A purple-cloaked gentle-looking man whistled as he grabbed his travel kit.
This simple act was enough to send tremors across the entirety of the Empire's Capital! The Royal Seer was heading out?!
Maids squeaked in astonishment, soldiers shivered in surprise, nobles trembled in fright, and the King himself worried.
Where was he going, and most importantly, who was he investigating?!
Was he acting alone or on the orders of the King?
This was plastered on his door…
— RS: Gone on vacation, do not disturb! —
That's when rumors of a super super-secret mission started running about. As for the man in question…he'd never tell that he was doing someone else a favor!
He simply chuckled, wondering how these rumors would evolve.
He headed to a secluded courtyard before activating the raven-adorned scepter in his hand. The air before him twisted as a purple portal appeared: it was time for an adventure!
— Ripple! —
— Crackle! —
— Ripple! —
Back in Timber City….
The people were already panicking as they pointed at the dimensional fissure that had just appeared in the middle of the crafting district.
"Guards! Guards! Hurry up!"
"Quick, run! This thing's obviously demonic in nature!!"
"Oh god! Haven't we suffered enough?! We just finished dealing with the undead!"
They were already expecting another catastrophe, many seriously considering leaving City. What if they went to Sprigfield Town? Surely it would be quieter, right?!
They kept watching the portal from afar with apprehension. The purple glow was progressively getting brighter and brighter. Wait, it was about to blow!!!
They were all already running when it happened.
— BANG! —
Mana filled the entire district, tainting it purple.
The citizen screamed in fear and agony….Wait, they weren't hurt?! Many got up, their faces red in embarrassment.
As they turned toward the portal, they couldn't help but feel perplexed. What was actually this thing? If it didn't cause damage, then what…
"AAAAHHHH!" A scream resounded as a man was catapulted out.
Many held their breaths…only to erupt laughing.
He looked like he had been left too long in a washing machine, covered in ashes, and then doodled on with a red marker….Oh, and his clothes were in tatters.
Young and old giggled, pointing at the strange creature that had just appeared before them.
"Pfft— Hahahaha!"
"What are you all laughing at, you bunch of!—"
The Royal Seer was about to get angry, but his face suddenly twisted in horror.
The bystanders didn't find it strange given the man's current situation, but anyone from the Royal Capital would have been shitting their pants at that moment.
The ever calm Royal Seer showing fear? Was this even possible?!
He suddenly realized why his transport spell had so magnificently failed. He had ported straight into a demon ambush!
He got ready to fight for his life, expecting hundreds of demons to come out of nowhere and assassinate him….but nothing happened.
As the citizens watched him turn all over and glare at empty air, they worried about his mental health.
"What?!…"
It didn't actually seem to be an ambush.
Then, why was there so much demonic energy all around? The entire district was corrupted! Wait, no…the energy was nothing but a remnant.
But just as he was heaving a sigh of relief, the world suddenly trembled.
The energy from the portal was reacting with the demonic energy!
At this rate, the whole City would disappear!
"Gods, please have Mercy!!" He begged as he searched for a solution, any solution.
Should he give up and reenter the portal? No, it was already closing: his body would be shredded to oblivion.
Should he use one of his life-saving measures and fly away? The City would perish, but at least he would remain.
Just as he was seriously considering fleeing, he suddenly sensed something.
The horror was suddenly replaced by excitement.
"This was here all along?!! Hahahahaha!" He guffawed, his laugh filling the entire City. He sure looked happy for a man who was in such a dire state!
"Mama, what's happening?"
"He's crazy, don't look at him!"
The Royal Seer ignored the looks of disgust he was getting, focusing on sensing the world. He then slowly guided the mana toward two specific spots.
That's when the ambient mana became extremely chaotic, seemingly bubbling. But instead of exploding, it suddenly started getting sucked in by invisible entities.
The whole process created two gigantic typhoons of purplish mana, engulfing everything.
"Goddammit, so much for my eat less, live long diet!"
The world trembled more and more as countless soldiers appeared along with every influential person; this included the people's biggest hope.
"Lord Silver, please help us!!" Many begged the noble.
Even he didn't know how to deal with this whole mess! The soldiers were already getting into position to apprehend the shady-looking beggar.
The man's eyes were closed as he focused all his attention on the delicate task. There could be no mistake, or the results would be beyond catastrophic!
"Grab him!"
The soldiers shouted, reaching their target. For some reason, the man seemed glued in place! No matter what they tried, he just wouldn't move: pushing, pulling, beating, and more.
That's when Lord Silver finally came closer.
"Oh god, no!" his eyes bulged as he recognized the poor man. "Stop beating, stop beating!" He screamed.
What had they done?! This being was second only to the King!
While his personal power wasn't too high, his influence was enormous! After all, he was the ultimate intelligence-gathering last weapon.
Just as he was panicking, he finally realized the man's state. He was deep in a meditative state! He hurriedly pushed the soldiers away before tampering with the scene.
He grabbed a nearby boulder, shattered it to pieces, and scrambled them around the man.
"L-Lord Silver…Should we help?" Many asked.
"You've done too much already!! He screamed back, almost losing his temper. "Listen, and listen well, all of you! A boulder hurt this lord, do you all understand!!!"
He stared at them all, making sure they had understood.
Lord Silver called the beggar "this Lord"?! Wait, he was no beggar then! They shivered as they all nodded over and over. Admitting to beating him would mean Doom.
Just in case, they all dispersed, not wanting to have anything to do with the situation, leaving Lord Silver and the soldiers as the only ones present on the scene.
The two gigantic maelstroms slowly disappeared, and in their place, two flying Towers appeared. They looked ethreal and half the size of the damn City! How?!
A second later, plenty of ethereal planes seemed to overlap as colorful beams of light escaped from each of them, reaching the sky.
"L-lord Silver, what is this?!"
"Whatever it is, it should be a blessing."
"ARRGG! Ouch! Ouch!" The Royal Seer screamed in pain as soon as he opened his eyes. Why did it feel like he had gone through a dozen rounds of beatings?!
"Are you alright, Sir!" Lord Silver was already at his side, helping him up, handing a healing potion over.
The man instantly understood what had happened but decided to spare the place's people. He was actually in a fantastic mood as he glanced at the two floating Towers.
"Ah, we are truly fortunate. Who knew this was here." He sighed.
The silence overflowed with the soldiers' infinite curiosity. They were dying to know more but didn't know if it was impolite to ask.
"This is a remnant from the previous age, back when magic circulated freely and dragons were as common as crows."
"?!?"
"Back then, our entire empire was filled with portals leading everywhere. Oh, and I don't mean the temporary bullshit we have now. No, true and permanent portals!"
"!!!"
"As for these two Towers, they are links to other worlds, some inhabited by monsters, others designed as trials lands for inheritances." The Royal Seer paused.
This was so damn amazing! What kind of incredible treasures and powers were contained in there?!
Just as they were wondering, circles of light suddenly escaped from the things. Some were red, while the others were yellow.
"Sir, what's this? Should we prepare to defend?!" Lord Silver asked, only to be met with a falling sound.
— Thud! —
The Royal Seer was on the floor, in a horrendous state and snoring as he used a rock as a pillow. Given the incredible spell he had just performed, this much was expected.
"Bring him to safety and take care of him!" He ordered, preparing for a battle.
As a yellow circle came nearby, he slashed at it. His move was so powerful that it created afterimages, seemed to break the fabric of space, and removed air from the area.
As for how effective it was…..Nothing at all happened. Lord Silver might as well not have done anything.
A courageous soldier clenched his fist as he went forward, coming into contact with the thing.
"T-this is!!!"
"Are you alright?! What happened?!"
"T-that….just try touching it, and you'll understand."
One after the other, they all came near the floating glowing circles. As soon as they came into contact with it, they instinctively felt what this was.
They were gates bringing one to the towers!
"Taxi, Beam me up!!" An excited player suddenly came rushing to one before disappearing. This thing was so magical!
Of course, for the player involved, it looked more like this…
[Ding! Tower of Trial Detected: Slaughter!]
[Do you wish to participate? Y/N? ]
At the same time, a group was coming back from burying many students alive. As soon as Jack noticed the enormous Towers floating in the air, his eyes gleamed.
"Jackpot! Finally some content that's not level 40!!!"