"Oi, Pay-Pay!" I heard Fiona calling from the other side of the road. "Wait up a sec!"
"I told you not to call me that," I replied, unsure where it even came from.
"But you can call me Fi-Fi so that we're even!" She cheered, beginning her walk towards me.
A loud rumbling was approaching, seemingly with no sign of stopping. I glanced around to find the source of it and noticed a car approaching.
I glanced between my friend crossing the road as if there were a hundred hours in the day and the car driving as if it had to be somewhere twenty minutes ago.
"Watch out!" I warned, noticing that the car seemed to be going faster now. I dashed towards her and saw her eyes widen as she saw the imminent danger.
"Payton!" She yelled, reaching for me. I didn't take her hand, though. I shouldered her out of the way, seeing realization wash upon her face as it all faded to black.
๐๐ฐ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฉ? was all I could think as I stared into the infinite darkness. ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐'๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ.
I must have only been in the abyss for a few moments before streaks of light appeared all around me, not too dissimilar to the way sci-fi movies depicted wormholes. The streaks of light grew in numbers until they meshed together to revealโฆ
A bland room. Brown wood surrounded me, logs stacked high against every smooth, stone wall. I felt below me and noticed I was also sitting on a pile of logs on the furthest end of the room.
[๐๐๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐, ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐.]
๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ? ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ข ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ? ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ-๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ? I thought, my head spinning with thoughts of where I was, what these strange words in front of me were, and what I was going to do next.
[๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ก. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ง ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ก.]
๐๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ข๐ค๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ช๐ค, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ ๐ข ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ? I thought, quickly realizing I was likely arguing with nothing but words.
[๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ง.]
I slowly, and carefully, slid down the log pile, all whilst holding a conversation with the voice in my head.
๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ญ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ? I questioned, practically scoffing.
[๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ, ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ'๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ.]
I stopped in my tracks, coming to a dead stop in the middle of the room.
๐๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด? ๐๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด? ๐๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ? ๐๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ด๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ?
[๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐๐, ๐ฒ๐๐ฌ.]
I continued out of the farmhouse, conversing with what I lovingly dubbed my 'Menu'.
It answered every question I had as best as it could, which helped me get informed about my new world.
I made my way to Garrin, guided by my Menu. On the journey, which only lasted around two hours, I stopped by a river to drink and wash up.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ข๐ค๐ฆ I thought, running a hand down my face.
Billowing obsidian hair, pale skin, and gray pupils. My appearance didn't differ from how I'd imagined every villain in fantasy books in my past life.
After admiring my new appearance- which was a considerable upgrade- I remembered what my Menu had said.
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค? I asked mentally, finally becoming accustomed to my thoughts receiving answers.
[๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐'๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ ๐ข๐ญ.]
๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ I thought, cracking my neck in preparation.
๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ง๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด, I thought, holding my hand up. A fireball the size of a house erupted from my hand and launched itself at the trees on the other side of the river.
[๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ซ๐, ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ซ.]
๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ I thought, watching as my spell devoured the ocean of greenery.
๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ถ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ.
I raised my hand once more, watching as a small-scale tsunami leaped from it, reversing my prior actions. I realized, however, that by setting the forest on fire and drowning it afterward I had killed a few monsters.
A small activity window appeared in the bottom left of my vision, small enough so it wasn't a hindrance but large enough to make out.
Similar to the credits after movies, a list ran down it showing all of the wildlife I had exterminated. Many of the names were things I had never seen before such as a Tigrera=, a Ginman, and a Lornen.
Numbers appeared next to each of these notifications, but a message appeared at the bottom of it, stating:
[๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐]
I decided to continue on my journey and was able to see the city from the path. A carriage passed me by, but I barely noticed it as I tried to come to terms with my new abilities.
๐๐ฐ ๐ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฉ? ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต.
"Help!" a voice yelled from the carriage up ahead. A middle-aged, slightly tubby man came running towards me, his eyes watering in fear of whatever he was trying to flee from. "Run, boy! That thing's gonna kill us!"
I looked back to his carriage, which was now in pieces. Next to the wreckage stood a figure, about 8 feet tall with muscles as big as my head. Two rounded ears sat atop its head, and as my vision focused I finally realized what it was.
A tiger on its hind legs, staring me down with an intensity unlike any other.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ?
[๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐๐ซ๐. ๐ ๐-๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ ๐ฉ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐๐.]
๐'๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ I thought, not questioning why I felt so calm in this situation. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต?
"Aren't you listening to me?" The man screamed, trying to tug me by my shoulder. "A kid like you can't fight that thing, let's just run to the city and alert the guards!" He ordered, glancing between the gate which was only 20 minutes up the road.
"I'll be alright," I said, removing his hand gently. "I think I'm quite strong."
"You're quite fucking stupid is what you are! It's not my fault you're throwing your life away!" He yelled over his shoulder, making a panicked dash for safety. I watched as he nearly fell several times, only being kept on his feet by sheer luck.
A growl and footsteps strong enough to make the ground beneath me shake brought my attention back to my opponent. The Tigrera was approaching, yet I felt no fear. As though by instinct, I raised my hand.
The rocks at my feet responded to my call, floating up to my hand before propelling towards the beast which stood before me. As the rocks crashed into the bipedal tiger's body gashes began to appear.
The growls began to turn from confident to angry, and when my opponent was only a few steps away I stopped my barrage.
"I am warning you. Leave this place if you wish to continue living," I said, staring it dead in the eyes. In response, the Tigrera roared in my face and got spittle over my face and clothing. "I warned you."
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ๐ด๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ต๐ฉ? I asked, with my thoughts moving faster than I thought possible.
[๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ, ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ฒ.]
Good enough for me.
I wound up a punch, remembering those few boxing lessons I did a few years back and unleashed a body shot. I heard the beast exhale a coarse gasp and felt its ribs breaking against my fist.
After pulling my fist back from my first punch, I grabbed it by the ears and brought my knee up to meet its nose. The crunching sound wasโฆ satisfactory to say the least. It was so satisfying that I did it once more.
To finish my frenzy of attacks I clenched my fist and decided to test how far I could push magic.
๐๐บ ๐ง๐ช๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ.
I could feel the gravitational pull that my hand was creating, the wind around it whirling to a center and the pressure it was putting on my hand. I was able to use it, but not for long due to the immense pain it was causing after only a few seconds of use.
I decided not to see what would happen if I maintained that magic for too long and acted quickly. I leaped up to meet its face and throw an overhead punch, hitting it on the top of its skull.
The Tigrera slumped after the punch, lifeless.
[๐๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ ๐.]
I grabbed the beast by its tail and dragged it behind me as I made my way to the gate. I was in my head, pondering magic's limits.
It's able to make its gravitational pull, it can create the elements out of thin air. Was it on Earth? Were magicians able to tap into its powers and never told us?
"I'm telling you, you need to get a platoon out there!" I heard a familiar voice plead, pointing in the direction I had just walked from. "There's a boy over there trying to fight a massive Tigrera! He's going to die!"
"Sir, we do not have the power to have a unit deployed. Our job is to make sure no monsters enter this city," a guard stated, holding him at an arm's length. "If you want to help that boy, then head over to the adventurer's guild and ask for he-"
"Sir," another guard interrupted. "Is that the boy?"
"What? Are you insane? How could he have handled that beast in the time I've been he-" the man was stunned to see me, and equally as shocked at the beast I had in tow.
"This beast destroyed that man's cart, so I killed it," I stated, dropping it in front of the guards- who were just as stunned as the man.
"Where is your party?" One of the guards asked, glancing behind me.
"I'm alone," I shook my head. "I'm just coming to enroll in the Academy."
The guards looked to each other, then to the man. A silent agreement seemed to be made by the three of them, though I didn't know what.
"What's your name?" One of them asked.
"Saria Linwood."
"What age are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Are you an adventurer?"
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ต. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต'๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ? I thought, running a hand through my hair in thought.
"Not officially, I just like to fight monsters," was all I could muster. I hadn't known it before, but that statement held more truth in it than I first believed.
I was a Demon Lord to the core, it seemed.