A New World, An Immersive Game Experience

"Elizabeth?" the draconian questioned, looking between her and the people she was taking weapons from.

Most had taken up a fire axe or kitchen knife after hearing the commotion throughout the city. However, now and then a sword or proper polearm appeared, bows were truly rare though. Perhaps because they were near the noble district and far from the walls.

"Continue as you were, Eisi." Elizabeth said, indicating for her to continue taking the weapons.

Nodding, Eisi did just that. Storing the weapons in her inventory. A method that ensured those inside couldn't rally against them, as all weapons were in the hands of the players and those who had already sworn an oath of loyalty.

As the line moved on, the temporary light dimmed, followed by a low boom. The sound's strength weakened over great distances, but still causing the earth to rumble.

At that moment, the group hiding their weapons acted. Hoping the dimming light and sound would distract the players.

Those in the front grabbed the civilians before them, placing their weapons on their necks. Blood flowing as they shouted for everyone to drop their weapons. Those behind rushed to flank Ceph and Eisi.

However, as they neared Ceph, he suddenly charged. Disappearing from their view, he slashed with a dark purple blade that appeared from thin air. Beheading those who had flanked him.

Those holding the civilians hostage fell powerlessly to the ground, their eyes wide. An icicle protruding from their heads.

"H-how?!" the supposed leader asked in disbelief. Charging Ceph in a desperate act. Only to have his arms cut from his body effortlessly. His four legs following after. With a thud, the devil in centaur disguise fell to the ground. Screaming in pain.

Ceph gave him a kick, just hard enough to knock him out. Questioning him should prove useful. "He's Tier 5, so be careful with how you handle him." Ceph said, noting the stares from those nearby.

"Been a while since I saw you fight." Elizabeth smiled. "You're faster than before. I couldn't even keep up with your attacks."

"Still not strong enough to matter." Ceph sighed. All he could do before the Tier 7 Night Terror was fly away.

Perhaps, if he had reached Tier 5, he would have been able to fight it. By his estimations, he would still be lacking, but the gap wouldn't be as large. With Eldrian's support, he felt confident he could win. Especially if he relied on the items his father had given him for emergencies. But to use them recklessly would be folly.

"Anyone else suspicious in the line?" Elizabeth asked, understanding that everyone was certain to be frightened at this moment.

Despite having massacred over ten devils, Ceph wasn't covered in blood. In fact, not a single drop had landed on him. And he had also executed his attack in the blink of an eye. At this moment, Elizabeth was certain they saw him as a monster. Luckily, he was on their side.

"None, you can finish collecting their weapons inside." Ceph said, turning away from the temples as he spoke.

"Not staying?" Elizabeth would love to keep Ceph here; it would drastically improve their strength.

"I think I should return to the tower I disabled. Contact Eldrian once you've contacted the mayor. With the city lord's aid, I might be able to use it to aid the city."

—

'Is this the High Elf Chosen I heard so much about? The one who had turned fate itself for Kynigo? Pelaros never shuts up about him.' Penthine, the mayor of Elomir, thought. Watching as the supposed elf was writhing on the ground in what was clearly extreme pain.

The blood he had vomited not long ago was floating towards the spinning magic crystals, shining brighter and brighter as it encircled them as a fine mist. The mana it contained clearly growing.

'Even if he is that elf, I cannot believe he was in possession of a magic crystal. And to take it out inside an active tower... He clearly does not know how dangerous that action is. Luckily, it is just what we needed.'

Eldrian guiding the excess mana to strike their foe had been completely unexpected. Luckily, it appeared he was wise enough to attack a distant foe. 'I suppose that is the tracing ability I heard he also possesses...' Penthine was already struggling to accept the oddity that Eldrian was.

"Thadeus, Telite, Hyrmeda, let's continue with the plan."

"Yes, my lord, but..."

"Thanks to this elf, we now have the majority control we needed. Our spread isn't ideal, but we should be able to activate the city's defenses."

"Roger. Sending mana flow towards you." The three echoed one after the other. Once Penthine received the prompt, she guided the mana flow into her magic crystal. Focusing thereafter on the two crystals where Eldrian was.

Forcing control from where she was, was rather difficult. But thanks to the excess mana the extra crystal gave the tower, she could use it to wrestle for control. Once she formed a thin connection between the tower and her magic crystal, she stabilized it and formed a secure flow. Doing so stabilized the condition of the room Eldrian was in.

From there, Penthine surrounded the inner city with a bright barrier. Giving daylight to the entire city and filling the air with traces of divinity. Which would heal and strengthen those of the faith of Asteria, and hinder all that had an alignment against the goddess of life.

However, such a barrier was extremely draining, and five magic crystals could not maintain it for much longer than an hour.

—

'Two, you sure you don't want to switch roles?' Eldrian joked as the pain finally subsided. The barrier Two had erected had helped a lot.

The biggest help though was when Two had released all the mana inside their avatar. Shockingly, it had all collected in the blood Eldrian had vomited. Looking at it as he lay powerless on the ground, Eldrian felt it might be some magical material now. The thought made him smile despite the pain he was in.

"You should feel better now." The voice from before said, calm and collected now. Eldrian guessed they had somehow fixed the situation. Or at the very least, stabilize it

"Yeah, the... pull's... gone." Eldrian replied, his words coming out as a slur as he found his entire body sluggish.

'This what it feels like when I am manaless?' He wondered. He felt absolutely drained. Certain he wouldn't be able to recover anytime soon. Dying might be the quicker option, though he understood his fatigue was more than physical.

"I know you must be in terrible pain, but can you tell me who you are and how you got here?" Eldrian finally noticed that the person speaking was female. The pain having made the fact completely slip his mind.

"I would rather sleep... for a while..." Noticing the string of messages in his face, Eldrian gave them a glance. "Before I... do... A friend... in the southern... tower..."

And with that, Eldrian's consciousness faded. The lack of pain having called forth a lack of adrenaline. His lethargy finally catching up.

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