The Path of Ascension: A LitRPG Adventure, page 22
Normal wolves were pack animals, and these bipedal rift wolves were no different. Matt kept retreating slowly, keeping the trio to his front. As he watched, he assessed the enemy in front of him. They had large hind legs with powerful thighs, their hunched stature belying their tendency toward lunging attacks.
One went for a swipe at his left side, while the rightmost wolfman did the same on the other side. The pincer attack forced Matt to make a quick decision. He sidestepped to the right to disrupt the timing of the charging wolfmen and slashed at the one now closest to him. His attack took off the wolfman’s swiping hand as the other skidded to a halt in the snow.
Seeing an opportunity, the third monster rushed at Matt’s exposed back while the other charged from the front. He kept them at bay with swipes they weren’t willing to take after seeing their compatriot disarmed so easily.
After an aborted lunge and swipe of its claws, Matt thrust his longsword, catching the wolfman in the chest. It wasn’t deep enough to kill, but the attack gave the second monster enough courage to lunge forward.
Matt had planned for that and stood his ground, swinging his sword toward the attacking wolf.
The wolf must have thought it could sacrifice an upraised arm to get a killing blow. However, its rudimentary intelligence couldn’t comprehend the enchanted blade’s total disregard for things as frail as flesh and bone.
The slash sheared the monster clean in half, its lower body frozen in the harsh cold as blood spurted from its dismembered entrails. Steam drifted away from the gushing blood, as if mirroring the life leaving the wolfman's remains. Matt felt more of the powerful Tier 3 essence flow into him.
I love this sword.
Matt took advantage of the hesitation in the wolfmen caused by the death of their packmate and rushed at his next kill. He ran the beast through without breaking stride, [Cracked Phantom Armor] allowing him to absorb a glancing blow. The last wolfman roared in protest, and Matt took the opportunity to finish it off by hurling his sword at it. It sliced through the monster’s skull with ease, impaling it to a thick pine tree. Whistling his satisfaction, he collected his sword, as well as the monsters’ heads and hands.
The new sword was so amazing, he couldn't help but test its limits a little with the killing throw.
Aster took a couple of bites out of their corpses before following Matt.
As they ran, he checked his HUD for the charge of his mana stone in the hilt of his longsword.
Sword: 178/200
The mana consumption seemed reasonable and was easily produced with his Talent. It would take longer for the mana he produced to un-aspect than it would to make. He could have shut off the enchantment but was happy to burn the mana to get a true test of the blade.
He also checked his AI. It was working correctly and recording the fight data, but he had it off for now. He would review the data after the rift. He didn't want to rely on the predictive capabilities of the AI until he had confidence in his own ability to fight.
Matt repeated the same maneuver until the wolves stopped attacking, slinking silently through the trees with Aster until they came upon another hunting party. Thirty-seven dead pack members later, the leader called everyone into the central camp.
Now that the retreat was sounded, he would have to fight almost seventy wolves in the large clearing the pack called home. It was weird. They had the facsimile of an intelligent society, but they didn't have young, or even pregnant female wolves in the camp. It was all wolves of fighting age.
That was how most rifts operated, but Matt still found it odd. In nearly eight hundred million years of recorded history, rifts had been repeatedly proven to not be intelligent, so why the farce of having the wolves in a clearing with structures?
He had Aster retreat a few feet behind him deeper into the woods while he stepped out of the woods into the clearing. As he stepped out of the trees, he surveyed his surroundings, only to have half-a-dozen wolves rush him.
This was a far less elegant fight, but Matt only took three hits to his [Cracked Phantom Armor]. Which, for the intensity and lopsidedness of the fight, he considered acceptable. He didn't back up this time, and they didn't try to slowly whittle him down. It was a brawl his enchanted blade and skill turned into a bloodbath.
His plan was to step back into the forest and repeat the same actions until the pack leader appeared, continuing his pattern of guerrilla warfare. The leader had no intentions of playing along. He obviously noticed Matt’s last fight and led the remaining wolves in a charge.
This wolfman was a foot taller than his brothers and sisters. And, of course, he came with five others that were also larger specimens than the previous he had fought. As the leader charged, his underlings used the same tactics Matt had already seen and flanked him as he backed to the forest line. He wasn't hoping to stop the monster's charge but simply break up the attacks.
He took an attack from the leader while killing two of the lesser wolves. That single blow nearly cut through [Cracked Phantom Armor]. This monster was stronger than the orc he fought in the Tier 1 rift challenge. It was only because he could supply more mana to his skill that it held. If he took another attack on the same arm before the skill repaired itself, he would need a healer.
He tried to push more mana into [Cracked Phantom Armor] but, when he did, he felt the skill’s structure in his spirit start to destabilize.
Ducking the next attack, Matt struck out at the wolf leader. The enchanted blade, which had sliced through everything so far in this rift, just bounced off its large claws. He had assumed that would happen but had hoped for a better outcome. The pack leader’s teeth and claws were worth ten times what the lesser wolves’ were worth for a reason.
Dodging the leader's attacks and taking out the remaining lesser wolves took all his patience and skill. It was a battle of mental endurance as well as physical. Each lunging attack was followed by another from the opposite direction, so Matt had to dodge and parry at once to avoid damage. Any misstep or error in timing would leave him vulnerable to the leader’s powerful swipes. He took glancing hits from the smaller wolves as he dispatched them but was able to choose where they landed. His focus and agility were able to keep anything from getting through [Cracked Phantom Armor].
The fight was hectic and seemed to drag on for hours. Matt had approximately forty wolves left, and they surrounded him, trying to use their numbers to land hits on his back and whittle him down. When that didn't work, they eventually charged as one and tried to tackle him to the ground.
That was far more dangerous as his mobility was the only thing keeping the leader from being able to land lethal hits. Matt had no choice but to hack his way through the pack, ducking and weaving through the mass of claws and fur. After a good five minutes of carnage, it was only him, the leader, and two of the larger wolfmen left.
During a biting lunge from one of the last wolfmen, Matt was finally able to turn the battle into an equal fight with two slashes of his own. Even if the lesser wolves hadn’t been able to hurt him easily, they could disrupt his footing with their momentum and weight.
Now that he could fully concentrate his attacks and attention on the leader, he quickly struck out and landed a blow to the leg. He knew his first hit already marked the end of the fight. With less mobility, the leader was circled and whittled down. Nick by nick, cut by cut, Matt bled the leader of the wolfmen until it collapsed dead from blood loss. An anticlimactic end to the large wolf.
Once Matt felt the rush of essence, he collected the remaining spoils of the delve. He was exhausted. That last fight was long, and it had taken everything he had to not be pulled under with their sheer numbers. He was slow in his collection of the monster parts while he settled his racing heart.
As Aster came out of the woods, she ate the bits of the monsters she wanted, mostly the choice bits of heart, as he dragged the leader's corpse over to the exit rift and looked at the reward distortion. It was a swirling yellow and, as he sent a burst of essence to dispel it, he found a pile of mana stones. After counting, Matt laughed. Fourteen, double the average. That was one-hundred-forty-thousand credits. He was making a dent in his money problems after just one delve.
The advantages of a solo delver were showing themselves more and more as the Tier increased.
As he prepared to leave, Aster sent that she wanted to remain in the rift a while longer. She got the feeling being in the cold would help her ice powers.
So, Matt sat down and let her manipulate the cold around them. As he waited for her, he enabled the AI overlay and had it process the data. He had kept it throttled to a max of two mana a second for the duration of the rift because he didn't want it to distract him during the delve.
As he let it analyze the data, with all the remaining mana he wasn't feeding into [Cracked Phantom Armor], he saw a replay of his vision appear in his lower right field of view. The AI ran through the entire time in the rift three times before signaling it had completed its analysis.
The data was good, and the analysis had a decent number of predictions. Matt looked forward to using the predictive methods during his next delve.
The final battle had been hectic, and Matt was excited for any advantage he could find. If his skill wasn't so strong, he would have taken a lot of hits and could have died. He also didn't need the AIs reminder that this was a weak Tier 3 rift, and that the leader didn't have a skill to use. This was still the PlayPen, and they wouldn't allow a rift with a boss who had a skill to linger.
Matt tapped the sword resting between his legs. It had carried the day. Its ability to slice through the wolfmen with ease was crucial in the last melee.
Watching Aster, a blue-tinged white energy swirled into her. He assumed it was cold manipulation of some type but was unsure as she didn’t know and was acting completely on instinct.
Upon further inspection, he noticed she was actually cycling the cold. He could only guess it was a control training method of some sort and left her to it.
He sat and continued to review the battle, using the AI and his own expertise to formulate a better attempt for the next delve.
When they left an hour later, Matt had a plan simmering in his thoughts.
The next day, he stood in front of Griff's desk and explained his plan.
“I would like to do a two-day delve cycle. It will let me maximize my time remaining on the island, and it takes advantage of me being a solo delver. The Tier 3 rift doesn't have any significant risk to me with my skill and Talent combination. If I can do a two-day cycle, I can go from sixty delves to ninety. Also, it lets Aster get more time in the cold environment, which helps her cold powers.”
Matt held up a pitiful looking Aster to the man on the other side of the desk. He didn't feel bad in the slightest in having the fox put on a pitiful face in front of the Tier 15. They had practiced until she was heartbreaking.
“Fine, I'll allow it. Only because you were smart. The contract with TrueMind is good, even if it will cost you a bit down the road. Just remember a good sword and an AI’s predictive algorithms will only take you so far.”
He was surprised Griff had heard about it and said so.
“You think a massive corporation can make a contract with someone on The Path without the Empire making sure it's not predatory? Nah, I got a copy, and so did the boss lady. It's a bit hefty on the back end but nothing crazy.”
Griff glanced at the screen in front of him, then said, “I wasn't going to bring this up yet, but I guess now's as good a time as ever.”
As the Tier 15 reclined in his chair, Aster took the opportunity and scampered into his lap, brush carried in her muzzle.
As Griff took the offering and put it to use, he asked, “What do you know about life outside of the PlayPen? In the Empire at large or, more specifically, for people on The Path?”
“Not much. I plan to review the open rifts so I can use my advantages well. As a solo delver, I don't have to worry about the rest of my team's weaknesses when choosing a rift. I'm more flexible, and I can make more per rift because I don't have to split the rewards.”
“Yeah, that's true and all, but not what I meant. What do you know about training worlds? There is one opening a few planets away in seven months. Are you interested?”
Matt had no idea what a training world was, and at his inquisitive facial expression, Griff continued, “Mostly they're worlds that aren't worth colonizing and mostly left to sit. The essence builds up, and the rifts overflow. It turns the world into perfect training grounds for larger guilds and families.”
“Why isn't the world colonized? That seems odd to leave an entire planet to waste away.”
Griff flicked his finger, and Matt's AI received a packet of information.
“What I just sent you is a data packet about it, but the short of it is, this world has nearly no water at all. So, no safe areas, and it's only a Tier 5 world. It's not worth the effort to send a strong water mage over to fill an entire world.
“That leaves the world empty and barren, so it's given to a guild to use as a training ground every few years. This one has been sitting for ten years. That means the rifts will be bursting, and the final rewards will be much higher than usual.”
Matt had his AI analyze the data packet as soon as he received it. As he skimmed the report, one thing popped out, so he asked, “The republic has an entrance to this world as well? Wouldn't that turn into a bloodbath?”
Griff just smiled at him. “Yeah, they have access to the world as well. And no, it won’t turn into a bloodbath. We aren't at war right now, and each side will send a Tier 25 to monitor the situation. Fights will happen, and even some deaths, though everyone discourages killing. Rob someone, beat them up, but killing and crippling are frowned upon.”
The large man was still brushing Aster while Matt pondered the opportunity. Then, Griff broke the silence, “I figured it might be a good opportunity for you. Especially if you delve at a two-day schedule. You should be near Tier 3’s peak at that time, and it could be a great opportunity for you to advance. The rifts have been sitting so long, they are far more likely to drop skill shards.
“That means the price of skill shards will be a lot cheaper while the planet is closed. Trading is far easier when people can't just sell their skills to the highest bidder, with massive guilds and families buying up skill shards.”
That got Matt excited. “So, there will be a lot of rifts. How many people will there be? And will Tier 5 be the highest Tier competing?”
Griff nodded. “Yup. The highest Tier will be 5, so you'd be on the weaker end. But that just means there will be a lot of Tier 3 and 4 rifts for you to delve. The world will only be open for six months, and the portals will only be activated for a week at the start and end of the competition. The republic will do the same.”
Matt reviewed his mental plans and started shifting things around.
“Thank you, Griff. I think this is a good opportunity for me as well. I need to go and prepare for the next six months.”
The big man waved him out and called out right before Matt exited. “Get a self-filling water source. They will be absurdly expensive on Bladehold.”
Matt thanked him and hurried to the general store.
Reviewing the data sent, he saw it was a cold, dry planet. Like Griff said, it had only a tiny amount of water, so there was only one safe zone. That meant the Empire and the republic had to share.
Matt grabbed his pad, thinking about what he would need. He couldn't really think of much as he had always lived in a city with modern amenities.
He found a camping guide recommended for overnight delves. Food, a portable cooker, tent, sleeping bag rated for the cold, a portable chair, lantern, rope, and a multitool all seemed appropriate. As he looked at the list, he knew he would need to get a spatial bag before this trip. The bright side was, if he got completely average luck during his delves, he could afford a smaller bag.
This was a challenge he could plan for and mitigate most of the dangers. He could do this.
Nearly six months later, he was in the Tier 3 rift again. It was mostly a repeat of the first day, except it was a cleaner and more refined delve, his AI predicting enemy attacks allowing him to dance around the wolves. It still wasn't perfect, but he had gotten better with every delve.
The largest change was that Aster had reached Tier 3. Her control of the cold was now at a level she could kill a wolfman with conjured ice projectiles. She wasn't perfect, and her aim was only slightly better than terrible, but she was improving.
They now just charged at the center of the wolfmen camp, and Matt cut his way through, with Aster taking out the stragglers. His skill with [Cracked Phantom Armor] had reached the point he could now feed it with nearly four mana a second. He was essentially immune to anything but multiple hits from the boss landing on the same spot in rapid succession.
It had taken a lot of training out of the rift, but Matt had gradually gotten the skill accustomed to handling more mana. It was mostly meditation and exercises focused on slowly increasing the amount of mana he put into the skill that allowed it to grow accustomed to the increased throughput.
His problem was his mana control. Matt’s saving grace was the orb Eric had given him when they offered the sponsorship to the PlayPen. Only after months of long hours of practice with it was his mana control able to improve.
Most of their time in the rift was spent letting Aster feast and practice in the cold environment. Her ability to ingest essence from the monster parts was a source of envy for Matt. It cut down on her portion of essence shared, but he wanted that ability for his own. He could get 30% more essence if he could eat the monster meat.
He sat in a chair he had pulled out of his spatial bag. It wasn't a large one, but it had wiped out all his profit from the rift in the last few months. He was broke again but, as a positive, he had no debt either.
The spatial bag was amazing, a marvel of enchanting. It was the size of a small backpack and thin enough that [Cracked Phantom Armor] covered it completely. The outer appearance was deceptive as it held a six cubic foot space, about the size of a bathtub. That limited space was enough to cost over a million credits, even with the 50% discount he got for being on The Path.
