Artyom made his way down brightly lit halls towards the portal rooms, as metallic thuds echoed out as his heavy boots made contact with the brightly polished floor tiles. The staccato rhythm of each footstep followed a metronome-like pattern, forming a beat Artyom read each word of the mission dossier to.
His task was unorthodox but simple; investigate the possible summoning of someone from Earth to a Fairytale World where there were no actual signs of a summoning.
“So there might not even be someone to rescue, huh? You sure know how to waste my time, Gus.”
As far as Artyom knew, there was only one way someone could end up on another world from Earth: via portal.
Of course, just about everyone in headquarters knew the stories from back home of someone reincarnating as a baby in a fantasy world with all their memories intact, or their mind and soul somehow ending up in the body of someone already established in a fantasy world.
But as popular as those plot devices were for letting the story jump into the action, they apparently weren’t a “thing” as far as anyone at TOAL knew. Souls were a tricky subject, and anyone summoning a hero would have an easier time just grabbing them whole, pre-existing body and all.
That wasn’t to say those summoning rituals were easy either, but they were at least more predictable. They used a special kind of magic, Rune Magic, that could be detected across the multiverse thanks to its own multiversal nature. Tear open a connection between two worlds, and it would send ripples that anyone with an ear to the ground could hear. If such worlds had a penchant for treating people poorly, Artyom and his friends would make a social visit, and even rehome any children if they couldn’t get back to Earth.
Before Artyom could continue to the next section of the report that detailed how the techies discovered the inconsistency, someone interrupted him.
“Excuse me, Artyom!” shouted a young man running up behind him.
Artyom turned to see a figure decked out in full combat gear, which consisted of a gray sweater and sweatpants underneath a padded vest filled with ammo and small implements. He had a rifle slung on his back that looked like a mishmash of various famous firearms from Earth. A pair of goggles clung to his forehead nestled over what could only be described as an armored beanie, and the etchings of magical sigils reflected the fluorescent ceiling lights at just a different angle than the rest of the glass. Despite his severe clothes, he didn’t look to be older than his early twenties.
“What’s up?” replied Artyom, perfectly hiding his pre-existing anger from his voice.
“Just wanted to thank you for helping out in that last mission!” the young man excitedly said. “It’s crazy how you and only a few people just ran into enemy lines like that and rescued all those kids from the siege. I don’t think they would’ve held out for much longer, maybe a day, or an hour, or-”
“Hey, no problem, it’s my job,” said Artyom. “If you stick around long enough, you’ll probably be able to join me on that kind of an attack too one day.”
“Well, I dunno…” The man bit his cheek as his eyes wandered towards the ceiling. “This was just my first mission, and I really want to keep going! But I can’t see how I can measure up to everyone here. Even with everything I can do, how much good is it next to monsters like you?
Artyom raised an eyebrow and stuffed the dossier into his jacket before looking the young man straight in the eye. “What were you doing before you joined up with us?”
“I mean, I got summoned to save a kingdom from a dark lord, isn’t that what happened to pretty much everybody?”
“And did you save it?”
“Of course!” said the young man, straightening up. But as he continued to think for a second more, he began to sag. “I saved the day, but I had all of these cool cheat abilities to help me. Since anything System related like special abilities and levels reset whenever we go to a different world, I’m starting from scratch every time. I… want to help, but what am I without those powers?”
“Hey,” said Artyom, placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Special powers or not, you still stepped up to the front lines to save an entire kingdom. Taking up that kind of responsibility isn’t easy with the kind of pressure that comes with it. I mean, there are people I’ve seen on my missions who are in a position to save plenty of people for what is to them a pittance of a cost, but they don’t even bother. You on the other hand? You care, and even after saving the day in your world, decided to join up with us to keep doing what’s right. I know you have what it takes to fight alongside the rest of us.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“D-do you really mean that?”
“Of course!” said Artyom with a grin. “We’re fighting the good fight here, anyone who willingly signs up for more has what it takes.”
“Thanks, it means a lot coming from you. By the way…”
Artyom let his arm fall back to his side and gave the young man a patient smile.
“How do you get to the portal room? I’m still pretty new here and I lost my way, and there’s this mission briefing that’s starting soon.”
“You’re in luck, I was headed there myself. Just follow me,” said Artyom, turning around and continuing towards his destination.
After a quick thanks, the two continued in relative silence towards their destination, with the young man following his senior. The path they took ended up being quite nondescript, with much of the amenities of headquarters being farther down side hallways rather than the main route they took. It wouldn’t do the troops or support staff any good to have non-combatants or visitors accidentally getting in their way.
Within several minutes, the two finally reached their destination, a large set of metal double doors. After a quick badge scan from each of them, the two walked on through to the portal room.
The word “room” wasn’t an accurate descriptor for the massive space. It was the size of an aircraft hangar, and aptly paved with a concrete floor while roofed under large, thin slabs of white-painted sheet metal supported by blue-gray metal beams and pillars. Evenly spaced out at the far end of the room were three large rings inlaid into the wall. A secondary ring around each one supported several stone slabs featuring runic characters painted or etched in gold and other precious materials. Several of these slabs were moving along the first of the outer rings, rearranging themselves into a different order.
“Huh, what’s going over there?” asked the young man.
His gaze wasn’t locked on the structure itself, however. Rather, he was focused on the almost two dozen people standing in front of it. Men and women, no… boys and girls. Mainly teens, between early and late high school, stood in place with their eyes locked on the shifting ring.
Artyom narrowed his eyes at the group; something about how they were behaving was off. Throw enough kids into a crowd like this, at least two of them were going to start chattering away, but they were all quiet. Every single one of them stood somberly. Backs straight, hands clasped together or clenched into a fist, a few looking at the floor.
“Huh, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were attending a-”
“Oh Artyom, there you are,” came the voice of a woman from the side.
The two men turned to find a young woman, likely in her mid twenties, dressed in a white lab coat over a sweater and jeans. In her hands was a clipboard and pen.
“I hope you don’t mind these kids, this is something they need.”
“I don’t mind, Sofia. I doubt I’ll be getting in their way,” said Artyom as he gave the children another look-over and began to recognize them.
“Hold on, aren’t those the kids we saved in our last mission?” asked the young man.
Sofia nodded. But before she could continue, the inner ring they were standing in front of suddenly lit up in a swirling, blue glow. The kids collectively jumped back a step in surprise, but quickly returned to normal as several soldiers began to step out carrying stretchers covered in long, white cloth.
A chill went through the room as the children and the young woman stiffened, but a frigid hammer struck the two newcomers in the back as they realized what was happening.
“These are the ones who didn’t make it,” said Sofia. “The kids wanted to give them a kind of salute, and to make sure we recovered all their bodies.”
Neither of the two men said anything.
“It boils my blood that there are people out there who’d take advantage of children like that!” exclaimed Sophia quietly enough to not be heard, yet forcefully enough to snap the young man out of his fugue. “But that’s why we have people like you two here to fight for them. And portal techs like me to help you all do just that.”
She flashed the two a sincere smile, but felt her own lips fall as she saw Artyom’s sullen expression.
“Hey, don’t be like that,” she said, taking a step towards Artyom until she was a foot away and staring directly at him with a concerned and motherly look. “You and everyone else did all you could, and every child standing here proves just that. The ones who didn’t make it were already dead before we were even deployed.”
Artyom quietly nodded before blinking once and returning to his previous neutral look. Even if he did give the two a smile, he knew it wouldn’t reach his eyes.
“So are you two planning to attend the funeral the kids are trying to organize? They asked that the people who helped save them attend, and not to spite us anything. They just want someone they can trust to be with them.”
Artyom let out a sigh and stood silent for a second before replying. “You know, I’d love to.” He smiled even wider to the point it hurt just as much as it did inside. “But I don’t deserve to attend it after failing them. Besides, I’ve got another mission I need to get to. Could you please get the portal for that set up?”