Dead

"I will never work overtime again. In fact, I will never work again." This was the last thought Alex had as he felt his consciousness wane, his youthful body collapsing and slumping onto the table before him.

As a result of overwork, Alex passed away that day.

However, it marked neither the conclusion of his journey nor the end of his existence. A dimensional crack opened beside him, swallowing his soul that was drifting away, perhaps toward hell or even heaven.

Shortly afterwards, a dimensional crack opened in another world and spat out the soul it had engulfed.

Everything unfolded in rapid succession, catching Alex off guard. From his perspective, the world momentarily plunged into darkness before a piercing light shone upon him.

"What!" he exclaimed softly as he regained consciousness.

Yet, instead of waking up in the office chair of his cubicle, he found himself in a different situation.

"It is an earth element spirit of grade 3 bloodline. Our boulder tribe is blessed to have a talent like him," the elderly man said to a child standing before him, the child's eyes gleamed hearing the praise.

The elderly man was standing next to a shrine while the child placed his hand on a triangular prism-like stone stele nearby. The blinding pulsating light was emanating from it.

'What is happening? Wasn't I in my office?' A frigid cold wind swept over Alex. It took a while for Alex to come to terms with the situation, realising that something impossible had occurred.

He was standing in an unfamiliar place. There was a crowd surrounding him while he lined up near a shrine-like building behind a dozen or so kids. 

It was cold and snow was falling lightly covering everything nearby. And the most striking thing was the odd clothes made of fur and leather these people were wearing, he included. 

'Did I transmigrate like the main characters in the novels I read for fun?'

'Wouldn't that mean I died? I died due to overwork. Sh*t! That d*amned company was the end of me.'

Alex raised his small hands and placed them on his head.

Small hand? 

Alex took a moment to feel around his body. He soon realised that he had turned into a child.

'I turned into a child after I died!' He couldn't believe it. 

Just as he grasped this reality, a piercing headache assaulted him. Foreign memories began to emerge in his mind one after another—the memories of the original owner of the body.

The original owner was a six-year-old child named Aru, a sickly orphan who passed away before the spirit awakening ceremony conducted by the Boulder tribe. Afterwards, Alex's soul occupied the body without anyone's knowledge.

"Sigh!" Alex heaved a sigh of relief, realising he was not responsible for the child's death. Otherwise, the guilt would have overshadowed the happiness of gaining a new lease on life. 

The painful headache subsided shortly. Memories began to merge and integrate with Alex's own—the emotions, the pain, everything the child experienced becoming one with him.

Unknowingly, Alex started feeling like he was turning into Aru. But the memories of his twenty-plus years in his past life affirmed his identity as Alex. He survived the ordeal, fully integrating with the body he now inhabited. He finally became one with the new body he was using.

"Para, you will become a great warrior in the future, a pillar of our tribe. You can raise your hand from the totem of the trinity now," the elder near the stone stele spoke.

Para, the child who had just awakened his spirit, possessed an earth-elemental spirit with a grade-three bloodline, making him the best talent in the Boulder tribe.

The surrounding people gasped upon hearing the elder's words.

The elder, stationed near the trinity totem, was the shaman of the tribe. He was wearing typical shamanic attire of robes and hand-crafted ornaments. He carried a tray of black pills in one hand and a wooden staff in the other, exuding a commanding authority over the people near the shrine. 

Praising Para for his talent immediately sparked excited murmurs among the gathered crowd.

 There had never been an awakening of a grade three bloodline in their tribe. It was really a blessing to the tribe for a child to awaken a grade three bloodline spirit. 

The Boulder tribe was a small tribe occupying the cold northern mountains of the Vankara continent. In the past, there had never been a grade three bloodline other than their ancestor. Even the current chief of the tribe was just a grade two bloodline of earth element. 

'It was reasonable for them to be excited.' Aru, otherwise known as Alex commented in his heart. 

'Spirits, Spirit awakening, Tribal groups and a giant continent called Vankara. The world is completely different from what I know. This is exciting. I am going to live a happy life as Aru from today onwards.' Goosebumps rose up on Aru's skin due to excitement. 

'Not working is also a bonus '

Even though his death was sad, the fact that he could do nothing about it made him relieved. Besides that, he didn't have to work in a stressed environment anymore. The perks of transmigrating were better than he imagined.

"I will work hard elder." The child called Para replied with a bright smile. His lips were curled from ear to ear as he smiled at the elder. It was the happiest day of his life. 

"HM…" The elder nodded with a warm smile. "You can now leave the platform and go towards the chief. He will guide you on how to control and use spirit energy." He said before turning his eyes towards the other children. 

Para was the first to awaken his spirit and it was a pleasant surprise for all. Everyone was excited to see a talented individual emerge in their tribe. 

The children eagerly stood, anticipating a life-changing moment when they witnessed the shaman looking at them. Next, it was their chance to awaken their spirit.

Upon awakening their spirits, they could transform into formidable warriors, elevating their status among the tribesmen. They hoped to be like Para and display their talent today. 

Aru was among the children who were lining up before the shrine to awaken their spirit. 

Spirit awakening was a ceremony that was conducted every year at the beginning of winter, just before the winter hunt. This ceremony was held in the shrine at the centre of the village. 

Hundreds of people would gather together to witness the spirit awakening ceremony of the younger generation. Among them would be the parents of the children and their family members. 

The spirit awakening ceremony symbolised the beginning of a child's journey to become a warrior. Becoming a powerful warrior and being well respected was everyone's dream. Much like the children, the parents were also excited to witness what spirit their children would awaken.

The ceremony will help them identify the bloodline grade of a child's spirit and their prominent elemental affinity. 

These two indicate in a general sense the upper limit of growth of a child and also the elemental conditions in which they should train. Talented individuals would awaken the spirit with a higher-grade bloodline like Para.

In the Boulder tribe, they usually awaken the spirit with earth elements with a low-grade bloodline. Occasionally, a genius with a grade two bloodline would also appear in the tribe, like the current chief. And Para was an unprecedented outlier, never before seen.

As instructed by the shaman, Para went down the platform near the shrine and began to walk towards the chief who was sitting on a throne nearby.

The throne was made out of intricately carved wood covered in the soft fur of the beast. And at the top part of the throne held a skull trophy of a giant mammoth with four tusks. 

The chief happily smiled seeing Para walking towards him. After all, Para was his grandson.

—

"Next person, walk towards the shrine." The elder shaman spoke while looking at the children that were lined up before the shrine.

Though he was surprised by the awakening of a talented individual, the spirit awakening ceremony must continue. It was his duty as the shaman of the tribe to help awaken the children. 

The children were the future of the tribe in this dangerous world. Without a constant supply of young warriors, the existence of their tribe would be at stake.

As he concluded his statement, a child confidently strode forward with broad steps. He was the twin brother of the Para, Thanal. 

This kid looked confident as he walked towards the shaman. His eyes were glowing with expectation. 

The shaman was also intrigued to see the kid. He too was curious to know what spirit the twin brother of Para would awaken. So, he quickly took a black pill from the tray he was holding and gave it to Thanal.

Thanal swallowed it promptly. He knew what to do since he had seen the awakening ceremony previously. The pill was used to excite the spirit energy in the body and facilitate the awakening process. 

"Pray to the spirits and place your hand on the trinity totem." The shaman said while pointing at the triangular stone stele. 

Upon closer inspection, you could see miniature drawings of hundreds of beasts of all kinds etched on the side of the stone stele. Some oddly shaped animals that looked like dragons, birds, turtles, tigers and a plethora of flora and fauna depicted symbolising the variety of spirits. 

The child, Thanal bowed towards the shrine entrance and prayed before placing his hand on the trinity totem. 

Suddenly, a flicker of light manifested on the totem. Then it began to glow and pulsate in a dim light. 

The shaman closed his eyes to sense the information from the totem and said— "Earth elemental affinity grade one spirit." —monotonously. 

Thanal stood shocked hearing it.

Tears almost welled up in the eyes of the six-year-old's eyes. All the confidence and enthusiasm he showed up until now drained out of his body leaving behind only disappointment. 

Unlike his brother, he was not talented. 

With his talent, he could only be a normal warrior of the tribe. 

The hopes and dreams of the child crumbled at that moment. He felt like the world was falling apart. 

Finally, mustering up his willpower, the child stepped away from the platform near the trinity totem. Although he did his best to hide his emotions, everyone knew what he was feeling. After all, most of the people in the audience had been through the same situation. 

"Sigh!" Aru sighed seeing this. 

"Don't fret little Thanal. You can also be an exceptional warrior and work for the tribe." The shaman said seeing the child walk away in gloom. 

Thanal nodded without turning back and walked away while looking at the ground. He couldn't find the courage towards the people observing him. But still, a fire of hope was ignited in his mind hearing the shaman's words. 

However, Thanal was not the one who was most affected by the words of the shaman. It was Aru. 

'Work?'

'What work?'

'Don't friggin tell me.' 

Trauma from his past life still haunted Aru. Thus the word 'work' pierced through his soul like a sharp arrow. 

'I friggin don't want to work.' 

'Dang it. Not again.'