Maintained Dimensional Rift.
That's something Aldrin heard for the first time. And for sure, information that a normal civilian wouldn't have any access to.
The Idle Shopping was selling books about Rift Knowledge and Energy Refiner Knowledge but the ones he bought only contained a little additional information. And like everything in it, the more valuable the information, the higher the price. After the most basic book that cost him only 50 IDLE IDLE Points, the next ones costs a thousand IDLE Points so he never really picked one up again.
Although it might be seen by them that he's quite ignorant, Aldrin ignored that and unhesitatingly asked the two about it.
Frederic and Irina first stared at him for a long while, before the latter clapped her hand as if she remembered something.
"Oh! That's right. The information about most Dimensional Rifts is not accessible to normal civilians. But Aldrin, don't tell me you forgot to read the manual given to you when you registered? This kind of information is written there." Irina teased. She even slightly bent her upper body forward just to smear it in his face.
And admittedly, Aldrin remembered that he hadn't visited that manual after skimming through it once. While scratching his cheek, he whistled. "... I will read it now."
He was too busy or rather, he was focusing solely on IDLE Database that he even forgot the reminder Janet told him about reading it.
Aldrin pulled out his phone and began reading it.
Finding it funny that a stoic guy like Aldrin could be this clumsy, Irina heartily giggled as she watched him fumbled with his phone.
Seeing how much focus he put onto that, Irina then pulled Frederic with her back to where they were standing earlier after excusing themselves to Aldrin.
Leaving him to educate himself was one of the two reasons and the other was because that egoistic guy continued leering in their direction, totally annoyed that they're associating themselves with Aldrin.
They might have been unbiased but not everyone had the same view as them. And considering they're friends with that egoistic guy, they wouldn't just abandon him for Aldrin.
Aldrin didn't think anything about that. It's already a good thing for him that none pointed and mocked him.
No matter how understanding he was in the situation, there's always a limit to one's patience.
As Aldrin continued reading the manual, he finally reached the part about the classifications of Dimensional Rifts.
There are three classifications for them.
First is the Instance-type Dimensional Rift. This kind of Rift was the most common. What the public knows about the Dimensional Rifts all pertained to the Instance-type. It would randomly show up and spit out Rift Monsters that were waiting on the other side of the Rift. Energy Refiners could hasten their closure but given time, the Rift would mend by itself leaving the Rift Monsters that escaped and failed to return into the wilds.
Second is the Maintained-type Dimensional Rift. This kind of Rift was fairly close to the Instance-type, except... There was a mechanism inside the Rift that was keeping it open for longer period of time. The fastest is a month while the longest can reach years. To close it, Energy Refiners or Soldiers operating Metadomes have to dive inside the Rift and destroy that mechanism.
However, there's a secret that the government, corporations and Energy Refiners do to most Maintained-type Dimensional Rifts.
Not only will they not destroy the mechanism inside, but they will also build a military base or fortress surrounding it. Using the Rift for harvesting resources by diving and exploring the Dimension beyond the Rift.
Moreover, if cities have the Dimensional Disruptor to prevent Rifts to open inside them, the military bases have what they called the Dimensional Stabilizer. It was a piece of technology that will ultimately slow down the mending of the Rift even if the mechanism inside is destroyed, giving them enough time to repair it or evacuate the personnel inside.
Third and last is the Realm-type Dimensional Rift. The type of Rift that was the rarest of them all. Inside the Rift, humanity could encounter another intelligent race and a whole new world to explore. Moreover, the worlds beyond this type of Rift exist in another plane, that according to what those experts theorized, existing parallel to the universe humanity lived in.
"I feel like the third type lacks a lot of information..." Aldrin concluded after reading through it. It was supposed to be the most important but nothing was said about whether humanity had already made contact with them, waged war or befriended them.
In his wild guess, only those in the upper echelons of the three ruling human factions would be aware of that kind of information, or someone high up in the Refiner's Association.
A few minutes later, the officials of the Refiner's Association, the three prominent corporations and the City Hall arrived, gathering every new Energy Refiner's attention.
Aldrin pocketed back his phone and also put his focus on the newcomers.
As soon as they stopped in front of them, the previous buzz that was filling the hall was instantly silenced.
In place of that, a rumbling pressure suddenly pushed down in every new Energy Refiner's shoulders. Like a tidal wave engulfing fishing boats.
If they failed to brace themselves, there's no doubt that they would capsize and sink under it.
"Ugh!"
"Wha--!"
"Everyone is..."
And as the officials had expected, various reactions instantly rang out, some could still be clearly heard while some were just fragments of what they wanted to say.
Among the more than 50 Energy Refiners, more than half of them could easily be seen kneeling on the floor, regardless of how elegant and luxurious their attires were.
As to the source of that pressure... It's a joint effort of the officials to test the raw talent of the young recruits.
"One... Two... Three... Hmm... Another poor result. Only less than a handful have a promising future. Another batch of cannon fodders..." One of the officials wearing a green suit said while shaking his head. It was Silliard, the Branch Head of Entraia.
He then stepped backward, seemingly losing interest to check the new Energy Refiners.
"Nowadays, even if the number of awakened is increasing, their quality is on the dive." Another one wearing a cherry-red robe where her slick white legs were peeking followed after. She then waved the paper fan in her hand before covering her mouth with it. "Another wasted trip."
It was Agate, the Branch Head of Alpinecloud.
"You two always say that but you'll still pick among them." Evelyn, the Branch Head of Frostland shook her head as she remained standing, her eyes scanning those who weren't brought down by the pressure they put the hall under.
Apart from the three Branch Heads, the officials of the City Hall who's wearing a navy blue military uniform and the Association official who's wearing the same formal suit as Janet and Gordon also silently looked around, scanning the rookie Energy Refiners and trying to pick who among them would be the best to recruit.
At this point, Aldrin was shaking on his knees. But that's all the pressure was bringing him. He remained standing with a frown on his face. His fists were clasped tightly as if he was ready to charge forwards and his Energy Quintessence was furiously working to deliver his refined Energy to his legs. Moreover, he was about to open his Spatial Pocket to call for his Battlesuit to protect himself.
Fortunately, he stopped that thought when he recognized that it was all a test.
Looking around, apart from him, Irina, Frederic and that egoistic guy were still standing albeit shaking on their knees. There were also around three others that were scattered around the hall.
'Looks like my training and continuous conversion of Dimensional Energy paid off... But still, how strong are they?'
Aldrin wondered as his eyes rested on those five officials evaluating them. A casual invocation of their pressure and not even a Concept was enough to put all of them to their knees.
To think that there's that much of a gap between Energy Refiners, Aldrin's eyes were pried open.
Looking back to his experience, the pressure might be on par or even stronger than those Champion Insects he encountered. However, in the Lower Dimension, he was supported by the multipliers and the equipment worn by the Dimensional Clone. Here, he's using his bare body.
The possibility of these officials being stronger than those Champions was somehow disproven.
A minute later, the pressure was lifted and every Energy Refiner heaved a sigh of relief. They all stood up and straightened their backs, embarrassment filling their faces.
However, some were stubborn enough to raise a complaint that they were taken by surprise and demanded another try.
Right there and then, pressure specifically dropped on those few idiotic young men. Perhaps earning the irk of the officials, they weren't the same pressure earlier but a notch higher. Instead of just kneeling on the ground, they ended up kissing it instead.
Following that little commotion, the official from the Refiner's Association clapped his hand and began with his speech. He's the facilitator of this gathering and in this place, they were about to distribute the new Refiners to different organizations.
As always, new bloods would always bolster their organization so this was a monthly occurrence.
The new Energy Refiners were like new products on the market that they could pick on.
"Once again, we welcome you to the World of Energy Refiners. Past this point, you're all no longer civilians that need to be protected. Instead, when disaster strikes, you will be the shield to protect them."
After his lengthy speech, he then scanned his gaze and his eyes eventually rested on Aldrin.
"Can you step forward, Aldrin Fallwater?"
Hearing his name being called, Aldrin waded through from the back and arrived in front of him.
At this distance from the official, Aldrin felt the unconscious pressure being emitted by all of them. It's unlike the intentional pressure earlier, what he was feeling was just the manifestation of their natural disposition.
"You have been recommended to enter the Association, do check the contents of this contract. If it's favorable to you, you can sign it right here."
There's the saying that the early bird gets the worm. With the emphasis given by the Branch Head on recruiting Aldrin, the official had no choice but to make the first step to entice him rather than wait for the other birds to try and snatch him with their beaks.