The moment he stepped into the Star Gate, Fangsheng felt a sharp wave of dizziness. When the dizziness subsided, he looked around. Instead of the bloody scenery he had expected behind the gate, he saw only a vast expanse of white.
"This is... a contingency left by senior Wang Ming?" A female voice rang out. Fangsheng looked toward the source and saw a woman with long hair draped over her shoulders and a silver eye mask covering her face. Although the mask hid most of her features, Fangsheng could tell from her fair skin and graceful figure that she was a beautiful woman.
As for the contingency left by the senior that she had mentioned, Fangsheng already knew about it, as the man in the tailored suit had told him earlier.
At that moment, the woman also noticed Fangsheng. She cautiously approached him and then asked politely, "U-Um, hello, my name is Lewan. Are you Fangsheng?"
*Isn't she a bit too respectful...?*
Just as Fangsheng was about to speak, a middle-aged man suddenly materialized. Startled by the sudden appearance of the man, Lewan jumped behind Fangsheng and peeked out at him timidly.
*She is terribly timid,* Fangsheng thought, letting out a sigh as he looked at the eye mask on Lewan's face. *Well, I'll save her if I can.*
Unaware that her image had already taken a hit in her teammate's mind, Lewan looked bravely at the middle-aged man and asked, "Are you Senior Wang Ming?"
The middle-aged man nodded and said apologetically, "You already know the general situation. I am now just a remnant soul, a contingency left behind by my true body. I am very sorry to burden you both."
He continued, "Next, I will impart the common language of this world to you and leave behind some equipment. I am truly sorry, but this is all I can do."
Lewan hurried to comfort him. "You're already amazing, mister."
Seeing the two of them looking like they were ready to chat, Fangsheng quickly chimed in, "Senior, we should make the most of our time. After all, this space looks like it's about to give out."
With that, he pointed toward a distant section of the white ground that was beginning to fracture.
Wang Ming looked in the direction Fangsheng was pointing, his expression changing drastically. He quickly handed over two stones and some equipment, speaking at a rapid-fire pace: "Place the stone against your forehead to master the language. The equipment is of fine quality and provides a certain level of defensive capability, but remember not to rely solely on gear, and above all, step into the transcendent realm as quickly as possible!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them, arms full of items, experienced a blur in their vision. When their sight cleared, they found themselves out of the white space.
A strong stench of blood washed over them. Fangsheng's face turned pale, and he nearly gagged. He glanced beside him; Lewan's face was chalky white, but she was gritting her teeth to keep from throwing up.
*Judging by this, my teammate isn't half bad...*
"Alright, use the stone quickly and put on the gear," Fangsheng said. He picked up one of the stones and pressed it against his forehead, and Lewan quickly followed suit.
Fangsheng sucked in a sharp breath. The sensation of knowledge being forcefully shoved into his mind was far from pleasant. Once he had digested the foreign information, he began rummaging through the items Wang Ming had left behind to find what he could use.
At that moment, a cold, mechanical voice chimed in: "Beginning physical enhancement." As the words fell, Fangsheng felt a warm current flowing through his body.
Once the physical enhancement was complete, the cold voice sounded again: "Current main quest: Survive. Implanting identity: Nameless."
*Nameless?!*
Fangsheng fell silent. He knew what "Nameless" meant in this world: it referred to transcendents who had died, slumbered within the World Tree, and subsequently awakened once more.
Of course, not every transcendent who died could enter the World Tree to slumber and await revival; only those who had once participated in the Empire War were granted such an honor.
However, the major drawback of being a Nameless was that, having experienced a deep slumber, they retained no memories whatsoever. Moreover, upon awakening from the World Tree, every Nameless would wake up inside the Radiant Church situated at the very roots of the World Tree—though a few unlucky souls might wake up elsewhere.
Judging by their current situation, it seemed he was one of those unfortunate few...
At that moment, Lewan asked timidly from beside him, "Fangsheng, are you a Nameless?"
Hearing her question, Fangsheng fell silent. He suddenly had a good idea of what his teammate's identity was.
"I am. So you're a Witch, my Witch?" A Witch—or rather, a Nameless's Witch. They were trained by the Radiant Church specifically to guide female Namelesses. They were proficient in the Radiant Church's power of faith, utilizing prayer to wield the strength of the radiant light.
As the great senior Wang Ming had once complained in his notes, it was a pitiful profession, bound for life to a bunch of out-of-their-minds lunatics. And yes, those out-of-their-minds lunatics were the Nameless...
"Yes, my memories tell me you are a newly awakened Nameless, but you didn't wake up in the Radiant Church, so I came to look for you," Lewan said, her cheeks flushing red. She hadn't expected to end up with this identity; compared to the fragmented notes left by Wang Ming, her own memories gave her a much deeper understanding of this role, making her fully aware of what it truly entailed.
*How embarrassing...* Lewan thought, blushing fiercely.
Fangsheng, however, latched onto the part about her coming to look for him. He quickly asked, "Since you came looking for me, you must know where this place is, right?"
Lewan recalled her memories and said with a hint of fear, "We are in the West..."
*This... is a terrible starting point,* Fangsheng thought to himself, though it made sense. If they weren't in the Land of Chaos, the main quest wouldn't simply be to survive.
"Let's change into our equipment first..." He turned to look at Lewan, only to find that she had already undergone a dramatic transformation. Her casual clothes had turned into a long black robe.
"This outfit doesn't seem to be among the standard equipment..." Fangsheng said hesitantly.
Lewan looked down at herself and replied, "It changed on its own when I accepted my identity. This is a Witch's work uniform, and we also have a black hooded cloak..." As she spoke, as if remembering something, she unclipped a cloth pouch from her waist.
"Oh right, this is a pouch issued by the Church. It's like a Spatial Ring from a cultivation world, and it can hold so many things!" Looking at the cloth pouch in her hand, little stars practically twinkled in Lewan's eyes.
Seeing the robe on the young woman, Fangsheng asked uncertainly, "This robe of yours isn't an ordinary piece of clothing, is it?"
"That's right! If we evaluate it using the equipment standards of our world, this robe is an exceptional-grade piece of gear. Not only does it restore the wearer's mana, but it also provides very high defense," Lewan replied happily.
*Damn, an exceptional-grade piece of equipment even better than the fine gear provided by the senior, plus a spatial pouch—is the Radiant Church really that wealthy?!*
Fangsheng squatted down and began rummaging through the items left by the senior to find gear suited for himself. Before long, he found a set of light armor and a longsword.
Holding the light armor in his hands, just as he was wondering how to put it on, his body moved on its own. He instinctively began donning the light armor with movements that were extremely practiced and smooth.
Then, he naturally slung the scabbard over his back and slid the longsword into place.