Tap… Tap… Tap…
The faint sound of footsteps neared the door with its window covered by a draped curtain. As Isaac placed his hand on the doorknob and twitched, the door slowly creaked open, and a breath of cold air entered inside.
After the door was opened enough for Isaac to peek outside, he could see Khione's furrowed brows and the corner of her lips lowered as she looked very annoyed for some reason.
''Won't you let me in?'' She asked with every word increasing more coldness to the streets. As the nearby passersby's stepped outside, they rushed back indoors instantly after they inhaled the freezing cold.
''Store is closed.'' Isaac's said while giving off a polite smile. The kind of smile usually the shopkeepers wear 24/7, even while the side of their faces start hurting, they keep wearing that same fake smile. That was the smile found on Isaac's face.
'Hehe, you think you can troll me? Goddess or not, I do the trolling!'
Khione's face turned several degrees colder, and several strands of her beautiful long hair turned into ice shards, ''Is that so… You dare to stop a Goddess… From entering your store?''
''Yup!'' Isaac shouted and slammed the door shut.
Slam!
As the door closed right before her eyes, Khione's head lowered, and her lips twitched until crazed laughter slipped through, ''Hahahahahahaha…''
…
The next day, Isaac ate his breakfast while seated in the dining room in Whitelock Residence. On the left-handed side, the newspaper was folded open, and on the right-handed side was the laptop with its screen displaying the forums.
Sip…
Isaac raised the cup of coffee, took a tiny sip, and moved his gaze across the forum page. After a short while, his eyes shook with surprise, and the hot coffee spilled over the cup's rim and landed on his lap.
''A-Ah, hot!'' He screamed as he put the cup down and patted his pants that were drenched from where the coffee landed.
After the hotness slowly disappeared, Isaac turned back toward the screen and skimmed through the forum.
The forum talked about the realm portal to the third realm, Autumn Realm. The players had been busy and were extremely quick at finding clues about where the next portal could be, and they found it.
In every major city, there was at least one portal. Meaning that the Priesthood had the portal somewhere— hidden.
Isaac quickly slammed the laptop shut and dropped whatever he was doing. He stopped biting at the sandwich, ignored the coffee, and rushed instantly back to his room.
While skipping up the stairs, his parents shouted behind, wondering where he was going. Isaac quickly replied that he was returning to his room and didn't hear anything else after that.
Soon, he returned to his room and instantly entered the White Online.
…
Knock! Knock! Knock!
As Isaac's eyes opened, his ears rang with loud knocking coming from below the floor. The door shook without stopping as the beautiful tall woman continued smacking her right hand against the solid wood.
After a short while, Isaac arrived on the first floor with his buttons loose. Even while stepping forth, his gaze was on the buttons, trying to tuck them firmly. Then, he pulled down his sleeves and fixed his collar.
He had to keep the proper look as the shopkeeper. That's why he was using a different outfit from the Camouflage. He was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt with a black vest. The shoes were made from leather, fitting him perfectly, and the pants were tight-fitted.
Isaac opened the door with a swift hand movement, but then his polite smile crumbled after seeing the person knocking. It was Khione, and with her cold look, she asked.
''Closed again?''
''Y-Yeah, busy,'' Isaac replied and slipped out of the store. Then, he inserted the brass key into the keyhole and twisted it. After the clang resounded in his ears, Isaac pulled out the key and placed it back in his inventory.
''Where are you going?'' Khione asked and briskly followed after Isaac, who began walking in the silent streets.
Isaac's mind was occupied with hearing her ramblings, but then he remembered that she was Goddess and perhaps was aware of the location of the Realm Portal.
As his feet halted, he turned halfway and asked, ''Do you know where the Portal to Autumn Realm is?''
''I do,'' Khione replied without any falsehood in her tone.
''Can you tell me where?'' Isaac asked with slight hope.
''No.'' Khione rejected without hesitation. Her cold look made it impossible to know what she was thinking.
''Why?''
''Too early.'' As Khione replied with simple words, Isaac felt frustration sprouting inside him.
''Early for what?'' Isaac asked with frustration.
Khione's lips slightly opened before closing again. In the end, she stayed quiet, listening to the sound of wind and Isaac's impatient shoe-tapping against the pavement.
Swoosh!
After the surroundings turned silent, the ground shook silently, and the sky above the High Temple turned orange. The clouds were pierced by the sharp light, and somehow the sky was now a mix of two colors, blue and orange.
After a while, the orange color slowly disappeared and returned to the High Temple.
Isaac became thoughtful, 'That's strange… It's always like clockwork… The strange orange light comes from the High Temple every day around one o'clock and paints the sky orange…'
'Wait… Could it be… Orange is the color of Autumn, and it may be a farfetched theory… Maybe the portal is inside the mountain!'
He turned around, looked straight at Khione's silver eyes, and asked, ''It's there… Inside the mountain, right under the High Temple, right?''
Khione's eyelids closed as she let out a soft sigh, ''Haahh… You already know the answer.''
Isaac's lip slightly curved upward, and he asked, ''Can you help me to enter it? I will just visit the place, check it out, and return before you even manage to bat an eyelid.''
''You think it's that easy?'' Khione opened her eyes and asked with a frown.
''How hard can it be?'' Isaac asked. He didn't plan to fight against the Portal Guard all by himself. Instead, take a look, and return swiftly.
''It's incredibly difficult… Even for a God!'' Khione's sharp gaze went past the mountain wall and reached a dark dungeon-like hallway, ''If you think defeating God Zephyros' Avatar was difficult, what about defeating the real God Zephyros?''
''W-Wait, you mean he is guarding it?'' Isaac's eyes shook with surprise.
''Well... Kinda…'' Khione replied with slight uncertainty and softly continued, ''He is there to stop the monsters from going through the portals and escaping the Dungeon… It isn't the God Zephyros that the players need to fight— instead, the monsters that are dangerous enough to be guarded by God.''
