Chapter 35: An Incursion

“The higher-ups decided that for an achievement like yours, the best reward would be something beneficial to your growth.”

Adam had been listening before, but at that line, he locked in.

The manager smiled at the reaction.

“They’ve decided to give you access to any unranked level 3 incursion.”

Adam’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that.

He knew exactly what an incursion meant: Unlike rifts, temporary pockets of foreign space, an incursion was a piece of Erdes itself that had been altered when a rift’s breach influence began to spread.

They didn’t vanish. They didn’t reset. They became living, permanent scars on the world.

And most of them existed deep in the wild zones.

But what mattered wasn’t the danger, it was the resources. Every incursion had a natural resource tied to its mutated environment.

A guaranteed harvest. If one wasn’t known yet, it simply meant no one had discovered it.

Rifts had natural resources too, but most were either buried in obscure corners or so rare they weren’t worth the search.

Incursions, though? Entire Clans were built off farming them.

Adam didn’t even care that it was an unranked Level 3 incursion.

​It wasn’t a rift, so there would be no essence overload. Not that his current power would trigger one, anyway.

Furthermore, the fact that the mission hall gave this as a reward meant that they had a gauge of what he was capable of.

The manager slid a thin tablet across the desk.

“These are the unranked Level 3 incursions in the wild zones surrounding the low-tier sectors. Just know that none are close to our sector.”

Adam skimmed the glowing list, each entry a different environment, different monsters, different core resources.

“You’ll have to reserve the day you prefer to enter,” the manager added.

“Choose carefully. You only have three weeks. After that, the permission expires.”

Adam nodded, eyes moving down the list slowly, absorbing every detail.

Monsters. Terrain. Resource type. Resource effect.

Each line represented a possible path forward.

His fingers hovered over the tablet as his thoughts narrowed to a single point:

Which one would give me the biggest advantage?

Adam studied the tablet for several long minutes, mentally weighing each option until three stood out, three incursions that actually aligned with what he needed right now.

The first:

[Hornets Nest] — an incursion swarming with giant, wasp-like monsters.

Their special talents were Sting G and Sting F, nothing impressive.

But the natural resource there; Power Gel, was valuable.

It was a common-grade resource that, when ingested, boosted essence absorption speed for a short period.

Useful… but temporary.

The second:

[Iron Ram’s Mountain] — home to iron-coated mountain goats, known for their brutal Charge F and Charge G talents.

Its resource, Rama Grass, was far more practical.

It strengthened essence pores, eased strain, and allowed a martial artist to absorb essence much longer than their baseline.

A steady improvement… but still limited.

Adam exhaled softly, then scrolled to the third.

The third, and the one his gaze lingered on:

[Siren Swamp] — an eerie, humid marsh crawling with humanoid female creatures.

They moved unclothed, with large black eyes that seemed too innocent for their kind.

Their talent was Lullaby F & G, a hypnotic, sleep-inducing Talent.

But the resource…

Soul Pearl.

A common-grade resource that, when dissolved in bathwater, nourished and strengthened the soul, soothed the body, and made essence flow smoother and cleaner after each session.

This is it.

Essence boost, and soul strengthening. Two problems solved at once.

Adam didn’t hesitate anymore.

He lifted his head.

“I’ve made my choice.”

The manager leaned over, glancing at the highlighted entry on the tablet.

His brows twitched upward with a surprise he quickly masked.

“A… bold choice, Mr. Adam,” he said with a polite smile.

“Very well. When would you like to reserve your entry?”

“Five days from now,” Adam replied calmly.

“I hope that’s not an issue.”

“No issue at all.” The manager was already tapping through the reservation interface.

“I’ll finalize it immediately. Is there anything else you need? Since you came directly to me, I assume you were looking for something specific.”

Adam stood slowly, shaking his head.

“No need, this already handles my problem.”

The manager exhaled with dramatic relief.

“Thank the stars for the convenience.”

Adam only nodded, expression unreadable, before turning and leaving the office.

He had gotten exactly what he needed.

Now he just needed to prepare.

Adam’s next stop was the martial market.

Unfortunately, getting there meant passing through the mission hall’s reception, and the moment he stepped in, he became a magnet.

Heads snapped toward him.

Conversations paused.

Several martial artists who had been waiting for missions straightened at once.

In seconds, every gaze in the room locked onto him.

Adam kept walking, expression cool, posture sharp, each step giving off the unspoken message.

Don’t approach me.

Even then, it took actual effort, plus the tense, warning looks of several senior martial artists, to keep an excited crowd from forming around him.

Whispers still erupted anyway.

​”That’s him, Adam, the one who cleared a mutant rift single-handedly.”

“No, you don’t understand, he saved dozens.”

“A genius in a low-tier sector… Can you imagine?”

“He might actually put the sector on the map.”

Some were breathless with awe, explaining to those that had been in other rifts to get the full gist of Adam’s deeds. Others sounded like they were witnessing a legend being born.

Adam kept his face still, almost bored-looking, but inside,

This is embarrassing.

He regretted not using Rapid to bypass the reception, but since he was heading to the market, that wasn’t an option.

He couldn’t just sprint past them like a criminal.

More importantly, he actually needed to buy something.

As he finally reached the branching hallway that led toward the market, a sudden thought tugged at him.

Why does it feel like I’m forgetting something?

He slowed half a step, trying to summon the memory.

Yet there was nothing.

He clicked his tongue softly.

“If it’s important, I’ll remember,” he muttered to himself, brushing it aside.

With that, Adam pushed forward and stepped fully into the martial market.

****

{Author’s Note}

Thank you for reading

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