Chapter 44: A Mother’s Deduction

Salma stared at the floating holographic screen with a deep, persistent frown. It had been a full hour since her daring little daughter had leaped straight into the dark portal.

Except for the violent spatial ripples it had created when Summer first jumped inside, the portal remained completely motionless. It floated quietly in the center of the dry riverbed like an ominous void.

It had even stopped expanding altogether, which brought immense relief to Mayor Vincious Gerald and the military officers.

By this time, Salma had finally calmed her wild emotions. She knew from long years of life that panicking was never going to help the situation.

Panicking would only cloud her judgment and severely affect her decision-making capabilities.

After dispelling the very last bit of restless shadow energy from around her body, Salma began to analyze the entire situation rationally. She started her investigation directly from the mysterious floating screen in the sky.

’One out of one,’ Salma noted inwardly, rubbing her chin as she pondered the numbers.

This clearly meant that only a single person was allowed to enter into this specific portal at a time. Then, the number one hundred sitting beside it must represent the total number of similar portals.

’That means there might be ninety-nine other portals scattered either across this city or in other distant places,’ Salma deduced carefully.

What confused her deeply was whether there were specific conditions required for these portals to appear in the world.

She did not believe for a single second that it was a mere coincidence that this dangerous rift had opened right next to a major human settlement.

Perhaps the higher the concentration of living humans in an area, the higher the chances were for a portal to manifest.

Furthermore, since her little daughter had successfully managed to step into the void, that clearly meant these rifts were not exclusively built for human survivors.

Zombies and other entities could also enter them freely.

Salma shifted her cold gaze over to the giant, broken corpse of the Void-Touched Vanguard lying in the crater.

As per the initial reports from the terrified soldier, this giant monster had directly stepped out from the center of the portal. That meant whatever beings existed on the other side could freely exit into the real world.

However, ever since her daughter had entered the portal, not a single zombie had stepped out from the black mist.

So, until a strong challenger entered the portal to initiate the trial, zombies would continue to pour out into the human world endlessly.

From these few key findings alone, Salma quickly deciphered that this portal was essentially some kind of structured dimensional challenge.

If she managed to locate another active portal somewhere nearby, she could potentially enter it to participate in the trial herself. That way, she could find a path to reunite with her daughter.

After witnessing the terrifying physical fighting power Summer had displayed while obliterating that Level 15 Elite monster, Salma was no longer excessively worried about her daughter’s physical safety.

Though, as a mother, one would always worry about their children, even if the child happened to be vastly stronger than everyone else.

The quiet crunch of gravel echoed nearby as heavy footsteps approached from behind her. Derreck walked up to the crest of the hill, his dark face looking tired and grim.

"Did you find anything useful?" Salma asked without turning her head away from the dry riverbed.

"We checked all available channels, young miss. There are no other portals reported near any of the three major settlements," Derreck shook his head slowly, delivering the disappointing news.

Salma furrowed her dark eyebrows in deep thought.

So, the portals were not actually spawned based on the large presence of human populations after all. That explained why her zombie daughter was able to interact with the trial system so seamlessly, as it was not exclusively for humans.

Then what was the real trigger? What was the crucial detail that she had missed in her calculations?

Salma remained lost in deep thought as her sharp eyes trailed across the vast, cracked basin of the dried-out body of water. Her expression slightly changed as a sudden, brilliant realization struck her mind like lightning.

’Strange natural phenomena...’ Salma thought to herself, connecting the dots in an instant.

The sudden, complete drying of the massive Seattle River in less than twenty minutes was an unprecedented, unnatural event. The portal had not spawned because of humans, but because the local environment itself had undergone a drastic, unnatural shift.

"Derreck, quick! Recall every single Rogue scout immediately and ask them to find out any strange occurrences happening in the city," Salma ordered, her voice instantly becoming urgent and sharp. "Tell them to look especially at larger natural formations. Mountains, dried bodies of water, collapsed caves, and whatever else seems unnatural."

Derreck nodded his head firmly, recognizing the brilliant logic behind her command. He hurriedly turned around and walked away to broadcast her orders to the Rogue network.

Salma clenched her small fists tight, her dark eyes gleaming with absolute determination as she stared down at the pulsing black rift in the riverbed.

’Baby Duck, just wait for your mother...’ Salma whispered softly under her breath, her shadow aura flickering faintly around her boots.

Meanwhile, that little ’Baby Duck’ of hers was currently sitting deep inside the underground dungeon alongside her soft new pet, having what could only be described as the absolute best feast of her entire life.

Following the defeat of her new illusion-type puppet Three, the fake labyrinth tunnels had completely dissolved, opening up into a massive underground cavern floor.

Lying across the vast, crystalline cavern floor were dozens of glowing, crystallized zombie cores that emitted a sweet, aromatic fragrance. They were scattered everywhere like piles of discarded gemstones, left behind by the dungeon’s high-grade mana veins.

Summer was sitting cross-legged on a smooth stone, her small hands rapidly popping one bright, glowing core after another straight into her mouth.

Crunch... Crunch...

Each core melted on her tongue like a delicious, fruit-flavored jawbreaker candy, sending cool, rich streams of pure energy washing down her throat and directly into her attribute pool.

"Woah... a lot of candies..." Summer mumbled happily, her cheeks puffing out as she chewed on three high-grade cores at the exact same time.

"EEEk!" Three squeaked out in absolute joy, happy to donate all its treasures for its master to eat.

The tiny, floating green furry ball was hovering right beside her shoulder, rubbing its soft, squishy body affectionately against her cheek while emitting tiny, happy grunts.

It used its wispy gaseous threads to scoop up two extra yellow cores from the ground, eagerly offering them up to its precious master like a dutiful servant.

Summer took the offered cores with a bright, sweet smile, giving her squishy green pet a quick, gentle pinch on its soft furry back.

Pinch...

Three purred loudly, floating in happy circles around her head as Summer happily devoured the extra treats.

Inside her vision, her personal system screen was updating rapidly with every single candy she consumed.

[You have consumed an Elite zombie core!]

[Gained 500 Experience Points!]

[You have consumed.....]

[You have consumed....]

.

.

[You have leveled UP!]

Summer closed her ruby eyes, letting out a long, contented sigh of pure bliss. Compared to the leisure moments of Summer, the situations of other challengers were not that good.

Especially when they were suddenly thrust into the mouths of Elite zombies...