Date: June 05, 2018 (Tuesday)
Location: GDA Combat Academy, The Alps / Global Observation
Time: 04:00 PM
In the eleven days that followed, the face of the world transformed completely. Richard's Iron Law had brutally carved humanity into two distinct halves: 'Dangers' and 'Support.'
The GDA Combat Academy, standing like a massive fortress amidst the frozen peaks of the Alps, was now the testing ground for the world's top mutants.
Intelligence reports from the US and China flashed across Richard's screens. Mutants of Rank C and Rank B, possessing high magical affinity, had begun casting 'Active Magic.' By conjuring flames and electrical sparks from thin air, these 'Mages' had started viewing themselves as the gods of a new age.
They believed Richard's Cold Iron blades were primitive relics of a bygone era. To them, magic was the only path forward.
Richard stood behind the bulletproof glass of the observation deck, watching a live combat simulation in the arena below. A B-Rank mage gathered mana in his palms, his face strained with effort. With a loud shout, he unleashed a massive fire-blast at a heavy iron dummy.
The visual impact was terrifying. Flames engulfed the target, and the temperature inside the arena spiked instantly. The mage stood panting with pride, convinced he had achieved ultimate destructive power.
But on Richard's cold, emotionless face, there was no sign of being impressed. His 'Basic Knowledge' skill was busy decoding the raw mathematics behind the visual illusion.
The blast was large, but the current atmospheric mana of Earth was far too unstable. Richard noted that the mage had drained exactly 60% of his mana reserve (MP) in just 4.2 seconds for that single, flashy spell. It was a staggering waste of resources.
Richard pressed the intercom button on the command console. His voice boomed throughout the arena, chilling the air.
"Your blast is flashy, but its efficiency is zero. You burned over half your mana just to heat the outer layer of a stationary metal dummy."
"If you were facing a monster that absorbs magic, your spell would be nothing more than a warm breeze to them," Richard continued. "And before you could even attempt a second spell... you would be dead."
A deathly silence fell over the arena. Richard cut the transmission immediately. In this era of low mana density, relying on pure magic was nothing short of a suicide tactic. He turned away, his mind already calculating the next phase of training.
Suddenly, Aris hurried onto the observation deck, holding a glowing data-pad. "Director, we have a situation in the Geneva central square. A major anomaly was just detected."
Richard turned his gaze toward the main screen to witness the disturbance.
Just one foot above the ground, the air was literally 'cracking.' It looked as though someone had thrown a heavy stone at the glass of reality from the inside. It wasn't a portal or a door, but a flickering, black-and-purple fracture floating in zero gravity.
The space surrounding the crack appeared distorted, warping the light around it. Pedestrians in Geneva, caught between terror and curiosity, began to gather around the glitch in reality. One man, seemingly hypnotized, reached his hand out toward the fracture.
Richard did not hesitate for a single second. He entered a global override command, hijacking the emergency speakers in the Geneva square.
"Stay back!" his sharp, icy voice thundered through the speakers, forcing the crowd to recoil in fear. "The anchor is still forming," Richard warned.
He knew this was no miracle. This was physical proof that the fabric of Earth's reality was tearing apart. The true door would open in exactly eight days, and the monsters would finally arrive. The countdown had officially begun.