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 something called the Void Expansion Principle. In simple terms, it means that every time my magic ran out and I successfully recovered, my total magic power would increase by 1% to 3%.

Though Dante claimed this theory was merely a scam created by scholars to swindle money, he was right! Not only was his swordplay superb, but he also had a knack for comedic idiocy—definitely the Dante that Yulia and I tease every day!

This growth rate is exponential! Even though I burned through my magic power daily when it was low, 1.01 to the 365th power results in a staggering number. From my humble beginnings with a weak magic essence, it allowed me to become a wizard capable of using magic at will—all thanks to this mechanism.

The military magic users, who took years to discover the Void Expansion, must be crying to hear such crucial information casually disclosed to me and Yulia—what a blunder!

Anyway, after six months of surviving in the wilderness, my abilities have significantly improved. Now, here’s the updated information I can see through self-identification.

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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, Frenzy – Ghoul Transformation, Hunting, Black Magic – Fire

Magic Power: 9/10

Other: Ghoul Eater, Rabbit Slayer

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I can see that self-identification has added a bar to display my remaining magic energy, indicating that I currently have 9 points of magic power left, with a total of 10. Yes, after half a year of uninterrupted practice and growth, my magic power in normal human form has now reached ten points!

I later learned that the average magic power level for normal common people tends to be around 30 points, but for a ghoul like me, who isn’t good at using magic, having ten points at my age is already quite an impressive achievement.

Though, honestly, no one has ever measured the magic power of other low-intelligence ghouls.

Also, my hunting skills have earned acknowledgment from Mr. Self-Identification, who has officially tagged it as a skill in my identification! Also, my ability to use fire has been solidified as Black Magic – Fire. I have completely mastered these two fundamental outdoor survival skills: hunting and starting a fire.

Now, I’m already a capable three-year-old hunter! And I’ve become quite skilled at using Frenzy – Ghoul Transformation; the last time I lost control was two months ago. Since then, whether facing massive bears or replenishing my magic power in transformation, I’ve perfectly maintained my sanity.

With my increased magic power and the sharp horns I got from rabbits, I can easily hunt rabbits even without transforming! I think I might be ready to graduate from hunting rabbits and move on to deer, since I’ve already eaten most of the nearby rabbits!

However, I still have no solution for those fire-breathing bears; I can only defeat them through Frenzy transformation.

Well, enough chitchat! As a newly-minted rabbit slayer, feeling desperate as if I were in a prehistoric world devoid of humans—today, after half a year, I finally encountered humans for the first time.

Four humans were surrounding a ghoul!