The Kingdom

Chapter 1: Transmigration

"Light’s Healing…"

As the incantation echoed, a gentle, radiant beam of white light surged forth and alighted precisely upon the sickbed. It exuded the fresh aura of early spring, as if beckoning one into an ocean of life. In that uncanny spectacle, Sam Cole found the words teetering on his tongue forcibly swallowed—his body revealing a truth that no artifice could hide.

This scene was no mere performance, nor a prank; as an ordinary wage earner, Sam Cole could scarcely imagine anyone orchestrating such an elaborate display on his behalf.

"Transmigration!"

No sooner had that thought flickered through his mind than an unfamiliar torrent of memories burst forth. Before he could even resist, Sam Cole gracefully succumbed to a dazzling swoon.

...

"Father Quinn, what is the state of young Hudson?"

A middle-aged man, resplendently attired, inquired with genuine concern. Beside him stood a noblewoman with bloodshot, swollen eyes—her expression a delicate blend of expectation and resentment, reminiscent of a mother earnestly worried for her son.

"Fear not, Baron Redman. The Lord’s grace shall shelter his faithful! The backlash of the counterforce has been vanquished, and young Hudson’s Life Seed has awakened; he has merely fainted from excessive energy expenditure," Father Quinn replied wearily.

Clearly, the healing miracle had taxed him immensely—a burden compounded by his status as but a novice cleric. Yet in Tielun Town, even a humble cleric was regarded as a figure of great esteem. As the realm’s sole cleric and apothecary, Father Quinn reserved his divine ministrations for only the most eminent, employing his self-fashioned remedies and experimental elixirs to serve those truly worthy.

"May the Great Lord of Dawn bless Hudson!"

"Thank you, Father Quinn…" Baron Redman responded, his earlier frown vanishing in an instant—a display of noble restraint that might have been far more dramatic were it not for his cultivated decorum.

After dismissing the cleric, Baron Redman turned to his attendant, ordering, "See to young Hudson’s care; notify me immediately upon his revival."

Perhaps buoyed by the Baron’s lifted spirits, the nearby noblewoman could no longer restrain herself and pleaded, "Redman, now that Hudson is safe, might we consider releasing poor Lysur?"

As if struck at a tender nerve, Baron Redman’s pleasant countenance darkened instantly. "Silence! It is your indulgence that has sown this disgrace. To think that you pilfered the Life Essence meant for your elder brother—thus tarnishing our Coslo family’s millennial honor—and that this wretch has ruined it all! Were it not for Hudson’s fortitude, I would have struck this beast down. Let him dangle for now; who dares to free him, hm…"

Tears, after all, are a formidable weapon in a woman’s arsenal. Under ordinary circumstances, Baron Redman might have yielded to such pleas, but now, the stakes had irrevocably changed.

With that, the Baron swept away in a flurry of disdain, affording his lady no further dignity.

...

Upon the sickbed, Sam Cole—now imbued with the memories of his former self—slowly awakened, finally convinced that this was no dream. Fate, in its capricious irony, had deemed him worthy of such a transmigration. In a twist of cosmic humor, he had been caught in the throes of an extraordinary destiny.

Were it possible, Sam Cole would have gladly returned to the drudgery of his old 9-to-6 existence. But if transmigration must come, then so be it!

Thus, he now bore a new name: "Hudson Coslo," the third son of Baron Redman. Admittedly, this birthright was far from opulent—indeed, something his previous life could scarcely have imagined. Yet, with steadfast resolve, even this modest beginning promised the prospect of an extraordinary life.

Alas, the world itself was anything but ordinary. Though its political structure evoked medieval Europe, that was but a veneer. Knights, magic, clerics, sorcerers… Elves, dwarves, orcs, sea folk, undead… Professions and races once confined to the realms of games and novels now materialized before his very eyes, heralding a realm destined for perpetual turmoil.

Accustomed to the peace of modern society, he found himself ill-equipped for this brutal arena. Averse to pain, Sam Cole dared not court death. After a night of anguished struggle on the bed, he resigned himself to the stark reality of becoming "Hudson Coslo." His first modest objective: to survive.

In a world where religion reigns supreme and myth intertwines with reality, any aberrant act may invite mortal peril. To avoid ending up as mere morsel on the grill, Hudson must steadfastly cling to his identity. While many matters might be resolved with ease, emulating his old habits and mannerisms proved a far more intricate challenge.

In that moment, Hudson found himself caught between gratitude and resentment towards that hapless younger brother—ever lingering in the shadows—whose meddling had pilfered the Life Essence. Had it not been for that clumsy oaf’s interference, he might never have been forced to usurp another’s destiny; perhaps, he might have evaded this transmigration altogether.

In a cruel twist, this calamity provided him the perfect pretext. The harrowing brush with death had indelibly altered his ways—a transformation that, given the circumstances, could scarcely be faulted.

As he gathered the scattered fragments of memory within his mind, Hudson began to grasp his predicament. He was the third son of Baron Redman—preceded by two elder brothers and one elder sister, and followed by three younger brothers and two younger sisters—with the tragic nuance that the Baron’s current consort was but his second wife.

Throughout history, encountering a stepmother has seldom augured well; indeed, it was no surprise that an incorrigible child had swapped the Life Essence, compounding his woes. The sole comfort lay in the fact that the present Baroness was of modest origin—a merchant’s daughter who, despite her wealth, wielded little political influence. In this marriage of convenience, Baron Redman held unassailable sway, a fact proven by the survival of all his offspring.

Thanks to a rigorously upheld system of inheritance, the title was beyond dispute. Even if the Baroness’s midnight entreaties were formidable, Baron Redman could not contravene the laws of primogeniture. While the title was secure, the allocation of resources remained fiercely contested. In this realm of the strong preying upon the weak, wealth alone could not procure the coveted cultivation and political assets—treasures that money could never buy.

Within the noble hierarchy—dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, and barons—the barony itself languished near the bottom. How, then, could the Baron ever muster sufficient resources?

Moreover, Baron Redman was peculiarly prolific. With so many sons, the distribution of limited resources was an ever-growing dilemma. As the siblings matured, tensions escalated inexorably. The current Life Essence debacle was but the inevitable c****x of these burgeoning conflicts.

While his two elder brothers had successfully awakened their Life Seeds, becoming knights in service to the kingdom’s army, Hudson’s case had taken an unforeseen turn. The strategic resource of Life Essence—essential for awakening one’s Life Seed—was monopolized by both the empire and the church. Even among the nobility, the supply was strictly limited; it was not a commodity to be casually traded. In a bid to secure the Life Essence ahead of time, Baron Redman had expended countless favors, only to be forced into a year’s delay.

This postponement meant that his favored younger brother, Lysur, had now reached the age to awaken his Life Seed. Cutting in line was unthinkable—no matter if Lysur were the Baron’s favorite or if the Baroness’s nocturnal persuasions held sway—the unyielding edicts of family tradition prevailed. Missing this one opportunity would mean an indefinite wait. In an act of defiance against common sense, Lysur had contrived the audacious notion of swapping the Life Essence.

The outcome, as one might predict, was disastrous. Though he had hoarded the Life Essence, Hudson was now convinced that such power was forever beyond his reach.