Chapter 1 - Mage In Cultivation World [1]

He gasped. Standing in the middle of a paved road surrounded by forest, he checks his body.

"No way, I'm still alive." He mumbled in surprise after checking his well-conditioned mage's robe.

Despite the mess he can remember inflicting on it, the glittering lining of his robe, as well as the attached and taken-off hood of his robe, are unbelievably clean and in good condition. A young man in his teens, perhaps 18 years old, was standing, unaware of what had just happened to him.

He caressed his temple, recalling what happened before seeing himself in this location. Furthermore, he felt something strange in the air. A seemingly different energy was soothing his spirit.

He patched up everything that he could remember. From what he purposely did, he sighed after finishing his digging.

"I'm still alive after all." He mumbled in disdain.

Lucas was a rogue but renowned mage in his prime. Standing above the staircase of mages, he acquired the title of "Sage" from his achievement of being all-knowing in the field of magic. He defied the mortality that invisibly shackled every human.

But just after that, he regrets living a long life, knowing that nothing can kill him anymore in this world.

Because of it, he acquired another shackle, the shackle of immortality, which made him not die from natural causes. This also means he can't be killed in a normal way.

Thus, after living a thousand years, observing the generation flow to different eras, he appears to be lonely in that world, knowing that he can't rest, called death.

He knew that he couldn't be killed by anyone since he became the strongest human alive, so he secluded himself from civilization to search for an answer.

Therefore, he searched for the legendary sword in the legends – the "God Slayer."

After finding it for years, a smile emerged on his face. He was delighted that he could finally take a rest.

So, he stabs himself with it… only to discover that he is still alive, albeit in a younger body.

It appears that the legendary sword was a scam.

"Why can't I die?" He cried, punching the ground below.

Living in despair away from mortality, he felt that nothing in the world could fill his empty heart since he already knew everything about magic – or what he thought was the peak of magic.

Sometime later, after soothing himself from his despair, he breathes calmly. He realized that after he stabbed himself, he didn't only regain his youthful appearance, but he could also feel a strange energy in the air. Though, there was more that had changed inside of him that he still didn't notice.

Almost forgetting about his remorse, he was dazed, trying to control the energy in the air.

"Why is this place so abundant in strange energy? Don't tell me… this is the afterlife?"

Thinking that he had finally died, he cheered himself up, shouting all by himself and jumping in delight.

"I finally died. This must be the afterlife!" He screamed in pleasure.

Excited about his impending death, he peered around him. He saw abundant trees, greenery, and clean air.

However, if this is the afterlife, why can he still use his passive abilities and spells?

He was dazed once again, pondering what had happened.

"Why can I see the air? It had to be my ability in the wind that was still active. No way that afterlife could be another life!"

But just before he could cry once again, he heard the stomping footsteps of horses. He heard carriages coming in his direction.

He looked for the carriage, only to be confused by its bizarre appearance. The coach is also wearing a strange fashion robe. 'Does afterlife have a different fashion?' He asked himself while still wondering about their appearance.

From afar, the coachman saw a young man in bizarre clothes. He was wearing a robe in a different style. To be precise, he didn't close his robe, making it look like a cape, and left it wide open, revealing his undergarments.

But the coachman didn't scream to his surprise. He just ponders, as he sees that the undergarments (undershirt & shorts) of the young man were also expensive-looking thick cloth. His robe also has a hood that differs from the climate they have.

Without bothering about it, they just passed through the young man.

However, Lucas seeing another human was filled with hope to know what happened to him.

"Wait!" He exclaimed.

The coachman takes a halt to his driving. He asked his master inside if they should pay attention to the young man.

The master inside just peeked outside, seeing a handsome young man in a strange fashion outfit.

"Don't mind him. He must be another crazy fashion designer that is hoping to have a breakthrough in his career. Strange people in the middle of nowhere must be crazy." He said before the coachman continued.

Lucas, seeing that it just made him swear in frustration. "What the heck? Are people in the afterlife so mean? It makes me wonder if I'm really dead or just in another world." He mumbled to himself before just shaking his head to forget about it.

He moved on, using a spell to fly to inspect the area.

When he successfully used a spell, he finally realized that something was wrong. It's not that he is dead, but he isn't really in the afterlife.

"Don't tell me that that sword wasn't a God Slayer. But a… transporter to another world. To think that I discovered such a treasure."

Finally calming down, Lucas immediately loses the despair feeling in his heart. Instead, it was filled with hope that he could live another life, a new and not repetitive life.

"This must be a blessing in disguise." He smiled after continuing flying in the air.

"I still must not have become senile." He added before landing in a group of people fighting some sort of monster.

"Time to test my power in another world." He said this after determining the source of the strange energy that surrounded him.

The youngsters fighting a monster didn't notice Lucas landing near them. They were occupied with fighting a monster, for which they were fighting for ownership with the other group in the field too.

"This is our prey! Get lost and find your own!"

"No way! Get out of here, we got here first!"

Lucas just watched the two groups fighting for the ownership of the living monster. Laughing at their stupidity, Lucas thought of trying to tease the youngsters.

He gathered energy in his index finger and pointed it at the monster they were fighting.

As he released the ball of light in his index finger, it flew straight at the chimeric monster.

It hit the head and passed through it like a strong ball at the speed of light. It left a hole in the head, killing it in an instant.

Everyone who saw it was baffled. They almost dropped their jaws in surprise. As an instinct, they searched for the one who killed it.

"Did you do it? Are you carrying a treasure with you?!" One of the groups that didn't notice Lucas pointed to another group in irritation, enraged that their prey was finally stolen by the other group.

However, they didn't answer. Instead, they pointed to Lucas, who was gleaming on his own after he released a spell.

"He killed it in one hit? No way that he can hit it in one go." One of the leaders mumbled.

Lucas couldn't help but smile when he saw their surprise, relieved that he can still use an offensive spell in this strange world.

He waved at them before speaking. "How are you doing? Can't you just distribute it? It's my property anyway, so I'm giving it to you." He nonchalantly said, making others annoyed at his arrogance.

Even if they feel irritated, there is a hint of agitation in their system. After seeing his prowess for a short time, they can't dare offend someone of his caliber.

They just smiled awkwardly while wondering what kind of strong person does inside a beginner forest.

"Uhm. Thank you, but it is yours. We can't just take it." One of them said.

However, being in a bizarre situation, Lucas replied in excitement. "I don't have use for it. Instead, I have a question. Can you answer it for me?"

With a little skeptical feeling inside them, they looked at each other, trying to calmly manage the situation their group was in.

"Okay. We will answer it. But can we ask first which sect you are from? Or at least, who is this young master we are talking to? "

They tried to sweeten their words so as not to offend Lucas. Not just to know his background, but to also learn why he wears a different type of robe.

Even though it shouts wealth, they can't just ignore the bizarre design Lucas' robe has.

"I really can't answer that. So can you at least answer these questions of mine?" Lucas asked.

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{a/n}

The whole novel will be a bit more confusing as I establish the novel. At some points, you might think that magic is a bit more superior to cultivation. Well, it is not, and never will be. As there were different ways to use cultivation, in a higher realm, magic was possible for cultivators, well, immortals exactly. However, because Lucas was a foreign entity in the lower heavens, the disparity between cultivation and magic was too great. It has a huge gap, but I just want to remind you that the current realm, or the starting realm Lucas was transported to, was the lowest heaven of them all. It will be explained in chapters 10 and above, but it won't be that widely explained as Lucas ventures and experiences the whole cultivation world.

At some point, the novel will give you an idea that magic is not something to be compared to cultivation. Well, this might be bad, but I discourage that idea. In the novel, magic was just part of the feats that cultivators could do. However, as Lucas was an immortal mage from his previous world, he was already introduced to magic. 

This will be really confusing, but instead of spoiling things to explain why it might put a bad taste in your mouth, I request that you read and understand it before jumping to a conclusion. If you can't have any patience, I am sorry that I can't entertain you.

Expect unique cultivations. That's what I'll drop as an explanation for the confusing parts.

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a/n: I have a new book, it is entitled "Max Stats in the Apocalypse".. If you like overpowered stories, you can try reading them.