|Hinoa — Quest Maiden of Kamura Village|
I clap my hands and offer my prayer to Lord Omnevis. To my surprise, when I opened my eyes, the dango was still there.
Is he busy, or is there something wrong with the dango? No, the second one is impossible. I check it before I make my offering to Lord Omnevis. He must be busy with something. I offer another prayer and wish him the ability to do what he is doing successfully.
I stand up and walk to my office. There are a lot of new hunters who need to take missions from me before they can take one from the guild. Among them is Himeko, who gets to spar with Lord Omnevis.
Lucky her.
With the Shrine Ruins region free of the stronger monsters, the newbie can hunt there, and the older hunters can take jobs to make sure the monsters in that area do not cause a lot of destruction to the ecosystem.
Some of them really do not have any breaks. Two days ago, we received the news that Arzuros was eating a massive quantity of fish in the area and attacking any monster or animals that tried to hunt near the river and pond in that area.
Because of this, we need to send someone to hunt it down. Yesterday, I received a letter from Himeko saying that she was done with her hunt and that a team was required to help her carry the beast back home.
They should arrive anytime soon.
While the village quests are relatively peaceful, it cannot be said of the one coming to the guild. With the rampage still happening, a lot of people need our help protecting their villages and caravans, and we even help them hunt monsters that create nests between two trade routes.
It is a miracle for us to survive this long with all the monsters wreaking havoc around the world.
"Ah, Hinoa!"
I snap from my thoughts and see Elder Fugen waiting for me in my office.
"Elder Fugen! Good morning. Do you have any missions for me to distribute?"
"Lucky for you, we don't have any today. It is a free day."
"Really? That is odd. Yesterday, there were a lot of missions, and now, they are gone."
"That is because we get a new wave of new hunters, Hinoa. With the Shrine Ruins free of the rampaging monsters, the newbie does not need to worry about encountering a horde of monsters."
"So they have faster travel time because they do not need to take a detour to leave the horde alone."
"That's right."
That is good. I am happy that the newbie will have an easier time in their hunt, but what do I do now?
"You can relax, you know?"
I snap from my thoughts and look at Elder Fugen.
"Pardon me?"
"I can see it in your face, Hinoa. You are not used to not doing anything. Well, think of this as your vacation time. You can visit the Great Shrine, if you want."
The Great Shrine is the name of the shrine that Lord Omnevis blessed.
"Maybe. However, I think I will go around the village for now."
"You do that. Please enjoy your vaca—"
I look to the sky when a massive shadow appears. I take out my weapon on reflex and point it to the sky. I can see Elder Fugen do the same, but we immediately put it down when we see a familiar dragon flying above our village.
It is Lord Omnevis!
After a few seconds, he slowly descends to the ground and changes into his humanoid form. He lands in front of us. We give him a bow and greet him.
"Lord Omnevis! It is nice to meet you, my lord."
"Lord Omnevis! Good morning!"
He gives us a nod and a smile before saying.
"Good morning, Hinoa, Fugen. Please raise your heads. I came here to ask you two for something."
We raise our heads and look at him. Elder Fugen is the first one to say something.
"Can I ask what you want to ask us, My Lord?"
"I want to ask if one of you wants to visit another world."
"What?"
The two of us look at him in shock. Even the people around us look at him in shock. I am the first one to recover from the shock.
"What do you mean by another world, My Lord?"
He looks at me and says,
"Just that. I want to ask if one of you wants to visit an Alternate Universe. Think of a world the same as this one, but with a few different things."
"Like what?"
"Hmmm… In that world, Himeko is a man."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He is still a newbie, just like Himeko, but he is a man. The next one is the world. It is more… tame."
Elder Fugen walks forward and says.
"Tame? What do you mean?"
"Well, for one, the Rampage only happens every fifty years."
That… is very fortunate. If Rampage only happens every fifty years, the casualties will be lower because we have time to breathe and prepare a better way to fight against it. Building a new fortress or repairing the one that gets destroyed.
So far, we have lost twelve strongholds in the past because of the rampage, and it takes us a year or maybe two to create one. With that amount of time, we can rebuild all the strongholds and even repopulate them.
Fifty years is enough for a new generation of hunters to be born. Hell, two generations of hunters can be born in that amount of time.
Oh, don't get me wrong. We will give the children the best childhood we can give. We are not monsters who only want children to be hunters. We will give them the training, food, and education they need to choose their future.
However, we also know that monsters are a danger that we need to face together. If we don't do this together, we will not survive. That is the bleak reality of this world. They might not pick hunting as their jobs, but they must know how to fight against monsters.
And fighting the Rampaging monsters is something you need to do to protect the ones who cannot protect themselves. We are all about survival after all.
"They also have better technology. Their world is relatively peaceful, and because of that, they can create better technology than this world. In fact, that is the reason why I want to take one of you with me. I want you to learn from them and note anything useful for this world. However, I need to bring someone people will recognize to do that. Someone like you two."
Ah, I guess I understand his reasoning.
If we arrive in that world, the people of Kamura will trust Lord Omnevis more. If he appears in their Kamura without us... It will be like our first encounter, but this time, they will try to fight him for real, and he needs to defend himself.
I shudder to think of Lord Omnevis unleashing his power on Kamura.
"I see. I understand."
Elder Fugen looks at me and says,
"Hinoa, you should go."
"Me, Elder? Why don't you go?"
"You have more knowledge of technology than I do. Not only that, but you are also more approachable than I am. Lastly…" He smiles at me and continues, "You need a vacation, and this is perfect for you."
I nod my head and look at Lord Omnevis.
"Please take me with you, my lord."
"Perfect! Prepare for our departure. Go light because we are going to Kamura Village. We don't want to make them worry when they see you go full hunter-mode."
I nod and leave to prepare. I return home and start to put the basic needs into my bag. Two pairs of clothes, a day's worth of rations, and, of course, a box full of dango. There is no way I can leave without them.
When I walk out of my home, I take my bow and put on my quiver around my waist. I look around my house for a second and nod my head. I am ready.
When I return to the center of the village, I see the others already waiting for me. They give me hugs and wish me good luck. It is as if I am going to war or exploring the unknown frontier. I can even see Lord Omnevis look at them in amusement.
"I am not going to war, you know?"
I try to tell them that, but they decide to ignore me and keep wishing me good luck. I can only sigh and stand next to Lord Omnevis, who nods his head.
"Right! Let's get going."
He waves his hand and creates a portal. I can see all kinds of colors dancing inside the portal and feel a strong and primal power coming from the portal. It looks innocent, but it is ancient and powerful.
"Let's go."
I nod and walk through the portal. I make sure to stay close to him. As we walk through the portal, I can see a swirling of energy around us. We are standing inside a tube made of blue energy that protects us from the chaotic energy on the outside.
"My lord, what is that?"
"Ah, those? That is the Blind Eternities. It is a place between infinite realms. Do you see those lights?"
"Yes."
"Those are other realms. That might be a small amount, right? That is because the rest of them are hidden. The ones we can see are the ones who have a crack in the barrier that protects them from the Blind Eternities."
"Is Blind Eternities bad, My Lord?"
"It is not bad. Blind Eternities is like your world. Is your world bad? No, right? However, it does contain something that can be considered bad. Unknowable creatures that can wreak havoc and cause untold destruction."
Ah, it is like the monsters. However, it is worse than the monsters by the look on Lord Omnevis' face.
"Can you repair that crack, My Lord?"
"I can do that, yes. However, if I spend all my time repairing them, my job will never end. The crack happens in countless worlds, and there are many reasons why it happens, but the majority of these happen because of the people who live in that world, who are the ones making it happen. They create the crack themselves to gain some kind of knowledge they are not ready for."
"I see."
I know those kinds of people. There are a lot of them in history. Among them are people who think they can control an Elder Dragon and create some sort of concoction to do it. Sadly for them, the Elder Dragon does not fall under their control and instead goes berserk, destroying their country and killing thousands of people.
"Anyway, only I can explore the Blind Eternities without protection. It is my nature."
I nod in understanding. It is because of his divinity that he was able to explore the Blind Eternities. AS expected of Lord Omnevis. Does that mean he is also a God of Travel? Now that I think about it, he does protect travelers and people who love to travel.
I learned something new about Lord Omnevis. I am happy.
"Sadly, you cannot survive the Blind Eternities. That is why I created the tunnel that connects the two worlds."
"Do you think we can visit this world by ourselves, My Lord?"
"If I create a permanent portal, yes. Why? Do you want to create a trade route to the Alternate Kamura?"
"Yes. Having them as a trade partner will be a boon to us."
I can hear Lord Omnevis hum and say.
"I will think about it. For now, let's explore another world."
"Yes!"
The two of us continue to walk before we arrive in front of a blue door. Lord Omnevis waves his hand, and the door opens on its own. We walk through the portal, and I can see that we arrive in front of a massive shrine on top of a cliff that looks over an enormous forest.
We are in the Shrine Ruins region.
"Welcome to an alternate dimension, Hinoa."
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