I have already experienced dying once, and it didn't feel pleasant at all.
Now I am once again travelling through a dark tunnel with a bright white light at the end of it. As the light gets brighter and overtakes my vision entirely, I suddenly open my eyes.
First thing Jack notices is how all the sounds are so loud, or rather so overwhelming. He can clearly hear birds chirping in the distance and the rustling of leaves blowing in the wind.
He is standing next to a large dirt road inside a forest. Tall trees surround the road and loads of vegetation in between, making it quite hard to traverse the forest naturally.
He looks around and everything reminds him of Earth, the sky is still blue, sun is still shining bright in the sky. Nothing looks different, even the clouds look the same. However, he feels different.
He feels much more composed and focused. More aware of his surroundings and himself.
"Huh... everything feels more real, somehow", Jack says to himself.
He looks at his arms and flexes them a bit, trying to gauge if he is actually stronger or if everything feels the same as before. The first thing he notices is how muscular he is.
His body looks like the perfect combination of a power-lifter and a bodybuilder. Tightly packed muscles, but with a slight layer of fat to protect, and at the same time, he isn't overly large.
He looks strong, but at the same time has a somewhat agile and athletic build. Overall, he both looks and feels strong, much more so than before in life, or rather in his previous life.
'Is this what I would look like if I actually went to the gym?' Jack thinks while stretching his arms.
However, he then realises something, he is almost completely naked except for a short pair of underwear.
"Really!? I couldn't even get some basic clothes?" Jack facepalms and silently curses the old man who put him here.
Still, no other human is in sight, and the road does not look like it is ending anywhere close.
He starts moving around and punches the air a few times to get a feel of his strength, and it is explosive. He punches very quickly, and he knows he does not even have the right technique.
Usually, people who have a superior technique can throw punches really fast, but Jack is just physically fit enough.
After punching the air a few times, he decides to try something real, so he starts running on the road and quickly picks up speed. He soon runs as fast as a horse and still isn't even breathing heavily yet.
'This is almost too easy, shouldn't I be tired already?' Jack thinks and continues for a few minutes before stopping, only to take slightly heavier breaths than before.
Then he walks over to a small bush and casually rips the entire thing out of the ground with the roots almost intact.
"Oops, that went better than expected", Jack says, surprisingly.
He then makes his way over to the closest tree and decides to punch it. First, he does it with just a slight amount of strength, in which nothing really happens. Not really surprising, as he is punching a tree.
Then he pulls his arm back and charges a real punch, channelling the same strength he used to casually rip a plant out of the ground.
*WHOOSH*
The punch connects with the tree and goes straight through, splitting the tree apart, and splinters shoot out in all directions.
*BAM*
The tree breaks in half and topples over, falling with a loud thud.
Jack looks at his arm in astonishment. Surprise is visible on his face as he quickly gathers his thoughts.
"Did that really just happen?" He looks back at the now toppled tree and starts questioning.
"How is this achievable by human means? Did the old man just give me superpower strength?"
He checks his hand for bruises or injuries, half expecting to have a broken bone, but surprisingly, he feels completely fine.
"This world must be different. No way any human would ever be capable of doing this on Earth. This is something straight out of a superhero movie." Jack mutters to himself.
He then proceeds to the next tree and once again punches it, splitting it in half and toppling it. This time, he even knew what to expect, so he aimed in a much better spot.
Jack punches a few more trees in half, each impact generating a loud boom, and flocks of birds can be heard fleeing the scene.
"Right, maybe it is time to stop, but I am insanely strong and durable," Jack says to himself.
At this moment, he suddenly hears noises coming from further down the road. Horses neighing and a whip being heard.
Jack hears the carriage way before he sees it, and his mind rapidly starts thinking.
First contact with actual people? How should he approach this? He remembers the old man saying he would already know the language, but what if he lied?
As his mind quickly starts making decisions, he realises that even his mind seems to be at peak performance. Time almost feels like it slows down, and his brain can quickly notice things and act upon them.
A brawny and rugged-looking man comes into sight. He is steering a carriage drawn by two horses.
He has a beard and simple clothes primarily made out of leather. The carriage is filled with logs, and Jack thinks this man must be a woodcutter, either on his way home or to sell the logs.
"Hey!" the man yells and quickly stops the carriage. "What happened to you? I heard loud noises coming from this direction" he continues.
Jack sighs in relief because he actually understands the language. It seems like everything is just directly translated for him. He also surprises himself by how quickly he starts talking and trying to explain a story about why he is here.
"Hello, sir, I was robbed a little while ago, and the bandits stole all my things. Including my clothes" Jack says, and looks down slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, really? Bandits around these parts must be terrible luck, but at least you don't look injured" the man responds while suspiciously looking at all the broken trees surrounding Jack.
"Yeah, they kinda knocked me unconscious, so I woke up just recently. Perhaps you could help me get back to the closest settlement?"
The rugged man takes a good look at Jack before answering. At first, he seems suspicious because the guy standing in front of him looks incredibly healthy and athletic, surely he can't be just a nobody travelling right? A typical merchant usually doesn't look like a bodybuilder, and he doesn't look like he is from around these parts.
He looks at the trees behind Jack, and his frown deepens. Who could destroy trees like this? And why is there no other sign of a struggle or battle here? Just destroyed trees?
He then looks at Jack once again and answers, "Of course, I'm on my way back to Greenwood myself to drop off these logs. By the way, my name is Joe".
Jack pays a lot of attention to Joe while he is looking around. For some reason, he feels like Joe doesn't trust him at all and wants to just leave. But then he quickly changed his tone and decided to help him instead. Weird.
"Thank you!" Jack says with a smile and continues, "My name is Jack, I'm not really from around here, and just travelling through. Any help I can get will be appreciated"
"Alright, Jack, hop on, and I will take you back to Greenwood" Joe says before lending him a coat.
"You can wear my coat until we are back at my place, don't want you entering town in such an awkward manner" He continues and laughs.
Jack thanks him and proceeds to chat a bit, asking about both Joe and Greenwood, but still being careful enough not to sound like a total outsider.
Greenwood seems to be a small village situated in a forest which, not so surprisingly, is called Greenwood Forest. The man doesn't reveal many details about the village, which Jack quickly realises is probably because Joe doesn't find it very special.
'Of course Joe wouldn't understand why I'm so interested in the village, he probably thinks I'm being weird. A small village situated in a forest, who knows where, is bound to be boring.'
Joe also explains that he is indeed cutting logs and refining them for a living. A true woodworker, he even boasts about his house, which he apparently built by himself many years ago.
Not long after, they arrive at a simple little village known as Greenwood. Maybe a dozen buildings, a tavern, a few small warehouses and storage buildings. They even have a small town hall and a training ground with target dummies.
Jack makes an inquiry about the training dummies and asks Joe why they would need a whole setup for them.
"You see, Jack, this village ain't got anything real special, but some of us are really good at archery and that requires practice. The training ground you saw is owned and managed by an old retired military officer who helps us practice." Joe says proudly.
"Oh, is that so? What is his name?" Jack asks
"Sergio, if you don't have anything to do, I suggest you go talk to him. He can help you with a training regimen." Joe says and suspiciously looks at Jack again, this time paying more attention to his arms and shoulders.
"That is actually a good idea, Joe, thanks for the advice." Jack says with a smile, trying to ignore the obvious remark about his unnaturally perfect physical condition.
They finally stop at a relatively small house made entirely out of wood. It has intricate details on the log pillars which support it, windows well placed around and even a small second story with a balcony.
"Well, Jack, I don't want to be rude, but I prefer living alone. I will get you some clothes and some food if you want, but then I'll take you to Bob the barkeep and have him fix you a room." Joe says in a grumpy tone.
"Thanks, Joe, your hospitality is very welcome." Jack answers.
An hour or so later, Jack is left at the tavern, which lacks any name other than "The Tavern" due to it being the only one in this village. He meets Bob the barkeep, who understands the situation, and in exchange for some help around the tavern, he lets Jack borrow a room.
The room is fairly simple, a single bed, a small closet and a table and chair. A lantern is left on the table with plenty of oil in it. Apart from that, not much else is in the room.
Jack is left alone, and for the first time since coming to this world, he sits down and tries to understand where he is and what is happening.
'What am I supposed to do now..."
Jack simply sits there processing everything that has happened. But after just a few minutes, he feels surprisingly clearer-headed and sharper.
'So, even my mental state is somehow better? I can easily relax my mind when needed, but now I should probably focus it to figure out what I am supposed to do...'
He remembers the trees he punched earlier, realising that he must learn to control his strength as soon as possible or else he could really get in trouble.
"I think I need to do some more testing..." Jack mutters before he heads out of the tavern.