“Let’s get this bag!”

Before I could respond to the message, something slammed into me. Shoving me aside, a figure dressed in black stood between me and the old woman.

"You!" the old lady hissed. Her milky white eyes were two soulless pits in her skull. Doubling over, the old woman began to change before my very eyes. Clutching her temple, her fingers took the form they had in her reflection. Reddish brown fur ripped through her skin, peeling off of her body like the skin of a snake. HEr hair morphed into gray ears that flopped at the side of her head like rabbit ears. Her frail body bulged, tearing out of her clothes to reveal scarred flesh that sported the same hair on her arms. The monster's feet broke out of her shoes, clawed toes expanding to break her sandals. 

When she stood up again, her face was missing. Except for the red fur that covered her, she locked eyes and a nose and a mouth. Somehow the monster was still able to speak in a way that vibrated her fur. 

Sulfur filled the air when it talked. "You should have stayed away, Lion forged" Jamming a clawed finger at me,the monster said. "This one holds a power that even you humans are not capable of wielding."

The person who saved me glanced back at me. She was missing an eye, a golden eye patch covering her left eye. Her skin was sickeningly pale and her hair as black as a raven's feather. On her neck hung an emerald medallion, a lion's head that looked skyward. In its jaw was a red ruby that had rays of sunlight shooting out of it.

Her robes had been decorated with green and gold swirls that spiral around her sleeves and down the side of her cloak. Her lips peeled back in a snarl as she saw me. I

In her hand was a rod, as long as her forearm. Like my staff, it had a ribbon that hung off it. THe gold ribbon was tied to her wrist to keep the jade wand attached to her. 

"He is mine, lion forged. I will tear you down if you stand in my way," the beast roared. "I do not care who you are pacted with!"

My savior didn't back down. She crouched low, aiming the wand at the monster. "Begone demon, or I will swallow you whole and spit you back into the abyss!"

The beast only hissed in response. In a blink it lunged at us. It moved so fast I barely noticed it had left the spot it stood at. With claws outstretched to slash at us, the monster bared its fangs. 

In the next second, its eyes widened as tendrils of violet energy shot from the wand. Each tentacle of magical energy disintegrated the demon until it was no more. Letting out a shrill cry before being eradicated, the demon disappeared with a sickening crackle.

The pillars of smoke from over the hill grew darker.

"Thank you," I said to my savior. Bowing awkwardly, I watched my savior turn to face me.

Her eye scanned me in a way that I knew was magical. Her red iris was tinted gold a moment as she sized me up. "You are a summoner?" her voice was deep.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" she raised an eyebrow. "What is a summoner doing with that?" she pointed at the staff. "That is a rare tool for a simple summoner to use. Where did you get it?"

I tried my best to explain my situation. She seemed to by the fact that I was reincarnated by a giant god named Demiurge. Her eyebrow raised when I mentioned the demon I was killed by.

"So it was the Scarlet Bunsen who killed you." she touched her chin, contemplating. "I thought that demon was aligned with your god."

"The scarlet what? And what's all this about gods?"

My savior studied me again. "You are not aware of the demon who killed you? It is a legendary spirit with waters that can scorch the earth."

"I was trying to summon a spirit using some wired dragon totem. I didn't want to summon a freaking demon."

She snorted. "What is your name, summoner?"

"Rue." I spat. I got the feeling I should hide my last name. 

"And what god do you serve, Rue?"

I hesitated. Didn't she mention something about gods and alignment a minute ago. She said her god was different from mine.

I could hear Demiurge's voice in my head, telling me about his adversary who thwarted his plans for me.

"Is your god not Demiurge, the creator?"

Shit! She knows!

I stepped away from her as she advanced on me. Over the hill, the sky had darkened. I backpedaled to the wall beside my desk. SHe shut the door behind her, not taking her eyes off of me. The staff in my hand shivered. 

In front of me read the words: "Caution: Enemy wizard in vicinity." The yellow words were less urgent than the ones earlier, but I could tell I still needed to be on my toes. 

"Listen, I don't want any problems. I just got a shot at a new life."

"Shut up, wyrm forged!" she snapped. "

Worm forged! What kind of insult is that?

"If you don't know how to use that staff, I should take it from you. A tool like that belongs in the hands of stronger wizards, not weak summoners!"

The flower on the staff pulsed angrily. Energy rippled around it. 

A message in white letters appeared in front of me. It said: "New skill ready for practice. Would you like to learn a new skill?"

Below it were two options. On the right, in red letters, was the option to learn the skill. On the left was the option to turn down the opportunity. My finger quickly pressed yes.

I'D seen this kind of thing in the comics I used to read. A system that lets a main character become broken by learning new skills.

Instantly, my brain filled with knowledge. Images of a river of rainbow energy flowing from my body flickered behind my eyelids. Then the pool of magic poured into the staff, charging it up for an attack. But instead of an attack shooting from the flower, a stream of water sprayed from it. 

When I opened my eyes, my savior turned attacker had aimed her wand at me. 

In front of me, the message told me I had learned the skill: "[Scarlet Bunsen] Charges per Hour: Five."

Wasn't that the name of the demon who killed me? I shuddered as I remembered its toothy grin. 

I felt magical energy swell  inside me, a pool of power that charged the staff in my hand. Holding it out in front of me, the staff began to glow. The petals burned red hot, with hues of scarlet swirling through each petal like oil over water. 

My attacker took a step back, lazily firing a bolt of energy in my direction. Forcing the energy through my staff, a  stream of burning liquid shot from the flower. 

In a burst, it burned a hole in the wall of my cabin. My attacker was hit by it, a softball sized hole in her chest. She wheezed, holding her wound with both hands. From her wrist, her wand dangled from its gold noose.

"I'm sorry, but if you're gonna attack me, I have to defend myself." 

My protest only angered her. Shooting daggers at me, she grabbed her wand by flicking her wrist. Catching it in her hand, she pointed the wand at the ground. Casting a spell that eroded the floor beneath her, she fell into the pit she created.

"Wait!" I cried as I watched her plummet into the ground that swallowed her. Rushing to the pit, I barely had enough time to dodge an attack spell. When I tried to look again, I saw the staff at where the attack had come from. 

The pit had even rotted  the soil beneath my cabin. Black dust piled on itself. I knelt and poked the sand with my staff. The dust was easy to move, though I didn't dare to step into the pit.

"This has to be a trap." i knew. Swinging my feet over the ledge, I aimed the staff into the pit. Holding it under my armpit, I felt like I was holding a rifle, instead of a magical stick. To the attacker, I shouted, "You can come out! Otherwise I'll have to melt you."

No answer. 

The caution sign reappeared in front of me. Slowly, it turned green, telling me the enemy wizard was out of my vicinity.

"What? How did she disappear?" The system showed me a map of my cabin. A green hologram showed my location and my adversary's. Apparently she had dug a tunnel to escape. 

"Great," I muttered. "No, she has a way to sneak back in." the system closed. Laying the staff across my lap, I figured my attack must have done a number on her. She took out the hairy shapeshifter as fast as it had attacked. She must be a decent wizard. 

"But that would mean my spell was faster than hers. And stronger if I made her retreat with a single attack."

Wind breezed through the hole in my cabin. "How am i gonna fix any of this? I just got this place and it's already ruined!"

A message appeared. "Demiurge would like to send a message. Do you wish to receive it?" I clicked yes. A box appeared in front of me. On it, it read: "I'm sending you a gift. Seeing how you defended yourself against a foe, I figured a reward is in order. Please choose two of the options."

The message box closed. Now, three boxes hovered in front of me. From left to right, the rewards were:

"Reward name:Summoning Petal

Item Type: Magic item[Sealing Alchemy] 

Description: By attaching this to the Twig of Creation, this portal rune embeds an object with a sigil for summoning. The cool down time is one day until you master this skill. Only one summon can be released until you master this skill."

That'll save me time. I won't have to draw a sigil every time I want to summon a creature!

"Reward name: Scarlet Bunsen

Type: Summon[Demonic Spirit]

Description: A calcination type spirit. Capable of degrading matter with its scalding waters, this demon's attack strength makes it the strongest calcination spirit. Summoning time: two minutes, unless shortcuts are achieved. HP: 100/100."

Great, it's the asshole who killed me when I accidentally summoned him. I already don't want him, but lemme see what the last reward is.

The last reward was the worst of the three.

"Reward name: Useless Eyelash.

Description: just a simple eyelash. No uses or magical power. Only a fool would want this."

I scowled. "Really, Demiurge. You obviously want me to choose the first two? Why would you give me a trashy third option if the first two are great."

Below each box was the rarity of each reward. The Bunsen demon was Rare. The Petal was Uncommon, while the eyelash was Common.

"Fine, gimme the Scarlet Bunsen and the Petal." I grumbled. 

Why would I want to summon the monster who killed me in my last life? It quickly overpowered me the moment I released him!

The two rewards I chose grew brighter as the third dimmed. In front of me, a flower petal and a card hovered. 

The petal had a pentagram drawn on it. A circle was drawn around it, with foreign words drawn in a ring around the sigil.

The card depicted the Bunsen Demon. Dressed in the familiar scarlet robes, it held up its right hand. The glass tube in its hand was boiling over. In the steam above the tube, skulls with their faces melting off were drawn in an almost comical matter. Behind the demon was a devil-like shadow, with horns and a tail. Water spilled from the shadow's right hand into the tube. Flames surrounded the demon, much like how it had when I died. I shuddered.

Grabbing the card and the petal, I placed them in my pocket. I still had no idea how to equip the Petal, even though I tried to shove it next to the others on my staff. And I definitely didn't want to mess around and summon my killer.

"I guess I'll have to wait until I learn what to do with them.'' I stood up, dusting off my clothes. THe hole in the ground sealed up, as well as the one in my wall.

The system told me repairs were made every hour on the hour, so damages wouldn't be of concern.

"Thanks Demi," I said to my god. "That saves me a lot of money."

As the hole in my wall mended, I began to smell smoke. I remembered the old lady, who turned out to be a demon, who had said demons attacked a nearby village.

The staff vibrated, almost yanking me in the direction of the village. Black fingers of smoke reached for the heavens in the reflective petals.

"Yeah, I'm not going out there. I don't have any magic spells to combat a demon."

The system reminded me I had a demon and a spell named after the demon. 

"Both abilities can overpower the nearby demons. Would you like to pursue them?"

"Hell no." I answered quickly. "I just got reincarnated, why would I risk my life again."

In response, the system showed me, in big gold letters, the reward would be a thousand gold.

My jaw dropped. 

"A thousand gold! My paychecks in my past life were only two silver a week and that barely covered my bills! In this little old house, I could afford to eat like a king for several months!"

Swallowing my pride, I headed outside.

"Let's get this bag." I sang as I marched to the valley.