Kapitel 1: Chapter 1: The Art of Magic
The cramped and gloomy room was furnished with little more than two wooden beds, a rickety table threatening to collapse at any moment, two relatively intact wooden chairs, and a fireplace choked with dust and grime. The only remaining space was a narrow aisle barely wide enough to walk through.
A faint sliver of light pierced the room through a small, high window on the south wall. Illuminated by this meager light, dust motes danced freely in the air like ephemeral mayflies.
In the flickering light, a slender youth lay motionless on one of the slightly damp beds.
The youth, named Gao De in both this life and his previous, scrutinized the dust-laden room, taking in the faint smell of mildew that hung in the air.
A deathly silence enveloped the room. It felt less like a dwelling and more like a solitary confinement cell.
"You're saying I've been unconscious for almost a day?" Gao De finally broke the silence, addressing the boy who should be considered his "roommate."
"I thought you were dead! You scared me to death!" The boy who responded was incredibly thin. Even though Gao De was already on the lean side, this boy was far more emaciated, looking malnourished and small, like a child of eight or nine.
Of course, Gao De knew he was thirteen. The same age as himself. Although in his previous world, thirteen was still considered a child, here, it was already considered an adult.
Why had "he" been "unconscious" for almost a day? More precisely, how had "he" died? It must have been because of "his" death that he, Gao De, had taken over this body. A simple deduction.
Unfortunately, Gao De couldn't recall anything about "his" death. He had no memory of where he was, his current situation, or even the name of his roommate.
Fortunately, not everything was lost. The previous occupant had left him with some memories. Some things, truly important things in Gao De's eyes, were etched clearly in his mind, impossible to erase.
Perhaps for "him," the memories of this place were too painful, and thus weren't passed on during the soul's transmigration. Gao De considered this a blessing in disguise. If he had inherited all of the previous occupant's memories, who would he be? The previous occupant? Himself? Or a new personality formed from the fusion of the two?
He didn't want his personality to change. The downside was that he desperately needed to understand his current predicament.
Luckily, he didn't need to resort to careful probing. His roommate, whose name was Amy, was already speaking in a nervous and rambling manner, relieving his anxieties through words, without needing any prompting.
"I knew this day would come. Even though you, Gao De, are the only one among us who can independently concoct a basic Spider Venom Potion, Master Seda doesn't consider it much..."
Amy glanced at Gao De's impassive face and, seemingly afraid of displeasing him, stammered, "I mean, we're called apprentices, but we all know Master Seda doesn't treat us as human beings. We're just his human guinea pigs and unpaid servants."
"So, Master Seda doesn't really care about our abilities."
Hearing this, Gao De could roughly guess how he had become "unconscious." The keyword: guinea pig.
Amy continued his incessant chatter, clearly showing that Gao De's previous unconscious state had truly frightened him.
"I tell you, I even checked your breathing earlier. You weren't breathing at all, and I couldn't hear your heartbeat either. You were as dead as dead could be. To think you could wake up after that! If I didn't see you talking to me right now, I'd suspect you weren't human anymore, but an undead!"
Amy slapped his thigh, excited by his roommate's resurrection. In such a place, his companions were his only emotional support. And if Gao De had died, it would likely be his turn to be the test subject soon.
"Could it be that Master Seda's potion was successful?" Amy speculated. The possibility excited him even more. If it were true, Master Seda would be overjoyed, and their lives would surely improve. Moreover, perhaps they wouldn't need to be test subjects anymore? After all, the potion would have been successfully concocted.
Gao De, however, wasn't as optimistic as Amy. He knew the truth. The potion that Amy spoke of, concocted by Master Seda, hadn't been successful—it would be more accurate to say that it had successfully sent Amy's roommate to the afterlife.
Gao De rubbed his still-aching temples, focusing his mind and organizing his thoughts.
As a student in the mathematics department of Jingda University, a top university in his previous life, he had been pulling an all-nighter in the library, working on his graduation thesis. Overcome by exhaustion, he had rested his head on the table for a short nap.
When he woke up, he was met with billowing smoke and a sea of crimson. Boundless flames were licking towards him, giving him no chance to escape. Once a fire broke out in a place like the library, it was unstoppable. Gao De's fate was sealed.
...
People who studied mathematics were generally rational and didn't believe in metaphysics. But the undeniable truth was that his body was no longer his own, and rejuvenation was impossible. The utterly metaphysical phenomenon of transmigration had actually happened to him.
Through Amy's incessant chatter and his occasional questions, Gao De had grasped his current situation in just half a day. He was a street urchin, an orphan, taken in by Master Seda as an apprentice and brought to this herb garden. His duties included tending to the herbs, concocting potions, assisting Master Seda, and... being a human test subject.
Everyone in the herb garden, except for Master Seda, was an apprentice like Gao De and Amy. The number of apprentices was always maintained at around ten. However, it was a dynamic stability. Because every so often, Master Seda would take away an apprentice to test his newly concocted potions.
No one knew what kind of potion Master Seda was trying to create, only that he had always failed, never succeeded. And with each failure, the apprentice who served as the test subject would die on the spot, with no chance of survival.
Whenever the number of apprentices in the herb garden fell below five, Master Seda would go out and bring back a new batch of five or so apprentices, maintaining the stable number. As for the origins of the apprentices, they were mostly orphans like Gao De.
"Why not try to escape?" Gao De pondered, asking Amy as he organized his chaotic thoughts.
"Are you crazy?!" Amy exclaimed in surprise. "Have you forgotten? Master Seda branded us with a Tracking Mark. No matter where we run, he can track us down. If we don't run, we can still survive. But if we dare to escape, we'll die immediately!"
Tracking Mark...
Gao De's gaze sharpened as he fell into deep thought. If transmigration was metaphysics, then this world was even more metaphysical—this was a world where magic existed.
Yes. Magic.
The magic of this world was not the superstitious practices of fortune tellers and sorcerers, such as drawing talismans and chanting spells. It was true magic, a supernatural power that could alter things and reality in ways that defied science.
The Tracking Mark that Amy mentioned was a form of magic.
A top university graduate who had received a scientific education should have scoffed at such mystical powers that only existed in novels and movies. Deeply ingrained beliefs were not easily shattered by a few words from Amy.
The reason why Gao De so readily accepted the concept of magic was simple.
He licked his chapped lips and looked towards the fireplace.
Without any visible movement from Gao De, the clay pot hanging over the fireplace moved horizontally as if by itself. It floated to a spot above the rickety wooden table, tilted slightly, and poured hot water directly into a cup placed on the table. Then, the pot landed steadily on the table, while the cup filled with hot water levitated and moved smoothly towards Gao De.
Gao De reached out, took the cup, and took a small sip, moistening his throat, which was parched from a day of unconsciousness. Then, he released his hand, but the cup didn't fall. As if defying gravity, it remained suspended in mid-air and, at the same steady pace, floated back to the table.
Throughout the entire process, Gao De had done nothing except glance at the fireplace. Amy hadn't moved either, and there was no one else in the room.
It was as if an invisible third party, or an unseen hand, had performed this simple task, pouring Gao De a cup of water.
In Gao De's previous world, this would have been a terrifyingly supernatural event. But the two people in the room remained calm, as if accustomed to this bizarre phenomenon.
—Gao De maintained a composed exterior, but his mind was in turmoil.
The previous occupant hadn't left him any memories of daily life, but he had left behind all the knowledge he possessed, including language, his understanding of this world, and most importantly, his knowledge of magic and potion brewing.
No matter where one was, knowledge was the most valuable asset. Gao De was incredibly grateful that the previous occupant had left him with what truly mattered.
And the method he had just demonstrated was one of the two cantrips the previous occupant knew.
Mage Hand (Transmutation, 0-level):
A spectral, floating hand appears at a point you choose within range. The hand lasts for the spell's duration or until you dismiss it as an action.
If the hand is more than 30 feet away from you, or if you cast this spell again, the existing hand vanishes.
The hand can perform simple tasks such as manipulating an object, opening an unlocked door or container, stowing or retrieving an item from an open container, or pouring the contents out of a vial. It can't attack, activate magic items, or carry more than 10 pounds.
A mere cantrip, insignificant to a true mage, had brought Gao De an indescribable shock:
"Mage Hand..."
"It's not even considered a spell, just a cantrip..."
"This is a world with true power and truth..."
"The might of magic, the truth of the art, that is..."
"Magic!"
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein