Beyond the Portal

After Marionne returned to her usual persona as QUEEN, she led us all forward. As the Major invited us, the gate's guards didn't bother to check our belongings. Is this a sign of trust, or are they just being lazy? The answer to that is something only they themselves know.

Soon enough, after passing through the series of prefab offices, we reached the large clearing that was visible even from outside the camp. Major Selena was already at the center of it, with several soldiers nearby tinkering with digital sensors and other things.

"You're finally here." Major Selena turned to us as we approached. "First, let me introduce these guys to you. They're part of our Tech Team and would be the ones who will help you in testing the atmosphere on the other side of the portal."

The guys who were crouching beside the various equipment stood up and saluted. The three of them raised their voices one after another, introducing themselves. It felt like a bother to remember their full names, so I simply noted their first names. Robert, Angelo, and Ryan. After they finished introducing themselves, it was my turn.

"I'm Giza Mahiro, the one who created this Portal Gun. I think we wouldn't be spending much time together, but it's still a pleasure to work with you."

After the introductions, we quickly moved on to the main business. I guess Major Selena wants to finish this as soon as possible, seeing how she's rushing us.

I stood in the middle of all the observation equipment, holding the Portal Gun and aiming it forward. I turned to the three guys and saw them nod their heads, giving me the go-ahead signal to begin.

I flipped the switch, unlocked the safety, and let the capacitors charge up first. After waiting for a few seconds, I placed the portal gun on the dedicated pedestal before I pulled the trigger and locked it in place.

*GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!*

The oscillator came to life, bringing a bluish-white glow out of the Portal Gun's muzzle. As it flew a few meters forward, it started to create an oval portal that was releasing the same bluish-white glow on its borders. At the center, the dried-up land on the other side was reflected; as usual, nothing with life was visible inside.

"Move, move, move!" Major Selena shouted, raising her voice over the monotone and irritating noise of the Portal Gun. "Hurry up and finish the measurements! As soon as we're done, we'll close up the portal immediately!"

The three technicians moved expertly. Although they were rushing, their movements were calculated and extremely careful. One after another, they threw sensors on the other side and watched the monitors while waiting for changes.

"Atmospheric data has been gathered! Proceeding to analysis!" Robert, the smallest of the three, exclaimed as he slowly pulled the sensor back from the portal.

A short while after him, the other two also finished their tasks.

"Terrain data for roughly a kilometer around the portal had been acquired!"

"Finished scanning for life signals!"

As soon as the two of them pulled back their sensors, I released the trigger of the Portal Gun without even waiting for Major Selena's words. The irritating noise coming from the oscillator slowly died out as the portal's frame became more and more unstable. A few seconds later, it completely vanished as the gun reached its complete standby state.

"Great work, everyone. That's it for now. The next step would come after the analysis is done." The Major sighed as she took a step back, leaning against a pile of equipment by the side.

She seemed tired. Well, given that the Portal Gun's existence wasn't known to them until last night, I guess she didn't have time to sleep yet. Still, she didn't have time to rest peacefully.

"The analysis is finished! The air on the other side is mostly composed of nitrogen and oxygen, similar to our atmosphere. No poisonous substances were detected, and no radiation was present, ma'am!"

That was definitely good news! Major Selena smiled thinly upon hearing his report, her mood becoming better. "Great. Now, we can proceed with setting up the advance camp!"

Of course, there were still uncertainties regarding invading the other side of the portal. To make sure that everything was safe, an advance team would be heading in to set up camp. They would stay on the other side for exactly an hour before we would reopen the portal. Or at least, that's what I could recall from what Major Selena told me while riding the armored car.

"Major, can't I be a part of the scouting squad too?"

I tried asking before too, but was vehemently refused. After all, there were so many risks to going to an unknown location. However, it seems like my wish won't be granted once more.

"No. It's too dangerous. We would be sending our 3rd class personnel, so unless you are in the 3rd class or above, I can't allow you to participate."

Although my current level is beginner class level 8, my strength is basically reaching an advanced class already. However, it would be hard to convince her with my status alone. Having a higher level means having more experience fighting against strong monsters, after all.

"... Alright," I didn't force the matter and backed off, walking down the platform.

As I stood idly by, a voice came from behind me, asking in a teasing tone. "To think Ruin would give up on being the first to explore a new map. Are you really Ruin?"

Looking behind me, the girls had approached nearby already. I turned to the one who spoke and answered, "Mina... I never said I wouldn't go in." I explained in a low voice.

"Ah, then count me in too!"

"Me too, me too!"

Hailey and Lily quickly caught on and volunteered. Scanning everyone's faces, they all seem raring to go and explore a new map. "This isn't a game, though, so there are definitely risks to invading the new world. Are you sure you want to join?"

"That should be our line, Mahiro. You're the one with the lowest level among us at the moment, after all," Toki teased with a mischievous smile.

I simply shrugged my shoulders, letting her provocation slide. "I have over 1200 overall stats... Who's pulling who's legs here?"

"Ugh... What an insane stat level."

Based on my estimates, even Mina, who was at the top in terms of level among the girls, would roughly have 1,500 combined stat points. The others, based on my estimates, would all fall below 1,000 points.

What can I say? It's the advantage of having a high stat bonus percentage from the titles and badges. Mina probably earned a higher percentage later down the road, so her "buff" wasn't complete like mine, though.

Sooner or later, others would also reach the 50% bonus stat increase. But by then, I would have already made a large difference between our raw stats. Just as I was thinking about that, an idea suddenly popped into my head. "Could the reason why I can't earn experience anymore be related to my inflated stats?"

I gave it proper thought, but in the end, I dismissed it. If it was due to not fighting appropriate monsters, then I should still level up when fighting against the insects during the second invasion and the octopus-like boss monster. They were all on or above level 40, or special rank, after all.

"If only the nanomachines could tell me why I'm not gaining experience anymore..."

*TING!*

Just as I was whispering my woes to the wind, the familiar sound of the system notification echoed. Curious as to what it was, I immediately started to read it but was surprised. "Did the system hear my question?!"

[Individual: Giza Mahiro

Current Level: World Breaker level 8

Note: Unable to level up

Reason: The records of the Breaker class haven't been consolidated yet. The more data added to the class, the higher the level limit would get. Current Level Limit: 18]

"What...? My class has a level limit?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

I quickly focused on the details and tried to ask the system about the unknown terms one after another. For some reason, the system felt generous and answered everything without a time lag. After a few minutes, I finally had no more questions. I closed the last window and looked up at the sky, sighing.

"D*mn... So I need to kill new monsters to unlock more levels?"

The reason why I stopped leveling up was the level limit, but the problem with gaining more data about monsters by eliminating them is more of a headache than that. As the system said, the monsters around Cities A, B, and C have all been "used up," along with the monsters from the invading word, the insects. The octopus was pretty new, though, so that added two levels to my limit, which enabled me to properly receive the +2 level bonus reward from the quest.

"To further level up, I need to hunt other variants of monsters or change hunting grounds to a different city."

Fortunately, we'd be heading for a new map right now. I just hope there are a lot of new monsters there. "Now, I definitely need to be a part of the scouting team!"

While I was lost in thought, a team of eight approached. All of them felt intimidating, probably from how their levels were on full display. All of them were in their third class, and their levels were around 5 to 7. They were pretty strong when thinking of the average strength of the military.

"The scout team is here. Sir Giza, please open up the portal once more." Ryan of the Tech Team rushed to my side and called.