A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

Silence was the only thing remaining as Phoenix's victory was declared. But the sound of the system announcing their victory spurred the audience to life.

Confusion ran rampant as everyone tried to figure out what had just happened. One second, Eldrian had been somehow attacking the players in their ghost forms. The next, everything went white.

"Phoenix took the victory!" Oier announced with as much energy as possible. Trying to recover the flow that a commenter ought to have.

If he stayed shocked into silence, the audience would wonder what was going on. Even if he was stunned and didn't understand what happened, he had to say something. Even if it was only airing out his own uncertainties.

"Even I'm not sure what happened there in the end, and why the heck is Eldrian back in his guild's castle? And why is there a massive creator? Wait, where is the forest?"

"I-its gone..." His co-commentor managed. The shock in her voice was all too clear.

"It really is. Wow, look at that view!" The production team (who managed the camera angles for television broadcasting) displayed some of the best shots. And this particular one was that of the castles.

As speculated, even an explosion that destroyed an entire forest wasn't enough to destroy the castles. They truly were made of something else. Something seemingly impervious to any and all damage.

That didn't mean they were unaffected. Their white walls were now covered in soot and ashes. Turned black and gray, they appeared badly damaged. The lack of cracks told a different story, however.

The castles still standing were truly impressive, but not so much as the fact that they were standing atop nothing. The ground below them was gone.

"How is that even possible?!" The co-commentor shouted. She and everyone else understood that the castles were seemingly impregnable, but not that they could defy gravity. That didn't make any sense. None at all!

"Is it really that strange?" Oier teased. "Some empires have floating castles of their own."

"That isn't the same thing!"

"Why not?"

"They have ground!"

"What does that matter?"

"Uh, umm... I guess it doesn't?"

"Of course it doesn't. The technology used to defy gravity is rather well-studied by major powers. Flight magic can be accomplished at Tier 5. Though at that level it would be through wind magic, not gravity defiance."

"Uh, huh..."

"Enough talk of that, I've just heard from our wonderful crew reviewing the footage that they know what caused that massive explosion. Let's watch!"

Everyone's attention turned to the stage, where a hologram featuring Eldrian was displayed. He was still trapped inside a formation, his weapons unable to break through the barrier keeping him in. The ghosts (shown for the sake of making things easier for the audience), were falling and exploding in the background.

And then, the nearest ghost, suddenly sent a spell at the formation. No, not the formation. His aim was off 'if' that had been 'his' target.

Instead, the spell landed a short distance from the formation, and everything turned white.

The hologram rewound, zooming in on the location where the spell would land. There, a large mana crystal lay. Buried under a thin layer of dirt.

In slow motion, the spell came. Hit the crystal, causing it to crack. Mana leaked, and the surrounding fire from the spell caused a chain reaction. The explosion spread. Setting off the other large crystals supporting the formation.

With each joining the fray, the ambient mana density increased sharply. To the point that space itself started to warp.

The hologram paused, the view shifting. Inside the barrier, Eldrian could be seen panicking. Honestly, time was slowed down so much that even at his incredible speed, he was moving like a snail. But the look on his face told everyone that he hadn't expected such an outcome.

As the fire raced towards him, one of his rings shone. And in the next frame, he was gone.

A second view appeared, showing Eldrian suddenly inside his guild's castle. Grabbing two unsuspecting players and summoning a barrier of ice. Several meters thick. Then came the shockwave. Nearby players (those Eldrian couldn't reach) disappeared.

For the sake of the viewer's sanity (and the poor players who had to die in such a way) the production team didn't slow down frames enough for what had actually happened to show.

No, the audience would much prefer to simply see players disappearing into a bloody mist. While still somewhat gruesome, it was way better than a frame-to-frame showing of how the shockwaves ripped the players apart.

Finding that right balance in such a short timeframe had been a massive challenge for the production crew. Time needed to be slowed so that ordinary people could follow what was happening. But it couldn't be to such a degree that it turned into a gory R18 film.

But they had done it.

And several seconds later (what had been only a few milliseconds) flames arrived. Taking with it anything but the castle—and Eldrian's dome of ice.

The ice barrier managed to withstand the flames. But not without losing half its width.

"What an oversight..." Oier sighed, his words were something many of the audience agreed with. Though, they now understood how. They still didn't understand 'how' and 'why'.

The source of the explosion and the deciding factor in Phoenix's win was clear. That how was now answered.

The 'how', of how Eldrian had been able to attack the ghosts was anything but. And 'why' had one of the ghosts attacked the mana crystals supporting their own formation?

Was it a spy? A secret agent?

A traitor?

Before those sentiments could grow too far, becoming embedded in people's thoughts, Oier clarified what had happened.

Again, the hologram rewound. Starting a little before Eldrian's counterattack began. But this time with some lines of light around him.

"These lights show Eldrian's Mageia. Or, in layman's terms, willpower." Having expected something of this nature (not such an explosion, but the usage of magic beyond mana), Miracle had asked Ziraili to develop a way for them to view lifeforce.

While this bordered on the line of their agreement, Ziraili had no problem doing as they asked as long as they didn't have access to the code. To access this function, they had to go through her. Which was par for the course, really.

But they had hoped she wouldn't think of that. They had tried to push for the code but relented in the end.

Their thoughts were simple: "It would help, but we are making good progress with the 'elementals'". A terrifying sentiment. The thoughts of the blind leading the blind.

Ziraili had also made sure that they would only ask to use this function for tournaments. Not wanting to give them unrestricted access. After all, somehow making lifeforce visible would massively increase the speed of their experiments inside ANW.

"The term might be new, but I am sure most players will understand given some background." Oier said, giving a short explanation of what 'Mageia' was.

"In short, it is the effect of concentrated willpower. Intense focus which forms an actual ethereal form. This is what players use to control mana."

Another view appeared on the stage, showing the battle between Phoenix's Strike Team and Nihon's ambush.

"It is clear, however, that Eldrian's control of Mageia is leagues beyond even the most elite of players."