6 Fate

Jame was awakened by the song of birds. He couldn't remember what happened after losing consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes and had no idea where he was. He noticed that he was no longer in pain and was lying on a bed made of leaves. He tried to get up but his body didn't move. Knowing he couldn't move, he looked around the environment.

He saw the stalactites on the ceiling and some bats. He knew he was in a cave. Next to him was a small campfire. That was why he didn't feel cold in the cave. There were some tools beside the campfire. After confirming the situation, he sighed. He managed to escape somehow.

"Joe" he muttered himself. Everything was a mystery to him now. Why did rankers betray? "I will revenge for you, Joe. I will surely get revenge." He promised himself.

He stopped thinking about the past and sighed again. Then he felt something was missing and checked his body.

"What the fuck?" He screamed with the startled eyes. His whole body was bandaged and his right hand was gone. He calmed down and controlled his breath. Was that the cost for his escape?

The cave was so quiet and creepy at the same time. Suddenly Jame heard footsteps. The footsteps became closer and he saw an old man as he tilted his head a little. There were two dead rabbits in his left hand and he was holding a machete in his right hand.

The old man's naked upper body revealed his muscular arms and chest. His long white hair framed his manly face. Black pants and a pair of black boots covered his lower half. Scars and tattoos were all over his body. His eyes were so sharp like an eagle. Jame was amazed at his appearance.

"Regain consciousness? I thought you would die. Ahaha__what a tough guy!" The old man laughed and said. He sat beside Jame and prepared to grill the rabbits.

"I don't know who you are but thanks for saving my life." Jame said with a honest voice.

"Well, it is me who found you in the forest but I am not the one who saved you." The old man replied while he was butchering the rabbits. "Don't ask questions for now. Just relax! I will tell you in detail." He insisted.

"Last week, I was hunting a beer in this forest. After killing the beer, I was going to butcher it. Suddenly I saw a lightning pike flying toward me. I was surprised. Ahaha__ I was like what the fuck_ahaha" He said and laughed at the same time. Jame was listening quietly.

Then he continued, "Then I saw it was not only the pike. A boy was tied to the tail of pike with this rope too. That boy was you." He showed him the black rope. It looked as if nothing had happened, like it was brand new.

"Then I caught that pike and released you. But at that time, you were almost dead. Your both hands were burnt so badly and your whole body was wounded as fuck. I even thought you had died." He told Jame with a calm voice. Then he finished butchering and started to grill.

"To my surprise, you didn't die. Your heart was still beating hardly even with those kinds of wounds. It was as if your soul was fighting so hard and refusing to die. So I decided to gamble with fate and save you."

"Please tell me where I am now." Jame requested.

"We are now in the magical forest at the north, near the elf territory. Have you ever heard?"

"No, I am from a village. So I don't know much about the outside world." Jame answered. The old man looked at him with a kind look.

"The magical forest is between the elf and dwarf territory. The dark elves live in this forest and they are the guardians of this forest. This place is forbidden to enter even for elves. Although dark elves were a kind of elf race, they lived in this forest and didn't interfere with the outside world. This forest is like a private world. But I am an exception. For some reason, I can stay here." He told Jame and smelled the grilled rabbit.

The smell of grilled rabbit made Jame hungry all of a sudden. "It's ready. Let's eat first." He helped Jame to get up and gave him one grilled rabbit. Jame ate it quickly as he was so hungry and craving meat. It was the most delicious meal in his life. The old man looked at him and gave his grilled rabbit to him. "Eat slowly. Noone is going to rob it." He said with a smile. Jame took it and ate it too. He felt like his strength was coming back and realized he could move now.

After eating, the old man gave him a battle and asked, "Water?" Jame took and drank the whole bottle.

"And then I took you to the dark elves to save you. They could heal all your wounds except your right hand. It was severely damaged by the lightning than your left hand. So they had to cut it. I am sorry but it is still a miracle that you survive now." The old man explained. Jame sighed and lied back to the bed.

"So how about you? How did you end up like that? Are you a criminal?" The old man asked him and held his machete. Jame frowned and looked at him.

"Now tell me about you. I will decide later after hearing your story. Don't try to lie. If I think you are lying, I will kill you immediately. I have saved you but if I think you are a guy who shouldn't be saved, I will kill you. Sorry. I can't trust you easily. This is how this world works." His voice suddenly changed to an authoritative tone.

"I understand." Jame sighed and told the old man his life story. How were his parents killed, how did he end up at J city, how did he get thrown away with the pike, he told him everything including about the spirits as he didn't want to lie to his life saver.

After telling his long story, Jame took a deep breathe and rested. The old man looked calm now. He dropped the machete beside him and muttered, "What a coincidence!" They didn't talk each other for a while. It became quiet so suddenly. Even a drop of water from the stalactites could be heard.

Then the old man started talking, "That guys called Joe is so smart to think that idea, especially when he was in a bloody battle and he could still manage to calm down his mind. Impressive! That explains about that black rope too."

"Why?" Jame asked.

"This black rope is specially made for extremely dangerous criminals. Only dark capes have permission to take this black rope from the royal armory. It has a strong effect. Once you are tied with this rope, it can't be untied by physical strength alone and it can resist magic damage to a certain limit. So the criminal can't escape from this rope and can't use magic as it won't affect the rope. In short, this rope is a special item. So when I saw this rope with you, I couldn't help suspecting you." The old man explained with a deep voice.

Jame didn't know that rope was so special. He was surprised. Then he remembered something and asked with confused eyes, "You said you released me. How did you untie me then? And also how did you catch a lightning pike that was flying with the speed of lightning?"

"Too many questions, kid. To tell the truth, I hate questions. Yes, it is strong but everything has limits. And this world has more than one power source. Magic is not the only way to improve your strength. In catching pike case, it is easy. His lightning magic is too weak to damage me. That's all."

"Are you telling me that you are strong enough?" Jame said with a mocking tone.

"You are just a frog in the well. Never mind, do you remember how you lost consciousness while talking with the spirits." The old man asked with a glance.

Jame frowned and got up from the bed. Then he sat in front of the old man and asked, "Yes, I remember exactly. I am sure. It was not magic. Why?"

"Like this?" The old man looked into his eyes and snapped his finger.

Suddenly the surrounding atmosphere became wild with the cracking sound of air. Jame felt a strong pressure pressing him to the ground. He screamed and held his head as if he couldn't withstand it any longer. It was the same feeling as before, when he talked with the spirits.

Soon, everything returned to normal. Jame's body was covered in sweat and he was breathing heavily. The old man was looking at him. After a moment, Jame was fine and asked, "What is that? It is not magic. What kind of power is that?"

The old man smiled and said with a clear voice. "It is called aura domination." Aura, Jame remembered it.

"Aura? I heard it before. Joe told me something like that too. What is it?" Jame asked.

"Well, it is complicated and I have no time to explain. You look like you are fine now. Relax for now. I will send you near the Anthropos when you fully recover." The old man answered.

Jame kneeled down and requested him, "Please teach me. I want to be strong."

The old man asked with kind eyes, "Why do you want to be strong? The fate doesn't favor you. You can do nothing against it, kid. Why don't you give up?"

"I can't give in now. I have promises to keep. So I need to be strong, for myself and for the ones I cared for. I just hate being weak." Jame looked like he had made a decisive decision. "When my parents died, I couldn't do anything. I didn't even have a chance to see them again. Because I was weak. When Joe sacrificed himself to save me, I couldn't do anything because I was weak. I don't want to be weak anymore. So please, teach me. I can't use magic and I have lost my right hand now. You are my last hope."

The old man smiled. "If you are that willing, I will help. I just tested you are determined or not. If you want to learn, you must remember not to be a weak-minded guy. You must be strong both physically and mentally. Don't be a weak-minded guy, kid."

Jame almost cried out with a surge of an unfamiliar mixture of emotions. Joy and relief.

"To say the truth, after hearing your story, I knew that I must help you. And your eyes, your dark eyes, remind me of someone, a regret I couldn't erase." The old man looked into his dark eyes and said. The old man's eyes looked kinda sad.

"Relax for now. We will start lessons next week. I will teach you about this world and you must not disappoint me." Jame nodded.

"I need to ask permission from dark elves to keep you. So I will leave you now." The old man said and prepared to leave.

Jame lied down back and tried to close his eyes. "And one thing_" He tilted his head and looked the old man. "My name is Jim, call me old Jim." He said and left the cave.

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(Thanks for reading.😇)