A rather young man stepped out of the travel portal, and looking around, gave a smile.
“Boss!” Liam exclaimed with a smile of a worker who was willing to work hard.
Aurora’s expression quivered and, holding back the smile, she gave him a nod to come closer.
“You look like a puppy wagging his tail in front of his owner,” said Alice, looking at her partner.
This time it was Liam’s expression was the one that quivered and strangely, he didn’t deny it.
In this group of mercenaries, Liam was the one who earned the most money and was paid quite a lot, that was because, unlike them who were practically the founders, that young man was someone who joined later.
Of course, all the money he earned was going to his drones or to upgrade his computer network, which he then used for work, so increasing his salary was like increasing his battle power and overall capability.
Still... Aurora sighed.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” Liam said, looking around curiously.
They were now in the main camp of the Falion Empire forces, where the portable portal was located, so it was hard to tell if they came looking for it or just went out.
However, there was a reason they were prepared.
“If you have nothing to do, we’ll leave immediately,” Aurora said, and seeing Liam nod, she motioned for him to follow her.
Passing by the camp where the paladin soldiers and adventurers were moving about, they could all notice the increase in forces.
“Recently, more adventurers and heroes were arriving,” Aurora explained as she saw that Liam was curious.
The number of individuals was increasing, which made it hard for Urfin to organize everything.
It was good that the number was increasing and more so when the adventurers were sent by countries being quite remarkable, but the problem was...
“There are troublesome heroes,” Liam muttered as he saw a hero carrying a camera drone doing an online broadcast to his followers.
If the paladins and soldiers wore serious expressions patrolling the area as if they were actually doing their jobs, the heroes were more relaxed.
It was not at the level of adventurers who were bored; they were relaxed in a very different way if one thought that in the center of the city there were goblins.
Using cameras or drones to record themselves and say a few words to their followers, others sought out individuals to talk about them while recording the conversation.
To Liam, these heroes were problematic.
After all, paladins, soldiers, and adventurers patrolled the city so that no one escaped while those kinds of heroes were recording themselves.
Moreover, it was possible that such ‘heroes’ would record all their battles and try to transmit everything without knowing what confidentiality or limits were.
And most importantly...
“They look like rookies,” Alice muttered with just a glance.
It would be great if they were experts adapting to the modernity of heroes that were showy, but in reality, it was just a Rank A with too many flaws.
Not everyone who reached A-Rank or S-Rank were powerful individuals with experience, in this case, the heroes were ‘urban’.
Individuals who are just in the cities enjoying being ‘saviors’ by killing some monsters, but never taking on difficult individuals.
“Never mind, let’s go,” Aurora said, moving forward to the back area where military vehicles were located.
Passing by the attendants, she gave her captain’s ID and borrowed a more normal vehicle.
When everyone got in, she started driving it.
“They transfer unreliable heroes or adventurers with little experience to the surrounding areas with tasks like ‘protect from something happening’,” she said calmly.
If students came here trying to sign up, it was likely that those in charge of organizing them would send them to another area where they would be less needed.
While they would lose strength, what mattered to the higher-ups were individuals capable of following orders and adapting to whatever was coming their way.
Teamwork and experience for large-scale battles were very important because of the danger of unleashing powerful spells or abilities and ending up hurting their teammates.
It was for such a reason that they preferred to send them to cover the surroundings and did not take jobs like patrolling the danger zone.
“So, what’s our job?” Liam asked as Aurora drove south of Constantia City.
“Lately, there has been an increase in the appearance of creatures around Constantia City. At first, they thought it was because of the Abyssal Portal that was tearing through the dimensional barrier, but now the thinking is different,” Aurora explained, and letting out a long sigh, she commented. “The authorities think they are demons.”
Giving a nod to Alice, who was in the passenger seat, she relayed some documents to Liam.
The increase in creature appearances was quite evident as the days went by.
Monsters and creatures could appear anywhere, even in cities.
When the magical energy became dense around a point, it usually gave birth to a creature that was wild, like the typical creatures found in dungeons.
It was the same with the real monsters, only these beings were corrupted by ‘Chaos’ and had mutated.
However, the strange thing was that while the dimensional barrier could weaken for various reasons, there would have to be an increase in creatures, monsters, and dungeons.
After all, it wasn’t as if the dimensional barrier let some in and not others... It just attracted everything.
But here it was different, here they were specifically spawning corrupted monsters in the cities and towns around Constantia city.
“Our goal is to go to the city Mangalia to the south and see what’s going on. They think they are demons trying to create a distraction to take goblins,” Aurora explained, and with a serious look through the rearview mirror, she detailed. “The authorities have gotten information from ‘The Fallen’ adventurer’s guild and the Pacific Demon King that some Demon Lords are interested in goblins.”
‘The Fallen’ guild was a guild that appeared in the turbulent times of the European-Demon War and rose to become the guild, leading the remnants of Turkey with the Pacific Demon King.
The demons themselves had their own hierarchy, dividing into different categories among themselves.
Demon lords were S-Rank individuals, but not just any individuals, but had demons or soldiers under their command, giving them a certain status in the lawless lands.
They were the counterpart of the ‘Warlords’ in Africa.
However, the ‘Kings’ were different.
These individuals were of SS Rank and that meant that they sometimes had large regions under their command and were extremely dangerous.
If there was one good thing they could get out of demons, it was the fervor for battle and the constant boredom that led them to frequently fight each other.
The Demon Lords were interested in the goblins and the downside was that some specific purposes.
“They want soldiers for their army?” Liam hesitated as he read the report.
“Sure. What demon wouldn’t like a goblin army?” Alice asked back and giving a smile, revealed. “They’re cheap troops. You can get them to breed and hatch like rabbits. If you put several months into it, you could have young ones already prepared for battle. As for quality... No one’s going to care if they have numbers.”
There was no doubting the fanaticism of the researchers to give an explanation to everything magical and there was no doubting the current technology.
The private investigators of the Cosmos Company had already reported on the characteristics and physical qualities, along with other notable traits.
The little devils were born within a month with a rapid development and birth that was spectacular and the major disadvantage was that these creatures turned out to be wild and unintelligent.
The time to grow varied, but it was assumed that such creatures grew in as little as a month and, if given a training method, could reach E or D-rank.
They did not have magical cores like the magical beasts or goblins of Terra nova, and neither did they have ‘levels’ like all Terra nova creatures.
Being possible that they were the same as humans when it came to improvement.
That raised bigger questions than one might think and by not having ‘magic cores’ that were found in those creatures in Terra nova, the balance of them being ‘monsters’ had tipped in favor of a ‘race’.
Several of these questions were answered not only by scientific researchers but by archmages.
The most recognized note was from the Sage ‘Su Chin’, who left his research and gave a magical analysis of such creatures, discovering several things.
The point was that with such rapid growth, it was possible to form an army.
It was true that the longevity of the most common ‘little devils’ was supposed to be only ten years if they were not strengthened, even so, they were excellent soldiers... Or cannon fodder.
Mediums were born in three months and in as little as two months could grow into ‘teenagers’, but had average intelligence and could live about twenty-five years.
Leaving the ‘hobgoblins’, who were born in six months and had not only high intelligence but also had an average lifespan of forty years.
They said they grew in four months, although it was difficult to verify such birth characteristics and the growth rate was hypotheses made through magical and scientific research.
“By the way, what are the allied forces doing?” asked Liam, changing the subject abruptly.
Aurora noticed through the rearview mirror that his eyes were shining intently, as if he had an idea.
“Right now, waiting. Have you read the report I passed you?” Aurora asked and seeing that he nodded, she explained. “The goblins are running away from something, but that means they’re between a rock and a hard place. The higher-ups don’t feel comfortable to move in and put pressure on them.”
“Specifically, they don’t want the goblins to do something with the abyssal portal and blow up in their faces.” Alice pointed out, opening a bag of chips.
Aurora’s expression shifted subtly, though she didn’t deny it.
The higher-ups were before the world’s gaze and while Duke Kristoph was the ‘Ambassador’ of the Falion Empire and Greece’s highest authority under Royalty, it wasn’t as if he could move directly.
While their relationship with Greece was at its peak, the Falion Empire had a bad reputation and they did not wish to add a bad move to it with the abyssal portals.
As for the Church of Order, they also did not wish to have it on their backs that they had pushed the goblins hard enough to do something about the abyssal portal, bringing the danger they had escaped from.
They had managed to capture an S-Rank and had gotten a lot of information out of him about their world and how they managed to create an abyssal portal to this world and what they discovered was that only Zrag the ‘Savior’ knew about the portals.
The ways to stabilize it and use it to travel to this side and that was why by uniting the tribes he managed to get to this side.
The charm of a ‘Vampire Duke’ was terrifying, and they got a lot of information out of it, even though the individual they took was not very smart and was just a warrior.
“They say that ‘Chaos’ prevails where they come from. That can be confirmed by the letter the former leader sent upon encountering so many monsters,” Aurora pointed out in a simple tone.
She had sent a report of all that information to Zerzura City, specifically to the higher-ups, and Liam had been able to read it, so he just nodded.
According to Ragas, they could make portals ‘explode’ and that meant that the ‘calamity’ of their lands could reach this world.
“I understand nothing,” Liam muttered with a frown.
He wasn’t referring to the information they had gotten, but rather the questions that information provoked.
How were the abyssal portals formed, and why did they connect it to this world?
Mostly... Who did it?
Aurora, who had her guesses and noticed Liam subtly pale as his mind found a clue.
“So... What god is playing with us?” Liam hesitated as his expression quivered.
Gods existed, and they were powerful existences.
They had gained recognition on Earth and if one asked some of the former players, then some of them had seen them in action and even met them.
Each one’s personality, attitudes, and status differed among them, but they existed.
And the Abyssal Portals didn’t feel like something ‘natural’... Like natural dungeons, it felt like something deeper.
Now they knew that it was not the goblins who created the Abyssal Portals, at least they found no answer from Ragas, who claimed otherwise.
According to that goblin, it was the great mighty Zrag, the ‘Savior’ who found the portals and announced that this was the salvation from the ‘Chaos’ that created monsters and corrupted their lands, and prevented them from living.
Aurora would like to think that this was created by a magical race, but that possibility was difficult when all kinds of gods existed.
However, if they wondered if it was a god, then it was pointed out if the gods who protected the Earth knew, and if they kept asking, then... One would come to doubt important gods such as the God of Time and Space or the Goddess of Order.
Which many saw as their protectors and that was one of the reasons why the information of what was happening on the other side was not revealed.
“Who knows?” Alice hesitated and looking out the window, the surroundings passing by, her lips bowed and she commented. “But mankind has been in a game of gods since the Terra nova machine went on sale.”
That comment would make many believers and even some not-so-believers frown.
Creating a virtual machine that connected two worlds by creating ‘players’ in Terra nova that caused millions of people to die in that world, while in this one it subsequently caused mass suicides and spawned lunatics, was a dubious move.
At that point, the God of Time and Space could have done something better, so Aurora thought, and if she was sincere, then... He screwed up.
Maybe Alice’s comment was too excessive, but it wasn’t a lie when many people thought that mankind was just toys before those gods.
It was a very excessive thought when those gods helped in their own way and were currently still helping, though those doubts were awakened by what Ragas had mentioned about their lands.
Aurora knew that Alice liked the subject of gods and was very knowledgeable about such matters, to the point that she kept exchanging ideas with Professor Santulli.
However, her ‘faith’ was not in them and she always questioned everyone.
“Well... In the end, there’s not much we can do. Though I’d rather be a child in the care of those ‘adults’,” Liam muttered, and seeing Alice laugh at his way of escaping at such ideas, he gave a bitter smile and pointed out. “I don’t think there’s any way to change anything, after all... It’s hard to guess how a ‘God’ looks at us.”
Aurora was silent at those words.
How would a ‘God’ look at a human?
Almighty existences, some of which represented unimaginable concepts or had lived hundreds of thousands of years and even since the beginning of time.
It was useless to believe that Earthlings were the most important thing in the universe... When they knew that there were other worlds and different ‘universes’ like Terra nova.
Aurora let out a sigh.
Maybe they looked at them like ants or one of the many specks of dust that made up a small sphere that was a planet that ended up being a tiny little dot in the universe.
“In ways, we can’t imagine,” Alice murmured, letting out a long sigh.
Everyone fell silent at those words, fully agreeing.
A rather young man stepped out of the travel portal, and looking around, gave a smile.
“Boss!” Liam exclaimed with a smile of a worker who was willing to work hard.
Aurora’s expression quivered and, holding back the smile, she gave him a nod to come closer.
“You look like a puppy wagging his tail in front of his owner,” said Alice, looking at her partner.
This time it was Liam’s expression was the one that quivered and strangely, he didn’t deny it.
In this group of mercenaries, Liam was the one who earned the most money and was paid quite a lot, that was because, unlike them who were practically the founders, that young man was someone who joined later.
Of course, all the money he earned was going to his drones or to upgrade his computer network, which he then used for work, so increasing his salary was like increasing his battle power and overall capability.
Still... Aurora sighed.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” Liam said, looking around curiously.
They were now in the main camp of the Falion Empire forces, where the portable portal was located, so it was hard to tell if they came looking for it or just went out.
However, there was a reason they were prepared.
“If you have nothing to do, we’ll leave immediately,” Aurora said, and seeing Liam nod, she motioned for him to follow her.
Passing by the camp where the paladin soldiers and adventurers were moving about, they could all notice the increase in forces.
“Recently, more adventurers and heroes were arriving,” Aurora explained as she saw that Liam was curious.
The number of individuals was increasing, which made it hard for Urfin to organize everything.
It was good that the number was increasing and more so when the adventurers were sent by countries being quite remarkable, but the problem was...
“There are troublesome heroes,” Liam muttered as he saw a hero carrying a camera drone doing an online broadcast to his followers.
If the paladins and soldiers wore serious expressions patrolling the area as if they were actually doing their jobs, the heroes were more relaxed.
It was not at the level of adventurers who were bored; they were relaxed in a very different way if one thought that in the center of the city there were goblins.
Using cameras or drones to record themselves and say a few words to their followers, others sought out individuals to talk about them while recording the conversation.
To Liam, these heroes were problematic.
After all, paladins, soldiers, and adventurers patrolled the city so that no one escaped while those kinds of heroes were recording themselves.
Moreover, it was possible that such ‘heroes’ would record all their battles and try to transmit everything without knowing what confidentiality or limits were.
And most importantly...
“They look like rookies,” Alice muttered with just a glance.
It would be great if they were experts adapting to the modernity of heroes that were showy, but in reality, it was just a Rank A with too many flaws.
Not everyone who reached A-Rank or S-Rank were powerful individuals with experience, in this case, the heroes were ‘urban’.
Individuals who are just in the cities enjoying being ‘saviors’ by killing some monsters, but never taking on difficult individuals.
“Never mind, let’s go,” Aurora said, moving forward to the back area where military vehicles were located.
Passing by the attendants, she gave her captain’s ID and borrowed a more normal vehicle.
When everyone got in, she started driving it.
“They transfer unreliable heroes or adventurers with little experience to the surrounding areas with tasks like ‘protect from something happening’,” she said calmly.
If students came here trying to sign up, it was likely that those in charge of organizing them would send them to another area where they would be less needed.
While they would lose strength, what mattered to the higher-ups were individuals capable of following orders and adapting to whatever was coming their way.
Teamwork and experience for large-scale battles were very important because of the danger of unleashing powerful spells or abilities and ending up hurting their teammates.
It was for such a reason that they preferred to send them to cover the surroundings and did not take jobs like patrolling the danger zone.
“So, what’s our job?” Liam asked as Aurora drove south of Constantia City.
“Lately, there has been an increase in the appearance of creatures around Constantia City. At first, they thought it was because of the Abyssal Portal that was tearing through the dimensional barrier, but now the thinking is different,” Aurora explained, and letting out a long sigh, she commented. “The authorities think they are demons.”
Giving a nod to Alice, who was in the passenger seat, she relayed some documents to Liam.
The increase in creature appearances was quite evident as the days went by.
Monsters and creatures could appear anywhere, even in cities.
When the magical energy became dense around a point, it usually gave birth to a creature that was wild, like the typical creatures found in dungeons.
It was the same with the real monsters, only these beings were corrupted by ‘Chaos’ and had mutated.
However, the strange thing was that while the dimensional barrier could weaken for various reasons, there would have to be an increase in creatures, monsters, and dungeons.
After all, it wasn’t as if the dimensional barrier let some in and not others... It just attracted everything.
But here it was different, here they were specifically spawning corrupted monsters in the cities and towns around Constantia city.
“Our goal is to go to the city Mangalia to the south and see what’s going on. They think they are demons trying to create a distraction to take goblins,” Aurora explained, and with a serious look through the rearview mirror, she detailed. “The authorities have gotten information from ‘The Fallen’ adventurer’s guild and the Pacific Demon King that some Demon Lords are interested in goblins.”
‘The Fallen’ guild was a guild that appeared in the turbulent times of the European-Demon War and rose to become the guild, leading the remnants of Turkey with the Pacific Demon King.
The demons themselves had their own hierarchy, dividing into different categories among themselves.
Demon lords were S-Rank individuals, but not just any individuals, but had demons or soldiers under their command, giving them a certain status in the lawless lands.
They were the counterpart of the ‘Warlords’ in Africa.
However, the ‘Kings’ were different.
These individuals were of SS Rank and that meant that they sometimes had large regions under their command and were extremely dangerous.
If there was one good thing they could get out of demons, it was the fervor for battle and the constant boredom that led them to frequently fight each other.
The Demon Lords were interested in the goblins and the downside was that some specific purposes.
“They want soldiers for their army?” Liam hesitated as he read the report.
“Sure. What demon wouldn’t like a goblin army?” Alice asked back and giving a smile, revealed. “They’re cheap troops. You can get them to breed and hatch like rabbits. If you put several months into it, you could have young ones already prepared for battle. As for quality... No one’s going to care if they have numbers.”
There was no doubting the fanaticism of the researchers to give an explanation to everything magical and there was no doubting the current technology.
The private investigators of the Cosmos Company had already reported on the characteristics and physical qualities, along with other notable traits.
The little devils were born within a month with a rapid development and birth that was spectacular and the major disadvantage was that these creatures turned out to be wild and unintelligent.
The time to grow varied, but it was assumed that such creatures grew in as little as a month and, if given a training method, could reach E or D-rank.
They did not have magical cores like the magical beasts or goblins of Terra nova, and neither did they have ‘levels’ like all Terra nova creatures.
Being possible that they were the same as humans when it came to improvement.
That raised bigger questions than one might think and by not having ‘magic cores’ that were found in those creatures in Terra nova, the balance of them being ‘monsters’ had tipped in favor of a ‘race’.
Several of these questions were answered not only by scientific researchers but by archmages.
The most recognized note was from the Sage ‘Su Chin’, who left his research and gave a magical analysis of such creatures, discovering several things.
The point was that with such rapid growth, it was possible to form an army.
It was true that the longevity of the most common ‘little devils’ was supposed to be only ten years if they were not strengthened, even so, they were excellent soldiers... Or cannon fodder.
Mediums were born in three months and in as little as two months could grow into ‘teenagers’, but had average intelligence and could live about twenty-five years.
Leaving the ‘hobgoblins’, who were born in six months and had not only high intelligence but also had an average lifespan of forty years.
They said they grew in four months, although it was difficult to verify such birth characteristics and the growth rate was hypotheses made through magical and scientific research.
“By the way, what are the allied forces doing?” asked Liam, changing the subject abruptly.
Aurora noticed through the rearview mirror that his eyes were shining intently, as if he had an idea.
“Right now, waiting. Have you read the report I passed you?” Aurora asked and seeing that he nodded, she explained. “The goblins are running away from something, but that means they’re between a rock and a hard place. The higher-ups don’t feel comfortable to move in and put pressure on them.”
“Specifically, they don’t want the goblins to do something with the abyssal portal and blow up in their faces.” Alice pointed out, opening a bag of chips.
Aurora’s expression shifted subtly, though she didn’t deny it.
The higher-ups were before the world’s gaze and while Duke Kristoph was the ‘Ambassador’ of the Falion Empire and Greece’s highest authority under Royalty, it wasn’t as if he could move directly.
While their relationship with Greece was at its peak, the Falion Empire had a bad reputation and they did not wish to add a bad move to it with the abyssal portals.
As for the Church of Order, they also did not wish to have it on their backs that they had pushed the goblins hard enough to do something about the abyssal portal, bringing the danger they had escaped from.
They had managed to capture an S-Rank and had gotten a lot of information out of him about their world and how they managed to create an abyssal portal to this world and what they discovered was that only Zrag the ‘Savior’ knew about the portals.
The ways to stabilize it and use it to travel to this side and that was why by uniting the tribes he managed to get to this side.
The charm of a ‘Vampire Duke’ was terrifying, and they got a lot of information out of it, even though the individual they took was not very smart and was just a warrior.
“They say that ‘Chaos’ prevails where they come from. That can be confirmed by the letter the former leader sent upon encountering so many monsters,” Aurora pointed out in a simple tone.
She had sent a report of all that information to Zerzura City, specifically to the higher-ups, and Liam had been able to read it, so he just nodded.
According to Ragas, they could make portals ‘explode’ and that meant that the ‘calamity’ of their lands could reach this world.
“I understand nothing,” Liam muttered with a frown.
He wasn’t referring to the information they had gotten, but rather the questions that information provoked.
How were the abyssal portals formed, and why did they connect it to this world?
Mostly... Who did it?
Aurora, who had her guesses and noticed Liam subtly pale as his mind found a clue.
“So... What god is playing with us?” Liam hesitated as his expression quivered.
Gods existed, and they were powerful existences.
They had gained recognition on Earth and if one asked some of the former players, then some of them had seen them in action and even met them.
Each one’s personality, attitudes, and status differed among them, but they existed.
And the Abyssal Portals didn’t feel like something ‘natural’... Like natural dungeons, it felt like something deeper.
Now they knew that it was not the goblins who created the Abyssal Portals, at least they found no answer from Ragas, who claimed otherwise.
According to that goblin, it was the great mighty Zrag, the ‘Savior’ who found the portals and announced that this was the salvation from the ‘Chaos’ that created monsters and corrupted their lands, and prevented them from living.
Aurora would like to think that this was created by a magical race, but that possibility was difficult when all kinds of gods existed.
However, if they wondered if it was a god, then it was pointed out if the gods who protected the Earth knew, and if they kept asking, then... One would come to doubt important gods such as the God of Time and Space or the Goddess of Order.
Which many saw as their protectors and that was one of the reasons why the information of what was happening on the other side was not revealed.
“Who knows?” Alice hesitated and looking out the window, the surroundings passing by, her lips bowed and she commented. “But mankind has been in a game of gods since the Terra nova machine went on sale.”
That comment would make many believers and even some not-so-believers frown.
Creating a virtual machine that connected two worlds by creating ‘players’ in Terra nova that caused millions of people to die in that world, while in this one it subsequently caused mass suicides and spawned lunatics, was a dubious move.
At that point, the God of Time and Space could have done something better, so Aurora thought, and if she was sincere, then... He screwed up.
Maybe Alice’s comment was too excessive, but it wasn’t a lie when many people thought that mankind was just toys before those gods.
It was a very excessive thought when those gods helped in their own way and were currently still helping, though those doubts were awakened by what Ragas had mentioned about their lands.
Aurora knew that Alice liked the subject of gods and was very knowledgeable about such matters, to the point that she kept exchanging ideas with Professor Santulli.
However, her ‘faith’ was not in them and she always questioned everyone.
“Well... In the end, there’s not much we can do. Though I’d rather be a child in the care of those ‘adults’,” Liam muttered, and seeing Alice laugh at his way of escaping at such ideas, he gave a bitter smile and pointed out. “I don’t think there’s any way to change anything, after all... It’s hard to guess how a ‘God’ looks at us.”
Aurora was silent at those words.
How would a ‘God’ look at a human?
Almighty existences, some of which represented unimaginable concepts or had lived hundreds of thousands of years and even since the beginning of time.
It was useless to believe that Earthlings were the most important thing in the universe... When they knew that there were other worlds and different ‘universes’ like Terra nova.
Aurora let out a sigh.
Maybe they looked at them like ants or one of the many specks of dust that made up a small sphere that was a planet that ended up being a tiny little dot in the universe.
“In ways, we can’t imagine,” Alice murmured, letting out a long sigh.
Everyone fell silent at those words, fully agreeing.
