I Am A Wizard Who Can Travel Between Earth And The Other World-Chapter 16 - Let’s Go Back

Team Y1 made their way through the outskirts of the city, navigating a desolate and eerie area. The deeper they ventured, the darker the surroundings grew, amplifying the chilling atmosphere. It felt as though at any moment, a murderer—or worse, a beast—might leap out of the shadows.

"This place... no matter how many times I come here, I just can't get used to it," muttered Michael, his unease plain in his voice.

"Well, nothing's ever happened here, has it?" replied Alberta, brushing off his concern.

"That's true," he admitted, though his anxious glance betrayed his lingering doubt.

Trying to distract himself, Michael brought up a topic that had been bugging him. "By the way, what's your plan with Jaiden?"

"Jaiden? Why bring him up all of a sudden?"

"You've seen the way he looks at you, haven't you? He's obviously trying to make a move. Don't forget, you're not from here—you're Korean."

Alberta rolled her eyes. "What, do you think I'd settle down here? Please. I can't live in a place like this."

"Well, why not? You'd have all the mana you could ever want. Plus, the city center's not so bad—almost like London."

"For starters, Jaiden isn't my type. Also, this world has far too few good-looking men."

"Ugh, you and your obsession with looks."

"Don't act like you're any better. Don't you have your own preferences?"

"Of course. But I focus on body type more than looks."

Alberta smirked. "Fair enough. At least this world has plenty of people with great builds."

"Exactly. Plenty of muscular guys around."

"Well, you can have all those gorillas. My ideal type is..."

"That café owner back in London, right?" Michael cut in with a knowing grin.

Alberta's face lit up with a radiant smile. "Exactly!"

"Unbelievable. Just thinking about him makes you this happy?"

"Of course! If he wanted to, I'd date him in a heartbeat."

"And then drop him like all the others?"

"Can't promise I wouldn't. I'm unpredictable, even to myself."

"Ridiculous," Michael scoffed, shaking his head.

Their lighthearted banter carried them through the ominous streets until they finally arrived at their destination—a large, open lot at the end of a dark alley.

The lot was connected to twelve narrow streets, each vanishing into the gloom. At the center stood a red portal, glowing faintly in the night like a pulsating heart.

"Alright, everyone," Jin-hee called out. "Let's head back. Don't forget to drop the potions off at HQ. Take a couple of days to rest, and see you at work the day after tomorrow."

Without waiting for a response, Jin-hee stepped through the portal. One by one, the team followed her into the glowing vortex until the lot was empty.

Not long after, Ban Tae-soo emerged from the shadows, approaching the portal cautiously. His senses extended outward as a veil of mana mist spread through the surrounding area, ensuring no one was nearby.

"They're just leaving this thing unguarded?" he thought, surprised.

On Earth, portals were heavily fortified. The one he had crossed was housed in a massive structure, equipped with multiple surveillance cameras and patrolled by highly skilled guards. But here, the portal stood exposed in an open lot with no security, no barriers, and a dozen unguarded paths leading to it.

"This doesn't make sense," he murmured to himself. Even the buildings surrounding the lot weren't completely abandoned—about half were clearly inhabited, though the residents seemed indifferent to the portal's presence.

Curiosity nagged at him. Why was this portal left so vulnerable? Surely the Belion Guild had to know about it, yet they treated Team Y1 as though they were ordinary mercenaries, not interdimensional travelers.

Setting aside his questions for now, Tae-soo approached the portal and began his analysis. He extended mana threads from his core, intertwining them with the portal's shimmering surface. At the same time, he enveloped the portal with his mana mist to extract additional information.

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A flood of data overwhelmed him, but most of it was meaningless. The portal was protected by intricate security enchantments, preventing him from gleaning anything of value. Frustrated but undeterred, Tae-soo focused on the mana threads, trying to penetrate the dense layers of magical safeguards.

The enchantments were far more complex than anything he'd encountered before. Two entirely different types of protective spells were interwoven, requiring simultaneous decryption to make any progress.

"This is beyond my level," he admitted. "I'll need to seriously study magical security if I want to crack this."

Despite the challenge, Tae-soo felt exhilarated. Having a clear, tangible goal always motivated him, and the thought of mastering such advanced magic filled him with determination.

As he withdrew his mana threads, Tae-soo's heightened senses detected movement. Someone had entered one of the alleys leading to the lot. Quickly activating his distortion magic, he pressed himself against a nearby wall, blending seamlessly with the shadows.

A group of five men stumbled into the lot, their heavy breathing betraying their exhaustion. Their rough appearances and tense behavior suggested they were on the run.

"Let's rest a bit," one of them gasped. "We've put some distance between us and them, so we should be fine."

The others nodded, their eyes darting toward each alley entrance as if expecting an ambush. Tae-soo watched silently from his hiding spot, his curiosity piqued. Who were these men, and why had they come here?

"A Portal to Return"

As the fugitives caught their breath in the desolate lot, one of them chuckled with relief.

"We made it this far. That's a success, isn't it? If they want to follow us, they'll have to choose one of these alleys."

The lot was surrounded by twelve narrow alleys, each branching out in a different direction.

In a place littered with countless traces of other comings and goings, it was nearly impossible to track anyone precisely.

This lot was infamous, known as the "Fugitive's Maze." Reaching it was often considered as good as escaping—unless your pursuers had some exceptional tracking skills.

"Alright, let's get moving," one of them urged.

The group scattered, splitting into smaller teams and disappearing down separate alleys. From the shadows, Gin observed the scene with a furrowed brow.

"Could it be... they can't see the portal?" he murmured to himself.

It was baffling. The fugitives had run directly past the glowing portal in the center of the lot, yet they didn't even glance at it. It was as if the portal didn't exist in their world.

"So this portal is invisible and nonfunctional to the people of this world," Gin mused. "That explains why Team Y1 isn't worried about protecting it. As long as they're discreet about using it, no one else can interfere."

Realizing this, Gin decided it was time to leave before anyone else stumbled upon the area. He approached the glowing portal and stepped into its crimson light.

The transition through the portal was a reversal of his initial journey into the other world. As he crossed over, an intense pull began to drain the mana from his body, drawing it into the swirling energy of the portal. Gin resisted, spinning his mana with fierce precision in an attempt to maintain control.

But the portal's power was overwhelming. Its suction grew stronger, relentless, until he had no choice but to relent. The moment he let go, the otherworldly mana surrounding him was completely drained, leaving him feeling hollow. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back on Earth, standing in a deserted alley.

"Unbelievable," he muttered, his voice tinged with awe.

The portal's mechanics were undoubtedly magical—proof lay in the complex security enchantments he had sensed earlier. While it was technically possible for the portal to use advanced technology instead of magic, there was no logical reason to combine the two when magic alone could achieve such results.