Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!-Chapter 226: First step on a certain path

The portal opened as usual.

It didn't grow to fit the frame I opened it with. It didn't expand to cover the shine I could see on it either.

It simply continued to exist just the same way it always did, swirling towards its purple center and using this visual to hide what was on the other side.

And just like in all the other times, only those who I've allowed to see it could see that something happened. Which, in this particular situation, only included me and Fay.

"Are you ready for the real proof?" I called out to Makary with a simple question asked in an extremely serious tone.

The man turned his head to give me a long look. Then, he looked around, as if to direct my attention to all the people around.

"You wouldn't have brought them here if you had any doubt in their loyalty, would you?" I asked while the left corner of my mouth rose up in a slightly cheeky smile.

"That's…" Makary averted his eyes for a second, only to turn them right back in. "Yeah, I wouldn't."

The gang's boss took a deep breath and held it in for a while before slowly, slowly breathing it out.

"Okay, hit me," he requested as he glanced over to my side. "I think I'm ready."

For a second, I simply stared at the man, judging in my heart whether the next step was really the best option…

But those were all but useless doubts and hesitations, not solid concerns.

After all, Fay already showcased her ascended form to the man. What showing my portal would do, however, was cut all the doubt regarding the validity of my proof.

A slightly inhumane form and ungodly speed? Those could, with extreme effort and preparation, be faked.

But a portal that actually leads to another world?

"Forgive me the…" I raised my hand… and snapped my fingers, "theatrics."

Just like that, I mentally allowed Makary to perceive and interact with my portal. And it took the man two more seconds to realize that something within his vision had changed.

"Wait, since when…"

"Roughly five minutes ago," I answered Makary's question before he could even finish voicing it all out.

"But it doesn't fit the frame, does it?" the man instantly looked for a hole in the entire thing, latching on any inconsistency he could find in his bid to prove it was all but a fake, an illusion.

A mirage he couldn't see through yet, but a mirage nonetheless.

"That's because it's my personal portal, not the stable gate I wanted to set here," I explained with a slight shake of my head. "As it turns out, I can only set it up by crossing through my personal portal."

"What are you waiting for, then?" Makary asked, looking at me with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Listen, once I or we step inside, it might take just shy of three days for us to return," I warned while raising my eyebrows a little and raising my finger at the man. "Setting up this gate was supposed to be much easier but look at how much trouble we had to go through for it to work."

This time, I shook my head to express my dissatisfaction with how imprecise my system liked to be at times.

"I don't really see how those two things are connected," Makary pointed out while crossing his arms on his chest.

He clearly wanted to find something that wouldn't stick to the greater whole.

And in all honesty, I couldn't blame him. This kind of reaction was already less than what I expected from the man's natural, mental defense mechanism of refusing anything that went too far beyond his common sense.

"If it turns out that we can't open the gate's entrance on the other side, we will only be able to return using the same, personal portal of mine," I explained what was obvious to me but an unknown fact for the man. "And I can only open this portal back home once roughly three days go by."

This time, my words appeared to have some sort of an effect.

"Is that why there were times when we couldn't contact you at all?" Makary suddenly asked.

It irked me a little for him to start figuring various things out on his own so quickly… But on the other hand, it was a pretty good sign.

Makary drawing connections between what he already accepted and the things that were still new to him meant that he was slowly, slowly inching ever closer to accepting the idea that all I've spoken about wasn't just an honest serving of bullshit.

And not so long after that…

"Okay, fine," Makary finally gave up, his entire body slumping down as if to signify that fact.

And it was also at this point that I could no longer ignore the curious stares of all the men he brought to fix the frame for my gate.

"We might need materials and tools to build up another frame on the other side," I said out loud.

Those were men Makary trusted enough to invite here, to a place that, if my words were true, would soon become the most important location in the entire, wide world.

And there was no way I would be able to fix up a frame without tools, materials, and manpower, just with me, Fay, and potentially Makary alone.

"Try to limit how much you will bring over. What's more, don't expect any electricity on the other side. And it won't be that bad of an idea to arm yourself with as much as you guys will still be able to carry."

In a few moments, I went from doubting whether I should even show Makary the portal to actively incorporating the men he invited over into my plans.

But if I really wanted to follow the ideology regarding portals and their use that was slowly forming in my head ever since a certain idea struck me just moments before we returned to earth…

Then going that far was the absolute minimum… and just the first step on the long road filled with the challenging tasks of letting more and more people in on the secret of the portal and another world.

"We can whip out a half-ready frame in five to ten minutes," the punk-looking guy spoke out as he stepped closer to where I, Fay, and Makary stood. "It's gonna be one hell of a pain to carry it, so I hope we won't have to drag it far."

The man's words caused Makary's eyebrows to pull together.

Then, with a slow move, he raised his hand and pointed at the portal.

"Can you tell me what you see over there?" Makary asked with a tense look on his face.

"Huh?" the punk-looking guy shrugged. "Isn't that the gate frame you asked us to make?" he answered in a weirded-out voice… Something no random soldier off the gang's street could do right in Makary's face.

Makary's eyes turned over to my side again. And this time…

"Huh?" the punk-looking guy jumped, his eyes now locked on the swirling purple of the portal. "What the hell is this thing?!"

Makary twisted his head, alternating his eyes between his startled subordinate and my calm facade. Then, as he finally locked his sights on me…

"But you didn't even…"

"Snap my fingers?" Once again, I finished Makary's question with my own voice. "Yeah," I shrugged my shoulders. "That's why I apologized for theatrics, didn't I?" I asked, before clearing my throat…

And willing for all the present within the hangar to be able to perceive my portal. Continue reading on m|v-l'e-NovelFire

This was a risky and worrying step. One small step for Peter Wozniak.

And a great leap for humanity, with how it set me on the path I was growing more and more comfortable with picking.