A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

Staring towards the battle in a continued daze, Ilmadia's kept thinking of Eldrian. After she stopped the orcs, the mages of the guild would work to contain them while the archers started weakening those trapped. Only if the mages ran out of mana would the warriors be required to step in.

It went without saying, but everyone used elements that worked well together. Since Ilmadia started things with fire, no one would be so daft as to use water and give the orcs an escape. They had learned to be careful and luckily until now they had not trapped an orc they could not deal with.

'He spoke so easily of mastering rune casting... Well, I guess I have learned multiple combinations with little trouble. It is easier than envisioning spell modules, at least it is for me. As long as you understand what the runes mean, then it was simply a matter of combining them in a manner that enhanced their strengths. I just don't know when I will achieve the requirements...'

'And why do I feel like he already has a deeper grasp than this? When we spoke, I had this impression that he already did what he told me the second part of my quest would require. But how? And why then did he not gain this hidden class, nor the quest?'

'What other secrets do you have, Eldrian?' Ilmadia's thoughts were ripped from her as someone grabbed her by the arm and jumped down the roof. Dragging her along with him.

"Zyyvv—!" Ilmadia shouted as she fell. This wasn't the first time this happened, but each time her heart would freeze for a beat.

Zyviss landed gracefully, catching Ilmadia as if she weighed less than a feather. "It's your fault for daydreaming again. We need to move if you don't want to die!"

Ilmadia knew he was right, but she still didn't feel comfortable being pulled down from a roof. Luckily, as she had learned from pervious times. Even if he failed to stop her fall, not to mention catching her, she wouldn't die. As long as she didn't land on her neck, that is.

The enhanced strength of their avatars, thanks to their levels and Tiers, truly made them superhuman. Though, the difference wasn't that great that it was apparent at all times—plus the increases were usually gradual. Because of this, it was easy to forget about their superhuman ability altogether.

Rushing after Zyviss, Ilmadia turned her attention to the task at hand. Potions were too expensive to use recklessly. While it only took her slightly over 10 minutes to regain her mana, a depleted mana pool still limited what she could do.

She started deciding on the spells she would use should they run into any enemies as they darted through the alleys. Zyviss ran so fast and certain that one would think him a local, a showcase of his ability for navigation.

"Good, you're back." Elizabeth sighed in relief, but she couldn't relax. "Ilmadia, we need some more mines. The orcs are responding far faster than last time."

"Of course, but my mana is still low."

"Right, can't you use a mana crystal as a source?" Elizabeth asked, the offer naturally shocked Ilmadia. Things were far worse than she expected if Elizabeth wanted to use such a valuable item.

"My control is too unstable—"

"But can you manage it?"

"Maybe, but... I might lose control and it will explode."

"Just hold on until they enter our trap."

Ilmadia nodded with a serious look, taking the nail mana crystal with trembling hands. She knew how Eldrian used them like they were batteries, but for her they were bombs. If she ever lost focus of the runes she was adding to the crystal. Its mana would leak, and after that, there wasn't much anyone could do to stop the coming explosion. And an explosion even of the smallest mana crystal was far greater than anything all the mages working together could accomplish.

Doing her best to control her trembling, Ilmadia started working on the crystal. Following the guidance that Eldrian had shared with her during his last visit. While he had been in a rush to return, he had spent a few hours sharing his recent discoveries with Ilmadia. He kept his theories to himself, not wishing to influence her way of thinking, but share what he had proven to work.

'He did this like—wait, did he never consider what would happen if he failed? I guess that does sound like him...' Covered in a cold sweat, Ilmadia tried to imagine what had happened the first time Eldrian messed up with runic casting. And she knew that couldn't even compare to other mess ups.

'I'm not sure of fire. I'm too afraid of what will happen if I lose control. It should work with ice, right?'

Time passed as Ilmadia focused her entire world onto the tiny crystal. It was so small that adding any runes to it was near impossible. To build a circuit seemed ludicrous, but she knew no other way to use runic casting in a controlled manner.

A drop of sweat made its way down to her nose, and after an eternity, it fell. Right onto the crystal.

Ilmadia's heart stopped as she immediately dismissed the runes, destroying all her hard work. She was happy nothing worse happened, but now she was back to square one. Looking up, she saw players rushing back and forth in a great hurry. Many were injured and as she watched them, the chaos of the world returned to her. The defeating sounds of war caused her focus to slip, but luckily, she had already canceled the runes thanks to the drop of sweat.

'This isn't going to work! I know the magic I and Eldrian use isn't the same. He can cast through thinking, surely this isn't unique to him.' Looking at the crystal again and realizing that they were all going to die if she failed here and now, she gambled.

'I only need the core rune representing cold.' Saying so, Ilmadia added the word to the crystal. One could think of it as the root of all runes to do with ice. Its meaning, if translated, would be: "In the absence of heat".

When Ilmadia finished she looked up again, the number of players surrounding her less than half that she recalled. She was certain that she hadn't been long, which showed just how terrible their circumstances actually were.

"Elizabeth!" Ilmadia shouted and messaged. Luckily, Elizabeth was not dead. The message went through and she was instructed to rush to the front. Which was to her right.

Doing just that, Ilmadia pushed through the wounded; trying to recover enough to head back to fight. She found herself standing before a newly ruined neighbourhood. Filled with orcs and plenty of dead players; but few dead orcs.

Therdul was desperately blocking a massive orc's path to their alley. He was the only players still standing outside their alley. His shield was covered in large sword scars and his armor falling apart. Behind him and beside Ilmadia stood Elizabeth, doing her best to heal and bless him. A simple glance told the story of how exhausted they both were.

Without thinking, Ilmadia threw the tiny crystal upon seeing a smaller orc behind the behemoth raising a staff. The elements of fire and wind swirling around it.

"Ice nova!" Ilmadia shouted, imagining a world of ice. Picturing all the orcs turned to ice sculptures and her friends unharmed. That the ice would move away from them and only towards the orcs.

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