First, he faced the shards of sparks burned into nothingness by magic.
Across the vast expanse, the light breeze caused by walking was enough to blow these countless shards of sparks, creating a spectacular sight.
Although the clergy behind him could not see it, in York's deep red pupils, everything was visible.
Lately, he had relied solely on magic circles to block the world within the cracks, a subtle transformation.
The same saying applied: superpowers were acceptable, but they could not be universal.
Although it felt somewhat futile, it still had to be done.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of everyone behind him, York had just approached the crack when he generated another magic circle under his feet with a power of 150 magic points.
[150 magic points used]
During his days in the cold country, he had used up all 200 of his total magic points every moment.
Ten points equaled one day, and 200 points equaled twenty days; using them all at once could maintain the magic circle for as long as twenty days.
With one magic point regenerating every minute, he could use his magic points eight times within twenty-four hours.
This meant that in one day, he could set up magic circles that would last for 160 days.
Thus, the circles he had set up over these days could now last for about ten years.
York was also quite afraid of not being able to return or being trapped within the crack for a long time.
Listening to the mechanical sounds by his ear, York looked at the huge crack in front of him and pursed his lips.
He really did not know if he could return within the planned time.
"Do your best and let fate do the rest."
As he finished speaking, York mobilized all the power within his body.
"First, let's see if I can enter using just my body's strength, saving energy where possible."
York took a deep breath and directly faced the crack, radiating terrifying power, and entered it.
For the clergy watching behind him, the scene looked like his broad back, illuminated by the crack, appeared to be burning, showing a flame-like pattern.
The overall image depicted a man facing a vast and huge dragon, shining with red light.
And the red light surrounding the dragon seemed to cast visible flames on the silhouette.
"Bishop!"
Erin couldn't help but call out.
Unfortunately, the figure consumed by the flames had already entered deep into the crimson crack and disappeared in an instant.
Only her voice continued to echo.
Of course, in the end, York did hear her; he just smiled and scanned around with his magic-spread, deep-red eyes.
At that moment, York found himself in a very strange space, unsure if it was the so-called spatial tunnel.
Around him were twisted and chaotic energy vortexes, displaying flashes of various colors and electric arcs.
Meanwhile, York could also feel a strong gravitational pull deep inside, guiding him.
This sensation of traveling was very peculiar.
"No wonder the church is at a loss; ordinary people who enter would be twisted into pretzels by this distorted force, along with the impact of energy."
York looked at his arm.
While the critical areas of his lower body, shirt, and satchel were intentionally protected, on his unprotected arm, a spectacular scene unfolded.
The skin was turned to ash by the energy impact, revealing the flesh beneath, which then instantly regenerated.
It was a tug of war between regenerative power and damage, neither yielding to the other.
"It hurts a bit, but thankfully my body can handle it." York scanned the bizarre surroundings and continued walking toward the deep force.
He didn't use any powers, relying solely on his regenerative ability, enduring the damage and impacts the space inflicted on the human body.
However, the experience was somewhat different from before, when he only entered worlds of mist through psychic abilities. Now, it was his physical body entering, bringing a different sensation.
Once inside, he suddenly lost sense of time.
"Is this what the old man meant by spatial distortion?"
York walked aimlessly, recalling the old man's experiences shared in his notes.
The notes described how space and time could become distorted and misplaced, causing loss of direction and inability to discern accurate locations, leading to disorientation and confusion.
Therefore, one must trust the gravitational pull that continuously guides.
"So the path ahead must be the right one." York was convinced as he continued onward.
Even though there were constant energy disturbances and electromagnetic radiation damaging his cells and tissues, none of these could shake him.
Besides the guiding gravitational force, the myriad of transmitting shards also informed York of the direction he needed to go.
Time was indeterminate.
The surroundings were surreal and colorful, resembling a starry universe, with one person walking alone.
A second, a minute, a day, or a year.
But the only constant was the mechanical voice in his ear.
[10 magic points used]
[10 magic points used]
[...]
As York began to feel the passage of time, he stopped in front of a barrier layer.
"This must be what they call the 'eggshell membrane'…"
York, who had been expressionless and numbly walking, now saw a dazzling light in his eyes.
"No wonder the old man used an egg as an analogy; it does resemble one."
York reached out and touched the barrier, which resembled water waves, using touch to sense everything.
He looked up.
His gaze followed the water-like patterns upward, but the membrane seemed endless.
"The tricky part is not knowing the time. Although I've counted to the second day, it feels much longer."
York pressed his right hand against the membrane, feeling the strong suction coming from within, and began to review everything that led him here.
The only effective method of recognition was undoubtedly the system.
Before entering, he had directly used 150 magic points, plus the unintentional use along the way, all to ensure he wouldn't be confused by time and space.
The virtual window, appearing and disappearing at will, was always present no matter where he was.
York looked ahead while the virtual window also appeared in his sight.
"Everything's aligned; it seems I've been walking for a day and a night?"
Recalling his consumption along the way, York looked at the membrane in front of him and took a deep breath.
Although he didn't know if it was synchronized with the real world, there was no time for doubt now.
He could only continue forward.
"I wonder if I can trigger a random task as I anticipated."
York was enveloped in a divine light, illuminating the entire area within a few seconds.
A divine force dispelled the impact energy and all other disturbances.
"Much more comfortable indeed."
York smiled, pressing his glowing fingertip against the transparent, undetectable membrane.
Then, he forcefully broke through the barrier in one breath and stepped through.
It felt like falling into water, the change in gravity and buoyancy giving York a sensation of floating in the air, which was quite extraordinary.
The sounds around became softer and distant, leaving only his own breathing and the flow of the space.
His vision became exceptionally bright.
And then, he arrived in another world.
"This…"
York looked up at the sunlight in the sky and instinctively pinched his hand.
He found himself in a vast wilderness, the sky expansive, with dense grasslands, hills, or mountains stretching across the horizon.
Without giving much thought to the environment, York's first action was to look back.
"Just as the old man said, I
need to find a spatial node."
In his view, there was nothing in the void, no dragon-like spatial cracks or anything.
"It's like random teleportation, but how do I find it?"
York felt a hint of helplessness for the first time, but he wasn't too panicked, as he had already prepared himself to explore this new world.
As the old man had said, every entry was a wonderful journey, experiencing and exploring various cultures, landscapes, and gaining knowledge and spiritual insight.
"There's no rush; the first thing to confirm is…"
York began to test whether he could still use his powers, as previously mentioned, anyone entering the cracks without the world's support would lose all their powers.
Undoubtedly, York could use all his powers.
Most importantly, the existence of magical elements in this world indicated that his magic could also work here.
"Perfect, that gives me some confidence."
York breathed a sigh of relief, then checked his belongings again.
Obviously, besides the critical areas and satchel that were specifically protected, his shirt and pants legs had turned to ash from the energy impact.
So now, York was left with just the satchel slung over his shoulder and pants covering his lower body, the rest of him bare, displaying his robust physique.
"Really left with nothing."
York shook his head, pulled out a pitch-black robe from the satchel, and put it on.
After completing this step, he checked the system.
Everything was normal, indicating that he still might trigger random tasks here.
Although that was fine and there were no problems, York was a bit disappointed that arriving in this new world hadn't triggered any major random tasks.
"Guess I'll have to understand and get familiar with this world before I can meet the requirements to trigger them. So, the first thing to do now is to figure out what type of world this is.
Is it like Earth, a place without superhumans, or some sort of monster world or a world where everyone is a superhuman?"
York thought to himself, picking a direction at random and started walking.
If he knew what was at the end of the direction, he might have made a recognition-based choice.
But without any knowledge, picking any direction would suffice.
Of course, York's choice of direction was not without purpose.
He wouldn't go toward the connected mountain range since hills and mountains were not likely habitable areas; instead, he chose the direction where the grasslands stretched endlessly.
But York couldn't help thinking: "True to its nature as another world, while the real world is in winter, here it seems to be like spring."
......
USA.
In a large room, a group of powerful people sat.
Based on their positions, an older man with only a few strands of hair left pushed a report toward the person in the center.
"Should we continue the investigation?"
The elderly man at the center, having just finished reading the document, sighed and set it down before picking up the report that was just pushed to him and continued reading.
Beside the old man was another elderly man in a military uniform, his face stern.
"You know the situation with the fog incident; it's a bomb that could blow up the world,
and definitely not something we should tamper with. If it weren't for the church people being there by chance, the consequences would be unimaginable."
As these words fell, someone spoke up.
"Even so, the changes in the cold country prove that the crack contains something that could change the whole world. If we could control and mass-produce superhumans, the whole world would hear only our voice."
"Heh," the old man in the military uniform coldly scoffed at the speaker.
"How many people from the cold country have you captured? What kind of experiments have you conducted on them, and how many superhumans have ultimately been created? Don't you have any idea?"
As he spoke, he swept his gaze over all the well-dressed people in front of him, his expression turning colder.
"According to the intelligence I have, you guys, in order not to let the church people discover the changes in the cold country, actually sent people to kill the superhumans there in an attempt to conceal it, and then what? They just openly showed their hand…"
Seeing the changing expressions of the people in front, the old man in the military uniform couldn't help but continue mockingly.
"Do you think the church that stabilizes the entire world is something you can ignore at will? Have you ever thought, if the church fully lets go and no longer suppresses those spatial cracks, not to mention how our world would develop, whether it would be an apocalypse or a new order,
just talking about you guys, do you really think you could withstand that pressure? Keep in mind, there isn't just one country in the entire world, but over two hundred…"
The message was very clear and direct, and the room fell silent.
Only the old man who had just finished reading the report gently put it down.
"The fog incident led to the disappearance of an entire army unit, and the changes that covered the skies prove we were wrong, so let's stick to our roles and do what we must."
As this statement concluded, it signified the determination of their course of action.
The old man in the military uniform looked around fiercely, then got up and left the secret meeting.
......
"Finally found traces of civilization."
After walking across the vast wilderness, York, using the three-dimensional map in his mind at its maximum range, spotted a road cutting across the landscape…
___________________
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