The Witcher: My Own Path

''Tyr, Wake up, my boy. It's time to get up. It's already dawn.''

My father's warm yet rough hand and his thick, pleasant voice awoke me from my deep sleep.

''Good morning, Dad'' I exclaimed.

''Good morning, my boy. Should I warm up some porridge for you before I leave for the forge?''

''Don't worry, father. I can handle it, I'm big now. you can go, you have a large order.''

My father looked at me approvingly, then placed his large hand on my narrow shoulder and turned serious.

''Be careful with the fire, don't burn yourself.''

''Mhm.'' I nodded, to indicate that I had heard the warning. He smiled and left my confined room, closing the door behind him… or rather those few boards stuck together that were supposed to imitate doors.

Suddenly, it dawned upon me that I had complete control over what I said and how I moved, I took a deep breath and exhaled.

''At last!'' I thought. Thought that I would be just an observer for the rest of my life; without control over my own body. Imagine how scary it would be, not having any influence on your own words or actions. I'm surprised that I haven't yet gone insane. Maybe whatever controlled me until now has also protected me from losing my mind.

Now, that I have full control over my body, I got out of bed and walked over to the chair where my gear was folded. I wore a woollen gray shirt, woollen pants and leather boots. By the texture and the manner in which the clothes laid on my body and the discomfort they brought me, I could easily conclude that they are… not of the highest quality. But you get used to it, you have to get used to it! After all, I'm the son of a blacksmith, not some pompous nobleman. I looked around my room. A bed, an oak table, a chair and a small chest of drawers. Upon opening it, I noticed another set of clothes of the same quality, but thicker, for Winter, I suppose. Though I can probably forget about warmer shoes. Looking out the small window in my room, the only window, the view displayed extending meadows and trees peppered throughout. A typical rural landscape. The gentle and warm wind carrying a smell of grass and wheat confirmed the belief that I do in fact live in the countryside. The echoing sound of a hammer hitting the anvil meant that my father had started working in his little forge behind the house, this meant I could look around before I prepared breakfast.

After exploring the entire house, which was not difficult considering it only consists of a main room with a hearth, a table to dine on; my tiny room and my father's slightly larger room, I started preparing a not so sophisticated meal compared to what I had eaten the previous time; in my previous life. However, the information I gathered in this short time provided me a considerable solace. Firstly, the food I ate was succulent, or rather, only now I realized that the food from my previous life, whatever it was, always had at least a slight taste of… plastic and therefore would definitely be healthier. Secondly and much more importantly is that I found a book with a torn leather binding and thick, tainted pages. I am not an expert, but it looked distinctly old and had definitely been read countless times, but the most unusual thing was that when I opened it, the content was not written in unknown characters, on the contrary, all the content was in… Polish? Damn it. This, together with the preserved memory from the previous life could be considered cheating.

Coming back to the last, and most important thing; the real gift that I know I have; especially because ever since I woke up this morning, I felt the presence of something in my subconscious. At the beginning the presence was almost imperceptible, easy to miss, but with some time it grew stronger, encouraged me to pay attention to it. So here I am, sitting on my bed ready to take on what was given to me, full of excitement and fear.

Reaching deep into my mind, I found a small cube, a small white cube, and I instinctively poked it with my thoughts which led me to a pocket dimension, not very big one, about three cubic meters. But, can you imagine? My personal pocket dimension! I still have to test it, but the potential has to be endless! However, that's not all. There were two wooden boxes on the floor… Shivers trembled down my spine, I couldn't wait to discover what was inside them.

The first box; opening the lid, I noticed a folded A5 sheet of paper from my previous life, I lifted it and underneath it I noticed a vial with a blue liquid, I was curious what it could be, I unrolled the paper and started reading.

''The third gift of your own path.''

''The contents of this vial are my third gift to you, soul from another dimension. Why the third?

You've probably already guessed why. This liquid, when ingested, will give you the same abilities as a man named Steve Rogers. However, instead of acting immediately, the effects will affect your body slowly as you age. On average, a man reaches his peak physical ability in his thirties, you will also reach the peak of the serum's capabilities at this age. The world you are in is not all sunshine and rainbows; to survive you will need the body of a superhuman, and to make a difference, you must be as the captain.''

Third gift? If you think about it carefully, then…

The first gift: The gift of life.

The Second: Pocket size.

The Third: Super Soldier Serum.

It's incredible. I wonder what will happen with the last one. Now I know that someone has sent me down here to change something. The question is whom? For what? Well, the answer has to be in front of me.

Opening the second box, I pulled out another note and under it another vial, this time with a golden liquid and a compact but dense crimson pyramid, glistening with a delicate glow and intricate, geometric patterns carved onto each face.

It is the Holocron!

The note reads:

''The fourth gift of your own path:

The contents of this vial and the Holocron are my fourth and final gifts to you. Living Midi-Chlorians will give you a power potential of twenty thousand per cell and, combined with the super soldier serum, will extend your life almost three times. But do not fall into awe, because the world you are in, a three-hundred-year lifespan is rare, though not unheard of. The Holocron will give you a mentor who will guide not only your physical development, but also your mental development. When you want to hunt vipers, you have to be sharp as a hawk, physically and mentally. You will soon find out where you are and plan your own path with this knowledge. Where we failed to protect this world and abandoned it in its darkest moments, out of regret and shame I exchange my life for yours along with the gifts you have received. I do not burden you with any sound, because it is your Own Path, save or destroy, kill or revive THEY will not return this world, it has been forgotten. Good luck, soul from another dimension. And, I'm sorry that for my own selfish reasons, I didn't let you rest in peace.''

Hmm... I have been given great gifts, and only someone extraordinary and powerful could give them, sacrificing their own life in the process. After everything I've learned, I have more questions than answers. I need to find out where I am as soon as possible and increase my chances of survival, since this world is certainly not simple. Honestly, I'm afraid. I haven't had a chance to fully explore my own emotional state yet, but now it's slowly dawning on me. I'm alone in a new world, probably fantasy, if not dark fantasy, a world probably abandoned by its own gods and one of them sacrifices his own existence to bring in a hero, and not to save the world? Maybe it would give him some relief? How terrible can it be? And even though I have gifts, how useful will they be in this world? Ahhh... plus I'm only four years old physically, how much information can I gain by being like this? I can't give in to fear, I've already died once, right? Now I have a new life and I won't let anyone else dictate how I live my life, it is my own path.