The helicopter’s vibrations rolled through Alex’s bones to the steady wump-wump-wump of the propellers. He sat between Sam and one of Jonathan’s team members, looking out of the small windows at the other helicopters in the air around them. Each carried what Jonathan had called an ‘Orange’ as if it was a team name. They were the Hunters Association’s highest-ranked Awakened.

The sight of them during the briefing had been sobering. There were just over twenty men and women with haunted eyes and a large variety of visible scars. Some of them twitched and didn’t seem comfortable in the crowd. Even without scanning them, though, Alex could tell that their gear was all top-tier. During the opening of the brief, he’d had to stop his jaw from hanging open when the Director stated they were all present because they were close to level fifty.

“They live in the Rifts,” Jonathan had explained earlier in their flight, after Alex had asked. “Before the integration, they were Delta Force, our military’s tier one unit. The best of the best. They hunt the highest-rarity Rifts they can get into and maximize the time dilation. Most likely haven’t been out of a Rift for more than a few days since all of this started.”

“You don’t do that?” Alex had asked in return. As far as he knew, Jonathan was the poster child for the Hunters Association.

He’d shaken his head in response. “That’s not my path. I close Rifts to protect people, not chase power.”

Now, though, Martin traded pre-integration war stories with Greg, who sat across the cabin. He tried to draw Alex into the conversation a few times, but Alex was too focused on his creation of a new spell circle. The others chatted, while the one that impressed Alex the most was Damien, who was actually managing to sleep despite the rough ride, noise, and pending battle. Their easy camaraderie reminded Alex of home and his own team’s dynamic around the house.

His phone screen dimmed in his lap. He’d spent the last few hours deep in thought, both parts of his consciousness from [Parallel Mind] focused on analyzing the ritual schematic photos Edwin had sent him from different angles. Two leather-bound books sat heavy in his lap. One was his for his notes, which he’d rapidly begun filling with new theories on turning the ritual schematic into a usable spell circle. The second was actually given to him by Jonathan before boarding the helo.

Alex adjusted his grip on the books, and the cloth around his hands seemed to shimmer in the light that came through the small round windows. The enchanted wraps felt comforting around his hands and wrists.

What caused him to feel most out of place, however, were his enchanted robes. While valuable and a part of his combat kit, the gift from Eura seemed to stick out among the tactical gear and more modern equipment that the rest of the team wore. As soon as they’d landed from the plane in New Jersey and were ready to board the helicopter, Jonathan had insisted both he and Sam wear at least a vest, even going as far as to require Sam to wear a helmet. The Kevlar vest pinched uncomfortably against his chest, and Alex had to force down his desire to grumble further.

He looked at his phone screen and the reflection of the vehicle’s interior through the glass. During one of the shifts and shakes of the chopper, which everyone else seemed to think was natural, the screen woke up, and he saw his lock screen picture. The team photo that they’d taken at the loot pile party stared back at him. Mark’s infectious grin and Sarah’s slight smile. Liv had her arm around Sam’s shoulder, and the young man beamed at the camera. Alex glanced at Sam beside him, grateful that there was at least someone with him on this mission.

His entire hope since returning home had been to increase his friends’ levels and bring them all to more equal footing so that they could work together. He’d thought at the time that it was the right decision to avoid power-leveling them in the way that the Mana Spinners had done to him.

Even with their approach, Alex felt that Mark and Sarah had made huge progress. Comparing his growth to Olivia, who took over two months to reach level 12 while working as a Peacekeeper for the Guild, Mark reached level 10 in just over a month.

Now, though, going into something like the current mission, he wondered if it still hadn’t been fast enough. The frustrated look on Mark’s face when he’d been asked to stay back made him think that he’d made the wrong choice.

Maybe I should have taken them all and helped boost their levels to start…

Alex couldn’t help but notice the odd swap that had happened in how he was feeling just a few weeks ago. He’d been pleased with his friend’s growth while feeling immense frustration at his own stagnation and lack of levels gained.

Now, however, it was the opposite.

In hindsight, he realized that stagnation on levels and his focus on his own magic is what led to the development of spell circles, his Achievement, Class, and new title.

If I’d focused on leveling, I likely would still just be using rituals and have gained a few levels in a Rare class.

In contrast, where he’d thought Mark and Sarah had made great progress before, he now wondered if it was too slow and felt like his concern for their safety was holding them back.

He sighed and lowered his head into the palm of his hand, enjoying the pressure against his forehead.

At the time, one of my biggest reasons for not wanting to tell Mark and Sarah about my awakening was that I was worried they would hold me back from doing what I wanted because they might have thought it was dangerous… now look at me, doing that exact thing to them.

His phone buzzed, and the screen lit up with a message from John.

John Riley: Guild’s falling apart over here. Elana is trying to hold it together, but people are jumping ship left and right. Me and Ian have barely heard anything. What the hell happened?

Alex’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard.

Alex: Lots going on right now. You guys okay? What’s your plan?

John Riley: Not much of a plan right now. She’s not telling people much, just that the issue is being handled, and Rylan is banned. Trying to figure out our next moves.

Alex: Stay safe. When this is done, I’ll find you. We’ll talk about everything.

John Riley: Alright. Are you and your team still with the Guild?

Alex: No. I left the night everything started to go south. Gotta go talk later.

The helicopter lurched, and Alex had to put both hands down on the books in his lap to keep them from sliding.

“Stupid car. Bad at flying.” Alex kept down an amused smile as Valtherion, in cloak form, spoke to him mind-to-mind.

We’ll be out of here soon, buddy.

A deep boom rolled through the air, followed by another and another. Alex looked out of the window as artillery fire lit up the late afternoon sky. Missiles streaked toward the elven wards in the distance, and their trails burned bright against the growing darkness. The forest around the dome of runes caught fire, filling the air with thick smoke. Each impact sent waves of pressure through the air.

“Damn,” Damien said as he half stood to lean forward and watch the display through a small window. “Not even a dent.”

The wards shimmered to show a dome under the smoke that rippled with each impact. Despite their attempt to overwhelm it, humanity’s best modern efforts were ineffective. The full might of the military crashed against the ancient elven magic and failed to break through.

Leila leaned forward, and her braid fell forward over her shoulder. “How are we supposed to—”

"We'll find a way," Jonathan cut her off, though strain crept into his voice. "We have to." He glanced at Alex, who had been working steadily for most of their journey, only stopping fifteen minutes ago. “Use that skill book now. We’re touching down in five. Once we get a grasp on the situation down there, we need to be ready to move.”

Alex picked up the leather-bound tome on top of his personal notebook in his lap. “You said it breaks restraints?”

“Stuns, holds, and anything that locks you down. It’s got one use and then a long cooldown, but it’ll probably save your life.”

Alex held the book and willed his System to consume it. It dissolved into motes of light and he watched it drift into the air before rushing into his head. He absorbed the knowledge and knew with certainty that he had a new skill, [Shrug Off]. It was so interesting to him how gaining a skill from a skill book differed from gaining one through a token. He now had some intimate foreknowledge on how to use the skill based on the previous user of the skill and whoever created the consumable manual.

He pulled up his Status Screen and looked at his latest addition, still completely baffled by the enormous changes that had taken place in just the last few days.

He brought up the new skill’s description to look at whatever specifics the System might give him.

The new skill is reactionary, though, not really a way to work it into planning for fights.

His mind drifted to combat strategies and how to incorporate his new skills. He didn’t feel the need to use a blade or his wand much anymore outside of supporting tools. The lightning spell circle he’d developed could strike a single target or chain between targets without reagents or catalysts. It was pure mana converted into lightning, and it made him feel powerful.

He had practiced building spell circles during their downtime in the Hunter Association’s staging Rift, getting the hang of how he could best utilize the new passive he had by alternating his magic types. He wished they’d had some time to actually practice in the area where Jon’s team had trained, but with the meetings that they wanted him to sit in on, it was difficult to find the time to blast lightning around.

From the practice he had building the frame of the circles, though, he developed a working theory that the control nodes from spellcasting actually made his spell circles so stable that, with some more work, he might be able to fit a second catalyst node into their structure. Theoretically, that would allow him to use a second rune.

There was so much room for flexibility and adaptation in the circles. He saw a future where he was able to adjust any number of things for several different spell effects. If there was the ability to create a projectile-type spell with the ritual foundation, it freed up the ability for him to use one or potentially both of the rune slots with effects or modifiers. However, if he wanted to do something else with the ritual base, like use the threshold activation base he’d learned from the Alarm Ritual, then he could eventually learn a projectile rune and have the catalyst node cover that portion of the spell. It seemed so much more modular than what he knew of any of the singular kinds of magic.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Just need to make it out of this on the other side…

The thought led him to think about the next steps, and as he glanced out of the descending helicopter, he saw another salvo of missiles bombard the wards with no result. He let out a sigh and decided that if worse came to worst, he should be prepared.

Holding his hand out, he began to form the newly designed spell circle he’d made during their travel time. He wove threads of mana into the air. The ritual circle took shape, and he was thankful that Edwin could take pictures and send them over so quickly. He’d largely forgotten about the mana absorption ritual that he’d used his two combined skills on several weeks ago. His memory of the gains was somewhat spotty since he’d drawn them on large sheets as he went until he was just holding on to the combination for dear life.

He let a modified version of that advanced ritual take the shape of the base of his spell circle. With his slight modifications, it now allowed the mana to flow to the center of the ritual, to an open hole about as wide as his fist. Several curved lines were incorporated in the advanced form to funnel the mana inward like a whirlpool.

Next, he placed the control nodes with precision, and finally, he slotted the barrier rune into the catalyst node. The spell circle hung in the air over his hand, and he tuned out all the surrounding wind and noise.

With a breath, Alex reached out with his hand and pressed his palm through the opening in the middle of the circle. He pulsed his mana to activate the spell circle, careful to maintain the proper setting pattern of mana through the barrier rune.

From start to finish, it took him five seconds to build the circle and cast the spell. As it activated, he could see the ambient mana begin to move through his left eye. He grinned when he realized it was working just as intended, and his mana plummeted as he activated one of the more complex rituals and runes he’d ever known at the same time.

Alex activated his new class skill and willed the spell circle to be stored by the System. He’d had very little time to toy with the ability, and the following prompt startled him as it appeared.

What the fu—

The helicopter touched down with a jolt, pulled him from his thoughts, and shattered the spell circle hanging in the air. Through the open door, Alex’s enhanced vision caught waves of mana saturating the air. The elven ritual was pooling ambient mana, filling his sight with swirling colors of power.

“Medic!” someone shouted.

A group of Hunters sprinted back from the ward line, one of them carrying a limp companion across his shoulders.

“Fuckers set up traps,” The man said as he moved past their group and toward a nearby tent.

Before Alex could move, Sam was already hopping off the helicopter and moving after them. He ducked down against the harsh winds of the propellers and had to hold the large helmet on his head from falling down at odd angles.

“Damnit. Leila, get in there and make sure they know he’s a healer and let him work,” Jonathan commanded.

After moving through the open flap of the tent, Sam coordinated the emergency response with ease. The scared kid from the Celestial Rift had become someone reliable and confident in a crisis. Sam began directing people to move and adjust the man’s position, and there was a moment where everyone looked at him in stunned silence. They all snapped into motion, though, as his trait of green vitality bloomed out from around him and filled the tent. At the same time, he cast [Rejuvenation] on the injured man and another who had an injured leg.

Leila slowed to a halt before she even reached the tent, seeing things being handled smoothly.

The rest of the team filed out of the chopper and onto the trodden dirt of the cleared forest floor. Several tents had been set up as a sort of forward operating base and Alex looked around himself in the chaos. His brown hair and robes whipped about in the wind.

A group of the specialists jumped off of a nearby chopper and moved quickly to the command tent. All of their gear showed clear signs of use and he saw one woman pull out her knife and begin pointing to sections of the map on the table.

Explosions rang out a short distance away, and people called out orders or questions in all directions. He quickly directed his intent to name the new skill and dismissed the window to approach Jonathan with his idea. “Jonathan, I think I can get us through the wards. Just need to get close enough and avoid whatever traps they set. Is there someone who can guide us to the base of the wards safely?”

He wished he could consult Maelis about his calculations, but the amulet needed more time to charge. Val had been using his excess mana to attempt to charge it while they traveled, but unless either of them was willing to dump a lot more into it, there wasn’t a way to wake up his mentor.

It was strange how quickly he’d grown to miss the spirit’s grumpy guidance. Behind all that bluster was genuine wisdom and maybe even a bit of pride in Alex’s progress, though Maelis probably wouldn’t admit it.

Jonathan gathered his team for a final briefing. The usually easy banter was gone, replaced instead with a grim sort of focus. Several of the other teams moved in closer and held their own huddles before setting out.

“Listen up. That ritual isn’t just about claiming territory. If they complete it, they’ll have a permanent foothold on Earth. One that will be extremely hard to contest, given that they’re all D Rank, where most of Earth’s levels are between two and the low thirties. It would give them a staging ground for whatever comes next.” He looked each person in the eye. “Alex has a plan to breach their defensive wards. Once we’re in, we focus on getting him to the Rift at the center of the ritual. Protect him and shut it down by any means, at any cost.”

Several of the team checked their weapons, and Leila, being one of the most vocal, spoke up. “What kind of resistance should we expect inside?”

“Unknown. But they’ve seemed to fully commit to this, so we can expect them to defend the ritual to the end. Their numbers spiked before we left, and the update on our way was that several heat signatures went dark. We don’t know if that means that they are sending some people back into the Rift or if they’re using other means to disguise their presence. Expect opposition. The elite teams will have our back.” Jonathan turned to Alex. “This is it. You ready?”

Alex felt the responsibility weigh on him, not just for the team that was counting on him to break into the wards, but for everyone who’d be affected if they failed and he couldn’t stop the Rift from breaking open. He gripped his notebook tighter and gave a firm nod. “Ready.”

Maelis had been teaching Alex how to break wards with more runes and ward theory. The processes were slow and extremely technical, largely relying on finding exploits in the existing ward net. But Alex had new tools at his disposal.

The sky flashed with another artillery barrage, and Alex barely noticed as Jonathan touched his earpiece and signaled a ceasefire. His mind was already running through the spell circle configurations, and he hoped that the pull would be strong enough to actually work.

Two special operations teams moved before them, following the trail closely and on high alert. Next, Jonathan’s team moved carefully behind them and through the marked path. The guide helped them avoid the magical traps that had claimed several of the first assault Hunters’ lives already. Alex studied the ward barrier as they closed in on its outer edge and used his mana sight to look at the intricate pattern of mana. The “mana net” that Maelis had described and shown him examples of in their lessons seemed flawless in the barrier. There were no weak points or gaps for him to exploit that he could see.

He stepped close as the team fanned out around him and took a knee. Alex let his eyes roam over the thick mesh of mana, showing overlapping strands of mana that he knew connected from one anchor point to another.

Time to see if this works.

Alex held up his hand toward the barrier and activated [Spell Storage: Ward Drain Spell Circle]. His eyes went wide with surprise as the spell formed in half the time it took him to create it himself, and as he activated it, it only used a fraction of the mana that it did before. The System drew on his mana and formed tiny lines of mana around the size of his mana threads, and constructed the spell circle exactly as he had.

His brows came together in confusion, but he knew it wasn’t the time to sort through the minutia of the ability. As the mana around the circle began to draw in slowly, he pushed his hand through the hole in the center of the circle. When his palm settled against the firm wall of the see-through wards, he grinned when he realized it was working just as intended.

For the final step in his plan, he activated his own [Mana Siphon] skill and began to pull at the mana that was accumulating at the center of the spell circle around his wrist. The sheer volume of power that surged through him was startling, but his heightened Willpower allowed him to keep control and maintain his focus. As his own mana reserves quickly topped up, Alex needed somewhere to send the mana.

He quickly adjusted the flow and sent some to his companion, still disguised as a cloak around his shoulders. The small beast hummed contentedly as mana filled his reserves.

Mana!

After his reserves were also full, Alex began feeding the excess into the Runic Apprentice amulet around his neck.

Alex stood there, motionless, with a mirroring stillness in the surrounding forest that made him uncomfortable. Sweat began to coat his forehead as he pulled with his mental might against the mana and did his best to send a steady stream of it toward Maelis.

Finally, a crack appeared near his hand in the almost invisible barrier.

Maelis’s consciousness stirred. “Why am I— Sweet mother of Eldariel, boy. What in The Night is that?”

“Little busy right now,” Alex grumbled. “How much more of this mana can the amulet hold?”

“Plenty. It’s designed to be charged for extended periods of time. You normally just put enough into the amulet to wake me up, not fully charge it. Wait, is that? Boy, this… this is brilliant.” Maelis said as he looked at the hovering circle of mana through Alex’s Heavenly Eye. “How did you come up with something like this?”

Alex grunted and ignored the spirit’s jab. He blinked rapidly to keep the sweat from his eyes, and after another minute or so, the crack had spread and widened enough to create a tear in the net of the wards.”

“Now! Go now!” he called to Jonathan’s team. They slipped through while he held it open, followed by two of the teams of specialists, before he came in last. Behind them, the ward began knitting itself back together, and the remaining heavy hitters were left looking at the barrier in frustration. They only looked at it for a heartbeat before they spread out and moved to find other means of entry.

Maelis made some appreciative noises in Alex’s head.

You really undersold what those look like. I feel like if I got to study that for a few days, I’d be able to find some holes even in the wards you were showing me as an example.

“It’s not even my area of study, brat,” Maelis responded with a huff.

Jonathan waved him into formation. “You good, Moore?” He took in Alex’s appearance and the sweat on his brow.

To him, it probably looks like I just stood there and stared at the wards.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”

“Do you need a second for your mana to come back?” Martin asked, giving Alex a concerned look.

Alex shook his head. “No, it cost mana to cast the spell, but it siphoned back out more mana from the wards than what I spent to cast it. I’m good.”

“Good. We need to move fast. Keep up and stay in the middle of the formation. Remember, we need to get you there, not fight our way through everyone we see; that’s what the other teams are for.”

They advanced toward the Rift in the center of the camp, and Alex breathed heavily as he moved along with the group. It was eerily quiet, and the tents seemed abandoned. They didn't run into any of the initial resistance they'd expected, which seemed to put even the professional soldiers on edge.

Smoke from the artillery strikes hung thick in the air and mixed with an unnatural golden light over the camp that seemed to act as a miniature sun. The combination of the two casts everything in an eerie, hazy glow.

As they passed, Alex noted how elaborate and high-quality the tents seemed to be. Made from yellow and orange fabric that matched the robes the elves had worn, many now lay collapsed and torn. The ones that were still standing seemed to be completely emptied out and proudly held the feather-shaped banners up.

Through his enhanced vision, Alex saw layers of magical signatures everywhere. There were some more wards and many different enchantments, though they seemed like small things compared to the outer warding scheme and the enormous ritual that they closed in on.

He noticed a trampled garden plot and empty pens that must have held livestock. Everything spoke of planning and a desire to stay on Earth longer…

Why go with this scorched Earth approach? Were they really just gambling everything on getting their people out of the Rift?

Then the smell hit them. It smelled like rotten and cooked meat and something that smelled even more foul, though Alex couldn’t put his finger on it.

“Burning hair,” one of the team said from his side.

Alex coughed and covered his mouth and nose with the top of his robe. The first body they found made Leila and Greg curse at the same time. An elf lay sprawled on the ground, eyes and mouth burned black, frozen in a silent scream. They found more as they proceeded—all killed in the same way.

He realized with a start that these were the same marks of death as the murders in the Safe Zone from more than a month ago.

They were behind that? How long have they been here for?

“They’re… using them,” Alex said quietly. “Powering the ritual with sacrifices?”

“Soul magic. One of the most hated kinds of sources of power… Something is wrong here. The Sun Elves should despise the idea of anyone using this kind of power.”

A faint sound drew their attention to the right. Two beams of bright golden light cut through the smoke as the team pivoted toward the sound. Martin rolled his shoulder forward and swiftly dodged the energy beam. Greg wasn’t as fortunate as the second beam punched through his chest, leaving a smoking hole. He collapsed without a sound.

“Contact! Three o’clock!” Jonathan shouted as he gripped both of his weapons and took a ready stance.

Teresa slid to Greg’s side with her hands already glowing with healing mana. Damien moved to shield them both while Martin sprang forward to where the beams had originated. Jonathan scanned the smoke with Leila, ready to advance at the first sign of movement or call from Martin.

Through his Heavenly Eye, Alex could see six mana signatures moving through the haze, crouching low and moving slowly. One was barely ten feet from Jonathan and released the barest amount of ambient mana, and it was clear to Alex that it was being concealed by something.

“Jon, low to your left!” Alex called out while already forming a spell circle with his mana.

Jonathan pivoted instantly and swung his oversized hatchet down with deadly force. The invisibility spell shattered as the elf half fell to the ground, held up in the air by the hatchet that was now attached to his skull and held in a muscular hand. Blood sprayed against the white tent standing to his left, and Alex didn’t waste any time.

A third beam lanced toward Alex, who ducked low and responded by pulsing his mana into the spell circle waiting over his palm. Lightning cracked between his palm and surged forward in a terrifying arc. It struck one of the mana signatures he’d seen. There was a scream as an elf appeared and collapsed. Its scream cut off, and it twitched on the ground for a moment before falling still.

Momentarily stunned by the fact that the single spell had been enough to kill something nine levels higher than he was, Alex stared at the notification and broke his concentration away only as the blue motes floated up from the body.

The remaining elves abandoned stealth and shimmered into view while activating golden shields around their bodies. Their ambush had failed, but it was clear they didn’t have plans to retreat.

They probably should have just opened with those shields.

Then Alex saw him. A collar and chain were dragging his former guildmate forward. His head hung low, and his eyes were vacant. His skin was mottled with purple veins, looked sickly white, and seemed to be covered in a coating of greasy dirt. His right arm had grown with so much muscle that it caused it to look grotesquely oversized and stand out from the rest of his body. It hung down to his knee, but his knuckles dragged across the ground as he stumbled and hunched over.

Rylan moved like a puppet, showing no recognition of his surroundings or the combat that was exploding into chaos around them.

Until his eyes met Alex’s.

Something sparked in Rylan’s eyes. There was a sense of recognition, confusion, and then rage. An anger that built to a clear storm on his face. The elf holding his chain smiled cruelly before deliberately dropping it to the forest floor.

“Kill them,” the elf said.