I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 75

"... Is this really it?"

An awe-filled voice gasped through my screen, to which I readily confirmed.

"Yep, you've finally reached the portal, Ruglace. It's pretty crazy, isn't it?"

The Oracle nodded at my words, his eyes wide, "I have never seen anything like it..."

In front of Ruglace stood my portal- an illuminated red, film-like barrier encased by a thick stone frame. Its red glow reflected off the nearby snow blanketing the ground, dyeing the entire area in a warm cherry light unfitting for such a frigid climate.

Getting here wasn't easy by any means; it was the result of days of careful thought and planning.

Near the beginning of summer, during what would be considered early June on Earth, I sent a group of about 2,500 soldiers to begin their march toward the invader buffer zone. It was a roughly two-month journey, meaning they would arrive during the hottest time in August and ideally return in early November before the cold became unbearable. Of course, the extreme latitude meant that even the hottest parts of the year were still chilly enough to allow the ground to remain blanketed with snow, unable to fully melt following the annual brutal winter.

Even with the cold, this timing was by far the most ideal for the group of my bravest humans who would soon be launching the surprise-looting of the lumpy toad's realm.

Running his hand over the odd runes carved into the stone pillars, Ruglace spoke again, "The other world is through here? How did you make something like this... actually, why did you make something like this?"

"Uhhh...." I looked to Mr. Flippers for help, who was standing on my desk, but was only met with him shaking his head in denial as if telling me I was on my own. Awkwardly, I was forced to continue, "You know how I don't make every storm that blows over the gulf? I guess you can say there are some things out of my control."

Ruglace clearly wanted to ask something else, but I quickly changed the topic before he could, "A-anyway, Ruglace, my beautiful Oracle who would never pry into things that I can't answer, you remember what we talked about, right?"

With a sigh consisting of a mixture of disappointment and resolve, the Oracle nodded, letting go of the pillar's carvings, "Mhm. We will split into shifts and head in at dawn, then we will hand off whatever we find to the recovery group coming at nightfall."

"Yep, you got it~"

Our discussion was part of the system we collectively thought of to accomplish our heist, though I decided to mainly leave the brainstorming up to my Oracle. This wasn't so much as to avoid conflicts with the Academy, since wartime strategies and tactics were some of the few things they were fairly lenient about, assuming no new technologies or applications of existing ones were taught; rather I wanted to give Ruglace a chance to make this mission his own. He had already been through a lot and had sacrificed a ton to get to this point. Even if this operation hopefully has minimal conflict, having his name attached to this mission might give him the support he needs to make his sacrifices seem worth it to himself.

His whole task was to develop a plan to successfully move whatever lifeforms we're able to steal from the toad's realm through the portal and into the mountain valley. What he came up with was as follows:

1. As the group of 2,500 soldiers marched toward the portal, they would set up camps after every week of travel. A small group would stay behind at these camps to maintain them as the remaining soldiers continued on. This weekly camp-creation would repeat until the portal was reached.
2. Supplies from the mountain valley would be continuously moved from camp to camp in shifts to ensure a constant flow of supplies to the main group stationed at the portal in a manner that sort of resembled an assembly line from a factory on Earth.
3. The heist would occur the morning that the supply reinforcement from the second-closest camp to the portal was scheduled to arrive. With this timing, any lifeforms taken from the toad's realm could be brought back with them and moved along the line of camps until they made it into the valley to live in pre-prepared enclosures.

Despite this being the main gist of the plan, there were evidently a ton of other logistical details that had to be worked out, including how to keep these lifeforms from freezing and how to physically transport them, but the piles of woven baskets and torch tree branches at the final camp spoke for themselves.

Well, we have absolutely no idea what kind of lifeforms he even has. Obviously, we'd be kind of screwed if its like an elephant or something that's too big to control. Aquatic things that need to swim in water to survive might also be a lost cause, but there's really only so much my humans can do with their stone-age technology.

I was fully confident in this method in spite of these shortcomings.

I'm sure it will work out for most things.

As I reflected on this and talked to Ruglace, I skimmed through my notebook to double-check everything.

Let's see... there's 1,500 soldiers at the final camp and 1,000 of them will go through the portal while the rest manage the camp and help with the initial lifeform transport. Then there's the 125 soldiers at each camp along the way... that's two teams of 50 taking turns on each shift and 25 acting as reserve. Everything seems fine so far-

My eyes soon landed on one line I circled.

"Ah- right. Ruglace, you remember the food policy, right? I need you to make sure no one brings any raw food through the portal."

The Oracle glanced back at the soldiers huddled near fires and groups of tipis, "... Is it really necessary to eat out here? It is probably so much warmer through the portal."

Although I felt bad seeing them shiver, I was resolute in my order.

"Yes, it's extremely necessary. That strictly includes torch tree branches, by the way- the fire stays out here. We can't risk giving those invaders even a single new thing, so unless it's pre-cooked fish or chicken, nothing else goes through that they have even the slightest chance of planting," I sternly reminded, "Ruglace, if I even see a single kernal of corn within ten estimated chicken-lengths of that portal, I will use all of my power to pelt you with snowballs and call off this whole thing."

"A-alright," Ruglace shivered but nodded, "I will remind the others."

I layed back in my chair as I watched him scurry through the snow on my screen.

This lumpy toad dude is already gonna be furious about me baiting him into attacking me when I had the arctic. Raiding his lifeforms on top of that might actually turn him into another Levon... I wouldn't be surprised at all if he tried to attack me again in the future. I can't let him have anything that'll make it easier for him if that time comes.

"Squawk?"

I turned to the penguin who was looking at me with his head tilted, "Yeah, they'll have today to rest and then they'll head through the portal tomorrow morning."

"Squawk..."

Mr. Flippers hopped off the desk, landing on my lap and looking up at me, "... I'm sure they'll be alright. It's already been a few years since those toads attacked- I doubt they're still closely guarding the portal. Besides, we're sending in one thousand men and an Oracle- they should be able to hold their own even if there's a small group there."

The penguin looked at me, clearly still a bit worried, "Squawk?"

"Their Oracle? I guess there's always a chance he'll be there, but I kind of doubt it. Most Seedlings can only develop their realm through their Oracle; it'd be a waste to just have him standing around doing nothing."

"Achoo!"

I heard Ruglace sneeze through the screen, but I shrugged it off and continued. "Hopefully we'll be lucky enough to have a few days before that toad can send his Oracle to respond. I mean, in the worst-case scenario, we can just retreat and maybe see if we can snag a lifeform or two on the way out."

"Squawk..."

I smiled and rubbed the penguin's head, "It'll be fine- have faith in Ruglace."

With a slow exhale, I turned my attention back to the Oracle on my screen, who was still talking with the soldiers.

He'll be fine... I'm sure of it.

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Ruglace stood gripping his stone axe with the portal to his back. He slowly turned his head, shifting his gaze over the soldiers standing at attention in the shallow snow. His recent shakedown of all things seedy had left them even more tense than they already had been; it only emphasized how important this mission would be, not only for themselves, but for potentially generations down the line.

"The sun is already over the horizon- the time to start is now!" he called out, pointing to a small group of men at the front of the messy formation, "Remember, these men will serve as our initial scouts, but time is sensitive. They will just go in and come back, ideally in less than a minute. If things look safe, we will all rush in after their report." 

As the group of soldiers rallied at his words, a whispered voice spoke in his head.

"Pssst! Hey, Ruglace... tell them I said I believe in them!"

The Oracle faced the soldiers with a wry grin, "The creator of the world is looking over us right now; he is completely confident in you all. Who would we be to let him down? Let us make this mission a success!"

""RAAAAAA!!""

As cheers rang out from the re-motivated army, Ruglace gestured toward the scouts who then rushed forward, disappearing beyond the portal.

The cheers and noise from the crowd vanished along with the scouts as the group waited with bated breath for their return. Moments later, however, they re-emerged with dazed grins.

One of them soon addressed Ruglace with a wide smile, "It is hot, but it looks clear!"

""RAAAAAAA!""

The cheers sounded again with the smile contagiously spreading across the soldiers. Relief became clear on the Oracle's face.

"You all heard him- you all know what to do! I will lead, so follow me through!"

With those words, Ruglace closed his eyes and rushed into the portal's red hue as the soldiers sprinted through behind him.

A bright light shown through his closed eyelids. 

Wow...

Before he even opened them, two things immediately became clear upon his emergence into the Toad's realm: the first being the heat. Ruglace and the soldiers were instantly blasted with hot air thick with moisture that, though not unbearable, seemed to make their frigid limbs forget they even needed to thaw.

Beyond the heat was an odd, light feeling that enveloped their bodies. It was almost as if an invisible layer of stones had been taken off of them.

It feels exactly like how the creator of the world described... but I have no idea what is causing it.

Slowly, starting with a squint, the Oracle gradually opened his eyes, careful to adjust to the brightly beating sun whose shine and nearly vertical position contrasted greatly against the dim dawn glow of which he had just departed.

Shading his eyes with his hand, the surroundings quickly came into view- they stood on a large island in the middle of a dense swamp. The area was completely dense in vegetation despite not a single tree being in sight. If it weren't for the portal's raised position, it would have been utterly impossible to see over the vibrant plants. Cautiously, Ruglace quickly scanned the area, yet the number of toads he spotted matched the number of trees- that being zero.

With his tension easing considerably, Ruglace continued gazing around the area in awe of the unfamiliar world as more soldiers flooded through the portal behind him. Such peace was quickly interrupted by an energetic voice shouting in his head.

"JACKPOT! JACKPOT! JACKPOT!"

Ruglace flinched, grabbing his axe's handle and rapidly looking around once more, "What does that mean? Do you see something!?"

"Oops- it's not an attack, don't worry. But look in front of you! Don't you see what that is!?"

Phew...

With the sudden pressure subsiding, the Oracle looked straight ahead in confusion, "... The plants? Is there anything special about them?"

Although there was a small clearing directly surrounding the portal, Ruglace went toward its edge and reached out, touching the tall, thin plant whose height rivaled his own. 

"Yes! It's a bit taller than I expected, but it's definitely grass! I've been trying to get it in our world for so long!"

"You know what this is?" The Oracle's eyes widened at the revelation before squinting back into a curious gaze, "If you have wanted it so badly, it must be useful, right? It really just looks like thin corn stalks without the corn to me..."

"... I mean that's kind of accurate in a weird way, but it'll be extremely useful for feeding other creatures we're able to bring back in the future! The chickens will also love it~" the voice paused, regaining focus, "Do you see those bunches at the top of the tall grass? I need you to order the soldiers to cut them off and store those seedheads in pouches to bring back. Make this your top priority and tell them to keep the grass away from the chickens until we're able to get a good amount of it planted!" 

"Got it."

As the Oracle turned around to give the order, he was met with dozens of soldiers excitedly jumping up and down.

"... What are you guys doing?"

The nearest soldier stopped his bounce with his enthusiastic grin still plastered on his face, "Do you not feel it, Ruglace? Our bodies are so light! We can jump so high here!"

Ruglace stared in disbelief at the hopping soldiers before snapping himself back to attention a moment later.

"P-please tell them to stop- we do not have time to waste on jumping around," he coughed, trying to remain focused, before pointing toward the top of the tall grass, "The creator of the world wants us to bring back those plants. There should be seeds at the top of them, so spread the word that we need as many pouches filled as possible."

"Sure~"

Oracle watched absentmindedly as the soldiers refocused and those equipped with talon knives began slashing at the tips of the nearby plants.

... They were jumping pretty high. I kind of want to try it...

With the soldiers distracted by the new mission, Ruglace took that chance to squat down, putting some power into his legs.

WHOOSH!

The ground instantly disappeared under his feet as he easily launched a height that would take twenty chickens stacked on top of one another to rival.

I-I did not mean to go this high!

Now off the ground, Ruglace was helpless to aid the force of gravity, which seemed to be in no rush to pull him back down.

"Whoa! Look at Ruglace!"

"W-what is he doing so high up!?"

"How come he gets to jump after telling us to stop!?"

Ruglace shifted his eyes away from the soldiers after that last remark.

I-I was just trying to see over the grass! Yeah- that is exactly right!

From this height, the world seemed to expand, and the Oracle could see far beyond the island's edge. In all directions, the muddy water filled with winding plants extended endlessly, only intermitently interrupted by smaller dry islands dominated by sprawling grass.

On one of these, particularly thick, winding plants was a white flower that, though nearly flat, extended to roughly two chickens in length. While this beautiful plant was enough to catch Ruglace's attention, he quickly spotted a small, green creature resting on its petals.

Ah- I found something!

Excitement washed away the embarrassment as the Oracle landed with a thud and was promptly surrounded by a large group of soldiers. Although the whole jump lasted less than seven seconds, it was apparently more than enough time for nearly the entire army to notice.

"What was that, Ruglace!?"

"Oracles really are crazy..."

"Welcome back to the ground, you hypocrite!"

Ruglace brushed off their comments, failing to hide his grin.

"I was just trying to see the area- I even found a creature!" The Oracle pointed off in the direction of the thick, flowery vine and continued, "There should be a green creature resting on a flower just off the island over there. Does anyone want to try to get it?"

A few curious murmurs sounded out in the crowd before the same soldier who was pestering Ruglace raised his hand.

"If you will not let us jump, I might as well have fun hunting!"

Ruglace gave a wry smile, but nodded in response, "Alright. I did not notice any enemies, but bring a friend just in case. Also- please bring that thing back alive if you find it. We can not make more in our world if we only return with corpses."

"Okay," the soldier grabbed the arm of the guy next to him and pulled him over to the edge of the clearing, "Come on, you are coming with me!"

"W-wait! We have no idea what is through there!" the grabbed man panicked, "W-we do not even have a basket! Yeah! We can not go without one!"

Bonk!

Hearing this, a nearby soldier tossed a basket to the duo, only for the man to make no move to catch it, causing it bounce off his head.

The first soldier reached down and picked it up, "There- we have a basket. Now stop complaining."

"Nooooo!"

Ruglace watched in a slight daze as the soldier's screams faded while being dragged deeper into the grass before soon vanishing from sight. 

"A-alright," Ruglace struggled to bring himself back to attention after such a scene, but turned toward the remaining soldiers, "Keep getting as many grass seeds as you can and keep an eye out for any creatures we can bring back! Remember, we need to make the most of this time!"

At his words, the soldiers went back to cutting and harvesting the grass for its seeds.

.. I should probably help. If this is something the creator of the world wants, I need to make sure we bring as much back as possible. 

With a determined look, the Oracle took out his talon knife and started slicing at the blades.

Hopefully those two can find that creature.

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"Tch. This stuff is really annoying."

The two soldiers had been walking for several minutes, pushing through the tall grass that easily towered over six chickens high. Being repeatedly slapped in the face by rogue blades annoyed the soldier enough to make him click his tongue.

"A-are we almost there?"

"Probably. The Oracle did not make it sound very far, at least," he answered without looking back at his timid friend following behind him.

They only made it a few more steps before the friend spoke again.

"I-it is really hard to see through this grass..."

The soldier finally stopped and looked back at him with a judgmental stare, "What? Do you think there are things hiding in it?"

"There could be!" he raised his voice before quickly covering his mouth and looking around with wide eyes.

Seeing this, this soldier could only sigh, "There is nothing in the grass besides us. So quit panicking."

"Yeah? Well, what makes you so confident!?" he loudly whispered.

"We have been separated from everyone for a while now. If there was something in here that could fight us, we would already be dead."

After giving such a harsh analysis, the soldier continued pushing through the tall grass. His friend stood still for a few moments as the words sank in, but by the time he fully processed them, the soldier's figure was already disappearing into the grass foliage.

"W-wait up! Do not leave me here!"

He quickly ran to catch up to him.

.

..

...

It only took a few more minutes of walking before the two reached the island's edge, which gently sloped down into the murky, still water.

"This is such a weird world," the first soldier muttered, gazing over the long, twisted plants which peaked and dipped in and out of the water, "It is like everything is made out of cornstalk."

"Yeah, it is weird... Ruglace said the creature he saw was on a flower, right?"

The soldier nodded, "He did... but there are a lot of them."

Large, white flowers were scattered on the thick stems with a diameter comparable to that of a mature cherry tree. After looking over the plants for a few moments, he finally spotted it- a chunky green creature roughly the length and width of his two fists lined together was laying still on a petal.

"I see it!" he called out, pointing at a flower.

The particular flower rested on a stem which curved a bit above the water and was a decent distance off shore.

"Over there?" his friend squinted, finally spotting the creature, "That is pretty far out... are you going to swim?"

"If I have to," the soldier confirmed, taking off his shoes and resting them near the edge of the water.

After a few moments, he grabbed the basket and began wading into the murky water, his body gradually sinking deeper into it. Luckily, the depth was only up to his chest when he reached the stem, so there was no need for full-blown swimming.

"Ugh."

He grabbed onto the thick stem with a grunt, pulling himself out of the water and twisting his body until he sat on top of it with his legs dangling off casually.

"Huh... it is a cute little thing."

If Jacob had been able to see the creature, he would've instantly recognized it as being some sort of giant, green insect resembling a chubby caterpillar. Unlike them, however, it lacked any sort of exoskeleton, giving it a texture similar to a worm when held in his hands. On its small head were two large eyes, seemingly locked in a permanently sleepy expression.

Despite all the commotion, the small green creature continued casually resting on the flower, allowing the soldier to gently pick it up and put it into the basket.

"I got the creature! Where do you think this plant keeps its seeds?" he called back to his friend watching from the shore, but was only met with his confused gaze.

"Does it even have seeds?"

"Of course it does! Every plant has seeds. Corn has kernels, torch trees have small ones in their branches, cherry trees keep their seeds in their cherries, and even the grass in this world has seeds!"

"What about moss? Moss is a plant, but it does not have seeds."

"..."

The two stared at each other as the friend's expression grew more smug with every passing second that the soldier failed to refute his statement. 

"Whatever. I am sure this has some."

Using his talon knife, the soldier tried slicing apart the flower and cutting into the massive stem of the plant itself, but was met with nothing of note. Just as he was about to give up, however, he noticed a few more flowers further up the plant, which seemed to have shrunk and withered with age, their white petals were fading into a gray.

It was only after cutting into the buds of these elder flowers that three seeds slightly larger than kernels revealed themselves.

"Ha! I knew it!"

With a grin, the soldier cut into the surrounding flowers until he had roughly a few dozen, which he stored in the pouch at his side.

Still smug, he jumped into the water and made his way back onto the island, showing off the seeds to his friend.

"I told you they had seeds," he boasted, shaking the pouch, "We got the green thing and the plant- the Oracle should lighten up on us after getting this much."

Just as his friend was about to say something, the timid man suddenly flinched and snapped his gaze over to the water.

"Huh? What are you looking at?"

"... I thought I saw bubbles."

"Bubbles? That is why you are scared?" the soldier scoffed as he put on his shoes and brushed off his worry, "Even if you did see bubbles, it is probably just a fish. We do not have anything to bring them back with, anyway, so do not worry about it."

"But-"

Before he could argue, the soldier began pushing through the grass, "Come on, I want to get back so I can rub it in that Oracle's face."

"R-right."

The soldier's friend gripped the basket carrying the small creature, and with one last look toward the water, followed behind him, vanishing back into grass.