Chapter 21: The Origin of the Book

"Yes, Captain!"

A blonde girl with two braids and freckles, dressed in a modern Earth outfit, immediately put down her book. She had clearly memorized the content long ago and began to recount the story effortlessly:

""Ethereal Ascendance: A Journal of Transformation" seems to be a real world just like the rumors said! The story is about a group of recently graduated college students who accidentally get transported to another world called Eldoria Continent during a high school reunion. The main character is named Reilly, who transforms into a female angel and renames herself Nicora. Like most fantasy stories, this world is mixed with various religions, countries, races, and monsters, and even gods! The main god mentioned is 'Spring', who isn't directly described much but seems to be the world's ultimate power, surrounded by many mysteries.

"Nicora, though a reincarnated Wind Angel with time-manipulation abilities, was initially powerless against the Ancient God Religion controlled by 'Spring'. The book also mentions how the Earth Angel Galadra summoned a more powerful Wind Angel from another parallel world to help turn the tide. This Wind Angel not only sent Nicora's classmate Cyrae back to Earth but also helped a lot. However, when trying to resurrect another early deceased classmate Feliciara, 'Spring' personally intervened, forcing the Wind Angel back to her own world. Eventually, under Nicora's leadership, the four Elemental Angels and the reorganized angel clan completely eliminated 'Spring' and the Ancient God Religion..."

After slowly finishing the plot summary, she curled her lip disdainfully and commented:

"Basically, it's a pretty ordinary fantasy novel in my opinion, full of typical protagonist plot armor and last-minute power-ups. Nothing special. The 'System' mission is clear - assist the protagonist in defeating their final enemy by any means! Based on the provided information, we've likely entered the world shortly after Feliciara's resurrection, with a few weeks remaining before the final battle. Since we have some time, I suggest we hide and avoid direct contact with main characters, just observing the situation!"

"But that's a god... This is one of the rare worlds that explicitly mentions divine beings!" the bald young man responded, gazing at the night sky with a worried expression.

"Although the 'System' mission didn't specify the exact enemy, based on the book's content, it's clearly 'Spring' who invaded Eldoria Continent! Our current team is definitely no match for a god, especially considering this is a multi-team game, and we're a weaker team. and while the 'System' focuses on capability development, we can't arbitrarily break its rules, or we'll be eliminated. Our chances of survival are slim!"

At this moment, another team member walked over and chimed in: "Captain, I don't think we should be so pessimistic! To compensate for team differences, the 'System' provided an opportunity for one person to cross over early. Reider's mission is to create an initial advantage for us. The time here flows differently from the 'System', and roughly 10-20 years have passed since his entry. If everything goes well, and with our prior knowledge of the plot, he's probably already controlled an entire country. We should find his headquarters and meet him!"

"Hmm, good point! We can only hope Reider doesn't mess up!" the bald young man and blonde girl nodded in agreement, and the group started walking towards a populated area.

In a populous city in the northern part of the continent, a mysterious person completely covered in a black robe entered a small house on the second floor, immediately catching the attention of the three other people in the room.

"Finally found out, we're in the capital of Astralrealm Kingdom, Norvale! The house was a bookstore selling various books downstairs. But a few months ago, the owner was arrested by the religious court for violating some local True Church regulations. Although he survived, he could no longer establish himself in the city and reportedly moved to the countryside! This place is completely empty and can serve as our temporary base!"

The black-robed person removed their hood, revealing an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman. However, her announcement didn't spark much excitement among the others. A black-haired young man standing by the window turned to his bespectacled companion sitting on the bed and asked:

"True Church... I don't remember this name being in the book. But I've heard of the Astralrealm Kingdom! Are we really in the world of "Ethereal Ascendance: A Journal of Transformation"?"

"Hmm... There might be some details we could easily overlook," the bespectacled companion replied, adjusting his glasses and giving a meaningful look.

"June Ching, do you remember the full name of the world the 'System' provided?"

""Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation"..." the black-haired young man blurted out, then paused, suddenly realizing something. "Wait! It was 'Journey', right?"

"Exactly! If it's 'Journey', that means these might not be the same world. Even if there are close connections between them, it means the book's content can only be used as a limited reference."

The bespectacled companion closed the book, revealing its title: "Ethereal Ascendance: A Journal of Transformation".

"Captain, can I ask something? Where did this book come from?" 

The last person, a young boy in student clothes who looked around 12-13 years old, spoke up from the corner of the room.

June Ching didn't seem annoyed by the interruption but instead delegated the explanation to the middle-aged woman who had just returned from gathering information.

"You've just joined the 'System', so you might not know some of the legends. Have you heard of 'Irene'?"

"Irene? Of course!" The young boy excitedly raised his hand, eager to share. "During my last mission, I overheard people discussing that 'Irene' is the most mysterious legend in the 'System'. Supposedly, her true identity isn't even human! There are rumors she existed in one of the early 'System' teams but mysteriously disappeared. Some think she might have died during a mission, but others believe she has a special privilege to exit the 'System' at will - the only person ever able to do so!"

"Pretty much correct!" the middle-aged woman said, looking pleased. "As for "Ethereal Ascendance: A Journal of Transformation", we discovered it by chance in a world similar to Earth, during a 'System' mission completely unrelated to the book. In that world, the book was incredibly popular, adapted into animations, TV series, and various media. What we have is just a random paperback bought from a bookstore."

"Who wrote the book? Who's the author?" the boy asked eagerly.

"Could it be Irene?" he immediately wondered aloud.

"Can't be certain, but we can't rule out the possibility," the bespectacled companion chimed in, tossing the book across the room.

"In that world, the original author used a pseudonym and never revealed themselves. After writing the book, they seemingly vanished from the internet. All subsequent adaptations were managed by a company called WebNovalle, which owned the book's rights."