A World Changing Ambush

"From the Dragons to the Turtles to the Be-he-he-moths! To the bright colours of the Phoenix and its goh-ol-den glow! Direct us to the star with your antlers, oh Stags! And *cough* *cough*." Olaf was singing loudly when his throat ran out of air. "Why didn't we bring water?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"That's because... Sire believed we could buy our way out of any shortcomings we might come across," Pana replied, his gaze fixed straight ahead, loathing every second of the journey.

Trent chuckled, having listened closely to Olaf's song throughout the ride. He realized that these Beasts of theirs were five in number: Dragon, Turtle, Behemoth, Phoenix, and Stag. It made him wonder where Mana truly originated—was it from the goddess, or these beasts? "Look. There's a horde of traders just ahead," Trent pointed out.

"That's because we are approaching The Square," Pana added.

Trent felt thirsty himself and ordered the elf to slow down the speeding basilisks, whose quick limbs made the journey surprisingly short and smooth; the carriage seemed to hover as if propelled by some energy, never quite touching the ground. Their vehicle stopped behind others that were purchasing items from a batch of Elvarian and Infernian traders.

Trent observed that humanoid indigenes like elves and devils usually engaged in humanitarian services, while larger races like ogres were involved in burden tasks. He also noticed that Taurians—minotaurs and centaurs—were rarely seen, perhaps because they were warriors, making Pana's role justifiable.

As Pana, Olaf, and Trent exited the vehicle, Trent noticed that almost all the traders rushed towards them at the sight of Pana and the bag of money Trent carried. They pleaded to sell even the most irrelevant items. Trent sighed, deciding he would make some purchases. After all, he could simply deploy his Invisibility perk later and forget he even possessed the items.

Olaf drank water and gnawed on something that resembled beef jerky. Trent took a pouch and walked to the side to drink, aware of Pana's suspicious eyes following him. Ignoring the gaze, Trent faced the greyish-green road and retracted the mouthpiece of his mask to drink. As he sipped, the caw of his bird caught his attention, and his eyes immediately darted to the source. He spotted figures in black, moving down the hills on both sides towards the road—and towards him. They looked like they were skiing.

Alerted, Trent's senses sharpened when one of the figures released a massive ball of Essence, hurtling it toward them. Trent shouted at the top of his lungs, alerting Pana and Olaf, who barely had time to react.

Boom!

The carriage vehicle erupted into green Essence flames, instantly killing the elf inside and the traders who had gathered around. A mushroom of green Essence flame blossomed into the sky, sending shards of the destroyed vehicle flying in all directions.

"Darths?" Trent asked Pana as he dragged himself to his feet, unharmed but slightly disoriented by the impact. Pana and Olaf had managed to evade the explosion as well, the dark atmosphere now glowing with green energy.

"No. Rebels," Pana replied, his fat palms pulsing with channelled white Essence. "I hate to admit it, but I loathe them more than the Darths," he added quickly, his eyes scanning the thirty shadowy figures zooming down the sloping parallel hills. One of them was already manifesting another massive ball of Essence.

Trent grunted and leaped high into the air. 'Darth Society,... Rebels,' he thought. 'Quite the chaos indeed.' He plummeted his fist, blazing with red Essence, onto the ground, sending a ripple of energy that unfolded like a rug, pushing the attackers back. However, they kept coming, skiing on what appeared to be native hoverboards.

Trent had no time to cultivate a new Manifestation; he believed that [Fyrestorm] would suffice to defeat the attackers. But when they didn't back down, despite him channelling Mana instead of Essence, Trent realized these Rebels had come prepared for him.

He focused, drawing the fire across his body, forcing the Mana within him to surface rawly without conversion into Essence. His red visors shifted to a shade of reddish-orange flame. Similarly, all the bright red hues on his body transformed, as he became enveloped in a cocoon of fire.

[Mana Channelled!]

[Fyrestorm: Inferno Ascendancy!]

The ground beneath Trent cracked and splintered, unable to withstand the immense power he wielded. The flames intensified around him without burning his Crimson Knight, radiating such heat and light that even Pana paused to stare in awe.

With such power coursing through him and radiating outward, Trent expected the Rebels, who clearly had less Mana, to flee in fear. But instead, they seemed resolute, continuing their ambush. He noticed they were taking a peculiar formation, interlocking their arms as they zoomed down the slope, completely ignoring Pana's attacks and focusing solely on the blazing human gamer.

Without hesitation, Trent buffed himself, pushing [Inferno Ascendancy] to its limits, and launched himself at the Rebels.

Their movements were confusing, seamless, and risky—so risky that Trent wasn't even sure if they had deliberately sacrificed one of them, because his blazing fist easily drove through a humanoid figure, disintegrating him into nothing but lava. Quickly turning, he noticed they had surrounded him with their arms still interlocked. Without hesitation, Trent waved his arms, a wave of fire leaving his blazing body and engulfing the figures that encircled him in one powerful bite.

Trent remained still, watching the red sizzling vapour rise from the spots where the figures had stood, as if they had intended to perform some ritual on him. Now, all was silent, as though nothing of such had happened.

Trent squinted, cocking his head as he glanced down at what was beneath his blazing feet. It looked like a piece of bright blue diamond, and he wondered when the Rebels had dropped it. Had they sacrificed their lives for this? He bent low and picked it up, studying the life within the blue diamond. Suddenly, he sensed the presence of a being with Mana—Mana sufficient enough to attract his attention.

He glanced around and about him with the piece of diamond still in between his fingers, noting Pana, who was stunned and bewildered at what just transpired and how quick it had. Trent traced the surge of Mana he could feel, his eyes moving along the hills till they rested on a top where a figure stood, observing everything with its arms crossed behind its back. The calm wind blew its straight coat subtly to the side where more Rebels were perched as well.

'Must be their leader,' Trent thought, telepathically commanding Claw to fly over and take a closer look. However, the figures didn't remain atop the hill; the one who seemed to be their leader simply tapped the air, projecting a portal that opened immediately.

'I knew it. He's a High Mana Keeper and probably a skilled Essence Channeller as well,' Trent thought, attempting to [read] the figure, but it was too far.

However, it spoke just before it entered the portal. "We are glad you were sent. Her demands must be fulfilled; this is just the start."

Trent had no idea what those words meant, and the figure didn't bother making things clearer—it simply disappeared into the portal, along with the other Rebels.

Trent scoffed and unmanifested [Inferno Ascendancy], his body returning to its original Crimson Knight colours. He held up the diamond to his visors, studying it intently as his System provided information on what it was.

Name: Pieces To The Gate (1/2)

Nature: Mana Forged 

Use: When blended with Manifestations of Channelled Mana, the two pieces of the gate automatically open the Paradox to its Alternate.

''Alternate?' Trent thought, noticing the blue light of the piece growing brighter, almost blinding him. He had no idea what that meant, and his System's English was too full of Paradox terms. "Do you know what this is?" Trent yelled to Pana, whose face turned pale at the sight of it.

"Save us, oh Beasts," he muttered.

Suddenly, the piece exploded into a bright blue burst of energy that shot into the sky, piercing through the dark clouds of the Paradox, bright and large enough for every indigene to see. Trent was long gone, sucked into the energy with its first burst.

The first Piece To The Gate had been triggered long before Trent's arrival. Now, with the second, all gates leading to the Alternate Paradox, known as Dungeons, had opened. There would be two major gates: one at the location where Trent had triggered the second piece and the other where the first piece was triggered. These gates would shoot an unending bright blue light into the sky and travel through the clouds like thunder, before manifesting in random locations called rifts, which serve as smaller gates to and from the Paradox and its alternate.

The Alternate Paradox was a world of destruction, inhabited by monsters and creatures, known as Bosses with high raw Mana within its Dungeons.