This Old Man Is A Monster

I was persistently following the old man, which was a surprisingly tough task with my, now, short legs. We walked for a long time already and encountered a lot of dangerous-looking animals. Can you even call those creatures "animals"? It clearly wasn't my old world. For the first time in my life, I've seen a two-headed wolf, a giant monkey with a golden horn, or a bird that was as big as an elephant. My decision not to stay alone was so very right!

'As I expected, my feeling was right - this old man is a true monster.' All those creatures were killed by him in passing, he didn't even seem like paying attention. What he was doing was way beyond anything that I've experienced before. I felt excitement bubbling inside me - there was something new to learn. There were strong opponents to fight. I felt so alive. Now if only someone was able to teach me magic.

—

About an hour later, we finally reached a house. I shamelessly entered without him inviting me. Everything inside was all made of wood: bed, the only chair, and a pitiful excuse of a table. Does this old man even live here? It was almost empty. Without saying anything, or otherwise acknowledging my existence, the old man sat at the floor cross-legged, seemingly meditating.

I kept staring at him, waiting for him to respond. After a while, the old man finally opened his eyes and looked at me with a mix of annoyance and exasperation on his face.

"Why are you still here, kid?"

"Old man, why won't you stop being so stubborn? Just teach me magic already! Besides, it's not like I have anywhere to go."

He was thinking for a moment, then sighed and told me:

"No way, kid. But you can use that bed over there, I won't be using it anyway"

The old man stood up and walked outside. Seems like this grumpy old codger is not all that bad, but his stubbornness is off the charts. I don't plan on giving up either, though.

"Where are you going, old man?"

He didn't answer me, so I followed him. Once outside, the old man picked up the ax and started to chop the tree trunk in half. Why did he suddenly start doing that?

"Why are you suddenly starting to chop that, old man? Some kind of training?"

"Kind of, but I will need firewood for cooking and a hot bath. Didn't even know that at least?"

"Of course, I knew that!"

I quietly observed the old man as he raised the ax and slashed down the small trunk in half. Hm? What is that? I felt something when the old man swung the ax. Is it my imagination? The old man noticed my surprise and asked:

"Huh? Did you feel it?"

"What do you mean?" I was confused by his question.

The old man only looked at me for a moment before resuming what he was doing. 'What's wrong with him? Playing all mysterious?' I shook my head and put this thought at the back of my mind, as I intently looked at the old man's work. His stance, his swing motion, and the way he placed his feet, it was all very deliberate. Was he doing this on purpose? Was it his way of teaching me?

The old man kept on doing that till afternoon, I almost forgot about the flow of time, since I was too focused on watching him.

My focus was broken by the sound of the growling stomach, it seemed like it was loud enough for the old man to hear as well since he stopped his swing mid-air and turned his head to me. I put my two hands in my stomach and said

"Hm, when was the last time I ate something?"

The old man waved his hand and a boar, which was at least twice the size of the normal one, suddenly appeared.

"Woah!"

This sudden appearance surprised me. I bet old codger did it on purpose! Damn you, old man, and your tricks.

"How did you do that old man? Where did that boar come from?"

"Magic. Now, don't ask any questions and move your ass, bring some of the firewood that I chopped over there"

He pointed at the rocks on the side, I scratched my head and did what the old man told me. The rocks were neatly arranged in a circle, in the middle were lots of small charred woods. I put the firewood in the middle and turned around to look at the old man before asking.

"Is this enough, old man?"

The old man just nodded in acknowledgment, then he cut the chunk of the boar and waved his hand again making the boar disappear again. I wanted to learn how this old man did it but, there are more important things to focus on right now. Like food. Or food. Or maybe food? So I kept my mouth shut, though my stomach kept on rumbling. The old man started to cook the chunk of meat.

After we finished eating, I asked the old man.

"So, old man. Are you going to continue with chopping?"

"No. It's enough for now"

I nodded sleepily. My eyes felt like someone put sand in them. 'Yeah, it seems like I was way more tired than I thought.' With that, I went inside the house and laid down on the bed. Sleep came before my head even touched the surface.

---

I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar wooden ceiling. 'What a good nap' was my first thought, while I tried to stretch and scratch my right eye with my hand.

It looks like my little nap ended up until morning. Before standing up, I looked around and didn't see the old man anywhere. Then I looked at my hands and two feet, they still were small. Looks like it wasn't a dream after all. I was, most likely, reincarnated in another world.

Yes, Of course, I couldn't believe this kind of thing actually happened, but what else would have it been? I need to accept it. I went outside and saw the old man sitting cross-legged in the grass with his eyes closed.

"Didn't you sleep, old man?"

"I don't need to."

'Is his body strong enough to last without sleeping?' I shrugged it off and kept talking:

"Teach me magic then. Not like you have anything better to do anyway"

"Quit it, kid. I won't teach you magic, even if you begged me on your knees"

He is still being stubborn, I see.

"But why?"

The old man didn't answer and just closed his eyes again. It looks like he is a hard nut to crack. I felt frustrated as I clenched my two hands into a fist tightly and gritted my teeth.

"Fine then, I will do it on my own!"

Though the old man didn't react, there is no way he will ignore me forever. Time to think about all the training from my past life. Till he agrees, what should I do?

'For now, I will just build up my body slowly.'

With that thought, I started with the basic training.