"Huh? New races?" Ulric mumbled beneath his breath, his eyes widening in surprise.

Alaric paused for a moment. Exhaling slowly, giving the dark-robed youth a moment to take it all in before continuing.

"The realm was stretched a hundred times over from the influx of mana... and as the new races grew and gained a footing, the world was split into seven continents to house them."

"Woah." Ulric breathed. The curiosity in his eyes growing with every word, interlaced with a bit of shock as he heard Alaric list all the new races.

"The elven race is the most gentle of them all. And the most close to humans in appearance. With the only difference being their pointed ears and striking appearance.

Despite their gentle bearing... they are one of the most feared, given their exceptional expertise in war. Though they walk almost the same path to power as humans, they hold one of the highest affinities to magic, making them one of the most powerful forces across the realm."

"Elves... hmm... interesting." Ulric muttered, a faint smile spreading across his face. A picture already forming at the back of his mind.

Seeing the smile forming on the dark-robed youth, Alaric nodded slightly before continuing.

"The other race is the demons." He muttered. This time a grimace formed across his face in a distasteful manner.

"Unlike the elves, the demons are known for their innate violent and cruel tendencies to everything, including their own kind. They have waged war across the other races multiple times, including the human race, which has been at war with them for centuries."

Lowering his head, the frown on his face grew deeper.

"Unlike humans, their method to power is different. Devouring the corpses of the fallen to fuel their growth. Refining souls and all sorts of atrocities that align with their nature."

"The human races and others have tried to eliminate them altogether... but they are just too strong. And with each war, they only grow stronger."

Demons? Ulric mused inwardly. His brows furrowing slightly at the description. He didn’t entirely care about their methods to power. It was just that the physique he wielded carried their name. Asura’s Demonic Physique.

Did it have any correlation? Was the golden figure he had seen in the vision when he awakened it a demon? As all these questions raced through his mind, the light in his eyes only grew brighter as they fueled his curiosity.

Sighing quietly, the frown on Alaric’s face eased. Before he continued.

"The third race is the dwarves. Short in stature, but not to be underestimated. Unlike other races that focus on personal strength, the dwarves focus on craftsmanship.

Forging some of the legendary weapons in the realm. Making them not any less powerful than the rest."

"The other, you already know of it. The beast race. Unlike those that scour the wastelands, those of the beast race have far more intelligence and refined bloodlines that give them great strength!

They are diverse and countless, forming one of the biggest races on the planet. To some extent, it has weakened them and strengthened them at the same time.

They are known to draw strength in their huge numbers. But their diversity has divided them as well.

Still, against major outer threats, they form up together to go against them."

Hmm... they seemed peculiar. Ulric thought. Before his eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

Watching the casual bearing wash away from the old man’s face, replaced by a look of reverence. His gaze lifting to look at the top of the room.

"As for the last..." Alaric muttered, gulping audibly. "They are mythical creatures... born from pure legend. Made true only by the essence of mana."

Pausing for a moment, he took in a sharp breath. Before sputtering.

"Dragons. Fire-breathing creatures with extreme elemental affinity to magic and absurdly strong physiques."

The words instantly piqued Ulric’s attention as Alaric gave an in-depth description.

"They are few and far between. But undoubtedly the strongest race across the realm.

Their continent is placed on the far edges of the realm, surrounded by a barrier with the highest mana concentration. Only a few beings have ever seen them. And even fewer have come out alive after an encounter.

Some even call them the favored of the realm, given all the benefits they have from birth."

Alaric muttered, slipping into a rave as he spoke continuously for a few minutes, attesting to their regal frame and power. Before finishing.

"According to the records, they could take over the realm in a few days. But don’t, due to their innate pride that makes them see all beings below them."

Absorbing every word, Ulric nodded. The crazed smile on his face widening. If what the old man said was all true, then they had to be very strong.

The thought sparked a desire as a question took root at the back of his mind. His fists clenching tightly. Wondering how he would fare in a battle against them.

At the side, as Alaric tore away from his thoughts, his gaze dropping to the black-robed youth. His lips couldn’t help but twitch slightly.

Seeing the look in his eyes and sensing the battle intent oozing from him. After everything he had explained... this ought to be the least reaction he had anticipated. He didn’t want to battle them, right? Even worse, he didn’t think he had a chance?

As the questions formed, his breath grew heavy as he barely suppressed himself from picking up a stick and beating some sense into him. Clearly he didn’t know what was good for himself.

But before he could voice any of these, Ulric’s brows furrowed for a moment as he snapped out of his thoughts. His gaze falling on the old man.

When he said the realm had been split into seven continents, combining all of them, it only added up to six including the human race.

Muttering his question, he saw Alaric’s brows smoothen slightly as the glint of reverence flashing across his eyes surfaced.

"When mana flushed the planet, a huge chunk of the earth sank into the seas, big enough to rival the other continents.

Within lay a slew of all sea monsters, behemoths, and terrifying sea creatures. All past ventures in trying to discover what lay in the depths have been futile. None of those who’ve gone deep enough have ever returned. Part of the reason why people call it the Dead Seas!"

The more the old man spoke, painting out the realm of Arcadia, the more terrifying and dangerous he came to realize it was. But that didn’t scare him—only fueling his sense of adventure. As a desire to explore the realm and see all these things for himself took root.

But first, he was curious about one last thing.

"Of all these races... where do the humans fall in the grand scale?"

Hearing his question, Alaric chuckled slightly. It was an interesting question.

"That varies in many ways..." He breathed, nodding in thought.

"From what I’ve told you, I suppose you can see that each race has an innate ability at birth that helps set them aside.

The demons have natural tough physiques and thick skins, the elves with higher magical affinity. Even dwarves have innately long lifespans that help them refine their craftsmanship and so on... but humans." Alaric smiled wryly.

"They are born the weakest. Any advantage born of genetics or bloodline only manifests later on. Just by this fact alone, it makes humanity’s starting point almost at the bottom across all races."

Continuing, the smile on his face widened. "But overall, humanity stands somewhere across the lower middle across all races. Despite no special advantage, what sets humans apart from the rest is their affinity to all sorts of magic and their talents. With enough time and effort, they can rise to be the strongest. Like the Great Human Emperors that stand at the very top, maintaining peace and balance."

Taking in a heavy breath, Ulric took a moment to process everything. It was just too much to take in at once.

For a major part of his life, he had grown up believing beasts were the major threat against all of humanity.

But from what Alaric was saying, they didn’t even rank high against humanity’s threats. Still, in hindsight, it did make some sense why they would think that. Having only been faced by major threats against beasts and never traveled the realm extensively, it did make sense why they assumed that.

As the thought settled, the door to the room burst open. A familiar girl stepped in, carrying two cups on a silver platter.

And as she did, a sweet scent wafted across the room. With a single breath alone, he could already feel relaxed.

Handing one cup to Alaric and the other to him, Ulric stared at it in wonder. The old man’s words echoing at the back of his mind.

"Soothing Essence Tea." He breathed. It looked like water, but the terrifying energy leaking out of it attested to something else entirely.

Seeing the surprise in his eyes, Mira happily offered.

"The tea is acquired from a special herb that grows at the top of a great mountain far away once a year. Grandpa acquired it through a great deal of effort. Once taken, it clogs out one’s channels, boosting clarity and washing away exhaustion! It’s great." She chirped. "But Grandpa only lets me have a cup once a month."

Nodding at her explanation, he could already sense why it was so valuable. Just breathing its scent made him feel lighter, as if he was on the edge of grasping a concept.

He couldn’t imagine what would happen after taking a sip.

But before he could, the old man chimed in.

"Make sure not to waste even a single drop." It was just too precious. Otherwise he might cry.

But that was beside the point. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he finally took a large sip.

"I’m sure you have a lot of questions. But first, tell me. Where did you buy that jade stone pendant? It caught my eye. How about you sell it to me?"

Hearing his words, Ulric sighed faintly as he reached out to rub it gently. Having shared a lot of valuable information, it was only fair he gave out a little as well.

Raising his eyes to meet the cunning glint flashing across the old man’s eyes.

"I didn’t buy it. My father gave it to me. Said it belonged to my mother." Maybe he could help him find more about it.

As the words echoed out, Alaric’s eyes constricted violently. Before he spat out all the tea in his mouth. Shock plastering across his face.