Dry throat, sweltering heat, exhaustion...

Under the influences of intense discomfort, Lynn slowly opened his eyes.

What came into view was a cobweb-covered ceiling, and the unfamiliar surroundings made Lynn's mind go blank for a moment.

This was a small room less than thirty square meters. Probably due to years of disrepair, the wooden walls looked very dilapidated, covered with dust and traces of insects' erosion.

The inside of the hut was also in chaos, with many miscellaneous items and garbage piled up in the corners. Dozens of uncovered books were scattered on the floor, leaving only a narrow path to walk through.

Where am I? Could it be that I was kidnapped?

Lynn rubbed his slightly dizzy head and struggled to sit up, feeling uneasy.

He was certain that this was not a place he knew, so Lynn had to prepare for the worst—there was a high probability that he had been kidnapped!

"071, display my current location!" Lynn subconsciously asked in his mind, but after several seconds, there was no response.

Even the auxiliary intelligence has been blocked?

Lynn's heart sank immediately. He instinctively turned over and got out of bed to find an escape route but unexpectedly found a sharp short sword placed at the head of the bed and a crumpled parchment in his right hand.

Lynn instinctively gripped the short sword in his hand, finally feeling a bit of security. After hesitating for a while, he opened the crumpled parchment. It was filled with complicated symbols that looked like scribbles. What puzzled him even more was that he could actually understand the writing!

[Time is running out. The priests of the Judgement Court have discovered our tracks. We will rendezvous at the agreed place in Wuer Town before the moon rises. Bring seventeen Sekas copper coins and follow the markers... Please be careful—Johnny.]

The moment he understood the text, an inexplicable fear surged up in his heart, followed by a vague memory emerging in his mind.

[In a spacious square, a noisy crowd gathered, their expressions fervent and excited, shouting something incessantly.

In the center of the square stood a giant high platform. In front of it stood a bishop in a white silk robe. Amid the crowd's fervent cheers, he raised his staff high.

The next moment, crimson flames soared into the sky, faint figures struggling desperately in the sea of fire, and painful screams echoed endlessly...]

What is this? Is it a movie shoot?

The cruel scene that emerged in his mind made Lynn shudder involuntarily.

But why are there these inexplicable memories in my brain, and who is this Johnny at the end of the letter?

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Lynn quickly rushed to the large water tank in the room and stared at the reflection in the water. His pupils immediately contracted.

His slightly trembling fingers caused ripples on the water surface, but Lynn still clearly saw his current appearance.

It was a young man about eighteen or nineteen years old, dressed in a patched burlap robe. He had a slightly slender build, a pale face covered with dirt, messy brown hair, and black eyes full of fear...

Could it be that I have transmigrated?

Lynn took a sharp breath, his heart giving rise to this absurd idea. But besides this, he couldn't find another explanation.

Though in his time before transmigration, the Federation had made significant advances in brain development and neuron research, and brain chip implantation technology was highly advanced, the idea of transferring consciousness into a second body to achieve rebirth was pure fantasy.

He also did not believe that anyone would go to such great lengths to deceive him.

Realizing this, Lynn ceased to have any hopeful thoughts. He sat down heavily on the ground. Amid the shock, a flood of complex memories surged in his mind again.

After spending half an hour sorting through these sudden memories, Lynn barely managed to understand his current situation.

He had transmigrated to a place somewhat resembling medieval Europe, a world with many nations constantly at war. The most powerful country was the Sekas Empire, where he now resided.

Above the earthly monarchies was an entity known as the Church, which worshipped a god called "Ela," a classic monotheistic religion with creationist doctrines.

Apart from spreading faith and deceiving people, another primary goal of the Church was to hunt wizards!

The particularly bad news for Lynn was that the young man he had transmigrated into seemed to be a wizard.

No, to be precise, he was an apprentice wizard who was currently wanted!

Lynn looked at the crumpled parchment in his hand with some annoyance. What a mess this all was. It was bad enough to transmigrate here without any decent treatment, already finding himself in a state of being hunted and almost burned at the stake any day.

Speaking of which, his previous self had been quite reckless.

He was the illegitimate son of a Viscount in the Sekas Empire, named Carl Sidelan.

Although he wasn't well-regarded usually, at least he didn't lack food and clothing. In this chaotic world of constant wars, having enough to eat and clothes to wear was already a blessing!

With this identity and relatively stable environment, combined with the knowledge from his previous world, he could likely thrive within a few years. Triggering an industrial revolution and overthrowing the Church wouldn't be impossible either.

But this kid was deceived by a wizard named Kro, abandoning his good life to become Kro's apprentice, constantly wandering and often going without food.

Four days ago, his mentor Kro tried to abduct the Duke's daughter but failed. The next day, the Judgement Court received the news and captured Kro before he could escape.

After hearing this news, Carl hid in this secret base, living in constant fear.

In the past six months of following his mentor Kro, Carl had witnessed wizard apprentices being burned at the stake, fearing that the priests of the Judgement Court would suddenly break in and capture him. This fear eventually led him to lose consciousness, and then Lynn transmigrated into his body.

"This is troublesome..." Lynn muttered with a headache, even considering whether to betray everyone.

Besides him, Kro had six other disciples who were probably still at large. Moreover, he knew their names and appearances, so being a turncoat might be a way out.

At worst, he could pretend to convert and repent later...

But after some thought, Lynn decisively dismissed this dark thought. He couldn't trust those who preached doctrine all day and wanted to burn all the wizards. Even if he surrendered, there was still a good chance he'd be tortured.

Selling out his companions was not an option...

He wasn't that kind of person!

Getting rid of such unrealistic fantasies, Lynn forced himself to stay calm, concentrating on how to evade the Judgement Court's pursuit.

In an ancient world without cameras, relying solely on sketches and impressions to identify criminals, disguising himself and fleeing might be a good strategy. Once out of the Duke's territory, capturing him again would become incredibly difficult.

Fortunately, his previous self seemed to have practiced some swordsmanship, gaining the Viscount father's attention a few years ago and even single-handedly dealing with a few bandits who harassed the territory.

Of course, all this was on the premise that he kept a low profile and didn't casually reveal his magical skills, lest he attract the Judgement Court's pursuit...

Wait... magic?

Lynn suddenly paused, then focused his mind, searching his memories. Gradually, his expression grew more peculiar.

Because he realized that his previous self seemed to know some magic!

These weren't the usual tricks and illusions of ancient charlatans or some random sleight of hand...

But real magic!