Arix’s days had changed.
Not dramatically.
There were no sudden transformations.
No overwhelming increase in strength.
Just progress.
Day after day, he trained.
His body had become stronger than it had been when he first arrived.
His movements were cleaner.
His reactions were faster.
And his Aura, although still extremely weak, had begun to respond to him more consistently.
It wasn’t much.
But Arix didn’t care.
Weakness could be fixed.
Ignorance was harder.
And lately, there had been one thing bothering him.
The world.
He had spent most of his life in a village.
Even after coming here, his world had mostly consisted of the forest, the river, and the small house where Veyr lived.
The forest had already shown him how little he knew.
But there had to be more.
Much more.
One evening, after training, Arix finally asked.
“Veyr.” “Yes?” “How big is the world?” Veyr stopped what he was doing.
He looked at Arix.
“Why?” “Because I want to know.” Veyr was silent for a moment.
Then he sat down.
Arix sat across from him.
“The world is large.” Arix stared.
“That sounds like something someone says when they don’t want to explain.” Veyr ignored the comment.
“There are kingdoms.” Arix listened.
“Empires.” “Different ones?” “Yes.” “Are they all connected?” “Some.” “Do they fight?” “Sometimes.” “Do they trade?” “Sometimes.” “Then why don’t I know about them?” “Because you lived in a village.” Arix frowned.
That answer was annoyingly simple.
Veyr continued.
“There are cities far larger than anything you have seen.
There are countries that stretch across enormous territories.
There are places where thousands, even millions, of people live.” Arix’s eyes widened slightly.
Millions.
He tried to imagine that many people.
He couldn’t.
“There are also many races.” “Humans?” “Among them.” “What else?” “Elves.
Dwarves.
Beastfolk.
Demons.” Arix immediately looked at him.
“Demons?” “Yes.” “Like actual demons?” “Yes.” “Are they monsters?” “No.” Arix thought about that.
“So a different race doesn’t mean they’re an enemy.” “Correct.” That answer reminded Arix of the forest.
There were creatures that could hurt him.
Creatures that could help him.
And creatures he didn’t understand.
The world seemed to work the same way.
Veyr continued.
“Some races have their own lands.
Some live among humans.
Some have kingdoms of their own.” Arix leaned back.
“So there are entire places I’ve never even heard of.” “Yes.” “How many?” “Enough.” Arix sighed.
“That’s not helpful.” “You asked how many.
Not how much you could understand.” Arix crossed his arms.
“Fine.” He thought for a moment.
“What about adventurers?” Veyr looked at him.
“You already know what they are.” “I know they hunt monsters and take jobs.” “That’s enough for now.” “No, it isn’t.” Veyr raised an eyebrow.
Arix continued.
“They have ranks, right?” “Yes.” “What are they for?” “To classify ability.” “Only strength?” “Not necessarily.” Arix listened.
“Ranks are used to determine what someone is generally capable of handling.
They help organizations judge danger, assign tasks and measure ability.” “So a stronger person gets a higher rank?” “Usually.” “Usually?” “Ranks aren’t absolute.” Arix remembered the forest.
Someone could be stronger and still make mistakes.
Someone weaker could survive by thinking.
That made sense.
“So what are the ranks?” “F.
E.
D.
C.
B.
A.
S.” Arix repeated them quietly.
“F, E, D, C, B, A, S…” “Above S are further classifications.” “Like?” “SS.
SSS.” Arix’s eyes widened.
“SSS?” “Yes.” “What does that mean?” Veyr looked at him.
“At that level, you’re no longer talking about ordinary individuals.” Arix waited.
“An S-rank can reach a level of power capable of affecting an entire country.” Arix’s expression changed.
“Country?” “Yes.” “Then what’s SS?” “Continental.” Arix went silent.
“And SSS?” “World-level.” Arix stared at him.
The words sounded ridiculous.
World-level.
How could one person possibly become that powerful?
But Veyr wasn’t joking.
“People who reach SSS-rank are known as Grand Masters.” Arix remained silent.
He didn’t think much about it.
Instead, another question came to him.
“What about the lower ranks?” “Each rank represents a different level of capability.” “How?” “That is something you’ll learn as you encounter them.” Arix frowned.
“Why not tell me now?” “Because knowing the name of a level doesn’t mean you understand it.” Arix didn’t like the answer.
But he understood it.
Mostly.
“Then what’s the weakest?” “F.” Arix looked at himself.
“What rank would I be?” Veyr didn’t hesitate.
“-F.” Silence.
Arix stared at him.
“…Minus F?” “Yes.” “That’s a rank?” “It’s part of the ranking system.” Arix looked offended.
“So I’m not even F?” “No.” “What’s the difference?” Veyr explained calmly.
“A minus rank means you are below that rank, but capable of imitating certain aspects of it.” Arix listened.
“An ordinary rank means you genuinely belong to that level.” “And plus?” “A plus rank means you’ve completely specialized within that rank.” Arix thought about it.
“So…” “-F is below F but can imitate F.” “Yes.” “F is actually F.” “Yes.” “And +F is someone who’s completely specialized in F.” “Yes.” Arix nodded.
That made more sense.
“What can an F-rank do?” Veyr answered simply.
“For example, an Aura user could normally coat their hand or weapon with Aura.” Arix looked at his own hand.
That was something he was already struggling to do.
“And Mana?” “A Mana user could perform basic things, such as producing a small fireball.” Arix looked impressed.
“So that’s F-rank?” “Among the basic capabilities.” Arix nodded slowly.
There was clearly much more to it.
He just didn’t know it yet.
And that bothered him.
He wanted to understand.
But Veyr wasn’t going to explain everything.
Arix had already learned that much.
He sat quietly for a moment.
Then he asked: “Are ranks the same everywhere?” “No.” Arix looked surprised.
“They can vary?” “Different organizations may use different systems or standards.” “So there’s no perfect way to measure someone?” “Not with a single number.” Arix smiled slightly.
“So even the world can’t put everything into a number.” “Correct.” That answer pleased him for some reason.
He had spent his entire life thinking the world around his village was everything.
Now he was learning that even the systems people used to understand strength had limits.
Then Arix remembered something else.
“Veyr.” “Yes?” “You said kingdoms and empires.” “Yes.” “Then what about the places outside them?” “There are many.” “Like?” “Independent territories.
Cities.
Hidden settlements.
Places controlled by races other than humans.” “And beyond those?” Veyr looked at him.
“Realms.” Arix’s expression changed.
“Realms?” “Yes.” “What are they?” “Different worlds.” Arix stared.
“Different worlds?” “Some are connected to the world you know.
Some are not.” “How many?” “Many.” Arix groaned.
“Again?” Veyr ignored him.
“There are also dimensions.” Arix became quiet.
“What’s the difference?” “That’s a question for later.” Arix sighed.
“Of course.” Veyr stood.
“That is enough for today.” “But I still have questions.” “You always do.” Arix looked toward the window.
Outside was the familiar forest.
The same trees.
The same river.
The same sky.
Yet somehow it looked different.
The village he had grown up in suddenly felt smaller.
Not physically.
In his mind.
He had once thought the river marked the edge of his world.
Then the forest had shown him otherwise.
Now he was learning that the forest wasn’t the edge either.
There were kingdoms.
Empires.
Cities.
Races.
Adventurers.
Academies.
Monsters far beyond anything he had encountered.
And beyond the world he knew— Realms.
Dimensions.
Things he couldn’t even begin to understand.
Arix looked at his hand.
A faint layer of Aura appeared around his fingers.
It trembled.
He steadied it.
The Aura remained.
For a few seconds.
Then disappeared.
Arix smiled.
His world was enormous.
And he was tiny within it.
For the first time, that didn’t frustrate him.
It excited him.
There was more to see.
More to learn.
More to become.
Arix stood.
“I’m going to see it someday.” Veyr looked at him.
He didn’t answer.
Arix didn’t need one.
He already knew what he had to do.
Get stronger.
Everything else could wait.