[Gareth Nieve - ?]
As usual, [Inspect] gave me very little information. My stats too low, or my level perhaps. I ended the skill, the tag above Nieve’s head fading away. The skill seemed useless, it told me nothing about just how dangerous the man in front of me really was.
The universe always had strange ways of making seemingly impossible events happen. It wasn’t until a bit later that I would learn what a rare occurrence it was right there, in the side room of the funeral parlor at my brother’s vigil.
For context, I mentioned how rare someone getting a Legendary class was, that only ten people were known to ever get them.
So imagine the strangeness that the only two Legendary Class Rift Hunters in North America were currently packed into that little room. Barry Schilling, the Seraphic Paladin, and Colonel Nieve, Forgeborn Titan.
I didn’t know the Colonel’s class yet at that time, of course. But such information would be released in the near future.
Having said all that, there we were, standing within six feet of each other, two Legendary Hunters, and Earth’s only Disciple.
And in less than a year, one of us would be dead.
“Ametuer leagues?” Francis bristled up at the officer.
I set a hand on Francis’ shoulder, trying to calm him. The rage warrior flinched under my touch, but eventually stepped back. “What do you want, Colonel?”
The man held up his large hands, showing them empty, like that meant he wasn’t dangerous. “I’m here to extend you an offer to join the department of Rift Hunters and Public Safety, I guess the RHP, for short,” he shrugged at this. “It’s an RHI created by the Department of Armed Forces. I’ll be the department Head Administrator, of course.”
“Government run RHI? I thought the new regulations meant the government wasn't allowed to have a personal Rift Hunter military division. It was an international provision added to the list of War Crime offenses.” Barry spoke up then, standing next to me.
“This isn’t headed or regulated by the military. It’s a private corporation with government oversight. Have you ever heard of the old United States’ FBI or CIA? Same thing, really,” Nieve gave an unsettling smile.
I frowned at that. It was just as I had feared weeks ago. Even with laws and international agreements in place, those who sought power, and to control power, would always find a loophole. Looked like there were chesspieces already being moved around the board.
“And Lucilla Sinclair? She a part of this as well?” I asked.
“Lucilla actually went her own way,” Nieve said. “After that little facility was closed, she was… forced to step down. She is beginning her own Guild now. I’ve come to learn she even entered a Tutorial rift and gained a class of her own.”
“Not unlike yourself,” I pointed out.
The Colonel wasn’t using any skill or ability, no mana circulation moving through him for a spell, but I could still feel his power. It was a pressure, a spiritual presence of some kind. I understood it to be something new I could sense, tied to the skill I had gained in the rewards for the Dungeon Breach Event.
[New Skill: Aura Mastery (Mythic) - Lvl 1 - Beginner]
[Skill: Aura Mastery
Effect: Allows one to become aware and manipulate their spiritual Aura. Auras are a combination of a person’s power, soul strength, and mana presence. With this skill, one may sense Auras of those around them, and later may learn to use their own Aura in combat. ]
The new skill let me feel the Aura of Colonel Nieve. And what I felt showed me he was far more powerful than Francis, or Vasquez. He probably only had his class for a week at most, but he was already showing an Aura that was just behind Barry.
If he leveled up more, and harnessed his skills properly…
Would I be able to kill him?
The thought crossed my mind, and I felt a bit of a chill creep over my skin, the hairs raising on my arms.
Right now, yes. But it wouldn’t be easy, and not without casualties.
My eyes flickered once more past the doorway, to the gathering of people surrounding my parents, who stood in front of a veritable pile of flowers beneath a large picture of my deceased brother.
I reached into my mind, flipping my switch. Immediately my chill went away, my goosebumps smoothing. I stepped forward, and narrowed my eyes at the Colonel as my head tilted slightly.
“Just got a shiny new class and think you’re the big boss huh?” I activated my new skill, my own aura flickering out just slightly. Even without [Aura Mastery] the others could feel it, Barry looking sidelong at me in confusion, the others releasing short gasps, and Colonel Nieve took a step back.
“I’m not here to fight, Adam. As I said, I’m just here to extend an offer. I can give you just as large a salary as Paragon, and we already have a huge network of supporters and investors to ensure we can secure a huge number of Dungeon Rift contracts. You’d basically have your pick of the entire country,” he said.
I hesitated a moment at that.
I didn’t like the Colonel as a person, but that didn’t mean he was stupid. Paragon had public good will, and minor political support. While Nieve was offering the backing of an entire country. Joining RHP would also be a way to monitor and be an inside man of the corruption I knew I wanted to fight against. A way to use their greed for my own benefit and let them fund their own demise.
But that would only last as long as the Government’s RHI was still around. Which I was planning to ensure was a rather short amount of time.
“No thanks, I appreciate the offer Colonel, but what kind of man would I be if I abandoned the comrades I had made and fought alongside with the last month? I don’t know where I’ll end up, but I think Paragon is the better fit for me between the options right now.”
“I understand, if you ever change your mind, you can always give a call.”
“Thank you for coming, Colonel.” I said the last sentence with a faint smile and a tone of a grieving brother dismissing a condolence for his loss. To his credit, the Colonel got the message and simply nodded before turning and walking away.
“You really gonna join with us then?” Norton asked once Nieve had left.
I waved a hand side to side, “Maybe, I really don’t know what I’ll do yet. Maybe I wanna make my own Guild?”
“What, you’re gonna make me choose between you and Barry?” Francis looked distraught at the idea.
“Nah, but I mean, there’s a lot I could do. And I’m not even sure I wanna do this Rift Hunter thing anyway.”
“Its a calling, Adam. We gotta help the world through this. We don’t even know what’s going to happen once the one year initiation phase ends. We need to work together.” Barry insisted.
He wasn’t wrong. Humanity did need to work together. The problem was that it wouldn’t do that on its own, Colonel Nieve just provided an example of that. Greed was too strong, the promise of power too great. Barry saw an optimistic vision of the future, but I saw the reality of it. Death was coming, and it wasn’t my Sponsor who would do it, humanity would.
“We’ll see, I don’t really want to talk about it right now. I need to get back to the event.” I said, nodding towards the large vigil still going on.
“Yeah, take your time, no rush, we understand.” Barry gave me a bright smile.
“Thank you,” I said, leaving the group alone in the side room and walking back into the crowd of sad faces.
For the most part, everyone was still going about the vigil as if the power display in the room over had never happened. Civilians couldn’t feel power from the System the same way Rift Hunters could, but that didn’t mean their natural instincts were silent. They all probably felt the mortal threat such powerful presences were to them.
But when I returned to my place by my parent’s side, things looked almost normal. Another person stepped up to me to give their verbal condolence, and I gave them a forced half-smile. Just as always. Just as I had been dreading for weeks.
It took a couple hours for the line to die down and for everyone to begin collecting themselves into small groups for idle conversation. By this time, my father and mother were just about to pass out on their feet.
I could see the dark rings around both of their eyes, and I assumed neither slept at all the previous night. I knew the answer to my question before I even asked.
“You two need to lie down for a bit? I’ll handle things here.”
“No dear, thank you.” My mother smiled at me and patted my face with a cupped hand. “Its nice of you to be thinking of us though.”
“Damn people ain’t gonna bring him back. Why are so many even here?” My father grumbled next to us.
“Community is important honey. You know that.” My mother turned her attention away from me. “And we talked about this. You can’t be all grouchy the whole event. You are allowed one hour of grouchy, then you need to behave.”
“Fine,” he huffed in answer.
I sighed, knowing nothing I said was going to change either of their minds. This was just how they were. In the initial phase of things, right after getting the call about Alex, it was my mother in shambles and my father provided support. He always handled emergencies, crisis, he had a strong stoic idea about life.
But things like this, the subtle nuances of social currency, and long haul emotional regulation was firmly in the purview of my mother. Together, they worked well, being there for each other when the other needed it.
I hated to think what would happen to one once the other finally followed after Alex into whatever afterlife was real.
“Adam, can I talk to you?”
I turned, surprised to find Richard standing in front of me. He wasn’t wearing his Veltech lab coat, as he was also probably out of a job the same way I was. I almost didn’t recognize him without it on, as I had only ever seen him at the lab when we were working together.
“Richard? Hey, I haven’t seen you since—” I cut myself short as memories of the camp outside the Tutorial portal sprang to mind. Myself, bleeding and exhausted, being hauled away under his arm. How I had to tell him that our friends and co-workers, Victoria, Frank, Gwen, Michael, all of them were dead.
He nodded at me solemnly, “Yeah.”
I pulled him off to the side so we had a bit of privacy. “How you holding up, man?” I asked him.
“Still a bit in shock I would guess. All of this is happening so fast. The portals, then you got taken away, I got basically fired. I saw you on the news though, from the Pittsburgh incident. And I saw that guy too. Crazy what they were doing to you all,” he scratched the back of his neck with one hand as he rubbed his fingers together with the other.
“I’m good, don’t worry. How are you?”
“Fucking freaking out, to be honest. Is the government really going to have a branch of soldier Rift Hunters? I know they say some new laws will stop it, but like, that never stops those corrupt assholes.” He started whispering now, seemingly afraid someone might overhear us.
I felt a tiny tug at the corner of my mouth, but I stopped myself from smiling. Good old Richard, I knew I could count on him to see things clearly, just like myself.
“No, I don’t think that will stop them either.” I said.
“So that’s why I came to you. Well, after he called me anyway. I figured I should talk to you. You fought all those monsters in Pittsburgh, so you must be one of the stronger Hunters right? Are you going to join him?”
I thought Richard must have gotten a call from Barry. Which stung a bit, as I assumed he’d talk to me before reaching out to some now jobless undergrad that once got strong armed by the military into studying a Rift for them. Though, I too, was a now jobless undergrad that once got strong armed by the military into studying a Rift for them. But I was me, so it was different, obviously.
“Uh maybe, I think Paragon might be the best—”
“No, not Paragon.” Richard cut me off. “I mean the other guy on the news, the one that told everyone about the secret op. He was the lightning mage guy.”
I stuttered at that, my jaw going slack.
“Y-You were called by Gerard Davis?”
1.20 Aura Flexing