August sat at his desk, writing enthusiastically. His novel, "The Pure Lady," had only a few chapters left. He planned to finish it in a couple of days, feeling that he was dishonoring the multitude of transmigrators. After earning some money and solving his survival problems, August wanted to transition to a more objective audience.
Of course, his profession wouldn't change; he would continue to publish his works in newspapers. However, the content would probably lean towards more conventional fantasy works. With his rich reading experience, thanks to staying up late in his previous life which caused his myopia, and the large number of fans he had accumulated in this world, he believed he would remain popular. Naturally, he still had to write explicit scenes to ensure he lost Silas Blackwood's prestige.
August wrote for a while. Without a computer, and relying entirely on handwriting, he couldn't help but miss the electronic devices from his previous life. If nothing unexpected happened, August would probably live as a popular, best-selling novelist in this World, until one day, on a whim, he decided to explore his own basement.
The house inherited from his late father had three floors and a spacious basement. In the city of Stonehaven, relatively far from the imperial capital, it was considered an exceptional living place. Fearing that the Emperor would break his word and annihilate them, the survivors of the Vane family moved to this city, far from the political center, intending to live off the family wealth. Thanks to them, they at least remembered to leave a house while squandering their fortune, saving August from the desolate situation of sleeping on the street.
When he transmigrated and received the first payment for his manuscript, August no longer had to worry about food or clothing. In addition to writing, he thought about tidying up his almost empty house, hoping to find some valuable antique or something similar.
On the first floor were the kitchen and living room, with not much to see; all useful items had been taken. On the second floor were the study and bedroom, also empty, with no valuable books. The third floor was an attic that housed some miscellaneous items.
After a long search, August found nothing special and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It seemed he wouldn't find anything. Just as he was about to give up, a memory suddenly resurfaced: a fragment of his childhood was hidden in his own basement, only to be found by his father after a long search and then to be brutally beaten. He immediately realized that there was still a hidden space in the house.
August immediately went to the bottom of the stairs and, sure enough, found a wider joint between the floorboards. He knelt down and pulled hard, opening a trapdoor just as he remembered.
Immediately, a stale smell rose from the dark stairway below. August instinctively covered his nose and mouth. After it had ventilated sufficiently, August entered the gloomy basement.
It was filled with a considerable number of objects: portraits of ancestors, some furniture adorned with intricate carvings, but now all covered in cobwebs and dust, looking dilapidated. August pursed his lips, unable to find any use for them.
Finally, August found two objects in the corner; these were his greatest gains from this trip.
One was a suit of armor leaning against a dust-covered sword. August briefly cleaned it, and even in the light of a lamp, he could see how the armor reflected the light. The sword even cut his finger, showing its sharpness.
August observed the appearance of the armor and supposed that it might have been the weapon and armor of the Vane ancestor to conquer the world. Even if their descendants were unworthy, they wouldn't dare to sell it.
August didn't plan to move it; he would simply leave it hidden in the basement.
As for the other object, it was a large wooden chest lined with carved copper. Among the copper decorations were embedded some dust-covered jewels, but unfortunately, with the passage of time, they had lost their original luster.
August had put a great effort into dragging this heavy chest to the study, unsure of what it contained.
After August cleaned it, he found a phrase carved on the side of the chest: "Only the Vane family lineage can open my legacy."
On the other side was another phrase: "The world is shrouded in mist; what you see may not be reality."
The first phrase was easy to understand, but the latter warning left him somewhat bewildered.
August pondered for a moment and decided to open the chest to see what it contained. But upon seeing the lock, he was stunned; there was nothing resembling a lock on this chest. There was only a circular copper plate where the lock should be, with a short, sharp needle inserted in the center.
August immediately thought of the phrase engraved on the side of the chest. He hesitated for a moment but gritted his teeth and pressed the needle with his index finger.
Instantly, the needle pierced his skin. Immediately after, he felt a suction force emanating from the tip. Blood emanated from his finger, but, curiously, it didn't drip; instead, it flowed in a circle along the interface between the lid and the body of the plate.
Then August felt a sharp pain in his brain and then fell unconscious.
August simply felt like he was floating in the air, without any support and without needing to exert himself. He just floated slowly. There was nothing in front of him; the entire world contained only him. But he didn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he felt very comfortable. He knew that he wasn't in a normal state, but he wasn't worried at all and just wanted to keep floating carelessly like this forever.
Until he saw the enormous door floating above the clouds.
August was unaware of the origin of that towering door. It stood upon a huge golden cloud. It looked like stone, without any decoration, only thick frames and two gigantic, hermetically sealed stone panels.
When August reached out to touch this singular door, he felt his body float upwards and some sharp sensations assaulted him.
August clutched his head and rose from the floor, feeling that everything that had just happened had an unreal quality, like a dream.
He immediately went forward and took everything out of the chest. He was sure that the previous situation must be related to his act of opening the chest.
Inside, he found a thick stack of books and notebooks, along with some inexplicable objects like dried grass, insects, and crystals. He even found a hand bone of something that didn't look human, with sharp claws.
A letter was placed on top, which he also put on the table. After checking that nothing was missing, August opened it.
After a while, August put down the letter with an uncertain expression, his face still showing some disbelief.
The letter was left by a Vane ancestor, and the chest also belonged to him. As for that magical unlocking mechanism, it was to detect if any descendant had the potential to become a mage!
Mages, in August's imagination, should be those shadowy figures in cloaks that don't allow a view of their faces, but undoubtedly possessed strange powers. How could he not be surprised that this ancestor was a mage?
What followed this was undoubtedly ecstasy. According to the letter, if a descendant managed to open the chest, it meant they had the potential to become a mage, ideal for inheriting his legacy. It's worth mentioning that transmigrators possess great adaptability; he soon understood that this was not a common world, but a fantasy world with mysterious powers.
However, August was still pondering another matter: the large door in his spiritual world. The letter didn't mention this peculiar vision.
According to the letter's description, a person's spiritual world, before being transformed by magic, is initially an empty space, with nothing else present apart from oneself.
But August clearly remembered that stone door, and he could even vividly recall its structure. The discrepancy with the letter's description worried him a bit.
However, with no other option, he could only accept reality. There was a large pile of mysterious, some magical, books on the table waiting for him to read. He believed that, after becoming a mage capable of controlling his own spirit, he would undoubtedly find the right solutions.
The immediate priority was to understand what kind of people mages were and their differences. Thanks to the strange identification method inherited from the elder of his family, he developed a considerable interest in the existence of mages.
Thus, August's original ambition to be a plagiarist in another world changed.