Reborn as Demon Sorcerer

RADS 5. Gale Crush

“So, that is why it is quite different from what I know,” Sam said, noticing the black horn on its face and a pair of draconic wings on its back.

Sam, armed with the knowledge bestowed by the system, faced the manticore with a mix of curiosity and caution. “Hide,” Sam said, closing the screen to see the manticore in front of him clearly. The creature bore an unsettling aura. The feline human-face exuded a demonic malevolence that disgusted Sam.

As Sam prepared to engage, the air crackled with tension. The manticore's eyes glowed bright red, fixated on its newfound prey.

Suddenly, the calm air was shattered by a guttural roar that echoed through the forest, sending birds scattering from their perches. The creature lunged forward, using its black wings to pounce on Sam from afar.

Sam, agile and alert, evaded the initial assault with a nimble sidestep with the power of wind magic. Sam opened his palm toward the flank of the manticore. He was about to launch a wind push, but his mind seemed to instinctively think that fire would do more damage. The energy he circulated in his palm slowly formed a ball of fire. Then Sam unleashed his attack with a shout, “Fireball!”

The manticore got pushed and Sam also took a step back to a safe distance.

Sam chuckled. “Fireball … such a classic.”

[Magic energy 39%]

[Do you want to register “Fireball” as a new skill?]

“Of course. Fireball is a must!” Sam laughed again.

The manticore roared angrily and swung its sharp claws at Sam. Sam dodged and threw more fireballs. The manticore seemed more annoyed than hurt by Sam's attack. It launched its poisonous sting. It barely missed Sam's left hand.

The shocked Sam gives the manticore an opening, and it charges Sam, who throws more fireballs in panic. But still, none seemed to hurt the beast.

Sam had a deep frown as he dodged and kept a further distance from the vicious monster. “You said he only had poison and lightning resistance. Why has my attack no effect?”

[The demon is renowned, though not limited to their affinity towards fire, earth, and dark magi. Demonic influence might give the manticore fire resistance.]

“Fuck! Now, I’m left with only wind?” Sam tried a wind push into the manticore’s face. But as he expected, wind is not really a strong offensive magic, or at least he has no strong offensive wind magic skill yet.

While continuing to dodge the manticore's attacks, which turned out to be easy to read, Sam racked his brain trying to think of improvised magic that he could use to defeat this seemingly tireless monster.

Sam keeps throwing fireballs and wind pushes at the manticore until he has 28% magic energy left. As Sam gets tired, he is getting slower and the manticore almost tears Sam's body with its sharp claw. Fortunately, Sam created a wind sphere in time and blocked that attack. The manticore keeps punching the wind sphere, draining Sam's magic energy.

In a pinch, Sam got an idea. He released more magic energy to expand the wind sphere and pushed the manticore back. Then he vanished from the manticore line of sight. Not wasting the chance, Sam leaps forward to execute his attack plan. Sam made a quick jump to the manticore's back and focused his magic flow on his leg.

“Gale Stomp!” Sam shouted as he released the concentrated magic energy from his feet, crushing the manticore’s back. At the same time, the push flung Sam toward the sky again. Not distracted by the vista, Sam pushed himself back toward the manticore with wind magic. Then he created a wind sphere as he ground the manticore, killing it brutally.

Sam got off the monster's destroyed body. “Damn, it's much harder than I expected,” Sam said as he caught his breath.

[Magic energy 15%]

“I even use that much magic energy. How do I restore it, system?”

[You can eat, rest, or absorb energy from the ley lines.]

“What are ley lines?

[Ley lines are paths of magical energy that traverse the world. They are invisible and form a network of energy channels.]

“ Are these ley lines, like, everywhere?

[They cover a significant portion of the world. Dense intersections of ley lines often result in areas rich with magical energy, while isolated lines may hold unique properties. Understanding and utilizing these lines is crucial for proficient spellcasting.]

“Got it, magical energy highways. How do I find one?”

[Your current magic sense is unable to detect ley lines. You might be able to see it when you evolve the Arcane Insight skill.]

“All those explanations and I can not use them?” Sam remarked in frustration.

[For now, yes.]

Sam tried to get used to this cold system, but it still irritated him sometimes. He inspects the monster he just defeated, then says, “So, did I get any reward from this?”

[Unfortunately, as the system only mimics the information delivery method, the system can not give you any reward like the game you used to play.]

“What a bummer.”

[The system suggests you take the manticore sting as your own reward. It can be sold in the city for a good sum of money.]

“Oh, that’s neat,” Sam said. He pulled the segment of manticore sting from its dead and crushed body. “Is this the only valuable part?”

[Manticore meat is venomous and even more so of a demonic variety. It can be used for warlock rituals. High wizards can also use it to make magic potions, but common folk would not purchase it from you.]

“What a waste. I fought so hard only for a tail.”

[You can store the manticore remnant in the Dimensional Vault.]

“Is that like my inventory space?”

[Yes. It is like inventory space in game you used to play, but it works quite differently in this world. The Dimensional Vault is connected to the demon realm.]

“How do I use this dimensional vault of mine?”

[Use the command ‘store’ + ‘item’ to store in the vault.]

“Alright, let's try this. Store manticore sting,” Sam uttered the command, and a peculiar sensation tingled through his body. Moments later, the manticore sting disappears.

“Whoa, that was ... strange. Where did it go?

[The item has been successfully stored in the dimensional vault in the demon realm. Retrieve it by command ‘take’ + ‘item’ to take the item from the vault.]

Sam, curious, decides to test the retrieval command, and the manticore sting reappears in his hand. Then he stores it back with all the manticore parts still fairly intact. 

Well, that's nifty, Sam thought. As Sam inspects himself, intricate symbols, glowing with a subtle magical energy, have materialized on his chest and palms. “What are these weird symbols on my chest and palms?” Sam said as he tried to rub it off.

[The symbols are visual marks of the dimensional vault's connection to your being. They serve as a conduit for the storage and retrieval process. It is an indelible mark, a relic left within you by the wizard.]

The mark soon fades away, much to Sam's relief. He then pressed on toward the city with a wide stride. As he moved through the mystical forest, he senses a magic energy that is different from what the flora exudes. But he realized he had seen it before. It was the same type of magic energy as the manticore he just fought. “There you are,” Sam said with a grin as his desire for revenge began to swell.