Hello! First of all, thank you for giving the fan fiction a chance. Secondly, this "chapter" is pretty long, so you don't necessarily need to read all of it. But returning here if something confuses you or a term needs explaining can be good.
For those who are new to TLM (an abbreviation of 'The Legendary Mechanic') or want a refresher, I've organized this chapter to provide sufficient background information. Due to the sheer size of the world (remember, TLM is 3.2 million words), I may forget or misremember some things. If so, please put corrections and their sources in the comments.
All info is derived from the Webnovel translation.
Han Xiao[1] is the main character of "The Legendary Mechanic" and was transmigrated into the world of his favorite game. He had been playing the extremely popular VRMMORPG "Galaxy" since its inception about a decade ago. Through the numerous patches, he had made a name for himself- placing 47th in the annual top 100 rankings amongst the Chinese players. While he had what it took to go pro, the thing he enjoyed most about Galaxy was the leveling process. The way he made a living was through power leveling: the act of being paid to level up another person's account.
Upon transmigration, Han Xiao was transported to one year before the release of Version 1.0. He had essentially gone back in time by 10 years and had the body of a 20-year-old. Though he lacked any of the body's memories, his personal memories were still retained. It should be noted that Han Xiao was not happy about his transmigration.
Within the world of Galaxy ("Galaxy" is often a synonym for "the universe" in TLM) exist Supers. These are people with supernatural abilities that are derived from Super Genes. The System, sometimes called the Interface, can interpret the world and present information to the user. The Players of Galaxy are given a player-specific system. Han Xiao was well-versed in this system prior to transmigrating as an NPC. While he received an NPC-specific system, no other NPC even knew of or could perceive the interface.
The main difference between these systems is Han Xiao's inability to revive after dying, unconfirmed inability to use dungeon crystals, and being restricted to a guest account on the forum. In exchange for these downsides, he has no version level cap and does not disappear during Version Updates. Since we're on the topic…
Versions. The term "Version" refers to the current update of Galaxy. Similar to World of Warcraft, each Version revolves around a Main Storyline where the Players can pick one or more sides. During the Closed Beta, Open Beta (Version 1.0), and beginning of Version 2.0, the Main Storylines that Players experience are restricted to their starting worlds. Each planet is a "primitive" world and therefore unable to reach the Galaxy or each other. Thus, these worlds have independent and isolated storylines. Every other version's storylines take place in the Galaxy.
Between every Version Update, the players disappear for a certain amount of time. During a Version, which is playable for Players, 1 minute on Earth is 6 minutes in Galaxy to the Players. This is not the case for a Version Update as even decades are crossed in a few days on Earth.
Referring back to the "version level cap": every Player's maximum level is restrained by the Version. In Version 1.0, the Player's maximum levels are 60- which represents Grade D-C, depending on the talents held by an individual. After Version 1.0, the level cap is increased by 30 for every version.
To paint a better picture of the Super's grading system, I have organized a quick summary of each Grade's attributes.
Grade F "Supers" have Ona and energy but cannot be considered Supers. Even the weakest Grade E Super can wipe the floor with the strongest Grade Fs. This statement does not include equipment, of course.
Grade E Supers are the weakest people qualified to be Supers. They are beginning to learn the ropes of their selected class and can use basic abilities assigned to them. Though relatively weak, their position tends to be higher than normal people.
Grade D Supers are top figures on primitive planets like Aquamarine yet rather ordinary in the Universe. However, this is when compared to Supers- they can still bully any ordinary person if they like.
Grade C Supers have moderate strength and are considered to be the basic standard of power to explore planets in the universe. On most primitive planets, like Planet Aquamarine, a Grade C Super is the peak of strength. This peak can heavily depend on the selected planet's Super tradition and advancement level.
Grade B Supers are the backbone level of strength for the universe. They are officers of organizations, leaders of smaller organizations, or generally mid-tier combatants. These Supers excel at personnel combat and can usually rule a planet unopposed.
Grade A Supers represent the former peak of the explored universe. Nicknamed 'Calamity Grades', these people have the power to cause a catastrophe to a planetary surface but cannot commonly entirely destroy a planet. Calamity Grade Supers have a very high level life hierarchy but still remain within the confines of existing races. Peak Grade A Supers are classified as 'Beyond Grade A Seeds'.
Every Calamity Grade Super has the [Superhuman] talent, which dramatically increases strength depending on their level. As a talent that scales with one's strength, part of the grade's high power is attributed to it.
The in-between realm. Some beings, primarily secondary dimension creatures, have strength that is more than Grade A but less than Grade S. One of the prerequisites of advancing to Beyond Grade A is hitting a Racial Mutation, and these beings have not, so they are not Beyond Grade A. It would also appear that only sapient creatures can advance to Beyond Grade A, but this has never been confirmed nor denied.
Upon reaching the peak of the life hierarchy and having greater than 32,759.1 Ona (Chapter 759), a being may advance into the Beyond Grade A Realm, also known as Grade S. Evolving to the status of Beyond Grade A makes a being like no other within the entire galaxy. These beings have the capability to take out most Star System Civilizations and would take the full effort of a Star Cluster Civilization to fell.
This stage is called "Beyond Grade A" due to the Universe's history. Before the Exploration Era, Grade A was the peak of individual power. The brutality of that time forced many talented individuals to find ways to adapt, bringing about the existence of power beyond Grade A. These Supers were the Primordial Ones and have long since disappeared to natural causes, death in combat, or going missing.
In Han Xiao's previous life, no player had reached this realm. This stage and beyond was entirely new territory for him.
These Supers are not a monolith, however. There are three subdivisions within the Beyond Grade A moniker: Grade S, S+, and SS. Grade SS is referred to as a Peak or Pinnacle Beyond Grade A Super. They are monsters even amongst Beyond Grade A's and can handle Grade S and S+ Supers with relative ease. At this peak, each Super feels the faint outline of a higher realm within the ever-present fog that clouds every frontier…
Every Super's strength and grade is measured by Ona and energy. Ona is a number that measures combat strength, like Dragon Ball's Power Levels, so even equipment affects its output. There are Ona values that each grade must surpass to ascend, but that is getting too in-depth for a simple outline like this.
Energy is similar to mana for all Supers. It fuels most of the skills and abilities available to a Super. When energy reserves reach a certain threshold, an "Energy Rank" is acquired. The Energy Ranks give bonuses depending on their level. These bonuses are removed as one's energy reserves fall below the required amounts. For example, if one's maximum energy is 150 and their current energy is 99, they will not obtain the level 3 energy rank bonuses despite having the maximum capacity for it.
The terms "Star System" and "Star Cluster" may be unknown to some. Here is an outline of what they mean.
The second-lowest unit of measurement besides a planet or station is the Star Zone. These are subsections of a Star System that we believe represents a solar system. The Webnovel translation is never extremely clear on the exact measurements of each unit and did provide contradictory information due to different translators handling things.
Next up is the aforementioned Star System. These are the smallest civilizations that are protected by the Civilizational Treaty, which protects all civilizations from total destruction in the current Galaxy Calendar Era. This treaty is enforced by the Three Universal Civilizations but is not absolute in practice. Anyways, a Star System has a cluster of Star Zones assigned to it and is most likely the size of one galaxy. These civilizations tend to be protectorates, vassals, or other subject types to a local Star Cluster Civilization.
Star Clusters are the largest unit of measurement within a Star Field. It is believed that a Star Cluster is most likely the size of a galaxy cluster and is divided into Star Systems. Any civilization that controls a Star Cluster is a regional power and likely to have many Star System civilizations as subjects. They remain pawns in the face of the Three Universal Civilizations, however. These regions are separated by desolate universe belts which represent extremely empty space. They are sometimes created by incredibly catastrophic warfare (like in the Exploration Era) or naturally. Just because they are desolate does not mean they are uninhabitable, though.
Besides the entire Universe, a Star Field represents the biggest unit of measurement in Galaxy. Each is extremely important to every Universal Civilization and number about 10 by the novel's start. Only a Universal Civilization has the authority to rule over an entire Star Field, yet this tends to be done mostly through client states and vassals due to the difficulties of direct control. Expansive desolate universe belts separate the Star Fields and require warp gates to cover economically.
There are a few "rungs" of Star Fields in the explored universe- with the Central Galaxy that makes up 3 Star Fields being in the first, the Ancient Star Desert, Primeval Star River, and a few others in the second, and the Shattered Star Ring being in the third. This classification is similar to the real life "first world" nations but without its ideological roots. Here, the descriptor simply represents prosperity.
The Three Universal Civilizations, while powerful, are not omnipotent or entirely unified. They face conflict from each other, the Super Star Cluster Alliance (a group of Star Cluster Civilizations who control more than one Star Cluster), and various organizations looking out for themselves. This list does not even count foreign threats that lurk just beyond sight. The one thing the Three Universal Civilizations cooperate on is suppressing smaller civilizations so they disrupt the status quo.
Most creatures possess "Talents" which are outlined in the System. These tend to be passive abilities that represent one's… talents. A particularly talented individual will have more talents than their peers along with higher-quality ones. Molding Talents are extremely rare and powerful talents that have percentage modifiers, giving them growth potential. '
The Players were unable to obtain these talents but one with an NPC System can. They can typically only be obtained from boss characters or extremely hard missions- though an aspect of luck is involved.
Finally, we reach the Super Classes. There are five in total: Espers, Pugilists, Mages, Psychics, and Mechanics. Other civilizations outside of the known universe can structure their Super system differently but still have the same roots in reality.
Mechanics have the most development in TLM from a content perspective. These Supers are able to craft incredible machines and can use them the most effectively. Three paths divide the class: Technicians, Mechanical Pugilists, and Cannon Masters. Every one of these has its own benefits, such as long-ranged supremacy for Cannon Masters and short-ranged for Mechanical Pugilists. However, it is said that the Technician path holds the true essence of a Mechanic. Over 80% of all blueprints are only researchable by a Technician!
Later on, these specializations receive another path divergence into Knowledge Trees. They can choose the Armed Tree, which focuses on materials and super-massive machines; the Energy Tree, which focuses on energy sources and the like; and the Virtual Tree, which focuses on hacking and the Virtual World. Han Xiao, TLM's main character, ended up as a Virtual Technician, so that path has the most development.
A mainstay of the Mechanic class is the ability to still grow in actual combat strength even when faced with a bottleneck. This capability is repeatedly mentioned in TLM since much of a Mechanic's strength comes from their machines. Since all crafting machines requires is time and money… one can understand the reasoning.
Mages are similar to Mechanics in many ways but use magic instead. They have the second-most development for a class in TLM and are commonly used as a comparison to the Mechanics. Contrary to Mechanics, they have a wider breadth of playstyles in the absence of equipment due to being able to create and cast spells. This does not mean their ability to create items is poor, however. Many a Mechanic lament the fact that Mages can simply use their own energy to create magic items, enchant other items, and more to earn money. This is exemplified by many Mechanics constantly experiencing the "Happiness of the Poor".
There exist many different types of Mages, but unlike the Mechanic Class, we do not have a concrete structure. Circuit and rune mages are explicitly outlined along with other standard mages. The full extent is not known. Though not significantly elaborated upon, the Mage class has a wide variety of playstyles and is considered a more fun class by the Players.
Espers (yes, the class in the title) are a rarer and somewhat luck-based class. From a Player perspective, if they awaken an Esper ability, it will be randomly chosen from a massive pool. They could acquire an E Grade Potential Super Speed ability or an SS Grade Potential Dark Matter Control Esper ability. The former is significantly more common than the latter. A similar principle applies to an NPC but with the catch that many simply don't have Esper abilities to unlock. If an Esper ability is acquired then one is usually locked into that class forever. There are some fringe cases on this matter, however.
An Esper Ability's traits can be almost anything, including having attributes of any other class. To keep order in the explored universe, every Galactic Civilization got together to organize the Super High-Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty to recognize about one hundred extremely dangerous abilities and ban them. Such abilities include Dark Matter Control, Particle Control, Spacetime Freeze, and Ability Copying. Despite being banned, many individuals with such powers exist and are known to the public: like the Peak Beyond Grade A Super [EsGod], an Esper with a copy ability. By the story's beginning, he had hundreds of abilities and was incredibly difficult to defeat. He was an outlaw hated by all civilizations and since he would leave people stripped of their abilities after stealing them. While EsGod did kill most people that he stole from, a few survived by chance.
Pugilists are the martial artists of the Super world. They can be anything from light swordsmen to archers to tanks. The only special thing about most Pugilists are their strong bodies. Many, including Han Xiao, jokingly view them as meatheads who can only think with their fists. Despite this, these Supers are still equal to the other classes in many ways. They are relatively easy to become as a normal person and Pugilists are thought to be the most populous Super Class in the explored universe.
One can think of Pugilists as being similar to Cultivators. They tend to use Qi in their fighting style while also being able to possess weapons of great strength. This Qi can be manipulated in many ways- from body enhancing to blasting away your enemy with an off-brand Kamehameha. The Players considered this class one of the most fun to play and would often yell out attack names to seem more intimidating.
Psychics are perhaps the least expanded-upon Super in TLM. They specialize in the mind and soul, allowing them to be experts in interrogation. A particularly powerful one can even create a mind virus that no Super below Grade S can beat on their own! There appears to be a Psychic Force in the background of the universe that a Psychic can influence. Beyond this, not much else is known about Psychics.
We come to the end of this explanation chapter. I hope this was informative and not too much of a slog to read through. Please have fun reading this fan fiction and take care!
[1] The web novel translation uses western notation for his name and many other Chinese names. However, when referring to Han Xiao's body's old soul, the novel uses "Xiao Han".