57

Wrong Warp

By morning, Rian had fought his way to Elmguard. There had been a few close calls with the third-layer creatures, but his ability to disengage from fights with his sheer ground speed had saved him more than once.

Mei, the adult form of meina, proved to be vicious and even more intelligent than its previous forms. It actively lured other mobs into battle against Rian. Among them had been a god-like deer creature, a “noko,” with antlers made of crystal that bent moonlight into solid beams of energy. An even rarer encounter was that with a trickster: a small goblin-like creature that had escaped from Purgatory. Barely a foot tall and with glaring white eyes, it carried a knapsack with which it had attempted to steal a tesseract from Rian’s inventory.

The creature soon ended up under the heel of Rian’s shoe before perishing, the stolen tesseract retrieved.

In more standard combat, the nuances of Mirage: Cancel continued to reveal themselves. Seeing an incoming attack from a lunging mei, Rian had mistimed the activation of the skill and panicked, dodging in two directions at once. Without hesitation, he swung his fists. Both hits connected, and he ended up in the body that hit last.

It was a bit mind-boggling to consider, but he could essentially warp a short distance with Mirage: Cancel. In the short window that the skill was active, by timing his attacks he could choose which body—which parallel universe—he ended up in.

Every few hours, Rian stopped to rest at Corvis’s bonfire and enjoy a meal that had been prepared for him, temporarily boosting his stamina and EXP gain rate. At every point he sought ways to optimize his combat style. Using Dash and Earthen Resonance to amplify his momentum, stacking up armor with Spirit Fists before attempting parries, timing his attacks to interrupt his enemies and proc Counter Critical to reap all the bonus damage he could. All while paying careful attention to his stamina, his MP usage, and the number of hits he could tank.

With his EXP gauge filled to the brim, Rian crushed his fist through another hapless creature just as the sun began to brighten the horizon.

LEVEL UP! (Lv. 34→35)

…

He sighed with relief. A single level had taken nearly all night due to the time he’d spent finagling with Mirage: Cancel.

He spent his attribute points between Power and Agility. Then came the decision to allocate his skill point—the second to last one he’d get. He had a choice between Combo Attack and Meditate, the former of which would increase the damage of consecutive hits within a short window of time, and the latter which would replace his Beginner skill, Heal.

Combo Attack’s synergy with his kit was undeniable. The way it interacted with Charge Punch and Mirage: Cancel would make for a powerful addition to his damage output.

But there was something about Meditate that had him second-guessing. All night he’d been thinking about this decision, and he seemed drawn to the skill for some reason. It wasn’t just the HP recovery that it provided in helping him grind for longer, but the INT boost that it gave upon exiting Meditation.

He already had a skill-based source of Agility via Earthen Resonance, and of Spirit via Spirit Fists, but not a source of INT yet. He had plenty of Strength from his build, having dumped in attribute points throughout his leveling. But his INT remained relatively low compared to his other stats. Having the ability to boost it, even temporarily, would massively assist in landing parries.

He was curious, too, as to how it worked—how long he needed to close his eyes for Meditation to activate. Surely it wasn’t as if he could just blink and gain a ton of INT.

Reaching level 40 before catching up to Ogrot wasn’t guaranteed, so Rian had to assume the worst-case scenario. If he didn’t have Combo Attack or Meditate, which one would he be worse off without?

Ultimately, it was a choice of instinct, and his intuition told him he’d already made his choice. Yindra—the AI, or whatever the System truly was—probably already knew what he would choose if it could truly see the future. If so, then his choice didn’t matter. And yet this single choice might have been the deciding factor in the coming battle. Every choice he made was subject to that, and when he considered it, it was paralyzing to think about.

Damn. I’m overthinking this, aren’t I?

It was probably the universe, he supposed, giving him a sign: to think less.

Nodding, he chose Meditate and closed his skill page.

***

In the morning sunlight, Rian sat and crafted new equipment. Being conservative with his tesseract count, he only had enough to create a new torso and pants item, but it would have to do.

Ascetic’s Wool Robe (Level 35)

Grade: C (Uncommon)

STR +2

DEX +6

Armor +5

Ascetic’s Wool Pants (Level 35)

Grade: C (Uncommon)

STR +1

DEX +5

Armor +4

Set Bonus: Ascetic (2)

+8 INT

+12 SPR

It was a pleasant surprise to find that set bonuses existed. Rian made a mental note to craft more of the set if he could while in the Rift.

He slapped the new armor onto his body, then equipped his Ethereal Silk Hand-Wrap. The item was practically radiant, surrounded by a white glow that he imagined would complement the blue of his Spirit Fists.

With the upgrade complete, he headed into Elmguard to find a place to sell off his old equipment, hoping there would at least be an NPC awake this early into the day. To his surprise, he spotted a non-adventuring player setting up shop.

The NAP sat cross-legged upon a rug that held various items and potions. Standing beside him was a capped Knight who, through his visor, eyed Rian. Both of them had been talking with each other until catching sight of him among the empty streets. They seemed just as surprised to see him as Rian was, but the merchant quickly invited Rian to take a look at his wares.

After a moment, Rian realized the Knight was here as a guard to prevent players from stealing from the nigh-defenseless merchant. Judging from the items the merchant was offering, Rian could tell he was rich. More than enough to hire a player to guard him. After all, if Rian were to pick up an item and stash it away without paying, the System wouldn’t recognize the item as officially belonging to him—it would drop on death.

He sold off his old level 30 armor and the Electrified Steel Gauntlets. The equipment for sale here outclassed what he had just crafted, but he knew he couldn’t afford it. Fortunately, there were some cheaper consumables available, which he stocked up on, giving himself a decent supply of mana and stamina potions.

And then his eye caught a particular vial.

Superior Lucky Potion (Consumable)

Grade: S (Sacred)

Lucky (via Altir’s Vein: upon consumption, one time only, the chance of a subsequent effect activating will become 100%.)

Price: 24 colored tesseracts (24000g)

Rian’s jaw nearly dropped. It was perfect—the exact thing he needed. At this level, his Counter Critical skill had an abysmal chance to force his target to drop their weapon. And if he was going to stand a chance against Ogrot, removing his weapon from play for even a moment was essential.

But that price tag. He wasn’t even close to affording it.

All the gold he’d amassed overnight from grinding mobs had condensed into colorless tesseracts, and he’d gathered enough of those to create just two colored tesseracts, one of which he would need to get into the Rift of Gorgheit.

Rian thanked the merchant for his business and walked away, heading now at last to the ruins of Gorgheit. As he went, he opened his inventory and looked over his collection of tesseracts. The colorless ones had automatically combined into red ones. He wasn’t sure what the differences were in color, but he figured Corvis would probably know.

Glancing up for him, Rian realized that he didn’t see him anywhere.

He looked over his shoulder, and Corvis was following after him with a slight grin as he stuffed something into the inner pocket of his suit.

“Shall we?” Corvis said.

“Did you…just do what I think you did?” Rian said.

Corvis gave him a look as if he didn’t know what he was talking about. “What?” He reached into his suit again and pulled out a black pocketbook. “You mean this? You’ll have to forgive me, but I’ve been keeping notes on your journey so far.”

Rian glanced back at the merchant and the items on display. The luck potion was still there. He sighed. For a second he’d hoped that Corvis had pulled through for him. If there was ever a time to steal an item, that was it. Maybe their companionship rank wasn’t high enough yet, still sitting at level two.

As he turned away to head out of Elmguard, Rian said, “Notes? What for?”

“For when this is all over.”

That sounded rather ominous, but Rian let it slide, figuring that he’d rather not know. Corvis was incapable of lying to him now, but he knew Corvis wouldn’t bother to explain any further than he wanted to.

Rian picked up into a sprint, casting Earthen Resonance as he headed toward the ruins of Gorgheit.

***

The dilapidated city sprawled before them, the forest quiet as Rian stepped into the surrounding instance. He was tempted to scout the area just to make sure there weren’t any more Loyalists secretly following him on the way in, but Corvis’s companionship level would hopefully prevent that.

When Rian checked, Ogrot was already online—and in World 2-3.

“Anything I should know before we head in?” Rian said. “I’m assuming you know what’s in the Rift beyond World 1.”

Corvis smiled. “Of course. I’ll provide guidance when necessary.”

That was good. Rian could talk to the guild for pointers on tackling these dungeons, but he’d rather not if he had to. Not after the way they’d treated him.

“For one,” Corvis said, “it’s likely that you’ll want to find a group for the later stages. You can accomplish this the same way that you’ll invade Ogrot’s session—by using a Mirage skill.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

“But you must keep in mind: invasion can only be performed twice. Once for friendly intent, and once for hostile intent. The Aeyai will know the difference in what you aim to achieve.”

He couldn’t imagine trying to convince a party to come with him to gank an endgame player, but maybe he’d have to. Still, it would be best to seek help only when he was sure he needed it.

Only one shot, he thought, taking a deep breath and retrieving a red tesseract from his inventory, but I’ll take it. He placed the item on the altar. Light bent and warped as his surroundings returned to the past.

He landed in the same place as the first time—in front of a tower in the middle of Gorgheit, with the sounds of explosions reverberating in the distance. Pyceian soldiers ran up and down the faraway streets.

Rian ducked, preparing to sprint as he surveyed the area, waiting to recognize the path that Kat and Decha had taken. He was almost tempted to look up, to see if his future self was staring down at him from the tower window again. But right now, he had other priorities.

It was go time.

Let’s do th—

“Oh, thank goodness it worked!”

Rian flinched, then turned to see an archer approaching him. She was carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows, one of which was apparently upside down—atop it was a gem rather than an arrowhead.

“I’m—” she began.

“Sorry, no time!” Rian took off, sprinting into the city streets. If everything was the same as before, then all he had to do was get to the fault on the other side. He didn’t even need to fight anything.

Of course, the locals had other ideas. Rian could hear Pyceian soldiers running in from behind him, though he knew he’d outrun them with ease. Up ahead, a few attempted to cut him off, taking aim.

As he was about to engage, Rian remembered that the level equalization effect hadn’t occurred. The Onsolian archer hadn’t performed it yet, if she even could.

Rian dashed sideways to avoid the incoming lasers, dash-canceled, and propelled himself off one foot, nearly hovering over the ground as he flew into range.

His fist tore through the Pyceian android like it was paper. He couldn’t see their levels yet, but judging by how hard his hits landed, his level far exceeded theirs. If that was true, there was no point in waiting around for things to equalize. It would just make the fights harder.

He kept onward. In less than a minute he arrived at the enormous crevasse on the other side of Gorgheit. But then he hesitated. This was where Decha had opened the rift before. Except now there was an Onsolian archer—struggling to follow after him—rather than a mage.

Just as he was about to wonder how she would open the next rift, or if he had to wait for her to catch up with him, he saw something flying through the air.

It was an arrow, a gem at its end glowing and amassing energy as it traveled. In a mere second, Rian ascertained the trajectory: into the fault ahead of him.

He smiled, resuming a sprint. The archer had come through for him after all.

He leaped into the fault, became weightless in free fall. Moments later, the arrow shot past him and instantly stopped a short distance down, shattering the air as if it had impacted a pane of invisible glass. A circular portal opened: a rift in space-time.

Rian fell through.

In the darkness between worlds, the meager gold and experience bonus for completing World 1-1 popped up in his System feed. An instant later, he landed on solid ground as if he’d merely jumped in place rather than having been falling at terminal velocity. Daylight returned in a flash.

He was in the wrong location.

Not the tower that he remembered, but further ahead—in the massive chamber underground.

“Oh,” Corvis said. “This is new.”

Rian was about to ask whether or not this was 1-2. Then the overlay text appeared, announcing that it was indeed the correct stage.

“Wait,” he said, “why am I here? I thought 1-2 started inside the tower up above.”

“It would seem the Onsolian’s aim was a bit off,” Corvis said. “You can’t blame her, attempting to open a rift from that distance. And with a loosed arrow of all things.” Calmly, he glanced around. “She not only misaligned the rift—she sent you to the wrong time. About twenty minutes prior to when you’re supposed to be here.”

According to what Decha had said, it was true. Opening rifts required precise timing and positioning. The fact that they’d even landed in the right location was probably a miracle.

Everything looked mostly the same as the last time he’d been here. Forming a dotted circle, a hundred waist-height pillars protruded from the ground. The mechanism at the center of the room had no tesseract inside it yet, nor was there any sign of the device beginning to draw energy.

Pulling a tesseract into existence would probably entail a light show, so Rian figured the device was inactive. That was good; it meant the Pyceians probably weren’t “looking” yet, if they had any kind of surveillance over this area. At the very least, his presence hadn’t set off any kind of alarms.

Still, he swore to himself. Twenty minutes? The time limit for this World was one hour, but he hadn’t thought it would be a problem at all, with how over-leveled he was for World 1. Even so, sitting here for any amount of time, unable to do anything to advance, was going to drive him crazy.

He was tempted to simply ask Corvis or the guild on what to do, but judging from Corvis’s reaction when they’d landed here, this wasn’t a typical outcome of clearing 1-1.

Rian sat down and rested his chin in his palm. To get to World 2, he knew there was something special that had to be done. But he’d been assuming that the “something” would take place in the final stage—the battle with the Pyceian Commander, Galthera.

The last time Rian had been here, he remembered how he’d felt: the sense that he was missing something, overlooking a detail that was right in his face. It could’ve been his intuition, but there was an oddity in the way the numerous pillars were arranged on the floor.

Turning his head, he tried to look at them from another angle.

He wondered…

He stood and approached the center of the room.

Corvis seemed suddenly interested in what he was doing. “Is there something wrong?”

Reaching into his pocket, Rian pulled out a colorless tesseract. “I think I know what to do.”