Mortis chuckled in his mind. 'Haha… Couldn't they have at least let me choose whose body I was going to occupy?'
The original Mortis was nothing but a waste of society. Not that Mortis was in any position to judge, given his own past and the rather questionable nature of his goals. But at least he had ambition. He had purpose. Even if his methods were immoral, he stood by them.
The fool whose body he now inhabited, however? He was garbage, plain and simple. No goals, no courage, no strength—just empty threats thrown around under the protection of his father's name. A disgrace to his family, a black sheep through and through. The only things he excelled at were drinking, whoring, and dabbling in drugs. No wonder this body was so weak and frail—its former owner had spent his days actively destroying it.
Mortis rolled his eyes in disdain as he looked through his new memories once more.
Thinking back to how his father had forced him onto this carriage, it was obvious that the decision wasn't driven by love or any fatherly concern. No, it was far more practical than that. The man had simply grown tired of his son's endless escapades, tired of cleaning up his messes. Sending him off to the aptitude test was a convenient way to get rid of him without risking any scandal.
'Well, whatever. I hate that I ended up in this body, but there's nothing I can do about it now. At least my father already sent me far from home, which means I can start over. A fresh start—new beginning. No one there will know of my past.
'Of course, that's only if I successfully join a Magus organization—and none of the fools on this carriage will end up in the same one.'
Mortis swore in his heart and his eyes darkened as a thick murderous intent took its place.
'If any of them do try to follow me to the same organization as me… I'll kill them all before we'll even get there. After all, I don't care who they are. If they stand in my way—I'll eliminate all of them!'
|>>======|✦|======<<|
Once Mortis finished his contemplation, he turned to Lethis and said, "Well, even though you tried to make me experience some kind of setback, I still have to thank you. If you hadn't come to wake me in the end, I might've actually caught a cold… Haha."
'And that's the only reason I'm not killing you right here and now, you bitch…' Mortis's eyes darkened for a brief moment.
Lethis, completely oblivious, laughed heartily, a wide grin stretched across his face. "No problem, we're friends after all."
'Friends, you say? I don't know anything about that.' Mortis chuckled darkly in his mind.
After a brief moment of consideration, he asked, "Anyway, what should we do until it's time for food?"
Lethis thought for a second before answering. "Well, we could go to sleep for a while, but I guess you've had enough of that… Haha. Aside from that, how about a game of poker? No real money, just tokens."
Mortis nearly froze. 'Poker? Wait… does he mean that poker? The same rules as the one from Earth? If so… is this just a coincidence, or is there something else behind it? Or maybe I'm just overthinking things. I should check first.'
After quickly making up his mind, he responded, "Why not? Let's give it a try. But to be honest, I've never played this game before, so could you explain the rules to me?"
Lethis gave him a puzzled look. "That's weird. I thought everyone knew this game—it's probably the most popular one in the entire world, or at least in the North Continent."
Mortis let out an awkward chuckle. "To tell you the truth, I spent most of my time drinking, so I never really played games like this."
Lethis slightly smiled and waved it off. "Well, that doesn't matter. Just follow me to the table—I'll explain it to you there."
Mortis nodded and, without a word, followed Lethis toward the table, his mind still lingering on the implications of poker's existence in this world.
|>>======|✦|======<<|
Once they reached the table and took their seats, Lethis pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and placed it on the table.
He spread them out so that each card was visible and said, "These are the cards we use for poker."
The moment Mortis laid eyes on them; he nearly froze again. 'No way… It's really the same. Could this be a coincidence? Wait… he still hasn't explained the rules. Maybe it's just a similar design…'
Lethis began explaining the game, detailing its rules and mechanics. As Mortis listened, his expression gradually turned more and more serious until the corners of his mouth almost twitched.
By the time Lethis finished, Mortis's mind was in turmoil. 'How is it possible… This is clearly a totally different world or at least planet from the earth. Are there others like me who transmigrated here? Or did someone from here made it to earth and came back or vice versa?
He clenched his fists beneath the table, forcing himself to stay calm. 'I have no way to confirm any of these theories right now. Thinking about it is a waste of time—at least for now.'
With that, he pushed his thoughts aside and focused on the game.
The two played several rounds. Just as he was beginning to relax, a voice echoed through the carriage. It wasn't particularly loud or quiet, but it was still clearly heard.
"All candidates, it's time for food. Once we find a suitable place to set up temporary camp, we'll stop and distribute the food."
Hearing this, Mortis allowed himself a small smile. After several rounds of poker, he had actually worked up a real appetite. His stomach grumbled in agreement, and he pushed back his chair.
Rising to his feet, he made his way to the window, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. It was time to take his first real look at the world outside.
As he made it to the window and gazed outside for the first time since his transmigration, he was met with a bleak, desolate sight. A vast gray field stretched endlessly before him; its surface composed of barren brown clay. Here and there, sparse trees dotted the landscape, but they were completely devoid of leaves—mere skeletal remains of once-thriving flora. Their lifeless, fragile brittle forms stood like silent sentinels, twisted and withered by the unforgiving environment. The entire scene exuded an overwhelming sense of stillness, a land untouched by time yet seemingly long abandoned by life itself.
Mortis narrowed his eyes as realization dawned upon him. 'So, this is why they call this place the Barren Lands of the North Continent…'
Satisfied with his initial survey of the land he lifted his gaze toward the heavens, expecting to see a sky as bleak as the terrain below. Instead, he was struck by a breathtaking contrast. The dark endless sky above was a sea of shimmering stars, each one shining with and ethereal glow, forming a celestial tapestry unlike anything he had ever seen.
Yet, amid this breathtaking spectacle, one anomaly stood out—so glaringly large that he couldn't possibly miss it, even if he wanted.
A moon.
Not just any moon, but one eerily similar to the one from Earth. Tonight, it was full, its radiant glow dominating the sky. But there was one crucial difference. Unlike the silvery-white glow of Earth's moon, this one was dyed a deep, unrelenting crimson. A blood moon. Its eerie luminescence bathed the land below in an unsettling, scarlet glow, casting long, dark shadows and infusing the barren fields with an unnatural beauty. The effect was mesmerizing—an intoxicating mixture of dread and wonder.
As Mortis stared, he felt his mind slipping into a trance, utterly captivated by the grim yet enthralling sight. The world around him faded away, leaving only the silent, crimson moon and its haunting embrace.
When he finally managed to tear his eyes away, a thought surfaced in his mind: 'This… this is the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in both of my lives.'
But before he could fully process the significance of the moment, his immersion was shattered.
Without warning, the carriage came to an abrupt halt. The sudden jolt sent him stumbling forward, barely managing to catch himself. A faint frown flickered across his face—he hadn't expected such a sudden stop.
As the carriage finally stopped, he saw how other candidates stirred and slowly made their way toward the exit of the carriage. Mortis took a deep breath, pushed aside the lingering echoes of the moon's bewitching presence, and followed suit.
As he stepped outside the carriage, the night's chilling air greeted him, sharp and bracing. For a fleeting moment, the crimson-lit landscape threatened to ensnare his senses once more, but he forced himself to refocus. His gaze swept over his surroundings.
A small gathering had already formed near the carriage, the candidates assembling beside a narrow window embedded in its side.
In another locations few meters away, a man—likely a member of the carriage's crew—was at work. His hands moved deftly as he arranged wood and struck a spark, coaxing a bonfire to life. The fire's glow flickered hungrily, its warmth a much-needed sanctuary against the biting cold of the northern night.
After he took all of this into his eyes, he turned his gaze toward the endless road ahead. Darkness stretched into infinity, the only discernible landmark being the faint, nearly imperceptible outline of a mountain range in the distance. The towering peaks loomed like silent guardians; their forms just barely visible against the blood-tinged sky.
As he finished his observations, he turned around and calmly walked through the small crowd until he reached the group of candidates which gathered beside the carriage, in front of window.
When he came closer, he saw how each of the candidates were receiving plate with food before stepping away toward the bonfire.
After seeing this, he silently stepped into the queue, waiting for his turn.