On the vast green Greendale Woods, eastern of the Gratle City.

A young skinny boy wanders through the forest, with a rugged sack on his back and a poor-made basket in his hand filled with varieties of herbal plants.

Judging from his ragged clothing, it can be concluded that he was only at most, a mediocre commoner.

This boy’s name is Lin Shen, as for what he was doing.

He was currently harvesting herbs to sell and feed himself by the day.

This life of him was the basic example of an ant worker in the hierarchy, daily working despite being a kid, but unexpectedly his life was more miserable than the others, due to a group of bandit’s raid, his life was forced to undergo the brutal reality of this world.

On that single event.

His innocence shattered like a broken glass.

All of his family died.

Got sold to slavery for three years, until the slave merchant himself died from a monster attack on the way to the forest, but in the end.

Misfortune still became a part of his life, following his arrival in the city, he suffered through deceptions of the others, leaving him working with hardship for a tiny money sometimes without even a single copper.

A commoner or cultivator, in the end as a human being their viciousness is just the same.

With no one to rely on, he slowly grew devoid of warmth.

He wouldn’t strike any conversation as long as it wasn’t necessary.

Even his words were already short when he talked.

He didn’t even think nor do things like a kid should.

Playing with friends as they chase each other.

Thinking about what they should play tomorrow.

Happily chatting with their family as they talk about what happened today.

Shyly glancing or blatantly showing off to their crush, as they spent time with him or her.

Sleeping in a house with a roof and a warm blanket.

But, instead...

he was busily harvesting herbs in the forest.

Thinking about where should he harvest herbs tomorrow.

Deciding to eat only once some days.

Finding branches to get over every night outside the city, in his self-made tent.

Saving money to stay at an inn during the winter.

Commonly children could’ve strayed from the right path, just by living by themselves, in desperation they would try to pickpocket or deceive others, but this just showed how upright he was raised and mostly a part of it was just his stubborn detestation to become what he hated.

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After finishing his herb gathering, Lin Shen was on his way back to the city.

He was already on the border of the forest and only a small distance to the city when the earth shook like it was turned over.

“!?”

The world vibrated like a force sent it moving, even the sun seemed to be getting closer or farther.

Lin Shen who was tumbling on the ground for a couple of seconds, looked at the vast blue sky that had it's cloud dispersed.

A seemingly glowing light is gently approaching the land, thankfully it wasn’t moving towards their place. 

But ironically, when Lin Shen was about to stand, a light faster than it can be seen landed on him.

“AAAAHHH!”

Feeling an intense pain on his body he screamed in agony.

Despite not having a single wound on his skinny body, the pain felt like it was grinding his insides, his mind and whole body being slashed apart then mended again and again.

Like someone who was possessed, an intimidating look replaced his silent demeanor.

Saliva dripped from his mouth like a wild beast, the veins in his body bulged out.

Sweats covered his body in buckets.

His screams echoed in the whole area.

Along with the tearing pain inside him, the mystical light surrounding him seemed to be being absorbed by his body.

If anyone had seen it no doubt they would be terrified because of what was happening to him.

Meanwhile, the subject himself aside from the excruciating pain was experiencing a weird thing.

Surreal-like images would randomly show on his mind.

The first time he could see a boy who was performing something unimaginable.

His hands could conjure something out of nothing.

It would either cause destruction, creation or alteration.

It was simply out of this world.

On the other part, the boy grew up.

His whole existence focused on the martial ways.

Unarmed, One-handed, or Two-handed, even Dual-wielding weapons.

His proficiency on all of it was unparalleled.

With his formidable battle experience.

No one could even match him while handicapped.

Time passed by once again.

This time, the man was in an unimaginable civilization.

No mages, ferocious creatures, nor cultivators can be seen.

Only the commoners rule the world, a place away from your daily dangerous days.

Their knowledge was far sophisticated, improvised with a logic that broke his current understandings but, eventually the man got the grasp of how their knowledge works, that it even complemented both his magical and martial application.

Incidentally, the images cut off at a certain part.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

The light finally gathered within his body, but strange symbols appeared.

On his chest, a crimson dragon mark appeared.

While his right hand have a star-like one.

After the pain settled down, he inevitably fell unconscious in relief.

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(What happened to me?)

Looking around with a blurry vision, it was a total darkness.

(My hair…)

Seeing his silvery hair glowing in the dark he was a stunned.

But not only that, sooner he noticed his hand had a star-mark.

And a crimson dragon mark on his chest.

After pondering for a bit, gradually four doors appeared at his sight.

These four doors had each color and words as they glow surrealistically.

The first door colored white had a ‘Soul’ written on it.

The second had the word ‘Mind’ as it gave a blue glow.

The third had ‘Body’ with a color of red.

While the last door is blurred the written words on it is unreadable.

But after a matter of seconds, the door of the ‘soul’ vanished, leaving him with three doors to open.

After hesitating for a moment he approached the second door.

Going along with the flow, he turned the knob of the door as he gulped.

Surprisingly the moment he entered, only a floating book can be seen on a pedestal.

With intense caution, he walked towards the book.

Looking at how old looking the book’s cover is, it can be considered an ancient one with a mark the same as his right hand.

With his right hand he grasped it, but the moment he touched it, it turned into the thin light until it disappeared.

Clueless about what happened, Lin Shen probed himself for any strange thing.

But nothing came to him until he concentrated on his right hand.

(… Is this some sort of artifact?)

Glancing at the book that reappeared on his hands, he suddenly got the urge to open it.

Opening the cover of the book, a title that was written in a language he didn’t know presented.

But strangely enough, he discovered he could understand it distinctively and could even speak like it was his language.

“!@#%#...? ”

Gradually the book ignited to dust.

Along with it, strange memories was imprinted in his mind.

The existence of magic.

The first and enigmatic power of the man in the images he had seen.

Created by the diverse energy called mana.

An energy that could create miracles with just a thought.

Within the dark room, after the book ignited, he could see blue tiny lights around the whole room, boundlessly floating.

A tinge of anticipation can be seen on his supposedly dull face.

After breathing heavily he managed to calm himself down as he closed his eyes.

At that moment, the light on the surrounding slowly gathered to his head.

Feeling a breezy touch on his head, within his mind a circular object is revolving, the tiny lights are being absorbed by it like a vortex, making the circular object enlarge, and he knew this is the so-called core, the key to using magic.

As for how he knew it, the book he held actually gives those pieces of information to him, along with the basics of magic.

He even got to know what the book actually is, it was a grimoire, a legendary book that would instantly give knowledge to someone who read it.

Lin Shen who was already used to the strange things he was currently experiencing decided to welcome everything as he knew nothing's going to happen if he didn't act.

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Not long after he absorbed all the magic in the room, he returned to where he was at, before directly heading to the red door where the 'body' word was written.

But at this, he expected this has a connection to the cultivators, as he opened the door with determination.

What presented to his sight is his own current self, standing.

Pristine silver hair and cold blue eyes, even the tattoo marks on it were the same, basically, it was a perfect mirage of him, standing in a large circle around the room while executing punches in the air.

He didn't dare to approach it, he just watched it move until he found out, it was repeating at a certain part.

Deciding to get close to it, he entered the circle.

After a handful of seconds when he thought there was nothing wrong, the mirage moved, after a quickstep the mirage aimed at a specific part of his stomach with a closed-fist, which he didn't manage to interrupt because of the shock.

Thud*

With a crisp sound echoing in the silent place, his body bent like it was impaled by the mirage's fist, where he felt that the air from his stomach was blasted, his mouth opened to gasp for air.

But the mirage with the two of its arm partially raised near to its face, continued raining down a series of blows on Lin Shen's face, making him dizzy before the mirage crouched then sent him out of the circle with a vertical blow upward to his jaw.

Just from that, Lin Shen who was in pain recovered after a minute.

Seeing his mirage returning to its repetitive task, he smiled at the sudden realization.