Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 37B2 - Heavy Stones and a Rift Ruler

They left the workshop and soon arrived at the merchant alley.

"Do you want something?" David asked. Maybe they could find some suitable Skill Slates—something to augment her powers as a Portaligist.

"I don’t know if I can afford anything useful. A few Bronze slates are all I have," Maja responded, her hand reaching for a small leather pouch.

David waved dismissively. "You don’t have to worry about money. I saved some slates to pay for the Blood Storages. It’s a decent bit, probably not enough to pay the Artificer, but that’s clearly not a problem anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Investing in your growth will benefit me as well."

"If you put it that way..." Maja didn’t sound convinced, but she approached the street vendors and entered some shops.

Are Portaligists considered Mages as well? If so, purchasing her [Mage Armor] should work, David wondered, tilting his head before nodding. Since he could fuse [Mage Armor] with a Class like Lifeweaver, Maja should have no problem doing the same. As far as David could tell, she controlled Mana and possessed a Mana Core. Her energy certainly felt like mana.

He watched her for a moment, his mind wandering as she rummaged through the displayed goods of several merchants with an excited smile. Her amber eyes twinkled, and her long chestnut hair flowed in the faint breeze that swept through the alley. He gazed at her, lost in thought, until Maja turned to him, her vibrant smile making him flinch.

A gemstone-embedded sword rested in her small hands.

"Did you know Swordwands existed? It has the wrong attributes, but what do you think?" she asked, looking like a happy little bunny.

Something is really wrong with me, David grumbled inwardly, though he kept a smile on the outside as he inspected the sword—or Swordwand.

"Do you want a sword? I’m not sure that suits you. Focusing on Portaligist and acquiring more magical Skills might be the better option," he proposed. Yet something about the Swordwand and the way Maja looked at it set him off. It appeared… natural. A bizarre thought surfaced in his mind, and he added, "What is your Primary Class?"

Until now, Maja had only ever mentioned Portaligist, but it was not her Main Class. She had clarified that much before, yet she had never talked about her Main Class. Seeing her smile crumble, the joy wiped from her face, was not a great sight, but David kept staring at her. She squirmed, clearly uncomfortable, but so be it.

"I… picked Warrior as my Basic Class when… when the integration struck," Maja muttered, barely loud enough for David to hear.

Warrior? Why would she do that? It didn’t make any sense. Maja was small and frail. If she had been a fierce woman, he would have understood her a little, but Maja was also shy, overly self-conscious, and lacked confidence.

David imagined her fighting the Goblins of the Rift in Ashville in melee, clashing head-on—sword against sword—which made him shudder. In some ways, it was surprising that Maja had survived. It was impressive, especially considering she must have reached Bronze Rank with her Basic Class to unlock her Secondary Class.

But what did she do to unlock Portaligist? Her Primary Class must have evolved into something highly compatible with Portaligist.

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Numerous questions surfaced in his mind, but one overshadowed the others.

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"Why?" he asked seriously.

Maja didn’t strike him as a fool. She looked shy and lacked confidence, but she was no fool. The integration might have turned everything upside down, throwing the lives of all of mankind into chaos, yet that didn’t transform all humans into mindless fools.

Maja didn’t dare look into his eyes. Her shoulders dropped, and she stared at the ground. "Do I have to tell you?"

That caught him slightly off guard, but he simply said, "You don’t have to. I was just curious."

"I… had my reasons…" Maja muttered, trembling.

"I understand." David nodded, clearing his throat, trying to break the awkwardness with a subtle shift. "Are you planning to buy a Swordwand? If so, do you mind telling me more about your Primary Class’ first advancement? Maybe we can find something useful that fits both your Primary and Secondary Class."

Maja’s lips were pressed together. She hadn’t stopped trembling, but she looked up, and they locked eyes. A moment later, she calmed visibly.

"Warrior advanced to Rifter at the Bronze Rank. It didn’t fit well with the description of a Warrior, but… being a Warrior had never been my plan. Either way, I think I was given access to this Class, just like the others, because we entered the Goblin Rift shortly after the integration. And we didn’t emerge until everyone had reached Bronze Rank. But I was the only one who picked the Rifter Class. The others didn’t like it. They said it was a useless Class," Maja’s voice grew quieter as more and more words spurted out of her mouth.

"I… I don’t know what happened, but we defeated the Rift Boss and cleared the Rift. We gained control of it and touched it one after another to gain our clearance rewards. When I touched it, something within me reacted." She patted her racing heart, but her life signals were still in disarray as she continued, "Something inside me devoured the Rift Core. I received multiple Class Rank-ups, and my Class evolved—mutated into an Exotic Class, according to the message. I… am now a Rift Ruler."

David listened intently and summarized Maja’s story in his mind: they received a special Class for spending the first days of the integration in a Rift, and only Maja picked it, transforming her into a powerhouse.

He had never heard of the Exotic grade for anything, but it was certainly better than a Rare Class—perhaps even as powerful as a Unique Class.

“Does Rift Ruler have powerful attack abilities? Can you use it in close combat?” David inquired, his brows narrowing when Maja shook her head.

“I have a Class Skill that allows me to conjure a magical, long-range attack and [Slash]. Other than that... Rift Ruler seems useless. Or, it would have been without Portaligist. Their compatibility is very high, but it feels like Rift Ruler and Portaligist are one Class that has been forcefully divided,” Maja grumbled quietly. “Rift Ruler didn’t rank up once since we were forced out of the Goblin Rift.”

David nodded. “Maybe you have to enter another Rift and clear it or absorb Rift Cores to rank up again.”

They spent a little longer talking about Maja’s Classes, gaining a deeper understanding of her abilities and limits. After that, he helped her pick a few Skill Slates. It wasn’t anything special but included [Arcane Blast], [Mage Armor], and a more expensive Skill Slate called [Spatial Fissure]. The latter, according to the merchant who sold it, was not something most people could attune to. It was rare and hard to come by, which was also why it was more expensive than the rest, but its pricing wasn’t exorbitant because only a few out of a million Mages after their Secondary Class Advancement could fuse it to their Mana Core.

Maja did not require her Secondary Class Advancement. She had all the necessary requirements to bind [Spatial Fissure], adding one more offensive Skill Rune to her repertoire.

Finally, David spent his remaining fortune on materials—specifically cheap but dense ore.

The dwarves sold him batches of large ores, some the size of cars or trucks, at a reasonable price. Initially, they were reluctant to sell to him, but their attitudes shifted when he mentioned the goods he was interested in. The dwarven merchant he had approached disappeared into a shop and returned with several comrades talking in their native tongue. David couldn’t understand them, but it wasn’t hard to tell that they were making fun of him. They laughed and shot him mocking glances.

The dwarves were painfully obvious. Their antics and mocking glances made it clear they were overcharging him, but David didn’t mind.

The dense ores were heavy, and they didn’t break easily, even when he punched them with full force. The sickening crunch of the bones in his hand breaking as he punched one of the smaller rocks echoed in his ears.

Along with Maja’s scream.