Path to Transcendence

He sent a small probe of aura in Declan\'s direction. It wasn\'t that big or noticeable, but he knew it was enough to catch the man\'s attention. Declan\'s aura abilities were very good and as expected caught onto Julius\'s probe with ease.

The vice-captain immediately turned and headed right toward Julius\'s direction, spotting him right away. When he walked up to Julius\'s table he pulled a chair out and sat next to him. Declan noticed there was a latte and muffin on a plate in front of him and looked at Julius with questioning eyes.

"Yeah, I got you a latte and a muffin just in case you wanted something before we go," he told Declan. Julius wasn\'t inconsiderate, he had gotten something for Declan as well. He had a feeling that Declan would show up soon and had been prepared for his arrival. It was the least he could do for the man since he was coming all the way out here and cleared his very busy schedule to help Julius.

Declan reached over for the mug, attempting to pick it up, but Julius stopped him before he could. With a quick application of fire mana, Julius warmed the latte and muffin up. The previously lukewarm beverage now had steam emitting from its surface.

Declan observed as Julius did that little work of mana. He tentatively picked up his mug and gave it a soft sip, testing the temperature of the drink. Declan let out a satisfied sigh and raised his eyebrows in the realization of what Julius had just done.

Truthfully, it was gratifying to see that Declan had appreciated the gesture as well as the deeper implication of the mana control it required. Declan was skilled enough to understand that what Julius had accomplished was more difficult than he had made it seem.

Most people wouldn\'t think twice upon seeing what Julius had done. They would more than likely believe it to be a simple feat of magic. However, they would be wrong. Heating up a liquid wasn\'t that difficult on its own. However, regulating the amount of fire mana and heat to be the perfect drinking temperature was not easy.

It required a delicate touch and strict control over one\'s mana. Not enough heat and the drink wouldn\'t get hot enough. Too much heat and the drink would become a scalding mess that would be too hot, even for a Tier 4 like Declan to drink comfortably.

Just because Tier 4s had more robust bodies didn\'t mean that they couldn\'t perceive temperature like regular people. It didn\'t damage them like it would a Tier 1, but it still didn\'t feel good for something really hot to touch their delicate tongues. Declan knew of this and tilted his head in recognition of Julius\'s efforts. Julius just smiled at the man, mentally patting himself on the back on a job well done.

As the two of them were finishing up their drinks and food, they talked about the rift and how Declan believed Julius\'s strategy should be.

"It says the rift is a forest-related environment, this could pose several issues with other people, but I think it fits you well. Your perception skill should be able to pick up any lifeform in the vicinity, so the trees and foliage should not be a big issue unlike for other parties. Unless there is some sort of stealth variant you won\'t have to worry much about ambushes. Still, keep an eye out just in case. You never know what can happen in a rift. Most people die not from a powerful enemy, but because they were caught off guard." Declan took the time to remind Julius of the rift\'s details and ensure that he wasn\'t going in with too much confidence.

Julius promised that he wouldn\'t take any unnecessary risks while he was there. This wasn\'t the troll rift and he wasn\'t going to make so many reckless choices this time. This rift was about showing Declan that Julius could be trusted with delving alone. After all, Declan couldn\'t always be with Julius.

As much as the man wanted to watch Julius like a hawk, he realized that he needed to trust Julius to take care of himself. That wasn\'t to say that he couldn\'t prepare him the best that he could before then.

Declan understood that Julius was much stronger than his Tier 2 status would indicate. He also knew that Julius had a really good healing skill. These were the main reasons why he had even considered getting the rift pass for Julius.

After they left the cafe and were about to get to the rift location, Julius took out the black mask he had just bought. His actions grabbed the attention of Declan who was walking next to him.

"What is that?" Declan stopped and watched as Julius put on the face covering.

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"Hmm?" Julius asked as he shifted the mask around his face so that it sat comfortably on his face, just over the bridge of his nose, leaving only his eyes exposed.

"Why are you wearing something so ridiculous? You look like you are about to rob someone," Declan said in an exasperated tone.

Julius gave himself a quick lookover and couldn\'t blame Declan for saying that. He was already wearing all black and the black mask made it even more over the top. He indeed looked like a robber.

"If you are trying to be inconspicuous then you are failing miserably," Declan told him.

Julius shrugged his shoulders at Declan. "I\'m not going for inconspicuous. I am going for nobody to see my face. I don\'t care if I look weird while doing it," he told Declan.

Declan just stared at him with a face of disbelief.

"Plus, this thing is really comfortable. Like seriously comfortable. Here try it." Julius took it off and handed it over to Declan, urging him to try it on for himself.

Declan just held the thing in his hands and looked at Julius with a deadpan stare.

"Go on, try it. I promise you will understand when you put it on," Julius promised.

Declan released a big sigh and defeatedly put on the mask. Julius watched as Declan let out a sound of surprise.

"See? I told you it was comfortable," Julius said to Declan.

Declan took off the mask and held it between his hands, using his senses to get a closer look at the piece of black cloth. "This thing is a high-quality item," he said in admiration. "Each woven fiber has multiple layers of enchantments. All perfectly in harmony with each other. Whoever made this is a true craftsman. Where did you get this?"

"From a store in the little town while I was waiting for you. Is it that impressive?" Julius knew it was a nice item but based on Declan\'s reaction he was starting to think even he misunderstood its value.

"Yes, whoever made this is a masterful crafter. After this rift I want you to show me the store where you bought this. Perhaps I can make a deal with the crafter and see if he wants to make some items for the guards or for my son, he could learn many things from just examining this man\'s work," Declan said excitedly.

That seemed like a big deal to Julius. He would think that the City Guards would have their pick from the best craftsmen to choose from. If Declan was this excited about a random crafter then he must have been really impressed by the mask.

"So I can still wear it?" Julius asked tentatively.

"Of course. It would be a shame for something of that quality not to be used." Declan\'s whole demeanor did a one-eighty. Julius suspected that Declan would actually yell at him for not wearing the mask now.

Julius took the mask back from Declan and put it back on, savoring the luxurious feeling. It was really a good mask. He didn\'t know enough about crafting and enchantments, but he could appreciate how comfortable it was.

The two of them approached the guards who were still sitting down. Julius saw that the older man was still reading his book and the younger one was still whittling away with his knife.

It was only when they got close enough that the two guards stopped what they were doing and looked at them.

"I\'m sorry, but this is private property. I am going to have to ask you to leave," the older man said as he put down his book and stood up.

Julius allowed Declan to take the lead. Declan immediately took out the rift access card from his storage device and presented it to the guard. Julius watched as the guard\'s defensive attitude dropped as soon as he saw the card. He looked back at the younger guard who had also stood up in the middle of taking his sword out and nodded at him.

The younger man relaxed but kept a hand on his sword anyway. The older man approached the two of them. Julius could barely detect any aura coming from either of them, but the little he could sense reminded Julius of Edgar and the others. He couldn\'t say for sure, but he suspected that these guards were either strong Tier 2s or Tier 3s.

The older guard took the card from Declan and heavily inspected it, using a device he took out to scan the card and handed it back promptly.

"Apologies sirs," he bowed at Declan and Julius. "I didn\'t see anything on schedule. But please come this way."

The older man escorted the two of them inside the boundary. The second they stepped through Julius could feel the many enchantments that were set up wash over him. The previously empty cemetery-looking field now had a large stone building standing in the middle of it.

When they entered the doors Julius saw several other guards who were inside sitting around all turn and looked at him and Declan with curious gazes. Behind them was a large open room with massive ceilings and pillars surrounding it. In the middle sat a softly pulsing blue portal, much like the troll rift.

The older guard turned to explain to the two of them, "You are free to enter whenever you want to. Typically, the fee is ten to forty percent of all retrieved cores and materials depending on your access privilege. However, you will not have to pay any of the fees. All of them have already been covered by Lord Lagos. However, the only requirement is that you don\'t permanently close the rift and leave within a reasonable time. Is that understood?"

Declan and Julius both nodded at the man.

"Of course, we shouldn\'t be that long. But thank you for your help Mr…?" Declan asked.

"Martin, sir," the guard responded

"Thank you, Martin." Declan smiled at the man.

Martin nodded his head and left the two of them, walking back to the gate. Declan looked at Julius and nodded his head at the rift, indicating that he would follow him. Julius slowly made his way over to the blue light and felt a little weird.

It was a weird mixture of anxiousness and excitement. While it wasn\'t anything like the troll rift, he was a little excited to finally get to delve into a rift again. He looked back at Declan who gave him an encouraging nod and took a deep breath before reaching out to the portal. The moment he touched it, he got a notification.

Notice: Would you like to enter the rift?