Reincarnated As A Dragon With A Godly Inheritance

"Think of Aetheria as your world with different continents inside it—but in this case, worlds."

"How many worlds are in Aetheria?" Kaedros asked.

"Eight in all, but it's divided into three. We have the Lowworlds, the Middleworlds, then we have the Highworld," Nyra explained.

Kaedros narrowed his eyes. "Highworld?"

"Aetheria is like a snake. The tail part has the Lowworlds, the middle of the snake has the Middleworlds, and the head is the Highworld."

"The Lowworlds consist of four worlds, while the Middleworlds have three worlds. Only the Highworld has a single world, and it's the size of three worlds on its own."

Kaedros's eyes gleamed at the information that had been denied them on Earth. No, not denied—more like it didn't exist at all on Earth.

He knew there were different worlds out there, but to hear it laid out like this… it was more complex than he thought.

"Are there… are there humans in every world?" Taria asked in a hushed whisper as she tried to digest what just happened.

Nyra snorted. "Humans… our kind are the most common, I'll say. You can almost always find us in every world, but our largest population is in your world."

This was a surprise to Kaedros. "You are from there?"

"Yes. A long time ago, before I made my way over to the Middleworlds." Her eyes flicked as if she remembered something but didn't want to speak about it.

"And you don't know about the system?" Rauk was baffled. It was something they had all lived with throughout their lives.

"There was no system during my time," she said dismissively.

"But why are the worlds ranked like that? Why are some called low, middle, and high?" Taria asked.

"Ah… the question that everyone who learns of Aetheria wants to ask. Why is Aetheria ranked? That lies in the mana in each section of the worlds. See, the Lowworlds have the lowest mana density in Aetheria—which is where your world is, by the way. Lowworlds," Nyra said.

Kaedros grunted; he didn't find it a surprise.

"The Middleworlds have the next strongest mana density, and the Highworld has the highest. This means that the beings in the Highworld will be stronger than those in the Middleworlds on average, and those in the Middleworlds will be stronger than Lowworlds."

"What's stopping me from Lowworlds heading to any of the higher worlds?"

Chef laughed at Kaedros's question. Her laughter wasn't mocking, it was the laughter of someone who had heard the same thing again and again.

"A lot of things will stop you. Let's start with your body. You are born on Earth where the mana is low, and your body was made for the low mana in the environment."

"Going directly into Middleworlds will be like a fish trying to swim in lava. The mana there will slowly destroy your body and mind. It'll turn you mindless; I've seen it done again and again. The only way you can go to the Middleworlds and survive is to rank up to ArchKnight at the very least."

"Then your body and core will be protected."

They slowly digested that, which meant if they wanted to go anywhere in Aetheria then they had to be mindful of the mana in the area and their own rank.

"Does that mean people in the Middleworlds are rank ten and above?" Taria asked.

For a moment Chef looked at Taria in silence, but Kaedros nodded along with her. That was a question that needed answers.

Chef drank from her bottle before answering. "A fish that learns to swim in lava can survive the blistering heat, but at the end, it is still just a fish with a tough skin."

Chef pointed at them. "What I meant when I said they are stronger on average was that they are stronger physically since their body is exposed to dense mana from birth.

"But they do have a cheat, an advantage. They advance faster because of this same thing. They rank up quickly because of the dense mana, and that is why people of the Lowworlds travel to other higher worlds when they get to certain ranks."

Kaedros sighed in relief, and he didn't know why. Worlds full of ArchKnights didn't sit right with him. "So what's the next thing that's stopping people from traveling to other higher worlds?"

And this time it was Thalso who answered.

"Labyrinths. That's what's stopping you."

He continued before they could start asking questions. "Labyrinths are deep underground tunnels carved into the bones of every world. They lead directly to different worlds in Aetheria."

"And why will it stop you from getting into other worlds? Because, for some unknown reason, they are always packed with monsters," Thalso grunted. "And not your usual types. Labyrinths always attract strong monsters, and they feed on the foolish people who try to cross over."

"Why would you cross over when you know there are monsters like that in there? At least form a party and go together," Taria said simply.

"It's not that easy. What are the most powerful monsters you have faced? Keeper isn't a monster," Thalso waved Kaedros's words away even as everyone laughed, including Gold, who was staying a little away from them. "The three-headed monster you fought in the Nightmare Prison, then imagine hundreds of the same monster. That's the labyrinths for you."

"And higher-ranked monsters are hiding in different places in the labyrinths. Yes, forming a party is good, but it has to be a party several times stronger. Or you might just apply for a guild to help you."

Thalso explained that traveling guilds provided armed escorts for moving between worlds. When they said they had never heard of that, Thalso told them that such guilds had headquarters in each world, and their own would not have been an exception.

"I'll recommend hiring guilds like that since they know the labyrinths best and know where to avoid and where to lead," Thalso grinned. "Unless you have an army of wielders to lead you through."

"Can't portals connect the worlds?" Rauk asked, thinking of the one that had cracked into Ruinlight.

"Portals can, but it'll take a lot of power to connect one, and there are not many people practicing that type of arcane. Besides, it'll be very limiting—mostly transporting only a few people. So only the powerful of the powerful use it..."

Kaedros was only half listening at this point, as Thalso explained why portals were used only by the strongest and only on rare occasions. He was listening, but his mind was also calculating something Thalso had said about the labyrinths.

They attract monsters. Just like the Dungeons home does.

He didn't like where this was going, so he focused back on Thalso. There was nothing he could do about it anyway.