"W… what just happened?"

"Did… the White Imvubu just clear a Portal without going inside it?"

​​

"She did! That… that was amazing!"

The cheers and bellows of the group mixed in the air as they all looked towards Charlotte, her fist still slightly damp, fractals of ice littered and stuck on her knuckles. The leader of the Standby unit said that the climate of the Portal was Cold, is that what he meant by that?

But alas, Van had no way to confirm if it was snowing inside the Portal as Charlotte already cleared it with just a single strike.

"How… how did you do that, White Imvubu?" Adia stuttered as she slowly stepped towards Charlotte, who was now nonchalantly wiping her hand with a towel she got from one of the members of the Standby unit. That said member, however, was currently shaking in his toes as Charlotte gave back the towel to him.

"Do what?" Charlotte said as she glanced towards Adia.

"C… clear the Portal without going inside!" Adia pointed towards the direction of where the Rank C Portal used to be, "It just slowly vanished!"

"Didn't you see what I did?" Charlotte slightly raised an eyebrow.

"I… I saw, of course, I saw! I always watch whatever you do, White Imvubu!" Adia quickly replied, "You punched the Portal… wait… wait…" Adia placed her hand on her chin. The others could swear that there was smoke almost coming out of her ears as her thoughts started to jumble up,

"...Is it actually possible to close a Portal by destroying it directly!?" As if a light bulb trickled inside of her head, Adia's eyes started to glow as she looked at Charlotte with an almost frenzied idolization.

Charlotte, however, only looked at her as if she was some kind of crazy person as she slightly backed away, "No. If that was possible, then our thousand-year problem wouldn't even be a problem, "I just cleared it like any other normal Exploration…

...I cleared the Objective."

"But you didn't even go inside--"

"I destroyed whatever was inside," Charlotte interrupted Adia's words.

"What… do you mean?"

"What's so hard to understand, girly?" This time, Angela approached the two as she let out a small sigh, "She destroyed the world within the Portal, therefore killing every monster inside and fulfilling the Objective."

"That's… that's…

...That's amazing!"

Adia almost leaped from the ground as she placed both her hands together in a clasp. If there weren't any cameras around them, then she would have probably already tried to hug the White Imvubu due to her excitement.

"As expected of the White Imvubu! I shall train hard to do the same feat!"

...I don't think that's possible-- was what Angela wanted to say. But she didn't really want to burst another bubble. The expression on Van's was could already not be painted as he remained staring in the direction where the Portal used to be.

Angela Elton couldn't even laugh at him now since she was reading his mind, which was filled with the excitement of going into the Portal.

But alas, Charlotte crushed it like how she crushed the Portal. The others had the same expression as Van's, but for a different reason.

All of them already knew that Charlotte was strong… but to think it was to this extent? One could only wonder what would happen if Charlotte punched outside of the Portal instead…

...Would Africa even exist anymore?

Granted, the area inside the Portal could be small. But Portal Objectives are usually at the far-end of the Portal… and there was only one way to kill someone that far away without even going inside the Portal with just using a fist-- destroy the inside of the Portal all the way.

Trails of sweat started to appear on the faces of the Silver-ranked Explorers of the Royal team. They were already starting to wonder why they were even here in the first place.

And it wasn't just the White Imvubu; even her protege was abnormal. If it wasn't for the strangeness of the Darkzone, most of them would still probably be a bit on edge from Duma's sudden and pathetic death at the hands of Van.

The group then slowly looked towards the smallest one of the trio, Angela. She was confident about defeating Duma earlier and was scolding him like a child… could it be that she is stronger than Duma as well?

That was probably most likely the case, as Va-an calls him Ms. Angela, the people thought. The Standby unit, who was still finishing their set-up, quickly scattered as they returned their equipment back inside their vehicle.

The Royal Explorer team as well, were in the same boat as they returned back to the truck with a blank expression, putting their Portal artifacts back inside their bags without even saying a single word.

Just what kind of Exploration did they get into? They all thought in unison.

Adia didn't even get to issue an order to pack up, as everyone was already inside the truck, completely still in a daze of what just happened.

And so, once again, the 3 trucks went on their way. Going deeper and deeper into the Darkzone, in search of the Portal that used to be the country's Pit.

***

"Intruders… why are there trespassers in the sanctuary I have made?"

A soothing voice sang through the skies as a colossal green-haired woman whispered in the air. "They are drawing near… stop them. I must stop them…

...No, what if they come in peace? I do not want more enemies. I have had enough of war."

The woman continued to whisper, her emotions as if swaying the trees around her, as well as the creatures that surrounded her, both monster and animals alike.

"But they already killed some of the children, they have come here for bloodshed, I am sure of it. But perhaps they could be reasoned with? There is no such thing as endless bleeding… the wheels should and would stop. But could…"

The colossal woman continued to talk to herself without end. But after a few seconds, her nose started to move as she turned her head towards a certain direction.

"This smell… it is familiar," the woman then closed her eyes, "Hermes?"

"No… is it? Could it be him? Has he come here to free me?" The woman continued to sniff in the air as her head tilted to the side. The birds that already made their home on her hair all started to fly away, "No… it smells like him…

...But not quite."

***

Van once again found himself in front of a Portal.

This time, it was a Purple Portal-- A-Rank. The Standby unit was moving even faster than before, setting up the perimeter as fast as they could. A-rank Portals already usually involve an alliance between a certain number of guilds.

Depending on the threat, only Gold-rank Explorers were allowed to go inside. Van continued to watch the Standby unit do their thing, scrambling here and there… and also going inside the Portal and going back out in just a few seconds.

Alas, it would seem that all their expert haste was wasted as the member of the Standby unit that checked the Portal just casually shook his head.

"It's the same as the last time. There was a monster right in front of me, but it just looked at me before looking the other way and leaving me alone."

"..."

"I'm not going to do anything this time," Charlotte, who noticed that Van was looking at her, could not help but raise her arms in defeat as she let out a small sigh, "I thought you wanted to be done and about so we can leave this country as soon as possible… my bad."

True, Van did want to leave and go to other Pits as fast as possible. But this was also a great chance to gain experience as an Explorer. There won't always be a mystery to solve around him, Van thought. Once the deal with his mother was over, once the Circle was gone from America, then he could finally have the chance to live a normal life.

For that, he must learn whatever he could.

"Have fun, children," Charlotte said as she sat on the chair provided by one of the Standby unit members. She was also given some sort of beverage, filled with ice to quench her thirst from the heat of the sun.

Adia once again asked her team to gather, once again telling them that their only target was the Objective, nothing more. After a few minutes of talking to her team, she then looked towards Van, who was already eager to enter the Portal.

"Van… about our little argument earlier…"

"...What argument?" Van replied, his eyes not even leaving the Purple Portal in front of him.

"About--" Adia did not continue her words and instead just let out a sigh, "It's nothing. The monsters inside might not be attacking, but it is still best to keep your eyes open."

"Alright," Van nodded, "I never do anything reckless. Please trust me, Adia."

"..."

Adia could only blink her eyes a couple of times. Somehow, she found Van's statement hard to believe. But none of those matter now… the only thing that matters was to clear the Portal in front of them.

"My team will go first," Adia said before turning towards the Royal team.

"Let's go!" Adia then raised her hand as she ordered her team to go inside the Portal. Van let out a long and deep breath as he watched as the last of the team disappeared into the Portal.

This time, finally… he would step into the world of Explorers.

"Good luck out there, kid. We'll be waiting for you outside," Angela said as she got her own chair and sat beside Charlotte.

"You're not coming with them?"

"No," Angela let out a slight scoff, "The boy wants to experience the life of an Explorer, let him have it. I am sure nothing bad will happen anyway."

"Hm," Charlotte hummed as she watched as Van disappeared into the Portal, "Reminds me of my son when he first went inside a Portal. Sadly, my son never seemed to have left Portals alone after that."

Charlotte could not help but sigh, "Let's just hope he doesn't turn that way and leave his future family alone to fend for themselves."

"Your son and the boy are nothing alike," Angela almost spat out as she heard Charlotte's words, "Your son is more like Hans if anything. Once obsessed, will only do what he wants… are you sure he isn't Hans' son?"

"I'm sure," Charlotte smirked, "I felt every inch of my husband, the man you fell in love with, inside me--"

"Don't start," Angela furrowed her eyebrows, "Let's just focus on the boy for now…

...Hopefully, nothing more unusual happens."

***

[Detecting the Influence of the Goddess of the Hunt]

Van stared at the window that popped out in front of him as soon as he stepped into the Portal, he was about to wave it close, but before he could do so, another window popped out.

[Overwriting the Influence of the Goddess of the Hunt]

"..."

[...]

[...]

[Success… Influence of Tranquility is now canceled]