A faint click sounded as the magic gauge displayed a series of readings.
Within the Abyss, all professions fall into three major categories: Warrior, Knight, and Mage. Other roles—such as Thief, Alchemist, and Priest—can be subdivided under these three pillars.
Each of the three major classes is divided into seven ranks: for Mages: Apprentice Mage, Novice Mage, Mage, Mage Master, Archmage, Grand Archmage, Titled Archmage; for Warriors: Bronze Warrior, Silver Warrior, Gold Warrior, Bronze God of War, Silver God of War, Gold God of War, Titled God of War; Knight: Copper Badge Knight, Silver Badge Knight, Gold Badge Knight, Copper Badge Marshal, Silver Badge Marshal, Gold Badge Marshal, Titled Marshal.
Each rank is further divided into three tiers—Junior, Intermediate, and Senior—resulting in twenty-one distinct levels.
The Magic Gauge is the tool used by guilds to assess a practitioner's strength level. It measures a gap of 500 points between each rank.
For Warriors and Knights, the Magic Gauge tracks three metrics: Bone Quality (Physical Constitution), Muscle Quality (Muscular Strength), and Fighting Spirit. Each metric must increase by 500 index points to advance to the next rank. Mages, however, have only two metrics: Magic Sensitivity and Magic Control Index.
"Young Master!" Anderson exclaimed in shock. Gaia couldn't help but open his eyes. He still remembered his last measurement results: Bone Quality 20, Muscle Quality 26, Fighting Spirit 0, Magic Sensitivity 11, Magic Control Index 7.
Those numbers, coupled with a body so flawed it couldn't cultivate any Fighting Spirit or martial arts, had sealed his fate—forever separated from greatness. This was precisely why his father and grandfather, two equally stubborn and self-willed family heads, had abandoned him.
But this time, the three panels on the Magic Gauge displayed sets of numbers. The Knight and Warrior panels showed identical readings:
Bone Quality: 20, Muscle Quality: 26...
These two remained unchanged, but the final Barrier Power section—the digits beeped and climbed relentlessly upward. Finally, with a long, resonant beep, the Barrier Power value settled at 9256!
Old Anderson was utterly stunned, and Gaia himself froze in disbelief.
A combat energy index exceeding nine thousand meant that, purely in terms of combat energy, Gaia had now reached the rank of High-Tier Golden War God. He stood but a single step away from the highest-tier practitioners of the Abyss of Demons—the Titled Masters!
The vast majority of cultivators in the Abyss of Demons remained stuck at the Warrior stage for their entire lives. Without a high-level inheritance, cultivating combat energy was incredibly difficult. Crossing the threshold from Warrior to War God was an immense challenge. Yet Gaia—once deemed a worthless failure—had suddenly attained the combat energy index of a high-tier Golden War God.
His "father," the clan's foremost expert, had trained for decades yet likely remained only a mid-tier Golden War God. In terms of raw combat energy alone, he now fell short of Gaia.
Gaia stared at his hands in disbelief. If a single cluster of Hoganberg's battle qi was this formidable, what would happen if he unleashed all his clusters...? What kind of being was this Hoganberg?!
A profound sense of dread gripped Gaia. He felt his survival moments ago was pure luck!
"Young Master!" Old Anderson cautioned. "Though your battle energy is formidable, your body remains fragile. You must never unleash it at full power—it would tear your body apart!"
Even without Old Anderson's warning, Gaia understood this truth. His current physique felt like a crowbar: if subjected to excessive force, it wouldn't lift the weight but would snap itself instead.
Yet gazing at that combat energy index exceeding nine thousand, Gaia's heart swelled with anticipation. He silently resolved that once back in his domain, he would command his subjects to hunt mighty beasts. Through the power of magical energy mediums, he would strengthen their bodies. Then, gradually cultivating the inherited combat energy, he would strive to fully harness this nine-thousand-plus index of soldier-type combat energy as swiftly as possible!
Ideally, he would fully assimilate the remaining eight clusters of soldier-type battle energy! When that day came, standing before his father, Xien, the look on his face would be truly priceless!
The mere thought of this scene sent shivers of excitement through Gaia's body. He could almost see those who had betrayed him and wronged him in his past life, each kneeling before him with faces twisted in regret—just like Xien in this lifetime.
Whether debt of gratitude or enmity, all shall be repaid. Gaia silently vowed. Xien Gengro, everything you have given me, I shall return tenfold!
...
The Dragon Dynasty had ruled the Abyss for millennia. Its imperial capital, Dragonrage City, lay at the heart of the central province of Alsace. Traveling from Alsace to Greenland in the Martinique Province required crossing the provinces of Burgundy and Picardy, a journey spanning thousands of miles. It took Gaia and his old servant a full three months to reach Greenland.
Along the way, they endured the harshest winter. By the time they reached Greenland in the Martinique Province, it was already spring of the following year. Though spring had arrived, the small town of Greenland in the far north remained blanketed in snow, a world of silver. Standing on his own domain and gazing northward, one could even see the seemingly impassable, endless mountain range known as the Gangdis.
"This is my domain?" Gaia had harbored no grand expectations regarding the fief his father might grant him, yet the sight of its desolate state still took his breath away.
The hardened crust of ice left by the harsh winter was slowly melting under the early spring sun, revealing equally solid permafrost beneath. The air remained bitterly cold and piercing.
As far as the eye could see, the mountain peaks were as barren as the land itself. Scattered across the infertile plains were a few sparse houses, enclosed by wooden fences. This was the entirety of Greenland Village.
Gaia sighed. Under such natural conditions, it would be fortunate if crops could mature even once a year.
"Young master, let's go." Old Anderson sighed inwardly. He himself was old, but the young master was only fourteen, destined to spend his entire life in such a place. Heaven was truly unfair.
When Gaia saw the villagers gathered at the town entrance to greet him, he completely abandoned any hope that they could help him capture a magical beast for physical enhancement. Sending these people, barely clothed, to hunt powerful beasts without even basic protective gear was nothing short of sending them to their deaths.
In his previous life, Gaia had managed several projects and possessed some administrative skills. Seeing the current situation, he knew his revenge plan would have to be postponed. His immediate priority now was simply to survive. Distant, faint beast roars echoed from the frozen wasteland beyond. Clearly, the wooden fences surrounding this small town offered no defense against demon beast attacks. He hadn't come to Greenland to feed the beasts.
Gaia's municipal official was dressed slightly more neatly than his subjects, though his robe was faded from repeated washing. Clearly, times were hard in Greenland—for everyone, including Gaia himself as the lord.
"The entire domain yields only five gold coins in taxes annually?" Gaia couldn't help but frown. To reform his lands, money was his foremost need.
"That's only because adventurers occasionally pass through. We levy heavier taxes on them, which brings the total to five coins. If we relied solely on the people's taxes, we'd likely not even scrape together a single gold coin." The municipal official replied with honest candor.
His words jogged Gaia's memory: "North lies the Frozen Wastes, beyond which stretches the endless Gangdise Mountains—all prime hunting grounds for magical beasts. Why then do so few adventurers pass through our town?"
"My lord, less than two hundred miles west of Greenland lies Modo, the most renowned supply point in the Frozen Wastes. It boasts complete facilities, including an adventurers' guild office and numerous supply shops. Adventurers have no need to enter the Frozen Wastes through our town. Only those who become lost within the wastes might depart through our town, That's where our taxes come from."
Gaia understood. Greenland was in ruins—the town didn't even have a tavern, let alone supply shops selling adventuring gear. No wonder adventurers avoided it.
Gaia stroked his chin, which was utterly incapable of growing a beard, and pondered, "How much would it cost to post a notice at the adventurers' office in Modo?"
The town clerk immediately grabbed a quill to calculate. "My lord, if we send someone, the round-trip travel costs one silver coin. Posting the notice requires a fee of ten silver coins. Total: eleven silver coins."
Gaia nodded. "Send someone to Modo immediately. Post a notice: Greenland Town will abolish the adventurer entry tax in three months."
"What?!" The municipal official gasped in shock. Anderson beside him was equally astonished: "Young Master, our entire tax revenue relies on the adventurers' entry tax! If you abolish it, how will we survive?"
"What resources does Greenland have? Beyond this slight geographical advantage, there's nothing else worth developing. Waiting to starve to death for five gold coins a year isn't worth it. We might as well take a chance. We have three months' buffer. Open supply stores and adventurer taverns. Magistrate."
"Yes, sir."
"Calculate how much this will cost."
"As you command."