In the quiet of midnight in the city of Berdiver, Agares lay on his back on the bed, his gaze fixed toward the side—specifically, the window of his room at the Thorn Family Residence.
Something still lingered in his mind that he couldn't quite understand.
"Hey, Nyx."
[Standby Mode Deactivated]
[Do you need something, Master?]
"Maybe the readers are confused about the stage and level system in this world? Can you explain it to them?" asked Agares, turning his head and looking kindly toward the reader.
[Of course. I can explain it in detail]
[But this contains some spoilers. I hope the readers are wise in how they take it]
"That's up to them. I won't interfere."
[Stage is like a realm that defines a knight's status. Stages and levels for hero-job knights are different from common jobs, like adventurers and regular jobs]
[There are 10 Stages, and each Stage has 9 levels]
"Maybe you're making it too complicated. Keep it simple," said Agares, still relaxing on his bed.
[Alright]
[Here you go:]
[Stage 1 (Knight) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 2 (Knight) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 3 (Officer) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 4 (Officer) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 5 (Noble) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 6 (Noble) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 7 (King) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 8 (King) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 9 (Emperor) -> Level 1-9]
[Stage 10 (Emperor) -> Level 1-9]
[Is that clear enough?]
"Don't ask me—ask them."
Agares sat up on the edge of the bed, watching as Nyx floated before him in the form of a tiny fairy woman, her usual representation as an interactive system.
"Since you've already explained the stage, how about continuing with tier classifications for materials, equipment, and monsters?"
[You really are a taskmaster]
[Fine, I don't have a choice. Hmph!]
[Materials come in four qualities: Low, Mid, High, and Supreme. This applies to all kinds of materials like minerals, gems, crystals, cores, shards, fragments, and so on]
[Equipment is different from materials. They have specific tiers, starting from the weakest at Tier 1 up to Tier 8 as the strongest. Tier 1 is low-grade equipment, and Tier 8 is the highest-grade gear]
[Monsters! Since the host will encounter monsters throughout his entire life—his life might as well be a monster—monster levels are ranked from 1 to 10. Level 1 is the weakest, level 10 is the strongest]
[Any more you want me to explain to them?]
Agares fell silent, resting his chin on his hand while glancing upward, trying to think about what else readers might need to understand his story.
He smiled and clapped his hands—he knew what Nyx needed to explain next.
"You haven't talked about Pet ranks, and also about the world settings and such."
[Huff, I thought you were done]
[Pets or Mounts are companions acquired by knights or adventurers. Their rank is determined by race and ability quality. Rank C is the weakest and Rank S is the strongest]
[There are four kingdoms under the rule of the Grand Empire: Caer Vireth, Virelion, Clovis, and Eraldorn]
[The Grand Empire is named Altherius. The name of the continent varies depending on one's perspective. The Demon Clan calls it the Continent of Athanor, while the Human Race calls it Virelion]
[What do you think, Master?]
"Athanor sounds better."
[Then just call it Athanor—after all, Master is half-demon and half-human]
"Alright. How about giving them a little spoiler about the story?"
[But that's—]
"Just do it. I'm your master, remember?"
[O-Okay]
[System Call]
[Calling: Vermilion_]
[Calling!]
[Calling!]
[Calling!]
[Rejected]
[Sorry, Master. Looks like Mr. Vermilion_ refuses to answer my call]
"Keep trying."
Nyx looked pressured, continuously attempting to reach Author Vermilion_ to obtain a glimpse of what's to come in the story. Of course, she didn't want to let Agares or the readers down.
While waiting, Agares looked at the reader and smiled.
"I'll let you know later."
"See you soon, buddy!"