[Kingdom of Doriath, Veronica Continent.]

[Royal Palace]

In the empty hallway of an extremely luxurious palace, a lady walked with her maids.

She was tall and gentle, a charming smile always remaining on her face. Her long green hair fell freely behind her.

She wore an ever-flowing dress in the shade of grey, embroidery decorating it in a way that created an illusion of vines over it.

The lady was Amaira Doriath, the elven Princess of the Doriath Kingdom.

Behind her amiable smile was a cluster of thoughts that made her mind churn.

’I still don’t understand why I was summoned by such a great being.’

She thought to herself, keeping her gaze on the beautiful marble flooring.

’With his strength, there is no way he would need me for anything.’

Even though Amaira had been excited at first by the thought of meeting a god, the more she thought about it the grimmer she became.

’There are so many cases of evil gods gathering people just to satisfy their thirst for entertainment.’

As a devotee of the Sovereign Mother, Amaira had grown up hearing about the bad deeds of evil gods as bedtime stories.

One of the most famous was the story of "him" — the one humans called the Creator God.

Amaira remembered how "he" had destroyed the homeland of the elves and forced them to abandon their home.

And because "this" world was controlled by "him," they even had to abide by his rule of the class system.

Just as Amaira was lost in her thoughts, her steps halted when she noticed she had arrived at her destination.

She took in a deep breath and glanced back at her maids. "Don’t follow me inside."

They nodded and Amaira walked inside the room, which was larger than most houses.

The room was excessively decorated with items that could buy multiple high-end buildings.

A king-sized bed was placed on one side with covers made from silk.

Amaira kept on walking until she reached the far end of the room where a glass door stood.

She opened it and walked into a study where a woman was already sitting at the main desk.

The lady looked like a mature version of Amaira, with long green hair that touched the ground. She had an ageless look and a youthful face despite her motherly presence.

She was the Queen of the Doriath Kingdom — Helena Doriath.

The queen’s lips curled up when she saw Amaira. "Oh my, how does my daughter remember her poor mother~."

Her tone was mischievous but her happiness was clear on her face.

Amaira pouted and walked closer. "It’s because you are always busy."

Lady Helena looked at her apologetically. "I wish I could give you more time."

The lady leaned back and pulled a chair closer for Amaira to sit on. "So, how can I help you?"

Amaira sat in silence, unable to find the right words. ’I can’t talk about the being I saw...I might bring disaster on my family if I angered a god.’

But as the thought lingered, she sighed inwardly. ’Even though I am not sure if he is a god or not...I should still be cautious.’

When Lady Helena noticed her silent child, her smile slowly dimmed.

She grabbed Amaira’s hand and gently squeezed it.

"Child, I know you wish to go out of the castle, but I cannot permit that." Her voice grew quieter. "Your father and I are trying our best to find a cure for your condition—."

"I know, mother." Amaira smiled brightly like a gentle sun. "I understand your concern and my condition. I do not wish to go out."

’Though, I did meet new people...’ She thought inwardly.

Amaira, in her eighteen years of life, had never once stepped outside the palace.

The guilt on Lady Helena’s face eased a little.

"Then how can I help you?" She asked gently. "Do you need help with your Regent Class or do you want new spells to learn?"

Amaira, just like her parents, had been born with the Regent Class of King rank. Though she wasn’t a skilled fighter.

Along with her class, she could independently draw on the mana in the air through her core — a talent every elf was born with.

"I need your permission." Amaira said at last. "I wish to visit the royal treasury."

Lady Helena thought for a moment before nodding with a smile. "Alright."

She stood up from her seat and walked out of the room while Amaira followed behind.

Just as they moved towards the door, Amaira stopped at a full-length mirror.

But in the mirror....there was no reflection of her.

---

[Empire of Crimson, Moonshade Continent.]

[Inside a Rift.]

"Collect the bodies!!"

An authoritative voice echoed within the endless field filled with barely alive corpses.

208, the Serpent, quickly stood up and said. "On it!"

He quickly jogged towards the closest body while the other combat slaves moved towards different ones.

The body was of a monster that resembled a mixture of fish and man, with a short frame and blue scales covering it entirely.

On either side of the monster were gills, though the creature also had lungs.

’Just like I thought, we are inside a dried up ocean.’ 208 tied the hands and legs of the monster, which was barely alive.

There were so many abnormalities inside a rift that an accident was always a possibility.

Because of this, many nobles groomed people specifically to capture monsters from inside rifts.

By having others kill the monsters, nobles slowly grew their strength without risking anything.

’Though we are always one step away from death because of them.’ 208 thought grimly as he looked around.

Alongside the captured monsters were the dead bodies of vampires.

Capturing a monster was much harder than killing one.

208 stood up and walked towards the next monster, which had a hole in its chest.

He quickly began to tie it up but paused. ’Should I....?’

208 looked around and when he noticed everyone was busy, he raised his hand to his face.

He gently bit his finger and drew a drop of blood that quickly turned into a small dagger.

Without a shred of mercy, he killed the monster in one sweep.

Then he disintegrated the dagger before looking at his superior. "This one is dead, Ser!"

The middle aged man looked in his direction and grunted without a word.

208 quickly moved to a different monster while hiding his smile.

’If I keep carefully killing monsters then I will soon be an Ascendant.’ He thought happily, rushing towards another. ’Though I still need to find a way to break the news about my awakening.’

Unlike elves, vampires had nothing like a mana core.

Before arriving to this world their way of gaining strength was rather barbaric — in human terms it was called cannibalism.

They consumed their family members to absorb their strength.

Though there were still restrictions even to that.

After tying all the nearby monsters, 208 picked them up one by one and threw them into a carriage.

Having completed the task, the group of hunters began to move again.

And only after walking a few kilometres did they encounter it.

The ruins of the Dragon World.