Chapter 316: Swallowed by a Rift

Silas exhaled through his nose and dismissed the interface.

Fine... If the System wanted him to establish a domain, then he would establish one. He had already acquired the property, and the renovations were underway. Once the headquarters was completed, that requirement would be fulfilled.

Recruiting three members shouldn’t be difficult either.

He had friends, acquaintances, and more than enough people who would probably jump at the opportunity to join an organization led by an S-Rank individual. Some might even join because they wanted to get closer to him. He wasn’t sure whether that last possibility was reassuring or disturbing.

The expedition, however, was another matter.

He needed to complete one as the organization’s leader. That meant he couldn’t simply accompany another guild or participate in an academy activity and expect the System to count it. He would have to organize an expedition himself.

’That’s manageable.’

Then there was the final requirement, which gradually changed Silas’s expression.

’Discover the truth behind an unknown fate connection.’

He knew exactly which connection the System might be referring to. It was Kelvina, the supposed Sun Dragon, the woman who had somehow managed to attract his attention, provoke Chloe’s jealousy, and leave him with more questions than answers after a single dance.

He still didn’t understand why the System was so interested in her. The last time he’d asked about her, it had responded with enough vague statements to fill an entire book without explaining anything useful, and now it wanted him to discover the truth behind their connection?

’Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.’

He could already imagine the headache. Still, he wasn’t going to rush into anything. Kelvina had her own life, and he had his own problems to solve. If their paths crossed again, he would deal with it then. There was no point in making assumptions before he had actual information.

Besides, the System hadn’t specified a deadline. That was something, at least.

He glanced toward the main building, where workers continued moving around the property. The Fate Guild was finally becoming a reality. It might take some time, but he intended to build something that would endure. He wasn’t going to let a ridiculous quest dictate every decision he made.

’I’ll do things my way.’

With that thought, Silas turned toward the exit.

He exchanged a few words with Marcus and Daniel, reminded them to contact him if any significant issues arose, and returned to his Ferrari. The engine purred as he started the car.

The sky had darkened considerably while he was inspecting the property. Streetlights illuminated the road leading away from the compound, and the distant lights of City A shimmered against the horizon.

Silas settled comfortably into his seat and drove the car out the massive gates of the guild. He pulled onto the road.

’Perhaps I should take a vacation.’

The thought was surprisingly appealing. He could find somewhere peaceful, spend a few days relaxing, and return when he felt like dealing with the world again. Of course, knowing his luck, the world would probably collapse the moment he booked a hotel.

Silas chuckled to himself.

’I’m becoming paranoid.’

He drove along the relatively quiet road, occasionally passing other vehicles. The Ferrari’s headlights illuminated the asphalt ahead, while the navigation system displayed the route back to his estate.

Everything seemed perfectly normal- until the air in front of him changed.

Silas noticed it first as a faint distortion, almost like heat rising from the road on a summer afternoon, except the night wasn’t particularly hot. He narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell?"

The distortion widened as a thin blue line appeared in the air ahead of his car. Silas immediately took his foot off the accelerator, while the line split open.

Space itself seemed to tear apart, revealing a swirling blue void surrounded by flickering arcs of light. The opening expanded rapidly, growing from a narrow crack into a massive circular rift that occupied nearly the entire road.

Silas slammed on the brakes, causing the tires to scream against the asphalt.

"What the actual hell?!"

The Ferrari skidded, but it was too late. The rift pulsed, causing a tremendous force to seize the vehicle. Silas felt his stomach lurch as the world tilted around him. His seat belt tightened against his chest, and the dashboard flickered violently. The navigation system went black, followed by every other electronic display in the car.

He grabbed the steering wheel.

’No, no, no!’

The vehicle slid forward despite his attempts to stop it. The blue light swallowed the hood, then the windshield, and then everything.

For one terrifying instant, Silas felt as though he were being dragged through a tunnel that had no beginning or end. Blue and silver streaks flashed around him. The familiar sensation of spatial movement pressed against his body, but this was different from teleportation.

It felt as though something had grabbed him by the collar and thrown him across an impossible distance.

His System activated.

[WARNING!]

[UNKNOWN SPATIAL DISPLACEMENT DETECTED!]

[Attempting to establish coordinates...]

[ERROR! LOCATION UNIDENTIFIED]

[ERROR! WORLD SIGNATURE NOT FOUND]

Silas’s eyes widened.

"What do you mean, world signature not found?!"

Before he could demand an explanation, the blue light intensified, and then everything went white.

***

Silence- that was the first thing Silas noticed. The second was the heat.

He slowly opened his eyes. For several seconds, he remained motionless, staring at the unfamiliar sky through his windshield. It was a brilliant, cloudless blue.

He looked around and realized that his Ferrari was sitting in the middle of an enormous desert.

Golden sand stretched toward the horizon in every direction, broken only by distant rock formations and towering dunes. The sun blazed overhead with an intensity that made the landscape shimmer.

There were no roads, buildings, trees, or signs of civilization whatsoever.

Silas slowly turned his head toward the passenger seat, as though expecting someone to explain the situation. He looked through the rear window and only saw more sand. He checked the navigation system. It was dead.

He checked his phone, and there was no signal. Finally, he summoned his System.

[Current Location: Unknown]

[World Classification: Solar Gandus]

[Environmental Assessment: In Progress...]

Silas stared at the screen. Then he looked out at the endless desert. A vein began to throb in his forehead.

"You’ve got to be kidding me."

He had wanted a quiet drive home.

Instead, he had somehow ended up in an entirely unknown world, and he had absolutely no idea how to get back. Of course, unless he defeated the final boss of the world.