Ethan forcibly squeezed out the sponge as he earnestly licked the water droplets that dripped from it.
"That's the last bit of water left. If I can't find a land or if it doesn't rain. I am good as dead" Ethan grumbled, glancing at the empty water bucket. Frustration and regret were apparent on the young man's face.
Placing down the sponge and covering the water bucket. Ethan, who was standing in front of his boat, muttered to himself, "There is nowhere to go but forward, everything will get better eventually!".
He stood at the bow[1] motionlessly. looking at the vast oceans, hoping that something will appear on the horizon— anything, as long as it was not the endless sea.
Raising his left hand, Ethan concentrated his spiritual energy. Suddenly, a pale brilliance shone on his left palm, as a blue translucent ball appeared on his hand.
There was nothing strange about the spherical light that appeared, except that there was an arrow in its center, pointing at the direction as to where the boat was sailing.
"I firmly believe that you are my only hope, don't disappoint me…"
Recalling the things that have happened after arriving at this strange world a few years ago, Ethan suddenly felt that it was really unreliable to pin his hopes on something that was as mysterious as a ball of pointing light.
"In the future… you shouldn't be doing pointless things that would get you nowhere… that is, if you survive, of course," Ethan inwardly muttered, scolding his future self to not do the same mistake that he was currently doing.
Back then, after transmigrating into the new world, his previous name— Ethan, was somehow retained. Although, it would seem that within this new world, surnames weren't really a thing. Ethan Slate just became Ethan, nothing more.
The previous Ethan who lived his life on Earth was quite an ordinary man. His educational achievement wasn't bad, just enough for him to acquire a mediocre yet stable job. But it would seem that the "mediocre" office work got the best of him— After falling ill and eventually dying; it would seem that all the tribulations he has to experience wasn't over as he was now living in this cold and punishing water world.
Transferred into the body of a pale and sickly teenager, who happens to also be named as Ethan— Ethan quickly integrated himself into the new world to survive. After realizing that he has retained most of the young boy's memory, he quickly learned the world's language and other necessary knowledge.
Brought up by a foster father, Ethan learned a lot of things within the past few years, most especially regarding the world he has transmigrated into—
A world full of seawater; land was a scarce resource, and the human population is limited to what the land could offer. Everything within a single piece of land would have its limit, and with that limit, the people within these lands would have no choice but to venture forth into the open vastness of the sea to look for a new frontier.
Ethan has seen this scenario of people leaving the land quite a few times already. The older generation would leave and let the next generation stay on the island as they would venture forth into the unknown, so far— none of them ever came back.
From what he has heard from the few elderly people— those who grew old within the island and never dared to venture the waters— within his tribe; those that seek to move out of their island were risking their lives to look for the promised "Endless Lands". A place where humans could exist and live without worrying about the scarcity of resources.
"What a stupid thought, pinning their hopes in something that is unknown. They are now just all dead because of a farfetched dream." A conclusion of Ethan back then that heavily contradicted the situation he was in right now.
Ethan back then did not know that the time would come when it would be him who would want to gamble his life in order to look for something that he has no idea what it was about. When he was sixteen, his foster father became seriously ill after returning from a fishing trip and had died after half a month.
During the days that followed after the decease of his foster father— Ethan did not fulfill his father's duties. He did not take over his father's work as a captain of the most prominent fishing fleet within the island. The reason as to why Ethan did so, was because his late father already prepared something special for him— A boat prepared especially for him; a vessel filled with supplies, as if saying that he, Ethan, should embark on a journey to find the "Endless Lands", something that his foster father never dared to do in his life.
Ethan reluctantly made the choice of following his late father's goal. It was not that he didn't want to stay in the island where he grew in, it was just that— A few years ago, he discovered a mysterious power lurking inside his spiritual energy; A strange ball of light.
At first, Ethan was unclear as to what it was. But as his spiritual energy grew stronger by the years, the image inside the ball of light gradually became clearer. Within it, one could see an arrow-like line permanently pointing at a certain direction.
It has been seven years since the odd phenomena occurred. Yet since then, the arrow within the ball never changed to where it pointed. It kept pointing at a fixed direction for the entire seven years.
As a person that read too many novels back on Earth, Ethan could feel that this occurrence was somehow reminiscent to those stories back then; It was as if saying that "Leave the island, as it has no future, and seek for a better tomorrow".
"What a cliched thought." He inwardly muttered.
Setting off to the sea, Ethan gradually became proficient in sailing as the days went by. It was thanks to his foster father's teaching that made him familiar with the practical skills that were involved in navigating.
Although a few mistakes were being made here and there, it was fine, as the sea in itself was not punishing enough to trouble Ethan's travel. The waters were serene and gentle, not a sign of strong waves nor a storm. Everything was oddly going smoothly.
After a week, Ethan could clearly feel that his proficiency in sailing and navigating is increasing as the days went on. Giving him more excitement was the fact that the blurry arrow-like line within the spiritual ball gradually became clearer, as it pointed at a solid direction. "I wonder what treasures are there, waiting for me…" Ethan daydreamt as his face was filled with a euphoric expression.
The days went on as smoothly as ever. It was at this point where Ethan realized the troubles of having a peaceful travel. Without any storm nor rain for the entire time, he was slowly running out of drinkable water… Nothing but the boundless sea is waiting for him while he depressingly sat at the bow of his ship. The boat in itself wasn't big to start with, it was barely ten meters in length, and with it would mean that it holds a very limited supply even for the consumption of one person.
"Surely, this is a common trouble for anyone who ventures the sea, right?"
Glancing at the dried bucket once more, Ethan tried to calm himself down. There was no point in getting anxious. A rain should come within a day or two, and at that point, he sure is still alive… hopefully.
First… Second… Third… Fourth… Fifth… Five days have already passed. No rain came. Not even a cloud that would signify a downpour coming could be seen above the clear blue skies.
Squeezing the last few drops of the water within the bucket and splitting it for days— enough for him to survive— Ethan persevered through the dry days. It was longer than he expected, surely he would die if this kept going...
As if a sign that he was saved, an odd change appeared within the ball of light that has been guiding him. The arrow-like line in it wasn't pointing at a certain direction any longer... but was directly standing vertically within the spherical light.
"What? Right here?"
Immediately putting away the sails and dropping the anchor. Ethan earnestly looked around with a dejected expression. The scenery in front of him has not changed in the slightest. It was still the vast and endless sea.
"Is it in the bottom of the sea?"
With that thought, his expression became worse. Ethan had lived his entire life on an island, and survived by reaping the fruits of the sea through his foster father's business of fishing, so—
It was not that he was afraid of water, it was just that… He has been traveling for quite some time now, who knows how deep the sea is at this point? He couldn't even judge the depth of it from merely looking at the water's color. It was light blue with a tinge of green in it, "How would I suppose to know? Besides, I couldn't possibly dive in without proper equipment…"
Ethan was torn between deciding whether or not the thing that he was looking for is underwater and he should dive, or just stay within the ship whilst suffering from thirst.
"If I die again, would I be granted another life?" He nonsensically thought.
Helplessly sitting on the bow, Ethan pondered, wondering whether or not it would be better to just brave everything and jump, or just stay. As to whether or not drowning is better than dying of dehydration, he couldn't tell.
Helplessly looking back at his hand which was holding the ball of light— the one making him ponder and choose between two evils— Ethan saw a strange change.
Besides the ball on his palms, an odd marking suddenly appeared at the back of his hands. A complex pattern of unknown origins gradually shone brighter and brighter by the second.
"This is…"
The pattern gradually became clearer. A few more breaths passed and It reached to the point where Ethan could now easily identify it.
"This looks like a… magical array?"
Just as the magic array finally formed and began emitting a soft blue light— A mental impulse suddenly surged from his palms back to his brain. In an instant, Ethan understood what was going on.
"Ha ha ha… really? There is no end to it… *cough* *cough*…" Ethan muttered inexplicable words after scouring through the new information within his consciousness. Without thinking much, Ethan immediately hopped off the bow and went towards the center of the boat.
Kneeling with one knee, he calmly placed his left hand on the boat's flooring.
"I need to use all of my mental strength… But I am not in my best state now… I am barely alive, even. How should this be possible?"
In any case, Ethan doesn't have too much of a choice but to just follow and try his best. If he fails to do it, he could try again later on when he regains enough strength. Thinking about how much food and water was left for him to even consider redoing everything, later on, Ethan decided to just push through it instead.
"It seems like there's no choice after all. AHHH!"
With a loud scream, the desperate Ethan sent all his mental power to his left hand. After seven years of being able to properly control his spiritual and mental energy, even though he was tired, hungry, and thirsty— exhausted, he still ended up succeeding.
The completed magic array that was fed with Ethan's spiritual energy became more and more dazzling by the second, as it soon seceded and imprinted itself on the ship's flooring. The pattern on the floor was identical to the one on Ethan's hand.
"It's a— "
After seeing that he was successful despite being exhausted, Ethan tirelessly smiled. As the pattern was now bigger and clearer, Ethan could now clearly identify the purpose of the magical array in front of him.
"A Plane Transporter!"
It was what the magic array that was currently glowing within the ship was exactly called— A plane transporter, or a dimensional rift. Ethan, who was quite "knowledgeable", thanks to the Internet, did not even have to think much to know what the magical array in front of him could do.
But even if so, this was something that was a bit alarming even for the desperate Ethan.
"This is just way too risky… What if I end up in a place where water doesn't even exist?"
Even though he was sure that the array was for transporting, it was unclear to Ethan as to where the destination of it was calibrated. After weighing the risks and rewards thoroughly, Ethan unhesitatingly stepped forth within the array.
Light gradually engulfed his figure, as the transmission was about to begin. Ethan suddenly felt dizzy, as his senses started numbing, "Tsk, this feels really terrible… I feel hungry and thirsty, while my head is thoroughly aching, this brings me back to the time when I forgot my lunch money… Eh? Huh?"
Before gradually losing his consciousness. Ethan saw the light that engulfed him dissipating. In front of him, a group of people wearing robes were staring at each other with vigilance apparent in their expressions. One of them, a bald woman in yellow robes, slowly walked towards Ethan…
Ethan could barely make out anything from the movements of her mouth. "What is she saying?"
[1] Bow (Ship) - The bow /baʊ/ is the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat.