A New World, an immersive game experience

Eldrian continued to ask Ashliel more about these recovered areas. Slowly he started to understand what Miracle's plans were, though he wasn't sure how they would spin it for all the players.

'Likely a type of world reset as a massive update... Though if they did this there would be a massive outcry, but considering their end goal, I can see them not really caring about the player's feelings. So we will have to turn to their legal obligations... I wonder if Elizabeth made any progress?'

Eldrian felt the weight of the world now on his shoulders as he tried to brainstorm how to stop them.

"I'm sure that people will listen if you inform them," Vivian said.

"Would you listen to the king or some rambling peasant?" Eldrian countered.

She didn't have a counter for that, but Myropsis did. She had taken this entire ordeal in stride, joining the conversation after the initial shock had passed. "Then you should make sure you aren't just a peasant."

Such a simple sentence, yet it held so much truth. "Right, the first thing would be to interrupt the tournament. Doing it in person would limit my reach but will still be important. If I interrupt the finals, it might get me a larger audience."

"You mean these sparring matches you Chosen have between one another?" Myropsis asked, curious to hear more about this topic. Though now wasn't the best time to discuss this.

"Yeah, in our world it will be broadcasted to the entire world. It is what my end goal is for the artifacts, to allow them to talk and thus people to talk with each other regardless of distance."

Eldrian already had a plan for this, it would be simple if he could somehow have the artifacts function in the same realms. He believed this should be possible if he made a bigger realm to encompass it all.

Much like how the magic abyss was the realm that allowed people to connect with lifeforce/mageia without the requirement of great talent. Which allows most people to use magic and talent to only become a factor again at Tier 5.

"I can help you on that end." Ashliel quickly brought the topic back, "The arenas are actually held in some of the recovered areas. You see, some areas recovered but didn't change much. Miracle is using those as secret locations since wildlife is still limited and there is no intelligent life."

"Some areas?"

"Yeah, as I mentioned before some areas thrived after the storms. They became even more fantasy-like, the entire area has more mana than a super-rich mana vein..." Ashliel paused, "However, other areas became barren wastelands. Not only is there no mana, but there is also no life."

"However, how can you be at two places? Two different worlds?" Ashliel asked, if Eldrian appeared in one area, especially in the finals, then Miracle would be prepared if he tried to make another move. Ultimately it was more important to make the personal appearance and showcase the dangers of magic.

"That won't be a problem." Eldrian's confidence confused Ashliel a little, Vivian and Myrospis however didn't think too much about it. They were used to Eldrian being able to do crazy things.

"We can only hope that the outcry you instigate would be big enough. Miracle is extremely confident. Sadly, even if we managed to stop the invasion forces we won't be able to stop the chaotic storms when they arrive..."

Her sentence sent the group into a somber silence. She was essentially telling them that no matter how hard they fought, they would still all die in the end.

"I can't- I won't accept that!" Eldrian clenched his fists as his body tensed in anger. "I've long since decided that I will fight for this world, there must be some way we can stop them!"

"There are two possibilities. The first is most preferable. Ensure the gods' survival somehow, they are already on our side but they won't die for us. We must remove Miracle's threat."

"The other is less ideal, it would require far more resources and what we can save would be limited. And even after, no one will be able to leave the cities for millennia."

Sighs all around, everyone had an idea of what the second was. It was most certainly not an ideal solution.

"Shouldn't we bring more people into this discussion?" Myropsis asked.

"To what end? No one but the Chosen can influence that world. Talking to others wouldn't do any good."

"They might be able to help us come up with some answers!"

"Or they might feel like the gods have abandoned them, their world collapsing around them they might shut down. Filled with despair they might give up on life." Ashliel countered.

"We still have a few years, Miracle doesn't want to rush things. Our obstructing their plans might cause them to change their plans, but for now, they should still be confident... The only thing I don't understand is why they sent an incompetent general to deal with me."

Eldrian quickly shared his few run-ins with Axel with the group. They all agreed that it was strange, but none had any idea why Miracle would do this. One suggestion was that maybe someone in the group wasn't okay with Miracle's plan and was trying to help Eldrian in a roundabout way.

"How can I ensure the AI's survival?" Eldrian asked after another somber silence had befallen the group.

"My first thought would be to secure the servers. But that would require you storming Miracle's HQ." Ashliel replied.

Eldrian didn't think that it would be as easy as his time escaping. "What about making an artifact to act as the bridge, instead of the servers?"

"The servers likely are artifacts. Do you think you can replace what took an internationally supported secret company decades to make?"

"It doesn't seem like I have any better options..." Eldrian paused and considered how he might be able to do this, of course, he also considered that he might be able to act as such a bridge. However, there were certain to be dangers. It might kill him if the burden was shifted to him.

"First thing is I need to make a device capable of communicating between the worlds."

'So, interrupt the finals, make an appearance at Miracle's HQ, interrupt the finals there too. Demonstrate magic and its dangers, survive whatever they throw at me. Lastly, find a way to save the AI. Easy enough...' Eldrian mumbled sarcastically to himself, even without going into details the plan already sounded insane.

Luckily he was not alone.

The group talked for a while more however they could only theorize so much. They needed to start experiments to see what would actually work. Luckily, Ashliel seemed totally devoted to ensuring that they, that Eldrian would succeed.

Ashliel would stay with them until the time came, sharing what knowledge she could. Unfortunately, though, the materials that she had were all far too high grade. Rank 4 and 5 were but like pebbles next to the road, anything below was like the dirt of the road. No one would collect them, and Eldrian couldn't use such valuable materials.

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.