A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

Eldrian considered Constantin one of the few friends he had within the company. One of two, actually. Joren would be the other. 

Not that he considered himself close to either. But he thought their beliefs aligned. They were each stuck in their own situation. Trapped and forced to move forward. But their core beliefs were morally sound. Or so he hoped was still true. 

And due to this, Eldrian knew where Constnatin's drive came from. Why he had continued to try, and why he was the one to succeed. Yet, Eldrian did not know why the company would decide to make this public. 

Did they fear Eldrian would catch them with their pants down? Eldrian doubted it. If they did, something would have happened already. Perhaps they were afraid to antagonize him, seeing as what he had once wrought upon their militant division. But that wasn't the only way things could be approached.

Hostages were a powerful, if terribly dangerous, tool. 

But that had not come to be. Eldrian's preparations had been for naught but a calmed heart. But better prepared and alive and unprepared and dead. 

Honestly, ever since Zaphreal had appeared, and their duel, Miracle had been acting far more carefully. Almost friendly. 

Had their relationship not been completely torn asunder, Eldrian might have even placed some modicum of actual trust in them. It was too late now.

He did, however, believe Joren and Constantin would try to warn him. 

Sadly, his hope seemed to be false. 

'No, that's not right.' Eldrian realized upon noticing the change in Constantin's expression. His friend had 'heard', but there was no way he would know how to respond. 

Telepathy wasn't an easy branch of magic to master. It required several conditions to be met, but firstmost was more than a basic control of Mageia. On Earth, this was far more difficult to achieve. In ANW Eldrian might have been able to secure a connection stable enough for even an amateur to converse with him. But not on Earth. 

"This is quite impressive," Eldrian said after a moment of awkwardness. Moving his hand through the flame, he watched as it licked around his hand and noticed the level of heat it produced. 

Truly, it was Tier 0 magic at its finest. Fire without substance. 

It existed, yet it didn't. Too weak to burn his skin—not without extended contact—yet still variably a flame. Not certainly—magic was weird like that. But it was a fire in name, if nothing else. 

"Yet it is far from what we can do in the game," Constantin replied with a strained smile. 

Most people, seeing this, would likely infer that Constantin was comparing his magic to what Eldrian had wielded in the tournament. Certainly, compared to that, summoning a weak Tier 0 spell wasn't much. 

But the key was that this was on Earth. Not in the game. 

Eldrian, however, thought something else. 'Far from what we can do in the game...' He mulled over these words, even going so far as to heighten his senses. Slowing the flow of time for himself just a smidge. Making one second stretch into ten. 

'Is it a message that the game is coming to Earth? Is this a warning, or is this simply something said to fill the gap?'

'No, think of it another way. Recall my talks with Constantin.' 

'Recall my spars, recall the stories he told me...' Eldrian felt like had touched on something. "Is that so?" He said, seemingly dismissing Constantin's comment. "I still think this is quite something. It is then a fact that magic exists? Even on Earth?"

"Indeed." 

"Then why can't everyone use magic?" Eldrian asked a question that must have been on everyone's mind. 

Of course, Eldrian already knew the answer. He wanted to see if Miracle knew too. 

"That, we sadly do not know. We believe it is due to how scarce mana is on Earth. Hence our efforts to increase mana density."

'Is this truth, or a lie?' Eldrian thought, quickly shifting the question once he realized it meant little. 'Does this answer reflect Miracle's actual understanding, or not?'

"And won't that come with side effects? Can we be sure mana isn't like radiation?" Another important question. 

"There is no such risk." 

"Oh, how can you be sure? Have extensive tests been run?" Eldrian asked. A trap question. A yes would see Miracle admit to hiding such a revelation from the world. And a no would see them gain infamy as insane experimenters. 

"That is what ANW is."

"Oh, is that so? So you consider evolution of a species as something different from a side effect?" While not widely known, it was a fact that demons were humans corrupted by magic.

The same could even be said for the other races like demi-humans, elves, and dwarves. Though their corruption was guided by the gods. 

"We've taken measures. Now, if we—"

As their conversation continued, the temperature in the room dropped. The others who had been invited to the event had been so caught up in their excitement that they hadn't been able to consider the risks magic would bring to their world. 

As they heard Eldrian questioning Constantin, they recalled some of the rumors they had heard and turned pale. 

"I see. I hope Miracle won't keep their methods to themselves." Eldrian paused, making sure that all attention was on him. "After all, this is something that will affect all of us. Every person on the planet, in fact."

"We can't simply take you at your word." He continued, "We need data. All the data needed to confirm that your promise won't fall apart in a few years. Or even a few decades or centuries."

"Of course," Constantin replied, doing his best to maintain his expression. By now his spell had long flickered out. 

And, for only a flicker of a second, his lips had started to curve upwards into a smile. 

'So, that's my purpose, is it?' Eldrian lamented. Taking this as his queue to step back. Letting the others bombard his old friend with their frenzy of worried questions.

Only half listening, Eldrian wondered what the future had in stall for them. Luckily, he had a head start. His guildmates were starting to grasp the finer details of magic. Erik was mastering healing, he himself was mastering crafting and being tutored by one of the so-called gods of ANW. 

Hopefully, when the time comes, they will be able to deal with what comes. 

'This might not have been an act of the entire company.' Eldrian realized as the questions became more and more difficult to answer. Yet Constantin kept giving answers. Even some that Eldrian knew Miracle wouldn't want to be known. 

'Is this part of their faction wars?' Eldrian didn't want to participate in them, he wasn't part of the company. Yet, he understood that if he wanted to ensure the world didn't crumble, he had to. 

'How much can they push before all-out war?' Eldrian wondered, a smile finding its way to his face. While it would be devastating, it might just be what the world needed. 

'No, war shouldn't be the answer.' Eldrian shook his head, dispelling the thought. As tantalizing as it might be. 'But how to convince someone with opposing beliefs?'