A young man with burnt bronzed skin and long raven black hair enters a workshop. Its interior is a mess with iron tools and beast materials littering every surface. An elderly man covered in grime and sweat was in the middle of sharpening a bone knife on a rolling whetstone.
The young man drops a heavy bag onto the floor near the elderly man. Bone pieces, rolled-up beast hides, and horns flow out to add to the mess already on the floor.
“You are late! I was expecting your supplies months ago. What took you so long?”
“Sorry about that Smogon. My old man decided to start teaching me how to use shortswords for several months. The schedule got messed up and I prioritized the meat deliveries for a while.”
“I see, so you finally got the stats needed for learning how to wield them properly? Did you gain new skills?”
“Check out my stat mirror!” Ram said excitedly as he pulled out his stat mirror and handed it to Smogon.
——————————
Name: Ram
Age: 14
HP: 632/632
MP: 0
ATK: 89
DEF: 27
SPD: 143
STA: 187
PER: 80
Combat Skills:
Thrust (Expert)
Slash (Beginner)
Parry (Intermediate)
Non Combat Skills:
Chef Sense
Marathon Runner
Hunter Sense
Coin Haggler
Hidden Ability Detected
Meat Glutton: Healing Factor is 30% of Total HP per minute
No Equipped Cores detected
No Abnormalities detected
——————————
Smogon let out an impressed whistle.
“A fourteen-year-old with over six hundred HP and a thirty percent healing factor, that’s terrifying!”
“I know right! I feel like nothing can take me down.”
“Hmm, apart from your HP everything else is below what I expected with all the exercise you did for the last two years.”
“You noticed that from a glance?”
“Your old man isn’t the only war veteran living out his retirement in these parts. Tell me, has he addressed this?”
“At first he thought I was slacking off on my training but I convinced him that my stats stropped increasing with the daily physical exercises for several months. He decided that I should switch my focus to learning combat skills since the stats weren’t improving.”
“That tends to happen to us all at a certain age but it rarely happens to youngsters like you. Maybe it’s because you’re a hidden worlder.”
“SHHH! Don’t say that word out loud Smogon. You know what will happen to me if anyone else finds out.”
“Boy, your weird accent and lack of common knowledge gave it away. But they all like ya, so no one is going to report you to any Imperial officials.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I thought I was able to disguise it.”
“Well, we all respect your old man and his desire to keep you safe. You did well by us all these years, keeping the village supplied with essentials even during the winters. So don’t worry about it and keep up the good work.”
Ram put a hand behind his head and laughed awkwardly.
“About that, this supply run makes my two-hundredth trip to Oda village. Today I finally get to complete my goal of earning three hundred gold coins. The old man suggested I visit Trigon city and buy unique gear with the gold I earned here so I won’t be around for a few months.”
“My how time flies, I still remember the first time you came into my workshop. A little punk who was eager to fill his purse with every coin I had on me.”
“I’m not short anymore old Smogon and your lazy ass hardly had any coins.”
“I admit you have gone through a growth spurt since then but your still a little punk to me.”
“Be glad I won’t be bothering you after this transaction.”
“Now, now don’t get worked up about it. I have profited quite a bit by relying on your monthly supply of horns, antlers, beast hides, and bone materials. Some of my best works are thanks to your beast hides.”
“Then hand over a gold coin as a reward.”
“How about I reward you with a complete fur armor set for your service.”
“Huh? Isn’t that more than a single gold coin.”
Smogon went to a chest nearby and pulled out the pieces that were part of a standard Fur armor set. It was skinned from a large grey wolf, the fur was soft to the touch and cozy when Ram equipped it.
Ram flexed his body to see if the armor set did not interfere with his movement. To his surprise, it felt like the armor had become a part of his body.
“Is this how it feels to wear armor? I thought standard armors were supposed to suck but this feels good.”
“That’s not any old fur armor. It’s a flawless set-piece one of my best work.”
“Are you serious? This would be worth at least ten gold coins right?”
“I can’t have a business associate of mine going to a big city in those rags you have been wearing all these years. Seriously why didn’t you spend some of the coins you earned for new clothes.”
“No one cared how I looked, but you make a good point. I have been too absorbed in saving up I let myself go. I think I need a haircut as well.”
“Well I got the tools for the job, why don’t you take a seat over by the window and I will work on your hair.”
Ram complied and stared out of the window as Smogon to out scissors and a comb made from Elk antlers to work on his hair. Through the window Ram observed the villagers pass by the workshop as they went about their completing their jobs.
For some reason, Ram could sense that Smogon had something troubling him. Maybe the fur armor was compensation for a request?
“You are quite generous today. Is there something you want?”
Smogon looked embarrassed and let out a defeated sigh.
“You got me! The thing is my workshop was robbed by bandits a week ago.”
“I couldn’t tell, this place looks the same every time I visit.”
“Are you trying to insult me punk?”
Smogon grumbled as he quickly flashed the scissors in front of Ram.
“Why would bandits try robbing from you? You are a retired war veteran, everyone knows that.”
“They robbed my safe when I was selling my wares in the town center.”
“How are you sure its bandits who did it?”
“Cuz, one of their number came back looking for tools to break open the safe. I caught him and tortured him a bit till he confessed. They have a hideout northeast of here under a hill that has a waterfall covering its entrance.”
“What did you do with the bandit?”
“Killed him off course, dumped his body in the pig farmer’s ranch. Nothing was left of him the next day.”
Ram was disturbed by how casually Smogon tortured, killed a man, and erased his existence. He was so used to poking fun at him over the years he never considered the man was capable of such things.
“So why didn’t you go get the safe back yourself?”
“Punk! I may be an ex-war veteran but I am nothing like your old man who still looks like he possesses the strength of ten bulls at his old age. He alone can wipe out a hundred-man army blindfolded, that’s why he became a general. I hoped you can request him to help me out this one time.”
Ram considers the requests and tries to guess the old man’s reply. He rarely interfered with the affairs of the village because he wanted to be alone. He once said that accepting one request would lead to a landslide of them.
But on the other hand, Ram wanted to test the strength of his stats on live opponents. This was the perfect opportunity for him to apply his new sword skills to something other than wild beasts.
“Sure! I will relay it to him.”
“Really? Well, I will be extremely grateful to him if he can teach those vagabonds a lesson even if he can’t recover the safe or its contents.”
Ram nodded his head. He had no desire to inform the old man. He would teach the bandits a lesson himself and get all the gold they had on them. Who knows, there might be rare items hidden away in their hideout.
He did feel a bit uncomfortable with the thought of taking a human life. But from all the horror stories he heard over the years. The bandits were worse than the wild beasts he hunted.
Smogon pulled out some hair oil and applied it to Ram’s long hair before he began snipping away.
Several minutes later Smogon completed his work and presented a handheld mirror to Ram to inspect his new haircut.
Ram had received a Ceasar haircut, except in this world it was known as the Janus cut. He felt his head become lighter after shedding the excess length that would cover his eyes and irritate his skin.
He noticed his hazel eyes had a sharper look to them compared to how they were when he was in his world. There wasn’t any sign of facial hair but he did notice his face had lost its baby fat. He looked like a teenager that would fit in with the jocks of the high schools from his original world.
“You like it?”
“Yes, of course! Anyways thanks for the armor. I promise those bandits won’t trouble you anymore.”
“I look forward to your next visit then.”
Smogon said as he opened the door for Ram to leave.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
“What?”
Ram held out his hand and rubbed his fingers to indicate the sign for his payment.
“Oh, silly me! One hundred silver for the materials right?”
Smogon handed over a small pouch-filled coin. Ram could tell he must have thought the free Flawless Fur armor and haircut would make him forget about the supply fee.
Ram nodded as he counted the coins in the purse. After that, he smiled at Smogon and left his workshop.
“That Smogon always tries to pull a fast one on me. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.”
Ram had been fooled several times over the years and learned the hard way to get back what he is owed. Quite a few of the villagers would shower him with praises whenever they wanted to get away from paying.
He usually sold all his preserved meat to the Inns in the village whenever he visited as they were his best customers. Over the last two years, he received a steady payment of a hundred silver per delivery.
There was also the occasional order for double the quantity of preserved meat whenever a large group of wandering adventurers chose to rest in the village.
Smogon on the other hand only required a monthly supply of material which helped Ram get rid of all the inedible parts of a beast carcass. But it wasn’t much compared to the amount he earned in a month from supplying the Inns.
It took Ram five hours to return to the farm. He stopped by the pigpen to play with the new piglets before checking up on the Ducks who also had little ones that hatched recently.
The farm was now home to several cows and two bulls that had been captured when they were young. The addition of milk and cheese to his dishes had made his food more delicious.
The old man was nowhere to be seen, Ram looked around the house and found him in the storage room inspecting his old chest.
“I’m back old man.”
The old man quickly shut the chest but a large black core fell to the floor and rolled over to Ram’s feet.
“What’s this? A beast core? A bit big isn’t it?”
Ram said as he picked up the core to inspect it.
“That’s… that is a present for you.”
“Huh? A present? For completing the three hundred gold goal?”
“Yes, something like that. It’s just I was going to wait a few more years before giving it to you. You can’t make use of it at the moment.”
“You’re right but do all cores feel strange to the touch?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can feel a tingling sensation in my hands when I’m holding it. Does it happen to you as well?”
Ram gave the core back to the old man to hold. The old man touched it but he couldn’t feel anything. He shook his head and pulled his hand away but his gaze never left the core.
“Why gift me a beast core when I can’t use it? I don’t have MP remember.”
“That there is an ancient beast core, I remember you wanted to see an ancient beast the first time I told you about them.”
“Wow! This is a core from an Ancient Beast, that’s awesome!”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“This thing must be worth a lot of gold right? Why didn’t you just sell this to off it wasn’t useful? We could have used the gold.”
The old man ground his teeth as blood vessels bulged on his forehead.
“Never! I repeat never think of selling this! Its value cannot be measured in gold.”
“Alright Old man! Calm down, I will keep it safe.”
The old man immediately noticed the fur armor on Ram.
“That’s flawless quality! How much gold did you spend on it?”
“Nothing! I got it for free from Smogon.”
“For free? Wait, your hair is also his work? Did he give you that for free as well?
“Yes, he did cut my hair.”
“There is something your not telling me.”
Ram was at a crossroads, if he spilled the beans then he would lose the chance to take down bandits but if he didn’t spill then the old man would make his life miserable.
“Smogon was robbed by mountain bandits. He wanted me to get you to take care of them and get back his stuff.”
The old man’s face slowly grew red with anger.
“Tomorrow you will return the armor to him and pay for the haircut. I told you multiple times to never accept tasks meant for me. What were you thinking…”
The realization hit the old man.
“You weren’t going to tell me about it. Were you?”
“Eventually… after I took them down.”
“You… you were going to go behind my back? On your own?”
“I’m strong enough to take them down!”
“You little brat! You haven’t even taken a human life and you say you’re ready to kill a dozen or more by yourself?”
“I have killed beasts hundreds of times!”
“The life of a human is different from a beast. These are men who have survived by placing ambushes and overwhelming their foes with numbers. You have never been in that kind of situation with beasts. Hell, you haven’t fought carnivore beasts and stuck to killing herbivores all these years.”
“How will I become a warrior without fighting humans?”
“If you had told me about this I would have prepared you for the fight but now I don’t want to see your face. Get out!”
“Old man?”
“I SAID GET OUT!”
“But…”
The old man pushes Ram who stumbles out of the storage room. Then he was pushed over and over until the front door was slammed shut behind him.
Ram stared back at the door in shock.
All these years he had never seen the old man lose his temper to this degree. He didn’t understand how things escalated so quickly.
Tears welled up as he wondered if he broke the bond he had with the only person who he considered family in this world.
He didn’t think how the old man would feel if he put his life in danger without telling him. All he cared about was getting their gold and stealing their stuff.
Then he looked down at his fur armor, it was covered in dirt. He felt bad for accepting it now. It was a bribe and he accepted it without hesitation.
Not only that he had given his word that the old man would take care of the problem.
Ram felt like s***, he knew the old man must be regretting taking him in and training him.
“What have I done…I’m sorry.”
Ram knocked on the door but there was no reply. He kept knocking and apologizing but the old man refused to open the door.
Night fell and along with it arrived heavy rainfall. He sat in front of the door shivering in the cold and mud. His eyes were bleary from crying, his voice was hoarse from begging.
During all this time Ram had held onto the Ancient Beast Core which had been tingling before but now it began to vibrate and glow.
[Forget him]“What who said that? Wait did that come from the core?”
Ram stared at the large black core as it vibrated again.
[Fight…fight the bandits]Ram stared dumbfounded at the core as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He had never heard of a core talking to anyone. Its voice sounded like the rumble of thunder and it echoed each word.
[Show me your power]“My power… you want me to show it to you by fighting the bandits?”
The starlight at the center of the black ancient beast core shined to answer his question.
“Are you alive?”
The core shined once more.
“Holy s***! How come you didn’t talk before?”
[Fight and show me your power!]The voice from the core roared in his mind. It sent shivers down his spine. The entity within the core was a giant trapped in a cage too small to hold its energy. It wanted a suitable host to unleash its true strength.
For some reason, Ram could tell it wanted him and only him. But he had to prove it or it would never speak again.
“I see, I will do it then, I shall find those bandits and kill them all.”
Ram got up and wiped away the dirt and mud off his fur coat armor. He then went to the training yard where two standard Shortsword blades were stabbed into the trunk of a tree.
They were the shortswords the old man loaned to him to train his thrusting, slashing, and parrying skills.
He would use them to take down the bandits. He would prove to the old man that he was not a kid to be protected anymore. He would gain the power of this core and show the old man that he didn’t need him anymore.
Ram then began his trek to the location pointed out by Smogon. His eyes glowed with a hint of purple as the starlight at the center of the black core glowed brighter.
To be continued…
