Chapter 159: Instant Travel

"Stand back."

Every beast in the settlement took a very large step backwards.

Tera stood in the clearing with her arms slightly raised, feeling like an idiot. She had no idea what she was doing.

She had wanted to find some time to practise how to open the portal, but for some reason, her cubs had transformed into fierce gremlins who would not give their mother a moment of peace and wanted to cling to her every chance they got.

It was even worse now that they were trying to talk, with the only clear word they could mention being "mama". And they spammed that word like a machine gun when everything else failed.

And now the wolves were about to leave, and she only knew how to summon this thing in theory!

But she still asked the system to be extra sure before she closed the portal by mistake and sliced someone in half.

["( – ⌓ – )]

[Host, that will not happen]

’Then tell me how it works exactly!’

[(꒪⌓꒪)]

[But this is the fifth time]

Tera glared at the system.

[ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ]

[Host simply needs to focus on the destination]

[This system will handle the spatial connection]

[Think of where you want the portal to open, and this system will lock on to the coordinates from the recorded map]

[My scanner cannot go beyond a specific range]

[But this system has saved locations and maps of places Host has been to]

’That’s it? I just think about where I want to go?’

[Yes!]

[This system handles all the complex dimensional calculations]

[Host just needs to provide the destination]

’So, I am the steering wheel, and you’re the engine.’

[This system prefers "the genius behind the curtain"]

[But sure]

[Don’t worry, Host’s head will not fly off when entering the teleportation portal]

[ꉂꉂ◟(˃᷄ꇴ˂᷅๑)༡]

Tera rolled her eyes. Why was the system acting as if it hadn’t broken her trust at times?

She then focused and pictured the Glimmer pack’s territory.

’I want it in the wolf pack’s territory. Open it where I woke up after Calis had taken me there.’

’And I don’t want it in a crowded area. Won’t be a good idea to scare every wolf into cardiac arrest.’

[Locking coordinates...]

[Location confirmed!]

[Whenever Host is ready!]

’I am ready. Why else would I tell you—’

The air in front of Tera shivered. It was subtle at first, like heat rising off hot stone, a faint distortion that made the trees behind it look like they were being viewed through uneven glass. Tera wouldn’t have even noticed it if she hadn’t been staring directly at the spot.

Then the distortion widened.

The air split silently, and a vertical shimmer appeared and started to spread out. Tera felt it was too small and, to her surprise, it widened even further.

’Whoa!’

[Host can manipulate the size of the portal at will!]

’Oh!’

Tera focused a bit more, and it shrunk and widened as she wanted. But through the rippling surface, Tera could finally see the other side.

The Glimmer Pack’s territory.

’Oh, shit. It actually worked.’

[Of course, it worked!]

[Did Host doubt this system?]

’Absolutely, yes!’

[Rude!]

[( •̀ ᴖ •́ )]

The Dow clan members who had been watching from a safe distance had gone completely silent. Every mouth hung open, and every tail had gone rigid. They all stared at the shimmering portal.

Xavi and Ermin flanked the crowd, both of them frozen mid-step. Xavi’s golden eyes were wide, which was rare enough that Tera filed it away as a treasured memory. Ermin’s tail had puffed up to twice its normal size.

Calis stood perfectly still, his crimson eyes fixed on the portal with an expression that was trying very hard to be calm and failing.

His eyes were fidgeting as he was trying to understand what was happening in front of him.

Tera turned to the crowd. "I am going to test it. Don’t panic."

"Don’t panic about WHAT?!" someone squeaked.

Tera didn’t answer. She turned back to the portal and stepped through.

The transition was instant.

One moment, the warm evening air of the Dow clan settlement surrounded her. The next, the cool, damp atmosphere of the wolf pack’s territory pressed against her skin.

’It worked!’

[Host has successfully teleported!]

[(ノ◕ヮ◕)ノ✧]

Tera was too excited by the portal to notice the wolves near her. And from the sudden eruption of alarmed snarls and scrambling paws, they had noticed her arrival.

Multiple voices exploded at once.

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

"Something appeared!"

"Is it a corrupted beast?!"

"It’s the shiftless female!"

"WHERE DID SHE COME FROM?!"

"SHE APPEARED OUT OF THIN AIR!"

Tera was already running straight through the portal again, and she met the Dow clan still staring at her with expressions of pure, open-mouthed horror.

"It works!" Tera beamed.

Nobody moved.

"I said it works! I went through and came back!"

Xavi was the first to recover. He strode forward, grabbed Tera’s shoulders, and turned her around as if checking that all of her was still attached.

"You are whole?"

"Yes, Xavi. I am whole. Nothing fell off."

"You disappeared."

"I went through the portal. The wolves can easily return to their pack that way."

He stared at the shimmering distortion behind her, then back at her face. His expression was still full of disbelief.

"I don’t understand."

Tera smiled. "Do you want to try? Look! It’s—"

Ermin appeared at her side and gripped her wrist tightly. He wanted to prevent her from being swallowed by the air again.

"What is the problem?" Tera asked.

Ermin’s grip tightened. "No."

"It will take three seconds!"

Before either mate could stop her, she stepped back through the portal.

This time, multiple wolves were standing in a horrified semicircle around the spot she had just materialised in.

’What the hell?!’

One elderly wolf was on his backside, having clearly fallen over. Greymaw was standing behind the others, looking like he had swallowed his own tongue.

Tera waved.

The wolves flinched.

She stepped back through.

Her mates looked like they were about to chain her to a tree.