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Chapter 1: The Burning Gallows

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Billows of black smoke burned Xiafeng's throat and lungs while making hissing sounds like old broken bellows.

"Anyone… here? I don't wanna… die…

"Xiafeng, wake up… don't fall asleep…"

…

The endless flaming red light suddenly dimmed, followed by a deep darkness. Like a drowning man, Xiafeng tried his very best to grab onto anything that could save him from this darkness.

At that moment, like a rising sun, a red light appeared in front of him.

In that light, Xiafeng felt his strength recovering slightly, so he struggled desperately to get closer to the light. After taking a step forward, Xiafeng saw the light becoming brighter and brighter, changing from flaming red to pure white. The darkness was thoroughly entrapped by the light and completely dissipated in a second.

"Ah…" Xiafeng suddenly sat back up and was now panting with great effort. In his dream, the smoke of a terrifying fire had made him lose all means of resistance, leaving him unable to do anything but helplessly lie on the ground and wait for the flames to devour him. Like being constrained by a ghost, he knew that he was in a nightmare, but he just could not wake himself up.

The dream was so real that it took Xiafeng quite a while to recover. After his fast-beating heart calmed down, he finally remembered that he had been working on his essay for the whole night in the school library. "No wonder I dreamed about the fire, I'm practically burning my life here these days," Xiafeng thought to himself in a self-deprecating way.

When he roused himself and was about to collect all the reference books and go back to the dorm, Xiafeng was stunned with the strange and unimaginable scene in front of him. Like being struck in the head, he was shocked and his mind went blank.

All the nice-looking wooden desks were gone. There were no piles of reference books, paper manuscripts, and laptops. The only thing left was an old black blanket with loose threads covering him.

Instead of sitting in the library chair, he was actually sitting on a narrow wooden bed.

"Where am I?!"

In this situation, even a person like Xiafeng, who was relatively quiet and slow, could feel things were going wrong. Even if he was caught in a fire and sent to a hospital, this place definitely did not resemble a hospital! Not even close!

His heartbeat rose up due to the shock. He looked around and tried to stand up on his feet, but as soon as he put his feet on the ground, a sense of dizziness and weakness spread over him and almost made him hit the ground.

Xiafeng hurriedly reached out and grabbed the handle of the bed to retain his balance. His face was pale and his heart was beating very fast. He was already aware of the surroundings from the quick look just now.

This was a small shack. Including the wooden bed, there was a wooden table, which could possibly fall apart at any moment, two relatively ok-looking stools, and a crate with a hole in it. On the other side of the deteriorated wooden door, there was a crock hanging, a worn old stove was under it. The fire had been put out for quite a while. Just chilly kindling was lying underneath.

Everything seemed strange to him. Xiafeng had no idea where he was. The weak and dizzy feeling was bothering him a lot as well:

"Where is this place?! It feels like I just recovered from a serious illness… like pneumonia I had in high school."

…

Countless thoughts were going through his mind, but Xiafeng had never been in this extremely weird situation before. Panic was violently stirring up in his mind.

The only thing he felt lucky for was that there was nothing unpleasant or horrible that showed up. So, Xiafeng took several deep breaths and calmed himself down. Then, a loud shout came from afar outside the shack:

"Burn the witch! Aderon Cathedral is going to burn a witch!"

"Everybody!"

"Burn that damn witch to ashes!"

Fear and excitement were mingled together in that strange accent. Xiafeng was distracted from his panic and felt curious, he thought to himself, "Witch? What on earth is this world?"

As an adult, Xiafeng could definitely feel that something bad was going to happen there. But his thought was cut off by a sudden crashing sound that came from the door. A twelve or thirteen-year-old boy came rushing in.

"Lucien!" The brown-haired boy, wearing linen clothes reaching to his knees, was standing beside the bed as he exclaimed in surprise, "You're awake! Thank god!"

Looking at the boy's completely different-styled clothes, Xiafeng nodded his head unconsciously. A ridiculous thought arose in his messy mind: "Lucien… Witch… Cathedral… Burn… Am I in a different world or even in another dimension? It seems like… I am in 'The Middle Ages' of Europe now, at the time when witch hunting was prevalent…"

If things had to go wrong, they always would. Murphy's Law was reminding Xiafeng in a cold way. The color of the boy's hair and his clothes were all proof of his guess. Xiafeng could instinctively understand and speak this unknown language, but he was far from being a linguist, so he could not even tell what kind of language they were speaking.

The small boy, with several dusty black marks on his face, was not surprised at all when he saw Xiafeng's strange behavior. "Mom didn't believe me. During mid-night she always cries, and her eyes would swell up with tears, she keeps murmuring, 'my poor little Evans', like you were already buried in the cemetery."

"Daddy didn't know what to do, so he asked that little bastard Simon to bring a message to Lord Venn's mansion, asking for my brother to somehow come back. Now he is a Knight's Squire. Of course, the charity doctor would not dare to claim his unreasonable, ridiculous price in front of a knight squire!" The boy talked with his chin slightly raised, feeling sincerely proud.

"But look, I was right! I knew you were gonna be fine! I knew it!"— he was talking, he grabbed Xiafeng's arm — "Let's go! They are gonna burn that vicious witch. It's the very same witch who made you go to jail and be interrogated for the whole night by the church guards!"

Xiafeng wanted to think more about his current situation, so he was not interested in going out at all. Besides, they were going to burn a person to death. That was something completely unacceptable for the kind-hearted Xiafeng, at least, he believed he was. But the last thing the boy mentioned shocked him, "The witch had something to do with me?"

Xiafeng, therefore, changed his mind. With his arm in the boy's hand, he stumbled out of the room and followed the boy towards the cathedral.

Xiafeng looked around the people on the way. It was warm outside. Most men were wearing narrow-sleeved linen clothes, the same color pants and shoes without heels, while women wore monotonous roughly cut long dresses with big pockets. It was simple and old.

Most of them had brown hair and eyes, while some outstanding-outlined faces had red or black hair with green or blue eyes.

"This is really Middle Age?" Xiafeng found out he himself was wearing the same clothes.

Soon after they came out of the slum filled with low and shabby shacks, they saw a not so large but solemn and grand cathedral with high arched ceilings in front of them. On the biggest ceiling hung a large white cross. The windows under it were very narrow and small.

Lots of people had gathered there already. Following the small boy, Xiafeng squeezed through the crowd and kept pushing forward. This made some people irritated and they stared at them angrily, but they knew that as adults, they could not misbehave on the square of Aderon.

Soon, Xiafeng could see ahead. They were in the very front of the crowd now.

In the center of the square, a twenty-something, pale-faced beautiful woman in a black robe was tied to a wooden cross. People were throwing stones and pieces of wood while shouting, swearing, and spitting at her:

"Go to hell! Damned witch!"

"You wanted everyone in Aderon to die!?"

"My poor Tracy! She died several months ago… Must be because of you! You evil!"

…

The woman in the black robe got hit several times, but she just tightly shut her pale and thin lips, without letting out a groan. Standing there like a statue, she looked at the crowd.

In the front of the crowd stood a middle-aged man wearing a baggy white golden embroidered robe, with a white beret on his head and a white cross in his hands. He remained silent all the time, appearing solemn and respectful. Several men and women were standing behind him. All of them were wearing the same neat white robes. Their faces were fresh and rosy, standing in a sharp contrast to the poor and dirty crowd on the square.

Behind the white robes, there was a mighty row of armored guards in chainmail.

The middle-aged man looked at his pocket watch and stepped forward. He raised the round badge in his hand.

Instantly, those indignant and resentful people who were arguing all shut their mouths and quieted down.

Xiafeng could hear the sound of wind passing through people's clothes.

He was very impressed. Even in contemporary society, people's absolute obedience and quick response like this would require at least several months' of training. What kind of authority or power could be able to make all those poor people be so compliant like an army?

The middle-aged man was holding the badge, speaking with a low but penetrating voice which resounded all over the square, "You poor sinner. You are deceived by the devil and become greedy for power. Both your body and soul have been corrupted. Only the Light can purify. It is punishment, but also the mercy of God."

"Burn her! Burn her!" People's cries started gathering together and becoming louder and louder.

The scene of the fanatical people crying loudly at the same time made Xiafeng shudder. If they knew he actually came from another world, Lucien, or say, Xiafeng, whose soul had been occupied by the "demon", would be the one on the gallows next time.

"Before the Light shades on you," the man asked in a merciful manner, "Confess your sins! Sincere penitence can save your soul. Then your soul would ascend to heaven where God lives."

The women in the black robe suddenly started crazily laughing, her voice was very powerful. "What I pursue is the true form of magic, not the true form of God! Burn me! I will see your heaven being destroyed and your cathedral collapse in the flames!"

"Insane!"

"Vicious!"

"She cursed the bishop! Kill them all! These damned witches following the demons!"

"Burn her to ashes!"

The bishop remained silent, but the poor people were screaming and shouting hysterically with great fever.

It was the first time for Xiafeng to see this kind of terrifying madness. "Too dangerous here." He was deeply shocked.

He really wanted to be caring towards that woman, but he dared not take any action or those insane individuals would execute him with huge amounts of rocks. Xiafeng was also confused to find that there was no wood beneath that woman.

"How are they gonna burn her without any firewood?"

The bishop started praying, his voice was loud and cold, "You, the sinner. Go to hell under the Light!"

The cross in his hand suddenly burst forth with splendid light. The light was so bright that all Xiafeng could see was a white mass.

It was like the bishop was holding a small sun, solemn, pure, and grand looking. Including the small boy, everyone lowered their heads and started praying.

Beams of light gathered and took off capably to the unmistakable blue sky. When it reached the ceiling, the light reflected back and fell straightforwardly on the gallows.

Fierce red flames flared up even higher than a person's height and devoured the woman.

She laughed and cursed Insanely.

"In the blazes, I will see your shrewd paradise demolished."

"In the blazes, I will see your fabulous house of God crumbling."

"In the blazes, I will see you individuals everlastingly worsened!"

…

Her thrilling cries and curses were lingering in everyone's ears until she was burned down to ashes.

However, Xiafeng was completely stunned since earlier when the cross erupted with dazzling light.

"This is not medieval Europe…"

"This is a world where magic truly exists!"

"My name is… Lucien…"

Chapter 2: The Knowledge that Came with Me

Translator: Kris_Liu

Editor: Vermillion

In the center of the square, the beautiful witch in black had been completely burned down to ashes. However, her maniacal laughter and curses were still lingering there. Many people shuddered in fear and looked around, then they followed the bishop into the cathedral where they started to pray and confess their sins.

Lucien felt as if the blazingly bright light was still present in the square. He could still feel the sacred and dominating power the light contained. Xiafeng was so shocked that he had already made up his mind to accept his identity as Lucien. He needed to bury his past in the very bottom of his heart, in fear that people in this world might regard him as evil too.

"The divine power is so amazing…" Instead of feeling awed or even terrified by that power like common people, Lucien was wondering if he could have a chance of learning it.

At this time, Lucien got such a heavy slap on his left shoulder that he almost lost his footing.

"Oh, my poor little Evans! Thank God! Thank God, you don't have to suffer like your poor father! A nice young fellow like you deserves God's grace!"

Lucien was dragged back from his thoughts. He found a middle-aged woman, who was twice his size, wiping her tears of joy as she kept patting his shoulder with her bear-paw-liked huge palms.

Lucien managed to move a little bit to evade her palm which almost made him cough out blood. He opened his mouth but could not speak a word. He did not know her name, not even his own full name. Should he be Lucien Evans?

After watching him just standing there, the woman had an even more sorry look on her face. "My little Evans. You're still suffering from your mental illness. Look at you, so skinny…"

Xiafeng was embarrassed because he had not acquired any memory from Lucien. He was also afraid of letting people know that he was not the real Lucien. From a certain perspective, yes, Lucien's body now was genuinely being occupied by someone else.

Fortunately, a middle-aged man standing beside the middle-aged woman stopped her. "Alisa, don't talk to little Evans too much. He has just recovered. He must be feeling tired right now. Iven, help your mom and let's go home."

The blonde-haired man was kind of skinny with his back bending forward slightly. But Lucien could still tell he was a good-looking guy in his younger days. For Lucien, the man was like an angel, who saved him from this difficult situation.

"Thanks, auntie Alisa. I'm fine. Just feeling a little bit dizzy." Lucien responded carefully.

The boy, Iven, who dragged Lucien here to see the witch, was holding his mom's arm. He made a funny face and said to his mom, "I knew he was not gonna die. Only you always think that he's still a baby who needs to be taken care of all the time."

Auntie Alisa was still wiping her tears, "Evans, it's so nice to see you're getting better now. She deserved this! That damned vicious witch!"

She kept on nagging while walking, "When she just moved close to your place, she looked so beautiful and nice. I was even thinking of marrying her to my little John. But she, she was a witch! She tried to steal the bodies buried in the cemetery to experiment her evil spells! Thanks to God! The night watchman of the inquisition caught her red-handed while stealing! I can't even imagine if she had succeeded, how many people would die in our area…"

Following them, Lucien got a brief overview of what happened from Alisa's words. The woman got caught by the night watchman. As her neighbor, Lucien was also put under the interrogation of the inquisition. They probably used some kind of holy spell on him which affected him mentally. So they did figure out that he was innocent, but at the same time, they seriously hurt the real Lucien. He died after that and, therefore, Xiafeng got the chance to possess his body.

The man noticed that Lucien remained silent all the way. He patted on Lucien's shoulder, comforting him in a low voice, "She's just like this. Just ignore her."

Lucien nodded.

The man looked at Alisa from behind and sighed. "Alisa, she was such a pleasant and beautiful girl in the past, but after she gave birth to John, she was like being controlled by the demon. Barely one year after we married, she became like this…"

He emotionally sighed again. He paused a bit and added, "I'm no longer a well-matched opponent for her, though."

Lucien was still suffering from his wide mood swings. He forced out a smile and did not say anything. He did not know the man's name yet.

Somehow, Alisa heard her husband's complaint. She threw back a snort of contempt, "Joel, the bard, you, who was once full of passion and romance, the young guy who came here to pursue his dream of music, are an incorrigible drunkard now."

Joel smiled awkwardly. "Aalto is the City of Psalm. Countless young people are flocking to the city in pursuit of their dreams. But how many of them ever succeed? By the way, Alisa, I've quit drinking since John started working…"

Auntie Alisa looked back and stared at him, "Thanks God. You understand that we've put all our hope on John and Iven. John's a good boy. He worked so hard and was selected by Sir Knight Venn as his squire. If John can manage to awaken the 'Blessing' in his blood and be knighted by the grand duke, then our son can be a lord! A respectable nobility!"

Joel shuddered slightly under the stern gaze from his wife, that just then thought about Lucien.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, little Evans!" Alisa stopped herself and winked at Joel for help, "I didn't mean that! You're talented too… You just needed more training when you were younger…"

But the apology did not really help with the situation.

Joel laughed loudly and patted Lucien's shoulder again. "He's fine. Our Lucien is the guy who's gonna carry forward my dream of becoming a musician!"

Lucien was not really paying attention to them. He half-heartedly said with a giggle, "Yeah…I wanna be a musician…"

Seeing Lucien laughing, Alisa felt relieved and continued her nagging again, which actually helped Lucien know more about the city.

The City of Aalto was a big and prosperous city, located close to the Dark Mountain Range. It enjoyed the reputation as the City of Psalm and was full of opportunities.

This area was named Aderon, which was the place where the poorest of peoples in Aalto gathered. Besides, because of his absence due to illness for the past couple of days, Lucien had already lost his job as a porter in the market.

A moment later, the four of them arrived in front of Lucien's place.

Alisa invited Lucien for dinner but he politely refused her, "Thanks, Aunty Alisa, but I need some more rest."

Before leaving, little Iven moved closer to Lucien, and asked curiously, "Lucien, when did you decide to become a musician? You never told me about it before…"

"5 minutes ago," Lucien answered emotionlessly.

"OH… I… SEE…" Iven nodded admiringly.

After getting into his shack, Lucien locked the door from inside. He sat there unconsciously and buried his head deep into his elbows.

"No kidding! I'm in a different world!

"A crazy world where magic actually exists!

"In this world, they burn people alive! With gallows!"

Lucien's strong emotions finally burst out. He was surprised and scared. Xiafeng was kind of shy and not really experienced in his own world. Before, he often panicked facing difficult situation, but this time, Xiafeng himself was even surprised seeing how he managed to remain calm until now.

Difficulties forge a person stronger. Time went by and night came. Lucien finally calmed himself down; Since he had decided to live in this time period, now he should not panic, worry or be scared at all. He should plan for his future carefully. If he died again this time, he was pretty sure it would be forever.

He stopped himself from worrying about his parents and friends. When he was about to plan for what to do next, hunger struck him. It felt like there was a fire burning inside his stomach. Lucien swallowed his saliva several times and decided to find something to eat first.

He walked towards the only crate in his place. Inside of the big box, except for some old clothes, there were two loafs of "bread-shaped" black thing and seven copper coins.

Hunger controlled his brain. Lucien hurriedly took a big bite.

"Crack!" This bite almost destroyed Lucien's front teeth. "What the hell? It's like a wooden club?"

It took Lucien quite a while to make sure the thing he was holding was a real bread, which was just hard enough to knock out an adult.

Fighting against his hunger, Lucien found some flints in the crate and started roasting his bread.

"Brown Braised Pork, Spicy Chicken Wings, Roasted Beef, Kung Pao Chicken…" he muttered while staring at the bread as it was being roasted. When the bread became a little bit soft, Lucien could not stop himself and took a hurried bite… It was like…chewing a piece of wood.

But, that was all Lucien had. He devoured the bread and sighed. "I'd rather die if I'm gonna eat this every day… I must earn more… I don't want to live like this."

Then he thought about the bishop and the pastors. Neatly dressed, they looked so noble with their incredible divine power. Lucien felt excited. "I wonder if I could learn that power and become like one of them…" But the next moment he changed his mind, "…No…a person like me going to church, it's like myself asking them to burn me to ashes. I don't know if there are other ways there, say… that blessing?

"What about all the knowledge I learned in my previous world. Is it still useful here?" Stuffing the bread into his mouth, Lucien started thinking about how to make a living. When he was retrieving the knowledge he learned in the university, he found something astonishing present in his brain.

After taking a close look, Lucien's eyes opened wide in surprise. "These are… these are the books from the library. They also came here… with me?"

All the books collected in the library were present there in his mind. Instead of describing them as memories or, say, Lucien's own knowledge, they were more like projections or visuals placed into different categories, ready to be read by Lucien anytime.

Lucien tried to read them with great curiosity. But, Lucien found that he could not open a majority of them. They were locked.

Chapter 3: Midnight

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Since Lucien somehow managed to come to this completely different world, he was not that surprised or scared to find that he actually had a whole library in his mind. What confused him more was that most of the books were locked.

He tried to remain calm so that the visuals of the books could be more "solid" or "substantial" as entities. He went through them one by one and recorded the ones that could be read and the ones that could not.

"History… no problem…

"Economics… yup.

"Arts… fine.

"Mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology… some of them are locked.

"Is it because I'm in a different world, so I cannot read these books? I can still come up with the knowledge I gained at my university, though, it hasn't been blocked."

Most of the unlocked books were of senior high or high school level, which was a small amount compared to teaching references of a university's general library. There were numerous other books locked there.

Lucien was too weak to go through each category, and soon he was unable to concentrate anymore.

He dragged his feet back to the bed to get a good sleep so that he could face his second day in this world better. Only one loaf of bread was left there. Survival was always the priority, Lucien too understood this.

When his mind was getting dull and he almost went into his sweet dream, a rat's piercing squeak and noises of wood biting woke him up.

"Rats?"

At first, he did not pay much attention to it. He turned over in bed and was ready to fall asleep again. But the noise was getting louder and more disturbing like someone was grinding teeth on a rock.

Lucien could not fall asleep anymore. He tried to cover his ears with the blanket but the attempt was in vain; the noise had a penetrating power, and it felt like it was coming from all directions.

"Bloody hell!" Feeling frustrated, Lucien cursed out loud. He was almost going insane; food tasted like wood; roughly-cut clothes irritated his skin; the old blanket was full of holes… Now he could not even have a good sleep! Squeak…squeak…he heard squeaking noises like thousands of mice were scratching a wall.

Lucien gnashed his teeth in anger. He decided to kill one or two of the rats to scare the rest of them away. He got out of his bed and tried to listen carefully.

"I gotta get rid of this life. Soon."

*sob… sob* *cry*… Now it was like someone was crying.

Lucien tried to focus, but he found there was only ghastly bitter crying lingering there.

Someone was crying… at midnight. Lucien's heart was beating fast, his brain flushed. Every hair on his body stood up. The freezing night wind blew through the broken door. Lucien grabbed the hard bread loaf to defend himself.

The crying voice now sounded like a miserable song. Lucien was even more afraid now. "It's a world of magic and divinity power. Probably there are ghosts and spirits too!"

Taking a deep breath, Lucien tried his very best to calm down and moved towards the door. Someone was crying mournfully. The night was so quiet. It was like all his neighbors were lost in their dreams.

"It's coming from… the right side of the wall." The closer Lucien got to the door, the clearer he could hear the crying voice, "Wait… the witch! The witch used to live there!"

He was stunned, "But her place had been burned down completely by the church. Maybe… they missed something, like a secret chamber. She might have stored her vicious experiments there."

Lucien's mind went away a little bit. A secret chamber… like many novels he read before, he could probably find the witch's treasure or even notes on magic.

The piercing crying dragged him back to reality. "Yeah… get real. Something must be guarding there. How can I fight against a ghost with a bread loaf in my hands?

"Probably I'd be killed and possessed by the evil ghosts!"

He got more careful now. Lucien was glad that his mind was not controlled by the greed. But he also did not want to keep waiting here. Nobody knew if the ghost would try to come for him.

Lucien was thinking very fast. At the moment, he gathered all the strength he could muster, and carefully grabbed the handle of the door. The bread in his hand was now soaked with his sweat.

He slowly opened the door. It was very dark outside and he could hear the whistling sound of cold wind.

There was nothing terrifying there, and after he left his shack the crying voice dimmed a bit. He felt a little bit relieved and took a deep breath, then started shouting as loud as he could:

"Ghost! There's a ghost here!"

It was so loud that even Lucien himself got surprised.

Then came a series of roaring barks from the wild dogs, and Lucien started madly rushing to the cathedral. These guys were professionals in this kind of stuff!

As the previous neighbor of the witch, he might still be under the church's watch and there was one more benefit: Lucien's asking for help on his own could help him gain some of their trust while reducing the suspicion.

Lucien shouted loudly to wake up the other neighbors so that if they attempted to rob the treasure and frame him or even kill him for it, they wouldn't be able to do so in front of the crowd. He tried his best to think of every measure to save his life in such a short time.

Soon, he saw the cathedral in front of him with candlelight casting out of the windows.

Two armored guards were guarding the front gate. Seeing Lucien running towards them in panic, one of the guards pulled half of his sword out to be alert.

"What are you doing here?" The other guard asked as he reached out his hand to stop Lucien.

Lucien answered with trembling voice. "Ghost. There's a ghost there! In the witch's place!"

The guard got nervous after hearing that. As a newly recruited guard, he could not tell whether Lucien was telling the truth or not. So, he asked his partner to stay and went back into the cathedral to report to the pastor on duty tonight. The noise from his chainmail gradually faded as he disappeared into the darkness.

A short while later, a blond young pastor in a white robe walked out of the gate with the guard.

The pastor had a thin face. He walked in an elegant rhythm. "I'm Pastor Benjamin. Can you tell me what happened?"

The two guards were standing silently, in fear that any noise from them might disturb Pastor Benjamin.

Lucien, politely and sincerely, described in detail how he heard the ghost's crying voice, how he got out of his place and ran here asking for their help.

After hearing him, Benjamin gave Lucien a gentle smile, "You did well, my child. Your courage shows your devotion to God."

Then he ordered the guards, "Thomson, get Gary, Paul and the two other knights here. The witch was just an apprentice. So, there's no need to report this to the Bishop."

"Yes, my lord," Thomson replied reverently. Although Benjamin was only an Elementary Level Pastor, he was capable of dealing with the traps or spells left by a sorcerer's apprentice. There was a huge gap between a formal pastor and an apprentice.

Benjamin asked Lucien's name and stopped their conversation when the other four knights arrived; they were also wearing chain mails, but they looked much more imposing compared to the other two guards.

A crowd had already gathered some distance away from the witch's burned cabin. Candlelight flickered like scattered stars as if accompanying the moon in the sky.

Lucien discovered that the moon in this world was silver colored.

People stopped whispering when Benjamin showed up. The crowd suddenly felt relieved and started getting closer to the witch's cabin while talking to each other.

"I don't hear anything."

"No matter if it's true or not, it does no harm to have a purification performed here."

But Lucien could still hear the crying voice. He thought to himself, Why can't these people hear it?

Benjamin, as if knowing what he was thinking, replied to Lucien calmly, "Yes. There are ghosts present here."

Obviously, he heard it, as well as the four guards, who nodded to show their consent.

Chapter 4: Scarlet Eyes

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Pastor Benjamin elegantly moved towards the ruined witch's cabin. He talked in a low and gentle voice, "Vicious witches, they exploit people's psyche and awareness. Especially like today's night, when the silver moon is present in the sky. That woman, fortunately, hasn't gained any real dark power. Her spells can only affect several individuals at most."

He was clarifying why only Lucien could hear the crying voice. Before Lucien could ask, as if he knew what he wanted to ask. Benjamin reached out his hands wearing white gloves and continued, "We are blessed. So only we can hear the wicked crying."

When Benjamin said that, the four guards instantly began drawing crosses on their chests and started yelling at the same time:

"Only truth lives forever."

They became more excited as they spoke.

The crowd started praying as well. "Only truth lives forever."

"This is the power of divinity… Pastor Benjamin is truly blessed by God."

Benjamin's face now looked more solemn and serious. He slowly opened his hands and spelled out an odd word:

"Paso."

Instantly a sheet of white light covered the ruins like it was coming from the moon.

In the white light, a small scarlet hole emerged on the broken wall connecting it to Lucien's place.

Like the surrounding people, the mysterious power also shocked Lucien. But, rather than being awed and respectful like the crowd, he yearned for the divinity.

Benjamin put his hands back and ordered, "Gary, that is the door. It doesn't have any trap. Go and open it."

Gary puffed out his chest, as the sound of his chainmail clashing came, "Yes, my lord."

As Gary walked past them, Lucien heard Benjamin complaining in a low voice. "Those haughty inquisition bastards! Except 'Magic Trap Detection', they never bother double checking with 'Secret Door Detection'. They can't be so irresponsible just because she was an apprentice."

Gary, effortlessly, broke down the wall with his strong muscle. The other guard hauled out his heavy sword and fiercely hacked. A black hole appeared in the corner of the wall.

It was a narrow hole, enough for only one person to pass through. A stinking smell came from it, which made Lucien almost throw up. Lucien took a couple of steps backward, and he noticed that Benjamin was covering his nose and mouth with the right hand, with his eyebrows frowning.

Gary reported, "This tunnel leads to the sewers."

Benjamin was still frowning his eyebrows. His muffled voice came from under his covered mouth, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. We can see the sewer from here." Gary was pretty certain.

As an elegant and noble pastor from the long-established and honored Rafati family, Benjamin was more than reluctant to go down into the smelly, dirty pipes. He had not mastered a "Purifying" spell yet, so he must rely on the runes and divinity instruments. But no one knew how long it would take to find the witch's chamber.

"Hmm… Just a Sorcerer Apprentice, a Saint Truth Badge would be enough." Benjamin turned his eyes towards Lucien. His voice became solemn again.

"Lucien, you once lived near that vicious witch. Something evil must have contaminated you. But your devotion towards God touched me, and you deserve a chance to purify the evil in there as well as yourself. Go, Lucien, I'm gonna lend you my badge to help you. May God bless you."

Lucien's brain started buzzing like it had just got hammered. He thought everything was going to be fine after he went to Pastor Benjamin and the guards. But, the pastor told him to go down there! He was just an ordinary guy, who recently recovered from illness, but now he had to go underground to face the devil! Were they kidding?

Seeing Lucien's dumbfounded and hesitant face, Benjamin kindly asked,

"You are saying… NO?"

Lucien felt terrified hearing Benjamin's gentle voice. If he refused, he might again get suspected by the church. Besides, Benjamin will lend him the magic badge and his guards were supposed to go with Lucien. Lucien thought this mission would not be that dangerous.

Lucien had no choice though. The crowd was praising Pastor Benjamin's generosity and the Mercy of God. Lucien squeezed out a bitter smile and answered, "No. That would be my honor."

The pastor just ignored Lucien's bitterness. He took off the badge on his neck and handed it to Lucien. "This is the Saint Truth Badge. I'll cast a Blessing spell on you as well, so you can focus better. When you chant the spell and touch the badge, you can call the power of God."

Hearing his words, Lucien calmed down a little bit, then he started getting curious about the badge.

It was a gold badge embedded with a shining white cross, around which were different lines and patterns such as circles, squares, triangles. They were connected with each other, giving it an even more mysterious and solemn look.

When Lucien was holding the badge, he felt a gentle and loving power penetrating all over his body. Even in the cold night, Lucien felt like he was standing under the warm sunshine.

"The badge contains two inferior spells: Light and Minor Injury Healing. It additionally contains three level-one spells: Shield of Light, Sword of Light, and Holy Strike. Each can be used once a day. Now, pay attention to the chants."

As an ordinary individual, Lucien understood how important these spells were to him. The spells were not long, but rather their tone was hard to master. It took him a while to barely remember them.

Benjamin reached out his hand again, casting a beam of white light on Lucien. Lucien felt refreshed and much healthier after the light vanished. People's voices also became more clear to him:

"This guy got the badge from Pastor Benjamin."

"Oh! Benevolent Lord Benjamin!"

"We praise god! We praise the pastor!"

Lucien waited and watched Benjamin casting Blessing on the guards. There was always an interval of two to three seconds between his castings.

After the preparation, Benjamin said, "Paul, you stay at the entrance here. Gary, Howson, Corella, you go in with Lucien."

His face then became serious as he drew a cross on his chest, "May the lights of God bless you."

"Only truth lives forever!" Those guards got energized and started shouting. Lucien was a little bit slow, standing there he felt embarrassed.

As they were walking towards the tunnel, the guard, Paul, went near Benjamin and asked in a low voice, "My lord, why him?"

With the badge and spells, the guards could bring out the power as well. Despite the fact that they were slower than the pastors, they were still much better than a weak young boy. If Benjamin did not want to go down there on his own, he could still ask the guards to do the job.

The pastor looked at the entrance of the secret passage, and replied slowly, "His soul is stronger than the average person. He can do the work better."

"He's too old to be taught, though," he added.

...

The mixed, stinking smell inside the hole made Lucien almost throw up.

"You live in Aderon, and you dislike the smell of pipe? It seems like you all are living a better life than I thought. In the City of Chant, Antiffler, poor people with nowhere to hide live in the sewers." Corella, a guy with black hair and big cheekbones, remarked unexpectedly.

Before Lucien opened his mouth, Gary moved and shushed Corella.

The latter shrugged his shoulders and stopped talking. He stepped forward and jumped into the pipes, followed by Lucien.

Lucien stepped on something slippery. After taking a close look, he found that they were weird mosses. They were everywhere and slightly lighted the whole space.

Gary kept his voice low, "I, Howson, and Corella are high-level knight squires. We'll try our best to protect you. When you are in danger, summon the Sword of Light as soon as possible." He wore blond whiskers. Every movement of his was calm and confident. He seemed like the acknowledged leader of the four guards.

Gary was holding the sword in his right hand and a small shield in the left. He took the lead and moved deeper into the darkness.

The miserable crying was increasing louder and louder. It originated from all around. For ordinary people, it was almost impossible to tell the direction. But, the special-trained guards and 'blessed' Lucien could easily find where the crying was coming from.

No one was living down here as Corella mentioned. The whole space was terrifyingly quiet except for the lingering bitter crying.

They passed several forks and stopped at a normal corner.

Gary stared at the wall which was fully covered by dark green moss, telling Lucien in a cool voice, "Summon the Sword of Light."

Terrified and excited, Lucien calmed himself down under the help of Blessing and began concentrating on the badge hanging on his neck, feeling the warm and soft power in it. He put his left hand on the badge and gently rubbed it, and at the same time, he whispered:

"Geesairon."

Lucien's spirit blended with the white light and began to form into a shining sword.

"This is my voice?" Lucien was surprised. His voice sounded deep and husky.

Lucien grabbed the sword. He could feel the power. Gary's order pulled him back to reality, "Slash the wall there."

His body trembled slightly. Lucien didn't know what he was going to face: Powerful magic? Evil ghost? Fatal trap? He had no idea.

Corella sneered at him.

Lucien knew he had no other choice. He took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and screamed loudly in his mind:

Death is not a big deal!

He slashed the disgusting slippery wall with all his might. The stone was like a pile of mud before the sword. Something weird got cut inside as well. Lucien felt something breaking, with dark gas leaking, and disappearing under the sword edge.

The wall collapsed completely.

Behind the wall, there was endless deep darkness.

Suddenly, two weird, cold, hideous spots of red rose in the darkness.

And then more and more scarlet spots started emerging, densely dotted.

They resembled… pairs of eyes!

Chapter 5: The Sudden Turn of Events

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Confronting those red eyes, Lucien felt his hands and legs were shaking, his head buzzing. Different thoughts about what he should or should not do overwhelmed him, so he just stood there.

"Badge! I still have the badge!"

The badge was his greatest support. When Lucien was trying to concentrate and cast the shield spell, a sudden shout from Gary almost terrified him out of his wits.

"Cast Light!" Gary's voice was calm and decisive. He shouted loudly to bring them back to the reality from fear.

Right! Lucien realized that their top priority was to be able to see clearly. He rubbed the badge and murmured, "Gaya."

A ball of white light appeared in front of them and pushed the darkness away.

Then Lucien saw them, red-eyed rats of regular size. The floor, walls and even a weird human-shaped plant were all covered with the black rats like a crazy swarm, giving Lucien goose bumps.

The rats also saw their enemies. As soon as the light appeared, they started screaming and flooding towards the humans.

At that moment, they managed to take a glimpse of the chamber: a desk was placed in the corner with three glowing books on it; another flat, broad, weird-looking table was at the center of the room, drawn with different strange patterns, like red, blue or green, similar to the Saint Truth Badge. There were also some small stoves, pots, and glass bottles.

But, they did not get enough time to notice details as those crazy stinking monsters already jumped in front of them.

Howson and Corella held their swords and shields, with their backs against Gary, in a simple formation.

The leading rat threw himself right at Lucien. Its mouth was open wide, showing its two long and sharp fangs.

Lucien raised his Sword of Light and hurriedly swung at the head of the red-eyed rat. However, he was too nervous to predict the rat's movement, and the blade missed, although the light coming out of the sword still caught it. Lucien could smell the rat's burning flesh. Its skin turned black and rolled up inwards.

But the rat did not stop and was already in front of Lucien's face as if it could not feel the pain. He could smell the rotting odor coming from its mouth.

Lucien was too nervous to make the right decision. He tried to lift his sword once again and at the same time reached out his left hand to try to defend. Due to his panic he almost dropped the sword.

Feeling desperate, Lucien couldn't help but watch the creature about to sink its sharp teeth into his chest.

At this critical point, a shining blade arrived and hacked the rat directly, splitting it in two parts.

"Do not panic. Protect your vital parts. You still have the healing spell." Commanded Gary.

Corella also ordered in a sharp voice, "You idiot! Come here with us! You wanna die standing at the front?"

They were aware that Lucien was the only guy among them with a badge, which was very important to them. They could probably survive facing these insane rats without any spells, but no one knew what was waiting for them next.

Lucien tried to calm himself down. The guards were well-trained, so when facing dangers they knew what they should do. But, Lucien, a little boy, could not protect himself. No one was born for fighting, or with the ability to remain calm in the face of dangers.

In this first real fight, the guidance from an experienced guard like Gary would be a precious lesson for Lucien in the future.

After a moment Lucien finally calmed down. While hacking with his sword, he gradually stepped back and joined the guards.

Now, instead of one or two, hundreds of rats started insanely attacking them.

Lucien's sword was sharp and splendid. When he swung it, the sword was surrounded by a halo, and Lucien could see an almost solid afterimage of it through its path. According to Gary's command, Lucien's wielded the sword of light to shield them.

Any rat that ran into him was cut down in half by his blade. The smoldering cuts burned rats' organs and skin charred without dropping a single drop of blood. Some of the strikes missed, but even then the fur and skin charred and they became slower, crashing into the floor right before Lucien.

The three guards were responsible for the remaining ones.

"Haha, great job kid!" Corella whistled.

Lucien did not feel satisfied, though. He could feel the power of the sword was gradually decreasing.

Gary was still hacking the remaining ones, "Calm down. We have enough power to deal with these monsters."

A new wave of attack came again, like a black swarm.

Lucien was improving rapidly. Although still worried, he decided to trust himself and the three guards.

The hacked bodies of dead rats fell to the ground like rain drops. But some red-eyed rats still managed to pass through the defense and moved towards them quickly.

They cannot handle all of them. Lucien was thinking worriedly. Nobody could wield a sword that fast.

Of course, they were fighting not only with their swords. Two small silver shields were cooperating with the swords. The crazy jumping rats could not stop in time and knocked directly into the metal. Many were twitching on the floor and died soon.

Corella laughed, "You can't be a good knight without a shield!"

After several rounds of attack, the red-eyed rats changed their pattern. Instead of throwing themselves directly towards their faces, some started approaching through the floor, while others climbed on the wall to attack them from above.

The situation again turned serious.

"Leave those coming from above to me." The tall Howson, who was silent all the time, said to them.

Lucien nodded with appreciation, wielding his light sword to defend from the rats on the ground. "Shield of Light?"

"Not yet." Gary shook his head.

They were like a small boat floating in a roaring ocean. They could be easily destroyed.

Suddenly, Howson missed one rat, which fell directly on Corella's shoulder. The rat gave him a bitter bite in his neck. Corella groaned with pain and twitched his shoulder.

"I got bit! It's numb there. Their teeth must be poisonous." He swore bitterly.

"Let me do the healing." Lucien was about to rub the badge but was stopped by Gary.

"Corella can still hang in there. There are too many rats. Save it after… Ouch!"

Before he finished, Gary got bit under his kneecap.

Soon the guards started focusing on their unprotected parts. But unlike them who were wearing kneecaps, boots and chain mails, Lucien was merely wearing linen short clothes. Suddenly he got bit in his ankle.

Feeling pain and numbness from his ankle. Lucien almost lost his balance. He felt thirsty at the same time. He wanted water.

"Protect yourself. Raise your Shield of Light first. Then use Healing." Gary commanded. Half of the rats were dead already.

Lucien quickly became focused and rubbed the badge.

"Simen."

A white shield of light appeared and covered him. He would need more time to cast another spell, so he took a step forward, trying to cover his companions under the shield and the sword wall.

After a couple of seconds, Lucien concentrated again. He rubbed the badge.

"Gourdi."

A white light radiated from the cross and covered his ankle. The numb feeling disappeared instantly.

Although Corella and Gary were still injured, the situation had been turned around. The number of red-eyed rats decreased, so Lucien seized the chance and healed the wounded as well.

Stabbing through the last rat, Corella sighed slightly, "Finally over."

The ground was covered with layers of dead bodies and dark blood.

Standing there, Lucien could not believe he actually made it. Gary nodded to him, "You did well, Lucien." Then he turned around, "You guys did a good job, too."

Corella's face looked weird. Then he answered in a confused and fearful voice, "How…Howson's not here…"

The silent but reliable Howson, who was protecting them from behind, disappeared?!

Lucien started feeling creepy again.

Chapter 6: Accident

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

None of them heard any sound of struggling, screaming, or of anyone leaving. The robust and silent Howson, a high-level knight squire, just… disappeared?

A chilly feeling rose from Lucien's feet and quickly spread all over his body. He held the hilt of his sword tight, and his breathing became heavier.

He quickly turned his head but saw nothing. The sewer wall on the other side was covered with weird shining green moss.

Suddenly, a bitter scream broke the deadly silence. Lucien quickly turned and saw a terrifying scene: a monstrous rat as big as a man had tripped Corella and sunk its sharp nails into his shoulder. Blood gushed all over Corella's silver chain mail, dying it red. The monster had scarlet evil eyes that withered.

However, Corella's blade stopped its row of long and sharp teeth from causing damage.

As a knight squire, Corella saved his own life with the most common movement in their training: he thrust the shield on his left hand with all his strength into the rat's stomach.

Nothing was scarier than the unknown so, at least for Lucien, a huge rat showing itself was much better than an adult man disappearing all of a sudden for no reason.

Lucien took a deep breath and swung his sword of light at the huge rat, to help Corella.

At that moment, a bestial roar came from behind Lucien.

"Gary?" When Lucien was about to turn, a knight saber hacked at his back.

The white light of the shield trembled and dimmed a bit. The huge impact pushed Lucien several steps forward, and he almost lost his balance.

However, the attack didn't stop there. The saber was chasing Lucien and continuously tried to hurt him. Lucien did his best to dodge it, while having no time to fight back or use his badge. He felt confused and surprised. "Why? Gary?!"

Lucien could not see clearly in the darkness. If it was not Gary, then there was only one possibility: Gary was already dead!

With good timing, the saber gave Lucien no chance to find his balance, and soon he was pushed into the corner. Lucien was surprised that with the protection of the shield he did not get injured from the attacks at all. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down, getting ready for the next attack.

Then, he dodged the saber's assault by throwing himself on the ground. At the same time, his left hand grabbed the badge.

This time, Lucien finally saw who was attacking him. It was the group's leader, Gary.

Nevertheless, the muscles on his face were contorted, and his eyes were shining with scarlet light. He looked like an insane beast.

The poison from the rats! The poison could deprive human's consciousness and turn them into bloodthirsty beast! Lucien tried to understand, But why haven't I been affected?

Without further thinking, Lucien rubbed the badge and started chanting. A round iron shield launched a hard whack on Lucien's shield of light. Although the shield did not break, the violent impact suffocated Lucien for a second, interrupting his casting.

The continuous whacking prevented Lucien from concentrating. As a promising knight squire, Gary received formal training to interrupt spellcasting.

A layman like Lucien, with no basic training, would be unable to resist the disturbances from a knight squire. Any trainee pastor or sorcerer apprentice, with a level-one Saint Truth Badge and a Shield of Light could have killed Gary.

In the same level, a spellcaster was always superior.

While Lucien was being trapped with Gary, Corella could not hold the rat back much longer. His right hand was trembling from the effort of holding the enemy's mouth away.

Fortunately, the huge humanoid rat also became weaker.

Unable to cast the spell, Lucien changed his mind and swung his sword of light upwards. He knew that his summoned sword was much stronger than the guard's saber.

Although the swing did not strike true, the radiance from the sword terrified Gary. He stopped attacking Lucien's shield and switched to a defensive position hurriedly.

It seemed like he didn't want to be further apart from Lucien: for a traditional knight, letting his enemy successfully cast a spell would be very dangerous.

Without any sound of impact, the sword cut Gary's saber as if it was piece of wood. Gary barely managed to raise his shield in time and block with it, but the sword left a deep crack right in the middle of the shield.

When Lucien was about to launch his next attack the sword of light suddenly turned into thousands of shining pieces, indicating the spell used up all its power. Actually, its power started decreasing at the very beginning, when it destroyed the magic wall concealing the chamber.

Lucien was unable to react for a moment, and Gary seized the chance, smashing Lucien's protection with his shield.

Now, Lucien's sword and shield were both gone.

Having no time to hesitate, Lucien rubbed the badge desperately to cast his last spell.

"S… Ow!"

Before Lucien could spell out the rest of the chant, Gary punched his stomach. Like a cooked shrimp, Lucien cowered in great pain. A wave of strong acid, rising from his stomach, burned his throat.

Gary reached out his hand and squeezed Lucien's neck, choking him.

Lucien struggled fiercely, and used his right hand to try to free his neck. He felt great pain in his neck and lungs, and his eyes were turning black. The badge in his left hand was being held firmly to his chest by Gary's other hand.

Lucien could hear his own gasp. He could feel the cold metal glove Gary was wearing. It felt like Lucien's soul had left his body, and was observing from the side.

Suddenly, Lucien's will to survive erupted. His soul power increased dramatically all of a sudden and broke through a certain limit, spreading like water from an ocean.

At the same time, Gary's strength started disappearing. Lucien got a precious chance to breathe. Learning from his past mistakes, this time Lucien did not waste any time being hesitant or confused. He tried to focus and grabbed the badge again.

As soon as he touched it, Lucien's spirit suddenly entered into an illusionary world of light, where many lines, circles and triangles formed a weird-looking cross in the air.

Lucien recognized the cross instantly: It was the cross on Benjamin's badge! And he could feel that Benjamin's power was continuously coming out of the cross!

Out of curiosity, Lucien moved closer and tried to touch it. The cross suddenly trembled and started accumulating power. Soon he felt its power became overwhelming!

Feeling the danger, Lucien hurriedly tried to retrieve his spirit back to the real world but it was too late: A white beam of light shot out from the cross and burned his spirit on the side. A strong nauseous feeling hit him. Lucien felt like his head was splitting. And two streams of cool, rusty-metal-smelling liquid came down from his nose.

Suddenly, the light beam somehow materialized and burst out from the badge that Lucien was wearing. Gary did not have a slight of chance to withdraw his hand. Starting from the hand squeezing Lucien's neck, the light beam quickly dissolved his arm and part of his shoulder in seconds like some kind of super-strong corroding acid. There was no blood coming out, and the wounds instantly turned black.

Divine power can be activated without any spell? This surprised Lucien. He quickly dodged to avoid the enemy's following attack.

However, he felt all his muscles aching and it was hard to move.

Then, what Lucien saw shocked him greatly: Gary was lying on the ground, dying, with his eyes half open, and the scarlet light on them was gone.

The pool of blood left by the dead rats had evaporated, forming a red mist and pervading the chamber and nearby pipes.

The weird, human-shaped plant in the corner was stretching its branches cozily in the blood mist.

On the other side lied Corella and Howson, with their own sabres stabbing each other's back.

Chapter 7: Gain and Temptation

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

Surrounded by the red mist, Lucien felt his limbs melting, and the nerves in his brain swelling and jerking. In his eyes, Corella and Howson changed from human bodies to giant rats and continued switching back and forth.

"It's… an illusion…?!" Lucien was quite sure. So, he concentrated and spread his spirit again like waves. Then, everything became stable. No changes or contortion happened.

Lucien saw Corella and Howson lying on the ground, with wounds all over their bodies, dying.

"This is a well-designed magic trap… Did the illusion originate from the blood of the rats, or the peculiar plant?" Lucien thought to himself. He finally understood that from the very beginning, when they killed the first rat, they were already trapped in the illusion. Lucien was protected by the light shield, and his spiritual power was a little bit stronger than common people, so he was unaffected by the illusion.

The Holy Strike that shot out of the badge not only evaporated Gary's right hand and shoulder, but also the stone ceiling of the chamber. There was a wide hole there, from which chunks of stone were falling like rain, as if the chamber would cave in at any time.

Dust and small stones dispersed the red mist. Lucien felt his strength gradually recovering.

Having no idea what would happen next, his brain started quickly functioning again: Except for two more Light spells, Lucien got nothing useful left. And his muscles were still weak from the paralyzing red mist.

Then his attention was drawn to the plant in the corner, which was shaking and wobbling due to the falling stones.

"The plant cannot protect itself aside from creating an illusion?" Lucien wondered. He tried his best to stand up again and then dragged his body towards the plant. He moved very slowly and faltered several times. Sharp stones kept falling on him, leaving painful wounds all over his body.

Lucien took a deep breath and kept moving. After so much experience, he became calm and decisive. Reaching out his right hand, he firmly grabbed the main stem of the plant.

The plant had a pulse like that of a living being! Lucien felt like he was grabbing veins of a creature, beating with blood. He pulled the stem with all his strength.

Suddenly, the plant shrank and burst out an extremely bitter and sharp scream.

Lucien did not succeed on his first try. So, he kept twisting it with all his strength. Like a dying man struggling for survival, the plant screamed, stretched out its branches and entangled them around Lucien's arm.

The plant was moist, slimy, and cold, and its tentacles had countless tiny burrs which kept burying themselves into Lucien's skin. Fighting back his fear, Lucien pulled hard again.

"Crack!"

The plant suddenly stopped screaming. Red liquid spurted out of it and spattered all over Lucien's chest, leaving a strong bloody smell in the air. Feeling limp, Lucien hurriedly leaned against the wall to maintain his balance.

After the plant was snapped in half, the red mist became much denser and almost turned into liquid. As soon as the blood mist from the plant reached the three books on the desk, they instantly started corroding. It only took a couple of seconds to completely corrode all the books. Lucien didn't get any time to read anything.

"It must be another magic trap", Lucien thought. In case the chamber got discovered, these sorcerer's notes would destroy themselves automatically when the mist reached a certain density.

"Argh!" It was such a pity for Lucien. He was hoping to find some mighty magic spells in the notes.

Just then, he noticed something shining in his spirit library.

Out of curiosity, Lucien let his spirit enter the library. Then, his eyes opened wide with great surprise: A new bookshelf appeared! And there was a small tag which read "Magic (Arcana)". Under the tag there were three books. They were the same ones which got destroyed.

"The library can collect books as well?!… Wait, what about the content, then? I didn't have a chance to read them at all." Lucien was trying to understand how the library worked. "As the corrosion happened really fast, the whole books were still destroyed page after page. Probably the library can copy the content… then the projections of the books can be stored here…"

Lucien was just guessing. He needed more proof.

Staring at the three labels, a strong hesitant feeling rose in Lucien's mind: Wouldn't it be too dangerous to learn magic in a world where divine power dominated everything and sorcerers were hated by the public?

Lucien knew he could not waste too much time down here. What was more surprising was that after the mist completely disappeared, both Corella and Howson twitched a little bit. They were still alive! Lucien knew that he really had to hurry up and get all of them out of this terrible place.

...

Benjamin suddenly groaned when he felt Lucien activated Holy Strike. At that moment, their spirits were somehow connected. He was more than surprised.

"Lord Benjamin?" Pawl asked with concern.

Under the silver moon, Benjamin's face did not look well. He said in a low voice: "Something unexpected happened down there. Damn it! She was just an apprentice. These guys are useless… Paul, you wait here. If I don't come back in five minutes, ask the bishop for help."

Because there was a spirit imprint on the badge, Benjamin could feel it. Or he would not have lent the badge to a young guy he had just met. He did not expect that his own imprint could be activated by someone else.

Misfortune always comes with arrogance and prejudice.

For Benjamin, knights were just a bunch of vulgar and ignorant guys, who knew nothing more than how to fight with just their physical strength. So, without giving any thought to whether the guards were actually more suitable, Benjamin directly gave the badge to Lucien, a young boy whose spirit was stronger than common people.

Benjamin's perspective came from his past experiences.

The family he came from, the Rafati family, was one of the most powerful families in the Duchy of Orvarit. Rafati family was known for producing gifted divines. While knights had to learn spells, offsprings of Rafati family were born with Blessing in their blood.

Benjamin was no way close to being the most talented child in his family. But after entering the monastery, he stood out among his peers and soon became a formal pastor and a divine caster.

But now, as a formal pastor, he was having trouble dealing with a trap left behind by a sorcerer's apprentice. It would definitely affect his reputation and position in the church. So he had no choice but to rush over there and solve the trouble himself.

Paul was surprised as well, "They had the badge… Is there a real sorcerer present there?"

...

Sounds of footsteps came when Lucien was about to drag himself out the chamber to ask for help. He became anxious, for fear that if it was another witch or wizard who came then he would not be able to safely escape with his life again.

Above all he felt worried, because a chamber was one of the best places to execute somebody and thus keep their mouths shut.

"Lapland Bloodvine?" Benjamin took a glimpse at the corner and quickly speculated what happened. He looked at Lucien and the three guards, "Fortunately, they're still alive."

Benjamin was a little bit surprised when he saw Lucien. Benjamin thought, "It seems like when he activated my imprint, his spirit power also increased. He has reached the basic-level of a trainee pastor, quite lucky."

However, everything has changed. The church, now, is not in its absolute dominant status like three hundred years ago. Today, divinity power can't be acquired with talent alone. Being a real pastor requires systematic learning from a young age.

'The Emperor of Magical Arcana', it was he who started the close to four-hundred-year golden age of the development of divinity power and magic. He changed the rule of how to become a Divine Caster.

As a member of Rafati family, compared with most pastors, Benjamin knew more about the circumstances of the world. What's more, he was not that devoted to his own particular faith. More accurately, being an aristocrat actually conflicted with his identity of belonging to the church.

Even further, after "the Highest Theology Conference" more than three hundred years ago, the church was partitioned into two: one south, the other north. They both criticized each other for being a hearsay. But neither of them were ever interrupted or prevented from continuously gaining the divine power, which made many bishops and cardinals doubt whether God really existed, or if all this was a test for God's followers.

This kind of attitude directly affected the following younger generations, like Benjamin, for hundreds of years.

Besides, to fit into this fast developing era, several popes had introduced part of the knowledge gained through the exploration of the world by great Arcanists, to modify the foundation of theology.

The adjustment guaranteed the fast development of divinity and the emergence of countless great spellcasters. Therefore, the South Church could still preserve its predominant position in general and keep growing while being surrounded by many powerful enemies like heretics, evil sorcerers, dark creatures and so on. But at the same time, this behavior additionally prompted more conflicts within the South Church itself.

Benjamin's thought came back to reality. He released some white powder from his hand and chanted some weird spell. A strong wind blew the red mist away.

He pointed his finger towards Gary. A white light fell down on his wound. The wound started healing and soon regained its original color.

After curing Corella, Howson, and Lucien one by one, he confirmed with them what happened. Benjamin checked the desk to ensure nothing was left there. "Move all the stuff back to the church, including the bodies of the rats."

He put the badge, which had already been returned by Lucien, back on his neck , and said, "God has forgiven you. Go back and rest. May God bless you."

Initially, Benjamin wanted to reward Lucien with some money or even wait to see whether the kid had the potential to be further trained if things went well. But after all of this, the only thing Benjamin wanted was Lucien to leave as soon as possible. He got another problem to face: Gary's right hand. He did not master the spell for limb regeneration.

Having the chance to leave, Lucien hurriedly walked towards the exit. By the moment he left the chamber, he heard Corella talking to Howson in a low voice, "Gary lost his right hand. He probably can't stay in the guards anymore…"

He walked outside the pipes with complicated, mixed feelings. The crowd mobbed him instantly with great concerns.

"Little Evans, is the ghost gone now?" Aunty Alisa asked loudly from far-off.

Lucien nodded, "Yes. The place has been purified by the pastor and the guards."

The mood lightened immediately after they got Lucien's certain answer. They started being more curious about what happened down there.

"Lucien, what did the ghost look like? Terrifying?"

"I knew Lord Benjamin could handle it!"

"Lucien is blessed by God! He got the chance to use the badge!"

"What a pity! Lucien is not a child anymore, or he would be able to go to the monastery and become a real pastor. Think about it! A pastor from Aderon!"

Lucien was bothered by the comments, "I'm too old to be a pastor already?"

Although Lucien himself never thought about being a pastor because of his identity, it was still quite depressing knowing he was completely hopeless after seeing such an amazing power.

"My poor little Evans. Look at your face. You must be very exhausted." Aunty Alisa asked.

Lucien really needed some time for himself. He nodded and walked directly towards his small shanty. He closed the door and sat down on the bed. He could hear the crowd gradually dispersing after Benjamin and the guards left.

Lucien missed his parents and friends but could not do anything about it. He started thinking about his own future again.

"The real Lucien did not get any training before. So I could neither become a pastor nor a knight.

"If I want to get rid of this life and become someone, then I need to learn magic.

"…But then I would be an enemy of the church and all the people, including Aunty Alisa.

"Do I have other choices?"

Finally, Lucien decided to first look at the notes in his mental library.

A little while later, Lucien talked to himself in a low voice, awkwardly.

"I can't read…?"

Chapter 8: Aalto

Translator: Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

The notes were full of strange characters. And Evans, as a poor child, was uneducated and illiterate.

As a hopeless illiterate, Lucien could only helplessly stare at the notes and yearn for the amazing power. Although he had experienced a lot here, he still felt extremely depressed with the gap: He was a university student in another world, but now he was just a poor guy who couldn't even read.

Lucien made up his mind: He must learn how to read.

Even if Lucien could not be a pastor, learning how to read and write was not a bad thing in order to get rid of poverty. He had no physical strength. If there was a way out for Lucien, it would be something related to knowledge.

Feeling motivated by his decision, Lucien again picked up the notes, hoping to uncover any other hidden secret.

There were many strange but familiar patterns in the notes, like lines and geometric figures. Lucien guessed they were probably magic seals or circles because he saw them in the badge before. Then, he saw some formulas which might be used to make magic potions.

The characters in the second note were even more complicated. Actually, the two notes were of different characters. Fortunately, the third one looked more interesting and contained the same character as the second one. It was filled with assorted hand-produced figures like plants, minerals, and creatures.

After a new round of searching, he still couldn't find anything useful. Lucien stopped thinking and tried to fall asleep.

He strongly desired to change his life. So, he could not let his messy concerns and worries disturb himself. From tomorrow onwards, he must fight for his own life.

Lucien fell asleep quickly after the intense fight.

Meanwhile, in the dark sewers, a black rat with scarlet and cold eyes was moving around the ruins and quickly went in another direction. After a while, the rat found a hidden hole and disappeared.

...

In the early morning, sounds of people speaking with bucket clapping broke the silence. The street was already livened up.

Lucien, who used to hate getting out of bed in the morning, forced himself to get up as soon as he woke up. He lighted the stove and boiled some hot water. While nibbling his last loaf of brown bread which felt like chewing a piece of wood, Lucien started planning his day.

This world was still unfamiliar to Lucien, thus his plan was difficult to accomplish. He first decided to find a job to feed himself before learning how to read.

"I gotta be careful. Cannot let anyone notice." Lucien talked to himself.

Before he left, Lucien grabbed his seven coins to feel a little bit more secure. He locked the door and went directly to auntie Alisa's place, who was the only one he knew there.

"Morning, Lucien." A girl with black hair greeted him on the streets, filled with curiosity.

Lucien did not know her. Hurriedly, he made a smile and replied, "Hey. I'm gonna visit aunty Alisa, sorry but I'm running late." And the he quickly passed her by.

"Hi Lucien, did you really face the ghost?"

"How did you feel when you cast the spell?"

"I heard a guard lost his right arm. It was very dangerous last night, wasn't it?"

It seemed that Lucien had become famous in the district overnight. Within three minutes' walking, a few neighbors came and asked about his adventure.

Lucien knew none of them. He could only smile and head towards his destination.

Before Lucien knocked the door, he heard a familiar voice. "Little Evans! Good morning!" Joel was walking towards him.

"Good morning, uncle Joel!" It was such a relief for Lucien.

Dressing neatly, Joel was holding a classic harp. "Did you have breakfast? Don't be in a rush to find a work until you're fully recovered. You can always eat here. Don't worry."

Lucien appreciated his kindness so much. He started feeling he was not alone here. "Thank you, uncle Joel, but, I had my breakfast already. And… I got blessed by pastor Benjamin last night. So, now I'm completely fine."

Joel nodded and walked with Lucien side by side. "Later you could go and find Cohn at Copper Coronet. He still owes me a bottle of Lesse wine. He will introduce a good job for you."

Then he turned his face towards Lucien and said in a serious voice. "Evans, you're already seventeen. It's time you started thinking about your future."

"Uncle Joel?" Lucien knew he was saying the truth.

Joel sighed slightly. "No one can make a living with only doing labor all the time. You know it. I've seen a few old labor guys with no saving and no children to rely on in their last days. All of them died in their fifties or even forties."

He paused a little bit and continued. "I know learning will take a long time. But if you're willing to work hard, you can always support yourself with a skill."

During their conversation, they walked through a gate where two guards were standing on both sides. Lucien's eyes suddenly lit up: Broad and clean streets, busy stores, and pedestrians wearing colorful and fancy clothes. Music was wafting in the soft wind. It was a different world compared with the poor Aderon district.

Lucien thanked Joel sincerely.

Joel started joking again. "Besides, sometimes a master only has a single daughter. Who knows, maybe, you can be promoted directly from an apprentice to the future owner. You know, a nice-looking promising young fellow is always in demand."

Lucien replied with an awkward smile.

Joel finally stopped around a corner. He placed a hat on the ground and got ready to play his harp.

Lucien was a little bit surprised to find that uncle Joel was a street artist.

Joel pointed to the luxurious and magnificent palace in the distance and smiled. "That is the Hall of Chant. For me, I feel like I'm playing music in the hall."

Before Lucien said anything, Joel continued murmuring as if something inside of his heart was triggered. "Four hundred years ago, guided by the Holy Heilz Empire, the church marched towards the west. Finally, they occupied the last central city of the old Sylvanas Magic Empire, Aalto. The army drove the dark creatures and demons away into the Dark Mountain Range. Since then, Aalto has always been one of the most famous cities across the whole continent.

"Three hundred years ago, under the guidance of the Pope Charles I, who was still a cardinal at that time, lots of famous scholars and artists studied and edited together the hymns and poems of past ages. After he became the pope, he promoted the singing style in every church and started regular choirs. Since then, Aalto has been enjoying the reputation of 'City of Psalms'.

"Because we are close to the Dark Mountain Range, elves, dwarves and dog-headed men, or say, cynocephalus, often came in contact with us and some even became members of our duchy. Different kinds of music were mixed in Aalto and the polyphonic music was born here. Then followed formal symphony, gesu violin, etc.

"Countless artists and musicians inscribed their names on the pages of history. Playing inside the Hall of Chant is a great honor for every musician and bard.

"Although I cannot get in there, it's also a pleasure for me to play my harp here."

...

After parting from Joel, Lucien took Joel's suggestion and started heading towards Copper Coronet. While asking the way, he was enjoying the wonderful music in the wind. As soon as he returned back to Aderon, he saw a busy pub with a coronet board hanging there.

Outside of the pub, from time to time, young girls and women could come and glance into it and then leave with disappointment.

Chapter 9: A Tough Start

Translator: winniethepooh, Kris_Liu Editor: Vermillion

It was interesting and confusing for Lucien. The morning was obviously not busy hours for a pub.

A slender blonde girl was peeking inside from the pub door. Then, she sighed and was about to leave, but was surprised to notice Lucien standing there, waiting for her to get out of the way.

"Oh! Lucien!" She exclaimed.

Lucien was already used to the situation. He smiled and greeted, "Morning! What're you doing here?"

The girl's tanned cheeks suddenly flushed, "I… I am just on my way. I heard there's a new bard here today in the pub…so…Anyway, I gotta go, Lucien."

Before Lucien said his goodbye, the young girl rushed away with her cheeks red. Lucien guessed the bard she mentioned should be very attractive.

However, it had nothing to do with Lucien. He was here to work. He gently pushed the door and stepped inside the pub.

Lucien's first impression towards the pub was not very good: a dusky space, with a strong alcohol smell and messy tables and chairs. It took his eye a while to get accustomed to the dark environment.

Several drunkards were woken by the noise. They emitted a few curses and went back to sleep on the tables. There was an hooked-nosed man in a tight black coat, probably in his thirties, sitting on a bar stool and was sipping his amber-coloured wine. Without saying anything he glimpsed at Lucien.

Lucien looked around. Soon, he found a dwarf snoring loudly behind the counter. He was sitting on a high bar chair with his round head leaning against the wall. His shining saliva was dropping on his blonde beard which was tied into a bow.

Knowing the dwarf would not wake up by himself, Lucien knocked on the counter loudly with his fingers.

The drunkards started swearing in the background. The old dwarf slowly woke up with sleepy eyes, "Oh, my Lucien! Finally, you're a grown-up now! Finally, you understand the wonderfulness of wine! Cheers! For our new customer…"

"It's already morning, uncle… Cohn." Lucien was hesitant about how to call the pub owner.

Cohn rubbed his eyes and looked around, "I'm not drunk… Don't lie to me. What a wonderful night!"

After quite a while, Cohn finally sobered up. When Lucien asked about the jobs, Cohn made a slightly pained look and said, "Um… I don't have really good ones now. All I got are some odd jobs. 9 o'clock tomorrow morning… Let me see. Three Fells for carrying stuff from the grocery to the gate zone. But you know, you have to give one Fell to the gangsters there at the end of the day. Then… all you can get from the work is two Fells, only enough for buying an old brown bread.

"Another thing… yes, here. The Musician Association's gonna do a cleaning today. You can rent a cart and help them with the garbage. You can get eight Fells after the rent. But also… three Fells to the bastards."

"There is something else too… No, I don't think you're qualified for that."

Lucien nodded, he only had seven Fells with himself. He did not really have many choices. Working for the association was the best one.

"Cohn, do you have jobs with better payment?" Lucien asked again with curiosity.

Cohn laughed loudly, "Yes, for sure, my boy. But those are for real men, as they require strength and courage, not for a young boy. You don't even know how to drink."

Then, he lowered his voice. "I've seen so many people setting off towards the Dark Mountain Range from my bar. They were mercenaries and experienced adventurers. But, very, very few of them came back alive." Cohn belched and continued, "Of course they all made a big fortune, though.

"Don't underestimate them. Many of them were High-Level Knights." A gentle but attractive voice came from behind Lucien. His tone was lifted slightly in the end, sounding elegant and seductive.

Lucien turned around and saw a silver-haired man walking towards them from one of the pub's rooms. He was wearing slim pants and a red jacket, covered with a black high-collared coat. Those formal clothes looked amazingly casual but elegant on him. He had quite refined features: silver eyes, tall and straight nose, thin lips…The man almost looked like a charming elf with his silky silver hair, like a full moon at night.

Holding a harp in his hand, the man picked a bar chair and sat down.

"Hey, Rhine! Want a drink?" Cohn grabbed a glass.

"Thanks, but I only drink at night." He smiled. "Peace has been prevailing on the continent for almost three hundred years. There are more knights than people need. The Duchy of Orvarit, the closest duchy to the Dark Mountain Range, is full of myths and mysterious treasures. Many new and honored knights come here to seek credits, honor, and fortune."

He fiddled with the harp and continued, "Besides, some of them were broken knights, some of them were convicted, some of them were travelers, while some of them were dark knights who were not admitted by the church."

Cohn was a little bit unhappy with Rhine's rejection. He murmured, "Lucien, this is Rhine Carendia. As a bard, he travelled a lot. And he just got away from the passionate Tria ladies in the Kingdom of Syracuse."

"The Kingdom of Syracuse?" Lucien asked.

Cohn burst out laughing. His long, blond beard swayed with his laughter. With an ambiguous smile on his wrinkled face, he replied. "Yes, The Syracuse. A passionate, romantic nation where love is the top priority."

A drunkard joined them when they started talking about Syracuse. He loudly burped, and asked with eagerness, "Rhine, the la… ladies and madams… there, there in Tria, were they really that beautiful… and… hot?"

Rhine smiled casually and answered with his unique tone, "Yes, they were. Their eyes were like morning stars, hair like silk, lips like roses, and their fair skin like milk. I can still remember the perfumes they wore and their wet, warm breaths. A few ladies and duchess even invited me to their secret manors…"

The drunkard cut in with excitement, "Did you go then?"

Lucien knew the most common topic within men was women. While he was listening, he was also thinking about his learning how to read.

Rhine, with the same smile, answered, "I told them I did not like dirty things that had been used by someone else. I love beautiful, clean, and pure lives, no matter men or women. They're the tastiest things in the world."

"Bullshit, Rhine. There was no way you dared to speak to them like that."

"Right, if you had answered like this, you would be in the famous jail in Tria by now! Come on, Rhine!"

"Those ladies, many of them could compete with the knights. Dare you!"

Rhine shrugged his shoulders slightly facing Cohn and the drunkard's laughter, "That's why I'm here now, not in Syracuse."

Pounding the counter, Cohn was laughing so hard that he almost got choked. Drunkards there were all wakened up by his pounding, looking angry but confused, "Such… such a good story from our beloved Rhine!" Cohn's face turned red, "Cheers! For the wonderful story!"

All the drunkards knew was ale. They pushed their ways to the counter to grab the free drink.

"Cheers! For… Rhine, the blowhard!"

"The blowhard!" They laughed and shouted.

A while later, when the pub finally quieted down again, Cohn was very surprised to find that Lucien was still there.

"What else? My boy?" Cohn asked.

"Um… yes. I've got a new idea. I… I'm thinking about…learning how to read."

"Ah? Read?" Now Cohn was even more surprised, "You talked with Rhine? You two are dreamers."

Several guys in the bar started heckling.

"Wooo… What a magnificent, glorious dream for our brave little pauper!"

While some showed their support, "Lucien, good for you! Dreams make a real man!"

Cohn laughed with them for a while and then turned to Lucien, "Two years, Lucien. It'll take you at least two years to learn how to read. You'll start from scratch. Do you have any idea how much money and effort it will cost you?"

Lucien looked into his eye, nodded firmly, "I understand. So many people tell me I'm too old for this or that. But Cohn, as people said, better late than never. If I don't make up my mind, there will never be a start."

As a university student in his original world, Lucien was confident that, with the all the knowledge he mastered before, he would be able to understand the language rules and start reading very soon.

Twirling his big beard, Cohn nodded, "I see… You're too old to enter the church school… that's for sure. Then… There are two ways: either you become an apprentice for ten years, or you pay for a teacher. But, the first way… you know, it depends on whose apprentice you want to be. I don't see the necessity for a blacksmith to learn reading. They won't pay you for that. If you can afford a teacher… it will be five Nars a month. Five silver coins! And the price is same in the whole city."

Lucien did not want to become an apprentice. Ten years was too long, but he also had to make sure no one would possibly find out that he was trying to learn magic. Being an apprentice meant he had to live in his master's place. That would not be good.

"Five Nars. It's probably gonna take you half year to save five Nars if you work from day to night and eat the cheapest brown bread."

"And how much can you learn within a month?" Cohn added, "Are you still going?"

Lucien answered firmly, "Yes, I am."

A hundred Fells equaled to one Nar. It was a tough start. But still possible.