Duality - 14 Going back

John followed the tracks and trail of dry blood left by the Wind Deer stag. Compared to yesterday when entering the forest, he was a bit more relaxed. That’s because after experiencing the mind awakening, his senses became a little bit stronger.

Walking a little more than a kilometer, he finally found the stag’s body. It seemed untouched, save for the fatal wound at its neck caused by John. There were tracks belonging to the rest of the Herd pointing north, but as he already got the stag’s body, he no longer cared about them.

With a little bit of effort, he managed to remove the antlers. Although not a professional, it was good enough.

But now he had a problem; how to take them back. His bag was already full, and if he carried them around in the open, he was afraid of someone trying to rob him. He had killed the brothers, but they were all just level 3 Fighters. Against someone stronger, he may not be able to resist.

John considered for a few moments before finally deciding. Spending close to an hour, he skinned the Wind Deer and used it to wrap the antlers, with the fur inwards. Finished, he threw it over the shoulder and went his way.

After another hour John reached the small lake where he first found tracks of the Wind Deers herd. Stopping for a brief rest, he first refilled his water satchel and then foraged around for some fruits. Having taken care of both hunger and thirst, John was about to leave when he remembered something.

Heading to the edge of the lake, he gazed at his own reflection, but the water was too murky to discern anything. All he knew was that he was a child, and by touching his head, knew his hair was cut quite short, almost shaved bald.

The reason for this were the customs of the Yao tribe, where only by completing the trial was someone considered an adult and allowed to grow their hair.

Once again throwing the antlers over his shoulder, John made his way to the road and from there towards his home.

Along the way, he couldn’t help to admire the view. Tall trees on each side of the road, the random sunray that manages to pass by the lush branches coupled with happy chirps from birds.

‘How beautiful.’ Experiencing the calm environments from the forest, John had to reconsider his previous judgment. ‘Maybe they aren’t so different after all. Just like Earth, this world has both violence and peacefulness.’

As civilization evolved, Earth as a whole became more and more peaceful, despite lots of accidents along the way.

And although he made his career fighting as a soldier and then a spy, he grew up in a peaceful environment, be it with his parents or in the orphanage with his brother Lucas.

‘Sword fighting, leather armors, and dukedoms. At first glance, this world resembles medieval Europe, but then there are also things like mana, spells and magical beasts…’

John looked at his own hands, clenching and opening them.

‘…and then, there’s this cultivation thing.’

He recalled his fight against the two brothers and the strength he was able to display.

‘I’m only 10 years old, but I feel even stronger than in my past life. My speed when chasing the last brother… no, even before that; The Great Boar was almost one story tall, but I managed to jump on top of it and this is only the fourth level of Fighter realm. I can’t even imagine how strong I may become if I reach the Crusader realm…’

‘…no! Not IF, but WHEN. I’ll keep training and find out by myself.’ With a smile on his lips and a glint in his eyes, John picked up the pace.

——

After exiting the forest, the feeling of being watched finally disappeared, causing John to breathe a sigh of relief. The walk back from there on was as calm as before, with John passing by the occasional farmer from time to time.

When John approached Greenflower town, the sun was already setting, coloring the whole world with a beautiful orange color. But instead of following the main road towards the town, he took a right through a small trail.

The trail continued for a few minutes through some woods and up a hill until finally reaching a small cottage.

‘So this is my home.’ John thought while looking at it.

The cottage was fully made of wood, save for the glass on the closed windows. It didn’t have any sort of decor, coupled with a high amount of weeds around it that made the place look abandoned.

John always found it strange that his Mother chose to live here. He knew that with her level, even as a southerner, she would be able to get at least a good house in town. Now, with his memories from the previous world, he could only think that she must be hiding from something.

‘Well, guess it’s time to meet her.’ With that, John pushed the door open and entered the cottage. The first thing he noticed was the tasty smell of cooked food.

The cottage’s inside was divided into three parts. A kitchen/Dining room connected to the entrance, and one bedroom on each side. The one on the left belonged to his Mother, while the right one was his.

As soon as he entered, John’s eyed turned to the dining table, and the woman serving the freshly cooked food.

“You’re back. Did you complete the hunt?” Dene asked, acting like she didn’t know how it all went.

“Yes, Mo-Mother.” With memories from both the past and actual life, it was kinda weird to call her Mother. But the John from before the mind awakening loved his Mother, which therefore extended to the present one.

“Good, show me the proof then.” Dene ordered, placing the food on the table.

John first placed the bundle on the ground and unwrapped it, revealing the Wind Deer antlers. Then, he removed the Great Boar’s tusks from his bag and also presented them.

“During my trial, I managed to kill both a Wind Deer and a Great Boar. Here is the proof.”

Dene inspected the trophies for a few seconds before revealing one of her rare smiles. “Well done my son, you’ve completed your trial. Following our tribe’s customs, you are now a man.”

“Thank you Mo-” John paused for a moment when he looked at his Mother’s eyes, but continued as if nothing happened. “Thank you, Mother.”

When he looked into her eyes, he felt something strangely familiar.

“And I see that you’ve also achieved a mind awakening. Well done again. It’s getting late, and you must be tired by now. Eat and go rest, tomorrow we go back to training.” After saying this, Dene sat by the table and began to eat.

John followed suit, but his mind was on the feeling he just had

‘She wasn’t surprised when I came back, neither when I showed her the trophies or when mentioning my mind awakening. Almost like she already knew…’ It was then that it clicked, and John stared at the food in front of him.

It was enough for two people, and it had just been cooked.

‘Not like she knew, she definitely knew.’ Realizing this, he once again looked at his Mother.

She had dark black skin, short, tightly coiled hair and brown eyes. It was the dark circles around her eyes that attracted his attention.

‘I slept for almost a full day at the forest, but nothing happened to me. No animal or magical beast tried to attack me in my sleep. Also, I kept feeling like there was someone watching me…’

It was then that John made the connection. That familiar feeling he just felt when looking at her eyes was because he felt the same at the forest. That would also explain how tired she looks.

‘She must have kept watch over me while I was passed out. That would also explain why the feeling disappeared after I left the forest. It must have been because she rushed back here to cook for me.’ After connecting all the pieces, John couldn’t help but show a smile, that was picked up by Dene.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just thinking about something.” John answered and went back to eating, while on the inside he had a warm feeling for knowing that she wouldn’t let anything happen to him.