Chapter 2
The little thing was wrapped around his finger.
Cyril took a deep breath and took his hand out of his pocket without any expression. Sure enough, he had something hanging from his pale, slender hand.
It was a small, dark green snake that was as thick as a thumb. The little snake had clear, dark red eyes that were like two small rubies or drops of crimson blood. There were strange silver dark patterns crisscrossing the body of the dark green snake and gave people a creepy feeling.
Cyril and the little snake faced each other, one person and one snake locking eyes.
The little snake’s originally active body paused for a moment. Then it reached out its flexible, bright red snake tongue and gently licked Cyril’s pale fingertip with a hint of flattery.
However, its flattery made Cyril stiffen and feel numb. My god! What type of snake was this? Could he live a day after being bitten by it?
Cyril immediately felt like he was a bit closer to death—it was the distance from the snake’s fangs to his fingers.
[System???]
He belatedly remembered that he had one of the biggest golden fingers to rely on. He called out to the system but didn’t get a response.
[Where are you?]
Cyril remembered the system that had given a long speech and bowed to take him to experience the Wizarding World. In hindsight, this was the same style of prattling on self-importantly as the head of a pyramid scheme. He was careless.
Cyril was a bit upset for a while. Was he cheated by the system? He came to an unknown place but it was obviously dangerous and there was an unidentified snake staring at him.
Cyril strongly suspected that the original owner of this body might’ve died in the hands of this weird little snake.
[Zizizi—I’m here! I’m here!]
[Young man, don’t be impatient! Be patient! Patient!]
Cyril heard the familiar sound of the system and was finally relieved.
[I was just a bit late and you are damaging me with unfounded rumors! Damaging me with unfounded rumors! It isn’t easy for me! This is my first time on the job and I didn’t realize the operating procedures were so complicated. The pre-job training teaches you to twist in a screw but the actual job requires you to build a rocket! The densely packed plane coordinates and spatial models made me dizzy…]
[Stop! Stop!]
Cyril hurriedly stopped the system’s ramblings. He understood the characteristics of the system now and didn’t have the patience to listen to the system’s long-winded words. He had a hundred thousand questions in his head right now.
[So what is the situation right now?]
If he was asked then the novice system putting him into a wizarding family and letting him successfully receive the notice of enrollment to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the age of 11 was the simplest, safest and most conventional method.
Cyril judged that his current body was definitely over 11 years old and the system had increased the difficulty from the opening.
He quickly recalled all the spells he had written down before transmigrating, wondering if he could keep up when he transferred to the school and how to alleviate the embarrassment of standing out among a group of kids.
[So what is the situation right now?]
Cyril saw that the system was silent for a long time and couldn’t help repeating the question. At the same time, a bad feeling rose in his heart.
[Emmm… this is the Misty Moon Forest on the Atlantis Continent… you are now near the small town of Codswood…]
The system involuntarily reduced ts volume as it spoke. It obviously had a guilty conscience like a balloon that was suddenly punctured.
The Atlantis Continent? Misty Moon Forest? Town of Codswood? Where was this?
Cyril heard the strange names and his eyes shook. He bet that these names weren’t mentioned anywhere in the Harry Potter novels that consisted of several million words.
Cyril thought of the original novels he worked so hard to memorize previously. He felt like he got a test paper only to find that nothing he studied was on the test.
[Hey hey hey! Look at that pretty little guy on your finger. It is an extremely rare alchemy snake!]
Cyril helplessly heard the system’s clumsy change in topic. Still, it was successful in a sense. Was an alchemy product equivalent to an automated toy? Cyril’s fear of the snake was removed for the most part.
He raised his arm and looked at the dark green snake that became more radiant in the sunlight, gently shaking the snake on his hand.
The dark silver patterns on the snake’s body shone brightly. The little snake seemed new to this type of play. Its ruby eyes showed a trace of pleasure while the tip of its tail shook lightly. This was a relaxed and contented appearance.
[So it doesn’t matter if I’m bitten by it?]
Cyril casually mentioned.
Then he heard the serious voice of the system.
[No no no! Young man, you have to know that the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous! Just one bite from the sharp fangs of this little then and it can immediately send you out of this beautiful world!]
Cyril’s shaking hands suddenly stiffened and he felt like he was carrying a bomb that could detonate at any time.
[So isn’t this even worse?]
He felt a bit weak.
[Ahem! It is an accident! An accident!]
The system’s words were evasive.
[Sly surprises always come quietly.]
It comforted Cyril while comforting itself.
[There must’ve been a problem with the setting of the plane coordinates but this is still a wizarding plane. There is no difference! Look at the living elements in the air!]
[Elements?]
Cyril heard this and raised an eyebrow, his attention attracted.
[That’s right! Come on, close your eyes and feel it! I definitely made no mistake when I set up your wizard physique!]
Cyril had a puzzled expression as he closed his eyes with a trace of expectations.
At first, he felt a trace of warmth from the warm sunshine pouring down to the ground. The cool breeze passing through the forest blew across his cheeks, the snake on his finger crawled flexibly back to his chest pocket and there was the melodious sound of birds and insects not far away.
Then something emerged in the surroundings. It flowed in the air but it was just a subtle, unusual feeling.
Cyril intuitively sensed that this was something that could bring him benefits and could be absorbed by his body. There was even something in his blood clamoring for it.
Was this the elements?
Cyril tried to mobilize his body to absorb these erratic elements. The sensation was hard to describe. It was as if a magnet about to be demagnetized was moving through the air for something to connect with it.
He kept his eyes closed and walked in the direction where he felt the densest concentration of elements, reaching out his hand to find something in the air.
Cyril felt a bumpy, slightly slippery touch under his feet like he had stepped on green moss covering an intertwined roots system. He reached out his pale, thin hand to fumble in front of him and touched rough bark.
For a moment, Cyril felt a strong mass of elements in the tree. At the same time, he smelled the faint fragrance of trees.
Cyril opened his eyes and saw an extremely sturdy tree trunk in front of him. It was so big that four people couldn’t embrace the huge tree trunk if they opened their arms.
This was the oldest tree nearby. No wonder why it contained a lot of elements.
[That is the wood element! Do you feel it? Only those with magic talent can feel the elements! Apprentice wizards can freely gather the elements and transform them into magic!]
[I can somewhat feel it but I can’t absorb these elements.]
Cyril replied truthfully.
He could feel the elements flying toward him hitting a transparent glass wall, unable to move forward any further.
[It is normal! You haven’t started meditating yet. You can’t see the elements so you naturally can’t absorb them! Still, with this system, you can do it sooner or later! The first thing is to improve your mental power through meditation. Then absorb the elements into magic…]
Cyril listened carefully to the system’s introduction to the wizarding power of this world. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain from his brain. The pain flashed and the things that had been stuffed into his mind became clear.
These were the memories of the original owner of the body. He was silent after seeing the memories. The original owner starved to death.
His current identity was Cyril Lawrence, a small town boy who grew up in Codswood, a border town on the Atlantis Continent. He was 15 years old this year.
The original Cyril, who had the same name as him, was taken to Codswood by a wandering hunter when he was 10 years old and had been living here ever since. His memory before the age of 10 seemed to have been erased by something.
The taciturn hunter fed himself and Cyril by occasionally hunting prey on the edge of the Misty Moon Forest.
The tall man in his memories often stayed away from home for long periods of time due to hunting and alcoholism. It was impossible for him to notice that little Cyril was being bullied and isolated by the nasty boys in town.
Time passed and Cyril became more silent and gloomy. His complexion was a type of whiteness that gave off a loss of vitality, like withering weeds on the side of the road.
Three months ago, the hunter was bitten by an unknown monster in the Misty Moon Forest. The wound was infected and he lay ill in bed.
The wound infection was very strange. Weird dark gray lines spread from the wound to the rest of the skin.
Even the doctors in the nearby large town of Philadelphia were at a loss. The various potions consumed the few savings in the family but they couldn’t stop the hunter’s life from disappearing.
The moment the strange patterns turned black, the hunter’s life came to an end.
After the hunter’s death, Cyril was left alone with no source of income.
Therefore, three days ago, the hungry Cyril had to change into hunter’s equipment and go into the Misty Moon Forest to try his luck. He was eager to hunt prey that could be turned into silver coins and food.
However, the hunter hadn’t taught him to hunt in all those years. Cyril knew nothing about hunting and stumbled through the Misty Moon Forest. He was fortunate not to be injured but he didn’t succeed in obtaining prey.
Of course, except for the rabbit he accidentally shot before his death.
[Due to the change in soul, you are now a person with the potential to be a wizard and your physical fitness has improved. Nevertheless, you must return to Codswood quickly. The soul change has consumed a lot of the energy in your body and your physical strength soon won’t be able to hold on!]
The system hurriedly warned him.
Cyril quickly picked up the dead rabbit not far away and followed the system’s navigation along a winding path. He didn’t know how many turns he took but he walked a long way to the southeast before seeing increasingly sparser trees.
He sighed with relief. He was finally getting out of the forest.
It had been around noon when Cyril set off and it was dusk when he walked out of the Misty Moon Forest. The golden red sunset was swallowed by the night. Only a small cloud of molten afterglow remained on the horizon in the distance.
Cyril stepped through the shallow grass and saw some low wooden houses in the distance. At the same time, he could feel the burning hunger in his body.
[Oh my god! Your current physical condition is really bad! No, you have to replenish your energy quickly!]
The system mumbled in Cyril’s mind.
The next moment, a modern electronic screen appeared in front of Cyril that displayed his current physical data.
[Name: Cyril Lawrence
Age: 15
Physical Strength: 1 (Red)
Power: 6
Mental Strength: 8
Magic: 0
Achievements: None.
Description: You are weak like the poor gray rabbit in the Misty Moon Forest. A small dizzy spell can kill you. Young man, it is really Merlin’s blessing that you are still alive now!]
Cyril quickly glanced past the ill-intentioned description and looked at the bright red ‘1’ after ‘physical strength.’
It was shocking. He couldn’t help pausing.
Just then, a female voice that was shocked was heard behind him.