Tyrants of Earth - The Legend of Artigan

The Realm

It was easiest to visualize The Realm as a flat misshapen circle. Each time the Highest Trial was completed, the Trial System would relocate an enormous chunk of land. Sometimes tearing apart a planet whole and stretching the landmass into a crescent shape. Then this new crescent-shaped world would be slotted like a puzzle piece to fit in with the rest of The Realm.

Creating a larger, still-misshapen circle.

It was discussed often what doing this did to the worlds it left behind. Whether it was even morally justifiable to continue completing the Highest Trial, especially knowing they could be dooming whatever was left behind.

Naturally those kinds of questions came after the Tyrants had won their peace. Not when Earth was expanding their stake across The Realm, not when they waged war on the Tyrants, seeking to get ahead themselves.

Only after the Tyrants had won did such questions arise.

Not that it mattered.

The Witch Tyrant would gladly watch anyone attempt to convince the Passive Tyrant from completing the Highest Trial.

Though it wasn’t just the Passive Tyrant. You could see it here, with all of the greedy adventurers lining up at the edge of Sector Twelve. Ready to go forth and plunder the new land. After all, this was where you could find new skills, new artifacts and completely alien paths for power.

It wasn’t like their might wouldn’t be helpful elsewhere. When Sector Twelve had been added, the entirety of Sector Eight’s edge turned into a border with Sector Twelve. The monsters that had come in from Sector Twelve in had been a near ecological disaster for the favorite Sector Eight and pretty much every settlement other than Vitalia had been completely abandoned.

It had gotten so bad that even the Tyrants themselves had to step in.

Despite that, the Adventurer’s Guild knew it could not truly order the high realm adventurers around. Even if they demanded all of them to take positions around the more vulnerable borders, who could really verify that they would stay?

No, it would be too much of a revolt and a violation of their freedoms.

So, the Adventurer’s Guild didn’t bother. They ordered the seventh realms and below to take positions and politely made requests of higher realm adventurers to maintain sector borders or to be available to protect major cities in The realm.

The vast majority of course didn’t listen. Even the eighth and ninth realms were waiting at the border. Looking for their opportunity.

Everyone knew of the stories of the Kellys. The lovebird couple getting lucky and finding priceless weaponry in Sector Eleven, giving themselves the confidence to challenge the Tenth Trial.

That could be them next.

And so, many eighth and ninth realm squads were protected by dragonslayers in the border of Sector Twelve. Individual dragonslayers being paid a hefty amount just to ensure that tens to even hundreds of lower realm adventurers wouldn’t get swept away by a stray monster.

When the new land arrived, all bets would be off. Dragonslayers would rush towards the new land and the lower realm adventurers would navigate through the new lands carefully.

For now they were all tense, waiting. Waiting for the Highest Trial to be completed.

Though amongst all of the adventurers lining up, ready to explore the new lands, there were those that kept their presences hidden. Either by using the environment or hiding amongst the other adventurers.

The Witch Tyrant watched as the [Stallmaster Thief] laughed with a group of ninth realm adventurers, snatching valuables from their storage devices as she laughed. Suddenly the [Thief] tensed up and looked around, noticing her observation. A hand twitching over one of her emergency artifacts.

For a moment the Witch Tyrant was tempted to try it anyway. It had been a good while since she had truly attempted to kill the impulsive kleptomaniac. It was always fun to see how many artifacts she could make the little [Thief] burn.

Her last record had been seven.

Then she thought better of it.

The Witch Tyrant sat above it all, high above in the stratosphere of The Realm. Floating in space, only a few other creatures and dragonslayers doing the same. They were probably taking the best vantage points, confident in their defenses against any strange beings that traveled this high up.

Of course, she had little concern with anything attacking her, very few beings could detect her when she was hidden. No, The Witch Tyrant was focused on watching the ripples in the Veil of the Trial System itself. The greatest illusory craft that she knew existed. It shimmered and swayed to unknown cosmic winds.

Hiding The Realm from the rest of the multiverse.

Normally it was invariable, diffuse, and almost impossible to see.

Not when the Trial System was getting ready for an expansion. Now was the time.

It curled and warped, stretching through a tunnel, prepared before the Trial System had first descended on Earth.

And when the veil stretched enough–it finally became malleable.

The Witch Tyrant’s hands pierced through the Great Veil, tearing through the elegant craft like a savage. Her hands dripping with brands of light as she poured her mana and her authority as the Witch Tyrant of The Realm into the Veil itself.

All of that happened in half a second. She pulled her hands back and watched the Trial System repair the veil in real time, observing step-by-step just how it was done. She attempted to create it piece by piece, in the same manner. More simplified and streamlined for she was no master with anything other than mana.

Though it was more than enough to level her Legend.