Chapter 300. The Vortex of Doom.

We marched back through the park, and I got a view of a couple of other attractions that I hadn’t seen before. It seemed that the dragon ride and the vortex thing we were heading toward were some of the main attractions, but the goblins hadn’t skimped on installing some of the more basic rides. First off was a Ferris wheel that was powered by a pair of ogres turning a crank.

There weren’t any test subjects like me riding the wheel, but it seemed like a pretty simple and safe device as long as the ogres didn’t screw up. The other ride we passed was a kid’s ride based on the mana powered carts from the dragon ride. This time, the short track was flat, the cars smaller and much slower. About the only excitement on this ride were more of the cheap, painted wooden cutouts these goblins liked to use.

Ahead, I could hear the roar of a river, and Kriznip pointed us toward another corral that doubled as a dock for the ride’s rafts. With the extensive queue area, the goblins must have felt this was going to be a popular ride and needed to be able to handle quite a few customers at once. I had to give the goblins points for having most of the queue area covered. There was nothing worse than being in line outside under the beating sun for a summer amusement park trip.

A full team of goblin workers were there as we wormed our way through the queue. This Vortex of Doom was most definitely a work in progress. The sign wasn’t even up yet. I wondered how long it would be until the park was finished, as some of it seemed almost ready to go, but other parts, like the vortex, had a long way to go before they were ready for the public.

The goblins waved the first group of around eight passengers forward and loaded them into a wooden raft that was little more than logs lashed together with coarse rope. For “safety” a bench on each side of the raft had been nailed down, and a rope was strung around the seats to help keep the passengers from flying out if things got a bit wild. One by one, the groups were loaded and pushed out into the raging waters of the river.

As far as the river itself, it looked like any type of water ride you’d see in a modern amusement park. The river channel was made from cobblestones held together by a concrete-like substance. How they powered the water was a mystery, as the river was moving at a pace you’d expect to see on a white-water rafting trip, not an amusement park ride.

I was partnered up with the same gnome from earlier as the only passengers on the last raft. We sat where indicated on the wooden bench and grasped the safety rope for our dear lives. The rope was strung through several posts that had been driven into the floor of the raft, and at least those seemed sturdy enough that they wouldn’t snap as soon as all our weight hit the rope.

Once again, the gnome looked terrified, and I wondered if he even knew how to swim. Was swimming a popular activity around the crazy system-controlled worlds? I sort of figured it wasn’t given that there was the possibility of monsters in just about any body of water.

We were cast off from the dock area, where a small breakwater kept the current down to a manageable level. Once outside the calmer waters, our raft began to pick up speed. The raft headed toward the far bank of the river, and I expected us to crash against the cobblestone raised bank. Instead, something gently pushed against the raft as we neared the side. The goblins were using magic to keep the rafts from crashing and breaking up, which I took as a good sign that we might just survive this ordeal.

The ride slowed as we passed a sharp turn that drenched us both in water. Things continued in this vein for a while, and this vortex must have been one of the longer rides in the park. Just about when I was starting to enjoy myself, we entered a wider part of the river. In front of us was another summoned being laden raft, and we could now get a preview of whatever was going to happen to us.

At the end of the wide river was a huge pool that had a swirling roil of water in the center. This must have been the titular Vortex of Doom, and I wasn’t sure how the goblins expected us to survive it. We watched as the raft in front of us got pulled by the vortex, but just like the sides of the river, some kind of magic kept them from being completely sucked into the roiling water and destroyed.

After a complete loop around the vortex, the raft moved away, heading toward another channel that must take the rafts back to wherever they unloaded the passengers. To my horror, and the horror of the people aboard the raft in front of us, two long tentacles emerged from the vortex and snatched up a pair of riders. The riders’ screams were cut short as they were pulled into the vortex by whatever creature resided inside.

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It was then that I remembered the conversation between Kriznip and Jeff. They had mentioned something about a pond grabber that wasn’t doing what they wanted it to. Those tentacles must have been from whatever a pond grabber was, and as we hit the vortex, I could only hope that the monster wasn’t still hungry.

We made our loop around the vortex and were heading toward the final leg of our journey when the tentacles emerged again. They turned toward our raft, and I silently urged our ride to pick up speed as we were almost out of the monster’s reach. That’s when it hit me, this monster wasn’t going to eat its fill if its only victims were summoned beings. We just disappeared into mana vapor when killed and would provide the monster no sustenance, hence its continued aggression.

The tentacles shot forward as the ride spun and our backs were to the creature. I jumped forward, aiming to hit the bench on the other side and, hopefully, get out of range of the attack. My gnome companion wasn’t quite as lucky, and he gave a short yelp as a tentacle latched onto him and pulled him toward the vortex.

My last-minute maneuvering managed to dodge the other tentacle’s attack, and before it could strike a second time, I was out of range. I’d survived, and tried to enjoy the calm, and monster-free last section of the ride. As I suspected, there was another debarkation area, with a goblin team waiting to pull our rafts into position so we could unload.

“Step out and join the others,” Kriznip ordered as they pulled my raft to the dock.

“Did that thing kill all but one of the passengers? That’s got to be a new record, one of the goblin attendants said.

“Nah, there were only two on this raft, the only survivors of the latest test run on the Dragon’s Gullet,” Kriznip replied.

“So, this guy is the sole survivor of both the Dragon’s Gullet and the Vortex of Doom. He’s should get some kind of award for that, don’t you think?” the worker asked.

“It’s a summoned being, not an employee. He should be happy we’re not sending him through a second time. I think Jeff’s going to debrief him since he’s survived our two most problematic rides. Now, let me get moving, this guy’s summoning is going to expire soon, and Jeff wants to talk to him pronto,” Kriznip said.

They didn’t seem to think of summoned beings as anything other than disposable minions but given these were goblins working in a janky amusement park, I probably shouldn’t be offended by that attitude. It did strike me funny how the system translated slang, I was pretty sure that “pronto” wasn’t the actual word Kriznip used.

After exiting the ride, the rest of the survivors were shuffled back to the Dragon’s Gullet by another worker, and Kriznip led me to one of the shops that was still under construction. Jeff met us there and ordered me to sit at the table with him.

“First off, let’s confirm that you can hear and understand us. You never know with summoned beings. Sometimes they are stupid as rock, despite looking like a race that can normally hold a decent conversation. You have permission to talk now human,” Jeff said. Kriznip stayed in the room with us, but he seemed disinterested in the whole thing.

“I can understand you, what is it you wanted from me?” I answered.

“Great, first off, let’s hear your experience from the Dragon’s Gullet. Other than almost getting chomped, was the ride fun?” Jeff asked. Like before, Jeff was pawing at the air, like he was working an invisible tablet as he took notes.

“Well, I suppose I’m a bit jaded, as we have a bunch of amusement parks like this back on my world. Of course, we don’t have mana yet, so they’re all run on technology. Other than one in a million freak accidents, we don’t have people killed or maimed very often. As far as the ride itself, you could do better, it wasn’t the best dark rollercoaster I’ve been on,” I tried to explain.

“Wait, you’ve got places like this on your world? Amazing, but I have only a short time here or I’d pick your brain more. So, about the Dragon’s Gullet, in your opinion, what can we do to improve?” Jeff asked.

“First off, the painted wood cutouts are kind of cheap looking. I don’t know, maybe you can have some kind of illusion spell instead? The dragon at the end obviously needs some work, and there’s no reason to have it chomp directly at the tracks. That seems needlessly dangerous, and you can get the same jump scare by having it looming nearby while it roars.

“Good stuff, summoned guy, I appreciate your input. I do feel the need to inform you that our organization has full rights to all information you relay to us, and as a summoned being, you cannot make any copyright, stolen intellectual property, or other damage claims against our company. Furthermore, you cannot disclose anything you’ve seen here to any potential competitors. Do you acknowledge that I just informed you of your rights and obligations?” Jeff asked.

“Sure, I guess. Hey, one question before we continue. I’ve never heard of a goblin named Jeff before. How did you get your name?” I asked, not really concerned about the legalese. I had no desire to open a competing amusement park.

“Ah, I wondered if my name would come up. As a human, you’ll probably find this incredibly interesting. You see…” Jeff started to say before I was whisked away by the system.

You have survived and successfully completed your summoning.

Your performance rating is calculated as Very Good.

Your rewards will reflect the summoning at Tier 2, Rank 5, and your performance rating of Very Good.

You have earned 31 experience points.

You have earned 42 summoning points.

Congratulations! You have reached Tier 2, Rank 6.

You have gained 1 point in Mind.

You will now be returned to your personal space.