In the deep forest, there was a young guy, around 15 years old, hanging upside down on a tree with both his feet while his head was below.
He had black hair, red eyes, and a fairly handsome face, but all of that was useless with his skinny and pale body.
And that guy was Belial, who had been reincarnated into this young guy's body using his Ruler of Soul ability.
"Is there a town near this wilderness?" He asked himself.
"If there is, I should go there and gather information about this world, but..." Without fearing any injury, he casually descended from the tree.
Thunk!
"This body is still too weak." He felt frustrated and let out a long sigh.
Yeah, his current body was really weak. If he hadn't tried to heal this critical condition of his body using the Power of Healing ability, Belial would have died once again, making it his third death.
He fell silent for a moment, trying to think about what he should do now. If he tried to restore his power by absorbing monsters, it would be impossible. He would definitely be killed with just one hit from a monster.
The only way to restore his body and power now was to train his physical body and absorb "Mana," the energy source of this world.
Unlike Gehenna, which used Demonic Power as energy, this world, his current home, used "Mana" as its energy source.
How did he know? Because he could see and feel that "Mana."
"It seems like I'll be staying in this forest for a long time."
Belial had decided. It might take a few years, but he decided to stay in this dense forest and train his physical and supernatural abilities during that time period.
"It seems like the only remaining abilities are those from the 10 Demon Kings of Gehenna and the Rulers..."
That's right, because all those abilities were directly embedded in his soul. As for the other abilities from the millions of demons, if they were depicted in a RPG game, they would just be stats points, and now all those stats had been reset back to zero.
As for his Absorption ability, there was no need to question it. It was his inherent ability, so it was certain that the ability would not disappear.
...
"Alright, before we start training, I want to eat first," Belial said.
He stood up and extended his open hand towards a fruit-bearing tree. The fruits on the tree resembled apples but had a heart shape. They looked a bit strange to Belial, but since he was feeling hungry, he had to eat them. They were the only fruits that seemed familiar to him.
'Absorption,' he uttered the name of his ability in his mind.
Suddenly, a reddish-black hole appeared in the palm of his hand. Without waiting, all the heart-shaped fruits were immediately sucked into the black hole. Even the tree itself got sucked in due to the powerful absorption ability of Belial's Absorption skill.
No, he wouldn't absorb them.
Before the tree and the heart-shaped fruits were fully absorbed into his ability, Belial quickly deactivated it by closing his hand.
"Phew, that was really exhausting."
Even though he had only used one percent of his actual Absorption ability, Belial was already sweating and panting.
"And that was the last bit of energy from this body..."
Yes, it completely drained his energy. No wonder he looked so exhausted.
"Alright, now it's time to eat!" He seemed to disregard his fatigue at this point.
With greed, he devoured all the heart-shaped fruits in one go. It only took him two minutes, and he finished them all.
Whether it was the effect of his Absorption ability or his gluttonous nature, this gluttonous trait first appeared when he arrived in Gehenna. Back then, he simply wanted to eat, but since there were no plants or vegetation in Gehenna, he had to consume the monsters. And he kept doing it until he no longer felt hungry in Gehenna. Thanks to that habit, he gained the title "Demon King of Gluttony."
After Belial greedily finished devouring all the heart-shaped fruits, an unexpected belch sound emerged.
*Buurrp!*
Belial was surprised by his own belch. His face turned red from the embarrassing incident. He didn't expect his stomach to respond so loudly after eating so voraciously.
"Oh, excuse me," Belial mumbled with a hint of embarrassment. He wasn't sure who he was apologizing to.
Although slightly taken aback and embarrassed, Belial tried not to dwell too much on his belch and proceeded with his plan. He needed to focus on his training and power recovery.
Belial decided to start his training by running through the dense forest. He wanted to test the physical strength of his new body and build the necessary strength and endurance.
With firm steps, Belial moved forward and began running at a high speed among the tall trees. Each stride felt strong and decisive, and he could feel his breath quickening.
The forest felt quiet, adorned only by the sound of wind rustling through the trees. Belial sensed the presence of Mana flowing through the surroundings, granting him the necessary strength and vitality. He felt the power filling his body, igniting spirit and determination within him.
Belial kept running, surpassing natural obstacles along the way. He leaped over crossing tree roots, avoided obstructing branches, and swiftly crossed small rivers. Every movement and action was executed with remarkable precision and speed.
"This is truly enjoyable." Covered in sweat and his clothes stained, Belial felt the Mana energy entering his body.
Whether it was due to his naturally gifted body or because he was Belial, the Demon King, the Mana energy kept flowing into him ceaselessly.
"I can't waste this."
Belial sought another way to train his physical strength. He realized there were no heavy equipment around except for scattered rocks within the forest. Without hesitation, Belial decided to lift a stone as his next exercise.
He spotted a relatively large stone, about waist-high. With a determined stance, Belial approached the stone and placed it on the base of his thighs. He gripped the stone with both hands, feeling its challenging weight.
With slow yet steady movements, Belial lifted the stone from his thighs. His body stood tall, and his muscles worked hard to maintain balance and endure the increasing load.
Even though his body felt weak since his resurrection, Belial tapped into the Mana energy flowing through his body to provide additional energy.
'Power of Healing, Power of Healing, Power of Healing!!'
He continuously used his Power of Healing ability to accelerate the recovery of his burdened muscles.
Belial lifted and lowered the stone repeatedly, testing his strength and resilience. With each lift, his body grew stronger, and his muscles became more defined. Sweat poured down his body, but he didn't complain and continued the training with unwavering determination.
In the process of lifting the stone, Belial also utilized his Absorption ability. When he felt his strength waning, he sensed the surrounding Mana energy and absorbed it to replenish his stamina and power.
"Just as I thought!"
He had just discovered this, that he could absorb Mana using his Absorption ability.
Actually, he had already felt it when using Absorption before, but he didn't pay much attention to it because the energy he felt back then was as light as dust touching his skin.
Thunk!
He released the stone, which now felt light and useless to him.
"With this, I will become the strongest once again! Ahahaha!"
Belial laughed with pure joy, his expression filled with raging madness. His red eyes gleamed even brighter, radiating an aura that portrayed his unwavering determination.
He realized that his previous assessment had been wrong. Initially, he thought this journey would be a long training session, and he would settle in the forest for years. However, after just two simple physical training sessions, his mindset changed. It turned out that the process of rebuilding his strength would be brief.