Neron’s POV

I lurched forward violently from my respite, my eyes scanned the room from distress. The orc’s corpse laid next to me lifelessly, the warhammer it had grasped within its hands was alongside it. I turned to the exanimate body of the goblin that was slumped against the stairs, the blood that had seeped out of its chest had dried. I scrambled away, startled by the scene. Did I really manage to do all this? I pulled my dagger out of the rough orc’s flesh and eased the other one out of the goblin, I grabbed a red cloth from the room and cleaned the bloody blades while eyeing the brutes suspiciously. There was no reason for me to stay here any longer, and if there were more of these things here, that was even more of a motivation for me. I sprinted from the shop, I guess I had fallen asleep for several hours, the sky was dark and the streets of Darcester were silent. I noticed that the bodies throughout the town didn’t make me feel nauseous anymore, I let out a relieved sigh and sped up my pace. I was going to get away from this place once and for all, a town that cursed my mother and I more than once.

Traveling on foot wasn’t going to be effective for someone like me, it would take months, maybe even a year to get close to the capital. And if I managed to get there, there would be nowhere for me to work. So I thought of doing the only thing I could; train until I could defeat every monster out there...but how? There wasn’t any way I could learn magic on my own, not without someone to teach me. That’s how it’s been for as long as anyone has known. I could work on my skills in close-ranged combat, but in this world, without being experienced in the manipulation of magic, it would be difficult for me to get a job as an adventurer. But if I could become an adventurer with raw power alone...then I can amass combat experience for the upcoming war and join the Imperial Army. I hopped off of the thick branch of the tree I was sitting on, satisfied with my plan, I began my grueling journey towards the capital in the north. I braced myself for the upcoming strenuous training ahead of me.

I suspected that at least three months had passed, each and everyday had been a relentless struggle. Water was scarce, I managed to survive by licking the droplets off of the leaves of the lofty canopy. My body was pushed to its limits as I hunted for beasts persistently, as of recently, my number of kills per day were increasing rapidly. Just yesterday, I had hunted a little less than 100 rabbats and other creatures. My body felt better than ever, but it still wasn’t a fraction of the total amount of power I needed.

My mind raced as I sped through the forest, the creature had attempted to escape from my clutches, but I wasn’t going to let it go that easily. The swishing of shrubs erupted from all around me, my eyes couldn’t keep up with it. I stood in place and honed my other senses, the entity rushed around me, I could barely see the muscular outline of its body. Its golden piercing eyes stared daggers through me, there was hiss before the creature turned into a blur. The world went into slow-motion, my hands reacted as the feline beast appeared before me, I plunged my daggers into its sinewy chest as it pounced. The beast was slammed into the ground, it let out a whimper before its body went limp, blood trickled down my arms and onto my cloak. The shock went down my arms, rattling me, I was lucky that the monster was already injured, or else my power would not have been enough to take it down. I swung my daggers to clear the tainted blood of my kill and sheathed them. I observed the corpse of my prize, it was a muscular cat about two-meters in length with pitch-black fur and a scar across its head. Its eyes were glassy and unfocused and the ears were abnormally large. I watched it with pride for a while longer and whipped out a dagger and skinned the odd beast. I was sure that if I had made a single mistake, I would’ve been killed. I flung the black fur over my left shoulder and continued marching north towards the Capital. At my current pace, it would probably take another two years before my arrival. I sighed, I was impatient to fight stronger monsters, but I also enjoyed this type of life, to be free in the wild and do whatever I want. Throughout all this time in isolation, I hadn’t met a single intelligent being. I considered stopping by in the elven territory’s capital, Vitus, it would be a great opportunity to learn a bit more about Azuria. The only obstacle standing in my way was that I didn’t know where the elven territory was.

I felt much more mature now, yet my heart still yearned to see my mother again. I knew that I still had a long way to go, but I was sure that I had accumulated lots of new tricks in combat from the beasts of this remote forest. If I was correct, my thirteenth birthday was nearing, growth was on the horizon. I jerked a bite out of my rabbat meat, it almost hurt to gulp it down because of my dry throat. I had managed to assemble a makeshift sack out of rabbat fur, but finding those fire-breathing lizards became increasingly difficult. Fortunately enough, this forest rarely had strong monsters, as far as I knew, most of the beasts were classed as tier one, except for the rare tier twos such as the athletic jaguar-like animal I had slain. In Azuria, there were six classifications for monsters, tier sixes were rumoured to require at least ten experienced troops to even injure, the margin between their power and tier fives were said to be unimaginable. I started my daily routine as the sky faded into a light-blue colour, my schedule usually left me groaning by the end of the day. My goal was to travel at least twenty-kilometers within twelve-hours of each day, at the same time, I was to hunt creatures to amass food. My body wasn’t able to take any more than that, even that was a stretch. The rabbat meat made me want to hurl, I was getting tired of having it everyday, but my options were restricted, if I wanted to survive, then I had to live with such minor issues. My endurance had developed, the cramps I had at the end of the day were still painful, but once again, this was the only way I could get stronger. If I had magic, perhaps my life would’ve been easier, but there was no point of despairing over that. At the least, I was covering lots of distance, just not enough to arrive at the capital any time soon.

A jarring roar sounded through the forest, it was so loud and powerful that I could feel the vibrations beneath my feet. What was that? I immediately dove into a bush for cover, there were rumbles that caused the ground to quake, the loud reverberations sounded like they were a couple hundred-meters away from me. I climbed up a tree, my hands were callused from the rough bark, I hopped from branch to branch towards the source of the sound. Exhilaration and fear made my heart palpitate, I sat perched on the branch of a tree at the edge of a clearing. The booming noises became louder and dust spread through the magical forest. I watched the clearing with interest but was careful to stay in the shadows. Whatever this was, it was probably huge...and dangerous. Could it be a mythical beast? If so, then it’s probably a tier three or tier four. And if it was, then I should avoid it at all costs. I could see a huge reptilian head covered in green scales emerge from the forest, a forked tongue sprang out of its mouth for a split second as it hissed. There was an intelligent look in the colossal snake’s vertical pupils, I had a feeling that this snake had seen many things within its lifetime. Behind the terrifying life form was dozens upon dozens of trees that were toppled. The enormous serpent that could probably fit two grown men in its mouth turned to me and fixed its gaze on me. My eyes widened, I was perfectly concealed in the shadows. So how could it see me? Did it have a superior sense of smell? Eyesight? There was no time for me to think, in a flash, the long limbless body of the beast lunged towards me with its fangs bared. I dived off of my branch and onto the next tree with a yelp, I turned around to see the snake’s jaw latched onto the thick tree trunk, had I not escaped, I would’ve been on a one-way route to the stomach. The force of the snake’s jaws were so powerful that the tree trunk splintered, I coughed and leapt further away. I needed to recollect my thoughts, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to get away, this thing was able to spot me even though I was veiled in a shadow. The mythical creature slithered towards me with ridiculous speed, I knew that my stamina wouldn’t be able to keep up, I needed to end this quickly. The monster was already powerful enough to cause the terrain to shake from downing a portion of the supernatural forest. My hands were red from grabbing onto rough branches, I turned just in time to see the serpent launch itself forward, a gust of warm air and rancid breath smacked me in the face as I barely dodged the assault. I shrieked in pain, a scale had grazed my arm, it was a minor injury but it burnt. My mind worked as fast as it could, the beast was already preparing for its next attack, my human body struggled with gripping onto the bark. I knew that my daggers wouldn’t be able to pierce through the tough scales of the hideous reptile, there weren’t any visible weak spots. I glanced at the wreckage left behind by the snake on the ground, it seemed that its belly was also lined in scales. My eyes narrowed on the head, the eyes of the hostile monster stared back at me nonchalantly, almost contradicting its actions.

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

The eyes.

This was going to be risky, but if I could kill this wretched blood-hungry menace, it would be a great achievement for me. I waited for the snake to prepare for its next attack, it stared back at me with a glint of interest in its eyes. I bided my time, my best chance was to stab the snake in the eyes and escape while I could, there was no way I could take it down on my own. But then something unexpected occurred, the beast became tranquil and lowered its gaze.

What is it that drives you, human?

I whirled my head around, alarmed. Where did that voice come from? “Is anyone there?!”

Why is it that you continue to search for answers? The voice resounded.

I was driven to my knees on top of the thick branch of the tree, the voice was like a puncture to my skull. The voice was low, sharp, and cold, yet there was sympathy and interest layered beneath it. I grimaced and clenched my teeth from the pain as I searched for the source of the voice. A sudden realization crossed my mind, I peeked over the branch to see the massive serpent staring back at me, its mouth curved into what I assumed was a smile. Since when could beasts smile? “What…”

It seems you have finally noticed, human, the beast’s thoughts infiltrated my thoughts, it felt like my own voice was being drowned out.

“What are you?” My lips trembled. Just how much was this snake holding back? Was this the power of a tier six beast, or could it be even stronger?

My eyes of petrification curse all beings, except those who seek nothing less than everything, there was no malice in the words of the snake, instead, I could sense his curious intentions seeping into me.

I gaped from confusion. “I don’t think I understand, but can I point out that you look very scary right now?”

My eyes of petrification curse all beings, except those who seek nothing less than everything, he repeated.

I sighed, “That doesn’t exactly help.” My grip on the branch strengthened out of fear.

Stare into my eyes.

“Why would I agree to that...what if you kill me?!”

Humans are fools…

I was frustrated by that remark. “Alright, fine!” I spat, I poked my head out of the branch and stared at the green monstrosity, a chill went down my spine but I followed his orders.

After a couple of seconds, it felt like I was being pulled out of this world, my senses blurred and it felt like my world had gone dark. I opened my eyes to see thousands of images pass by my eyes, it was as if I was reliving memories...but they weren’t mine. My eyes shone in awe, I couldn’t understand anything that I saw, instead, I was concerned as to why the ancient snake had shown me memories, whether they were his or another’s.

For centuries I have been searching for a vessel, one who could withstand the power of my divine petrification.

I was brought back to reality, I discovered myself to be flailing midair and yelped. I landed onto something that broke my fall and rubbed my back, my gaze fell to what had stopped my fall. I hollered at the sight, I was sitting on top of the snake’s head. It had caught me but it was still terrifying. I stumbled off of the ancient beast and onto the terrain, it turned its head towards me and leaned in closer, the sheer size and the deadly glare of the creature was already intimidating enough.

Human, I have fought countless soldiers and mages throughout time, yet none wielded the courage to defend against my divine eyes given by the Celestials themselves.

I rubbed my head sheepishly, not understanding a single thing that he was blabbering about. “So, basically, you attacked me and now want to be friends?”

Friends? That was bold of you to even utter, he laughed viciously.

“Then?”

I intend to pass on my Omnis Enchantment to one who is worthy and capable of flourishing it. None has been dignitary enough to utilize the Omnis Enchantment except for the Celestials, you will be the first human in history to wield it.

“What’s that?”

The Omnis Enchantment is passed down from the Celestials, it is a source of mysterious power, yet requires a great sense of greed to wield.

I snorted, “That sounds cool, but you’re really gonna give a kid the cool power of the Celestials after just trying to kill him?”

I have been scouring these forests for centuries, I have been sought after and hunted since the beginning of time, I do not possess the patience for selecting a more magnificent candidate. My days are drawing near, so even a weakling such as you is fit.

“Am I supposed to take that as an insult?”

Speak any more and I will devour you, human, accept the Omnis Enchantment and I shall be free of my duty.

I saw this as an opportunity, if I could get powers from whatever the Omnis Enchantment was, my goal would be even closer than before. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the situation, my body twitches every time I see the old grumpy snake move an inch. This was suspicious but I decided to go along with it, I was probably going to be dead either way. “Fine,” I sighed.

If you die with this Omnis Enchantment, I shall request from the Celestials themselves to revive you and torture you thousands of times.

I shuddered but nodded solemnly. I questioned the true motives of this intimidating being, but what choice did I have? If I had rejected it, would I have been eaten? Was he even speaking the truth? Even if he was, his reasoning was too shallow for me to accept it. Afterall, if he was directly involved with the Celestials, maybe there’s more to him than what meets the eye.

The ancient beast leaned even closer to me, its eyes went from an olive-green to a blinding light-blue, I gulped as the world before me went blank along with my consciousness.