The rift spawn investigation was routine work.
Lower quarter. Multiple small tears. Spawns appearing nightly. Guild needed detailed monitoring.
One week assignment. Two gold pay. Low rate. But perfect cultivation opportunity.
Jak set up observation post on a rooftop. Good vantage. Could monitor three blocks simultaneously.
He'd done this work before. But this time was different.
This time, he was testing something.
The ancient journal had described advanced void sense. "Refined perception. Seeing energy structure. Not just concentrations. Individual particles. Flow patterns. Formation sequences."
Jak had been practicing. Using cultivation sessions to sharpen his perception. To see deeper. Clearer.
Now he wanted to test the limit.
He sat on the rooftop. Closed his eyes. Opened his void sense fully.
Purple-blue energy filled his perception. Everywhere. The entire lower quarter was saturated with low-level void energy. Residue from centuries of rift activity.
Most people couldn't perceive it. Even specialized equipment barely detected it.
But Jak saw it clearly. Individual particles. Flowing through the air. Following patterns.
He focused on one particle. Tracked its movement. Watched it interact with other particles. Watched them form larger structures.
Energy concentrations. Pre-rift formations. The beginning of tears.
This was predictive. If Jak could see formations before rifts manifested, he could prevent spawns. Seal tears before they opened fully.
He tested it. Tracked a forming concentration. Watched energy particles gathering. Clustering.
Three minutes before the rift opened, Jak knew exactly where it would manifest. Exactly when.
He moved to the location. Waited.
The rift began forming. Reality stretching. Energy concentrating.
Jak pulled out a rift marker. Silver liquid in a vial. Standard sealing equipment.
He poured it on the forming tear. The liquid reacted with void energy. Stabilized the breach. Prevented it from opening fully.
The rift aborted. Energy dispersing. No spawn emerged.
That worked. Jak could prevent rifts. Not just detect them. Actually stop them from forming.
That was valuable. Extremely valuable.
He spent the next week testing. Tracking formations. Sealing tears before they opened.
Prevented seventeen rifts. Zero spawns emerged in his monitoring area.
Best performance any specialist had ever recorded.
♢♢♢♢
The guild was impressed.
"Seventeen prevented rifts," the supervisor said. "No spawns. No incidents. Perfect record."
"My beast's void affinity allows early detection," Jak said. "We can sense formations before manifestation."
"That's unprecedented. Even our best equipment can't predict rifts that accurately." The supervisor made extensive notes. "We're reassigning you. Rift prevention specialist. Higher priority than standard monitoring."
"What's the difference?"
"Prevention specialists work high-risk zones. Areas where rifts form frequently. Your job is to stop them before they open. Prevent spawns before they emerge." The supervisor pulled out new contracts. "Pay is five gold per week. Plus bonuses for prevented rifts. One silver per prevention."
Five gold base. Plus bonuses. That was approaching B-rank pay rates.
"Assignments are dangerous," the supervisor continued. "High void energy exposure. Unstable tears. You'll be working in areas most adventurers avoid."
"I accept."
"Good. You start tomorrow. Rift zone fifteen. Northern wastes. Highest rift activity in the kingdom. Three other specialists work there. All B-rank."
B-rank specialists. Jak would be the only C-rank in that zone.
That was opportunity. Access to higher-level cultivation resources. Better rifts. Stronger energy concentrations.
And working alongside B-rank specialists meant learning. Observing how they operated. What techniques they used.
Perfect preparation for his own threshold crossing.
♢♢♢♢
Rift zone fifteen was exactly as described. High activity. Multiple tears forming hourly. Void energy saturating the air.
The other specialists were already there when Jak arrived.
Three B-rank adventurers. A warrior named Theron. A mage named Elena. And another tamer.
The tamer was Vera.
She looked surprised to see Jak. "They assigned you here? You're C-rank."
"Prevention specialist. Advanced void detection."
"Still. Zone fifteen is dangerous. Even for B-rank." Vera's serpent was coiled around her shoulders. Larger than Jak remembered. More solid.
"I can handle it."
"We'll see." Vera gestured to the zone. "Standard protocol. Four quadrants. Each specialist monitors one. We prevent rifts in our assigned area. Coordinate through signal flares if we need support."
"Understood."
"Your quadrant is northeast. Highest activity. Also most dangerous." Vera's expression was serious. "Don't try to be heroic. If a rift is too large to prevent, let it open. Retreat. Signal for support. We'll handle it together."
"I will."
Jak moved to his assigned quadrant. Set up position on high ground.
Opened his void sense fully.
The energy concentration here was incredible. Ten times what he'd felt in the lower quarter. Maybe twenty times.
Particles everywhere. Flowing. Clustering. Forming. Constantly.
Jak tracked them. Identified formation patterns. Found twelve rifts in various stages of manifestation.
He worked systematically. Sealing the earliest formations first. Preventing rifts before they progressed.
By midday, he'd prevented eight rifts. Zero spawns in his quadrant.
But the energy concentration was affecting him. Saturating his body. Changing him.
His void sense sharpened further. He could see deeper structures now. Energy patterns beneath reality. The framework that held space together.
His body adapted. Faster. Stronger. More durable.
This was accelerated cultivation. Every hour here equaled a full day elsewhere.
Dangerous. Overwhelming. But effective.
Through the bond, Shade was thriving. The fox moved through the zone like it belonged. Absorbing energy constantly. Growing stronger.
By evening, Jak had prevented twenty-three rifts. More than any other specialist that day.
Vera approached during shift change. "Twenty-three preventions. That's... exceptional."
"My beast's abilities help."
"It's more than that. You're perceiving rifts earlier than anyone else. Earlier than our equipment." Vera studied him carefully. "Your void sense has improved since last month. Significantly."
Jak said nothing.
"You're still growing," Vera said quietly. "Most tamers plateau. You're not plateauing. You're accelerating."
"Shadow fox bond is unique."
"That's what you keep saying." Vera's serpent watched Jak. Its eyes were intelligent. Assessing. "But I've studied bonds for eight years. I've never seen growth like yours. Not from any beast type."
"What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting you're doing something different. Something beyond normal bonding." Vera leaned closer. "And I'm suggesting you be very careful. Because the guild notices patterns. And you're a very obvious pattern."
She walked away. Left Jak alone on the overlook.
Through the bond, Shade's presence. Alert. Cautious.
Vera suspected something. She was observant. Experienced. She'd noticed the growth rate. The improvement.
That was dangerous. But also inevitable.
Jak's evaluation was in nine days. After that, his growth would be official. Documented. Verified as B-rank threshold.
Then questions wouldn't matter. His rank would be legitimate. Acknowledged.
He just needed to survive nine more days without revealing too much.
Nine days of prevention work. Maximum cultivation. Final push toward threshold.
Then everything would change.
Jak returned to monitoring. Tracking energy patterns. Preventing rifts.
The work was endless. But valuable. Every hour here made him stronger.
By the time his shift ended, Jak had prevented thirty-one rifts. Record performance.
The other specialists noticed. Commented. Questioned.
Jak deflected. Attributed everything to his beast's abilities.
They accepted the explanation. For now.
But suspicion was building. Questions accumulating.
The evaluation would answer some questions. Create others.
Jak needed to be ready for both.
Through the bond, Shade's certainty. They were ready. Almost ready.
Just nine more days.