[The Gods of Olympus have left a Message for you]

"...What?"

​​

Van stared at the words that were floating just above him. It's those Gods of Olympus again. Just what exactly did they want from him?

Last time it was a gift, and he almost died due to being crushed by the blessed spider-woman. But at least he did get a somewhat useful gift, to be able to talk to creatures. But this…

...A message? Is he supposed to search it inside here? Why would he do that in the first place?

If Sarah's story about her sister was real, and she was also contacted by these Gods of Olympus people, same as him… then it would be in his best interest to avoid them. Else he wants to suffer the same fate as Scarlett.

And so, Van closed the window and followed the rest of his classmates into the Portal. As ordered by President Hannah, Gemma was to remain close to Van, so as to avoid any possible conflicts between him and Gerald.

"Gather up, fishes!"

Mr. Jacobs slapped his biceps as he beckoned for the students to gather in front of him, "Welcome to your first Portal!"

Almost all of the freshmen could not help but look around the place, their breaths turning into a hum as the warmth of the sun wrapped around their skin. It felt like they were still outside.

Van was also quite surprised. The first Portal he explored was in a long and deep cavern. But this…

...If not for the lush trees that contrasted the Deadzone, Van would probably think that they were just in a forest somewhere, not inside a Portal.

"If you open your System Window and look at the uppermost part, you will see a new window there."

Mr. Jacobs pointed his finger above his head as he ordered his students to do the same. "Now, that new window shows your Objective. Basically what you need to do in order to clear the Portal. Right now, we should all be seeing the same thing, Defeat the Harpy Queen!"

The students all nodded at each other as they examined their System Window. Their eyes somewhat glistening as they have finally taken their first step in being an Explorer. Of course, all of these were just an exercise set up by the Academy and nothing dangerous would probably happen, but still… For most of them, this is their first step towards greatness.

But while most of the students were filled with excitement, the only thing that was circling around Van was confusion. He should be seeing the same thing as them but…

[Labour: Retrieve the Gods' Message from the Portal Boss]

"..."

Why was it showing something different?

Could it be… he really can't ignore the Gods of Olympus after all?

The only thing Van could do was sigh as he closed his System. So be it, then. If they were the ones who gave them this power, then he probably owes it to them in the first place to their bidding, for now, that is.

"This Harpy Queen is what we call a Portal Boss, and it is the strongest monster inside the Portal. In order to clear the Portal, we need to kill it."

Mr. Jacobs continued his lecture, the tone of his voice containing a hint of boredom. "After successfully defeating the Portal Boss, the Portal will automatically close after 72 hours. Additionally, the Portal will also close as soon as the last Explorer exits it."

If 3 days have passed and someone is still inside, they would all be thrown out of the Portal. Until now, nobody knew how it worked. There were rumors that the people of the Old World have somewhat figured it out. But alas, it is gone forever, along with the complete annihilation of their civilization.

'This… so complicated,' Van could not help but sigh as he continued to listen to Mr. Jacobs' lectures.

But then, all of a sudden, Mr. Jacobs clapped his hands, almost a thunder resounding in the small glade.

"Now, there are certain things that you should know now if you truly want to be an Explorer!" Mr. Jacobs raised his voice, causing it to echo in the air.

"And that is to never make any unnecessary noise!"

Hearing Mr. Jacobs' words, the freshmen could not help but look at each other and whisper. If they weren't supposed to make any noise, then why is Mr. Jacobs' voice so loud? They all thought.

As the freshmen were busy murmuring to themselves, Mr. Jacobs once again spoke as he walked near a huge boulder. "Because if you…" he whispered.

"This is what usually happens!" He then roared as he suddenly threw the huge boulder out of the glade and into the lush trees, destroying them completely. And as soon as he did so, deafening shrills reverberated across the air, piercing the ears of the students.

Several creatures, around 10, then all emerged from the forest, flapping their huge wings to fly into the air. The monster had a similar face to that of a human's, except it was exaggeratingly elongated to fit their sharp and lengthy fangs.

They had wings as arms, and their legs were that of a hawk, talons as big as Van's arms.

Van could not help but squint his eyes as he stared at the flying creatures. 'So… this is what killed my father?' He thought.

The harpies were much uglier than the arachnes. Louder too.

"As you can see!"

Even with the loud shrieks from the sky, Mr. Jacobs' voice still drowned them as he let out a robust burst of laughter. "They have already surrounded us because we were making too much noise!"

'We?' The student's all thought in unison.

"Student Council, clear them all out for now!" Mr. Jacobs then nodded as he looked towards President Hannah.

All of the members of the Student Council were about to move, but before they could do so, the ground slightly trembled as a harpy burst into pieces on the ground. Gerald was already in the air, throwing and slamming down the harpies and using them as steps to move swiftly in the air.

And with every contact, the harpies lose a limb.

The freshmen could not help but voice out their admiration as they all looked at Gerald with their eyes wide open. Gerald could not help but let out a smirk as he gently landed on the ground, slowly standing up as he stared Van straight in the eyes.

"..."

"Wow. He's that strong!?"

"Now I feel more proud that Van was able to defeat him!"

"Haa. So jealous. I wonder when we will be able to do that."

"So, if I beat him, I would be the number 1 freshman, right?"

The smile on Gerald's face quickly dissipated as the freshmen's words reached his ears. His smirk, seemingly transferring to Van, who stared back at him with a wide grin on his face.

"Tch," Gerald could only crack his neck as he returned to his previous spot.

"Showoff," Gemma commented as Gerald passed by her, her long and sharp nails retracting from her fingers.

The class would be split into 5 parties and each would be supervised by the 5 student council members. And seeing as Van and his group were already a group of 4, it would seem that they didn't really need to add anyone else.

Since Gemma had already been sticking with them from the start, it was probably already predetermined.

"I will be the one supervising you guys," Gemma slightly yawned as she took off her boots, tying their laces together and hanging them on her neck.

"Aha!" Harvey quickly fixed his hair as he coquettishly walked towards Gemma, "Miss Guinevere, your red hair is as fierce as the sun, only shadowed by the beauty of your eyes."

"...It's Gemma. How did you even come up with that long name?"

"Ah, forgive me. I accidentally blurted out the name of our future daughter."

"..."

"Focus on the objective." Gemma no longer minded Harvey's antics as she gestured for the group to huddle up.

"Do not leave your party, this party as much as possible. But most importantly, focus on staying alive. If our party somehow managed to find the Portal Boss first, do not try to engage. Either signal the rest of the group as stealthy as you can or come back here to regroup."

Gemma raised her fingers as she added up things that Van and the rest should take note of. Of course, Beatrice, who probably had the most experience when it comes to Portal in the party, already knew all of this. But still, one thing she learned from her short experience?

Never underestimate the Portal.

"Enough chatting, fishes!" Mr. Jacobs' thunderous clap once again filled the entire forest,

"It's time…

...to explore!"

***

Deeper into the forest, the songs of the harpies were enough to shake the trees and cause the leaves to fall to the ground. There were dozens… no, hundreds of them all circling around a single area.

But then, as soon as the crack of the wind reverberated and shook their feathers, they all quickly dispersed. But alas, before some could fly away…

...A Portal opened up.

And immediately, a blur whipped out from the Portal, penetrating a harpy that was unfortunate enough to be the slowest of the group. A creature then slowly stepped out of the Portal… a bird. Its long and sharp tail, still skewering the harpy in the air. Its body, covered in black scales.

And it's every breath was like smoke, fuming out of its beak. And as soon as those fumes reached the still struggling harpy…

...Its skin turned gray until its movement ceased to exist.