"Are you ready for your first foray into a Rift?" It's been a month since Alex entered Starage Academy, and he can happily say he has managed to avoid any annoying events, like being drafted into the special class. This has given him plenty of time to prepare for the first game event of the year, the field test. Game events, as Alex likes to call them, are key points in the chapters meant to push the story along. Currently, Alex, along with the rest of his classmates, McGaron, and a few other adults, stood in front of a giant blue tear in space in the middle of an extensive field of wheat.
"Yes/Yes sir/-nod- /..." the students answered. McGaron nodded with a pleased smile. Alex patted his sides to ensure the Storage Pouches were properly secured. In preparation for this event, Alex made sure to pack a wide variety of items so he could be ready no matter where he ended up. He wanted to bring more, but McGaron set a strict limit on how much each student could have for this test. This meant Alex was only able to carry four Storage Pouches, each roughly half full, with two attached on either side of his waist.
"Are all of you wearing your trackers?" The students responded by showing off metallic bracelets. "Good. I will explain today’s activity. What you're looking at is a Tier three to four Rift. When I give the signal, everyone will enter it at the same time. If the Rift contains a Boss, your task is to reach the Boss's entrance and wait for your classmates. If it doesn't, your goal is to find the exit. Your grade depends on three factors: first, your health upon reaching the goal. If you're close to death, you'll score low for this part. There’s no point in clearing the Rift if you die immediately afterward." The students nodded.
"Second is how many monsters you kill along the way. Your tracker logs when you kill a monster and how you do so. This way, we can tell if you're genuinely hunting monsters or if you're trying to pass off another student's kill as your own. Don't worry about working as a team; the tracker also tracks that, and you'll be graded on your team's performance and your contribution to the fights. Lastly, you're graded on the items you bring back. The more useful, rare, or valuable the item, the higher its worth. Usually, these are materials from the monster you defeated, but depending on the Rift we enter, it can also be something like a rare plant or artifact. Again, your tracker will record who actually worked to obtain each piece of loot, so I wouldn’t recommend trying to steal from someone else. Yes, Kor?
"Do we keep any items we acquire from the Rift afterward?"
"Yes," The students erupted in murmurs at his answer. "As for items acquired in teams, we'll let the team members themselves decide on how they want to distribute their loot." McGaron continued once they quieted down. "Yes, Mari?"
"Do we have to be in teams?" McGaron shook his head.
"No, yo-"
"YES!" Everyone stared at the cheering teen in silence before McGaron coughed in his fist to grab the student's attention.
"No, you don't have to travel in teams, but that does mean you'll have to be extra careful. This brings me to our next topic. If you're in any major danger and you feel like you can't handle the situation, you can tap on your tracker twice in quick succession, and I or one of the helpers will come right over to save you. Once the danger is dealt with, you can either choose to quit the test early or continue. Either way, you'll be docked some points in your final grade. However, keep in mind that each time you are rescued, the penalty you receive will increase. If the tracker detects that you are in any mortal danger, it will summon a barrier to protect you until help arrives. You can also trigger the barrier by drawing an X on the tracker with your fingers. No matter the reason, if your barrier activates, you are considered dead and can't continue the test. With that said, if you feel like you're in any major danger, activate your barrier as you lose fewer points if you do than if the tracker does. Any questions? No? Then you may enter when you're ready."Alex waited for half his class to enter before going through the Rift himself.
Roll 1D12 -> Result: Rift #7
The first thing Alex noticed after a moment of weightlessness was the blazing heat and blinding light as his body slowly sank into the ground. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Alex looked around and saw he was in the middle of a desert of black sand. "Fuck! The Soul Stone Dessert." The field test, or more accurately, the first field test, is the first game event in Chapter 1, where Players enter one out of twelve specific Rifts. It's mostly an easy excuse for GMs to put their Players into combat scenarios, or for those who skip the Prologue, it acts as their first foray into a Rift. "It's not the worst, at least it wasn't the Mist Manor." Alex touched the back pouch on his right side. "Chill Potion," a small bottle filled with light blue liquid and covered in a thin layer of frost, appeared in his hand. Taking a small sip, Alex shivered as a chill ran through his whole body. Steeling himself, Alex continued drinking until the bottle was half empty before putting it back into the Storage Pouch.
Alex let out a deep breath, resulting in a small white puff of air escaping his mouth. "That was more unpleasant than I thought it would be. -Sigh- At least I'm not hot anymore. With that out of the way, where is th- Ah, there it is." It didn't take long for him to find where he needed to go, a tall tower made out of pitch-black stone on the horizon. With the goal in sight, Alex started slowly dragging himself through the black sand. It wasn't long until Alex faced his first encounter on top of a small hill of sand. "Whoa!" He screamed while ducking down, avoiding getting bitten by a large, grey-skinned worm with a body as thick as a barrel.
Alex started weaving Mana threads as he watched the worm fly over him and back into the sand. He glanced around and saw shifting sand heading his way. Focusing on the monster, Alex waited until it neared him before leaning back to dodge its head-targeting attack. As the worm flew past, he activated a spell and drove the thick Icicle Spear into its body. The creature let out a screech of pain as its momentum caused the spear to carve a meter-long gash along its body. Watching the worm die, half-buried in the sand, Alex poked it with his Icicle Spear before dismissing the spell when it showed no signs of life. "Ugh, I know the Monster Manual says its smell is nose-retching, but this is pretty strong. Wait, if these are among the more fragrant Tunnel Worms, how bad are the others?" Tunnel Worms are lower-tier monsters in Rifts that inhabit loose terrain like mud or sand. The Black Skinned Tunnel Worms, like the one Alex just killed, are distinguished by additional Heat and Fire Resistance Traits.
Crouching down, Alex quickly wove a spell, wincing at the ice slowly covering his hands. With his hands encased, Alex hastily dissected the monster before storing his spoils, shaking the foul-smelling fluids off his hands and dismissing the spell. "One Black Skinned Tunnel Worm core, two hearts and a dozen teeth."He noted while getting up. "Too bad I couldn't salvage the liver or egg sac, but what ca- ACK!" Alex screamed when he was suddenly assaulted by something piercing his shoulder, followed by the soft sizzling sound of melting flesh.
Stumbling forward, Alex fell onto his hands and knees while he was assaulted by more piercing pain throughout his body. Looking up, Alex found himself surrounded by a group of monsters best described as a fusion of a Komodo dragon and a wolf. Their grey skin glistened in the harsh light as they snarled, baring their teeth at him. "Ugh, stupid Dessert Hunters and their numerous stealth Traits." Dessert Hunters, as their name suggests, can only be found in deserts. GMs usually use Dessert Hunters to ambush players, taking advantage of the fact that almost all their Traits are stealth-related, including the ability to change their colour to match any terrain they find themselves in. Although individually weak, their pack hunting and potent venom make them extremely deadly if caught unguarded. "Silk, spike armour."
-Srech-
Alex gritted his teeth as dozens of Icicle Spears burst from his body, skewering the Dessert Hunters latched onto him. The other monsters roared upon seeing their dead comrades before pouncing on top of Alex's prone body. He curled up, supporting his upper body with his elbows and started weaving two different spells, occasionally using his mouth to anchor the Mana threads when needed. Finishing both spells, Alex activated the one in his right hand, filling his body with intense strength. 'Silk, Freeze on my signal.' Upon activating the spell in his left hand, blobs of condensed water formed around him. 'Now!' Alex mentally shouted while simultaneously deactivating the second spell. In an instant, the blobs of water froze, creating sharp balls of spikes that rained down on the Desert Hunters, skewering the monsters before dissipating. Feeling their grip on him weakening, Alex tensed his muscles before pushing against the sand and rolling sideways. Alex groaned in pain when the Icicle Spears were torn from his body when he rolled over a monster, skewering them before being replaced by a new icicle.
Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, Alex sprang to his feet and faced the charging remnants of the Desert Hunter pack. Using two hands, Alex ripped an Icicle Spear from his torso, side-stepped a Dessert Hunter's attack aimed at his face and stabbed them in their exposed stomach. With a loud grunt, Alex twisted his body and used the struggling Dessert Hunter like a sledgehammer, slamming them into one another. He used his arm to block another Dessert Hunter bite aimed at his neck before using the same one to intercept another attack against his leg, smashing both foes together. Flinging the Dessert Hunter attached to his arm, Alex then raised his foot and, with as much power as he could afford, stomped down, crushing the monster's skill into a paste. One attack was countered using an Icicle Spear on his shoulder, and another Dessert Hunter was killed when their head exploded when Alex headbutted them. Another fell with two icicles shoved through their eye sockets, and another died choking on frozen blood after biting Alex's side. One by one, each Dessert Hunter was slain until the last one was killed when Alex ripped its lower jaw.
"Ugh," with the fight over, Alex deactivated all spells on himself before entering a coughing fit, which ended with him throwing up bile, blood and large chunks of meat. "Shit!" Alex quickly downed a Health and Mana potion before casting Mend Wound on himself. "This almost makes me want to invest in buying antidotes." Once the pain all over his body subsided, and his insides didn't feel like they wanted to turn him inside out. Alex harvested what he could salvage from the Desert Hunters before continuing on his journey towards the tower, making extra sure to keep an eye out for any monsters along the way. During his journey, Alex fought two Black Skinned Tunnel Worms, a pack of Desert Hunters and a sand golem before he encountered anything of note.
"ALEX!" he heard in the distance, squinting in that direction. Alex spotted a cloud of dust rapidly approaching his location. Recognizing the voice, Alex took a moment to drink half of his third Chill potion while he waited. He managed to finish and put away the potion just in time to be blasted by a gust of wind and sand. "Hey -huff- Alex, -huff- do -huff- have anything -huff- to drink?" panted the sweat-covered student in a sports bra, her shirt tied around her waist.
"Here you go," Alex said, tossing an unopened Chill potion at Mari.
"Thanks, man!" Mari said before chugging down the entire potion. "Ah, fuck yeah! That hits the spot!" She sighed, wiping the sweat off her brow before handing the empty bottle back. "Man, you sure are prepared for supposedly your first trip into a Rift," Mari said with an impish grin. Alex rolled his eyes at her comment.
"And you are severely underprepared for someone experienced with them."
"Hahaha, fair enough. What gave it away?" She replied, her smile slightly softening.
"I think it's only fair for you to tell me first." Mari nodded.
"I spent all my life near soldiers, and you gave off a similar vibe as some of the veterans I train with. That's what I would like to say, but it was mostly a gut feeling." She answered with a casual shrug. "Now your turn."
'It's in your character's background.' Alex mentally commented before answering. "During our first combat class, you mentioned that you fought a monster with regenerative capabilities before. When I suggested it could be a Marsh Gulper, you seemed to recognize the name, and from your reaction, you most likely have heard of them before and just connected the name to the monster at that point." Mari shrugged.
"Even if it was a Marsh Gulper, how does that prove I've been in a Rift before?" Alex frowned as he furrowed his brows.
"You don't know?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Don't know what?"
"Marsh Gulpers require air with decently dense Water Mana. Without it, they lose the ability to support their own body and quickly dry up. Due to this condition, it's impossible to find them anywhere besides inside Rifts." 'In this Realm.' He mentally added.
"Really? This is the first time I've heard this." She replied while stretching her head.
"How? This should be information you should have easy access to."
"Eh," She shrugged. "Never bothered, I usually just enter Rifts with the others and fight my way through."
"That's an extremely dangerous mindset to have, especially when it comes to Rifts. For example, if you carelessly enter any Rifts that can house Marsh Gulpers, you run the risk of drowning on dry land due to the dense concentration of Water Mana in the air."
"That doesn't sound right. Yeah, the ones I've been to did seem more damp than others, but nothing as extreme as what you're saying."
"Mana levels are never uniform, especially in Rifts." 'Because they're so unstable.' "It's not uncommon for Mana levels in some Rifts to reach a point where random spells can start appearing out of thin air. The last thing you want is water condensing in your lungs when you're in the middle of a fight. That's why taking precautions is crucial to reduce the risk of something catastrophic happening." Alex ranted as he pulled out a Mana Potion from his pouch.
"-Sigh- fine, fine, you made your point. I'll look at my folks' notes when I get home." Alex nodded approvingly before taking a sip of his Mana potion. "Is that alcohol? If so, can I have some?" Alex raised a brow.
"Aren't you underage?" Mari waved his concerns away.
"What difference does a few months make when we're risking our lives fighting monsters?"
"It's a Mana Potion, not alcohol." He replied after a moment of silence. "But you can have this instead." Alex took out a metal flask from his left front Storage Pouch and tossed it over before downing the rest of the potion.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"Thanks!" She beamed while opening the flask and taking a large gulp. She then quickly devolved into a coughing fit after the burning liquid went down her throat. "Wow! That's strong stuff!"
"I thought you drank before?"
"Yeah, but compared to this!" She lifted the flask. "I might as well have been drinking water! Can I finish this?"
"Go ahead."
"Sweet!" Mari paused right as she was about to take another sip. "I almost forgot, you want to team up?" Alex raised a brow at her question.
"Aren't you more of a lone wolf type of character?" She shrugged at him.
"Eh, you don't grow up in a family of soldiers without learning how to work in a team."
"Then why team up with me? I thought you weren't fans of Spell Slingers?"
"Ptth, you're way different from those wimpy spell slingers. You have guts! Determination! And you're not afraid to get your hands dirty!" Mari slightly deflated. "Well, to be honest, I'd rather fight you than these shitty monsters. However, that's not part of the mission, so I might as well try the next best thing. So what do you say? Teammates?" She asked again with her fist extended. Alex stared at her wide smile before letting out a deep sigh and tapping his fist against hers.
"Sure, we can be a team."
"Sweet!"
"But we probably should get going before it gets too late."
"Oh yeah, I'll lead the way!" The duo's trek across the desert was slow at first, mostly because Mari kept trying to drink more than she could handle. However, that all changed when Mari finally managed to finish the drink, with the duo easily defeating any monster they came across. Everything was going smoothly until the two students suddenly found themselves slowly sinking into the sand.
"Quicksand? / Shit! A Sand Trapper!" Mari gave Alex a questioning look.
"A monster that drowns its prey in sand before swallowing them whole."
"Ah, I see. Hmm, if you are familiar with this monster, do you have a way to deal with it?"
"Yes, charge forward on my signal." At this point, the duo was knee-deep in sand. 'Silk full body Boost.' As newfound strength flooded his body, Alex quickly started weaving a spell in each hand. He then pumped extra Mana into the spell in his left hand, solidifying the threads before tossing the weave in the air. Alex then quickly took out a large thermos of water from his pouch before crushing it above him, drenching himself, Mari and the sand around them. Catching the falling spell, Alex quickly activated it, causing globs of water to form in the air. Weakening his control, he let the balls of water fall and splash all over the sand, further drenching it. "GET READY!" Alex screamed before slamming the other spell into the wet sand, instantly freezing it.
Mari's smile grew as she pumped herself up for the upcoming fight. She didn't have to wait long, as the moment the sand froze, a deafening roar reverberated through the ground. Before a hideous, grey-skinned monster burst out of the ground, launching chunks of frozen sand everywhere. The monster's bile-like body was covered in bony spikes and writhing, fleshly feelers. Looking up at the towering monster, Alex could only find a large mouth full of serrated teeth with ten tentacle-like tongues where its head should be. Mari grabbed onto the frozen sand, launched herself free, and somersaulted in the air before landing into a dash towards the monster. Seeing it's now free prey, the Sand Trapper let out a deafening roar as it launched five tongues at the charging student and the rest at the still-stuck Alex. Mari ducked under the first tongue that reached her, jumped over another, and side-stepped a third before grabbing and tearing off the fourth and fifth tongues. Meanwhile, Alex let the tongues latch onto him and pull him out of the sand. As the tongues quickly dragged him towards the Sand Trapper's mouth, Alex's body suddenly burst into flames.
The monster roared from the pain of having its tongues simultaneously burned and torn off. With the tongue's grip on him loosening, Alex quickly grabbed onto them before wanking on them, slinging himself closer to the monster. Right before he would fly into the Sand Trapper's mouth, a burst of fire erupted from his back, launching him downwards and into Mari's awaiting arms. "HAHAHAHAHA! That was awesome!" She cheered while dodging and weaving between the monster's tongues and whip-like feelers. "Hey, if I learn how to do whatever you spell slinger does to cast spells, would I be able to do stuff like turn myself into a fireball as well?" Alex downed a Mana Potion before answering.
"Yeah. But without the ability to quickly heal like regeneration, you run the risk of permanently injuring your body."
"Sweet!" Mari tossed Alex in the air and ducked under a tongue's attempt to grab her, before catching him again. "Hey Alex, when I manage to get something to heal myself, can you teach me some of the spells you use?"
"Sure, but you'll owe me one." He answered while weaving a spell in his hands. 'Silk, weave a Boost spell and be ready to hand it over."
"Deal!" "She sidestepped another attack. "So what's the plan now?"
"All monsters in the Soul Stone Desert have the notable Trait of being weak against the cold and ice. So what I need you to do is throw me at the back of the monster. Once I weaken the Sand Trapper, you'll be able to go all out without any risk of getting captured. It will be clear when it's time to attack."
"Got it, Captain! You can count on me!"
"-Sigh- Please never call me that ever again."
"No promises!" It took a few moments of dodging attacks before Mari got behind the monster due to its large size. It also didn't help that the sand was quickly thawing under the blazing sun, giving the Sand Trapper more range of movement. Getting behind the monster, Mari quickly tossed Alex, who was curled up into a ball, before continuing to dodge the monster's attempts to grab her. As he flew through the air, Alex uncurled himself while pumping more Mana into the spell he was weaving.
'SILK PASS THE SPELL OVER' Right after Alex mentally yelled the command, an unfinished Boost weave burst out of his chest. Grabbing the weave in the air, Alex quickly started combining the two spells in his hand. He managed to finish connecting the two spells right in time for him to crash into the Sand Trapper's back. Alex grabbed onto a nearby spike, pulling himself up before he got consumed by its gooey flesh. He only managed to free the upper quarter of his body before the resistance got too strong for him to fight against. 'Sorry, Silk, I'll make sure to drink a lot of Mana Potions once this is all over,' He mentally apologized before slamming the boosted spell into the Sand Trapper, instantly freezing its body.
"HAHHAHAHAHA." Mari's joy-filled laugh rang out across the area, somehow overpowering the Sand Trapper's pained roar. Quickly springing into action, Mari used the Sand Trapper's frozen spikes and feeler as handlebars to gracefully make her way up toward Alex's location. Each time she used a spike, Mari would make sure to rip them off and stab them back into the monster before using them as a platform to launch herself higher. By the time she reached Alex's location, the Sand Trapper's frozen flesh was covered in thin cracks and a slick layer of water. "Heya, Captain, how are you holding up?" She asked with a grin.
"Quickly running out of Mana, meaning I won't be able to keep this thing frozen for too long. So I'll appreciate it if you can pull me out as soon as possible."
"I gotcha, Captain," Mari replied before grabbing onto his free arm, and with one mighty pull, yanked him free from the monster. Now free, Alex quickly took out a Mana Potion and brought it to his mouth.
-ROOOOAAAAAR!-
"Ran out?" Mari asked as the cracks in the ice quickly grew in number. Downing the whole potion, Alex clicked his tongue before putting the now-empty bottle back into his pouch.
"Yeah, ran out before I could recharge the spell. Well, that just means we need to kill the Sand Trapper before it frees itself."
"You can count on me!" She yelled before dashing forward, using the frozen flesh and layer of water to boost her acceleration. Once she had enough momentum, Mari leaped upward to latch onto a nearby curled feeler, causing her body to spin around it rapidly. While she was doing this, Mari drew her knees towards her chest to build up more speed. After several dozen loops, she let go of the feeler, launching her body knees-first downwards. A loud boom rang out across the area as Mari smashed into the Sand Trapper's body, sending large chunks of still-frozen flesh flying everywhere. Meanwhile, Alex quickly wove an Icicle Spear, staked it into the Sand Trapper, then created another one and speared it on top of the previous one, driving it deeper into the monster. With the Icicle Spears connected, Alex was able to repeat this process several dozen times while pumping Mana into each icicle to sustain them.
Upon hearing a loud boom followed by the faint sound of Mari's manic laugh, Alex figured he had dug deep enough and that it was time to take the next step. 'Silk, pass over a Boost.' Catching the spell that burst out of his chest, Alex connected it to the spell he was weaving before channelling it into the melting pole of ice he made. Alex was quickly blinded by a burst of steam that scorched his flesh. As the empowered spell travelled down the pole, it would instantly turn the ice spear it passed through into boiling water and then into burning hot steam.
"The hell?" Mari muttered, pausing mid-punch, when she felt the frozen flesh under her start to rumble. Narrowing her eyes, Mari smashed her fist into the frozen flesh, shattering it before leaping out of the crater. Upon landing on the slippery surface outside the crater, Mari was assaulted by the thundering roar of a giant geyser of steam shooting into the sky. She didn't have time to marvel at the sight as she was forced to steady herself when the thawing flesh under her started violently shaking. Which was followed by an ear-shattering explosion as another geyser of steam burst through the weakened foundation of the crater she was just in, launching chunks of still-frozen flesh into the air.
Regaining her footing, Mari frantically looked around for Alex, only pausing when she saw a dense green glow in the shape of a person kneeling inside the first geyser of steam. Without missing a beat, Mari charged towards the figure. Mari crossed her arms in front of her face while bracing herself right before she impacted the pillar of steam. Despite the pain, Mari couldn't help but notice the faint sound of laughter coming from somewhere. It took Mari a few moments to realize it was her own laugh she was hearing. Right as she felt her flesh begin to burn, Mari collided with the glowing figure, pushing it out of the pillar of steam with her.
However, Mari was unable to slow down in time, resulting in the duo flying over the edge. Realizing the situation, Mari tightly hugged the figure, ignoring the sound of cracking bone, before twisting her body, swapping their positions so she was at the bottom. With a small explosion of sand, the duo smashed into the wet ground below. Opening her eyes, Mari lifted her cargo and placed it down next to her befor getting up. Finally able to inspect the figure, Mari let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.
"Phew, I'm so relieved it was you," she said to Alex, who was sprawled out on the ground, wisps of steam rising from his body, especially where his skin had touched the wet and still slightly cold sand. Upon closer inspection, Mari was surprised that despite the burn and cuts, enough of Alex's clothes managed to survive the ordeal to maintain his modesty. Sadly, she couldn't be as positive about the condition of Alex's body. His still-glowing body was severely burned, with patches of torn flesh throughout. The damage was especially severe around his legs, where she could see cracked bones, and his face, which had all its skin ripped off. Despite the gruesome sight, Mari still clearly saw his body quickly healing itself as bones melded together, muscles grew, and skin stretched to cover it all. "Looking good, Captain," she said with a smirk.
"Ugh," Alex groaned when he tried to talk while rolling his newly healed eyes. His left arm snaked down towards a pouch. "Draht Hspa Paatia," he spat out as three Health Potions appeared in his hand. Then, with one swift motion, Alex jammed their openings into his still-healing body. The rate at which Alex's body healed visibly accelerated as the red fluids drained into him. It took only a minute and a half befor he was healed enough to sit up.
"Need a hand?" Mari said with a grin, helping Alex get on his feet after he grabbed her extended hand.
"Danxs," Alex replied while adjusting his still-healing jaw, accidentally causing some of the skin on his cheeks to rip, revealing muscle, teeth and a slightly charred tongue. "Ugh," Alex groaned while he tore out the three empty bottles that were still inside him befor putting them back into his pouch and taking out three more potions. Alex handed Mari one Chill potion, which she happily took, then he downed one himself as well, followed by a Mana potion.
"AH! That always hit the spot! Thanks for the drink, Captain." Mari said with a relaxed smile while handing him the empty bottle, which he took and put away with the other two. Alex nodded at her befor turning to look at the Sand Trapper. "Is it dead?" Alex looked over the Sand Trapper. Besides the visible bubbling of its flesh under a layer of cracked ice, the monster was completely still. Looking up, Alex noticed that the two geysers were gone, leaving only whisps of steam behind. Nodding, Alex weaved an Icicle Spear and reinforced it befor tossing it over to Mari. Catching the slowly melting weapon, Mari looked at it, then at Alex, befor her eyes widened as her grin grew wide. "Hell yeah!" She laughed as she reared her arm back, then, after a tense, brief moment, exploded into action, throwing the spear at the head of the Sand Trapper. The spear quickly flew through the air, easily piercing the Sand Trapper's flesh befor disappearing shortly after flying through the monster's head. Then, like a punctured balloon, the head let out a high-pitched whistle as it quickly deflated, collapsing into itself. The Sand Trapper's body began to lean as the head flopped forward. The weight of the heavy head dragging the body along with the shaky foundation of wet sand forced the Sand Trapper's body to fall forward, crashing into the sand with a loud thump.
"Yes, it's dead." Alex finally replied while walking towards the newly made corpse. It took a bit of time for the duo to harvest everything they could scavenge from the badly damaged body. "I'm surprised we were able to salvage this much," Alex admitted while looking over the loot. "So, how do you want to split this?"
"Let's just take turns choosing. You can go first." Alex nodded.
"Do you want me to carry your portion, or do you have a storage pouch?" She shook her head before showing him a silver ring covered in enchantments on her right middle finger. "Hmm, a Storage Ring, that's not something you see often. In fact, where did you even get one? Storage Ring isn't something you can find in stores," Mari nodded with a boisterous grin.
"My Pa gave it to me as a reward when I soloed my very first Rift."
"Impressive." Mari's grin grew as she nodded once more. "I'm impressed your dad was able to make one." 'I didn't think he was skilled enough at this point. But I can see him being able to if it's for one of his daughters,' Alex mentally commented as he nodded to himself.
"Hahahaha, you kidding? My Pa didn't create this, hell! He can't even make a sandwich without messing it up. No, instead he asked a friend of his to make it, apparently they owe my pa a favour." Alex silently clicked his tongue.
'Another piece of information that wasn't in any of the books. Damn, this is getting annoying.' He let out a deep sigh, causing Mari to tilt her head at the action. 'Well, nothing I can do about it, so there's no point in stressing about it.' "Do you think you can ask your dad is willing to introduce me to the person who made the Storage Ring? Money won't be an issue."
"You're rich, Captain?" She asked with wide eyes. Alex narrowed his eyes at her.
"How else do you think I can afford all the potions I'm constantly drinking?" She shrugged.
"I don't know, I always thought they were those cheap ones you can buy at the Academy." Alex rolled his eyes.
"No, I buy them from an Alchemist friend of mine. His products may be on the more expensive side, but their quality is guaranteed. If you want, I can show you his shop at a later date."
"Does he sell Stamina potions?" He nodded. "Awesome! Then I'll happily take your offer! Oh, and I'll ask my Pa the next time I see him, but no guarantee he will agree to the request."
"That's fine, no need to insist if he can't." He agreed while turning to look at their loot. "Well, we'd better hurry up and divide the loot and get going befor it gets too late. I'll take the core if that's ok with you."
"No problem! Then I'll take their fangs!" The duo quickly divided up the loot before continuing their journey towards the tower on the horizon. "I really thought you were a goner back there." Mari randomly admitted as they trudged through the sand.
"If I were in any danger of dying, the trackers would have activated."
"Ah, I honestly forgot about this thing," Mari said while looking at the tracker on her wrist. "Wait a minute, why didn't your tracker activate? Because there is no way in hell that the condition you were in didn't warrant it."
"My regeneration, along with a boosted Restoration spell, kept me barely healthy enough not to trigger the tracker. However, I did need to take in those Health potions near the end because I was quickly running out of Mana."
"Restoration spell? Is that similar to the other healing spell you told me about?"
"To put it simply, Restoration is the improved version of Mend Wound. Being able to heal more severe injuries at a faster rate, at the cost of needing more Mana to maintain the spell. It also has the added effect of being especially effective in preserving a person's life. Making it an essential spell for medics to learn, so they can sustain a person's life long enough for them to get further treatment. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to convince Dr. Nicol a few weeks ago to teach me the spell."
"Dr. Nicol?"
"The doctor who gave you a drawing on the day of our first combat class."
"Ah, her." For the next two and a half hours, the duo made their way across the desert, killing the occasional monsters they encountered befor they finally arrived at the foot of the tower. As the duo approached the tower, they were forced to walk through a wall of shimmering air. Or as Alex knew it, the Mirage Line, a barrier of distorted light that obscured the tower's entrance along with anyone who was near it. "Damn it! I can't believe we were this slow!" Mari immediately shouted upon passing the Mirage Line.
