Chereads / The Mortal's Challenge: Against The Gods And Fiends / Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: Knowledge and Realms

Chapter 11 - Chapter 11: Knowledge and Realms

As he approached his sixth birthday, Alex's insatiable curiosity led him to seek permission to enter the library—a privilege he had been denied until now. His parents had been cautious about allowing him access to certain knowledge, especially magic and related topics, to ensure he learned them at the appropriate age and wouldn't inadvertently cause harm to himself. Cynthia had been his primary tutor, providing him with all the education he needed, making library visits unnecessary.

However, as Alex's understanding of this world expanded, his eagerness to explore its vast knowledge grew uncontrollable. He yearned to uncover the secrets hidden within the library's shelves and delve deeper into the mysteries of the world around him. With persistence and countless promises to use the knowledge responsibly, he managed to convince his parents to grant him the permission he sought. The reputation he had garnered as an unprecedented genius in the empire played a significant role in earning their trust.

Finally, the day arrived when Alex stepped foot into the grand library. It was a moment of overwhelming excitement, as he could sense the wealth of information awaiting him. The scent of old parchment and ink filled the air, igniting his enthusiasm even further.

As he explored the shelves, he found tomes on various subjects, each holding untold wisdom and knowledge. Books on history, mythology, arts, sciences, and even some ancient texts filled the vast repository. Alex was in awe of the vastness of human knowledge preserved within these walls.

He started with books on the history and culture of the Winterhaven family, learning about its origins, past rulers, and significant events that shaped its destiny. He delved into ancient myths and legends, immersing himself in the stories of heroes and mythical creatures.

From there, he ventured into the realm of science and mathematics, cross-referencing the theories he had already mastered with the extensive knowledge the library had to offer. He found himself engrossed in the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology, discovering a deeper understanding of the world's natural phenomena. He discovered that development in science and mathematics was at the level of medieval times according to his previous world.

As he explored the magical section of the library, he was cautious (at least on surface), remembering his parents' warnings. He respected the power of magic and the responsibility that came with wielding it. Instead of diving into advanced spells, he started with the basics, understanding the principles that governed magical energy and its interaction with the world. He understood that the offset caused by the lack of development in science was covered up by magic and magical tools.

Days turned into weeks, and Alex spent countless hours within the library's hallowed halls, his thirst for knowledge never quenched. He found joy in discovering new insights, and each piece of information he gathered enriched his understanding of the world.

The librarian, a wise and experienced scholar, took notice of the young prodigy's enthusiasm. Impressed by Alex's genuine passion for learning, the librarian offered guidance, recommending books and providing valuable insights into the subjects Alex explored.

As time passed, Alex's reputation within the library grew. Scholars and researchers were fascinated by the young genius who could engage in profound discussions on various topics beyond his years. He embraced the interactions, engaging in debates, and exchanging ideas with seasoned academics.

Though Alex's thirst for knowledge seemed insatiable, he never let his studies overshadow the other aspects of his life. He continued to spend quality time with his family, cherishing the love and warmth they provided. His mother, Cynthia, remained a pillar of support and guidance, encouraging him to strike a balance between his academic pursuits and personal life.

With each passing day, Alex's wisdom and understanding of the world expanded. This world is known as Eldera or the Mortal Realm. There are two other worlds or realms so as to say. They are the Gehena realm and the Heavenly Realm.

Eldera is occupied by many races like humans, elves, beastmen and demons. Also. there are monsters just like any isekai world but that discussion is for later. Eldera also houses some mythical clans like Dragons, Phoenixes, Garudas and Fenrir. Each of them is supposed to be the guardians of the world tree but nothing concrete is known about them to even confirm their existence.

Coming to the world tree, first, we should know something about the geography of the Eldera World. Eldera basically has five continents: Nothern, Eastern, Southern, Western and Central. The names of the continents represent the direction each of them is present and the size of each of them is more or less equal to that of five times the earth. Each of the continents experiences its own weather cycle which really baffled Alex. He tried to figure out why but the concept of Eldera being a spherical planet was foreign to everyone he consulted so he just let it be. At least there were only one sun and one moon for each of the continents or he might have really gone mad.

Well, each continent is occupied by different races but it is not like other races don't live on that continent its just that each continent has a majority race.

Northern Continent:

Population- 50 billion

Humans- 35 billion

Rest of the races- 15 billion

Eastern Continent:

Population- 30 billion

Elves- 22 billion

Humans- 6 billion

Rest of the races- 2 billion

Southern Continent:

Population- 45 billion

Demons- 45 billion

Rest of the races- 0 billion

Western Continent:

Population- 40 billion

Beastmen- 25 billion

Humans- 8 billion

Rest of the races- 7 billion

Central Continent:

Population- Unknown

Races- Monsters

One thing to note here is that humans populate this world most because of their fertility rate and Elves on the other hand have the lowest fertility rate. The central continent on the other hand is infested with monsters only. Each of the five continents has a dense forest right at the centre of the continent expanding for thousands of kilometres and at the exact centre exists the world tree. No one can reach the centre as the so-called mythical guardians guard the world tree. Well, no one has ever seen them but many tried to go to the world tree but none ever returned alive. According to Alex, guardians must exist, at least in accordance with the much-respected isekai theory of Alex.

Each continent has a majority race with empires ruling over it and many other minority races with small kingdoms affiliated with the empires on their own continents. These kingdoms can act as a means for trade or also to spy on other empires.

Winterhaven Grand Duchy is affiliated with the Arkham Empire which rules the Human Continent or the Northern Continent. The Human continent is ruled by three empires, which are Arkham Empire, Sunborn Empire and the Lith Empire. Arkham Empire is situated in the North Eastern part of the central forest while the Sunborn Empire and the Lith Empire occupy the Southern and Noth Western part respectively. The eastern coast of the Human Continent is a dense forest known as the Elven Forest is home to the Elven kingdom which is affiliated to the Elven Empire in the Eastern Continent. A large mountain range stretches from the eastern coast to the central forest, it separates the elven forest from the Arkham Empire and the large Area surrounding the mountain range is the Winterhaven Grand Duchy. Also, Cynthia is the princess of the Elven Kingdom which borders the Winterhaven Grand Duchy.

The ancestor of the Winterhavens was the one who founded the Arkham Empire along with the First Emperor of the Arkham Empire and was awarded this territory and the Title of Grand Duke.

Apart from the geography and history of Eldera, Alex also learned more about the magic and knights. In Eldera, there are three types of power systems, Mages that use Mana, Knights that use Aura or haki and Spiritualist that uses spirit energy by forming contracts with spirits.

Magic users and Aura users have their own realm while spiritualists have to strengthen their soul energy to form more contracts. They can also form contracts with monsters and are also called monster tamers.

Mages and knights start by igniting mana or Aura in their hearts and after that, they train in their respective fields to improve their realms.

When mages ignite the mana in their heart they form a mana heart. After that they train and meditate to form mana circles around their heart, the denser the mana circle the more solid the foundation and each circle from that point increases their realm.

Mage Realms:

Magico/Mage Apprentice - 0 Circles(ignites mana heart)

Mage - 1 Circle

Great Mage - 2 Circles

Mage Lord - 3 circles

Archmage - 4 circles

Mage King - 5 circles

Mage Emperor - 6 circles

Similarly for Knights, they form Aura heart but their realm is not decided by some circles, rather based on the density of the Aura they are emmiting.

Knight Realms:

Knight Apprentice

Knight

Great Knight

Knight Lord

Archknight

Knight King

Knight Emperor

Each of the realms for mages and knights are most of the times signified by numbers, with level one representing Mage/Knight Apprentice and level seven representing Mage/Knight Emperor. Each levels have have four sub levels for both mages and knights: low, middle, top and peak.

In case of spiritualist nothing much was mentioned in the library as they are extremely rare and can only be found in the Elven Empire.

Each realm allows a significant increase in life expectancy. A mage/knight can live upto 150 years while a mage/knight emperor lives upto 2000 years. But this is only in case of humans, each race has its own life expectancy so each realm only adds to their life.

Richard and Elena are both knights, and Elena is aready a top tier Great Knight while Richard is at low tier Knight King. But what shocked Alex was that his Mother was already a low tier Mage Emperor, the very top of this world but this has to be kept a secret beacuse of some family complecations from her side. Myrine on the other hand was only a peak Mage and cannot advance further due to her disability. Well both Myrine and Elena are only 14 and 15 years old so they are considered supreme talents for their age but in case of Myrine it is considered to be end of her mage journey, which has really put her in a state of depression.