Demon King Kyuse Descends! (6)

For a brief moment, I expressed my joy, then immediately set about preparing the lizard's corpse.

The easily decaying innards must be quickly removed and discarded. This should be called common knowledge. It was something I had seen every time I watched a documentary.

Zeuuk.

After hitting its head, I immediately sliced open its belly with my hatchet. However, since the blade had become blunt, it wasn't easy. It was like sawing through wood.

"Hmm… Good."

I was careful not to damage the innards.

I also learned this from a documentary. When slicing open the belly, if you touch the intestines, blood or partially digested matter might spill out and contaminate the meat.

Of course, doing this for the first time was damn hard. Things didn't go as planned. But considering it was a life-or-death situation, I did see some results.

"Successfully removed the innards."

"Keureuk…"

"Huh?"

Looking over, I noticed Buril drooling at the sight of the innards. Well, this creature was a monster, after all. It probably ate raw innards.

"Eat up!"

"Keureuk!"

Upon my command, Buril immediately began munching on the innards. It was a bit messy, with flesh and blood smeared all over its mouth. The sight was strangely adorable, reminiscent of a baby eating and spilling its food everywhere. Seems like my perspective had become somewhat warped.

"Hey, let's eat while we move."

"Kureung."

Holding the freshly prepared lizard, I moved on… Meat. Damn, I was finally going to eat meat. Just thinking about it made my mouth water so much. I guess I was not that different from a goblin after all.

Anyway, once we got there, I should grill and eat it together with Buril! Eating together would make it even tastier!

"Let's start to set up the fire."

From now on, it was a race against time. As soon as I got back to the base, I collected usable items for fire-starting, like twigs and dried-up plant stems.

"Buril, gather some stones ahead. About the size of my fist."

"Keureuk-keureuk."

Upon my command, Buril began diligently collecting stones within my line of sight. Why was this creature so darn cute? From picking fruits off the burnt tree to hunting the lizard, everything it did was just so adorable.

This creature was simply too versatile.

Rather than a mere subordinate, it was truly my soul partner.

Let's see. If we consider the concept of a Demon King, we would think of the Four Heavenly Kings. And if there were the Four Heavenly Kings, why not another Demon King? If I later achieved great success and became a true Demon King, it's settled. I should reserve a spot among the Four Heavenly Kings for Buril.

Perhaps granting it a cool nickname like Goblin Heavenly King Prince Buril would make it very happy.

"Ah, the ecosystem."

Anyway, this was precisely what an ecosystem was.

Such an insignificant-looking little goblin. Even a mere goblin in this wilderness knew the way to survive. One should not underestimate it. It had thrived by making do with local resources.

I was deeply grateful for that.

"It's awe-inspiring."

"Keureuk-keureuk."

I made a simple campfire using the stones Buril had gathered and the fire-starting items I collected.

Now, all that was left was to make skewers, light the fire, and grill.

Qol-qol.

After washing my hands with the water from the canteen, I immediately inserted my hand between the lizard's skin and flesh.

"Huchaaaah!"

Bu-uk!

I pulled to separate the skin from the meat. The pink flesh was now exposed. It worked, surprisingly. The skin peeled off better than I expected, though it was a bit tough. Thus, I began the task of skinning.

"Keureuk…"

Buril salivated upon seeing it.

Of course, I couldn't give it to him right now. Chyaak! I immediately used my demon claws to slice through the meat. Being a demon, my nails were slightly pointed and hard, making them quite useful for tearing meat.

"Demonic excellence."

I then skewered the sliced meat onto the twigs I had prepared earlier.

"Damn it."

The meat was tough and wouldn't skewer easily. Everything was labor-intensive from start to finish.

Nevertheless.

I eventually succeeded. There was a considerable amount of discarded meat, but I managed to finish all of the lizard meat skewers.

"Hoo."

"Keureuk."

Shall we grill it, then?

"Hey, Buril. Watch closely. Now, damn it. I'm going to show you how to light a fire."

"Keureuk?"

Fire.

Lighting a fire was inherently challenging. Modern humans could easily do it with just a lighter or a torch, but starting a fire in the wild has always been one of the most labor-intensive tasks.

Like primitives, one would have to gather materials and furiously rub, twist, and grind by hand to produce even the tiniest spark of fire.

Now, did I have to do that?

The thought was extremely frustrating.

But no.

"Heh, hehehe. Right."

I was…

I, Kim Kyuse, was not human.

I was a demon, one who had mastered the basics of black magic.

Therefore, naturally… I shouldn't need to labor like that.

There was no need!

"Look! Buril!"

"Keureuk?"

I stared intently at the campfire I had prepared.

Then.

Goooh.

I drew up the magical energy within myself. An energy source absent in humans. Inhuman and supernatural energy. A power I had because I was born a demon! Concentrating on this, I recalled the dark magic incantation I had learned!

"Kuoh…!"

My chest felt as if it was blazing with heat! That burning energy slowly traveled up my esophagus.

And at the critical moment!

Paah!

With the right timing, I set my posture!

"Puhooooooooo!"

I exhaled forcefully!

Whirlrrrrrrrr!

Violet flames spewed out from my mouth as if I were a flamethrower! Thrilling! I learned this basic dark magic skill from Karuti, the Demon Breath!

"Demon Breath, hwoo!"

The breath lasted for about 2 seconds and powerfully struck the campfire. As a result, violet flames burst from the campfire.

Whirlk!

"It's lit!"

The fire had started. After about 2 seconds, the violet flames returned to their normal color. The magic had been expended. The demonic flames had reverted to regular flames…!

"Being a demon is damn amazing!"

I never dreamed I'd come to appreciate the inhumanity of these demons. Breathing fire from my mouth? Wasn't that completely monstrous? Yet, I found that monstrous aspect quite endearing. And there was a particularly handy effect to this Demon Breath; it acted as brushing one's teeth.

"Damn, that's awesome."

But shit, just doing it once drained all my magic. Well, it was fine. If I ate, slept, and woke up, it would be restored.

"Keureureureuk…!"

"Hm?"

However, Buril was still in his spot, kneeling and covering his face with his hand, looking at the campfire.

Shiver-shiver…!

His body was trembling.

"You can't be."

"Keureureureuk…!"

"You're shivering at my greatness, aren't you?"

"Keureukkeureuk!"

As I emphasized this while speaking, Buril made some noises. As expected! No brother was like mine! You were surprised, weren't you, Buril!

"Hehehe! Kid, hey, this is the power of your big brother. You get it?"

"Keureukkeureuk! Keureureureuk! Kureuk!"

I patted his head, and Buril excitedly spoke to me. Honestly, I had no idea what he was saying.

"Anyway, let's grill."

I immediately placed the skewers on the fire. To be honest, it was my first time grilling meat over a campfire like this. All I had ever seen of this was from documentaries or from "1 Night 2 Days"… Ah, shit. Thinking of "1 Night 2 Days" made me miss home.

Not the demon world, but Earth.

"Keureukkeureuk."

"Hey, shit, wait, dude. Even if you're eager, I should eat first. Why are you being so impatient?"

"Keureung…"

"Oh, I'm just kidding. Let's eat together in a bit."

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

The sun was setting.

The aroma of the grilling meat was delightful.

"Huh?"

After a deep sleep, there was a startling change in my body. Was this a dream or reality? My senses sharpened immediately, and while maintaining a proper posture, I channeled the magic within me to confirm this change.

"It increased…!"

My maximum magical power had slightly increased!

If it was originally around 8, now it has risen to about 9!

"Shit!"

This was it!

Successfully mastering monster control, properly infusing magic into Buril, and correctly utilizing my magic after using the Demon Breath. Then, eating well, meditating, and sleeping soundly increased my maximum magical power!

The more magic was used, the sharper my grasp for it would become…!

"Yes!"

Truly, the gratifying result brought tears to my eyes as soon as I woke up. Of course, the change was trivial, but in the early stages, such things were very precious. And wasn't this accumulation what led to growth?

If I continued to eat well and used magic like this, it wouldn't be long before I could be counted as a full-fledged demon!

"Kue… Hey! Buril! How dare you wake up after me?"

"Ke, keureuk?"

As I immediately scolded him, Buril, who had been sleeping soundly beside me with a snot bubble, quickly sat up and tilted his head, blinking his sleepy eyes.

"You're lucky you're cute. Let's get going. We have to start today's tasks."

"Keureukkeureuk."

As I walked out of the tent, Buril followed.

"What's on the agenda today? Guess."

"Gereureuk, kik. Koolkreuk?"

"No, dude. Speak so I can understand you."

"Keureureuk? Kereukkereuk?"

"Ah, shit, never mind."

What we were going to do today is…

"We're going to make a spear."

It was spear-making I had in mind. I thought of it yesterday. We battled the lizard and came out victorious. That's right. Battle. And what was most essential for battle? None other than weapons.

I had yet to see an enemy that could pose a threat to me.

But just because I hadn't seen one didn't mean they didn't exist. They surely did. Therefore, there was a need to have weapons ready.

"Let's start by gathering some branches and stones."

"Kaereukkaereuk."

A primitive wooden stone spear, like the ones used by ancient humans. That was what I was planning to make. Good branches were everywhere; we just needed to find suitable stones, and we were set.

Break and split the stone into smaller pieces, then sharpen them meticulously to form a spear point. Attach it to the branch, and voila, the spear was complete.

For binding, we could easily obtain some by splitting plant stems.

"Let's go! We're off!"

"Keureuk!"

Having a weapon at hand would certainly offer some peace of mind.

But hunting for materials to make a spear? It was not like we were primitive people. However, doing everything from scratch felt less like a demon king and more like a primitive keeper.

"The keeper's life isn't too bad."

As Buril and I were collecting stones, Buril suddenly exclaimed.

"Ke, keureuk?!"

Suddenly, Buril stopped, covering his mouth with both hands. He lowered his posture and trembled as he looked at me!

A signal to hide!

—Whoosh!

Immediately, I tucked Buril to my side and ducked into a nearby bush!

What was happening!

What on earth appeared?!