After copying the last character of the Figaro Formula, Lin Yun carefully closed his magic book and left the decaying library.
The sky above was dusky and covered in deep scars. Those were cracks torn by the Netherstorm. The blood-red sun was like the final radiance of the setting sun, unscrupulously squandering its light and heat. The sinister sunlight covered every corner of the city, and at the same time, it took away the last wisp of life in the city.
The Shelter Tower in the center of the city was still operating, but the dim light it emitted reminded people of an old man past his prime. The Shelter Tower that had protected Heiss for more than three thousand years was about to reach the end of its time.
This was Noscent, a world that had once nurtured a glorious magic civilization, but was heading towards death because of the exhaustion of mana.
At the peak of Noscent, humans had truly developed magic to an unimaginable height. At that time, the mages had the power to destroy the world. They crossed the void to conquer countless planes, and countless races shivered under their magic staves.
They even claimed to be living Gods. In fact, if not for the exhaustion of mana, some of them would truly be like Gods, possessing eternal life. Because they had thoroughly understood all the secrets of magic and possessed power comparable to Gods.
Unfortunately, with the depletion of mana, everything came to an end.
Humans grew weaker day by day, and the huge mana fleet was forever docked at the port. The terrifying mana crystal cannons were no longer able to let out deafening rumbles, and the countless planes once again calmed down. They no longer had to worry about uninvited guests suddenly descending.
Even those mages that were once powerful enough to challenge Gods started falling one after another. At that time, they were alarmed to discover how powerless they were in the face of time after losing their mana. Their legendary names were engraved on tombstones before being buried in the soil along with Noscent's decline, before finally being forgotten in the long passage of time.
The only thing they left behind was the library that Lin Yun had just left. There were no less than ten thousand magic books stored there, and each one was the crystallization of their lifetime's knowledge and experience. In the era before the exhaustion of mana, it would be enough to make any mage go crazy.
But now …
They were calmly lying in the library, covered in a thick layer of dust. Apart from reminding people of Noscent's past glory, they had no other meaning.
In Lin Yun's opinion, they were not even as useful as the Figaro's Formula. At least the Figaro's Formula allowed him to extract a little more mana from the void when he was meditating. As for those profound knowledge and powerful spells, in this world where mana was completely exhausted, they could only be regarded as leisure reading material when he was bored.
'I'm really too unlucky …' Lin Yun had been in Noscent for twenty years, but he was still brooding over his luck.
Otherwise, why would he have to hunt for food in the scorching desert when they were both transmigrators? Not to mention, he might even have to die with this world that was about to be destroyed.
This was too illogical …
At the very least, it should have been another time …
For example, Noscent from ten million years ago. Although the magic civilization was far from mature at that time, and countless mages were still fumbling on the thorny path, humans weren't able to use magic to create one miracle after another like they would later on. But at the very least, Noscent's sky hadn't been torn apart by the Netherstorm, and the earth hadn't been covered by the boundless desert. Between heaven and earth, there was inexhaustible mana everywhere.
Most importantly, living in that era, he didn't have to live in nightmares of the world's destruction.
"Ah …" Lin Yun sighed and dragged his exhausted body through the deathly silent streets. There was no sound in the surroundings, as if Lin Yun was the only one left in the world.
Noscent was walking towards death step by step, and the resources humans relied on for survival were drying up with each passing day. There were fewer and fewer people living in Heiss City. If this continued, Heiss City might turn into a true dead city before the final moment arrived.
This kind of hopeless future made Lin Yun feel a chill.
'No, it's really a bit cold …' Lin Yun had lived in Heiss City for twenty years and was already used to the sinister sunlight above his head, as well as the scalding desert outside the city. This kind of cold, which he hadn't felt in twenty years, was like a viper drilling into his clothes, making Lin Yun feel a chill run down his spine.
Lin Yun raised his head to look at the sky with a fearful expression. Then, his face suddenly turned deathly pale.
Heiss City's sky was pitch-black, the endless darkness swallowing the last wisp of light between heaven and earth. The Shelter Tower, which had protected Heiss City for millennia, had finally exhausted its last bit of mana.
As that faint light was extinguished, Noscent was on the verge of ushering in its end.
The moment the light was extinguished, the Netherstorm tore through the sky and huge flaming meteors fell from the sky. Berserk energy surged, crazily tearing apart the already fragile space. Gales whistled outside Heiss City, and the earth-shattering yellow sand rose up like a monstrous wave rushing towards Heiss City.
The earth under their feet was collapsing, and the entire world was fiercely shaking. Towering buildings were collapsing, and fresh lives were disappearing.
Cries for help, prayers, screams …
Heiss City, which had been quiet for millennia, suddenly became extremely noisy. Blood and raging flames filled every corner of the city. The last city of humanity was also reaching the end of its life.
'In the end, it still came …' Lin Yun stood outside his residence, looking at everything with a wooden expression.
Then, he was swallowed by the endless darkness.
…
When Lin Yun woke up, the sky above his head had already turned azure. There were no scar-like cracks, nor was there any blood-red sunlight. The area outside the city was no longer a boundless desert.
Dense forests, continuous mountains, surging rivers, everything made this world full of boundless vitality.
Naturally, there was also mana, mana everywhere.
Compared to the end of the Magic Era countless years later, when it would be extremely difficult to extract a wisp of mana, this era's Noscent was like a shameful nouveau riche. Abundant mana was everywhere, and even the air seemed to be rippling with a strong aura of mana. Moreover, it was inexhaustible, and any mage could wantonly squander it.
To Lin Yun, who had lived at the end of the Magic Era for over twenty years, constantly thinking of ways to extract even a wisp of mana, this was a paradise he yearned for even in his dreams.
But now, Lin Yun, who had woken up in paradise, didn't have time to be happy.
Because Lin Yun discovered that he had unexpectedly occupied an unfamiliar body.
From the remnant memories in his mind, this body's original owner should have been called Mafa Merlin, a hardworking 9th Rank Magic Apprentice who had once worshipped Great Mage Seth. His father, Locke Merlin, used to run an alchemy business and was in charge of one of Thousand Sails City's seven chambers of commerce, the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce.
It seemed good, with a superior family and a promising future.
Unfortunately, this was all in the past.
Speaking of which, that Mafa Merlin was quite unlucky. He had already stepped on the threshold of a 9th Rank Magic Apprentice and was only one step away from wearing that black robe and becoming a respected true mage.
But at that time, his father, who ran an alchemy business, met with an accident.
A storm swallowed the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce's fleet, and several hundred people, including Locke Merlin, weren't spared. Their priceless goods sank in the sea.
This was a true disaster, and the entire Thousand Sails City was alarmed.
This naturally included the creditors of the Flashing Gold chamber of commerce …
The Flashing Gold chamber of commerce, one of Thousand Sails City's seven great chambers of commerce, was emptied in a single night by its creditors. Moreover, every day, the families of the victims would come to ask for compensation, weeping for their dead relatives while moving away the last of their belongings. Having lost his source of income, Mafa Merlin could no longer continue his expensive magic studies. He had no choice but to stop his path as a mage a month ago and return home to help deal with all kinds of debts.
Now, the huge house was empty, to the point that even a mouse wouldn't have the heart to enter. The last servant had secretly run away with a few dozen gold coins three days ago. Now, apart from the old butler who was loyal to his old master, there was only the transmigrated Lin Yun.
'Oh, right, there's also a contract …'
The one who had sent this contract was Locke Merlin's cousin, Fario. According to seniority, Mafa Merlin should call him uncle. When Locke Merlin was still alive, he had taken good care of this cousin of his. Not only did he receive a large amount of dividends every year, but he had also spent a lot of money and used a lot of connections to send him to the position of sheriff of Thousand Sails City. This was a truly lucrative position, and he would receive all kinds of red packets every year.
It was the same this time. Before Locke Merlin had set out to sea, he had given his cousin a share as usual. He didn't need to pay a single cent, and he would receive a huge bonus once the fleet returned.
No one had expected that they would encounter such a disaster at sea, and no one would have thought that as soon as Locke Merlin left, his beloved cousin would come knocking on their door with the contract to ask for money …
Now, this contract was placed in front of Lin Yun. The number on it wasn't that big, only eight thousand gold coins. When Locke Merlin was still alive, Mafa Merlin's magic experiment might have cost more than that.
The problem was that things weren't the same anymore …
Eight thousand gold coins was a despairing number for the current Mafa Merlin. Even if he sold everything he had, he still wouldn't be able to pay it back.
But he couldn't just not pay it back. This Uncle Fario wasn't as easy to talk to as before …
Seeing that the repayment date was getting closer and closer, the mentally and physically exhausted Mafa Merlin finally collapsed. After eating breakfast that morning, he had inexplicably fainted, and when he woke up, he had become the current Lin Yun …
'This guy is really unlucky …' After digesting the remnant memories in his mind, Lin Yun couldn't help but sigh. This guy called Mafa Merlin was really unlucky to a certain extent. It wasn't easy for a youngster with a good family background and a bright future to be cheated to this extent.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
