Chapter 39: The World Favors Creators!

Count Eolem was completely bewildered by Born’s words, not realizing that a single sentence had sent Born’s thoughts spiraling off course. His paranoia flared up again, and he immediately devised more than a dozen schemes in his mind!

When a person falls into deep contemplation, their mental energy often fluctuates wildly, especially for spellcasters whose mental waves are more pronounced. Though the Count wasn’t a master in this field, he was a seasoned high-level arcanist with immense mental strength. He sensed extremely dangerous signals emanating from Born, which instinctively unsettled him.

The Count’s mental energy stirred slightly, pulling Born back from his reverie. Born couldn’t help but smile wryly and glanced at his attribute panel.

Name: Born Eolem
Race: Netheril Human
Classes: Mage 8 / Arcanist 6 / Monk 4
Level: 10
Base Attributes: Strength 5.3, Agility 4.5, Constitution 5, Intelligence 14, Perception 6
Unique Item: Ion Stone (Divinity +1)
Functions: Storage, Deduction, Scanning
Knowledge: …

With his advancement to mid-tier arcanist, not only had his strength, agility, and constitution improved, but his mental power had surged once again, causing his thoughts to occasionally wander uncontrollably.

The Count was somewhat surprised and asked, “You’ve advanced to mid-tier?”

Born nodded, then briefly explained his investigation of the lizardfolk tribe, even demonstrating the [Arcane Eye]. As a high-level arcanist, the Count immediately recognized the spell as arcane.

Fourth circle!

The hallmark of a mid-tier arcanist is possessing one’s own unique arcane spell—many are stuck at this bottleneck! Even at the academy, many instructors are only novice arcanists, with a handful of high-level mages among them.

Good!
Good!
Good!

The Count repeated the word “good” three times, revealing his inner turmoil. In his estimation, Born should have spent several years after graduation gaining experience before finding his magical path, creating his own arcane spell, and advancing to mid-tier arcanist. He never expected Born to achieve this before even graduating.

Born had set another new record for the academy: arcanist before enrollment, mid-tier arcanist before graduation. Moreover, Born was the youngest mid-tier arcanist. Thanks to studying the [Monk] breathing techniques, he developed quickly and appeared older, but in truth, he was not yet thirteen years old!

Not even of age yet...

“These days, you must have noticed you’ve changed.”

Born nodded and replied, “My constitution and strength have increased significantly.”

He was curious because he’d already advanced to mid-tier two years ago, experiencing a “baptism of life” once. He wasn’t unfamiliar with fourth-circle magic, but this time, it was his own fourth-circle arcane spell—and it brought about another metamorphosis!

“This is why arcanists are so powerful!” the Count said earnestly. “Every spell is painstakingly crafted by its creator. Those who come after merely replicate the results—endlessly piling up magical waste. Their understanding of spell structure and principles can never match the original creator!”

The Count paused, looking at Born with grave seriousness. “Born, remember! Don’t rush to advance to high-tier. High-tier spells can be studied for reference, but don’t learn them yet. Even if you do, wait until after you’ve advanced to high-tier arcanist. Remember this!”

“The world favors creators!”

When Born heard this, it felt as though his mind exploded. Yes, how had he not realized… That’s the truth!

World affinity!

Because he had crossed over “illegally,” Born was rejected by the world. His first arcane spell allowed the world to accept him. The transition from “disdain” to “favor” made him acutely aware of the world’s emotions. He hadn’t felt this since, not because it wasn’t there, but because he no longer noticed it.

Contrast comes from difference!

What is advancement in life? Extraordinary power transforms and strengthens the body—but where does that power come from? From the world itself!

By analogy, Born himself would give extra attention to those he favored. Why did he choose Raymond Milliontoff as his agent and collaborator? Was it because of the introductory meeting at the academy? No! It was because of his intelligence and ability to seize opportunities.

If this deduction holds, the world’s partiality toward creators means that advancement in life’s ranks isn’t entirely fair!

“That lizardfolk?”

Born recalled the pitiably weak high-level lizardfolk.

The Count nodded. “That high-level lizardfolk didn’t advance on its own merit—it climbed up through trickery. Its control over its body isn’t precise. Otherwise, your basic arcane spell wouldn’t have been able to paralyze a true high-level lizardfolk, not even with the magic web forcibly boosting it. It likely stole the tribe priest’s power!”

Born finally understood why the tribe had a god idol but no priest.

“Advancing to high-level is crucial for life’s metamorphosis—it determines how far you can go!” the Count said solemnly.

Even if the Count hadn’t said so, Born had already sensed something was off. In his attribute panel, he was level 10, yet he felt there was plenty of room for growth at this stage.

The most obvious sign was the improvement in his attributes.

“It seems that steady accumulation is a universal principle, no matter the world.” Born had no intention of breaking through carelessly, lest he end up as the most “worthless” high-level like the lizardfolk, which would be a disgrace to any transmigrator.

Now that Born had found his own “path of magic,” the Count was at ease.

“I’ll take this stone. It’s the ‘Heart of the God,’ already corrupted and fallen. It can’t stay in Seven Town—it must be dealt with quickly.” The Count examined the stone. “A very clever method of sealing—not inferior to a typical magical array.”

“What is the Heart of the God? Is it really the heart of a deity?” Born asked, puzzled.

“It’s not truly a deity’s heart—just the core of a native spirit.” Holding it, the Count could clearly sense many vengeful spirits attached to it, howling incessantly in Born’s direction.

The Count was convinced: Born had indeed wiped out an entire lizardfolk tribe!

“Native spirit?”

On the continent of Faerun, some intelligent races still lived in uncivilized tribes, mostly worshiping their ancestors. Over time, special spirits would emerge, possessing a portion of divine power.

Of course, local temples would fiercely suppress these spirits, labeling them as “false gods!”

In truth, Born knew that many current self-styled true deities had ascended from such native spirits.

As the Count explained, Born understood further: in recent years, Seven Town had begun expanding, eliminating several tribes and obtaining the cores of their native spirits. However, due to backlash from faith, the cores were cursed and corrupted, affecting those nearby. Surrounding villages experienced terrifying plagues—plagues that were extremely difficult to cure!

…