∼ Day 13 ∼

I'm very happy that the first test of my newly acquired formations was a success. So wanting to keep the train going, I started forming the second formation that I had created. This formation required a lot more mana input than the previous one. But it didn't take long before I had fully summoned it forth.

Standing before the beetle who was slowly shrugging off the effects of my stagnation spell, I activate the formation within my palm.

While no outer visual change was apparent, the beetle was definitely effected as it roared backward and let out a pitiful squeal of pain. The formation I had just activated was a combination of solidification and magnet.

While I couldn't be entirely sure of how effective it was, it definitely seemed like it worked as intended. I had adjusted the formation to function like it was pulling the blood within the body of a creature then solidifying it. This should supposedly grasp a portion of the creature's blood and create a spike that would rend the inside of the creature's body.

It definitely wasn't a killing blow but I wanted to see was how effective the attack was. In the next moment, I used blink and appeared next to the slow and pain-filled rock beetle. Without any further ado, I promptly ended its life.

Although rock beetle's had an extremely tough carapace, when one was slowed to the extent that this one was I could easily penetrate a nook in its carapace and pierce a vital area. Flipping the heavy beetle over on its side, I began to desiccate and remove the carapace of its underside. After a few minutes of dissecting the beetle, I found where my magic had wreaked havoc.

The magic had already dispersed the solidified part of the spell within the corpse. But there was an obvious wound piercing multiple layers of flesh and organs. The wound matched that of what I had mentally imaged the spell to work. Only after hitting the inside of the beetle's carapace did the spell stop.

As I called the first formation I had cast, stagnation, I called this formation "rend".

Sitting down using a relatively clean spot of the beetle's carcass as a backrest, I ponder the implications of my new magic and magic in general. In fantasy stories, games, and movies from back on Earth, magic like fireballs and magic missiles have always been a staple spells of magic. They're often thought of as low-level magic, and seemingly anybody could produce such a result.

But this world has a completely different take on magic. Here magic is extremely rare, dangerous, and most of all, powerful. If you actually take a moment to think about how you would ever defend against a ball of roaring fire flying towards you. A human can't just block a ball of fire that should be around 500-1000 degrees that explodes on impact.

Any normal human would die instantly. So it should be ridiculous to think that just anybody would be able to conjure something like that. Even I as a now very powerful monster, don't think I can survive such a hit head-on. Taking that into consideration, a simple fireball spell doesn't seem like all the much of an insignificant spell anymore.

Then try and imagine how powerful my magic is. My new magic can literally weaponize the very blood inside you, making it rend your internal organs apart and pierce your body. Blood magic is seriously scary.

But this just means that my offensive capabilities have risen yet again. And frighteningly so at that. Magic is nothing to scoff at. And if any dared to do so in my presence, they would soon be running around trying to keep their insides from being outsides. Getting back up from my relatively comfortable spot, I quickly drank the beetle's blood by conveniently conjuring it to my call.

It was about time I tried out my last formation. As of now, I had only tested out two out of three formations. It didn't take long before I found another beetle and quickly tried it out.

But this last formation was somewhat of a dud. It was a combination of mark and magnet, so it didn't really have any especially effective or unique function to it. It could somewhat do the same as the stagnation spell, just to a lesser effect. It could also be used as a restraining spell of sorts, holding down an enemy's body to certain objects or places. But there just wasn't any real need for it. Not seeing any reason for it, I forewent naming it.

I must say that I was quite satisfied with the results of my hard work. This was only a very slight glimpse of what my magic could potentially be. The only thing next on my plans is simply getting stronger.

Although I've finally become strong enough not to worry about my surroundings and I've also found a place to stay for the time being, I can't simply think that nothing unexpected will happen and my life won't be put in imminent danger again. So with my thoughts resolved, I get moving once again.

It was time to hunt.

...

‹ Dusk ›

I had spent the rest of the day indulging myself in slaughter. On my little hunting trip, I had managed to destroy multiple greenskin villages and dens. I had even found a hive-like den of rock beetles. It was almost like an anthill, and inside it, there were swarming with rock beetles. But to my surprise, I even found two new types of rock beetles.

These alumn beetles seemed to be the evolved versions of the rock beetles. Instead of eating rocks and stones, these beetles ate minerals and ore. They were also a lot more sturdy than their counterparts. But their size was what really stood them apart. They were easily two to three times as big as a high-level rock beetle. They were massive bugs with impenetrable carapaces.

I didn't attack the hive as I had other ideas for it. But other than that, I had managed to gain quite the harvest. Fully focused on killing and leveling my skills I managed to progress a good amount.

While it was only one level I had managed to acquire, I also got some skill level-ups.

But it's definitely obvious that my rate of growth has decreased significantly after evolving into an Azde. It's mostly because the prey I'm hunting is a lot weaker than me, so I should probably begin to look for some more powerful prey to both give me more EXP and level my skills.