SSS Rank: Spellcraft Sovereign-Chapter 118: Drift (6)

Elaren stepped back slightly.

"Help us. Reach the core. Stabilize the field. And don’t break anything."

Lucen raised an eyebrow.

"That’s a lot of trust for someone you almost sent wolves after."

"You passed."

Lucen smirked. "You sure?"

Elaren returned it. Just slightly.

Then turned.

"Follow if you’re serious."

And walked off.

Lucen waited a beat.

Then looked at Varik. "Thoughts?"

Varik shrugged. "Could be a trap."

Lucen exhaled. "Cool. I’m going anyway."

—

Lucen stepped over a crooked frost-root and kept walking.

’Let’s just follow for now.’

Elaren led them down what wasn’t quite a path, more like mana erosion carved into snow. The drift hadn’t formed roads. The magic had shoved space around until this made sense.

Snow here glowed faintly at the edges. Like starlight stuck to frost.

Lucen muttered, "Any reason it looks like someone spilled soul powder all over the floor?"

Elaren didn’t turn. "Field bleed. The core’s cracking. The closer we get, the worse it’s gonna feel."

Lucen adjusted his gloves. "Yeah. Feeling it already. Pretty sure my left eyelid’s twitching."

Varik said nothing. Just stepped neatly around a low mana shard poking out of the snow like a frozen bone.

They kept walking.

The forest got narrower. Trees leaned in, branches coiled above like latticework. The bark wasn’t bark anymore, more like polished stone, humming with threads of runes barely visible beneath frost.

Lucen watched one tree pulse as he passed it.

He muttered, "So, Elaren. You actually live in this drift? Or are you just doing overtime?"

Elaren didn’t stop.

"Born here."

Lucen blinked.

"You were born in a Tier Five rift."

"It wasn’t Tier Five when it formed. We seeded it. Contained the field. Then the anchor broke."

’I see, so it formed as a lower tier drift then evolved, but how would it evolve so much? And how could these creatures be born in such a low tier drift? That doesn’t even make sense at all...’

Lucen gave a low whistle. "That’s one hell of a family legacy."

Elaren glanced back. "We don’t keep family here. Just function."

"That’s tragic," Lucen said. "And deeply depressing."

"We survive."

"That’s not a personality trait."

Varik made a small sound. Barely a breath.

Lucen glanced at him. "You laughing?"

"No."

"You’re definitely laughing."

Elaren stopped.

’It’s so fishy, I don’t like it at all.’

They reached a split in the snow. A rise of stairs, not built. Just formed. Ice steps curving down into a basin that looked carved by magic pressure alone. At the bottom, a shimmer pulsed. Not light. Not spell. Just pressure.

Lucen felt it hit his chest even from here.

Elaren turned. "That’s the edge. You step past that field, the drift gets to decide how real you feel."

Lucen squinted. "You’re just full of encouraging metaphors."

"Your system might lag inside. Or lie. Or lock. It’s not personal."

Lucen asked, "Is that what happened to the survivor?"

Elaren didn’t flinch.

"He wasn’t supposed to be there. He opened something. Screamed for twenty minutes. Then passed out."

"Then why keep him?"

"To learn."

’Learn what? How to suffer tutorials?’

Lucen’s jaw tensed, but he didn’t argue.

Varik finally spoke. "What are the odds we walk back out clean?"

Elaren said, "None."

Lucen muttered, "Sweet. Love honesty."

The elf nodded once, then turned and walked straight down the ice steps.

Lucen stood at the top. Watched the shimmer. Checked his system.

’Let’s see.’

[Mana: 108 / 148]

[Field Warning: Drift Logic Unstable — Interface Support May Vary]

’Perfect. I’m walking into a magical fever dream with a guy who thinks feelings are optional.’

He exhaled.

Then looked at Varik.

"You’re still not helping?"

"Nope."

"Cool."

Lucen stepped forward.

’Guess I’m alone for everything in here.’

Snow swallowed the sound.

And the shimmer rose to meet him.

—

The shimmer peeled like old glass when Lucen stepped through.

Not fast. Not with a bang. Just gone. One second it was there, pulsing with pressure, and the next he was through it, boots touching stone.

Not snow. Stone. frёewebηovel.cѳm

Flat. Cracked. Faint circular glyphwork stretching out in lazy patterns like ancient ink had soaked the floor and dried under the frost.

Lucen’s system pinged low.

[FIELD LOGIC: CORRUPTED]

[Warning: Interface Integrity – 72%]

[Mana Field Sync: Fluctuating]

’Great,’ he thought. ’That’s the sound of things about to crash.’

Behind him, Varik stepped through, coat fluttering slightly.

’This feels tricky, hopefully nothing goes wrong..’

Elaren stayed at the edge.

Lucen turned to say something, some smart-ass comment about escort services and elf tour guides—

But Elaren raised a hand.

And something clicked.

Fast.

Clean.

Like a spellplate sealing shut.

Lucen’s system jolted.

[Warning: Local Interface Cutoff Detected]

[System Firewall Triggered]

[Attempting Recovery...]

"What the hell?" Lucen muttered.

Varik turned toward Elaren. Quiet. Focused. Then said one word.

"Trap?"

Elaren didn’t deny it.

He just stepped back.

And five more elves shimmered into view along the ridge.

Same robes. Same expressions.

Only this time?

Weapons drawn.

The woman from earlier was among them. She didn’t look smug. Just bored.

Lucen’s mana flared instinctively. He stepped into casting form.

Elaren’s voice rang down from above.

"Nothing personal. But the core doesn’t respond to us anymore. We need someone else to pull it open."

Lucen stared.

"You’re using me."

"Trying," Elaren said.

Lucen’s jaw clenched. "You ever just ask for help?"

"We don’t beg."

Varik looked up, expression calm.

"Told you it might be a trap."

Lucen didn’t answer.

He backed up two steps, subtle, his eyes never leaving Elaren’s.

Then said, "You lock us in here?"

"No. The core did."

Another pulse hit the room.

Like a heartbeat through stone.

Lucen’s system ticked—

[Sync Resumed: Temporary Access Granted]

[Warning: Core Logic Incoming...]

And just like that, the floor beneath him glowed.

Lucen’s foot slipped back half an inch.

The glyph ring around him tightened.

And then Elaren’s voice cut again—

"Try not to die. We do need you alive. Mostly."

Lucen rolled his eyes.

"Asshole."

Then the core woke up.

And everything shook quickly without any warning.

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