Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 253: Malfunction

Jamie crouched behind the gate, raising his hand to touch the portal and one of the officials noticed and hurried over, alarmed.

"Sir, please step back! The spatial energy could harm you!"

"Harm me?"

Jamie gave him a look of utter confusion, before remembering that this man didn’t know who he was. Laughing, he got up to his feet and muttered.

"The Universe would end before a Spatial Gate of this level can harm me."

True. Given Spatial power and Jamie got along a little too well, he could accidentally dissolve the gate and absorb the spatial power creating it if he touched the wrong spot.

The official heard Jamie’s mutter and blinked, baffled, but Jamie had turned to the teens.

"Well, are we ready?"

David, Davina, and Wanette nodded in unison, and Jamie turned back to the gate and spoke.

"Then let’s go."

With those words, the four of them joined the Iron Fang Guild adventurers who stepped into the shimmering portal without hesitation.

Eryan rushed forward, making sure to enter before the others, as if trying to reaffirm his position as leader, but Jamie completely ignored his antics in favour of texting Caera to have her inform Miranda where he was.

However, the moment he stepped into the portal, Jamie’s brows furrowed and he let out a long, exasperated sigh.

Mid-transfer, the spatial tunnel trembled, and the energy flows turned unstable, making the others stagger.

David grabbed at his head, Davina stumbled into Wanette, and the adventurers groaned as the disorienting waves made their balance falter.

Only Jamie was completely unaffected. He raised his hand briefly, his fingers twitching as if to stabilize the spatial tunnel, but then he dropped it back to his side and shook his head.

"Let’s see where this goes."

With those words, he let the spatial tunnel carry him where it was trying to force the others to, and when they emerged on the other side, Jamie stretched his shoulders and gave a knowing nod.

"Thought so." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Before them stretched a snowy forest, its towering pines laden with frost. The air was bitterly cold, and fresh snow crunched underfoot.

In this icy wilderness where their breaths were visible in the frigid air, the Iron Fang Guild adventurers regained their bearings and looked around.

"This isn’t..."

One of the Iron Fang Guild adventurers began, her voice trembling as her wide eyes scanned the unfamiliar landscape.

"This isn’t where we were supposed to arrive!"

Another adventurer stepped forward, confusion etched across his face.

"The gate—it malfunctioned?"

Before anyone could respond, one of the guild members panicked and bolted toward the still-flickering portal.

The gate was meant to lead them into a cave-like dungeon, not this desolate expanse of unknown snowy forest.

Worse, malfunctions like this were rarely benign. Such incidents often resulted in relocation to dungeons teeming with monsters far stronger than the original destination—an outcome no one was eager to face.

This particular mage didn’t want to deal with that, so she lunged for the opening, desperate to get out.

But moving faster than her was Jamie. He reached out with his left hand and grabbed her by the collar, yanking her back just as the portal collapsed in on itself with a violent swirl.

A razor-thin edge of energy shredded through the air where she’d been a moment ago, sending a spatial shockwave across the clearing.

The mage crumpled to her knees, trembling, her breath coming in shallow gasps as the reality of her near death sank in. Her wide eyes fixed on the now-empty space, disbelief written across her pale face.

"You... saved me."

Jamie let go of her collar and stuffed his hands into his pockets, before scanning the forest around them and sighing.

"Protagonists are really problem attractors."

He shook his head, hands sliding into his pockets as he began to walk ahead, unconcerned by the startled looks of the others. The three teens—David, Davina, and Wanette—followed him without hesitation, moving calmly compared to the panicked guild members.

It was then that Eryan, the Iron Fang Guild team leader, finally snapped out of his stunned daze, his scowl deepening as he saw Jamie separating from the group.

"Hey! Where do you think you’re going?"

He barked aloud, though the loudness of his voice barely masked his unease.

Hearing him, Jamie paused mid-step, tilting his head slightly as if debating whether to respond. Then, without looking back, he called over his shoulder.

"Forward. That’s where all the fun is, isn’t it?"

After saying that, he strode ahead, his coat billowing in the wind as he thought to himself.

’Maybe I should change to something like a winter fit?’

Right then, Wanette fell into step beside Jamie, her amethyst eyes looking around warily as she whispered.

"It feels like something’s watching us."

Her words made Jamie raise a brow and he turned to her with mild surprise. Then, he patted her hair and spoke.

"10 points."

"..."

Wanette was initially confused about the sudden scoring, but her brain switched focus to the reason for the scoring instead.

’So, something is really watching us...’

It was just a feeling she had and she told Jamie since she wasn’t sure, but the man’s actions confirmed it.

Meanwhile, Eryan who was left behind clicked his tongue, his frustration evident as he watched Jamie and the others walk ahead without so much as a backward glance.

"Forget them. They’re not our problem. Let them fend for themselves."

One of his team members spoke up dismissively, but another one immediately countered.

"Not our problem? They just saved our teammate’s life! Did you see how he moved? Those people aren’t amateurs—"

"Enough!"

Eryan cut in, his loud voice slicing through the brewing argument. His eyes swept over his team, lingering on each of them to ensure they’d hold their tongues.

"Our priority is survival, not playing referee or getting involved in their business."

He adjusted the grip on his weapon and gazed at the forest before them as he spoke.

"Everyone, stay sharp. We’re moving as a unit. If their path aligns with ours, so be it, but we’re not blindly following anyone. Let’s go."

Without waiting for further discussion, Eryan led the group forward. Despite his words, it didn’t escape anyone’s notice that their path inevitably mirrored Jamie’s, which was expected, given there was only one way forward.

With no clear way out, the group had little choice but to navigate and clear this unexpected ’Dungeon,’ silently hoping its challenges wouldn’t exceed their abilities.

Barely five minutes into their journey, as Jamie idly debated whether his black suit was really the best choice for this snowy terrain, a ripple in the fabric of space caught his attention.

Tracking the trajectory, he turned to the woman who had said to ’Forget Them’ earlier.

"It would be in your best interest to stop walking now."

"Huh?"

The woman shot him a scowl, all while ignoring his warning.

David and Davina who were beside Jamie instantly drew their weapons at his words and the sight only made the woman gaze at them in confusion.

"What are y—"

*SWHOOSH!

"—AARRGHH!!!"

Her scream tore through the cold air as an arrow of ice buried itself in her leg. She immediately crumpled to the snow, crimson pooling beneath her as her face twisted in agony.

Jamie sighed, shaking his head as he regarded her with a tinge of exasperation. As for Eryan, the sight of his wounded teammate had him drawing his sword and roaring.

"Ambush!"

’No shit.’

Jamie retorted internally as he teleported behind the three teens, letting them handle the fighting since the incoming enemies couldn’t give him any EXP.

Within moments, they were surrounded by a small troop of Ice Elves, their white and blue armour blending with the landscape.

The elves’ weapons gleamed with frost magic, and a mage among them raised his staff, summoning jagged ice spikes that forced the adventurers into defensive positions.

Simultaneously, one of the ice elf assassins dashed towards Jamie from behind, aiming to take him out. The Ice Elves clearly deemed Jamie a major threat for detecting their initial attack.

But just as the dagger was about to connect, the assassin vanished and the remaining elves had their eyes widen in shock.

Up ahead, the teens leapt into action, with David reacting first. His spear ignited with blood flames as he leapt forward.

Spinning it in a wide arc, he melted through the nearest ice constructs, forcing the elves to retreat.

"Davina, left!"