The Author's POV

A day after the shocking announcement made by the Union, a bustling atmosphere filled the whole human domain as everyone went to their local Union branch and signed up for the upcoming tournament that was going to be held in two days.

Everyone, be it young or old, wanted to participate. Some were a bit hesitant about joining when they heard that they couldn't leave, but the Union suddenly released another piece of news which assuaged everyone's fears.

Whoever participated in the conference and performed well would be able to join the Union as an honorary member. Not just that, they got to enjoy the benefits of being part of the Union without actually being tied down with it.

It was then that those who were initially reluctant no longer hesitated and signed up for the tournament.

"So you've also got invited."

Standing below one of the Union branches, basking beneath the warm sunlight, was Kevin.

With the gentle sunlight enveloping his features, his crimson eyes shined brightly, making him look especially handsome.

Wooosh—

Suddenly, a nice breeze brushed past his body, freshening his mind.

"Congratulations."

At the moment, he was talking to someone on the phone. The person was none other than Emma, who shared the news about her invitation to Kevin. Albeit a bit late, she had her reasons for not telling sooner.

Naturally, Kevin understood why and didn't say much else.

—Yeah. I think most of the high rankers of the Lock got an invitation to the Conference. Amanda, Jin, Han Yufei, Troy, you, and some other names that I don't really remember. Apart from that, I heard they summoned most of the ranked heroes. Not all, though. Some were forced to stay behind.

"Well, it's understandable. Imagine what would happen if all heroes left the human domain at the same time to attend the conference. All hell would break loose here."

Even though the Monolith and the Union had signed an agreement, at the end of the day, that was only applicable to them.

If the demons chose to invade the human domain, humanity would be rendered helpless. As such, the decision to only bring five hundred individuals was the best one.

Not that they had a choice anyway.

—Hmm… Say, what are you doing right now?

"What am I doing?"

Lifting his head up and staring at the tall skyscraper, Kevin shrugged.

"Well, I'm about to leave for the elven domain."

—Already?

Emma's voice raised a few pitches. She sounded surprised by the sudden development.

"Well, we are not technologically advanced enough to teleport five hundred people at the same time, so the Union decided to send people in batches of ten, and I happen to be part of the second batch that is being sent."

—I see.

Emma sounded a bit concerned at first, but after hearing Kevin's words, her voice softened up a little bit.

—Okay, I'll be seeing you soon anyways. Since I'm part of the people invited, they are bound to take me to the tournament venue.

"They sure…huh?"

Midway through his sentence, Kevin suddenly felt a powerful wave of mana coming from the building behind him.

Turning around, his eyes squinted.

"…Looks like something is happening."

Vrr— Vrr—

seconds after he said those words, his

his head, Kevin turned his

get back here right now. The portal is

Kevin knew that it was

go right now or I'll be late. Once again, talk

—Wait, don't your da—

before Emma could voice out any more complaints,

I really need

his clothes and making sure that he looked presentable, Kevin entered the building through the

Wooosh—

Kevin as his hair and clothes fluttered wildly, almost as though he was in

frame that stood in the middle of the room. A huge gap appeared in

should be the

Kevin got a better look

be very rare, were now a common thing in Ashton city. And thanks to what the Union did, humanity now had access to the

the portal, Kevin could vividly see thick residual threads of mana encircling the air before forming a

more and more mana threads swirled around it, something strange

suddenly started to pulsate, and before long, it slowly and steadily started to expand, creating a strange translucent purple veil that covered all parts of

get in

building, wearing a Union uniform, a tall middle-aged man pointed

you're standing, head to

his back, Kevin flatly replied, "Yes,

Kevin walked toward the

Kevin was Mike Rotondo, and he was Kevin's direct superior at

couple of months, they were quite familiar with each other, hence

much longer till the

in position, Kevin's eyes locked onto the strange-looking

faster than before due to the uncontrollable excitement he

humans had ever stepped foot inside, so no

nine other individuals all wearing similar attire, staring at the

Kevin, were all waiting for

"It's done."

last for long. A joyful voice sounded throughout the place as an old man with a hunched back and

to get access to long-distance portals. It's truly

its metallic frame, the

at the people present,

with the person that Kevin referred to as 'section chief', the old scientist pointed toward the portal

to the elven domain. I've already set the coordinates. All you need to do is go inside. Go one at a time, and be careful of the side

The section chief replied, staring at the portal in

"Alright, alright."

old man glanced at the portal one

doing all of this

the section chief turned to face

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

and asked the same question. They

been set to the elven domain. There should be a few human representatives there already. By the time you

hand of every member present, where a black ring rested, the section

"Yes sir!"

at the same

chief

the portal and do our race

finished those words, one by one, the representatives slowly started

'This is it…'

forward while waiting for his turn, Kevin took a deep breath to calm