January 10, Year 1000
Perfectis, 8:30 AM
Roman got up from bed, stretching. He had bought a new mattress, new pillows, new sheets…
He had also revamped his wardrobe, buying something simple. He was not very rich…
Another day had passed, and he had become stronger again.
Mana: 0/-200
More or less…
"Now I can be considered level 2…" he smiled helplessly as he went to the bathroom.
"But oh well, sooner or later I will reach the maximum, and then I will miss the days when I was weak."
Showering every morning had become a habit he carried over from his old life.
Some time later…
Dring—
Dring—
"Huh?" Roman was putting on his pants when his phone started ringing. "Oh, damn, I am late!"
He dressed quickly, cleared his throat a couple of times, and answered.
"I am coming, I just left the house!" he said, hurriedly putting on his shoes.
It was past 9, and he had forgotten that today he was supposed to meet his friends to enter the Rift together.
"Hurry up, buddy! We have been waiting for you for 20 minutes!" Tobias replied, shaking his head in resignation.
"Yeah, I know, I know, but there was traffic—"
"But you do not have a car! And you just said you left the house, stop talking nonsense and move!"
Tu-tu-tu-
Roman sighed. "Damn, the negative mana makes me forget things…"
The day before, when Roman exited the Rift and returned to the Hall, he saw the three sitting around a table, talking about their experience against monsters and how they could improve.
As Roman saw the three, they saw him too.
A series of awkward glances were exchanged, and after a couple of jokes, the three let Roman join their group, but with one condition.
They had to face a Rift session together.
Roman accepted, naturally, and here we are.
---
After about ten minutes…
Roman reached the Meteorite Hall.
He had run to get there as quickly as possible, even though he was already late.
"It only took me ten minutes, they should not be too mad…" he murmured, looking around.
They were supposed to meet at the same spot where they had met the day before, but despite Roman being there, none of his friends were in sight.
"Could it be… they went in without me, tired of waiting?" His words came out haltingly, as if he were scared of this possibility.
"Well, I cannot even be mad, I am the one who is late. I would understand if they were angry with me…"
At that moment, a hand patted Roman's shoulder from behind.
A shiver ran down his spine as he turned slowly.
"Roman, you are here, finally!" Tobias shouted, tightening his grip on his shoulder.
Zun and Golia were behind. The former still looked at him with a bit of resentment, while the latter simply nodded.
Roman smiled slightly. "Yeah, let us go!"
The four headed to the counter to register their entry, getting in line.
"Roman, everything okay?" Golia asked, noticing how his new friend had a downcast gaze, almost scared.
"Well, not really…" he raised his eyes, looking toward the girl at the counter. "Yesterday, that girl gave me her phone number…"
Tobias turned to look at Roman, surprised, while Golia simply nodded, as if it were normal.
On the other hand, Zun…
"You, you damn bastard!" he cursed, stepping closer. "Do not tell me you did not call her? How could you do that to her?"
The other two laughed at their friend's antics, and amid jokes, their turn came.
"Good morning, we would like to enter the Rift, we are four," Tobias said, pointing to himself and then the others.
He was the self-proclaimed leader of the group due to his composure and seriousness. But he could also be fun.
He was about as tall as Roman, his hair swept back, brown, with rectangular hazel eyes that made him look intelligent.
Golia, on the other hand, was slightly shorter, with light brown, shaved hair. His eyes always seemed dull, as if he were sleeping. He was the calmest of the three but always ready to tease Zun.
Speaking of Zun…
Nothing to say, he really looked like a sewer rat… but he was cute in his own way. He wore his hair longer and messy, black but not as dark as Roman's. He was also slightly overweight… but he was the funniest of the three. Without him, the group would not have made sense.
Oh, and of course, they all shared the classic trait of blue-tipped hair, even Golia with his very short hair.
And now, Roman had joined them.
The one who liked to spout the most nonsense. Every moment was good for saying something absurd.
The girl at the counter looked at the four, lingering a second longer on Roman, who simply shifted his eyes to the right.
After scanning their IDs, the girl took an object and handed it to the four. "Here you go, and good luck!"
Tobias collected the object along with the four IDs, smiling slightly at the girl. Then he gestured to the group, and they headed toward the portal, but not before returning their respective IDs.
"What is that?" Roman asked, curious.
"This is a Tuner, an object that allows us to synchronize our mana to enter the Rift together. Obviously, it must be returned; it is a very important object."
The Tuner was simply shaped like a dark blue hard disk.
Once they reached the Rift, Tobias injected one unit of mana into the Tuner.
Golia and Zun did the same, and Roman followed suit.
The dark blue color of the disk became slightly brighter.
"Good," Tobias pressed, storing the object in his inventory. "Let us go!"
With those words, the four walked toward the portal, ready to start their hunt and leveling.
---
Some time later, inside the Rift…
"Damn it, Roman, do something!" Zun shouted, running for his life.
"What the hell can I do? I told you I only have one skill! Plus, my mana is literally depleted!" Roman was running as fast as he could.
Thanks to his long legs, he was faster than everyone.
Golia was just ahead of Zun, his eyes wide. The sweat on his forehead was a clear sign that whatever was chasing them was strong, but above all…
It was fast.
Very fast…