Chapter 4 – A New World

“Half-Ancient Elf… what kind of race is this?Punk felt too exhausted to even complain about the seemingly cliché and melodramatic name of his race. Although “Ancient Elf” sounded quite impressive, in reality, an older race didn’t necessarily mean a stronger one. Even from the perspective of species evolution, the newest should be the best. The scenario where ancient deities roamed everywhere while modern mortals were as common as dogs would only occur when an advanced civilization was wiped out and a new one was just beginning to emerge. Although this multiverse had some similarities to the latter, at least in terms of bloodline, the gap between ancient and modern was nowhere near that vast.

Take Punk’s Ancient Elf bloodline (and only half at that), for example—it merely granted slightly better efficiency in utilizing life energy, a more attractive appearance, and greater agility… That was all. The so-called “Ancient” title only proved that this race had gone extinct early on, and perhaps its only use was when exploring certain ancient ruins!

Thus, Punk found this Half-Ancient Elf bloodline utterly frustrating. Where was the promised ancient divine power? Where was it?

Aside from this seemingly useless bloodline, there was also the “lifelong knowledge” left by the original owner’s parents—knowledge that appeared profound but was actually messy and disorganized. With the help of the System, Punk spent over a month (by Earth’s time) sorting and categorizing these fragmented pieces of information. However, during this process, Punk also gained a preliminary understanding of this brand-new world.

First was the history of this world. The ancient Netherese Civilization had a profound and lasting impact. For instance, Netheril unified and refined the meditation techniques of spellcasters and made this perfected method—which could be practiced all the way to the Legendary level (progress beyond Legendary relied solely on personal comprehension)—completely public. Even now, when mages saw warriors fighting to the death over dubious Battle Aura manuals, they would sincerely thank the Grand Arcanists of Netheril.

Another example was the Netherese Civilization’s widespread dissemination of knowledge and implementation of free education, ensuring that even ordinary people without the aptitude to become professionals could understand the world. As a result, even in the current era where knowledge was once again monopolized, the planes once touched by Netheril never saw the foolish phenomenon of commoners worshiping professionals as deities.

Moreover, the plane where Punk now found himself—the Faerûn Plane—had been reinforced in the past because it was the birthplace and base of the Netherese Civilization. The final battle of the Netherese Civilization also took place here. Simultaneously, most deities of the multiverse had their ultimate fortresses and prisons—their God Realms—moved near the Faerûn Plane by Ao to engage in combat with Netheril. Consequently, the Faerûn Plane rightfully became the core plane of the multiverse.

As for the Netherese descendants… the Netherese Civilization had once declared: “Those who uphold the will of the Netherese Civilization are members of the Netherese Civilization. Those who strive for the revival of Netheril are part of the Netherese descendants.”

Although it seemed loosely defined, Punk sensed an indescribable, awe-inspiring cohesion in this declaration.Even so, even now that the Netherese Civilization has been nearly destroyed, the name Netheril remains an eternally glorious banner in the hearts of countless mages.

“If I get the chance, I’ll join the Netherese Civilization and see for myself, though I don’t even know what the Will of Netheril is yet…” Punk thought to himself.

Another crucial piece of information was the hierarchy of power in this world:

The lowest-tier combatants are levels 1–4, known as the Apprentice Rank.

Levels 5–9 are the Apprentice-Level, a minor realm advancement compared to the Apprentice Rank. Apprentice-Level combatants are several times stronger than those at the Apprentice Rank.

Levels 10–14 mark the Formal-Level, a qualitative leap. This is a major realm advancement compared to the Apprentice-Level. Any attack below the Formal-Level cannot breach the defenses of a Formal-Level or higher combatant, while any attack at the Formal-Level or higher ignores all defenses below the Formal-Level. This means that in this world, challenging someone a minor realm above oneself might still leave a slim chance of survival, but challenging someone a major realm above—no matter how many people or how much protagonist aura one has—means only one thing: death!

Levels 15–19 are the Master-Level, another minor realm advancement.

Levels 20–39 represent another major realm advancement, known as the Legendary! (Equivalent to the true form of a Weak Divine Power deity).

Legendary is further divided into three minor realms:

Levels 40–49—Morningstar (Equivalent to the true form of a Lesser Divine Power deity)

Levels 50–59—Luminary Moon (Equivalent to the true form of an Intermediate Divine Power deity)

Levels 60–69—Radiant Sun (Equivalent to the true form of a Greater Divine Power deity)

Levels 70–79 mark yet another major realm advancement—the God-Throne!

(Special note: God-Throne is a realm name, not a reference to deities. Unless deities free themselves from the enslavement of their Divinity, they cannot surpass the Legendary realm!)

However, for reasons unknown to anyone, since the destruction of the Netherese Civilization, God-Throne powerhouses have been forbidden from interfering with the universe in any way. This rule is far stricter than Ao’s restrictions on deities. Many who cannot fully devote themselves to the pursuit of arcane mysteries dare not glimpse the glory of the God-Throne, but those who seek the freedom of their souls have never ceased their efforts. Of course, after achieving the God-Throne, they have all vanished without a trace.

Levels 80–89 represent Transcendence—transcending the universe, another major realm leap.

Levels 90–99 represent the Void—roaming freely through the void. (True freedom to wander the void, creating and annihilating universes with a wave of the hand. Punk had only barely managed to drift helplessly in the void earlier, without even the ability to move intentionally!)

Legend has it that if one advances beyond the peak of Void Level 99, they would reach an incomprehensible level. To use an analogy: if everything in the endless void is but a fictional story in a book, then beyond Level 99, one could transcend the book and enter reality.

Only by reaching the Legendary level can one possess endless lifespan and gain the slightest qualification to contend with the River of Fate. Legendary spellcasters also gain the eligibility to learn powerful, destructive Legendary spells—commonly known as forbidden spells. From the information available, Punk learned that even the weakest forbidden spell is dozens of times more powerful than a hydrogen bomb on Earth.

“It looks like I’ll have to strive to become Legendary.”And so, Punk had a “small” goal—to become a Legendary. This world was turbulent and ever-changing, and he absolutely refused to exist as a weakling.

After organizing the information about the power system (mostly related to mages, as the source of knowledge was a mage), Punk began sorting out knowledge about alignments.

This world was divided into six alignments: Lawful Good (the legendary saints), Chaotic Good (certain chivalrous thieves), Lawful Neutral (most ordinary people), Chaotic Neutral (free-spirited individuals with principles), Lawful Evil (organized evil forces), and Chaotic Evil (psychopathic killers).

It was important to note that although there were many methods to discern alignments, the distinction was actually based on the individual’s inner values. In other words, if a madman genuinely believed, from the depths of his soul to his subconscious, that his actions were good, then even if he spent his days destroying the world, his alignment would still be “Good.”

Thus, alignment distinctions were only a reference. Treating them as absolute truth… would undoubtedly lead to disastrous consequences.

Apart from this information, there were also trivial “common knowledge” tidbits.

For instance, high-level professionals in this world were nearly transcending the universe, while the lower-class commoners still lived medieval lifestyles.

For example, the world’s population was so vast that no one could accurately count it. Faerûn’s land area was over forty times the surface area of the sun in his previous life. And there was the Common Tongue, used by the vast majority of races…

There was also knowledge about the customs of common races, along with fragmented memories and the knowledge left behind by his “parents” before their deaths. After all, the original body’s parents were only Master-Level and had lived in seclusion, impoverished. According to the information they left behind, it seemed they had gambled on breaking through to the Legendary realm. Fearing their child would not survive if they failed, they created this Green Egg to nurture the child and left behind their knowledge as an inheritance!

Judging by the outcome, the dilapidated state outside clearly indicated that the original body’s parents had failed. In this world, breakthroughs to major realms were all-or-nothing—there was no third outcome.

Fortunately, as an Ancient Elf, he was still a member of the elven race. Upon taking form, he emerged with the physique of a 15-year-old youth. Otherwise, Punk would have struggled to adapt to an infant’s body.

“I wonder about my ‘parents’ origins, and whether there are any aunts, uncles, or other relatives out there!”

Mulling over these random thoughts, Punk finally found the most crucial knowledge in the final part of the fragmented inheritance—the knowledge about mage cultivation!

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(Additional Note: Due to reader feedback, here’s a supplementary explanation!

Punk was merely surviving with great difficulty in the void; his soul was still at a mortal level and incomparable to true void powerhouses at this stage. It’s like a speck of dust and a supermassive black hole both existing in the universe—does that mean the speck of dust is on the same level or as powerful as the black hole?

So, “surviving with difficulty in the void” is not the same as “roaming freely through the void.” They are worlds apart!

Perhaps the original explanation was insufficient, so this has been added.)

(End of Chapter)