Transmigration

Light Heal...

As the chant was spoken, a gentle white light shot forth and landed precisely on the sickbed.

The white light carried the breath of early spring, as though it would draw one into an ocean of life. The body did not lie. Faced with this bizarre sight, Li Mu forcibly swallowed the words at his lips.

What he was seeing did not look like a performance at all. A prank was even less likely. As an ordinary office worker, Li Mu did not think anyone would go to such lengths to stage something like this for him.

I transmigrated!

The thought had barely surfaced when a flood of unfamiliar memories surged from his mind. Before he could struggle, Li Mu spectacularly passed out.

"Pastor Quinn, how is Hudson doing?"

A richly dressed middle-aged man asked with concern. Beside him stood a noblewoman with red, swollen eyes, waiting for an answer with a complicated expression. There was hope, and there was resentment, though she hid it well. She looked like nothing more than a mother worried about her son.

"Rest assured, Baron Redman. The gods will bless their believers! The backlash has been successfully removed. Young Master Hudson has already awakened his Life Seed; he merely exhausted too much energy and has temporarily fallen unconscious."

Pastor Quinn said wearily.

Clearly, the healing spell just now had not been easy for him to cast.

After all, he was only a junior priest.

Still, any priest was considered highly skilled talent, at least in Iron Wheel Town.

As the territory's only priest and apothecary, Pastor Quinn held considerable status. When treating ordinary people, he usually passed off the medicines he concocted himself while conducting experiments along the way. Only the most important people in the territory were worth him using divine arts on.

"May the great Lord of Dawn bless Hudson!"

"Thank you, Pastor Quinn..."

Baron Redman said excitedly, the worry on his face vanishing without a trace. If not for a noble's restraint, his reaction would likely have been even more dramatic.

After seeing the priest off, Baron Redman turned to the maid and instructed, "Take good care of Hudson. Inform me the moment he wakes up."

Perhaps seeing that Baron Redman's mood had improved, the noblewoman could not help pleading, "Redman, since Hudson is all right now, could you let poor Lesur down first?"

As though she had struck a raw nerve, Baron Redman's previously cheerful expression immediately darkened.

"Shut up! You spoiled him rotten! He stole and replaced his elder brother's Life Essence. If word gets out, the Coslo Family's thousand-year reputation will be utterly ruined by that beast! If Hudson had not been so lucky, I would have beaten that beast to death. Let him keep hanging there. Whoever dares let him down, hmph..."

Tears were a woman's most powerful weapon. Under normal circumstances, Baron Redman would likely have surrendered already, but things were different now.

With that, Baron Redman flicked his sleeves and left, showing the Baroness no regard at all.

On the sickbed, Li Mu slowly awoke after integrating the original owner's memories. At last, he was certain this was not a dream.

He did not know whether he had saved the universe in his past life, but he had actually stumbled into something as absurdly lucky as transmigration.

If possible, Li Mu would rather have gone back to working 996. Whoever wanted to transmigrate could do it instead!

"Hudson Coslo," Baron Redman's third son, was Li Mu's new identity.

Frankly, while this background was not one of immense wealth or status, it was still something he could never have attained even after a lifetime of striving in his previous life. If he worked hard from this starting point, he would have no shortage of chances for a splendid life.

But this world was simply not normal!

Though its political structure somewhat resembled medieval Europe, that was merely the surface.

Knights, magic, priests, witches...

Elves, Dwarves, Beastfolk, the Sea Tribe, the Undead...

Professions and races that existed only in games and novels had all appeared before him in reality. This world was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Accustomed to the peace of modern society, suddenly arriving in a chaotic age where the strong preyed upon the weak was something no one could easily adapt to.

Because he feared pain, Li Mu lacked the courage to try courting death. After struggling bitterly in bed for an entire night, he reluctantly accepted the fact that he had become Hudson Coslo.

First, set a small goal—survive.

In a world where religion ran rampant and myths were intertwined with reality, any abnormal behavior could bring about fatal disaster.

To avoid ending up on a spit roast, he had to maintain Hudson's identity. Everything else could be managed, but speech, mannerisms, and habits were not so easy to imitate.

At that thought, Hudson did not know whether he should thank or resent that cheap younger brother who was still hanging from a pillar.

If that unlucky, dim-witted Bear Kid had not stolen and replaced the original owner's Life Essence, Hudson probably would not have had the chance to occupy this body. Perhaps he might even have avoided transmigrating this time.

Yet it was also thanks to this accident that he had been given a perfect excuse. After undergoing the immense shock of a life-or-death crisis, a change in his habits and behavior was understandable.

After sorting through the chaotic memories in his mind, Hudson gained a preliminary understanding of his situation.

As Baron Redman's third son, he had two elder brothers and one elder sister, as well as three younger brothers and two younger sisters. Tragically, the current Baroness was already Redman's second wife.

It was the same throughout history, in every land. With a stepmother involved, one could imagine that Hudson's situation would not be particularly good. Otherwise, there would not have been such a miserable incident as Bear Kid stealing his Life Essence.

The only consolation was that the current Baroness was not of high birth. She was a merchant's daughter. Though wealthy, she lacked much political influence.

In this marriage alliance, which was a transaction of power and money, Baron Redman undoubtedly held the dominant position. The fact that Hudson and his siblings had all grown up safely was the best proof of that.

Thanks to the well-established inheritance laws, there was no chance of fighting over the title. No matter how effective the Baroness's pillow talk was, Baron Redman could not possibly depose the eldest and elevate the youngest.

Though the title was out of reach, resources still had to be fought for. In this world where the strong preyed upon the weak, money did not buy everything. Precious cultivation resources and political resources were things money could not purchase.

Within the noble hierarchy of duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron, barons were already near the bottom. How many resources could they possibly have?

Yet Baron Redman was exceptionally fertile. With so many sons, how could the resources in his hands possibly be enough to divide among them?

Especially as the brothers grew older, this conflict became increasingly intense. This Life Essence incident was the result of those tensions erupting.

His two elder brothers had both successfully awakened their Life Seeds, become knights, and entered the imperial army.

When it was Hudson's turn, however, things changed. Life Essence, a strategic resource used to assist in awakening Life Seeds, was naturally monopolized by the Empire and the Church.

Even nobles received only limited quotas; it was not something they could exchange for whenever they wished. To obtain the Life Essence early, Baron Redman had called in many favors, yet he had still been forced to delay for a year.

During that delay, Lesur, the younger brother who was not much younger than Hudson, also reached the age where he was close to awakening his Life Seed.

Cutting in line was impossible. No matter that Lesur was Baron Redman's most beloved son, and no matter how effective the Baroness's pillow talk was, neither could outweigh the family rules.

If he missed this chance, no one knew how long he would have to wait for another. For some reason, the unwilling Lesur had actually come up with the absurd idea of stealing and replacing the Life Essence.

The outcome made it obvious that Lesur's plan had ended in tragedy. The Life Essence had been saved, but Hudson was certain that he would never be the one to use it.