Kael woke up at exactly seven in the morning.
Golden sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. For a moment, he remained lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling as he slowly shook off the last traces of sleep.
Then he got up.
The apartment was quiet when he stepped out of his room. A glance toward Lyra’s door told him she was still asleep.
Kael headed into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, the smell of eggs filled the apartment.
The breakfast wasn’t anything fancy. Just a simple omelette with a few slices of toasted bread on the side. He prepared two portions, leaving one covered neatly on the table for Lyra before eating his own.
Once he was done, he washed his plate, cleaned up the kitchen, and returned to his room.
After a quick shower, he changed into his battle suit.
His phone buzzed shortly afterward.
It was a message from Zoey.
She had already sent the location of the Rift.
Kael glanced at the time before slipping the phone into his pocket.
A few minutes later, he was already outside booking a transit toward the designated location.
As the vehicle moved through the city, Kael pulled out his phone and began researching the Rift they would be entering.
The Sand World.
A fairly popular Rift among lower-ranked hunters.
The first thing that caught his attention was the environment.
An endless desert.
Dry sand stretched as far as the eye could see with scorching temperatures during the day and freezing cold nights.
As for the dangers...
There were two threats almost every guide mentioned.
The first were Sand Worms.
Massive creatures capable of swimming through sand as though it were water.
Hunters described them as living nightmares.
They could remain hidden beneath the desert for hours before suddenly erupting from below without warning.
Many inexperienced hunters never even saw the attack coming.
The second threat was the Earth Golem.
Constructs made entirely from compacted soil and hardened stone.
Their defensive capabilities were infamous among hunters.
Normal attacks barely left scratches on them.
The only reliable way to kill one was to locate and destroy its core.
The problem was that the core could be hidden anywhere within its body.
Miss it, and the creature would simply rebuild itself using the surrounding desert sand.
Kael continued scrolling.
There were also various lesser threats.
Desert Goblins.
Unlike the small green goblins commonly found in the tower or other Rifts, these creatures possessed rough brown skin that blended naturally with the desert terrain.
According to several veteran hunters, they were surprisingly dangerous.
Not because of their strength.
Because of their intelligence.
They hunted Sand Worms whenever possible and extracted venom from them to coat their weapons and traps.
Speaking of traps...
Nearly every experienced hunter on the forums emphasized the same thing.
Bring a scout.
A proper scout could identify hidden traps, locate enemy ambushes, and even detect approaching Sand Worms before they attacked.
Without one, traversing the desert became significantly more dangerous.
Kael tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"I wonder if Zoey accounted for that."
Well.
He would find out soon enough.
The rest of the trip passed quietly as he continued gathering information.
Eventually, the transit came to a stop.
Kael stepped out.
The entrance to the Rift wasn’t far away.
The area was bustling with activity.
Groups of hunters stood around discussing strategies, checking equipment, or recruiting last-minute members.
Kael’s gaze swept across the crowd.
Soon, he spotted a familiar figure.
Zoey.
She had apparently spotted him at the same time because she immediately raised an arm and waved enthusiastically.
"Over here!"
Kael made his way toward her.
However, as he approached, another familiar figure entered his vision.
Adam.
Kael blinked.
Then blinked again.
He was covered head to toe in expensive-looking armor. Helmet. Chest plate. Gauntlets. Leg guards. Every inch of skin was hidden.
He looked ready to invade a kingdom.
"Hey! You came!" Zoey greeted cheerfully.
"You sound surprised."
"A little."
She shrugged.
"I mean, I had my doubts. No one trusts people they’ve only met once."
She pointed at Adam.
"Except this doofus."
Adam made an offended noise from behind his helmet.
Kael nodded.
"Fair enough."
She wasn’t wrong.
Forming teams for Rift exploration was notoriously difficult.
A Rift wasn’t a playground.
It was a place where people died.
Finding teammates capable of carrying their own weight was already difficult.
Finding ones who wouldn’t stab you in the back for loot was even harder.
Betrayals happened more often than most people liked to admit.
Fortunately, Kael wasn’t particularly worried.
Zoey and Adam seemed decent enough.
And even if they weren’t...
Well.
He was fairly confident he could beat both of them.
So there wasn’t much reason to lose sleep over it.
"I guess first impressions worked out."
"See?" Zoey said proudly.
"We look trustworthy."
Adam crossed his arms.
"Speak for yourself."
That was when Kael noticed something.
Adam had been unusually quiet.
Very unusual.
Normally, the guy radiated enough energy to power a small city.
Now he looked like someone attending his own funeral.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"So what’s going on with him?"
The moment he asked, Zoey’s expression cracked as she immediately covered her mouth, but her shoulders began trembling violently.
Uh-oh.
That was never a good sign.
Kael glanced back at Adam.
The armor.
The silence.
The grumpy expression.
Everything suddenly felt connected.
"You know," Kael said thoughtfully, "I never took you for the type to wear full-body armor. You seem more like the kind of guy who’d run around shirtless carrying a giant axe."
Adam’s eye visibly twitched beneath his helmet.
Zoey on the other hand immediately lost control as a loud laugh escaped her mouth.
Within seconds she was bent over, clutching her stomach.
"Don’t start," Adam warned.
"Tell me what happened."
"No."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Now I definitely want to know."
Adam groaned and began walking toward the Rift entrance.
"I hate both of you."
Kael’s curiosity only increased.
Thankfully, Zoey quickly explained.
And by the time she finished, Kael was struggling not to laugh.
Apparently Adam’s first Tower Trial had involved rescuing hostages.
Simple enough.
The problem was that Adam had spawned inside a settlement and immediately discovered a building filled with goblins.
Lots of goblins.
Unarmed goblins.
Without asking questions, Adam had confidently concluded that they were the criminals.
So naturally...
He kicked down the door and started swinging.
By the time he realized the objective was to rescue them, most of the hostages were already dead.
Thankfully, a few survivors remained.
Enough to technically pass the trial.
Unfortunately...
The Tower had also rewarded him with a Villain Title.
Kael couldn’t hold back a laugh.
The Villain Title was infamous among hunters.
Usually it was awarded to people who committed genuinely horrible acts inside the Tower.
Occasionally, however, someone ended up receiving it through sheer stupidity.
Adam belonged to the second category.
The title naturally generated distrust.
The more morally upright a person was, the more uncomfortable they tended to feel around someone carrying it.
Kael glanced toward Adam.
Then imagined him appearing in one of those fantasy stories with a righteous hero who believed in justice.
The image of Adam getting instantly smited before explaining himself nearly made him laugh again.
Seeing an opportunity, Kael immediately began his attack.
"Adam."
Adam didn’t even look back.
"No."
"What do you mean no? I haven’t said anything yet."
"I know exactly where this is going."
Kael grinned. "Buddy, that’s a terrible thing you did."
Adam’s shoulders immediately stiffened. "What terrible thing?"
"You slaughtered innocent beings."
Adam spun around so quickly that even Zoey looked startled.
"They were goblins!"
"And?"
"And they’re monsters!"
"That’s pretty racist."
Zoey immediately made a strange choking sound beside him, desperately trying not to laugh.
Adam stared at Kael as though he had suddenly grown a second head. "Racist? They’re goblins!"
Kael nodded with complete seriousness. "See? You’re doing it again."
"What am I doing again?!"
"Judging an entire race."
Adam opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. For a moment, he looked genuinely lost for words.
"They are literally monsters!"
"You can’t just assume things."
Adam pointed accusingly at him. "You kill goblins too!"
"Sure."
"And?"
Kael shrugged. "I only punish the bad ones."
For a few seconds, Adam simply stared at him. Then he asked slowly, "And how exactly do you know they’re bad?"
Kael spread his hands helplessly. "I don’t have the Villain Title, so clearly I do know."
There was a brief moment of silence before Zoey completely lost it. She doubled over laughing, one hand clutching her stomach while the other pointed at Adam. By now tears were already forming at the corners of her eyes.
Adam looked at her, then at Kael, then back at Zoey. His eye twitched beneath the helmet.
"I hate both of you."
"Fair."
"No, seriously."
"Also fair."
"I hope a Sand Worm eats both of you."
Zoey’s laughter only grew louder.
Meanwhile, Kael rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "See? Villain behavior."
"GET LOST."
Adam made a strangled noise and continued marching toward the Rift.
Kael chuckled and followed after the grumbling man.
A few moments later, the three of them stepped through the Rift entrance.
The world blurred.
Then their surroundings changed.
They appeared inside a massive stone hall.
Two heavily armed guards stood near the entrance, monitoring the flow of hunters entering and exiting the Rift.
The moment they arrived, one of the guards raised a hand.
"Permits."
The trio immediately stopped.
Each of them pulled out their Hunter IDs and handed them over for inspection.
While the guards examined the documents, Kael’s gaze shifted toward his teammates.
Might as well see what he was working with.
With a thought, he opened their status information.