The dust from the shattered oak doors swirled in the heavy, copper-scented air of the Red Cathedral. The UPG Paladins stood in a perfect tactical phalanx, their white-and-gold power armor gleaming under the flickering fluorescent lights. Each suit was a masterpiece of "Mana-Tech," powered by micro-reactors that hummed with a low, predatory vibration.
[ENTITY IDENTIFIED: UPG PALADIN SQUAD (AVERAGE LEVEL: 35)]
[Class: HEAVY GUARDIAN]
[Status: ANTI-MAGIC FIELD ACTIVE]
Kaelen felt the pressure. At Level 5, the "Anti-Magic Field" emitted by their shields felt like a physical weight pressing against his lungs, trying to snuff out the small spark of mana he had siphoned from Kyra. To the Paladins, he wasn't a threat; he was a bug to be crushed beneath a sanctified boot.
"Level 35s," Kaelen muttered, his fingers tightening around the obsidian Sovereign's Staff. "The Board really doesn't want me talking to the neighbors."
