Reborn as the Apocalypse Master

Life as a Rift Master

Kai sucked in a violent breath of air. He thrust his hands to his chest. He expected to feel wet blood and shattered ribs.

​His fingers met smooth unblemished skin. His cheap cotton shirt was gone. He wore a simple black tunic woven from a strange silken material.

​I am intact. Kai dragged his hands across his torso. The scythe tore me apart. I felt my spine snap.

​Phantom pain lanced through his nervous system. His stomach heaved, he rolled onto his side and dry heaved against the polished black stone. His brain still processed the trauma of being cut in half.

​A sharp chime rang inside his skull. The sound resembled striking glass.

​[Host Assimilation Successful. Welcome to the Dungeon.]

​A translucent blue screen floated inches from his face. White text scrolled across the glowing panel.

​Kai scrambled backward. His bare feet scraped against the floor. He scanned his surroundings while his heart hammered against his ribs.

​He was no longer in the freezing cavern. The damp walls and the foul stench of the Malakor were gone. He sat in the center of a massive circular chamber.

​Thick dark pillars lined the perimeter. The walls were etched with glowing red runes. The air felt heavy and warm.

​"Where am I?" Kai spoke into the air. His voice held steady despite the violent shaking in his hands. The burning pain in his throat had vanished.

​[You are inside the Rift Core Chamber. This is the final floor of the Rift.]

​The mechanical voice lacked any emotion. It echoed directly into his mind.

"Who said that?" Kai demanded. "Show yourself.”

He pushed himself off the floor. His legs held firm. The fatigue of starving on the city streets was entirely gone. He felt a surge of raw power coursing through his muscles.

​He looked at the center of the room. A crimson crystal floated above a stone pedestal. It was the size of a boulder.

​The crystal pulsed with a slow rhythm. It bathed the dark room in a blood red light. Deep shadows danced across the pillars.

​"I died." Kai stared at his hands. The thick calluses from hauling heavy cargo bags were missing. "Charles threw me to the boss monster. I felt the claws cut me in half."

​[Your previous physical vessel was destroyed. Your soul signature resonated with the dormant Rift Core. You have been reborn.]

​[Class Updated. Porter changed to Rift Master.]

​Kai read the blue text hovering in his vision. The words contradicted everything the guild taught him. Rifts were natural disasters. They were chaotic dungeons filled with mindless beasts.

​"Rift Master?" Kai queried.

​[You are the sovereign of this domain. You control the monsters. You shape the floors. You dictate the rules of the abyss.]

​A new screen expanded in front of him. It displayed a detailed wireframe map of a sprawling underground complex.

​Kai recognized the layout immediately. It was the exact cavern system he had just carried Charles Winthrop through.

​He saw the first floor where the Varnids spawned. He saw the second floor where the Malakor nested. He saw a dozen more floors stretching deep into the earth. The Dungeon was at the very bottom.

​"I control the monsters." Kai repeated the words slowly. He thought about the terrifying Malakor. He thought about the acid spitting Varnids.

​[Affirmative. The beasts are bound to your will. They will defend this domain at your command.]

​"Why do they need to defend it?" Kai walked closer to the floating red crystal. The heat radiating from it warmed his face.

​[Because the Awakened will come to harvest.]

​The System voice took on a serious tone.

​[The Rift Core is the heart of this domain. It generates the beasts. It creates the mana crystals. It sustains your new existence.]

​A warning prompt flashed in bright yellow text.

​[Notice. The survival of human intruders drains the core. Their escape with resources will lead to the destruction of the dungeon.]

​[Conversely their death feeds the core. Harvesting their souls will ensure the growth of the dungeon.]

​[If an Awakened human breaches this Sanctum and shatters the core the rift will collapse. You will cease to exist. There are no further resurrections.]

​Kai stared into the depths of the giant red crystal. He understood the stakes immediately.

​For the past year humanity fought to conquer these rifts. Elites dove into the depths to steal beast cores. They used the monster crystals to buy penthouses and forge enchanted weapons.

​The ultimate prize for any elite squad was a Rift Core. Smashing one granted unimaginable power to the conqueror and closed the rift forever.

​"They want to kill me to upgrade their own lives." Kai clenched his fists. The memory of Charles Winthrop returned.

​Charles stepping on his hand. Charles mocking his weakness. Charles throwing him to the beast to save his own miserable life.

​"Let them come." Kai felt a cold smile form on his face. "I was a dog begging for scraps in their city. Now I own the slaughterhouse."

​[To survive you must upgrade your defenses. You currently possess seven hundred and fifty Dungeon Points.]

​[Dungeon Points are earned by harvesting the souls of slain intruders.]

​Kai tapped the glowing blue screen, it felt like he's been doing this for years. A management interface opened. It looked like a detailed ledger.

​He saw the cost to spawn new beasts. A standard Varnid cost ten points. An armored variant cost twenty points.

​He saw the cost to alter the terrain. He could flood the first floor with poisonous gas. He could line the cavern walls with hidden spike traps. He could plunge the entire floor into pitch black darkness.

​Everything cost Dungeon Points. He needed to feed the rift to survive.

​"Show me my personal stats." Kai commanded.

​The interface shifted. A column of numbers appeared.

​[Name: Kai]

[Class: Rift Master]

[Level: 1]

[Strength: 45]

[Agility: 50]

[Vitality: 100]

[Mana: 5]

​Kai stared at the numbers. An average unawakened human had a stat average of ten. As a porter his highest stat was a miserable twelve.

​His new body was already five times stronger than a normal human. He was no longer frail. He was built to survive the apocalypse.

​His mana remained low. A score of five was pathetic. It barely allowed him to use his old storage skill.

​"Why is my mana so low?" Kai asked.

​[Your personal vessel is weak. However you are bound to the domain.]

​[Displaying Dungeon Stats.]

​[Rift Name: Unnamed]

[Rift Level: 1]

[Core Integrity: 100/100]

[Dungeon Points: 750]

[Rift Mana: 50/50]

[Active Floors: 2/20]

[Threat Tier: F Class]

​"Explain the mana limits." Kai demanded. "Human elites drain their reserves quickly. How does the Rift sustain magic?"

​[The Rift Core draws energy from the earth. The mana is a passive resource. It regenerates naturally as long as the core remains intact.]

​[Your personal vessel holds a capacity of five mana. This is insufficient for advanced combat arts.]

​[However the dungeon currently holds fifty mana. As the sovereign you may tap directly into the dungeon reserves at any time.]

​Kai processed the information. A standard human spell cost a significant portion of their internal energy.

​An elite human with ten mana could cast perhaps two or three powerful attacks before experiencing fatigue.

​With fifty mana at his disposal Kai could reshape the entire cavern. He could trigger traps continuously. He could spawn endless waves of beasts.

​"What happens when the dungeon mana is depleted?" Kai asked.

​[The core enters a dormant state to recover. Floor defenses will deactivate. The core becomes vulnerable to destruction.]

​"Then I will not deplete it." Kai stated firmly. "I will use it to break them."

​"Can I leave the rift?" Kai asked the critical question. "Can I go back to the human city?"

​[As the Rift Master you may project a human avatar outside the domain. Your avatar will retain your physical stats. However your true life force remains bound to the Dungeon core.]

​Kai let out a slow breath. This changed everything. He did not have to hide in the dark like a rat.

​He could walk the streets of the upper district. He could look Charles Winthrop in the eye. He could hunt the elites in their own safe zones while his monsters slaughtered them in the dark.

​He was the predator now.

​A harsh red siren echoed through the Sanctum. The peaceful blue interface shattered.

​[Alert. Intruders detected.]