Magic and Sword

His head felt as though it were splitting apart. Xia Ming felt like a drowning man, flailing and struggling desperately. It took him a long while before he could force his eyes open.

An utterly unfamiliar environment lay before him.

It was a fairly spacious room, and Xia Ming was lying on a large bed. The interior was classically decorated, every piece of furniture made of wood yet far from old. Everything in the room was spotless, clearly showing how dearly its owner cherished the place.

Where was this? Xia Ming rubbed his aching head, trying to clear his mind. He instinctively swept his gaze around the room, but when he spotted an item placed in the corner, his eyes flew wide open.

"This is... holy shit! A magic wand!" Xia Ming's voice was dry with astonishment.

No one could blame him. If somebody suddenly saw a magic wand that belonged only in a fantasy world, they might react even more dramatically than Xia Ming.

The wand was ancient-looking yet exquisitely crafted, made entirely from a jade-like material, translucent and gleaming. A huge, brilliant sapphire was set at its tip, giving it an extraordinary appearance. One look was enough to tell that it was no cheap imitation sold on the streets, leaving Xia Ming even more baffled—was a movie being filmed here?

Wait...

Xia Ming drew a deep breath. His mind went blank for a moment as he muttered, "No, that's not right. I clearly remember playing a game before..." He vaguely guessed that something bizarre must have happened to him, and only then did his memories gradually return. Before falling asleep, he had indeed been playing a game, and he had obtained the game's mythical item, the [Book of Eternity], a powerful piece of equipment hailed as the ultimate item for magic-based classes. But how had he ended up in this godforsaken place?

What the hell was going on?

Countless possibilities churned through Xia Ming's mind, yet none could explain his current predicament.

Struggling up from the bed, Xia Ming walked toward the wand in the corner. A certain suspicion had already begun to take shape in his heart. Perhaps the answer lay in this magic wand.

He stretched out his hand. The instant his fingers touched the wand, it gave off a faint hum. A watery blue radiance suddenly emerged, deep as the sea—seeming distant at the edge of the sky, yet also right before his eyes.

"Th-this... what the fuck is going on?!" The scene before him utterly surpassed Xia Ming's imagination. He froze, staring at his own hands in disbelief. It was too damn bizarre. This magic wand contained such terrifying power, far beyond anything he understood.

Just then, a roar came from outside the room. "Who dares touch my [Starsea Staff]! Are you tired of living?!"

Before the words had even faded, the door was violently shoved open and slammed heavily into the wall.

An elderly man of around sixty or seventy hurried into Xia Ming's sight. To Xia Ming, the old man's attire was undoubtedly strange. A gray robe enveloped his entire body, covered in all kinds of patterns, like something from medieval Europe. Though the old man's hair was white and his face deeply wrinkled, his movements were remarkably nimble and his voice full of vigor, not at all as aged as his appearance suggested.

He glared furiously at Xia Ming and cursed, "Brat, is this how you treat the man who saved your life? Didn't your parents teach you that touching other people's things whenever you please is something only bandits do?"

Xia Ming gave an embarrassed smile. The words "saved your life" left him puzzled, but he did not rashly speak up. After weighing his words, he asked, "May I ask where I am right now?"

The old man stared at Xia Ming in surprise. "You don't even know where this is? This is Clearwater Lake, on the back mountain of Azure Flame Academy."

Azure Flame Academy? Clearwater Lake?

This string of unfamiliar terms seemed to confirm Xia Ming's bad premonition. Then, through a roundabout line of questioning, he finally grasped his current situation. This was a world called the Canaan Continent, and his present location was the back mountain of Azure Flame Academy in the southern part of the Canaan Continent.

An unfamiliar world, an unfamiliar place.

The word transmigration abruptly leaped into Xia Ming's mind. He felt as if a sledgehammer had smashed into him, leaving his thoughts in utter chaos. He was no stranger to the concept of transmigration, but he had never imagined something so absurd would happen to him.

"If I've transmigrated, then I've transmigrated. It's still better than being dead." Xia Ming quietly consoled himself.

Only then did the old man remember why he had entered the room. He snatched up the magic wand known as the [Starsea Staff], his rough hands stroking it as he handled it with utmost care, as though it were his most beloved lover. It made Xia Ming's skin crawl.

"Brat, this [Starsea Staff] is a treasure this old man spent a fortune to get! You gave me a real scare just now. I never expected your magic power to resonate with it—it seems your aptitude for magic is quite good!" At first, the old man had thought something had happened to his treasured wand. Seeing that it was unharmed, he relaxed and gave Xia Ming a curious look.

Magic power?

"What is magic power?" Xia Ming asked instinctively. Then, recalling the fact that he had transmigrated and the strange behavior of the magic wand, he vaguely began to understand.

The old man's eyes widened, and his voice abruptly rose several pitches. "You don't even know what magic power is? You've never studied magic?!"

"No." Xia Ming answered truthfully, though stormy waves had already risen in his heart.

Magic! This was actually a world of magic! By some twist of fate, he had come to a continent brimming with magic. The thought suddenly thrilled him. In the games he used to play, the mage had always been his favorite class. Thinking that he might be able to encounter real magic in the future, he could scarcely contain his eagerness.

"Impossible!" The old man waved his arms in agitation and declared with absolute certainty, "Someone who has never studied magic could never produce magical resonance with my [Starsea Staff]!" Anthony was utterly astonished. The sapphire at the tip of the Starsea Staff was a high-purity magic crystal. Anyone who could resonate with a magic crystal was bound to be a mage with exceptional aptitude and talent.

Yet this brat before him was a rookie who did not even know what magic power was!

"Touch my wand again and let's see!" The old man refused to believe it.

Xia Ming was also curious about what was happening, so he obediently reached out his hand.

The blue curtain of light surged skyward again. This time, the glow seemed even richer, azure as the sea. The old man's mouth fell extravagantly open as he stared and asked, "You really haven't studied magic? Not even a little?"

After receiving Xia Ming's denial, the old man still refused to give up. He grabbed Xia Ming's hand and examined him back and forth. Yet Xia Ming's body was completely empty; not even a trace of magic power could be found. The more he investigated, the more shocked he became. He looked at Xia Ming as though he were looking at a prehistoric dinosaur.

He possessed no magic power at all, yet could resonate with a magic crystal. What kind of astonishing magical aptitude was that? What terrifying magic affinity! The old man could not help wondering whether there was any justice left in the world. Such monstrous talent was absolutely unprecedented in all his life.

When Xia Ming finally recovered his senses, he found that the old man's gaze had turned incomparably fervent. His smile was exceedingly ingratiating, the wrinkles across his face squeezed together like a flower, making Xia Ming feel uneasy for no reason.

Then came a sentence with an irresistible pull on Xia Ming.

"Brat, are you interested in learning magic from me?"

Though it was still early, the old man prepared a sumptuous lunch and invited Xia Ming to share it. During the meal, Xia Ming pieced together an initial understanding and outline of this unfamiliar world from the old man's scattered remarks.

Just as he had guessed, this was a world of magic and battle aura—prosperous, vast, and dangerous, filled with miracles, yet opportunities and challenges lurked everywhere.

The old man named Anthony was, in fact, a mage, and from his tone, a powerful and rather renowned one at that. Thus, when Anthony extended the olive branch of learning magic, Xia Ming agreed almost without the slightest hesitation.