That began to reduce the pain in his head that felt like he was being sledgehammered. Then finally, some dark light seemed to emerge, putting him into a peaceful state. Finally, Zhou Mingrui could begin. Before he could muster any thoughts, he was bombarded with knowledge.
Sequence 9 Seer, Sequence 8 Clown, Sequence 7 Magician, Sequence 6 Faceless, Sequence 5 Marionettist, Sequence 4 Bizarro Sorcerer, Sequence 3 Scholar of Yore, Sequence 2 Miracle Invoker, and Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries. Furthermore, he began to gain information on what powers these classes gave. Divination, body control, cool magical powers, shapeshifting, turning living things into marionettes, increase in powers, mythical creature form, historical void projections, wishes, reassembly, and Realm of Mysteries.
Huh? I have powers from… aghhh! Even after the first painful process, I'm still suffering from the transmigration. Huh, where did that thought come from? Zhou Mingrui quickly took a look around, realizing he had come to the correct conclusion without prior information somehow. He seemed to be in some Victorian-era-esque room with blood-red light coming from a crimson moon.
"Well, at least the room seems to fit the situation," Zhou Mingrui dryly and coldly remarked. Wait, something is wrong. This isn't my normal behavior. I feel detached? Soon, he gained memories of the person he transmigrated into.
Klein Moretti, a citizen of the Northern Continent's Loen Kingdom, Awwa County, City of Tingen. He is also a recent graduate from the Department of History at Khoy University… His father was a sergeant of the Imperial Army who had sacrificed himself during a colonial conflict with the Southern Continent. The bereavement allowance allowed Klein to study at a private language school and laid the foundation for his admission into university… His mother was a devotee of the Evernight Goddess. She passed away the year Klein passed the entrance examinations to Khoy University… He also had an elder brother and a younger sister. They stayed in a two-bedroom apartment together… Their family was not wealthy, and its situation could even be described as somewhat wanting. At present, the family was supported solely by the elder brother who worked at an import and export company as a clerk… As a history graduate, Klein grasped knowledge of the ancient Feysac language—deemed the origin of all languages in the Northern Continent—as well as the Hermes language, which often appeared in ancient mausoleums as well as text regarding sacrificial and praying rituals.
Zhou Mingrui quickly looked down and saw a notebook that he intuitively knew was in Hermes; it read, "Everyone will die, including me."
Hiss! Zhou Mingrui reeled back in pain, but at least it was significantly less than what he originally experienced. He fell back into the chair he was in and realized something important: his body wasn't fully human. But it was changing slowly into something human, the appearance of Klein Moretti. He seemed to gain the information that Klein Moretti committed suicide by shooting a bullet through his head.
Hmmmmm, why did he commit suicide? He looked around the room, but quickly realized there wasn't any light, yet he could see perfectly fine. Was this because of the powers he had? He decided, for some reason, to try to light up the gas lamp nearby. He began to remember something.
With Klein Moretti's family situation, even a kerosene lamp was a dream, much less a gas lamp. Using candles was most apt for their standing and stature. However, back when he burned the midnight oil four years ago to be admitted into Khoy University, his elder brother, Benson, felt that it was an important matter that their family's future depended upon. Therefore, he insisted on creating conducive studying conditions for Klein even if it meant taking on debt. Of course, Benson, who was literate and had worked for several years, was not a rash person who did not think of the consequences. He had quite some tricks up his sleeve. He reasoned with the landlord to 'raise the apartment's standards by installing gas pipes to improve the likelihood of rentals in the future.' The landlord was convinced and provided the money to complete the basic modifications. Then, using the convenience of working at an import and export company, he purchased a brand-new gas lamp which was nearly at cost price. In the end, all he needed was to use his savings and did not need to borrow money.
Zhou Mingrui grasped a coin and tried to turn on the lamp, but nothing happened. Then it hit him: he had to pay for light. Pay? Why should I pay for light when I can already see perfectly fine because I have powers? He grumbled to himself with vitriol that should've surprised him. Yet, he still went to the gas meter. Finally, moving the coin that was dark yellow in color and had a bronze shimmer to it. The front of the coin was engraved with a portrait of a crown-wearing man, and there was a 'l on a clump of wheat on the back. Zhou Mingrui knew that this was the most basic currency of the Loen Kingdom. It was called a copper penny. One penny's purchasing power was roughly three to four yuan before his transmigration. Such coins had other denominations such as the five pence, a halfpence, and a quarter-pence. Despite the three types, the denominations were not in small enough units. In everyday life, one had to buy several different things just to spend a single coin from time to time.
Zhou Mingrui inserted the penny, and after a bit, light blossomed. He felt something in him trying to grow, feel at ease. After a quick inspection, he saw how messy the room looked.
Speaking out loud, "I should fix this; otherwise Melissa will be scared." He used his marionettes to clean the room up. He felt something other than a Marionettist digest, Faceless? While he sent his marionettes to clean up, he began wondering something rather important. Klein Moretti released a gunshot into his temple. First, why, then how did no one hear? Also, how did Klein get a gun? He was broke. Additionally, the suicide didn't add up; it wasn't normal. The room, while messy, should've been even messier.
He more importantly wanted to know whether he could grasp the reason why he transmigrated so he could go back home. While he enjoyed transmigration novels, he didn't actually want to live in one. He began to recall that before transmigrating, he did a luck enhancement ritual. He was having a bad month and decided to do a luck ritual from a book he got. It was called 'Quintessential Divination and Arcane Arts of the Qin and Han Dynasty.' The luck ritual he did involved getting four portions of the staple food in his area and placing them in the four corners of his room. They could be placed on furniture such as tables and cupboards. Then, standing in the middle of the room, he had to take four steps in a counter-clockwise fashion to make a square. The first step required him to sincerely chant 'The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.' The second step was to silently chant, 'The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.' The third step was 'The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings,' and the fourth step was 'The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.' After the four steps were taken, he needed to close his eyes and wait five minutes in his original spot. Only then would the ritual be considered complete.
Since it did not cost him any money, he found the book, followed what was stipulated, and did it before dinner. However... nothing happened back then.
Who would have guessed that he would actually transmigrate in the middle of the night!
Transmigration!
"There is a distinct possibility that it's due to that luck enhancement ritual... Yes, I should give it a try here tomorrow. If it's really because of that, I stand a chance of transmigrating back!" Zhou Mingrui stopped flicking the revolver's cylinder and suddenly sat straight up. He even felt something stir; that said, he should!
He began carefully examining his and Klein's memories. Perhaps due to having shot himself in the temple, the memories were like broken glass. Though they seemed to be rapidly repairing themselves, likely due to his powers. Perhaps also due to his powers, he quickly realized the cause of Klein's death. He had two friends, Welch and Naya, and the company wanted to decipher a 4th Epoch notebook. He felt his intuition say it was problematic. He also felt himself remembering something gravely important! A job application! Klein needs to participate in the Tingen University's History department interview two days later… The university graduates of Loen Kingdom do not have the tradition of staying at their alma mater... His mentor had given him a recommendation letter for Tingen University and Backlund University…
Zhou Mingrui heard footsteps approaching his door.
Zhou Mingrui's mouth quirked, "Melissa sure is punctual." Due to his memories, he saw Melissa as his little sister. But, I don't have a … ah, it will be fine. Then, recalling some memories, Melissa was different from most girls. From a young age, she enjoyed things like gears, springs, and bearings. Her ambition was to be a steam mechanic. Having suffered from a lack of culture, Benson, who knew the importance of education, supported his sister's dreams just like how he supported Klein's university education. After all, Tingen Technical School was only considered secondary education. There was no need for her to attend language school or a public school for more knowledge. In July last year, fifteen-year-old Melissa passed her entrance examinations and fulfilled her dreams of becoming a student at the Tingen Technical School's Steam and Machinery department. As such, her weekly school fees rose to nine pence.
I'll need to deal with those fees. Zhou Mingrui sighed. He felt, yes, definitely Faceless begin to digest? Seriously, where was he coming up with digesting? Then he came to the quick conclusion. He was holding a gun! This was a semi-regulated item! It will scare children! He quickly sent his marionettes to hide it and used illusions to further hide it.
"Hey, Klein." Melissa yawned. She was still in the prime of her youth. Even though she didn't have much nutritious food to eat, making her face thin and slightly pale, her skin remained lustrous as it exuded the vibes of a young girl. It made Zhou Mingrui angry; why did his sister have to live like this? I need to change this Zhou Mingrui thought. But, like a masterful Faceless, he didn't let his anger show, and with memories of Klein, he acted perfectly like Klein.
He took out a silver vine-leaf pocket watch and pressed the top gently, causing its cover to flip open. It was a picture of the siblings' father. It was the most valuable item the Imperial Army sergeant left behind, but being a secondhand item, it would often malfunction from time to time in recent years even though he had gotten a watch smith to fix it. It had embarrassed Benson, who enjoyed bringing it with him to elevate his status many a time, so it was thrown away back at home in the end. It had to be said that perhaps Melissa did have talent in machinery. After grasping the principles behind the watch, she borrowed the tools from her Technical School to fiddle with the pocket watch. Recently, she even claimed to have fixed it! Zhou Mingrui looked at the watch's open cover and saw that the second hand was not moving. Subconsciously, he twisted the top dial to wind the pocket watch. However, despite winding it a few times, he did not hear the sound of taut springs. The second hand remained motionless.
"It looks like it's broken again." He looked at his sister while trying to find a topic of conversation.
Melissa shot him an expressionless glance and briskly walked over to take the pocket watch away. She stood in her spot and pulled up the button sitting atop the pocket watch. With a few simple turns, the tick-tocking of the second hand sounded. Isn't pulling the button up usually meant to adjust the time... Zhou Mingrui's expression immediately turned blank. At that moment, a bell chimed from a faraway cathedral. It chimed six times, sounding distant and ethereal. Melissa tilted her head to listen to it and pulled the button up once again. Following that, she turned it to synchronize the time.
"It's okay now," she said simply without emotion. She then pressed the top button back and handed the pocket watch back to Zhou Mingrui.
Zhou Mingrui returned a smile politely in embarrassment. Melissa gave her elder brother a piercing stare before turning to walk to the cupboard. She took her toiletries and towel before opening the door to leave. She headed for the public bathroom. Zhou Mingrui stood there thinking about the look given and pondered Klein's suicide. He also wondered whether Klein had some mental issues. The look Melissa gave, combined with his current understanding of Klein, made him question whether Klein was autistic.
Melissa returned from washing up and saw her brother's subconscious act of constantly opening and closing the pocket watch. Her gaze was once again glazed with exasperation as she said with a sweet voice, "Klein, take out all the remaining bread. Remember to buy fresh ones today. There's meat and peas too. Your interview is soon. I'll make you mutton stewed with peas."
Zhou Mingrui nodded. After eating, he commented that there was no sawdust or excessive gluten mixed in, but it was unappetizing... Of course, that was said in his thoughts. Yet Zhou Mingrui still felt weak, and while not starving, he felt something similar enough to call starving. He forced himself to swallow the bread with the tea while complaining inwardly. He also realized he could remove his ability to taste. He didn't do that. Melissa finished eating a few minutes later. After she adjusted her black hair that reached down to her vest, she looked at Zhou Mingrui and said, "Remember to buy fresh bread. All we need is eight pounds. The weather is hot, so the bread will easily spoil. Also, buy the mutton and peas. Remember to buy them!"
Indeed, she was showing concern for her dull brother. She even had to repeat it to emphasize it another time... Zhou Mingrui nodded with a smile.
"Alright."
This seriously made Zhou Mingrui question whether the original Klein was autistic. Zhou Mingrui also considered whether Klein was simply an airhead that forgets a lot.
Soon, Melissa left for classes, and Zhou Mingrui went out to complete the chore. When going out, he realized something. In the Northern Continent, a year was similarly split into twelve months. Every year, there were 365 or 366 days. A week was similarly split into seven days. The division of months resulted from astronomical observations. It made Zhou Mingrui suspect whether he was in a parallel world. As for the splitting of days, it was a result of religion. This was because the Northern Continent had seven orthodox gods—the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, the Evernight Goddess, Earth Mother, the God of Combat, and the God of Steam and Machinery.
Hmmmm, this world seems oddly similar to my world, minus the magical stuff. Do I want to do the interview? Yes, it seems important, but I want to go home? I'll just buy the ingredients for the luck enhancement ritual.
Just before truly leaving, he took out the money he intended to use. These were all the savings Benson had at the moment. It even included the living expenses for the next three days. Two of them were five-soli notes, and the remaining were one-soli notes. In the Loen Kingdom's currency system, soli was ranked second. It originated from ancient silver coins. One soli was equivalent to twelve copper pence. They had denominations of one and five soli. At the top of the currency system was the gold pound. They were also paper-based but were guaranteed by gold and pegged directly. A gold pound was equivalent to twenty soli. They had denominations of one, five, and ten gold pounds. Zhou Mingrui spread a note and caught a whiff of the faint unique ink. was the smell of money. Perhaps a result of Klein's memory fragments or his constant desire for money, Zhou Mingrui felt like he had instantly fallen in love with these notes. Look, their designs are so beautiful. It makes the stern and old-fashioned George III and his two mustaches appear especially adorable… Look, the watermark that can be seen when the note is placed against sunlight is so alluring. The exquisite design for the anti-counterfeit label makes it completely different from those fake fancy schlocks! Zhou Mingrui admired it for nearly a minute.
I should also take the gun. Klein took the gun and unconsciously used some illusions to hide it.
He quickly went to the Smyrin Bakery and bought some bread. He only responded as Klein did while staying mostly detached. Faceless was definitely digesting.
He later moved on to buy lettuce and meat.
"There's a circus performance tomorrow night?" Zhou Mingrui glanced at the fliers in the hands of others as he read their contents under his breath. Melissa would definitely like it. However, Klein needed to ask something first: how much is the entrance fee? That was the truly most important question. With that thought, Zhou Mingrui went closer. Just as he was about to ask a clown with a red and yellow painted face, a hoarse woman's voice sounded from beside him.
"Would you like to try a divination?"
Zhou Mingrui subconsciously turned his head and saw a woman wearing a pointed hat and a long black dress standing in front of a short tent. Her face was smeared with red and yellow paint, and her eyes were a profound grayish-blue.
"No," Zhou Mingrui shook his head in response. He did not have the spare cash for divination. Yet he felt something that said he should.
The woman laughed and said, "My tarot divination is very accurate."
"Tarot..." Zhou Mingrui was instantly dumbfounded. This pronunciation was almost identical to the tarot cards on Earth! And tarot cards from Earth were a set of cards used for divination. They just had graphics that represented different omens. Wait... He suddenly recalled the origins of tarot divination in this world.
Zhou Mingrui quickly realized the Roselle was a transmigrator exactly like him! He unknowingly performed divination that confirmed it.
With this in mind, Zhou Mingrui was intrigued to see what tarot cards looked like. Therefore, he nodded at the pointy hat woman with the painted face and said, "If the... well... if the price is reasonable, I'll give it a try."
The woman immediately said with a laugh, "Sir, you are the first one here today, so it's on the house."
Free, free things cost the most! But it is free. Zhou Mingrui decided that if she decided to do any funny business, he would simply use his powers.
Klein and the fortuneteller entered her tent; no, it didn't seem to be her tent. Though because of Klein's intuition, he didn't bother asking. The fortuneteller went behind a desk and prepared a deck of tarot cards. They looked exactly like what Klein had seen before his transmigration! Well, not the same, but it was close enough.
"Shuffle the cards first and cut the deck," the circus fortuneteller said in a muted voice.
"Me? Shuffle?" Zhou Mingrui asked reflexively.
The yellow and red paint on the fortune-teller's face squirmed together as she revealed a slight smile, saying, "Of course, everyone's destiny can only be unraveled by themselves. I only serve as a reader of it."
Zhou Mingrui immediately questioned her warily, "This reading does not require additional fees, right?" As a keyboard folklorist, I've already seen too many such tricks! I've unfortunately had to first fall for them, but that doesn't matter!
The fortune-teller was visibly taken aback before finally saying muffledly, "It's free."
Zhou Mingrui, relieved, stuffed the revolver further back into his pocket. Thereafter, he calmly reached out his two hands to shuffle, but quickly remembered something.
"Wait … don't I have to ask a question first?" Zhou Mingrui asked.
"Wha, oh yes," the fortune-teller stammered.
Zhou Mingrui was beginning to question whether this lady was authentic. He felt that his intuition said she wasn't authentic, but that didn't matter. It had also stated that she had potential, so while she wasn't authentic, she was better than the person she seemed to be impersonating. Taking his intuition into account, Zhou Mingrui decided to ask. He considered what he should ask and, with his intuition, settled on a popular divination.
Zhou Mingrui asked, "Past, present, future." Then proceed to shuffle the deck.
The fortune-teller reached out her fingers and picked a card from the top of the deck. Then she placed it on the left side of Zhou Mingrui. Her voice was going lower and lower as she spoke, "This card symbolizes your past." Zhou Mingrui felt it would have something to do with the cups and some specific number; he felt that it would be 6, 8, and 5 also had something to do with the past, yet didn't fully fit.
"This card symbolizes your present." The fortune-teller placed the second card right in front of Zhou Mingrui. Zhou Mingrui felt that this card was the most important and the one he needed to see the most. He felt that it was a Major Arcana card.
Then, she picked the third card and put it on the right side of Zhou Mingrui.
"This card symbolizes the future." He felt that this was a deeply important card, but not as important as the present. He guessed at multiple options: some Major, others Minor Arcana. It could be the Hanged Man, Six of Pentacles, Empress, or some cup card. Hanged Man seems to fit the best; even my intuition says this is so.
"Alright, which card would you like to see first?" The fortune-teller raised her head after completing her placement of the cards and gazed deeply at Zhou Mingrui with her grayish-blue eyes.
"I'll have a look at the 'present' first," Zhou Mingrui said after giving it some thought. It was mainly a competition between present and future. But he felt that with his intuition saying present, he should go with the present card.
The fortune-teller nodded slowly and flipped over the tarot card that was directly in front of Zhou Mingrui. A colorfully dressed character was depicted on this card, wearing splendid headgear with a stick over his shoulder. There was a bundle hanging on the end of the stick, and a puppy was following behind him. It was numbered "0."
"The Fool," the fortune-teller lightly read out the name of the card with her grayish-blue eyes affixed on Zhou Mingrui.