In the backyard of their house, Diana and Nier stood in front of each other. Layla, Traicion and Cecilia sat at the wooden platform at the back of the house while looking at the two as if they were a source of entertainment.
Two days had passed since their camp and Nier asked Diana to teach him magic and combat. Diana declined since it wasn't possible for him to use mana conciously but still had given him some basic lectures.
One thing led to another and now they stood for a testing spar. Of course, she wished to teach him how to fight as that was important for survival and Nier wanted the same. Even though he didn't express much during their scuffle in Janmini, Nier had already seen the possible terrors of this world and what he had experienced wasn't even the scariest. He didn't like fighting but it was an important skill to have.
Diana calmly smiled at the silver eyed boy.
"The rules of this spar are simple. First, don't hold back and second rule is that the first one to touch the opponent's neck, stomach or head with their palm wins. Nothing is at stake here but if you do win then I'll get you anything you want to eat" She wouldn't back down from her promise but the chance that he could win was negligible in her eyes.
Nier nodded and took a stance. Diana didn't notice any peculiarity in him knowing a stance and chalked it to him copying someone he saw in Janmini.
"I'll count to three. Be ready...one, two and three-"
*Woosh
Nier dashed forward with speed and ferocity that Diana had not expected. She thought he was an inexperienced child who would take this as a learning experience and grow from it yet he was displaying a speed without using mana and had no hesitation in his movements. This speed, it was likely higher than her own base speed when she doesn't use mana. Nier himself was surprised with his movements. He of course knew he could run fast but didn't think his body would move at it's own to strike at Diana without hesitation.
Diana had been so caught off guard that Nier's palm touched her stomach when she came out of trance.
"Hahahaha!" Layla burst out laughing and Traicion smiled seeing the result. Cecilia shyly blushed and put her thumbs up while hiding her face in her knees.
Diana was surprised.
'They expected it?'.
"Big bro Nier always wins at tag!" Layla explained proudly for some reason. Diana raised her eyebrows and looked towards the white haired boy. She was usually busy with her job and even when she saw them play, they were some games.
'His physical prowess is extraordinary. Renley told me that but I didn't think it would be like this. What have those magicists created? Anyways, I would use mana for reinforcement and speed but not when attacking'
"Round two?" A smile came on Nier's face. He was pleased with himself for winning and liked the praise he was recieving. It was human nature to do so especially for a child.
Diana replied with a nod and took her position.
"one, two...three" This time none of them moved immediately. Diana waited for some seconds before closing in and kicked forward as Nier brought his hands up. Suddenly, she stopped midway kick and spun around 360° clockwise aiming for his head with a horizontal backhand strike. The kick had been a feint!
However, as though an experienced combatant, Nier released his knees and hips leaning to the left as though he 'slipped' thus dodging the attack. Falling to the ground, Nier twisted his torso putting his right palm on the ground and spun while on the ground- kicking with his left leg which formed a rainbow like arc.
Diana was surprised but she had expected to be surprised so it didn't catch her too off guard. Reinforcing her hands with mana-
*Slam
-She blocked the kick with her arms crossed and then pushed them away causing Nier whose head and torso was almost near the ground to roll back on the ground. She then moved forward ready to strike when Nier put his palms on the ground while rolling- propelling himself up and performed a b-twist with the momentum thus standing up in time to intercept Diana's palm thrust.
Due to the lack of time to stabilize himself, the way he intercepted was detrimental as he put his arms up crossed in front of his face which didn't do much to stop the impact which passed through to his head. He didn't feel much pain or damage in his arms but the shock to his head still dazed him.
Diana used that moment to crouch and perform a sweep kick throwing Nier off his feet and then grabbed his shirt stopping him from falling.
Nier looked at her dazed when she touched his forehead with her palm. Diana smiled at him.
"I win"
"""Woooh! How did you do that!?"""
"Even I cannot do that!"
"That was amazing!"
Cheers erupted from the kids as they looked at Nier sparkly eyed. Quickly forming a circle around him, they pestered the boy.
"I don't know...how I did that but I guess I just did?" Nier said smiling.
'As expected, he must have learnt how to fight before he lost his memory'
Diana looked at Nier with a smile but it faded when a harsh realisation hit her.
'The way he moved and the fact that his body still remembers how to fight in such a way. It would need years of practice and hardwork! Day and night full of commitment. What must have he gone through? Such a young boy having to work so hard...it is saddening. This world is truly a hellhole.'
-------
Their bouts continued and Nier kept surprising the children and Diana, but also learnt a lot.
"The New Realm was formed five hundred years ago after Emperor Yuverion split the continent of Seasonshore from the mainland thus forming the Landmoon Continent, which is the 'mainland' and Seasonshore Continent which is another continent.
Right now we're in the Landmoon Continent."
Another month passed as Nier and Diana sat in the study room. Traicion was also present as he listened to Diana.
"Overall, there are five continents in Zelrun, Landmoon at the centre, Northern Continent at the top, Primal Continent at the top left corner in Northwest, Void continent at the bottom left and Seasonshore at bottom right. Landmoon is the biggest and strongest of the continents, infact it is said that once upon a time, there were only the Northern continent and Landmoon continent, but in time, Landmoon split into four pieces with the biggest one still being called Landmoon and the other pieces having gotten changed names. Aside from the Seasonshore, it is unknown how the other pieces were split but is assumed to be caused by natural means.
Any questions?"
Nier nodded and opened his mouth
"Emp-Emperor Yuv...ey..."
"Yuverion" Traicion chimed in.
"Yes him...He split a continent and moved it away!?" Nier asked with his eyes widening.
"Yes. He did" Diana nodded.
Nier was looking at a map and he could see just how big the land was. It was massive. Not only that, it had been moved away nearly four thousand kilometres away from Landmoon
"That is incredible?! What was his order?" He exclaimed looking at the map.
"He was at the peak of sixth order. A zenith grade sorcerer who was the strongest of his era. Well not exactly but yes."
"What do you mean by that?" Nier asked confused
Was he the strongest or not?
"Well, the thing is- when I told you about the history of Zelrun, I mentioned the True Dragons. The True Dragons created the dragon race and went into seclusion. There are supposedly four of them and they all are alive somewhere, never interfering with the world unless their direct creations cause too much chaos.
They are creatures who are on the level of the Gods and could even be higher but since they rarely even appear in front of someone, they are ignored in such discussions. Also they are too strong so they are never brought up. Which is why you can call Yuverion the strongest of his time even though technically he wasn't"
"Sixth order..." Nier muttered in daze. That was two levels above Renley and Len and from what he'd heard. A plane of power just a step away from godhood.
"Is there any sixth order sorcerer right now? Someone like the Emperor" Nier asked curiously
"Hmm...There are. However I won't say they are all on Emperor' strength. In fact, there is a high difference between strong sixth order sorcerers and lower sixth order sorcerer to the point that it is debated whether to create a new order for them.
Most people just call them calamities because they are like forces of nature who can change the state of nations singlehandedly. Of course, being a third order lowlife, it's not my place to talk about the difference between strong sixth order and stronger sixth order sorcerers so I will stop doing that. That isn't to say that there are no people possibly on Emperor's level. In fact, there was an incident involving one just an year ago"
Nier's ears perked up.
"A sorcerer called Karma who everyone thought was going to be the next strongest- the paragon, someone who possibly could have become a god was imprisoned in the tightest and most guarded prison to have ever been created for his heinous crimes. Well, it was created just for him. That man was a sixth order Demigod. It was rather disappointing to see someone so mighty fall from grace."
Nier narrowed his eyes. It was interesting but Nier didn't particularly care. 'Karma' however seemed to be strong. Really strong, but he was imprisoned so it didn't matter.
"How did he get locked if he is so powerful?"
"Hmm...the complete picture isn't known but he was somehow sealed with an old extinct artifact." Traicion replied
"I see"
"Well... Demigods are sixth and fifth order sorcerers so don't get confused. A lot of sorcerers stop at the third order. Most sorcerers stop at fourth order and some go above that to fifth order but only rare few reach the sixth order. Karma was someone who was supposedly at the height of sixth order so you can imagine his importance"
'Zenith grade...' Nier thought as he asked.
"Why was he jailed?"
"Well... I'd rather not say but he did something bad and it revealed the existence of ancient clans. Now let's not get too ahead of ourselves. I was speaking about the Geography." Diana sighed.
"So where was I...right- I should tell you about the strongest countries and kingdoms in the world.
First of all, at the extreme top left corner of Landmoon, there is Augustius. The birthplace of Karma and the place where ancient clans use to subside. It is also the homeland of a Zenith grade sorcerer who captured Karma. The place is now just a powerless land but it is an important place considering what it once was. It's only possible to be reached if one passes through Janmini but only Demigods can do that without loosing too much.
There is Librune in the extreme middle left of Landmoon, where the Golden League's headquarter exists. The Golden League is an organisation that focuses on keeping order by executing criminals that threaten the society. They are extremely big and mostly focus on matters that can harm nations but also work on simpler matters. The Golden League is led by five elders who are Demigods, than comes the ten paladins who work directly on the elder's behalf and after that are the defenders, bridges and the executioners who focus on the more simpler problems. That's not all, they have the highest amount of contained artifacts along with another country"
"Then near the top left of the continent is Geminus, at the border of Janmini. It is connected to Janmini and has many branches of the Golden League. It also has many aristocratic business becoming one of the biggest trade centres of the world. The most important thing is that it is the largest religious centre for the worship of The Realms' Lord, The Lord of Stars and The Goddess of Hope. All whom are gods. The religious groups of all the gods I mentioned collectively have more contained items then even the Golden Court and their influence on humans is tremendous.
Then there is the Leomarch Empire. This is the strongest country in Landmoon right now. Leomarch can be considered as the remainder of Golden Star Empire from the golden age. It is a military based country together with having extreme riches. A country literally in the centre of Zelrun, or atleast in the centre of the map. They have many rare materials and weapons. While they don't have as many artifacts as the some of the others, the mighty individuals there make up for that fact.
A little further to its right is Decericorn Kingdom or Maya Kingdom as called by many. It is at the bottom right of Landmoon surrounded by the ocean and the mountainst which makes it one of the most protected nations to exist. A true powerhouse that has high grade artifacts like the ones I mentioned before.
Above the two I just mentioned exists Apaurus at the top of Landmoon. It is an independent nation without any official ruler but it was the birthplace of a Zenith grade Sorcerer named Angel. It has become a focal point for many powerful organisations and is an important place due to that.
"To the extreme left bottom is Febirgin. The land of the elves. As the title suggests, it is the homeland of elves. it is a large country surrounded by water with only one solid path connecting it to the Landmoon Continent. The elven race is extremely strong being blessed by mana. Febirgin also has the World Tree which makes it the place with highest abundance of mana. The elves are able to connect to spirits from the Spirit Realm and have the ability to heal. They haven't revealed any contained artifacts for centuries but they might have some."
"And between Leomarch, Febirgin and Librune is the Julycer Alliance which is an alliance of multiple small kingdoms. It is considered as important as the others because of the powerful families living in the place and the influence of the place in general is high."
"Right now we are here" Diana pointed out in the map. A small land on the border of Librune and Geminus.
Nier nodded. He understood everything she said as the map had all the places she mentioned marked together with bigger font. Nier understood that many things were left out in Diana's explanation and didn't wish to know all that either before taking a break. Tapping the table, Nier looked at the ceiling leaning back and drifted into sleep.