I watched the waves roll past as the boat made its way towards the island a short distance away from the main land.
Right now I was headed to St John's Island with my Guardians to do a recon expedition of the portal that was located there.
The only one who isn't with us was Olivia, the red Oni completely swamped with the work of starting up the new ministry under my direction.
Originally, she wanted to follow us on this expedition as well, but that would mean delaying the work of setting up the base so I told her she could just focus on that instead and I would deal with this portal with the other Guardians.
Since we would just be doing recon expeditions, we weren't expecting a lot of fighting to be involved so she wouldn't be missing out much.
We were also not planning to stay overnight within the rift itself but instead, we would be taking up residence in one of the resorts around here.
Ironically, this island used to be a place where people would go on day trips and there were several staycation hostels around here.
But ever since the portal opened here about a year ago, pretty much all the businesses have been shut down or gone bankrupt and the island became pretty much abandoned.
The problem was that the rift was classified to be at the very least a level four so it would be pretty dangerous for most people to enter it.
At level four, even veteran Vanguards could be nothing more than just cannon fodder to the Anomalies in that rift.
And if the rift was classified at level five, a Mortal God's participation would be mandatory.
As for the reason why this portal has been left open for so long…
Because our government did not want to put our people at risk, they decided that they would want a Mortal God present to help close it instead of being satisfied with just a Guardian to take the lead.
That's why they had left it as it is and only set up a perimeter around it to watch the portal in case any Anomalies started to break out of it.
It was clear that our government expected to be able to get one of the two Mortal Gods in the SAC to help with closing this right but neither of them answered the call so it was just left until today.
And because no one wants to go near a rift that was left open for a long time… Everyone eventually just abandoned the island and tried their best not to think about what might be the location of a rift breakout.
The only people who would come close to the island were just people involved with Anomalies making sure that the rift still remained closed.
The jetty came into view and our boatman called out for everyone to prepare to disembark.
We reached the empty jetty and all of us got off the boat where we would be spending the next few days camping on.
Kris stretched his arms over his head lazily like a cat, "Mnnnghhh!! I'm so glad to be back on dry land again…"
"Why? Afraid of the water?" Leena asked, the centauress hauling her gear out from the boat.
Kris rolled his eyes, "I would prefer to stay dry instead of wet, thank you very much. Wouldn't you agree, Mortal God?"
I recognised that he was trying to attempt some small talk to break the ice and I also realised that despite having spent some time in each other's company, I haven't actually spoken to them directly.
I pretended to think for a moment, "I suppose if I had to pick between the two, I would say I'd like to stay dry in this situation."
Kris puffed up his chest, "See? Even our Mortal God agrees with me!"
Avatasia took a moment to look around, "Where are we supposed to go again?"
Jia Lian pulled out her phone and brought out her map app, "Umm… Miss Olivia sent me the location earlier so we just need to follow the route. If I remember correctly, we would set up in a chalet just up ahead."
She was about to start walking before she paused and turned back to look at me.
I realised she was asking me for permission to lead the way so I nodded at her.
She bowed her head slightly and took the front of the group, walking up the pier and through the covered walkway that stretched from the sea to the island.
Looking around the place, it was clear that the island had not been visited for a long while with how quiet the place was and the empty feeling in the air.
It doesn't even feel like there were any animals on this island either.
Sergei seemed to notice as well, the former assassin taking a moment to inspect the area, "This place… It feels quite dead…"
Leena turned to him, "What do you mean? The plants seem to be growing well?"
He shook his head, "The air feels stale… Dead… Like death had been through this place and took everything with him."
That's an interesting way to put it.
Avatasia tapped her staff on the ground, "The portal… I believe it might be close to a breakout soon…"
Kris looked up at her, "Isn't that bad? Are we going to be stuck on this island when the rift breakout happens? There's no way we could handle something like that with just the few of us!"
The elf mage shook her head, "I do not believe that it would be able to reach that point since we are here to deal with it. We would be clearing out their numbers which should prevent the rift from reaching that critical point."
Everyone turned to look at me at the same time.
I shrugged, "That's what we're here for, aren't we? Though whether we fully clear the rift or not would depend on how dangerous it is. If I'm not wrong, this was classified as a danger level four. I'm not sure if we would be able to clear it on our own, especially when I still have yet to fully awaken."
Kris skipped to my side, his black, feline tail waving behind him mischievously, "So this would also serve as a way for you to understand your abilities better, right? Mortal God?"
"That is the plan, yes."
"Hmm… Just curious… We are officially your Guardians now, aren't we?"
I tilted my head at him, "I suppose so. Why?"
"I was just wondering if we would ever see your face?"
"Perhaps."
It seems like he was actually expecting me to say no since he actually looked surprised by my answer.
He wasn't the only one either as everyone else also turned to look at me in surprise.
I frowned at them from behind my mask, "Is it really that surprising? I would be fighting alongside you all and I will be trusting my life with you. Showing my identity should be something that is a given, no?"
Sergei raised his hand slightly, "Does that mean you wish to see my face as well, Mortal God?"
I turned to him, "I read your files… I can understand why you would want to keep your face hidden so I won't hold it against you if you decide to do so."
He didn't answer me right away so I guess he was still undecided.
We then walked past a metal gate before reaching a flight of stairs leading up to a building in the middle of a small field surrounded by a few trees.
The building was raised off the ground on top of short concrete stilts with another set of stairs in front of us that led directly to the entrance. There was a relatively long veranda in front of said entrance that was shaded by a roof extending out from above.
Just by looking at the design, you could tell that this was built quite a long time ago and only given the barest of touch ups to make it look more modern.
And the fact that no one has come here for a while made the building feel even older as well..
Kris crossed his arms, "This is where we're staying? No offense but… I would think that we would be given better accommodations."
Jia Lian was the one who answered his question, "Unfortunately… This island isn't like a tourist destination to begin with so there weren't a lot of resources that were allocated to develop this island… A lot of the things here are actually pretty old."
I chuckled, "The good thing is that the building at least has air conditioning and water so it's not like it's missing the bare essentials."
Kris puffed his cheeks, "Whoever heard of a Mortal God staying in something so shabby?"
"It's just for the next few days and honestly… I've stayed in worse places. Let's just go in and put down our stuff, alright?"
The others agreed and we moved towards the building.
Somehow… I feel like this would be a pretty long week…