"Drop the bag right there." Charles Winthrop wiped a smear of glowing blue blood from his silver gauntlet. "We are done with the first floor."​Kai let the canvas sack slip from his shoulders, hitting the carven​The canvas straps had rubbed the skin right off his collarbone. His chest heaved as he sucked in the cavern air. His muscles cramped and spasmed from hauling two hundred pounds of monster parts for six straight hours.“Ahh” . Kai groaned, forcing himself to stand straight despite the agony radiating down his back. “Just get the core and get out” he thought ​"My share." Kai held out a calloused hand. "The guild contract said one low grade beast core for carrying your harvest."​Charles threw his head back and laughed. ​"A core for a trash tier porter?" Charles sneered. "You are out of your mind."​"We had a signed agreement." Kai kept his hand extended. "I did the heavy lifting. I butchered the Varnids. I earned my pay."​"Guild contracts protect real citizens." Natalie Pier

​[Alert. Intruders detected.]​A viewing window popped up in the center of the room. It showed a live feed of the first floor cavern.​The glowing blue exit portal flickered. Five figures stepped through the magical gate. They wore steel armor and carried massive battle axes.​Kai leaned closer to the floating screen. He recognized the dented gray armor of the lead warrior. He recognized the arrogant swagger of the archer trailing behind.​They were the Iron Vipers.​Kai felt his blood run cold. His hands curled into tight fists. He remembered their faces perfectly.“​Three months ago” Kai stared at the monitor. “I carried their gear through a poison swamp rift”​They used him as bait to distract a venomous serpent. The serpent bit Kai in the leg. The venom burned through his veins for days. The Iron Vipers laughed at his agony.​They refused to pay his contract. They beat him in the streets and threw him into an alley to die. They told him he was nothing.​"Look at this mess." The le

"Initiate the avatar projection." Kai shifted the canvas sack onto his right shoulder. "I need to hit the market before the Guild registers the Vipers as missing."He walked toward the glowing blue portal at the end of the cavern. He prepared to step out of the rift and back into the human city.A sharp chime rang inside his skull. The system interrupted his departure.[Alert. Avatar projection initiated. The Master's true body will enter a dormant state while the avatar is active.]Kai stopped walking. He lowered the sack to the stone floor."Define a dormant state." Kai demanded.[Your physical vessel will sleep inside the Sanctum. Your consciousness will transfer to a new avatar constructed outside the portal.][Warning. It is highly advised to secure the domain before departure. A dormant core cannot issue active defensive commands.]Kai considered the risk. His physical body would sleep unprotected on the floor next to the red crystal.If an elite squad breached the lower floors

A blue screen hovered in his vision. Kai read the system notification.[Combat action registered. Five mana expended.]His strike against the veteran cost him everything. His human vessel possessed a strict limit.[Select regeneration path. Passive Human Regeneration or Indirect Rift Channeling.]"Explain the difference." Kai spoke quietly.[Human regeneration recovers one point per hour. Indirect Rift Channeling links your avatar to the core.][Note. Rift mana possesses higher density compared to individual mana. Recovery is instant.]"Are there drawbacks to the link?" Kai asked.[Drawing Rift mana risks exposing your true nature to high tier detection skills. Guild sensors track internal capacity.]Kai did not care about guild sensors. He needed the power to survive the anomaly."Select Rift Channeling." Kai commanded the system.[Path locked.]His interface updated immediately. The numbers shifted on the screen.[Personal Mana: 0/5 (50/50)]He was a defective Awakened with zero int

"Push through the bottleneck before the others takes the prime spawns." A heavily armored brute shoved past Kai on the dark stairwell.Kai braced his boots against the stone, letting the eager hunters rush downward into the gloom. He did not mind the aggression. The fools wanted to be the first to die, and he was happy to let them clear the path.The dry air of the upper plain vanished, and a suffocating stench of rotting vegetation and stagnant water replaced it. The climate shift was jarring, proving the chaotic nature of rift geography.The bottom of the staircase opened into a cavern flooded with dark green sludge. Twisted mangrove roots breached the surface like grasping fingers. Thick moss hung from the ceiling, obscuring the true height of the chamber."They are not stopping." Lyra stood beside Kai, watching the mob of hunters sprint directly off the final step.The Awakened carried their arrogance from the first floor. They expected another easy slaughter against weak beasts,