CHAPTER 01

“The wedding is tomorrow. Why is the groom here at the lab?”

“I got a message from the excavation site. They urgently need something identified. I’ll finish quickly and go back.”

Ernolf smiled shyly at being called “the groom.”

“Has the item arrived?”

“A telegram said it would come around 1. Ah, there it is.”

At the guard captain’s words, Ernolf turned toward the front gate. A carriage slowly arrived and stopped.

“Welcome.”

A researcher got out and greeted Ernolf by tipping his hat. Ernolf nodded and opened the door for him. Men in black uniforms carefully lifted a large wooden box from the carriage. Ernolf led them straight to the lab.

“I heard this statue was found in Area 82. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The researcher gave Ernolf a receipt. As the heir of the famous excavation family, the Torrier family, Ernolf signed it easily. The men placed the box inside the lab and left.

Once alone, Ernolf stood before the box. He looked inside—it was packed with cushioning to protect the statue. He took off his jacket, put on gloves, and approached.

“It’s small but heavy…”

He carefully reached in and pulled out the object.

“Huh? I thought it was a Transcender statue?”

The receipt said it was a statue from the Asua civilization, but what Ernolf held was a strange cube-shaped artifact.

“Was there a mistake?”

He put the item back and turned to the phone. Suddenly, a bright light burst out of the box. The room spun and twisted like a whirlpool.

“W-What?!”

Startled, Ernolf tried to activate a mana shield, but the magic twisted and clashed with the light. He screamed and lost consciousness.

---

The bright light vanished, and everything went dark. Ernolf didn’t fall, but he stood frozen in shock. Then he started coughing.

“Cough, cough…”

He covered his mouth and nose, looking around. Dirt and dust rained from above. Breathing was hard, and his body felt heavy.

“Ugh!”

Did an earthquake collapse the lab? Ernolf looked for an exit, but dust blocked his view.

**“It’s collapsing! Run!”

“Ahhh!”

“Tiri, where are you?!”**

He heard people screaming not far away. But this wasn’t the lab. It looked like an old mine.

“Don’t just stand there! Move!”

A sharp whip struck Ernolf’s shoulder.

“Agh!”

He turned to see a rough man holding a whip.

**“You staring at me, brat?”

“What are you doing hitting me like that?!”**

The man got angrier.

**“You got a death wish? Who do you think you are, staring like that?”

“Who are you with? Call your superior now!”**

Ernolf tried to gather mana—but nothing happened.

‘What’s going on…?’

His mana core felt like a stone—completely unresponsive.

‘I can’t use magic?’

This had never happened since he awakened. Cold sweat dripped from Ernolf’s body.

“What did you just say, punk?”

The man swung the whip at Ernolf’s face. Ernolf could only dodge.

Then—

“Tiri!”

A skinny boy ran through the dust and rammed into the man. As the man stumbled, the boy smashed his head with a rock. The man collapsed and died.

Ernolf leaned against the wall and watched the boy. He was thin and dirty but dangerous. The boy calmly searched the body, took coins and a dagger, and wore the man’s shoes, tying them tightly.

“I was looking for you. Didn’t you hear me calling?”

The boy’s face was dirty and bloody.

“Those shoes are too big for you. I’ll find better ones later.”

Ernolf looked down at his own feet—tiny, bony feet like a child’s.

‘What… what happened to me?’

He touched his body and face. Not only could he not use magic—his body was completely different.

‘Did that artifact…?’

He remembered the glowing cube.

‘This isn’t normal magic…’

A terrible thought crossed his mind. To move a soul to another body goes against the world’s laws—it’s the forbidden magic of a Transcender.

Even if he got his magic back, Ernolf wasn’t sure he could undo this curse.

“What’s wrong?”

The boy waved a hand in front of his face and suddenly slapped Ernolf.

Slap!

The sound echoed in the dark mine.

Ernolf held his cheek in shock. How could a random boy slap a noble heir and high-ranking mage like him?

“Get a grip. We need to escape now.”

The boy’s accent and words were odd but understandable.

“Escape? From what?”

Ernolf was still confused and shaken.

“You want to stay here and die?”

The boy smirked.

“Where even is this place?”

Instead of answering, the boy pulled Ernolf toward a corner. They hid just as another man appeared. The boy held his breath and pulled out the dagger.

The man didn’t notice the body nearby and walked away.

‘He’s gone.’

As Ernolf relaxed, the boy crawled after the man. Soon, a sharp scream rang out.

Then the boy returned and dropped old boots in front of Ernolf.

“Put them on.”

He had killed the man and taken his boots. Ernolf realized the boy was used to this—robbing and killing.

‘He’s done this before…’

Still, Ernolf put on the boots. Walking barefoot in the mine was too painful.

The boy helped tie the laces. Ernolf noticed he was being oddly kind, even if he had slapped him earlier.

**“Why are you standing like that? Are you scared?”

“Uh, no… I’m just confused. Don’t worry about it.”

“What’s with the way you talk? You sound like an old man…”**

Ernolf was offended. Thirty-four wasn’t that old!

**“Don’t worry. Everyone’s distracted. A monster showed up in a new tunnel. We can escape this time.”

“Monster? What kind? And ‘this time’? You tried before?”**

Ernolf wanted more answers, but things were moving fast.

“Tch, they’re already here.”

The boy tightened his grip on the dagger. Ernolf focused—he could hear scuttling sounds coming closer.

“There’s a lot of them.”

The boy had sharp senses.

‘He can use aura…’

That explained how he killed a grown man.

**“Shouldn’t we run?”

“Idiot. It’s a dead end.”**

They were trapped at the back of the mine.

“If we want to live, we have to break through them. That’s the only way out.”

The monsters appeared. Ernolf recognized them.

“Is there any water nearby?”

Red-spotted spider monsters—small but deadly. Their venom melts flesh. They move in groups but hate water.

**“What?”

“Water. We need water.”**

Ernolf couldn’t use magic, so he needed the boy’s help.

**“There’s a puddle at the end of the tunnel…”

“Let’s go.”**

Ernolf grabbed the boy’s hand and ran.

“I said it’s blocked!”

Spider webs flew past them.

**“They hate water. If we splash them, we can escape.”

“How do you kn—”**

The boy let go and ran ahead like the wind.

‘That kid!’

Ernolf tried to keep up, but his new body was too weak.

“Ugh!”

A web wrapped around his ankle. More webs flew at him, tightening around his body.

“Damn it…”

He focused on awakening his mana core.

‘Please… move!’

The core was there, but frozen. He was still a high-level mage—he could reawaken it, given time.

‘Wake up, you useless heart!’

It didn’t respond.

Then—

“Heeyaah!”

A shout came, and cold water splashed over Ernolf.

“Screech!”

The spiders screamed and ran. The boy had thrown water at them.

“Whew…”

Ernolf sighed in relief. The water felt like holy water.

‘He actually came back…’

He had thought the boy abandoned him. But the boy had just gone ahead to fetch water.

The boy returned and kicked Ernolf’s side.

**“You look comfy. Not dead, right?”

“Stop kicking. I’m alive.”

“Then get up.”**

The boy tried to lift him with his foot.

“Do you know how those spiders hunt?”

Lying on the ground, Ernolf said,

**“They paralyze their prey, then melt and suck it up slowly.”

“How do you know that?”**

Ernolf realized he said too much.

‘Oops. I sound like an expert…’

He couldn’t explain he was a mage in a child’s body. So he just made something up.

**“I just know. They look like spiders, so they act like them.”

“…So are you paralyzed?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?!”**

‘Good question…’

Ernolf was just as annoyed.

**“You’re talking fine!”

“I can move above the chest. That’s why I can breathe and talk.”

“How long will this last?”

“…Not sure.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I were.”**

That was the truth.

‘If my chest gets paralyzed, I won’t be able to breathe. I have to recover before that.’

Far away, they heard wood breaking and rocks falling. The number of screams was going down. Many were probably killed.

**“They’ll come back to collect their food.”

“You’re acting weird. What are you hiding?”**

 

The boy could tell something was different. Ernolf was not who he seemed.