The Continent

"Why?"

Parr could not help but ask when he heard this. Why had no Holy Knights appeared again in later generations? Logically speaking, since Holy Knights had appeared before—and seven of them had appeared at once—there should have been a legacy of Holy Knights left behind! Even if breaking through to become a Holy Knight was difficult, the world was so vast, and a thousand years had passed. Surely there should have been at least one Holy Knight!

"How would I know?"

John roughly rubbed Parr's head. Serves you right for interrupting me. Then he continued, "Perhaps only the descendants of those Holy Knights—the royal families of various nations—know the reason! In fact, it is not just Holy Knights. Ever since that vaguely recorded Great Calamity a thousand years ago, even Limit Breaking and Mortal Shedding below Holy Knight have rarely appeared. The last recorded Limit Breaking Knight appeared six hundred years ago. After that, there was no more news of Limit Breaking Knights. Mortal Shedding Knights below Limit Breaking appeared quite often over the past thousand years, but in the last two or three hundred years, even news of Mortal Shedding Knights has become rare. The current world belongs to Golden Knights."

"I see."

Parr glanced at his Status Panel and felt that he could break this rule. After all, he was a transmigrator! Any transmigrator who arrived in another world and failed to become the strongest would be looked down upon.

"Alright, let's keep moving. We'll rest at noon!"

Just as Parr was immersed in his fantasies, John turned and set off again.

This world was vast. People centered their lives around towns, with villages extending outward like tentacles, controlling only a small area. Everything beyond that was dangerous wilderness.

A vast Deep Forest lay between White Deer Baron Territory and Azure Stone Viscount Territory. By John's estimate, he and Parr would need a week to cross the forest and reach Azure Stone Viscount Territory.

This world also had weeks, seven days each, said to be divided according to the Seven Savior Holy Knights.

A month had thirty days, divided according to the waxing and waning of the moon in the sky. It was very precise, one cycle per month.

A year had twelve months. Parr did not know about other countries, but Wind Wolf Kingdom had four distinct seasons, with the twelve months making a full cycle through spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

It was currently Harvest September. The Harvest Festival was held in the middle of September. After this month came Fallen Leaf October, Cold Wind November, Bitter Winter December, Resurgence January...

"Uncle John, can you tell me how many countries there are in this world?" Parr seemed to have turned into a child asking endless questions. He was growing more and more curious about this world.

"You sure have a lot of questions for such a little runt."

John, who was clearing the path, helplessly glanced back at Parr. But he did not refuse to answer. These were basic facts every adventurer needed to know. As Parr's knight guide, he would have to tell him sooner or later. Since Parr had asked now, he might as well explain. "Little runt, remember this! I'll only say it once..."

This world was one vast continent, enormous beyond measure, yet it had no name. Perhaps the continent had once possessed its own name before the Great Calamity, but there were too few surviving records from that time. People had forgotten it now—or perhaps someone had deliberately made them forget.

The continent's major power structure was as follows: four races, four kingdoms, one city, one church, and one association.

The four races were the Human Race, Orc Race, Dwarf Race, and Elf Race.

The four kingdoms were Ember Lion Kingdom, Swift Eagle Kingdom, Heavy Bear Kingdom, and Wind Wolf Kingdom.

The one city was City of Freedom.

The one church was the Church of Neutral Light.

The one association was the Adventurers' Association.

Their geographical locations were as follows:

Ember Lion Kingdom was located on the Endless Grassland in the west of the continent. The Human Race and Orc Race each occupied half of it.

Heavy Bear Kingdom was located in the Graystone Hills in the east of the continent. The Human Race occupied most of it, while the Dwarf Race occupied only a small part. Swift Eagle Kingdom was located within the Absolute Cold Mountain Range in the north of the continent. Its peaks were steep, its roads difficult to find, and it was isolated from the outside world.

Wind Wolf Kingdom was located on the Fertile Plains in the center of the continent. It had four distinct seasons, fertile land, and a flourishing Human Race.

The south of the continent was an endless Primeval Forest. The beautiful and elegant Elf Race lived within it, free from worldly conflict.

City of Freedom was located on a plateau at the foot of the Absolute Cold Mountain Range, at the border between Swift Eagle Kingdom and Wind Wolf Kingdom.

The Adventurers' Association was an organization spread throughout every city on the continent. Its headquarters was extremely secretive, unknown to outsiders.

The Church of Neutral Light was also an organization spread throughout every city on the continent and was expanding into towns and villages. Its Main Cathedral was located in the capital of Wind Wolf Kingdom.

Putting aside the other powers for now, John first explained Wind Wolf Kingdom in detail.

Wind Wolf Kingdom was located on the Fertile Plains in the center of the continent. Its lands were vast, and among the four kingdoms, it had the largest territory, the greatest population, and the strongest power.

Wind Wolf Kingdom used a noble lord system, with five noble ranks: Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron. Duke was the highest, while Baron was the lowest.

Wind Wolf Kingdom had Four Great Dukes, each guarding one of the eastern, western, southern, and northern borders.

Above the Dukes was the king. All nobles of Wind Wolf Kingdom owed their first loyalty to the king and only then to their own lords.

Below Baron was another title: the Knight title. This title was equivalent to half a noble rank. It counted as entering the ranks of the nobility, allowing one to obtain a small territory and possess a surname of one's own.

This is a continent. I wonder if there is an ocean surrounding it. There probably is, right? Could this place be a planet like my previous world? After all, it also has a round sun and moon...

After hearing John's explanation, Parr lowered his head and pondered for a long time, gaining a preliminary impression of this world. Then he shook his head, casting aside the questions he could not yet figure out. Looking up at John's back, he asked again, "Is becoming a noble difficult?"

"Very difficult!"

John answered without hesitation. He stopped once more, turned to Parr, and said with a serious expression:

"Logically speaking, as long as you become a Bronze-level Knight, you can pledge loyalty to a noble lord, receive his enfeoffment, become a Knight with land and a surname, and enter the ranks of the nobility. But every noble lord has limited land to grant and a limited population under his control. Giving you part of his land and people weakens his own strength. Unless absolutely necessary, a noble lord will not enfeoff a Knight. Besides, it is difficult for an outsider Knight to earn a noble's trust. Why give the Knight title to an outsider instead of one of the Knights they raised themselves?"

"That makes sense."

Parr nodded, indicating that he understood. But after thinking it over, he still asked unwillingly, "Is there no other way to become a noble?"

Parr had thought of the name he had given himself: Parr Tianxing. He wanted to first earn a Knight title in the future. That way, he could openly declare that he was Parr Tianxing, someone with a surname of his own.

"Of course there is another way!"

John spoke just as decisively. He turned sideways and raised a hand, pointing in the direction they were heading.

"Other than pledging loyalty to a noble lord, the only path left is joining the army. At the border between Wind Wolf Kingdom and Ember Lion Kingdom lies a magnificent cluster of fortresses: the Western Fortress Cluster. Since it stands at the border between two kingdoms, friction often occurs there. Large-scale wars do not happen, but small-scale conflicts are common. There, as long as you fight hard, work hard, and are lucky enough not to die, you can obtain anything—Knight titles, fame, resources, money, everything. But nobles of military merit do not receive land. They only receive a noble title and the right to obtain a surname."

"I see. So I have to fight?"

Parr looked at his Status Panel again. With this cheat, he felt that was the place best suited for him, and a yearning expression appeared on his face.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing Parr like this, John laughed, then asked, "Little runt, do you want to go there?"

"Mm." Parr nodded.

"Then let's go!"

John waved the Dark Knight One-Handed Sword in his hand, his heroic spirit rising. He turned and strode forward.

"Little runt, after we clear out the cultists in Azure Stone Viscount Territory, we'll head to the Western Fortress Cluster. Along the way, there will be plenty of beautiful sights you have never seen. I guarantee you will not regret it. Hahaha..."

"Beautiful scenery? Then I'll have to take a good look."

Parr smiled. Was this not his second dream? Having his soul transmigrate to another world, if he did not see all the world's beautiful scenery and become the strongest in the world, would that not be a wasted trip?...

The two of them, one large and one small, walked until noon. When they reached a clearing in the forest, John stopped.

"We'll rest here for noon. Eat something and drink some water."

After saying that, John lifted his small bundle from Parr's arms, took out the food he had prepared, and sat on the grass to eat.

"I wonder what's inside such a small bundle. It's ridiculously heavy." Parr wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Earlier, halfway through their journey, John had thrown his small bundle to Parr in the name of training him. Parr had no idea what was inside. It weighed almost as much as Parr's large bundle. Because of that, Parr, who had originally been traveling easily, had suffered terribly. The rate at which his Stamina dropped had doubled! If his realm had not already reached Elementary Knight Apprentice and his Stamina had not reached 100 points, he would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.

Still, the training did have an effect, even if it was very slight.

Name: Parr Tianxing
Gender: Male
Race: Human Race

Age: 10 (20)

Realm: Elementary Knight Apprentice (1/100)

Stamina: 21/100
Mental Power: 8/10
HP: 100/100
Talents:

Prompt Wake-Up LV2
Clear Eyesight LV2
Skills:
Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique LV5
Basic Wind Wolf Swordsmanship MAX
Life Energy Points: 40
Mental Energy Points: 126

Half a day of traveling under a heavy load made Parr realize that consuming Life Energy Points was not the only way to improve his realm. He could also improve through training.

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