User: Kade Noelstra E-Rank Stamina: 300/300, Mana: 400/400

Skills: 1. Stormsteel Core (D-03, Unique, Merged, God-Touched) 2. Thunderbolt Forms (D-01 to D-02, Altered, Merged) 3. Mistwalk Forms (E-10 to D-01, Altered, Merged) 4. Cyclone Forms (E-08 to E-10, Altered, Merged) 5. Sunbeam Bond (E-04 to E-09, Altered, Merged) 6. Energy Font (E-04 to E-10) 7. Brendan's Hymnal (E-05 to E-09)

Path: Stormsteel Path Laws: First Law of Stormsteel, First Law of the Thunderhead, First Law of the Clouded Eye

I'd grown. A lot.

More than expected or hoped.

How had I grown that much? I'd gone from solidly E-Rank to sitting on the cusp of D. A single E-Ranked portal would almost certainly push me over the edge; two skills were at E-10, and two more were within striking range. I was nearly ready to start my climb up the ranks toward S.

The God-Touched modifier on Stormsteel Core…that had to be the burning metamorphosis the God of Thunder had applied. I'd have to keep that secret, just like my Path and the nature of Sunbeam Bond. My build was turning into a major complication—but the risks of being caught with skills and Paths no one else had were far outweighed by the reward.

And I had to be ahead of Ellen, too. We'd been close to each other before, but I was about to have two more D-Rank skills than she did—maybe four.

For a moment, I thought about leaving. About throwing myself into another portal. I had the resources, and I had the skills to clear one by myself. I was pretty sure I could handle an E-Rank boss solo, and it'd get me to D-Rank. From there, it'd be easier to find pick-up teams, easier to fight C-Ranked enemies, and easier to level up my D-Ranked skills. And if I pushed myself just a little harder, I could do that tonight.

There were plenty of E-Rank portals open across Phoenix, but there would be more tomorrow, and I was exhausted.

And I'd completed my goals. I'd kept Jessie safe from the C-Rank portal, fought my hardest, and—I hoped—made Dad proud.

He'd been almost C-Rank. One of the first delvers, before they'd realized the C-Rank bottleneck existed. Unlike Jeff, he'd wanted more for himself. And also unlike Jeff, he'd never accepted that being rank-capped at C meant he couldn't get stronger. If he couldn't rank up, he'd find another way, whether it was his physical fitness, mental quickness, or sheer grit. He'd pushed himself hard, and he'd pushed me hard, too.

And I'd tried to push myself just as hard after his death. To make myself into the man he wanted me to be. It had worked. My growth was outrageous, and I was fighting things I had no business fighting. Someday soon, I'd be as strong as Dad had been. And then stronger. And it was thanks to his training, the discipline he'd given me, and the fury he'd tempered into determination. I owed him a lot.

I stood up, closing my status, and lifted Jessie. She woke up, glared at me, and stuck out her tongue. I deposited her in her bed, then got ready to sleep myself.

I had a lot to think about, though.

Deborah Callahan was still out there, and she was probably still trying to kill me. So was Carter. I had no idea what to make of him, but right now, he was a problem. And then there were the guilds. All five of them would know about me now; I doubted any of them weren't researching me. After all, I had walked out of an S-Rank portal right in front of three guildmasters.

And then there was the Governing Council. Even if The Spark of Life, Sarah Cullman, hadn't tried to recruit me, there was no way I wasn't on their radar, too. Whether they tried to recruit me or not, they'd be looking at my history. They'd see the portals I'd cleared, and they'd also see that the build I'd been reporting wasn't my full build. Once they realized that, I'd be target number one for them as they tried to figure out what I was hiding.

The solution to the second problem was to pick one of the five guilds and join it. But that would just make the first problem worse. Instead of Deborah being upset, it'd be all the guilds I didn't pick.

And at the end of the day, none of the guilds would help me keep my first promise to Dad—except the Iron Falcons, and I couldn't pick them under any circumstances.

The best way to take care of Jessie was to get her involved in running a guild of our own. I hadn't forgotten that dream, and we technically met the requirements to apply now. If everything went well, we could be a six-person guild in a month if we could find the money. Seven, counting Jessie to do dispatch and administration. She'd be good at it, and she'd said she wanted to pull her weight. With her GC experience—and a few more months of it—she'd be more than ready.

I had a lot to do if I wanted to be ready, though. And in the meantime, I had to keep getting stronger. D-Rank was almost here, but after that, it was a long road to S-Rank—and with my potential, that was the minimum I could accept. I'd seen the peaks of power, and it wasn't Angelo Lawrence.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

The God of Thunder was out there. I still needed to decide whether to take his offer. It was a path to power, and he claimed to know more about the Stormsteel Path and what it would mean for my growth. But he was a phenomenally powerful monster. According to him, he'd never been unleashed on a world before—and he'd been a god for a long time. But he'd contradicted himself at least once. He'd said he'd become a god, but also that he was a portal monster.

Neither of those could be true at the same time. Monsters didn't progress. Except for Cheddar, but his progression was based on mine, not on his own power. Regular portal monsters were the rank they were, and they didn't grow—not even during a portal break.

Whatever the God of Thunder was, he was dangerous.

And if he was out there, so were other ancient monsters like him.

Ellen glared back at her father as Bob Traynor adjusted his tie. "You are, of course, aware that if you'd cooperated just a little more, the Traynor Corporation could have turned this portal surge into a billion-dollar coup. Having a Traynor team out there clearing portals would be the public relations victory of the decade. But no, you insist on doing things your way."

"I do," Ellen said.

"You do what?"

Her glare only deepened, until it felt like her head was going to burst. "I know you want me to cooperate. I know you think I owe you—"

"You do. Do you have any idea how many strings I've pulled to get you educated and ready to take over the family business? How much effort I've put into making sure you had the best possible schools, the most influential teammates on your soccer teams, the most accomplished piano and violin tutors? Clearing a few portals in the name of the family business would be the very, rock-bottom least you could do to start paying all of that back."

Ellen didn't say anything to that. It was the same old song and dance. She stood up, setting the fluted glass of champagne down. She hadn't touched it—she never did, but Bob still insisted that it'd be there for her before every meeting with him.

That's all these were. They weren't family get-togethers. If they were, she wouldn't be in a pantsuit, and he wouldn't be behind his desk.

"I think we're done here," she said coldly. She walked to his desk and stuck out her hand. I look forward to these little family get-togethers so much."

"Me too, Eleanor. Me too," Bob said. He shook her hand. "I'll see you at the reception in three days. Remember, the blue dress. Nothing too splashy; you want to make an impression, but not be the star of the show."

"Of course, Bob," Ellen said. Then she headed for the door.

She had plans, but all of those plans were weeks away from working out, and in the meantime, it was getting increasingly awkward to live in her father's house—especially since, if those plans worked out, none of them would involve Bob Traynor.

Some of them might involve Kade Noelstra, though. Ellen had been thinking about him all morning. She owed him already, and he hadn't called her on that debt yet. But if her plans worked out the way she wanted them to, she'd end up owing him for a lot more than one crazy day with a pair of eggs.

Ellen would gladly be in his debt if it meant being out from under Bob's thumb completely.

Governing Council Message:

Status: Medium Priority

The portal surge over the last few days has abated. Contributions and bounties will be rewarded over the next week, due to the extreme backlog in the Governing Council's processing systems.

All civilians in the Phoenix and Tucson areas are relieved of their curfew and shelter-in-place orders. Continue to take reasonable precautions if traveling to the Sun City and Surprise districts of Phoenix, or if leaving the cities, as not all portals in those regions have been cleared.

All delvers of C-Rank or higher, be aware that Carlsbad Fortress has requested a resupply and temporary assistance within the next two months. The Governing Council will be organizing a relief convoy to cross New Mexico and provide that resupply. All delvers interested in participating should contact their local Governing Council representatives for further information and to sign up.

Jeff had been awake at three in the morning.

He always was. The hours from three to six were the best times to go for a run outside—although in July and August, he'd be forced into a GC center by the heat. He'd been covered in sweat when his music had cut off and the ping had interrupted his stride.

Now, he stood on the corner, ignoring the crosswalk light and voice in his head telling him to keep running. At C-Rank, he was more than maneuverable enough to cross whenever he wanted, and more than tough enough to ignore any cars that did manage to hit him. Besides, it was three in the morning. No one was out.

But the message was the most important thing in the world. The only thing in the world, as far as Jeff was concerned.

He'd lived in Carlsbad.

He'd been twelve when the portal had opened in the caverns. Before that, he'd loved to explore it with his friends—the ones he'd had back home. The ones he hadn't seen or heard from in years. It had hurt, when his parents had joined the evacuation convoy and left the town. Part of the pain was leaving his friends behind. That would have hurt no matter what. But the thing that made his stomach ache even now was that they hadn't evacuated. Their parents were delvers. C-Rank ones.

The minimum rank allowed in Carlsbad Fortress after the S-Rank portal broke in the depths of the Bottomless Pit—and the minimum to keep your family in the so-called safe zone at the center of the fortress.

Ignorance was not bliss. Not for Jeff.

He'd spent almost eight years not knowing whether his friends were alive, alternating between watching the news out of Carlsbad for any sign of them and being unable to hear the word because of all the anxiety. He'd obsessed over the portal-metal walls that surrounded Carlsbad Fortress, and the strength of the delver garrison there. It had been miserable, and even though he'd made new friends—like Kade—he'd never forgotten the ones he'd had to leave behind.

When his system awakened, he knew exactly what his goal was. C-Rank. It was still the minimum rank to join a convoy to Carlsbad Fortress, and if he ever wanted to see his friends again, that had to be his goal. Not S-Rank. Not overcoming the C-Rank bottleneck. Just C-Rank itself.

Every time he lost someone, it reminded him of his friends, and the anxiety surged, stronger and stronger. Carlos's death had been especially bad, and when Jeff had thought Kade was dead, that had been the second worst—just behind his everyday levels of worry for his friends.

He couldn't lose them. He had to make sure they were okay.

And he was ready.

But Ellen and Kade weren't. Not yet. And as much as Jeff needed to get to Carlsbad himself, he didn't want to leave his new friends behind to check on the old. Not unless he had to.

They had a month. Maybe six weeks. In that time, Kade and Ellen needed to hit C-Rank, too.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.