At night, I secretly slipped into the forest again, practicing the magic to turn into a human. I tried many times without success, thinking it might be because the magic circle wasn't drawn correctly. I revised the magic circle and cast the spell again. This time, it worked! Imagining myself as I was in my youth, I transformed into my high school self. Looking at my hands, they were human palms, not a dog's paws. Excitedly, I ran to a nearby river to see my reflection in the water. Sure enough, it was me from my student days—amazing! I was so happy I could hardly express it. But not long after, the magic wore off, and I turned back into a dog. It seems magic can't permanently turn me back into myself. Disappointed, I shook my head. Still, transforming into a human for the first time in this world gave me a huge boost of encouragement. I need to keep working hard to regain my human form soon!"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why did it turn out like this? Fleeing in such a pathetic state—what kind of lousy hero am I?" Kaiya roared through tears. "Don't be too hard on yourself," Emily comforted him. "No, I'm going back to my country right now. I'll find my master and beg him to train me more, to make me stronger," Kaiya declared. "That's not a bad idea. Tianlai Sheng is still relatively safe for now. You and Emily head back there, while we stay in the Kingdom of Xiustan," Judo agreed. Joe added, "We got careless. The enemy was stronger than we imagined. If it weren't for Emily, I'd be a corpse by now." Sisi said, "His speed was insane. As an assassin, I was defeated. We couldn't even handle one of the three demon generals—defeating the Demon King is just a pipe dream." "Sorry, we'll leave the Kingdom of Xiustan to you for now. I need to train hard and gain new strength to stand against the Demon King's army," Kaiya said. After their farewells, they split into two groups and parted ways.The next day, I went with Bona and the others to deliver goods as usual. While in the city, I overheard citizens talking about the Demon King's army approaching. It seems even the capital isn't safe anymore. I need to hurry up and learn—time is running out. With these thoughts, I returned home. At midnight, I continued practicing my transformation. First, I cast the spell to turn into a human, then the second spell to conjure a sword. Picking up the sword, I started practicing swordsmanship. Though I'd never learned any sword techniques in my previous life, I swung it earnestly, trying to make myself stronger, until I ran out of stamina and turned back into a dog. I feel like I can maintain my human form longer now—maybe I'm getting used to this magic. Sneaking out every night to practice has left me mentally exhausted lately, and I've been sleeping in almost every day.A few days later, as Bona and I were about to head out for deliveries, we heard a villager shout, "The demons are here!" We immediately looked over and saw a small squad of demon soldiers and several magical beasts approaching the village—about a few dozen in total. It's unclear whether they were passing by or launching a surprise attack. They noticed the village and started closing in. "Women and children, flee first! The rest of the men, follow me!" the village chief yelled. Bona's father joined the group heading out. "Dad!" Bona cried. "You go hide with your mom. Little White, protect Bona for me!" "Woof!" I barked in response. Watching Bona's father's figure fade into the distance, I had a sinking feeling things wouldn't end well. I wanted to help, but I also had to protect Bona, so I retreated for now. After ensuring Bona and her mother were safe in a tunnel, I ran back out to support the villagers. By the time I reached the battlefield, most of the villagers were down, and Bona's father lay injured on the ground. I barked fiercely at the demon army. One of their beasts lunged at me, but I quickly used a shock spell to take it down. The others charged too, their speed too fast for my magic to hit. Then Bona came running back, shouting, "Little White, where are you?" The demon army noticed her, and a soldier grabbed her. "Woof!" I barked in fury. What should I do in a situation like this?
