When the man begins to lower his sword to stab the beast's heart, the crying girl grabs the man's arm to stop him. "WAIT!"

The man looks confused, "What good is a beast for ya? It's just gonna kill ya."

The girl looks down at the beast, then back to the man. "This beast... Saved me, twice. Please, don't kill him."

The man looks down at the beast, and carefully moves him to his back, seeing the various bite and scratch marks. "Aye, I see. Let me help ya two. Follow me." the man says as he picks up the beast. "Damn! This fella's heavy!"

They begin to make their way to a cabin in the forest, and the beast slowly awakens, his touch, smell, hearing, and sight returning to him in that order. He can feel a slight pressure on the bed he is lying on, and the smell of uncooked vegetables and rabbit meat enters his enhanced smell. As the beast looks down to the pressure on the bed, he sees the girl in new, but more common-looking clothes, leaning on his bed while asleep. To her left is a bowl full of used tourniquets and various other bandages seeping their blood into the already bloodied water. He smiles then sits up, grimacing at the pain from his healing wounds. Looking down, he notices he's wearing pants, most likely from whoever's house this is. Though sleeping allowed his body to naturally regenerate, it's not 100%. He cautiously gets up as to not awake the girl, then carefully tucks her into the bed. He picks up the bowl and unused bandages with one hand and opens a door, his huge size making it a bit difficult to make his way through, but he manages.

On the other side of the door is a living room. An unlit fireplace is on the left wall with a hung frame slightly high up, centered on the stone wall of the fireplace. Inside the frame is a quite realistic drawing of a family. In the front of the fireplace, a bit of a distance away, is a rug made from a dead bear. How stereotypical... There are two chairs, one of them having the man from earlier sitting on it. Getting a good look at the man, he seems quite strong. He has visibly powerful, bulging muscles and slightly reminds the beast of a lumberjack. Currently, he's wearing a white shirt resembling a tank top and jeans.

"Ah. I see you've woken up." The man gets up to greet the beast and take the bowl.

After the man takes the bowl, the beast bows a bit awkwardly, his right hand over the left portion of his chest and his left hand behind his back.

The man laughs, "Ya be one odd beast. That's how one would greet a noble, not a common man like myself."

The beast decides to use the [ Telepathy ] ability from earlier, his voice being the one from his previous life.

"However, you saved me and that girl. For that, I owe you my life. Is it not normal to be graceful to the man that saved you?" The beast chooses his words carefully, unaware of how the man thinks of him, and wanting to make a good first impression. His voice is calm, yet subtly quite manly. It doesn't seem weak nor overly macho.

"Think none of it. If ya were not there, that girl would 'ave died. If anything, ya be the one that did the most work. I simply came in at the end and scared away them wolves." The man looks curiously at the beast. "This may be a shot in the dark, but are ya a revived soul?"

The beast quickly looks up, a curious expression on his monstrous face. "How did you know?"

The man laughs, "I'm a revived soul as well! Though, it's a bit odd ya came back as a shadow beast, and not a human."

"I find it odd myself, but I was told to fix the corruption of humans. Perhaps the god didn't want me to be a human to fix it? I am unsure."

"Ya quiet an articulate fella. I am unsure as well, but in the meantime, what was your world like? I came from a world where Scotland took over the world in the Third World War. Ah, glory to Scotland." The Scottish man laugh heartily as he sits down on one of the chairs, setting the bowl on a nearby coffee table. "Sit down ya lad! Don't be so tense!"

The beast looks at the man with a curious gaze, then cautiously sits down on the seat so his wounds can't reopen and cause blood to seep into his chairs. "Where I'm from, there was no third world war. I came from America, which is still a superpower. There haven't been any really massive wars since the Second World War, but our most recent president... Isn't the greatest."

"Ah I see! Interestin'! How much do you remember of ya previous life?"

"I can remember everything except names and faces. I was a corrupt business owner running a Fortune 500 company. I then met a woman who began to change me, and I ended up proposing to her. She then found out about an affair that I had at the very beginning of our relationship, and... Killed me out of anger. She had a past of people doing that over and over again and taking advantage of her, and that day she finally snapped. The last memory I have is of her stabbing me while I sleep..." The beast's mind begins to drift back to the previous night where the girl stabbed him repeatedly.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The man has a complex look on his face. "Damn, that be a heart-wrechin' tale. I was just a simple factory worker during the Third World War. Nothin' excitin' or fun."

"Anyways, I know nothing about this world. Can you please explain to me the basic common knowledge everyone should know?"

"Sure! First, check ya stats. It should come out with a simple thought. Keep in mind nobody else can see it."

The beast takes a moment to concentrate, then a video-game-esque screen appears in front of his face. Intriguing...

Name: N/A

Race: Shadow Beast

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Level: 5

Experience: 153/200

Titles: [ Beast ]

Racial Skills: [ Shadow/Darkness Manipulation ], [ Body of Shadow ], [ Body Manipulation ], [ Soul Absorption ].

Skills: [ Bowmanship ], [ Deception ], [ Disguise ], [ Fireball ], [ Forgery ], [ Intimidation ]*, [ Lesser Lightning ], [ Mana Control ], [ Quiet Sneak ], [ Shadow Control ], [ Shadow Step ], [ Swordsmanship ], [ Thievery ]*.

It seems I already have Shadow Control as a racial skill. The beast contemplates his skills.

"Likin' what ya see?"

"Indeed, it is quite intriguing. It seems I am near leveling up, and I have quite a bit of skills."

"Ah yeah, leveling up. Doing actions, but particularly combat, levels ya up. Once you reach level 200 ya can rank up to a new race. It's quite interestin', but I personally never got the chance to try it out. I'm only level 34. Quite strong for a human, and above the average knight. It's quite rare for any living being to rank up their race, usually it's only a few every century, and there 'ave been only two in all of history to rank up twice. Usually, a nation's hero gets up to around level 150 to 170. It's quite tough."

"I see. Thank you for this information."

The man nods, "That's all I can think of for now, maybe I'll think of somethin' later."

As the man says this, the door slowly creaks open as the girl from before walks in, rubbing her eyes, red from crying, which the beast had not previously noticed. When she sees the beast, she runs up and hugs him. The beast grimaces because she is pushing against a wound, but doesn't say a word.

"I'm... So sorry." The girl begins to cry as she grips onto the beast. "Even though my eye said you were trustworthy, I thought I couldn't trust you because you were a beast... I'm so sorry! Thank you for saving me."

[ Title Earned: Savior ]

Her eye? The beast reaches down with his right hand and pats her head, as the other holds her. He connects to her through telepathy. "It's alright. I know my appearance is frightening."

The girl looks surprised, "You can speak now?"

"Yes, through telepathy." The beast lets go as she begins to pull away.

The girl sniffles, her young face looking quite cute when she's sad.

The man gets up, "Well, I'm gonna be choppin' down some more wood. Gettin' kinda low recently. I'll leave ya two alone for a bit." He walks out the front door, grabbing an axe on his way out.

The girl turns to the beast, "So... What is your name? Mine is Gabrielle Ironheart. Though you may not believe me, I am the princess of the Kingdom of Gilde." She does a curtsy to the beast.

The beast gets up from his seat and bows to the princess like he did the other man. "I could tell from your carriage, escorts, and previous clothing that you were of some kind of noble blood, but I never expected a princess. Pleasure to meet you, Gabrielle Ironheart. I am curious, how did you end up in your situation? As for my name, I have none."

Gabrielle sighs, "Please, just call me Gabrielle." She smiles as she says this. "I was caught in a rampaging Mana Storm. They're a rare occurance that only happens every century or so. Sadly, they're completely undetectable until they begin to form, and my carriage was directly under the storm as it formed. As for your name, would you like one?"

The beast looks up, "A name is quite convenient, thank you." He gets up from his bow and sits down, motioning for her to sit on the opposite chair.

She sits down and they begin going back and forth, attempting to come with a name. Eventually, they settled on "Zak".

"Zak... I like it. Not too human, not too monstrous."

Gabrielle smiles as Zak says this. "Glad you like it."

"So, Gabrielle." Zak looks to the floor, then back to her, "What is your plan after this?"

Gabrielle sighs then collects her thoughts, "I guess I have to make my way to my kingdom, although I don't know how to or even where I am."

Zak contemplates, then responds, "Would you like me to help you? Though I don't know much of this world, I am willing to help. I am not sure why, but I feel an odd draw towards you."

Gabrielle blushes, an odd look crossing her face, "What do you mean by that end part?"

Zak does a monstrous laugh, "Definitely not what you were thinking. I hope that I can be of help, though I understand my beastly body is quite frightening."

Gabrielle sighs, then smiles, "Yes, that's what I thought at first as well. That was... my fault." She looks down, a somewhat gloomy look crossing her beautiful face. "However, now that I've gotten to talk to you and I know your selflessness, I don't feel that fear anymore. At all."

Zak smiles awkwardly due to his beastly face, "Then, please let me train. I am not used to this body, and I wish to be able to properly protect you."

Gabrielle's head tilts slightly as she questions him, "Not used to your own body?"

"It's a long story... I'll tell it to you later."

"Alright. I have to gather some information at a nearby town, anyways, so you should have plenty of time to train."

As she finishes her sentence, the front door bursts open, the Scottish man yelling, "It's terrible! The village! It's bein' attacked! I can see it from the top of the hill!"