บท 2: Two gifts
Amidst huge green mountains, there was a dense forest, where countless animals lived wildly. The sound of the wind blowing through the trees was like a soft and delicate whistle.
The sun was only illuminating the ground in some areas, with the large trees casting shadows across the forest. Amidst this comfortable natural atmosphere, a young man slowly opened his eyes, feeling the light in one of his eyes.
The young man felt a strangely familiar sensation, despite it being the first time he had felt it. With his newly opened eyes, he looked towards the ground a few meters to his right, only to see a huge, seemingly dead bear.
Before his eyes, he saw a purple mist emanating from the brown bear's limp body. "Is this my gift?" The young man said slowly, as a faint smile formed on his lips.
Akira had just woken up in that world, and the first thing he saw was a dead body. Maybe that was a bad sign for other people, but it certainly wasn't for him.
Looking at the thin purple mist, Akira reached out his right hand, as if to grab something. It was as simple as breathing, he didn't even need to think about it.
The purple mist stretched out like a thread, and was sucked into his hand, quickly disappearing.
Akira took a deep breath as he felt that mist invade his body and soon let out a long, pleasant sigh "What a wonderful feeling!" His face formed a smile, as he clenched his fist.
It was impossible to describe with words, but it was a very satisfying feeling, which could be compared to the feeling of refreshment. There was also a slight increase in his strength, which made the feeling even better.
"I don't know how much stronger I've gotten, but..." As he spoke, Akira punched the air, feeling his speed and strength improve, "I should be stronger than most humans now!"
Although it was just a judgment without much knowledge, he was not wrong. His strength had increased very little compared to that universe, where destroying planets was simple, but for normal humans, he went from an average teenager to a strong adult.
"That was a good gift, but he said there would be two gifts..." Akira slowly looked around, searching for a possible second gift.
One could see his excited smile slowly turn into a confused look "A mirror?" He said, seeing the object standing out from the rest of the area.
A hand mirror was on his left, only a meter away from where he had awakened. Crouching down to pick up the mirror, he wondered "Is this some kind of magic mirror? I don't think a mirror is a gift... At least not in this situation"
When he looks into the mirror, searching for some magical functionality or something, but he was surprised to see his reflection.
Touching his own face as he looked in the mirror, he understood the real gift. His appearance still looked like his old self, but it was different, giving him a very pleasant appearance.
He wasn't ugly, but he could only be called average, but now he was handsome, without a doubt. He smiled at the mirror, and saw a beautiful smile in response, "Not bad! I guess I won't have to worry about being rejected!"
Slowly lowering the mirror, he turned his attention to his surroundings "I said I wanted to be at the beginning of the story, but I didn't say the location... I should be on Earth, but how am I going to find Goku and Bulma?"
He wanted to be with the group from the beginning, so he could create a good relationship with them and be able to live every important moment in history, but he had no idea where he was now.
Even though he had watched the anime a few times, without a good reference he wouldn't know where he was. If he was unlucky, he could be on the opposite side of the planet, in a place the anime never showed.
...
Meanwhile, on Mount Paozu, Goku, still with his childish appearance, was starting another of his days, cutting down a tree to turn it into firewood, to later light a fire and be able to cook his food.
The boy was completely unaware of his future, whether with the girl who was heading towards him, or with the reincarnated young man, who had arrived to completely change history, not just his, but this world's.
"I'm already getting hungry, I think I'll go find something to eat!" Goku said, before smiling, heading off in search of food.
...
The sound of branches breaking was heard occasionally, as Akira walked through the forest with his eyes alert, searching for the exit from this place.
He let out a long sigh, as he thought 'I should have asked to be near Goku's house, it would have been much easier'
Akira had been walking for almost an hour, but he still didn't feel any signs of tiredness. He didn't notice this fact, after all his mind was focused on finding a way to find Goku and Bulma.
As he continued walking, he saw something that made him smile slightly. Although it was nothing related to his current objective, it was still a good find.
A thin layer of purple mist was appearing next to a tree. Akira knew there was a body there, but there were leaves covering it. Not bothering to see what animal was dead, he just pulled the mist towards him and continued on his way.
It wasn't strange that there were dead animals scattered throughout the forest, after all it was only natural.
'I wonder how strong I can become, just by wandering around this forest' A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Even though he had only done this twice, he could feel a slight difference between them, the bear had increased its strength more when compared to the latter. Even so, an increase in strength was important, no matter how small or large.
...
Hours passed, Akira had already found half a dozen animal bodies, but the exit from the forest never appeared. He found a river and was following the bank, to reach the end of that forest and hopefully find a familiar place.
If he was a strong adult before, now Akira could no longer be classified as an ordinary human. In his old world, he could probably be considered the strongest human in the world, but his strength remained minuscule for the world of Dragon Ball.
Akira was very excited about his increasing strength, but with each passing moment he felt less hopeful about finding Goku. And once the day was over, he would no longer be near Mount Paozu and it would be harder to find him.
During the last few hours, besides walking and gaining strength, he had also been remembering the beginning of the story, trying to find ways to find the group.
'If I'm on the same day as the story begins, then Goku and Bulma have probably already met...' He thinks, as he walks along the rocky ground of the riverbank 'In that case, it'll be hard to find them, I'll probably have to go to Mount Frypan'
Mount Frypan was a place known both in the anime and by the people of this Earth. It was the only point where the group would pass and Akira knew the name.
He still needed to get out of this forest as quickly as possible, after all it wouldn't be long before Goku and Bulma passed by there. Akira needed to find some city, to ask where this place was.
'If I don't find them at Mount Frypan, the story will continue as normal, and Bulma will start dating Yamcha... I can't let that happen!' Akira's eyes shone with determination.
Absorbed in his thoughts, Akira didn't notice a pair of eyes staring at him. Amidst some bushes, a feline followed the young man's movements.
The rustling of the bushes caught Akira's attention, who was caught by surprise, seeing a jaguar coming towards him.
Without any delay, the jaguar leapt towards him, determined to bite his neck. Its jaws opened, exposing its sharp fangs.
By reflex, Akira raised his arm to protect himself and felt the animal's teeth pierce his flesh. The pain appeared along with the blood, which began to leak from his arm.
Despite the pain, he smiled. His smile carried both anger and excitement. If it were earlier, he would probably be in danger, but now was different.
While his arm remained inside the animal's mouth, Akira clenched his opposite fist and punched the jaguar with all his strength.
When his punch connected with the animal's neck, it involuntarily released its arm, followed by a cry of pain.
Akira's arm throbbed in pain, but his attention was focused on the animal, which was slowly getting up. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not the prey you were expecting." A faint smile appeared on his face.
The animal was visibly frightened, its paws trembling slightly from the blow.
Akira looked into the animal's eyes 'I don't know if it's because of my ability, because of my reincarnation or some other reason, but I don't feel any pressure...'
His foot flew towards the jaguar's head, and with a powerful kick, he ended up breaking the animal's neck.
"I don't feel any burden in killing an animal" He concluded his reasoning, as he looked at the purple mist forming on the animal's body.
Killing insects was simple, but killing a mammal was different, at least that's what Akira thought. However, just now, he killed a jaguar and didn't feel anything. He didn't even try to lie to himself, saying it was to protect himself, after all, even if he was attacked first, he could have let the animal go alive.
"Well, I should be happy, not to suffer from that... I chose to come to this world full of battles, so I would end up killing anyway" Akira let out a light sigh.
Stretching out his arm, he pulled the purple mist towards him. Before his eyes, the holes in his arm made by the beast's teeth slowly healed, until only faint marks remained.
Seeing his skin being healed, Akira's eyes widened in surprise "This also heals wounds!?" He ran his finger over where there was only a faint scar.
Although it didn't cure everything, it was still surprising. Furthermore, it didn't stop his strength from increasing, which was almost as great as the bear's.
Without looking at the dead body any further, Akira continued on his way, as a serene expression filled his face.
"I hope I find a village before nightfall, I don't want to have to sleep in the forest" He said to himself.
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