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Saltwater Reincarnate

After a failed attempt to escape from enemy soldiers, the spear-wielding Yana had to face death due to falling alongside Aria, the princess of the kingdom he lived in. Accompanied by the aid of a mysterious lady deep down on the seafloor, they were able to transfer their souls onto a new world as reborn individuals. However, they got separated far when the reborn procession was going. From there on, Yana strived to clear his regret by finding her in the strange world where the sea didn't even taste like salt. All that to fulfill a promise: living together with her in a peaceful land. He would eventually learn element control that was possible in that world, encounter man-beast with distinct abilities, discovering new places, and face hardships in his journey to finish his wish. He would be accompanied by a unique arsenal that the world didn't have, the saltwater. Would he be able to prove if he deserved a second chance? To answer so, his second life began. --------- Image by @eye_soar on Instagram.

VeryVyle · Fantasi
Peringkat tidak cukup
24 Chs

10 - First Encounter, Aria

I was reminiscing about one point in my life, the moment when I met Aria before I became her friend. It was during an annual procession in my country where the kingdom would let the people fight for a position in the army.

I was about eleven to twelve years old that time back in my world, standing on top of a canoe on one bright morning with my grandfather in the middle of the sea. I remembered our canoe was made with tree trunks that were bound by jungle vines.

Not so far away from us on the beach, quite a huge amount of people were crowding there, preparing everything for an important event. This took place near my village which just happened to be built beside the festival area. Their noises were hard to be missed even from this distance and the country soldiers were lining up near the shore.

Those soldiers wore uniformed vests on their upper body, standing with dignity and held their individual spears beside them. On the seaside, more people boarding better boats were doing the same thing as us.

"Here, catch some big ones ya boy," my grandfather said while handing me a spear that was too long for my body. His thin mustache on his wrinkled face was creeping upward following his grin.

"Do I really have to do this? I haven't even reached the usual age," I hesitated but took the spear from his grip anyway.

"I ain't heard someone ever say that younger people can't join. You are just afraid of the next procession ain't you?" his voice was teasing me with annoying remarks. The old but still muscular body of his threatened me without using any words.

When he saw me in an agitating state, he slapped my shoulder lightly several times, "come on, didn't you say you want to earn money for us? This will be a chance for learning," he continued with a much-assuring tone, patiently waiting for me to make a move.

"Fine," I uttered meekly with a sigh before continuing, "but you will help me with this one, right?" I asked and pointed my finger to the sea below us. "You bet I'll do, get ready to swim!" he made a reply instantly as if without thinking. His hands were stretched and his legs were preparing for a dive.

"Are you going to swim with that cloth on?" I referred to the black cloth he wore which covered his body from the neck to the hip. All the people including me who planned to catch some fishes by swimming were wearing nothing but a loincloth, so seeing a man with dark clothing in that broad daylight near the sea was quite... amusing.

The person in question was currently checking the water temperature with his toes, never seriously minding the inquiry that I threw at the moment. "Hmm, yeah, why though?" he replied nonchalantly before picking up his spear and a bucket steadily.

"Is it because of the scar on your shoulder? Nobody would really mind it, you know..."

"We have agreed not to talk about this, alright. I'm fine, Yana, just think about yourself for now," before I could finish my sentence, he interrupted my speech instantly, although I did not sense any anger coming from him.

"Go now, you should not wait until his majesty arrives," he said as his feet jumped from the canoe straight into the dazzling blue water. "Ah, wait for me!" I shouted before inhaling a huge amount of air and dove headfirst with my own set of spear and bucket intact.

*Splash*

As soon as our head entered the sea surface, we shifted our minds to the usual work mode. The fishes became our primary target and various colorful corrals marked our hunting ground. My grandfather slithered through the water as if he was akin to the sea animals despite his age and I did my best to catch up to him.

His spear jabbed through the water smoothly, piercing the prey before it could even realize his approach. 'Save your breaths, pierce with power', they were grandfather's words which kept on repeating in my memory. I imitated his moves but it took me two misses before I managed to puncture a mackerel with the size as big as my palm. His bucket was already brimming with the fishes he caught while mine was currently dominated by the clear water.

After a long session of diving and spearing fish non-stop, my nose finally gave up and I quickly surfaced with all of my hunting spoils. Grandfather followed soon with his already half-full bucket and lifted himself when I was still catching my breath.

"I got myself eleven of these poor animals, you?" he asked after I dragged myself to the canoe, "just four," I answered weakly. Disappointing numbers indeed compared to him, however, it was maybe not as bad as I thought in this small time frame.

"Well, fifteen huh? Guess they'll do. We won't have much time for the king's entrance," he said before paddling the canoe back to the beach with every power that he got. "I'm not sure if I should go there with only fifteen offerings, they will surely not be satisfied," I spoke while rechecking the total count of fishes we possessed.

"Maybe if someone wasn't being stubborn and followed me directly, we might have collected a full chunk of them in our baskets," he rowed and uttered the words for me at the same time, showing a sneering face to put me off.

"I didn't agree to it in the first place. I am too young for this! It was more fun to just spectate the whole thing! What good comes for you if I join it anyway?" I spouted things to him as I was distressing the mere amount of tributes we brought.

"You said you don't want to be a burden for me so I am showing you the quickest way to do that! Those soldiers standing there were getting paid much more in a month than for us in a year. Now that we're here, the only thing you have done is complaining. I'll ask you one this once, do you not want to become a warrior in the eyes of everyone?" he asked me directly but he sounded a bit more serious in a way that time.

"Of course I want to! But everything needs time, alright? I am five years too early to join this fight!" after I said that, he went silent until we nearly reached the beach. There was a sense of uneasiness inside me as he picked up the bucket with the mixed fish and handed it to me.

"I guess I'll let you learn things in the hard way. You are a bright boy, Yana, but sometimes you really need a push to see some things through," he finally broke the silence before dropping to the shallow water and walked to the beach. I didn't understand the meaning of his sentence like always but I kept them in my mind anyway and followed him from behind.

Around us, older teenage boys and men two times my age ran to the crowd with their offerings which were brought by various sizes of carriage. One was big enough to be held by two hands while the other was so huge it had to carry on his back. After I thought about it again, the people who spent their time under the sun only wearing loincloths to catch the fishes were not the participants, but only mere servants of these men.

Whatever their methods, they shared the fact that their fishes tremendously outnumbered my insultingly low count of tributes. These people were strangers to me as they originally did not live in my village. Even the clothes they wore were better in terms of quality.

"All of the participants, line up now with your guardians!" one of the soldiers shouted, marking for the upcoming parade by the king. The soldiers then split into two and pushed the enthusiastic crowd to make a huge vacant pathway for the royalties. In the man-made road, all of the contenders stood in front of the soldiers, accompanied by their own family members behind them. Those who didn't participate would watch the competition from the sidelines.

I scanned the people who joined this contest briefly, most of them were more muscular and taller than me. They glared back when our eyes met and they made a mocking face after seeing my bucket contents.

I could not honestly picture myself fighting toe-to-toe with these folks, but it seemed that grandfather had flashed a glimpse of confidence on his slight grin.

"Happy now that I fight for you?" I said with a hint of complaint in my tone. "Depends on the result," he said before his loud laugh returned. "I will be more than happy if you treat me after winning, however, don't push yourself too hard," he continued while shaking my hair and turned my head back to the road.

"His majesty has arrived!" one soldier at the edge of the line screamed boldly with his spear raised. Not even a moment late, all of the people kneeled down almost simultaneously, making a huge thump noise on the sand.

After a short silence, suddenly the sound of percussions blared through the entirety of the beach, playing energetic rhythms that filled our ears. I peeked to my right towards the incoming parade and I found myself to be hyped for the chance of seeing them up close.

To my delight, the marching kingdom guards were still as majestic as I remembered. Their guard vest was embellished with shining yellow embroideries and their pants were guarded with a belt made from scaly beast's skin.

Cheers from the spectator roared when the parade started to walk past them, singing praises and applause from their seated position. In the middle of the parade, the royal family strode elegantly with the king leading them while the percussion players were performing by their side.

He wore a big golden crown that was bigger than his head and decorated with a complex carving on it. His well-toned body was covered by a silky red cloth with gold ornaments that were not being outshined by the crown. Behind him, five gorgeous ladies with different colors of fancy dresses waved their hands to the crowds.

Whistles of envy were blown by the men who were enchanted by the king's wives' beauty. I was able to saw the rest of the line which was filled by the king's relatives and children from afar.

My chest was growing heavier with anxiety when the king was inspecting our offerings one by one. His eyes were keen on checking the content we brought, not missing any single bucket he could spot. Within the crowded contestants, I was the only one who trembled to hold my own bucket because of how vacant it was.

Step by step, the parade was gradually approaching my position. I lowered my head instinctively to avoid the others' gaze. When the walk and the music had come to a halt in front of me, I could practically sense my vein had stopped beating inside my body.

One particular sand-stepping sound was entering my proximity and I didn't have to guess the owner of said sound. Although it wasn't truly fear that inhabited me, the nervousness I had was still too much to be handled.

"Answer me, do you own this?" a deep voice directed his speech to me, his foot was pointing to the tributes I own.

"Yes, your majesty," I answered as clear as I could.

My hands grasped the sand tightly, hoping it to bury me alive.