2026-07-08 05:39:19The moment the glowing rune disappeared into Richard's chest, a searing pain erupted behind his eyes. It was unlike any physical injury he had ever experienced. Countless streams of information rushed through his mind at once, colliding like rivers during a flood. His knees buckled beneath him, and he instinctively grabbed the nearest tree to keep himself from collapsing. Caelan Voss took a hurried step forward, his expression changing from disbelief to alarm."Richard!"
Richard barely heard him. The forest seemed to fade into the distance as brilliant golden symbols unfolded before his eyes. They floated through the air in orderly rows, rotating slowly like stars orbiting an invisible sun. Although he had never seen the strange language before, he somehow understood every word the instant he looked at it. KNOWLEDGE AUTHORITY Successor Confirmed Primary Evaluation in Progress... More lines appeared.
Unlike the status windows described in fantasy novels Richard had once read, this one contained no level, experience points, strength, agility, or magical power. Instead, every category measured something entirely different. Engineering Basic Understanding, Agriculture Basic Understanding, Medicine Intermediate Understanding, Architecture Basic Understanding, Chemistry Intermediate Understanding, Mathematics Advanced Understanding, Leadership Novice, Economics Basic Understanding, History Advanced Understanding
Astronomy Intermediate UnderstandingNavigation Basic UnderstandingBotany Intermediate UnderstandingLinguistics Basic UnderstandingPsychology Intermediate UnderstandingMetallurgy Basic Understanding Construction Intermediate Understanding...Hundreds of disciplines continued scrolling endlessly before his eyes. Richard stared at them in stunned silence. So... it isn't measuring power." His voice trembled with disbelief."It measures what I know."
The golden screen responded immediately.Correct.Knowledge determines Authority. Authority determines Influence. Influence reshapes Reality. Richard frowned. Authority?"The mysterious system did not explain further. Instead, another message emerged. Rule One: Knowledge cannot be stolen. Knowledge must be understood. Only applied knowledge creates Authority. Richard's heartbeat quickened.
He remembered the countless nights spent studying beneath a dim oil lamp. He remembered repairing old books instead of buying new clothes. He remembered every insult, every bruise, every mocking laugh. All those years...Had they actually mattered? Caelan watched Richard's expression shift several times within seconds.
"What are you looking at?"Richard blinked. You can't see it?"Caelan looked around the clearing."See what?"Richard slowly exhaled. So the screen existed only for him. The realisation was both exciting and unsettling. Before he could ask another question, the wolf's dissolved remains released another pulse of light. This time, the system reacted immediately. Knowledge Acquired: Species Identified: Shadow Wolf. New Entry Added to Bestiary.
Understanding Increased.Reward Calculated.No Combat Authority Granted.Reason: Target defeated through observation and environmental application. Richard froze."No combat reward?"Another message appeared. Combat creates survival. Understanding creates civilisation. The Knowledge Authority rewards solutions, not slaughter. A strange smile spread across Richard's face.
For the first time in his life, he had encountered something that valued the same principles he did. Back on Earth, people admired strength. In this world...Even magical systems expected warriors to become stronger by defeating enemies. Yet this mysterious Authority judged victories differently. It cared about understanding. No violence. Caelan interrupted his thoughts."I don't know what happened just now," the young hunter admitted cautiously, "but staying here isn't safe."
He glanced toward the dense forest surrounding them."The blood will attract more monsters."Richard looked around for the first time since the strange messages appeared. The clearing suddenly felt much smaller. Far away, low growls echoed through the trees. Caelan wasn't exaggerating. Predators were coming."We should leave," Richard agreed.
The hunter nodded. Our village isn't far."Richard hesitated."I don't exactly have anywhere else to go."Then come with me."...They walked for nearly two hours through winding forest paths. Along the way, Richard observed everything. The trees were unlike any species he had studied. Their bark carried naturally glowing blue veins that pulsed faintly whenever the wind passed through the branches. Several birds possessed translucent feathers that reflected sunlight into rainbow-colored patterns.
Flowers closed whenever someone approached them before blooming again after danger passed. Even the insects behaved differently. Richard found himself fascinated despite the danger surrounding them."You really examine everything," Caelan remarked. Richard smiled faintly."I've always believed the world tells stories."Caelan raised an eyebrow."What do you mean?"
"If you pay attention, every plant, every animal, every landscape explains something."The hunter laughed softly."You're definitely strange."I've heard that before."
Unlike the ridicule he had experienced on Earth, Caelan's words carried curiosity instead of contempt. It was a surprisingly pleasant difference. Eventually, smoke appeared beyond the trees. Richard expected to find a lively village. Instead...His footsteps slowed. The settlement looked exhausted. Half the houses leaned dangerously to one side. Several roofs had collapsed entirely. Children sat silently outside empty homes with hollow eyes. Fields surrounding the village contained little more than dry soil and withered crops.
The wells appeared nearly abandoned. Even the adults moved with slow, defeated expressions.No one laughed. No one smiled. Hope itself seemed to have left long ago. Richard quietly surveyed the farmland. Something immediately felt wrong. The soil wasn't naturally barren. The nearby river remained full. Rainfall appeared sufficient. Yet every field had failed. His curiosity replaced his initial shock.
"There has to be a reason."Caelan noticed where he was looking."Our harvest has failed three years in a row."What caused it?"No one knows."Richard knelt beside the nearest field. He scooped a handful of soil into his palm. Its texture surprised him. Too compact.Poor drainage.Nutrient imbalance. He examined the irrigation channels. Several basic mistakes became obvious within minutes. Water pooled where it shouldn't.
The channels flowed uphill in places. The crops had been planted far too closely together. Someone had followed traditions instead of understanding the land. Richard stood slowly."This can be fixed."Caelan stared at him."You figured that out already?"I think I figured out part of it."The hunter's expression filled with cautious hope."You should speak with Chief Aldren."
The village chief was an elderly man whose tired eyes reflected years of failure. He listened patiently while Caelan explained everything that had happened in the forest. When the story ended, the chief studied Richard for a long moment."So you're a traveller."Richard nodded. I suppose you could say that."And Caelan believes you defeated a Shadow Wolf without magic."I survived because I understood the terrain."
The chief leaned back thoughtfully."We don't have much to offer."Richard noticed the apology hidden within those words. Poverty had become so normal here that kindness itself felt expensive. Then the chief asked quietly, "Can you truly understand why our land is dying?"Richard walked toward the window overlooking the fields. Children searched the dirt for edible roots. Mothers divided tiny portions of food among entire families. An elderly farmer stared at empty farmland as though mourning a loved one.
The sight reminded Richard of himself. A forgotten person in a forgotten place.Except now...Perhaps he could finally make a difference. He turned toward the chief."I can't promise miracles."The room became perfectly still."But I know how crops grow."For one heartbeat...Hope flickered across several faces. Then someone near the doorway burst into laughter.
Another villager joined in. Within seconds, the room filled with amused whispers."A traveller thinks he knows farming better than people who've worked these fields for generations?"He doesn't even have mana."Look at him.""Another dreamer."Richard remained silent as the laughter spread. He had heard the same sound countless times before. Back on Earth.At the academy.Everywhere.Yet something felt different this time.
For the first time, he possessed proof that knowledge truly mattered. The Knowledge Authority had chosen him for a reason. Whether these people believed him now no longer mattered.Soon...His results would speak louder than their laughter. And somewhere deep within his mind, hidden beneath the golden symbols, a new message quietly appeared. First Civilisation Trial Detected.Objective: Restore the Village Harvest. Success will awaken the First Authority.
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CHAPTER 9 — SECRETS BENEATH THE KINGDOM
The ancient map did not remain still. The moment the last beam of light emerged from the crystal, the stone platform beneath Richard's feet trembled again. Thin golden lines spread across the engraved continents like rivers of molten sunlight, illuminating mountains, forests, and kingdoms that no modern cartographer could have drawn with such impossible precision.Then the glowing points began to move. One by one, they pulsed beneath distant kingdoms scattered across the continent. Caelan took an involuntary step backwards. "...Those lights weren't there a moment ago." Richard's eyes never left the map. "No." His voice was barely above a whisper. "They're responding to something." Captain Seraphine rested one hand on the pommel of her sword while carefully studying the shifting lights."Can you read it?" "I don't know yet." Richard slowly knelt beside the map.Unlike the symbols carved throughout the library, these markings rearranged themselves each time he focused on them. At first,
CHAPTER 8 — THE FORGOTTEN LIBRARY
The first scream came from beneath the city. Richard had barely finished examining the newest plague victim when the stone floor beneath the infirmary trembled. Shelves rattled, glass bottles toppled from wooden tables, and frightened patients looked toward the ceiling as dust drifted from the ancient beams overhead. The trembling lasted only a few heartbeats. Then it stopped. No one spoke.The uneasy silence that followed felt heavier than the tremor itself. Captain Seraphine's hand instinctively settled on the hilt of her sword. "What was that?" Before anyone could answer, an elderly city archivist pushed through the crowded doorway. His grey robes were covered in dust, and his breathing came in uneven gasps. "Captain... there's been a collapse beneath the eastern district." He looked directly at Richard. "It happened below the oldest quarter of Grayhaven." Richard frowned."The oldest quarter?" The archivist nodded urgently. "There are tunnels beneath the city. "I've spent forty ye
CHAPTER 7 — THE CITY OF DEATH
The smell reached them long before the city walls came into view. Richard tightened his grip on the reins as a foul mixture of decay, stagnant water, and smoke drifted through the morning air. Even the horses became restless, snorting uneasily and slowing their pace as if instinct warned them to turn back. Captain Seraphine Valcrest rode at the front of the column, her expression growing more severe with every passing mile.Grayhaven should have been alive. It was one of the kingdom's busiest trade cities, where merchants from every province gathered to exchange grain, cloth, timber, and precious ores. Travellers often described its streets as so crowded that one could cross the market without ever touching the ground if one stepped from cart to cart. Now...The gates stood open. No merchants waited outside. No guards challenged approaching travellers. Only silence greeted them. A silence so unnatural that it made every knight instinctively reach for their weapons. "This doesn't feel
CHAPTER 6 — VISITORS FROM THE CAPITAL
The thunder of galloping horses shattered the uneasy calm surrounding the village temple. Every conversation stopped at once as dozens of villagers turned toward the eastern road. Dust billowed into the morning air, rising above the rolling hills like a gathering storm. The sound grew louder with every passing second until armoured riders emerged from the haze, their polished silver breastplates flashing beneath the sunlight. Each rider bore the royal crest of the Kingdom of Asteria, a soaring phoenix surrounded by seven stars.The Royal Knights had arrived. A tense silence settled over the village square. Farmers instinctively removed their hats, children hurried behind their parents, and even the temple priests straightened their robes. Everyone understood what the arrival of the Royal Knights meant. The matter had reached the capital.At the head of the formation rode a young woman upon a magnificent white warhorse. Her silver armour was engraved with elegant blue runes that shimme
CHAPTER 5 — TRIAL BEFORE THE TEMPLE
The first stone struck Richard before the temple guards reached him. It glanced off his shoulder with enough force to leave a sharp ache, but he neither flinched nor turned toward the frightened villager who had thrown it. The accusation spoken by the village priest had spread through the settlement with astonishing speed, transforming yesterday's cautious hope into fearful suspicion.Only hours earlier, the villagers had stood speechless before fields that had produced healthy green shoots after years of barren harvests. Mothers had wept with relief, children had laughed while running between the rows of new crops, and even the oldest farmers had stared at the earth in disbelief. Now those same people watched Richard from a distance as though he carried a contagious curse."The temple has judged him."Then he must have used forbidden magic." No ordinary traveller could change the land overnight."Richard quietly studied their faces. He did not see hatred. He saw fear. Fear had always b
CHAPTER 4 — THE IMPOSSIBLE HARVEST
The laughter had not faded by morning. Instead, it followed Richard wherever he walked through the village like an invisible shadow. Children pointed at him from doorways while whispering to one another. A pair of elderly women paused in the middle of drawing water from the communal well just long enough to shake their heads in pity before resuming their conversation. Farmers carrying worn wooden tools cast doubtful glances in his direction, and several openly chuckled as though the previous day's promise had become the village's favourite joke."That's the outsider."The one who claims he understands farming."I heard he doesn't even have mana."What can a scholar teach people who have lived on this land their entire lives?"Richard heard every word. Years ago, those whispers would have dug beneath his skin and lingered there for days. The academy had taught him how cruel ridicule could become when repeated often enough. Back then, every insult had felt like proof that perhaps everyone e
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