I Have a Military Shop Tab in Fantasy World
Chapter 42: So That’s a Rift

Chapter 42: So That’s a Rift

The sky above Elandra was clear, the sun casting long, golden rays over the cobbled streets as Inigo and Lyra exited the Adventurer’s Guild. But despite the pleasant morning, an invisible weight had settled over them, trailing them like a shadow with every step toward the western ridge.

Neither of them spoke at first.

The city slowly gave way to outskirts, and soon houses became sparse, replaced by gentle hills, tall grass, and the wind-carved stones that marked the edge of Elandra’s reach. The path to the old quarry was barely a road—just a dirt trail winding between shrubs and broken fences. Every now and then, they would pass a few traveling merchants, carts parked at the side, resting animals watching silently. The further they went, the less human the world felt.

"You sure about this?" Lyra asked finally, breaking the silence.

Inigo glanced at her. She walked beside him, her hand resting near the hilt of her short blade. Her steps were light but not casual—she was on edge.

"We’re not going in," he said. "Just confirming the rift’s presence."

Lyra exhaled, her breath tight. "Still. It’s not like anything else I’ve done before."

"Same here," Inigo admitted.

Another pause stretched between them.

"But we’ll manage," he added.

It wasn’t false confidence. He didn’t have much information to work with, only what Elise had told him before. But something in him—whether stubbornness or instinct—said this was worth checking out.

By the time they reached the quarry ridge, the landscape had shifted entirely. The open plains gave way to jagged cliffs and steep drops. Moss-covered stones jutted from the earth like old teeth, and silence had claimed the area. Not the soft kind of silence—but the kind that felt like the world itself was holding its breath.

And then... they saw it.

Just ahead, nestled in the sunken depression of the quarry, a swirling vortex hovered above the ground—spinning slowly like a scar in the air itself.

Red and black energy coiled around it like tendrils of smoke, twisting and folding in on themselves, forming a rough circular gate. The center of the rift shimmered with a pulsating hue, like molten embers behind frosted glass. It hovered silently, unmoving, yet the air around it hummed—like a distant roar, buried beneath layers of wind.

Inigo stopped in his tracks.

A sudden chill danced down his spine. Not from cold—but from instinct. The kind of chill a predator might feel before another predator enters the field.

His throat felt dry.

"That’s..." Lyra’s voice came out quieter than usual.

She stood just behind him, her silver hair catching the breeze. Her fingers gripped her cloak tightly at her collarbone, and her pupils were locked on the spiraling anomaly.

"Yeah," Inigo muttered. "That’s a rift."

They stood there for another moment, as if daring it to move or spit something out.

But nothing came.

Still, it radiated dread. Like something ancient and wrong had punctured through the air and just... stared back at them. Watching.

"Let’s not get closer," Lyra said, backing up a step.

"Agreed."

Inigo pulled out the quest slip from his coat pocket and flipped it over, scribbling the time and location with a bit of charcoal he kept on him. He didn’t need to be told twice—this thing didn’t belong here.

Lyra stayed behind him as they turned back toward the trail. The feeling didn’t fade, not even with distance. The moment the rift had appeared in his line of sight, it was like it etched itself into the back of his brain.

They didn’t speak until the trees returned.

—

The Adventurer’s Guild hall was quieter when they returned—but only barely.

News traveled fast.

As they stepped through the doors, heads turned. Eyes followed them. Whispers started.

"They really went."

"Did they see it?"

"Are they crazy?"

Elise stood behind the counter, waiting. She set her pen down and gave them a nod.

"Well?" she asked simply.

Inigo approached, pulling the quest slip from his coat and setting it gently on the desk.

"It’s real. Rift’s just beyond the quarry—exact location’s marked. Still stable. Nothing’s come through yet."

Elise picked up the slip, read it, then let out a short breath. "Damn. So the old man wasn’t drunk."

"Nope," Inigo said.

Lyra stepped forward, still holding her cloak closed. "It didn’t move. But it... it felt like something on the other side was waiting."

Elise gave her a knowing look. "That’s how they always feel. Like you’re being sized up. You did good—for your first time seeing one."

She opened a drawer and pulled out a small leather pouch. "One gold coin. As promised."

Inigo accepted it without ceremony, but Elise didn’t miss the tension in his posture.

"I’ll file the report immediately," she said. "We’ll get a dispatch ready—probably knights or ranked adventurers from the capital. No one should be near it until it’s sealed."

Inigo gave a curt nod.

"Also," Elise added, leaning slightly closer so others wouldn’t hear, "thanks. We’ve had false alarms before. But if no one had gone to check this one..."

"It would’ve gotten worse," Inigo said.

"Exactly."

He turned to Lyra, who had quietly taken a seat on a bench near the wall, her eyes distant.

Inigo sat beside her.

"You okay?"

Lyra blinked once, then looked at him. "Yeah. Just... rattled."

"I get it," he said. "I didn’t expect it to feel like that either. I thought it’d be like a portal, you know? Something you just look at and shrug off."

"It wasn’t," Lyra whispered. "It felt alive."

They both sat in silence for a while, the low buzz of the guild around them returning to normal.

"I’ll still split the reward with you," Inigo said, nudging the pouch of gold her way.

Lyra shook her head. "Keep it. I came because I didn’t want you to go alone. I didn’t do anything."

"That counts," he said simply. "In this line of work, standing next to someone when it counts? That’s everything."

Lyra gave a small smile. "You’re a strange one, Inigo."

"Thanks. I try."

He leaned back against the wall, letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

The rift was real. It was open. And the next move... wasn’t his to make.

Elise mentioned that you would need a certificate to accept a rift-related quest.

"Elise it is."