Chapter 46 - Unknown Opportunity
I stood outside the beach house, staring at the endless stretch of blue sky meeting the equally blue ocean.
The rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the shore was strangely calming.
I needed that.
Because Ysvéra was still occasionally sending me her thoughts through our bond, and that group chat... I didn’t want to think about that.
’Husband, should I wear the red dress again tonight?’
’I wonder if kissing counts as greeting among humans’
"Peace, I just want five minutes of peace." I muttered
Thankfully, the thoughts gradually quieted.
For a while, I simply stood there, letting the salty breeze clear my head as I watched the gentle waves roll in.
Then, far out above the sea, the empty space itself began to distort.
Ripples spread through the air as though reality had become the surface of a disturbed lake.
"..."
My relaxed expression vanished instantly.
"What the fuck?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"A Rift?"
No, something felt different.
Rifts tore reality apart violently.
This looked far more controlled.
Instead of a jagged crack, the distortion resembled a doorway being carefully opened using precise coordinates.
Almost as if someone had connected two distant locations.
An idea immediately flashed through my mind.
"An unknown opportunity?"
My heartbeat quickened.
Originally, my plan had been to continue traveling toward the Dragon Empire’s border before searching for another opportunity hidden in one of the novels.
Yet before I even left, one had appeared practically in front of my rented house.
"But I don’t know its danger level."
That was the problem.
It could contain an incredible inheritance.
Or, it could contain something capable of killing both Ysvéra and me.
There was absolutely no middle ground.
I hesitated for several seconds before finally making up my mind.
"Ysvéra!"
I raised my voice toward the house.
"Come here!"
Although I had tied her hands earlier after she kept teasing me, I knew perfectly well those restraints meant nothing to her.
And as expected, a moment later, the front door opened.
Ysvéra stepped outside lazily.
"You know these couldn’t actually stop me right?"
"I know."
"Then why bother tying me? Did it make you really feel good?"
"Yes."
She rolled her eyes.
"What happened?"
I pointed toward the distorted space above the sea.
Her playful expression immediately disappeared.
She looked toward the phenomenon for several seconds before turning back to me.
"Husband, there is something interesting over there."
"Can you take me there?"
She smiled.
"Are you ordering me now?"
"Ysvéra, please don’t start right now."
I sighed.
"We might be looking at an unknown opportunity, take me there first."
She snorted softly.
"That sounds much better."
Without another word, she wrapped one arm around my waist.
The next moment, dark wings unfolded behind her.
With a powerful beat, we shot into the sky.
The cool wind rushed past my face as the beach rapidly shrank beneath us.
For a few moments, Ysvéra didn’t fly directly toward the distortion.
Instead, she kept gaining altitude.
"Why aren’t we heading straight there?"
"Because of that barrier."
She answered while continuing upward.
"If we crossed it at ground level, someone would immediately know."
A mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"But the barrier only extends about fifty meters upward."
She pointed toward the open sky.
"It isn’t infinitely tall."
"That makes sense."
Within another minute, we had climbed well above the invisible boundary before descending toward the strange distortion.
The closer we got, the clearer it became.
The twisted space resembled a circular doorway suspended in midair.
Beyond it, nothing could be seen.
Ysvéra narrowed her eyes.
"Oh? This looks like an inheritance." She sounded genuinely surprised.
I looked at her.
"How do you know that?"
"Back in my clan, many high-ranking experts prepared inheritances and they would create hidden spaces like this and leave keys behind for their descendants."
She studied the distorted entrance carefully.
"But, the doorway is already open."
"That means someone is inside right?"
She smiled faintly.
That only made me more nervous.
If another person had gone inside then there is a chance they already know what this place is.
And now, even before entering we were at a disadvantage.
Should we enter that place or not?
As if reading my thoughts, Ysvéra laughed.
"Then why not go inside anyway?"
"Huh?"
"Husband, you overthink too much."
I stared at her.
"Why do always answer as if you can read my thoughts?"
She folded her arms proudly.
"Consider it my wife instincts and, you trust me right?"
"Of course I trust you, but I would still like to bring my sword."
Ysvéra’s smile froze.
She slowly turned her head toward the shimmering entrance, then back toward me.
"..."
I coughed.
"So should we fly back?"
Her eye twitched.
Then she sighed dramatically.
’You had better compensate me later, Husband.’
And with that, we turned around and flew back toward the beach house, leaving the mysterious inheritance waiting just a little longer.
Not for long, though.
Some time later, we were back above the distortion once more.
This time I had my sword in hand.
Ysvéra carried me through the air as before, and the moment we approached the strange opening, the space around us shifted in a subtle way.
Then, without any resistance, we crossed through it.
"Hmm?"
Somewhere deep within the hidden space, a dormant spirit stirred.
Its awareness rippled outward like a waking tide.
The spirit’s attention lingered on Ysvéra for a moment, and a note of surprise entered its voice.
"A blood-sucking royal?"
Then its focus shifted to the human standing beside her.
Its confusion deepened immediately.
"And why is this kid’s fate entangled with the one I chose?"
That did not make sense.
The threads surrounding the human were strange enough already, but what puzzled the spirit most was how those threads were already wrapped around Ysvéra as well as the one it chose.
There was connection there.
A fate of love with his chosen, yet at the same time there was another force eating away at that connection as though it wanted to tear it apart before it could fully form.
The spirit examined them more carefully.
Its thoughts slowed.
"Both male?"
For a brief moment, it genuinely doubted its own perception.
It extended its power and checked Evren’s body again.
He was male.
Then it examined the chosen.
A strange sense of deception clouded its awareness for a moment, as though something was deliberately hiding the truth.
The spirit fell silent.
Then suddenly.
"Hahahaha!"
Its laughter echoed through the hidden space.
"So that’s how it is. You even tricked my other fragment!"
The spirit’s amusement only grew as it continued to observe them.
Things had just become much more interesting.
With that thought, it slowly settled its mind.
’I suppose I will change the trial, after all, I can’t let a demon interfere with me.’