Shin woke to the smell of burning wood and the soft crackle of a fire. His body felt heavy, as if sleep still clung to his bones. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on a simple wooden bed inside a warm hut. His last memory was collapsing during the ceremony.
Three days had passed.
Across the room, an old man sat at a low table, broad-shouldered despite his age. His hair was white, his face carved with deep lines, but his body looked like it belonged to a warrior in his prime. He was completely absorbed in carving a block of wood, each stroke precise and controlled.
The atmosphere was tense—too quiet, too focused.
Shin pushed himself up. “Where am I? Where is this pla—”
“You’re awake,” the elder said, cutting him off mid?sentence. “You sleep like a baby.”
Silence returned, thick and uncomfortable.
Shin tried again. “What are you carving? And who are yo—”
“So you’re Roger’s child,” the elder interrupted again, still not looking up. “He said you had a unique body.”
Shin clenched his jaw. The constant interruptions felt intentional, like the old man was doing it on purpose. He stood and walked closer, looking at the carvings displayed around the hut—figures of men, beasts, and creatures he didn’t recognize. Some looked mythical, others terrifying.
“These figures… you made all of them? They look beautiful and—”
“Roger is a good man,” the elder cut in again. “A man of few words. He entrusted you to me.”
Shin exhaled sharply. Now he understood why villagers said the three elders had strange personalities. This one was clearly the worst.
He tried one more time. “Do you know where my father is? How is he—”
“Rude,” the elder said suddenly. “Very rude not to introduce yourself. I am Stain. Elder Stain.”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Shin stared at him, speechless.
They continued talking for a while, though “talking” wasn’t the right word. Elder Stain spoke whenever he pleased, ignored Shin’s questions, and interrupted him every single time. It was infuriating—but Shin also sensed something deliberate behind it, as if the elder was testing him in his own bizarre way.
Shin scanned the shelves of carved figures—beasts, spirits, and creatures he had never seen before. One sculpture caught his eye: a crab with a pattern on its shell shaped like a screaming skull. It looked exactly like his pet.
Shin leaned closer. “How much would these sell for? And this crab… it looks just like mine. It even has the screaming skull on its back.”
For the first time, Elder Stain didn’t interrupt him. His carving hand paused mid?stroke, interest flickering in his eyes.
“You have that kind of strange thing?” the elder muttered. “Much like Heaven… you’re strange too.”
Shin’s excitement rose. “Elder Stain, do you know its name?”
The elder stopped completely. He set down his chisel, stood up, and suddenly seemed to tower over Shin like a massive bear. Shin had to tilt his head just to meet his gaze.
“Follow me, you have a lot to learn,” Elder Stain said, speaking as he pleased, interrupting the moment without explanation.
They stepped out of the hut. Shin blinked as sunlight washed over him. The hut was perched on the peak of a mountain. From where they stood, he could see a vast lake below, fed by a waterfall that shimmered like silver. Animals roamed the plains in the distance, and behind them, another mountain rose high, its peak swallowed by clouds.
“This place is beautiful,” Shin whispered. “You can see the lake, the falls… even the animals down there. But what do you mean there’s a lot for me to learn?”
Elder Stain didn’t look at the scenery. “Your pet is called the Ten Thousand Illusion crab. Useless thing. Its skills consume an astonishing amount of qi from the pet contract just to create illusions.”
Shin’s eyes widened. “So it’s called the Ten Thousand Illusion crab… cool! I actually have a pet skilled in illusions but—” His excitement faded. “But I don’t have qi to use its skills…”
The crab on his shoulder clicked its claws and tapped his cheek, as if trying to comfort him.
Elder Stain continued, ignoring Shin’s disappointment. “I found this place in my younger days. I was wandering, needed a place to rest. Found this mountain by luck and settled here.”
He glanced briefly at the crab, his expression unreadable.
In Elder Stain’s mind, the crab on Shin’s shoulder was… different. He had seen Ten Thousand Illusion Crabs before in his wandering years, but this one—this tiny creature with a skull?patterned shell—felt unusual, almost unsettling.
Without explaining his thoughts, the elder suddenly pointed toward two massive boulders outside the hut. Each one was large enough to crush an ordinary human.
“See those?” Elder Stain said. “You will carry them. Then you will fetch water from the lake below and fill this jug.”
Shin stared at him, horrified. “No way I’m doing that!”
He turned to run.
He didn’t get far.
A giant hand clamped down on his head like an iron claw. Elder Stain didn’t even bend his knees—he simply reached out, grabbed Shin by the skull, and dragged him across the ground as if he weighed nothing.
“NOOO!” Shin shouted, arms flailing as he clawed at the dirt. Birds exploded from the nearby trees, and deer scattered across the plains below, startled by the echo of his scream.
Elder Stain dragged Shin across the dirt like a sack of rice, ignoring his screams and the panicked clicking of the crab on his shoulder. When they reached the two massive boulders, the elder finally stopped.
He released Shin’s head and pointed at the stones with a thick, calloused finger.
“I will make your body hard as diamond,” Elder Stain said, voice rumbling like thunder. “And your strength will be like an ox.”
Shin lay on the ground, hair full of dust, eyes wide with despair.
The elder didn’t wait for a reply.
“This,” he continued, “is the beginning of your hell training.”
The wind howled across the mountain peak. Birds circled overhead. Even the animals in the
plains seemed to sense Shin’s suffering.
Shin swallowed hard.
Hell had officially begun.
