112 5.1 A New Leap, A New Era, A New Dimension, A New Adventure Awaits (1/2)
The blue light that had integrated around my body in my past Leap had now transformed itself into another body, and into another era. I had no idea where I am and which body I had transmigrated to. The surroundings around me, seem abit off right now.
I could feel the unforgiving cold and hard ground beneath me as I slowly opened up my eyes and get accustomed to the surroundings. However, a dull thumping throb in my head makes me hard to sense my surroundings well, as my eyes tried to focus on the almost greyed out environment.
The ground was grey and it was covered with something frosty, cold and wet, and it looked grey as well to me. Snowflakes were slowly descending from the sky and were covering where I was lying down right now.
A scent of smouldering wood was around me, and muffled footsteps, as well as hoofs on the snow, slowly made me realise that I was somehow been lying face down on the snowy ground for some time.
The snow that fell around me was not purely white but was mixed with the ashes that had slowly floated down from the sky from the nearby smouldering fires that were around me.
I spat out a mix of coagulated blood with some dirt, snow and ashes from my mouth and my throat was dry from being lying down on the ground for God knows how long.
I tried to lift up my body from the lying position and tried to sit up and visualise my surroundings. I looked at my hands and discovered that it was almost child-like. It was not almost child-like but it DEFINITELY belongs to a child!
”Oh, Boy...!Oh, Boy...! Oh, Boy...! What kind of era am I in and what kind of mess I'm going to face right now?!” I looked at my hands and found that it was covered with a fingerless cotton glove that was made from some kind of rough material. It was a child's hand for God sake!
I glanced at my clothes and found that I was sort of shrouded with a reddish coloured soft kind of material, and it was a one piece type and my waist had a sort of tassel tied to it that served as a belt.
I looked down further and found that I was wearing a type of leather sandals with white ankle socks and there was a leather strap that wound around my ankle to secure the sandals.
I looked at my feet and there it was small child-like dainty feet. I suddenly grabbed my crotch and found that I still had my nuggets and my little soldier in the middle of my legs. It was protected with a kind of diaper type of underwear. Good, I thought to myself. At least I'm not some kind of small girl in this era. Phew!
I was unable to sit up but however, managed to lie slightly on my sides as I try to view my surroundings as it looked kind of strange at the moment. The place that I had lain down was actually a half-burnt house, with small flickers of fire still burning at some places and there was some smouldering of fires elsewhere too. Broken furniture was strewn across the floor and everything was in disarray.
As my eyes were able to focus, I saw that I was in the midst of a burnt out kind of settlement and there were some silhouettes of people walking around a path while some were riding ponies that seemed too large to be called one at the moment.
”Uurrgghh... Max! Where did you transmigrate me into, and why made me a small child, so hopeless and useless at this moment! Gawd... What am I supposed to do right now?”
I lamented to myself that I had regrettably transmigrated into a body of a child which I think, had little or of no use at this moment. With such a glum surrounding, I could feel the tightening vice of a foreboding sense around me. It was so heartbreaking and I nearly broke down in despair.
As I was lying in my sides and contemplating my already not improving situation around me, a sound of hoofs approaches and stopped a few feet from me. I looked at the front legs of the animal that had stopped before me and found that thick fur was covering it.
Got to be a pony, I thought. I scanned my eyes upwards and saw the silhouette of a large person riding on it. Since the sun was shining at the back of this person, all I could do was cover part of my eyes with one hand and squinted through.
”Where am I and what's this place? Was there a war before or some sort of pillage that had happened?”
I asked the person on the pony and he was unmoving from my words. But as soon as my words (English) came out from my lips, it sounded Japanese. Oh... Here we go again, I'm in Japan again but this seemed rather off in terms of era and dimension.
The pony the person was riding on gave a short neigh, and there was some cold air emitted from its snout and mouth as it pranced back and forth a bit a few feet away from me.
I was afraid that if the person doesn't control the animal well, it would trample on my poor legs and body!
A moment later, a large burly person dismounted from the pony and walked to me and gave me a slight kick over scrawny legs. ”Ouch! Dammit, man! What are you trying to do?” I shouted as I grimaced my face as the kick happened to land on my shin and quickly rubbed at the affected area.
The burly man placed his hands on his knees as he bent over to take a closer look at me. He peered at me from head and to toe and growled,” Stand up quickly and get up on the mount or would you like me to throw you over it instead?”
His voice sounded low and growled as though he was chewing some kind of cud in his mouth. He was wearing a helmet that protected his nape and sides of his face.
A black and red mask covered his face, leaving a small slot for the eyes, nose and mouth. A complete set of Samurai warrior set adorned his body, arms and thighs and he looked as if he had been through many battles in his life as a Samurai.
Two sets of katanas with a black sheath and golden oval handguards were hanging on his right waist while a kurisagama made from a sort of bone and a black handle with an attached chain was fixed on his left waist.
”What do you want from me? And who are you?!” I shouted to him to gritted teeth.
”Come with me, if you want to live, you think you have a choice right now? There are no survivors here in this pillaged village and sooner or later you would die of thirst and hunger unless you become a vulture and start tearing at carcasses around you!”
I looked around and I focused on those clumps of figures that were scattered along the path with some arrows that protrudes from it. It seems there was no one alive in this small village after it was pillaged by some bandits or some persons who benefitted from their heinous crimes earlier. Whatever it is, it seems that sooner or later I have to trudge on myself out from here as this place would soon be forgotten.
”Alright, I'd come along with you. It seems I do not have a choice right now. Please take good care of me.” I outstretched my left hand and the burly man suddenly scooped me up and placed me in the saddle of the pony. He then mounted with me riding on his front as he flicked the reins of the pony and advanced.
It seems he wasn't alone and there were some companions with him, wearing the same outfit and carrying the same weapons on their sides. I noticed that his pony was armoured well to deflect arrows from archers. His other companions were carrying a black elongated flag with a red ”X” in the middle and were slowly advancing as they peered on their left and right of the burnt, smouldering houses looking for any signs of life.
As they slowly approached the edge of the settlement, it seems that they only found a lone survivor, and that was me. ”Hiko-sama, what are you going to do with that kid you found? Are you going to turn him over to the Mayor or you had better plans?”
”I don't think I would turn him to the Mayor, it would do no good for this kid, as you know it as well too, Miroku-san. There is no reward and I don't think the Mayor's officials would fuss about with this unknown kid after all, right?”