Chapter 1: Forced Teleportation |
The city past eleven at night still hadn't shed its clamor.
Brightly lit skyscrapers and bustling streets and alleyways all spoke to the prosperity of this place.
Yet all things in this world have two sides.
In one corner of this thriving city, the buildings were low, lights were scarce, and darkness reigned.
This was the city's slum. The people here rarely used electricity; some households didn't even have wiring.
This was a room in the slum whose door wasn't even locked. Like every other dwelling here, it looked squat, dilapidated, and dark against the night.
The gutter in front of the house reeked with a sharp, nauseating stench.
Inside the room:
Apart from a cabinet that had collapsed because its legs had rotted through, the only furniture was a bed cobbled together from steel pipes of mismatched sizes.
She was thinking: if she stood in a place like that and looked down, it would probably be a wonderful, blissful experience, wouldn't it?
She raised a hand to brush the sticky hair from her forehead, and her cracked lips curled into a sardonic smile.
As if she were truly standing atop that tower right now.
Lan Qingyou, twenty years old this year.
Five years ago she'd still had a family that, while not wealthy, kept her warm, clothed, and fed without worry.
But everything changed after a car accident five years ago killed both her parents and left her legs paralyzed.
The one who'd hit their car was a drunk rich kid. After paying compensation, he never appeared again.
And the grandmother and uncle's family she'd believed in had cared for her for five years, earned her trust, then swindled away her parents' estate and most of the settlement money before vanishing without a trace.
Finally, three days ago, a hospital caretaker conspired with her attending physician. They withdrew her remaining compensation and dumped her in this slum to die.
In the caretaker's own words: this was an abandoned room in the slum, and even if someone died here, no one would notice for a year.
For three days she hadn't eaten or drunk a thing.
It was no different from waiting to die.
"You got your wish."
With those words rasped out in a hoarse voice, Lan Qingyou slowly closed her eyes and waited for death.
But just then, two voices drifted in from outside.
"You sure this is the place? The door's not even locked?"
"Yeah. A few days ago I saw a well-dressed man and woman come out of here. They must've stashed something good inside."
"Then let's go have a look. If there's nothing worthwhile, you're going to answer for it."
With that, the two pushed the door open and walked inside.
And then Lan Qingyou saw two men, one tall and one short.
The tall one looked gaunt, his eyes darting around shiftily, giving off a sleazy air. The short one had a scar across his face and looked like the kind of man you didn't cross.
In short, neither was any kind of good person.
"This is the good stuff you were talking about?"
Smack.
After getting a clear look at what the room actually contained, the short, scar-faced man jumped up and slapped the tall one across the face.
"Well... it's still worth something, at least she could fetch a bit of money."
The tall, sleazy man tried to argue.
"Bullshit. Look at that woman's clothes — hospital issue! If she's been dumped here, she's practically dead already. The Federation Hospital pulls this crap every year. Let's go, let's go. What a damn waste of time."
Glancing at Lan Qingyou staring back at him from the bed, the scar-faced man spat in disgust, turned, and walked out.
Though she'd been scorned, Lan Qingyou didn't care.
She closed her eyes again and quietly waited for death to come.
["Following negotiations between the World Will of Planet Karim and the World Will of Blue Star, all humans on Blue Star between the ages of eighteen and fifty-five will be forcibly teleported to the Karim Continent to supplement Karim's population and reduce Blue Star's burden."]
"Holy shit! What the hell?!"
Suddenly, an emotionless mechanical voice and the shout of the short, scar-faced man rang in Lan Qingyou's ears simultaneously.
Then she felt her entire body go weightless before she landed on something soft.
A fresh, subtle fragrance unique to wood filled her nostrils.
Lan Qingyou slowly opened her eyes.
The pitch-black ceiling she could barely see before had been replaced by warm yellow lamplight, and the ceiling itself was now solid wood.
Curious, she turned her head and looked around.
The room was roughly twenty square meters, slightly rounded in shape.
Every surface — walls, ceiling, and floor — was adorned with strange patterns in deep green.
Every surface — walls, ceiling, and floor — was adorned with strange patterns in deep green.
Beneath her was a straw-padded "bed," and beside it stood a low table about fifty centimeters tall.
On the wall above the table hung a vintage lantern that cast a warm glow, its light produced by tiny yellow fireflies spinning inside.
Apart from these, the room contained only a round glass window and a firmly shut door.
'So this is the "Karim Continent" that voice mentioned?'
'Other than being a bit brighter, it's not much different from the slum. Might as well just lie here and die quietly.'
Lan Qingyou finished her assessment after a single glance around the room, then closed her eyes again.
After all, having gone three days without food or water, she simply didn't have the energy to think about anything else.
["Welcome to the Karim Continent."]
["The Karim Continent is home to all manner of magical beasts, chaotic mana currents, Mana Tides, and volatile weather — a dangerous world where even the very air is saturated with mana."]
["To survive in this perilous world, keep the following points in mind:"]
["First: A Shelter equipped with a Magic Shield is the only safe place. Upgrade your Shelter as quickly as possible — the higher the level, the stronger the protection."]
["Second: Everything depends on your own struggle and effort."]
["Third: The Magic Desk inside your Shelter has a variety of functions. Make good use of it, and it will greatly ease the burden of survival."]
["Fourth: The coming week is a protection period. No powerful wild beasts or magical creatures will actively attack you, so feel free to go out and gather supplies."]
["Fifth: Supply Boxes will spawn randomly anywhere on Planet Karim. They contain food, water, and various survival and daily necessities — but do not rely on them too heavily."]
["Sixth: The Karim Continent at night is extremely dangerous. Return to your Shelter before dark, or face the consequences."]
["Seventh: Only the person who activated a Shelter may enter it. Unless you invite someone in, there is no need to worry about intruders."]
["Eighth: To help you survive in this world, per the agreement negotiated with the Blue Star Will, the Karim World Will shall provide each of you with one basic spell, one Talent Awakening, and one E-rank tool of your choice."]
["Lastly, the distance between your Shelters may be as little as ten meters or as great as ten kilometers. Resources must be fought over. So please — survive tenaciously."]
The mechanical voice fell silent.
Magic? Talent Awakening?!
She could survive!
If she could awaken some kind of powerful talent, even with paralyzed legs she might still have a chance!
After all, magic was a wondrous thing.
What if it actually worked?
At that thought, Lan Qingyou's eyes snapped open.
Then she stared at the low table she'd dismissed moments ago, her gaze burning with intensity.
Oh wait — not a low table. A Magic Desk...
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