Chapter 1

Human Domain, Adira.

As one of the core regions of the human civilization, Adira was home to some 400 million humans and famed for its trade and commerce. In a recent edition of a popular magazine targeting tourists, Adira was ranked second in a list of the top 10 safest regions for humans. Rifts posed some danger, but adventurers conquered Adira’s Rifts lifetimes ago, commercializing and publicizing all their information.

Near Adira’s eastern border lay a cluster of Rifts for adventurers above level 100. Here, a transparent barrier surrounded an unusual forest. Each tree had red-vein-like patterns, with smoldering embers as leaves. The temperature was so hot you could cook an egg on a rock. This place was a Rift called the Crimson Howler Den and home to human-sized wolves. They usually roamed in packs and were notoriously difficult to handle.

At this moment, on the outskirts of the forest in a large clearing, two elven girls in their late teens fought against a pack of Crimson Howlers. Flames covered the wolves’ bodies as they darted around, attacking and retreating in tandem. Fireballs, fire pillars, and fire rings were all spells at their disposal, yet even with such an explosive arsenal, they couldn’t take down the elven twins.

Annallee, the older twin, jumped, twisted, and spun around as her duel short swords sliced through the wolves' bodies. Her waist-length silver hair trailed behind her as she chained one movement into the next, eclipsing the wolves in both agility and speed. Her silver eyes were cold as she fought.

Elora, on the other hand, fought in a completely different manner. While still sharing the same features as her sister, except that her hair only reached her neck, she swung around a spiked club like a barbarian, all while sporting a sadistic grin. Strangely, her attacks left no wounds on the wolves, yet they collapsed and writhed on the ground, all while squealing like pigs.

Elora’s skill set was unique. Her attacks didn’t inflict damage but instead healed. No matter how powerful or sharp the weapon, it only served to increase the amount restored. Unfortunately for others, her attacks came with a +300% pain modifier. Elora found this to be a positive, however. While healing enemies seemed counter-intuitive, the pain accompanied by her attacks incapacitated most monsters, after which Annallee ended their lives.

It was like this the twins wiped out the wolves one by one without much of a fight. Each kill gave experience and loot, but as they used Monster Bait earlier, they didn’t have the time to pick up the drops, so the battlefield was littered with items.

[Rare] Monster Bait

Description: An enchanted candle with the ability to attract monsters within a 1,000-foot radius. Lasts 30-minutes and disappears after use.

As the two girls fought without end, not even a hundred feet from the battlefield, sat Keith, a teenage boy. With cyan-colored hair, two bangs in front, a low ponytail in the back, two stripes of orange and yellow on the left, and a clipped-on accessory with colorful feathers on the right, his hair was a work of art. The white silk robes with cyan borders, spotless white boots, and exotic sash spoke volumes about Keith’s sense of style.

As for his face, his eyes matched his hair color, while his eyebrows were sharp and jaw straight. Currently, the boy reclined on a fancy chair underneath a magic umbrella with the ability to cool its surroundings. As the elven twins fought hard, Keith relaxed comfortably and casually interacted with a rectangular object in his lap. Commonly known as a tablet, the magical device weighed no more than three pounds and was as thin as a butterfly’s wing.

Keith’s tablet was one of the few mythic grade tablets on the market and cost an absurd number of gold coins, but it didn’t even enter the list of his top 10 most expensive items. Even with that being the case, it was something Keith couldn’t live without.

Right now, thousands of miles from the nearest city, Keith could reliably connect to the magic network at his leisure. This way, he could leech a meager amount of experience from his sisters and relax simultaneously. How wonderful!

While the two girls fought, Keith browsed through the auction house module, purchasing and selling items so expensive it would bankrupt the average family. He’d connected his warehouse back home with the tablet, so any items traded would appear there. It was simply impossible to set up a teleportation array within the handheld tablet. Usually, the items would appear at a public storage facility, where you’d have to pick things up personally. A private warehouse with a teleportation array installed was something only the rich could do.

After purchasing an epic grade sword with decent properties someone posted under market price and relisting it; Keith suddenly heard an annoying sound.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Keith’s ears twitched. He could ignore the wolves’ yelps and squeals with no problem, but this sound was something he couldn’t tolerate. Twisting in his chair, Keith looked over at a broad-shouldered man resting against a boulder. The bald, round-faced ogre of a human currently savored a jawbreaker with a content expression. Keith’s eyebrows furrowed, and just as he was about to snap, he observed his Uncle’s silly expression once more, then shook his head and returned his attention to his tablet.

Just then, Keith noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned as a boy around his age passed through the water-like spatial barrier and entered the Rift. The boy had short black hair and wore leather armor, with a longsword at his hip. The teenager’s expression was stern and focused as if he carried a great burden, and Keith guessed the boy was just one of those serious types. Regardless, he cast Inspect out of habit, conveniently forgetting how rude it was to do so.

[Inspect, Rare, Level 252]

Description: Consume 1 mana to learn information about a target. No cooldown. Information learned depends on the user’s Intelligence. Details learned increase with level.

[Zackery Turner]

Level: 143

Age: 18

Titles: Stubborn, Avenger, Righteous, +3 others

Health: 125/125

Mana: 90/90

Strength: 45 (+6)

Agility: 43 (+4)

Intelligence: 20 (+2)

Vitality: 55 (+9)

Endurance: 54 (+8)

Skills: Sword Mastery, Quick Movements, Parry, +23 others

Keith couldn’t help but whistle after viewing Zackery’s information. For reference, a high schooler graduated around level 75, while the average adult clocked in at level 150. To be level 143 at 18-years-old meant Zackery was among the strongest of his age group.

But, wait, the Avenger title? Something unfortunate must’ve happened in Zackery’s life, Keith mused.

Zackery surveyed his surroundings with a hand on the hilt of his sword, prepared to draw it at a moment’s notice. His serious expression collapsed after locking eyes with Keith. The umbrella and expensive-looking chair stood out like a sore thumb. Then there was Keith’s flamboyant outfit and hairstyle. He walked into a Rift, not a spa, right?

After giving Keith a nod of recognition, Zackery looked past Keith’s small resort to the elven twins fighting against the horde of Crimson Howlers, then back to Keith with a now irritated look. A moment later, Zackery walked over. “Hello. What are you doing here?”

“Leeching experience,” Keith answered as he pointed to his two sisters with a smile. The three were in the same party, and as long as Keith was in range of any kill, he’d gain some experience, although not very much considering he didn’t provide any assistance.

“Oh.” Zachery took a deep breath to calm his emotions before glancing at Keith’s Uncle. “Is he your bodyguard, then?”

Keith looked Zachery up and down, obviously noticing the disdain and irritation in the boy’s expression. As someone who loved trouble, Keith responded with an arrogant tone. “Wow, you guessed it, you’re so smart. He’s a renowned level 250 grappler hired by my family.” Keith then pointed to his sisters. “See them? They’re a pair of elves I picked up not long ago. Haha, it’s nice to be rich. I just get to sit here and relax while they fight for me. Leveling up has never been easier.”

At this point, Zachery looked down at Keith as if he stood on a higher pedestal. “You know what? People like you make me sick.”

Keith appeared shocked, then, as if understanding something, pulled out a bag of gold coins from his inventory. “Oh, you’re jealous. It’s understandable when you compare yourself to me, haha. Here are 100 gold coins. Maybe you can upgrade a piece of equipment.”

“Don’t look down on me just because you have a bit more money,” Zachery looked over at Keith’s sisters with a pitiful look. Shaking his head, he gave Keith one last glance, snorted, then turned and made his way into the burning forest.

Keith burst into laughter when Zachery disappeared. “What an interesting guy.”

Keith’s Uncle spoke up at this moment with a confused expression. “Little Keith, why did you say I’m level 250?”

Keith rolled his eyes as he responded, “If he knew you were over level 400, Uncle Doven, it would give him a heart attack.”

“Really?” Uncle Doven blinked innocently. “I don’t want to give him a heart attack.”

“That’s why I lied,” Keith answered.

“Oh, I get it.”

Doven resumed chewing his jawbreaker while Keith looked down at his tablet. Feeling particularly good after trolling Zachery, he thought back to the boy’s ‘Avenger’ title. Now interested, Keith closed out of the auction house module and opened another one, used by the police. He had level 4 access to the police’s information network thanks to his mom’s connections, so he could look up Zachery’s history in a matter of seconds.

A little snooping wouldn’t hurt anyone.