001 Opening + 002 Strange

Opening

Influenced by the North Sea monsoon, Landon City's winters were bitterly cold.

A light snow had fallen during the day. In the night sky, the Crimson Moon hung overhead, dyeing the snowfield with a faint wash of blood-red.

Two kilometers away, the gas lamps burning through the night in Landon's city district were barely visible. An old black carriage hurried along the road.

Inside the carriage, thick with the stench of cow dung, Xu Mu did not dare move a muscle. Or rather, even if he wanted to move, he could not so much as twitch a finger.

He could feel the carriage shaking beneath him, smell the pungent odor inside, and sense the violent pain in his chest—the pain of a heart pierced through. It was an exceedingly strange feeling. He should clearly have been dead, yet he still retained consciousness.

An hour earlier, Xu Mu had just transmigrated. He had been both uneasy and excited, having only just accepted some fragmented memories from the body's original owner.

Filled with ambition, he had been wondering how to begin this new life, only to open his eyes and see a gleaming knife plunged straight through his chest.

Xu Mu had been dumbfounded. In an instant, ten thousand alpacas had thundered through his mind. He had just transmigrated and was already dead—what kind of rhythm was this?

Yet after a while, he realized something was wrong. If an ordinary person's heart had been pierced by a knife, that person would certainly have died.

But aside from the pain, his consciousness remained clear. The pain from the wound in his chest was even gradually easing.

"I... why am I not dead yet?"

Xu Mu was terrified, his mind filled with doubts. But in others' eyes, he was now nothing more than a freshly made corpse.

The carriage continued onward at an unhurried pace. Two people in black padded coats drove at the front while speaking in low voices.

"Lord Les, it failed again. This is already the third time. Could there be a problem with the Summoning Array Diagram blueprint?"

The middle-aged man holding the reins spoke cautiously, looking somewhat timid and shrinking.

"Impossible! The priest personally gave me that blueprint. There is absolutely no way it could be wrong!"

The man named Les retorted in a shrill voice. His words were resolute, even carrying a hint of madness.

The driver immediately did not dare say more. He shook the reins repeatedly, and the carriage picked up speed.

"What Summoning Array Diagram? Who are these two bastards, and why did they kill me?"

Hearing their conversation only gave Xu Mu more questions. Unfortunately, he could not move at all, much less ask anything. He could only endure in silence. Perhaps a miracle would happen, or perhaps after a while, he would truly die...

A few minutes later, the carriage stopped.

The two men in black jumped down from the driver's seat, looked around, then carried Xu Mu out.

This was a bleak and sinister mass grave. Beneath the cold night, ghostly shadows loomed everywhere, and several greenish will-o'-the-wisps drifted in the distance.

The two men in black clearly had done this before. With practiced ease, they carried Green down and tossed him behind a small mound by the roadside. They did not even dig a hole to bury the body before turning back.

"Old Bill, the summoning failed this time. We wasted a great deal of material, and someone died. Over the next few days, we must be more careful."

"Yes, Lord Les, I'll be careful, but..." Old Bill, the driver, trailed off.

"But what?" Les, the black-clad man, asked coldly.

"Well... Green is from the Wilson Family. If he suddenly goes missing, I'm afraid..." Old Bill stammered.

"The Wilson Family! Why didn't you say so sooner? Damn it..." Les immediately raised his voice. "How many times have I told you? Don't provoke nobles! You idiot!"

Old Bill's lips moved as he muttered, "He's only a down-and-out collateral branch, and I had intended to bring him into our group. I never meant to use him as a sacrifice..." But under Les's vicious glare, his voice grew quieter and quieter, and he did not dare continue.

After a moment, Les calmed down. He cursed again, then waved his hand. "Forget it. He's dead already, so there's nothing we can do about it. Hurry back to the city now. Don't run into those weird things. This place is too far from the city..."

As they spoke, the two men's footsteps receded. Before long, the sound of horses neighing and the carriage rolling away came from the distance.

Xu Mu was now lying on the cold, hard ground. He did not know whether it was merely an illusion, but with his cheek pressed to the ground and touching the icy snow, he could faintly feel sensation in his skin.

This lifted Xu Mu's spirits, but he still could not move. His chest still hurt terribly, though the pain had weakened considerably...

In the freezing midnight wind, who knew how long Xu Mu silently endured? As the pain in his chest faded, he felt a thread of energy stirring within him.

It was a cold, dim energy, extremely weak, contained within his heart. Because the heart had been pierced by the blade, it had now spread and diffused throughout his entire body.

At the same time, Green gained more memories in his mind.

"Green Wilson, a down-and-out young noble living with relatives, currently an apprentice steward for the Wilson Family in Landon City..."

The Wilson Family was one of Landon City's top noble families. It owned three cotton mills and an iron mine with abundant reserves. Its wealth ranked among the top five in Landon City, and it possessed a hereditary viscount title.

This unlucky man Xu Mu had transmigrated into was a distant collateral relative of the Wilson Family. Nineteen years old this year, his family had fallen into decline, and he had come to depend on the Wilson Family in Landon City with nothing but the empty title of a noble knight.

But he had not been content to be a steward. To revive his family fortunes, he had risked everything, secretly studying Necromancy and joining a dangerous secret religious organization. He had hoped to gain the favor of an evil god and obtain unimaginable power.

Unfortunately, his luck had not been very good. Old Bill, who had introduced him, was merely an errand runner and had not explained things clearly, causing a misunderstanding.

Instead, they had treated him as a sacrifice for summoning an evil god, placed him in the center of the summoning array, slaughtered him with one stab, and drained his blood for the ritual. The summoning ceremony had failed, and he had died for nothing before being dumped in the wilderness in the middle of the night.

In truth, the summoning ceremony had not failed for Xu Mu. Though it had not summoned an evil god into the world, it had summoned his consciousness here.

Necromancy, sacrifices to evil gods, steam engines, trains, and cannons all existed side by side. What kind of world was this?

The Industrial Revolution had already lit the first dawn of science, yet mysterious and bizarre supernatural powers still existed.

Mages remained mysterious and dangerous. Druids might hide within circuses as they traveled from city to city. Beautiful witches were not burned at the stake, but instead became frequent guests at noble banquets. Knights had abandoned warhorses and heavy armor, equipping themselves with bayonet-mounted rifles that fired bullets infused with battle aura...

The midnight wind grew fiercer, and the howls of wolves could vaguely be heard in the distance.

Green had lain on the cold, hard ground for who knew how long. The wound in his chest where the blade had pierced him had actually closed, and the bone-piercing pain had eased.

Only his limbs remained stiff, leaving him unable to move. Yet he could already sense his hands and feet, and according to his will, he could slightly move his fingers and toes.

This made him secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Though it was somewhat strange, no matter what, at least he would not have to die a second time.

After another while, Green finally exhausted all his strength and crawled up. Sitting upright on the ground, he panted heavily. Even such a simple action had drained all his strength.

At that moment, his entire body felt icy cold. Though he could feel his hands and feet, they seemed frozen stiff, making movement extremely inconvenient.

"This feels awful. Could there be something wrong with this body?"

Green worried inwardly. He had survived a disaster, but it would not do if he ended up crippled.

Fortunately, after a while, his hands and feet gradually recovered. Green hurriedly checked himself from head to toe.

He found that the hole stabbed through his clothing remained, but the wound beneath had already healed. The new skin was whiter than the surrounding flesh, and still felt faintly numb and itchy when touched with his fingers.

Then he pressed a hand to his chest. His heart was still beating, and at last, the stone in his heart fell to the ground. No matter what, he was still alive. That mattered more than anything else.

Green relaxed slightly and began observing his surroundings.

It had started snowing again. The freezing wind carried snowflakes that struck the body like knives. Green Wilson had likely been indoors before this, wearing only a shirt and a sweater.

Yet Green did not feel especially cold. Instead, he felt comfortable, as though this temperature was just right. And only now did he notice that although he had a heartbeat, it was extremely slow—only twenty or thirty beats per minute.

"What is going on?" Green frowned, an ominous feeling rising in his heart. "Not fearing the cold, a slower heartbeat... these are signs of Lichification!"

Based on the memories of Necromancy in his mind, Green thought of a possibility that made the hairs on his back stand on end. At the same time, recalling how his heart had been pierced and a weak energy had spilled out from it, he suddenly understood.

Green Wilson had previously researched Necromancy. Though he had only a superficial understanding and could not even be considered a beginner, he had once acquired a damaged magical item used by a necromancer.

This fellow had been fearless through ignorance and had recklessly experimented with it. Fortunately, his luck had been good enough that he had not killed himself. Instead, he had absorbed the residual spiritual energy from the magical item into his body, where it had been stored in his heart.

If a formal necromancer had guided him at that time, he could have used that trace of spiritual energy to construct a spell ring and become a beginner necromancer apprentice.

Unfortunately, Green Wilson had not received such an opportunity. Now, because his heart had been damaged, his magic power had leaked out and caused his body to mutate. Rather than dying, he had developed signs of Lichification.

But his soul had already been sacrificed in the summoning ceremony, allowing Xu Mu to pick up a bargain and be reborn in this world.

Having understood the chain of causes and consequences, Green resolved to make the best of things since he was already here. He no longer dwelled on it.

The wind and snow grew even fiercer. Fortunately, a strangely colored red moon still hung in the sky, providing enough light to barely make out the road.

"That should be the direction of Landon City."

Green stood and climbed to the top of a nearby mound, gazing toward the indistinct lights in the distance.

In the Lorenzo Kingdom, Landon City was merely a small city. However, because it was near the coast and had a port with convenient transportation, its economy was highly prosperous. The government had money in hand, and to put on a good show, it had installed gas streetlamps along the city's main roads just last year.

The mayor had personally made the decision, sparing no expense to keep them lit through the night and turn Landon City into a true city that never slept.

The Weird

At four in the morning, dawn had only just begun to break. The snowfall had lessened, but it had not stopped.

Green finally entered Landon City's urban district. Walking over neat flagstone roads, he followed his memories toward the Wilson Family estate.

The Wilson Family estate stood in Landon City's upper district. It was a castle built nearly two hundred years ago, and its towering spires symbolized the family's wealth and power. They could be seen even from outside the city.

However, Green's current status did not qualify him to enter the castle itself. He was merely an apprentice steward of the Wilson Family, essentially an errand runner. Only because they shared the same surname had they given him this title, so people would not say that the Wilson Family of Landon City treated its kin with cold-hearted ingratitude.

Green lived with the Wilson Family servants in a three-story building beside the castle. It had a structure like a corridor apartment block, with twenty rooms on each floor and shared washrooms.

Green's room was on the second floor. When he leaned against the door and closed it behind him, he finally let out a long breath.

The furnishings were simple. The room was a little over ten square meters, containing a single bed, a washstand, a desk, and a wardrobe.

After looking around, his gaze finally settled on the crudely made large wardrobe. According to his memories, there was a hidden compartment inside, where the necromancer's magical item was concealed.

Green was both curious and expectant. He immediately went over to find the hidden compartment, intending to examine that damaged magical item.

But unexpectedly, a knock suddenly sounded at the door. A childish voice called out, "Green! Get up quickly, Young Master Vincent needs to go out."

Vincent was the Wilson Family heir, a typical young noble who attended dances, chased women, and indulged in pleasure, living an extravagantly luxurious life.

Because Green's predecessor had also been born a noble, and though his family had declined, he had received a noble education from childhood and belonged to the same Lineage, the two got along quite well. As an apprentice steward, Green usually attended Vincent. The one knocking at the door was Vincent's maid, a kind and lovely thirteen-year-old girl with blond hair and blue eyes named Shirley.

Green gave up on immediately checking the wardrobe's hidden compartment. He answered from inside, hurriedly changed clothes, then opened the door and stepped out.

Shirley was very short, only reaching Green's chest. She had a baby face and wore a blue-and-white maid dress. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, making her look very pretty and adorable.

Following Shirley outside, he saw an elaborately decorated four-wheeled carriage parked by the street. Four sturdy steeds snorted, exhaling clouds of white breath.

This was Vincent's private carriage. Green and Shirley climbed directly aboard. The interior was covered in dark-red velvet and even had heating, with a wave of warmth rushing over them.

A handsome young man in a white tailcoat sat inside. He had two dark circles beneath his eyes, yet looked excited and energetic. Upon seeing Green, he immediately smiled. "Green, I'm sorry for waking you so early."

Based on the relationship between them in his memories, Green did not stand on ceremony. He sat directly across from him. "Dear Young Master Vincent, what good news kept you so excited that you did not sleep all night?"

Vincent tugged the pull bell beside him to signal the coachman to leave, unable to suppress his excitement as he replied, "Elves! Real elves! News came from the Rowa Auction House that three female elves arrived last night. They were supposedly captured in Gaia Forest. I've never seen elves before. This time, I have to buy one, or I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Green was slightly surprised. In the memories he had inherited, elves were an extremely rare humanoid race. They were uncommon even in the Lorenzo Kingdom's capital, yet they had appeared in a small city like Landon.

The streets were deserted in the early morning, and the carriage traveled smoothly. In less than twenty minutes, they arrived before the gates of the Rowa Auction House.

Clearly, the Wilson Family was not the only one who had received the news, and Vincent was not the only one interested in elves. Three luxurious carriages bearing noble family crests were already parked outside the auction house.

Vincent immediately became anxious. Not caring about the cold outside, he shoved open the door, jumped down, and strode inside.

"Good morning, Young Master Vincent!" A formally dressed, beautiful woman immediately approached with a smile.

As the heir of the Wilson Family, Vincent was a regular customer of the auction house. He gave a slight nod, then urgently asked, "Miss Ross, you know why I'm here. Quickly tell me where those elves are."

Miss Ross maintained a professional smile. Without wasting words, she turned sideways and gestured inward. "Please do not be anxious, Young Master Vincent. This way, please."

Green and Shirley were brought along to a reception hall. Its arrangement resembled a tavern. It was not extravagantly decorated, but it was tasteful.

More than a dozen people were already seated inside. Some were well-dressed nobles, while several were burly men who were clearly adventurers. Leather armor, longswords, revolvers—their bearing was fierce, their eyes sharp with light. At a glance, they were clearly not people to provoke.

When Green and the others entered, the adventurers seated at two tables were drinking hard liquor in great gulps. Yet all of them looked gloomy, with little interest in anything. Green found it very strange. The atmosphere was completely off.

If nothing unexpected had happened, those three elf slave women had been brought to Landon City by these adventurers. As long as the sale went through, they would earn at least several thousand gold pounds and make a fortune. Why did they still wear such sour expressions?

Thinking this, Green paid especially close attention.

At that moment, a bald, muscular man with blue battle tattoos on his face sighed. Perhaps he had drunk too much, or perhaps he was simply naturally loud. With a slap, he slammed his metal cup onto the tabletop. "Damn it! Those damned things are like ghosts that refuse to leave. When we leave Landon this time, if it follows us again, I'll fight it to the death!"

The middle-aged man across the table frowned. He seemed to want to advise him, but did not know what to say. In the end, he could only sigh and continue drinking in silence.

Green sensed something suspicious. It was already strange enough for three elf slave women to appear in a small city like Landon, and it was even more suspicious that news had been released overnight and an immediate local auction was being prepared.

Normally, an auction like this would need several days of publicity to attract nobles and wealthy people from nearby towns. It should never have been so rushed, as though fire had reached their asses. Looking at the adventurers' state of mind, there was clearly more to the story, and it was quite troublesome.

After weighing matters briefly, Green immediately reminded him in a low voice, "Vincent, those people do not seem quite right."

As the heir the Wilson Family had devotedly cultivated, Vincent was not some brainless rich second-generation son. Even without Green's reminder, he had noticed the clues. He immediately beckoned an auction house attendant over, whispered a few words to him, and slipped him a banknote.

A flash of delight crossed the attendant's face when he saw the denomination. He immediately withdrew. He gathered information quickly, and only a few minutes later, he hurried back and reported in a low voice, "Those people did indeed bring the elves here. They were supposedly captured in Gaia Forest and were originally going to be sold in Faerun City. But I heard they encountered something weird on the road, and several people died. They had no choice but to temporarily stop in Landon City..."

"Do you know what kind of weird thing it was?" Vincent's expression became slightly serious after hearing this.

"My lord, they did not reveal the exact circumstances. We only know it was something extremely terrifying. One of their companions had supposedly served in the military and was an Advanced Apprentice Knight, yet even he was killed by it." The attendant looked fearful. He did not want to mention the weird thing, but had no choice but to do so.

Green was also startled. An Advanced Apprentice Knight was of the same rank as an Advanced Apprentice Mage. If equipped with enchanted firearms, such a person would possess formidable combat power, yet he had still been killed!

In truth, "weird things" was merely how ordinary people described them. Ordinary people lacked understanding of extraordinary beings, so they called phenomena that could not be explained by common sense weird. Put plainly, they were people with certain supernatural abilities, Magic Beasts, otherworldly ghosts, specters, demons, and the like.