SrCuervo
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🕑 Added 2024-10-17 21:31:34 +0000 UTCWriting my biography through the ages
Chapter 2: The Opportunity That Left Me Confused
In the south of the Great Eónian Dynasty, in the city of Stellarum, lies the residence of the Seraphim house, the protectors of the entire southern region beyond the known lands of men.
In that vast residence, there was a secluded room, separate from the others, where the strong scent of medicine filled the air. Bertram, who lay in a beautiful white bed, comatose, slowly opened his eyes.
In this ancient room, the golden canopy covering the bed and everything around it seemed unfamiliar to the young man’s eyes.
With disoriented senses and a confused mind, Bertram, who had just opened his eyes, turned his head from side to side, bewildered by his surroundings. Where was this place he found himself in?
"Lord Bertram, are you awake?" A clear voice echoed beside him, and Bertram looked towards the source of the sound with considerable nervousness. He immediately noticed a rather attractive girl dressed in a medieval maid's outfit, firmly holding a medicinal ointment.
“This is a miracle from heaven! I must inform Great Lord Daegal and Lady Amelia.” The maid, quickly setting the ointment aside, ran out of the room without any explanation. Even if Bertram had wanted to ask her something, the girl had fled so fast that only the scent of her perfume lingered in the air.
Just then, as Bertram's head throbbed with pain, several crucial pieces of information flooded his mind.
“Am I Bertram Seraphim, heir to one of the four great houses of the Great Eónian Dynasty?”
His father, Daegal Seraphim, was the great protector of the entire southern region, holding the title of Grand General. As a prominent family, they lived at the heart of the city of Stellarum.
Bertram’s overwhelmed eyes showed surprise. Had he somehow traveled to a medieval European era and taken the body of the heir to a prestigious family?
But before he could speculate further, more memories surfaced.
The ancestors of the Seraphim house had fought alongside the founding emperor of Eónia, exterminating monsters and eliminating creatures known as demons, establishing impressive military achievements throughout history.
As a great and prestigious family, they were granted one of the four great territories of the entire dynasty, to be inherited by future generations up to the present day.
This was an extraordinary legacy. Bertram would have been more than happy to belong to such a great family if not for the crisis they currently faced. In his memories, it became clear that the most prominent members of the Seraphim house had been mysteriously killed over the past hundred years.
Upon learning this, Bertram’s expression grew pained, as he had initially thought that waking up in what appeared to be a medieval world as the heir to such a significant house would make things easier. Who would have thought there were hidden enemies directing their claws at the Seraphim house?
Given this dire situation, was it possible that someone had tried to kill him before he opened his eyes in this body and succeeded?
According to his memories, notable family members, each with incredible potential, had all died young. This cycle, continuing for over twenty years, had led to the family’s concerning decline.
This was especially true for Bertram’s father, Daegal Seraphim, who had taken up the family leadership, forcing himself to be competent enough to uphold the duty inherited from their ancestors.
Originally, Daegal Seraphim had an influential elder brother who could have led the family to new triumphs, but he was mysteriously killed in the Silver Mountains near the Great Wall in the southern deserts.
The killings continued with heirs or outstanding members of the family, all without exception dying or being murdered.
The Arcanum House, the royal family of Eónia at the time, was troubled by the fact that one of their most loyal houses was under attack. Thus, they decided to raise Daegal Seraphim in a quieter territory to ensure the Seraphim lineage survived.
When Daegal Seraphim returned to inherit the title of Lord, no more family members had been murdered. However, recently, Bertram, the only male heir of the family, had mysteriously fallen into a coma again.
Rumors spread throughout the city, but none directly linked to the hidden enemies of the Seraphim house.
“It turns out I’m not talented enough to be a threat to those hidden enemies, huh?” Bertram couldn’t help but feel pity upon realizing that he might never become someone remarkable.
But why had he ended up here? Had the original owner of this body died just as he had?
Bertram struggled to recall the events, finally piecing them together.
It was the tenth year after Daegal Seraphim had returned to Stellarum, a time of chaos and unrest as demons roamed the southern lands. Despite the efforts of the protective troops to eliminate the threats, this problem persisted.
Five days ago, a thick fog invaded part of Stellarum, afflicting its inhabitants with a sleeping sickness. Despite the efforts of many soldiers to find the source, all attempts failed.
Messages for help were sent to famous immortals from prestigious sects across the continent, as the Seraphim troops were stationed on the borders, but, as usual, it would take at least a month for them to arrive.
The original owner of the body, frustrated with his life, joined a patrol squad when he heard there was trouble in the city.
Unexpectedly, he encountered the source of the problem: a grotesque, three-headed demon.
This demon was wreaking havoc on the townspeople, who had been hiding indoors.
And so Bertram fought valiantly against the demon, despite being weak, wielding his enormous iron staff, only to die at the demon’s hands.
Immortals, demons, magical monsters, internal energy called celestial aura, when channeled within the human body, this aura could grant a lifespan not of hundreds but of thousands of years.
Reflecting on all this left Bertram stunned. He couldn’t tell if it was due to the overwhelming way this body had died or the fact that in this world, humans had powers rivaling gods and demons.
From these memories, he understood why the original owner had been so frustrated and met his end.
It turned out that when some of the family returned, Bertram had not been talented enough to practice celestial energy and become immortal.
With so few young members left in the Seraphim house, Bertram had felt burdened by the responsibility that would soon be his.
Even though he had a younger sister more talented than him, the responsibility fell solely on Bertram. As the future leader of the Seraphim house, he couldn’t run from the dangers and leave innocent people behind.
Now, in this world, Bertram knew he had to adapt and find a way to survive no matter what. With the knowledge and memories of the original owner of this body, as well as his own intelligence, he had the potential to make a significant impact on the Seraphim house and the world at large.
But first, he needed to understand the power structure of this world, enhance his own abilities, and navigate the challenges ahead. With determined resolve, Bertram prepared to face his new life.
Once he accepted this new opportunity, where anything was possible for a human, Bertram couldn’t help but wonder: Why him? Had the world noticed his pitiful past life to give him another chance?
Bertram couldn’t understand it, but if things continued this way, he would be grateful just to live, striving every day to his fullest.
As he recalled, in this world, the human race had fought against demons by mastering celestial energy, which was divided among those who practiced immortality, divine spirit, or the literature of destiny.
His sister, Lady Adelaide, practiced the path of immortality.
Due to her abundant inner energy and extraordinary muscles and bones, she successfully entered the ninth rank of the Body Refinement Realm at the age of fifteen.
At sixteen, she reached the Elemental Realm, and by eighteen, she had completed the Nascent Realm. Even in those famous immortal sects, her rapid progress would be praised by many.
In comparison, Bertram, who was a few years older, was not as talented as his sister, and most of his knowledge was theoretical. Although he secretly managed to reach the Liberation Realm, he had been training for over five years but hadn’t even entered the Earth Realm.
Naturally, this disparity left Bertram branded as a failure, pointed out by many the moment he arrived in this city, well-known for his obvious situation.
Even when his father looked at him, in his memories, Bertram felt singled out with disdain and disappointment.
As a result, the old Bertram often wandered the city at night, venting his frustrations on trivial things like wine.
Bertram sighed deeply, feeling a sense of déjà vu. In his previous life, he had been looked down upon by others, and now, even in this life, he couldn’t hold his head high because he was a failure, even among common people.
However, he didn’t care about that now. Having traveled to another world where he luckily took the body of someone without any disease, he was sure that many of his current concerns didn’t matter because everything could be overcome with effort and dedication.
Maybe in the coming days, he would encounter a powerful old man who, after giving him a bottle of wine, would teach him a mighty technique that would soon make him a powerful practitioner of profound energy.
At this thought, Bertram’s mouth curved into a smile, feeling a bit more excited, now familiar with the logic of this kind of world in which he found himself.
Just then, someone entered the room with hurried steps, approached his bed, and grabbed Bertram’s arm.
Looking up, the person was dressed in a black martial artist’s outfit, had a beautiful face, and seemed to be about eighteen years old. Her bright, fox-like eyes were captivating.
Bertram, slightly blushing, pulled his arm away and said, "Miss, I don’t think this is the attitude you should be taking right now. Please keep your distance."
But in his heart, Bertram was very excited. Such a beautiful person getting close to him—and even more so being a woman, was indeed rare. What was their relationship? Were they engaged, like in those typical stories he used to read so much?
However, he couldn’t remember anything like that in his memory.
The person in black frowned and asked, "Doctor, what’s wrong with my brother? He’s saying things I don’t understand; it seems like he doesn’t recognize me. What if he turns stupid?"
'Huh?' Bertram's lively eyes showed surprise.
"If I’m not mistaken, I fear that Lord Bertram suffered a severe blow to the head when he faced that demon. It could also be that the damage isn’t just physical but spiritual as well. We may need to call an expert in spiritual profound energy to examine him." An old man, who had appeared on Bertram’s left side out of nowhere, murmured these words in doubt as he stroked his overly long beard, which almost dragged on the floor.
Bertram looked at the woman in black with surprise. Did this beautiful woman really call him brother?
Yes, now that he paid attention to the details, the silhouettes in his memories were blurry. Perhaps because Bertram, after knowing he wasn’t good at practicing immortality, had never dared to be that close to his family.
Which meant that the faces of his relatives were blurry, and that’s why Bertram didn’t recognize his younger sister.
Bertram’s thoughts raced as he listened to a woman sobbing at the door, who seemed very similar to his younger sister. "It wasn’t your duty to fight that demon. How could you even think of fighting instead of fleeing like anyone else would have?"
"Now look at the state you’re in. If something terrible happens to you, how are we supposed to overcome this calamity?" The woman sobbing was a beautiful lady around thirty years old, with a well-maintained figure and an attractive appearance. Standing beside her was a man with a cold expression who looked at him without saying a word.
Based on his memories, these two were his mother, Amelia, and his father, Daegal.
However, the current situation seemed quite different from what he initially expected.
Where was the family that despised him and looked at him with disappointment, for which he had mentally prepared himself just a moment ago, or his younger sister, who constantly looked at him with disdain? They all seemed to genuinely love him without any pretense, making him wonder if Bertram had been torturing himself all this time simply because of his poor talent in practice.
