed, he clicked. A new window popped up after a slight delay reading:

Name- Adrest

Age- 28

Status-normal

Rank- E-

Race- Demon

Boons- Lodestone's blessing (more easily evolve and grow in power, scaling to the size of your domain)

“Well, isn’t that interesting, haha...ha.”

It seems our very dependable protagonist is dissociating from the current situation, quickly leaving that screen to forget for now. Perhaps wanting to distance himself for just a bit longer before facing the obvious reality.

After spending the better part of an hour, Adrest found that the menu seemed to work like a sort of city planner, with different buildings and utilities and basic items for sale. Most options were still blacked out and when trying to click one such item, it gave no response, so he assumed that as he gained more points, he would unlock more functions.

Since he had ran out of thing to explore, and had no points remaining anyway, Adrest decided that it was a good time to stop as the sun was just setting and the twilight shimmering rays peeking through the lines of trees indicated that he should get ready to hunker down for the night near his home and fire.

Sitting on his now familiar bench and his comforting warm fire, Adrest felt it was time to think about what it would mean if the inspection results were real, and so far he had no reason to believe otherwise. It would explain some things. For example, it said his race was demon, and if that had happened when he passed out in front of the so called “lodestone” it might be related to why he survived all the small injuries and that giant gash across his back.

It really said that his race was demon. Not human, but fucking demon. He didn't know how to feel about it, but it would certainly explain the newfound super strength he had embraced, alongside his much-improved night vision. And another thing that caught his eye was that the way the boon he had was worded, it might not be his last evolution.

Thinking about what it changed if this was true, he belatedly realized he hadn’t seen his reflection once since arriving here and had an idea. He took his lucky charm of a pocket watch out and opened the lid. He turned himself away from the fire and took his time fiddling with the angle of the backside of the watch lid until he got a reflection that was more than a very blurry abstract image.

While the proportions were still off a bit, he was stunned by what he saw staring back at him. Tyler had brown hair and light blue eyes, but the reflections staring back at him didn’t. Adrest was captivated by the resplendent orange eyes that seemed to luminescence in the low light. Adrest sat stunned for a moment, having an impromptu staring contest. After blinking his eyes free of tears, staring longer than he should have, he was just as confused when he saw horns. Two small black horns, symmetrically poking out on either side of his forehead. As if trying to hide them, his familiar brown hair was also replaced by black hair that seemed silky and resplendent in the way it reflected the bouncing firelight.

The longer Adrest stared and took in the new visage, the more details he noticed. For example, the face was so pale in the areas not being lit by the fire, it could be called porcelain. And while not able to make out perfect detail in the makeshift mirror, overall, the face looked at least a full ten years younger than he had been, like a teenager just out of school. He also happened to notice that his horns were in fact, not black, they were a deep dark purple that only made itself known when the light shone just right. He even felt himself subconsciously feel they were beautiful.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

Near thirty minutes passed before Adrest snapped the watch closed and signed, hunching his shoulders in reprieve before raising his head with a tired smile.

“Well, I already said I wanted a new life and new name, in a way this couldn’t be any better!” Adrest spoke quietly and let loose a sigh filled with a mix of complex emotions.

Sitting back down in his comforting seat near the fire, he reflected on the last 2 days and what he had faced and truly came to terms with the world he had been sent to. The dangers he seemed to be constantly facing here, while sometimes terrifying, he still felt truly alive for the first time he could remember, he hunted his own food, he made shelter, he survived apex predators. This is how he was meant to live, to find the excitement in life and do as he pleased. He felt that today was a step in the right direction. He also had a feeling that his newfound race and Lodestone would be a key factor to living an exciting and comfortable life.

The next two weeks were a blur for Adrest and a balm to taking in the reality of everything about his new life and surroundings. He strictly kept to a schedule of waking as the sun rose, to make the most of each day, and at night he thoroughly enjoyed the slight sense of safety and warmth his new bedding and hut provided. After getting a roaring fire going each morning, he used his set off to find breakfast or used what was left from the night prior.

After a filling breakfast, and offering the scraps to the pillar, Adrest would find a spot to hide out and hunt whatever wandered nearby that he didn’t think could easily kill him. Whether it was coincidence or not, Adrest didn’t run into any real predators such as the wolf or tiger on this side of the river. He had also never seen anything cross from one side to the other either. He reasoned that the center of the river became prohibitively deep, there existed predators that the other animals feared in the water, or both. The last seemed the most likely to Adrest as he surveyed the monsters scattered far in the surroundings. But to Adrest, it was one more thing he didn’t waste too much effort thinking about it as it made no difference to him. He didn’t have the want, nor ability, to cross anyway.

After finding and killing his prey with the old sword so often, Adrest noticed how high its quality must’ve been. Through all this use, the blade had yet to show any damage or signs of dulling. He was also becoming more skilled in using it, albeit slowly. But nevertheless, it made him at least able to reliably kill the zebra-deer, the squirrels, and even once a young elk looking monster that had seemed to wander from a different section of the forest as it was the only one he had seen.

Though the elk was young, Adrest had nearly lost an arm. The elk managed to graze his upper arm, but a graze with antlers so sharp and so much force behind it, turned into a gaping wound that cut into the bone. Adrest’s left arm was crippled and he was in insane amounts of pain but thinking back to the chase on his first day, he found that same focus and gritted his teeth before stabbing the sword into the now dead elk and using his good arm to grab the elk and dragged it back to the pillar as fast as he could, feeling vulnerable as hurt as he was.

Letting the lodestone eat its fill, he saw the elk was worth a whopping 50(lp) and smiled as he selected the heal option and happily paid the 20(lp) for being fully healed. It seemed to scale for the amount of damage repaired as his cut on his second day only cost 15(lp) to restore.

Flexing his good as new arm and taking a mental note to always keep some points set aside for healing as Adrest would definitely need it often in the future. He nodded to himself and looked at his total (lp) that was sitting at 630 thanks to his diligent hunting and feeding. With a good stock, he decided to test something that had floated in his mind for several days.

Adrest went to the repair section and selected the equipment tab, it prompted him to offer an item. This was as far as Adrest had gotten because he was afraid of losing this item, but he steeled his resolve thinking he finally had enough.

Taking a deep breath, he set the ornate sword on the ground in front of the lodestone and waited as it slowly faded into the shadows on the ground below. The icon lit up and he pressed the now flashing icon. After a short delay, Adrest took a sharp breath of air.

The price was a ridiculous 4800(lp) to repair what was, as far he could see, surface damage and a lost shine to the metal. However, it made sense when he saw the name that came up,

Demon Lords Ceremonial Sword- Rank B

On second thought, 4800 points to repair this godsend was a steal, Adrest gleefully thought to himself. He finally realized just how amazing his trusty weapon was. He nodded to himself that it really made sense as no ordinary weapon would keep an edge for the long time it had been laying here, and after the heavy, amateur. use he had put the poor thing through the last half month most blades would’ve at least chipped, if not shattered. There were also the masterful carvings on the hilt that were now faded and dirtied, but Adrest still knew that it would take a master artisan to craft this by hand, and even then it wouldn’t be an easy task.

He also panicked as his fear of not being able to get his sword back from the pillar surged from his heart after basking in his swords stats but was relieved to see in the bottom left corner a back symbol that he pressed. Just a moment later the ground darkened and spat out his treasure.

With the sword safe and back in hand, Adrest went to the build section and decided on getting other upgrades he had been eyeing instead, such as stone floors in his hut for 30 (lp). He also upgraded the roof to solid lumber shingles for another 40(lp). And finally, he got a cast iron woodstove for 80(lp), it also included the chimney and made a perfect seal where it intersected with the roof.

Happy that he had gotten that much closer to living in luxury and thriving in the remote forest, Adrest closely examined the returned swords and checked its edge. Seeing nothing wrong he relaxed a bit of stress Adrest himself hadn’t known he was carrying, and went back to his now much more comfortable seat.

In the days prior, Adrest decided living in isolation was no reason to be uncomfortable, he had cut a section of the largest limb he could find. With that limb, he hacked with his sword some more and carved into it, until it resembled a little alcove with high walls on three sides that went higher than himself when sitting and an opening at the front to enter. He then got a bunch of the cheap pillows, and a wool blanket that was available for 7(lp) and made a very cozy chair to lounge in during the evening and into the night, admiring the beautiful and mysterious night sky.

It was a night like any other, crisp and cool, but not uncomfortable and not a cloud in the sky. Sitting in the picturesque night was Adrest, who had come to realize that he was starting to get lonely after weeks of living here, but while dealing with the solitude, he was still quite pleased with himself. Adrest had come to build himself a comfortable little life all through his own work. And he could feel that he was growing stronger each day. So, while it was a little quiet for Adrest, he wouldn’t let it slow him down. While he was feeling introspective, his hands were idly tossing some of the berries from the nearby bushes in the air before accurately falling into his waiting mouth. They tasted like strawberries but looked closer to a red blueberry. He was feeling at peace.

Our hero, or rather demon, didn’t decide to poison himself to test this temptation, he had analyzed it with the lodestone for a small cost. It identified them as Bloodberries and were rank C. Scary name but they were safe to eat so Adrest and tried one, and quickly got addicted to the taste, eating them as a treat every night.

Adrest he went to bed in his shoddy mattress, feeling more comfortable than in any bed he had slept in on Earth and slept peacefully, dreaming of the days to come.