The guild's specialist rotation meant different contracts.
Not standard elimination work. Specialized investigation. Rift monitoring. Pattern analysis.
Pay was lower. One gold per contract instead of two. But access was better.
Restricted rift zones. Areas sealed off from normal adventurers. Dangerous. Unstable. High void energy concentration.
Exactly what Jak needed.
His first specialist contract was surveillance. Monitor a rift-active sector of the lower quarter for one week. Record spawn frequency. Report patterns.
Simple work. Just watching. Waiting.
Jak set up observation post on a rooftop. Good vantage. Could see three blocks in every direction.
Shade scouted. Moving through the district. Sensing rifts before they manifested.
Through the bond, Jak felt each spawn appearance. Felt Shade killing them. Felt the fox absorbing void energy after.
And Jak's void sense continued sharpening. He could perceive energy concentrations from further away now. Could distinguish between different types of rifts based on energy signatures.
Small rifts felt different from large ones. Unstable rifts pulsed erratically. Stable rifts had steady rhythm.
He recorded everything. Made detailed notes. Drew maps.
The patterns were clear. Rifts weren't random. They clustered around specific locations. Old buildings. Certain street corners. Places that had significance.
Jak researched. Found records in the guild archives.
Every rift cluster location corresponded to sites from the old wars. Places where major battles had been fought. Where reality had been damaged.
The damage never fully healed. Just scarred over. And now, 400 years later, those scars were weakening.
Rifts were reappearing in the same places they'd appeared before.
That was important information. Predictive. If Jak knew where old battle sites were, he could predict where rifts would form.
He reported his findings. The guild was impressed.
"Excellent work," the contract supervisor said. "This matches our long-term data. But you identified the pattern in one week. Took our analysts six months."
"My beast's perception helps," Jak said.
"Clearly." The supervisor assigned him another contract. "Rift zone three. North of the city. Multiple tears opening daily. We need detailed mapping. Energy concentration measurements. Spawn behavior documentation."
"Duration?"
"Two weeks. Pay is ten gold plus hazard bonus."
"I'll take it."
Rift zone three was exactly what Jak wanted. Concentrated void energy. Multiple active rifts. Perfect cultivation environment.
He left for the zone the next day.
♢♢♢♢
Rift zone three was sealed territory. Fenced off. Guards at the entrance. Nobody entered without authorization.
Jak showed his contract papers. Was waved through.
The zone was two square miles of damaged reality. The old wars had been brutal here. Massive battle. Thousands dead.
The land still bore scars. Craters. Broken stonework. And rifts. Dozens of them.
Small tears scattered throughout. Opening. Closing. Never staying stable.
Void energy saturated the air. Jak could see it clearly now. Purple-blue light everywhere. Thick. Concentrated.
Shade thrived here. The fox moved through the zone like it belonged. Absorbing energy constantly.
And Jak felt the difference. His body adapted faster in this environment. His baseline improved hour by hour.
He set up camp in the center of the zone. Safest location. Could respond to spawns from any direction.
Spent two weeks mapping. Recording. Fighting spawns.
But mostly cultivating.
Every night, Jak meditated near active rifts. Let void energy wash over him. Felt it soaking into his body. Changing him.
The journal had described this process. "Void baptism. Immersion in concentrated energy. The body resists. Then adapts. Then craves it."
Jak understood now. His body was learning to metabolize void energy. Use it. Incorporate it.
By the end of the first week, he didn't need food as much. The void energy sustained him partially.
By the end of the second week, his eyes had changed. Amber flecks more prominent. Visible in sunlight.
Physical changes. Evidence of transformation.
Jak documented everything. But kept the personal observations private. Reported only the rift data.
The guild got maps. Spawn counts. Energy measurements.
They didn't get the truth. That Jak was using the assignment as cultivation retreat.
♢♢♢♢
Back at the guild, Jak reported success. Handed over his documentation.
The supervisor reviewed it. "Exceptional work. We're reassigning you permanently to rift specialist contracts. Your efficiency is too valuable for standard work."
"Pay?"
"One gold per contract. But consistent work. Multiple assignments per week."
Lower pay than combat contracts. But Jak didn't care about gold anymore.
Mira was stable. Medicine paid for. Better housing secured.
What Jak needed now was power. Access. Cultivation time.
The specialist rotation gave him that.
"I accept," Jak said.
"Good. You start tomorrow. Rift zone seven. Eastern sector. Similar assignment."
Jak left the guild that evening. Thinking about progression.
He'd been bonded to Shade for three weeks.
In that time he'd gone from F-rank to mid C-rank in capability. Not official rank. The guild still classified him as low C. But his actual combat effectiveness was higher.
He had void sense. Fully developed. Permanent.
His baseline had improved. Faster. Stronger. More durable.
And according to the journal, void regeneration would develop naturally during his next serious injury. The body would adapt. Use void energy for healing. Transform damage into growth.
Jak was looking forward to that. In a strange way.
Every injury was cultivation opportunity. Every fight was advancement.
The guild saw a specialist. Useful. Efficient.
Jak saw a path. Clear. Documented. Leading somewhere they couldn't follow.
He just needed to keep walking it.
Quietly. Carefully. Without drawing too much attention.
At least for now.