"Damn it!"

Joe felt he was getting better at reading Diana's mood, so he was pretty sure she wasn't happy with the skill offerings in the pillar. At least she didn't try to kick the thing. When Joe touched them, they felt as immovable as a mountain.

"What were you hoping to find?"

Diana stared at him for a moment with anger making her eyes flash before she visibly took hold of her emotions. She took a deep breath and seemed to deflate as she sat down on the grass.

"I finally moved the mana outside my body. I was hoping for an attack spell. A mana bolt or something like that."

"Was there anything new there?"

"I don't know. I looked for spells, and there was nothing there. I didn't look through all the options."

Joe let her sit and think. Diana was an intelligent woman. He knew she'd figure her way through this if given the time. Joe focused on his own body and mana as he sat there.

Mana continued to flow through his body at a steady trickle. Regeneration continued to try and heal his body from the never-ending collection of combat injuries. The diminishing restraint skill ate a steady stream of mana as well. Joe's overall mana flow was still negative when regeneration was active, but his recent attribute gains cut that to a trickle. Joe ate a berry to help out his healing. If they stuck to the plan, there would be plenty of those.

Motion nearby drew Joe out of his meditation as Diana stood up again and moved to the pillar. She spent longer there this time before she once again deflated.

"Nothing new."

"It can take time. Look at how many times I had to get poisoned to unlock the resistance skill."

Diana nodded and started walking towards the next series of monsters. Joe jogged to catch up and joined her after a moment. They attacked the monsters together, with Joe leaving the last monster for her each time. He used the downtime to eat a berry and continued to work on getting his body back into top shape. He couldn't gain any attributes, but the practice wouldn't hurt.

They cleared through the second wave of monsters and rested before the treant. At this point, a fight wasn't as dangerous as long as they kept their wits. Joe noticed something else as well during these fights. He could see the effects of the uncommon class and the differences between magical and physical classes. Joe was significantly faster than Diana now.

The difference was slight, but it would be blatantly noticeable soon if the classes continued to scale the same. Perhaps, Joe thought, it was already noticeable to her, which was why she pushed so hard for magic. Then again, magic would be incredible, and there was no need to justify pursuing it to the fullest.

Diana couldn't practice against the treant. Her physical stats were enough to stay ahead of it, but there wasn't much wiggle room. Joe tanked the fight and largely kept out of its grasp. He did have to bite off one root but was pleasantly surprised to note that another glancing hit hadn't broken through his skin. His stats and skills were finally starting to pay noticeable dividends.

They both sat after the fight, and Joe ate another berry. The poison from his biting the root had cost him almost no health but a small chunk of mana. It was frustrating that he could physically handle the rift, but his mana pool was the limiting factor. He looked over at Diana, and a crazy idea emerged.

"So you were able to push mana outside your body?"

"Yeah, for all the good it did me."

"I had a thought," Joe scowled at the amused look and arched eyebrow on Diana's face. "I think sometimes! Anyway, I can't keep up with my passives. Could you try pushing mana into me?"

Diana looked surprised and then thoughtful. She nodded and came over to kneel behind him. Joe felt her put both hands on his back before taking a deep breath. Nothing happened for a long five minutes, but Joe kept his breathing even and stayed silent. He was sure she could do it and didn't want to distract her.

A chill ran down Joe's spine as a cold sensation spread out from Diana's hands. It spread slightly from the area, but the flow wasn't significant enough to penetrate far into his body. Joe focused his will to try and gather mana and absorb it into his core. It resisted almost as strongly as his skills when he tried to push them. There was a will there contesting with his own.

Joe kept at it. His greatest advancements had come when he'd stubbornly bulled ahead regardless of potential success or consequences. Eventually, he grabbed a single thread of mana and forced it to his core. It writhed for a moment like an unhappy eel before settling down.

Success! The barest trickle of mana entered Joe's core. It seemed to break even with the amount of mana he expended to keep the stream stable, but it was something. At the same time, Diana's sharp intake of breath told Joe she felt something on her end. Joe's elation destabilized the thread, and it wobbled before dissolving.

"One more time?" Joe didn't know if they were on the right track, but it wasn't nothing. If nothing else, it would let Joe tank the tough fights and stay in the rift longer.

It took more than one time. An hour later, Joe and Diana could keep a stable link between the two of them that transferred slightly more mana than it took to establish. The mana transfer was also incredibly inefficient, with Diana only able to maintain it for five minutes.

Joe stood up, and Diana did as well a moment later. Joe ignored the pillar though he stopped beside it. Diana placed her hand upon it, and her face went blank. A minute later, she shrugged and stepped away. Joe looked over at her with the question clear on his face.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"New skill, but I"m not going to take it."

"What's the skill?"

Mana Transfer

common skill

mana cost - lesser(ongoing) / activation - minor / cooldown - minor

The user transfers mana to another living creature. The range is touch, and the amount transferred is (33+SL)% of the user's cost.

"It might get you going in the right direction. What's the harm in taking it?"

"I'm only a common class. I've just got two spots left. I can't waste them on junk skills."

Joe gave a nod of recognition. He hadn't remembered that he had two more skill spots than almost everyone else in the group. It had made it easier to grab situational skills like his poison resistance. Joe pulled up his system screen and noticed only two spots left. It may be time to get more selective with his skills.

"Fair enough. What are you going to do now?"

"I'm bummed that nothing has worked so far."

"Ahhh," Joe said. "It's worked. It just hasn't worked right. Keep at it. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Diana gave Joe a small smile as they walked down the path. Neither flinched at the shifting light, and they faced down the next grouping of monsters. These were the first difficult fights of the rift. The monsters physically overmatched Diana's attributes, so Joe took the lead, keeping her from being outnumbered and playing the tank.

Surprisingly, Joe had taken to the role lately. Pre-System Joe couldn't imagine he'd have willingly jumped in front of monsters. Now it was another day of the week. Joe didn't want to overthink the feeling. He had people now that he wanted to protect. It was better than barely living as a human shadow.

Joe's fighting style had been refined in the crucible of the rift. It was still rough and unfinished, with no stances or moves to call its own. Instead, Joe focused on knowing his own body and working on his reactions and the flow of combat. His regeneration skill still got a workout as he was far from proficient but improving.

They cleared through the first wave of meadows, looking over at the boss while they waited for the respawns. The bearcoon stared back at them, not pretending to be harmless like the previous two bosses.

"I have an idea, but I'll be a little zoned out in combat. Can you handle that?"

"I'll keep you safe as longer as you don't give me any shit about being poisoned."

Joe and Diana both knew that he would do it regardless. She looked at him with a slight frown. Her mouth opened, but she closed it without saying anything. A minute went by, and Joe continued to bide his time.

"One week. That's my best offer, take it or leave it.:

"Deal. I would have settled for a day. Sucker."

Diana didn't say anything, but after she stood, her posture shifted to one of concentration. A few minutes later, she looked over at Joe, and they were off clearing the second wave.

Zoned out was an understatement, it turned out. Even with his new strength, Joe had plenty of cuts and scrapes at the end of those four fights. Diana's reaction time had always been great for a magical class, but now it was like she was level one again. Joe sank to the ground in relief at the end of the fights. He ate a few berries and focused on healing some of the damage.

"So what was with those last fights?"

"I'll let you know if it worked. We'll find out after that boss."

"Give me a few minutes. I need to stop the bleeding and flush the rest of the poison out."

Diana bit her tongue and kept her silence. A deal was a deal.

The fight with the third boss went better. Diana stayed focused, and Joe was grateful for that. All the bosses in this rift liked to go after the weakest party members. After the first thirty seconds of the fight, the bearcoon ignored Joe and targeted Diana exclusively. Joe had expected that tactic, and they had planned for it during their downtime between fights.

After a few passes, Joe opened the monster's throat with his glaive, and they played keep away until it bled out. The boss dissolved and left behind an essence crystal like before, and Diana ignored it entirely as she strode to the pillar.

Her expression was complicated when she took her hand away. Diana walked over and sat down next to Joe. She took a deep breath and seemed irritated that Joe hadn't asked the obvious question. He didn't take the bait, patiently waiting for her to speak.

"Still no attack magic," Diana mumbled. "Another skill instead. This one's actually tempting, though. I don't know, if I'm wrong I only have one skill slot left."

"What's the skill?"

Manipulate Mana

uncommon skill

mana cost - moderate(ongoing) / activation - minor / cooldown - none

The user can manipulate mana outside their body at a range of (SL/2) meters. The mana cost is reduced by SL%.

"What's there to think about?" Joe looked over at Diana incredulously. "It's an uncommon skill and a step in the right direction."

Diana looked at him like he was simple. The kind of simple where you only get rounded plastic utensils. Joe knew she was under pressure and gave her a mental pass on that one. Given some of his antics in past rift escapades, he figured she'd earned at least one.

"That leaves me with just one slot for a combat skill. I'll be a one-trick pony at best. I wanted to get an attack and a defense."

"I think getting magic of any kind would be awesome."

"Easy for you to say. You started with an uncommon class."

Joe mulled over Diana's words without saying anything. He understood where she was coming from. Joe felt the same way more often than not. The lack of information created a fear that he was doing everything wrong, and Joe worried his bad choices would cost him his life or the life of one of his new friends. That and his family's abduction were the driving force keeping him pushing forward as fast as possible.

"I'm not going to stop at level 20. It seems so far away now, but I know it's just scratching the surface. No matter what you choose, I will always be your friend. Are you going to stop before 20?"

Joe said it quietly and looked away at the end. His cheeks were red with embarrassment. Somehow the honest emotional expression was worse than facing down flesh-eating monsters bent on destruction. The silence stretched too long, and Joe looked over tentatively. Diana was steadfastly looking away from him.

"I'm not stopping. I need to get my family back."

Diana looked over at him as she spoke. Joe smiled back.

"Then there's no problem. You can upgrade your class when you max it out at twenty. It's your decision, but I would take that skill."

Diana walked over to the pillar and, after a moment of hesitation, nodded at the air. Suddenly her body stiffened, and she would have toppled over if Joe hadn't run over and lowered her to the ground. He remembered what a shock his diminishing restraint skill was and could only imagine what she was going through. Diana's breathing was steady though her eyes stayed unfocused. Joe sat by her side and gave her time to adjust to whatever changes the skill had wrought. Diana's eyes cleared, and she looked up at Joe.

"Whoa, I know kung fu."

Joe snorted a laugh as he stood up. He offered a hand, and Diana took it. She wobbled on her feet for a second, and Joe took a moment to check his essence. It was high enough to upgrade a skill. Until they gained a level, there were no attributes to be had and plenty of essence in the future. Leaving power on the table wouldn't work for training this time. Joe upgraded tough skin, maxing it out for his current level.

"You wanna go kill some evil forest creatures?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Diana didn't use her new skill yet. These were the most dangerous fights they'd faced together, and there was a better time to practice new skills. Joe approached the next meadow, taking his time and adjusting to the low light. The four monsters were running through the meadow with their eternal game of tag.

When the squirrels were close enough, Joe sprinted out, bisecting one immediately before the other tagged him with some poison and started running. Joe left the foxes to Diana for the moment and chased down the other spitting monster. He finished it shortly and turned around to see Diana on the defensive. She hadn't let them get behind her, but the monsters had cornered her next to the wall of poison thorns.

Joe roared to grab the monster's attention and charged in her direction. He didn't want to hit Diana with a stray swing, so he didn't use his weapon. Joe kicked out and crushed one fox into the wall next to her. Adrenaline had fueled his attack, and he felt the thorns pierce through the monster and prick his foot. Joe ignored it, turning towards the other fox. He saw Diana pinning it to the ground with her spear, leaving it to thrash and bleed out.

Joe pulled himself back and ate some berries before sitting down to fight off the poison. Thanks to his increased tough skin, the thorns hadn't penetrated deeply. Overall it could have been worse. It only took a few minutes for Joe to stabilize himself, and they both moved back to the path so the monsters could respawn. He closed his eyes and continued to work the mana through his body.

Hands on his back preceded the chill of mana being pushed into Joe's body. He accepted the help and worked the strand into his core, focusing on refining the action to make it more efficient. He didn't make any significant strides, but with practice, Joe knew he would get there.

"You're kind of terrifying when you fight." Diana said it steadily with almost no inflection. Joe flinched back from her touch. He'd tried hard not to scare Diana, and now he felt that failure sink into him. She ignored his flinch, putting her hands on his back again.

"How do you do it? I want to be terrifying. I want to be stronger."

"I just want to protect myself and the people around me. I don't really think much past that."

"I should have guessed not thinking was the secret."

Despite himself and the moment Joe laughed. It wasn't big or boisterous, but it was enough for now. So they sat and recharged, ready to face monsters and death together.

"You'll never believe the names of those things."

Joe groaned into his hands.