Daughter of the Sea

Time, place, characters-everything was unknown.

The cool sea breeze blew in from the canals running through the city, and the teenager stood on the street beside the canal, looking around at everything in a daze.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

The teenager's mouth twitched slightly, taking in his surroundings with a blank expression.

Amidst his bewilderment, he found that the neurasthenia caused by years of working a 996 schedule and constant overtime had vanished.

He now felt completely relaxed, without a trace of fatigue.

Yet the annoying part was that he simply could not remember what his name was.

The teenager desperately searched his memory, and suddenly, the gray-white chaos in his mind was split open as if by a sharp axe, a massive surge of memories rushing frantically into his head.

For a moment, the teenager could not make sense of this chaotic mess; his brain was total mush.

"I always said you shouldn't pull all-nighters running Mythic Keystones after overtime, and look-now I've died of overwork!" the teenager muttered helplessly to himself.

People bustled back and forth on the streets beside the canal, and sailors with robust muscles and tanned skin carried cargo toward the market ahead.

The bustling crowd deliberately kept their distance from the teenager, and from time to time, the teenager could overhear remarks like these.

"Isn't that the foolish kid from Lord Adeodatus Norvington's household?"

"Yeah, he's been wandering around here for days. Did you hear what he was saying just now? Something about Mythic Keystones and dying of overwork-all kinds of incomprehensible nonsense."

"Shh, Young Master Rowan fell off Admiral Daelin's ship into the sea when he was eight or nine years old, and bashed his head. Otherwise, he'd probably be a naval officer by now."

Turns out my name is Rowan. Admiral Daelin?

Rowan instantly grasped the key point, running at a jog straight toward the market ahead, then pressing himself against the seaside railing to gaze out at the sea gates at the edge of the city.

This was a city wall built between mountains on either side, with two towering watchtowers sitting at its center.

At the heart of the towers was a massive gate marked with an anchor, which also served as the entrance to the entire city.

At that moment, the gates slowly opened, and a three-masted sailing ship entered the harbor.

Instantly, the memories in Rowan's mind grew clear.

Not only had he died of overwork, but he had also time-traveled!

"Hey, buddy, is this the Tradewinds Market?" Rowan asked a young man nearby.

The young man looked at Rowan with the gaze one might reserve for a fool, replying indifferently, "Young Master Rowan, you've lived in Boralus for so long-surely you didn't just find out today that this is the Tradewinds Market."

People always said Young Master Rowan was just pretending to be simple, but now it seemed he genuinely was an idiot.

The rumors about him being dropped on his head in his early years must be true.

Rowan drew in a sharp breath. He looked awkwardly at the sea surface and fell into deep contemplation.

Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have gone to Qidian to look for World of Warcraft fanfiction. Zero-Point-Eight-Degree, you hack of an author, you've caused no end of trouble, making me dream every day about transmigrating to Azeroth. Are you happy now?

Rowan was left speechless for a moment. He began to sort through Young Master Rowan's memories.

Just as the rumors said, Rowan truly was a fool.

Before the age of eight, Rowan had been exceptionally gifted, winning first place at the Boralus Youth Military Academy.

Rowan was the son of Lord Adeodatus Norvington, the kind of family whose gold mines practically ran 24/7. Aldrius had been close comrades-in-arms with Admiral Daelin in their youth, and when drunk, the two would often talk nonsense about having Rowan and Jaina get married.

The once-prodigious Rowan and Jaina were a handsome pair, a match made in heaven, but unexpectedly, a naval ship inspection event changed Rowan's life forever.

The guy had lost his mind and decided to go test-fire the cannons in the artillery deck. Judging by the results, the broadside test was a complete success, but due to his inexperience, Rowan failed to clear the rear of the gun in time when it fired, and the recoil blasted him flying.

His occiput took a heavy impact, and Rowan's intelligence suffered severe damage, turning him from the son-in-law of the sea into a mental defective.

Though it differed slightly from the rumors, the ending was the same.

Rowan was now sixteen, and he had spent the past eight years in a daze.

Right up until a soul from another world entered Rowan's body.

Today's Tradewinds Market was exceptionally lively because the Daughter of the Sea, who had been studying in Dalaran for many years, was returning home.

The young men and women standing on both sides of the canal were full of hopeful anticipation; the girls wanted to catch a glimpse of the Daughter of the Sea's elegance, while the boys dreamed of becoming the son-in-law of the sea.

As for Jaina's title as the Daughter of the Sea, its origin was quite legendary.

When Jaina was only five years old, Admiral Daelin and Rowan's father, Lord Aldrius, led the Kul Tiras Fleet to attack the pirate syndicate entrenched in Freehold.

The fleet chased the syndicate's ships all the way into the Great Sea. The Kul Tiras Fleet won a great victory, but after the naval battle, sea fog shrouded the entire Kul Tiras Fleet.

The fleet was enveloped by the fog and unable to return home.

In the end, it was the young Jaina who, holding her father Daelin's necklace-the Heart of the Kul Tiras Fleet-summoned the fleet shrouded in the mist back to Kul Tiras.

Young Jaina sang the Kul Tiras ballad: "Daughter of the Sea." From then on, Jaina became the Daughter of the Sea in the eyes of the common folk.

The three-masted warship sailed into the harbor, and the crowded populace let out wave after wave of cheers.

To the Kul Tiran people, the Daughter of the Sea was not merely a girl, but a symbol of their spirit. In other words, Jaina was the spiritual faith in the hearts of all Kul Tirans. For only she could summon the fleet trapped deep in the mist back to Kul Tiras in the midst of despair.

Among the soldiers were the husbands, fathers, or children of commoners; without Jaina, everyone would have lost the loved ones they spent their days and nights with forever.

Rowan was also standing in the Tradewinds Market to watch the commotion; as a time-traveler, he also wanted to see just how gorgeous the Daughter of the Sea in the hearts of vast numbers of Warcraft players truly was.

The warship docked and dropped anchor.

Soldiers maintained order in the port, clearing a spacious path.

Afterward, a youthful and radiant girl, dressed in a white-and-purple mage robe, walked out from the cabin.

Her face bore a gentle smile as she waved to the crowds to acknowledge them.

My goodness, this is just too gorgeous.

Rowan hadn't seen Jaina in three years. Jaina was right in the middle of her adolescence now, and three years was enough for her to grow from an immature little loli into a breathtakingly beautiful young woman.

Jaina stood tall, her figure slender, and the purple fitted mage robe did nothing to conceal her perfect contours.

Of course, the criteria for judging whether a girl looked good certainly weren't limited to just her face, but also included long legs.

Yet the mage robe blocked Jaina's legs, leaving Rowan feeling a surge of irritation.

Forget it, since he couldn't look at her legs, he might as well look at her face.

At sixteen, Jaina possessed delicate facial features, a high bridge of the nose, and eyes brimming with vitality. The sea breeze whipped up, and strands of light gold hair stirred in the wind, falling against her lips. At that moment, the sixteen-year-old girl unexpectedly possessed a unique, mature charm.