Extra: An Introduction to the Four Powers
As the story progresses to this stage, powerful beings such as spirits, Demigods, Ancient God Bloodline, Ascended, and Vastaya have appeared one after another. It's necessary to summarize these elements for easier reading.
Let's continue from Jax's point.
The powers of Runeterra are mainly divided into four types, ranked by strength: Divine Strength> Natural Power> Magic > Martial Arts.
In terms of categories, it's quite the opposite: Martial Arts are the most numerous, followed by magic, Natural Power are relatively few, and Divine Strength is very simple, merely symbolizing creation and destruction.
Natural Power and magic are almost evenly matched, making it difficult to say which is more powerful. It depends more on individual factors such as the caster's talent and bloodline.
Those who cultivate the Natural Power often receive Divine Strength blessings and the faith of the masses, thus they are generally more powerful.
No matter what kind of power it is, it is terrifying when cultivated to its peak.
Divine Strength is a special kind of existence that cannot be acquired through cultivation. It can only be bestowed by the gods, and its use is related to the user's intention. Spiritual Power is the simplest form of manifestation.
Although Spiritual Power belongs to Divine Strength, if it is not used by a deity, it can only achieve the effect of surprise when facing a powerful opponent, and it is difficult to influence the outcome of a battle.
True gods are a special kind of being; they are themselves in a state of nothingness, existing since time immemorial.
The true gods are only the Soul of Ionia, the Soul of Valoran, the Soul of Shurima, and the Sea Soul.
The manifestations of Natural Power are much more diverse, including natural elements such as water, wood, fire, and wind; natural concepts such as light, darkness, life, and death; and Natural Power phenomena such as the essence and manifestation of all things.
The pinnacle of Natural Power is very similar to Divine Strength; it can nurture and sustain all things, but it can also cause devastating destruction.
Those who cultivate the Natural Power to its peak are often ancient people, from a time when nature was more primitive and abundant. After reaching the peak, they are generally favored by the gods and become Demigods.
For example, Ornn, Volibear, Kindred, and Ivern— these are ancient beings with their own bodies.
It is worth noting that humans can become Demigods, but not all Demigods are human; many spirits of nature have also become Demigods through divine intervention.
For example, the War Aspect, Twilight Aspect, Guardian Aspect, and Creator Aspect are Aspects that do not have their own physical bodies.
Simply put, Demigods encompass a wide range of beings, their numbers are relatively constant, and their power comes from the true gods.
Since the rise of human civilization, various influences have made it increasingly difficult to cultivate the Natural Power to its peak.
Especially compared to magic, cultivating the Natural Power is both difficult and slow to produce results, so even fewer people cultivate it, let alone become Demigods. Only in relatively primitive places like Ionia do people delve into it.
Furthermore, although Tam Kench and the sea god of Bilgewater did not cultivate the Natural Power, as naturally born spirits, their strength was also at the Demigods level. Even Udyr, who was proficient in beast spirits, barely reached this level.
Because many Demigods were once human, they have deep feelings for humans and are mostly willing to guide mortals to cultivate themselves to resist disasters. Some Demigods even directly give birth to offspring or bestow their power upon mortals, thus forming the Ancient God Bloodline.
For example, there Blood of Ice left behind by Anivia, the People of Furnace Village left behind by Ornn, the Bearman Tribe trained by Volibear, and many other powerful beings such as the Harbinger and the Ascended.
The analysis of Divine Strength and Natural Power reveals that the source of Divine Strength is the true god, the true god created Demigods, and the Demigods nurtured the Ancient God Bloodline.
Magic is a derivative of the Natural Power. While the Natural Power are often singular, magic is the power created by the combination of multiple Natural Power.
Therefore, magic manifests in more complex and diverse forms than Natural Power, and there is always one that is suitable for people to cultivate. This is also why there are more mages than practitioners of Natural Power.
Because of this diversity, magic permeates almost every aspect of human society.
Magic is present in everything from everyday activities like building, moving things, and even cooking and writing, to large-scale events like battles, wars, and their derivative spells such as Teleportation, healing, and divination.
Some people learn magic for convenience in life, while others are simply drawn to its power.
Because magic has a higher compatibility with humans, it is usually more powerful and has been rampant at times, like in the Demacia region in the past.
However, this does not mean that all mages are evil. On the contrary, mages have contributed greatly to the development of human civilization. It's just that their great power makes them easy to be feared.
Magic originates from the Natural Power, so the pinnacle of magic and the pinnacle of the Natural Power lead to the same destination.
However, because magic is extremely complex and its origins are difficult to trace, very few people have reached the pinnacle of magic through cultivation. Currently, only the legendary Archmage Morello has reached this level.
Now it seems that Mordekaiser is also showing this trend, as is Ryze, who is shouldering this mission.
Finally, there's Martial Arts.
Martial Arts are combat techniques that people have summarized in their lives. Their strength is directly related to a person's power, physical fitness, and technique.
Martial Arts can be connected with any kind of power, or they can exist independently without any connection to any power.
Since any move by anyone can be called Martial Arts, I won't categorize them, otherwise it would be too complicated.
The pinnacle of Martial Arts is a state of selflessness, where I am power, and power is me.
I can defuse attacks from magic or even the Natural Power with just Martial Arts. I face any storm with composure, which has a kind of profound simplicity.
To reach the pinnacle of Martial Arts, one needs not only superb fighting skills, but also genuine self-confidence and a belief in the power of humanity itself.
Jax, the Weapon Master, is someone who has reached the pinnacle of Martial Arts. He fights at will, and anything he picks up can be used as a weapon.
In fact, there are many people who can reach this level, or who have this potential, but they are unable to break through the bottleneck due to a lack of awareness. Fiora is one of them.
In addition to the four powers, there are two special entities: the World Rune and the Yordle.
World Rune are the source of power in Runeterra, forming the basis for its formation and development. The properties of World Rune are similar to the Natural Power, but their manifestation is more like magic.
However, it is countless times more powerful than the Natural Power and magic, comparable to Divine Strength.
There are seven types of World Rune: light, darkness, life, death, fire, wind, and we'll keep the third one a secret for now.
The power of World Rune is insane; mastering any one of them is enough to create infinite life or destroy the world. Even mere Rune Fragment possess unimaginable power.
Yordle are a special kind of being; they live in a different space than other humans, an alternate dimension with an entrance and exit known only to themselves.
The birth of the Yordle differs from that of other humans; it occurred naturally under certain conditions, a phenomenon known as "the Will of the Yordles."
These natural conditions and Natural Power are somewhat similar, including various natural elements, natural concepts, and natural phenomena, which is why the Yordle have been powerful since their inception.
However, the Yordle themselves do not have a concept of strength or weakness; they simply pursue their own interests, so they rarely intervene in another world, only leaving when they can no longer find enjoyment in it.
As for the full view of Bandle City, I'll introduce it later.
That's all.