The man wiped the sweat off his forehead as he gazed at his handiwork. "Finally...it's finally done."

"It would have been done much faster if we hadn't been interrupted," grumbled the young man beside him. "Now the players will think we have terrible customer service."

"It's not my fault the bosses chose this location for a portal. I did warn them that this country didn't have many suitable locations. There's people wherever you look! Of course someone is going to discover it."

"That's the point, isn't it? We need an influx of players after all. So far there are less than ten, so the higher-ups were complaining."

"I hope they're equipped to handle that large of an influx though. If they wanted more players, they could just invite the beta-testers back, right? I'm no 'gamer', but it seems to me that having more powerful people around would be inspiring to the younger generation."

"Apparently they want an even playing field. So young people and low Levels for now. Some of the players are levelling pretty quickly though. I heard one of them hit 50 recently."

"So fast? It's barely been two months, right?"

"It's even less for them, with the time difference and stuff."

"Ah, yes. So that it wouldn't disrupt their normal lives or some rubbish like that. If they find it so fun they should just stay here permanently, I say."

"It's not that easy to leave everything you know behind. Plus I'm sure they have families and relatives there too."

"Just bring them all here, then! The more the merrier!"

"Nuh-uh, having too many people going missing all at once would cause too much of a fuss. We don't want governments to get involved."

"Hah! People die or go missing every day. Who cares! The Earth is overpopulated anyway, isn't it? Aren't they having climate problems because of some unsustainable practices or something?"

"Well, I for one wouldn't want to live there. I can't imagine living in a world without magic. Not being able to create the exact tool you need at the right time must really suck."

"Me neither. I pity the fools who first rushed over there thinking it was a paradise."

"You can't blame them. They were escaping a war, remember? They probably thought that not having to dodge fireballs was great. Who could have guessed they would have to dodge bullets over there."

"And if you remember the historical portals, people were even hunted down like animals and burnt at the stake. So barbaric."

"Who knows whether that information is accurate? The sources were other Earthians after all."

"Earthians may not be very trustworthy, but they are creative since they lived most of their lives without magic. They must have had to invent and figure out ways to do things with primitive tools and their own hands."

"Exactly. For one thing, their entertainments far exceed anything we can imagine. Just take this 'game' for example. Before I worked here, I only thought games involved props like cards and dice."

"To think they would take over an entire island for it. And a pretty large one too. The scale boggles the mind."

"Oh yes, speaking of islands, when's your next shore leave?"

"What are you talking about? I go home every weekend. It's one of the perks of being a portal mage."

"Argh! And here I thought you were just being anti-social on weekends! Darn you and your unfair bloodline!"

~*~

"Are you serious about going back there? What if they find out? There's going to be tons of explaining to do."

"I told you, it's just this one time, I promise. Won't you come with me for this last trip? Things won't be the same without my trusty partner."

"Oh very well. If you miss the place so much we should have just moved there in the first place."

"What? And lose this house? No thanks. I still enjoy my modern comforts and conveniences, you know."

"Hmm, you're right. All right then, let's go before I change my mind."