Chapter four - mishaps

David groaned. The feeling of power leaving your body wasn't a pleasant feeling. It was the third time he had handed in the quest Powering the Plane, and even though his stats had increased a lot, he was glad he didn't have to do it again. At least not until he activated a new class. The quest became available every time you chose a new class, and it was frowned upon to not come back and complete the quest as soon as possible. Of cause circumstances could prevent the individual from returning which is why it wasn't a crime.

David sighed, now he only needed to gain level five, the maximum level obtainable in the human demiplane, one last time. At level five he would be allowed to participate in the Sending, a monthly event sending every ready young men and women out into the realms. There they were meant to acquire levels and materials not obtainable in their own demiplane.

The next sending were in two weeks, but David wasn't worried about meeting the deadline. The first completion of Powering the Plane had taken quite some time, almost a month in fact. For his second go at the quest, he had grouped up with a few others. Together they formed a standard five man team consisting of two vanguard to occupy the attention of the monsters, one ranged attacker, David fulfilled that role, a controller to hinder the capabilities of the monsters, and a magic supporter buffing and healing the team members.

The first week had been a bit awkward since they had to get used to each other, but after that they leveled like crazy. Even though they had to split the power the monsters leaked on death in five, they could take on larger groups of monsters and slaughter them more than five times their individual speed. For David this was especially true as he had no active combat skills. He had to use the chant and magic formula every time he wished to cast a spell, not something easily done if you also had to avoid getting hit by the monsters you were fighting.

“You guys think we could meet up when we hit the Realms? I like working together with you guys a lot” David said, he had been thinking about suggesting it, and seeing how this was the last leveling session before the Sending he thought it would be a good time to ask.

“Sure you'll be able to keep up? It doesn't matter much here, but out there I think you need some abilities other than simply chanting spells” asked Jess. Her name was actually Jessica, but in combat it was faster to just say Jess. She was one of the vanguards and the team leader.

“Of cause I'm up for it!” He hissed back, even if it was genuine concern it still hurt a bit being when she asked like that. It didn't help that he had developed a crush on her. It was not his fault! She had a perfectly athletic build, probably from all the training she must’ done to get her classes. She even had a nice personality to boot. At least most of the time.

“I like his idea, even if his spells are a bit slow they're still strong enough and he keeps up well enough. Just look at the team Jonathan is in, they literally have to wait for their mage whenever they have to run somewhere.” Said Samson, their controller, he was a tall dark haired brown eyed man. He was the only one David had ever met that combined controlling spells with archery.

“Count me in” said Clara, their support. She was a bit shorter than David, but had a kind face never far from a smile. She had plain brown hair which she kept in a ponytail.

“Sure it's not just because Samson liked the idea?” Asked their last member. James was massive, you had no doubt he could stop a charging bull with his bare hands. A reassuring feeling for anyone on his team.

Clara poked her tongue at him, not really denying his hinting. They all knew it anyway. They had started dating a few weeks after the team was formed.

David checked his status. He had gotten the skill to open his status without needing a Mirror of the mind. He would much rather have unlocked something like fireball, and he hoped that this time he was awarded an active offensive skill.

>> Level 1, Human <<

>> Classes <<

> Mage

> Scholar

> Riftwalker

Strength 15

Dexterity 20

Vitality 17

Willpower 27

Intelligence 27

Affinity 32

>> Skills <<

> Basic elemental magic, Speed reading, Basic cleaning, Basic pattern recognition, Basic foraging, Basic Rift navigation, Show status <

> New skills <

> Basic illusion magic <

David cringed when he saw the new skill he had gained, while no skills were bad to get, he would much rather have gotten something else. Seriously though, he had only used Mirror Image once to lure in an extra group of monsters. Why did that trigger a skill when the countless fireballs he had cast didn't? Life was unfair. Oh well, he had four level ups to do, and each had a chance to award a skill.

Ten days and five levels later the group had finished their fastest leveling session since forming the team. Of cause it was to be expected, they had better stats than ever so it wasn't that surprising. What surprised them was just how effective ambush tactics had proved to be. They had all been taught basic tactics such as choosing higher terrain if possible, or that luring charging enemies into streams and such to break their charge.

Being taught something and experiencing it for themselves were two completely different things.

When David had told his team the disappointing fact that he still hadn't gotten an offensive skill, but instead got Basic illusion magic they had joked about switching positions between him and Samson. It had of cause only been a joke since neither David nor Samson had any wish to.

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It was Jess that had asked him the first time to mask their presence, so they could try to get a few hits in before the monsters could react. It had worked quite well, so they had for some time used that tactic. Much to their amusement David had unlocked the Camouflage skill, which allowed him to cast the spell easier and more effectively.

At level two they started luring larger groups of monsters into ambushes. Monsters were more likely to follow a lone figure rather than a group that seemed dangerous. Camouflage worked wonders allowing the team to pull far larger groups. Larger groups meant faster levels as they were at the point where almost nothing in the human demiplane could really threaten them when they worked together.

In the end they were done about three days before they had hoped to be. David’s family was happy that he had a few days to just spend together with them. They knew he was looking forward to experience the realms, but they would still miss him. It could be years before he came back so they used the last three days together playing games and simply enjoying each other's company.

On the day of the Sending about a thousand young men and women gathered at the Fields of Sending, where the grand ritual would take place. David and his family had arrived the day before. His mother had used the time during the trip to lecture David about dos and don'ts, even though he told her time and time again that they had been warned about what to expect in school.

“... and remember that even though you'll be traveling a lot you must take care of your personal hygiene. First impressions are hard to change and if you're dirty and smells bad, anyone who meets you will get a bad impression!” His mother continued her lectures. David noted she had just finished her third repetition and he guessed she would start her fourth soon.

“Stay out of the woods, help the orcs, and stay clean. Got it mom, you don't have to repeat it again” David tried to stop his mother before she started repeating herself again. “I gotta go find my team, we want to stay close so we might end up somewhere nearby each other.”

The Sending was pseudo-random with where it sent people. Usually people could stay close to each other and they would usually end up in the same realm relatively close to each other.

“Please just promise me you won't take unnecessary risks and come back home as soon as possible.” His mom demanded “I know you're excited about traveling, but your father and I get worried about your safety. The world is dangerous, not like our safe demiplane. Out there elves will try to kill you on sight, monsters grow strong like you can't imagine and if you get into trouble, there's likely no help to get.”

“That's why I want to go to my team. If we travel together we'll be more safe” he reassured his mom

“We're both just worried about you David, we know you and your team are strong. You have to remember it's a parents job to worry” his father said “don't forget to enjoy your travels, but do come back home when you can. It's not like you won't be able to be sent again”

“I'll be careful” he hugged his mother “I'll find a way home, don't worry about it” he gave his father a hug “maybe we'll meet up in a few years when you'll get sent” he hugged his little sister goodbye “bye see you when I come home” he waved a goodbye while he turned to leave.

He met up with the rest of the team soon after. “This is it, we're about to be sent out to face real monsters and experience the worlds. You guys ready?” Jess said “let's get into positions”

They had chosen to stand in a pentagram, the shape known to have the highest success rate for teams trying to arrive together.

“Take care and stay safe, we love you David” his mom shouted.

David blushed, why did they have to be so embarrassing? As he turned to wave a last goodbye the ground lot up. Chaotic energy started flooding the area and sparks ignited the air above them with green fire and in an instant he was pulled away from reality.

David felt the chaotic energies pull him away from the human demiplane. It felt nauseating, like he was spinning out of control, changing direction constantly. He activated Basic Rift navigation to try and cope better in the void between worlds. The spinning slowed down and it felt like he slowly proceeded in one direction.

He looked around, green lightning were cracking soundlessly all around him. He felt like he could make out the silhouette of something to the right, but he wasn't sure what. Could it be Clara? She had been to his right in the pentagram. But he had turned around so it should be James instead.

David turned and started walking in the direction of the silhouette. Walking might not be the correct term to use, but with Basic Rift navigation active he didn't notice how odd it would be if making walking movements could actually move you somewhere while going through a Rift.

As David got closer to the silhouette everything turned dark. He had somehow exited the Rift and the place he ended up was without light. He looked up, no stars were shining, nor any moon. Total darkness. He couldn't even see his hand right before his eyes.

“... lighting the way, Flare!” He ended his chant. A large orange flare shot from his stretched arm into the air above his head. About three hundred meters up it exploded into a large shining ball of fire, giving light to his surroundings and giving his team a location to meet up at. They had chosen David as their meeting point because he could send the flare and hide with his illusions if he needed.

What greeted him when he could see his surroundings made him immediately regret his decision.

He was in a large cave, about half a kilometer high. The rocks looked brownish red in the orange light, and boulders were strewn about as if something had thrown them away.

Behind him, David could see the cave wall about a kilometer away. In the distance he could see some pillars connecting the roof and the ground. Some seemed decorated, as if some sentient race had carved pictures into them. Considering the distance the carvings must be colossal. Other pillars seem completely natural. Maybe the artist just hadn't come around to decorate the remaining pillars, or maybe they were the remnants of a lost civilization.

David sat down, his team would likely arrive soon, his flare could be seen from quite far away, and they had agreed to send up a signal in case it would take them more than a few hours to get to Him.

Five minutes later his spell ran out and he sat in darkness. He would recast it in an hour. Meanwhile was left to his own imagination. The only sound that could be heard was his heart beating its steady rhythm. He cast Camouflage just in case the cave hadn't been as deserted as it had seemed. Was that the sound of rock crumbling? His heart started beating faster, it was a teammate closing in, it had to be.

Silence.

He cast another flare spell, whispering the chant in fear of something hearing him. The cave lit up once more. Hurriedly he scanned his surroundings. He found no sign of life, only brownish red rocks greeted him.

Where were they? His team shouldn't take that long to get to him. Unless he didn't arrive in the same realm as them. David waited another hour, alone with his thoughts. Where could he be? He was pretty sure he hadn't heard about any realm like this. Or maybe he was just in an unknown grotto under a random mountain? He hoped that was the case, but he got the feeling that it wasn't so.

Another hour later David hoisted his backpack and started walking.