Chapter 21

Turns out, psychologists can actually be useful. I told her everything I thought about women, and somehow, it felt lighter. The pain Eliza caused me—when she told the orphanage kids I could speak—faded. But I won’t talk to her again. Let her be content with what she has.

Those two hours were well spent. I won’t delete the character. That’s where my family is—my mother and father, my home, my city, my village. I’ll fight for my place in this world. If I could make it to Hell, I can make it back. Yeah, they might kill me, but I can kill too. Until level five, I don’t get debuffs from not eating, and I don’t die of hunger. Now I can keep grinding. I have books, determination, time—and I’ll create opportunities and advantages myself. And I’ll get my revenge…

Damage taken: 500 units (Ignored: 421 units)

HP: 82/200

Physical Damage Resistance +0.02%

Physical Damage Ignored up to 442 units/sec

Mental Damage Resistance +0.01%

Mental Damage Ignored up to 2 units/sec

Vitality +1

Life Magic +1

Life Spell Efficiency +26%

Meditation +1

Mana Regeneration Speed +5%

Endurance +1

Spirit +1

Now this is something new. So, part of the damage I took was mental body damage. And most importantly, everything’s growing—core stats, secondary stats, skills, and resistances.

Debuff gained: Astral Anchor

Effect: Cannot move more than 30 meters from current location.

Duration: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds… 58… 57…

Oh, and there’s Vaalsi. Not a problem anymore, though—I’m in no hurry now. Hell can wait for the great Vaalsi. I wasn’t planning on leaving until I could survive here freely anyway. If there’s an opportunity, I should grind.

But I don’t like the chance of being spotted and killed. Nearby was a lone rock with a convenient overhang. As I walked toward it, I noticed I was leaving footprints in the ash. Father… thanks for this. I swept away my tracks leading to the rock. At its base, right under the overhang, I dug a hole in the ash with my hands and sat cross-legged at the bottom. I lightly covered my head with ash. My left hand, tucked under my shirt, pressed against my body—that way, I could keep healing myself. Now, only my eyes were visible. The key was not to suffocate.

Camouflage +230

Oh yeah, I’m the king of stealth! Spotting ash on an ash field would be hard. I buried myself just in time. Two massive level 213 gargoyles landed on the rock I was hiding under.

"Harol api, gorum zel ishvan."

"Ghul Haros tush hek, zumo aprem."

"Ushral."

Knowledge Area: Demon Tongue +0.001%

The more you hear and repeat unfamiliar languages, the faster you learn them.

So that’s how it works! I’ll repeat their words once they leave. Gotta check the logs. The first intelligent inhabitants appeared on the horizon—a whole squad of demons—and began inspecting every ash pile. Lucky I thought to bury myself in a hole. Then fear set in.

First, I saw the ash rise as if something was crawling beneath it. Soon after, I saw the demon itself.

Demons, Carrion Worm, Level 117

It was terrifying watching those worms slither just two meters away. Meanwhile, imps of all levels and types were searching for me. In four hours of fruitless hunting, they must’ve cast at least a hundred spells. By the end, they started probing the ash with their weapons. The whole time, I listened to the two gargoyles perched above me. The more I listened, the more I understood. More and more phrases became clear—apparently, the capsule automatically translated words I’d already learned.

Finally, they flew away.

A squad of ten demons remained: two worms, four minotaurs, three imps, and one blindfolded possessed.

Demons, Hell’s Mourner, Level 172

By level, he was the leader—and the worst part was how he kept sniffing the air. Sometimes he got dangerously close, and my heart would drop into my stomach.

Debuff gained: Veil of Darkness

Effect: Complete loss of vision.

Duration: 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds… 58… 57…

This was the hardest day. My hair stood on end, I was drenched in sweat, and at times, it felt like the Mourner was stepping on the ash right above my head—I could hear him inhaling. I felt every movement—the worms writhing in the ash, the minotaurs’ hooves compacting it. I started hearing the demons’ conversations clearly, even from a distance.

Ability gained: Imp’s Eye

Imps have no eyes; they see through dermal vision and detect sound waves within a hundred meters.

I’ll take any ability that helps me survive. But my hearing only worked at full range if there were no obstacles—otherwise, it dropped. Perception was effective up to thirty meters. I was almost glad for the temporary blindness. My head spun a little, and only after twelve hours could I consciously control the ability’s sensitivity. I just had to focus on hearing or touch to get a general sense of an enemy’s distance and direction.

The psychologist decided to punish me with psychological torment. Every day, she summoned me to this virtual space. I sat in my corner and kept to myself. On the third day, as an experiment, I turned on sound. She was playing the piano—a pleasant, unfamiliar melody. That day, she played for the full two hours.