Plans

The path through the forest seemed to twist and turn endlessly. Tree branches were reaching out to me like long-lost friends yearning for a reunion.

I could almost see them moving like skeletal fingers in the moonlight, casting eerie shadows on the forest floor.

It was creepy.

However, I couldn't do anything about it. I had to move through the forest to reach my destination on the other side.

While Eva was going to go toward the Capital City and attend Aethereum Academy I was planning to gain strength by other means.

Since I knew this novel like the back of my hand, I practically knew every hidden passage, every secret treasure that had been written in the story.

Oh, and I wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

I was going to abuse my knowledge to its fullest...

I'm going to steal all the treasures, get all the power-ups, and become as strong as possible before Eva can come for me.

Yeah, I will ruin some of the plot because of my actions, but so what?

I need to survive, don't I?

Right now my destination was the border of this Kingdom, not too far away from where I currently stood.

I wasn't about to abandon the Kingdom, don't worry.

It was just that there were certain Ruins hidden at the border that would help me to unlock some of my hidden potential.

Although every demon could train and become stronger, these Ruins held an ancient and mystical technique that surpassed any ordinary Dark Mana training method.

Eva found this Technique right after the first Great Demon War, but since it was only usable by Demons, she did not need it and burnt the technique to ashes before any Demon could get his hands on it.

It was a lot of power going to waste, in my opinion.

So, I'm going to take advantage of the situation and be the first demon to unlock this ancient technique hidden in the Ruins at the border.

I'm going to discreetly pass through the border, avoiding the patrolling guards from the Demon Extinction Force and sneak my way to the hidden Ruins.

The problem was that the Soldiers in the Demon Extinction Force were veterans, highly skilled Light Mana wielders, who specialize in combating Demons.

If I were to meet even the weakest of them, it would not end well for me.

Imagine a Vampire trying to stroll through a field of garlic, it just wouldn't work out.

They would sniff me out immediately and capture or eliminate me on the spot.

But I had a plan.

And it involved one of my traits.

Transformation.

While the soldiers might be after me as a demon, they wouldn't suspect a thing if I could transform into a completely different form.

Imagine if I could disguise myself as a harmless woodland creature, like a squirrel or a rabbit.

There was no way they would suspect that a small, innocent-looking creature was actually a demon in disguise.

However, there was another problem...

Creatures that were commonly found in my previous world, were close to nonexistent in this one.

Rabbits, squirrels, small birds and other creatures were replaced by Wendigos, Dragons and even Dinosaur-like beasts.

The most harmless creature near me was probably humans, which I didn't even want to think about transforming into.

I had to eat one of them to do so, hence this strategy was not an option.

I could, of course, try to catch some monster of the less dangerous variety and transform into that, but it would be risky since Demon Extinction Forces also prevented Magical creatures from freely roaming the area.

However, this was the only option left for me if I wanted to successfully navigate through the border and reach the hidden Runes.

All I had to do now was to find a suitable monster, one that I could hunt and transform into without drawing too much attention.

The smaller it was the better.

Also, I didn't want to transform into an insect, because when I transform, the instincts of the creature also partially carry over and I had no desire to be going after the light sources.

"..."

Walking deeper into the forest, I could feel the Mana density in the area increasing. This forest was actually teeming with magical creatures and split into a few different rings that were divided by danger level.

There was an outer ring, where the village was located. This area was mainly inhabited by none or very few magical creatures making it a relatively safe place for humans to live.

Then there was a middle ring, where there were larger and more powerful monsters. However, this was still considered a relatively manageable area for somewhat skilled adventurers.

And lastly, the inner ring, where the Mana density was the highest and the most dangerous creatures resided.

Currently, I was just about to step into the middle ring of the forest.

My plan was to carefully scout the area, keeping a low profile and avoiding any unnecessary confrontations with the dangerous creatures.

I only needed to hunt a single monster.

And I already knew what I was looking for...

I was going to hunt a Kludde.