PftA Book 2 - Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Practice and Changes

“I still think we should have explored the area with Justin and his party,” Bell said with a pout as we prepared to enter the rift outside the Atlas office turned store.

Deni sighed. “I know, but I’d rather we level up a bit first, especially if we’re treating this like it’s real. Besides, scavenging isn’t likely to reward us with real weapons.” She held up the long batons I’d fashioned for her. “Not that I don’t appreciate the work you both did, but I’d really prefer a sword or two.”

After obtaining more materials to work with, our party – sans Justin – returned to the apartment so Bell and I could work on crafting better weapons than the mundane poles and broken pieces of wood we’d been using. I’d added a [Wind Blade] enchantment to the rough batons I’d crafted for Deni that would amplify the spell if she cast it through the weapons. It wasn’t a strong enchantment, nor was it likely to last very long, but it was the best I could do for her with the materials we had on hand.

I stuck with a set of bone batons similar to the ones I’d made for Deni, though the enchantment I’d added was based on Earth magic. I was glad to see a couple of Earth-affinitied creatures among those that attacked since it was one of my favored elements to use, and it allowed me to incorporate a slightly stronger effect.

Bell had taken care of her own weapons, making bone daggers out of some of the larger bones we’d harvested from the beasts during our trip to and from Atlas HQ. We’d sharpened the end of the metal pole Ger had acquired, but I couldn’t get any enchantments to work with it. Mesmer was holding a large knife we’d found in one of our kitchen drawers, though nobody really expected him to fight since he was a Healer with an additional Mind affinity.

“I think it would be way more realistic to explore instead of jumping right into a rift,” Bell grumbled.

“You just want to hang out with your boyfriend,” Deni retorted before glancing around. “Everyone ready?”

I nodded along with the others, and Ger took the lead entering the rift. We found ourselves in a forest clearing surrounded by hardwood trees.

“We should collect some of the wood,” I said, thinking about the weapons and enchantment bases I could create with the mana-infused wood.

“We don’t have anywhere to store something like that,” Deni said quietly as we exited the semi-protected entry area. The space directly in front of a rift portal wasn’t technically a safe zone, but it often served as such. It was extremely rare for anything to get close to an entry portal unless the rift was breaking.

We slowly made our way through the rift, defeating the dog-like mobs that generally attacked in ones and twos. Our makeshift weapons were barely adequate against the LT1 creatures, but our slow pace and added magic did a lot to compensate for the shortcomings.

[Linnae – level 1]

[Linnae – level 2]

[Linnae – level 1]

“The one in the center is level two!” I called out after quickly identifying an approaching trio of canines. They were dark brown with mottled black patches, very similar to the ones that had attacked us outside the rift. The others we’d fought thus far were lighter in color, though they were identified as being the same type of creature.

“Using magic,” I added to warn the others of my plans before sending a Gravity Bomb followed by a Bolt. While the party could have potentially defeated the trio without my assistance, we were all working at a disadvantage. Thankfully, everyone had purchased at least one offensive spell. Mesmer’s was more of a targeted debuff, but it still provided an advantage.

I tried not to use my combo very often since it tended to destroy any materials we might hope to gather. I could usually dig out the mana cores, but they were sometimes lost.

“How many is that?” Deni asked.

“Twenty-nine,” Mesmer answered. As was the party’s norm, he’d been tasked with carrying most of the loot since he was the only functional non-combatant. However, given the lack of spatial storage, we all carried backpacks.

Though I was not functioning as a Healer and was instead serving a ranged DPS role, the fact that I was not regularly engaging in melee combat meant my backpack was heavy with material. Bell’s was similarly filled, having also shifted to a Mage role after growing tired of the rogue path several months earlier.

She still liked sneaking up behind opponents and stabbing them with long daggers, but it was something she did based on opportunity instead of being her go-to combat method. She mostly stuck with Force Blasts and Light Beams. Both were potent offensive spells.

We hadn’t been attacked by any avian creatures, which led me to believe the ones that had attacked us outside likely came from another rift. It was a good thing, as far as I was concerned. I hated flying mobs. They were a pain in the ass to fight.

By the time we made it to the boss, we were ready to leave. The dog-like creatures had been a pain with our low stats and lack of resources. Nobody wanted to get close, so we spammed our limited offensive magic and attacked the level three boss and its minions from a copse of nearby trees. Thankfully, some of the rules of physics still applied, and the canines could not reach us from the ground. Like the other mobs we’d encountered in the rift, their abilities were internal buffs rather than external manifestations, making our task easier once we were out of reach.

“Holy shit. Those things were tough for LT1 beasts. This seems way harder than the rifts in Atlas Online,” Ger lamented.

“At least everyone got enough experience to level up,” Deni replied, accepting the recently skinned hide I handed her. “Next time will be easier.”

I moved on to the next carcass. “You want to farm the rift?” I asked.

Deni nodded. “Yeah. I think we should farm it until it stops being beneficial. I know it would be more fun to explore with Justin—” she looked at Bell “—or find an easier rift to delve, but if we’re approaching it like we would in real life…”

“I get it, and I agree. I was just making sure.”

“We need to make better weapons first,” Bell said before holding her hands out to Deni expectantly. With Deni only having one affinity – and a weak one at that – she’d accepted a couple of utility spells to benefit the group, one of which was Cleanse. Deni cast the spell with a tired sigh, removing any contaminants from Bell’s hands before moving on to the rest of us.

“Can we search for materials now that the threats have been neutralized?” I asked. “I’d like to grab some of the wood, maybe enough to make a quarterstaff or two. I’m pretty sure I saw some herbs and berries a little while ago. It’ll be hours before there’s any risk of respawns, so we should be fine.”

I'd written and shared an article about the fact that rifts would eventually respawn their mobs, so I knew the rest of my team was aware. It was rare for us to spend extra time in a rift. I’d only learned about the fact after being betrayed and left for dead in a rift during the other timeline. The time it took for mobs to respawn was inversely correlated to the rift's strength, and though LT1 rifts would respawn faster than any other, it would still take a while.

“Let’s collect our reward first,” Deni stated, motioning Ger toward the chest. We usually took turns opening chests to make it fair for everyone. Most suspected rift rewards were granted based on the needs of the person opening the chest, but it wasn’t something that had been proven. However, I’d seen enough chests opened to give some credence to the theory.

“Three silver,” he said neutrally.

We spent about an hour searching the rift for useful materials before making our way to the exit portal. We returned to the apartment after selling off what we didn’t need. I would have liked to use the office as a base of operations, but the ‘clerks’ didn’t seem too keen on allowing us to stay very long. A quick Identify had revealed they were all at least level six – likely from delving the rift that had spawned inside until it dissipated.

At least, that would be the justification.

“We should search the housing complex and see if we can find anything else of value,” Ger recommended. “Duo and Bell can work on the new weapons while the three of us search. Maybe we can find some tools or something. Getting those branches off the tree was a pain.”

Unlike a real forest, there were no dead limbs for us to collect, so we’d had to collect live wood from the nearby trees. After struggling for a while, we realized we could use offensive magic to cut through the branches. Deni’s Wind Blade was our best spell for the task, but even that took a while to cut through the hardwood.

After some discussion, we followed Ger’s plan. Our second set of weapons was much more functional, though I was constantly annoyed at my limitations within the simulation. Had this been reality, I could have used Mana Manipulation and Space magic to slice through the limbs, cut edges on the bones, and carve out runes with ease. Unfortunately, this simulation, like Atlas Online, wasn’t suited for practicing magic.

We delved the rift twice more before calling for a break and logging out. The four-times time dilation in AE meant much less time had passed in the real world, but the others were much less accustomed to dealing with time dilation than I was.

“Crap, I really need a nap,” Bell moaned as she stumbled out of her bedroom.

“I’m planning on doing just that after we log back in. Well, I’ll be in my VPS, but it’s pretty much the same at this point,” I said. “It feels like twelve hours have passed. Pretty crazy, huh?”

Bell mumbled as she stuffed a piece of string cheese into her mouth.

“I’m leaving a note for Justin,” I said as I wrote on the dry-erase board mounted to the refrigerator. “I told him to text us before he leaves to pick up Amie so I can log out and start dinner before he gets back.”

Somehow, we’d gotten into the habit of having dinner at our apartment almost every night. Justin would bring Amie over after work and we’d eat dinner and hang out for a while before he’d head home with the toddler. He’d occasionally stay over, and it happened frequently enough that a toddler-sized travel cot was set up in my room with Celestia the Space Elf bedding.

The character was one of many that were featured on Atlas’s new kids’ program. Celestia was Amie’s favorite adventurer, though she also liked Helena the Catkin Healer. I’d watched a few of the episodes, and I had to admit, they were super cute.

“Do you know if he plans to stay the night?” I asked.

After a few too many seconds without a response, I looked over my shoulder at my roommate. She looked distinctly guilty.

“What?” I asked.

“Umm, we were going to talk to you last week, but I asked to do it alone, and I haven’t had the chance…” She looked really uncomfortable, but I suspected I already knew what she wanted to talk about.

“You’re moving out when our lease is over?”

Bell’s eyes widened. “How did you know? Did Justin tell you?”

I chuckled. “No. I got a message from the front office after you gave them your notice. They wanted to know if I needed a new roommate assignment or if I had other plans.”

“Sorry,” she winced. “I planned to tell you before giving my notice, but I was chatting with Selena at the front desk the other day, and it came up. She mentioned they were about to send renewal requests to everyone this week, so I just took care of it while I was there.” Bell wrung her hands together tightly. “We haven’t signed a new lease at his apartment yet or anything, so we could get a three-bedroom if you want. I’m sure your brother won’t mind. He mentioned it a couple of times.”

“Ha! No, thanks. I’m fine,” I said, much to the other girl’s relief. “My employment contract allows me to live on-site because of my position. I’ll get a room over there, though I think there are some weird restrictions about visitors. We’ll have to have our weekly dinners at your place from now on.”

“You won’t be able to have visitors?” she asked, aghast.

“The housing floor is part of the restricted section of the building,” I replied nonchalantly. “I was able to see it after I started working in R&D. I think it’s to keep other companies from trying to sneak in or something.”

“I guess that makes sense,” she said before breaking into a wide smile. “I can’t believe we’re moving in together!” she squealed before jumping excitedly. “Can you believe we’ve been dating for almost a year? It’s so crazy! Maybe we’ll be sisters-in-law someday!”

I gave her a genuine smile. I hadn’t been sure about Justin and Bell getting together in the beginning, but it was obvious they were happy together. Their relationship was a huge deviation from the previous timeline, but it definitely felt like a good change.

After quickly checking the fridge to ensure I had all the ingredients I’d need for dinner, I headed to my room to log into my VPS. Just because I could handle time dilation better than most didn’t mean I couldn’t use a quick nap.