When Jack stepped through the rift, he inhaled sharply. His muscles tensed and his adrenaline spiked at the feeling of the spatial energy washing over his skin like a waterfall in the winter. The sensation passed when his body exited the portal, replaced by the dry, stagnant atmosphere to which he’d grown accustomed. He looked back at the open courtyard where he’d just been, but the rift rapidly closed as soon as he was clear of it.

His new surroundings bore some stark differences from the area he left behind. For one, the valley offered a unique backdrop beyond the exit of the structure in which he stood. The land drowned in the red dust that fell from crumbling towers constructed with the same stone as the walls around him. He could barely make out the desiccated husks of tree trucks beneath the mounds of dust. From the looks of them, they must’ve been massive since the nearest one was almost three meters wide. How tall had it been?

Jack spotted a cliffside in the distance and let his gaze ascend to the top. There, the broken arch where he had just been sat overlooking the dead valley. As he concentrated on the environment, the strange sensation of the rift lingered in the air nearby letting him know that all he needed to do was reached out once more to reopen the way.

Suddenly, his instincts howled a warning. He ducked, just in time to dodge the tip of a weapon as it whistled overhead. He spun in place using the nearby wall to quicken the movement and laid eyes upon his attacker.

It looked like a whipshade stalker, but bulkier and more menacing. Its single eye gleamed red in shadows as its body shifted back and forth. The offending arm that had attacked Jack contracted zipping to the creature’s side. It was only then that he realized the creature’s arms weren’t as long as those of a whipshade stalker, but given that it stood a few meters away, it had a longer range.

So, its arms can extend? That’s an issue, he thought, frowning. His fight with the four stalkers allowed him to understand their natural reach, but this creature seemed capable of manipulating the length of its arms. Judging by the sinewy look of the appendages, he didn’t doubt the creature's capabilities in close combat especially since the ends of its arms sported spikes rather than a bladed edge. He willed Identify to activate hoping the special function could give him additional information.

Thought so. Jack rushed the whipshade warrior, the shadowsteel sword held low. Let’s see just how well, It handles itself when it can’t strike out as it pleases.

The whipshade stalkers had fallen over themselves once Jack closed the distance. He knew this creature wouldn’t be the same from its appearance and title, but his only methods of attack required him to be close. Not to mention, a small part of him felt giddy at the prospect of a dangerous opponent.

Surprisingly, the warrior didn’t attack during his advance as Jack expected. It certainly had the time to since he needed almost five long strides to close the distance, plenty of time for an attack of two.

Did it know? Jack wondered shifting the position of his blade as he got within striking distance. He’d planned on attempting to sever one of its arms when it extended the to attack him. He even left himself open in several areas forgoing a careful approach for speed and the potential counterattack, but the warrior simply waited.

As soon as he stepped within a half meter of it, Jack swung his blade in a diagonal cut. His opponent leapt backward and flung its arms out but not at him. Its arm extended disappearing into the shadows. Instantly, a sense of alarm exploded across his thoughts and he dove away from the shadows along the wall where the warrior stood.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t successful. A spiked club-like hand shot out of the darkness and hit him in the side mid-dive. The blow knocked out the air of his lungs and sent him rolling along the floor. Pain and lack of breath momentarily banished all thoughts from his mind.

Again, his instincts saved him spurring his body to move just in time to avoid a second attack that slammed down from above. The spiked club-hand cracked the ground where Jack had been only a second ago. Knowing that the situation was going downhill quickly, he scrambled to his feet while the whipshade warrior withdrew his arms.

His respite didn’t last long though. Rather than wait for its arms to fully retract, the warrior dashed forward, simultaneously shortening the amount of time it took for its arms and body to realign and closing the distance before Jack recovered.

The whipshade warrior threw a straight jab at him which sped up as the arm extended mid-punch. Jack only just managed to get his sword in between his exposed chest and the spiked club-hand. The blunt force of the strike sent shockwaves through his arm and he worried that the blade would break despite the Reinforced effect. It had already once before after all.

He finally stabilized his footing by taking a step back using the momentum generated by the attack. When the second attack came a second after the first, he was ready. The whipshade warrior’s outstretched arm snapped back into place and the other swung into a tight uppercut once more extending in a blow that would no doubt, at the very least, rattle his brain if it hit.

Jack slipped the uppercut at the last second and pivoted grabbing hold of the arm mid-strike. At the same time, he drove his blade into the center of the creature and tried to activate the energy conduit.

His muscles tensed. Heat filled his body gathering in his gut for a fraction of a breath then flowing down his arm and into the blade. The gold veins of the Shadowsteel Blade-Conduit burned with blue light right before the jagged tip plunged into the warrior’s body.

Jack pulled the arm following through with the blow. However, he didn’t expect what came next. The heat in his core continued to gather and flow into the blade. When Jack met resistance, a plum of blue energy erupted from the creature’s back. Bits of dark flesh scattered across the hall and the warrior’s wide eye became unfocused as its life slipped away.

Jack yanked his sword from the corpse and wiped his weapon clean on an unsullied portion of the dead whipshade warrior’s skin with limited success. Out of curiosity, he summoned his Ethos and Logos values to see how much the fight depleted.

That hit felt like it did more damage than that, he thought as he saw that his Ethos hadn’t gone down much. Sure, he'd lost almost a hundred Ethos, but the strike was the type to break ribs at least. He looked at his side and used his free hand to probe the area. To his surprise, the warrior’s attack only left a few abrasions and rendered his skin sensitive to the touch. The area tingled, the feeling bordering on an itch. Hm, I suppose it felt worse than it was because I got caught mid-air. Also, I guess this regeneration is amazing…

The source of the tingling became apparent when he looked closer. He could see his skin slowly healing itself as the seconds ticked by. He reckoned the wound would disappear in a few minutes at this rate.

As for his Logos, the ruined part of the energy conduit effect showed its true colors. A single strike had taken nearly a full third of his available Logos. He could only use it three times before he ran out completely. Seeing the two values below their maximum, he remembered the damage that he suffered at the hands of the whipshade stalkers.

Right. These can regenerate, he realized. I must’ve recovered while I was refining Eidos. I wonder if I can get more information on how they regenerate.

He focused on his Ethos and Logos which brought up their descriptions. Dismissing those, he tried concentrating on the idea of regeneration and how quickly these resources would do so. A smile curled across his face as the notification popped into his head.

Rate: 1/minute

Ethos regenerates at a rate determined by one’s level and rank. However, regeneration will halt when an injury is suffered and will not resume until all injuries have recovered.

That got Jack’s attention. He hadn’t really thought about it, but since Ethos likely served as the dividing line between life and death, suffering any kind of major injury would mean one was vulnerable until their Ethos recovered as opposed to when they recovered from the wound. That said, one per minute wasn’t awful since it would only take him a few hours to fully recover it and he only had a single level. Also, since Ethos increased natural regeneration, injuries would heal much faster which is likely why his Ethos had restored to full even though he suffered many cuts from the whipshade stalkers before using Refine Eidos.

I’ll want to avoid reaching zero Ethos though. He frowned at the thought. With the way this worked, being reduced to zero Ethos was punishing and likely amounted to a death sentence unless immediate aid was available. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the other notifications.

Rate: 3.4/minute

Logos regenerates at a rate determined by one’s Resonance.

It was as Jack expected after seeing the Ethos regeneration. All the energies bestowed by Fracture probably measured their recovery rates by one-minute increments. As for his Logos, the speed seemed fine even if he wished it were faster. At a value of a tenth of his Resonance, his energy would always recover within one hundred minutes. Hopefully, any skills that he got would at least use his Logos more efficiently than the ruined energy conduit of the shadowsteel blade.

Now, what am I going to do with this?

He leveled his gaze on the eidos crystal floating in front of him. He refused to repeat his mistake from earlier, so he couldn’t refine the eidos now. However, he didn’t have anything that he could carry the crystals in until he found a place to rest. Scowling at the little piece of crystalized power, he also discarded the notion of just leaving it behind, but at the same time, he didn’t want to just absorb it and lose out on the Attributes. He understood enough about this system of power to know that having higher attributes was desirable.

A few seconds passed before he had an idea. Snatching the eidos crystal out of the air, he crushed it. The prompt appeared

Rather than choosing one of the options, he attempted to mentally dismiss the notification. It disappeared after a second and he waited. Another minute passed.

I don’t feel any different. He nodded to himself and tried to summon the notification again. It popped back into his thoughts instantly. He couldn’t help but smile. Very good. So, I can store away the Eidos as long as I don’t choose anything. I wonder if there’s a time limit or capacity for this? I suppose I’ll find out one way or another eventually.

With the matter settled, he continued on his way. This hall went straight for several dozen meters before veering left and right in a T-intersection. To the left, the hall continued for a short distance before leading into a set of stairs going downward. To the right, he spotted two doors before the hall hit a dead-end. He looked between the two for a moment before going right.

As soon as he stepped into the right hall, he dipped to the left, barely dodging the end of a whipshade stalker’s attack. He saw the creature emerging from the shadows only a meter away as though the darkness were liquid. He went to snatch the offending arm before the stalker could pull back, but despite the creature lacking the retracting capabilities of the warriors, he missed.

A growl spilled from his throat and his eyes narrowed. He took two steps forward and slashed into the stalker. His blade bit into his foe before it could bring its other whip-arm to bear. He used both hands to drive the sword through its innards bisecting the creature from shoulder to hip. He withdrew his weapon right before his instincts called out a warning.

He was too slow.

A spiked club-hand smashed into the back of his leg driving him to his knees. In the same moment, another stalker melded out of the shadows a half-meter away and lunged at him. Its bladed whip-hand sliced through the air on target for his face.

Like a life-long companion, the serene state of mind embraced him. His breathing slowed and the march of time separated into simple, easy to observe steps. He understood how the actions of his opponents would place out and what he could do to match or counter them.

He lifted his left hand away from the sword’s grip and half-sworded the blade. His other hand jerked upward, barely bringing the blade up in time to deflect the whip-hand. Knowing that the warrior behind him was the greater threat, he twisted so he could see the creature. It stood beyond the intersection in the shadows of the other hall leading to the stairs— too far away to close the distance quickly.

Keeping both enemies in his line of sight, he stood up. The three of them observed each other for a few seconds, none moving a muscle. Their sneak attacks had once again failed, so they hesitated to attack him. He identified them.

The stalemate didn’t last.

The warrior swung its spiked club-hand into a nearby shadow, but Jack was ready he reared back with his sword and sent the shadowsteel blade sailing through the air with a two-handed throw. The warrior’s eye widened as Jack rushed after his sword. Something sharp sliced into his back and the warrior’s attack shot out of the shadows where he had just been standing.

The shadowsteel blade clipped the warrior who managed to avoid taking the full brunt by slipping into the shadows. The whipshade warrior reemerged right in front of Jack swinging a vicious hook into his core.

Jack continued his forward momentum instead of trying to dodge. He used his larger body to barrel through the creature reducing the effectiveness of its body blow and driving it to the ground. As they fell, he grabbed at the attacking arm with one hand and planted his knee on the other one trapping it in his grip. Before the creature could react, he drove his fist into the bulbous red eye feeling the jelly-like texture resist for a brief instant only to collapse under the power of gravity and his strength.

The whipshade warrior groaned in a low sonorous tone that traveled through its whole body. Still calm, he pulled his fist free and stood up. Watching the disgusting enemy convulse, he stomped his heel into its face twice before it went still. The notification appeared, but he ignored it and looked for the stalker.

It was nowhere to be seen.

Still wary, he went to collect his sword, but as he bent down to pick it up, his senses flared. Without looking, his hand reached behind his head and caught the bladed tip of the whipshade’s arm. The edge sliced into his fingers, but he held fast. Quick as a viper, he righted himself and yanked at the arm. The stalker fell prone from the shadows next to him. He smiled and picked up his sword.

The whipshade stalker tried to attack with its other arm; however, Jack simply jerked the arm in his grip causing the strike to miss by a wide margin as the creature was pulled along the floor. After that, one quick thrust of shadowsteel through the eye ended the matter.

He took several deep breaths in the quiet that followed. The eidos crystals were absorbed and the prompts dismissed until he was sure the danger had passed.

Once his heart settled, he walked over to one of the doors and opened it. Inside, he found the remains of what looked to have been a bedroom, but the furniture had been destroyed leaving only the skeletons of the past behind. There was a whipshade stalker inside yet his sword found it before it could even launch its first attack.

This eidos crystal was the smallest and least lustrous of the ones he’d obtained so far. He wasn’t surprised since without the increased purity this was most likely one of the weakest crystals anyone could get. Idly, he wondered if level zero creatures existed and if they did, would they even give eidos crystals? While his thoughts wandered, he rummaged through the scraps of furniture in the room doing his best to navigate the room.

He hadn’t thought much about it, but despite the darkness caused by the roof blocking the light outside, he could see well enough. Sadly, it mattered little because he found nothing amidst the debris. A minute later, he walked into the second room.

Much to his delight, this room didn’t have a ceiling. The light, wherever it was coming from, illuminated the room in such a way that left no shadows along the walls and corners. He saw some lines of darkness cast by the skeletons of broken, long-rotted furniture, but he could simply throw the debris into the hall to clear the room. Before that, he went through everything and to his surprise, found something.

A tall cabinet occupied the corner furthest from the door. Unlike everything else, it was mostly intact. Its legs and the hinges of the doors were caked in a layer of dry rust. The doors themselves only had a layer of red dust on their wooden surface. Wiping away the dust with his free hand, Jack discovered symbols carved into every inch of the wood. Slowly, he pulled the cabinet open and looked inside.

There, crumbled at the floor of the cabinet, was a bundle of fabric. A mound of fine dust and scraps of fabric covered the piece of clothing. It fell away spreading a cloud out into the room when he lifted the garment. He coughed and stepped into the center of the room to clear his throat.

I need water, he suddenly thought. The assault of the dust cloud drew the lack of any kind of sustenance Jack had had since coming to Fracture. When he finished hacking up his lungs, he got a better look at the garment. It was some kind of robe or shirt with sleeves that barely extended past the shoulders. It was long enough to extend past his knees if he wore it and woven from black silk-like material. He sensed a strange emanation from the fabric, one that was familiar. Curious, he used Identify.

Grade: F

As a tunic worn by the Shadowtitan Knights, this garment has been spun with shadowsilk and blessed by the Maidens of the Dark Favor to empower their champions. The material will heal any damage as long as the majority of the tunic remains intact.

These tunics also silence the sounds made by any other clothing or armor worn over it.

Attribute Bonus: +10% Agility

Effects: Lesser Self-Repair, Lesser Muffling

Huh, well, I have a tunic now. Jack smirked.