Chapter 47

    Matt struck out at the heavy bag in a flurry of blows that sent it swinging. He sidestepped the bags return swing. Using the workout as an outlet for his pent-up emotions, he kicked out hard, and the bag flew back to a nearly horizontal position.

    The emotions burned hot and deep.

    He was mad at the attempt on his life, but what really infuriated him was the fact that the whole thing was treated like it was no big deal.

    After Liz stormed back out and started another screaming match, all of their belongings were miraculously found and returned. Matt was terrified that someone had drunk his Mana Concentration potions, but they were still sealed seemingly untouched.

    She hadn''t used her family to get them out of this mess, no she used the fact they were on The Path and repeatedly beat the locals over the head with that fact.

    He had been so weak. A higher Tier had used their cultivation base and simply squashed him like a bug. There was nothing he could have done at that moment. He had attempted to sleep, but only ended up tossing and turning for a few hours. He had annoyed Aster into scratching at Lizs door for some peace and quiet, so he retreated to the training room in their hotel to try and tire himself out.

    Lifting hadnt helped his restlessness very much. He needed more action, so he moved to the heavy bag.

    It still wasnt enough. Beating the heavy bag wasnt cutting it, so he moved to the training aids and just beat on them instead. They tried to fight, but his armored form was faster than the base Tier 5 model. He had to crank them up to peak Tier 5 to be able to actually gain anything out of the training. The AIs controlling them were good, but he was simply better. When they went into an attack pattern, it was easy for him to read their movements. They offered him no real challenge.

    After a few hours of fruitless bouts of fighting, he gave up and went back upstairs. With the steamy water running down his back in the shower, he channeled [Endurance], and felt his fatigue and the detriments from his sleepless night pushed away. It wasnt ideal to replace sleep with [Endurance], but a single night wouldnt be the end of the world.

    Seeing that the girls were still asleep, he started cooking. He needed something to clear his mind, so he threw on the heaviest playlist he had, and let the beat of the songs guide his cooking. When he was done, only Camilla was up, so he slipped her a plate of her favorite crepes with all the fixings. Liz was getting cinnamon toast, and Aster got lightly roasted meat mixed with scrambled eggs.

    He simply picked at the food as he cooked, and toasted a bagel for himself.

    Liz shuffled out, with a sleepy Aster swaying back and forth behind her. With their bellies full after their meal, they turned to the news and watched the coverage of the vassal kingdom guild getting busted. Matt expected the news to be rerunning the same clips of the local royal representative decrying the guilds actions, and promising to look into it.

    What they found instead was a view of a massive, flying island hovering directly over the palace. The monstrosity was being used to make a statement, that was for sure. The local ruler of this shit hole had to be quite upset with someone so obviously proclaiming their superiority by parking their land over his own.

    The thought of the king having a literal shadow cast over his head was amusing enough to bring a cruel smile to Matts face.

    The talking head was just starting another rehash of the segment. Early this morning, Duke Ignite brought his flying island into our kingdoms air space, and started his own investigations. We havent heard anything from the kingdom officials, except that they are cooperating with the Duke.

    A second, much angrier talking head-butted in. This is a disgrace to the kingdom. How dare a mere Duke act so arrogantly to our king? King Albert should demand that they ground themselves immediately and demand compensation.

    Liz snorted and spoke over the ensuing comments. Theyre lucky that its only Duke Ignite parking over them.

    Matt understood what she meant. A vassal king was only equivalent to a duke, and from everything he read, they were generally weaker in terms of Tier and combat prowess. It was absurd for the newsman to think that they would get any compensation, but he figured it was mostly an act put on by the station to ensure they catered to their audience.

    The man suddenly stopped complaining when both anchors paused and touched their earpieces, receiving an update from their producer.

    We have a statement by the Duke.

    With that, the screen changed to a please hold placard. Moments later, a man appeared on the screen. He had brown hair with streaks of red scattered throughout. The best word Matt could describe him with was apathetic. He looked utterly bored with the whole affair.

    I was sent here, as Im the closest noble to this vassal kingdom. Im sure most of you have heard of me. Or at least your news anchors will inform you on the back end. The question on most of your minds is probably, why did I come and park my island over the capital?

    His eyes turned from dark brown to bright orange for a brief moment, before settling down.

    We got a report of Empire citizens being captured under false pretenses, and forced to sign illegal contracts with a specific guild. The organization no longer exists, and will remain nameless.

    The bored look returned, and he idly scratched his cheek as he finished talking. His hand was dark, like freshly cooled lava. It was even roughly textured.

    We only found out because they apprehended someone on The Path of Ascension. Most restrictions that can block AI communication dont work on their AI for a reason. This guild was staging assassinations on Tier 4 and Tier 5 people who were here to join in on the exploration of the new worlds. Their modus operandi was to target the less wealthy. They had a mole in the bureau of rift affairs located in the capital city, and targeted those that attempted to buy out rifts, but couldnt afford it.

    Then they filtered those targets down to the people who werent spending too much through the city, using complicit businesses financial records. After that, they apparently enlisted the aid of a corrupt judge or eight, who would back up any charges that were levied on the victims. So far, weve identified nearly twenty thousand victims of this scam through our investigation.

    Matt was shocked. He had only assumed that they were unlucky. Being targeted because they didnt want to pay the absurd prices for a rift, was a horribly corrupt tactic. He almost felt bad for thinking it was the Dual Stars guild.

    This hadnt been about him at all. Twenty thousand people sounded like a lot, but millions of people were flooding in to participate in the exploration. It was like a training world, but not limited or presided over as much.

    A part of him cursed the fact they were acting frugally. Saving money shouldn''t get you targeted. The fury built up in his chest at the injustice at it all.

    That flicker of fire in the Dukes eyes started cracking through again, and the general apathy slowly vanished with the change in color.

    My question was, why were they in need of so many people in the Tier 4 and 5 range? Well, to answer that, we need to look at the guild leader. That leads me to the most egregious offense. The leader of said guild was actually a member of the local royal family. A distant cousin, to be fair, but a member nonetheless. The guild had recently bought a continent in the Tier 6 world, and intended to use free labor to subjugate the land and claim it. Thats two offenses right there. Firstly, the Empire doesnt allow guilds to purchase land of that quantity. And secondly, a member of a noble house leveraged his connections to do it.

    Duke Ignites pupils were now so bright, the camera had to dim the picture to compensate. It only lasted for a moment, before the Duke gestured to the side, and the screen paned to the courtyard next to him. There, dozens of people were bound and kneeling. At their front was a man who was starting to grey at the temples. The resemblance to the statues and paintings they had seen in the capital was apparent. This was obviously the guild leader and royal cousin.

    With the pan of the camera, they zoomed out, and Matt saw the king, who was off to the side dressed in fancy clothes that contrasted to the Dukes plain, baggy attire.

    The Duke raised a hand, and his moniker became obvious when his hand came into view. It looked like his arm from mid-forearm down was replaced with glowing lava that was breaching the surface of his skin. His fist radiated light and energy through the cracks of his earth-like dermis. It looked just like molten rock escaping the confines of a planets crust. Near his fingertips, the color was bright orange, and Matt could only imagine what kind of power it took to restrain that heat.

    Before anyone questions the thoroughness of our investigation, weve received permission for an AI scan, and have confirmed that these seventy-two people were the ringleaders. Most of the remaining guild members will be receiving fines and some jail time. These... Duke Ignite gestured once again, We found to be much too complicit in such heinous crimes. Their punishment is death.

    At the completion of his statement, there was a blinding heatwave that completely whited out the picture, and the kneeling people disappeared. There wasnt even a speck of ash or any soot stains left. They were utterly vaporized. Just before the wave of heat killed the offenders, Matt saw a figure with one arm, and hoped it was the man who attacked them.

    The Duke didnt seem at all bothered at the deaths he had caused, but he looked to the camera for a moment. His eyes were so bright, the entire screen was nearly black, and his pupils were all that could be seen.

    There were visible shimmers of heat that matched the intensity of his eyes when he looked to the king off to the side. I suggest you look into the corruption we found today. Imperial law forbids me from investigating further myself. But corruption is like lice. If you leave it unchecked, it spreads everywhere. You might want to go through your kingdom with a very fine comb. Because if the Empire comes back, well come back with a razor, and a fresh start.

    The statement was an ominous end to the video. It was a very poignant threat to level at a king during a live presentation, especially after vaporizing nearly a hundred people.

    When the image went back to the newsroom, the man was pale and sweating, while the womans mouth was just hanging open.

    Matt turned to Liz and Camilla. Are you fucking kidding me?

    Liz didnt look that shocked, but Camilla looked like she had just swallowed an egg.

    With less heat, Matt finished, I cant believe it wasnt even a real assassination attempt. I thought I was going to die for sure.

    They ended up chatting for a while with the backdrop of the news anchors. Their tone had shifted after the Dukes proclamation, and they decried anything resembling corruption. They were clearly shaken, and were sure to state and re-state how they had never dealt with corruption themselves.

    Matt put them out of his mind.

    Camilla asked Liz, Do you know Duke Ignite?

    After reaching the second planet, they had to travel a much shorter distance, and soon reached their own goal of the Tier 6 planet.

    They all had [Endurance], and were using it to push off sleep. They were caught up to the most connected groups, who had had top priority in leaving the planet, so their harsh travel methods had been worth it.

    The Tier 6 planet was still getting satellite coverage. It was spotty at best, so they relied on purchasing the initial survey from an information broker who was working out of a collapsible table near the teleporter platform.

    The information cost them five Tier 6 mana stones, but it was an acceptable expense to try and get to valuable spots early. Sadly, the details were as spotty as the coverage, and they didnt show any obvious locations of hotspots.

    Just when they were exiting the tent, a young man came up to them. Hey. Are you looking for rifts or... He looked around and said, Better locations?

    Matt checked their backs, while Liz asked her own questions. And whats it to you? And who are you?

    Seeing no one behind them preparing an ambush, Matt turned back to the man.

    Ah. Sorry. My name is Malcolm. Wannabe explorer and adventurer. I, uhh... spent all my money on getting to be one of the first people here, and I never thought ahead about the monsters.

    Malcolm laughed good-naturedly, and looked over their group again. They didnt join in his good humor.

    So I have a Talent that leads me to what I want, and I wanted a team that might be able to help me. My Talent gave me good feelings about you all.

    Matt wasnt buying what this guy was selling. This was a trap of some sort. He was sure of it.

    Liz opened her mouth to deliver what he was sure would be a rejection, and Malcolm clearly also saw the same thing, so he hurried to add, Look. My Talent works on more than just people.

    He leaned in closer and whispered, Its telling me there are at least five hidden ruins on this world. Ill give you directions to a second one after you escort me through the one I want.

    That shocked Matt enough to consider it. Ruins were incredibly rare versions on rift breaks. Normally, a rift break just dumped out monsters, and once its energy was neutralized, went back to normal. But a ruin was where the entire rift inverted, and came out to reality. It also caused any items within to become unbound and usable.

    They were incredibly rare, but over a long enough time frame, they would appear on some planets. Most were obvious, with structures where there should be none, but those were always the worst versions. The best ones were usually in hard-to-reach locations, or underground. When the rifts inverted, it could put an entire city in the mantle of the planet with zero issues. They were also known to be larger on the inside than the outside, and the rift never died when the inversion happened.

    No, it kept producing monsters and items. The only difference was that they werent instanced, so they always built up and turned into treasure troves of materials and items.

    All of this was just too good to be true. Why would a random stranger tell them that, and not seek to profit from the valuable information?

    Matt asked just that. Why tell us, and not sell the information? The finders fee would be amazing.

    Malcolm shook his head. I dont want the finders fee. I want the treasures inside. If were the first ones there, we can take what we want. I just have two conditions.

    That was more like what he was expecting. They would probably be incredibly restrictive, with promises involving their AIs or something.

    I just want a fair split of the treasures, and there is one growth item that my Talents screaming is perfect for me. I just need help getting in and killing all the beasties.

    Camilla asked, Why not get a team of Tier 6s. Theres some around.

    She was right. The place wasnt crowded yet, but they were one of the few Tier 5 teams. It would have been safer for the man to get one of the stronger Tier 6 groups.

    Malcolm shook his head once again. My Talent is saying that would backfire on me. Either they would rob me, or just give me nothing. Youre the third Tier 5 team to come through since Ive been waiting, and the first one I got a good feeling for. I dont need much, just a quarter of the loot and that one growth item.

    Let us talk it over.

    With Lizs proclamation, they huddled up and quickly chatted.

    Camilla was the first to speak. I dont trust this.

    Matt nodded, and Liz added, Its fishy by every ascender''s sweaty balls. But a ruin...

    She let that trail off, and it spoke on its own.

    Even Camilla agreed. It was a good point.

    Matt wasnt going to say it out loud, but he wasnt keen on bringing another person into their party. He was friendly with Camilla, but he didnt think the explorer would be anything other than dead weight on this trip.

    He corrected himself. If he was being honest, he just didnt have a good feeling about this. A fifth party member was out of his comfort zone.

    But the rewards.

    Matt could hardly imagine the rewards in a Tier 6 ruin. Rifts got larger the higher the Tier, and a Tier 6 that had spent however many years producing items and monsters would be amazing for advancement.

    While Camilla was able to hold her own now, he and Liz were hitting well above their Tier, and a Tier 6 rift would be easy pickings for them.

    Finally, with the others looking at him, he spoke against his better judgment. I didnt see any obvious ruins on the satellite imagery. If hes not full of it, this is too good to pass up. I just dont like it. This is way too sketchy for my blood.

    Both women nodded at him.

    Liz looked to Camilla and said, Were in this together. Are you up for it? This is the point of exploring new worlds, after all. Finding treasures in the open is luck-based more than anything.

    Camilla chewed her lip and nodded. I dont think he can kill us or anything, so if were careful, we can mitigate a lot of the risk. I agree. We just cant pass this up. Finding it on our own will negate the advantage we got by coming early. If we end up chasing the first wave, the best of the loot will be taken away. I dont want other peoples scraps.

    Matt added his final thought. I dont think hes telling us everything, but his logic is reasonable enough. I wouldnt trust people a Tier above mine to not overpower me either.

    With nods, they turned back to Malcolm, who was pacing back and forth impatiently.

    Whats the answer? Good news, I hope?

    Camilla asked the first question, How far away is it?

    I dont know. I just know the direction, and itll get stronger the closer I get.

    Matt asked the second one, How do you know there are five ruins?

    My Talent works on the question I ask, and five ruins on an untouched planet isnt a crazy number. This is a Tier 6 world, and the higher the Tier, the more likely there are ruins.

    Liz finally asked, Well, what direction? We dont have time to waste after all.

    Matt held up his hand, he wanted an AI promise before they walked into a trap.