Reincarnated as a Shaman in a Romance Fantasy
“Hey, Kanahan! What the hell are you doing?!”
Smack!
“Ah… yeah?”
The slap from my beloved mother in this life was what finally made me realize I'd been reincarnated. Her hand was infamous throughout the tribe for its brutality, and I knew that fact all too well. But my vigorous ten-year-old body couldn't quite grasp it properly. In the end, I'd torn the Arcadium Empire silk dress my father had bought her for their anniversary. Her hand flew toward my cheek, and I blacked out.
“Shit?”
When I came to, there were two minds in my body. Or honestly, just one. The ten years of memories from this life barely counted anyway—my first clear one was getting chewed out by Mother. The memories from my thirties and this life fused seamlessly, birthing the current me.
“Shit? Kanahan. What's shit?”
“Ah… it's a thing. Exists. Sigh… don't worry about it…”
“Shiiiiit!”
Yeah. Right. I was surrounded by other ten-year-olds my age. In this life, I had a dominant personality, inheriting Mother's superhuman strength. I'd beaten down all the other kids in the tribe and become their boss. The problem? My mother was a mighty 8th Hierarchy Great Warrior with insane strength, and my father was a talented shaman. Born between them, I had monstrous power and a sharp mind, so I was taking both warrior and shaman classes.
“I'll become a shaman.”
“Why?!”
“This is why!”
Of course, with my modern memories, what would I choose? We had no realistic shot at beating those empire bastards firing arrows and spells from behind their thick, imposing walls. So shaman it was, obviously.
“But I need to maintain my body, so I'll take warrior training too.”
“That's my boy! Show up at the training grounds early tomorrow morning!”
“Why! I barely have time to commune with the stars!”
But shamans' biggest weakness? They're fragile up close. And since I was born with the strength to offset that, warrior training was a no-brainer.
“Looking forward to it.”
“I'll twist your mind around.”
“Urk… once you start communing with the stars, you'll fall head over heels for their charm!!”
Mother sounded like she'd snap my neck if I didn't pick warrior, while Father chomped on northern monster carpets like they were snacks. And just like that, my daily routine changed.
4 AM wake-up.
“Now… feel it. The beautiful energy of the stars… You're about to leave soon, so it's natural to linger. This is the best time to sense them.”
4 to 6 AM: Commune with the stars.
“Now! Drag this rock and move! Go!”
6 AM to 6 PM: Brutal warrior training.
“Now! Feel it! Feel! Ahh… Stars!”
6 to 11 PM: Commune with the stars again.
11 PM: Bed.
When I finally hung out with the neighborhood kids I'd been tight with, they were shocked I wasn't monster chow. Warrior training and shaman lessons all happened in the forest, so I might as well have been a monster. Excluding meals and bathroom breaks, I was slaving under my parents nonstop. My only free time was when they went hunting.
“Now, monster hunting begins.”
And the year I turned fifteen, I started hunting monsters. Naturally, I nearly died plenty of times and grew fast. Through those fights, I learned various combat styles and spells. Among them, the one I had undeniable talent for was talisman magic within shamanism.
“Hup…!”
“Groooaaarrr!”
Shrrrrrr!
I infused it with mana and flung a Binding Talisman. It stuck to the bear called the Snowfield Calamity, glowing before law-force chains constricted it tight.
“Dinner's caught. Eat up.”
Crunch crunch crunch!
A massive, dozens-of-meters-long centipede burst from my shadow. It crushed the bear with part of its body, then shoved it in its mouth. The thing's maw was so huge it swallowed bears whole.
“Tasty?”
Nod nod.
The blue-and-white centipede rubbing against me like a pet was my familiar, Cheongbing, whom I'd tamed. Shamanism includes familiar summoners who control them. But that requires summoning powerful ones first. I wasn't at that level yet.
So how'd I tame this beast?
“Now… kill each other.”
“Nooo… my baby'll die! You'll die for sure!”
Mother had threatened Father into summoning a powerful familiar. She tossed him aside unconscious and told me to tame it using only hand-to-hand and axe fighting. I endured real death threats on our anniversary to claim it.
“How's that, Cheongbing? Tasty, right? Been a while since bear. Alright, back in you go.”
Shooo…
Named Cheongbing, it was an ice-attribute centipede perfect for our north. It wasn't originally this strong—I'd raised it so well, it probably outmatched a queen centipede. I felt its mood from the shadow.
“You rascal. Got it. I'll feed you more goodies from now on.”
Now I was twenty. The empire was in its golden age, and the other kingdoms outside it too. How? It was real. Every nation thriving. As long as no war broke out…
“War!”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a tribesman rushed in. He was a traveler peddling news from beyond the Northern Snowfields.
“What war?”
“Where? Holy Kingdom? Or the empire?”
“Adel Kingdom…! I had a bad feeling!”
Tribesmen grabbing axes, barely hiding their excitement. The snowfields teemed with variant boars, thick-skinned for the cold, with a full ecosystem—strong and numerous. The empire and us barbarians coexisted. We lived here, trained our strength, and culled the boars. The empire used strong barbarians in wars, paid us, and let us buy necessities. But becoming empire citizens? Our stars hated the empire—we'd lose all power instantly. No way.
“No… not that… it's a war of love!”
“What bullshit!”
“Agh!”
The info peddler got pummeled by tribesmen. We slipped him silver, and he spilled the real tea.
“There's a ridiculously beautiful girl in the Arcadium Empire… Her name's Eleysia Valter!!”
‘…Eleysia?’
Déjà vu hit. I'd heard that name somewhere.
“And four guys are after her…! Scary part? It could grow!”
“Ooh… who’re the rivals!!”
“No ordinary foes… Even the scariest from Holy Kingdom Valterium! Bern is smitten!”
‘Bern?’
Bern… heretic inquisitor… Flash!
Something zipped through my mind. A romance fantasy titled [Surrounded by Seven Men…] or whatever. The characters matched perfectly. Problem: I never read it. My sister raved about it, bought acrylic stands with the art—that's how I knew.
“Aaand here's the kicker! The Draken Duke family of the empire! The eldest! Radian Draken joined the fray!”
“Insane! The swordmaster's son?”
“Expert Advanced, right!!”
“Yeah! And get this! Dierban Silver from Ermadin Kingdom too!!”
“What…?”
Dierban Silver. Ermadin's top hero in the last war with Adel. Radian Draken was still Expert Advanced. But Dierban? A Bow Master at nineteen!
“Not done yet! Even the Arcadium Empire's crown prince is into her!”
“Huuuuh?!”
“This is nuts… nuts!”
“Gotta be the prince's then!!”
Tribesmen acting like it was their drama. Hunting was our only routine—this gossip was pure dopamine. Everyone dropped work to crowd in. The peddler's voice faded from my ears. I knew the cast and rough plot. The romance fantasy blew up so big, it got an anime.
“Damn… gotta head to the Academy?”
The heroine enters as an adult—the ancient dragon-founded Academy. Classic romance fantasy heroine reason? Stunning looks and killer talent! Eleysia Valter was an alchemy genius, not weapons, magic, spirits, holy power, or shamanism. She heads to the Academy to bloom her gifts.
Issue: Why go there?
“…Might as well, right?”
A few barbarians could attend. The dragon didn't discriminate by nation—they wanted Academy grads. Same for our Blue Bear Tribe. As a 6th Hierarchy Great WarriorandGrand Shaman with nine stars, I was picked. Already committed.
“Ah… shoulda sent Luca instead.”
Luca. My successor genius—not 6th Hierarchy yet, no Great Warrior title, but a solid 5th Hierarchy warrior like me. Hated my guts, FYI.
“Wh-what’re you staring at, you shitty turd?!”
“…Your hair's brown too.”
Look at her. Hates me so much, one glance turns her red and raging. Then bolts—am I that ugly?
“Sigh…”
A sigh from somewhere, but not at me. Who'd dare sigh at a dual-titled Great Warrior Grand Shaman? Thinking that, I approached the peddler.
Thud… thud…
Even among barbarians, my two-meter muscled frame was rare. He stopped talking and stared.
“Tell me… in detail.”
“Eeeeek…!”