Chapter 2: The Strange Forest
"It's really beautiful," I thought, these imposing trees, the lush nature illuminated by the few rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves.
This place is enchanting; despite clumsily walking for several hours, I am still captivated by this place where nature has reclaimed its rights.
My legs are beginning to tremble, a slight pain from my nerves, and my noisy breath seem to convey a message. "I'm starting to get tired," I decided to take my tenth break.
I am truly impressed by my physical prowess, defying all logical senses long before I ate the magical fruit of the phoenix.
I sit on a small rock and delve into my thoughts. "Hmm, I think I've covered about 700 meters," I stretch my almost nonexistent neck and gaze at the sky. With baby steps, it's not easy to go far.
I closed my eyes a bit, letting the sunlight hit me. This sensation is strangely invigorating and soothing. I spend the next few minutes, as usual, watching the sky and passing clouds.
Then I stretch my hand towards the sky, and with a simple thought, a small light blue flame with golden strands appears out of nowhere. I watch it for a moment before letting it disappear with a slight sigh of exhaustion.
"I wonder if in this new world, I am still on planet Earth... "
"Hmm..." In any case, if I am on Earth, it must either be in a medieval era or a modern version without technology. "The nature is too preserved and unpolluted by human hands for it not to be the case," I think quietly, swinging my tiny legs.
I turn my gaze back to the sky, letting the sunlight touch me before feeling rejuvenated and ready to resume my walk. I take a mushroom from my makeshift belt, which serves as both a belt and a carrying object.
Thankfully, I wasn't naked; the people who left me here apparently left my clothes. I picked up the mushroom on the way; there are plenty on the ground—blue, purple, green mushrooms of all shapes and sizes, some almost as big as me. I choose the one I know, brown with a hint of gray.
And I eat the mushroom, "eating" it in the same way as the strange magical fruit. It may or probably be poisonous given that this world is different, but thanks to my new powers, it's not a problem.
I seem to be very hard to harm, poison, or even kill me; I'm just not sure to what extent.
"But I still need to address the issue of organic waste," I admit that I dread this moment; it's not the case yet, but soon a wave of baby poop will come with force, and I must be ready at that moment, and I think the mushroom will make things even more disgusting. "The color it will have..." this thought makes me shake my head, laughing softly.
I use my small arms, which still surprise me with the hidden strength, to get down from the rock. Once on the ground, I spread my legs and arms wide and resume my somewhat stable crab-like walk.
I don't know if it's my luck, but I haven't encountered any predators so far. On reflection, I haven't even encountered any animals; I can hear them in the distance, I know they are there, just not on my path for a reason I don't understand.
And as this world is strange and probably magical, I admit that I am very happy about it. It would be cool to come across a griffin or a manticore, but even my powers won't prevent me from having a bad time.
"Still, it would be nice if they exist in this place," the thought of discovering incredible new things gives me a slight smile. My thoughts wander to what will happen from now on; I can say that I left my last life with few regrets: I looked at the world, the things it had to offer, especially the simplest ones that are often taken for granted and ignored, but I can sincerely say that I enjoyed the world, and I believe it enjoyed me too.
I couldn't see everything due to lack of money, resources, and other constraints, but I reached the quiet satisfaction of appreciating what I already had in front of me.
With my new powers still unknown to me, I will do the same but on a higher level, on a larger scale. I will explore the vast world and the prospect of appreciating its smallest details, its unknowns, its magic... makes my smile even bigger, and I laugh with excitement.
"And this time, I will find love." I had decided after a few attempts in my previous life that I would wait for it to come to me. Even though I ended up in this baby body before my 30s, I never saw it coming.
"It seems that love is waiting for me to come to it," and I accept this challenge.
I stop my reflections because I notice that the bark of the trees is getting lighter and greener as I reach the edge of the forest. "I hope there will be a village,"
"Hmm, no, let's not hope too much, just at least a river. Hunger is no longer a problem, but thirst still is."
I manage to hold on, thanks to my strange physique and phoenix abilities. I continue to move, really slowly, I must say. And after a few minutes, I see the trees getting farther apart, and a path appears about 20 meters ahead.
"My physical feats are impressive for a newborn, but visual feats are not lacking." If I remember correctly, a baby can hardly discern anything in the first few weeks of its life. Here, my visual feats surpass even those of my last life. And not just my sight, all my senses except touch are incredibly developed.
After walking for another 20 minutes and reaching the beginning of the path, I am completely tired, and I decide to rest. "It might make a difference if an unexpected or dangerous situation awaits me; my new body may still have surprises in store for me," I think hopefully.
I look for a place to sit, and without really being aware, I sit where the sunlight reaches. I take another mushroom and "eat" it.
"I can't wait for my powers to develop," I thought, looking at my slightly dirty hand. I can probably burn my little hand entirely, burning the bacteria in the process, but it would take too much energy.
After 10 minutes, I resume my walk, continuing on the trail. Thanks to my small size, I notice footprints that look like boots. They seem normal, except they are immense, even bigger than me, at least half again as large as any human's. There are not just one but a dozen, all of enormous size.
"Either these are prints belonging to very tall humans, maybe even giants, or to a completely different species," I tell myself.
"Should I continue?" On one hand, it's the only sign of civilization I will find nearby; on the other hand, who knows what awaits me.
"It could be a species belonging to a peaceful race." I reflect on whether I should continue.
I can only hope; I sigh and continue my baby walk.
Fortunately for me, the trail is relatively short; after half an hour of walking, spent sighing while looking at the increasingly numerous gigantic footprints, we reach the end of the trail.
"Okay, let's think. I am clearly in a fantastical world; these footprints
probably belong to a fantastical race." I think and immerse myself in my thoughts.
The only fantastical races that come to mind are goblins, the little green ones, hmm, ogres, the big green ones.
"Elves too, maybe?" Those are the only races that come to mind. "I should have looked at least some stories." It never interested me, neither stories, movies, nor cartoons.
"It would have been useful now." I sighed at that thought. I continued on my way, and I started to see the edge of the forest in the distance.
After one break and an hour of walking, I exit the forest, and I see a beautiful plain filled with greenery swaying from side to side with the gentle wind.
I move forward, and about fifty meters away, I see a village. Wooden barricades surround the village, wooden huts with roofs made of what seems to be straw, a wood fire with meat hanging on a stick, carcasses around, but most importantly, I see beings 3 meters tall, brown in color, with clothes made of animal skins and clubs, axes, and knives at their belts.
I freeze for a moment, looking at them closely. These are orcs, recognizable by the tusks coming out of their mouths. Thanks to my small size, I almost go unnoticed. So, I observe them calmly.
Of all, the men were the tallest and the most intimidating with their imposing muscles and sharp tusks. I also see women at least 2.50 meters tall and children who, despite their very childish appearance, are as strong and tall as adolescents.
I even see some orc babies, those who least deviate from the appearance of humans. "Differences will come as they grow, I guess," I thought.
Despite their intimidating appearance, they seem to be a very peaceful people; I can hear the laughter of children playing, the discussions of women as they cook the hunt around the wood fire, and the men, drinking something while chatting, or rather "grunting" given their language that I hear from here. They drink from what seems to be a horn pierced from a very large animal.
By focusing entirely on them, I can hear their heartbeats, smell the strong scent coming from them, and even the smell of the substance they drink that seems to be raw alcohol. "My senses are developing," I realized with surprise.
After watching them for a while. "I hope it's not a xenophobic and racist race." I sigh, and I resume my baby walk, heading towards the village.
After getting closer, I decide to announce my presence; they might take my sudden appearance as an invasion. "A conquering baby." I chuckled heartily at that thought.
So, I start screaming and crying like a baby would. But that's without counting on the lungs of my strange body, which takes my cry to the next level, even making me stop crying in surprise.
I am quickly noticed; the warriors stand up, grab their weapons, and look for the source of the sound. They disperse to search around the camp; one of them approaches where I am, and I start screaming again. He notices me immediately; I see him looking at me, and I even see confusion in his eyes.
It takes him a few seconds to look at me and then approach me, grunting something that sounds like a call. He arrives in front of me and extends his hands toward me. "Come what may now..."
But he just picks me up and carries me to eye level. He looks at me curiously, and I see a flash of understanding in his eyes.
"Hmm, not really sure what he apparently deduced."
"Maybe he recognized me as a human; if so, it means there must be a human civilization not too far away." I hope they are not in conflict with this tribe; otherwise, my new days won't be long.
I see the other orc warriors approaching, looking at me with confusion and curiosity before the one who carries me grunts something, and I see the same look of understanding in their eyes.
They growl a bit among themselves while looking at me. I feel like they are deciding my fate, and I was partly right.
One of the orcs, the biggest and strongest, points a finger at the one carrying me, grunting something. I immediately see dissatisfaction in his eyes, but he doesn't say anything, or rather, he grunts nothing.
Then we all return to the village; I am still carried by the same orc. Upon entering, I see the women and children looking at us with curiosity, and the orc takes me to one of the women.
I immediately notice that the women have slightly more human and feminine features than the men.
Both of them grunt something before the woman takes me into her arms. The warrior leaves, leaving me with her.
She looks at me with a motherly air that even softens my heart. Regardless of the species or the world, mothers don't change.
She then sits around the wood fire with the other mothers, who look at me curiously, but their interest in me quickly fades.
They decide to feed me, and thank goodness, she doesn't breastfeed me. Even though she looks like a very good mother, it doesn't change that it would be the strangest experience of my entire life, counting my reincarnation.
She gives me milk in a pierced horn; I drink with pleasure as my thirst begins to be felt, and also the fatigue. I walked all day, and despite being a newborn, I don't think I will encounter danger with them, so I decide to fall asleep.
Closing my eyes, I let go of all my worries and concerns.
I don't know how long I slept, but at least a good ten hours because when I wake up, it's daytime. Looking at the sky, I see that the sun has risen.
If the seasons work as in my old world, I deduce that we are apparently in spring, and looking at the sun's position in the sky, I estimate that it rose an hour or two ago.
My thoughts come to an end, and I return to reality, remembering what woke me up.
"I'm in motion." I look around, and I see that I am no longer in the village but in the forest. The orc warrior from yesterday is carrying me in his arms, taking me somewhere.
"It would be strange if they feed me, heal me, and then kill me." I decide to wait and see. We walk like this for several hours, looking at the sky and the sun; I estimate that we have been walking for 6 hours straight, with only a few breaks for him to eat and give me the same milk as yesterday.
We finally reach our destination; I see the end of the forest edge.
I look behind me with a bit of nostalgia; I admit that I will miss this forest. It has been a pleasant experience, I must say.
We exit the forest, and I see a massive city, a truly magnificent city, especially with its strange blend of nature, be it the trees, flowers, some very strange animals including a unicorn, and magic. I see floating buildings, a waterfall of water that, instead of flowing downward due to gravity, flows upward by some kind of magic. And above all, I see what appears to be normal-sized humans.
The closer we get to the city, the more I can see; I also notice that the humans are all unbelievably beautiful
. Each of them would be one of the most beautiful people in my old world.
A loud sound is emitted as we approach the city gate; it seems that someone has seen us and blew into one of the immense horns I see on top of the walls.
The gate opens, and several armored people come out, equipped with swords, some with lances, even a shield for one of them, but they all have a bow behind their backs and some knives at their belts.
They come towards us, the orc goes to meet them, and one of the people, a stunning blonde woman with a friendly smile, advances and speaks to the orc, or rather grunts at him.
My orc companion approaches the woman and grunts something before handing me over to her and turning around and leaving.
The soldier still holds me with a certain confusion, but I don't pay attention; I turn my neck a little, and I see from the corner of my eye my only friend leaving.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mike." I thought a little moved. I named the orc that because I found him to resemble Mike. He is, after all, my only friend, even though I now understand that he was undoubtedly forced to do the task by the tribe chief.
I turn around and focus my gaze on the woman holding me. She is blonde with black eyes, thankfully measuring a normal human height.
"Finally with my fellow humans." I thought, smiling, before noticing something.
Confused, I look more closely, and I see them, pointy and long ears.
"Elves..."
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Ps : yeah it's the world of marvel.
Author thought;
I changed the cover photo after you all almost unanimously preferred the other one, the votes still remain open for future readers.
The chapters are quite long so it takes me a while to write them, don't blame me for that.
Otherwise thank you for the support and comments.
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