《Wild One》


 Prologue: Jungle

    Prologue-Jungle


    In the dark shadows of the jungle, two predators lay watching for their next meal.


    "Mmmh, something smells delicious"(???)


    "Yes, smells of... human!"(??)


    "Hehehehe, the last time I''ve even seen a human was at least five years ago, let alone eaten one. Seems like dinner''s been served"(???)


    Meanwhile, in a clearing 5 minutes away, a boy around twelve years of age with piercing green eyes and wavy, shoulder length hair, and a lean physique that has been tempered by the jungle sat humming and looking around as if he didn''t have a care in the world.


    "Heh, they thought I didn''t sense them... idiots. Even a deaf man could hear them "sneaking" around in the forest. That makes it all the easier for me. Dinner''s been served."(Boy)


    Roar! Out of the nearby foliage, two sleek black gorillas 6 feet tall with bat like wings and grey streaks in their fur, land in front of the ever so calm boy and charge at him. The boy simply stares and taps his finger on his forearm.


    "Idiots"


    Snap! The ground underneath the gorillas gave way and they fell into two cleverly hidden pitfalls with spikes made out of some type of incredibly sturdy wood. The sound of the spikes piercing through their bodies would send shivers up any man''s spine yet the boy sat there like it was an everyday occurrence.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Hehehe, I won''t be hungry for days"(Boy)


    He then hoisted up the heavy gorillas with rippling muscles and bones creaking under the strain.


    "Whew! These are some heavy bastards"(Boy)


    He then started up a large fire with practiced motions and took out a black dagger that was the purest black and looked as if it was once the claw of a mighty beast. He quickly chopped off one of the gorilla''s arms and roasted it over the fire using the dagger. After around ten minutes, he felt that it had been enough time and took it off the fire while staring at it with a stupid smile and a growling stomach. He was about to dig in when he felt a strong tug on his mind to where the second gorillas bloody corpse now lay.


    As he walked closer and closer, the tugging on his mind became stronger and stronger. He got close enough to touch the gorilla by simply stretching his hand, he suddenly felt the strongest tug yet and out of the side of the corpse where one of the holes pierced through by the spikes was a small bead that was simply the size of fingernail and was black as the night, yet shined in a mesmerizing pattern, the boy picked up the bead and as if it was his instinct, he stuck it in his mouth, and felt it melt on his tongue and follow his saliva''s route down his throat and into his stomach.


    Somehow though, he could feel that the liquid was following a slightly different route and had instead traveled right towards his heart and was pumped throughout his veins and miraculously, he could feel it strengthening every part of his body, if only slightly.


    He had changed, he could feel it. He walked over to a tree and punched as hard as he could. What was left was a small indentation of a fist about 1 cm deep and had slightly burned the area around the fist mark.


    "What the hell? That''s... not normal. Well, as long as it ain''t dangerous..."(Boy)


    The boy then climbed up the tallest uninhabited tree and proceeded to close his eyes to fall asleep, knowing all too well the dangers of the ground at night as those gorillas were at the bottom of the food chain in this merciless jungle.

 Chapter 1: Griffin

    Chapter 1: Griffin


    Awakening with a snarl, the boy looked down from his perch in the tree to see a large raven twice his size with glowing red eyes hopping around in the clearing he had made his traps in the previous night. He let out a low growl as the raven flew towards where he had hidden his leftovers. It found them and let out a joyful cry as it happily dug in.


    In a fit of rage, the boy jumped down, dagger in hand towards where the raven had found it''s meal. He let out a loud battle cry as he brought down the dagger piercing through the raven''s wing like butter.


    It let out a low cry as it felt the sudden pain in it''s wing. With it''s own battle cry, it span around, throwing the boy still grasping onto his dagger towards the ground. With a few movements out of desperation, he somehow managed to turn feet first while preparing to cushion his landing.


    He landed on his feet and rolled to break his fall. He turned around to once again face the giant bird when suddenly, his blood started shaking uneasily within his veins and his mind screamed DANGER. He let out a small whimper and dove into the nearby bushes.


    The raven let out an enraged shriek as his attacker had slipped away. It was about to give chase when roar that shook the heavens sounded out above him as a 40 ft long griffin with red scales along it''s golden feathers and fur. Swooped down from the sky and snapped the raven''s neck with it''s powerful beak, took a brief glance towards where the boy was hiding before flying off with the corpse in it''s mouth.


    ***


    "Father, are we nearly there yet?"(???)


    "Abigail, my dear, you must be patient. There is nowhere else for us to return to now. We must head to the forest, it will be at least two more weeks until we get there, and that''s with good weather. You must wait"(???)


    "Yes, father"(Abigail)


    "Everything will be better there. I have... friends in the forest that will hide us. They will not discriminate against you because of who your mother is... because of your... animal parts."(Abby''s Father)


    "Father, it is fine, talking about my ears and tail will not hurt my feelings. I am happy that we are going to mother''s tribe. Do not be sad for me or worried about me, I am not a child anymore!"(Abigail)


    "...You will always be my baby, Abigail."(Abby''s Father)


    The boy sat in the bush for 10 minutes trying to calm down the alarms going off in his mind and his blood that was still uneasily shaking. After a while, he silently stood up and started walking. He knew that he was in the griffin''s territory and he had to get out. Now.


    He walked for hours, upon hours as he could still sense the griffin''s powerful aura. Roar! The boy tensed up and looked around with his dagger at the ready. He looked down at his stomach and silently put away his dagger and decided to go find some food.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    An hour later, the boy had once again set up his favorite pitfall trap and stood there like an unsuspecting prey. He waited for another hour, knowing that patience was vital when hunting. He finally sensed what he was waiting for.


    A red jaguar with two horns growing out of it''s head was creeping along in the jungle with a more practiced style than the two gorillas.


    "Still not enough to escape my view."(Boy)


    As expected, the jaguar leapt out of the foliage expecting an easy meal, when in the same manner as before, it fell through the floor and landed on the spikes. The boy yawned and walked towards the pitfall to haul out his prey. As he reached the pitfall, the jaguar jumped out of the hole and swiped towards the unsuspecting boy and left a gash on his bare chest.


    He flew back a meter before slamming into a tree. The jaguar launched in a sprint towards the boy who had dropped his dagger when he was knocked back.


    The boy was struggling to get up when he saw his impending doom. His blood once again started boiling, in a different way this time. He felt a strong power flowing through his veins and heat building up and swirling around in his body. Following his instincts, as usual, he gathered all of the heat and power towards his right arm and sent it out in a punch.


    All of a sudden, the heat and power inside of his body disappeared and a towering flame was sent out of his fist towards the incoming jaguar. The jaguar reared back it''s head and widened it''s eyes in fear knowing that it could not escape. The flame reached the jaguar and completely engulfed it.


    When the flame had passed there was nothing left but a fingernail sized pearl that shined a flaming red. The boy stayed conscious by willpower alone as he new he would die if he embraced the warmth and comfort of sleep. He was bleeding out through his chest and had spent all of his energy on the attack.


    He slowly crawled over to the small pearl and weakly reached out his hand to grab it and dropped it in his mouth. Boom! With a rush of energy, his eyes snapped open and he felt all the previous weakness leaving him. In fact, he even felt slightly stronger than before. If previously he could lift 200 pounds, then now he could lift 210. If before he could jump 30 inches high, then now, he could jump 36.


    One must realize though, he had already been tempered by the forest and had strength and speed far surpassing those of the same age. He just now has a boost. Even with the newfound energy, the claw shaped mark that ran 8 inches down his chest was still an enormous problem and he felt that he would bleed out in a few hours if nothing was done.


    He searched around for anything that could stop the bleeding but only found water repellent leaves that wouldn''t be of any use. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small animal around 2 feet long and had long ears and a short stumpy tail but was shaped like a fox. He immediately threw his dagger with pinpoint accuracy straight through it''s brain.


    10 minutes later he had skillfully skinned the creature and had wrapped it around the wound, crudely, but effectively stopping the blood. He turned and continued his journey through the forest and away from the griffin.


    ***


    A few hours away from where the boy was now, two humanoids with dark tanned skin, green, feline eyes, and orange tails and ears with black stripes on them.


    "This is very interesting."(???)


    "Yes, we were assigned a mission to find who it was that has been trespassing in our clan''s territory, but I never thought would be a human."(??)


    "Yes, these tracks are definitely those of a human, it has even been hunting in our territory. Grrrr."(???)


    "Calm down, he has walked towards the griffin''s territory, he is not coming out alive from there."(??)


    "Yes, hehehe, it takes days to get out of there while walking non stop. The griffin will definitely notice him, and when that day comes, he will DIE"(???)

 Chapter 2: Dark Flame

    Chapter 2: Dark Flame


    In the middle of the night, the boy''s silhouette could barely be seen as he weaved through the trees. He knew that he could not afford to stop, he knew the consequences would be enormous. So, he just kept walking, occasionally picking a fruit he knew not to be poisonous.


    As the sun came up, the boy hoped that the worst had already passed. He sat down to rest when the earth shattering roar he had hoped to avoid sounded out above him. The boy tried to run, but found that he could not move and that he was actually shaking uncontrollably.


    The one thing he could do was wait. A few seconds later, a shadow covered the sky and landed in front of him in all of it''s glory. He once again saw the majestic griffin, and couldn''t help but admire it''s beauty.


    "HAHAHA, what is a human doing in my territory? You have guts boy, what''s your name?"(Griffin)


    "..."(Boy)


    "Well? ANSWER!"(Griffin)


    The boy couldn''t handle the pressure and dove towards the griffin, dagger in hand. The griffin just stood there, deeming it impossible for the ''weak'' boy to even leave a scratch on it''s body.


    With a wild look in his eyes, he brought the dagger down towards the griffin''s heart. The dagger became covered in a dark mist that started to spread along the boy''s arms like snakes. Seeing this, the griffin felt something was wrong and immediately jumped away.


    The dark mist reached out towards the griffin and streaked towards it''s chest. With a sound like metal grinding on metal, a dark gash was left on the griffin''s chest and the darkness was slowly creeping throughout it''s body.


    The griffin looked at the boy''s dagger with insanity in it''s eyes.


    The boy also looked down at his dagger which had reverted back to normal. He looked up towards the griffin, then turned and sprinted away. Behind the boy an enraged roar reached out from the griffin''s beak and paralyzed all of the weaker creatures around it.


    Without a single look back, the boy continued to Sprint through the forest. He looked down at his arms that had black tendrils curling around them and slightly panicked, causing him to trip and stumble through the nearby bushes.


    He used his arms to push himself up off the ground, but jumped back as he saw that the ground where he had put his hands had started to look like the mist on his arms. He looked up and saw that his surroundings had changed. He was now surrounded by stones with a few vines here and there. He decided to address the current problem of his dark arms.


    He found a cave that seemed uninhabited and decided to rest there. Once inside, he sat down and tried to use his mind to feel his arms and the dark mist spreading throughout them. He realised that it was the same feeling as when he had gathered the heat and power in his arms to let out the incinerating flame. The difference was that this time, the power had come from an outside source so he couldn''t control it.


    He tried absorbing the mist into his body and it worked. The mist was now attacking him from the inside. He figured that if he could gather power into one place and shoot it out, that he could scatter it throughout his body. He sat in a meditative position and focused his sharp senses inward and saw the mist swirling around in his chest.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    He focused on trying to control it to spread throughout his body. Miserably failing, he still felt the mist growing and trying to eat away at his insides. The boy decided to take a different approach. He pressed all of the mist together inside of his body and after around an hour, he had compressed it into a marble the size of a ping pong ball.


    After that, and the exhausting day he had, he fell asleep on the cold floor. In the morning, his eyes snapped open and he took a deep powerful breath in and let it out, blowing away anything in front of him.


    He pointed out both of his index fingers. Out of one, a dark mist that seemingly sucked away any light that made it''s way towards it. On the other finger, a small, purple flame that seemed to have been affected by the mist swirled around. With a sudden thought, he touched the two power together, causing them to merge and create a dark purple flame seemed slightly gaseous and had a dangerous air to it.


    The boy closed his eyes and spread out his sense to feel the dark flame. Wait... sense? The boy then experimented spreading out his sense even further. He found that his maximum radius was around 50 feet around him. He marveled at the feeling he got when he felt all of the cells and workings of the surrounding objects and creatures.


    He felt himself and he felt his cells all working together to create the working mechanism. He then felt the potential of his body after absorbing the dark mist. He felt the dark power swirling inside him and slowly building up. He felt the air around him and the air beneath his feet.


    "Beneath my feet?..."(Boy)


    The boy snapped his eyes open and became excited to see what conclusion his next experiment would come to. He once again closed his eyes to feel the air around him, he focused on controling the air and manipulating it to where he wanted it. He pushed it beneath his feet and tried to propel himself into the air.


    He was straining himself and exhausting his spiritual energy, yet couldn''t feel anything happening. Disappointed, he opened his eyes and a happy light flashed through them as he realized that he was unstably floating about 1 foot off of the ground. He continued it for around 1 minute before he ran out of energy and fell to the ground.


    The boy became excited for the future as he could feel that he just needed to increase his strength and he would be able to FLY!


    The boy sat in the cave for the rest of the day meditating on his newfound abilities of fire and the dark mist caused by the mysterious dagger. He had tried to investigate the dagger with his spiritual sense but it had just been repelled by the dagger and was just a waste of energy, so the boy just let it be.


    A little discouraged by the dagger, the boy quickly shook it off as he had made breakthroughs in various other aspects of his powers.He had realized that the mist was like poison and would corrode anything that it touched. Paired with the fire, it made an explosive poison that left a lingering poisonous burn.


    The boy shivered imagining facing someone with his power. To exploit the strengths of his dark flame, he created two techniques. The first one was a standard fire ball. Do not underestimate this attack though, just hitting something with this attack would poison and weaken them till they could barely fight. Do not forget about the explosive power of a fireball in and of itself.


    The second technique was shaping the dark flame into a thin needle that you could discreetly shoot at an unsuspecting victim in the middle of a battle, leaving them weakening throughout the fight as the poison slowly spreads through and burns there body.


    The boy happily smiled, knowing that he had gotten stronger. The boy then spread his spiritual sense outside of the cave to see if any enemies he might have to prepare for were roaming around. Finding nothing more than a few bugs and small herbivores, he found nothing dangerous.


    He walked out of the cave to once again start his journey. The boy suddenly leaned towards the ground.


    "These are the weirdest trails I have ever seen."(Boy)


    The boy followed the trails out of curiosity and because of the fact that he was headed in that direction anyways. He hadn''t noticed yet but this trail was of humanoids just like him, where it lead he would have to find out.