The sun was still bright when Joe woke up. From the angle of the light to the west, it was midafternoon. He felt much better than when he went to bed. The scratches on his hands and arms were gone, with the deeper punctures on his legs and chest scabbed over. It wasn't a healing factor, but having the extra points in toughness and vigor seemed to be paying dividends.

The smell hit him like a freight train a moment after he stood up. Whatever those creatures were, their blood smelled awful. Joe knew there was nothing good that would come of delaying. He went to what he now thought of as his room and rooted around in his bag until he found soap and two collapsable water sacks.

He was down the stairs a moment later and just remembered to grab his canteen before heading to the door. No one was spotted on the street as Joe peeked through the shades as best he could. Joe exited the house and took off out of the neighborhood at a fast walk. He headed for the street he had followed here and then headed east. The creek he had passed was in that direction, and he needed water.

Luck was not on his side as the road dead-ended into the sewage treatment plant. It wasn't in operation now, but the ripe smell still lingered. His best option was to go back the way he had initially come and get the water upstream.

Joe saw quite a bit of movement in the downtown area as he approached. He knew his appearance had left rough behind and ventured firmly into psychotic hobo territory. First impressions were still a thing, so Joe decided to skirt through the neighborhoods until he hit the park. It was surprisingly empty even at the park. Joe grabbed his soap and headed straight to the stream.

It was muddy and only waist deep, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He waded in with his clothes on and just lathered up as best he could. The soap helped, but it wasn't a miracle. Joe still looked rough, but the smell that had been his companion was gone. Once the bubbles had swept downstream, Joe filled up both water bladders and his canteen. He'd need to purify the water, but at least he had it now.

The sun was getting lower, approaching late afternoon at this point. Joe started to head back, trying to plot a better route between here and his new home. On the way, he kept his eyes peeled for any salvage. Metal was sparse on unclaimed property, and the council had been reclaiming any metal they could get their hands on for the last year. That and garbage sorting were the primary jobs their reeducation work teams enjoyed.

The wind shifted, and Joe got lucky. A sparkle in the tall grass of an abandoned house caught the sunlight as he passed. Joe looked around and didn't spot anyone. He quickly went to where he spotted the shine and found a metal softball bat.

"Jackpot."

Joe jumped a little at his voice. It was gravely and rough from lack of use. It was also eerily silent, with only the occasional birdcall competing with the slight breeze for ambient sound. That distraction only lasted a moment as he picked up his new prize. He moved to the house, curious what other treasures might be found. The doors were locked, but Joe was feeling bold. He shoulder-checked the back door and managed to open it despite the pain in his already bruised shoulder.

The house had been mostly emptied but mostly wasn't entirely. In the back bedroom closet, Joe found and pillow and a blanket that were only slightly musty. The bathroom closet had a couple of bars of cheap soap. The kitchen held the best surprise. The silverware and glasses were gone, but a big stockpot sat in the back of a cupboard. This house had been a goldmine.

Joe quickly went out back and peered around the corners. No one had come at the sound, and there was still no sign of motion in the neighborhood. He moved out towards his base with a double-time walk. He wasn't jogging, but he wasn't that far off it either. He still heard a commotion near the center of town and could see people moving in that direction when he came to the direct streets. He kept his head down and walked away as quickly as possible.

A shout behind him let Joe know he'd been spotted this time. It sounded like a 'Stop,' but he didn't wait around to find out. His water pouches were heavy, and the bat, pot, and bedding were awkward as he pushed up into a run. Joe knew he wouldn't last long by this, but he was close to the duplex. People did not like looters as a general rule, and Joe suspected he'd end up in a work camp if they caught him.

The run there took everything out of him, and he went to the back door before dropping everything. His lungs were burning and his muscles shaking as he opened the door and pulled everything inside as quietly as he could manage. He shut the door and locked it before pulling everything up and carting it upstairs. He pulled it into the bedroom before shutting that door and leaning against it.

Shouts ran through the main street on the other side of the duplexes across from his. Joe didn't so much as move towards the window. He knew how easy it was to spot motion in a quieted and stilled world. There would be plenty of time later to break out his treasure and get his gear settled. Now was as good a time as any to look over the last of the information he'd purchased.

Skills

Skills provided useful abilities to system users as well as enhanced and quantifiable growth. Skills can level up at rift terminals using accumulated essence.

That was what Joe had already assumed, and he began his now-familiar routine of mentally prodding the messages with new prompts. After focusing on leveling up, Joe finally got some more info.

Skills level up primarily through repeated use. Rarely advanced insight and epiphanies can enable more rapid growth than simple use.

So, he had to use his abilities to level them up, but if he understood the abilities, they would level up faster than just spamming them. Joe kept trying, but the only other information he received was that abilities could evolve or synth once mastered, just like classes. It was sparse but helpful information. That led Joe to a topic he had been avoiding for the last two days. His ability, Bite, had been untouched and shoved into the mental equivalent of a closet.

Joe didn't want to bite things. No sane modern human wanted to bite monsters as a regular part of their day. But, Joe knew he needed to use every tool at his disposal. With a now practiced mental flick, he opened his status and focused on his only skill.

Bite - Level 1

mana cost - lesser / activation - minor / cooldown - minor

The user's teeth, jaw, and associated muscles double in strength for the next ten seconds or attack, whichever comes first. Additional levels increase the bonus by 20% per level.

The skill was exactly what Joe had thought it was. It was undeniably useful and could potentially save his life in a grappling situation. The fact that it also made his teeth and bones stronger had potential as well. It was also horrifying that he would have to actually bite things when he used it. Joe firmed his resolve and tried to activate the skill. Nothing happened at first as he prodded at his menu mentally. In his frustration, he spoke out loud.

"Bite."

Joe immediately felt power flow from his head and chest into his jaws. A mix of cold fire and wet electricity seemed to sizzle before settling into place. He could feel the power sitting there, waiting for something to trigger it. Joe didn't move. He was frozen, taking in the sensation and the thought of biting his own tongue off if he wasn't careful. After about fifteen seconds, the feeling evaporated, and Joe moved his jaw carefully.

It felt normal, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Bite."

The power flowed again. It pulled at a part of himself he'd either not had before two days ago or never noticed it was there. This time there was a noticeable absence. A sense of emptiness that wasn't physical but still weighed on his body was how Joe would describe it. He still didn't move, and the skill faded away once again. All thoughts of information faded as Joe triggered his skill again and again, never moving in the slightest until it faded.

After five activations, the empty feeling was all-encompassing. His vision wavered, and he felt light-headed. Joe fought through it, and after an hour, the worst of the feeling passed. Whatever amount of mana he possessed, Joe was sure he'd just run it dry. It felt like he'd gotten about half of it back in the last hour, but that was just a guess. The sensation sucked, and in combat, it could get him killed. Joe was glad he'd figured this out now and not in the heat of the moment.

The sounds of anyone around had faded some time while he was recovering. Joe didn't trust that there wasn't a lookout nearby and stayed near the ground. He crawled towards his treasure. The pillow and blanket were spread to air out. Joe pulled out all his weaponry and went through it next. The knife and the knuckles were good, but he wasn't making great use of them. It didn't help that the knife was half dull at this point. That could be fixed.

Joe bear crawled and retrieved an old whetstone from his pack and his canteen before going into the bathroom. The smell of methane hit him as he opened the door. Joe went inside as quickly as possible before shutting the door quietly. The air trap had dried out, and it just needed water. He poured most of his canteen into the toilet until the exit was plugged by water once again. He hated to waste water, but there was no way he would sleep in a place filling with sewer gas. Joe made a mental note to fill the one downstairs as well.

The air stank, but the linoleum would be easier to clean up than carpet, so Joe stayed there and sharpened his knife. He did his best, going slowly and trying to get the angle right even though he was self-taught. When Joe finished, the knife was undoubtedly better, if not perfect. The monster bones were tough on it, and a flat spot had already formed on the blade.

The bear crawl back to the bedroom was a blessed relief from the smell. Overnight he would open up the bathroom window and let it ventilate a bit. He went back to his gear and looked it over. The bat was a clear upgrade, giving him some reach, and the blunt object would hopefully fare better against the little brown monsters in this rift. The knuckles would go in a pocket as he couldn't use them and the bat at the same time.

Eventually, night fell, and Joe geared up once again. He wore his knife strapped to the inside of his left arm. The knuckles were in his pocket, and the bat was held firmly in his hands. He took one of the water bladders downstairs and the last two pieces of gear from his backpack. He filled the downstairs toilet's air trap and opened that window as he had the one upstairs. A funnel and a pack of coffee filters sat on the counter next to his canteen. He carefully filtered the sediment out of the water before putting in a small pill and capping it. It would make it safe to drink, but he only had a couple left.

Joe thought about ten other things he could do now, but he knew that he was only trying to avoid the inevitable. With a sigh, he went outside, locked the door, and headed towards the rift. The cool night air disappeared in a moment of vertigo, replaced once again by a sunlit forest meadow.

_____________________________________________________________________________Diana watched the man exit his house from her window. She'd hear the commotion earlier and saw him book it with an arm load of random stuff and two water jugs. She'd frowned at that, not caring for looters in general. Still, she didn't exactly call out to the council people that showed up just after him. He might be dangerous, but the council definitely was if she wasn't one of them.

Once the commotion died down, she pulled a chair up to the window and sat down to wait. She didn't have anything pressing today, and she was curious what the mystery man would do next.

After dark, she saw a small flash of green light reflecting on moving glass. A window had opened upstairs in the condo, and the same repeated downstairs a minute later. Eventually, she heard the door open and tried to get a look at the man. It was too dark, and he was much quieter this time around. She carefully changed her angle and looked towards the rift. Sure enough, she caught his outline a second before he stepped into it.

"Why in the hell is he going into that death trap?"

_____________________________________________________________________________

Joe hated how the rift felt. The feeling he now thought was mana was thick in the air and seemed to energize him slightly. It was hard to say, but he felt like the mana void in his chest was filling in faster. The air was clean, and the area was a pleasant temperature and humidity. Just the poison bushes and violent monsters ruined an otherwise enjoyable location.

"Get your head in the game, Joe," he growled to himself. With his eyes roaming ahead, he moved down the path towards the first clearing. As before, there were two monsters. He decided on a whim to call them Brownies. They didn't look anything like the faerie folk or football players, but they were short, inhuman, and brown. It was good enough. Joe had remembered to pack a few palm-sized rocks this time around. He used one and his best baseball pitch to bean one in the back of the head. It pitched forwards and was slow to rise. The second one turned, howled, and charged, all seemingly in one motion. Joe dodged to the side at the last moment before bringing the bat down on its head in an overhead swing. A dull clunk sounded, and the monster crumpled and lay twitching.

The other one was up and charging his way, so he repeated his earlier performance. It worked again, and Joe was relieved to make it through this first engagement with no injuries. He didn't have so much food that he could afford to lay up for a week while he healed. The fire came and went, and Joe moved ahead, two coins and two mystery berries richer.

The next clearing was the same. The third brownie made no difference as it just impaled the lead one on the wall when Joe dodged. He cleared it with no issues and took a moment to center himself. Joe was feeling great about his progress, but that was dangerous. He'd seen how quickly things could go sideways and needed to stay careful.

Joe crept forward carefully again. In the distance, the next clearing was showing. As he got closer, Joe could see three of the brownies again. He almost started forward when a movement off to the side caught his eye. There were three brownies, but a snake was also basking in the sun. Only its movement had given it away, its green scales blending well with the low grass. That was going to complicate things if he wasn't very careful.

He watched for about ten minutes, but the snake didn't move again. He tried to figure out precisely what it was, but there was no telling for sure. Even if he did recognize it, these rifts didn't exactly play by the normal rules for physical reality, and there was no telling what they could do. Finally, he decided to go ahead with the same plan as before. If he could finish off the brownies fast enough, he could handle the snake one on one. If not, he'd retreat down the path and either flee or wait for an advantage.

It went pretty well, actually. The first two brownies died before the snake was even close to him. The snake was quick and undoubtedly poisonous, but it also had no reach. The addition of his new favorite bat made all the difference as he crushed its spine and then its skull. The last brownie had used that time to close the distance, and in a moment of panic, Joe hurdled right over its head. It was hard to say who was more surprised at the motion, but Joe turned first and used the momentum to slam his bat into the side of the monster's head.

At this point, Joe sat down and took a breather. He slowly sipped the tepid water from his canteen to clear his throat. As the combat progressed, his body began to feel heavier. The lactic acid buildup was easy to ignore in all the excitement, but it would be best if he gave himself a minute to get back in peak shape. After a couple of minutes, he got up and collected his spoils. The snake had left an iron coin and a single green scale about the size of his thumbnail, and he pocketed both. His pockets were jingling, and his makeshift pouch was getting packed with the berries he'd collected. Better storage for the rift became yet another action item on his seemingly endless to-do list.

Joe sent off down the path once again, and he cleared another meadow with the same composition of monsters. He didn't pause to rest after this one, anxious to move forward. The respawns were no doubt filling in behind him, and he wanted the room to retreat if something went wrong. The next space opened up in the path, and Joe didn't hear any of the same noises. He crept up as quietly as he could until he could see what was ahead.

The first thing he noticed was a fox the size of a german shepherd, asleep on the ground. Its head looked a little oversized, but Joe wasn't an expert on foxes. The next thing Joe noticed was the pillar on the backside of the clearing. He knew that there would be a portal out if he touched it. This was the boss.