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Back in China, hundreds of miles away, an abundance of people had started gathering in a booked hotel auditorium. A Tractor Trailer pulled up outside of the Hotel.
Jin had been hard at work and expecting Wu Hai to return. There were many people that had come, almost everyone was quiet. A video screen at the back of the hall had the news playing across it.
When Jin saw the main story change and the video played for the first time, he almost went into a panic, "Master.."
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There were critical News reports coming in all across the Globe. 'Someone.. no, not a Man.. but a Demon,' had shown up at a Convention Center. He held a strange looking Hammer that resembled a giant Paddle glittering with wondrous patterns.
He spoke to the audience, in every language simultaneously. Every Audience member had heard it clearly no matter where they were. To some it seemed a bit quirky to see a Demon with a Paddle. The trolls of the internet immediately cried hoax but the videos from around the world were audible in every language.
Their preconceptions were shredded in an instant by the revelation.
It had been replayed millions of times, the live video captures from the convention had spread worldwide.
-"If you can lift this, it shows your heart is pure. I will offer you a place in another world, It is a World of Magic. A World of Adventure, A World where Humans are the minority."
The audio sounded like a melody was playing as he spoke.
Grabbing the neck of one of the people who approached rudely, the Demon quickly threw him to the side and cursed at him for being a Coward.
Koreans worldwide were in shock.
The Americans were in shock.
The Whole world was in shock, and then it happened.
It was safe to say 'Is this shit real?' was a question on the lips of everyone watching. The event was so bizarre that absolutely no one wanted to look away.
The Demon had dropped a seemingly weightless and novel looking weapon onto the stage. The crash destroyed the steps into rubble like cheap fast food wrappers. To those that watched, the scene was too unbelievable.
"If you can lift this, It shows your heart is pure. I will offer you a place in another world, It is a world of Magic. A World of Adventure, A World where Humans are the minority." Wu Hai spoke, and everyone understood.
Several people tried picking it up while the cameras were rolling, most of them were unsuccessful but remained enthusiastic. Then the Demon got angry or bored and left.
The stage was quiet as the unexpected guests vanished into thin air.
The Crowd burst out into clapping and exclamations! Which only made things more confusing for those watching from a distance. The Korean, who had been spitting at and trampling over the other contestants had been thoroughly devastated by the disqualification and worldwide embarrassment.
The 1st Place Korean player didn't even want the trophy any more. There was far too much anguish in his eyes. He had been denied so publicly that no PR campaign could save his image, the man had been crushed so thoroughly that he would face persecution at home.
Picking up the Mic, the Announcer didn't even feel an exit speech was appropriate as he dragged his feet and stepped away from the stage. "Tough break kid. Maybe its better to not be a... ah, forget it. You wouldn't understand." He left the room when the cleanup lights came on, people were leaving the venue as state police were arriving.
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It was only a moment after Jin had seen the news that he was worried, a moment was all it took.
Wu Hai appeared in a blinding light on the stage of the auditorium. The people who had arrived were not so few in number.
Nara Kuzunoha had brought the few remaining Spiritualists she knew, all of them looked like they we're ready to give up hope until they saw Wu Hai appear from no where with two dragons and a bird girl.
The people Wu Hai had rescued from Shanghai were also present but many of them looked like they were homeless and injured. Scars and pain covered their faces, bodies and attitudes once again. Of all those coming along, he was most weary of them. They had the stench of corruption and militant eyes but he couldn't leave those innocents to suffer.
Wu Hai introduced Mike to everyone and then he introduced the winners of the Tournament. He didn't have to wait long for everyone to become restless, even Jin had a worried expression on his face.
"Jin, where are all the goods?" Wu Hai had been in a blitz, one the world was sure to see have edited into slow motion replays. He knew it was only a matter of time before he was tracked, his concerns were well warranted but he had other things that he had spent a lot of effort on.
"They are in the room, I didn't want to wait. As soon as I saw you on television, I started ushering everyone inside the auditorium. So, ..this is really happening?" Jin looked at Wu Hai as he started channeling a teleportation circle.
With another flash, he was back in the room and it was rather bare.. he was a little disappointed, the Hotel Manager made it to out to be several times larger but what he did gather together was very useful.
There was a Car Key but no car, Wu Hai presumed it was outside. He presumed right. Walking to the window he clicked the key and tried to boop the car, after becoming familiar with the 'owners manual' of one of the sports cars he tried out, he fully understood that the key would also flash the headlights.
The only lights that blinked were on a semi-truck in the parking lot.
Wu Hai jumped from the balcony after clearing the room and glided down to the tractor trailer.
He didn't even care if people had seen him coming down, with a wave of his hand, he put the truck into the crusher's storage and put the weapon back into his ring. Channeling again, he appeared in the Hotel Auditorium fairly quickly. Wu Hai was getting faster at moving around with his spacial magic. He swept everything that was loose into the spacial ring.
"I am pretty sure that I can get us back to my home, with this." Pulling out the orb, he called everyone in the room over.
It was time for Wu Hai to leave.
Wu Hai could hear the sirens approaching from outside, someone had reported that they had seen Wu Hai float down on a set of wings. News from the event at the V4 competition had spread like wildfire.
It was literally the newest series of viral videos.
Wu Hai was surprised that nearly all the people he wanted to bring had shown up. He was a little sad that neither his Sister or Xuan Kim Li were present. His sister had children to worry about but that boy deserved to be among those that come.
Wu Hai put the orb back into his storage and looked at everyone after much thought. "Please give me five minutes. I will be back in 5 minutes." Wu Hai backed up gently and started channeling again.
He was determined to get Xuan Kim Li and if Sheril tried to stop him, he felt like he could incinerate 'that Bitch.'
Thinking about Xuan Kim Li and the layout of FROHK, Wu Hai envisioned Xuan Kim Li at his desk, working diligently and sitting in that 'shitty chair.'
It was only fair that he be brought to the world Quanli Jigui now lived.
With a flash, Wu Hai disappeared from everyone's view again.
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The FROHK facility had been on high alert since the lightning man's arrival. No one was allowed to enter or leave, gor almost two weeks no one had left the rig but now, everyone had seen the news.
The News channels flooded the forums and discussion boards in almost all virtual games and websites. Dragons and Demons had come to Earth and then suddenly vanished. It had all happened just a few minutes ago.
Xuan Kim Li had been in his office trying to reconstruct Professor Quanli's personal data for almost an entire year with nothing to show for it but blistered fingers. Understanding the programming and writing it were two different things. He was under pressure from Sheril and the rest of the board of directors to produce the data but it had been encrypted with a beta version of his compression program, then damaged.
Going back to his room, Kim Li felt like his mind was going to explode after watching all the news about the V4 75th anniversary. He wished that his old professor could have seen it, 'he would have been blown away by the visual effects.'
Stopping in his Office, Kim Li grabbed the VRC helmet with Professor Quanli's mostly unrecoverable data and was about to chuck it in the trash. There were too many hard memories to let go of, he was ready to give up on coding entirely. The tears on his face were pouring down as he held it in his hands.
A sudden and brilliant flash caught him off guard.
Kim Li fell flat on his ass from his chair.
Standing before him was an eight foot tall Demon with a face full of teeth, he was grinning.
Wu Hai grabbed Xuan Kim Li and started circulating his Spacial Magic immediately.
Xuan Kim Li started screaming like a little girl, uncontrollably.
The other researchers were standing there in terror, "How did this huge thing even get in!" Some scrambled for the door while Wu Hai was channeling, it didn't matter.
A few seconds after he started, another bright flash swallowed the pair.
The room was empty and the other coders and scientists were baffled.
Wu Hai and Xuan Kim Li landed in the auditorium with the rest of the people who were about to leave the world. Kim Li fell to the floor when Wu Hai let go of his shirt. Two Dragon-like people stood on either side of the Demon.
"Master Wu, The Police are outside and demanding that you release the Hostages." Jin walked up to Wu Hai and was panicked for good reason.
None of the people present expected this sort of outcome, Abi was completely out of sorts. She had never been in trouble with the law, Ever. The same could be said about William, they had unknowingly been dragged into a huge ordeal.
"What they do, doesn't matter! We're about to leave this world." Wu Hai once again motioned for everyone to gather closer. His gesturing meant that it was happening right there and then.
"I need everyone as close as possible, this is going to require a lot from me and I'll be drained for a bit after this, so we only get one shot before they burst in." Wu Hai picked Kim Li up and pulled him close. "Xuan Kim Li, Haha.. for your Karma, I sentence you to join Professor Quanli. How does that sound?"
Hearing the Demon Speak to him, Kim Li looked up and couldn't stop crying, he was not equipped enough to completely comprehend what was going on around him.
It would be very hard for him to speak for a while, his eyes started to twitch from the confusion.
Wu Hai took out a Rainbow colored orb and started channeling the spacial magic, while focusing on the Mountain Home of the Sect, Zao City.
When Wu Hai started to extend the range of the Darkness Ring, his power was sapping off his body and corroding the orb bit by bit, flakes came off of it with each breath.
A blinding light and sharp explosive noise came from beyond the doors to the auditorium. they were blasted open with shape charge and soldiers started moving in through the windows.
There was nothing, the place was empty.
"What the hell is going on? We had positive confirmation of heat signatures in here less than 10 seconds ago!" The Commanding Officer of the Tactical Unit rubbed his head in confusion and then issued a search of the area.
They wouldn't find anything.. Wu Hai had gone from that world, along with everyone that was with alongside him.
"FAN OUT, look for clues. Figure out how they escaped." A disappointed look covered the Commander's face while he issued the order.
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Wu Hai had been missing from the City for weeks, Rachael was starting to have false contractions and Calistown was a few days overdue.
Zhan really didn't want his Brother Wu Hai to miss his child's birth but no one knew where to even begin looking for him. All they could do was hope that he could return, they wouldn't wait either way.
Thanks to their sister Lei, the days were pretty and pleasant. Her attitude reflected the clan's.
Everyone worked hard, if they could finish the work on the housing and start work on forges, tailor shops and general good stores to promote trade, the City would have a high chance at succeeding in the future. The Sect wasn't going to leave but when it came to cities, popularity and population mattered.
Every child born, every resident that comes to live within their territory, all of them mattered.
"Father, how long until Mother gives birth? I don't think that Rachael will last much longer, the children will come soon." Zhan had no idea what to expect but his father had already been through it three times. It was a rare occasion that most of his direct family would be gathered in one spot but the Matriarch and the Prince's children could be born together.
It was an extra special occasion and a happy one. The City needed to see growth and children were a sign.
We should get to the birthing room, bring Khan Ni and Lei to help keep your Mother remain calm. She's worse off than Rachael, I think that she might give birth tonight perhaps tomorrow morning." After speaking to Zhan, Ooran went back up the stairs.
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Darkwing had been working with Genba to control his abilities. After a while he could maintain a constant arc across his finger and his attack had reached a new level.
During a sparring match between the two, Genba's strike forced Darkwing out of his shadow movements. If Darkwing hadn't practiced space magic and been able to get out of the way, he might have even taken serious wounds.
After that fight, Darkwing was determined to find a secondary attack method. He felt powerless in his new form after the group continued to grow, leaving him behind.
Wu Hai had encouraged him to find a weapon before and even though he had gauntlets, he still didn't have an easy time fighting with them. Spacial Magic would erode the guantlets. Darkwing always preferring to use his magical abilities, they had limited him and he knew it. Every now and then he would pick out a weapon from the racks that lined the hallways and swing it around to see if it was something he wanted to use but every time, the weapon or armor would be destroyed.
Darkwing was alone in the world, he was unlikely to meet another of his kind. They did not exist but rather, he existed because of a set of circumstances. Life was lonely for him and the adventures of the past were just that, the Past.
Feelings were usually not so long lived in Ducks, shit mattered when it mattered and when shit didn't matter.. well.. shit didn't matter. However, listening to the Sect Leader and the Prince discussing reproduction really annoyed Darkwing. It always struck a nerve and so, he stuck to what he was good at when he felt uncomfortable, thinking only about fighting and foods.
He started out in an unevolved clumsy body but when he gained magical ability, Darkwing was firing lightning bolts from his mouth and wrapping himself in the darkness at breakneck speeds to travel through the Shadows. Things continued like that until he got a humanoid form, everything changed in that moment. He was having problems in combat, switching from a ranged attack to close combat had made things complicated and for a being that was once a wild animal, he really hated feeling helpless.
Picking up a crossbow was a little bit of fun and then Darkwing thought about having to load it, time and time again. The risk of destroying it was not what bothered him. After about 15 seconds, he had almost given up on looking for a tool for combat.
Master Jiang had instructed Wu Hai to leave a generous amount of weapons inside the Pagoda and Darkwing found a few Long Stingers that looked interesting, along with a Wangfish skull plate. None of them quite made the cut for a choice of regular weapon, however the set of stingers were good items so Darkwing kept them. Void Scorpion stingers and Wangfish skulls radiated space magic, if nothing else, they could last a bit longer than other weapons.
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A few days later.
"Calistown is going into labor, make sure to guard vigilantly.." Master Jiang popped out of the door and had the Cheng Twins and Darkwing patrol the skies while Calistown was giving birth. Though trade had gotten more frequent, with the majority of the sect elders watching over the birth, even the patriarch knew that some could use the occasion as an opportunity to attack.
The Cheng Twins were pretty awkward but there was less stuff to hit in the sky while they flew around on patrols.
"Patriarch. We should get up there, Khan Ni and Lei are waiting with the Matriarch." Old Man Jiang pulled Ooran from his stupor, with Wu Hai missing, he had been stressing out his wife. After a few minutes, she had enough of watching him stride back and forth across the room and sent him to the lobby. She sent him away for a while because of his pacing and the Old Master had given him lots to drink.
"Un, Lead the way. I almost missed Wu Hai's birth, Calistown never lets that go." Ooran was not quite use to the honorifics that came along with his position but he was happy to have a new child coming into the family.
Long ago, everyone sat down and talked about who was to be the Leader. There had to be a single spokesman for the Sect, Wu Hai had already said that he would be adventuring and one day he would be taking off.
Ooran was the best choice next to Zhan.
Zhan had become the leader of the Herl refugees and very successful in the Wolf-Brigade until they had left during the King's madness. Zao Zhan learned much of what he knew from his Father.
"Thank you Master Jiang, you've been a blessing to our Clan since the first moment. All this Patriarch and Sect Leader stuff has me a bit over the edge. Would you be opposed to me naming you a member of Council for the Sect. You're already considered an Elder by us all, our Clan is growing but its still small right now." Zao Ooran spoke as best he could but he had been drinking and could no longer hold it in.
"Your children may move the Heavens, its fate that brought us together. I shall accept." Old Man Jiang bowed lightly.
Patriarch Ooran seemed very happy with Master Jiang's optimism when he bowed. "Lets get in there before Calistown loses her temper with me, Again." Ooran was about to start parenthood again, this time he came in with a smile on his face.
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A blinding flash brought Wu Hai and the Earthlings to the City Gate.
When they arrived, they felt the bite of the cool mountain air and the change in altitude. Nearly everyone had originally been at sea level, only now they were at over ten thousand feet higher. It would take more than a moment for most of the group to acclimate, a few of the travelers felt like they were going to explode.
Wu Hai pulled out a hundred or so blankets and passed them out to anyone who looked cold. He lamented his forgetfulness of the season and hoped they would soon forget about it.
They started walking toward the gleaming Tower in the distance.
Wu Hai didn't feel too great but he was better off than the first time he had teleported across worlds. Drinking a potion to regain his stamina, he hurried the group to follow behind him.
"When we get inside, please wait patiently." Wu Hai had their attention with every word and opened the door to the Tower. It was cold outside, everyone was shivering except for Mike and Wu Hai.
Lei felt Wu Hai's presence even before Qu.
Teleporting directly to the doorway, Qu made efforts to greet the Prince and new arrivals. Eith a smile, he ushered them all in. 'So many?'
As people piled into the door Wu Hai noticed that Rachael and his Mother were not in the Lobby, neither were his Father or Brother. "Where is Sect Leader?" Wu Hai asked Qu quietly.
"Your Mother is in labor, she's in the birthing room on the sixth floor. Patriarch is attending her now with Counselor Jiang." Qu said with a cringe there were more people coming through the doorway than even he had expected.
Qu was the Tower Spirit, with a wave of his hand he sent Wu Hai directly to his Fathers side. There was too much going on around them, if there was anything of importance, Wu Hai would find him soon after.
"This way, this way." Qu walked everyone inside and started introducing himself when the door finally closed. "My Name is Qu, I am the Tower Spirit. The Zao Clan welcomes you, Prince Wu is meeting with the Patriarch. Today is a great day, the Matriarch of the Zao Clan is giving birth." Waving his hand a few cases of wine that the Cheng Twins had pilfered off the Minaurs appeared.
Qu wasn't stingy when it came to guests and the Cheng Twins always kept lots of alcohol hidden. Like most times.. they got drunk and forgot about it.
"Drink, relax and when Master Wu returns, I'm sure he will share his plans with you." Qu was a bit worried that they would lose patience but then they started looking around and saw the interior of the Tower. The Tower was a Palace in comparison to where any of them had ever visited.
Some were immediately impressed with a Pond that sat in the center of the Lobby, its basin was lined with gemstones in piles. Agate, Emerald, Pearl, sapphire, Amethyst, gems the size of pigeon eggs were throughout the entire thing.
Only, none of them contained magic.
The Fish were amazing species they had never seen. The Contents of the pond were nothing special to the Tower Spirit or even to Wu Hai, but there was enough wealth to drown Earth into an all out War.
Some sighed, some grabbed at them to make sure they were real.
'In the end, it's just a pile of pretty rocks.' The majority of them noticed how pointless the struggles of Empires back on earth were. The wealth of a continent, perhaps their entire world, was sitting in a fish tank.
"To be this wealthy, to use it as gravel in a fish tank on this world.. truly, things must be different here." One of the Survivors from Shanghai had been a Jeweler in his past. Picking up a fist size emerald that was casually laying on top near the edge, he examined it. "Remarkable." He commented.
Qu took a minute to look at the man's expression and asked, "What's so remarkable about that gem?"
The former jeweler looked back. "You can say that its remarkable because its a flawless gem. In my world, there is no power in the world that wouldn't fight desperately to retain this one gem ..that I plucked from your fish tank." His face twisted and he almost threw it back into the water.
"Are you a Jeweler? You work with Gems?" Qu was excited, some of the things the Patriarch had discussed were about population growth, industry and trade. If the sect had a Jeweler, they could produce a myriad of things.
"Yes, Why?" The Jeweler asked with a sly smile and felt his palms begin to itch.
Qu dropped a pile of Gems in front of the man. "These are the gemstones we value, they are different from the ones in the tank. The ones in the Pond can be used however you see fit. Take them, crush them, I don't care. We have so many we toss them out. If you're a Jeweler, I have a proposition for you. What should I call you?"
The Jeweler looked up at Qu again with grimace and replied, "Jacob Dunstable, What proposition? I've already decided to come and do whatever you like, anything is better than that world and that place."
Waving his hand, the nearby crystals were collected up into Qu's hands and then, the Two figures disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the lobby. Qu was furiously moving around, he had been working on Master Wu's plans but the Prince had gone elsewhere for weeks. When he finally had the opportunity to talk shop, Qu didn't want to skip a beat and saw his next victim.
"I'll give you plenty of inert gemstones to practice with, it is our sect's desire to find skilled craftsman and so I would like it, if you would try cutting gems. You can choose to find a different path, if that is what you choose. When you advance to a satisfying level, i'll show you how to make Magical Accessories." Jacob was astounded while Qu spoke about future plans, especially since they had only just met.
Jacob still wasn't sure if he was being abused in some way but nothing the cat man had said gave him cause for concern. In fact, most of what Qu had to offer sounded very proper and straight forward. His whole life Jacob had been poor but worked hard. When he was abducted by the Syndicate, he had been beaten so many times that he was sure he would die.
Prince Wu Hai saved his life, Jacob never imagined that he would be given this kind of opportunity let alone escape that Hell. He didn't have cause for concern but he still managed to show some hesitation when faced with compliments and positivity. "This.. I find your proposal certainly worth consideration. Am I a prisoner or slave?" Jacob wasn't going to let himself get worked up, he had been tricked before.
With another wave of his hand, Qu brought Jacob back to the others.
"All will be clear once Master Wu is back. Be patient, if his mother was not in labor at this moment, he would be here." Qu didn't answer his question but rather, his answer only raised more questions. He wanted to make things easier for Wu Hai and the Patriarch, so he came up with another idea.
"Why don't you all tell me about yourselves, I am the Tower spirit. Once Master returns, he will want to know what skills and what sort of ability you already have." Qu's proposals began.
Some of the Arrivals started talking among themselves while they waited and one lady came out, her hair was pretty badly burned and she had scars on her face where she had been splashed with acid.
Qu felt for the Woman and pulled out a healing potion. "Drink this, tell me all about your experiences."
When the woman started to drink from the glowing red bottle, her lips were the first to take a change. She went from dry, cracked, bruised and burn flesh to a supple, pretty and healthy young lady. When she looked down at her arms, the arms that were covered in sores, they had become as flawless as the gemstone that had come from the fountain.
"Impossible." She fell to her knees and started chanting her thanks to god. She had been given another chance at life. She had only known pain for the past few years, the victim of experimentation like many others present.
Qu smiled and looked around, "Who else is sick or hurt? Don't be shy, there is no sense in holding back.
Waving his hand, Qu brought out a case of Healing potions, "These are healing potions, they should heal all your physical wounds and disease. Counselor Jiang was kind enough to donate several cases from his private stock, take one each.."