Chapter 20: A History of the Magical World's Development
Naturally, Du Xin paid little heed to these matters for the time being. Two days later, Li Xiao departed for the Island Nation to pursue his dream of becoming a superhero; meanwhile, Du Xin turned his attention back to his own "Little World."
Two days had passed in the outside world—which translated to two hundred years within the Little World. Under Du Xin's deliberate influence—a subtle "demystification" of reality—the inhabitants of this world had come to revere the concept of "God" as a pure article of faith. In an era where demons no longer roamed, angels remained unseen, and all beings once deemed divine had reverted to the status of ordinary mortals, human civilization flourished at an astonishing pace. The Elves remained ensconced in the southern reaches of the continent; although they had regained their reproductive capabilities, their immense individual power paradoxically hindered their ability to multiply rapidly. After two centuries, their entire race numbered a mere one hundred thousand—a minuscule fraction of the continent's total population—and even humans had come to regard them as nothing more than figures of legend.
The Dragon race, however, presented a stark contrast. Every so often, they would raid human settlements to plunder gold, silver, and gems, occasionally even abducting young maidens. They had effectively usurped the role of demons, becoming the continent's new embodiment of evil. Dwelling amidst the snow-capped peaks of the southwestern mountains, their numbers were exceedingly scarce—totaling only around three thousand individuals. Yet, their scarcity was a direct testament to their formidable power; indeed, with the exception of the Elves and a handful of other rare races, few on the continent could hope to match their might.
In contrast to the Dragons, the Unicorns had emerged as symbols of the sacred. They resided deep within the "Forest of Magical Beasts" in the north, reigning supreme over the entire woodland domain. This vast forest occupied a full tenth of the continent's landmass. Humans revered the Unicorns as divine avatars; prophets foretold that, one day, a valiant hero would earn the recognition of a Unicorn and ride it into battle to vanquish the wicked dragons.
The Treants—or Tree-folk—were a race content to remain motionless for centuries on end; yet, driven by their inherently compassionate nature, they adopted countless orphans. Having mastered the ability to manipulate flora, they passed this arcane knowledge down to the children they had taken under their wing. Although the world at large remained largely unaware of the existence of the Treant race itself, the renown of the "Druids"—their disciples—had long since spread across the entire continent.
Finally, there were the humans—the dominant race within this Little World. After two centuries of development—guided by Du Xin's deliberate orchestration—humanity had successfully sown the seeds of civilization across the entire globe. Yet, despite their widespread presence, their individual strength remained relatively weak; consequently, they had yet to truly seize control of their own destiny. "The time has come; humanity, too, shall possess power."
At Du Xin's behest, several scholars—who had been engaged in arduous study within a mountain cave—discovered that the entire world had undergone a transformation. The very air seemed permeated by a force—or rather, by a multitude of distinct forces. These forces shaped the land, nourished all living things, and gave rise to wind, fire, rain, and snow. The scholars were ecstatic; they christened this power "Elements"—signifying the most fundamental, singular forces of existence.
The discovery of the Elements brought about monumental changes to the world, yet it yielded no substantive practical results—for humanity, at that time, utterly lacked the means to harness such power. That remained the case until two years later.
A priest—one of the few individuals capable of perceiving the Elements—inadvertently infused a trace of the Fire Element into his chant while offering praises to the gods. In that instant, the world's very first spell was born. The cost was a church building and the lives of over a dozen nuns; yet, miraculously, the priest himself survived.
Over the ensuing decades, humanity ceaselessly groped for ways to utilize the Elements. The Holy See was established; wielding divine doctrine to govern the mortal realm, they mastered the manipulation of elemental forces through the ritualistic act of praising the gods—and thus, magic was truly born.
Ten years later, people across the entire continent had learned to wield magic. The Holy See reigned supreme over the entirety of the human world; yet, humanity remained powerless against the scourge of the evil dragons. Long, elaborate incantations proved ineffective against such agile behemoths; moreover, humans—limited to the four elemental affinities of Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth—lacked the means to inflict any lasting harm upon the dragons.
The Holy See continued its intensive research into the nature of magic. Ten years later, Wood-attribute magic emerged.
Twelve years after that, an advanced derivative of Water magic—Ice magic—was born.
Fifteen years later, a young girl—who had previously proven incapable of mastering any of the known forms of magic—received a divine boon from the Goddess of Life, thereby gaining dominion over Life magic. (Note: The Goddess of Life mentioned here is a manifestation of human faith; Du Xin did not create her.)
Twenty years later, a High Priest from the Holy See—five years into his tenure—discovered a stone within the Monster Beast Mountain Range capable of detecting a human's innate magical constitution. Within five years of this discovery, two previously undetectable elemental affinities—Lightning and Light—were identified and subsequently mastered. With their emergence, humanity's magical system was rendered essentially complete.
With the advent of the "Detection Stone," the ranks of mages swelled dramatically, and they soon came to occupy the highest echelons of society's nobility. However, the Holy See's rigid insistence on absolute religious fealty effectively barred the majority of these mages from its ranks. Consequently, the Mage Guild was established. Over the next twenty years, the Mages' Guild continued to expand, quickly surpassing the Holy See in influence. This trend continued until a Grand Mage within the Guild devised a new form of magic—spells that required no invocation of the gods—at which point war became all but inevitable.
Defeated in the ensuing conflict, the Holy See was permitted to retain control of the Holy City. The Mages' Guild, having no interest in political power, declined to assume governance of the continent; consequently, the noble class stepped in to seize control. Thus, the continent's first two human nations emerged: the Kingdom of the Rose and the Azure Empire.
Five years later, during an unforeseen incident, a mage stumbled upon a power lying entirely outside the realm of all known magic—the power of space. He thereby became the world's very first spatial mage.
By this point, more than a century had elapsed within this "pocket world," and Du Xin finally stepped back out of it.
It was seven o'clock in the morning when Du Xin returned to the outside world. Having deliberately chosen not to adjust his internal clock to compensate for the time dilation, he was fully prepared for the early hour. He stepped out, found a nearby steamed bun shop, and purchased two buns, a fried dough stick, and a bowl of soy milk. Du Xin settled down at one of the tables outside the shop to eat; having gone so long without tasting such simple, everyday fare, he soon ordered two more buns.
"Du Xin!"
Hearing someone call his name, Du Xin turned around. There stood Tan Xiaoxiao, looking radiant in the distance. Today, she had shed both her professional business attire and her formal evening gowns, presenting instead the fresh, charming appearance of a girl next door.
"What brings you here? Has the business with the robbers finally been resolved?"
Tan Xiaoxiao walked over, pulled up a stool, and sat down right beside Du Xin—displaying not a shred of the haughty "young miss" attitude one might expect.
"Mm-hmm. I actually could have come out much sooner, but one of the criminals managed to escape, and they still haven't found him yet. That's why Dad wouldn't let me leave the house for the past few days."
Du Xin paused for a moment and rubbed his nose, feeling a twinge of awkwardness—fortunately, Tan Xiaoxiao, who was currently pouting in frustration, didn't notice. "By the way, where's the necklace? Why aren't you wearing it?"
"You have the nerve to ask? If I went out wearing fifty million dollars around my neck all day, I'd have to bring along half a dozen bodyguards! Now that the news is out, everyone knows I'm the one with the 'Heart of the Rainbow.' Honestly, a simple, ordinary necklace would have been just fine..."
Tan Xiaoxiao started off scolding Du Xin, but gradually her voice grew softer. Du Xin gazed at her, his intense, burning stare finally provoking a playful look of annoyance from her.
"Hurry up and eat your bun! What are you staring at?"
"Actually, it's really no big deal. The necklace wasn't expensive. You know about the 'Holy Blood of Jesus' gem? That belongs to me, too. You really shouldn't make such a fuss over it."
Hearing Du Xin's words, Tan Xiaoxiao looked up. Amidst her shock, she felt a faint pang of disappointment—so, it turned out she wasn't actually all that special.
"Um... I mean, if you like it, I could give that one to you as well."
With his superhuman powers of observation, Du Xin immediately spotted Tan Xiaoxiao's barely concealed disappointment and hastened to explain himself. Tan Xiaoxiao's demeanor shifted abruptly once again; she suddenly threw her arms around Du Xin, leaving him—with a bun still in his hand—wondering where on earth to put his arms.
"I'm sorry—am I interrupting you two?"
A sweet voice rang out, cutting short the moment between Du Xin and Tan Xiaoxiao...
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