Chapter 63

  The Five Percent Expectancy

  “The guaranteed way to increase your Class Age Modifier by at least 5% is simple, join a team. Enter a rift, and then close the rift from the inside,” Madame Bloom stated.

  “That’s right, even Common class holders can get five percent of their negative life penalties removed by entering into rifts,” Markan added.

  Markan’s words were a solemn reminder of how this world treated the Common class holders. Hearing his words, I couldn’t help but wonder where I would have been had I not been born into the DiVoratore family. Or more importantly, had I not become aware and taken over the body of Catarine DiVoratore during the Bloodline Awakening ritual. The ritual that very likely killed the original owner of this body. Even now I can’t help but feel that I hijacked someone else’s golden life. Especially considering the fate that await those that are not able to unlock a more powerful Class from the start.

  Everything I had, my two bloodline Skills, my personal Skill, they all helped me have a leg up over the competition and ultimately led me to this point. Granted I did the most with my advanced starting position, constantly pushing myself to improve my Skills which ultimately made me stronger and able to improve my Skills faster in the future. But this added layer, the idea that my Class could somehow affect not only my quality of life, but the lifetime I had, it was a bit much to process.

  “Let me guess, the odds of a Common Class holder entering and clearing ten rifts before their death is astronomically low?” I pressed.

  “Yes, but mainly for the fact that after so many times of entering a rift, your Class will be forcefully changed as well. Meaning those that do survive will see a drastic improvement in their overall quality of life as they are fulfilling the will of the creators,” Markan added.

  Odd, as I didn’t really figure Markan to be a zealot, but apparently here he is spouting the scripture. Scripture that normally speaks about sacrifice and the creators rewarding those who push beyond their mortal limits. Verses and stories that at the time made no sense, but now I can understand them a little bit easier.

  “Look, we should be honest with the lass,” Mr. Karl said stepping forward and getting everyone to slow down. With his gesture everyone paused as they turned to look at Mr. Karl before he turned to me and began speaking, “while they are correct that you do gain an automatic 5% to your Class Age Modifier, something that roughly equates to 912 days of life, or just under three additional years. There are a few things to note.”

  As he spoke, Mr. Karl turned to look at the others before continuing, “first you are young. You are so young that the idea of trying to gain an extra 912 days of life is a bit ridiculous. Second, just because we enter a rift doesn’t mean we will get the full 5%, as we would need our team to be credited with the closure of the rift. Third, and likely the part that everyone here wants me to keep quiet about, is that yes you can get 5% added to your Class Age Modifier, but only if you solo clear the rift by yourself. If you go in with a team, that 5% gets spread equally to everyone, regardless of your overall contributions during the clearing. This means that rather than the full 912 days, you actually get closer to 182 days or roughly an extra half a year. This is why, you’ll often see experienced teams getting together two to three times a year, to stave off death for just a little bit longer.” Mr. Karl gestured to himself and the rest of the team as he noted the last part.

  Suddenly, the reason why everyone was here made sense, as they all wanted to stave off death for half a year.

  Realizing that this was a potential life-saving venture, I turned to Madame Bloom. My question was obvious, but she cut me off before I could even ask.

  “You are going to ask why I wouldn’t go on this mission, to stave off death a bit longer?” Madame Bloom asks the exact question I had as if reading my mind.

  “Yes,” I reply.

  “Well, the answer to your question is multi layered. First, I am at the point where entering and clearing a rift will not affect my overall longevity, for I long ago maxed out my Class’s Age Modifier. Secondly, you don’t want to spread the reward too thinly. If you go in with a team that has more members than the overall clearing percentage offered by the rift, then the reward will be nulled out and no one will get a reward.” Madame Bloom replied.

  There was a brief pause as she let that information sink in. For a moment I wondered how old Madame Bloom really was, particularly as she still looked young and vibrant. I figured she was a few hundred years old, but was she even older than that? Then her comment about nullifying rewards seemed extreme, but there was an opposite end.

  “Does that mean that if the rewards were 5%, and I could clear with a partner that we would get 2% lifetime added, or roughly one year per clear?” I asked, trying to understand these odd mechanics that were apparently always there, but were just now getting explained to me.

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  “Yes,” Madame Bloom began, and for a second it looked like she was about to say more. Almost as if she had some deep personal connection to that exact answer, but then held herself back for whatever reason.

  Finally, after a moment of thinking, it was Mr. Yi who propositioned me to join their team.

  “Well, would you want to at least see what the inside of a rift is like?” Mr. Yi asked.

  Hearing his request, I was once again reminded of my binding oath with Madame Bloom, where I was hired to close this very rift. Remembering that pledge, it seemed like this would the easiest way to accomplish my remaining portion of our contract. As it seems that Madame Bloom was all but handing this easy button to me on a silver platter.

  Either this was a lot harder than was originally advertised, or Madame Bloom had always had it in mind that I would perform this with a team. A team that she personally hand selected and had apparently worked with in some form of military type role.

  Realizing this was likely the easiest way for me to complete this task, I nodded, accepting a system invite.

  With that statement, I paused and realized that this world’s magic might very well be nothing more than advanced technology at its finest.

  I assumed everyone got that same system message, for Markan chose that exact moment, “finally, come on let’s go. I need to add half a year to this beautiful face of mine, especially now that I have a date for later.”

  At that comment, I just shook my head, which I was not the only one. Still, his antics did seem to take some of the pressure off of me for the moment.

  As we got closer, we all paused.

  “I’ll go in first, then signal for when you all can come,” Mr. Yi stated going to the portal entrance and only entering once the rest of us were in position.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Mr. Karl said reassuringly from behind me as he placed a giant paw on my shoulder before squeezing.

  Exhale.

  Knowing that he was there, did help me calm down a bit.

  After a few anxious minutes that felt like hours, Mr. Yi final put his hand through the rift and gestured for us to follow.

  “We’re up,” Mr. Karl noted and like that everyone began entering the rift. Markan first, followed by Madame Voyou, and then it was my turn.

  Taking a deep breathe I centered myself and then entered. I could swear I felt a gentle pat on my back, but that could just be my imagination at work. Then, I waited as the world around me seemed to warp and change. Letting me know that I had entered a realm that was completely alien to me.

  Catarine Bloom’s progress at the end of book 1:

  Attribute Ratings

  1,500 Followers!