The shock of cold water splashing on his face woke Ben with a start. He panicked as all he could see was darkness. He curled himself up, his hands covering his head as if he expected a blow to land on him. "Wash your face, boy", a man's scornful voice shouted.
'Who!' Ben wondered as he tried harder to recover his vision. Something struck his head. "It's water" the man said. He groped around for the container and picked it up. His eyes cleared as the blood rinsed off. Then his fear returned to him.
Was this the person who was chasing him? A dull pain rose from his leg. He looked and saw a crude bandage. 'When did that happen?' he wondered. Whatever happened to that demonic beast?
"Are you looking for that?" the man said as he pointed behind Ben. Ben slowly turned his head, and saw the huge body of the demonic bear forming a small hill some distance behind him. He backed off in terror, before he realized it was dead.
'Was he the one who killed that Demonic beast?' As far as Ben could remember, it had simply happened too fast. Furthermore, it seems this man had done it all himself. What incredible strength he must have to slaughter that terrible creature as if he were killing a dog.
"What- What do you want with me?" he asked the man, whose features were finally becoming visible as his vision improved.
The man had a mop of thick black hair tied in a messy pony tail behind his head. His brown eyes laughed at Ben, yet his lip only rose slightly, almost as if in disgust. His muscular body combined with his dark olive skin tone made him look imposing.
'He must surely be mocking my poverty' Ben thought to himself, averting his eyes before scanning the man's clothes.
A long white jacket, mostly covered with abstract shapes, covered a thick gray shirt beneath it. His leather pants, though a bit worn, matched well with his black sandals.
Ben looked at himself. He wore a tattered threadbare shirt with a pair of equally tattered shorts. Both as filthy as rags could be, and doing little to protect him from the cold of the mountain.
He braced himself for the answer. Was this man really here to take him back to the Grey Cloud chiefdom? But then again, this wasn't the typical dressing from the West.
"Well, you already served your purpose." the man said, not bothering to explain more than that.
"So can I-" Ben stammered, "can I lea- leave now?" he asked. His eyes desperate, yet hopeful.
"You are pathetic" the man said. "Just look at yourself. What good can such scum do? Well, besides serving as bait" he looked at the demonic bear's carcass, then continued, irritation thick in his voice: "You are weak and have nothing of value. Why do you cling to your pathetic life anyway?"
The words were like cool air as they passed over Ben. He had already heard such things before. Well, at least after he became a slave. They were spoken to him daily. Sure they hurt something hidden deep in his heart, or they used to a long time ago. What difference would they make now?
"Can I, can I go now" he looked at the ground. He barely managed to prevent his hands from forming fists. He couldn't risk to offend this man. 'But why is it -, why does that look... why does it stir me? Why does it bring up my rage?'
"Pathetic!" the man said.
'Yes. It's because his eyes remind me of father.' Ben remembered. He remembered his father standing in the same way and telling him to be a man. He had promised to protect his baby sister at the time. He had failed.
'I hate this.' He thought. But what else could he do. Was this not the fate of the weak. To be stepped on by the powerful. To be insulted without retorting. To be hunted and killed. Will this always be his fate. Will he always be running? What about Laysa? His anger stirred. He was tired of being weak.
"Mister" he said, only daring to look at his warrior from the corner of his eye. He kowtowed. "Teach me how to become strong" he asked, tears of frustration welling up. His body tensed for a minute, waiting for a reply. Any reply.
"Hahaha!" the man laughed.
'Of course' Ben thought to himself, 'who would teach a slave to be strong?' His body sagged with disappointment.
"Tell me boy, why are you running? Who are you running from?"
"The Grey Cloud chiefdom" he muttered; the name spoken with hate.
"Oh those guys!" the man said with recognition.
Ben tensed up again. 'Fool!' he cursed himself, 'what if he decides to take me back to them?'
"Those cheating bastards! They didn't pay me my bounty back then!" the man complained hatefully, his hand forming a fist.
"A runaway slave?" he asked. "Well it won't do. This won't do" he repeated in frustration. "It's just not enough compensation".
'Just as I thought' the man said to himself. 'The kid has some spirit. I guess it was worth the effort to ruin that bear hide in order to save him?'
"I'll tell you what kid. I will only consider helping you if you show enough potential and you swear to deal those scoundrels a devastating blow in the future" the man offered. His tone seemed to suggest he did not believe Ben would be able to fulfill any of the two requests.
"I swear sir!" there was nothing more Ben desired than to strike back in revenge against those savages! "I swear sir, even if I will have to risk my life, I will get my-, eh, your revenge" Was this man actually considering to help him?
'Of course a strong will is important, but what about his potential?' the man seemed skeptical.
He looked at the demonic beast's severed head and sighed. 'The boy did serve well as bait. Who knows how long it might have taken me to find such a good demonic bear specimen? And these horns are quite good...'
"Do you know about Essence?" the man asked.
"Ye-s sir. I think" he replied. He had heard that a number of warriors could use a magical energy to attack and augment their skills. That should be this 'Essence' right?
"So, I guess that means you can't use it yet?" the man reasoned from Ben's shaky reply. "I will show you a method to harness Essence. If you can learn it within 5 days, I might decide to teach you more".
Ben's heart jumped. This was hope. The warrior actually agreed to teach him something. 'But why would he teach me. Why would anyone help a slave?' he wondered.
"Thank you sir!" He kowtowed thrice, his heart filling with hope. "Thank you."
"Uhumm." the man grunted. 'If this works, maybe those old geezers from the sect will cut me some slack for a while' he thought, as he tried hard to suppress his devious smile. Yes, in this encounter, he should be the one to benefit the most.
"But first, wash yourself. You stink." And it was true. Ben hadn't washed for weeks. But where was he going to get enough water? The one left in the water skin was not enough considering how dirty he was. Smack! Another water skin struck his face.
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'Damn this cold!' Ben shivered as he dried himself by the fire. Sure, he would need another scrubbing, but this was the cleanest he had been in a while. It was a pity he still wore his filthy rags, but the smell had reduced to less than a fifth of what it was.
"Come!" the man called. He still hadn't bothered to give his name, and neither did he ask for Ben's. 'Ah, I had only just lit this fire...' Ben inwardly complained, but rushed towards the man.
The warrior used thin blade to skin the demonic beast's carcass. His knife strokes were clean and even. He made it look simple, but Ben remembered how the slaves in the Grey Cloud chiefdom struggled to skin a much inferior demonic beast, even when using a blade refined by a Magical Weapon Smith. These creatures were not like your normal goat. Their bodies were enhanced and fortified with magic from birth, and they only grew stronger as they matured. He had seen arrows fail to pierce the underbelly of a much smaller demonic beast when it attacked their village. Normal weapons were quite useless against them when used by anyone less than an expert, or so he had heard.
Seeing how Ben was looking at his work, the man tossed the knife at him. "You try" he said. His face betrayed his mischievous intent, but how could Ben refuse? He moved closer to the bear, fighting the demonic miasma that leaked from the creature. It was truly more difficult to breathe near this beast. Thick corrosive blood leaked onto the ground, forming poisonous pools that dissolved both tree roots and rocks. Fumes rose from these pools and killed the leaves of the nearby trees. His heartbeat involuntarily increased. His legs became heavier and refused to move. 'Even in death it is so imposing' the thought squeezed itself out of his mind, which was beginning to slow.
'I am tired of being weak!' he thought. He grit his teeth and forced his body forward. His legs trembled as they moved, but move they did. Finally, he was standing just a foot shy of the small mound. It felt as if an invisible force was pushing him away, but he braced himself. He bent down and tried to run the knife along the cuts already made by the man. Forget cutting the skin, Ben couldn't even slice the creature's fat! He put all his strength into it, but it only seemed as if he would blunt the knife. He pulled the knife out, exhausted. His brow was covered in sweat and his stomach churning.
"Hahaha" the man laughed and motioned for Ben to return the knife to him. "This one is only a baby" he pointed at the bear. Ben almost fell down.
The man resumed skinning the bear. 'Only a baby' the words echoed in Ben's mind. He didn't want to imagine what kind of monster the mother of such a creature would be. 'In fact, wouldn't she come looking for her cub?'. The thought terrified him. He opened his mouth in horror.
"Relax kid." it seemed the man could read his mind, "No other creature will be coming into this region any time soon" he chuckled. "Besides, are you doubting my strength?" he turned his head slightly to look at Ben.
"Uh, no sir!" Ben bowed. "Absolutely not!"
That was right. This man was another monster himself. How could Ben forget how quickly he killed the bear?
"Good. That was the first test. Your courage." the man continued his work. "Now watch carefully. You won't understand this now, but keep watching." The knife kept slicing at a steady pace. Each stroke cut smoothly and evenly. Each stroke was simple yet elegant. Such ease as if slicing butter. Ben watched keenly. Indeed, he understood nothing.