World Book

Evening had fallen.

The sky had turned yellow, tinged with faint red clouds.

As Bai Xuan packed up in the classroom, he found an envelope with a heart drawn on it tucked between his books. He had no idea when it had appeared.

He gave it little thought, slipped it into his schoolbag, and got ready to head home.

It might have been a love letter, but at this stage, he had no desire for romantic entanglements. Not unless they could boost his combat power.

Just then, an announcement came over the academy loudspeakers:

"Spatial fluctuations have been unusually unstable lately, and Anomalous Calamities are occurring frequently. All students, please go home as soon as possible. Do not linger outside."

"If you encounter a calamity, leave the area immediately and call the police..."

With the announcement still playing, Bai Xuan hurried out of the classroom and headed home.

Strange anomalies occurred in this world every moment, threatening its stability.

The disasters caused by those anomalies were known as Anomalous Calamities.

As someone who had crossed over from another world, he counted as one of the "anomalies" mentioned in the announcement. Whether transported from another world or born of myth and legend, anything with anomalous power that could significantly affect the world could be called an anomaly.

Most anomalies caused destruction, so countries around the globe were establishing Investigation Bureaus to deal specifically with Anomalous Calamities.

Fortunately, no one knew Bai Xuan was a world crosser, and he posed no danger to this world. At least, not yet.

Back home, Bai Xuan tossed his schoolbag onto the living room sofa.

He glanced toward the study. The light was off.

"Bai Yu isn't back yet?"

As a world crosser, Bai Xuan had grown up in an orphanage.

A fire had forced the orphanage to close a few years ago. Since then, he and Bai Yu, the older sister he had grown up with there, had relied on each other. They were not related by blood. Five years his senior, Bai Yu was beautiful and had excelled at school. She was now a public security officer in Ninghang City.

Bai Xuan took out his phone and sent Bai Yu a message.

Her reply came soon. She was on a mission and might not be home tonight.

"Looks like I'm eating dinner alone again."

Bai Xuan muttered to himself, took a bottle of cola from the fridge, and drank deeply. Then he sat on the sofa and turned on the television. The evening news was reporting on Anomalous Calamities:

"Fire from the sky strikes White Sea City! Nearly two thousand people evacuated, with property losses expected to exceed three billion!"

"The Anomalous Investigation Bureau has launched a full investigation into the fire!"

"E-rank Anomalous Calamity appears in Linfu City!"

"Dozens of new missing-person cases have been reported in Ninghang City recently. Anyone with information should contact the Public Security Bureau immediately."

"Death rate among public security officers passes twenty percent, making it the world's most dangerous profession!"

"C-rank Anomalous Calamity shocks the United States! Tens of thousands face an unprecedented crisis!"

"Construction of Ideal City is advancing on all fronts. The list of its first residents has been officially announced!"

"..."

As Bai Xuan watched one report after another, worry showed on his face.

Public security officers were responsible for keeping their areas safe. Though there were plenty of them, their equipment was generally outdated. They could handle ordinary criminals well enough, but Anomalous Calamities were another matter.

And more often than not, they were the first officials to encounter a calamity. That was why their death rate remained so high.

He had talked to Bai Yu about it before, but she always brushed him off with talk of supporting the family and doing her duty.

Calamities had grown more frequent lately, leaving him deeply worried about Bai Yu's work.

"Time's running out."

Bai Xuan muttered the words and switched off the television.

With a flicker of thought, a blue screen appeared before his eyes. Several options floated across it: [Personal Information] [World Tasks] [Legend Cultivation] [Setting Collection].

This was the ability he had awakened on his eighteenth birthday: the World Book. Like a game system, it could display his personal information and receive tasks issued by the world.

It also let him add or modify aspects of this world through the World Book, including combat, world, and character settings.

After some investigation, Bai Xuan had discovered that the so-called world tasks were the Anomalous Calamities appearing around the globe. Only by personally eliminating a calamity and completing the task could he earn a reward from the world.

But right now, one question troubled Bai Xuan most: how was he supposed to eliminate those Anomalous Calamities?

Even the lowest F-rank Anomalous Calamity could easily kill several armed public security officers. Could he win?

As he pondered this, Bai Xuan opened his personal information.

[Bai Xuan]

[Age: 18]

[Rank: F]

[Attributes: Strength F, agility F, constitution F, spirit B+] (Related to rank)

[Identity: World Crosser (Red), student (White)]

[Ability: World Book (Prismatic)]

[World Crosser (Red): A traveler from another world. Your arrival seemed fated. (Your luck is a little better than average.)]

[Student (White): You are a student. Go study! (Slight increase to spirit attribute.)]

[World Book (Prismatic)]:

World settings: None

Combat settings: None

Character settings: None

Legend charge: Esteemed master of the World Book, you possess the special power to create legendary figures! Infuse energy to add a legend to this world!

[Current charge: 99.99% (Estimated time until full: 10 minutes)]

"Only 0.01% left?"

Bai Xuan looked at the nearly full legend charge bar, anticipation rising in his eyes.

Time alone could provide only ordinary energy for legend charging. To obtain a higher-tier charge, he would have to eliminate Anomalous Calamities. For now, though, this was the only safe way he could gain charge.

Ten minutes later.

[Ding!]

[Legend charge complete!]

[You obtained a Legend Crystal (White)!]

[Current legend pool: Standard Pool (Legend quality: Common 65% + Elite 25% + Rare 8.02% + Epic 1.98%)]

[Summon now?]

[Note: You may use an unused character setting to set a target.]

[Your Setting Collection currently has no unused character settings.]

As the notification sounded, a white diamond-shaped crystal appeared on the first page of the World Book.

"Phew—"

Bai Xuan took a deep breath.

It was his first summon, but his future depended on it. In a world ravaged by Anomalous Calamities, ordinary people could die at any moment. To protect himself and his family, he had to seize this chance and turn things around!

"Come on!"

Bai Xuan touched the diamond-shaped crystal in the World Book, beginning his first summon.

[Summoning...]

In an instant, countless white motes appeared above the World Book. Like meteors streaking across the night sky, they streamed into the Legend Crystal. The diamond-shaped crystal blazed as brightly as the sun. Bai Xuan raised a hand to shield his eyes and peered through the gaps between his fingers.

As the light dimmed, lines of golden text came into view.

[Choose any three of the following ten character settings and combine them to create your legend! (The combination of settings will affect its quality.)]

[Warning: You are summoning a legend. Choose compatible character settings. Avoid strange combinations, or you may cause the world to collapse!]

[Refresh Tokens: 5 (Each can refresh one character setting.)]

[Goblin] [Aunt] [Simp] [Hates You] [Little Boy] [Paladin] [Slime] [Still Attractive] [Greedy and Lustful] [Lightless Sword] (Note: Complete the character-setting combination to reveal its quality.)