An Easy Run

Su Ran spent nearly two hours in the temporary meditation area, using two single-use learning scrolls one after the other.

The first skill he mastered was [Mage Armor]. The process was relatively smooth, mainly requiring him to understand how to construct a stable, invisible force field over his body and maintain it with a continuous supply of mana.

Thanks to his Spirit of 16 and the [Mithril Staff]'s affinity bonus for arcane energy, Su Ran quickly got the hang of it.

When he successfully cast it, a thin film of energy, almost invisible to the naked eye but clearly perceptible, covered his entire body evenly, giving him a solid, reliable sense of protection.

Based on the information in the scroll and his own impression, the armor's defensive power was roughly equivalent to that of a piece of good-quality leather armor.

It also had a slight weakening effect on energy attacks and lasted about two hours. The mana cost was paid entirely up front, and consumption during its duration was extremely low.

Next came [Arcane Explosion].

The spell's model was much more complex to construct than Energy Missile's, involving the initiation of an unstable chain reaction of arcane energy within a small area.

Su Ran tried several times. On his first two attempts, either the area was too small and the power insufficient, or the energy went out of control and nearly detonated prematurely in his palm.

But he patiently made adjustments and combined them with [Knowledge Insight]'s analysis of the energy structure. On his third attempt, he finally succeeded in creating an explosion on an empty patch of ground five meters away. It was about two and a half meters in diameter, with arcane energy surging violently at its center and a distinct shock wave at its edge.

Its power was decent, roughly equivalent to the concentrated burst of two and a half Lv.3 Energy Missiles. The area damage should be quite effective against targets with low armor.

Its casting time was about 1.5 seconds, and its mana consumption was approximately equal to the combined cost of two and a half Energy Missiles.

After gaining an initial grasp of the spells, Su Ran practiced each of them more than ten more times, until he could control [Mage Armor]'s strength and duration, as well as [Arcane Explosion]'s casting distance and center point, with reasonable consistency.

"Not bad."

Su Ran ended his practice. Sensing the two new spell models in his body and the invisible armor around him, he felt a little more confident.

That afternoon, when Su Ran returned to the squad's rest area, Rex had just received new orders.

A relaxed, even slightly excited smile appeared on the burly captain's face—a rare sight.

He waved the order board in his hand and addressed the squad members gathering around him. "Good news! We've been picked to support a cleanup mission in a small Otherworldly Rift that's just stabilized!"

"An Otherworldly Rift?" Alina's eyes lit up.

"Stabilized? Doesn't that mean..." Karl looked thoughtful too.

Xiaoguang blinked curiously.

Rex chuckled. "That's right! It's one of those easy runs where the advance team has already scouted the place and cleared out the main threats, leaving only some remaining monsters and resource points to sweep through!

"The spatial rules in a rift like this are relatively stable, and the danger is manageable. And most importantly..."

He lowered his voice, though he couldn't hide his excitement. "The chests it produces are usually higher quality than those from dungeons of the same level! Silver Chests show up all the time!"

Silver Chests! Everyone perked up.

Even Su Ran recalled the silver chest he had obtained from a rift before, along with the rich haul he had opened from it, including [Tear of Blood] and a [Berserk] scroll.

"And our squad isn't the only one on this mission."

Rex continued, "The orders say several resource points inside the rift need to be cleared at the same time, so they're putting together a temporary mixed-unit detachment to go in. The numbers might reach the rift's capacity limit.

"There'll be plenty of us to watch one another's backs, so it'll be safer! This is practically a handout from the guild to squads like ours that have been fighting on the front lines for days!"

Everyone nodded, anticipation showing on their faces. After several consecutive days of intense cleanup battles, they had earned plenty of contribution points, but their minds and bodies were exhausted.

Being able to take part in a relatively easy mission with generous rewards was undoubtedly an excellent way to recuperate and replenish their supplies.

Soon, the details of the orders came down. They were to report to the newly established temporary rift assembly area on the other side of the camp in half an hour.

Su Ran quickly checked his equipment, stocked up on a few standard mana potions issued by the guild in case of need, and went over the two newly learned spells in his mind once more.

Half an hour later, the Iron Cross Guild's temporary mixed-unit detachment, twenty-five people in all, had assembled.

A veteran Lv.7 fire Elementalist served as temporary commander. The force included four standard five-person squads—Rex's among them—as well as several support and reconnaissance personnel added individually.

Twenty-five people was the spatial capacity limit of this small, stable rift.

That meant the monsters' strength would be spread among them to the greatest possible extent, greatly increasing their safety. But it also meant competition for resources and materials would be a little fiercer.

Still, the guild had long-established rules for allocating contributions, so there was no risk of infighting.

The temporary commander gave a brief address, emphasizing rules such as obeying orders, fighting in coordination, clearing the designated areas, and not venturing into unexplored territory without authorization.

He then led the sizable force toward an oval spatial fissure not far outside the camp. About five meters across, it emitted a steady blue glow.

It was the entrance to the small Otherworldly Rift that had been brought under control.

"Remember, even though this is an easy run, don't let your guard down! Otherworldly rules are unpredictable, and accidents can happen at any time! Stay alert and cover one another! Move out!"

At the commander's order, the twenty-five Awakened filed in, disappearing into the blue glow.

Su Ran followed Rex's squad into the rift.

After a brief sensation of shifting through space and time, his feet touched the ground.

A strange sight lay before him: the sky was an unchanging lead gray, without sun, moon, or stars. The light came from some unknown source, even and dim.

Underfoot was soft, dark-purple earth, seemingly covered by a fungal mat. Scattered across it grew twisted ferns that gave off a faint glow.

In the distance, he could make out the outlines of several distinct ruins of man-made or humanoid structures, as well as some unidentified, translucent shapes of light and shadow drifting slowly farther away.

The air was damp, carrying a strange smell that mingled a faint sweet, fishy scent with decay.

Most conspicuous of all were the other Awakened scattered throughout this relatively small space, whose radius looked to be no more than a kilometer.

There were twenty-four of them, and with Su Ran himself, that made exactly twenty-five—the capacity limit.

They came from different five-person squads and, under the temporary commander's direction, were now advancing through their assigned areas toward several resource points and ruins where monsters might remain.

There were so many people that the atmosphere was almost lively. The squads kept a safe distance from one another, but they could all see one another.

Voices, the clatter of weapons, and bursts of excited discussion rose and fell around them.

"There's strength in numbers, all right."

Rex looked around and grinned. "This should be a sure thing. Come on, let's head to resource point three. That's the one assigned to us. I hear it's an abandoned energy node. There might be a little trouble, but the haul should be good!"

Su Ran tightened his grip on his staff, the invisible [Mage Armor] around him flowing faintly.

He glanced at the many companions around him, then looked toward the shadowy ruins in the distance.

An easy run?

Hopefully.