Teacher of a monster (1)

Jack was now sitting with the elder in the tent alone. The other racos, who were the 12th leaders of this village of monsters, were ordered by him to leave the two alone. They left without complaint, not even thinking Jack might do something to their elder.

That's how Jack was sure that the elder, even if he looked old, was still quite powerful, especially his divine power, which he was not feeling that much of, which could only mean he could control how much divinity would come out of his body.

Now that the shadowy thing that plagued Jack's life decided to leave him after he ignored him long enough, Jack felt somewhat relieved, like a burden had been removed from him that he had carried for a long time. Well, for Jack, it was one of the many burdens that he had.

>>First human, no need to give any explanation or try to trick me into thinking you are sorry for killing members of our clan; we always let some out there so adventurers like you can hunt them down<< The eld admitted how they intentionally sent them out, and Jack understood what the raco that brought him here meant by "sacrificed".

>>If I may ask, what do you want me to do? << Jack went straight to the point: he was not going to beat around the bush, especially not with someone like that in front of him.

The elder took a sigh the entire time he held a wooden staff that had a head craved on it, the crave resembling neither the elder nor any of the raco, not even the goblins he saw. He had no idea what that monster that was craved there was meant to be.

>>I won't force you to be punished by killing the goblins, but I will ask you to do two things for us: one will be taking a vow that you won't tell any humans of our location, and the second will be teaching my nephew some of your dark magic; if you do that, I will let you live<<

The elder spoke, and he hit the staff on the ground. The eyes of the craved statue on it glowed with divine energy. Jack knew he had no choice, but it did not bother him; he nodded to what the elder requested.

>> Wait you agree just like that? << the elder asked, surprised; he did not expect Jack to agree to do it that fast.

He expected him to fight back or to try anything but Jack, and agreeing that easily just surprised the elder. He looked at Jack, but not with complete trust.

Jack raised his arms and spoke: >>I have nothing to lose doing that, and I... << why else did Jack want to do it? He was not afraid of death in any way.

>> I want to live this life of mine how I want to<< he said. The elder looked into Jack's eyes and saw how they were just empty, with no emotions at all.

He did not know what Jack went through, but he was sure that it had to be something so terrible that he had lost all hope in life.

>>I don't know why else I want to do this except that I just want to live the life I want, even if I die early<< like a child.

The elder saw Jack as only a child; he lived a long life and met many humans but never saw such a carefree person, not even knowing their purpose.

The divine energy of the staff statue then came out, and a link was made between the two of them right at their hearts.

>>With your acceptance of the deal, the vow has been made. The moment one of us breaks it, the one who broke their part in the vow will die with their heart getting destroyed to not get saved<<

The elder then stood up and spoke: >>Now come, I shall bring you to my nephew<< With that, the elder stood up and walked outside. Jack followed him silently; it was just like a dog following its owner.

Jack has never done much for himself except to survive hunting monsters and selling parts of theirs to earn a living, talk with the villagers to make them like him, act nice so they like him more, and sometimes do favors for them even if it puts him in danger.

Yes, that was the life he had chosen to lead, as that was what would be most helpful for him to do in the long run, and the villagers, thanks to that, liked him.

It was all there, so he had a better life there so that it would be easier to survive. Just to survive, nothing more.

His expression became darker as he realized that there was never much he did out of desire alone. Jack, as he was deep in his thoughts, did not realize that he had followed the elder quite a bit now that the two had even entered a cave.

It is weird how he did not even notice this; it seems he had been deep in his thoughts. The elder made light using his divine energy. The cave was quite deep and long, being multiple kilometers long.

Jack felt cramps in his leg and leaned on the wall, breathing heavily like a dark magician. His body was terribly out of shape, as even if he hunted monsters, he never did it regularly and not to an extent that was too much for his body.

>I should have trained< Jack cursed at himself, not a literal curse, as he did not want to weaken himself. Even more words meant a lot, and he may curse himself without it having been his intention.

The elder touched his shoulder, and Jack's legs felt lighter and more energetic. He looked at the elder, tilting his head and showing confusion, as did his eyes.

>>That is a basic technique that I have developed for transferring divine energy from a person's body to someone else's body<<

The elder explained shortly and easily. Jack was more confused; he wanted to ask what kind of god he served, as his divine energy did make him feel uncomfortable, which would mean it was from a benevolent god.

However, when it entered his body, he felt no discomfort, which was a contradiction to how benevolent divine energy interacts with dark mages.

>>Come, let us continue now that we are closer to my nephew<< the elder continued in his tracks.

Jack understood that he had no intention of waiting for Jack to ask him any question or to answer it, even though it was understandable. He was most likely a person who disliked having many questions asked of him, like Jack.

They would soon reach a door. The door had many pieces of paper on it with weird symbols and language that Jack did not know.

The elder looked at the door, and Jack looked at the elder. He expected him to call out his nephew's name or spell to open the door. He thought these weird things might be some sort of protection. He was only drawing conclusions.

The most unexpected thing happened: the elder opened the door with one swift kick. It was quick and faster than Jack could perceive; he did not think that the elder would kick the door open, especially so close; he was mere centimeters away from the door but kicked it open that fast.

Then there was a small boy sitting on the ground. He wore ripped clothes. They were all dirty. His skin had a coal-like color. The boy was quite tall, he was most likely the same height as Jack.

He stared at the two of them with an empty stare. The stare was truly empty. He was not thinking of anything the very moment he looked at them.

>>Damn boy<< The elder hit the head of his nephew hard enough to make his head bleed, which woke up his nephew. >>Uncle, for what was that!<< he said as he grumbled.

It seems he is out of the trance-like state he was in, as his eyes shine with life now. He looked at Jack, showing a face of pure confusion, but then looked at his uncle, speaking more politely and calmly: >>Uncle, why do I sense your divine energy in him?<< the nephew asked his uncle. The uncle looked at his nephew, then sighed and looked at Jack.

>>I apologize for my nephew's state but the reason he is like this is because of my request towards you for you to teach him he can see the non-living that normally the living cannot see with their normal eyes while also mention of seeing glowing light things or some sort of aura around people which he says feel dark and as you are a dark mage I request your help to teach him the arts of the dark magic of what you know<<

That was a lot of information but from what Jack knew and learned now is that the nephew of the elder was what called a blessed dark mage as the individuals that can see the non-living and see the living and death force without any training tend to have a great potential of becoming high ranking dark mages ones that may even ascend to become a lich.

>>I will do my best to teach him whatever I know<< Jack replied to the elder gave him a nod before just leaving Jack with his nephew.

Jack looked at the nephew, he remained with a confused look, while Jack's eyes showed no sign of emotion towards the raco.

>>What a funny thing you as a teacher! If my father had heard that, he would have taken your head<< The voices spoke; a proud female voice spoke; it was how a noble would speak.

Snickering and laughing, mocking, and ridiculing, the voice was showing the complete dislike it had for Jack.