"I'M BEGGING YOU, PLEASE!" I clasped my hands together like I'm praying to the interviewer in front of me.

My name is Elise Camille Sandrine, an orphan who's barely surviving.

As a last ditch effort to pay my bills before they forcefully throw me out of my apartment, I applied for the South branch of the Aetherian Guards.

The old, stingy woman who's assigned to be my interviewer looked bored as she observed me, "Okay."

What... Is that it? Am I hired?!

I panicked internally as she shuffled something from her drawer, seemingly looking for something.

She picked up a stamp and pressed it down on my resume, "You're hired..." her sloth like voice confirmed as she handed me my documents.

"YES!" I raised my arms up in the air as I sprung up from my seat like I won a match.

"I won't disappoint the branch!" I held her hands, showing my overflowing gratitude.

"Don't get too proud..." she randomly commented, waving her hand dismissively.

"Aetherian Guards is in a shortage of employees on any branch, you're a last ditch effort as much as we are for you." she informed me which made my smile falter a little.

As expected, it's not like people will purposely want to risk their lives by entering the portals and fighting off those monsters.

"I see, still, thank you!" I waved my hand as a farewell before leaving the cramped room and heading for the counter.

"Good morning, I'm a newly hired hunter," I placed my papers under the small opening on the glass barrier "I would like to get my ID." I smiled and she nodded along.

She then placed a small metal plate on her palms and eyed me, "Don't smile." she ordered, and I put on a stoic face.

With that, her palm glow in a color of light green and the plane metal plate started forming words and my photograph, "Here." after the light disappeared, she handed me the metal plate.

"Thank you!" I waved at her as a farewell and a small smile crept up her face and nodded at me.

I moved to the next counter and said, "Hi, I would like to apply for a mission!" the employees who have been eyeing me since earlier froze.

"Oh, immediately?" the new staff asked with a chuckle as she looked at the open missions that I can still apply for.

"ID please." she asked, and I slipped my ID under the hole through the glass barrier.

"Rank D15, there's an open spot for a dungeon raid for a rank D11 dungeon, would you take on that?" she asked, obviously pleased with my personality.

"Yes, please." I replied, and she smiled before picking up a small paper, her hand glowed the same color as earlier, indicating that she's using transmutation magic to print something on the paper then handing it to me.

I read the address before waving them goodbye then heading for it.

"She's a nice breath of fresh air." the woman behind the counter commented, and the other woman nodded along.

...----------------...

I arrived at the location shortly and saw the crew for the said dungeon raid.

One of the members spotted me, "Elise?" He shouted and I nodded, running towards them.

"Oh~ The rank D15, right?" another man asked, and I nodded along.

"We have another one for defense, quiet a good rank at that." the one who shouted my name earlier commented, and I laughed along.

As we entered the portal, a normal cave appeared before us "A cave? This will be a breeze." The one who shouted my name, Alex, commented as the head of the crew.

"Elise, you have portal creation, right?" Alex asked and I nodded.

"Mind finding the boss's lair? We'll cover you as we do so." He negotiated and I agreed.

While walking, I stood in the middle, opening small portals the size of my palm one after another as I tried to locate the lair.

"Hmm... It's here. It's a Venomfang, rank D13 boss." I alerted them and we stopped walking for a while to observe the orb like portal floating on my palms.

"Now that we know where the boss is, let's farm for some dungeon crystals." Alex ordered, and the crew agreed.

Dungeon crystals are found inside monsters from inside the gate, they were multipurpose items.

They can be used to create magical weapons, a substitute for gasoline and more. After the emergence of portals, the world started relying more on these crystals.

And now, most of the machines are run by them since these are more environmental friendly and more cheap since it comes in hoards.

The crew started to slash the goblins that appear, the collectors slice them up and collects the crystals while I support the offense team by summoning portals to redirect their attacks.

"So many..." I commented as I created a portal in front of me that connects to another portal behind a goblin so that when the arrow entered the front portal, it will exit on the other one and pierce the goblin.

"Alex, watch out!" I noticed a goblin that came from the top of the cave, I summoned a portal on top of him to redirect the goblin.

"Urgh..!" I felt something hot in my chest, like something is burning but it disappeared immediately.

After the bottle, Alex high-five me "Nice one, Elise!"

"Right, you're a good assist!"

"Good for a first timer!" the others gave me a look of approval and I humble accepted them.

I opened a portal that directs to the boss's lair, "Whenever you're ready." I motioned to the portal, now large enough to fit a human.

The others started entering the portal sneakily, attempting not to wake up the boss and I entered the last and closed the portals.

Come to think of it... That goblin earlier... Did I open an exit portal?

"Hey, don't cut its neck..." I simply said in a whisper as I looked around the room, all of us decided to just attack the snake before it wakes up.

"Yeah!" Alex suddenly shouted, making me turn around in panic.

N-No...

"Alex get away!" I opened a portal behind him and an exit portal near me.

"What, why? The venomfang is dead!" He sounds happy as he steps on the head of the seemingly sleeping venomfang.

"They multiply when you cut them up!" I screamed, and it finally hit on them when the headless body started moving and the head too.

Alex jumped on my portal and appeared behind me.

"Shit... That almost got me, thanks Elise, this is the second time you saved my ass." Alex panted out with a nervous smile.

"Next time, don't be too hasty... There are a lot of monsters that can regenerate." I taught as I started summoning portals here and there to assist the hunters whose specialty is Evocation.

Once the venomfang is complete burned down, we can finally sigh out of relief, "Elise, we'll give you big cash later!" the member who is cutting up the body to get the dungeon crystal shouted, and I smiled at him.

...****************...

"How do you want your salary to be in, Elise?" the one in charge of selling the crystals turned to look at me.

We're back in the south branch, waiting for our salary after finishing the mission, "Elise?" He called out again, and I snapped out of my deep thought.

"Ah! I can choose? How much am I getting?"

"We agreed to give you two-thousand coins since you've been of great help this mission, how would you like to have them?" I stood up and walked towards the counter.

"Two-thousand?! That's too much!" I gasped, I've never had so much money in my hands... The most I can get before is one-thousand and twenty...

"Really? You must be living a tough life then." He ruffled my hair and I just laughed nervously.

"Well... Can I have them a five-hundred in gold, five-hundred in silver and the rest in copper?" He nodded at my request and relayed it to the woman behind the counter.

Soon after, he started distributing the punches of money to us, "Excuse me, how much is a D rank dungeon supposed to be?" I asked as I look at the four pouches I'm holding.

"You don't know?" Alex looked at me and shocked, and I nodded shyly.

"A D rank dungeon is supposed to have a minimum of ten-thousand." He answered and I gasped.

Then, I'm taking two-thousand? Then they'll split the rest to the five of them?

"Kid, if I may ask... How old are you?" Alex asked and suddenly, all eyes are on me.

"Oh, me? I just turned nineteen, today is my birthday, actually." I smiled as I show them my birthday on my ID.

They all looked at me in shock and their brows burrowed "Then is hunting just your hobby..?" based on the way Alex said it, they seem to hate people who hunt because it's their hobby.

"Ah, no! Of course not." I waved my hand dismissively, and they looked at me weirdly.

"Then, what are you doing here, little girl? It's your birthday, shouldn't you be spending time with your family?" another member of the crew asked, and I smiled nervously.

"You see... I'm actually an orphan and I just got kicked out of the orphanage after I turned eighteen." I explained, and their faces got filled with worried and sympathetic looks.

"Are you homeless, kid?"

"Ah no! I managed to rent an apartment and pay it monthly without delay using my saved up money! Though, these days, the money I earn from my part times are just not enough..." I rubbed the back of my head while explaining.

Alex sighed, "Give me your phone, I'll put my number in it, and you can call me if you need some financial help from time to time." He put his hand in front of me.

"Me too, kid! I'll help you if you're not sure about the things to buy and how to separate scams from real deals." the one who got us our salaries, Siph, added.

"About that... I don't have a phone." I replied and by how they look, it seems like a few glasses cracked.

Then the middle-aged men in my crew started rubbing my head and patting my shoulders reassuringly "Ha, you poor kid!"

Is... Is it that surprising?!

Alex then kneeled in front of me, "Here, you can have my phone." He placed an expensive looking phone on my palms.

"Ah, no need!" I tried to refuse, but he kept a firm grip on my hand.

"I'll just reformat this for a few seconds then it's all yours." He explained as he pressed on buttons of the phone that is placed on top of my palms.

"I..." I sniffled as I looked at the phone.

"Thank you so much, really..." my voice is shaky as I sniffled and tried to rub my eyes.

The rubs on my head and pats on my shoulders started to get more aggressive as they tried to hush me up.

"Kid, dinner is on me tonight so use that money for your own expenses, okay?" Siph added while pointing at himself proudly.

I smiled and nodded at him.

After Alex is done reformatting the phone he made me close my fingers around it, "Don't lose this, okay? I'll re-register this number to be yours later." He explained and I nodded.

"You all can go ahead, I'll follow along. I'll just register her number." Alex waved at us as we left the south branch building.

The woman behind the glass of the counter cleared her throat as she re-register the number, "The girl just signed in earlier and immediately asked for a mission." while not looking up, the woman tattled.

"That's right, I'm the one that created her ID, she's a really sweet and genuine girl." another woman commented and Alex smiles at their words.

"Then I guess I'm a good judge of character." He chuckled

Alex opened the door of his house and entered, his heavy footsteps alerting the maids and butler.

He gave his heavy bag, filled with equipment, to the butler and headed to the living room where he saw his son sitting on the couch while watching the television.

"I ate dinner without you, where'd you go?" Theron Axel Voss, the head of the South Branch. The son of Alex Voss and is one of the top S ranks of the country.

"I had dinner with my crew." He simply answered as he took off his shoes and cast them aside.

"You're still working for the south branch..?" Theron asked, his voice gentle and confused

"Yes, is there anything wrong with it?"

"Nah, it's just weird having my Dad as one of my employees." He faked a gagging noise and went back to watching the television.

"By the way, I need you to buy me a new phone." He ordered and sat next to his son, the couch shifting to the direction where he sat.

He's a fairly big man, someone who will be considered buff, unlike his son who's leaning on the slim yet athletic body type.

"Did you break it?"

"No, I gave it away." He simply answered as he raised his feet on the glass center table located in front of the couch.

"Huh, why?" Theron was curios, his father had always been a good judge of character, so for someone to receive his personal belongings, that person must be trustworthy.

"I met this young girl, she's an orphan who failed to get picked and is now hunting around, trying her best to survive." He sighed, obvious concern evident on his tone.

"That's tough. Sure, I'll buy you another one." He simply answered and went back to watching the television.

...****************...

As I walked through the dark alley that leads to my small apartment, I can't help but overthink, why did I do that?

When the fight with goblins happened earlier, I was not sure if I opened an exit portal, but I'm not sure if I didn't either.

For the nineteen years of having this aspect, I know that using my power came close as second nature by now... But there's something in this situation that won't let me rest.

That sensation... That's the first time I felt it...

So earlier, I had to make sure I felt it right.

When the crew have gone along, I stayed behind for a few minutes in the lair of the boss.

The body of that boss is burned to death, bit it's still pretty intact.

So what I did, I opened a portal under it, a portal so big I didn't even know I could make it and the dragon fell in it.

Into a void with no escape.

A void I created.

The portal I created has an entrance but no exit, unlike a complete portal, which has an entrance and exit, where you can see the place where the exit is located, the thing I saw inside the incomplete portal is similar to a void.

Just a dark place where you can't see, smell, hear or touch anything.

And just as I suspected, the same warm sensation filled my chest, I don't know what I can do with this knowledge... Is an incomplete portal comparable to a wasteland?

I finally arrived to the back door that leads to my apartment and there stood my landlord waiting for me, "There you are, Elise." He looked at me worried.

"Today is your due date... Do you want me to extend it…?"

I laughed nervously, "No need, I have my payment right here." I smiled and grabbed three-hundred silver coins I prepared in advanced.

"You kid, just how hard did you work for this…? Look at you, you looked beaten up..." He worried looked over at me, even turning me around to examine me.

"Don't worry about me, sir Jamel! I found a new job, and it pays well! I might just be able to pay my debts at this rate!" I saluted at him, and he just chuckled at me and patted my head.

"Just make sure you're safe, okay?" I nodded at his request and bid him farewell.

As soon as I entered my room, my eyes dropped as I leaned on the closed door, slowly sliding down until I hit the floor.

I groaned as I massaged my legs, "It hurts, all that running around earlier took a huge toll on me and I even had to force myself to eat with them..."

Even while eating earlier, my feet already hurts, but I don't want to decline a free meal, so I tagged along.

"But I have a bigger problem..." I sweat out of nervousness as I remembered the mystery about my portal creation aspect.

"I still don't know what happened to the goblin and to the venomfang." I mumbled to myself as I mindlessly opened the portal...

...and the snout of the venomfang almost broke out of it.

"What..." I stuttered out as the head of the venomfang went back inside the portal and I could finally see it's full form.

There's a total of two venomfangs, seemingly slithering around nothingness, but they have no hostility towards me who they can obviously see, in fact, they seem to be fond of me.

"Just... What did I fucking do…?" I mumbled to myself as I looked at the two enormous serpents inside the portal.

This isn't normal... Should I have it checked? Wait, no... There is nothing wrong with aspects, it's just the way it is, the peculiarity of it just came from the unknown.

That's what the teachers say, they fully believe that there is nothing wrong with aspects, all there is mystery, meaning that if you saw something bizarre with you aspect, that means you found out a new way to use it.

I moved the portal backwards for a little and stood my ground, "C-Come out, slowly..." I ordered which caught the snakes attention.

They slowly slithered their way tried to escape the portal but the two of them are bumping each other, the opening of the portal too small to fit them both.

I motioned my arms to make the portal bigger until it's as tall and as wide as my apartment, now I'm vulnerable.

The portal is now big enough for the two of them to go out. Fully expecting them to attack, I closed my eyes.

But what I felt is the two of them slithering around my body, seemingly protecting me. "W-Wow..." I mumbled to myself as I put a hand on top of their heads.

This changes everything..!