Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Matt woke up fuzzy and light-headed. Opening his eyes he found himself pressed against a door.

As the memories came back he couldnt help but groan.

After talking to the Emperor the seven of them had done as suggested and partied. Hard.

One too many drinks in, Melinda had tried to drag the older Mat off to consummate their relationship.

It took the other five to keep them away from each other and drag them to their own rooms.

Not five minutes after Melinda had been put into her room she had tried to sneak into Mats. That had left the boys sleeping in Mats room to stop him from doing the same.

Matt looked around and saw that everyone else was still unconscious. Checking the time he decided to get breakfast for everyone.

Returning from the dining hall Matt found Sam with eyes covered sitting on the couch. She peeked at him and made give me hands to the bags of food.

Matt instead set the bags on the table and said, Wake the girls please but only got a hiss in reply.

After waking the boys up Matt set the table and started eating himself, slowly. As he was picking at the food the others trickled out of the rooms and to the table.

Mat was the first to speak. The older boy had the beginnings of a bruise on his cheek. Who punched me last night? I dont remember.

Matt answered, No one. You fell, and your face met a wall. So if you fought anyone it was a loss against a wall.

Melinda pointed a finger at Mat and a green light danced to him before sinking in, quickly healing the bruise.

The healer repeated the move at all of them and as Matt felt the spell hit him it washed away his hangover. He could have used that spell before he went and got breakfast for everyone. The dining hall had been noisy and painful.

After eating they sat around the tv not having to do anything for a few hours more.

Trying to find something that wasnt news coverage about the Junipers, they found a channel that was reviewing tournament videos.

Light and Shadow are still crushing it in the Tier 23 to 24 groups despite being only Tier 21. Truly its remarkable to watch the people with the best chance to complete The Path of Ascension. It would be a first since Duke Waters himself four hundred years ago.

That got Matts attention. Someone was close to completing The Path? That was huge news. Sadly they had joined the program at the end and it closed out and new anchors replaced the last and a new segment started.

Matt turned and asked, Do you know who they were talking about? Light and Shadow?

Mat and Sam covered their faces as Melinda, Kyle, Vinnie, and Tara all spoke over each other.

Yeah, how do you not?

They are only the best couple ever

Shadow is amazing, shes the best.

Melinda gave useful information, Light and Shadow are a couple on The Path of Ascension. Just the two of them. They are Tier 21 and only 107 years old. At that Tier, they have until 138 before they fall off.

Kyle interjected, They wont fall off. Duke Waters himself met with them and said hed bet his Duchy that they are the next to complete The Path. Hes never spoken up for a person on The Path before. He cant be wrong.

Tara flicked a picture to the screen adding, They are super strong, Shadow has some kind of shadow teleporting Talent. Most speculate its her Tier 3 but no one knows for sure obviously. But she is nearly untouchable because she also got a hold of [Shadow Control] at some point.

She looked dreamy as she questioned, How can you hit someone who disappears at will? Here is their Tier 15 Path of Ascension tournament. Its the last sponsored tournament on The Path, after that, they compete in normal tournaments usually against a few Tiers higher. Watch this.

On the screen, two parties line-ups were shown. On the left was a team of 5 listed with their names and positions. They had a normal composition of Tank, Melee damage, Ranged damage, Mage, and Healer.

The other side showed just two masked faces, one in the lightest of gray and the other the darkest gray without being black. The names Light and Shadow were under their portraits.

The fight started quickly as Tara jumped ahead of the commentary. The party of five was across a huge ring that must have spanned a mile across. They quickly turtled up but it did them no good.

Shadow simply melted into the ground before Light shot forward, the large man covered the mile in a breath. Light's weapon of choice was a hammer with a head that was at least 5 inches across. The way the Tier 15 handled it showed the massive weight of the hammer.

The Tank intercepted the blow with his physical shield and a larger copy made by some skill. At the moment of impact, a blinding light whited the screen out before the camera adjusted for the brightness. When the picture came back the fight was already over.

There was a replay that showed the events during the bright flash. The moment Light had struck the Tanks shield Shadow used the mans own shadow and tore through the rest of the team. Every throat was slit with such speed that even slowed down Matt couldnt actually see the blade appear from the darkness, only follow the clutching of throats.

The Tank who took the blow from Light didnt fare any better. His shield was mangled and even his heavy plate armor was dented to such a degree that Matt was sure his chest was crushed.

Matt couldnt believe it and had to ask, That wasnt an exhibition match? That other party was on The Path? No way they were defeated in one single attack.

Vinnie answered with a huge grin. Yup and a good party as well, they were Tier 15s who delved rifts at Tier 16. There just isnt anything to do against massive power differences.

Why didnt they just counter the light that Light used then Shadow couldnt have gotten into their entire team? Seems like an easy way to counter the duo. Light seems more like a support that enables Shadow than someone that powerful on their own. Matt still couldnt believe what he had just watched.

Tara scoffed at that, Yeah people had the same thoughts as you before. Not hard to think of after all. It doesnt matter though, Light could have handled that entire team himself. Look this was a 1 v 1 when Light was Tier 10.

With a flick of her finger a new video started, this time two announcers talked before the pre-match introductions.

Peper do you think Light has a chance here? His opponent is a peak Tier 10 and Light only broke through the Tier 10 wall two days ago.

I dont think he has a chance. Weve seen how he makes Shadow stronger and gives her mobility but he hasnt done much himself this entire tournament in the party vs party. Now that its down to the 1 vs 1s I think its the end for this half of the winning party.

I think hes out of this match. His opponent is a hybrid tank with [Projected Bulwark] as his main skill. Its going to be hard to break through that, in the team fights it was Shadow who took him out. Even damage heavy ascenders will have a hard time getting through that. I just dont think he has the power to do it.

The countdown ended and the man in full plate looked at Light and as the counter hit zero he pushed out his shield and from it, a ten-foot-tall replica made from mana appeared and he taunted lets see you get through this without your little whore in the shadows.

Light pulled a longsword out from nowhere, Matt assumed it was a spatial device somewhere, and slashed in a lazy X pattern. From the blade, two crescents of energy shot out, racing towards the armored man. Then Light thrust out and a third beam appeared.

The first two [Mana Slash]s cracked the large projection before the third energy attack pierced the [Projected Bulwark] and the man behind it.

The announcers went wild Was that a thrust with [Mana Slash]? Thats impossible, the skill needs a slashing movement to discharge the stored energy. This is completely unheard of...

Effin...

Tara paused the recording. See? They. Are. Monsters. That was them at Tier 15 and Light at Tier 10. Now they dont even have to try to win against Tier 23s. And they are so young they arent even rushing the last few Tiers like Duke Waters had to.

Melinda chimed in, They are so strong, I wish I could have half of their power someday.

Matt was aghast. That was how top Tier cultivators fought? Matt thought over the [Mana Slash] that had been used as a thrust. He wanted a small part of that power. That was where the peak was.

He did wonder about the masks so asked the group. Vinnie was the fastest to respond, Its not super common, but it isnt rare either. Not everyone wants the notoriety of climbing The Path. So the masks.

So no one knows what they look like?

Tara answered him, Nope not even a little. Duke Waters killed like twenty people when they revealed his face during his climb. He was anonymous but someone snuck a camera into a private changing room. Then he couldnt go anywhere without crowds blocking his way or assassins from the other powers. Hes made it very clear anyone who breaks the rule will regret it.

Melinda added, It only happened once and he kept his word about it. A team at Tier 7 got outed and he went in and slaughtered the entire company.

Thats not true he only killed those who ordered it and did it. He only killed like three people. That bullshit about him slaughtering everyone is propaganda against him. Vinnie countered Melindas statement, Matt tuned out the bickering.

He wanted that power. How would it feel to smash everyone, even Tiers above your own? His resolve to delve and climb The Path of Ascension just grew every time he pictured that sword thrust.

***

Matt had just entered the rift and could tell something was wrong.

He had proof in the first room where one unclothed and shoddily armed goblin should be; he found three goblins armored in the scale armor only found in the last room with the champion.

Matt had been planning on using a shield and mace for this delve but quickly put them in the sack and drew his longsword.

No reason to risk something new without my best weapon.

Matt debated leaving to report the anomaly but then he would lose out on his chance to delve. And it wasnt like these goblins could hurt him with his [Cracked Phantom Armor] active.

What do I have to fear?

At worst there would be three hobgoblins and then he could retreat to the entrance.

Matt advanced. It took more time but through every room, he found three times the amount of goblins he usually did.

Halfway through he thought he had an idea of what was going on. Hed heard about something rifts could rarely do, a rift challenge. If Matt was remembering correctly it could happen to any Tier of rift but was incredibly rare. The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

It had been covered in his introduction information but Matt couldnt remember exactly what had been explained but the statistic one in a million stood out to him.

Matt did know one thing, the greater the relative risk the better the reward. It was always mentioned when delvers made daring risks and became legends overnight.

The catch was that greater rewards came with greater challenges.

If his memories were right a Tier 1 rift going through a rift challenge put its power at Tier 2 strength but the rewards would dwarf any Tier 2 rifts normal rewards.

That thought pushed Matt on. He could take a Tier 2 rift if he was careful and slow.

Would Light and Shadow have run from this? No. They are so strong they would have done this without breaking a sweat. This is my chance, I could get Tier 2 mana stones. If Im lucky I could get a Tier 2 essence stone. Or maybe something better?

In the place of the small distortion was a... Matt wasnt sure what it was. It looked like a fist sized egg made of ice.

He knew about bondable creatures but he had only heard of them as pets to be bought from breeders after Tier 5 because of the spirit contract the creature made with a human needed the human to have a minimum strength.

Matt hated that so much information was kept from the low Tiered ascenders. He sighed, there was nothing he could do about it now except get it scanned and evaluated.

Looking at the orcs head at the top of the sack made Matt smile again.

The risk was sky high, my reward should match that.

Matt pulled out his pad and typed a message to Melinda to ask for her help. The message would be sent once he left the rift and he could deal with broken bones for the time it took to get to the living quarters on the edge of the island.

He was not looking forward to the ride back from the center of the island but if he was going to pay a healers outrageous fees he wanted the money to go to a friend and not a stranger. Broken bones werent life-threatening.

Matt placed the large egg next to the orc head and lifted the sack, hissing as the weight put pressure on his broken ribs.

Stepping through the portal Matt was quickly seen and helped by the waiting guards. As he was led out of the room Matt declined the offer of healers saying that he had one on the way.

Before Matt could make his way to the check-out desk he heard Melinda.

How is she here so fast?

Matt couldnt understand, he had taken much longer than usual to finish the rift, it should be well after they usually finished their rift. Even after becoming Tier 3s they never took more than three hours to finish a delve.

Matt was grabbed by Melinda and as her hand touched him he felt her skill [Ranged Heal] soothing the pain.

When Melindas face moved in front of his, he didnt understand. Her mouth was moving but no sound was coming out.

Deactivate your skill, it is interfering with my healing. Matt felt the fog lift in his mind and stopped feeding mana to [Cracked Phantom Armor]. As he did he felt wetness moving down his side.

Matt felt hands guiding him to the ground. He tried to protest but was overruled and manhandled down.

As he felt more gentle soothing energy washing the aches and pains away Matt became more clear-headed.

You back with us Matt? What happened?

Melinda was kneeling over him and an older lady in healers robes stood behind her.

Yeah Im good, think I had a concussion.

No shit, and your left side was all fucked up. You realize you had a two-inch chunk cut out of your side?

I think it was a rift challenge. It was way harder than it should have been.

The older healer interjected, Thats a bold claim young man, do you have any proof or are you trying to save face because you fucked up?

That irritated Matt, who was she to judge him? She was implying he couldnt handle a Tier 1 rift.

Look in the sack and tell me what you think. It should be all the proof I need.

Matt got the shock he expected but not for the reason he thought, instead of pulling the orc head out the healer removed the large egg made of ice.

Ill give you a million credits for this, she said and started to tuck the egg away.

Matt shouted, Fuck no.

The healer hesitated but looked at the guards before saying, ten million.

Matt struggled to get up, Give it back.

Who did this woman think she was?

Matt's commotion had drawn the guard captain to see what was wrong and he said, Iris you know that pressuring a sponsored individual is against policy and trying to lowball a prize is even more of a crime.

Its not like he would make good use of it, the idiot almost got killed in a Tier 1 rift. He should take some money and go live a normal life. The healer holding his reward tried to step away after saying that.

The guard captain walked over to the sack and pulled the orc head out. Sure looks like to me and my spiritual sense that this idiot who almost got himself killed in a Tier 1 rift killed a Tier 3 orc who was using [Berserker's Rage] before it died.

Matt was startled, how could he tell all of that? Was his spiritual sense that good or was it something else?

It represented the power he wanted, if he had power this arrogant healer would never dare to try and steal what was his.

The guard captain continued, You know as well as I do that a Tier 3 can only appear in a Tier 1 with a rift challenge. And you want to try and steal from someone on The Path? Someone on The Path that can kill a Tier 3 at Tier 1? If the Empire didnt hunt you down, how long do you think before he did?

As he finished Griff suddenly appeared And I already reported this incident.

The healer looked pale but still tried to defend herself. Matts egg clutched to her chest. This is wasted on him. Ten million is more than fair. I...

Griff interrupted her, Iris you know stealing from someone who is on The Path while working at a PlayPen is a capital offense?

Iris tried to speak but Griff cut her off, and ten million for that egg is stealing. Iris, you know it and so does everyone here. Now, how about you put...

It should be mine. I've been healing these brats for so long I deserve this. If I cant have it he sure ca...

Matts heart stopped as Iris moved to smash the egg but before she could do more than raise her hand Griff had already moved. He was holding her raised hand, his entire arm through her chest.

With a shake, he took hold of Matts egg and dislodged the dead healer. Captain Im sure you and your men will act as witnesses for the investigation, the cameras should have gotten everything but we'll still need to go through the motions.

Griff with one arm covered in blood looked at the seven on the floor. Why do you all insist on making my life difficult?

He handed the egg to Matt and peeked at the orc head with a nod.

Well, the events shouldnt be that hard to explain. Matt, Im assuming that you found yourself in a rift challenge and decided not to leave?

Matt now having been completely healed and only sore, nodded.

I remembered they were rare an...

Griff sighed and cut him off, They arent actually that rare, solo delvers find them more often, one in say ten to twenty thousand delves. Its the rifts way to get a free kill. They get stronger with every death inside them.

That was common knowledge, rifts could grow slowly over time but deaths accelerated the process.

Rifts aren't alive, but they do run like magical code with a lot of IF statements. If the group that enters is stronger than it, the rift uses as little essence as it can to not waste resources. If the group is weaker than it, it will send the normal monster. Because why waste the essence?

But there is a grey spot between the two. If the rifts calculations think it can get a kill if it boosts the power a bit and it thinks that it won't spend more on a rift challenge than it would get for killing the delvers it can do one.

Most solo delvers are smart enough to back out and just re-enter. Its essence expensive and the rift can't recycle the monsters. Rift challenges have a survival rate of about one in a million for solo delvers. Its better for those on The Path because most are stronger than average but its still near one in five hundred thousand. The rifts only do it when the math adds up in their favor. So please explain why you were stupid enough to actually attempt it.

Matt suddenly felt very foolish. The information Griff stated cleared up the confusion he had. He had thought that there was a one in a million chance to get a rift challenge, not one in a million chance to survive one.

I... Ugh... Misremembered it as being one in a million to find one and... Ugh... didnt want to pass the chance up.

Griff ground the heels of his hands into his eyes, not noticing or caring about the blood covering his hand. Then he wordlessly screamed into his hands.

Matt suddenly felt really scared. Would Griff hurt him if he snapped?

After he stopped screaming Griff took his hands off his face and said I cant even accurately prove to you how dangerous that was. I just hope you remember that in the future the difference between Tiers is larger. Tier 1 to 3 is manageable.

The bloody handprint covering half his face made each word menacing.

Not by everyone, or even most people. But its not completely unheard of. As you ascend to higher Tiers it takes more essence to advance and that makes the gaps wider. There is a reason those that complete The Path are so rare. Its a race where you have to fight two or more Tiers above yourself and at Tier 20 and higher, its nearly impossible to cross Tiers. Thats why those that can are so highly valued.

Griff was working himself up and even the guard captain had retreated. Matt felt frozen and vulnerable on the ground with just Melinda and party directly behind him.

There has been one person, ONE FUCKING PERSON to do it in the last one thousand years. One thousand fucking years. Can you imagine how many people have been born in the empire in the last millennium?

Matt didnt think he was supposed to answer that but when Griff paused he began to open his mouth before Griffs eyes refocused and said. I just looked it up. About one hundred and fourteen billion per year. Give or take some. One hundred and fourteen billion people per year over the last millennium not a single one has managed to replicate Duke Waters feat. YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL. You are not better than the ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN TRILLION people before you.

Griff took a deep breath and sighed he looked aged ten years.

And the worst thing is you got rewarded for your reckless behavior, tens of millions will die trying to get the same reward as you did. If you care at all youll keep that's he waved at the egg in Matts hand, source a secret.

Just say you got lucky in the normal rift, or better yet dont answer. Because if it gets out that it was from a rift challenge every new person on any PlayPen for the next decade will try instead of escaping like is recommended. They will attempt to repeat your feat and so few will make it out alive, and even fewer will make it through alive and victorious as you did.

Matt felt terrible, he hadnt thought his actions out that far. What was this egg? Was it so valuable to send people to their deaths to risk getting something similar?

The icy egg suddenly felt heavier than the orc corpse had when it tried to end his life with its own.

Melinda, is he ok to move?

Melinda just nodded at Griffs question, not daring to speak.

You can all go home. I beg you not to talk about this. I really do. I just had to kill a Tier 8 Healer because of it. Please dont get more people killed, Im so, so very tired of watching children die.

With that Griff was gone.