The Author's POV

A day after the shocking announcement made by the Union, a bustling atmosphere filled the whole human domain as everyone went to their local Union branch and signed up for the upcoming tournament that was going to be held in two days.

Everyone, be it young or old, wanted to participate. Some were a bit hesitant about joining when they heard that they couldn't leave, but the Union suddenly released another piece of news which assuaged everyone's fears.

Whoever participated in the conference and performed well would be able to join the Union as an honorary member. Not just that, they got to enjoy the benefits of being part of the Union without actually being tied down with it.

It was then that those who were initially reluctant no longer hesitated and signed up for the tournament.

"So you've also got invited."

Standing below one of the Union branches, basking beneath the warm sunlight, was Kevin.

With the gentle sunlight enveloping his features, his crimson eyes shined brightly, making him look especially handsome.

Wooosh—

Suddenly, a nice breeze brushed past his body, freshening his mind.

"Congratulations."

At the moment, he was talking to someone on the phone. The person was none other than Emma, who shared the news about her invitation to Kevin. Albeit a bit late, she had her reasons for not telling sooner.

Naturally, Kevin understood why and didn't say much else.

—Yeah. I think most of the high rankers of the Lock got an invitation to the Conference. Amanda, Jin, Han Yufei, Troy, you, and some other names that I don't really remember. Apart from that, I heard they summoned most of the ranked heroes. Not all, though. Some were forced to stay behind.

"Well, it's understandable. Imagine what would happen if all heroes left the human domain at the same time to attend the conference. All hell would break loose here."

Even though the Monolith and the Union had signed an agreement, at the end of the day, that was only applicable to them.

If the demons chose to invade the human domain, humanity would be rendered helpless. As such, the decision to only bring five hundred individuals was the best one.

Not that they had a choice anyway.

—Hmm… Say, what are you doing right now?

"What am I doing?"

Lifting his head up and staring at the tall skyscraper, Kevin shrugged.

"Well, I'm about to leave for the elven domain."

—Already?

Emma's voice raised a few pitches. She sounded surprised by the sudden development.

"Well, we are not technologically advanced enough to teleport five hundred people at the same time, so the Union decided to send people in batches of ten, and I happen to be part of the second batch that is being sent."

—I see.

Emma sounded a bit concerned at first, but after hearing Kevin's words, her voice softened up a little bit.

—Okay, I'll be seeing you soon anyways. Since I'm part of the people invited, they are bound to take me to the tournament venue.

"They sure…huh?"

Midway through his sentence, Kevin suddenly felt a powerful wave of mana coming from the building behind him.

Turning around, his eyes squinted.

"…Looks like something is happening."

Vrr— Vrr—

Not even a couple of seconds after he said those words, his watch suddenly started to vibrate.

Lowering his head, Kevin turned his wrist and checked his watch.

[Kevin, get back here right now. The portal is almost ready.]

Seeing the message, Kevin knew that it was time for him to hang up.

"Sorry, Emma. I need to go right now or I'll be late. Once again, talk to you later."

—Wait, don't your da—

But before Emma could voice out any more complaints, Kevin had already hung up the phone.

'Sorry Emma, but I really need to go.'

Fixing his clothes and making sure that he looked presentable, Kevin entered the building through the glass door entrance.

Wooosh—

Upon entering the building, a strong wind brushed past Kevin as his hair and clothes fluttered wildly, almost as though he was in the middle of a strong storm.

The cause of this phenomenon was a strange black metallic frame that stood in the middle of the room. A huge gap appeared in the middle of the square frame.

'That should be the portal.'

Halting in his steps, Kevin got a better look at the portal in the distance.

With technology gradually advancing, portals, which used to be very rare, were now a common thing in Ashton city. And thanks to what the Union did, humanity now had access to the technology that finally enabled them to fully develop portals.

Standing a few meters away from the portal, Kevin could vividly see thick residual threads of mana encircling the air before forming a swirl in the middle of the metallic frame.

And as more and more mana threads swirled around it, something strange suddenly happened.

The spiraling mana in the middle of the metallic frame suddenly started to pulsate, and before long, it slowly and steadily started to expand, creating a strange translucent purple veil that covered all parts of the squared portal. The veil itself was thin, but it held a mystical feel to it.

"Kevin, get in your position."

Spotting Kevin who had just entered the premises of the building, wearing a Union uniform, a tall middle-aged man pointed towards a certain area.

"It's too dangerous where you're standing, head to your designated position."

Straightening his back, Kevin flatly replied, "Yes, section chief."

Then, without saying another word, Kevin walked toward the designated area.

The man who had just talked to Kevin was Mike Rotondo, and he was Kevin's direct superior at the Union.

Having worked with each other for over a couple of months, they were quite familiar with each other, hence why when Kevin was ordered by him he immediately got to his position.

'I wonder how much longer till the portal functions.'

Standing in position, Kevin's eyes locked onto the strange-looking device in the distance.

His heart was beating faster than before due to the uncontrollable excitement he felt about going to the elven domain.

It had to be noted that this was a place that only a few humans had ever stepped foot inside, so no one knew exactly how the place was.

He wasn't the only one that was nervous, as beside him were nine other individuals all wearing similar attire, staring at the portal in front of them.

They, alongside Kevin, were all waiting for the moment when the portal would activate.

"It's done."

Fortunately, the wait didn't last for long. A joyful voice sounded throughout the place as an old man with a hunched back and a lab coat looked at the device with undeniable excitement.

"I can't believe we finally managed to get access to long-distance portals. It's truly marvelous," he shouted in joy.

Walking around the portal and tracing his finger on its metallic frame, the old scientist circled the portal more than five times before he finally stopped.

Turning around and staring at the people present, his eyes narrowed into slits.

Locking his eyes with the person that Kevin referred to as 'section chief', the old scientist pointed toward the portal and raised his voice.

"As I promised to the Union, the portal is now ready to teleport the candidates to the elven domain. I've already set the coordinates. All you need to do is go inside. Go one at a time, and be careful of the side effects as they are strong."

"Thank you for your services." The section chief replied, staring at the portal in awe.

"Alright, alright."

Waving it off, the old man glanced at the portal one more time before leaving.

"This is all the thanks I get after doing all of this work…" He silently muttered as he left.

Pretending to have not heard him, the section chief turned to face Kevin.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

Then he turned towards the others and asked the same question. They too responded like Kevin.

"Okay, the coordinates have been set to the elven domain. There should be a few human representatives there already. By the time you arrive, they should be waiting for you at the other side."

Turning to look towards the right hand of every member present, where a black ring rested, the section chief asked, "Have you made sure to pack all your necessities?"

"Yes sir!"

Everyone replied at the same time.

Satisfied by the answer, the section chief took a step to the side.

"Good. Now get into the portal and do our race proud."

Once he finished those words, one by one, the representatives slowly started to enter the portal.

'This is it…'

Taking a step forward while waiting for his turn, Kevin took a deep breath to calm his heart.

'The moment I step into the portal, I will no longer be in the human domain.'

It had been a while since Kevin had been out of the human domain, in such an unfamiliar environment. He was obviously a bit nervous.

"It's your turn, Kevin!"

"Got it."

But that nervousness didn't last for long for it was soon his turn. Taking a step forward, into the translucent purple veil, Kevin's figure slowly started to disappear.

It wasn't long before his whole figure completely disappeared.

Standing behind the portal to make sure that everyone had entered, once he could no longer see Kevin, taking out his phone, the section chief reported.

"I've sent the second batch already… No, there were no problems."

***

A raging fire burned, and in the midst of the raging fire was a long, slim piece of metal. Its color had turned black, due to cooling down.

Using two metal pliers to grab onto the long piece, Malvil dropped it on an anvil and raised his hammer.

Clank— Clank—

The repetitive sound of the metal being hammered rang throughout the room. With each hit, a soft metallic ring would linger in the air for a couple of seconds before it was replaced by a new one.

Clank— Clank—

Hammering the metal two more times, and then wiping the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead, Malvil put the metal back into the furnace, waiting for it to become red-colored again.

Then, for the next couple of hours, he repeated the same process again.

"The frame is done…"

Finally, after who knew how long, Malvil turned off the furnace and stared at his anvil where the frame of a sword rested. Black steam slowly rose in the air.

Wiping his hands over his apron, Malvil called out to his disciple.

"Oy, little twerp, tell that useless human to come here."

Putting the hammer down, Malvil's disciple turned to face Malvil and bluntly said, "He's not here."

"No shit he's not here. That's why I told you to go get him."

"No, I mean, he's currently out of Henolur. He said that he'll be gone for a week or something."

Malvil's eyes faintly shivered.

"A week? What is he going to do for a week outside of Henolur?"

"I don't know." His disciple replied while helplessly shrugging his shoulders.

He really didn't know.

Ren, alongside the other humans, just told him that they wouldn't be in Henlour for a week. In fact, Malvil was there when he said those words, but he was too busy doing his own things to properly listen.

"How long ago was that?"

"About three days ago? They should be here in four more days."

Staring at the frame of the sword on his anvil that was still releasing smoke, Malvil let out a curse.

"Ah, fuck. This is annoying."

Taking off his apron, he threw it to the side and left the room.

As he was leaving, his loud voice echoed throughout the workspace.

"Well whatever, I'm done with the frame anyways. All that's left is for that useless human to come here to check the weight. Imma go get some sleep, call me once he comes back."