The Beastmaster

“My deepest apologies, young master.”   Those were the last words I heard from my most trusted aide, Edran, after he and other of my retainers assassinated me. The events before of which are still quite foggy, and only bits of memory come back once in a while. The only memories that were clear as water were those very words and the fact that I was set to be killed by none other than my own family.   Four stabs, all of them directed at my chest, all of them with the earnest intent to kill. The bloodlust that I felt even though I am neither a combatant nor a fighter, that is just how much bloodlust they exuded when they tucked in a knife in me like it’s a common thing to do.   Fourth stab, that is when they let go of the knife stuck in my chest, I had one last look at Edran, and what I saw was a pair of eyes with no regrets, no guilt, nothing.   “If you’re angry, blame neither us nor the one who gave the order, blame yourself for being born.”   Those were his last words before they left, with me clutching to the knife in my chest, writhing in pain all confused and tortured by the imminent death I’m facing. At one point I saw this as salvation since all of it will be done, with me leaving this world with a lot of regrets.   Well, that’s what I am supposed to think in this situation.   Unfortunately for them, they underestimated me yet again thinking that I was unaware of what happened. Just like all strong individuals, they become arrogant in front of the weak, thinking that they always have the advantage. In reality, there are numerous advantages that only the weak has, and one of it is the complacency of the strong.   You’ll see.   I tried to stand up while holding the knife stabbed directly into my heart, since removing it would let me die faster by blood loss. Controlling even my breathing became more difficult the more I walked, however, I must move forward toward my only lifeline right now.   Fortunately, I was able to fool Edran into bringing me close to the spot near the river where I hid one of the most treasured elixirs of our family, the Elixir of Vitality.   [ Elixir of Vitality. These vials of bluish liquids are products of concoctions that takes several ingredients from legendary beasts to make. It is so important that wars were waged, and people were killed just for droplets of this miracle drink. Not only they heal on a near-death level, but they also provide different enhancements on the body. And to top it all off, the enhancements these provide are catered to the needs and specifications of your traits such as speed, strength, and intelligence. ]   Taking the elixir I had hidden in a rock nearby, I removed the cork and prepared to drink, Ah, but I needed to first remove the knife stabbed on my chest. Bracing with all my determination, I plucked the weapon out. I had to bite my lips from the excruciating pain because I don’t want to attract unnecessary attention. Blood spurted like a fountain from my chest, and I instantly gulped down on the elixir.   At first, I felt dizzy from the continuous blood loss that I am experiencing, but true to the word, after just a few moments, all of my injuries vanished like the wind and I also felt a surge of strength inside me like I’m being renewed. It truly deserves its moniker of “the miracle drink.”   “Phew.” I had surmised that I will be having near death experiences in this plan, but I guess you always underestimate things you’ve never experienced before. Thinking back, I had thought that they would execute me three days later, Edran must have noticed something so he changed plans. Sharp as ever huh. Good thing that I hid a few elixirs like this in different other locations, although the process was tedious and extremely dangerous, it was all worth it.   This was a fatal mistake by Edran, thinking that I would die eventually and leaving me clutching to dear life. They must be thinking that since I had weak composition, I would not be able to last. Now that I have time to think, I guess this was supposed to happen after all, considering that I am a Rattusian, the kill order probably was from my stepfather.   [ Rattus. A variant of the beastkin race that is characterized by a single pair of continuously growing frontal teeth. Most rattusians are small with thin limbs and long tails. They have high reproductivity which sometimes result in overpopulation. They are also physically weak that causes them to live by groups to increase overall resiliency of their clan. ]   Well, this will be regrettable, but I will make sure to see you again, Father.   For now, I need to ensure my survival. The location Edran brought me was near a river, they must have thought of throwing me into the river as a back-up plan in case something happened. This is among the most dangerous places after all, and knowing Edra, I’m sure he has numerous back-up plans with him that would adapt in different situations.   But because of that, I had access to freshwater, so I don’t have to worry about losing too much moisture. Another thing to take care of is that since I am fully healed now, I have to ensure my basic necessities just by myself. I am not royalty anymore and I won’t be having other people do and bring things for me. The only one that I can rely on now and in the future would be me. Well, at the very least I know that no one will betray me this way.   The next thing I have to worry about could be more of a threat than the stabbing that I experienced. I have read numerous books detailing all the horrors and dangers this place has. Even the word ‘dangerous’ would be and understatement for the tales brought back by those extremely lucky enough to get out of here.   The river near me, also known as the Hallowed River, is a part of one of the most dangerous places in the Kyuram region. Naturally, this is the best place to dispose of a body since they think that I would just be eaten by other monsters here after dying. And they did not have to worry about their safety as well since they’re hardened veterans in these types of situations, I assume they have their own escape route already; though I’m not fully sure if they did escape, knowing the hazard level of this place.   Of course, I could be eaten by monsters here, even if someone was alive and healthy in this place, they would surely still die by different means, from the poisonous patches of soil, acidic quick-sands, carnivorous flora, to the extremely hazardous beasts. No one in their right mind would just wander here, even the most skilled of professional adventurers would hesitate in entering this forest. It surely lives up to its reputation—   Forest Macabre   Unfortunately for my killers, they have overlooked one crucial point in this situation, they didn’t have complete information of my capabilities. Yet I’m relieved that they didn’t, since it gave me several opportunities to take advantage of them, particularly on this situation. Though I am still thinking that maybe this was a part of Edran’s plan, or maybe they were just that confident; whatever it is, they failed to kill me.   Sure, the forest would eventually kill any foreign creatures wandering inside it. However, from what I read in Datorni Gabard’s Book “The Forest of Death,” there was an instance when he tried exploring the forest where a goblin was walking carelessly on the dangerous soil patches. It was said that Gabard thought that the goblin would be killed easily, but much to his surprise, it was akin to a king walking through a red carpet. That even the very plants that would render any beast shaking in fear was avoiding the goblin, and so the author observed and studied the said goblin and found out one characteristic that might explain the peculiar circumstance.   It’s because of Primordial Blood.   No books or information from the Palace’s Grand Library provided details on the origin of Primordial Blood. The only definitive text was from an ancient scroll with no title stating that the blood was from the origin beasts. Although, information regarding the blood’s effects were not that scarce.   I remember when I became aware of my surroundings, my stepmother told me that I was destined for great things as I had primordial blood flowing in me, and everyone in the palace was so kind and caring to me. However, ever since they found out that it cannot be transferred to another beast, they started showing their true colors. Life after that could not even be called life anymore, there were rare times that I wished they didn’t discover anything about the blood, that they would just move on and live together happily again.     But that’s just wishful thinking, I was bestowed with an early awareness of how cruel the world is. Beasts are all generally alike, we have this instinctual desire to be the most powerful, and because of that, the standard of society is strength. If you’re weak, you have no place here. This continent of beasts is like giant predator-prey battlefield where the strong kills the weak. The weak is always the loser, the weak will never survive, that’s the faith of the beastkin. Therefore, my stepfather’s order of assassination on me is just natural.   Natural for the strong, that is.   Well, since I’m here and I have this blood, I guess I need to make full use of it, I learned that one of the greatest characteristics of having primordial blood is that even with huge amounts of bleeding, as long as you have at least a drop of primordial blood, you will never die. That’s how much life and vitality this type of blood has, and that I think, is the reason why my family wanted me dead. One could say that it’s one of their strategies in monopolizing authority, they dispose of things that threaten their position. And of course, since they fear that if someone stronger appears before them, they would appear ‘weak’, which any beastkin would never tolerate.   I am the only one to have this kind of bloodline, even my stepfather didn’t have at least one drop. I’m not too sure as well why I was born with it but my personal aide, Leopold who died protecting me said that I was blessed by the original beast.   Nevertheless, I cannot remove the possibility that there might be other reasons for my assassination. I heard that there were some political conflicts with the other races and internal disputes within the clan. There’s also the fact that the battle for inheritance is near and I can say for sure that my stepsiblings will do anything and anyone for the throne.   I really have a lot of questions in my mind, but I understand that I will get them once I start exploring this world. I never got to see things outside the palace since I was young, I was once regarded as a precious treasure of our clan so they did all they can to make sure no harm befalls me, that includes the action of ‘going out’ was within the palace grounds only.   Well, I can’t say that there were only small benefits on being royalty, the greatest benefit would be my access to the best quality resources in the kingdom. Books, food, and money are just a few of these that I made sure to maximize, since I had a weak composition, I needed to compensate for it with other things like intelligence, resourcefulness, and wit.   But my noble status is just a thing of the past now, with what I have seen so far, even with any reason, my family still tried to kill me. For that, I will make sure to repay them with equal amounts of hospitality. I wonder what gift would be best, I do have to give a gift to everyone of course. That includes my stepmother, who looked at me only as a tool to curry favor to the king, thinking that she can also have primordial blood if they were able to transfer it.   Currently, I am thinking of trying to forage for materials to build a temporary home here in the forest. Yet, I think it will prove to be difficult since I have to be wary at all times for all types of dangers that the forest presents, but I noticed that ever since I got here, even after Edran and the others left, I have not sensed any monster around.   Suspicious. Monsters of the Forest Macabre are known to be aggressive and are adept at sensing prey, I had been bleeding just a few moments ago so my blood should have been a trigger for their extreme senses, yet I have walked parallel to the river for quite a while already and there is still no presence, either from land, air, nor water.   I tried to list all of the factors that could be the reason why I am not being pursued or detected,   Is it because I am a Rattusian? I’ve read before that this Forest only houses beta to apex predatory monsters. Uhm. Probably not, us Rattusians does not have any presence-removal traits.   Did Edran and the others casted some kind of spell on me? Well, why would they? And if so, wouldn’t it be better if it were for ‘attracting’ monsters?   Is it because of my blood? Did Gabard’s idea proved to be true after all?   Right now, that is the most possible explanation. However, how can I prove this theory if there is no monster nearby?   As I was contemplating on how to check the validity of my theory, something passed by in front of me and went into the river, it was so fast that I was not able to even see the shape of its silhouette, it just appeared like a black thing speeding to the waters.   After a few moments, the ‘thing’ that resurfaced was a Pantherian, trying to swim towards the edge of the river.   [ Pantheria. A variant of the beastkin race that is characterized by a muscular body with powerful forelimbs, along with stripes that differentiate their clans by its color. They have long and heavy tails that acts both as a weapon and a balancer in combat. They are also very aggressive even with monsters stronger than them. ]   But, as a part of the Forest Macabre, naturally the river is not normal as well. The water in it is deceptive enough to look like it is safe, yet tales from books tell that people who survived the forest had one advice for anyone daring to go inside.   ‘Pay your respects to the Hallowed River’   I am not still sure as to what It means but obviously its common sense to just avoid it. The Pantherian, being submerged to that very river is desperately swimming to get out. From what I know, Pantherians are supposed to be good swimmers since some of their prey also includes water-dwelling beasts.   So, the question that I have in mind, what is keeping the Pantherian inside the river?   My mind was occupied for just a moment when all of a sudden, a vine burst out of the waters and tried to lash at me. Instinctually lowering my body, I managed to avoid a hit, although when I heard a crash and looked at the direction the vine went, I saw what looked like ten or more trees destroyed.   That was the first time a monster of the forest attacked me, and had I not been able to dodge that, I would have been food to what it was. In this situation, my legs started to tremble in fear and my body lost all its strength to even stand up.   I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die, were the thoughts running through my mind at the moment.   At that instant, I forgot that the vine was still there.