Chapter 2

Right now Jin was sleeping in his small house but he awoke when he heard the sounds of screaming what could be going on right now Jin got up and opened his door he was still groggy and had his eyes closed Jin yawned loudly then took a deep breath and opened his eyes but what he saw woke him right up.

Death and devastation all around him guard's shouting people running huge monsters killing dozens of people this could only be one thing a beast tide these only happen every few years the last one was five years ago looks like another one is happening right now.

But it's strange the guards didn't know a beast tide was gonna happen with their skills they should have known at least a day in advance it's actually pretty easy to predict these sorts of things but I have heard that in some cases beast tides can pop up suddenly and without warning but those are rare.

Since they didn't know they couldn't get the villagers to safety now it looks like most if not all of the villagers will be wiped out today too bad but you know that's life so what can you do.

Jin stood out on his lawn getting a good view of the carnage about thirty people are dead including two guards and less than one hundred people live here so that's almost half the whole village most of them are the weak and elderly plus some women and children too.

Hey, looky here are those who I think they are yup it is right now I see three mutilated corpses lying in rubble it's those bullies it appears they got themselves killed by monsters serve them right.

Karma is a bitch, after all, be a bunch of loud annoying assholes you gonna die like one after a while of snickering I notice there is still a bunch of monsters in the village most of which are surrounding the center of the village where the chiefs house is hmm?

Most likely the survivor's field to the chief's house with the rest of the guards his house is the biggest and the sturdiest so everyone would be the safest there it's the perfect location to both attack and defend from.

I can hear sound's of fighting coming from there so that must be the case but that doesn't concern me all the people here could die and I still wouldn't care what I'm most concerned about right now is the monster charging right at me.

I jump to the side to avoid the huge beast from crushing I look and see the monster that tried to attack me it's a razorback boar their 1st-grade monster that has high speed and a thick hide covered in razor-sharp quills it looked like a mix between a pig and a porcupine that was also the size of a grizzly bear.

The boar smashed into a nearby building reducing it to rubble it emerged with wood fragments caught in its quills the boar proceeded to stomp and squeal in frustration angered at the pathetic human for dodging its mighty charge.

Jin watched the boar's temper tantrum with a solemn expression that hide his rage Jin vowed to crush this boar this filthy beast smashed apart his house Jin's sacred space his oasis now it was gone it had to pay.

Jin walked towards the boar in small slow strides as an overwhelming killing intent oozed off his every pore.

Jin's whole body screamed one thing kill this boar the pressure he emitted was so strong the boar stopped its tantrum and looked at Jin with a hint of fear but its fear didn't last long it shook its head then charged at Jin with full force ready to impale him on its spines.

Jin didn't stop though he just kept walking with the same serious look on his face never showing any fear the boar was confused by this any human would try to dodge but not this one it just kept walking towards it but the boar with its simple mind just assumed Jin was paralyzed by fear and kept charging at him.

Just as the boar was mere inches away from hitting him Jin did something incredible on instinct alone he swiveled on his right foot dodging the charge by a hairs width he then took his right fist he had tucked in his pocket and punched the boar in its temple which was one of the few places not covered in sharp quills.

The boar fell to the ground its huge body lay limp this surprised Jin he wasn't entirely confident he could kill the boar at all he was strong sure but he never actually fought a monster before so he didn't know what he was truly capable of but it now looks like he just killed the razorback boar with one punch.

Jin felt the spot where he just punched the boar and noticed a fist-shaped dent in the boar's skull he was stronger than he gave himself credit this was a 1st-grade monster which means Jin had the strength of at least a 2nd-grade fighter to kill it like this.

However, I never practiced a body tempering technique like other humans do to grow stronger this must be my inherent strength which is incredible, to say the least, It usually takes a few years for a human to become a 2nd-grade warrior but Jin was born with that kind of power no wonder the guards look at him with envy it took them years to get what he was just born with I'd be jealous too.

What should I do now Jin looked all around him and saw the monsters were still rampaging but the sounds of fighting coming from the chief's house had died down but explosions and fire would erupt every so often as would a deep voice shouting at something.

I decided to see what was going on over there as I walked there a monster or two would jump at me but I just dodged and then killed them with well-placed punches to their vital points when I arrived I saw the village chief engaged in a fierce battle with a giant red wolf.

Huh? this isn't an ordinary wolf it's a flame wolf by its red color they are strong monsters with high agility and powerful fire magic but still, they are only 1st-grade monsters the village chief shouldn't have such a tough time with one he is a 3rd-grade warrior a 1st-grade magical beast like this one should be child's play.

Wait a minute this wolf's different it's larger than normal and has one long bright orange horn in the center of its forehead oh now I get it this flame wolf is a 2nd-grade magical beast that is a much faster and stronger version of a normal flame wolf.

Now it all makes sense a 2nd-grade flame wolf is very dangerous it takes at least four 3rd grade fighters or one 4th-grade fighter to kill one of these monsters not to mention their fire magic is one hundred times stronger than when it was a 1st-grade flame wolf even though the chief is strong and has years of battle experience he no match for this monster.

The chief is fighting with everything he has swinging his battle-ax with everything he has as a dark red aura radiates off his body.

So that's the battle aura technique the chief practices Jin had heard of this technique but never seen this technique is the most basic of all the fighting techniques that is the easiest and simplest to understand.

Sadly we humans don't even know this technique while it's common knowledge to the other races we weak humans don't and the only humans who do know it are the ones that served in the dragon empires military or bought it for an overpriced amount.

From what I know the chief joined the military when he was a teenager but retired when he was young well it's more like he was kicked out for showing no improvement in his technique he then returned to his home where he was hailed as the strongest man in the village and became its chief.

Ha but right now he was on the verge of death his red aura was nothing but a flicker his body covered in claw and bite marks plus scorch marks from the fireballs the flame wolf shot out of its mouth.

Looking around I see all the other guards are dead so are the villagers I and the chief are the last ones it appears but he won't last long wait what's he doing.

The wolf was too fast its speed far outmatch the chief he wasn't able to even scratch it but after taking out a red dagger-shaped crystal and stabbing himself in the heart with it his aura then exploded as he shouted "Blood burning crystal kamikazes sacrifice!!!"

He grew to a shocking nine feet in height his skin then began to harden and turn a dark grey as his eyes turned into two large bloody saucers the chief roared like a savage beast and pounded his chest.

"You dirty beast you killed everyone I don't care if I die anymore as long as you go down with me," he spoke in a deep monster-like voice his massive legs moved and smashed apart the earth as he charged with the force of a freight train plowing into the flame wolf reducing it to a bloody pulp.

The magical beast was dead like that a 2nd-grade flame wolf that could reduce forests to ash was now gone a second ago it looked like a one-sided battle an easy victory to the flame wolf but with one move it was now nothing but a red stain on the ground.

After the flame wolf died all the other monsters in the village ran away it looks like that monster was leading the horde but now that it's dead the others don't wanna stay here where they could die too.

After all the monsters were gone the chief fell to the ground breathing heavily his aura began to fade along with his life he looked over and saw me staring at him he spoke saying.

"Well if it isn't young Jin sorry you must see me like this I used a magic item called a blood demon stone it's a sacrificial item that exchanges one life for power as you can tell by my impressive display of power just now,"

He then began to vomit large amounts of blood and his breathing became more ragged he didn't have long left to live.

"Jin I don't have long left listen to me in my room under my bed is a hidden compartment with two books inside one details the battle aura technique the other is the magician's meditation technique take both and practice them I can't say for certain if you possess magical talent but if you do practice it and then when you turn fifteen go to the capital five days away and join either the knight's academy or the mages academy grow up strong and become successful you must promise me,"

"I promise you Chieftain," Jin really meant it too well in a way by that I mean he only wanted those techniques if he had to promise an old man something to get them he didn't care what he had to do it.

"Good then go now quickly in a few minutes my body is going to self-destruct it's gonna destroy the whole damn village it's what happens once the blood demon crystal wears off so go on now young Jin quickly,"

Oh shit, I gotta hurry Jin ran into the chiefs house and opened every door until he found the bedroom he used his Herculean strength to toss the bed onto its side Jin looked around until he saw the compartment and quickly opened taking the two books inside and then ran away as fast as he could.

Jin was almost to the village gates just a few feet away and I would be safe too bad the chief exploded earlier than I thought I was outside the blast but the force of the explosion swept me off my feet and sent me flying into the thick wooden gate smashing me right through it.

I was lying on the ground several yards outside the village the blast didn't really hurt him but being smashed through a giant wooden gate sure did Jin's body was covered with bruises but nothing was broken so that's good.

I got up after some difficulty and looked back at the village there was nothing left of it except for the gate that surrounded it but even that was damaged too.

"Man, that was some explosion," Jin was impressed by the amount of destruction that explosion caused just think about it one man's corpse reduced an entire village to a smoking crater that's pretty damn impressive.

So what now Jin had his two books so guess I'll go into the forest and learn these techniques and I guess in future when I turn fifteen I'll go to that capital city and join one of those academy's but for now I'll just stay in the woods for a few years while I'm at it I'll also find a place to rest and train.

Jin walked off into the forest on his way he encountered a few 1st-grade monsters like a wind wolf some iron silk spiders and one or two toxic bark scorpions but they were just small fries to me I just crushed them and moved on until I saw a cave that would be perfect for me to live in.

I walk into the cave and saw a giant grizzly bear inside the bear had green mixed in its brown fur which made it look like it was covered in moss Jin knew this kind of monster it's a tyrant earth grizzly they are 2nd-grade monsters who have monstrous vitality there incredibly tough bodies heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.

These bears have iron-like skin and they regenerate crazy fast there nearly impossible to kill there one of the strongest species of monsters in this forest at least in terms of defense.

I can't beat one of those monsters well not now anyway luckily it's asleep right now so time to run Jin quietly moved away from the cave well until he stepped on a bug, not just any bug it's called a rotted flesh maggot it's not even a 1st-grade monster but it has a special defense mechanism when it feels threatened it releases a horrible foul-smelling stench so noxious would put any skunk to shame.

Before I stepped on it the stupid bug released that terrible gas and the giant bear with its very sensitive nose smelled it and immediately woke up and the very pissed-off bear stared right at me.

"Well just fuck me in the ass," Jin cursed his luck and ran away as fast as he could as the tyrant earth grizzly chased after him.

Good thing the huge bear is so slow looks like all that bulk is slowing the dumb bear down but it's still pretty fast I need to keep moving I ran deeper into the forest as the tyrant grizzly slowly gained on me I've been running for more than an hour now so I'm starting to get tired but this grizzly even has me beat in terms of stamina it doesn't even look tired at all even after running for so long.

Shit if this keeps up I'll die for sure I have to think of something fast as Jin ran at full speed he saw a wondrous sight well maybe to him it was a giant anthill more specifically iron fire ants there are also 2nd-grade monsters but unlike the lone grizzly, these guys live in large colonies of hundreds of ants there perfect thank you lord now to lure this bear over there.

Jin ran towards the anthill and of course, the enraged bear followed him unaware that a trap awaited him just as Jin was about to run into the anthill he jumped and safely landed on the other side but the massive grizzly couldn't jump and fell right on it causing it to collapse under its weight.

The bear struggled to get but as it was trying to free its left paw it roared in pain the reason the ant that was the size of a jaguar biting into its side the ant had a black exoskeleton and blood-red mandibles that dripped with a toxin that causes excruciating pain when it gets into an open wound.

Multiple giant ants shot out of the collapsed anthill and started attacking the grizzly its wounds may heal fast but that pain poison lasts for a long time this is how these ants kill bigger and tougher monsters like the grizzly using a combination of numbers and venom to overwhelm there opponent.

The grizzly looked exhausted as its pain kept getting worse and worse the poor thing couldn't even fight back because it was still partially stuck in the collapsed anthill all it could do was roar in agony as it writhed around completely overwhelmed by the iron fire ants.

This happened for several minutes as more and more ants crawled out and started ripping apart flesh from the bear and the monster could do nothing as they did it eventually the bear's brain couldn't take it anymore and the 2nd-grade tyrant earth grizzly went into shock and died from the pain.

The ants then proceeded to dissect the bear and rebuild their collapsed entrance it all took place in a neat and orderly manner thank you noble ant folk for getting rid of that stupid bear time to move into my new cave.

Jin walked back to the bear's cave and made sure there weren't anymore monsters in the cave after I saw nothing else was inside I headed in sat down and cracked open the first book the battle aura technique hmm?

This is easy after reading one page I understand the whole thing it's way too simple all I have to do is concentrate for a little while until my aura emerges then while in that empowered state exercise to raise my physical constitution it's easy plus I can use it as a status buff in battle to increase my strength so it is both a tempering technique and a combat technique.

Let's try it then Jin closed his eyes and concentrated a second later a golden-colored aura covered my body and I felt myself grow stronger I wasted no time and began to exercise extra hard to increase my strength.

After a few hours of exercise, I grew tired and stopped training I could feel a difference in my strength this is great but I had no doubts after all with my monstrous physique becoming a warrior would be too easy but no matter time for the real challenge let's look at the meditation technique.

Jin was more than a little nervous he may have the talent to be a fighter but I'm not so sure I have the talent to be a mage only one in a thousand humans can be mages and only one out of one hundred thousand have any extraordinary talent what were my odds out of all the other people in the world.

Jin calmed his nerves and open the book whether or not he could understand this and how well he understood it would determine if he could become a mage Jin read the first page and that's it he immediately got it.

Hahahahahahaha!!! it was so easy only one page no in fact not even that just the first two sentences and Jin understood it which meant he had monstrous magical talent too.

Jin sat in a lotus position and started meditating as I did the world faded into darkness but in that darkness, there were light particles but those particles shined in a multitude of different colors I reached out and grabbed those lights and swallowed them I ate them all for hours and hours I ate them until the next day.

With the meditation technique, I don't need to sleep by practicing the technique I feel completely refreshed like I slept a full eight hours last night.

Jin came up with a plan he would stay in this forest and train for ten years by then he will be fifteen then he will head to the fire dragon nation capital and enroll in the nations mage academy but that's in the future for now it's training the fighting technique during the day and at night the meditation technique.

"I can't wait for the future," Jin said with a devilish grin on his face.