First Contact

The tower rumbled and the ripple of mana shook the tower to its core. The first incursion was beginning.

Ten years past in the blink of an eye. Dimi had kept all of the systems running, and watched the soldiers, however most of his time was just sitting. He never felt bored... in fact, he never felt anything. Finally though, after ten short years the tower would break through to the first realm. Now he prepared for his first defense against an unknown force. This would be his first fight against another species, well rather, it would be his first real fight. It did not matter if his men could defend the portal, the traps would take anything else. In his world he would be considered around a rank 3 warrior. He was a formidable opponent, though he could not wield magic being merely a construct of another. His men on the other hand were rank 2, together, they could stop all of the weaker invaders from getting anywhere close to the treasure room. However, a single rank 4 could destroy them. The magic a rank 4 mage could wield was immense, and they could cast their spells incredibly fast, and a rank 4 warrior would be through their ranks in less than a second cleaving them apart like butter. Of course, that was about the extent a warrior could reach without also being a mage, without the enhancement of spells and enchantments a warrior was limited to his biology. Dual specialists were rare and required immense talent, or immense time. They were known as The Infernal. Possessing so much power at lower ranks that they gave off the same aura of the demons that invaded the realms of the living.

The tower ripped through the realm barrier like it was not there, a feat that was impressive on its own since every realm had a barrier that prevented all but the most powerful forces to enter. It appeared on top of a massive mountain, all around could be seen the open plains of this realm, Including many cities and in the distance, a towering palace. This was the first realm they breached, a lower realm with only a strong enough connection to the river of magic to support a rank 3 mage. Therefore, this realm would prefer warriors, and there would surely be multiple in rank 4. Dimi left the observation room and began to prepare his men for battle.

It took a few days before the invaders began to appear. They looked normal enough, they appeared to be all rank 1 or rank 2. However they did not enter the tower yet, perhaps they waited for a rank 3 or a rank 4 warrior. As expected the majority were in warriors armor and carried swords. There were many though that could clearly wield magic, already enchanting the armor of their allies. Dimi used this time to study his opponents, none would be a major threat, but if a few in rank 3 appeared it would become much harder. Still, he believed it would be a win without the need of any of the tower's traps.

Eventually two of the invaders at rank 3 came forward, one mage and one warrior. It was unfortunate Dimi could not wield magic, but hey what could he do. Upon arriving the lower ranks began moving forward, starting to enter the tower. The first floor was a large space for fighting, all of Dimi's men were at the ready, prepared to fight to the last. When the invaders made it all the way the fighting started. Dimi heard swords clashing as well as the whistle of spells and arrows. His men could hold their own, but he decided to join in. His sword flickered between enemies slicing them apart, one by one they fell. He dashed between them weaving in and out of their guards, his moves like that of an artist. When he finally spotted the rank 3 warrior fighting against multiple opponents Dimi moved in to fight. He closed the gap taking out any who stood in his way until he faced the warrior. They both had enchanted weapons and armor but Dimi's were much higher tier thanks to the master. Their swords rang loud and clear, each strike reverberating across the whole hall, the force causing those nearby to falter. Then the warriors sword snapped in to, cleaved right through by Dimi's sword which continued through the man's skull. The mage who had been supporting him stared on in shock, not understanding how the kingdom's most powerful soldier had fallen to someone else. In his shock he never even saw the sword that pierced through his neck.

The battle raged for a while longer, but it was over the moment their leaders had fallen. When it finished, the doors of the tower shut. This realm had proven itself unworthy, and the next would soon be coming. The tower began gathering it's energy to retreat to the void for another decade, before returning to a stronger realm. A wave of magic coursed through the tower and over Dimi and the guardsmen, any who had been killed were brought back fully healed, their equipment restored. They were bound to the tower forever, neither magic nor death could unbind them.

...

The tower continued its path through the realms one at a time. Though as the realms became stronger so to did their inhabitants. The tower absorbed energy from these realms and slowly strengthened its guardsmen but it was not enough, and eventually the guardsmen began to fail. This continued to the point that they would be slaughtered like they were cows, they fell to opponents many ranks higher than them. The tower could only provide so much however. Even with their deaths though, the tower still proved safe, the traps on the second floor alone took out all those who made it passed the guards. The guards failed because even with the boost from the tower, they were still rank 3 and rank 2. Their power increased but they were still the same people. Eventually they reached a realm that was different from the others. One that released an ominous aura, and that held a power greater than they had faced before.