Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The next day, it was Liz's turn to solo the final fight. It was far less of a challenge for her than Matt had expected. The blood that she had collected throughout the rift allowed her to breeze through the boss encounter. Liz used the accumulated blood to create another blood golem, and smashed the bears and lizard shaman into paste.

The next day, she tried again, but this time she refrained from using her golem strategy. It was gratifying seeing her struggle, at least a little, against the three bears.

He wanted his partner to be strong, but it was nice to see that she wasn't too far ahead of him. Liz had to strain herself without the golem, constantly dodging and weaving away from the larger bears, and whittling them down. Instead of overpowering her opponents with brute force, she instead used her rift spear and its bleed effect.

With her increased accuracy from her training, and with a little help from [Blood Manipulation], she was able to land shallow blows on the massive monsters. With her increased flexibility and mobility from her new blood doping technique, she was able to fight without taking a single hit.

Even if she ran into any danger, a tendril of blood would always snap into position to take the blow for her. [Blood Manipulation] was unable to completely stop the heavy paw swipes or skill enhanced bites from the bears, but it was enough to buy her time to evade the attacks.

The fight lasted almost ten minutes. It was risky business to be in close quarters with monsters that could break her body in a single blow for that long, armor or no armor.

When she drove a blood spike into the final bear, Matt let her rest while he walked to the lizardman's hut, and knocked it down with a few strokes from his blade. They had figured there was little reason to collect wood, when the hut would just disappear with this instance of the rift either way.

With the fire to attract the remaining bears blazing, he let Liz recover and meditated on his Concept.

***

It was almost two months into their time on the training world, when an interesting message came through.

Simeon had heard about Matts run-ins with the guild, both the bomb incident, and the idiot who broke his sword.

As a way of apology for the actions of the guilds underlings, Simeon had gotten them into a guild only rift. It was apparently an off-record rift, which was unique in some way.

This particular rift was apparently a wave based one. The longer they fought, the stronger the monsters would get, and the stronger the final boss would be.

The first delve completed in the rift per team always led to the best rewards, and if they got past wave eight, a skill shard was almost guaranteed.

The guild usually only allowed high ranking teams inside, or at least the politically connected. It was a great opportunity, and Matt had no issue accepting the generosity.

The only reason the delve slot was open was because a team had either died, or got so badly injured that they couldn't safely delve anymore. It wasn't a concern to Matt or Liz.

That was what they signed up for when they decided to step onto the Path of Ascension.

They slotted themselves into delving the rift once a week for the remaining time. To that effect, they skipped the normal rift runs for the day, and teleported back into the city early. Neither wanted to be in any condition but their best for a risky rift like this.

After teleporting into the guild city, they took a day to rest and recuperate. It was needed, as they had been wholly focused on delving and honing their skills, on top of Matts attempts at finding his Concept.

The next morning, they found themselves being hustled back into the teleporter. Moments later, they had arrived at the entrance of a cave.

At the back of the perfectly straight, unnatural tunnel, they found a rift. It was just like the rest, a tear in the fabric of reality. The only thing out of the ordinary was the guard unit posted at the entrance. Two heavily armed and armored guild members stood at each side of the rift, each with an intimidating presence.

As they approached, Matt, trying to be friendly, said, "Howre you guys doing?"

The duo of guards didn't even blink, they completely ignored him. He felt at their cores with his spirit sense, and found them to be at the peak of Tier 10. Strong guards for a hidden rift. But if the rewards were that good, their presence was to be expected.

Giving up on his attempts at niceties with the two men, the trio entered the rift, and immediately felt a blast of heat. Looking out from the entrance, they found a massive step pyramid in the distance.

Matts AI got a good view, and calculated the dimensions, factoring in the distance involved. The thing was massive, five hundred and twenty eight feet across at the bottom layer, and two hundred and forty feet tall. The layers were made of six foot blocks of stone that were perfectly smooth. The forty layers to the flat top each had engravings, casting shadows he couldn't make out from his current distance.

With his AIs help, Matt could just barely see a staircase inlaid into the center of each side of the massive structure. It was an impressive sight.

Something about the edifice in the humid jungle set off every warning bell ingrained into Matt's rift-honed instincts.

At the top of the pyramid, there was a large, clear area, with the rift exit resting at the center. The distance was calculated at thirty six feet across at the edge, putting the area of the clearing at 1,296 square feet.

It was a perfectly large arena, suitable for the bloodshed they were about to unleash.

Liz whistled after she looked around. "Well, the descriptions didn't do that thing justice. Damnnnn."

"Yeah, it's impressive."

As they walked through the dense jungle, Matt looked behind them, and only found a wall of swirling mist that blocked his spiritual perception.

When they reached the bottom of the massive pyramid, Matt looked up, and saw that the images he couldnt make out earlier were depictions of sacrifice. People, animals, and much stranger things were carved upon alters, and at the top of each terrace were carved skulls. No two he saw were the same.

"Well fuck, this is ominous."

Liz agreed with a nod. Nothing more.

The steps were smaller than was comfortable at only six inches wide, and the climb to the top was long. While their bodies were in better shape than all but the strongest mortals, climbing four hundred and eighty steps still left the trio winded.

At the top, they found a flat, open area that overlooked the surrounding terrain. It was a thick jungle, but they had a slight breeze cutting the heat at the top of the pyramid.

At the center of the fighting area was a stone carving with a cone shaped crown, and a heart raised to the sky. What threw them off was the statues open mouth. Its teeth were bared, like it was about to take a bite out of the heart.

Around the statue were three basins sitting on pedestals. The guilds provided information had covered the basins, and the required steps to start the encounter. So, they walked to each pedestal, and squeezed a drop of blood into the stone bowls.

Aster chose to have her flank cut instead of her paws. The location didn't matter, and only a single drop was required for the bowl to link to them. The bowl absorbed the small jade pins they used as they set them back down inside.

With the starting ritual taken care of, they waited near the edge of the arena together.

Watching the forest, they soon saw the first enemies. At this distance, all he could glean was that they were waist high, bipedal reptiles, with odd, feathered headdresses. The guild provided information did not cover the types of enemies the rift would have. The stated reason was that the rewards were better when parties had less information.

"Wow, that's a lot of monsters for a first wave." Matt muttered.

"Yeah. Well, fuck, Liz responded. At least were at mid Tier 4 now. The rift may be peak Tier 4, but the first wave can't be that strong... Right?"

With a slight jog, Matt went to another side, and saw just as many enemies rushing up to them. He didn't bother to check the remaining two sides.

He noticed small channels dug out of the floor, leading to the center of the top of the pyramid. They all coalesced at the feet of the center statue and stone bowls.

Matt's bad feeling that hed had since they first stepped foot onto the top of the pyramid was only getting worse. He didn't like this one bit.

Steeling his resolve, Matt took the far side and waited, watching the approaching monsters.

They came in all at once, and as they reached the bottom steps of the pyramid, he was able to get a better look at them.

They seemed to be some weird mix of velociraptor and bird, with the feathered headdresses and short wings. They also had massive legs that propelled them distances far larger than he wouldve thought possible. They were digging into the dirt with their overly large talons with each bound towards them, and had mouths filled with far too many teeth.

Matt activated [Cracked Phantom Armor] and [Mage's Retreat], pushing the former to the brink of what it could handle. The latter was throttled at two mana a second. He wanted the extra mana for his AI, to gather as much info as possible.

Any advantage they could gain against the hybrid raptors would be a benefit, and he didnt mind his AI burning far more mana than usual to figure something out.

Watching the monster's approach, the inane thought that he should have activated [Cracked Phantom Armor] earlier for the heat protection crossed his mind.

It was a long moment before the first creature reached the top. Leading the pack of monsters, it leaped forward, with Matt meeting its talons with his blade. The raptor used its stubby wings to redirect its fall slightly, but it wasn't enough, as his blade sliced through its extended feet and surprisingly light body.

There wasn't much time to inspect the rift monster, but it had spikes at the end of its wings and tail.

After that, there was no time for thought. Only killing. Matt's enchanted longsword took out the next two raptors that crested the ridge of the pyramid. The next group arrived as five, and quickly managed to flank him. While he was cutting through the ones in front, the two that curled around him attacked.

Matt felt the two simultaneous attacks land. At the back of his leg, there was a bite attempting to hamstring him, and a second slashing attack, using large talons to great effect.

They were unable to pierce [Cracked Phantom Armor] with either attack, and his mana regeneration handled the cost of blocking the blows, keeping the skill active through the blows.

I will not be stopped.

I.

AM.

ENDLESS.

With that, the hold of the skill broke, his realization had freed Matt from the chains that bound him.

The revelation was clear now. Matt was not one to be stopped. He was never-ending. He would put one foot in front of the other, and continue to advance. The tides of his enemies would break against his unyielding will.

In the center of his cores, he felt something taking hold. It wasn't a perfect Concept, but it filled that space in his spirit. However, it was incomplete without an image to go with the phrase. For now, he was satisfied with countering the beast's skill. That would allow for a much better matchup.

Then, he pushed his spiritual sense out at the boss of the rift. It was Tier 5.

It had its own Concept.

Matt rushed it. Liz and Aster were just shaking free of the chains while he charged. The serpent didn't seem to have any ranged attacks, as it dove with wings that glowed with the same light the parrots did. He ran and slashed at the diving monster. For the first time, his blade didn't cut smoothly through a monster's flesh.

This was a Tier 5 rift boss scaly armor against a Tier 5 weapon. And dragon scales were famous for their toughness for a reason. The blade only left a white mark as it skittered down the flank of the beast.

The blow diverted its attention to the prey that should have still been locked away, but wasn't.

With a flick of its head, the serpent flew higher in the sky, and Matt saw the headdress tremble as the same scream ripped out.

Matt pushed out with his own Concept, with a new instinct to counter the skill. But instantly his vision went white, and he felt warmth running down his face. The only thing keeping him standing were the chains of the monsters skill. He quickly reactivated both of his own skills, which had failed when he had faced the backlash from the clashing Concepts.

Spitting out the blood that filled his mouth, Matt noted that the incomplete Concept phrase of a Tier 4 was no match for the monster's Tier 5 fully formed Concept.

Waiting out the duration of the skill, he watched as the dragon turned around and aimed directly at him. Its wings glowed with the bladed wing skill, as he watched the large serpent's head open, with fangs larger than his arm bared at him.

The skill released with just enough time for the armored swordsman to sidestep the snapping jaws, and drive his blade into the serpents cheek. The softer flesh yielded to the longsword enhanced with the sharpness and durability runes. Matt felt a tug on the repair rune that made him nervous for his new weapon.

His attention was quickly brought back to his enemy, when the light encased wing slammed into him. What was an easy to deal with blow from the parrots sent Matt flying, with [Cracked Phantom Armor] shattered. He was fortunate that the armor lasted long enough for the momentum of the blow to send him flying, instead of the sharp wings bisecting him at the waist.

With a frantic effort, he got the skill reactivated as he hit the ground and slid off the edge of the pyramid. Landing two terraces down, he used [Mage's Retreat] to enhance him enough to jump the six foot height of each terrace. As he made the first leap, the movement caused pain to lance up his body. It radiated from his side. Two ribs were cracked, according to his AI.

Ignoring the pain, he made it back to the arena, to find a huge, bloody gash along the serpent's face. He had managed to make a more even trade than he thought.

Liz was free, and had used her blood to break the wing opposite of the one that hit him. Or at least thats what the crooked shape of the wing implied. The broken wing didn't seem to hamper the creature's ability to fly, not that it needed the wing, with its absurd proportions. If the creature wasn't a dragon, and magical by nature, there was no way two wings of that size would allow it to fly.

A massive shard of ice formed, and smashed into the charging monster's face. As Matt ran, he saw Aster out of her backpack and parallel to Liz, forcing the serpent to choose one or the other.

Through their bond, he felt pure rage directed towards the boss. He had never felt such feelings from his bond. The feeling was so cold, his first instinct was to distance himself from the bond, but instead he pushed comfort to her. If it helped, he didn't have time to notice, as the serpent corrected its flight path and went for Liz.

With its attention on the other member of the party, Aster shot shards of ice at its eyes, blinding one.

That caused the monster to retreat upwards and circle again. Seeing Matt back and on his feet, the serpent let out another screech, binding them all in place. When it made another pass at Matt, he dodged to its blind side just as the skill duration ended, while a pool of blood grabbed its already broken wing and held.

There was a moment where the blood and the monster stood still, in complete balance, when the momentum of the monster carried it past. Watching the trail of blood, Matt saw that the blood mage had won the exchange. Half of the wing was ripped off, and the remaining stub was being drained of blood. This time, the serpents screech was one of pain. There were no chains binding the trio to their positions.

The next pass, Liz carved a chunk of flesh out of the side of the serpent with Asters help, using a shard of frozen blood. The monster seemed to be fixated on Matt, with him being the most injured target.

He was charging his blades [Mana Charge] skill as the boss took passes at him. He had only used the skill sparingly in the last few months, as it was still incredibly draining. But if it let him finish the serpent off, huddling in a ball for an hour would be an acceptable outcome. It was his strongest attack, after all.

After two more dives, with Aster and Liz both damaging the serpent, the monster went for Matt one more. Itr wasn't stupid enough to try the same attack a third time. At the last moment, it bent its serpentine body unnaturally on itself, and turned directly towards Liz. The mage had all of her blood ready to carve another chunk of flesh out of the serpents flank.

The beast had chosen it moment to turn well and was just feet from the mage. Feet that were covered in seconds.

At the exact instant that the serpent turned to his partner, Matt acted. With an effort of will, he activated the rings, and swapped places with the mage.

Let's hope I don't get eaten.

He tried to roll, but his cracked rib slowed him down. Even twisting to avoid the serpents bite with [Mages Retreat] wasn't enough. His left arm was caught in the beasts maw.

I should have teleported, with the ring.

The thought was late as being locked on the enemies jaws would prevent the ring from working.

The bite didn't instantly shatter [Cracked Phantom Armor], but it was a close call. The force it bit down with was clearly weakened by its wounds, as it flew into the air with Matt in tow. It flicked its head, tossing Matt up to swallow the man.

Matt was able to adjust his path down into the serpents jaw slightly by using the rings short range teleport, with pain shooting up his side from his damaged ribs. Although he was able to avoid falling directly into the serpents mouth, his off arm was caught by the snapping bite, and razor-sharp teeth sank through.

The pain was excruciating, but he was happy to avoid being swallowed whole. His arm had just narrowly missed being impaled by the larger fangs, which he was sure had venom ready to inject into prey.

With his Concepts phrase running through his head, he chanted:

I will not end here. I Am Endless.

He didnt activate the pseudo Concept, as he didn't want the backlash to interrupt the charging skill from the blade in his free hand.

As the serpent prepared to go for another toss, he brought his weapon around to smash into the monster's skull, tip of the blade first. With the leverage of his trapped arm, he was able to sink the glowing weapon into the side of the skull of the monster.

In the time since he had started charging the skill, he had been able to feed it nearly 1000 mana. A massive amount for a standard [Mana Charge]. He just hoped it would be enough.

Like relaxing a fist, he let the skill go.

There was a blinding flash of blue-white light as the skill detonated.

The injuries and shock from using the Tier 5 weapon skill caused darkness to encroach on Matt's vision. Before it fully set in, he felt himself falling, and had one final thought.

My Concept didn't even make a difference in this fight.

The darkness only lasted a moment. Then the ground pushed it away. Hitting the ground with an arm still in the serpents jaws was good. On one hand, it saved him injuries from being crushed under the heavy rift boss.

On the other hand... Well, Matt no longer had another hand to compare it to. The arm, still stuck on the monster's teeth, was bitten clean through, as the impact with the ground caused the jaws to clamp further shut.

The pain brought him fully back to the world of the living. With a scream of agony, the likes of which he had never felt, he tried to reach with his left arm. He twisted to free himself from the pain. It didn't work. The movement caused even more pain to lance up his left side, directly to his brain.

He stared at the stump where his left hand had been moments ago. It was simply gone, and his brain couldn't process it.

As his breath left him, and Liz landed on the ground next to him, he saw her horrified face screaming at him.

He looked at her, seeing her lips move, but hearing no sound come out. Not comprehending, his eyes focused on the bottle of red liquid in her hands. A blood staunching potion they had gotten months back.

Understanding dawned, and he deactivated [Cracked Phantom Armor]. The pain increased, somehow. Liz dumped the vial of liquid on his stump, and it was like fire and ice decided to fight over who could cause the most pain. The battle between the opposing feelings ended, with his awareness numbing to the point that his missing arm mattered little.

With the all encompassing pain subsiding somewhat, he thanked the girl next to him, "Good thinking. Thanks. It uh, kinda hurt a little."

The mage yanked her helmet off, and he saw tears streaming down her face, mixing with blood and sweat.

Instead of words, she hugged him. Aster joined a moment later, squirming in between the two while whimpering. He put his good arm... His only arm, he corrected himself, around the duo.

With the pain lessened, and comfort of the two people he cared for most, he looked at the motionless remains of the Feathered Serpent.