[Otherworldly Demon]
Requirement: Use the [Demonic Arts Fragment] as tribute.
Description: The Demonic Path is an endless road paved with blood and corpses. Kill, steal, plunder, cheat, deceive, control, and dominate. For you are a demon.
Demonic Skill Tree
| [Qi Control]: Mastery over Qi is mastery over life itself. Your path to dominance begins with the fundamentals of martial arts.
| [Spectral Deception]: The heart’s weakness begins with the outer shell. Fool your enemies with illusionary disguises.
| [Mental Manipulation]: While the flesh may be strong, the mind is fragile. Bend others to your will and make puppets do your bidding.
| [Aura Domination]: The Demonic Path leads to standing triumphant above all creation. Every living being shall bow before your overwhelming presence.
| [Curse Tool Creation]: With the right tools and the right price, no being can escape your grasp. Once their desires burn, it’s already too late.
===============
This was it. This was my path forward. Finally, a way to use Qi to fight.
The only drawback? It came from the Demonic Cult.
“I know it’s an evil Class, but can you not make it sound like I’m becoming some kind of final boss?” I muttered, shaking my head at no one in particular.
Now then, what to do?
Choosing one of the Classes that used Mana was a death sentence. From my earlier tests, I would’ve died countless times just from using Mana to carve Runes had it not been for [Full body restoration.]
On the other hand, the [Otherworldly Demon] Class allowed me to use Qi and could potentially solve the Void Heart problem.
“Demonic Qi,” I mumbled.
Demonic Qi was fundamentally different from regular Qi. It was created by combining Qi with negative emotions and madness through Demonic Arts, forcibly drawing out the user’s latent potential. Even the Demonic Generals from the previous world couldn’t escape its destructive nature.
The only exception was The Heavenly Demon, the one individual who had full control over his mind while wielding Demonic Qi.
But the price was steep. Using Demonic Qi inevitably transformed the body into something grotesque, something inhuman.
To be useless, die, and watch this world be destroyed as a powerless ghost. Or to live as a monster.
I laughed. The answer was obvious.
I would rather become a monster to save lives than be deadweight and watch this world perish.
*Ding
[You made your choice. Using Demonic Art Fragment as tribute]
[Success. Your Class is now Otherworldly Demon]
A series of notifications flashed through my mind, their presence ringing like distant bells. A numbing sensation spread across my body, heavy and all-encompassing.
Then, a sharp shiver ran down my spine, its knife-like legs tracing every nerve. I felt the changes taking hold, altering me in ways both profound and irreversible.
*Ding
[You can now cultivate Demonic Qi]
[You gain access to the Demonic Skill Tree]
[1st Demonic Arts Branch – Qi Control unlocked]
[You gain a new Skill – Plundering Qi]
===============
[Plundering Qi]
| Level Requirement: Level 10 – Complete
| Unlock Condition: Create a Qi Core – Incomplete
| Description: Harness the demonic power to devour your enemies' Qi, leaving behind only lifeless, empty shells. No need to fear the mixing of life forces as the demon accepts all beings equally. The more Qi you consume, the greater your strength grows.
===============
I took a deep breath, though it felt like someone had sliced my body open and forcefully ripped out my arteries. No matter. The ability to use Qi was worth it.
More than that, once I unlocked this new Skill, the Demonic Qi lingering in Sera’s throat would no longer be a problem — so long as I only extracted the Demonic Qi.
“Time to create a Qi Core,” I muttered, moving to sit in a lotus position on the floor, far from my bed.
The last time I’d tried to create a Qi Core on my bed, it ended with the sheets soaked in sweat. Drying a wet bedsheet without anyone noticing was a horrifying ordeal I didn’t want to repeat. A lesson learned.
Focusing inward, I controlled the Mana within my body, directing it toward my life force to merge them and create Qi.
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This time was different. My Mana seamlessly merged with my life force, as though they were two halves of a whole, now reunited.
A burning sensation surged through me, accompanied by a relentless rage. Veins bulged across my body as the fire coursed through every muscle and nerve.
I gritted my teeth, enduring the torment as my muscles relaxed, contracted, and broke down repeatedly. Each time, they reconstructed themselves stronger, adapting to the influx of Qi. My mind, however, was not spared. It overflowed with rage directed at who or whatever tore me from my mundane life, forcing me to lose myself over and over again for the sake of saving strangers.
The agony lasted only a moment, but it felt like an eternity. Finally, I exhaled a long, blackened breath. My body and mind settled, calm returning to me at last.
The first step was complete.
I paused for a few seconds to collect myself before moving on to the next step. Gathering Qi into a core.
I closed my eyes and began circulating Qi throughout my body, directing it toward the spot below my navel — where the lower dantian resided. The plan was simple, refine and gather enough Qi until a Qi Core naturally formed.
Alas, once again, man proposed, heaven disposed.
As my Qi started to gather, I noticed something abnormal.
The flow was disrupted. Some of the Qi dispersed as it passed through my heart.
Void Heart.
The same curse that had prevented me from cultivating Qi before gaining my Class was now interfering again. Bulldozing headfirst into the process did nothing but waste energy.
“This won’t do,” I muttered and stopped after my fourth failed attempt to form the core.
What I needed was an external stimulant, something that would push my body into fight-or-flight mode and force every last bit of my life force into action.
Since it had come to this, I returned to my original plan — using the Bleeding Berries.
*****
Early the next morning, I left a note on my desk to inform Sera I was heading into the forest. It would be a hassle if she insisted on coming along with me.
Bleeding Berries only grew near the Bearowl’s territories, and I needed a lot of them. But consuming too many also meant bleeding from every pore on my body. Well, not exactly a pleasant sight.
The forest was eerily quiet, with only the crunch of soft snow beneath my feet and the rustling of leaves to break the silence. Soft light filtered through the white sky, casting a glow on the dew that clung to the pine needles. It was a strange sight, morning dew in a forest blanketed in snow. The chilling wind brushed against my skin, soothing the burning sensation within me.
Demonic Qi was rampaging inside me, devouring my life force since I had no core to control it.
*Ding
[Full body restoration activated]
My muscles had begun to adapt slightly to the Demonic Qi, but I couldn’t say the same for my organs and bones. The uncontrolled Qi was breaking them down, piece by piece.
I would need to refine my body later anyway, so it was better to use this period of grace when my body constantly recovered to its peak to speed up the process.
As I walked, a thought crossed my mind.
This world’s magic was based on Runes. Could I apply the same principles from the previous worlds here?
It was worth testing.
The first thing that came to mind was Navigating Runes. The faster I found the Bleeding Berries, the better.
I raised my hand, preparing to draw a Rune using Qi, but noticed something peculiar instead. Did I actually need to physically draw Runes with my hands to use them?
Over the past few days, I had only used Mana to replicate the Runes inside the crystals crafted by the previous Karl.
“Interesting,” I muttered. Experimenting to uncover answers was always enjoyable.
Runes were made from motes of light that were likely fragments of this world’s laws. The key to using them was to clearly communicate my intention to the motes.
Expanding my senses, I searched for any potential dangers. Finding none, I sat beneath a tree, let my mind dive into Rune Space that existed everywhere, and began working on creating a Navigating Rune.
The intention behind the Navigating Rune was to gather information from the surroundings and guide me to what I sought.
Motes of light appeared on my outstretched palm, gathering into a circular shape. At first, it seemed like a success, but the circle of light was unstable and quickly dispersed back into motes.
I shrugged. Success on the first attempt would’ve been nice, but it wasn’t realistic. If it didn’t work the first time, I would simply try again.
After about half an hour, I finally succeeded.
The Rune resembled a dreamcatcher, but instead of a net in the middle, a floating arrow pointed forward, gently pulsing with energy.
*Ding
[You have crafted your first Rune. Rune Crafting – Level 1 acquired]
“Could do better,” I mumbled, letting the Navigating Rune dissolve.
After these past few days of experiments and the test just now, I realized this world’s Runes were surprisingly versatile and well-developed. The potential applications seemed endless.
“Let’s make a minimap,” I set a new goal.
With that in mind, I set out to recreate two types of Runes: Illusionary Rune and Life Tracking Rune. Thanks to my new Skill, the process felt far more intuitive. To my surprise, just like Navigating Rune, both types of Runes had already existed.
The Illusionary Rune would allow me to visualize the map, while the Life Tracking Rune would monitor nearby living beings. I briefly considered adding a Mana Tracking Rune, but quickly abandoned the idea after realizing everything, even a random rock, contained Mana.
After an hour or two of refining and testing, I completed my simple minimap.
On the map, I was represented as a blue dot at the center. My target appeared as a golden dot with an arrow pointing toward it, and nearby living beings were displayed as grey dots.
Fortunately, the life force of flora differed significantly from that of fauna so it was simple to separate them.
If life force could be compared to a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, then a tree’s life force would be like a circular puzzle, while a human’s life force would be rectangular. The pieces that made up the life force were identical, but the frame in which those pieces fit was entirely different.
*Ding
[Rune Crafting Level up: Level 1 –> 2]
With that done, I checked my status.
===============
Name: Karl Xanderson
Race: Human
Origin: Xanderson Clan
Level: 10 (4%)
Class: Otherworldly Demon
Class Skills:
1st Branch – Qi Control:
| Plundering Qi – Level 1
General Skills:
| World Walker’s Comprehension – Level 3
| Four Directional Protectors Arts – Level 1
| Rune Crafting – Level 2
Status Effect:
| Void Heart (Permanent)
| Full body restoration (3 days 11 hours 37 minutes 04 seconds)
Inventory (0/10):
===============
Feeling satisfied with my progress, I began heading toward the closest Bleeding Berries bush.
After about ten minutes, something unexpected happened. The bush I was tracking started moving toward me.
I sensed Demonic Qi the moment the golden dot appeared on the minimap floating on my palm.
Snapping my head toward the source, I saw a giant Bearowl.
It was chasing someone.
The crimson fog swirling around the Bearowl, along with the multiple bee stingers lodged in its back, told me it was the same female Bearowl I had faced before. Its eyes now glowed a deep crimson, a mix of yellowish blood and murky red blood dripping from its maw. Something large latched onto one of its legs, dragging across the snow as the beast moved.
But the Bearowl wasn’t targeting me this time.
Ahead of it was a young petite Frost Elf girl with bluish-white hair that trailed behind her knees. She was running as fast as her legs could carry her. Her flat bangs and two locks dropping down her shoulders were a disheveled mess, and both her hair and clothes were covered in snow — likely from falling multiple times as she fled.
Her teary violet eyes locked onto me, and her pointy ears trembled as she screamed in a shaken, desperate voice:
“Karl, run away!”
I raised a brow at the familiar stranger.
I appreciate the sentiment, but if you’re that desperate, maybe ditch that freaking huge staff first.
Her grip on the cumbersome staff remained firm as she stumbled forward.
“Well,” I muttered, cracking my knuckles. “Time for round two.”