In the game, the transition between the scenes was very simple.

[After escaping from the pursuers, you have arrived at the magical city of ‘Arcanium’.]

It usually happened in this way.

But, the reality was different. Whether it was a change in the scene or something else, I had to go through it myself.

Fortunately, the setting was closer to the modern era than the medieval period, so there was no need to go through the troubles of riding a horse.

Trains were operated only in safe cities where the demons were judged to be completely eradicated, and ‘Warp Halls’ were installed in airships and certain other cities, to facilitate ultra long-distance movement and travel.

‘I’m glad there are no further pursuers.’

I was familiar with the identity of those pursuers.

It was warned by the media that ‘bandits’ ran amok and raided the nearby villages. Later, it turns out that this incident was the work of the ‘Dark Demon Church’ to seek sacrifices in the early days.

However, from the moment one exited the cliff, it was completely the domain of mages.

Dark Demons could not pursue me anymore, and they treated me like a sacrifice anyway. Since they did not know my real identity, there was no need to worry about the future consequences.

Thanks to this, I was able to let go of my worries for the time being.

With the help of these mages, I was able to travel in an automatic wagon, which was a bit shakier compared to the modern cars.

“Huh, is this your first time in a city?”

“Where the hell did you learn that kind of magic skill?”

I did not know how to respond, so I just smiled.

There was an unspoken rule among mages that if one smiled softly when asked about magic, it meant he had a hidden master and no further questions should be asked.

“Well, that’s alright.”

"Anyway, I’m glad that our destination is the same. We are on our way to Rezoica, one of the 12 satellite cities of the Arcanium city.”

The Stella Academy was located in Arcanium. I was really glad that I saved myself from the trouble of going there separately.

On the way, I asked them a few questions about this world. From small details to the local culture.

I even heard them say, ‘Tutttttt, you’re a real peasant,’ while looking at me the moment I asked for the currency unit, but it did not matter.

It was better to be treated like a peasant for a short time than to be bullied for not knowing later.

“Well, why don’t you sleep a little bit. The airship to Arcanium will depart at eight o’clock tomorrow, and we’ll be able to make it to Rezoica before that.”

“Hey, I’m sorry, how are you?”

“Are you sleeping well?”

When I turned around following the mage’s finger, I saw the gray-robed girl, who was on board as a guest. At that moment, she was crouching in the corner, trying to sleep.

“Ha…. Then excuse me for a little bit.”

“Okay. Well, you’re going to make it big in the future, so let us take good care of you. Don’t forget us later on, okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

I was able to lie down on the back seat due to the careful consideration of the mages. Before drifting to sleep, I looked at the boundless sky.

I could not do it before because of the frantically progressing episodes and continuous influx of new information, but my priority now was to check my physical condition.

‘… Muscularity is not a joke.'

According to my age in the game setting, my body was almost 10 years younger, and I had a fairly youthful appearance.

As if it was not enough, I also had a strong body which was quite different from my original body. The original me never exercised.

Currently, I had strong chest muscles and engraved abs.

Since I was still young, I was still far below my original 180cm height, but if I ate well, I was sure I would grow again.

Next, I checked the “Skill Window”.

[Mana Accumulation Retardation Lvl.1]

[Strength increases by 03%]

[Agility increases by 05%]

[Senses enhanced by 10%]

[Sixth Sense: Activated by consuming the user’s mental power. Effective within a radius of 12m.]

[Once mana is faintly detected, ‘Cognitive Acceleration’ would activate. It gets automatically triggered when it is judged that the user is facing a crisis.]

The second characteristic of the character Baek Yu-Seol, Mana Accumulation Retardation; the culprit who turned me into a magic eunuch.

Ironically, it was funny to think that I was still alive thanks to this Mana Accumulation Retardation.

‘Cognitive Acceleration and Sixth Sense. Without them, I would have died earlier than expected.’

The ‘Sixth Sense’ made it possible to know the origin of attack without needing to look, and the ‘Cognitive Acceleration’ increased my thinking abilities, allowing time to pass at a slow pace when a threat of an attack exceeds the human cognitive speed approach. A passive effect that depended on the Mana Efflux Delay.

However, it seemed that the Sixth Sense could not be used for a long duration.

Maybe it was because of the exhaustion of mental power, but I had a severe headache right after the battle.

‘Still… I’m glad this Mana Accumulation Retardation amplifies the character’s overall stats.’

Next, I checked the entire status.

[Baek Yu-Seol]

[Abilities]

[Physical Strength: 1 star (59%)]

[Sense: 1 star (97%)]

[Agility: 1 star (81%)]

[Health: 1 star (51%)]

[Endurance: 0 star (97%)]

[Mental Strength: 1 star (43%)]

[Mana: ~]

[Remaining EXP: 10]

[Skills]

[Flash Lvl.0]

[Characteristic]

[Mana Accumulation Retardation Lvl.1]

As one of the peculiarities of the Aether World, there was no separate character-level system, but the abilities and skills were divided into levels.

Skills were divided with ‘Level (Lvl)’ and abilities were denoted with ‘Star’.

In the game system, the ability could be raised to 9 stars, but it was said that very few such characters existed in the history of Aether World.

I had been playing this game for over 10 years, but 8 star strength and 8 star senses was the max I could upgrade.

The 9 star was a divine realm that could only be achieved by those who had received the blessings of heaven.

'But, how come my abilities are so good as a starter?’

On average, the muscular strength of an adult male was [1 star (0%)].

When one reached [1 star (20%)], they were advised to start exercising. Hearing that, if one exercised a little and reached [1 star (40%)], his body would become a bit muscular, prompting him to receive comments like, ‘Wow, he’s in shape'.

On the other hand, if one demoted down to [0 star], it would be the very definition of a weak body.

While most mages began with [0 star] for abilities such as strength and flexibility, the character Baek Yu-Seol started with [1 star (10%)], which was higher than average.

However, for me, it was even higher than the usual starting point of the character.

‘It seems that I have received a small portion of my original body’s abilities that I had raised in the past, judging how high my sensory ability is.’

The original Baek Yu-Seol had a very low Sense Stat, and for 10 years, I worked my ass off in raising it.

Although the effect of inheriting slightly better stat seemed worthless, I was fortunate that it was better than the original starting stats.

After thinking about the allocation of EXP for a while, I invested all of them in ‘Sense’.

Sense had an ability to increase Sixth Sense and reaction speed which were essential in the game because it determined how fast a character reacts when I press the button.

However, in reality, its importance increased more because it was directly linked to my reaction speed.

[Sense: 2 star (07%)]

There were many ways to raise muscle strength and flexibility, so there was no need to use EXP for them. However, it was difficult to upgrade ‘Sense’ unless it was through EXP.

I let out a deep sigh as I looked at my status and the Mana Accumulation Retardation alternately.

As mentioned, my final goal was to defeat the final boss ‘Dark Monarch Dragon’ and save the world. If I could achieve the ‘True Ending’ too this way, it would be an added bonus.

After then, whether I transmigrated back to Earth, or had a happy ending here, it did not matter.

Was it possible to use the game system in this other reality? That’s what mattered to me.

On Earth, I succeeded in raising stats only because it was a game, where I could earn EXP and farm items through a lot of hard work (hunting, crafting, etc.). Sometimes, I got as far as intentionally breaking human relationships for some items.

I even died a couple of times to earn ability-enhancing potions, and cleared dungeons with a survival rate of 0.01%. Since I could not afford to die, trying to clear them was impossible in reality.

Therefore, it would be a pipe dream to restore my original strength even if I died trying.

Despite the fact it was possible to restore all of the game character’s stats, there were people stronger than me in the setting.

The future seemed bleak.

‘What are some hidden loopholes that I can use for the future?'

Many things came to mind, but unfortunately, there were many more that I could not remember.

I was not smart to begin with and my memory was limited due to the long span of ten years.

Since the destruction of this world seemed like a certain fate, I thought of giving up, and settling in the countryside. To find a good woman, grow beans and potatoes in the farm, and ultimately growing old together… However, such optimistic thoughts were impossible.

In the first place, Mana Accumulation Retardation was close to an incurable disease, thus if I did not treat it with proper training, I wouldn't be able to live long and die anyway.

To survive, I must upgrade to the ‘Natural Divine Body’ as soon as possible. Moreover, the methods and hints to cure the Mana Accumulation Retardation existed in the Stella Academy.

To prevent the destruction of the world and cure my incurable diseases, it was my destiny to head to the Stella Academy.

“Uh-huh… What should I do next?”

I was in a gloomy mood when a message suddenly popped up in front of my eyes.

[The ‘Constellation Project’ presents a special reward for you.]

[1. A downgraded version of an item used in-game.]

[2. A downgraded version of skill acquired in-game.]

[3. EXP.]

“… Wow.”

It seemed those friends who dragged me all the way here had some morals.

[Would you like to select a reward right now?]

I thought about it for a while, but it was late at night, and I also felt like sleeping now.

‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’

My first day in an unfamiliar world.

Maybe because it had been really tough on me, I fell asleep more easily than I thought.