2025-11-17 19:10:48
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Melinda slapped his chest. “It’s a good thing, dummy. Now we don’t have to risk ourselves to right that wrong, and people are getting the support they deserve, not…” she hiccupped, interrupting herself, “not just revenge, but actual help.”Vinnie voiced Matt’s growing fear, “Is this concern, or something else? The Emperor himself heard of this incident on a Tier 4 planet? There are how many thousands of planets below Tier 5 in the Empire? Why does he care? It seems too good to be true. And how did he even hear of this? To ascend, the Emperor must break the Tier 50 barrier. He could break this planet in half. It doesn’t sit right with me.”Sam chimed in, “I can’t say how or why he stepped in, but he pissed a lot of people off with his decree, that’s for sure. Normally, new baronies are given to the second and third children of higher nobles. Only the first child of a noble to hit the Tier for their rank can take the title. Everyone else gets nothing.“In my in-depth nobility class, the
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The next month and a half were some of the best in Matt’s life. He delved, he cultivated and advanced, and he learned.All while becoming closer to Melinda’s group. Most of his days off were spent with them. After delve days, they all relaxed together, watched movies, played games, drank, or just explored the island. They also sparred together, which was a learning experience for Matt. They were strong and coordinated, never letting him get past Mathew or Kyle.They never tried to hurt each other, but they had fun challenging one another in the controlled environment.Over the time they spent together, they became true friends, and Matt was grateful. He hadn’t let anyone get close at the orphanage or Benny’s.Matt didn’t think he had purposely kept people away, just that he hadn’t met people he wanted to become that intimate with. Most of the people at Benny’s were older and jaded from life, content to eke out enough to live but little more.He wanted greatness. Melinda’s group wanted
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First, he looked up the finances class Dena had recommended. Most classes lasted two months, and he was in the middle of a cycle, so he’d be waiting no matter which classes he chose, but he wanted to browse. The other one he decided on was manners & etiquette, a recommendation passed on by Melinda’s group’s sponsor to them.After having that planned out, he looked up the personal trainers.Matt stood in front of the rift again. It shimmered with colors he couldn’t put names to. Rift really was an apt name. With a bracing breath, he stepped through.The beginning of the rift was the same as it had been three days ago. The entire rift was a repeat of the last delve. That was until the final room, where he only saw four goblins in the scale armor. To the side, he found the fifth.It was an archer. Matt didn’t have anything to fear from this goblin as it was only mid-Tier 1 in strength, and its bow wasn’t particularly powerful.Still, Matt went over the scenarios that had worked for this
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Matt hesitated to share his failure, but he got the feeling they were honest and kind, so he decided to share a little. “No. Our orphanage was so overcrowded we all got Awakened at thirteen and pushed out.”All three winced. “It wouldn't have been that bad. They did what they could to ensure we got some face time with guilds and corporations even before going to the Awakening Center. I almost got recruited to a guild, but my Tier 1 Talent is—”Sam chimed in, “You don't have to say more.”“Nah, it's okay. My Talent is…limiting. Yeah, ‘limiting’ is the best word for it. It really restricts my cultivation, and that broke my provisional contract. Luckily, the recruiter was a good guy and helped me find a way forward. I just needed to make money, then buy a delve slot. So, I got a shitty job at a shitty inn. Worked there for over a year, then Dena and Eric walked in.”Matt had their attention now. “They were Tier 5s and stronger than anyone I’d ever met at the time. But they were kind.” He
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With red cheeks, Melinda raised her cup. “Here's to growing up poor and fixating on the money.”Everyone, including Matt, drank to that.Matt broke the silence after that. He wanted to follow up on that statement. “I grew up in an orphanage after a rift break. What about y'all?”That seemed to ruin the mood even more. It was Mathew who answered this time, “Same with us, and a lot of the sponsored folk here. The Junipers haven't been doing their damn job, and rift breaks are at an all-time high. They should be…”Before Mathew could continue, Melinda covered his mouth. “Yes, we were orphaned as well, but talking bad about the nobility isn't smart without the power to defend yourself. DO NOT get us all in trouble, Mathew.”That finally stopped Mathew's struggles. Sam said, “My evasion instructor said he heard rumors the issue was being passed up.”Mathew scoffed around Melinda’s covering hand. “That means we'll see results in twenty years if we are lucky. All the nobility are above Tier
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This rift also could reward delvers with a few ingots of perfectly pure metals. Usually, only copper and iron, but there was the chance for steel or aluminum. The smiths prized these drops because they were easier to enchant when forging Tier 3 and above blades. Or at least the guide said so. Matt knew nothing about smithing or crafting skills.The iron weapons he had collected along the way were just melted and sold as mundane building materials. The Empire paid for the scraps, believing there was no reason to have expensive mines ruining land for mundane metals when most low Tier rifts created them endlessly for free.Matt approached the area of distortion next to the exit rift. It was a purple color to his spiritual sense. He wasn't sure if that was because of the item contained within or it was just random. The guide had said nothing about that.After taking a deep breath and crossing his fingers for good luck, he sent a pulse of his mana at the small field. It shimmered before a
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