Jake Rift Jumped out of the searing heat and into the shade. His shade shifted overhead on a multitude of spindly legs. It was a Stinger Crab. Fifty feet in diameter its body was a round crab body, with some forty or so spindly legs holding it up. Two dozen scorpion tails danced around like swaying trees emerging from the top, each tail angled outward. Five eye stalks grew from the center of the shell and swayed wildly as they stretched up more than ten feet to look in all directions. Beneath the monster, Jake braced himself and wound back his right fist. On the back of his palm, the white vortex web design began to spin. With a grunt, he uppercut right into the hard shell body of the monster.
His fist punched right through the armor and ichor poured down on him. Overhead the monster cried out in agony before a dull thump sound silenced it. Jake had detonated his fist inside the monster. Steam jetted from its shell before a cracking sound overwhelmed it. All around Jake, the forest of spindly legs began breaking. Whenever one of these monsters was killed they would suddenly grow greatly in weight. Jake grunted again, this time in strain as the creature collapsed on him. With gritted teeth he strained, arms and legs bulging as he pushed it off.
Shortly after his drones returned bearing both the Power Core and Mutagen. Each monster bore one of each. For the tech faction, they were called Power Core and Mutagen. For the magic faction, they called them Mana Stones and Magic essences. The name didn't matter since they functioned equally for both.
To normal gamers, Power Cores were the monetary reward from monsters. Semi-spherical stones of a dark amber color they ranged in size from a small marble all the way to fist sized, a normal person's fist at least. They were the life blood of the dimensional pockets. Not only fueling them but creating everything inside them. A power core depending on its grade could be converted into raw energy or matter that defied all logic. According to Jon, an A grade one could produce several tens of thousand times its mass in actual matter and energy at a comparable rate.
There was a rare type of core known as a Crafting Core. It didn't produce anywhere near the same level of returns. But its unique properties made it the base for all weapons and armor used by both factions.
Mutagen looked like vein covered fleshy masses that pulsated like it was alive. They came in six common types of different colors for each of the main attributes. Strength, Vitality, Speed, Dexterity, Spirit, and Intelligence. There were also silver mutagen which unlocked skills when absorbed. Finally, there was a gold colored one that upgraded a random skill. Jake had only found one of these, from the five eyed Grim he had battled.
These were processed and then absorbed by gamers or evolvers as he was more often calling them. After all, there was no game. The rate of absorption was abysmal but each successfully absorbed one would increase the associated attribute. Jake eyed the B ranked core the size of a golf ball. Then turned his attention to the blue green mutagen. It was the rare Spirit type. Normally he got these from elemental monsters or humanoid ones that had magic type abilities. Both times he had killed the giant crab monster he had gotten the Spirit mutagen. It reminded him of Aero the wind magic user he had partied with. They were always complaining about how rare Spirit Mutagen were. Shanking his head he added it to his meager collection for the day.
Large groups of monsters worth killing were so hard to find. That reminded him of the Territory Tournament. If he did well, he would get a better hunting ground. How different would it be? With a sigh, he again resolved to not only do well but win the entire tournament. Even if he was still D ranked he knew that didn't accurately represent his combat abilities. He had met two A ranked players before. Both were specialized in long range area damage which wasn't something he had been able to compete with back then. But even then his durability and single target damage had been superior. With his new elemental abilities, he felt he could even compete with them on area damage now.
Thinking this made him feel a bit guilty, his equipment had eaten a powerful staff from one of them. Jake still owed them a replacement but with most of his earnings going to the other towns, he was indebted to for killing their evolvers it would be a while before he could replace it. Just another reason to do well in the upcoming tournament.
Leah cut silently towards him in the boat ready to take him back to the hub. It looked like another day of poor farming.
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Jake winced more out of reflex than any actual pain as the needle jabbed into his neck and injected the refined mutagens. A system pop up filled his view giving him the success rate of absorption. Only about one out of every three successfully absorbed. Jake grumbled.
"Shite rate, right Demon?" An older woman sitting nearby said in response to his complaint. She was one of the older gamers, her hair just turning grey. With wrinkles creeping away from her eyes and mouth. Jake suspected she knew the truth, but never broached the subject with her and she in turn never did with him.
"Yeah." He started to complain about the game design before catching himself. It wasn't by any design, at least not by any human design. Jake nodded to the woman who nodded back to him before heading to log out.
Instead, of returning to his bedroom he spawned in the headquarters for his town. Jake sighed. "What this time?"
It wasn't just Engineer Leru waiting for him like most times he came here. There was the Mayer and Captian Greger whom Jake disliked, a sentiment that was mutual.
"We need to discuss the factions with you." The Mayer answered from his seat at the long table they used when he had to meet with them all.
"I already know about the factions. Magic uses… well magic weapons and abilites with armor that protects against elemental damage. Tech uses tech weapons and their armor protects against physical or kinetic damage." Jake shrugged annoyed they thought he had made it this far without knowing something so basic. He let his tone make his feelings clear.
"Not those. The two main factions." The Mayer answered while Captian Greger scowled at his flippant attitude.
"We told you before that the founders of our town decided to let its residents live in blissful ignorance. To not know the truth about the world and shaped the pocket dimension after a peaceful prosperous time in human history." Engineer Leru spoke up, her calm motherly tone in full teacher mode.
"Yeah, so?" Jake answered as he sat down.
"Well, not everyone believed that was the best approach." She answered hesitantly. Jake saw her eyes flick to the others before she continued. "Others wanted a more… open approach to reality. The residents of their pocket dimensions are all aware of the reality of their existence. As are the evolvers that sustain that existence." Leru took in a deep breath as if bracing herself confusing Jake. "Because of this, their society is different. Evolvers are practically worshiped as Heros or Gods."
"You mean rule as tyrants." Captian Greger spoke up before glaring at Jake. "Don't get any ideas boy. We don't function that way."
Jake glared at the older man, still unsure why he was always so hostile. "What the good Captain says is true." The mayor said, drawing Jake's gaze away from the man in military garb. "Some of the towns are ruled by the Evolvers. They treat the normal people within their pocket dimensions as subjects more than the people they serve. Some treat them as second class citizens or even slaves. It is rather nasty business in our combined opinions." He continued.
"Haven is one of the more extreme examples of this. Unfortunately, they also have the highest number of Evolvers and thus are one of the main powerhouses. Because of their success, they have gained more influence in our cluster, with a number of pocket dimensions following their example." Leru added.
"What do you mean exactly?" Jake wasn't sure he quite understood.
"Evolvers live in hedonistic luxury. While common people exist only to serve them. With their surplus of cores, there is no material luxury they can not easily be provided. But despite that, they are never satisfied. Treating the people as their play things and property. Since normal people can't survive without evolvers there is nothing they can do about it. They are helpless unless they can escape to another pocket dimension that doesn't treat them like livestock." Captain Greger was the one to answer, his face slowly turning to red then purple as he got more and more agitated.
Jake felt his stomach turn a little at the image the captain's words conjured. "I don't get it. How does that make them more successful?"
There was a long pause before the mayor spoke up. "Evolvers are normally born one out of a thousand births. But if a single parent is an evolver that rate jumpers to one in a hundred. If both parents are evolvers it becomes one in seventy five." The mayor then just looked at Jake.
Leru spoke up after a short pause. "Jake. How many children do you think you will have?"
Jake blinked at her and felt his ears heat up in embarrassment. "I hadn't thought about it."
"Just make a guess." She answered, her tone motherly as always.
"I dunno. Two or three? Maybe." He answered.
"With a woman, you have married?" She asked and Jake nodded. "A single woman." Leru added and realization clicked. It must have shown on his face.
"Normal people are treated as second class citizens with limited rights. It is not only common but encouraged that Evolvers in those towns… well there isn't much they can't do freely. Because of this, they tend to have more Evolvers and thus more resources. Haven has nearly two score evolvers last we heard." Leru waited until Jake looked at her. "Their numbers have started to climb recently as well, with a staggering number of new evolvers born in recent years." Something about her tone and the look in her eyes made Jake very uncomfortable.