Chapter 458 - Seven Fantasy Boundaries
Everyone in the Dragon Soul Continent knew that their world was in a ’round’ shape.
However, their concept of ’round’ was different from Rhode’s perception of a ‘globe’. In the legends of the Dragon Soul Continent, this continent was enclosed in a circular, egg-like existence. No matter if one was lifting one’s head to the sky or lowering it to the ground beneath one’s feet, the sceneries were all ‘inside the shell’. Whereas, the ‘outside the shell’ was filled with chaos, disorder, and destruction. The Mages’ historical studies on this world concluded that apart from the surface that they were standing on, there were other Planes of Existence. Other than the underground world and the bottomless abyss, there were the Four Main Elemental Planes of Existence and the so-called Seven Fantasy Boundaries. According to the Mages’ research and ancient legends handed down from generation to generation, the Seven Fantasy Boundaries belonged in another dimension of the Dragon Soul Continent. No one was clear of their exact origins and there were two explanations to the Seven Fantasy Boundaries.
One explanation implied that the Seven Fantasy Boundaries branched out beneath the Four Main Elemental Planes of Existence. The other explanation believed that the Seven Fantasy Boundaries were where the Creator Dragon Souls were born. Although there were many different statements regarding this subject, no one had ever stepped into the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. However, a Mage’s summoning spell could prove its existence because the summoning spell could summon presences that belonged out of this world. According to the summoned creatures, the world they came from was the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. But no matter what level they were, they couldn’t provide further details regarding their world as though they were bound by a certain contract. Some Mages attempted to force the summoned creatures for answers, but as long as the summoned creatures’ forbidden explanations triggered their hidden core, their contract would be terminated instantly and they would be sent back. Until now, the only answer that they received regarding the Seven Fantasy Boundaries were the names of each boundary: Shadow Ravine, Silver Ocean, Shade Forest, Fiery Plain, Steel Terra Firma, Heavenly Palace, Forgotten Land.
If one were to view this entire world in the shape of an eggshell, the Four Main Elemental Planes of Existence would be its base while the Seven Fantasy Boundaries would be the pillars to support the roof. Lastly, the roof and walls would be the Five Creator Dragon Souls. All of them formed a firm and substantial barrier to protect the Dragon Soul Continent from the dangerous outside world.
Marlene was an Elemental Mage and she learned about the Seven Fantasy Boundaries in her compulsory academic course. Furthermore, powerful Mages in the school had once created a similar spell to summon a creature from the other dimension to serve himself. But…
“Rhode, that crystal in your hand… links to which Plane of Existence out of the Seven?” Marlene felt uneasy because she had interacted with creatures from the Seven Fantasy Boundaries. Normally, creatures from the Shade Forest and the Heavenly Palace were gentle and reasonable whereas, creatures from the Fiery Plain and Shadow Ravine were extremely dangerous with an aggressive and irritable nature. If possible, Marlene didn’t wish to see the Fortress in a tizzy and would want to continue living a peaceful life.
“I’m not too sure. Let’s try it out,” Rhode paused for a moment before gazing at Christie. Unlike the aborigines in the game, many players suspected that the Seven Fantasy Boundaries might belong to the Six Devil Guardians’s territory. This was particularly so for the players who loved to unearth the game’s content and they discovered the similarities between the Seven Fantasy Boundaries and the Six Devil Guardians’s territory. These players posted a research report of 10k words on the forums to prove that the Seven Fantasy Boundaries was where the Six Devil Guardians and their masters lived and ruled through a series of data, attributes, and equipment relics. However, as this report was overly complicated and Rhode wasn’t a maniac in researching the game’s background, he didn’t analyze the report clearly.
But if the Seven Fantasy Boundaries really had something to do with the Six Devil Guardians…
Christie didn’t seem to act peculiarly at all. Like Anne, Christie looked at the crystal on Rhode’s hand with pure curiosity and excitement and it seemed that the little girl wasn’t rattled by Rhode and Marlene’s conversation. But Rhode had no anticipations of getting any answers from Christie, so he turned his gaze from the little girl to the crystal instead. Then, he shut his eyes and activated the Construction Menu.
“Woah, it’s so cold. Anne can’t take it anymore,” Anne was the first amongst the young ladies to break the silence. She glanced at Agatha secretly before rubbing her arms for warmth. “This sister doesn’t have any expression at all, just like Leader.”
“… I think… She is very beautiful…” Christie commented with a smile as she scanned Agatha curiously while folding her tiny arms.
“She… doesn’t seem to be a human?” Lize’s concern seemed to be much more essential.
“If I’m not mistaken, she must be an Ocean Elf.” Marlene turned her gaze from the self-twisting tentacle-looking hair on the young lady and answered softly. Apart from Rhode, Marlene had the most say when it came to questions about the magical creatures.
“Ocean Elf… Sister Marlene, are you saying that… She is a different kind of Elf?” Anne widened her eyes in astonishment before turning around once more to scan Agatha from her head to ‘toe’. “But… She looks so different from all the Elves Anne has seen.”
“I’m not too sure about this either…” Marlene hesitated unusually but continued to explain after a few moments. “But I have read one of the books in my school’s collections. Rumor has it in ancient times, some Elves left the continent and lived in the other Planes of Existence. We don’t know how they managed to leave, but we do know that the Elves transformed themselves in order to adapt to the living conditions in the Planes of Existence. I think…” Marlene paused and stole a glance at the Ocean Elf. She observed the eight tentacles supporting her body that seemed as though a noble lady’s dress and the hair ends that were twisting and turning by themselves. “… Maybe, Miss Agatha is really one of those Ocean Elves.”
“Woah…” Anne cried out in surprise as though she understood what Marlene had explained. However, she exposed herself with her next remark immediately. “That sounds awesome.”
“…” Marlene rolled her eyes upon hearing Anne’s typical, innocent answer. She turned around and gazed at the exquisite mural that had returned to its original state. The colorful radiances were gone and the crystal had blended into it perfectly. But this time, Marlene’s gaze was totally different.
“Nessingemlce…” she mumbled softly.