“You have selected to hear about my world. To stop, say pause. To begin, say start.”

“Start...” Dyne was in tears as he ran.

“Dyne, the real world, and the worlds that I will create will have similar cultivation principles. In my world, the cultivation levels of a mortal are divided into five levels. Six if you count Mortal Severing. The cultivation level that you are at now is the weakest. And that is the Martial Advent Stage. Believe it or not, your current level is only at level 1.”

Dyne nearly stumbled again.

“I’m that weak?!” Dyne cursed.

“The Martial Advent stage is divided into ten levels. Each level is equal to a level in the game. This means you are currently a level one Martial Advent practitioner. Normally, you’d have to go through various means to strengthen your body and contain more energy to rise in the ranks of the Martial Advent and other stages. There are many ways to do this, but I’ve provided you with means in this world. And those are the Genesis Trees.”

“Genesis Trees...” Dyne repeated as he thought back. The voice prompt of Strafe mysteriously paused as Dyne recalled his memories.

Legaia had ten Genesis Trees. And awakening a tree would strengthen the Ra-Seru.

“So here it will be necessary for me to get physically stronger as well?” Dyne pondered.

“Let me continue with the other stages first to explain this after the Martial Advent Stage is the Martial Novice Stage. It is again divided into ten stages. But this stage is harsher than the first. In this stage, you need to level up twice in this world to rise one level in the Martial Novice Stage.”

“Two levels per rank, huh...” Dyne committed this to memory.

“After Martial Novice is Martial Formation. This is the stage that I hope you reach before you go to the world Brigandine. I choose Brigandine over Final Fantasy Tactics because you can gain the powers to control an army in Brigandine. Something which may prove necessary in the future. But in that game, you can also use the class systems to create the foundation of your Martial Code.”

Several scenes flashed before Dyne's eyes.

In the quick vision, Dyne saw various types of warriors in Strafe’s world.

Some people controlled fire. People who wielded weapons that could break the earth. People who could transform their body parts and turn into giant beings of great might.

“The Martial Code stage is a stage that most martial artists repeat at least two times. It is the stage where they reform their bodies to contain the specific power they set out to master. In the visions you saw, those people had repeated that stage at least three times. This stage cannot be easily divided into levels as it simply is a stage where you are building your Code. Of course, reaching higher levels is always important as it would make you stronger. In the world of Brigandine, you could master your Code by leveling up there. If you plan to pursue three Martial Codes and master one, you would be considered someone having reached the next stage. The Martial Expert stage.”

Dyne couldn’t help but give a low whistle. In the visions he saw, those men had tremendous powers that could break mountains.

“If you continue to hone your abilities and reach the very edges of what is humanly possible, you then reach the Martial Peak stage. In most of the kingdoms and realms in my worlds, this is the ultimate peak. Of course, for you, therein lies the next game. The game that will allow you to perform your Mortal Severing and Ascend to Sainthood. Those visions that I gave you were from Martial Experts. And they are like chickens to those in the Martial Peak Stage. And to Saints, these Experts are like grass or ants.”

Dyne gulped.

“But don’t worry. I have laid out the path for you through the games. You will grow stronger! Leveling up in the game world will make you stronger in the real world as well. Not to mention, I have designed the three games to strengthen the different aspects you need to improve on specifically! But more on that later. For now, play to your heart's content. Just know that the real world is harsher than the current Legend of Legaia that you are playing right now.” The voice stopped.

Dyne sighed as he continued to run on the coastlines. There were times that some monsters could be seen. He saw green slimes, which he knew to be another native in Legaia. But as he sensed that there was something corrosive in the slime, he decided not to attack it.

He circled the slime, continued to flee, and slowly approached the small mountain that covered his destination's sight. The side of the mountain had rocky edges. The waves hammered strongly against it. Dyne was confident in his swimming skills and chose this route to get to Rim Elm.

Dyne decided to walk on the coastlines instead of traveling a straight line towards the mountain. At one point, he could see the edges of a large walled town.

“Is that Rim Elm?” Dyne squinted his eyes.

“I guess with its population after converting it from game to reality; it would be a bit bigger than the one in the game...” Dyne shrugged it off and continued to walk by the seashore.

He soon encountered another Gobu Gobu, but this Gobu Gobu seemed to have been running away from someone.

Dyne paused and noticed that it was being chased by three Gobu Gobus and a green slime.

“What?” Dyne frowned at the scene. He immediately dropped the sand and used his commando tactics to camouflage himself as he observed the Gobu Gobus.

“Looks like the monster world is not as united as I thought it would be...”

The other Gobu Gobu’s had Green Slimes accompanying them. This was something that Dyne recalled to really happen in the game.

“Why are they chasing that Gobu Gobu?” Dyne frowned and tried to think. But nothing from Strafe was brought to mind. Out of his curiosity, Dyne activated the Golden Compass and began to move closer towards the group.

The Gobu Gobu was running fast. The slime was surprisingly fast for its large and slimy form. Although it was slower than the Gobu Gobu, it could easily catch up to it.

The Gobu Gobu continued to run and run and was headed for the rocky part of the mountain. As Dyne drew closer and closer, he made sure to leave a distance that would disable the Golden Compass's cloaking effect. Soon he caught sight of something familiar on the hands of the chased Gobu Gobu.

It looked like a black chain-like object with metal beaks protruding out of its cap-like head. It also had two sharp blades as feet.

“A Gimard!” Dyne realized what it was. It was a Seru.

“Why are they fighting over a Gimard?” Dyne couldn’t understand it.

Dyne followed the group as they continued to run towards the mountain. It ran towards a narrow path on the edge of the mountain that was overlooking the sea. The waves below it crashed strongly against the sedimentary rocks. It wasn’t a conducive escape path, especially when the Gobu Gobu was carrying an apparently dead Gimard on its hands.

Soon the Gobu Gobu carrying the Gimard reached a dead end. A small cove was formed with a small path. The Gobu Gobu faced his pursuers. To his right was a massive rocky wall, and to his left was a cliff.

The three Gobu Gobu’s appeared to be laughing and waited for the Green Slime to move closer.

Dyne stood afar and hid by the rocks just in case and observed.

The monsters seemed to be communicating with each other. The first Gobu Gobu seemed to be in fear as it stood with its back against the wall.

It held the shield and aimed the blue sword protruding out of its left hand and was shouting some in some strange language.

The three Gobu Gobu and the Green Slime started to encircle the lone Gobu Gobu.

“Ah, screw it. I’ll just save the Gobu Gobu and see what happens.” Dyne finally acted. He was among the elite soldiers of Earth and even worked together with several task forces all over the world. His skill in stealth was among the top of the world. And now, he had the Golden Compass to aid him further.

His sprint was fast and precise. At that moment, the three creatures began attacking the lone Gobu Gobu. And this was as Dyne predicted.

He had already faced one Gobu Gobu and could roughly make out the strength of these creatures. Recalling how his leg sweep was only able to break the foothold of one foot, he adjusted the force he exerted and went all out.

The Gobu Gobu nearest the cliff was the first to receive the attack. Using the shield he retrieved from the first Gobu Gobu, Dyne shield tackled the rushing Gobu Gobu!

SMASH!

The Gobu Gobu was immediately thrown towards the sea.

The waves crashed and bashed. It would take a while for that Gobu Gobu to resurface if the Gobu Gobu knew how to swim.