ranker AU, a 3am writing session ft. ocs
[ system: ???? domain has appeared.
time remaining: 30 02 05 49 ]
Noctis glance at the pop up as he gazed at the white portal. No one knows when it showed up, until a woodcutter from the nearby town who stumbled on to it on accident, only then it was noticed. "Suspicious." He thinks, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword. Gates were the portals to domains and when created, a wave of mana are released, allowing them to detect it. That was until today. The unknown rank did not help with the situation. It was a first to have one labled as unknown. Would five S ranks be enough to clear this domain? They were the best in the country but they could also go in and never returned. His eyes narrowed, "Unknown rank, unknown domain. The first of its kind." He mutters, seemingly wants to burn the gate through glaring.
"Noctis, stop glaring at the gate." Jay taps his shoulder, gave him a wry smile. Noctis just grunted and turn his attention as the rest of the exploration team arrived. Victoria, Seia, Taka with Cael as the communication link between them and the Association.
"So that's the unknown gate." Seia hummed as she looks, "Wow, it really has no presence." Despite her light hearted tone, her body stance was tense and alert. "Alright, today’s mission is exploration. Do not engage unless there's an absolutely need." Jay, the leader, smiles as he reminds them once again. An unknown domains means unknown risks and he doesn't want any casualties if possible. "Break a leg, guys." Cael waved as the unit enters the domain.
[ system: you have entered 'Sanctuary of ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ]
One foot in and they were immediately overwhelmed. Their knees buckled and they were gasping for "air". Heavy heaving and coughs was heard in the otherwise serene and quiet, lush forest. The air was heavily concentrated with mana. A whiff was enough to make them keel over. It felt like pure mana has invaded their body, causing their body to take in more than what they could handle. Gasping, Victoria extends her hand, casting a skill.
「 Skill Activation: circle of survival 」
A purple hued dome envelopes the crew and begins filtering out excess mana. Gradually, sounds of heaving, chokes died down as they slowly adapts to the mana level of the domain. Victoria was the first to recover. "Is everyone okay?" Her raspy voice calls out with a few cough to clear her throat. Nods were given as all of them sit up once they could breath again. All of them had grim expressions on their face. While Victoria's skill enabled the party to breath again, the mana levels were an issue. In a place that is mana rich and heavily concentrated, the monsters here would not be easy. They took a moment to survey their surrounding.
Shades of green surrounds them with various plants and trees. An overgrown forest with no signs of beasts and monsters. The leaves sway gently whenever there was a breeze. It was so slient that they could hear each other's breathings and an occasional leaf rustling. It's unusual. Perhaps they were used to having the sounds of the insects from the forests back home that the complete silent was eerie to them. "Detection has been deployed, we can move anytime." Seia broke the silence. "Okay, let's move." Jay whispered.
Traversing the forest was not easy. The forest was a giant. Not only was it huge, the plants that grew here were ginormous enough that they feels like an insect. Noctis hacked and slashes the plants to make a patheway as they searched. There was nothing except plants. "Seia, anything on the detection circle?" Taka asked. She shook her head. He sighs. They have been walking what feels like hours and they are not seeing anything. Their uneasiness grew as they marched on. "How big is this forest?" Noctis wonders, not liking the lack of monsters ironically. It made him feel unease yet relief at the same time. "How far is the boss location?" He continues to wonder as he clears the path. He stopped. Everyone stopped.
Infront of them was an unusual sight. Light gleamed on the amber egg-shape objects. A very tall tree looms over eggs, the roots and parts of its branches and vines envelopes them like they were protecting it. "Seia." Jay commanded. "No signs of potential mothers nearby." she continued. It was strange. The domain did not contain a single lifeform. "Hey, do you think we have entered a resting place for recovery? The domain was titled sanctuary." Taka asked, taking note of the sleeping figures.
"Possible. Let's scower the perimeter." Jay finally made a decision. Armed and battle ready, they came out of the dense forest and into the clearing, treading carefully. Other than the eggs, there was nothing. Victoria and Seia observed the eggs at a safe distance. "Do you think it's safe to kill? Victoria questioned, noting the lack of potential mothers means they could prevent the birth of future bosses. Seia doesn’t know. Despite her longevity as an elf, a false move could cause them death. "Perhaps. But let's wait for Jay's decision." She concluded, walking. "There's really nothing here. Is this really an unknown rank domain?" She doesn’t like this, too much unknown odds. The group eventually makes their way into the perimeter and finally, right enough of the eggs. Nothing was triggered.
The eggs were an amber gem that cocoons the individuals. Inside the eggs, they could see a man and a woman inside, in a fetus position. The man have light golden hair while the lady have black hair that held in a ponytail. A katana cradles between her. Their outfit were in tatters, like they have just fought a war. Both had their eyes closed. "They are alive." Seia detects, it was a very faint signal from their mana, so faint that they blend in with the mana in the surroundings like an object.
[ system: congratulations, you have found the missing guardians of the old world. ]
"Guardians of the old world? What does that mean?" Noctis's eyebrows furrowed.
[ system: you now earned the title 'Discovers of the heart ]
[ system: the heart welcomes you. you are now the second to enter its abode. ]
[ system: a favor has been bestowed to you. 'Please bring the guardians to Shuji.' ]
"Woah, woah, we do not bring back bosses into our homeland." Noctis rejects the favour. Bring them would be a free pass to their's country destruction.
[ system: the sanctuary says they are humans who once fought the great war. ]
"No way...The great war?!" Seia's eyes widened at the information. "The war that has occurred 1000 years ago?" She was speechless. A war that her master, Shuji, once told her. A war that was so terrible that it nearly caused the world to go extinct.
The party was stumped. Their records say no one returned despite them being victorious and now they are being told there are survivors, just trapped or in this case, sleeping in the domain. "Can humans live that long?" They wondered. This was shocking news.
"How can we trust you?" Seia questioned. They have to make sure it wasn't a trick by the domain. None of them knew the war well and she only had hear bits from her master.
[system: the sanctuary offers a brooch. ]
A branch went towards them, handing a gold brooch with intricate patterns that shaped into a tree with a ruby at its center. The brooch has magic imbued to them. "That's master's insignia." Seia confirms.
"Master gave his insignia...He has entered the domain before." She concluded and nods to Jay. "Alright, we will take them back." He agreed. While he doesn't trust the domain, he trust Seia and Shuji, the world's only EX rank.
[ system: the cocoons will now be open. ]
The eggs glowed, turning into pure mana and opens, revealing the brown haired man and black hair lady, their clothes were in tatters. Victoria did basic check up on them, all injuries have been healed. Both Noctis and Taka carried the unconscious duo.
[ system: the sanctuary thanks them and opens an exit to the world as gratitude. ]
A blue portal opens as right beside them as another message pings.
[ system: ???? rank domain has been cleared. Time left to closure: 5 minutes. ]
"Let's go." They entered the portal and came out from the original portal where the team and Cael was waiting. Cael was surprised to see the two new faces. "Who are they?"
"It's a long story but to keep it short, they were humans trapped in the domain." Jay explains with a sigh. "Cael, could you contact Mr. Shuji? Tell him we have an urgent case that he needs to look at." He asks, pointing towards the unconscious. Cael nods and calls Shuji. They then bring the duo to a nearby hospital for a more thorough checkup.
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