A stone stele appeared out of thin air in the middle of the road, attracting the attention of a massive crowd.
A pair of mother and her son also took notice of it and paused.
Now, this stone stele had soul-enchanting carvings on it. Such work couldn't be done by a man of flesh and blood.
Intensely attracted by it, the boy escaped his mother's grasp and rushed over.
Curiosity was vivid in his eyes as he raised his hand to caress the holy mother-like figure carved into it. But just as his finger came in contact with it, he vanished.
Seeing that, his mother screamed out in horror and almost fainted.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she screamingly lashed out at the mysterious object, demanding that the stone stele return her child.
Her hand brushed against it.
Then… the onlookers saw her immediately vanishing!
Creepy!
They immediately stepped away from it.
Roy didn't find it mysterious.
He knew what it was!
In times too old, Gods fought a war over a "mysterious object." Their confrontation lasted a thousand years. This resulted in the Great Heavenly World shattering into 7 Big Realms, 13 Small worlds, and countless fragmented lands.
Far West was a Big Realm.
Countless lands and a few small worlds surrounded it, attracted by its G-force.
Over the years, Far West had worked hard to take ownership of small worlds.
Roy didn't know how many It had taken under its wings. But he knew that this stone stele was a "Gateway" that connected Far West Continent to a Small World. It was Far West's property.
Roy wasn't the only one familiar with it.
"How could this be here?" Vizards also knew about it.
Standing beside him was Arlo. He looked at Vizards like he had found his Savior. "You know what it is?" Arlo asked.
Vizards replied, "It's the gateway to a small world. I've come across a similar one during one of my adventures. Unlike this one, it showed the holy mother-like figure holding six stars. It sent me to a world untouched by humans. Thus, natural vegetation had grown to unimaginable heights, and monsters were plenty. I barely escaped it with my life intact. I'm afraid the place they went to might be similar. We can't delay it any longer. We need to send someone to rescue them immediately."
Arlo understood the implication behind his words. They could become the meal of a monster at any moment. His family ran the County. He had a duty to protect the citizens. Thus, he walked up to the gateway with determined steps.
"I'll go and fetch them back." After speaking, Arlo touched the stone stele, but nothing happened.
He blinked his eyes in confusion, saying, "Eh, is it malfunctioning?"
"No, it is not." Roy came up to him and said, "I'm afraid the stars on it indicate something deeper. Since it only has one star, I believe only normies and trainees have the right to access it."
His knowledge benefited both Vizards and Arlo.
"I… see." Said Arlo.
Seeing Roy gazing at it deeply, Arlo continued, "What are you planning to do?"
Roy replied, "As the elder said, the other side might be full of monsters. Those two wouldn't survive in that environment for long. I will go there and look for them. If they are alive, I will bring them back safely. If they are dead, I'll not return before avenging them!"
He wanted to save the innocents and also explore the small world. One must know that foreign realms are full of resources. This one was meant for people his level. It should only have monsters around or below his level. Exploring it wouldn't be a threat to him.
But most importantly, only Far West could put the gateway in a crowded street without anyone noticing. Just why did it do that? He wanted to get an answer to this.
Thus, he could be seen methodically wearing Devil's hand and strapping his two swords, Reflection and Piercer, to his side before placing his hand on the gateway without hesitation.
"W-wait, I can't allow you to put yourself at risk," Arlo called out to him a bit late as Roy had already vanished from the County.
『Ding! You've entered the Rocky Flame World!』
Roy was teleported to a wilderness.
He found himself in shallow waters surrounded by rocks of odd shapes; their shadow dropped on the edges of its surface like a pincer of a monster.
Looking heavenward, he saw a blue sky with sparse clouds.
Lowering his head, he took in his surroundings.
A little further from his spot was a small grassy land with some empty patches.
His scrutinizing gaze spread forward.
As far as the eyes could see, there were only large trees in his surroundings.
Suddenly, rustling sounds could be heard.
They became clearer and clearer.
Something was approaching him rapidly!
Roy immediately turned to look at the source of the noise.
Moments later, reflected in his eyes was the sight of Fire-Tailed Jackals and a Spirit of Rock coming out from behind the tree.
[Boulder Smash!] Catching sight of fresh prey, the Rock Spirit immediately activated its spell and created a huge boulder. It grabbed it with its huge rocky arms, the size of a watermelon, and raised it above its head. Then… it hurled it at Roy.
"Whoosh!"
What monstrosity of a greeting!
Roy immediately jumped out of the pool, dodging the boulder.
"Bam!"
It dropped into the pool, splashing water outwards.
"Ra-woor!"
Calm hadn't returned to the surface of the water when the Rock Spirit commanded the jackals to take him down.
He was attacked by four speedy monsters simultaneously.
Maneuvering his body like an expert, he dodged their fiery claws by a few inches and jumped back, creating a distance between him and them.
They immediately pounced forward with all their strength to bridge the gap he had created.
"That's exactly what I wanted to see you do." Roy smiled.
Immediately after, wisps of Mana gushed out of his fingertips, swirling and twirling, condensing into the shape of bullets in an instant.
『You've created five mana bullets.』
『MP - 10』
『MP: 50/60』
He swung his hand forward.
"Whoosh!"
All the mana bullets shot forward, whizzing through the air with such speed that the flame-tailed jackals, who were in mid-air, only saw flashes of blue before a great sense of pain assaulted them.
The Mana Bullets had struck them hard!
"Thud!"
They fell to the ground with a dull thud, their eyes lifeless.
The only eye-catching sight was the blood trickling out of the scorched hole in their heads.
『Ding! Congratulation. You've killed Four Fire-Tailed Jackals of the seventh level. You get 35 experience points! Half of your EXP was absorbed by the Far West!』
"They instantly died. My spell... it's a tad bit too strong than normal level 1 magic!!!" Roy exclaimed, licking his lips in excitement.
Magic... it was too fascinating!
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