I don't know how long I was laying there, but I had yet another dreamless sleep. Having the wolves gnaw on my bones had been a great alarm clock, but without them I’d found that I was actually a rather light sleeper. It had helped me avoid getting eaten whenever I had been investigating around the bear’s den, so I was surprised when I was startled awake by something tapping on my forehead.

  I frowned and shot up, shaking myself as adrenaline pulsed through me. I whipped around and looked behind me, confused by what I saw.

  It was an old man, but he wasn't thin or feeble in any way. Despite the long grey beard that covered his entire face, he was absolutely massive, having lumberjack arms and a body that had obviously been hard at work for its entire life. He was bare chested, showing off a silver moon mark that shimmered, and many, many scars. He regarded me with piercing silver eyes and a furrowed brow, his arms folded in confusion.

  He cleared his throat and his voice boomed through the air, sure, confident, and so powerful, “Wasn't sure if you were dead or not. Figured I might as well prod you first before I left you.”

  I tilted my head to the side and considered that for a moment. This was the first real person I'd encountered that wasn't trying to kill me or leave me to die. I should probably say hello, or maybe ask where the nearest settlement was?

  I cleared my throat and relaxed, giving him a little bow, “I- I'm sorry sir. I haven't seen someone in so long, you really caught me off guard. If it's not too much of an issue, could you point me in the direction of the nearest settlement? I'm afraid I'm rather lost…”

  The old man raised an eyebrow, and then turned and looked at the corpse of the snake nearby, not even bothering to answer my question, but instead asking one of his own, “Hmm… you did this?”

  I grunted in agreement, and nodded my head, “Yeah, the damn thing snuck up on me yesterday. Not before it bit- I mean… not before I killed it.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me, “Hmm… well the nearest town would probably be Sparbrook. It’s about a day's walk if you follow the river.” The old man tapped his thick finger on his shoulder and sighed, “I'll tell you what, kid. I've been looking for a hand to help out on my farm, and all my traps haven't been very lucrative so far. I'll buy this bynthon off of ya, and if it sounds good to ya, you can stay at my farm. Hell, I'll get you a new set of clothes too unless you have a set somewhere. There’s a spare room and bed if you need it as well.”

  I cocked my head to the side and tapped my chin thoughtfully. It wasn't that bad of a deal honestly. Hell, the only plan I had originally was to go into town, maybe find a mentor or an easy way to get strong, and then probably head off into the forest again. Maybe I'd get some help out of this guy? He definitely looked like he could crush my skull with one hand…

  I eyed his tree trunk arms, and stuck out my hand, “Sounds like a great deal! I accept! Alright, I just have some stuff in the tree over here, I'll be right back.”

  The old man raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything. After shaking my hand, he just took a step back, and started breaking down the bynthon. His motions were strong and efficient, and within moments, I watched him entirely skin it and then get to work on the rest.

  I gave him a nod and then leaped up into the tree, catapulting from branch to branch as I ascended higher. Thankfully I could still see my bag dangling from the top, the wildlife must not have even noticed it. I cracked my knuckles as I landed on the branch where I'd slept last. Hey, maybe I could even ask that old man if he'd ever heard of this Xian?

  I swung the axe and my cloak over my shoulder before I stepped off the edge of the branch, crashing through the air and leaves as I fell back down to the ground. I landed with a solid thump, causing a nearby pile of rocks to shiver and collapse. The old man didn't even say anything about the drop, having already hidden away the bynthon remains. As I walked up to him, I watched as his eyes snapped to the axe in my hand,a frown forming on his face. How odd…

  I shrugged at the obvious interest, and flashed him a grin. “Well, that's all I needed to grab. I’ll just follow behind…?”

  The old man just glared at the axe, before his eyes snapped over to me. Suddenly the air was knocked out of my chest and my vision went black for a moment as I felt myself slam back into the tree. I gasped for air, dizzy and discombobulated as I realized that at least half of my ribs had been shattered.

  I groaned and slowly stood up, beginning to drop into a fighting stance just as a massive hand latched onto my neck. It crushed my neck, choking me as it easily lifted me back up into the air and slammed me back into the tree, dragging my bare flesh against the rough bark. A meaty fist slammed into my side, and my just returning vision went blurry again. I groaned and my eyes snapped over to the old man, who was baring his teeth at me.

  He crushed me back into the tree, and growled more than asked me, “Where… is… Xian?”

  I bared my own sharpened teeth at him, struggling to dag in enough air to respond, “I… don't… know!”

  The man slammed his fist into my side again and spat, “Liar! That axe is his! No one else can wield it! So where… is… Xian!?”

  I flexed my hand into a fist and slammed it into his side, baring my now bloody teeth and staring him straight in the eye, “I… don't… know! I found it… buried… in the shoulder… of a… dire… bear!”

  Just like that, all of the rage and hate on the man's face vanished. He took a step back, releasing his fist from my neck and dropping me from the tree. I fell to my knees and coughed. I glared up at him and bared my teeth, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. He was staring into the distance, an unfathomable sadness in his eyes.

  I sighed and got up, leaning on the tree I'd just been pressed up against, “I take it, you knew the previous owner? I had intended to search for someone who may know that name in town, but if you knew them, the axe is yours by all rights.”

  The old man slowly turned from where he was looking, and glanced at me. “I… I am sorry. I… Knew… Xian. We used to adventure together. That old fool probably decided he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory…” He let out a long sigh and looked me in the eye. “My apologies young sir. I haven't even introduced myself. I am known as Wess.”

  He stuck out his hand and after a short hesitation, I shook it, “Nice to meet you Old man Wess, I'm…” I froze as I searched for a name, but coming up with nothing, I just shrugged, “Eh, I can't seem to recall. You can call me whatever.”

  He roughly shook my hand, and then pondered for a moment, “How's about I call you Will?”

  That caused me to pause, and with a grunt, I felt a small smile come onto my face, “You know what… that sounds… good. Will… I like that!”

  I let out a loud laugh and clapped him on the shoulder. Old man Wess just grunted and slung his pack back over his shoulder, before heading off into the forest once again, but not before I called out after him.

  “So… who is this Xian?”

  The old man didn’t respond to me the whole walk back, choosing instead to take his time detouring and checking various different traps. Most of them were empty, but there were a few that had something in it. Most of them had these small, round, and black creatures with round ears and a zigzag tail that Wess said were Ewin’s. Though there was this one that had a green four legged and hoofed beast with praying mantis limbs. Wess had called it a Fewn.

  That one had been quite odd… I was slightly happier than I had expected when he had released it. It had shaken itself and then darted into the nearest tree, vanishing into it as it came into contact with its bark.

  I’d been curious as to why Wess had let it go, but he had said so without me even asking, “Much too little meat on such a small one like this. Much too young as well. I only take the excess from this forest… remember this Will, for this is the most humane way to live.”

  I eyed Wess as they walked away, but made sure to memorize it anyway. I mean, it was a pretty fair statement, and I had no idea how long I’d be living with the old man anyway. Might as well follow his rules.

  It didn’t take much longer before we came across a wide clearing, full of tilled soil and various different plants. There were some bright pink round fruits, a patch of green spears that shivered and shook, and a growing group of vines that were growing large, black, and oval vegetables.

  On the far side, there was a fenced area that had been divided for various different animals. One was full of those damn turtle chickens, another had an animal that looked like a mix between a hog and an alligator, and another had a six limbed and eyed panther like beast, covered in a mucus that sizzled whenever it came into contact with anything living.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Then, behind all of that, there was what I assumed to be his home. It was a rather simple stone and wood building, but even from here, I could tell that it had been well made and upkept. The windows that were placed all around the home glowed a soft blue, and the wooden doorway was wide enough to fit at least two Wess sized people at once. From the stone chimney, I could see a small trail of smoke and smell something amazing cooking.

  I turned to Wess, who was grinning at the place, “Ah, good! It smells like dinner is almost done cooking. Why don’t you come inside? We can get more up to speed on exactly what your job is going to entail, and you can see your room, hmm?”

  I nodded and went to follow him inside, but I stopped, looking myself up and down, “I’m sorry but… I’m afraid I can’t really just walk in yet. I’m a bit… covered in blood.”

  He frowned and folded his arms, but after a moment sighed and shook his head, “You haven’t had a real good shower in a while huh… here, I’ll hose you off. You’re gonna have to wait for a nice hot bath unfortunately, I’m afraid the nearest bath house is all the way in Sparbrook.”

  I frowned and cocked my head to the side, “Bath… house? I’m sorry, but what is that?”

  Wess eyed me for a moment, before a wide grin spread across his face, “You don’t know what a bath house is? Haha… well that just makes the next few weeks even better! Hahaha!”

  I frowned, but shrugged and followed behind him as he walked over to where the pens were. I had noticed a few of the animals already, but as I got closer, I could see that there were even more, each of them more odd than the next.

  I couldn’t even look at them much, because I was suddenly lifted into the air again like I was nothing, and then unceremoniously tossed into a large pool of cold water. I grunted and tried to get up, but suddenly there was a large brush that clunked into me, and the sound of laughter. I growled and sat up shaking off the cold water.

  I glared at the chuckling Wess and spat out some water, “The hell was that for old man!? Have half a mind to kick your ass…”

  Wess laughed and cracked his knuckles, “Ha! I’d like to see you try! No, the water is mighty cold this close to the cranoss pit. So I figured it’d be better just to toss you in.”

  I growled and got to work scrubbing myself off, “Bah! I’m no stranger to the cold! There was no need you old foggy…”

  The old man chuckled and turned away, waving his hand above his head, “I’ll see you inside, eh? Make sure you get it all scrubbed off, I’d rather not have the venom eating away at my chairs. Just got them all fixed up by that new woodworker in Sparbrook!”

  I sighed and got to work scrubbing off all of the sizzling venom. What an odd old man… I like his harshness though. Straightforward. Just like I liked it. I grinned and sank into the cold water, breathing out all of my air as I scrubbed myself clean, watching the streams of venom and blood mix with the water.

  I took a moment to dry off before I headed in, whistling as I took in the comfy looking interior. I had expected simple and straightforward from the way that Wess had acted so far, but as I looked into a simple sitting room in front of a burning fireplace, all I saw were cushioned chairs and a rather nice looking sofa. On the other side of the room was a nice dining room set and a rather large kitchen that Wess was moving around.

  He whipped around as I walked in and flashed me a wide grin, “Ah, there you are Will! What took you so long, eh? Haha! I didn’t know that I would have any company tonight, so I had to make a few last minute adjustments! Come, come! Have a seat young man, I’ll be there in a moment!”

  I rolled my eyes but made my way over to the table and sat down with a sigh. They really were such nice chairs…

  Wess laughed and thumped a steaming plate of meat, fresh baked bread, cubes of pink fruit, and a bowl of a dark cherry liquid that smelled… Amazing… I let out a sigh and dug in, tearing into the amazing steak and tossing in piece after piece of pink fruit into my mouth. The steak was juicy, bloody, and though it was quite tough, the flavor was out of this world. The pink cubes of fruit were crunchy and juicy, but as I bit into them, an explosion of pleasant sweetness poured forth. They were perfect, and when I poured the dark liquid over them, it added a nice spicy tart kick that made my taste buds sing. The fresh baked bread just brought it all together, and I excitedly used it to sop up all of the juices that had pooled onto the plate.

  Wess laughed and used a knife to carve off a piece of the meat, “You know it’s not gonna grow legs and run away from you! Haha! Though I must say, it does bring this old man some great pleasure to see someone enjoy my cooking so much… Last time I had such an eager guest was ages ago…”

  I chuckled and leaned back, “Haha… Either way, this is an amazing meal, old man! Someone could really get used to eating like this… I can’t believe that anyone would ever choose to leave here!”

  Wess chuckled and set his silverware down, eyeing me with a frown, “You know… I think it’s about time that we had a good ol’ talk about each other.”

  I froze mid bite, and then slowly set down the meat, swallowing the bite I had in my mouth, “... Oh yeah? What did you want to know?”

  Wess pursed his lips and eyed the axe that I had left by the doorway, “There’s a lot of course… but I guess that where we start is all up to you. I like to know about my employee’s before I start training them.”

  I sighed and pursed my lips, “I guess that’s a fair policy… I don’t really have much to hide though. I woke up one day within the dire wolves den, and after a long period the Dire Bear came and took over the den, scaring those damn hounds away. I was able to kill the damn thing using that very axe, which was buried in its shoulder, and had actually intended to find anyone who could give me information on who it could have belonged to… guess I could call that checked off since it seems you knew them once. After that, I was intending to find a mentor, some way to get stronger, or something that could help me with my missing memories.”

  Wess hummed and tapped the table, “I see… well to answer at least one of your questions, yes, I did know that fool Xian… she was a student of mine a long time ago. Left on a mission to get stronger in her ‘own way’... the last I ever saw of her.” Wess sighed and rubbed his forehead, “I imagine she had a grand old battle… Thank you for finishing it, Will. You know… I am something of a trainer myself. If you wouldn’t be against the idea, I could train you. Maybe teach you some good ways to get stronger.”

  I grinned and nodded, “I’d love that old man! Frankly, I don’t remember much about this world, my own personal status, or what exactly any of this means.”

  Wess grunted and got up, and after vanishing into one of the rooms, he came back carrying an orb, “This is what we call an olken orb. It allows others to see your status in its entirety. If you wouldn’t mind, would you place your hand on it?”

  I eyed it, and nodded, reaching out and placing my hand on it. It swirled and spun for a moment, before spewing up an immaterial screen with my name, race, level, abilities, and skills, just like the one I could pull up.

  Name: Will

  Race: Chimera

  Level: Sixteen

  Title: Dire Slayer

  Abilities:

  Enduring Heart

  Unending Vitality

  Death's Favoured (Incomplete)

  Skills:

  Sprint (Veteran)

  Sword Slash (Initiate)

  Pierce (Initiate)

  Acid Resistance (Initiate)

  Claw (Initiate)

  Bite (Novice)

  Wess stared at it for a moment, casually tossing some of the pink cubes into his mouth and musing to himself, “Hmmm… I see… novice… initiate… veteran!? Haha!” He leaned back in his chair and grinned at me, “You haven’t been fighting for long it seems, and it looks like besides for being relatively durable, you don’t seem to have many good offensive or tactical skills. We’ll work on those first. As for those abilities… ha! You’ll have to be careful about how you use them, the last of Death’s favoured I met… Well, to say the least, it’s really no wonder that you have no real memories. Both those skills require you to sacrifice your past self, though in different ways. And… hmmm… you said you didn’t know your name before right?”

  I nodded and eyed the Name section of my status, “Yeah… it’s been just a question mark this whole time.”

  Wess sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Ah… I hadn’t realized that when I’d offered you the nickname… you really liked it eh?”

  I grinned and nodded my head, “Hell yeah I did!”

  Wess sighed and then grinned at me, “Ah, I guess that’s fine then. If you ever decide you don’t like the name, you can just ask around at the guild, they usually have a pretty talented magus that’ll help you out with that. As for your memory… Unfortunately only a god or an ascendant could help you out there. Sorry kid.”

  I frowned and eyed the knife and fork next to the plate. I guess… that would make sense. I did briefly remember Verdant mentioning that I’d have to sacrifice much before sending me back… and I doubted that Grim’s gift was really any different.

  Hmm… now that I think about it… it was pretty weird, that I knew what a fork was, or a chair or even how to speak… if I had really been raised and born like a wild animal, I shouldn’t be able to know any of this… I couldn’t remember ever doubting what I knew, as if it was all just second nature to me.

  I shook my head, sending my long hair in a halo around me, “You know… that does make sense. So, when do we start? And how can I help you with your farm and home upkeep?”

  Wess harrumphed and finished eating the last half of his bread loaf, “Works all done for the day, so I’ll have you help me out at day break. As for the training… ha! I’ll put you through the ropes in the afternoon and evening. I’ve already got a few exercises in mind… hahaha…”

  I worriedly watched him as he grinned and rubbed his hands together. That was… worrisome to say the least. Though… How bad could the training be anyway? He was just an old codger…

  Wess cleared his throat and stood up, “Alright, well, we’ve both had quite the long day. You more so than me it seems. Come, I’ll show you where I was and store dishes, and then I’ll show you to your room.”

  I nodded and grabbed my dishes and followed, making sure to scrub them thoroughly like he showed me. He seemed to have a similar hose to the one outside, and when I asked him how it worked, he just mentioned that he’d had a water mage set it up so that it would pull from the water within a well that the house had built on top of.

  After that he’d shown me to a rather small and simple room. There was a single bed, wide enough for two people if they snuggled up to each other, and had a small fireplace and a comfy looking chair in the corner.

  I turned to thank him, but he’d already vanished, leaving the house silent and seemingly empty. I frowned, but shrugged and tossed my bag in the corner. That damn old man was like a wraith… I’d have to keep an eye out for him… My senses told me that I could trust him, which is why I had agreed to go with him, even after he’d almost ended my life.

  I flopped on the bed and rubbed my neck, letting out a long sigh as I traced the grains in the wood. I’d made it to my next step… whatever this entailed. I had no doubts that the old man could definitely show me a way to get stronger, but… that also made me wonder.

  I had two strong abilities, but aside from my sprint skill, I was pretty weak. Grim had mentioned that my life hadn’t begun here when I had last seen him, but what exactly did that mean? Am I not of this world? And if that’s so… where did I come from? Did I even want to go back?

  I sighed again and clenched my fists, squeezing tighter and tighter until I felt my claw-like nails pierce my hands and draw blood. I hesitated, but quickly wrapped my hand in some of the bearskin, making sure not to let any blood drip on the ground.

  After the bleeding stopped, I bared my teeth and ran my tongue over each of them, humming to myself as I felt their sharpness. I had changed… and while I had no doubts in my mind that I was a beast now, I wasn’t exactly a human anymore. A chimera… that’s what Verdant and Grim had called me, right? A mixture of several different beasts… apt, considering what Grim had mentioned that they had to do.

  A ghost of a smile flashed across my face as I felt my hand heal, and I flopped back on the bed and looked at it. I’d definitely changed, but at the heart of it all, I was still myself. I was still alive. And tomorrow, I was finally going to take some serious steps towards getting stronger!

  I laughed and flexed my fist again, enjoying the softness of the bed. I didn’t know how it could have been any better, but I enjoyed it at least. I smiled and closed my eyes, quickly falling into a deep slumber.

  I’d told myself that the old man couldn’t possibly have that hard of a workout planned for me. At least, that’s what I told myself… in the morning I was made very aware of how wrong I was.