Seven Godly Books

Although technology and science didn't exist, magic did.

From Eldred's perspective, magic was a more refined form of Qi—the energy his world used for personal strength and mastery in martial arts, or to be more precise, the mages of this continent hate Qi warriors to the bone.

Unlike Qi, however, magic enhanced the body, transformed the soul, and even fueling advancements in technology, all grounded in magical principles.

To Eldred, this is definitely good news. After all, this world of magic was almost completely alien to him. Although he didn't have to relearn every single concept of magic since qi was similar to it, he felt that countless doors of new heights just opened in front of him, providing him with paths to become way stronger than his former self.

Even though he hadn't died but had instead taken over this body—one that looked like his own but 66 years younger—Eldred could feel his strength had greatly diminished. It was as if he stood once again at the threshold of martial arts, inhabiting a body far from being worthy of a true martial artist.

As he thought about that, Eldred brushed away those thoughts and focused on how to become a mage and the various things connected to it.

The " Magic Awakening " was the most crucial point to becoming a Mage as a person with a talent for magic.

The "Magic Awakening" was akin to an opening ceremony. During these inaugural events—whether at the Magic Schools or through the Adventurers' Guild's Magic Awakening Device—each individual with magical potential received their one-time "Magic Opportunity," known as the Magic Awakening.

Different individuals awakened different elements. From the memories he had inherited, Eldred Arnold could see that most of the awakened elements were chemical in nature—ones commonly learned through everyday experiences or studies in his previous world: Wind, Fire, Water, Light, Lightning, Ice, and Earth.

Eldred then checked further for information about magic and noticed they were divided into low-rank and high-rank magic. For instance, if individuals who had awakened the Fire Element worked hard enough, they could eventually learn spells beyond the basic level and reach the low-rank standard!"

As for high-rank magic, Eldred found no traces of such spells whatsoever, even though the body he possessed was someone who belonged to a Knight Family, he never had any magic since birth.

Thus, his parents disowned him and kicked him out of the house without even giving him the chance to test himself at the magic awakening ceremony in the academy. Hence, while he was living there, he was never allowed to touch on such knowledge.

'Interesting background. Should I pay this body's family a visit?' Eldred rubbed his chin in thought, wondering if he should use this body's family to farm a bit of resource after he displays a bit of talent.

Indeed!

He wasn't planning on taking revenge for this kid's death since the reason he even reached such a god-forsaken cave was them pushing him to the brink of death, but instead was contemplating the fact if he should use them for his own good.

However, on second thought, Eldred brushed this idea out of his mind.

From the information he could gather from the body's memories, he learned that although a Knight Family ranks lowest among the noble houses, each serves a higher-ranking noble household.

Eldred couldn't help but bitterly smile—after all, the Arnold Knight Family was in service to none other than a Duke Household, one of the highest-ranking noble houses.

'Better not to get involved with anyone at first, especially with these people,' Eldred thought.

As Eldred continued to sift through the world's information and structure, he finally arrived at the cave's entrance. However, as his gaze swept across it, his brows furrowed.

In the middle of the entrance, he noticed an old, tattered black book. Thin lines of what seemed to be magical power emanated from it, spreading out in intricate patterns to form a seal that blocked the entrance.

Taking a deep breath, Eldred kept his composure as he began investigating how this body had managed to enter the cave if such a formidable seal was in place.

One second passed...two seconds...three...

After ten seconds of continuous searching through the memories left by the body's original owner, Eldred finally pieced together the entire situation. 

Earlier, Eldred had briefly noticed the mention of "otherworldly people" in the boy's memories but dismissed it as less urgent. Now, as he sifted through the boy's memories again, the significance of the term became clear.

The cave Eldred found himself in was not ordinary. It was situated on the southern edge of the Hidden Continent, near a seashore. Since its foundation tens of thousands of years ago, this cave has been a headache for the various kingdoms and empires on the continent. Hence, it was constantly monitored by a group of tier-2 mages who had placed a powerful magic barrier over the entrance.

As for why it was being monitored by several tier 2 mages and a bit guarded?

This cave was unique due to the crack discovered within it—an anomaly that, from time to time, would summon individuals from foreign lands. These summoned individuals often possessed special traits or abilities, and occasionally, some among them had enough strength to pose a real threat to nearby villages and even towns in a few rare cases.

As a measure of precaution, Duke Brand Salamon, the overseer of the Southern Region, got an order from the royal family to dispatch a team of tier 2 mages to monitor the strange occurrences within the cave and in cases where an individual was summoned, he would have to send at least a tier 4 mage to either recruit or kill said foreign person.

Recognizing the potential threat posed by the crack and those summoned from foreign lands, the Duke was also ordered to send several Arcane Mages to place a powerful protective barrier around the cave, not allowing anyone to step out of the cave without permission.

As for how young Eldred was able to enter? His status as a mage harboring the Arnold Knight Family household allowed him such a privilege, and at the end of the day, the cave wasn't some treasure trove but was merely a gate to a foreign place with no opportunities whatsoever.

On the other hand, none dares to enter the cave without insufficient power, since cases of such people entering it and then being killed at the spot when a foreign individual gets out of the crack are common.

As for young Eldred, he came here solely to find a mage with unknown powers capable of enhancing his magical talent. 

Throughout the entire Hidden Continent, no one could elevate one's talent, so the owner of the body left the Western Region inner zone and embarked on a journey to the far edge of the Northern Region, hoping to find such an opportunity from someone outside their continent.

Alas, his luck wasn't that good and his soul got replaced by Eldred, a martial artists grandmaster old man from another world!