Ch. 2

Anthony woke up to the smell of burning wood, the stench pricking his nostrils. He sat up, his loose-fitting pants and shirt rustling. Strange, he thought, these aren't in fashion right now.

He looked around, taking in the sparse interior of what seemed to be a wooden hut. He was sitting on a rough linen mat; a small fire crackled in the middle of the hut. Various clay jars lined the edges of the hut and firewood was piled near the entrance of the hut.

"Hello," Anthony called out. He stood, his head just inches away from the straw roof. He ducked out of the hut and was greeted by a glaring sun. He cursed and adverted his gaze. He found himself in a small clearing. Tall, lush trees surrounded him and a small stream ran by, some thirty odd feet away.

Where in the world was he? His town didn't have a forest near it. He checked his pockets. Wait, what was he wearing? Loose linen pants? Where was his phone, or his wallet? Where did his fat go? Damn, he must've been robbed by Smith and the large man named Daniel. Why would they dump him out in a forest though?

A rustling among the shrubbery caught his attention. He wheeled around to face the noise. A small man, face tan and wrinkled with graying hair appeared from the bushes. He carried a small wicker basket filled with what Anthony assumed were blackberries. The man wore similar clothes to Anthony, save a sword that hung from a scabbard from his waist. His face lit up in surprise when he saw him.

"Are you feeling alright?"' the man asked kindly. His voice was deep and gruff. He set down the basket by the hut and walked over. "The name is Da Ren, I found you floating down the stream a couple of hours ago." He extended a hand.

Anthony shook it, "I'm feeling fine, thank you, but could you tell me where I am?

"Well, we are around 40 miles south of the Tall Tree city, the capital of South Realm Kingdom. The closest town to us would be Bamboo Root town, just 4 miles east of us," Da Ren said. "You're not from around here, are you?" He had noticed the blank look on Anthony's face. "Which kingdom are you from?"

Anthony's fears grew, "Well, I'm not technically from a kingdom. Are we still in the U.S?"

It was now Da Ren's turn to be confused, "The U, S?" he asked. "I'm sorry but the neighboring kingdoms are the Western Sun Kingdom to the west and the Iron Hand Empire to the north."

"Have you ever heard of Russia? Britain? France? Germany? Africa? China? Jap-," Anthony stuttered.

"Did you say China?" Da Ren whispered. He knelt down on one knee, "It is my honor to have saved a one from the other world."

Anthony stood there shocked, "No, no, please stand up."

Da Ren stood up, his eyes now filled with awe. "No wonder you know nothing of this world, my apologies, I should've realized it sooner, my lord."

My lord? "I am no lord," Anthony said exasperated, "Could you please explain the connection to this, uh, place, and my world?"

Da Ren nodded, "Apologies again, my lord, this world you are currently in is called the Center Continent; it is connected through space-time with the world that you come from, the world with the Kingdom of China. Humans have existed here for eons, thriving off of the stronger Qi of this world."

"Qi?," Anthony asked, "What's that?"

Da Ren looked dumbfounded, "My apologies, my lord, I must've misheard you."

"What's Qi?" Anthony repeated.

Da Ren was horrified, "Could it be that my lord has never used Qi before?"

Anthony was starting to feel impatient, "Yes, I don't know what it is. Please explain Da Ren."

Da Ren calmed himself with a breath, "Qi is the manifestation of physical and mental energy, it is everywhere around us, my lord. Those class E-D can only replenish their Qi through consumption of food and drink, as well as rest. Special pill and potions can also restore ones Qi, but they are quite expensive. Qi has many applications, it can-."

"Wait, Da Ren, tell me more about this class thing," Anthony interrupted.

"Of course, my lord," Da Ren said. "In this world, every living thing has Qi, but not all beings have an equal amount of Qi. For instance, the Silver Wolf has stronger Qi when compared to a Mud Hog. The Silver Wolf also has a Qi Core, which is why the Silver Wolf is a D-3 creature and the Mud Hog an E-1. This means that one Silver wolf can defeat around forty to fifty Mud Hogs simultaneously."

"How do the ranking work?" Anthony inquired.

"It's quite simple, my lord," Da Ren explained. "The major classes are E, D, C, B, A, and S. Each class is broken into a subclass, designated from 1-3. For example, an E-2 is capable of defeating an E-1, but not an E-3."

"So two creatures or men with an E-1 ranking could defeat an E-2?"

"Not necessarily, my lord, the rankings are also a means of measuring Qi power. A person of E-1 ranking is your average man, whether it be in terms of physical strength or mental might. But someone of E-2 ranking has the Qi power of three average men," Da Ren explained. "E-3 symbolizes the Qi power of 5 average men-"

"And D-1 is 7, right?" Anthony finished.

"Not quite, my lord," Da Ren chuckled. He seemed to be more at ease with Anthony than he was before. "There is a reason that E and D are a major class separation. The E ranking is also known as the realm of man, while the D ranking is known as the Martial Realm. E-1 is the man, E-2 is the soldier, E-3 is the warrior. D-1 is the martial fighter, D-2 the martial expert, and D-3 the martial master. The Qi difference between a warrior and a martial fighter around 5 men. This means that a martial fighter has the Qi power of ten men."

"I see," Anthony mumbled. "So who would win if two foes of the same rank fought? Would it depend on skills or something?"

"Exactly, my lord," Da Ren exclaimed, "Skills make a world of difference in one's combat power. Skills are also broken down into different rankings, the lowest being Human skills and the strongest being Spirit skills."

"Just two rankings for skills?" Anthony asked.

"Yes, my lord," Da Ren answered, "Why would there be any more rankings for skills?"

"I don't know, it feels kind of anti-climatic, like there should be more," Anthony responded.

"Well, my lord, skills are also broken into subclasses, and one also has different levels of mastery of each skill. The subclasses for skills are lower, middle and upper tiers. Mastery levels go from novice, expert, and master," Da Ren said.

Anthony was quiet for a moment. "What rank are you, Da Ren?"

"Me, my lord? I am a martial expert," Da Ren replied. "It's not much, but this servant used to be of the duke ranking."

"And what ranking is that?" Anthony asked.

"A duke is a C-3," Da Ren stated matter of factly.

Anthony frowned. "Didn't you say the ranking goes up to S? Duke doesn't seem much higher in ranking than you are now."

Da Ren smiled. "My lord, do you see that tree over there?" He pointed at a sturdy oak tree on the other side of the clearing.

Anthony nodded.

Da Ren took a low stance, and with a shout, he drew his sword and slashed out. The motion was so fast that Anthony barely caught the sun reflecting off the blade. In under a second, the sword was back in Da Ren's scabbard. The massive oak, once towering in the sky, toppled over with a loud crash. He looked over at Anthony with a self-satisfied smile. "That is what a martial expert can do."

"How?", Anthony stammered. His heart thudded in his chest. His mind raced; there was no way that a man could fell a tree with just a sword.

"A simple projection of Qi, my lord. Useful for dealing with targets at range, although the power of the Qi gets weaker with distance," Da Ren explained.

"Could I learn to do that?" Anthony asked. Before Da Ren could respond, however, he had asked another question. "Wait, how strong is a duke to a martial expert?"

"A duke, my lord, has the Qi power of 50 men, making one duke around three to four times stronger than a martial expert in Qi alone. But one has to take in to account, Qi cores." Da Ren held up his hand, "No worries, my lord, I shall explain those as well. Qi cores are formed within a being where their Qi undergoes a qualitative change, it can be used as a reservoir of immense strength and many use their cores as reserves to tap into during a battle. There are three kinds of cores: elemental, physical, and bestial. Elemental cores are the most common, they allow one to draw strength from the elements and a person power will increase when they are in their element. Physical cores are rare, providing one with such abilities as invincible skin, or all-seeing eyes. The governor of Bamboo Root town has one such core. His physical core gives him immense might, allowing him to defeat knights and barons as a martial master."

"A knight is C-1 and a baron C-2?" Anthony asked.

Da Ren nodded. "The last kind of Qi core is the bestial core, they are the rarest and are also the most powerful. The cannot be obtained through conventional means, rather one must kill a very powerful creature who has formed a beast core and successfully fused with it to utilize the core."

Anthony was silent, digesting all the information he had just received. This world was fascinating, full of wonders that he couldn't even imagine on Earth. He looked at Da Ren in the eye, "Can I go back?"

Da Ren looked at him, puzzled. "Go back, my lord?"

"Go back to my world," Anthony said.

Da Ren stiffened, his eyes full of pity. "My lord, I'm sorry, but I don't know. There are some ways, but when one crosses between the worlds, it's usually due to the death of oneself in that world."

"I see," Anthony said. He stood quietly, the sun causing sweat to roll down his back. A mild gust breezed by, picking up his loose shirt. "Thank you, Da Ren."

"It is my pleasure, my lo-", Da Ren began.

Before he could finish, Anthony had unsheathed Da Ren's sword and stabbed at his own abdomen.