"What is my race... Semi-Prime Elf?"
Páng kè could barely bring himself to say the name.
It had an overwhelming aura of dog-blood melodrama.
Sure, the term "Prime Elf" sounded grand, but in reality, being ancient didn't necessarily mean being powerful.
In most worlds, the strongest races were either completely unique relics of an ancient past or the latest evolutionary pinnacle.
That whole trope about ancient gods walking the land while modern mortals were weaker than stray dogs?
That only happened when advanced civilizations were wiped out.
And while this multiverse had elements of that, at least in terms of bloodlines, the gap between ancient and modern wasn't that dramatic.
Take Páng kè's so-called "Prime Elf" bloodline (which was only half, at that).
It just meant he had slightly more efficient life energy, looked better, and was more agile—that's it.
The so-called "Prime" label only proved that this race had been wiped out long ago.
Maybe it would be useful when exploring some long-lost ancient ruins, but for now?
Completely meaningless.
Páng kè felt speechless.
Where was the legendary power?
Where was the ancient might?
Nowhere to be found.
Besides this currently useless bloodline, the original owner of this body also left behind a "lifelong inheritance" of knowledge.
At first glance, it seemed broad and profound, but in reality, it was an absolute mess—unorganized and fragmented.
Páng kè spent over a month using his system to sort it out.
But amidst all that work, he also gained a preliminary understanding of this new world.
The History of This World
The most influential and lasting civilization in history was the ancient Netheril Civilization.
Its impact was still felt across the multiverse today.
For example, Netheril unified and refined meditation techniques for spellcasters, developing a perfected version that could be used up to the legendary level.
(Of course, once someone reached legend, they had to improve their meditation techniques through personal enlightenment.)
Even now, when mages saw warriors killing each other over questionable "secret battle techniques," they would sincerely thank the great wizards of Netheril for ensuring such chaos didn't plague their own ranks.
Netheril had also popularized knowledge on a massive scale.
They established free education, ensuring even ordinary civilians—those without the qualifications to become professionals—could still understand the world around them.
Before that, knowledge was monopolized by the powerful.
Thanks to Netheril, in the modern era, people no longer treated professionals as untouchable gods.
The Plane of Faerûn, where Páng kè was now located, had once been fortified as Netheril's base of operations.
The final battle of the Netheril Civilization had also taken place here.
The battle was so immense that most of the gods in the multiverse had been gathered by Io himself to fight against Netheril.
Their final fortress—the Kingdom of the Gods—was established near Faerûn, turning this plane into the true core of the multiverse.
As for the survivors of Netheril?
Netheril had a declaration:
*"As long as you adhere to the will of the Netheril Civilization, you are a member of Netheril.
As long as you work toward the revival of Netheril, you are a survivor of Netheril."*
At first glance, it seemed loosely defined.
But Páng kè could feel an indescribable, powerful sense of unity within these words.
Even though the Netheril Civilization had been nearly annihilated, the name Netheril remained an eternal, glorious banner in the hearts of countless mages.
"If I get the chance, I'll join and see what Netheril is really like," Páng kè mused.
"Not that I even know what's left of them…"
Power Levels of This World
The combat hierarchy was as follows:
Levels 1–4: Apprentice Level – The foundation of all combatants. Practitioners at this stage have barely grasped the fundamentals of their craft.
Levels 5–9: Adept Level – A small improvement over Apprentices, but still considered weak. Despite this, Adepts are significantly stronger than Apprentices and can defeat them with ease.
Levels 10–14: Official Level – A major breakthrough. The difference is absolute—no attack below the Official Level can break an Official's defense, and any attack from an Official or above ignores all defenses below this level. In this world, fighting across one minor realm is possible under the right conditions, but challenging across a major realm is simply asking to die, no matter the numbers or protagonist haloes.
Levels 15–19: Master Level – A significant advancement over Officials, but still within the same major realm. Masters dominate Officials with overwhelming power; in battle, a high-level Master can eliminate dozens of Officials effortlessly. However, while a Master can decimate an army of lower levels, facing a sufficiently large force alone would be reckless.
Levels 20–39: Legendary Level – A massive breakthrough. Legends step beyond mortality, wielding power that dwarfs all previous levels.
Levels 40–49: Morning Star – The beginning of true divinity, comparable to a Low God.
Levels 50–59: Brilliant Moon – Power deepens, placing them on par with a Base God.
Levels 60–69: Radiant Sun – A High God's level of might, ruling over vast dominions.
Levels 70–79: Godhood – A realm shrouded in mystery since the fall of Netheril. Those who step beyond this threshold vanish from the known universe. Even seekers of "ultimate truth" rarely dare to gaze upon this realm. The gods strictly enforce their dominion, ensuring that no one interferes in the affairs of the cosmos beyond this level.
Levels 80–89: Transcendence – Stepping beyond the multiverse, where even gods hold no sway.
Levels 90–99: Void Mastery – Masters of the endless void itself, their existence beyond mortal comprehension.
It was said that if someone reached beyond Level 99, they would ascend to an incomprehensible state of existence.
A metaphor often used was:
"If the entire endless void were a book, then those at this level could step beyond its pages and enter reality itself."
At Legendary Level, one gained eternal life and could begin challenging the flow of fate.
Only at this stage could a mage qualify to learn forbidden spells, destructive forces so powerful that even the weakest among them could unleash dozens of times the destructive power of a hydrogen bomb.
"If I want to stand at the top, I need to reach the Legendary Level."
At that moment, Páng kè set a "small" goal for himself—to become a legend.
The world was chaotic, and he refused to remain weak.
The Six Alignments
This world divided people into six moral alignments:
Lawful Good – Selfless saints (the classic "holy mother" type).
Chaotic Good – Thieves and rebels who do good in their own way.
Lawful Neutral – Most ordinary people.
Chaotic Neutral – Free-spirited individuals with a bottom line.
Lawful Evil – Scheming masterminds who execute evil plans with precision.
Chaotic Evil – Psychotic murderers and indiscriminate slaughterers.
A crucial detail: alignments were based on one's own perception.
If a madman genuinely believed—down to his soul—that he was righteous, even if he destroyed the world every day, he would still be classified as "Good."
So alignment was merely a reference—not an absolute truth.
Finally, Páng kè found the most important knowledge buried in the mess—the foundational techniques for cultivating magic!