I was raised to believe that I was a normal kid, everyone around me was normal, and so was I. Life was simple, my friends and I walked through the streets of Eristal with our parents to get to school, as other people flew overhead with magic items or their own abilities. That was normal in this realm. I was one of the hundreds of trillions of children out of countless, well, technically counted people in The Republic alone. Everyone developed abilities at the age of 13, and that was normal although there were the talented few who were able to gain abilities earlier as well. As people got older, they passed away, gained immortality, ascended to a higher realm, rose to power, and so much more.
At Age 13, Kids get to form their mana core, and by age 15, they have a true purified core or an aspected core. Aspects are elements that change the effect mana has on skills used. Skills are usually mana-based abilities that people can learn some skills however, can be used without mana as long as the person has the skills to supplement for the lack of magic. There are an infinite number of aspects, both discovered and undiscovered, some are more powerful than others, along with many having direct counters. Mana usage is difficult to perfect, and through the carving of mana passages, it's possible to direct mana flow to singular points or perfectly distribute mana to the entire body.
The schooling system in the republic is advanced, and compared to the other factions in the realm, we are the leader in education and tied for first which is commonly referred to as "the power balance". By age 11, children in The Republic are as smart as someone twice their age when compared to the second-place faction called The Sovereigns. As a 12-year-old, Wren is as smart as a 26-year-old from The Sovereigns. He clams to not a genius.
"Will you let me do my own Prologue please?"
"Ugh, fine."
"I have a good memory. I can work well solo, in a pair, a group, or even in a full classroom. I'm an information sponge, and I use it to my advantage. The Republic gives all 13-year-olds AI constructs but limits them until they can handle the spiritual and mental weight. The other reason The Republic holds off on the construct being at full power is to allow the user to develop intellegence on their own and have the AI supplement them. The constructs are exactly as they sound, Artificial Intelligence constructs, but can be simplified as a brain implant, although they feed off the mana of the user, which is why they have limiters placed on them."
As Wren finished the explanation of AI constructs the Narrator gently speaks to him mentally.
"Alright that's enough let me finish the prologue while you go finish your homework bud."
"Okay." Wren said excitedly.
People advance through echelons after purifying their aspect. You advance through absorbing different powers and eventually you advance by forcing your way through the different stages. Echelons can be described as ranks, levels, or any other measurement you can think of for power scaling. At echelon 1, you gain your second innate ability; at echelon 20, you have the ability to become an immortal; at echelon 30, you gain a third innate ability; at echelon 50, you gain a fourth. By the time you hit the 75th echelon, the weaker part of the realm pushes as the stronger part pulls, and by the 76th, you are forced out and have to migrate without a choice. Nobody but ascenders knows what's beyond that. The void between these two halves of our realm is so strong that anything that comes in contact with it that is below the 75th echelon vanishes entirely leaving nothing behind not even a smell or a speck of dust.
Innate abilities range from being a peerless farmer to being immune to all forms of poisonous or dangerous substances. Innate abilities can be upgraded through consistent use and experimentation. You can gain up to 5 extra innate ability effects, but it gets harder each time, and most only get the fourth and fifth on their first innate ability due to the amount of time they possess it. Experiencing insights is a way to advance a power realm fully, perfectly upgrade innate abilities, and in the most rare circumstances, you can unlock the next innate ability in line. Innate abilities are hard to read and even harder to force out. A person has to feel compelled to tell you what it is, and it must be a thought of their own not something that comes from mind control or other methods, each child has mental blockers implanted at birth to prevent mental manipulation through talent use. It's immoral, difficult, and looked down upon to peek at another person's innate ability when there's a significant power gap. While not impossible to gain access to abilities the trouble isn't worth it. It's also illegal to force a person to share the details of their innate abilities with you.
"That was so ridiculously long. Seriously this 'Author' guy needs to get a job and stop making me talk so much. I have other stories to narrate over and his entire prologue is so basic that I could open any other Cultivation web novel and point out the similarities. Anyway dear audience, please enjoy this story I won't be narrating over for hours."
End Prologue