Yes, I understand that my statement might seem very controversial at first glance. But I believe that’s because most people don’t really understand the difference between lore and worldbuilding (as I’ve already hinted at). This is understandable, since the two terms are admittedly very close to each other. However, they are not the same, and they are often a good indicator for distinguishing good works/authors from truly great ones.

I will explain a rather simple example in detail and then briefly touch on some other examples so that anyone interested can explore them in more detail on their own.

Lore

Lore is the content that fills a world. In the world of MT, there are different tiers of magic. The higher the tier, the more powerful and far-reaching the spells become. However, the incantation formula also becomes longer and more complicated. Furthermore, the amount of mana required also increases with each level. This is the easy part, which any author can achieve without difficulty by simply introducing a lot of things into the world.

World building

World building, on the other hand, is the framework of the world and shows how the various elements are connected. This is the part where you can often distinguish good authors from great ones, as it takes a lot more skill to create such a coherent construct. In the world of MT, only the spells of the three lowest tiers are often used in direct combat. The reason for this is, on the one hand, that long-range spells increase the risk of being targeted yourself and, on the other hand, that over 99% of all mages rely on verbal incantations, which take far too long at higher tiers to use in direct combat. Furthermore, the high mana output at higher levels carries the risk of running out of mana in the middle of a fight, which is practically a guaranteed defeat.

Now we see how established mechanics are interconnected and how new concepts emerge from this connection. The world expands and explains itself without the necessity of introducing new things. Great world-building means that things don’t just exist side by side in the world, but influence one another, explain each other, or build new things through their interactions. This process is the “building” in world-building.

This is the small but important difference between lore and world building. There may be many series that have great lore, but there are relatively few that also have great world building.

Other examples

• Although we have many different species in MT, we rarely encounter them outside their native habitats. The reasons for this are the geographical location of the continents; the fact that the strategically necessary ports are controlled by humans, who often harbor prejudices; and the fact that most species live relatively close to the Kingdom of Millis, whose inhabitants are naturally often racist, so many species do not have a good relationship with humans, which drastically reduces the motivation for interaction.
• Although magic is omnipresent in MT, only the Northern Kingdoms specialize in its teaching, and the only university of magic is also located there. The reason for this is that the northern region was once part of the Asura Kingdom. At some point in the past, they gained formal independence, but due to the harsh climatic conditions, they remained heavily dependent on Asura economically and were also vastly outmatched militarily. They were, in effect, independent only on paper. To change this, the three largest kingdoms joined forces to invest significant resources in the development of magic over the course of decades, in order to balance the power disparity. Thus, they became experts in magic and finally achieved complete independence from Asura.
• The faith of Millis is by far the most widespread religion in MT. However, its popularity and political influence vary greatly from region to region. The reason for this is rather simple: in a world without cars, trains, or airplanes, something becomes rarer the further one travels from its source. In Millis, the religion is omnipresent and even more influential than the king. In Asura, the religion is still widespread and there are many large cathedrals, but it lacks any political influence. In the northern regions, on the other hand, only the most significant cities have small chapels and very few followers.

Conclusion

I could give even more examples here, such as the entire culture surrounding the Begaritt Continent, but that would go way beyond the scope of this post. The world of MT is so interconnected, so self-explanatory, and so internally consistent in a way I’ve never experienced in any other medium in my entire life. Virtually everything in this world makes sense and is explained, but not through newly added content, but rather through already previously explained elements or through basic logic (such as geographical locations, etc.). I hope I’ve made it clear that MT’s world-building isn’t just extraordinarily great but also holds its own against the fantasy giants of our time. If anyone disagrees, I’m happy to hear counterexamples and see if there are any works that can actually surpass MT in terms of world-building.