There was security at the spot but I managed to sneak past them all with my kidnappees,
It was rather easy, the general level of the hunters here and their abilities was starkly lower than the abilities of the wizards, knights and sorcerers back on the other planet or dimension or whatever it was.
Through the enormous pillars of the crystal cave where footing was just as haphazard as the growth of the limestone all over it. We hopped through them all and found the portal leading towards Europe, and then found the western half of the portals, and after sneaking around and past the cameras for a short bit, I finally found my destination.
"You're like a professional criminal."
Albert muttered as I pulled them along toward the fairly unguarded portal.
Of course I was. I had done this far too many times when I was being perceived as a villain in this world. I just used to sneak into gates to practice though, and kicked the ass of every hunter that got in my way.
I guess that was what made up a villain in the first place?
Shooting through like a breeze, we passed the portal.
***
The other side of the portal opened up to a new world, just like before, this time I had to sneak them out of a building which I did in a breeze.
Our exit was atop a fairly high mound where the portal center ended. Nearby was an airport which people could use to go to closer by lands. There used to be a fairly high demand of trains and subway routes in the past but it was only used inside a city now.
With portals connecting countries and busy spots to others, and planes connecting everything else, the world was truly in an era of connectivity that I hadn't appreciated before being transmigrated.
With a snap of my fingers the other two were free of the cage of shields and they fell on their butts.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBeyond a city of bricks and stones and many many neons laid a giant rugged landscape. The ground waved up and down while rivers rowed through them like boats trudging toward the coast.
The skies danced in many colors while clouds of the strangest proportions played the music.
Both of their jaws slacked and eyes widened.
"Where is this?" Asked Albert.
A smile spread on my face as I took in the sights of the place.
"That over there?" I pointed in the distance of the highlands, the place where glaciers and rivers and flatlands and volcanoes and canyons and valleys all flowed together. "That's Thorsmork."
"Wow…"
I kicked Luka's back.
"Not bad, ey?"
"Not bad…"
This was just the beginning, we weren't done taking in sights.
"Let's go to the city first and get some clothes."
"We don't have cash," Albert pointed out, rightfully so. But I was going to take care of everything since I was the one here to cheer them up.
We descended the rugged half of the hill almost like going back down after a trek. It was easy to do so, but all of us took our time and enjoyed the scent of fresh air after having been stuck in the forest for so long.
The city wrapped us in as we walked around leisurely. The signboards with the directions were little help and made it even better to walk around. Signboards were for decoration anyway, everyone had watches and lenses to navigate.
I soon found a pawn shop of sorts and went inside, leaving the other two out.
The people here spoke fluent English so that made things easier.
"Gold, magic items, what do you take?"
"I take what you give. If its worth it."
The pawning was excellent, with just some of the extreme volumes of items and gold I had amassed as an adventurer, I managed to cash twelve thousand euros and went out. It was a total steal.
First came clothes. We geared ourselves in minimalistic yet aesthetic modern coats.
I took a turtleneck and a black blazer while using black trousers. There were no spirits here and quite a few questioned me about my horns, but all I did was answer back with a horn sign and was pushed away as just a weirdo.
Albert went for a causal shirt black shirt and white denims while we took our time dressing Luka up in the biggest freak show we could imagine and told him its how people of our world rolled.
Next came a hearty meal, in a pub, with a fuck ton of moonshine. Singers and musicians handled the mics while a floating television screen displayed the football match. Luka was shocked with every little thing, but the pub shocked him the most since it was drawing a clear parallel to things in the other world.
Once we were full, we brought a few crates of beer and went straight to a rental shop.
No identity, no license, no passport, but cash was omnipotent in every world and a small floatster was in our hands along with a fake license that would help us escape any cops.
Being one of the most popular tourist spots, this was only natural.
I rolled the windows down, Albert got on the passenger seat and Luka in the back while I drove with one hand out. The car floated up the road of the city before taking deep into the highlands of Thorsmork.
Tuning up the high-demand FM radio in the car, we closed our eyes and let the breeze hit us through the windows while Luka stood up and out of the window in the hood.
Fast.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmEverything had been going too fast.
Even so, we could always slow down and take our time.
With old, groovy music and smiles, even the worst of things could become simple.
It was then.
In between an advertisement break, the Radio Jockey told us of recent happenings in the world.
[Reports have come in that the one regarded as the greatest hunter in history.]
My eyes widened.
[Han Jun Ho has entered the Hunter Association again for a meeting.]
Albert and I both jumped back inside the car.
"My father?"
"Your father!"
[And front of the hunters association, for the second day in a row the people have gathered for a demonstration to take action against the prophesied invasion of the Outer Gods.]
Luka rushed inside too.
"INVASION OF WHAT!?"
—THWACK!
And at the same time, the car crashed.