A New World, an immersive game experience

As Eldrian was just about to gain control over his raging mana, the sounds of destruction filled the air. His blood froze as he called up his map and rushed to the village. What he saw made him nearly trip over the surrounding carnage.

'No, this can't be! Not again!' Eldrian shouted, immediately contacting Erik. But sadly his friend was not online. 'Shit, shit shit shit!'

He was desperate and did not have time to look for who was online, turning to the guild chat Eldrian typed a simple message. [Help! Dvemoj village, Kynigo City. Go to my mansions or find Pelaros!]

This naturally shocked those who were having a casual conversation, Eldrian rarely talked in the guild chat and this message confused them. Asking what was going on and not getting any reply made them all anxious, clearly, something was wrong.

They all knew that typing a message did not require much focus, which meant Eldrian's situation must be dire indeed for him to not even explain. Those who saw this all immediately rushed to the nearest temple to return to Kynigo. They all had it set as a teleportation point since it was their true base.

Eldrian rushed through the woodlands with all his strength, Two was left with the job of maintaining the balance of their mana. Unfortunately, they had not managed to stabilize it, only having neared stability. As a result, Two was left holding on for dear life as Eldrian rushed to the village.

They were not deep in the woods, it only took Eldrian a few seconds at speed to exit. His heart nearly leaped from his chest seeing the carnage, the sight was not the same as that of Diades but he could not help but compare the two.

Hundreds of monsters of all shapes and sizes were rushing out from the ground and mountain from newly formed tunnels. Many of these monsters were mortal enemies and upon seeing the other they sprang to kill.

Due to this, the sound of battle filled the air. Most of the monsters were around Tier 4 or 5.

Outside of these monsters who were unable to keep their hatred in check, the rest were all moving in Eldrian's direction. The tunnels that they came from were formed by insanely large monsters. Some looked like insects, others like giant worms, there were even a few drake-like monsters.

Eldrian only recognized a small portion of the monsters, some appeared animalistic, likely demonic beasts. Most however seemed to be of some insect or reptilian ancestorory. Those Eldrian managed to recognize were the kobolds and reavers.

When Eldrian exited the woodlands, the actions of the entire horde turned to him. Even the mortal enemies managed to pause their hatred and turn their attention to this elf. However, his attention was past the monster, looking to the inn.

'Please, don't let them be hurt.'

His heart could finally rest when he saw that the inn was spared. In truth, the monsters had tried to appear as close to Eldrian as possible. However, they dared not appear next to him while the mana vortex was present.

Seeing that there was no longer such a danger, they all hungered and started charging. After all, Eldrian was a small figure. The first to claim him would likely be the only one to enjoy him.

It was only at this moment that Eldrian realized the danger he was in. Turning around, he could feel the cold sweat covering him as he found himself completely surrounded.

Worst, Two was struggling desperately to maintain control of their mana. They knew if they lost control then with the insane absorption his body would likely be unable to hold it and he would explode from the overload.

Neither wanted to test what would happen to them at that point in time.

Realizing that he could not run, Eldrian pulled out Crystoi and gripped it with determination. If he wanted to live through this, he would have to fight his way out. Never had he imagined that his mana atoms would be fiercer than a Magic Crystal in absorbing the surrounding mana.

Even more unimaginable was that this had drawn the attention of all the nearby monsters. Even those in the subterranean.

Eldrian also clearly understood that while at this time the monsters were not that much stronger than him, soon those far past his level would arrive and he would die.

And he really could not count on the Chosen's ability to revive. At the moment his condition was too precarious, the mana overload was likely to damage his soul severely. Possibly even destroy it completely.

As Eldrian dodged the attacks of the faster monsters, he returned the favor with a quick thrust or sweeping strike of his spear. Claiming many monsters' lives with ease.

These were all rash young monsters who failed to realize Eldrian's strength. None of them were Tier 5 and thus no match for Eldrian, however, the stronger monsters were quickly surrounding him.

Worst still, Eldrian realized that he could not use his own mana. Two had barely enough control to manage the intake of the surrounding mana. There was no way Eldrian would be able to form a spell or skill.

Luckily, or maybe even a worse turn of events this was the same for monster and centaur alike in the surroundings of the village. Once mana left the body it would immediately be ripped from their control. Only skills could be used. Sadly, Eldrian was even blocked from them.

He struggled desperately, managing to put up a valiant effort against the weaker monsters as he tried to move away from the village.

Of course, Myropsis and the rest had long since heard the commotion.

Myropsis stared hard at Eldrian's location, the number of monsters between her and him was simply too much. She also noted three particular monsters that caused her to shiver, she feared that they might be evens stronger than the ghoul in the mines.

Speaking of which, she could only pray that it would not join the commotion. No one understood what was happening, they were looking at the scene and trying to make sense of it.

Fists balled, Myropsis bit her lower lip as she fought to keep herself from being rash.

'He isn't one to die easily. But the situation is too weird. Clearly, the mana vortex is originating from him. Considering him this is normal, but the monsters coming for him is unexpected. None of us would ever have imagined such a thing.'

Taking out a little crystal, Myropsis sighed and crushed it. She knew that the consequences of this action would be severe, but she could not stand and do nothing.

'I can't let you die. But moving will only distract you and cause us both to die. Please, hold out.'

Luckily, the inn was completely left unharmed and undisturbed. The arrays Myropsis had installed were an alarm and constraint array. It was the latter that now kept the mana around the inn stable. And it was thanks to this that the monsters ignored them.

The monsters' goal was to find the source of the vortex and make it their own. Why would they enter an area that seemed apart from their goal? They all wanted to eat Eldrian while he was in this metamorphosis. Using this ability of his their growth would skyrocket.

Myropsis also already suspected why this was happening. To the monsters, Eldrian likely appeared like an edible Magic Crystal. Some of them were simply not smart enough to understand that attempting to come close to it would cause their deaths.

AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the story by simply reading on Web, voting for the story, or sharing comments. It is all greatly appreciated.