Saluso lo Lastrekl sped his way through the thick mud of the Great Lake shore side.
He was a lizardmen after all. Their home was the marshlands. However, the way Saluso sped through the mud was extraordinarily fast.
His teammates, Zerion Fosfe and Fafsu ta Refusten, were unable to catch up to his pace.
"Sal..uso *pant* can.. *pant* you run any slower *pant*?"
"Yah *pant* dude... *pant* we can't ... cat ... ch up!"
"You guys are too slow."
For long Saluso had been one of the fastest lizardmen in his tribe. It was said that no one had ever beaten him in a sprinting competition.
Saluso slowed down his pace.
"If you guys keep on lagging behind, who knows what lord Cocytus would do to us?"
Zerion plopped onto the floor following Saluso's question.
"But isn't this a scouting mission?"
"Yeah, it's not like we're really in any hassle or some sort right now!"
"Man I really crave for some fish right now!"
You guys ... How'd you two even become my teammates anyways?
Saluso let out a sigh. Sure, this was just a normal scouting mission in his homeland, but following the destruction of the Re-Estize Kingdom, neighboring human and demi-human countries had started to tense up. It's hard to not say that they were constantly in danger.
And that's why scouting missions like these were important. It was to make sure that the perimeter was free of possible conflicts between the Sorcerer Kingdom and the other nations.
"Alright, Zerion, Fafsu. Y'all rested enough. Time to get up."
"Aww but we only rested for like 3 minutes!"
Saluso shot a glance at Fafsu as he whimpered upon seeing him.
"Now, shall we continue?"
It was then that they heard an ominous sound looming behind them. Their expression became tense.
Groaaannnn...
Has an enemy finally appeared on the borders of the Great Lake?
"Be ready for anything. Run if we must"
Zerion and Fafsu nodded in agreement. "Of course, team leader."
In battle formation, they holstered their spears and turned around, expecting some sort of attack. What appeared in front of their eyes was something completely unexpected.
It wasn't an army or a powerful figure. Heck, it wasn't even a living thing. Instead it was an eerie purple circle swirling like a whirlpool. Its diameter was triple the height of the lizardmen, towering over them as it continued emanating that eerie sound
Groaaaaannn...
"...What is that thing?"
Zerion decided to give it a poke with his spear.
"ZERION, YOU IDIOT! WHAT IN THE NAME OF AINZ ARE YOU DOING?"
Zerion trusted his spear into the whirlpool. AS if it was air, the spear went through it without any hiccups. Saluso became curious and looked at the back to see what happened to the tip of the spear.
The tip of the spear was nowhere to be found.
This made Saluso curious.
"Could this be...a portal?"
Fafsu exclaimed, "A portal? I thought only magic casters with immense mana could do such a feat!"
"Yeah! Portals can't just appear out of nowhere!" Zerion retracted his spear from the anomaly, taken aback by this revelation.
"Shut! We still don't know what it is, but for now be on high guard! We have no idea what it may do!"
Saluso gave a hand signal and the trio slowly backed away from the object.
"We need to report this to Sharyusu-sama quickly." Saluso muttered.
"But our scouting mission..."
"Do we tell him that it's a 'portal' like you assumed?"
"I don't know..." Saluso shook his head. "But I assume the higher-ups would figure it out for themselves. Reporting anything that could potentially be dangerous to the Sorcerous Kingdom was always our top priority, after all."
The three hustled in the opposite direction of the "portal" as it continued to groan mysteriously.
Groaaaannn...
***
In a large wooden hut, the trio sat on the dirt floor, anxiously staring at the figure in front of them.
The figure, Sharyusu Shasha skimmed over the three lizardmen that approached him without notice.
"So, what business do you have with me?"
"Sharyusu-sama! We have a dire emergency!"
"Something...something is-"
*SLAP*
"Quiet, you two! Don't you know how to act in front of superiors?"
"That was quite a show you had there. "Sharyusu chuckled.
Saluso reacted with a peal of nervous laughter and glared at Zerion and Fafsu.
He cleared his throat. "Well, Sharyusu-sama, me and my 'companions' seemingly found what we believe to be a portal-like object."
"Hey! What do you mean by 'companions'?"
"Yeah! Don't treat us like nothing!"
Saluso's forehead popped a vein. "Silence, you two!"
The two almost immediately became quiet.
Sharyusu, scratching his head, became intrigued. "How big was it?"
"It was—"
"Really big! The same size as the huts we build on the Wetlands!"
Zerion butted into the conversation without notice.
"—hey ... can you not interrupt my report?"
He glared at Zerion intensely.
" ... sorry."
Zerion shrunk back to his position.
Sharyusu pondered for a bit and handed them a wooden tablet with some words written on it.
"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I got another task for the three of you to do."
"Yes, Sharyusu-sama!"
The three stood up from their positions and slowly exited the hut, looking over the wooden tablet.
***
Saluso smacked both Zerion and Fafsu on their heads.
"What in the hell were you guys thinking, acting like that?"
"Well, Saluso, it was technically your fault for mocking us." Zerion babbled.
"Yeah, Saluso, your fault!"
The trio argued like that for the rest of the day, nonstop, as the portal stilled whirred in the distance.
Groaaaannn...