Silu City Forest
In this vast forest, there was a strange, mysterious shadow darting among the trees at lightning speed. It was so fast that it was unclear whether it was a person or something else, moving and leaping among the trees with agility and skill.
The shadow stopped running and stood still in a certain spot in the forest.
The shadow was a tall man with a feathered hat to shield him from the sun, dressed in long cotton clothes. Additionally, he carried a brown hunting bag over his shoulders.
The man with the bag looked at the scene before him. There was a circle made of stones with a fire burning in it. Above the fire, meat was being grilled on a long skewer, but the meat was burnt, indicating that it had been roasted for a long time. There were also some other meat sticks scattered on the ground.
The man with the bag examined the meat on the ground and felt its texture, making a thoughtful expression.
"The meat of this animal is relatively dark, and its texture is tough and solid, so it's likely bear meat. But who hunted it?" wondered the man with the bag.
"It's impossible not to notice someone entering the forest while I'm here. Either this person is a skilled illusionist in hiding, or they entered with the assistance of someone like that. This meat looks somewhat mutilated, indicating that there was a fierce battle between the two, so I'll rule out the first option."
The man had always come to this forest to deepen his hunting skills, given the absence of native beasts in Silu City. And because he had personal responsibilities in Silu, the man with the bag had no choice but to hone his expertise by hunting animals.
Therefore, the man with the bag often stayed in the forest, and it was shocking for him when someone entered the forest without him knowing.
The man with the bag closed his eyes and began to focus on his surroundings. He felt as though he could see and sense everything around him.
As the man closed his eyes, another brown bear appeared nearby. The bear looked at the man with the bag and the feathered hat fiercely, ready to pounce on him.
Nevertheless, the man paid no attention to the bear. All he did was open his bag and take out a dagger.
The dagger was made of metal and had a strange shape with three serrated blades, giving the impression of teeth or claws. The blade was relatively short compared to traditional knives, and the handle was uniquely designed as well, adorned with engravings that added mystery and allure.
The man with the bag waited for the right moment, and when the distance between him and the bear was just a few centimeters, he swiftly and lightly swung the dagger, cutting off the bear's head.
The place filled with the scent of the bear's blood, making it carry a dark atmosphere.
The man slowly opened his eyes and revealed a smile.
"Good, there's no trace of human life in the forest. Either it died or fled, and most likely, its mysterious helper departed as well. After all, what could a high-level illusionist do here unless they knew the secret of this forest?" the man sighed in relief.
"But as a precaution, I'll go to the site to make sure no one saw or touched it," the man with the bag thought immediately, leaping back into the bushes, barely visible in his swift movement.
...
'After entering this body, I thought I would remain in the Starlord Empire, but who would have expected that I would transition to the Azure Cloud Empire?'Elven pondered, having recently emerged from the forest, marveling at the city.
At this time in the morning, the city of Saelo was beautiful and clean. The city would be calm as it woke from its slumber. People began to stroll the narrow streets, most heading to the markets to buy goods for their day. Traders and vendors could be seen opening their shops and starting their work, adding to the city's increasing activity.
The morning was characterized by a peaceful and refreshing atmosphere, with soft sunlight and gentle breezes. Cultural and social activities gradually began to emerge, as events and gatherings scheduled for the day were prepared.
At this time, the city came to life in a quiet and smooth manner, reflecting a comfortable and invigorating atmosphere for its residents.
"Hmm... thinking about it, wasn't I born in this empire and then moved to the Starlord Empire? I seem to have forgotten that. Oh well, seems like fate," Elven thought to himself.
Before arriving in Saelo, Elven had bathed in the forest lake. Despite the eye bandage he wore, which garnered little attention, not many people looked his way.
Elven didn't want to draw attention to himself, as he would likely be in danger if those responsible for his murder knew he was still alive.
Elven explored the city of Saelo with interest, according to the memories of the original body's owner. There were many new inventions created in the last 400 years by imaginers, such as the hot air balloon, which offered aerial journeys, the electric battery, which revealed a new type of energy, and something called cinema, which relied on the projection of moving images onto a large screen using light sources, among many others.
Imaginers were primarily responsible for exploration, study, and invention, like Elven, who invented the steam train. This was one of the reasons why imaginers dominated society.
"Anyway, is there anyone selling croissants here?" Elven could only futilely search for nearby croissant shops, but he couldn't find what he was looking for.
Elven decided to give up for now and think about what to do next.
"From what I remember, Saelo was the city where the legendary general of the Azure Cloud Empire was born. I think his name was Elgor. Thanks to him, the popularity of Saelo grew, although it couldn't compare to the imperial capital. It has grown to become one of the largest cities, with approximately 10 million citizens."
"So, there are some excellent imaginations here, aren't there? However, I don't think I really need them," Elven smiled as he thought about it.
Imagination
To simplify its meaning, it could be said that it's similar to the special skills of imaginers.
It is said that the early humans on the continent exerted their utmost efforts to develop their imagination and understanding of the world's system in order to create imagination skills.
It is the most important thing for imaginers, giving them astonishing superior abilities and enabling them to excel in imagination degrees.
For the first 7 degrees of imaginers, they all follow the same principle. Get an imagination idea from the specialization you've chosen and start the imagination rituals that allow you to use the imagination idea. If you're a second-degree imaginer, you have to hone your imagination idea to the highest level, then bring an imagination idea from the third degree and perform its rituals, and you'll become a third-degree imaginer.
In other words, an imaginer can obtain 7 imagination ideas in total.
Like the early humans, one can invent their own imagination idea, and however, in this age, with the appearance of many imagination skills, those who can invent original imagination ideas have become almost nonexistent.
And although the number of imaginers has increased compared to before, those imaginers who can be said to be strong are no longer so abundant, and the reason for this can be attributed to two things.
The first reason is the effectiveness of imagination ideas on imaginers. Even if an imaginer raises a non-original imagination idea to its maximum power, it will not reach even half the strength of an imaginer with an original imagination idea of the same level.
The second reason is the lack of seventh-degree imaginers.
Seventh-degree imaginers are slightly different from the first 7 degrees because they cannot rise to that level with an imagination idea made by another person, but must be created by them, which makes them different from the others.
So, compared to earlier ages, imaginers are no longer as strong as they used to be.
But on the other hand, there's Elven.
Elven was a seventh-degree imaginer, meaning he had already managed to create an imagination idea.
And since it was of the seventh degree, this means he had a great chance of creating imagination skills of lower degrees.
Although it would still be somewhat difficult even with a seventh-degree mind, it would be much easier than for others.
So, Elven didn't intend to buy an imagination idea because he simply didn't need it.
"Anyway, that's for later. I'll go see the owner's aunt of this body; she's probably extremely worried about him, being a baker, so she likely has a lot of croissants. But first, I need to buy some glasses," Elven continued exploring the city of Saelo.