Chương 40: 207. On the Road Again

The next several hours passed in a blur of shuffling supplies and getting everyone separated into groups. Segmented movements and keeping the number of people he needed to coordinate between smoothed things out greatly, even if it all felt a bit too militaristic for him. Getting out of the Safe Zone had been easier then he thought it would be. Unfortunately, they had caused enough of a scene that an HA team had come to investigate, but he thought he'd handled everything well enough.

He had no doubt that someone would complain sooner or later, but in his mind, he didn't owe them anything. The Koru'qai repaired the puny wall to be significantly stronger than it was before. Looking down over the now-moving caravan of humans and Koru'qai as they passed, he let out a tense breath as he shielded his eyes from the sun. Alex stood on a neighborhood home's rooftop for a better vantage as they passed on the paved road.

Only a few miles outside of the Safe Zone limits, they were still forced to avoid most of the major roads. He and his clones were watching carefully for any signs of the HA attempting to follow them further. The less additional attention they drew, the better. And there was no doubt that this group would draw attention. Earthy tans and browns, mixed with the rocky texture and size of the Koru'qai, made them stand out from anything seen in the normal world.

If it weren't for the coordinated group and half dozen wagons moving along in a line, there's no doubt that they'd be marked as Rift creatures. Well, I guess they are.

"Just not monsters." Shouldn't you be focusing? Alex reprimanded Mage's response. His clone had been left behind with several of the shell-shocked escapees in the warehouse district of the Safe Zone. Waiting just above the entrance to the sewers, they were prepared to hunker down until trusted HA personnel arrived.

"There's nothing for us to focus on until you reach out to the director." Yeah. When we get a bit further away, I'll make the call. Just, don't get—"-complacent. Yeah, yeah. I know." With a mental shove, he blocked out the link to his own mind, ignoring the bored clone. Their traveling group was made up of more Koru'qai than humans, but he'd segmented them into smaller groups. There were natural leaders in the Koru, since, as a culture, they tended to rank themselves by strength.

That alone made it easy for him to create four sections and evenly split the humans among them. As he watched the final group pass by, he gripped the Cadence Stone in his hand, activating its effect. The flow of mana around the column became more pronounced to his left eye. Something seemed consistent and almost predictable about it as it ebbed and flowed around the group.

He was starting to realize that it was a product of the Koru people and their tendency to perform subtle, community-based magics through their melodies constantly. Stepping off the roof, he jogged down the street to catch up with the front of the column. His boots slapped against the pavement, but the fresh April spring air was exhilarating after being cramped in the Safe Zone, sewers, and the mines of the Rift.

As he passed the group, several of the Koru waved to him, and a few of the humans called out in a greeting. He waved awkwardly as he moved, his steps subconsciously falling into the rhythm that many of the stone-people hummed as they marched.

"How's it going up here?" he said as he joined Robert and his friends.

"Hey. It's good. We'll turn right onto a larger street here soon, then keep going for ten miles. We'll run directly into the railroad tracks," Robert reported.

"Great. Have there been any issues in the groups?"

"None that have been reported to me. A few of us have gone to talk to a few concerned people coming out of their houses… Are you sure we shouldn't push further today? If we can put more distance between ourselves and the city, that seems better to me."

"We could," Alex conceded.

"But the Koru don't seem like a migratory people to me. The tribe has been stationary for generations. And while you're all fit, dozens of miles of walking and foot travel are different. No reason to start our first day off with blisters and sore bodies." He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the date. There were only a few days left until the deadline he'd set for everyone to return to the house.

Glancing over his shoulder at the long line of bulky travelers, he wasn't so sure he'd be able to beat the deadline.

"Once we get to the tracks, I think we'll be a lot safer. The gravel will be annoying to walk on, but the carts should travel easily," Robert pointed out.

"Shael'quir said they'll be able to use magic as we move to make the travel easier. Even with the annoyance, it should be much clearer than some of the jammed-up highways. When we hit this main road, I'll need to make a few phone calls."

"About that," Danae said with a hesitant smile.

"I've been talking with some of the others who made it out, and a lot of them would like to reach out to family. Would it be possible for others to use your phone?" Alex thought about the request, surprised to find that he felt somewhat defensive of his phone. His own friends and family had their contacts in the phone, and the idea of people he barely knew having access to that made him feel exposed.

"I'll make you a deal," he said.

"Let's focus on getting a few more days into the trip and keep everyone moving toward our goal. Once everyone has settled into being free a bit more, I'll get a cellphone for each group. When we stop for lunch or at night, they can use them to reach out to family and friends."

"That sounds fair. Thank you." She nodded her head and slowed her pace to share the news with others.

"Wait," he said. When she looked back at him, he warned her, "It's okay to tell people, but don't spread the word too widely. The main reason for waiting a few days is to keep everyone focused on the goal. You've all been through a lot, and it's not surprising to see some people fall into shock or sadness… like we saw in the sewers. I have a feeling that the normalcy of talking to family might trigger the same response in others.

I don't want to keep people from their families or from being happy to be home, but we need to keep moving."

"Sounds reasonable enough to me," Danae thanked him again before moving to the second group in line.

"That's nice of you," Aisha said. Alex shrugged. Just because he didn't feel a huge need to reach out to his own family didn't mean that others had that same relationship. My family.

"Shit," he said aloud.

"Uh, hey. It's probably better to make a few of those phone calls now. Keep an eye on the group. I'll be back with some more news in a few." He moved away from the group and found a spot to sit out of sight before dialing the contact number on his phone. It rang twice before picking up.

"Jake! Hey, bro," Alex said, masking his guilt.

"Why do you sound like you did something wrong?"

"What? What're you talking about?"

"Your voice is always a bit higher-pitched when you do something wrong. What happened?" Jake sounded concerned. Alex let out a sigh.

"I found in the Safe Zone and made a move without calling you. I left two voicemails for the director… but if I'm being honest, calling you didn't even cross my mind."

"You forgot to call me? That's literally the whole point of my position with you and the HA," Jake said.

"I know, I know. Dude, we've barely talked in years. Calling you is not going to be my first thought… I'm sorry." He scratched the back of his neck while waiting for a response. A few moments later, Jake spoke up.

"I guess it's fine. Just… try to do better?"

"Of course."

"I mean it. I want to do this with you— for you. But if you keep going through other channels and my boss thinks I'm not providing any value to the Association, they'll just dissolve this role." Hearing that, Alex felt a bit guilty. He wasn't thinking about what the position might mean for Jake or the repercussions of circumventing the communication pipeline.

"You know my Trait is Charisma, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Well, then, just think of this like you using me to soften the blow. Whatever crazy stuff you get up to, if you tell it all to me, I can use my trait to at least spin it in a way that won't blow back on you." The thought had merit, and Alex was surprised and somewhat suspicious that Jake was suggesting he use him that way.

"What's in it for you?" he asked without thinking. The long pause that followed made him realize he was being rude. Jake sighed.

"There are some benefits in it for me. But honestly, I wanted to do it to help you and try to get a bit closer… that doesn't really work if you're going around me at every turn."

"All right, all right. I'll try to do better moving forward, I promise. I reached out to Sarah and Jon before entering the Rift, but you were my first call now that I'm out. Here's what happened…" he spent twenty minutes telling the story of his time in the Safe Zone, the traitors within the Philly Safe Zone, the discovery of the sewers, and the Rift itself. Jake listened well and didn't pry into a lot of the "how" around Alex's capabilities or skills.

It wasn't until the final part of the story, when he told his brother about the large number of Koru'qai he'd freed from the Rift, and how they'd broken through the Safe Zone wall, that Jake had a hard time staying quiet. They went back and forth, Jake peppering him with questions and groaning at several responses. In the end, there wasn't much he could change about Alex's decisions. He'd already freed the Koru'qai, and they were all well outside of the Safe Zone limits.

When the story was coming to an end, and Jake seemed to have no more questions, Alex wrapped things up.

"I left one of my teammates back at the sewer entrance with some escapees that might need medical and psychological help. He'll take whoever you send down into the sewers and show them the Rift entrance. If anyone is giving you too much trouble about me leaving with the Koru, just remind them that I'm handing over an Epic Rift here without asking for much of anything. That's not even to mention the now very thankful race of Rift dwellers who can sing magic into stone and other materials.

Once it's in the right hands, a low-level-high-rarity Rift should have a ton of uses. It's pretty much the best Rift they could ask for." Jake laughed.

"Yeah, that will likely shut a lot of people up. All right, let me jump on this. Just keep heading home and try to stay out of trouble in the meantime. I'll let the right people know and coordinate the handover for your teammate. Is it Mark or Sarah who is there?"

"No, this is Matthew. I don't think you've met him." Thinking of his other teammates, he asked a question that had been nagging at him since they started their travel a few hours ago.

"Hey, have you heard anything about Olivia? Is she out of the Rift yet?"

"I haven't heard, but I can check on it for you."

"Yeah, please do." Their call ended quickly from there, and Alex found himself without as much to do as he'd planned. It felt nice to know that Jake would be handling some of that, and he wouldn't have to explain himself to Matthews or any of the other HA leadership. He put the phone in his pocket to keep it powered on before tentatively reaching out with his mind. The link between his bond to Valtherion had felt dormant for weeks.

Even before entering the Rift, his companion had been in a deep sleep, preparing to evolve. The moment his mind poked at the link, however, excitement and emotion spread through his mind.

"Alex?!" Val! A smile spread across his face, and he laughed. How are you, buddy? I missed you! Did everything go okay with the evolution? This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"I am big now. Bigger than the black wheel-box." There was pride in the bond's thoughts, and it only made Alex laugh harder. It's really good to hear from you. How is everyone at the house? Are you taking care of Edwin?

"The Old One is good. He is very— ugh." The sigh of exasperation that came through their mental link gave him pause. It wasn't until Valtherion finished his sentence that Alex understood what was going on.

"Lin is making me train." She is?

"Yes. The Old One says she is doing it to make you happy, but I think she just likes illusions and thinks Val is the best color." It took him a second to process what Val was saying. They exchanged a bit more back and forth before agreeing to talk later that evening. The feeling of comfort that came with the knowledge of reuniting with his bond threatened to overwhelm him. The little blue amphiptere had clearly become smarter, and Alex was eager to see the physical changes that came with his evolution.

The last thing he did before returning to the traveling column was create a group text to his friends. He sent a brief update and let everyone know he'd be a bit behind on the timeline to reach the house. Everyone responded quickly. Sam was eager to share that he'd gained his first growth item, which made Mark seem a bit salty. Sarah and John would also be a day or two late, but had been successful in linking up with Sarah's family.

He shared a bit of his conversation with Jake with the team and let them know that they would hopefully have an update on Olivia soon. Everyone, himself included, kept the details of their adventures thin. Preferring to coordinate their timelines instead and ensure they were all okay. Details of grand adventures could be shared with everyone at the house. The idea of a storytelling contest instantly piqued Mark's interest, turning it into a challenge to see if his and Sam's story would beat everyone else's.

Pocketing the phone, he wanted to finish his two final tasks before returning to the column. He'd been hesitating on which route to take with his movement skill. The advancement seemed like the safer option, but he wasn't sure where an evolution might take the skill. It excited him to think of how great the changes had been when going from [Empowered Step] to [Feather Step]. The driving decision was that he didn't have a clear mental image of where he wanted the skill to go if he did evolve it.

That hazy goal might lead to a worse version of the skill. Advancing would keep the skill the same, while still giving it some minor benefits based on how he'd been using it. [Feather Step] had become a core part of his kit. Some of the mechanics that he'd once thought of as negatives to the skill had even become reactive and situational trump cards. The weightlessness and point-to-point style movement meshed well with his new spell circles as well.

All of that combined led him to advance the skill, rather than evolve it. He brought up the offered skill window before accepting it. Analyzing skill usage… Skill Advanced: [Feather Step] (Journeyman - Level 1) Seeing that the level had returned to one, but that the proficiency level of the skill had bumped to Journeyman, Alex pulled up the description of [Feather Step] to see what had changed. [Feather Step] - Move as light as a feather toward your destination.

Dedication and practice to controlling your skill have granted the added effect of redirection. Given a sufficient surface, the Awakened may change or enhance the direction of travel without the loss of momentum. He read over the skill change and understood why the System had granted him this additional effect with his advancement. Lately, he'd taken to using his barrier spell circle as a stepping stone to change his direction or boost himself further in a direction.

The skills adjustment made it more natural to do so and so that he'd no longer lose any momentum while doing so. A much bigger, yet easier decision, was what to do with his class. The evolve option, while sounding cool, wasn't anything in his mind compared to Spell Weaver. The Epic class would not only give him more stats per level when compared to a Rare, but it also felt like the class was tailor-made for him. He brought up the window again before selecting his option. Congratulations, Awakened!

Spell Weaver (Novice) is ready for advancement! You have reached the threshold of your primary class. Would you like to advance or evolve this class? Advance: This class stays the same and advances to the next proficiency tier, improving the benefits from the class and granting a new skill in the same tree. Class Preview: Spell Weaver (Journeyman) Evolve: This class changes based on the different ways you may have used it or pushed the bounds of its purpose.

Class Preview [Rare Rarity]: War Mage (Novice) Advance / Evolve? Congratulations, Awakened. Your class has advanced to Spell Weaver (Journeyman) WARNING: Your class is attempting to offer you a new skill. WARNING: Your active skill slots are full. Please accept or deny this skill. If accepted, please replace one of the existing skill slots.

Class Skill: [Layered Magics] Accept / Deny [Layered Magics] - Upon activation, the next spell cast, or skill used, that layers more than one kind of magic, will have its potency increased. Increase is based on the number of different magics that are layered. His eyes drifted back and forth as he read the System window. Immediately, he recognized it as yet another force multiplier. Similar to the class passive, [Spell Weaving], this was an active effect to reward him for combining multiple kinds of magic.

A number of questions immediately popped into his mind about the description, but he pushed them aside. He knew there would be time to test things later, but it didn't stop him from wanting to curse the System's lack of detail. They were the same thoughts he had when he looked at the description and rewards for the <King Slayer> title. It was vague to the point of not making sense, and he knew the only way to figure it would would be through testing and pestering his mentor.

Sighing, he accepted the new class skill and looked through his list of active skills. The replacement choice was obvious. [Intimidate] didn't fit with his kit at all, and he barely ever used it. Intimidating something was not something he thought he'd need the System's help in doing at this point anyway. The thought made him chuckle. Decisions made, he stood and stretched, eager to see the increased stats that would come with future levels. He returned to the group and fell routine of travel with those around him.

They shared small talk, and he wanted to get to know Danae and Anthony better since they had been so close with Robert, Aisha, and Luis. Robert's easy-going nature kept the conversation light, and he helped steer things to common ground. Scout reached out through their connection, prodding him mentally.

"I found one." A Rift?

"Yep. You'll need to scan it when you get here, but the power coming off of it looks somewhat weaker." Alex checked his own memories and felt a smile spread across his face. Scout had been searching since before they'd even left the Safe Zone and had finally found a Rift only a few miles inland from the railroad tracks. Luckily, it was still within their preferred travel distance for the day. Perfect. When they reached the campsite, Alex was eager to get everyone settled and situated.

Once the group had made camp and most immediate concerns were addressed, he passed off the responsibility of keeping the peace to Robert. Without drawing too much attention, Alex separated himself to join the site that Scout had been preparing. Before long, he found himself sitting in a small clearing with his legs crossed and eyes closed in front of a Common E Rank Rift. The sounds of quiet chatter and crackling fires drifted to him from the nearby camp. One clone sat in silence nearby, watching his back.

Luis had joined the clone after they'd been separated from the group for some time. The quiet duelist didn't seem bothered by the long silence and Alex's total focus on his project. [Mana Infusion] worked at its maximum output. He pushed mana into the ritual beneath him as quickly as he could. The sooner his core was close to emptying, the sooner he could dip into the Rift and siphon more mana.

The process was repetitive, and during the setup, while there was no intent to hold or finesse to powering the ritual, he entertained himself by turning the routine into a game. He would challenge himself to push the mana into the ritual as quickly as possible, before siphoning mana and directing the new reserves to join the prior. The loop was tiring and felt endless. With each repetition, he would do it again, trying to beat his previous time. He'd continue the loop, beating his last loop's time, until he failed.

Once he failed to beat the earlier time, he'd take a five-minute break to stretch before resetting. He'd learned the trick from Mark. His friend swore it was a perfect technique for a video game with lots of grinding required, but Alex had always found himself applying it to his work. Henderson often liked to assign tedious tasks, and this had always been an easy way to lose himself in the process. Thinking of his time in the ad agency with Mark and Henderson took him back to a different time. A different life.

To maintain focus and beat his previous time, Alex pushed the nostalgic thoughts aside and reviewed his next steps. The recreation of the elven ritual was almost charged. All that would be left afterward would be to set the runes with both intent and mana. It was the most difficult part of the entire process, but he now had more advantages than he ever had before. To start, when he'd called a halt to their travel for the day, he'd started by preparing his space around the ritual.

To give himself a further advantage, he'd spoken at length with Shael'quir and her two best singers. After preparing the base of the ritual around the Rift portal, he'd called them over to use their magic. It only took a few minutes of their combined harmonics to solidify his frame of Mana Stone dust. While he'd no doubt wasted a small fortune in stones to grind them up and get them in place, he now had a large, solidified frame of mana conductive rock.

There would eventually be many more types of material to try, but for now, he hoped it would help emulate the white metallic alloy that the elves used. More time passed as he competed with himself, the temperature gradually falling. He didn't want to risk any other magic interfering with his test, so he decided not to create a heating ritual to warm the air around him. Instead, he leaned on his Constitution to fend off the chill.

When it came time to slot the runes into the proper nodes, he called both constructed clones, Scout and Warrior, to assist. With the increase in Intelligence and the setting of runes being completely unstructured magic, he decided to assign them each a set of runes to focus on. The fractured bodies settled down on the ground at 45-degree angles from where he sat, the three of them surrounding the swirling blue portal. Alex had long since dismissed Mage, giving him access to a second mind.

The handoff with the HA went as smoothly as he expected— that is to say, lots of waiting, undertones of hostility, and an attempt to rope him into the bureaucracy of the process. Once the information about local Hunter corruption was passed on to some verified Hunters, and he was sure the medical personnel understood what the escapees had been through, he had Scout leave the sewers and catch up. This left him with the two most important jobs while the two clones took on auxiliary roles.

He took a deep breath to center himself. There was no need to discuss the plan with his clones; they all knew it and shared the same excitement about the process. Placing both hands on his knees, he let mana threads begin to spill from his fingers and form the Portal Rune. Its concept was difficult for him to understand, but he applied his personal experiences as Maelis had taught him. For months, he'd been crossing through and living in the Rifts.

He had the strong belief that his intent and understanding of portals coming directly from the Rift portals would aid him in the ritual. While his second consciousness focused on the portal runes' intent, his main mind focused on his trump card. The Cadence Stone. It rested in his lap, patiently waiting for his mind's activation. As soon as he mentally reached out to the stone, the world around him changed.

The normal vision in his right eye shifted subtly, but just as before, it was the mana-sight in his left eye that was enhanced multiplicatively. He could see the vast flows of mana around the Rift, the ground beneath him lit up like a beacon from the power he'd stored there. It was with this mind that he planned to direct the power of the ritual as best he could. By its nature, the ritual used the lines of power to conduct most of the magical coordination.

However, he'd noticed that using the runes, rather than reagents, left a nexus of power at the center of the ritual where he could poke and prod. The center of power became visible to him after the rank advancement, and only when holding the active Cadence Stone. The rhythm of the mana became just clear enough that he could see different routes of execution. It was then, with all of his minds working in concert to set the runes in place, that Alex was certain he could complete the ritual successfully.

His heart hammered in his chest with excitement. The only obstacle standing in his way was choosing the right path. In the swirling nexus of power, coalescing at the base of the portal, Alex could feel different paths he could take. They seemed to be focused on similar concepts to the runes themselves. One felt like freedom, another like power, a third like certain death. Each of these paths had branching paths, leading in directions he couldn't see.

Without the Cadence Stone, they seemed to shift and move in time with the swirling vortex of the Rift portal, almost impossible to follow. However, with the item, he started to see a pattern. A predictable shifting of streams. Carefully. Oh, so carefully, Alex started down the path of Empower. He made sure to keep his distance from anything that made his instincts scream, and his hair stand on end. Part of him knew that pulling on the wrong thread of power could lead to that sense of certain death.

Losing himself in the task, he took one mental step at a time. No more mana was required on his part, just a test of his will and magical control. It was that thought, that realization, that gave him the confidence to continue. There. At the end of the mental path, Alex could see a small button of power. It was a coil so tight that his mind seemed to shy away. Despite the intensity of it, he knew that it was the goal he'd been searching for.

Carefully, he reached out and touched it, pulsing just a small bit of mana into the Ritual beneath him to send it over the edge. Preparations complete, runes in place, and path of power travelled, Alex activated the ritual. His eyes were closed, but he could feel the air around him become further saturated in mana, spiking to an all-time high. His skin went from the constant tingle to an uncomfortable prickling sensation before it vanished completely. The world around him felt still. Calm. Empty.

He couldn't hear anything but his heart and his heavy breathing. While he hadn't moved from his seated position, he realized all of his muscles were clenched and he'd gradually hunched forward in his concentration. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw the clearing as it had been. The only change he could see with his mundane vision was that the area had fallen into the darkness of night. To his left eye, still activating the Cadence Stone, the area around the Rift had lost much of its luster.

The ambient mana is being absorbed and utilized in the ritual. Carefully, he let go of his mental hold on the stone, his normal Spectral Eye's mana sight returning. The ebb and flow of power around the Rift returned to what he'd become accustomed to seeing over the last few months, and he braced himself. Scanning the Rift, his breath caught in his throat. D Rank Rift Common Rarity Rift Slots [0/30] His eyes went wide, and he sat there in silence for several long moments, staring.

The quiet of the night was broken by one of his clones. To his left, Warrior started laughing. A chuckle at first, before bursting into a full-bellied laugh.

"Holy shit," Alex whispered, ignoring his other self.

"Holy shit. It worked. The rank increased." He looked around the forest, feeling a sudden sense of paranoia. Warrior's laughter quickly cut off, and then all exchanged their feelings and thoughts in a matter of heartbeats. Swiftly, Warrior and Mage stood, spreading out in opposite directions to make sure they were still alone. Alex looked up at the sky, holding his breath. Nothing came. No System notification. Not lightning from the sky or holy retribution for tampering with the Rift.

More than a minute passed with him frozen in place, tense and waiting for a punishment that never came. When he felt he was in the clear, he let out an explosive breath and fell back onto the grass, laughing and cursing.

"Holy. Shit."