The waves rocked the raft as I paddled, muscles burning from the constant effort. I wasn't built for long-distance rowing, but there was no choice. Land was just ahead, and I'd rather deal with whatever was on shore than spend another minute drifting aimlessly out here.
The closer I got, the more it looked like a small coastal village. Wooden houses with thatched roofs lined the shore, narrow streets winding through what I could only describe as something out of a feudal-era story. This definitely wasn't anywhere I knew. Hell, I was starting to think this might not even be the world I came from.
"Some kind of Japanese fantasy world?" I muttered under my breath. The whole reincarnation thing still didn't sit right with me, but it seemed like the only explanation. I must have died back there, and now... well, I was here. Wherever here was.
The raft bumped gently against the shore, and I stepped off, my feet sinking into the sand. Villagers nearby glanced at me, but none of them seemed immediately hostile. Instead, their expressions were ones of confusion, surprise, even. A group of them were mending nets and fishing, but their attention quickly shifted to me, eyes scanning me up and down.
"こいつは誰だ?" one of the villagers said, shielding his eyes from the sun as he stared at me. I blinked, not catching any of that. The only thing clear was that they were just as confused about me as I was about them.
"Man, what are y'all saying?" I muttered under my breath, taking a few steps forward. The language barrier was going to be a problem. They didn't seem like the type who'd know English, or whatever language this world used.
"どこから来た?" a taller man with a fishing spear stepped forward, his brow furrowed as he looked me up and down. Doko... That sounded familiar. Didn't it mean "where?" He was probably asking where I came from.
"Yeah, uh… I don't understand what y'all are saying," I replied, raising a hand in a gesture to slow down. The man squinted at me, then rattled off more words in rapid Japanese, none of which I could make sense of.
I sighed, running a hand over my head. I wasn't going to get anywhere like this. Still, maybe I could communicate without words. I pointed at myself, then at the horizon where I'd come from, and tried to mimic the action of walking. "Where… am I?" I asked, hoping somehow they'd get the gist of it.
More confused looks. This was going nowhere fast.
Suddenly, a younger boy no older than twelve stepped forward, his wide eyes staring at me intently. He tugged on the sleeve of an older woman, saying something I couldn't quite make out, and then pointed directly at me. "見たことない色…どこから来たの?"
I caught doko again, and something about my color. Yeah, they were probably wondering why I looked so different. My skin tone wasn't exactly common here, not in whatever part of the world this was. They had no idea where I came from. Hell, neither did I.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I'm not from around here," I muttered, mostly to myself. The woman exchanged a few more words with the boy before turning to point inland, toward what looked like a narrow path leading away from the coast and deeper into the countryside.
"ありがとう," I said, trying out one of the few Japanese words I actually knew. She nodded, and I took that as my cue to leave.
As I walked, my mind raced to catch up with everything that had happened. I didn't know where I was, but it was clear this place wasn't anything like the world I'd come from. The people, the village, the language… it all felt like something out of a samurai movie or some old story. But there was something else too, something deeper. That energy I'd felt earlier… it wasn't normal.
I found a quiet spot along the path and sat down, deciding to focus on what I could control. That strange energy was still there, just beneath the surface, pulsing in rhythm with my heartbeat. If this world worked anything like the stories I'd seen, this energy was key. It was everywhere, in the air, in the earth, and most importantly, in me.
Closing my eyes, I slowed my breathing and concentrated. I imagined the energy as something tangible, something I could move and control. It was sluggish at first, like trying to force water through a clogged pipe, but I pushed harder. With every breath, I guided the energy through my body, imagining it moving through veins or pathways, just like blood.
It took effort, but slowly, the energy began to respond. It hit rough patches, like the pathways inside me weren't used to this kind of flow. But the more I pushed it, the smoother things got. This was no different than training a muscle. The more I worked at it, the stronger the flow would become.
After what felt like hours, I opened my eyes, feeling a strange buzz in my limbs. It wasn't much yet, but it was a start. If this energy was anything like I thought, I could use it to get stronger, faster, maybe even tap into whatever abilities this world had to offer.
I stood, dusting off my clothes. The village was behind me, but up ahead, there was something new, answers, maybe, if I could find the right people. I needed to figure out what this world was about, and fast.
....
Hours passed, and eventually, the small coastal path led to a larger town. Bigger than the village by the shore, with more people and a bustling market. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the town's rooftops, and as I walked through the gates, I could feel people staring again.
It wasn't just curiosity now, it was surprise, confusion, and maybe even a little bit of fear. I didn't blend in here, not at all.
I wandered through the streets, trying to ignore the stares. Everything here looked old-school, straight out of a feudal setting. Shops lined the streets, selling everything from food to weapons. As I passed one stall, something caught my eye.
A merchant was selling a set of strange, curved knives. They had rings at the end of the handles, and the blades were sharp, precise. They looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd seen something like that before.
The merchant noticed my interest and smiled, holding up one of the knives. "くない," he said, pointing to the blade.
I raised an eyebrow. "Kunai?" I repeated, mimicking his word.
He nodded eagerly, then started talking in rapid Japanese again. I didn't catch most of it, but I got the gist, these weapons were called kunai. I picked one up, testing its weight. Light, but balanced.
I stepped back, giving the merchant a nod, then hurled the kunai toward a nearby tree. The blade spun through the air and struck the trunk with a satisfying thunk.
The merchant's eyes widened, and a few of the onlookers murmured to each other. They hadn't expected me to know how to throw it, let alone hit the mark. I smirked, tossing another kunai up and down in my hand. This world had some interesting tools, that was for sure. And if these were the weapons they used around here, I needed to get familiar with them.
Whatever this place was, I was going to figure it out. One way or another.
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