1 Beginning

At the surface of a blue and green planet, right in the center of a massive crater spanning over a hundred miles of radius, a soldier, who wore a complete set of dark metallic armor with intricate design, stood still while holding a large black broadsword on his right hand.

Around him was a brutal, hideous sight of uncountable mangled human corpses, unknown monsters' carcasses, and debris scattered all over the ground. At the same time, an intense mixed smell of blood and death permeated the surrounding air, creating a very dreadful atmosphere that shrouded the entirety of the crater.

"Sigh…"

Then, an audible sigh escaped from the soldier's mouth.

He took the already battered helmet off his head, revealing a handsome and masculine face filled with extreme exhaustion underneath.

The soldier had a short but messy dark raven hair, his eyes were sharp and violet-colored, the chisels decorating his jawline was so perfect as if it was sculpted by a master, combined with his strong and ripped body outline by the armor, the man's overall appearance looked valiant, imposing, and charismatic. If someone was to look at him right now, they would think of a battle-hardened hero.

But currently, the soldier was looking very tired as if life forces were gradually drained from his body, he could barely even kept his posture.

Not long, the man wobbles and falls to the ground and can only lay helplessly afterward.

Contrary to his haggard appearance, his heart remained calm… peaceful, in fact.

For more than a decade, he had fought in war constantly and without ever complaining for once.

Protecting Earth from an alien invasion that had brought total destruction and caused billions of human lives to be lost. Along the way, the soldier had also tasted many different flavors of life; from being looked down upon, getting admired, idolized, losing dearest ones, watching his comrades and acquaintances got killed, getting betrayed, and everything…

It could be said that to this date, he had lived a selfless and very eventful life full of colors.

Even though the war was far from over, the soldier does not seem to have any regrets. If he was to die now someone will simply take his place, continuing his legacy.

He know his life will end here, it won't be long… he could feel that death was approaching closer.

Killing a powerful alien general, whose dead body lies nearby, will be his last gift for the beloved Earth.

The edge of his mouth curved upward, forming a gentle smile.

In the next moment, the soldier closed his eyes completely, and…

***

Duar!!!

Deep within a vast and dense forest, a sudden explosion erupted, disrupting the previously quiet atmosphere.

At the location where the commotion occurred, a young man with a handsome and masculine appearance stood on top of a large flat rock while raising one of his fists to the sky.

The man's upper body was garbed in a white linen shirt which was doubled by a dark leather jacket above it. On the other hand, his lower body was fully covered by dark leather pants and a pair of dark leather boots.

Currently, the man's presence seemingly brimmed with absolute might, an overwhelming kind of aura surging out uncontrollably from his body, blasting away the air, wind, and dust all around him.

Boom!!!

Another energy explosion erupted from the man's body, resulting in shock waves blasting away the air once again.

"Behold! I, Maximus, is a knight warrior now!" The man suddenly shouted with all of his power as if he wanted the whole world to hear him.

Not long after the era-defining announcement, the situation around the man returned to normal.

The man, Maximus, clenched both fists really hard, his eyes exude brilliant glints, he was feeling incomparably powerful now.

Never would he imagine he can wield this kind of overpowering might after being reincarnated.

That's right! Maximus was a person from Earth who reincarnated after he died.

He was originally a soldier serving in the Earth Defense Force and had lived in the closing years of the 21st century. He succumbed to his death after fending off a raid conducted by a technological-advanced alien race that had invaded Earth during the mid-21st century and has since continuing their offensives.

Contrary to being shrouded by eternal darkness he expected he would experience upon death, Maximus, instead, was reincarnated into another world.

This new world was called the Grand Azov Realm, named after its guardian deity — Azov, the Radiant Dragon God.

Yes! This was a world where gods do exist and their influences can be felt directly, even though it was merely vague. Not only that, but there were also exists myriads of sentient intelligence race such as elves, dwarfs, beastman, orcs, goblins, demi-humans, and etc, sharing this world together with humans, and other living beings like ordinary animals and even demon beasts. It could be said that this realm was a true fantasy world, similar to what was depicted in many fairy books and tales Maximus had read in the past.

The Grand Azov has two continents, dozens of islands, large or small, and several archipelagos dotting its surface, a bit smaller than Earth. The continents, Gaia and Astrea, were located close to each other; Gaia in the north, and Astrea in the south. Right in the middle was a wide inland sea, almost similar to the Mediterranean, named Mare Cessabit. The combined size of both landmasses was as big as half of Asia.

Aside from that, both were dominated by complex landscapes, various types of vegetation and environment, hundreds of rivers and lakes, and also, rich weathers. But Astrea tends to be warmer than its northern counterpart.

Both continents' were surrounded by two large oceans and two large seas on all sides; Sunset Ocean on the west, Sunrise Ocean on the east, Frozen Sea on the north of Gaia, and Warm Sea on the south of Astrea.

The majority of this world's population centered on these two main continents, while the rest were scattered throughout other islands and archipelagos. According to what Maximus knows, this world's civilization level, culturally and technologically, was really low and backward. While it may be varied from one region to another, but in the most prosperous region, the level was equal to the medieval age, and in the most backward one, the level there still stuck in the dark age.

So, yes! It's time for an ancient lifestyle, there were no potent medicines, no good hospitals, no high-tech appliances, no high-speed transportation, no undersea communities, no near-instantaneous communication devices, no electricity, no spaceships, and no thousands of other things that were prevalent in Earth's 21st century. In addition, no delicious and healthy food too, only bland wheat porridge, gruel, and black bread as hard as metal.

Maximus was reborn as a lowly peasant. The strange thing was, he had the same appearance and name as he was in the past life.

Unfortunately, due to an error that occurred when his soul being transferred across dimensions, he initially cannot access the memories of the previous life. For 18 years, he lived his new life normally without knowing that he had a glorious but perilous past life.

He only regained the memories just recently, one month ago to be exact. At first, when Maximus realized he has reincarnated, he was utterly terrified. After all, such a thing as reincarnation was simply beyond logic. Furthermore, he found himself stranded in a completely different world compared to Earth, where everything was so strange and unfamiliar. Luckily, his adaptability was truly top-notch. After two weeks of familiarizing himself with the situation, and the fusion between his past and new life's memories, Maximus was able to quickly adjust to his second life.

Well, it's not like he had a choice in the first place. It doesn't matter whether he likes it or not, he needs to adapt.

Maximus' parents in this new world were nothing but a pair of humble commoners. They both lived in a rural village named Roa, located close to the southern border of the Everglade Kingdom, a feudal kingdom that ruled over a large swath of territory around Gaia's eastern coast. It was precisely in this village that Maximus was born and still currently lives in.

The life of ordinary commoners in a rural medieval village was very simple, hard, and really boring. Most of them might never leave far from their own village and would spend their entire lifespans there. Like what happened to Maximus' parents, both of them worked mainly as farmers; spending their time on the field during the day, return home in the evening, then sleep when it's dark, and repeat those again the next day. It's really and utterly boring. In this kind of ancient time scenario, there was only a limited amount of entertainment that people from all walks of life could enjoy, especially rural people.

This boring and simple life was what accompanied Maximus ever since he was reborn. Until five years ago, when he was still 13 years old, the situation finally changed.

A tragedy struck, hordes of fierce beasts came out from the nearby forest and suddenly attacked Roa.

Those fierce beasts, although weaker than demon beasts, were still creatures with terrifying power and weren't things that ordinary villagers could resist. The casualties were a lot, at least nearly 30% of Roa's total villagers were killed as the result, and among them were Maximus' parents, thus turning him into an orphan again like in the previous life.

After that fateful event, his life completely changed. Most of the surviving villagers did not look kindly upon him. Not that they hate Maximus, but they just ignore him most of the time. After all, their lives were already hard, there was no energy left to spent to care for an orphan. Maximus had no choice but to live independently by himself in order to survive.

He did almost any jobs or works that were available; from farming, cutting woods, to shepherding, and everything. Thanks to this resilient behavior of not wanting to be a burden, the villagers' attitude towards him started to become better. A diligent and hard-working person was always welcome in any society. Especially, when Maximus always willing to help other villagers whenever they need him.

Two years ago, Maximus' luck suddenly turned even better after it was found that he actually possessed a so-called Inner Channel, a magical internal organ that runs within the body of those who were lucky.

Every living being who possessed Inner Channel will able to sense the existence of Inner Force, the energy produced naturally by the world. They can absorb this energy into the channel in order to nourish and strengthen their bodies, which would result in better health, faster reflexes, and stronger prowess. This activity was popularly known throughout the Grand Azov as Martial Cultivation.

Within the Everglade Kingdom and countries that shared similar cultures, becoming a knight through cultivation was an ultimate dream for many people, nobles and commoners alike. For nobles, it was a way to ensure their rule and legacy will last for as long as possible. As for commoners, it was a golden ticket to completely turn over their life, changing their fate, and a chance to gain riches and fame.

Unfortunately, not everyone was blessed with luck by having an Inner Channel inside their bodies, preventing them from sensing the existence of Inner Force and consigning them within mediocrity throughout their lifetime. Out of 1000 people, probably only 50 possessed Inner Channel and able to cultivate, showing the fact that Inner Channel's possessors were exceedingly rare and precious. These kinds of people were admired, respected, and sometimes feared because of the strength they have.

After the discovery of Maximus' Inner Channel, the whole Roa Village was both shocked and jubilant. Possessors of Inner Channel have the potential to be way stronger than ordinary people, thus they definitely able to fight against fierce beasts. Having their protection means that a village would be safe from dangers, particularly a rural village like Roa.

Actually, Roa has one other Inner Channel's possessor, and he was the village's constable. That man has been serving in the position for decades, he was from the same generation as Maximus' deceased father. It was also him who first discovered the fact that Maximus had an Inner Channel and later taught him the way of martial cultivation. Even though the man was not a knight as his talent was limited, which made him unable to reach the higher realm, his strength can still be considered strong.

It's due to his prowess that the village can survive the fierce beasts' onslaught five years ago. Without him, the outcome would definitely be catastrophic.

Since then, in the eyes of Roa's villagers, Maximus was a hero, especially after he gained bigger strength through cultivation, which he mainly used to help the village by hunting games in the forest every day and protecting Roa as its vice-constable. Almost everyone in the village admires him greatly, and they will always say nice things whenever they met him.

However, Maximus did not feel satisfied because of it. After his parents died, his mentality changed. Even more so after he embarked on the path of martial cultivation. A great ambition has long been brewing inside his heart and mind.

He refused to spent his whole life doing nothing other than staying in Roa. He wishes to go out, achieve some glory, and become more successful than a mere peasant. Even after regaining the memories of his past life, that ambition keeps burning on ragingly.

In the past life, Maximus failed to live his life contently, many regrets still persist and there were many life flavors he hasn't taste yet. He had decided to live this new life eagerly and bravely. He will face all the challenges that stood along his path and be a little bit selfish.

That's why he was here, deep inside the forest close to Roa — The Eerie Forest.

[Ding! Your cultivation level has raised to third-rate Knight.]

[Ding! Quest "Reach Knight Level" is completed. You received 500 experience points, 30000 System Credit, 1x (Iron-rank) Swift Tiger Thrust combat skill, 1x (Top-grade) Delios Steel Shield as the rewards.]

From out of the blue, a computerized female voice devoid of emotion resounds within Maximus' head.

This voice belongs to the All-in-one System, a magical entity that dwells deep within his soul. She acts like a virtual personal assistant, just like in video games or computer applications, who was capable of providing him with myriads of fantastical functions and assistance.

The system appeared right of the bat shortly after Maximus awakened the memories of his past life a month ago. She informed him that the whole system and his reincarnation were actually a set of gifts from the Radiant Dragon God, the guardian deity of this world, who had been watching him in the past life and was amused and entertained by his heroic deeds.

Initially, Maximus was bewildered by the system and the reason he got it but gradually getting accustomed to it after some familiarization. Besides, he has already become numb with all the magical stuff that happened around him, so he doesn't even care anymore.

As it was mentioned before, the system has many wondrous functions, one of which has the ability to greatly help its host in the matter of cultivation. Generally, every people who can cultivate must keep absorbing and refining Inner Force, practicing their choice of cultivation methods, and trains their bodies continuously in order to enhance their strength and cultivation level. Different from them, Maximus does not need to do all of that to raise his own level.

Thanks to the system, all he need to do was killing any opponent he came across, whether people, ordinary animals, fierce beast, or demon beasts.

By doing that, he will be rewarded with experience points. In turn, these experience points will be automatically transformed into the purest form of Inner Force that will be absorbed directly by Maximus' body and straightly utilized to improve his power. These procedures can save him lots of time and effort, like a sort of cheat.

Completing quests given by the system can yield experience points as well, the quest would be generated based on random encounters or events that Maximus met in his life. By combining these two methods, Maximus' cultivation speed will surely break any common sense.

In the Grand Azov, the cultivation system, in essence, was the same in anywhere one can travel, but each part of the world may use a different classification in relation to each of their own cultures. In Everglade and nations with a similar culture, cultivation was separated into three major levels: Fighter, Knight, and Supreme. And the levels were divided further into three minor stages, except for Supreme.

Fighter was the first level in cultivation road. Warriors of this level were slightly stronger than ordinary people.

And it was at this level too that the majority of people with Inner Channel would stop and unable to progress further. Not everyone can become a knight, and not to mention, higher than that. Factors like talent, hard work, perseverance, perception, and luck can determine the success of someone's cultivation.

The next level was Knight, the threshold that separates the weak and the strong, a dream of many.

The weakest Knight-level expert can exert at least two times more power than the strongest Fighter warrior. Also, several ultimate abilities will manifest upon entering this realm, and those abilities were the reasons why knights were respected and feared.

Warriors of this level were able to match and possibly defeat few types of demon beast. And they were also the elites of many countries' military.

As for Supreme, the apex? This realm was simply unfathomable, not a lot of information about it was known to the public.

This was a legendary realm that only a few had managed to attain. It was said there were no more than four Supreme's existences that can be found throughout the Grand Azov in the present day. Each of their names resounds across the world, their deeds and reputations were so famous to the point no one hasn't heard about them.

Maximus had learned from his mentor that in the Everglade Kingdom when a commoner who possessed an Inner Channel managed to reach the Knight Level, he could begin to offer his service to a feudal lord, and if he was accepted, he then would be granted a knighthood and maybe, an estate, if the feudal lord wasn't the stingy type.

This will elevate that person's status from a common-born peasant to that of a knight, which was the lowest-ranked title in the kingdom's nobility hierarchy. And this will also open the door toward a higher status and connections in the future.

Now, this was what Maximus intends to do.

There's no other option. In this world, if you desire power and authority, becoming a noble was the only way to go. In Gaia, nobles and royalties were the absolute ruling class. Without noble titles, even if a person was rich, he or she would still be unable to grasp any significant authority or power, and being looked down upon would also be certain.

Maximus' talent in cultivation was considered top-notch. He managed to attain the cultivation base of first-rate Fighter after cultivating for merely two years. It must be known, his mentor, the village's constable, was only a second-rate Fighter, that man was already middle-aged and can't progress further. Showing how fast and well Maximus' progression was. Not to mention, he had recovered the memories of his past life, which made his experiences to be even more abundant, and he had obtained the All-in-one System as well.

As a consequence, his current potential and limit have been enhanced to the extent that both do not have definite boundaries anymore, even reaching the Supreme realm might not be impossible.

Since one month ago, Maximus had constantly wandered around the Eerie Forest, turning the whole area upside down, hunting any fierce beasts he encountered while avoiding demon beasts. He gathered as many experience points as he possibly could. And this painstaking effort yielded a great result…

Maximus successfully broke through to the Knight Level. His cultivation now stood erect at third-rate Knight.

With this advancement, he finally entered the world that only belongs to the strong. He would no longer be regarded as a mere peasant. And he can commence his plan for the future.

Presently, Everglade Kingdom has fallen into a mixed state of unrest and uncertainty.

During a war against the neighboring country, Principality of Thea, three years ago, Everglade's monarch, King Henry II, was slain in a battle. Although the kingdom won that battle and thus the war, losing its monarch was too much of a blow.

The kingdom's already fragile economy received a heavy backlash due to the war's enormous cost. Moreover, the late king's sons have started to compete with each other for the throne, making the whole situation even worse. These combinations had caused the feudal lords to be increasingly dissatisfied. They begin to strive for more self-benefits, instead of, taking care of the nearly fractured kingdom.

Small-scale private conflicts between competing parties erupt frequently in all parts of the kingdom. Banditries and robberies were rampant in the countryside. Everglade's control over its own territory grew weaker with each passing day. These made the life of ordinary commoners extremely miserable.

This was a time of chaos and a golden opportunity in Maximus' mind.

Roa, the village where he lives, was one of the villages under the jurisdiction of Texel.

Texel was just a small and rundown fief, its capital was no more than a tiny town with only 3000 or so population. It's simply poor and dilapidated land.

Maximus originally had an idea of offering his service to the lord of Texel, Jason of House Lyon, but quickly rejected it since he knows that Jason was infamous for being really obnoxious and greedy. He, instead, thinking to try his luck with Texel's direct liege, Warwick of House Gray, the current lord of Hereford and Lord Superior of the Shieldlands.

Hereford was a city that lies to the east of Texel, it was one of the few proper cities that the kingdom has and capital to quite a large fief that has been managed well by its current lord. The lord, Warwick, was popularly known for his generous and upright manners. He was the standard archetype of a good warrior noble as it was said that he was also a strong knight.

Therefore, if Maximus were to serve someone, he might as well serve that kind of upright lord, instead of, someone like Jason Lyon. Besides, Lord Warwick held an unmatchable authority and influence in the southern region of the kingdom. Having a powerful backer such as him would be extremely beneficial for him.

'I'll start preparing once I got back to the village. The old Regan deserves a proper goodbye too. He had trained the 'previous' me wholeheartedly, after all.' Maximus thought.

Then, he descent from the flat stone, and strode closer to a large corpse of brown-furred bear that lies nearby. This was the trophy he had hunted just earlier, a fierce beast. Thanks to this kill, he managed to obtain enough experience points that allowed him to break through to the Knight Level.

Maximus tap the corpse with his hand, and it instantly vanished under glittering lights. The corpse was sent to the system's inventory space, some sort of pocket dimension where he can store things up to 10000 kg of maximum weight.

The weight limit can be expanded, but it requires lots of System Credits, a virtual point that can be used to buy stuff in the system's shop and to unlock many functions that were still locked. The only way for him to get System Credits was through completing quests.

Maximus had completed a few, as such his virtual wallet was currently filled with a not-so-bad amount of credits.