Chapter 1: The End of the World

After copying the last character of the Figaro formula, Lin Yun carefully closed his magic book and left the vast, decaying library.

The sky above was gray, with deep wounds scattered across it, cracks torn by the void storms. The blood-red sun, like a dying man's last gasp, recklessly squandered its light and heat, casting a scorching glow over every corner of the city, evaporating the mist while also taking away the last bit of life from the city.

The protective tower in the center of the city was still operational, but its faint, dim light always reminded people of an elderly person in their twilight years. The protective tower that had sheltered Heser City for over three thousand years was about to reach the end of its time.

This was Noscent, a world that once gave birth to a magnificent magical civilization but was now dying due to the depletion of magic power...

During its peak, Noscent's humans truly developed magic to an unimaginable height. At that time, mages possessed the power to destroy the heavens and the earth. They crossed the void to wage war in countless planes, and countless races trembled under their wands.

They even called themselves living gods. In fact, if it weren't for the depletion of magic power, some of them could indeed have eternal, undying lives, for they had thoroughly understood all the secrets of magic and possessed power comparable to the gods.

Unfortunately, with the depletion of magic power, all of this came to an end.

Humans grew weaker day by day. The vast magic energy fleets were permanently docked in the ports, and the terrifying magic crystal cannons could no longer produce their deafening roars. The countless planes returned to peace, no longer fearing the sudden arrival of unwelcome guests.

Even the mages who were once powerful enough to challenge the gods began to fall one after another. At this point, they were terrified to find that without magic power, they were so powerless in the face of time. One by one, names filled with legendary stories were engraved on tombstones, then buried in the earth as Noscent declined, and finally forgotten over the long years...

The only thing they left behind was the library Lin Yun had just left. It contained ten thousand magic books, each a crystallization of their lifetime knowledge and experience. If it were before the depletion of magic power, any mage would go mad for them.

But now...

They lay quietly in the library, covered in thick layers of dust. Apart from evoking memories of Noscent's former glory, they had no other meaning.

In Lin Yun's view, they were even less useful than the small Figaro formula. At least the Figaro formula could help him extract a tiny bit of magic power from the void during meditation, while those profound knowledge and powerful spells could only serve as leisure reading in this world where magic power was completely depleted.

"I am indeed very unlucky..." After twenty years in Noscent, Lin Yun still harbored resentment over his luck.

Otherwise, why, when everyone else could save the world and gain a great harem, did he have to hunt for food in the scorching desert and might even have to be buried with this world that was about to be destroyed?

This was too unscientific...

At the very least, the timing should have been different...

For example, Noscent millions of years ago. Although the magical civilization was far from mature at that time, countless mages were still struggling on the thorny path, and humans had not yet used magic to create one miracle after another. But at least, the sky had not been torn by void storms, and the earth had not been covered by endless deserts. The world was filled with inexhaustible magic power.

Most importantly, living in that era meant not having to spend every night in nightmares of the world's destruction...

"Ah..." Lin Yun sighed, dragging his weary body through the silent streets. There was no sound around, as if the entire world had only Lin Yun left.

Noscent was gradually dying, and the resources humans relied on were becoming increasingly scarce. Fewer and fewer humans were alive in Heser City. If this continued, Heser City might become a true ghost town in this silence before the final moment arrived.

This almost hopeless future made Lin Yun feel a chill.

"No, it's really a bit cold..." Lin Yun, who had lived in Heser City for twenty years, was already accustomed to the scorching sun and the scorching desert outside the city. The cold that he hadn't felt for twenty years crept up his back, like a venomous snake slithering into his clothes, making him shudder.

Lin Yun, with a face full of fear, looked up at the sky, and his face instantly turned pale.

The sky over Heser City was pitch black, endless darkness swallowing the last bit of light between heaven and earth. The protective tower that had guarded Heser City for thousands of years finally ran out of its last bit of magic power after a long time.

As the faint, dim light went out, Noscent was about to welcome its true end.

The moment the light went out, the void storm tore through the sky, and massive meteors, enveloped in flames, fell from the heavens. Violent energy surged, tearing apart the already fragile space. Outside Heser City, the wind howled, and a sea of yellow sand rose, like a towering wave, surging into the city.

The ground was collapsing, the world was shaking violently, towering buildings were collapsing, and lives were disappearing.

Cries for help, prayers, and screams...

The quiet Heser City, which had been silent for thousands of years, suddenly became incredibly noisy. Blood and fire filled every corner of the city, and the last city of humans was reaching the end of its life...

"Finally, it's here..." Lin Yun stood outside his residence, looking at everything with a blank expression.

Then, he was swallowed by endless darkness.

...

When Lin Yun woke up, the sky above had turned a deep blue, with no scar-like cracks or blood-red sun. The city was no longer surrounded by endless deserts.

Dense forests, continuous mountains, and surging rivers filled the world with boundless vitality.

Of course, there was also magic, omnipresent magic...

Compared to the end of the world, where even extracting a tiny bit of magic power was extremely difficult, this era of Noscent was like a shameless nouveau riche, with abundant magic power everywhere. Even the air seemed to be filled with a strong magical aura, and it was inexhaustible and endless, allowing any mage to indulge in it.

For Lin Yun, who had survived for over twenty years in the end of the world and was always trying to extract even a tiny bit of magic power, this was a paradise he had longed for.

But now, Lin Yun, who had woken up in this paradise, had no time to be happy.

Because Lin Yun discovered that he had taken over a stranger's body.

From the residual memories in his mind, the original owner of this body was named Mafa Merlin, a fairly diligent ninth-level magic apprentice who had once studied under the great mage Seth. His father, Rog Merlin, used to run an alchemy business and managed the Flash Gold Chamber, one of the seven major chambers of commerce in Thousand Sails City.

It seemed quite good, with a superior family background and a promising future.

Unfortunately, all of this was in the past.

To say that Mafa Merlin was quite unlucky, he was just about to step into the threshold of a ninth-level magic apprentice, only one step away from putting on that black robe and becoming a respected true mage.

But at this time, his father, who ran the alchemy business, had an accident.

A storm swallowed the Flash Gold Chamber's fleet, and hundreds of people, including Rog Merlin, were all lost. Valuable cargo sank to the bottom of the sea.

This was a true disaster, shocking the entire Thousand Sails City.

Naturally, this included the creditors of the Flash Gold Chamber...

One of the seven major chambers of commerce in Thousand Sails City, the Flash Gold Chamber, was almost completely emptied by creditors overnight. Every day, families of the victims came to demand compensation, crying for their dead relatives while taking away the last bit of things left in the house. Mafa Merlin, who had lost his source of income, could no longer afford the expensive magic studies. He had to interrupt his mage path a month ago and return home to help deal with various debts.

Now, the once large house was empty, even rats wouldn't come in. The last servant had fled three days ago with dozens of gold coins. Now, in this house, besides a loyal old butler to the old master, there was only Lin Yun, who had crossed over.

Oh, right, there was also a contract...

The person who delivered this contract was Rog Merlin's cousin, Fario. According to the family hierarchy, Mafa Merlin should call him "Uncle." When Rog Merlin was still alive, he treated his cousin quite well, giving him a large share of the profits every year. Later, he spent a lot of money and used many connections to get him the position of city constable in Thousand Sails City, a truly lucrative position where he could receive countless red envelopes every year.

This time was no different. Before Rog Merlin set sail, he gave his cousin a share of the profits, requiring no investment, and he would receive a huge dividend once the fleet returned.

No one expected that this voyage would end in a disaster, and even more, no one expected that as soon as Rog Merlin left, his dear cousin would come to the door with a contract to demand money...

Now, this contract was right in front of Lin Yun. The amount on it was not large, only eight thousand gold coins. When Rog Merlin was still alive, Mafa Merlin's single magic experiment might cost more than this.

The problem was that it wasn't the same as before...

Eight thousand gold coins was a truly desperate amount for the current Mafa Merlin. Even if he sold everything he had, he couldn't pay it off.

But not paying wasn't an option. This Uncle Fario was no longer as easy to talk to as before...

As the repayment date approached, the already exhausted Mafa Merlin finally broke down. After breakfast this morning, he fainted for no apparent reason and woke up as Lin Yun...

"This guy is really unlucky..." After digesting the residual memories in his mind, Lin Yun couldn't help but sigh. This Mafa Merlin was really unlucky to an extreme degree. A young man with a superior family background and a bright future had been reduced to this, which was quite a feat.