Rift travel was an acquired taste, Ambros thought while spitting bile out in a bucket. It made him feel like his insides had been twisted around and replaced by someone with only a vague idea of what a human should look like inside. Not that his insides looked all that human anymore, come to think of it. He much preferred using Gates.

Looking down at his now less than pleasant looking clothes, he spat one more time into the bucket. Not exactly the entrance he had hoped for, he thought while looking around. The only one not pointing some sort of weapon at him was the nice fellow that had handed him the bucket.

Handing the bucket back to the less than pleased looking robed man while saying this thanks. He finally got a proper look at his surroundings. He wasn't sure why he expected to just step into a city. Looking at the walls surrounding him, he had to admit it sort of made sense. You didn't leave an open rift in the middle of a populated town or something similar. That would just be stupid.

He was standing in front of the two pillars that apparently did something to help stabilize the rift. He shuddered when thinking of that unholy hole in reality. There was a wall surrounding the rift, and now him, on all four sides. The area would be about three hundred steps from one side to the other, so not too large, and he would bet money on the walls being less than four stories tall. He could easily get over them with how the stones were placed, too, by the looks of it. It was the guards standing in front of him, holding spears toward his chest and their leader screaming, “Identify yourself! Lay down and surrender for inspection! Do not move! Identify yourself!” That was bothering him. The people lining the walls and twirling their slings and pointing drawn short bows at him weren't that much of a problem, at least they weren't screaming at him.

Ambros was about to walk over and smack some silence into the guard leader when someone came out of the rift, careened off him and slowly got up while dry heaving.

Then another took the spot he had just had vacated a moment ago. It dawned on him that standing in front of what was, for all intents purposes, a tunnel opening for people about to be sick to the stomach was a bad spot to stand in.

Then a third came through the rift as the last one had moved out of the way too. This one seemed less bothered by the transition. The only one who hadn't known the protocol, was Ambros it would seem.

More robed people came scurrying towards the portal as the first one got up. The commander, well, that should make things easier. The man stood up, took a couple of steps away from Ambros and barked, “Put down your weapons. The outsider is a… Honored guest.” Yeah, you show them whose boss commander, but Ambros didn't really care what they called him. He just wanted the things on the list. If he could do that without causing more disruptions, that was fine with him. The commander did look relieved when Ambros didn't say anything.

Turning to Ambros, the commander said, “Please, do not devour these people, great dem–... one. I will make haste to have your offerings gathered. This is patriarch Diokles. He will see to your needs in the meantime.” Giving Ambros some sort of strange hand wave, he left in a hurry with someone that looked like a guard.

Looking over at his new friend, Diokles. Ambros said, “Well, he seemed to be in a hurry. Now, what about finding me one of the system nodes before anything else happens.” He had meant it as if anything else happened to interfere with finding system nodes, but Diokles apparently took it as a death threat. His already pale expression turned paler as he said. “Yes, of course, great one. The closest temple will be the temple of Phexlios. It is a few hundred steps outside the rift enclosure.” Ambros had no idea what Phexlios was or represented. Like so many of the other self-proclaimed gods, he didn't really care to learn more about them either. As long as they didn't try to interfere with using the system node, he was fine with it. “Well, lead the way then, Diokles. The quicker I get done here, the quicker you get rid of me.”

Walking out of the walled compound, he could see that it was made of two walls, one facing in each direction. When they were out of the gate, Ambros just stood for a few moments, enjoying the clear sun on his face, taking deep breaths of fresh, clean air, only fouled by his own body odor. That didn't get him down, however. He could feel Whisper in what he thought was a northwesterly direction. The bond was much stronger, but he didn't get anything through it. He did send a few tugs on the bond however. Not sure if it did anything, but it was the best he could think of at the moment. So, she had made it out. Yes, this was turning out to be a better day than he had expected.

Signaling that he was ready to go again, they made their way toward a small town of light gray stone buildings. From what he could see, there weren't many of those that had more than a ground floor. A few of the larger buildings that were made of marble had two or three floors. What he didn't see much of however was people. He would have expected at least six or seven thousand people to live in a town this size, but the few he could see in the streets as they made their way down towards it were at most in the hundreds. Deciding to not waste the opportunity now that he was still terrified of him, Ambros started asking Diokles questions.

Yes, the temple would be on their right side once they entered the town. In fact, if the great one would just look there, he could see it already.

Of course, a bath would be possible. He was to have a wing of the governor's villa to himself, or if he wished, the entire building or any other building that caught his fancy.

Ah no. Not the temples that belonged to the gods, and he was not able to enforce the removal of the priests and priestesses. Yes, the great one was, of course, correct. Almost any building he fancied. Diokles was most sorry for the misunderstanding and would strive to not fail Ambros again.

No, the town was there to cater to the yearly gathering of free citizens. Once a year, they would go out and slay as many undead they could for the regnant they dropped and, more importantly, the Energy stones. A lot of people would face a harsh year now that there would be no culling. Such was the will of the gods. There was still the fighting along the mountains, however, so there was still possible to earn enough for the coming year, even if it was more dangerous. Why? It was mostly against trolls, ogres or the lesser races like goblins, orcs or elves. Vile creatures, absolutely vile.

Yes, there were free citizens, citizens that had yet to earn their freedom, and then there were the lesser men. Those the Agerans were given to rule over as the beast in the fields by the gods when they first came here. Yes, the lesser men were here already waiting for Agerans to take control over them. Poor things didn't even know who the gods were when they first had come, the historians claimed. They had lived like beasts, but by the god's will and the compassion of the Agerans, they had been shown their place in the land and brought to worship the gods. If the great one would look past the town to the right, he could see some of the poor souls working the fields to garner. It was a joke among the learned that the lesser men hadn't even had copper tools but things made out of dark stone and wood as they dug out the ground like pigs looking for worms and roots. Truly they had been blessed when the gods had sent the Agerans to show them the way to better themselves and worship the gods.

So, even in seclusion, people in this world manage to incorporate slavery. He wasn't too surprised, considering human history, but they had probably been doing it for millions of years at this point. He started considering his options around throwing out the gods and claiming the world as his own. The Energy was higher than most of the Council tributaries he had been to, much higher, and he would need to place his own seat of power one day. It largely depended on where the world was located in the multiverse. If it really was a keeper, however, there were ways to move worlds too.

He would have to look at the possibilities when he grew in power and explored the world more. He had little doubt he would grow more powerful than a bunch of selfproclaimed gods one day. That was if he was allowed to live long enough to raise himself to paragon or above as an Arcanist. He had yet to determine how it would affect things with the system and the Circles. That day was not today or tomorrow, however. Today he would consolidate his gains and pamper himself a bit.

Entering the town, he was not too happy to see that the roads inside were made of dirt, too. It did not raise his hopes regarding the other towns in this country. Soon enough, however, he found himself in front of marble steps going up into a well-lit temple. They were met by a white robed middle aged man that greeted them with, “Welcome citizens to the temple of Phexlios. The God of duty always has time for his most devoted followers,” and a smile. The non-to-subtle hinting he was doing with his hands towards a collection box by the entrance was not exactly the most priestly thing Ambros had seen, but, then again, not unusual either. Diokles started walking toward the box as he said. “We are humble citizens seeking the great God's aid in communing with the high heavens. May Phexlios in his vaunted halls find this humble offering pleasing.”

The priest watched carefully as Diokles slid a silver coin into the collection box. When he heard it clatter against the other coins, his smile grew, and he said, “The great god Phexlios is pleased with your offering. Please follow me so we may begin the ritual.” Ambros didn't even bother shaking his head. He knew there were people that followed gods of various sorts that did great good, but the priest in front of them almost smelled like greed. It wasn't his problem however, so he followed the two men into the temple.

The moment his foot hit the temple floor, a crushing pressure bore down on him. He could feel the forceful presence trying to break through his shroud, into his mind and being. Ambros tried to stand firm and push back, but it was difficult, and he could feel himself crumbling under the assault. Then Crystal was there. Hurling itself at the presence like a mother bear protecting its cub. There was no mercy or give in Crystal, only determination and scorching anger. It slammed into the presence and started shredding it to pieces. He observed as the presence tried to retreat, to understand what was happing in its confusion about the counterattack, but Crystal had it in its hold now.

With a final ferocious strike, Crystal shrieked a thought, “Mine!” He could feel the hurt presence retreating as fast as it could to get away from Crystal. Ambros felt no malice from it now, just fear and confusion as it faded back to where it had come from.

When Crystal ha d calmed down enough, mostly through Ambros sending it the thought of everything being fine, he was fine. It finally curled up with his mana center and with a final “Mine.” Went back to rest.

Possessive much? Ambros was not about to start unraveling that now tough. It only took a moment, but the other two men had stopped since Ambros had stopped. The priest was giving him an inquiring look while Diokles looked scared again. Ambros doubted they had caught on to anything happening, so he smiled and nodded while taking another step forward.

The temple was quite nice and airy. The marble columns led up to a statue of what presumably Phexlios looked like. A middle-aged man standing in front of a few figures he thought was supposed to represent, a wife, children, and some sort of livestock, holding a spear in his nd while a large round shield stood on the ground leaning against his left leg, while his left hand rested on top of the rim. A helmet was half pulled back over his forehead, exposing his strong features and beard. It was quite stunning. Ambros made a mental note to crush it to pieces when he grew powerful enough to start raiding their temples. Now that did make him smile.

They walked past the statue and into the back of the temple before going down a set of stairs where there were four of the black coffins he was used to. He almost stepped forward, but the priest said, “Please wait for a moment, honored citizens, while I prepare the ritual for communion with the high heavens.”

The priest then walked to what looked like an altar with a cupboard on each side. Taking out a brass censer. It started producing thick-scented smoke the moment he lit it. The priest then started walking around the room humming, sometimes slightly off key to Ambros enchanted hearing, sometimes he would say sing the name of his god, sometimes he would call on the high heavens. As far as Ambros could tell, it was absolutely bogus, but he waited patiently. You never know what sort of rituals have been built up by higher beings or even just through repeated use over thousands of years. Faith had its own place of power in the multiverse. Ambros just knew it was so because of beings that had once been like him, not some grand creator of everything. The priest finally put a lid on the scented smoke and stopped waltzing around the room, humming. It was almost disappointing when nothing happened. Turing towards the waiting pair, the priest said, “The heavens have been appeased, and the great god of duty will guide your steps. Please enter and become more than what you were.”

Taking the one on the leftmost side Ambros slid in and closed the lid himself. Looking at total darkness, he waited for the exploding light. It had been too long, and he was finally there. Instead, a message appeared.

System Quest:

There have been sightings of exceptionally powerful beings in the mountains of late.

Contenders are called on to cleanse the forces that stand against Agera before they grow into an unstoppable force.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

For the duration of this quest, contenders will not receive loot from the opposing force, with the exception of slaying system-named beings. The contenders will be judged by their overall score during this quest and will receive rewards accordingly when achieving victory.

Conditions for victory: Have a total amount of fifty million quest points between all contenders within four years or the death of every system named being of the opposing forces.

Failure will leave Agera devastated, and it will take a thousand years to recover.

The system will perform decimation on the Ageran population.

The ruler of Agera will be terminated by the system, and the bloodline will end.

Questor. Should the forces of Agera fail, twenty levels and a title of the system's choice will be removed. Should Agera stand victorious, the final reward calculation will be doubled for your prize.

First quest hint:

As the contender with the highest-ranking system title in this land, it is advised that you make contact with the rulers of the land to assist them in any way you deem appropriate. Be aware that the more help you provide, the greater the chance of victory.

The limitation of system loot during the quest will quickly leave Agera bankrupt.

Defying fate and overcoming your limitations is the path to greatness.

Grow, overcome, dominate.

Be honored, Questor.

You have been chosen.

Before Ambros could so much as curse, he was looking at the stars, and the system was back as it used to be.

Welcome Questor Ambros Mardux

Attribute distribution

System shop

He knew he was still two and a half million short of getting the assisted mapping, so he didn't bother with the system shop. At least the system would still give experience, and he imagined system points. Even as disconnected as he felt while browsing the system options, he could feel the seething anger he felt at the system now.

Attribute distribution

Unspent attribute points: 12

Body: 50 ( E )

Mind: 50 ( E )

Spirit: 38 ( E )

There it was, one step closer. Now only opening a meridian remained, and he would finally see what all the fuss about reaching Adept was about. Well, when his mana center woke up. He wasn't about to do anything without all the pieces in place. He knew he was being morose, but it was difficult not to feel he was getting forced into this for no good reason. Surely an entire country could deal with some battles in the mountains? Assigning twelve points to Spirit, he let the darkness take him.

Waking up, he got a surprise even before opening the coffin lid. Too bad it wasn't a helpful one.

System award

Reaching fifty attribute points in every attribute before reaching the Circle of Adept is a feat few can claim.

Bloodline: ( Unknown ) has been upgraded.

Right, so his bloodline was a thing. It didn't even show up in his stats, did it?

Name: Ambros Mardux

Race: Human, variant. Grafted Primus modus, Sanguis Kronos,

Titles: Eques, Reaper Apprentice

Class: Arcanist

Level: 69

Experience: 24,249/28,351

System rank: Questor*

System points: 22,324,249

Circle: Neophyte

Step: 6/6

Body: 50 ( E )

Mind: 50 ( E )

Spirit: 50 ( E )

Unspent attribute points: 0

Active Skill: Analyze ( E ), Meditation ( E ), Arcane Sight ( D ), Sanctum ( F )

Passive Skill: Awakened Mana Core ( F ), Revitalize ( E ), Omnilingual ( A ), Giant Slayer V ( E ), Toughness V ( F ), Adaptive Vision ( E )

Spells: Arcane Bolt ( E ), Arcane Shield ( D ), Control Heat ( E ), Control Earth ( D ), Control Wind ( E ), Control Water ( E ), Stasis ( E )

Yeah, no cigar on that, but he was level sixty-nine, baby! Bloodline was just another thing to figure out when it pertained to him. The list kept growing. He was starting to look good in stats though. Pushing the lid gently, it moved up and to the side as if on clouds. He had mana again! He could feel his small mana center slowly expanding like a balloon. Gently prodding it, it felt like a thick liquid, almost like syrup. It felt potent. He wanted to try a spell. It was almost an unbearable itch. Crystal was snoozing contently. He could swear it was smirking. Looking around the chamber, he could see the priest was reading something by the altar, and Diokles had yet to emerge based on the closed coffin.

When the priest noticed him, he gave a beatific smile or tried to. The image of the collection box still ran through Ambrose's head. Nodding at the priest, he sat down on the floor while feeling out his mana center and what had changed.

Awakened Mana Core. Warning. This skill is not a part of the mortal body set. The user is advised to be careful when exploring the full uses of the skill. The contender will receive three times the maximum Mana and Mana-Regeneration at the lowest grade. The user can designate three targets within one hundred paces to siphon essence from. Any siphoned essence will be converted to mana available to the user. If the user has no room for mana, the siphoning will automatically cancel. Increasing its grade will unlock other functions and empower the existing ones.

That was… Yeah, that was huge. Three times the regeneration rate and amount was one thing, but he could potentially become an unstoppable spell caster depending on how fast the siphoning was happening. Ambros needed to upgrade the skill grade to ( E ).

His mana center with the Awakened Mana Core inside was starting to look a lot like a mana pool again. The Energy was getting sucked in at an increased rate and turned into mana, but he noticed it took much more Energy now than it used to. Somewhere between twenty-five and thirty times the amount to fill up the same space of mana. It wasn't bothersome in this world, but he wondered how slow it would be on a world like Earth. Doing the calculation, he had already made himself dependent on Energy stones if he hoped to have any sort of life with mana on Earth. His spells had just become more costly, but then again, their power had increased significantly. He could also complete more complex spell constructs before they fell apart. Why did it have to be so damn complicated to access his Sanctum?

He was also getting slightly worried about his attitude these last few days. They spoke of arrogance, and arrogance was a quick way to die. He wondered if they had healers here that could take a look at his head and see if it was artificial mana sickness. Despite not using it for a while, he had gone out on a limb during the settlement siege more than once. Of course, it could also be a normal change in attitude because of rapid growth and how superior he had been feeling lately. Either way, it needed to go. A clear mind was important. He would need to see if he could turn things around while dealing with the rulers of this land. It would be the ultimate test of his patience.

All around, more pleased than he had been when waking up after the attribute upgrade, he sent another few tugs on the bond to Whisper, but she still felt far away, certainly not any closer. He decided Eku was fine. Nothing could put down that grumpy old dragon man. Especially since he never got to ask what species he actually was. Ambros was betting on newt.

Finally, he heard the second coffin lid open, and a stressed Diokles almost jumped out. Looking around, he spotted Ambros and made his way over, completely ignoring the priest that had begun walking towards him with his arms slightly spread and mouth open as if to give a sermon. Diokles said. “Great one, my sincere and most heartfelt and sincere apologize. I had hoped that I would be able to personally oversee that you would lack nothing during your stay, but something has happened that demands that I must travel to the capital at all haste. Have no fear. I will find a proper host for you while you reside in the governor's villa. Again, please forgive me. Everything will be made right. Please forgive us, great one.”

Ambros thought he still looked frightened, like a rabbit, and he couldn't blame him. He hadn't exactly given the best impression, had he? Not that his welcome had been particularly warm and cuddly, but still. There had not been a single person there that could have actually taken his life. It gave him a sour taste in his mouth. He had been a bit of a bully. Deserved or not, it was also pointless. It was like an adult kicking a child. The worst part was just because of his cheat-like attribute growth, skills and lucky encounters. Sure, he had put himself through hell at times to grow, but that was the standard for those who wished to grow, to break past their own limitations. He didn't know why these people were so much weaker than he was used to seeing or if that was the norm, and the rift settlement attracted powerful people. One thing he did know was that they were about to be put through hell soon, so maybe, just maybe, he could help tip the scale a bit in their favor. Besides, the system penalty for failing the quest was not exactly mild on him or the people that lived in this land. Finally, there was this thing Eku kept on talking about, karma.

Ambros looked at the man and said, “Call me Ambros, yes. I know. The system decided to drag me into this, too, since I was in the neighborhood. Let's get going. The more time wasted here is time not spent on growing. Oh, and the priest is not looking well. You should probably have someone see to him.” Yeah, the priest was definitely not looking well. He was staring into space and doing the goldfish impression. A bad one at that. He would suck at Charades.

The priest probably got the quest too. He could feel the man had taken one step. Seems the priesthood would be joining the war effort then. That should be interesting. Standing up, he walked up to the priest. Ambros clapped his hand in front of his face. He certainly reacted to that. Looking at Ambros, confused for a moment, he was about to say something when Ambros interrupted him. “Seems the land needs your help, priest. Will you go forth and do your duty in the name of the great god Phexlios?” He would be interested to see what the priest chose to do, but not enough to keep tabs on the man. Turning to Diokles, he said, “Well, come on then. The capital isn't coming any nearer, and I have no idea what direction it is or even what it's called.” Diokles looked at the priest for a moment before he said, “Ah, yes. Of course.” Before he followed Ambros, who had already begun walking out of the temple. The place gave him the creeps.

When Diokles caught up to him, Ambros said, “So, something has been bothering me. Why is everyone so weak here? Even you, who is a patriarch? I'm assuming that's a big deal have only reached the fourth step. Most of the people I saw in your army were at the first step. It doesn't add up. By the way, is this the right direction? Because I'm just walking.” Ambros almost started feeling sorry for the man, he looked so conflicted, but he did say. “I do not know how things are where your august self hails from, but getting the regents to make catalysts here is very rare. We do not have the option for trade either, doubly so, I imagine. We also seldom have conflict, sure there is the occasional slave uprising, but that never leads anywhere. The only time a citizen is guaranteed to earn experience to increase a level is when we do the yearly undead culling. The mountains are too dangerous for most citizens to traverse.” Rubbing his chin, Ambros asked, “So you don't really have a standing army. Those I saw in the rift are citizens that step in as the armed forces for the country. How have you not been invaded? It still makes no sense.”

Diokles seemed to struggle for a moment before he said. “Until you came to us, we have had no fear of invasion by the rift for reasons I'm not at liberty to say. By land, we are surrounded to the north, west and east by an impassible mountain chain and to the south is a cliff that runs along the entire coast hundreds of paces down to the ocean. You are right. We do not have a permanent army, but every citizen is expected to serve and provide their own arms when there is need.” At least he seemed to be more at ease with Amrbos. He had even taken up leading them somewhere. The lack of an army would be problematic, but he would see what he had to work with when he got to the capital and spoke to whoever ruled this place.

Diokles finally stopped when they reached the outskirts of the town. They stood in front of a stall. The man didn't even say anything before two of the strangest horses Ambros had ever seen were brought out. It had antlers and spots. He honestly wasn't sure what to make of it. The stablehand led one over to Diokles and helped him up on the blanket covering its back. No saddle? Looking at the animal the stablehand brought him, Ambros gave the kid a funny look. Was he being serious? Ambrose's feet would drag along the ground if he sat on it, and that was if it even survived said sitting, to begin with. The animal didn't seem particularly happy about the arrangement either. Giving Ambros the stink eye.

Diokles finally got control over his mount and seemed to understand that something was not going to work out as planned because he turned to the stablehand and asked. “See if there is a carriage that will fit our honored guest?” Ambros just shook his head. He was almost positive he could run faster and further than those things anyway. Telling Diokles as much, the man looked about to protest, but he couldn't really argue with Ambros either under the circumstances. Ambros finally said, “I'll race you. The winner gets to bathe first.” Diokles seemed to have overcome his fear of Ambros, at least some of it. “Ambros, it is a weeks travel by riding to rach Achisos, and that's with me changing roethars on waystations and villages.” Seeing a sign further down the road that said Achisos, Ambros started jogging.