196 - The Seventh Entrance

The new Earth gate was already attracting attention when Subin and the expedition reached the Crossroads headquarters.

Unlike the previous entrances, which had appeared at widely separated locations and initially required extensive stabilization, this one had formed almost completely intact. Its coordinates placed it far north of the regions currently controlled by the major Earth expeditions, in an area that had previously been considered unsuitable for large-scale operations.

Director Kang's projection was waiting for them.

"The gate appeared six hours ago," he said. "The local authorities secured the surrounding area before civilians could approach. Initial scans show a stable connection."

"Any indication of where it leads?" Subin asked.

"Not yet. No team has entered."

Ara stepped closer to the projection.

"Have you measured its environmental signature?"

"Yes. That's why I wanted you back."

Kang enlarged the data.

The readings were unusual.

The gate wasn't connected to the Frozen Region, Golden Valley, Volcanic Region, or any of the other environments they had already mapped. Its mana signature was distinct.

Yerin studied the information.

"So it's another region."

"That's our assumption."

Subin looked at the coordinates.

"How far from the Arctic entrance?"

"About eight hundred kilometers."

Ara frowned.

"That is close enough to be part of the same northern network."

Kang nodded.

"That's what we're trying to determine."

The Crossroads representatives had already begun preparing an expedition, but Kang made one thing clear.

"This won't be a normal dungeon entry. The northern entrance is stable, but we have no information about the internal environment."

Subin looked at the others.

"We'll go."

Jae-hyun smiled.

"You didn't even think about it."

"We're already here."

Liu Wei laughed.

"That's apparently enough reasoning for him."

The expedition was assembled quickly.

Subin, Yerin, Jae-hyun, Liu Wei, Rafael, Ara, Ethan Han, and several experienced Earth Awakeners joined the team. Sel provided two Crossroads Wardens to establish contact with any local settlements they encountered.

Kael remained in the volcanic region to continue monitoring the regulators.

Before leaving, Subin reviewed the updated World Dungeon map.

Six major external entrances were already documented.

This would be the seventh.

But the map showed something else.

The new gate appeared to be positioned almost directly above a region that had previously been marked as inaccessible.

A section of the World Dungeon that Earth's explorers had never reached.

Subin memorized the coordinates.

Then the expedition departed.

The journey to the gate took most of the day.

By the time they arrived, the area had already been secured by Earth forces. A temporary command center had been established around the entrance, while engineers monitored the surrounding mana field.

The gate itself was unlike the others.

It wasn't circular.

Instead, a massive vertical formation of pale stone stood in the middle of the valley. A thin layer of silver light covered the opening between the stones, creating the appearance of a doorway made from moonlight.

Ara scanned it.

"Connection stable."

"Environmental data?"

"None."

Subin stepped forward.

The system responded.

External Gate Detected

Connection: World Dungeon

Gate Number: Seven

Stability: 92%

Destination: Unmapped

Environmental Classification: Unknown

Warning: Internal geography unavailable

The message disappeared.

Subin looked at Yerin.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

The expedition entered.

The sensation was different from their previous transitions.

There was no sudden change in temperature.

No overwhelming pressure.

Instead, Subin felt as though he had taken one step across a boundary that had always been there.

He emerged onto a wide stone platform.

The others appeared around him.

Ara immediately began scanning.

"Wait."

She looked up.

Her expression changed.

Above them was a sky filled with enormous floating stones.

Thousands of them.

Some were small enough to fit inside a house.

Others were mountains.

All of them floated silently through a vast blue sky.

Far below the platform stretched an enormous landscape.

There were forests, rivers, cliffs, and distant mountains—but many of them were suspended in the air.

Islands floated above islands.

Waterfalls fell from one floating landmass and disappeared into clouds hundreds of meters below.

The expedition stood in silence.

Jae-hyun finally spoke.

"That's new."

Yerin looked around.

"Very."

Ara's scanner began producing multiple warnings.

"The local gravity is different."

"How different?"

"Not consistent."

She pointed toward a nearby stone.

It lifted several centimeters from the ground before settling again.

"The environment is fluctuating."

Rafael looked upward.

"So we're in the Floating Region."

Subin shook his head.

"No."

Ara checked the readings.

"He's right. This isn't the Floating Region we mapped from the Frozen Sword Citadel. The mana composition is different."

Subin looked across the enormous aerial landscape.

Another region.

Another ecosystem.

Another civilization waiting somewhere beyond the horizon.

A roar echoed through the sky.

Something flew between two enormous islands.

It was too distant to identify.

The system updated.

Regional Environment: Skyreach

Classification: Aerial Continental Region

Known Connection: None

External Gate: Earth — Gate Seven

Status: Unmapped

Environmental Stability: 88%

The team began establishing a temporary camp on the arrival platform.

There was no immediate threat, but the surrounding geography made movement dangerous. A single wrong step could send someone hundreds of meters downward, and the unstable gravity meant even familiar abilities might behave differently.

Ara tested several small objects.

"The gravitational fields aren't random. They're being influenced by the floating landmasses."

Subin looked at the nearest island.

"Natural?"

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"I haven't seen anything like this before."

Subin wasn't concerned.

They had dealt with unfamiliar environments before.

The important thing was learning how this one worked.

The expedition began moving toward the nearest floating island.

The distance was only about fifty meters, but there was no bridge.

Yerin looked at the gap.

"We can jump."

"Don't," Ara said immediately.

She dropped a small metal object into the gap.

Instead of falling, it drifted sideways.

The object traveled nearly twenty meters before suddenly dropping.

Jae-hyun stared.

"So the gravity changes between islands."

"Exactly."

Subin examined the space between them.

"We need to move when the field is stable."

They waited.

After several seconds, the air between the platforms became still.

Subin moved first.

His foot touched empty air.

Instead of falling, he stepped onto an invisible layer of compressed mana and continued forward.

Yerin followed.

The others crossed in groups.

It was slow, but manageable.

They reached the nearest island.

The terrain was covered in silver grass and enormous blue trees whose roots extended over the edges of the floating landmass.

Ara scanned one of the trees.

"Mana-rich."

Subin touched the bark.

The tree reacted immediately.

A faint pulse traveled through its trunk.

Then another.

The entire forest responded.

Leaves began glowing.

The team became alert.

A flock of winged creatures burst from the canopy.

They looked like enormous hawks with crystalline wings.

But they didn't attack.

They circled above the island and continued toward the larger floating landmass nearby.

Subin watched them.

"Migration?"

Ara checked the direction.

"Yes."

The creatures were all moving toward the same region.

Again.

Subin's expression became serious.

"How many species?"

"At least four."

Yerin looked toward the distant islands.

"Do you think it's the same problem?"

"We don't know."

Subin looked at the sky.

But the pattern was familiar.

In the Frozen Region, creatures had moved because of changing conditions.

In the Golden Valley and Volcanic Region, migration had followed disruptions in the mana network.

Now an entirely different region was showing the same behavior.

The expedition continued toward the larger island.

As they approached, they noticed structures.

At first they looked like ruins.

Then they saw movement.

Buildings stood along the cliffs, connected by bridges that stretched between floating islands. Towers rose from the center of the settlement, each equipped with large crystalline mechanisms.

A city.

A living city suspended above the clouds.

Ara scanned the structures.

"There's a large population."

"Humans?"

"No."

Subin narrowed his eyes.

Several figures appeared on a distant bridge.

They were humanoid, but their bodies were slimmer than humans, their skin pale blue, and their eyes reflected the sunlight like polished silver.

One of them raised a weapon.

The others followed.

The expedition stopped.

A voice echoed across the gap.

"State your origin."

Ara activated the translation device.

Subin stepped forward.

"Earth."

The figures immediately became more alert.

One of them spoke again.

"Earth."

The word was clearly understood.

Then another figure ran toward the city.

Within seconds, bells began ringing across the floating settlement.

Subin looked at Yerin.

"Looks like they know about us."

Yerin tightened her grip on her spear.

"Let's hope that's a good thing."

Subin looked across the floating city.

The seventh entrance had not led them into an empty wilderness.

It had brought them directly to another civilization.

And unlike the civilizations they had encountered before, these people already knew the name of Earth.

The city gates began opening.

A group of heavily armed warriors emerged onto the bridge.

At their center walked a tall woman wearing silver armor and a long blue cloak.

She stopped several meters away and looked directly at Subin.

Then she spoke.

"We have been waiting for the people from Earth."

The expedition fell silent.

Subin's hand rested lightly against Simple Edge.

The woman continued.

"But you are the first group to arrive through the new gate."

Her eyes moved toward the sky behind them.

"And if your gate has opened here, the old routes are changing again."

The floating city behind her began preparing for something.

Not an attack.

An evacuation.

Subin noticed immediately.

"What's happening?"

The woman's expression hardened.

"Something has entered Skyreach."

She looked toward the eastern sky.

A distant island began breaking apart.

"Something that should never have been able to reach this region."

The expedition turned toward the destruction.

A massive shadow moved between the floating islands.

And this time, every creature in the sky began fleeing in the opposite direction.