Waking up the next day, Matthew felt a jumble of emotions. Relief washed over him—his family was safe—but it quickly morphed into guilt. He thought about his own dangers but never even considered the risk his family could have been in.

The guilt gnawed at him as he felt his mind spiral into self-doubt. "Can I even do this?" Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he decided he wouldn't dwell. He needed to act.

He reached around himself and felt his back; realizing the pain was gone, he quickly unwrapped the gauze around his chest and put on his clothes.

Matthew didn't know if he should trust the voice he heard last night, but he was unwilling to take that chance. "For now," he thought. "For now, I have no choice but to do what the new Karen asks."

With a new sense of determination, he strode out of the inn. It was about midday, the sun already high in the sky. He hoped he still had time.

Matthew jogged into the Adventurer's Guild, glancing around. James was nowhere to be found. He raced up to Angie. "Where is James?"

Angie quickly indicated to the garage. "He is about to leave. If you hurry, you should be able to catch him."

Matthew bolted out and spotted them just getting into a wagon. He ran up and called out. "Hey James, take me with you."

Surprised, James turned, confused, "Matthew? Why are you here? Never mind that; why do you want to go with us all of a sudden?"

Matthew felt his mind scream to let go and stop adventuring forever, but then a single memory of his family emerged, and he felt his determination solidify. He said, "I need to get stronger."

James looked disappointed, but Matthew continued, "It's not just about strength, James. There are people... people I need to protect."

James still didn't look convinced, but Caden, who was already in the wagon, called out, "There isn't any real danger to our quest today. Why not let him join?"

James hesitantly stepped inside, reaching out to help Matthew. "I hope I don't regret this."

Matthew felt the stress leave him as they set off. After they had left the town, he asked, "Hey James, whatever happened to the wolf?"

James's shoulders visibly sagged as he spoke. "I had the choice to run and chase it or stay by your side; when you are the team leader, that isn't a choice; I let it escape for now."

The silence stretched for a long time till Dekker excitedly started talking. "This will be my first time seeing a collapsing world. I can't wait!"

Matthew didn't find the sound of that appealing at all. Instead, it sent a shiver down his spine, he said. "That doesn't sound good."

Dekker almost stood up as he explained. "You have no idea! The world has too much energy. These collapsing worlds are full of wild energy! Dangerous, yeah, but think of the possibilities!"

This made Matthew feel worse, and he reconsidered. "Is this life really for me?" still not feeling convinced. He asked, "Is that safe? That doesn't sound safe."

Dekker deflated a little and shook his head. "It isn't, at least not for us. We are still too weak. These apertures have stronger items but also a lot stronger enemies, but we can still investigate their strength without going in." Then Dekker's smile returned. "Doesn't stop it from being fun, though!"

James nodded. "A traveler found the aperture we are investigating today; nobody on this team will be entering."

Once they arrived, Matthew got out of the wagon and stretched. In the distance, he could see an arch seemingly made of black stone with an orange hue emanating from it. "Why did we not get closer?" He questioned.

James sighed. "Believe me, I would love to, but it causes issues with anything that holds energy, like the wagon, so we keep it far away."

They started walking closer, and Matthew could begin to see what was causing the orange hue. The dark arch was oozing an orange liquid from between cracks in the rocks; the orange liquid was being sucked into a portal swirling in and around in a whirlpool-like effect.

Matthew walked around the archway, surprised that this spiral-like portal was flat as a disk, almost like a floating plate held in midair. The ground around the arch was cracked black stone, and the flowing grass that had once been there looked black as if it were charred.

Walking around it, he heard the sound of the dead grass crunching with each footfall. With each breeze, heat would blow out of the portal, accompanied by the strong smell of sulfur. He could feel a pull to the portal, a distant call to touch it, like if he touched it, his worries would disappear.

That feeling concerned him, so he kept his distance from the portal. However, he felt his heart quicken as Caden reached out toward it, a sudden jolt of panic shooting through him.

Matthew felt time slow as his breath caught in his throat. The portal seemed to hum in time with his heartbeat.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

His mind raced. "Don't do it! I can't lose more people!" he felt frozen, unable to utter a word.

The portal seemed to glow like a monster luring Caden into its lair.

Matthew's eyes were locked onto him as his hand inched closer.

Just in time, James's voice cut through the air like a whip: "DON'T TOUCH THAT!"

Caden, surprised, fell backward hard and looked at James, his face read shock as he looked at his own hand. He stammered. "I-I'm sorry, that was careless."

Everyone turned to James. He had a worried look on his face, but he sighed as he explained, "If you'd touched that aperture, Caden, you'd have been dead in seconds. Don't ever be that reckless again. We can't afford mistakes like that."

Matthew looked back at the almost peaceful swirling of the spinning disk as James continued.

"Focus on the aperture; you will see that this is a tier 1 to 2 portal, which means if you aren't at least tier 1, your likelihood of surviving is none.

Matthew focused on the aperture, watching as a small box appeared inside it.

World aperture

Tier 1 to 2

Time till collapse 5 days

Dekker muttered while noting something. "Only five days till it closes off, tier 1 to 2," he said, finishing stashing the pad away before speaking to everyone. "The report is done. We should head back sooner rather than later. It breaks down quickly, so they will want to dispatch adventurers soon."

Matthew was trying to wrap his mind around this world, so he asked Dekker, "Hey, this may be a stupid question, but what are tiers?"

Dekker glanced in his direction, giving him an odd look before asking, "Have you heard of awakening?" Matthew nodded. Well, awakening happens every five levels and are what we categorize as tiers: levels 1 to 4 are tier zero, 5 to 9 are tier one, etcetera."

As Dekker explained, Matthew continued to walk around the portal. He could almost feel the power flowing out of it.

"The reason for these distinctions is that at every fifth level, you gain a new ability; that isn't the best part, though; you as a person grow slightly stronger, faster, and even more durable. Sadly, milestones past tier 1 are more difficult to find, which is why this collapsing world will be a big deal."

On the way back, Matthew thought about the aperture: "I'm even weaker than Caden; if I had touched that aperture, would I have died even quicker?"

Then a jarring thought crossed his mind: "That aperture, they said, is in another world. Would I respawn if I died there?" This thought gave him goosebumps, and the idea wouldn't leave his mind. Eventually, the town came into view, and he was thankful for the distraction.

Matthew had never seen so many running adults or adults filled with so much excitement before. They had walked into the Adventurer's Guild and immediately b-lined to the front desk, even cutting in line ahead of people. James gave their report, and the whole guild was immediately in uproar.

"I think they are happy," Matthew muttered as the boisterous men ran around, yelling at each other to gather gear and get prepared.

Then, above everyone's noise, a booming voice yelled downwards at them. A man was standing on top of a three-step platform. The man wore golden gear seemingly glowing in the light; he had a large sword like Caden's strapped to his back.

"I see we have another aperture to clear. As the Adventurers Guild leader, I want to remind you to be safe. This is a tier 1 to 2 aperture, so many of you may be underpowered. Remember, above all other rewards and money you can make, none of it matters if you're dead!"

With that, a loud cheer exploded. A few moments passed before it died down, and the man spoke again. "We will be leaving today. The time limit in the world is five days. If you are ready, get out there and make the rest of us in Phinard proud!"

Another round of hollering, yelling, and cheering erupted before quickly dying down as the hustle and bustle returned.

Matthew saw Angie putting up a new poster on the wall and walked over. The poster contained the information that the man had just yelled out. "Hey, Angie, is there anything I can do to help?"

After finishing, she smiled at him. "No, you did a nice job with the quest today. Oh, that reminds me. Make sure you pick up your reward for completing your quests before leaving."

James walked up beside him. "Dekker and I are about to head out for dinner. Would you like to join us? It's my treat."

Like a hammer hitting his stomach, Matthew realized he hadn't eaten that day, so they walked over to Angie and collected their earnings.

Everyone collected theirs, and then it was Matthew's turn. She counted out the money. "You earned five iron coins for completing the wolf quest, and the surveying quest earned you seven iron coins, so one silver and two iron; here you go." She handed them over. They were pretty. The coin displayed a top-down view of the town. It was highly detailed, and you could even see the three roads leading out.

On the other side of the coin was what looked like a map of the surroundings, with the town's location on it.

Dekker looked at him, staring at the coin, and took it upon himself to explain. "Isn't it cool? Even the coins can be useful for something other than currency; these can be used as a map if you really need them."

Matthew wondered how efficient it was to mint them and asked, "Does every town have its own map or print on it?"

Dekker raised his eyebrows. "Nope, but many smaller towns decide to mint their own. Since bringing in coins can lead to a logistic nightmare, they do still have to keep careful inventory of what they create."

"I guess that makes sense," Matthew said.

In the market, they had sat closer to the edge. It was oddly quiet, with as many adventurers gone to explore the aperture. James sat across from him, and Dekker was to his right. Caden had to go home. They had decided to eat what looked like a burrito, covered with breading and deep-fried.

It tasted heavenly. Biting into it, the breading made the perfect crunch; the juices from the meat and beans flowed into Matthew's mouth. He could easily taste the sweet, Smokey flavor mixing with a cooling taste. The dish had the perfect amount of spice for him, and it reminded Matthew of when his mom just found out about Jalapeño powder.

It had been a daunting few months, each day leading to a meal that would cleanse your body; with how much spice was in there, you may think she was trying to exorcise a demon. "We weren't that bad of children, right?" Matthew smiled at the memory. He idly wondered if he could ever go back to when spicy food was his largest worry.

Matthew was abruptly ripped from his daydreaming by coughing and sputtering from around the table. It looked as if Dekker and James were trying a new dance that incorporated a lot of flapping and a ton of milk flying everywhere. To Matthew, the food was hot, but it was alright.

He sighed, trying to distract himself and the others. "You will get used to it eventually; just bear with me." Dekker ran out of milk and just sat there panting. Matthew, trying to take their minds off the food, started asking them questions. "So, why did you both decide to become adventurers?"

Dekker didn't need any time to think and said, "To satiate my curiosity and boredom, this job as an adventurer is the only one that I have found that knowledge can be as strong of a weapon as a well-placed sword. How you strategize and prepare for a quest can be the difference between returning home or not. I find that fun and thrilling."

James's face was still red, but after Dekker finished, he also said in a low, controlled voice, "For some of us, it's all we have. When they arrive, some people will have others who will support them or see their abilities and help them grow. Then, some of us are stuck alone and have to find a way to make money. Believe me, after years of jumping from job to job just trying to find your way, the dangerous life of an adventurer starts to look appealing."

Matthew felt the air grow heavy and tried to lead the conversation again. "What usually happens when an aperture appears?"

This seemed to excite James, and he said, "The collapsing world gives many people a chance to grow stronger by collecting more milestones, but it also allows them to collect stronger items. What we have seen in the past is an influx of old and new gear for the market."

James paused, taking a bite of his food before waving at his mouth again; Dekker continued for him. "I'm going to buy new gear for myself when this influx appears. This is a tier 1 to 2 aperture, so many of these people will sell their tier one gear once they reach tier 2. The market will be saturated, and most will be pre-owned, so they will have to sell it at a heavy discount."

Matthew thought this made sense; he asked, "I heard you mention that adventurers make a lot of money. How much in comparison to normal people?"

James, finally coming down from his spice high, answered. "Normally, people can earn about 5 iron coins for a day's work, that is only for jobs that don't require much training or schooling, but that is also the starting pay of adventurers; why adventurers can earn more is that the amount they earn goes up exponentially as they get stronger if you find the right person you can sell a tier 1 mile stone for a silver, and that doesn't even include the quest reward."

"Wow," Matthew said. He took the last bite of his food and looked at the others. They looked worse than after their quest. It almost looked like they were crossing over into the light.

Dekker looked down at his half-eaten burrito and squinted. "I'm not finishing this tonight; it may finish me, though. I'm going home for the day, and I feel like I'll visit the toilet often tonight."

James put his hand on Dekker's shoulder, sharing a weird moment, and they both set off for the day, leaving Matthew sitting there confused.