Don't confiscate my identity as a human race

In the bustling heart of Ichrite Academy, a massive building stands tall and proud.

This is the center of the entire campus, surrounded by the territories of the four main faculties.

All sorts of classical and modern buildings have their unique charms within the academy, but against the backdrop of the massive central building, they seem slightly inferior.

This is not only due to the enormous size of the building but also because its existence contrasts distinctly with everything else surrounding it.

Compared with the nearby Gothic or Renaissance buildings oozing a sense of history, this place looks more like a military fortress.

Its walls are deep blue as if made of iron, surrounded by layers of powerful barrier formulas, emanating a soft golden glow around the building and forming visible magic protection barriers.

For students, merely sensing its existence from afar is like bearing an invisible weight of oppression.

Only with proper credentials can one enter this building via the sole main gate, after passing numerous security checks.

Around the circumference of this barrier, a number of Royal Palace Knights clad in splendid armor closely patrol.

They are not ordinary campus guards, but elite knights dispatched by the Hutton Kingdom. If anyone dares to intrude, they would surely not return.

All of these are due to the fact that inside this building is a Void Gate leading to the Shadow World.

To prevent cultists or lawbreakers from entering the Shadow World, all the static void gates on the South Continent are guarded and controlled by The Shadow World Management Association and Southern Continent Joint Council with the greatest effort.

In Lanci's Hutton Kingdom, there are five large void gates, one of which is located within Ichrite Magic Academy.

Or rather, the academy was initially built around this door, gathering the top scholars and combatants.

At the time of sunset.

The Ichrite Academy is coated in a molten gold hue, painting a serene yet dreamy picture.

Lanci and Hyperion move through the security checks of the building, their shadows elongating on the broad road.

Until they finally entered the interior of the building.

In the spacious area before them, a prodigiously large Void Gate stood still.

Its appearance is a mix of bizarre, mysterious, and creator-like beauty; the frame is constructed of meteor-like materials, the surface is mirror-smooth, the edges glowing like liquid starlight, with colors intermittently flashing between black purple and silver-white.

The whole gate emanates a faint purple glow, like the deepest light in the night sky, flickering and faintly visible, mysteriously unfathomable, as if countless stars were gently rotating in a vortex.

"What's our team name?"

Gazing at the last security check and its working table, and the vacant venue before her, Hyperion asks Lanci.

You only need to register your Challenger license here, and let the staff check your [Shadow World Recording Program] apparatus, then you can challenge via the Void Gate ahead.

If a "Team Card" is used for a team challenge, the team's name should also be registered.

The "Team Card" is another type of Tool Magic Card; it's full name is [Shadow World Collaboration Program].

Lanci thinks that the name doesn't matter too much.

So, according to the characteristics of them being a team...

"Fill in 'Civilization Example Team'."

Lanci answered.

Hyperion was about to say something, but then she just nodded.

She felt there was a lot to fuss about, but decided to let it go.

Just let him have his fun...

Next, they both handed their licenses and two different Tool Magic Cards to the staff at the security checkpoint desk, waiting for them to process their paperwork.

"Once you enter the Void Gate, the Shadow World will automatically start matching challengers with suitable existing Shadow Worlds. This is out of human control, so once the matching has started, do not casually step out of the Void Gate, or you might get separated. Got it?"

The uniformed officer, while registering them with the magic instrument at hand, noticed that both their challenge counts were at 0 and kindly gave them a brief explanation.

"Understood."

They both nodded in agreement.

"Since there will also be challengers from portals all around the world matching at the same time, you two of lower rank generally won't have to wait long."

The staff was operating the crystal screen of the magic instrument and explaining common scenarios to the two of them.

Even though Lanci and Hyperion were familiar with this knowledge, they still listened attentively.

A real Shadow World, the lower-order challengers are easier to match successfully. After all, the frequency and quantity of low-order Shadow Worlds are high.

However, high-order Shadow Worlds appear less frequently, and sometimes, even if challengers are willing to play, there would be no Shadow World available for them to challenge.

When the association detects the emergence of a seventh-order or higher, disaster-level Shadow World, the Southern Continent Joint Council will issue a warning to various countries. Multiple countries will then begin negotiations to send out highly powerful and suitable challengers and teams.

The higher the level of the Shadow World, the more severe the disaster caused by failure.

If the erosion caused by failure in the second or third-order Shadow World is considered trivial, then the failure of a seventh-order or higher Shadow World will bring about a true large-scale disaster.

Therefore, any country and power will treat high-order Shadow Worlds with extreme caution.

This is also the reason why high-level Shadow World challengers have a lofty status.

Their voices have weight not only in their own kingdoms but also in the Southern Continent Joint Council!

There are two methods for a fixed group of challengers to enter the same Shadow World.

Either they are top challengers, and because their numbers are few and the Shadow Worlds suitable for them are scarce, they will basically end up matched together if they enter at the same time.

Or another stable method is to carry the "Team Card"—

[Shadow World Collaboration Program]

[Category: Magic Card]

[Grade: White Ordinary]

[Rank: 1]

[Passive Effect: Will match with companions who carry the same cooperation program number into the same Shadow World.]

[Remarks: No. 891852279 Team Card]

This is the team card that Lanci and Hyperion purchased at the entrance desk.

It is jointly issued by the South Continent Shadow World Management Association and the Cardmaker's Association. It is a team tool card processed and replicated from a natural team function card that originated from the birth of the Shadow World.

The more team members there are, the harder it is to match them into the Shadow World. The waiting time is also longer, and the difficulty increases compared to individual challenges.

However, if it's just a two-person team, the side effects are minimal.

"Alright, when you guys come out, just give the [Shadow World Record Program] a read, and you can take back your challenger license and leave."

The staff returned their tool magic cards to them, and the gate in front of them opened.

He gestured to the two of them to go in.

Lanci and Hyperion took their tool magic cards and thanked him, then walked towards the Void Gate.

They walked the few hundred steps in silence and arrived in front of the Void Gate.

"Are you ready?"

Lanci turned his head and smiled at Hyperion.

"Of course."

Hyperion nodded.

Unlike the doors created by the Artificial Shadow World terminals, the real Void Gate is a bottomless black hole. Simply approaching it gives one the sensation of an invisible pull, as though it intends to suck the soul of any visitor into this boundless unknown world.

But Lanci showed no hesitation. He moved straight forward and stepped in as if passing through the surface of the water.

Suddenly, sound, sight, consciousness, even time itself, all disappeared in this instant.

What could be sensed was only the breath of the universe, the endless stars, and the unfathomable void.

It was as if two worlds were interweaving with each other, relying on each other to form. After everything was turned upside down, they finally arrived in a brand new world.

[The story interweaved by shadow and reality unravels again this morning.]