As Alex was checking his first withdrawal in an unfamiliar location, a disconcerting scene was taking place.
Around a circle 50 meters in diameter, with runic patterns, which were practically indiscernible, as they came from a long forgotten era, and only their use was deciphered after a thousand years of research by the greatest scholars ever known.
Ensconced in this magical circle were six figures, five evenly spaced around and one in the center, all imposing enough to make kingdoms tremble, cities desert, and people wet their pants in fear.
Some in green robes, others in blue robes, and some in other colors, but the one that really stood out was the figure in the center, who had a golden robe with intricate black runic patterns.
They were in front of a huge monolith that supported a lifeless gray stone, this stone was 2 meters high and approximately 1 meter in circumference.
At a safe distance from this runic circle were some figures that were not at all less impressive than the figures in robes, on the contrary some were much more impressive.
With majestic and suffocating auras, which carried an immense amount of barely contained power.
Whether they were figures in the circle or figures far away, they had been without opening their mouths for almost two hours, no sound was uttered, they were waiting for something but it did not materialize in any way.
Finally the silence was broken by one of the distant figures.
"Archmage Durahan, what is happening with the summoning circle because the power of the magic stone has been completely sucked out and yet there is no sign of the Hero?" asked a tall and imposing figure, with long hair and purple eyes, he wore a sword at his waist and his aura seemed capable of splitting the world with the slightest movement.
"My lord, everything should have gone well and the hero should have appeared, right in front of us more than an hour ago" replied the figure that was in the center of the summoning circle, he was the one responsible for the entire management of the process of summoning the hero, due to his knowledge in magic that was almost unmatched in the world.
"But something happened, because no matter how you look at it, according to the records the circle activated and the hero was summoned, but somehow he's not here" he finished with a sigh, because even with his SS runic mage class, and with his 150 level he was powerless in this matter
"But now he is nowhere to be found, the supposed only hope of this world and our race is nothing more than smoke, an illusion, and even if he comes I highly doubt he will be stronger than any of us here. Instead of wasting time with this, you should be training the next generation at the academy" growled an imposing figure, his aura almost equaling the figure with the sword, but he had a spear as a weapon, strapped to his back.
He had a robust body, around 2 meters tall, with black hair and even blacker eyes, which seemed like the incarnation of the abyss.
"Stop it Barian, you know that the only solution to our situation is the hero, we are already cornered in a corner, even with 10 of us here and the shield activated, we are surviving by a thread, without the hero we will all perish, our world will perish, and our race will be exterminated before we see this end" said a female figure, who had an aura that matched Barian's.
She had long silvery yellow hair, which cascaded down her back, her figure was slender and prepared for battle, she had a shield on one side of her waist and a bow with a quiver of arrows on her back.
"I know our situation is difficult, but instead of wasting time chasing a hero that no one knows where he is, or if he will be of any use, we should be focusing on something else, you more than anyone should know that, Eleonor" Barian spoke, raising his tone, with words that clearly affected the other party, making his aura boil, and causing the pressure in the room to rise to unimaginable levels.
Before Eleanor could raise her aura to match the insult and unleash chaos at once, a cold, pragmatic, and experienced voice cut through the air.
"Instead of these petty disputes between you, we should focus on another aspect, first finding the hero, and second but not least, knowing why the mana stone used up all its power, when according to the records it shouldn't have used up even half of it to summon a single hero?!" Said a man who appeared to be 50 years old, but who in reality was much older.
He has gray hair, an almost white but well-trimmed beard, an average height, but an undeniable aura of power, he had the most experience among everyone there, he might not be the strongest but he was the one who lived the longest, he didn't have a weapon, at least apparently not.
"Mr. Conrad is right, this is not the time for petty squabbles, but rather to find a solution, and find answers to these questions," said the purple-haired figure who seemed to possess the most amount of respect and authority in the room.
"So Magnus, what do you suggest we do? Stay here waiting until death? Since you're the strongest, you should know everything, right?" Barian spoke in a tone of false respect, and everyone could feel it, but Magnus, already used to his insults, and without paying much attention, spoke.
"I believe that the wizards who worked the most on this endeavor must know something about what could have happened to the hero, they spent a lot of time studying to be able to start this summoning" he said turning his attention to the men in the summoning circle
But none of the men dared to raise their heads when they were under such pressure, seeing all these being gathered together
Each of the mages were level 100 and above, with at least one S-rank skill, but none of them dared to even blink, as they knew that these people were in a league of their own.
Each of them could wipe out a city of billions in seconds.
Could reshape the geography of the world, with one or no movement at all
Only the archmage could withstand the pressure without breaking a sweat, and even he didn't dare to take a single wrong step, as he knew that he was not comparable to these beings.
But one of the wizards who wore a gray robe, symbolizing the space element, raised his head and with a trembling voice said
"Er... gentlemen, I think I have an explanation, which might fit our situation" said a young wizard who possessed a level S skill, teleportation, his name was Alban
"Then speak, you don't need to be afraid" said Magnus as he knew that his auras were suffocating the young man
Afraid, but unable to remain silent, as he knew he could die at any second if he took a false step, he began to speak.
"I believe, it's just a theory, that the hero was successfully summoned, and..." Before he could finish speaking, a black aura pressed him to the ground
"If he was summoned then why isn't he here, you say that just based on a theory, you think our time is a toy, you worm, I should..." Barian spoke with irritation and arrogance in his voice, but before he could say any more nonsense Magnus put his hand on his shoulder
"Enough Barian, as you said, we don't have time for this" said Magnus as he took his aura outside, making everyone fall silent, seeing that there was no more intrusion he looked at the wizard and asked him to continue
"I believe the Hero was summoned, but to the ruins of the ancient capital, as the first summoning circle used to summon a hero was created there and copied here when the royal capital fell hundreds of years ago," said the young man faster than he would have liked, due to fear and nervousness.
"If that is true, then the hero..." Eleanor began but stopped due to how dangerous her words would be.
But Conrad continued, "That's right, he must be in hostile territory now, surrounded by monsters who have taken the ruins of the capital as their homes."
"Then we have to go get him, because even though it's still alliance territory, and far from the fallen territory, it's still very close to their territory, if they find the hero first, we're lost, they might even enslave him, or worse, end the only hope of the world, and especially of humanity" said Magnus in a serious tone, before starting to chant orders.
He was designated as leader for two reasons, his unmatched strength among humanity and his strategic intelligence.
"Archmage Durahan will be responsible for the rescue, I need you to find the hero by the end of the day," he said to the figure in the golden robe, with no room for negotiation.
And without Alex knowing it, he was already attracting the attention of beings who could destroy the Earth with a simple thought.
But before they could take a single step
All ten figures stopped talking, their behavior went from casual to serious with no room for jokes, their battle intentions flared, and each of them prepared themselves, either by placing their hand on the hilt or shaft of the weapon, or by preparing a spell or ability
their attention was focused, outwardly observing far beyond what any normal person could think, as their perceptions were in a league of their own, capable of observing the entire domain of humanity, with billions of people in seconds
And before anyone could say anything, the ground began to shake and then
Booooommmm!!