A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Nikki asked.

While Eldrian could bring Vriski and Little P, the risks were too great in her mind. 

Unlike players, those born in ANW (NPCs), including animals, didn't revive after death. Even if they were tamed by players. It was why almost no one bothered taming monsters and magical creatures. 

One bad fight and all the investment into the creature would be gone. 

That wasn't to say there weren't any tamers. Plenty of players tamed easier monsters, normally cute ones, to have as pets. 

For fighting, however, taming just wasn't all that good. 

"I get that there is a risk. But I need to investigate something. If their lives are in danger, I'll simply resign."

Rare as it was, it was an option. Players could resign at any moment (logging out or losing connection was treated the same). And when they did, any tamed pets would be removed from the fight. 

"Isn't that a rather large weakness for us?"

"Sure. But it isn't like we need to win all our matches, or even the tourney." Eldrian replied casually. While he had spent a great deal of their tournament earnings on his lab, the guild still had enough money to stay afloat. So he didn't feel much worry.

Sure, some of the renovations they had planned were pushed back. But these renovations weren't critical to any functionality of the guild as a whole... It just pushed back some of their plans. 

"True..." Nikki had to agree. While it wasn't ideal, it was the truth. Turning to the laboratory door, she decided to change the subject. "When do you think he'll finish?"

"No idea. My Tier-ups take several hours. And they're similar to evolutions, since I adapt the flow of mana through my body and soul... So..."

"R-right..." While most players were struggling to control mana, Eldrian was doing 'that'. Not that she could consider herself part of the 'most'. Since she had learned to cast a few basic spells on Earth, she had discovered just how ideal a place it was to train. 

She could finally understand why Eldrian was so weird. Considering he learned while combating a Magic Crystal. That was a bit too extreme. But training on Earth, with its limited mana, felt like the ideal conditions. 

Though it only really worked for concentration training. If they wanted to control large spells, there simply wasn't enough mana. 

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Eldrian asked. Honestly, he didn't think there was much need for a lengthy conversation. 

"Not really. Erik did ask that you visit Avgi."

"Alright, I'll do that once I'm free," Eldrian replied. "How is our road going?"

The guild's fortress within the Chaos lands was situated on one of the roads from Phallos to Taurus. Not only that, but it was as close to Avgi as possible on said road. And the 'road' they were making was to connect the forest with the kingdom. 

Well, it was actually a road/railway. But that was for future planning. No actual trains had been developed—yet. Some players were busy with that, though... so it was only a matter of time. 

The long-term plan was for trade. The number of valuable plants in Avgi was insane. Even discounting the 'too' valuable ones. 

"The monsters have been thinned out, so we are basically there." Nikki paused. While most monsters were rarely found, Night Terrors were still a massive problem. But then again... "Some of the unicorns have even come out to help us. So it should be done in the next day or so."

With the Unicorns there to assist, they could continue construction through the night. 

"Cool."

—

"Alright, let us start with the meeting," Qiren announced, looking around at those gathered there today. Most were strangers, but some she knew quite well. Joren and Constantin were of the latter group, and Zaphreal she considered an enigma she was starting to understand. 

"Yes! Can I go first?" An excited youth (appearance-wise) jumped at the opening. His name was Julius, and he looked nothing like he had just months ago. Or even just weeks ago. 

His usual green hair and eyes were now replaced by silver and red respectively. A combination that made him look like a vampire. Though his pointed ears seemed to indicate him as a different race. 

Thanks to the increased density of mana, he had managed to further augment his body. Attempting to draw traits from elves, he was hoping to reverse aging. And to that goal he didn't mind going down the path of a vampire either.

With more time, he hoped to someday be able to use magic freely. 

Of those gathered, he could 'technically' do so already. But he wasn't satisfied with his methods. Needing to rely on his ability—not his technique, skills, and knowledge—frustrated him greatly. And the fact that he could only manipulate magic within his own body was a great bother. He couldn't even cast spells like Constantin could. 

"We all see the change. What else have you been up to?" Jade asked, her voice tinged with exasperation. 

For someone to so easily use themselves as lab rats... was rare. And to somehow not die from those experiments was a miracle beyond anything. 

For some reason, Julius' excitement bubbled over. He was clearly at his bursting point. "I found it!"

"Found what?" Jade questioned, while Zaprheal roared, asking if it was the truth. 

"Indeed!" Puffing out his chest in pride, Julius pointed to his heart. "I felt it." However, after that declaration, he seemed to deflate. 

"If you found it, then can we finally analyze why magic was removed from Earth?" Zaphreal asked. A sentence that sent those less in the known (aka Eldrian's acquaintances/friends) into absolute shock. 

Apparently, magic used to be a thing? No, they couldn't accept that. But that did explain why people like Zaphreal, Julius, and Jade existed. So it made, some—no it didn't make any sense!

"I-I'm not sure about that," Julius admitted. "But I did find the core of our world."

"World, or universe?" Zaphreal asked, looking for clarification. 

"I'm not sure. But I felt the immense power contained in it. My heart stopped while I was trying to connect with it. Luckily—" He started, puffing up in pride again. 

"What the hell's wrong with you?!" Qiren shouted, astonished by Julius' recklessness. 

"Nothing." He seemed to take offense at her outburst. "I had a backup ready." His tone conveys that that should be a perfect explanation. 

"The hell's a backup?" Joren had to ask, getting a terrible feeling. "Don't tell me you made..." Seeing the pride in Julius's eyes and the exasperation in Zaphreal, Joren realized the truth before even needing to say it. 

"I managed to get my heart started again. So my backup didn't need to be used"

"Seriously, what's wrong with him?" Several murmured.

"Let's get back on topic. What did you learn?" Zaphreal asked. 

"That's the thing." Julius seemed to deflate again. "It's not good. Which is why I think our ancestors did what they did."

"Just say it. Rip it off like a bandaid."

"Alright... The world is collapsing."

That brought silence to the group. When some time passed, a few managed to ask.

"How?"

"Why?"

"Where?"

The three basics. And of those, Julius had only one answer. "I don't know. Because of chaos—I think. And no idea."

Digging for more information, the group (or half of them, at least) managed to get a grasp on what was happening. As terrible as the answer was, knowing was better than not. 

"We need to bring Eldrian into this," Constantin said. 

"Agreed. But..."

"He's going to curse us, but that's just how it is. We can't leave things as they are."

Simply put, Julius had seen the beginnings of a mana storm. And with the 'elementals' free, it was only a matter of time before it wreaked havoc. 

Eldrian might be able to better pinpoint where and when. Which might allow them to come up with a plan to deal with it. Or at least limit the damage.