Urgent chittering woke Alex from a deep sleep. His mind did its best to kick into gear and remember where he was and what was happening. By reflex, Alex shoved his bag to the side and stood up in a crouch, looking around the dark alcove they’d been sleeping in.
Before his sleepy brain had fully recovered, light flooded into the small cave as the door made of webs was sliced open down the middle. A spider was on the other side of the opening. It moved back to create space for them and waited patiently.
A minute went by as Alex caught up to everything that happened, and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He grabbed his pack and ushered Val out of the room as well. Alex stretched when he stood to his full height and felt very well rested, though still sore and battered from the experiences the day before.
The spider moved its mandibles and gestured for Alex to follow as it moved off out of the central nest.
Alex looked around the large colony of Mana Spinners once more before he followed the spider. As they walked, he thought through the events that had transpired the day before. It had all happened so fast, and his body was pushed to its limit.
He’d learned a lot of valuable information from Eura, namely, that the System integration could fail, which would result in all of Earth getting fractured into “broken worlds” to be used as Rifts. This terrifying thought added a whole new level of gravity to the situation. Alex wanted to berate himself more for taking the entire situation too lightly and not approaching this with his friends.
Then, after meeting a friendly spider and killing a half dozen monsters, he’d gained six levels. While Alex was elated with that, he couldn’t help but be a bit confused. Their levels had been so much higher than his, and he’d seen two levels received for the first kill.
So why didn’t I get more levels?
He was sure that it might be dangerous to do so, but he tried to apply video game logic to the System.
Am I getting some kind of penalty because I’m not doing the work?
If that was the case, Alex couldn’t help but think that the System was actually being quite generous.
The thing that was eating away at Alex the most, though, was the reward he’d received for accepting the hidden quest. The eye and Val’s bond were the only reasons he could navigate the spider tunnels with any certainty. The spider's webs were frequent and spaced through the tunnel, and they glowed faintly in the view of his left eye, giving him the ability to tell the depth and side of the walls within the dark tunnels. His right eye was largely useless in this environment, where the only thing he could really see was the occasional movement of Val or the spider he was following.
As they walked, Alex pulled up his Status Window and was startled to note that he could see the System window in perfect clarity through both eyes. He focused on the Heavenly Eye under “Bound Items” to get more details on it as a growth item.
Bound Items
E Rank Growth Item - Heavenly Eye of the Celestial Sage
Rarity: Unique
Type: Ocular Enhancement
This ocular enhancement replaces the eye of the wielder, granting the passive ability to perceive mana and its movement within the environment. As the wielder's control over magic increases, the clarity and strength of this vision will enhance accordingly.
The Eye lets the user focus their will to reveal detailed information about items, materials, or entities through the System. The accuracy and detail of the information obtained are contingent on the wielder’s Willpower being greater than the target's, with more details accessible as the gap in Willpower widens.
Alright, that's terrifying but makes sense. These hues of blue that I’m seeing are mana from my surroundings. Val has been glowing as he emits some mana, and apparently, so do I. Our spider friends leak very little mana. Maybe this is to aid them in hunting?
More importantly, the second part explains how I saw the information about the spider yesterday. I was scared and wanted to know what the spider was so I must have activated the eye unintentionally.
Alex decided to try it again on the spider that was leading them now, but he felt that he was unable to do so. The sensation was odd. Alex felt the same pulse in his forehead as before, and he could feel his Will push forward. However, as his sense of purpose and desire reached out toward the spider, it was like hitting a brick wall.
The spider froze for a moment before turning back to him. It gestured around erratically and then stared at Alex as if waiting. The three of them stood in silence for some time with the spider just watching him.
Maybe it wants me to try again? That, or it’s pissed that I tried, and this is going to annoy it even more…
Alex tried again and was surprised to find some information appearing with no effort at all.
Mana Spinner- Level 41
Class: Ethereal Web Hunter
The spider dipped its head before continuing down the tunnel as if they hadn’t just stood in silence for the last few minutes.
Alex let out a sigh of relief and wondered if this was the same spider from the day before. The information presented was the same as the one before.
Did it work this time because he wanted to show me this information? I’m guessing that means his Willpower is higher than mine.
This was slightly surprising to Alex. Even though the spider drastically out-leveled him, Alex had been getting nine points into his Willpower for every level, not to mention the bump from his recent titles.
Val bumped his head against Alex’s. He gave Val a scratch and thought of his companion, who was also a beast. Alex took his index finger and ran it along the top fin and against the cold scales of his bonds back. He thought about the progress his companion had made and the growth that was already evident.
You get a lot more stats when leveling up compared to me. Maybe all monsters do, and the Mana Spinners just get more in Willpower?
Valtherion keened, and Alex wondered what he was trying to communicate. He smiled and gently pushed away his companion. The small wyrm did a lap around his head before zipping around the tunnel.
Alex wanted to inspect some of the items that he’d gained yesterday to see how they worked on items. He drew his rapier and inspected it, having no issue as the pulse from behind his eyes looked down at the weapon in his hand.
E Rank Item - Shadow Serpent’s Fang Rapier
Rarity: Common
Type: One-Handed Sword
Gah, the names of the things in this Rift are ridiculous.
He sheathed the rapier and was interested to try and scan the spatial bag that he’d taken. It was attached to his hip, and he carefully untied the bag. That item, in particular, was of great interest to Alex. He had played a few tabletop RPG games with Mark, and he’d always thought that the idea of a bag of holding was just so cool.
He focused on it and was surprised to see that it was just considered an Uncommon item, not something higher like epic or legendary.
E Rank Item - Spatial Satchel of the Abyss
Rarity: Uncommon
Type: Container
Maybe they’re somewhat normal? At least that would make it easier to find more.
Alex shrugged, happy to have gained this one for free. Regardless of their System-graded rarity, he could only imagine how much one might sell for in terms of Earth currency.
Curious to test how it worked, he bent down as he followed his spider guide and grabbed a rock. He dropped it into the bag and was satisfied to see that it vanished and the weight of the bag didn’t change at all. Alex reached his hand into the bag and tried to feel around.
It was eerie to move his hand around and be unable to feel any items or even the walls of the bag, which his eyes were telling him should be only a few inches away. It gave him the chills and was unnerving that it reminded him of when he needed to stick his hand into the garbage disposal.
Guess an entire generation can thank a certain movie series for that irrational fear…
As he turned his thoughts back to the rock he’d just dropped into the pouch, he felt it slap into his palm. Removing his hand, he had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Just as Eura had told him, the pouch operated off of intent. Alex just needed to think of the item he wanted, and it would leap into his hand from the space beyond.
Happy as a little kid on Christmas, Alex reattached the spatial bag to his belt and began thinking about all the different things he could potentially store in it.
How big is the space? Can I fit my whole backpack in there? Then I wouldn’t even need to lug all of this weight around. Though I did go on a bit of a looting spree, so there’s a clear limit I was hitting.
While he wanted to test it out, he knew there would be plenty of opportunities later. At that moment, the spider was waiting for his attention. They’d arrived at the first web, and Alex was up.
He removed his rapier once again and went to work.
As they moved from one to the other, Alex devoted himself to thinking about classes and potential choices he might make. Since he’d jumped up four levels the previous day,
While he knew that he should look for something that aided in survival, the recent titles took off some of the immediate pressure to go all in on Constitution or other physical stats. Alex came to the conclusion that he’d continue to look for a class dealing with magic or rituals, more specifically.
Alex knew that he’d been relying heavily on his body rather than magic this entire time. Even when he was using his wand, he was still empowering his body for movement and using the [Empowered Steps] skill. Since he’d lost his wand he’d been using physical attacks even more, but this isn’t what he wanted to be doing. It was more out of necessity, and he didn’t know how to use any magic other than rituals yet.
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He made the plan that as soon as he hit level 10, he would look at his options and then think through them during the rest of their day hunting. The current method of killing the trapped creatures for the spiders held very little danger for him, so there wasn’t a need to rush the decision.
It was only a few hours before he had killed a Cave Crawler and gotten a particular notification.
Congratulations Awakened. You have leveled up!
You have 3 Free Points to distribute.
Congratulations, Awakened. You have reached Level 10.
Please choose your Class. This choice can be changed at different points in your journey.
He grinned from ear to ear, and as he breathed out, it came out shaky with excitement. But he forced himself himself to wait, his excitement dulled as he remembered what he’d missed out on the day before.
Alex went to the slain monster and used the knife from his pack to cut into the Cave Crawler’s chest. He’d forgotten to check for Mana Stones in his exhaustion the day before and the desire to keep up with his monster-guide. He was slightly concerned at the greed he was experiencing in this new way of life but still diligently checked each of the kills that day. He’d been adamant about stopping at every monster after finding the first Mana Stone and noted that it was purple instead of blue and slightly larger than his other Mana Stones. He could only assume that was due to this now being a D Rank Rift.
This additional time seemed to make the spider slightly impatient as it took a few more minutes, but there were no outward signs other than how he moved his little arms back and forth faster as he watched Alex.
Once the trio moved through the tunnels again, he held his breath and mentally selected the class window to see his options. He was surprised by the number presented to him.
Rogue
Common
A stealthy individual skilled in agility and cunning. Rogues excel in evasion and surprise, often relying on quick strikes and clever tactics to outmaneuver their foes.
Primary Class Stat: Agility
Secondary Class Stat: Vitality
Mage
Common
A practitioner of the arcane arts, Mages harness magical energies to cast spells. They are knowledgeable in various forms of magic, focusing on power and overwhelming magical force.
Primary Class Stat: Intellect
Secondary Class Stat: Mana
Upon seeing the second option, Alex let out a sigh of relief. Worst case scenario, he had some sort of magical option to fall back on and he would hopefully receive Stat Points in two very useful stats.
He continued on to the rest of the classes that were presented.
Duelist
Uncommon
A master of one-on-one combat, Duelists rely on precision and skill to outmatch their opponents. With quick reflexes and tactical prowess, they thrive in controlled combat, turning every encounter into a dance of blades.
Primary Class Stat: Agility
Secondary Class Stat: Constitution
Wizard
Uncommon
A disciplined spellcaster. Wizards specialize in the art of controlled magic. They focus on the intricacies of spellcraft, utilizing their knowledge to manipulate magical energies with precision and finesse.
Primary Class Stat: Willpower
Secondary Class Stat: Intellect
Padfoot
Uncommon
A swift and silent infiltrator. Padfoots excel in moving across distances with speed. They employ agility and nimble movement skills to bypass obstacles. While a sibling class to the rogue, Padfoots trade stealth for speed.
Primary Class Stat: Agility
Secondary Class Stat: Vitality
These looked even more promising. He was surprised that he was getting so many agility-based classes.
Though maybe I shouldn’t be. Olivia said the System gives classes based on personality and how you’ve gained your first ten levels. I’ve been doing a lot of running and dodging instead of just spellcasting.
As he looked at his last two class options, both in the Rare category, Alex couldn’t help but smile broadly.
Ritualist
Rare
A practitioner of ancient rites and ceremonies, Ritualists tap into mystical forces through carefully crafted rituals. They summon energies from the ether, weaving spells that can protect allies or bind enemies. Their deep understanding of the esoteric allows them to manipulate the fabric of magic with intent.
Primary Class Stat: Wisdom
Secondary Class Stat: Constitution
Tertiary Class Stats: Agility, Intellect, Willpower
Arcane Scholar
Rare
A seeker of knowledge and wisdom, Arcane Scholars immerse themselves in the study of magical theory and lore. They possess an extensive repertoire of spells and can analyze the intricacies of arcane energy. Their analytical mind allows them to craft spells with unique applications, making them versatile casters capable of adapting to any situation.
Primary Class Stat: Willpower
Secondary Class Stat: Intellect
Tertiary Class Stats: Mana, Vitality
While Alex had planned to wait until the end of the day to pick his class option, after seeing the options, he didn’t feel it was necessary. The only two real choices in his mind were the rare options presented to him. While Arcane Scholar sounded like a great choice, there were a few reasons that Alex was leaning toward Ritualist.
Arcane Scholar, while following the path that he was currently on with a focus on Willpower and studying magic, it felt like there were too many redundancies with things he already had. Did he really need analytical spells if he just got something like the Heavenly Eye? Also, with his extreme lean toward Willpower, would he want to get even more stats in that area and further cripple the lack of other stats?
Alex feared that if he went too specialized, it would lead to an early death or an irreparable imbalance in his stats. Before, he’d seen superhero movies where someone with far too much dexterity and speed lacked the constitution or physical strength to withstand the high speeds. In turn, it led to scary side effects like breaking bones or tearing muscles with every movement.
The idea that Ritualist gave him stats he felt he was sorely missing was a big boon. Additionally, it leaned into the kind of magic he’d already begun studying.
It’s got to be Ritualist. It’s a perfect fit for what I’ve been doing and even what I plan to do in the future.
With growing excitement, Alex mentally selected Ritualist as his class and opened his new Status Window.
Status
Name: Alex Moore - Level 10
Class: Ritualist (Novice)
HP: 220/220
MP: 246/400
Traits: (1/3)
{Primordial Will}
Titles: < Please Choose Display Title >
Pathfinder
Unbound
Control Freak
Physical Stats:
Strength: 19
Agility: 21
Constitution: 22
Vitality: 21
Magical Stats:
Intellect: 22
Willpower: 144
Mana: 21 + 19
Wisdom: 24
Bond Skills:
[Mana Siphon] (Novice - Level 9)
Primary Stat Shared - Mana
Active Skills:
[Mana Shaping] (Novice - Level 7)
[Mana Infusion] (Novice - Level 8)
[Empowered Step] (Novice - Level 5)
[Ritual Insight] (Novice - Level 1)
Passive Skills:
[Efficient Rites] (Tier I)
Bound Items:
Unique E Rank Growth Item - Heavenly Eye of the Celestial Sage
Alex smiled as he saw his new Status Window and felt pleased with himself to see it growing longer each time he checked it. His mana had increased, which meant that he would need to check on Val’s Status Window soon, too.
In the meantime, he just focused on his two new skills and read their descriptions.
[Ritual Insight] - Allows the Ritualist to gain insights into the functionality of a new ritual and potential enhancements for a known ritual.
[Efficient Rites] - Reduces the mana cost for activating rituals.
Satisfied with his choice, Alex closed the System windows and refocused on the task at hand. He’d be able to spend more time in the evening testing out his new skills with rituals.
They spent several more hours making their way through the long tunnels and corridors. Alex found it fascinating that the Mana Spinner never got lost or passed through the same hunting ground more than once.
Once they’d finished, Alex was dragging six bundles behind himself. They bounced and dragged across the rocky ground. He’d thought about trying to put some of the corpses into his spatial bag but remembered it was full of the items he’d swiped from the altar. So he was forced to pull them manually. Val followed along, perfectly content to share in the experience that Alex was getting and to eat the mana webs.
When they returned to the colony, the spiders dragged the corpses away. However, Alex and Val were not immediately ushered into their room this time. They were able to sit and rest in the open cavern while eating some of the rations from Alex’s pack.
The cavern was spacious, and a nice breeze entered from a high overhead space. That same space let in some light in the morning, though that was long passed. Alex now could only see around the cave with the use of his left eye, but he was thankful that the only thing that contained visible mana in the cave were the webs. Some of the arachnid monsters leaked mana, but Alex assumed they were the children, as their profiles were even smaller than his guide's.
Alex observed their movements and interactions. He noted that the colony was full of life and activity. The constant interactions and bustle of the Mana Spinners made him once again wish that he could listen in on their conversations through the mana webs.
As time passed, Alex grew bored and decided to enter his “room” and mess with some of his supplies and ritual training material. If he could move the ritual materials to the spatial bag, it would make it much easier to put one together quickly rather than digging through his pack for the particular materials the ritual called for.
He flagged down a nearby spider and first tried to speak to it. Several of those who were skittering around halted and shrunk away from his voice. He was surprised by how loud it sounded in this naturally quiet environment.
Alex held up his hands and instead tried to gesture to the door of his little alcove and ask to be let in. The spider watched him and then ran away, causing Alex to sigh and sit back down.
Val flew over and nestled into his lap, and Alex began to stroke the soft fin along the back of his body.
With my gains, I can’t even be annoyed at them making me sit here. I’m level 11 now. That’s six levels in a day and a half, and I’ve barely had to do anything.
He thought back to the fights he had with the boars and the wolves. He’d risked his life several times in the last two weeks just to gain his first five levels. Now, he’d gained more than that in just two days of being trapped in this hell-like Rift.
I guess this is the difference between playing it safe like I did when camping with the others in the boar Rift, killing just a handful on my own here and there, compared to risking it all and accepting an unknown Hidden Quest that ends up boosting the rank of the entire Rift…
Val cooed softly in response.
An hour later, a spider appeared and immediately cut the door, letting Alex into the room. Alex was unsure of how to thank the little spider without words and just waved at it lamely.
Soon, the door was sealed back up, and the two were alone. While Alex felt somewhat tired, he was sure his stats affected his energy levels. He felt like he’d have no problem staying awake for two or three more hours. He turned off the lantern to conserve oil and instead brought out two chem-lights from his pack and cracked them. They created a green glow in the small space that was soft enough to see by but wasn’t overly bright.
Alex grinned, excited to test how his new Ritualist class and skills worked.