Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Self Insert and this fanfic, everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Foxtrot1702; Hope you enjoy Chapter 2.
SpecialK23; I mean the way I wrote that part was on purpose since he was focusing heavily more on the good than the bad so he overlooked Hera. It's somewhat funny to think about how if he chose literally anyone else, then he would've grown up on Olympus.
NarutoUchiha242567; Yeah, I would definitely have to reduce how much of a siscon Serafall is since she can be a little over the top when it comes to Sona.
Glitner; Laxus is the base inspiration for the SI. Best way I can really say it is that Laxus is the character that inspired the looks and powers but the personality had inspirations from other more brutal characters like Kratos. The story's image is just the general appearance and not exactly how the SI looks.
Hope everyone enjoys the chapter.
Seven Years Later
Seven years ago was a very big moment for me. It was seven years ago that I reincarnated after I died. It was also seven years ago that I woke up in the middle of nowhere surrounded by dozens of Minotaurs.
I have to say my experience has so far been very lackluster... actually it's been really shitty. I somewhat expected to be raised on Olympus but due to an oversight on my part I realized how that was actually impossible since Hera existed. I'm not surprised I forgot about her, I died and then I was told I could basically choose how I wanted to live my second life. So I focused solely on the good that any of my choices could bring and barely thought of the bad.
My life amongst the Minotaurs has really sucked given how I am the greatest pariah in the herd, even the other Hybrids don't like me, not that there are any Hybrids my age.
At the age of three, all of the Minotaurs my age began their training. It was incredibly brutal given how we were also expected to fight older Minotaurs that were in their teens and had meters in height on us. How exactly were we supposed to fight anything that size when we were that young? But things weren't all bad with training since I learned how to use a short sword and fight with my body.
There's even more proof that they've wanted me dead since I arrived at the Blood Horn herd. When I train twice a day for two hours, I am forced to fight against the largest and strongest Minotaur each time. I hate how weak I am compared to the youngest Pureblood son of Elder Dreadclaw, everyday I have to try and survive this 'training'.
That was four years ago, I'm seven years old now and I don't look my age at all. I'm taller than I have any right to be, more muscular which is unnatural and somewhat weird. I'm not as hairy as the other male Half-Breeds or even the female Half-Breeds, but I still could use a nice shave since I look like a blonde ape with horns. Half-Breeds like myself are treated like less than shit. Female Half-Breeds are considered to be nothing more than broodmares and sex toys, and it's worse if their Minotaur parent was a female. The offspring of a female Minotaur was essentially a human with horns, claws, fangs, and a small tail. The offspring of a male was much hairier with all the same features except the features were much larger.
Something that's bugged me greatly was the simple fact that I didn't know my birthdate or my name, this resulted in me referring to myself as Stormhorn because it sounded cool. The 'naming system' of the Minotaur race is simply atrocious, and I'm not much better when it comes to naming. Minotaurs names aren't complicated, it's just that we are indecisive given that we have so many options for names. I call myself Stormhorn because I am related to Zeus and I have horns, I could have called myself Stormfur or even Thunderfang, and that would have been accepted in the herd.
The Chieftain of the herd is called Duskfur because of his pitch black fur, though now the color of his fur is closer to gray. He is the second oldest Minotaur in charge and one of the oldest Minotaurs in the herd. Aside from leading the Herd, Duskfur doesn't actually do much except play around with some of the female Minotaurs.
The oldest Minotaur in the herd is without a doubt Elder Mossbeard who was alive when the Chieftain was the great grandfather of Duskfur. He is called Mossbeard because of his age and he had moss tangled in his beard. Elder Mossbeard's job is that of an educator, he's quite decent as a teacher, but that's only for the young Minotaurs; while I may look young in my new body, I am technically in my early twenties or rather was in my early twenties before I died. So really Elder Mossbeard isn't very useful to me.
Then there is Elder Many-Teeth, who is named for the excessive amount of teeth that he possesses. He is the elder in charge of gathering food, though most of that food actually ends up in his stomach which is the definition of bloated.
Lastly, there is the most deadly of all the other leaders, Elder Dreadclaw, he is the herds main defender and its strongest warrior. I have no idea why he is called Dreadclaw and I don't actually care enough to find out. Elder Dreadclaw is in charge of training the young Minotaurs from the age of three all the way to fifteen, though he only personally trains the oldest.
Out of all the leaders, he worries me the most, he absolutely loathes me. Since he is in charge of training, he made sure that I would suffer by assigning me his youngest son as my partner. That isn't all though, there are rumors that he killed an entire peerage of a High-Class Devil and kept the Queen as his sex slave for a few years. So if that rumor is true, then he might have a few Devil Minotaur Hybrid children.
While out of training none of the other Minotaurs have bothered me... this implies that they actually approached me in the first place. So being hazed for seven years in a row by Minotaurs has been very annoying and very weird.
Back to the topic at hand, I'm strong now, I'm stronger as a seven year old child than I was as a man in his twenties. Mostly because of my insane physical strength and durability, but I have just begun to learn how to control my lightning powers recently.
A month ago I was training by myself in seclusion because I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing. I was attempting to use magic and I was extremely surprised when a small ball of electricity was launched from my hand into a small rock destroying it. The ball of electricity was no bigger than an adult's fist, but it packed a decent punch given the size and my own inexperience. Realistically, I doubt I can do much more than that, but by the end of the year I want to be able to start throwing actual lightning bolts.
Everyday I exercise and train after sparring with some of the older Minotaurs in our mandatory training, not only because I want to get stronger, but because I'm worried. For the past two years I haven't actually trained with any Minotaurs my age and I don't know how skilled they are with a weapon now; that normally might not be an issue, but the Blood Hunt starts tomorrow.
The Blood Hunt is a tradition that every young Minotaur of seven years old participates in. In the Blood Hunt, every Minotaur must survive an entire week away from the herd while they hunt animals and magical species for food. At the end of the Blood Hunt, a surviving young Minotaur must bring back any predator either a regular one or a supernatural predator for the herd to eat. I'm worried because some of the Minotaurs will definitely cooperate together to try and kill me since it is quite literally open season on Half-Breeds. What's worse is that I'm the only Hybrid in this batch of participants.
I have no doubt that the Chieftain and the other Elders are going to help the other Minotaurs in any way they can. I'll probably be given a rusty sword or a broken club while the others have shiny silver swords and other weapons; maybe I wouldn't be in this situation if I was an ordinary Demigod. I would actually be incredibly lucky if I received a usable weapon, though chances are I'm going to get the shitty stuff.
I just hope that my own variation of Saitama's workout plan works as expected. Basically at six years old I started with 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, and a 10km run everyday; it was ineffective by the first two months. I am biologically superior compared to Saitama before he became a hero, I'm biologically superior compared to a human, so in order to improve and actually get stronger I had to step up my game.
The strongest Minotaurs have been able to fight some of the strongest Dragons, nothing stronger than a Dragon King or even a Dragon King Candidate. Nonetheless, the strongest of the Minotaurs can fight and occasionally kill a Dragon, unless the Dragon flies in the air and breathes fire.
So in order for faster results and more efficient results, I started doing 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit-ups, and a 100km run in the morning and I repeat this at night. This routine of doing 2000 push-ups, 2000 sit-ups, and a total of 200km of running was infinitely more challenging and effective. I also added practice for learning to use my lightning or other powers, but that will take much longer to see any real progress.
But now I should probably get some sleep, I'm going to need as much energy as I can get for this week long event. Besides, this might be the last night where I can sleep well for a while.
"Up Half-Breed filth, the Blood Hunt will soon start." A gruff voice said as I began to wake. It was one of the warriors of the herd that woke me up by nudging me.
Today was the day that I've been both worried and also excited for, I woke up and made my way out towards the 'forest' where the Blood Hunt would happen. Out of twelve young Minotaurs, I was the only Half-Breed participating, I was also the last to arrive and I was late. Given that when I did arrive, everyone was already forming teams and they already had shiny new weapons in their hands.
I was correct... my weapons were a wooden club and a rusty sword which was so broken it barely had a blade going past the hilt. The club was mostly going to break the minute it actually hit anything given its state; the club literally looked like it was going to break if I put too much pressure on it. The sword was just as bad if not worse, it was practically just a hilt with a small broken blade that was rusted; I was questioning if I could even use this as a weapon to kill anything.
"Pay attention worm" One of the Minotaurs behind me said as he shoved me forward.
I hadn't even noticed the Chieftain and the Elders appear, or them giving their speech.
"Thank you for helping our young...'friend' pay attention." Chieftain Duskfur said with a smirk on his snout. "As I was saying this is one of the most Sacred Rites that all Minotaurs must participate in. It is crucial that you prove yourselves worthy of your heritage through survival against a deadly task such as the Blood Hunt."
"Your task is to survive an entire week while hunting supernatural creatures for food. At the end of the task all of you will bring the herd a single supernatural predator as proof of your survival and strength." Elder Mossbeard grunted, but there was this look in his eyes that unnerved me. "The Blood Hunt will take place in a dimension simply referred to as 'The Forest'; It was created by Kronos and the Titans during the Titanomachy and was created when we assisted them against the Gods."
That caught my interest a dimension created by the Titans during their reign and the Minotaurs allying with them. I'm actually curious what can be inside the dimension, what type of creatures will I find? And is it possible that a Devil or another supernatural race is in there? I was so lost in my thoughts that I nearly missed the Chieftain telling everyone to rush into the portal.
The portal was located in between the base of two trees and everyone, including myself rushed into the dimension.
I didn't bother taking a look at my surroundings, instead I bolted away as far as I could so none of the other Minotaurs could try anything. After running I immediately began to train since I had a week, I might as well make the most of my time.
An entire week of being away from the herd meant I didn't have to worry about them finding out my secrets. I could exercise and practice with my lightning to my heart's content, and no one can really stop me. This also gives me the opportunity to actually test myself against living targets that aren't Minotaurs during training.
After doing my exercises, I began to practice using my powers. A small spark flickered in between my fingers before I flicked my wrist and the spark crashed into a smaller tree throwing splinters everywhere.
"It's an improvement, but it isn't ideal." I mumbled as I tried again by channeling magic in between my fingers before flicking it towards a tree. This time the tree trunk where I hit was destroyed, it was a small tree, but progress is progress and it was much bigger than the rock.
While I was training, time moved fast as it was already dusk and I was extremely hungry.
It didn't take long for me to find my first meal, it was some type of white deer with a black antlers and a horn on its forehead and black crystal like ridges on its back. The problem was killing it given my horrible equipment and I'm not sure if I'm fast enough to catch it. 'Maybe I could use the trees to my advantage.'
I have to get it to run in a zigzag pattern, that way I don't have to worry about it getting away. Though those black crystal antlers, horn, and ridges might be a problem. I've never seen a deer like that before and I have no clue if the deer might have some other secret that could mess everything up.
All of a sudden I heard the noise of an animal before I threw myself to the left as the deer charged right into where I was just standing.
"Looks like I won't need to actually trick it anymore." I chuckle before it charges at me again.
This time I catch the deer's black crystal antlers as I'm pushed back a little before it comes to a stop. What I wasn't expecting was the deer's antlers and horn to literally start electrifying as a purple lightning wrapped around its horns; luckily for me the lightning did absolutely nothing.
"I was almost worried there, but I have to find out what fucking abnormal creature are you." I said with a chuckle as the deer continued to struggle in my grasp.
The purple lightning faded and I thought the deer was giving up, but I was wrong; the lightning was replaced with purple fire. Before any real damage could be done to me or my hands, I picked the deer up by its horns and repeatedly slammed it against the trees and the ground.
Somehow the body was still intact, but the black crystals were completely destroyed which was a shame since I was very curious about them.
"Am I going to eat this raw or cooked?" I wondered aloud as I dragged the carcass back to the empty cave that I was calling my base.
My base wasn't much. It was surrounded by trees and bushes with a small pond and a cave I was using for shelter, but it was still probably the best place to rest.
I decided against cooking it since the smell might attract unwanted guests, so I ate it raw. I'm not human so my body and needs are different, a Minotaur is a carnivore despite having the head of a bull, we can eat raw meat. So eating the strange deer raw is nothing new or different, besides I'm a bit of a glutton and I would eat a fellow Minotaur if I had too. Cannibalism is different with the perspective of a carnivore or a beast, food is food as long as it isn't rotten; also if I eat a fellow Minotaur I'm just eliminating some of the competition.
'The deer was actually pretty good and I want to eat so much more of it, the strange white deer was so much better than a regular one. I just hope that there are more of them and I didn't just kill the sole survivor of that species.' I thought before falling asleep right at the entrance to the cave.
The small tattoo on my arm felt like it was on fire as I heard a monotone voice in my mind as I was woken up. "They're coming."
The tattoo that I was given by a God had helped me before when I was in trouble or in danger. It was a voice that would tell me what to do and it would guide me when I need it most. The tattoo was most likely given to me by my father since I doubt any of the other Gods would do it and the Minotaurs aren't exactly good at magic.
"Three Minotaurs and a fourth entity" The voice said as I rushed for the wooden club and the rusted blade.
"Ambush them and kill them!" The voice said loudly as I dove for cover knowing it was useless since a Minotaur had a very strong sense of smell.
The bushes rustled as three juvenile Minotaurs came out of the forest near my little base. I could probably kill them, but what about the fourth entity? Were they hiding and waiting for the result of the battle or were they waiting trying to ambush me from behind?
The first was a Minotaur with auburn fur and a halberd, the second had brown fur with a spear and shield, the last had black fur and a xiphos.
I didn't even know what the fourth scent belonged to since it wasn't a Minotaur.
"He's still here." The auburn furred Minotaur said while sniffing the air. "He's very close... but he isn't in the cave."
"What about that weird smell?" The black furred Minotaur questioned.
"Forget about that smell, just focus on the Half-Breed." The brown furred Minotaur said as he approached the spot where I was hidden.
'Fuck what am I supposed to do now? I could hit him with the club, but it will break on contact, or I can use a sword that might not even cut through the fur.' I thought before the tattoo gave me some help.
"Find a stone and throw it away. Then use the club. You can do the rest."
I don't like how vague it can be, but it's helped me before, so it may help me again. But for how long will it be trustworthy or needed?
Brushing my thoughts away, I did as the tattoo said. I picked up a stone and threw it against a tree to draw the attention of the Minotaurs away from my spot.
'Now or never'
I jumped out from my cover and with both hands, I brought the club down on the brown furred Minotaur with a sickening crunch. The first of three was killed the moment the club hit it as its skull was caved in and the club was destroyed.
I snatched the spear from the corpse as I threw it at the black furred Minotaur hitting it in its chest. 'It wouldn't kill it, but there is a slim chance that it can bleed out, so that one's dead.'
I picked up the shield from the first Minotaur as I used it to block the third Minotaurs ax. It kept swinging the ax wildly, not giving me the chance to counter until I tried something incredibly risky, I used my lightning. I channeled as much as I could in my hand before flicking it at the Minotaur's head, I wasn't expecting it to actually shoot a bolt right through its chest.
The third Minotaurs body dropped as I heard the second Minotaur charge at me before we locked horns and grabbed each other's hands. I managed to overpower the injured Minotaur and force it onto the ground before I grabbed its head and channeled lightning through it as I pressed down on the head with all my strength. The final Minotaur was killed in a shower of gore as its head exploded splattering blood and chunks everywhere.
"Fucking hell, at least I got a midnight snack." I laughed while wiping the blood off of me.
I won my first actual fight and now I have better equipment and food. A xiphos, an ax, a spear, and a shield; though I was slightly disappointed to learn the spear was broken. On the plus side, at least everything else was usable.
I probably should exercise and get some rest. I already know this shit is going to happen again so I may as well do the hunting rather than be the hunted.
Watching the Hybrid brutally slaughter the other Minotaurs was both entertaining and interesting. The first had their skull caved in with ease as the club shattered. The second Minotaur to die had a bolt of lightning the size of a spear go through its chest which instantly killed it. The last Minotaur was executed, the Hybrid forced the Minotaur to the ground and crushed its head while blasting it in the head of a continuous stream of lightning.
'I'll have to let the boss know about this.' The fourth figure thought.
He had a job to do, but telling the boss about this could wait till after he completed his task.
'He may be of some use. I'll approach him later.' The figure thought while taking a final look at the Minotaur before its black wings flapped and he was gone.
This chapter is the beginning of the short arc before the SI's 12th birthday and when he goes to Olympus. During the three on one fight with the Minotaurs I showed some of the brutality that you can expect from the SI as he grows older.
Hope everyone's liked what they've read so far.