The alarm buzzed like it hated him personally.
Lucen opened one eye.
Didn't move.
The buzzing got louder.
He reached out without looking and slapped the side of the tablet. It fell off the nightstand and hit the floor with a soft thump. The alarm stopped.
He stared at the ceiling for a full minute.
Same crack. Same stupid tree-branch shape. He thought about naming it. Then decided that was probably a symptom of something.
His breath steamed slightly in the cold air.
'Alright. Let's go risk my life for pocket change.'
He kicked the blanket off.
Stood up.
Regretted it instantly.
The floor was freezing. He stepped onto the edge of his coat to get to the bathroom. Rinsed his face. Brushed his teeth. Stared into the mirror.
Same face.
Same hair that refused to sit down no matter how much water he used.
He dried off and started pulling his gear.
Pants. Undershirt. Layered jacket. Scavenger armor wrap. He hesitated at the glyph on the chest. Still backwards. Still ugly.
He pulled it on anyway.
'If I die, at least I'll die ironically.'
Knife in pocket. Sigil case in side pouch. Shield disc clipped to his belt like a joke pretending to be a tool.
He opened the system.
[Spell Archive: 2]
[Unstable Kinetic Point]
[Gravitic Snap]
[Mana: 51 / 51]
[EXP: 50 / 150]
[Level: 1]
Both spells showed as active. No warning lights. No red text. The system didn't say anything. Just waited.
He stared at it.
Then tapped the corner and opened the spell editor tab again.
Empty grid.
[Slot 3: Locked – Requires Level 2]
'Right. Not even allowed to be stupid three times in a row yet.'
He closed it and grabbed his bag.
Stepped into the hallway.
The building smelled like burnt rice and something slightly moldy. Probably laundry.
Mrs. Higa was in the stairwell again. Same broom. Same sweater. She looked up this time.
"You got a job today?" she asked.
Lucen nodded. "Drift clearance in a small zone."
She gave him a slow once-over.
"That shield disc looks like it came from a cereal box."
"It did."
She grunted. Went back to sweeping.
He walked down the stairs.
Outside, the city was awake. Sort of.
Sky was still dark. Lights buzzed over cracked sidewalks. A patrol drone floated past without scanning him. Probably still rebooting from last night.
He passed two vendors arguing over who stole whose power cable.
Someone's system window glowed on a rooftop three buildings away. Too far to read. Probably bragging. Probably lying.
Lucen turned toward the west end tram stop.
Zone 12 was listed under Driftgate Utility – Sector 8B. Not far. Two stops, then a short walk past the recycling depot and the overflow drain.
He checked his tablet for the job listing.
Still there.
[Zone 12 Drift – Entry Bonus Pending]
[Status: Open]
[Report to Onsite Marker – Entry Allowed with Sigil Case]
He checked his coat pocket. Tapped the sigil case.
Still rattling.
'That's the sound of quality.'
He turned the corner.
The tram pulled in right as he reached the platform.
Timing, for once, on his side.
He stepped in, grabbed the nearest rail, and leaned back while the car hummed forward.
His reflection in the window looked more awake than he felt.
He narrowed his eyes.
'Let's see how deep this goes.'
The tram doors hissed open.
Lucen stepped off onto a cracked stretch of concrete that barely counted as a platform. No guards. No gate. Just a rusted turnstile that spun without resistance when he touched it.
Ahead, a row of temporary fences had been set up around the entrance to Zone 12.
They weren't locked.
The kind of fences meant to say people shouldn't walk in there, but they didn't actually stop anyone.
Lucen adjusted his bag and headed down the path.
Fog drifted low across the road. Industrial haze. The kind that smelled like mana coolant and burnt plastic. He could hear the distant hum of an active anchor node, buried somewhere underground.
A man in a folding chair sat at the edge of the checkpoint.
Tablet on his lap. Styrofoam cup in one hand. Jacket two sizes too big. Badge hanging around his neck on a lanyard that said City Systems – Temporary Site Admin.
He looked up when Lucen got close.
"You here for the drift?"
Lucen nodded. "Yeah, zone 12 contract."
The guy squinted. Then reached under the chair and pulled out a clipboard.
"Name?"
"Lucen Ivara."
He flipped a few pages.
Found the line.
"Cool. You're actually on it. That's a first."
Lucen blinked. "What?"
"Nothing. You got a sigil case?"
Lucen held it up.
It made that same rattling noise.
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Is that empty?"
"…It's optimistic."
The clerk sipped his drink. "Alright. Entry zone's marked. Gate's stable as of last scan. Minor pull pressure, but you won't get yanked unless you're an idiot."
Lucen nodded like that meant something.
"Anyone else inside?"
"Couple runners already went in earlier. Guildless. Didn't check out yet, so they're either fine or paste."
'Wow. Thanks. Really builds confidence.'
The guy pointed.
"Follow the rail down, turn left at the old filter pumps. You'll see the rift. It's ugly."
Lucen hesitated.
Then asked, "Listen, uhm… is there any chance there's, like, a bonus for not dying?"
The man stared at him.
Then shrugged. "Surviving means you can come back. That's your bonus."
'So that's a no.'
Lucen turned and followed the path.
The ground dipped as he walked. The sidewalk cracked and slanted toward the drainage tunnel. Pipes lined the walls in crooked rows, some still dripping mana fluid. Everything was gray. Concrete. Rust. Industrial decay.
Then he saw it.
The rift wasn't glowing. It wasn't dramatic.
It looked like a vertical bruise in the air, maybe two meters wide. Flickered at the edges like heat off asphalt. The space around it shimmered slightly. Trash curled inward if it got too close.
Lucen stopped ten meters away.
Took a breath.
'Alright. Time to walk into a broken dimensional hole with two spells, one knife, and a prayer to the god of poor decisions.'
He opened his system window.
[Spell Archive: 2]
[Unstable Kinetic Point – Active]
[Gravitic Snap – Active]
[Mana: 51 / 51]
[No current quest]
[No party detected]
[No common sense equipped]
He tapped the interface closed.
His fingers hovered at his sides for a second too long.
Then he stepped forward.
Slow. Steady.
The moment he crossed the rift line, the world bent sideways.
And swallowed him whole.