Chapter 82: So Many Difficult Choices
But the thing that worried Jason the most now was how she got here. Was it really that easy for anyone to open a Dimensional Tear?
The system immediately responded.
[Dimensional Tears are a result of a sudden and massive influx of mana in areas that have a weak spatial density. This allows the mana to create a pathway through the primordial expanse for inter-world travel. Dimensional Tears opened through artificial means only last for short periods depending on how much mana was used in creating them, while naturally occurring Dimensional Tears last for longer and eventually evolve into Gates. The Gates can only be closed by reducing the mana density in the area.]
Jason read through the message quickly and he hummed in understanding. Were those what the Gates really were? Jason had always been curious about why the Gates were popping up so often on Earth for the past ten years, and none of the analysts or researchers on Earth were able to give a good explanation for it! But the system’s simple explanation made Jason understand perfectly! Doesn’t this mean that the reason gates were closing down after the superhumans cleared them was because the mana in the Gates had been reduced enough to repair the Dimensional Tear?
[The user is correct. The accumulation of mana within a Gate is drastically reduced after it is cleared, and this allows the Gate to return back to its dormant state.]
Jason nodded along and immediately asked something else. If the princess was capable of opening a tear into this Gate that easily, then how easy would it be for someone else to do the same thing and then reach Earth from here? Does this mean that just anyone can reach Earth if they open a Dimensional Tear?
A response came quickly.
[The system believes that the Princess’ presence in this Gate is a complete coincidence which occurred due to her desperation to get away from her attackers as well as the fact that Earth exists only one Dimensional Leap away from Radagan. Dimensional Tears are location-dependent and no two locations in a world would lead to the same place, so in order for someone else to find this Gate, they will have to go to the exact position where the princess had been and open a new Dimensional Tear. There are no indications that this Gate had been visited in the past, so it is likely that the princess opened the Dimensional Tear without proper planning and happened upon this Gate through sheer coincidence.]
The system was right. The Dragonborn princess, Riyala, had actually been planning on reaching a specific location her father told her about before opening the Dimensional Tear! That location was meant to lead her to a safe area that was only known to her family where she could hide until her father came to get her. But she had to open the Dimensional Tear prematurely and come to this world because she knew that the soldiers would get her before she could reach the actual location.
Jason frowned as he thought over what the system said. If the girl came here by accident, then it was possible that there would be no more enemies showing up for a long time. After all, everyone who knows where she opened the Dimensional Tear is already dead. But what did the system mean when it said Earth was only one Dimensional Leap away from Radagan?
Ding!
A system prompt popped up in front of Jason.
[The ’Dimensional Leap’ is a unit of measuring the distance between worlds in the Primordial Expanse. Earth and Radagan are one Dimensional Leap apart because a traveler can reach Radagan from Earth after leaping through only one Dimension. The further away a world is from another, the greater the number of Dimensional Leaps it would take to travel between them. There are numerous worlds in the vast Primordial Expanse, and the chances of stumbling into a specific world without knowing the right location or number of leaps required are very low. According to assumulated knowledge, the system is certain that the Dragonborn do not possess the precise magic sensing abilities that would be required to reopen the Dimensional Tear leading to this world.]
Jason finally let out a sigh of relief at that message before he turned to the girl again. Now that they were no longer in trouble, Jason began to think about what the best course of action was with her. Jason could either leave her here and allow the Imperial guards or some other monster to eventually come to find her, or he could take her with him.
——
[The system has detected a difficult choice. The system has created two options for the user.]
——
Option 1: Abandon the Wyvernrider Princess and leave her in the Adamantine Ant Hill.
Rewards:
Increased reputation with the Dragonriders of Radagan.
Decreased reputation with the Wyvernriders of Radagan.
The user will earn the title [Self-preservator]
Option 2: Take the Wyvernrider Princess back to Earth with you and nurture her to health.
Rewards:
Increased reputation with the Wyvernriders of Radagan.
Decreased reputation with the Dragonriders of Radagan.
The user will gain a new mission.
——
Jason hummed while looking over the options. The fact that the system was bringing up something like this meant that this decision wasn’t a small one. Whatever choice he made here would create a lot of ripples in the future, so he had to be careful when picking. Taking the girl with him didn’t look like it would be an issue, but Jason was worried about involving himself in a war that had nothing to do with him.
Jason frowned as he looked at the dead soldier and dragon lying in front of him. There was no doubt that he had involved himself already, and now that he was already involved, Jason would not feel right if he simply left the girl here on her own. Jason wasn’t heartless enough to feel nothing after everything that he learned about the girl. She had been through a lot, just like Jason. Jason was lucky enough to be blessed with the system when he was at his lowest point and that was the only reason why he wasn’t already dead, and Jason decided that he would do the same thing for the princess. He would help her at her lowest.
The princess wasn’t going to be waking up for a while, so Jason was going to just take care of her until she woke up and then he would send her on her way.
Although Jason was already used to the feeling of battle and had killed many beasts in the short time since he became a superhuman, this was only the first time that he was facing a situation that was this serious. And at the end, Jason decided that it was best to bring her along.
——
[The user has chosen the second option.]
The user has unlocked the New Mission [Guard the Radagan Princess.]
——
New Mission: Guard the Radagan Princess
The Princess of the Dragonborn, Riyala, has stumbled into the user’s path in her desperation to run away from her pursuers. The user must ensure that the Princess is taken care of and healed before sending her on her way. So long as the Princess does not die while in your care, you will have successfully completed the mission.
Reward:
Increased reputation with the [WyvernRiders] of Radagan
+10,000 Kill Points
The user will earn the title [Protector]
——
Jason read through the new mission quickly and sighed calmly while walking up to the princess. He checked and made sure that she was still alive before he told the ant carrying her to take care of her. Jason didn’t know it at that moment, but his decision to help this princess would change his entire life.