Chapter 2: Mysterious Beginnings

I writhed in excruciating pain, and in that moment, I could only do one thing: cry. What the fuck? How could the demonic emperor find himself shedding tears like a little child? It was embarrassing. But then, a comforting pat on my back eased my anguish. Opening my eyes, I beheld a stunning woman with fiery red hair looking at me with loving eyes, cradling me in her arms. What was happening? I needed to gather my thoughts.

The last thing I remembered was obliterating my adversaries and the earth itself with the Apocalypse stone. It seemed that the Summer Winter Pagoda had brought me here, and to make matters stranger, I found myself in the body of a child. At the moment, I was nothing more than a baby, so it wouldn't be wise to eliminate my new parents immediately. It was more beneficial for me to play along for now.

Later that day, I encountered my father when he came to visit my mother and me in the common room. He was a strong, burly man with a thick beard, contrasting with my mother's fiery red hair. It seemed that neither of my parents had cultivated their chi, as their dantians remained blocked. They didn't strike me as commoners, so why weren't they cultivators?

I also discovered something else that day. My name was Abel, as my parents referred to me. As night fell, I made sure to pretend to be asleep whenever my parents checked on me. However, I had already begun cultivating. Focusing on my lower Dantian, located in my abdomen, I gradually drew in chi threads, attempting to open the blocked meridians. In my past life, it was said that the earlier one started cultivating, the greater their talent would be. Most cultivators started at the age of six, but here I was, cultivating mere weeks after being born. Hopefully, this would boost my growth even further than in my previous life.

The following morning, I woke up to find my mother frowning at me. "Had she discovered me cultivating my chi?" I wondered. "Of course she did. After expelling the impurities through my skin, the telltale sign of cultivation was evident. I couldn't let her suspect anything," I thought to myself. "Oh, my boy, it seems you've soiled your pants. Don't worry, we'll clean you up in no time," she said. A red light enveloped me, and little flames consumed the mess, leaving me unharmed. I was utterly bewildered by this sight. I had never imagined that conjuring fire through sheer will was possible. What kind of sorcery was this? My mother left the room, leaving me alone to contemplate. I needed more information about this world to survive. It was certainly different from my previous life.

Five years passed, and during that time, I made many interesting discoveries. One of my initial attempts was to visit the family library and peruse its books. However, to my disappointment, I couldn't read their language yet. I resolved to return when I was ready. My mother arranged for a tutor to teach me the language and noble etiquette.

From the tutor, I learned that this world was called Eurus, named after the early discovery of magic. It comprised seven continents, with humans residing in Aegyptus, the human continent. The other continents were inhabited by various intelligent races such as elves, beast kin, orcs, and demons. I was particularly curious about the appearance of demons in this world.

I also began my magical training. Humans possessed a natural talent for becoming either an augmenter or a conjurer. Each type of magic was ranked from F- to SSS+, with F being the weakest and SSS being the strongest. My mother was a rank B fire mage, and my father was a rank B+ augmenter with the earth element. Augmenters had thicker mana veins, enabling them to enhance their bodies with mana, but they lacked a mana core. On the other hand, conjurers could cast spells but only defend themselves using barrier spells, resulting in the absence of mana veins but a larger mana core. Each magic user had an element they were compatible with, aiding in the augmentation of their body or the conjuring of specific spells. For example, a wind element for a conjurer allowed them to shoot wind-cutter-like spells, while for augmenters, it enabled them to fly and increase their movement speed. I discovered that I was a conjurer, capable of conjuring basic spells since my element had yet to awaken.

My cultivation training had also progressed significantly. I had already broken through the basic warrior realm and reached the fifth stage of the earth warrior realm. Cultivation was divided into realms, starting with the basic warrior realm, followed by earth warrior, sky warrior, heavenly warrior, basic knight, earth knight, sky knight, heavenly knight, and finally, basic saint, earth saint, sky saint, and heavenly saint. Furthermore, each realm was divided into nine stages.

The next morning, something peculiar occurred. A guard rushed into my father's chambers early in the morning. "What's the matter, Robert? Why do you look beaten up?" my father inquired. "Sir Marcus, a dungeon... a dungeon just appeared outside the hunting grounds of the barony," the guard replied, breathless. "That must be a heaven-sent gift for our barony. Lead the way, show me where it is." As he was about to leave, I tugged on his pants and whispered, "Father, can you take me with you? I believe I can learn a lot from this experience, and I promise to follow your orders." Witnessing his son asking for the first time in his life, Baron Marcus smiled and agreed to bring Abel along for the dungeon hunt.