Edkael walked back to his small and modest house after a tiresome sword practice. But instead of going in to take a rest, he strode to his backyard and picked up a wooden sword leaning on a tree. He closed his eyes. "Feel the breeze. Inhale." Then he darted suddenly towards the tree and swung his wooden sword.
Thuuukkk!
His hands were trembling but he didn't let go of the sword.
"I'm getting there. But barely." He felt slightly better now.
He put his wooden sword back beside the tree then walked inside his house.
After a hot bath, he immediately fell to his bed, turned around, raised his hands and looked at it for a while.
"I still can't get used to this body." Edkael pondered for a while.
"It's already three years since Ive been to this world yet I still can't detect mana."
He then started to reminisce about his past.
He wasn't someone with noble beginnings or someone with a strong background but he was a genius in his school with regards to energy manipulation. He can conjure fireball or freeze anything within 10-meter radius in a matter of seconds. He can manipulate wind and lift himself off the ground for added offensive or escaping purposes. He already forgot how many magical war games he participated in but he always survived without even a single scratch, save for that one last battle. While everyone was busy throwing fireballs, ice lances, and other forms of energy attacks, a deafeningly loud crack was heard near him and a spatial tear appeared. He and everyone nearby were immediately sucked into what looked like a mini black hole. He felt a tremendous pain while he was helplessly floating through the wormhole. It's like his body was being shred into pieces. Just before he was about to lose his consciousness, his pain seemed to ease a little then he saw a different environment. He saw grasslands and his eyes (though he doubted if his eyes were still intact) immediately focused on a severely wounded body of a young boy lying on the ground. Then a blinding light appeared and the next thing he recalled, he became that wounded boy. Then, he unbelievingly saw that the body of that boy (which became his new body) was recovering visibly fast.
What was more unbelievable was that he also recovered the memory of that boy. He deduced that their souls might have merged.
The boy was a warrior in training who has poor grasp in swordsmanship. He was also an orphan and lived in a small house far from Neo Rimo (the capital city of Jamna). His skills weren't improving on the training grounds so he decided to venture towards the periphery of the forest to hunt some beasts, and the rest is history.
"I need to find mana stones so I can practice my skills." He decided. "I just hope this planet produces mana stones or else I will forever be stuck at swinging swords."
It's not that he didn't like swordsmanship, he just doesn't want to forget his roots. It would be a waste of years of rigorous practice in energy manipulation. But that would wait until he can find those mana stones or something that he can use to be able to conjure magic arts. He decided to train his body to be able to easily wield the sword and avoid trembling whenever his sword hits something.
"I can feel that this body is immensely strong. If I was like this on my original planet, I think that with an easy flick of a pebble I can crush mana shields and kill everyone in its trajectory."
He was amazed with everything on this planet.
"But here, even if I'm strong, I'm just like a normal person. The gravity is equally immense, the air is very dense, and every living being and the trees and stones here seem to be structurally compressed reaching an unbelievable toughness."
"It's fine. I may still have a long way to go but I'm enjoying the process."
Then he remembered the princess.
"She's the strongest among the young people Ive seen here." He concluded. "And her moves are different from the rest save for Sir Dario."
"If she wasn't beautiful, she would have been really scary."
"But I'm still afraid to ask for pointers from her. I bet even before I am able to say a word she'll swing her sword at me." Edkael's body shivered just thinking about this.
"There's no point thinking about all these now. Let's sleep and see what we can do tomorrow." Edkael said aloud as if he's having a hearty conversation with someone.
That night inside the castle.
"It's not that serious." King Wulfhart is seen having a conversation with her wife, Queen Shezbeth while having dinner.
"Where's my daughter?" He interrupted his wife before she can speak her mind.
"She said she's coming my lord." A young girl with pointy ears and slanted eyes replied while standing farther behind him.
"What's not serious? That King Monde of Belka just finished barricading the other end of the Serpent Pass. Now, not even commoners and traders are able go out or enter our country." The queen cannot wait to blow up. "We are now isolated from the rest of civilization."
"Dear, let me handle all that. You can just do some knitting or something." The king replied.
"Knit your father. Your joke is not even funny?" The queen frowned. "And don't change the subject."
"Miss Jzy Lin, can you drag that eavesdropping girl here?" King Wulfhart pointed his hand towards the door.
Before the young girl behind him can even reply, the princess immediately entered with a mouth drawing a pout.
"Father! When did I eavesdrop? I've just arrived." Princess Kahlia denied.
"Come here my dear child." The king smiled. "Who messed with the heavens and made you beautiful?"
The princess immediately sat beside the table. "Father, you really should stop making jokes like that. You're not really funny." The princess pouted again but a hint of redness on her cheeks became barely visible before it disappeared. "Besides, it doesn't fit you as a king."
"Jzy, what are you still doing there? Come sit beside me. I'm hungry. I bet you are too." The princess waved at her friend.
Seeing that the young girl wasn't moving, the king said. "Go ahead, you're off for today miss Jzy Lin. You can do that task I gave you tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord." Jzy Lin took a bow and sat beside the princess.
"Father, don't overwork my friend." Princess Kahlia complained.
The king ignored his daughter and looked at the young girl. "Miss Jzy Lin, I've been meaning to ask you this. I just didn't have time before. Why do you have two names? Why not just Jzy or Lin?"
Hearing this, the queen and the princess also became curious. At first, they didn't mind this because, where they came from, last name is common. But here on this planet, family or last name is not practiced.
"My lord, I don't have two names. My first name is Jzy and my last name is Lin." Explained the young girl.
"First name? Last name?"
Before Jzy can reply, the princess blurted out. "Last name is something shared by the family. For example, there's a couple named Jane Doe and John Smith. That means they came from different families called Doe family and Smith family. And their son or daughter will inherit the father's family name. Am I right Jzy?"
"I'm sorry princess, though it's the same idea, it's not entirely correct." The young girl was feeling apologetic. "My Lin is a clan name. Everyone in my Lin Clan have Lin as their last name regardless of blood relation. Once an outsider joins my clan, He or she automatically becomes a Lin and discards his previous clan name if he ever has one."
"Hmmmn. I just got a great idea!" exclaimed the king. "Why don't we give ourselves a last name? Right? I'm such a genius. No wonder your mother fell in love the moment she set her eyes on me."
"…."
The king didn't mind the silence and continued. "Alright, let's do this. By the power vested in me by yours truly, I dub myself as King -"
"Wulfhart Rimo. Call yourself Wulfhart Rimo from now on." A voice from outside the door interrupted the king.
"Haraboji*!" The princess immediately ran towards an old man that's just entered.
"I miss you so much grandpa! Last time I saw you I was eleven and you immediately went back hunting beasts as soon as you've arrived."
"Don't sweat the small details kid." The old man ruffled the princess' head. "You know me. I can't stand the sight your father."
"Psshh. King Wulfhart Rimo. That's lame. Why not King Wulfhart Wulfhart? Isn't that great? I'm really a genius." The king's strong refusal to the old man's suggestion made him concoct an amazing idea.
"My child, what are you feeding this bloke? His joke is getting worse and worse." Grandpa Rimo grimaced and asked the queen. "I wonder if I did the right thing in passing him the throne."
"It certainly runs in the blood." The queen's rebuttal was concise.