“Welcome to the Shadow Rift. Or maybe I should say, welcome back?”

Alex’s vision returned at the same time the gravity did. His foot landed on hard stone ground, where he expected to step on grass. The entrance into a Rift was always a bit disorienting, but something about the drastic change in what he expected from this entrance gave him a sense of vertigo.

A window with quests appeared. He read it before dismissing it to look at the new surroundings.

He let his eyes scan over the transformed landscape as he adjusted the pack on his shoulders.

“I’ve got the last group for this rotation,” their guide said to the guards waiting inside the entrance. They nodded in response, clearly recognizing Susan.

Mark made a few impressed noises from just behind Alex as he looked at the camp that was being constructed around them. “Dang, those government boys are really organized.”

“I kept trying to tell you guys about the differences…” Sarah responded with an excited smile as she pulled at the straps of her camping pack.

Alex barely heard their banter. His attention was fixed on the horizon and the grotesque transformation of the landscape. The chasm that spread forward from the ground in front of the Rift had served as a divider between the two halves. Even though he’d seen the top-down map from the Guild, the lack of that division hit him harder than he thought it would. To his left, the fields of tall golden grass were completely dead and wilted down onto the ground. Where there had been gorgeous cherry trees, he now saw inky tendrils of corruption that crawled across the ground. With the lack of a pink forest protecting it, he could easily see Tianluo… or at least what remained of it.

“It’s so much worse than I thought,” Sam said to Alex’s left. Looking at the healer, he saw him holding on tightly to the turtle totem around his neck while taking slow and steady breaths.

The Night had leapt the chasm, and what had once been the clear boundary between the Celestial and the Night side of the Rift was now just a crack in the ground that was part of the dark terrain.

“Come on, you four. They’ve got every slot filled now, so the Rift can’t break. Follow me and we’ll get the last of your check-in paperwork filled out.” Susan beckoned as she continued to walk, her other hand in her suit pants pocket.

Alex had to tear his eyes away from the remnants of the city and follow his group. As they went, he noted their more immediate surroundings. There were teams in uniforms and personnel unloading equipment and establishing a perimeter.

Tents and prefab buildings were being set up in orderly rows. Almost all of them had the Hunters Association insignia on the side. The white shield with a blue eagle perched above the two “HA” letters stood out on the beige colored tents and looked strangely out of place in the Rift world. Alex noticed some structures had different symbols, making him wonder if there were more special contractors like them. Throughout the camp, workers with System-enhanced abilities sorted and transported supply crates.

Val tightened around Alex’s shoulders as they moved around. It was partially out of anxiety, but also because the little amphiptere had noticed other bonded companions. Not just one or two, but at least a half-dozen of them moved around the camp freely with their Hunters.

Do you want to fly, buddy? Looks like you won’t need to hide here.

“No, thank you.” The answer came quickly.

You don’t need to worry. We’re going to get out of here quick.

Feelings of acceptance and comfort came through their link in response.

This does remind me… How different does this make us from the sun elves?

He looked around at the hasty encampment being set up and realized that they must have felt much the same after breaking through the Rift and setting up a safe haven on Earth.

The scout’s shout cut through busyness of the camp and drew Alex’s attention. The man had a whistle that he was blowing as he ran into the camp, the sound consistently coming out in three short blasts.

He paused as he came closer. “Night creature approaching section three! Response teams! To me!” he called with a skill-enhanced voice before laying into his whistle again and moving further into the camp.

Alex instinctively reached to pull his wand from his storage ring, but Susan was already waving his group down. “Don’t worry about it,” she said without breaking stride. “Our response teams will handle the attack. Follow me to processing. You can get in on the experience later if you want.”

Mark raised an eyebrow at her casual response. “You’re not concerned about a monster attack?”

“It happens pretty frequently. A couple monsters attempt to attack the camp every few hours.“

As if to prover her point, the camp responded quickly. Some people barked orders and combat teams sprinted toward the eastern perimeter. At the same time, other non-combat personnel moved toward some of the reinforced structures or continued what they were doing as if nothing were happening.

“Only Level 30s and up are asked to go to the response points,” Susan said over her shoulder. “Everyone else continues operations and can move into the buildings if they want.”

A loud roar could be heard to their east. From the spot they were at, Alex glimpsed a massive beast wreathed in shadows that had multiple limbs ending in white claws. Its form seemed to suck in light from the surrounding area.

His eyes widened slightly. “I didn’t fight stuff like this when I was in here. It was mostly just the Shadow Serpent Sect…”

“Ah, they’re still here, though we fight more beasts in this area than other humans. Our best guess is that the sect does something to help spread the Night, so they’re typically more at the frontier of the corruption. The beasts roam the aspects’ territories. That one was scanned as a Nightstalker.”

The response teams fought with practiced ease. A woman with glowing blue bracers created chains of mana from the ground that latched on the creature. Her companions moved to flank it and two hunters wielding bows loosed arrows.

At the same time, a line of five people stepped up and began shooting rifles at the beast. The sound of gunfire was enough to startle Alex, and the same sense of confusion returned to his mind. The guns didn’t seem to do much, but after a few bursts from each person, two melee warriors closed in, and the line was ushered back to the camp and away from the fight.

The beast activated some sort of movement skill and charged in a straight line toward the backs of the firing squad. A large man with a shield jumped between them, and the beast couldn’t stop in time before running directly into the tank's defenses. The melee fighters quickly caught up, and the fight turned messy. The monster bled, but in large quantities, and a black substance that splashed on each of the nearby fighters.

“Even for them, it’s not easy,” Sarah observed as the team struggled to contain the frenzied beast. Even though she said that, the fight lasted less than a minute and was hard to watch while keeping up with Susan. She explained that walls were going to be built as soon as they figured out how large the camp would need to be. She hadn’t even paused to watch the fight, only pointing to a stone structure ahead. “This is the admin building. We can process your team over there.”

They kept walking, and Alex noticed teams of workers assembling more permanent structures from stone. They worked with extreme speed, some of them used Earth-based skills to shape and join materials. It reminded him of earth bending from one of his favorite shows as a kid. He caught Mark's eyes going wide as he watched them manipulate the ground.

Just as he followed Susan into the building, he saw a team carrying a fifteen-foot segment of white metal. Stopping in his tracks, he looked at the tree trunk-shaped bar of meta hefted by a team of Awakened and recognized it to be the same conductive metal that the sun elves used in their ritual.

They brought it here?

Susan ushered him inside, and the in-processing dragged on for hours. Alex’s team handed over their driver’s licenses, confirmed overall levels, and answered some repetitive questions about why they were in the Rift. Forms were signed and filed away in triplicate. Compared to the frantic pace of the last week, the bureaucratic process made it feel like time was crawling by.

“Make sure these armbands remain visible at all times,” the registrar explained while handing them blue armbands with the Hunters’ logo on them. “They are there to identify you as Earth personnel and differentiate you from Rift dwellers.”

Alex suppressed a sigh as he strapped on the band. Sarah was more patient with the procedures and asked clarifying questions about protocols, reporting, and resupplying.

They continued on to the combat section after some time. “There are pretty standard Rift rules of engagement,” the officer droned on. “No fighting between Association members or other contractors. The first team to engage a monster claims the kill and any resulting loot. Disputes go through the camp’s chain of command, starting with the officer on watch. Any questions?”

Sam and Mark were nodding along as the tank flipped through the provided handbook. It looked small in his hands. “Easy peezy,” he said.

By evening, they’d been assigned temporary quarters. It was just a simple canvas tent near the edge of camp. It had four cots and no separators, with two large storage lockers and a small table. There was also a lantern on the table full of oil and a map with the surrounding area printed on it.

Susan had separated from them long ago, pulled away by other duties. In her stead, a soldier Alex didn’t know had shown them where the tent was. Before he left, Alex asked, “Was that group with rifles during the attack getting boosted?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes. Each attack, there is a rotation that comes up to participate in the fight and gain some experience. It’s not much, but it helps speed up the leveling for the researchers and noncombat personnel.”

Alex’s eyes flicked to Mark and Sarah. “Can I get these two in on something like that?”

The soldier gave an apologetic smile. “You definitely can, but you guys are pretty late joining in on the rotation. The wait is more than a week at this point. It’s probably worth it, though. If you’re interested, you can put their names down on the list at the building that you were in earlier.”

Alex thanked the man, and after he left, he looked at the map they’d been provided and noticed that it was more detailed in the surrounding area than the Guild’s map had been, but it didn’t cover nearly as much of the surrounding land.

“Well, we definitely won’t be waiting a week.” He thought about his own ability to solo one of those creatures of the Night. “The first few fights might be a bit tough, with my mana channels being a problem.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Sam hopped onto the cot and sat cross-legged while fiddling with the totem in his hand.

“Olivia’s note mentioned that she wanted to come for answers on the Night. Between the stories I told her and the notes that the Guild had, I am going to guess that she went to Tianluo. That’s where I’d go to start, even if the sect had fallen.” Alex traced his finger in the route he and Sam had fought from the city to the Rift exit. He glanced at the younger man.

Sam returned a smile and looked calmer than Alex felt. As if to emphasize the point, a patch of ethereal green grass bloomed around their feet and filled most of the tent. “When do we leave?” he asked.

“First thing in the morning,” Alex said. “I think all of us could use a bit more sleep. I didn’t expect this process to take most of the day.”

“You don’t think we should head out after Olivia right now?” Mark asked as he sat down next to Sam.

“Trust me, I want to. But the Rift has changed a lot. I don’t want to walk into the unknown in the dark. Also, now that we’re at least in the Rift, it’s a single night, instead of several days for her. Setting off tomorrow, rested and prepared, is our best option.”

There was a chorus of agreements.

Sam slid back on the cot and poked Mark while pulling a deck of playing cards from his spatial pouch. “I’m surprised that they expect us to operate or train out of the base.”

“They can expect whatever they want,” Alex said. “We’ve got our own mission. We can start our training tomorrow morning and then head out first thing.” Mark was the only one who groaned, which made Alex grin. His large friend was the only one who knew what sort of training was in store.

The sun hadn’t yet risen when Alex felt a mental poking at his foggy mind. It was his split consciousness, attempting to rouse him from sleep. He kept himself from grumbling as he pushed himself up and stretched his muscles. While he still felt sore, he was mostly recovered after the few days of downtime.

Three bodies still lay motionless in their cots, and Alex lightly kicked each of them. “Time to wake up. First day of training!” He exclaimed while trying to keep his voice low from waking nearby tents.

Mark groaned and buried his head under his pillow. “The sun’s not even up yet.”

“You don’t know that, you haven’t even opened your eyes.”

Sam sat up instantly, alert and looking to the left and right. He took a few deep breaths and calmed himself while Sarah rose more gracefully. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Alex reached into his spatial pouch and pulled out two containers, each labeled with Gabby’s neat handwriting.

“Mark and Sarah, eat this before we get started. Courtesy of Gabby.” He passed the containers to them both, and Sam looked put off. “Sam, you don’t need it. You and I will eat our normal rations. This is the Intelligence boosting food to help these two get a mana manipulation skill faster.”

Understanding dawned in Sam’s eyes. “Mark could use some extra brainpower.” He snickered until Mark flicked out his left arm and sent the pillow sailing across the tent and slapping into Sam’s face.

Sarah took a bite and then made an appreciative noise, which seemed like enough motivation for Mark to get up and eat his own breakfast. As they ate, Alex watched subtle changes in their expressions. They sat up straighter and looked around with some more interest, their gazes sharp and clear.

“Feel different?” Alex asked.

Sarah nodded. “It’s like everything is more defined somehow. And my mind feels clearer.”

Mark squinted at the wall like it had taken his lunch money.

“Good,” Alex said with a smile. “The food has some of Gabby’s biggest buffs yet, with +5 to Intellect. It should make getting the manipulation skill pretty easy.” He sat on the ground and gestured for them to keep sitting. “Mana manipulation is the base of everything I’ve made so far. Even though I’m mostly doing stuff with unstructured magic, I got the mana threads and my movement skill from using [Mana Shaping].

“I started by trying to move my mana outside of my body and struggled a good bit until Olivia gave me a hint.” He smiled as he remembered the message she sent him before they’d even met. “What helped was visualizing the mana moving in my body and then outside of it. You guys should try it now.” He gave them a nod and watched intently through his Heavenly Eye.

Maelis’s gruff voice came into his mind. “Start them with internal circulation. Most beginners fail because they reach outward before figuring out how to pull from their core.”

Alex adjusted his instructions and remembered that before he’d gotten his own skill, he’d intuitively done something similar. Back then, he was just mentally reaching around and clumsily pushing at the mana near his core.

They sat in silence for several minutes, and Sarah was the first to speak up. “ I-I think I feel it. Like a ball of water in my stomach.” Alex encouraged her and Mark seemed like he wanted to focus harder, but it was only a few minutes later when she exclaimed, “I got a skill!”

Sam shushed her with a laugh before congratulating her.

“Already?” Mark’s concentration broke.

“Keep trying,” Alex said. “Sarah’s already had practice controlling her aura, and mana is supposed to be a part of that. She got it faster than I thought, so just focus on what you can.” He turned back to Sarah. “That really was fast, good job. Show me which one you got?”

“That’s the same one I got. Great job,” he said with a smile. “Keep practicing. Sam, help them continue and show Sarah some exercises for moving her mana. I need to go scout around a bit and see if I can’t find us a monster.”

“A monster?” Sarah asked, her happy mood seeming slightly dampened. “Already?”

Alex nodded. “We don’t have a ton of grace here, unfortunately. So we’re going to have to play this smart. With my mana channels injured, I need you guys to gain some levels. As you are now, both of you could get injured way too easily. If we can get a few kills under your belt, it’ll skyrocket your levels, and we can start working as a team.”

Sam nodded and took over the teaching portion of training. “Let’s try visualizing it differently, Mark. You already used your own mana to get the [Taunt] skill, so you could be really close to getting it. Try to imagine that the mana is pushing out from your stomach like you did…”

Alex stepped out of the tent, and the air felt warm and totally different than the season outside of the Rift. He took out map from his pouch as Val followed him out of the tent and chirped excitedly.

“Let’s find something for their first fight,” Alex murmured.

The little amphiptere stretched his wings and did a lap around Alex’s head, willing to fly more freely while the camp was asleep.

“Can you fly up high for me while we move? You can let me know if you see any monsters around.”

“Yes, Val can!” He flew up and soared higher and higher.

Alex watched as he flew higher before beginning walking away from the camp. There were guards at the edge, but when they saw his armband, they did little to stop him from moving on freely. He wondered how secure that really made things, especially as he remembered how easy it had been to sneak into the Shadow Serpent Sect camp while he was fighting them before.

He moved further out and ranged the area between the camp and Tianluo, realizing that it was likely one of the most traveled sections of land in the Rift.

There were many factors to keep in mind as he searched and chose one of the remaining monsters in the area. He was more limited than he might normally be, injured as his mana channels were. Also, without Olivia, it left Sam and Valtherion as the only appropriately leveled party members and Sam was unlikely to be able to kill a monster that was higher level than he was.

It didn’t take him long to get things set up how he wanted. He baited the monster eastward, and when it was close enough, he used his stats and Valtherion to create a distraction and speed off from its sight and senses.

Val stayed above the Nightstalker, flying high above its reach and acting as a marker for Alex to easily find them when he returned with the other three. Covering the distance without the use of his movement skill was frustrating, but Alex focused on his breathing and ran with as much speed as his stats would allow.

It took him another hour to return with the trio in tow. He could feel Valtherion through their bond and knew that they were getting close to the spot. Around the short drop in the terrain was a Nightstalker sniffing at the various plants and rocks. Alex moved in a crouch at the front of their small group.

When he reached the edge of the small ridge, he motioned for the others to stay low as he peered over the side. The Nightstalker prowled below, and its shadow form blended in well with the shadows of the terrain. Its multiple limbs ended in white claws that left small gouges in the dead ground.

Alex moved back to the group and whispered, “Alright, you guys ready?”

Sarah held her bow with an arrow already on the string, looking extremely nervous.

Mark knelt beside Alex and held his shield and hammer in a tight grip. “You sure this’ll work? How high did you say its level was?” he whispered.

“I’m sure. If it works on boars, it’ll work on a Nightstalker.” Alex removed his jian from the spatial ring and gave them a smile. “Just remember the plan.”

He gave a final nod before turning and leaping from the ridge. He landed with a grace that he could only attribute to higher stats while slashing down with his sword as he passed the beast’s side. The Nightstalker responded quickly. It snapped at him, and Alex swayed to the side and backpedaled quickly to create space.

The creature lunged without giving him time to plant his feet. Alex slid his sword behind him in a wide arc, used the jian to brace against his shoulder, and leaned into the blow as much as he could. It caused him to slide back several feet, but he kept his balance. There was a sting in his arm as one of the teeth of the creature caught his shoulder in the attack.

On the next lunge, Alex was more prepared and was able to side-step and slash out with the blade. Black ichor sprayed onto his white robes, but he knew the wound wasn’t deep.

Above, Val circled, diving every once in a while to launch mana darts at the monster. Each hit drew a snarl and a distracted moment where it would snap at the air where the amphiptere had been before.

“Now, Sarah!”

An arrow whistled through the air, not even a second later. It buried itself into the Nightstalker’s shoulder. It was a good shot, and Alex could tell that she’d been practicing. Unfortunately, the creature barely registered the attack and continued to focus on Alex.

He danced around it, using his sword skills to the best of his abilities. Alex could tell that he was outmatched in raw stats, and if it weren’t for the Nightstalker’s consistent attacking patterns, he’d be hopeless in the fight without his magic. As long as Alex remained calm and continued to kite the beast backward, toward their planned destination, he could maintain the upper hand. Even then, sweat beaded on his face, and without the use of [Feather Step], each clash felt much more dangerous than it normally would have.

The beast’s white eyes slowly turned blood red, and Alex could sense its movements coming faster and more frantically.

“Mark! Your turn!”

Mark vaulted from the ledge, but landed much more awkwardly than Alex had. He hit the ground from the ten-foot drop and attempted to roll, but his shield awkwardly got in the way. A grunt escaped him as he quickly pushed himself up. “Hey, ugly!” he shouted while activating his [Taunt] skill. “Over here!”

The effect didn’t seem to register as the beast continued to attack Alex. They had wondered if this might happen, so Mark ran to the space where he could wait, further behind Alex and between the beast and the chasm.

When he was in position, he could use the [Taunt] skill again. The effect took hold this time, and the Nightstalker’s attention snapped to Mark. Their tank continued to walk backward and hold up his shield, watching the beast as it stalked forward and completely ignored Alex.

“Thaaat’s right. Come and get me,” he said.

Bunching low to the ground, the beast charged forward explosively, just like the one at the camp. Mark braced his feet and held the shield tight in both hands. Just as the creature was upon him, Mark changed his angle and tried to jump out of the way.

When the monster slammed into Mark, he twisted sharply, and Alex watched as his friend went flying through the air. The impact sent Mark sailing sideways, rather than backward. He crashed into the ground, his metal armor making dreadful noises as he rolled. He cried out in pain as his arm twisted in an odd direction. But their plan had worked. The Nightstalker, unable to adjust its momentum, continued to charge past the point Mark had been standing… and straight over the edge of the ravine.

A yowling cry and a distant thud could be heard, followed by silence.

Blue experience motes flew up and into Alex’s chest, telling him that the others should have gotten experience as well.

“Mark!” Sam sprinted forward, dropping to one knee beside his friend. He held the staff in hand and cast a spell through it while the green patch of ethereal grass from his trait also exploded into existence around him. The bright and lush green seemed so out of place on the grey and brown stone.

Mark grimaced and rolled onto his back, but then his expression shifted. He stared at something only he could see and suddenly burst into laughter.

“Holy shit,” he gasped. “That was worth a dislocated shoulder.”

Sarah approached, her face flushed with excitement. “I gained five levels from that one kill!”

“Me too!” Mark grinned as Sam completed the healing. He rotated his healed arm and tried to poke at his side, before remembering that he was in slightly banged-up metal armor. “We should do that again.”

Alex helped Mark to his feet and felt pride warming his chest. “You guys did great.”

Sam dusted himself off and hefted Mark’s shield from where it lay on the ground. “Mark was higher level, right? Why didn’t Sarah get more experience than him?”

“My guess is that Mark’s participation was considered higher, since he was in actual danger. Sarah was relatively safe and just sent a few arrows into it.”

“Makes sense,” Sam said as he set the shield down and pointed the strap toward Mark.

“Sarah, you need to pick your class,” Alex said, while turning to face Tianluo. “We’ll keep moving toward the city, and if we see another good chance to take a fight, we’ll set it up just like this. The ravine only gets deeper and wider, the further from the Rift we get.”

Val swooped down and chirped excitedly. “Val can scout ahead?”

“Yes, buddy,” Alex said with a laugh. “Go on, let me know what you see. Sam and Mark you guys make sure to stay alert. We’re going to jog at Sarah’s pace since she has the lowest stats, just like we did on the way over here. Sarah, read your class options and share them if you want some help.”

“What about you?” Sam asked.

“I’ve really needed to learn more about how this skill works.” Alex took a deep breath and hoped that he was right. If his theory was wrong, then using the skill would just hurt.

He activated [Mirage] and felt the molten mana flood through his body from his core and the System took over, directing the skill and projecting the perfect image of himself nearby. Alex breathed in and out several times and shook his arms in an effort to get rid of the pain. He groaned and pushed the feelings down as best as he could while pushing his second consciousness toward the mirage.

Just as he had in the fight with Rylan, his consciousness flowed easily into the mirage. Suddenly, he could see from two perspectives, and he forced himself to keep the thoughts separate.

“There’s so much to test with this combination, it’s not even funny,” he said, more to himself. “Guess the first thing to test is range.”

He opened up the connection in his mind to “tell” his mirage to begin heading toward Tianluo, but before he could say anything, the other Alex took off with a wink and a wave.

Oh man… how annoying is this about to be?

“As someone who has already had to put up with two of you for the last several days, I’ll say very.”

Alex rolled his eyes and beckoned the group to begin following him at a jog.