After taking a much-needed bath, she inspected the wounds on her body. She was a bit disappointed that she had to ruin such a beautiful body, but it was the price to pay if you wanted to fight. Part of her knuckles had exposed bone, and her entire body had small bite marks and stab wounds, but she didn’t feel a lot of pain. She was already accustomed to pain back on Earth; pain became addictive to her.

  ‘You know you’re alive if you feel pain. I will need to look for herbs of sorts and tend to my wounds.’

  She flexed her hands just to make sure if she could still use them, but noticed that her skin was growing back as it covered the bones. Her wounds also slowly disappeared. It was simir to what Fang did; her entire body was back to normal as if she had never been in a fight to begin with.

  ‘This is very awesome.’

  She wanted to fight more and push this new body to the limits and truly understand it. She had already concluded that she had superhuman strength, stamina, and durability.

  ‘If I had a fraction of this body's abilities, I would have wiped those punks out, tsk.’

  She made her way back to the cave and was greeted with deer carcasses and dry wood neatly pced, and a stack of marble-like balls to the side. Fang was busy cleaning the cave, while Scales was on guard near the exit as a small snake.

  “You all did very well. You two go and bathe. I will prepare dinner.”

  “Yes, master!”

  They answered in unison as they both bolted out. Adeline started to prepare the food as she collected the hides, hoping to make new clothes out of them ter. When they came back, a small campfire was made with several skewered pieces of meat cooking. She turned her attention to the small marble-like balls, which had different colors.

  “Are these the magical cores you told me about, Scales?”

  “Yes, master.”

  “Do you just eat them, or is there a process you have to follow?”

  “We normally just eat them, but that is a given since we consume the entire body.”

  The thought of eating those goblins gave her a bad aftertaste as she simply stared at the magical cores.

  ‘Oh well, bottoms up.’

  Adeline ate one of the cores and swallowed it like a pill. After some time passed, she felt a warm feeling spreading through her body.

  ‘That felt good.’

  She took another core and promptly ate it and waited for the same feeling. She decided to take two at one time, hoping it would feel twice as good. The warm feeling turned into strong heat, which made her uncomfortable, so she decided to eat one at a time.

  “So, does this mean I can use magic now?”

  “I am sorry, master, but I don’t know.”

  “I see. Tomorrow we need to find the goblins’ ir. Maybe there are clues.”

  “Yes, master, we will prepare adequately.”

  Scales answered obediently as Adeline continued to consume the cores like candy. Once the food was done, the group ate, savoring the taste of the tender meat, a well-earned meal. The next morning, Adeline woke up from her makeshift bed of hides. She stretched her body with a light yawn. She got up and instantly felt something was amiss. She inspected her body thoroughly, but nothing seemed odd.

  ‘I feel different, yet normal. Odd.’

  As she emerged from the cave, she saw Scales standing guard while Fang cleaned the general area. They suddenly stopped and bowed in front of her.

  “Master, we greet you.”

  “You look very beautiful today.”

  They praised her as usual. She didn’t actually hate it, but it was becoming tedious.

  “You need to tone down the praising. I am not a king or god.”

  “How can we? You’re greater than any king. You have two horns and the etching of a true demon.”

  “Horns? Etchings?”

  Adeline didn’t inspect the one part of her body she couldn’t easily see: her face. She traced her head and noticed her horns had grown bigger, now slightly visible and more pronounced. They were slightly bending backward and were harder. Adeline rushed to the pond and stared down at her reflection. She now had red lines from her eyes down her cheeks, with her eyes now glowing blue. This contrasted greatly with her white skin, making her look otherworldly.

  ‘So beautiful.’

  Adeline always looked like a jockey covered in scars and muscles, making her look like a soldier who went through multiple wars. She touched her face in disbelief, feeling her soft skin as a tear rolled down her cheek.

  “Master, are you alright?”

  Scales approached her cautiously and waited just behind her.

  “I am fine, Scales. Let’s go.”

  Scales enthusiastically climbed and wrapped herself around Adeline as the two returned to the cave. After eating leftovers from the previous day and rationing the remaining food and water, they set out. They walked for a straight day as they dispatched some goblins along the way but never encountered anything dangerous. On the next day, they were on the border of her territory as they stared into a deeper forest, which gave off an ominous feeling.

  “From here on, it’s not master’s territory.”

  Fang warned as he braced himself. Adeline was well versed in invading other territories. It was second nature to her, so she knew exactly what to do.

  “It would be a shame if someone set a fire.”

  Adeline spoke with an evil grin as they all stepped into uncharted nds.