As he slowly descended in altitude, Jellal finally saw the azure ocean!
“Hehehe!
Finally, I can breathe a sigh of relief!”
Jellal looked down at the vast sea below, a trace of relief appearing on his face.
“Wait, how do I even get away from here?!”
It suddenly dawned on Jellal that he was now a Devil Fruit user, which left him dumbfounded.
Jellal gazed gloomily at the sea below, then at the sparse trees on the cliff face of the Red Line, and another idea struck him.
Finally, at a spot closer to the sea surface, he used Snowdrinker to dig a large hole into the Red Line, placed his large backpack inside, and went in to rest for a while.
He planned to use the trees growing on the cliff wall of the Red Line to build a raft sturdy enough to support him!
After resting for a bit, Jellal began climbing toward the areas with trees, transporting the logs one by one back to the cave to start constructing the raft.
Fortunately, before his transmigration, Jellal had often watched various ancient craft videos;
Before long, Jellal had finished building a sturdy raft.
After also making a wooden sail from planks, he began to rest.
He was utterly exhausted.
Despite the enhanced physique from his evolution, his nine-year-old body had been pushed to its limits—flying down from the floating island, climbing down from Mary Geoise, and now cutting trees and building the raft had completely worn Jellal out!
As dusk fell, Jellal lay directly on the raft.
His weary body succumbed to sleep almost instantly.
The next day, the sun slowly rose, its glaring rays slanting into the cave and falling on Jellal’s face.
Awakened by the sunlight, Jellal rubbed his eyes, shielded them with his hand, and looked out of the cave entrance.
After a moment’s assessment, he said:
“Clear weather, light breeze, calm waves—perfect for setting sail～”
He stood up and stretched.
After a night’s rest, he felt much more refreshed, though his stomach was growling fiercely!
But there was no time to worry about hunger now.
He had to depart quickly, or he’d truly starve to death here!
Jellal also fashioned a harpoon from a long, sturdy piece of wood and made an oar.
Hoisting his large backpack and Snowdrinker, he dragged the raft out of the cave, slowly lowered it into the water, then grabbed the harpoon and oar and jumped down immediately after.
After a period of intense rocking, Jellal finally stabilized the raft.
“Not bad, the quality holds up!
Let’s go!”
Jellal set up the wooden sail, steered the small raft to slowly move away from the Red Line, and began his aimless drifting journey.
After sailing for most of the day, Jellal grew somewhat disoriented.
Not seeing any islands was a real problem!
Food-wise, he could still use the harpoon to catch some fish, but having no fresh water was truly life-threatening!
“Rumble!!”
As if heaven had sensed his plight, dark clouds began to gather in the sky—rain was coming!
“Hahaha!
Heaven never seals off all exits!”
Seeing this, Jellal laughed heartily.
Finally, he wouldn’t die of thirst!
Before long, heavy rain began to fall.
Jellal lay on the raft, opening his mouth to receive heaven’s bounty.
After a while, he had drunk his fill!
“Enough, enough!
Thank you so much, heavens!”
Jellal clasped his hands together and piously bowed in gratitude to the sky, thankful for this rainfall.
But the rain grew increasingly strange, and suddenly, fierce winds began to howl!
“Damn it, seriously?!
I just thanked you!”
Jellal hurriedly took down the wooden sail and did his best to steady the raft.
Fortunately, the raft was sturdy enough and didn’t break apart!
“This is trouble.
I shouldn’t have thanked you, you wretched heavens!”
Watching the waves swiftly carry his raft away, Jellal nervously gripped the raft, drifting along with the current.
Seawater occasionally washed over him, and every time it made contact, Jellal felt as weak as if he had been drained.
By evening, the storm showed no sign of letting up, though the wind had died down a bit.
By now, Jellal had completely lost his sense of direction; everything was pitch black!
Lying prone on the raft, he felt an indescribable weariness.
This transmigration was anything but fun!
Right after transmigrating to this world, he had fallen onto a floating island, been subjected to several rounds of human experiments by that fellow Golden Lion, and barely escaped with his life.
Then, unexpectedly, he ended up in Mary Geoise, a place full of freaks.
After Finally managing to obtain a few Devil Fruits and climbing down the Red Line, he found himself with no way forward.
He had to build a raft and such, starting a sea-crossing journey in search of an island, and now he had encountered a storm!
This was just playing with him too much!
This time, heaven seemed to sense the injustice in Jellal’s heart.
The rain began to stop, the wind gradually calmed, and scattered starlight appeared in the sky.
The calming of the wind and waves let Jellal breathe a sigh of relief.
He relaxed, lying on the raft to rest.
He didn’t know where the storm had blown him.
In the dead of night, he couldn’t determine direction.
Gazing at the dark sea, Jellal felt fear for the first time.
The waves were still pushing his raft in an unknown direction.
He didn’t dare sleep again, sitting up to vigilantly watch his surroundings, waiting for dawn.
Time passed bit by bit.
The gray sky began to show a glimmer of light, and Jellal felt the raft stop moving and come to a halt.
“So beautiful!”
Dawn broke.
Lying on the raft, Jellal couldn’t help but marvel at the beautiful sunrise.
This was his first time watching a sunrise at sea.
The sun slowly rose from where the sky met the water, casting a golden glow across the sea’s surface.
Jellal couldn’t help but recall scenes from his childhood, watching sunrises in his hometown.
Back then, he and his friends would wait quietly on the paths between fields until the eastern sky flushed with pink dawn, and the sun slowly rose from the horizon, illuminating the entire countryside as if draping the land in a golden cloak.
Compared to those childhood experiences, this sunrise at sea was even more magnificent and awe-inspiring, making him deeply appreciate the wonder and grandeur of nature.
Sunrises are brief.
After admiring the beautiful sunrise, Jellal began to determine his direction, preparing to leave this stretch of sea.
“No…
it can’t be…”
Jellal suddenly sensed something was wrong.
The raft hadn’t moved for what felt like a long time!
And there seemed to be no wind here…
Realizing this, Jellal’s face instantly turned pale.
The storm had delivered him into the Calm Belt!
Weren’t transmigrators supposed to be children of destiny?!
From the moment he transmigrated into this world, he hadn’t had a single good day!
If this really was the Calm Belt, how was he supposed to get out with just this raft?!
And the Calm Belt was the nesting ground for Sea Kings!
That was the most deadly part!
Jellal quickly composed himself.
Before any Sea Kings could spot him, he began paddling slowly out with the oar.
This was likely the edge of the Calm Belt; otherwise, Sea Kings would have surely noticed Jellal by now after all this time!
“With so little meat on me, Sea Kings probably aren’t interested…”
Jellal comforted himself while rowing the oar.
A little over two hours later, Jellal suddenly spotted a ship ahead!