Colin Russell

Will City was a small-to-medium-sized city in the southern part of the Empire. Vast stretches of farmland, pastureland, and forests surrounded it, so the local economy mainly produced grain, timber, and meat.

Naturally, no city under the Empire's rule lacked nobles and artists.

Wright Street was an area within Will City where many middle-class people lived: wealthy merchants, fallen nobles, and artists gradually rising to fame.

But even fallen nobles were still nobles. Many wealthy merchants here were willing to marry their daughters to nobles, yet the nobles were unwilling to marry merchants' daughters, because that would draw mocking looks.

To nobles, dignity mattered more than money.

Colin Russell walked slowly along Wright Street. He was twelve years old, with thick short blond hair, well-defined features, and a pair of blue eyes as deep as the sea.

Though young, he was remarkably sturdy, especially his thick, powerful arms.

He wore a faded white shirt beneath a fitted black jacket with gold buttons, matching black trousers, and yellow leather shoes. A Training Greatsword hung at his waist, and he carried a square black schoolbag on his back.

Passing pedestrians and carriages, Colin Russell arrived before a villa with the number 36 hanging by its door. It was a small two-story villa without a garden.

Its blue roof and white walls looked utterly ordinary. However, much of the paint had peeled from the white walls, revealing the owner's straitened circumstances.

The front door stood open, and Colin Russell entered. He first bent down and took a pair of clean blue slippers from the shoe cabinet, removed his leather shoes and placed them on top of it, then put on the slippers.

"Welcome back, Colin." His eldest sister, Linda Russell, came out upon hearing the noise. She was twenty-three, with beautiful blond hair and features very similar to Colin's, though more delicate. She had the mature figure common among white women. She wore a blue apron and smelled of olive oil.

"Big Sis." A trace of awkwardness flashed through Colin Russell's eyes, but he quickly called out sweetly.

Linda warmly stepped forward and embraced Colin, pressing his head between two soft peaks from which he could not free himself. She kissed his right cheek, then released him and said, "Rest for a while. The steak will be ready soon."

"Okay." A faint flush appeared on Colin's face. He nodded awkwardly, then fled upstairs as though escaping.

"The little guy knows how to be shy now." Linda looked thoughtfully at Colin's retreating back, a teasing smile appearing on her face.

There were four rooms on the second floor, one for each of the three siblings. Colin's room had the best lighting. Every morning, sunlight shone through the glass window and reminded him to get up.

After entering his bedroom, Colin took off his jacket and placed it on the nearby coat rack, then laid the Training Greatsword flat on the floor. Carrying his schoolbag, he set it down on the old desk.

Old floorboards, an old house, an old bed. Yet the bedding was exceptionally clean and carried a faint fragrance.

Linda helped him tidy his room every day and washed his bedding regularly. She was a capable sister.

"Ah." Colin climbed onto the bed, placed his hands behind his head, and rested them on the blue pillow as he stared blankly at the ceiling covered in tiny cracks.

He was not originally from this world, but an ordinary young man from the twenty-first century. He had naturally been shocked after transmigrating, but as time passed, he gradually adapted to this world. Still, he often thought of the family from that world whom he would never see again.

Then, he opened the system interface.

Colin Russell

Profession: Novice Knight.

Vitality: 2

Intelligence: 5

Strength: 3 (+1)

Agility: 3

Bloodline: Black Bear Bloodline (Faint).

Bloodline Effect: Strength +1

Skills: Roer Military Swordsmanship (Rudimentary), Horsemanship (Proficient).

Unassigned Attribute Points: 0

Unassigned Skill Points: 0

Unassigned Bloodline Points: 0

Energy: 0

Status: Healthy.

This was a system he had gained after transmigrating, but so far, he still did not know how to use it.

"Ah." Colin sighed again, closed the system interface, and could not help thinking of his family.

His eldest sister Linda Russell, his elder brother Smith Russell, and his younger self, Colin Russell, were the Russell family's last three members in Will City.

This was a world ruled by emperors and nobles, with extraordinary beings such as mages, knights, and sorcerers. Churches devoted to various gods did not directly govern the secular world, but their influence could not be underestimated.

The country they lived in was called the Van Gogh Empire.

As for nobles, only those who met two conditions could be called nobles: possessing a surname and a bloodline.

Since childhood, Colin had heard his brother and sister speak of the Russell family's former glory. It was said to have descended from some illustrious grand duke. The main line remained, but the branch lines had gradually withered away as generations multiplied.

At present, the Russell family lived in rather difficult circumstances. Linda worked as a house tutor in the home of a titled noble, and her income was decent. Smith worked at City Hall as a young financial officer, and his income was also decent.

But he was a burden to his brother and sister.

To restore the family's glory, the family had to produce an extraordinary being. His brother and sister worked desperately, yet spent most of their income on him so that he could attend Will Knight Academy.

"Although my soul is not native to this world, our blood is connected. I'm like a giant baby, devouring my brother and sister's energy. How shameful."

Colin sighed again. Then he opened the system interface once more. How exactly was this system supposed to be used?

Ordinary people sighed over their mediocrity, while he possessed a golden finger yet did not know how to use it. How could that not make him miserable?

At that moment, Colin caught the scent of steak, faintly charred and fragrant, and heard a rather heavy set of footsteps.

Colin knew Smith had returned from work. It was time for dinner, and Linda would be calling him shortly.

Sure enough.

"Colin, dinner's ready." Linda's enthusiastic voice came from downstairs.

"Got it, Big Sis." Colin sat up from the bed, put on his slippers, and trotted downstairs to the dining room.

The dining room was very simply furnished, and some places were slightly worn, displaying poverty everywhere. A rectangular wooden dining table stood in the center, accompanied by five simply styled chairs.

Three white porcelain plates sat on the table, each holding a cooked steak. Iron knives and forks lay beside them, along with a glass of water.

A woven bamboo basket stood in the middle, filled with fragrant long loaves of bread.

Though Smith was the younger brother, he sat at the head of the table. While Linda and Colin still differed due to their genders,

Smith looked as though he had been cast from the same mold as Colin, like an older version of him.

Smith was dressed very formally, even impeccably. Since he worked at City Hall and wanted to appear steady and mature, he wore a small mustache.