Chương 97: No Rest for the Divine

Lifna couldn't cough up the crystals. It wasn't that she wouldn't, but she couldn't. She was genuinely sorry about it, but the mana had already been absorbed. I sat on the bare floor of the Liminal Lands and focused on the positive. Ninety plague rats should get me some experience points, though. However, no notification appeared. Maybe I won't get the experience until I leave my realm, I guessed. I was about to ask Gaia when a ping sounded and a notification appeared. PLANAR INCURSION RESOLVED. Reward available.

Portal Control: By resolving the incursion, you have been granted the ability to reopen the planar gate. Planar crystals can open, close, or stop invaders. MESSAGE FROM GAIA. Isn't this better than experience points? I stared at the notification for a long time while my mind raced. Although I was still annoyed, I had to agree with her. Gaia had handed me a permanent, reopenable connection to the plane the plague rats had come from. I could open it whenever I wanted and close it whenever I wanted.

Basically, she'd given me a dungeon. Experience points would've been great, but controlling a gate was so much better. I didn't even have to think about the benefits. There were just too many things I could do. I could open it for adventurers. I could even have my people go through to look for resources. Maybe there'll be some magic plants we can use. The government was going to be pissed. If they'd gotten off their asses and taken care of the problem, they could've gained access to another dimension.

My small little raccoon heart flooded with warmth as I imagined how they'd react when they discovered I controlled the gate and not them. I could easily imagine politicians throwing paperwork at each other, as if that would accomplish anything. Ahh, the tears of politicians tastes so sweet. Then a new thought wormed its way into my brain, ruining my fun. Where is the portal going to appear? Near my cabin or at its original location. Actually, I wasn't even sure which I preferred.

I liked the idea of having a planar gate near me, but that would attract more people to my home. Also, it would introduce the chance of invaders coming out right on top of me. I didn't like that idea at all. As for the portal appearing where it originally opened, that wasn't any better. It was simply too far away for me to control easily. The government would definitely want their piece of the pie. I'd probably have to cooperate with them, which also meant I'd have to share the profits.

Then again, if I shared the profits, I could also share the workload. I wasn't completely against to the idea of allowing them to run it while I shaved off a tiny profit without having to do anything. Then again, they'll just tax me on it. Fudging blood-sucking monsters. Whatever the case might be, it added one more thing to my plate. Compared to not getting experience points, gaining a planar portal was so much better I couldn't even pretend to complain, which I didn't like. I liked complaining.

I hated to admit it, but I did. It Grumbling about having to deal with government suits again, I left the Liminal Lands and stepped out of a tree's shadow near where I remembered Pierre and the others had been observing the plague rats. Pierre was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. The others were standing around him talking. I was a little annoyed that they didn't seem worried at all. They all stopped talking and turned to face me when I appeared. Pierre asked, "Everything okay?"

I wanted to smack him in the back of the head like Shelly did, but I'd have to turn into a bear to reach that high. It simply wasn't worth the effort, especially since I was already tired.

"Yep, mission accomplished." You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"That's good," he said with a smile. Damn, but he has great teeth. I wonder, does he go to a dentist or the vet to get his teeth done? Maybe I should ask Luke. While I was lost in thought, the others went back to talking, completely ignoring me. Even Hunter, the guy who'd started sending me prayers wasn't paying attention to me. I didn't even know how to take that. One of my followers was standing right there in front of me and was completely ignoring me. At least with Pierre, I could sort of understand it.

How exactly does Hunter see me? Does he still pray to Luna? Before I could think about it too much, Pierre knelt down next to me and asked, "So, what happened?"

"I couldn't affect them directly, so I had to do it manually."

"What does that mean?"

"I threw junk at them until they flew into Lifna, and she absorbed them." What I'd done wasn't impressive, so I didn't bother trying to polish a turd. Pierre didn't say anything for a moment so I glanced at the others. Apparently, they'd stopped talking so they could hear my answer. I could feel the faith thread connecting me to Hunter grow just a tad bit stronger. It was strange. What was even stranger was the fact that I could also sense new faith threads appearing, connecting me to several of others.

With this connection, more mana flowed into me. It wasn't much, but I noticed. Not sure what else to say, I said, "You guys are welcome to join me at the cabin. That's where I'm going now. I'm sure the others will want to know what happened." With the exception of Pierre and Luke, everyone else declined the invitation. Instead, they decided to visit the local bar, Raccoon's Rest. I still couldn't believe they'd changed the name. It used to be Pete's Pub.

When I realized I'd have to walk all the way back home, I smiled. Instead of walking home, I stepped into a shadow and waved before disappearing back into Liminal Lands. Then I appeared in a shadow behind my recliner. God, it feels good to be me, I thought. Tala appeared within seconds, and jumped onto the armrest next to me.

"You're drained," she said. Clearly, she had worried.

"I'm fine," I said. There was no way I was going to admit to being tired. A man has to preserve his dignity.

"The rats?"

"Gone. Lifna absorbed all ninety." I closed my eyes.

"She also absorbed the mana crystals that were inside them. One per rat. She can't give them back." Tala was quiet for a moment.

"That would've been nice. Are you okay?"

"My mana will regenerate in a day or two." I opened my eyes.

"But the system gave me something for clearing the rats. I need to tell you about it."

"Wait a second," she said as she opened the laptop and started a group meeting. I waited, mostly patiently, while the others joined. Once we had everyone, I explained the planar gate. Everyone listened without interrupting.

"That's a dungeon," Claire said when I finished. I resisted the impulse to say, "No shit Sherlock" or "Thank you Captain Obvious." See, you can teach an old dog new tricks, I thought, proud of myself.

"I haven't tried to find out if the gate will open where it did before, but either way, we have a lot to think about," I said.

"Yeah, like how much we can charge for adventurers to pass through it," Tala said while rubbing her paws together.

"And how much Uncle Sam is going to want," Claire added.

"I might be able to get some soldiers to guard the gate. They might even be willing to send some administrators. Of course, you know, they're going to want more."

"I know," I said.

"I'm sure if the gate isn't near the cabin, they're going to charge a lot of 'protection' or 'rent' money." Shelly piped in, "You know some eager-beaver is going to want you to hand over control of the gate." I nodded.

"I don't even know if that is possible. Either way, it's not happening."

"So, how much do you think we could earn with this?" Tala asked Claire.

"I have no idea, but I bet it will add up quickly."

"Anway," Tala interrupted.

"We have a lot of planning to do. First, though, Abe needs a nap." I was going to disagree with her, but then I realized if I took a nap, I could skip out on the planning.

"Yeah, I am a little tired. Why don't you guys brainstorm ideas and let me know what you talked about when I wake up." Having said that, I gave an exaggerated yawn and climbed down off the recliner before waddling toward the bedroom. After a few steps, Tala said, "Yeah, you guys work on that. We're going to take a nap." Then she jumped down and started following me to the bedroom. I thought about complaining, but we were only going to take a nap, so why not.

If she wanted to snuggle as a reward for getting me out of work, so be it. Anyway, the gate wasn't going anywhere and I was tired. I was curious to see where the gate would open, but lately, I'd been worrying less. Things would work out or they wouldn't. I could plan and prepare but that didn't mean it would make a difference. Maybe it's time to enjoy this slice of life I'm living in. Instead of worrying about the future, I should enjoy the present. Mostly, though, I just wanted to get out of work.

I had a feeling I'd have a whole new headache tomorrow to deal with.