Chapter 4

The next day, Belial woke up feeling fresh and full of energy. He felt the need to freshen up, so he decided to wash his face in the nearby river that flowed around his camp. Although it was called a camp, this place consisted only of a smoldering campfire and a tree that provided shade.

That tree was the heart apple tree that Belial had eaten the day before. Symbolically, it made him feel connected to the surrounding nature and gave him a renewed spirit.

After refreshing himself with water from the river, Belial immediately started his training. He began by running around the vast forest.

"No matter how far I run, I still haven't found a way out of this forest... Is there some kind of illusion magic at play here?"

However, Belial's guess turned out to be wrong. The forest he now called home did not possess any illusion magic. The forest was indeed vast and full of mystery, but there was no magic shrouding it.

Unbeknownst to Belial, since his first day in this world until now, he had been inside the Great Megálos Forest, a forest located in the continent of Neráidá and the home of the Elf Kingdom.

Unconsciously, Belial found himself on a continent inhabited by various humanoid species. The plants, fruits, and animals around this place had their own uniqueness, characteristic of the Neráidá continent.

Belial may not have fully realized this fact yet, but he would soon discover the hidden secrets and beauty within this forest, as well as the lives of the communities that inhabited it.

* * *

Sploosh!

"Ah, so refreshing..."

Several hours had passed, and Belial had completed all of his training. Now, he was cleaning his body in the nearby flowing river.

He was there without any clothes, completely naked. However, since Belial had never seen anyone in the depths of this forest, he didn't have to worry about anyone seeing his naked body.

Drifting in the water with his face visible on the surface, Belial pondered something in his mind.

"Is it time for me to leave? However, my strength hasn't fully recovered, and that's a concern for me."

Belial continued to sink into his thoughts until, without realizing it, his body also sank into the water.

For hours, he contemplated at the bottom of the river, letting his thoughts flow. Belial was indeed intelligent, but currently, his mind was confused and felt trapped.

If he decided to leave this vast forest now, he was worried that he would face dangers he couldn't handle with his still limited strength. However, if he continued to train, he felt bored with the routine.

Belial didn't feel lonely because in his two previous lives on Earth and Gehenna, he always lived alone, without friends, partners, or family.

Although he had many subordinates in Gehenna, they were not true family, friends, or partners to him.

Moreover, the demon women in Gehenna had frightening appearances, making him reluctant to engage in romantic relationships with them.

Blub... Blub....

"...!"

Suddenly, Belial opened his eyes and realized that he was at the bottom of the river. Without any clear reason, he suddenly felt out of breath, even though he had been at the bottom of the river for hours without any issues.

Swiftly, he emerged from the river, which only reached his waist.

"Ah, forget it. No need to think about it. The most important thing now is to restore my strength."

Finally, Belial decided to stay in this forest a little longer. He realized that it was crucial for him to fully regain his strength before deciding on the next steps.

Though he knew, it was all boring...

* * *

Several months had passed, and during that period, Belial continued to repeat the same routine over and over again: training, eating, sleeping. It all felt like an endless cycle.

Finally, his strength had reached around ten percent of his former power as the Demon King of Gluttony.

Belial wasn't sure why, but since he arrived in this forest, his training, which usually took a long time, had been accelerated within a few months. He was already approaching ten percent of the power he once possessed in his previous life.

Belial didn't have enough knowledge about this world, but he realized one thing: this forest held a lot of natural energy and magical energy (mana).

"But why did this kid end up stranded in such a massive forest?" Belial was still confused. The body he currently inhabited had its own mysteries.

"Actually, I don't care much about this kid's life. He's already dead, and now I'm the one controlling this body, so his life is not my concern."

The "kid" referred to was a 15-year-old youth with black hair and handsome red eyes. Belial chose not to pay too much attention to this young man's life.

"Alright, it's time to break free from this boring routine and leave this endless forest."

Finally, Belial took a firm step forward, leaving behind what he considered a temporary home. Although his heart felt a bit sad, he firmly refused to acknowledge that feeling.

"No, I'm not sad at all, and I won't consider this place my temporary home."

Belial continued walking, without carrying anything, as all his belongings were stored in the storage dimension he created by combining the Power of Void and the Power of Time.

'Power of Void.'

It is the ability that allows the user to harness emptiness with the energy limit of the user. With this power, Belial can create a limited empty space, and if combined with the Power of Time, that empty space will not be affected by the passage of time.

However, this is not like an inventory in a game that appears as a hologram screen. Belial's storage is more like a wormhole that connects him to an empty space where all his needs are stored.

Belial doesn't need to worry about weapons because he has the Power of Sword, which allows him to create swords as he desires.

(A: Power of Blade changed to Power of Sword, got it).

"I want to use teleportation ability, but it's not possible. The ability will only work if the location I want to go to is in my memory."

Belial's teleportation relies on memory or at least having seen the location he wants to go to. However, all that is in his memory is Earth and Gehenna, and teleportation to those two worlds is impossible as it requires a tremendous amount of energy.

And all that is present now is just this vast and large forest that he has seen, nothing else except this forest since he arrived in this world.

If he were still the Demon King of Gluttony, it might still be possible, but in his previous life, he never did such a thing.

"Who wants to go back to Earth in the form of a demon? If I do that, everyone on Earth will surely panic and consider it a sign of the impending apocalypse because of the appearance of demons on Earth, which is actually me. Damn...!"

Although Belial smiled bitterly at the thought, he quickly dismissed the idea and continued his journey to leave the forest.

During the journey, Belial continuously absorbed the strange and unique creatures he encountered using his Absorption ability.

He did this because those creatures tried to attack him. Among those creatures, there was a 30-meter-long giant snake with horns on its head and scales as hard as steel. Belial named it Phyton. There was also a black bear the size of a small kiosk that he named Black Kuma. Additionally, he encountered small creatures like mountain-sized rabbits with a single horn on their heads, groundhogs with burrows the size of a small child's body capable of shooting fire from their mouths, and many other strange and unique animals.

All those creatures met a tragic fate by becoming Belial's food or being swallowed using his Absorption ability.

Now, Belial has become the top of the food chain in the depths of the Great Forest of Megálos.

If the Elves were to witness his behavior disrupting the ecosystem like this, they would surely attack him with arrows and spirit magic. However, Belial is unaware of their presence in this forest.