Alex looked up at the portal, still fascinated by the odd sense of calm he felt. Without the skin-prickling sensation that normally accompanied the Rift entrances, the swirling magic was pleasing to watch. Similar to staring at the crackling flames of a fire, the constantly moving mana was almost hypnotizing.

E Rank Rift

Epic Rarity

Rift Slots [296/1000]

He looked over his shoulder as one of the escapees shifted through the dead guards that had attempted to stop their retreat from the Rift.

Alex was impressed with the quality of armor that they wore. It seemed uniform and made of high-quality materials.

"Is that System-made armor?" he asked Luis.

Shaggy brown hair covered the fighter's eyes while he bent over. He didn't raise his head, but shook it in answer while continuing on his task.

Alex watched him for a moment, considering whether he could prod the younger man into talking. He decided against it. Luis seemed young, his patchy facial hair not doing him any favors in Alex's opinion. There were many scars on his arms, and his skin was extremely pale.

His eyes tracked over to the other two. Robert shared the same pale complexion, though Aisha's skin was naturally dark. She and Robert both seemed to put more effort into their appearance, with her hair held back in loose dreads with a piece of cloth. Robert's hair, while still loosely cut, was shorter, and his face was clear of facial hair.

"We've got a bit of a problem," Scout sent the thought through their link.

What is it?

"I'm not really sure. Danae was talking with the girl and her mom. Now, they're refusing to go to the Hunters Association."

Alex sighed.

Take them with you. We shouldn't leave them with anyone here anyway. For now, they can all return to the house, at least until we get word from Matthews that this is all cleared up.

There was a pause. "This guy gives me a weird feeling. He looks like he's in shock, but I've caught him staring at me twice."

Just keep an eye on him and do what you can to get the five of them out of the city.

"That's encouraging," his clone responded, thoughts thick with sarcasm. "They don't want to leave Robert and the others. We'll probably end up camping a few miles down the road."

That's fine. I'm hoping we're only gone a week or two, which means a few days out here. We can link up with you and take the trip together. Once we're out, it's up to the HA to clean up the rest of this mess.

Alex waved Robert over and gave him an update. "My guy is going to take Anthony and Danae out of the city, along with the three others. They'll wait there for us. Once we're all out of here, we can take you back to the team house. If you want, you can split off and go your own way."

Robert looked at Alex closely. "We should just worry about getting out of there at all. Then we can make plans for after."

Alex shrugged. "Either way, you should talk to Anthony and Danae. I know you guys have been through a lot, but you've also had some time to adjust. The other three seem to have been abused and were only thrown into this a day or so ago. Whatever Danae said to them seems to have worked them up."

"I'll speak with her. Dani is likely just looking out for them, but I can assure you she won't want to cause you any trouble."

"Thanks. After that, we should head into the Rift. I need more information from you on what to expect in there, and more about Kinley or his men."

"The Rift entrance is a long way from the city. There will be plenty of time to talk," Robert said. "But you're right, we should get moving. Best case scenario, we're able to intercept the next shift change and buy ourselves a few more hours undiscovered."

"Agreed," Alex said. "At least tell me what's on the other side. Is there a camp there that we'll have to fight through?" There was still too much he didn't know about the Rift and how things worked within, but staying undiscovered for as long as possible would be a huge boon.

"No, it's just wilderness there. The world is in a perpetual dusk on the surface, so we'll bring lights to see by until we can enter the tunnels and make our way to the Koru'qai." Robert held up his hand, seeing Alex prepare to ask more questions. "One thing at a time. You think too much." He turned and began walking across the crosswalk to speak with his team. "Aisha, Luis, come with me."

Both of the others finished what they were doing and jogged to keep up with Robert.

Alone, Alex suppressed the desire to grumble at the older man.

Doing more than one thing at a time is sort of my MO lately.

He looked around the cement platform and the scattered bodies. The fight here had been quick, and with six dead guards, he was impressed that the five escapees had been able to fight at a disadvantage and only come away with a few injuries.

Without saying anything, Alex walked quickly to the Rift entrance. As he moved, he sent a mental prod to his two unoccupied clones. Within seconds, they both approached him under the influence of swift spells.

He dismissed Warrior's body first, scooping up his armor with the Realm Walker's Storage Bracer. Mage stayed to keep watch while Alex stepped into the Rift for the first time.

As gravity reasserted itself, Alex looked around. The first thing he noticed was how much mana hung in the air. For a brief moment, his mana sight was overwhelmed, and even though he'd been in a few Rifts since the Shadow Rift, this one had an abundance of magical energy that the others couldn't compare to.

He glanced at the System windows that appeared, noting the two quests before dismissing them.

Personal Quest: Mineral and Mana Rich Gather three items naturally created through the Rift of Rare Rarity. Rift Quest: Still the Mountain's Heart For generations, the Heart has been restless. Now, it threatens to burn out completely. Help restore balance to this broken world's core.

The surrounding vegetation was rich, and while the colors all seemed muted, he couldn't tell if that was because of the white light of a moon through the trees or that the vegetation lacked color. He saw two trees nearby that had bark that glowed a faint green.

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Broadleaf bushes covered most of the ground around him. He scanned his surroundings, prepared for any hostility, ready to activate his swift spell if needed. Nothing came, and he was only more intrigued by the surroundings as he moved.

When he stepped away from the Rift portal, he expected to step on the soft soil of a forest, yet despite the lush vegetation around him, the ground felt hard as rock.

Doing what he could to find a spot that would be safe and observable, Alex settled in and took several minutes to create a new [Fractured Body]. Once he did, he returned a mind into the body he'd be using for Warrior.

Passing off armor and items only took a few minutes. Before more time could pass outside, he stepped back through the portal to Earth to find that Robert's group was still on the other platform.

Mage stood nearby, watching their surroundings, so Alex repeated the process once more, dismissing and re-summoning the clone within the Rift. Once it was re-geared in robes and a wand, Alex returned to the sewers.

Idly, he reached his mind out to either of the Rift-bound clones. The result was what he expected: a total loss of connection. It was concerning to realize he'd effectively split his mind in half and sent the other half where he didn't think it would be able to return to him.

He shuddered.

A short time later, Robert, Aisha, and Luis all returned and filled him in, unaware that Alex was aware of the entire conversation thanks to Scout's memories.

The plan was unchanged, and the escapees were prepared to return to the Rift with the idea of returning to Earth after helping Alex and gaining revenge on Kinley and his men. Scout, the rescued prisoners, and the last two members of Robert's group would all move to Magnolia, NJ, only about ten miles outside the city proper. Once there, they'd set up camp and wait for the main group to return.

Alex entered first, stepping in to find that neither of his clones was in sight. Just behind him, the trio entered, spreading out and gripping their weapons with casual comfort.

"When are your men coming in?" Robert asked while regaining his bearings. For all his confidence in leading and combat, it was clear he had done little Rift traveling.

"They're already in here. I sent them in to scout the area and make sure there wasn't anything waiting for us." He tried not to let the statement sound accusatory.

"Paranoid, much?" Aisha said with a smile.

"Sometimes not as paranoid as I should be," Alex said with a nod of his head.

"You can communicate with them, right?" Robert asked.

"It's very limited. I can just send them commands," Alex lied easily.

"Bring them back. It's best if Aisha leads us from here."

Alex did so, and without wasting any more time, Aisha moved the group off to their rear. They passed the portal and entered the forest.

Anxiety and excitement filled him in equal measure. Both Mage and Warrior stayed nearby, still wary of the trio he traveled with. There were so many unknowns, and if the group threatened him or decided to turn on him, it would be a challenging fight, even with the clones. His clones might even out the number of bodies, and even with his level higher than theirs, his reduced stats made him think the fight would be closer than he wanted.

Fighting three blooded and experienced fighters, all D-Rank, was a challenge that he wasn't looking forward to.

More overwhelming than his cautious anxiety, however, was excitement.

Something about returning to a Rift caused his heart to soar. The freedom he felt was unmatched. He could lose himself here. Focus on projects, training, magic, or power. There was an acceptance, even from his friends, that there was no holding back in a Rift, allowing him to commit himself fully. For some reason, most people didn't see being home like that. It left him with an itching desire to return to a Rift and continue pushing.

It was that feeling that drove him to observe the surroundings with wide-eyed appreciation, taking in its natural beauty.

Even as they moved away from the portal, the ambient mana stayed thick. He smiled as he pulled out his mana stone, using [Mana Infusion] and his [Mana Conduit] passive to quickly pour his mana into the prototype. Even as his mana fell, he activated [Mana Siphon] and began to pull mana from the air, quickly recovering the spent mana.

Luis was the only one in the other group to look over at his use of the skills. Alex pretended not to notice, but made a mental note.

They saw several glimpses of wildlife as they moved. While they were still organic creatures, he had to pay more attention after the first few came into view. Their shapes were unnatural and angular. Their bone structures seemed to intentionally make things long and lean, with jagged shapes and sharp angles. It made the few beasts they glimpsed seem more predatory.

Throughout their travels, Robert showed no signs of worry, barely paying attention to the wildlife. Only once, when they came across an area where Aisha pointed out scratch markings on a tree, did they change their path. They circled wide, giving the area a wide berth.

The lights that Robert and Aisha used were enclosed rocks that glowed with a warm orange light, though it made Alex uncomfortable how some of the fauna seemed to lean closer in to them as they passed.

He could taste something in the air throughout their entire journey. It reminded him of a metallic tang that made him want to rinse his mouth out and breathe through his nose. Their steps made minimal sound as they walked, since there were no branches on the ground to snap and no fallen leaves to crunch.

The forest wildlife seemed to cling to their leaves and not let them go.

"Do we think it's like this world's spring?" Warrior thought, scanning the area to his left.

"Do they even have a spring? There's no sun," Mage countered.

The group moved on for several hours. The pace was a bit slower than a normal walk, weaving between trees, and Aisha occasionally stopping and surveying their surroundings.

Everything was going smoothly until the group came across a thin stone pillar. It came up to their waist in height and had a single red band painted around the top of its white shaft.

"Run," Aisha said after inspecting it.

Robert and Luis immediately turned and began running away from the stake in the ground. Confused, Alex followed after them, only catching snippets of their conversation as they moved.

"It's real?" Robert asked.

"Yes," she responded simply.

Luis stayed quiet, but he drew his sword and moved with it.

Alex and the clones quickly began to fall behind, their physical stats nowhere near the other three fighters. Though it didn't seem to matter.

The group had only gained about ten meters on him when they slid to a halt. They moved into a formation, back to back with Robert at the point of the triangle.

"It's too late," Aisha said, panic filling her voice.

Mage and Warrior fanned out further to either side while Alex moved in an athletic stance, head whipping to the surrounding forest.

He opened his mouth to ask what was happening, but quickly closed it. Instead, he began weaving his mana threads, building a spell circle over each hand to react to the situation.

There were several long moments of silence as they stood still. Without warning, Robert stepped forward and drew his sword with his left hand. Since the weapon was strapped to the same side, it resulted in a reverse grip. As soon as it had cleared the sheath, he turned his wrist and drew the blade across his right palm.

"Veyr'thak-no shra… Kahl'resh ven'qorr." Robert projected his voice, the odd, choppy language spilling from him in a way that gave Alex the chills. As he spoke, the Steelguard raised his bleeding hand over his head, barely blinking as several drops of blood spilled down onto his face.

Everyone stood perfectly still, the rise and fall of Robert's chest the only movement in the small clearing of rocky forest.

There wasn't so much as a whisper of sound as vague shapes began to appear around them. One appeared from around a nearby tree, and another seemed to rise directly from the shadow of a low bush.

Tall alien-like humanoids appeared. They were hunched and had arms that hung down to their kneecaps. As they moved from the shadows and into the light of the group's rock lamps, Alex could see their grayish skin and long fingers.

It was their faces that threw him off the most, looking nothing like a human's.

"Kah'resh ven'qorr," the foremost creature said. Its voice was clear, though deep. "You know our ways, human. Will you fight for yourself?"

Robert hunched his shoulders forward and re-sheathed his sword before removing his shirt. "I will fight for myself and the others."

Alex raised an eyebrow at this, though the creature simply raised its hand and clutched it into a fist. Within a heartbeat, dark blood ran down its long forearm. "So it shall be."

Luis and Aisha moved back several steps, keeping their eyes on the group of alien creatures that continued to emerge from the woods.

"There are so many of them," Alex whispered in bewilderment. "I didn't sense any mana at all."

Despite the tension in his group, Alex was swept away by the entire interaction. The monsters were similar to the rare wildlife they'd seen, with angular features. The skin of their necks connected to their chins, and their mouths and foreheads angled out to the nose, giving the appearance of a diamond-shaped profile of the head.

Keeping both spells hung in the air in his hand, he leaned forward and whispered to Luis, "What did they both say? Some sort of challenge?"

Luis glanced at him but shook his head with closed eyes.

Aisha spoke up, answering his question. "He said, 'I claim the path through you… Blood is my passage.' Now they duel for our right to pass."

Her tone was serious, and Alex felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as Warrior spoke his own thoughts.

"If we're fighting for the right to pass, what are they fighting for?"

"Blood."

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