Elren City was just coming into view over the horizon. The crew had returned to all of their stations. But this time, every member aboard the airship was tattooed. On the left arm, every person had the ancient runic symbol meaning "Eternal", most likely to signify that they were now bound for eternity with this job. It was an easy place to conceal as well, so anyone who was a part of the "Eternal Abyssal Night" wouldn't be found out so easily. Everyone made sure to hide the tattoos underneath armor or clothes. Well... they hadn't even begun to do anything that would allow them to be discovered anyways...yet. The airship  steadily approached the city, but at Duke Elenwith's urging, they slowed down their speed slightly in order for the Duke to give Eradin a crash course about the city, this world, and how to act. The Duke didn't even clean himself, he simply ordered for the crew to bring a table and a few chairs so they wouldn't have to stand.

"Eradin, this world is pretty simple, it's a sterotypical scenario of the strong flourish and the weak don't. There are seven countries. Algon, Brail, Taligan, Ayren, Halidon, Gelentra and Melgarren. Algon is the smallest and considered the weakest. However, that isn't quite true, despite being the weakest under appearences, I am sure you have learned at least the basics of our country. Since our population is low, and there is more nature than man-made structures, the magic density of the surrounding environment is higher. Spells are easier to cast, they are more powerful, and the citizens are innately gifted with deeper mana pools than all the other countries. This has also led to many powerful beasts and monsters living in the forest. But the high density beasts are really only there because of the legend passed down within their very bloodlines about the rider of legend. I know you have heard of it so I won't go into detail. As far as rankings go, beasts and monsters can evolve to higher rankings, but obviously the higher they are ranked when they are born, then the higher their talent is."

"The rankings include, Normal, Boss, Raid, Legend, Calamity, Mythological, and Deity. Normal is well... normal, Boss and Raid you have already fought. But once Legend comes about, even I need to be careful if it is near my level. That is when they begin to have many unknown and hidden abilities that can make up many level differences. Now with Calamity, let's put it this way, if Legend Rank is a walking weapon that takes multiple parties to subdue, then Calamity level is at a scale of natural disasters, armies are called in to subdue those. And if they appear on a border of two countries. No matter how much those two countries hate each other, they will work together to dispose of it. Mythological beasts are virtually unknown, it is said that there are at least one or two in every country. All of the countries pray that one of those are never disturbed so they won't have to force a demi-god to subdue it because they fear assassination by another demi-god will occurr in that fight. As for Deity, those are on a level where even a demi-god would struggle and need to go all out in order to kill. A Deity level beast hasn't appeared since the Aspect War, which turned out to be your dragon benefactor. Now I have only talked about beasts, but monsters fall under those rankings as well, although they rarely, if ever, even achieve calamity level. For the most part, the highest a monster has ever been seen, was one the verge of becoming Mythological, but it was killed in the middle of evolution when it was most vulnerable by a demi-god. But usually they are Legend and below. That is all for this worlds rankings of monsters."

Eradin listened intently, he knew that he had to learn all of this anyway. Although his head was pounding, with the curse of knowledge, he didn't forget a word. All the ranks and information cemented itself within. However, what Eradin was interested in was not beast ranks, but Adventurer ranks. "What about the Guilds? How are they classified?"

The Duke smiled, it seemed Eradin was making an earnest attempt to learn despite it being a cram session, so he continued with ever increasing enthusiasm." There are five guilds universally known throughout the continent. At the border of every country, there is a neutral city not underneath any country known as Tiridale. It is run by a council of the five leaders of absolute authority over their respective guilds. They include the Adventurers Guild, where brawn is more important than knowledge, the Mages Guild, a place where the study of magic to its limits is undertaken, and the Alchemist Guild, where potions and elixirs are brewed. The Healers Guild is a place independant of the Church where anyone with magic capable of healing goes, and lastly the Crafters Guild, a workplace where anyone with skill or classes in tailoring, enchanting, dismembering, or blacksmithing join, but those ae just a few of the crafting professions."

 "In every city on the continent, there is one of every guild. As long as you have the slightest ability, you can join, but there are conditions after you join such as if you don't earn your keep, aid the guild in any way, or break rules, then you would be kicked out and banned from returning. They all follow the same ranking system. F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS. If you become a B rank in any guild, that is already an accomplishment. A Rank is also respected. But the true respect is given to S and above. One S Rank team is the equivalent to a Legend Rank almost on the verge of evolving to Calamity. SS can fight a Calamity Rank, while SSS is non-existent, there hasn't been one of those teams in decades. The last one had successfully slaughtered three Calamity Ranks simultaneously that were assaulting one of the cities to the north. But they got cocky and attempted to attack a Mythological Rank, they never returned. No one knows how many Calamity Ranks are equal to one Mythological Rank, at the least, we know that they are more than capable of killing three Calamity Ranks with hardly any effort. The Mythological Rank that was disturbed, it attempted to destroy the entire country of Taligan and their demi-god had to kill it. Keep in mind this is the power status for the Adventurers Guild, I do not know how to achieve S rank and above in the other Guilds."

So the power ranking in this world was so distorted. Thinking in a logical manner based on the information given, Eradin already deciphered for the most part what the power rankings were, simply because he was a demi-god and fought at much higher levels than himself, or maybe because he had the body of the true King of All Beasts, the Dragon God. Tens of normals probably could equal one boss rank, then five or six boss ranks could equal one raid level. That was easy to understand, but just like any magical world, the higher your level, the more the difference one level or rank was taken into account. One Legend Rank could probably take on multiple Raid Rank with ease, the same with Legend versus Calamity. So if the same ratios were taken, one Mythological Rank could take on at least six or seven Calamity Ranks, possibly even more, without much effort. As for Deity, that was the only one Eradin didn't know, assuming Deity Rank meant it was an actual god, then no, not even a demi-god or tens of Mythological Beasts could defeat them. As of now, Eradin had a clear cut understanding of where he needed to be when the next Aspect War descended upon the world. He needed to be able to kill Mythological Rank beasts with hardly any effort, and that was a long way to go....

What Eradin couldn't understand the most was why the continent was after the weakest nation, because the moment they did, all the benefits would leave, and since the Duke was here, maybe this question could be answered. "Then what about the countries themselves, Farah said we are under threat of war with Brail. Why are they after our territory? I don't see why higher magic density in the environment is so important. It will just decrease when they destroy all of it."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The Duke only grimaced, he knew better than most the reason all the countries were out for Algon, and that was it's rich resources, they wanted to make it into a desolate land, extracting all the resources before Algon could use them to become a force that could actually be a threat with their people who had higher natural talent, but also in Algon there were many races and even necromancers, there wasn't any discrimination. This disgusted the other countries who were all racial supremacists that belived their races were the pinnacle of evolution. There were only three deterrents that allowed Algon breathing room. First, if one country moved to ensnare all of Algon for themselves, then the other countries would not let that happen. Then there was Algon's demi-gods. Although the country had the fewest, they were also the most talented of all the countries. But the biggest deterrent of all, the high density of beasts and monsters in Algon's Environment. There were many times more beasts and monsters than the other countries. Boss and Raid Rank were spotted much more than in other countries, which gave rise to the notion that there might be more than a few Legend and Calamity Rank, as well as the possibiliy that there were more than one or two Mythological Ranks. Given the countries small size, the chance of encountering them was much higher than average. No country, not even a demi-god wanted to fight multiple Mythological Rank beasts at once. The other countries could not risk the chance of two Mythological Ranks fighting one of their demi-gods at once. That could leave the demi-god fighting them open for assassination by another countries demi-gods.

The Duke could only answer in the most straight forward way possible, he wanted Eradin to understand that Algon was abnormal. "We aren't your typical country, Algon does not discriminate against any race or profession. Necromancers are allowed here as well, as long as they don't cause problems. The other countries want our resources, and hate that we aren't racists. It is that simple, Brail is the one we are closest to going to war with right now, they seems to have a hidden trump card that all the other countries are scared of, or they wouldn't be so flamboyant and causing trouble at the border. They are a race of demi-humans who excel in physical strength and combat. Taligan is the race of Elves that are known for spirit magic or maybe it is better to call it spirit contracting. Ayren is far to the north and the most mysterious, they are the demon race and haven't been heard from in centuries. Halidon is the races of the gnomes and dwarves who excel at crafting weapons beyond our wildest imaginations. Gelentra is the proud half monster races who have the physique of monsters but are far more intelligent and talented. Melgarren is the country of humans, they aren't the strongest or the smartest, but they have wit, wisdom, ingenuity and a willpower like no other race on the continent, that makes them the most dangerous as we don't know what they will do, they are unpredictable. Lastly is us, Algon, we are the mixture of any race. We don't discriminate, we are most feared for our magic and the talented individuals of this country, but we are left alone because of the threat that belongs to being a part of the unknown. We are an unknown country, we have become totally self-sufficient due to a mixture of multiple races and don't rely much on trade. Even we don't know how many Legend, Calamity, or Mythological Rank beasts are in Algon. But we don't dare disturb them, they are the reason we stay unknown to the rest of the world like Ayren who also avoids contact with the other countries. That is all I can explain about the world for now. In the end, it is just a continent with multiple countries that have high tensions with one another."

"Then are we done here, the city is in view and approaching quickly. I want to be with Farah at that time so I don't get lost." Eradin was slightly grinning, in reality he wanted to see how different the architecture and society of this world was compared to Earth. In the end, he was still not an entity originally of this world so everything sparked curiosity. But, the Duke didn't give a warm grin, instead it was devilish.

"No, we are not done here, after all you are being escorted by the Four Calamities into Elren City. Did you think that we can just waltz in without being noticed? No, you are going to learn the proper etiqutte befitting a noble, you are going to get washed up, have a hair cut and get into proper clothes. Living in armor for days on end is not healthy for the body whether you are a demi-god or not. We can't present another demi-god to the country that looks like a ruffian. After all, have you seen your reflection lately? You are covered in dirt, your hair is caked in mud and blood. The lower half of your armor is also drenched in blood and smells like a sewer while your naked upper portion has blood stains and bruises, we need to clean all of that off of your tattoos as well. We shall all prepare and look presentable before the city. You are now the leader of "Eternal Abyssal Night" so you need to look the part as well. Considering people are always going to have a bad feeling about you whenever you meet them, you should use that to your advantage. Give them the intimidating impression of a noble and an overlord. The tattoos already add to it. So just act the part, assert your authority and don't let anyone sweep you into their factions, after all, no matter how weak a demi-god, to have one in a faction is a large boost to reputation."

So for the next hour, Eradin was dragged by Farah to the baths, he washed all of his body, and afterwords, clothes were set out for him. They were simple short sleeved white tunic that left his tattooed arm visible, black leather pants, and knee-high boots that were also brown, lastly for a finishing touch, the Duke procurred leather armguards and a ring that had the runic symols representing the four houses etched within. They were respectivey, a tree, fairy wings, a blood droplet and a raven. After he put on the attire, Eradin summoned the Dragon Gods Pendant. He also tied another new headband around his left wrist because for first impressions, the Dukes unanimously agreed if Eradin wanted to intimidate the people and set the tone for any conversation then he needed to show his eyes that seemed to pierce into the soul. But what Eradin thought was the opposite. I look stupid, I am basically a pirate prince from some random pirate movie. All I am missing is a goatee and a parrot on my shoulder with a pirate hat. I'd really look the part then...

Finally as they approached the airspace of the City, Eradin recieved a quick lesson in proper greetings and the way society worked. All the Dukes were dressed similarly to Eradin, the only difference, they kept their weapons on them, and their rings didn't have all four of the houses, they represented their individual houses. The airship was finally about to land, but Eradin didn't look at the escorts waiting from the four households, or the army waiting for them. All he saw in his vison was Farah, for the first time, he noticed that she must be a twelve out of ten. The flame aura around her silver eye might intimidate others but to Eradin it accentuated her looks. She was dressed in a purple dress, a golden necklace and a ring representing the Elenwith house adorned her. Finally her tome was chained to her side as always with her staff in her right hand.

"So how do I look, am I worthy to stand next to the almighty demi-god?" Farah smiled sarcastically, she already knew Eradin's thoughts as his jaw had slightly dropped. It made her feel nice on the inside. She was used to lewd looks from men, but it seemed Eradin wasn't thinking about that, he just thought she was stunning.

Eradin quickly slammed his mouth shut so loudly the Dukes glared at him. But he didn't care, Eradin simply tried to stutter his thoughts. "You.....You... You look Divine, much better than that old hag the Love Goddess;"

With that final sentence, the airship descended and they were all greeted by an older man leaving a carriage escorted by the army. This man seemed to be a human in his late sixties. Covered in a robe, and a simple oaken staff he approached the airship. This man was the City Lord of Elren City.