Chương 40: Chapter 39: Entering The Rift

The group walked out of the camp into the forest that led to the rift. And honestly, it was very well hidden. Ben would easily admit that much. Pinging the area continuously, he had detected the magical barrier with [Mana Sonar] way before they even got close to it. There was literally nothing but ordinary trees and dirt around them until they stepped right through the invisible barrier. One moment, there was just a normal forest.

And the next, a gigantic tear in reality hovered right in the dead center of the clearing. Biting the inside of his cheek, Ben quickly repressed a whistle as the entire group instantly stopped dead in their tracks marvel at the rift. Unlike everyone else though, Ben was marveling at the barrier, not the rift. That someone could hide something as densely packed with mana as a rift inside this construct was astonishing. Ben just marveled at the craftsmanship of the barrier.

He didn't know constructs could actually be built this big. Plus, they could apparently alter the entire physical environment trapped inside them. That definitely gave him a lot of ideas.

"So that's a rift. What do you say, Ben? Isn't it beautiful?" Circling around him into his line of sight, Theodore suddenly nudged Ben in the ribs. Leaning his heavy weight right onto Ben's shoulder, the crazy guy just smiled. Those annoying dimples of his deepened in an instant. But for once Ben had to admit, the guy was right. The rift really was incredibly beautiful.

Swirling with vibrant colors, it was nothing but a chaotic mess, much like that insane tunnel of light he got hurled through when the camp commander teleported him. Staring deeply into the vortex, he felt a weird, heavy pull in his gut. Blinking, he realized the swirling mass of colors actually appeared to be physically sucking him in. Pacing back and forth in front of the rift, Arthur clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"Listen closely, because I'm only going to say this once." Stopping abruptly, the knight gestured toward the swirling mass of colors.

"Rifts are completely chaotic, and they come in a bunch of different types." Crossing his arms, he looked over the group of teenagers.

"And for this specific one? We have absolutely zero clue what type it is." Scoffing loudly, one of the snooty noble kids instantly complained.

"Are you joking? You didn't even test this thing out before throwing us in?" Pinching the bridge of his nose, Arthur shot the kid a deadpan look.

"Well, we did test it. I'm just not going to tell you what type it is." Glaring at the complaining noble, Arthur made his expectations crystal clear.

"This is something you all need to figure out for yourselves once you cross that barrier." Leaning forward, the knight raised a challenging eyebrow.

"You don't expect me to be there with you every single time you're near a rift, do you?" Shaking his head, he let out a dry, humorless chuckle.

"Or hold your little hands when you're about to die in one?" Point taken. Gesturing at the swirling colors again, Arthur gave his final orders.

"So you'll just enter one by one and adapt on the fly. Just be aware of one thing, rifts are never as simple as they seem. So do not get lulled into a false sense of security or predictability. There's always a variable you never accounted for. If you can clear one, though, the rewards are well worth it. Even being inside a rift is worth it. You'll see." Ticking possibilities off on his fingers, the knight casually listed the ways this could go wrong.

"Depending entirely on the type, you might end up magically teleported into a starting area together. Or you might get completely separated the exact moment you step inside." Knowing my luck, it's definitely going to be the second one.

"It could be a survival challenge where you all have to do things individually to escape." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Pausing near the edge of the barrier, he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"It could be a massive event rift, or maybe even a recreation of the past. A challenge. Floors to climb. Who knows?" Did he just say a recreation of the past? Before Ben could actually process that, Arthur quickly cut the conversation short. Clapping his hands together loudly, the knight barked at the group.

"Anyway, come on, no need to dillydally and waste our time. We have a lot more groups to go through this today. So come on, one by one, make a line. The system will give you details when you enter anyway." Shrugging Theodore's heavy arm off his shoulder, Ben just quietly stepped forward to join the queue. Watching the others step into the swirling portal one by one, Ben noticed the obvious nerves written all over their pale faces. Well, it was only natural.

He'd be quite the same had he not been using [Focus] almost always since he met up with the group. Especially since Theodore got near him. Since Alice warned him about Theodore, Ben was going to take it to heart. He was weak right now, so he could only take it. Thus, he tried to ignore the boy. Slowly, the noble kids went inside the rift one by one, nervous. And then, it was finally his turn. Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and just walked right through it. His vision wobbled and his stomach lurched.

Instantly, runes carved directly in his vision. You have entered a Tier 1 Rift! Warning: You will not be able to leave until the Rift has been cleared. Blinking away the dizzying nausea from the sudden teleportation, he quickly realized he was completely alone. He was standing right in the middle of a dense forest, looking remarkably similar to the woods right outside the camp. Only, the trees were rather violet in coloration, and looked sickly. And the air here felt entirely different.

Thick and heavy, and very sweaty. Like those days in summer when everything felt wet uncomfortably so against his skin. With an absurd amount of ambient mana all around him, this place was interesting to say the least. … wait. Taking a deeper breath, his eyes widened in pure shock. Is that... essence? There was essence just floating freely in the fucking air! And just by standing there and breathing normally, his body was passively soaking it up, stamping his "signature" onto it and pouring it into his core.

Grinning like an absolute idiot, he felt a sudden rush of genuine excitement. This means a massive amount of progress, doesn't it? Pushing the giddy excitement down for a second, he quickly prioritized his actual survival. Sending out a few rapid pulses of [Mana Sonar], he carefully swept the immediate surrounding area for threats. He really needed to make sure no random monster was going to bite his head off while he got his bearings.

When the echoes returned confirming the immediate vicinity was clear, he looked back at the hovering text. Damn, I really am inside an actual rift. Where are the essence shards? Leaning against a nearby tree trunk, he immediately let his cycling technique rotate a few times through his body to get a taste of this place. Feeling the sheer density of mana and essence rushing into his system, he was completely astonished by the instantaneous gains. It was like drinking from a firehose compared to drinking from a drop.

It was harder to actually absorb all that essence and mana and most of it just wasted away. Remembering Arthur's vague lecture, Ben suddenly frowned. Didn't that guy say something about the system giving us the actual rift details? Almost as if responding to his thought, the system interface instantly shifted and expanded with more text. [Tier 1 Rift] Rift Type: Objective Description: A contained pocket dimension harboring hostile entities. A central guardian currently guards the exit threshold.

Hunt hostiles to gain points, the higher your points the stronger the guardian you will face. Rift Objective: Defeat the guardian entity and exit the Rift. Rift Rewards: Reward calculated based on performance. Current Points: [0] Reading over the details, Ben couldn't help but slowly rub his chin. So basically, I just have to carve my way through some monsters and kill a boss to get out? What about the others? Are they in here, or did the rift spit them out into a pocket dimension of their own with similar rules?

He quietly pondered his next move— Something incredibly sharp violently ripped right across his spine. Stumbling forward, his shirt tore open, and warm blood immediately flowed down his back.

"What the…?!" Neither [Hunter] had warned him about the attack, nor did [Mana Sonar] work to pick up a single damn thing! Where did that come from?! Startled by the sudden ambush, he quickly blasted himself away with [Fire Burst]. Letting out a huge pulse of mana with [Mana Sonar], he waited to map the area, but when the echo returned, there was literally nothing there. What? Thoroughly confused, Ben felt his [Focus] ramp up to the max as his eyes twitched side to side in search for movement.

And then another agonizing slash hit his back again. Snarling in pain, he blasted forward, hearing a gurgly, mocking giggle as he did so. So he just did this a few more times. Jumping blindly around the violet trees, he kept trying to manually adjust [Mana Sonar]'s frequency with [Mana Manipulation] to try and find whatever was attacking him. And while he was doing it, the creature easily managed to slash him a few more times. Finally, Ben managed to detect it.

Pinging a weird blip just once for a brief second with [Mana Sonar], he instantly hurled a massive blast with [Fire Burst] that way. But the presence disappeared almost instantly. So he completely lost track of it again, and of course, a fresh slash drew even more blood from his back once more. This time, however, he managed to catch a quick glimpse of what it actually was. It was a goblin? And it was invisible and fast as fuck.