Chapter 1

Chapter One: Knowledge

The night was moonless, a cool drizzle fell, with raindrops pattering on the riverbank’s soil and rocks, washing away the bloodstains left behind, a faint metallic scent lingering in the air.

This was the bottom of a deep canyon, where a rushing stream cut through the mountain rocks, its gurgling sounds echoing throughout the valley.

On either side of the deep valley, there were steep perpendicular cliffs on one side and a steep slope on the other, with numerous resilient shrubs and grasses struggling to emerge from the rocky soil. At the bottom of the slope, the gradient gradually flattened, forming a sloping muddy riverbank where a tragic scene unfolded.

Two or three carriages lay overturned on the riverbank, with bodies of both people and horses scattered around. Fresh bl**d flowed from horrifying wounds, washed away by the rain and into the nearby stream, fear solidified on the faces of the deceased.

In the dreadful scene of bl**d and rain, everything was silent, seemingly devoid of any life, of course… it was merely an appearance.

Near the riverbank, within an overturned carriage that was barely held back from sliding into the river by a tethered rope, a girl leaned against the overturned seat, eyes closed in silence.

The girl was about thirteen years old, dressed in a simple brown-and-white dress, with cloth shoes and short socks, not a luxurious outfit. Many parts of her body were stained with bl**d, and her long silver hair hung neatly down to her shoulders, even reflecting a faint silver light in the dim environment. One side of her delicate face, serene in its repose, was stained with bl**d, which flowed down from her forehead behind her right bangs.

Like her surroundings, the silent girl seemed to be a part of the tragedy until… her brow twitched slightly at one moment.

Uncertain how much time passed, a weak breath escaped from her nose, soon followed by the rising and falling of her chest, strengthening that breath.

“Ha…”

The girl furrowed her brow, revealing discomfort, as one hand reached up to touch her forehead.

‘It hurts… I’m so cold… Am I having a nightmare? Or did I fall off my bed?’

Confused thoughts tumbled through the girl’s mind. As the pain on her forehead gradually eased, her thoughts began to clear, and her awareness expanded.

‘It’s raining outside? Why does it sound like water? There’s no river near my house, is someone washing the street out here with a hose early in the morning?’

Amidst her numerous confusions, the girl slowly opened her eyes, revealing crimson pupils. In the darkness, she struggled to see, but after some time adjusting, she finally managed to make out the scene in the small, dark space.

Then she froze in place.

Inside the carriage, across from her, leaned the body of a woman against the upright seat. Shards of glass from the carriage window embedded in the woman’s throat, still bleeding, with her eyes wide open, the terror she had exhibited just before d*ath vividly transferred to the girl’s vision.

“Hiss…”

Upon seeing such a scene, the girl gasped, instinctively filled with fear of the corpse, all other doubts and confusions wiped away instantly.

In a moment of fright, the girl stood up abruptly, but accidentally collided with the ceiling of the carriage with a loud “smack,” bending over and holding her head while looking around. Only then did she realize she was in such a cramped space.

Coexisting with such a horrifying corpse in a secret chamber made the girl’s heart tremble even more. She quickly reached out to feel around, seeking a way out, and fortunately, she soon found the door above. After pushing it open with force, she crawled out of the carriage in haste.

‘What the hell is this? Where is this place? How can there be a corpse!? Did someone put me in a haunted house while I was sleeping? Who would do something so ridiculous?’

As she pondered this, she climbed out of the carriage, and when she reached the riverbank where the drizzle was falling, she stared at the tragic sight before her, momentarily stunned.

More bodies lay scattered—both people and horses. The stench of bl**d in the air was undiminished by the rain. It wasn’t just the carriage behind her that had overturned; a flickering gas lamp on the front of the carriage cast a dim light into the darkness of the rain, the wheels of the carriage still slowly turning, as if it had been rushing just a short while ago.

“What… the hell is this? If it’s a prank… the cost seems too high… was it really necessary to go this extreme just for a joke?”

In the rain, the girl murmured in astonishment as fear and confusion surged within her. She then shook her head fiercely, forcing herself to calm down.

“Don’t panic… stay calm… I should observe the situation first… Ugh!”

Just as the girl tried to calm herself, a sudden sharp pain shot through her head, and she instinctively covered her forehead again.

Then her mind erupted in chaos, a flood of memories not her own surged forth, leaving her mentally disoriented.

“Ha… what is this…”

Clenching her teeth, the girl leaned against the side of the carriage, struggling to maintain consciousness. In the midst of her heavy breathing, her chaotic thoughts gradually began to settle, and the pain in her head started to fade. The girl… received a memory that did not belong to her, or rather, the soul governing her body gained access to the memories of this body.

“Ha… ha… this isn’t a prank; it’s… a transmigration…?”

Still panting, the girl finally understood her current situation.

Her soul had transmigrated into the body of a girl from another world named Dorothy.

According to Dorothy’s memories, she was an ordinary girl living in a remote village, whose father, a hunter, died accidentally during one of his hunts, leaving her mother missing after his d*ath. Since childhood, she had been raised alongside her only bl**d relative, her elder brother, by the kind-hearted Aunt Hannah, a relative of her father.

Aside from her naturally silver hair and crimson eyes, Dorothy was just a beautiful ordinary girl, growing up alongside her brother under Aunt Hannah’s care. She had always been well-behaved and helpful, often assisting the adults with chores.

Due to her inherent intelligence, Dorothy was sent to a school run by the church in the town to learn writing, and by the time she was in her teens, she was one of the few literate people in the village, often helping villagers with reading and writing letters.

Dorothy’s brother was six years older than her, and due to land being taken to raise sheep, he went to the city to work with other young men from the village when he turned sixteen. This had been three years ago. Recently, Dorothy’s brother had written to her, saying he had found a good job in the city and could afford a decent place, so he wanted to bring Dorothy to live with him.

Upon receiving her brother’s letter, Dorothy was thrilled and immediately said goodbye to the villagers, gathered her things, and boarded the coach destined for the city. However, not long after setting off, their carriage team was attacked by robbers.

By the riverbank at the bottom of the valley, rubbing her temples, Dorothy tried to process the memories flooding her mind while gazing at the steep slope nearby. Branches hung with many items that had been thrown from the carriage. In her memories, their carriage team had overturned while fleeing from the robbers, rolling down the slope, and looking at the current scene, it seemed as though no one survived…

In Dorothy’s last panicked memories, she heard the robbers’ shouts and the roars of wild beasts. Amidst the horses’ wails, the world before her started to crumble, and then, with a sharp pain in her forehead, her memories abruptly ended.

“Ha… what a poor girl; she finally had a chance to live well in the city, only to encounter this kind of tragedy…”

With a sigh, Dorothy lamented, then suddenly felt that something was off.

“Wait… girl?!”

Suddenly realizing the severity of a certain matter, Dorothy quickly reached down to check on herself. After several attempts with no success, her expression twisted in confusion.

“It’s gone… it’s really gone… I’m Dorothy… Dorothy is a girl, I… I’ve turned into a girl?!”

In an instant, Dorothy was completely frozen in place, her expression blank as the drizzle fell upon her.

At that moment, a sound from afar snapped her back to reality.

“Hey! Found it! The carriage rolled over there!”

“Boss! We found it!”

Hearing the unfamiliar yet comprehensible voices in the distance, Dorothy’s heart tightened. She turned her gaze towards the source of the sound, catching sight of flickering lights in the darkness of the riverbank, approaching her in a swaying manner.

It was the robbers! They had found the place and were now searching toward her along the river!

Realizing the dire situation, Dorothy frowned, not wanting to dwell on other concerns any longer. She quickly crouched down and hid behind the side of a carriage.

‘This is bad… those guys must be coming down for valuables… a group of ruthless bandits, I need to run quickly…’

Thinking this, Dorothy observed her surroundings, trying to find a way to escape. However, regrettably, due to the rising water from the rain, the direction she could flee was now submerged in the rushing current, and the steep slope was too treacherous, too slippery to climb.

The only possible way out was towards the flickering lights in the darkness, but that was also the pathway the robbers were searching!

‘d*mn it… is this a dead end?’

Realizing the dangerous predicament she was in, Dorothy felt a surge of anxiety. Just as she considered whether to play dead in hopes of deceiving the robbers, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

It was a bizarre voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, indistinguishable between male and female, as if countless mouths were chanting in unison.

“Spiritual integration complete… connection established…”

“Knowledge offered as sacrifice… bestow knowledge…”

“Huh?”

Hearing the voice in her head, Dorothy was momentarily startled, then shook her head to calm her thoughts.

‘What the hell? What is this voice? Speaking directly in my head? Could this be the so-called ‘system’ that often accompanies transmigration?!’

Though the sudden voice left her somewhat dazed, faced with a crisis, Dorothy quickly gathered her thoughts, considering how to leverage this potential opportunity to resolve her predicament.

If this really were a system like those often found in transmigration novels, it should offer some transmigration benefits! Perhaps something she could use against the robbers!

With that in mind, Dorothy closed her eyes and silently prayed, attempting to communicate with the so-called “system.”

‘No matter who you are that just talked in my head… can you give me some power?!’

Dorothy thought, and the voice quickly responded again.

“Power… is knowledge… sacrifice knowledge of this world… and gain knowledge of another world…”

Listening to the voice within her mind, Dorothy was momentarily taken aback, realizing that this power seemed to require a form of exchange, and that knowledge was the price. What knowledge did she possess that could be offered?

Just as Dorothy completed that thought, the cold, emotionless voice immediately answered.

“For now… the most valuable knowledge of this body is… language and writing…”

“Language and writing?”

Upon hearing this, Dorothy thought of Dorothy, the rural girl, who was most proud of her literacy, able to read and write. It was the result of her hard work in the church’s intermittent classes, setting her apart from other children in the village. In a society with a high illiteracy rate, being literate was invaluable.

Her mastery of language and writing was, indeed, a form of knowledge that could potentially be transformed into power by this so-called “system.”

Whatever, I’m going to try it!

Holding onto that thought, Dorothy silently resolved.

“I sacrifice my mastery of language and writing… no matter what it is, grant me the power to resolve this situation!”

After silently setting her intention, Dorothy began to wait in anxious anticipation. Soon, words appeared in her mind in response.

“Prit Language, complete grammar, proficient in 3027 vocabulary, able to read and write…”

“Exchange made…”

As the words resonated in her mind, Dorothy felt her head swell, and then a surge of information not from her past life, nor originally belonging to Dorothy injected into her mind.

This, too, was a language…

In that moment, ancient and mysterious characters materialized before Dorothy’s eyes, rugged and wild, sharp and powerful, as if some colossal beast had scratched them onto the stone.

“Dragon Language, the path of the roar, 3 characters…”