"I guess that's it for this rift... huh," Stark sighed as he got up.
He had done it!
He had beaten the [Death Rift] card that he was given by this shitty academy, and that meant he could go home to announce it to all his classmates and mock those who thought he was insane.
But... in comparison to what Stark believed, he actually didn't need to go outside for them to know.
Since...
~DING~
[All the footage inside a rift for this first academy trial, meaning from start to finish, is recorded by the system itself as to credit the ones who do complete it, and also for personal usage!]
[This footage is sent to ALL students (yes, not only your group) and teachers of the academy!]
[Have fun!]
Below that was another panel with a video playing on it, showing how Stark got inside the rift to begin with, meaning that it was real: everyone would see his journey inside that rift from start to finish.
"..." Stark looked at the panel before him for a few seconds, reading each of them at least a dozen times, "...Alright."
He closed them, and then...
~DING~
[Someone has completed a trial's rift!]
[Rift name: Corpse Cemetery (DEATH RIFT)]
[Group Number 8 has passed!]
[19 spots remain!]
So many notifications appeared in front of Stark, and it seemed as though these were actually from the 'Rift Conqueror' Academy itself.
Stark didn't know how to feel, on one hand, this easily revealed most of his abilities to the world, though he did expect that even humans that were level 200-250 wouldn't be able to take him down.
But on the other hand... FAME AND MONEY!!!
"Phew..." Stark sighed and smiled as he began to head toward the portal that had appeared right on top of Reaper's body, or at least the dust that made it, "Well, see you never corpse cemetery," he shrugged before jumping into the portal.
...
Meanwhile, in the outside world.
It had been exactly a week since Stark entered the rift, and yes, time passed differently in the [Corpse Cemetery], though only by a little as time moved slightly faster in the real world.
Meaning that the eight-nine hours he spent inside were actually 7 days in the outside world, still better than those other times when it ended up being weeks though, right?
After completing the rift and killing the second apostle, the rift was automatically considered as completed, and thus the footage was sent to everyone, meaning that the 30 minutes that Stark spent reading his panels inside ended up being around 11 hours in the real world.
And oh boy... a lot can happen in 11 hours.
...
"Huh, what is that?" Lana was laying on her bed, patiently waiting for Stark to come back as it had been a week, when the panel suddenly appeared.
[Someone has completed a trial's rift!]
[Rift name: Corpse Cemetery (DEATH RIFT)]
[Group Number 8 has passed!]
"OHMYGOD!" she got up from her bed and shouted in excitement and happiness, "H-HE DID IT!"
It wasn't before long that she noticed the video attached to those panels.
Back to Stark.
~FWISH~
He emerged from the cabin, and opened the door immediately as he left the rift, finding himself in the 'crosswood cemetery' again, as if nothing had happened.
The sky was blue, and the sun was up there, probably because it was the morning.
There was no sound around him except for the one of the wind and some occasional cars, but right now, he was alone in this place.
But suddenly... something came to disrupt this peace.
~BOOM~
A sudden explosion could be heard from behind Stark, specifically where the cabin was, and once he turned back... he saw IT happening.
The gray portal which he just exited flickered violently, swirling with a massive amount of energy, radiating an otherworldly hum.
This kept going for a good minute, until with a final burst of light, the portal began to close, almost as if it was sealing itself from anyone else.
And the reason was obvious: a completed rift had no reason and no way to truly exist, since all the monsters inside were dead.
Basically, Stark had witnessed the TRUE death of a rift, something that doesn't happen often.
"Interesting," he mumbled as he turned around.
Now... Stark would need to face the real world after everything that had happened inside that rift.
And he was sure that many things would change.
But it didn't matter for now, so shaking off the lingering sensation of the rift closing in front of him, Stark stepped onto the stone path that passed through the cemetery.
Minutes passed before he reached the iron gate that marked the entrance (or exit in this case) of the cemetery.
"Crimson Ball Transmission!" he summoned the ball in hand and easily teleported to the other side, trespassing was no problem with that skill after all!
Once outside, he continued walking for a while since there was no way for him to find a taxi this close to the cemetery where a supposed nightmare rift was opened, but after twenty minutes of walking, he raised a hand and was lucky enough to find a driver close by.
"To the capital, please, toward the XXXXX avenue," he pointed at his apartment complex's location.
"Sure thing, kid," the driver nodded, "What were you doing here at this time by the way?"
"Nothing much," he didn't even have the strength nor motivation to boast like he always did.
"Alright."
Yet another 30 minutes passed, and... he reached the city.
And what awaited him there was... phenomenal.
"Huh, seems like something big has happened," the middle-aged driver didn't seem up-to-date with all the recent stuff.
But basically... while Stark was looking out of the window, observing the city.
He noticed that... his footage was playing everywhere.
Yes, the footage where he was fighting inside the rift was there: his [Crimson Purification] against the undead in the first zone, his fight against the [Darkness Ghost] in the second, the [Gargoyle King] battle in the third, and finally, the 2V2 with the apostles in the fourth.
Many highlights and clips were showing everywhere, each different from the last.
Even the NEWS were speaking about him, and Stark lowered the windows to be able to hear what the reporter on the screen of the giant skyscraper was saying.
[A new 'Rift Conqueror' academy record has been established, the supposed classifier completing a 'Nightmare' rift alone in THREE HOURS, one that had two 'Godless Demon' apostles in it!]
In the span of half a day... Stark had become a celebrity, though an unknown one, since he had activated [Facial Camouflage] at the start.
"Oh... boy..." he let out a quick chuckle as the driver kept going.
And soon enough... he reached his home, the driver stopping right in front of the apartment complex where he lived.