Roles had been assigned to the others.

They just had to make good on their parts.

---

Lot had been alerted to a rift location.

He informed his team that they would be taking their very first mission.

He would have Sigman take the lead on it.

The bus was loaded, and they made their way to the site below where the rift had occurred.

They made it there in minutes.

"I’ve got nothing much to say to you guys."

"Just get in there, destroy all the monsters that emerged from the rift, and make it back safely."

"Follow Sigman’s lead."

"That would be all," he said.

They all summoned their staffs and made for the barrier in the sky.

The barrier operated in one direction.

Not in the sense that you could go in from the base but not come out from the top.

No, this wasn’t it.

It was one-directional in the sense that it was only effective against monsters.

It had zero effect on mages besides providing balance and serving as a platform for support.

They made their entry.

The monsters immediately noticed them.

"So, what’s the plan?" Randolph asked.

"There is no plan," Sigman responded.

"Just go wild!"

He shouted while leaping forward and firing mana beams, one-shotting the monsters.

The others followed his lead shortly after.

Roe stayed behind.

He knew they were an elite force and that they didn’t need to take things slow, but there was something crucial they hadn’t analyzed.

The rank of the rift and, by extension, its monsters.

The fact bugged him, but he knew he shouldn’t be wasting time.

This was his first real chance to earn actual reward points outside of training.

’I’m sure that’s why the others are getting all fired up,’ he noted.

Reward points were crucial for mages, as they could be used to purchase spells.

The numbered spells were all purchased through the reward system.

Different number ranges meant different prices.

A spell higher up the ladder tended to be more expensive than a cheaper one.

There was no point in delaying.

They needed to farm points.

The monsters were limited in number, after all.

"Energy-Type Talent No. 791."

"Pulse Field."

He chanted.

He began firing pulse beams at the various monsters that came his way.

He had pre-activated an electric attack.

As they got hit with the beam, they were electrocuted shortly after.

The monsters numbered well over a hundred.

The batch was weak.

They barely used spells, but their sheer numbers weren’t something to joke about.

He paused.

Realizing mana beams would be a more efficient way to farm rewards and kills, he opted to charge a super-powered mana beam.

The others continued onward.

Thirty seconds of charging.

The beam protruded from the staff.

It was still connected to it.

He had not released it, after all.

He waited for the right moment.

"The right time."

"Well, that time is now," he said.

Before he fired, he shouted.

"Sigman!"

Sigman immediately understood.

He activated a portal spell that teleported everyone away from the beam’s range.

The beam was massive.

No one knew this more than the monsters it instantly fried.

His staff began to glow.

Reward points.

Reward points.

Reward points.

It was the equivalent of a system endlessly giving notifications.

He knew he would have to spend those points wisely.

He thought nothing more of it.

The monsters were all dead, after all.

’I can’t believe he just went and did that,’ Edward thought.

’A full-on attack like that.’

’Its concentration was bound to be limited.’

’Yet somehow not one monster survived.’

"Guys."

"He took them all out," Randolph said.

"Yes."

"That includes the boss as well," Gwen added.

’He just randomly killed a boss,’ Sigman thought.

’Was the boss an afterthought, or did he consider it?’ Ursula pondered.

"Okay."

"Good work," Sigman applauded them.

You could tell from his tone that he was disappointed.

It was clear as day.

They all descended.

The rift was closed.

They would now make their purchases.

That was, for those who had earned enough reward points.

Lot received them. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He wasn’t surprised they had made it back so soon.

Roe was the only one who noticed.

’I’m guessing it was some low-rank rift.’

’He was expecting us,’ Roe noted.

Raids could go on for hours.

They had barely taken five minutes.

Lot could have gone to do something to pass the time, but he didn’t.

That very fact implied he was expecting a swift victory.

"So, how did it go?" Lot inquired.

---

Elijah got back home.

He wanted to continue researching this Faith thing.

"Hmm."

"It seems a broadcast was released about it around the same time that super-big reveal was made."

He continued reading.

Faith. A power presented by a small mage circle who ventured into a rift and made it back alive.

They share their experiences in the video below.

He clicked on it.

He watched.

Suddenly, it became clear to him.

’No one ventures into the rifts but Merlin’s people.’

’This could change things.’

"I’ve got to tell the others."

-

They were all pretty disappointed.

This was their first raid, after all.

They were all angry at Roe for hogging all the points.

It’s just that no one said anything.

Lot was counting on this.

It was technically a setup.

He knew Roe was the only one who would take the initiative to act efficiently.

He deliberately wanted to put them up against Roe.

They explained that everything had been going fine before Roe went overboard.

Lot pounced.

"I’m told you cleared out the vast majority," he said.

Roe just nodded.

"Well, this was a team mission."

"Do you think you should be acting so selfishly?" he asked.

He barely gave Roe a chance to respond.

"I mean, this was Zach’s one experience before he goes training with Solomon."

"You took that from him."

"Now he’ll never know proper team coordination."

"I was right."

"You’re not suited for leadership," Lot ended.

’Now, did he come to all those conclusions right now?’ Roe thought.

’It barely makes sense.’

’I knew he was cranky, but not this cranky.’

’Did something happen?’

Something had, in fact, happened.

Lot was in a foul mood because of his conversation with a certain someone earlier.