Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical figures, are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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A groggy feeling immediately hit me like a truck as I began to wake up from what I thought was a nap. I heard some talking in a strange language which quickly heightened my senses as I didn't remember being with anyone before napping. 

Was I napping in the first place? I wasn't sure but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind as I opened my eyes and instantly looked around. I was incredibly flabbergasted at my surroundings as I didn't recognize anything. The medium-sized oval-looking interior seemed to be made of thatch and sticks. 

There were various pots and vases along with some decorations. The decor appeared to be some precious stones, eggshells of some kind, bones and some other things I wasn't sure of while the floors were covered with some sort of grass matting. I was laying on some softer grass along with animal skins. 

Looking at what I was lying on allowed me to see myself and I was even more perplexed than I was already. From what I could see, I was a baby, around two or three years old. I only had what looked to be animal skin made into clothes. I took a look under the clothes and let out a sigh of relief. At least I was still a guy. 

I heard more sounds of speaking and I immediately darted my eyes in its direction. I saw a tan-skinned black lady standing by what I surmised, was a hut's entrance. Listening closely to what she was saying, it was clear that she was speaking some sort of African language. I knew a couple, just some basics but this one sounded different. 

I could hear snippets of different words from multiple African languages so I couldn't get what she was saying, and this didn't involve words I didn't know at all. I looked at my hands. It was clear that I was a child and I was unable to remember my most recent memories so one conclusion came to mind.

I took over the child's body. I couldn't think of any other reason why I was in such a scenario. I might have been influenced by fanfics and anime but there was really no reason why I was here in a child's body. 

I took some deep breaths to calm down before finally doing so. My emotions were running a muck inside me and I needed to stop them. I decided to try something I was hoping would work. I began calling out to any system or inventory but nothing worked. 

Letting out a sad sigh at my misfortune, I instead decided to focus on the lady by the door talking to someone. She was wearing what looked to be a leather skirt and had different bead accessories across her body. Even though she had a skirt and accessories, there was no cover for her chest. 

From what she was wearing, I figured I was somewhere in southern Africa. Images I had seen on the internet showed something similar to what the lady was wearing when I had to do a project dealing with Southern African history. A thought that I might have been in one of those modern-day tribes that still existed around the world but something told me that wasn't the case. 

I decided to lie down and squint my eyes so if the lady was to look at me, I could pretend to sleep. Since I didn't have the memories to properly judge the situation, I needed to stay safe. For all I knew, the previous body's host was strangled to death by that lady which allowed me to take over. 

I continued to try to decipher what the lady was saying but it wasn't working. ' F#ck, I'm gonna have to learn how to speak this language quickly. ' Just as that thought crossed my mind, an explosive headache began destroying my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and grit my teeth to not make a sound. 

The utter hell lasted what felt like centuries but it finally ended. I felt sweaty and tired but I immediately took notice of something. I could understand. I could understand what the lady was saying. Every word. From what I could hear, she was talking to a friend about her child being sick. 

Judging by the fact that I was a child in the lady's hut and we shared skin colour, I guessed I was her child. She sounded genuinely worried for my health, so I was fairly sure, her 'killing me' theory was debunked. 

I forced myself to stop the wandering thoughts as I had a significant topic to think about. The fact that I basically got a language comprehension skill out of the blue. I tried calling out to a system in my head but nothing happened. I came up with two conclusions. 

One, a ROB or something similar was watching me and decided to give me the skill as a gift. Two, I had met a ROB and gotten wishes but was not allowed to choose when and where I got to go cause I knew I would never choose to be a child in a hut possibly in the middle of bum-f#ck nowhere somewhere in Africa. Even if it wasn't Africa and instead some fantasy world, I could tell it would be a difficult life. 

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Two years later... 

" Sifiso, tell the others that they can go ahead. I just want to take a breather." The young tan-skinned boy nodded and ran toward the group of boys in the distance. I took a few deep breaths before beginning to slowly walk toward the village. 

Two years already. Things had gone faster than I thought. I got confirmation that I was three years old when I first came to this world. Unfortunately, magic didn't exist, at least to my knowledge. I tried every spell and mana control method in the book but nothing worked. My mother who I correctly guessed was the woman at the door thought I had gone insane for a second when she saw me waving a stick around and shouting Lumos. 

Even though I called the lady my mother, I couldn't help but see her as an older sister only. I already had a mother who I still missed today but it made it easier to disassociate this lady from my mother since I called her Umama or mama which meant mother. I, unfortunately, left many people behind and I might have shed manly tears for that loss but I had to look forward. 

Umama was surprised at how I miraculously healed from what she and the priest doctors thought was a fatal illness. I wasn't sure myself but I was also happy the body I had was not on its deathbed. While my mother was making a fuss, I learned that I had two brothers. One younger and one older. The younger one was one year younger than me while the older one was seven years older. 

I was also happy about the fact that I could communicate easily. I didn't try to hide that fact and it shocked many how I was so fluent. I was already thought of as a miracle child by supposedly surviving a fatal disease no one could supposedly recover from. With my fluency in whatever language we were talking being shown, many thought I was a gift from the ancestors. 

Mama was ecstatic and told ubaba(father) who I learned was the Inkosi of the tribe or chieftain in English. I was first thrilled to learn that my baba was the inkosi but it wasn't as good as I thought it was. Ubaba had seven wives and all in all, had ten kids older than me so I wouldn't be the heir. Knowing this, I had to find another way to take control.

 Ubaba sometimes gathered all his children and told stories of his adventures. One of his stories especially caught my attention though. While coming back from one of the raids against other villages Ubaba usually took part in when he was younger, they stumbled across some men. But these men were like nothing he ever came across. 

These men wore clothes like nothing he had ever seen before. They rode creatures that resembled cattle but thinner. What surprised him most though, was their skin. Their skin was as white as the clouds above us or as white as the bones of the animals we ate. What caught my attention in the story was what my father said he saw them carry. 

It looked to be wood with parts made of our spear ends attaching them together. It was clear that he was talking about guns. If I was right, then I was in an African tribe near the age of colonization. All I knew about our village was that we were under Mthethwa rulership under King Dingiswayo. 

All this meant that I could be sold into slavery. I wouldn't doubt that I would especially be a prize as I was different. My mother, brothers and I were lighter-skinned than everyone in our village. We were more caramel skinned or similar to the Khoi's skin colour while everyone else was darker. More similar to milk and dark chocolate. I asked Mama about it and I was right to compare us to the Khoi since my mom used to be one but decided to join this village after ubaba and she fell in love. 

If that wasn't bad enough, my eyes were different. My eyes were not only heterochromatin but the colours themselves were extraordinary. One was compared to gold and another was compared to blood. From what I could see from the river water, it was indeed red and golden yellow which made me look cute as hell. From what I saw, it was only me who had such eyes. Not even my brothers had such eyes. 

I did not doubt that I was considered to be some sort of miracle boy sent by the ancestors or something in the eyes of those of the village. I was finally done with my stroll toward the village and got home in time for dinner. 

" Siboniso, do you like sleeping with the ibhubesi (lions)?" I walked over and sat down near our eating area. " Uxolo(Sorry) Mama, I won't be late again." I picked up the food set out in front of me and began eating. It was uphuthu, spinach and surprisingly, meat." What happened today for us to have meat?" 

Meat was a delicacy. I usually had to catch bugs and roast them to eat so I could have enough protein. I needed to be strong and a balanced healthy meal with lots of protein was needed for a growing boy who would need to become a warrior soon enough. 

" They caught an inkonkoni(wildebeest) and ubaba was feeling generous." Mama said. I couldn't help but smile at her response. Mama was Ubaba's favourite wife. Maybe it was cause she was exotic or they had something special but Ubaba was always generous to Mama which earned the scorn of the other wives. 

While Mama and my brothers were talking I was thinking about what I was doing and would need to continue to do. I had been training. Mostly focusing on stamina and speed as I had read something about how children doing weight training or something similar was bad. I still did lightweight training as I thought it would still be good. 

I had also been going with the village ladies to forage so I could learn about plants. Edible, medicinal and poisonous ones as well as where they grew and what they looked like. I got weird looks from the boys and guys but it didn't affect me as knowing this could be useful. 

I then hung out with the warriors. I learned about their training and even joined but they didn't take me seriously. They did teach me a thing or two so it was still useful. It also gave me the chance to get a five-finger discount on a spear no one would miss. I hid the spear by stashing it in a hole just outside the village and practised with it every day. 

Finally, I had done some recruiting. I proved my dominance to the boys of the village by being faster and more intelligent. In most games we played, I came up on top which made me popular. Using my popularity, I got the boys to train with me. I needed them not only to see me as a leadership figure but for them to be powerful and submissive to me and me alone. 

" Ubhuti omkhulu ( Big brother), what are you thinking about? Is it about our training games? " Sifiso, my little brother said. " Probably about the isiphi isihlenga ( witchcraft), he has been using." Lwazi, my older brother bitterly said. " Sifiso, watch your words." mama warned. Sifiso quickly finished eating and left without a word. Mama shouted at him to come back as it was evening but he continued out. Mama followed Lwazi out leaving Sifiso and me alone. 

Just like my language comprehension skill, my body felt as though it had been given to me by a ROB. It physically grew faster and better than those of my age. So much so that I could challenge those five years older than me. I wouldn't be able to defeat adults yet but it could be a possibility in a couple of years. This made Lwazi bitter most likely because he felt inadequate but I didn't care for childish emotions. 

I was growing. Learning. Becoming better. I was improving and I couldn't allow any emotions to get in my way. This world, no, this era would be one where strength and intelligence were necessary not only to survive but thrive so I needed to grow. 

"Ubhuti omkhulu, what's wrong with umfowethu omkhulu? ( bigger brother)" Sifiso whimpered which brought me out of my daze. I brought Sifiso in for a hug before speaking. "Don't worry about him. Just focus on my words and everything will be fine. Everything will be fine." I continued those words until I noticed that Sifiso had fallen asleep. 

I carried Sifiso to the sad thing on the floor we called a bed. I missed the modern world every day. I continued to look at Sifiso's sleeping figure with a small smile. 'Grow well Sifiso. I will need someone I can trust by my side in future. '

When I first came to this world, Sifiso was extremely clingy which angered me to no end. When I learned what world I was in and began training, the little runt mimicked me in every way. Without knowing it, the pest wormed his way into my heart which especially wasn't easy for children to do. 

I found children abhorred to no end and there was close to nothing cute about them so the fact that he managed to get me to care for him really spoke about the kid's character. 

The path I wanted to go down required people I can trust so I needed the kid by my side in future. 

One step at a time. One step.