5 Memory (1)

The man stared at me with cold eyes, observing my every move. His piercing gaze seemed to sting every nook and corner of my body.

An unusual pressure swept over me which made me dig my knees on the floor. He was like a monster that tiered above anything I knew.

"Hmm… get up."

What?

"I said get up."

His tone was sharper than before, flashing a sense of danger at me. I got up without wasting a second and stood straight, looking dead at the man's eyes.

The man took two steps toward me. His strides were longer than they seemed as his feet quickly closed the distance between us.

"Hmm… seems like you've recovered. And…"

He paused and stared at my bare back for a while. His gaze was very pricking.

"...seems like you will be fine"

He mumbled something strange. His mumbling left me with a lot of questions.

"So… what were you doing in the Forest of Death?"

His stare exuded something akin to terror. I was petrified when I took that gaze head on. Who was this man?

"..."

"Not feeling like answering?"

I didn't even know what he was talking about in the first place. Forest of Death? Was that where this body died?

I wanted to dodge this question if possible. One wrong answer might cost me something great, maybe my life.

I put on a sullen face and replied in a low tone as if I was grieving.

"...I don't want to talk about that."

I knew this body had given up on his life, meaning he must have had some kind of horrible backstory. I could use that fact to save myself.

Sching…

The sound of a sword brandishing fiercely rang out loudly in the silence.

A clear form and an impenetrable stance.

Aura blazing from the sword pointed at my neck like soft cherry blossoms.

A pair of eyes that seemed to see through everything, affixed at their target.

I couldn't help but be amazed at the scene unfolding in front of me. Even though I was in danger, I had a terrible urge, an urge to reach that realm. What kind of world did that man see while holding that blade?

"Hm?"

As though he sensed my amazement, he quietly lowered his blade.

"Seems like you have no malicious intentions."

Phew… guess I survived that.

"But… who are you?"

"Musashi."

My jaws dropped.

Musashi… was a name I often saw while going through history. I still didn't know if this Musashi was the same Musashi I knew… but I had a gut feeling.

"You mean… Miyamoto Musashi?"

"...yes."

He sheathed his blade and turned away.

"You can leave now."

Maybe I was overstaying my welcome. This was his intention all along. Save me from dying in that forest and then kicking me out.

Tring!

{Quest- Training}

-Have Miyamoto Musashi accept you as his disciple and learn the ways of the sword from him.

{Reward (s)- Song of the Sword Saint, Lightning attribute, 100 TP}

{Time limit- 14 days}

{Failure consequences- None}

Quest? Rewards? What was all this? It was like I was in a game.

And it was telling me to train under the man hailed as the Sword Saint. Of course, if I could do that, then it would be a great thing. I could know a lot about this world if I was under him, and probably satiate that urge inside me. Yes, if I could.

My mouth trembled slightly, slowly curving upwards.

"Um…"

"...?"

This man saved someone without thinking too much. Maybe he was just that confident in his abilities, or maybe, he was a fellow I could use.

"Please!"

I banged my head on the floor and fell on all fours. It hurt like hell but I endured it and screamed louder.

"Please take me under your wing!"

It was a bit dumb to think it would work, but if I was right, it would surely work.

"...why should I? You are just some brat with nothing noticeable."

"Sword Saint."

Oh my, did I hit the mark?

Just a single name changed the face of the Sword Saint. He was now looking at me with eyes of disbelief and astonishment.

"I am from Earth too."

"...hmm."

Yes!

That was my first step—make him consider his options again.

Since Musashi was hailed as the Sword Saint who devoted his life to the Sword on Earth, there should be no one in this world who should call him the Sword Saint. But as I was from Earth, it was natural for me to know him.

"So?"

Yeah, of course. This was not going to be that easy.

"Isn't it natural to offer a helping hand to someone from the same place?"

"It must be natural to you…"

"Yes, it is."

"Yes, for you. Not for me. Get out and let me continue with my work."

Huh?

What was this?

"W-Wah…!"

Something wrapped my body but I couldn't see anything but I could feel its immense strength gripping my muscles.

Tick!

Musashi snapped his fingers and the door slammed open.

"Waaaah—!"

Before I knew it, I was thrown out of the small hut and the door closed the moment I was out.

"Guh!"

I fell.

A pink petal slowly hovered around my nose before settling on it. The wind breezed gently and the plum blossoms rained softly above me. For a moment, I was mesmerized by the stunning sight. For as long as I could remember, I was confined in my home, in front of the books and the sheer pressure from my parents. I couldn't remember going out and seeing the world, not even once. This was rather… strange to me.

"No, but what was that?"

That strange force that coiled me and threw me out. I am pretty sure Musashi was pretty far from me to have thrown me out himself.

I rummaged through the memory again but I still couldn't figure out anything.

"Magic…?"

That was the only answer I could come up to.

If something like magic existed, then it wouldn't be weird for that kind of thing to happen.

"It wouldn't be weird for something like magic to exist when something like regression exists."

Yep, that was the answer, for sure.

"Haa…"

I had a lot of things to learn.

***