Kapitel 7: Knowledge is Power

I took a single step forward, and as my foot hit the ground it felt as though my head was splitting from the inside. All kinds of information came flooding into my head from the humans I had absorbed. Information about this world, being forced into my head all at once. Images flashed in my mind of moments I had not experienced, memories that weren't mine. Collapsing on the floor, I grasped my head. Pain Nullification can only help with physical pain, this was a different sensation altogether.

The Altan Mountain Labyrinth was located near the City of Altanvia, which is known as the Gateway Between Worlds. Located between two mountain ranges, it separates the North, where the demon lords reign over man and beast alike, from the South, where the humans and the Southern Holy Church reside. Currently, diplomats from both sides are attempting to persuade King Altan IX. Altan is a young man, just twenty-two years old , and was forced into the role by the assasination of his father. It is unknown which side was responsible for the assasination, but both sides blame the other in an attempt to gain the young king's favor.

World tensions are rising, as the Southern Holy Church has declared demon-kind to be a scourge on the world and that their very existence was an insult to their god. However not all demons are inherently evil, just as not all humans aren't inherently good. The last part I know all too well from my past life, how truly cruel humans can be.

I guess humans aren't that different in this world huh? Starting wars and slaughtering innocents all in the name of "god." It's absolutely repulsive.

Altan IX wants nothing to do with either party, as he knows that one of them had his father killed. The balance of world power rests in his hands, as whoever holds the city could use it as a launch point for their army. Decades ago Altan's father, Altan VIII, had killed the Overlord of the dungeon. He felt that they posed a threat to the people of his city, and he didn't want to take chances. This makes the people of Altanvia believe that the demons had killed him in an act of revenge. The pain was starting to subside, and I stood up from the floor.

It would be way too obvious for the demons to kill him, this could be a ploy from the Church to gain Altan's favor. But the fact that Altan hasn't sided with them yet makes me believe that what he lacks in experience he makes up for in intelligence. He suspects both parties, but hasn't uncovered just who it was yet. If I were to find out, I could score favor with the king. As much as I hate it, I might have to play politics once I get out of here. I don't want to be a target for either party after all.

I began to walk forward, following the cracked tiles from the minotaur's heavy footfalls and continuing to ponder the world around me.

I'll have to scout out both the demons and the Holy Church to figure out which side I would rather be on, if it ever came down to a fight. Although the Holy Church probably doesn't treat monsters very well, huh?

After obtaining knowledge of this world, your skill Magic Sight has morphed into Magic Detect. This skill can be used as a sixth sense in order to detect mana from nearby entities. All living things emit an aura, as all living things have mana. Activate Magic Detect?

Yes

It was as though I was opening my eyes again for the first time, I could sense the mana and magical energy in the air, and any slight change in them. There was something hiding up ahead, so I readied my sword and approached slowly. The closer I got, the more I could make out the shape of the creature. It appeared to be a rather large centipede, waiting to ambush its next prey. As I took another step, the centipede launched itself at me and crashing head first into my blade. It had black scaly armor all over it's body, so my sword had little to no effect on its head. Glowing red eyes stared back at me, and I knew that my sword would be useless here. I jumped back, sheathing it on my back and preparing to fight using magic instead of a blade.

"If I can't cut you, I guess I'll just have to burn you then!"

I used my new Fire Manipulation skill and sent out a blast of purple flames, similar to a flamethrower. The centipede scampered onto the ceiling to dodge, but I followed its movements perfectly and launched another blast. It hit the centipede square in the back, causing it to fall to the ground. I hadn't killed it, but I had weakened its armor. The blast of flame had charred it's scaly body, and some of the armored scales were cracked and chipping away.

I guess I need more firepower huh? Fine then!

I pushed my palms out in front of me, using the gap in my hands to aim at the centipede.

"Magic Cast: Lesser Fireball!"

Just as before, a magic cirlce appeared in front of my palms and a large ball of purple flames launched towards my opponent. The flash of light made on impact was blinding, causing me to avert my eyes for a brief moment. When I looked back, the centipede was dead, completely charred. The scent was awful, but the opponent was dead. I walked back towards the dead creature, readying my Skill Vacuum.

If that's how strong a Lesser Fireball is, I'd hate to see how powerful a Greater Fireball is!

Answer: A Greater Fireball has both longer range and greater firepower than a Lesser Fireball. It is comparable in strength to an ICBM missile from your previous world.

SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? THATS INSANE OVERKILL!!!

I used Skill Vacuum on the centipede and absorbed all of it. The armor ability it had will probably be useful later.

NOTICE: Aquisition of the Skill: Body Armor is successful.

Fantastic, now I have built in armor whenever I need it. Well then, I guess its time I got back to finding a way out of here. That minotaur seems like a pretty obvious "Final Boss" for the Labyrith, so I'll keep heading that way.

And so I continued walking, tracking the Minotaur back to its lair. I still didn't have nearly as much physical strength as the minotaur, but I did have one advantage, strategy.