37 Immortal Invasion

As soon as Kyren announced that, the entirety of Irona experienced numerous abnormalities. The mana in the air became violent and chaotic, compelling the world's population to feel uncomfortable and anxious. The sky started changing into multiple fluorescent colors as the clouds began to glow a bright white and black.

The climate and clouds twisted and turned as colossal portals started materializing in different parts of the sky around the world. Panic and unrest spread throughout each continent as countries and organizations scrambled to put up defenses. The portals sent out visible shockwaves made of overwhelmingly compact mana in an intense rhythm.

The gods who watched this event from afar were stunned speechless. They've lived for many eons, yet they've never felt pressured by something so ludicrously powerful. They concluded that this was the work of a Primordial. There was absolutely nothing they could do but sit and watch.

To the gods, Primordials were beings with infinite authority which was truly unmeasurable, unlike their pitiful powers. To players however, they were admins and game management that used commands to alter the reality of the worlds of AlKo online.

The mana shockwaves were getting to their peak when massive structures gradually started to exit the portals. As these structures protruded through the holes in the sky, otherworldly noises and sounds were being generated from the clouds in rhythm to the mana shockwaves.

Kyren calmly watched this event unfold as he couldn't help but feel excited about the magical scene he was seeing. This truly felt like something straight out of a fantasy world.

Since the private beta players numbered only in the millions, there was no need for the game to fabricate an event to cover up their sudden appearance to the NPCs. They only needed to spawn them in a safe and secluded location.

But since the open beta players numbered in the billions, the game needed a specific way for players to enter the game without appearing out of thin air. The answer to this was the overwhelmingly huge "Immortal Shrines" that were literally tearing their way through the atmosphere in front of them.

The reason why AlKo online had billions of players joining was mainly because it could be played during your sleep. This meant that even your average office worker could play and still keep up with real-life responsibilities. The hardware was also reasonably cheap so why wouldn't someone play?

Monolith's credibility was also incredibly high. Even people who don't enjoy gaming or violence were extremely interested in trying it out.

Krista started to panic but relaxed slightly when she saw Kyren's handsome and calm face. She then steeled herself for whatever was to come.

Before the Immortal Shrines completely emerged from the sky, any creatures and beings that were under their collision course were immediately teleported to a safe distance as to not cause unnecessary casualties or deaths. Any settlements, villages, towns, and cities gained impregnable mana shields so that nothing too important was destroyed on accident.

As soon as the Immortal Shrines separated from the portals, gravity finally started affecting them and they plummeted to the ground like falling meteors, burning through the atmosphere. The portals disappeared and the sky turned back to normal.

The base of the Immortal shrines looked similar to an upside-down pyramid with a massive greek style city on top of it. The shrines were large enough to fit millions of people each.

Kyren got nervous and sprouted massive dragon wings while pulling Krista in close. His wings wrapped around her as they waited for the shrines to touch down.

*BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM*

When the shrines finally made contact with the ground, the pyramid base skewered the earth and vegetation like hot butter, making a horrendous explosion. Dust and debris were sent flying and some struck Kyren like he thought they would. The damage was negligible though and his regenerative abilities healed them in mere seconds.

*FWWWOOOOSSHHHH*

The shockwave from the impact on the other hand was a different story. Even with him using all of his strength, he was still pushed back quite a bit.

After everything calmed down, he retracted his wings and looked at the structure again. Holes appeared in the corners and side of the shrine's base and chains the width of suburban houses shot out like harpoons. The chains pierced and locked into the surroundings to readjust the shrine so that it was upright after the crash landing.

After it was readjusted and stable, nine mini shrines rose from the center of it and started orbiting the large shrine like satellites in a ring formation. They had the same upside-down pyramid base but instead of a city on top of them, a single large building laid on each one. Although they were in no way comparable in size to the main shrine, they were still each the size of a super mall from Earth.

Kyren did some research beforehand in the real world on the different purposes of the Immortal Shrines:

{Immortal Shrine} This is the main structure/city and it has two main purposes. In the center of the shrine is a massive colosseum that can be used for PVP or PVE battles. The surrounding buildings were all hotels, residences, repair shops, restaurants, and mount rentals with only a few official buildings for city management. You can also teleport to one of the orbiting shrines from here. <Open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Commerce} This is one of the mini shrines that orbits the main shrine. Players can sell items or coins for in-game or real world currency to other players. There are also some beginner shops that sell the most basic of items and consumables, but not to high quality so players would buy more often from NPCs. They don't sell weapons or equipment but you can buy those from other players. <Not open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Judgement} One of the mini shrines. Players can use the contract function here which basically is a player unique service that can bind another player to a contract. This is also where players get tried for crimes they committed such as ****, plagiarism, and other crimes that affect players. Genocide and other crimes that affect the game itself aren't tried here as the system doesn't care what players do. One can also change their username here. <Not open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Travel} One of the mini shrines. This is where a player can use the fast travel function to other shrines were they've been before. Fast travel is different from teleportation because it takes time to get from one point to another unlike the instantaneousness of teleportation. It also requires a sacrifice of experience to utilize. A player will also go into a weakened state after using the fast travel function. This is all to prevent abused overuse of the function. <Not open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Reincarnation} One of the mini shrines. This is where players can scrap their current avatar and create another. If players use it more than once a year, there will be a heavy price of curses. The curses get so bad the more you reincarnate that it could cripple your avatar for an entire year until you can make a new one. <Not open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Revival} One of the mini shrines. If a player dies and there isn't a safe area nearby where they died, they can choose to revive at the closest shrine. If someone dies enough times, then they could go into a weakened state. If they hit their death limit, they'll be banned from entering the game for a period of time. <Not open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Communication} One of the mini shrines. This is where players can make announcements to a certain extent after paying a price. Guilds, influential families, clans, and alliances have more privileges when making announcements. There are private rooms where one can browse the forums on a bigger screen but this can be done on the outside. Players can also search for and communicate with players they haven't friended. <Not open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Honor} One of the mini shrines. This is where every leader board imaginable can be viewed. This can range from dungeon/event clear times to local and global player power levels. Those who make large contributions too clear an entire DLC or expansion pack will get a unique honor. <Open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Prophecy} One of the mini shrines. This is where small hints of future events and DLCs can be found. You can also gain some tips and tricks on defeating most non-sentient creatures, but it's usually vague and unreliable. There are some obvious constraints to all of these functions. <Open to NPCs>

{Shrine of Unity} One of the mini shrines. This is where guilds, clans, families, and coalitions/alliances can be established and managed. If a player wishes to join a guild, they must register here. <Not open to NPCs>

Guilds are groups of players that can range from parties or large organizations. Coalitions are guilds under a mutual alliance.

A family is a group of related individuals controlled by a single person or a small group. A clan is a group of families that are under the control of a single, powerful family. Guilds can have multiple families or clans within them.

These weren't all the functions of the Immortal Shrine but the more important ones that Kyren paid more attention to. He needed to go to the Shrine of Unity. As for the other shrines, he didn't need them right now. He thought about entering his name to the leaderboards in the Shrine of Honor, but he concluded that it wasn't time yet.

All of the shrines had a black, gold, and white theme with intricate and elaborate greek style architecture. The buildings towered into the sky looking like a city for gods. Cracks, moss, vines, and some overgrown trees gave the shrine a remarkably ancient feel that made it look like a forgotten city (decoration). The scenery was stunning and magical as the morning sunlight gradually encompassed the shrine.

These ethereal feeling "utopias" were appearing all over Irona's largest continents, startling the world's original inhabitants. The private players on the other hand practically frolicked and skipped to the Immortal shrines like excited children.

"What is that!?! How did you know this was coming?!" Krista was getting overwhelmed by everything she was seeing.

"Hehe, I'll answer your questions when we arrive."

.....

When they arrived before the base of the Immortal Shrine that landed in the Keslar Forest, Kyren waited silently as he watched the city slowly come to life.

"Dragon mask on. Here they come..."

Krista did as he said even though she didn't know why, while he pulled up his hood. One of the errands was collecting another masks and temporary armor from Darien. He wanted dragon masks to be a trademark for his future organizations upper echelons.

Large platforms floated off of the edge of the shrine and descended to the ground along the base. More platforms started emerging, some went up while others went down. This was the elevator service for entering the city.

The first waves of platforms that touched the ground were covered in players. All of them were different species that were native to this continent so humans, beast-men, elves, etc. Their excited chatter and lively atmosphere was overpowering as they hopped off of the platform. Thousands of players covered the area in an instant as they headed out to explore.

"This place is so realistic! I'm having a hard time not liking this world more than Earth!!"

"I can't wait to explore this place and kill some monsters!!"

"Is anyone looking for a party?"

"Are there any private beta ******* (players) out there? I'm willing to pay for some information."

"Why did you say ******* (players) like that?..... Why am I saying it like that!?!"

"You idiots! This world automatically censors any information the ***(NPCs) shouldn't know. It's like our own personal language."

"That's true. The ****(game) doesn't want them to know they are only in a *******(virtual) world."

"That's dope... we should come up with our own words then to substitute!"

Their conversations filled the atmosphere as they all did different things. Some partied up while others immediately headed for the forest.

"Who are these people? Why are there so many?!"

"They're immortals from another world."

Even more questions were born from his answer but she kept silent and followed him.

They got onto a platform and ascended up. The city above had even more players that chose to explore the shrine first rather than jump into the unknown. Some were in groups while others were solo.

As they hopped onto the shrine from the platform, a creature emerged from the ground in front of them. It was a golem with a smooth marble body that matched the architecture of the shrine. It towered over them with the body shape of human heavy armor with no one inside. The pressure it emitted was so stifling that they couldn't even determine its power level.

Golems or marionettes/puppets are a type of creature or statue that is usually possessed by spirits whether they are feral beasts or people. Generally, only spirits below the mid-grade will inhabit these types of bodies.

'What is this thing?'

<Its an [Undying Guardian] of this shrine. They regulate the rules. The golems of the Immortal Shrine are actually controlled by a single spirit with immeasurable power.>

It ignored Kyren and looked at Krista behind him and said in a deep and mechanical voice that had a little bit of an echo, "You're not an immortals soul. You may only roam the city and rent hotels to stay for a maximum of three days. You may request for more time so long as your reason makes logical sense. You overstay or cause any trouble and we forcefully remove you, resist and we wipe you from existence permanently, soul and all. You have been warned..."

A timer appeared above her head in bright white numbers saying there were seventy-two hours left in her stay. After the Undying Guardian said its piece, it disappeared into the ground just like it appeared.

"Seriously! What is this place?! I can get our souls wiped!?!"

Krista was getting more and more confused the more she saw and discovered. She couldn't comprehend this place at all, especially the punishment for not being an 'immortal soul,' what ever that was....

Getting your soul wiped had unimaginable consequences that everyone wanted to avoid more than death. Even the demonic race or the church wasn't wicked enough to do something like permanently erase ones soul, it was a far higher taboo then even the forbidden element. Getting soul wiped meant no reincarnations or revives and even the Devil Emperor himself had a limit to his fiendishness when it came to stuff like that.

Since she was a seasoned adventure, she's been to many ruins and dungeons before but this place trumped them all in both lethality and beauty. She also didn't recognize the strange but superb architecture that put even the Alvestine Empire to shame.

Krista looked at Kyren and noticed that he didn't get a timer.

"Hehe, whatever your thinking is correct. I'm an Immortal Soul just like the rest of these people here. We hail from another world."