The group settled, quiet and efficient. They did not speak of the pain, though it etched itself into their movements—subtle winces, stiff postures, the careful adjustment of torn clothing against raw flesh.

"Cal," Temp's voice held a digital quiver, "why does loss resonate so deeply. I did not know Joe. I did not interact with him. But, I feel uncomfortable with his loss?"

Temp's confusion mirrored the unease that clawed at his own insides. "It's… complex." He shifted, feeling the pull of an unbandaged wound. "Loss is the price of having something worth missing."

"Is such discomfort... normal?" Temp asked, his words a tentative probe into the human psyche.

"Normal…" Cal echoed, a half-smile touching the corner of his mouth despite the grim circumstances. "Yeah. It's part of being alive. You'll learn to navigate it, in time. Unfortunately."

"Normal…" Temp processed the word as if tasting it for the first time. "I will attempt to understand."

Cal nodded, a silent sentinel himself now, watching over his makeshift family as darkness embraced them.

Cal pulled Temp out and placed the chair by his side.

"Loss," Cal began, his gaze fixed on a jagged stalactite, "is like this cavern. Vast. It can hollow you out, leave you feeling empty."

Temp's voice modulated to a warmer tone. "How can you continue, feeling like this."

"Because sometimes what's lost... shapes what's left behind." Cal’s hands moved in tandem, one rubbing at a sore shoulder, the other gesturing through the air, carving out the shape of the cavern.

Around them, the others worked with quiet efficiency. A strip of cloth tightened around a forearm—blood stemmed. Antiseptic smeared over a gash—sting met with clenched teeth. Their actions rhythmic, almost ritualistic, they bore their hurts with a stoic resolve.

"Does it get easier?" Temp questioned.

"Sometimes." Cal's response was curt. "Sometimes it scars over. Sometimes, it doesn’t."

Cal couldn’t help but think of his old team. Of Sari. He missed them. At some subconscious level he felt that he didn’t have a right to miss his team. But he did.

A pause settled, filled only by the sound of fabric tearing into makeshift bandages.

"Scars can be... reminders. So… this will not fade? " Temp ventured, the lights within him dimming with thought.

"Exactly." Cal nodded, approving of the AI's insight. "Reminders of our vulnerability and also sometimes our survival. It could have been any of us, but it was Joe. And we will have to live with that."

The group exchanged no words as they rested, their shared glances enough to communicate volumes. They were soldiers in their own right, fighting battles unseen but deeply felt.

Cal's fingers, calloused and stained with the day's toil, rummaged through the spoils. A leather pouch of one of the archers, its seams frayed by use, but it was also a spatial treasure. Cal pulled the mana around him to test out how infusing an object would work. Inside he found nothing useful, a seemingly magical quiver and a small pile of mana crystals.

Cal took out the mana crystals and put them with the rest, then threw the spatial treasure to Elena. “Might be useful.”

Elena nodded and caught the pouch.

“Temp, I think it’s time to look at those rewards. Something to help us, I hope.”

"Ok," Temp agreed. "I will process this... loss… later."

[As investigation protocol JE-169861 has shifted karmic balance, Temp is authorized to receive a commensurate reward - User Temp is given choice between three system generated rewards, based on equivalent counterbalance, claim now?]

Temp acknowledged the first prompt.

[Tasteful silk throw (soul-bound) – a textured basketweave knit that provides user with enhanced stealth capability and cloaks both ambient Primal and Aether fluctuations. Prevents resolution of support inspection skills of stage-two or lower.]

[System standard merchant crafting table (soul-bound) – muti-user crafting table that can support recipe purchases and sales with qualified vendors. Grants user commission license.]

[Vine species XC1242 – an aggressive Aether-vine species seed that supports a minor mana imprint. Requires sufficient water and space to proliferate.]

“Cal, what do you think?”

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“Hmmm, none of them seem particularly useful right now. They should all be pretty valuable. The throw seems like it could be helpful down the line, but not now.”

“I agree.”

“I’m partial to the crafting table. Someone with my skill in crafting, with a crafting table. Hmph. We could be rich!”

“If I had eyes, I would roll them. A license may be valuable long term. This is uncertain. What is clear, though, is that the vine species is likely unable to help us in the short term until it grows. And the stealth throw is the opposite - it may help us short-term, but we are already facing stage-two threats.”

“Seems like the choice is obvious. I am the best engineer between realms, after all.”

“Cal, do you think we should confer with the others?”

“No. Normally I would say we should. But they… they’re facing the loss right now, and we need to let them.”

“I see. So, they feel this discomfort as well.”

Temp chose the crafting table. Reluctantly.

[System standard merchant crafting table has been chosen]

[Soul binding complete]

[Initializing crafting protocol]

[Commission license granted]

[Commission submenu is now available]

[Recipe submenu is now available]

[Remote merchant functions unavailable – mercantile license required]

[Profession integration unavailable – professional specialization required]

[User authorization submenu is now available]

Jaxon came back inside from his watch.

"I guess it’s time," Cal's whisper sliced through the hush. Heads nodded, bodies shifted; a silent accord under the cavern's watchful embrace.

"I’ll go next," he declared, walking towards the outside to sit by the edge of the cavern’s cliff. The others, weary, retreated into fitful rest, their breaths shallow echoes in the vast chamber.

“Cal, I think we should leave this place. Try to get your ring working.” Jaxon paused as they passed each other.

Cal nodded and walked outside.

Below him was the lava lake that provided a modicum of defense. Cal's eyes roved, vigilant, his ears straining for signs of threat—a distant growl, the skitter of claws on stone—anything beyond their own fragile sanctuary.

“Well, that’s quite a lot of nothing. It seems like we can’t really do anything with this table yet. But we have expanded the usability of the system. Let’s try to stay alive to make use of it.”

“I will check the other reward.”

[As investigation protocol JE-169892 has shifted karmic balance, Temp is authorized to receive a commensurate reward - user Temp is given choice between three system generated rewards, based on equivalent counterbalance, claim now?]

Temp acknowledged the second prompt.

[14% stake in Paltari Aeso factory, Aesop’s Aeso (shares) – average annual revenue of 2,422,987 stage-two mana crystals with a gross margin of approximately 17%. The industry average P/E ratio for publicly traded Aeso producer/distributers is ~35:1]

[VX17 communication destabilization framework (soul-bound) – single use settlement level communication blackout. Destabilizes all stage-three and below support and dao-bound wavefunctions related to the dao of communication]

[Ritualist (profession) – virtual apprenticeship on the art and science of ritual crafting and application. Ritualists channel ambient mana by stabilizing and performing complex wavefunctions that often require a configuration of exotic material-mana processes utilizing algorithmic analysis and Aether comprehension]

[Warbanner (soul-bound) – as user Temp has crossed the threshold of significant distress by actions of Hetar, system protocol requires an additional offering of warbanner compensation. Grants user war license.]

[Ritualist (profession) has been chosen]

[Crafting protocol - profession integration is now available]

[Ritualist has been integrated into crafting protocol]

“Temp, what happened to discussing? Fuckkk, think about all those crystals! That’s… a value of over a million crystals…”

“VX-17 looked like it could have been a strategic military asset, however the Ritualist profession is an opportunity for me to advance. I suppose this was… excitement?”

“Hmmmph. Make sure to talk it out with me. I won’t stop you from making the selfish choices, but I’ll guide you just like you’ve guided me…”

“Yes, Cal. You are right.”

Cal paused before continuing, “we should have talked about it. The dividends from that stock might have outright bought you the apprenticeship.”

Cal sighed. His fingers found the ring in his spatial treasure. It was deceptively simple, its weight a whisper against his palm. He remembered its promise, a tool of enigmatic power. A soft glow emanated from within the metal from the initial charge, pulsing like a captured star.

[Private chat with Saint Saya of the Alabaster Ring enabled]

[Fuckkk, yo. Finally some idio – student, cough, bought out my debt. It’s a… chair? Okay, fine – I’ve seen weirder. I guess that’s groovy, yo. I’ll give you my intro journal.]

[A groovy guide to rituals by Saint Saya of the Alabaster Ring obtained]

[Well, that’s it for me. Finally all square… Oucch, fuck yo. It’s a virtual lesson, what else do you want from me. Okay, I’ll answer one… OUCCH Fuck you SGP! I’ll answer three of your questions.]

[Read it first, if you don’t understand anything, you have no business being a ritualist.]

Cal nodded his head and looked sadly at the pooled mana crystals, small and luminous, from the collected treasures by his side.

Cal briefly thought of how the pooled mana crystals next to him were obtained at the cost of Joe’s life. Temp was learning the complexity of loss and excitement, but it was still a child.

Regardless, he would not bring up these choices with his companions. Not now. Perhaps not ever.

One by one, he fed the mana crystals to the ring. Each crystal dissolved, their essence seeping into the ring. The light within the band grew, a bloom of energy quietly radiating outwards, casting an ethereal aura on Cal's stoic face.

[Escalation, stage 2: Survive the entrapment of hungry predators. Time limit: 157 hours]