Alex didn't have a moment to think or even ponder what the hell that meant before he dematerialized from where he was standing. As he was being teleported to who knows where, an in-game announcement went off in the realm of Mediya.
[Warning! A 2nd level raid by the Forces of Chaos has commenced. All adventurers and able warriors are to teleport to the field of battle to defend the realm and repel Chaos.]
Mediya itself wasn't too large of a realm, at least compared to Vorcast. It held no real infrastructure and had no precious minerals or things worth excavating. What made it so special was that it was a nexus for mana. Something about this realm made it a natural magnet to the invisible force, and as such it had become an integral part of training and raising strong warriors.
In the grand scheme of the universe of realms, Mediya wasn't all that important of a realm. There were far larger realms with far greater mana attraction properties, but Mediya was the only realm in its sector capable of providing the resources necessary to help people break through and grow stronger.
Long before it became the realm it is today, the gods saw the potential of the Mediya and all it could provide for their forces. In order to reinforce Mediya's importance and strategic value, dozens of them gathered together and built the Temple of the Celestials, marking it, and this realm, as a place of power for the gods that aided the construction effort.
Losing it would be a serious blow to all the forces in the sector that served the side of Light, effectively crippling their steady supply of stronger fighters. Losing it would be the death knell for a multitude of other realms. Losing it was not an option.
For thousands of years Mediya stood untouched as a spiritual realm full of mana, but today it would become a battleground in a war that spared nothing and no one.
***
"Ishrak says we don't need to do much, just buy enough time for him and his squad to steal the Seal."
"I don't care what Ishrak says, I'm just here to crush some fleshlings and burn their homes. Stupid gods, did they think leaving one of their realms undefended would end well?"
Two half-trolls stood just outside of a decently sized glowing tear in space. Their lord had just accumulated enough resources to initiate a raid into a realm, and this portal reflected that. It would be the staging ground through which the Chaos raiding force would be able enter Mediya.
The force itself was decently sized as well, though Untar didn't understand why such a group was needed for this. Two ten-man units of half-trolls, three units of twenty Chaos-born and three sorcerers imbued by the power of Chaos made up the majority of the invading force. Ishrak had even gone a step further and splurged on a group of Dwarven mercenaries, hiring them for their… Explosive talents.
But they were just a distraction. While the main force would cause as much mayhem and destruction as possible, Ishrak and his team of elite soldiers were to infiltrate a vault of treasures and steal the Seal of Arburnok. The Greater Demon had been bound and trapped inside the seal hundreds of years ago and freeing him would be a great boon for Chaos.
It seemed a bit overkill to spend this many resources to raid a realm that was left pretty much unprotected at all times, but it wasn't Untar's place to question Ishrak's motives or intentions. If their lord deemed this a necessary use of manpower, then it was a necessary use of manpower.
The rest of the raiding force began gathering around the portal, brimming with anticipation and an unbridled fury. To some, this invasion would be their first, and they would be able to prove themselves as capable warriors that deserved to be a part of Ishrak's army. If they didn't meet expectations they were likely to be sent off to the mines and used to help gather resources for the war.
For others this was nothing special, just another mission where they would be unleashed and allowed to cause mayhem. No matter the case, each warrior was ready to fight, and they wouldn't have to wait much longer.
The signal to attack came just moments after every fighter had gathered, and the warriors of Chaos charged into the portal.
***
Amanda's firebolt blasted apart another Ghek that was charging at her, its leathery hide exploding upon impact. The dog-sized salamander creatures were vicious little bastards, and apparently they were extremely territorial. The moment Amanda and her party set foot in the clearing a miniature horde of the creatures had ambushed them.
Their razor sharp teeth and needle-like claws were easily deflected by heavy armors and the shields of the fighters, but she shuddered to think what would happen if one of them managed to get the jump on her.
With green and brown mottled skin, the Gheks had blended in rather easily with the surrounding trees and their undergrowth, only showing themselves when Amanda's party had looked the most vulnerable.
She whirled her body and raised her hand once more, aiming for a Ghek that had latched itself onto the back of one of the fighters. A wave of heat burst forth from her hand and another of the vile creatures popped like a balloon. The fighter nodded his thanks before swiping his handaxe down, relieving the Ghek in front of him of its life.
Three more bolts of fire erupted from Amanda's hands and three more creatures lost their lives. But she couldn't keep this up forever.
Even with the enhanced stores of mana that High Elves had, she was running low on MP. The blue bar was nearly depleted, she would only be able to cast a few more firebolts before she ran out.
Luckily for her, only a few more firebolts were needed. Her mana points were completely depleted and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but all of the Gheks had been eliminated.
Only one of their six party members had fallen under the assault, not bad considering the circumstances. Each of them, aside from Amanda herself, bore scratches or teeth marks of some sort.
She dismissed the in-game notification of the quest getting completed, as well as the congratulatory message about hitting level three, and turned her gaze to the orange hued sky. Dusk. Nearly a whole day. Where in the hell was Alex?
***
After getting teleported, Alex found himself standing in a massively open plain. For as far as he could see, the grass stretched on to the horizon. Shortly after he arrived, four other figures materialized alongside him. A towering goliath, a stocky dwarf and two pale-skinned elves. They would be the defenders of Mediya.
They had quickly been forced into a party by the in-game system, with their leader being the eight foot tall goliath named Dragnar. The bronze haired dwarf with a surprisingly short beard was named Theldrick, and the massive battle-axe at his side, nearly double his size, made for a somewhat comedic sight. Alaric and Alara, the twin elven duo, were perhaps the most intimidating sight of all the people that appeared.
Both were dressed in midnight black armor, standing out in direct contrast to the color of their skin. Platinum blonde hair trailed down their backs, and hardened steely-gray eyes took in the surroundings. It was pretty much all but impossible to tell them apart by their features, the only dead giveaway being their genders.
Alara held an unstrung Elven war bow in one hand and a quiver full of gleaming arrows in the other. Alaric on the other hand was strapped with an assortment of short blades and daggers. Four were tucked into sheaths on his chest, a belt with an uncountable amount of sharp objects was at his waist, and Alex could see at least two more daggers sheathed at the bottom of his legs. The two of them looked like they were armed for war.
Dragnar barked out orders to the dwarf and the twin duo and they hastily split off to go complete the tasks given to them, disappearing from view even on an open plain.
The goliath then turned to Alex and fixed him with a stare that did little to tell Alex what the giant man was thinking. "Who are you?" His voice was deep, and Alex felt like his insides rattled with every word spoken, but he didn't cower or try to run.
"My name is Alex. I came to Mediya to visit the Temple of the Celestials and was about to leave when I suddenly got teleported here." Despite being in a party with the goliath, Alex had no reason to trust him; much less explain himself any more than was necessary.
A grunt was all he got in reply and Alex was once more wondering what that meant. This guy was unreadable. Was that a "Okay you're pretty cool," grunt? Or was it a "That's stupid, I'm going to crush you now," kind of grunt?
Dragnar closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out. "Right. Well if you're here it means that you've been deemed worthy to defend the realm from the incoming raid." The goliath spoke with less intensity than before, but his loud voice still rumbled something inside Alex.
Worthy to defend the realm? But he hadn't even done anything! He was just here to fix his soul, and he was only trapped here by mistake. But no, nothing could ever be that easy. He was now dragged into a raid, whatever that meant.
Alex swallowed the choice words he had for whoever thought it was funny to keep pulling stuff like this on him, and instead returned the intense stare that Dragnar was giving him. "A raid? What's that?"
Dragnar immediately pinched his nose and turned his head towards the sky, muttering something that Alex couldn't quite catch. The goliath then took another deep breath before looking at Alex again. "A raid is when a faction spends resources in order to enter an opposing faction's realms, but only for a short period of time."
"Usually, if a realm isn't owned by any one faction, raids take place to determine who will claim ownership. But since Mediya is already held by our faction, it just means they're here to stir up trouble." Alex just nodded his head along as Dragnar spoke, tucking away the tidbit of information given to him.
Based on what the behemoth of a man was saying, it wasn't a full on invasion of Mediya, it was a hit-and-run. Dragnar carried on, not caring if Alex took in the information or not. "The attacking faction opens up a portal to a specified place on the realm, while the defenders are teleported thirty minutes prior to the raid taking place so they can prepare."
While Dragnar spoke Alex took a moment to appreciate the man. They were indeed strangers, and Alex probably had no right being on a battlefield, but he was still taking the time to explain the situation and detailing how a raid was supposed to work.
"After that, it's up to the defenders to repel the raiders before they can cause any major damage. The more damage done by the raiding faction, the more materials and resources they are given when the raid is over. Is that a sufficient enough answer to your question?"
Alex just nodded his head, not risking irritating the man any further. Despite him answering the question, he had done so somewhat sarcastically and condescendingly, as if Alex should already know what a raid is. It wasn't his fault the system seemed to always throw him in the deep end!
"Good, then you're stuck with me. You might have been deemed worthy to defend the realm, but you haven't proven yourself to me. Until such a time that I can trust you, I'm keeping an eye on you. Now let's move, you and I are the bait."
***
Apparently, being bait meant standing around on the wide open plain and being as loud as possible. The second that Alex and Dragnar had made it to a specific point, the goliath just started bellowing and taunting an enemy that had yet to even make an appearance. He didn't really understand how they were the bait, but Dragnar had explained it on the way.
Somehow the rest of the party would be hiding within a close enough range to attack once the enemy closed in. Alex could understand the twins being able to hide properly, but how could a dwarf possibly manage to find any form of cover? In Theldrick's defence though, Alex couldn't see him; which meant that he had somehow found a way to hide his dwarven form.
Just as Alex was contemplating whether this was somehow all a ruse and there wasn't actually going to be any fighting happening, a clarion call rang out. Loud, deep and somewhat discordant, the horn's blaring sound signalled the arrival of their foes. The Chaos raiders had arrived.