Chapter 18: The Rift's Reckoning
Ryo Aelren stood in the shadowed corner of Varnholt's Adventurer's Guild, his steel short sword sheathed at his hip, its weight a steady anchor. The thirty-two silvers in his pouch were a fortune for a former porter, but the Rift Memory's latest vision—a council of ancients forging the System, a betrayal sealing their doom—burned brighter. The System's voice thundered in his mind: The archive reveals. The cracked mana crystal in his pouch pulsed, its rune-like glow a beacon to the Rift's heart. With Rift Memory Progress: 10/Unknown, Ryo was no longer chasing survival—he was chasing truth.
The guild hall hummed with tension. Adventurers whispered of collapsing Rift branches, surging mana, and the guild's crackdown on "rogue elements." Gav's accusations had spread, painting Ryo as a catalyst for the surges. Calen's team—Mira, Brom, Elara, Jorik—was his shield, but Veyra's vanishing act with the rune stone left a void of questions. Her words—The archive's truth is near—echoed, a promise and a threat.
Ryo's Status Screen glowed, a map of his ascent:
*Name: Ryo Aelren
Level: 2
Class: None
Stats:
Strength: 5
Agility: 7 (+15% in combat, Survival Instinct)
Endurance: 6
Mana: 0
Skills:
Survival Instinct (Passive): Boosts agility by 10-15% when threatened.
Basic Strike (Active): Increases single-target attack damage by 6%.
Danger Sense (Passive): Heightens awareness of imminent threats.
Weak Point Strike (Active): Increases damage to vital areas by 11%.
Rift Sense (Passive): Detects Rift-based anomalies.
Experience: 200/300
Rift Memory: 10/Unknown*
Level 2 had honed his body, but Rift Sense was his guide, tying him to the runes, the archive, the System's origins. The Rift Memory's visions—of a civilization lost to betrayal, its power bound to the Rift—suggested the System was no accident. Ryo's scars ached, each one a step toward answers. But the guild's eyes were closing in, and Gav's venom was only the start.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder, and Danger Sense flared. Ryo spun, hand on his sword, to face a towering man in guild-issued plate armor. His badge marked him as a Rank A officer—Dren, the guild's enforcer. His cold eyes locked onto Ryo. "You're the porter," he said, his voice like gravel. "Come with me. Now."
Ryo's Rift Sense hummed, sensing no immediate threat but a deeper danger. "Why?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral.
"Questions," Dren said. "Your name's on too many reports. Runes, relics, surges. Move."
Calen appeared, his scarred face tense. "He's with my team, Dren. What's this about?"
"Guild business," Dren snapped. "Stay out of it, or you're next." He gestured to two armored guards, their hands on swords.
Ryo's Danger Sense spiked, but fighting here was suicide. He nodded to Calen, signaling compliance, and followed Dren to a back room. The guards flanked the door, and Dren leaned forward, his presence suffocating. "You're no Awakened," he said. "Yet you're surviving Rank A missions, spotting runes no one else sees. Explain."
Ryo's mind raced. The Rift Memory, the System—they were his, not the guild's. "Instinct," he said, echoing his old lie. "I see patterns. That's all."
Dren's eyes narrowed. "Gav says you're tied to the surges. Veyra's name keeps coming up too. Speak, or we'll lock you down."
Danger Sense screamed as Dren's hand drifted to his sword. Ryo's Survival Instinct hummed, ready to act, but a knock interrupted. A clerk poked his head in. "Urgent mission, sir. Rank A, Rift core destabilization. Calen's team is assigned, and they need the kid."
Dren cursed but waved Ryo out. "This isn't over." Ryo left, heart pounding, and found Calen waiting. "What was that?" Ryo asked.
"Trouble," Calen said. "Guild's scared, and you're their scapegoat. This mission's your chance to prove them wrong. Rank A, core neutralization, eighty silvers. Deep branch, high risk. You in?"
Ryo's Rift Sense roared, the voice clear: The archive's heart calls. The core could unlock more of the Rift Memory. "I'm in," he said. "Veyra?"
"Not this time," Calen said. "Just us—Mira, Brom, Elara, Jorik, you. Rift Gate, dusk. Gear up."
Ryo spent ten silvers on a steel helm, its weight grounding, leaving twenty-two. At dusk, the team gathered, their faces grim. Mira's bow was taut, Brom's satchel heavy, Elara's staff glowing, and Jorik's spear gleamed. Calen's scar was stark. "Core's in a fortress," he said. "Rank A Riftspawn, maybe worse. Neutralize it, get out. No heroics."
The portal opened, revealing a Rift branch of jagged obsidian and glowing storms. The fortress loomed, its rune-covered walls pulsing like a heartbeat. Rift Sense screamed, guiding Ryo past mana traps. The voice thundered: The heart is near. The team moved silently, but the air crackled with danger.
Inside the fortress, the core—a massive rune-etched sphere—pulsed in a vast hall. Guarding it was a Rank A Riftspawn: a titan of crystal and shadow, its form a shifting mass of spikes and eyes. Calen charged, his sword sparking. Jorik's spear pierced an eye, Mira's arrows sought weak points, and Elara's lightning cracked. Brom's ward held, but the titan's spikes tore through, grazing Mira's arm.
Ryo's Survival Instinct boosted his agility by 15%, and he flanked the titan, Weak Point Strike targeting a glowing crystal in its chest. His steel sword cracked it, drawing a shudder. Experience gained. Level 2: 250/300. The titan roared, its eyes locking onto Ryo. Danger Sense screamed, and he dodged a spike, its edge grazing his helm.
"Ryo, the core!" Calen shouted, parrying a spike. Ryo sprinted to the sphere, Rift Sense locking onto a central rune. He struck with Weak Point Strike, the blade shattering it. The core dimmed, and the titan faltered. Rift Memory Progress: 11/Unknown. The voice roared: The heart speaks.
The titan swung, its spike grazing Ryo's vest. Pain flared, but he stood firm, landing another Weak Point Strike on its core. Elara's spell and Jorik's spear finished it, and the hall shook. Experience gained. Level Up! Level 3 Achieved. Strength +1, Agility +1, Endurance +1. New Skill Unlocked: Rift Pulse (Active). Emits a mana pulse to disrupt Rift-based entities.
Ryo's body surged, his muscles tightening, senses sharper. Level 3. The Rift Pulse skill hummed, a new weapon. The fortress crumbled, and Calen yelled, "Portal!" They fled, diving through as the branch collapsed.
In Varnholt, the guild paid eighty silvers, Ryo's share twenty, bringing his total to forty-two. Calen grabbed his shoulder. "You're a damn miracle, kid. But Dren's waiting. Stay with us."
Ryo nodded, his mind on the Rift Memory. The vision clarified: the ancients' System was a seal, broken by betrayal, now waking. Rift Pulse could unlock more. The guild, Gav, Dren, Veyra—the Rift's heart was his path, and Ryo Aelren would carve it with his steel sword, Level 3 his new strength.
To be continued…
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