Chapter 140

The rifts they passed were all central to the construction of the various buildings and shops that the crafting Pathers were already settling into which created interesting pathways and buildings they flew over.

Eventually, after nearly an hour of slow flying, they came to a large square formed around two rifts on opposite sides.

From the giant projections, Quill was able to see two different teams fighting against seemingly random monsters on a hovering plane of light in the darkness. It was one of the most popular forms of entertainment after the big three.

The endless rifts.

They were a huge attraction just for that very reason; it was an opportunity to show off against an endless stream of random monsters that grew stronger as you progressed.

Everyone coming to the tournament had hyped the rifts up, and they seemed to have lived up to it. The event especially drew the teams that were on standby, and had little else to do but watch. Learning about the competition was always a good move, and Quill approved.

While it wasn’t earning anyone points, learning about your soon to be foes was an acceptable pastime.

Wanting to get closer, Quill moved forward until he could feel the rift in his spiritual sense.

Getting close only confirmed what he suspected. The rifts felt off; wrong somehow.

A normal rift felt like a tear in the fabric of reality, but with had a sense of rigidity and firmness that these lacked.

The pair of what Quill suspected were copied rifts felt like the reflection of a shadow.

When he had been creating rifts by the dozens, he had heard of them, but the actual practice of copying rifts was rarely done.

First and foremost, the act of copying the rift created a weaker version that took more mana to run. Secondly, it had a completely new and random drop table, no matter what the copiers did.

To add a final insult, the act of copying the rift also damaged the original rift. Luckily the damage wasn’t permanent, but that meant they could only copy it once again after the rift had restablized.

Few people bothered with the expense and difficulty of copying a rift unless there was something particularly special in the rift itself.

Something like the dragon blood from the boss monster in the rift that Mara and Leon had taken.

Or, in this case, the unique rift challenge style of endless stage combat. The rift was prized for its ability to push a delver to their limits, then through them.

The rewards were secondary in the two Tier 14 rifts. Still, they just plainly felt wrong to his spiritual sense.

Looking up at the live projections of the team fighting, as it was replaced with another instance, Quill whistled in appreciation.

Another effect of having copied rifts was a weaker spatial wall in each instance, allowing for people to actively watch what was going on with minimal delay.

Even now, there was a local channel on his AI that he could tap into and watch the various teams in near real-time. Meanwhile, the larger screens showed highlights of each team, and simultaneously focused on the team that had made it the farthest.

Torch came up to him and pointed at one of the non-leading teams as they appeared on the screen. She said, “That was the third team to enter, and they’re currently on the second wave of high Tier 12 monsters.”

Checking the time, it had taken them over six hours to make it that far. Quill scoffed.

That really was slow, and while there was nothing wrong with ‘slow and steady’, they were advancing at a glacial pace.

Blinking, Matt felt eyes on both him and Torch as they watched their surroundings. That caused him to wonder…

If these people saw our standoff with the Gems and the other top masked teams, then they likely think we have something to say.

The personality he had cultivated for Quill had its advantages, but at times like this, it forced him to do things that he felt were mean.

Quill would be just as appalled with some of the showings as most of the proud and braggart nobles I’ve been forced to interact with. How can we spin this to make these watchers get mad enough to force some more intense competition, and show their hands?

With that thought, a plan formed in his head as he leaned toward Torch and stage whispered, “Are they taking naps after each wave? For fuck’s sake.” Quill honestly was surprised they had only made it that far.

Still, others in the crowd threw curses at him, most insisting on wanting to see him try and do better if he was able to talk that shit so casually.

A fair ask, but he gave them a middle finger as his only response. His comment had been spoken to Torch alone, not the whole crowd. At least, that’s what he wanted them to think.

One of the more battered-looking teams took enough offense to actually confront him.

Hook, line, and sinker.

A shorter woman with fresh blood staining her light armor chest piece pointed at him with a bow in her hand and sneered, “For a bloke who just showed up, you spittin’ a lot of shit through that silly mask of yours. Naw, I’d like to see you go at this too. When’s your crew signed up for? With fightin’ words like that, must be next, right? Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is.”

Quill turned and scoffed at the woman. His mask feigned a shocked expression to mock her. “No my friend, we actually haven't signed up yet. Regardless, we’d have easily been slapping around the mid-Tier 13s in half that time, if not less.”

Matt wanted to let it drop there, as his statement hadn’t seemed to have the desired effect. He had only caused more outrage, rather than enthusiasm, but the woman took it personally. She shouted, “So you talk a lot of shit, but haven't actually done anything? How mighty impressive. You can't judge another team like that.”

After a slight internal debate, Matt decided to give the woman a proper explanation, as she had gathered enough attention. He felt a lesson for his fellow Pathers was warranted. A war was coming, and they were meant to be the best the Empire had to offer.

Stepping forward and gathering everyone's attention while willing a more scholarly look to his mask, Quill said, “No, they are slow. It's taken them over six hours to get to where they are. That means they’re clearing each wave at a snail's pace. There’s five rounds a level from bottom Tier 11, to mid Tier 11, then high Tier 11, finishing with peak Tier 11s. It continues so on and so forth for each Tier of monster they fight, which means they’re only on the forty-second wave. Essentially, they’ve averaged a ten-minute clear of each wave, and you don't need to be a genius to understand that they’re slowing down with every cleared wave.”

Leaning forward, Quill pointed up to the screen, which now showed the first-place team.

“The first-placing team has been averaging a four-minute clear, and they’re are only slowing down at the mid-Tier 13’s. They averaged three minutes a wave before that.”

Having led them to the masked team in question, Quill waited until they fell into his word trap.

The woman took the bait.

“And you think you’re better than them?” She spat at his foot, but Quill pulled his foot back and sent back his own verbal attack.

“Yes, we are better than them. That team is a ranked mask, and their rank is forty seven. They’ve challenged us before, and got their asses handed to them. So yes, it's embarrassing to see someone doing that much worse than those laggards.”

The woman seemed to be gearing up for a fight, but her team pulled her back down and away.

Still, she shouted as she was dragged away, “I want someone to tell me when you go up and fight so I can watch and laugh.”

Quill put a cheery expression on his mask as he watched her go, waving merrily before he turned to rewatch the combat video of the team that he had just exchanged words with. He was tempted to have his AI send her a message to do just what she had suggested, but refrained from giving her an avenue to try and harass him even more.

He hadn’t attacked them personally, as they had been doing well until their mage fucked up, and was out of position during a wave with mostly diving bats. It was an awful counter to their team.

There was nothing wrong with doing well, then getting countered.

Calling back out to them, he offered up some analysis of their own battle with a chipper smiley face in his mask. “In the future, don’t take someone’s critical analysis of a team who did worse than you to heart. You guys did better than them, and got fucked with bad luck. Nothing wrong with that. The monsters are random with each wave, and it's hard to counter everything. Don’t try to protect a failing team as a salve to your bruised ego. Be better, and get better.”

That actually got the team to stop and pause.

Seeing he had their attention, Matt nodded to the man with an empty longsword sheath slung across his back. “It was reckless, but that was a good throw to take out the bat and save your mage. You’re all alive, and made it into the Tier 13’s yourselves. There are half a dozen rifts around here with primary flying monsters. Take the time and go figure out a way to handle them while sorting out another weapon to replace the one you lost.”

Flying monster rifts were rarely kept as primary rifts on settled planets, since they were so hard to fight without an abundance of skills. It wasn't surprising at all that they struggled against the monster type.

He turned to the mage who had a sullen look on their face and added, “At least you got a good view of the depths of the rift. Is it as unsettling as I’ve heard?”

The man shuddered slightly, but said nothing.

From what Matt heard, the underneath of the stage they fought on was an endless void, and anyone who fell was considered dead, as they had never recovered the bodies. It was also said that looking over the edge was a one way ticket to nightmares for years.

Seeing that his little speech had gathered an ever growing interested audience, he continued, “Queen Tur'stal has made something clear with the format of this year's tournament. We are expected to grow the entire time. Anyone who hoards the points and never spends them is going to do well early, but will then be unable to catch up against the others. Those who spend their points will be able to buy items that we frankly have no right to access at our Tier.”

Quill tapped his foot at the spot the woman’s spit landed on. “If you can't see past your anger at the truth of what I’ve said, I have nothing else to say.”

Tapping his mask, he added as he turned, “And because that slow team wears a mask, and never bothered to show up to any of the masquerades and test their mettle, I believe their team is simply weak. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a chance to pass them. Or anyone else.”

Together, he and Torch walked out, and kept on their path to reach the second half of the planet.

Matt was frustrated, deep down.

While he had been critical of the other team, they were shown on the large screen because they had rated the longest time spent in the rift, and they had issues delving two Tiers up. That wasn't a shameful thing in any other competition, but being that weak, they had rushed to the most prestigious and lauded rift challenge. They just weren’t able to match that level of prestige and challenge to an acceptable level.

He was still mulling over the situation when he and Liz saw a wall rise up on the horizon.

With questioning gazes, they both flew up until they were able to see more of the planet.

Quill's eyebrows rose under the mask as he saw what the wall was. An entire half of the planet was walled off and guarded by the gardeners that Tur'stal had introduced.

Still, what they had done was impressive. It was like someone took a patchwork of different biomes and spliced them together, with no care for the natural inclinations of each area. A desert and tundra area were adjacent, but seemingly unbothered by each other’s presence. The sprawling landscape created a majestic patchwork of colors that stretched beyond the horizon.

Torch whistled and asked, “What the hell did the boss lady do?”

They wanted to avoid using Tur'stal’s name more than absolutely necessary. She told everyone that she would be listening out for it, and saying it for no reason seemed… foolish.

When they landed, they saw a gathering of people and joined them in listening to a Tier 20 gardener explain what the second half of the planet was.

“This side of the planet– the one contained within the wall behind you– is the Garden. Well manicured and controlled. The other side of the planet is called the Jungle, and nature has taken its course. The main rules on the other side of the wall are not killing each other, and not taking equipment from defeated teams. A final rule about the rifts out there– The first team in line to delve is immune to challenges, as we want to make sure the rifts are being used. Otherwise, you must learn about the other restrictions yourselves as you explore. Some areas have more or less restrictions than others.”

He gestured out behind himself and grinned as he said, “Besides that, anything goes. It’s survival of the fittest. If you are strong enough, go and take what you can. Things beyond the wall are the same as here, with rifts available and challenges to complete while delving them. There’s just less… civility in the Jungle.”

The man smiled at the mumbling going through the crowd as he stoked the flames. “Also, note that there are various valuable natural treasures hidden throughout the other side of the planet. You are free to take and keep them if you can actually get your hands on them.”

The gardener nodded at the eager crowd, until someone said something that Quill didn't quite hear.

“Ah, a good question. Yes, there are more dangers than your fellow contestants out there. The other side of the planet has a number of rifts that we deliberately filled until they broke and spilled their monsters out. They were then allowed to wander free, and set up their own little monster tribes and such.” He flicked a finger at them, and an information packet waited to be downloaded to everyone's AI.

As Quill read over the information, he whistled.

There were a number of points available to anyone who actually cleared the monster nests, or even managed to kill a number of monsters.

Ten average Tier 12 monsters were worth one point, while the rare Tier 14 monsters were worth ten points split between everyone on the team that took one of them down.

He looked to Torch, and even behind the mask, he knew she was as eager as he was.

This was the perfect location for their combat prowess to shine.

The gardener threw some cold water over the crowd with a laugh.

“Do note that you need to spend five points a team each time you enter the Jungle, and those points are non refundable. If you get beaten by another team, as soon as we believe that you can't protect yourself out there, we will pull you out. If a monster is about to eat you, we will pull you out. If we pull you out, we’ll take any items and points that you’ve gathered during your adventure.”

A part of the crowd started to grumble at the need for points when most teams hadn’t had the opportunity to enter any rifts yet. There wasn’t even any guarantee that they’d be able to earn any points for the next few days.

Still, it seemed like the gardeners had thought about it.

“If you wish, the points can be taken on loan to enter the Jungle for your first time, but that’s a one time deal that you won't be offered again.”

Done with his speech, the gardener gestured to a teleportation formation next to him. “Anyone who wishes to enter can teleport into a random location in the Jungle with one of these. You will also find teleportation pads spread throughout the Jungle at random, and at any Tier 12 or higher rift location. They are one way, and the only way back to the Garden. Also, using one of those teleporters is the only way to keep the stuff you gather from the Jungle.”

With that, the crowd separated into two. Some people walked away, unwilling or unable to fight in such a dangerous environment, while the others took their place in the line.

When it was their turn, and they found themselves inside the walled location, Quill froze as he felt the difference in the space around them.

“They spatially expanded half a fucking planet? Are they crazy?”

He honestly couldn't believe anyone would be that spendthrift. The size of a spatial expansion scaled exponentially with the original size of the location, and the degree of the spatial expansion.

His mind went back to the wall that cut the planet in half, and he shook his head. It wasn't a wall there to keep the monsters in, but to stabilize the spatial expansion. He hadn’t even known a spatial expansion field could be kept stable over a distance that large.

Torch laughed next to him as she pointed to the drone that had followed them through the teleportation.

“Don't want to have a meltdown in front of the Empire.”

Laughing, Quill gestured to the drone, and it followed his direction to get a better view of his masked face.

Looking directly into the lens that would project his mask to anyone watching, he repeated, “Queen Tur'stal is fucking crazy. But wow, do I respect it.”

As he finished his statement, he added a slight bow and a dramatic look around the grassland they were in. Then he moved to take off in the air with the flying devices wrapped around his ankles.

To both his and Torch's surprise, they found that after they reached a height of ten feet, their flying devices started to struggle to rise higher, and their speed was restricted to a slow walk.

Not wanting to fight the clear rule in place for their location, the two of them landed in the waving grass and started to stalk forward, blending in with the waving grass.

As they heard a lion's roar, they prepared for a battle.

***

Tur'stal looked over at the view of Quill and Torch, and brought her glass to her lips for a small sip.

Mara preened next to her, “He definitely takes his trash-talking from us!”

Leon, ever willing to play along with his wife, nodded along while not taking attention away from his conversation with Rusty.

Tur'stal rolled her eyes at the bird. Matthew's Quill persona seemed to take a great deal from the duo’s exaggerated personalities, but she was more interested in how they actually compared to everyone else in true combat. The Tier 48s had kept the pair under their own perception the entire time they had been under her skies, and she hadn't been curious enough to disrespect Mara and Leon's desire for the Tier 10s privacy.

That meant the rift speedrun they had done earlier was her first time seeing the masked personas in action, and she wasn't particularly happy with the rift. It was an awful match-up for them, which was deliberately done by their managers, she was sure. But it meant that she didn’t really get to see them in action.

Still, they had gotten first place, even if a seeker team had solved the rift in less than an hour.

The rift before that had provided more of a show, but the only real highlight had been Matt’s lifting of the lava river and pulling out the Lava Whale. That had taken some serious control, and plenty of power to back it up.

But that wasn't enough for her. She wanted to see more. The few reports she had access to all stated that the team was following the rules, but the exact details about a Pather team were only accessible to the Emperor by default. If she wanted to see the truth, she would need to petition him, and he never accepted those. No, the reason she was watching them was the conversation she had with Emmanuel. He hinted to her that he expected them to be the next Light and Shadow.

High praise.

At first, she thought it was just because of Liz’s connection to him, but she had spent enough time with the girl as a child, as all the Royals had. She knew her well enough, and understood that her royal bloodline wasn’t the girl’s only merit.

She did have the personality to push far enough. Her reaction to her royal upbringing gave her the correct mix of anger, stubbornness, and determination to push long and hard enough to complete The Path. Even if only out of spite.

The boy was another question entirely. A tragic personal history with a detrimental Talent that was rated as corrected at Tier 3. It made for the possibility of explosive growth, and meant that he was the largest unknown. Still, she had some guesses. From everything she had seen, he was the driving force behind the team, which surprised her.

Liz didn’t have a small personality, so most people would be overwhelmed by her, and ultimately submit to her lead. Instead, the pair seemed to be actual equals.

Emmanuel had hinted that he would have a talk with the pair, and if they agreed, he would read them all in on whatever he was planning. But so far, there was nothing set in stone. It was actually standard practice for Pathers slated to complete The Path, but the meeting could theoretically happen at any time, despite a precedent having been long set for it to happen here, at the Tier 10 tournament.

With Emmanuel leaving in a few days, that could change.

But she was patient.

Moving first in politics usually had greater risks when you weren’t assured of the results. It was better to take a roundabout approach to the topic.

Turning to look at the Emperor, she asked, “And you believe that they have what it takes to complete The Path?”

The Tier 50 just nodded while he chewed on some of the finger food she had prepared for everyone.

Frederic took the opportunity to lean in and asked, “What are their real styles and needs?” He quickly waved his hand as he hurriedly added, “Not the gimped versions they show in each persona. If I knew that about them, I'd be happy to check my vault and see what I have to offer. No strings attached, of course.”

Tur'stal pursed her lips at the new royal. His little recruitment stunt had pissed her off enough that she was debating taking the man out for a little duel.

She had not appreciated her Tier 10 Pathers tournament being used as a recruitment tool. And from the way the Emperor was treating the Tier 46, he wasn't particularly happy either. But he hadn’t said anything in front of the other Royals.

Still, Emmanuel was the type to praise in public, and punish in private, so she was sure that the man had already been dealt with.

That didn’t mean she was satisfied.

Him giving the kids a few of his extra-special skills actually wasn’t a bad idea. He hated the loss of his precious treasures, and she decided to pressure him, just to see how much she could make him squirm.

“The top twenty-five teams of the Big Three and the Points ranking get the best matching skill from your vault, and I will forget your little stunt.” Her words cracked the man's easy-going mask for the first time since she met him.

The shameless man finally had his calm persona shatter, and seeing that was almost worth the earlier anger. As she watched the frown that replaced the smile, Frederic calculated the potential net loss if he agreed, and the possible ramifications of denying her in front of the Emperor. After all, he had just been so eager to be generous.

Still, she looked over at Emmanuel, who didn’t bother to keep the grin off his face at her words.

While they disagreed on general political policy, she actually liked the man personally, and returned the smile.

Frederic tried to weasel out of the deal. “You see, with the vast state of my vault being as it is, taking the time to find the right fits for twenty five teams would be easily done, but…”

Before he could finish the excuse, Tur’stal grimaced and lowered her tone. “Ah, so then it really should be the top fifty, right? That would make the vastness a little more manageable, no?”

Frederic cleared his throat and rebuilt his smile. “No no, Tur’stal, that’s quite alright. I think your earlier offer was much better. We wouldn’t want to dilute the grandeur of winning such a well-run tournament. Besides, placing so high shouldn't be rewarded with tertiary, and seemingly token gifts, should it? Excuse me, I shall see to it that my people are prepared for this.”

He had agreed to that too quickly. Suspiciously quickly.

Looking to the Emperor as Frederic got up in a hurry, she raised an eyebrow in silent question.

Emmanuel smiled as he revealed what he had done. “I told him that his punishment was yours to decide. It was your time to shine and he stepped in, so I felt it was appropriate.”

Tur'stal returned her smile to the video of Matthew and Liz. No, Quill and Torch, she mentally corrected herself. They were slaughtering their way through a pack of Tier 11 earth aligned Scorpion-Lions with laughable ease.

If she had known that was the deal, she would have pushed harder. But the man hadn't pushed the line far enough for her to feel the need to truly hurt him. Losing a few hundred skills was a fair trade for his calculated slight.

Hearing someone call out her name, she focused on her spiritual sense and watched as a team tried to worm their way out of the crime they had been about to commit by saying her guards were fabricating evidence.

Sending her gardeners a message, she rejoined the conversation with her fellow royals.

This was a rare time when they were all together, and it wouldn't last long before Emmanuel had to leave.

She had a few positions she wanted to feel everyone out on, and there were few better chances than the one she had now.

Still, she kept a portion of her spiritual perception on the two kids as they fought their way through her Jungle.