An hour passed as Alex talked with Elana and Derrick. Alex told them more about his time on the run from the Shadow Sect. After explaining the dynamic between the two sects and how much they could learn from Eura, Elana gave an assurance that they’d attempt to make contact with the Celestial Lotus Sect after entering and asked if he would mind meeting with Derrick at a later date to go over the Rift information in more detail.

“Uh,” Alex said while scratching his head. “There was one other thing about the Rift. I know it might be a bit of a stretch, but I really do have so say something.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s really not even likely that anyone could find them… but if you happen to find a group of large spiders in the tunnels on the dark side of the Rift, please don’t attack them.”

“Okay?” Elana drug the word out, clearly confused. “Don’t fight the monsters in the Rift?”

“No, sorry. Just these ones, the System even marks them as ‘Nonhostile’ if you scan them. They are really the only reason I survived in the Rift. They helped me a lot and if you could just put the word out not to harm them, I’d really appreciate it. This sounds crazy, but I want to go back and find them at some point.”

Elana raised an eyebrow and looked at him in silence for a few minutes. “Alright, I can do that. But you have to understand how strange that sounds, right? Especially with the number of Rift breaks going on around the country right now?”

Alex nodded and didn’t say more on the topic, pleased that she was willing to do that much.

After a time, the Head Moderator cleared her throat and asked for some privacy between herself and Alex. Valtherion had fallen asleep in her lap like a fat and happy cat.

“There is something I wanted to ask you, aside from our deal for the Rift information.” She finished her drink, the single large cube of ice half melted.

“About what?”

“Are you aware of what’s been going on with the Hunter’s Association in the last two weeks?”

“Well, I mean, it’s been all over the news since the President’s announcement. And obviously, there’s more military around the city than I’ve seen before, but they haven’t really bothered me at all yet.”

She nodded in response, as if it were expected. “Well, we have been able to keep close tabs on the Hunter’s Association, just from a few family contacts that we have. In the last two weeks, specifically leading up to the new year, the government has begun to change the message that is being pushed to the public. Originally, they were attempting to become a group similar to what we have here with the Adventures Guild, but backed by the government. The hope was that they would then keep people registered and organized as the main body of Awakened in the country,” Elana said. “That’s a large reason we’ve been working to create our own group, is to avoid being under their purview.”

Alex nodded.

“That was a selling point Andrew talked about when I joined.”

“Well, that’s begun to change. I think that they’ve seen how large the Guild has gotten and how many smaller guilds are popping up to follow in our footsteps. They’ve given up trying to compete with that and have found a more strategic route. The government is now positioning itself to be… well, a governing body. Rather than being their own group, The Hunters Association would work like a regulatory body, meant to present and enforce rules on any guilds in the country.”

“Well, that still kind of defeats the purpose of what you’re trying to do, right?”

“Exactly; there’s not a real purpose to have our own group separate from the government’s rule if they plan to position themselves as the group that regulates all guilds. As I said, small guilds are popping up all over the place, and the Hunters Association has already started to bring them in with the promise of protections, organizational benefits, and other offers.”

“Have they tried to bring us under their umbrella?”

Elana shook her head in response as Alex activated his Mana Thread ability and began to form small circles in the air. Elana didn't seem to notice, so as Alex thought through what she was saying, he idly made the practice forms that Eura had taught him.

“No, not yet. They have started to apply pressure on us, though. Apparently, there was some sort of radical group that there was an incident with in December, and they’re trying to say that it was a part of our organization.”

Alex raised an eyebrow and his concentration faltered for a moment and he almost lost the shape he was constructing.

“It wasn’t, of course. Disgusting group calling themselves the Untethered. They were preaching some of the same stuff we tell people, just to a total extreme. They were recruiting people and keeping them as slaves, forcing teenagers to fight against monsters in pits to awaken…” Elana had to compose herself. She let out a breath and tucked a loose hair behind her ear. “The other Moderators and I believe they were just stating to be affiliated with us because we are currently the biggest privately run group out there. We’ve got branches all across the country at this point and have been bringing in a lot of resources.”

“The pressure isn’t too great, just them letting us know that we’re being monitored and they’re looking into our dealings. The real problem will come when enough of those smaller guilds submit. Then it will look like we aren’t being a team player- or at least, that’s how they’ll spin it.”

“Okay,” Alex said slowly. “What does this have to do with me?”

“Well, right now, we’re actually the ones with the public favor. A lot of polls are showing that people don’t want this Awakened business to be controlled by the government. We’re running social media campaigns and are organizing a press conference to keep pushing for the idea of a free Awakened community and the safety of Earth.”

Wow, she’s doing a whole lot of prefacing here…

Alex didn’t comment, letting Elana finish her train of thought as he cycled through smaller and smaller shapes with his mana.

She let out a sigh, recognizing that she was stalling. “I wanted to know your thoughts on joining the Peacekeepers. You’re already a Guild Member, and after tonight many Moderators would jump on the opportunity to bring in someone who can put Rylan in his place.”

Huh?

His concentration faltered and as the threads of mana over his hand burst, he saw Val dive for the space above his hand. Alex smirked, as he knew that if he were to remove his mask to look with his mana sight, the cloud of ethereal mana that was created from his failed skill would be gone.

“I know that you’re familiar with the role, as you and Olivia seem to have gotten closer in the last few weeks. She’s one of our best and strongest. This might seem rushed, but I’ve given it some thought. I’ve seen how you act and carry yourself. You’re loyal to the Guild, as evidenced by the huge Rift deal we just made. Also, you’re strong. We need trustworthy, powerful people in the right positions. As we continue to expand, negotiations will soon be between the Guild and other branches, possibly even other countries. Having someone like you in the spotlight could go a long way for our goals. The Hunters Association has done something similar with the Crimson Warrior they are showing all over the place.”

“I-uh, woah. Sorry, this was not what I was expecting. There seems to be a lot of trust here. Where is that coming from? No offense, but we haven’t interacted much, and I’ve only been with the Guild for… a month?”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Fuck, more than that? The time dilation from the Epic Rift is still messing with my head.

“Sure, it hasn’t been that long since you joined. But again, there are people watching you, especially since you mysteriously returned before Christmas. Also, even if you and I haven’t interacted much, Olivia and I are together almost every day. She’s local, trains here constantly, and works most of the Peacekeeper contracts that I put up. If she trusts you, I don’t see a reason not to give it a try and get to know you better.”

There were several awkward moments as Alex floundered.

“I’m flattered, Elana. Really, thank you. But I don’t think this is right for me. Two weeks ago, I was fighting for my life and unsure of what my life might look like if I got back home. I’m just happy to be back with my friends.” He smiled, a bit embarrassed, “And it doesn’t hurt that you just helped me turn that nightmare into a fortune. I’m not in the right headspace for a responsibility like that. I want to spend some time with my friends, recover, and help them grow stronger. I learned a lot in that Rift, and I want to make the most of those gains.”

Elana looked at him, her eyes searching his face for several heartbeats.

She slapped her legs and stood. Stretching, she walked back over to the bar and poured herself a drink. Alex realized he hadn’t paid much notice of her appearance before she let her blonde hair down from the professional bun it had been in during their earlier meeting.

“It’s hard for me to get upset at that response. It sounds like a shockingly reasonable and rational answer. For some reason, that makes me want you to take the job even more.”

Alex chuckled awkwardly. “How did you expect me to respond?”

“Eh,” Her back was still turned to Alex, but he could see her shoulders shrug. “I had it at a fifty-fifty on if you’d accept. A lot of people jump at the opportunity for power and leadership, and most of the Awakened I deal with seem to be all too eager for more power. Even if it’s just the hierarchal power, as opposed to the leveling kind of power.” She returned to the couch across from Alex and sat back in a much less professional manner than before.

I denied her offer, and her mask came off. It’s a bit funny, but I prefer this anyway.

“There is something else that I need to tell you, but I thought it was better to wait until we could talk privately.” Alex lowered his voice a bit and tried to seem more serious so that there was no way what he was about to tell her could be taken as a joke. “Eura also told me something else about the integration. He’s retained some of his memories from before his world was broken and was a big reason I gained a lot of information about the System and training, so I do believe him…” He took a break and just let it come out, “He said that it’s possible for us to fail the integration. That’s how the worlds inside the Rifts are created in the first place.”

Elana met his eyes and he was surprised to see her own serious look. “We would then become just another Rift in someone else’s integration, likely with the System removed and most of our memories as well?”

Alex straightened, and the surprise must have been clear on his face. “You… you already know about that?”

“Of course,” Elana said, leaning back in her chair. “Why do you seem so shocked?”

“I- I guess because I learned it from someone who had lived through all of that. Eura has lived for hundreds of years and is really strong. I thought it would be pretty scarce information.” He shook his head. “If people know about this, why isn’t everyone working together? All of this political maneuvering and power grabbing seems…” he trailed off, not wanting to offend Elana.

“Short-sighted?” Elana supplied with a smile.

“Yeah,” Alex said, relieved that he hadn’t been the one to say it. “I mean, this isn’t just about the US anymore. We’re talking about the fate of our entire planet- as insane as that sounds to say out loud. Shouldn’t that be enough to make people set aside their differences?”

Elena's expression turned grave. "It should be. And it's one of the main reasons I push so hard to strengthen the Guild. But people..." she sighed, "people don't always make rational choices, even—or especially—when faced with such huge threats. Some refuse to believe it. Others think they can profit from the chaos. And some..." she met his eyes again, "some are just afraid, and fear makes people do stupid things."

"I get that," Alex said softly. "But knowing what's at stake, how can we—"

"Change their minds?" Elena finished for him. "As far as I understand it, this isn’t something that is decided quickly. The decision of whether or not we pass the integration isn’t made in a few years, but likely over decades. For now, the world powers know about this and all of them are keeping it quiet. We have more immediate problems to deal with that if aren’t worked through, we won’t have a say in how things are handled in the future. So, we are also keeping it quiet and focusing on our immediate position and growth."

Alex sat in silence for a few long moments, looking down at his hands and processing the statement. “How did you find out? Is this another one of your brother’s sources?” When Elana nodded, he asked her a question that had been bothering him. “How does he get so much information on the System and Rifts? I’ve been thinking that he has access to some sort of high rarity Rift, like I did. But, seeing how much you just paid for access to the Celestial Rift, I don’t think that there’s some Rare or Epic Rift that you’re keeping a secret.”

“It’s not something I feel comfortable sharing, since it’s his secret. But no, he’s told me that it’s something that’s been granted to him by the System. If he had access to some high rarity Rift and didn’t tell me about it, I’d probably kill him myself. I can’t even tell you how many problems this deal with you is going to solve for us.” She let out a breath and laughed.

“While we’re on the topic or Rylan, do you mind of I ask you something… a bit personal?” Alex asked, watching her closely to gauge her response. He saw her eyes grow a bit more sharp as she looked at him, but otherwise, her posture and body language didn’t change.

“Sure.”

“Rylan. Why do you let him get away with so much? I know he’s family, but if you’re talking about reputation and appearance of the Guild- he seems…” Alex tapered off, thinking of an appropriate word that was still polite.

“Loud?” Elana offered.

Smiling guiltily, Alex nodded.

“Ugh, Rylan is my problem, really. We’ve been close since we were kids. But not in a loving kind of way. Our parents were high performers and expected us to be, often putting us against each other. Our relationship has been filled with competition for as long as I can remember.”

Damn, don’t I know what that’s like?

“Rylan is smart, sometimes too smart for his own good. You might not believe this,” She said with a rueful smile. “But he was a research scientist before awakening. PhD in Chemistry and was doing really well a few years ago before his lab had a freak accident. Being the team lead, he took the brunt of the blame. Our parents were really hard on him from that; despite us both being adults and pretty set, he felt like I was lording my own career over his head. No matter what I did to try and help, he took it as an insult.”

Alex couldn’t help but wonder if Jake felt this way.

Am I too sensitive? Is Jake just doing his own thing and I’m putting myself down?

Nope. Jake’s an asshole, not at all the same.

“Anyway, when the Rifts began showing up. He jumped at the opportunity to get away from the science field and has been obsessed with gaining physical power since then. He’s always had a tendency to be a sore winner, so it often comes off like he’s lording that strength over others…”

Alex waited, wondering if she would offer some excuse, but it seemed like she saw her brother’s tendencies and acknowledged them.

“Yeah, you’re right though. We’re going places with the Guild, and he’s got to get himself together.”

“I really only ask, because I’m assuming that the entire tournament tonight was set up by him?”

Elana nodded.

“I’m also assuming that happened just because we butted heads during the party a few weeks ago?”

Another nod.

“I don’t want to be dragged into some sort of Guild politics. I’m happy to spar and train, but I don’t want to be Rylan’s stepping stone to fame or whatever else he thought he might get from tonight. If I had to guess by the look in his eyes after the match, he’s not going to let this loss go either.”

Elana sighed. “You’re right. That’s not really like him. I’ll talk to him and do my best to head off anything else like this. You’ve got my word that this won’t continue to escalate. I should warn you though, Derrick is talking about creating a sort of team event and competition. This has nothing to do with my brother and is more about us trying to get people out there and closing Rifts. Initially, we were focused on keeping them open and farming the experience or quests as much as we could for our Members, but now, with the Rift Breaks happening around the country, it would be a lot better for our standing if we could be seen closing Rifts.”

Alex let the tension fall from his shoulders. “Thank you for heading that off. But this sounds interesting, you said it’s a team event?”

“Yes, the goal would be to have teams contribute to closing Rifts. We haven’t worked out all of the details yet. But there would be a scoring system for how much your team contributes to the Rift quest and how difficult of a Rift is attempted. We’re hoping to have those contribution points be used by teams to purchase items from a select list.”

Wow, that sounds awesome.

“I’m really interested in that. When do you think it will start?”

“Probably soon. With that speech from the Hunters Association, we really want to step up our presence and make sure that people know we’re helping keep things safe.”

With his concern taken care of and his interest piqued, he looked at his watch, and Elana noticed the look. They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Elana downed the rest of her drink and walked Alex back to the main room of the estate.

Despite two hours passing, there were still plenty of people enjoying the food and music inside. Alex took out his phone and used his right hand to text Mark while using the other to pat Valtherion on the head.

There are still a few hours until the ball drops. I wonder if we could find an empty couch area to set up and relax.

“Mana?”

Haha, yes. If we find a good spot, I’ll give you some mana.