The portal was located across the bridge at Lazarus island near one of the beaches.
We found the place empty though there were some walls and cameras set up surrounding the portal, most likely as some kind of warning system in case there ever was a rift outbreak from this one.
I cleared my throat as we approached the portal, "Ahem… Again, this will be a recon expedition so don't do anything that will put all of us at risk. Don't go trying to be a hero sacrificing yourself for no good reason, ok? Once more, this is a recon. We're just going in to take a look around to see what the situation is like on the other side."
Kris chuckled, "Mortal God, you sound just like a mother. Should we call you mommy from now on?"
Leena, who had already transformed back to her centaur form, narrowed her eyes at him, "How you even manage to pass Miss Olivia's tests is a wonder to me. If she was here right now, she would probably just beat you for that disrespect."
Kris stuck his tongue at her, "Bleh. It just shows that I'm capable, aren't I? Besides, our Mortal God here has a sense of humour, doesn't he?"
I smiled wryly behind my mask but decided not to respond, opting to step towards the portal instead.
"Let's go."
I led the way and stepped into the portal first, fully prepared for a fight in case there were Anomalies waiting on the other side.
As soon as I stepped through, I was immediately met with an Anomaly that turned back to let out a roar at me.
The Anomaly looked like a human but had some kind of rocks growing on its skin and it flailed its arms as it came charging towards me.
I didn't panic and merely settled myself into a stance before punching forward.
My knuckles made contact with the Anomaly and the entire creature got sent flying back with parts of its body flying in different directions thanks to the force of the punch, smashing into three different Anomalies that were behind it.
As I had expected, there were Anomalies guarding the entrance of the portal.
Taking a moment to look around, it seems like we were in some kind of underground cavern or something with a few tunnels up ahead that led in different directions.
There was a group of Anomalies guarding this cavern and each of them looked like a human with rock growing out of their bodies and their skin being ashen grey.
They let out a roar that echoed around the cavern and started rushing at me, only for the sound of gunshots to fill the air as a machinegun mowed them down from my side.
I turned to see Leena holding her machinegun with one hand and firing it from the hip, gunning down the small crowd of Anomalies without any problems.
I then heard a noise coming from above and I looked up to see that there was an Anomaly hanging on the ceiling and it dropped down to dive towards Leena.
That was when a shadow pillar shot out from below and smashed into the Anomaly, flinging it away to smash into the wall before a ball of fire was flung at it to burn it into cinders.
"Hmm? I didn't even get to show off?" Kris mumbled, looking around at the now empty cavern. "Isn't this place supposed to be a level four? They don't seem that strong."
I cleared my throat, "Ahem… Be careful, seems like they could be up on the ceiling as well. What we've encountered here is merely a guard they left to watch the portal, not their strike force."
Avatasia waved her staff, "Hmm… I also sense a large concentration of magical energy too… There is something strong in this place… No… It feels like this magic belongs to multiple beings instead of just a single creature."
I turned towards the three tunnels, "I don't suppose you can point which one that magic you sense is coming from?"
"Unfortunately… The magic permeates the very air itself and isn't drifting from a single direction. It may very well be each tunnel leading to a different creature with the same magical concentration."
Leena reloaded her machinegun, "Does that mean we can expect mages on their side as well?"
"It is possible, yes."
Looking at the tunnels themselves, they seem to be big enough to fit a house so whatever was using them to traverse around must be pretty big in size as well.
Either that… Or these caves were just naturally formed that way which I highly doubt was the case.
I turned to my Guardians, "For now… I suppose we should make our positions clear… I believe we've had a rough idea of each other's abilities but if there is anything you would like to share more before we head deeper… I think now's the time."
I honestly wasn't expecting anyone to say anything since we were still basically strangers at this point and I was telling them to reveal something personal.
But Jia Lian was the first to raise her hand, "Ah… Um… I suppose it would be beneficial if everyone were to know… My power is creating arcane constructs… I can project things out into reality but I need a focus in order to project them…"
That's why she's using the sword and shield I suppose? So that she can create a shield and sword using them as the focus.
Avatasia tapped her staff on the ground, "I suppose it's obvious by now but I am a mage and my specialisation is gravity and space magic."
Leena also joined in, "For me, it's actually not that special but I have the ability of spatial weight reduction. That's why I can carry impossibly heavy things on me without any issues. You could technically strap a giant cannon on me and I would be able to run around with it on my back."
The image of mounting a heavy machinegun on her back like those you see mounted at the back of a pickup truck suddenly appeared in my mind. That might be a little rude…
Kris waved his greatsword around casually, "Hmm… This might be interesting but I have a rather similar ability. I can manipulate the gravity of something that is within touch range. But I guess you can only reduce the weight of something but I can both increase and decrease the weight of something I touch."
And that explains how he's able to fling himself around like that where he would increase the weight of his greatsword and reduce his own weight when he's swinging it around.
"I can manipulate shadows," Sergei spoke up simply, not elaborating on it.
Everyone else then turned to look at me.
Well… I guess I might as well rip off the bandaid at this point…
I considered showing my face here but I think I would just wait for Olivia to join us here first before actually doing that. Instead, I'll just tell them some things about my powers.
I sucked in a breath, "As you might know… I am newly awakened so I don't even know who my godly persona is supposed to be. But I do know it's part of Chinese mythology and has something to do with cultivation."
I then stretched out my hand and the jade book appeared in front of me, the pages flipping open until it showed the picture of the two Anomalies I killed.
"The first thing I know is that this jade book seems to be a record of sorts and powerful Anomalies I kill appear in it and I get their abilities. Remember the giant Anomaly that we killed in our last expedition that was absorbing other Anomalies into itself? I can kind of do that as well now but with people, allowing me to borrow their powers while I'm touching them. But not only that…"
I made the book flip until it showed a picture of Olivia, "It seems like I can also copy the abilities of those who have chosen to become my Guardians or something… I'm not too sure about the rules of this one because there is another person that I tested this on and I received some of his powers despite him not being my Guardian."
Sergei tilted his head, "So… You are able to use our powers?"
I raised my hand and a tendril of shadow lifted up from the ground and wiggled for a moment before it collapsed back into the shadow.
"Just a little. It seems I am not as proficient in them as you guys are, though I don't know if it's just a limit to the skill or it was because of another reason."
I was honestly taking a really big risk here since they could take offense at this and abandon their position right now after they learned I could copy their powers.
Surprisingly, Avatasia giggled, "Ufufufu~ Seems like I will need to give you some lessons on how to use my powers then, young God~ I am looking forward to that~"
The others also seem to agree and I was quite surprised to learn that none of them seemed bothered by that.
I guess this was the best outcome I could hope for.
Anyway… Do you guys mind watching over me while I try and absorb some Qi over here?