Yo, It's Tim.
I wanted to take this time to explain a few things to you (the audience) before we move on.
As we are about to enter a very important stage of the story.
This stage includes several arcs which will establish the foundation for David's eventual conquest of West Cornith as well as allude to some of the actions he will take then after.
The first of the topics I would like to discuss is the concept of Professions as I do not believe they were adequately defined and explored earlier on in the story.
So a profession is a Category of being assigned to an individual by the Heavenly Will.
It is based on Inherent Abilities, Skills, Affinities, and Physical Abilities.
Another factor is the level of mastery one has over said attributes, as well as one's past experience.
As such one may hold numerous Professions at once and said Professions advance as they expand their power base, develop new Skills, and enhance their mastery of their Elements.
Professions are ranked 1st through 8th Step or Circle depending on whether they are Warrior Based or Mage based respectively.
I.e a seventh step Blacksmith and a fifth step Artificer.
After the eighth stage, they follow the same ranking system as Dungeons, materials, individuals ect.
That being; Ancient, Legendary, World, Divine, and Transcendent in ascending order.
Next up would be Appraisal Skills and Spells/Aria such as 《Eye of Truth》and《Status》.
These belong to the Divination Branch of Amalgamation Magic and Thaumaturgy (The form of Magic Deva engages in through the use of Divinity AKA Imperial/Divine Magic)
They involve seeing through the True Nature of things and/or extracting information from the Heavenly Will.
The stronger a person is the harder it is to see their information or get the Heavenly Will to divulge it to you.
As such you require either greater Authority or greater power.
Next up is Skills.
They are similar to Magic and Thaumaturgy in that are a manipulation of energy flow that brings about certain phenomena.
The difference is that Skills manipulate various forms of Qi as well as various forces such as Kinetic Energy, Potential Energy, Momentum, ect
Next up would be the fact that the West and East Continents have very little contact with the rest of the world as they practice mostly isolationist teachings.
Though there are occasions where some news gets out, such as the exposure of new Ancient-Class Dungeons or higher, or the establishment of a new Kingdom/Empire.
Then comes some information regarding the power dynamics on the Central Continent.
The Eleven Empire is pretty isolationist, with such a philosophy beginning to border on Xenophobia ever since their War with the Sukah several millennia ago.
As such they only interact with other nations when absolutely necessary.
The Yverian Empire with the backing of the War God Temple is the most powerful force and would have long since devoured at least half of the continent if not for two factors.
One was the natural barriers constricting their growth as well and the other was The Brimstone Empire, which was their close rival in terms of power, as they had both the support of the Vail Empire and the Fire God Temple.
The Brimstone Empire was currently led by an Empress who remained unwed and was of mixed blood her, father being a Red Dragon.
This was strange considering that her mother's family ancestral Bloodline was that of a Pheonix, and Dragons and Pheonixes were known to have a contentious relationship.
Eastern and Western Zeln broke apart due to differences in ideology represented by two twin brothers who lived millennia ago and who would rather split their Empire in half than go to war and expose their lands to invasion from other powers.
Vail is a rather peaceful Empire and the birthplace of the Mage Association as well as the Merchants Guild. It is the economic and academic heart of the world.
It is also the only nation that actively keeps in contact with the Eastern Continent.
The Vulerian Dynasty is almost as isolationist as The Elven Empire.
It is populated by dwarves in humans and largely operates as a constitutional republic though there are roughly seven houses that hold the most power and direct the development of the nation.
They are the main exporter of ores and weapons.
Lastly, there is Kent.
It is a free city-state of Adventurers and Pirates, who often explore the Quiet Islands.
It is also home to many Mercenary Guilds.
Its continued existence as well as its general public order is ensured by one of the most powerful individuals in the world as well as, her disciples who also happen to be her adoptive children, and her brother.
Her name was Morgana La Fey Pendragon, and much like the Empress of Brimstone is one of the few dozen Tier 12 existences in West Cornith.
She is also one of the few people close to reaching Tier 13 which not many have reached in all of The Three Realms.
Tier 13 is known as Transcendence for a reason.
At this stage, one truly transcends basic concepts, such as aging and death. They can also remain unharmed by any Elements below the third level.
Only level Skills/Spells/Aria which moves Level 4 or 5 Elements, or the complete reordering of existence (which can only be done by The Creator) can affect or threaten them.
As a side note, I previously stated that the basic Elements have four levels.
I must admit that was only a half-truth.
Each basic element does in fact only have four levels of application when occurring naturally or applied individually.
But there most assuredly exists at least two more levels of Elemental Power with can be achieved through the Fusion of multiple elements such as Creation, Destruction, Nullification, and Relativity.
I say at least because there is great debate over whether a few elements should be labeled Peak level 6 or be granted level 7 status.
It is also possible to push the elements to level five without incorporating others through individual comprehension or the necessary Authority, Talent, and/or Power to create level 5 and possibly even level six versions of the 13 Main Elements. Such as Eos which David Currently has control over or Prenatal Lightning which he will create soon.
Each one is unique to the individual who creates it.
One of the obstacles to become a Transcendent Being is to either control a level six Amalgamation Element or create a level five Main Element Application.
Lastly would be currency. West Cornith operates with a Universal set of currency.
All coins are roughly the size of a quarter.
It is as follows in ascending order; Copper, Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Purple Gold, White Platinum, Purple Platinum, Spirit Ore, White Spirit, Aquamarine Spirit, Gold Spirit, Rose Spirit, Amethyst Spirit, World Spirit.
The first seven are most common amongst the common strata (Those people Tier 6 or below).
The rest are more commonly used by individuals in Tier 6 and up.
They are made from Spirit Ore and Crystals which contain Origin Qi.
Divine Grade crystals exist but no one is stupid enough enough to Make coins out of them.
And World Spirit coins are as rare as Pheonix feathers.
Due to this most transactions regarding items of Ancient class or Higher are made in either Rose or Amethyst Spirit Coins.
For context, the common family (husband, wife, and two children) can survive off of a single gold coin for about a year.
Each coin is equal in value to one hundred of the denomination ranked below it.
Alright, that's enough of this.
Now it's time to get back into the thick of it.
