Jak took the contract specifically because of the rifts.
Wyvern nest. Northern valley. Three adults. Standard C-rank threat.
But the valley was rift-active. Guild records showed multiple tears in that sector. Unstable. Opening and closing daily.
Perfect.
Pay was two gold. Standard rate. But the real value was the void energy concentration.
Jak left at dawn with Shade. The valley was four hours north. Steep terrain. Rocky. Few people traveled there.
That was why wyverns nested there. Isolation. Good hunting grounds.
Also why rifts formed there. The old wars had touched that valley. Scarred reality. Never fully healed.
Jak reached the valley around midday. Could see the wyvern nest immediately. High on a cliff face. Three adults circling.
But Jak didn't approach yet. First, he needed to find the rifts.
He closed his eyes. Focused on his void sense. Let the perception expand.
There. Purple-blue energy. Multiple concentrations. Five rifts within the valley. All small. All unstable.
Opening. Closing. Pulsing.
Jak walked to the nearest rift. Shade followed.
The tear was forming as he approached. Reality stretching. Breaking. Void energy spilling through.
A rift spawn emerged. Small one. Dog-sized.
Shade killed it immediately. Single strike. The spawn dissolved.
And Jak watched carefully. Through the bond. Through his void sense.
Shade absorbed the residual void energy. Drew it in deliberately. The fox's form became more solid. More present.
Not metaphorical. Actual physical change. Measurable.
Jak had noticed this before. But never paid full attention. Never analyzed it.
Now he did.
Shade wasn't just killing spawns. The fox was feeding on them. On the void energy they left behind.
Cultivation. Active. Intentional.
And through the bond, Jak felt it too. A fraction of that energy flowing to him. Strengthening his baseline.
Mirrored growth. Real. Visible.
Jak approached the rift tear carefully. It was closing now. The spawn had been the only thing coming through.
But residual energy remained. Leaking from the edges. Dissipating into the air.
"Can you absorb this too?" Jak asked. "The energy that's just floating?"
Shade padded closer to the rift. Breathed in. Drew the energy inward.
Yes. The fox could absorb ambient energy. Not just spawn residue.
That was important. That meant rifts themselves were cultivation resources. Even without spawns.
Jak walked to the second rift. This one was stable. Not opening yet. Just a thin spot in reality. Energy concentrating.
Shade circled it. Absorbing the ambient void energy slowly.
Jak could feel the effect through the bond. His perception sharpened slightly. His body felt lighter. Faster.
Not dramatic. But measurable.
He timed it. Thirty minutes near this rift. Shade absorbed energy constantly. Jak's baseline improved by maybe one percent.
One percent didn't sound like much. But it was permanent. And it stacked.
Thirty minutes. One percent. Daily.
That was exponential growth. Over months. Over years.
The guild thought tamers plateaued. They were measuring wrong. Looking at immediate capability instead of growth rate.
Jak pulled out his journal. The one he'd started keeping. Documented everything.
Rift exposure test. Valley sector seven. Stable tear. Thirty minutes. Measurable baseline improvement. Shade absorbs ambient energy. Effect transfers through bond. Estimate one percent gain per thirty-minute session.
Conclusion: Rifts are cultivation resources. Not just threats. Seek maximum exposure time.
He closed the journal. Looked at Shade.
"We're going to stay here longer than necessary," Jak said. "After we clear the wyverns. We're going to cultivate."
Shade's tail flicked. Agreement.
♢♢♢♢
The wyverns were exactly where the contract specified. Three adults. Nesting on the cliff.
Jak didn't attack immediately. First, he scouted all five rifts in the valley. Mapped their locations. Measured their energy output.
Two were stable. Good for sustained cultivation. Three were unstable. Would spawn creatures periodically.
He'd clear the wyverns first. Then spend the rest of the day cultivating near the stable rifts.
The wyvern fight was straightforward. Jak had fought wyverns before. Knew their patterns.
Shade drew attention. Fast. Impossible to track. The wyverns focused on the fox. Missed Jak flanking.
He took the first wyvern from behind. Blade through the spine. Paralyzed. Shade finished it.
Second wyvern realized the threat. Turned on Jak. Breathed fire.
Jak dodged. Rolled. Came up behind a rock. The wyvern's fire scored the stone. Superheated.
Shade appeared from shadow on the wyvern's back. Claws raking eyes. The wyvern screamed. Thrashed. Couldn't shake the fox.
Jak moved in. Blade finding the throat. Deep. The wyvern collapsed.
Third wyvern fled. Tried to fly away. Get distance.
Shade's void step. The fox disappeared from the cliff. Reappeared mid-air beside the fleeing wyvern. Jaws closing on wing membrane. Tearing.
The wyvern lost altitude. Crashed. Jak finished it on the ground.
Three wyverns dead. Total fight time: maybe fifteen minutes.
Contract fulfilled.
But Jak didn't leave. Instead, he set up camp near the most stable rift.
Shade settled beside the tear. Started absorbing energy. Continuous. Sustained.
Jak meditated. Let the bond open fully. Felt the energy flowing through. From rift. To Shade. To Jak.
Hours passed.
The sun moved across the sky. Jak stayed in place. Cultivating.
By evening, he could feel the difference. His baseline had improved. Not dramatically. But noticeably.
His void sense was sharper. He could perceive energy patterns more clearly. Could distinguish between rift types from further distance.
His body felt more durable. Faster reflexes. Stronger strikes.
Maybe two percent total improvement. From six hours of cultivation.
Two percent wasn't much. But Jak had been C-rank for one month. If he gained two percent every day...
That was sixty percent in one month. Double his capability in less than two months.
Exponential.
The guild measured tamers at their bond date. Then again months later. They expected linear growth. Slow. Gradual.
Jak's growth was exponential. Accelerating. Compounding.
They wouldn't notice until the gap became too large to ignore.
By then, Jak would be approaching B-rank. Too late to stop.
He broke camp as darkness fell. Headed back to the city. Three wyvern heads as proof of contract completion.
Tomorrow he'd take another rift-heavy contract. And another. And another.
Every day. Maximum cultivation time. Controlled growth.
The guild thought he was just a specialist. Good at rift work.
They didn't understand he was deliberately seeking rifts. Using them. Growing stronger through them.
That was exploitable blind spot. And Jak intended to exploit it fully.