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"You mentioned levels, how many are there? You also said that items can have effects, how does that work?" Lily wanted to know.

"The level question is a little complicated. Legends and historical records tell of heroes reaching dozens and dozens of levels, but nobody has reached higher than level 6 for over a millennium. Not since the Deluge and the great Sundering that followed. There is a similar problem with items, people are unable to see their own stats or that of items since that time. We can see rarities when inspecting items, as well as any special effects, but stat boosts are unknown. Testing in training can help gauge if your damage is increased or not, but it isn't always reliable," Mia explained. Lily listened, and gave it some thought.

That's certainly inconvenient, but at least if the max level is 6, I don't have a lot of catching up to do.

"I see, that's not ideal. What caused these changes in the way the level system works?" Lily inquired.

"That's an important story you should know, so sit back and listen while I tell you," Mia instructed, and Lily complied. She loved stories, and this was a world full of ones she never heard before.

Mia made herself sit more comfortably, faced Lily, and started telling the story:

"The events took place some 1080 years ago, at the height of the ancient Tilovian Empire that covered most of the continent. It was an Elven, Human and Half-Elven state which subjugated countries around it through diplomacy and force of arms, until only the leonin lands of Atara remained free. The jungle terrain there made it difficult to conquer, but the Emperor ordered a great army to march and complete the conquest of Rund. The historical sources are not clear on what caused the disaster which happened next. Some historians say that the rituals and spells cast in preparation overloaded the mana of the planet, others suggest that it was the greed of Tilovians that caused the disaster, and some even blame the Leonin, suggesting they caused the disaster to stop the advancing army. In any case, a great breach formed in East Rund, and monsters spewed forth from it and from all the dungeons in the world. They ravaged the land and destroyed the Tilovian Empire. Cities were burned, temples destroyed and thousands died trying to stop them, but more kept coming. The conflict raged for years, until five Avatars of different gods gathered together in the ruins of Tilovia to perform a ritual. It caused a great explosion which killed them, but whatever they did, they closed the breach and stopped more monsters from spawning. It took decades to clear out the remaining monsters, and a great deal of heroes gave their lives to do so, but civilization survived. However, the ritual and the resulting blast had consequences. High level monsters and dungeons stopped spawning, people's levels were capped and we lost access to the stat screen." Mia paused to catch her breath, before continuing:

"The continent was split up into a litany of city-states and petty kingdoms, most of which survive to this day. Even the Great Wall of Mist, which surrounds Rund, got thicker, making it impossible to reach the other continents." She stopped, looking at the slightly confused Lily, "Sorry, am I going too fast? Father always says I have a tendency to ramble when I talk about a topic I love."

"I can keep up fine, it's just a lot of names to take in at once," Lily answered. "You seem very knowledgeable, is this stuff you learn in school here?"

"Some of it, yes, but I've always loved to read about ancient times, so I know more than the average person. Books were my best friend growing up," Mia explained, slightly embarrassed by the admission.

"Ha, a fellow bookworm," Lily exclaimed, trying to put Mia at ease with a wide smile. "My favorite pastime was reading fictional stories about strange worlds filled with magic,just like this one. I am glad that I've found someone who can tell me the story of Teras."

"Well I am no historian, but I will do my best," Mia said, glad that Lily didn't find her interests weird. Seeing her companion relax, Lily continued her questioning.

She asked Mia about the races which inhabited Teras and the countries they lived in.Mia told her about the half-elves and elves, who once ruled the Tilovian Empire, but now lived in the petty kingdoms of the west. There were also vampires living in the Vent mountains to the north, proud dwarves who suffered much during the Deluge, as their land was in the east of Run, where the Breach opened. They now lived scattered across the whole continent, without a true home of their own. Leonin, unconquered by Tilovia, mostly stuck to the jungles of Atara. She also mentioned dryads, living in the shadow of the Great Tree, on the isle of Souls which sat in the middle of a lake known as the Eye of the World. Lily asked about the country they were in now, and Mia explained that it was the mostly human state of Entara. A collection of city-states, ruled by an elected council, it was not one of the largest countries but its position between the elven and half-even states and other human nations made it rich from trade. Lily wanted to know if there were wars between the various states and races, and Mia explained that since the Deluge there was little conflict between the civilized races, as they focused on rebuilding what was lost. In fact, the current population levels were lower than those before the disaster, and states focused their efforts on clearing dungeons and destroying the few monsters which wandered out. There was a brief conflict four centuries ago, when the human Kingdom of Pax tried reestablishing slavery and conquering its neighbors, but an Avatar of Justice was sent by the gods, and he put a stop to their ambition by leading a coalition of states to oppose them. Tolerance of other races was common, though humans looked at vampires with suspicion, and elves and leonin still held grudges from their wars before the Deluge.

Lily's eyes grew wide in wonder as she listened, and her heart raced as she realized that she was truly in a world as wondrous as those she read about in the dim light of her orphanage room. Then came a sobering thought- all of it could be potentially in danger if she failed.

I won't let self-doubt ruin my fun, not when there's a great story to be heard, Lily decided, and continued her questions.

So Mia talked, and Lily listened, and hours passed as the carriage made its way forward.