I looked up towards Auntie's face and noticed that she was genuine.
Her face was furled as she cursed her own stupidity as well, but she managed to get over it in no time.
"Shit… I'll get somebody to retrieve the gravestone. Don't worry… It's okay,"
Aunty's voice was soothing.
So soothing, it almost acted as a lullaby, putting me to sleep.
…
Another few days had passed, and it was beginning to become very monotonous.
Each day was so dull that I felt myself going insane… despite the many things we were doing.
First, we were still acting with the rest of Tolf, who managed to survive the apocalyptic attack on New York.
They apparently made their own base towards the outskirts of New York, so they were quickly able to avoid it while also collecting information on what was happening… sadly, it wasn't any different from what we ordered.
But then there were also the kids that we saved from the Write family basement.
We haven't heard much about them besides the lack of resources to raise them as there are about 80 kids, all around the age of 8-10 years old.
So, to fix this, we allowed them access to our homes, and they could take anything they needed and anything they wanted… as we weren't coming back.
That place was infested with monsters even when we left.
Ding
"Oh, there's a live broadcast from a new station that's about to take place in New York. Apparently, a guild is going to try and clear some of the monsters as they want the materials," Celestine says after hearing a ring from her phone.
"Not clear the dungeons?" I respond.
"Well, I guess New York is gonna turn into a loot paradise… Unless somebody clears all the dungeons,"
The dungeons, huh? Well… They can be cleared if those bastards disabled them.
But it's strange… Why didn't they do this around the world? They could quickly destroy countries with the power to create portals…
"Should we watch it?" Mia asks.
"Nah… I think we all know how it will turn out," Charna says.
"Yep… They're going to die… Those monsters weren't playing around… Plus, they must've at least multiplied by ten times their original amount… They're so dead," I add.
Everybody leans back against the tank's metal interior, sighing deeply from boredom… Sophia, on the other hand, was confused as hell.
…
It was the following day… and we had finally arrived at a new city, bustling with dungeon runners.
"Is this the new thing I've been hearing about?" I ask Auntie, who clung to me like a parasite.
"Yep… A portal hub,"
Portal hubs. A new type of city was created to travel throughout the entire world without the need for airplanes or boats.
The world changed after portals appeared… and as they can appear anywhere, the sea is not an exception, resulting in the ocean becoming polluted with monsters.
Some even managed to evolve into sky-baring monsters, and though they are rare, they are still most definitely a thing, and they are dangerous.
Thus, the use of airplanes and boats became something useless to travel across continents.
So, hubs across the world were made using teleporters that were connected to each continent, but in total, there are about seven due to how expensive they are.
Teleporters aren't cheap, and the hubs' teleporters can transfer thousands of people at a time, clearly showing how big they must be built.
"Visa, please," The receptionist asks as we enter a large white building towards the outskirts of the city.
"ADR," A large man dressed in badges says.
"Ah, division?" The receptionist asks.
"First,"
"It's a pŀėȧsurė to meet you… How many soldiers have you brought?"
"I've brought only 143 soldiers and a few thousand civilians," The man says, giving the receptionist a green card.
"More refugees from New York?" She creates some small talk as she inserts it into a device that scans the card.
"Yep,"
"It really is a shame. And with all due respect, but you do know they can't stay here forever?"
"Yes, sir. They will have to leave either the country or this city within three days or they will be fined,"
"I see… I will inform them then. Have a nice day," The man replies as he receives his green card back.
We walk up to the receptionist next.
"Auntie…"
"Oh yeah. Here you go," Auntie says as she brings out a pen that reveals a hologram, showing a pitch-black card.
It was a concealed card that you could only scan with a special scanner.
The receptionists' eyes widened upon seeing this, but she quickly returned to her usual, calm, and more professional state before scanning the card.
"Miss Elizabeth, you are allowed to enter," The receptionist says before unlocking a door beside the desk.
'Elizabeth? Is that her fake identity?' I ask.
'Probably. She can't go revealing herself to the public; otherwise, shit will go downhill, and she won't get a break,' Nell says.
"Uhhhh… Miss Elizabeth… Before you leave, may I ask something?"
Aunties' face twitched slightly, and her aura shifted into a menacing one.
"What?" She asks coldly.
Did she find out about her identity?
"U-uh, it's not anything personal. I just wanted to ask if you want a helper for the young miss over there?" The receptionist says, pointing at Sophia, who Astra was currently helping along.
"Nah, she's fine," Auntie says, and Sophia's expression darkens a bit.
Did she want a helper because she doesn't want to bother us anymore?
'What's wrong with her?' Clio asks, noticing the same thing I did.
'She wanted to learn how to be independent as she doesn't want to trouble us anymore… I guess she wants one of those canes,' Astra says.
'But she doesn't know how to use it,' Electra says.
'She'll practice, dumbass,' Ethel replies after rolling her eyes.
We made our way out of the white building and arrived in a bright city that gave off the same vibe as New York.
It was just a bit less tight as there was a significantly less amount of buildings.
『Status』
[Name: Lucy]
[Race: Ancient Snake (Half)]
[Level: 29/50] (19/100) XP Needed
[HP: 133/133 MP: 133/133 SP: 84/84] - Above Average
[Strength: 139] - Above Average
[Defense: 139] - Above Average
[Magic: 139] - Above Average
[Speed: 139] - Above Average
[Skills: [Necromancy] [Royal Frozen Bone Crown] [Ancient Sacrifice] [Drakes Bloodthirsty Rage] [Flood of Corpses] [Bone Armor] [Corpse Explosion]
[Variant Skills: [Lesser Quetzalcoatl's Fire of Death (Black Lava)] [Drizzle (Black Lava)]
[Summon Servants: [Fear]
[Passive: [Photographic Memory] [Black Drakes Blood] [All Language Perception] [Acid Immunity] [Black Drakes Regeneration] [Fire and Lava Immunity] [Death Immunity]
…
[Shop]
[Inventory]
[Map]
[Stored Souls]
…
I need to start leveling up again… I hope the portals in this city are worthwhile.
"First, let's get something to eat!" Auntie shouts, dragging me towards the nearest restaurant while my friends follow.