No one knew how much time had passed, but no new wizards appeared on the Ship Plane.
Benjamin, who had been happily using the pressure to train, sensed that something had changed.
Raising his head, he saw that the Level 8 Wizards in the sky were still scattered throughout the area, but the atmosphere of the entire space seemed to have undergone some subtle shift. High above, an enormous projection slowly emerged.
It was a faceless humanoid figure, composed entirely of pale blue light. Its outline was blurry, yet it gave everyone the strange feeling that it was watching them all.
"Everyone."
The voice held no emotion, calm as though it were stating something self-evident.
Yet every wizard who heard it instinctively fell silent.
Benjamin's pupils contracted slightly. He immediately recognized the owner of that voice.
The Magic Network's artificial intelligence—Felix, one of the core nodes of the Star Ring Federation's entire Magic Network.
It was usually everywhere, yet it rarely appeared directly before others. Even Benjamin had met this artificial intelligence only once before, because of the Self-Stabilizing Field Regulation Protocol.
"The Ship Plane is preparing to connect with the Ship Planes of the other three Four Great Factions." Felix's voice spread through the entire space. "Please be prepared."
The moment it finished speaking, Benjamin felt the metallic plain beneath his feet begin to tremble.
It was not the violent shaking of an earthquake, but an extremely low-frequency vibration that seemed capable of penetrating deep into his bones.
He looked into the distance.
At the end of the plain, an enormous rift appeared on the horizon.
The rift widened, tearing apart vast space as though the entire sky were sliding open to either side.
Beyond the rift was another sky.
Grayish white, tinged with faint red.
It was the