Fuck! I should have done some research! It is what I have always been best at. It is what I do! How did I forget it now? Maybe this whole new world thing and being reborn got me all screwed up!

Once the captain had told me the location of their usual combat training, I had taken off without another word. I guess I was too excited and couldn’t help it. The place was to the north, in the opposite direction from the ocean. There, lays a big mountain surrounded by forest and swamps. It was a short flight for me.

Yet I didn’t realise the trees would be hundreds of meters high and the swamps could suck down even the biggest creatures I had ever seen. Speaking of large creatures. I am now facing a 5 meter long, 3 meter tall, wolf looking creature with long teeth and giant claws.

How the hell did the guys in the military survive this stupidly large thing? Safety in numbers maybe? Either way, I’m screwed. If this thing doesn’t kill me, my mom will. By now she should be home waiting for me.

I had it all planned out. Go and have some fun. Keep an eye on the time. And be back before my mom came home for my studies. Then this fucker showed up and I’ve been here ever since. It is like I’m the tastiest thing it has ever seen. We have been going at it for well over an hour now!

“YOU STUPID ANIMAL! JUST LET ME GO”

I jump to the side as its claws slice the space I had just been standing. Rolling on the ground I get up and try to flap my wings and take flight once more. I feel my feet lift off the ground, but before I take off a deep sense of danger engulfs me and I once more jump to the side, barley dodging some very sharp teeth.

When I first entered the forest it was pretty easy, I just started to walk around and incapacitated anything that came too close. It was fun! I never got out much in my old world, growing up in the city and all. It is much harder to get around when you can’t fly wherever you want and still be back home by the end of the day.

Anyway, I was having the time of my life when I ran into a den with some puppies. They were the cutest things ever! Maybe it was the child within me, but I just couldn’t help it! I went to go have a better look and maybe pet them if I could.

I know it wasn’t the smartest move, but what can you do? Soon wolfy here showed up and the rest is history. Now I’m stuck fighting it off because I have become its new obsession and can’t get away.

Gathering the mana around me into my hand I converting the kinetic energy into a large electric ball. Then I fire it after once more dodging an incoming attack. It hits perfectly, like all the other times I preformed the same feat.

I even made sure to gather the water vapour in the area and completely drench the animal. Before that I had tried loosening the soil and making it sink. I guess with all the swamps around, it knew how to evade those. Then I tried setting it ablaze by controlling and igniting the gasses around him, with little luck.

It would seem the basic won’t help me here. The basics are all I had learned up till now. I had done allot more research in my previous life. But those were all theories and not exactly safe once at that. Although I suppose I don't have much choice. If I was going to do this however, I was going to do it splendidly.

Absorbed as much mana as I could from my surroundings, I evaded all wolfies attacks. Then I formed packets of mana all around me, 20 in total. Once that was done, I let all the mana inside me surge through my body and focused on heightening my senses.

Next came a sensation I will never forget. Time slowed down, everything around me was in slow motion, even my own body. Using 4 of the packets of mana I had collected, I cladded my limbs and manipulated them with my mind to increase my speed.

I ran towards the thing that would become the outlet of all my anger. It practically didn’t even move. As it launched off the ground, very slowly lifting into the air in my general direction, I slide on the floor right under the animal.

Taking what seems like a minute to think of the best locations to strike, I convert the left over packets of mana into spears of condensed matter and strike. The spears of condensed matter hit 8 of the joints in its limbs, 5 in the upper body, and 5 in the lower body.

The mana within my body runs out soon after and I fall limply too the ground. My entire body aches! The pain is agonizing, my vision is blurred and I can’t seem to smell or hear anything. I trying to stay awake and once again absorb the mana around me, to no avail. Soon I can hold on no longer and my conscious fades away.

***

Slowly my eyes open. Ugh, my head feels like it split into two. I get my arms under me and try to lift my body off the ground. I sit on the floor and look around. Two meters away I find the body of the thing that had caused me so much suffering. I say body, because even from here it is fairly clear it will never move again. I suppose using theoretical techniques wasn’t the safest move. If I hadn’t killed it, I would be dead. Is that what they mean with 'you can't run from death, but you can die trying?'.

Gradually I climb to my feet and try to stand up straight. I make myself a mental note; don’t mess with things that are 4 times your size and don’t use untested theories. I walk over to the body to check it out, however I wouldn’t know what to do with it.

There is no way I could bring it back in one piece. I’m pretty strong, but not that strong. Neither do I know what parts are valuable or how to salvage them. Actually, I know very little about anything here. I can’t help but sigh as my hand massages the bridge of my nose. Why did I come running here without doing any research first?

Then I quickly look up and start running. I just remembered the puppies. Once I get to the den the three little pups are still there. They seem scared as they are holed up together shivering profoundly. I slowly make my way over. They are not even a meter in diameter as they are rolled up into little balls of fur. Once I’m close enough to touch them, I sit down and don’t move a muscle.

Now what am I going to do? If I leave them here the chance that they will die is very high. However if I take them home my mom will kill me. Then again, I can guess she will kill me either way. As I am thinking the little balls of fur unravel themselves into little wolf like creatures, just like a small version of their parent. They come up to me and start to rub their little heads against my arms and legs.

“That’s not fair!”

Seemingly uninterested in my retort, the little critters keep going about their business. Finally I make up my mind and stand up. Then I pick up the little pups before they can get away and open up my wings. I lift off the ground, realising the extra weight will definitely make me regret this later.

By the time I got home I was out of breath, my body was in pain, I had a nauseating headache, while getting an earful from my mother. You’d think a 105-year-old soul would find a way around getting scolded by his mother, but by now I was too tired to care.

The tree little puppies were cowering behind me as I was getting the longest lecture in the history of lectures. It seems that my mother had already found out where I had gone when I was home late for our lesson. Then I brought home three puppies of what appears to be one of the strongest creatures in a 500km radius. My mom had put together the pieces and summarised the events that lead to my current ordeal rather well.

Soon my mother realised her words weren’t really getting through to me and grabbed me by the wing, dragging my body along the ground to my room. The puppies followed us while sticking to me like glue.

Once we got to my room, the pain in my wing overshadowed the pain in the rest of my body as my mom dragged me to my bed. She let go and easily lifted me off the ground. She glared at me as I was lying there, not able to move what so ever.

“Stay right there, or so help me I will tie you to the bed for the rest of the week”

The look in her eyes told me she wasn’t kidding. We looked at each other a little longer. As I thought I could see a tear forming at the edges of her eyes, she gave a glare at the puppies that had gathered next to me on top of the bed, before leaving my room and slamming the door behind her.

I guess I made her worry. I mean, to my parents I’m just a little child that is slightly smarter than most other children. I should probably apologise later on and make sure things like this don’t happen too often. I can’t promise it won’t happen again, I have to keep things interesting after all. Unquestionably, my actions were somewhat stupid.

What can I say, live and learn. Today was certainly fruitful. I learned some new things about my skills, my surroundings and myself. Not to mention the three little puppies who will become fine animals in the future. I’ll adapt myself to my current lifestyle and keep training and learning. For now that seems like the best plan.

However I am definitely going to be making some changes around here! From my fight, I know my research was on the right track. I will have to experiment further. I will also have to do more research on mana and try to intertwine it with the technology I’m familiar with. Once more a stupid grin is plastered across my face. I guess I am my mother’s child after all. Still grinning and scheming, I drift away in a deep sleep.