[ Name:Rin Wezts]

  [ Race: Human ]

  [Level 7]

  [ Stats: Strength 18, Constitution 13, Dexterity 10, Intelligences 18, Wisdom 10, Spirit 4]

  [Equipment buffs]

  [Base constitution 10 additional 3 points provided from void Ebor duster.]

  I woke up early and distributed my stat points. I decided to bring my base constitution and dexterity to ten and continue to raise my strength and intelligence. The interface helpfully added my duster stat bonus right into the stats sheet and it even added another section called equipment buffs to help me keep track. I did an inventory of all my gear. My duster seemed to have properties that were not listed when I initially looked at its info window but now the window reflected the new properties. I wondered if this was an effect of raising my intelligence or from having used the item.

  [ Void Ebor duster.]

  [+ 3 constitution]

  [ While this duster is worn, stacks of momentum will be granted to the user. Stacks of momentum are gained at intervals of five miles per hour.]

  [ Hydrophobic: water based liquid will bead up and slide off this duster keeping the wearer dry and clean. Five percent damage reduction to certain water based magic. This damage reduction does not applied to water based spells that have been transformed into ice.]

  [Self repair: this duster will repair minor cosmetic damage.]

  What does the interface identify as minor cosmetic damage? I thought to myself and as far as I could tell all the holes and rips I got yesterday were gone so I was happy enough. I piled some wood onto last night's camp fire and used Malice like an expensive light to get the flames going. I sat there and babied the fledgling fire for a while. Dougelee was the first to be up. He was attracted to the smell of breakfast. Soon after him the two girls came out of their tent. Each and every single one of my teammates looked like shit they were clearly not morning people. Everyone sat around the fire and I handed out breakfast. It was a simple breakfast, some plain oatmeal with bread and some cheese everyone dug in.

  “ Hey Rin?” I looked up from my bowl of oatmeal as Liliandra spoke. “I have been wondering. Where did you learn to fight? Like yesterday you were able to keep up with the three of us yet you only started training…what two weeks ago?” Sophia nodded her agreement. Her mouth was full so she didn't talk.

  “Yeah I was actually wondering the same thing. On your first day of school you beat me and my brothers in a fight. Now I can understand my brothers there a bit.” Dougelee paused and abandoned that train of thought.” Anyways you fight like you've been an adventurer for years.”

  “ Well there are only two ways to ever leave the block you grew up in; the first way is to become an adventurer. It's rare but a lot of people where I am from have that dream and I was no exception. When I was. I think in middle school I asked my dad to sign me up to be an adventurer but we couldn't afford to send me to the surface and train at one of the academy’s so my dad signed me up for military school. He figured it was a win-win. I get a free education and a place to help me work through my anger issues . The second way of leaving I mentioned is to join the city's military and a lot of men and women go that route and since the schooling is free sometimes it's just easier. I went there till my parents died. I was giving combat training. Taught how to use a gun and basic hand to hand combat. The advanced combat class I'm in has helped.” I went back to eating my food.

  “oh we could tell you got an anger issue.” Sophia murmured. I glared at her

  “Wait, if you were in the military school, why didn't you just join them?”Dougelee asked and I sighed.

  “Dougelee did you not hear I always dreamed of being an adventurer? Why would I join the military if my goal was to be an adventurer?” I said

  “ Yeah I did. Call me Douge by the way you can say Dougelee if my brothers are around.”

  “ When a citizen can't pay their taxes they are kicked out of all publicly funded programs and when my parents died. I couldn't pay my own taxes since I was fourteen.” I gripped my spoon hard remembering when the tax collectors showed up to my parents home. They had demanded I pay taxes for the death of my mother and father as well as an independent living tax. “I ended up getting a job and I worked my butt off until Valder found me and dragged me here.” I held my bowl out to Douge for him to take. I had lost my appetite.

  “ If I'm being honest, that's partially just an excuse. I probably would have been kicked out if I stayed longer. After my parents passed away I got into a lot of fights with the kids at my school.” Everyone went silent besides Douge he was devouring my bowl of oatmeal.

  “ Let's get ready for the day guys. We need to pack up and attack that nest.”

  Before we packed up camp, we all got to work on our own dedicated training. Sophia let me borrow her sword while she meditated with Liliandra. Douge was excited, wrapping a length of rope around the scabbard and the handguard of his sword to keep them in place. I followed his example doing the same.

  “ This sparring match will be solely about sword skill. It will be good for me to gauge how good you are with a sword and see where I can help you improve.” Douge moved to a ring he made with all our gear placing his sword out in front of him. I stepped in and gave him a nod. This felt surreal. Two weeks ago I was in the hospital. Now I'm outside the city in a place I never could have imagined. Two weeks for my whole life to change. Douge attacked and I blocked. Our scabbard rattled as they made contact. I quickly counterattacked with a rapid set of swings. Douge blocked them all I could feel my strength overpowering him. He realized fast that he was not going to win in a contest of pure strength. A simple turn of the wrist turned my powerful attack against the momentum to send my sword away from him. He would try to counter attack me but I would quickly recover. Attacking him to keep up the pressure. Douge could do nothing but defend and deflect then it happened. Douge deflect my blade down as he dragged his up along the scabbard not giving me a chance to recover. His scabbard was at my throat in half a second. The both of us breathed heavily. It had only been a few minutes but sweat was dripping from the both of us. The sweat stung my eyes and I smiled stepping away from Douge as I wiped the sweat away. I only made it worse.

  “ That was good. Your strikes had some real power behind them and they were fast. But they were predictable. There was no real variation. All I had to do was wait you out.” He handed me a towel from the side of the ring. He was panting like I was but he didn't seem as tired.

  “ It was like you were performing the three basic kata’s over and over. Don't get me wrong they were executed excellently however, against the real opponent or even a more intelligent monster then these Beadbiters lose control of the fight like you did here.” I simply nodded. My mouth was dry and I needed some water without thinking, I used my inventory to pull out a bottle of water and drink it Douge looked at me quizzically but didn't comment on it.

  “ Me and Sophia will train you when we can. I suggest once we may get back to the academy you ask your advanced combat teacher to train you more in the way of the sword. I know they prefer to teach hand-to-hand martial arts for way too long.” Douge and I sat down against a section of the alcove, our backs against the cold wall. I offered him the water bottle and he took it.

  “ You know Douge You're not as much of an asshole as I first thought you were. Still a dick and a bully.” I said.

  “ I know.” There was an uncomfortable amount of silence before Douge spoke again. “ I want to apologize to you and Kenji. I'm not going to apologize for the hostility I showed you when we met by the fountain. I saw the look in your eyes when you were about to cave my brother's head in. An anger issue isn't an excuse for almost killing somebody, even if they wronged someone you know.”

  “ Yeah.” I nodded

  “ I really shouldn't have pushed Kenji like that. I know it's wrong for me and my brothers to extort people and threaten. But but Fuck! My brothers are just so dumb. I worry about them, you know? I'm the oldest so I need to take care of them.” Douge said.

  “ But aren't you guys like twins? Or something.” I took the bottle back and it was now empty so I tossed it back into my inventory.

  “ Triplets we are triplets. And it's not by much. I was the first born and by all legal terms whether it was by a few seconds or a few minutes. I'm still the firstborn child of the Vlounderparts and that comes with certain responsibilities. As we grew up, I quickly realized that the three of us were different and perhaps in some misguided attempt to help them. I saw teaching them how to manipulate and control people as a way for them to be able to get by in this world. After our fight I had time in the infirmary to do some thinking and I thought maybe I'm hurting them more than I'm actually helping.” Douge sighed looking down at some rocks between his legs he flicked one and it barely rolled.

  “ If you're doing everything for them and then they're never going to grow, they're going to sit comfortably and let their big brother take care of them. My father used to always tell me you can't help those who won't help themselves and I think that applies here. Your attempt to help them has had the opposite effect. They haven't had to struggle I bet. And we as humans.” I looked over at Liliandra who was still meditating. “ Uhh intelligent species. Need to struggle. It helps us learn and grow. That's something I have learned time and time again.”

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  “ I see what you're saying. When we get back to the academy I'm going to try to let them do things on their own. If they fail their classes, then that's on them. I know this didn't really sound like an apology.” Douge said with a laugh. “ But I hope you accept it. Now enough of this sappy shit back into the ring.”

  Douge and I kept sparring. He would periodically stop us and teach me a new position or show me how to transfer from one kata to another making sword play more complex and harder to predict. Eventually Sophia joined the two of us. She without mercy beat the ever living day lights out of me. A smug grin played across her face the first time she won. I could feel my anger boiling over as she would without holding back. Hit me in the head, arms, shoulders, stomach and legs. Leaving large bruises and welts. As I grew angrier and angrier, my sword technique suffered. I had to step to the side and take deep calming breaths so I wouldn't blow up at her. Liliandra was still sitting by her tent, meditating. Deciding to join her I sat down. I didn't meditate myself. I saw no point to it.

  As I sat there watching Douge and Sophia spar, a strange pressure emanated from Liliandra. It came in waves gently pushing against my senses before pulling back. It reminded me of that strange feeling I got from Valder. His was a constant pressure one that felt strong and imposing. The pressure that I had felt from Liliandra had a calming feeling to it and every time it gently pressed against my senses. Like a gentle Summer breeze, I felt soothed. The anger I felt earlier was still there but it felt manageable.

  “Hey Liliandra, what exactly are you doing?” I found myself asking. I felt bad interrupting her the moment her concentration broke. I could feel that pressure pop and disappear.

  “ I'm practicing my mana control. I'm slowly gathering it all into one point in my body and trying to push it out. Then I try to pull it back in and reconsolidate it.” I looked at her with a puzzled look. This got a small snicker from her and prompted her to continue explaining.

  “ I suppose having grown up in a block you would never have met somebody with an aura.”

  “ Aura?” I asked.

  “ Think of it as concentrated mana, highly skilled individuals can project it forming a sort of barrier around themselves. This is a technique You really only see at City rank and above. Monsters of that level have a natural aura that protects them and in order for an adventurer to hurt them that adventurer has to be able to project their Aura enough to cover their body and weapon. That way the two cancel each other out. If the aura is strong enough, the projection can reach other people and impart some sort of buff or debuff. It can even be used to attack if you have enough mana. Douge's roar that grabs the attention of the monster is a good example; it doesn't exactly hurt, but it grabs the attention of nearby monsters.”

  This feels like another disadvantage for me once I reach monsters that are City rank. How am I going to fight them? Would malice be strong enough or is this a roadblock that has me dead in the water.

  “ You should meditate with me. It's good to get a head start on practicing and using your mana in this way is a great way to expand your mana reservoir.”

  “ Maybe another time it looks like Sophia is done with Douge and wants to leave.”

  We left the alcove shortly after packing up everything from our campsite. Douge left a small hole in the wall he made so we could leave. There were less Beadbiters on the way to their nest; we only encountered a handful of them. The fights were easier than yesterday and we had made good time. The Beadbiter nest was a large cave. stalactites and stalagmites grew from the entrance of the cave creating an appearance not too dissimilar to the Beadbiters themselves. Douge and I were the first to enter with Liliandra behind us and Sophia bringing up the rear. We squeezed past the stalagmites to enter the cave. Horrid sounds came from deeper in. It was a symphony of screeches and growling. Occasionally we would hear a loud splashing. The inside of the cave was cold and damp with the scent of rotting corpses. It was surprisingly bright as small rays of like whined in through pinholes that lead up to the surface.The further in we walked the more pungent the smell became. The cave had a multitude of branching passes however thanks to Liliandra’s keen sense of smell she was able to guide us down the right ones. Douge took the time to carve an arrow into the cave wall that would point us to the exit every time we went down another hallway.

  “I think the nest is just up ahead. It smells putrid.” Liliandra was holding her nose as she spoke, her ears were plastered back against her head.

  “ I'll scout ahead then.” I volunteered but Sophia shook her head in disagreement.

  “ No, I'm fast. If I get caught or surrounded, I.”

  “ Rin should do it Sophia” Douge interrupted her. “ You are the team leader so we can't put you in danger. And I would put my money on Rin actually being faster than you.” Sophia scowled at Douge.

  “ When did you come to believe in him so much?” Sophia said.

  “ When we talked to him, I mean actually talked.” Liliandra said.

  “ You two Liliandra?” Sophia sounded hurt as she sighed. “ Okay Rin don't screw this up” I gave her a quick head nod with a thumbs up before I dashed down the hall.

  Liliandra was right. Beadbiters were clustered together bathing in the rays of sunlight that made it through the cave. There had to be thirty of the monsters. My hand drifted to malice. I could overclock and send in a powerful fireball I beat. I could kill them all in one shot. My fingers danced over malice as I contemplated. No, these are my teammates. I shouldn't betray their trust. I watched the Beadbiters as they lazily moved over one another. My eyes slowly drifted to a large mass on the far side. It was a pile of rotting flesh and bones. The cave floor beneath was melted and just added to the rotted mess. Time for me to go. I slowly turned around ready to sprint back. A gaping maw stared me right in the face. My heart pounded inside my chest. It felt like it wanted to escape more than I did. I wrinkled my nose at the putrid stench. Globs of acid dripped off the teeth and onto the rock below sizzling as it melted. This was not a Beadbiter. The monster was very similar to its brother but it stood up on two legs, its body was lined with five sets of arms each one had large claws as big as my forearm. The monster must have been newly formed the normal scales and leathery hide that covered the Biters body was replaced with pink fleshy skin still wet and sticky steam rose off the Runners body.

  “Heyyy” I said. The monster tilted its head and screamed. The mass of beadbiters responded. their screams echoing off the cave walls. I could feel blood dripping down my ears. I pulled malice and shoved the ebony barrel into the Beaded runner's mouth.

  “Shut up dude.” I pulled the trigger and a blade of ice formed impaling the monster. Its body quickly froze and then shattered. The path now clear, I ran back to everyone, the horde of beadbiters hot on my tail. I heard Douge before I saw him, his heavy armor echoing off the cave walls as he ran.

  “ What happened Rin?!” Sophia yelled behind him.

  “ I counted about thirty Beadbiters while I was watching them. A Beaded runner came up behind me.” I ran past Douge sliding to a stop and turning around. “ Douge make a palisade and angle it at forty-five degrees”

  “This isn't good. Liliandra set up a ritual to cast a massive shield. The Beaded Runner might blitz past Douge’s defense so we need to be prepared.” Sophia's response was quick and concise, Lilandra clearly in a panic grabbed the pouch she had filled with her iron and dropped it. The powdery dust spilled out across the cave floor.

  “I killed the Runner!I think it was fresh from its evolution so it was pretty weak!” I had to shout as the sound of the on coming wave of Beadbiters grew louder as they got closer. I did not hear what Sophia said next as the wave hit Douge’s palisade. screaming ripped threw my body as the first Beadbiters to make contact with the palisade got violently pushed into the spikes. Their bodies creating a platform for those behind them to climb over. I started rapid firing, sending slugs of ice into their bodies. They were too close to Douge for me to shoot an icy star unless I wanted to risk hitting him. Portions of their body began to freeze over. Liliandra had given up with her ritual and was now sending out blades of wind indiscriminately; they would occasionally hit frozen body parts, shattering them but not killing the Beadbiter. Douge screamed as a Beadbiter latched onto his sword arm. He tossed his sword to the other hand and impaled the Beadbiter in the chest with an underhand stab the monster screamed in pain releasing Douge’s arm. In that exact moment Sophia stabbed out into thin air a spear of flames spat out piercing the Beadbiter leaving a large smoldering hole in its corpse. My initial count must have been wrong. I could see more and more BeadBiters climbing over Douge’s Palisade two to three at a time.

  Throbbing pain emanated from don't worry the base of my neck and interface window appeared.

  [Skill: mark of the void. has reacted to spatial anomaly.]

  [Note: the user of this interface has been granted temporary and limited use of skill:mark of the void.]

  What the hell a spatial anomaly I don't have time for this. A beadbiter spit out a glob of acid at me and a well placed slug of ice froze the acid in place. Another leaped at me only to be cleaved in half by a blade of obsidian as I switched elemental shells.

  [ WARNING:Tear detected Quad element rift generation imminent. :WARNING]

  A timer appeared in my vision and started counting down starting at two minute.What in the hell is a rift that was not covered in class. Sophia would know however.

  “Sophia! We need to run! a rift is beginning to form” I maneuvered myself close to her. The horde of beadbiters kept growing.

  “ Are you acting like a cowered Rin! Running away would only give them time to regroup and rebuild their strength!.” She shot out a ball of fire that crossed paths with Liliandra's torrent spell turning it into a minute flame tornado sweeping up two Beadbiters. Everyone was already looking tired having expanded mana at an unsustainable rate. It felt foolish to continue fighting strange warnings or not. We should not stay. Liliandra slumped over barely holding onto her staff. The fur across her face was matted down with sweat.

  “ Sophia.” Liliandra gasped for air as she smacked a Beadbiter with her staff. I grabbed the monster as it recoiled back using all my strength to toss it at another Beadbiter that was attacking Douge. I used Malice to create a large spear made of quartz to pin both the Beadbiters. Douge Swifty finished them off slowly moving his way back to the rest of us.

  “ Sophia as team leader I will defer the decision to you; however I think it's a wise choice to listen when a team member wants to flee.” Douge spoke through ragged breaths. The timer continued to count down. One minute left.

  “ We were given this contract by the founder. He knows better than us and if he thinks we can complete this contract. Then we will.” Sophia said. This seemingly absolute trust it's going to get us killed. Valder was already the base for Sophia's inherent dislike of me but thinking his decisions could be infallible was maddening.

  “ That is the dumbest, most idiotic thing I have heard from you! Valder is just a human he doesn't have any form of omniscience so he has no way of knowing that there would be a never ending horde of these fucking things and I'm sure if he did some how know he would tell you know your limits! Now I don't know what the hell a rift is but we need to get out of here before it forms!” I yelled at Sophia. The timer ticked down to thirty seconds and started flashing red. A new window appeared.

  [ Skill: mark of the void has reacted to the newly forming rift. Mark of the void has created a mana stable environment around the user.]

  Sophia's face went red with anger.

  “How can you disrespect the fou.” The timer hit zero and the world around us shattered with a very audible crack. Sophia stopped mid sentence a mixture of worry and instant regret played across her face. I wish I could say I felt satisfaction in seeing her regret but all I could feel was anger.