CHAPTER 2
Rizika did not interrupt the king as he was stating the details.
"The reward was worth more than anything you had so far. I'll grant you unlimited gold coins and anyone you would like to marry. You were already 28 years old, I presume?" The king paused, waiting for her confirmation.
"Yes, your majesty." The word 'marry' was alien to her. She did not ever think about marrying anytime soon or even entering marriage after all. She grew up in the training camp as the former general adopted her after she lost her parents during their mission.
"As you are already well past the prime age of marriage, when you've accomplished this mission, I'll grant you my support in picking any groom of your choice."
"Your majesty, I appreciate such concern for my future, but I would rather have anything other than that." She courtly stated.
"Nonsense. You can think about it after the mission. And the last reward was granting any wish you would like."
"That was so generous, your majesty." A hand was propped against her chest for the gesture of gratitude and respect.
"Your mission is to retrieve an artifact that was lost a long time ago. But that artifact wasn't here in our realm. You had to find it on Earth. Someone had stolen the item ages ago and escaped. It was time to search for it again and try to have it back. It is destructive for Earth. We know their world was much more fragile than ours. And I chose you for this mission, General Rizika, for I believe in you. The kingdom as well. Will you accept the mission?"
[System: Mission: Retrieve the Autonus artifact.]
[System: Please confirm.]
A short pause before Rizika breathed and exhaled the cold air. She was down on one knee again. "System, on-hold."
[System: Waiting...]
A surprised gasp echoed around the halls from her unexpected response. It was the first time that she did not accept the mission instantly.
"Your majesty, Earth was another world, and our portals were never accurate in teleportation."
"That's why I consider you the right choice for this mission, General. Even though a glitch could happen in your system, we believe you could pull it through. Many had failed before and never came back. But this time we may have the right one for the mission."
A glitch would certainly happen. It could disrupt anything in her system. The resources she had might vanish in an instant. Her inventory was full of rare and expensive items. The frequency, dynamic, resonance, or any other factors from the portal can cause the damage. Even her gold chest might be gone. But the king issued the mission to her. And it would fluctuate her reputation if she refused. Being a general was all she got, and she prided herself on it.
"System, confirm." She announced with a hard tone.
[System: Mission: Retrieve the Autonus artifact confirmed. The task would start upon reaching Earth.]
[System: Gift received. Please, confirm.]
"I prepared a gift for you, General. It would be helpful for you when you arrived on Earth." Queen Jera spoke with lightness in her tone. "Please use it before you enter the portal."
"Thank you, your majesty." She gave a court nod to the queen.
"You may go now and get back here tomorrow. You'll be crossing the portal at 12:00 midnoon sharp. It's the most likely time that the portal would be connected to Earth and open a pathway for you." King Halar instructed, and she bid her good night to the royalties.
The portal was never stable. It could lead anyone to any other dimension. That's why no one wants to cross it. But according to their history, it mostly opened on Earth at midnoon. It was claimed by someone who got to return in their realm. Monsters and demonic beasts contaminated the portals with their evil essence. That's how the portal got damaged. It worsened when the Demon realm opened and used it. She sighed. She already accepted the mission, and it would be suicidal to void it back to the king.
Rizika went home and prepared everything for the next day to come. She was alone in her little cabin. She had a lot of gold, but she never went on a spending spree aside from purchasing rare and powerful items that she thought she might need in the future. And one of her most expensive purchases was Blair. The stallion from the Wild Shop. A shop for creatures that can be pets or transportation.
The Albria Realm doesn't have small creatures. Everything was big. If not beautiful, it's nasty. From the harpies, a sky monster that can kidnap children with their claws, and the kraken in the sea that can tug ships to sink under. The realm was a constant danger.
The next day. It was finally time for her departure. Only the royalties and knights were there with her. They gathered in the forbidden room. It was called forbidden because the portal was kept inside. At the center of the room, a small lake was situated, but the water in it wasn't calm. Anyone should stay meters away from the water, or they could be sucked by the rapid whirlpool. The loud circling of water was threatening enough for the ears, and upon seeing the hollow in between, it brought shivers to her skin. She was not easily shaken, but this mission was unlike any others she had.
Would I even survive that? It could fucking kill me before I get to Earth. Lucky enough if I'm still in one piece before I get to where I'm supposed to. She grumbled, keeping the comments to herself.
The knights were standing before the royalties, to be the extra shield from the water.
"You all listen to Lieutenant Jykel. He would stand in for me during my absence. Understood?" She already instructed them first thing in the morning for the temporary role in command.
"Yes, general!" They tapped their chest in unison for accepting her door.
"General Rizika, time for you to get ready in a minute." Queen Jera stated.
"System, bring out the gift from yesterday." She demanded.
[System: Searching the gift in the inventory..]
[System: Found the gift. Would you like to open it?]
"Open it."
[System: Congratulations! You unboxed a gift of a celestial item.]
[System: A Mentality potion is one of the celestial potions that would protect your mind from any control, glitches, manipulation, and anything that can cause damage to your mental stability. It would only work for a short period of time when mental attack was received.]
[System: Would you use it?]
How the hell why not? The queen gifted it for a purpose to protect her brain during the transport. It came to that extent that even her rational functionality could be damaged. Should she still proceed?
"System, use it." She mumbled under her breath as her eyes stared at the raging whirlpool meters away from them. The potion appeared in front of her in mid-air. She instantly took it and gulped all the content down. She felt her head throbbed and then it went numb. It could be the potion was working already.
"General, be careful and stay alive to get back here. Don't fail us." The king stated in his authoritative voice.
She bowed on one knee. "Yes, your majesty." Then she stood up and proceeded to towards the lake portal.
As she got closer, a force was pulling her in. She held the hilt of her sword in her waist, gripping it tightly.
She felt like anytime soon, her soul would be sucked if she got closer enough. She was only a few feet away when she felt the instant pull that made her grunt. It was like a hand had come out and grip her body towards the hollow.
She was plunged deep in the whirlpool. She couldn't breathe as water and air were pulling her down. She sank and as she looked up, the light vanished in her eyes.
Her body hurt from the rapid slapping to her skin and she was getting dizzy from being twisted around the water. She couldn't see anything even if her eyes were open. Her lungs were about to explode from the lack of air.