As soon as Triton woke up, the smell of the sea greeted his nose. For him, this was only natural– he had lived in the sea for his whole life– but there was something else mixed within, could he sense, something that made the smell carry an exotic scent. He couldn't quite figure out what it was and was soon faced with a difficult problem that caused him to furrow his brows. His mouth was dry. Now you may wonder, why was this a problem? Well, his mouth had never been dry before.

He lay on a shore, as was described in the ancient lyrics as the point where sea and land met, and the sun, a brilliant, dazzling bulb of light that made heat wander his body, hung on top of the sky, staring down at him. Everything was very weird up here, did he think. His clothes, that worked fine underwater, were now wet, causing sand to stick to him. He tried to walk but the clothes were very heavy and uncomfortable, especielly now when they had sand sticking to them, and as he moved his body, the sand tore against his skin. He grimaced, undressed, revealing an extremely fit body with cords of muscles hanging about, rippling with a faint, bronze hue, and lay his clothes to dry in the sun. 

His mane of golden hair was also wet. Sighing, he grabbed his hair and twisted. Water poured out and wetted the sand. He turned toward the sea and looked. An endless patch of cerulean blue spread out. He couldn't even see the end out it. A few gawking birds circled above in the clouds, donning feathers of both white and ash-gray and having outstretched wings far longer than even their own bodies. Creatures that can fly. He hadn't seen those in the sea. Would they perhaps be able to fly up to heaven and shit on Zeus when he was eating lunch? He snickered at the thought. 

Triton had no idea where to go. He wore no clothes but it didn't bother him. In fact, it was just the opposite. Wearing no clothes and having the wind smooch his skin was one of the most amazing feelings he had ever experienced, did he discover, on par with being baked by the sun. He trudged along the shore, hoping to find a road or way to a human city. As he walked, the hot sand slipped through his toes. It was very relaxing, fulfilling and slightly ticklish.

The shore stretched for miles, clams and seaweed dotting the beach. Waves met the sand, foam bubbling, softly advanced before coming to a still, then retreating, as gently as it came, as if it was all a harmonious state of nature– a mutual relationship. Why was it so that his father and the other two greater gods refused to acknowledge the humans? Well, except for Zeus's visits with the ladies. Wasn't this encounter between sea and land proof of that coexistence was possible? A lot of questions wandered around Triton's mind, just like he wandered around the beast, searching for a road, just like those questions were searching for answers.

Slowly, time passed and Triton hadn't found a sign of a single human. Dusk was approaching and would soon befall the world like a curtain of ash, then turn into a veil of darkness. The young man's body was dry but he had long ago left the place where he left his clothes, not that he needed them anyway– there was only him on the beach.

At least that's what he thought. On the edge of the beach, not too far from him, a suntanned, dark-skinned old man with bare chest sat cross-legged. His hair was bundled up in a ragged cloth, his eyes closed and his body skinny. It seemed as if the man would fall if even a wind raced across him, as frail as the sapling of a tree– as vulnerable as a newborn child.

Triton walked toward him and then cupped his hands in greeting. "Hello!"

A bubbling excitement coursed through him. This was a human! Although not a female, it was an actual human. To his disappointment, however, the human sat still without moving, as if he hadn't heard his question. Triton frowned greeted the man again, now with a louder voice. Again, no answer– not even a movement as a reply.

Without many options, Triton slightly tapped the man's shoulder.

"Young one, why the rush? Can't you see I'm meditating?" the old man's voice was hoarse, not so much like Triton had expected it to be. No, it was filled with a vigorous power, different from the man's appearance. However, even as the young man touched the old man, the old man didn't open his eyes nor react surprised, instead only parting his lips.

"Meditating? What's that?" Triton asked. 

"The way to attain sublime enlightenment." the old man said. "To eternal freedom" 

"How do you know I'm young?"

"Who else would bother an old man drawing his last breaths?" 

Triton scratched the back of his head. "Do you know the way to the nearest town? Is there perhaps a road close by?"

"Roads are made by two feet. You have two feet, don't you?" 

"So is there a road or not?" Triton asked confusedly.

There was no further answer from the strange old man. He continued to sit silently his eyes shut, meditating. Triton decided not to bother the old man anymore. Did every human speak in riddles? If that was the case, then he understood why his father didn't want Triton to go to the land above waters. Thinking long and hard about what the man said, the young man decided to go north. If he could find no road, he would do as the old man implied, make a road of his own. After all, he had two feet!

Triton left the shore and gasped at the sight. In front of him was a plain thousand of meters wide. Behind that was a forest and a mountain range that pierced above the clouds. There was not an inkling of a sight of humans or cities, and all Triton could see was nature. He wondered how the man got here and turned to look, but the man was gone, like the wind, not a trace of him left. Triton looked in all direction but couldn't even see his shadow. Was the old am only a figment of his imagination?

Still naked, the young man began his long walk across the plain. His mouth was even drier now, and he desperately wanted to find out why. It had never been dry before and it was very uncomfortable, even worse than the sand that had torn against his skin. The grass beneath him was lush and soft, and although his circumstances were not too good at the moment, the excitement of venturing into an unknown land with these kinds of pleasures, like wind smooching his skin or lush grass pampering his heels and undersides of his feet, was far better than to study how to become a good ruler under his father.

However, not all was good. Triton didn't know when, but all this walking had made him very tired. As if the energy from his body had been sapped. Maybe it was a result of burning a part of his life blood earlier, or having a dry throat– Triton was unsure. Nevertheless, the drowsiness didn't disappear but in fact increased, causing him to stagger forth, his eyelids wavering between closed and open. After a while, he couldn't handle it anymore. He lay down in the grass, looked up at the sky, gasping at the beautiful sight. Thousands of shining light dotted the dark sky. A crescent shaped white sun was there as well, shining with a faint blue, purple sheen. Triton stretched out his hand and imagined himself catching it. Then, with a snicker, he fell asleep. 

***

"Shh, he's waking up! Quiet!"

Triton slowly opened his eyes. Only one word could describe was he saw. Beautiful. He was greeted with a woman's face, staring at him with curiosity and worry. Her oak-brown hair was properly combed and slid down across her neck, slightly nudging his cheeks. Her face was oval-shaped, decorated with big blue eyes, the dimples on her cheeks the colour of a cherry. His heartbeat quickened as his eyes swooped further, glancing at her revealing cleavage. It wasn't abnormally large, but the view he had was beyond incredible. Snowy mountain peaks, like the picture shown in books. Yes, that's what described them best. Was this the allure of a human female? 

"Are you alright?" she asked sweetly.

He swallowed, giving her a nod.

She smiled and helped him up. He gladly took her hand. A boy no older than seven stood beside her, watching the young man quietly. They looked similar and so Triton decided that they must be siblings. They were in a small barn and Triton had laid on a stack of sticky yellow straws before standing up. His body was stiff from sleeping, maybe because of the yellow straws. Or from having fallen asleep on bare ground previously, but that thought didn't enter his mind.

"We found you in the plains." the girl told him and then asked. "What were you doing there?"

"In the plains?" he thought back, then said."I was sleeping... I guess?" 

"Sleeping?" the girl said. She seemed to be sixteen or seventeen. "Are you perhaps an adventurer?"

"No," Triton said. "Why?"

"Well, only adventurers dare to travel across the plain by themselves. So I thought you might be one."

"I'm not." he assured her.

"Then, don't you know that goblins live in the outskirts of the Greenwood forest? If you aren't an adventurer you may get killed. Even adventurers risk their life every time they fight against monsters." the girl said.

"Monsters?" Triton laughed. "No monster can ever hope to defeat me. Don't you know who I am? I'm th–"

"Mary! Billy! Leave the poor man alone!" a voice abruptly interrupted Triton.

The young man looked out from the barn and saw a woman in the middle of her forties scurry forward. She carried a bowl of water, her sleeves pulled up, and wore a bright smile upon her slightly wrinkled, kind face. She put the bowl down on the ground and entered the barn. 

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"Good morning, I'm Addison. These are my children, Mary and Bill," she said and put an arm over her children. "My husband found you in the plains on his way back from chopping firewood, thinking you might be injured. Goodness, you weren't. Here, I prepared a bath for you. Wash up and then come into the house– my husband's very eager to meet you for some reason." she smiled and lead her children into the cottage not too far from the barn. 

Very eager to meet me... huh? Triton looked around the barn. There was a horse here, brown with white stripes, its mane a work of art. The horse gently stirred as he hushed to calm it down. No animal would be afraid of a demigod like him, after all. The young man patted its back twice, left the barn and removed his cloth– clothes? When did he have clothes?

He looked down at his clothes. They were not similar to his previous ones at all. They were simple. Brown stitched pants and a red vowed shirt with white buttons that had faded away by time's ebb. Patches had been added along the way, noticed Triton, probably because the clothes had been torn and then restored.

Triton undressed and stepped into the barrel of hot, scalding water placed outside the barn. 

"Ahhh~!" he couldn't help but shout in pleasure. His dry throat disappeared almost immediately. So that was the cause! He finally understood why his throat had been so dry all the time. It was the lack of water. He felt home in the water and couldn't help but shake his head in denial; did he miss home that much? Certainly not! This was what he dreamt of! Travelling across the lands and bathe in an endless expanse of human females' legs and breasts!

He quickly washed off and got dressed. Then, he walked into the cottage.

"Ah, you're alive. Just kidding. How are you feeling? A bit stiff maybe" 

Triton was met with a muscular man the size of a mountain. If not for having met his father, he'd be very shocked. The man had brown hair and a big moustache. His sleeves were rolled up and his eyes were blue and clear despite his age. A few white hairs dotted his both his hair and facial hair but other than that he could be anything from thirty to forty years old.

 "How did you know?" Triton replied.

"Experience." the man answered and laughed. "I've been down the plains more times than I can remember – even before moving out here with my family. You could say it was where I trained and quested as a novice adventurer. The ground is where I often slept on, and I would always wake up feeling stiff the morning after. Lush grass but hard soil. A terrible place to sleep!"

"Father is an adventurer, you know." added the girl, sitting by the living table of the cottage. Her mother sat with her son close to the stove. The boy still hadn't said anything to Triton. A man of few words, perhaps.

"That was a long time ago, Mary. Now I'm just an old man." the middle-aged man said to his daughter. He then stretched out his hand to Triton. "John."

"Triton." the young man said. "My name's Triton."

"So, what were you doing in the plains?" John asked. "It isn't the best place to sleep, as you surely know by now."

Triton nodded. "Ehm, I was looking for a road. Trying to find the nearest city. You don't happen to know where that is?"

"Looking for a road? You aren't from around here right?"

"No, why?"

"Well, the nearest city is quite some miles away. Anyone who comes from here knows that."

Triton fell into silence. Yet more miles to walk. Dammit. 

"Why do you want to find the nearest city?" 

"I want to become an adventurer," Triton said. "I suppose my chances are better if I go to a city." 

Upon hearing the young man mention the word adventurer, the middle-aged man's eyes flickered.

 "Certainly. Every city contains an adventurer guild." John agreed. "So, I take it as you... are confident in your strength?"

Triton nodded. "Of course. I doubt anyone can beat me."

"Oh," the middle-aged man slowly grinned. "Do you want to test that out?"

Triton understood what he meant. "Now?"

"Why not?"

"Sure, I've been itching for a fight," Triton said and cracked his fist. A human dares to challenge him, the son of Poseidon into a fight? Did the old man have such confidence in his strength merely because he was a retired adventurer?

Just as they were about to leave the cottage, a voice caused them o stop in their tracks. "Lunch's ready." 

Both of the men's stomachs rumbled from piercing hunger. They looked at each other and nodded in mutual understanding. Food first. Fight after.

The table was normally set for four people. John, Addison, Mary and Bill. Today, there was one extra member by the dining table. Triton sat at the far end of the table, and the other four opposite to each other on their usual seats. It felt a bit awkward to intrude, but being Triton, whose ignorance sometimes was a bliss, didn't mind this at all.

"So Triton, you wish to be an adventurer? Why do you want to be that?" Addison asked while pouring up stew to everyone. The inside of the cottage was very bright since it was the day, making everyone at ease at the table. 

"Because he's a man! All men want to be adventurers? Isn't that right, Billy?" John answered before Triton could even open his mouth. Billy stared at Triton and back at his father before lowering his gaze to the food, starting to stuff stew into his mouth with a wooden spoon, as if he didn't hear his father.

"Billy's a bit shy, you see," John said. "But he dreams of becoming an adventurer himself one day. Right, Billy?"

It was a fruitless attempt as Billy still didn't respond. John shook his head with a slight smile.

Triton cleared his throat, smiling. "Well, I guess it's like you say. I want to travel the world. I've heard stories about great adventurers and their breathtaking journeys across the land." 

"Admirable. I was just like you once upon a time." John nodded fiercely. "Well, until I met Addison. And gained two beautiful children. It's been over ten years since I quit. Mary's soon fifteen and Billy's eight. Time really flies quickly."

Triton almost spat out his stew. Soon fifteen? That means... only fourteen?

"What's wrong?" Addison asked worriedly. 

"I– Triton coughed. "Wrong throat."

***

"Let me do the dishes today, honey. I heard you and Triton were going to spar and I know there's nothing that gets you going more than a fight." Addison sighed. "Go on then."

"Thanks, darling." John pecked his wife on the cheek and gestured for the young man to follow. 

They left the house and entered the barn. The middle-aged man opened up a dusty chest that lay in the corner, containing several swords as well as a set of decorative leather armour. "I suppose you don't have a sword. Here, you can use this." he threw a sword to Triton and grabbed one himself before closing the chest. 

They walked out to the where there was a bit more space. Now that Triton looked, they were in the outskirts of a forest. However, he was reminded of one thing– didn't Mary tell him that it was dangerous here? That goblins lingered around the outskirts of the forest and that even adventurers could fall under their hands.

As if John knew what he was thinking about, he said. "If you wonder about how we can live in the forest so peacefully– Addison knows a bit about magic. So she's built a barrier that makes goblins and other creatures unable to notice our presence."

Triton was genuinely interested. "Magic? What's that?"

"You don't know what magic is and you want to be an adventurer?" John was flabbergasted. "Well, I guess it isn't necessary... wait, do you even know what aura is?"

"Aura? Not a clue in the universe. Why?"

John scratched his cheek, sighing. "Nevermind– you'll notice soon enough. And here I was expecting to get a workout. Don't make me so fired up for nothing next time okay?"

"Are you implying I'm weak?" Triton asked in annoyance.

"Not directly– but people without aura usually have no chance of beating those with, say no less about magic."

"Don't worry, I won't disappoint you." the young man returned. He gripped the sword in his hand, flung it around a couple of times, feeling its weight although he knew nothing about swords. He had never been taught how to fight. His father never wanted him to do battle anyway. What he did know, however, was that every monster he had fought had easily died by his hand. Whether it was demonic crabs or ghost hunting sharks; his strength made his sword slash through it with ease!

"Well, then – prove me wrong!" John said with a smile, leisurely holding his sword as if it was an extension of his arm. A brat without a single shred of aura or magic power wanted to challenge him to a fight? Dream on! 

Triton shot forward and slashed at the middle-aged man, his sword swishing as it hurtled down toward its target. This will definitely give him the fright. Maybe I shouldn't have used so much power. Triton grinned but kept himself fully focused the whole time so even if John wouldn't be able to block it, he could still stop his swing.

"Yet again– your confidence gets my fired up only to disappoint me soon after," John muttered and flicked his wrist. The sword in his hand nudged the young man's and fell to the side, getting stuck in the ground. Triton followed, falling to the ground with a bang. "You don't even know how to use a sword. You're like a little baby. No way you can become an adventurer."

Triton's face contorted. He looked at the sword stuck in the ground and felt a warm feeling make his cheeks red. Fine by him, then divine energy it is. No more holding back! The young man pulled out the sword from the ground and looked at the middle-aged man, who stood there, a smug expression on his face. "You asked for it," John said.

"And so did you," Triton said in a low voice. "I don't need this by the way. Never did." 

The ground started to shake, and nearby trees withered at a noticeable speed. John's eyes widened at the sight. What the heck? Triton grinned as water from the surroundings surged toward him and formed into arrows of water. John cursed. Didn't the young man say he had never heard of magic? And why, then... why did he now use magic?

With a swish, Triton's hand fell, and as if it was a signal, the arrows gracefully attacked. The middle-aged man's former adventuring skills came into action as he threw himself into a bush, barely avoiding the arrows that came hurdling. Triton smirked at the scene. "That's right. Not so cocky anymore are we." 

"You little bastard." John's head popped out from the bush, a vein bulging red on his forehead. "You dare lie to me..."

"Lie? What are you talking about? I've neve–"

The middle-aged man leapt from the bushes and dashed toward the young man. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of Triton. His sword, like a flash of silver, slashed down at the young man from above without the inkling of intention about showing any mercy. Triton felt the hairs on his body rise as the sword became eminently closer. If this blow hit, and he didn't use his divine energy to protect himself, he would be cleaved in half no matter how durable his body was.

"Ah fudge, I used too much power.. and now I can't pull back! Young man, I'm sorry, if you perish here, I promise you that I'll at least give you a proper funeral. Ahh, and what do I tell my wife...? Ok, ok, no problem– I'll tell her he had to leave, that he was in a hurry to the city. Problem fixed. John sighed and could no nothing as his sword swept down like a typhoon. Either way, the energy wave in his sword couldn't be averted even if he changed the direction. It was set in stone.

"Bastard." In a moment of life and death, Triton erupted with his hidden innate power. After all, no matter how weak a deity was, it is not someone a mortal can compare to. From the bottom of his very being, his dormant divine power was unleashed. Divine power was a power like mana and aura. However, there was a fundamental difference. Like the difference between heaven and earth, divine power was thousands of times more powerful.

Just as John's sword was about to pierce through the young man's skin, a blue, goldish light swept outward like a barrier. John felt a tremor in his sword hand, and then everything blurred as he was thrown across the grass and forest like a meteor, plunging straight into the trunk of a large tree. He spewed out a mouthful of blood and knew that several ribs were broken. He looked up, seeing the young man rise without being damaged. His voice was hoarse as he spoke. "W-what are you?"

"Me?" the young man said. He looked at his body with big eyes. What just happened? What was that power? Well, who cares! He turned to John and said with a grin. "Triton. That's who I am. The son of Poseidon."