Kade changed his mind. He had assumed this Rift Zone would be more than the Class F Rift Zone, but the grasslands here were incredibly dull.

At the very least, the Class F Rift Zone had blades of grass that were as tall as trees. All he saw here was normal, short, boring grass.

“What do you see on your end? I’ve been walking through grassland for over an hour with nothing happening.”

It took several minutes to get a reply.

Eliza: That’s unlucky. I’ve been going through waves of monsters since I arrived. I’m no longer jealous.

Kade assumed he had landed in the one part of the Rift Zone where nothing dangerous existed. That really was unlucky.

Eliza: Keep your guard up. I’ve been noticing signs that this place isn’t so simple. There was something that resembled a road underneath the forest floor here.

Her discovery didn’t surprise him too much. Natives must have lived here before it became a Rift Zone.

“Understood. At least it seems surviving seven days is no issue for me.”

Eliza: Congratulations. You put a mark on your back by saying that out loud.

“That’s what I hope,” Kade said with a chuckle. Eliza didn’t reply. He assumed she was busy handling business.

Kade walked for several more hours, seeing nothing. It was unbelievable that he had seen no signs of life besides the grass underneath his feet. Even on Earth, he would’ve seen a few bugs here and there.

With no end in sight, he did the only thing that could keep them occupied—other than bothering Eliza. He studied his [Soulrend].

Kade wasn’t ashamed to say that he barely remembered what it looked like in its [Dormant] state. He knew it resembled the crudest version of a spear, and that’s it.

It was a little more respectable now. The spear’s blade looked sharp, with a slightly bluish sheen. The shaft featured sturdy, dark wood with worn leather wrappings that acted as the grip.

His [Soulrend] seemed ordinary, but it also didn’t appear to be taken out of the trash pile like it did in its [Dormant] state.

Kade hadn’t questioned it until now, but he realized he didn’t know how to upgrade the state of the [Soulrend]. It went from [Dormant] to [Awakened] without him doing much of anything. He remembered throwing the [Soulrend] into the pack of gnawers repeatedly before it suddenly changed its state.

“System, how do I upgrade my Soulrend?”

That is unknown. A Soulrend is unique to the user, and it is your responsibility to find out how to best make use of it.

He almost expected that. It could be possible that he needed to forge the [Soulrend] into something more impressive, but that guess was a stretch.

The most likely thing involved his soul. Since the [Soulrend] was made of the fragments of his soul, it was the most logical choice.

“All right, then, how do I strengthen my soul?”

The safest way is to increase your Arcana Level. Some resources will help you with this goal, but they all have side effects of various severities.

Kade hummed with acknowledgment as he found he liked the answer. To improve his [Soulrend], he probably just had to continue doing what he already was. It sounded rather perfect to him.

He narrowed his eyes to look in the distance. He could see a change at the edge of his vision. The grasslands were ending.

Finally!

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After several minutes, Kade found himself staring into a scorching desert. The air shimmered from the extreme heat, just like in the Hollywood movies he had seen before based in the Middle East.

Of course, Kade felt little heat because of his resistance.

He looked down and saw the dried-out grass, signifying the end of the grasslands. It had been getting progressively drier the closer he got to the desert.

Still, the rapid change in biomes made little sense. From a lush forest, to a vast grassland, and now an extremely hot desert.

It was a reminder that this was still very much a Rift Zone. An alien world that he shouldn’t expect to be too familiar.

Kade stepped onto the sand and walked forward.

He stumbled unexpectedly. He stuck his [Soulrend] into the sand and held onto it to keep himself upright. It didn’t help.

Kade stumbled again. The interface suddenly appeared.

Warning: You are experiencing severe exhaustion.

It was unbelievably hard even to think, but he somehow turned to check how far he had gone into the desert.

The dried grassland was only a few steps away. Kade thought he was attempting to return, but it was all in his head. He felt like the sand had glued his feet in place.

Kade knew he had to add [Free Points] to [Endurance]. The issue was that knowing he had to do something didn’t mean he could actually do it in time.

Warning: You are experiencing severe dizziness.

He felt the coarse grains of sand against his face. He had fallen onto his front at some point.

Kade’s eyes were so heavy that even [Indomitable Will] couldn’t help him stay awake. The last thought he had was that he had been too relaxed. If he had been more alert, [Indomitable Will] might have been of more help.

***

He felt something sharp poking into his side. He frowned when he felt himself being turned over before a low, guttural sound forced him to snap into focus.

Kade remembered he had collapsed in the desert. Now there was something talking beside him. And he was bound.

He peeked open his eyes in an effort to be discreet. He found himself staring up at the sky.

Kade heard footsteps get louder and quickly closed his eyes again. He tried to take in the status of his body.

His health remained intact, and he no longer felt the effects that had been imposed on him in the desert. He would’ve concluded that whoever had taken him didn’t mean any harm if he weren’t in a Rift Zone.

Unfortunately, he was in a Rift Zone.

Kade felt himself being turned again. There was another rough, guttural sound before the footsteps walked away.

He opened his eyes again and froze.

Kade was over a fire. They tied him to a stick. Whatever these things were, they were trying to roast him.

He had never felt so insulted in his life.

Well, at least this makes my decision easy.

Kade tried to summon his [Soulrend] but couldn’t feel it answer his call. He frowned, knowing it was likely shattered while he was unconscious.

He looked around discreetly and noticed the humanoids that captured him paid no attention to him, likely thinking he was no threat to them.

They would regret that. Kade did a rudimentary threat assessment and sensed that most were more or less weak compared to him.

This should be a reasonably simple extermination.

Kade still tried to be subtle as he waited for the best time to summon his [Soulrend]. He couldn’t help but notice the impressive physical specimens these soon-to-be-exterminated monsters were.

They were broad-shouldered humanoids, standing anywhere from seven to eight feet tall, with powerful, muscular builds that suggested they were built for war. Their skin was a deep, earthy gray, marked with natural patterns that resembled cracks in stone.

Their strange attire caught his attention the most, even more than their impressive physical size.

It was like a combination of the futuristic yet ancient armor. Their armor featured poor patchwork in some areas that struggled to stay together, but in other areas, it was made of unknown metals with intricate carvings that shimmered with every movement.

Kade wanted to get his hands on these things.

The humanoids all looked away for a moment. It was time.

He activated [Ethereal Glide]. He slipped out of his binds and dropped soundlessly into the fire.

Kade targeted the humanoid who felt the strongest. He rushed directly to it, wanting to get there before any of them realized he was free.

He failed.

Kade heard a deep, resonant sound echo through the small settlement. One of these humanoids had roared to alert others of his impending attack.

He might’ve failed to get to the humanoid before they realized it, but they still realized it far too late.

“Soulrend!” Kade felt half his health sapped away. He deactivated [Ethereal Glide] and activated [Armor Break].

He thrust his [Soulrend] directly into the armored back at the humanoid, where he guessed its heart would be.

Purple blood spurted in copious amounts when his [Soulrend] pierced through the humanoid as if it were made of butter.

Kade saw the shock in the humanoid’s eyes before it crumbled into a white powder.

You have destroyed a Karnathi (Arcana Level 34)!

He became aware of an uncontrollable smile on his lips. He had missed the feeling of being in battle after staying in Chicago for far too long.

Kade heard guttural roars challenging him as the humanoids converged rapidly. He loved it when monsters did precisely what he wanted.

He pulled his [Soulrend] back and prepared to skewer multiple karnathis.