January 11, Year 1000
Perfectis, 9:00 AM
Inside the Meteorite Hall, a hooded figure sat on a couch.
Alone, but their gaze was fixed on the entrance.
They seemed to be waiting for someone…
---
Roman woke up, his eyes still slightly squinted.
Despite the late hour, he had not slept much.
He had spent the entire afternoon and night playing with his friends.
They had agreed to meet at 11:00 to enter the Rift.
Roman checked the time…
10:30
"Damn!" he shouted, jumping out of bed. "I cannot be late again, damn it!"
He rushed to the bathroom to wash, grabbing something to eat.
They had played until 4 AM, and now he felt exhausted.
Despite the little time, a shower was a must; he could not skip it.
…
10:55 AM…
The hooded figure in the Meteorite Hall was still seated in the same position.
But the air around them was different…
Their figure, though covered by the hood, was stunning.
It was clear from afar that the girl beneath was of rare beauty.
Many approached to talk to her, but a simple gesture from her sent them away.
She was very angry.
She had been waiting for nearly two hours and was fed up.
The air around her was dense, charged with mana.
No one dared approach her position or even the surrounding area.
They could sense something was wrong.
Then, finally, her eyes spotted someone at the entrance.
"Here's one, finally…" a sigh of relief left her lips.
The boy who entered the Hall at that moment was none other than Golia.
He lived closer to the Rift than anyone.
A few minutes later, Tobias and Zun appeared, waving at Golia.
They did not look their best, resembling walking corpses.
Of course, they had gone to bed late too.
The hooded figure merely stared at the three.
They were not her target, but another…
The day before, she had investigated all the low-level boys who entered the Rift around 9:30.
There were many people, but that was not a problem. Everyone's information was available for her to see, except for one person whose information was somehow missing.
Roman Red.
He had entered the Rift only twice, on January 1 and 2.
Something was off. He could not have stopped leveling, or he would be dead…
Yet it was so. There was no other information about him entering or exiting the Rift until a few days ago, January 8.
The situation was too strange, even in a world full of strange things, especially since Roman Red's parents were dead. They could not have taken him out of the city to face mana beasts.
But even then, it would have been recorded.
Of course, his parents had died during a beast assault in the city of Mirabel.
That was where most people died, after all.
The odd thing was that on January 8, she had felt her mana being drained for the first time.
Moreover, that boy was the same one who had ridiculed her in front of everyone the day before.
"Roman Red…" her voice came out as a whisper. "You made me wait a long time; let us see how you fare today."
With these words, the hooded figure, none other than Xixi, approached the group.
Roman had arrived, of course a few minutes late, but no one said anything.
Their goal today was to enter the Rift again and level up, as always.
In fact, until yesterday, Roman had no desire to enter the Rift. For him, it was pointless to kill monsters since he could not level up.
But after yesterday, his thoughts had changed.
He had obtained a Skill Book for free.
At the Meteorite Skill Shop, there were tons of skill books ready to be bought, but there was one problem.
Mana Crystals.
Unlike Zun, the only one in the group whose parents were still alive, Roman did not have the money for such things.
The situation was similar for Tobias and Golia.
They too had lost their parents in a beast assault in Mirabel, around the same time as Roman's, but they had been left a small inheritance.
After meeting up, the four headed to the counter to register their entry and borrow the Tuner, one of the items found in the Rift at higher levels.
"Good morning, we would like to enter the Rift, we are four," Tobias said, repeating yesterday's words, but before the girl at the counter could scan their IDs, a voice interrupted from behind.
"Five, we are five."
It was sharp, almost annoying, but strong. The kind that left no room for contradiction.
The four boys turned, surprised.
Before them was a female figure wrapped in a dark hood and cloak.
Despite the covered face and odd attire, her body did not lie.
She was a woman.
Observing those curves, Zun swallowed hard.
"Yes, we are five!" he said without a moment's hesitation.
Tobias and Golia did not respond, merely exchanging a glance.
Roman, however, furrowed his brows.
The situation was strange, but not enough to worry about.
"Are you sure?" the girl behind the counter asked, her eyebrows slightly raised. "The difficulty in the Rift increases when there are more than four people."
Zun, hyped up like a horse, nodded quickly. "Sure, we are sure. It cannot go worse than yesterday."
The group chuckled lightly.
With a nod, the girl took the ID of the cloaked figure and scanned it.
The moment she saw the person's name, a wave of disbelief washed over her from head to toe.
Xifre Xiaver.
Just as she was about to scream, a strange sensation enveloped her, as if the world was turning against her.
She understood immediately.
She had to act like nothing was wrong and stay silent.
"Everything okay?" Tobias asked, noticing the sweat forming on the clerk's forehead.
There was a moment of silence.
"Yes, everything's fine. Here's the Tuner. Good luck!"
The girl returned the IDs to their owners and handed over the Tuner.
The group headed toward the escalators, in silence.
After a moment…
"Well then…" Zun's voice, almost trembling, broke the strange atmosphere that had formed. "I am Zun, nice to meet you. These are Tobias, Golia, and Roman."
He pointed to each of his friends. "How should we address you?"
The hooded figure did not speak. She did not want to reveal herself yet.
Another tense silence fell over the group.
Roman scratched his head quietly, while Tobias furrowed his brows.
Golia, on the other hand, seemed unbothered by anything.
Before Zun could continue talking, a strong sensation enveloped the four.
The mana in the air had become denser, almost crushing them.
"You will find out everything when we enter the Rift."
A tone that brooked no argument.
Everyone swallowed hard.
They ascended the escalators, and the portal appeared before them.
Tobias took out the Tuner.
"You are not going to torture or kill us all in the Rift, are you?" he asked, slightly raising his eyebrows.
It would be foolish, considering death was fake. However, the pain was real…
"No," she replied simply.
Then, she stepped forward and injected her mana into the Tuner.
Tobias, Golia, and Zun did the same.
Then it was Roman's turn.
I do not know why, but I have a bad feeling… he thought, glancing at the hooded figure out of the corner of his eye.
"Come on, Roman, your turn," Zun urged. He was too excited, eager to find out who was behind the hood.
Roman swallowed hard.
He brought his hand to the Tuner and released the mana.
The sensation was always the same. The mana did not come directly from his body like other awakened ones.
He had no mana, after all.
Before coming out, the mana had to enter his body.
He had always perceived it as if the world was giving it to him, but now it was different; he could feel it…
Even though it was just one unit of mana, the connection he felt with the hooded figure beside him was unmistakable.
He raised his gaze, slowly.
The hooded figure was staring at him with unveiled intensity.
Oh shit…