That b*tch put me in this dark tunnel, what am I supposed to do??
Suddenly, a bright light shone.
After taking eternity to reach this bright light, I half expected a choir of angels singing angelic songs, welcoming me to heaven.
Instead, everything around me blurred into a haze of burning red, while noise crashed into my ears like a storm. I tried to speak, but the only sound that escaped was a broken cry.
The muffled voices started becoming clearer, and I began to make out the words, " Congratulations, ma'am and sir! He's a healthy boy!"
I should have just thought, "Was I just born?" "Am I a baby now?"
However, strangely, the only thought that popped into my dirty mind was, "Did I just come out of a...?!"
I did NOT expect to come to a new world as reincarnation.
Considering my situation and my great assassination skills, I made my first observation: wherever I'd been born, I could understand their language, which is a big relief! I don't want to have language barrier issues with my new family!
Next, after what felt like an eternity of effort, I managed to open my eyes slowly and painfully. For your information, it was a great effort to open them, even for a prince like me. A flood of colour and distorted shapes assaulted my vision. My infant eyes struggled to focus, like a dusty lens being wiped clean for the first time.
In front of me stood a man whom I assumed was a doctor, though I use the term generously. He had a face only a mother could flinch at, framed by long, graying hair that spilled from both scalp and chin. His glasses looked thick enough to stop bullets. Just imagine that! And strangest of all… he wasn't even wearing a doctor's coat! Just what is he?!
And the second observation I've made since entering this world is…we weren't in a hospital!
No— I'd been born smack in the middle of what looked like a satanic summoning ritual. The room was dimly lit with candles at really random places. There were even symbols on the floor—and we were on the floor. No lights. Just cold stone and bad vibes.
I look around to see the woman who pushed me out of her tunnel, no offence. Calling her mother should only be fair. Taking a few more seconds to see what she looks like, I'll have to admit that she's a beauty. With her auburn hair tied in a single braid lying on her shoulders, elegantly milky white smooth skin, purple eyes, and pink lips, she looks gentle and glamorous, but that might just be my blurry eyes, hehe. Other than her beauty, I could better describe her as a loving mother who would love you no matter what, something I never felt in my past life. I can't help but notice her long eyelashes and perky nose, which just makes me want to cling to her. Is this how babies are attracted to their mothers?
I turn right to barely make out the person who I assume is my father by his idiotic grin and teary eyes. Sigh…
Almost immediately, he says, " Hi little Kawa-kun, I'm your daddy, can you say dada? Like this, d-a d-a,"
I glance around to see if anyone else finds this ridiculous. Both my mother and the self-proclaimed doctor roll their eyes to the back of their head. My mother manages to scoff, "Honey! He was just born!"
I take a closer look and I can see why my lovely mother was attracted to an unworthy man… I mean, a decent and elegant man like him. He was a very charismatic-looking man, with his face sharp and angular, with a sharp jawline and high cheekbones, ice blue eyes, and white hair neatly combed.
By the time I finished checking out… I mean, observing my parents, the wannabe doctor excused himself, telling my parents," Please continue resting for a couple of days, Mrs. Hoshino, and if anything happens to Hoshikawa, please let me know." What kind of name is Hoshikawa? Doesn't that mean Star River?
The following couple of weeks after my journey out of the tunnel were pure torture for me. I had limited motor control over my limbs. I could only wave them around, and even doing that was tiring for me. I realised that babies have little control over their fingers. The worst part is that I can't even control what comes out of my ass and when! I just soil my pants occasionally! Absolutely no discretion! How absurd!
Well, one positive thing was that I was breastfed by my mother.
Don't get me wrong, no ulterior motives here! It's just that fresh breast milk is much tastier than baby formula, ok? It also has nutritional value! Um, please believe me…
The satanic demon-summoning chamber turned out to be my parents' room. And from what I could gather, this world I'd been reborn into was—hopefully—a place stuck in the past. A world where electricity hadn't been invented yet.
That hope lasted exactly one week.
My mother shattered it the moment she healed a scratch on my leg—courtesy of my idiotic father bumping me into a drawer. And no, not the usual band-aid and a kiss kind of healing. I'm talking full-blown, glowing light, accompanied by a faint hum, radiating from her freaking hands.
That's when I knew I was wrong.
Where the freaking hell am I?
My mother, named Liora Hoshino, and father, named Renar Hoshino, were the best parents ever! Hell, if not the best. Well, maybe just my mother. I secretly suspected that my mother was an angel sent by the stars because I had never seen a person as kind-hearted, gentle, and warm as her. While being carried on a strap-like thing on her back, we would go to what she called Starhaven town every once in a while. This town seemed more like an unglorified outpost, as it has come to my observation that there are no buildings, no roads in this undignified town. This place is not suitable for any sane living creatures. We had to… I mean my mother had to walk on the main dirt road where there were various tents on both sides with merchants selling various items, some that I have never seen before. They must have gone extinct by the 51st century. The merchants and salespeople were selling things from everyday needs to items that would widen my eyes and make my jaw drop…like weapons, armour, huge rocks, and… wait, what? Crystals?! I've only read about them in our history books! They've supposedly been extinct! I didn't think that I would be so glorified as to set my eyes on crystals! They're so pretty!
The strangest thing that I still can't seem to get used to is the fact that everyone is carrying weapons like it's a part of their body or their bag. Like what the hell? Aren't they even scared that someone will take out their weapon and start killing people??! Anyways, my mother keeps talking to me, probably trying to get me to learn the language faster (She doesn't know one bit that this damn baby is freaking intelligent and already understands! ) while shopping for groceries, and getting carried away when she sees food on sale and buys too much food…
Meanwhile, my body starts to turn against me again…I start to lose consciousness and fall into a pleasant nap. Damn this useless body!
Sitting on my mother's lap, I intently focused on my father chanting outside for a good 3 minutes. It more or less sounded like a prayer to the earth. I leaned in closer and closer, almost falling out of the damn window while expecting Daddy to produce a stone golem or a stone wall. After what seemed like eternity, my father produced three tiny fire bullets and one small water wall that slammed into a nearby tree. "WOW"…
I waved my hands furiously in anger and regret for wasting my precious attention span, while my idiotic father somehow interpreted that as a "wow" and gave his famous grin, saying, " Your daddy is not only handsome, he's awesome too!" Then he swept his hair to the back of his head, head held high. Handsome, my foot! I'm the one considered handsome!
No, my father was much better than the great general he was. With a swift move, he pulled his legendary sword out from his sheath. Boom! A burst of bloodlust aura immediately spread out. The force was so strong that I nearly fell off my human seat. Whoa! That's what I call AWESOME! When I looked back at my idiot father, his cheerful,l warm smile had disappeared. Instead, it was replaced with a cold, indifferent expression. His brown brows narrowed as he closed his eyes and concentrated. Seconds later, a blue flame burst from the sword, consuming it whole. I half expected the sword to be burned down to ashes, but in this world, you can never expect anything. Holy Shit!! To my utmost surprise, my idiotic father did not burn down his legendary sword; instead, flames swirled on it, giving it a magical vibe. Whoa!
My father's ice-blue eyes narrowed as he got into position as if expecting something. He seemed like a completely different person. Is he like this when he's a general? Suddenly, two fire-breathing wolves jumped out from a bush and charged at my idiot father. With swift, clean moves, I think, as my dear mother afraid I had to witness such a gruesome scene. Truth be told, I've witnessed gruesome things much worse than this. When I opened my eyes again, I saw the two Infernox (yeah, apparently that's what they're called) lying on the ground with one clean cut on each of their necks. There wasn't even blood! Father must have cleaned them.
On the side, my father must have noticed my awe. He gave me his idiotic grin (ugh, *rolls eyes), ruffled his hair, knelt and said smiling," If you train very hard, someday you'll be just like daddy, champ!" (*le gasp) That idiot is encouraging me?! Well, maybe he's not as self-centred as I thought he was… Then he patted my head.
My idiot father then stood up and said smugly," But you'll never suppress me!" Then he threw back his head and started laughing. Sigh, I take back what I said about him not being self-centred.
Then my idiot father was met with a firm slap on the head by my beloved mother, the angel of my universe! Oh, what a saviour my divine angel.
My divine angel chided, " Who says he can't beat you?! He's my son! If I can beat you, so can he!"
That day, my idiot father was just going a little nuts, I mean, very nuts. He retorted with a hint of "jokingness", " Well, maybe he's not your son, hehehehe"
Well, my beloved divine angel did not take that well, and started chasing him with a pan, ready to beat him up, heal him, and beat him up again. The WORST kind of torment. Mental note: Never piss off my mother.
From what I have gathered from this world so far, it seems this is a very straightforward world with soldiers and mages, where power and wealth decide where you stand in society. It wasn't too different from my old world, just that they lacked technology.
In my old world, Wars were often waged to settle disputes. There was no such thing as peace. As the eldest and strongest son of the King, I was often sent to the duels of other countries to settle disputes. The whole country's hope fell onto my shoulders. This was way before I was banished.
Therefore, Princes weren't the typical bossy princes who would boss others around. We all had to train, be the strongest to earn your father's throne, even if your father does not want you to be king, like my father. In the end, the country decides, not the King…
Now, enough about reminiscing.
The currency in this old world seems to be quite straightforward. There is no need to exchange currency when going to other kingdoms. Copper is the lowest form of currency, then silver, then gold, and Lastly Platinum. While I have yet to see anything costing a Gold coin or more, I have observed that normal families seem to be able to live off a couple of copper coins just fine. The currency here is very simple, see:
100 Copper = 1 Silver
100 Silver = 1 Gold
100 Gold = 1 Platinum
Every day revolved around me trying to hone my new body, mastering the motor functions residing within me as well as the most important thing: Controlling my muscles on when to shit.