Earthen Contenders

Against his will, Thaden was transported along with millions of other humans from Earth to train as Contenders in a new world. Something went wrong during his transfer — he was ejected from the training program and sent into the open mouth of an active volcano. Through a miraculous and horrifying series of events, Thaden survived, only to find himself alone in a dungeon with no clothes, no weapons, and a Support-based Healer class with no offensive capabilities. None of his spells do damage. But what does it mean when he seemingly will never run out of Mana?

Exposed as the top-ranked Contender, Thaden has to make a run for it. With his level above 21, he can now be attacked by lower-level Contenders eager to bring him down for the top spot — and he cannot defend himself without inflicting damage that gets immediately negated. Escaping those who wish him harm, he ventures into the wider world of Tarth, where the danger is largely other Contenders learning his identity rather than the monsters that roam the landscape. Despite the dangers, Thaden begins accumulating resources to level up — and unwittingly stumbles into a challenge the System designed specifically for him.

Forced to hide his identity until now, Thaden soon learns it may cause more trouble than it's worth. The events in Forgestone have set him on a course to fix the problems he inadvertently caused, putting him firmly on the path to eliminate the destruction from the SPECIAL Quests he's been assigned. Recent changes to the Assimilation System have reduced — but not eliminated — the likelihood of Contender attacks. Before diving into the search for the Anchor dungeons, Thaden first visits a dungeon that purportedly has higher Support-Class drops. The Devil's Nail turns out to be nothing like what he expected.

Thaden is built for running dungeons solo — but to progress past his current Level, he needs to find friends, and quickly. His current Class evolution requires completing an Intermediate dungeon with a full Raid Party of at least 100 people with no casualties. The problem: the Assimilation System has legitimized Contender Guilds, incorporating them into its mechanics and tying Intermediate dungeons to Guild Rankings. Nobody is willing to risk their Ranking by bringing in an outsider — especially one whose Class enforces detrimental drawbacks on any party he joins. Will this unaffiliated healer find a Guild willing to give him a chance, or remain stuck at his current Level?

The developmental world of Tarth is under attack by the Adversary. After barely surviving an Adversarial attack, Thaden helps pick up the pieces of his Guild — but the outlook is bleak, with many important Contenders lost. With his recent level increase, he's now too powerful to join Raid Parties with his fellow Guild members, leaving him largely on his own again. Free to investigate higher-difficulty Intermediate dungeons without worrying about accidentally killing his party, Thaden pushes into new challenges. But the Adversary isn't done with Tarth yet — and the System decides to fight back with agents of its own.

The final Developmental Phase is thrust upon the Contenders, whether they like it or not. After inadvertently triggering Phase 4, Thaden learns from his squirrel companion Sadia what the Wildlands has in store. Despite his incredible solo power, he quickly discovers that success requires numerous additional participants — and the other Contenders in his Region are far below the Level needed to stand a chance against the Wildlands' monsters. If he doesn't find a way to get them to the required Level, the deaths of every person on Tarth become an inevitability. Will Thaden persevere, or do something unbelievably stupid and put everyone at even greater risk?