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He then continued, "The multiple towns, cities, provinces, countries, and continents of Astarat are always at stake. But, what you need to know is that not just humans inhabit these places."

A 10-year-old interjected, raising his hand. His face, while childish, carried hints of handsomeness despite his pudgy cheeks. His name was Aaron and, unlike the others, he was the only one who interacted with Apollo.

After all, these two spent their entire early years together. With Apollo's parents gone, Aaron's mother felt it was her duty to watch after her brother's child.

"What inhabits this world besides us? Surely they aren't terrible, right?"

"Terrible?! Hah, they're simply atrocious. Everything is their fault," Danyul responded in a huff.

However, another youth interjected as well, "Whoa! Just what is it? Tell us already!"

"Hold on, can't you see I'm explaining...impatient! Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted; their origin was from another world. It was said that a piece of a planetary-mass collided with our world, but the future soon unveiled that as untrue.

"According to history and research, eons ago, an object thought to be a meteorite crashed into Astarat. Only, it was learned to be something far worse than a meteorite. One that changed the very way of life.

"Unknown to the civilizations present at that time, it was a homing beacon; a beacon for beings of terror. With that, the arrival of the Terrors came millennia later. Ignorant to both their true origins as well as names, we simply dubbed them what we call them now—Terrors; overcomers of Worlds, personifications of death, terror, and destruction," Danyul grimly shared.

"Whoaa! Sounds cool..." A few kids muttered, which caused Danyul to shake his head in exasperation.

"You're missing the point! Those things are nothing but dangerous beings," Danyul screamed, feeling a vein pulsing in his forehead.

In the back, Apollo listened intently. This was the information he needed. He needed to know about this world. What did he need to overcome? What did he have to battle against?

"With the arrival of the Terrors, the state of the world soon changed. Originally, it was us humans who predominantly inhabited this world but after those events, nearly ⅓ of the world was commandeered and transformed completely!

"Their very existence caused plague to spread as they brought destruction on many fronts. From their anatomy, they emitted a terrifying blight, both toxic and lethal to humans. In turn, that blight brought the human race to the brink of destruction. At that point, hope was a fleeting ember.

"The human race was fighting a losing battle in an area that drained their vitality. Pushed back, they were forced to retire to more distant areas of the world. The site of the battle is known by many names; the Armageddon Battlefield, The Catastrophe Line, the list goes on. Just know this, it's a long stretch of land which stretches across all continents and comes in contact with at least one side of them; events beyond your imagination took place there.

"Further beyond is what's known as the Forsaken Land or the Endless Death Domain. While people still venture there, it is only the ones who have achieved sufficient strength."

"Whoa! Where is it located—this forsaken land you speak of? What's there, oh and how strong are the people who go there?" Dylon asked excitedly. The youthful curiosity toward danger was apparent in his behavior.

"I just told you, beyond the borders of our continent! As for what resides there the answer is quite obvious you bumbling idiot—the Terrors! As for how strong they are...that doesn't really matter. You lot haven't even begun Body Cultivation yet, how can this information help? What you need to do is now focus on yourselves, " Danyul urged, withholding certain information.

"Excuse me, what is cultivation, and how do we do it?" Apollo waved his hand, causing every child present to turn around and look towards him.

Due to their actions, he gazed into their eyes just as forcefully.

"Why does it matter if you are a weakling. You're probably the only one amongst us who can't cultivate due to your fragile body," Axel remarked with a sneer.

Additionally, Dylon chided in, "Yeah, you lived in bed half your life! Haha, how can your body even think about cultivating?" 

However, looking at Apollo, Danyul nodded. Although he knew he was weak, he found it commendable that he sought knowledge.

"Cultivation is an art that didn't exist previously. At first, it was developed to combat the onslaught of the Terrors millennia ago but now it has also become a way of life. In short, notable figures developed ways to absorb and channel Natural Essence to strengthen themselves.

"This world is rich in various types of essences comprised of numerous elements, and with those esteemed figures there now exist ways to absorb and claim them as our own.

"You must remember though, among methods, there is a minute to a large difference. Based on the currently known ranks, from lowest to highest it is; Mortal, Earth, Spirit, Heaven, Saint, and Divine grade techniques but each holds its own prerequisite."

"How do you know if you're able to cultivate?" Apollo questioned further.

"Good question, as long as your meridians are intact, cultivation is available all, even if the effectiveness of it varies," Danyul answered.

Apollo pondered this while falling into his own thoughts, 'I wonder...how does it compare to my current stats?'

"Uncle, how effective is a Mortal Physique?" Apollo questioned. Based on his assumptions, the chances of the higher version appearing were abysmal. So, it was best to ask about the lowest.

"Seeing as the Mortal Physique is amongst the weakest, a majority of Astarat's populations holds this physique. But, even the weakest version on this physique is three times stronger than a human incapable of cultivating themselves," Danyul replied.

"Oh…" Apollo nodded blankly.

"Now let's go into more detail about cultivation."

"There are two types; Body Cultivation and Spirit Cultivation. However, not often do you find a Spirit Cultivator not belonging to the 12 War Academies or 9 Great Families. If you do, their identity is often illustrious or worse, a rogue cultivator."

"Unfortunately, obtaining guidance into Spirit Cultivation is almost impossible, outside of entering the tutelage of a renowned society. But, as that is beyond us, let's focus on Body Cultivation beginning with the Mortal Realm."

'As expected. Just like my past world. The general populace is given the scraps whereas the fortunate lead a lavished life,' Apollo thought, which caused a disgusted look to creep upon his face.

"To quantify this realm, we use the term Zuls—a measurement of force. Just a single Zul is equivalent to 5kgs of Force. As long as you manage to generate 11 Zuls or more, your fitness will be classified as a Rank 2 Mortal. "

Ding!

〈System Alert: New information has generated a comparison.〉

〈Your current parameters are equivalent to a Rank 1 Mortal.〉