“Am I safe now...? Ugh!”

Since it was my first time flying through the sky, I ended up feeling pretty sick. At this age, old guys like me tend to feel all sorts of wear and tear on our bodies...

“Phew... seriously, what did I do to deserve this? I don’t know anything about this 'Demon Lord Summoning' stuff, but couldn’t they have called up someone younger? ...Not that being young would necessarily make it better.”

I landed far away from that massive, ominous Demon Lord's castle, and now that I was alone, I started to calm down a bit. This place looked like a wide, open field with no signs of roads or villages nearby.

“Yeah, there's no way this is a dream. So, what should I do from here?”

Being summoned to another world as a demon lord sounds like something straight out of a cheap novel, but it doesn't seem to be just a dream. The fear of almost dying earlier and the sensation of flying still felt all too real.

“I need to figure out what I can actually do. Status open!”

――――――――――――――――
Jin Nishio, 37 years old
Species: Human
Occupation: Demon Lord

Skills:
- Four Elemental Magic
- Spatial Magic
- Barrier Magic
- Accelerated Thinking
- Demon Lord's Intimidation
- Status Condition Resistance
- Enhanced Physical Abilities
:
:
――――――――――――――――

“Human species, but my occupation is Demon Lord, huh...”

Those guys back at the castle definitely weren’t human. And what’s with this ridiculous number of skills...?

There were nearly 30 skills listed in the translucent window that popped up. I didn’t have time to properly check earlier, but looking at it now, these skills seem pretty insane.

I guess I resisted the skeleton’s paralyzing lightning attack thanks to the status condition resistance skill. The slow-motion effect on the wolves was probably due to the accelerated thinking skill, and the way I was able to land a super strong punch was thanks to the enhanced physical abilities skill.

“Fireball!”

I called out the name of a classic fire spell from fantasy worlds, and a small fireball appeared in the palm of my hand, growing bigger little by little.

“Wait, wait, what?!”

The fireball grew larger and larger until it was over a meter in size. It only stopped when I willed it to.

“A fireball this big... And I can make it even bigger if I wanted to. This is just... crazy.”

In anime and manga, fireballs are usually about the size of a basketball. But this one was clearly much larger. Maybe that has something to do with my 'Demon Lord' occupation.

By the way, old guys like me enjoy manga and anime, too. I’d even call myself an otaku.

“Since it’s called 'Four Elemental Magic,' I guess I can use fire, water, wind, and earth magic. Looks like I can use a lot of spells.”

With just a thought, the massive fireball disappeared. So far, all the skills and spells I've used seem to come with an intuitive understanding of how to use them.

It’s similar to riding a bike; once your body knows how to do it, you don’t really need to think about it anymore.

“Yeah, this is definitely the power of a Demon Lord...”

After testing out all the skills listed in my status window, it was clear that each one was incredibly powerful. I didn’t know how strong the people of this world were, but I was confident I wouldn’t lose to anyone nearby.

I mean, I already took down two of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings, so they must’ve been pretty strong, right?

“So, what now?”

According to those guys, I’d need to gather a large amount of some substance called 'Magisteel' to return to my original world. Apparently, collecting enough would take about 10 years.

“But do I even really want to go back to my old world?”

Earlier, I demanded to be sent home, but it’s not like I have any particular reason to return. My parents have already passed away, and I’m not married, nor do I have kids.

Sure, I’ve got some friends, but would I be desperate to see them after spending 10 years here? And even if I did return, it’s hard to say how much would’ve changed in the world after a decade. There’s no guarantee I’d be sent back to the exact same day I was summoned.

“That said, becoming an adventurer or hero in this world seems kinda cliché...”

In most isekai stories, people with cheat abilities like mine tend to become adventurers or heroes. But it feels a little silly for someone my age to aim for that.

Sure, my body’s gotten incredibly strong, but it’s not like I’ve gotten younger...

“For now, I should find some people and think about what to do next.”

I’ve got a decent grasp on my abilities. Whether I’m trying to find a way home, become an adventurer, or even just live a slow life, gathering information in a village or town seems like the next logical step.

Also, it’s not a great look for an old guy like me to be standing alone in the middle of a field, talking to himself. Time to head into civilization and meet the people of this world.