Code Collector

Chapter 140: Welcome to Paradise

"Here's my report."

Allen handed the folder that contained his detailed report to the woman on the counter. She scanned the seal of the folder, verifying of its credibility.

They were inside a building that was going to be their one way inside Paradise. The building was like an ancient Greek temple, but instead was made of marble and glass rather than stone. This was called the Portal House.

Most of the workers inside the Portal House wore green uniforms, indicating that they work for Haven. Some of them were wearing blue uniforms, indicating that they work for Paradise.

The uniforms for the male were a pair of suit and tie that fit their bodies well. It seemed like it was a requirement for the male workers to be fit in order to work at the Portal House. This assumption was made by Allen after he saw their buffed up arms bulging out of their stretchable clothes.

The women on the other hand also had a requirement of being beautiful and to have a body that not normal women could have. A pair of large breasts and huge butt, but the waist should be slim as though it was a roll of a large can.

They wore a suit as well, paired with a skirt that reaches up right above their knees. They had a small hat on like a flight stewardess and this has the logo of the world they were working at. The logo for the men was found on their left chest, a pin that symbolizes their world.

The logo for Haven was a large hand that forms a sphere around a dove, Paradise on the other hand was a picture of two trees while in the middle was a road that led to a sun over the horizon. Allen has never seen the logos for the other worlds considering that the workers for the Portal Houses were forbidden to go outside.

This being said, not all of the Hunters who wanted to get inside the House were allowed to go in. They are being scanned for their eligibility either for the application for ascension or to ascend to higher worlds.

"Thank you, Dante Reed," the woman over the counter said to Allen. "You may now ascene to the Second World, Paradise. You can go back here any time using the portal in that world. There are no portals that leads directly to Earth, so you have to come back herbefore going there, is that clear?"

Allen nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

The woman smiled and bowed, "Congratulations. You may now step into the platform for your ascension." 

"Ah, uhm, can I wait for my teammates?" Allen asked the woman, but she frowned.

"I apologize, but the portal can only accomodate one Hunter per ascension," she said. "The ascension process for the first timers will have to charge, but if you wish to return to Paradise after you have ascended, you can be in a group."

Allen looked behind him to see that his group was smiling at him, raising their hands in a thumbs up as encouragement. This made the boy take a deep breath and slowly approach the stone platform where the portal was.

"Okay," Allen breathed out. "Let's do this."

His foot was one inch away from the stairs of the platform when a guard gently shoved him to the side. Allen was dumbfounded after he saw himself on the side, seeing more guards line up that created a path. They were all standing straight and were looking right in front of them, their bodies stiffening as a presence reached the Portal House.

The presence was overwhelming as well as it was terrifying. Allen shivered slightly, feeling the presence approach the Portal House's doors. Everyone there stared as the large wooden doors opened and a woman walked in.

Fantasia Clark. A Hunter that was the level of Sebastian Lincoln. She was part of the highly suspected illegal Hunter group, Barandilla. Her profile was highly protected and only a few knows her background. 

Her role in her group was the mage, and by stats alone, she had the highest damage output among all Hunters, even surpassing Drake Nelson. Though after all that, she couldn't surpass Sebastian Lincoln's group since she lacked versatility and presence.

Her magic was overwhelming, but she can barely keep up in a fight because she was stiff. She only relies on her three Codes, which included the skill Code that has the highest damage output, which means that it was rather easy for everyone to counter her.

The employees bowed down to the woman as she walked down the aisle of the guards. It wasn't a question why everyone was acting like this. Fantasia had a reputation of being a woman with a sour mood and an even more sour attitude. 

She was abundant in power, but she highly lacked empathy. Her communication skills were low, and so was her pity. It was reported that the woman would kill beasts regardless of their threat, as long as she gets satisfied after killing them, Fantasia would kill.

Allen didn't know, but when Fantasia reached him, he also bowed. His presence caught the attention of the woman, making her stop on her tracks and look at Allen.

"Madam Fantasia, please this way to the portal"

The old man which was an employee of the Portal House was cut off after Fantasia pushed him to the ground with a wind attack. Although he was unharmed, everyone was still shocked at the scene.

"Do you think I'm blind?" Fantasia growled. She then looked at the guard who shoved Allen, making him move wordlessly. "You, boy. Why are you near the portal?"

"I-I'm here to ascend, ma'am," Allen said.

"To ascend or to go?" Fantasia asked. "What do you mean?"

"To ascend, ma'am," Allen replied. "This is going to be my first time in Paradise."

His statement made Fantasia's eyes grow wide. She immediately recovered her posture from the shock and cleared her throat, pretending that she didn't just visibly jawdropped. "Fine. You take care out there. Paradise is not a playground for children."

"Yes, ma'am," Allen said. He was still bowing, making Miranda grab his chin and making him stand up straight.

"You don't need to bow," Miranda ordered. "What's your name?"

"Dante Reed," Allen replied. "My name is Dante Reed, ma'am."

"Well," Miranda shrugged, taking her hand off of Allen. She leaned in closer to his ear while her hand offered him a card. "Dante, I sense an incredibly great intensity of magic in you. If you ever reach Eternity, call me. I will help you until you can achieve Star Nest."

Allen couldn't help but not as the woman smiled at him. She tapped his shoulder one last time, looking at Allen and sighing before she walked into the platform and vanished into the light.

'Fantasia Clark'

XXX-XXX-XXXX

Allen looked at the card and then at the portal where Fantasia just passed through. His mind was occupied with the question as to why was the woman leaning towards his presence. She looked at him straight in the eye and there were words that she wasn't telling him, but were evident in her mind.

"She knows," Allen found himself talking to himself. He then was snapped out off his thoughts when a hand was waved in front of his face. It was Jeremy.

"What happened?" Jeremy asked. "Fantasia just casually walked here and talked to you. She even smiled. Allen, what the hell?"

"I also don't know what happened," Allen confessed. "She just came close to me and then speak to me. I know too well who she was. She's the best 12 Hunters below the Primordial Beast Bearers."

"Maybe she sensed your presence," Gwen said. "Allen, are you sure you're keeping your aura levels in check? You're not leaking powers?"

The boy looked up and saw that everyone is looking at him. The people around them were whispering at each other while looking at them with judgement eyes.

Allen shook his head to answer, "Of course, not. I'm very safe"

"That's what you think."

Their conversation was interrupted when a short man said from behind them. Allen spun and saw Rourke there, crossing his arms and sighing. "Your friends are used to your energy, that's why they feel nothing. But to people like me who rarely see you and for those who first see you, they will suspect that something is off."

"Rourke" Allen trailed off. "You mean, I'm leaking my powers?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Rourke shrugged. "But don't worry. I'm going to help you. Ascend first, I'll tell you in Paradise."

Allen was called to the platform. The guards were already dispersed and the eyes that were once locked on him had long since gone. The boy stood in front of the stone ring that contained the portal as the light from it brightened.

Allen closed his eyes and let the lights wrap around him, pulling him inside as he heard the voice in his head say.

"Congratulations! You are now in Paradise."