The news that the Emperor of Yan had held a friendly meeting with Felix in Kazdel quickly surged to the top of Terra's trending discussions.
During the visit, the two of them inspected Kazdel's mobile cities and reviewed its soldiers together. While the Emperor himself made no explicit comments, the Grand Commandant felt a quiet sense of unease.
Kazdel's technological level was astonishing.
Even Columbia might not possess technology of this caliber. Although Yan had the Tianshi's Casters, the gap between their traditional techniques and Kazdel's groundbreaking innovations felt immense.
It almost seemed as if Kazdel had been born for war.
Following the negotiations, Kazdel and Yan formally signed an alliance agreement. Kazdel agreed to assist in fighting the demons, while Yan would provide valuable data and intelligence regarding them.
As for Sami, the region Felix had mentioned earlier, it had once served as a temporary settlement for the Cyclops clan. They had previously warned him about the demonic encroachment in that area.
Now it seemed that the time had come to deploy troops there.
___
Players, grow stronger.
Grow stronger through endless PvP battles so that Terra might survive the coming crisis.
After half a month, the Yan delegation departed. The imperial court had been left unattended for too long, and many domestic matters still required the Emperor's attention. Only a few officials from the Imperial Censorate remained behind.
They had been tasked with studying Kazdel's military system and learning its combat techniques.
Their instructor was, of course, Theresis.
Just as Felix was preparing to place his next strategic piece in Sami, a messenger arrived with unexpected news.
"A group of soldiers claiming to be members of something called the Team Rainbow wishes to meet you. They also claim to be adventurers."
Felix frowned slightly. He nodded to the Sankta messenger from Tomorrow's Development, who had only recently joined.
"What did Ines say?"
"Lady Ines believes that although they call themselves adventurers, they are far too weak compared to actual adventurers. Physically, they seem frail and do not resemble experienced warriors."
Although that was what they called themselves.
In his previous life, Felix had never heard of any Team Rainbow identifying themselves as adventurers.
Wait.
Why would they call themselves adventurers at all?
Wasn't that strange?
Since Ines had already concluded that they posed no threat, Felix decided to meet them. There was still some time before he needed to finalize the Sami deployment and set out for Iberia.
Inside the conference room, Felix took his seat.
Ines and Theresa stood at his side. Anthony had already left to accompany the Yan convoy and would be responsible for handling negotiations over the coming months.
Felix's attitude toward adventurers was well known, but that didn't mean anyone could request an audience with him whenever they wished. If these people hadn't previously cooperated with members of Tomorrow's Development in the Sargon region and fought alongside them, and if the Sankta who received them hadn't recognized their anxious situation and reported it up the chain, this meeting would never have happened.
The last time Felix had met adventurers privately had been a year ago.
Back then, they had discussed how to deploy warships to repel enemy forces, planning the formation of the first fleet, the second fleet, and beyond.
"Your Highness, they've arrived."
Felix lifted his gaze from the report in his hands and looked toward the door.
The conference room door slowly opened.
Several figures walked in.
There were both men and women among them. Leading the group was a woman with a brown-orange ponytail.
These are… adventurers?
Felix folded his fingers together thoughtfully.
Were these people really adventurers?
Why did their entire style feel so different?
True adventurers always carried a distinct presence. They feared neither death nor hardship. Terra itself seemed to reside in their hearts. That was why they could travel freely across the world and why so many factions regarded them with caution.
But the people standing before him felt weak.
Far weaker than even beginner players.
In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that even a level-one player possessed greater physical strength than these individuals.
What exactly was this?
While Felix was studying them carefully, the newcomers were also observing him just as intently, as if trying to confirm something.
"I told you," one of them whispered. "We were definitely right."
The woman at the front took a deep breath before stepping forward.
"Hello… Your Highness."
"My codename is Ash."
"We come from… a very distant place."
"…?"
Ines and Theresa tilted their heads in confusion. They had assumed that the visitors were adventurers who had come either to share reconnaissance results or to discuss matters related to the war. But it clearly wasn't anything like that.
Felix was also somewhat puzzled. What was going on with these newcomers introducing themselves like this? If it weren't for the strong recommendation from the operator stationed in Sargon, this meeting would never have been arranged.
"Your Highness, we would like to speak with you privately… Please give us strangers a chance."
After hearing this, Felix nodded slightly. Ines did not step forward to object or accuse them of overstepping their bounds. First of all, the other party claimed to be adventurers, and according to Felix, adventurers generally lacked the rigid sense of hierarchy common among the people of Terra. Secondly, their strength was simply too weak.
Whether in terms of physical ability or mental resilience, even a Sarkaz elementary school student would likely surpass them.
The two women exchanged a glance, then stood up and left the conference room, leaving only Felix and the group of adventurers behind.
Once they were gone, Felix turned his attention back to the visitors.
No horns. No tails. No obvious racial traits.
At a glance, they resembled players from Iberia.
"What is it?"
Felix asked casually.
Ash took a deep breath.
"Your Highness… we… we are not from this Terra."
"You mean you come from somewhere beyond Terra?"
"You could say that."
Ash hesitated, clearly struggling with how to explain their situation.
Before meeting Felix, they had already discussed how to describe what had happened. During a mission, they had fallen into a strange void and ended up in the world of Terra. After conducting careful investigations, they discovered something unbelievable.
This place was actually the setting of a popular online game back on Earth.
What kind of situation was that supposed to be?
How could participating in a mission result in them being transported into a video game? Was this game even legal?
If Blitz in their team had not played the game before, they might truly have believed they had been transported to another world.
Felix watched them exchange glances, feeling increasingly puzzled. At the same time, he took the opportunity to examine them more carefully.
Their equipment looked very modern.
"Modern," in this context, did not mean futuristic or technologically advanced in the same sense as Kazdel's inventions. Instead, it resembled the kind of equipment used by the Columbian military.
Or more precisely, it reminded him of military gear from Earth in his previous life.
That style had always been popular among players, so some of Tomorrow's Development' uniforms had been designed with Columbian influences.
"Your Highness… have you ever heard of Earth?"
That question immediately caused Felix's eyes to narrow slightly.
Wasn't that common knowledge among adventurers?
No… that wasn't quite right.
Although Felix possessed the memories of his previous life, his current identity was still bound to the NPC template of the game. Because of this, players were normally unable to reveal information about Earth directly to him. The system would automatically block certain words and concepts, preventing players from sharing "Earth-related intelligence."
These were the restrictions imposed on NPCs.
And yet, just now, he had clearly heard the word "Earth."
He glanced at the report delivered earlier by the Sankta messenger. According to the report, these individuals had already claimed to come from Earth, a place completely unknown to the people of Terra.
They had even introduced themselves this way when meeting other adventurers. However, the other adventurers had simply dismissed them as eccentric.
Which was understandable.
If someone on Earth told another Earthling that they were also from Earth, most people would probably just assume the speaker was a little unhinged.
"I've never heard of it," Felix said decisively, shaking his head. "Adventurers, are you searching for your homeland?"
"Yes…"
Ash hesitated briefly before nodding, encouraged by the teammates standing behind her.
"We were on a military mission on Earth. After entering a cave, we were suddenly swallowed by a blinding light and fell into some kind of void. When we regained consciousness, we found ourselves in the Sargon region."
Felix's expression remained calm, but internally he was deeply surprised.
This storyline was completely different from anything he remembered from his previous life.
What did that mean?
Did it mean that these adventurers dressed like special forces were actually people transported from Earth? People from the same world he once came from?
But then another question immediately arose.
Why had there been no trace of this storyline in his previous life?
Players were extremely sensitive to hidden content. If such a storyline had existed, they would certainly have discovered it long ago. Strategy guides and discussion forums would have been full of information about it.
So why had this group never appeared?
Setting that aside, their method of arriving here was rather… chaotic.
Swallowed by a burst of light and then falling into a void…
Could it be…
Suddenly, Felix thought of something.
The Preserver had once said that the universe where the players lived was a higher plane of existence. The only thing that could normally pass from such a plane into Terra was spiritual power, which was why players could connect to this world.
But now something different had appeared.
Not just spiritual projections, but actual physical bodies had arrived on Terra.
Did this mean that the higher plane and the lower plane where Terra existed were beginning to connect? Or perhaps they were slowly merging? Or had some unexpected accident occurred, causing two universes from different planes to collide?
If there was any event that could explain such a phenomenon, the only one Felix could think of was the shattering of the sky.
It seemed he would need to ask the Preserver what was truly happening.
Meanwhile, the members of Team Rainbow were in a difficult situation of their own.
At first, they had tried to find the players, hoping that doing so might allow them to return home. But they soon realized something disturbing. They had not arrived in Terra as in-game characters.
They had come here in their original physical bodies.
Under such circumstances, returning home seemed impossible.
From the moment they arrived in Terra, they began to sense that something was deeply wrong. This world was nothing like the "game" that players on Earth imagined.
These people were not NPCs.
They were living, breathing individuals.
Blitz had played the game before, and the realization shook him the most. The worldbuilding he had once admired was now becoming reality before his eyes. Players had always praised the game for its depth and realism, but no one had imagined that these characters truly lived their own lives.
They had tried asking players for help.
But Blitz had stopped them.
He understood the nature of players all too well. Revealing their situation too abruptly would only cause confusion or panic. Perhaps a few players might believe them, but most would assume they were lying. After all, they had no proof except their own memories and bodies from Earth.
Could such a story really convince anyone?
There was another problem as well.
Compared to the adventurers and players of Terra, their physical abilities were far too weak. Even ordinary residents of Terra seemed stronger than them. Their weapons were not particularly effective either. A burst of bullets from their rifles often proved less destructive than the arts-infused projectiles commonly used in Terra.
After much discussion, they came to a conclusion.
Only the Leader of Tomorrow's Development might be able to help them.
Among all the figures on Terra, he was known as the most tolerant and friendly ruler toward adventurers.
"I see. You are searching for your homeland."
Felix paused briefly before continuing.
"I wonder if there is anything I can do to help you, adventurers?"
It was obvious that the king still held some doubts about their story. That was perfectly understandable. From his perspective, they were merely strangers making extraordinary claims.
Ash silently accepted this and voiced their request.
They hoped to join Tomorrow's Development as a reconnaissance unit, traveling across Terra as a small team to gather intelligence.
Felix studied the group before him.
Logically speaking, if he could discover how they had arrived here, then perhaps one day he might also find a way back to Earth.
But could he really abandon the people of Terra?
Besides, there had never been a "Version 4.0" in the previous timeline. No one knew what would happen to the players if Terra were destroyed.
After seeing off his fellow Earthlings from Team Rainbow, Felix returned to planning the situation in Sami.
First, he decided to dispatch a group of Sarkaz warriors to the front lines to investigate the current conditions there.
At the same time, he ordered several reconnaissance teams to travel to the Sargon region. Their mission was to locate the cave from which Team Rainbow had emerged so that it could be studied in the future.
After completing these arrangements, Felix took a few days to rest.
Then he informed those around him that he would soon travel to Iberia to fulfill a promise.
Although many people expressed a desire to accompany him, Felix only brought Ines and Asuna. As for the work in Kazdel, he simply handed it over to Theresa, who was already thoroughly familiar with handling such responsibilities.
The reason this trip to Iberia was kept low-key was simple.
Felix had no intention of conducting formal diplomatic activities.
Although Iberia had once cooperated with Tomorrow's Development, the country had been preoccupied in recent years with the threats of the Seaborn and the Deep Sea Church. As a result, it had largely withdrawn from international diplomacy.
After half a day of flight, the aircraft arrived at Brisamar City, the base of Tomorrow's Development and the main hub for players in Iberia.
Traveling south from the city along the continent would eventually lead to a dark coastline facing the endless sea.
Gran Faro was a small, ordinary village located about a day and a night's journey from Brisamar City. Because it stood near the sea, few outsiders had visited it in years, and tourists were almost unheard of.
Inside a dilapidated church in the village, Felix finally met Skadi.
The silver-haired, red-eyed girl sat quietly on a wooden bench, her greatsword resting in her hands as she stared into space.
When she saw Felix enter, her eyes lit up immediately.