Thirsty, sweltering, and weary...
Under the influence of a strong sense of discomfort, Lynn slowly opened his eyes.
What met his gaze was a ceiling covered in cobwebs, and the unfamiliar surroundings further bewildered Lynn's dazed mind.
This was a room of less than thirty square meters, probably in a state of disrepair due to its age. The wooden walls around him appeared decrepit, with a dusty and ant-eaten frame.
The interior of the room was equally chaotic, with various odds and ends strewn about, and a heap of garbage in the corners. On the ground, there were dozens of unbound pages, leaving only a narrow path to navigate.
Where am I? Could it be that I've been kidnapped?
Lynn rubbed his somewhat dizzy head and struggled to sit up, mentally preparing for the worst.
He was certain that this place was nowhere he recognized, and Lynn had to brace himself for the possibility that he had likely been kidnapped.
"071, show me my current location!" Lynn instinctively inquired in his mind, but after several seconds, he received no response.
Is even the auxiliary intelligence blocked?
Lynn's heart sank, and he subconsciously rolled out of bed to search for an escape plan. It was then that he unexpectedly discovered a sharp dagger placed at the head of his bed, with a crumpled parchment scroll in his right hand.
Lynn instinctively gripped the dagger, finally feeling a bit more secure. After some hesitation, he opened the crumpled parchment scroll, which was covered in intricate symbols and strange markings. What puzzled him even more was that he could understand the writing on the parchment!
[Time is running out. The priests of the Inquisition have discovered our trail. Meet at the agreed-upon location i.e. Ur Town at Moonrise. Bring seventeen Sekas copper coins and follow the markings. Please be cautious—Jenny.]
At the moment Lynn understood the text, an inexplicable sense of fear suddenly welled up, and memories began to surface in his mind.
[
At a spacious square, a frenzied crowd gathered, their expressions fanatical and excited, shouting something unintelligible.
In the center of the square, there stood a massive platform and a bishop in a white silk robe stood before it, raising a staff high above his head as the crowd's frenzied cheers echoed.
The next moment, crimson flames leaped high into the sky, and Lynn could vaguely see several figures struggling and writhing in the fire. The agonizing cries were deafening...]
What is this? Is this a movie?
The gruesome images that surfaced in Lynn's mind sent shivers down his spine.
Why do I have these inexplicable memories? And who is this Jonny mentioned at the end of the letter?
Suddenly, as if realizing something, Lynn hurried over to a large water basin in the room, gazing at the reflection on the water's surface. His trembling fingers created ripples on the water's surface, but Lynn could still see his own appearance clearly.
He was a young man, around eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a tattered burlap robe with patches. His figure appeared somewhat slender, his pale face covered in dust, and his unruly brown short hair was messy. His jet-black eyes were filled with fear...
Could it be that I've been transported to another world?
Lynn took in a deep breath, and the notion of crossing over hit him, albeit absurdly. However, he couldn't find any other explanation.
Even though, before his crossing, the Federation had made significant progress in brain domain development and neuronal research and brain chip transplantation technology was well-advanced, the idea of transferring one's consciousness into another body for rebirth was purely a fantastical concept.
He also couldn't fathom why anyone would go through such trouble to deceive him.
As he realized this, Lynn had no more room for wishful thinking. He sat down on the ground, his mind filled with astonishment, and a flood of complex memories surged back to him.
After spending half an hour sorting through the sudden influx of memories, Lynn finally managed to grasp his current situation.
He had crossed over to a place that resembled medieval Europe, a world of multiple kingdoms constantly at odds with each other. The most powerful of these kingdoms was the Sekas Empire, where Lynn currently found himself.
Above the earthly monarchy, there existed an institution known as the Inquisition, devoted to the worship of a deity called "Aila," a monotheistic faith based on divine creationism.
Apart from spreading their faith and convincing people, the Inquisition had another important agenda—hunting wizards!
What made Lynn particularly uneasy was that the youth he had seemingly become was, in fact, an apprentice wizard.
No, to be precise, he was a wanted wizard apprentice!
Lynn stared at the crumpled parchment in his hand, feeling rather distressed. What was all of this? Crossing over to this world was one thing, but not receiving any proper treatment, and being on the run from the very beginning, it was as if he could end up on a burning stake any day now.
Looking back, his previous self was quite reckless.
He was originally a bastard son of a certain viscount within the Sekas Empire, known as Karl Stedlan.
Although he wasn't particularly well-regarded in his daily life, he had, at the very least, never worried about food and clothing. In this chaotic world of constant warfare among the various nations, having enough to eat and clothes to wear was already a form of happiness!
With his noble lineage, relatively stable environment, and knowledge from his otherworldly experiences, he believed that within a few years, he could rise to power and perhaps even spark an industrial revolution that would overthrow the Church.
But unfortunately, this guy got conned by a wizard named Kora. Instead of enjoying a comfortable life, he ended up becoming the other's apprentice, forced to run around, with no stable source of income.
Just four days ago, his mentor, Kora, attempted to kidnap the Duke's daughter, but this time, they didn't manage to deceive her. The next day, the Inquisition received a tip-off, and they apprehended Kora before he could escape.
Upon receiving this information, Karl went into hiding in this secret hideout, living in constant fear and anxiety.
During these six months of following his mentor, Karl had witnessed wizard apprentices being burned alive at the stake. Karl feared that the priests from the Inquisition would suddenly storm in and capture him, so Karl spent several days without sleep. In the end, in a state of despair and fear, Karl lost consciousness and he woke up in his current situation.
"This is troublesome..." Lynn murmured, remembering the circumstances. He even contemplated whether it was better to betray his mentor and testify against him since he knew the names and appearances of the other six apprentices who hadn't been caught yet. Perhaps pretending to convert to the Church would be a way out.
But after some thought, Lynn firmly pushed aside these dark thoughts. He couldn't trust those individuals who propagated their faith day in and day out, eager to capture and burn all wizards. Even if he voluntarily surrendered, there was a good chance he would be subjected to interrogation.
Betraying his comrades was not an option...
He wasn't that kind of person!
Setting aside these unrealistic fantasies, Lynn calmed down and focused on planning how to escape the Inquisition's pursuit.
In a world without cameras, relying on disguises for covert escape might be a good approach. Once he left the Duke's territory, it would be extremely difficult for the Inquisition to capture him again.
Fortunately, his original self seemed to have received some training in swordsmanship. A few years ago, he had garnered his viscount father's attention when he single-handedly dealt with several bandits who were raiding their territory.
Of course, this depended on him keeping a low profile and not openly revealing his magical knowledge, to avoid attracting the Inquisition's attention...
.
.
Wait a minute... Magic?
Lynn suddenly paused, then concentrated, searching his memory continually. Subsequently, his expression became increasingly perplexed.
Because he realized that, according to his memories, he appeared to possess magical abilities!
This wasn't some common sleight of hand or cheap tricks to deceive people...
It was real magic!