"The Continental Nations" documented the countries and races inhabiting the continent—a mere encyclopedia at best. Its first page displayed a map sketching the entire landmass.
The continent resembled a near-diamond shape. Human nations occupied its far eastern edge, bordering territories of beastkin, giants, and dwarves. Other regions marked on the map included Dragon Valley and the Demon Realm—homelands of non-human races.
A nation’s territory didn’t imply racial exclusivity; it merely signified which race held dominion. Beyond these borders lay "Chaos Zones"—ungoverned lands open to all races. Entering sovereign nations, however, required entry permits, much like on Earth.
Yan Yi’s eyes snagged on the scale bar. Human territories barely claimed a sliver of the continent—yet that sliver alone spanned half an Earth!
He briefly wondered how this planet maintained its climate and atmosphere thickness. *Nah. As long as life thrives, who cares about the mechanics?*
Memorizing the continental outline, Yan Yi flipped to the human nations’ section. An enlarged map filled the page.
The human world split cleanly in two: the eastern half ruled by the Imperial Capital, overseeing five academies that assigned student missions; the western hinterlands governed solely by the Mercenary Guild.
Locating Ink Village proved impossible—not even significant towns made the map unless they were major hubs.
"Whatever. I’ll find out eventually."
His gaze drifted to border cities neighboring beastkin, giants, and dwarves. To the continent’s direct east, the sea bore a label: *Eastern Ocean*.
"*No Dragon Palace on Earth... but here?*" The thought of Dragon Valley sparked another: *Eastern and Western dragons?* Then his eyes caught a deep blue expanse at the map’s edge—the Eastern Ocean’s frontier. Labeled *Azure Sea*, it sprawled millions of square kilometers. At its heart floated a tiny dot marked *Sea Grave*, easily a million square kilometers itself.
"*ALL... BLUE? And... the Abyssal Maw?*"
Chin propped on his palm, Yan Yi scanned other myth-tinged locations. His gut whispered: *That Azure Sea’s trouble.*
"*If Sea Grave means the Abyssal Maw... what’s the Azure Sea? Some curly-haired guy’s dream?*" He shook his head. *Ridiculous. Odds lower than my own transmigration.* Frustrated, he raked his fingers through his hair. "*Why’s everything so murky?! One wrong step and I’m buried!*"
Forcing the thoughts aside, he turned to other entries.
Human records held baffling contradictions. Surnames came first like Earth’s East *or* trailed Western-style lengthy names—and both coexisted seamlessly. Yan Yi bet even if every villager in Ink Village shared the surname "Ink," the next hamlet over would boast names like "Archibald Featherington III."
"*This jarring clash couldn’t be intentional from day one!*"
Worse: *No gods existed here.* The text stated it plainly—*since recorded history, this world had no deities.*
Humans always invented gods to soothe the inexplicable. So why declare their absence? "*Does ‘god’ refer to a race here? Or did everyone lose faith? How does divine power even function without believers?! (Science doesn’t count.) Not a single superstitious soul?*" Compared to these people, Yan Yi felt ashamed of still wondering if a "2D God" existed.
His conclusion: *History’s missing. At least in this book.*
"*Enough! I’ve no clue what to do next! Everything’s suspicious!*" He nearly howled at the ceiling. Swallowing his rage, he memorized the human data and flipped to other nations.
Another headache struck. Though written in human script, the book sprinkled untranslated phrases from other races as linguistic samples.
"*Damn it, I can’t read this!*" Rubbing his eyes, thumping his skull—no change.
A strange resentment coiled inside him. Anger at whoever granted him human-language comprehension but left him illiterate in other tongues. Fury at being dumped here like defective goods. Shame for naively accepting this "gift." Even pity—and dark amusement—for the unknown power that only mastered one language. It was... unnervingly complex.
"*Was I... broken this easily?*"
*THUD.* His forehead slammed the table. Hollow eyes stared blankly. Utterly wrecked.
...
Yan Yi slumped as he shelved *The Continental Nations*, feeling like he’d sparred with a hundred drunken masters—too scared to strike back, too annoyed to just endure.
Scanning nearby shelves for distraction, his eyes locked onto another spine: *The Continental Nations Vol. 2*...
Toothache. Stomachache. Soul-ache. Every ache flared.
Gritting his teeth, he pulled it down. Touching the cover, a traitorous thought flickered: *Am I a masochist?*
He sighed, opening it. This map depicted another continent—reachable by crossing the entire Eastern Ocean. South of its midpoint floated a tiny landmass labeled: *Sky Garden*.
"*Floating... island? Sky... city?*" He cut the tangent short, focusing on the mainland. Dominated by the Elven Race and Phantom Beasts, the Elf Kingdom and Beast Empire claimed most territory. No wonder it was also called the Spirit Beast Continent. Glancing back at the human world’s map, he sighed again.
Flipping deliberately to Sky Garden’s entry, he froze.
Sky Garden split down the middle. One half: *Heaven. Angelic Dominion.* The other: *Hell. Demonic Territory.* Dividing them stood a city on the borderline: *Line City*. Footnote: *Capital of Sky Garden.*
*Heaven and Hell truly separated by a single line.*
Angels and demons... *cohabiting?* Yan Yi’s worldview shattered anew.
