AutumnXd
patreon
Chapter 41 Realm Gate
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 10:37:54 +0000 UTCThe Rift Worlds.
A collection of mysterious and dangerous planes of existence. Their connection to Earth originated from the opening of the spatial rifts 500 years ago. At that time, a mysterious cataclysm tore open the screen of space-time, presenting other worlds before the eyes of humanity. These worlds were the homes of the monsters, domains completely different from the world we know. On those distant lands lived countless ferocious Aura Beasts. They had reproduced for generations, adapting to and utilizing the incredibly rich Aura resources of those lands. They thrived and evolved continuously in those places saturated with psionic energy, developing along a parallel, if more savage, path to humans.
When the spatial rifts first opened, Earth also revealed its powerful, almost sentient, self-repair capabilities. It tried desperately to close these cosmic wounds, but it was a bittersweet success; it only partially succeeded. This meant that although most of the unstable rifts were sealed, there were still some channels, some stable tears in reality, connecting the two worlds. This caused the connection between Earth and the Rift Worlds to become extremely complex and subtle. Creatures from the Rift Worlds began to infiltrate Earth, and they joined forces with the native mutated creatures to launch a prolonged and arduous struggle against humanity. This battle was, and continues to be, a fight for sheer survival and territory.
In the beginning, humanity was caught completely off guard, and those invading monsters gained a cliff-like advantage. After hundreds of years of desperate development and brutal warfare, it wasn't until the appearance of Master Zephyr, the Space Supreme, that the situation was finally reversed and a fragile balance was struck.
While repairing itself, Earth managed to close some of the rifts, but a select few stabilized during the process of closing, eventually forming a series of stable, permanent portals on Earth's surface. Humans named them "Realm Gates." Countless such Realm Gates, appearing like shimmering, flat planes of distorted air, now stand in various places on Earth. Many of the great fortified cities are built near these Realm Gates for the express purpose of being able to defend against the monsters that might suddenly emerge from within. After all, they are not a peaceful bunch. And near every single Realm Gate, a strong, dedicated military force is also permanently stationed.
However, the city of New Veridia does not have such a Realm Gate nearby. This is, in many ways, a good thing; the residents here don't have to constantly worry about a powerful monster suddenly emerging from a portal and destroying the entire city. But it's also a bad thing. Because of this, the people here cannot easily travel to the Rift Worlds through a Realm Gate to obtain powerful and precious resources. Their own average training speed is much slower than that of psionicists in other cities, which has led to New Veridia only being able to become a relatively small-scale city, unable to truly develop and expand into a major metropolis. And while the Realm Gates are fixed on Earth's side, there are no such corresponding fixed gates in the Rift Worlds.
Under the influence of the strange rules of the void, humans from Earth, after entering a Realm Gate, will randomly land in a relatively "safe" place within the Rift Worlds. And these Realm Gates come in various sizes. Small portals lead to regions where the monsters are generally weaker, but the available resources will also be relatively scarce. After all, within the Rift Worlds, there is also a clear distinction between the strong and the weak among the monsters. Survival of the fittest applies to them just the same. If you enter through a small portal, the monsters you encounter will be relatively weak, but this does not mean you can let your guard down. Although these monsters are weaker in raw strength, there may be more of them in number, and there is also a high possibility of encountering some with strange, special abilities or skills, so you always need to be careful.
The larger portals are different. After entering through one of those, the surrounding monsters will become very strong. But correspondingly, the opportunities and treasures to be found there will also be far more abundant. These powerful monsters guard incredibly precious resources and natural treasures. If you can defeat them, you will have a chance to obtain rich rewards. However, facing such challenges and fighting them is no easy task. One needs to have sufficient strength and immense courage to even try. Although this rule seems very simple now, it was established by the early pioneers through countless dangerous adventures and bloody sacrifices. They braved the constant danger to their lives, courageously ventured into the Rift Worlds, explored its secrets, and passed this vital information on to those who came after. It is precisely because of their efforts and selfless dedication that we have our current understanding of the Rift Worlds.
For the monsters of the Rift Worlds, wanting to cross space to come to Earth is not an easy matter either. They need to use special, often instinctual, means to find a specific point where space intersects between the worlds, and then through that specific place, they can be transported to a corresponding Realm Gate on Earth. So, if a group of monsters is unlucky, even a whole nest of them might not be able to stumble upon such a transit point and enter Earth. And if they do, they are often immediately killed by the elite soldiers guarding the gate.
The Rift Worlds are not as simple as the wilds outside our cities. They are lands of constant peril, territories teeming with monsters everywhere. If you are not careful, you might encounter a powerful monster at any moment. These Aura Beasts are not kind; they are more ferocious, more cunning, and far stronger than the mutated creatures native to Earth. You must know, mutated creatures were originally animals of Earth. They only underwent mutation after being nourished by Aura. Although they are now basically a stereotyped threat, it has only been five hundred years of adaptation for them. In contrast, the monsters in the Rift Worlds have reproduced for countless generations there, for a history so long it's hard to even imagine, constantly evolving in a high-Aura environment.
Therefore, within the same rank, any monster from the Rift Worlds can easily thrash a mutated creature from Earth. And only human psionicists with Earth-rank talent or above, by relying on the strength of their powerful and unique abilities, can hope to compete with a monster of a slightly lower rank. You must know, an Earth-rank fighter can still battle a mutated creature of the same rank, but if they encounter a true monster from the Rift Worlds, unless their own rank is much higher, there is often only a path to certain death. This is also why the Global Concord so strongly supports those with powerful innate talents. Because they are the true hope for humanity's eventual resistance against the monsters.
On today's Earth, although the Beast King had led the S-rank and above monsters back to the Rift Worlds through the spatial rifts, those below S-rank were left behind on our world. And the mutated creatures themselves were originally creatures of Earth. The Beast King had no authority or reason to take them back, so they remained on Earth to reproduce and evolve. These mutated creatures have also trained for a long time in our world’s Aura. Among them, there are some who have reached the Beast King rank, but their overall strength is likely not as great as a true monster of the same level from the Rift Worlds. In a situation where Master Zephyr cannot intervene due to his pact, humanity's strongest psionicists can still deal with these native threats.
On today's Earth, we face the threat of mutated creatures and the remaining monsters from within, while being eyed covetously by the endless hordes of the Rift Worlds from without. These dangers have plunged Earth into an unprecedented, precarious predicament. Humanity needs to face challenges from all sides. It can be said that the surface of peace we enjoy in our fortified cities conceals a great deal of constant peril.
Monsters and mutated creatures are collectively known by psionicists as "beasts." The ranks of beasts are generally divided into: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, and the legendary Godly rank. Among them, SS-rank is also known as Beast King, SSS-rank is known as Beast Emperor, and Godly-rank is known as a Beast God. Each rank is further subdivided into low, mid, and high tiers. Psionic plants and other natural treasures are also generally divided according to this same ranking system.
......
Lily finally finished her long explanation. "This is the general information about the Rift Worlds. You'll learn all of this in much greater detail after you get to university."
The four of them walked on the road back from the Mayor's office, with Lily having explained some of this basic, but crucial, information about the world. Seraphina listened as if she were intoxicated, absorbing every word. The other two, Ethan and Marcus, remembered some of it but weren't too clear on the rest, their minds still buzzing from the sheer scale of it all.
