Transparent, glowing letters appeared in my field of vision, heralding what I had feared.

  Status window.

  And there it was, in all its glory.

  Name: Eryk

  Race: Human

  Rank: Common

  Body: Lesser

  Mind: Lesser

  Soul: Lesser

  Mana Core: None

  Aura Veins: None

  Traits: None

  Skills: None

  Well, I’m fucked.

  Apparently, in my previous life—because that’s how I started thinking of Earth and everything I left behind—I must have offended some deity or stepped on the toes of some unknown being responsible for reincarnation and world assignment. Not only did I have no skills or traits, but I also ended up in a world with cultivation elements. The worst possible combination.

  For a moment, I imagined a mix of a self-absorbed noble brat with an arrogant young master, and I must admit that image didn’t fill me with optimism. And if it turned out that such personalities were in charge of what passed for a government here, then my initial opinion was entirely justified.

  I was royally fucked.

  The only way out of this mess seemed to be a quick and intense training montage. Without overwhelming strength, I’d be at the mercy of those stronger than me, and knowing how these situations usually go, I couldn’t count on much kindness. Although, maybe my opinion was unfair. After all, this was real life, not some fantasy tale. Maybe the rulers of this land were just and benevolent towards the masses they governed?

  A sudden burst of laughter bent me in half, and when I finally composed myself, I wiped the tears from my eyes, grinning widely.

  I shook my head, wondering how such a naive thought even crossed my mind. I blamed stress and the bizarre circumstances I’d found myself in. I swear, I’m not that mentally challenged.

  Please believe me.

  For some reason, people in power always seem to crave more power—for the greater good, of course. And it’s fascinating how passionately they try to convince everyone that if only they, the chosen ones, held absolute power over everyone around them, eternal peace and prosperity would finally reign. The fact that no one has ever achieved this somehow never counts as a valid argument against it.

  Honestly, missionaries could learn a thing or two from them about true zeal.

  So, the only way to gain any form of autonomy was through overwhelming strength. And that meant facing the harsh reality—I needed to devote all my non-survival focused attention to training. Long, grueling, brutal training. Unfortunately, I could only rely on my frail body and iron will. Just like the saying goes, "If you can count, count on yourself."

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  I turned my attention to the description of my status and began analyzing the information presented.

  The first thing I noticed was, of course, my Rank:Common. I assumed this was the lowest possible tier, as I couldn’t imagine anything beneath it. I had no clue what influenced this rank, but I instinctively understood that it would be better for me if it were higher when encountering what passed for civilization here.

  But since I didn’t know how to change it, I decided not to focus on it for now.

  Next was Body, which, as the name suggested, probably related to physical stats like strength, agility, and endurance. Mind was less obvious, though I assumed it dealt with analytical abilities, reaction time, and maybe even learning speed. And finally Soul, no clue what it governed, but drawing from fantasy knowledge, it was often the reservoir for abilities and skills.

  But that was just speculation.

  What wasn’t speculation was the Lesser level listed for all three. Hmm, was Lesser below or above Common, or was it an entirely different scale? The natives of this world could probably answer that, but for obvious reasons, I preferred to avoid contact for now. The same applied to the Skills and Traits I didn’t have any idea how to obtain them. In games, skills usually unlocked through actions, and traits through achievements. But this wasn’t a game, and the system might work completely different.

  Damn.

  Then there was the Mana Core and Aura Veins. From everything I knew, the mana core was a concentrated sphere of controlled mana within the body of an aspiring mage. Typically, only mages had one, and its size, density, and purity determined how much fuel they had in the tank—if I can use such a crude analogy.

  The fact that I didn’t have one wasn’t surprising. Forming a stable mana core usually elevated someone to a higher social tier and required years of training and meditation. Plus, you only got one shot—if you failed to control that amount of mana inside your body, the consequences were disastrous, often fatal, even for those well enough to afford support from magic adepts. And guess what? That kind of help was usually only available to noble-born children.

  Unless you were a natural talent. In that case, you’d quickly get adopted by a noble family and become part of the privileged class. And so the cycle continued.

  This meant my first priority was clear—create a mana core. I wasn’t worried about success. Even though I had the body of a young boy, my mind and will belonged to an adult, and with the knowledge from dozens of books describing the process, I was, not to brag, fairly confident I could pull it off.

  Which brought me to the last point—Aura Veins. Honestly, I had no clue what they were, aside from the fact that I didn’t have them. I’d never encountered anything like this in any literature. I knew what Aura was, of course, but how it connected to these veins?

  No idea.

  I also understood the difference between Mana and Aura. Mana naturally influenced the world around you and was used for external effects, though higher-level mages could channel it inside their bodies. On the other hand, warriors—often called Enforcers—used aura internally to enhance their strength, speed, and stamina, performing feats far beyond human limits. Only at advanced levels could they project aura outward, much like mages used mana.

  So, mana and aura were like mirror images—one worked mainly externally, the other internally.

  But how did the aura veins fit into this? A wild thought crossed my mind. What if they were like qi roots from cultivation stories? Maybe they needed to be unlocked, then slowly expanded and tempered to allow greater energy flow? Could that be the key?

  Well, all I could do was hope that long, undoubtedly painful sessions filled with trial and error would eventually pay off.

  After all, hope dies last.