All the expedition fronts had come back, nearly all deployed patrollers had been called back, and no one was leaving.
Rune had thought about showing his “against society” vibes, but even he didn’t want to leave so near to the event that would irreversibly change the current social order.
He remembered what Mr. Finley had hinted at when he got to know about the Heaven’s Rift, so he knew that everyone would be able to find their own place soon, even if they didn’t know it was their place.
Two weeks into the last month, the 4th stage intent he had been working on had been going smoothly.
He felt he could continue working on it endlessly, but life always finds a way to disrupt your carefully planned schedule of doing nothing as Astryde came to fetch him to fill another dome.
He had only left 2 times in 2 weeks, and the two were because going to the cultural event was a pleasure for him.
The surprise he felt each time he got out was a little added bonus, the living area had kept transforming and was hosting at least 500 persons, it was a sight to behold, but he quickly got over it and went to sit in the newly emptied dome.
After that, he decided to fill his mastery slots that he had been procrastinating to do.
First, he filled his cohesion infusion, then he gained the 3 provided energy compression masteries he had started to level up before, then he added a further 2, and to round up his build, he took 2 body control provided masteries, completely pasted from the 2 basic ones he used previously.
Afterward, he enjoyed the benefits of having a free-fight area where anyone entering could fight to dish it out with willing people who also wanted to punch, kick, or energy beam other willing people.
He also saw Lounae passing by in the living area, she didn’t seem lost and after going to drink at an available hastily built tavern imitation, she went to the single star dome.
For 10 hours, Rune got a semblance of wilderness-level fighting, with the sometimes endless waves of monsters coming to assault him.
Exiting after this very intense session, he was welcomed with something that touched upon his first passion, adventuring.
*Ding* Energy Compression: Provided Energy Armor reached Tier 1 Level 29
*Ding* Energy Compression: Provided Energy Defense reached Tier 1 Level 29
*Ding* Energy Compression: Provided Energy Structure reached Tier 1 Level 29
*Ding* Energy Compression: Provided Energy Dampening reached Tier 1 Level 1
*Ding* Energy Compression: Provided Quick Compression reached Tier 1 Level 1
*Ding* Body Control: Provided Humanoid Body reached Tier 1 Level 1
*Ding* Body Control: Provided Prolonged Body Use reached Tier 1 Level 1
‘If I was going against my past self now, I would be beaten senseless.’
Self-deprecation aside, he opened his newly updated masteries window.
Masteries
Tier 1 Masteries
Physical Fundamental: Reinforcement: Tier 4 Level 30
Physical Fundamental: Fighting Instinct: Tier 4 Level 8
Physical Fundamental: Body Control: Tier 4 Level 9
Energy Fundamental: Fine Manipulation: Tier 4 Level 30
Energy Fundamental: Grand Manipulation: Tier 4 Level 30
Energy Fundamental: Energy Compression: Tier 4 Level 8
Spiritual Fundamental: Perception Control: Tier 4 Level 5
Spiritual Fundamental: Awareness Division: Tier 4 Level 29
Spiritual Fundamental: Momentum Manipulation: Tier 4 Level 5
Tier 2 Masteries
Energy: Specialized Cosmic Mist Element: Tier 2 Level 21
Cohesion: Specialized Cohesion Infusion: Tier 4 Level 8
Energy Compression: Provided Energy Armor: Tier 1 Level 29
Tier 3 Masteries
Energy Compression: Provided Energy Defense: Tier 1 Level 29
Energy Compression: Provided Energy Structure: Tier 1 Level 29
Energy Compression: Provided Energy Dampening: Tier 1 Level 1
Tier 4 Masteries
Energy Compression: Provided Quick Compression: Tier 1 Level 1
Body Control: Provided Humanoid Body: Tier 1 Level 1
Body Control: Provided Prolonged Body Use: Tier 1 Level 1
‘I think it’s time to become more involved? I want to join in as a random person, a simple spectator, that’s what I am!’
Now that he was out and he had used one week to fill a newly opened dome, got his adventuring masteries set up, and changed back to the correct mindset and physical shape, there was only a single week before the event started.
With only one week before the official opening of the prospects finding event, the tier 1 forest area that hosted the capital became a true swarm of activity.
If it wasn’t for the completely new circumstances having to do with settling and colonizing a new dimension, anyone would be tempted to say their society was on the eve of a revolution.
But no, it was just a massive gathering. A massive gathering with massive job opportunities.
Having decided to stop focusing on his intent or his masteries, he went to the central living area, more precisely, to its center, where hundreds of chaotically formed groups were discussing the latest news.
‘I’m just enjoying the benefits of my social-minded friends who planned for something that amazing to take place, that’s so thrilling!’
The Undecided Training Park had bet more on long-term potential, that’s why they had a relatively cheap monthly subscription fee of 1 000 000 EP.
Rune wasn’t versed enough in this subject to know how many pros and cons there were, but he rationalized it all by using simple multiplication. If the monthly subscription fee was double what it currently was, would their number of users be divided by 2?
And then he reasoned by changing the multiplier. What if the fee was multiplied by 10? They would need to have only a tenth of their current users to have the same result.
In the end, what he thought had no impact as he had nothing to do with the management, advertisement, and economy of the training park, so he found a lone table, got himself a drink, and started to listen.
“Mist dome…”
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“Cyclone…”
“Obstacle course…”
“Battery…”
“Sponsored Hero…”
“Lounae…”
“Utopia…”
“Little engineer…”
“Beyond…”
“Samurai Heart…”
“Eccentric segment…”
“Psycho…”
“Immortal…”
“Fairy Zero…”
More than one hundred groups were talking about their own things, and Rune only successfully understood one thing from all this mess.
‘The list of participants in different categories is available somewhere and there are some very serious contenders. Including multiple ones that are suspected of having reached beyond, and some nearly confirmed to have reached it.’
As a professional netizen lurker, his reflex was to search on the net, and a few seconds later, he found the official event website again, but this time it wasn’t asking him to participate, it only allowed him to look through the tens of different categories.
Navigating with what he just heard, he found the combat category, then selected “The Tournament”, and he got to the list of names he could hear people say in real-time not far from him.
With a single name above all the others, which he chose to expand, seeing all the info made public about him.
‘Samurai Heart, confirmed beyond sword-wielding, origin is a genius swordsman from the then iron-age era Eriosuo civilization, stood out during a war and elevated himself socially to become a protected and favored main actor by his kingdom.’
‘The advent of the Ether Law hadn’t stopped the war, even aggravating it, but he showed a completely inordinate power soon after becoming independent, becoming able to control the fate of his planet.’
And below that short biography was probably why he was classed so high.
‘Remarkable achievements, killed someone integrated with his avatar without being integrated himself, pioneered the long-range monsters anomaly, rescued a group of 3 prospects, slew a peak tier 4 monster…’
The more he read, the more agape Rune’s mouth became.
To search for comfort, he went to the second ranked person.
‘Fairy Zero, confirmed beyond ice element, origin is a vegetative patient of the IGS who awoke following… Remarkable achievements, pioneered eastern expedition front, main actor during the escape from a tier 5 monster, saving more than 500 persons, 54 prospects included…’
Then the third ranked person.
‘Psycho Addict, unknown but confirmed beyond, origin is the equivalent of an asylum in the modern era Brileria civilization, diagnosed with severe psychopathy, successfully restored his emotions and empathy to normal levels after intense awareness division training, paving the way for minor spiritual power at tier 1…’
Looking at the ranking, he saw the names he kept hearing and was still hearing even now like Little Engineer, Melter, Battery, Immortal, Wind Incarnate, Burnout, Sponsored Hero, Cyclone, Priestess, Magical Aria, and he checked everything out in order.
Each had a story dating back years, each had feats even he could only praise, each was worthy of becoming prospects even without any need for the event to happen, and though some of them had weird names, it wasn’t the main point at all.
‘What would be my name? Cosmic Mist? Lone Tinkerer? Asocial Undecided? Anyway, that’s some serious contenders there, and my past self from 5 minutes ago made this conclusion without having read this? He’s seriously amazing… I’m speechless!’
Continuing to read on the subject, he was happy to have been born to a normal average family in the IGS, he was even happier that his parents had been entertainment addicts and had drowned him in them so early in his life, disregarding his possible future as an asocial…
Well, he still ended up asocial, but no links could be established. Proofs were his twin little sisters and twin little brothers, they were simply socially adepts, the opposite of their socially inept big brother.
‘There’s even someone who has achieved small success on the engineer path in such a short time, no doubt that’s why he was named Little Engineer. So I’ll be able to see an amateur engineer fight? How many times will I be amazed today?!’
With just this ranking list of participants, Rune was pumped up and wanted to see some of them for real, so he couldn’t imagine what was currently happening in the west capital sector, the hosting place to the prospects finding event.
‘Well, I said I wanted to become more involved, so let’s be involved!’
…
*Ding* Body Control: Provided Humanoid Body reached Tier 1 Level 2
*Ding* Body Control: Provided Prolonged Body Use reached Tier 1 Level 2
‘It’s really too easy at the start, maybe by just walking I’ll gain another level in those 2 at the end of the day.’
In a bit more than an hour, Rune went from the lost training park to the south capital sector.
During the last 2 festivals, he became addicted to using his cosmic mist to hide from everyone, suddenly appearing before others and flexing his ability was enjoyable.
So he did just that, and as he was the only one who needed to be hidden, he only used his reinforcement shape to cover himself in his perfected 2nd stage intent cosmic mist.
Compressing it as much as it could be, it had the same effect as a 1-meter layer of normal cosmic mist, the distance at which all the properties of the cosmic mist worked, which was already able to block him completely if he turned on the 3rd stage.
Strolling through the crowded capital, he made his way to places he had never been before.
Without any objectives, he was free to stop where he wanted for as much time as he desired.
With a free mind, Rune didn’t see the time pass and when night had fallen, he made his way to the Secluded Corner still hidden in his layer of cosmic mist.
The jazz bar was clearly more lively than the last time he came more than 2 weeks ago. When he sat at the counter, seeing an available place there, he ordered and dismissed his cosmic mist layer.
Slight reactions from some people, some shocked, some bored, he was delivered a random drink by Lenya 5 minutes later, and she said something to him.
“There’s someone who has been inquiring about you specifically lately.”
Something he didn’t expect to hear in his life.
“Well, I can think of a few reasons why certain people would inquire about me, and none of them are a concern, so you can tell him if you want.”
Then someone stood up from one of the lone tables next to a wall and made his way to sit beside him, bringing with him a drink.
“I’m the one that has been inquiring about you,” a woman with deep blue wavy hair, red eyes, and a pair of horns said.
“That’s… Certainly the first time something like that is happening to me. Want something? I only say no and lie to friends and acquaintances, so send it.”
“I’m tracking some people, and while I was tracking no one in particular, I got some bits of information from my own source, a very reliable source, so it's been 3 weeks that I’ve been visiting this place, waiting for you to come here.”
Having such a discussion with such an obvious subject, Rune couldn’t stop his imagination and kept thinking about how cool it all was.
“If that was your only track about me, then you just had really bad timing, but I hope you liked this place? It’s clearly a bar where you can sit still for 10 hours without having a problem with it.”
“It certainly is, I’ll make a bit of advertising for it when I go back to my unit,” more blatant than this and Rune would just give his terror unit’s insignia right away.
“Our unit’s officer told us to pay for a drink as long as someone presented us with a certain thing, and you’re seriously lucky I brought my own with me, or you would have to make a 3 hours round trip to get it.”
Then, an insignia of a humanoid footprint with ten toes was put on the counter, under the interested eyes of Lenya, who kept listening silently.
For a moment, a bubble of perfected 1st and 3rd stage cosmic mist surrounded the three of them, as for the 2nd stage, it was near complete, just enough to make out the sound from near them.
“If you don’t say it clearly, I won’t give you what you want, and just accusing me won’t work too, you need to tell who I am and where I live,” Rune followed the instruction he received in case a member of the track unit found him.
“Rune Tudor, Undecided Training Park or residential park apartment, tier 4 Adventurer, official member of the terror unit, average background from the IGS, as a member of the track unit, I’m certain you’re one of my targets, surrender your insignia,” in one figurative breath, she told everything she had to.
And Rune put an insignia of a humanoid seen from the back with a large “T” drawn on his back on the counter.
“Congrats, it’s yours now. Let me order the best cocktail I found until now,” with his eyes, he opened the order menu and put together one of the best cocktails to his taste he ever discovered.
Lenya passed through the layer of dissipating cosmic mist to make the drink, leaving behind the newly acquainted Cell members.
“You really did a perfect job hiding, we only found Miki Moran due to his repeated appearance outside the HQ, same for Arsen Glass, he has been too obvious in his distraction, the EMP was really a dead giveaway once we knew what to look for, your hacker is still totally unknown, and thanks to you, your second infiltrator is also still relatively unknown, though it wouldn’t be for long” she proudly disclosed their current advancement in catching the terror unit’s members.
“Then what did you use to find me? Even a time watcher can’t see through my cosmic mist like that, and what sort of source tells you to wait for 3 weeks in the best hidden bar of the capital? So freaky.”
“I have a friend who integrated the dream unit, a branch of the abnormal cell, and when I asked him to try and find some info on our 3 remaining targets, yes, we know there are 5 total members, he passed 3 days and told me to go here and wait for someone who had known this bar from its beginning but wasn’t a founder.”
‘Dream unit… The Dream dimension?’
He vaguely remembered reading about it, he would check the guide as soon as he was back to confirm and refresh this subject.
“Ok then, I really want to know how that works. Can you tell him I sincerely invite him to a restaurant tour whenever he’s available? You can come too if you want, I have dozens of places just slightly below this bar.”
Rune extended an invitation without much hope, encountering someone from something called the “abnormal cell” was, however, well worth the effort.
“I’ll tell him, if you’re lucky he may even visit your dreams the next time you sleep, but that's not his main directive so don’t expect that to happen,” agreeing off-handedly, the unknown track unit member woman finally received the drink Rune ordered for her.
‘When I thought about becoming more involved… Did I jinx myself? Do I go back and seclude myself again? This way the only problems I would have are ones I provoke by myself.’