Chapter 21
The sky was a vibrant blue at the intersection between Redpine Rainforest and Mandara Desert, with hardly a cloud in sight. It was early in the morning, and the sound of birds singing came from the nearby Rainforest. The melodious chirping reached the ears of a hundred thousand men and women standing atop the fortifications lining the Skynet.
These people were currently the strongest of the Innate Nation, each having a level in the late 600s, impressive equipment, and a skill for every situation. They had intensive training, incredible teamwork, and could fight above their level. Their confidence in themselves bordered on arrogance.
However, not even nature's joyful sounds could alleviate the intangible weight pressing upon their hearts and minds. It all came from a single person, a single name.
Torg Igneo.
Away from everyone else was Ska’dur, who sat cross-legged, eyes closed, with his hands resting upon his knees. The wind caressed his hair, blowing it gently.
Ska’dur’s armor, given to him the other day, boosted his fire resistance to 60%, and potions raised it further to 76%. In addition, mages cast buffs on Ska’dur, increasing his fire resistance to 81%, among other benefits.
Since Torg was from the Elemental Dimension and had a fire innate gift, he could deal fire type damage and nothing else. Unfortunately, raising your resistance to 100% was practically impossible, as the System reduced the effectiveness of any boosts the closer you got. 81% was already unheard of for the natives of the Innate Dimension.
As Ska’dur sat, his muscles constantly twitched and squirmed as he familiarized himself with his increased strength. The buffs, potions, and War Array made him three to four times stronger than he normally was. It was such a drastic change most people would be unable to move properly, much less engage in a fight, without hours to days of acclimation.
Suddenly, the noise coming from Redpine Rainforest stopped, and everything grew silent. Ska’dur’s eyes opened, and he gazed into the distance, where he found a tinge of red on the horizon. The color spread rapidly, consuming more of the sky every second. Waves of hot air brushed against Ska’dur’s face, and the surrounding temperature rose.
Ska’dur stood to his feet.
They were here.
A small dot quickly enlarged to reveal a winged serpent over a hundred feet long. Torg stood between its curled horns, his shoulder-length hair blowing in the wind. With arms crossed, his ruby-colored eyes scanned the Skynet. Behind him were twenty winged serpents carrying a thousand soldiers wearing black and red armor resembling hardened lava.
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Torg’s mount stopped a few thousand feet from the Skynet. Stepping off its head and into the air, he rubbed his chin, the air warping around him as he walked forward. When Torg distanced himself from his army, he stopped, eyes roaming lazily across the Innate Nation’s soldiers. Eventually, his gaze landed on Ska’dur, and he smiled.
Below, Ska’dur knew that it was time to perform his role, so he jumped, passing through the Skynet and rising until he reached Torg’s height. After a moment of silence, Ska’dur took a deep breath, then said, “Hello, Lord Igneo. I’m the chosen representative of the Innate Dimension. We apologize for occupying three of your zones and will readily compensate you for any losses. Moving forward-”
“What a farce,” Torg interrupted, both amused and irritated. “I traveled all this way to see who was bold enough to confront the Elemental Dimension, and it turned out to be a group of charlatans. Do you think calling yourselves the Innate Dimension gives you legitimacy? I don’t know what hole you or the people behind you crawled out from, and I don’t care. You can go slimeball yourself.”
Torg was about to attack when Ska’dur continued solemnly, “I assure you we are legitimate, and I advise you not to make an enemy out of us.”
“Haha!” Flames erupted from Torg as he laughed angrily, “If you want to be a Dimension so badly, why don’t you show me your Dimension Core?”
“Sure,” Ska’dur flipped his hand, revealing a translucent circular gem.
Torg’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets upon seeing the familiar item, and when he cast Inspect on it, his mouth gaped open. “Impossible!”
Caught off-guard, Torg froze. The wording of the Core’s description implied that the Innate Dimension was native to the Grandsky Realm. How was that possible? It had been over 2,000 years since the Elemental, Conceptual, and Sin Dimensions simultaneously arrived in the Grandsky Realm, and no new Dimensions had appeared since then. What was the System thinking by introducing a new Dimension so late into the game?
Wait…
Torg arrived at a startling deduction.
Since they were new to the Grandsky Realm, their development couldn’t possibly match the Elemental Dimension, and by extension, the might of himself. To prove his thoughts, Torg cast Inspect on Ska’dur and saw the man was merely level 724.
Torg’s heart thumped loudly in his chest as he asked Ska’dur, “By showing off a Dimension Core before me with your low level, are you planning on gifting it to me?”
“Of course not,” Ska’dur refuted.
“Then?” Torg pressed, barely holding himself back from attacking on the spot. “What intentions do you have?”
Ska’dur gazed into Torg’s eyes, speaking evenly, “For the Innate Dimension to ally with the Elemental Dimension to stand against the Sin Dimension and Tyranus.”
Torg burst into laughter, only to come to an abrupt stop. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “You seem to understand the situation of the Grandsky Realm very well, I’m surprised. Does that mean you know more than my name?”
“Yes,” Ska’dur affirmed. “Torg Igneo, level 1,000, and reputed to be one of the three strongest combatants of the Grandsky Realm. Your personality is straightforward, and you crave battle. Schemes and plots are beneath you.”
Torg nodded, acknowledging what Ska’dur said to be true. “If you know all that, then you must have an idea of what I’ll do when waving a Dimension Core in front of me while only having a level of 724.”
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy, with Torg looking upon Ska’dur as a hunter would his prey. Letting out a breath, Ska’dur cracked his neck and grinned, “You can try.”