Sci-fi technology is amazing.

No crowded public transportations as well as instantaneous teleportation with no sense of nausea. Portals were truly convenient. I gave my heartfelt thanks to my friend for including something like this in his novel.

Using the Academy’s portal, I went to the Portal Station. There was slight motion-sickness but the experience was simply out of the world, quite literally.

The station was a tall building with various rooms that contained portals to all sorts of locations. Rainforests, oceans, even to other continents. You name it.

I was currently on the ground floor, waiting for my turn. At the reception, the receptionist asked about my destination and then calculated the ticket cost for a round-trip ticket.

Usually, a portal to such a far-away location would cost about 50,000 R, which was a bit more expensive than a round-trip domestic flight in my previous world. But the Academy provides its staff and students with special privileges, such as free portal usage.

“Ah, you are a Professor at the Star Academy!”, she exclaimed as I handed her my professor ID. There was a hint of respect in her voice as she typed in my details on the computer.

“Please head to the 10th Floor, Room 1033”, she instructed as she returned the ID.

After heading to the designated room, an attendant guided me inside. The room inside was huge unlike its outer appearance, expanded through magic engineering. Inside were several customers, like me, who were being guided to their destinations. We came in front of a large door. On its side, a screen was placed asking for the longitude, latitude, and altitude of the location to where the portal needed to be opened. As soon as the attendant typed in the coordinates, a vortex started to glow inside the door.

As I stepped in front of the vortex, the attendant handed me a small marble.

“I believe your return trip is a week from now. For the portal to reappear on your departure date, smash this marble at the location where you will appear.”, the attendant explained. “You will have a 24-hour window to use the portal marble, after which it will become useless. You will have to call our customer service line so that we may retrieve you from your location. Though ,the retrieval service will cost you a price.”

I nodded at her instructions and placed the marble in my dimensional ring. After that, I stepped into the portal.

Venezia Island, South of the Human Continent

I exited the portal to find myself on a beach. It seemed to be hidden from the rest of the area by some boulders.

Amongst the rocks, there was an opening that led to where the rest of the beach was. But when I passed through it, instead of the usual bustling beach life, I found myself on deserted sands.

Abandoned fishing boats lined the coast, while drifted seaweed covered the sand.

“Rustle!”

I turned my head towards the noise. Hidden behind the boats was a tall guy. He was wearing a white vest over copper-tanned skin. His dark hair and eyes, along with youthful muscles which gave him quite an attractive appearance.

He glared at me, wary of the stranger, who had suddenly appeared on the beach, out of nowhere. I waved at him, flashing my best smile and trying to look as harmless as possible. The boy narrowed his eyes on me.

‘Guess that didn’t work.’

“Excuse me, do you know where everyone is?”, I asked him, as politely as possible.

“Who are you? I have never seen you around here before.”, the boy questioned.

“Um, I am just a visitor. I came from the Human Continent.”, I replied.

He rushed to me.

“Did you say, ‘Human Continent’? Did the Hero League send you?”, he asked, his eyes beaming at me.

“Well I am Hero.”, I answered him vaguely.

“Yes!! Follow me. I will take you to Father.”, the boy took my hand, pulling me with all his strength, which was quite a lot, since I was a C Rank Hero.

Coming out from the beach, we ended up in the middle of a town that resembled Venice quite a lot. Water canals snaked between the floating mouldy buildings. But unlike the pictures of Venice from my old life, the canals here didn’t have any boats drifting through them.

The gondolas were tied outside the buildings and the town seemed just as deserted as the beach we were on.

“Come up!”, the boy in front of me instructed me as he got up on top of one of the buildings. I followed his suit, as he parkour-ed across lanes. We finally reached a large building that seemed a lot like a Catholic Church.

The boy and I pushed open the large glass and oak door. Surprisingly, the inside of the Church was quite clean and dry, with none of the decay in sight. On the benches, many townspeople were clasping their hands and praying. Hearing the door open, they slowly opened their eyes to look at who had entered.

An old man ran down the aisle and hugged the boy beside me. Seeing his religious black robes and grey beard, he was probably the Head Priest or something.

“Oh Mike, I was so worried about you. Where did you go? It's dangerous out there right now.” The short priest asked the boy, as he inspected his body for possible injuries. The scene reminded me of my grandparents who fussed over me when I came home after getting injured while playing.

“Father, look a Hero came to protect us.”, Mike said, pointing towards me.

Hearing his words, the stares of the church occupants immediately turned towards me. They started to whisper among themselves.

“Finally! The Hero League sent someone to help us.”

“But why did they only send one Hero?”

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“Shhh. What if he hears you?”

Hearing the whispers behind him, the priest looked at me with an awkward smile.

“Why don’t we go and talk in a more private place, sir?”

Taking Mike’s hand, the priest signalled me to follow him.

He took me to a small office. It was a plain-looking room with just a desk and two chairs, one on either side. The desk was covered with neatly stacked papers.

I settled down on the guest chair, with the old priest sitting opposite to me. Mike stood beside him.

“Welcome to Venezia Island, young man. I am Father Jacob, in charge of the local church here.”

“I am Ray Laxon, a C Rank Hero.”

“So I guess the Hero League finally heard our pleas.”

“Um, about that.”, I really didn’t want to lie to an old man. “I wasn’t sent here by the Hero League. I am just visiting the island out of my own interest.”

Immediately, dread engulfed Jacob and Mike’s eyes.

“But don’t worry, if I can, I will definitely help you.”, I quickly added. “But may I know what the problem is here?”

The old man’s face brightened up on hearing my response.

“Thank you so much for your consideration. Actually, right now our island is going through some very tough times. I am sure you have already seen the condition outside.”

Remembering the deserted beach and waterways, I nodded.

“A few months ago, a C Rank Dungeon opened up a few kilometres off-coast from here. We thought we would be able to close it by ourselves, so a few of the young fishermen formed a team to attack the Boss Monster inside. But the entire group was annihilated. And to make matters worse, a few weeks after that, the Dungeon Rampage began and it started releasing its monsters outside. Snakes flooded the waters and attacked the townspeople in the waterways. We had no choice but to take refuge inside this small church. We tried to ask the League for help, but they rejected our pleas every time.”

“I understand your situation, but a C Rank Dungeon. That will be quite troublesome for me.”

“Please, we really need your help.”, the priest begged me. “Our food rations will run out in a month. We won’t be able to survive.”

Actually, contrary to the priest’s calculations, this island’s citizens won’t even make it past this week. I remembered about this island’s tragedy from the novel.

Usually when a Dungeon opens up, there is a countdown period of a few weeks. In this time period, Heroes can enter the Dungeon and try to defeat the Boss monster. If the Dungeon is not closed before the countdown period runs out, then the Dungeon begins to release its monsters outside. Adding to the disaster is the fact that as long as the Boss Monster is not killed, Dungeon Rampages will keep occurring periodically.

And regrettably, Venezia Island barely has a week now before the second Dungeon Rampage occurs. Soon, the Dungeon will release another horde of serpent monsters in the town’s waters, which will completely annihilate the island residents.

In the story, only one boy named Mikael Harpoon survived the attack. He then went to the Dungeon to avenge his town and family. After spending three months inside, he finally defeated the boss monster and got a reward, including Awakening inside the Dungeon. After that he joined the Chaos Alliance, to take revenge on the Hero League for not helping his island during their time of need.

The Dungeon reward was so strong that it helped him become one of the top Fallen, hunted by the Hero League.

‘Sorry Mikael, but I will take your reward.’

It was a win-win situation. The Alliance will lose a valuable asset and I will gain a powerful weapon.

“Alright. I will close the Dungeon for you. I won’t ask for any payment but whatever Items I get in the Dungeon will belong to me.”

“Thank you for your help.”, the priest said, gratefully. His eyes were glistening with tears. Seeing a man, who could have been my grandfather, cry in front of me was really uncomfortable.

“Well, I would like to set forth to the Dungeon today. Can I get a boat and someone who can guide me there?”

In the novel, Mikael took three months to defeat the monster. Even if I was a C Rank Hero, I didn’t know how long it would take me to close the Dungeon. I only rushed here because the Island’s deadline was closing. Even if I couldn’t close it entirely, I could, at least, stop the second wave of monsters.

“But didn’t you just get here, Mr. Hero?”, the priest asked.

“I need to go back to work in a week.”, I explained. And since I had all my necessities packed, there wasn't really any reason to waste time.

“I can guide you to the Dungeon.”, Mike stepped forward.

“No!” Father Jacob yelled at him. “You are not going to that dangerous place.”

“But, Father, I am the best guide you have here.”, he pleaded. “Please let me go with him.”

He looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Don’t worry, Father. I will take care of him.”, I placed a hand on Mike's shoulders.

Honestly right now, I just needed to get to that Dungeon as fast as possible. It was imperative to my survival in this world, that I get my hands on that Artifact.

“Take me to the boats, young man.”, I flashed a reassuring smile at Mike.

“Follow me.” Mike rushed out the door, before Father Jacob could change his mind.

“Don’t worry Father. I will make sure to bring him back unharmed.”, I reassured him before following the hyperactive youth.

Mike took me to a fishing boat that was tied outside the backdoor of the church. I slowly stepped on it, as it rocked due to my body weight. Mike started the engine and we headed into the waterways. I could sense E Rank Auras below me. I leaned to the side to notice shadows moving underwater.

“Be careful. Monsters lurk down there.”, Mike warned me.

“Don’t worry. I am releasing my Aura as well. They won’t dare to approach us.”

Soon, we exited the streets and entered rough waters. Mike fixed the engine and steered the boat. Although the waves looked calm, it was anything but safe. I could feel predators lurking below us. Truthfully, I hoped that the monsters would stay away. Even if they were E Rank, I doubt I would remain unscathed during the fight, with only my two-month training. Not to mention, we were currently on a very shaky boat.

“So, what kind of a job does a Hero do, mister?”, Mike asked me as he drove.

“Well, currently, I am a professor at the Star Academy.”

Mike's eyes brightened at the mention of the Hero Academy. Guess its reputation had spread to these far-away islands as well.

“So, Mike. What kind of life do you live here, on the island?”, I asked in return.

“Nothing much. My dad died while hunting when I was eight years old. Father Jacob has taken care of me ever since then.”

“He seems like a nice man.”, I nodded.

“But I hate the other townspeople.”

“And why is that?”

“They always blame me for everything, even when it's them who pick a fight with me. They are only jealous cause my hunting skills are better than theirs.”

‘I guess bullies existed everywhere.’

“Once I Awaken, I will take Father Jacob and go to the Continent. It's the best life a resident of the Sanskriti Archipelago can hope for.”

“You know, being a Hero isn’t that easy.”, I explained to him. “The chances of Awakening is less than 1% and even after that you will have to train a lot to raise your Rank and become stronger.”

As we travelled, I told Mike more about life at the Academy, how the students trained there, and everything. Mike listened to my stories intently.

We finally reached the entrance of the Dungeon. In the middle of the ocean, there was a huge whirlpool, about ten metres in radius.

“You have to jump in there to get to the Dungeon.”, Mike informed me. He looked at the vortex nervously. I could feel a malicious Aura emitting from it.

“Alright. Let’s abandon the boat here and jump in. I doubt the monsters would attack an empty boat.”

“Wait, I have to jump in with you?” Mike asked in surprise. Clearly, he wasn't expecting to go to the place where an entire group of residents from his island had been massacred.

“Well, obviously. I promised Father Jacob I will make sure you don't hurt. Without me and my Aura, you will be like a sitting duck for these monsters to attack.”

“B-but isn’t the D-dungeon more dangerous?”

“Come on, you scaredy cat.”

I grabbed him by the vest and plunged into the water. Instantly the strong sea currents sucked us, dragging us through the water vortex and to the other side.