The fishing port had been closed for a week now. Although the authorities had accommodated the displaced workers after their protests, it didn’t stop people from gossiping—especially since the military was involved.


    Presven shut his car door and entered a military facility. Despite his exhaustion from traveling back to the city, he had no choice but to report immediately to his superior.


    A short while later, he stood before his commanding officer, who was visibly annoyed. "Keep it short, Captain."


    "Yes, sir. After receiving orders from Marshal Hermet, we disposed of seventy-four targets and captured twelve, who are currently undergoing interrogation. We suffered no casualties."


    "Marshal Hermet…?" The superior narrowed his eyes. "But first—why did you not inform me of this mission, Captain?"


    "Sir, it was also under Marshal Hermet’s orders. The mission was urgent, and he stated he would take full responsibility."


    "Hermet..." His superior clenched his fists on the table, then scoffed. "I do not recall anyone under such a codename, right, Colonel Dientria?"


    Standing beside Presven, Colonel Dientria returned a sharp glare. "That might be the case, but I don’t believe this Hermet is hostile. If—"


    The superior slammed his fist on the table. "This is clearly a breach of our security! What have your cyber specialists been doing!? All you do is tinker on your damn computers while—"


    "With all due respect, the base under your supervision has been a hotspot for smugglers, and all you do is sit around."


    "You—!" He stood up, ready to retaliate, but when he noticed her subtle shift in posture—one indicating she was more than prepared to fight—he stopped himself. Getting into a brawl with someone in their prime, even if they were a woman, would accomplish nothing. "Get out!"


    Both the Colonel and the Captain turned on their heels and exited into the field, walking side by side.


    "May I ask why the Colonel dislikes you…?" Presven inquired, walking slightly behind Dientria.


    "That asshole thinks I only got my rank by playing around with computers."


    "Oh..."


    "Well, if I’m being honest, we simply have opposing views on things."


    Before Presven could respond, a young recruit rushed over, panic written all over his face. Stiffly standing at attention, he saluted. "Our servers are under attack!"


    "What!?" Without hesitation, Dientria sprinted toward her office, followed closely by the recruit and Presven. "Give me a report!" she barked.


    A woman, seemingly appearing out of nowhere,  handed over a tablet. This sudden appearance startled Presven, but seeing that no one else reacted, he remained quiet and observed.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "Were you able to track Hermet?"


    "No. Before we could, our servers started acting on their own…"


    Clicking her tongue in frustration, Dientria issued her next command. "Shut everything down! I’ll take full responsibility!"


    At her order, a technician near the circuit breaker pulled the lever, cutting off all power to the systems. Everyone exhaled in relief, breaking the tense atmosphere—until a phone notification suddenly chimed, louder than necessary in the silence.


    ---


    While Cartias was training outside, his computer monitor flickered uncontrollably, printing endless streams of letters and numbers. Then, after an hour of freezing as if completely broken, it suddenly shut down.


    Rai, having finished overloading the system, ceased his tampering. The last thing he wanted was to actually break the computer—Cartias would definitely scold him.


    Finally, Rai turned his focus back to Cartias, who was stretching his limbs.


    Cartias, how do you feel?


    Yeah, I feel much better now. Stretching his arms to finalize his workout, he prepared to head home.


    Cartias, please head to a specific location. I will guide you.


    Alright.


    "—Hey! Cartias! Let’s have a drink!"


    Ptencia suddenly appeared, jogging toward him.


    "Oh, sorry… I have something to do…"


    "...I just heard you quit your job, so I thought you were free."


    "I''m just busy with something. That’s why I quit."


    She narrowed her eyes. "That better not be illegal, or I’m telling."


    "It’s not illegal, but I really have something important to do later."


    "Fine, be that way. But you better take me for a drink later."


    "I will."


    With a casual wave, he walked off, following Rai’s instructions. After several random turns and zigzagging through the streets, he arrived at the entrance of a forest.


    "...What the... What was the point of all that walking if it was just here...?"


    It was not pointless, Cartias. Now, please continue.


    Frowning, he chose to let it go and used his small flashlight to illuminate the dark forest.


    The forest wasn’t particularly dense, but the occasional rustling of unseen critters and birds, combined with the creeping darkness ahead, gave him an eerie feeling.


    It wasn’t unnecessarily scary, but the thought of getting bitten by a snake made him more nervous than anything. Still, what really bugged him was why Rai had led him here.


    Up ahead, Cartias.


    Following the direction, he illuminated a tarped-up pile of cubes and a camouflage cloth covering something.


    But Cartias completely ignored the weird setup. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the rifle resting on top of the cloth.


    Excited, he picked it up and aimed at a tree trunk, mimicking what he had seen in video games.


    "Is this real…? I don’t think it should be this light..."


    It is designed as such. Don''t worry. And it is not illegal.


    This is so cool… Cartias slung the rifle over his shoulder, then paused. Wait… how did you get these? And why do I need a gun…?


    I traded online. The gun is for your protection.


    Protection from what?


    Everything. It is just for insurance, Cartias.


    Hmmm… You know that sounds a bit suspicious, right? Anyway, where’s the seller?


    You mentioned you don’t want unnecessary trouble, so I took extra precautions.


    Oh… Alright. Finally calming down, Cartias turned his attention to the other supplies.


    Please hold onto the two protruding metal pieces above the cubes.


    Cartias glanced at the three large cubes, each about three meters in diameter. What are these…?


    Batteries. With this energy, I will be able to transport these items into your house via dimensional travel.


    Really!? Is it Like an inventory system in games? Excited, he followed the instructions. Unlike when he charged Rai at home, this process made Cartias feel slightly nauseous.


    Not exactly. It is similar, but I do not own a parallel dimension. I can only store and retrieve items from both worlds.


    Oh...


    After draining the three batteries, Rai performed his "magic," transferring everything back to Cartias’ home—leaving only the drained batteries behind.


    They returned home shortly after.