The Rift Travel Network buzzed beneath the cracked earth as Angelus and his team assembled around a rune-carved stone on the capital’s outskirts. Lyra, her Riftweaver Staff casting a faint violet glow, ran her fingers along the runes, her eyes narrowed in focus. “This node will portal us straight to the Riftweaver stronghold,” she said, her voice calm but edged with urgency. “Their defenses will be brutal. We’ll need to hit hard and fast.”
Angelus surveyed his team. Marcus stood resolute, his Rift Warrior aura shimmering like a banked fire, his spear clutched with steady hands. Tara hefted her bat, its Rift Bat Fang edges gleaming wickedly, her posture coiled and eager. Sticky, the goblin, skittered around their boots, claws tapping the stone, while Mr. Smashypants, the troll, towered over them, a mountain of muscle and menace. Sparky, the rift hound, paced restlessly, his glowing eyes fixed on the horizon, and Angelus felt the tattoo of the Rift Drake on his arm thrum with restless energy.
Before triggering the node, Angelus called up his status screen, now upgraded to display his full array of attributes and capabilities:
[Name: Angelus, Level 15, Class: Legion Master]
[Health: 100/100]
[Mana: 50/50]
[Experience: 200/1500]
[Attributes:]
* Strength: 25 (Increases physical damage output and carrying capacity)
* Agility: 20 (Enhances movement speed and dodge probability)
* Intellect: 30 (Boosts mana reserves and magical potency)
* Vitality: 25 (Improves health total and endurance)
[Skills: Legion Command, Power Strike, Summoner’s Fury, Legion’s Wrath, Master Summoner, Summon Storage Tattoo, Legion’s Rally]
[Equipment: Pipe (Rift Fang Edges: +10 Attack), Behemoth Gauntlets (Summons +15% Attack), Riftweaver’s Spiked Mantle (+25 Defense, +15 Mana)]
[Summons: Sticky (Goblin), Mr. Smashypants (Troll), Sparky (Rift Hound), Rift Drake]
The Riftweavers wouldn’t know what hit them.
“Ready?” Angelus asked, his tone unwavering. Nods rippled through the group. Lyra pressed her staff to the stone, and with a surge of purple light, reality unraveled around them.
They reformed in the shadow of the Riftweaver stronghold—a jagged fortress of obsidian and rift-forged steel, its spires piercing the sky like twisted claws. The air pulsed with malevolent energy, and the ground trembled faintly from the rift rituals within. At the gates stood two [Riftweaver Sentinels: 150/150 HP], their rune-etched armor glowing faintly, and a [Riftweaver Warlock: 200/200 HP], his staff sparking with dark power.
“Strike hard, strike fast!” Angelus barked. “Legion Command: Attack!”
Chaos erupted. Sticky zipped forward, a blur of green, ducking under a sentinel’s swinging blade and slashing at its greaves with razor-sharp claws—[Riftweaver Sentinel: 140/150 HP]. Mr. Smashypants lumbered in, his club descending like a falling boulder, smashing into the sentinel’s chest with a sickening crunch—[Riftweaver Sentinel: 110/150 HP]. Sparky pounced on the second sentinel, teeth sinking into its armored forearm—[Riftweaver Sentinel: 130/150 HP].
Tara charged the warlock, bat raised, but he conjured a [Rift Barrier: 100/100 HP], her strike rebounding with a metallic clang. Marcus flared his aura, activating Rift Strike; his spear blazed crimson as it punched through the barrier—[Rift Barrier: 50/100 HP]—and grazed the warlock’s side—[Riftweaver Warlock: 180/200 HP].
Angelus darted toward the sentinels, pipe in hand. A [Rift Blade Slash] whistled past his ear as he twisted aside—[Miss]—and he retaliated with Power Strike. The pipe glowed white-hot, slamming into the first sentinel’s helm with a resonant clang—[Riftweaver Sentinel: 90/150 HP]. The sentinel reeled, and Sticky swarmed it, claws flashing in a frenzy—[Riftweaver Sentinel: 0/150 HP].
The warlock snarled, unleashing a [Rift Nova], a shockwave of shadow that roared across the field. Angelus dove behind a jutting rock—[Angelus: 85/100 HP]—but Tara caught the blast full-on, staggering—[Tara: 75/90 HP]. Marcus braced himself, his Vitality absorbing the worst—[Marcus: 70/80 HP].
“Warlock’s the priority!” Angelus shouted, triggering Legion’s Rally. A golden pulse radiated from him, boosting the team’s attack and defense by 20%. Mr. Smashypants roared, club hammering the warlock’s ribs—[Riftweaver Warlock: 150/200 HP]—while Sparky’s jaws clamped onto his leg—[Riftweaver Warlock: 130/200 HP].
Tara, her Strength surging, swung her bat with devastating force, splintering the warlock’s staff—[Riftweaver Warlock: 100/200 HP]. Marcus followed, spear thrusting deep into the warlock’s chest—[Riftweaver Warlock: 70/200 HP]. The warlock summoned a [Rift Shade: 80/80 HP], but the Rift Drake erupted from Angelus’s tattoo, its [Rift Flame Breath] engulfing the shade—[Rift Shade: 0/80 HP]—and searing the warlock—[Riftweaver Warlock: 40/200 HP].
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With a guttural scream, the warlock collapsed, dissolving into rift ash—[Riftweaver Warlock: 0/200 HP]. The lone sentinel turned tail, fleeing into the fortress as its footsteps echoed in the stillness.
Angelus caught his breath, adrenaline surging. “That was just the warm-up. Eyes up.”
Inside, the stronghold was a maze of cold stone and rift-charged metal, the air heavy with the tang of ozone and sorcery. Lyra navigated them through winding halls, her Riftweaver expertise bypassing lethal traps—spikes hidden in floors, beams of rift energy slicing from walls. Sticky’s sharp eyes caught a pressure plate, his claws prying it open to reveal humming runes, which he disabled with a deft twist, earning a grin from Tara.
Deeper in, they found a [Riftweaver Laboratory], its shelves cluttered with arcane tools and vials of glowing liquid. A [Riftweaver Alchemist: 180/180 HP] hunched over a cauldron, guarded by two [Rift Golems: 150/150 HP], their rune-carved stone bodies radiating menace.
“Quietly,” Angelus hissed, nodding to Marcus and Tara. They crept forward, shadows among shadows. Marcus drove his spear into the alchemist’s spine—[Riftweaver Alchemist: 140/180 HP]—while Tara’s bat cracked a golem’s core—[Rift Golem: 120/150 HP].
The alchemist whirled, eyes flaring with rift light, and flung a [Rift Acid Flask]. The vial shattered, splashing corrosive sludge; Angelus leapt aside, but it ate into his boots—[Angelus: 80/100 HP]. He countered with Summoner’s Fury, his summons glowing brighter. Sticky pounced, claws tearing at the alchemist—[Riftweaver Alchemist: 110/180 HP]—as Mr. Smashypants pulverized a golem—[Rift Golem: 0/150 HP].
The second golem’s fist swung, but Sparky darted beneath it, snapping at its legs. Tara capitalized, her bat smashing its core—[Rift Golem: 0/150 HP]. The alchemist triggered a [Rift Explosion], a blast of raw energy, but Marcus’s Warrior’s Resolve absorbed it—[Marcus: 60/80 HP]—and Angelus’s pipe caved in the alchemist’s skull—[Riftweaver Alchemist: 0/180 HP].
Loot scattered across the tables: [Rift Shards x25], [Alchemical Vials x5], [Riftweaver Research Notes], and a [Riftweaver’s Amulet: +20 Intellect, +10 Mana Regeneration]. Angelus donned the amulet, his mana swelling—[Mana: 60/60].
The rift’s hum intensified as they reached a cavernous chamber, its ceiling shrouded in darkness, a colossal rift portal swirling at its center. The [Riftweaver High Priest: 300/300 HP] stood before it, robes aglow with rift energy, staff pulsing with power. Two [Riftweaver Champions: 200/200 HP] flanked him, their swords crackling with black lightning.
“You’ve trespassed far, Legion Master,” the High Priest taunted, his voice reverberating. “But this is where you fall. The rift will devour your world, and we’ll reign over its ruin.”
Angelus tightened his grip on his pipe. “Not today. Legion Command: Full Assault!”
The clash was immediate and ferocious. The champions lunged, blades slicing the air. Tara met one, her bat clanging against its sword—[Tara: 70/90 HP]—while Marcus parried the other, his spear a crimson whirlwind—[Marcus: 55/80 HP].
Angelus targeted the High Priest, sidestepping a [Rift Bolt] that charred the floor—[Miss]—and landing a Power Strike, his pipe crashing against the priest’s staff—[Riftweaver High Priest: 280/300 HP]. The priest’s [Rift Wave] hurled him back—[Angelus: 70/100 HP].
Sticky scrambled onto the priest, claws ripping fabric—[Riftweaver High Priest: 260/300 HP]—until a [Rift Shield: 100/100 HP] flung him off. Mr. Smashypants shattered the shield with a thunderous blow—[Rift Shield: 0/100 HP]—and Sparky’s teeth sank into the priest’s leg—[Riftweaver High Priest: 240/300 HP].
Tara’s bat hammered a champion’s armor—[Riftweaver Champion: 170/200 HP]—while Marcus dodged a wild swing—[Miss]—and countered with Rift Strike—[Riftweaver Champion: 140/200 HP].
The High Priest began a [Cataclysmic Rift], the portal flaring dangerously. “Hold the champions!” Angelus yelled. “I’ve got the priest!” He unleashed Legion’s Wrath, his summons blazing with power. The Rift Drake dove, [Rift Flame Breath] scorching the priest—[Riftweaver High Priest: 200/300 HP]—breaking his spell. Sticky, Mr. Smashypants, and Sparky swarmed him—[Riftweaver High Priest: 150/300 HP].
Tara felled her champion with a crushing blow—[Riftweaver Champion: 0/200 HP]—and Marcus dispatched his with a spear thrust—[Riftweaver Champion: 0/200 HP]. United, they overwhelmed the priest, his final scream echoing as he crumbled—[Riftweaver High Priest: 0/300 HP].
The portal wailed, its energy fading. Notifications flashed:
[You have defeated the Riftweaver High Priest. Experience gained: 1500.]
[You have reached Level 16.]
[New Skill Unlocked: Rift Mastery – Manipulate rift energy for diverse effects.]
Amid the silence, loot gleamed: [Rift Shards x30], [High Priest’s Staff: +30 Spell Power, +20 Intellect], [Champion’s Blade: +25 Attack Power], and a [Riftweaver’s Grimoire] outlining the world-merging ritual. Angelus gave the staff to Lyra, the blade to Marcus, and Tara kept the grimoire.
A voice boomed, deep and chilling: “You’ve delayed us, Legion Master. But the ritual continues. Face me at the capital’s core—if you dare.”
“Who are you?” Angelus demanded.
“Your doom,” it laughed, fading away.
Angelus clenched his fists. “One last battle. Let’s end this.”