[And Art-]
"I know, I know. Be careful. Got it." Arthur smugly shook his head at his aunt's excessive worrying as he sped through the dense forest of the wilderness. "You worry too much, Aunt Karen. This isn't my first hunt."
He had long lost count of the times his aunt had uttered those two words. Ever since things changed for him, his aunt had been by his side.
There were times when things were especially difficult for him. But through it all, Karen had stayed with him. She was his caretaker and his friend. Her patience was god-sent, her love staggering, and her protectiveness exceedingly fierce.
He had been in Karen's care for twelve years.
And now… Arthur was 18-years-old. He was no longer the little kid who had cried for his parents. He was a man now… and a goddamn strong one at that.
Karen had made sure of it.
The years had not been kind through it all. There were days when Arthur wanted nothing more than to see his parents. Days he agonised over his abandonment. Days he burned with a fierce desire to exact his anger on anything… on anyone.
He had lashed out at his aunt more times than he could count. But Karen had been nothing but good to him. And that made it all the more difficult. He had regretted every single one of them.
Growing up with no one else around took its toll on Arthur. Solace could only be found in books and shows. But those also had their limits on what they could offer. There were days when he wanted to see someone who was not his aunt, but that, too, was not possible.
They no longer mattered.
Because he now understood the kind of existence he was, and that scared him more than he wanted to admit. He had blamed himself for the troubles his parents were facing and, at one point, had thought of ending it all.
But that would be an insult to what his parents and everyone had sacrificed. It would be an insult to the promise he made to his mother all those years ago.
Arthur was no longer the naive boy who did not understand what was going on. His aunt had been quiet, but he had been able to put a few things together. His nature got his parents and clan into trouble, which was why he was hidden away.
So he threw himself into his training and education. The earlier years had been soft stretches and movements to build his body flexibility, absorb the common knowledge of the world, and, of course, the accumulated knowledge of the clan he was a part of.
The later years, however, were the harshest.
Those years had been draining in more ways than one. But Arthur absorbed everything he was taught like a sponge. His aunt had described his intelligence as frightening, but that was relative.
He would eventually find out when he stepped into the broader world.
His fighting acuity was just as frightening. The sparring matches he had had with his aunt were eye-opening. But it was the hunts he actually took on that yielded the most results.
It exposed weaknesses he didn't know he had, strategies that worked on paper but failed to work due to unpredictable variables. And the more he trained, the more he grew stronger.
Arthur was not like everyone else.
As a Dimensional Shifter, he had no need to integrate with a compatible spirit from the Spirit Dimension. His physical abilities and energy pool began to manifest and grow when he was 10 years old and have continued to grow since.
Unfortunately, it was not nearly enough to take down his aunt, who was now a Transcendent. Though his combat skills were superb, allowing him to snatch a few minor wins from her. He had no special abilities to speak of, but that was okay.
Knowing what he knew now, entering another dimension would grant him opportunities to acquire any number of abilities he desired. But that was where the risk lay.
Then again, he was wary of the other dimensions. He didn't want to lose himself as his predecessors did. Luckily, he had no idea how to activate and use the tattoos on his chest, and he wanted to keep it that way.
[And how many times have I saved your ass from getting devoured?] Karen's voice resounded in Arthur's earpiece, making Arthur hiss in embarrassment.
"In my defence, t-things were going smoothly." He tried to convince his aunt and himself, nodding. "Mhmm. It was all part of the plan. Definitely part of the plan."
[Right…] Karen did not sound convinced, but that was by the way. [You'll be approaching your target soon, Arthur. Get serious about this hunt. That beast is not like the ones you've fought so far.]
"Roger."
With a tap, the line went silent. Arthur's relaxed expression shifted to a serious look as he drew near the clearing ahead. His aunt had called it a coming-of-age hunt, so he needed to do this cleanly.
In a flashing breeze, Arthur came to a crouching stop on a thick branch several meters above ground. He was clad in a sleek battle suit pulsing with electric-green power veins reminiscent of his father's, with a katana sheath at his left.
A few meters from the tree he perched on was a clearing. Within this clearing was a massive gorilla-like beast packed with steel-like muscles. Brown-black fur covered most of its body parts, leaving only a few parts exposed; parts that screamed power, ruthlessness, and savagery.
'That's one ugly looking beast,' Arthur thought sarcastically, shrilling. 'How the hell was such a thing favoured by evolution?'
The beast, belonging to a newly discovered and classified group of apes, was unlike its ancestors from thousands of years ago. The beast was feasting on the meat of another beast it had killed; it was a full-blown carnivore, with canines designed to tear through flesh and bone with ease.
Blood and pieces of meat were smeared across its mouth as it tore the meat off its prey and chewed with gusto, seemingly unconcerned about another predator stalking it.
Arthur watched as the beast continued its feast, patiently waiting for his moment to strike. However, before he could even think of a plan of action, a rustle of leaves and twigs caught his and the beast's attention.
'Damn it. Here comes a third player.'