In the bustling heart of the Ickliette Academy stood a towering structure.

This was the campus center, surrounded by the district affiliations of the four major faculties.

The academy's diverse array of classical and innovative buildings, each with its unique charm, paled slightly in comparison to this massive central building.

Not only because of its immense size, but also because its very existence was unlike anything around it.

Compared to the surrounding historical Gothic or Renaissance architecture, it looked more like a military fortress.

Its walls were deep blue, as hard as iron, surrounded by layers of powerful barrier formulas that enveloped the building in a soft golden light, forming visible magical shields.

For students, just sensing its presence from afar felt like an invisible pressure.

Only with proper credentials, through the only entrance, and after several security checks, could one enter this building.

Around this barrier patrolled members of the Royal Guard in ornate armor.

They weren't regular academy guards, but elite knights sent by the Hutton Kingdom; anyone who dared force their way in would never return.

All of this was because inside this building was a void gate leading to the Shadow World.

To prevent cultists or criminals from entering the Shadow World, all the void gates permanently located on the Southern Continent were under the highest level of defense and control by the Shadow World Management Association and the Southern Continental Joint Council.

The Kingdom of Hutton, where Lan Qi was located, had five large void gates, one of which was within the Ickliette Magic Academy.

Or rather, the academy was originally built around this gate, gathering high-combat power for research and study.

It was almost sunset.

The Ickliette Academy was covered in a molten gold color, forming a peaceful and dreamlike picture.

Lan Qi and Hyperion's figures passed through the building's security check, their shadows stretched long and straight on the wide road.

Until they finally stepped inside the building.

In the vast space before them stood only one incredibly large void gate.

Its appearance was strange and mysterious, yet beautiful like the art of a creator; the frame was composed of meteorite-like material, its surface smooth as a mirror, the edges flowing with a radiant glow like liquid starlight, the color constantly shifting between black-purple and silver-white.

The entire gate flowed with a faint purple light, like the deepest light in the night sky, constantly flickering, sometimes visible, sometimes not, mysterious and unpredictable, as if countless stars were gently rotating in a vortex.

"What's the team name going to be?"

Hyperion looked at the final security checkpoint and its workbench, and the empty venue, and said to Lan Qi.

They only needed to register their challenger licenses here, have the staff check the wearing of the [Shadow World Recording Program], and then they could go to the void gate in front to match and challenge.

If they also wanted to use a "team card" to challenge as a team, they would also need to register the team's name.

The "team card" was another tool magic card, the full name being [Shadow World Synergy Program].

Lan Qi thought for a moment, feeling that anything was fine.

Then according to the characteristics of the team after the two of them teamed up.

"Let's fill in 'Civilized Role Model Team'."

Lan Qi replied.

Hyperion hesitated, but finally nodded.

She felt like she had a lot to say, but she decided against it.

Let him be happy…

Next, the two handed their respective licenses and two tool magic cards each to the security checkpoint counter, waiting for the staff to complete the formalities for them.

"After entering the void gate, the Shadow World will automatically start matching suitable existing Shadow Worlds for the challengers. This is something that cannot be controlled by humans. Do not casually come out of the void gate once you enter the matching state, otherwise you may be separated, you should know that, right?"

The staff member in the officer's uniform registered them with the magic device at hand, and noticing that their challenge counts were both 0, he briefly explained some basic precautions to them.

"Understood."

Both nodded.

"Because there will be many other challengers from various ports around the world matching at the same time, your ranks are low, so you usually won't have to wait long."

The staff member stared at the magic device's crystal screen, operating it while explaining common situations to the two of them.

Even though Lan Qi and Hyperion understood this knowledge, they still listened carefully.

In the real Shadow World, the lower the rank of the challenger, the easier it is to match successfully. After all, low-rank Shadow Worlds appear very frequently and are numerous.

The frequency of high-rank Shadow Worlds is often low. Sometimes even if there are challengers willing to fight, there are no Shadow Worlds available for them to challenge.

As for when the Association detects a Calamity-level Shadow World of rank seven or higher, the Southern Continental Joint Council will issue warnings to the countries, and multiple countries will begin to negotiate and send the most powerful and suitable challengers and teams.

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

If the real-world encroachment caused by the failure of second- and third-rank Shadow Worlds is just minor, then a failure of a Shadow World of rank seven or higher will bring a real large-scale disaster.

Therefore, high-level Shadow World challengers have a lofty status.

They not only have a voice in their own kingdom, but also in the Southern Continental Joint Council!

As for wanting a fixed challenger combination to enter the same Shadow World, there are two ways.

Either among those top challengers, due to their small number, there are very few Shadow Worlds suitable for them, and as long as they enter at the same time, they will basically be matched together.

Or another stable method is to carry a "team card" –

[Shadow World Synergy Program]

[Category: Spell Card]

[Grade: White Common]

[Rank: 1]

[Passive Effect: Will match with companions carrying the same number Synergy Program into the same Shadow World.]

[Note: no. 891852279 Team Card]

This was the team card that Lan Qi and Hyperion bought at the entrance counter.

Jointly issued by the Southern Continent Shadow World Management Association and the Card Maker Association, it uses a team tool card copied from the natural team function card born from the Shadow World.

The more people on the team, the harder it is to match into the Shadow World, the longer the waiting time required, and it will also increase the difficulty compared to separate single-person challenges.

However, if it is just a team of two, the negative effects are minimal.

"Okay, when you come out, give me the [Shadow World Recording Program] to read again, and you can get back your challenger licenses and leave."

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

He waved his hand, signaling that the two could enter.

Lan Qi and Hyperion took the tool magic cards and thanked him, then walked towards the void gate.

There were hundreds of steps to take, and the two didn't say anything along the way, until they came to the void gate.

"Ready?"

Lan Qi turned his head and smiled at Hyperion.

"Of course."

Hyperion also nodded.

Unlike the gates created by artificial Shadow World terminals, the real void gate was a bottomless black hole. Just approaching it, one could feel an invisible pulling force, as if it was trying to attract the soul of the visitor into this endless unknown world.

But Lan Qi did not hesitate, and walked straight forward, stepping in as if passing through water.

Instantly, sound, sight, consciousness, and even time disappeared at this moment.

All that could be felt was the breath of the universe, the endless stars, and the bottomless nothingness.

As if two worlds were weaving together, forming together, after everything was reversed, they finally arrived in a brand new world.

[The story of shadow and reality intertwined, today, unravels again.]