Chapter 1

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Yixing Chuan felt as if her head had been struck heavily by a blunt object, pain accompanied by dizziness. As she opened her eyes, she instinctively reached to touch her forehead, but through her blurred vision, she saw a slender arm—one she was certain did not belong to her. The moment she realized this, she was fully awake.

She found herself standing at the center of an ancient altar worn by time.

There were no usual lighting fixtures here, only candles arranged neatly in lines. The stone slabs beneath the candelabras were engraved with unfamiliar symbols—less like language and more like intricate runes interwoven with patterns.

Out of habit, Yixing Chuan wanted to observe more, but a strange instinct immediately stopped her, and she dismissed the thought of studying the altar further.

Then a line of words appeared in her mind:

[Inspired by intuition, you have abandoned an action that might have put you in danger.]

[Your awareness of danger has increased.]

Yixing Chuan: ...What is this?

The words resembled prompts from a game and felt oddly familiar. They soon vanished, giving her no time to ponder, so she turned her attention elsewhere.

After checking details like scars and birthmarks, she confirmed she had not become younger; this was not her own body.

This body was smaller and shorter—clearly that of an adolescent still in development.

Around her were about twenty others of similar age, with at most a five-year age gap. The altar’s candlelight cast a dim yellow glow on these teenagers. They hung their heads like reeds in the wind, their anxious expressions faintly visible in the gloom. Yixing Chuan felt a tangible oppression in the silence.

Most of them had distinctive blond hair and blue eyes; others had brown or black hair. Their facial features suggested a strange thought to her—if she wasn’t caught up in some high-budget prank show, could she have actually transmigrated?

Who was she now? What was going on?

She refrained from asking immediately and decided to listen to what the others were saying.

“It's been almost fifteen minutes, why hasn’t Steward Brian returned yet?”

“This is strange... He’s never left during the announcement of results before. Even when elders have messages, he waits until the announcement is over. Something big must have happened.”

“Maybe it’s related to last week’s incident with the cultist sacrifices. The church probably wants the family’s cooperation in the investigation.”

“The church... I heard they’re very dissatisfied with the White family’s conduct during the Golden Deer Festival this year. The family’s business isn’t doing well. Maybe they plan to cut costs and eliminate some less capable members?”

“Oh no, what am I supposed to do? Last quarter I was still ranked near the bottom! I don’t want to be cut—I can’t even pay tuition!”

“Don’t pressure yourself. Even if eliminations happen, they start from the bottom. Don’t forget, Ellis was dead last for three whole years. If anyone goes first, it’ll be her.”

After listening, Yixing Chuan summarized what she had gathered:

“First, everyone here must belong to the same family, members under centralized training. The family holds regular assessments, which are very important and determine one’s future within the clan.”

“It seems the family’s training is not free. Those who fail the assessments must repay the family for the training expenses, which sound exorbitant.”

...Sounds like a capitalist-style student loan with interest.

The original owner of this body probably doesn’t know her own grades. She hated trouble and wouldn’t want to inherit a massive debt upon transmigrating.

“Alright, quiet down—”

A deep, authoritative voice came from behind. Everyone, including Yixing Chuan, turned toward it—a gray-haired elderly man holding a parchment scroll. His gaze swept over them as people parted like the Red Sea, making way for him to approach the altar’s podium where he unfurled the scroll.

“Forget the earlier interruption. We will continue announcing last quarter’s results.”

“But before that, I have some unfortunate news—starting next year, the White family’s assessment method will change. More underperforming supernaturals will be eliminated, and crucial resources will be concentrated on truly worthy elites.”

He emphasized the words “worthy elites.”

As whispers broke out below, Yixing Chuan noticed Brian seemingly glance in her direction.

She felt a bad premonition.

“Silence!” Brian cut off the chatter. “Notice to everyone: this year’s final assessment will be moved forward by one and a half months.”

“What?!”

“You can’t do this! This is too sudden!”

“This violates regulations, Mr. Brian!”

The moment the announcement was made, the previously quiet children erupted loudly.

Yixing Chuan saw the boy who had just complained about his ranking approach Brian, shouting:

“This isn’t fair! I won’t accept it, Mr. Brian! The family signed contracts with us—”

“Everyone’s preparation time is equally reduced by one and a half months. That’s still fair,” Brian interrupted. “And your contracts don’t state you must have three months’ preparation before each assessment, do they?”

The boy was speechless.

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“Let me help you remember,” Brian said, looking at the boy’s flushed face. “Every eligible child with magical power in the White family may voluntarily enroll in internal training lasting three years. Before training, the family signs a contract with the trainee stating that all expenses will be covered by the family. If the trainee passes the assessment, they may choose a position provided by the family.”

“If the trainee fails the final assessment, the family converts the training expenses into debt, which the trainee must repay unconditionally.”

“Each contract is witnessed by the Contract God Nagel. Betrayers will face deserved punishment.”

“I must remind you: changing the assessment time temporarily is not a breach of contract.”

With each sentence, the boy’s face grew paler.

Yixing Chuan thought: This boy can’t argue. Brian’s words are all facts. This so-called family is squeezing out every bit of value from its members—much like capitalists.

Signing such a contract is a gamble. Every few years, a batch of failures end up with astronomical debts, wasting their lives serving the family. When they signed, they surely believed they wouldn’t be among the failures.

And this world seems to have supernatural powers, so even breaking contracts and running away is not an option.

...If I’m going to transmigrate, couldn’t it be to a more hopeful world?

“Let’s continue announcing results.” Brian returned his gaze to the parchment.

“Seventeenth, Natasha, second rank; eighteenth, Karen, second rank... good improvement.”

The praised children relaxed, others waited anxiously for their names.

“From nineteenth to twenty-ninth are first rank: Rowe, Lister...”

Yixing Chuan listened but somehow knew none of these were her name.

After announcing twenty-ninth place, Brian paused.

“Thirtieth, Ellis, zero rank.”

His tone was flat, as if unsurprised.

He rolled up the parchment. “Clearly, another three months with no progress. I’ve never seen a supernatural who, after such time and resources, still cannot reach first rank.”

“The family once had high hopes and generously invested nearly three years in you. But that hope was misguided. Even a stone polished smooth will never become a pearl.”

Brian stepped down from the podium. “That’s all for today. You may leave.”

After a few seconds of silence, the crowd began to move, some slowly leaving.

Brian’s humiliating assessment became the hottest topic as they walked and talked, occasionally throwing glances at Yixing Chuan, who remained standing.

“Having magic but can’t become supernatural—maybe she’s just lazy?”

“The family even trained her as a reserve supernatural for three years. Imagine if those resources had gone to me...”

“She must be a traitor’s child. The omniscient god has cursed her, forbidding her from becoming supernatural.”

They spoke loudly enough for Yixing Chuan to hear clearly.

Unconcerned about embarrassment, she quickly extracted information from their words.

Keywords like “supernatural,” “holy church,” “Contract God” felt familiar, and she connected the dots.

At that moment, fragments of the original body’s memories flooded her mind, and she understood her situation.

She had indeed transmigrated—becoming Ellis White, a villain in a fantasy novel called Dragon Mark.

This story blended Victorian style, steampunk, and magic, like many adventure tales about a protagonist growing strong and saving the world.

The world had gods, churches, and supernaturals with extraordinary powers.

Supernaturals were divided into church-affiliated and independent factions, their influence shifting over the years.

Western and southern nations were dominated by the church faction. The church was the state religion in these countries and recruited supernaturals annually. Working for the church was an honor, even more so than civil service.

In the original story, Ellis was a cultist hunted by the church, worshiping a dark goddess.

Mocked for failing to learn supernatural arts, she fell into massive family debt, forced to work long hours to repay it. But her suffering did not end there—living at society’s bottom, she discovered she carried the blood of the Dark Folk, a race hunted by the church, whose capture usually meant death.

Her life was hopeless. Now even her last thread of life was being taken away.

Ellis turned completely dark, despairing, she called upon the dark god and was answered. She vowed revenge, ravaging the world that stole everything from her.

She led other cultists in attacks on church strongholds across nations, brutally slaughtering innocents as sacrifices. This monstrous act drew the righteous forces and the protagonist group to hunt her, setting the stage for the hero’s journey to level up and defeat the final boss.

Though this character had limited appearances in the millions of words of the novel, she was memorable.

Yixing Chuan had no clue how she had transmigrated. She was just an ordinary woman working late, who happened to glance at the full moon on her way home.

No car accidents, no surgeries, no occult games.

Couldn't this transmigration slot go to someone who needed it more?

...Since there are gods in this world, maybe they can send her back.

New text appeared before her eyes:

[Mission: Pass the White Family’s Assessment]

[Time: Depends on story progression]

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[Reward: None]

[Failure penalty: Debt amount you wouldn’t want to know (click here if you really want to know)]

...If this is a game, shouldn’t there be a tutorial for beginners?

And the reward is none? That’s stingy.

Yixing Chuan sighed inwardly.

The original novel never explained how Ellis became a supernatural, so she was completely in the dark.

...If I can’t become supernatural, I inherit debts? What’s the difference from spawning dead?

As she pondered her next move, a voice came from her side:

“Are you alright?”

Yixing Chuan looked to see a brown-haired, blue-eyed girl about her height.

Memory fragments surfaced, and she instinctively called out the name:

“I’m fine, Claire.”

Then she saw words floating above the girl’s head:

[Claire White]

[Your classmate and former roommate.]

Claire suggested they go out together; Yixing Chuan didn’t refuse.

She wanted to gather some intelligence and see if the game-like system on her body would trigger new functions.

As they walked, Claire pulled out a small booklet, looking worried.

“The afternoon class is about to start. Have you finished your homework? Let’s compare answers in the cafeteria!”

Yixing Chuan hesitated, lacking full memories, and resorted to a safe reply:

“...I’m not very confident.”

Claire frowned. “Even you don’t have confidence? ...I’m scared to submit mine—I’ll probably get terrible grades.”

“Let’s just hope for the best,” Yixing Chuan said sincerely.

They left the altar passage and entered the family grounds.

A large courtyard surrounded by stone walls came into view, with tall camphor trees sparsely scattered. The path ran behind a tall building, with few passersby.

Yixing Chuan noticed an old man gathering fallen leaves in a corner. One hand hung low while the other waved in the air, causing the leaves to swirl and fall neatly into a bag.

Seeing this, a simple thought crossed her mind: ...Wow, that’s so cool.

It reminded her of childhood fantasies from reading Harry Potter.

“Teacher, I want to do that too.”

Noticing her gaze, Claire said, “Years ago, the family included ‘proficiency in Breeze Magic’ in the supernatural apprentice assessments. Some say it’s the family’s backup plan—to make those who fail useful as skilled laborers.”

“Hmm... sounds quite extravagant,” Yixing Chuan replied ambiguously, hoping Claire would reveal more.

Claire shrugged. “In Newt, no one lets supernaturals do chores except us and the church.”

This gave Yixing Chuan a clearer impression of the White family’s power.

Sounds like a local stronghold...

At the crossroads, Claire asked, “Do you want to go to the cafeteria with me?”

Yixing Chuan thought briefly, then asked, “...When does afternoon class start?”

Claire took out a delicate flip mirror from her jacket pocket and glanced at it.

“It’s already 12:30.”

She put the mirror away. “We have half an hour to eat, then forty minutes of rest. Shall we go now?”

Before Yixing Chuan could hesitate, new words appeared before her:

[Mission: Explore the Dormitory — Time limit: Three hours]

[Objective: Find the Magic Mirror]

[Description: You seem about to shoulder an unpayable debt, feeling melancholy. You sigh, ‘Maybe life is always this hard, like in some movie?’ But now, a turning point that could change your life beckons. The key is whether you can grasp Fortune’s hand and step onto a different river of fate.]

[Hint: Opportunities often hide in every corner of life. Use your eye for details.]

[Reward: Key to Golden Locust Street Back Alley]

“Sorry,” Ellis said, “I want to go back to the dormitory. You go ahead.”