Chapter 44: The Best Way To Get Stronger

Frey’s grin widened the moment Jet recognized him, revealing the gold tooth that somehow managed to look even more obnoxious beneath the daylight.

"You look lost," he said, stepping back before Jet could smack his hand away.

He had changed completely from the rich idiot who had strutted into the café yesterday. The cream jacket and polished shoes were gone, replaced by a fitted black combat shirt, dark-grey tactical trousers and a lightweight sleeveless coat that stopped above his knees.

Reinforced boots, gloves and a utility belt completed the outfit, while his silver cross earring remained stubbornly in place.

Most of his rings were missing, probably because even Frey understood that getting a finger ripped off for fashion would be embarrassing.

His two curved blades rested horizontally behind his waist in fitted black sheaths.

Jet looked him over once and nodded. "You finally dressed like someone entering the Beyond."

Frey placed a hand over his chest. "And you finally learned to appreciate fashion."

"I said you look prepared."

"Same thing."

Jet ignored him and started walking. "I’m hungry."

Frey immediately followed. "Now you’re speaking my language."

-----

They found a restaurant two streets from the fountain, occupying the lower floor of an ancient stone building whose original purpose had clearly been something other than feeding Walkers.

The outer walls still carried faded carvings, but humanity had installed glass doors, electric lighting, ventilation and a long open kitchen behind the counter.

Digital menus hung beneath an old stone arch, listing dishes made from ingredients Jet recognized alongside things he absolutely didn’t.

Charred Razorhorn steak came with ember-root sauce, some kind of blue mushroom had been turned into soup, and a notice beside the register assured customers that every monster ingredient had passed toxicity inspection.

They chose a table near the wall, ordered far more food than two people reasonably needed, and watched armored Walkers move through the street outside while they waited.

Jet leaned back and finally asked something he’d been wondering since yesterday. "Where did you land on your first Descent?"

"Northwestern side of the Thousand Boughs. At least that’s what the map here says."

Frey reached for the water jug. "I didn’t know that at the time. I landed beside a river, spent maybe twenty minutes wondering whether every bush was going to eat me, then ran into three veteran Walkers. They were heading back to Zenith, so I tagged along after helping them kill a few monsters. Got here before my first Descent ended."

Jet stared at him.

Frey paused with the glass halfway to his mouth. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You met veterans after twenty minutes?"

"Yeah. What about that?" Frey glanced at him with a hint of confusion.

"And they brought you directly here?"

"Yeah."

Jet slowly looked toward the ceiling. "Of course they did."

Frey started laughing. "Wait. What happened to you?"

Their food arrived before Jet could answer, plates covering most of the table. Jet cut into a piece of roasted monster meat and told him.

He kept the story simple at first: waking alone in the Thousand Boughs, fighting the Black-Fang Hyena, wandering deeper while searching for a Citadel, then encountering the Spine-Backed Myriapod Caterpillar.

Frey’s amusement faded slightly when Jet explained how badly equipped he’d been, only to return the moment the Vorpal Bunny entered the story.

By the time Jet admitted that a white rabbit had crippled one shoulder, impaled his forearm and nearly opened him from hip to collarbone, Frey had stopped eating entirely.

"You’re telling me that little bastard almost killed you?"

"It was almost a meter tall and had blades growing from its arms."

"Still a rabbit."

"It could cut down trees."

Jet threw a piece of bread at him. Frey caught it, ate it, then demanded to know how the fight ended. Jet explained the trap, the shattered hind leg, the final strike through its neck and the Relic that appeared afterward. Frey’s chewing slowed.

"A Relic?"

Jet tapped the Vorpal Blade behind his waist.

Frey stared at the weapon, then at Jet. "So you nearly got murdered by a rabbit and the bastard paid you compensation?"

Jet nearly choked on his drink. "That’s your conclusion?"

"What else am I supposed to conclude? I spend my first trip walking through mud with three middle-aged men who wouldn’t stop discussing Guild pensions, and you fight Bugs Bunny’s psychotic cousin and get a Relic."

"You reached the Citadel safely."

"That is irrelevant to my suffering."

Jet laughed and returned to his food. They spent another few minutes trading insults before the conversation drifted toward why they’d agreed to meet in the first place.

Both had awakened powerful Divine Runes, both were 1-Star, and neither wanted to waste the first months after the Second Red Moon stumbling around without direction.

Jet had already thought about it during the journey to Zenith. "We should stay in the Beyond for now," he said. "At least until we’ve pushed our Runes further."

Frey immediately shook his head. "No. Dungeons."

Jet looked up. "Why?"

"Because we’re 1-Star."

"So?"

"So I’d prefer not to remain 1-Star until we’re old enough to complain about our knees." Frey leaned forward. "We have Mana Crystals from Greyhaven already. We find more Dungeons, clear them, absorb the Crystals and push our Star Saturation. That’s the fastest improvement we can make right now."

Jet disagreed. Star Rank mattered, but their Divine Runes were the reason either of them had exceptional potential in the first place. His Eight-Armed Asura was supposedly S-Rank as far as Frey knew, while Vritra was genuinely A-Rank.

Yet Jet had only Asura Physique, and Frey’s Vritra could currently manifest a handful of relatively small spectral coils. They possessed extraordinary weapons with most of their edges still wrapped.

Monster Cores were one of the primary resources for changing that. Their Beyond essence could be absorbed and refined by compatible Divine Runes, deepening synchronization and helping their Runes progress toward new abilities and eventual evolution.

Jet pointed his fork at Frey. "What’s the point of owning a cannon if we’ve only figured out how to throw it at people?"

Frey frowned. "That’s a terrible analogy."

"You understood it."

"I understood that you’re stupid."

"And Vritra’s Coil broke against the Executioner."

That shut Frey up for exactly two seconds. "Because I’m 1-Star, you bastard. Thank you for proving my point."

Jet opened his mouth, then stopped.

Frey grinned and continued before he could recover. The Bell-Tower Executioner had been Green-Class, and when Frey tried restraining it directly, his coils had cracked under the difference in raw power.

Improving Vritra itself would make the technique better, but Frey still needed enough Mana to sustain what Vritra gave him.

A stronger Divine Rune ability wasn’t useful if activating it emptied him in seconds or placed more strain on his body than he could endure.

"You can unlock the greatest ability ever created tomorrow," Frey said, "but if your body folds like wet cardboard when you use it, congratulations. You’ve unlocked suicide."

Jet hated that the idiot had a point.

Star Rank represented something more fundamental than the individual Divine Rune. Mana Crystals harvested from Dungeons contained concentrated Mana that an Awakener could refine into themselves.

Repeated refinement increased Star Saturation, gradually strengthening the body’s Mana capacity and circulation until the Awakener became capable of attempting the next Star Ascension.

The benefits weren’t confined to having a larger reserve. A stronger foundation meant a tougher body, better endurance, greater output and more room for a Divine Rune to express its abilities without overwhelming its host.

Higher Star Rank also meant they could safely enter more dangerous Dungeons and push farther into regions of the Beyond where two fresh 1-Stars had no business wandering.

But Jet wasn’t surrendering. "You’re treating the Rune like it’s separate from combat strength. It isn’t. Give me another useful Asura ability and we kill monsters faster. Give you another Vritra ability and maybe next time you don’t need four coils to hold one boss for a second. Better abilities let us hunt stronger things, stronger things give better resources, and those resources push us further again."

"And if we raise Star Rank first, everything we already have becomes easier to use."

"And if we improve our Runes first, raising Star Rank becomes safer."

Frey pointed at him. "Foundation."

Jet pointed back. "Abilities."

"Mana."

"Cores."

"Crystals."

"Cores."

The woman at the neighboring table glanced over. Her companion quietly moved his chair farther from them.

Neither noticed.

Their argument lasted long enough for the steam to disappear from the food. Jet used the Vorpal Bunny as proof that one additional ability could mean the difference between controlling a fight and surviving through desperation.

Frey countered with the Executioner, reminding him that their bodies and Mana reserves had nearly failed before their techniques did. Jet brought up future Rune evolution; Frey asked how Jet intended to survive the monsters guarding the resources required to reach it.

Frey praised Mana Crystals; Jet reminded him that Star Rank alone wouldn’t magically evolve Vritra. Somewhere in the middle, both realized they were arguing opposite halves of the same progression problem and were too stubborn to stop.

Frey finally looked down at his plate and frowned. "My steak is cold."

Jet tested his own. "Mine too."

"This is your fault." Frey shot him a glance.

"You started arguing." Jet glared back.

"You suggested living in a forest."

"I said prioritize the Beyond."

"Same thing."

Jet reached for his drink, then paused. "Actually... why are we choosing?"

Frey had already gone quiet.

After a while, Frey broke the silence.

"How about we spend one week here," Frey said. "And then another week cleaning Dungeons."

The idea became obvious once spoken. Spend a week operating from Zenith Citadel, hunting Beyond Monsters, collecting Cores, learning the region and developing their Divine Runes while building experience as Walkers.

Then return to Earth for a week and focus on Dungeons, accumulating Mana Crystals, increasing Star Saturation, earning money from harvested materials and building the records needed to raise their F-Rank Raider Licenses. After that, come back.

Neither path had to be sacrificed for the other, and alternating between them would prevent one side of their growth from leaving the other behind.

Frey leaned back, looking deeply satisfied with himself. "Excellent plan. I’m glad I thought of it."

Jet stared at him. "We thought of it together."

"I said it first."

"By half a second."

"History remembers the winner, Jet."

"History can pay for this cold food, then."

Frey’s smile disappeared and Jet smiled and resumed eating.