Instead of my usual bones, muscle was forming.
It was a little gross, sure, but this level of bizarre, gruesome sight was downright cute by Demon Realm standards.
In the blink of an eye, my hand had turned into one flushed with healthy color.
Muscle formed over my rune-carved arm bones as well, and skin layered right over it.
Am I dreaming right now?
I looked back behind me.
A structure built like a castle gate.
It was the structure where the gate had opened ten years ago when nobles, knights, mages, and soldiers from all across the continent crossed over into the Demon Realm.
Right until the moment I stepped out just now, a gate had stood between those gate-like pillars.
Now the gate had vanished, leaving only empty air.
"!!"
Looking down at my palms, tears suddenly gushed from my eyes.
Further down between the two palms I was looking at, I had spotted my precious little friend(?), which I'd lost so very long ago.
I touched around my eyes with my hand.
Tears!
I could feel my taut face wet with damp tears.
The sensations from when I was human, before I was cursed and turned into a skeleton soldier—I. Can. Feel. Them!
I can feel it!
I have my senses back!
Me, when the most I could barely feel before was my bones being crushed or broken bones piecing themselves back together!
My fingers grew wet with tears.
I could feel the elasticity of the skin where my face and fingers touched at the exact same time.
To think I can feel sensations in such fine detail!
I have no idea how this sudden change in my body happened.
"..."
Not that it really matters.
I'm just endlessly happy to be back in a human body!
Even after the Lich who cursed me died, I had been forced to live on as a skeleton soldier—who would've thought I'd get my human body back!
For now, that alone is enough to make me deliriously happy.
Maybe getting out of the Demon Realm made the energy of the curse fade away.
First, I looked around my surroundings.
There is no one here.
Getting my human body back was great and all, but right now I was stark naked, which didn't feel so great.
That unfamiliar dangling sensation(?) was pretty distracting, after all.
"Tch!"
I thought about the subspace holding my underwear supplies, but I didn't have a magic stone on me right now.
Instead of just crossing straight over from the Demon Realm, should I have scooped up some dirt mixed with the Dragon Heart?
No,
Now that I've turned back into a human body, whether I can even use the subspace in the first place is questionable.
It's not like I can slice open my living flesh with a blade just to check my bones, right?
Anyway, right this second, I need clothes.
However,
The problem was that this gathering site for the Demon Realm expedition was a long way from anywhere people lived.
If I could use my subspace, I'd be able to pull out the money and clothes the expeditionary army had entrusted to me.
GRRRMBLE—!
"!"
No way...
I'm hungry!
A physiological reaction I hadn't felt once since becoming a skeleton soldier.
First, I should eat something.
Worrying comes later!
***
Crack, snap...
The burning wood popped and crackled.
Over the fire, a rabbit skewered on a long wooden stick was roasting away.
Grease dripped down and hit the firewood.
SIZZLE—!
All the running around I did to catch that rabbit and all the trouble I went through to start a fire felt completely rewarded.
The smell of the fat dripping from the rabbit and burning in the flames was enough to drive a man wild.
"Never thought I'd use you to carve up rabbit meat. Sorry about this."
After checking that the meat was almost fully cooked, I picked up my shortsword.
It was the sword that had played a decisive role in taking down the Demonic Dragon.
Not to mention it was a magic sword that even had the nickname 'Dark Reaper.'
Though it was a shame it had no special magical abilities other than restoration magic.
In any case,
Its virtues of being sturdy and razor-sharp were undeniable.
Even without putting much strength into it, the rabbit meat sliced right through with ease.
I chewed the meat.
"!"
A taste that made my eyes fly wide open.
I'd been on a forced fast for ten whole years.
It was just rabbit meat roasted without a single spice, yet it was a feast of flavor so intense it nearly numbed the taste buds on my tongue!
Since it was lean, the texture was a bit dry, though.
Tears of emotion rolled down my cheeks on their own.
Forget slicing it into neat bites!
Gripping the stick skewering the roasted rabbit with both hands, I started tearing right into it.
And,
"..."
There had definitely been a roasted rabbit here a second ago, and now it was gone.
It was practically half bone, half meat. In other words, there wasn't nearly as much to eat as I'd thought.
Anyway,
Now that I'd taken the edge off my hunger, it seemed about time to head toward a city where people lived.
Just as I stood up from my spot,
Flop.
My precious little friend, which I still wasn't used to, swung between my legs.
It had kept bothering me while I was running around catching the rabbit earlier, too...
If I walked into a village where people lived looking like this, wouldn't I get branded an exhibitionist lunatic and stoned to death?
Covering up at least my precious little friend seemed like the best way to avoid being called a madman.
I stared at the rabbit pelt hung over a tree branch.
Cover up just my precious little friend with that?
Since the rabbit fur is black, wouldn't that look even weirder?
"Tch!"
Not good.
It looked like I needed to catch at least one white rabbit.
Heading to a village where people lived was on hold for a bit.
Because I'd just remembered what I was forgetting.
Right now, I'm...
Thirsty.
I'd only thought about food and completely forgotten about water.
Feeling thirst for the first time in ten years made it sink in all over again that I had truly become human.
Besides,
Getting from here to a village would take more than a week of travel.
Back when I was a skeleton soldier, it would've been nothing, but now that I had a human body, setting out with zero preparation could get me killed.
"...Wait, can I actually die now?"
A question popped into my head.
For some reason, the word 'death' felt unfamiliar.
While living as a skeleton soldier in the Demon Realm, I had survived doing all kinds of insane things.
Acting as bait to lure demonic beasts, testing whether enchantment magic could be carved into human bones, whether the spells would actually activate, and so on...
Most of the inhuman orders and experiments from the knights and mages were things no living human could ever endure.
Like checking whether I could stay alive with my neck bone severed, or if restoration magic would still work after my skull was smashed—stuff like that?
"..."
Come to think of it, I went through a lot of horrific shit while I was there, didn't I?
After they put me through all that madness, when they ordered me to go inside the Demonic Dragon's belly, I had seriously considered it for a moment.
The thought of defecting to the Demonic Dragon's side.
In any case,
I'd better prepare thoroughly for the journey.
At the very least, I shouldn't die some absurd death.
Time to move!
***
I was in luck.
After finding a cave, I was in the middle of making a door to block off the entrance.
Wild beasts must have lived here, seeing as there was a slight musky stench, though it wasn't unbearable.
Just being able to smell makes me happy, too.
Since it's one of the senses that reminds me I've truly become human.
It was a good thing I brought Dark Reaper back from the Demon Realm.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to hunt, nor could I have chopped down trees to build a door for the cave.
"Done!"
It was rough around the edges, sure, but this much would keep mountain beasts out.
I'd also hollowed out a log and fetched enough water to drink.
Compared to my life in the Demon Realm, this place felt like genuine paradise.
Over there, even the trees commonly came alive and moved around.
The sun still hadn't set.
I picked up Dark Reaper.
What's the point of sitting around idle?
I should at least get some hunting done.
It'd be great if I caught something big like a wild boar.
If I turn it into jerky, it'll make the best travel food.
I headed into the forest.
I planned to gather anything and everything edible no matter what.
After finally making it out to the human world, I couldn't just live alone in a place like this.
All I wanted was to prepare what I needed for the trip as quickly as possible and set off.
"?!"
As I walked, the sole of my foot stung.
I'd only stepped on a twig, yet it hurt quite a bit.
Back in my bag-of-bones days, it wouldn't have bothered me at all.
Parts like this seemed to be the downside of having a human body again.
Of course,
Even that stinging ache was proof that I was alive, so it actually put me in a good mood, too.
***
Four Orcs were walking along at a leisurely pace.
They were an Orc scouting squad.
Three of the Orcs walked with worn glaives resting on their shoulders, while the remaining Orc carried a bow.
Their mission was to survey the area around the Orc village and identify any potential threats.
"Grrk! Squad Leader, we'd better not go that way."
"Snort! Why? Scared?"
When one of the Orcs spoke in a frightened voice, the Orc carrying a fairly decent glaive sneered.
He knew why his subordinate was afraid.
At present, the Orc scouting squad was heading toward the bizarre stone structure built by humans.
"A lot of the guys who went to scout that way last year ended up dead. Grrk!"
"I'm not that stupid. It's the chieftain's orders to find out if any humans are around. The moment we spot humans, we turn right back. Grrrk!"
When the word 'chieftain' left the Orc squad leader's mouth, the remaining Orcs kept walking with reluctant faces despite their fear.
Because the chieftain's orders were absolute.
A small-scale Orc village in particular had no choice but to be wary of humans.
If humans formed a subjugation force and marched on them, their small Orc village could be wiped out in an instant.
"Grrrk! Hold up a second. Stay sharp from here on..."
Stopping in his tracks, the Orc squad leader warned his subordinates and scanned the area before freezing.
Right then,
Something dropped straight down from the tree where the Orc scouting squad had halted,
CRACK-RIP—!
Following a dull impact, the Orc squad leader's head split vertically in two.
"H-human!"
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, the remaining Orcs frantically gripped the glaives resting on their shoulders.
"You tasteless pig bastards, I need you to die for me."
Having lopped off the Orc squad leader's head without a word of warning, a stark-naked human frowned.
It was Bellun.
Running into what had been the expeditionary army's most common sentient food source(?) in the Demon Realm right here in the Human Realm gave him an odd feeling.
'I needed shoes and clothes anyway, so this worked out great.'
That was the reason Bellun had attacked Orcs he had no intention of eating.
"T-tasteless?! Grrk!"
"Scary! Human scary!"
"Run! Grrrk!"
The three remaining Orcs were terrified by Bellun's nonchalant demeanor.
Because the look in his eyes treated them not even as quarry, but as 'food.'
On top of that, the presence of an apex predator radiated from Bellun's bearing.
A dread so overwhelming they couldn't even dare attempt resistance.
The instant the Orcs turned to flee, Bellun kicked off the ground and leaped.
FWSSH—!
Slashing the neck of one of the turning Orcs, he lunged past and thrust Dark Reaper straight ahead.
THUNK—!
Driven into the Orc's back, the tip of the blade pierced right out through its chest, and Bellun let go of the hilt.
Then he snatched the rusty glaive from the collapsing Orc's hand and hurled it with all his might.
The glaive punched straight through the back of the last Orc turning to run.
"My body is definitely heavy."
Wearing a dissatisfied look, Bellun wrenched Dark Reaper out of the fallen Orc's back.
The biggest regret about becoming human again was that he couldn't display the same rapid mobility he'd had as a skeleton soldier.
After frowning for a moment, Bellun looked down at the dead Orcs and beamed.
Crude as they were, he had easily scored the supplies he needed, including boots and leather clothes.
He began stripping items from the Orc corpses.
After tying the loot tightly with cords the Orcs had been carrying, Bellun looked down at the dead Orcs in hesitation.
"Pass on the meat."
He had never tasted it himself, but he remembered the faces the expedition troops used to make whenever they ate Orc meat.
He had zero desire to experience it firsthand.
Now that he even had a bow and arrows, there was no need to force down food(?) infamous for tasting awful.
Still,
'If I leave them like this, more Orcs might come swarming.'
That would be a pain.
He didn't think he would lose to mere food(?), but if their numbers grew too large, it could get dangerous.
Besides, with his body feeling so heavy right now, it was hard to expect the mobility he'd had as a skeleton soldier.
After mulling it over briefly, Bellun sliced the dead Orcs' bellies wide open with Dark Reaper.
With practiced ease, he picked out only the livers from the three Orcs' organs and ripped them out by hand.
Why do something like this?
Because Trolls, one of the natural enemies of Orcs, were picky eaters that only plucked out and ate Orc livers.
Having staged the scene as the work of their natural predator and moved the Orc corpses aside, Bellun slung his loot and a deer carcass over his shoulder and left the area.
While rejoicing over a successful deer hunt, he had overheard the Orcs chattering away and set up an ambush.
He had left the cave stark naked, but on his way back he was wearing boots and had his lower body covered with an Orc's leather skirt.
Arriving back at the cave, Bellun moved busily.
He skinned the deer and butchered the meat into cuts.
Inside a makeshift hearth built of stacked stones, he propped up wooden skewers of sliced venison and shoved charcoal embers underneath.
He was copying how the soldiers used to smoke meat back in the Demon Realm.
He had actually helped out with the work back then, too.
'Though I never thought I'd end up eating it myself.'
After checking that thin wisps of smoke were rising steadily, Bellun tore into a piece of fire-roasted venison.
The items he'd taken from the Orcs were a huge help.
In particular, the leather waterskin was a vital item for Bellun, who had a long journey ahead of him.
"If only I could use my subspace, I could've set off right away."
Bellun clicked his tongue.
If he had a magic stone, he could open the subspace and pull out the supplies stored inside.
He wouldn't even need to dry the smoking venison—he could just toss it straight into the subspace.
"!"
Bellun's eyes widened as if something had just occurred to him.
It struck him that there might actually be a way to open the subspace.
The things he had dreamed of while living as a skeleton soldier in the Demon Realm.
With a body that couldn't even sleep, he had stood night watch and shared countless conversations with the other sentries on duty.
He had passed those tedious nights talking about all the things he wanted to try if he ever turned back into a human.
One of them was,
Building up magic power through the training method taught by the knights, just like the other soldiers.
A training method that had been disclosed to every soldier so they could survive in the Demon Realm.
The driving force that had allowed them to fight the Demonic Dragon was that even ordinary soldiers could use magic power.
However,
Bellun alone had been unable to practice the training method.
Even though he had learned the mana training method directly from the commander, his skeletal body had refused to accept mana.
Because he had no flesh and blood for the mana to dwell in!
'But now I can do it!'
Slightly excited, Bellun sat down in a comfortable posture.
'Divine Breathing,' which he had learned from the commander of the Demon Realm expeditionary army and his lord.
Though a simple breathing technique, it was remarkably effective for sensing the currents of energy flowing through one's surroundings.
Even so,
When it came to the mysterious power called mana, they said a fast learner took a month, while a slow one might train their whole life without ever sensing the energy.
Calming his mind, Bellun breathed in accordance with the teachings.
"!"
He took a light breath, and not only could he feel the surrounding energy, it came rushing straight into his lower abdomen.
On top of that, the energy gathering in his lower abdomen began condensing into the shape of a bead.
The 'source of power' spoken of by the commander who had taught him Divine Breathing.
A 'Core,' which supposedly took at least half a year of training to form, was now complete in his lower abdomen.
"How is it this easy?"
Didn't they say it was hard?