“Rea Laevateinn!”
✦ ✦ ✦
A wall of flames.
From the ground within the magic circle sprang countless columns of flame.
Safely within the jade circle, many of the battle-party members had to shield their ears from the thunderous eruption. The pillars of fire kept growing, extending all the way up to the ceiling. The remaining Fomoire were caught up in the firestorm and torn apart, not to mention being swallowed whole by the inferno.
The monsters’ cries of pain were snuffed out one by one as their forms vanished.
This was an area of effect magic, capable of destroying everything in a given area. A horde of more than fifty monsters was reduced to ash in mere seconds by this spell.
Sparks flew as intense heat filled the floor.
One by one, the members of the battle party lowered their weapons.
The faces of Aiz and her fellow adventurers were dyed by the crimson flames.
There was once a great Hole in the world.
It was as if the mouth of the planet had opened wide. This Hole existed long before humanity had discovered it for themselves. No one knew how it got there.
The Hole continuously gave birth to evil creatures, seemingly a door to some monstrous realm.
Hideous creatures of all shapes and sizes emerged from within, taking over the forests, mountains, valleys, oceans, and skies of Earth. The monsters’ sweeping conquest stretched across every domain. All the surface races put aside their differences in order to reclaim their dignity, regain control of the world, and take revenge for their fallen kin. The disparate species rallied for a great counterstroke.
The newly emerged heroes led the charge as all peoples fought a war of attrition against the invading monsters—until the beasts were forced all the way back to the Hole from which they came.
Inside the Hole was a completely different world.
It was a realm divided into many levels—an underground Dungeon.
Illuminated by strange light sources in the absence of natural sunlight, never-before-seen species of plants and previously undiscovered ores and minerals were found throughout the labyrinth. Whether it was these new discoveries or the monsters that lived off the power of the magic stones in their chests, the Dungeon was absolutely brimming with the unknown.
Humans and demi-humans constructed a tower over the Hole to serve as a “lid” to prevent the monsters from coming aboveground.
At the same time, the humans couldn’t help but wonder what lay at the bottom of the Hole. It wasn’t long before eccentric people who thought the vast subterranean frontier needed to be fully explored began to appear.
Eventually, these people would become known as “adventurers.”
For them, the call of the unknown was irresistible.
✦ ✦ ✦
Time passed.
The era known as the “Ancient Times” abruptly came to an end.
The gods descended from heaven.
The beings from a higher plane came down to this land that they called “Gekai”—the lower world.
They were bored of their eternal existence in the upper realm of “Tenkai” but were entertained by the people of earth—“children,” in their eyes—specifically the many cultures they had created and their constant struggle against monsters.
The gods’ decision to descend from heaven caused many changes.
Mankind gained access to unlimited potential through the Blessings of deities, resulting in rapid increases of physical strength as well as an explosion of invention and creativity.
Of course, this included exploration of the monster den beneath their feet.
The Labyrinth City, Orario.
Built over the Hole, the city went through many cycles of destruction and rebirth in becoming the greatest metropolis in the world.
People gathered from far and wide for fame and fortune, and to discover the uncharted lands that lay sleeping below.
Outlaws, obsessed with their desires; adventurers, burning with their love of the unknown; and deities, wanting to be entertained by all the unfolding stories—they are at the center of this world.
This is where all their hopes, dreams, and stories intertwine.
✦ ✦ ✦
The olden days, during which people would offer their prayers to the gods for enlightenment or good fortune, have ended.
Now is an era when mortals can plainly ask for their smallest wishes to be granted, receive fragments of divine charity, and make their dreams come true.
For fame, for fortune, for the unknown.
To reach distant heights, to fulfill their desires—their most earnest wishes.
The Era of the Gods has begun.