Chapter 3: Madha
Every year, all sixteen-year-olds were allowed to join the Bloodline Awakening Ceremony held in town to check if they could awaken their Bloodline.
Gara’s eyes lit up.
This was his chance to go to the town and find a girl he could impregnate.
Grandpa Jaya handed him a yellowish invitation slip. Gara accepted it eagerly, a wide grin on his face. He stood up, ready to leave.
"Make sure to ask your mother nicely before you go," Grandpa Jaya reminded him gently as the boy walked off.
Becoming a Liner was a source of pride. Gara was sure Wina would say yes. He didn’t even need to butter her up anymore. This alone should win her over.
He must leave this village.
Sure, the whole system and the weird challenge he was thrown into felt shady, but it’s not like he had any better options. Staying here forever? In a tiny village, with no one his age to talk to? That wasn’t a future he could imagine.
Suddenly, a deep voice called out from the side.
"Gara!"
He turned his head. And saw a tall figure, probably around 180 cm, approaching. He had tan skin, dark brown hair, thick eyebrows, sharp brown eyes, a high nose bridge, and full, tanned lips.
In short, the guy was handsome.
Gara recognized him instantly from the original owner’s memories.
"Madha, you came again," Gara said with a light step, still riding high on his good mood.
But as he stood beside Madha, he noticed the stark height difference. Gara felt ridiculously short next to him.
More importantly, there was a strange red heart-shaped icon floating above Madha’s head with the number 79% inside it.
Gara blinked.
Wait a minute. That’s totally a game feature. Does 79% mean how close this body is to Madha? He wondered.
From the original owner’s memories, Madha had been Gara’s only friend and they were really close. Madha had always been kind to him.
But weirdly enough, he hadn’t seen any hearts like that above his mom, Grandpa Jaya, or anyone else on the way here. Maybe only people around my age have this floating heart thing?
That was the only explanation he could think of.
There weren’t any other teens in the village, only elders.
"What’s got you so happy?" Madha asked, smiling as he noticed the grin still lingering on Gara’s face.
"I got invited to the Bloodline Awakening Ceremony in the town! I’ve never been there before, so I’m super excited," Gara said, practically bouncing.
Madha reached out and casually ruffled the top of Gara’s head like it was the most normal thing in the world. From Gara’s memories, this wasn’t the first time Madha had done that either.
Still, Gara stiffened a little. Isn’t this a bit too intimate for two guys?
"So that’s why you’re smiling like that," Madha nodded, his hand still resting on Gara’s head.
Gara shuffled slightly to the side, letting the hand fall off.
"What brings you here anyway?" he asked.
"I came to see you. I got invited to the ceremony too. I was hoping we could go to the town together."
"Let’s go together!" Gara replied without hesitation, all awkwardness forgotten in an instant.
He had never left the village before. Having Madha by his side would make the journey much easier.
The two of them walked and chatted, and before long, Gara realized Madha was leading him toward the river, the same one where they used to hang out as kids.
"You said you wanted fish, right? I’ll catch some, and we can grill them right here."
Madha slipped off the bag slung over his shoulder and pulled out a fishing net from inside.
Maybe the original owner of this body liked fish but Gara didn’t. Still, if Madha caught a bunch, he planned to take them home for his mother.
Madha took off his shirt and rolled up the legs of his pants. He tied a cloth pouch around his waist, then waded into the river.
Gara watched, eyes sparkling. For a sixteen-year-old, Madha had an impressive physique. Probably from years of working in the fields. His toned abs and strong arms made Gara want to reach out and touch him.
Gara quickly shook his head.
Nope. Not appropriate. I’m in a guy’s body now.
And more importantly, he had the 100 baby challenge to think about. He was going to be a wise, respected and admired father. He had to restrain himself.
Still, as he watched Madha move lively in the water, Gara couldn’t help but feel that not only was Madha nice to look at, but the crystal-clear, gently flowing river itself looked ridiculously inviting.
He wanted to jump in.
Gara stood up, stripped off his shirt, and rolled up his pants just like Madha had done. He stepped slowly into the river.
When he caught sight of his own reflection in the water, he blinked.
The image wasn’t clear, but he could tell this body had a handsome, or maybe pretty face. Slender frame too. Now that he was shirtless, his delicate figure stood out even more.
Gara sighed heavily.
I need to start working out. Get some muscles. Maybe I’ll look more like Madha when I grow up.
As for his face... well, he didn’t mind keeping it. Maybe the girly features would fade with age.
Splash.
A splash snapped Madha out of his fishing. He turned around and his eyes went wide when he saw Gara’s shirtless form. He swallowed hard, gaze locked on Gara without blinking.
"There’s a fish here!" Gara called, oblivious, his voice breaking Madha’s daze.
Madha looked toward the spot where Gara pointed. Sure enough, there were plenty of fish there but instead of focusing on them, he walked over to Gara.
"Where?" he asked, stopping beside him.
The gentle current made it hard to stay still. Their bodies swayed slightly with the water’s movement. And Gara’s bare shoulder kept brushing against Madha’s arm.
"There!" Gara pointed to a fish not far from him, completely unaware that Madha’s expression had gone stiff.
Madha silently lowered the net toward the fish Gara pointed out.
Gara, acting like an excited kid, pointed out every fish he saw. And like a big brother, Madha patiently caught each one. He dropped them into the cloth pouch tied at his waist.
But Gara wasn’t satisfied with just pointing. "Let me try the net, Madha! I wanna catch one too!"
Madha glanced at Gara’s small frame. "You sure you’re strong enough?"
"How hard can it be?" Gara replied with confidence.
Madha handed him the net.
Gara searched the water like a hunter. He spotted a group of fish swimming nearby and stepped toward them. But holding a net wider than his own torso while walking through flowing water wasn’t as easy as he thought.
He lost his balance. Just as he felt himself falling...
A hand grabbed him, pulling him back upright. The net slipped from Gara’s hands. And the next thing he knew, he was in Madha’s arms.The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the
His eyes widened. For a moment, he was too stunned to move. His gaze drifted up and landed on the heart icon above Madha’s head.
That familiar floating red heart.
Ding!
A translucent blue panel suddenly appeared in front of Gara’s eyes.
...