Sitting on a wooden chair was a young man with slightly curly, grey-white hair and a face carved with sharp, rugged features.
He stared intently at the glass bead in his hand, muttering to himself:
"This is wicked. What on earth is this thing actually used for?"
The young man's original name was Shi Lu. He had woken up in this world—the so-called Continent of Enze—exactly one week ago.
In the beginning, he had high hopes. He thought that in this world of magic, he would be born with heaven-defying talent, cultivate at the speed of light, become a Grand Magister, marry a rich, white, and beautiful waifu (Bai Fu Mei), and reach the absolute pinnacle of life!
Just thinking about it back then got him a little excited.
However, he soon realized he was being way too naive.
His name now was Carion, age twenty, a Junior Teacher at the Palos Magic School.
Although he held the title of Magic Teacher, he couldn't cast a lick of magic. The only reason he held the post was his rich theoretical knowledge, making him suitable for babysitting fresh apprentices.
A week ago, the original Carion had collapsed under immense stress and passed away.
When the body woke up again, Shi Lu was in control.
The two consciousnesses had merged, allowing Shi Lu to accept the identity of Carion.
While transmigration was an incredible, mind-bending event, a week had passed, and he had adapted to his new life.
The only thing depressing him was the reality check: without any magical talent, his hopes of becoming a powerful Magister were basically zero.
How was he supposed to dominate this magical world like a proper protagonist?
Was he supposed to go mine rocks and start an industrial revolution or something?
Aside from his lack of mana, there was one other thing bothering Carion: the glass bead currently in his hand.
Before transmigrating to Enze, he had found this bead in the warehouse of his new house back on Earth.
At the time, he had held it up to refract the sunlight outside the window. A blinding white light had knocked him out cold.
When he woke up, he was Carion.
And this bead? It was still on him.
Naturally, he suspected this bead was the culprit behind his transmigration.
His gamer intuition told him this bead was the legendary "Golden Finger"—his Cheat Item.
The problem was, he had been fiddling with it for a whole week and hadn't found a single function. It was just a glass marble.
Just as he was brooding over his useless cheat, a deep, raspy voice drifted up from outside the courtyard.
"Carion!"
Peeking over the ledge, Carion saw an old man in black mage robes standing at the gate.
He recognized him immediately: Ellison, the Dean of Academic Affairs at Palos Magic School.
Carion quickly descended the stairs, smoothing out his messy gray curls as he went.
Reaching the first floor, he opened the worn-out courtyard gate.
"Elder Ellison, please, come in," Carion gestured politely.
Ellison, clutching a magic staff, shook his head. "I won't be coming in. I'm here to ask about the matter we discussed last time. Have you considered it?"
Hearing this, Carion suddenly put on a mask of deep grief.
"Oh, my dear Elder Ellison, please forgive my bluntness, but closing down Red Leaf Academy is simply too hard to accept! This news is even more terrible than the pies Grandma Susan next door bakes!"
"Speak human!"
Ellison's wrinkles deepened into a grimace of disgust. Where did this kid learn to talk in such a flamboyant way? And who the hell is Grandma Susan?
"No!" Carion's face flipped instantly from grief to determination. "You'd have to beat me to death before I let you shut down Red Leaf Academy."
Red Leaf Academy was a branch of the Palos Magic School. However, in recent years, talent had withered, and enrollment had plummeted.
To make matters worse, three months ago, the Dean of Red Leaf Academy went missing while on a high-risk mission.
The school's higher-ups were certain he was dead. Consequently, they decided to dissolve Red Leaf Academy and transfer the remaining teachers and students elsewhere.
But the original Carion couldn't accept that. He had grown up in Red Leaf Academy. Closing it meant losing his home.
It was the pressure of this very situation that had crushed the original Carion, allowing Shi Lu to take over.
"Stop being stubborn!" Ellison glared, his voice rising in anger.
"The other three teachers of Red Leaf have already transferred. You are the only one left—a Junior Teacher at that! What can you possibly teach?
"This estate is not your private territory; it is the school's resource.
"The school cannot possibly waste such a vast tract of land and resources on an academy with no hope."
Although the soul inside was now Shi Lu, having merged with the original memories, he shared the emotional attachment. He wouldn't allow the academy to fold so easily.
bracing himself, Carion replied, "Elder Ellison, that's being unreasonable. Our Dean is merely missing. You can't just hastily destroy the life's work he spent years building!"
"That same line again!" Elder Ellison was clearly displeased.
"How many times must I tell you? Ferns was on a highly classified, high-danger mission. The probability of survival is effectively zero."
Ferns was the name of the Red Leaf Dean.
"And even if Ferns were alive, so what? Red Leaf Academy was already on the brink of collapse.
"Don't forget the school regulations: if a branch academy ranks at the bottom of the comprehensive graduation assessment five times in a row, it is deemed to have 'no development prospects' and faces closure and restructuring.
"And your Red Leaf Academy has had tragic results for four consecutive years!"
Even with the facts laid bare, Carion refused to compromise. "Then we still have one chance left, don't we? If you want to close us down, it shouldn't be now!"
"You...!"
Ellison looked like he wanted to smack Carion over the head with his staff. He fumed, "What is the point of stalling? Do you really think that with just you, a Junior Teacher, and the leftover students, you can achieve anything in the graduation assessment? Stop delusional dreaming!"
Taking a deep breath, Ellison added, "Among the remaining students, only that child, Mia, has any talent. There are three months left before the assessment. Close Red Leaf now and let Mia transfer.
"That way, she can at least access better resources for these final three months, increasing her chances of passing the exam."
"This..."
On this point, Carion wavered.
Mia was a student at Red Leaf. Talent-wise, she would be considered top-tier in any other academy.
But Red Leaf lacked resources, stifling her growth. If she transferred, her chances would indeed skyrocket.
"I'm not going anywhere!" A crisp shout rang out from inside the yard.
A blonde girl, clothes soaked in sweat, stood not far away. Her lake-blue eyes were filled with stubborn determination. "I am staying at Red Leaf Academy. I won't go anywhere else!"
This fifteen-year-old girl was Mia. She had been on her morning run inside the grounds and had overheard the conversation.
Carion fell silent. He understood Mia's feelings.
Most of the students still willing to stay at Red Leaf were orphans adopted by the old Dean. They treated this place as their home.
With the old Dean missing, asking Mia to abandon her crumbling family to run off to another academy was something she could never accept.
Elder Ellison, however, didn't see it that way. He slammed the butt of his staff against the ground and scolded Mia, "Do you know what you are saying? You are already fifteen! If you fail the assessment this time, you will lose your chance to become a formal Mage forever!"
"I can pass the assessment right here at Red Leaf!"
Throwing those words behind her, Mia turned and continued her run.
"You! Stand still!" Ellison shouted at her back.
Afraid the old man might have a stroke, Carion quickly supported him. "Elder, calm down, let's not get excited. I will do the ideological work on her. I'll talk to her."
Ellison turned, blowing into his beard and glaring. "What use is talking? She obviously just can't bear to leave this place.
"Only by closing this place down and crushing that hope will she obediently transfer.
"Carion, stop hesitating. You simply cannot ruin Mia's future!"
With a head the size of a cow (a massive headache), Carion could only nod. "I know, I know. Let me think about it..."
But his vague answer only fueled Ellison's anger, leading to a harsher lecture.
Technically, Red Leaf existed in name only. It wouldn't be hard for the main school to reclaim it.
However, the branch academies of Palos were originally built on land donated by their respective Deans. The rules granted each academy autonomy.
With the Dean gone, the highest-ranking teacher called the shots.
So, as long as Carion—the sole remaining teacher—didn't forfeit Red Leaf, it couldn't be officially shut down yet.
After a full twenty minutes of scolding, seeing that Carion still wouldn't give a definitive answer, Ellison left in disappointment.
Before leaving, however, he handed a small piece of Magic Crystal to Carion, instructing him to give it to Mia.
Watching Ellison's retreating back, Carion sighed heavily.
This mess was just too hard to clean up.
Looking down at the Magic Crystal in his hand, Carion knew Elder Ellison didn't hold a grudge against Red Leaf; he genuinely cared for Mia.
The girl had excellent talent. Anywhere else, she would have likely qualified as a formal Mage long ago and moved on to advanced studies.
But here? No teachers, no medicinal resources, no good equipment.
This had caused Mia to fail the assessment three times in a row.
If she failed this year, she would age out.
That was why Carion was distressed. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Dejectedly closing the courtyard door, Carion shoved the Magic Crystal into his pocket.
But the moment he did, he felt a scorching heat radiate from his pocket.
He frantically pulled everything out, only to discover that the glass bead—the culprit of his transmigration—was actually absorbing the magic elements from the crystal!
In just a few seconds, the cyan Magic Crystal turned dull grey.
Ah, ah, no! That was a gift from Elder Ellison for Mia! Why the hell did you eat it?!
Just as Carion was panicking, a cold, mechanical voice resonated directly in his mind:
[Please set coordinates.]
The voice wasn't speaking the language of the Enze Continent. It was speaking Carion's native tongue: Chinese.
"Ha?"
Carion was confused. He subconsciously asked, "What coordinates?"
No response.
"That's weird... What coordinates? You need to speak clearly, this is all luan qi ba zao (a total mess/nonsense)."
The moment Carion finished speaking, the voice in his brain rang out again.
[Coordinates recorded: 67, 89.]
[Initiating Teleportation.]
Carion was completely dumbfounded. Where did 67 and 89 come from?
Good lord... did it just hear 'Luan Qi Ba Zao' (Messy) as '67, 89' (Liu Qi Ba Jiu)?!
This recognition ability...
I don't have an accent, dammit!
You bastard bead, you definitely have hearing problems!!!
Before Carion could finish his internal rant, he felt a tearing sensation rip through his body.
In the next second, he vanished from the courtyard.