Crackle, pop.
The sound of flames scorching wood.
Lin Dong felt like he was inside an oven, his body burning hot, being roasted.
He tried hard to open his eyes, but with a splitting headache, he couldn't wake up.
Until a whiff of choking smoke entered his nose.
"Cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
Lin Dong finally woke up amid a fit of violent coughing.
What he saw were blazing flames and billows of thick smoke.
What... what's happening?
Wasn't I just at a KTV attending a class reunion? How did slipping while going to the bathroom end up like this?
Did the KTV catch fire?
Lin Dong vaguely knew that wasn't the case, because through the flames and smoke, he could scarcely see that he was inside a wooden structure, with no sign of any steel and concrete structure at all.
His lungs were burning with pain.
For a moment, Lin Dong didn't think of the possibility of transmigration, but rather, if he had been kidnapped.
Until a wave of severe pain hit his brain again, and a flood of memories belonging to the original owner of this body surged and emerged.
Only then did Lin Dong understand: he had transmigrated!
This was a world dominated by Fire Mages, where fire had an extraordinary sacred significance, almost to the point of being pathological.
Almost every day there's an explosion accident caused by Fire Mages conducting experiments.
The result is that in this world, there are many fires!
The original owner of this body, named "Andrew," was a low-tier Magic Apprentice.
Although nominally with a status higher than a commoner, he was actually just doing chores for an elderly Mage in the town.
Andrew's laboratory was next door to his home.
After being busy all day, he wanted to go home and sleep, but a great fire swept through.
It's almost without thinking, the source of this fire must be the Magic Laboratory next door!
"I... damn it!"
Lin Dong almost wanted to curse.
Transmigration... well, it's not unacceptable!
But isn't this treatment a bit too poor?
I'm not asking for a prince's identity or a built-in system or anything like that, starting as a normal Magic Apprentice from scratch is fine, but at least don't let me transmigrate straight into a burning inferno!
Right now, with the flames literally at his eyebrows...
There's no choice but to run out and survive before anything else!
Lin Dong tore a piece of cloth from his shirt, urinated on it—luckily, he needed to pee just now.
Then he pressed the half-wet cloth against his nose and mouth.
This is something Lin Dong read in a fire safety guide: When faced with a fire, especially in a wooden structure, first ensure you don't suffocate, then consider not getting burned to death.
Suppressing the thought of "if I let myself get burned to death, would I transmigrate back," Lin Dong got up to prepare for escape.
But just then, he heard a small sound.
Only then did Lin Dong notice: not far away, there was another figure lying on the ground.
Because the memories inherited from Andrew were not complete, Lin Dong barely recognized it as the daughter of Aunt Sofia, who lived on the same floor, little Sophie.
The girl was about twelve or thirteen, her little face was blackened by smoke.
"This..."
For a moment, Lin Dong intended to run away. They weren't related, and he wasn't a professional rescuer, willing but powerless.
This fire wasn't even his fault!
Even couples fly apart in the face of disaster, not to mention him and her who aren't close.
But then he heard little Sophie mumble in her sleep, "Mom, I'm hot... water... cough, cough..."
Lin Dong: "..."
He gritted his teeth, crouched low, went forward, and lifted the little girl over his shoulder.
Well, fortunately, this body was quite strong, stronger than himself before the transmigration. It seems the rumor that Mages are physically weak isn't entirely reliable.
Lin Dong struggled to discern direction through the thick smoke and ran towards the outside of the fire scene.
Amid the emergency, what Lin Dong didn't notice was the moment he decided to save, an unassuming gray teardrop-shaped pendant on his neck suddenly flashed with a water-blue light.
Like a beam of life in a chaotic fiery sea.
...
The fire spread.
If this were the modern world before the transmigration, there would have been fire trucks and firefighters arriving to conduct professional firefighting and rescue.
But in this Fire Mage-dominated Otherworld, the logic was different.
The magic laboratory that caused the fire was fine, but the residential building on the side of the laboratory, where civilians lived, was ignited and burned more fiercely.
Yet, due to the sacred inviolability of flames—especially those conjured by Mages—these flames were not allowed to be extinguished!
They could only wait for it to naturally extinguish after reaching the "firebreak."
"Mage Master, are you alright."
A robust middle-aged man, whose uniform was tightly stretched, led a team to the street outside the fire scene, eagerly greeting a dry, almost coffin-ready elderly man in a dark red Magic Robe.
The old man was named Hubert, the Chief Mage of Wildfire Town.
The middle-aged man was Raymond, the Sheriff.
"Of course, I'm fine." Hubert sighed, "But... why did the experiment fail again? How can I integrate 'Earth Fire' attribute into my Magic Flames?" He stroked his sparse beard and began pondering.
A moment later, the old Mage suddenly frowned, seeing more and more civilians running out from the burning houses to the street to take refuge, crying and shouting.
Among them, a middle-aged woman was nearly frantic: "My... my daughter? My daughter is still inside!"
She immediately tried to rush back to the fire to save her daughter, but was firmly restrained by others.
Judging by the fire, rushing back now would just cost another life.
Hubert watched coldly and said to Raymond, "Leave the aftermath to you. The usual rule, no extinguishing the fire! As for the losses... well, raise taxes next month. Alright, I'm leaving now!"
Looking somewhat fed up and indifferent, the old Mage withdrew his gaze from the civilians on the street and was about to leave.
He needed to think through the reason for the experiment's failure and the plan for the next one through the night.
"W-wait a moment!" The middle-aged woman rushed up, "Respectable Mage Master, my daughter Sophie is still in the fire. Please, show mercy and save her!" She said, directly kneeling and grabbing a corner of the Mage's Magic Robe.
"How dare you!" Raymond's face changed, kicking Aunt Sofia hard, "How dare a mere commoner touch Master Hubert's clothes randomly? Have you had enough of living? Let go, let me go!"
However, no matter how he kicked, Aunt Sofia did not respond.
In this mother's eyes, she was fixated on the old Mage, her hands clutching the corner of his clothes like clinging to the last straw of hope.
"Alright."
The old Mage raised his hand to signal Raymond to stop, then turned to speak warmly, "Firstly, your daughter has not perished in the flame, but become part of the Holy Fire, which is not a bad thing.
Secondly, even if I wanted to save her, it's too late.
Because it is not ordinary flame, but Magic Fire infused with my Magic Power, how could mere mortals withstand that? Your daughter is probably already—"
With a loud rumble, the entire civilian house could no longer withstand the devouring fire and collapsed.
Aunt Sofia's body shook violently as if electrocuted, and then, like the house, she went limp as if she had lost her soul.
"—Alright, I guess there's no need for me to say more."
Hubert laughed indifferently.
He casually removed the Magic Robe, dirtied by Sofia's dirty hands, throwing it on the ground.
However, at this moment, there was a sudden commotion among the civilians on the street.
Seeing a figure, enshrouded in flames, rush out from the fiery inferno before the building completely collapsed!