The world around me was black. I lay on the ground, panting and gasping for breath. When I finally managed to catch my breath, I sat up and looked around. However, I still couldn't see anything, even with my exceptional night vision. In fact, I couldn't sense anything around me at all.

It was a completely silent and empty darkness. However, my senses couldn't stop shouting danger. A shiver then went up my spine. Turning around, I still couldn't see anything, but I could tell that something was now present in the darkness.

"So, little one, you wish to awaken the dormant power within yourself?" A voice spoke. The words echoed all around me, but I could tell that they came from in front of me. "I can help you with that. However, you are not yet strong enough to handle even a fraction of the power within you. Even a thousandth of this power would instantly vaporize you. So begone from this place and do not return until you are stronger."

I then woke up on the floor of my cabin. Sweat had pooled around me, causing me to be drenched. Sitting up, I looked at myself. Nothing seemed to be different, I still looked as I did before. Standing up, I finished working on the dishes before heading outside.

However, when I walked outside, I took a deep breath and something...odd, happened. When I exhaled, flame shot out of my mouth, scorching the grass and ground in front of me. Eyes wide, I backed up, tripping and falling to the ground in fear. I covered my mouth with my hands, but then I pulled them back away, scared that I would burn my hands off.

Okay, just calm down, I thought. This must be part of the dormant power that the voice mentioned, meaning that I must've been strong enough to awaken this fire breath thing.

Relaxing, I then stood back up. Taking a deep breath, I released it, trying to breath fire. As soon as I did this, a torrent of fire blasted out of my mouth. It turned the dirt black and even seemed to melt the ground some. Grinning, I realized just how strong my newest power really is.

"Now, I just need to practice and learn to contr-" I said, but I was caught off by a plume of flame that passed out of my mouth. "Oops. Yeah, really need to learn control."

* * *

Two days later, I had already learned to control my fire breath enough to be able to use it to cook my food.

"Wow, that's way faster than using a fire or stove," I said, impressed. Biting into the meat, I moaned in delight. It was way more delicious than anything I had ever cooked before. However, it must've smelled as good as it tasted, because I could hear crashing in the forest, heading in my direction. "I wonder what creature is coming to my house for dinner."

A large, reptilian beast smashed through the trees. It was somewhat ape-like in appearance, but was covered in black and green scales with long claws and fangs. The beast also stood over nine feet tall, its body covered in large, thick muscle. It looked down at me and snarled, clearly wanting my food.

"Sorry, but I don't really feel like sharing," I told it. The monster roared and charged forward, deceptively fast for its size. I barely dodged out of the way, the beast storming past me. It spun around and growled before raising a clawed hand. The claws on its hand began glowing green before it swung its arms, arcs of green energy hurtling towards me. "Guess you're a Spirit Beast then."

Summoning my katana, I raised the weapon. The sword's blade met the energy arcs head-on, blocking the attacks from reaching me. With a heave, I shoved the attacks away, the Ki waves striking the ground around me.

"Care to try again?" I mocked, leaning my sword against my shoulder. The Spirit Beast roared and swung both of its arms. However, this time, instead of multiple small waves, it created two large waves that criss-crossed over each other, creating an X-shape. "Hup!"

I swung my katana, the blade glowing with a blue aura. The sword Ki clashed against the X-attack, holding it at bay. However, surprisingly, the attack began pushing me back. Narrowing my eyes, I blew a stream of fire at the Ki arcs. The attack caught fire and began burning before dissipating completely.

"Honestly, even I wasn't expecting my fire breath to be able to burn Ki," I said, looking at the monster with a sheepish expression. It grunted before raising both of its arms over its head. The reptilian ape then brought its arms down, pulverizing the ground in a circle around it. The attack also sent out a powerful shockwave that launched me backwards.

Stabbing the blade of my katana into the ground, I slowed myself. Coming to a stop, I looked up to see the beast charging at me. Before I could react, it smacked with one of its powerful arms, sending me tumbling away. After skidding along the ground a good distance, my body finally stopped moving.

Standing up, I raised my sword above my head. Channeling Ki into the blade, I then swung it with all my strength. An arc of blue energy shot out towards my opponent. The Spirit Beast, realizing its immediate danger, swung its arms, creating another X-shaped arc of green energy. The two attacks clashed against each other, neither one losing out to the other.

Eventually, the two attacks broke, shattering into pieces before dissipating. Swinging my weapon again, I sent several Ki attacks hurtling towards the Spirit Beast. It raised its arms into a defensive pose, the waves of energy cutting into its scaled flesh. Dark green blood oozed out of the wounds, but I could tell that they were all too shallow to have caused any real damage.

Inhaling deeply, I blew out a torrent of fire. The flames blasted the monster, searing its flesh. When the flames finally died down, the creature was still alive, but just barely. It collapsed to the ground, heaving for breath. Walking over to it, I used my sword to put the Spirit Beast out of its misery.

I then proceeded to cut out its Spirit Core, consuming the baseball-sized orb. The monster's Ki rushed into my body, strengthening and toughening my bones and flesh. Sighing, I then began slicing up the creature's body, not wanting to let the meat go to waste.

"Guess I might as well find out how this thing tastes," I muttered. After I was finished butchering the beast's corpse, I stored the meat so that it could sit until dinnertime. Then, I went and finished eating my lunch, which had been so rudely interrupted. But once again, I heard something coming from the forest. However, this sound wasn't like beast, more like...people.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

My eyebrows raised and my eyes widened. Surprised at the thought of people coming into the forest I lived in, I got up and started walking towards them. However, when I got close to enough to hear their voices, I didn't like what I heard.

"Where'd that beast run off to? We spent all that time tracking it down, just for it to run off," one of the people said. "It's Spirit Core would sell for several thousand dollars if we can just get it."

"Yeah, but its not like it'd just let us kill it," another man said. "We'd have to avoid its claws and Ki attacks first, just to be able to get close."

"Sure, but that's why we hired the newbie, to handle the Spirit Beast's Ki attacks."

"That's true, but how do we know that this guy's really as good as he says?"

"You know that I'm as good as I say because I can feel the presence of someone eavesdropping on our conversation," a third voice said. Realizing that I'd been found out, I dashed back out into the open. A couple minutes later, six men burst into the clearing.

Five of them were wearing camouflage tactical gear and were carrying some weird-shaped objects I assume were weapons of some kind. The sixth man, however, was dressed in a black hooded robe and held nothing. All six of them turned to look at me.

"Ha, it's just a little boy," one man said with a laugh. "You made me think that there was someone dangerous nearby."

"That boy is dangerous," the robed man replied. "Do not let his age or appearance fool you."

"Bah, he's just a little squirt, what could he do to us?" The first man said. He then began walking over to me. "So, boy, where're your parents? Don't tell me you live in such a dangerous place all alone?"

"My father died years ago and I never had a mother," I replied in a stern voice.

"I don't believe you," the man sneered. "Check the cabin, there must be someone else here!"

"I already told you, I'm here alone," I repeated. However, the man still wouldn't listen to me. Four of the men moved towards my cabin while the robed man just watched, shaking his head.

The four that went towards the cabin opened the door and saw the meat piled up inside. Realizing what creature it was from, they all began shouting for their leader. He walked over to them, leaving me alone with the robed man. However, there was something about the robed man's presence that unnerved me, so I just stood there.

"Hey, boy, who killed the beast that you have cut up in your house? Was it your dad?" The leader asked. He turned to look at me, a mean expression on his face. "Answer me truthfully, or this is going to hurt."

"I was the one who killed it, because as I said before, I live alone here," I answered truthfully. Of course, as expected, the man didn't believe me. He walked over and tried to smack me. However, before his hand could make contact, I caught his wrist. The man tried to pull his arm back, but I held on tightly.

"Let go, you little brat!" He shouted. I did as he asked, and let go...by throwing him backwards. He flew about thirty feet before crashing into the ground. Scrambling up to his feet, he looked angrier than ever. "Alright, that's it, I've had enough of you!"

He raised his oddly-shaped weapon and pulled some kind of lever. A small, round metal object shot towards me. It moved faster than I could react, the projectile striking me in the face. I yelled out in pain, rubbing my forehead. The projectile hit the ground, the slightly elongated end flattened.

"Ow, that really hurt!" I exclaimed. Growling, I dashed towards the man, who had a dumbstruck expression. Slamming into him, I drove my shoulder into his gut. The impact caused him to vomit blood before sending him smashing into a tree more than a hundred feet away. He collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

"H-hey, how d-dare you do that t-to our boss!" One of the men shouted, but his stutter betrayed his fear. However, before he or I could do anything, the robed man raised a hand.

"No, this boy is beyond what you oafs can handle," he said. Even though his voice was barely above a whisper, everyone could him clearly. "I will take care of him."

The robed man then vanished from sight. Looking around, I saw a flash of black at the corner of my eye. Dodging to the side, I barely avoided his fist, which smashed into the ground. The man's arm was left embedded in the ground up to the elbow. However, he pulled himself free with ease.

"You're faster than I thought, boy, but that's all," he said with a sneer. The man once again vanished, but this time, I knew it was because he was simply moving faster than I could see. Closing my eyes, I focused on my other senses. As soon as I did this, I heard a footstep behind me. Moving my head to the side, the man's fist passed through the air where my head had just been.

I grabbed hold of his wrist and swung him through the air before smashing him into the ground. However, the impact didn't seem to do much to the man, who just struck my elbow with his palm. I screamed in pain as my elbow broke, the join shattering. Gritting my teeth, I punched my opponent with my full strength.

The blow sent him flying away, but when he landed, he didn't seem very injured. Realizing that I couldn't beat this man with ordinary attacks, I summoned my sword. The man looked warily at the weapon in my hand.

"Is that a Spirit Treasure?" He asked, eyeing the katana.

"I don't know what it is, other than that it was my father's sword. However, when he died it became mine," I replied. The man nodded his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Seeing this as an opportunity, I channeled Ki into the weapon and swung it with all my strength. The arc of Ki slashed through the air, streaking towards my opponent. However, he didn't seem too concerned.

"It's rude to attack someone when they're thinking, boy," he said. Then, with a swing of his arm, a powerful gust of wind collided with my attack. The wind blew the Ki attack away, causing it to cleave through a nearby tree. "However, I will admit that the power behind that attack was quite formidable. You just need to learn to control your Ki better."

"Well, I've never been able to utilize my Ki on my own. I can only use it with the sword," I replied.

"You mean you can only use it externally with the sword, right? You use your Ki to enhance your strength, speed, and durability, correct?" The man asked.

"No, I can only use my Ki at all when I'm wielding my sword. My strength, speed, and durability are natural," I answered. The man's eyes widened as he realized that I was naturally superhumanly strong.

"Perhaps you'd be interested in being my disciple?" The man suddenly asked. "I'll be your master and teach you about martial arts. You'll be able to properly utilize your Ki, allowing you to become much stronger than you are now!"

"No thanks, you don't seem like a trustworthy man," I replied. He frowned and looked at me with obvious disgust.

"Born with such a gift, and yet you refuse to use it properly, just because of a dislike for someone willing to become your master," he said, shaking his head. The man then vanished once again, but his movements were even faster than before. Even with my heightened senses, I couldn't detect the man.

Inhaling, I began breathing fire around me in a circle, making sure the man couldn't approach. However, I didn't expect what happened next. There was loud screaming and I saw the black robed man rolling across the ground, covered in flames.

After a few moments, his movements finally ceased. Approaching the man, I saw that he was dead, his body nothing more than a blackened, charred husk. Shrugging my shoulders, I was glad for the fight to be over. Looking over at the group of men, I saw they were visibly trembling in fear.

"Boo!" I shouted. They all screamed and ran, the distinct smell of urine following two of them. Chuckling, I headed back over to my lunch, but it was gone. Groaning, I saw that there were animal tracks heading to and from the forest. "Guess something took advantage of the commotion to steal my food."

However, I didn't care too much and went back inside. But little did I know what was awaiting me...