Under the mysterious night sky of the world inside the portal, the duo relaxed in a comfortable silence. The occasional noise from the distant trees and the wind whistling through grass were the only sounds.

Jean was used to the regimented military life, and the recent week as a teacher had been stressful. She was enjoying the quiet time to settle her thoughts and nerves.

Meanwhile, Zack was using the time to check the effects of his titles and ability. Mentally, he prodded at the first of his titles, wanting to make sure that it hadn’t changed. The status page that only he could see blurred and went out of focus. Stylized words superimposing themselves above the floating page.

Child of the Portals – A person who has taken a piece of the portal energy and made it a part of themselves. This results in a race change that makes them more receptive to the energy of the portals. They can stay inside the portal for up to twenty-four hours at a time and are offered a choice to leave at the halfway point. It may have other undiscovered effects at this time.

Nodding to himself, he forced it closed with a push of his mind. The details listed were indeed the same as before. The extension on the time limit was nice, but not something that he or Zara had ever been able to use. The mere thought of what would have happened to them if they had ever stayed inside the portal for extra time was enough to cause shivers even years later.

Quickly, he moved onto the next title. This was a new one.

First to Second – You are the first person to ever awaken a second time. A portion of your major stats from the first time have been retained.

That explained why some of his portal stats had been much higher than expected. It was a nice little bonus that would help keep him safe while inside the portals. With the titles done, he moved onto his lone ability.

Life Burner – Allows a person to burn their life force and turn it into magical energy at a rate of 1 to 5 multiplied by the current ability level. A passive healing effect is enabled whenever inside the portals or near a magic source. This healing prevents permanent damage from occurring due to the ability, but is not limited to only damage caused through its use.

It was also the same as before, though Zach’s older, more mature mind caught onto something that he never had before. Mana crystals were a magic source, and they were useable outside the portals. There was no reason for the information to mention them unless the healing portion of the ability worked in the normal world.

It was a thought that frankly scared him. Everything people had discovered and knew about the portals said that spells and abilities were only able to work when inside them. The ‘status pages’ were the sole exception to this rule.

If what he was thinking was true, then it would turn everything on its head. It also had darker implications for the regular non-travelers. What if someday others were able to use their abilities outside the portals?

His eyes flicked unconsciously to the first title he had ever received. It mentioned undiscovered effects. He could only hope that this was a result of the two interacting and having a synergistic effect. The other option was just too terrible to consider.

Regardless, it was something that he couldn’t test for the time being. He would need to wait until he could get his hands on a mana crystal. An opportunity that would be likely to present itself when the class went through the portal for the first time the next week.

“How’s the healing?” Jean asked, after they had been laying on the ground for several hours.

He felt at his jaw before answering. “I think the bruises are mostly gone at this point, even my jaw is feeling better now.”

“And your ribs?” She prompted, sitting up.

“The healing effect isn’t that good!” He protested, hiding the truth. “It’s getting better, but it would take days of us being in here for it to fully heal. At this point, as long as I’m careful, I should be able to at least act normal.” The truth was that his ribs were in much better condition than before, with the fusing process having already begun.

“How much more time do you need?”

“We can head back now if you want. My fever is gone, and everything else feels much better with the bruises gone. How am I going to explain having healed overnight to everyone in the class?”

“Uh, makeup? Or I could just give you some new ones?” She sounded entirely too happy while offering up that idea.

“No!” He was quick to refuse the oh-so-generous offer. “I’ll come up with something.”

“Fine.” She sounded disappointed. “Are you ready to head back through?”

“Sure,” Zack agreed, slowly getting to his feet. The light of the portal at their backs had provided them with a constant source of light during their time inside.

“Well,” Jean began, while looking him over. “You certainly look less like someone’s personal punching bag, than you did before.”

Walking closer to the source of constantly shifting light, he studied his arms and could only agree with her. There was a noticeable lack of angry purple and blue bruising visible. The light from the portal had a washed-out coloring to it that made it impossible to see any more detail than that. He thought he could still detect some yellowing leftover from the deeper bruises.

Jean brushed off the dirt from her pants and waved him over. “Stay behind me. There shouldn’t be anyone inside the building, but you never know. Prying eyes can appear anywhere and at any time. All it will take is one soldier with a loose mouth seeing you as we leave and then suddenly rumors of the military taking people through the portal early will be everywhere.”

“Right.” Zack stepped away from her. “That reminds me, why did the major or sergeant agree to this? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the opportunity to heal faster. My thoughts were getting strange there at the end. Why though, what does the military or you gain from doing all this? I know it is more complex than your squad just feeling guilty. Nobody would go to the lengths you all have because you felt guilty!”

“You’re right, it would have been enough to get the two of you a placement inside the academy.” She gave the area a quick scan, despite knowing everyone had been cleared out before they even arrived. “I could tell you that my placement at the school was nothing more than a useful excuse. One designed to give me closer access to the portal without raising suspicions. That is true, but not a good enough reason to do all this, and as you can clearly see the Major doesn’t mind raising suspicions.”

“Why then?” Zack was growing increasingly curious. To that point, the Major, Sergeant Grieves, and even Jean had all been helpful. He knew that nothing was free, and despite what seemed like good intentions, there would be a bill for it all at some point.

“I admit I was curious myself, and I asked the Sergeant earlier today in fact. It became clear to me when they were willing to set this up simply because I mentioned your ability to heal. For some reason, they place a fair amount of importance on you and your sister.” She crept closer to him, her voice dropping to a whisper that wouldn’t carry. “Do you want to know what he told me?”

Zack nodded mutely, afraid that if he said anything, she would suddenly stop speaking.

“The Major believes that the two of you are some kind of key. It is why we never stopped looking for you.” She pulled back abruptly and sat on the grass next to him. “What do you remember about the portal at the research facility?”

“What?” He was confused by the sudden change in direction. “Uh, it went to a jungle environment, lots of trees. There were mainly beasts, and plant-type monsters inside it. I remember there being a lot of fruit hanging from the trees. There was a river running through the area, and a dark pit or cave that I never went near or entered.”

She motioned him to continue when he stopped.

“What else do you want to know? You guys are the ones who took it over. I’m sure you know more about the place at this point than I do.”

Jean ran her tongue across the front of her teeth and shook her head. “Not quite, and that is the point. Nobody can enter that portal anymore.”