The next morning.

It was around eight. Orphanage director Lillian changed into a clean, neat nun’s habit and put on her veil. Sang, Luna, and Adolf changed into plain black clothes and headed for the plaza in the town center.

[Favor] was a sacred and solemn ritual. Bloodletting was part of it, so the ceremony had to be taken seriously. Everyone had to wear dark-colored clothes. Otherwise, they’d be considered heretics rebelling against the Blood Clan—and might even be executed on the spot.

It wasn’t just the three of them. Other children in town who had come of age that year were there too. There weren’t many—only around thirty.

When Sang reached the town square, he spotted a group of people standing in the center from a distance. Counting on his fingers, he figured there were twelve. The only familiar face was Baron Loren, a fat, jowly member of the Blood Clan. He had none of the elegance that blood-clan nobles in novels from Sang’s old world were supposed to have. He looked more like a local squire—or maybe a nouveau riche upstart.

Loren was his surname. His given name was Ben. His full name was Ben Loren.

Apart from Ben Loren, the other eleven wore identical black cloaks that hid their faces, making their features impossible to see. Even so, they had a formidable presence.

They were probably Blood Clan knights from Central, assigned to handle blood collection and blood transport in a particular region.

Before the bloodletting officially began, Ben Loren delivered the customary speech.

It was all pointless drivel, so Sang didn’t pay much attention. But the last thing Ben said caught everyone’s attention—and even caused an uproar.

“First of all, I must congratulate this year’s candidates. We’ve received word that before long, the True Ancestor will awaken from her long slumber… She needs blood—pure, delicious blood. So, though the chances are slim, one of you may be fortunate enough to receive the [Favor].”

At those words...

The adults watching from around the square looked shocked and conflicted. The True Ancestor of the Blood Clan was an immortal being who had ruled over all blood-clan members since ancient times. In this world ruled by the Blood Clan, there was no doubt she stood at its very peak.

But on the one hand, people didn’t dare spread stories about the True Ancestor. On the other, her last awakening had been decades—or even a century—ago. It was a distant memory.

There weren’t many stories about the True Ancestor, but based on what little information there was, she was undoubtedly a cruel and bloodthirsty being.

They said that many years ago, someone had become the True Ancestor’s Blood Servant. In just one day, a lively person had turned into a dried-up corpse.

Calling them a Blood Servant was misleading. They were more like living sacrifices.

Just as everyone present was ashen-faced, Ben Loren was swept up in the joy of the True Ancestor’s awakening. He cheered, “Humans, rejoice! Applaud! Sing her praises! The greatest being of all is about to awaken!”

Everyone had no choice but to pretend to clap and cheer.

There was no need to be too pessimistic. As mentioned earlier, this world had one thing in common with Sang’s old one: it lacked everything except people. The chance of being chosen as a Blood Servant was already low, and the chance of becoming the True Ancestor’s Blood Servant was about one in several million.

Sang wasn’t especially worried, either. Or maybe he knew there was no point worrying. Things would work themselves out when the time came.

After that...

The [Favor] bloodletting ceremony officially began.

The children whose names were called went up one at a time, and the knights from Central drew their blood. It was no small amount. The two worlds used different units of measurement, but it was about the same as a can of Coca-Cola—around 250 ml.

Once their blood had been drawn, they could leave right away. They didn’t have to wait for everyone else to finish.

Sang, Luna, and Adolf were called fairly early. In less than half an hour, the bloodletting was over. Even though they were all on edge, they still had to hurry back to the orphanage and do their handicrafts.

That was how cruel this world was. Even when you were feeling down, you had to pull yourself together quickly and get straight back to work. Otherwise, you might not eat that day.

There was no helping it. The orphanage was desperately poor.

Before leaving...

Young Sang quietly glanced back. He watched one of the knights in a black cloak place the bottles of blood into a special case. The knight locked it, too, then put the key in the pocket at another Blood Clan member’s waist.

Sang memorized the appearance of the Blood Clan member with the key. Then he glanced at Luna and Adolf beside him. He didn’t know what he was thinking as he murmured, “I told you both you’d be fine.”

Murphy’s Law: if something can happen, it will.

Since young Sang had made a promise, he couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. He had to prepare for every eventuality.

After that...

While young Sang and the other children were busy with handicrafts at the orphanage, he took the chance to slip out.

“Watermelon, where are you going?” Luna, who was working on handicrafts, noticed him sneaking off and asked.

Sang answered lazily, “Uh… to pee.”

“Oh… lazy people are always running to the bathroom…”

As I mentioned earlier, Sang wasn’t completely useless as a transmigrator. Besides all the strange ideas he’d brought from his old world, he also had a small cheat ability: he was stronger than an ordinary person, but only physically. He was fourteen, not quite 1.6 meters tall, and thin. He looked frail, but his body held far more strength than an ordinary person’s.

Well… how should I explain this cheat ability?

It was kind of like Superman from Krypton. He was still human, but he’d ended up in a different environment, which made him stronger. That was more or less how it felt.

His body was incredibly light. He could jump very high and run extremely fast. He was strong, too—if he went all out, he might be able to smash a rock with one punch. His senses were also much sharper than an ordinary person’s.

Think Sang was invincible?

No, no!

The truth was just the opposite. Even with a body like that, he was still weak. In all the years he’d been alive, Sang hadn’t dared show what he could do. Not even Luna and Adolf knew about his abilities.

On the one hand, Sang was both strong and weak. He could smash a rock with one punch, but a sword or knife could still cut him. He was still afraid of fire, could still drown, and could even be poisoned to death. On the other hand, he knew nothing about how terrifying the Blood Clan could be. From what he’d overheard, he could guess that even high-ranking members of the Blood Clan were at least as strong as he was.

The tallest tree catches the most wind. If he wanted to survive in this cruel otherworld, he had to keep his true abilities hidden.

But...

At that moment, Sang had no choice but to show what he could do.