Chapter 7: Growth and the First Encounter with Humans It’s been half a year. In this time, I’ve slain thirteen fire-breathing gray bears and countless rabbits. The crystal I obtained from the seventh gray bear finally freed me from the barbaric life of feasting on raw flesh. By channeling magic into that stone, I could create flames! However, my magic power was still too low, so I couldn’t even use it to stay warm. At first, even cooking a single meal would deplete all my magic energy. But after acquiring the ability to start a fire, Mr. Self-Identification suddenly shined brightly, revealing a ton of information! Most importantly, I learned I could now see my own magic power through self-identification. Sure enough, igniting flames with crystals is a form of magic—just as expected in this otherworldly land. In the beginning, my magic power in normal form was only 2 points, while in ghoul form it shot up to 53 points. To maintain a flame suitable for roasting meat for five minutes, I’d need to consume 1 point of magic power. But controlling the flame was a challenge in ghoul form, and if I went overboard, I’d zap all my magic energy! Plus, if my magic power hit zero in that form, I would lose consciousness and faint. So, starting a fire in ghoul form was immediately ruled out. When in my normal state, I had already become proficient with fire! Plus, if I ran out of magic while in that form, I only felt slightly fatigued—not fainting unconscious. Moreover, if I first shifted into a frenzy state and then switched back to normal human form after a bit, there was roughly a one-in-three chance that my magic power would be replenished (this probability was something I figured out after ten days of research while trying to control the flames to cook). I happily practiced transforming while recovering my magic power, and after a month, I became quite skilled in roasting meat. Indeed, the need to improve one’s quality of life is the source of human progress. After countless times of depleting my magic in normal state, I felt my magic essence subtly increasing each time I recovered. Eventually, I could light a fire to keep warm at night. Over a year later, I learned from Dante and Yulia at Poseidon Fortress that the increase in magic power was due to…

Chapter 6: How to Start a Fire It’s been nearly a hundred days, and throughout this time, I’ve been trying to figure out how that giant bear breathes fire. During my sixth bear chase, I didn’t manage to grasp the secret of the flames, and now here I am, decked out in a massive, warm bear fur cloak, facing off against the seventh giant bear—of course, in a frenzied, ghoul state. This gray bear should be a firepower-enhanced type; its claw swipes are easier to dodge than the first six, but its fiery breath is almost non-stop. Hmm, what great experiment material! I’m studying its breathing pattern, certain that it has some kind of fire mechanism in its body. This time, with my now sharper senses, I must uncover how the giant bear breathes fire. The fiery spray from the gray bear is exceptionally fierce. The heat must originate from somewhere inside it—not from the throat; I confirmed that during our last confrontation. So, is the flame generated by its heart? I hide in the gap between its paw and the flames, getting closer to the giant bear and preparing to deliver a solid blow. However, the flames don’t go out; they only weaken a bit. Crap, it’s so hot, I got burned! So, the heart should only provide the burning energy. Then the real ignition source must be here! I plunge my hand into its body, pulling out a chunk of stone that looks like solidified lava from above the heart. It’s so hot! The flames vanish in an instant, but my hand turns red from the “steaming” heat—so hot! I quickly fling the rock on the ground, but the searing pain in my hand becomes the last straw that breaks my sanity, and I once again lose all sense and lunge at the giant bear, ready to tear it apart. Though I’ve lost my rationality, I’ve more or less gotten used to this feeling of my body being controlled by frenzy. Watching my ghoul self fight the giant bear feels like I’m watching a movie while trying to regain control of my body. Just as my frenzied body prepared to strike the bear’s left foot, I once again seized control. Ah, this pain and urge to kill are such a hassle! After regaining control, I freeze up, and the giant bear slaps me away, sending me crashing to…

Chapter 5: Wilderness Survival Those giant bears are definitely targeting me. This marks the fifth time in two months that I’ve landed in this dreadful bear-hunting situation. Let’s just get it over with; I’m tired of running away. I threw caution to the wind, ready to confront the beast. Time to show you that even a “normal” person can make some progress before losing control! I dodged the first two swipes from the grizzly bear and, in the fleeting moment before its roar, leapt high, aiming for its eye with my bone tip. A short, pitiful whimper replaced the mighty roar, and once again I was swatted to the ground like a pesky fly. Is this the end? I assessed my injuries, thinking I’d soon be slipping into madness again. I need to keep my wits about me; I have to claim that bear hide! My skin began to take on a pale blue hue, as if all my lifeblood were pooling in my eyes. My already reddish pupils now burned crimson, the whites stained a sinister shade of red, and two deep crimson lines, like dripping tears, carved down my face. My fingernails elongated and sharpened as I rose slowly to my feet, unleashing a terrifying sneer at the grizzly, reminiscent of a silver-haired demon under the silvery moonlight. I did it! I finally stayed aware amidst this intense pain. “Hahaha…” But it hurts so much! The pain shows no sign of abating. Let’s just wrap this up quickly; who knows when I’ll lose consciousness again. Easily slipping away from the bear’s claws, I slashed a gaping hole in its belly. The bear let out a cry of agony, unleashing flames more ferocious than any I had experienced before in its roar. My attack was effective! First task: tear off a complete piece of its hide. I deftly dodged the bear’s fiery wrath, leaping onto its back, swinging the Ghoul’s Bone with all my might against its massive skull, interrupting its breath. As it staggered in pain, I swiftly turned to its flank, cutting away a large, intact section of skin, and with a sinister smirk, tossed the bloody trophy aside. Just a little longer—I still need to figure out how the fire works… I thought, my consciousness slowly blurring. Am I at my limit? My mind was once again dragged into the deep waters of pain and bloodlust,…

Chapter 4: The Two-Year-Old Female Half-Blood Ghoul in the Forest On the first day in the forest, I wasn’t very hungry, probably because I had already eaten my fill during the previous frenzy. But I suppose it’s only natural during the growth stage; after taking a nap in a random tree pit at night, I woke up the next morning with my stomach growling. First things first, I needed to find something to eat, while also checking my current physical abilities. Even though I was still just a two-year-old, being a ghoul meant I had certain advantages. Just like two-year-old wolves should be able to hunt on their own, I figured if I put in a bit more effort, I could manage to catch something as a two-year-old ghoul. With that thought in mind, I fixed my eyes on a family of wild rabbits in a nearby hole. Although they were wild rabbits, they were about the same size as my two-year-old self, with blood-red eyes, snowy white fur, and splinter-like horns on their heads, resembling my own current appearance. When I had previously used a puddle to observe myself, I discovered that my hair was also silvery-white, my eyes a bright crimson, and I had a short, blunt horn on my forehead. Once my bangs grew long enough to cover my forehead, I should look no different from an ordinary human. As long as I stayed quiet about it, no one would realize I was the same species as those ugly, clumsy ghouls. After all, being a hybrid, I looked more like those white wild rabbits over there; even my horn was similar to that of their young. Indeed, I was eyeing the young rabbits of that family. The horns on the older rabbits looked terrifying, sharp like blades, and were about my size. If it came down to a fight, I was sure I’d be knocked out by one of their iron heads. But it seemed like there were two baby rabbits in the wild rabbit’s nest, and they were my hunting targets. Once the mother rabbit left, I could sneak into their burrow and take down the little ones. I silently planned this out. Even if I could only eat them raw, it was still better than eating other ghouls. Don’t blame me; I was just trying to survive after all; it had already been a day…

Chapter 3: Self-Identification “Logic: Infection of the White Spider Larva has activated, Frenzy: Curse of the Black Goat Calf has been temporarily lifted.” A voice as devoid of emotion as machinery echoed in my mind, the pain melting away like ice in fire as I regained my sanity, standing in a snow-covered field surrounded by the forest. The pure white snow was stained red with blood, and ghoul corpses were scattered around. My hand, claw-like and iron-hooked, slowly returned to chubby little hands of around two or three years old, and the pale skin began to take on a rosy hue. I tried to take a step forward, and lo and behold, I could walk! How long had I been stuck in that monster’s womb? Why was I born looking like a two or three-year-old child who could walk, and what was up with this body? What did the armored man mean by “half-blood”? Am I a monster or a human? Moreover, I confirmed that my current body lacks a little something: I had definitely become “female”! What a series of unfortunate events. But I remembered that mechanical voice mentioned I could self-identify. If that’s the case, I might be able to figure out what’s going on. Thinking that, I hesitantly looked at my bloodstained hands. My stomach wasn’t hungry anymore; maybe I did something outrageous when I went berserk, like eating those ghouls. Ugh, that’s so gross—better not think about it for mental health’s sake. Anyway, I needed to concentrate and self-identify! So, like a fool, I raised my hands as if preparing to transform and shouted, “Self-Identification!” “Caw caw…” Nearby crows were startled by me, flapping their wings as they flew away from the ghoul corpses, landing on a tree to stare at me with strange eyes. Nothing else happened. Seriously? Now even the birds think I’ve gone mad! I squatted down awkwardly, hugging my head. Boohoo, even the crows feel sorry for me. Just as I was thinking that, bizarre information flooded into my mind. This self-identification seemed to actually be useful; at least, I wasn’t embarrassed for nothing. I quickly browsed through the information while in a squatting position with my head hugged. ————————————————————— Race: Ghoul Half-Blood Status: Frenzy – Curse of the Black Goat Calf, Logic – Infection of the White Spider Larva Skills: Great Demon Tribe Language, Self-Identification Other: Ghoul Eater ————————————————————— That’s it?…

Chapter 2: Shabu Nicholas’s Gift Festival So, I’ve definitely died, huh? Is this warm ocean the world after death? I’m floating in a ridiculously large red water mass—it feels so surreal. After a few days, I carefully examined my tiny hands and the body still connected to the umbilical cord. I finally confirmed that I must be an unborn baby. But why am I in such a vast pool of blood? Is this some new artificial human science? So boring! These days, I’ve learned freestyle and breaststroke. By the way, how does butterfly stroke work again? Back when I didn’t know how to swim, I could barely float with breaststroke, but now I can swim three and a half laps around the pool. At this rate, am I going to be the first baby born already mastering all swimming strokes? So boring! I feel like I’ve mastered both butterfly and backstroke—why did I ever think water was terrifying? I’m so good now that I’m even trying to improve the dog paddle! Someone pull me out of this experimental tank! So boring! Lately, I’ve started checking out my neighbor in the other water tank. After exploring the edge of my tank, I found there’s another tank of a similar size next to mine, and inside it is a tall brother. What a sci-fi setup! Is medical technology in my country already this advanced? So boring… wait, crisis! I’m under attack by that big brother next door! I always thought he looked suspicious, but today he actually tore down the membrane between us and bit my neck with an eating frenzy. Ahhh, I’m gonna die! Just as I thought that, a sharp pain hit me, and then a strange voice echoed in my mind. “Authority injection, infected by the white spider larva’s protector.” “Infection complete, logic: infection of the white spider larva established.” “Curse suppressed. Due to logical interference, chaos: the curse of the black sheep cub encountered an error during loading.” “Error elimination, failure.” “Error elimination, failure.” “Error elimination, failure.” “Error elimination, failure.” “Error elimination, failure.” “Error elimination, failure.” By the time I regained my senses, the mechanical voice has echoed in my ears how many times, and half my body had already been bitten off by that brother next door. That fierce-looking dude let go of me, looking satisfied, and returned to his tank. But I’m still alive! And thanks…

Chapter 1: Silya Forest The Silya Forest is a towering woodland resembling a fortress, separating the desolate, icebound Ice Continent from the vibrant, four-seasons Gaobo Continent. The forest stretches endlessly, starting from the Arcs Mountain Range in the west and reaching the Bonnie Coast in the east. It divides the continent into two, acting as a barrier for Gaobo, blocking the cold winds and miasma from the evil undead of the Ice Continent. This has allowed Gaobo to thrive for thousands of years, creating conditions for the civilizations of various races like the Common People Tribe, Beastman Tribe, Dwarf Tribe, and Elf Tribe. But where there is light, there is shadow—nothing is an exception. According to the ancient histories of Gaobo’s historic nations, the Silya Forest was constructed by the Great Demon Tribe and the once-flourishing Fairy Tribe after the decline of the undead civilization in the Ice Realm. They built this defensive forest to repel the endless invasions of evil undead. However, after centuries of harassment, their achievements have long been stolen by other races. The Great Demon Tribe, once revered as mountain gods by the ancestors of the Common People Tribe, has descended to become mere mercenaries and hunters at the borders of Silya Forest. The once-mighty Capital of the Fairies, now reduced to ruins, stands as a testament to their lost civilization—fairies becoming wanderers bereft of their homeland. The guardians of the Silya Forest, the border warriors of fairies and Great Demons, over countless years became infected by the miasma from the north. A small number interbred with the undead, forming a new race known as the Demon Race, while most, due to prolonged exposure to the miasma, mutated into ghastly ghouls—powerful yet insane creatures. Their descendants have lost their last shards of reason, devolving into beast-like ghouls—the very creatures that now roam the entirety of Silya Forest. As the days and nights passed, the undead from the Ice Continent faded from memory, and the ghouls of Silya Forest emerged as the new threat. In the cold-stricken Silya Forest dwell low-intelligent yet frost-resistant monstrosities known as ghouls. People know very little about their ecology, only that every few years, a unique individual called the Ghoul Matron is born among the tall and heavy carrion-eaters. The Ghoul Matron is much larger than regular ghouls and continually births ghouls as long as it lives, resulting in a massive surge…

Chapter 16: The Capture of the Ghoul “Ugh, what a setup! These fully-equipped soldiers are clearly here to capture me,” I thought, eyeing the cavalry in heavy armor riding their mighty steeds, internally rolling my eyes. Dante might look like a ridiculously strong idiot on the surface, but he’s actually quite the strategist. He purposely made me drain my magic and exhaust myself just to take advantage of the firelight I emitted to show his subordinates where he was. Now in this situation, the hunters surely wouldn’t come to my aid. The only one on my side, Yulia, was also out of magic like me. Although she didn’t seem as tired, she wouldn’t stir up any trouble either. No, the moment I was surrounded, my escape was pretty much doomed. What should I do? With such an exaggerated display, they surely don’t plan to execute me on the spot, do they? “Hey, Vice Commander Feng, what are you doing here? Doesn’t the fortress have someone in charge now?” But seeing Dante’s silly question made me think I had overestimated him. He really is just a dumbass, huh? “My subordinate assessed that the situation here was more urgent, so upon receiving your message, I immediately gathered the elite troops,” Vice Commander Feng replied. “Urgent, my foot! Look, we’re about to head back,” Dante said, casually picking me up off the ground as if I were a rag doll. “But according to your communication, wasn’t there a fourth-class ghoul named Alice that was discovered?” “Ah, are you talking about her?” Dante hoisted me toward the cavalry leader like I was a toy. “All units, remain alert!” Vice Commander Feng shouted as he nervously raised his lance upon seeing me. The cavalry, clad in shining armor, also readied their weapons, aiming lances and bows at me. However, Dante completely ignored his subordinates’ actions, signaling for them to lower their weapons while appearing deep in thought. “Ah, I remember now! Wasn’t the special ghoul management regulation revised a year or two ago?” Dante suddenly seemed to have an epiphany, staring at me and then at the cavalry, foolishly asking. Yet, the room fell silent—no one answered him. Dante sighed and said, “Anyway, I’ll take responsibility for escorting this fourth-class ghoul back to the fortress dungeon. Vice Commander Feng, get off the damn horse!” “Yes, Sir!” Vice Commander Feng immediately dismounted as instructed. Then Dante…

Chapter 15: Handling Ghouls “Well then, according to the regulations for managing special ghost species, from this day forth, Alice will be under my supervision.” Dante concluded the discussions with Maern and the others like he was delivering a closing statement. “But, I never expected that Little Alice could actually transform into a special ghoul!” “Kaiding, you’ve been teasing Alice-chan for months now, you’re quite the brave one.” “Even Reim just now was trembling in fear.” “Your turn to speak now, Kus.” “By the way, isn’t Alice supposed to change back to her original form?” Reim, standing at a distance, asked me with a quiver in his voice. Indeed, once I showed my ghoul form in front of them, our relationship would never return to what it was before. Although the hunters tried to maintain a calm façade while speaking to me, aside from Maern, fear and hostility were evident in the eyes of the other three. “You look cooler this way,” Yulia said, sticking close to me and signaling to the hunters that I wasn’t dangerous at all. “It’s hard to revert back to human form immediately after transforming like this,” I explained. “Let’s keep you in ghoul form for today. I’ll need your help with something later,” Dante said. “No way, I feel awful like this.” “Is that so?” Dante said, lifting me into the air with a look of curiosity, “Speaking of which, I’ve never seen red tear marks like yours. And with that silver hair, your sister must not have noticed she succeeded—could it be that you’re actually that guy’s child?” “Dante, you monster, don’t try to claim kinship with Little Alice.” Yulia jumped up and grabbed me. “Aren’t you also not human yourself, Dante?” “Didn’t I introduce myself earlier? Now, can I take off your clothes? I want to thoroughly study your ghoul form.” Dante began to tug at my outer coat. “Stop! Let go of me!” Just as my dignity was hanging by a thread, I managed to revert back to my original form, and Dante, sensing the right moment, let me go. The outcome of Dante’s negotiation with Reim and the others meant that I—being a special type of ghoul—had to live under Dante’s supervision, while the newly discovered ghouls were a brand new subspecies never seen before, and their bodies had to be handed over to the military for disposal. However, it…

Chapter 14: The Ghoul Ambush in the Forest After watching Dante’s figure disappear deep into the forest, Yulia began to set up defensive barriers around us. The glimmering light of her exquisite spell was breathtaking. Yulia smoothly recited the incredibly convoluted incantations, skillfully casting extremely complex magic, leaving Maern and me dumbfounded as we watched her. “Impressive.” Once Yulia finished, the hunters and I praised her in unison. “Thank you for the compliment,” Yulia gracefully lifted her skirt and bowed to us, “but I think creating flames in the forest like Alice here is even more impressive.” The blonde-haired, blue-eyed noble young lady, a mage, was truly incredible. This fantasy world was amazing, and I couldn’t help but hug this adorable little being. “Group hug.” “Group hug! Alice is really affectionate!” Yulia gently petted my head. Being a child was absolutely wonderful. Though I had initially resisted this body, as Yulia became more attached to me, I now relished every moment of her warm embraces. It was simply marvelous. So, we casually enjoyed our closeness while waiting for Dante to return. But before long, something unusual stirred in the forest. Three large ghouls we had never seen before came barreling toward us. “Damn, three of them!” “Aren’t they supposed to fear fire?” “Not afraid when I have my barrier.” “Just in case, Maern, hurry and grab the weapons.” The three strange ghouls were clearly closing in on us. The leading one easily pierced Yulia’s first layer of barrier with its black horn, roaring as it signaled the start of its attack. “Three? This is a bit tricky.” Even Kus looked serious. “Alice, protect Yulia!” Maern shouted to me before joining the others to confront the ghouls. The four of them executed their usual tactics, stalling the ghouls’ advance while waiting for an opening. But then, an unbelievable scene unfolded. Two hornless red ghouls unleashed fire breath simultaneously. Ghouls shouldn’t fear flames; they should inhibit their generation instead. Yet these two were definitely using flame attacks. Caught off guard by the fire breath from the ghouls, Maern and the others were thrown into disarray. The black-horned ghoul accelerated past the defense line, smashing through all barriers and looming over Yulia and me, letting out a deafening roar. “Oh no.” Maern shouted, ready to retreat, but was blocked by a fourth ghoul, the most dangerous Tear-marked Ghoul. Though the Tear-marked Ghoul stood…