Chapter 1: The Book of Worlds |
Chapter 1: The Book of Worlds
Dusk.
The sky glimmered with gold, streaked with the faint blush of rose.
As Bai Xuan tidied up his desk in the classroom, he noticed—almost by accident—a letter slipped between the pages of his textbook. The envelope was sealed, adorned with a hand-drawn heart.
He barely gave it a second thought, simply stuffing the envelope into his backpack as he prepared to head home.
Maybe it was a love letter. But at this point in his life, Bai Xuan had no interest in romantic complications—unless, of course, they could somehow boost his combat power.
Just then, the academy’s PA system crackled overhead:
“Attention: Spatial fluctuations have become abnormally frequent. Multiple anomalous disasters have broken out. All students are to return home immediately. Do not linger outdoors.
“If you encounter a disaster, evacuate the area at once and contact the authorities…”
In this world, strange anomalies occurred every hour of every day, constantly threatening the world’s fragile stability.
The disasters born of these anomalies had a name: Anomalous Disasters.
As a transmigrator, Bai Xuan himself technically counted as one of the “anomalous” warned about in the broadcast. Whether from other worlds or born from myth and legend, anyone possessing anomalous powers—anyone capable of shaking the foundations of reality—was classified as such.
Most anomalies brought nothing but destruction. In response, every nation on Earth had established Investigation Bureaus to deal with Anomalous Disasters.
Fortunately, no one knew Bai Xuan’s secret. As long as that remained true, he was safe—at least for now.
When he arrived home, Bai Xuan tossed his backpack onto the living room couch.
He glanced toward the study. The lights were off.
“Yu-jie isn’t back yet?”
Because he was a transmigrator, Bai Xuan had grown up in an orphanage.
A few years ago, a fire had burned the orphanage to the ground. Since then, he’d lived with Bai Yu, the “sister” who’d grown up alongside him there. They shared no blood relation, but she was family all the same. Bai Yu was five years older, strikingly beautiful, top of her class, and now worked as a constable in Ninghang City.
Bai Xuan pulled out his phone and sent her a message.
She replied soon after, saying she was out on a mission and probably wouldn’t make it home tonight.
“Dinner for one again, huh.”
He muttered to himself, grabbed a Coke from the fridge, and took a long swig. Then he collapsed onto the couch and turned on the TV. The news was saturated with coverage of the latest Anomalous Disasters:
“Wildfire sweeps through Baihai City—nearly two thousand evacuated, projected property losses over three billion!”
“The Anomaly Investigation Bureau has launched a full probe into the wildfire!”
“An E-rank Anomalous Disaster reported in Linfu City!”
“Ninghang City: dozens of new missing persons cases. If you have any information, contact the Public Security Bureau immediately.”
“Constable fatality rate exceeds twenty percent—now the world’s most dangerous job!”
“A C-rank Anomalous Disaster rocks the United States! Tens of thousands of Americans face an unprecedented crisis!”
“Construction of Ideal City is proceeding rapidly. The first batch of residents has been officially announced!”
“…”
Bai Xuan frowned as he watched the relentless stream of disaster reports.
Constables—tasked with maintaining local law and order—were plentiful, but their equipment was woefully outdated. They could handle ordinary criminals, but against Anomalous Disasters, they were hopelessly outmatched.
And since they were always first on the scene, constables suffered a sky-high casualty rate.
He’d discussed this with Bai Yu before, but she always brushed him off with lines about “providing for the family” and “duty.”
Lately, the disasters had only grown more frequent. Bai Xuan couldn’t help but worry about Bai Yu’s safety.
“Time’s running out,” he murmured, switching off the TV.
A thought—and a blue holographic screen materialized before his eyes, floating with several options: [Personal Info], [World Quests], [Legendary Creation], [Settings Compendium].
This was the power he’d awakened on his eighteenth birthday: the Book of Worlds. Like some game system, it let him view his stats, receive quests issued by the world itself—
—and, more importantly, add or modify elements of reality: battle rules, world laws, even character settings.
Through his own investigation, Bai Xuan had realized that the so-called “World Quests” were none other than these Anomalous Disasters erupting across the globe. Only by eradicating them himself and completing the quests could he earn rewards from the world.
But his greatest headache was this: how was he supposed to wipe out an Anomalous Disaster?
Even the lowest, F-rank Anomalous Disaster could slaughter several armed constables without breaking a sweat. Did he really stand a chance?
Lost in thought, Bai Xuan tapped on [Personal Info].
[Name: Bai Xuan]
[Age: 18]
[Level: F]
[Attributes: Strength F, Agility F, Constitution F, Spirit B+] (Tied to Level)
[Identity: Transmigrator (Red), Student (White)]
[Ability: Book of Worlds (Rainbow)]
[Transmigrator (Red): A traveler from another world. Your arrival seems fated. (Your luck is slightly above average.)]
[Student (White): You are a student. Go study! (Slight boost to Spirit attribute.)]
[Book of Worlds (Rainbow)]:
World Settings: None
Combat Settings: None
Character Settings: None
Legendary Charge: Honored Master of the Book of Worlds, you possess the power to forge legends! Inject energy to add a new legend to this world!
[Current Charge: 99.99% (Estimated full in 10 minutes)]
“Only 0.01% left?”
Bai Xuan stared at the nearly full Legendary Charge bar, anticipation flickering in his eyes.
‘Time’ alone could only provide ordinary energy for Legendary Charge. To reach higher tiers, he’d have to eradicate Anomalous Disasters. But for now, waiting was the only safe way to fill the bar.
Ten minutes later—
【Ding!】
【Legendary Charge complete!】
【You have received a Legendary Crystal (White)!】
【Current Legendary Pool—Standard Pool (Legend Quality: Common 65% + Elite 25% + Rare 8.02% + Epic 1.98%)】
【Summon now?】
【Note: You may use unused character settings to guarantee specific outcomes.】
【You currently have no unused character settings.】
As the notification sounded, a white, diamond-shaped crystal materialized on the Book of Worlds’ first page.
“Here goes nothing…”
Bai Xuan drew a deep breath.
This was his very first summon, and it could determine his fate. In a world ravaged by Anomalous Disasters, ordinary lives could be snuffed out in an instant. If he wanted to protect himself—and his family—he had to seize this chance and change everything.
“Let’s do this!”
He reached out and touched the crystal in the Book of Worlds, activating the first summon.
【Summoning…】
Instantly, countless white motes of light gathered on the Book of Worlds, like shooting stars streaking across the night sky, converging on the Legendary Crystal. The diamond shone with dazzling radiance—so bright that Bai Xuan had to shield his eyes, peeking through his fingers.
As the brilliance faded, lines of golden script appeared before him.
【Please select any three of the following ten character settings to combine into your legend! (The combination will affect the outcome’s quality)】
【Warning: You are summoning a legend. Choose compatible settings. Strange combinations may cause world collapse!】
【Refresh Tokens: 5 (Use to refresh a character setting)】
【Goblin】【Aunt】【Simp】【Hates You】【Little Boy】【Paladin】【Slime】【Alluring】【Greedy and Lustful】【Sword of Shadowlessness】
(Note: Complete your combination to reveal the quality of your legend.)
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