Chapter 2: Back Then

"Mankind denies the gods a place of refuge/Shows no reverence for sacred things/Selfish, evil, despicable, cowardly....../Wherever the Goddess's sorrowful gaze falls/All she sees is sorrow, mad despair/The shameful suffering of mankind/Yet so noble, just, and unyielding."

After transmigrating, Shaoke (Xueye) was discovered to have the potential to become a Spellcaster during a magic test, so he was sent by the orphanage to a magic academy to study. In return, after leaving the academy, he was required to answer the military's call to service and serve in the army for five to ten years. Moreover, during his lifetime, he must train at least two Spellcasters of the Mage level for the empire, or teach at a magic academy for five to ten years, and is not allowed to join another empire and serve it.

And so, Shaoke began his magical studies at a magic academy at the age of five. During this period, just like his life on Earth, he spent thirteen ordinary years at the academy. When learning magic, Shaoke worked much harder than other children his age. Firstly, he had an adult's mindset, knowing that mastering a profession would benefit his future, especially one as prestigious as the Mage profession in this world. Secondly, having read so many novels, he was quite fond of the splendor of magic, so when such an opportunity arose, he was determined not to get sidetracked by romance as he had been in his past life.

Although Shaoke studied magic diligently, he did not display significantly higher talent than others during this time. One reason was that while his spirit was high, his magical capacity was average. Another reason was that his academy produced several geniuses who could skillfully use first-tier Spells while most were still struggling to practice Zero-level Spells. Therefore, Shaoke's spirit, which was much higher than average, was not particularly noticeable here.

When he came of age and graduated from the magic academy, Shaoke, like many Mages, successfully became a Novice Mage and could skillfully use Zero-level Spells. He was then assigned by the military authorities to the border between the empire's north and the Misty Forest to begin his service. This life would continue until five years later or until he officially reached the Mage level, after which he could return to the empire's interior.

When Shaoke became a full-fledged Mage, he would need to choose whether to continue serving in the imperial military, become a member of the Mage Guild, or become a wandering wild Mage. Of course, these were not considerations for the current Mages.

Through his relatively short time in this otherworld, Shaoke had truly come to understand part of what his world was like. Firstly, he knew this world was very large, also a spherical planet, but many times larger than Earth. This was learned from some ancient books, but exactly how much larger was not something current Mages could comprehend, as he was not a professional geographer or astronomer.

The inhabitants of this world call this planet "Savage Star" or "Earth Star," though most choose the former, "Savage Star," meaning "the dwelling place of green forests and fierce beasts." At least, this name seemed quite fitting in the eyes of Mages. Unlike Earth, where forests and vegetation are sparse, here dense, rapidly growing trees are everywhere. Roads between cities would be covered by forests if not cleared and maintained every three to five years. Roads between smaller towns or villages are even more unbearable for outsiders like him. However, the environment here was quite good, and there was no industrial pollution in this world, so the Mage found it quite pleasant.

According to the materials the Mage had seen, this planet was home to thousands of countries, large and small, and numerous races.

Large countries had territories much larger than a continent on Earth, and even small countries were not much smaller than his previous homeland. Humans were the most numerous race, but many others existed: elves, orcs, half-orcs, dwarves, and other races that appeared in various novels from before. The smallest races were not the so-called lizard-shaped dragon races but various Savage Descendants: Savage Giants, Savage Dragons, barbarians, rock people, etc. There were many types of Savage races, but their numbers were pitifully small, with the largest having only about a million people and the smallest just tens of thousands. They were the defeated races from ancient racial wars who had since declined.

Moreover, most races on this planet did not believe in the existence of gods. From various books and documents, we occasionally see that various gods have tried to occupy and rule this planet, but their fate was to be annihilated by tens of thousands of powerful individuals from various races. However, the gods continue to send down Avatars to wage war and deceive various races, seeking to dominate people's faith.

Finally, the result was that battles between various races and the gods had never ceased. For millions of years since written records began, the gods had mostly played the role of the defeated. However, they had also occupied some small countries on this planet, ruling their faith and using them as springboards to resist the annihilation efforts of various races and countries.

The powerful individuals of various races considered annihilating gods and Divine Avatars their highest honor. As a bard once sang: "Mankind denies the gods a place of refuge/Shows no reverence for sacred things/Selfish, evil, despicable, cowardly....../Wherever the Goddess's sorrowful gaze falls/All she sees is sorrow, mad despair/The shameful suffering of mankind/Yet so noble, just, and unyielding."

And the Blue Feather Empire where our Mage resided was a tiny member among thousands of countries. According to books and documents, it had been established for many years. Back then, taking advantage of a beast disaster and the instability of a former medium-sized country, it developed from a small territory and, by allying with several small countries, dismantled the previous empire into several smaller states.

The entire country had roughly a few hundred million people and dozens of races: minotaurs, centaurs, Ija people, winged people, etc. It was said that some large countries and those super empires were established since written records began. In comparison, the Blue Feather Empire was like a newborn child, not only inferior in national power but also lacking in high-level professionals. At least, it fell short in Legendary-level professionals compared to those large empires.

On this planet, the longest-lived races could reach tens of thousands of years, with treants having the longest lifespan, said to be a hundred times that of humans, though that had ultimately become legend. Legendary Masters among elves could also live for many years. The lifespan of dragons was several times that of Legendary Masters. These races were mostly referred to by humans as "living historical records." However, the lifespan of human Legendary Masters was not as long as that of dragons or elven masters. But if one were to become a god, the lifespan could be said to extend indefinitely. However, few humans pursued godhood, and even after becoming a god, they dared not remain in the mortal world, quickly moving to another plane to avoid being inexplicably annihilated. Also, most Legendary-level professionals disappeared mysteriously, said to have ascended to a higher plane, but the true situation was not known to the world.

After becoming a Military Mage, Shaoke had been hunting magical beasts and patrolling at the border of the Misty Forest for over two years. In a few months, it would be exactly three years.

Because there were too many magical beasts in this world, incidents of magical beasts attacking humans occurred frequently. Small-scale attacks might target a village or small town, while large-scale ones assaulted small cities or even countries. According to historical records, the predecessor of the Blue Feather Empire was established precisely because of a large-scale magical beast attack that caused national chaos. Therefore, various countries deployed armies at the borders of large forests to hunt magical beasts, protect civilians, establish outposts, maintain order, and perform other tasks.

The Misty Forest also had many magical beasts. Every day, many mercenaries came to rely on hunting magical beasts to sustain themselves and their families. It was said that the Misty Forest was five or six times the size of the empire, but this had not been truly confirmed by people. Moreover, what countries or races lay beyond the forest to the north was not something people could understand.

Humans had long been active at the border of the Misty Forest and had discovered that barbarian tribes were scattered here. These barbarians mostly engaged in trade with merchants, exchanging furs, medicinal herbs, magic materials, ores, and even fragments from ruins for daily necessities: salt, wine, flour, spices, and other items.

About a hundred miles north of the town where Shaoke was stationed lay a barbarian tribe with roughly twenty thousand people. They often came to the town to trade with merchants, but they did not stay long. Usually, after trading, they went to the town's only tavern to drink several barrels of cheap ale and then quickly left.

It was said that some had seen snow elves appear, but Xueye had never seen one here. People had also asked the barbarians who came here and learned that they had not seen the snow elf race either. However, they suspected that if snow elves existed, they should appear deep within the forest.

Mage Xueye also asked the barbarians: since they were both Savage Descendants and neighbors, why was there no contact? The poor, honest barbarian, under the influence of ale, said: "Mage Xueye, it seems, perhaps, maybe because of different living habits!" After saying this, he grabbed a barrel of ale and ran back to his earthen hut. It was only much later that our Mage learned why snow elves, even if they appeared, would not go to the barbarians. Of course, these were matters for the future.