The First Step of Survival
Tvalier opened his eyes as he felt his consciousness settle into his new physical vessel.
He blinked, entirely on instinct.
Wait. Am I tied up?
The room was dark and spacious.
Judging by the slight echo of his breathing, the ceiling seemed quite high.
At the same time, Tvalier realized his limbs were tightly bound with thick hemp rope.
The binding was so tight he couldn't budge an inch.
Keeping his eyes closed for now, Tvalier strained his senses of hearing and smell, desperately trying to assess his situation.
Just then—
Ugh!
A splitting headache tore through his skull.
Fragmented memories began to flood his mind.
Begging on the streets in the dead of winter only to be dragged away and beaten; getting thrashed within an inch of his life for stealing a single dumpling; being kicked mercilessly by a gang of beggar boys clad in rags in a dark alleyway...
The scattered memories that surfaced were, without exception, of being beaten or running away.
Whew. It seems I've possessed the body of someone from the lowest rung of society.
The host body was roughly ten years old.
He had been an orphan, and his final memory was of begging on the streets.
Fortunately, through the boy's memories, Tvalier was able to acquire the basic language of this world.
When crossing dimensions, the only thing Tvalier had truly desired was a young body. Just that one thing.
He hadn't dared to specify other complex conditions, such as social status or physical attributes.
The more conditions you set, the higher the probability of failure.
An orphan and a beggar?
That was fine.
Having a fully intact, healthy body was already a massive success.
Of course, that's only speaking generally.
Looking at his current bound state, it was highly likely something terrible was about to happen to him soon.
But even this was acceptable. As long as his mind remained intact, he could overcome any obstacle.
Tvalier began to wiggle his fingers—the only part of his body he could currently move—and focused on expanding his sensory awareness to assess the outside situation.
Soon, faint voices drifted in from a distance.
"So, how is the state of the sacrifices?"
"Their acupoints have been sealed to keep them unconscious, Senior. There are no major issues with their health."
"Good. The grand ritual is on the verge of completion, so you must pay extra attention to the sacrifices."
"Of course."
Hearing the conversation between the two men beyond the door, Tvalier furrowed his brow.
Sacrifices? Grand ritual?
Those words boded nothing but ill.
This wasn't a matter of simply losing an arm or a leg.
Usually, a sacrifice meant offering up one's entire body, and if one was truly unlucky, even their soul could be forfeit.
I need to escape right now.
Indeed, in the room where Tvalier was confined, there were dozens of other children of similar age.
All of them lay with their eyes closed, barely breathing as if dead.
If all of them were meant to be sacrifices, the scale of this operation was truly staggering.
Are they planning to make a contract with some demon king?
He strained his ears once more to gather more information, but the men seemed to have moved away. Their voices grew too faint to make out any further details.
For now, the best he could do was surmise that the mysterious organization that had kidnapped him was far larger than he had anticipated.
Thus, Tvalier focused on what he could do immediately.
He wiggled his fingers with greater urgency, trying to create even the slightest slack in his bonds.
And then...
Snap.
Fortunately, because his possessed body was that of a mere ten-year-old child, his bones and joints were incredibly flexible. Even a tiny amount of space was enough to slip free.
Of course, it required a bit of technique, but Tvalier was highly experienced in such matters.
Whew. First, I need to get out of here.
Slip.
As he slid out of the ropes and massaged his raw, reddened wrists and ankles, Tvalier's eyes darkened slightly.
The problem is that I don't know the layout of this building.
Before his possession, this body had been kidnapped while unconscious, leaving him with absolutely no knowledge of the structure.
Even if he managed to escape this room, in the worst-case scenario, he might wander aimlessly only to be captured again.
No. I can't let that happen!
He had to think of a way.
Tvalier briefly considered waking the sleeping children, but shook his head.
If they panic and make a fuss, it will only make things worse.
The other children here might be sacrificed, but protecting his own life was his top priority.
Tvalier quietly stood up. Relying on the faint light leaking in from the hallway, he carefully felt along the walls to grasp the layout of the dark room.
In the dim light, he made his final assessment.
It's roughly twenty zhang (60 meters) in both length and width.
The room was a perfect cube.
The walls and floor were smooth, as if they had been polished with considerable care, and there was not a single window in the sealed space.
In the end, the only way out is through the front door.
He couldn't check the height of the ceiling since he couldn't reach it, but regardless, the door ahead was his sole avenue of escape.
Should I hide behind the door?
If he positioned himself in the blind spot when the door opened, he might escape immediate notice.
Tvalier racked his brain for a way to exploit the situation, but no brilliant, groundbreaking ideas came to mind.
Not being able to use magic makes this so difficult.
If he possessed his original power, he could have laughed off a crisis of this level.
But now, he was just a powerless child.
He couldn't feel even a single speck of refined mana within his body.
Given time, things might change, but for now, he had to rely solely on his wits.
As he stood lost in thought, the situation suddenly shifted.
Huh?
He heard the sound of multiple footsteps rushing down the hallway outside.
At the same time, the ground vibrated, accompanied by the distant echoes of people screaming.
"It's an attack by the Cheonhyeol Sect! Brothers, retreat quickly!"
"Juniors, this way!"
"This is an emergency! Gather whatever resources you can carry!"
"What are you doing?! Dispose of anything that slows us down immediately!"
A chaotic clamor of shouting voices echoed outside the door.
The sheer intensity of the battle was conveyed through the vibrations shaking the walls.
Tvalier instinctively clenched his fists.
This is my chance.
He was certain of it.
In a situation like this, such chaos was the final opportunity handed to him.
Holding his breath, he waited near the door, biding his time.
"W-What about the sacrifices, Senior Jang?! We went through so much trouble to prepare them!"
"You idiot! Do you think we have time to worry about that right now? Grab those oil jars over there and set the room on fire! We can't let those Cheonhyeol Sect bastards take the sacrifices!"
"U-Understood."
Among the voices he had heard earlier, the clumsy-sounding one spoke.
Tvalier instinctively swallowed hard and waited.
He's coming.
Along with the sound of someone grunting under a heavy load, the thick wooden sliding door began to creak open.
And then...
A middle-aged man wearing a strange grey robe stepped inside.
"Whew... Don't resent me too much. May you all find peace in the next life."
Carrying a large jar of oil, the middle-aged man walked toward the center of the room, preparing to splash it around.
Meanwhile, the small boy crouching silently in the darkness—Tvalier—watched the man's movements from beside the door before moving like a ghost.
*Patter.*
"Huh?"
The middle-aged man felt something latch onto his back.
It clung to him flatly, like a baby being carried piggyback.
As he tried to turn around in confusion, an indescribable agony suddenly pierced his eyes.
*Squelch!*
"Aaaargh!"
Tvalier had gouged out the man's eyes with both hands.
A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the man's throat.
Still clinging to his back, Tvalier swiftly grabbed the collar of the man's fluttering robe from behind and choked him with all his might.
"Gggh! Urgh!"
Blood streaming from his eyes, the middle-aged man flailed his limbs desperately.
Tvalier leaned back to apply more leverage, but soon grimaced.
Damn it, I don't have enough strength.
Tvalier scanned his surroundings.
Spotting the scabbard at the man's waist, he slipped off his back as agilely as a flying squirrel.
As the man collapsed to the floor, gasping hoarsely, Tvalier drew the sword from the scabbard without a moment's hesitation and swung.
*Slash!*
*Gurgle...*
It took mere seconds for a life to extinguish.
After casually delivering death to the middle-aged man, Tvalier quickly examined the grey robe.
Aside from the leather hood, the garment was mostly made of wool.
It's stained with blood, but I have no choice.
Considering what would happen after he escaped this place, he couldn't expect to be treated well if he was wearing his current rags.
Thus, despite the bloodstains, he stripped the robe off the corpse and began cutting it with a dagger.
Clothing was of paramount importance no matter where one went, in any world.
Knowing this instinctively, Tvalier quickly used the blade to trim the fabric and tied it with ropes to fit his small frame.
His small stature proved advantageous in this regard.
Just then...
*Clack.*
Huh? What's this?
A rectangular, elongated block of wood slipped out of the dead man's sleeve.
Strangely, a faint scent of mana wafted from the wooden block.
Prompted by curiosity, Tvalier gently placed his hand on it.
In that instant, he felt an incredibly minuscule amount of mana drain from his body.
Tvalier's eyes widened.
"Could it be... an artifact?"
Muttering in sheer astonishment, Tvalier examined the wooden block closely.
He noticed strange, bizarre patterns carved onto its surface.
Judging by its shape and the power contained within, they seemed to be the runes of this world.
Incredible!
His face flushed slightly at this unexpected windfall.
Though he had yet to identify the artifact's function, Tvalier quickly pocketed the wooden block, a smile gracing his lips for the first time since his arrival.
"Off to a good start."
Wiping the blood splatters from his face, he adjusted his makeshift clothes and focused his attention on the hallway outside.
*Boom! Crash!*
The distant clamor had grown significantly louder.
Vivid vibrations now traveled through the air and the stone walls.
To be precise, a cacophony of sounds was echoing from the right side of the hallway.
"Argh! Cheonhyeol Sect! Do you think you will get away with this? The elders of our sect will surely avenge this!"
"Pfft, the trash of the Mansi Sect sure know how to bark. Die and become ingredients for our elixirs!"
"As if we'd die so easily!"
"Brothers, we must hold this corridor at all costs!"
*Whoosh!*
*Rumble!*
Fireballs and arcs of lightning illuminated the ceiling.
Peeking out from behind the door, Tvalier's eyes widened.
Is that... magic?
It was bizarre.
When he had observed this world from the lower dimension, he had assumed magic did not exist here.
Yet, what he was seeing was undoubtedly elemental magic.
At a glance, the mana alignment seemed somewhat crude, making the manifested magic appear unrefined, but it was magic nonetheless.
No. That's not what's important right now.
While he had confirmed that a mystery akin to magic existed in this world, escaping this place remained his top priority.
Tvalier's eyes gleamed with renewed determination.