My apartment walls vibrated with the passing of a low-flying hovercraft, dislodging a shower of paint flakes that drifted like toxic snow onto my threadbare carpet. I watched them fall with detached fascination, each particle a physical manifestation of my shattered reality.
F-tier.
The classification burned in my mind like acid. Not just any demotion—a complete reset to the bottom of a ladder that no longer existed. The Terminus Protocol had rewritten reality itself, eliminating F-tier rifts and monsters while I stood helpless.
I paced the cramped confines of my apartment, each step stirring dust that had accumulated during my absence. Seven steps from wall to wall—that was the sum total of my world now. My fingers traced the familiar pattern of black mold spreading across the bathroom ceiling, its fractal growth reminiscent of dimensional fractures.
"Zarthus," I whispered, testing the name like a blade against my tongue. The architect of the Terminus Protocol.
My fist connected with the wall before I consciously decided to strike. The impact sent pain lancing up my arm and left a crater in the crumbling drywall. Dust billowed outward, carrying with it the musty scent of decay.
[TIER: F] [LEVEL 1] [TRAIT: REALITY MATRIX(TAINTED)]
A bitter laugh escaped my throat. Perfect stats in a broken system. What good was full mana when I had no skills to spend it on? What value did stamina hold when I couldn't even access F-tier rifts? The entire economic and social structure of humanity revolved around the tier system. I would have to tackle E-tier rifts as a Level 1.
I collapsed onto my bed, the ancient springs protesting beneath my weight. The ceiling above me bore water stains in patterns that resembled constellations—a poor man's cosmos that I'd mapped during countless sleepless nights before my first rift.
Before everything.
“Reactive Fracture Tether is gone, Hazard Conduit is gone, all my Speed attributes are gone…” I muttered, attempting to cope. I couldn’t.
My mind replayed the moment in excruciating detail—the cathedral chamber, Zarthus's approach, the Doomgrave Spike piercing my heart. Why was I so unlucky to be caught up in all this? What could I have done different as simple E-tier raider. Nothing.
A puppet dancing on dimensional strings.
The rage built within me like pressure in a sealed reactor—hot, unstable, and desperately seeking release. I seized the nearest object—a chipped mug bearing the faded Stability Corps logo—and hurled it against the wall. It shattered satisfyingly, ceramic shards exploding outward like shrapnel.
"You think this is over?" I shouted at the empty room, at the Emperor who couldn't hear me, at the universe that had allowed this betrayal. "You think you've won?"
My tirade was interrupted by a pounding from below—my downstairs neighbor expressing displeasure at the noise. In response, I stomped deliberately across the floor, a petty act of defiance against the mundane constraints of civilian life.
The holo-terminal in the corner flickered to life automatically, tuned to the emergency broadcast channel as always. The announcement scrolling across the bottom confirmed my worst fears:
"ATTENTION CITIZENS: TERMINUS PROTOCOL NOW ACTIVE. ALL F-TIER RIFTS PERMANENTLY SEALED. F-TIER RAIDER BADGES INVALID. PLEASE REPORT TO STABILITY CORPS FOR REASSIGNMENT."
Reassignment. The euphemism tasted like ash. Those without tier designations were relegated to resource farms, maintenance crews, or worse—experimental subjects for stabilization research. The F-tier raiders who couldn't advance were simply disposable resources now.
I approached the cracked mirror hanging on my wall, studying my reflection with critical eyes. No visible changes marked my demotion—no brand, no scarlet letter announcing my fall from grace. Just the same face, perhaps a shade paler, eyes holding a strange quality I couldn't quite define.
My gaze shifted to my status display, specifically to the trait that had replaced my Domain Engine:
[TRAIT: REALITY MATRIX(TAINTED)]
The designation pulsed with an almost hypnotic rhythm, drawing my attention away from my anger. Despite everything, curiosity sparked within me. What exactly had the Emperor's betrayal created?
I focused on the trait, expanding its description.
[TRAIT: REALITY MATRIX(TAINTED)]
The designation pulsed with an almost hypnotic rhythm, drawing my attention away from my anger. Despite everything, curiosity sparked within me. What exactly had the Emperor's betrayal created?
I focused on the trait, expanding its description.
REALITY MATRIX (TAINTED)
Passive Effects
Reality Corruption: Stamina lost to the TAINT and cannot be increased, physical exertion increases EXHAUSTION due to TAINT, 3 out of 10 Ability slots lost to the TAINT, the presence of the TAINT is hidden to all detection except ZENITH
Matrix Vision: See energy pathways connecting hazards to dimensional sources, see dimensional distortions before they manifest
Hazard Sense: Detect environmental hazards within 100m
Hazard Resilience: 90% reduced negative effects from environmental hazards
Dimensional Feed: Heal 10% HP when affected by each new unique hazard once per 24 hours
Active Skills: Each individual skill can only be used again once another skill had been used (Setup or Finisher), Setup and Finisher effects with the same name/type can be chained
Skills(Finisher): each cost 10 MANA, each generate 1 Fracture Charge
Shift: Move 1m in any direction, brief invulnerability 0.5 seconds
Bend: Move a hazard in your Hazard Sense range anywhere (base 100m)
Rend: Create a hazard with 10m radius that already exist in your Hazard Sense range (base 100m)
Fuse: Consume an existing hazard healing 30% hp
Skills(Setup): each cost 10% hp, each generate 1 Fracture Charge
Shift(Setup) (3 variant)
Shift-Emerge: Teleport to a hazard within your Hazard Detection range (base 100m)
Shift-Phase: Become invisible for 3 seconds
Shift-Swap: Swap Location with a hazard within your Hazard Detection range (base 100m)
Bend(Setup) (3 variant)
Bend-Negate: Completely nullify an environmental hazard
Bend-Invert: Reverse a hazard's properties
Bend-Amplify: Triple a hazard's effect
Rend(Setup) (3 variant)
Rend-Shape: Manipulate hazards into melee weapon forms
Rend-Shatter: Destroy an existing hazard and create localized storm of micro-hazards with chaotic effects
Rend-Echo: Create an Echo of yourself to distract enemies that lasts 3 seconds it deals no damage
Fuse(Setup) (3 variant)
Fuse-Combine: Merge two hazards into a complex environmental attack
Fuse-Sync: Adopt physical properties of a hazard for 1 second
Fuse-Harmonize: Cause two separate hazards to act in tandem
Combination Effects: No resource cost, combos start from last Finisher and end with Finisher (except 5 word which require 2 Finishers)
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Two-Verb Combinations (used in the following order):
Shift(Setup)+Bend(Finisher)
Reactive Tether: 100% increased speed for 12 seconds
Shift(Setup)+Rend(Finisher)
Hazard Bloom: Triple hazard area of effect
Shift(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)
Hazard Conduit: Transform a hazard into an aura effect that affects everyone indiscriminately (negative effects reduced on self by Hazard Resilience); infinite duration can only be removed by Fuse(Finisher) on self
Bend(Setup)+Bend(Finisher)
Compound Hazard: Apply multiple property changes to single hazard
Bend(Setup)+Rend(Finisher)
Split Hazard: Divide hazards into discrete components
Bend(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)
Hazard Leech: Gain Mana equal to the next instance of damage you take
Rend(Setup)+Rend(Finisher)
Hazard Cascade: Create 3 hazards in rapid succession
Rend(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)
Compress Hazard: Create a hazard projectile that inherits the properties of the hazard Fuse(Finisher) was used on to trigger; if Rend(Setup) was Rend-Shatter create swarm of smaller projectiles
Fuse(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)
Hazard Cascade: Chain hazards with increasing amplification
Shift(Setup)+Shift(Finisher)
Hazard Escape: Return your previous spatial location (3 second ago)
Three-Verb Combinations (used in the following order):
Shift(Setup)+Bend(Setup)+Rend(Finisher)
Reality Tunnel: See 3 seconds into future hazard interactions
Shift(Setup)+Fuse(Setup)+Shift(Finisher)
Reality Drain: Convert 20 Mana into 20 HP
Shift(Setup)+Rend(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)
Reality Feedback: Convert 20 EXHAUSTION into 20% HP
Fuse(Setup)+Bend(Setup)+Shift(Finisher)
Reality Infusion: Infuse the property of a hazard in your Hazard Sense range (base 100m) into your next attack
Rend(Setup)+Rend(Setup)+Rend(Finisher)
Reality Convergence: Move up to 3 hazards at once within your Hazard Sense range (base 100m)
Bend(Setup)+Rend(Setup)+Bend(Finisher)
Reality Fusion: Combine more than two hazards simultaneously
Bend(Setup)+Rend(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)
Reality Anchor: Create 5m radius stabilized space where hazards and dimensional manipulation have no effect can only have 1 at a time making a new one replaces the old one
Five-Verb Combinations (used in the following order):
Shift(Setup)+Rend(Setup)+Bend(Setup)+Fuse(Finisher)+ANY(Finisher)
Hazard Recursion: Matrix Implosion instantly generate 5 Fracture Charges triggering Matrix Implosion Again
The Fracture Charge System
At 1 Fracture Charge:
Enhancement: Hazard Sense range +100% (=200m Total)
At 2 Fracture Charges:
Enhancement: Hazard Sense range +200% (=300m Total)
At 3 Fracture Charges:
Enhancement: Hazard Sense range +300% (=400m Total) + skills HP cost reduced to 0
At 4 Fracture Charges:
Enhancement: Hazard Sense range +400% (=500m Total) + skills HP cost reduced to 0, can briefly see through dimensional barriers
When 5 Fracture Charges: Automatically Consume 5 Charges and initiate Matrix Implosion
Matrix Implosion: Create a catastrophic dimensional Fracture, that manifests a severe hazard alien to the local environment, the more unstable the environment the more likely to summon conceptual hazards that rewrite local reality, effect affects and damages everyone indiscriminately; Fracture Charges reset to 0
Minutes stretched into hours as I studied the trait's description, analyzed its potential applications, and contemplated its limitations. The technical language masked something profound—a fundamental shift in how I interacted with dimensional energy.
This wasn't a downgrade. It was something entirely different.
I rose from my seated position, approaching the center of my apartment. The trait description mentioned Matrix Vision and Hazard Sense. I closed my eyes, focusing on the energy around me.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, like a veil being lifted, I perceived threads of energy connecting mundane objects throughout my apartment. The failing heater unit emitted a pale blue aura, connected by a pulsing thread to a minor dimensional leak in the building's foundation. The black mold in the bathroom was feeding on energy from a different dimensional source entirely.
When I opened my eyes, the perception remained—overlaid on my normal vision like an augmented reality display. Every hazard, every energy source, every dimensional weakness was suddenly visible.
"Matrix Vision," I whispered, turning slowly to observe the network of connections throughout my living space. "Hazard Sense."
I extended my awareness outward, pushing the boundaries of the 100-meter range mentioned in the trait description. The apartment building revealed itself as a tapestry of dimensional interconnections—minor hazards lurking in unexpected places, energy pathways crisscrossing between structural weaknesses.
My fingers tingled with unfamiliar energy as I raised my hand toward a small electrical hazard—a faulty wire in my wall that presented minimal but persistent danger.
"Shift."
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then my body moved—not stepped, not jumped, but shifted—covering the one-meter distance to the wall instantaneously. The sensation was utterly different from conventional movement, as if reality itself had folded to bridge the gap.
10 mana gone, just like that. But I had moved, and for that half-second during the shift, I had been completely invulnerable.
A fractured laugh escaped my lips as I stared at my hands. The Emperor had tried to destroy me, to render me powerless and obsolete. Instead, he had given me something new—something tainted, yes, but potentially more powerful than what I had possessed before.
I spent the next several hours systematically analyzing my newfound abilities, comparing them to my previous toolkit. The irony wasn't lost on me—trapped in my dilapidated apartment with the most powerful dimensional trait I'd ever encountered.
The Reality Matrix was fundamentally different from my Domain Engine. Where my old abilities focused on simply manipulating hazards—inverting, amplifying, creating, or consuming them—this new system operated on an entirely different principle. It was more versatile but required more strategic planning.
I pulled out an old notebook and began sketching ability combinations, mapping out the potential applications of the Setup and Finisher mechanics.
"The setup skills cost HP instead of mana," I muttered, tapping my pen against the page. "That's a significant change from before." I had always relied on my mana pool, carefully monitoring and managing it during extended engagements. Now I'd need to balance health expenditure against mana conservation.
My old fighting style had centered around creating strategic advantage through hazard manipulation. I'd amplify hazards to increase their effect, invert them to change their properties, create new ones to control battlefield flow, or consume them for resources. It was a reactive, adaptive approach that served me well from E-tier all the way to confronting D-tier bosses.
This new system, though...it was something else entirely.
"Shift, Bend, Rend, Fuse," I listed, studying each base skill and its variants. "Each with three setup versions."
The cooldown restriction was particularly interesting—each individual skill could only be used again once another skills had been used. This forced a rotation pattern that would require careful planning rather than spamming favorite abilities.
"So I can't just Shift repeatedly to maintain invulnerability," I noted, running scenarios in my head. "But I could Shift, Fuse, Shift for a viable pattern."
I walked to the window, looking out at Lighthouse City's lower district, my mind calculating possibilities. The combination effects were where the real power lay. Two-verb and three-verb combinations created effects that far exceeded the sum of their parts.
"Shift-Setup plus Bend-Finisher equals Reactive Tether," I said, a smile forming as I recognized the callback to my old ability. "One hundred percent increased speed for twelve seconds."
Not just speed—the Reality Matrix offered spatial manipulation, hazard manipulation, hazard weaponization, and reality alteration. It was vastly more versatile than my Domain Engine had ever been.
But those advantages came with clear costs. The TAINT effects were substantial:
My stamina was permanently capped at 0 and couldn't be increased
Physical exertion would increase my EXHAUSTION faster than normal
I'd lost three ability slots I would never get back
I turned back to my notes, circling key combinations. The Fracture Charge system was particularly fascinating—fundamentally similar to my old system but with critical differences. Each setup or finisher skill generated one Fracture Charge, and the charges provided escalating benefits:
At one charge: Hazard Sense range doubled to 200 meters
At two charges: Range tripled to 300 meters
At three charges: Range quadrupled to 400 meters, plus setup skills no longer cost HP
At four charges: Range increased to 500 meters, skills still free, plus dimensional barrier vision
But the fifth charge—that was the breaking point. At five charges, the Matrix Implosion would trigger automatically, creating a catastrophic dimensional fracture that would damage everyone indiscriminately.
"Five is the limit," I noted. "Before it was three."
That was a significant tactical advantage. In my previous engagements, I'd constantly battled to keep my charges below three to prevent uncontrolled fractures. Now I had more headroom before catastrophe, allowing for more powerful combinations before needing to reset.
I paced the apartment again, this time methodically testing each base skill on minor hazards. The shift ability's brief invulnerability window. Bend's ability to move hazards anywhere within range. Rend's capacity to create hazard copies. Fuse's healing properties.
My mind raced with tactical applications. I'd once trapped the Void Reject between competing hazards—crystal parasites, quantum fog, and living metal. With this new toolkit, I could accomplish similar strategies but with greater control and efficiency.
"Bend-Amplify to triple a hazard's effect," I mused, "combined with Rend-Shape to form it into a weapon—that could replicate what I did with the living metal, but without draining my resources."
The most intriguing combinations were the three-verb sequences. Reality Tunnel allowing me to see future hazard interactions. Reality Feedback converting Exhaustion to Health. Reality Fusion combining multiple hazards simultaneously.
And that Five-verb Hazard Recursion…
I sat on the edge of my bed, weighing advantages against limitations. Without question, the Reality Matrix offered greater versatility and control than my Domain Engine. But the TAINT effects couldn't be ignored—limited stamina, increased exhaustion, and fewer ability slots created significant vulnerabilities in extended engagements.
My old fighting style had relied heavily on endurance and resource management, wearing down even D-tier threats through tactical application of hazard manipulation. This new approach would require precision timing, careful ability rotation, and strategic planning to maximize combination effects while managing the TAINT drawbacks.
"It's not about outlasting anymore," I concluded. "It's about decisive combinations at critical moments."
The irony wasn't lost on me. The Emperor had tried to eliminate me by removing me from the tier system altogether. Instead, he'd given me tools that transcended that system entirely. The Reality Matrix didn't care about tiers—it manipulated the fundamental fabric of reality itself.
I glanced at the mug fragments scattered across my floor, then at the hazard connections visible through my Matrix Vision. Every mundane danger, every environmental threat, every structural weakness now represented potential power, potential weapons, potential opportunities.
"This isn't over," I promised the empty room, the conviction in my voice surprising even me. "You wanted to create SS-tier rifts? Fine. I'll climb from F to SS, and when I find you again…"
Outside, Lighthouse City continued its restless existence—citizens unaware that their Emperor had just rewritten the rules of their universe. Rain began to fall, droplets streaking down my grimy window like tears.
I wouldn't waste time with grief or rage. I had a new trait to master, a new path to forge, and an Emperor to destroy. The betrayal had changed me, tainted me, but it hadn't ended me.
It had only just begun.
