It took me two and a half hours to arrive at the rift. It was actually only a fifteen-minute run from my apartment, but I just happened to sprint the wrong direction and got lost for two hours straight.
By the time I arrived, a mob of people crowded the streets around the rift, held back by police and endless rows of barricades. A cacophony of screams, cries, and camera shutter snaps reverberated through the chaos.
I threw my palm onto my face upon seeing the obvious commotion in front of me.
How the hell did I miss this for two hours??
Letting off a disgruntled groan, I forced my way past the crowd with a newfound confidence from my recent awakening.
When I approached the barricades, men in suits appeared, ushering people to retreat from the rift zone. One man in particular spoke softly into the air, but his voice managed to echo through the crowd with a deafening blare.
"Only senior rank shamans are allowed near this rift. There is one hour until the approximate rift break. Please, for your own safety, back off the premises. I repeat, back off the premises."
A man in the crowd retorted with a yell.
"What about the daughter of the IS Corp CEO? She went in there four hours ago, and she hasn't come out since! And a rift break is about to happen soon! She's dead, isn't she?!"
"I assure you that Ms. Stern is safe and sound, so please cease your worries and back off the premises."
"Bullshit!"
A woman's voice exclaimed out from the crowd this time, which galvanized the rest to erupt into a flurry of accusations and curses.
Amidst the chaos, I stood silently stunned. I couldn't recall the IS Corp's CEO's daughter dying in the rift break in my previous life. I hadn't done enough yet for the butterfly effect to change the past either.
Maybe it's because my damn apartment was trashed to bits, so I never really paid much attention to the news during this time.
Still, I found it a bit strange. IS Corp was considered the largest company in the world and would continue to be so in the future, even up to the day I died. It wasn't likely that the death of their princess would dodge my attention for ten years.
Wait, don't be dumb Damin. This means she survived somehow! If I close the rift and take credit for her survival, the IS Corp will be indebted to me, or at least give me a nice cash reward!
My lips twisted into a maniacal grin, contorting my face into something unrecognizable.
Reward money on top of more reward money. Maybe I won't need to work another day in my life after today…
I excitedly hopped my way past the barricades, hidden behind the mayhem, and covertly ran my way towards the rift.
A group of suited men swiftly intercepted me, colliding into my path with a heavy crash. I guess I wasn't that covert after all.
I stumbled back a few steps as the man in the middle of the group propped up a pair of sunglasses and spoke with a clear, demanding voice.
"Your shaman license, sir."
I froze.
What? You need a license to kill spirits?
"Uhh, no."
The man furrowed his brows and glared at me through his shades.
"Sir, you can't simply deny my orders. Please showcase your shaman license."
"No."
His forehead began to wrinkle as his glare grew more sinister.
"Sir, I will not ask again. Identify yourself with your shaman license. Now."
The man's presence grew heavy and dominating. An impending sense of doom seeped out his figure and crept over me.
Damn it. Should I just leave? I was so motivated though…
As I was just about to turn back, the man to his right spoke quietly into his ear.
"H-hey man. I think we should let him pass."
Huh?
The man in the middle turned to his right and responded in a near growl.
"What do you mean we should let him pass?"
"Haven't you heard? The IS Corp sent a mercenary shaman half an hour ago to retrieve Ms. Stern from the rift before it breaks."
Huh??
"What makes you believe that this man in front of us is a mercenary?"
"D-dude, just look how he got through the barricades and managed to run here before we finally noticed him, and he's saying 'no' so confidently…"
Huh??? What's wrong with this guy?
"I mean, there must be a reason he's declining to show his shaman license. He's got to be an undercover mercenary. Didn't you see how he stood completely still as he talked to you? Look! He's still standing still! He's got to be strong enough to have that much confidence standing in front of five senior officers. He's showing no signs of fear at all!"
What? That's because I'm frozen in shock, you idiot!
"Hmm, very well then."
The man in the middle turned back towards me and nodded.
"You may pass."
"Uhh.. yeah… Ahem, yes. I will now retrieve Ms. Stern and return safely. Please keep a lookout for any other shamans claiming to be a mercenary. There will be many corporate enemies who are looking to take this opportunity to ensure she ends up dead. Do NOT let them enter regardless of their explanations."
All the men in the group subsequently nodded and moved to the side, allowing me to casually walk by.
Well, that worked out great! And I also managed to convince them not to let the real mercenary in. I wouldn't want to get stopped in the rift when I made it this far…
Actually, let me just go before they get suspicious.
I hastily made my way towards the rift and jumped in without a second thought.
…
I found myself in a tight cave with drops of magma leaking from its ceiling. A wave of unbearable heat immediately washed over me and drenched my body in a pool of sweat.
The inside of the cave was a lot more uncomfortable than anticipated. It didn't help that I was beginning to feel anxious for my first time in an actual rift.
It should be fine… if I remember correctly, this is supposed to be a beast-spirit rift. I think that's only the second weakest category.
I took a deep breath and continued down the only open path through a long corridor of molten rocks and lava.
Corpses of beastial wild dogs with dark red fur and canines the size of my forearms were littered throughout the deeper parts of the cave. Their foreheads were meticulously cut open, and remnants of bloody fingerprints surrounded the clean lacerations.
How ominous… I guess the best way to kill these dogs is to cut their foreheads? Why are the cuts done so cleanly, though?
I walked further down and passed by a particularly grotesque corpse that was mangled up into scattered slices of meat.
The view was disgusting, and the smell was enough to make me gag. I stepped over it with my nose pinched.
A hand abruptly grabbed me by the ankle, making me jump up and kick something fleshy with all my strength.
"Aghh!!! Why did you kick me?!"
I paused and looked down.
A rugged woman with blood red hair and amber eyes lay sprawled out on the ground, half of her body concealed behind a large rock. She had brown skin that was covered by shattered pieces of armor and torn clothes streaked with blood.
"Oh, hello miss. Sorry for kicking you in the uhhh… oh, your head. Sorry for kicking your head, but I really have to go slay some dog spirits. Please let me go."
Her grip on my ankle tightened as her burning gaze locked into my eyes. The sheer intensity of her stare was enough to make me flinch.
Her voice bellowed out, choked by deep gurgles of blood leaking from her mouth and nose.
"W-what rank are you?"
"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about."
The woman's face tightened with her eyebrows furrowed deep enough to crease her entire forehead.
"You know what I mean! I know Ward sent you! You can drop the theatrics, Mr. Mercenary. Just tell me what rank you are!"
I scratched my head, turning it to avoid her gaze.
"Oh, uh… I've got some bad news. Well, not really bad news because I'm probably pretty overpowered and I'll kill those spirits anyway, but still kind of bad news for you, I guess. So yeah, bad news…"
"Bad news? What do you mean?"
I turned back to stare at the woman awkwardly and shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, I'm not the mercenary that was sent by Ward Stern or IS Corp. And that mercenary isn't coming in any time soon."
Her eyes widened, and she released her grip on my ankle. She shifted her body as she struggled to reach for a sword that lay a few feet from her body.
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?! There should be guards in front of the rift. Did you kill them?!"
"No, no. Of course I didn't kill them. That would send me to prison on my first day back. Do you take me for a damn idiot?? They simply thought I was a mercenary and let me through. Oh, and I told them not to let the real one in."
The woman dropped her head to the ground and groaned.
"So, the only person who can save us is you? You don't even know what your rank is! We're doomed…"
"Hey, why would you say that? I have an awakened ability, you know. I just got it this morning."
The woman lifted her head to slam it on the floor once more.
"Oh, great… you're a fool."
She let out a heavy sigh.
"Listen sir, just leave this rift. Even if you get arrested for impersonation and forceful entry of a prohibited rift, it's better than dying. Someone like you is too weak to defeat the spirits here."
I scrunched my forehead and glared at her.
Man, what the hell? Why is she undermining me so hard? Sure, I haven't tested my strength out yet, and realistically, I should listen to her words and head back, but I feel so insulted!
"Isn't this just a beast-spirit rift? Why would I be too weak to fight them? I'll probably do better than you."
"You fool… This is a level 4 beast-spirit rift. The rift guardian evolved into a level 2 monster-spirit after killing four of our party members. Even average senior rank officers won't be able to defeat him. If you stay any longer, I can guarantee that you will die."
I clicked my tongue and glared at her with a blank expression.
"Tsk, I thought I told you. I don't know what any of that rank stuff is. The audacity of this lady… you must think you're smart listing off all this nonsense vocabulary!"
My eyes began to light up, turning green as I continued to shout out to her.
"I'm not leaving until I secure my payment! I'm going to defeat the guardian or whatever, save that IS Corp princess, and get paid generously. So don't even try to stop me unless you're willing to pay me more than Ward Stern will reward me."
The woman was stunned into silence.
I kicked her hand farther away to prevent her from grabbing me again and walked past her deeper into the cave as I shook my head in irritation.
That damn lady, trying to get between me and my money. Yeah, right…