Anything to Survive in Hell: From Weakling to Tyrant-Chapter 16 Sightsing in forest

After searching for a long time, I finally found a decent spot. Of course, I was incredibly tense and scared the entire time. I had no idea when some beast-like monster might burst out and kill me.

I immediately started digging the shelter pit.

"Fuck."

But there was no shovel again! The only tool I had was the hand axe! I had packed a shovel, but it was in the backpack I couldn’t bring. Because of its size, it wouldn’t fit in my coat.

There had never been a moment in my life when a shovel was as desperately needed as right now.

Digging the ground with a hand axe was honestly better than using my bare hands.

"Kuaaaaak...!"

It was incredibly difficult!

But I had no choice but to dig. I had no separate hideout. I took off my coat completely, folded it aside, and dug the ground with all my strength.

"Huu...!"

Even doing that was hard. Right now I was completely alone. There was no one to guard my surroundings. Digging the ground while keeping watch all by myself was truly exhausting.

I was fucking anxious.

While digging, I kept scanning around me. At this rate my work efficiency was rock bottom. Even if I only focused on digging it would take ages, but I had to stay alert the whole time.

"Ahhhh!"

A scream burst out of me!

"You fucking bastard!"

I still couldn’t get used to the flying creatures that kept popping out! The shock felt like my heart would burst...! Seriously! If only I had one or two subordinates right now!

Right now I was supposedly a Demon King, but I really had absolutely fucking nothing.

That was truly regrettable.

Anyway.

For several hours I dug while trembling with anxiety and sweating buckets.

"I’ve finished digging...!"

Finally, I succeeded in digging a decent pit to a satisfactory level!

"Good."

I should have dug it deeper, but the sun was slowly starting to set. If it got dark in this situation I’d be screwed. I’d die. The darkness of the forest would swallow every bit of light.

It was better to call it a day here and crawl inside, even if it was a little uncomfortable. I could dig more tomorrow.

There was no time to celebrate. I immediately darted around collecting long branches and large leaves from the surroundings. With those I made a simple roof over the pit.

"Complete."

Entry was supposed to be a jump, but since I couldn’t do that I crawled in normally.

The feeling of becoming a snake... After fully sliding my body into the cramped shelter pit.

"!"

Thrill.

A thrill... enveloped my entire body!

"Oh, ooh...!"

Joy felt like it would burst out, so I immediately shoved my fist into my mouth! Sounds of emotion leaked out anyway! Now! Right now I was inside my hideout! That felt incredibly reassuring!

This feeling, as if I’d returned to my mother’s womb...!

"Yes, this is it."

This is my Demon King’s castle, you bastards.

Originally everyone starts like this. Look. Haven’t I properly constructed a Demon King’s castle? I just need to start from here and develop. I can do it. Didn’t I find water and dig a shelter pit today?

I can do it.

I can do it.

While constantly repeating that to myself, I pushed back the surging anxiety. The joy of success was fleeting. Soon the outside became completely dark, and the darkness brought even greater fear.

...

Since I’m a demon, my night vision is sharper than a human’s.

That was my only comfort.

"Anyway."

All the strength drained from my body. I immediately opened my canteen and gulped down water. Haa... Now I had found a water source. I had a hideout too.

Tomorrow when the sun rose I’d make some kindling. I’d also improve the shelter pit.

"Demon King, my ass. Fuck, it’ll be fortunate if I don’t fucking die tomorrow."

I missed Karla.

I was about to lie down and sleep, but I immediately took a defensive position instead. It was cramped and incredibly uncomfortable, but I got into the most optimal stance I could.

Anyway... with this tension and anxiety there was no way I could sleep right away.

"Then I should do ether training."

I wanted to train dark magic while looking at the tome, but it was too dark now. Naturally all I could do was ether operation in this stationary position.

The more ether I used, the clearer the sensation became. Moving and operating ether inside the body consumed it. Then it recovered. That was the foundation of ether training.

If you repeated it, there were times when the maximum amount increased. Karla had told me this, and I was already feeling a faint effect.

"Huu..."

Slowly breathing in and out, I focused on my interior. The entrance to the shelter pit was well covered with a lid... Still, I stayed ready to escape at any moment. Reminding myself of that.

I operated my ether.

...

Ether moved throughout my body. I could feel it. And the ether consumed by the movement became faint black smoke, tiny as a mouse’s dick, seeping from my skin.

Because of that smoke an evil aura of ether filled the cramped shelter pit. It was truly incredibly faint, but having that aura around me somehow made me feel at ease. Was this what it meant to be a demon, even in name?

That was how my first day in the Mortal Realm passed.

"Fucking sleepy."

I was so anxious I couldn’t properly sleep.

Suddenly a huge hand might reach in and snap my neck — such ominous imaginings wouldn’t stop.

And the unknown monstrous screams echoing in the dead of night seemed to gnaw at my mind. There was. In this wilderness, which I couldn’t tell if it was a forest or a jungle, there was definitely some strong monster.

Because of those bastards I was too scared to live. Was this how people with movie phobia felt? These were truly a Demon King’s tears.

"But why are there no bugs?"

Surprisingly, I couldn’t find any bugs at all during the night. When you think of forests you think of bugs. And when you think of bugs you think of forests.

Even when I was in the military, if we trained in the mountains bugs would swarm us. Especially mosquitoes — there were fucking tons of them.

But I wasn’t bitten even once.

Were there no mosquitoes in this Mortal Realm? For that, I saw plenty of flying insects during the day. That was truly strange. Whatever it was, it was a good thing. If I didn’t get bitten by mosquitoes then it was fine.

"Could it be that they don’t bite me because I’m a demon?"

That would be fucking awesome.

Fuck, born as a demon, this was the first time in my life I thought something was fucking awesome.

"Good. Then shall I start today’s routine?!"

Immediately, using the water from my canteen, I simply washed my face, then picked up the hand axe. Today’s tasks were simple. Repairing the shelter pit and... finding something to eat.

"Fuck."

I only drank water yesterday.

So I was fucking hungry.

If I was hungry I couldn’t recover ether. I had to eat something, no matter what. Although the fruits I collected yesterday were still perfectly fine, I couldn’t eat them yet.

"Hunting."

I had to hunt.

"Monsters."

Just yesterday I saw many small monsters while moving around. Bird-like creatures with all sorts of brilliant colorful feathers or crests. Lizards the size of dogs, things like that.

Whatever it was, I’d try hunting for now. I’d do the shelter pit repairs a bit later.

Thinking such thoughts, I advanced.

As I went I didn’t forget to leave marks on the trees with my hand axe. The surroundings were truly dense, so I could never memorize the way by seeing it for just a day or two. I absolutely had to make marks.

I was making marks and pushing through the vines like that.

"...Kek."

At the sudden sound I darted my body toward the bushes and quickly lowered my stance...! A sound was heard! And it was clearly the sound of a living creature!

Could I use it as prey?!

Or was I being hunted?

An extreme binary choice! So this day had finally come! Today, fuck, one of us was going to die no matter what!

"!"

Gripping the hand axe, I scanned my surroundings. I read the terrain. I formulated an escape plan on the spot, and if there seemed to be a chance of winning I decided to immediately bring down the hand axe.

Thinking that, I steeled my mind. I’d never done anything like this before, but I had to do it now! Absolutely!

Come. Come...!

As I was scanning my surroundings like that.

"Kek... Kegeugeuk..."

The sound became clearer.

I listened closely again.

"Kekeugeuk... Keuk..."

As if.

A sound as if it were dying.

Could it be an injured monster?

The sound was small. No. Just because the voice was small didn’t guarantee the monster was small, but right now it seemed to be making those groaning sounds by itself, frozen in one spot.

"..."

I involuntarily swallowed.

Should I check? Should I go and see what it is?

Risking danger?

"...I have to."

It was all the same anyway. Whether I risked danger here or not. Whether I died being hunted. Or starved to death because I couldn’t hunt.

Or died from eating poison because I couldn’t overcome hunger — it was all the same. I had absolutely nothing. Nothing at all.

For such a being there was nothing to be gained by always acting stably and cautiously. Only by risking danger and making bold choices could one progress.

So I would check.

Slowly.

I moved my steps very carefully.

Toward the source of the sound.

As I pushed through the bushes and cautiously examined the scene like that.

"Huh?"

I saw it.

"Kerereuk... Kereuk..."

A child lying injured... No?! It’s not a fucking child?! What was lying there was some fucking inhuman midget with incredibly bumpy green skin!

And a midget with the face of a completely old geezer!!!

A hooked beak-like nose, like a witch’s!!!!

"Goblin!"

No other word came to mind!

It was similar to that!