“Why.. Why.. Why..” I whispered to myself.

“WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?!”

“HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!”

“WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?!!!” I screamed in the forest, now unable to contain my thoughts.

What brought me to this place? My ‘friends’ who abandoned me because I was weak? The death of my parents? My sister’s suicide? Or was it the culmination of all these events?

I was broken.

I didn’t have a home to return to.

I didn’t have a family.

I didn’t have friends who I could smile with.

I was even thrown out of my village.

What did I have?

Myself...

And the promise I made to my parents and sister.

The promise that I would become a person my family could be proud of.

A person that would make this world a better place.

A person that would help not only those close to him but also those far away from him.

A person that would help people regardless of their status in society.

That was the only thing that kept me going. But soon enough I would come to know, that the promise I made... was impossible to fulfil.

I was in the ‘Forest of Doom’, a place infamous for Adventures disappearing, ranging from G-B Rank. Even S-Rank Adventurers refused to in without a team. And here I am... all alone.

How was a 10-year old child supposed to survive this place? The answer is simple.

It wasn’t.

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Soon enough I was surrounded by Grey-Horn Wolves, a C-Rank Beast. I read about them in books and how frightening they were, but they were much more frightening in person. They had 3 horns. 1 on their forehead and 1 on each side of their head. Eyes that were colored in a crimson red, a nose that was capable of smelling its prey kilometers away, teeth that were so sharp it looked like they didn’t have teeth but swords in their mouths. Their jaw and teeth are durable enough to even bite through rocks. Their fur was a shade of silver-grey. Unlike the rest of its appearance the fur was beautiful, so beautiful you could imagine a Baron wearing it... Before I could even finish my thought of their appearance, my arm was bit off and I lost sight in my left eye.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” I could only scream, I never felt so much pain in my life. But soon after I didn’t feel the pain anymore, because I thought maybe it was better if I died. I wouldn’t have to struggle in this horrible world anymore. I could be happy with my family in the afterlife. After that thought I passed out, my body unable to handle the damage the wolves dealt to my body. But before I passed out I thought I glimpsed the shadow of a person.

I woke up screaming several hours later.

Soon I realised I was in a wooden shack, to be more precise in a bed and there was no pain, no wolves, my arm and eye were back.

“Am I in the Afterlife?”

That’s when I heard a voice.

“You aren’t.” Said the man in the doorway that I only now noticed.

The tall man looked like he was in his thirties to fourties, he had auburn brown hair, hazel eyes, an elegantly straight nose, both of his lips were split and he had a scar going from his left cheek across his lips to his chin, presumably a sword cut or the attack of a beast with claws. You could see his body was well-built even though he was wearing a coat. He also had a shirt beneath the coat, pants, potions and other items attached to his belt and he had a longsword on his back that was bigger than me.

“How am I alive? I thought I was being attacked by a pack of wolves.”

“You’re lucky that you only thought you were dead, even though the Grey-Horn Wolves are pretty strong and only hunt in a pack, they are cautious hunters, they can use their bloodlust as an attack. If the target has a weak mind, it will scream in pain and fall unconcious.” The man answered.

“But still what happened to the wolves? How come they didn’t kill me?”

“I slaughtered them.”

He killed them? I didn’t have the luxury of counting the wolves but there were more than 10 there for sure and you need at least 10 C-Rank Adventurers to take down 1 Grey-Horn Wolf. But he killed more than 10 alone and that without sustaining any heavy injuries? How strong was this man to make even C-Rank Adventurers look like mere slimes in comparison.

“Kid wait with your questions till later. Rest up now. There is some food and water on the table if you are hungry or thirsty. I will be back in some hours, I have some stuff to take care of. See you then.” The man said turning around and about to leave the shack.

“What’s your name?”

“James. My name is James Steelheart. And yours kiddo?”

“Ray Arden.” I was able to tell him just before he left the shack.