Jason lay motionless on a portable bunk with his eyes closed. A quiet shuffling of people moving and the soft murmuring of their voices sounded around him. He wasn’t alone, but for just this moment, he pretended that he was.

He was tired.

Stamina : 55% |██████████████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒| 71/130

Nearly thirty hours of frantic insanity. Fighting endless waves of Ironforged Shocktroopers. Returning to rest. Rushing to move supplies onto carts and cars. Helping the injured to the medics, or vice versa in some cases. Then, back to fighting the monsters. And on and on.

He’d collapsed onto a bed a while ago and promptly blacked out.

Even after hours of sleep, his stamina hadn’t fully recovered. And that was after minimizing his skill usage to the best of his ability. He couldn’t even imagine how any of the other people had managed.

Jason ponderously let the notifications of the last while wash over him.

‘ding!’ ‘Your party has slain a lvl 15 Ironforged Shocktrooper. Experience awarded’

...

‘ding!’ ‘Your party has slain a lvl 15 Ironforged Shocktrooper. Experience awarded ’

‘ding!’ ‘Congratulations! Your level has increased to 16. 5 stat points awarded’

‘ding!’ ‘Congratulations! Your level has increased to 17. 5 stat points awarded’

He’d killed or participated in killing countless numbers of the automatons. The experience must have been diluted immensely among all the combatants since all that effort had resulted in two measly levels. On the other hand, maybe two levels was a good result, considering he was now several levels above the beasts.

‘ding!’ ‘You have invested 15 points into Constitution’

‘ding!’ ‘You have invested 5 points into Dexterity’

‘ding!’ ‘You have invested 5 points into Strength’

Health : 78% |████████████████████▁▁▁▁▁| 234/299

Jason rolled his shoulders as a wave of vitality washed over him. On some level, he wanted to put more points into strength. It was frustrating to be so reliant on others in battle. Practically speaking, though, it was a bad idea. Everything about the system implied that true strength lay in skill levels. Adding more attributes to strength would help him temporarily, but the diminishing returns were already visible.

‘ding!’ ‘[Flesh Reconstruction] has reached level 32’

...

‘ding!’ ‘[Flesh Reconstruction] has reached level 34’

Every additional point in constitution increased his health. Which in turn increased the damage he took from Starvation. Which made him get more levels in [Flesh Reconstruction]. It was a positive feedback loop that required him to spend his points primarily on defense.

‘ding!’ ‘[Callous Hide] has reached level 5’

...

‘ding!’ ‘[Callous Hide] has reached level 8’

Callous Hide had also improved markedly. It now noticeably reduced the damage of even powerful attacks. Against minor damage, its protection was absolute. It was only a shame that the high stamina cost had prevented Jason from using it as much as he might have wanted to.

‘ding!’ ‘[Iron Resistance] has reached level 3’

...

‘ding!’ ‘[Iron Resistance] has reached level 10’

‘ding!’ ‘[Iron Resistance] has reached the limit of the first Saf. Choose another skill to guide its evolution’

Iron resistance, on the other hand, had shot to the limit of the first Saf within the first couple hours and had stayed there ever since. Jason had considered upgrading the resistance, but the truth was the creatures didn’t pose that much of a threat. Fighting them was more tedious than anything. They were too tanky for him to deal with on his own, but they dealt enough damage to require more than a modicum of his attention.

Jason blinked away his interface and threw off the thin blanket. The Ironforged were boring, but hopefully, that would change today. He stood and navigated around the mess of beds and sleeping bags littering the ground. He slipped out of the dim house-turned-barracks and blinked owlishly in the afternoon sun.

The Iron biome stood to the west like a specter. Occasional attacks still spawned from the darkness, though the biome had stopped expanding sometime at night. The result was a sphere almost perfectly a mile in diameter.

The question was, why? Why did it stop expanding? It must be an energy limit of some sort. Or was it volume? Precise measurements were difficult, but it couldn’t be a coincidence that the biome stopped expanding after a mile. Or was there something special about 1.6 kilometers? Or...was it a question of volume? But if that was the case, what was the significance of 2.28 cubic kilometers?

Or...1.419 cubic miles?

Hell, why was he assuming the system used either measurement system to determine these things?

A bustle of activity down the road caught his attention.

Right. There was a reason he woke up.

They were planning a dungeon run.

Jason grinned, shrugging off the endless questions as he joined the group. Emily greeted him warmly, and he recognized Billy standing off to the side with his arms crossed over his chest. Roughly fifteen people were assembled, and they were all wearing a mishmash of combat gear.

A well-dressed police officer with a half dozen pins decorating his breast clapped his hands, capturing everyone's attention.

“A moment, everyone,” the man said, his voice carrying easily. “If you haven’t met me yet, I am Chief Ricci. Thank you for volunteering so readily for this. The situation with the Iron Rift has been a challenge. That is for sure. New information is streaming in as we speak, and our greatest minds are working to discover our course of action from here. Until then, we are here to bring the fight to the enemy and destroy the remaining two rifts in close proximity to our home.”

The spectators gave a subdued cheer. There was a pervasive exhaustion in the sound. Each one was bearing the marks of gray stamina or gray mana.

“We will organize into two groups led by Detective Sergeant Charles Sloan,” Chief Ricci gestured to a frowning police officer to his left, “and Billy Sorensen,” he gestured to Billy. “They will lead the two respective teams to the remaining rifts, and close them once and for all. Follow your team leader’s instructions. And no heroics. Whatever it may look like, we are here to save lives, not sacrifice them.”

After a few more words, the Chief started splitting people into groups. Jason ended up under Detective Sergeant Sloan, with Emily and a well-kempt businessman who introduced himself as Howard Walsh. The man didn’t display any exhaustion. He’d likely hid in the back lines the entire time.

Billy waved to Jason, and the two groups split.

Jason eyed his party skeptically. It seemed like a strange composition, especially with group two bloated by a dozen other members, but Jason rolled with it. Chief Ricci seemed to know what he was doing.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

In due time, they arrived at the vivid, swirling portal of the corrosion rift.

Jason stepped through second, right after the Deputy Sergeant.

‘ding!’ ‘You have entered a minor Corrosion rift! Escape to prove your worth!’

As he blinked the darkness from his eyes, an acrid swamp greeted him. The vague vertigo from passing through the portal vanished as he beheld the rift. Unlike the Tutorial, this rift was an open space spreading far into the distance. A watery bog extended endlessly in every direction, lit from above by a dark sky. Off in the distance, a repeated series of swirling green portals faintly depicted the snowy area they had come from.

The only thing that broke the endless illusion were multiple copies of Jason and Charles mirrored endlessly in the distance.

Before he could properly appreciate the strangeness, an eel leaped out of a nearby pool of water and lunged at him, teeth first.

‘ding!’ ‘Bog Volatile lvl 20’

Jason reacted on instinct. He jerked aside and slapped the creature to the ground. He moved in to finish it off, but before he could, a black truncheon snapped out and flattened the creature’s head.

Instead of dying, the eel hissed violently. It inflated like a balloon and rose into the air. Jason backed up, but the inflated creature zipped toward him. He punched it, and it exploded. Viscous gray sludge splattered everywhere, covering both Jason and Charles in the ichor.

‘ding!’ ‘Your party has slain a lvl 20 Bog Volatile. Experience awarded’

“Gah,” Jason spat, wiping away the sludge. It stung a little but wasn’t a real danger to him. On the other hand, Charles was struggling, and Jason rushed over to help wipe off the damaging gunk.

“Thank you, Jason,” Charles said gruffly. “I heard you could take a beating, but this is impressive. If I may ask, how far can you push it?”

“Not that far against these guys,” Jason shrugged, eyeing his slowly recovering life pool. “I don’t have any corrosion resistance yet. It shouldn’t be that hard to get it though...”

“Go for it,” Charles nodded. “I was going to suggest the same thing. Better to be safe than sorry.”

Jason grinned and picked up a lump of the sizzling gray sludge. His skin started burning but was swiftly offset by the unstoppable dynamo of [Flesh Reconstruction].

‘ding!’ ‘Congratulations! You have learned the skill [Corrosion Resistance]: You have willingly lost skin to the sting of bog acid. This skill will help you resist similar effects’

‘ding!’ ‘[Corrosion Resistance] has reached level 1’

A dull pop sounded to their right.

“Woah...That is trippy,” Emily blinked as she materialized out of thin air. “Are we...in a house of mirrors?”

All around them, dozens of other Emilys popped into reality. She raised her hand, and the endless copies of her raised their hands in unison. As they watched, infinite Howards stepped out of thin air and joined them.

“I must say, this is not what I expected,” Howard frowned at the infinite array of portals around them. “How are we supposed to know which portal is the correct one.”

“I don’t think there is a correct option,” Jason replied. “There might just be one portal, and as Emily said, there are invisible walls around us.”

“Ahh, so any portal will clear this rift?” Howard lifted a shoe with a wet squelch, staring distastefully at the soggy print left beneath.

“Maybe? We don’t have enough information to say for sure.”

“Right,” Charles interrupted. “What do you need to know for sure?”

“Uh,” Jason scratched the back of his neck. “I guess throw something toward our group over there to see if it hits a wall.”

“Howard, can you?” Charles turned to the businessman. He nodded, and a lump of mud floated up from the ground. Jason blinked in surprise at the clear use of magic. Then, the mud cake was flying toward the far group. Just as it landed, an identical lump of mud landed at Jason’s feet from behind them.

“Wow...It’s not a house of mirrors,” Jason said slowly. He grinned as he realized what the little experiment revealed. “It's like the world warps around itself infinitely. What we are seeing is consistent with a world that’s constrained by spherical geometry.”

“So it’s not that there are a bunch of portals, but only one that we are seeing repeated many times,” Emily said.

“Exactly!” Jason grinned. “If we walk toward one of the portals, we necessarily walk toward all of them!”

“I’m going to stop you right there,” Charles said, grabbing Jason by the shoulder. Jason eyed the hand and shrugged it off. Charles pulled out a phone and took a video of the surroundings. “I’m taking a video that we can analyze later. Right now, we have a mission to get to the portal as quickly as possible. This environment plays into our strengths, especially yours, Mr. Walsh.”

“You want me to carry every one over?” Howard asked.

“If you can.”

“Wait...” Jason frowned. “What do you mean carry us over?”

“I have telekinesis.” Howard replied, demonstrating by mentally lifting another lump of mud. He nodded at Jason, then turned back to Charles. “I won’t be able to carry every one over all at once. At most, I believe my power is limited by myself and one passenger.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” Charles nodded. “This area around us seems safe for now, so begin by moving Emily through the portal first, then myself, and finally Jason. That should result in the fewest chances of danger overall.”

Howard nodded and turned to Emily.

“With your permission?”

Emily nodded, and Jason could only watch blankly as Emily’s clothes compressed around her as if from a strong wind. Both Emily and Howard rose into the air ponderously. An expression of extreme focus darkened Howard’s face as he manipulated the pair of them across the bog.

Swarming eels snapped at their heels as they floated by, but they were high enough that the creatures couldn’t reach them. Neither did their floating balloon forms trigger to give them the extra boost needed to reach the flying humans. Barely any time later, Emily vanished through the portal and Howard was returning.

Charles glanced at the murky waters suspiciously, then patted Jason on the back. He said something encouraging as Howard lifted him, but Jason barely registered his words.

His mind was in turmoil. Never mind the disappointingly cheesy solution to the rift. What he was seeing shouldn’t be possible. Since the Tutorial, he’d seen dozens of abilities, all of which had followed strict guidelines for their power levels. Every skill had a cost associated with it. The more powerful the skill, the greater the cost of stamina or mana it incurred.

Howard’s telekinesis wasn’t just strong. It was obscene.

And now that he was looking, the man didn’t display any typical signs of exhaustion in his expression. His face was clear, and he stood stock straight as if he had rebar rammed up his ass. That, in concert with his casual skill usage, was...disconcerting.

Charles vanished through the portal, and Howard flew back toward him. The man was slightly faster coming back than going forward. Thank goodness his skill had some sort of limit. Still, there were only two options for what Jason was seeing.

Either Howard was extremely high level with the stats to support his skill usage. An unlikely possibility considering the short duration since the Tutorial. The second option was that Howard had somehow leveled his skill way past the second Saf and was deep into the third, or even fourth. That...was possible. Technically. If Jason could do it with Starvation, it was certainly possible for someone else to figure out a way to power level their skill.

There was a third option. A loophole or exception that Jason hadn’t discovered yet.

It all just seemed...hard to believe.

“Are you ready?” Howard asked. Jason noted he was floating an inch above the wet ground.

“I have a few questions.”

“Questions? About the rift?”

“About you actually.”

Howard stared at Jason for a second, then quirked his head slightly. “Deputy Sergeant Sloan has tasked me with evacuating you safely from this rift. Would it be possible to postpone your questions until monsters no longer surround us?”

“Sure?”

“Then, do I have your permission to lift you?”

“Sure,” Jason nodded amiably. Steady pressure gripped him from all sides. His clothes stuck to his skin, and he felt himself being pulled up. He resisted the urge to jerk and try to balance himself. Instead, he just watched curiously as they passed over the bog full of monstrous eels.

“So...” Jason said as the portal approached, unable to further contain his curiosity. “This power of yours seems pretty strong. What level are you?”

Howard smiled, the tension in his eyes fading slightly. “Thank you for the compliment. I must confess, I am only level thirteen. Nowhere close to being the strongest in our little group. I must say, I am impressed with your and Miss Emily’s abilities. You’re level fifteen, aren’t you?”

“Seventeen, actually.”

“Even more impressive. You have talent, young man. I’m sure you will be vital to the survival effort.”

“I’m curious, though. Don’t take this the wrong way, but how did you manage to get such a powerful skill?” Jason said.

“It’s no problem at all,” Howard chuckled softly. Slowly, he lowered them both toward the swirling portal. “I believe the simple answer is that I am empowered by the immense responsibility of keeping humanity alive through this difficult time.”

“And the long answer?”

Howard's eyes twinkled. “The long answer is that I managed to gain two skills that synergize well and the resources to level them significantly.”

“What are the names of your skills?” Jason frowned. Had he made a mistake with [Callous Hide]? Compared to Howard’s telekinesis, it seemed underwhelming.

“I think,” Howard lowered them both to the bog. Jason’s feet touched down with a squelch. “I’ll keep that to myself. Come, let us rejoin the others.”

With that, Howard stepped through the portal. Jason threw a glance back at the bog but then sighed. This wasn’t like the Tutorial. He could see Emily tapping her foot impatiently on the other side of the portal.

‘ding!’ ‘[Flesh Reconstruction] has reached level 35’

The notification flickered by, and Jason’s grin returned. He might have made a mistake with Callous Hide, but his strategy with Flesh Reconstruction was still going strong.

He jumped through the portal.