Death Smith - Book 2 - Chapter 17 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rift 12 The next day. Late-April, 14 AR. Ireland, East of Galway, Outside Rift 12. Lance had put on his gloves one by one, afterwards checking the bindings. He could feel the strength in his hands strain against the fabric, hinting at how much stronger he had gotten. Today would be a special day. Not only was this Rift number twelve, and the fifth one he would try to clear without Thomas at his side, but it was special because he was trying something new. That something was hovering in the sky and hidden underneath his scarf. The scarf was a birthday present from Daniel. It resembled a kaffiyeh, a piece of cloth people in the middle east frequently wore, including military personnel. A talented crafter had made the scarf out of durable fabric. Beyond being sturdy and easy to use, it had two slots that someone had filled with a steel like material, to offer more protection and a plant-like fibre that had filtering properties. With it, Lance had more defence around his neck, while also be able to use the kaffiyeh as an improvised gas mask in case he needed to prevent smoke inhalation. The gift from Daniel was the polar opposite of Dieter’s mace, speaking volumes about how these men thought. Lance had stuffed Alpha, one of his crows, underneath his kaffiyeh in such a way that no one else could see the animal. Lance’s neck was directly touching the animal, maintaining contact. He did this because he wanted to find out if he could bring one of his companions through the Rift outside of his inventory. So, while he had hidden Alpha underneath his kaffiyeh, Beta was circling above the Rift itself, waiting for the signal from Lance. Although Beta was still struggling in the air, it maintained enough altitude to make it only be a tiny dot in the sky. ‘I hope this works,’ Lance thought, realising that he was in uncharted territory today. Alpha would test entry with direct skin contact while Beta would test entry without. He hoped both crows would make it to the other side of the Rift without a problem, but in the worst-case scenario, Lance would still have Ash and Icarus. He figured a crow would be easier to replace compared to the body of his best friend or a skilled falcon. “Are you guys ready?” The site overseer asked, walking up to the Rifters as she inspected each one of them. Her heavy build struggling to make it up to the small hill the Rifters had picked as a staging ground. Once she had received the confirmations, either verbally or through a simple nod, she then radioed to another staff member to start the countdown from sixty. “Good luck.” Lance watched her leave as he did the last check of his gear, feeling the weight of his mace in his right hand and the emotional weight of the shield in his left . Around him he could see eight other Rifters do the same. Some had decent equipment, while most of them had less quality gear. ‘Lots of beginners. The majority are still without a class, or have just gotten it,’ Lance thought, seeing the other Rifters and the way they behaved. A fair few looked uncertain and even fearful. A young woman at the back looked outright terrified, her hands running over the prosthetic leg she had on her left side as if she was trying to calm her nerves. Besides Lance, there were only two others that appeared calm and composed, hinting at the experience under their belt. “Alright, just follow my lead,” a larger man said, slamming a two-handed hammer into the ground as he activated a skill that created a glow on his weapon, slowly letting it emit light. “I am a level thirty warrior. Just stick with me and you’ll do fine,” The man said as he inspected ‘his troops’ one by one, pausing when he noticed Lance and the other Rifter’s quality gear. No doubt the man realised that they could handle themselves just fine. “Here we go!” he barked as he made his way towards the Rift, even-though the countdown was still ticking. Sighing, Lance then slammed his shield and mace together, signalling to Beta that it was time to dive-bomb into the Rift. Although there were plenty of protective cables and nets fastened around this Rift, the Beta’s smaller size could still pass through the gaps. A moment later, the Rift swallowed Beta up as it flickered once. One by one the Rifters then entered, with their loudmouth ‘leader’ spearheading the charge. Lance took a last look around the Rift-site, noticing an old shed and fields for farming. It hinted that they would have little protection when they entered the Rift. ‘Here we go, Alpha,’ Lance thought, feeling the crow rest against his neck as Lance walked forward, stepping through the Rift with purpose. * * * * * Lance arrived at the other side, seeing the other Rifters either arriving after him or already there. Some were several paces away from one another, while the majority had landed close by. Although this place was a level 3 Rift, there were quite a few types of monsters reported to be inside. ‘Alright, first things first,’ Lance thought, checking his surroundings for immediate threats. Around them were the remnants of a farmhouse, broken by conflict and further decayed because of the passing of time. Vegetation had overgrown much of the house. Beyond that, Lance noticed trees and bushes in every direction. It felt as if someone had dropped them right in the middle of a jungle, although the trees looked far thicker and taller than Lance had ever seen on Earth. As Lance looked upwards, he could see two large orange suns in the sky. ‘Think about your immediate threat,’ Lance reminded himself, not wanting to waste time on the astronomy side of things. He spotted a dot in the sky, circling slowly in a number eight pattern, revealing that it was Beta and that the crow had survived entry. He freed up a hand and slid it underneath the scarf, feeling Alpha nestled there. [You have stored an item in the inventory.] Lance felt satisfied with the outcome of his experience now that Alpha was safely back in his inventory. He could hear the hammer wielding Rifter issue commands, pushing the inexperienced Rifters into action as the man got into the role of leader. ‘Scott, was it?’ Lance thought as he noticed the smile on the man’s face widening as he got more underlings. That smile faded when Scott noticed one of the Rifters hoist herself on top of the ruined house. The prosthetic leg made the feat quite hard on her. “What the hell are you doing up there? Get off and help the others,” Scott barked as he walked closer to the girl, fuming as the young woman tried to argue with him about the need for a lookout. Lance heard a horrible metallic sound in the sky as Beta produced a warning sound, changing the eight number pattern into a circle that was moving towards the sun, showing an enemy. Quickly, Lance opened his inventory system as he climbed onto a nearby wall to get a height advantage. [You have stored an item in the inventory 2x] [You have retrieved an item from the inventory 2x] Lance had swapped the mace and shield for a bow and arrows. He knocked one of them as he peered in the sun’s direction, doing his best to ignore the brightness. ‘Is it just a random chance the monsters are attacking us from that direction, or are they intelligent enough to use tactics?’ Lance thought as he held his breath and waited for a moment. His eyes scanned the treeline for movement. When he noticed a bush twitch, Lance let the arrow fly, speeding past several Rifters. A few of them watched Lance with a confused expression as he shot at a bush. Lance barely had his second arrow knocked when he heard a sudden rumble and a dozen enormous monsters came crashing through the treeline. Thick bark-like skin covered their bodies, with bright yellow eyes fixed on the startled Rifters. “Defensive formation!” Scott barked franticly, as if he miraculously expected every Rifter there to understand what specific defensive formations he was referring to. A hail of skills, bolts and arrows met the charging monsters, as the Rifters used every ranged attack at their disposal. * * * * * Within minutes the site had turned into a pitched battle, with the Rifters holding the enormous monsters at bay, or occasionally retreating to more favourable terrain. The monsters were slower than the Rifters, but they had proven to be quite tenacious. Large limbs slammed apart brickwork, trees, and the very ground itself, as they destroyed everything in their path. Thirteen of them had arrived to meet the Rifters, but the Rifters had already killed seven of them. The humans had found out that fire and blunt weapons worked best because of the treelike properties of the monster’s skin. While the fire would burn and consume them, the blunt weapons could bypass the sturdy wood layers by causing trauma further into the monsters bodies. [You have retrieved an item from the inventory 3x] Lance rushed forwards his breathing laboured. In his hands, three bone javelins appeared, with Lance already holding his right arm in a firing position. He waited until a monster faced him as he released the first javelin, imbedding itself in the monster’s face, but not able to penetrate the thick wood layer despite the strong Trihorn tip Lance had crafted the javelins from. ‘That’s right, keep your eyes on me,’ Lance thought as he watched another Rifter wielding a spear and torch getting ready to throw it at the monster. Clenching his jaw, Lance then threw a second javelin, hitting the monster’s chest with little result. ‘Come on, one more,’ Lance thought as he lined up the third throw, waiting for the monster to get closer to him in a mad rush. Just before Lance threw his javelin, he heard a high-pressure air-rifle go off and hit the monster in the left eye, forcing it to roar out in pain. ‘Now,’ Lance thought as he threw his last javelin inside its mouth while the spear wielding Rifter quickly set fire to the monster’s limbs. In minutes, the monster turned into a bonfire that was still clawing at its throat. Lance nodded to the spear wielder before glancing over his shoulder as he spotted the young woman that had helped him out with her rifle. From what Lance could see, it wasn’t a typical Rifter’s weapon. ‘Is that an air rifle? Something she had with her when she became a Rifter?’ Lance thought. The weapon itself did not seem to have the same penetration ability as a traditional rifle had, but it was quiet, and she seemed skilled enough to hit the monsters in the eyes or other soft targets. Lance watched her pull out the empty magazine and grab a new one, clutching it in her hand for a moment as the pellets inside of it started to glow. ‘A skill?’ Lance thought as she slid the magazine inside of the spring rifle and lined up the next shot. Then, in quick succession, she shot seven glowing pellets one by one, quickly cocking the spring between each set. From what Lance could see, she hit several monsters in the eyes and open wounds, irritating them tremendously, but otherwise not doing that much damage. Then, as if to disprove Lance on the spot, he heard seven smaller explosions happen simultaneously. Bits of monster eye suddenly blew apart as the smaller pellets had transformed into tiny explosions. It would still only do minor damage against their tough wood like skin, but inside sensitive flesh it was brutally effective. ‘Some sort of detonation skill?’ Lance thought as he watched her reload another magazine, this time not making them glow. ‘No doubt a heavy drain on her Magicka.’ [You have retrieved an item from the inventory 2x] Lance brought out his shield and mace again, having recovered a bit of his own Magicka. He rushed towards the remaining two monsters, seeing Scott deal with the one on the right while other Rifters were peppering the other monster from afar. “Cover me!” Lance shouted as he rushed forward, pushing his Magicka into Dieter’s mace, forcing it to increase in heat. It was still warm from before, having kept it in his inventory to prevent the loss of heat while he recovered his Magicka. By now the tip was already glowing a horrible bright red. It was like holding an entire bonfire on a stick. Lance ducked underneath one of the monster’s large limbs as he slid closer, moments later slamming the mace into the monster’s chest, just below its black-shard. Instead of continuously smashing into it, Lance instead forced the mace into the monster’s tough exterior as the heat of the mace carried the damage. He poured every bit of his Magicka into the weapon, hearing the monster hiss and scream as its protective exterior caught fire. Lance could feel the mace sinking deeper into the monster’s wound. A horrible foul burning smell filled Lance’s nostrils while doing so. With his Magicka now depleted, Lance pushed the weapon in as deep as he could before releasing it to grab the monster’s black-shard. He twisted the shard left and right, as if undoing a rusty bolt, ripping apart flesh, organs, and vital veins before it finally came loose in a torrent of blood. The monster fell not long afterwards, with Lance retrieving his mace from the hole he had made inside of the monster. Looking over his shoulder, Lance could see Scott killing the last monster, bashing into the monster’s face repeatedly until the monster’s face had turned into a red tapestry of liquid and chunks. Like Lance, monster blood and gore covered him from head to toe. With a wide smile, Scott greeted the other Rifters when the fighting had finally died down. Then, with no concern for his appearance, he addressed the others. “Now that was a proper fight. Who is ready for lunch?” * * * * * Hours later, the Rifters had established a safe base of operations. They had dug up rows of minor trenches and filled it with sharpened stakes, while using the excess dirt to create temporary earthen walls. They had strengthened as much of the farmhouse as possible, or simply left it alone, knowing it would serve other Rifters that would attempt this Rift in the future. It was common curtesy to do so, increasing the chances of success for the future Rifters. With any luck, the Rifters would find traces of previous Rifters, be it markings carved in stone or other clues that pointed at places of interest such as fresh water, or good scouting positions. Because of the difference in the flow of time between Earth and this Rift, those markings could have already faded by now. Fires dotted the camp, with improvised shelters close by. Compared to the R.A.M. there wasn’t a stockpile here where everyone placed what they had gathered. Here, everyone kept their own loot and black-shards. The general rule was the Rifter that had killed the monster could lay claim to its corpse, with the exception for when team effort had been required to bring it down. Fortunately, during this Rift, there had been no casualties thus far and the biggest injury had been a few broken ribs and a nasty cut across the face. Most of the Rifters had bonded during dinner, having shared blood and hardships with one another. Some preferred their own space, and lingered at the edges of the camp, with Lance, another experienced Rifter, and the air rifle wielding woman falling into that category. At one point, it had seemed like Scott and Lance might have clashed after the battle, with Scott realising that Lance might be a threat to his role as leader. Luckily for Scott, Lance preferred to mind his own business, and only really interacted with people when he helped with his minor healing skill. [You have been awarded a level up.] [You are now level 24.] [You have unspent attribute points.] ‘Going for a level three Rift was the right choice,’ Lance thought, seeing the difference in experience he was getting. The last Rift he had been in was the one in Ipswich during his second run there. That Rift had been a level one. It had barely given him any experience from killing monsters. The monsters here were indeed a fair bit stronger, but Lance had significantly increased his defensive and offensive capabilities. Beyond that, he now also had Alpha, Beta, and Icarus up in the air, having brought the rest of them out when he had secluded himself in the forest for a few moments, pretending that he needed to go to the bathroom. Both crows would look out for monsters while Icarus would scan the surrounding to look for any points of interest. At the very least, Lance hoped they would do that, since all three of them were very much still learning the ropes. Lance finished his meal and leaned back into his mattress, looking up at the sky that was still bright because of the second sun. He was glad he now could buy decent food for a change, remembering the horrible meat he had eaten in the past. [Strength:] [48] (+3) He finished spending his points as he closed his eyes, knowing a bit of extra strength would help him deal with these larger foes. And although sleep would be difficult with all this extra light, the knowledge of three avian sentry guards above him did help with him finally drifting off. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Author: Osirium Copyright: 2022 OsiriumWrites Released: 2022