The Letter

St. George was a Church school with low tuition and special loans for students, but it didn't guarantee jobs after graduation. Students had to find their own way forward.

Sulu had experience from his previous life, so he'd prepared his next step early. Using the knowledge he'd compiled as a foot in the door, he'd successfully caught the attention of a certain laboratory.

At that moment, he was casually eating a sandwich while opening an envelope.

Unexpectedly, there were two letters. One was quite thick, and judging by the address, it had come from Sulu's hometown.

He paused, then opened the thin one first. When he saw the opening, "Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you...," a smile spread across his face. He knew he had this in the bag.

"Wow, an offer from Green Tree Castle Laboratory? Congratulations!"

Sean glanced over and immediately shouted.

"Thanks!" Sulu grinned brightly, without the slightest embarrassment about having cheated.

Well, in the White Eagle Federation, there were a few professions that could serve as stepping stones for intellectuals hoping to climb into respectable high society. Doctors, lawyers, scientists...

As for employees of the federal government? Apart from a handful of professions like judges, ordinary civil servants had an even worse reputation than Church personnel.

Green Tree Castle was quite well-known in the Federation. Landing a job as a research assistant there meant he'd taken a firm step toward high society. From then on, he'd earn at least two Gold Dragons a week. According to his plan for the next few years, he'd slowly publish the achievements from his previous life, attract attention, and keep increasing his value. Becoming a CEO, marrying a beautiful rich woman, and reaching the pinnacle of life were now within his grasp. Just thinking about it made him a little excited!

Beside him, Sean kept chattering like an old woman. "If Beatrice finds out you got an offer from the research institute, she'll definitely regret it..."

"Can we not talk about that?"

Sulu's face darkened.

As a young man—a young man brimming with energy—he'd naturally put some effort into finding a romantic interest during university. Beatrice had been one of them.

But... sigh! Why did his face hurt just thinking about it?

Sulu used his deadpan expression to send Sean on his way, then lazily opened the second parchment envelope, ready to read the letter from his hometown.

One way or another, he couldn't avoid dealing with his family forever. Sooner or later, he'd have to lay everything on the table.

With the attitude of a dead pig that didn't fear boiling water, Sulu examined the envelope. The parchment was thick, and the black ink on it was written in an artistic hand. On the back was an oddly shaped wax seal, its delicate pattern making it look like an antique.

He slowly opened the envelope and tipped out its contents: a folded page from a book, apparently torn from some volume, along with a letter.

[To my dear younger brother:

The long night will eventually pass. No matter how you try to avoid it, you cannot escape the fate of our family... Yes, I am honored to inform you that Twilight of the Gods has ended, and a new Tide of Transcendence is about to rise. The family needs your strength! The minions of darkness are watching the whole world. Please be careful!

Enclosed is a page from a spellbook, my spoils of war. I hope you can keep it for me for a while, and perhaps help decipher it. You know my command of ancient languages has never been very good.

Lastly, I'll be coming to Nia City soon. There are many things I'd like to discuss with you in person.

Your loyal brother, Rhode Potterley]

"???"

Sulu looked up, utterly bewildered. "What does this mean? Transcendence? Twilight of the Gods? Isn't this a science-based world?"

No! I'd already accepted my fate, so why was heaven still playing this trick on me?

"All right, if all this is true, at least I won't have to change my surname to Potter..."

Even as he grumbled, Sulu wanted to bang his head against the wall.

When he'd first transmigrated here, he really had considered killing himself.

After all, it was a completely new, backward world, and he couldn't adapt to anything.

He'd desperately missed his old world, with all its conveniences, safety, and entertainment. Countless nights, he'd tossed and turned, tears streaming down his face.

Maybe... it was all just a dream. If he died, he'd be able to go back!

That thought had fought its way through his mind again and again. But first, Sulu was afraid of pain; second, he was afraid of death; and third, he was even more afraid that this world was real and he wouldn't go back after dying—in which case, his attempt would make him a complete idiot... In the end, he'd decided to treat this world as a novel experience, not actively seek death, and think of it as a second life.

Besides, what was that saying? All mortals must die. Other people feared death, but he was actually a little excited by the possibility that he might transmigrate again after dying.

But now... a letter from his hometown had shattered everything!

—I'd already made my plans. I'd follow the path of science, use my previous life's experience to earn the title of theoretical scientist, then start a small business and live out my life in comfort as a rich man. And now you're telling me this is a Western-style resurgence of spiritual energy?

Are you kidding me?!

Why does this have to be so damn unfair?!

Feeling utterly screwed over, Sulu picked up the letter and wanted to tear it to pieces.

"Wait... Maybe it's just a stupid prank!"

Although he'd read plenty of novels in his previous life, the worldview of someone who'd transmigrated was still deeply ingrained. It wasn't so easy to shake.

Muttering to himself, Sulu spread out the page that had come with the letter.

It was parchment too, folded up thickly. Once unfolded, it covered nearly half the table, which made it clear the original book had been a hefty tome.

When it was fully spread out, he saw that it was densely covered in writing, along with a Pentagram ritual diagram. The blank spaces were filled with numerous notes.

"This isn't written in the Federation's language. It's... Ancient Hebraic?!"

Sulu murmured.

Hebraic was the Federation's current lingua franca, inherited from the Chris Empire, once a colonizing power known as the Empire of the Rising Sun. Ancient Hebraic, on the other hand, was an ancient language from thousands of years ago. After evolving over the centuries, it had nearly died out. Apart from a few old fossils in the history department, few people studied it.

But he could read it! He'd studied it with a private tutor as a child!

Sulu's breathing grew ragged. Suddenly, he clutched his forehead as wave after wave of memories surfaced amid the intense pain:

An old classroom, a battered blackboard, and a stern-looking middle-aged man. "You must remember: Ancient Hebraic is the lingua franca of the supernatural world. It carries mystical properties of its own and possesses unbelievable power. It is an essential prerequisite for many rituals..."

The scene shifted to a fire somewhere.

"I'll never forgive you... Never!"

A boy who looked like Sulu, tears streaming down his face, shouted as he ran away without looking back.

"Ugh!"

Sulu rubbed his temples, digesting the memories that had surfaced. "It seems... this Sulu Portley came from a family of supernatural beings? But he fell out with his family over something and ran off on his own to attend university? And because he hated the supernatural, he threw himself into the sciences instead?"

He ran his fingers over the spellbook page in front of him. "Just what kind of world is this...?"

Sulu felt that his understanding of this world had been incredibly shallow. Now, he'd only just opened a door.

"Black... Sorcery... Creation... dead girl—no, Corpse Princess!"

Combining what he'd just remembered, he struggled to make out the writing on the spellbook page. Suddenly, he shuddered. "Black Sorcery—Corpse Maiden Creation? However I look at it, it seems evil..."

Just then, a light flashed before Sulu's eyes, and a screen of light appeared.