I woke up confused, my head searing with pain, and the coordination of a newborn deer. I attempted to stand on my feet, but I quickly fell to the ground.

What the hell?

Glancing down at my arms, I noticed they were quite small and completely devoid of muscle. The rest of my body mirrored this observation. I surveyed my surroundings and found nothing but lush green pine trees and heard only a gentle breeze.

Is god real? No seriously where am I?… Oh.. Yeah.. I must have perished in that fight against the man in the black mask.

I rose, able to stand this time, and brushed off the pine needles clinging to my wool trousers.

All those years of martial arts training just to get slain by a maniac with a knife, how disappointing.

A feeling of dryness ached in my throat signaled my urgent need water. Food could wait for now, you could only live without water for 2-3 days and I was already dehydrated.

I started waking through the forrest and quickly found a stream of crystal clear water.

I don't really have a choice to make sure that this water is safe to drink. Maybe I should have watched more of those wilderness survival shows back at home.

I knelt down to the stream and started drinking, the water tasted crisp and the stream was the perfect temperature.

After satisfying my body’s thirst for water, I sat down against a tree and once again examined my body.

Based off my height and weight I must be 8 years old, but how is this possible? How am I here?

This must be some kind of reincarnation, but I didn’t reincarnate as a newborn baby. Also all of my memories from my previous life are intact. This is nothing like the reincarnation described in religious texts, but who knows they could be wrong. Anyways I don’t know the answer to this an probably will never know, all I can do is just live life like I normally would.

I stood up once again Lets try to find some sort of civilization, if any exists in this world.

I headed in the direction the sun was setting, even though I didn’t know which direction that was. It would help me stay consistent.

I ventured deeper into the woods for a few hours until I spotted some faint movement approximately 60 feet ahead.

I squinted to see the object and noticed it was huge, probably 4 times larger than myself. It was also covered in a black fur.

The bear-like creature appeared to be eating something, so I cautiously walked around it. I tried to complete a semicircle around the bear to avoid any confrontation. This body was clearly no match for a bear in a battle.

But if I had my old body..

In my past life, I often boasted about my ability to wrestle a bear into submission. However, now faced with the daunting task, especially in this frail body, I was not confident.

I made it around 75% around the bear, That damn bear is deaf it couldn't even hear those branches I broke earlier.

I turned around and slowly crept forward again when I glanced back at the bear. I attempted to determine what it was consuming, but despite the noises of its eating filling my ears, there was nothing visible beneath its snout.

“What the h-“, The bear immediately looked up and locked eyes with me.

I shivered with nervousness and then excitement, It was playing my like a fool! It knew I was there the entire time and was waiting for its chance to strike. How genius!

The bear charged at me with blistering speed and in mere seconds it closed the gap between us.

I instinctually channeled my ki, quickly realizing my mistake. Ki surged through my frail body, freezing it in pain.

I grunted in agony as the bear collided with me, propelling me into the air. I skidded across the ground, sustaining minor cuts and bruises. Struggling, I regained my footing, only to witness the bear charging at me once more.

That attack would have killed me if not for my ki! Ki in this world must be insanely strong as it even hurt my own body.

I roared as I channeled the ki once more, bracing myself for the pain that was bound to come. This time, it allowed me to move. The bear’s eyes widened as it leaped towards me.

I swung with all the might my 8 year old body could muster, landing a clean right hook on the bears head. This attack sent the bear flying into a tree to my left, Maybe I can beat this bear! If ki can allow an 8 year old to do this I wonder what a trained adult could do with ki.

Then, a stabbing pain pierced through me. My gaze fell down at my hand to discover it was shattered. I couldn’t even move it, and the stabbing sensation was unlike any pain I had ever experienced.

This ki is so strong, yet this body cannot handle the amount of power I possess. I will need to find a way to control this.

In my past life turning on Ki was like turning on a switch. It was either on or off. This Ki though was way too powerful for that method to work.

I grunted as I lowered my hand to my side, but then a loud grunting noise followed by rustling coming from the bush where the bear had landed.

It rose from the bush furious and seething with anger. Its body was cut up and bleeding from multiple places. Small wisps of fire escaped its mouth, as if it were huffing.

My eyes widened in shock and before I could even process what was happening, I turned to my left and began sprinting as fast as this body could.

Fire erupted from the beast’s mouth in a cone shape towards me. The breath attack trailed closely behind me.

The bear is too fast for me to escape, but I can damage it with ki-enhanced punches. It seems that last attack severely damaged it from the look of the bear, but this fire breath attack… Does this world have magic?

Ki is the internal energy of oneself. It could not become a physical object and was limited to enhancing ones body.

This powers origin is not based on ki.

Seconds felt like years as nearly 30 seconds passed, the bears stumbled and its breath attack wavered.

He’s running out of mana. Nows my chance!

I veered to my right and sprinted at the bear, activating my ki amplification technique. A glowing white aura enveloped my body, and ki surged through my legs as I pushed my body to its limits in order to reach the bear quickly.

I got within melee range of the bear and struck it with a vicious roundhouse kick from my right leg.

CRACK

The bear flew across to the ground, its spine shattered from the force of the attack. Settling down 20 feet away, blood gushed out of its mouth.

I writhed in pain as the adrenaline wore off. My right hand was shattered along with my right shin and right foot.

Damnit, theres gotta be some way to control this. With these injuries I am a sitting duck, I have to get to civilization fast.

I discovered a sturdy stick lying on the ground, just the right height to support my shoulder and balance me as I hobbled towards the setting sun.