The room exploded with demands for answers. They were convinced they were on the brink of victory, so halting now seemed absurd.
*Cough, cough.*
Then, a middle-aged scientist rose from his seat. It was Dr. Manson, head of the scientific center and the driving force behind their remarkable achievements.
"Well, I believe it's time to explain the very grim news. I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point."
The room fell silent. Dr. Manson was known for his brevity, and when he spoke at length, it meant something significant.
"While the Awakened were engaged in battle, we detected a substantial concentration of mana around the globe, particularly near the Astronomorphic Zones."
He gestured, and the holographic screen shifted to a remote area near the Pacific Ocean.
"What you see here is a portal-like object that we discovered within this highly mana-dense region. We dispatched a five-member team to investigate, but the moment they entered this 'portal,' we lost all contact with them. This occurred approximately five hours ago. Before we proceed further in this war, we must comprehend this new threat and temporarily cease hostilities."
The faces in the room grew tense. An unknown danger could potentially spell the end of everything they had worked for.
"As for now we wait to see if the connection to the 5 hunters can be established, otherwise, we will…."
Suddenly Dr. Manson stopped talking and touched his wristband.
"What is it?" He demanded an answer. This number was only for absolut emergencies.
"Dr. Manson, we were able to establish a connection to one of the hunters. You need to hear what they have to say."
"Connect him to me."
*krk*
"THEY ARE ALL DEAD, THEY ARE ALL DEAD. THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF MONSTERS. WHAAAAAAA."
In the midst of your conversation with Oneiro, a panicked voice suddenly broke in, startling everyone in the room. It was a boy, and it was clear that he possessed unique powers, which often led him to look down on others.
Dr. Manson swiftly intervened, attempting to calm the distraught boy. "Hear me out, Alex. Take a deep breath and try to calm down."
But Alex's voice trembled with fear and shock as he continued, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, DOCTOR! THIS IS LIKE NOTHING WE'VE EVER SEEN BEFORE! THERE WERE AT LEAST A HUNDRED THOUSAND MONSTERS WAITING FOR US!" He sobbed uncontrollably.
"At first, they didn't attack us. We even thought they were just statues. But then, suddenly, a voice started speaking in an unknown language, and they opened their eyes. If it weren't for the sacrifice of the others, we would all be dead."
Dr. Manson, trying to provide some reassurance, said, "Alex, please come back to headquarters. You did a great job. Did you manage to take pictures of the monster army?"
Amidst his tears, Alex managed to respond, "*Sniff* *Sniff* Yes... I did."
"Good," Dr. Manson replied. "Send them to me, and then take some time to relax. You've done well. We'll talk more later."
As the tension in the room slowly eased, Oneiro continued with his revelations. The scene shifted once again, and Ethan found himself high above a desert. However, his sense of déjà vu grew as he heard a familiar sound.
*KRRRRKKKKTTSSS*
Ethan was perplexed. This sound, this atmosphere, this feeling—it was something he had encountered not too long ago. It was the creation of a dungeon.
He scanned the ground, searching for a portal, but found none.
"You're looking in the wrong direction, boy. Look behind you," Oneiro advised.
Ethan, puzzled, questioned, "Behind me?" Nevertheless, he turned around to see what lay behind him, and his breath caught in his throat.
He couldn't even articulate his shock. What he witnessed left him questioning if this was truly an illusion. He floated about three miles above the ground, far higher than expected for a dungeon portal. However, it wasn't the portal that stunned him the most.
An immense army of monsters surged forth from the dungeon. He couldn't begin to count their numbers, but it was clear there were at least a million of them.
"What is this? How can there be so many evolved beasts?"
"'Evolved Beasts'? Do you really think those are evolved beasts after seeing them? Your Earth couldn't create this many beasts even after a hundred years. This is an invasion of your planet," Oneiro explained. "While humankind could have evolved to a level to defend their remaining habitat, human greed diverted their attention from potential threats. Instead of forming factions to protect themselves, they created factions for war. While they prepared to kill each other, these portals and others like them opened on Earth."
"Invasion?"
"Yes, your Earth is being invaded by other worlds, and the only thing protecting you is a pact that the Galactic Union has agreed upon."
Ethan was stunned by the revelation. A galactic tournament? A mandatory increase in strength every fifty years? Questions swirled in his mind, and he finally voiced one, "Didn't you say that no one can invade us if we can increase our rank?"
"Yes, that's correct. If you can demonstrate strength equivalent to the next rank, the protection period is extended until the next tournament."
Ethan's heart raced. Was this betrayal he felt, or just shock? He had more questions, though: "But something doesn't add up! If what you say is true, then why is it that we got invaded by those monsters?"
Oneiro replied, "Because you were yet to be included by this pact. You were free food at that stage, and if no one managed to break through to the foundation rank after a year of the invasion, you would have been enslaved by beings from a different world."
"Why would someone invade us, though? What's the purpose?" Ethan inquired.
"One the same reason your leaders wanted to win the war. Everyone wanted to be a ruler of an unknown civilization," Oneiro explained. "Ethan, this isn't the question you should be asking. Your father has made significant demands of you, and he promised to protect your world from suffering."
Oneiro continued, "Listen, Ethan. Your world has about seven years left to create a galaxy-ranked expert. If you fail to do so, the invasion will happen again, and your world will become slaves of another world, just as it happened to..." He paused, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Turning to Ethan, Oneiro fixed him with a deep look. It was as if he were searching for something. Then he spoke again, "To be honest, it doesn't look too promising for you. The only peak Sun Rank individual on Earth has no clue how to break through. Your father even deleted a vast amount of knowledge from this world. While I'm impressed by his decisiveness, I'm even more perplexed. He always spoke about saving his family, but right now, it doesn't seem like he will protect anyone."
Oneiro transformed once more, becoming a man with delicate features and long ears, with black hair and dark green eyes.
"Let me introduce myself officially. My name is Oreino. Your father saved me from my doom and asked me to do him a favor in return. Whether you choose to trust me or not is up to you. My dream world offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you. Since your mind has never been in a Dreamworld, the effects are multiplied many times. I can adjust the time settings to a 100:1 ratio. This means that one hour in reality equals 100 hours in this dream world. While you can't cultivate and increase your mana capacity, you can still train on how to use your powers."
Ethan understood that this was an opportunity, but somehow he still did not like the idea that someone who he did not know would take him captive in a dream world. And what would happen if someone would attack his body while he is asleep.
"I understand your worries, but trust me with this. If you go as you are now you won´t stand a chance. I have sensed many individuals who entered this dungeon and since you are a Stormborn I guess those are not your allies. "Am I right?" Oneiro asked mockingly.
Ethan took a deep breath. "You are right, those are my enemies and since you mentioned the Stormborn, shouldn't the story you were telling be about my grandfather?"
Oneiro's mouth twitched. "Well to be honest, I am in no position to talk about a Stormborn because your father made me take a stupid oath to not talk to anyone about a Stormborn. He even implanted a device that would torture me if i talk about one. And when I tried to do so earlier I felt a high voltage burning my Insides. So sorry, but you need to ask your grandfather directly."
Ethan was skeptical but he couldn't tell if he was lying or telling the truth. His facial features at least told Ethan that he was not lying and if he thought about it, it seemed like his father had a fetish for implanting things inside the bodies of others.
"Hey, stop thinking about weird things. Of course I am telling the truth!"
Oneiro took a deep breath. "First of all you should learn what you can do with your gravity affinity. For this, I will create different monsters and make you fight them only with your gravity control. Even if this is not real, it will feel like it is. And if your father has a fetish for implanting things, then my fetish is something much worse. I will only tell you, that in this world I can make you revive limitlessly."
Then he continued. "As for your Physical body, I will train you until I sense danger in the nearby area. giving you as much time to train as possible. Now let's start, first of all show me everything you can do, and test on me what you´d like to do."
Suddenly Ethan looked Oneiro in the Eyes with a questioning look. "Can I try everything in this world with no limits?"
"Well I will limit your mana to the exact amount that you have right now. The pain will be 100% and…."
"Increase it." Ethan stopped Oneiro mid sentence.
"What?"
"I want you to increase the pain. Since this is a chance to train, I need to increase my pain tolerance. Increase it to 300%."
Oneiro looked Ethan in the eyes, trying to determine if he meant what he said. When he saw the determination in his eyes he started laughing hysterically. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU ARE THE ONE TO TALK ABOUT FETISHES. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I guess I found someone as a test subject."
Oneiro waved his hand and Ethan felt something inside him changing. He couldn't tell what it was exactly but something did not feel right.
"Now Ethan," Oneiro Waved his hand and suddenly the scene shifted again and he found himself in the middle of the desert with very high temperatures. Then Oneiro clapped his hand and 10 Charmweaver Spiders appeared behind him. "Your first lesson will be to defeat those spiders without a weapon and only with your powers."