Odyssey: The Fall of Fargo

by Digital Riot

It is twenty years after the opening of the "Gate" in Ginza Tokyo. But the world has forgotten. In the midst of conflict on Earth, a portal opens in Florida to a new world. A new adventure for young Hezekiah Brooks, who is about to embark on this journey. But behind the veil of 'adventure' and 'fantasy,' more sinister forces are at work. The fantasy world is going to taste reality.

26. Update 2

(Guest 1): So the way I thought things out, is that when the United States (An by extension NATO) went through the portal, they initially believed it would go to Sadera, which was already inhabited by the Japanese Army and would be a friendly nation for the most part. They didn't expect to find a whole new environment and world, much less one that is stronger than the Iscariots. Hence, the reason why I had NATO go through the portal first to the natives, and not the other way around. That's the reason why they didn't bring as much equipment as would be needed to facilitate a proper war against an empire as large as the Iscariots. Now I've never read "GATE: Weigh Anchor" (Up until now, I didn't even know that existed!), and I truthfully forgot about the scene where Rory demolished the CIA, CPB, and MSS. You are right that the Hakone incident would've given the USA enough information to send more equipment through the portal. That's just me forgetting about that part of the Anime, and ignorance on my part. I can't really explain that, but thanks for the information.

In terms of magic, I want to make something that makes sense logically, hence the stones that give dragons fire and gas. Something that is grounded in the realm of possibility, and I don't want to make it stronger (In terms of offensive uses) than it currently is. Defensively though, I am going to buff it to present more of a challenge when NATO launches their offensive. I don't want magic to be too much more powerful than technology (Like in the example you used where a magician can steal someone else's skin and imitate them perfectly, allowing them to infiltrate and destroy things from the inside). Rather, I'd like it if the two were relatively even. In The Special Region, magic isn't really explained. It's powerful enough to allow the natives to completely cripple the JSDF, yet that doesn't happen. Again, I didn't read the manga or light novel, I've only watched the anime. So if there is a difference between the two I'm not aware of, that's probably it. More explanations will definitely come in the future, but either way, thank you for the info! I will try and incorporate a few of your critiques into my story.

(Miguellopezvalera007): In terms of magic vs technology, I'd like to point out that as of right now, NATO is still winning against the Iscariots by a landslide, barely losing 100 soldiers as of yet, while the Iscariots lost thousands. When you say that the Falkish can go toe-to-toe with the Iscariots, that's true, but only because the Falkish have had more experience with combating them, and even still they've lost to them. The main reason NATO is struggling is due to logistics and the weight of their own administration, keeping up a war effort is hard, much less in a foreign environment filled with potentially dangerous wildlife and uncharted territory. NATO tech isn't outmatched, when the Iscariots go on the offensive, despite having smaller numbers NATO manages to win. It's a bit of a struggle to do so. Though your criticism isn't unfounded, and I do think that your critique makes sense in the terms that the NATO casualties are a bit too exaggerated (Given your definition of what 'too much' is). Though I'm not sure if entirely agree, this is just my personal opinion as the author. But that's just how I see things, and if you don't really like the magic, I can see why. I hope you enjoyed the other bits of the story though!

(Guest 2): And you want me to make magic stronger, I presume. By adding more abilities related to elemental power. See, that's the great balancing act that I struggle with when making this magic. Either it's too powerful, or it's too weak. My magic lies somewhere in between it seems. I don't think I'm going to make it's offensive capabilities too much stronger, but it's defensive abilities haven't really been shown yet and I'm planning for it to be really strong in that area. Other than practical uses (lifting extremely heavy objects, speech translation, etc). More will be revealed later though, and if I don't screw it up (knowing me, I'll find a way to screw up), it should come out satisfying in the end.