*Warning:Lore-heavy chapter*
Manav already knew about the insidious nature of whatever the famed Contour Knight was planning due to the great and lovely gift he was bestowed-[The System]
All he needed was a look at the 'miracle medicine' to know it was something different through the system's convinient Item Description.
Well if he wanted to construct a metro line here he atleast had to ensure all the people in the delapidated city were mentally and physically healthy,things someone addicted to hard-line narcotics certainly wouldn't be-
so he wanted to put a stop to Kurt Karlon's fake medicine.
But there was a problem...though he had never seen the Insidious Contour Knight himself,he had heard whispers that Kurt was a Grade V, the fifth grade.
a Paramount.
Manav was suddenly grateful to the elder for his advice,
otherwise he may have tryed fighting the fifth grade warrior and likely died,this time once and for all.
Manav's memories flashed back to the visit to the village.
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Manav walked into the village surronded what seemed to be its protectors and warriors.Leading the pack of about seven men was a tall,pale and thick bearded old man,the one wh had recognised the newcomer as a reincarnated.
The village was quite...pauper.The huts were salvaged out of rocks and their roofs were makeshift constructs made from the thick branches of nearby dry trees.The thick layer of dust and a very dry atmosphere was present here too.
I couldn't insult it too much,the fact human civilization had been able to survive at all was increadibly impressive.There was even a small lake,near which I saw some rudimentary farming activities.He also noticed many animal or monster hides lying around the huts.These hides were fashioned into rudimentary clothes for the villagers making them look like prehistoric humans.
Despite the conditions most of the villagers looked pale but surprisingly good-looking.A lot of them had shining porcelain eyes and striking grey hair alonside silky smooth skin.
The smell of roasting meat was a rare delight.
What wasn't were the strange glances the villagers gave him.
"He just came from beyond the Third Ring did he not?"
"Has the Elder gone a bit...senile?How could a human survive in that desolate,hellish region?I just don't buy it."
"I hope he isn't a monster that has somehow taken human form."
"He just feels so.. foreign.."
"Don't you all worry"
The Elder spoke,sparing a sharp glance at a slim man who just called him senile but not letting his irritation show too majorly on his face.
"He is indeed a human,I can bet my life on it.He is also sane just as I am not senile.Infact he is an increadible person.He is a weilder of mana."
Most of the villagers looked surprised.The animosity died down and was replaced by curiosity and some strange fascination.The reaction was shockingly quick.
'Is mana rare in this world?'
Soon The Elder guided me away and he and I alone entered what looked like dilapidated tower of about two stories.It was clear that it had existed a long,long time ago but was repurposed by the residents as a town hall of sorts.
I walked up some ancient but sturdy stairs towards the upper floor.I was feeling regretful of stepping on what seemed to be the remains of world heritage sight with my dusty feet,but the dust seemed to magically vanish into the stone as soon as I stepped on it
On the upper floor the old man took out a key from a makeshift bag on his waist and inserted it into a doornob of a large entrance.
We entered his room.
"Welcome young man! This is my humble abode.Make yourself at home and perhaps get a bit or rest.I'm sure the jouney has been arduous.But don't sleep on the bedside window,that's the one use. I prefer it...clean"
I was a bit irritated but well,I was very disheveled and my Leather Cloak was dirtied by twigs of the dry trees and dust.I also couldn't blame the old man and was also grateful to him for his assistance.
I don't think fighting the village's ten to twenty warriors on my own would have been a pleasant experience especially while trying...not to kill them at the same time.
'Huh?Why am i thinking about killing them?Is it the after affects of my temporary insanity?'
'I should be careful to avoid eldritch monstrosities from now on.'
"Fortunately,I don't feel too tired.I seem to have used an item which helped me regain freshness"
"That's great."
The old man said with some subdued jocularity.
"So let's get to the main topic then--
How much do you know about this world?How much do you know about magic?"
"Basically nothing"
I said with a bit of regret.I did know about [The system] and it's abilities but...the old man seemed a bit too friendly for some reason.I chose to wait a bit and see.
'Am I a bit of a coward?No, don't think that.That insidious pride is likely what got the arogant Goblin Duke killed'
"Alright then buckly up.I may be less knowlegeable then the people of the mainlands but I will tell you all I know,and it is a lot."
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From what the elder described this was what I mangaed to infer-
The world has five massive continents,each streaching several thousand to tens of thousands of kilometers across.
The continent were I seem to be present is the
-Continent Of The Lost- less ominously called Varsect.
It seems to be the most desolate of the five and is populated by the -Forsaken-
They are people who cannot use magic and fled here to escape ostrasization in the mainlands.They are generally considered underdeveloped.Though exact or even near-by estimated are difficult,they number about nine-hundred thousand.
Humans,Elves,Dwarves,Giants,Vampires and some of the more intellectual monster races like the Griffins are what make up the civilized world.These races number about ten billion.
'It is even more than Earth's population.'
Aside from these races,there used to be another intellectual race called the
-The demons- lead by the fearsome -Demon King- and his generals.
They were very vindictive and selfish and sought to create a world for themselves alone.Worst of all they were also strong and managed to hold back all other races by themselves.They had the ability to implement their terrible ambitions.
Infact they arised from the very continent on which I am standing- Varsect.
They constructed massive defences,barriers and runic spells which still hold up to this day.
The locals call them -The Rings Of Hell - It seems the village is located near the third of three rings.
'Was the enormous runic barrier which protected me from that behemoth the second of the three?'
The other races fought back with all their might.Many legends emerged,many great tales were etched into history.The brutal war raged for decades,countless millions on both sides died and large parts of the world were rendered uninhabitable.
Until a great warrior- likely history's greatest appeared.
He was simply called-The Hero-
He was the greatest legend of the war.He was the weilder of the -Sword of Fate -
Excalibur.
He slayed the demon king,seiged the demon capital city-razing it to the ground and eliminating the fearsome demon generals- All in one,very eventful,day.
He and his army hunted the demons to extinction,mostly,in the following year.
He single handedly lead the largest assault in history and ushered in a new age.
He was so impactful,infact that the world's current calender system,which is suspiciously similar to Earth's, is based on his birthday.
The current date is [Fifth of Juli,Year 202] ,by the way.
The great warrior wasn't done though,he unified all races and kingdoms and created the
-Ordaination Empire-
He,unlike most heros who end up as martyrs,is still alive.
The hero is now called the -The Emperor Of Mankind- and is busy ruling the world from Ordanation empire's capital somewhere on the World Tree.
'I don't like him,who literally calls themselves 'The emperor of mankind'!?'
There are also Classes and Grades.
A Class defines your method of using mana and combat style.The elder did not know too much about the individual classes and their general specifics but he was still quite helpful in this matter.The individual classes were also very generic,eerily so infact,
and mathched the typical depictions of fantasy worlds from Earth so I could understand the gist of it without too much handholding required.
One can use elements from multiple classes,but is affected by the inter-class Affinity and their general ability.
The major classes or 'pathways' as they are sometimes called are:-
Magician
Swordsman
Warrior
Sorcerer
Martial Artist
And finally most elusive and rare of them all,
Irregular also called 'Designated'.
I was one such irregular.