After Petra finished clearing the area around the gate, ensuring that the giant monster was defeated, she began the construction of the single-use teleport gate. Unfortunately, such gates were becoming far harder to utilize as the floors progressed. If this large, circular portal were to be used on a floor in the single digits, it would be able to be a permanent installation. Sadly, on the twenty-seventh floor, the item would be irreparably damaged after a mere five minutes of usage.

The portal itself rested on a brass platform, unfolded from numerous large squares and anchored in the dirt. On either side of the platform was a magic gem containing a large quantity of mana. The portal itself was a set of mithral-alloy rings five meters in diameter, and with hundreds of runes carved along their outer edges.

We’ll probably need a new portal system starting from the next floor… Petra thought to herself with a shake of her head as she finished the installation process. As the hum of the mana began to ring out into the surroundings, she produced her portable terminal. Well, at least these things work based on simple mana signatures…

Activating the terminal’s interface, she typed out a message to the guild leader, letting him know that the installation was complete. Soon, he would arrive with a squad of Aurivy’s priests to establish a permanent teleportation network. In the meantime…

Petra’s eyes turned towards the massive slab of smooth, black stone with a smile. This was always her favorite part, taking a look at what the next layer of Fyor would be like. She only hoped that it would not be another area like the twenty-sixth where shadow powers were all but useless.

Thelsa, I’m heading out. You want to join me? She transmitted through her shadow to Thelsa, who was currently working as a waitress at Gate’s Rest.

Give me just a minute to take my break and prepare a replacement, and I’ll head over. Petra’s smile grew wider at that, rocking back and forth on her heels like an excited child. As soon as she felt the familiar presence appearing in her shadow, she made a quick dash for the portal, ignoring the silverish rings lighting up behind her. The black slab opened, and Petra practically leapt through.

Kliiing! The first sound she heard on the other side was the clashing of blades, the shouting of men and women in an unfamiliar tongue. Startled, Petra dove into the shadow of the gate, extending her senses to observe the surrounding environment.

Petra could see that the black slab appeared to be embedded into the wall of a great fortress. Or rather, the fortress was most likely built around the slab, using it as an unbreakable wall. Thanks to that, the security on this particular region was somewhat more lax, nobody noticing the demonic girl’s entrance and subsequent disappearance.

Petra soon made out two groups of people fighting within the fortress. The defenders appeared to be almost entirely human, but their eyes seemed to glow in every color of the rainbow. Most of this race fought casting runic spells, chanting in groups while a select few wielded swords and shields.

The attacking group appeared to be similar in build to dwarves, but with ash-colored skin. Among these ‘gray dwarves’, a select few stood as tall as a human, some even as large as a heroc. None of them appeared to be using magic, instead fighting with the strength of their weapons and the power of nature.

Rainbow-eyed humans and gray-skinned dwarves…? Petra asked in shock, though the majority of her attention was turned to the unusual human-like race. How did they learn runes this advanced?

It had to be known that the only reason the races of Fyor knew the runic tongue was due to the deliverance of Aurivy and Bihena, who shared this knowledge with the world over time. Without that knowledge, it was very likely that they would still be stumbling to figure out the first tier of runes on their own.

And yet, this unknown race was undoubtedly using third tier runic magic in large groups, and doing so fluently at that. Never before had a race born outside the core of Fyor been able to wield runes with such mastery. At first, Petra thought that perhaps this was another ‘chosen race’ by the Keeper, but she quickly dismissed that thought. In order for a race of Fyor to enter the ranks of ‘chosen races’, their racial sphere must be delivered to the core of Fyor.

It’s likely that they simply have a high natural affinity with magic. Thelsa suggested, though she herself seemed quite surprised by the development. As one that studied magic herself, she was all too familiar with the difficulty of memorizing high level runic spells.

Somehow, the dwarves were able to fight evenly with the power of these mages, despite not appearing to use ki in a skillful manner. Instead, the spells appeared to have trouble damaging their tough hides. This created an equilibrium where the rainbow-eyed humans and gray-skinned dwarves fought on equal footing.

What should we do? Petra asked in concern, fidgeting within the shadow. I don’t think a situation like this has ever happened before, right?

Petra knew that they could not just carelessly get involved in the conflict of the local races. How could they know who was right and who was wrong when they only just arrived and could not speak the same language? Perhaps this fort originally belonged to the dwarves, and they were merely taking it back.

First, let’s update our map. Thelsa encouraged gently. After that, you can go and tell the guild leader what we found. There are precedents where the natives have responded peacefully, so there should not be too much trouble establishing a diplomatic group.

Petra nodded her head, stretching out her shadow to map out this world. For those present, all they could see was a momentary flash of darkness, as if the light of the world had flickered for a brief moment. For Petra, however, the shadow world was quickly layered atop what they had already obtained, and Thelsa was pouring over the information in real time by deploying thousands of shadow scouts across the entire layer.

It’s big… unreasonably so. If one were to walk across the entire surface of this layer… four million? No, it’s probably even more than four million kilometers. Petra’s eyes went wide at that estimation, despite it already being roughly within the range that was to be expected. With twenty-seven layers already explored, scholars had long ago found the pattern for how the individual layers grew in relation to one another.

From what had been uncovered, each layer was a little more than fifty percent larger than the layer before it. Still, it was a different story to hear it from a research paper as opposed to experiencing it directly. This was part of the thrill she felt every time she explored a new layer. The unknown environment, the strange conditions, the possibility of seeing unheard-of races.

Petra practically had to force herself out of her shadow, to retreat back through the gate again. Thankfully, the black slab had been an immutable fact in the development of this world, never changing in the slightest, so nobody noticed her in the heat of battle.

By the time she returned, she could see the dovah guild leader already directing the priests to link with this gate. Off in the back, one priest who had already done so was opening a gate to begin the transportation of building materials. When the guild leader saw Petra, he waved at her with a broad smile. “You did good work today, Black.” He said, calling her by her old code name.

Not many people remembered this name, as she had only been playing smaller roles before her reveal on the twenty-fifth floor. Those who went digging, however, would learn that she has been active for centuries, confirming that she was by no means a normal demon. Petra gave a small nod at the praise, her expression difficult.

The guild leader seemed to notice the expression, his eyes becoming serious. “Is the next layer inhospitable?” This was a dark reality that they had to brace themselves for every time they entered a new layer. One that they had almost had to face when arriving at the twenty-sixth floor. There was every possibility that a gate could simply be resting in a pool of lava, or in an environment that was innately hostile to outsiders.

“Not… entirely.” Petra shook her head to deny the worst-case scenario. “There are sentient races around the gate. Two of them, from what I could immediately see, and they were at war. A proper war with swords and magic… high level runic magic at that.”

The dovah’s eyes went wide in shock, his bestial jaw hanging slightly open. “Are you sure?” He couldn’t help but ask, as he knew that Petra was not personally a runic mage.

Petra simply returned his question with a wry smile. “I’m sure. Dozens of mages chanted long runic spells in unison, as if they were born knowing the language. The level of advancement… think Sher Dien’s architecture. It all looked like stonework with wide open spaces, and I didn’t see anything that would suggest a level of technological advancement beyond the ability to forge metal weapons.”

He nodded his head in response, a grave expression barely concealed by his matted fur. “I understand. I’ll pass the message along. If this is truly a meeting with a new, civilized culture, then it’s not something for us to monopolize. I’ll send out invitations to each of the allied worlds, so we can all show a united front when it is time to make contact. Once that happens, can I count on you to lead the escort team?”

Petra’s troubled expression immediately gave way to a bright smile, nodding her head happily. “I’d love to do so, sir! Just let me know when everything is ready. I’ll be staying at Gate’s Rest until then, so just check the usual spots or call me on my terminal.”

The dovah let off a light chuckle at Petra’s sudden change in attitude, clearly knowing how the girl craved adventure and excitement. “I’ll be sure to do just that. In the meantime, you’ve confirmed that the area here is safe?” He glanced around at the charred remains of the forest wall from where Petra had slain the floral behemoth.

“As safe as it can be.” Petra nodded her confirmation. “There was a monster occupying the land before, so I had to remove it. I’ve confirmed its death, but I can’t make any promises beyond the immediate area. If I were you, I’d prioritize the defenses once everything was set up.”

The guild leader nodded his head, accepting her advice. The aftermath of the fire was all the evidence that he needed to know how she ‘removed’ the monster. The air was still hot and dry, a stark contrast from the otherwise humid atmosphere that permeated most of the layer. “In that case, I’ll let you go and relax. You’ve earned your break.” As he said that, he tossed a small bag towards Petra, containing the reward for the commission she accepted to find the gate.

Petra held the bag with a smile, nodding her head and sinking into the shadow.

From within the Admin Room, I narrowed my eyes at the screen, which now displayed the scene of the twenty-eighth layer of Fyor. There weren’t just two races, but three that lived there. The first was known as the Ash Dwarves, who lived within tall mountains and deep tunnels. Like normal dwarves, they boasted an incredible ability when it came to forging, but unlike their counterparts they showed little aptitude for ki. Instead, they favored the use of natural energy.

The second race was one I was simply calling the Rainbow Eyes, due to their iconic feature. They had a natural affinity for magic, but more than that… “Is that what I think it is?” I asked, glancing over towards Accalia, who had a serious expression on her face.

“It is… I suppose you could call this a manastone?” She suggested, seeing the veins of strange material running throughout the territory of the Rainbow Eyes. Like the elemental stones, this one was connected to the plane of mana, which James had only roughly explained to me previously. Strange symbols could be seen released from the stones at different points along with the steady stream of mana. These symbols were naturally runes, enabling the magically inclined race to easily grasp their meaning and usage.

“Run a check for any monsters that might have gotten through. The fact that there are developed civilizations makes it a bit unlikely, but we still need to check.” I said gravely, turning my attention to the third race. This was a humanoid race that kept to itself, its face a blank mask of flesh. Their senses originated from their mastery of ki, forming a thin sphere around themselves.

This race was known as the Faceless Monks, or at least that’s what I was calling them for the moment. As they had no mouths, they lived by absorbing ki from their ‘food’, and they ‘talked’ entirely through a strange body language. Small twitches seemed to indicate entire words based on the body parts used, and these movements were picked up by the ki fields of the other party. All in all… not a race I was looking forward to meeting personally.