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 HELL DIFFICULTY TUTORIAL 3
©2024 Cerim

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ALSO IN SERIES

Hell Difficulty Tutorial

Hell Difficulty Tutorial 2
Hell Difficulty Tutorial 3
Hell Difficulty Tutorial 4

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 CONTENTS

Summary of Book 2

1. Fallen Guild
2. Poking a Cat
3. Young Guild Master of Veilwalkers
4. Spellsmith
5. Young Lynthari
6. Bullied
7. Five Energies
8. Time Heals All Wounds
9. Five Big Guilds
10. Siblings
11. Two Months Later
12. Selling Coordinates
13. Congratulations on Reaching a Milestone
14. Rich
15. Second Trial
16. Day Six
17. Beast
18. Door in the Mountain
19. Hatched Egg
20. New Group Member
21. The Second Strongest Member of Group 4
22. Little Princess
23. Expedition to Ancient Mine
24. Ancient Mine
25. Want to Know
26. What Would You Like to Know?
27. Fifth Explorer
28. Why Are You Here?
29. Back on the Surface
30. Dressed Up
31. Start of the Auction
32. Bidding
33. Preparation to Hunt the Calamity
34. We Were Wrong
35. Eris
36. Obstacles
37. Crown
38. A Promise Made
39. The Message
40. Little Kitten
41. This Kind of Person
42. Craft Guild
43. Surrounded
44. Eye
45. Obsession
46. Against the Colony
47. The First One
48. One Less
49. No Goodbyes?
50. Just Two Losers
51. Ancient Array
52. What Will You Do Now?
53. The Last of the Colony
54. Neither Wrong Nor Right
55. Revisiting
56. Child of This Planet
57. I Won’t Do It Again
58. Wrath
59. In the Desert
60. The Fallen Hero
61. End of the World
62. Fifth Floor
63. One Second
64. Disciple
65. Bribes
66. Train and Protect
67. We Are Leaving
68. First Contact
69. Vitalist
70. Leveling Up
71. Rules
72. Three Options
73. A Terrible Name
74. That Would Suck
75. Darren and Nina
76. My Disciple is the Coolest
77. The Sanctuary
78. Old Facility
79. Crafting
80. I Speak on Behalf of My Master
81. Preparations and Secrets
82. Against the Veil Guardian
83. Resilience Beyond Pain
84. In a Really Bad Mood
85. Entirely Honest
86. To Pay You Back
87. Heading North
88. The Bastion
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SUMMARY OF BOOK 2

Hello, author here! Going through some subreddits and Discords, I have
learned that most of you guys appreciate having a synopsis of the previous
book to refresh your memory, so here it is again. If you don’t need it, just
skip this chapter.
Book 2 started with group 4 split and Nathaniel in a minigroup with
Isabella, the ten-year-old sister of Sophie, the girl with mind manipulation
powers that Nathaniel clashed with before.
The floor quest for the third floor is simple: put the Saint to final rest,
the meaning of that still not obvious.
Nathaniel and Isabella find themselves in a never-ending city stretching
on forever and full of monsters like Alghouls and Gargoyles. The problem
is the cold weather and lack of food as well, something they have to deal
with.
Soon enough, our duo is joined by a trio of tutorial attendees from Hard
Difficulty who used a difficulty change token and went to Hell Difficulty.
The man leading them, called Cipher, shows a cruel and calculating
personality, something Nathaniel pushes to the back of his mind as he
decides to use the guy to deal with the natives of the floor they meet along
the way.
There are multiple flashbacks from Nathaniel’s past in which we are
introduced to his older sister Victoria and the environment he grew up in.
Nothing pleasant, which might partially explain Nathaniel’s twisted
personality.
Unable to throw Isabella away and having a weakness for innocent kids
—something most likely caused by his own screwed-up childhood—
Nathaniel takes care of the little girl, and they head toward where they think
the middle of the never-ending city is.
After days, they meet the first member of group 4, a corgi named
Biscuit that welcomes them, leading a group of natives that he introduces as
(Food).
Not having time to deal with it and attacked by two powerful monsters,
Nathaniel lures the monsters away from the others and ends up being
hunted for days. Both of the monsters specialize in hunting mages.
Pushed to the brink, Nathaniel kills both of them after a long escape
and, close to dying, takes cover in one of the hideouts.
Waking up later, the first thing he sees is Sophie’s face, which he
immediately punches, still remembering the problems the girl caused him.
Tess stops him from further clashing with Sophie. One of the twins is
also in Tess’s group. The next plan becomes to meet with Hadwin, Maya,
the other twin, Kim, and Lily.
The group slowly meets with Biscuit, Isabella, and the trio from Hard
Difficulty. They have to deal with lack of food and water, ever-present
monsters, and Cipher, who seems more and more suspicious as time passes.
Nathaniel experiments with his ever-growing mana reserves and creates
an orb that he fills with a lot of mana, causing a huge explosion. Happy
with the result even though he almost gets killed by his own creation,
Nathaniel decides to work on it more in the future.
After multiple fights with stronger monsters like an Undead Aberrant
Deer, there are finally some changes: the buildings start becoming taller,
and far in the distance, an impossibly tall wall appears, stretching through
the horizon.
Leveling up his Perception, Nathaniel notices something coming back
to their hideout: Cipher’s companion from Hard Difficulty, a woman called
Goldie, using a skill on Lily. He quickly identifies it as something akin to
hypnosis or mind manipulation, the trio trying to get the healer on their side
at all costs.
That steps over the final line Nathaniel set and aims for someone he
owes too much to, so he deals with them in a swift manner.
After the full group 4 reunion, they fight against two powerful two-
question-mark monsters, Undead Deer and Undead Bear, and pass through
the wall to discover a beautiful garden and far in the distance another wall.
 That’s when Nathaniel also decides to finally deal with his left hand,
and noticing inscriptions on it, he makes the choice to cut it off. It’s the
same hand he held the Peacemaker with, the most powerful defensive item
Lissandra gave him during the end of the second floor as she destroyed the
world.
Coming back to the hand a bit later, Nathaniel returns, only to find his
cut-off arm turned into a fleshy brooch in the shape of Peacemaker. Best of
all, that brooch starts talking, calling him “little pup.”
Cockroach-like Absolute Lissandra somehow imprinted her mind into
Nathaniel’s arm through the Peacemaker and now with just a tiny bit of her
mana is still alive.
Through this difficult relationship, Nathaniel gets some lessons from the
former Absolute while neither side trusts each other at all.
Nathaniel clears the second Beyond trial, creates his fourth construct,
and picks Mana Amplification as his attribute upgrade. That doubles his
mana, to his excitement.
Passing through the final wall, the group finds itself in the inner city,
where they spend a few days in the manor of a crazy warrior of the last
king, a man called Edwal.
When they’re invited to dinner with the last king and the remaining two
warriors, they learn more about this floor.
This world used to be ruled by an Absolute with immense healing
powers, the Saint, someone they have to put to final rest, according to the
floor quest. But the Saint is already dead, and not even the king knows how
someone as powerful as the Saint could die. Even in death, the body of the
Saint radiates a healing aura that makes it near impossible to die within a
certain distance of her. The king and his three warriors have lived for
thousands of years, protecting her and hoping she will awaken once again.
In the fight, group 4 clashes against the last king and his warriors,
killing them. During this fight, Nathaniel is able to use [Focus] to
concentrate his mana to create mysterious black mana that would otherwise
kill him without the healing of the Saint’s dead body.
Using the opportunity, Lissandra, who they thought they had gotten rid
of before going through the final wall, revives, using Hadwin’s arm to grow
herself a new body and destroying group 4 in the fight.
Lily, using her [Disintegration], barely destroys the Saint’s head and
chest, and group 4 escapes from Lissandra, who now can see the portal to
the next floor but can’t pass through. Yet.
The fourth floor starts with Nathaniel deciding to give group 4 a chance
and to see how it goes. Over the past few months, he got used to this group
of far-from-normal individuals.
Unlocking subclasses, Nathaniel gets three options: Initiate of Patience,
Pride, or Greed. He chooses Pride, though the effect of the subclass is still
uncertain and left to more testing.
Hunted by bus-sized ants, group 4 escapes the mountains where they
ended up, and after setting up an explosion that gains him plenty of levels,
Nathaniel rejoins them in the city, hoping he didn’t piss off the colony of
giant ants too much.
All of the group end up in a nice house in the city called Virelia, where
the race called lynthari and humans live together. Lynthari are all taller than
humans, with cat ears and even tails. All of them are seemingly more
powerful than humans and with longer lifespans.
They are all also weirdos in some way, a bit twisted and constantly
looking for amusing things to do and liking to observe humans.
The city is led by a lynthari matriarch that rarely shows her face and
others from her race. Humans are represented by five big guilds that are one
of the biggest powers in the city, each led by a powerful guild master.
The fourth-floor quest is to kill one of four Calamities. Nathaniel learns
that the giant ants they escaped are one of them—The Colony.
Grabbing attention they didn’t want, group 4 gets forced to join an
expedition of forces from two big guilds, Storm Brigade and Serpent’s Eye.
The guild master of Serpent’s Eye, Elydor, leads the expedition to an
old capital that was wiped out long ago by another one of the Calamities,
the Living Tree.
The goal of the expedition is the house of the Champion, the title one
that only the most powerful can bear, each capable of killing millions of
people, a system’s variation of a weapon of mass destruction. The manor of
such person is likely to have amazing items to loot.
They get to the city through the escape tunnel. They even reach the
Manor of the Champion, not finding any signs of the life on their way. The
Living Tree’s shadow covers the city.
It’s all too easy.
As they head out, they find themselves trapped within the barrier the
Living Tree created, unable to escape.
 Forced to defend against particles the Living Tree is releasing and dying
one after another, they spend weeks within the darkness of the tunnels while
Nathaniel prepares an escape plan, enduring Elydor’s gradually worsening
mood.
When Elydor decides to run for it and sacrifice group 4 to slow down
the Living Tree, Nathaniel finally makes his move and, in a show of the raw
force of his mana, wipes out Serpent’s Eye and Elydor with them.
Group 4 escapes with the loot and the members of Storm Brigade, led
by Obelia, and return back to Virelia.
Splitting the loot, they take a few days’ rest, and then the story
continues with Book 3.

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CHAPTER 1
FALLEN GUILD

T
wo days have passed during which life has become quite peaceful. No
one leaves for hunting, and they enter the city only in larger groups as
we wait for the consequences of destroying the leadership of one of
the five big guilds of Virelia.
Yup, Myrra did promise to deal with the consequences, but I’ll believe
that when I see it.
Meanwhile, I spend some time trying to get into the chest,
unsuccessfully. I use the underground area that the house has, which is
shielded. It’s quite large and durable, so I even use some stronger attacks,
yet the chest resists.
I don’t sense anything from it; there’s no keyhole, and it still looks like
black wood. Even Lily, with her terrifying skill, is unable to do anything.
She tries to boost it by using [Sacrifice], and her entire arm disappears
while she reduces the area of the skill and makes it stronger at a smaller
point.
She doesn’t even blink as her arm is used to boost the skill and only
says that it will grow back and that she was able to gain a level in the skill.
As I’ve said and as I will repeat until Biscuit takes over the Earth as the
first and strongest animal overlord: No one from group 4 is normal. Not a
single soul.
I, Nathaniel Gwyn, am the most normal here.
Another thing I do is work on coordinates with Sophie. Down in the
tunnels under the old capital, I gained some experience and learned a thing
or two, so there is progress. Sophie, bored because she can’t hunt, also
spends plenty of time working with me.
I can smell it; just a few weeks and I will be rich! A lot of shards rich.
 During the past two days, I also tested the Mana Core Sphere, and I was
right: it works like [Resonance] and it scales with how much mana I use to
activate the item. When I use a lot of it, the effect becomes terrifying.
With my skill, I currently can’t cover that large an area, and I can’t
activate it in one push that would cover it. The item doesn’t have such
limitations; I can send a huge chunk of my mana into it and activate it.
Obviously, I didn’t test it properly. I have a feeling that if I use enough
mana, I should be able to cover the area of the entire city.
Damn, what is it, a mana variant of EMP?
To balance it out and not make the item too powerful, the effect is a bit
weaker than my [Resonance] when it comes to single target raw power and
using the same amount of mana. The efficiency isn’t nearly as good.
Then there’s the fact that it leaves a lingering disruptive effect on the
target, and that’s something that I really like and the main reason why I’m
messing with the item. It’s an effect I want to learn to duplicate.
I could probably get it from a skill upgrade, but [Resonance] is one of
the skills that I want to master on my own, as I consider it one of my
strongest ones.
So that’s the Mana Core Sphere, and I also have the Ethercrystal Sword.
For someone else, it would be an amazing item, but I’m terrible when it
comes to using weapons like swords—or, actually, any other weapon. I
never had the opportunity to learn, and I could see the difference in skill
when I fought with someone at least a bit skilled. Where they used
technique, I relied on my aggressive attacks and the power of my body
strengthened with mana.
Now that I think about it, it might be possible to hire someone in Virelia
to teach me at least the basics so I should do that.
I reach out and pull the sword out of its sheath, revealing a beautiful
transparent white blade that seems to be made from crystal. It looks
delicate, yet I tested it, and it’s extremely durable.
The description says, Forged from the elusive Ethercrystal, this
transparent blade can absorb ambient mana from its surroundings. The
sword channels the absorbed mana to bolster the user’s physical strength
momentarily.
And it does just that. The blade absorbs ambient mana; it does so even
now, but the effect is weak, as there isn’t much mana. However, during the
fight under the old capital, I saw it absorb plenty of my mana, turning the
blade into a blue, crystal-like material and boosting the physical stats of its
user.
And that is something I want. Ever since I saw Lissandra absorbing
ambient mana and using it during the end of the second floor, I wanted to
learn that, and the sword in my hands might give me some hints I need to
do so.
Holding the sword in my hand, I wave it around, watching the light
reflect on it. The sword doesn’t look too overdecorated. It’s pretty yet
deadly-looking. I quite like it.
From testing, I learned that it can absorb even the mana contained in
things like Isabella’s fire, and when hitting Maya’s [Armament] and
feeling the effect of its strengthening, I think I can say that it’s probably the
best item out of the epic items we got, just looking at how efficiently it
strengthens my body with stolen mana.
And I didn’t even test it at its fullest power when there’s plenty of mana
around to absorb.
I stand up from my favorite spot, a huge armchair in my room that
offers a nice view of the city behind the window. I put the Mana Core
Sphere into one of my pockets and grab the sword, which is now in its
sheath.
With a sigh, I walk onto the balcony, and when I look down, there’s
Myrra, behind the wall of our garden, waving at me. As always, her
bodyguard is with her, just hidden really well. Thankfully, he isn’t using
any invisibility skill but is hiding in the shadows or something.
Invisibility skills should be illegal, and monsters using them should be
all annihilated. Should be and will be. By me!
I poke at Sophie’s web.
(What?) Sophie soon sounds in my head.
(I will be going out for a while. Myrra is here. You can tell the others.
And no, I don’t know when I will be back. Oh, and I left a new version of the
coordinates on my table, so check them while I’m gone,) I tell her the
moment she sets the links between us.
(Will do, good luck.) With her message, our communication ends.
I jump from the balcony and boost myself with kinetic energy, then
absorb it as I land next to the tall, white-haired lynthari with a scar across
her face.
 “So elegant.” Her smile shows her sharp canines, and her golden eyes
seem to pause at the pocket where I put the Mana Core Sphere. She also
examines the sword I hold in my left hand.
“It looks like the rewards were quite generous, Feral One.” With that,
she starts walking, and I join her, walking by her side while her bodyguard
tracks us.
“I can’t complain.” I shrug my shoulders.
In silence, we continue to walk for a while, and from the corner of my
eyes, I observe Myrra. She doesn’t seem to be in a bad mood or anything,
and her tail moves in a way that also confirms that. Once in a while, her cat-
like ears perk up when she hears something interesting, but the tail is
something that fascinates me more. It’s slightly fluffy but not overly so, and
it seems to be well taken care of—healthy-looking with a nice shine to it.
It’s the same color as her ears, a shade of gray that makes a nice contrast
with her hair. The tail sways from side to side in many different ways,
showing her mood. Yet it’s not too much, just like her personality; it’s
controlled and calm.
“Would you like to touch it?” Myrra asks, her golden eyes glowing with
amusement as she catches me looking.
“Yes,” I say shamelessly.
I’m not even lying. The same way I boop Biscuit’s nose, I want to touch
her tail and even pull on it, just to annoy her.
My answer seems to surprise her greatly, probably expecting me to get
all nervous and apologize. After freezing for a bit, her tail starts twitching
from side to side, showing her amusement.
“This is why you are so fun, Feral One.” She leans a bit closer, her eyes
looking dangerous for a moment. As always, she decides to ignore my name
and continues to call me “Feral One.”
Myrra then doesn’t otherwise react to my answer to her offer, and we
enter an estate with a big, manor-like building at the end of a pathway that
is on both sides surrounded by beautiful, well-taken-care-of trees.
Slowly, we walk through the pathway until we reach the manor-like
building. The closer we get, the more details I notice.
Broken doors, shattered windows, cracked walls, deep gouges in the
ground, destroyed trees. There’s even an entire part of the house that’s
missing, looking as if there was an explosion.
 We enter through the door, and there are corpses of men and women on
the ground, blood everywhere. The inside of the manor is also destroyed,
burned, and with small craters everywhere.
“This is the guild house of Serpent’s Eye, Feral One. Can you guess
what happened?”
I don’t even have to think for long. “Most likely, their enemies took
revenge after finding out the guild master and elites of the guild died,” I
answer her.
“Close, this happened as well, but do you know what’s funny? The
fights started the moment the guild learned about the death of Elydor. Guild
members fought each other to get the treasures the guild master locked
away. Killing people they knew for years, just for a few more mana stones
or an item or two.” Myrra still looks amused.
She pokes one of the broken chairs with her feet. “Only after they were
done looting did the enemies come, and more fights started. There was this
one human I really liked, arrogant, prideful, and with powerful skills. He
was one of the first to start looting, and he killed the man he’d worked with
for five years. There was no hesitation at all.” Her expression is difficult to
read as she says, “He got all the best things, he fought bravely, but in the
end, he lost. He begged, he cried, and he tried to negotiate. But nothing
helped, and he died just like that.”
The tall lynthari with white hair looks around as if searching for the
right words, then just sighs, shaking her head.
She continues, “In the end, he was just a fake. Someone pretending to
be something he’s not. So tell me, Feral One. Is your behavior just a mask
you show, and when things become hard, will you cry and ask for mercy?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I answer her.
Her eyes examine me for a bit longer, and she nods in the end. “Yes,
there’s only one way to find out,” she agrees.
Then she decides to change the subject and drops a bomb on me. “But
now to the reason we came here. Allow me to officially congratulate Angry
Kittens for becoming one of the five big guilds of Virelia and taking
Serpent’s Eye’s place.”
Huh. What?

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CHAPTER 2
POKING A CAT

F
or a moment, I try to determine if Myrra is joking, but it doesn’t seem
like it. Even her tail seems to confirm what she said. It’s not moving
nervously, just gently swaying from side to side, showing her interest.
Her fluffy tail wouldn’t lie to me, right?
“That sounds unreasonable,” I say to her.
“I agree.” She moves and sits on a chair nearby, ignoring the craters
around them, the burned walls, and the holes in the ceiling. Her ears perk up
slightly, and the light that falls on her face makes the scar that goes
horizontally through it more visible.
“The main requirement to be able to be called a big guild is to be strong
enough or have a strong member that could rival the power of an entire
guild. Surprisingly, the guild master of Storm Brigade said that your guild
shouldn’t have a problem with that. So tell me, Feral One, is it you who is
strong enough that you made me sense fear even from proud Obelia?”
Her eyes glint as she stares at me, surrounded by all this destruction.
“We are not interested in becoming a big guild,” I ignore her question
and answer.
Unsurprisingly, being the weirdo that she is, it only seems to make her
even more curious. In a similar way as I watch her, she also continues to
observe me. Myrra watches every move I make, she stares at my eyes, and
she keeps probing with her mana senses, trying to get a funny response
from me.
Much like a human annoying a grumpy cat to get a reaction from it.
“Very few would refuse that offer. What’s your reason?” she asks.
“It sounds annoying,” I answer honestly. “We have no time to bother
with politics and other guilds.”
 “What if I told you it would be more fun this way?” Myrra leans
backward on the chair that is made for humans, not lynthari, and it seems
it’s about to break. “As a big guild, there are some rules others would need
to follow to bother you. Rules set by lynthari. Small guilds don’t enjoy such
luxury.”
Was this her plan all along?
“Why?” I ask.
“As I said, Feral One, I want you to rise to the top. I want to see you
shine brighter than anyone else. Through your own power, your will. And I
really want to see if you will break or if you’re the real deal.” She stands
up, and the chair behind her instantly turns to ashes as flames roar around
her.
The flames are strong enough to start melting the stone under her feet
and set ablaze all the furniture or cloth around us.
Not overly bothered, I just use [Redistribution] and absorb the heat
that reaches me, which would have burned me terribly if I hadn’t done
anything about it.
Myrra takes another step closer to me, her flames stronger, and the heat
is directed at me. “I want you to show me what you’re capable of,” she
hisses, showing a surprising amount of emotion, unexpected from someone
hundreds of years old.
I don’t like it.
A burst of kinetic energy explodes from me at the center. I make it more
blunt than sharp, and Myrra is thrown away from me, crashing through the
wall with a surprised squeak.
Immediately from my shadow, her bodyguard steps up, but I already
know this skill. The moment he fully emerges, [Resonance] disrupts his
attack, and with a kick, I send him flying out of the window of the manor.
I don’t like how everyone here thinks they can mess with me.
I redirect more of my mana toward the Kinetic Mana Heart and turn all
generated energy from kinetic into thermal, continuing to compress it while
walking slowly toward where I kicked Myrra.
The tall lynthari is already on her feet, unhurt, but blue flames blazing
around her.
She is smiling.
I send disrupting mana into the room, not allowing her guard to use any
shadows around, and then release all the heat I collected, pressing it all
against Myrra. For a while, she fights against it, her own flames pushing
against my own. The manor is melting around us, being set ablaze. The air
dries, cracks appear in the walls, and furniture turns to dust.
Elydor, partially Obelia, Myrra, every single one of them wants me to
move according to their will.
Just leave me alone.
My flames turn golden, devouring Myrra’s flames and pushing her to
her knees. The tall lynthari hisses, and more of her mana is released, this
time in the form of chill that fights against the flames, the temperature in
the room turning ice cold.
As I sense her bodyguard dashing at me, I cancel my flames and replace
them with a strong impulse of [Resonance] that I send into the room. The
flames and cold disappear, the male lynthari slows down, my attack
disrupting his physical boost.
Then I follow it with another strong pulse of kinetic energy that sends
both of them crashing through the walls. This time, I boost my body and
follow Myrra.
I reach her as she bends in the air, elegantly landing on her feet. Her
eyes glow gold, and her tail twitches excitedly. She licks her lips, and more
mana is released from her body, pale blue circuits appearing on her skin.
At the same time, I pull an epic-graded shortsword from the sheath, and
immediately, a transparent white crystal-like blade starts turning blue,
absorbing the mana from the area and from the attacks.
Both Myrra and I charge at once, and with each passing second, I feel
my body becoming stronger and faster, boosted by the sword in my hands
that continues to absorb more mana, turning darker blue.
Myrra nimbly dodges my attacks and leaves a few scratches on my
body. She is fast, barely a blur.
Her bodyguard appears as well, but just stands on the side, not wanting
to ruin his master’s fun.
I send another pulse of disrupting mana at her, but she seems to be
expecting that and throws some weak mana attack in the way that gets
canceled instead.
A mana projectile flies at me, so pale in color that I can barely see it. I
only block it at the last moment to her amusement, and her tail flails. Her
golden eyes follow each of my movements while her cat-like eyes glow.
Oh, so you want to play?
 [Mana Domain] covers the area, and I stop Mana Cycling, instead
letting my mana start leaking from my body, filling the area, and getting
under my control within my domain. Some of that mana even gets fed to the
sword in my hand, strengthening my body even further, and I start
manipulating the rest.
Mana arms start appearing from thin air, attempting to grab Myrra.
Barriers form in front of me, blocking her attacks.
Mana projectiles form behind her back, which is still within my domain.
Bombarded from every side, Myrra totally lets loose and moves like a
wild animal led by instincts, deflecting all the attacks, using skills to block
them, and sending bursts of fire and ice toward me.
I let her play for a while as I lead her toward where I want to while
reading her movements. When she shows a moment of hesitation, I boost
my body even further and move in front of her in one quick movement. My
sword stabs deep into her thigh, and the blade surprisingly starts absorbing
mana at a much quicker rate directly from her body.
Then I cancel all of my skills and stare at her.
Her canines show in full beauty as she leans closer to me, her mouth
open wide as if she is about to bite me, her face scrunched, demonic-like
even.
And I just watch her and twist the sword in her wound.
She nearly hisses, her expression threatening, but after a short stalemate,
she stops. Her mana calms down, and her face slowly returns to normal.
Myrra takes a step back, the sword sliding from her thigh, and at a quick
speed, the wound on her starts healing as we look at each other.
It takes a minute for her to say, “I guess I should apologize, Feral One.”
This time, the word “feral” is different in the way she says it. It’s as if she
puts a different meaning on it. “I got a little bit too excited.” She smiles.
It’s not a truly apologizing smile, and she doesn’t seem to be in a bad
mood or something. It’s more as if she kept poking a cute cat and the cat got
annoyed, scratching her.
Now that I think about it, I keep using this sort of comparison to
understand her, and they fit surprisingly well. But Myrra has cat ears and a
tail, so why is my role always so fitting to the cat?
I put the sword back in its sheath and then hold the sheath in my hand.
When I check my mana, there’s barely a dent in it, partially also thanks to
the sword replenishing and strengthening my body.
 “If you are sorry, block others from annoying us,” I tell her.
“I can do it only partially. There will be people who will want to fight
the one who defeated Elydor. The items you got are also a big attraction. So
expect some challengers,” she says.
As I leave, I can feel her gaze on my back, and passing by her
bodyguard, he greets me with a short nod.
Out of the estate, I glance at the sword in my hand. The effect of its
boosting is more efficient than I expected it to be, and the way it took mana
from the air, as well as the way it took mana from Myrra’s body, really
fascinates me.
It probably wouldn’t be that extremely difficult to do that; no, what is
most difficult is the way it transforms foreign mana to be used by me, but
here’s where I have another idea. What if I try to use [Resonance] to
change the absorbed mana and turn it into mine?
Maybe I should fight with lynthari more often. I’m getting quite good
ideas while doing so.
Unfortunately, something tells me not all of them would react to it as
Myrra did. She seems to be weird even for a lynthari. Well, at least I
showed her that there are limits to how far she can push. But I also dislike
that she still held back; her bodyguard too. I almost got caught up in the
fight and took the fight seriously.
What would I do without good ol’ Mr. [Focus]?
Unlike on Earth, where I had more reasons to stay calm and control
myself, it’s a bit harder to reason such behavior here. Sure, I could do so; I
was always good at that even without the skill I can control my emotions
pretty well. The problem might be that I often catch myself not wanting to
do it.
Venting once in a while is a nice compromise, isn’t it?
As I walk through the streets, I find myself not wanting to return so
soon. Lately, I was constantly surrounded by people. Talking with them,
training with them, helping them stay alive down in the tunnel.
Seeing so many people pass by, and hearing them talk and enjoy their
day, somewhat drains me even more than usual.
I still somewhat enjoy group 4’s company; it’s just that I feel like taking
a break. Not a long one, just a day or two.
So instead of going back, I change direction and walk toward one of the
giant trees. I’ve been curious about them ever since I got here. Should I
check them out?
I use [Focus] to filter out the sounds of people around me, and even
their presence stops feeling so pressuring. The world loses some of its life
but becomes a bit more comfortable to me.
Only in my own company, I continue walking down the street.

POV - Isabella Martinez

“What do you mean that he probably won’t be coming back so soon, Izzy?”
Lily asks me.
She feels funny, all these emotions she tries to hide and show at the
same time.
“Pff, you guys couldn’t even see it! But he was slowly getting more and
more annoyed!” I explain to them. Old people are dumb, so I have to.
“Annoyed?” Lily asks again.
I ignore the not-as-old-as-others-but-still-dumb Lily and look around for
Biscuit. As he often does, he is sitting on the couch spot where Nathaniel
likes to sit.
Annoying! Biscuit is only mine!
When I get to him, I use my skill to connect to him, and he allows me to
do so.
Biscuit feels safe. Safer than anyone else. Like there is no evil in him.
He must have been an angel in his past life.
I hug him, and he lets me.
“Izzy, what did you mean by ‘annoyed’?” Soph asks.
“You guys talk too much, are around him too often, ask him too many
questions.” I pet Biscuit while talking to them. “He likes to be alone
sometimes.”
“We don’t know how long Myrra will take him, but he won’t be gone
for too long. A few days at most, so there’s no need to worry.” It’s Tess who
said that.
Tess is…weird. She’s not as dumb as the others, and sometimes she
feels scary. But it’s fine; Nathaniel also feels scary, yet never toward his
friends. And I’m his friend too!
 I think.
“Are we also friends, Biscuit?” I ask.
(Food?) he says, and I read his intention.
“Yes, I will get you anything you want!”
(Asshole,) he says louder so everyone can hear, and I can feel gentleness
from him. He even creates a purple mana arm and pets my head!
“Soph! Did you hear? He called me his friend!”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 3
YOUNG GUILD MASTER OF
VEILWALKERS

O
nly a few minutes pass since I left Myrra when I realize that
something is not right. There’s that weird feeling that keeps
bothering me. Something has changed, and it takes me a few
moments to realize what it is.
The sword I held in the sheath in my hand is gone.
Huh?
I open and close my hands, but it’s really gone; my hand is empty. Did I
get robbed?
Immediately, I send a strong pulse into my area, detecting all the
signatures around me, looking for something suspicious, maybe a phantom
deer or something. Or another corgi with amazing camouflage.
The sword still holds some mana that it absorbed from Myrra, so I
locate it fairly quickly. Not caring about the reactions around me, I boost
myself high into the air and land on the roof of a nearby house. From there,
I run toward where the signature is.
What I find there is a man in a cloak with his face covered by a cape.

[Veilstriker - Level ??]

Oh, so at least Level 182 or higher.

“It’s amazing how quickly you noticed, almost the moment I took it
away from you.” His voice is soft as he waves my sword he holds in his
hand at me. “You are the first one. Not even Obelia was able to.”
The man throws the sword at me, and I let it land on the roof in front of
me. I send a short pulse of disrupting mana at it, destroying whatever mark
he left on it.
Only then do I take it from the ground and dash at the man, boosting my
body and even pushing myself with kinetic energy generated by my Kinetic
Mana Heart. As I reach him, I send a thin cone of kinetic energy at his head.
The man dodges, his cape turning into a weird blur. More than being
made from cloth, it looks like it’s made from pitch-black shadow or smoke.
I track him with [Perception], and [Redistribution] activates to full
power, trying to absorb movement from the man and make him slow down.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t work; it’s like my skill is slipping on him, unable
to grab him.
I release more mana into the area and continue to observe his skill while
he is dodging cones of kinetic energy. When I have a grasp on his mana, I
send a pulse of [Resonance] into the area, and finally, [Redistribution]
takes a grip on him, slowing his body to a crawl; his strength isn’t enough
to fight against it.
I push myself closer and direct a strong kick at him while more shadow-
like substance forms in his hand, and he stabs at me. I don’t dodge and just
create a shield-like barrier in front of the attack. It cracks after getting hit,
but that’s when my kick hits him and sends him crashing against the
chimney nearby.
The man bounces off the chimney, leaving cracks in it, and a more
shadow-like substance surrounds him, shaping into spikes that stab at me as
I rush at him again.
Another pulse of [Resonance], modified especially against the man,
dissolves the attack, and I kick him again, sending him rolling on the roof.
While doing so, I again have this weird feeling and grip the sword in my
hand tighter, disrupting whatever he is trying to do.
“Nice one.” I can hear the smile in his voice as he stops rolling after my
kick and stands up.
The shadow-like substance that separated from his body as I kicked
him, now like smoke behind me, becomes dense again, and another spike is
created, stabbing at my head from behind.
Such a funny guy.
I pull the Ethercrystal Shortsword from the scabbard and slash against
the attack, the white crystal blade turning black and absorbing the mana. At
the same time, I change the setting on my Mana Regulator, and nearly all
my mana is automatically used through the Reinforcement construct to
strengthen my body.
I enter deep [Focus] to be able to handle my increased speed, and the
world around me turns into a blur. I reach the man so quickly that he
doesn’t even have time to react as I grab his hand and absorb my own
kinetic energy to stop the inertia of my movement.
The man shows amazing reflexes and activates multiple skills: shadow-
like spikes, his body becomes stronger, and he tries to use something
similar to when I’m using [Tether].
Shadow spikes reach my body, and I don’t even dodge, watching them
stop and only slightly poke my skin, unable to reach further into my body
that is boosted by the entirety of my mana.
I disrupt his attempts to teleport and even send disrupting mana into his
body, making him lose control over his skills.
In a last-ditch effort, he pulls out a dagger and tries to stab at me. This
time, I dodge, break his arm, and take the fallen dagger from the ground.
“Give it back,” he hisses, his voice different from before.
Oh, you’re not so confident and funny anymore?
Holding his hand, I swing his body and smash it against the ground, still
somewhat careful to not kill him.
A painful groan escapes his mouth from under the black cape over his
head, which falls down, revealing ashen-gray hair. Then one swift kick
sends him crashing against the same chimney again.
Damn, that chimney is sure catching strays.
I look at the dagger in my hand:

Painweaver (Epic)
Infused with lethal toxins from the deadliest creatures, a single scratch
delivers a potent neurotoxin that can fell even the hardiest of foes, inducing
symptoms of extreme pain, disorientation, and eventual paralysis.

“Oh, that’s kind of harsh of you, trying to stab me with it,” I say to the
groaning man on the ground while surrounding the dagger with some mana
and putting it away.
Another epic item for my growing collection. Something tells me it
shouldn’t be so easy to get them.
 The man in front of me is very skilled; I can imagine him causing crazy
trouble to people with his teleport, stealth, and epic-graded dagger.
Especially that weird skill that allowed him to take the sword away from
me. That one is really dangerous.
“Are you the guild master of one of the five, erm, four big guilds?” I ask
him.
While waiting for his answer, I think, What would have happened if he
tried to kill me instead of stealing my sword? It’s not a problem anymore, as
I already know what to watch for, but back then, it could have been
dangerous. I believe I would have noticed it sooner if he had gone after my
life instead of the sword, but still, that skill is quite something.
“Give me back my dagger,” he hisses again as he stands up, his body
swaying from side to side.
He sounds young, a bit older than me, but who knows how old he
actually is? He could easily be a few hundred years old.
“Give it back, you bitch!” he shouts.
Well, maybe he really is young.
I watch as his body turns into a blur, with shadow-like mana
surrounding him again, and he moves quickly, almost like smoke.
My mana projectiles pass through his body, as do flames and the kinetic
energy cone. Even my physical attack. The entire time, spike-like attacks
and projectiles continue to smash against my body. They are strong, quick,
and deadly, drawing blood in places even with my body strengthened to a
terrifying degree.
But that’s all.
He tries to confuse me with his weird skill, and I shrug it off.
He tries to surprise me by teleporting behind me and gets a swift kick to
his chest instead of hitting me.
He compresses a lot of mana and shadows into a single attack that I cut
through with my hand covered in resonating mana.
And he even pulls out two more daggers that get covered in red mana.
They seem to have an effect that tries to paralyze me, a weaker version of
his epic weapon. Most likely rare weapons.
Having had enough, I send another pulse of disruptive mana at him and
grab him by the neck. When I check, his hand is already healed, the one I
broke. Skills? Tattoo? Item?
 I throw him against the chimney once more, and the chimney finally
cracks.
Good, I was getting weirded out by how durable it was.
My ability to disrupt mana really feels like cheating against some
opponents. But it’s fine; they can suffer the same way I did on the third
floor against the duo of mana hunters.
“I think it would be annoying if I killed you,” I squat in front of the
man, “but I will be taking the dagger as payment for you trying to steal
from me.”
“Are you dumb? Do you even have any idea how much something like
that is worth? There are just over ten epic items in the entire Virelia!” he
shouts at me.
Huh, he is quite hotheaded for an assassin-like type, isn’t he?
I take one of his rare daggers and break it just with the strength of my
body boosted with my mana.
I do it because he annoyed me.
Afterward, I let him strengthen his body again as he tries to attack me
one more time and kick, sending him flying against another chimney.
After that, I walk back to where I left Myrra.

“Feral One, are you actively trying to make things difficult for yourself?”
“Look, he asked for it, and how the hell is someone like that even a
guild master?”
“Lorven, the guild master of Veilwalkers, is young, but extremely
talented and with a powerful skill. There’s even a rumor his guild has a few
pieces of epic equipment.”
Myrra pauses as I put the man’s dagger on the table, and she inspects it.
“It’s his dagger, isn’t it?” she asks.
“Yup.”
“Are you going to return it?” she asks.
“Probably, for a price. Assholes like him would be too annoying to deal
with if they went against my group. Can you handle it? Ask a lot of money
from him to get it back, and you can keep twenty percent of it,” I tell her.
 “Fifty percent,” Myrra says shamelessly and takes the dagger, “and I
will get as much as possible.”
Looking at her, she probably doesn’t even need the money but does it
just for the fun of it.
“Fine,” I tell her.
Myrra continues to quietly think while observing the long, sharp dagger
in her hands; the blade’s color slightly shifts from pitch black to light gray
as the light falls on it.
“There are very few epic items in the entire Virelia, around two-thirds
owned by lynthari and one-third by humans. And now there are you, and
Obelia, who both brought back a few epic items each, if I’m right in my
calculations.” Her golden eyes move from the dagger back to me, then to
the sword I hold, and then to the mana stone that is in the inner pocket
under my clothes.
“Things will become interesting.” Myrra’s tail swings again as she says
so.
Annoyed, I want to correct her, but I give up.
Well, it’s time for me to bullshit my way through all of this. “Angry
Kittens will become one of the big five,” I tell Myrra.
Lorven is easy to deal with as my skills counter him; Obelia seems to
overestimate my level because of the amount of mana I possess. With a bit
of luck, the other two guild masters will be the same, and I will troll the
entire Virelia into thinking I’m the biggest dog there before I become strong
enough to deal with all of them at once.
I ignore Myrra’s excited reaction and interrupt her. “So I would like to
meet with every guild master. Talk a bit, maybe make some deals.”
Or maybe beat them up. Funnily enough, showing strength often works
best in these situations. Just enough for them not to want to mess with me.
They are all over Level 200, but I’m not that worried. I’m long since used
to fighting opponents of a much higher level, and my skill set—my
constructs, kinetic and thermal energy, disrupting mana, boosting my body
with a stupidly large amounts of mana, my high ability to detect stuff and
concentrate—makes me really versatile.
I don’t have any glaring weaknesses, so I trust myself that I can do it.
But only that much wouldn’t be enough. They could try to kill me
secretly, join together to do so, or threaten me by hurting my group. So
there’s one more thing I can do.
 “I have an offer for them,” I say to Myrra.
They are human, and human needs are easy to read. I just need to
dangle a shiny, nice thing in front of them. Something they won’t be able to
get without my full help. Something that will be much more valuable to
them than just messing with me.
“Tell them I will kill the Living Tree.” That simple sentence makes
Myrra shut up entirely and stare at me, with her mouth open, in the middle
of the sentence. “And, Myrra, please, explain to them what it means.” They
will move how I want, and I will milk this floor dry. “If the Calamity is
dead, all the stuff in the old capital will be for us to take.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 4
SPELLSMITH

“Y ou
can’t be serious, Feral One. This is not something that’s simple to
do, nor is it something to joke about.” Myrra waves her hand,
gesturing at something.
I stay silent.
“A Calamity can’t be killed, and it doesn’t matter if it’s the Colony, the
Living Tree, or the Fallen Hero. None of them can be killed by us, not
anymore.”
I continue to listen.
“Do you even have any idea how many times we have tried? Even
before I was born, there were hundreds of attempts, yet every single one
failed, leaving us weaker and weaker. No one will join you and…”
“I will kill it alone.”
She pauses, and the air becomes heavy, the silence taking over the
room. Her eyes seem to be trying to bore holes into my head.
“Obviously, I need some time to prepare. Most likely several months for
preparations, and then help to get there. After that, everyone can leave.” I
return her gaze and notice that she’s looking at my veins, my chest, my
eyes.
Is she trying to gauge if I’m lying, to see if my pulse has increased?
“Feral One, I do think you are powerful, but what you’re saying is…
impossible. Moreover, you’ve already annoyed multiple powerful people,
and they’ll see it as you dangling a promise you don’t intend to keep, just to
buy some time from their revenge.”
“Then just help me set up a meeting with these people and let them
decide after hearing me out. That much should be simple to do.” I shrug my
shoulders.
 I watch as Myrra’s tail sways from side to side, this time in an annoyed
manner. Damn, I really want to touch that tail and pull on it.
“How do you plan to kill the Living Tree?” she asks me.
I stay quiet, and Myrra seems to grow even more annoyed.
It’s quite funny, to be honest. No matter how much she likes to observe
people and their reactions to surprises or new things, she gets annoyed if
she doesn’t understand or can’t control something. I think that’s a trait
many powerful people share—people not used to being denied or not being
in control.
“Just imagine, Myrra. The old capital without the Calamity defending it.
All the items, all the riches, all that history. I’m sure some powerful people
escaped with their items, but our last expedition showed that there’s still
plenty left.” I tap on my chest pocket where I’m hiding a Mana Core Sphere
and gesture at the sword I hold.
I’m curious if that might interest her. She has some nice items and likes
to wear expensive clothes and jewelry.
I watch her a bit longer and then change my mind. No, I don’t think
that’s what she would want. Myrra wants something else.
“Imagine living during the era when one of the Calamities fell. You
being one of the few lynthari that helped with that.” I lower my voice to a
whisper and move a bit closer to her. “Maybe we could even do it secretly,
without other lynthari knowing,” I say.
She is dead silent, with neither her tail nor her ears moving. She just
stares at me, her breathing speeding up almost imperceptibly, but I can see
it while in my [Focus].
“Myrra, can you imagine yourself coming to the other lynthari after
everything is done and telling them the Calamity is dead?” My voice is so
quiet, I can barely hear it, but I’m sure she can. “Imagine observing all
those lynthari. Most of them hundreds of years old, experienced, bored.
Imagine all of them reacting—shocked, panicked, curious, annoyed,
angered. All of them.”
Her eyes are dreamy, her mouth slightly open.
“And then there’s you, Myrra, a lynthari who helped make it happen.
Who saw it happen.” I whisper in her ear, “And I’ll be there with you. A
human who accomplished all of that, walking by your side, treating you
with respect, complimenting you, saying that it would be impossible
without⁠—”
 Out of nowhere, she shoves me away, and I absorb my inertia to make
myself stop before hitting the wall.
Myrra is staring at me. She’s breathing heavily, audibly enough for me
to hear. Her tail is oddly twisted, and her ears are lowered.
“Dangerous, you are very dangerous, Feral One.” She displays her sharp
canines, as if ready to attack me. Her mana is swirling wildly.
Before I can say anything else, she swiftly turns to leave. “I’ll think
about it and will let you know in a few days!”
Myrra disappears, almost as if running away.

I’ve always been good at reading people. There are certain feelings that I
read well, and some not as much. Sometimes I detect a feeling they have,
but I can’t comprehend it.
For instance, there’s Min-Jae. I know he views me somewhat like an
older brother; he looks up to me to the point where I’ve noticed him
observing my movements and mimicking some of my behaviors. He adopts
a similar stance, tries to have a similar haircut, or wears clothes akin to
mine. He constantly observes me, as if trying to learn.
Min-Jae admires me. I can discern that much, but I don’t understand
why.
Sure, I’m stronger than him, and I’m also handsome, not to mention the
high amount of the best stat that I possess. But I’m also moody, arrogant,
and at times so erratic that I’ve been labeled a psychopath or sociopath on
multiple occasions. I’m petty, obsessive when I focus on something…
Perhaps I should stop. I’m beginning to feel bad.
So yes, some parts of me are far from desirable. Yet the naïve boy, even
aware of these traits, continues to envy me, a sentiment confirmed by his
subclass.
I can read people and even attempt to manipulate them a bit, but I do so
infrequently. And unlike Tess or Izzy, I’m not as formidable.
It was enjoyable to see Myrra react the way I anticipated. Given her
reaction, I should expect her visit in a few days, but before that, I’ll take
some time away from group 4. I’ll also avoid the Community and just
unwind.
 Once more, I blend into the crowds and head toward the nearest giant
tree.

Giant trees are colossal disappointments.

Hehe.
Anyway, they’re merely…well, big trees. They contain no mana I can
feel, aren’t sentient, and even their wood isn’t special aside from being
harder than a normal tree. There are some houses on certain branches, and
to be honest, they look impressive. I’m quite wealthy currently; the number
of valuables Serpent’s Eye was able to obtain is astounding, so perhaps I
should purchase one.
I step away from the tree and close my eyes for a moment.
It’s already dark, and the ruins of whatever they once were are once
again visible in the orbit, and a warm wind blows through the mostly empty
streets. Colorful soft lights are glowing all around, creating a fantastical
atmosphere. The leaves of the giant tree gently sway in the weak wind, and
the city is pleasantly quiet.
Deciding not to sleep during my off-group-4 days, I delve deeper into
the city.
After a few more minutes of walking, I stop in front of one of the
buildings, sensing interesting mana movement inside of it.
The side of the building is open, offering an entrance inside to what
looks like a simple workshop. Even though it’s so late, it’s open, and an
older human man is working inside.
Led by curiosity, I enter, and the moment I step into the area, the crystal
I notice nearby detects my presence and sends a signal toward the bracelet
on the man’s hand.
“Just a moment,” he shouts from the inside, continuing to work on
something on the table I can’t see because of his back.
While observing the way he moves his mana, I wait.
It takes thirty minutes, and only then does he sigh and step away from
the item. He then takes another one, about to get back to work, but that’s
when I let out a cough, and he turns around, surprise evident on his face.
Did he really forget about me?
 “Oh, I totally forgot about you!” he exclaims, an unapologetic smile on
his face.
He takes a step toward me, an older man with graying hair, thin and
moving slowly.

[Spellsmith - Level 78]

“So what do you want, young man?” There’s a hint of impatience I can
discern in his voice. He surely wants to get back to working on the item.
“You made a mistake while working on that item,” I tell him.
He tilts his head in surprise and then laughs. “There’s no way. Do you
know how many items⁠—”
I interrupt him. “You were aiming to turn the mana stone into a heater,
but when you activated it to test it, the heat wasn’t continuous but was sent
in pulses.”
That gets a laugh out of him and a curious look my way. “Young man,
that’s on purpose. Can you imagine how much mana it would consume if it
continuously radiated heat? Like this, the effectiveness is reduced by half,
but it can be powered with less than half as much mana.”
He gestures at me and leads me toward the heating mana stone on the
table. “People usually don’t have as much mana as you might think, so even
that is plenty.” The old man points at the stone, and I touch it, observing the
circuits he etched.
They’re similar to when I play around with mana stones, or when trying
to create coordinates, or what I did to get through the barrier.
“Wouldn’t efficiency be even better with a higher value mana stone?” I
ask. The stone he’s using is one of the cheapest ones.
“It would,” he nods, “but it would also be much more expensive and
take longer.”
“Longer?” I ask.
“Obviously longer. The better the mana stone, the harder it is to work
with them, to force your circuits and etch them inside. More valuable stones
have some resistance, and it’s hard to infuse your mana into them and then
even harder to etch the pathways.”
He puts a few stones on the table. The highest value ones could be
around ten thousand dollars’ worth back on Earth and lowest value one only
a few dollars.
 “This one is what we usually work with. There are maybe five people
who can work on more expensive ones given enough preparation and a few
months of time. I think one of the best is a man called Elydor, so try looking
for him if you want to learn more. There are also very few people who can
even work on this one,” he shows me the one worth ten thousand dollars,
“and I’m one of them.”
“I see. It really sounds respectable,” I answer him.
The entire time, I think. I did work on the mana stone that Obelia gave
me. I don’t even know how much it was worth, but surely much more than
the one I took from Hadwin and Tess. The ones I took from them were
worth one or two hundred thousand dollars. Yet I was able to work with
them.
Is this why Obelia gave me such weird looks?
I take out one of my mana stones, the one worth ten thousand dollars,
and put it in front of the man. “So how would you usually work on it? Let’s
say I want to make a heating stone from it.”
“Well, young man, I would call you dumb and ask you why you need a
heating stone that only people with terrifyingly high mana can feed and
why you need to heat up or burn an entire house.” He smiles at me while
reaching toward the stone and gestures for me to watch.
The older man is not careful at all; there isn’t even a speck of distrust,
nor is he worried about the mana stones he put on the table.
He just seems genuinely happy to talk about his craft and share some
knowledge.
“You seem to be well off, so forgive me for actually taking your word
and showing you how it works on something so wasteful.” He seems
excited.
“Not a problem,” I answer him.
I know that the moment we etch the circuits, it will be difficult to use
the stone for anything else. It’s impossible to delete them and start over
with the stone. You can only build on what’s already etched or scratch it,
leaving imperfections on the stone. That’s something I have learned from
my testing.
Curious to see how it’s traditionally done, I watch as he does it,
carefully and precisely, doing calculations where I did it by feel. He
explains how some things change from stone to stone and identifies the
imperfections each stone has and how to avoid the most common ones.
 He shares all his knowledge without any worry in the world, voicing
things I was always curious about and explaining things I had noticed and
how they usually work around them.
Where I was guided by feel and by what I learned from ruining mana
stones, he follows knowledge.
Not noticing the passage of time, we spend hours working on the stone,
changing it, improving it, and clashing in our opinions, and I would like to
say that I have shown him something new, just as he taught me a lot. I
absorb all that knowledge, and it doesn’t even feel forced. For me, it’s fun
the same way moving mana is. I’m creating something new, something with
my own powers.
When I finally notice the passage of time, it’s already morning. We
spent the entire night working on the mana stone, and in the end, it’s not
just a simple heater.
“Well, if it isn’t the most efficient heating stone there ever was.” He
giggles excitedly like a small child.

Thermal Mana Core (rare)

A refined variant of its lesser counterpart, this mana crystal boasts expertly
crafted circuits. When filled with mana, it emanates a warmth, enhancing
its heat-transmuting capabilities.

The stone we worked on now can extremely efficiently turn mana into
heat. Where smaller stones waste around forty percent of mana, this one
wastes only around five percent.
Another thing is that it can handle much more mana, and someone with
a big enough mana pool most likely can use it to melt iron or burn an entire
building. It’s like gaining a fire skill of their own; the only disadvantage is
that that person would be in the heat as well.
“Thank you,” I answer honestly. I have learned a lot from the old man.
I put two mana stones of the same value we worked on on the table, and
he immediately starts complaining.
“No, no, I can’t take it, that’s too much. Just…” he says, seemingly
embarrassed.
“I’m rich,” I tell him simply.
He stops in shock, staring at me like I’m some weird animal, and then
starts laughing.
 “In that case, I would like one more,” the old man says cheekily.
Oh, I quite like him.
“Two more, and I’ll be taking some of your smaller stones,” I say as I
put out two more mana stones.
“Deal,” he says, a smile still on his face.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 5
YOUNG LYNTHARI

V
irelia during the morning is different from the night. The colorful
lights turn off and people return to the streets, filling them with life.
Humans are everywhere, going about their lives, merchants open
their shops, and couples walk around holding hands.
And there are those annoying lynthari once again.
“Oh my, look at him. His expression!” A group of lynthari surrounds
me, and one of the women starts gushing.
“Isn’t he annoyed? I would swear he was about to roll his eyes,” another
one says.
As always, they are weird, yet they do not touch me; they don’t force
me to do anything. They are just annoying.
“His eyes are pretty,” another one says.
Should I find a way to change their color? Maybe Lily can do it for me.
“I’m sorry, I have something to do, so…” I tell them.
“I would translate that as: can you fuck off already?” one of them says,
making the others laugh, seemingly not minding it at all.
Then I make a mistake. I release some of my mana to show them my
level and exert pressure on them. It’s not an attack, at most something like
baring teeth or hissing. And oh boy, that makes them even more excited.
“Oh my, so cute!” one of the lunatics exclaims. She doesn’t care that
she is the lowest level out of her group and I could kill her with a single
attack.
She’s like a fool calling a black bear a dawg and wanting to pet it. I
guess that’s what the unspoken rule of never hurting lynthari does to you.
Not seeing any other option, I use my skill to push myself high onto the
roof and escape. My most dangerous weakness, extroverts, still exist, and
this time, it’s an entire race of those weirdos.
Maybe the system is doing it on purpose. Maybe this is the second trial
of Beyond masked as the fourth floor. That’s how dangerous extroverted
beings are. It’s unnatural to be so friendly and talkative. There was some
mistake in evolution and something went terribly wrong for something like
this to happen.
And it’s still morning, like, what the heck. Be sleepy and grumpy like
normal people after waking up.
Sending my senses into the area, I notice a signature I haven’t felt so
far, and led by curiosity, I move a bit closer toward its source.
When I get closer, I’m surprised to see a lynthari, but this time, this
lynthari is just a small kid. A girl even shorter than me, the first child of that
race I’ve seen. She has red hair and a tail and ears of the same color. Unlike
adults, her tail is even fluffier, and she walks on the street alone, without
any worry in the world.
Like a wild animal, she senses my gaze, and her eyes locate me nearly
immediately. Her eyes are piercingly blue.

[Riftwalker - Level 87]

The lynthari girl smiles at me and takes a step, disappearing from where
she stands and reappearing behind me, stepping out of a gouge in the air
that is filled with darkness.
“Hello!” she says, showing her sharp canines.
So how the heck does a Level 87 have a teleporting skill? I thought stuff
like that was illegal. Is the system playing favorites here?
“Hello,” I answer awkwardly, to her amusement.
“How old are you?” she asks.
Huh, that’s a weird question, isn’t it? “Twenty-one,” I tell her, seeing no
reason to lie.
“Ha! I’m twenty-nine, so I’m older! You have to call me Boss now!”
For a moment, I fight against the confusion that hits me. The what?
How does that even work?
Still, she’s the first child lynthari I’ve seen, and her teleporting skill is
interesting, so I give in and decide to go with the flow. “I apologize for my
rudeness! I will call you Boss from now on!” I tell her.
 The young lynthari seems surprised but then happy, and she excitedly
nods her head, her red hair flying around. She seems too happy, as if plenty
of people already rejected calling her that and as if she expected me to do so
as well.
“Good!” She then pauses, embarrassed, probably not thinking that far.
“Huh, what now?” she whispers to herself.
“Boss, I’m hungry. Will you buy a meal for me? It’s a master’s job to
take care of their underlings.” I can’t help but to want to bully this little girl.
Someone gotta pay for all the weird lynthari around.
As expected, the young lynthari doesn’t seem to have any mana stones
on her. I sensed that much while scanning her. She falls silent, opening and
closing her mouth like a goldfish, too ashamed to say it out loud.
I let it go on for a bit longer and then decide that it’s enough. “I
apologize for the confusion. Obviously, I will pay. Things like that aren’t
something a boss should do.”
“Obviously, you should pay. Are you dumb or something, Underling?”
The lynthari child immediately shakes her head, acting all mature,
something she probably learned from observing others yet can’t fully apply.
Even though she might be close to thirty, she’s just a child. But that
won’t stop me from observing her skill. It might help me improve my
[Tether].
So I jump down from the roof and observe as she teleports with me, and
then we continue on so I can get my breakfast.
It takes much longer than expected; the young lynthari is extremely
picky and sniffs with a sharp nose like an animal, rating the smell from each
restaurant. But in the end, we find one.
The prices are sky-high, but I’m rich, thanks to Elydor. May the gods
bless his soul and revive him one day.
So I can kill him again.
“You are different from other dumb humans,” the redheaded lynthari
says. Her piercing blue eyes observe me once in a while. “You feel weird.”
“I apologize, Boss.”
“But you paid for breakfast, so it’s fine.”
“Thank you, Boss.”
“But actually, that’s something underlings like you should do, so I don’t
need to thank you.”
“I apologize, Boss.”
 “But you are my first underling, so maybe it’s fine?”
“Thank you, Boss,” I say.
Every time I call her “Boss,” her smile becomes bigger and bigger, even
though she tries to hide it. Somehow I can’t even get too annoyed.
Unlike adults, kids are something I can’t bring myself to treat too
harshly. Little Isabella is living proof of that after I ended up with her on the
third floor. There’s some sort of naivety, shine, and goodness that I find in
most children. Or maybe I’m just treating them nicely because I also wish I
was treated well while being a child. I don’t know. I’m a weirdo.
Still, it won’t stop me from teasing them a little bit! “Boss, if you allow
me, I would like to recommend you something,” I say carefully.
“Sure, Underling! Go ahead. I allow you to do so!” The little redhead
lynthari folds her arms on her chest and leans backward on the chair.
Oi, it will rain into your nose if you lift it higher, you silly kid.
“I’m not saying that Boss isn’t majestic, but I think you could even
improve on that if you allow me to help.” I pause and look at her with a
question.
Barely able to hide her curiosity, she nods, her big eyes glued to me.
So silly.
I continue, this time in a whisper, “I heard about a boss from ancient
times. A most powerful redhead lynthari woman…”
“Oh, like me!” she interrupts me, showing her hair.
“No, Boss, your hair is even more stunning!” I say, and that makes her
open her mouth slightly as she listens to me, mesmerized. “She ruled over
the entire city. The biggest boss of all.” I create a dramatic pause. “I heard
she had one word she liked to say after every sentence, making all the
people jealous and amazed by her.”
“Underling, tell me! Tell me what that word was immediately!” She
stops leaning against the chair and stands up.
I pause for a dramatic effect. “Nya,” I then say in a somber tone, “Boss,
that word was ‘nya,’ and she said it after every sentence. Impressing her
underlings and her enemies as well,” I finish up.
Surely she won’t eat that up.
“I like it, Underling, I really do! Good job, nya!” she says, and the way
she pronounces this word with her youthful voice makes it sound extremely
cute and silly at the same time.
 Oh boy, am I having too much fun now? Is it because of my good mood
from last night and experimenting with mana stones?
“Exactly, Boss! You are a talent,” I tell her.
“Of course I am, nya!” she says and pauses. “I like it, I really do, nya!”
she continues.
I reach out and take a sip of water.
“I can’t wait to do it in front of my grandma, nya!”
Oh yes, do it. I just wish I could be there to see it! Huhu! I’m so evil. I
take another sip of my drink while the young lynthari continues to excitedly
repeat the word.
“Maybe I can have Granny order everyone to never use that word so
only I will, nya!”
Huh? Order everyone?
“It would be easy with dumb humans, nya. Oh, not you, Underling, you
aren’t dumb, nya! But other lynthari might not want to listen and try to steal
the word from me, nya, nya!”
Oh no.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Grandma will beat them up if they don’t! She
did it before, so all lynthari listen to her now, nya!”
Hehe. Maybe I should leave quickly.
Thankfully, she turns to me. “I’ll be going now, Underling, nya! I will
find you soon!”
As she teleports away, I don’t even observe her skill. I watch the place
where she disappeared from.
This can’t be good.
This is when I decided I’d had enough of the city and decided to go
back to our house. I check if there is any tracker on me, then I use
[Resonance] a few times, strengthen my Mantle, and quickly buy some
stuff from the shops.
I already have plenty of etched mana stones for examining, but I buy
multiple kinds of mana-conductive paint, some metals that seem to be able
to be etched with mana circuits, a few more items that use mana stones to
function, and other stuff the old man recommended.
In the end, I spend a lot, but back at the house, there is much more. All
the stuff Elydor left us so graciously. I wish he never died.
So I could kill him again, maybe while having Lily heal him constantly.
 Plus, there are some valuables from the Champion’s house that we plan
to put into the auction to get as much as possible.
The plan is to finish the coordinates, deal with Sophie, and hopefully be
able to buy another epic passive. If I don’t have enough, I can sell some
items until I get there. After that, I will start working on my plan to kill the
Living Tree.
I already know how I will do it and how to get to that point; it will just
take some time.
There’s no speck of doubt I will be able to do it. In the same way I hate
Elydor—I hope we both will get reborn and meet once again one day.
Well, the same way as that guy, I hate the Living Tree. I haven’t
forgotten about the time we spent down in the tunnels, and even though I
was deep in [Focus], I remember the faces of other members of my group
and some of the feelings I had.
I will kill that tree. I don’t care about Valorplate or the Colony, not even
the mystery of the fourth Calamity or stuff in the orbit.
The tree will go down.
Getting closer to our house on top of the hill, I sense weaker threads of
Sophie’s web reaching even beyond the house and its garden. They are
barely noticeable yet functional. Her web has improved by leaps and
bounds. It is stronger and more delicate at the same time, and there are even
some fake-outs, hidden detections, and even some weak attacks that will
activate under some conditions.
So I spend one hour standing outside the house, observing the web,
obviously.
(Damn it, please come in already. I can feel your probing, and Lily
keeps asking why you won’t come in and staring at you from the window on
the second floor,) Sophie says in my mind after I allow her to create a link.
When I look at the mentioned window, I really see Lily’s face, hiding
behind the drapes and staring at me.
(Tell her I said hello and that I can see her,) I tell Sophie, and soon she
does just that because Lily jumps backward, probably falling down and
pulling the drape down with her as I see it tearing and disappearing.
(Anyway, the guild master of Storm Brigade came here yesterday, and
she should be coming here today. She came personally, saying that she
would like to talk with you.) I get the info as I move toward the door.
 Interesting, so Obelia is looking for me. She probably hasn’t heard
anything yet from Myrra, so what does she want from me?
Well, I’ll see soon enough.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 6
BULLIED

“O h,heryou
are back,” Lily says the moment I enter the house, holding
hands behind her back.
It’s almost amazing how shameless she is acting.
“Lily, I saw—” I start.
“Oh, I didn’t see you coming. Welcome back,” she interrupts, and we
both fall silent.
I open my mouth to say something.
“Healing,” Lily says, quietly coughing, as if trying to mask saying that,
and I stop.
“Hehe, it’s nice to see you, Lily, for the first time in a few days!” I say
instead, and with a giggle, she turns around.
“That creepy woman, Obelia, was looking for you. Is she annoying
you? I can scare her off with [Disintegration],” she says while walking
toward the living room, and I follow her.
I give it a little bit of thought. Maybe I should be a bit nicer to Lily. To
get on her good side the same way I’m getting on Biscuit’s. Maybe she will
also become extremely powerful the way the Absolute candidate, Biscuit,
does.
“Lily, don’t disintegrate people just because they are a bit annoying,”
Tess shouts from the living room.
“But, Tess, she is bullying Nat!” Lily defends herself.
“As if. She is most likely scared of him and wants to have a good
relationship with him,” Tess says as we enter the room.
“Another reason to disintegrate her,” Lily whispers under her breath, but
I hear it.
Oh boy. This is getting scary.
 “Asshole!” Izzy immediately comes and jumps into my arms, even
though we haven’t seen each other in just a few days. Her skill, as so often
before, reaches out to me and examines my emotions.
“You seem in a good mood. Something good happened?” she asks,
letting go and returning to Sophie, who waves at me.
“I improved my skills,” I tell her before Lily gets the wrong idea, and
then I move toward the armchair in the corner.
Before I sit down, I can hear Lily whispering to Izzy, “Is he telling the
truth?” Izzy nods innocently in response.
Okay, let’s never become weaker than Lily. I mean, never ever. Things
could get dangerous if something like that happens.
“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” I ask as I sit opposite
Tess.
“Well, you heard about Obelia already and not much else. We sorted the
items and are mostly taking it a bit slower, getting some rest after the
expedition. In a few days, we will start going to hunt again, and we plan to
test the items we got. Especially the three epic ones,” she says.
She grabs some weird fruit from the table and takes a bite. “I want us to
level up as much as possible, both levels and skill levels.” Tess then puts the
fruit down. “I don’t like this one.” She turns back to me. “We are quite rich,
Nat, so we are looking into auctions and some expensive items that we
could buy and continue to use. We are also paying a lot for as much
information on Calamities as possible.”
I also grab fruit from the table, a different kind than Tess’s, and take a
bite. It tastes good, so I quickly finish it up, and when I look around, there
aren’t more of them.
“I will continue to practice with Sophie, and I made a deal with Myrra,
so she will be coming in a few days,” I tell her.
“What kind of deal?”
“I will kill the Living Tree in a few months,” I say, and that’s when I
notice that everyone else is silent and looking at me. “I already know how I
will do it, so I just need some time to prepare. In exchange, I will have
people stop annoying us and maybe a little bit of support. Now that I think
about it, I might have to beat one or two guild masters, but that much isn’t a
problem.”
“I see,” Tess says.
 “That’s it? ‘I see’? Tess, he just said he wants to kill that tree alone!”
Lily rushes toward us, looking between me and Tess. “I know you are
strong, but that thing…” She shudders, most likely remembering the
darkness of the tunnels.
“Nat wouldn’t say it without a reason, Lily, and I’m sure he will tell us a
bit more. He likes to act mysterious,” Tess says calmly.
Wow, that’s a bit annoying, isn’t it?
That’s when I hear Biscuit shout at me. He uses a word I’ve never heard
him use before.
(Bitch!) Biscuit shouts happily while hovering in the air and moving
toward me from upstairs.
“Biscuit, what did you just say?” I look around, and there is one person
that is avoiding my eyes: a petite, black-haired girl. “Lily?” I ask her.
“Maybe I called Obelia like that once or twice, and Biscuit…” she says
quietly.
What are you teaching the doggo? I mean, what the heck!
“Biscuit, don’t use that word ever again, okay?” I say as I grab him
from the air and pull him closer to my chest.
He looks at me and tilts his head a bit while his tongue is sticking out a
little.
(Bi…)
“No! Don’t say it!” I shake him a bit, but he seems to like it.
(Bitch!) he shouts while I shake him. His eyes shine intelligently, and I
don’t know if he really doesn’t know or just enjoys bullying me.
A scary thought comes to my mind. Is it possible that Biscuit is learning
from me? Not only skills but also somewhat copying my behavior? He
learned mana arms before me, but that was so he could reach for food. He
also learned telepathy, but that’s also so he could ask for more food. He
then continued to improve his mana arms together with me.
Later, he started resisting my [Disruption] at the same time when I
started experimenting with defending against such attacks.
I learned to float and somewhat fly, and he did so a bit later. Even his
tentacles seem to be able to disrupt mana slightly similarly to my skill. And
now this personality. Is he trying to bully me in the same way I like to bully
him and others?
We can’t have that!
 I shake him a bit more while pleading, but nothing helps. The cute corgi
continues to shout his new favorite word while his eyes look as if he’s
making fun of me.
Goddamn it, Biscuit.

Two days pass in peace. For an hour or two a day, I interact with others. I
spend another three to five hours a day working with Sophie on coordinates,
and I have a feeling that we are on a good way.
I also spend around three hours sleeping, and the rest of the day I use to
practice my skills and inscribe mana stones with construct-like circuits. I
don’t forget to examine the stones the old man gave me.
Sure, I could go and get some books with more theory, learn about
inscribing stuff into mana stones and more about what works and what
doesn’t, but there are a few problems with that.
The first one is that I just straight-up hate studying and prefer learning
stuff from practicing and repeating if possible. I don’t mind learning from
my mistakes.
Another and the main reason is that I don’t want to be tied down by the
knowledge they have and their perception of what is and is not possible.
From talking with the old man, I did learn that one of the best, and probably
the best enchanter or inscriber, was Elydor, and in some ways, I’m already
better than him.
In large part, it’s thanks to my skills that are really good for this kind of
stuff.
[Perception] allows me to perceive what’s happening inside of the
stone. [Mana Manipulation] allows me to move mana with the delicacy
that is needed for this kind of work. [Mana Domain] creates a small field
around the stone I work on, increasing my control over the mana even
further. And there are [Mana Infusion], thanks to which I can push my
mana even inside higher-quality mana stones that people usually have
trouble with, [Resonance] to inscribe it all inside, and most importantly,
[Focus], which grants me nearly inhuman concentration, allowing me to
keep switching between skills while keeping the construct from dissipating
before I decide to inscribe it.
 Oh, and there are also my constructs. They are something similar to
inscribing the stones, but instead of using mana stones, I’m inscribing
inside my body. Almost as if it’s an item.
Some might consider it a bit creepy, treating the body as if it’s an item,
but I’m not like them. I don’t mind losing an arm or two; Lily can restore
them. I can get hurt, it will heal, and I constantly push and abuse my body.
Similarly, I don’t mind throwing away items and don’t want to be tied to
them; I partially don’t mind doing something similar to my body.
I cut off my thoughts and stretch my body while connecting to Sophie’s
net. Just yesterday, I learned how to do so without destroying it, and I even
started helping her to improve it. Unlike her, I don’t know how to anchor
the net and make it semi-permanent, so I just make some changes, and she
goes through and applies them.
It’s still fun, especially when Sophie gets annoyed as I keep finding
small mistakes she didn’t notice.
Hmm, maybe she isn’t annoyed because of the mistakes but because of
the way I tell her about them. But that’s her problem, isn’t it? If she doesn’t
want me to make fun of her, she shouldn’t make mistakes in the first place.
I open my hand and look at the stone I was working on.

Thermal Mana Stone (uncommon)

An azure mana crystal etched with intricate circuits. When infused with
mana, it radiates a comforting warmth, a useful tool for those braving cold
environments.

“I want to sell it.”

Do you really want to sell the following item for 20 shards?

Thermal Mana Stone (uncommon)
An azure mana crystal etched with intricate circuits. When infused with
mana, it radiates a comforting warmth, a useful tool for those braving cold
environments.
Yes/No

I confirm, and the stone disappears from my hand, sold to the system
shop.
 In the past two days, I was able to create a few more of them and sell
them. Unlike items we sell that come from the floor, the ones we create are
sold for fifty percent of the amount we can buy them for.
Uncommon pieces of gear are usually around 40 shards, so getting 20 is
fifty percent. When selling items we get from the floors, without working
on their ratings, the amount of shards is much less.
For example, the epic equipment we got from the third floor is sold in
the shop for around 4,000 or more shards, and we can sell it for 200, which
is five percent. Sometimes it’s ten percent for some items.
I feel someone carefully touch Sophie’s net, and then there’s a hint of
surprise. I send back something like a greeting, that person uses the net to
connect to me, and I let their voice sound in my head.
(You should have some locks and mana signature detections so people
won’t be able to connect to your field,) the voice says calmly.
(Probably,) I send back and wait.
(I see. Can we talk? I came alone.)
(Sure, you can come into the house,) I finish and cut off the connection,
then spring to my feet. I yawn, stretch, and then put on a shirt that I find
comfortable, and that has become my favorite one.
I create a domain that reaches downstairs. Within that domain, I create
an anchor and use [Tether] to teleport there. Immediately, I take a step and
gently slap the back of Lily’s head that already waits there.
“No [Disintegration] allowed until I say so,” I say as I pass by her and
open the door.
Obelia greets me with a short nod, and when I step to the side, she
enters the house.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 7
FIVE ENERGIES

O
belia enters the house, and in the room, only Tess and I remain.
Everyone else who is currently in the house is shooed away.
I enter the living room, and after gesturing to her, she sits on the
couch. Both Tess and I sit opposite her.
Obelia looks around curiously, and somehow, she doesn’t seem to fit in
here. She’s the guild master of one of the biggest five guilds, now four, and
maybe five again when I think about it.
“I could help you find a better place now that you will become one of
the five big…”
“Nope,” I interrupt her, “I like it here.”
The house isn’t too big, so most of the rooms are occupied, and it feels
full most of the time. But in a good way. It feels alive and cozy, and when I
need privacy, I can just lock my room.
“I apologize for that. I also apologize for recommending you as one of
the five guilds to Miss Myrra. I thought it would be something you would
want,” Obelia says, and as I observe her, I don’t think she is lying.
“Well, I didn’t back then. I also got really mad at you, you know. So
that’s something you should work on,” I tell her, and I notice that even Tess
is somewhat surprised by my shamelessness.
Yet Obelia seems to have been expecting that and puts a box on the
table.
Without much hesitation, I take it and open it. Inside, there are multiple
high-quality mana stones, a few pieces of metal that seem to be extremely
rare and mana-conductive, and a few other materials.
“I’m not angry anymore,” I tell her, and Obelia nods as if also expecting
that.
 She seems to understand me well. If you don’t cross the line, a lot of
things can be fixed with me by giving me good stuff or some other helpful
services.
“There will be an auction in a few months, the biggest one in the past
ten years, and I can help you get some items or assist you in getting in,” she
offers.
“Sounds good.” I don’t even have to think about it. The timing is also
good. I should be able to finish working on the coordinates and probably
shortly before or after the auction enter the second trial of Beyond.
“Storm Brigade would also like to establish a cooperative relationship
with Angry Kittens.” She says the guild name in a much different way from
Elydor, and that’s what I like.
No matter how silly it is, I don’t want other people to disrespect our
guild name. Other people besides me, obviously. Those three little twerps
that picked it are still going to suffer a bit longer for that.
Damn, we could have had some amazing guild names like Biscuit and
Friends or Nathaniel’s Underlings. And they stole it from me!
Anyway, I gesture at Obelia to continue.
“There isn’t much I would expect from you for now. We could
cooperate once in a while. Trade. Meet once every few weeks or months.
There would be no attacking between us or other similar actions. I’m asking
also because there’s an expedition I have in mind.”
Obelia pauses for a while, and then after giving me a long, examining
look, she continues, “It’s something I needed Elydor for but hesitated to
have him join. He wasn’t exactly the right person to work with. You, on the
other hand, I prefer much more, and you seem to have a similar skill set to
Elydor. That’s what I need.”
This is also something that sounds interesting and could be fun to do.
“Okay, I have something else to do right now, but in a few weeks or
months, we could talk about it more.” I look at her. “Is it time-limited?”
When she shakes her head, I continue, “Good. Then, for now, you can give
some information here to Tess or Hadwin, and we will check it out.”
They will check it out; I will be locked in my room experimenting.
“Will do so. Then there is another thing.” She turns and looks at Tess.
“This young woman, you called her Tess, I would like to take her in as one
of my apprentices.”
 Oh? Isn’t that interesting? Did she like Tess’s lightning? Obelia’s class
name is Stormshaper, so maybe.
The silence stretches, and only then do I realize that she is waiting for
my answer.
“What? Just ask Tess. It’s not something up to me to decide.” For that
answer, I get a curious look from Obelia and a small smile from Tess.
“I’m not saying no, but I would like to know first what it includes and
why,” Tess says. She also seems to be curious.
“It’s quite simple. I already have two disciples, and you would be the
third. The main reason for that is mostly to help you in hopes you will
become stronger, and that way I will create a strong relationship with
someone like that.” Obelia is honest as heck. I don’t know if that’s how she
is or if she judges this to be what will be appreciated more.
“Sure, there are some things I would ask from you. Maybe we can work
together to improve both of our skills. Light sparring. Observing your skills.
In exchange, I would share information with you, some that you have no
chance of learning anywhere else. Information about classes, requirements
for stronger classes, training methods.” She is calm and doesn’t force
anything.
“As for why, I saw you using lightning, and if I’m right, it could be
lightning that is, or is close to being, one of the Primordial energies. I want
to observe it, and I think it will help me a lot to do so.”
“These Primordial energies, I heard about them from Nat, but can you
tell me how many there are and what they are?” Tess asks.
Back then, I was offered the Energy Conductor class, and there were
Primordial energies mentioned: thermal and kinetic. To be honest, it still
sounds strong as hell, and sometimes I think about what it would do to my
class, but I still like my current one more.
“I’m not the right person to talk about it. There have been hundreds of
people discussing them over hundreds of years. Theorizing and testing
them. We just know for sure that they are called Primordial energies by the
system. We don’t know how many there are. Some say that they are
energies that create and influence the universe, others say they are just a
categorization for energies you can control within the system, and others
say each energy has a being that rules over that energy.”
I notice that Tess is paying as much attention as I am. That’s good; it’s
nice to have someone else that will try to find out more about them.
 “There are five energies we know about, and there are most likely more,
just rarer and not available for someone as low-level as us. We know about
the lightning you probably possess, then there are thermal and kinetic.” She
looks at me. Such an annoyingly perceptive and smart woman. “Then there
is gravitational and void energy.”
“What’s the difference between Primordial thermal energy and normal
fire created by a skill?” I decide to interrupt Tess, who is about to ask
something. But I’m just that curious.
“That’s hard to say with certainty. They are mostly more pure, and using
them requires a deeper understanding of the energy than the skill offered by
the system.”
“So maybe the Primordial energy is original, and the skill created by the
system is a copy?” Tess asks.
“That’s a good way to put it, yes. But we don’t know for sure,” Obelia
answers.
Silence ensues, and Tess offers to make tea for Obelia, to which she
agrees. We spend some time waiting in silence while Tess makes the tea in
the kitchen.
I continue to observe Obelia. She looks young, maybe around thirty.
Her hair is pale brown, and her eyes are of a silver color with visible
circuits that I bet have mana flowing through them. Her eyes are somewhat
similar to Ruby’s. Most likely a trait of some sort.
Should I just ask her? Would it be considered very rude? I know if
someone asked me that, I would tell him to fuck off and probably add a bit
more.
“Was Elydor strong?” I ask instead, to her surprise.
“Elydor was strong, but probably the weakest of the five guild masters
when it comes to combat. His specialty was creating items and inscribing.
In that, he was probably the best in the city, and that skill made him one of
the richest people in the city.”
That can mean only one thing.
I should have looted his mansion.
Damn it.
It also means that I can probably become similarly rich.
“Who is Myrra?” I ask another question.
“If she didn’t tell you, I will take it as it was her intention and will not
tell you as well. I hope you understand.”
 “I see.” Hmm, so someone high up there.
“Who is Lorven?”
“He is the guild master of Voidwalkers. He has a terrifying stealth skill,
so be careful if you ever meet him. Thanks to that skill, he became strong at
a really young age, and his guild is a smaller one but an elite force. There
are rumors he often works with lynthari.”
Hmm, so it’s like Myrra said. Damn, isn’t my [Perception] quite
amazing to see through it on the second try? I should look into that skill a
bit more!
When Tess sits back on the couch after placing the tea in front of
Obelia, I ask again, “How does lynthari leadership work?”
Obelia takes a sip of the tea and then looks at me for a while. For the
first time, she seems genuinely curious.
“That’s something everyone somewhat powerful in the city knows,” she
says carefully.
I just give her a blank stare, not falling into the trap and trying to come
up with reasons why I don’t.
“There is a matriarch that has led the lynthari for hundreds or thousands
of years already. She is the strongest being in the city by far. But she is
quite hands-off and only acts if needed. Otherwise, there are some basic
rules lynthari follow and rarely break. If they do, there is a special group of
them that deals with it.”
“What are their rules?” I ask.
“We humans don’t know all of them. But there is most likely one for not
killing humans without a strong reason, not forcing humans to do things, or
not touching them if it seems like it’s against their wishes. There are more
but nothing special. Older lynthari rarely deal with humans, so it’s mostly
younger ones that we interact with.”
“What happens if you hurt or kill lynthari?” Tess asks Obelia.
“You die. There is an elite force of lynthari that deals with it. They
investigate, they gather proof, and then they logically and methodically deal
with you instead of being driven by anger. Lynthari can be really cruel if
pushed there.” From the way she says it, something tells me it’s a notion
that terrifies her.
We talk a bit more, and then I leave the room so she can converse more
with Tess. Damn, lightning energy surely sounds cool. But I’m not jealous
at all. I have two of them!
 Surely having two Primordial energies is better than one, whatever the
energies actually are. They are strong, and that’s enough for now.
I open the Community.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Anyone with Primordial energy?

Lootenant (Hell, WhiteWing) - Huh, what is that?
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food!
Biscuit?!
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - What, it sounds cool. I want one!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Amateurs.
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Oh come on! Did you just want to
show off?
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Nope.
I totally wanted to. It always makes one feel better to flex on some
people. I should totally try to get lightning.
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Oh, btw, fuck ants. Dude, I might
hate them more than Cinderbear. The sound their legs make as they
walk is creepy as fuck.
Hadwin (Hell, group 4) - Did you guys run away?
Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - You bet, Hadwin! I probably won’t be
able to say more because of censorship, but fuck ’em!

I let the poor people without Primordial energy talk, close the window,
and quickly locate Biscuit.
The doggo somehow unlocked my door and is currently on my bed,
burrowed in my blankets. He is staring into the air as if reading the
Community, but as always, there’s the question of how. How does he type
or read what others say?
I enter my room and stop in front of him.
But most importantly, “Biscuit? Do you have Primordial energy?”
(Food!) he shouts at me.
Oh boy.
“Which one is it? Thermal? Kinetic? Lightning? Void? Gravitational?” I
continue to ask him, but he doesn’t react to any of them. Either he’s hiding
which one he has, or…or he has a different one.
I get on the bed and lean my head closer to him, my nose almost
touching his. “You have to tell me, Biscuit. I need to know!” My curiosity
will kill me if he doesn’t!
(Food!) he just shouts happily and boops my nose with his, then he
burrows himself under my blankets with only his head poking out.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 8
TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS

A
few more days pass, and I’m slowly getting used to it all.
I wake up after four hours of sleep. I practice while most of group
4 sleep, and then I practice a bit more while they have breakfast and
make plans for hunts.
Then I go downstairs just before they leave, getting some important info
and eating as well, and then I spend more hours in the big mana-shielded
room under the house or in my room. If Biscuit is there, I tease him a bit
while training, and if he’s not, I fully focus on experimenting with
coordinates or new mana stones and materials I got from Obelia.
Sometimes I feel like going on a hunt for a bit but decide against it. I
keep reminding myself how terrible, in my eyes, people from Hard
Difficulty were in handling their stats or skills.
Even now, I’m by far the highest-leveled member of our group and
probably of our entire round of the tutorial, with only maybe Savant being
close.
If I take into consideration the stats I got from active tempering, I’m at a
high enough level to make the current Hell Difficulty tutorial somewhat
easy, with only Beyond or “bosses” of the floors being the challenge. Hell, I
beat up two guild masters from two out of the five big guilds, both of them
over Level 200, quite easily.
The second epic passive skill is the biggest boost for my strength I can
currently get, and I should be able to obtain it before the second Beyond
trial.
Things are going quite well, and Sophie and I now spend a few hours
every night working together. She doesn’t tell me, but I can see that her
skills are improving as well, and one more thing also changes.
 Sophie was right, and me treating her this way also makes others feel a
bit more relaxed. I see them talking with her more and without constant
worry about her skill. Sophie is trying to hide it, but I can see Izzy happily
smiling while reading Sophie’s emotions, so that’s quite telling how she
feels.
It also translates into her better mood and some sort of thankfulness
toward me as she works harder to help me.
Well, it’s not something I will complain about.
I feel a movement of mana signature and stop my thoughts, using my
[Perception] to watch it. This time, it’s Maya going to Sophie’s room, late
at night.
The first time it happened, I almost fell from my bed over such a show
of late-night adultery, but I quickly realized that was not it.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I used [Perception] to watch
mana only, leaving out other senses, and after talking with Tess a bit, I
pieced things together.
Being myself, I didn’t notice it, as something like that doesn’t trouble
me at all, but some members of our group have nightmares or anxiety
attacks. All the result of twenty days down in the tunnels; constantly treated
harshly by Serpent’s Eye, not knowing when they’d die, darkness, and the
three-question-mark monster do that. Even to Maya, who couldn’t keep
[Focus] constantly running.
Tess told me that some of them have nightmares that wake them up
shaking in the middle of the night or make them sleep with lights on or
sometimes just straight-up cry, remembering that.
I think it’s not unexpected, but it surprises me; it’s not something I
thought of.
Sophie is someone they now trust, and after talking with Tess and
seeing me treat her somewhat nicely, they sometimes go to her, asking her
to dampen some memories. As Tess recommended, they never ask Sophie
to delete them, and Mind-Blender Missy doesn’t even offer to do that.
Instead, she just manipulates the memories to make them feel as if they
happened months or years ago, all fitting the saying that time heals all
wounds.
I watch as, after a few minutes, Maya leaves Sophie’s room, and there’s
a bit of the mind manipulator’s mana on her.
 A part of me wants to stop it, worried that Sophie might mess with them
in a way that would make them into her puppets, but there is also a part that
thinks she won’t dare to do that. A part that is sure she won’t do that.
However, it once again reminds me how terrifying and powerful her
skill is. From some point of view, Sophie is much more powerful than Lily
with her [Disintegration].
I can only dislike the decisions of others to let Sophie get into their
mind, but not too much. Their situation isn’t something I can fully
understand, and in the end, it’s their decision to make.
Yawning, I close my eyes, stretch on the bed, and spend the rest of the
night practicing Mana Cycling and even creating an orb made of mana that
I continuously shape and move in ways that make me train my [Mana
Manipulation]. Shaping exercises Lissandra used to do almost constantly
even though she was at the level she was.
The orb in my hand expands and then instantly shrinks, and I continue
to do that, keeping the same amount of mana while making it as big and
small as possible. As I expand it, I also try to spread out mana equally to
create a perfect surface.
It’s annoying and fun at the same time.
A few more hours pass, morning comes, and I sense Myrra’s signature
outside of my house. The tall lynthari weirdo is alone, and I stand up, put on
my trousers, and when I reach out to put on the shirt, Myrra lands on the
balcony. She touches Sophie’s web, but it’s as if she is not there. The
lynthari woman skillfully manipulates the mana and avoids detection.
“Somewhat amateurish, but really nicely made.” She nods with
satisfaction as she turns to me. “Feral One, let’s talk,” she says.
I put my shirt on under her gaze and sit on the edge of the bed. “Sure,
go ahead.”
Myrra moves in from the balcony and sits on one of the bigger chairs
elegantly. The scar across her face is somewhat even more piercing as the
morning light lands on her and her white hair. The fluffy tail moves in a
way that seems to imply her interest and curiosity.
“Against my better judgment, I have decided to trust you, Feral One,”
she starts. The look she makes signifies how important the decision is to
her. “I will be the only lynthari you talk to or work with. I will help you
deal with ongoing stuff and have other guild masters meet you so you guys
can…talk things out.”
 So far, I really like everything and nod at her to continue.
“This isn’t part of our deal, but lately, ants started leaving their territory,
so that will be part of the guild meeting.” She puts some papers on the table
nearby. “You can check the details a bit later. I just wanted to get it out of
the way.”
Hmm, I see. I bet it’s something that happens once in a while, so I’m
sure it’s fine.
“This is something that hasn’t happened ever since one of the Calamity
wars that happened a few hundred years ago, so make sure to give it some
thought.”
Hmm, I see. Very weird, indeed.
“As for the killing of the Living Tree, I will need to know how you plan
to do it and an estimation of when. It’s something I will keep to myself, so
there is no need to worry. Then we will talk about more details of our deal.”
Myrra smiles at me, and I can see that she doesn’t trust me fully, but she is a
gambler and has decided to risk it.
The possible prize is just that irresistible to her.
“I won’t tell you everything, but most of it. Plus, there are some things I
still need to learn and practice to make it fully work, but I gave it a lot of
thought, and I’m capable of that, given some time,” I tell her.
Myrra nods, and then while resting her chin on her hands, she looks at
me. “Tell me, Feral One, why do you hate the Living Tree that much and
want to kill it? I can sense it from you. I can see it in your eyes.”
To that question, I don’t answer and only return her a blank stare. But
it’s not that special. I think I have the highest chance of killing a Calamity
right now, and there is so much to gain from looting the old capital.
Then there is one reason. A single thing, really. The quest we received
back then, after being trapped by the Calamity, was simple: survive. There
wasn’t even a hint at the possibility of killing the Tree or fighting with it.
The system didn’t mention it in the quest. It all clearly says that something
like killing the Tree back then wasn’t even considered an option.
I don’t like that, and it pisses me off.
It all made me feel as if the system was looking down on me, telling me
to run, hide, escape, crawl, and beg for my life after barely escaping.
That tree is going down no matter what.
I look at Myrra, who stood up and moved closer to me, her golden eyes
observing every twitch of my face, and movement of my eyes.
 “Oh my, you are so angry,” she says softly, reaching with her hand
toward my face. Yet she doesn’t touch me and pulls it back.
Her eyes seem to be glowing. “I should be laughing at you, but it
somewhat makes even me feel a twitch of fear when I see you like this.
Feral One, you truly are interesting.” The way she says it feels somewhat
off. It’s as if she still isn’t taking me fully seriously and sees me as a cute,
angry kitten.
“Myrra, do you want to get stabbed again?” I ask her, much to her
amusement, and she quickly moves back and sits down on the chair.
“Anyways, here’s half of what I got for Lorven’s dagger when I sold it
back to him. He was also angry, but not in such a fun way.” She smiles,
showing her sharp canines.
I ignore her remarks, and we then spend some more time talking about
how I plan to kill the Living Tree, which earns me a few curses from Myrra.
I get called a weirdo, dumbass, liar, and dumbass again, and she even
shamelessly asks me to give the items I plan to use to her instead of wasting
them on what she calls silly attempts.
Myrra is the dumb one, not me. I’m the smart one here, but as always,
the world is holding us smart people down and we have to deal with such
weirdos talking about useless things like common sense, probability, and
the like.
As always, nothing ever goes according to plan, so I will prepare
multiple of them. And then, when all of them inevitably fail because this is
goddamn Hell Difficulty, I will just bullshit my way through.
This is something I don’t tell Myrra; she wouldn’t like it.

“You could at least dress somewhat more presentably as our guild master.”
Tess pokes at me as we walk toward where the meeting with the guild
masters of the big guilds is.
She herself is wearing Edwal’s epic chest armor. It doesn’t have any
effects now that it’s not connected to the Saint from the third floor, but it’s
extremely durable and conducts lightning.
Tess spent a lot of money, probably my money, to have it fixed to fit her
body. And by a lot of money, I mean a lot of money. Epic-rated items are
extremely hard to work on.
Now that I think about it, was I robbed?
I want to say that, but Tess seems happy with it, and to be honest, the
silver armor with simple ornaments and a nice design fits her really well.
Why isn’t she the guild master? I don’t want to deal with annoying stuff.
I just sigh and continue, as always, held down by a cruel world. “If they
complain about my clothing, I will beat them up,” I answer Tess.
Obviously, I’m lying. I will do it even if they don’t. I will find the
biggest, baddest guy in the room and beat him to show dominance.
First impressions are important, aren’t they?
After passing by multiple guards and even some lynthari, we finally
stop in front of a giant wooden door inlaid with silver metal filled with
mana circuits. When they slowly, soundlessly open, Tess and I enter the
room where Myrra sits on a chair in the corner, drinking some alcohol from
a glass.
Inside the room are Obelia from Storm Brigade, Lorven from
Voidwalkers, as well as one more man and woman, the guild masters of
Obsidian Circle and Luminous Order. All of them are nicely dressed, with
each having one more attendee, similar to me having Tess. Their eyes are
anything but friendly, with the exception of Obelia.
I like it.
Feeling the pressure of their mana, I release some of mine as well, with
my now-filled Mana Reservoir full to the brim.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 9
FIVE BIG GUILDS

A
ll of them turn toward us, and I quickly examine the people in the
room.
Obelia from Storm Brigade. Pale brown hair, silver eyes with
circuits.

[Stormshaper - Level ??]

Lorven from Veilwalkers. His face is hidden under the cape, yet his eyes
glare at me hatefully.

[Veilstriker - Level ??]

Thalen from Luminous Order. Older, friendly-looking, red-haired man.

His figure is thin, and there is a slight smile on his lips as he nods to greet
me.

[Pulsebinder - Level ??]

And Isola from Obsidian Circle. A short woman with pale skin and short
black hair. As if bored, she just sits there and keeps yawning.

[Stoneheart - Level ??]

 “Why don’t we make it short? Whoever wants to fight can attack me,” I
throw into the room.
Obelia straight-up ignores it, while Lorven jumps to his feet, his
shadowy mana already swirling around his body. The epic dagger he just
bought from somewhere is already in his hand, unlike the last time.
Isola laughs out loud and glances at me. Then, to the surprise of
everyone else, she gets to her feet and stands by Lorven’s side. The guild
master of Veilwalkers seems to be the most surprised out of them. Isola
stares at me, and I can see competitiveness glowing in her eyes.
Oh, she is one of these. A battle maniac. Did my challenge poke at her?
“Miss Myrra, is this really necessary?” the only healer in the room,
Thalen, says.
I do not even bother to look at Myrra to gauge her reaction. I already
know what expression she is making.
After a short exchange, both guild masters attack me.
All the shadows around me become darker and at once turn into spikes
that attack me, even my own shadow.
I redirect most of my mana into a Reinforcement construct and let them
hit my body and watch how they are unable to pierce my skin.
Already, Isola is in front of me, tattoos glowing on her forearms, the
most intricate ones I have seen up until now. There is a slight haze around
her fist as she punches at me.
Ignoring more shadowy spikes, I push myself away from her with a
blast of kinetic energy and send a disrupting wave at the shadow near me as
Lorven tries to use it to appear behind me.
Isola is once again in front of me, tanking a significantly strong blast of
kinetic energy, mana roaring through her body, and her feet tearing apart the
floor.
I let her grab my arm, and she pulls, almost surely wanting to tear it off
my body.
Nothing happens.
Her eyes widen in surprise, and more mana fills her body, skills
activating one after another, and she squeezes and pulls again.
My body doesn’t move at all.
“Well, fuck,” she says just as my fist hits the middle of her face, sending
her flying through the room.
 My body is strengthened by nearly the entirety of my mana and some.
To say shortly, I don’t think I will lose easily to anyone when it comes to
physical strength. Well, at least while I have my mana. If I don’t, even
Isabella might be too much for good ol’ me.
I redirect some mana and send a pulse of disrupting attack through the
room, making Lorven materialize. Then I continue sending pulse after pulse
toward him, disrupting his attempts to hide or strengthen his body.
It reminds me of good old times when I was hunted by mage hunters on
the third floor. Just, this time, it’s me bullying someone.
Before I reach him, Lorven pulls all the shadows around him toward
himself between my pulses. The shadows enter his body, his eyes turning
pitch black. He slashes the dagger in his hand, and invisible attacks carve
deep holes into the floor and walls as I continue to use [Perception] to
detect them. He cuts apart the few projectiles I shoot at him, the mana
dissipating into nothing.
Meanwhile, Isola reaches me as well, this time mana covering the
entirety of her skin, creating some sort of extremely dense, skin-tight
barrier. She deflects my mana projectiles, tanks two blasts of kinetic energy
pushes through the flames, and when she reaches me, she punches at me,
using the strength of her entire body.
Just before the hit lands, I redirect all the mana into physical stats and
grab her hand. This time, I feel the attack and its terrifying strength; the
woman surely has upgraded her strength attribute.
“What the fuck?” she complains, and I punch the middle of her face
again, sending her flying through the room once more.
Lorven adapts and starts shooting shadowy projectiles at me in between
my pulses of [Resonance] while moving closer, holding an epic-graded
dagger with a sickly aura along the blade.
Not worried, I step toward him, releasing a bit more of my mana and
finally activating [Mana Domain].
“Miss Myrra, are you sure?” I hear somewhere in the background.
The mana around me becomes easier to control, and I keep creating
projectiles, shooting them at Lorven from every side, and soon,
overwhelmed, he spends most of the time deflecting them. I can see that he
wants to tire me out.
He is waiting for me to start saving my mana.
 Amused somewhere in the back of my mind, I just release more mana
and create more projectiles. They aren’t that strong, almost as if someone is
throwing pebbles at a normal human.
With full power and while aiming at the crotch.
Yup, that’s me.
Lorven surprises me once more. A pulse of mana from him passes
through my [Resonance], disabling it for a moment, and he disappears,
appearing much closer, his body covered in shadowy armor that traces his
body. His stab is deadly, quick, and direct, right at my mana heart.
A strong blast of kinetic energy tears off even more flooring and sends
him flying away, where he lands on his feet. Before he can react, I move in
front of him, and a single punch to his stomach sends him against the wall,
groaning with pain.
I throw the epic-graded dagger I grabbed from his hand while breaking
a few of his fingers at Myrra’s feet. “You can sell it again, same deal,” I tell
her as her tail moves in an amused manner.
“Okay, I’m ready. Try again,” I hear from behind me. It’s Isola, the
barrier around her changed now, tattoos glowing in a different color, and a
big smile still on her face. Her face that bears no signs of wounds.
She charges at me again, and I redirect all my mana into Reinforcement
and then pull some from Mana Reservoir, my epic passive. As her attack is
about to reach me, I pull even more, powering my body to a terrifying
degree and feeling the pressure it puts on me. Using any more mana than
this will hurt my body.
Yet still, as her fist hits my palm, I feel the immense pressure behind the
hit, a shockwave sent into the room. A shockwave created just by the
strength of her body only.
“For fuck’s sake.” She sighs and closes her eyes as I’m about to punch
her again.
That is when Myrra stops me. “I think this much is enough,” she says
shortly, and immediately, I notice all the people in the room tense up.
The tall lynthari stands up and slowly walks through the room, her steps
echoing from the wall, and she drops the dagger in front of Lorven, who
still holds his belly. She then checks on Isola.
“More than this would be boring,” Myrra says simply, yet even that
seems to, if not terrify, then at least disturb some of the guild masters.
 “As you said, Miss Myrra, that much is enough,” Obelia says simply
while looking at me questioningly.
I just nod, and she returns it, gesturing to the spot near her.
When I sit down, Tess stands behind me in a similar manner to the other
attendees.
Isola passes by me, not hurt at all. The woman with short black hair
smiles, and there doesn’t seem to be any ill intention behind it, nor does she
seem angry at me.
“We will have to fight sometime,” Isola says, and unlike her
uninterested behavior from before, she feels almost friendly.
Should I agree to that? Having such a durable punching ba…such a
durable sparring partner could allow me to test some skills.
“Sure,” I tell her, and she hands me a small mana stone with a few
addresses and ways to contact her.
Red-haired Thalen watches it from where he sits, almost like a grandpa
having to deal with silly kids. Somehow it makes me want to punch him
too. It’s enough that I have to socialize with people, and then one of them
looks at me like that? Even what Lorven does, I prefer more.
Lorven is an asshole and already tried to steal from me and kill me. Our
relationship is clear. If he tries it again, I’ll beat him up and steal his dagger
to sell it. If he tries it on someone from my group, I’ll kill him.
Simple, harmonious relationship with clear roles, as it should be.
But looking at Thalen and feeling his mana, I can say that he is quite a
strong healer, and a hint of competitiveness rises up inside me. Lily should
level up more, so I can show her off and wipe that smug smile off his face.
I feel Tess tapping on my shoulder, and I look up to her. “What?” I ask.
Tess leans to my ear and whispers, “You should limit your mana a bit;
you may be scaring people.”
Huh?
I start doing that and notice relief on the faces of the attendees.
Did they think I was threatening them? Is there some acceptable way of
dealing with mana and rules that people in some circles follow?
Well, who cares? That’s for Tess to learn and deal with. As my vice
guild master, she will do so while I only show up once in a while.
“I think we should start with the Colony,” Obelia says simply and
explains.
 Apparently, the ants started leaving their territory, not too far as of now,
but us and multiple other people watching the area outside of the anthills
had seen them. People with detection skills were sent to the area, observing
the ants and even checking if they were digging tunnels underground.
So far, nothing’s happened, so it’s fine. It’s totally fine.
The reason for their behavior was still not found, so the mystery lasts.
The Colony and its ways are truly mysterious.
They talk about ants a bit longer, and I mostly only listen, leaning in my
chair and cycling mana inside my body, doing shaping exercises with an orb
hovering over my hands. A few people don’t like it, but that’s their problem.
Tess is listening well enough for both of us, and I notice that she holds a
gravity anchor thing made from mystical metal or something. I already
forgot its name. That makes me curious who got the cloak and the ring.
Maybe I should ask a bit later.
“So Elydor is dead,” Thalen says, and all eyes turn to me and then
toward Obelia.
“Damned asshole, I already paid him to make an item for me, and then
he just goes out and dies like that,” Isola complains. She seems bored too,
and also creates a mana orb in front of her, starting to copy what I am
doing.
When she catches my gaze, she smiles at me and shoots the orb at my
head with strong enough force to explode the head of a normal human.
I send my mana toward the orb and slow it down, holding it in front of
me. [Mana Infusion] activates, and I fill it with my mana and take over,
then I push even more with [Redistribution], and the orb turns dark blue.
Finishing, I boost it with kinetic energy and shoot it back at Isola.
The woman tries to do the same thing I did, but the orb is too dense and
moving too quickly, and it hits her shoulder, moving her and almost making
her fall from the chair.
“We all knew Elydor; he got what was coming to him,” is the only thing
Obelia says, mostly ignoring what Isola and I are doing.
“I would like to know what happened to his and your expedition to the
old capital and where you got so many epic items from, Obelia,” Lorven
says from under his cape.
“I don’t think that’s your—” Obelia starts.
I interrupt her. “I killed Elydor and a few of his elites. Then I took the
loot he got from the old capital.”
 The silence that ensues is almost deafening.
“I also called him an asshole,” I whisper, to no reaction.
“Miss Myrra, what…” Thalen starts, but when he sees Myrra watching
us with amused eyes, her tail swaying, he just gives up. “I guess there was a
good reason for that?” he asks.
“Self-defense,” I say.
“Ely was always kind of weak and an asshole.” Isola sighs. “Only his
skills with inscribing were top-notch.”
“Storm Brigade will be auctioning off one of the epic items we got from
the expedition,” Obelia says out of nowhere, and that turns all the attention
back to her. There are expressions of sheer surprise on every face.
Myrra’s tail starts swinging quicker, and her ears perk up.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 10
SIBLINGS

O
belia continues, “The reason is simple. Our guild has no use for it,
and we hope selling one of the epic-graded items we got will reduce
the attention that we might be getting now because of it. We also
hope people will turn their attention to the auction and will try to get the
item that way instead of starting useless fights.”
She explains it in her typical calm and logical manner.
“What kind of item is it?” Isola asks first.
“Spear,” is the simple answer Obelia gives.
“What effects?” This time, it’s Lorven.
“That’s all the information I was willing to give right now,” the Storm
Brigade guild master answers.
“What about you, newbie? Are you selling some as well?” Isola asks me
in an amused manner. Her face is telling that she already knows the answer.
“Elydor’s wallet was quite full, so I’m not in need of cash,” I tell her,
and she laughs shortly.
“That reminds me, there was a rumor that you know how to kill the
Living Tree, newbie. So how is it?” Isola rests her chin on the palms of her
hands, and her eyes look at me like I’m some sort of interesting animal.
Just that simple sentence brings all the attention back to me.
“As you said, and heard from Myrra, I will kill the Living Tree.” I
dissipate the orb I was using to practice mana shaping and give them my
full attention. “The deal is simple. You guys leave me and my guild alone
for a few months so I don’t have to deal with you and kill you.” At that,
Isola chuckles. “In that time, I will prepare all I need. Obelia and her guild
will help me use the array to get near the old capital and disappear. After
that, it’s all up to me, and I will either die or the Calamity will fall.”
 “Forgive me for not fully believing that you would be capable of doing
that,” Thalen says.
That’s when I decide to use my trump card. “Myrra trusts me. Oh, and I
believe you know the consequences of letting out anything that was said
here today, so keep it to yourself,” I say, having no idea what these
consequences are.
Thankfully, it seems they know, and I see a few flashes of fear.
Damn, Myrra, what did you do?
“That still doesn’t give us anything of worth.” This time, it’s Lorven
who says that.
“I think an old capital without the Calamity defending it sounds quite
interesting, doesn’t it?” Myrra finally joins the conversation and stands. As
she walks around, it’s clear that she is towering over anyone in the room,
and her golden eyes shine.
“The Feral One isn’t too good at this kind of stuff, so allow me to
explain. It isn’t too difficult to understand. The Calamity will fall, and the
Feral One and his guild will have a day or two to go through the city and
get themselves something nice. They could end up with more epic items or
just some trinkets. No one knows.” She stops in front of the table and shows
her canines. “After that, I and a few of my reliable friends will join too, and
try to find something pretty for ourselves. A few days will pass like that,
and we will let you guys in.”
“Miss Myrra, that might be nice and all, but during the first few days,
you and his guild most likely get all the good items,” Lorven complains,
and unlike when he talked to us, his voice now is full of respect.
“Young Lorven, I think Obelia can tell you how big the old capital is
and how difficult it was for them to get into the place they…visited. Traps,
rooms covered in metal that shields detection skills. Missing map that won’t
allow us to find the best locations. The sheer size of the city. I wouldn’t be
surprised if it takes years to just superficially search the city.”
The greed that appears in their eyes is fun to watch. Even calm Obelia
and Thalia, who tries to act dignified, show it.
But I think it’s quite understandable. In the entirety of Virelia, there are
less than twenty epic items. Only so many of such items are in a city of
hundreds of thousands. Each item has a long history and legends said about
it. Just how amazing it would be to get just one of them.
 Another round of talking starts, and I filter it out already. Bored, I once
again start mana-shaping an orb in front of me and cycling mana through
my body.
This time, it takes a bit longer. They complain; they make deals. They
offer more help; they ask if it’s even possible. Then they ask to be let into
the capital much sooner.
In the end, it’s Myrra who gets annoyed, and the sound she makes is
almost like a hiss. After that, it goes much smoother, and then we land on
details.
In exchange for being let into the city a bit sooner, they supply me with
materials I might need and deal with middle- and small-sized guilds that
could look into annoying us. Not a bad deal, especially when my main
objective is killing the Calamity, not the items inside the city.
When we leave the room after a few hours, I’m tired. It’s as if I fought
bus-sized ants for multiple days in a row. Hell, maybe even longer. Nothing
drains me more than useless chatter.
“Tess, do you have time?” Obelia and her attendee walk by our side,
and after Tess agrees, they split up, and I’m left alone with Obelia’s
attendee.
“I’m Jenna,” the woman greets me.
“Nathaniel,” I tell her, and the silence ensues.
It seems to make Jenna nervous, but I just sit on the bench nearby,
yawning against my will. Damn, did anyone maybe have an energy drain
skill and used it on me?
This time, it doesn’t take much longer. Tess returns, and Jenna
disappears to Obelia while waving to us.
“Congratulations on your apprenticeship?” I ask Tess.
“Thanks, and yes. I already got something to look into.” She waves a
small notepad at me. “Notes made by Obelia herself. Some experiments she
made, findings, history, and such stuff. Mainly focused on Primordial
lightning.”
“Interesting.”
“I will let you read it later,” Tess says with a smile, as if reading my
mind.
“Sounds good,” I reply.
While we walk by the city, she asks me, “How is your plan with selling
coordinates doing?”
 “It’s more difficult than expected, but in a few months, we should be
done. Tess, I tell you, if the system shop tries to scam us somehow, I will
get so mad.”
“Don’t jinx it, then.” She pokes at me and quickly leaves to buy
something from the merchant nearby. When she comes back, she hands me
a small bag with some sort of dried fruit. “Maya said you might like this
one. It apparently tastes similar to the one you liked on the third floor.”
I taste it, and it seems that Maya was right. The fruit is delicious. Should
I give Maya a rare item or two? Finding such a tasty snack should be worth
that much.
“Do you also have nightmares, Tess?” I ask her after a bit of silence.
The young blonde stares at me for a moment and then shakes her head.
“I still don’t like places that remind me of tunnels, but I’m much better than
some others.” As if knowing what is going through my head, she continues,
“You have to understand, twenty days down there took a toll on everyone.
Aaron and Dennis sometimes wake up screaming. I saw Kim crying a few
times. Maya’s hands started shaking when we went to hunt in the old
mines.”
Both of us stop, and Tess sighs. “Sophie is helping a lot, so I hope you
don’t hold it against her or look down on people who accepted her help.”
“Not really, it’s just…” I stop.
“Yes, I know,” Tess answers simply.
We pass a few streets, and when we start walking uphill toward our
house, Tess slows down and asks, “Nat, how…how was your sister doing,
you know, before the tutorial happened?”
“Oh, I think you only met Victoria once or twice, so you don’t know her
that well. She will do well anywhere, and it doesn’t matter what is
happening around her. So it’s stupid to worry about her.”
“I see, and your mom?” This time, Tess asks that even more carefully.
“Hm? She still hates me, obviously.”

Flashback - Nathaniel Gwyn (16 years old)

The door to the small room opens carefully. It opens so slowly that it
takes a good minute for it to open enough for a figure to walk in. Afterward,
it takes even longer for it to close.
 When it clicks, that’s when the light turns on, revealing a young woman
who looks around twenty years old sitting on the edge of the bed. Black hair
that is carefully brushed falls to the middle of her back.
Her expression is blank as she stares at her younger brother. “So you did
it, Nat,” she states simply, for a moment glancing at her brother’s hands,
which are scratched and have a little bit of blood on them.
Nathaniel hides them from her sight and moves into the room, sitting on
the bed opposite Victoria and returning her gaze. “Our father…Rob…won’t
be coming back home,” he says in a simple way similar to how his sister
had.
The silence that ensues is interrupted only by the sounds of cars moving
on the road outside the window. It’s late at night, so there aren’t too many
of them, and light shines into the room every time a car passes by.
“I see,” Victoria says.
“I don’t care if Mom hates me.”
“You are lying.”
“I did it for her, for us. He won’t hurt her ever again. I don’t care if she
hates me for that,” he repeats again, as if trying to persuade himself.
“That’s how you are.”
“Yes, that’s me.”
The silence that ensues is even longer.
“But, Nat, you made a mistake.” Victoria stands up, a small smile on her
face. It’s a gentle and loving smile. At the same time, police car sirens
sound far in the distance, slowly getting closer.
Victoria sits on the bed next to Nathaniel and hugs him tightly, kissing
the top of his head. “You poor, hurt little soul,” she whispers gently. “You
couldn’t do it, right?”
“I beat him, Vic. I broke his bones. I made him bleed. I forced him to
swear he won’t ever come back. I even used Tess as an alibi,” Nathaniel
says quietly.
“Tess will hate you if she finds out.” Victoria leans onto him. “You still
saw him as your father and couldn’t do it, right?” She hugs him even
tighter. “You still remember him being nice when you were young, and you
still think of him as your father. That’s how you are,” she repeats. “If you
like someone once, you are way too forgiving to that person.”
The sound of sirens is slightly louder, yet the boy doesn’t notice it. They
are still far in the distance.
 Victoria stands up and walks in front of the mirror. “That’s why even
beating him was so hard for you, the thought of being hated by Mom as
well, and you spent a few hours walking around to calm down.”
Slowly fixing her clothes and hair, she continues, “While you were
gone, Nat, our father changed his mind and decided to come back. To
punish you, Mom, and me for what you did,” she says in a calm tone.
Nathaniel just stares at her, unable to say anything.
“That’s why I had to kill him,” she admits simply and then sighs. “You
should really try to control your emotions a bit more. How many times did I
tell you to wait until I find a good job and take you and Mom away from
him?”
The police sirens now sound louder, and Nathaniel finally notices them,
guilt and realization appearing on his face. “No…” he barely gets out.
“It will be a bit difficult, but I will try to tell the police that I beat him as
well, but I will try. As for his…passing, self-defense will be a bit hard as I
went a little bit overboard while…dealing with him. I guess I also should
improve my control.” There isn’t even a hint of regret in her eyes.
“Vic, I will tell them. I will tell them it was me who did it.”
“That’s enough. Do I look to you like I don’t know what I am doing?”
With her clothes fixed, she stops in front of her brother. “Nat, it’s you and
me. No one else in the whole world can be trusted.” She reaches and ruffles
his hair. “I’m your older sister, and I will protect you, so just wait a few
years, okay? I can spin it into second-degree murder, and for that, I should
get maybe ten years? I will behave nicely, so most likely even less.” She
doesn’t seem to be too bothered.
At that time, lights start flashing outside the window, blue and red ones,
and policemen start shouting something. Thalia, their mom, also wakes up
and starts shouting and trying to get into the room that Victoria locked.
“Mom is silly but not stupid, so she will most likely know and hate you
as well, but still, check on her once in a while, okay?” Victoria says.
The sound of a broken door echoes inside the apartment, and more
shouting ensues.
Victoria moves to unlock the door when Nathaniel says something.
“Vic, you, me, and Mom. No one else matters.”
“No, Nat, that’s for me. You do whatever makes you happy.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 11
TWO MONTHS LATER

A
lmost two months passed, and during that time, I went hunting a few
times, but not too much, so my level increased by a little bit. It could
be even less, but at some point, I got into a big fight.
Who wouldn’t get angry, having to fight against a big group of invisible
snakes somewhere in a jungle-like forest? Well, I kind of burned it down, so
it’s not that much of a forest anymore.
And less than five days remain until I can enter Beyond once again.
My status also looks nice as heck.

[Name: Nathaniel Gwyn]

Difficulty: Hell
Floor: 4 - Waning Realm
Time left until forced return: 4y 130d 16h 21m 16s
Traits (1/3): Mana Circuit (Passive)

Level 170
Strength: 83
Dexterity: 86
Constitution: 221
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 650 + 650
[Primary Class: Focused Channeler (epic)]
[Subclass: [Initiate of Pride]]
Active skills:
Focus (Dual Focus Consolidation) - Level 39
 Mana Manipulation (Advanced Mana Manipulation) - Level 41
Perception - Level 39
Redistribution (Symbiotic Transference) - Level 38
Armament - Level 36
Mana Infusion - Level 35
Resonance - Level 31
Mana Domain - Level 11
Tether - Level 9

Constructs:
Reinforcement (Construct)
Kinetic Mana Heart (Construct)
Mana Regulator (Construct)
Mana Sovereignty Mantle (Construct)

Passive skills:
Cerebral Harmony (rare)
Mana-Fortified Resilience (rare)
Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)
Mana Reservoir (epic)
Tokens:
Beyond Difficulty entrance token

Shards: 2990

I did another round of active tempering that got me only 30 stats in

constitution, 10 in strength, and 10 in dexterity. As Lissandra said before,
the effect is getting weaker. I’m not complaining; even that much is
amazing, but I almost died back then. I got really annoyed with tempering
not working that well, so I again turned off my passives and constructs and
even reached into Mana Reservoir.
A totally unexpected incident required Lily’s help. It took a while
afterward to regrow my arm that somehow… Well, it exploded.
My skills increased, [Focus] by only one level, and [Mana
Manipulation] by one as well. That leaves [Focus] and [Perception] at a
bottleneck to Level 40.
 Most noticeably, [Mana Infusion] leveled four times, [Resonance]
three times, and [Mana Domain] four levels. [Tether] also leveled a bit.
I also doubled my shards from selling some stuff into the shop and from
some side quests I got while hunting.
My not-too-much-higher level is annoying, but the growth of my skills
will be worth stalling on that front. The sheer amount of work I did is
amazing, if I have to say so, and I slept only two to three hours each night,
spending most of the day working on stuff.
At some point, there was another incident where Lily used
[Disintegration] on my door to force me out of my room while I was in the
middle of inscribing a mana stone, which caused it to explode. After healing
me, Lily said her [Rejuvenation] leveled up, so that’s at least something.
After that, I started experimenting with mana stones in the living room,
every night, in the company of others. As always, I ignored them most of
the time, only rarely joining the conversation, but it has become something
like a habit for our group, sitting and talking about their day, successes, and
annoyances.
I have learned that I am not the only one improving. With Tess and
Hadwin having a shitload of information, they set up a great regimen for
everyone, from training to hunting. Apparently, if you have a lot of money,
you can even pay other people to help you create some really nice regimen.
Who would have known?
The regimen were set to help members of group 4 improve their skills
or work on their weaknesses, sometimes hunting only to level as quickly as
possible, sometimes putting their lives in danger to keep them sharp.
I went through a few of them, and they are works of art, to be honest. A
lot of time was spent on them, and some professionals helped as well,
especially Obelia and her guild that is trying to keep Tess close, singing
praises about Tess’s Primordial lightning.
It’s annoying. I have two Primordial energies, so why is no one praising
me?
New equipment was bought or ordered to be made, and tailored. Once
again, paid by what’s probably my money, and to be honest, I have no idea
how much I have. I just know I’m rich, and Tess and Haddy deal with that
instead of me.
From what I know, they could be stealing from me like crazy and not
going to hunt, but on expensive holidays or whatever rich people like to do.
It’s night, and I’m once again sitting in the living room. This time, I’m
taking a short break and just waiting for Sophie to finish examining the
coordinates I inscribed into the mana stone I gave her. I have a feeling that
we are getting really close.
Min-Jae taps my shoulder, and I turn around and look at him standing
behind the couch I sit on.
“Level 110,” he says with a big smile on his face. “When Tess lets me
focus on leveling instead of on my skills, I will leave Dennis and Aaron in
the dust!” the young boy brags.
As always, he is waiting for praise or a piece of advice. He is also
getting a bit cocky. Just a few days ago, I heard him saying that he might be
able to beat my level if I “continue to sit on my ass and do nothing.” Yup,
that’s what he said.
Little jerk.
“Tess, Min-Jae said your hair is pretty today,” I say out loud and lean
back to watch as Min-Jae’s face turns pale and red at the same time. Tess
pretends she didn’t hear it, and the twins instantly smell weakness and
attack Min-Jae, making fun of him.
Biscuit starts woofing, to which Isabella starts shouting something as
well.
I stand up and move toward Tess, who sips on a drink she seems to
enjoy lately. There is weird blue smoke coming out of it, and she says it’s
apparently really tasty and reminds her of coffee a little bit.
When I sit next to her, I activate [Resonance], which blocks the sound
of the group in the living room, and turn to her.
Tess has a different haircut from before. If I’m not wrong, this is the
second in the past month or two, and she says she is enjoying trying new
ones. When I look around, most of us are similar. How to say it? They look
more civilized. Nice, tailor-made, fitted clothes, expensive haircuts,
smelling of luxurious soaps. Some even paid tailors to create custom
clothes that resemble those on Earth and apparently even made some mana
stones by selling the ideas.
“This really doesn’t feel like Hell Difficulty,” I say to Tess.
“I know what you mean.” She sips on her drink and then gives me her
full attention. “I think it’s just because we are trying to enjoy it as much as
we can before things go to shit again.”
“We might have jinxed it right now.”
Tess laughs shortly. “We did, didn’t we? But, Nat, do you still want to
continue to other floors, even after seeing how this floor is? I believe we
can slowly kill one Calamity and then just not use the entrance. Level up,
kill other Calamities. It would be easy enough, I believe.”
Even though she says that, I can see that she is not serious. Tess is in
some ways similar to me. She has tasted the power the system offers her,
mana flowing through her body and lightning bending to her will.
No, Tess would be itching to leave, to continue to higher floors.
So I do not answer, and even that is enough for us to understand each
other. The silence that ensues is comfortable.
Well, until Lily steps closer, passing through the field I created that
blocks sounds. Before she says anything, I stand up and pinch her nose.
Lily also changed a bit during that time. Her left arm is still pale white,
as well as mine, and she refuses to change it. Her hair is a bit shorter now,
and she is a bit taller. She says she didn’t mess with her height and it’s just
how she grows, but I have my theories.
Her [Rejuvenation] improved greatly, and apparently, she got another
skill but refuses to share its name with me, as well as her subclass.
Surprisingly, she doesn’t change her mind even if I offer to sell her
Biscuit.
Not having anything more valuable, I can only give up and let her keep
her secrets.
Lily can now regenerate missing limbs much faster, and apparently, she
is using something similar to my Active Tempering to make her body
stronger and muscles tougher. She says she increased her physical stats this
way.
Unlike Active Tempering, her version that uses her skill to change her
body takes much longer. But slowly and surely, she is gaining some free
stats.
Being adult-like, I am not jealous at all.
I let go of Lily and send her to Tess so they can talk about training.
“Lily is so silly!” Isabella says while passing by me on her way to grab
some sweets from the kitchen. Over her head, a blue fire orb hovers as she
continues to shape it and make it denser.
 Currently, the orb is filled enough to explode the entire house and take a
big chunk of the street with it.
That’s my girl!
It was my idea, obviously, and Izzy seems to love it. Especially the
name of the orb that I came up with. Us, two fire enjoyers, call it the
ANTomic bomb, to her amusement.
Sophie doesn’t like it, and apparently, Izzy is allowed to train that way
only when I am around so I can disrupt the orb in case something happens.
It’s silly; a little bit of danger will only make her improve faster! Maybe
we should get her an epic passive a bit later. Something similar to my Mana
Reservoir to store her fire. Unfortunately, epic passives start at 8,000 shards
and much more for some of them, so it might take a while.
I also found out what Izzy’s subclass is and bought information on
Sophie’s.
Isabella picked one of the seven Blights, Kindness. She refused to tell
me more about the effects as I was unable to sell Biscuit any more. Sophie
went with Greed.
It looks like I’m still the only one with Pride, even after talking to others
in the Community who were willing to share their subclass.
Surely my subclass is the best one! Just looking at how much it helps
me to improve my control over skills and class, I can say it must be one of
the best when it comes to improving personal power, and I’m curious to see
what higher stages of it will prove.
Initiate, adept, and master. The difference should be huge.
I lean over Maya and take some dried fruit from the bowl in front of her
while she fiddles with some musical instrument on her lap.
She has been nice lately and supplies me with nice snacks, so I ask,
“How is your practice going?” I gesture at the instrument, similar to a
violin.
“I used to be really good ten years ago back on Earth, so I believe I can
do well here,” she says.
From past conversations, I even know she hired a teacher in Virelia who
helps her learn to play.
“What happened that you stopped playing?” I ask.
“I learned that a few of my friends constantly called me a fat bitch
behind my back, so I dropped it and started going to the gym.” She turns to
me and smiles. Black hair, dark skin, and a figure that only proves what she
said.
Even though Maya is close to thirty, she starts to look younger with
each passing week. It’s something that is even more noticeable on Haddy.
It’s not like they are turning to teenagers, but their skin looks better, and
some wrinkles are disappearing. Not too much, but if you look deeply
enough, there is a difference.
“Gym can be really addicting,” I tell her.
“Yes, after two years, I called them fat bitches and made their
boyfriends leave them. Then I ditched the guys before they got what they
wanted.” She smiles even wider. “But it’s as you said. The gym is really
addicting.” She laughs shortly.
After saying a thing or two more, I quickly leave.
Heck, even Maya is scary. All Hell Difficulty people are scary. I am the
most normal one here.
Nomming on the same snacks that I got from vengeful Maya, I reach
Hadwin, who is diligently taking care of his armor and epic sword from the
third floor that I gave him. His armor is only upper rare grade, but not bad
at all, and the older man takes care of his equipment extremely carefully.
It’s something I do not understand that much. Having his
[Strengthening], I would just walk around without armor at all. I saw his
fight a few times during hunts, and he is really extremely durable, and
rarely do enemies draw blood from him, even when they are at a higher
level.
Hadwin has already used his attribute upgrade token on constitution,
and that made him even tougher. The cheeky ex-policeman even asked me
for help, and he learned to use his [Disruption] to create a barrier of
disruptive mana on his skin.
Instead of using it to directly attack, he creates a disruptive barrier that
reaches only a little bit over his skin. That allows him to ignore plenty of
magic-based attacks, and when he attacks, it also disrupts the enemy’s
defense magic.
When I finally get to create a construct for him, he will become even
scarier. His only weakness is a somewhat weak attack, but with a strong
item that he uses [Strengthening] on, he becomes quite cool.
And that item is the epic sword that I gave him! Epic-grade weapons
cost around 4,000 shards in the system shop, and even though this one isn’t
too strong, and its effect was lost after all, it still is nice of me to share it,
isn’t it?
Old Haddy is even taking some swordsmanship lessons in Virelia, and
apparently, he has a talent for it.
“Nat, I think I got it,” I hear out of nowhere. It’s Sophie’s voice, and
when I turn to her, there is a big, happy smile on her face.
There is no fear toward me in it anymore, and Sophie looks happier and
more comfortable than ever.
She shows me the mana stone I gave her. “I finally did it! Finally!”
There is excitement and happiness from success in her voice.
It looks like after months of hard work, we can finally try to sell
coordinates to the shop and get ourselves a huge amount of shards.
Just in time to buy an epic passive before the second Beyond trial.

Noname - Hey, weirdo, any advice on the second Beyond trial?

Savant - Nope, just don’t die.
Noname - Simple as that?
Savant - And maybe invest some stats into your brain.
Noname - It didn’t help you.
Savant - Screw you.

To make it hurt, I do not answer and just close the window, absolutely
sure it will annoy Savant more this way.
I look at the mana stone in my hand and then at Sophie. “Okay, let’s sell
the coordinates.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 12
SELLING COORDINATES

“A reopposite
you sure?” I move back to the living room and sit on the couch
Sophie, who still holds the mana stone in her hand.
“Yes!” Sophie is still smiling brightly and says it without any
hesitation. She seems confident.
“Okay, let’s do it, then,” I tell her and open the system window. “I want
to sell—” I start when Sophie interrupts me.
“Wait! Wait, wait, wait!” she nearly screams and stands up, putting her
hand on me. “What are you doing?” Her voice is urgent, nearly scared.
“What else? I’m going to sell the coordinates. Don’t you remember?
That was the deal,” I tell her.
“I know! But right away?” She hesitates, somewhat unsure.
“There is no need to wait, and you just said you remembered the
coordinates, so what’s the problem?”
“I could screw it up somewhere. What if I’m wrong and I made a
mistake? What if we are wrong…?” She pauses and looks at me.
Ohhh, so Mind-Blender Missy is getting cold feet.
So weak!
“I see, so allow me to ask. Are you sure you did it right and you tested if
it works by putting the coordinates into the mana stone and then checking
the ‘pocket’ in your mind?” I ask simply.
“Obviously, I did! Multiple times, over and over again, until I was
absolutely sure.”
Sophie can be surprisingly timid and unconfident at times when she is
not defending her little sister. But I trust her when it comes to this. Over the
weeks we’ve spent together working on coordinates, I’ve come to recognize
her skill. When it comes to handling mana and inscribing, Sophie is really
good, and that was confirmed even by her creating inscribed mana stones to
sell to the system in her spare time.
So there is no need to hesitate.
“Sell coordinates,” I say and amusedly watch Sophie’s horrified
expression.

Do you really want to sell the following item for 10,000 shards?
Eladore Coordinates: The precise address to the world of Eladore. While
they provide a pathway, travelers must be wary of Eladore’s inherent and
man-made defenses against intrusion.
Yes/No

Okay, let’s not panic! Everything is according to plan!

So Lissandra’s world is called Eladore. It somewhat feels weird to learn
that.
And why the heck is there so much? Is this real? I expected a bit less as
most of the
coordinates start at 20,000 and even more, and when selling to the
system, the stuff usually goes for five to ten percent of their shop price.
We didn’t create these coordinates, so in the past few days, I was
worried that I might have big eyes back then, thinking I would scam the
system shop a little bit.
Sure, I saw most of the coordinates for 20,000 with some coordinates
for 100,000 and a few even for 200,000.
So there are two options.
Option one: the coordinates to Lissandra’s world are worth 100,000 to
200,000 shards, and we are selling them for five to ten percent, as we
usually sell items gained inside the tutorial.
Option number two: they are worth around 20,000 shards and are sold
for 10,000 because they are considered as something we “made,” even
though I only gave them to Sophie and then remembered them again.
Well, that’s for later. Future Nathaniel can deal with that, really. Screw
that weirdo.
“Sell coordinates,” I quickly say before the system changes its mind.
The weirdest feeling hits me, and I feel lightheaded for a bit.
After a moment, I try to check the coordinates I used to remember, and
they are gone, totally gone. It’s the weirdest feeling. I just can’t remember
them.
I check my shards.

Shards: 12,990

Huhuh, I’m rich! Suck it, system and Cockroachsandra!

“The coordinates are gone from the mana stone,” Sophie says and
throws it away. Then she pulls out another one and starts inscribing it while
I wait patiently and carefully observe as she does so.
When she finally hands me the mana stone, I look at what is inside and
learn it again. It’s close as if inscribing it into my mind, and soon I know
them again. Or at least I think I do. I can’t remember how they felt before,
so it’s hard to compare.
To test it, I also pull out another mana stone and inscribe what I learned,
wasting a huge amount of money in the process as it ruins the mana stone as
currency.
When I hand it to Sophie, she starts comparing it with what she
inscribed and remembered.
“It’s the same.” She sighs, relief clear in her voice. “It actually worked.”
“Go on, sell them,” I tell her, and she does so.
“I want to sell coordinates,” she says, and I see her eyes moving,
reading the notification.
She opens her green eyes so wide open it looks like they will fall out,
which makes little Isabella laugh and hit Sophie’s arms a few times while
doing so.
“Ten thousand…” she sighs out. “Sell. I want to sell,” she says hurriedly
and then also acts confused for a moment, checking her mind for the
coordinates.
Once again, I inscribe the mana stone and have her learn the
coordinates. When we confirm everything, I say again, “I want to sell
coordinates.”

Unable to sell the same coordinates twice

A simple message pops out, unsurprisingly. Well, I guess I would have

wanted way too much.
 I shake my head. Sophie also looks unsurprised yet a bit disappointed,
but I am already thinking about what poor soul from group 4 I will bully
and force to learn and sell coordinates.
Aaron, Dennis, and Min-Jae all have [Mana Manipulation], or maybe
Maya? [Focus] could help her. Tess is a musclehead who only cares about
her Primordial lightning and [Psychokinesis]. Haddy is even worse.
Isabella is too impatient, and Lily… Well, she is also a musclehead in a
similar way to Tess, even though she seems to be making some progress
with the epic crown from the third floor.
“What should I buy?” Sophie asks me, and only then do I remember the
entirety of our deal.
All the shards she gets she will spend to buy what I want in exchange
for a clean slate with me and, by extension, with others that might follow
my “lead.”
When I look to the side, I see Isabella looking at me with big green
eyes. She doesn’t say anything. She just stares at me…menacingly. As
always, her [Empathy] probes the feelings of people around her.
She isn’t pushy, nor asking for anything. She just looks seriously
curious, waiting for my decision.
So annoying! I know. I KNOW!
It would feel…weird to just take all the shards, even if that’s the deal we
made. Although she also improved her skills thanks to experimenting with
me, it would feel annoying.
Haaaa, that’s why I don’t like dealing with people.
I sigh. “You can keep half of the shards,” I tell her, immediately
realizing how much it is. With a bit more saving and adding to the ones she
got from side quests, she can get an epic passive. Or, immediately, she can
buy an epic item.
In reaction to my words, Isabella stands up and walks in front of me, a
big smile on her face and her hands shyly behind her back. Her skill is still
connected to me.
She is just a kid, barely ten, and the spitting image of her sister. Same
tanned skin, black hair, a similar nose, and only her eyes are a bit lighter in
color.
“What?” I say, trying to get some annoyance into my voice.
That makes her smile even more, being still connected to my feelings.
Then the little girl hugs me and whispers in my ear, “Thank you,
Nathaniel.”
She quickly lets go and rushes to her sister, immediately telling her
what to spend 5,000 shards on.
Meanwhile, to feel manly once again, I put my legs on the table and
start loudly chewing on some snacks that I stole from Maya. Should I also
burp or whatever manly men do?
I ignore the weird looks Sophie is giving me.
It takes some time, but in the end, Sophie buys something, and a small
egg appears in front of her. A simple white egg, covered in circuits, and
inside it, I can feel the heartbeat of a living being.
Before I can ask anything, Isabella shouts, “Not telling!”
Tsk. I’m sorry, Biscuit, I might have no other choice.
Sophie smiles at me apologetically but also doesn’t say anything. What
a siscon.
“Keep 5,000 shards for now. I don’t need anything right now,” I tell her.
Unfortunately, she can’t transfer them for me to buy another epic
passive, only maybe some items, or mana stones, or materials. I already
have an idea of what I need from her to buy, but I will deal with it after the
Beyond second trial.
First, I need to spend my 13,000 shards.
I activate my domain, and as it reaches my room, I place an anchor
there and then use [Tether] to get there. The process is mostly smooth and
much faster than before, and I sit in the chair and open the window. Once
again, I scroll through the passives.
I’ve already done it so many times, yet I do it again. The list is long,
very long, yet I think there are some epic passives that do not show for me.
I confirmed it by others having significantly different rare passives than I
do, so maybe it’s slightly personalized to some extent. There is nothing I
can do about it, so I once again open my three current favorites.
There are more passives I would like and even more than these three,
but I think the ones I picked can help me the most right now.

Passive Skill: Phoenix Embrace (epic)

The user harnesses thermal energy, channeling controlled bursts of heat to
accelerate the healing process, using the primordial energy’s transformative
nature to heal their wounds.
 Passive Skill: Mana Affinity (epic)
The user has a natural bond with ambient mana, subtly drawing it toward
them in places of high magical concentration.

Passive Skill: Arcane Resilience (epic)

The user’s body has adapted to resist the side effects of powerful spells,
significantly reducing the physical toll of casting.

Phoenix Embrace is a stronger version of my current passive.

Passive Skill: Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)

The user taps into pyrokinetic energies to fuel their regeneration. By
channeling controlled bursts of heat, they expedite the healing process,
using fire’s transformative nature to mend their wounds.

It sounds stronger and it’s more connected to thermal energy instead of

just some fire. The healing effect could be much stronger as it’s one of the
Primordial energies and should be more “pure,” as Obelia once said.
Arcane Resilience could allow me to experiment more with my mana
and maybe once again try to create the black mana that I created with the
help of [Focus] and didn’t die only thanks to the Saint’s healing aura.
Mana Affinity could allow me to delve deeper into absorbing ambient
mana. I don’t think this passive is strong; it’s probably the weakest out of
the three, but when thinking more about the future, it could become much
stronger.
I already started experimenting with the Ethercrystal Shortsword, the
epic item I got from Elydor, but I have yet to actually absorb external mana
or turn it into my own.
Unfortunately, all of these passives seem to be the better ones as each of
them costs around 10,000 shards while most epic passives start at 8,000, so
there is no way I get enough shards that soon to buy any.
Hmm, maybe if I go all in and sell everything I have and steal some
other stuff.
Actually, should I do that? It doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Yet
something stops me from doing that. That sounds like a lot of trouble for a
low amount of shards, and we already have enough with ants appearing
further and further away from their territory. A few days ago, they even
caught some of the ant scouts halfway between their territory and Virelia.
We still have to learn why they actually do that, but I’m already worried
that it will forever stay a mystery. The Colony and its ways truly are
mysterious.
I just wish Tess would stop looking at me like that.
Once again, I realize that I am just putting off a decision that I was
unable to make over a few weeks. All three passives are just that good, and
I already know how I could change my fighting style a bit to fully utilize it.
Okay, let’s pick the passive.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 13
CONGRATULATIONS ON
REACHING A MILESTONE

Y
ou only live once, as someone smart said, so taking care of yourself is
the best you could do. Making sure your body is healthy is a must.
And how better to do that here in Hell Difficulty than by obliterating
your enemies before they can hurt you?
I pick Arcane Resilience (Epic): The user’s body has adapted to resist
the side effects of powerful spells, significantly reducing the physical toll of
casting.
I will fuck up anyone before they get close to me and be able to hurt me,
yup.
My genius sometimes terrifies me.
Black mana thing, just wait! Soon! From experiencing it on the third
floor, I know I’m still far from ready, but I’m getting there!
Ten thousand, nine hundred fifty-eight shards disappear, and a new
passive appears in my stats. Now that I think about it, I could buy more
passives, rare ones, but I think it will be a better idea to start saving up. I’m
sure the second round of Beyond will give me some juicy rewards and
probably some shards as well.
There’s also a side quest that I got some time ago.

Side quest: Reach level 200

Reward: 2nd Trait

Yup, finally, the second trait. Seeing how amazingly well Mana Circuit
serves me, the second one surely will be strong, especially with the fact that
traits can be strengthened up to three times, and I already strengthened my
trait once.
Another side quest that appeared is this.

Side quest: Get five skills to Level 40

Reward: Skill upgrade token

Even the side quests are getting harder. Breaking through the bottleneck
to Level 40 isn’t easy at all, and even after all this time, I have only a single
skill over Level 40, [Mana Manipulation].
Sure, I still plan to sell the skill upgrade token for a nice amount of
shards. Or maybe I’ll just use it for some of my less important skills. My
decision to not upgrade my most important skills still holds, and I think I’m
getting better and better, the decision also showing how easily I got rid of
Elydor. Damn, I miss the guy; I wish I could see him again.
I stretch and yawn and check my body. The new passive is already
changing and affecting it, but as often, and similarly, with stats, it isn’t an
immediate change but a slow, gradual one. Looking at the progress, a day or
two should be enough, just in time for a few days of practice and testing
before Beyond.
In a good mood, I open the Community.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Mana is the best stat.

AnotherOneHere (Hell, TheGuild) - I don’t know, I prefer not
dying.
StrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Skill issue!

Min-Jae joins in and stands by my side. Nice one.

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Noname, at this point I’m sure your

brain is replaced with mana.
Savant (Hell, Alone) - That would be possible only if he had any to
begin with.
BenDover (Hell, IDK) - Nice one, Savant! Also, fuck you, Noname.
 My favorite member of the Community still seems lovable as always.
He and his group also came to the fourth floor some time ago. His IDK
group and a group called TheGuild, which lost one member on the third
floor.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Tournament when?

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Probably never? To be honest, it’s
getting annoying.
BenDover (Hell, IDK) - Such a shame. I would really like to see
you with my own eyes, Noname.

Notification! Congratulations on reaching a milestone. The required

number of groups has reached the fourth floor in all the difficulties.
Preparation for the Community tournament is in process!
All the groups from all the difficulties within the fifth round of the
tutorial from Planet Earth will be able to join.
The tournament will start at the end of year one in the tutorial.

Then the notification disappeared.

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Ooooooh, shit. Hehehe.

Brainiac (Hell, WhiteWing) - Hey, Noname, as we said before, the
moment the tournament is announced, I will apologize for
everything, right? Do you remember that? So sorry, dude! I will
make sure to buy you something nice. Hehehe.
AnotherOneHere (Hell, TheGuild) - Wow, finally!
StrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - OMG!
Hadwin (Hell, group 4) - I just joined, did you guys also get the
notification?

I don’t say anything else and just close the Community after seeing no
reaction from BenDover. Somehow, for some unknown reason, my mood is
even better now.
Just a bit over four months. Wait for me.
I continue to stare at Maya and can’t help but think of how dumb I am. How
the hell did I not think of that?
She stands in front of me, a wide smile on her face, and I have to look
up to see into her eyes.
The young, dark-skinned woman is currently surrounded by her
[Armament], but it’s not as it usually is. No, this armor that surrounds her
body is much bigger than usual. Maya is three heads taller than me right
now; her [Armament] is big and bulky, looking more like some sort of
mech or power armor. The mana is of a darker shade of blue than usual, and
I can sense that it’s powered by a few rare items she bought.
She uses mana batteries that are able to store mana. There are some
losses, and efficiency is worse, and they are really, really expensive. But as
rich as I am, Maya doesn’t seem to care as she bought multiples of them
and then spent a few days filling them with her mana.
Maya moves; the movement is a bit awkward, but she quickly gets used
to it as the smile disappears from her face, and she slides into [Focus]. It’s
somewhat unnerving to see such a massive object moving so quickly as she
even continues to improve on what she is doing. Her armor is changing
slightly and becoming thicker or slimmer at places, each change draining
more mana from her mana batteries as she doesn’t have enough of her own
to power it fully.
When she stops, the armor disappears, and she lands back on her legs,
canceling [Focus] and smiling at me. “Say it.”
“That was goddamn cool,” I say honestly.
“Right?!” She takes a step closer, her eyes nearly shining with
excitement. “But imagine if I improve on it and get a better mana battery. In
the future, the armor I create could end up being as big as a house.”
I can only nod and clench my teeth. That…really is cool.
“Say it again!” She pokes my shoulder a bit, and with a sigh, I repeat
how cool it is.
Letting her bask in her glory a bit, I then ask her to show me how she
did it, and she starts explaining, happy to share it with me.
The next person to kidnap me from my room is Lily. After she threatens to
use [Disintegration] on my door, I leave the room.
I’ve started strengthening my door with my mana and even imbued a
few mana stones into it, painted it with mana-conductive paint, and then
inscribed some circuits into it, making it probably more valuable than some
houses in poorer parts of the city just from the cost of the materials
themselves.
Yet it’s still too soon to test them against [Disintegration], but the time
will come. Doing it could improve the durability of my armor and mana
projectiles, so I let Lily continue to act so rudely.
Lily leads me outside to the garden, where she stops and turns to me.
“Now watch! This is [Reshaping],” she says.
I feel her collect her mana and activate her new skill. Immediately, the
contours of her face start changing. Her nose becomes longer, her eyes
seemingly bigger, and even her lips and cheeks change. It takes a bit of
time, but soon enough, someone different stands in front of me.
“What do you think?” the woman asks with a smile.
For the second time today, I say, “That was goddamn cool.”
“Liar! It can’t be used for fighting, so you probably don’t like it that
much.” Lily giggles while her face starts changing back, and when it’s
turned back, I notice a few things.
Lily’s hair shines beautifully in a dark black color, and her skin seems
soft and extremely clear. Her eyes and their color even seem prettier than
before and her lips a bit fuller, not too much.
Is this silly girl slowly changing her face and making herself more
pretty? She is, isn’t she? That sounds exactly like something she would do.
Not knowing my thoughts, Lily continues. “But no worries, I only got it
so I can combine it with [Rejuvenation],” she tells me with a flash of
determination.
“You still haven’t changed your mind?” I ask, feeling a hint of curiosity.
“I did not. I will fulfill all four requirements and then enter Beyond.
Tess will probably get there before me, but it doesn’t matter; I will catch
up.”
“So why are you doing it?” This is the first time I’m actually asking her
the question.
“I killed Kevin,” Lily says shortly. “There’s no way of going around it. I
killed him, unable to control my skill.”
 She reaches out with her hand, a gray, smoke-like mana swirling around
it and slowly changing shape into that reminiscent of an arrow. Lily then,
with extreme focus, waves her hand, and the arrow shoots toward a tree in
the corner of the garden.
When the arrow hits, it doesn’t pierce the tree nor stab inside. The arrow
is weak and smoke-like, so it instead crashes against it and disperses in a
puff.
The grayish residual mana soundlessly splits the tree, etching out a big
chunk of it, and a few wisps of the attack even eat up some stones on the
ground after landing on it. The remnants disintegrate everything without
leaving anything behind.
The size of the attack itself isn’t that scary. It’s the level of destruction I
would be able to achieve a few days after the start of the tutorial.
No, the scary part is that Lily is just a bit over Level 100 now, and that
this attack would be enough to kill a human or monster at around Level
200. I have no doubt about that, not even a speck of it. That’s how scary
[Disintegration] is.
“So, Nat, I will learn to control my skills. I will become stronger. I will
heal and save anyone I want to save, and I will kill anyone I decide to. Not
by mistake or lack of control, but because I choose to,” Lily says.

Back in my room, I’m about to practice again when a third person interrupts
me. As annoyed as I am curious, I get on the balcony and look at Myrra
standing on the street.
She waves at me, and somehow, I want to create a tricolored orb and
throw it at her. I will need a lot of slacking to calm down after all this
attention. My weak, introverted heart isn’t built for it.
I push myself with kinetic energy and land on the cobblestone next to
the tall lynthari, and without saying a word, we start walking side by side.
“It’s been a long time since I saw you, Feral One. A few weeks,” Myrra
starts first, and I detect her bodyguard nearby, as always.
That once again makes me curious. I’ve seen her getting a lot of respect
from the strongest humans in the city and even from other lynthari, yet her
level isn’t that high. She has leveled a few times but is still under Level
200.
“I was training,” I say simply and quickly grab some sweets one of the
merchants is selling while throwing him a mana stone probably worth as
much as his monthly earnings.
I’m rich.
“I see,” Myrra answers simply, and for a while, we continue to walk in
silence. I slowly feel myself calming down as Myrra even picks quieter
streets with a lot of calming greenery.
Is she maybe doing it on purpose after sensing my mood? I squint and
look at her. Is…is she trying to tame me?
“Feral One, why is the Matriarch’s granddaughter looking for you?”
Finally, she gets to the reason for her visit and turns her golden eyes toward
me as we stop in the middle of the park, surrounded by trees with pink
leaves.
Oh boy.
“Why is she going around and saying that she is looking for her
underling, a strong, regal human with two differently colored eyes?” As
Myrra says this, she shows a bit of her canines in a slightly threatening
manner and leans closer to me. “Feral One, you are mine,” she nearly
hisses, not really angry at me, but more annoyed that someone is trying to
take her toy. “I don’t care if she is a once-in-a-millennium genius or the
Matriarch’s pampered granddaughter. You. Are. Mine.”
“No, Myrra, I’m my own person, and if you want, we can talk about our
opinions on that again in a fight,” I answer her simply while returning her
gaze.
Her next words will decide if I blast her away with a cone of kinetic
energy or not.
In the end, Myrra looks away first and sighs, her fluffy tail swaying
around in an annoyed manner. “You know what I meant, Feral One! I found
you first, so I won’t allow any other boring lynthari to take you away from
me,” she complains. “Little princess will have to get through me to get to
you, nya!”
The last word she says makes me freeze, and the thought of a fight
disappears from my mind.
“N-nya?” I ask carefully.
 Myrra, as if realizing what she said, smiles apologetically and
somewhat shyly, an expression I had yet to see on her face.
“Excuse me, Feral One. It’s something a lot of younger ones lately like
to add to their sentences.” She waves her hand as she starts walking, and I
follow her. “To be honest, it’s getting really popular, and plenty of lynthari
use it. You know how trends go.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 14
RICH

“L ittle
princess has been looking for you for weeks already, but so far, I
was able to hide you from her. Also, Feral One, why does she call
you her underling?” Myrra asks.
“Stuff happened,” I say simply and then watch Myrra’s tail twitch in
annoyance.
“Anyway, I finally secured the metals you were asking for and some
mana stones. They will be delivered to your house tomorrow, nya.”
“Took a while.” I decide to ignore the last word of her sentence.
“Obviously. They were expensive. And when I say expensive, I mean
expensive even for me.”
“I’m rich. I can pay for them,” I say.
Myrra smiles and then tells me how much they cost.
“I see. Thank you for your patronage, Miss Myrra!” I say respectfully.
Maybe I’m not as rich as I thought. I should prepare some stuff to sell in
the auction. My pride won’t allow me to be some sort of gold digger
sucking up to rich weirdo lynthari.
“The plan still applies?” Two lynthari bow to Myrra, but she ignores
them.
“Yup,” I answer while munching on a snack I bought from a merchant.
“The auction is in around two weeks, and then around two weeks after that,
we can go on and deal with the Living Tree.”
Hopefully, the second trial of Beyond won’t take longer than two
weeks. I’m really excited for the auction. So far, I have no reason to think
that it will take that long, but it’s not like I have too much information to
judge it from, so who knows? The system is an ass.
 We exchange a few more sentences, set some plans, and Myrra leaves to
go and talk with other guild masters as well. Lately, they have been really
quiet, and I bet it’s also thanks to her.
The past few weeks were…easy, unfitting to the fourth floor, and
something tells me it’s as I thought and only the “final bosses” will be
strong enough to turn it into Hell Difficulty.
Damn, I bet Easy Difficulty people might only have to kill one Level
150 ant or something. I’ll make sure to ask them during the tournament.
Before returning, I stop by the workshop of the enchanter, whom I met
one night and who so excitedly taught me about his craft. The older man is
someone I have visited a few times already and even talked with him about
my plan, obviously without much detail. He offered truly priceless advice
and saved me quite some time and a lot of wasted materials.
“You again.” He sighs as I enter his workshop, but I see that he seems in
a better mood immediately.
I still don’t know his name, nor does he know mine, and even though it
should be easy to guess what I might plan to do, he doesn’t ask and pretends
not to know and just talks about his craft.
I put a mana stone on his table. “I think I almost got it,” I say.
“Sure, sure,” he grumbles but immediately takes the stone, and with
almost youthful curiosity, he starts going through my inscriptions.
“You twisted it in a really weird way here and here.” He shows me the
mana stone, pointing out the twist.
“Yes, I did. It has something to do with my skill,” I tell him.
“What a weird skill you have,” he says and then continues to inspect it.
It takes ten minutes longer, but when he is done, he just looks at me. “I
didn’t ask you before, but who are you?” he says carefully, his voice
solemn. “The things you are inscribing are terrifying, and the speed of your
progress is even more so.”
I stay quiet, but that doesn’t stop him.
“I tried to hold my curiosity back, but this,” he waves the mana stone in
his hand, “this is way too much. You don’t even realize what you just
created.”
“With your help,” I tell him.
The old man laughs. “I’m not dumb. I know how small my help was.”
He sighs. “This stone, with its inscriptions, is probably worth more than
some epic items to the right people. You don’t realize it, but there is so
much new stuff and theories that can come up from this.”
Oh?
“People would pay good money for it?” I ask.
He laughs. “They would sell their firstborn son just to glance at it for a
few minutes.”
What weirdos. I spend just a few minutes playing with the stone and
training for my plan of killing the Living Tree.
“Are these people rich?” I ask.
“Rich? Enchanters that would be interested are some of the richest
people in the city.”
Maybe I can become even richer.

After enchanting some smaller mana stones with simpler circuits that say
nothing about my plan, I leave them to the old man and tell him to sell
them. He will get twenty percent of the money.
Hearing that, he starts sweating, as it seems like even twenty percent
will be plenty.
Good!
When I enter my house once again, Min-Jae welcomes me with a big
smile, the twins close behind him.
What did they do?
“Nat! We scammed lynthari!” The young Korean boy laughs happily.
This can’t be good; it’s enough when I’m screwing up the floor. I don’t
need three teenage boys to help.
“We sold them one of the epic items,” Dennis joins in, excited to share.
“Not sold, you dumbass, we leveraged it!” Aaron corrects him, smug
about his fancy new word.
“You’re the dumbass. I just wanted to say that,” Dennis shouts back,
and then they fight.
Min-Jae starts explaining. “We found a rich lynthari and showed him
the shadow teleport ring thingy. I forgot its exact name. We asked Hadwin
to loan the ring to us. Then we asked for a loan from rich lynthari and said
if we won’t pay back, he can take the ring.” He giggles.
 I can see where this is going.
“We set a one-year time to pay the money back, but in that time, we will
be long gone to the fifth floor.” Dennis pushes Aaron’s face away from him
and happily joins in.
“It’s free money.” Min-Jae is still smiling as he says so.
“Min-Jae,” I start, and the smile disappears from his face, “you don’t
even realize the mistake you made?”
The twins shut up too, all boys thinking and worried expressions
appearing on their faces.
So I tell them, “We have more than one epic item we can leverage.”
They become happy once again and start talking over each other.
Greedy little twerps, I love them.

We spend the rest of the day borrowing money with our epic items as
collateral. The conditions are outright predatory, but why should we care?
By the time the loans are due, we’re gonna be long gone.
Sophie and Isabella are brought together with us and forced to read
emotions and mind blend a bit to get even “better” offers. The sisters are an
extremely good duo. Isabella can read if the lynthari is willing to offer more
and Sophie can…well, make them a bit more inclined to agree.
We use all the epic items we have. The ones from the third floor,
Elydor’s sword, the items from the Champion’s house.
The process is a bit more difficult, as we have to let them examine the
items and write it down properly, sign multiple papers, some even with our
mana signatures, and always one high-ranking lynthari appears to watch
over the deal.
Epic items are just that valuable. In the entire city, there are currently
only around twenty of them, and since we are basically giving five normal
ones and the three weaker ones from the third floor away, the lynthari
almost fight each other for the opportunity to fall for our scam.
While leveraging the fifth item, the lynthari that is called there to watch
over the deal just stares at us unbelievably, unable to think what kind of
dumbass would have so many items and would be willing to get screwed
over.
 Surprisingly, they don’t seem to be too untrustful. Who the hell would
dare to scam the lynthari? That’s just something one doesn’t do, and they
even use some skill to mark the items. Some sort of tracker.
The sheer amount of mana stones is way too much, so we use their
version of a bank to store them after selling the items to multiple lynthari.
We pick the richest ones from the information we were able to collect and
always just shamelessly walk to their houses and tell their servants what we
want. It always leads to them quickly letting us in.
So, in the end, we get something like a card made from silver, mana-
conductive metal, and on that card, there is a number etched that apparently
syncs with our bank account.
Weirdly, we can even use this card to pay at some places. Just like a
credit card back on Earth.
On the card, there are so many zeros I don’t even bother trying to read
how rich I am, and on our way back, I am group 4’s sugar daddy, buying
them anything they want.
Snacks for Biscuit? Sure, here, I will pay instead of you, Isabella.
A few pieces of rare equipment? Not a problem, Dennis.
A metal that conducts mana and you want to use it as projectiles for
your [Telekinesis]? I will pay, Min-Jae!
The amount on the card doesn’t even change, and it seems to be
impossible to spend it all. But there is a thought in my mind.
Should I maybe sell Biscuit this way and use him as collateral against a
loan? The best doggo of the fourth floor surely will be more valuable than
some random epic item.
Then, to flex on Maya, I buy some extremely expensive snacks and a
few mana battery stones she could use, as a thanks for showing me a new
use for a skill both of us possess. For Tess, we order a few rare javelins,
also made from endurium.
The boys keep telling me to buy a ring for Lily. So I just ask Izzy to
read their emotions while I start asking them why they keep staring so much
at Tess, Sophie, and Maya when they think the young women aren’t
looking.
The trio shuts up surprisingly quickly.
Only when we reach the house do I realize that we forgot Hadwin, but I
shrug it off. He can buy whatever he wants a bit later.
 I hand the silver card to Tess. “There will be an auction in a while, so
don’t spend much.”
Tess checks the number on the card multiple times and then shakes her
head a bit. “Nat, do you even know how much it is?”
Huh? Not really? I didn’t bother learning how their currency works
here.
I wave my hand at Tess to gesture her to stop explaining. “I leave it up
to you.”
Sure, money is nice, but how can it compare to personal power or even
mana?
Yeah, I thought so.
Then I enter the living room that is already taken over by Isabella, who
also returned with me and immediately rushed in. She continuously pokes
the egg on the table, the one that Sophie spent 5,000 shards to buy. An
amount enough to buy an epic item.
Hopefully, it isn’t consumable.
(Food?) Biscuit also asks. Indeed, brilliant minds think alike.
I ruffle his head a bit, and we continue to look at the egg.
“It’s not food!” Isabella shouts, sounding like an angry kitten.
“The system called it a beast egg, and the description says that it’s a
beast with the bloodline of some ancient monster,” Sophie says. Isabella
gives her a harsh look, yet her older sister continues. “We don’t know what
monster, and it seems to be randomized. I picked it so I could have someone
to defend me close range hopefully, and Isabella wanted to make Biscuit
jealous.”
“Ehm?” I get out of myself.
“Yes, I know.” Sophie sighs. “Izzy saw something similar in a drama on
TV before we got into the tutorial. Just with men and women instead of a
monster.”
Oh, that quite makes sense, doesn’t it?
“You got it wrong, Soph. It’s for your protection and for us to get a new
friend!” Even while Izzy says it, I can feel her connecting to the egg and
constantly trying to grasp any emotion from it.
The little girl also continuously uses her [Pyrokinesis] to keep an egg
nice and warm. As I watch how she handles it, I see a clear mark of
improvement. The way she handles her skill and mana is much better now,
and the heat she produces is nice and warm, but not overly so, and evenly
covers the surface of the egg.
“Just a few days and it should hatch!” Izzy says after a while as she
turns to me with a big smile on her face. “Just wait! You will be so jealous.”
Aren’t you too cheeky right now?
I continue to let her read my emotions, so she immediately knows what
I am doing.
“N-no…” Isabella whispers in a broken voice.
But I already pull out a piece of dried deer meat and offer it to Biscuit,
who immediately follows me back to my room, leaving Isabella behind
with her weirdo egg.
Back in my room, I jump into the armchair, and Biscuit jumps onto my
lap, closing his eyes immediately while I check the timer.
Two days left until Beyond’s second trial.
With closed eyes, I get back to training what Maya showed me a few
days ago.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 15
SECOND TRIAL

T
wo days later, the time comes, and I start getting ready for the second
trial. The farewells are short. Everyone in group 4 already knows
about Beyond, some a bit more, others less, so there is no need for an
explanation.
Biscuit gives me a nice piece of glass that he still thinks is the same as
the mana stones they use here as currency. He also gives me a few pieces of
dried deer meat.
Isabella somehow isn’t petty and just hugs me and wishes me luck.
The boys are the boys, so they just tell me to level up a lot.
Haddy just nods his head and tells me to be careful.
Tess smiles at me and says not to worry about them while I’m gone.
Lily uses the opportunity to hug me and only stops after I knock on the
top of her head a few times. I even have to boost my body a bit so she lets
me go. That reminds me that if I ever lose mana, I will be weak like a baby
against most of the members of group 4, even with my stats from Active
Tempering.
Sophie waves her hand awkwardly, and Maya puts a small bag into my
hand, full of some rations and other useful stuff.
By the time I separate from them, I feel tired already and quickly get to
the basement of our house.
“Use Beyond entrance token,” I say, and after the portal appears in front
of me, I step through.

Welcome to the Beyond’s second trial!

After passing through all three trials, you will be able to enter the
Beyond.
 The place I’m in isn’t the second floor, nor any of the floors I visited
before. The sky is dark, lit by stars that shine brighter than they should.
I slide into [Focus], and the world loses even more of its colors, yet the
lights become brighter, shining on the ground I am standing on. As far as I
can see, I see deep craters and mountains spewing out fire and smoke.
It’s hard to breathe, and the gravity that affects my body is much
stronger than it should be, forcing me to use Mana Regulator to put more
mana toward Reinforcement and strengthening my body.
The cold that threatens to freeze my body is terrible, the worst I’ve ever
felt, and I reach in and start releasing some heat I stored in the thermal orb I
started filling with thermal energy days before Beyond.
I release more of the heat, and it flows through my body and pushes
away that terrifying cold that is not visible at all. There is no ice, no freeze.
A hole forms next to me, and from it, a fire spews out, melting the
ground around, threatening to do the same to me, only to be absorbed and
turned into heat, stopping me from freezing.
Sensing a stronger eruption coming, I boost my body and move high in
the air, hovering at the place and watching as the hole expands and tons of
melted material spew out, a heat so strong, I have to move further to not
overwhelm my skill.
At the same time, the gravity that pulls on me is much stronger, so it’s
difficult to even float, and the amount of mana I spend is so high, I decide
to land.
I check the quest and reward.

Beyond’s second trial quest: Survive for one week.

Quest Rewards:
Active skill combination token (low-grade)
1,000 shards

I take in the text in front of me, and there’s a single reward that I can’t
stop looking at. The active skill combination token. The token with the
potential of being a really good reward.
After reducing the amount of thermal energy as much as I can, I move
again, away from the place where I feel another crater forming. Then, after
examining my body more, I realize that I’m not wrong and it’s as I thought
the moment I entered here. I get a weird feeling and started examining my
body, almost unable to believe it.
My heart is not beating and generating any mana, affected by something
that I can’t even detect right now.
I seem to be otherwise fine. The blood is still somehow flowing through
my body, and my current mana pool is filled and not leaking; it’s just not
getting replaced.
As I continue to walk, I lower my expenditure even lower and
strengthen my body only a little bit, just enough to fight against gravity that
is about to crush me.
It’s uncomfortable, but I’m saving mana, and I do the same with thermal
energy and try to make it as efficient as possible.
Then I look around and after a while start walking toward the mountains
in the distance.

[You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 198]

[You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 188]
[You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 173]

I kill three monsters and then jump away, only enough to dodge the monster
that breaks the ground and tries to bite at my leg.
Mana leeches are heavily armored, quick, and good at locating me.
They attack from underground and try to pull me down.
At first, they used ranged attacks and tried to steal my mana, connecting
to me with their skills and trying to suck on it. They failed terribly as the
Mantle totally blocked their attempts. So they tried a more direct attack,
relying on their heavy armor.
The Ethercrystal Shortsword in my hand cuts through their bodies
easily, even sucking on some of their mana, the blade glowing in a weak,
pale blue light as the monsters don’t have that much of it. There also isn’t
any ambient mana to absorb.
I dodge again and then let one of the leeches reach me. At the last
moment, I shoot a blast of kinetic energy against it, slowing it enough so I
can finish it with the sword.
 [You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 170]
[Level 170 > Level 171]

Another one attacks from behind, and sending only a short pulse of
mana through my body, I boost it and turn around at a speed that blurs the
area around and cut another human-sized leech in half.

[You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 176]

Under the ground, I feel more of them trying to take my mana, but I
merely ignore them, only strengthening the Mantle a bit more actively.
Then I continue to walk toward the mountains as the monsters do not dare
to get on the surface anymore.
From the information I was able to collect, it’s confirmed that there are
three trials that I need to pass through to be able to enter the real Beyond.
Each trial seems to be tailored for each person. I had the suspicion on the
first floor where most of the monsters thrown at me allowed me to improve
my skills or die, and this one seems to be testing my weaknesses.
My physical stats are weak, but thanks to the strong gravity, they seem
to be only getting stronger with each passing hour.
The terrifying cold seems to be testing my thermal energy as well as my
endurance.
The explosions of fire test my [Perception], and the monsters that
attacked me so far test my mana. They keep trying to take it away from me,
and it’s the only thing that keeps me alive. My mana allows me to
strengthen my body and create heat to keep me from freezing.
One week, that’s how long I must last in here. Unable to regenerate my
mana, only able to use what I currently hold, and forced to constantly spend
it.
At this point, it’s the test of what will last longer, me or the bullshit the
system throws at me, and I’m not worried.
My reservoir is filled to the brim, containing three times my mana. My
mana pool is also nearly topped out. The thermal orb I created and filled
before even starting the trial contains an immense amount of energy I can
use as heat or turn into kinetic energy.
 I also have multiple mana battery stones I filled with mana, inspired by
what Maya did. They are terribly small amounts of mana in comparison to
my pool or reservoir, but it’s also something.
I’m as ready as I can be.

I boost myself high in the air and shoot down a small, arrow-like projectile
that pierces the monster’s eye. With a scream that reaches my body, it
disappears back under the ground.
The shriek it used is a mental attack that threatens to disrupt my mana,
but my body endures, and I land back on the ground. I transfer some
thermal energy from the orb into kinetic and stomp, sending a blast of
energy under my feet.

[You have defeated Crater Worm - Level 189]

[Level 171 > Level 172]

The monsters continue to attack me, pressuring me, looking for a

moment of carelessness.
Multiple hours have passed, and the strain the gravity put on my body is
getting stronger, the monsters are getting harder to detect, and my heart
doesn’t move at all.
But that’s it?
I send another blast of kinetic energy underground, reducing the surface
of the attack and moving it as efficiently as I can.

[You have defeated Crater Worm - Level 191]

Is this really a Beyond trial?

I dodge two leeches. This time, I do not even use the sword, just create a
thin thread of mana that I cover in [Resonance], and cut both monsters
apart.

[You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 179]

 [You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 183]

Before another worm has time to shriek, I send a small thermal orb at it,
and it explodes inside the monster’s weird mouth filled with dozens of
sharp teeth. The monster screeches even louder while thrashing around and
burning, unable to stop the flames even in this terrifying cold.

[You have defeated Crater Worm - Level 168]

More thin threads of mana appear around me, each covered in widely
resonating mana, and this time, it’s me who tracks the monsters and attacks.

One day has passed.

The gravity is strong, but it feels weirdly comfortable as it keeps pulling
on my body. With the little amount of mana I’m using, every step hurts and
every wrong move threatens to send me tumbling, but the efficiency
continues to improve.
The air closer to the mountains is getting colder, and I’m forced to use
more thermal energy from the orb. I don’t like it, but the extreme
temperatures are hindering my ability to fight, so I do it.
As time passes, I come to like the planet I’m on.
Other than blasts of iron-melting fire from the ground and the monster
attacks once in a while, it’s quiet, almost scarily quiet. There is no day and
night, and no sun comes to the sky. It’s permanently dark, the planet lit by
beautiful shining stars that are lighting the way through the extremely clear
sky.
Even though I’ve been moving for a day already, the mountains are still
far in the distance, clearly showing how giant they have to be to still be so
far on the horizon.
Six days remain, and I know I won’t be getting any sleep, having to
constantly manage my mana, and thermal energy, and keep fighting the
monsters that will jump at me the moment I show weakness.
And I am fine with that.
 As always in these situations, my mind feels sharp. It all makes me feel
more alive than ever. It forces me to stop thinking of useless stuff and focus
on survival at the place where a single mistake could end me.
Yet, the more threatened I feel, the stronger the danger is, the more I
realize how much I want to live. Amazed, I observe myself utilizing
everything I have learned. My skills, my body, my mana, and my talents.
All of them are constantly used to keep me alive.

The second day comes, and the sky is still the same, and the mountains look
as far as before. While I fight against cold and gravity, the monsters
continue to attack me, but that much is fine. The problem is that just now I
realize that there is something or someone messing with my perception of
reality.
I use a decent chunk of my mana to check my mind, and it doesn’t seem
to be affected; only my senses are being fed fake information.
My skills are unable to fight against it, it being too ever-present and
shown by me being constantly fed the wrong positions of monsters and the
world around me looking different than it is in reality.
The result of that is more wounds on my body, and I’m forced to create
armor to protect myself and feed my passive with thermal energy to heal the
wounds.
Unable to rely on my eyes anymore, I close them, but the effect still
lasts, as if the effect is delivered to me even through closed eyelids.
[Perception] is being fed the wrong visuals too.
So I reach inside my body and cut nerves leading to my eyeballs,
blinding myself. Then I actively stop the passive from healing this small
wound, which will be easy to restore later.
My usage of [Perception] changes, and instead, I continue to feel
waves of kinetic energy and heat from the monsters’ bodies.

A day passes, and I start being fed wrong information even from kinetic and
thermal energy.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 16
DAY SIX

I
t’s the start of day three, and I’m using only my mana to observe my
surroundings. The reach becomes much smaller and the cost of keeping
it up is annoying, so I take some mana from the mana batteries I have on
me, feeding it to the skill. Efficiency isn’t as good as my own mana, but it
helps me to keep my own reserves as high as possible.
I still haven’t touched the Mana Reservoir, and the thermal orb I have
prepared is half full.
That’s when monsters able to hide their mana signature start appearing.
After the first one bites off a piece of my shoulder, I’m forced to change
my strategy.
I kill the monster that bit me with a sharp blast of kinetic energy and
can’t even check what it was without my senses.
I release dozens of small mana particles into my surroundings and then
use [Mana Domain] to observe them and keep them floating around me.
The notifications continue to ring in my ears as I continue to kill
anything that moves the particles close to me.

At the end of day three, the monsters that appear start countering these
particles as well by avoiding them, so I release even more of them, my non-
regenerating mana dropping to half and the thermal orb to twenty percent.
I’m once again forced to start using more heat to keep myself from
freezing.
 When I fall to the ground under the strengthened gravity, I also boost
my body a bit more, just enough to wobble back on my legs.
The mana batteries I took here with me are empty. The monsters slowly
sucked the mana from them without me realizing it.
It’s my mistake.

I boost empty mana batteries through the monsters’ bodies and notifications
ring, announcing the kill.
Observing mana particles around me, I sense that they hesitate.
“Come on, you wanted them so much. So just take them,” I say to the
dead world.
Then I boost the last remaining mana battery, and another notification
sounds.
As many times before, I try to use my epic item, the Ethercrystal
Shortsword, and when I cut the monster, it sucks in its mana, trying to
strengthen me.
But, as many times before, something or someone fights against that.
Some of the mana that is in the process of being sucked into the crystal
blade starts to get pulled away from it, and fighting over that mana wastes
more of it than I would be getting, so I stop. In the end, the sword absorbs
only a small part of it.
That makes the sword close to being just a nice decoration, but I
continue to use it when the monsters get closer to save some mana.
It’s colder than ever before, and the heat I have to generate increases,
but with it, my efficiency in the way I handle it. It’s not even radiating away
from my body and just reaches the skin to keep maximal possible
efficiency. I also reduce the amount I send toward my limbs as they are able
to endure a bit more than my core.

I start day four with my mana at forty percent and the thermal orb at ten
percent.
 All the food and water I did bring with me froze over, the result of me
reducing the area of effect of my “heating.” Such a mistake is almost funny,
and I untie and drop the bag on the ground.
I restore my sight multiple times, but I always see only for a second
before I start getting fed the wrong information again, so I blind myself. But
even that second is fine, and I find that I have reached the mountains.
They are tall to a terrifying degree, making me feel extremely small.
I’m nothing but a speck of dust in comparison to how tall they are. It
somehow terrifies me even in [Focus], as I feel the wind that starts hitting
my body and vibrations in the air as the lightning continues to strike the
mountains in front of me.
The entire ground shakes, and I feel aftershocks even down here; that’s
how strong it is. It’s clear that the area in front of me is much more
dangerous than what lies behind me.
My mana is getting lower with each passing second, the thermal orb is
almost empty, and the gravity that threatens to crush my body is pulling on
my muscles. The place I’m in will become more dangerous as time passes;
I’m sure of it. Even if I stay on the plains with worms, leeches, and fire
geysers, the difficulty will ramp up. Yet the mountains in front of me are
much more dangerous even now.
So I take a step toward them, leaving the plains behind me.
The entire time I continue to observe my mana heart and the weird aura
that renders my senses close to useless.

The mountains tower by my sides as I walk through the valley. From the
second I’m able to use my eyes, I find out that the valley is unnaturally
straight and flat, and the mountains by its sides are set there in too unnatural
a manner.
It feels just like a sidewalk surrounded by trees.
The wind slows down and the air becomes warmer, just in time to leave
me with five percent of my thermal orb, but the gravity and pull on my
mana increase, even now partially ignoring my Mantle.
No monster appears anymore.
It’s quiet.
Day five starts quietly. The wind doesn’t blow. There are no vibrations from
the lightning. No signs of any monsters, but the gravity is stronger after
every step I take.
In the one-second window I use my eyes, I notice the doorway far in the
distance. It is carved into the highest mountain I have ever seen, the doors
themselves so tall, I can’t see their top.
Mana in my body drops to twenty-five percent, constantly pulled from
under my control. I’m unable to hold it.
The effect becomes stronger the closer to the door I get.

I was able to make my heart beat for a few moments. After days without
moving, it feels almost weird having it thump and send mana through my
body.
While not moving, I continue to [Focus] on keeping it beating for as
long as possible, mana in my body filling up slowly once again, even
though some of it is getting pulled away from me.
The next ten minutes I spend fighting against the pressure that tries to
stop it from beating again, and in the end, I fail and my heart stops once
more. This time, the effect that stops my heart is a bit different, and I start
examining it with the intention of making it beat again. There isn’t even a
speck of doubt that I will be able to do so.
It’s my body.
It’s my heart.
It’s my mana.
No one will take it away from me.

I stop some distance away from the giant doorway and sit down, unable to
keep myself standing anymore. My mind examines my body, and I start
working on the Mana Sovereignty Mantle construct.
 From my time here, I have learned so much, and I start applying it all to
myself while being extremely careful of my surroundings. There is an
armor around my body that is slowly getting destroyed, and the mana gets
pulled from it, but I do it in case something attacks me.
I notice that my mana is getting pulled toward the door, and when I go
through my memories, I realize that it has been doing that ever since the
start of this trial. All the mana is getting pulled to whatever is inside that
mountain, behind the giant black door, which is densely covered in
inscriptions.
The inscriptions feel as though they should have been here to stop that
from happening. My limited knowledge tells me that they should shield
whatever is inside and not allow it to affect anything outside of the door.
Yet they are not enough; even though they are extremely complex and
terrifyingly strong, demonstrating a mastery beyond any human or being I
can imagine, they are unable to stop what is inside.
Even through [Focus], I feel fear, unable to comprehend the world
around me or the thing behind the door. It’s all beyond my knowledge and
my experience.
I have never, ever felt so small in my life. I’m just a small speck
surrounded by powers I do not understand. The system, the tutorial,
Absolutes, a thing beyond this door. This planet.
Everything is way beyond me.

At the start of day six, I make my heart beat again, this time for longer, and
my mana fills by a nice amount. At this point, it’s been a bit since I had to
fight monsters; all of them are terrified of the being behind the black door.
The silence in the valley between the enormous mountains is almost
deafening, and the safety I feel right now feels so fake, it would make me
want to scream if I wasn’t so deep in the [Focus].

[Focus - Level 39 > Focus - Level 40]

I once again move my mana, sending small pulses toward the door, only
for them to be obliterated by the inscriptions on its surface, but I observe
even that. I learn from defensive mechanisms and use them to constantly
improve my Mantle.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Over and over again, I do so and make small change after small change,
the pull on my mana becoming weaker and weaker, and the heart twitching
and shivering inside my chest. I continue to patch and improve the defenses
of my biggest weakness—the possibility of someone blocking, stealing, or
not allowing me to use my mana.
A big risk I took on myself, fascinated by this power I got at the start of
the tutorial.
Fascination that lasts even now.

At the end of the day, my heart starts beating again and the attempts to stop
it from doing so are unsuccessful. I watch as mana in my body starts
growing, and I turn some of it into kinetic energy that I transfer into
thermal, once again filling the thermal orb floating near me.
I stand up, and mana smoothly spreads through my body, strengthening
it. Kinetic energy explodes under me, and I push myself high in the air,
turning around and floating toward where I came from.
Still unable to trust my eyes, I send mana as far as I can and continue to
watch it within [Mana Domain].
When I reach the plain, monsters that appear are stronger than the ones
from before.
A sharp nail immediately pierces my belly. Teeth break my armor and
burrow into my flesh. A strong hit breaks my ribs and throws me against the
ground. And I continue to fight, releasing all the frustration I felt, unable to
use my powers properly.
I boost mana projectiles with kinetic energy. I create tricolored orbs, and
explosions and implosions scar the planet.
Burst after burst of brilliant golden flames melt the monsters, keeping
me warm against the cold that surrounds me and healing my body through
my passive.
 And I continue to get hurt. The monsters are just that strong. A big
chunk of my leg gets bitten off, unable to be fully restored with my passive.
A big wound appears in my side, carved off by some extremely fast monster
that passes by me.
I fight and fight. I get hurt, and I kill.
Over and over again as my mana roars and hums, free at last.
That’s when the biggest monster appears. As tall as a small apartment
building, a few floors high. The monster is bipedal, with long front legs and
mana circuits all over its forearms. The monster reminds me of a gorilla
with an extremely muscular body and four eyes.
I restore my eyes for a second.

[Skystrider Beast - Level ??]

Javelins filled with thermal energy crash against the monster, barely
doing any damage. My flames burn its skin, being weakened the closer they
get to it. Kinetic energy disperses on the beast’s skin. Tricolored orbs burn
the monster, even making it stagger a bit, but the implosion does nothing.
Spending more time forcing my mana through a javelin that is three
times my length and filled to the brim with thermal energy, I boost it while
my heart thumps loudly. The monster is hurt by that, golden flames burning
its body, the smell of burned skin and hair filling the air.
Yet it’s durable, extremely so. Much more durable than the undead deer
from the third floor.
I move closer, then, pulling out the sword and covering the blade with
resonating mana that I extend.
Just a small human jumping against the big monster while surrounded
by pale blue armor and with a glowing sword in hand. Using everything in
my arsenal, I continue to avoid deadly attacks while I feel disrupting
properties from the glowing forearm of the monster.
All the damage I deal is barely a scratch, the monster is just that big and
durable, and that’s when the monster roars as I dash at its head, a
shockwave throwing me on the ground where I hit it and continue to roll,
pieces of my armor breaking together with my bones.
When I finally absorb the inertia of my crash, the monster stands in
front of me, moved there with one big leap, and its fist heads down at me.
 At the last moment, I release all the kinetic energy I collected,
propelling myself to the side and then immediately again to avoid another
shockwave.
The lightning starts cracking on the monster’s pitch-black skin, and its
red eyes seem to glow with malice. It roars again, this time redirecting the
shockwave and boosting its body toward me in a similar way I used my
kinetic energy.
Watching the monster move toward me, I slide into deeper [Focus], and
the world feels as if it slowed down slightly.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
My mana radiates from my body, creating an armor around myself that
becomes a darker and darker shade of blue. It becomes as big as the one
Maya showed me, making me three heads taller than before, surrounded by
my mana. But I do not stop there. I push more mana from my body and
with a speed that would tear me apart without my newest epic passive.
The armor around my body grows more and more, lifting me in the air
until I’m at the chest of the translucent blue armor, surrounded by all this
mana.

[Armament - Level 37 > Armament - Level 38]

[Armament - Level 38 > Armament - Level 39]

My domain encompasses it all, allowing me to stop it from dissipating

and increasing my control over it.

[Mana Domain - Level 13 > Mana Domain - Level 14]

[Mana Domain - Level 14 > Mana Domain - Level 15]

And I continue to infuse more mana into it.

[Mana Infusion - Level 35 > Mana Infusion - Level 36]

Mana radiates all around me, making me over twice as tall as my

normal height.
 The effect of the subclass Pride doesn’t allow my [Armament] to look
shabby, so it gains some delicate ornaments, and the pieces of armor are
functional and deadly yet beautiful looking.
I reach out my own hand, and the giant one made of my mana mirrors
the movement. With a strong push, more mana flows there, and a sword
made of mana, much bigger than the original in my hand, is created. It has a
blade of a darker shade of blue than the armor and with wisps of light blue
mana flowing through it.
Then I grab the sword and, taking a stance, face the monster.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 17
BEAST

T
he Skystrider Beast uses a shockwave roar again, but this time, I
burrow the feet of the armor into the ground, and the attack mostly
disperses on the mana surrounding me.
Like a strong wind, the shockwave tears off chunks of my mana, but I
ignore it all. As I take a step toward the monster, I continue to radiate more
of it, repairing the damage done.
The sword in my mana hands resonates and clashes against the
monster’s skin. Unlike the ranged attacks, the sword is surrounded with
[Resonance], so it doesn’t disperse, and I finally draw more blood, making
the monster roar. A swing of its fists sends me flying, the armor crumpling.
The Skystrider Beast is still three times as tall as me, vicious and quick, and
while I’m restoring the damage, it uses a shockwave and pushes me even
further.
And then another one.
One more after that.
Each attack is stronger than the previous, craters forming around me,
pieces of stone as big as cars flying to the sides. The air itself vibrates and
roars under the force of the monster’s skill.
Bigger and bigger chunks of my armor get pulled away from me like a
building getting torn apart by strong winds.
So I reach into my reservoir, and within my domain, mana moves
quickly, filling the gaps, the armor becoming denser and the sword even
longer.
I take another step, and the ground under me cracks. The mana has
weight to it, either by itself or because of the combination of my skills.
 As I run toward the monster, each of my steps breaks the surface under
my feet, and with each passing second of the fight, my control over the
armor improves.
I dodge the shockwave. I duck under the swing of the monster’s fist.
While doing so, I lose balance and use my hand to push myself back up,
taking a hit from another fist but swinging my sword and dealing more
damage.
[Mana Domain] expands, and mana from the reservoir flows into the
air, filling it with a pale blue shimmer. In the air, I form projectiles that fly
toward the beast’s eyes, trying to blind it. A hand forms there as well,
expanding and growing until it’s as big as the monster’s, but when it hits, it
disperses, unable to endure the monster’s disruptive field on its skin.
Unlike my armor around my body, my ranged attacks do not have
[Resonance] fighting against its barrier.
I stop releasing mana and just focus it more on the armor. I use
[Redistribution] and [Mana Infusion] to make it stronger and slimmer,
and then I charge the beast again.
My movement is awkward yet so much better than before. It’s getting
easier to keep balance, and I slash with the sword again, tearing the barrier
on the monster’s skin and burrowing the sword deep into its side.
The beast’s fist hits my armor’s head, destroying it, but my body is
lower, in the middle of the chest.
I duck under another swing and then again when the monster uses a
shockwave to boost its body toward me.
A giant fist hits the ground, creating a crater, and it roars again. This
time, the shockwave hits me but slides on the armor that I move. The armor
is more durable than before.
When the beast attacks again, I’m ready, already knowing what attack it
will use.
I dodge to the side and swing the sword toward the fist, the blade
humming audibly and for a moment shining brighter than before. It cuts
through the monster’s skin, flesh, and bone easily, as if there is no
resistance. The cut-off hand falls to the ground; it’s as big as a car.
More mana radiates from me as I move again while the monster holds
the stump.
Both the monster and I move quickly, but slower than I would be if I
was smaller. The mass and weight of [Armament] doesn’t allow me to
move faster.
When I step close and am about to attack, the beast waves its hand at
me. The moment blood makes contact with the mana surrounding me, it
immediately disrupts it and consumes it like poison. It causes a burning
sensation, and large sections of the armor begin to disappear. I disregard
this, even as the blood reaches my real body.
Another swing destroys more of the armor, the disruptive circuits on the
remaining beast’s arm still working. The monster then holds me and roars
up close, and I feel my ears pop, blood leaking from them. My body
vibrates, about to break apart.
I let go of the sword, and it dissipates even before it falls to the ground.
I grab and hold the monster while changing my hands a bit to have sharper
fingers that I burrow into its skin.
The beast doesn’t mind and lowers its taller body, a mouth full of teeth
biting and tearing off more and more of the blue mana armor.
I use Mana Regulator, and most of my mana rushes into my Kinetic
Mana Heart, generating an immense amount of kinetic energy.
The armor around me becomes even thinner as the beast roars again, a
shockwave hitting me even more, and I feel blood in my mouth.
But I wait and watch it all happen while mana from the reservoir flows
into my body and threatens to tear it apart, even with my Arcane Resilience
active.
When the monster finally bites off a bigger chunk of the chest of the
[Armament], I restore my eyes and look into its red eyes, then switch
kinetic energy to thermal, filling the remaining half of the armor with all
that energy.
The Skystrider Beast roars as the pieces of my armor get filled with
immense heat in the same way I fill my mana orbs with thermal energy.
Golden flames burn the monster’s black skin, and I squeeze and hold it
tighter, even moving myself closer while the beast tries to push me away.
I fuel the flames, my heart beating and every throb sending even more
thermal energy into what remains of the armor while I cling to the monster,
burning it alive.
The beast roars, a shockwave hitting my golden flames, making it look
as if a strong wind tries to blow them off, yet they endure. The beast tries to
use its blood again, but it sizzles and burns, turning into smoke. It roars, it
cries, its hands move and try to push me away, try to squeeze me, yet I hold
on, my body wounded but healing under the influence of the flames that
activate Pyrokinetic Resurgence.
It takes a few minutes, but the monster’s movements slow down, a bone
showing through the burned flesh and the attempts to push me away
weaker.
I strengthen my armor with more mana and push away the hand that
tries to grab me. I climb higher onto its body and then toward the head. The
beast bites at me, and I let it, losing the armor’s left arm, which burns inside
the mouth of the beast.
After climbing higher, I swing the remaining arm and burrow it as deep
into one of the monster’s eyes as I can and then hold it as the beast thrashes
against the ground in its last attempts to get me off. It continues to try to
pull me off, only causing me to burrow my mana arm deeper. In an attempt
to get free, it also scratches its head terribly, not feeling the wounds because
of all its pain and its burning body.
When the attempts weaken again, I redirect all the thermal energy and
send it toward the arm that I hold stabbed into its eye socket. The parts of
the armor stop glowing as all of the flames rush toward the wound, and the
monster twitches a few more times, its blood sizzling and evaporating.
A weak groan escapes its burned mouth, and after twisting its body the
last time, it finally dies.

[You have defeated Skystrider Beast - Level 248]

[Level 177 > Level 181]
[Armament - Level 39 > Armament - Level 40]
[Mana Infusion - Level 36 > Mana Infusion - Level 37]

The monster falls to the ground, and I fall on it. As I do so, the armor
around me dissipates, and I roll off its corpse, unable to stop it from
happening. The air escapes my chest as I hit the ground.
I groan with pain, feeling a terrifying cold hitting my body, threatening
to freeze it. Only then do I realize that I stopped generating thermal energy.
With extreme difficulty, I calm my mind, and even through my complaining
body, I start moving my mana again, transferring it to my heart and
generating some heat that also slowly heals me, showing a limitation of the
rare graded skill.
 My body is pummeled from the inside, burned by the monster’s blood
and even by some of my flames that I was unable to control fully.
I pull out the Ethercrystal Shortsword and stab it deep into the monster’s
dead body. The blade immediately starts sucking the remaining mana from
it and strengthening me. With relief, I sigh and lean against the monster.
A few scary minutes pass like that. My consciousness is kept only
thanks to strengthening through the sword and flames that feed my passive.
I watch as my hand shakes, and observing my body, I find out that I nearly
depleted my body’s mana. The Mana Reservoir also took a big hit, with less
than a third of its capacity remaining.
But as always, good things do not last.
The monsters start moving toward me from all sides, not scared by the
Skystrider Beast anymore. There are dozens of them.
With a sigh, I pull the sword from the corpse and dodge to the side as a
leech breaks the ground. I send a sharp pulse of mana through my body,
strengthening it shortly at the top of the sword, and slash.

[You have defeated Mana Leech - Level 170]

I move away from the corpse, and my body staggers a bit as I feel weak
in the legs. That makes an attack hit me, and I absorb only a bit of kinetic
energy before I’m sent rolling on the ground.
Sensing another mana signature underground, I use the collected kinetic
energy and roll far to the side before I stop.
When I get on my feet, I can barely stand, my body shaking and
screaming in pain, and each use of mana sends a sharp ache through my
head.
Dozens of monsters start hungrily eating the giant corpse, disgusting
noises sounding as they tear the skin and flesh from the body. Their
devouring movements twitch the body, making it seem as if it’s moving.
For a moment, I feel a hint of a weird emotion.
What a scary opponent the beast was, how far it pushed me. Yet now its
lifeless body lies here, devoured by monsters that wouldn’t even dare to
come close to it while it was alive. And now they eat it, not even giving it
enough time to cool down.
I feel the strengthening I’m getting from the sword weaken as the mana
it was able to absorb starts to deplete. Looking around, I detect a few dozen
monsters moving toward me from all sides.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
[Focus]
More.
[Focus]
MORE!
[Focus]
My body stops shaking, all the emotions gone other than one: sheer
arrogance I show against all the odds.
How dare they try to attack me like hyenas, thinking I’m easy prey?
The pain is still here but pushed to the back of my mind, and I squeeze
the sword I’m holding. My mana starts filling my body once again, as
always, giving me all these powers and skills I got so used to.
My heart beats, and this time, I attack first.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 18
DOOR IN THE MOUNTAIN

E
ven though I strengthen my body, it’s still weak, so I dodge the first
attack by letting myself fall, my knuckles scratching as I still hold the
sword. The leech passes over my head, and without even turning
around, I send a short pulse of thermal energy at it, hearing it screech in
pain.
Another attack from the ground hits me, and this time, I let it. I create
armor only in front of my chest, absorbing some of the hits, strengthen my
arm as much as I can, and stab the monster. I continue to keep up the armor
on my chest and stab the monster. In the end, I also shoot a pulse of kinetic
energy, finally killing it.
Both of us fall down, and I keep the sword stabbed inside the corpse to
absorb as much mana as possible.
I pull the sword out and stagger backward, only to avoid a nearly
invisible mana attack that the leeches like to use. A small part of it still hits
me, making me spin. Falling down to my knees, I push with kinetic energy,
sending myself rolling away and dodging another attack.
Another pulse sends me back to my feet, just in time to surround my
arm with mana armor and stab the sword deep into the monster’s mouth.
Sharp teeth bite on the armor, cracking it, even sucking on the mana and
weakening it further.
Crumpled armor presses against my skin, slightly cracking bone, and I
send thermal energy through. The armor lights up with yellow flames, and
the leech, while screeching, lets go. I send a cone of kinetic energy against
its head, killing it.
The fight continues for what feels like hours. I’m so terribly weak right
now, and killing a few dozen monsters strains me as much as nothing lately.
 I roll on the ground, I stumble, I dodge. I groan in pain. All while killing
one monster after another, slowly and methodically, saving every point of
mana and straining myself as little as possible.
At some point, everything stops existing, and there are two orders I
follow: keep thermal energy flowing through so I won’t freeze and kill
anything that moves through the mana particles I use to track the monsters.
Even then, the time comes when the last notification sounds, and after
sending my senses into the area, I feel no presence.
A surprise hits me, and with it, a hint of disappointment. I start coming
back to my senses and to this dead, dark world with only stars lighting it.
The second Beyond trial.
Once again, I stagger toward the closest corpse and stab the sword into
it, the blade hungrily sucking on the mana and strengthening my body.
That’s when I promise to myself that my next epic passive will be a
healing one, either a strengthened version of my current one or a better one.
Actually, should I go and buy a rare passive now to heal me?
After restoring my eyes for a moment and checking the timer, a greedy
part of me decides against it. I would rather save for a stronger passive than
buy a weak one. The fight is over anyway, and I’ll soon have Lily to heal
my dumb ass.
With ten minutes remaining until the end of the trial, I stand up and start
moving back into the valley between the mountains.
Only five minutes remain when I stop in front of the door, my chest
moving up and down heavily even after a small usage of mana to get here
faster.
The next four minutes I spend staring at the inscriptions and
remembering as many as I can, even etching simpler versions of them into a
mana stone I have on me. They don’t do anything, and it’s more akin to
drawing on paper, just that the mana stones are much more expensive, yet I
do not hesitate and do it as much as I can.
One minute left.
The world starts feeling as if it freezes over. I hear no sound, and
nothing moves at all. In the deafening silence, even mana inside my body
refuses to move, and so does my mana heart. Only by checking the timer do
I confirm that time didn’t freeze, as it continues to tick down.
Then a whisper sounds in my head. (So very curious. Haven’t I met you
during your first Trial?)
 There isn’t any connection that I can cut off nor mana I can feel. The
voice is just there, in my head. The inscriptions on the door start glowing
even brighter, and the entire mountain feels as if it’s shaking.
“Who are you?” I ask.
(Just an intent I left in the tutorial,) the voice says, as if it explains
everything, yet it only creates more questions for me.
“Why?”
(To mess with @*--?#)!) It pauses, and I can nearly feel amusement
from it. (So she censored even her name.) This time, it laughs, the mountain
shaking even more, and big pieces fall all around as it continues to crack.
The inscriptions glow in a painfully intense light, and I feel sick just
from sensing the enormous amount of mana they contain and manipulate.
Five seconds remaining.
“Who is she?” I ask my last question.
(The Ruler of Greed, obviously.)
Then I get forced out.
No portal appears near me; it’s just my body that is yanked backward,
everything around me turning into a blur. When it all stops, I find myself in
the underground area under the house.
I sense that I triggered some sort of trap, and when I send my senses
into the area, I realize that it’s only Sophie’s vastly improved web that
surrounds the house. The effect I triggered is something akin to detection or
a doorbell.
(Welcome back.) I let Sophie connect to my mind through her web.
(Can you send Lily here?) I ask while sliding to the ground, my back
against the wall.
Huh, there is still so much blood?
(I did it already. Are you…)
I do not hear the rest of the words, and finally, after a week, I let myself
pass out. My last thought is that Lily will be pissed off.

When I get back to myself, I decide to keep my eyes closed and neither
move nor change the way I breathe. Instead, I only send my senses and
detect three people in the room: Lily, Tess, and Hadwin.
 “So how is he?” Hadwin asks first.
At least a few hours must have passed already, so this looks more like
he and Tess are checking on me while Lily heals me.
But there is one question: does she need to touch me that much? I mean,
it’s probably so her powers can more easily enter my body and all, but it
still feels a bit awkward having her hand move on my chest and around the
wounds there.
“If I use [Sacrifice], I can heal him much faster, but I don’t think it’s
needed. His passive did help a bit.” I hear contempt in Lily’s voice, as if she
is looking down at my rare-graded passive.
That’s quite rude. Pyrokinetic Resurgence is trying its best.
“Well, you can tell him he almost died and you saved his life, Lily,”
Hadwin says in a way a grandpa would talk to his favorite grandchild.
In answer, Lily giggles and jokingly says something back.
I didn’t even notice they became so close. It feels a bit awkward finding
it out. Sure, enough time passed to create friendships between people in the
group, yet it still feels a bit weird.
“We will go. There is a quest to scout the territory around the ants.
Apparently, they are even closer now, and if it continues this way, they will
get to the city in a month or two.” Tess sighs.
Oh boy.
“Take care,” Lily shouts as they leave, and I hear the doors close.
For a while, Lily continues to send her mana into me, and I observe it. I
compare it to her skill from a few weeks ago, and the difference is huge.
Lily is slowly but surely becoming really good at it.
Out of nowhere, she pinches and twists the skin on my right collarbone.
“I know you are awake.”
Should I start fake-snoring and pretend to sleep?
Lily pinches again, and I finally open my eyes. “That’s rude.”
“It’s rude to think I wouldn’t notice my patient being awake.” She
snorts and lets go of me. “You should get rid of your passive skill. To be
honest, it’s pathetic how weak it is.”
“It helped me a lot.” I try to defend my innocent skill.
“I could heal better even on the second floor.” The black-haired healer
doesn’t seem to be impressed.
Looking around, I realize that I’m on the bed in my room. Feeling the
weight on my legs, I look down to see a big burrito reminding me of a corgi
sleeping on them.
“He stayed with you the entire time and refused to leave. Even when
Izzy tried to lure him out with some food,” Lily says.
“I see,” I get out of myself. “How long?”
“Only a bit over a day.”
Huh, that’s not that bad. Slowly, I’m improving. I should start working
on my new construct to help me deal with these situations. First, I will need
to get into healing a bit more. Traditional healing like Lily’s isn’t something
I was able to get in, but healing through thermal energy with my passive
seems like something that I could work with.
Before I realize it, Lily pinches my nose. “You are spacing out again.
You always do that,” she complains. “Your eyes start looking even more
distant. So what are you thinking about?” She pauses. “Women?” Her eyes
are cheeky as she asks.
Little twerp, pipsqueak! How dare she use my nose-pinching maneuver
against me!
“Yesh, I thoukht about phwoman,” I say while she keeps my nose
pinched.
Our eyes meet, she pinches even harder and twists a bit, but then slowly,
a smile crawls on her lips.
She starts laughing, and I can hear relief in her voice as her laugh
sounds in the room. “I’m glad you are fine, Nathaniel.” Lily’s voice is soft.

When Lily leaves, I reach to boop Biscuit’s nose to feel manlier, but then I
see him sleeping peacefully and remember Lily saying that he stayed with
me the entire time. With a sigh, I stop myself from doing so and lie back on
the bed, careful not to wake him up.
So weak! I’m so weak! Damn, what would Victoria say if she saw me
like that? Actually, I don’t even have to think about it; I can imagine her
words: “Just do whatever you want, Nat.” That’s just how she is.
“Status,” I whisper quietly to not wake up Biscuit.

[Name: Nathaniel Gwyn]

Difficulty: Hell
 Floor: 4 - Waning Realm
Time left until forced return: 4y 125d 10h 2m 6s
Traits (1/3): Mana Circuit

Level 182
Strength: 85
Dexterity: 87
Constitution: 223
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 686 + 686

[Primary Class: Focused Channeler (Epic)]

[Subclass: [Initiate of Pride]]
Active skills:
Focus (Dual Focus Consolidation) - Level 40
Mana Manipulation (Advanced Mana Manipulation) - Level 41
Perception - Level 39
Redistribution (Symbiotic Transference) - Level 38
Armament - Level 40
Mana Infusion - Level 37
Resonance - Level 31
Mana Domain - Level 15
Tether - Level 9

Constructs:
Reinforcement (Construct)
Kinetic Mana Heart (Construct)
Mana Regulator (Construct)
Mana Sovereignty Mantle (Construct)

Passive skills:
Cerebral Harmony (rare)
Mana-Fortified Resilience (rare)
Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)
Mana Reservoir (epic)
Arcane Resilience (epic)

Tokens:
Beyond Difficulty entrance token
 Active skill combination token (low-grade)

Shards: 3,032

Nice, the reward of 1,000 shards is already here. I have gained twelve
levels, three of them from that annoying beast. A few skills leveled up too,
and broke through a bottleneck, meaning that I need to get two more skills
over Level 40 to get a skill upgrade token as a reward from a side quest.
Well, maybe I will ignore this quest and just use the active skill
combination token as it seems much more useful than the skill upgrade
token. It could also take me a few weeks to break through the skill
bottleneck to Level 40.
But the biggest reward surely is the way I used [Armament]. A mecha-
like armor allowed me to increase my size and fight against a much bigger
monster that was resistant to my ranged attacks.
With a few improvements, this could become terrifyingly strong, even
though right now I should hesitate to use it. My proficiency is still terrible,
so it used way too much mana and the process was so bad, it put a useless
strain on my body. A few weeks of experimenting with it should improve it
further and add another weapon to my arsenal.
But now for the thing I want to check the most.
“Use active skill combination token.”

You have used an active skill combination token. Please pick two skills
from the following ones you would like to combine.
Warning! Combining two skills will reduce the level of the acquired
skill.
Warning! A combination of not-compatible skills can result in worse
skills.
Warning! After combining the skills, it will become extremely difficult
to acquire the skills used for combination.
List of available skills to combine:
Mana Manipulation (Advanced Mana Manipulation) - Level 41
Perception - Level 39
Mana Infusion - Level 37
Armament - Level 40
 Tether - Level 7

Oh, so [Focus], [Redistribution], [Resonance], and [Mana Domain]

are not available for combination. It can either mean that the skills are just
too high tier to be used this way, or the skill combination token is too low
tier, and I would need to acquire a stronger one to actually combine these
skills.
Well, it doesn’t matter; I wouldn’t use it on either of those four skills.
They are way too important to me to use them this way.

[Mana Manipulation] with [Perception]

[Mana Manipulation] with [Mana Infusion]
[Mana Manipulation] with [Tether]
[Mana Manipulation] with [Armament]
[Perception] with [Mana Infusion]
[Perception] with [Tether]
[Perception] with [Armament]
[Mana Infusion] with [Tether]
[Mana Infusion] with [Armament]
[Tether] with [Armament]

Now then, I have ten possible combinations. Let’s get into theorizing.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 19
HATCHED EGG

F
irst, I look at [Mana Manipulation]. It’s probably the skill I use the
most, and even though it’s not as high-tiered as some others I have, I
still hesitate. For someone like me, the skill is extremely important,
and I don’t know what would happen if I got rid of it, so let’s rather keep it.
That leaves me with six options.
[Perception] with [Mana Infusion] would probably vastly improve my
detection of mana. Maybe even allow me to feel it better and, in the end,
improve the way I use it.
[Perception] with [Tether] would most likely improve my placement of
anchors. A new skill could straight-up end up being some sort of teleport.
That doesn’t sound bad at all.
[Perception] with [Armament] would most likely end up being a skill
that would make my mana creations “smarter” and maybe even allow me to
program some behavior. Or maybe not, it sounds weird.
Then there is [Mana Infusion] with [Tether]. So maybe something to
create traps that I can infuse with more mana or some stronger ranged
attack?
[Tether] with [Armament], I don’t even know what to imagine.
[Tether] is still a bit weird, so I have trouble with that.
And then there is an option I like the most. Especially since I saw Maya
using it and I used it on my own in the second Beyond trial.
[Mana Infusion] and [Armament]. I used both skills this way to infuse
mana into my armor, which made it much stronger. An improved version of
that would make my mecha-like armor even stronger, projectiles as well.
To be honest, this might be the first time I could really use a lot of my
mana. What I did before while fighting the beast is extremely mana-hungry
but also really strong, especially against opponents who can ignore my
ranged attacks. Weirdly, even with all that mana, getting up close and
personal is a great option.
And then there is also an idea I have had for some time that might allow
me to circumvent the system a bit.
For one more time, I look at [Perception] with [Tether]. It sure sounds
like teleport. But who needs to teleport when I can create giant armor
around myself and just stomp an asshole? Plus I can just improve my
[Tether] and [Mana Domain] for maybe even better results.
“I want to combine [Mana Infusion] and [Armament],” I say quietly,
still careful not to wake up Biscuit.

Congratulations, you have successfully combined [Mana Infusion] and

[Armament]!
A new skill has been created.
You have acquired [Regalia]
[Regalia - Level 0 > Regalia - Level 6]

Damn, [Armament] was at Level 40 and [Mana Infusion] at 37, so

this skill better be cool as heck. The name is a bit weird when comparing it
to other skills, but not in a bad way.
I start creating a mana orb over the palm of my hand, and my mana
moves there easily, the orb nearly instantly changing to dark blue with
wisps of pale blue mana inside. Observing it tells me that I need to push just
a little for it to turn into a tricolored orb. The speed is just that immense.
The orb itself feels heavier than before and even denser. I would need to test
it a bit more, but it feels much tougher while still listening to me as before
and moving according to my will.
The best part of it is that the skill is at Level 6 only, in comparison to
[Armament], which used to be Level 40. I mean, I won’t complain, but
isn’t this too much?
I reduce the density a bit, and the orb becomes a lighter, more
transparent shade of light blue, but it moves much faster and changes shape
however I want, expanding, shrinking, all according to my will.
Right now, I really want to pump more mana into it and try to create
armor, but the cute corgi sleeping on my legs holds me back. I guess I will
have to stay here for a while.
 Now then, back to a little bit of scamming.
I expand the orb in my hand, turning it into a dagger, and then try to fill
it with more mana. It obviously works, either using [Mana Manipulation]
or [Regalia] to do so. But this is not what I want to do. I’ve long since
learned to infuse my creations with thermal or kinetic energy, and ever
since the third floor, I was attempting to infuse them with my skills.
Even back then, my goal was to turn [Mana Infusion] into [Infusion],
and now with the skill out of the way, it seems as good a time to try. I
already made a lot of attempts over the past few months, even before the
end of the third floor.
I close my eyes. Let’s try it.

(Food?) I hear with my mind and open my eyes.

Biscuit is lying on my chest with his front legs on my collarbones.
When I look at him, he tilts his head, a pink tongue sticking out slightly. His
eyes are still not fully open, and he seems to be sleepy, as if he just woke
up.
“Everything is fine.”
(Food food?)
“Yes, I swear, it’s fine now.” I reach out, and after touching his tongue,
ruffle the top of his head.
(Food.)
“Yes, I know, the next time, I will try not to be away for that long.”
Only after I say that does he woof and put his head on my chest. Then,
while listening to my heartbeat, he yawns and closes his eyes again.
Such a good boy.
I check the status. [Infusion] is already at Level 13, and even [Regalia]
leveled up once.
In the end, it was easier than I thought, and I got [Infusion] nearly
immediately after I started my attempts to get it. That makes me wonder if
[Mana Infusion] held me back from acquiring it or if there is something
else at work. But that doesn’t sound right, as before I evolved my [Mana
Perception] into [Perception]. It could also be caused by me going through
the second Beyond trial and my experience with the door and improvement
of Mantle.
Carefully, I sit up and then stand up, holding Biscuit in my arms. He
continues to sleep, and I move carefully, even using [Redistribution] to
absorb some shocks as I walk to not wake him up.
Thankfully, I’m already wearing clothes. Someone also washed me
while changing them, and at this point, I’m too worried to ask who. Neither
of the options seems good, so I’d rather ignore it.
Outside of my room, I send my sense through the house and detect the
twins.
When I get to the kitchen, Aaron and Dennis are sitting on the couch, as
always, both close to each other and drawing something on a bunch of
papers in front of them, seemingly theorizing about the uses of their skills
and weaknesses of the monsters they hunt.
As they see me, they wave and, noticing sleeping Biscuit, stay quiet.
Both of them pretend to be normal, but I’ve long since noticed that no
matter how friendly they look or how much they joke or talk with me, there
is still a hint of carefulness.
Unlike Min-Jae, they don’t like me that much. It’s most likely caused by
the impression I gave them on the first floor, or they just don’t have as
trusting a personality as Min-Jae. To be honest, I don’t mind it. They have a
reason why they act the way they do, and it’s not something that bothers me
too much. I don’t need people to like me or anything.
I sit on the couch with Biscuit still in my arms and look at them.
“How was the second trial?” Dennis asks quietly, and I use
[Resonance] to cut off the sound around Biscuit so we won’t wake him up.
Then I shortly and without too much description tell them about the
second trial. Like everyone in the group, they also already know about
Beyond yet show not even a tiny bit of interest in going there. They are just
curious, and as I talk, they listen carefully, asking questions once in a while.
It reminds me of someone watching an action movie; that’s how it feels.
Aaron and Dennis are both really similar. By similar, I mean nearly the
same. Their personality and behavior are nearly identical, a sentiment
confirmed by both of them having exactly the same skills.
The only way I can tell them apart is by their mana, but here I also
noticed that they are trying to work on that. They know I distinguish them
by mana, so they work on a way to confuse me, trying to duplicate
signatures.
I still don’t know if they do it as training or just to troll me. With them,
either of the options could be it.
“I heard ants were seen close to the city,” I say at one point.
“Yup, lynthari don’t like it at all, and I haven’t see them hissing and
nya-ing so much ever since we came here. Ants didn’t attack or anything,
not yet, but apparently, in a few weeks, they should be here with their
speed,” Dennis says.
Aaron also joins in. “Obelia was also looking for you. Something about
an expedition and auction. Myrra also came.” He giggles. “Lily was so
mad.”
“What is this bitch doing here again? Nathaniel should clearly tell her
he is not interested in old women,” Dennis mimics Lily’s voice, and that
makes Aaron laugh even more, yet he does it quietly, still worried about not
waking up the best doggo.
But damn, Lily sure has no chill. Obelia looks barely thirty.
“I must never become weaker than Lily.” I don’t really know why I say
it out loud instead of keeping it in my mind.
Even the twins seem surprised, but soon they smile.
“I never thought of that. I wonder what would happen to you if you
were weaker.” Dennis’s quiet laugh sounds in the room.
“I’m more and more sure Lily is an Initiate of Lust,” Aaron joins in
without hesitation.
Then the twins continue to joke with me. It’s barely noticeable, but their
laugh seems a tiny bit more real than before.

Later that night, Sophie and Izzy return first, followed by Maya.
Maya greets me first and tells me about the spot where she hid good
snacks, and then she disappears to take a shower.
I’m already impatient to show off my new skill to her, but this will wait.
Biscuit is awake and well, floating around and annoying people to get
some food. As if offering a sacrifice to keep their souls, everyone gives him
something, and the corgi floats to another target. Who would want to mess
with a divine beast with one of the rare Primordial energies? Surely not I.
I notice that Izzy is holding her arms behind her back as if hiding
something, and when I try to probe with my mana, she shouts angrily, “No,
don’t look!” and stomps off. That sends a weak pulse of mana from her that
blocks my vision.
It only makes me more curious.
“The egg has hatched,” Sophie tells me while putting away their gear.
My curiosity grows even bigger. What could be inside the egg that cost
5,000 shards? An amount close to an epic passive.
“Izzy?” I say carefully, but she seems to be waiting for something.
“Please?” I add.
She seems to hesitate but still shakes her head. “You will have to tell
Biscuit to be more friendly with…” She pauses, then says, “With my and
Sophie’s pet!”
Just tell me the name already, you silly girl. “I will tell him that, I
promise,” I say, still curious about what kind of beast it is that Biscuit
apparently doesn’t like.
For Izzy, such a promise is enough, and she runs to me, taking her hand
from behind her back and showing me an animal. It is a beautiful white
snake with emerald green eyes that have a surprisingly intelligent look in
them.
The snake looks toward me, sticks out its tongue, and I can feel it…
tasting my mana? That’s the best way I can describe it. Then the snake tries
to move closer to me.
“Oh, he really likes you! He didn’t do it with anyone else,” Izzy says,
surprised but also a bit annoyed.
The snake seems to like my mana, not me, you silly girl, I want to say.
There is no text over its head, and the creature still feels somewhat weak.
“Izzy, I have a few ideas for a name.” I can’t help myself. The snake
looks cool, even though it’s still small and wrapped around Isabella’s arm.
“Maybe something like Hissarion, Whitey, Emeraldie, Snek, Jörmungandr.”
“Oh, you don’t have to. We already have a name!” Izzy stops me.
“Izzy picked it,” Sophie joins in the conversation.
I already know where this is going.
“We call him Noodle!” the little girl says proudly.
 Noodle looks first at her and then at me. It might be only me, but his
eyes seem tired.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 20
NEW GROUP MEMBER

I
continue to look at Noodle, and he looks at me; soon, we both come to
an understanding.
We are the same.
Noodle here is introverted as well, suffering under the hand of his
energetic, extroverted child owner.
“Hang in there, buddy,” I say. As I do, he sticks out his tongue and
swivels it toward me, once again tasting my mana.
For a moment, it also looks like he is trying to reach me, but Isabella
quickly hides him, and I can see a hint of jealousy on her face. “Noodle is
mine!” she fights back.
Meanwhile, Sophie shakes her head while looking at me. “I’ve noticed
it a few times, but animals really like you. Biscuit, some from the city, now
even Noodle… What are you? A Disney princess?”
Too proud to answer, I just ignore her and pass by Izzy. While doing so,
I send a bit of my mana toward the white snake, and I notice him opening
his mouth a bit and swallowing it. The cute little snake seems to enjoy it.
We introverts have to stick together.
“I will go to the city for a bit,” I tell Sophie before leaving, and she nods
in acknowledgment.
Once outside, I boost my body and lift up into the air, flying over the
houses and toward Obelia’s guilds.
The Guild House of Storm Brigade is one of the highest towers in the
city. It’s really wide, allowing nearly anything they need to fit in. A place to
sleep, training areas, learning areas, and labs. Just all in one. The walls of
the tower are interwoven with circuits that have mana flowing through
them. The circuits strengthen it and have detection in them. I also long since
noticed some nasty traps hidden there, ready to activate.
I land just outside the garden that surrounds the tower from all sides and
then walk toward it. The air here is also filled with multiple effects that
make flying much more difficult.
At the door, I meet two guards who greet me, used to my visits from
before. Yet they still reach their hand toward me, and I send a bit of my
mana at them.
Using an item, they collect it and find it in their database, only then
allowing me in after greeting me. Apparently, I have one of the highest
possible clearances. Either thanks to Tess, who is Obelia’s third disciple, or
thanks to me being the guild master of Angry Kittens.
After getting inside, I get going and fly through the tunnel made for
people with this ability and get to the highest floor. There, I stop in front of
the door to Obelia’s quarters. As a guild master, she takes up the entire
floor, the inscriptions in the wall denser, and the floor has an office,
shielded labs, a strengthened training area, and a vault. Anything she would
need.
It doesn’t take long, and Obelia herself comes to greet me. Knowing it’s
me, she doesn’t even wear the uniform Storm Brigade uses, just some
comfortable-looking, homely clothes. When dealing with me or Tess, she
just does that. Otherwise, she is uptight and nearly always formal with her
guild.
“What can I thank for your visit?” she says, dropping formalities.
She leads me toward the outer wall and then onto a balcony that
oversees the city. Here both of us sit, and for a moment, I take in the view.
No matter how many times I get there, I still continue to enjoy it.
“I just wanted to ask you for a few more pieces of ethercrystal and
selenium,” I ask.
From my testing, I found that these two materials are nice to work with,
and both are good at holding or leading mana. Sure, there are some that are
even better; it’s just that they are too expensive for how little I would be
able to get.
“I will have them delivered to your house tomorrow morning,” Obelia
says without much hesitation, and I just nod.
After a while, I ask, “How is Tess doing?”
 That makes her look at me, her silver eyes calm, yet I see them
changing a bit. Obelia seems to be proud and maybe a bit jealous of Tess,
her disciple for a few months already.
“Tess is amazing. She already dealt with my second disciple, and the
first one is avoiding her at all costs.” She smiles just a little bit. “Tess is
fierce, and when they started trying to control her, worried for their spot as
first and second disciples, she just beat them up.”
Obelia then lifts up her hand, and red lightning starts crackling on her
palm; it’s similar to Tess’s, but not too much. Tess has white-and-red
lightning that feels purer and more dangerous than what Obelia is doing.
And the guild master of the Storm Brigade seems to know it as well.
“There was progress. Just a little bit, but even that is more than I was able
to do in the past ten years.” The lightning disappears.
“Sometimes I wonder where you two came from. Also, some of your
guild members. Your skills are…something else,” Obelia says, but the tone
of her voice makes it clear that she doesn’t expect an answer.
“What’s with the ants?” I ask instead, to change the subject.
“Three or four weeks at most and they will get too close to the city, so
we will push back against them. The lynthari have a territory they won’t let
them enter, so if that happens, there will be war.” Her eyes become distant.
“We would attack much sooner, but there aren’t that many of them, and
they don’t even build tunnels. It’s all too weird, to be honest, so even the
lynthari don’t know how to react.”
“I see, it’s really a mystery,” I say and quickly change the subject.
“Some time ago, you did talk about an expedition and auction. Do you still
count me in?”
“That’s something I wanted to talk with you about. The expedition can
start in three days if you are willing to join. If everything goes according to
plan, it will take two days, if something screws up, it will take three to
five.”
“So five days for the expedition.”
Obelia nods. “As for the auction, it’s set to start a few days after we
finish the expedition, so that is also fine. I have a spot for you and two more
people saved.”
“Sounds good. Then a few days after the auction, we can start with the
Living Tree. I will be ready by then.” I stand up. “Will you let Myrra know
and send someone with more information on the expedition and auction?”
 Obelia just nods, and I step toward the balcony. [Resonance] activates,
and I jump from it, the skill allowing me to ignore my anti-fly safeguards.
Hopefully, there will be some strong monsters on the expedition. The
ones around or a bit further away from the city are way too weak for me
currently. But something tells me I will have my fun soon, the Living Tree,
then the Colony, and after both are dealt with, the Fallen Hero. I totally
won’t deal with one Calamity only; I will get rid of these three and then
find the fourth one.
When I land, I start walking again, this time toward a huge training area
somewhere near the middle of the city. The entire area is built on weird
gray polished stone, remains from times long past.
The gray stone that covers the area is indestructible. Literally. I have
tried everything and was unable to even scratch it. No one knows what kind
of stone it is or what purpose it is for, so they just decided to turn it into an
area where people fight without constantly creating craters.
I think I would like whoever decided to do that.
As she often does, Isola duels and trains there, wearing a tee that shows
her pale yet muscular body and a big piece of her slim belly with a hint of
abs.
Isola likes to fight—no, she loves to fight—and lately, she has become
my go-to punching ba…training partner when I want to test something. She
doesn’t seem to mind and, scarily, I noticed her getting better and better at
countering my skills. We haven’t gone full-out yet, but it’s clear that she has
an immense talent for battle as well as a strong competitive spirit.
She is easygoing, always bored, and looking for fun things to do. She is
also a total musclehead yet weirdly smart when it comes to fighting.
“Feral Angry Kitten, welcome!” She immediately ditches her sparring
partner and comes rushing to me, a big smile on her face.
Unlike Elydor, she says our guild name without ill intention or
contempt, so I don’t mind it that much.
Isola is already preparing to fight, and I can see her mana starting to
activate, strengthening her stupidly strong body even more.
I give her a short greeting, and then [Regalia] activates as I use it to
surround myself with armor. Unlike the old one, this one is even more
dangerous looking. It’s not as bulky, being nearly skin-tight, yet its design is
improved by the skill itself and then even more by my Pride subclass.
Simple but beautiful and somewhat regal feeling.
 “Oh, this is a new one!” Isola says excitedly, her skin-tight barrier
already surrounding her body, and she adds to it even more as a reaction to
my improved skill.
She attacks first, and I stand there, watching as her fist is about to hit
me. Before it does, I decide to use kinetic energy and send it through the
armor with the help of [Infusion].
Her fist hits the middle of my chest and that’s all. A ripple appears on
the blue armor, sent through its entirety. Like a stone thrown into a calm
lake.
At the same time, I feel the effect of [Infusion] that combined with
[Regalia]. My mana rushes into the armor at the point of hit, strengthening
it and then using infused kinetic energy to absorb the energy of Isola’s
attack.
I feel nothing; my body doesn’t move at all. The armor absorbs it all,
and kinetic energy flows through it instead of being sent inside my body.
“Interesting!” Without hesitation, she switches stance, mana appearing
from intricate tattoos on her forearms, and she hits me with an attack,
switching to attacks that use mana.
Again and again, she hits me, yet the result is similar. The kinetic
energy of her attacks gets absorbed, and mana attacks crash against the
armor. At places where they damage it, more mana rushes there, filling the
cracks and repairing the armor.
The drain on my mana is noticeable even with the amount of mana I
possess. I start moving as well, and using the kinetic energy I’ve collected, I
punch at Isola. She dodges it, and we continue to exchange punches and
kicks, moving all over the area.
The more we fight, the more I realize how amazing the skill is,
especially in combination with [Infusion] that adds properties to it.
Closer to the end of the fight, I disable the armor and start creating
projectiles using [Regalia]. Even they are much stronger and unlike those
from our spars before, Isola isn’t able to disrupt or destroy them. The
decision I made seems to be really good so far.

When I return to the house, I find that everyone is back inside.

 Ignoring the front door, I carefully pass through Sophie’s web, able to
do so without triggering traps or alarms, thanks to my extensive help in
creating it.
After jumping onto my balcony, I look at Tess, who is standing there.
She is resting against the railing and looking down at the city that is already
filled with colorful lights as the night came. Tess seems to be thinking, so I
just join her in silence.
The wind continues to blow, and unlike most of the time, her hair isn’t
tied into a ponytail and just waves in the wind, even at night showing its
pretty blond color.
When she turns to me, her steel-gray eyes are serious, and I see a hint of
excitement and worry in them. “I was able to combine two of my skills,”
she says simply, “[Lightning Armor] and [Lightning Manipulation].”
She names her old skill and the skill she was able to get around two weeks
ago.
Tess uses her mana to feed her new skill, and the moment it activates, I
realize how powerful it is, not dissimilar to my [Regalia].
Slowly, red-and-white lightning moves and collects over her head, at
first creating a halo that hovers there, then the halo changes its shape a bit,
turning into a crown made from red-and-white lightning. The tips of that
crown turn slightly yellow as if heated metal. The power of her new
lightning is extremely pure.
“It’s called [Storm Crown],” Tess says, the lightning brightening her
blond hair and face. Even before she continues, I know what it means. “Nat,
I can now enter Beyond first trial.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 21
THE SECOND STRONGEST
MEMBER OF GROUP 4

I
spent the rest of the day and a big part of another helping Tess to get
used to her skill.
[Storm Crown], while activated, improves her control over
lightning by a lot. It also allows her to let lightning flow through her body
and create something like [Lightning Armor] from before. In some ways,
it’s a bit similar to my [Regalia].
As I watch Tess use it and feel the force behind her attacks, I can’t help
but feel admiration for her. She is extremely hardworking, in both dealing
with people from our group, all the planning, and even with her training.
I don’t think I ever saw her skip a day of training, and similarly to Izzy,
she also always walks around the house with some of her skills activated.
All of that transformed into her being the second person from our group
about to enter Beyond. Other than her, only Lily and Min-Jae have shown
interest in it.
Lily should be fine with her skills and after gaining some levels, but
Min-Jae… It’s something to deal with. He is strong and has improved a lot,
he also works hard, yet he is missing something that is hard to describe.
“It’s easier than I thought. The new skill feels like a combination of my
old ones, keeping them intact but adding to them while strengthening them
as well,” Tess says.
She then gestures with her hand, a dozen lightning arrows shooting at
me, only to be met by a shield made of [Regalia]. I didn’t infuse it with any
other skills, but it’s vastly stronger than before.
“My subclass also seems to be working nicely with it.” As she says so,
[Storm Crown] activates again, and the crown that floats over her head
shines brighter, created by red-and-white lightning.
 Tess, without any gesture, moves her dozen javelins toward her, each of
them rare graded and made of endurium. Lightning cracks around her body,
and she fills the weapons with it. All at once, they fly at me.
This time, the shield I make is much thicker, and I infuse it with
[Resonance].
The javelins stab into it, but the moment they do so, I feel a pull on my
mana and my skill disrupts the lightning.
Tess uses her skill, and the javelins that she declared to be hers fly back
and float behind her back.
The look in her eyes changes, and she opens her mouth. “I declare this
to be my domain.” The tone of her voice is different, as if she is forcing the
world to listen to her will.
That’s her [Declaration].
It takes a toll on her, and I can feel the amount of mana it uses, even
making her [Storm Crown] flicker. Yet it works, and her mana fills a
spherical area around her in a similar way my [Mana Domain] does.
Within that domain, lightning continues to flicker in the air, ready to bend
to her will, and the stones on the ground start to float upward.
Tess pushes more, and the crown over her hair shines brighter. Her
blond hair floats, lightning passing through the strands.
The blast of lightning comes out of nowhere, without giving me a
chance to feel it, and crashes against my strengthened body. Pushed by it, I
absorb my inertia, and [Resonance] activates, weakening her domain and
pushing against her.
Each of Tess’s skills activates faster within her declared domain, and the
javelins that fly at me move as if they have their own mind, each with a
different speed and trajectory, but all of them are trailed by lightning.
Sliding into [Focus], I calmly observe them, and strengthening my
body, I deflect all of them.
The lightning that fails to damage me floats in the air and gets pulled to
Tess, spinning around her body. The moment the ground explodes under
her, she shoots a sharp blast of concentrated Primordial energy at me. It’s
fast, very fast, and it pierces the barrier I create and fails to push further,
crashing against a glove made of [Regalia] that I infused with
[Resonance].
My [Mana Domain] activates as well and starts clashing against Tess’s.
I feed it more mana until I win over her skill and cancel it.
 I create an anchor behind Tess’s back and send kinetic energy to it. I do
it much faster than before, and Tess barely reacts by creating a lightning
armor around her before my attack throws her to the side.
Then she is nearly out of mana, and I stop my attacks. The time we
spent testing and her [Declaration] spent the last big remaining chunks of
her mana.
“I liked your last attack,” I say as I grab a bottle from a bench nearby
and throw it to her. “With a bit of practice, it could become really deadly.”
Tess grabs the bottle and takes a sip while moving a strand of hair off
her forehead. She also seems to be thinking and replaying our fight. “I
prefer quicker and weaker attacks. This one uses too much mana and takes a
bit longer than I would like to use.”
“There is a simple solution to that.”
“More mana?”
“More mana,” I confirm to her amusement.
“Looking at my skill, I guess I will have to.” She sits down while letting
out a loud sigh. “I will also go for Potency and upgrade my mana attribute. I
think it combines the best with my skills and subclass.”
“Come on, don’t be shy. Just say out loud that your subclass is
Chastity.” I plop next to her.
My teasing gets me a poke with her finger into my ribs and a small
smile. “Any other advice for Beyond?”
“Just don’t die.”
“Obviously, that’s a priority.”
“No, Tess, I really mean it,” I say.
Something in my voice makes her expression change, and the look she
gives me is hard to describe.
I continue, “You keep spewing all this bullshit about camaraderie and
about you taking care of everything.” I lower the effect of [Focus], which
most of the time weakens my anxiety, fear, and other useless emotions.
As I do so, I can feel something that I can describe only as worry. “Do
not dare to die,” I repeat.
Early the next day, Lily, Tess, and I sit down in the basement. Tess is in top
condition, wearing armor that used to be Edwal’s and that was changed to
fit her. She has multiple mana batteries with her, and a dozen endurium rare
javelins float behind her back.
The Beyond’s first trial will take one hour, so she takes no food, and in
case something changes, she can use the system shop to buy some.
Her mana is filled to the brim, and [Storm Crown] is already activated,
collecting and storing lightning energy in a similar way I do with my orbs.
It’s already been plenty of hours since she started with it, and at this point,
the amount of lightning energy it holds is quite scary.
I would like her to collect more, no matter how much she complains
about not wanting to blow off half of the street. Unfortunately, Tess
currently can’t contain and hold more.
She also refuses to wait longer, saying that she needs to experience the
danger of Beyond and can’t just get there when getting much stronger.
That’s something that is easier to understand.
I watch as she stretches, fixes her armor, and then takes in a deep breath.
The entrance to the first trial appears in front of her, and she looks at us.
“See you in one hour,” she says and takes a step without hesitation. The
entrance disappears behind her.
Ten minutes pass in silence when Lily asks me, “Are you worried about
her?”
I give it a bit of thought and then nod, seeing no reason to lie. It’s silly, I
know; Tess is scary strong and stubborn. She will be fine. Yet, like a normal
human, I got used to people around me, to my schedule, to seeing them
around. Right now, taking some of it away from me annoys me.
“Would you be worried about me as well? When I also go there?” Lily
asks, her voice quiet.
At first, I just want to pinch her nose or ignore it the way I always do,
but when I look at her, I can see how serious she is. This is not just some
sort of jealousy she sometimes shows. No, what I can see is some deep
trauma that she seems to have and tries to hide.
It also makes me realize that I know almost nothing about her, other
than things I have learned in the tutorial.
“I would,” I tell her. I won’t know for sure until it happens, but I can say
with almost certainty that I would.
 Unlike her usual self, I see relief on her face. As if she was really
worried that I would say no. In the same way as most of us here, Lily also
didn’t have a nice life.
In the silence that ensues, we continue to wait.
Forty minutes remaining.
Thirty.
Five minutes.
A minute.
Ten seconds.
A portal appears, and Tess steps through it, immediately falling to her
knees. The lightning wildly cracks around her body, her eyes wild and
unfocused. She falls to the ground, a big chunk of her leg missing and a
hole in her side, the wound burned and closed by her lightning.
Then her eyes meet mine, and they clear for a moment. She looks proud
and slowly closes her eyes to let herself doze off. The moment she does so,
I feel her heartbeat slow down, and as I take a step toward her, white-and-
red lightning that still remains around her body bursts against me, hurting
me like a whip, burning wounds into my flesh. The same lightning hits her
own heart and restarts it, making her regain a normal heartbeat.
Lily passes by me, and her mana activates too. The lightning also shoots
against her, but the black-haired healer, annoyed, furrows her brow, and thin
wisps of gray mana shoot from her, clashing against the lightning and
disintegrating it.
For a moment, the two skills continue to clash, yet the gray, smoke-like
mana wins, getting rid of all the lightning.
Without any hesitation, Lily puts her hand on Tess and pushes her mana
into the blond woman’s body. Lily doesn’t use [Sacrifice]; she just heals
with her improved skill and with the entirety of her mana, and the wounds
close, even new flesh creating at places where it is missing. She pushes
until she is out of mana.
Tess’s breathing calms down, and her face looks peaceful, the pain
disappearing from it.
That’s when two of Lily’s fingers disappear, and new skin creates over
the wounds. Unlike the pale arm she made for me, this skin is the same tan
as Tess’s original skin. After observing the blonde a bit longer, another of
Lily’s fingers disappears, and she heals something I think are internal
wounds.
 When she is done, Tess looks almost like new.
Once again, I’m reminded why on each floor there are organizations
willing to kill to have capable healers in their ranks.
“She would have been fine without me, but now she doesn’t need days
to heal,” Lily says while turning to me, seemingly not bothered at all by her
missing fingers. “She did have a few smaller internal wounds, but I took
care of it.”
Lily then pretends to want to tie her hair into a ponytail but is unable to
do so because of missing fingers. The look she gives me is a bit cheeky, and
I immediately know what she wants.
After I get behind her and start slowly tying her hair into a ponytail, I
tell her, “You did well.”
“I did, didn’t I? Tess better be thankful.” Lily smiles, tilting her head a
bit, a big smile on her face. “Oh, and I got a few ideas of how I could
combine [Rejuvenation] and [Reshaping], so soon I will go there too!”
“Yes, yes, just level up a bit more. The amount of mana you hold is
pathetic, to be honest. You can’t keep sacrificing your fingers because of it.”
“I won’t be. Soon, I will learn how to [Sacrifice] items instead of them.
And since we are rich, I will be able to get myself plenty of small,
expensive items to do so.”
As Tess seems safe, I feel some tension leave my body, and my mood
improves as well. Obviously, I won’t show it to this pesky, black-haired
healer of ours. Lately, she has been too shameless, and I wonder if having
an annoying younger sibling would be like this.
“I am rich. You are just a leech,” I tell her.
“I am, am I not?” She giggles a bit. “Then are you technically my sugar
da⁠—”
Before she finishes, I tap the top of her head and poke her side. But that
only makes her laugh more.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 22
LITTLE PRINCESS

W
hen Tess wakes up, she is at first surprised by the people around
her. Only slowly she realizes that she is in the living room instead
of her room.
It was my idea. That’s what she gets for making me worry.
Unsurprisingly, Tess deals with people who immediately ask her
questions fairly quickly. A harsh look here, some lightning there. Yet I
notice that she is not that mad and realizes that they are just that worried.
Even though she is trying to hide it, I can see her smiling a bit.
This is the kind of camaraderie she always hoped for. People going
through the same terrible experience because of things out of their control
and learning to help and worry about each other.
All the attention is on Tess, and even Biscuit is there, and it takes a lot
of time until she patiently answers their questions while they keep offering
her food, snacks, and something to drink.
Tess’s first Beyond trial was different from mine. The area was the
same, but the monsters she had to deal with were different, with the end
boss being a Giant Troll, a variant of troll with immense regeneration and
huge stature that made it quite hard to kill.
A test seemingly to improve or check on her damage output, as Tess
usually prefers more and weaker attacks.
Her skills improved, and she leveled up, now being close to Level 150
and to getting her Primary class upgrade. I went to Beyond at around Level
120, while Tess went a bit over 140. I can see that it still annoys her a bit as
she is quite competitive.
When I check the Beyond Community, I see the change.
 Beyond 4/10

Unknown guy, Savant, me, Tess, that makes four of us here with
probably Lily being the next one. Damn, group 4 is quite dominating this
field, not like I will complain. More capable people means more of me
leeching off of them.
The others become rowdy as well, and Dennis starts shouting something
about them having to celebrate this, and I carefully disappear while
masking my mana signature.
Once outside, I take in the fresh air and boost myself, flying toward one
spot in the city. I get greeted by a few guards Obelia left there when I asked
her to. All three of them are over Level 150, which makes it quite
expensive.
After getting inside, I get welcomed by an older man with graying hair.

[Spellsmith - Level 79]

“Such a shame, I thought you forgot about it and I will get to keep the
items you left with me,” he jokes.
There in the middle of the table lies an Ethercrystal Shortsword, an epic
weapon that Elydor used to own. It’s surrounded by multiple weird
contraptions, a few mana stones, and even some metal rods with immensely
delicate inscribing.
Parts of my plan to kill the Living Tree.
“Maybe I can beat one guy and get you a nice epic dagger if you want,”
I offer.
I’m sure Lorven will piss me off once or twice in the future, so I can
take the dagger from him again.
“Yeah, no thanks. Just from your expression, I can tell I don’t want to
mess with it,” he says immediately.
Some people are scarily good at reading my expression, which rarely
changes. Skill, experience? Smelling my mood? All sorts of annoying stuff
exists.
“So how’s it going?” I ask.
The man has been helping me ever since the start. To my not-too-big
surprise, he is one of the best inscribers in the city and was even able to get
help from a few others, men and women similar to him who are more
excited to work on this project than by the amount of money they will get
for helping.
The amount of theory crafting they did in the last several months is
immense.
“We are mostly ready, but the inscribing is something you will have to
do. Not even combined do we have enough mana or levels in required skills
to inscribe an epic-graded weapon.” He sighs. “It would be amazing to
work on it, but I can live with just observing it.”
He points at a few mana stones on the table. “There are some
improvements we came up with, so please check them out.”
I nod and take the stones. Then I spend a few minutes examining what
they have prepared for me. Some things are just straight-up efficiency
improvements, while others are here like crutches to make inscribing easier,
but I immediately scratch them up inside the stone. I won’t be needing that
with the amount of mana I possess and the force in the stones.
For a moment, I close my eyes, replay the frequency of the Living
Tree’s barrier, and make some changes.
Obviously, the Tree might change it up, but I just set the base that I can
quickly change when needed. In the end, I take a bigger mana stone and
inscribe it all inside, the final version.
When I hand it to the older man, he just shakes his head. “It always
terrifies me how quickly you can inscribe something onto a mana stone that
is highly rated.” He then spends some time examining it while I’m checking
the materials.
Everything seems fine and ready to go. I will take the sword, and we
will go on an expedition with Obelia in a day or two. Then the auction and,
after that, I can finish my secret weapon.
Tree Obliterator 9000.
“By the way, the Craft Guild offered for you to join again. This time,
they offer you the position of honorary vice guild master,” he says, and I
can see he is smiling.
“Again?” I sigh.
“Yes, they don’t want to give up.”
“One would think they have better things to do. Just tell them to
practice.”
 “Well, it’s your fault for letting out some of your inscriptions. Some of
them are revolutionary to the point I think you do not realize.”
Huh, I just did it for fun while working with the old man. “Ask money
from them if they are so annoying they can at least pay.”
“Yes, yes,” he says almost absentmindedly, and I see he is examining
the mana stone I inscribed. His expression shows how happy he is,
examining it, and I can almost hear all the new ideas swirling inside his
head.
“Are you sure about this?” He steps closer.
As before, there is no hesitation, and I have a feeling that he wouldn’t
care even if I were a Champion or Absolute; that’s how much he enjoys
talking about his craft.
This silly old man also refused any form of payment, only asking for a
chance to examine the stones and work with me and then, in the end, to
watch the process of working on Tree Obliterator 9000.
Somehow, I can’t bring myself to be annoyed, no matter how much he
is asking or talking about inscribing. He just seems to love it in the same
way I love working with mana, and being such a person, he also wants
other people to like what he does.

I’m about to return to our house when I notice two people in front of the
gate: a lynthari woman with red hair and a tail like a fox and a child with
the same color tails as her.

[Enthraller - Level ??]

Immediately, I know the adult lynthari is not good news.

The moment I look at her, she notices it and turns toward me. Right
after, I feel her mana touch me, leaving a mark. After checking, I realize
that it was made so she could track me.
She has impossibly blue eyes that seem to pierce right through me, and
she is easily the strongest person I’ve met on the fourth floor.
Unlike other lynthari, she is shorter, only a bit taller than me. She looks
to be a bit over thirty years old, but she also bears this almost ethereal
beauty some older lynthari possess. The way she moves is fascinating and
unnerving at the same time.
“Underling!” the little girl shouts and rushes toward me, followed by
what I guess is her grandmother, the leader of lynthari. The Matriarch.
“It was really hard to find you, you know! But no worries, I was able to
do it in the end, nya!”
I carefully watch them, but the Matriarch doesn’t seem to be angry. She
is just standing there, lovingly smiling at the little girl. Toward me, she
doesn’t say anything, her silence making me even more nervous.
“Yeah, it’s nice to see you,” I say carefully, still not sure how to treat her
in front of this ancient lynthari.
“Boss! You have to call me Boss!”
Oh boy. “I apologize, Boss!” In the end, I just decide to go with the
flow, and at the same time, I remove the mark the Matriarch left on me.
I rouse up my mana and meet her impossibly blue eyes. I don’t push
more and only use it to send the message that there is a line I do not want to
cross.
In the same way as the lynthari, she doesn’t seem to find my behavior
annoying, just amusing, and for a short moment, her canines show before
they disappear as quickly.
Little Riftwalker, the Matriarch’s granddaughter, continues to talk about
how much she likes the word I told her about.
“Some other lynthari also started to use it!” she complains. “But it’s
fine, nya! Everyone knows that it came from me. Good job, as expected
from my underling.” Even though she is twenty-nine, her mental age is
even less than that of Izzy. Maybe closer to a six-year-old?
She also talks a lot, as if getting out all the words she couldn’t say to
anyone, and then I start to realize how lonely this little girl must be. Being
the granddaughter of the most powerful woman in the city and one of the
very few lynthari children.
Just how happy she was when I decided to go with her play on boss and
underling, how quickly she talks now as if trying to get out all the things
before I disappear again. She is constantly checking if I’m still there with
her.
She looks so lonely.
I sigh and lift her up, putting her to sit on my shoulders, her small hands
holding my hair.
 “W-what are you doing!” she complains, even though she doesn’t seem
to mind it that much.
“We can’t have the boss walk around like some…underling.” I add
some feigned spite to the last word.
For a moment, I notice a surprised expression on the Matriarch’s face,
but it quickly disappears, her eyes carefully observing me.
“That’s true,” the lynthari girl muses. “Ahead then, Underling. I will tell
you where to go!”
For the next few hours, I’m forced to walk around, getting surprised
looks from a few humans and lynthari as well.
The entire time, I’m examining my own feelings and questioning myself
why I’m doing something like this for someone I just met for the second
time.
Is it an attempt to get on the Matriarch’s good side? Partially. But for a
big part, it was just the look I saw on the little girl’s face that made me do it.
An expression similar to one my sister Victoria used to make when she was
younger.
So we buy some food, and I walk on tops of giant trees while she tells
me what she has learned about them.
We break a few windows on the house of the Veilwalkers’ guild, the
ones with Lorven as guild master. My idea, but I have decided to blame it
on the little princess in case someone wonders.
I also decide against throwing a tricolored orb inside what I identify as
Lorven’s quarters.
For the whole time, I continue to listen to her excited blabber, and the
Matriarch quietly follows us. And when the night comes, the little girl
becomes sadder, but she quickly hides it behind a smile.
“I will visit you soon!” she says before creating a rift and stepping
through it, disappearing somewhere.
The entire time, the little girl didn’t know about her grandmother being
there with us. She thought it was just the two of us.
The Matriarch keeps looking at the rift left by the girl, the structure of
the skill still in the air. She reaches toward it, about to reactivate it and use
it to transfer herself.
“For now, I will ignore what you and Champion candidate Myrra are
planning to do.” That’s the only thing she says for the entire day.
She then reactivates the skill and leaves me there alone.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 23
EXPEDITION TO ANCIENT
MINE

S
o, Champion candidate Myrra. That explains a lot, as well as gives me
new questions to wonder about. How do you become a Champion
candidate? The Matriarch is stronger than Myrra; is she also a
Champion candidate?
I will have to ask Myrra when I meet her.
When I get back home, it’s already night and most of the people seem to
be sleeping, with the exception of Tess, who is sitting in the living room,
looking much better now. The tall blonde is sipping on a drink with steam
coming out of it and nibbling on some sweets.
“I miss the internet. Hell, I would even be happy to watch some ads,”
she says, and I can hear that she is smiling.
“Given enough time, I believe we could create something like radio or
TV here. Then we would show the natives the power of ads and become
disgustingly rich,” I joke while sitting next to her and stealing some
cookies.
“That’s beyond evil.” She shakes her head.
In silence, we nom on the cookies, and she turns to me, some crumbs
already on her shirt. “Nat, how do you feel about everyone on the fourth
floor most likely disappearing after we leave it?” Tess asks.
“I try not to think about it.”
“I see.”
It’s not something I could change even if I wanted to. No matter how
real they look, everyone here is fake, and we have no idea what happened to
the original.
Did their world die like the one on the second floor? Is the king and his
warriors from the third floor still alive somewhere, defending the Saint that
spreads Decay? Is Myrra still alive and already a Champion, or did her
world fall to the Calamities?
“I don’t like it,” Tess says quietly.
I nod and then I stand up. “Good night,” I say.
“Night, Nat.”
Tess stays in the living room, looking at the wall and thinking.

When I wake up after two hours, I sense a presence behind the door. I
quickly identify it, and then, with a sigh, I create mana arms and open the
door with them without getting out of bed.
The moment I do so, a small, white snake slithers inside, and I close the
door. It’s still dawn, and after checking, I find out that everyone is sleeping.
Noodle slithers onto the bed, the entire time sticking out his small
tongue and tasting my mana.
So I create a bit more, reduce the density, and send it to him. That seems
to make him happy; his movement speeds up, and his tongue flickers more.
The green-eyed snake seems…tired, beat up.
“Izzy won’t leave you alone, right?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer, but the pain in his eyes is evident.
“You poor creature.” I lie back on the bed and create an orb over me
that I continue to use to practice mana shaping. I also keep running Mana
Cycling. At this point, it’s almost constantly on the entire time I’m up.
Seeing that I’m just relaxing there, Noodle moves closer. He does it
carefully to not touch me, finds a cozy place next to me, and lies there. I can
sense him slowly absorbing my mana. It’s either food, a delicacy, or
something to make him stronger.
Well, the little creature is cute, and he isn’t annoying, so I just let him.
We spend a few hours like that when he starts moving again. He gets to
the door and looks toward me.
Creating a mana arm, I open the door again, and for a moment, he just
stares at it. Then he does something I can only identify as a long sigh and
moves out of my room, much slower than before.
I close the door, and with [Perception], I watch as he gets back inside
Isabella’s room.
After going through the information on the expedition Obelia offered for us
to join, Angry Kittens decides to accept, with all of us going.
Only now do I find out what the expedition is about, to Tess’s surprise.
So what? I was busy.
The expedition is in the ancient mines not far off Virelia. They were
closed hundreds of years ago after they got everything they could out of
them, mainly iron-like endurium and small amounts of ethercrystal. Obelia
then got to some ancient maps that hint that something else remains down
there. The remains of a vault, a treasury of a forgotten Champion candidate
who died long ago.
A person capable enough to become a Champion candidate will surely
have some nice stuff.
Tess and Haddy decided for us to go on the expedition. But this setup
reminds me of something, and it smells like a lot of trouble.
I’m in.
The vault could contain some mined endurium and ethercrystal, as well
as some personal belongings of the Champion candidate. What Obelia
hopes for are old records of the world before the Calamity, old maps of
teleporting arrays, and maybe an epic item or two.
She also seems to be hiding something, and Tess confirms it too. The
guild master of the Storm Brigade knows more about the vault than she
says, and that only makes me more curious.
What I hope for is to stretch my stiff body after all this experimenting I
did and to test my new skills, [Regalia] and [Infusion], against something
strong. A bit of fun before the auction and the hunt for the Living Tree.
Knowing the system, the moment I kill the Tree, everything will go to shit,
the Colony menacingly moving closer, confirming it.
“What do you think the Colony wants?”
“I have no idea, but I did talk with one lynthari who got to watch them,
and he said it’s as if they are looking for something.”
I overhear the conversation between two members of Obelia’s guild and
promptly decide to ignore it. It’s not nice to listen in on other people’s
conversations.
Obelia reaches me, Jenna, her vice guild master, by her side, both of
them wearing similar attire akin to a uniform.
 “We are ready to go,” she says simply.
I glance behind me, looking at Angry Kittens, who are there as well,
each one of them wearing high-quality items we bought lately for the
money we got from “selling” all the epic items we have. Yet there was
nearly no dent in the amount of money we have.
“All ready,” Tess answers instead of me.
Then we leave the city, following closely behind Obelia and her guild.
Obelia even sends a few of her guild members to scout the area and
constantly keeps checking on someone who might follow us. I also notice a
few of her members doing something to hide our tracks.
It’s all well organized, and I look at group 4. Unlike the Storm Brigade,
they just walk around, members talking between each other, some of them
even snacking and laughing out loud. In comparison to Obelia’s guild, we
look like we are going on a picnic.
However, neither Obelia nor anyone from her guild seems to mind, and
I notice a few of her members greeting or having short conversations with
Tess, whom they recognize as the third disciple of their guild master.
Unlike everyone else, I just follow slightly behind, happy to be left
alone. To not get bored, I continue to try to compress my mana with
[Focus] like I did back at the end of the third floor.
I go at it extremely carefully, still remembering the toll it took on me. It
doesn’t matter that my Mana Cycling improved a lot or that I have an epic
passive called Arcane Resilience; it’s still dangerous. So I just use tiny
amounts of mana that I [Focus] into orbs as small as a grain of sand.
A tiny, pitch-black grain of sand that, even though it is so small, feels
extremely domineering, and it keeps trying to pull on my mana.
Unlike Lissandra’s [Singularity], this thing seems to affect mana
mostly. It’s not like it has some physical pull. The feeling is more akin to
domination as if the sheer quality of mana is so high it tries to take over any
mana it comes into contact with.
The black mana still feels scary. Ever since the start, when I picked
Amplification mana upgrade instead of Potency, I planned to improve the
quality of my mana on my own, but this might take a while to get under my
control.
Thankfully, the small orbs I create crumble on their own after a while,
and I estimate I should soon be able to create one the size of my fingernail
and be able to control it somewhat.
 “You are scaring our scouts.” Obelia slows down to walk by my side,
her silver eyes staring at the speck of black mana over the palm of my hand.
“They said they’ve never felt such scary mana in their life.”
I stop feeding it and it slowly dissipates. “Just a little bit of practicing,”
I say to Obelia.
She nods and rejoins her guild after one more curious look.
It takes a few hours, but we get to the mountain and walk around it to
find the small entrance that is covered by greenery. When one of Obelia’s
guild members uses a skill to move that greenery away, I realize that it was
made by them to hide the entrance.
“We already tried to go through there a few times, but as I said,” Obelia
turns to me, “we need someone really good with inscriptions and barriers to
open the door for us.”
I nod. I see an old cliché of digging too deep and our greed awakening
some ancient evil.
Classic.
“Nat, if a Balrog pops out, you don’t have to try to stop him and fall into
the hole with him. We will fight him together.” Min-Jae joins my side,
followed by the twins.
“Why would I do that? I will throw you at him and run away,” I retort.
(Food?)
“No, Biscuit, Balrogs aren’t food,” I answer and once again send some
mana toward the white snake wrapped around Isabella’s arm. Noodle
gobbles it up.
Isabella’s mana sensitivity isn’t that good, so she doesn’t notice it, but
Sophie does. She is currently keeping up a web of mana over the entire
expedition, even over the Storm Brigade. Some of the members know about
it, but after checking on it, they don’t seem to mind.
The web is used for detection, counterattack, and as defense as well, and
it’s so much better than it used to be. Improved by me and Sophie with a
few pieces of advice from Obelia and even Myrra.
Slowly, we enter the mines, and I notice a few members of the group
twitching and hesitating; unsurprisingly, even some members of the Storm
Brigade do that, memories of our time under the old capital surfacing.
The mood immediately changes, and the conversations stop. There is no
joking, and everyone feels more tense, like they are ready to jump and
attack anything that moves. One after another, skills activate, multiple of
them, lighting the tunnels we enter. They are surprisingly wide and tall,
more like a cave than tunnels, the walls almost smooth, something people
wouldn’t spend time on back on Earth, but here with all the skills people
possess, it’s a question of a few hours.
Obelia touches one of the walls and sends her mana through it, lines
appearing on them with her mana activating extremely simple inscriptions
created by ground-down mana stones turned into mana-conductive paint.
The stripes on the walls fill the tunnels with dim white light, and I reach
for the wall by my left and do the same, lighting the opposite side.
“The objective is simple. We get to the door. We will unlock it, get to
the vault, and unlock it as well. Then we take everything we can before
leaving.” Obelia looks around, giving a confident look to a few members
who seem to be affected by the tunnels the most.
In the same confident tone, she continues, “We examined the area
before. We left the markings on the walls, we have the maps, and we
cleared the monsters.” Obelia taps on the ground with the beautiful spear
she holds, an epic weapon she got from the Champion’s manor and that she
plans to sell at the auction. “But do not let your guard down, and be ready
for anything.”
She then turns around and takes a step toward the darkness of the
tunnels, the darkness that is pierced only by the glowing lines on the
sidewalls.
And slowly, we all follow her, the sound of our steps echoing inside the
tunnels of the ancient mine.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 24
ANCIENT MINE

F
or a while, there is nothing, just darkness, damp air, and the sound of
our breathing and steps as we continue to touch the walls once in a
while to send mana through the lines that light them up. It’s calmingly
quiet, and there is something that I can’t identify that improves my mood.
Maybe it is the unknown in front of us, the mystery to be solved, the
expectation of a strong enemy.
Or I’m just excited about this expedition that is something akin to a
treasure hunt.
After a while, attacks start. Small, annoying monsters pass through the
walls only to throw an attack at us and then disappear back into them
without leaving anything behind, no mana or heat signature to follow.
Curiously, I observe other people dealing with them.
Maya, for example, calmly calculates the direction of an attack, dodges
it, and shoots a mana projectile at the monster, often quick enough to kill it.
Her projectiles are getting quite good, something I forced onto her, having a
feeling that her ranged attacks are severely lacking.
Isabella does something similar, but instead of mana, her attacks are
made of small blue flames that burn extremely hot, melting the monster and
pieces of the wall, all observed by a white snake coiled around her arm.
Biscuit also once in a while uses a thin mana tentacle that catches a
monster. The tentacles move extremely quickly and bend and twist in a way
that clearly shows mastery over them. The best doggo of the fourth floor
then expands the tentacle, crushing any monster dumb enough to attack our
group.
The tunnels continue on and on; they are surprisingly vast, and the ever-
present darkness seems to disturb some people. The network has multiple
twists and ways we can use, and as we walk deeper, I notice that Sophie is
also leaving marks made of mana behind her, in a similar manner to me.
However, even after a few hours, there seems to be no end to them, and
slowly, they become rougher, more ancient feeling, and the air becomes
colder as well as more humid. Some parts of the walls are crumbling, and
some mana lines start flickering and blinking, not working properly. All to
the point where we start using our own skills and items to light the way.
The monsters also become stronger and more sneaky. Humanoid
creatures without any eyes and with big mouths full of ragged teeth are now
behind every corner, the echo of their screams filling the tunnels as they
continue to attack.
At this point, I also start helping so group 4 can save their mana and not
waste it on such mobs. Unlike them, I have much more of it, so it’s not a
problem.

[You have defeated Hollow Stalker - Level 91]

[You have defeated Hollow Stalker - Level 101]
[You have defeated Hollow Stalker - Level 88]

Precisely aimed mana orbs made of [Regalia] continue to one-shot

them, and I’m barely using mana, always only creating a small orb, that
isn’t even that dense, that I shoot at their heads.
Soon enough, I also learn to detect them with the help of my
[Perception] and shoot them before they let out any sounds.

[You have defeated Hollow Stalker - Level 102]

[You have defeated Hollow Stalker - Level 82]

When we reach the first cave, the attacks nearly stop. Either the
monsters are avoiding us or just waiting for a better opportunity.
Filling the orb with thermal energy and changing it a bit to let out light
rather than heat, I send it toward the ceiling, revealing the impressive size
of the cave we are in, surely as tall as some higher building and multiple
times wider.
That’s also when we see them: monsters clinging to the ceiling. Most
are humanoid and with unnaturally large heads. Their limbs are thin and
reminiscent of spider legs rather than human ones. They immediately start
hitting the ceiling they cling to, accurately dropping stalactites as big as cars
on us.
Min-Jae and Tess, with the use of their respective skills, redirect some
bigger stones while stopping the smaller ones and throwing them back at
the monsters clinging to the ceiling.
Unsurprisingly, that makes even more stones start to fall down, but they
just continue to grab them and throw them back at those weirdoes on the
ceiling. It quickly gets out of hand as dozens upon dozens of stones, ranging
from the size of a closed fist to small motorcycles, are annihilating the
monsters.
Once in a while, I also redirect some or explode them with kinetic
energy, but I don’t do much more as Min-Jae is smiling for the first time
since we entered the mines.
When we start moving again, there are no monsters around, and we
enter another tunnel, this time even older-looking, the ground covered in
debris and dust.
Three of Obelia’s people start monitoring the tunnels even more than
before. They are sending their mana or using their skills toward the stone all
around us, something done in worry of tunnels breaking and swallowing us
all.
So far, it appears safe; they only use their skills occasionally to
strengthen the tunnel while I observe them doing so.
I slow down a bit, until I walk by Tess’s side. “So what attribute did you
upgrade? Mana and Potency?” I ask her.
From my point of view, Restoration and Potency would fit her nicely.
Potency would be most likely nice to improve her Primordial lightning,
while Restoration would work nicely with [Psychokinesis] and allow her to
quickly regenerate her mana for longer fights.
“Potency, and I will start investing more stats into mana,” Tess says
after creating a barrier around us to make sure no one listens. “During the
Beyond trial, I found out that my damage is lacking.” She looks at me.
“Maybe you are not that wrong saying that the best defense is to quickly
kill your enemy.”
“Right? I always say that, but you guys don’t listen.” I shake my head.
“Upgraded already?”
 “Yes, before the expedition. The effect is more terrifying than I thought,
even after listening to you about how significant the attribute upgrade is.”
“Doesn’t that make it even better? If even you are scared of your own
skill, imagine your enemy.” As a reward for sharing my wisdom, I get an
amused look.
“We are here,” Obelia says simply, her voice strengthened by mana
spreading to everyone.
Her eyes meet mine, and I nod, moving closer after gesturing to Sophie
to join. There, I find a few of her guild members standing in front of a
smooth stone wall covered in inscriptions and teeming with mana.
“A few years ago, we tried to dig a tunnel around the door. It took us
months to dig just a short distance. Then the tunnel fell, and it took us a
year to clear all the rubble while stopping it from falling further,” Obelia
says.
She continues to talk as I send my senses toward the door. “The only
reasonable option seems to be going through the door, but none of my
people were able to do it, and even a few people from the city were unable
to do anything, and Elydor…”
“He was a big piece of shit,” I say, sending even more mana at it,
observing its movement and how it interacts with the mana of the door.
“Yes, a huge piece of…shit,” Obelia confirms. “And you don’t even
know half of…”
While I send mana toward what feels like the center of the door,
something clicks inside of it. Right after, an almost imperceptible pulse of
mana is sent from the door.
Huh?
I wait a bit and nothing changes, so I examine the place where it came
from, and then, slowly, I realize what has happened.
My mana fires up at full power.
[Mana Domain] activates, bigger than ever before.

[Mana Domain - Level 15 > Mana Domain - Level 16]

[Regalia - Level 7 > Regalia - Level 8]

Within that domain, I turn and change all of the mana with the help of
[Regalia], creating a spherical barrier all around us, big enough to cover
both my and Obelia’s group.
 A few questions are thrown at me, and surprised shouts fill the room
while I create something like pillars within the barrier to strengthen it even
more.
Then the others notice what’s happening as well, and dozens of skills
activate at the same moment.
I infuse my barrier with kinetic energy and then watch as the entire
tunnel, the cave around us, comes crashing down, tons of stones crumbling
all around.
A minute that feels impossibly long passes, and finally, a silence ensues.
The lights that flickered up until now stop shaking and light up the faces of
the expedition members. Some of them are terrified, others scared, all of
them looking at the barrier around us, supported by something like pillars
and preventing it from crashing down on us.
“I will solidify the rocks around us,” one of Obelia’s men shouts.
“Quickly, create a secondary barrier⁠—”
“What was that? How did it happen!”
“More lights, we need more lights!”
Everyone becomes busy, movements urgent, and faces and bodies are
covered in the dust from the crumbled stone. One after another, they start
examining the situation we ended up in.
Meanwhile, I continue to stare at the door, probably our best option to
get out of this situation. Obelia steps closer, and I can see her trying to catch
my gaze. She is literally drilling holes into the side of my face.
“Anyway, my barrier should last for quite a while,” I tell her.
I didn’t even touch my Mana Reservoir yet, and Arcane Resilience
made using this amount of mana so quickly a fairly painless process, so I’m
not even hurt at all.
As I send more mana inside the door with extreme care, even more
extreme care than before, I feel a movement at the edge of my
[Perception].
Monsters are drilling through the tons of stone above us and heading
toward the barrier. Without anyone stopping them, they reach it, and an
attack starts, this one even more taxing to endure than the weight of the
stones. Some monster with a somewhat disruptive skill?
I don’t even have to say anything as Sophie turns to me, connecting to
my mind through her web. (I will carefully deal with them. Obelia and some
others might sense my skill, but I will try to do it in a way they won’t have
suspicion of mind manipulation.)
(I will open the door in the meantime,) I send back and return to the
door.
The inscriptions here are extremely dense and beautiful. What feels like
miles of circuits are all over the door, creating pretty ornaments while
staying functional. They are nothing in comparison to what I saw on the
mountain-tall door during Beyond’s second trial, but they are still nothing
to scoff at.
Multiple circuits strengthen the door, more of them lock it, then there
are some detections and a few more that I identify as very nicely hidden
traps.
I mean, anyone could have missed them. The person who created these
traps must have been extremely skilled. Most likely some sort of master.
As I said, such a trap is super easy to miss even by someone examining
the door extremely carefully.
I myself know I would never be angry if someone tried to open them
and triggered one of the traps.
Yup.
Could have happened to the best of us.
I touch the door and [Focus] on both the barrier and the locked door in
front of me.

A few hours pass, and I have a feeling that I’m close to opening the door. I
have already unlocked the “keyhole,” and now I keep constantly using my
mana to infuse the door, sending it through the same circuit as the defenses
in attempts to learn them. I already have a few ideas on how to improve the
door into my room, and soon they might really be able to endure Lily’s
[Disintegration].
At some point, I don’t even perceive the people stuck there with me,
and it all starts feeling like fun.
On purpose, I trigger a few more traps but cut off the signal they send as
well as destroy the circuits they use. This reduces the amount of mana I
have to decipher, as well as removes annoying obstacles. Obelia and Sophie
have sensed that as they are also partially following what I’m doing, trying
to be helpful.
When I destroyed the traps, they became a bit worried and started
preparing for another attack. Then I told them there would be no attack and
the traps I triggered were on purpose.
For some reason, that made them even more worried.
But slowly and surely, I get through all of this, and when I finally etch
the circuits into one of the expensive mana stones I get from Obelia, I’m
almost regretful. It was really fun.
“Ready?” I ask.
After checking, I hear confirmation from both Tess and Obelia, and I
put the mana stone against the door and activate it. The door splits
vertically, a red glowing crack appearing across their entire length while the
circuits dim out. On their own, the doors slowly open inward, a terrible
stench hitting us.
A dozen of my thermal orbs float inside, lighting up what seems like a
room. The walls are expertly carved, and beautiful pillars support the
enormous room. There, all around this room, corpses lie. Dozens, hundreds
of humans, and even some lynthari all across the ground, bodies terribly
torn, limbs missing.
And all of the bodies look only a few days old.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 25
WANT TO KNOW

T
he moment the door closes behind us, I cancel my barrier. Even
though there are most likely tons of rock and stone filling the place
where my barrier used to be, we hear nothing.
Observing the door for a while, I see that the inscriptions are up and
running once again, powered by an unknown source.
I wonder, should I use the anchors I left far behind in the tunnels to get
us out? It wouldn’t be that difficult, to be honest. I just need to activate the
skill and get out. A few people might agree to become test subjects in
desperation. To be honest, I’m not sure if I can take someone else with me,
but probably yes?
In the worst case, we can do it slowly, destroying the rock and
strengthening the newly created tunnel. That option would take much
longer. Looking around at the expressions of people from the Storm
Brigade, I guess that no one has some sort of group teleport skill.
“Biscuit, the corpses are not food,” I say to the corgi next to me just in
case, and he looks at me like I’m crazy.
I guess he has different tastes now, getting expensive food from Isabella
all the time.
“Why the fucking tunnels again?” Maya stops by my side.
Soon, other members of the group join us as well, and no one is
particularly interested in moving inside the room.
“There are so many traps.” Sophie sighs.
Tess also nods, mana shining in her eyes, [Farsight] allowing her to see
mana.
“Let’s just take it easy for now,” says Hadwin, who doesn’t seem to be
that worried either. From what I noticed, with the exception of Tess and
future animal Absolute, he seems to be the best at dealing with what
happened when we spent twenty days in the tunnels, constantly threatened
by the Living Tree.
“I’m a busy man, Haddy, and I really want to get to the auction in time.
People kept teasing me with it for months,” I say and take a step ahead,
pulling out my second epic item.

Mana Core Sphere (epic)

This enigmatic sphere contains a pulsing core that can be filled with mana,
which then resonates with other magical energies nearby. When activated, it
can disperse a wave of mana that disrupts the magical abilities of foes in
the vicinity.

I feed it mana and then activate it. A pulse, stronger than I would be
currently capable of, bursts into the room and deactivates most of the traps
in there, as well as disrupting the mana of some weaker members of the
expedition.
I send more mana inside the stone and activate it again, this time
sending an even stronger effect through the massive room we are in.
Then I do it again, the amount I use big enough to create a few
tricolored orbs, yet my new Arcane Resilience allows me to shrug it off
easily.
Finally, the weird field inside the room breaks, and I put away the epic
item. At the same time, the corpses on the ground start breaking apart, as if
up until now they were unable to rot naturally.
It’s both fascinating and disgusting to watch them crumble, the flesh
rotting, hair falling off, and eyeballs dissolving.
Soon enough, only bones are left on the ground, still easy to tell apart
much taller lynthari from humans.
“Why don’t we check what’s left? Maybe there are some nice items. I
will keep watch,” I tell my group as well as Obelia’s while I take the first
step.
Some carefulness is fine, but too much of it is no good, to be honest.
Making mistakes is fine too, but the important part is to not make the same
mistake twice or be able to deal with it, isn’t it? As for the door and trap that
got us here, it’s my fault; there is no going around it, I triggered it.
But it won’t happen again, and I will handle whatever awaits us here.
It takes around ten minutes, but the room is checked over; there are no
hidden rooms, no more items to take. The results are some rare items, a few
empty mana stones, broken weapons, and that kind of stuff.
Apparently, each tier of items is separated into three tiers: upper, mid,
and lower tier.
For example, the Ethercrystal Shortsword, an epic sword I have, is mid-
tier or grade. The mana core I have probably as well. The epic crown and
sword we got from the king and his warriors on the third floor are low tiers.
The Valorplate of the Fallen Hero, one of the Calamities, is most likely
upper epic tier.
The difference between lower and mid isn’t that high, but apparently,
the jump from mid to upper tier is quite massive. Well, not as big as the
jump in between grades, but big enough to be clearly noticeable. That’s
something I have learned as well, sometimes against my will, sometimes
when I was bored.
The rare items we got from the bodies of lynthari are of upper rare tier,
and then there are some mid-rare tier as well. Anything below that seems to
have turned to dust when the weird field around the cave disappeared.
“How long do you think they were here?” Lily asks the question I also
wonder about.
“Obelia said the mines have been empty for three hundred years, so
maybe that long?” Tess’s voice sings next to me, answering Lily’s question.
“Or even longer, and the miners found the door while mining stuff,
buried it, and continued to excavate stuff.” I turn to Dennis, who had said
that.
The young blond boy with striking blue eyes, a carbon copy of his
brother, shrugs his shoulders.
Huh, is he maybe a bit smart?
“I wonder what Obelia wants from here. She seems to know more than
she told us.” Lily’s eyes aren’t exactly friendly as she stares at the guild
master of Storm Brigade.
“You know her the best. What do you think, Tess?” Hadwin asks.
For a moment, Tess ponders and then sighs. “Yeah, that would be just
like her. I don’t think it would be something that would put us into danger,
more likely something she doesn’t want us to know.”
 “We should ask her.” Dennis shifts on his feet, a small smile on his face.
“I’m sure she will…”
Oh, maybe he really is smart.
I collect a bit of mana and take a step out of the field Tess created to
block the sounds. Taking a few steps, I stop in front of Obelia.
As I give her a second to react, I see understanding flicker in her eyes.
For a moment, I see her thinking quickly as she realizes what I most likely
want. Obelia is smart, a very smart and logical-thinking person. So, in the
end, she comes to one conclusion, and a long sigh escapes her mouth.
“Do you trust your guild members?” she asks, glancing over my
shoulder at the members of my group behind me.
Out of everything she could ask, this surprises me probably the most,
and for a moment, I give it serious thought. Do I?
I glance back at their faces, ones I got so used to seeing. Some of them
close to a thing called a friend. A thing I tried to avoid so much. The reason
is simple: if you don’t trust anyone, you won’t get betrayed. That’s how it
should work, and that’s what I tried to do.
Yet this bunch of twerps somehow got under my skin, and if I spend
more time with them, I know they will get deeper, and it will be harder and
harder to look at them the way I would like to.
Hell, it might be too late even now. It’s annoying, but it’s also
something I decided to do after the start of the fourth floor. After I
witnessed Lily sacrificing all of her limbs just to help us, after I heard Tess
talking about camaraderie. Seeing Min-Jae looking at me with such
admiring eyes and listening to every word I say to the point it felt heavy.
And also after hearing Sophie nearly beg for a second chance. Not crying,
but close to it, and only being able to say it out loud thanks to Izzy using
her skills to help her.
All of this stuck with me, and I’m unable to just ignore it.
In the end, I push away the memories that flash in my mind and ignore
the question. All annoying stuff is for future Nathaniel to deal with.
“Just say it,” I tell Obelia.
She nods. “It’s quite simple, really, and I won’t bother you with too
many details. The main thing is that there are people who believe that
lynthari don’t originate from this planet. We believe that only humans used
to exist on our planet, and then lynthari invaded it and tried to take over.”
 I see, looks like the mystery of the fourth Calamity is close to being
solved.
“The Living Tree and the Colony are most likely weapons, created
during the war either by human or lynthari. The Fallen Hero is the last
human Champion, killed by lynthari, and his body is used as a power source
by his Valorplate.”
Everyone from her guild listens quietly and without much surprise. It’s
something they all kept in extreme secrecy, yet all of them have kept the
secret that could result in the destruction of their guild.
“And I believe we can find some answers here.” She nods toward the
second door that is on the opposite side of the room we are in.
“What is this place?” I ask her.
“I didn’t lie before. I think it’s a vault of a disciple of the Champion that
is now the Calamity called the Fallen Hero. A vault with information left
behind and hidden from lynthari.”
“And what if you get it? What if it all is true and lynthari really came
here hundreds of years ago, fighting with your predecessors? What will you
do?” I ask her.
Then I observe her expression. This is something that really makes me
curious. How would she behave? Will she want to take revenge for people
she never knew? Will she try to punish lynthari for sins most of them
probably aren’t even aware of as they didn’t live back then?
The war, if there was one, most likely took a toll on both humans and
lynthari, looking at the state of what is left afterward. Two races without
their Champions and the world without the Absolute.
“I am not sure what I will do with this information, but it’s something I
want to confirm.” The expression on her face changes, and for the first time
since I met her, there is passion bordering on obsession in it.
Obelia sounds almost urgent as she continues, “I didn’t know these
long-dead people. I don’t know if even the lynthari know about what
happened, but I still want to find out what happened, what this all means,
and why it happened.”
“What will you do after you find out?” I repeat my question.
To that, she just closes her mouth, Obelia herself unsure of what she
will do. And partially, I can understand that, the need for knowledge she
doesn’t know what to do with. She just wants to know the truth and find out
if she is being lied to.
 Well, that much isn’t a problem. If she doesn’t betray me, I don’t mind
helping a little. “Let’s find out then, shall we?”
I take the few remaining steps and put my hand on the door, sending my
mana inside. I immediately find the traps similar to before and quickly
destroy them. There are even more of them and better hidden, yet I destroy
them too. Making the same mistake twice isn’t something I like to do.
Inscription after inscription gets examined by me, looked at, worked
around. I find and destroy the traps, find the circuits that need to be used,
create an image of the key in my head. I examine the mana and resonate
with it.
When I inscribe the mana stone with the circuit, I don’t even check it. I
put the stone against the door, and the stone cracks right after.
With a loud crack, a vertical split appears through the entire length of
the door, mana leaking from the inside. I push, and the door opens wide, the
mana disappearing from it slowly. It starts crumbling too, the stone it is
made of pushed away with a blast of kinetic energy and then with one more
to clear the way.
[Perception] shoots inside the room, taking in its size and looking for
mana signatures. There is only one signature right in the middle of the
circular room and nothing else.
There are no riches, no epic items, no monsters, and no traps.
In the middle of the room lies the corpse of a man in light armor. He is
wearing a dark blue cape with dozens of holes in it, and some of his limbs
are missing chunks of muscles, showing the bone underneath.
A constant field is generated from that corpse. I have a hard time
identifying what it is, but it apparently notices us, and an extremely weak
signature is sent to the beautiful mana stone that is imbued into the man’s
chest.
Even looking at it, I’m amazed by it. The circuits that cover it are the
most intricate I’ve seen on the fourth floor.
Receiving some sort of signal, the corpse then starts moving. It grabs
the bow from the ground, ignoring the fact that there are no arrows, and the
pose it takes is confident and relaxed. Slowly, the corpse’s eyes open,
revealing beautiful eyes made out of mana stones, also with delicate mana
circuits in them.
The mana that then radiates from the mana stone imbued in its chest
expands and fills the room with pressure that makes it feel as if I can touch
it.

[Arcane Archer - Level ??]

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 26
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE
TO KNOW?

“L evel
at least 220, ranged base class, get into formation five, full
power from the start!” Obelia shouts, lightning immediately cracking
around her.
A few of her guild with heavy armor immediately get to the front, mana
surrounding their armor or shields and further strengthened by their
teammate’s barrier.
More members get further back, mana surrounding their weapons or fire
floating around them. Two of her members put their hands on Obelia’s
shoulders, and the amount of mana she releases intensifies.
(Why would we fight, dear child?) Without the Arcane Archer’s mouth
moving, the words sound in the room.
The voice is quiet, yet chilling, lacking emotions.
(I don’t sense any invaders in between you, nor did I identify you as a
traitor yet.)
The archer takes a step, reducing some of its mana signature, and to
that, Obelia does nothing. She doesn’t attack, but she also doesn’t stop
carefully observing the corpse in front of us.
I also take a step ahead, passing by Hadwin and Maya, who moved to
the front of our group the moment the corpse moved. Nice reflexes,
something they built up while hunting with our group.
The archer looks at me for a moment, the eyes made of mana stones
shining brightly, but then they move past me, and he examines everyone in
the room, all in a matter of a few seconds.
(Are you looking for death or knowledge?)
The voice that sounds a bit robotic continues to sound in the room, and I
slowly start realizing what the thing in front of us is: an imprint similar to
what Lissandra did, an extremely delicate web of mana circuits able to store
knowledge and personality.
Yet there is a huge difference. Where Lissandra created an imprint on
my body with her Potent mana, the thing in front of me contains the imprint
on one of the mana stones, either in the eyes or on the chest.
The imprint of the archer is much less intricate than Lissandra’s.
“We didn’t come to fight. We came looking for knowledge,” Obelia
says in her calm voice, and I can’t help but admire how quickly she got
back to herself.
(Ask then, child of Nabulon,) the archer says, weirdly cooperative.
“You said child of Nabulon. What does it mean?” Obelia asks the first
question.
(Nabulon is the name of the planet we are on.)
“Is Nabulon a planet where only humans live?”
(It used to be before the lynthari came.)
“How?” The guild master of Storm Brigade shakes her head. “Tell me
first who you are.”
(I’m a personality imprint of Champion Orven’s disciple, Reynar.)
I can hear a few people muttering, but not because they recognize the
name; they just seem amazed that something like this is possible. For them,
titles like Champion or Champion’s disciple are something they’ve only
heard in legends.
“Are the real you and Champion Orven already dead?”
(With high probability. The imprint was created and imbued into this
body before we collected the remaining force for the last try to fight the
lynthari’s Absolute.)
“What happened then?”
(I do not possess the knowledge of that.)
The entire time they talk, I keep looking at the Arcane Archer, and
dozens of questions swirl in my head. However, Obelia is asking the right
ones, so I just listen, collecting kinetic energy within me. My body with
Arcane Resilience is capable of holding a terrifying amount of it.
“Who are the lynthari and why did they invade Nabulon?”
(They are natives of a planet that got Paired with Nabulon.)
“What is pairing?”
(I can’t answer this question.)
This is when I join in. “Not even if I ask?”
 For a moment, the corpse just silences, the two eyes made of mana
stones turning to me. Then, slowly, its mouth turns into a smile that is too
wide to be called friendly.
(This information is currently unavailable for tutorial attendees, yes,) it
says.
Obelia shouts something about not hearing the words the corpse said,
but the archer ignores her, the words it just said sounding less robotic than
before.
(We’ve met already, twice before,) the voice then says. It is the same
voice that talked to me during both Beyond trials.
When I look around, Obelia and her guild are frozen still, not moving at
all, nor blinking. Only group 4 can.
“Should we fight it?” Tess asks, her [Storm Crown] already flickering
over her head.
“I think it’s fine.” I shake my head and turn to the being that took over
the body of the Arcane Archer. “You are limited in what you can do, aren’t
you?”
(Yes, what you are talking to is only my intent that I was able to sneak
into the tutorial’s system. Usually, I wouldn’t be able to interfere so much,
but something weird is happening in your round of the tutorial.) The voice
sounds almost amused. (So what would you like to know?) it asks.
“I’m not curious about anything,” I say.
“Nat?” Tess looks at me with shocked eyes.
Yet I do not change my mind. A creepy voice out of nowhere sharing
some information with me and helping us? Yeah, sure, it’s just another
asshole trying to mess with us, manipulate us for more fun, feed us
information it wants, and mess with her, the person responsible for the
tutorial.
It is limited in what it can do within the tutorial, so there is no need to
be polite and allow it to try to manipulate me. Even talking to it is risky, and
it’s something that should be done much later when I have gained more
power or more information to build my own opinions without being subtly
manipulated by it.
The laugh that sounds in the room is cold and amused at the same time,
and some members of the Storm Brigade, even unmoving, start bleeding
from their ears and eyes.
 But it does not affect us, and when it talks again, I swear I can hear a
hint of danger in it. (So very prideful.) The way it says “pride” makes it
clear that it knows or guessed my subclass. (So will it be.)
The presence disappears, and the Storm Brigade start moving again.
“What is Pairing?!” Obelia asks the same question again, all of them
unable to remember what happened. Only then she notices her bleeding
guild members. “Prepare for a fight,” she says, and with it, the conversation
ends.
The same for the Arcane Archer, who starts moving again. An arrow
appears in its hand, one made of mana, and the bow’s string starts glowing
in the same blue color. The Arcane Archer draws the bow and aims at
Obelia.
That’s when I activate the anchor I created next to it while we were
talking to the being from Beyond. [Tether] activates, and through that
connection, I send a blast of kinetic energy toward the anchor, making it
explode on the other side, throwing the corpse to the side.
Just that moment is enough, and dozens of attacks fly at it.
An orb made of blue fire from Izzy, a javelin filled with Primordial
lightning from Tess, and a shower of small orbs made of mana-conductive
metal from Kim. A red lightning from Obelia that sounds as if tearing the
space as it passes by.
And much more. The corpse gets bombarded, but only until the arrow
flies from where it lies, barely visible under the attacks.
The mana arrow digs through the barriers as if they are not there, and
the legs of one of Obelia’s guild members explode.
Immediately, another one flies over, hitting Hadwin and throwing him
to the side while he tries to shield Lily.
My [Mana Domain] encompasses the room, and I radiate much more
mana into it.
When an arrow flies at me, I create an anchor and teleport away, the
arrow piercing through the wall.
Then I use [Infusion] to fill my [Mana Domain] with [Resonance].
Having seen and perceived the arrows, I continue to track them, and every
single one that enters my domain or tries to pass through it to hit someone
gets disrupted.
One after another, a dozen arrows get destroyed like that while attacks
continue to shower on the corpse. When they stop for a moment, all the
effects of them disappear, and in a massive crater created by them, a
movement appears while even the walls around it are cracked.
The body, the personality construct of the disciple of the Champion,
stands up slowly, entirely inside a spherical barrier made of pale blue mana.
The surface of the barrier ripples like calm water when a stone is thrown
into it.
That’s when another attack flies at it, an arrow made of gray mana, and
it hits the barrier. For a moment, the corpse ignores it as the attack just
crashes against it as if it’s made of smoke, but then we can see big chunks
of the barrier get dissolved, disintegrating without any resistance.
As if awaiting that, I feel a strong pulse of mana from Tess, and the
javelin that flies toward the archer glows with red-and-white lightning, the
material of the spear barely visible through it.
When Tess’s attack is just an arm’s reach away from it, the archer turns
and looks at Lily.
And then he disappears.
I activate the anchor I left next to group 4, and mana flows inside my
body at the same moment he reappears behind Lily. Another arrow forms in
his hand, but he moves it down and stabs Lily with that arrow, the pale blue
projectile made of mana piercing her back.
The black-haired girl barely staggers under the force of the attack and a
few of her fingers disappear, and for a split of a second, she moves
terrifyingly quickly, grabbing the archer’s hand. Gray mana envelops it, and
[Disintegration] eats into the hand that she is holding.
When I reach them, the archer disappears again, missing a hand Lily
destroyed. Instead of that hand, he creates a limb made of mana and starts
shooting again.
The arrow stabbed inside Lily’s back glows brighter and brighter, and
I’m sure the following explosion will kill the girl if we don’t do anything
about it.
“Save your mana!” I shout at her, seeing she is about to use
[Disintegration] on it and maybe [Sacrifice] a limb to do so.
Unable to destroy the arrow from a distance, I reach out and touch it,
finally breaking the resistance that blocked me from destroying it.
[Resonance] tears it apart, and Lily starts healing again.
I jump backward, and the arrow meant for my head pierces the walls. In
just that short moment, the archer kills two members of Obelia’s guild and
Maya is barely keeping her [Armament] active, with a few wounds on her
body.
Sophie is using her [Manipulation] to change the direction of arrows,
and her mind blender thingy doesn’t seem to work. Yet her redirecting the
arrows seems to be the main reason why no one in group 4 is dead.
Her and Biscuit.
A dozen dark purple tentacles swirl around the corgi while he floats in
the air, even his eyes glowing in a similar purple color.
Each arrow shot is met with some of the tentacles, no matter how fast
that arrow is. Biscuit just continues to deflect the ones Sophie can’t take
care of while floating in front of Isabella. He even uses one to grab Hadwin
and throw him toward Lily, only Hadwin’s [Strengthening] keeping him
standing with a massive wound on his chest.
The arrows pierce almost through everything.
[Regalia] forms around my body, and I force more mana into it, the
armor turning dark blue. At the same moment, Tess steps to my side,
[Storm Crown] made of lightning floating over her head and her body
surrounded by flashes of red-and-white lightning.
“Together?” she asks.
“Together,” I answer simply.
My domain expands, and both of us rush at the corpse.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 27
FIFTH EXPLORER

[M ana
Domain] expands, and I fill it with resonating mana again,
canceling the arrows that the archer shoots at group 4.
Then his eyes made of mana stones glow, and the stone lodged
inside its chest radiates more mana. Its attacks become stronger, and some
of the arrows, even though weakened by my domain, clash against barriers I
create.
That’s when Tess reaches him, the mana exploding around her as she
tears stones off the walls and the ground, making them spin around her
before flinging them at the archer.
In between these attacks, a dozen of her rare endurium javelins continue
to move as if they are alive. They change directions and let out a piercing
noise as they pass through the air while leaving a trail of red-and-white
lightning.
The archer disappears, appearing behind Tess, the arrow lodged in its
bow and aimed at her. Within the domain, I quickly create an anchor and
teleport behind him.
His barrier forms once again, but I resonate mana on my skin at the
same frequency, and my kick sends the archer flying, rolling on the ground.
Immediately, Tess’s attacks start hitting the monster, the lightning
burning its body.
I use tether to appear close, and flames that I infuse with [Resonance]
blaze against the archer, who once again creates a spherical barrier. The
flames crash against it, the barrier enduring for a bit before getting
disrupted by flames infused with resonating mana. As they start touching
the archer, he teleports again, this time appearing behind group 4.
 Before he does anything, a javelin comes flying and lodges itself deep
into his body. The Arcane Archer staggers backward, lightning cracking
around him.
Tess predicted this kind of attempt.
Before the archer moves again, Maya’s spear made of mana stabs
against the barrier he hastily creates, and before Lily’s [Disintegration] hits
it, he teleports again.
This time, I’m better at tracking his teleport and appear next to him
soon after, my kick hitting the barrier and sending ripples through it. The
corpse changed the barrier’s frequency.
An attack explodes from it, and the arrow that pierces everything it
touches hits [Regalia] infused with kinetic energy.
I stagger backward, pushed by the force of the attack, and most of the
energy gets absorbed by the armor. Then I infuse [Regalia] with
[Resonance], and the arrow explodes, the attack mostly disrupted by my
armor.
Two of Tess’s javelins hit the archer’s barrier, forcing him to move right
to one of the multiple anchors I left all around the room.
I rely on Arcane Resilience and send as much mana as I can into the
anchor; it quickly turns into a tricolored orb that starts glowing white. Tess
moves behind me, lightning trailing her body, and the archer tries to
teleport, but he is unable to do so as I send a pulse of disrupting mana at
him.
Instead, he strengthens his barrier, and the exploding orb obliterates it,
sending immense heat into the room and burning the archer.
I absorb any heat that reaches me before it can hit Storm Brigade or
group 4.
The following implosion pulls the archer toward where the core of the
orb was, but he resists, and more mana radiates from him, an immense
amount that destroys all the anchors I left around and deals with the
implosion.
When he turns his head to me, there is no hate in his lifeless eyes. He is
just a personality construct, and an imperfect one.
Both of his eyes lose their light, and the mana stone on the chest starts
glowing brighter. The amount of mana he releases threatens mine, pushing
it, trying to dominate it.
What a funny guy.
 I reach into my Mana Reservoir and let the mana flow.

POV - Obelia Jenth

The amount of mana that fills the room is almost sickening, and all of it
radiates from two figures in front of me: a terrifying young man and the
corpse of the Champion’s disciple.
There is no beauty in it, no delicacy. Just like wild animals growling
toward each other, pressuring the other one with their mana.
Tess moves to my side and looks at me. “Let’s not do anything. It’s
better to not interrupt him when he is like that,” she says simply, and even
the crown disappears from over her head. The lightning crown I never saw
anyone using before. And the woman I dare to call my disciple uses it with
such ease, not realizing the power she possesses.
What a terrifying bunch of people she and her guild are. But most of all,
their guild master.
The archer throws away the bow, and a dozen projectiles form around
him, each of them as big as a thick spear and twice as long. He shoots them,
at us, a shockwave following each one of them.
Yet, moving only a bit, they stop once again, unable to pierce the field
around the terrifying young man. Even more mana radiates from him, and it
tears apart each and every projectile, then as if making fun of his opponent,
he also creates projectiles, three of them, all dark blue with wisps of purple
and light blue mana swirling inside.
“FUCK! Run!” multiple people from Angry Kittens scream right away.
Even before these words are finished, they are all running out of the
room.
With fascination, I watch as each of the projectiles starts turning bright
white and shoot toward the archer.
“Barriers!” Tess shouts to her guild and mine as well.
Hearing the tension in her voice, everyone who can creates a barrier.
A flash of bright white light blinds me for a moment as well as a blast of
mana that washes over us. The explosion ensues, and I can feel the heat on
my skin, as well as feel the vibrations as pieces of stone fall from the
ceiling together with dust.
I push it all away with my mana and then look toward the room where
the young man and the corpse are fighting.
 My view is blocked by a barrier that seems to cover the entirety of the
entrance, the barrier made of dark blue, purple, and light blue mana. There
are cracks all over it, and I can see ripples spreading all over the surface as
the barrier cracks, crumbling and revealing what’s happening in the room.
Nathaniel stands there in armor similar to the barrier that is now
covered in cracks, and golden flames blaze around him. Opposite of him,
the archer stands, missing his left leg and arm, both replaced by prosthetics
made of mana.
“Hey, get your asses over here. This guy is weak, so you can finish him
off. It’s nice to practice. Biscuit, you don’t have to,” he calls toward his
guild.
Remembering the powerful attacks of the archer, I look toward them,
and most of them don’t even seem surprised, while some of them seem
excited to fight.
I watch as they all move inside the room and start fighting while
Nathaniel stands to the side. He constantly spreads his mana around and
only helps when it looks like any of them will die.
His guild members get hurt. Bones are broken, deep wounds form, and
they get thrown around. Yet all of them fight.
A little girl fights with flames that devour everything, yet they don’t
burn anyone from her guild. They form orbs that she shoots at the archer,
making him avoid explosions of blue flames.
A black-haired girl fights up close, taking wounds and restoring them
immediately while not being affected by them at all, with gray mana that
seems to terrify even the personality construct of a man long dead.
An older man is able to take on some weaker attacks of an enemy well
over Level 200. His body is handling it all, his swordsmanship is somewhat
lacking, but it shows his immense talent for positioning and his calm,
calculating personality.
A black-haired woman with dark blue armor around her body
continuously creates and changes weapons made of mana and even uses
some mana projectiles to shoot at the archer.
The twins move faster than anyone else from the group, both impossibly
synchronized and sometimes even switching places with each other while
creating extremely realistic illusions.
A young boy who skillfully moves dozens of iron orbs that hit much
stronger than they should and move at a speed that is hard for me to watch.
He also does something that further slows down the movement of the
monster.
And every single one of them has that weird look in their eyes. A look
similar to their guild master.
What a scary bunch.

In the end, the Arcane Archer is a disappointment. Seeing his level, I hoped
for more, but he is just an imperfect imprint with limited mana. A
personality construct of someone much less skilled than Lissandra.
His mana reserves also weren’t that big, and he was capable of using
only a few skills. Powerful skills, yet with limited use, and it’s not that
smart, only reacting to outside stimuli. So I just watch Angry Kittens
fighting his further weakened version after fighting with me.
I notice that Obelia keeps staring at me, but I mostly ignore her and
observe the fight in front of me.
Not even having to join that much, I let group 4 deal with an enemy that
is close to one hundred levels higher than them, and to be honest, the archer
right now, after nearly depleting his mana, feels under Level 200.
So yup, he is getting quite bullied, even though he lands a few nice hits.
In the end, it’s Hadwin who deals the finishing blow, his epic sword
cutting through the corpse that barely has any mana left inside its body.

[You have defeated Arcane Archer - Level 228]

[Level 182 > Level 183]

I reach what remains of him and without hesitation pull out the mana
stones from his eyes and chest. After sending my mana inside them, it’s as I
think: there is a scarily delicate set of circuits that allow storing the
personality imprint as well as mana for who knows how many years.
All the stones are part mana battery, part personality construct, and part
allowing the corpse to use skills or the mana, but there is something else
too. A piece of information that is encrypted inside. A message left to
humans, most likely talking about the invasion of lynthari, Pairing, maybe
Calamities, or about the war. Or maybe it is a recipe for the best smoked
deer meat. Who knows?
I also pick up the bow that didn’t get destroyed during the fight, not
even damaged by my tricolored javelins.

Windrider Composite Bow (epic)

Engineered with high-tensile materials, this bow is designed to enhance and
compress any mana or other projectile it fires. This results in a remarkable
increase in both the distance the projectiles can travel and the force with
which they strike.

Quite a shitty weapon to leave to someone for a fight in a small room

underground. Somewhere outside with his teleport, the Arcane Archer
would be a much more terrifying enemy. Now what to do with the bow? It
would be nice for Tess and would allow her to create projectiles out of
lightning and shoot them much further. The same goes for Lily, who might
be able to shoot [Disintegration].
Or Izzy for some long-range fire attacks? Maybe even Min-Jae after
getting him arrows made from the mana-conductive metal he likes to use
and increasing its weight with [Gravity Well]?
Hell, even Maya could create some mana projectiles, strengthen them
with her [Boost], and have them even more compressed before shooting.
“Do you mind if I keep it?” I ask Obelia, who is looking at me, and
unsurprisingly, she doesn’t seem to mind that much.
I check one more time the mana stones in my hands, and all of them
look somewhat similar when it comes to encrypted and stored information.
The size of that information seems the same in each stone, so there
shouldn’t be a difference.
Then I hand her the mana stones that used to be the eyes of the Arcane
Archer and look at her with a question in my eyes.
Obelia just takes them and nods.
Still, I feel a bit bad as an asshole from Beyond messed up with her
collection of information, so I will make sure to pay her back a bit in the
future, even though she doesn’t realize it’s our fault.
I put away the big mana stone and hand the bow to Tess. “You can
decide who to give it to.”
 The moment it gets out of my hand, I feel relief as I get rid of the
annoying decision. Tess and the others can fight over it.
I know that Tess is using:

Abyssal Anchor (epic)

This gravity anchor is made from a heavy mythical metal. When activated,
it creates a gravitational pull, dragging foes toward the item and locking
them in place, leaving them vulnerable and restrained.

The twins got:

Veilshade Cloak (epic)

Tailored from the rare and elusive shadow silk, this cloak grants the wearer
a veil of obscurity against magical detection. Its dark aura masks the user’s
magical signature, making it a prized possession for those seeking to move
unnoticed through realms guarded by magical sentinels.

And the last epic item we got from the old capital and our friend Elydor
went to Hadwin:

Darkstride Ring (epic)

This ring is imbued with a dark enchantment that allows the wearer to step
into the shadows and reappear a short distance away in a different shadow,
effectively granting the ability to blink through shadows for a tactical
advantage on the battlefield.

Damn, I miss Elydor. I wish I could start the floor over again and meet
him one more time.
“Check the Beyond Community,” Tess leans closer and whispers into
my ear.
I do so right away.

Beyond 5/10

With Tess being the fourth it looks like someone else joined.
 Gareth - How do I change my name here?
Sset - You can’t.
Gareth - Oh, hello, friend! That’s unfortunate indeed.
Gareth - I wanted to leave the Community to Maximilian and Jakub,
but they are unable to join this one.
Sset - Who are Maximilian and Jakub?
Gareth - Sorry, my friend! They go by Brainiac and Lootenant in the
Community.

The newest Beyond explorer immediately starts doxxing his group

members.

Gareth - My name is Gareth Vogel, leader of group number 1 we

named WhiteWing. I’m 40 years old and from Germany. I just
finished the first Beyond trial and hope we will get along.

Not only his group members, but he is doxxing himself too.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 28
WHY ARE YOU HERE?

“C anattention
you take care of this?” I ask Tess, and when she nods, I turn my
back to the room.
First, I check on group 4. Hadwin’s wounds, even the big ones,
are already nearly healed thanks to his weaker healing skill and Lily. The
petite black-haired girl is still missing some limbs and fingers, but she
seems fine. [Sacrifice] is a scary skill, and even scarier is how used to it she
got.
I will have to sit down with her and force her to learn to sacrifice other
things than her body parts. The skill also seems fairly good, as for a short
moment, she was quick enough to rival the Arcane Archer. It was a really
short moment and it did cost her, but the amount it boosted her speed is
quite nice.
“Everyone is fine,” Sophie says after stopping by my side. “Some
wounds, but nothing too serious, and Lily will get her hands back.”
“Sounds good. You couldn’t do that much, right?”
She shakes her head. “The archer didn’t have any mind I could
manipulate. I will have to be more careful. I rely too much on mind
manipulation.”
I can’t help but agree, but I don’t think it will be that hard for her.
[Manipulation] is a fairly versatile skill, and she will find something even
though mind manipulation is what she is best at.
(Food?)
I turn my attention to the best doggo of the fourth floor, no, the best
doggo of the tutorial. “You did fucking amazing.”
(Food!)
“Yes! You totally destroyed him. He couldn’t do shit against you!”
 (Food food!)
“Yes, you are the good boy!”
I keep petting the mighty young divine beast and the future Absolute of
Earth. The Archmage Biscuit. May he remember me when he rises to his
throne. To be honest, seeing him sometimes do things like he did during the
fight against the archer makes me wonder how strong he actually is. I don’t
think I’ve seen his full power yet.
Does he also have classes? A subclass? Is it a gluttony subclass if yes?
What Primordial energy does he have? What is his level?
Well, it doesn’t matter that much. He is cute, so he can keep his secrets.
Walking toward Obelia, I notice one of Min-Jae’s orbs on the ground
and lift it. It’s much heavier than it looks, surely as heavy as little Isabella.
And he is moving dozens of them like it’s nothing. Then I remember that a
long time ago, I gave him practice where I told him to make the stone heavy
with his [Gravity Well] and move it around with [Telekinesis] at the same
time.
Oh boy. Did he continue to do that the entire time? Is this why he asked
for mana-conductive metal to make it better to accept his skills? The orbs
are small, but with how durable they are, how heavy they are, and how
quickly they move, they deal a lot of damage.
What a silly teenager.
Can group 4 people stop being scary for just a moment?
“Min-Jae, this thing is terrifying. Good job.” I hand him the orb, and he
gives me a big smile back.
The twins immediately make fun of him, but he only smiles brighter.
I reach Jenna, who is already examining the two mana stones I gave to
Obelia. “Hey.”
She greets me with a nod, and I look at her guild master. “How does it
look?”
“Jenna is trying to decipher them. It will take a lot of time, but I don’t
mind it that much. We already confirmed our suspicions, so hopefully, the
mana stones will contain more information.”
I nod. I also have one mana stone that I plan to examine and then use as
a mana battery.
I glance at it.

Whispering Echo Stone (epic)

The Whispering Echo Stone is a rare, iridescent mana stone that serves as a
powerful mana battery and harbors an imperfect personality imprint. There
is something encrypted inside.

Yup, another epic item in my collection. Something tells me it shouldn’t

be that easy to get them, even though this one isn’t that useful. The part that
would make it a bigger mana battery is ruined by inscriptions of the
personality imprint and encrypted information. In the end, the amount of
mana it can hold is really small, a few hundred stat points’ worth.
“Any luck with finding a way out?” I ask. I know there are already
multiple of her guild members looking around the room in hopes of finding
an array that would allow us to teleport outside.
“Nothing so far.” She shakes her head.
Not too surprised, I head toward the door that has tons of stones on the
opposite side and activate my [Mana Domain]. I take hold of the skill and
change it so that instead of keeping a sphere-like domain around me, it
extends more in one direction. Then I continue to make it thinner and
thinner, just big enough to create an anchor.

[Mana Domain - Level 16 > Mana Domain - Level 17]

I also check it with my [Perception], and in the end, I have a feeling

that I’m close to reaching unfallen parts of the tunnels.
That much should be enough for now. I have an option of moving
people outside with the help of [Tether], or in the worst case, we can dig
the tunnel. [Resonance] would be good for that while other people would
strengthen the stone so it doesn’t fall down.
Or I can take the epic ring from Hadwin and find some shadow far away
and get there after leaving an anchor where I am. Now that I think about it,
it could be better. The ring has further reach the more mana you pump into
it.
“It’s nice to always see you so calm.” Lily stops by my side. “You just
look like you are thinking about what you will eat after we get out or how
to make your skills more destructive.”
“Quite rude to hear from someone with a Skill literally called
[Disintegration].”
 “I know, right? Are you scared of it?” she asks teasingly.
“A little bit,” I lie.
Actually, I’m scared of her skill by a lot. Scared and jealous. I mean,
[Focus] and [Mana Manipulation], the skills I started with, are good and
all, but!
“Yeah, me too sometimes.” She sighs. “Dennis said I should seal it in
my left arm and put some bandages around it. Something about renaming it
to Black Dragon and keeping it sealed.” Lily rolls her eyes.
“I think we found something,” Jenna interrupts us, and we follow where
she leads us.
There is a big iron circle on the ground, an array similar to the one
Storm Brigade used to teleport us toward the old capital.
Jenna carefully moves more stone from it. “There are probably dozens
of traps, so I think it will be better if you check it.” Her tone is somewhat
casual yet respectful.
I quickly get to it and put my hand on it, and it’s as she said. There are
dozens of traps, and some of them even seem to be set to make teleportation
go terribly wrong or make it explode the moment we feed it mana.
Jenna leaves, and I continue to observe it while Lily sits nearby and
slowly restores her limbs and fingers.
Slowly, I get deep into it. The trap even requires me to focus on multiple
things at once, and that is something I learned to do.
My [Focus] splits into multiple parts, something I did a long time ago
with my first skill upgrade token, and then decided against it to not weaken
my skill. Yet, while improving my abilities, I have learned to do it on my
own. To split my skill into multiple parts, each weaker than the original, and
[Focus] on multiple things at once. Doing it becomes somewhat easy in a
similar way consolidation became.
The more I learn about the skills, the more I reflect on my decision to
improve my knowledge. And each new thing I learn makes me happy.
“You are quite charming when you focus on something,” Lily says out
of nowhere.
That makes me look at her.
She giggles at my expression. “Even though your expression doesn’t
change, I can tell that you are having fun, and when you give something
your full attention, it’s…charming.” She avoids using the word I know she
wants to use.
 “Lily,” I say.
“Yes?”
“Remind me, how old are you?”
“Eighteen in a few weeks!” she answers, not understanding why I
asked.
I can only sigh and filter out the voice of our childish healer and focus
back on the array. The world becomes scarily quiet and loses its colors, and
I activate my [Mana Domain] too, and get to it. I examine all its twists,
remove all the traps, and fix the circuits that were broken with time. I enjoy
the entire process and even catch myself not caring about the time I spend
doing it. It’s fun.
In the end, I stop when the array feels like it’s fixed and examine it one
more time.
Seems good, this should do.
I look up, and my eyes meet those of Jenna, who also waits for me to
finish my work.
“Can you tell where it’s leading?” I ask her.
“Let me see.” She passes by me and puts her hand on the array. The
mana she sends in is a bit weird, and she even uses one of the items Obelia
takes out when working on arrays.
Curious, I examine the process and try to remember as much as
possible.
“Most of the arrays are multi-directional. For example, the one we used
to get to the old capital leads to two more places. The one we used to get
out of the old capital also leads to three places in total.” Her voice is quiet
as her mana continuously flows inside.
In the end, she shakes her head. “This array leads only in one direction,
and I can’t tell right away, but I think the one it reaches also connects only
to this one.”
Jenna stands up, and after excusing herself, she leaves to meet Obelia.
“Interesting, isn’t it?” I hear the soft voice behind me.
I don’t even have to turn around to know who it is and decide to stay
quiet.
“Nice reaction,” the voice continues to speak softly.
At the same time, Lily also continues to talk to me, her expression
clearly showing she doesn’t hear the voice that talks to me.
 “I will take a look at something else, Lily. Can you check on Hadwin?
Just in case?” My steps become heavier as I head away from the room,
reaching the far corner of the big room we first entered.
After making sure I’m behind the pillar, I wait a bit, and soon the
lynthari woman, who is barely taller than me, passes by my side and stops
in front of me, the lynthari matriarch.
I wonder, why is the Matriarch shorter than any other adult lynthari? Is
there a reason for that?
Then her piercingly blue eyes meet mine, and she moves a strand of her
red hair from her shoulder.
My mana continuously flows through my body, strengthening it,
defending my mind, and trying to perceive everything around me. I still
don’t sense anything. Like appearing out of thin air, the Matriarch is here.
No, she was here the entire time; she entered the mines with us, and she
walked by our side. She observed the fight.
The entire time just an arm’s reach away from us, yet no one could see
her, no one could sense her.
“I can see why Myrra calls you Feral One.” The Matriarch, who looks
barely thirty, just smiles. It’s a somewhat friendly smile.
“Why are you here?” I manage to get out.
For a moment, she muses over her next words, and then she just says,
“At first, I went here to kill everyone from Storm Brigade. Obelia long
since started asking too…uncomfortable questions, and her obsession isn’t
helping either.” She turns around and looks toward one of the men from
Obelia’s guild.
He is walking toward where we are, but then, without me sensing
anything, the man’s expression changes, and he stops, a surprised giggle
escaping his mouth. He walks around where we are as if there is a wall in
front of him.
“As for you and your guild, I planned to keep you alive. Mainly because
you have a few guild members with interesting skills.” She thinks a bit
longer. “Oh, and Eris seems to like you, calling you underling and such, so I
would feel bad for killing you.”
Her voice is calm and confident, even as she talks about killing a few
dozen people. A voice of someone confident in their decisions and power. A
voice of someone who is used to ruling and making difficult decisions for a
long time.
 “But?” I ask.
“The array you just fixed, do you have any idea where it leads?” A few
steps and she stops in front of me. I could reach her if I lifted my hand.
“Jenna said it’s one-directional,” I answer as I still have no idea.
“Yes, it leads to the tunnels far away from here,” her canines show, “to
the lab where the lynthari Champion created the self-sustained biological
weapon called the Colony.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 29
BACK ON THE SURFACE

I
t had long been suspected here in this world that the Colony and the
Living Tree were weapons used in a war long ago. But learning in one
day that the war was against invaders called lynthari and the Colony was
something created to be used against humans would be quite earthshaking
news for someone from this floor.
“So you guys invaded this world during the Pairing, you fought humans,
you created the Colony and the Living Tree, and a few hundred years later,
you are at the point you are?”
“If you say it like that, it sounds quite rude.” Her tail, which is much
fluffier than other lynthari’s, moves, showing her amusement. “The Pairing
is something that is forced onto us by )0ú +!ôú#*,” she continues to explain,
but the system automatically censors everything else.
What a surprise.
“I see.” I nod and pretend to understand. “The Living Tree is also your
job?” I ask.
The lynthari matriarch doesn’t say anything else. A weird smile appears
on her face, and she nods. “It’s been a long time since I talked with
someone about it.” She breathes in. “It’s refreshing.”
“So that means the other lynthari don’t know?”
“They are too young, and I made sure to kill everyone who knew,
leaving only kids behind.”
I open my mouth to ask why, but I freeze at the start of the sentence.
Her eyes clearly show that this is as much as she will say. Asking more than
this would be dangerous.
“I see,” I say in the end, and her tail moves a bit, showing an emotion
that is hard to describe, seemingly both annoyed and amused at the same
time.
Without explaining anything else, she turns around and walks into the
wall, passing by it as if it’s not there.
What level is she? Surely over 250 and her class is [Enthraller - Level
??], showing only two question marks so she is still under Level 300.
It’s all really weird; she is a matriarch, probably the strongest living
lynthari, yet she called Myrra “Champion candidate.” Does it mean that
Myrra only possesses the potential to become Champion while the
Matriarch does not? Before this floor ends, I will have to ask her a few
questions.
For a moment, I examine the wall she left through, and there is no
illusion or hidden entrance; it’s just a normal wall, meaning she used some
skill to pass through it. That’s interesting, but there is something that
annoyed me more than her ability to pass through materials. It’s her skill
that allows her to hide from other people. I guess that it is something similar
to Lorven’s skill or the twins’ skill called [Sensory Deception].
Their skill doesn’t affect the mind, just creates an illusion that the twins
slowly learn to make more and more believable. Sometimes they even give
them some fake mana signatures, and I could swear they somehow make
them radiate heat.
The Matriarch probably has a similar skill that allows her to hide from
people or remove her “signature” from the world. I know that she is maybe
even one hundred levels higher than me, yet it still annoys me that she is
capable of doing that. Especially while not being a Champion and not even
a Champion candidate as far as I know.
While observing the wall to make sure, I even kick it a few times, and
obviously, that’s when Tess appears.
“We are fighting walls now?” she asks.
“Only this one.” I sigh. “So how is our fifth Beyond explorer?”
“He is from the same group as Brainiac, Lootenant, and Mari, group
WhiteWing, and apparently, he is their leader.”
“Also the strongest one out of group 1.”
“Yes, he is a bit…trusting and seems nice, but it’s hard to say how much
of it is an act. Right now, he seems like some paladin of justice, just from
the way he speaks.”
I move away from the wall. “Someone in Beyond being nice? Tess,
wanna bet? I think he is evil, maybe the worst guy from here, and is only
acting all nice and just.”
“That’s so like you.” She shakes her head. “Anyway, what do you think
of the array?”
“That? It’s a no-go for now. It leads to the Colony.”
I then tell her what I have learned from the Matriarch and how close we
most likely all were to death. What changed her mind is still a bit of a
mystery.
“So she said she didn’t want that information to leak out and she was
willing to kill Obelia and probably all of us, but she changed her mind?”
Tess asks, and a dozen or so javelins that constantly hover behind her back
move slightly to the side and follow her.
“My best guess is that she wants to attack the lab where the Colony was
created and doesn’t want to weaken Virelia’s forces,” I tell her.
“I thought the same.” Tess looks around and also knocks on the wall of
rock. “I hoped it would be a quick expedition with decent rewards, but once
again, we are deep underground, surrounded by rock and darkness.”
“Are you holding up fine?”
“For me, it’s not a problem, but some of the others are getting a bit
nervous. It’s not much, but enough to influence their behavior a bit if we
stay here for much longer.”
“I see. Can you tell Obelia what we learned about the array? Keep the
Matriarch’s interference secret for now. I will, meanwhile, ask for the ring
from Hadwin and try to check how far the closest tunnel is.”
Tess just nods in confirmation and leaves while I reach Hadwin, who is
already fully healed.
The wound on his side is gone, and he even put a new shirt on.
Seeing where I look, he shakes his head. “I thought I could take it on,
but I was wrong.”
“Well, his attacks were quite strong.” I decide to be nice.
“Yes, but if he was real or fought better, I would’ve been dead. But no
worries, I will work on it.”
I nod. Seeing Haddy complain about not being able to tank the attack of
someone with an epic weapon and a much higher level reminds me how
weird most of us are.
How arrogant and far-reaching. We are just a bunch of newbies who
only started learning how to use our skills and mana, and we want to fight
much stronger opponents. And not only fight, but to win, endure their
attacks, crush them. Maybe you have to be a bit crazy to end up in Hell
Difficulty.
“I thought of it as well, but you will probably have more luck with your
higher mana.” He immediately knows what is on my mind, and after pulling
it off his finger, he hands me the ring we got from the expedition to the old
capital.
I examine it once more.

Darkstride Ring (epic)

This ring is imbued with a dark enchantment that allows the wearer to step
into the shadows and reappear a short distance away in a different shadow,
effectively granting the ability to blink through shadows for a tactical
advantage on the battlefield.

“You just have to hope there are some shadows in the tunnels. I’m not
sure how well it works with pure darkness.”
Huh, that’s a good point. Is Hadwin maybe a bit smart? I didn’t think of
that, so maybe he is a genius?
“You are thinking something rude, aren’t you?” he asks. He really is
smart. “There might still be some mana in the lines on the tunnel walls, so
the shadows might be here, but you better hurry.”
“No problem, thanks.” I leave Hadwin and then use [Mana Domain]
and stretch it in one direction again. Then, while using [Perception] in a
similar way, I move around the rooms, close to the walls.
It takes a bit of time, but in the end, as suspected, I don’t find any part
of an unburrowed tunnel.
The ring says a short distance, but we confirmed before that the more
mana you use, the longer that short distance is. So I do the same thing, just
this time feed the epic ring with a lot of mana and search for shadows I
could use.
In the end, I find only one, but it only feels weak, as it’s about to
disappear.
Quickly, I rush more mana through my body, and in the air in front of
me, I create an anchor and feed it with enough mana to last a few minutes.
Then, just in case, I create another one a bit further.
“Min-Jae, guard them for me,” I tell the Korean boy who is closest to
me, and he nods.
 Then I use [Regalia] to create armor around my body and strengthen
my body before using the ring.
The world around me changes, and I feel my body being pulled and
moved toward the shadow I targeted. The skill of the ring ignores the stone
and just moves me toward the shadow, where I pop out.
As suspected, it’s one of the tunnels we used, and further behind, I sense
one of the marks Sophie kept leaving behind.
Immediately, I leave an anchor in the air, and this one I feed with even
more mana than the ones before.
Examining it for a while, I send mana toward the wall, making the lines
light up. Then, to be even more sure, I create one orb and fill it with thermal
energy, making it create even more shadow and be able to last hours.
Giving my surroundings one more look, I then activate the anchor and
teleport back through [Tether].
The skill is currently Level 9, so testing if I can teleport with people will
surely make it break the bottleneck, right? So who will be my test subject
and find out with me if I can transport other people?
My eyes meet Hadwin’s, and he seems a bit nervous out of nowhere.
Who told you to be so durable and upgrade your constitution?

In the end, it worked. Hadwin went first, after using the entirety of his mana
and [Strengthening] his body, even putting some heavy armor on. Such an
amount of distrust almost hurts my sensitive soul, but I decide to forgive
him.
While transferring him, I did it extremely carefully, even though I might
have seemed unbothered. I spent a few minutes preparing and carefully
calculating.
Surprisingly, it all went without a hitch, just the chunk of mana it took
was much bigger than expected. It’s hard to guess, but probably around
twenty percent of my mana? Maybe even more. Enough for quite a strong
tricolored or atomic bomb.
Still, having enough mana in the reservoir and my regeneration being
somewhat decent because of the big mana pool, I spent plenty of time
transporting everyone and waiting for my mana to replenish. It could go a
bit faster if I took more from my Mana Reservoir, but I have decided to
keep it at least mostly full.
“Damn, I missed the sun,” Maya groans while she stretches. A sigh of
relief is something I noticed.
“Next time, we will take some people specialized in stone manipulation
and tunneling. It would take them just a few hours to get us out.” Obelia
stops by our side.
Her saying that isn’t surprising at all. Most of us are more inclined
toward fighting rather than tunneling and stopping the tunnel from falling
on our heads. Well, just a few hundred more levels and I will just destroy
the mountain, not bothering with such things as tunnels.
“Judging by the time, the auction will start tonight. I will be taking Tess
with me as my disciple, and you will have a spot for two more people if you
want to take them with you,” Obelia says simply.
“Will do so. So we will meet there?” I look at her.
“Yes, I will be waiting for you.” She then waves and leaves for her
guild, all of them moving toward Virelia.
“How big is that auction, Nat?” Min-Jae asks while walking by my side.
I also notice a few others listening.
“Myrra said the biggest one in a few dozen years, so probably quite
good. Obelia will be also auctioning an epic spear,” I answer him.
But best of all, I will also be auctioning off some inscribed mana stones,
with the help of the old man and just to get a bit more money from all the
weirdos that drool over some new inscriptions.
I have to find a way to spend all that money. There will be some nice
items in the auction, something said even by Myrra and Obelia, both
extremely rich and one of them having multiple epic items while the other
one surely has one as well.
“So who will you be taking?” I don’t even have to turn around to see the
shine in Min-Jae’s eyes.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 30
DRESSED UP

I
check myself one more time in the mirror. I’m wearing a simple gray
suit. It is tailor-made, and it took a few weeks to get a few sets.
Something I, in the end, let happen even though I prefer my casual
clothes.
The clothes are surprisingly comfortable, with gray pants, a similar
color jacket, and under it a black shirt with long sleeves and a vest-like
thing that is also gray. In a few places, there is simple embroidery made
with a golden-like color.
My hair is also put into a somewhat presentable state.
For a moment, I stare at my reflection, and the weirdo in the mirror
stares back at me with his differently colored eyes. Well, I won’t be getting
any points for the expression my face almost constantly has, but at least I’m
handsome, right? My mom said it once when I was nine years, six months,
and ten days old, so it must be true.
Then I spend a few minutes thinking if I should create a thermal orb and
store it inside my body but decide against it. A few lynthari could sense it,
and explaining it would be a bit…difficult.
“Asshole,” I say to the weirdo in the mirror, and the guy mouths the
same word. The word Biscuit likes to use so often.
Finally, I exit my room and walk downstairs where most of group 4 are.
Tess is the first I notice: a tall blonde wearing a simple white dress that
somewhat looks comfortable and reveals a nice chunk of her shoulders and
back.
Curiously, I locate Min-Jae, and as expected, he turns away his gaze
from Tess the moment he sees me looking at him.
Oi, you will drool.
 I shake my head and stop in front of Tess. “No high heels?”
“As if I would put on such uncomfortable things.” She also eyes me the
way I did her. “See? You can be quite handsome if you try.”
“I don’t have to be handsome. Biscuit likes me no matter how ugly I
look,” I point out. “You look pretty,” I compliment her.
I can see that I made her a bit happy. Who doesn’t like compliments?
“And who is this handsome boy?” I squat down in front of the best
doggo.
(Asshole!)
“Yes, yes you are!” I pick Biscuit up and examine the clothes he is
wearing. They seem to be even more quality and expensive than the ones I
have on myself.
Biscuit is wearing a dark blue jacket and vest, both reminding me of a
suit, and he also has something like a red tie. All of it fits well and is
custom-made. The best thing the silly group 4, probably Isabella, spent
money on.
Seeing how handsome he is, I think I would be willing to sell an epic
item just to get a few more clothes like that for him. Well, my point of view
might be skewed a bit when it comes to money, as epic items keep falling
into my lap.
(Food,) Biscuit says after looking at me.
“Oh, really? Thank you, buddy! You too look very handsome.”
“It’s so weird how those two communicate,” I hear Maya say
somewhere in the background, but I ignore her.
We fancy-dressed people often have trouble being able to hear people
like her. “Where are Sophie and Izzy?” I ask about the two people I decided
to take with me.
Sophie to check the items with me and maybe make some people
more…cooperative and Izzy to read other auctioneers and give us a nice
advantage. I mean, some people didn’t like it, but the decision is the most
logical.
“Well, that changed a bit. Izzy got sick, and Sophie decided to stay with
her,” Tess tells me.
“Oh…so who is coming?”
“Lily and Hadwin.” The blonde sighs. “Before you ask, Lily didn’t do
anything. I checked multiple times.”
If that doesn’t suck…
 The first one to descend the stairs is Hadwin, wearing a light blue suit in
a style similar to mine. The older man has a short, well-kept beard and a
nice haircut. The longer I look at him, the more I wonder how much longer
I can call him an older man. Hadwin now looks under forty, unlike his real
age, which is closer to fifty. He is still well-built and only a bit shorter than
me.
Unlike before when he was bulkier, he is a bit slimmer, yet the muscles
are apparent even under clothes, not bulky, but flexible and tough, clearly
showing how much he got into swordsmanship. I also check his face, and I
swear it looks younger than before.
Is it a result of a constitution upgrade or just the sheer power of stats?
Or maybe he just enjoys this new “life” that much?
The same as me, he doesn’t have any weapons on him.
“Tess, can you help Lily? She’s having some trouble with her clothes,”
he asks.
“I will help too,” Maya says, and together with Tess, they go upstairs.
“Nat, you have to buy me something nice, okay?” Min-Jae, still a bit
disappointed, asks. “Some tougher or more conductive material for my
projectiles would be nice.”
“Sure, I will buy everything useful,” I answer him.
I’m rich.
“Keep an eye on Isabella. If it seems to be getting more serious, come
for us,” Hadwin tells him.
“Lily couldn’t help?” I ask.
“That’s the weird thing about it. Sophie didn’t want Lily to interfere and
asked us to trust her.” For a moment, a sharp expression flashes in his eyes.
“Lately, Sophie has been acting suspicious, so I sat down with her and
asked her about it. She didn’t tell me it all, but I think she might have
removed [Geas] from Isabella’s mind.”
Oh? That really surprised me. Sophie’s [Geas] is something she left on
Isabella during the second floor. It was a construct that helped the young
girl deal with the terrifying reality of the tutorial while allowing her to not
feel that much fear or regret in certain situations to allow her to fight.
“I think it’s the right decision, but the effect of removing it must have
been too much.” Hadwin fixed his tie.
“She could have waited a few days,” I tell him.
 “Today is Isabella’s eleventh birthday,” Hadwin says softly, to the
surprise of everyone in the room.
“We didn’t know that!” Dennis complains.
“Yeah, they never told us,” Aaron continues, as always, the twins in
perfect sync.
“They didn’t want to spread it that much. So I think Sophie and Isabella
wanted to do it on Isabella’s birthday. Symbolic, mostly,” Hadwin’s voice
sounds almost gentle.
That’s when Tess walks downstairs together with Lily, who follows
shyly behind her. The black-haired girl is wearing a pale blue dress that is
similar to Tess’s, but less revealing, completely covering her back and
showing only a bit of her shoulder and the entirety of her pale white arm—
something she still refuses to fix for me and for her, both of us having an
albino-like left arm.
It’s not like I don’t know the reason, and it’s as Lily said once. She is
scarily patient and stubborn.
“Say welcome to our Initiate of Lust,” Dennis mutters, and Min-Jae
giggles but quickly tries to hide it.
“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t have a Lust subclass!”
Lily shouts at one of the twins.
“According to Granny Liss, it’s Radiant Lust, Lily! You should know
that!” Aaron shakes his head.
Tess, patient as always, just waits for them to finish. “So, boys, keep an
eye on Sophie and Izzy, and if anything happens, look for us, you know
where. Maya, I will be relying on you the most.” She turns to the other
woman.
“Sure, buy me something nice, okay?” Maya smiles at her.
“Only the best stuff.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Then we leave the house. Me, Tess, Hadwin, Lily, and Biscuit, of
course. Tess will be with Obelia as her disciple, and I could take two people
with me, but I need Biscuit too, obviously. They would not stop me from
taking in my emotional support animal.
It’s already getting darker, and the streets are emptier than before yet
nicely lit. Since we have enough time, we walk toward the auction building.
Even from afar, we can see dozens of people moving around, talking to
each other, building social circles, greeting old friends, and showing off
expensive clothes and jewelry. Seeing all of it, Lily becomes starry-eyed,
looking around with an expression that is so excited it makes me stop
myself from making fun of her.
I also notice Hadwin looking at her, and the smile on his face seems
almost fatherly as if it’s his granddaughter having her first big party.
“Hadwin is nicer than you might think, Nat. He has been helping the
kids a lot, and they like him for it.” Tess slows down and whispers to me,
“He just seems to have been lonely on Earth. Did you know most of his
family died not that long ago?”
Our steps sound on cobblestones, and in the distance, we can hear music
playing as we are getting closer to the auction building.
Tess continues, “I think he enjoys having people rely on him and asking
him for help.”
“And you are poking both Hadwin and the kids to make it happen,” I
answer her back, also in a quiet voice.
“Maybe a little bit.” She flashes me a smile. “But is that so bad?”
“I guess it’s not,” I answer to the best, after Biscuit, manipulator of
group 4.
When I notice Obelia moving closer, I stop talking and warn others too.
The guild master of Storm Brigade reaches us soon, followed by her
attendee Jenna. Both of them are wearing nice dresses that have their guild
emblem embroidered into them. Both dresses are in pale blue color.
“Excuse me, but I’m rather surprised how good you look in your clothes,
Nathaniel,” Obelia says, with Jenna nodding in agreement.
I also notice Lily saying something under her breath that I’m sure is an
insult to, according to her, the old woman Obelia.
Feeling my social batteries already going down, I just answer quickly.
“Thank you, you and Jenna also look nice.”
One surprise lifted eyebrow from Obelia and a few sentences she
exchanged with Tess, Hadwin, and Lily later, and we finally follow her
inside the auction house.
Just following close to her gives us a lot of attention from other people,
and every time someone tries to reach out to sense our mana, I destroy the
attempt in a way that should hurt at least a bit. Through the door framed
with golden lights, we enter a giant hallway. The walls are full of beautiful
paintings, the stone of the floor is smooth and shiny, and everywhere are
dozens of powerful or rich people.
 And in between them, lynthari. A race of people-like beings that just
have cat ears and tails, towering over everyone. All of them are young for
lynthari, confirming that most of the old ones rarely mingle with humans.
“Oh, Obelia, it’s nice to see you.” A lynthari woman joins in, her tail
short and both it and her ears brown, similar in color to her hair. “I heard
you are also auctioning some items, nya! I’m already excited to see it,” the
lynthari chirps.
For some unknown reason, my body twitches.
“Thank you, Miss Lynthes, you are charming as always, and I hope you
will have a lot of fun tonight,” Obelia answers in her calming tone.
“I will, nya! Who are your friends? I already know smart Jenna, but I
didn’t see the others.”
“Guild master of Angry Kittens, Nathaniel, his vice guild master Tess,
and these are their other members, Hadwin and Lily.” Obelia introduces us
shortly and without much grandeur, but it looks like something the lynthari
would prefer.
“Ahh.” For a moment, my eyes meet those of the lynthari woman, and
her tail twitches and her canines show. “You are Myrra’s…” Her tone of
voice sounds disappointed. “Shame,” she adds and licks her lips.
With a few more sentences, she leaves, and in my mind, I don’t know if
I should thank Myrra for scaring them off or be angry that she seems to be
so possessive.
Walking around and grabbing some snacks here and there, I continue to
follow our small group, and my mood only grows more and more sour,
surrounded by all these talking people.
“Your expression is fun.” Another lynthari who started talking to us
smiles at me, somewhat shamelessly and not scared off by Myrra’s name.
Once again, I wonder why they won’t annoy Tess, Lily, or Hadwin.
The lynthari sniffs, and for all I know, he can be trying to sniff my
emotions or whatever they do.
(Asshole!) Biscuit shouts, making sure the lynthari hears it, and for a
moment, the lynthari’s expression becomes annoyed.
I noticed it long since, but the race of cat people don’t seem to like
Biscuit, to my surprise. I mean, how could you not? Just look at him,
especially now when he is wearing a dark blue suit with a red tie.
“That creature, can you get it away? It disturbs me.” The lynthari sighs
in an annoyed voice and with slight disgust in it.
 “Well, maybe you should just fuck off if you don’t like it here,” I get out
of myself.
The expression of sheer surprise I get from the lynthari and people
around me is almost funny. I did spend the last one hour and forty-two
minutes dealing with their bullshit, surrounded by all this noise and people.
And now they will trash-talk Biscuit?
“What? You didn’t hear? I said you can fuck off if you don’t like it.”
The lynthari man then licks his lips, more amused than threatened. “I
can see why Myrra likes you,” he says before gracefully bowing and
leaving.
As a reward for that, Biscuit thankfully bumps my leg with his head.
Let’s not let him know that I partially did it so Biscuit doesn’t obliterate that
weirdo.
I turn to the person who got us here. “So, Obelia, I’m bored, how about
we go and see the items that will be auctioned off?”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 31
START OF THE AUCTION

T
here are multiple rooms where the items are previewed, and there are
already plenty of people in these rooms inspecting the items for one
last time before the auction. A few guards are in each room, while the
items are in glass boxes with circuits etched into them.
Armors, amulets, rings, some weird eggs, and bottles that are hundreds
of years old. Some expensive meats that are also apparently hundreds of
years old and perfectly stored. This meat can be smelled even through the
glass and is from high-level monsters.
Mana stones with information stored on them and even plenty of items
people don’t know what they are for or that are straight-up broken.
We pass through multiple rooms like that, and even though some items
are good, they don’t catch my interest that much. Sure, I will buy anything
that seems useful, yet they don’t excite me, so we pass into a room with
more and more valuable items.
Soon the rooms have much fewer people in them, and there needs to be
an invitation to even be able to enter them, something Obelia has so we can
enter.
I notice a few rare armors of the upper tier, mana batteries that are hard
to find anywhere else, and encrypted mana stones. Old manuals inscribed
into mana stones containing information on classes.
Finally, this is getting better.
“This is the last room,” Obelia says, and this time the confirming of her
identity takes longer. When we enter, there are barely ten people inside and
two lynthari guards.
There are only ten items in there, and I recognize a few of them.
 First, the epic spear Obelia got from the old capital and that has the
most people around it. The plan is to buy it for Tess so she can use it as a
projectile. Might be overkill, but with the amount of money we got from
scamm…from leveraging our epic items to the lynthari, we should be
capable of buying this.
Plus, we got more money from Sophie and her…well, her ability to
make people cooperative as well from me selling some inscribed mana
stones.
We are not scammers.
“Oh, feral angry kitten!” I hear the voice and can only sigh as Isola
rushes toward us.
One of the strongest humans in the city has a smile on her face and is
wearing a black dress that reveals a big chunk of her belly. “You are quite
handsome if you dress up, but I still prefer you in normal clothes,” she
complains and also greets other people.
“Is there anything you want to buy, Isola?” Obelia asks her.
Isola scratches her head. “Not really, just a few members of my guild
want me to buy a mana stone.” She gestures toward one of the glass boxes.
“Apparently, it has some amazing inscriptions on it made by some
upcoming genius enchanter.”
She then pauses for a moment. “Oh, and did you notice lynthari saying
‘nya’ after every other sentence? Lately, more and more of them do that. Do
you think they are trying to mess with us?”
“Oh? You noticed it too? Maybe it’s some trend from their youngsters?”
Obelia answers. They get into a conversation and I use the opportunity to
move around the room.
One after another, I check all the items, and as expected, the mana stone
Isola talked about is the one inscribed by me. As for why it’s here among
the most valuable items, I don’t know. Well, it’s probably the old man
selling it here, but I don’t know why it’s considered so valuable to be next
to an epic spear.
None of the items look more interesting than the heavy chest without
any holes we got from the old capital.
Yes, even after all these months and dozens of attempts, we were unable
to open it. Not me, not Lily, not even Biscuit after I told him there is the
best food stored inside of it. At this point, I might give it to Min-Jae or Tess
to use as a heavy projectile as they did during the first floor with heavy
chunks of iron.
“Some items here are really nice, the best rare items I saw, and probably
close to stepping into the epic grade.” Hadwin joins my side, and I notice
that he is playing with the ring he has on his finger. The epic rarity one.
“We will buy most of them and you guys can take them.” I shrug my
shoulders.
“Nothing caught your eyes?”
“Nothing here, but in one of the first rooms, I noticed a few broken
items and mana stones that I really want to get,” I answer him.
I’m not even lying. More than these highest rare-grade items and even
more than the epic spear, I saw a mana stone that had such dense and weird
inscriptions that they seemed like cracks and made the organizers put it into
the trash items they want to get rid of.
There was also a bracelet that was twisted and broken, yet the metal it
was made of was reacting extremely weirdly to my primordial energies. To
be honest, it made me so curious, I almost tried to steal it right there.
I spend the remaining time there talking with Hadwin and Lily, who
sneaks closer to us while Tess deals with other people in the room.
All the guild masters are here, even Lorven, who looks at me so
lovingly, and Thalen, the redheaded guild master of the Luminous Order.
The healer tries to get into a talk with Lily, but she just straight-up tells him
that she is not interested, whatever she meant by it.
As for me, I still plan to make Lily a stronger healer than him so I can
show off.
Now that we are here, I wonder if I should introduce Hadwin to Isola;
both of them have a similar fighting style. I don’t trust the woman, but
Haddy could learn a thing or two from her.
Then I also get some food for Biscuit and hold him in my hands so he
can also look at the items without having to hover. Every time he asks, I
answer him that no, the item he is looking at is not food. He seems a bit
disappointed, wondering why I’m showing him items that are not food.
As the auction starts coming closer, we head toward another room
where all of us register. After infusing a mana stone with our mana, we
receive another one with our signature, which we can use to bid on the
items by sending a pulse of mana inside of it.
 Then everyone slowly gets to the biggest circular room. On one side of
that room, there is a small podium where the items will be presented and the
auctioneer will stand.
Down below that podium are a lot of chairs where people will be sitting,
and then there are dozens of balconies all around the room. All of them are
private and each one is just big enough to house only a few people.
The room is beautifully lit by light that is sharp enough to light
everything yet still soft to the eyes. Luxurious red drapes are everywhere,
most of them even having embroidery with some material that glows
slightly, fed by mana batteries nicely hidden from view.
I also notice a heating system built in the floor. Heating stones buried
under and spreading heat through efficient mana circuits, yet in shapes that
make them pretty to look at.
But the most eye-catching part of the room is the ceiling that curves a
bit, creating a dome over the entire room, and then there is an effect created.
The ceiling looks like a pitch-black dark sky full of stars that pulsate slowly
and also light the room.
I poke Lily so she closes her wide-open mouth as she stares at it. Not
like Angry Kittens have some name, but she will ruin what remains of it.
But yeah, when we get back to Earth, I will totally copy this thing and
have it in my room. Obviously, I will make it even better. Maybe I can
sneak inside the auction building a bit later and examine it. With the help of
the epic cape we have, it should be doable.
“Welcome, welcome!” A tall man with long brown hair enters the
podium, a big smile on his face showing his perfect teeth and clothes.
“Thank you all for participating in the auction organized by White Stone
Company and under the patronage of Ms. Lyriel!”
The man’s voice, strengthened by some means, evenly spreads through
the room and even reaches the balcony where Angry Kittens, Obelia, and
Jenna sit.
“Lyriel?” I ask Obelia.
“Lynthari in charge of administration of the city.”
The auctioneer talks for a bit more, using flowery words to compliment
people here or to point out how amazing the auction, White Stone
Company, and Lyriel are. It all goes on for a few long minutes.
“Now, then, why don’t we get to why we all are here?” He finally gets
to the point, and the mood immediately changes.
 People stop talking and sit up straighter in their chairs, and all eyes turn
toward the podium.
Seeing all of this, the man smiles and bows slightly as the drape on the
side moves and the first item is brought onto a circular pedestal exactly in
the middle of the podium.
“We will start with this item! It’s a mana stone found in the ruins of a
small village north of the city. Its age is estimated to be two hundred ninety
years old. The stone contains information about the people living in that
village and its administration. The starting price is two Mirage stones!”
The fight immediately starts, and I can feel multiple pulses of mana
from people under us that the auctioneer receives and starts shouting out,
the price quickly climbing to four Mirage stones and then changing to one
Heart stone.
“So, Tess, how does the currency work?” I say after quickly resonating
the air around us so Obelia doesn’t hear.
The look that Tess gives me is halfway between amused and annoyed.
“Nat, you’ve spent multiple months in this city. How the hell⁠—”
I interrupt her, “I’m rich.”
She rolls her eyes, but I can see that she can’t help herself, and a small
smile appears on her face.
Tess then explains and tells me how much each stone would be worth in
comparison to dollars. Obviously, it’s all estimations, but quite close if I
know how diligent she can be.
There are thirteen grades of mana stones, and obviously, the higher the
grade, the more worth it has, and the rarer it is. Also, the higher the rarity,
the harder they are to work on and to inscribe.
I just make sure to remember that the most valuable and somewhat used
is the Eclipse Stone, worth around one million dollars, and the Sun Stone,
worth five hundred thousand dollars, among others.
There are probably some even more expensive ones, but that’s not
something you are usually able to see as a human.
I also quickly forget the names of cheaper mana stones. I don’t think I
will need this information outside of this auction.
In the end, I also ask, “So how rich am I?”
“I could tell you that we have a few Sun Stones in the bank and you
would have to believe me,” Tess teases.
 “That’s true. Tess, are you stealing my money and building yourself a
villa near the sea?”
“Just one? With how much we have, I could build multiple of them and
you wouldn’t even notice.” She snorts and smiles, glancing to the side at
our healer. “But to quickly answer, before Lily gets even more jealous. In
the bank, we have well over one hundred Eclipse Stones.”
Huh, what?
“Come again?”
“Yes, Nat, you are rich, disgustingly rich.” Tess shakes her head. “It
could be double that, but the loans you got against epic items were
extremely predatory and you guys could get much more. So next time,
please take me as well.”
“Tess, do we really have over a hundred million dollars’ worth of mana
stones?” I decide to ignore that it could be twice that.
“Yes. I’m still in a bit of shock that you didn’t even realize it.”
For a moment, I think about it, and then my eyes move down and I look
at the cute corgi that lies by my legs.
How much are you worth? Surely more than some useless epic item,
right?
Biscuit senses my look and lifts his head, tilting it a bit, surprised by my
intense stare, (Food?) he asks.
No! I can’t!
I quickly pet him and tell him that he is a good boy and cancel the
isolation field around us, the voice of the auctioneer getting to our ears once
more.
That’s when I feel goose bumps on my skin, and looking around, I
identify the source of it: a little lynthari girl staring at me from one of the
balconies. She is there alone, and when her eyes meet mine, a big smile
appears on her face.
I just give up and prepare my [Perception], and as the rift appears next
to me, I observe it, how it is created, how it interacts with space around it,
and how mana moves inside of it.
“Underling!” The redheaded girl smiles, totally ignoring the other
people in the room.
Obelia’s eyes are so wide open that, for a moment, I think they might
fall out, and Jenna seems like she is about to bow or kneel.
 “It’s good you are here. I was getting bored, nya!” She stops next to me.
“Let’s watch the auction together.”
Things have become more…interesting.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 32
BIDDING

“W hat
are you doing here…Boss?” I say, ignoring the looks I get for
that.
Meanwhile, the granddaughter of the lynthari matriarch sits on
my lap. Shamelessly. The Matriarch called her Eris before, so I guess I
should call her that.
“Grandma said that I should go there and buy myself something nice if I
want to. She even gave me her card.” Eris takes out a card made from
transparent white crystal and with delicate blue circuits that create
something like a panorama of the city.
Unlike my card, there is no number on it.
Don’t tell me… Is it unlimited? Looking at this silly lynthari girl, I get
an idea. Should I use her to buy me everything?
But seeing her happy expression, I quickly change my mind. Even I’m
not that evil.
“Underling, nya, I will buy you one thing you like, so pick anything,
okay?” Eris says.
“Really? In that case, I also want to buy something for the boss, so pick
something too,” I tell her almost automatically and shift a bit so she sits
more comfortably.
No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t force myself to treat
her too harshly. I mean, I would be able to do it if my life was at risk or the
life of someone from group 4, but in situations like this? There is no need
for that.
Eris continues to chirp something, quickly telling me about her day
while the auctioneer keeps showing item after item and selling them off.
Then I wonder what happened to the original Eris. Did her world get
destroyed by Calamities? Did she grow old, get a family, and then die in
bed surrounded by her grandchildren?
Seeing how Obelia acts now, did humans find out that lynthari are
invaders and try to fight them and either got eliminated by the Matriarch or
were able to win?
And Myrra? She is a Champion candidate; was she able to reach that
level or died before it? If she did, is she still alive? Did the system copy her
world millions of years ago, and there is nothing left of it anymore, maybe
even the planet was destroyed, and only shadows of all these dead people
exist in the tutorial?
Their lives, struggles, hopes, and sadness used to make it feel more real
for people who are taken in here.
The more I think, the less I like it. It’s disgusting.
“Underling, you have a scary expression. Does your tummy hurt?” the
young lynthari asks, and there is even a hint of worry.
Great, now I even have little children to worry about me.
“I’m fine, Boss, but you were telling me about how you tricked one of
your servants, so what did he do when he found out?”
“Yes! He was so surprised, nya…” Eris continues to tell me about it
while I listen and also pay attention to the auctioneer and wait for the items
I want. I think they should be numbers 113 and 189.
“Going once, going twice… The item was sold for five Heart Stones!”
the auctioneer shouts.
One Heart Stone is worth around five thousand dollars, so the prices are
slowly but surely going up. The items are also auctioned in order from
cheapest to the most expensive.
“First Underling!” Eris grabs my shoulders and shakes me slightly.
“Yes, Boss?” I ask absentmindedly while watching some weird book
being auctioned off.
“Who are the humans with you? Are they your underlings?”
Now that I think about it, I’m the guild master, am I not? So probably?
“I think so,” I answer her.
“I see. That means they are my underlings too, since I’m your boss!”
she declares.
I mean, she is not wrong, and there is some logic in it, and I just nod,
which makes her laugh happily, and she jumps from my legs to examine her
newest targets. For the following few minutes, I observe as she bullies Tess,
who just goes with it in a similar way I do, and then switches to Lily and
Hadwin, who are less successful.
Before coming back, she plops on the ground and pets Biscuit, who
patiently lets her.
Unlike other lynthari, she doesn’t seem to dislike him. “Cute,” she says.
At that moment, I start liking her a bit more. At least she is someone
who can recognize the majesty of the divine beast that is Biscuit.
“I will buy him from you.” She immediately says something that sours
my mood.
“Biscuit is not for sale,” I tell her without hesitation, and a surprised
look appears on her face.
“One Eclipse Stone,” she says.
Ha! Does she think Biscuit is worth… I quickly remember the worth of
the mana stone. Only worth one million dol…. What?
She misunderstands my expression and quickly says again, “Ten Eclipse
Stones!”
“Boss, I’ve never been so insulted in my life, and neither has Biscuit,” I
say, curious how high I can get the price.
“Fifty Eclipse Stones!” She offers a price that is higher than two epic
items.
Just how spoiled is she to be given so much by her granny?
But she confirmed to me that Biscuit is worth more than some random
items, and now I can say “I told you so” to Tess, who kept disagreeing with
me when I joked with her about it.
“Sorry, Boss, he is my friend and not for sale,” I say, refusing the offer.
That seems to surprise the family member of the most powerful person
in the city, but she doesn’t push it and plops back on my legs. “I see!”
Her mood changes, and also the tone of her voice is a bit off.
So that’s how it is.
I lean closer to her ear. “I also wouldn’t sell the boss for any amount of
mana stones,” I tell her.
She doesn’t say anything, but hearing what she wanted to hear, she
starts swinging her legs and continues to watch the auction.
Ha! Kids are easy to deal with!

POV - Aaron Dalton

 I look at Kim and Maya and only then turn my card around.
“Oh, come on!” Maya groans and pulls more mana stones from her
pouch, sliding them to me.
(Well, that was easy,) I receive from Dennis.
“Hey! No cheating!” Maya notices it somehow.
Damn, she couldn’t sense our conversation before. Is Nathaniel teaching
her more annoying stuff?
“It’s something we got too used to, Maya,” Dennis defends us. “We did
not cheat, I swear.”
“You better not.” She squints her eyes and then just leans back on the
couch. “This was the last round for me.”
“Are you going to play that violin thing you bought?” Kim asks her the
moment she does so.
At that, she smiles at him, and Kim even blushes a bit under her gaze,
and she notices that, making her smile even more. “Come on, Kim, you
can’t blush so easily. You won’t get Tess like that!” She pokes him jokingly.
“Isn’t he already a lost cause?” Dennis asks her. “Tess seems to be
going a different…way?”
“Oh? Do you think that? But that’s not true. I don’t think Tess cares if
it’s a woman or man.”
(Oh, that’s spicy, isn’t it?) I send to Dennis, and Maya notices that but
doesn’t do anything.
Meanwhile, Kim only innocently stares at her and slowly understands,
blushing a bit more and his eyes big from surprise.
“Damn, it’s almost cute how innocent you are sometimes, Kim.” Maya
pinches his cheek while smiling at him.
After seeing that Kim doesn’t say anything else, she just sighs.
“Anyway, there’s something else I wanted to ask you guys. But did you also
realize how different Nathaniel is from the first floor?”
“You may have forgotten our holidays under the old capital,” I tell her,
and through our link, I feel that even Dennis shudders.
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I know Nathaniel is quite ruthless if
someone steps over the line. What I meant is overall. He seems…less harsh
overall.”
“It can be caused only by a woman,” I say.
“Do you think Lily finally got her fangs into him? She is an Initiate of
Lust, so probably?” While taking a sip of his drink, Dennis smiles.
 “You and your theory about her subclass; Nat sees Lily as nothing more
than a kid. The way he treats her is similar to how he treats Izzy.” Maya
sighs. “I mean, he is still scary when he wants to be, but it’s harder and
harder to call him an asshole.” While shaking her head, she reaches and
steals some snack from the bowl in front of Kim.
“I think it’s simple,” Kim says in a somewhat somber tone. “Nathaniel
is someone that is nicer the stronger he is.” The way he says it is really
confident.
(Should we make fun of him?) I hear through our link.
(We can a bit later. Let him cook,) I send back.
Seeing that we don’t react, Kim continues. “Nathaniel acts harshly only
in a few cases. If he feels threatened or if someone threatens someone he
likes.” He shrugs his shoulders. “During the first floor, it was really scary,
and we didn’t know what to expect, and there were monsters all around. Nat
also wasn’t that strong, so he was a bit cruel at times.”
As always, there are a few orbs made of weird metal floating near him.
Kim does this almost constantly and practices even as we play.
“But the stronger Nat became, the less of a threat we were to him, and
the more confident he was with his powers, so he kind of calmed down.”
(Oi, that somehow makes sense.)
(Shh, listen to him.)
“Right now, we are almost no threat to him, so he acts nicer. Of course,
if we betray him, it will change.” Kim shrugs. “I thought about it a lot, you
know? I was really scared of Nathaniel for some time, but then I slowly
realized how it works.”
Kim smiles a bit and shakes his head while looking at his hands.
“Nathaniel is someone who becomes nicer the stronger he is. Because that’s
when he thinks you can’t hurt him.”

I swear, when I become stronger, I will bully the entire lynthari population
into oblivion. I will force them to use “nya” at the end of every sentence,
and skills that allow invisibility will not be tolerated, and their usage will be
punished. While at it, I will order them to annihilate every single monster
with such an ability.
 Oh, and calling me “Feral One” will not be allowed either.
The reason?
The goddamn bidding stone item in my hands. I tried to bid on one of
the items, and not knowing how to use it properly, I bid one Eclipse Mana
Stone. Yup. I bid one million dollars’ worth on an item maybe worth fifty
thousand.
“Calling once, calling twice…” the auctioneer quickly shouts, even his
eyes showing his surprise.
What annoys me are the giggles of lynthari, who even know who made
the bid and stare toward our balcony, not even caring that I’m here with the
granddaughter of their matriarch or that I’m something Champion candidate
Myrra cares about.
No, they giggle, smile, cover their mouths, and their ears and tails move
in an amused manner. Some even shout, “Cute!” at my reaction to my
blunder.
“Oh, you are quite rich, Underling!” Eris is not helping this either, and
what’s left is to act like it’s all according to plan.
“Yeah, I didn’t want it to take that long,” I say simply, trying to keep
what is left of my dignity.
“Sold to the rich young man with black hair and unusual eyes!” the
auctioneer shouts, even giving my description.
Okay, dude, you’re next.
“The next item is the rarest consumable on our list…” The man on the
podium lets his voice sound into the room, the last words quieter than a
whisper.
Once again, all of the attention turns to him.
“We would usually auction it later in between one of the last items, but
why don’t we spice things up?” He smiles and steps to the side, allowing a
big glass box to be brought next to him.
Inside that box, a chunk of meat as big as the auctioneer lies. I could
swear that even through the glass, I can smell the aroma of it.
“This, my dear guests, is the oldest piece of meat that we ever had a
chance to auction off.”
A few people start to whisper with excitement.
I’m not that surprised; old meat is quite a delicacy here, the older, the
better. Obviously, it’s not every meat that is capable of keeping such worth.
No, only the meat of high-leveled animals or monsters is either resistant
enough because of a high constitution or high mana that remains in it.
Meat of such a monster can be hundreds of years old, and if stored
properly, it’s safe to consume it. Not even mentioning its often delicate taste
or rarity that makes the right people want to get it just to show off.
“An estimate is two hundred and twenty-nine years old,” he says,
pausing, knowing his audience, and as he predicted, people talk even more.
“Estimation on the level of the animal is close to two hundred and fifty!”
The volume of his voice increases. “As for the animal it belonged to, it’s
believed to be the Archdeer that our Matriarch personally helped to slay!”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 33
PREPARATION TO HUNT
THE CALAMITY

D
id he just say deer? Archdeer? Oh my, surely nothing wrong will
happen if I buy it? I can’t strengthen Bambi’s curse, and I’m sure
Biscuit would like that piece of meat a lot.
“We have the first offer, one Star Stone!” the auctioneer shouts. “Surely
we won’t end up at one only!”
One Star Stone is worth around one hundred thousand dollars.
“Two Star Stones from an older gentleman in the audience!”
“Three Star Stones from a beautiful lady in a red dress on the balcony!”
The price quickly climbs higher and higher. “We have a Sun Stone from
a young lynthari gentleman!”
Half a mil; damn, they may be bigger foodies than Biscuit. But it
doesn’t matter; that piece of meat is mine. For a moment, I imagine
Biscuit’s thankful shouts and him impatiently tippy-tapping while waiting
for the meat.
“What do you think, Biscuit?” I move Eris a bit to the side and look at
the corgi nestling by my leg.
(Sustenance,) he says, and there is a hint of determination in his eyes.
If I don’t buy this meat, he will go and get it himself.
(I require sustenance,) sounds in my head, but this time, it’s different.
The voice is quieter, like a gentle whisper, and I feel goose bumps all over
my skin.
When I look at Biscuit, I notice that his eyes are glowing slightly in a
pale purple color.
“Leave it up to me!” I tell him quickly and send a signal through the
bidding stone.
 “Oh! We’ve got two Eclipse Stones from a young gentleman with pretty
eyes!” The auctioneer calls attention to me, and I just nod.
Damn, how does this thing work? I wanted to bid only one Eclipse
Stone.
After a few moments of silence, the auctioneer shouts, “Calling once,
calling twice?”
The silence that fills the room makes a few more people look toward
me, and they also notice Eris sitting on my lap.
Now that I think about it, rich or powerful people probably recognize
her as the Matriarch’s granddaughter. Does it mean it might make them
scared to bid against someone who is in such a good relationship with her?
Am I indirectly bullying them?
“Good job, Boss!” I whisper to Eris.
The young lynthari clearly doesn’t know what she did, but she nods and
smiles, lifting her nose a bit higher.
“Sold for two Eclipse Stones to the young man!” The auctioneer finally
ends the bidding, and his eyes meet mine for a moment.
The auction afterward is quite boring.
Eris buys me some weird mana stone that she says has a similar color to
her eyes, and in exchange, I buy her some ancient toy based on mana that
helps to improve control.
Obelia bids a few times and buys some nice items for either herself or
her guild.
Tess and Hadwin also point me to buy a few high-rare items that can be
spread to our group members, some mana batteries, and other stuff.
Buying all of it barely makes a dent in the amount of money we hold, so
I just keep buying and buying, as we end up with two dozen items. That
brings some attention to us, but at this point, I’m not that worried. The only
person that I found could threaten me is the Matriarch, and maybe a few
more lynthari. And Calamities, of course. Otherwise, there isn’t much to
threaten my life here on the fourth floor.
As the night progresses, Eris leaves to play with someone else, and I
notice Tess joking with Obelia and Jenna, while Hadwin sometimes joins
in.
I spend my time continuing Mana Cycling, which I do constantly, and
observing people on balconies, with some showing interest in me. Mostly,
it’s simple to guess from their gaze what they want. Most of them just
straight-up want a good relationship with someone rich, others looking for a
connection to Eris and the Matriarch, some recognizing me as the guild
master of Angry Kittens, which is now one of the five big guilds thanks to
its fighting power and not the size of the guild.
I just ignore them, and when they reach out to me with their mana, I
obliterate it, often doing so in a way that will sting them a bit.
“This crest is something we were unable to identify nor even scratch!
It’s made of a material that reminds of wood, but it’s extremely heavy!”
sounds from the podium.
That makes me curious again, and I look at the auctioneer. The item
inside the glass box reminds me of something. I didn’t notice it while
checking the other items sent to auction, so did they just add it, or did I miss
it while trying to avoid people? The material seems to be the same as the
extremely heavy chest we got from the Champion’s house and were unable
to open, no matter what we tried.
The bids start at a Sun Stone, and I bid a few times until I win, ending
up paying three Eclipse Stones and one Sun Stone.
“The next item is something extremely exciting; we are getting to the
last ten items!”
The lighting changes, and the fake night sky on the ceiling as well, with
stars disappearing and being replaced by soft, aurora-like blue lights that
mix with white ones.
“Allow me to show you this extremely precious mana stone inscribed
by the rising star of Virelia, someone said to be even more talented than
Mister Elydor when it comes to inscribing!”
The stone they put out, I know very well; I inscribed it just a few days
ago.
“The master inscriber’s identity is a secret, but the skill is real, as
confirmed by the Craft Guild multiple times. I do not dare to be able to say
what the stone contains, but our experts told me that they have never seen
anything like it, and the Craft Guild master confirmed it as well. Simply, the
ones that know understand how valuable it is, and the rest of us can only
look at it with amazement!” He opens up both of his arms and lights spark
off under the glass box, allowing the stone inside to be seen better.
“The starting price is three Eclipse Stones!”
I watch as the price climbs higher and higher. There are even a few
lynthari bidding and plenty of older men similar to the inscriber that is
helping me.
At some point, they get outbid by lynthari, so they group together and
probably join their money to continue bidding.
“…once, twice, sold for seven Eclipse Stones, one Sun Stone, and three
Star Stones!”
The final amount is $7,800,000.
Easiest money of my life.
I bid on a few items from the top ten: a shield for Haddy, light armor for
Maya, a lump of heavy and extremely conductive metal for Kim, a weird
set of bracelets for the twins.
“Finally, the main course of tonight! A mid-epic item we have received
from Storm Brigade, one of only five big guilds of Virelia!”
The tension can be felt in the air as they bring the weapon to the middle
of the room, the glass box around it densely covered in inscriptions and
housing a beautiful spear made from a single piece of metal-like material.
It’s as long as the man auctioning it and gray of color, with a blade
inscribed with pale blue symbols. The weapon is beautiful yet deadly, and
that also makes me wonder, is the Ethercrystal Shortsword also a mid-epic
item, or is it of low rarity?
“Starting price is ten Eclipse Stones!” The moment the auctioneer
shouts that, I can hear people sigh, and bids come flying.
“Eleven Eclipse Stones from the lady in a red dress, twelve from a
young man in a pink suit!”
The bids keep flying.
“Fifteen from a young lynthari master with a beautiful gray tail!”
And climbing.
“Twenty Eclipse Stones from a lynthari lady with pretty orange eyes!”
“We should be able to buy it, right?” Tess moves closer to me.
She is not even trying to hide the hint of greed in her eyes.
“Did Obelia let you check the spear before she put it into the auction?” I
ask.
Tess nods. “It’s amazing, Nat. I want it.”
“No problem,” I tell her.
I’m rich.
“Thirty Eclipse Stones from a young man with beautiful eyes,” the
auctioneer gets out of himself, and even the whispers stop, with dozens,
hundreds of eyes turning to me.
 “Thirty-one Eclipse Stones from a lynthari gentleman in a black suit!”
he shouts again, getting another signal.
So I send one as well.
“Forty…FORTY Eclipse Stones from a crazy…from a handsome young
man with pretty eyes!” he shouts.
I heard it, you asshole.
After that, there is nothing, just silence.
“Calling once, calling twice, calling thrice… Sold to the rich young
man!”
As if on cue, everyone starts talking, and I turn to Obelia, remembering
that I bought it from her.
She is trying to hide it, but even I can see her surprised expression, and
it’s so funny that I remember it. I can laugh at it a bit later.
When I check the card, we still have close to 100 Eclipse Stones on it,
even when I count the ones from the sale of my mana stone.
How do I even spend it all?

The way back home is refreshing. It’s still dark outside, and I breathe in the
colder night air as we slowly walk there. Most of the things we were unable
to carry were already sent to our house with plenty of guards, and Hadwin
went with them.
Me, Tess, and Lily just slowly walk. Tess is happily holding her spear,
and the smile can’t disappear from her face.

Gravitas Javelin (epic)

Crafted from a metal known for its ability to alter its mass, this spear can
be as light as a feather or extremely heavy based on the wielder’s intent. Its
dark gray surface is unmarked by battle, always appearing as pristine as
when first forged.

That reminds me that we still didn’t decide what we will do with the
epic bow we got from the Arcane Archer. Seeing how many epic items we
have and remembering how some people from the Community complain
about how hard they are to get makes me feel cozy inside.
 I wonder how difficult it is to get epic items on Hard Difficulty and if
it’s even possible on Easy and Normal. I will have to ask during the
tournament.
“So now the Tree?” Lily joins me, leaving Tess slightly behind us.
I nod. “Yes, the Tree. In a few days, we will be ready.”
“You still won’t change your mind? I would be helpful.”
“I told you before. We either kill it in one hit or bail; there will be no
fighting, no healing,” I resolutely tell her, and she probably sees it and
doesn’t try to change my mind.
The plan is simple, and only a few people will go: me, Obelia to get us
there, Myrra and her bodyguard, Hadwin, and a few of Obelia’s members
that are good at enchanting or disrupting mana.

A few days pass. We split the items, we eat a few pieces of Archdeer meat,
and as expected, Biscuit is extremely thankful and keeps letting me boop
his nose without doing anything to fight them.
He doesn’t even shout “Bitch” every time someone mentions Obelia,
nor use his creepy mana arms.
We spend a few evenings eating pieces of Archdeer meat that Hadwin
grills, cooks, or tries to smoke. Everyone seems to like it, and they start
liking it even more when they hear how much it cost.
They enjoy the company of each other. Something very different from
the first floor.
Izzy seems a bit off, different from before now without her sister’s skill
affecting her. She is a bit shy, but she didn’t change. It’s still the same Izzy
we know, even though she’s a bit less brave at times.
I think Sophie might have removed or weakened some of the memories
that could traumatize the little girl, but I can’t confirm it, nor do I want to
stick my nose into this. It’s something the sisters both agreed on and did
together, so it’s up to them.
At first, Sophie seemed worried that her sister might hate her, but the
moment the little girl hugged her after a day of removing the [Geas],
Sophie started smiling again and kept apologizing to her sister.
 I also examined most of the items we got from the auction and stored
most of them in the room under the house for further study in the future.
The chest didn’t open even with a piece of weird heavy wood we got
during the auction, but Min-Jae said he felt something with his skill, so I
leave it up to him. I swear I will open this chest no matter what or destroy it
in the process.
A bit later, in the room under our house, I finally decide to finish
creating the Tree Obliterator 9000.
The man named Cael, an older enchanter whom I met one night and
who helped me with inscriptions, is here with me. He is here just to observe
the process as promised, something he judged to be well worth the help he
gave me.
I clear my mind and look at the items in front of me. I’ve gone over it
multiple times and know how it should go, so I do not hesitate and
consolidate my [Focus].
First, I take the Ethercrystal Shortsword and put it into a densely
inscribed, mana-conductive holder. The thing reminds me of the shaft of a
spear, and it connects to the sword by holding its handle. It fits perfectly,
and when I activate the inscriptions we made, it almost seems as if it
connects with the sword, holding it strongly.
I activate set after set of inscriptions, all of them in preparation for the
next step and to work together with the epic weapon.
It takes hours and a lot of mana, but soon I’m ready. I put the Mana
Core Sphere, my other epic item that can disrupt mana and leave a lasting
disruptive attack, into the slot that we prepared.
The core perfectly fits in, and another set of inscriptions secures it
inside.
So there it lies, a long shaft made of silver metal with its entire surface
covered in inscriptions, and the epic sword as its blade. Near where the
handle of the sword is imbued, there is also the Mana Core Sphere.
“Now, on to the hardest step.” Cael smiles, his eyes shining as he
observes the process, careful not to interrupt me.
Huh, I almost forgot he was here.
I shake my head, and after a few deep breaths, I close my eyes.
[Infusion], [Redistribution], and [Mana Manipulation] all activate and I
get to it.
 It’s time to connect them and change the inscriptions on the epic items
ever so slightly. For that, a lot of mana is required, so I force my skills into
overdrive.

[Redistribution - Level 38 > Redistribution - Level 39]

[Infusion - Level 13 > Infusion - Level 14]
[Infusion - Level 14 > Infusion - Level 15]

When this step is done, I use [Resonance] to inscribe circuits into the
handle of the sword, connecting all three parts in front of me together with a
web of circuits.
The weapon, handle, and sphere, are all interwoven together, the shaft
connecting two epic items and forcing them to work together.

[Resonance - Level 31 > Resonance - Level 32]

[Resonance - Level 32 > Resonance - Level 33]

I take a step back and give myself a moment to calm down and to get
back to the real world. My mana has taken a noticeable bite into it, and I
even used some from the reservoir, actually, quite a lot of it.
It means we will have to wait a few days longer before hunting the Tree,
just so it can be restored, and so I can create a few orbs, just in case. And
fill batteries… Yeah, I need to let Obelia and Myrra know.
Finally, I take a look at my creation.

Ethercore Javelin (epic)

Javelin that combines the Ethercrystal Shortsword and Mana Core Sphere,
connected by an Arcanadium shaft intricately modified for enhanced mana
flux. The Ethercrystal blade rapidly absorbs mana, funneling it into the
Mana Core Sphere, which has been altered to continuously change the
frequency of its emitted disruptive field, affecting a single target. These
constant frequency shifts make the field unpredictable and highly effective
against a wide range of magical defenses.

The weapon in front of me is the strongest epic item I’ve seen, surely
upper epic without a speck of doubt.
 I step back and let Cael examine the item. He looks just like a kid
getting a new toy and doesn’t ask anything. Instead, being the craftsman he
is, he wants first to examine it all by himself without asking questions.
Now then, I wonder how big the disruptive field will be with all the
mana the Tree possesses.
And I wonder what will happen when the weapon disrupts its mana
flow and how much it will destabilize the integrity of the Tree that surely
uses some mana just to stop itself from crumbling due to its sheer size.

It takes a few days longer, but we are ready and standing in front of the
array.
“So, for the last time,” I turn to the group in front of me, “we get there
and everyone will use their disruptive skills to block our presence and other
fields as well.”
That’s why I’m taking Hadwin with me.
“After that, we will get a bit further and set the circle where I can
collect my mana and prepare the attack, all while you block it all so the
Tree can’t sense us. Meanwhile, Obelia and a few of her members will keep
the array running so we can use it in case anything suspicious happens.”
Myrra is also quiet, but she and her bodyguard are both fully prepared.
They have plenty of powerful items, and I have a suspicion that one or two
might be epic. She will go there mostly as an observer, and the amount of
trust she puts in my plan is almost scary.
She truly is a weirdo.
Well, the one facing the most danger will be me; if the Tree senses me
preparing my attack, it might defend itself or attack me as well while others
use the array. That would be unfortunate.
“All ready,” Obelia says, and I nod.
We went over the plan over and over again and even practiced the
formations so there is no need to hesitate anymore.
It will work.
After one more check, all of us step in. The air feels heavy, as well as
my body. My heart is beating wildly, and I can hear the breathing of some
members of this expedition. Shaking hands, nervous glances, squeezing
hems of their cloaks, last checks, and attempts at carefully controlling their
mana.
We are going against the Calamity, a being that years ago wiped out the
old capital on its own before it got weakened.
The light flashes and the feeling of falling hits me but quickly
disappears as we get transported though the array.
Immediately, Obelia gives orders. “Quick, the fields.” She is
whispering, even when she doesn’t have a reason to do so.
I notice that her voice is shaking.
Multiple fields pop up around us, and I join in as we step outside. I
carefully move my mana as we layer disruptive fields around us to avoid
detection. We even avoid looking at the Tree as it could detect that.
It takes a few seconds, and everything goes smoothly, just as we
practiced, and I feel my confidence growing.
Then it all comes crashing down when I hear Myrra. “Oh no,” she says,
and her tail is frozen, not moving at all.
I break the rule we set and follow her gaze toward the old capital, and
then I understand the tone of her voice.
Gradually, more of us notice, and eventually, everyone is staring toward
the direction of the old capital.
The Calamity called the Living Tree is gone.
Its colossal shadow doesn’t tower over the city anymore.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 34
WE WERE WRONG

“W eurgency
are leaving, right now!” For the first time, I hear extreme
in Myrra’s voice. She even snatches the item from
Obelia’s hand and uses it to charge and activate the array after
throwing a few mana stones on the ground.
While they are preparing to leave, I send a pulse of [Perception] toward
the city in a thin cone instead of a field that surrounds me.
I detect a few items all over the city, but the Tree is gone. I can’t see as
well as Tess, but there is a crater in its place, and the buildings around it
aren’t destroyed.
It seems like the Tree flew or teleported?
My eyes immediately turn to the sky, and a few more members of the
expedition look at it as well, coming to the same conclusion. Skill after skill
activates, trying to detect the Tree, and Myrra even uses her mana to
activate the array faster.
“Ready!” Myrra shouts, and all of us step back into the circle.
Looking at the capital one last time, we teleport and reappear back in
the array near Virelia.
“Obelia, Feral One, you are coming with me. We need to see the
Matriarch, right now,” Myrra orders, and this time, she doesn’t joke or ask.
But this time, I’m not even angry and am inclined to do as she says.
Unfortunately, there is something that won’t allow me to do that.
Hundreds, thousands of monster signatures are all around Virelia, and some
of them are even inside the city.
Ant signatures.
“How…HOW! They were weeks away!” one of Obelia’s guild
members shouts.
 “On me! We go to the Matriarch!” Myrra orders again, and when I do
not move, she looks at me. “Feral One?”
“I need to check on my group first,” I tell her simply, my mana slowly
radiating from my body and kinetic energy collecting inside me.
Myrra hisses in annoyance and rushes toward the city without saying
anything else, closely followed by Obelia.
“Be careful on your way back,” I tell Hadwin, and he nods in
agreement.
Then I use the kinetic energy I collected in an orb to push myself ahead
with speed much faster than ever before. The nature around me turns into a
blur, and the city becomes bigger and bigger. I even pass by Myrra and
Obelia. Yet I use more and more; I have a bad feeling that doesn’t want to
subside, especially when I notice a horde of ants on the hill.
On the street where our house is.

[Focus]

When I get close, I find the house nearly destroyed, and members of our
group are fighting much smaller ants than before. They’re barely as big as a
horse, yet they are much faster, and the barrier resonating on their skin
seems to disrupt mana attacks.
I land in the middle of what used to be our house and absorb the inertia
of my fall, not even cracking the ground under my feet.
The first ant rushes me, and my kinetic energy changes frequency, rising
to a high pitch, and the ant’s head explodes.

[You have defeated Weaver Ant - Level 189]

The moment I do it, a link forms between the remaining ants, and when
I use kinetic energy on another, the ant endures. All hundred or so
remaining ants somehow shared the damage I caused, distributing it among
all of them.
Instead of attacking again, I let [Regalia] form around my body to
absorb its attacks. Then I scan the area again, confirming what I noticed the
moment I arrived.
 Sophie, Dennis, and Aaron are not here. I can’t feel their presences no
matter how far I reach. That can mean only two things: they are either dead
or they are beyond the range of my detection.
The ant bites at me again, and I clench my teeth; [Redistribution]
slows it to a crawl, not allowing it to move. Then I reach for one of the orbs
I prepared for the Living Tree and send kinetic energy toward the monster.
It’s shared, so there is no damage, but I push more and more. The attack
becomes stronger and stronger, and the high-pitched noise becomes more
audible.
The air seems to wave and twist, and a crack appears in the ant’s
carapace.
One more push and all hundred or so ants explode into pieces.

[You have defeated Weaver Ant - Level 173]

[You have defeated Weaver Ant - Level 179]
[You have defeated Weaver Ant - Level 199]
[Level 183 > Level 184]
[You have defeated Weaver Ant - Level 161]

Ignoring the rest of the notifications, I check on Maya. She is fine,

fighting two gravity ants, surrounded by her [Armament] and not seeming
to have trouble with them.
Min-Jae fights too, his telekinesis moving around the chest we got from
the Champion’s house and using its immense weight to smash the monsters,
even increasing its weight with his [Gravity Well]. Biscuit is next to him,
using his tentacles to stop any ant that gets close.
On the other side, Lily shoots arrows made of [Disintegration], using
the epic bow we got, and each attack obliterates the monster, no matter its
level.
I boost myself and reach Tess and Isabella, who are fighting further
away, surrounded by a dozen ants.
Isabella’s fire doesn’t seem to work on them, and I can feel that she is
losing control, and getting frustrated by it, but there’s something else. Tears
flow from her eyes, and she seems scared and worried.
There is a [Storm Crown] over Tess’s head, and each of her attacks
does terrifying damage to the monsters, her epic spear keeps hitting more of
them, always perfectly timed to help everyone.
 The city is burning, and I can hear screams from everywhere, but it’s
weird too. There are too few ants; there should be tens, hundreds of
thousands of them.
I quickly help Tess deal with the ants and glance at Izzy, who stops
moving, and even more tears appear in her eyes.
Tess stops in front of me. “We were wrong, Nat. The ants never were
after you or Virelia. They were after Sophie and the twins,” she explains
quickly. “They attacked the moment you guys went to the Living Tree just a
few minutes ago.”
After dealing with their monsters, others join us too.
“Where did they take them?” I ask Tess.
“They used something like an array, I don’t know…” she lies.
The same as me, she must know that they probably took them back to
the Colony and whatever they plan to do is not nice.
I turn to Izzy to say something but then hesitate. What can I even tell
her? Saving them seems impossible. We could be throwing our lives away if
we went there.
“Nat, I want to save them,” Tess says simply from behind me.
She doesn’t hesitate. Her eyes are clear when I turn to her. She knows
going into the middle of the Colony could mean death, yet she is willing to
do so.
How? Why? She barely knows them. Not even a year. Isn’t her life
more important?
Her voice becomes softer. “I’d rather do this than constantly regret not
even trying to help them for the rest of my life.” The lightning stops
flickering around her, and she takes a step closer. “I was always serious
about all of us becoming friends, and not even once did I lie. This is the
decision I made,” she says, [Declaration] activating for a moment, making
everyone feel her will.
I barely know them, Sophie did hurt me before, and the twins still
dislike me, so why do I also want to help them? That’s so dumb.
With a sigh, I take a step toward Izzy, who is already sobbing. “Sophie
used her skill on me, forced me to run away,” the little girl cries. “They
wanted to take me too. I could feel it. They want us, people with skills like
ours.” The air around her gradually heats up, and everyone else takes a step
back, unable to endure the heat.
I start absorbing it and take another step toward her.
 “She promised never to use her skill on me, yet she did. She said to find
you and stay safe near you.” Isabella looks at me with cheeks wet from
tears that immediately evaporate as she releases more heat.
“We will save them for sure,” I tell her.
“You’re lying. I can tell.” The little kid shakes her head. “I can tell that
you still don’t like Sophie. You don’t hate her anymore, but you don’t like
her because she did what she did.”
“Yes, I can’t help it,” I admit.
Her flames start to melt the ground we stand on, pushing others back.
Brilliant blue flames make iron glow bright and melt the stones.
“Don’t come closer!” Isabella shouts, and her flames explode, pushing
me back a bit before I absorb them and take another step toward her. Our
eyes meet. “They want to do such terrible things to her, and I want to help,
but I can’t! Sophie’s skill won’t allow me to follow her.”
Isabella expends more and more of her mana, trying to force me away.
She is crying and still using her [Empathy] on me. She is scared and
frustrated.
She is just a kid.
Before she hurts herself using too much mana, I take the last step and
kneel in front of her so our eyes meet. Then I stop absorbing her flames and
strengthen my body a bit, circulating more heat inside to activate my
passive healing.
Immediately, burns start appearing on my face and body.
Reading my feelings, she shouts shortly, and her flames strengthen even
more, burning my skin and revealing flesh underneath. “Don’t…” she
whispers.
Then I disable my [Focus] and let her feel everything I feel. All my
fears, my anxiety, my past trauma, and feelings I like to push to the back of
my mind. “I will help Sophie, Dennis, and Aaron. I myself don’t fully know
why and would be unable to express it. So just feel it yourself.” I reach with
my hand and touch her cheeks, still constantly burned by blue flames. “A
simple answer would be that I consider you my friend, I think.” The small
smile that appears on my face just comes up on its own, and I don’t even
have to force it.
With a sob, all of her flames disappear, and she hugs me tightly, and I
can feel her small body shake in my arms. “You won’t take me with you to
save her,” Isabella sobs.
 “No, I won’t.”
“You won’t do it in case she has be…”
“Yes.” I caress the back of her head. “But, Izzy, check the Community.
The number didn’t decrease, meaning she, Aaron, and Dennis are alive.”
I feel her body freeze, and the relief she must be feeling is clearly
noticeable. “Do you promise you will save her?”
“I can’t do that. I don’t know what to expect, but, Izzy, I will try. I will
try really hard.”
The last sob sounds from her. “That’s enough.”
Then I send a weak pulse of [Resonance] to her head, making her pass
out.
When I stand up with her in my arms, I feel my body screaming to
move, to run, but I can’t. Any small mistake I make could mean her death.
I pass by a few people and stop in front of Biscuit, who looks at me
from the ground.
This time, I’m serious and don’t use the normal tone I use with Biscuit.
Right now, I talk to him like I would talk to anyone else from group 4.
“Will you protect them while I’m gone?” Just a simple question.
Biscuit’s tail doesn’t swing at all, and the look in his eyes changes. The
usual cheekiness is gone, and they are calm and firm.
Instead of answering me, mana starts radiating from him. The one that
feels extremely disturbing, and his eyes gain a soft purple glow. Even his
shadow on the ground grows until it’s dozens of times bigger. Biscuit is
strong, stronger than he lets show, but even this is only a hint at his
potential. The same as us, he also needs to grow.
(Friend?) he asks.
“Yes, I consider you a friend too,” I say to him.
(Friend,) he repeats and hovers into the air, his right front paw bumping
my nose, and I do the same to him.
With this, I turn around and put Izzy into Hadwin’s hands. The older
man just arrived, and there is a surprised expression on his face. “They will
explain everything to you,” I tell him, and then I turn around. “Tess, Lily,
will you join me?” I ask them to risk their lives, to go into the heart of the
enemy forces.
“I would go even without you,” Tess says.
“I will help.” Lily nods.
Neither of them hesitates.
 “Biscuit, Hadwin, Min-Jae, Maya, please take care of Izzy.” I pause.
“There might be a traitor, so be careful. The Living Tree is gone, it
disappeared, so expect anything.”
I quickly explain the rest of it to them and then put Lily on my back,
push us high in the air, and boost us toward the middle of the city. Tess
follows us in a similar fashion, lightning trailing her body.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 35
ERIS

W
e reach the area with indestructible flooring, and most of the
important people are already there. There are even a dozen
lynthari wearing the same black armor, each of them over Level
200. Unlike most of the lynthari we’ve met until now, they are calm and
serious.
“How is it, Myrra?” I catch her to the side.
“Oh, this? This is nothing. Even if a hundred times more ants attacked,
we would be fine, Feral One, and soon all of them will be dealt with. We
just don’t know what the intention is. Whatever it is, this means war.”
Myrra is also wearing beautiful armor that I immediately identify as epic
equipment, most likely mid-grade.
It’s multiple pieces of armor that seem to be tailored for her, and she
must have been wearing it under her clothes even as we went against the
Living Tree.
“And the Tree?”
“Soon, we will send scouts. They will use arrays all around the old
capital and some that are even further and try to find out where it is.
Meanwhile, we did send more to all sides from Virelia, in case the Calamity
heads here.”
Her tail twitches, and even while talking to me, she listens to other
people and lynthari talking around us.
“I will be leading our enforcers.” She gestures at the group of twelve
lynthari warriors, all in black armor. “Obelia and Isola will be coming too,
and even the other two members of the five guilds will send some elites
while we keep some powers here. You are coming too?”
“Yes, me, Tess, and Lily.”
 “I see. It’s good to have a healer with us. Thalen is too important, so he
will stay in the city.”
“Nathaniel Gwyn, can I have a moment of your time?” I hear a soft
voice next to me, and when I look, the Matriarch stands there.
No one else seems to be able to see her, no matter if lynthari or human.
Out of nowhere, the expression on Myrra’s face changes, and she leaves
in the middle of a sentence to talk to other humans, the other lynthari
unknowingly form a circle with me and the Matriarch in the middle, yet no
one seems to see us or realize it.
“You knew why they were coming to Virelia,” I immediately throw at
her.
There is no smile on her face, but her canines show. “Why do you think
so?”
“You are manipulating people and lynthari in the city, and you hid all
mention of the possibility of mind manipulation; that’s why we didn’t find
any information about it.” They are all suspicions I came to over weeks and
months. “That’s why you’ve kept watch over us ever since we came. You
and the ants both, for some reason, want people with abilities like yours.”
“You really are fun.” She smiles, and I don’t even notice how, but she
stands in front of me, her nails against my neck, moving over it and even
drawing blood.
A smile climbs onto her face. “The Colony has [Hive Mind] while my
skill is [Kin Control].” She tilts her head and creates another scratch on my
neck. “They don’t enter my territory, and I don’t poke theirs. But you and
your guild ruined it. That black-haired woman seems to have a really
irresistible skill. I wanted to slowly examine it, but I underestimated how
much the Colony wants it.”
I reach to grab her hand, but my hand passes through the air, and she
stands a bit further away from me.
“You know, even though me and the Colony have skills that give us
such immense power, we live in constant worry that someone with a
stronger one will come, take over the network we’ve built, and destroy
everyone connected to it.”
The ants never were after me; they sensed Sophie’s [Manipulation], the
twins’ [Connection], and Isabella’s [Empathy], all of them mind skills
similar to theirs. They most likely went after Biscuit, and I still remember
the huge number of ant corpses around him. Yet he didn’t seem to be their
priority, and neither did Isabella.
Not killing them means that they want to use them somehow, probably
to deal with the Matriarch and have an advantage over her or straight-up
evolve [Hive Mind] to take over. The Matriarch probably wanted to do the
same; she just didn’t expect the ants to get there without her noticing.
“You want to either kill or retrieve my group members.”
“Yes, leaving them with the Colony is too dangerous. But can you guess
why I’m telling you all of it?”
“You are Eris, aren’t you?”
The Matriarch’s smile broadens, her sharp canines coming into view.
“As expected from my underling.” Eris appears from the rift. She waves
and smiles at me and then takes a step toward the Matriarch.
When they touch, a wave of mana covers their bodies, and the figure of
the Matriarch grows while Eris disappears, leaving behind a lynthari taller
than the Matriarch, taller even than Myrra.
She has the same red hair as the Matriarch and Eris, but instead of one
tail, she has two fox-like ones.
“You did it all for fun, didn’t you?” I ask.
“Yes.” The voice now is a bit different than either of them, a skill that
allowed the Matriarch to split her body into two. “You know, I really like
humans. That’s why I made all these rules, and that’s why other lynthari
like to observe you as well, affected by me.”
She is now much stronger than before. Her mana is wild and dangerous,
her body bears tremendous strength, and each of her movements feels like
those of an apex predator. A strength fitting for someone leading the fourth
Calamity, the lynthari race.
“Underling,” she says, a word sounding weird coming from her, “I kept
this.” She shows me a toy I bought for her at the auction. “You still
somewhat irritate me, but you are fun and kind in a weird way; you remind
me of someone I used to know. It’s silly, but I like you treating me like a
kid; it made me remember times when I was young. When nothing
mattered, and I could just explore the world, laugh, and have fun. I miss
that.”
She touches my shoulder. “Go and save your friends, and in so doing
stop the Calamity from evolving.” Taking two steps back, she looks at me
questioningly.
 “For me to do that, you will need to cancel your weird field, Boss,” I
tell her.
The shock on her face is quickly replaced by a smile, and she laughs
shortly. “Make me proud, my dear underling.” The field that made others
unaware of her crumbles, and she says one more word, unfitting her
majestic appearance: “Nya.”

Obelia leads, closely followed by Isola and a few more elites from the big
guilds. A bit further, Myrra runs with twelve enforcers, and behind them,
our small group of three.
We are heading toward the old mines and the array that leads to the
heart of the Colony, the lab where the Calamity was created to serve as a
bioweapon during the war.
This floor is called Waning Realm, meaning a realm that used to be
powerful and now is just a shadow of its glorious self, a realm defeated by
the invading lynthari, and in the war, both sides suffered terrible losses.
Dead Absolutes and Champions, destroyed cities, and terrible
Calamities used for the war.
No matter how we look at it, the lynthari are invaders here, yet can they
be blamed when the current generation has no idea, when only Eris, the
Matriarch, knows about it?
It’s for other people to deal with; for me, it doesn’t matter, and I’m not a
person to decide. And to be honest, I don’t care. Right now, I just want my
group members back, to fulfill the promise I gave to Izzy, and to save them.
It doesn’t take much longer for us to arrive at the mines and, moving as
quickly as possible, reach the door and then the room with the array.
Obelia and a few of her guild members quickly get to work activating it,
and I observe our group.
A hundred or so lynthari and people. One of the strongest from Virelia,
and the array even has to be changed a bit to transport everyone.
A few lynthari work with Obelia, using some items that even Obelia
looks at with surprise.
I watch them work and wonder if that will be enough. Even though this
is probably what Eris has wanted to do ever since we found the array and
where it leads. A quick and deadly force of elites sent to deal with the core
of the Colony. A queen, a strong ant that leads them all. Whatever it is.
There must be someone like Eris, an ant that similarly controls the
Colony through [Hive Mind], an ant that got terrified by Sophie’s
[Manipulation], most likely, and now wants to use it to strengthen itself.
I turn to Tess. “Try to calm down; your mana is seeping out.”
Her expression is proof of her worry and impatience. I’m sure she’s
constantly checking the number of members of our group in the
Community, hoping it doesn’t go down.
Instead of answering me, she nods and clenches her teeth, and I can see
her mana slowly calming down.
So I check the gear I have with me. My newest epic weapon, the Tree
Obliterator 9000, may not be very useful there, since it’s designed to be
effective against a single, large target and will take some time to activate. I
also have a few mana batteries, the one I got from the Arcane Archer
included, and some upper-grade rare armor I got from the auction. An orb
filled with thermal energy floats near me, and I continue to fill it with more.
My mana is full; my reservoir is full.
Tess’s [Storm Crown] is also floating over her head, and she keeps
storing Primordial lightning inside it. She has two epic items on her, the
Abyssal Anchor and the spear we just bought not long ago.
Lily also has an epic bow with her, the one we got from the Arcane
Archer, and multiple pieces of mid- or upper-grade rare equipment.
As I try to move, Lily approaches me and puts her hand on mine.
“Nathaniel,” she says and slips the crown into my hand, the one we got
from the third floor.

Crown of Eternal Vigilance (Epic)

This finely crafted crown used to be seamlessly linked to the Saint but now
bears an imperfect connection to a novice healer, enabling the wearer to
receive healing powers from them.

After examining it, I look at her. “Just in case.” Her eyes are
determined.
“Miss Myrra, we are ready.” Obelia stands up from the array and, taking
a few steps, hands an item used to activate it to Myrra. “They might detect
us the moment we pass through, so we should immediately shield ourselves
so they can’t do so accurately.”
“Obelia, do you know why we haven’t dealt with the Colony as of yet?”
Myrra asks instead, putting the item away and fixing her armor.
Twelve lynthari elites, the enforcers, surround her, doing the same, and
dozens of skills activate, strengthening their bodies and making their mana
flow.
Every one of them is much more dangerous than Elydor, either at or
way over Isola’s level of strength, not only in pure level but just sheer
amount of experience and control over their skills.
After Obelia shakes her head, Myrra continues, “The Colony and even
their leader aren’t that strong or high-leveled. Their advantage is the insane
numbers and cooperation they have through [Hive Mind]. Not even once
were we able to push deep enough into their territory to be able to deal with
their leadership, but now? We will enter the heart of their territory, we will
do what we have to do, and then we will use this.” She shows us a small
sphere of brilliant blue light.
She continues, “This is a return sphere made by the Matriarch herself.
It’s only one way, and it will create a rift to take us to the place the sphere
was created, to Virelia.”
Myrra puts the sphere under her armor. “We have one hour before the
sphere dissipates under the spatial defenses the Colony set up, so keep that
in mind.”
Enforcers step into the expanded circle, all sorts of effects sizzling
across their skin, tails moving calmly, and ears perked up. Tall with great
equipment just a step away from epic, they look imposing.
“One hour should be enough to have some fun.” Isola steps inside the
circle as well, seemingly not intimidated by the lynthari. Tattoo-like circuits
appear across her skin and start shining.
“Let’s not waste more time.” I too step in, closely followed by Tess and
Lily.
Following suit, the rest of our group falls in, and Myrra’s eyes meet
mine.
Then the array activates, and with the sensation of falling, the scenery
around us changes.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 36
OBSTACLES

U
sing [Perception] in the darkness that surrounds us, I find us inside a
single room shaped like a half sphere.
That’s when a few of the enforcers join their skills together and
create some sort of domain that doesn’t allow me to perceive further nor
any mana to pass inside.
Myrra also sends something toward the edge of the domain and
continues to carefully examine something. “I feel no skill trying to pass
through the silencing field. We should be fine for now.”
Multiple skills and items light up the area.
Everything inside the room is broken, with pillars made of crystal-like
white stone, flooring made of polished white, wood-like material, things
that used to be tables, and multiple pieces of furniture.
There isn’t even a hint of mana inside the room, and most of all, it
reminds me of some kind of research laboratory, even though it’s all
covered in dust, rotting, and unusable.
“Locate the source,” Myrra orders, and with a bow, two enforcers start
scanning the room. “Take these stones; they will point you toward where I
and the return sphere are. The less time you have, the weaker glow they will
emit.” Myrra hands a small mana stone to everyone in the group.
Unlike what I’m used to, she is serious, and there is a hint of dignity to
her.
I wonder what her being a Champion candidate means, how she
compares to Eris, the lynthari matriarch?
“Myrra, the ants took away a few of my guild members. Getting them
back is my priority,” I tell her after creating a field around us.
 Intrigue shines in her eyes, and she nods slowly. “I smell her on you.
Did you talk with the old woman?”
“I guess you mean the Matriarch?”
“Obviously, Feral One.”
I nod. “She knows about it.”
“Then it’s fine.” Myrra leaves my field and joins the enforcers.
Now it’s nearly confirmed that even she doesn’t know about the
Matriarch being two beings at the same time. Before, she complained about
the Matriarch’s granddaughter. Or maybe she knows and pretends not to.
Who knows?
With a soft hum, the white crystal pillars around the room start emitting
a gentle light.
The ceiling also changes a bit, generating flickering light for a few
seconds before it turns on. On the floor, mana circuits also appear, creating
circles around some places that now contain only broken apparatuses.
One of the enforcers most likely located what Myrra called the source,
and it seems to be a weird stone imbued in one of the pillars. He sends more
mana inside and then does something that turns the walls of the entire room
transparent, allowing us to see outside.
The web of tunnels big enough for three bus-sized ants to pass through
are all around us, the walls covered in colorful, mushroom-like stuff, some
of them even glowing softly.
Then there are ants, crawling through the tunnels at dizzying speeds,
often on the ceiling or on the walls.
There are many more variants than I ever met. Smaller ones with giant
jaws. Bigger ones with shiny carapaces and thin legs, extremely quick and
smaller ants. There are even much smaller ones that climb on the bodies of
bigger ants and get carried around.
“Being covert doesn’t seem to be an option, seeing how many of them
are here,” Obelia says.
“Doesn’t that make it better?” Isola giggles. “It’s been long since I
fought them.”
“We should first locate the queen or whatever leads them,” I say and
take a step toward a suspicious group of circuits on the floor.
I send my mana toward them, and nothing happens.
“Nice catch, Feral One,” Myrra says as she passes by me. “But this is
safeguarded, and only lynthari can use it.” She then sends her mana to it.
 The ceiling starts flickering again, and thousands of dots appear on it,
dots of three colors.
Red for ants.
Green for lynthari.
Blue for human.
There is a big group of blue dots, and then there is a smaller one. Three
blue dots surrounded by hundreds of red dots, some of them even bigger
than the ones before.
The map on the ceiling then changes, something akin to zooming out,
revealing thousands more dots.
It zooms out again. Tens of thousands more dots.
Again. Hundreds of thousands more red dots.
At this point, no one is talking.
“Seems about right,” Isola mumbles. “Fuck.”
“They detected us,” Myrra says simply, and the map zooms in one more
time.
Thousands of dots are already moving toward us.
“Feral One, you are on your own.” Myrra turns to me. “I wish you
luck.”
“Thanks, take care of yourself too,” I answer her.
There are two places of interest on the map. The one with a few big red
dots and three blue dots where I plan to go. One more with the biggest red
dot where Myrra plans to go. Both of the places are far away from each
other.
We watch as the ants surround the sphere-like room we are in.
Hundreds, thousands of bus-sized or other ants climbing all across the wall,
attacking, yet unable to get inside.
“The moment we exit, we will be unable to get back inside of the
room,” Myrra says and activates some sort of array.
That makes the walls around us flicker, and she and her group pass
through it as if it’s not there, even though the ants are unable to enter.
Me, Tess, and Lily do the same and immediately find ourselves
surrounded by monsters.
“Save your mana for now,” I say simply, and flames burst in front of
me, setting the mushrooms and ants ablaze.

[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 56]

 [You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 50]
[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 75]
[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 101]

The ants around us are weaker than the ones I fought before, the
stronger variants not here yet.
As the mushrooms start catching ablaze with more of my help, some of
the ants even start running away while we continue to run toward where we
saw three blue dots.
The entire time, I’m absorbing the heat from the fire I set, so even Tess
and Lily are fairly comfortable.
Crawling with surprising speed, a dozen ants move across the ceiling,
jumping down at us only for me to absorb their kinetic energy, their falling
speed visibly slowing.
Before they even reach us, I use that absorbed energy to pierce holes
through the heads of half of them and create a few more javelins to kill the
remaining ones.
I use only as much mana as I need to kill the ants, never more. I observe
their strength and adapt the output accordingly.
A few minutes in, another type of ant appears, the one with a bigger
head and mandibles that open 180 degrees wide.
The ant is only as tall as me yet feels much more threatening than some
much bigger ones.

[Trapjaw Ant - Level 203]

“Be careful,” I say, and that’s when the ant disappears, cracked ground
left behind him.
He moves with a speed I’m almost unable to track and stops in front of
me, his jaws shutting down, the sound of them piercing the air audible.
I started pushing myself back with a blast of kinetic energy even before
he reached me, and now I watch as his jaws snap shut with thundering
noise, the air vibrating.
Then the ant disappears again, standing back at the place where he
appeared. Slowly, his mandibles open to 180 degrees again. There is no
mana radiating from the ant other than from his mandibles. What he just
showed was done only with the sheer strength and speed of its body.
Before he can dash again, I shoot a dozen mana orbs at him that he
swiftly dodges, and only then the ground under his legs cracks and he
disappears.
[Redistribution] activates at full power as, this time, he passes by me
and goes after Tess.
His movements are too quick and the strength behind them too
immense, so the skill slows him down only a little, but Tess already expects
him, lightning crackling around her. She jumps up in the air as the trapjaw
ant’s mandibles shut with a scary noise and immediately stabs with a spear
she holds in her hand.
The ant avoids it, moving back to the place where he started. There he
stops and his mouth starts opening again, preparing for another dash. That’s
when I activate an anchor I left there, and through the [Tether], I send a
strong blast of kinetic energy there that explodes near the middle of his
body, cutting him in half.
Yet the ant doesn’t hesitate and dashes again, just half of the body with
head and jaw, using three legs only.
He is much slower this time, and before he reaches me, a javelin pierces
his head, killing him. His body slides to my feet with all the inertia it
possesses.

[You have defeated Trapjaw Ant - Level 203]

My domain activates, and as we continue and meet other trapjaw ants, I

immediately place an anchor near them, and the ants are unable to perceive
it. Before they charge, I send an attack through it, most of the time killing
them before they even charge us.
Slowly, more of them start appearing, some of them a bit bigger than us.
Lily and Tess already fight on their own, Lily somewhat awkwardly
using a bow and shooting gray arrows made of a tiny bit of her mana. The
arrows are deadly, piercing through anything they hit, and Lily mostly aims
at bigger ants I slow down with my skills.
Tess quickly moves around, defending Lily when needed and killing
smaller and quicker ants with her javelins that constantly float around her.
 The closer we get to where the map leads, the more ants appear and the
stronger the variations, and I have to spend more mana to counter their
attacks.
Gravity ants try to slow us down, flame legion ants start fighting against
the fire I set up, and sentinel ants with glowing symbols on their carapaces
fight always in pairs.
Yet it’s not a problem for me. I’ve seen most of these variations, and
since then, my skills and stats have improved a lot. I have an evolved
Primary class now, I have two epic passives, and I’m determined to fulfill
my promise.
At some point, I let my heart beat loudly and my mana flow through my
body.
The compressed thermal energy turns into golden flames that fill the
tunnels and melt everything they come in contact with. The mushrooms, the
flame legion ants, all without exception, fueled by my mana.
We walk through the flames, not affected by them at all as I absorb all
the heat and store it in the orbs that continue to float around me and follow
us.
Getting closer to our destination, I absorb the heat and flames around
me, which both almost instantly disappear. Instead, waves of kinetic energy
fill the tunnel, throwing the ants against the walls, piercing their bodies, and
exploding the ants in their entirety. Up until another rare variation appears.
His mana fills the tunnel and pushes against mine while I feel some
weird web made of mana around him. His domain negates mine, and he
destroys my anchors. He disrupts the javelins I throw at him and shoots a
similar one at me immediately that I also disrupt.
I push more mana into my skills and more javelins fly at him, all of
them on the brink of turning into white shining bombs. Yet he pushes out
even more mana, tearing them apart into small motes.
The ant in front of us is small, barely reaching my waist. Its antennae
are glowing in pale blue color, and the entirety of its carapace is covered in
circuits and inscriptions. His eyes are the same as those of the other ants,
emotionless, black, and eerily alien-looking.
Then his smaller mandibles, which seem soft, open and close a few
times. His legs burrow deep into the ground.
Right after, the mana that radiates from him feels impossibly strong,
palpable in the air, and his body, unable to contain it all, starts breaking
apart and immediately healing. Yet with every heal, a few symbols from his
carapace disappear.
The ant is getting the mana from the other ants, hundreds or thousands
of ants sending it toward this one that is unable to endure it all and will die
the moment all healing inscriptions are used up.
But for these few moments, the ant in front of us is terrifyingly strong.

[Mana Channeler Ant - Level ??]

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 37
CROWN

“W elightning
don’t have time for this,” Tess says, releasing a bit more
from her crown, and Lily uses more mana to create a
gray arrow.
“This will be quick,” I say. I’ve long since thought about how I would
fight myself or deal with someone with mana similar to mine.
The javelin that I have created, boosted by kinetic energy, absorbs the
mana trying to slow it down and lodges into the Mana Channeler Ant after
breaking the barrier he creates.
However, as expected, before the effect of the Sphere imbued in the
weapon activates, the ant pushes it out of its body and quickly regains
control over its mana, the weapon not affecting it fully. This weapon is
made for a different kind of enemy.
[Regalia] forms around my body, and I infuse it with [Resonance], the
armor turning transparent blue. Then I redirect most of my mana into the
Reinforcement construct and dash at the ant.
It shoots dozens of mana javelins similar to mine at me, each of them as
thick as my arm and twice as long as my height.
Yet the moment they touch the armor, they are disrupted, like snow
melting before a red-hot iron.
The ant creates something reminiscent of a chain that tries to coil
around me and hold me in place, yet it too is disrupted, unable to take hold
of me.
Next, it tries to disrupt the armor around my body. I wait until it is
almost successful before changing frequency, so it has to start over.
Whenever its attempts come close, I repeat it.
 A barrier forms in front of me, filled with an immense amount of mana
and dark blue to the point where I can’t see through it.
[Perception] activates, and I detect its frequency, applying it to my
armor and passing through as if it’s not there.
An immense amount of my mana is being sucked up by [Regalia] and
[Resonance], yet I continue using my skills to fight this ant as a huge
number of other ants continue feeding it mana. I watch as its body crumbles
under the pressure, constantly healed by healing inscriptions, only half of
them remaining.
The ant doesn’t seem to be capable of more than just channeling mana.
This variant is either imperfect and incapable of using more skills or too
young and inexperienced to fully utilize all that power.
An arrow passes by me, and I feel the hair on my body stand up as I get
goose bumps.
The gray arrow made of [Disintegration] quickly reaches the ant, and
the monster, recognizing the danger, dodges to the side, while in haste
creating barriers in front of it.
Then, judging it insufficient, more barriers start forming, and a good
dozen of them, one after the other, face the arrow as it starts breaking
through them. Each barrier pierced has a slowly widening hole in it, slowly
increasing in size, as it’s eaten by the grayish mana.
I send a pulse of disruptive mana toward the barriers, weakening them
further, and the gray arrow hits the wall, eating away at the wall and leaving
uneven holes in it as the skill disintegrates everything it comes in contact
with.
That’s also when I reach the ant, and it creates some sort of mana
shockwave that cracks the wall, causes stones to fall from the ceiling, and
totally obliterates any mushrooms on the wall.
But nothing happens to me, and I push through the javelin I’ve created,
absorbing the mana as the blade turns blue.
Then the amount of mana the ant is getting increases even further, most
of its legs exploding and parts of its body crumbling, twisting. All the
symbols on its carapace shine bright, and the next attack that hits me
disrupts my armor, while the spear in my hand absorbs even more mana.
The Mana Channeler’s body starts glowing bright white, the monster
sacrificing itself to turn its body into a bomb, using all the mana that’s
ruined it.
 For a short moment, I observe as its compressed mana fills each part of
its remains.
Then I have a feeling that our eyes meet, and behind its eyes, I feel a
different presence, the presence of someone much stronger.
The ant clacks its mandibles one last time before its head also crumples.
I redirect all of my mana toward Mantle and then activate [Tether],
teleporting toward the anchor I left some distance away from Tess.
Then I divert a lot of my body’s mana into the barriers I form in front of
us, each of them shattering one after another, unable to resist the explosion
of immense mana compressed in the tight space of the tunnels.
I slowly breathe out and form a mana orb over the palm of my hand.
[Focus]
The orb continues to shrink, to [Focus] to a smaller point until its color
changes to pitch black with a few dots of light inside of it. The orb itself is
as big as my pinkie fingernail, yet it immediately starts to dominate all the
mana around it. That is enough to put immense strain on my body, even
with my epic passive. No matter how good this epic passive is, it can’t
compare to the instant regeneration of the Saint.
Not hesitating, I throw the orb in front of us and create a barrier behind
it that I infuse with disrupting mana.
Then I watch as for the next few seconds the orb absorbs and
compresses all the mana from the explosion that fills the tunnel. The size of
the orb isn’t changing, yet the thing starts feeling more and more dangerous.
My barrier barely takes any damage as the orb stops most of the suicidal
attack and devours the mana, and when it’s gone, it starts slowly trying to
absorb mine.
It just floats in the air eerily at the place where I threw it, already out of
my control, and when I send my mana toward it or create a domain around
it, it doesn’t react.
“They are trying to slow us down, throwing one ant after another at us,”
Tess says, while her eyes stay glued on the black orb floating in the air in
front of us.
“We are close, so let’s push for a bit more.” I start walking again,
avoiding the orb that just floats there and tries to suck in my mana.
For a moment, I try to control it, but as before, it requires a huge
amount of mana to use, and right now, I’m not in a situation where I can
risk a lot of my mana for untested weapons. So I just leave it behind. It
should crumble soon when there isn’t enough mana around to sustain it, and
just in case, I leave an anchor near it.
As we continue, I keep setting mushrooms ablaze, leaving burning
tunnels in our wake that the ants have to deal with instead of focusing on
us. Because of that, we constantly push to avoid the fire and smoke that are
behind us.
At some point, Tess takes Lily onto her back, and we run faster, pushing
away weaker ants while taking a bit longer to kill stronger ones. Once in a
while, I check the stone Myrra left with me—the light is weaker than
before, showing that our time is slowly running out and soon we won’t be
able to return.
I activate an anchor and teleport behind one of the ants, cutting deep
into it with a resonating blade. Then I twist my body to avoid the
compressed shockwave another ant sends at me, and a thermal orb explodes
in their midst, only to be immediately absorbed.
More and more ants with anti-fire skills start appearing. Them and
others that can disrupt mana or endure my blasts of kinetic energy.
No matter how many of them we kill, they keep coming, always quiet,
communicating without sound, and they do not hesitate to put their lives
down for the Colony just to slow us down a little or to learn more about our
skills as they immediately attempt to counter them.
As always, the Colony is quick to come up with a tailored counter-
offense, and some variants seem to have been created or worked on ever
since the start of the fourth floor. The ants have amazing coordination, and
down in the tunnels, they are more in sync, attacking us from all sides,
some even passing through walls and trying to surprise us while some other
variants try to mess with our senses.
They even try to counter Lily’s [Disintegration] by creating a weird
barrier that is made of a similar gray mana to our healer’s, yet Lily tears
through it as if it’s nothing. No matter what barrier they create, no matter
what variant they get, I just need to slow them down a bit, hold them in
place, and Lily shoots them with arrows made of [Disintegration], further
strengthened by the epic bow she holds.
Her accuracy is terrible, but she is not even using much mana, and
bigger ants just die.
That makes the monsters focus on her more and more, but then they
find Tess.
 A lightning crown floats over her head like some sort of halo, her blond
hair seemingly glowing; she continues to fight, surrounded by lightning that
seems alive and a dozen javelins and an epic spear that attack and defend.
When she gets hurt, Lily just touches her slightly, sending a burst of
healing into her that allows Tess to continue fighting.
The epic spear she uses can change its weight, and Tess doesn’t hold it;
she moves it like one of her javelins and increases its weight before
shooting it, and the spear with incredible weight behind it continues to
break barriers and pierce monsters.
Gradually, the tunnels change; there are fewer mushrooms on the walls,
and they start becoming smoother to the point they feel more man-made.
Some of them even have perfectly square and flat walls.
The iron-like material they are made of seems to resist the heat. Even
my golden flames are unable to melt it, and my attacks don’t leave holes in
it.
As if on cue, we slow our speed. Sending a scan in front of us, I detect
the three mana signatures I know so well, surrounded by four monsters,
each of them stronger than those we’ve met up until now. Signatures that
shine brightly in comparison to the rest of the Colony.
During the last sprint, without being hindered, we enter the spherical
room, like the one the array was in.
I ignore the details of the room, and instead, my eyes find three
members of group 4.
[Focus]
Each of them is missing their legs.
[Focus]
Each of them is unconscious, fleshy vines touching their bodies, some
of them even burrowed inside their limbs.
[Focus]
Each of them is barely alive, hearts palpitating; their faces show signs of
intense pain.
[Focus]

[Focus - Level 40 > Focus - Level 41]

I move my mana and stop Tess and Lily from jumping inside. I ignore
their screams and the tears in our healer’s eyes. Even Tess has an expression
I have yet to see on her face.
Calmly, I examine the rest of the room, the monsters inside, the exits,
and the timer Myrra left us.
My mana crashes inside the room, and when the ants try to push against
it, I reach inside the reservoir and mana batteries I have on me, obliterating
their coordinated attempt to do so.
“Not one of you will leave this room alive,” Tess declares, her voice
bearing a deep undertone of the skill she possesses.
There are only four ants, all the others left.

[Rift Shifter Ant - Level ??]

[Inferno Brawler Ant - Level ??]
[Arcane Juggernaut Ant - Level ??]
[Ability Leech Ant - Level ??]

Ability Leech Ant stays near our group members, barely bigger than
Biscuit, and I can feel waves of mana from it, a skill similar to Sophie’s
web.
Other ants jump down from the walls. The first one to step in front of us
is the Arcane Juggernaut, the biggest ant I’ve seen so far, most likely twice
as tall as the other bus-sized ants and with a carapace heavily armored and
surrounded by a body-tight barrier that is so similar to the beast from
Beyond.
Before I even move, the thermal orb I was creating dwindles and
disappears, while all the heat within the room disappears with it. The work
of the Inferno Brawler that stole all the heat and made it its own, flames
creating a circle that spins above it.
Sophie twitches, and a painful groan escapes her mouth, one of her eyes
opens, and the little veins all over it burst. She tries to use her mana, but one
of the fleshy things twitches, and she screams in pain.
“Nat,” Lily calls up to me, and I follow her gaze.
She is looking at the crown tied to my belt. Her expression is the same
one she had when she sacrificed all of her limbs to destroy the Saint.
I see. So it will be.
I take the crown and put it on my head. The crown is not perfect and
doesn’t seem to work immediately, but I know what to do.
 [Resonance] activates, and I connect to the crown in a manner like
Lissandra used to connect to the Saint’s healing aura and restore her body.

[Resonance - Level 33 > Resonance - Level 34]

And then, gently, Lily’s warm mana flows into me, a feeling akin to that
of the Saint at the end of the third floor.
“Fuck them up,” the petite healer pushes through her clenched teeth.
I reach into my mana reservoir, my [Mana Domain] encompasses the
entire room and I place a dozen anchors all around.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 38
A PROMISE MADE

POV - Tess Hansen

H
ave I ever been this angry in my life? Have I ever hated another
being this much? If Nathaniel hadn’t stopped me, I would already be
in the middle of the room, fighting those four ants and probably
risking the lives of my three precious friends in the process. The lives of my
comrades.
Can I trust you to save them? I want to ask, but our eyes meet for a
second, and I know I don’t have to.
Right now, Nathaniel wears an expression I have yet to see on his
otherwise emotionless face.
“Fuck them up,” Lily spits out, and his mana crashes in waves inside the
room.
Nathaniel disappears, teleporting, and reappears on top of the biggest
ant, the Arcane Juggernaut. Mana radiates from Nathaniel in a torrent that
I’m sure would tear my body apart, and armor manifests around him, armor
that continues growing until Nathaniel is three times taller and surrounded
by all that mana condensed into the form of the armor.
A few fire-based attacks crash against it, followed by some invisible
ones that leave deep gouges in the ground behind him. He just shrugs off
any that land and stays on top of the comparatively slow, yet from the look
of it, extremely durable ant.
Lily groans, falling to her knees, and a few of her fingers disappear as
she continues to stare at the crown on top of his head.
Then more mana radiates from him, the armor turning dark blue and
speeding up its movement. The armor’s hands become bigger, and he grabs
the head of the ant he’s mounted as it tries to shake him off.
With sheer shock, I watch as he tears the head off an ant that’s twice the
size of a bus. The barriers around the ant just vanish the moment
Nathaniel’s armor touches them. The juggernaut’s body isn’t able to endure,
and the head just comes off.
Nat throws it at the Inferno Ant, who summons a wall of flame in
response, turning the head to dust in the blink of an eye.
The massive body of the dead Juggernaut Ant falls to the ground, and I
notice that Lily barely has any mana left as Nat continues to bleed from the
wounds he’s sustained all over his body.
Lily’s left leg disappears, and I feel movement behind us.
[Storm Crown] activates, and my lightning surrounds us, clashing
against a few attacks directed at us.
Then one of Nathaniel’s anchors activates nearby and his disrupting
mana hits the Rift Shifter Ant before he can disappear.
Immediately, I boost my javelins as much as possible, and a few of them
strike its body, sending lightning coursing through it.
The ant tries to create another rift, but another anchor near it explodes,
Nathaniel’s kinetic energy destroying a few of the ant’s legs. That’s when I
increase the weight of my spear as much as possible until it gets hard to
move.
The spear pierces the ant’s carapace, the sheer momentum behind it
allowing it to do so, but the ant disappears again, appearing near Lily.
Before it touches her, a few gray threads spin around her and pass
through the ant’s body while another of her legs disappears. For a moment,
the ant looks almost confused, and then its body falls into two pieces that
continue to move.
My javelins stab through it while I push against it with my
[Psychokinesis] at full power.
It uses another rift-like attack that crashes against my lightning, forcing
me to use more of my mana until they cancel out each other and my spear
finishes it off.
When I look up, Nathaniel floats in the air, standing against two
remaining ants. He has no wings and uses no mana, lightning, or anything.
He just floats there, and I can’t feel anything. It’s almost eerie.
A small ant jumps on the Inferno Ant’s back, and golden flames burst
forth from them at the same time as it feels like they are sucking the heat
from the room.
They stop just an arm’s reach in front of Nathaniel, like there is some
invisible barrier, and I hear a sound that reminds me of a heartbeat.
One heartbeat later, I feel an immense amount of mana radiate from
Nathaniel.
A second heartbeat and some of the flames move and swirl around
Nathaniel as he takes them under his control.
A third heartbeat and Nathaniel’s legs twist and break as if under
immense pressure.
A fourth heartbeat and Lily’s right hand disappears. I grab her and hold
her against my chest.
Nathaniel’s face is calm, and I can see that he is careful to not allow any
of this to touch our friends. Roaring like a terrifying animal, the flames
around Nathaniel burst forth, extremely concentrated.
There is no heat filling the room; his thermal energy just becomes more
concentrated, focused into a single beam as thin as my finger at speeds
impossible to track. It strikes the Inferno Ant in the middle of its body and
then moves diagonally, cutting it in half like some sort of laser.
The small Ability Leech Ant tries to run, but Nathaniel does something,
and the ant freezes in the air, unable to move.
“No…don’t kill him,” someone says, and it takes me a few moments to
realize it’s Sophie.

I stop right before killing the small ant and turn to Sophie.
After I create several threads of dark blue mana to bind the ant, I place
an anchor near it through which I constantly channel disrupting mana. Then
I float toward her.
“Get me out,” she hisses through clenched teeth, and I tear the things
from her and the twins while creating mana arms to gently bring them
down.
My body burns and hurts, and I’m barely able to keep myself from
fainting, but I take off the crown to save Lily’s mana.
“They wanted to get my [Manipulation] and the twins’ [Connection]
to improve their [Hive Mind],” she explains.
 “Just rest for now. We will take care of the rest. Izzy and others are
safe,” I tell her before she asks.
For a moment, she closes her eyes, tears appearing and flowing down
her cheeks. “I’m so glad.”
She opens them right after. “You won’t be able to escape,” she says.
“The First One, the first ant the lynthari Champion created, knew that you
would be coming, and he’s already trapped others. He and most of the
Colony are creating a barrier around us so that you can’t return through the
rift.”
I watch as Lily sacrifices three of her fingers to slightly heal Sophie,
Aaron, and Dennis, and I don’t stop her. She is still unable to sacrifice
items, unfortunately.
“We will find a way out,” I tell Sophie.
She shakes her head. “They know about most of your skills, you won’t
be able to break the barrier, especially if the First One intervenes.”
I don’t like it; it’s almost as if she underestimates me. Sure, my body
hurts, my mana is low, and they know my skills, but that doesn’t mean they
can stop me.
“I will help, so please, Nathaniel, take care of Izzy in case it goes to
shit.” The smile that appears on her face is sad.
Then, before I can do anything, her [Manipulation] activates, and she
uses the twins’ [Connection] to connect to the Ability Leech Ant and then
to the entire Colony.
The little ant starts flailing and twitching, and I stop Tess from killing it.
“You will hurt Sophie if you touch it,” I warn her, decoding the web Sophie
starts creating. I can’t even disrupt it for fear of hurting her, nor can I
observe it any closer.
Instead, I expand the range of my [Perception], and then for the first
time, I see the sheer terror her [Manipulation] can cause and understand
why the Colony and the Matriarch are so scared of her.
Sophie connects to and manipulates the ants’ [Hive Mind], and in the
process, she takes over the ants in it, fighting the First One for control while
it’s busy with Myrra and others.
Like a virus, her influence spreads, and the ants closest to us stop
moving, and slowly, further ones too. Soon, I’m unable to feel how far it
reaches because of my limited [Perception]. Her subclass greed must
somehow help her because, otherwise, I can’t imagine how she can do it
with as little mana as she has.
The ants start moving again, jumping against each other, mandibles
clacking, and skills activating as the members of the Colony fight each
other in silence.
“So fucking dumb,” Lily groans. The remainder of her fingers
disappear, as well as a piece of her arm, and Sophie’s face becomes a bit
less pale.
“We are leaving.” I pick up the twins and Sophie with my mana arms.
As the leader, ignoring the way we came, I take a different path, reluctant to
meet the black mana orb again. I move the little ant as well.
I continue to use [Perception] and track the mana stone Myrra left for
me, and we pass through the tunnels. None of the ants notice us, all of them
too busy murdering each other. Members of the Colony, whose immense
power came from cooperation, are tearing each other’s legs off and biting
their heads.
All because of Sophie’s skill.
Rushing through, we finally reach the tunnels near the room we started
in, and there we find Myrra and the rest of the group. Some of them are
missing, others are wounded, and no one looks untouched.
“We failed,” Myrra hisses. “They were waiting for us.” She pulls out a
stone from the Matriarch and a rift similar to Eris’s appears in front of us.
“Let’s leave and⁠—”
That’s when one of the humans moves and burrows his dagger covered
in yellow mana into Myrra’s chest, barely missing her heart as Myrra shifts
her body.
One of the lynthari dashes, too quickly for me to follow, his body
breaking in the process. He passes by me, and when I turn around, I only
see Sophie’s severed head falling to the ground.
What?
Another human dashes at me, but before he even reaches me, an
extremely concentrated burst of kinetic energy hits his head. At the same
time, a few of the enforcers jump and literally tear apart the human that
attacked Myrra and the lynthari that attacked Sophie.
Sophie’s head rolls on the ground, her eyes open. Panic is about to take
over me. A feeling of desperation. A broken promise given to a child.
[Focus]
 Have I given up already? This much is fine. I can do it. Deep breath in.
Breathe out.
Immediately, I scan the rest of our group, but no one shares the mark in
their brain the three who attacked us had.
Good.
“Through the rift,” I say calmly and grab Sophie’s head, ignoring Lily
and Tess.
When I pass through it, I wait until everyone is here and watch as the
wounded Myrra closes it.
“I will be all right,” Myrra says, blood on her lips.
I put the twins on the ground and then put Sophie’s head next to her
neck.
It’s fine; we have a few minutes. We can heal it.
“Nathaniel, I don’t have enough mana,” Lily cries, knowing what I’m
thinking. “Even if I sacrifice most of what I have left, I won’t be able to
heal it and restart her.” The petite brunette sobs.
“Items?”
“I don’t know how! I tried, I tried so hard!”
“I see.” I nod and look around.
There is no other healer.
For a few precious seconds, I stare at Sophie’s body and then get on my
knees and settle in front of Lily. “Sacrifice my body parts,” I tell her.
“I won’t be able to. It would be even harder than…”
“I know,” I tell her and then, creating a resonating mana along my hand,
I cut off my entire left arm and burn the wound closed with thermal energy.
I put the arm in front of Lily. “This is the arm you restored for me. You
sacrificed your arm to restore it. It’s made by you and strengthened by me.
You have a connection to it.”
Slowly, her eyes open wider, and with shaking remains of her left arm,
she touches it. “If I fail…”
“You won’t,” I say.
With her eyes wide open, she points what remains of her arm toward my
severed limb. Her brow furrows, and a few seconds pass, feeling impossibly
long.
Then my arm disappears and the mana that flows through Lily is
grander than ever before. The arm she sacrificed came from someone of a
much higher level than her. With constructs etched into it, the arm is filled
with mana and came from a body bearing two epic passives. It’s a good
arm.
Her healing skill activates, and I watch as the two pieces of Sophie’s
body connect.
It happened just a few seconds ago. The brain didn’t have time to die.
Lily can restart the body.
It will be fine.
Lily uses more mana, and it keeps flowing through Sophie, restoring
her, circulating around her heart and her brain.
Sophie isn’t a normal human either; she has stats, levels, skills, and
passives. Something like this should be possible even with a normal human,
but Sophie is more akin to a superhuman like all of us.
It will be fine.
Sophie’s heart starts beating a few times, and some color returns to her
face. More warm mana radiates from Lily, and Sophie’s chest starts
moving.
I don’t want to break a promise I made to a little kid. A promise I made
to a friend.
Sophie breathes out and in, her eyelids move a bit, and she opens her
eyes, immediately closing them because of the light.
I look at Lily, Tess, Sophie, Aaron, and Dennis.
All of them are fine.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 39
THE MESSAGE

O
ur trip back to Virelia is faster than before. I refrain from using mana
as much as possible to restore it as I carry the battered members of
group 4 in arms of mana.
The three of them are all missing legs and are all currently unconscious,
something Lily did with the rest of the mana she got from my arm. She also
used what was there to restore her legs and now walks next to me. Missing
her arms, but on her own two legs.
Tess is scouting ahead of us with Obelia, while Isola and the rest of the
group, and Myrra, run beside us. We do not hurry, but we also do not move
slowly, and I notice Lily constantly staring at me.
“You were amazing, Lily.” I really mean it. The young girl had to
endure the strain of keeping me alive while I was dealing with the stronger
ants and constantly use sacrifice to save our group members.
For me, it’s fine, but it’s hard to imagine how stressful it must be to use
all of your limbs powering your skill and then have to rely on someone else,
unable to move, and barely able to do anything. Such weakness is
something I never want to feel, yet Lily did it constantly, something that
once again confirms how far from normal some members of Hell Difficulty
are.
“I will do anything you want when things are a bit calmer.” I return her
gaze. “All within reason, obviously.”
“I see.” She smiles, but it’s a tired smile. “Can you please tell me again
I did well? That it was worth all of this?” The pain is still apparent in her
eyes.
No matter how used she gets to it, or how much she pretends to be okay,
without a skill like my [Focus], it must be terrifying.
 “You did well, really well.” I step closer to her and for a moment pull
her armless body close. “We saved them, thanks to you.”
She nods energetically, the tears flowing down her cheeks, and she
doesn’t say anything else.

A bit of time passes as we get closer to Virelia, until some of Obelia’s

scouts and enforcers seem to panic and speed up, as we keep pace.
It doesn’t take long, and I feel it as well. The presence of the Living
Tree.
Then we see it as well; the colossal tree has fallen just outside Virelia.
There is still some remaining mana, but the Calamity is dead, and there is
not even a text over it.
Most of the walls around the city are gone as well, cracked and
revealing the inscriptions etched inside them.
One of the enforcers starts crying, and more of them join in, with even
Myrra lowering her ears and her tail just hanging down.
“What happened, Myrra?” I ask carefully.
The white-haired lynthari turns to me, tears in her eyes. “The Matriarch
is dead, Feral One.”
For a moment, I just stare at her and then toward the city and the Tree.
Slowly, all of the lynthari with us turn toward Myrra all at once and
lower their heads, getting down on one knee and facing her.
Myrra ignores their gazes and continues to look toward the city, tears
rolling down her cheeks.

After we reach the city, we split up and quickly find the rest of group 4, all
of them fine, yet bearing signs of a big fight.
Isabella comes running and hugs the unconscious Sophie. For a few
minutes, she refuses to leave her and continues to listen to her older sister’s
heartbeat and breathing.
Then she jumps in between me, Lily, and Tess and thanks us, her small
body hugging us with all the strength she can muster. The entire time,
Noodle stays coiled around Isabella’s arm and watches it all with weird
interest.
(Safe,) Biscuit sends me.
“Thank you,” I tell him and caress his head. “I’m sure you did well.”
The best doggo woofs and then wobbles on top of one of the walls of
what’s left of our house and seems to keep watch.
Cute.
“The Veilwalker guild master was one of the traitors.” Hadwin and
Maya sit next to Tess and me, while Min-Jae stays with the twins, a worried
expression on the young boy’s face.
Maya continues, and I notice that she barely has any mana left, and her
gear is nearly destroyed, all upper-grade rare items. “He was either
controlled or worked with the Colony for some time. He attacked and
injured the Matriarch while she fought the Tree.”
Hadwin sighs. “The Matriarch fought it, using the trees in the city.
Meanwhile, we had to work with a few lynthari to fight Lorven and his
guild members.”
“How did the Tree get there?” Tess asks.
Maya meets her eyes. “It flew. We could feel its mana from far away, it
moved really quickly, and Tess, let me tell you, it was so eerie that it’s hard
to describe.” She shakes her head. “The Matriarch apparently activated
inscriptions she had built all over the city over hundreds of years and fought
against it. Some lynthari even shared their mana with her.”
As I listen to her, the image of young Eris calling me underling is
shown in my mind.
“How did the Matriarch look?” I ask, bearing a bit of hope.
“She had two tails and was taller than any other lynthari.” Hadwin
crushes even the last of those hopes.
“I see,” I say while looking at my hands.
“I can still feel the air shaking as they fought. The Tree tried to use its
weird mana particles, but the Matriarch stopped them by creating some kind
of pressure and then fought against it by creating rifts and some kind of
weird radiation while confusing the Tree. She even used the leaves of the
giant trees in the city.” Maya shudders.
“How did she even kill it?” Tess looks between Maya and Hadwin.
Hadwin answers her. “In the end, she activated some array, and that
killed the Tree. It made it dry out, and it just fell down, along with the
Matriarch. The other lynthari took her then.”
“Nothing about the floor quest?” Tess asks.
Maya shakes her head. “Nothing. I guess we didn’t do enough for it to
count as our work.”
She then starts to ask Tess about what happened, and wanting to catch a
break, I stand up and walk toward our half-destroyed house. No one stops
me, and I shift some of the debris and enter what remains of my room. The
armchair I like to sit in is dusty and torn in places, but I plop into it and pull
out the strange, blue mana stone from my pocket. The one Eris bought for
me at the auction now radiates a bit of mana, and I don’t even know when
she inscribed it.
I set it on a piece of debris in front of me and send a bit of my mana
through, which activates it.
An illusion of Eris forms around the stone and looks at me. “I guess
that’s it.” She smiles, hiding her hands behind her back. “You listening to
this must mean I was unable to deactivate it, and there can only be one
reason for that, right?”
The memory she left behind is even capable of reacting to its
surroundings, and it jumps up to sit on the wall nearby, short legs hanging
over and kicking the air.
“I left messages like this for most of the people I cared about. Then, for
a long time, I was wondering if I should leave one for you.” The memory
turns to me. “You know, I hardly know you. In my long life, you are barely
a memory.”
I don’t even answer; the memory wouldn’t be able to process it or say
anything other than what it’s been made for.
“Yet something made me change my mind, and I left a message for you,
as Eris, the personality I created to mess with my lynthari and humans.” She
smiles diabolically, then sighs. “What was I even thinking at my old age,
messing around like that?” Even then, she giggles.
“But it was fun, you know. I don’t even remember how long it’s been
since someone put me on his shoulders and carried me around the city. How
long has it been since I sat on someone’s knees and stopped worrying about
things and just acted like a kid for a few moments? How long has it been
since someone wanted to bully and mess with me with such a cheeky look
in his eyes?”
 The memory sighs, a smile not leaving its lips. “It was fun, and I thank
you for that.” She turns to me and adds, “Underling.” Her tone is almost as
if making fun of me.
“The Living Tree is on its way to the city. It’s an out-of-control weapon
I helped to create a long time ago. We sent it against the old capital of the
humans, so I will be the one to deal with it. I will pay for the crimes against
humanity I helped commit. I’m too old to avoid it, and soon I will be too
weak to deal with it, and that would only leave the Tree behind to threaten
my city, my lynthari, and my dear humans.”
Eris jumps down from the wall and emanates a hint of mana detecting
me and steps in front of me so the message can continue.
“I suspect it’s all the work of the First One; he was always smart. The
moment he sensed your friends’ skills and detected them reaching Virelia,
he probably increased his efforts to manipulate the Living Tree. He’s been
trying for years.” Eris smiles. “What a creepy ant, right? He even kidnapped
your friends the moment you left the city. For some reason, he is just as
scared of you as he is of the Fallen Hero.”
Eris sighs. “I got lazy, my skills dulled over the years of peace and
stalemate, and now I will pay for it. As for you, Underling, never let the
First One get the opportunity to take your friends’ skills. I would tell you to
kill them if needed, but I suspect you would tell me to screw off, such is
your Pride.” She giggles. “But know this: the moment the First One evolves
his [Hive Mind] will be the moment another being with the potential of
reaching the rank of Champion is born.”
Her eyes meet mine. “Myrra is childish at times, but she will be a good
replacement for me, and in the future, she will grow much stronger than I
ever was. But, Underling, there is something I wanted to ask of you too.
Please, don’t hate the lynthari.” Her hand reaches to me and passes through
my cheek. “Every lynthari that remains is just a child, born after the war.
None of them know about what happened before. So please, do not hate
them, do not fight again, and try to live with them as I always wanted.”
The memory starts becoming a bit more transparent and slowly
disappearing. “Hating me and those lynthari who did fight in the war is fine,
but the others are just kids, so please, get along.”
She becomes even more transparent.
“Nya… I wonder what that word means.” She giggles, her voice
becoming weaker. “I hope you had as much fun messing with me as I did
messing with you, my dear and last underling.”
For a moment, I feel as if our eyes meet.
“Farewell then, stay well…nya.” She flashes me one last smile that
stays on her face even as she grows and turns into the tall lynthari woman
with two tails.
She then turns around and, after taking a step away, the memory
disappears and all the mana from the blue stone is gone.
For a long moment, I stare at the blue mana stone in my hand and try to
send my mana into it, to activate it again, but it doesn’t work. The intricate
inscriptions are gone.
That’s when I hear a movement, and Tess walks from behind the wall.
“Sorry, I heard most of it,” she apologizes while sitting on the armrest
of the armchair I sit on.
“It’s fine,” I reply.
“So that was the Matriarch and the little girl we met during the auction.”
“Yes,” I nod, “we now know who was behind all this.”
“Are you sad?” she asks.
“I barely knew her.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Nat.”
“I only met her a few times, and we mostly made fun of each other, and
I didn’t even know she was messing with me.”
“So that’s how it is?” she asks.
“Yes.”
I’m about to use [Focus], but then I hesitate and stare at the blue mana
stone. In the end, I decide against it and continue to stay like that for a bit
longer.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 40
LITTLE KITTEN

A
fter a few hours of sleep, I wake up and stretch my body. Jumping
from the bed, I take a few steps and enter the balcony, looking
outside at the city. Virelia is unusually quiet, and the walls that used
to surround it are gone, as well as dozens of buildings destroyed, and a few
towers have tilted or just straight-up toppled.
Further in the distance, I can see the trunk of the Living Tree. Colossal,
grayish bark, and branches without any leaves.
Defeated, destroyed, killed, just like that. All the preparations and
planning gone and useless, the Calamity was defeated by Eris at the cost of
her life.
I can’t understand it fully; it’s so dumb. So fucking dumb. She could
have run away; she could have held it back and waited for me and others to
join the fight. She could have just kept us in the city and not sent us after…
but that would mean sacrificing Sophie, Aaron, and Dennis, wouldn’t it?
Looking down, I clench and unclench my fist. If I were stronger, I
would solve it all. I would be the one deciding the result, and no one would
have to die. I wasn’t strong enough, and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth,
even though I know they are fake.
I wonder, could I have pushed myself more? Could I do it differently
and focus more on leveling instead of improving my handling of my
power? Could I have just left the Tree alone and stopped the ants from
kidnapping three members of our group and fought against the Calamity
with Eris?
Taking a few steps, I jump back into the bed in the room Storm Brigade
has lent me. Obelia has offered to board us until we can find another house.
“Status,” I say.
 [Name: Nathaniel Gwyn]
Difficulty: Hell
Floor: 4 - Waning Realm
Time left until forced return: 4y 81d 13h 15m 7s
Traits (1/3): Mana Circuit

Level 189
Strength: 87
Dexterity: 89
Constitution: 224
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 707 + 707

[Primary Class: Focused Channeler (Epic)]

[Subclass: [Initiate of Pride]]
Active skills:
Focus (Dual Focus Consolidation) - Level 41
Mana Manipulation (Advanced Mana Manipulation) - Level 41
Perception - Level 39
Redistribution (Symbiotic Transference) - Level 39
Resonance - Level 34
Mana Domain - Level 21
Tether - Level 11
Regalia - Level 10
Infusion - Level 16

Constructs:
Reinforcement (Construct)
Kinetic Mana Heart (Construct)
Mana Regulator (Construct)
Mana Sovereignty Mantle (Construct)

Passive skills:
Cerebral Harmony (rare)
Mana-Fortified Resilience (rare)
Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)
Mana Reservoir (epic)
Arcane Resilience (epic)
 Tokens: Beyond Difficulty entrance token
Shards: 3032

While examining my stats, I feel a touch and an attempt to connect to

my mind.
I allow it to happen, and Sophie’s voice sounds in my head. (Can we
talk?)
(Yes, I will land on your balcony in a few minutes.)
(Thank you.)
I put on some clothes and look in the mirror nearby. The guy looking
back at me seems the same on the surface, yet I know him well.
“Asshole,” I say, and his mouth mouths the same word.
Stepping onto the balcony, I locate Sophie and, generating just enough
kinetic energy, fly higher and to the side, landing on the balcony not unlike
my own.
Sophie is wearing simple clothes that are a bit too big for her, and the
doors to the room are closed. Behind the glass, I see Isabella sleeping on the
bed, Noodle on one side and Biscuit on the other.
Tracking my gaze, Sophie looks as well and smiles gently. “She got
surprised and scared by a small spider just a few days ago. I watched her
scream and jump backward, hitting her head against the wall.” She turns to
me. “I wouldn’t have been able to see that without removing the [Geas]
from her mind.”
“You messed with your own memories.” I do not beat around the bush.
Sophie is acting way too casual for what happened to her and the twins
deep in the heart of the Colony.
“You are quick to catch on.” She sits in one of the chairs on the balcony
while I lean against the railing.
After gathering her thoughts, she continues, “I wanted to remove them,
I really did, but something stopped me.” She looks at her hands. “Would I
be the same person if I did that? And if I did that, would that make each
new edit easier until I simply remove every unhappy memory I have?”
Sophie looks at me. “Nathaniel, maybe we humans aren’t supposed to
have this kind of power. Saving someone after their head’s been cut off?”
She touches her neck where a thin, white scar stretches across its entire
length, most likely something Lily left intentionally.
 She continues to speak. “Or manipulating people and removing their
free will?” Her eyes are piercing as she looks into mine. “Being strong
enough to wipe a small city off the map just a few months after gaining
these powers?”
“You can think about it as much as you want, but it doesn’t change the
fact that there are other people with these powers. People who won’t care
about that will complete the tutorial and return to Earth.” I easily return her
gaze. “Unlike you, I don’t mind it. I like my powers and the things they
allow me to do,” I reply.
She smiles and nods as if expecting this answer, then looks to the side,
at the Living Tree outside the city. “You know, I tried multiple things with
my [Manipulation]. I tried to manipulate fire, manipulate mana, earth, and
a few others, yet I always found myself progressing the most with
controlling monsters or people.”
Sophie breathes in and closes her eyes. “I wanted to remove my
memories but decided against it. In the end, I did the same thing I did for
the others after we escaped the tunnel under the old capital. I made those
memories feel as if they happened years ago, leaving them a faint memory.”
She touches her neck. “I can still feel the blade slicing through my neck. I
remember the ants trying to steal my skill. It’s all in here.”
“That much is reasonable,” I tell her.
“Do you really think so? I know that you have a skill that allows you to
do something similar.” She opens her eyes, her hand still on her neck. “But
I think we will pay for that in the future, Nat, both you and I for trying to
cheat ourselves.”
“Probably, but that’s for future Nathaniel to deal with.” I pass by her
and quietly open the door.
Noodle, now awoken, slithers outside, a bit bigger than before. His
tongue flickers toward me as I radiate a bit of mana to feed him. When I
reach out my hand to him, he hesitates for a moment but then coils around it
in the same way he does with Isabella.
“Current me will do the best he can,” I continue, and I carefully touch
Noodle’s head, petting him gently.
The snake closes its eyes, and only his tongue continues to flicker. His
body is somewhat cold to the touch, but it doesn’t feel bad, and his scales
have a nice texture to them.
 “I guess, consequences be damned,” Sophie says while observing
Noodle. “Or maybe we are the dumb ones, and all these abilities are to help
us deal with this all, something normal. It’s just we still think like humans
worrying about useless things.”
I think about it for a while. “It might be just as you said.”
Isabella’s soft cries sound from inside the room; she seems to be having
a nightmare as she twitches on the bed.
Sophie stands up and opens the door. Lily finished restoring her legs a
few hours after sacrificing my arm.
When I hand her Noodle, she looks at me one more time. “The
Matriarch is dead. You know what that means, right?”
I nod. “The Colony will be coming.”
“Yes. I tried to kill as many of them as possible, especially the ones
capable of creating arrays, and I even left some traps in their links. But it
won’t slow them down for too long. A few days maybe.”
Isabella twitches again, and Sophie just waves and closes the door,
immediately lying on the bed and hugging her sleeping sister, who quickly
calms down.
Not wanting to interrupt their moment, I jump from the balcony and
glide back to my room. There, I open the balcony and pass through my
room, opening the door outside.
The hallway is empty and simple, mostly made of stone and wood with
a thick carpet on the polished floor. It has a nice cozy feeling to it. Taking a
short walk, I reach the door to the room where Tess is staying with Lily; the
two of them are together so she can help our silly healer. I knock and wait.
Tess opens a few seconds later. “Come in, Nat.” She lets me enter
immediately.
The moment I do so, Lily sees me too, and a big smile appears on her
face. I notice that one of her arms is already nearly back. The left one that is
once again pale, and I would bet if she restores my left arm too, it will be
pale as well.
The speed with which she is regenerating her arms is much faster than
before. “Guess who can enter Beyond now?” she asks me, her smile
becoming even bigger.
I can hear Tess sigh next to me, and I sit on the edge of the bed next to
Lily.
 This is serious; I can see it in her eyes. The moment she heals, she will
enter Beyond. As always, her reason is simple: to reach me. To become
closer to me, to be strong like me. To become more useful to me. That’s
how she’s thinking.
Ever since the floor started, I haven’t heard her speak about her family,
and Tess, who knew Lily just a little bit from school, told me that the black-
haired girl was someone you might call a loner.
I wonder how her life was before for her to become so possessive of me,
to cling to me and the others so much. To have such fear in her eyes that we
will throw her away the moment we become much stronger or she becomes
less useful. It doesn’t matter how much Tess works on it; it doesn’t matter
that I tried to help too. Lily still lives in constant fear of being left behind.
“Don’t enter Beyond for now,” I tell her.
She continues to smile for a moment, thinking that I’m joking, but I just
look at her, and slowly, her expression changes from that of happiness to
hurt and anger.
I move closer and put my hand on hers. “I will train with you. I will
help you prepare.”
Lily might have the strongest damage skill out of all of us, and she is
extremely hard to kill, but she is lacking when it comes to reading the flow
of combat and over-relies on her damage and healing.
I squeeze her arm. “I will make sure you become stronger.”
The expression in her eyes changes a bit, hurt and sadness replaced by
pleading and hope.
“I want everyone to live, Lily, so we will prepare, okay?”
Her eyes shake, and she stares at me, taking in every detail of my face.
I continue, “And when you are ready, you will crush the trial and join
me and Tess.”
Lily nods. “Yes, yes. I will do it.”

Flashback - Lily Chen (8 years old)

In a dark, small room, a little girl sits on a thin blanket. A little girl with
black hair and bangs long enough to fall into her face.
“Are you angry, Grumpy?” the little girl asks, pulling the cat in her arms
closer to her chest. “And don’t meow. It makes you look even more like a
grumpy,” she says, smiling.
 Meow. The little kitten tries to escape for a bit but, still being weak, is
unable to do so and gives up.
That makes the little girl laugh for a bit longer as she snuggles the kitten
with two differently colored eyes, yellow and blue, and with black fur.
Then silence fills the small room and the entire apartment.
It is around nine o’clock, and the girl is entirely alone, the floors cold,
the power cut off, and tap water rarely flows. Something normal for the girl,
too young to realize that it shouldn’t be like that.
“We will be alone again tonight,” she mumbles, holding the kitten tight.
Slowly, she stands up from the floor. Her feet are bare and her pajamas
are old, dotted with holes. The little girl takes the thin blanket and moves
away from the door where she has been waiting for someone to return,
excited to talk about her day with the little kitten.
“It’s fine, I have you, Grumpy,” the little girl says, and after jumping on
the bed, she wraps the blanket around them.
With a smile, she continues to watch as the kitten falls asleep. Then,
even though there is no other blanket on her bed, she slips the blanket off of
herself and wraps it all around Grumpy.
Feeling the cold, she continues to shake a bit, but the big smile doesn’t
leave her face as she continues to watch the little kitten sleep.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 41
THIS KIND OF PERSON

D
ealing with people is hard, isn’t it? I could be on my own, not
worried, not having to deal with them. It would be easier.
Sure, I like being alone, and I really often need solitude to
recharge my batteries, but being able to walk into the living room every
once in a while and just listen to other members of group 4, joke with them,
tease them, that’s also fun.
I wonder what my life in the tutorial would’ve looked like now if I had
decided to remain on my own.

Noname - Savi, how is it going on your own?

Savant - Great, now even you are calling me Savi. I will only answer
if you agree to answer my question afterward.
Noname - Deal.
Savant - I prefer being on my own. No one tries to stab me in the
back. I don’t have to deal with people screwing things up, and there’s
no need to babysit weaklings.
Noname - What happened to your group?
Savant - They got what they deserved… I’ve answered your
question. We’ll see who made the better decision during the
tournament.
Noname - I think so too. You can ask your question.
Savant - I’ll ask later.
Noname - Sure.
 I close the Community, come to a door, knock carefully, and wait. The
hallway is empty and quiet; the entire floor has been lent to us by Obelia.
The door opens slowly, and Min-Jae peeks out. “Dennis and Aaron are
sleeping,” he says after exiting the room and joining me in the hallway.
Min-Jae seems tired and worried about his friends, yet it’s much better
than when we brought the twins back after losing their legs and nearly
being tortured to death by ants.
“Are they all right?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “They kept asking for Sophie, and after she left,
they calmed down and went to sleep.” His face takes on a sad smile.
The implications are clear: the twins most likely asked Sophie to do for
them what she did for herself.
Is it a good decision to take such an easy way out? Should they get over
it on their own and become stronger in the process? Is our logic flawed as
Sophie suggested? Should we just use our powers as we like? Is it pointless
trying to apply regular human common sense here?
Is it a smart decision given that we are still in Hell Difficulty and have
no time for people dealing with trauma while the Colony threatens us?
“Nat, I don’t think they did a bad thing. I know you probably think that
they will become weaker if they take the easy way out,” Min-Jae looks into
my eyes, “but I don’t think there is a need for them to be scarred because of
this or for them to wake up shaking and crying. Nat, they are just kids.”
Looking at him, Min-Jae himself is only fifteen years old and the twins
are seventeen, yet here he is: a troubled young boy who kept copying me,
looking up to me, defending his friends and opinions.
“You are right, Min-Jae,” I tell him.
“Am I?” he asks, a bit unsure.
Oh, was he faking it all?
When I look at him, it doesn’t look like it; he still thinks he’s right but
seems weirded out that I might agree with him.
“Keep watch, okay? I will be nearby,” I tell him.
He nods energetically and goes back into the room.
For a moment, I stare at the door after he closes it and try to read my
feelings.
Down in the tunnels, I pushed my emotions to the back of my mind; I
kept [Focus] running and tried to deal with the four ants that guarded them
as quickly as possible at the cost of Lily healing me through the crown. But
right now? I constantly feel the suppressed anger raging inside me.
They kidnapped them, they hurt them, and they dared to touch group 4.
Because of that, Sophie almost died, Dennis and Aaron suffered a torturous
experience, and Lily had to push herself to the brink.
Oh, how angry I am. Those fuckers are going to pay. I will fucking blow
their entire Colony sky-high and turn their shitty tunnels into a burning hell.
Realizing that I’ve subconsciously started releasing my mana, I once
again focus on Mana Cycling, bring it back under control, and touch
Sophie’s web.
She connects to me the moment she feels my probing. (Anything
happen?)
(You still have 5,000 shards from selling the coordinates, right?)
(Of course, they are yours according to our deal.)
(Good, I already know what you can buy for me.)

I find Obelia near her office with Jenna, whom she quickly sends away.
Jenna greets me and closes the door, inscriptions within activating and
running enchantments against spying and for defense.
Unable to help myself, I observe them for a while out of curiosity, and
Obelia doesn’t seem to mind as she sits in her chair patiently, going over
some mana stones inscribed with messages.
“So what happened down there?” I ask when I’m done.
With a sigh, she shakes her head. “It was a mess. They were constantly
trying to slow us down, and half of us were constantly fighting against their
attempts to deactivate our return rift stone.” She puts away the item she’s
holding, giving me her full attention. “The enforcers were just as terrifying
as they were rumored to be and dealt with anything that came at us.”
Obelia looks at her hands and laughs a bit. “I always thought I was one
of the strongest in Virelia, even considering the lynthari, yet I could only
watch and support them once in a while. That’s how those twelve enforcers
are.”
“I think you could take one of them,” I tell her. I felt their mana and saw
them a bit in action, so I do believe that.
 “Probably? Their biggest advantage was their coordination. If twelve of
them fought together, I don’t think there would be anyone capable of
fighting them.”
“So why did you guys fail?”
“The First One was terrifying, Nathaniel.” Obelia’s gaze grows serious.
“I still believe enforcers would be capable of destroying him if they fought,
but they didn’t have a chance. The other ants constantly fed the First One
with vitality, stamina, and mana through their connection. We damaged the
First One, and another ant died instead of him. He used mana, and it
instantly got replenished.”
I move and sit on the chair opposite her and observe her expression.
Obelia continues, “With the Colony nearby, the First One is impossible
to defeat. He is the lynchpin that ties them all together and guards their
[Hive Mind] against outside tampering. Plus he’s smart and has immense
control over the Colony.”
“I bet you also already found out what happened while we were gone,
so can I ask you for a short summary?” I ask instead. I will deal with the
ants later.
“In short? Do you remember the expedition we took to the old capital
with Elydor when we met for the first time? It seems like the moment we
escaped, the Tree lifted off and started flying toward Virelia.”
How does it even make sense for a giant tree to fly?
“It took a month, but it reached the city while we were away.
Apparently, the Matriarch knew about it even then and still sent us to fight
the Colony,” Obelia says.
I wonder if she truly sent us against the Colony because she didn’t want
the ants to evolve their [Hive Mind]. Was she even willing to put her life on
the line to send such a big part of Virelia’s strength against the ants?
The timing is suspicious, extremely so. There were traitors, people
controlled by ants, that attacked her the moment the Living Tree got close.
Then there’s the timing of the Tree launching an attack right after the ants.
It’s all too coordinated.
Is the First One, the leader of the Colony, behind it? Did it manipulate
the Tree and time its attack? Or did they work together?
Or is there someone or something else?
“Miss Myrra will become lynthari matriarch after the ceremony. The
Matriarch’s granddaughter disappeared as well. I wanted to let you know in
case you were wondering,” she says.
I nod. “I will visit Myrra.”
“Yes. But please be careful. No matter what lynthari do or say, they
loved their matriarch. She was like a mother to all of them, and some knew
her for tens or hundreds of years.”
“I will take that into consideration, but what about you? You now know
that the lynthari are invaders here. What will you do?” I ask.
Obelia doesn’t seem to be sure of that, but in the end, she shrugs her
shoulders. “Currently, I’m inclined to tell everyone.”
“That could lead to war.”
She nods. “Yes.” Her expression says that she already considered it.
“Yet I still think it’s something other humans should know.”
“Even if plenty of them might die because of that?” I ask.
It’s not like I’m worried about people I don’t know. I’m just that
curious. Over time, I’ve built some respect toward this logically thinking
woman in front of me. She is smart, talented, and good at reading people,
and most of all, she knows when to take a step back.
“The way you look at me reminds me of a lynthari,” she says out of
nowhere, a small smile on her face. “You keep observing me like I’m some
interesting animal. As if everything that just happened, all these threats, the
Colony, the war with lynthari, the traitors do not affect you at all.”
I guess she also learned to read me a bit after dealing with me all these
months.
She continues, “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not insulted or angry. I know
people like you.” She smiles, her eyes looking as if she is remembering
someone. “People like you are a bit crazy, and I guess they have to be to be
able to reach that level and not even think of stopping.”
Obelia stops remembering and looks at me. “But be careful, that kind of
person doesn’t tend to die in bed surrounded by the people they love.”

Before leaving for Myrra’s, I check the upper epic weapon I prepared to be
used against the Living Tree.
I could try to dismantle it and recover the two items I had before, but
maybe I can use it against the Colony. It’s slow to activate because of my
insufficient skill, but it should be useful there as well, for the same reasons I
meant to use it against the Living Tree, I think.
It’s annoying, to be honest. If I were to dismantle it now, I would have
to undo the changes I’ve made to the items, and that would require some
time; otherwise, I would risk ruining them.
Sighing, I move past it and look at the chest we got from the
Champion’s house and the piece I bought at the auction.
Months have passed since we got it, and we are not even close to
opening it. I swear, it would be funny if we learned that it wasn’t a chest at
all, just a piece of wood shaped and weighted like one.
Sure, I would complain a lot and curse the system, this floor, and
everything around me, but I would still consider it a bit funny.
Well, at least Min-Jae said he is feeling something from the chest and
the small item, either thanks to [Gravity Well] or [Telekinesis]. Seeing
how heavy the thing is, it might have something to do with gravity and the
former of his skills.
Leaving Tess to take care of the items, I check my figure in the mirror.
I’m still missing my left arm, but it’s weirdly fine, and I just replaced it with
a replica made of mana.
This one is much better and more nimble than before, nearly as mobile
as my original arm. It will be fine, and when Lily takes care of her wounds
and restores legs for the twins, she can take care of it.
After leaving behind an anchor that should last for hours, I jump from
the balcony, disrupting the effect the anti-flight zone has on me. Boosting
myself with kinetic energy, I fly to the place I know I’ll find Myrra and, as I
get closer, land on the ground, closing the remaining distance on foot.
The place I’m going is in the exact middle of the city. It is a beautiful
spherical building that, at a glance, should fall under its own weight.
Yet, like the dueling area, it’s made from the same indestructible stone,
a remnant of the past.
As I approach the area, Myrra’s bodyguard steps out of the shadows and
nods in greeting.
I return the gesture, and without any words, I follow him.
It’s my first time being here, so I take it all in, the pretty garden with
colorful trees and walkways made of indestructible stone.
Entering the spherical building, I watch the lighting, which is similar to
that of the auction house. The light seems dim and moves slowly as if
reflecting the mood of every lynthari we meet on our way.
We reach some stairs that run the entire length of the building leading
upstairs, where there seem to be multiple floors, hidden above the lights and
illusions on the ceiling. Even then, we ignore the floors and just continue
until we reach the top and pass by multiple lynthari guards; one of them
was even one of the twelve enforcers we met prior.
Finally, the doors open, and I enter the room as Myrra’s bodyguard
closes them behind me.
The room is delicately beautiful, and massive circular windows offer a
view from anywhere I stand in the room. Myrra stands in the middle of the
room, wearing clothes unlike any I have seen her in before. They are less
flashy and colorful than the ones she once wore. These are mostly made up
of blacks and grays, simple, yet somehow beautiful, making her white hair
and tail all the more striking.
“The Matriarch has led us ever since I was young. I have never known
another leader in my entire life, and neither has any other lynthari,” she
starts. Her voice is not as haughty or energetic as it was before. “I mean,
sure, I fought with her a lot, but what kid hasn’t fought with their elders?”
Myrra sighs, and I notice a bunch of mana stones on the table nearby, all
bearing similar inscriptions, a memory from the Matriarch.
She notices where I’m looking. “Yes, she left a lot and some things I
have learned…” Taking a few steps, she stops in front of me. “She left it up
to me to decide what to do with Obelia and the fact that she knows what I
just learned. She left it up to me to deal with your group too, Feral One.”
Myrra reaches and fixes the sleeve of my missing left arm, replaced by
one made of mana. “I wonder what I should do with you all.”
“Won’t it wait?” My eyes meet hers. “Right now, we both have the same
goal.”
In the dim light of the room, her canines seem also shining, white and
sharp. “Yes, we have to deal with the fucking Colony first.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 42
CRAFT GUILD

“Y our
weapon should work against the First One as well if we’re lucky.
Most of the skills need at least a bit of mana for activation and
upkeep, so disrupting the connection he has to other ants should stop
him from receiving their mana, and vitality, or ordering them around,”
Myrra says.
“Only if we’re able to keep him impaled on it. How big is the First
One?” I ask.
“His head sits at about the same height as mine. His body is covered in
pitch-black matte plating. Unlike other ants, he doesn’t shine at all. We
don’t know what skills he has, but just the raw strength and vitality he
received made it near impossible to deal with him.”
“It’s fine, I already have a plan,” I tell her.
“You are quick, Feral One. What is it?”
When I explain it to her, she starts talking about things like common
sense, calling me an idiot and the like. We repeat the conversation we had
when I told her my plan to kill the Living Tree.
In the end, she sighs. “I’m not even surprised, and somehow this sounds
a bit more reasonable than your plan for the Living Tree. For now, prepare
for it, and I will set some as well. The Matriarch left us some things that
should help us hold the fort here in Virelia.”
“What about [Kin Control]? Is it gone now that the Matriarch has
died?”
She seems surprised. “First, I learn the Matriarch got her kicks by
pretending to be her own granddaughter and teasing the lynthari, then I
learn about [Kin Control], and now I find that you probably knew before I
did. Tell me, Feral One, did she like you so much because you so often feel
like a lynthari in human skin? Is it because of your bearing? Are you also a
Champion candidate?” Each word she says moves her closer to me.
“It’s not my fault, Myrra. It’s you guys that keep pestering and bullying
me,” I say in my defense.
“Sure.” She sighs, takes a few steps back, and sits on the windowsill of
one of the big circular windows. “[Kin Control] is gone, but I don’t think
she’s even used it lately. She made sure the skill would lose its hold over us
as soon as possible and so the ants wouldn’t be able to take it over and
control us. Now that the Matriarch is dead, it should only take a few days.”
“So from one point of view, the Matriarch was the lynthari’s
weakness?”
“If you want to think about it that way, Feral One, sure. But at the same
time, she could do the same to the ants, especially from within the city, so
they didn’t dare to attack. That’s where your friends come in.”
She stops looking outside. “Before you came here, I spent a lot of time
wondering if I should kill your friends, Feral One. The last thing we want is
for them to fall into the hands of the Colony again.” Myrra giggles, her
golden eyes shining. “Some lynthari even wanted me to lure you here and
deal with your friends while you were busy.”
“But?”
“But they don’t know you, Feral One,” she continues, her eyes on me.
“Ever since you entered the room, I’ve felt that thing you’ve been feeding
with your power and that you plan to use against the Colony. I feel your
connection with the tower, and I know you can return there quickly. And if
we fail, you could end up being a bigger problem than the Calamity.”
“A wise choice. You told them to fuck off, right?”
She laughs again. “Yes, I did. But tell me and be honest: would you kill
me if I allowed it to happen and your friends died?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, that absolute certainty of yours. It stings a bit that you said it
without hesitation, but I like it. I like it a lot.”
“I will be going, then.”
When I reach the door, she stops me. “Feral One, I did think about
killing you and your friends. For causing her death, however indirectly. She
sent us to stop the First One from taking their skills. Maybe she would be
alive if the enforcers and I had stayed here.”
“Maybe.” I pause.
 “Yes, maybe. I will see you later, then,” she says.
I leave after that, and unsurprisingly, half of the enforcers, the strongest
among the lynthari, stand there. Just in case, ready to rush in to protect their
new matriarch.
They issue a short greeting as I pass by them, and Myrra’s bodyguard
leads me to the exit.
“Please be careful,” he says before I leave him behind.
Once again, I use kinetic energy to push myself high into the air, and
this time, I fly over to check in on the old enchanter, Cael.
The first thing Cael asks me is whether the weapon he and other
enchanters helped me with performed well. The second question is if I
could help him get access to what remains of the Living Tree to examine it
for materials. It’s not until his third question that he asks about the attack on
the city and the Matriarch’s death.
Are all craftspeople like that?
I answer his questions and spend the rest of the day discussing my
plans. At some point, the two of us are not enough, and he leads me to the
Craft Guild.
The Craft Guild is one of the biggest buildings in the city and the most
luxurious, clearly showing how important their work is. We enter without
trouble, and I learn that Cael was once the vice guild master.
Of course.
“Young Sir, please! Look at this enchantment I created!”
“Mister, could you explain how this works for me?”
“It’s him! The young man that inscribed that stone!”
“The guild master wanted him as vice guild master…”
A bunch of men and women keep pestering us as we pass through the
room, and I’m surprised how quickly the information regarding our
presence spreads.
It’s awkward, the way they keep looking at me like I just invented
chocolate or something. As if I’m some kind of celebrity.
How would they look at me if I told them it’s mostly my high-level
skills, combined with massive quantities of mana, and money that allowed
me to perform an amount of testing that would be impossible even for most
mid-guilds? Especially when it’s all being wasted on a single person.
Actually, should I tell them? It would be fun to watch.
 Instead, we eventually get rid of these people and reach the highest floor
of the building where all the high-ranking enchanters reside, when they are
here, and where the guild master is. Six men are already waiting impatiently
within the circular room. Cael sent them a message before we arrived.
I stop in front of the door after feeling their presence with my skill.
For a moment, I examine the inscriptions all around me. On the door, in
the walls, on the ceiling, inside small mana stones hidden within the floor
and connected through web-like pathways. There is so much of it, and just
examining them takes my mind off useless stuff.
“They might be getting impatient,” Cael says carefully after a few
minutes.
I sigh and gesture to an employee nearby, and he opens the door after
bowing.
“Master Gwyn, it’s such an honor to have you here!” Immediately, one
of the men attacks me.
“I’m a massive fan of the work you’ve done!” Another one joins in a
combined attack.
“Theo, Davi, please, leave it for later and do not pester him. You are old
enough to have some self-control,” Cael defends me.
“That’s easy for you to say. You are keeping him for yourself! You
should share…”
“Davi! That’s rude to say in front of our guest!” Finally, the guild
master of the Craft Guild reacts.
He’s even older than Cael and has long gray hair and an impressive
beard. He is the perfect image of a wise old archmage you might see in
children’s stories. Even a cosplayer couldn’t do a better job.
“Allow me to welcome you, Mister Gwyn. Cael told me about the
things you’ve been working on, and I was able to find some help. In a few
minutes, a few more people will be arriving. They started immediately after
they heard about it.”
I can only stare at him. For some time, I’ve been thinking about what I
should do to pay them back for all the help they gave me while I was
working on inscriptions to alter the functionality of my epic weapons and
the arcanadium shaft that combined them.
But this?
Seeing their faces, hearing them gulp to keep from drooling every time I
step closer to the empty mana stones on the table.
 Paying them back? Hell no, it looks like I’m not using them enough,
seeing their greedy eyes. It’s at the point I’m starting to have suspicions that
I’m the one being taken advantage of.
The door opens, and a few more men rush in, excitedly asking if we
already started.
“I’m too busy, so let’s start. If someone else joins later, you can inform
them.” I take a few steps toward the table in the middle and pull out the epic
mana stone of mid or upper epic grade Sophie bought for me for 5,000
shards and put it on the table.
It’s as big as a baseball, and other than being a storage unit for mana
and other energies, it doesn’t have any other effect. What makes it an epic
item is the amount of energy it can contain. The mana stone already has a
lot of thermal energy inside of it, yet I continue to store more, and the
golden flames lazily swirl inside.
I look around the room. “There are three goals I want to reach.”
Their eyes flick between me and the stone.
“First, store as much energy as I can inside this stone. Two parts
thermal, one part kinetic.” Without hesitation, I tell them about the
Primordial energies I have and ignore the looks of pure shock even Cael
gives me.
I need help with this as even now I feel that soon I won’t be able to
store anymore. It’s either the way I store it, the item’s rarity, or there’s
something I’m missing. Maybe it’s just too much of it; I didn’t hold back
when I started filling it, unlike the time I created one to bomb the ants. But
that doesn’t seem to be it; the stone is an epic item, so it should easily
handle something like that.
“Second, come up with a mechanism that will release all that energy at
once when I want it to, as well as the energies of other filled mana stones
near it.”
Sure, I could start feeding it to the point where it can’t hold any more
and is about to explode. However, unlike orbs made of mana, I don’t have
as strong a connection to it, and it lacks that intuitive feeling. It would be
unfortunate if the stone exploded somewhere in Obelia’s tower and took a
good chunk of the city with it.
“Third, there is one of my skills I need to make sure it will work
with…” As I continue to explain, they watch me, a childish curiosity
replaced by an academic one, and I can see gears in their heads spinning
already as they start coming up with solutions and ideas.
All of them quietly listen and let me talk, waiting for a pause to start
talking about how they would go about it.
Yup, let’s just fake it and pretend I know what I’m talking about
because I need their help. Just one of my orbs is not enough. It would be
powerful, yes, but not enough.
I will nuke these bitches into oblivion for touching what is mine.

I return to the tower late that night, more tired than I’ve been in a long time.
Not physically but mentally.
Everyone else is already asleep, and I find the quiet of the tower really
comfortable, more so for the fact that no one will try to speak to me this
deep into the night.
I pull one of the armchairs out onto the balcony and plop down.
The city is dim and quiet, yet in the distance, I can see the lights all
around the trunk of the Living Tree outside of the city. Lynthari are
guarding it.
Yawning, I stare out at it and think about how I feel about it dying
without my contribution. I reflect on what happened and what I could
change, but in the end, I stop thinking and just continue to enjoy the quiet.
As if in revenge against my busy day full of meetings, I do not go to
sleep and instead enjoy the feeling of solitude.

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CHAPTER 43
SURROUNDED

T
wo days pass, in the same fashion. I wake up, I train, I spend some
time with others, I join Cael at the Craft Guild, I meet with Myrra, and
I rest on my own for a while and experiment with the items I got from
the auction, a few weird mana stones with delicate inscriptions and a
bracelet that reacted to my energies.
For the bracelet, I already found out that it’s the metal that reacts so
strangely well to them, and even after asking around, no one was able to
identify it, and I got a few offers from curious blacksmiths.
So for now, I decide to keep it and continue examining it. The mana
stones are more interesting. The inscriptions aren’t anything super
powerful; I just like how delicate and intricate they are, and I already have
plenty of ideas on how I might improve my inscriptions.
What’s interesting is that if I’m right, the stones were made to be
implanted under the skin of an animal and synchronized with the animal’s
pathways, all to some effect that I’ve found impossible to divine from the
damaged inscriptions.
But I’m not even annoyed; the inscribed parts are enough to give me a
few ideas for improvements to my constructs. Yup, I did not forget about
them, and after getting my trait, I plan to go for a huge one and improve on
my Kinetic Mana Heart, probably the riskiest and the most powerful of my
constructs.
As I said before and will continue to repeat, the third-floor Nathaniel
was impressive as heck. Knowing what I know now, I would probably have
noped out and never attempted to do something like that. Yet that cute little
douche did, and succeeded, even though he almost died. Quite impressive.
 So yup, I would like to get a few more levels and get my trait after
Level 200 from the quest, but in the past few days, I’ve barely left the tower
and only ever for short periods as I maintained an anchor inside.
I also continue to send a trickle of mana toward the anchor I left near
the black orb. I do this so the orb takes that mana instead of trying to mess
with my anchor. As time passes, the pull on the mana I’ve been sending
through the anchor weakens. This is either due to the black orb weakening
and crumbling after days or the ants dealing with it.
The Colony is confirmed to be sneaking around the city, and the only
reason we don’t attack is the protections that are especially set against them
over long years by the Matriarch. Eris had her lynthari and inscribers create
massive circuits connected to dozens of power sources all over the city and
then used her skill to make everyone forget.
After she died, Myrra and a few other lynthari learned about them from
messages left by the Matriarch and immediately reactivated them and
checked to see if they were working properly.
In the end, it was judged that with how many there were and how many
surprises the Matriarch left, it would be best to just wait for the ants to
attack and use it rather than go on a suicidal mission against the First One
powered by the Colony.
From what we’ve learned, the weaker ants stayed in the Colony, and
that number is a high percentage, but they’re not just doing nothing either.
Nope, the Colony created a set of relays from their territory all the way
to the city. Each step of that relay is a big group of ants that receives
vitality, mana, and strength from the weaker members staying in the
Colony, then sends it along to Virelia through [Hive Mind], where their
leader can use it when they decide to attack.
I’m sure there are massive losses, yet the sheer amount of energy they
are sending makes up for it.
Of course, that doesn’t mean there are no ants surrounding Virelia;
nope, there are tens of thousands of them. Each of them is one of the
stronger variants, and they are still really far away so most people can’t
even use ranged attacks. Rarely do I see Tess, Min-Jae, Obelia, and other
humans or lynthari trying to get in kills, but the ants are protected most of
the time.
Surprisingly, Tess still gets some kills since she can see much further
than anyone else, and her [Psychokinesis] is extremely good in
combination with her Primordial lightning when it comes to ranged attacks.
Especially when she borrows the epic bow we got from the Champion’s
disciple down in the mines.
Not wanting to be left behind, I take some potshots as well, but I don’t
see as well as Tess and decide I’d rather use my mana to feed the bomb I’m
preparing.
The ants also return fire to force defenders to spend mana on the barrier
encompassing the city. This barrier is powered by the mana of their bodies
and mana stored in batteries all around the city.
I’m quite fascinated by the way it’s created in multiple segments and
isn’t always active. The barrier is split into hundreds of segments and
makes use of something similar to Sophie’s web, which reaches far beyond
the city.
When the protections are activated, the detection web senses an attack
aimed at the city, and through mana stones left behind by old humans and
lynthari, it calculates the trajectory of the attack and then activates the
required segment of the barrier.
It’s much more difficult, and I’m not allowed to get close to the heart of
it all, and no one else is. Hell, most of the lynthari and humans don’t even
know where it is, and there are dozens of fake stations all over the city.
Yet, no matter how good the protections are, most people are nervous
and constantly shudder when a segment is activated and attacks crash
against it. People scream and complain, and the mood between the lynthari
and the humans becomes worse by the day, as rumors spread.
Running away is impossible as the Colony seems to be ever-present and
surrounds the entire city and even tries to dig under it, where they find
extremely strong layers of stone and traps left behind by the Matriarch.
The Colony is highly capable, and its amazing cooperation is hard to
imagine a single group being able to deal with, confirming my theory that
there are always multiple ways to clear a floor.
Maybe you can face the Fallen Hero on your own as it’s a single enemy.
For the Colony, you can use Virelia, lynthari, and humans to deal with it.
The Tree is a single massive target, so maybe it can be dealt with from a
distance, maybe it can be poisoned, or maybe you can even use another
Calamity against it.
It’s still difficult, but there are more options that seem to be testing
different sets of skills and slowly introducing us to the worlds where the
system exists, to Champion disciples, Champions, Absolutes, to the Pairing,
and all that stuff.
It does what the name suggests, even though it is in quite a messed-up
way, and that makes me wonder what world we will be introduced to after
finishing the tutorial. There were plenty of warnings about what could
happen to worlds with people with powers like ours, and it could happen to
Earth too.
So what level will we be when we get out? I already noticed my
leveling slowing down for both my skills and level, and I’m not even Level
200, with an estimation of a Champion being close to or over Level 500.
Maybe around that level for the ones capable of reaching it? Or more
probably, Champion candidates, maybe becoming a Champion will be
something that happens outside of the tutorial. I could be wrong, but I don’t
think I am.
So far, every floor we visited was rumored to have only a handful of
Champions and a single Absolute, with the second floor being an exception,
having two before Lissandra killed the second one and the Champions who
tried to fight her too.
As for Earth, it could be the same: just a handful of Champions, each
being someone from Hell Difficulty, with those who got into Beyond being
the most probable candidates.
Returning to reality, I first look at my newly restored left arm. It’s as
pale as before, the same pale shade as our silly healer’s restored left arm.
Then I look up at Lily, who is currently sparring with Maya. Sparring
and getting her ass kicked.
Once again, Lily falls on her bottom and sighs. “I want to use my skill.”
“Nope, no disintegrating Maya,” I say.
“Maybe she could try to use it a bit, Nat. I bet I could avoid it.” The
armor around Maya disappears, and she moves her hair from her sweaty
forehead.
“We will get there, but first Lily needs to fight while saving mana and
her body parts. She has a very bad habit of losing limbs.”
“I know someone similar,” I hear Lily mutter.
I decide to ignore it gracefully. “She can’t yet sacrifice her items, she
doesn’t have that much mana, and both of her main skills are very mana-
hungry. Do you disagree?”
 Maya shrugs her shoulders. “I guess you are right. After sparring with
her for a day or two, I can see that. Nothing personal, Lily, but I thought
you would be stronger.” She smiles and offers Lily her hand to stand up.
That’s typical of Maya, always underestimating herself. Does she think
I helped her improve [Focus] and [Armament] for nothing, plus her
amazing [Boost]? Out of our group, Maya is one of the stronger members.
Well, maybe not when it comes to skills and stats or mana. No, she is calm
and calculating and has learned to blend her skills, and her fighting style is
versatile.
“Lily, the first trial takes one hour, the second one takes seven days, and
both of them will be testing your weaknesses. You know what they are,
right?”
“Yes, I know. I mean, I won’t complain about that, Nat, but wouldn’t it
be better if I could train [Disintegration] too?”
Maya giggles a bit, understanding right away.
Lily seems confused, so I answer, “See, and that’s your problem. Until
you are more efficient or capable of using it for longer, it should be your
trump card. You created thin threads using it, so we will start with
something like that instead of disintegrating an entire monster or wasting
huge amounts of your mana on a ranged attack.”
At least she is listening, seeing how her eyes are glued to me. “We will
also teach you to use smaller ranged attacks. Something like orbs instead of
arrows. But, Lily, that’s for later.”
I jump to my feet and stretch. “We should test how much mana you
receive from sacrificing your hair. We can start with a single hair and
continue to add more until there is a noticeable effect. Then we will see if
you can sacrifice your teeth instead of fingers. It’s better to not be able to
talk than lose a finger. For a stronger boost, you can sacrifice one kidney
instead of an arm or leg.”
Maya starts looking a bit uncomfortable and even mutters something,
but Lily doesn’t seem to mind.
I continue, “We will try sacrificing things like your sense of smell and
taste. Maybe you can eat a lot of food and then sacrifice that. Maybe we can
have you gain some weight and you could sacrifice your body fat.”
My gears are spinning, and I could swear I’m smiling. There are so
many options.
 “You can change your body, Lily. So why do you need items? You can
maybe grow another finger for each hand. Maybe you can grow some small
fake organs inside you and sacrifice those. You can use my left arm, as
we’ve found out. So what if I cut it off, we store it, you restore my arm, I
cut it off again and you leave for Beyond or another fight with multiple
arms to use to power your skills?”
“Ew,” Maya says.
“Amazing.” Lily’s eyes are almost glowing.
“So leave it up to me. We’ll make a badass out of you yet.”
“Yes!” Lily shouts.

A few days later, we all stand around the chest from the Champion’s house.
Yes, the time has come. It took months of curiosity, impatience, and
frustration. We had people try to open it, we used skills, and we used items.
I even risked it and created a tiny orb of black mana, yet nothing helped.
Not even Biscuit could open it after I told him there was better meat
than the cut of Archdeer we bought at the auction.
I look around the room and catch the eyes of Izzy, who smiles at me
brightly. Lately, I’ve become her second favorite human and the fourth
favorite member of group 4 after Sophie, Noodle, and Biscuit. The ten, no,
eleven-year-old girl hugs me every time she sees me and rarely leaves
Sophie’s side.
The twins are here as well, all four legs back and smiling. It’s not the
same smile they had before, but it’s close. Thanks to Sophie, the memory
has become more distant. Not quite gone, and the emotions are still there,
but they use that as fuel, and over the past few days, I’ve seen them train
extremely hard, even coming to Sophie and the others for advice.
Min-Jae continues to explain his process, and I listen to him with one
ear while looking around the room. Everyone from group 4 is still here, safe
and healthy. I can also say it’s partially thanks to me, and it’s getting harder
and harder to lie to myself.
It’s a weird feeling, as it’s been years since I had someone I could even
consider a friend or someone I kept seeing day after day and created a bond
with. It’s almost like…camaraderie, like Tess talked about.
 I look to the left and catch Tess’s eyes, and her expression clearly shows
that she has some idea of my thoughts. She smiles brightly, her steel-gray
eyes returning my gaze without wavering.
I lift Biscuit and whisper into his ear, “I have a few pieces of Archdeer
jerky saved. Call Tess an asshole.”
(Asshole!) he shouts before I even finish the sentence.
That only makes Tess smile even more.
“So, as I said, I think this crest is something like a magnet activated by
gravity-type skills, and I noticed pathways through the chest, so if I do
this…” Min-Jae says, excitedly moving to the chest after using his skills to
activate the crest.
Then he puts the crest on the chest, and even though none of us can feel
anything, he moves it across the chest multiple times in specific patterns.
Clicking noises sound out one after another, and finally, he lifts the crest,
sending more mana through it and placing it on one last point before taking
a step back.
Ready for anything, we step back, and I get ready to activate my skills.
“I think it won’t open on its own,” I say and create mana arms that reach
from me and try to open the chest.
Feeling how heavy the lid is, I create a few more and then slowly open
it.
Curious, everyone takes a step closer and looks at the single item inside,
a transparent glass tube filled with watery liquid. The tube is floating
exactly in the middle of the chest, and inside that tube is a single thing.
A human eye with a yellowed iris.
There is no text from the system over it. No name, no rarity. This is not
something that could be considered an item; it’s just an eye.
The eye of someone who was extremely powerful, from what I can
sense.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 44
EYE

I
keep looking at the tube and just wait for the word that will surely
follow.
It’s inevitable.
(Food?)
“No, it’s not food,” I answer and only then scan the eye with my mana.
As I thought, the eye is different in a way that’s difficult to properly
detect. The pathways feel normal, and yet it’s not a normal eye. Maybe the
eye has been changed by a trait the original owner had. Maybe it’s because
it belonged to a high-level being.
I take the tube and look at it up close. I wonder if we have the leisure of
dealing with it right now, what with an attack from the Colony due anytime.
Will it even be useful?
“Nat, do you think you could gain a cool new power if you replaced
your eye with this?” Min-Jae steps closer, clearly excited by the idea.
“I don’t know, to be honest. Even if this eye contains some skill, trait, or
whatever, could you gain it as well? How does the system work in such a
case?” I think about it.
These modifications aren’t anything we’ve seen before.
“What if you could just acquire a trait that modifies your eye, then
transfer the trait by removing the eye and implanting it in someone else,
then have a healer restore your eye? Does it mean you could repeat it
dozens, hundreds of times and give people the same trait you have?” I ask.
“Logically, probably, yes,” Sophie joins in. “But the eye you transfer
could reject the host regardless of one’s ability to use it or there could be
other requirements for the trait to reactivate.”
“Would the system even allow that?” Hadwin asks.
 “It could be a weaker version of the original, or it could be possible if
the original owner was dead, and you had a host capable of using it!” Min-
Jae takes the tube from my hand, and I let him.
Min-Jae continues to stare at it. “Even now I feel a connection to my
skill, Nat! At first, I thought it was [Gravity Well], but now it feels like a
weird combination of [Gravity Well] and [Telekinesis]!”
Tess takes the tube from him. “It’s not that simple, Kim. I know where
you’re going with this, but we know nothing about it. We don’t know if it’s
possible, we don’t know if Lily can transfer it, and we don’t know if it will
hurt you.” She glances at the tube once more before putting it back into the
chest.
“Why would you store it if not for something like that?” Min-Jae’s eyes
do not leave the tube.
I mean, there is some logic in it, and I grab it again, probing with my
mana. There is no reaction at all, nor do I feel the connection Min-Jae
mentioned, so I look at him. He isn’t lying in hopes of getting the eye for
himself, right?
“I’m not lying. I really sense something!” he complains immediately, as
if he knows what I’m thinking.
“Are you guys really thinking of pulling an eye out and replacing it with
this thing we just found? I mean, what the fuck?” Maya says like a normal
person.
“Maya, wanna bet it’s a super, super strong eye that could give you an
amazing ability?” Aaron pokes at her.
“Maybe it will allow you to see into the future.” Dennis nods.
Maya only shakes her head. “Or it might give you some ancient
infection even Lily won’t be able to heal.”
“There is risk, of course, but it was hidden in a chest that we couldn’t
damage at all, that itself came from the Champion’s manor, so it has to be
good for something,” I say.
Is this some sort of hidden reward? An eye with some kind of ability? If
so, is it for specific people? People like Min-Jae? He is the only one sensing
anything from it.
I grab the tube. “Everyone, try to probe it with a bit of your mana and
see if you sense anything.”
The tube slowly passes from person to person, and everyone just shakes
their head. Izzy even quickly passes it while saying, “Ew.” When the tube
comes into Min-Jae’s hands, he passes some mana through, and the eye
noticeably reacts. The yellow iris glowing slightly.
“Oh great, it was a flashlight in the end.” Dennis giggles.
Min-Jae continues to channel more and more mana through it, but the
eye just glows a bit, a hint of circuitry ever so slightly visible on the
surface. The way the boy looks at me makes his intention clear.
Once again, I take the tube from him and examine it even more
carefully, channeling different kinds of energy through it; I even try
resonating my mana and changing the frequencies.
The eye doesn’t react to me the way it does for Min-Jae.
After all these months and all this excitement, the goddamn thing I’d
hoped would be equivalent to Peacemaker or the Sword of Aeons is a
glorified flashlight. Should I still try to use it? Maybe I could slowly learn
how to control and use whatever it contains.
My eyes meet Min-Jae’s, and he seems to know what I’m thinking. Yet
he still smiles. “You did most of the work, and it’s probably safest for you
to use it, Nat. Sorry, I didn’t want to make it sound like… I’m too
shameless…” He sighs.
Feeling someone’s gaze on me, I look up and meet Tess’s eyes. The tall
blond asshole of a manipulator is smiling; she clearly knows what’s going
through my head. Even Izzy tries to connect to my feelings, but I don’t
allow her to.
Damn it. Damn it!
Once again, I try to channel my mana through the eye, and it doesn’t
react at all.
Whatever, I didn’t want it anyway.
I throw the tube at Kim. I have that black mana thingy that I’m slowly
getting the hang of; I don’t need the creepy eye of some long-dead asshole.
“Nat…I…” Min-Jae starts.
“Shut up, you twerp,” I interrupt as I locate Lily and gesture for her to
come closer. “We’ll do it right away since we don’t know when the Colony
will attack.”
Lily and I sit on the floor, as Kim lies down next to us, his head between
us. He’s surprised at how quickly things proceed, and he’s shaking already.
Heh, you didn’t expect this to happen so quickly, right, you greedy little
jerk?
 Replacing his eye should be easy with the new skill Lily received when
she combined [Rejuvenation] and [Reshaping]. The new skill is called
[Reconstruction]; she acquired it when we went to save the others. It’s
improved her healing by a lot, even though it reduced her skill level.
“The plan is simple. Lily will use [Disintegration] to painlessly destroy
your eye. I will channel my mana through you, Min-Jae, and you will let
me; it might hurt a bit because I will need to use a lot of it. That mana will
be there just in case the new eye pulls some kind of bullshit.”
I have plenty of experience with [Infusion] now, so this should be
simple if he allows it, which he is capable of.
“I will also surround the eye with my mana, so I can disrupt it if it tries
anything. Lily will also have [Disintegration] prepared. In the worst case,
we will destroy it and Lily will reconstruct your eye,” I say.
It’s a simple plan, but things like that tend to work the best.
I also prepare more scenarios in my head. I can use [Tether] to place an
anchor on the eye and try to teleport it away. I can create a barrier around
Min-Jae’s brain and blow off his face, which would be quite a bad
experience, but it’s workable if something does happen.
“Now, before we start, I will examine it once more,” I say as I open the
tube, which is surprisingly easy. I put my finger into the thing and touch the
eye directly, focusing the full power of my [Perception] on it.
There is no sense in asking anyone else in the city for help. After all the
weeks I’ve spent here, I’ve come to realize that the amount of mana I have
and my skill combinations make me one of the best in Virelia when it
comes to this, probably the best now that good ol’ Elydor is dead. May
we’ll meet again one day.
Examining the eye, I find more pathways I can easily identify as
channels for mana to activate the eye and its powers, whatever they are. I
examine it extremely carefully over and over again, looking for memory
constructs, traps, some creepy virus, memories, anything really.
And then again.
And again.
Multiple hours pass like that, and Lily pokes me several times while
Min-Jae continues to shift nervously. In the back of my mind, I hear some
of them talking, bored.
I consolidate my [Focus], activate [Mana Domain] around the eye, and
constantly use [Resonance] to disrupt any mana that could be left.
 [Perception - Level 39 > Perception - Level 40]

And I find nothing. After probably hundreds of years, nothing remains

inside the eye.
“Pass some of your mana through,” I say to Min-Jae, and he quickly
nods, touching it and doing as I say.
Then I start examining it again. There is some effect the eye is trying to
produce, but it doesn’t seem to be transmitting that effect through the
optical nerve hanging from it. It’s more like it projects in front of it and
shares information through the nerve.
Well, let’s do it.
“Ready?” I ask Lily.
She quickly nods and listens as I explain the steps to her one after
another while Min-Jae nervously stares up.
“I will try not to make it hurt,” she tells him and puts her finger on his
right eye.
“Left one!” he shouts quickly, and with a sigh, Lily does it.
I activate [Redistribution] and restrain his movement while infusing
him with my mana as he lowers his defenses. It’s a lot of mana, and he
shudders in pain, as much as he can under the effect of my skill, and I
gesture to Lily.
With a short blast of gray mana, his eye disappears, and immediately,
her mana rushes in, staunching the bleeding and healing it. Noting a lack of
space, she uses [Disintegration] again, and more of his flesh disappears.
The entire time, I’m carefully observing and moving my mana through
his head, ready to shield his brain.
Lily quickly ignores the terrified expression in his remaining eye and
the pain he must be feeling, then pulls the yellow eye from the tube. After
inserting it into the socket, she maneuvers it slightly, and I help by creating
a thin thread of mana and moving the optical nerve into place.
She uses more of her mana, and the wound quickly heals, regrowing
skin, part of an eyebrow, and his eyelid. It immediately covers up the
wound, and then she focuses on the inside, letting her skill and experience
lead her. She works on the connections very carefully, connecting all the
nerves and muscles, giving herself enough time to do it properly.
Meanwhile, I continue observing the entire process and have my mana
ready to activate the countermeasures.
 Soon it’s done, and I release Min-Jae from my hold.
His eyelid moves, and he blinks a few times, both of his eyes moving as
he looks around, the light brown original and the new yellow one. They
both look the same and move the same, the only difference is the yellow
color.
I observe as his mana slowly moves and gradually starts circulating
through the new eye the same way it does with the original. Lily also is
ready, her fingers close as the mana slowly reactivates it.
Then Min-Jae actively cycles his mana through the eye, just a little bit, a
whiff, and the circular circuits on the iris glow slightly.
“I feel fine,” he says and cycles more mana through it, the circuits
activating more fully.
The eye produces an effect that I identify as something like a
combination of Tess’s [Farsight] and my [Perception].
“It’s really weird, I see these waves everywhere, and there’s this creepy
sensation to it.” Min-Jae reaches out with his hand as if he is touching
something invisible.
Then he channels some of his mana into the air, activating his skill. His
eye activates a bit more, and he closes his hand into a fist.
At that moment, something in the room changes that is hard to identify,
and a big chunk of the wall gets torn off and compressed into a small point,
reducing all that stone into a smooth ball barely bigger than a golf ball.
It takes a huge chunk of Min-Jae’s mana to create that effect, about half
of it.
“Huh?” he mutters and does it again.
Another big chunk of the wall gets torn off and with immense
gravitational force pulled toward the center where it’s then squeezed and
compressed.
The rest of his mana disappears, and Min-Jae wobbles, on the brink of
passing out from the strain of using too much mana too quickly, yet he
smiles, and both of his eyes shine with excitement.
Like me, he knows this is only the start of what the eye will allow him
to do, and my suspicion is as good as confirmed. The eye must have
belonged to someone very powerful to allow him to use his skills this way,
even with his relatively low level. Maybe a Champion or at least a high-
level Champion candidate.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 45
OBSESSION

A
fter Min-Jae restores some of his mana, we do a few more tests, and I
conclude that the eye is not giving him a new ability. It seems to
allow him to utilize his skills more effectively or combine them.
It’s hard to say what exactly it does, and he says his “connection” to his
skills improved, whatever that means, and that he can see waves that he
suspects are gravitational, again, whatever that means.
So what he does is channel his skill through that wave with a bit of
mana and caused a “spark,” as he calls it, that in turn creates a small orb of
extreme gravity.
It takes a lot of mana, but it’s something I think he should be capable of
doing on his own in the future. So that’s it? Is the eye that “weak,” or does
he just need some time to utilize it fully? Well, he seems happy and
becomes even happier when he tries his [Telekinesis] and learns that he can
use these waves to move heavier projectiles as well, so he goes to practice
just that.
“I think it’s a good thing. He was starting to lag behind a bit and lately
has been in a bad mood,” Tess says the moment Min-Jae leaves with the
twins and Lily to test it more.
“Kim focuses too much on comparing himself to other people and puts
heavy expectations on himself.” Hadwin shakes his head. “He compares
himself to you especially often,” he says, looking at me.
“That’s dumb. He shouldn’t do that,” I respond.
“But he does. Even his subclass, Envy, confirms it. He looks up to you,
and he wants to be like you. One day, it could kill him.” Hadwin stands up.
“Min-Jae is his own person, Haddy. If this is the way he wants to live,
he can. If he thinks it’s worth risking his life to reach that, he can do it as
well.” I return his gaze.
“Kim is just a kid. He is young and dumb.” Hadwin’s voice becomes a
bit louder. “I’ve tried to speak with him multiple times, but he only listens
to you. You should talk to him.”
The room becomes quiet, and everyone looks at Hadwin and me as I
continue. “Then let me ask you: what will happen if I do speak with him? I
can even beat him up a bit if you want me to. I can force him to take it
easier. It wouldn’t be difficult, and I know the words.”
Tess pokes me slightly, but I ignore her and continue. “What will
happen if we leave the fourth floor and get split again? What if we end up
on a floor where everyone’s on their own? Do you think every floor will be
like this one? Giving us time to prepare in comfort? Things will inevitably
go to shit sooner or later.”
“We can stay here longer, we can train until we’re ready, and move on
then.” Hadwin sighs. “I know where you are going with this, and I partially
agree with you, but there has to be a middle ground.” His voice sounds a bit
weaker.
“Probably, but look at it this way. Currently, he has multiple stronger
people around, and then we have our own pocket healer. When other than
now will he get a better opportunity to push himself?”
“Fuck, I hate how much sense it makes.” Hadwin shakes his head.
Tess also joins in. “You also forgot one thing, Hadwin. Kim might be
young, but he is not a kid. Sure, he is a bit more impulsive than someone
older, but he can make his own decisions.” Her voice becomes softer. “You
know about his family situation back on Earth and how much he hated his
life there where they controlled him entirely. I think he’s much happier now,
however weird that is.”
“Haddy is just worried!” Isabella interjects, clearly annoyed. “You all
talk so much. Just look!” she exclaims before activating her skill.
I let it connect to me, and I sense it’s connection to everyone else in the
room, as a feeling of anxiety flows into me. It’s a pure and nice feeling, like
a parent worried about their child.
Then I realize that Isabella is sharing Hadwin’s feelings with us and cut
the connection.
Sophie realizes it as well and hits the back of her sister’s head. “Izzy!
You can’t do it without asking!” she shouts at her.
 Meanwhile, I look at Hadwin and notice that the older man with his
elegant haircut and well-kept beard seems to be the most embarrassed here.
At the same time, Tess giggles next to me. Not maliciously, as if she
were making fun of someone. She just seems to be amused.

Leaving another session with Cael and the craft guild and with another set
of inscriptions engraved onto the epic mana stone, I reach the branch of one
of the highest trees and for a moment sit there, observing the sections of the
barrier activating.
The attacks from the ants are more frequent now and getting stronger.
They come from all sides, Virelia being totally surrounded.
Some ants must have detected me because multiple times in a row, the
segment far across from me activates, blocking the attacks aimed at me.
Cheeky fuckers.
Once again, I feel the need to move, to attack them, to jump into their
lines, but stop myself from doing so. It might be just what they want. The
important thing right now is to not allow them to get Sophie and the twins
and to not allow the First One to evolve his skill.
While knowing that, I stand up, and [Regalia] activates. I start creating
a javelin that increases in size and grows until it’s three times as long as me
and as thick as my arm. I push more mana into it, the javelin turning dark
blue with streaks of light blue.
Now, then, what should I infuse it with?
I pick [Resonance] and infuse the weapon with its effect. Then, while
being careful, I spend a few more minutes and try to create temporary
inscriptions on my mana weapon. It’s difficult, and they constantly keep
tearing apart, so I simplify them by stabilizing the javelin.
Gradually, I push more mana into the tip of the weapon and [Focus] it
to a much smaller point, making the tip turn black and start to suck on my
mana. Quickly, I make a few more changes, hoping that the black tip will
dominate the mana it comes into contact with and transfer a small amount
of it into the [Resonance]-infused javelin.
I let my heart beat a few times, creating just enough kinetic energy, and
then use it all to push the javelin.
 It pierces through the air like a flash and passes through the one-
directional barriers surrounding Virelia.
When it reaches the ants’ defenses far away, it resonates and passes
through them as if they are nonexistent and hits the ground near a bigger
group of the ants as they quickly surround it. The ants do what I thought
they would; they start channeling more mana toward it, trying to tear it
apart.
It’s too far for me to sense, but the javelin dominates more of their
mana, and for a short while, it uses that to strengthen the [Resonance]
enchantment I’ve set to have the effect of my old skill, [Oscillation].
The javelin untangles into long threads of mana, coated in an oscillating
effect, and cutting through most of the ants.

[You have defeated Barrier Ant - Level 166]

[You have defeated Flame Legion Ant - Level 169]
[You have defeated Gravity Ant - Level 151]
[You have defeated Gravity Ant - Level 199]
[You have defeated Ant Warrior - Level 180]
…
[Level 189 > Level 190]

I create another javelin, and this time, I do something different. [Tether]

activates, and I create an anchor on the blade and then another one near
where I am standing.
The javelin receives the last infusion of disrupting mana, and I shoot it
at the ants, this time toward a different spot. It pierces through the barrier
again, and I activate the anchor, appearing in front of the ants.
Immediately, I feel the effect of dozens of skills trying to affect me as
my Mantle fights against them with the aid of the [Resonance] barrier I’ve
created.
The kinetic energy converts into thermal, and I compress it as much as I
can like I did back in the Colony.
I project a golden beam in front of me as thin as my finger and
reminiscent of a laser, cutting dozens of ants apart as I fuel it with more and
more energy from my wildly beating heart. I pour all my frustration into it,
compressing the beam even further and redirecting it constantly as they
continue to create barriers to block it and strengthen them.
 The skills trying to affect me weaken, and some melee range ants dash
at me only to be cut in half. The notifications about kills ring somewhere in
the background while I do it as efficiently as possible, monitoring the area
around me.
Then I feel a terrifying pressure reaching toward me and immediately
activate the anchor I created.
The pressure tries to disrupt the activation of my skills, but I fight
against it with [Resonance] and disappear from the spot, reappearing back
on the branch of the tree.
I skip notifications about kills and look at the skills.

[Resonance - Level 34 > Resonance - Level 35]

[Tether - Level 14 > Tether - Level 15]

Well, that last bit was a bit dangerous. Was it the First One or just some
highly coordinated attack? I would love to jump in multiple times, but a
suspicion tells me that the quickly improving and evolving Colony would
be able to analyze my anchors and [Tether]. After a few tries, they could
stop me from using them, and that would become dangerous.
A few more notifications ring, and curious where they are coming from,
I look toward the place I shot the first javelin tipped with black mana, and
that area seems to have become hell for the ants.
Dozens of threads of mana as thin as my pinkie swirl around from the
remains of what used to be the javelin, and the threads with oscillation
coating cut through the ants even now, to my surprise.
The ants made a huge mistake and used a mana-hungry skill to stop it,
only to find a nasty surprise in the black mana thing, whatever it is. That
little black tip of highly focused mana constantly takes most of the mana the
ants throw at it and uses a small part of it to fuel the remainder of the
javelin and threads of mana while corroding the temporary inscriptions I
left on it.
But good things do not last, and soon the inscriptions crumble, and that
small black part dominates the javelin, absorbing the mana to fuel itself.
The ants finally identify the effect and, to my surprise, instead of trying
to destroy it, they just create a field around it that seems to block all
surrounding mana from getting to it and leave it as is.
 Just for the fun of it, I create another javelin, turning the tip of it into
black mana, and this time fill it with thermal energy and connect it to the
black mana like I did before, with inscriptions.
The javelin once again passes through the barrier, but the moment it
reaches behind it, the black part immediately devours the rest of the javelin,
either because my balance is too off or I messed up with the inscriptions.
The ants once again surround it with some field and leave it there.
Well, enough playing; let’s visit Obelia, as I promised Tess.

When we reach her office, we get in without incident and are left alone with
the Storm Brigade guild master.
“You seem serious, Tess. Did something happen?”
Tess nods. “I want to ask you to please stop spreading the rumor of the
lynthari invasion of this planet,” she says directly, without beating around
the bush.
“I have to remind you that this planet is called Nebulon, and the lynthari
are the invaders here, Tess,” Obelia says directly, her eyes flicking to me for
a moment.
Then Obelia grows cautious. Her body straightens up, and I see her
subtly warming her muscles and letting more mana flow into her body. She
is getting ready for a fight.
Tess notices it as well but ignores it. “I agree, but I don’t think this is the
right time.”
“I disagree.” Obelia stands up. “No one from the human guilds is dumb
enough to fight lynthari now, and we will all cooperate.” She walks around
her table and stands in front of us. “What will happen after the Colony is
dealt with will be up to them.”
“You are worried that Myrra will try to kill you after the war before you
can spread the information. So you want humans to know in the event that
the lynthari are weakened and they decide to fight.” Tess realizes it the
same moment I do.
Obelia doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t have to even confirm it; she
takes the tiniest step toward the door, and an item in her pocket activates.
“Don’t,” I warn her, and our eyes meet.
 For a moment, she returns my gaze, her eyes wild and threatening.
“Would you really do that?” she asks, her mana not stopping and filling her
body even more.
“Yes,” I answer with absolute certainty.
“Before things get out of control, why don’t we do it like this?” Tess
interrupts us quickly. “Be more careful spreading it, spend much more
effort on making sure there isn’t any trouble during the war with the
Colony. After we deal with the Colony, humans can decide what to do. Nat
and I don’t care about what happens afterward.”
Tess starts sounding more threatening. “If you decide, you can murder
each other, Obelia. Fight against lynthari, burn the city to the ground, you
are free to do whatever you want when this fight is over. But I won’t allow
you to risk the lives of my companions over your obsession.”
Obelia looks between me and Tess and nods. “Deal.”
The entire time, I observe her curiously.
It’s fascinating how much a logically thinking person can change their
behavior when it comes to the things that matter to them.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 46
AGAINST THE COLONY

A
fter getting back, I train on my own until my head starts to hurt. I
keep trying to improve efficiency and create tiny black mana orbs
that crumble on their own after a while. They take quite a large
amount of mana for their size, and I have to reduce the amount I channel
into the mana stone I’m charging, but I think it’s worth it.
The last king seemed to recognize the black mana, and he was close
with the Absolute of their planet, so it surely is something good or scary. Or
even better, both. Even I myself am not sure what it is.
I suspect that it’s just something similar to the second stage of Mana
upgrade Potency, the Dynamic mana. Or it could be something similar to
Lissandra’s [Singularity], with its effects limited to mana while requiring
huge amounts of mana to use.
Back then, when I created a black dagger from it, I was able to cut the
connection between the king’s crown and the Saint’s healing powers. A
connection that I could barely sense and couldn’t affect with any of my
skills, a connection that had been weakened, though it was made by an
Absolute.
The other thing it did was ignore the king’s absorption ability, the sheer
density of mana having been enough to avoid the skill.
Then there was the case in the Colony territory where a smaller black
orb absorbed an amount of mana that was enough to turn a Mana Channeler
ant into a massive bomb, powered by hundreds and thousands of other ants.
And the last case where I was able to create a tiny black mana thing
that, through inscriptions for a few seconds, continued to power my skill by
dominating the mana of the enemy.
 That last part gave me a few ideas on how to finally utilize it and do
something I’ve wanted to do ever since I saw Lissandra doing it, the reason
I spent months examining the epic Ethercrystal Shortsword. Maybe I can
finally absorb mana. Not ambient mana like Lissandra did, that much is still
impossible; no, maybe I can absorb the mana of attacks made against me.
I will use [Focus], [Redistribution], and [Mana Domain] to that end,
and damn, will I need a lot of healing to test it properly and to get a feel for
it.
Once again, I will have to rely on Lily and her crown, but it’s fine; our
silly healer improved a lot in the past few days. She just needed some
instruction, and when she got it, the speed of her improvement became
staggering, like with Maya, after I gave her my advice or even Kim a long
time before.
Most of the time, I thought it was better to leave them on their own to
come up with their own ideas, and they did, they really did, but now that I
think about it, maybe I shouldn’t just end things at that. I myself learned a
lot of my skills by observing others. [Disruption] from Hadwin, and
[Armament] from Maya, for example, even my [Regalia] came to me from
Maya’s ideas. Let’s just hope they don’t get lazy and rely on me too much.
So should I take this responsibility and try to be a bigger influence on
their growth and give them some pointers? I could make them much
stronger short term, but it could make them overly reliant. Or would it just
be a slight push to further their improvement?
With a sigh, I hold my right arm in front of me and continue drawing
inscriptions on it with mana-conductive paint. The paint is extremely
expensive and made of dust from pulverized mana stones, iron particles,
and other components that are kept secret. The paint needs to be used
quickly, and when you channel mana through it, it becomes extremely
durable and hard to remove from skin.
It’s my first time using it, but I do not hesitate as I draw a mix of
circuits and inscriptions on my arms, inspired by my experiments with the
black-tipped mana javelin.
Yes, the plan is simple. I will create a black orb that will absorb mana
and attacks, and my arm will transfer that mana to me, then I will use
[Resonance] to change its frequency in combination with [Redistribution]
to make it my own.
As Dennis would say, this is an extremely ghetto way to do it.
 Exactly how I like it.
Of course, my arm might explode if I do a poor job while creating the
black mana and use too much or too little, but it’s something for
emergencies. I don’t have to use it, but it’s better to be prepared.
It could also be useless, as the orb takes a lot of mana to create, so if I
can’t absorb more than I used to create it, I will end up with a net loss.
Well, whatever.
I finish the last inscription and send my mana through it, and the lines
glow for a moment. I do it again, and this time, I use [Resonance] to cut
into my skin just under the lines and infuse them with more mana,
strengthening the effect.
If I had more time, I would rather prepare a construct, but this is the
most I can do at the moment.
I look up at the constant shower of attacks that currently light up the
night sky. They are timed to constantly activate a few segments of the
barrier, and at this point, they feel more like a psychological attack. The
First One is here, and the citizens of the city shudder under the siege. No
one seems to be able to sleep, and a lot of people are out on the streets or
hiding in bunker-like facilities. It’s nearly impossible to find anyone
without some amount of armor or a weapon.
I jump from my balcony and land in one of the sitting rooms. Even
before I enter, I hear slow, soft music reminding me of tones I used to hear
on Earth, unlike any music I’ve heard here.
For a moment, I listen, and a weird feeling of familiarity and coziness
washes over me. Then I enter the room.
Maya is sitting on the couch, holding a violin-like instrument she plays
on. She makes mistakes and misses notes, but the music she plays makes
me want to ignore those small imperfections.
Tess is there as well, with her eyes closed and a distant smile on her
lips. She is sitting near Maya, leaning against her, and even humming along
to Maya’s playing.
I catch Isabella’s eyes, and she brings a finger to her lips and taps the
seat next to her. I oblige and sit down, which causes Noodle to slither from
the little girl’s arms and climb onto me. Used to it already, I send bits of my
mana toward him. The white snake is heavier than before and a bit bigger,
yet he is still young and really weak. He might have the blood of some
ancient beast, but he hasn’t shown any powers as of yet.
 Out of nowhere, he straightens up and quickly leaves my lap, climbing
back onto Izzy.
That’s when Biscuit appears and floats up onto my lap. I hear him growl
quietly, and the white snake seems like he’s bowing his head, and only then
does Biscuit calm down and woofs at me.
Obeying his order, I pet him.
The sounds of attacks crashing against the barrier mix with Maya’s
music as our entire group sits there and quietly listens.
Soon the attacks become more frequent and impactful, and the
vibrations can be felt. Some people even scream in alarm, and constant
waves of mana wash over the city, strengthening the segments of the
barriers and activating secondary defenses.
And Maya plays, slowly, gently. Her fingers move more nimbly, and the
expression on her face is distant, and she smiles sadly.
I look to the twins, as they lean against each other, exchanging constant
messages through their skill. Even now, they don’t seem to be back to their
normal selves and, out of all of us, seem to be the most worried about
what’s to come.
Min-Jae is beside them, his eyes on Maya, his original brown and the
new yellow eye. The atmosphere around him is different now. He seems
more confident, but not in a bad way. Unlike before, when confidence felt
forced and fake like a threatened animal raising its hackles to appear bigger.
He is calmer now, as if the power he just acquired gave him the hope he
needed.
Sophie, next to Izzy, is working on multiple mana stones and etching
similar inscriptions into each of them. Just from observing them a bit, I
know that the stones are meant to work together, probably strengthening the
web she constantly layers around herself in preparation for the clash of her
[Manipulation] against the First One’s [Hive Mind].
Hadwin, sitting near the doors, seems protective, by the way he’s
looking around. He is in full armor as he has been these past few days, and I
can feel him constantly using his [Strengthening] to make it more durable.
Then there is Tess, her eyes closed as she leans against Maya. Over her
head, a [Storm Crown] hovers, creating shadows and crackling quietly as
she continues to fill it with a terrifying degree of Primordial lightning.
And Lily, a petite black-haired girl holding a crown in her hands and
playing with it, making a few last changes to it and her body. Her hair is
longer than before, and there are more changes inside her as well, as per my
suggestions. An epic bow is to her left.
For a moment, I just sit there as well, enjoying the mood of the room
and the people surrounding me.
The word (Friends) sounds in my head, and I look down at Biscuit, who
returns my gaze.
“I guess,” I whisper to him.
(Friends,) he repeats.
“I…”
(Friends.) He puts more weight on this word.
“Maybe,” I finally agree with him.
That’s when the strongest explosion so far sounds throughout the entire
city, and even the tower we are in shakes.
An alarm follows immediately, and Maya stops playing. “That’s it, I
guess,” she says.
“That’s it.” Tess stands up, and her eyes meet the gaze of each of us.
“Stay safe, everyone.”
A few more words and awkward hugs are exchanged.
“I will continue as planned, then,” I say and activate my skill.
“Nat…” Tess starts, but I do not let her finish. After Lily hands me a
crown, I immediately put it on my head and activate [Tether].
I appear in front of Myrra, who is surrounded by twelve enforcers. I
reach the table and ignore Myrra’s words. There are multiple mana stones
filled with mana, fire, poison-like stuff, and other things. They’re all like
my mana stone filled with thermal and kinetic energy.
Examining them for a moment, I take my mana stone out as well as a
plate made from highly conductive metal.
I place my mana stone in the middle, and around that, I set other mana
stones filled by lynthari and humans. The stones I’ve added to mine are as
filled as mine or more, and they start to hum quietly. All of that energy in
one place is terrifying.
My hand hovers over it, and I breathe out and in. I make last-minute
changes to a few lines and activate the thing. The skill, which I’ve
constantly fed with a trickle of mana to prevent from disappearing, also
activates.

[Tether - Level 15 > Tether - Level 16]

 [Tether - Level 16 > Tether - Level 17]
[Tether - Level 17 > Tether - Level 18]
[Tether - Level 18 > Tether - Level 19]

Then I feel resistance, a barrier the ants must have set up around the
anchor I left behind with the black orb down in the tunnels. [Resonance]
activates, and multiple times over, I start changing the frequencies.

[Resonance - Level 35 > Resonance - Level 36]

Someone actively fights against me, feeling the danger and the amount
of mana I’m trying to transfer.
I consolidate my [Focus] and continue to change frequencies, only to be
stopped by them being changed again. The game continues for a while, and
I totally shut out Myrra in the background. The world becomes black and
white, with mana stones in front of me shining with a brilliant light that
hurts my eyes. I feel my head start to hurt, but I push more, and the crown
activates, filling me with warm mana.

[Resonance - Level 36 > Resonance - Level 37]

The presence is pushing against me, fighting, trying to stop me, and I
realize that it’s the First One.
A wave of rage washes over me, but I push it to the back of my mind
and continue the effort, further activating the crown and healing me.

[Resonance - Level 37 > Resonance - Level 38]

Finally, I get a step ahead, and before the frequency changes can stop
me, I activate my skill once again.

[Tether - Level 19 > Tether - Level 20]

The plate with the stones disappears, and a moment later, I feel an
attempt to exploit the lingering connection and send the stones back, but it’s
something I’ve already anticipated.
Somewhere on the other side, the set of inscriptions I prepared for this
case activates and disrupts the efforts, and another wave destroys the
connection.
Then there is quiet, a terrifying quiet.
I return to the room, and a short blast of kinetic energy destroys the
window, and I leave and get on top of the building.
The amount of mana that I feel from behind the barrier almost makes
me vomit. It’s the First One, absorbing as much mana as he can through the
relay that leads here the entire way from the Colony territory. He is doing it
to get as much as he can before the connection cuts off.
I look toward where the territory is.

[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 71]

[You have defeated Flame Legion Ant - Level 119]
[You have defeated Gravity Ant - Level 101]
[You have defeated Gravity Ant - Level 79]
[You have defeated Gravity Ant - Level 93]
[You have defeated Ant Warrior - Level 60]
[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 81]
[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 68]
…

The notifications continue to ring constantly, line of text after line of

text, nearly all of the ants at Level 100 or lower, the weaker ants left behind
in the safety of the Colony to fuel their attack effort through a set of relays.

[Level 190 > Level 191]

[Level 191 > Level 192]
[Level 192 > Level 193]
[Level 193 > Level 194]

My lynthari–human joint attack continues to give me and everyone else

involved, including the few members of group 4 who were able to fill
weaker mana stones.
 The lights appear far away on the horizon against the shadow of the
giant anthills, and even the clouds in the sky are bathed from below in
multi-hued light. Orange mixed with blue, yellow, gold, and green.
Before the set of relays feeding the First One with mana from the
Colony cuts off, he harnesses all he can connect to. Simultaneously, he
throws it against the city barriers, causing them to immediately crash and
crumble under the force. A green attack crashes against the city like a wave,
destroying buildings and killing thousands of people in the area.
The barrier tries to reactivate again, but the wave locates its sources and
obliterates them, and then slowly, particles of mana from what used to be
the barrier start falling from the sky.
And the notifications continue.

[Level 198 > Level 199]

[Level 199 > Level 200]
[Level 200 > Level 201]
[Level 201 > Level 202]
Congratulations, you have completed a side quest. You can now pick
your second trait. Please remember that humans are limited to three
traits in total. Choose carefully.
Your traits are based on your performance up until now within the
tutorial.
Mana-Responsive Musculature
Enhances the user’s muscular strength in direct correlation with their mana
levels. The greater the mana, the more pronounced the physical strength,
enabling the user to perform impressive physical feats that go beyond
ordinary capabilities. This enhancement adapts to the user’s mana levels,
making it highly effective in various scenarios that demand physical
prowess, from combat to challenging physical tasks.
Mana-Dependent Regeneration
This trait enables the user’s body to utilize their personal mana reserves to
accelerate the natural healing process. Unlike standard healing, which is
typically constant, this regeneration rate dynamically scales with the user’s
available mana. When the user’s mana levels are high, the healing is
significantly faster, but it slows as mana diminishes.
 Arcane Skeletal Framework
Alters the user’s skeletal structure to efficiently conduct and store various
forms of energy, including mana. This not only strengthens the bones,
making them more durable and resistant to damage, but also creates an
internal energy reservoir. This reservoir provides a steady supply of energy,
augmenting their magical capabilities.
Compact Mana Heart
Transforms the user’s heart into an organ capable of sustaining and
compressing mana. This modification enhances the effectiveness of all
mana-based abilities and reduces the physical and magical exhaustion
typically associated with high-level spellcasting. The heart’s ability to
compress mana allows for more efficient and potent use of magical powers.

Mana Wavelength Iris

This trait endows the user with the ability to perceive a vast spectrum of
mana wavelengths, far beyond normal capabilities. It sharpens the user’s
ability to detect even the most nuanced mana fluctuations, providing an
unparalleled awareness of magical currents and energies. This leads to
refined insight into the flow of mana.
Energetic Dispersion Dermis
The user’s skin gains the ability to diffuse a wide range of incoming
energies, including kinetic, thermal, and magical attacks. It acts as a
protective barrier, effectively spreading the impact of these energies across
its surface to significantly minimize damage. This trait is especially
effective against concentrated mana attacks, providing a passive defense
mechanism that can be crucial in magical combat.

Mana Echo Chamber

Converts the user’s chest cavity into a chamber that resonates with ambient
mana, storing it until the user chooses to release it. This stored mana can be
unleashed in powerful bursts, useful for amplifying the impact of spells,
creating sudden protective shields, or as a burst of energy in critical
situations. The Mana Echo Chamber is particularly valuable for
spellcasters who need an extra reserve of energy during intense magical
confrontations.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 47
THE FIRST ONE

Q
uickly, I read all the descriptions, and without hesitation, I pick
Mana Wavelength Iris. Immediately, I feel the trait making changes
to my eyes, and I squint a bit from the pain as they gradually change.
A terrifying pressure weighs on the city, and from under me, I feel
Myrra activating something the Matriarch left behind.
The three giant trees inside of Virelia start moving, branches cracking
and leaves glowing. Those trees start releasing leaves that float around the
city and frequently interrupt the incoming attacks.
Of course, the trees aren’t normal; the Matriarch said she helped create
the Living Tree, didn’t she?
Myrra joins me on top of the building, fully armored and her face
serious, followed by her bodyguard and twelve enforcers clad in black
armor.
“That seemed to work better than expected,” she says.
I nod as I observe the improved level over her head as well as the higher
levels of the lynthari with her.
The pressure of all that immense mana from the First One doesn’t let
up. He still has a lot of the ants he brought with him to attack the city, ants
that may be lower in number than the ones left behind but are higher
leveled. And currently, the First One is using all of that shared mana and
vitality.
Everyone in the city hears the loud crack, and the crashed trunk of the
Living Tree starts moving, floating into the air.

[Reanimated Sunseeker Tree - Level ??]

 A text appears over it as the Tree floats higher, a gray trunk with
branches without any leaves on them. The tree floats high in the air, a sight
feeling much more terrifying knowing how much weight is moved like that.
“So these fuckers really were behind the Tree attacking us,” Myrra
hisses through her teeth.
I can only nod as I observe the Tree create a barrier around itself, and
even from as far as it is, I can see it releasing particles that are carried
toward the city, crashing against the swirling leaves of the three giant trees.
The Sunseeker Tree, the Living Tree used to be a Calamity at the level
of a Champion. It was severely weakened after destroying the Old Capital
to the point of getting to three question marks. And now its reanimated
remains are weakened even further to the point of two question marks. Yet
it’s still much stronger than the defensive trees left behind by the Matriarch.
“Feral One, your weapon?” Myrra asks.
I show her my empty hands and continue to wait.
A gray arrow pierces through the air, and everyone with some sense can
feel the disturbing mana it contains. That arrow splashes against the barrier
of the Reanimated Living Tree, eating a big hole into it without any
problem.
Then, like a falling star, a long javelin pierces through the air. The
javelin flies even faster than the gray arrow, white-and-red lightning trailing
it. The blade of the javelin, made of an Ethercrystal Shortsword, burrows
deep into the trunk of the Living Tree with a thump that I can hear even
here in the city.
It only takes a few seconds for the blade to fill with mana from the Tree
and pass that mana through the arcanadium shaft into the Mana Sphere
Core, which creates an ever-changing disruptive field.
For a few moments, the Tree floats there and fights against the effect,
yet soon enough, it starts falling down. To get confirmation, I shoot a mana
projectile through the hole in the barrier and hit the Tree with a weak attack.
The capsized Reanimated Living Tree stays on the ground, its barrier
disappearing first, and soon its particles follow.
Its trunk starts to crack, some of the branches even break, and thousands
of giant green leaves from the city attack it as well, covering and corroding
it. A few minutes later, finally, the notification sounds.

[You have defeated Reanimated Sunseeker Tree - Level 283]

 [Level 202 > Level 203]

Even though I didn’t do much, I leveled up, either because my creation

of the javelin was considered an assist, or I was just so close to Level 203
that even a little bit of experience was enough. Well, I hope Tess and Lily
got quite a few levels from it.
I turn to Myrra. “Did you think I wouldn’t expect those assholes to try
to pull something like this?”
Interrupting my speech, silence fills the city, as if someone absorbed all
the sound. It’s deafening and ever-present. All the fires burning, the sound
of battle, the sound of the wind, all the voices. Everything is gone.
An absolute quiet endures.
Then a single sound permeates all.
Clack.
As if someone is tearing apart the space itself, a terrifying force washes
over the city.
For a long moment, nothing changes, and then everything over a certain
height starts falling, smoothly cut. The three giant trees, most of the tall
towers, the barriers, all of it cut smoothly and crashing down toward the
city on the people and lynthari.
Sound once again fills the city; after deafening silence, it sounds much
louder.
Then I realize that the attack didn’t contain mana, none at all.
I look toward its origin, and a single ant floats in the air. The ant isn’t
even that big. It has a matte-black carapace that seems to absorb all light;
huge mandibles, now closed after generating the attack; and wings made of
mana that keep the ant afloat.
Even without focusing too much, I can feel the connection the ant has to
all the ants inside and outside of the city. Thousands, tens of thousands, of
threads leading back to him, like a bonfire surrounded by specks of light
trying to compete against it.
The First One.
For a moment, I feel as if our eyes meet, and the ant disappears. The
bombardment of the city continues, more dangerous now that we lack the
protection of the trees and barriers generated by the towers.
(Javelin,) I say through the [Connection] the twins created.
 I watch as the javelin Tess used to attack the Tree pulls itself free and
flies back to where I think Tess is. Then I let the twins get my location, and
piercing through the buildings in its way, the javelin flies toward me. I grab
it after absorbing its kinetic energy. I inspect it for a moment. It still seems
to be fine, and the inscriptions are working as well.
(We already got one ant alive. The next time the First One attacks, we
will help Sophie mess with his [Hive Mind], as planned,) Dennis transmits.
(He will expect that,) I remind them.
(Of course he will.) This time, it’s Sophie talking. (But it doesn’t matter,
I’m ready for it. That piece of shit will pay. I will make sure of it.)
(Fuck, Sophie, you are so cool right now, I might fall for you,) Aaron
interjects.
(Don’t, just help me,) she sends.
(Of course, as planned. We also owe him big time,) Aaron continues.
(Yes, we owe him a lot,) Dennis adds, and his voice sounds more serious
than usual.
(Nat, I still haven’t used your severed arms, so my next attack will be
even stronger!) Lily also joins the conversation.
(Save some for healing. I plan to go all out for a while,) I remind her.
“We are ready,” I say to the lynthari surrounding me.
With a nod as acknowledgment, they start preparing as well, skills
circulating in and out of their bodies, armors, energies, and some
connection they have among themselves. Tails erect in a threatening
display, pupils glowing, eyes wide open, hands squeezing weapons.
And I wait for my trait to finish altering my eyes.
The next attack is a golden flame, much bigger than I’m capable of
creating. Funneled by the First One, powered by thousands of ants. The
leader of the Colony is attacking from far behind the walls of the city, out of
range of Sophie and the twins.
It’s not a problem for him. The flames sweep into the city like a wave,
momentarily crashing against the walls and barriers that the lynthari and
humans have erected.
Myrra and the enforcers wait with me, even now holding back and
relying on the other warriors within the city to activate barriers and
inscriptions fed by thousands of mana stones, gradually becoming more and
more depleted.
 “He doesn’t seem to want to enter the city,” Myrra says through her
teeth, her posture more threatening than I’ve ever seen.
(I can mess with [Hive Mind] to try to get him into the city,) Sophie
sends.
(Don’t,) I warn her. (Stay hidden. The moment you do something, he will
send all the ants against you.) I look around the city, which already seems
to be twenty percent destroyed, it hasn’t even been that long since we
started.
While talking, I continue examining my new trait. Unlike the Mana
Circuits I got before, this one seems closer to being active than passive. I’ve
already gotten a grasp of how to activate it, and I even think I can keep it
active near indefinitely, if not at my level.
If there were trait rarities, I’m sure this one would rate quite high, just
from observing the changes it makes to my eyes.
(Here he goes!) Tess shouts through the connection.
He appears again, just like before, all sound vanishing from the city, and
then a single snap resounds, the attack destroying dozens of buildings and
barriers, cutting in a straight line.
This time, the First One doesn’t disappear. Even before Sophie uses her
[Manipulation], I feel a gaze on me, and I’m sure I meet the compound
eyes of the Colony’s leader. A clear challenge.

[Hive Confluence Sentinel - Level ??]

Then a disgustingly huge amount of blue mana starts radiating from the
ant. Every time I think it’s enough, more and more of it flows from him,
feeling never-ending.
(I can’t do anything! There is too much mana!) I hear through the
connection.
All of that mana surrounds the ant floating in the air, moving, changing,
shaping, and forming something like my [Regalia]. The mana takes the
shape of a giant ant with the First One burrowed somewhere in the middle.
This doesn’t feel like the most efficient attack possible; no, this feels
more like a message. A show of power, as the ant surely knows what I used
down in the tunnels. This is a challenge. Loud and clear.
The giant ant made of mana takes a step, its leg destroying a massive
building that it dwarfs easily. The attacks crashing against the ant amount to
nothing at all, not even sending a ripple through the mana construct
continuing to move toward me, like an unstoppable force.
“Heh.” A giggle slips from my lips.
Myrra shouts something, and I nod, without listening, and she and her
enforcers all disappear to attack the First One.
I feel a smile crawl onto my lips as the giant thing continues moving
toward me and even launches dozens of projectiles. The projectiles—
javelins made of blue mana—crash against the building I’m standing on,
even though they are unable to damage the gray stone.
I disrupt the javelins that hit my body and continue to watch.
Heat starts collecting at the center of the giant mana ant, and a golden
flame roars at me from the mouth of the First One, a flame as thick as my
arm with the appearance of a laser.
The flame splits apart as it reaches me as I manipulate and redirect it
instead of wasting mana to control it.
Then the First One tries to compress mana like I do with my [Focus]. A
ball of mana floats in front of the ant, an orb as tall as me, immediately
compressing and turning blue, purple, and light blue. The First One tries to
compress it even more, tries to focus it into a smaller point.
And he fails.
Unable to replicate what I do, he gives up, and instead of the orb turning
black, it starts glowing white, preparing to explode.
The enforcers and Myrra start attacking the giant figure and tear the
attack apart, causing it to explode and finally deal some damage to the ant.
And the entire time, I just watch with a big smile on my lips.
“You little shit,” I say out loud.
I raise the javelin in my hand high into the air, blade pointing toward the
sky. Over the tip of the blade, a small orb of mana materializes, barely the
size of a golf ball. Mana flows from me into that ball, filling it, turning it
blue with streaks of purple and light blue until the orb starts shining white
and is about to explode. Then I push further and use my [Focus].
I do something the monster in front of me wasn’t capable of doing.
Warm healing mana flows from the crown on my head into me,
supporting me and fighting against the strain as I compress all that mana.
The orb turns pitch black with tiny dots shining inside of it like stars in the
sky.
 Then I poke the orb with the tip of my javelin, and it starts absorbing
the black mana. The blade of the Ethercrystal Shortsword starts cracking.
Even the upper epic weapon is unable to handle it.
I fight against the pull on my mana, and my heart beats three times,
powered by the entirety of my mana, generating a huge amount of kinetic
energy.
I change the setting and use all of my mana to strengthen my body and
grab the javelin, and my right leg slides backward as I get into the stance.
While my muscles scream, I throw the javelin. The moment it leaves my
hand, I boost it with the kinetic energy I collected and leave an anchor on
the handle.
Before I can even blink, the javelin reaches the ant and stabs the huge
mana construct. The massive amount of mana surrounding the ant, a result
of thousands of colony members powering it, vanishes in an instant the
moment the javelin’s black blade touches it. The javelin’s blade cracks even
further.
I activate the anchor and reappear next to the javelin, which I grab and
float in the air, facing the matte-black ant in front of me.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 48
ONE LESS

M
yrra and the enforcers surround the First One the moment the mana
disappears. Dozens of attacks crash against the carapace, damaging
it, destroying limbs, and wounding the ant, as it constantly
regenerates.
(Attacking!) Sophie sends, and I can feel her skills and the web she was
preparing reaching toward the ant.
The moment she does so, I realize that this is what the First One was
waiting for. He doesn’t even turn his body or anything, but I know he
immediately detects where Sophie and the others are. A shockwave
explodes near him, pushing himself toward where the others are and
avoiding the attacks I throw at him.
(He is after you!) I quickly send.
I use the anchor I left near them to teleport, but my skill is interrupted
by a strong pulse of mana from the First One.
Fuck.
I boost my body, rushing after him, the javelin in my hand constantly
fighting against me as the black mana inside the blade threatens to break
loose.
When I reach them, they already stand against the ant, thin threads of
gray mana flickering around them, Maya, Hadwin, and Biscuit in front
facing him.
Min-Jae is shooting huge chunks of buildings at the ant, his new eye
glowing, but he seems to be unable to use his new attack against the ant.
Tess is constantly moving her javelin to attack and defend.
I dash from behind the First One, armor surrounding my body and
[Redistribution] activating and trying to slow him. However, the skill slips
off of the ant, unable to grasp him at all. [Resonance] doesn’t damage him,
and the massive amount of mana he is drawing is impossible to disrupt.
Taking a risk, I activate my trait for the first time, an intense pain
immediately engulfing my head and eyes and the overload of information
threatening my sanity. An amount of information that seems to be
impossible for a human to accept.
A beautiful and impossible number of waves constantly floats around
and permeates everything. Small particles fill the atmosphere and every
living being. Hearts pump the mana that flows through our bodies.
Connections are based on mana. And something more.
I watch as the mana around the First One moves in sharp patterns while
the ant seems like a giant bonfire and everyone else is barely a spark.
Sensing it, he turns to me, and that mana coils like a snake and surges
against me.
Groaning in pain, I deactivate my trait, unable to handle it any longer. I
hold the javelin in front of me. The weapon absorbs mana for a moment,
until the blade cracks. Suddenly, the mana explodes into the surroundings,
just for an instant. Then it converges into a single spot, forming a floating,
pitch-black orb that begins to absorb all the mana close to it.
This forces me to push my body upward and fly over it to rejoin the
fight.
Meanwhile, the First One dashes against the group. He endures a gray
arrow several times stronger than the one that hit the Reanimated tree’s
barrier. Dashing through it, he redirects small bits of it, forming mana
projectiles that take the attacks in his stead. Meanwhile, he regenerates his
body as it takes damage.
A shockwave destroys Min-Jae’s projectiles and multiple buildings as
well. Maya gets thrown away, her body broken and mangled.
Tess’s Primordial lightning pierces his body, but the ant regenerates.
Tess uses an abyssal anchor, which only pulls him for a moment before the
ant destroys the epic item with a snap of his mandibles.
A blast of kinetic energy depletes all the energy I was storing and
erupts, destroying a few buildings and throwing him to the side. His armor
absorbs most of it, and the destroyed parts regenerate. He rushes again,
right toward Sophie, who has her hands on the twins’ shoulders.
For a moment, the First One and all the ants in the city with him stop.
Some of them even start attacking each other, and Sophie starts tearing the
threads that connect the First One to the rest of the Colony, taking over the
network he created.
Another gray arrow splashes against the black ant, and he regenerates,
slower this time, still using mana to absorb most of the attack.
Myrra and the lynthari arrive as well, surrounding him with a constant
barrage that crashes against his durable body. A strong gravity field pins
him to the ground, while flames burn him and ice surrounds his carapace.
Myrra launches an attack using projectiles made of a multicolored, glass-
like material. Meanwhile, the enforcers begin creating a barrier around the
ant, covered in inscriptions, all twelve of them working in unison.
Even through all this, the First One starts moving again, slow step after
step on constantly regenerated legs. His mana gradually increases, and he
pushes against Sophie’s [Manipulation].
Two enforcers fall dead, mana projectiles they were unable to stop
penetrating their heads.
Biscuit gets thrown away with a shockwave while protecting Isabella.
The ant redirects another gray arrow, his body regenerating faster now,
even as Isabella and I maintain a combined assault. The constant blaze of
our gold-and-azure flames melts the buildings around him.
A tricolored orb I shoot at him gets absorbed, and he shoots it back at
us, forcing us to defend against it. I constantly need to redirect the First
One’s attacks while keeping up the damage and attempting to cut off the
connections.
Eventually, Sophie’s skill weakens, and even the twins tumble down.
Our preparations finally complete, my eyes meet Lily’s. I move back
and reach toward the black orb. Mana starts radiating from my body, and I
[Focus], forcing the orb under my will and changing its shape. I feel blood
in my mouth and warm mana flowing into me through the crown. I activate
the circuits etched into my arm and reach out to grab the black dagger I’ve
created from the orb.
All sounds disappear from the area, and I watch my severed right hand
fall as if in slow motion. Immediately, I move behind the floating dagger
and watch as it absorbs a surge of golden flames directed at me.
Another snap sounds, and Hadwin’s body is cut at the waist, falling to
the ground in two pieces after he shields Sophie and the twins. The ants’
attack pierces through Hadwin’s shield and sword, then cuts through his
armor, yet despite its strength, it is unable to reach the people Hadwin is
protecting.
Lily begins to move toward Hadwin, but another snap echoes, and she
stumbles, both of her feet severed and Hadwin’s head split in half.
I fail to stop these attacks.
Immense mana radiates once again, this time emanating from all the
ants surrounding us. It creates a field that makes movement and even
breathing nearly impossible, forming an area that encompasses the First
One and our group.
The black ant turns and looks toward me, launching another attack that
gets absorbed by the black mana dagger between me and the ant. It’s not
even a serious attack.
The First One snaps again, and multiple enforcers die while trying to
protect Myrra.
Still in shock, I stand there, my eyes on Hadwin’s body, until the First
One tracks where I am looking and a concentrated shockwave erupts from
the ant.
Feeling as if my body is about to break, I reach through the domain and
stack a number of infused barriers in front of Hadwin. But the ant shatters
each and every one of them while still looking at me, and breaking the last
one, the attack tears Hadwin’s body apart.
A memory of his feelings flashes through my mind from the time
Isabella made us feel them. His gentle affection for the kids, the hint of
sadness behind it all. A man striving to start a new life and bury old
memories, slowly beginning to care for kids who bring him immense joy as
he watches them enjoy life.
A memory of the two of us fighting, over and over again. Him trying to
kill me. Him apologizing. The first floor, the second, even the third. His
expression when he got the rare shield he was so happy about.
The world feels as if it’s slowed down, and I deactivate the hold [Focus]
has on me and just use it to manage my skills. I take the crown from my
head and throw it to the ground, the sound of it deafening in the silence.
That makes the First One tilt his head. Our eyes meet, and I create a hand
from mana and touch the black dagger floating in front of me, the
inscriptions on my skin activating.
And then I start walking, each step unhurried. My eyes keep staring at
the First One while my trait activates once more, a myriad of information
and a whole new world opening to me, threatening to overload my brain.
I glance at the black dagger, and the entirety of my mana moves, the
dagger dissolving, the blue mana of my conjured hand turning black, and
bits of that mana even flowing into my body and through my circuits.
The First One also takes a few steps. I watch him with my trait; the
mana around him burns bright like a bonfire.
As we head toward each other, he starts to hesitate, each step becoming
slower and more careful.
At some point, he stops, and skills activate around him.
Watching all of it with my new eyes, I cut his skill apart. I disrupt his
attempt at teleportation, I destroy the buildup for his shockwave, and a
single barrier I create blocks his snapping attack, cracking afterward.
[Redistribution] powered by black mana activates, and the First One
freezes on the spot. I reach out to him and lay my hand on his body. I begin
to absorb the entirety of the heat he’s generated while my kinetic energy
crashes against him, attempting to tear his body apart.
Focusing solely on defense, he continues absorbing vitality from the
Colony, and even my attacks are unable to damage him. Feeling the pain
scorch my body, I reach out and cut off all of the connections, leaving him
isolated.
For the first time in his entire life, the ant loses the connection he bears
to the other ants, yet he still faces me proudly, his eyes staring into mine
while his body freezes all over and pieces of him explode.
Then I stagger, my trait deactivates, and all the information disappears.
The black mana inside of my body immediately threatens to kill me.
Quickly, I force it into a black orb outside of my body, ready to use it on the
ant.
The First One starts thawing, and the connections quickly reappear, like
a phoenix rising. The ant is restoring all his wounds, and all that strength
starts running through his body again.
Then he attempts to flee, dragging his damaged body away from the
black orb.
My eyes activate again for a split second, and turning the orb into a
dagger, I stab the black mana into the First One, targeting the place he was
protecting the most during the fight. With a [Tether], I connect the black
dagger to his body, and when the First One disappears, it teleports with him.
 Strength leaves my body, and my eyes deactivate again. For the first
time since the start of the floor, there isn’t even a drop of mana left in my
body, nor in the reservoir. The strengthening is gone, making my body
extremely weak in comparison to everyone around me, yet I still push
myself back on my legs and walk toward the others.
Sophie has an unbelieving look in her eyes as she holds Izzy against her
chest and stares down at what remains of Hadwin.
Tess is trying to pull away Lily, who constantly keeps trying to
reconnect the pieces.
Min-Jae starts crying while standing near the twins, who are both
unconscious.
Looking to the side, I see a wounded Biscuit coming closer. There are
multiple big wounds on his body, and one of his legs seems to be broken,
yet he still is pulling Maya behind him as gently as he can. The woman
seems to be on the brink of death, her chest caved in, bloody foam around
her mouth.
“Lily,” I say, almost scared of my own voice. It’s calm and quiet, yet
audible, even through all of the fire and screams around us.
Lily looks up at me from the ground, her eyes full of tears and blood on
her. Pieces of her are missing, used for [Sacrifice].
“Heal Maya,” I tell her.
For the first time, I can see anger in her eyes directed toward me. “How
can you—” she shouts, close to screaming.
“Maya will die,” I interrupt her and return her gaze.
The words stick in her mouth, and her eyes shake while she looks at
Maya. Tess whispers something in her ear and hugs her. Sobbing, Lily
finally moves and starts healing Maya. She closes Maya’s wounds, causing
her breathing to return to normal, and even Maya’s face starts looking
better.
Only then does Lily stand up, moving toward me, putting her hand on
my shoulder. “How can you be like this!” she shouts at me. “Hadwin…
Hadwin is!”
My shoulder breaks, and my body is easily moved by her. There is
barely any mana in me, and everything I have immediately gets turned into
thermal energy to support my healing. Lily notices and immediately lets go
of me, her face scared, and her expression changes as she looks at me.
 She touches me again, this time extremely carefully, and sends her mana
through my body, examining it. Her expression grows terrified, and I return
her gaze as she starts healing me.
No one else says anything, and the only sound to be heard is little
Isabella sobbing, surrounded by all the destruction.
Checking the Community, the number of people in Hell Difficulty is
one less.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 49
NO GOODBYES?

I
leave the people from group four to deal with the aftermath and head to
the area under Storm Brigade’s tower.
My body hurts terribly, but after getting healed, I feel better, and my
mana keeps regenerating as I feed my passive with thermal energy. Even
that little bit is helping, and slowly, the rest will heal. Until then, I better not
sleep and keep my body strengthened and infused with mana.
It is worse for my head and especially my eyes. Despite all the healing I
received, my vision is still blurry. My new trait seems to be even more
demanding than I thought. Just the sheer amount of information I received
caused me to end up like this. But just for those few short moments, I saw
an entirely new world open up to me, and I wonder. Is that how Lissandra
saw things? Is this a step toward where she stood?
Well, I will get there, and for that, I need to become stronger, much
stronger as today’s fight showed.
Much, much stronger.
I climb into the fallen tower, the strengthened walls still supporting its
shape, and I find my room that is now on its side in the severed top of the
tower.
The bed is broken, the furniture has been thrown around, and broken
pieces of the wall have destroyed a lot of things, but I find some clothes, a
few bags that I fill with some water, food, dozens of higher-grade mana
stones, my experiments, the weird bracelet I won from the auction, and
some other stuff.
I look around one more time and, without knowing why, pass through a
hole in the wall into Hadwin’s room.
 The room is simple, and there are barely any decorations as the older
man wasn’t one to collect such things. On the ground, I notice several
pieces of clothing, some gels he used for his beard and hair, and some
snacks that Hadwin had liked and left here to eat later.
There lies a box made of delicately decorated wood, and on top of it is a
paper with a few words in English: Happy birthday, Lily!
She said she would be eighteen soon, didn’t she?
I clean the debris from the table, and then I set the box on top so I can
fix it up a bit. After that, I flip the bed onto its feet, make up the covers, and
move the broken furniture into the corner.
Slowly, I pick up Hadwin’s things and put them on the nearby table and
the bed. The oil he used to care for his sword and armor, notes for
swordsmanship, and handwritten theories on his skills. As I move the notes,
a small piece of paper falls from them, and when I pick it up, I freeze.
After months in the tutorial, I see a glimpse of our world. A photograph
of Hadwin, a woman hugging him, and a young man bearing a resemblance
to the man. The photo is in a terrible state, going through four floors after
all these months. Yet it’s still there, in a state that allows me to see its
content, clearly showing how much it meant to him.
“That’s his wife Olivia and his son Jonathan. Both of them died just a
few weeks before he got into the tutorial.” Tess enters the room, her steps
slow and careful as she ducks to step through the hole in the wall. “They
were both murdered by a young man. Hadwin said that for the first few
floors, you felt like that man to him, and that’s why he…”
“I see.” I take a few steps toward her and put the photo into her hands.
“I will put it next to his body when we bury him. He would like that,”
she whispers.
Before I leave the room, her words catch me. “Will you stay for his
burial, Nat?”
“There is no need to.”
“I see. I will see you later, then. Take care.”
“Yes.”
I intentionally use Mana Cycling to the highest effect to keep my mana
from leaking and people from detecting me and cutting off the twins’
[Connection].
There is no need to stay for the burial; he is dead, and he won’t even
know. It won’t help him; it won’t help me.
 As I walk through the streets, it’s as I thought: all the ants are gone.
They ran away with their leader, who should be terribly hurt and having to
deal with the black mana that I tethered to him. I continue to send my mana
to the tether I left on him to keep it from disappearing and to keep the black
dagger connected to him. As before, [Tether] is reacting weirdly to black
mana and can partially ignore it.
The streets are broken, buildings have fallen, and corpses are
everywhere. Some other streets are nearly fine, a weird contrast to the
destroyed ones. Civilian casualties seem to be low as most of the dead ones
have some weapons or armor on them, and in the end, it’s twenty to thirty
percent of Virelia that got so damaged, with the rest being nearly fine.
I also notice humans giving ugly looks to lynthari, a rumor about the
lynthari invasion most likely spreading, but that’s not something I care
about. Unlike those of us from group 4, these people will be gone when the
floor ends.
My mana continuously restores itself, and I gaze at my new arm Lily
restored. It still appears blurry due to my hurting eyes, making me feel
lightheaded.
Passing through the street, I steal some food from a store, some items in
the next one, and another bag where I put more useful things.
I exit Virelia and enter the green fields, walking on a pathway. I do not
even look back at the city and climb up to hills for a bit longer, where, at the
top of the highest one, I meet Myrra. She is sitting there, staring in the
direction of Virelia. Myrra is wearing her armor and has supplies with her.
“You know, Feral One, you might not think it, but I’ve gotten to know
you well, really, really well, as I’ve been observing you.”
“I won’t stop you, then.” I continue to walk.
She jumps to her feet and follows by my side. “So how do you feel?”
“To be honest? Disappointed,” I answer. Something inside me wants to
talk.
“In yourself?” Myrra asks, slowing her steps to match mine.
“Partially, yes,” I answer.
“Do you think being with your friends made you weaker?” she asks.
“Yes, I think so. I enjoyed it at the time, and I believe I improved in a
way I wouldn’t have been able to on my own. But there is always this
question: if I were on my own and forced to constantly fight for my life,
would I have grown stronger?”
 “Then there is also that other thing, right, Feral One?”
“Yes. If I was alone and they were on their own, would they be able to
improve more and become stronger without me being there?”
“Some of them could be dead without you,” she says, and as she speaks,
I hear no pity in her voice. She matches my tone, trying to understand me
and engage in a conversation.
“That’s also true,” I agree.
“Yet you are still leaving them,” Myrra says, and we enter the forest and
continue walking under the trees that bend and creak in the wind.
“This is what I’m thinking: if I stay with them, I can help, sure, and
more of them would survive. But then there would come a day when they
would be on their own and probably die because I kept them safe and they
unconsciously relied on me.”
“That’s true, but there is more to it.”
“Yes.” I pause briefly. “Perhaps it’s better if they die now while trying
to grow stronger on their own. That way, it’s less heartbreaking than staying
with them, growing close to them, forming friendships, and then suffering
through their deaths because they were too weak.”
“That’s so cruel, Feral One, so very cruel to say.” Myrra is smiling, our
conversation taking her mind off things she doesn’t want to think about.
“But even I know that you are lying.”
“Maybe? I will have to find out, and for that, I will need some time on
my own.”
“You got scared, didn’t you? You never wanted to get attached, and
when that man died, it was a shock for you.” Her eyes almost seem to glow
as she looks down at me.
“I agree, it was a shock to see him like that.” I nod.
“So you are running away?”
“The same as you, Myrra.”
She laughs, canines showing for a moment, but she doesn’t deny it. “So
what will they do without you?”
“Knowing Tess, they will train for a while and then go to hunt the
Fallen Hero.” I shrug my shoulders. “Tess is smart, so she surely realized
how lacking they were.”
“No goodbyes?”
“No goodbyes.”
“Coward.”
 “A bit,” I agree.
All this talking makes me feel a bit better, and telling this to Myrra, who
will be gone with the fourth floor, is somewhat easy.
“Are you sad, Myrra?” I ask her.
She laughs. “Such a question, Feral One. I have watched my friends I
knew for tens and hundreds of years die. A woman I looked up to my entire
life ever since I was a child got her head bitten off, and I saw her mangled
corpse.” She continues to smile.
We exit the forest and continue to climb the mountain. “This is the first
time in my life I saw so many lynthari die. For the first time, I fought with
my life on the line like this. I was terrified.”
Step after step, I force my body to walk until I can’t anymore and sit
down. Even this bit of walking makes my breathing rough, and sweat runs
down my body. I feel like throwing up, and my hands shake until I close
them into fists.
Myrra joins me, and we look toward Virelia, still some smoke above the
city. Even from this distance, we can see the remains of the Living Tree and
broken towers and the trees in the city.
“Myrra, how do you become a Champion candidate?” I ask.
Not turning to me, she answers, “The title was given to me by the
Matriarch, as she was the only one from the lynthari that ever saw
Champions and could tell if someone was capable of reaching that. But it’s
unofficial. To become a true Champion candidate, you need a Champion to
acknowledge you and for the system to accept it.”
She turns to me. “You could call me a fake Champion candidate, Feral
One, and you wouldn’t be lying.”
“I see.” I nod and get to my feet, stumbling after I take the first step. I
force some strength into my legs, and Myrra follows me.
We continue to walk slowly, having conversations, and in that short
time, I learn more about her than I’ve been able to in the past few months.
Her fears, her hopes. A lot about lynthari and fake Champion candidate
Myrra. I also share a lot. Talking feels good right now, especially knowing
she won’t tell anyone, and slowly, I realize that, as she says, Myrra knows
me really well.
She’s continued to observe me ever since we met for the first time, my
manners, my movements. She can tell my feelings even through my flat
face and can read my mood. Like a cat, she observed me from a distance,
nearly unnoticed and, according to her, fascinated by the things I have done.
We reach the side of a certain mountain after a long walk, and now even
my reservoir is slowly replenishing as we delve into the tunnels after
touching the walls and activating inscriptions in them, making them light
the tunnels.
Our steps sound especially loud down there, and soon we reach the door
that I open and then another and enter a big room with an array in the
middle.
For the next day, we relax, we heal, and we prepare.
Here, down in the dark tunnels without anyone around, Myrra cries for
the first time. She cries for all the lynthari and humans that died. Finally out
of sight of everyone, breaking her majestic façade and cracking the mask. It
takes only a few minutes, and after that, we don’t talk about it, and I do not
mention it.
When we are ready, I pull out a few mana stones, put them into the
array, and let Myrra activate it. The one-directional array right into the heart
of the Colony.
Before stepping into it, I create an orb from tricolored mana and push it
to the point it starts glowing bright white and leave it on the ground near the
array.
“I guess, with this, the array will be gone as well as our way out,”
Myrra says while looking at the orb.
“Did you change your mind?” I ask.
“Such a dumb question,” she says and activates the array, transporting
us to the heart of the Colony.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 50
JUST TWO LOSERS

POV - Tess Hansen

A
day has passed since the attack of the Colony, and the city is still a
mess. Lynthari are left without their new matriarch, Myrra. The
humans are looking for someone to blame, and rumors about lynthari
being invaders are spreading.
Lorven is a traitor, Isola is terribly hurt, and Obelia is reorganizing her
guild and moving it to a different building.
Hundreds of dead fill the streets, many of which are destroyed, and a lot
of houses are unusable.
It’s not a nice look. But it’s hard to care for all of that while looking at
the situation in our group. Hadwin is dead, Nathaniel is gone, and Lily is
moving like a soulless husk while mumbling that even Nathaniel left her.
The twins are blaming Sophie for not doing well enough even after they let
her use their skill, and Kim is awkwardly trying to get everyone to get
along.
And I, as well, am feeling my uselessness during all of that. I know that
the enemy we faced wasn’t weak, yet I still feel that I could and should
have done more.
I sigh and look at Maya sitting next to me, in the garden of one of the
smaller houses that Obelia got for us.
“You are sighing way too much, Tess.” She smiles, but that smile
doesn’t reach her eyes.
“Not everyone can use their skill to block their emotions,” I shoot back
at her.
Maya just nods. “So what are we going to do?”
 “Become stronger, obviously.”
“You are not worried about the Colony?”
“I am. The First One was terrifying. But Nat hurt him badly, and
knowing him, he is after the ant to finish what he started. Especially after
what that ant did to Hadwin.”
“But that isn’t the only reason he left,” she says, and I nod.
I continue, “I think it’s better this way, Maya, I really do. We started
relying on him way too much, and the fight against the First One was a
wake-up call. Yes, the situation was terrible, but in the future, it will
probably become way worse.”
“Lily got too attached, Kim followed him like a puppy, and I kept
asking him for advice,” Maya counts down. “I mean, these aren’t bad
things, there are bigger groups in Hell Difficulty than ours doing team play,
but I do agree with you that we might have become too comfortable.”
“Yes, that’s why we will be on our own for a while, Maya. We will level
up, we will help Lily with Beyond, and we will go and take down the Fallen
Hero on our own.”
“And if someone else dies, Tess?”
“I won’t allow it. And if anyone doesn’t want to go, they can stay here
for the rest of the tutorial. I won’t blame them.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Maya pokes my shoulder and stands up. “I will
speak to Kim and the twins and try to help them a bit. Will you deal with
Sophie and Lily? They seem down too.”
“Look at you, giving me orders.” I stand up, a tired smile on my face.
Maya’s expression is gentle. “I don’t think they’re the only ones that
need some help and time to process it all, Tess, so think of yourself too, and
if you need help, come to me. You can think of me as a knock-off version of
that weirdo.”
I’m the one who wanted this group to happen, and I’m the one who kept
urging Nat to join us. I’ve been trying to make us all friends, so I’d better
not let it fall apart so easily.
Having Maya worry about me feels weird, but in a nice way; as she
said, with her [Focus], she can be like Nat at times. She can be calm and
reliable when she needs to be, and she’s smarter than she usually lets on.
And now that Hadwin is… I shake my head and push the thought out. There
will be time for me to grieve later.
 “Yes, let’s prove that there was a reason for us to end up in Hell
Difficulty.”

The room we were transported to before has been destroyed, walls

crumbling, crystal pillars missing. As far as I can see, the tunnels are
scorched and burned, with some lingering smoke hanging around, and ant
corpses lie scattered across the floor.
Myrra and I start walking, our skills lighting the pitch-black darkness,
and our senses constantly scan the area, on the lookout for collapsing
tunnels and enemies.
Yet there are none, and minutes turn into hours, the never-ending stream
of tunnels empty and devoid of any life.
At some point, we reach the parts of the tunnels made from that same
gray metal that makes up some of the buildings in Virelia. The
indestructible one. These parts are only scorched on the surface, and here
we finally detect some life. Ants, most of them barely Level 10.
There is no hesitation at all as we kill any ant we detect; it doesn’t
matter how much they run or that they don’t even try to attack.
Skills activate, fire burns them, and projectiles made of ice pierce them.
There is no mercy in our actions, and as we delve into these parts, more of
the ants start appearing, and I sense the skill I left on the First One. The
connection is weak and really far away, but it’s something we can use for
navigation, and we head in this direction.
Once in a while, we reach a dead-end, either a natural one or one caused
by the explosion or the ants trying to block us as tunnels made of stone mix
with indestructible hallways. We spend days mapping the tunnels and
looking for a way through and sometimes even making our own way.
A few times, they try to bury us down there, but the anchors I keep
leaving behind us always help, and we teleport before we end up buried.
My domain’s reach has also expanded, so I frequently send it as far
ahead as I can, creating anchors in different tunnels and transporting us to
them.
Other than the ants, no monsters live here, and the only sounds are those
of our skills, or their chitin legs against the gray stone or the tunnels that
connect to it.
Neither Myrra nor I speak much, and when we do, it’s usually a short
conversation.
We reach a point where the tunnels are blocked with skills alone, as
they’re all made from that gray stone that even the ants seem incapable of
destroying, so we just bulldoze our way through the monsters. There are no
ants able to resist us, and they are barely any trouble between my skills and
Myrra’s.
The fake Champion candidate Myrra likes to use fire and ice skills, but
often she combines them, creating an element that is hard to describe.
Myrra calls it Aurora glass, and it’s a crystalline material with reflective
facets that change colors according to how she uses the skill.
I sense that she is using another skill to facilitate the combination, but I
don’t question her any further and observe her creation. Myrra is creating
barriers from it, sometimes weapons. Once in a while, she creates a surface
from Aurora glass, steps through it, and reappears from another surface
nearby.
I don’t understand it fully, but it’s a nice way to take my mind off stuff
and examine it.
My eyes still hurt, my sight is hazy, and my head isn’t quite back to
normal, so I run my passive constantly, fueled by my thermal energy. It’s
slowly healing the aftereffects of Mana Wavelength Iris, the trait that allows
me to see into the world of mana more than before. But at a cost, as these
things always go.
Would this trait have even been offered if I had spent more points on
physical stats to better prepare my body for such a trait? Or would it have
been withheld if I had gone that way?
It’s something I want to know and might learn, further in the future,
along with methods for controlling the black mana. During the fight against
the First One, I was able to use it and let it flow through my body, using that
mana to power my skills making them much more powerful. It’s most likely
something akin to picking Potency over Amplification for a Mana upgrade.
“Anything interesting going through your mind, Feral One?” Myrra
asks as we sit in the middle of a straight tunnel that stretches on for what
feels like forever.
We took a break after the ants tried to drown us and then suffocate us.
Surviving it took a toll on both of us.
 “The usual stuff, my skills and such,” I respond.
She smiles a bit and leans against the wall. “It’s already been days.
Aren’t you missing your group?”
I think about it for a bit and then give her an honest answer. “A bit.”
She fixes her hair a bit and her tail continues to sway. “I noticed it
before, but you are not easy to rile up or quick to open up to people. You
might joke and spend time with them, but you still like to keep a distance.
Tell me, are you scared of letting people get close?”
The way she says it annoys me. It sounds like she is looking for a fight.
Instead of answering, I ask her, “Why are you here, Myrra? Is it really
to kill the First One, to protect lynthari, or do you want to take revenge for
the Matriarch? Or maybe you want to take revenge for yourself? Too
ashamed of your fears during the fight and your inability to do more?”
Our eyes meet, neither of us avoiding the gaze of the other, the silence
almost threatening. After a few frustrating days down there, both of us are a
bit touchy.
Myrra stands up and takes a few steps toward me, her tail standing up in
a threatening manner and her pupils wide open. Both of her canines show
their full beauty. She is really angry.
“What, not used to a human talking back to you?” I add fuel to the fire,
and I see her hand closing into a fist, veins popping on it.
So I add a bit more. “Or maybe you were scared of responsibilities? You
didn’t want to end up like your matriarch, tied to her title, and wanting to
keep your mostly careless life?”
Mana starts leaking from her, and she opens her mouth. “You think it
might be your fault that that man died.” She takes another step closer. “But
you don’t feel much sadness, and that worries you, so you decided to run,
hoping they’d either become strong enough to survive so that you could
befriend them, or that they would die now before you got too attached.”
Myrra lowers herself, her eyes in line with mine. “Come on, Feral One,
deactivate that fucking skill and try to say those words to me again.”
I feel my heart beating wildly just at the thought of turning off [Focus].
She squints her eyes, her mouth turning into a smile. “You won’t do it?
So why don’t you attack me instead?”
“Fuck off,” I say.
Myrra starts laughing. “Such words lack an impact, hearing them from
someone hiding behind skills.”
 “Said the pampered lynthari who kept bothering people because they
were too fucking bored. Hiding under their matriarch’s skirt instead of
dealing with the Calamities. Maybe if you guys didn’t fuck around all the
time and actually did something, she would still be alive,” I say and watch
as her face changes.
I continue, “Did it hit too close? Go on, why don’t you attack me?” I
mock her.
Myrra does just that. She swings her fist at me, and I duck under it,
immediately following it with a kick that Myrra dodges with a speed that I
barely track.
As on cue, we both use our mana at the same time to strengthen our
bodies. Neither of us uses any skills as we decided beforehand, and we just
attack each other using our bodies.
Her fist hits my face and rocks my head back as another punch hits my
chest, throwing me against the wall. She is faster than me, even as I use the
entirety of my mana to strengthen myself. Myrra seems to specialize in
dexterity while I’m mostly split between constitution and strength.
A few more blows to my chest and one more to my face, the last one
drawing blood. They all hurt, but I hold on, and when she attacks again, I
let her connect and grab her arm.
Our eyes meet for a second, and I bury my knee into her belly, lifting
my knee to compensate for her height.
Myrra gasps for air, and my fist hits the bottom of her chin. This time,
it’s her head swinging back, only to rebound as she smashes her forehead
into my face, breaking my nose and causing me to stagger backward,
dripping blood.
Still I hold on and kick, aiming for her crotch this time and managing to
connect.
Myrra groans in pain, shock on her face. “You little bitch,” she gasps
and punches me two more times before I manage to avoid the third,
throwing a punch to her side and finally letting go.
More mana roars through her body, and she leaps into action.
For several long minutes, we continue, exchanging blows. It’s not
pretty, and we barely bother avoiding each other’s attacks, as if the pain
makes us forget. Blood is drawn, bones are cracked, and we throw each
other against the walls as we fight in the long pitch-black tunnel lit by my
thermal orbs floating nearby.
 Two beings over Level 200 fist-fighting like drunkards.
And as the fight progresses, my hold over [Focus] becomes weaker, and
my attacks reflect that. Myrra grows more aggressive as well. We kick, we
scratch, and we bite. Myrra spits blood into my eyes in an attempt to gain
an advantage, so I punch her in the neck. She chokes me, and I break her
finger.
In the end, I throw one last punch at her chin, and she staggers and then
falls, face against the ground.
With a sigh, I lean against the wall of the tunnel and slide to the ground.
My entire body hurts, my bones are cracked, I have wounds all over, and
yet I do not use my passive and breathe heavily.
Myrra lifts her bruised face from the ground, and our eyes meet. Both of
us have the same expression.
Just two losers.
Unable to stand as she looks into my eyes, she starts using her arms to
pull herself closer, crawling toward me. She reaches me and then lays her
head on my thigh, turning away from me and curling up as her body starts
to shake.
Slowly, I reach out with my bruised and bloodied hand and gently
caress her hair without saying a word.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 51
ANCIENT ARRAY

W
e rest for a while, and the power of our stats heals our bodies. In
my case, it’s mostly my passive skill doing the work, but it’s good
enough.
When we finally continue through the tunnels, I feel a bit different.
Weirdly, I feel better, as some of the tension leaves my body, and it seems
the same goes for Myrra.
“Fuck, Feral One, I didn’t expect you to kick me in the crotch twice. Do
you have no manners?” Even her tone is a bit different now.
“Says the person who spat blood in my face,” I reply.
“Feral One, I bet you there are humans willing to pay me for the
experience,” she says.
I stagger in surprise, and she notices, which makes her smile even more.
I mean, she is not wrong, but damn.
Thankfully, another group of snapjaw ants appears, and I avoid reacting
any further. Already used to fighting them, we move quickly, keeping
mobile and slowing them with Myrra’s ice and my [Redistribution].
Even with multiple gravity ants and a sentinel ant supporting them, we
deal with them fairly quickly, and yet another group tries to slow us down.
As always, I can feel my [Tether] far in front of us, meaning the black
mana orb is most likely still hampering the leader of the Colony and
severely damaging him or messing with his mana control.
Hopefully, it won’t kill him in the end. I have a lot to pay back. I don’t
care that I mostly got my ass kicked last time. This time, I won’t rely on
others. I won’t rely on Lily’s healing or Sophie to slow him down; I will
fuck him up on my own. Sure, Myrra will probably want to get in a few
hits, but I can live with that.
 I have been too reliant on others for too long, and it’s stunted my
growth. Instead of trusting in myself, I relied on external help. I will be
careful not to do so from now on.
“He is moving again,” I tell Myrra.
We speed up, breaking into a sprint, killing any ants in the way as
quickly as possible and reducing the distance in the process. It takes another
few hours for us to even get close, and that’s when the first large group
attacks us, hundreds of ants fill the tunnel, and it’s impossible to see
through the sheer number of bodies.
They block my yellow flames, and a constant barrage of ranged attacks
forces us to create barriers to block it. Any attempt to create an anchor in
the middle of them and drop a bomb is quickly disrupted.
I quickly create two javelins. I infuse one with disruptive mana and the
other with thermal energy. Both of them shoot off quickly one after the
other, the former disrupts their barriers, and the latter explodes in the
middle of their group.

[You have defeated Warrior Ant - Level 168]

[You have defeated Disruptor Ant - Level 159]
[You have defeated Gravity Ant - Level 165]
[You have defeated Spellslinger Ant - Level 195]
[Level 205 > Level 206]

More attacks follow, and Myrra’s flames envelop the tunnel,

maintaining constant pressure. There aren’t many flame legion ants, so I
also add my flames to the mix, and we slowly burn through them all.
A burst of kinetic energy pushes their smoking bodies aside, and we
continue our run and finally reach a room bigger than any we’ve seen in a
long time.
The room is cylindrical in shape, and the ceiling seems to stretch on
forever. I can’t even see where it ends, and it’s wider than two football
fields; it’s impossible to imagine normal humans doing something like this.
But I don’t stare at it in awe, nor do I waste time checking the details.
My eyes settle on the ant, the one with the matte-black carapace, floating
near the middle of the room, surrounded by thousands of ants, with even
more on the walls. The sheer amount of ants is hard to even count, yet I do
not feel worried.
 Their leader, the First One, just stands there; he does not attack, and he
does not use the Colony’s mana. No, there is a black mana dagger impaling
his body; it seems to have reacted with [Tether] and made it impossible to
remove from its body. The black dagger constantly pulls on the skills mana
and, in a twisted way, keeps [Tether] running.
I feel Myrra tense next to me, her eyes also on the First One.
Armor surrounds my body, I maintain my normal size this time, and I
boost my body with the kinetic energy I’ve been collecting, flying right
toward the First One. I use bursts of kinetic energy to brush aside any ants
in my way and disrupt hundreds of ranged attacks that enter my range,
tanking others and using my anchors to avoid those I can’t.
Mana permeates my body, cycling and flowing like a hurricane, as my
new trait activates.
I am immediately assaulted with an overwhelming amount of
information, but I keep my eyes glued to the First One, absentmindedly
dodging incoming attacks. I watch the waves of invisible mana flow freely
through the air, the ambient mana no one controls permeating the world.
And the entire time, the First One just stands there, his eyes watching
my every move, and then a push of mana from the other ants activates an
array underneath him. The amount is enormous, and it needs to be for him
to absorb any through that black dagger.
My attack passes through the air as the First One disappears, and I
observe the mana swirling in the air. I use my enhanced eyes; I can’t even
perceive this otherwise. I watch waves of mana swirl, move, and crash
against each other, then point in one direction.
Left without their leader, the remaining ants once again send most of
their mana toward where the First One disappeared, and those that rely on
physical stats attack us.
It takes just a bit of fighting before we realize that most of the ants are
weak. Most of the stronger ones died in Virelia or haven’t returned yet, and
even the ones that returned through the array had to spend extreme amounts
of mana or even sacrifice themselves to facilitate the transport. Plus, we
haven’t seen any mushrooms around in the past few days, and the lack of
food seems to have weakened them even further.
And now, they’ve spent most of their mana to allow the First One to
disappear somewhere, giving him what remained.
 What follows next isn’t even a fight. The ants are weakened, drained of
their vitality and mana to keep their progenitor alive, and no matter how
many of them jump at us, they are barely a threat to me and Myrra.
Every time it looks dangerous, we escape into the tunnels, limiting the
number of ants able to attack us, and now barely anyone seems capable of
destroying my anchors, and I keep firing my tricolored orbs through their
ranks, killing ants in the hundreds.

[Tether - Level 24 > Tether - Level 25]

[Tether - Level 25 > Tether - Level 26]
[Mana Domain - Level 26 > Mana Domain- Level 27]
[Level 206 > Level 207]
[Level 207 > Level 208]
[Level 208 > Level 209]

A few ants group together, attempting suicide attacks or trying to endure

and drain as much of our mana as possible. They cooperate, creating
barriers and countering our skills. They come up with ways to use skills
against us, constantly changing frequencies. My senses are at their peak,
and I activate my new trait multiple times, but only for a few seconds at a
time to avoid dangerous situations.
The Colony is deadly, but not right now. Most of them are low level,
and the rest are severely weakened, either sacrificed by the First One or
having a need to protect him programmed into them.
Myrra’s Aurora glass allows her to teleport when needed, and she uses it
like my anchors to launch attacks. I even saw her create two mirrors from
that glass, one to absorb the ants’ attacks and the other one to send it back,
but she rarely uses this move, as it seems to be costly and situational.
I duck to the side as a trapjaw ant passes by me, a blast of kinetic energy
burrowing a hole in him. Immediately after, I duck under a projectile and
move to the side to avoid another attack.
[Resonance] activates, and I shrug off an attempt to disrupt my armor,
grabbing another ant by a leg, pulling it off, and sending it away with a
kick.
I jump backward as the bus-sized one charges at me, and my flames
burn its face, blinding it until a mana orb lodges in its head, whereupon it
expands, tearing it apart. I surround myself with thin threads of
concentrated mana that are hard to detect and infused with [Resonance],
causing any ant charging into them to be cut apart by wire-like threads. It
always takes them a few moments to detect and disrupt them; meanwhile,
they kill plenty of them while reducing the number of attacks coming our
way.
Another group uses ranged attacks against me, so I duck to reduce my
size and create a small barrier in front of me that I skew a bit so attacks
deflect to the side instead of hitting it directly and consuming more mana.
I add an anchor to one of the javelins and launch it at the ants that
attacked me, and when it reaches them, I send a burst of thermal energy
through it.
We fight for what feels like hours, and I slip into a rhythm as if
hypnotized and keep taking mana from my reservoir.
It doesn’t feel dangerous, and the weakened Colony without their leader
or heavy hitters is somewhat more of a chore to deal with. Yet I feel no pity
and no hesitation. I kill every single ant I can see or sense. Each one of
them could have been one of the ones sending mana to the First One during
that day, indirectly helping him to…
A combined attack from dozens of ants crashes against my chest armor
and sends me flying through the room, crashing against the wall. Right
after, more attacks bombard me as I lie there. They keep crashing against
the [Regalia] infused with [Resonance], barely doing any damage other
than wasting my mana.
I push my thoughts to the back of my mind, and putting my hands on
my knees, I shove myself back to my feet, using [Infusion] to send thermal
energy through my armor, making it seem like embers are glowing under
the surface.
More attacks hit me, and I boost my body right into them, burning them
alive.
When every single ant is dead, we move toward the middle of the room,
pushing all mangled, burned, frozen, and cut bodies of ants to the side to
see the floor. Surrounded by all those corpses, plenty of them as big as a
bus, we stare at the damaged array.
“You can fix it, right?” Myrra asks me.
“Yes, but it will take a moment; there are traps left behind, and some
parts are really damaged.”
 Afterward, I immediately get to work. “Can you bring my bags from the
tunnels? I have some stuff I might need in them.”
Myrra nods. “Can do.”
As I get to it, I notice that the array is more damaged than the one in the
old mines, and I even have to redirect some of the inscriptions, like using
plaster to fix them instead of replacing them.
Once in a while, I activate Mana Wavelength Iris to work on them, and
even though it’s extremely taxing, it helps a lot to speed up the process.
“Did you know that when you use that skill, a golden ring appears
around your pupil? It’s not too thick, and I can still see the color of your
eyes, but around the black of your pupil, that golden circle appears,” Myrra
says out of nowhere.
I pause for a moment. “I see.” I nod and continue.
I hadn’t realized until now. I’ve met multiple people with similar
effects, all of whom have mana circuits in their eyes. Ruby and Obelia, for
example, and even Min-Jae’s new eye had some under the surface.
As I work, my mana continues to replenish over the hours I spend on
the array, and I still have some left in my reservoir.
When I’m done, we sit there for a bit. Myrra takes out some food and
water, and in the same fashion we’ve grown so accustomed to over the past
few days, we share food while exchanging a few words. We do not talk
much, trying to keep our minds sharp for what is to come.
When we finally feel ready, I activate the array, and Myrra steps in, both
of us pulled along and transported.
Appearing on the other side a strong wind hits us, strong enough to push
even our strengthened bodies, and I absorb some force from it with
[Redistribution].
A chilling cold immediately penetrates my body, but Myrra starts
releasing heat around us, and I absorb more of the wind’s kinetic energy
until we create a warm, quiet bubble around us.
Looking around, I realize that we are on top of an extremely tall
mountain battered by blizzards. The falling snow barely allows us any
degree of sight, and after probing the area with my senses, I detect only
more mountains and another array.
Gesturing to Myrra, I start walking, releasing a bit of absorbed kinetic
energy to blow off the snow until we reach a cave, which we enter.
 Unlike the surrounding area, there is no snow in the cave, and lights
glow on the wall, likely the work of the First One as he passed by to
activate another array, keeping the last bits of mana he received as he left.
This array is a bit different and seems to be much older than the ones I’ve
seen before. The design is more robust and less efficient as if it was made
by someone who didn’t care how much mana it would take to activate.
Someone with a high enough mana pool to ignore that.
The array is not damaged at all. The First One was probably incapable
of doing so.
As I send my senses to it, I start examining it and where it leads with the
help of my new trait. I follow the trail of mana, and when I see where it
points and get an estimate of the distance it transports over, I almost feel
like laughing.
The one-directional array in front of me leads to a place somewhere
high above us. To a place in the orbit of the planet.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 52
WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?

O
ne of the reasons the First One teleported so far is to put distance
between me and the anchor I left on him. Probably in hopes of
cutting off my connection and getting rid of the black mana dagger.
Or the reason could be completely different.
Staying over the ancient array, I hear a soft ding of the notification and
open the system. Going through the options, I notice that a side quest was
added.

Side quest: Save Virelia from annihilation

Reward: 1,000 shards

I turn to Myrra. “What is up there? Did the Matriarch leave any info on
it?”
Debris or something, we were curious about it and tried to dig up
information on it, yet we couldn’t find anything concrete. Just a bunch of
disjointed rumors.
The tall, white-haired lynthari releases more heat, pushing against the
chilly air up here on this impossibly high mountain. I notice that the longer
we are here, the worse the cold gets. Still, this place is strangely beautiful,
though devoid of life, leaving us with the clear white snow and the sound of
roaring wind, with snowflakes darting wildly around. The only sign of life
is the partially charged array the First One left behind, and it’s slowly losing
the mana that charged it.
“Remains of the war between lynthari and humans. The lynthari
Absolute’s base was there before getting destroyed, orbiting around the
planet, allowing him to move anywhere he wanted. But Feral One, even the
Matriarch didn’t think there was any way left to get there. This,” she points
at the array, “shouldn’t exist anymore.”
I probe the array with my senses and examine it more closely.
The side quest and its timing most likely mean that the First One is
trying to destroy Virelia. Either because of his programming or he just
wants to finish what he started and hurt Myrra and me for hunting him
down.
Myrra says something behind me, but I filter it out and examine my
body. My mana has rebounded for the most part, I even have some in
reserve, and I have over 3,000 shards in case I need something.
The floor quest isn’t finished, so that means the First One is still alive,
meaning he survived the transport and wherever he is, it is livable or he
wouldn’t survive in his weakened state.
I step into the array and look at Myrra.
She laughs shortly and without hesitation steps into the circle as well.
There is no more need for words, and she only smiles, her posture
confident.
An armor made of Aurora glass forms around her epic armor. It’s
beautiful, almost like a work of art, with thousands of multi-colored
surfaces slightly reflecting the light.
I activate [Regalia] as well, blue armor surrounding my body including
my head; the helmet doesn’t have a visor. I make it as airtight as I can. I
strengthen my armor as I prepare [Infusion]. Then I fill the array with my
mana, immediately appreciating the different circuits expertly inscribed into
the circle. They are simple and elegant, not very efficient, but they are easy
to work with.
I reactivate what mana remains from the previous charge and add more
of mine, much more, feeling a massive drain. One after another, parts of the
array light up, as my mana flows through them, reactivating it.
Lost in my work, I want to use more mana, but then I realize that we’ve
already arrived. The transportation was extremely smooth, and I barely
noticed it.
A quiet hum welcomes me, and a myriad of inscriptions surround us.
Most of them have been deactivated for hundreds of years, and some of
them were reactivated mere hours ago. The room is relatively small and
circular. There are no windows, just walls made out of the gray stone that
I’ve seen so often lately. The same indestructible stone that made up some
of the tunnels we passed through and a few of the buildings in Virelia.
I observe Myrra’s movements as she gestures to me to wait and her
helmet disappears.
With fascination, I watch as she inhales a few times and flicks her
tongue, tasting the air for a moment.
“It seems fine,” she says.
My helmet disappears, but I keep armor around my body, just in case.
The air I’m breathing feels weird, somewhat chemical or artificial.
Fake, maybe? As if it’s been through dozens of filters or left to stagnate in a
poorly ventilated room.
“This way,” I tell her and start walking toward my anchor.
The First One is not far.
Side by side, we walk through the dimly lit hallway. The architecture is
radically different from anything we’ve seen so far, simple, functional.
Even the lights are just lines on the walls without any twists or decorations,
just a straight line releasing a dim orange light.
We continue carefully, watching every step, examining every hallway,
ready for anything. As we’ve been hunting the First One, we’ve learned
about all sorts of traps and gotten used to constant danger and watching our
steps.
But there is nothing. No traps, there’s barely any mana to be felt, and
it’s eerily quiet except for a constant hum somewhere in the distance. It
starts to feel like we are underground once more until we reach the window.
At first, we hesitate, seeing a panel of glass, our senses probing, looking
for weaknesses, for traps. I detect the First One too, and he is still a few
minutes off. So I take a few last steps toward the window, Myrra carefully
following behind me.
Then we stand there for a long minute, staring out the window.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so lost for words. So lost for thought. The
view in front of me makes it hard to do anything else but stare. My worries,
my problems, my need for revenge, all of them become so distant. So
unimportant.
So small.
Behind a window the size of a small car, a planet is surrounded by
pitch-black darkness with a few stars glowing dimly so far off.
 The planet is so far below us, and no matter how giant it is, it looks so
small right now.
Myrra’s planet, the Waning Realm as the system called it, is half
covered in snow and wild mountains that stretch across large swaths of the
surface, a wild, beautiful shade of white. The bottom half of the planet is
made of rocky ground and green continents with a few seas with clear blue
color. Clouds lazily float across it.
It’s beautiful, a view I didn’t think I would ever see in my life.
I want to see things like this. I want to see them more often. I want to
reach that level where even things like this will become normal. And I will
get there.
But there is something I need to do first.
I step away from the window, back to the hallway, and continue to walk
toward my anchor.
Barely able to take her eyes off the view, Myrra follows me.

We pass through a room with a glass floor that makes it terrifying to walk
through. Nothing changes, and this place seems as solid as before, yet there
is this irrational worry that our steps alone could break it like normal glass.
Then we enter a room with another window, this one turned to the
opposite side. A view of infinite darkness behind with lonely stars shining
by.
We also detect one of the First One’s traps, trying to tear a hole in the
wall and throw us into space.
I don’t think it would be able to damage it, yet I still disrupt it and
notice a few thin threads of mana that I take care of.
At some point, this place we are in starts shaking and the hum
intensifies as if we started moving.
So that’s how it is.
The First One plans to use this place, a reminder of an era passed long
by, and crash it into Virelia, hoping to kill us in the process.
I create a domain around myself and try to place an anchor behind the
walls, out in space. And I fail; my senses can’t pierce the walls any more
than the void outside can get in. We are trapped here. The shaking
intensifies, and as we pass by the window, I can see that we are moving,
passing through other debris and remains of what used to be a much grander
build. Some other debris crashes against us, making us shake even more,
yet the damage is none or minimal.
I check the anchor I left on the snowy mountain with the array, and it’s
too far. I can send my mana there, yet teleporting seems to be impossible;
the amount of mana I have is simply not enough.
So we continue. We destroy the traps and pass through the rooms,
ignoring the wonders that surround us, until we reach the center of all of it.
There the First One waits. A black carapace that seems to absorb light
itself and a dagger impaling him through the back close to his head,
constantly absorbing the majority of his mana.
The ant steps away from the pillar. Barely any mana is left inside his
body, and he is forced to rely on the strength of his physical stats. He takes
a few more steps, moving even further back, and just stands there, our
figures reflecting hundreds of times in his compound black eyes.
Myrra hisses, about to charge him, but I put my hand on her. “Check the
pillar first.”
She tries to get away from me, but I strengthen my body and pull her
back. “He did something. Check. The. Pillar. First. There aren’t any traps,
and I probably won’t be able to activate it, as it’s only meant for lynthari,” I
repeat.
Myrra curses but does so as I take a few steps, keeping myself between
the black ant and the white-haired lynthari.
Just looking at the creature makes my blood boil, but I push all those
thoughts to the back of my mind, though some of them surface, even
through [Focus].
As if in answer, the First One clacks his mandibles a few times, a soft
snapping sound echoing through the room.
“We are falling,” Myrra says.
“Can you tell where?” I ask.
After a minute, Myrra confirms what I was thinking. “The trajectory has
already been calculated… It’s going to strike Virelia…” Her voice breaks in
the end.
Mana radiates from her, but she quickly takes it under control and
channels it into the pillar, the vibrations weakening, and through kinetic
energy, I feel our movement slowing. Myrra is using her mana to power the
base and keep us in orbit.
The First One clacks his mandibles.
“Not enough! I don’t have enough mana!” She pushes more and more of
it, weakening herself near our enemy, hoping to redirect the base.
The feeling of the ant looking right into my eyes flows through me, and
there is even a question I can read or feel from him.
What will you do now?
The ant brought us here in hopes of cutting the connection to the tether.
When it didn’t work, he launched the base at Virelia, and now here he is,
waiting for us to waste mana stopping the base, to weaken ourselves. To
stay trapped here with him.
He wants us to waste mana, not even for a moment giving up on his
attempts to kill us. And seeing the way he looks at us, we will need to use
most of our mana to stop the base from falling on Virelia; I’m sure he
calculated that. Using some of it to fight him would make stopping the base
impossible.
“Cheeky little fucker, aren’t you?” Not taking my eyes off him, I take a
few steps back and put my hand on the pillar.
Without any hesitation, I release my mana and push it inside. I start
infusing all of it, the mana from my body and reservoir as well.
“Myrra, I bet this base has some kind of radar, so find the place with the
largest number of ants.”
This ant is smart. I do not believe we’ve gotten all of the Colony. No, he
most likely saved some and hid them to rebuild the Colony after killing us.
I continue, “And then when you find a place with enough ants, crash us
into it.”
The First One freezes, his mandibles stop moving, a sheer surprise to be
felt even from his monstrous body.
I place an anchor near the pillar and start sending my mana to it, and
even with my gradually decreasing reserves, I step into his way.
What will you do now?
The ant’s body moves, and he rushes to stop us.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 53
THE LAST OF THE COLONY

T
here isn’t any mana radiating from the First One; all of it has been
sucked up by the black dagger tethered to his body. He is just using the
sheer strength of his stats.
Using my mana as effectively as I can, I block his body, and the armor
surrounding my body disappears, reforming only at the point of impact with
the black ant.
I channel mana toward the pillar where Myrra, trusting in me to protect
her, continues to steer the orbital base and look for signs of ants to target.
Seeing how desperately the First One attacks me, my assumptions are
probably right: there is indeed a smaller Colony he plans to return to and
rebuild after dealing with us. The leader of the Calamity never gave up in
the first place.
His attacks are quick and hard-hitting, but they are far from what they
were when he attacked Virelia, and neither are mine.
Both of us are tired, our reserves low, reducing us to a lowly brawl with
weak bursts of our skills.
He tries to get to the pillar and cracks his mandibles together in an
attempt to cut it apart with his ranged attack, but I stick my hand in the way
and cover it with dense armor, blocking it and getting a cut on my arm.
Then my fist moves, a thin spike forming around it, and I stab it deep
into his body. When I try to enlarge it, the mana gets pulled in by the black
dagger, and even the armor around my arm flickers.
All this time, I feel the First One’s attempts to cancel out the anchor
binding the dagger to him, and as before, I continue to channel my mana
into it to keep him from destroying it or the black dagger.
 An attack throws my body to the side, and I sacrifice a bit of my mana
to shoot a projectile boosted by kinetic energy at his head, which he dodges,
and I’m back to attacking him before he can charge Myrra.
“I need more mana!” the lynthari shouts.
As requested, I channel more of my mana into the anchor near the pillar.
I do not hesitate to weaken myself, and instead of using it against the ant, I
send it to the base.
The First One’s panicked attempts to stop it warm my heart. His
demeanor cracks. His movements are quick and desperate, and his attempts
to cancel my anchor or control the black dagger reach a peak.
And I’m here. I block his way. I take on his attacks. I sacrifice my mana
to destroy his plans even in exchange for more wounds on my body.
At some point, a laugh comes out of my mouth, as I break one of his
legs and kick him away from the pillar. Then even more of my mana flows
out of me, and the base shakes even more, a sure sign of Myrra’s work.
The First One attempts some sort of mental attack against me, but I
shrug it off with my Mantle and use some mana to stop it from reaching
Myrra. Unlike before, I feel happiness as I deplete my mana. Every drop I
send to the pillar means more pain caused to the black ant.
In the end, he stops moving and just stands there, staring at me.
Nearly all of my mana is gone, and Myrra finally changes the trajectory,
spending most of her mana as well.
“Ten minutes until impact. He won’t be able to change the trajectory
anymore. I locked it,” Myrra says.
Instead of answering her, I continue to smile and talk to the First One. “I
know what your plan is. You will wait for us to get close to the point of
impact and connect to the Colony to get their strength and maybe use it to
stop the crash.”
My mana is slowly regenerating, all in preparation for the final clash. I
don’t want to fight now; no, I want the First One to watch his plans get
demolished, his Colony to get destroyed. And only then will I finish him,
letting him know his place.
“Or you might be trying to get rid of the dagger again. Maybe you want
to kill Myrra and me once you get some power from the remaining ants.” I
take a step closer. “But you will fail.”
Oh, is that why some assholes like to monologue so much? I know that I
hated Elydor and Emeric when I heard their cocky monologues. Back then,
I was curious why they acted like that, why they talked that way.
Yet now, I’m doing the same.
It’s so silly, it makes me giggle once more, all my hate brought to the
surface just by looking at the enemy in front of me.
Minutes pass, and the base takes on more turbulence. Through the
window, I can see the planet growing closer, the clouds closing in, and the
fire caused by friction.
I form a small orb next to me and place an anchor on it. Myrra prepares
her attacks.
Then the First One receives the first wave of mana and strength from
the Colony, a few seconds before crashing. A majestic power surrounds his
pitch-black body, and the glow in his eyes changes. The black dagger
dissolves, as the leader of the Colony finally manages to dispel it. He
immediately removes the anchor I left on him.
He snaps his mandibles, and I pull Myrra down, avoiding the slash that
cuts through the air where we stood.
The entirety of the First One’s mana attempts to slow the movement of
the base; he tries to absorb it. He tries multiple skills at once, the pressure
destroying him even as he immediately regenerates his body in exchange
for the lives of the Colony.
And I disrupt his attempts.
My Mana Wavelength Iris activates, allowing me to quickly decipher
the frequency, and I disrupt all his attempts. The mana that the First One has
right now is too much for me to fight against, so I just find the trigger, the
important part of the skills, the threads that it can’t work without. And I
snap them without mercy.

[Resonance - Level 39 > Resonance - Level 40]

Congratulations, you have completed a side quest and received a skill
upgrade token!

Then it’s too late, the base too close to the ground. The ant’s eyes meet
mine, and for the first time, I can see the emotion in them despite their alien
nature. It’s hate.
Good.
My domain activates around as big an area as I can, and I absorb kinetic
energy around Myrra and me as we crash against the ground. Time feels as
if it’s slowed down, and I constantly look for something, while the walls
around us crumble and bend, an immense amount of energy around us.
Then I find it, a crack in the base, and finally, my domain passes
through, creating an anchor outside of it.
I grab Myrra and transport both of us outside, and right after, I launch
my orb as far as possible.
A second passes, the amount of energy and heat around us is immense
and putting a strain on me, and only then do I activate the anchor,
transporting us to the orb that has traveled quite far in the meantime. I
repeat it until I’m almost out of mana.
Myrra creates a barrier around us, and we wait and fight against the
shockwave and waves of heat as they pass over us. There is nowhere to hide
as the sand dunes surrounding us are thrown into the air as the ones closer
to the impact melt in place.

[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 15]

[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 80]
[You have defeated Sentinel Ant - Level 164]
[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 67]
[You have defeated Worker Ant - Level 88]
[You have defeated Flame Legion Ant - Level 115]
[Level 210 > Level 211]

I try to stand up from behind Myrra, but I stagger and fall to my knees,
my head throbbing and hurting like crazy, and my vision blurs; I can barely
see with one eye.
Standing up again, I push Myrra to the side and start walking toward the
impact site, my feet burrowing into the hot sand thrown aside in waves,
creating a deep crater of melted material, the heat palpable in the air.
In the center of that hole, a base lies, a building made of gray stone and
of a shape I can hardly describe right now, with all the broken pieces
everywhere. The base, by my estimates, used to be as big as a small
shopping mall.
Absorbing the heat around me, I step toward the edge of the giant crater
and start sliding down toward the center of the explosion. I roll a few times,
get burned twice, and I still barely see with one of my eyes, yet I reach the
base.
 A scan detects me, and the black ant crawls from inside. Wounds all
over his carapace, unable to be healed anymore, all the remaining vitality of
the Colony used to keep him alive.
My mana encompasses the area, and I find only corpses of the ants.
Even the notifications have stopped. The explosion has set the subterranean
tunnels ablaze, causing the explosion that killed them.
The First One is the last one standing.
Surrounded by the debris of the orbital base, and heat strong enough to
melt the sand into glass, the ant takes a step toward me.
It’s a wobbly step; a few of his legs are broken.
I feel Myrra’s mana move, but I don’t stop her, and a barrage of Aurora
glass hits the ant from the side, cutting him in half, the back half remaining
behind in the sand.
Yet the ant doesn’t stop. He falls to the ground and starts using his
remaining functional leg to pull himself closer to me.
Slowly, second after second, he moves closer, sticking a leg in front,
burrowing it into the sand, and pulling, half of his body sliding on the
ground.
The entire time, I feel his attempts to connect to my mind. It’s not an
attack, only an attempt at communication. Either hateful words, maybe
begging, maybe something else entirely.
And I won’t let it connect, not even to give one last word to the leader
of the Calamity.
He finally reaches me, and his cracked mandibles snap around my shin,
trying to cut it. The First One bites over and over again, his weak attack
dealing no damage at all, not even piercing my skin.
Feelings roar inside me for a moment, and then there is a strange calm. I
stare at this being, strong enough to be considered capable of reaching the
rank of Champion, and kinetic energy flows through my right leg.
Then I stomp on his head.

[You have defeated Hive Confluence Sentinel - Level 264]

[Level 211 > Level 212]
[Level 212 > Level 213]
[Level 213 > Level 214]
Congratulations! You’ve successfully completed the fourth floor’s main
quest in the fifth round of the tutorial for Hell Difficulty. An entrance
 to the fifth floor has been created.

Next to me, the portal to the fifth floor opens.

I stomp again, the sand exploding under my feet and turning what
remains of the First One into mush. And again, sending more kinetic energy
through my leg, I stomp as hard as I can. Again and again, until my leg
hurts and even what energy I have been able to recover is gone.
I receive 1,000 shards and a skill upgrade token from completing side
quests, and then another side quest appears.

Side quest: Kill the Calamity

Reward: 4,000 shards
Attention, a milestone reached. Entry into Irreversible Narrative
Progression has been detected for group 4. In accordance, the
Community Interface with other groups will now be deactivated.

I open Beyond Community.

Sset - We’ve also completed our quest and the entrances have
appeared, but we will be staying.
Noname - Take care.
Sset - Yes.

After that, I close the Community.

Myrra slides into the crater, moving slowly, tired and devoid of mana.
Even then, she looks at the remains of the black ant and burns them to ash.
“You keep looking there.” She turns toward the entrance to the fifth
floor. “Judging from how you move your eyes, it’s about my height and a
few times wider. But I can’t see or sense anything.”
Neither of us wants to talk about what just happened, so we shift the
conversation to something else.
“I will try to explain it later,” I say, and Myrra nods. “How about we
rest for a while and examine what remains of the base?”
Myrra follows my gaze, curiosity also showing on her tired face. “Let’s
do that.”
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 54
NEITHER WRONG NOR
RIGHT

I
n the end, we rested for over two days, one of us sleeping while the other
took watch. After those two days, I feel much better. I even sacrifice
some shards to buy food and water, which I share with Myrra. When she
starts asking too many questions about where it comes from, the system
interferes, and from then on, she acts like it’s normal.
Such a display of control by the system over natives is disturbing, but
knowing there’s nothing I can do, I try to ignore it.
I look toward the small crater where the First One died. I don’t know
what I expected, but I feel empty.
It’s not like I can say revenge isn’t worth it. Not at all. That bitch had to
go down. It’s just that the joy I felt for killing him is slowly diminishing,
and I know in a few days he will become just a memory. An enemy dealt
with, a step on my way toward wherever this all leads me. Just a fake, the
only proof of his existence, the empty hole left by Hadwin.
While Myrra sleeps, I sell the skill upgrade token after examining all the
options for upgrading my skills. I make sure to remember the most useful
ones as it helps me understand my skills and what should be possible. Even
then, I follow the plan I made long ago and decide not to upgrade any of my
skills.

Do you really want to sell the following item for 5,000 shards?
Skill upgrade token
Yes/No
 I confirm, and my shards increase. Thinking back on the skill upgrade
token I sold last time, I only got 2,500 shards, and this time, I received
5,000, meaning there is most likely a rarity to skill upgrade tokens as well.
After trying for a while, I confirm that I can’t claim my rewards for
clearing this floor’s main quest, I will likely need to enter the fifth floor to
receive them.

Floor quest:
Destroy one of the four Calamities
Rewards:
Epic Passive skill
Skill upgrade token
2,000 Shards
60 stat points
Access to other Communities

More shards, access to other Communities, and mainly an epic passive

skill. Then there’s the matter of the 9,000 shards I already have. I could buy
another passive if I wanted to, or I could wait for the fifth floor or maybe
wait for the rest of group 4 to deal with another Calamity.
They received a confirmation for clearing this quest even though they
weren’t here, likely indicating that floor rewards will be received by the
whole party even if only a single member clears the quest. And knowing the
system, all such rewards will only be distributed once we reach the next
floor.
So yeah, let’s wait and buy ourselves a juicy epic passive. Thinking
about it, I may receive two epic passives on the fifth floor, so that’s really
something.
My increased level is now over 200, a new trait, my plans for improving
the Kinetic Mana Heart, another round of active tempering, and enchanting
experiments with black mana. There is so much to do, as always, but I like
it. Things like this are good at taking my mind off useless stuff.
“Thinking again?” Myrra stretches, her tail twitching as she does so.
We are currently in the massive crater the crash made. We’ve set up a
tarp over the area, creating a nice shady patch in the middle of this desert.
I already ditched my warmer clothes for a more comfortable set, and at
times, I even absorb heat from my skin and release it to cool off. At some
point, I even split my mind, with [Focus] using a portion to keep it running
constantly. There are no enemies, no monsters, nothing, so I can handle the
mana expenditure quite easily.
We’ve found ourselves at the edge of the desert where the fallen hero
wanders, from what Myrra has told me.
“You are doing it again,” the tall lynthari complains.
“And what will you do about it?” I shoot back.
Myrra blinks a few times. “You used to be so cute back when I first met
you. So careful and shy.” She shakes her head.
“That was long ago.” I get up on my feet. “Ready to examine the base?”
She answers in the affirmative and quickly stands up. Being a lynthari,
she gets bored quite easily, especially without anything interesting
happening.
“Looking at the materials, I suspect that the orbital base, parts of
Virelia, and many of the tunnels the Colony took over were made by a
lynthari Champion or their Absolute.” Her hand slides across the surface of
the base as we enter through the ruined section.
The material is extremely durable, and it took falling about a hundred
miles from orbit and crashing into the earth to even damage it.
“Someone probably had a skill related to creating and manipulating
stone. Look at it; it’s all made from the same material,” I offer as Myrra
lights up our surroundings. “Or they could convert normal materials.”
The base is tilted, and some of the tunnels have collapsed as we delve
deeper inside, looking for traps that could have been left behind by the
previous owners and the First One.
At least it’s cooler here than it was outside, so we take it slowly,
examining the rooms and tunnels, looking for anything useful. But like the
orbital base, it’s empty, the rooms cleared of nearly everything. There are
no mana stones bearing messages and no personal belongings. Just long
tunnels and empty rooms.
The only worthwhile parts about it are the inscriptions I get to examine,
marking some down onto cheaper mana stones. Myrra finds another pillar,
which she activates, making use of her lynthari heritage, and starts
searching for anything useful.
What she does find are mere tidbits of information, most of the useful
data has been cleared, either by the previous owner before leaving the base
or the system, and we learn next to nothing from it.
 Myrra can somewhat control the base, but to make it run as before
would require skills neither of us possesses to repair it.
The most useful thing we get from all of this is a map of arrays. The old
ones from the war, which have mostly been destroyed, and the newer ones
the base’s scan found when Myrra was looking for remains of the Colony.
We give it a few more days in hopes of finding anything useful, but in
the end, we give up and head toward the closest array.
I have a strong suspicion that Myrra has figured something out, but she
is trying to hide it, and her behavior is off.
For now, I decide to let it be and observe a bit longer.
And so we travel through the dunes, either running or flying when we
get bored. We are surrounded by a never-ending field of golden dunes that
look exotic and nice at first, but the repetitive view becomes stale after a
few days. The weather is too hot for my liking as well, but Myrra seems to
be enjoying it. Her ears twitch and her tail sways as she seems to absorb the
heat with an expression of joy.
“I won’t return to Virelia,” she says to me as we stop for a short break.
The sun shines on her as she clamps her eyes shut. Her white hair shines
especially bright.
“Please don’t ask. I have my reasons, and I will tell you sooner or later.
Is that okay with you?” The determination in her voice is clear.
I see no problem in agreeing and respond, “Sure.”
She opens her eyes and looks at me, same as I’ve been watching her,
and a subtle smile graces her lips.
The two of us really are alike in many ways, aren’t we? It’s kind of nice
because it prevents conflict. Kind of. But it’s also annoying because she
seems to understand what I’m thinking, and I’m not used to that.

We reach the array and spend some time digging it out from under tons of
sand. Then I have to spend more time fixing it. All while the white-haired
lynthari sunbathes nearby with her eyes constantly on me.
“Freeloader,” I snap at her.
“I’ve heard worse,” she answers, unbothered, and turns her face toward
the sun.
 While pushing my mana into the array and checking it for any leaks, I
open the Community. Beyond Community is still working, even though the
system turned off the others.

Gareth - I’m sorry to hear that, Sset! I hope it will get better for you
guys. As for your question, Maximilian and Jakub can still access
the Hell Community, as well as other groups, so it’s most likely only
you.
Savant - You guys probably killed the Calamity, right? That’s why
your Community got blocked. And us being able to talk means that
you decided to stay and haven’t entered the fifth floor yet.
Gareth - Oh, you are smart as always, Savant!
Sset - Yes, we did. I see no reason to keep it a secret.
Gareth - Our group hasn’t even started yet! We are still in Virelia,
and everyone seems to be having fun with the guild and enjoying
some rest. Meanwhile, we’ve done some information gathering and
been trying to get to know some of the lynthari and guild masters.
Sset - Gareth, do more of you plan to enter Beyond?
Gareth - A few wanted to, but I convinced them to change their
mind. Most of us have already used upgrade tokens too.
Savant - So nice of you. It’s easier to control your group if you are
the strongest, right?
Gareth - Yes.
Savant - How unexpected of you to admit it so easily.
Gareth - I’m their leader, so it’s my responsibility to choose the way.
Risking their life in Beyond is not something they need to do. Just me
going through it is fine, my friend.
Sset - What if they want to?
Gareth - If they decide to do so, I will help and will work hard to
prepare them. That much is expected of me, of course. But they trust
my decision.
Savant - Disgusting.
Sset - They might end up being too reliant on you.
Gareth - Sset, from the way you talk, I can tell that you are still very
young, so allow me to explain. It’s not bad that they rely on me. It’s
not wrong to look for someone to lean on in these situations. It’s
even to be expected.
 With interest, I watch the conversation, forgetting about my mana
flowing through the array.

Gareth - I have decided to take on this responsibility and be that

person for them. I will protect them as much as I can, and we will
cooperate so all of us can improve, together. So that we not only
survive but get through this with people we can rely on.
Noname - What if they die? What will you do then?
Gareth - First, I’m sorry for your loss, Noname. I heard a lot of
good things about Hadwin from Jakub. I’m sure he will be missed by
a lot of people. And to answer your question, we would grieve and
prevent it from happening again. Death is something to be expected
under these conditions, but not something we take lightly.
Noname - What if you die?
Gareth - I am really strong. I won’t die and will do my best to not let
any of them die under my watch, and I will make sure they are
prepared for the case I’m not around.
Noname - You are wrong.
Gareth - I’m neither wrong nor right, my friend. The same goes for
you.

I look away from the window, thinking about what Gareth said. There
are some things I like about it and some I really don’t.
But in the end, he still feels suspect to me, and I’m more inclined to
Savant’s opinion that Gareth just wants to be strong enough to control his
group, and this is just a mask.
As I’m about to close the window, I notice one more message.

Sset - Grumpy entered Beyond’s first trial.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 55
REVISITING

“I will“Sure,
need a bit more time for this,” I tell Myrra.
I will keep watch,” she answers and continues to sunbathe
without any shame.
Immediately, I open the Community again and wait.
During the time I spent helping her before the fight against the
Calamity, Lily improved a lot, and I don’t believe she entered Beyond
unprepared. The problem is that the trials are customized to the person
taking them, testing their weaknesses and forcing them to improve their
skills, so there is a limit to how much you can prepare.
I examine my feelings; there is a hint of worry and satisfaction. Lily
could have entered Beyond any time after I left, and her doing it now means
that it wasn’t an emotionally motivated decision. She probably thought
about it on her own and decided that she was ready, without so much as
letting Tess know. I know how Tess would react.
It’s what I wanted, and that’s where Gareth and I disagree. Savant and I
seem to think alike, and Gareth is nearly the opposite of our opinion, while
Tess is somewhere in the middle.
Noname - How has she been the past few days?
Sset - Mostly fine. After Hadwin died, she threw the bow away and
decided to fight close range.
Oh, I think I can see why she made that decision. Lately, she’s played
the role of a ranged combatant/healer. Seeing others get hurt probably
forced her hand, and so she’s decided to fight on the frontlines using
[Disintegration] at close range and relying on [Reconstruction] to keep
her alive.
I can understand that, considering what happened last time.
 Sset - She should be fine.
And so, we wait, constantly checking the timer, counting down the hour,
and keeping an eye on the number of people in Hell Difficulty.

Easy Difficulty 1340/2000

Normal Difficulty 870/1000
Hard Difficulty 259/500
Hell Difficulty 44/250
Beyond 5/10

I find it hard to focus on anything else, so instead of working on the

array, I just toggle in between the timer and member count. It’s silly,
honestly, as if it would even help. As the time grows closer, my eyes stay
glued to the counter.
Ten seconds.
Five seconds.
One second.

Beyond 5/10 > Beyond 6/10

Gareth - Group 4 is a bit crazy if I have to say so myself.

Grumpy - Hello.
Gareth - Welcome, Grumpy! Good job!
Sset - I’m glad you’re okay. Where are you at the moment?
Grumpy - Nearby, I will come to you. Is he here?
Noname - Hey, good job with the first trial.
Grumpy - …
Grumpy - When are you coming back?
Noname - When you guys deal with the Calamity. Sset can tell you
more.
Grumpy - You promised you’d owe me after we saved Soph and the
twins. So you better keep your word.
Noname - Yes.

After that, we exchange a few more words, and when we reach the time
limit, the Community turns off.
 Lily seems to be anxious and unhappy, but it’s not an easy thing to
solve. She’s just that kind of person, and she is the only one that can deal
with it. I, on the other hand, have decided to be selfish and stop worrying so
much about others. Yes, I have decided to stay with the group after the start
of the fourth floor, but not to this point. I’m not like Gareth and never will
be.
I quickly fix the array and turn to Myrra. “Ready.”
Unlike before, when we used charged mana stones and items to activate
it, I’m fully capable of operating it on my own without any items. There is
almost no need for mana stones, as there are only two of us, and I will be
able to handle the expenditure with my own mana.
“I thought you were losing your touch, Feral One. It took you quite a
long time.”
“You know, I’ve slowly lost all the respect I ever had for lynthari.” I
won’t let her bully me.
She nods seriously. “That’s what often happens when you get strong.
You’ve just reached a level of strength above our own, so you’ve lost your
sense of mystique and reverence for us. It’s obvious that you would feel
differently now.” Myrra enters the array and stands next to me. “I’ve
changed a bit as well. Without the Matriarch and her personality affecting
us, all lynthari will change.”
I almost ask what she thinks is happening in the city now, but I change
my mind. Myrra must know something that’s making her reluctant to return,
and I’m sure I will find out before the floor ends.
What I find sad is that there might be a war coming, and Eris’ last words
come to me. The ancient lynthari loved her kin and humans alike. She
created a system that allowed them to coexist, however strange, and even
put her life on the line to protect the future of both races.
And with her sacrifice, she only hoped for two things: for humans not to
blame young lynthari who never participated in the war and for the two
races to get along. A simple, naïve wish coming from someone who fought
in the war of Champions and Absolutes.
I cut off this line of thought as I activate the array. After a lot of testing,
preparation, and a few minutes of charging, both Myrra and I disappear
from the desert.
The desert view is replaced by a rocky area with a forest to the right,
and far in the distance, I can see the towers of the Old Capital.
 “I see that we have a few scavengers here already.” Myrra’s canines
show as we detect the presences around us.
It’s probably the camps they set up while their members went through
the city.
“Want to bet that they started moving the second the First One ran from
Virelia?” I offer.
“I won’t bet with you on that. It would be too easy for you. I just
thought I ordered a blockade of all the arrays, but it looks like there are
some we didn’t know about.”
The end of the floor is approaching, so there is no need to hesitate or be
nice. Myrra also speaks of the scavengers with disdain, so I do not hesitate
to move toward one of the camps.
On the way, I purposely trigger one of the detection stones they’ve left
around the camp, and it sends a signal.
“Hey! You two! We know about you, so come out!” someone shouts and
even tries to pressure us with his mana.
Still using Mana Cycling to hide my mana, I do as I’m told as a curious
Myrra follows me.
“Fuck, another lynthari.” The man sighs when we get close to each
other.
Ten or so humans surround us.

[Elemental Mage - Level 141]

[Shadow Assassin - Level 128]
[Terra Guardian - Level 152]
[Storm Raider - Level 129]
…

All of them are close in level and show no visible signs of alliance to
any guild.
“I have to tell you that we have the support of high-ranking lynthari,
miss, so I will need to ask you to leave,” he says to Myrra. He talks
carefully, bluffing with a partial truth.
Well, we did expect a few lynthari to try this kind of thing.
“Oh my, Feral One, what are we going to do? Should we leave?”
Myrra’s eyes glow in the dim light, and her fluffy tail twitches a bit,
showing her playful mood and annoyance at being told off.
 Some things do not change so easily.
“Give me everything you retrieved from the Old Capital,” I say simply
to the people surrounding us.
At that moment, I stop focusing on cycling my mana and allow some of
it to leak. Before they can even say anything, the pressure of my mana hits
them, and no words come out of them. To show the difference between us, I
activate [Redistribution], holding them for a few seconds, barely allowing
them to breathe. Then a pulse of [Resonance] disrupts their skills.
I let go of them, and without much complaint, they rush into their camp,
bringing out everything they got from the city.
When they bring everything to me, it’s quite a lot. Some equipment,
some mana stones, and a few other items. Most of it isn’t that valuable.
I pick the most interesting ones while ignoring the looks they give me.
As we leave the camp to approach the next one, I sense a pulse of mana
shoot over me toward the camp I’m heading to and stop. The pulse was
clearly sent through an item, most likely as a warning.
A javelin forms over me, and I place an anchor on it before boosting it
toward the camp where I was heading.
Then I turn around and return to the camp we already looted.
“W-what? We already gave you everything you wanted!” their leader
shouts.
“Did you send a signal to the other camp?” I ask bluntly.
“What? We didn’t do…” Before he finishes, a blast of kinetic energy
sends him rolling through the camp, crashing against everything in his way.
I reduced the power by a lot, but even this was enough.
After taking a few steps, I stop in front of another guy. “Did you send
the signal?”
Immediately, he nods, none of them even attempting to fight.
“See, that wasn’t so difficult,” I say to calm him down, but it seems to
make him shake even more.
Pushing him to the side, I reach the tent where they keep most of the
items, and a small orb forms in my palm, compressing and quickly turning
golden, releasing immense heat even in this state.
“I would run away,” I warn them and throw the orb in between the
items.
Myrra reaches out to me, and I touch her, both of us disappearing and
appearing near the javelin I tied an anchor to. A second later, I see everyone
quickly rushing out of the camp, which soon after explodes into golden
flames that devour everything in their path with a roar.
“Quite ruthless,” Myrra says while looking at the humans that surround
us.
“I’m not in a very good mood,” I answer her, and more of my mana
radiates from my body, pressuring the men and women standing against us.
They shout warnings among themselves, preparing for a fight, but I do
not stop there. Like a tsunami, waves of mana radiate from me in the center,
putting pressure on them, showing them my level. The amount of mana
hints at a much higher level than I currently possess; people are rarely dumb
enough to invest in the mana stat so heavily.
The expressions on the faces around me change. From determination
and anger to shock and fear. They drop their weapons, deactivate their
skills, and step back, sweat on their brows, hands shaking.
They are the kind of people who recognize strength and know what to
do in such cases. Members of guilds that do not hesitate to kill people to
gain an advantage.
So I do not stop there and reach into my reservoir, more mana radiating
from me, making my presence felt for miles away.
Slowly, one after another, they drop to their knees, unable to even look
into my eyes.
Only then do I stop, and my mana disappears in a moment, pulling the
aura I radiated back into my body.
“Bring me everything you got from the Old Capital,” I demand.

After looting a few more camps, my bags start getting full, so I get a few
guys to carry them for me. So far, there are some metals they got from
smithies, upper rare items with interesting effects, and plenty of mana
stones, some of which have inscriptions I haven’t seen so far.
There are also pieces of wood that are extremely durable and look new
even after hundreds of years. Some mana batteries too.
I pick only the best things and ignore the rest. Most of the guys we visit
don’t even try to fight with us and just immediately surrender their stuff.
 Myrra, bored, talks to them a bit and learns that there are in fact two
lynthari in the city that she seems to know, Mohg and Gawyn, a duo that
she says is well known for their damage output. Apparently, they are
lynthari troublemakers and some of the young lynthari who like to play
around the most. It seems that without the influence of the Matriarch,
they’ve become even worse.
Mohg and Gawyn organized a group of humans from a few of the
midsized guilds with plans to find interesting items in the city.
What pisses Myrra off the most is that they came here even before the
fight against the Colony started, leaving the other lynthari to deal with it. In
the end, she just sighs and says cryptically that it doesn’t matter.
We leave all of our things near one of the arrays, and I position a few
mana orbs nearby; some of them should last a day at least. There is no
anchor on them or any effect, and I don’t even explain it to the men
carrying the stuff we looted. Their imagination will surely come up with
more terrifying ideas than any lie I could come up with. We leave them
without saying a word, seemingly without a care for our things, and that
seems to scare them, so they quickly leave.
So after raiding all the camps, we head into the city, where the largest
group should be, over a week into the search.
And here, we find the corpses of two dozen humans, thrown around the
streets, smashed against the floor, bloody splats on the ground. Men with
holes in their chests, a woman’s body without a head.
Blood is everywhere, a massacre committed with the pure power of
physical stats as confirmed by checking the remains with my eyes; there is
no mana around.
“Looks like your lynthari duo did have some fun,” I say to Myrra.
She doesn’t answer, and with a frown on her face, we follow the trail of
blood and massacre, finding a dozen more corpses. Severed limbs are
everywhere, and organs are splattered on the walls.
We reach one of the towers near the center of the city and find two more
corpses. Lynthari with their chests caved in, one of them has had their head
pulled off and the other is missing an arm.
Both of the lynthari are very dead.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 56
CHILD OF THIS PLANET

T
he area where the fight happened is destroyed, the walls have been
crushed, and the road is full of deep craters from the duo’s attacks. For
the first time, I detect the attacker’s mana in the air. And I recognize
the signature almost immediately.
Oh my, isn’t this interesting?
After looking over the corpses of these lynthari she’s probably known
for over a hundred years, Myrra follows me, and both of us enter the tower.
This is the biggest tower I’ve entered so far, and yet it stood in the
shadow of the Living Tree, dwarfed by it. But on its own, this building is
impressive, and the fact that it still looks so good after so much time tells a
lot about the way it was built.
The hallway is massive as well, with polished stone floors, covered in a
light coat of debris, dust, and fresh blood, accompanied by a few more
corpses.
Under my feet, broken glass and the remains of old furniture crunch and
clatter echoing across the room, but I don’t mind it that much, and Myrra
seems to agree. Currently, the lynthari’s face bears a strange expression,
somewhere between anger, sadness, and something I can’t identify.
At the end of the trail, we find Isola sitting on the last remaining piece
of furniture. The pale, black-haired guild master of Obsidian Circle greets
us with a smile, waving at us with a hand covered in blood.
“Feral angry kitten and invader Myrra, it’s nice to see you!” she greets
us.
“Who is here with you?” I ask curiously instead of returning her
greeting.
 The other person I sense in the tower is somewhere far above us and
using something that makes it difficult to identify their signature, no matter
how hard I try.
“It’s probably a secret, but who cares?” Isola jumps to her feet, the old
armchair behind her cracking. “It’s Thalen,” she says.
Isola sends a pulse of mana shoots toward the signature I’ve carefully
detected. Most likely a warning or a call for help.
Without much trouble, I reach out and disrupt it before it even reaches
the ceiling.
“That’s rude, Nathaniel.” I note that she calls me by name. “You know I
won’t have a chance against you and Miss Invader without Thalen’s help.”
“Isn’t that your problem?” I reply.
“I guess.” Isola shakes her head, and after looking at Myrra, she looks
back at me. “Are you with the invaders now?”
“I’m on my own side. What you and the lynthari do is not my problem.”
The pale woman laughs. “You talk as if you’re not even one of us.” As
she speaks, the tattoos on her forearms increase in size, spreading all over
her body, changing their shape and effects, adapting to her fighting style.
And I let her, carefully observing what she does.
“But you always did that, didn’t you?” Isola stretches her body lazily.
Muscles under her skin move, showing the strength of her body.

[Stoneheart - Level 228]

“What are you and Thalen doing here?” Myrra asks for the first time.
Isola answers without hesitation. “Thalen had a spy among the
scavengers that went to the Old Capital, and they located a few really
interesting items, so we came to get them. You know, mostly the kind of
thing that only works against lynthari. Poison against you guys, paralyzing
enchantments. Stuff our ancestors were using during the war.”
“So it’s gotten that far?” Myrra asks in a somber tone.
“Yes, the Colony’s attack didn’t help, and between you and the
Matriarch being gone, things went to…well, to shit. You will have to tell me
why you decided not to come back, Miss Invader Myrra. Still, I don’t think
you being there would change things much.”
“Obelia’s work?” When I ask, Isola turns to me.
 “Mostly Thalen’s. I work with him, and Obelia helps us. Both of us owe
Thalen a lot, stuff like prolonging the lives of people we care about, saving
our lives, and restoring missing limbs. Over the years, things like that tend
to accumulate.”
And here we go again.
“Doesn’t Virelia have other healers?” I ask, even though I suspect the
answer.
Myrra answers me instead of Isola. “Only a few lynthari, and they
rarely heal humans. As for human healers, they tend to disappear.”
“Thalen can be quite persistent if he wants something. Feral angry
kitten, did you know that he also asked Obelia to bring him your little
healer?” A cruel smile climbs on Isola’s lips. “He only did it after you left,
of course. He thought that it would be easy for Obelia. She was able to gain
your trust, after all. She’s good at reading people, so it wasn’t supposed to
be that difficult for her.”
Isola tries to send another signal to Thalen, but I disrupt it again, this
time more aggressively. At that, she furrows her brow and smiles at me.
She takes a step away from us. “Tess was somewhere else, and even
your other guild members were busy, so it was the perfect opportunity. Yet
Obelia returned with her entire arm and leg missing, barely escaping with
her life. Even Thalen was unable to restore her destroyed limbs. What is
with that black-haired healer of yours?”
An anchor I placed behind Isola explodes with kinetic energy and
pushes her toward us. Her barriers prevent her from being wounded, but it
does shorten the distance as a dagger made of blue, resonating mana cuts
into her neck.
Isola ducks under my swing and shouts loudly, the floor under our feet
vibrating. The shout doesn’t reach Thalen, I will not allow it, so I use my
resonance to create a dome around us. Yet Isola still smiles, knowing that
the more skills we use, the higher the chance of Thalen detecting us.
Like snakes, glowing tattoos swirl all over her body, vibrant against her
pale skin, and at the same time, she moves at immense speed, using her
body to the fullest.
Isola takes on a blast of golden flames with a swing of her hand and
pushes through [Redistribution], but I boost my body with the entirety of
my mana for a split second, taking advantage of my epic passive to do so.
 I become faster than her, and my dagger severs her hand cleanly, the
resonating blade ignoring the incredible barriers she’s built up over her skin
and the sheer strength of her body.
The woman doesn’t even flinch, and in exchange for her hand, she kicks
at my chest as I surround it in armor infused with kinetic energy made with
[Regalia]. My body doesn’t move at all, and the armor absorbs her attack.
Jumping back, she flings her bloody stump at me, throwing blood at my
face, and jumps away from me, running toward the stairs.
There, Myrra stands, floating pieces of her Aurora glass surrounding
her.
“What a fucking situation.” Isola giggles. She boosts her body more,
tendons and muscles tearing as she dashes toward Myrra with a leap that
feels impossibly long.
Isola tanks multiple of Myrra’s attacks and dodges the strongest ones,
her talent showing as her body moves with a nimble accuracy and
incredible speed, each movement containing immense power.
The flooring cracks under Isola’s feet, her attacks destroy pieces of
Aurora glass, a swing of her fist disrupts flames, and her kicks break
Myrra’s ice. One of the tattoos on her body glows and disappears, in the
process restoring her hand and healing her body.
Meanwhile, Myrra fights calmly, with barely any emotion on her face,
each attack calculated and executed with perfect timing in a way that shows
her long years of experience with her skills.
Even with a lower level than Isola, I watch as Myrra destroys her,
calculating the pale-skinned woman’s attacks to the point it nearly seems
like she is playing with her as she teleports from one Aurora mirror to
another and stabs Isola with the shards of glass after finding the weak points
of her barrier.
And then, after a minute, Isola, unable to get through, her falls to her
knees, her tendons cut, terrible wounds all over her body with Myrra
standing in front of her. The tall lynthari looks majestic. She has a proud
gaze in her eyes and a relaxed stance while Aurora glass flickers around her
body, moving according to her will. Myrra isn’t even warmed up yet.
“So this is the Champion candidate I heard so much about.” Even now,
Isola’s expression is daring without any hint of fear.
“A fake Champion candidate,” someone says from the top of the
balcony overlooking the hallway.
 A presence I’ve felt moving closer the entire time stops hiding its
signature, and the older red-haired man reveals himself.
Thalen, guild master of Luminous Order, the only human healer in
Virelia.

[Pulsebinder - Level 234]

The warm mana that I know so well radiates from him, and the small
tattoo on Isola’s neck glows brighter. A mark left by the healer that works
not unlike the Crown of Lily that I used.
Isola immediately heals at a speed much faster than Lily can pull off.
“I don’t think there is a reason for us to fight,” the man says. His voice
is calm and confident, and I notice him holding an orb that he seems to be
operating with his mana.
“Little Thalen, who do you even think you are? I’ve known you ever
since you were a brat, barely reaching my waist, and now you take such a
tone with me?” Myrra’s canines show and her cat-like ears stand up, her
swinging tail showing her annoyance.
“Miss Myrra, I have nothing but respect for you and do not wish for us
to fight.”
“Interesting to hear from the one who went looking for weapons to use
against lynthari.” Myrra’s canines extend even more.
Thalen looks at Isola, who just smiles playfully, and then he sighs,
turning his attention to Myrra again. “It’s not something I want to use. The
weapon will only be there to make sure the lynthari are willing to have a
conversation with us. I promise not to use it as long as you don’t threaten
us.”
Sounds quite reasonable, doesn’t it? Curious, I observe the white-haired
lynthari.
“Thalen, dear little Thalen, I always hated you for spewing such bullshit
with a straight face.” Taking a step toward Isola, Myrra continues to stare at
the red-haired man.
“It’s all for us humans, Miss Myrra. I think it’s reasonable to strive to be
free of you, especially after we found out that our world was invaded by
you.” A circle of mana appears behind him, its diameter half the length of
his body.
 That circle starts glowing, and Thalen floats over the railing and into the
air over Myrra. Mana radiates from the man, his pure white clothes
contrasting with his stark red hair.
He spreads his arms. “You don’t even seem to be interested in the title
of lynthari matriarch, so I ask you—no, I beg you—allow us humans to
decide on our own. Allow us to decide whether we can live with lynthari or
if we just can’t bear it anymore.” His face takes on a sad expression.
Thalen then turns to me. “And for you, guild master of Angry Kittens,
Nathaniel Gwyn, I ask you to stand on the side of your race, as you are also
a child of this planet.”
Even though he tries so hard, I notice his tone change slightly, almost
imperceptibly, as he says the name of our guild. A hint of contempt, as if
even saying such words out loud is beneath him.
“Yeah, no,” I respond.
“May I ask you why?”
“I don’t like the name of your guild. What is it even, Luminous
Disorder?”
“It’s Luminous Order, Guild master Gwyn.”
“Looming Disorder?”
“Luminous Order.”
“Oh, Ruminous Border.”
“…Guild master Gwyn, did I get on your bad side somehow?”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 57
I WON’T DO IT AGAIN

“A bit.
Sending Obelia after one of my guild members is a bit rude,
don’t you agree?” I ask the man.
Still floating there with the golden circle behind him, Thalen
looks down at Isola, shakes his head, and turns back to me. “There was a
misunderstanding.”
“Sure.”
“My intention—” he starts, but I interrupt him.
“I’m not interested in talking with a fake.” The moment I say that, his
expression changes. A look of sheer surprise overtakes his face, much to my
amusement.
How funny. Did he really think no one would notice?
“You’re just trying to spew more bullshit. Isola pretends to be dumb
while spewing out your secrets, maybe in hopes we will kill you,” I say.
They exchange glances, and Isola just smiles, mostly confirming what I
said.
“Feral angry kitten, we did have some fun together, right? We trained a
lot, and I don’t think we’re so different, so what do you say? Won’t you join
me?” Isola asks me.
“Sorry, I don’t trust you, and I think Myrra wants to kill you.” After
answering, I turn to Myrra, who seems to be as amused as she is angry, her
feelings betrayed by her tail.
“Is that so?” Isola sighs. “I guess my only option is to fight alongside
Thalen. What do you say, old man? Without me, you won’t be able to get
the items out of here. We can talk things out a bit later.”
More mana radiates from the red-haired man, and he nods. “You can go
all-out. I will take care of the aftermath. We will⁠—”
 He doesn’t even finish his sentence when the anchor I’ve been stealthily
setting up next to him explodes, finally allowing him to sense its placement,
too late for him to cancel it out. I didn’t try to set it closer because he would
surely have felt it, but in exchange, I send much more energy through it.
The explosion throws him against the wall; in the aftermath, the left side of
his body is missing and bleeding.
At the same time, Myrra attacks Isola again, Aurora glass surrounding
her and creating a dome around both of the women.
Before I can reach Thalen, he is already fully healed, and the golden
circle behind him reactivates, spinning wildly.
Armor forms around my body and covers it fully, and I face down an
attack that reminds me of [Oscillation], generated from the golden circle
behind the man.
Thalen disrupts even the small anchors I place near him, not falling for
the same trick twice, not realizing that I’ve made them easily noticeable. He
then lets my flames hit him. Yellow flames turn golden, burning and
charring his extremely durable body, which even then regenerates at an
immense speed. I’ve been doing that for a while by the time I notice the
effect of the flames weakening.
No, it’s not like they are getting weaker. It’s more like he is getting
more resistant to them.
Some sort of adaptive resistance? Probably a trait or passive.
I cut off the flames, and my javelins pierce his body through and
through, but before I can expand them and tear him apart, he uses his
[Oscillation]-like skill to destroy them.
So interesting.
We continue launching attacks against each other, and I keep testing
him, limiting my output slightly to see more of his skills, while using
[Perception] at the same time to observe the fight between Myrra and Isola.
“You are really strong, one of the strongest humans I ever fought
against,” Thalen says after I throw a small, tricolored orb against him.
With his tough body, he takes some of the damage and avoids the rest
while healing his wounds. He’s doing it the entire time, getting hit by my
skills partially to gain resistance against them while waiting. He’s not
attacking much, most likely the type that builds up resistance, prepares a
plan, and then ends the fight in one fell swoop.
I, on the other hand, ignore his words and continue to limit my output.
 Still, I’m getting a bit annoyed by the way he talks, so I reach out to him
with my domain, and I use [Resonance] to disrupt his skills in the middle
of him, restoring the leg I cut off.
While he quickly focuses on regaining control over his skills, I place an
anchor that he is too late to disrupt and teleport next to him.
The feeling of my fist hitting his face is satisfying, and he crashes
against the wall, then falters in the air before he starts floating again. His
broken neck returns to its original position, and the wounds on his face heal
to a perfect state. He does that while he keeps healing Isola through their
bond and through the tattoo on Isola’s neck, so she can stand against Myrra.
I hear cracking, and through [Perception], I observe as Myrra is sent
flying and crashes against multiple walls, breaking through each of them.
Isola immediately charges at me, her body moving nimbly like a wild
animal and with a speed I have yet to see. She jumps in the air and reaches
me in a split second, her fist hitting my cuirass as I use [Infusion] to
channel kinetic energy through it. The surface of the armor ripples, and it
absorbs all the energy of her attack.
Isola pushes against the air with her feet, a short burst of mana or a skill
allowing her to push against the air. She continues to strike at me, dozens of
attacks in a moment barely longer than a blink.
And I absorb all of them, even though I can barely see them.
For a moment, I even activate my trait, watching the way she moves
mana through her tattoos and the way she keeps up barriers over her skin,
and I make sure to remember the flow of mana.
Before my head starts hurting from all the information that I’m still
unable to filter out, I cancel the trait and release all the kinetic energy I
collected from Isola. The explosion throws her away and pushes me toward
Thalen.
Blood spurts from the pale woman, and her broken body crashes against
the floor, immediately getting restored. In the meantime, I reach Thalen,
disrupting his attack and grabbing his arm. Before he can do anything, I try
to disrupt mana inside his body, but he counters that while a constant stream
of [Oscillation] attacks start tearing my armor apart, no matter how much I
strengthen it.
Like a lizard dropping its tail, Thalen cuts off his arm, only to
immediately restore it after putting some distance in between us.
 He decides to use the orb he found in the tower, the weapon against
lynthari.
Well, he tries to.
I activate an anchor I left on his body and teleport behind him. Mana
flows through my body, strengthening it, and I tear off both of his arms,
taking the orb from them.

[Tether - Level 26 > Tether - Level 27]

I dodge Isola charging at me, and Myrra also quickly passes by,
surrounded by armor made of Aurora glass as she faces Isola again.
Thalen restores his arms again and turns to face me, and I activate
another anchor I left on him, this time exploding the right side of his body.
Fear appears in the redheaded man’s eyes while he regenerates his body.
“Try to guess how many more anchors I left on you,” I say, taunting
him.
I am getting better at masking them. I happened to notice that as an
option among the available upgrades for the skill. My new trait helps a lot,
that and the fact that this isn’t his real body and he seems to be lacking in
places.
Flying higher, I dodge Myrra as she’s thrown by Isola, and when the
black-haired woman reaches me, I blast her away with a surge of kinetic
energy, barely doing any damage but getting rid of her for a while.
In the meantime, Thalen uses his skill to cut off most of his body. Only
his chest, neck, and head remain untouched, floating in the air with a
seraphic golden circle behind him. The blood and pieces of flesh and
severed limbs drip from the man toward the ground. Then his heart sends
more mana through his body, and the missing parts are restored, replaced by
new ones.
“I knew you were strong, and I knew you had faced the Calamity on
your own. However, I have not taken you seriously and didn’t show you the
respect you deserve,” he says and bows curtly. Then the amount of mana he
is releasing doubles, and the circle behind his back expands as parts
resembling wings form at the sides.
The look in his eyes changes. “I won’t do that aga⁠—”
His head explodes.
 For a second longer, his headless body floats there before the golden
circle and wings behind his back flicker and disappear.

[Infusion - Level 19 > Infusion - Level 20]

“I left three anchors on you when I touched you,” I say to the now-dead
body.
I deactivate the trait I’ve been using as I placed the anchors. There is no
notification, obviously, as the body we fought wasn’t the main one, either
an avatar, a copy, or something else.
Seeing that, Isola immediately tries to flee, boosting her body to the
maximum and rushing toward the door we used to enter the tower.
I wait for a moment, and just before she gets out, I activate the anchor I
left there before we even entered the tower. I teleport in front of her. Unable
to stop her inertia, Isola crashes against my body, and before she recovers
from the shock of impact, I coat my hand in [Resonance] and cut off one of
her legs. Then I blast her toward Myrra, who follows close behind,
teleporting through pieces of multicolored glass.
Instead of landing on her back, Isola twists in the air, a barrier over her
skin expanding and surrounding her with a sphere that absorbs Myrra’s
attack. The spherical barrier then shrinks back to her skin, and part of it
elongates to give her a prosthetic limb in place of her missing leg.
She pushes against the floor and avoids another attack from Myrra. She
then charges to my side. I track her movement, and in doing so, our eyes
meet. In the end, she notices and strengthens the barrier in front of her,
creating multiple layers. The anchor I placed there explodes, sending her
crashing against a nearby wall, destroying it and sending dust and debris
into the air.

[Tether - Level 27 > Tether - Level 28]

I deactivate my trait, and this time, my head hurts a lot and my sight
blurs. I send thermal energy through my body, activating my passive in an
attempt to alleviate some of the aftereffects.
“Fuck,” Isola groans from the ground. She doesn’t move and just lies
there, most of her tattoos losing their glow and her barriers weaker than
before.
“She is faking,” I tell Myrra.
“Feral One, who do you think I am?”
Isola, still lying on the ground, giggles and tilts her head, looking at me.
“I always hated you, creepy-eyed fuck.”
Mana explodes from her body, barriers absorbed into her skin, and for a
short moment, she moves like the wind, chaotic and hard to grasp. She
dodges Myrra’s attacks and tries to flee once more, only to be blocked by
Aurora glass. Then she moves even faster.
Isola’s tendons and muscles are tearing from the strain, each of her
attacks sending Myrra backward and damaging even the epic armor the
lynthari is wearing. In the last attempt, she lets Myrra stab her with a
weapon made of Aurora glass that passes through Isola’s chest entirely. In
exchange, Isola bites down into the lynthari’s neck and giggles like a
demon. She tries to bite again after tearing a chunk of flesh from it.
But she doesn’t have the opportunity and freezes in the middle of the
attack, as the bottom half of her body separates. However, she still tries to
attack, to scratch, to grasp, her weak attempts blocked by Myrra. Gradually,
she slows down, and the light starts disappearing from her eyes.

[You have defeated Stoneheart - Level 228]

Myrra lets go of her body, and it falls to the ground, the dead woman’s
head bouncing off the floor. The emotions on Myrra’s face are hard to read,
but I ignore it and come closer, searching through the pockets of Isola’s
clothes. Maybe she had a nice item or two.
While doing so, I also examine the tattoos on her skin, making sure I
remember them all.
I spend a minute on it, but I don’t find anything; the only things I can
consider an item are her intricate tattoos. Isola always liked to rely on her
body alone.
“Feral One…” I hear from over me and look up at Myrra, who
continues, “Do you really feel nothing? You knew her, you two did spar a
lot, and yet here you are, searching through her pockets, while her body’s
still warm.”
I stand up and dust my clothes a bit. I look over Myrra, who still holds a
hand on her bleeding neck. The wound nearly healed already, either thanks
to a skill or some items or maybe a hidden tattoo she possesses.
After thinking it over, I answer Myrra. “She tried to kill me, didn’t she?
She also allied herself with someone who attacked my group. I mean, she
wasn’t that bad, and we did have some nice duels, but I’m not strong
enough to just let her live without worrying about it biting me or others in
the back.”
“So you would leave her alive if you were much stronger?”
“Probably? I mean, if she didn’t threaten my group and had only
attacked me, I probably would. If I was much stronger, I would consider it
cute rather than threatening.”
Myrra opens her mouth to ask something else, but I interrupt her. “You
keep telling me that you know me so well, so why don’t you answer your
own questions?”
We start walking toward where Thalen’s corpse is.
“You only care about your guild, and you wouldn’t hesitate if you had
to kill anyone here. You might be sad afterward, but you would do it,”
Myrra says carefully back in the hallway of the tower.
To answer her question, I hand her the orb, the weapon against lynthari
that Thalen held. “You are mostly right, but I think I would hesitate to kill
you as well. As for Isola, I never trusted her.”
After saying that, I search Thalen’s body and don’t find anything
interesting.
I notice that Myrra wears a strange expression, and her tail is swaying
weirdly, but I decide to ignore it. Honestly? Myrra is often annoying, and
we fought multiple times, but most of the time, she is honest and not the
type to stab people in the back or treat them cruelly without a reason, and
that’s what I like about her.
Yes, it’s true what she said, and I only care about group 4 out of
everyone on this floor, because everyone else here is fake and will
disappear. Yes, I did treat some lynthari and humans well, like Cael, Obelia,
Eris, Myrra, and even Isola at times.
There is no reason for me to be cruel, to murder people for pleasure, or
to kill others for their goods. That’s a path I don’t want to walk. Sure, if it
comes to it, I won’t hesitate because there is a difference between being
cruel and being stupid and actively hurting myself. But I won’t do it if there
isn’t a reason to.
 That’s what I’ve decided for now, and I will continue to do so, changing
my ways only if I have no other option.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 58
WRATH

T
he combination of Mana Wavelength Iris and [Tether] is really strong,
but it’s taxing, and I can barely activate my new trait for a second or
two. Placing anchors that are harder to detect is nice, but I’m not sure
if they are well hidden or if Thalen was just the unobservant type. Or maybe
he didn’t care because it wasn’t his real body.
I will need more testing, and yes, there will be people quick enough to
run away the moment I send something through the anchor, or people
capable of disrupting or using them against me. But I will deal with that in
the future. So far, I’m really happy with my new trait and will be sure to
supplement my build with two nice epic passives after I enter the fifth floor.
[Perception] encompasses the room I’m in. The range of the skill is
smaller on purpose as I’m trying to fine-tune it and maybe find some hidden
stuff. Myrra and I split up, both of us going through the tower and searching
for any interesting items. So far, it looks like Thalen already found the best
one, and that’s in Myrra’s hands now.
The tower bears signs of time’s passage that are mostly cosmetic. Dust,
faded colors, worn-out carpets, furniture crumbling to dust, that kind of
thing. Otherwise, the building is still holding strong, and even though it’s
empty, I can still sense the circuits running through the walls. After
checking the last room I was interested in, I channel my mana through the
wall and observe where it leads, then walk in the opposite direction. I will
try to find the source, the place where mana enters the wall.
As I’m tracking it, I meet Myrra in the hallway.
“Two more anti-lynthari stones, three rare items, some mana stones, and
conductive metals.” She holds a bag in front of her; her search has clearly
been much more worthwhile.
 “I’m trying to find the source of the mana filling the walls and powering
the enchantments,” I explain.
“Oh, you mean the core.”
“Do you know anything about it?” I ask.
“A bit. It’s not the kind of thing I’m interested in. From what I know,
most important buildings and the homes of powerful or skilled people have
it. It can be as simple as a high-quality mana stone that the owner keeps and
replenishes with mana daily, and to power enchantments.” She smoothly
jumps over a piece of broken furniture blocking one of the doors.
She puts a finger to her lips, and after a moment of thinking, she
continues. “Some have mana stones so big that it’s impossible for one
person to fill, so multiple people do it. Then there’s also the option of
creating an array of mana batteries capable of keeping enchantments
running at full power for weeks or in restricted mode for months or years,
maybe even longer. It’s the kind of stuff I never caught an interest in. I
consider observing humans and lynthari to be more fascinating.” She smiles
shamelessly.
“These mana stones you speak of, are they as big as the ones we use as
currency?” I ask to confirm.
“Sometimes. Often, they are raw mana crystals too low quality to be
used like proper mana stones, or in cases where you don’t care about size
and just want them to hold as much mana as possible. But in the end, it still
comes down to the skill of the enchanter. A good one can create a blueprint,
weave a web of enchantments, and inscribe them in a way that will increase
efficiency by tens of percent in comparison to someone less skilled.”
Now that I think about it, I have a few mana stones with that kind of
information. Nothing too good, just the kind of stuff they would teach at
schools. Damn, from what I know, some of the inscriptions could be
trademarked here, and I wouldn’t be surprised. I think I will ask Tess to get
some and leave them somewhere I can retrieve them.
After channeling my mana through the wall, I notice that I’ve been
following fake circuits all this time. Actually, there are so many of them that
I didn’t notice until now.
Thinking about it, it makes sense. These fake circuits were probably
designed to prevent this kind of tracking, and there were probably more
anti-tracking inscriptions that are currently inactive due to the lack of mana.
 The way Myrra is smiling at me tells me that she knew and enjoyed
watching me walk into a dead end.
As if nothing happened, I send my mana through the walls again and
use my eyes for a split second before continuing.
“Is this your trait, Feral One? You didn’t answer me before, but when
you are using it, a golden ring appears around your iris. It’s pretty.”
I nod and change the subject. “You said the core is powering
enchantments. What are the most popular ones? I know there are some to
fight against detection skills, some are strengthening the building, and
others for isolation or maybe even heating.”
“One of the first are anti-detection, anti-teleportation, reactive barriers,
and insulation. There are a lot of them. For heating, to repel insects, to
absorb the shock of earthquakes. I even heard stories about enchantments
capable of making entire manors fly, enchantments that absorbed mana
from attacks to strengthen their barriers, enchantments that killed you if you
used specific skills or said specific words.”
I quite like what I’m hearing; it all sounds really versatile and like
something I will totally try to learn how to do. I also push my plan to steal
secrets on the matter higher on my priority list. For example, I can already
imagine building a manor for Biscuit and creating an enchantment that
would feed him deer jerky at pre-scheduled times. Or an enchantment that
would activate and attack anyone who uses an invisibility skill.
That’s nice indeed.
I don’t rush my search for the core, and we examine a few more rooms
in the process. Some of them are more interesting than others, but all of
them feel empty and lifeless without mana or people flowing through.
The silence is nearly eerie, made even worse when we pass by windows
and see the entire city like this; there is no movement, and it looks drained
of colors. Even the wind seems to avoid it and doesn’t pass through the
streets.
Breaking through a few walls, we finally reach the core, a pillar as tall
as me, made of a light purple mana crystal. It stands proudly in a simple
room, and the set of inscriptions around it is extremely delicate. After
examining it for a while, I channel my mana into it, but even that little
trickle seems to cause problems. The pillar has likely been programmed to
only accept mana from certain people to avoid manipulation.
All the possibilities fascinate me endlessly.
 [Resonance] activates, and I start changing the frequencies of my mana,
while [Mana Manipulation], [Infusion], [Mana Domain], and
[Perception] continue to run in the background to ease things along. All
these skills work together under the watch of my split [Focus].
It’s something I’ve just started learning to do, and the advantages are
just as obvious, as the disadvantages presented by my lack of proficiency
and the weakened effect of the skill.
Before I get fully into it, I send a message in the Community.
Noname - Sset, is everything okay with your master?
It takes a few minutes for Tess to answer; like me, she checks the
Community often, just for a second or two to see messages, in consideration
of the fifteen-minute limit we have.
Sset - She will be dealt with.
I see, she must be angry too, after learning that Obelia worked with
Thalen to kidnap or kill Lily. Tess isn’t one to hesitate in such a situation.

POV - Storm Brigade

Out of nowhere, a flash of light passes through the air, ignoring our
defenses, and I watch as my partner for this watch gets thrown against the
wall. The alarm rings in my head, and the core sends more mana into the
barrier, but the flashes continue.
By the third one, I finally realize what it is.
“It’s the third disciple, Tess!” I shout while activating an item that
ensures the message is heard by everyone else on duty tonight.
Ducking behind the wall, I quickly crawl toward my partner and find
him already dead. He shows no signs of life; a javelin is lodged in his neck.
My heart is racing, but I push myself back onto my feet, activating my
skill, which covers my body in stone armor, drawn from the ground. At the
same time, the javelin that impaled Roland disappears, pulled back toward
where it came from.
I track its movement, trying to identify the woman that even the guild
master called a rare genius.
 A few seconds pass, and only then do I realize how far out Tess is, a
distance none of us can hope to reach quickly. I can barely see the tower she
is standing on, let alone her figure.
Like a dart, something appears from the javelin’s destination, and I feel
a tug on my body and lose my balance. I reach out with my hand to stop
myself from falling.
But it’s not there.
I look down, and half of my body is missing, a javelin pierced into the
ground behind me, red-and-white lightning flickering around it. My mouth
opens to scream, but I feel only blood rushing out, and the world starts
darkening.
Out of nowhere, I feel so tired. I try to fight against it, but the javelin
behind me gets pulled back toward the source of the attack, and on its way
back, it pierces through me again.
Before my heart stops beating, I realize it’s the same javelin that killed
Roland and find that funny. I don’t know why, but…

POV - Storm Brigade

Layering ice, metal, and mana barriers in front of us, we block one of the
javelins.
“Fuck, why would Tess attack? How far is she even out?” someone
exclaims.
“Maybe she’s with the lynthari!” another suggests.
“Go and get Jenna, the first and second disciples, or call the guild
master! We need to—” Jonathan screams.
Another javelin pierces through the barrier with such strength it feels
like it weighs a ton. The javelin pins Jonathan to the ground, and before he
can even scream, lightning burns him from inside.
Before I can move, the javelin gets pulled back with Jonathan still
impaled on it. In mid-flight, his body gets torn into two pieces that fall
somewhere outside.
Unable to help my fascination, I watch the trajectory of the javelin, the
one our guild master sold during the auction. The attack came from so far
away.
“Barriers!” I shout.
I manipulate all the metal I can reach and layer it into the barrier we
create in front of ourselves, but I know it won’t be enough. A flash of
lightning and another attack crashes through the barriers as if they are made
of paper.
Then there is only darkness.

POV - Storm Brigade

“Get out of the courtyard, hide somewhere, and hide your mana. She can
see your mana even through the walls!” I scream at a petite black-haired
woman dressed in servant’s clothes.
“Sorry!” she screams and rushes toward me, carrying a bag with her.
I scan her, and she has a bracelet that identifies her as one of the
servants.
“What the hell are you even doing outside so late? Just get in and tell
the other servants to⁠—”
The young woman, almost a girl, puts her hand on mine. From up close,
I notice how pretty she is: shining black hair with bangs, pretty eyes, pale
skin, and soft lips.
“Stop…”
The last thing I see is gray smoke.

POV - Storm Brigade

“There is no way I’m going outside! She has Primordial lightning and an
epic weapon; there is no way I can stop a single attack from her. Just get the
guild master and⁠—”
Before I can continue, I detect another presence, and all four of us turn
to the newcomer. It’s a petite black-haired girl dressed as a servant.
“Someone got into the tower!” she screams. “One of the warriors told me
to⁠—”
I identify her bracelet and let my guard down.
“Okay, calm down and tell me what happened. What’s with that bag you
have with you?” I place my hand on her shoulder. For a moment, a weird
expression crosses her face as I touch her, but I ignore it.
“Senna, just send her away and⁠—”
In the middle of the sentence, Senna’s face disappears, and her lifeless
body falls to the ground.
Huh?
I send mana through my body, let go of the girl, and try to pull my hand
back. Only then do I realize that my arm is gone in its entirety.
“Do not touch me,” the young servant says with an expression that
terrifies me.
Someone screams, and then I see nothing.

POV - Jenna

The first disciple died, the second one as well, but finally, I reach the top of
the tower where the attacks came from with three of our elites. As expected,
Tess stands there.
Tall, beautiful, and lit by the moonlight. Even on this night, her golden
hair seems to shine, and the crown of lightning over her head makes her
seem more regal than anyone I have seen in my life.
“Jenna,” she greets me shortly.
Behind her back, a dozen javelins float. One is epic, and the remainder
are upper rare grade, but the most dangerous thing is the lightning flickering
all around and the sheer amount stored in the crown.
“Tess,” I greet her back and absorb all the mana my batteries hold, a
storm cloud forming over our heads as our elites surround her.
Tess looks up, observing the cloud and the lightning that flickers within.
My lightning. The one I’ve worked twenty years to master.
Then her crown enlarges and radiates more mana. The storm cloud I
created darkens and expands even more.
 And I lose control over my lightning. She takes it from me and replaces
it with something of hers, something much stronger. Something Primordial.
And she does it with such ease as if my years of work are worth
nothing.
For the first time, the hate I always felt toward her is replaced by fear.
Fighting for control over the storm cloud I created, we attack. I watch as
Tess reaches her hand up and swings it downward, drawing a pillar of red-
and-white light from the storm cloud over our heads.
The air itself shakes, and then I die.

POV - Obelia Jenth

The wall around my doors disintegrates, destroying all the inscriptions and
expensive materials, and they come crashing down, revealing a petite,
black-haired girl with a bag in her hands. There is no sign of the guards in
the hallway, and even now I can feel and hear a constant barrage of attacks
outside.
“Your door needs some work. Even the ones to the room he enchanted
were stronger than this,” Lily says and enters my office. She does so
without any worry, even though she must be feeling all the protections I
have.
I push against the table and stand, stepping on my prosthetic leg, and
follow her eyes to look at my arm, which is also a prosthetic.
“Yes, even Thalen was unable to restore it. It was the first time I saw
him so terrified,” I say in response to her unspoken question.
When she doesn’t react, I offer her, “How about we make a deal? In
exchange for my life, I will do anything you want of me.”
My eyes meet those of hers, and I can see no mercy in them, no
hesitation. They feel like she is looking at a bug.
“Nathaniel would accept,” I try again.
A look of surprise appears on her face, and she starts laughing. It’s a
laugh that I would consider cute, and that makes her look even more
innocent.
 “You don’t know him at all,” she says, still laughing and smiling at me.
“You stepped over the line.”
Lily takes a step toward me, ignoring the fact that the closer she gets,
the more enchantments light up and the more mana radiates into the air.
Her voice is smooth, but dark. “We are his. I am his.” She throws her
bag on the ground, and from it, something rolls out.
With fascination, I stare at her lips as she proclaims, “He is probably the
most rational out of all of us, but Obelia, you don’t have any worth
anymore. You and your guild have betrayed him.”
Only now do I recognize that the things that fell from the ground are
limbs. Small hands, like those of the girl in front of me. There are a dozen
of them.
I activate all the enchantments, and my mana moves as well, sparking
the lightning, which feels somehow hesitant as if traumatized from my
clash against the young healer before.
My red lightning clashes against wisps of gray smoke that surround her,
and the hands on the ground vanish. The pressure I feel from her
strengthens overwhelmingly while her hair becomes shorter, and one of her
hands disappears.
The wounds that she receives from the defenses of my office get healed
immediately or blocked by that terrifying skill of hers. The entirety of my
mana flows from me, fighting against her, enchantments, items, and even
epic items. All of it is useless, and her entire arm disappears, strengthening
her once more when I’m already out of mana.
“You are weaker than I thought. I think Tess is already stronger than
you.”
Her words sting—no, they hurt a lot—and the feeling of pride and hate I
hold toward my third disciple surfaces. But I push it away; there is no sense
in comparing myself to a genius like her.
I can’t even run because then I would fall under attack from Tess, so the
only thing that remains is to fight against the girl in front of me until the
end. She stands there, petite, innocent face, her arm missing, and in simple
clothes. Wisps of gray smoke destroy everything they touch. It doesn’t
matter if it’s mana, my body, or items. All of it is equal under the force of
her skill.
“I would recognize your subclass anywhere. It’s Wrath, isn’t it?” I
stagger back with a deep gash in my chest as the life leaves my body.
I feel so cold.
“You do not need to know,” she says, and the last thing I see is her face.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 59
IN THE DESERT

C
lose to two weeks have passed, and I’m ready to leave the old capital.
I believe I gained a lot from this place, and I think I could discover
more. Maybe find some secrets I missed, hidden items, and more
about this floor. However, when I weigh it against what I could gain from
the next floor, it pales in comparison.
“Status.”

[Name: Nathaniel Gwyn]

Difficulty: Hell
Floor: 4 - Waning Realm
Time left until forced return: 4y 51d 14h 1m 57s
Traits (2/3): Mana Circuit, Mana Wavelength Iris
Level 214
Strength: 103
Dexterity: 101
Constitution: 246
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 782 + 782
[Primary Class: Focused Channeler (epic)]
[Subclass: [Initiate of Pride]]
Active skills:
Focus (Dual Focus Consolidation) - Level 42
Mana Manipulation (Advanced Mana Manipulation) - Level 43
Perception - Level 40
Redistribution (Symbiotic Transference) - Level 40
 Resonance - Level 40
Mana Domain - Level 28
Tether - Level 28
Regalia - Level 17
Infusion - Level 20

Constructs:
Reinforcement (Construct)
Kinetic Mana Heart (Construct)
Mana Regulator (Construct)
Mana Sovereignty Mantle (Construct)

Passive skills:
Cerebral Harmony (rare)
Mana-Fortified Resilience (rare)
Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)
Mana Reservoir (epic)
Arcane Resilience (epic)
Tokens:
Beyond Difficulty entrance token
Shards: 9,462

I’ve done another round of active tempering, which boosted me twenty

points in constitution and ten in dexterity and strength.
While in the relative safety of the city, I also thought about improving
my Kinetic Mana Heart construct but decided against it in the end. For now,
it might be smarter to wait and see what passive I receive in case it gives
me some more insight into it. It seems like a good plan. Manuals are not
available because of the system, so that’s it.
As I walk through the empty city, with a bag filled with items, I think
about Myrra. In the past two weeks, she’s barely left me and shows little
intent to return to Virelia and become the Matriarch or help with the
problems there.
From Tess, I have learned that there are daily killings of humans and
lynthari. Obelia is dead, Isola is dead, and Thalen has disappeared, so the
big guilds that were supposed to help are gone.
 Cheeky Obelia was also sure to hide a “bomb”—information that
surfaced after she died, blaming lynthari for her death. A last spiteful gift
from a smart woman whose obsession cost her her life.
After that, there is no more information from Virelia. Tess and others
spent all the mana stones they could; the stones have retained some value
for their practical uses. They also stole a lot of useful things from headless
guilds, among other places, and hired a big group to help them move it all.
Then they escaped Virelia about a week ago, heading to the desert to face
the Fallen Hero.
That’s where I will go too. Sure, I don’t tell anyone about it, but I will
make sure to watch them from a distance and maybe help if it looks too
bad. I don’t want them to know, so they won’t rely on me.
I also miss that silly corgi and the occasional nights we all spent
together in the small living room of our first house. It was annoying at
times, but I liked that feeling of coziness and camaraderie Tess talks about
so much.
As for looting, I already found one epic item, so I will be happy with
that for now. It stings a bit, I had hoped for more, but it’s just as well; I’ve
never wanted to be reliant on items, and I already have so many things to
work on.

Aqua Arcanum Vial (Epic)

This small vial contains constantly swirling water. When uncorked, it can
unleash a torrential water blast or create a protective, swirling water
barrier. The Aqua Arcanum Vial can also absorb surrounding water
sources, replenishing its contents and making it a versatile tool.

I wouldn’t use it in combat as I already have problems spending my

mana and using my skills, but it’s a nice item to have. It should allow me to
save some shards on buying water.
“Ready to leave, Feral One?” Myrra greets me the moment I reach the
towers where we set our base.
She still looks nearly the same; the only difference is her clothes, which
are still black, contrasting with her white hair, tail, and ears. The clothes are
simple, and she carries a few of the things she’s looted.
I nod. “Lead the way, nya.”
 “Feral One, can you please stop? I only said it one or two times, so you
don’t have to⁠—”
“Twenty-seven.”
With a confused expression, she turns to me.
I repeat, “You’ve said ‘nya’ twenty-seven times.”
“Why would you even count that…” She lets her voice trail off and then
shakes her head. “Let’s leave.”

After using the array, we appear in the desert, along with a big pile of items
I put on the massive metal plate and pull behind me. It’s quite heavy, so I
even have to strengthen my body through reinforcement to pull it across the
sand.
Obviously, Myrra finds it extremely funny and continues to tease me.
She is immediately in a much better mood, enjoying the heat of the sun on
her skin and shedding the thicker layers of her clothes to sunbathe with a
big smile on her face.
Typical cat.

Noname - How is it?

Sset - I made Grumpy waste her Community limit, so she won’t see
what we’re talking about. Of course, this is only if the system clears
the messages in the chat at the times we believe it does.
Noname - Good, how’s the search going?
Sset - We already sent the guys back to pull all the items we’ve got
with us. TheStrongestOne helps a lot with that. I also found the
crater you talked about, and we’ve traveled north from there and
located our target. I left some markers behind so you can track us.
We’ll start in a day or two.
Noname - I will do so. How are the others?
Sset - Excited, sad, and a bit scared. But I’ll pull them together.
Savant - Noname.

Out of nowhere, Savant interrupts my conversation.

 Savant - You still owe me an answer to one question.
Noname - Yes, I do. Go ahead.
Savant - You asked me before how it is to be alone, so I want to ask
you this. How is it to be with a group? One of you, a man called
Hadwin, died. How do you feel about it?
Noname - You would waste your question on something like that?
Savant - It will allow me to understand you better.

I see, Savant sure knows how to ask questions I don’t like to think about
the answer to.

Noname - Some time ago, we got a lot of money. The boys had a
good idea, and we were able to leverage our items.
Savant patiently waits, so I also give myself a moment and then
continue.
Noname - We spent the entire night buying things for everyone in
our group. Things that would make them happy or be useful to them
or their training. We bought things for everyone except Hadwin.

I stare ahead over the dunes, feeling the warm heat of the sun on my
skin as memories flash through my mind.

Noname - I forgot about Hadwin, and we didn’t buy anything for

him. Back then it was okay; we just gave him mana stones, and he
picked something on his own. But since he died, I can’t stop thinking
about it.

I want to write another message, but Savant interrupts me.

Savant - That’s enough for the answer.

After that, I close the Community and gesture to Myrra as we head

toward the crash site of the orbital base.
The ever-present dunes and scorching sun get old rather quickly, but I
start to enjoy the warmth on my skin after a few weeks in the cold and
cloudy old capital. Right now, even though the only thing to see are the
dunes all around us, the sunshine makes things look more lively.
Soon, we reach one of Tess’s markers, a small stone holding some of
her mana, though it’s already been buried under a dune by the wind that
shapes this desert. But because I know what to look for, I’m still able to
locate it and continue to follow the trail.
As she has many times before, Myrra follows me, and there is a hint of
distant sadness to her. It’s hard to describe, but it’s the expression of
someone waiting to hear the bad news. Myrra is smart, and like me, she
likes to observe others, so she must have noticed something. The question is
how much the system has allowed her to notice.
I decide to push it away, as something for future Nathaniel to deal with
before entering the fifth floor. So, for now, we silently push through the
dunes while I pull the iron sled of items behind me.
Minutes pass. Then hours, and a day, as we track the marks Tess left
until we reach one of the biggest dunes and climb on top of it.
“They are in front of us,” Myrra says quietly and points somewhere in
the distance.
I’m unable to see anything, unlike her, so she forms her Aurora glass
into a big plate in front of us. The glass shifts and changes multiple times
until it seems to work like a telescope, and through it, I finally see group 4,
all of them walking in line, moving multiple sleds similar to mine.
Out of nowhere, Tess stops and turns around, staring right at us. Lily
steps up next to her and looks in our direction as well, but unlike the
blonde, she can’t see that far.
Tess only shakes her head, and the smile that flashes across her face
seems to be meant for me and not for Lily.
“Your group can be scary at times, Feral One, but are you sure you
don’t want to help them? The Fallen Hero is a terrifying enemy.”
I watch as Biscuit wobbles through the sand, his short legs often sinking
and slowing him down, and yet he is too proud to ask for help and
continues to follow the group. The snake around Isabella’s arm is much
bigger now, and out of everyone in the group, Isabella seems to enjoy the
desert the most, even keeping two fire orbs floating nearby. I can’t sense it
from here, but I think she might be using the sun and hot air here to
strengthen them.
 Then there is a group of three boys walking closely behind Maya, all
pulling sleds while Sophie walks in the back, surely casting her web all
around.
They are the same, yet different, and a wistful feeling overtakes me.
How silly it is, how unaccustomed I am to this kind of feeling.
When I turn to Myrra, she gazes at me sadly. “For a moment, you were
smiling, Feral One. A real, warm smile. It disappeared as quickly as it came,
but you were.”
She reaches out and brushes a lock of hair from my face, her touch
gentle as if she is handling something delicate. I watch her for a moment,
curious about what she will do next, but she stops and pulls her hand away.
“Tutorial,” I say.
She tilts her head and opens her mouth as if she wants to ask something,
but then her face changes, a blank expression appears on it, and then it
reverts to the state it was before I said that word.
“Fourth floor, Waning Realm, floor quest,” I say quietly.
After each word, her expression changes to blank and then reverts.
So I just stay quiet, and she smiles at me apologetically. “Sorry for
touching you, Feral One.”
“It’s fine,” I tell her.

It takes a day longer than we expected to spot the Fallen Hero.

Even from as far away as I am, I can sense the sheer amount of power
the armor possesses, and when Myrra uses her Aurora glass, we can see it
as well.
As the rumors said, it’s most likely an upper epic suit of armor that,
while the Champion was alive, most likely served to transfer some of his
owner’s mana into sheer physical strength.
Now, with the Champion dead, the armor uses his still-beating mana
heart to power itself and move around, searching for enemies. Either some
changes were made to the armor when its wearer died, or the Champion
programmed it to do that before he died. To help humans fight against the
enemy.
 The gray-and-red armor itself is scratched all over it. In places, it looks
like it has started to rust, and there are even holes in places; the biggest one
on the back of the helmet is most likely the one that killed its owner.
The movement is unnerving, clearly not human. Each step is somehow
awkward and hesitant yet full of strength.
Tess and the others notice it as well, and from really far away, she starts
to observe it, moving the group so they can avoid it while she collects
enough information.
I spend that day examining mana stones as I pull the sled behind me and
speak with Myrra, trying to tease her or practicing my skills. Yet none of
these actions help me to get my mind off what is about to come.
Straight and clear, I’m worried.
Pathetic, am I not? After all the things I said. All my resolve that they
should get stronger or die now before we become closer. Gareth’s words
come to my mind more and more often as time passes, and I find myself
thinking maybe he was right.
When the time finally comes, I’m ready to dash in there and help, but
only until Tess’s face appears in full view on the piece of Aurora glass,
allowing us to see far into the distance.
Tess smiles brilliantly, and her gray eyes have an unnatural shine to
them from the desert sun. As it has these past few days, her [Storm Crown]
remains suspended over her head.
It will be fine, I read her lips.
“Don’t go around planting death flags, you stupid blonde,” I mumble
under my breath and then sit back down.
Fine, I will trust you. It’s hard for me to do so, but I will believe in you
guys.
Show me what group 4 is capable of.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 60
THE FALLEN HERO

T
he group takes a formation unlike any they’ve used before. For the
first time, Tess hangs back, opposite her normal position, on the
frontlines. She is so far behind that it would be hard for her to move
close to help.
It surprises me, but I soon realize why she’s done so. Tess will be
focusing on dealing as much damage as possible without being distracted
by her opponents’ attacks. From such a distance, she will be able to make
each of her attacks as strong as possible.
Obviously, that also means she will be putting a lot of trust in the rest of
the group’s ability to stay alive. For someone wanting to protect her friends
so much, it’s an unexpected decision.
On the other side, Lily is back on the frontline, next to Maya, who has
the epic crown on her head and plenty of mana batteries in contraptions
layered over her body.
The petite healer seems to be determined, and I instantly realize that her
position on the front line was her choice.
Dennis and Aaron are both on the sides and slightly behind Lily and
Maya. Seeing as no one is talking, they must be using [Connection] to
communicate.
A bit further back are Isabella and Sophie, the sisters close to each other,
Noodle coiled around Isabella’s arm as she holds the epic bow Lily used to
wield.
The last member of the group, Min-Jae, is off to the side of the sisters.
He has switched to smaller projectiles for this fight, and he spins them
around his body, something he started copying when he saw me doing it.
The projectiles in question look a lot like golf balls, but I know they are
extremely heavy because of his gravity skill.
One of his eyes is brown, and the left one is yellow, and it’s already
glowing. I’m sure he’s improved his control of it.
I’ve thought about it before, but I think his eyes are similar to my own.
The only difference is that I have two eyes that allow me to see waves of
mana, while his eye seems to allow him to see waves of gravity.
Biscuit is also there. He stands on the dune, a gentle wind blowing
against his fur, and the corgi seems to be enjoying it while he breathes
quickly. His tongue is sticking out as if he is trying to cool off. So far, he is
not using any skills, but he is ready.
The fight starts suddenly, initiated by Kim shooting one of his small
metal orbs at the Fallen Hero.
I watch through Myrra’s Aurora glass as the armor stops moving and
turns around. The corpse of the Champion is clad in Valorplate. Even
damaged, the red-and-gray armor is beautiful. And most of all, it’s
dangerous, confirmed by the First One’s fear of it.
When the armor starts moving toward the group, I understand it.
Nothing changes after it notices the group. There is no mana emanating
from it and no skills activate. No, the entirety of that immense mana is
turned into sheer strength.
The armor takes a step, and the entire dune under it explodes, and with
one leap, it flies through the air right toward the group.
The silence is broken by the crackling of lightning and a terrifying noise
that pierces the air as a gray spear crashes against the armor. The lightning
spreads, covering the armor. The sheer strength of the impact pushes the
armor away, and both burrow deep into a dune, sending an explosion of
sand into the air.
Lightning flashes again, and the spear gets pulled back.
Isabella attacks next. One of the fire orbs floating over her shoulder
elongates and turns into a flaming arrow, which she nocks to her bow. Even
though the bow is nearly as tall as her, she manages to draw the string of
mana that appears and fires the arrow. As it leaves the string, it grows even
brighter and more compressed, a brilliant arrow made of blue fire that
Isabella subtly manipulates to compensate for her lack of skill.
The blue arrow leaves a wake of shimmering hot air, and when it passes
over the sand, it melts. The longer it flies, the more it speeds up, and by the
time it reaches the crater left by the armor, I can barely track it with my
eyes.
The explosion that ensues sends flames high into the air, some as tall as
a building. The impact sprays molten sand into the area, and as it falls, it
shines brightly like drops of hot glass.
Even before the fires disappear, the armor climbs out of the sand,
slightly charred but unharmed.
At that point, its movements change. It’s not so inhuman this time; no,
it’s slow and elegant. The Fallen Hero stomps on the ground, and the sand
explodes high into the air like a series of geysers as the shockwave blows
away the flames.
“It’s not using skills at all; it’s just sheer physical stats,” Myrra
whispers, her eyes glued to the piece of glass.
The armor moves again and disappears from sight, another shockwave
erupting in its wake.
It takes another leap, much lower and faster this time.
Just before the armor reaches Maya and Lily, I notice Kim moving his
arm, and the armor stops mid-air and crashes back to the ground, pulled by
the immense force of gravity.
Mana radiates from Maya, and her mana armor envelops her, denser
than anything she’s ever shown me before. She uses [Boost], moving past
Lily, and as the armor stands up, her axe crashes into it, sending it
staggering backward.
Before she can attack again, the Fallen Hero swings its arm, and she is
sent flying as the front of her armor cracks. The armor takes a step to follow
her, but Lily appears in front of it, and the armor changes its mind and
punches her. The punch is smooth and elegant, looking like the result of
thousands of repetitions.
Its hand passes through Lily’s chest, but then the twin’s illusion
disappears, and Lily hits it with her fist instead and sends a blast of gray
mana through the punch.
For the first time, the armor takes damage, the smoke-like mana leaving
deep gouges.
The armor starts moving at terrifying speed, and I notice the bag on
Lily’s back growing smaller as she uses [Sacrifice]. As she does this, she
moves nearly as quickly as the armor. They exchange blows until the armor
feints and then kicks, breaking her arm. She rolls across the ground over a
distance longer than a football field.
It dashes at Lily, but Dennis is there. He grabs her and pulls her away
while a dozen illusions obscure them, each one realistic enough to fool even
me, and each of them with different mana signatures.
Instead of dealing with them individually, the armor stomps, creating
another crater as the shockwave destroys the entire dune along with the
illusions.
Isabella shoots another arrow, but this one is different. Sophie, knowing
that she can’t manipulate a mind that doesn’t exist, uses [Manipulation] to
compress the arrow and even tie the web she’s created to it.
There is no explosion of flames from the area, just a localized burst that
is extremely compressed and thus pierces a hole through the Fallen Hero,
exiting on the other side.
A piercing noise follows, and a spear trailed by lightning flies directly at
the hero’s heart. For the first time, the armor blocks. It puts an arm in front
of its chest and is sent flying.
Before the spear can return, the armor grabs it and stabs at Maya, who
charges it. She barely dodges, but the next elegant stab pierces her chest.
The armor tries to move to finish the woman encased in armor but is
prevented by the web Sophie prepared coiling around it and halting its
movements.
Maya gets to her feet, the wound on her chest healing at a visible speed,
and her armor flickers and disappears. Instead, she creates an axe larger
than she is that takes on a dark blue color with a streak of light blue mana
flowing through it.
Her swing is quick and deadly, the axe burrowing into the armor’s neck.
Getting a warning, she lets go of the weapon and uses [Boost] to escape
quickly.
The armor tears apart the skills holding it back. Not by disrupting them,
no. Just by using raw power that defies any attempt to slow it down.
At the same time, a dozen javelins trailed by lightning crash against it.
One after another, each of the javelins crumples and breaks, and yet they
leave dents in the armor and channel their lightning through it.
A few fire arrows join in, and Min-Jae also uses his eye, closing his
hand as he reaches toward the armor. As he closes it, the armor moves
quickly, and instead of its chest, its forearm gets crumpled under the force
of the press.
The Fallen Hero turns to Min-Jae, and its focus stays on him. Lily
presses the attack and gets thrown by a skillful kick that leaves even more
of her bones broken.
A swing of its arm destroys the illusion and the entire dune in front of it.
The sheer pressure of the swing throws Maya and the twins away.
Then it rushes at Min-Jae.
Dozens of iron balls crash against it, each one that hits slowing it down
a bit more as Min-Jae stacks his [Gravity Well] and increases the weight of
the armor.
The dome-like web Sophie’s been creating shrinks and tangles around
the armor, slowing it even further, but it’s still not enough.
Every time it gets slowed down, more mana flows through it,
strengthening it further. The heart of the Champion beats weaker than when
he was alive, but it’s still loud, even after his death.
The spear the armor’s been holding starts pulling it toward Tess, but the
armor just grabs it with both hands and breaks the epic weapon like it’s
nothing; the pieces fall to the ground.
Another stomp sends sand into the air, blocking the view as the armor
charges.
I watch as a big armored arm grabs Min-Jae and tears off the boy’s arm,
only for the illusion to disappear as Lily stands there instead of Min-Jae, her
arm torn off. The petite healer uses her skill, and all the sacrifices in her bag
disappear, her waist-long hair shortening even further.
She doesn’t regenerate her arm; no, the petite maniac even sacrifices the
arm the armor is still holding and then punches the Fallen Hero in the chest,
her gray mana flowing through him.
At the last moment, the armor shifts, and a burst of gray mana eats its
arm instead of reaching its heart.
Immediately after, with immense speed, it punches Lily, denting her
chest, and then breaks Lily’s neck.
Before the armor can tear off her head, purple tentacles coil around it
and tie it up, not allowing any movement.
After a moment of struggle, the Fallen Hero gets loose, and when it tries
to find Lily, she is already gone, an Illusion from the twins helping her
escape.
 Turning toward the newest enemy, the armor takes a step toward
Biscuit, who doesn’t even growl, just observes it curiously.
Biscuit tilts his head, a focused expression overtaking his face, and
instead of purple tentacles, an orb of purple mana materializes in front of
the corgi. The orb starts off as big as a basketball but shrinks to the size of a
golf ball, its purple color darkening with streaks of different colors flowing
through.
Don’t tell me.
The orb starts glowing bright white, and Biscuit shoots it at the Fallen
Hero who tries to run away but is once again stopped by Sophie.
Aaron appears next to Biscuit and grabs him from the ground. He
activates [Haste] and runs at a speed that is almost as quick as the armor.
Then the Fallen Hero changes again. The first time it happened, its
awkward movements became smoother and elegant, yet this time, they’ve
become confident and domineering. Even though Sophie holds the armor, it
straightens up and slashes its hand toward the orb flying at it.
The orb disappears as if it never existed, and an immense force slashes
against the ground, creating a deep and long crack in the sand.
Another slash with its hand destroys Biscuit’s mana arms as they reach
toward it, and the stomp creates a shockwave that forms another crater
around the armor.
Biscuit growls, and javelins made of purple mana form by his sides as
he is being carried by Aaron. The mana projectiles shoot toward the armor,
which blocks each of them easily.
Meanwhile, Tess and Min-Jae finish their preparation, and from high in
the air, something starts falling. It’s the chest made of unknown material
that once contained the eye Min-Jae now sports. The indestructible chest is
falling much quicker than it should be, and I’m sure it’s much heavier as
well, the force behind it being immense.
Dozens of purple tentacles explode from the ground and surround the
armor. Sophie activates her skill, and even the twins seem to use their
[Connection] in a weird way.
With a shockwave, the chest smashes against the armor, crumpling and
bending it and forcing it to its knees. The sheer weight and inertia deal
immense damage.
But slowly, the Fallen Hero still stands up. Its stance changes once
more, and it disappears from the spot, reappearing in front of Min-Jae and
Maya. The young boy doesn’t even have time to react, but Maya does. Her
[Boost] gives her enough speed to face the armor for a few seconds, even
though she is bleeding and tearing her body as she moves, the crown on her
head keeping her alive.
A dozen attacks are exchanged in a second, both of them changing
positions to try to gain an advantage over each other while Lily moves
nearby.
Even though the armor has only one arm, it dominates Maya, and the
moment her skill deactivates, a hand swings to her face. Messages are
exchanged between the group, and Lily grabs the armor by the hand, her
body strengthened by [Sacrifice], now capable of following the armor.
Quickly pulling its arm away, the armor dashes and disappears,
attacking Isabella.
Lily disappears simultaneously and steps into its path, the two of them
exchanging blows.
Giving up on her ranged advantage, Tess lands nearby, a crown over her
head and lightning crackling and trailing her body. Her face appears on the
piece of Aurora glass, and she declares something, the armor freezing in
mid-movement and turning to her.
Tess’s crown disappears, the lightning that formed it flowing down her
body and into her hand, where it reforms into the shape of a spear. The
blonde faces it and attacks the armor as it changes its stance again, to the
form with elegant movements.
Lily, with her presence masked by the twin’s skill, jumps on the armor’s
back. Her gray mana turns into a dagger, which she repeatedly stabs into the
armor’s helmet, causing it to stagger a bit. More messages are exchanged
between the members, and skills activate, forcing the armor to stop its
movements.
Then Tess takes a step forward, and a spear of lightning pierces right
through the place where the heart is supposed to be.
In the following silence, nothing moves for a while, and the wind
continues to move sand over the dunes until it stops as well.
Finally, the Fallen Hero staggers and falls to its knees.

Congratulations! Your group has completed your floor quest and

defeated the second Calamity.
You have received 4,000 shards
 Relieved, everyone from group 4 groups up, smiles on their faces as
they check on each other and seem to read notifications as well.
The boys, still weak and wounded, start checking the armor lying on the
ground, and I notice they are talking quickly.
In the end, they did it; on their own, they defeated the Calamity, and I
see that every single one of them has become stronger. Some of them by a
lot, and some didn’t have the chance to show it fully because of the
opponent they were facing.
Another soft ding sounds, and curious, I check the new Floor quest that
has appeared.

Floor quest: Kill Lynthari Matriarch Myrra

Reward: 6,000 shards

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 61
END OF THE WORLD

I
’ve decided to ignore the side quest for now and look at the entrance to
the fifth floor that’s appeared next to me. Through the portal, I see a
grassy hill and a few trees to the side, not unlike the forest on the first
floor.
“Feral One,” Myrra calls to me, “who are you and the people in your
group?”
“I can’t tell you.”
The movement of her tail continues, but as of late, it’s somewhat
lifeless.
I observe her.
Myrra is taller than me by two heads; she has white hair and golden,
cat-like eyes. A deep scar runs horizontally across her face, and two cat-like
ears perch on top of her head. She is slim but has the musculature of an
athlete, and her tail is long and slightly fluffy.
That’s Myrra, the fake Champion candidate, as she calls herself.
According to Eris, she is capable of reaching the rank of Champion and is
currently worth 6,000 shards dead.
She will likely disappear after we step through the portal, so should I…
“That’s fine, then. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to,” she
says simply, and the piece of Aurora glass we used to observe the fight
disappears.
The lynthari then turns around and slides down the dune to where we
left our things.
Meanwhile, I open the Beyond Community.
 Sset - We did it. No one is seriously hurt, but we will rest for a while
and then split the things before we enter the portal, just in case we
get split again.
Noname - Good job.
Grumpy - You should have seen it! It was super scary, but everyone
did so well!

Lily joins the conversation as well. A few weeks have already passed, so
I guess she has dealt with her grief, along with the others.
I pause for a moment and think about it. How sad it is that people can
adapt so quickly to someone dying, no matter how much they held them
dear. Just some time, and the memory will weaken, along with the pain.
But maybe it’s better that way; a life where you grieve for years would
be terrible, so having someone be a nice memory might be better in the end.
It also makes me wonder how people would react if I died. Would they
be sad? If so, for how long? A day or two? A few weeks? Would I be
forgotten after a few weeks with barely anyone to remember that I existed?
Well, I’d rather not get there.

Noname - I watched the fight, and you all did great. I have a few
things that you guys could improve on, and I will share them with
you later so you can compare, but for now, good job.
Grumpy - You are nearby! Why don’t you join us?
I hesitate, my eyes on the screen, but Tess joins in.
Sset - We talked about it. He will join us on the next floor.
She probably also says something to Lily out of the chat, but I can’t
be sure.
Grumpy - Don’t forget, you still owe me! I will tell others what you
said and see you on the next floor!

Lily then says something extremely scary. Something about taking the
remains of the Champion’s heart and examining it and maybe using it as
inspiration to reconstruct hers. She also says that the boys are already
fighting over the pieces of Valorplate.
After that, Gareth joins as well and speaks with Tess for a bit, some
congratulations and his constant behavior as a paragon of all good and just.
 There’s no way that guy isn’t evil; I’m sure of it.
I finally close the Community and lie down on the dune. The warm sand
feels nice under my back, even as it’s getting into my clothes, and the sun’s
rays on my skin improve my mood.
I’ve been putting off rejoining group 4, maybe sometime during the fifth
floor. Yes, there is a risk of us getting split again, so maybe it would be nice
to greet them here on the fourth, but I just don’t feel like it. I really don’t.
While resting, a terrifying monster reaches toward my mind, and I let
the communication occur.
(Food?) sounds in my head.
(Yes, you did a good job.)
(Food!)
(Yes, both of us have to become stronger.)
(Food food?)
(I need some time. To think.)
(Friend.)
(Thank you.)
(Friend!)
(Friend, yes.)
(Friend friend!)
(Yes, you are my friend. Talk to Tess. I gave her a few pieces of Archdeer
jerky before I left.)
(FRIEND!)
Even though I told him about the amazing treat near him, Biscuit
doesn’t cut the connection and continues speaking with me.
I feel myself calm down and a weird sense of relief when I talk with
him. I think Isabella said it once: it’s as if there is no evil in Biscuit. I can
let my defenses down.
After a bit more time, it’s me who cuts off the connection so he can go
and get the treats he deserves, and I slide down the dune toward Myrra.

After another two days, group 4 leaves through the portal. Everything is
distributed, and everyone is holding their items. Their bodies are healed and
mana topped up.
 I get a few messages from Lily and Tess, who also send greetings from
others, and after they enter the fifth floor, the connection cuts off.
That’s when I look down and see Myrra sunbathing there, a slight smile
on her lips.
She is clearly weaker than any other Calamity, so why did the system
offer me so many shards to kill her? Is it the work of the tutorial’s system,
or is someone influencing it to anger the Ruler of Greed and possibly me as
well? Could it be the intent I met in Beyond, still angry at my refusal?
Pushing the thoughts away, I lay my hand against the highest quality
mana stone I have and continue working on the inscriptions.

A day passes, and feeling ready, I stand up and bury the mana stone I was
working on in the sand. Then I look at Myrra for one last time and grab the
bags I’ve packed, heading up the dune toward the entrance.
The system and its 6,000 shards can fuck off and choke on them.
“Feral One,” she calls after me, “no goodbyes?”
Hearing her tone, I stop and put the bags near the entrance. I turn and
look back at her.
“How much do you know?” I ask.
“Not much. It’s hard to think about these things, and I get the feeling
that something is messing with me.” Right now, she is just a shadow of her
usual cheery self.
Myrra looks like someone sitting and waiting to die, facing something
she can’t do anything about no matter how much she tries.
“Why didn’t you want to return to Virelia?”
“Because it doesn’t matter, Feral One. All of this is…” She gestures all
around but avoids saying more. Her face is hard for me to look at, her
expression pleading.
I take a step away from her and toward the portal.
“I’ve learned most of this from observing you and your behaviors, and
right now, I have a feeling that I will die the moment you take those few
steps. Something terrible will happen when you leave. So, Feral One, won’t
you stay a bit longer? A few weeks. No, a few days, even a few hours.” The
expression she makes hurts me.
 A majestic lynthari I have always admired, reduced to this. Because of
the system, because no way out has been offered to her.
“Myrra,” I start slowly, “do you remember speaking with me about the
human from Serpent’s Eye? The one you watched from a distance.”
She nods. “Yes, I do.”
“Back then, you told me he always acted high and mighty, with an
arrogance that you liked and admired, yet in the end, the time came where
he begged, where he cried and did everything he could to stay alive.”
A short nod. I’m sure she knows where I’m going with this.
“So, Myrra, allow me to ask. Are you the same as that human? Will you
cry and beg?”
At first, her eyes water, the sun reflecting in them, both focused on me.
Then she shakes her head, a laugh escapes her lips, and she looks down at
her hands.
One quiet minute passes, interrupted only by the wind blowing over the
dunes we stand on, sending the sand flying.
After that, slowly her expression changes. Her posture straightens up,
and she clenches her teeth. The tail that was up, now hanging sadly, moves
and twitches. Myrra looks even taller now, and her determined expression
makes her look the most beautiful I’ve ever seen her.
Instead of stepping through the portal, I step away from it, and our mana
engages.
“Then, as one last farewell, allow me to show you why they call me a
Champion candidate.” Even her voice is stronger as she reaches toward the
sky, Aurora glass surrounding her.

POV - Myrra

Feral One…no, Nathaniel wears an expression I am seeing for the first

time, but I decide not to point it out. He can count it as part of my thanks.
I’m still scared, and worried, but all of that is pushed away as mana
starts radiating from the man in front of me.
His mana flows in patterns that I’ve never seen before, powering all the
skills he possesses. Even though there are places where he is lacking, I can
see the sheer amount of work he puts in. The amount of careful thinking he
spends on his skills, and every bit used to push where his talent shouldn’t be
able to go.
 Nathaniel is like a rough gem waiting to be cut and polished so it can
shine brighter than anyone else. And that applies to his personality as well.
Like many humans I’ve met, he bears some past trauma that holds him
back, and when he finally gets over it, he will be even more beautiful.
Our skills clash. Our bodies move, trying to gain an advantage over
each other. Neither of us is holding back; the fight we lead is a conversation
between the two of us and the last goodbye.
I attack, and he dodges. Countering my skills, he continues to observe
the entire time. He pushes, and I take on his attacks, redirecting them and
avoiding them as much as possible.
Ever since I met him outside of Virelia, I kept observing him through
my Aurora glass. His entertaining manners, his prideful bearing, and the
love for his group he still doesn’t want to accept.
Oh, how much fun I had watching this silly, feral human.
A deep wound spreads across my arm because of my impatience, and
golden flames explode around him, melting the sand and reaching toward
the sky, fed by his heartbeat. My Aurora glass moves in front of me to block
the attack.
Nathaniel’s expression is happy and sad at once. That much I can tell.
Happy because he was able to help me and sad because… I shake my head
to stop thinking further. Something will not allow me to do so, so there is no
sense in it.
I combine my skills, surround my body with Aurora glass, and step out
from the tiniest piece I left on his clothes so long ago.
A slight movement of his eyebrow is all that slips, but anyone else
would look at it with an expression of pure shock.
Leaving a deep wound on his side, I step back. My body is heating up
even more, my teeth are showing, and I feel my tail swirl behind me.
He lets out a happy laugh, and I attack again.
We fight; we bleed. The most beautiful fight I’ve ever had, both of us
know each other’s skills and both of us are strong enough to make each
other go all-out with full force and then push even further.
But it has to come to an end, and it does. My concentration slips up, and
he grabs hold of his mana, stopping his attack mid-air from killing me.
I have lost, but it’s a loss I’m proud of because it was against him.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Farewell, Myrra.” The expression he makes is also a new one to me.
 How do I look in his eyes right now? A small step in his grand
adventure or someone he remembers once in a while? Will he think of me
fondly, or will I forever be a silly lynthari he met by coincidence?
I watch as he takes his bags, and then, after giving me one last look, he
takes a few steps and then he is gone. The moment he disappears,
everything freezes. The sand stops moving, the wind stops blowing, and the
air itself feels as if stuck in time.
The world has ended.

A day passes. I lie in the sand and eat the food he got from somewhere. I
think, meditate, and practice.
I’m not used to being alone.

A week has passed, and far in the distance, I notice dark clouds coming
from all sides and heading toward me.
Extreme earthquakes hit the desert once in a while.
There is still no wind, and not a single grain of sand has moved.
I’m still staying at the same place, and I don’t know why.

Two weeks have passed, and during one of my meditations, I detect

something.
When I burrow my hands into the sand, it’s the highest-grade mana
stone I ever saw, with an extremely delicate set of inscriptions. There is an
immense amount of his mana left in the stone.
The cloudy wall from all sides comes closer.
Three weeks have passed. The sun doesn’t feel warm anymore, and the
cloud wall is nearby. The earthquakes come more often, and only a little bit
of his mana remains in the mana stone I’m holding.

Four weeks have passed.

In the air, at exactly the same place where he disappeared, a tear
appears. It’s jagged and uneven, and through it, a black dagger pokes,
making it bigger.
Then through the hole, a beautiful woman steps out. She has silver hair
and is wearing a comfortable set of clothes you could wear out on the town
or into a fight. The woman is young, but the moment our eyes meet, I
shudder.
I feel no mana from her, no sign of skills, nor is there any information in
her stance. But her eyes betray it all: they scare me like nothing ever before
in my life.
She then throws the black dagger into the ground and walks toward it.
“You’ve had enough. Stop fighting back.”
My world changes again. The cloud wall that was so close disappears,
and the sun feels warmer. The wind starts blowing again, and grains of sand
move once more. It’s as if the woman in front of me brought life back to the
world.
She sees that I’m staring at the dagger and turns to me. “It’s a bit
annoying, just like its creator.” An almost imperceptible smile is on her lips.
The silver-haired woman examines me for a bit longer and then nods.
“Little kitten, you are fake as well, aren’t you?”
I don’t understand her words fully, but hearing her call me “little kitten”
angers me. They are words no one would dare to say to a lynthari, but I do
not dare to correct her.
“Yes, I think,” I reply.
She stops in front of me, even shorter than Nathaniel, yet she doesn’t
seem to be impressed by me at all and walks around, poking me at places.
“Lynthari, aren’t you? I met some of your race. Your Champions were
always cheeky, cute things.”
 “What is happening? What does all of this mean?” I try to ask in hopes
she will be able to answer.
“You will forget it anyway, so there is no need to tell you, but I need
someone to test a few things on, and you will do. As for a bit of
explanation,” she takes the mana stone from my hands, “you can thank this
thing for being alive. Without it…” The rest of the words she says disappear
in the wind.
I look at the stone. “What is it?”
The woman observes the stone for a bit longer and then crushes it in her
hand. “He’s improved a bit,” she mutters quietly and then looks up at me.
“It’s a terribly inadequate attempt at a personality imprint.” Pieces of the
broken mana stone fall from her hand down on the sand. “To explain
simply, he tried to make this stone feel like him, to trick the,” another word
I can’t hear, “into thinking he is still on the…” And another.
Her hand moves to her lips, and she blows off the rest of the stone.
“Without it, this,” again, the words I can’t hear, “would end, and you would
be long dead.”
“Why would he do that? How would that thing…help me?”
“That’s something you should ask yourself, little kitten. Was it a
desperate attempt, akin to throwing a letter in a bottle into the sea? Maybe
he wanted to prolong your life? Maybe he knew I would be coming and
hoped for us to meet? Who knows?”
She starts looking around, appearing extremely relaxed. The confidence
that radiates from her is unlike anything I have seen in my life. It’s to the
point where even I feel she is capable of doing whatever she wishes to.
“Will you allow me to join you? I can even become your disciple.”
Unable to endure it all, I push against her, even if there is the option of her
retaliating.
Instead, she stares at me. “You remind me of someone.”
She then puts down a bag, and from it, an arm pokes out. The arm of a
woman, pale and smooth with elegant fingers.
The woman sees where I’m looking. “An arm of someone bearing the
same title I did. It will be useful,” she says simply.
Then she turns to me. “My name is Lissandra, the first and last Absolute
of Eladore, the planet that went through more Pairings than I bother
counting. The weight of my title is not something I take lightly, and neither
do I take having a disciple. In my long life, I have had only two. A young
woman sent to spy on me, whom I considered talented enough to declare an
Absolute candidate, a greedy little thing. The second one, for but a short
time, was a young man, too prideful to accept his limits and not realizing
that the rank of Champion is as far as he can go.”
Each of her words sounds like a declaration that has entire worlds as
their witness.
“You, meanwhile, are a fake, the same as me.” Even though she says
that, it doesn’t seem to bother her. “But who said a fake can’t beat the
original?” The smile that spreads across her face is scary.
What she shows is a type of confidence that would make a weaker
person kneel and worship her.
“We have a lot to do, little kitten,” she says. “I’m not unreasonable. If
you listen to me, I can promise you one thing.” As she talks, I watch her,
hanging on to her words.
Nothing else in the world matters other than the words she is about to
say.
“You will find out the truth about this all. About the little pup, about the
words you can’t hear, about your world and this place. That much should be
enough, right?”
I can only nod.
“Good, now, do you know about any healers? Even a bad one will do. I
just need them to have a healing skill.”
My tail moves on its own. “I know about one that is hiding.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 62
FIFTH FLOOR

Congratulations! You have cleared the fourth floor of the Hell

Difficulty tutorial. Welcome to the fifth floor: Mentorship
You have acquired:
Unique Passive skill
Skill upgrade token
2,000 Shards
60 stat points
Access to other Communities

W
ell, there goes my 6,000 shards for killing Myrra.
Do I regret it?
Not even a bit, nope, not even slightly. The system can go and
delete its System32 folder, or step on a LEGO, or something.
I confirm my decision by flipping the bird at the screen in front of me
and lying down on the grass. The sky above me is beautiful, and as far as I
can sense, there are no humans or monsters around. The fifth floor seems
peaceful so far.
My thoughts keep going back to the fourth floor and the mana stone I
left behind. I wonder if it will help. Will the system ignore it and delete the
floor instantly? Will the stone trick it, even a little? Have things changed
because of Lissandra? The stone might only prolong Myrra’s suffering, yet I
still find myself hoping.
Lying there, I open the Community.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - So how is it?

 Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - Nat! I’m happy that you are safe!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Who is Nat?
Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - Oh, sorry! But don’t worry, there is no
one else, just our group
Noname (Hell, group 4) - How can you know that?
Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - No one else has talked so far!

Oh boy, maybe all the hits she took on the head left some damage she
couldn’t heal.

Izzy (Hell, group 4) - Hello, Noname! what a terrible name!

TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Long time no see.
Sset (Hell, group 4) - Welcome to the fifth floor.

I talk for a while and greet group 4 members. After not talking to them
for a few weeks, it feels weirdly nice, and I feel myself pushing my feelings
about what happened with Myrra and the end of the floor to the back of my
mind.
For now, I will hope. I will allow myself to expect the best. I will trust
that Cockroachsandra is as scary as she likes to think she is.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - So has everyone been split up?

Sset (Hell, group 4) - Yes, from what we found so far, everyone is in
their own instance of the fifth floor. They seem to be identical to each
other, but it looks like we won’t be able to meet each other.
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - I have to go. My disciple is
getting impatient!

Huh, disciple?

Sset (Hell, group 4) - I will be going as well. Don’t forget to check

the Community every hour. Stay safe, everyone.
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food!

We exchange a few more words, and I close the Community.

 Well, it looks like I will be on my own for a while. Min-Jae said he had
a disciple, so what is this floor about?

Floor quest:
Raise and protect your disciple
Rewards:
???
Skill upgrade token
5,000 Shards
100 stat points
Trait-strengthening token
Welcome to the fifth floor! Your disciple will be summoned in twenty-
four hours. The disciple will be chosen from the tutorial database
specially for you.
If your disciple dies on the fifth floor, you will be severely punished.
If your disciple dies outside of the fifth floor, you will lose a certain
amount of shards.
Time until the appearance of the disciple: 23h 51min 10s

That’s a lot to unpack.

Asking others doesn’t seem to make sense as they surely don’t have any
more information than what the system has given me. The most important
part is that the death of a disciple will lead to severe punishment. The weird
part is that it mentions the possibility of death somewhere outside the fifth
floor. What does that mean?
And what does it mean by raise and protect? Does that mean my
disciple will be young?

Noname (Hell, group 4) - How old are the disciples?

Sset (Hell, group 4) - Mine is six years old. The others are the same.
Sorry, I have to go!

Oh boy, this floor is getting messy. The rewards are too; just some
question marks as the first reward.
At least it looks like I have some time, so why don’t I sort things out?
 Do you really want to sell the following item for 5,000 shards?
Skill upgrade token
Yes/No

I confirm, and the skill upgrade token disappears. It looks like it was the
same grade as the one from the side quest, and that leaves me with 20,462
shards.
Just in case, I go through the shop and look for a rarity higher than epic,
but I don’t find any at all. It looks like even 20,000 shards is not enough or
there is some other requirement that I need to fulfill for it to unlock. Maybe
another Primary class upgrade? Subclass upgrade? Higher floor? Do I need
to find something of higher than epic rarity “in the wild” for it to unlock in
the shop?
Well, it’s something to think about later.
I spend the next few minutes scrolling through the passives offered to
me by the shop and then the ones I’m getting from the fourth-floor quest.
After a bit of thinking, I decide to buy a passive I thought about before.
There still isn’t anything better, and as I’ve noticed with the weaker version
I possess, I could be capable of learning it on my own and turning it into an
active skill, hopefully. Plus, out of all healing passives, it feels the strongest,
making use of Primordial thermal energy.
Yes, I could go healing passive based on the amount of mana I possess,
but none of those I’ve been offered feels like the burst of strong healing I
need. It feels like an excuse, but the main reason is my hope of acquiring an
active healing skill, and I tried a lot while relying on my mana to get there
and trying to copy Lily. It didn’t work at all, so maybe Primordial thermal
energy will get me there.
When I try to buy it, a notification pops up.

Unable to buy another passive! Every being within the system is limited
to five passives at most.
Please get rid of one or sell it to replace it with a new one.

And it’s as expected.

I heard about it from Dennis when the boys tried to have a build with a
dozen uncommon passive skills, but they told me they were unable to go
over five. I had hoped it was because of their lower level or because of
them not having a primary class upgrade, but it looks like there is a limit to
the amount of passives one can hold.
Now that I think about it, there might be one for active skills as well.
Currently, I have nine active skills, so maybe it’s ten? The system likes
rounded numbers.

Passive skills:
Cerebral Harmony (rare)
Mana-Fortified Resilience (rare)
Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)
Mana Reservoir (epic)
Arcane Resilience (epic)

One of the passives comes from the Primary class, so that leaves only
four passive skills for the user to decide. An annoying limit, but there might
be a reason for it.

Do you really want to sell the following item for 200 shards?
Pyrokinetic Resurgence (rare)
Yes/No

Then I buy the new passive.

Phoenix Embrace (epic)

The user harnesses Thermal Energy, channeling controlled bursts of heat to
accelerate the healing process, using primordial energy’s transformative
nature to heal their wounds.

It cost me 12,350 shards, leaving me with 8,312. I decide to keep them

for now while I once again go through the epic passives I’ve been offered
for completing the fourth-floor quest.
This time, there are six of them, but I didn’t find any of them in the
system shop when I checked.

Basilisk Gaze (epic):

The user possesses a passive intimidating aura, causing unease and fear in
adversaries. This skill doesn’t paralyze with a look, but it does unsettle
opponents, making them less effective in combat.

Mana Overload Absorption (epic):

The user’s mana channels are highly proficient at absorbing excess mana,
mitigating the negative effects of mana overloads, and ensuring stability in
challenging magical situations.

Mana Forge (epic):

The user’s manipulation of mana transcends its limits, enabling them to
shape mana into intricate and powerful constructs. These creations possess
remarkable durability and destructive capabilities, making them
formidable.
Kinetic Momentum (epic):
The user’s mastery of kinetic energy allows them to effortlessly transfer
tremendous kinetic force between their body, weapons, and projectiles,
resulting in devastating impacts and unparalleled effectiveness.

Energy Conversion (epic):

The user naturally converts ambient energy into personal strength and
stamina. This passive skill grants them increased endurance and resilience,
making them less susceptible to fatigue and energy-based attacks.

Labyrinth Mind (epic):

The user’s thoughts are incredibly complex and protected, rendering them
near immune to mind-reading, scrying, and mental intrusion. This skill also
confuses anyone attempting to manipulate their thoughts or memories.

So let’s go through them one after one.

I probably got Basilisk Gaze because I like to use my mana for
intimidation lately. I don’t like it much because it is passive and walking
around with a field like that sounds annoying. But now that I think about it,
I’m capable of turning off my passive skills, so it should be fine, turning
this passive into a semi-active skill.
The effect is most likely really strong because it’s a passive skill, but I
would rather deal more damage and kill my enemies quickly rather than
scare them and kill them slowly. So this one’s a pass for now.
Mana Overload Absorption is similar to a skill I was offered a while
ago; the old one was only of rare grade. I like this one a lot, a lot a lot. If I
don’t change my mind, I’ll pick this one.
Mana Forge is also interesting and would strengthen my [Regalia] and
would probably make it easier to create the mana mecha armor I already
used a few times. Yet I hesitate, as it’s something I will slowly get to on my
own, and I don’t need [Regalia] to become much stronger; it’s really strong
already, and I’m even using [Infusion] to give it an even bigger boost. This
one is also a skip for now.
Energy Conversion sounds interesting. Does it mean the passive is
capable of turning heat into strength and stamina? Maybe even cold? Would
a higher rarity skill be capable of turning sunrays into more power? That
does sound incredible. A being with such a passive? Turning sunrays, cold
air, hot air, strong wind, gravitational force, and other energies into physical
stats?
The effect likely won’t be that strong—otherwise, the skill would be
straight-up broken and this asshole system wouldn’t allow that—but I
should keep it in mind.
Labyrinth Mind is probably something similar to my Mantle and
Reinforcement constructs. I also like it a lot, but with my immense mana, I
should be able to protect my mind on my own, which was confirmed when
Sophie wasn’t capable of Manipulating the First One while he was releasing
a lot of mana.
Well, Mana Overload Absorption it is. The question is what skill should
I replace?
Thinking for a while, I sell Cerebral Harmony for 200 shards and
replace it with the newest one. I think the boost Cerebral Harmony gives to
my mind and mana connection is too weak at this point to even notice, so it
should be fine.
As expected, the pain is terrible, and it feels like my mana channels are
burning, a feeling almost as bad as when I got my first trait. The worst part
of it is how long it takes, minutes of burning pain that are made worse by
the feeling of it coming from inside my body.
Using [Focus], I try to filter it out and examine the changes being made
to my body.
 As many times before, I can’t even feel the source of the changes or
what is guiding them. I’m also incapable of feeling mana or anything else
applying the changes. It’s just happening.
The system is truly as scary as it is assholish.
Epic passives being dealt with, there is one thing I want to check before
testing them. Something I was really, really curious about ever since the
start of the floor.
I open the Community, click on Easy Difficulty, and type my message.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Hey, what was your floor quest for the
fourth floor?
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Oh, another one from group 4!
Welcome!
Sami (Easy, AFK) - lol, another loser from Hell. Only on the fifth
floor, lol.
Maria (Easy, AFK) - Ignore Sami, he likes to think he is funny.
Potato (Easy, Royals) - Noname, did you meet Ligma on the fourth
floor?
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Our floor quest was to kill some
abomination ant. I couldn’t even see his level, but he had two
question marks. One group killed him a few months ago. We went to
the fifth floor.
Sami (Easy, AFK) - We even have people who went to the sixth
floor two months ago, lol.
Potato (Easy, Royals) - Did you learn about Updog?
Sami (Easy, AFK) - They might be on the seventh or eighth floor
already. I bet they could take you on. I don’t trust that Sset guy at all.
There is no way there are three-question-mark monsters.
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - What’s your level, Noname?
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Sami, I will see you during the
tournament. Thanks for the answer, Channeler. Is mana the best
stat? I will keep my level to myself.
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Oooo, I like you! Mana rules! Are
you also a mana build? I’m two parts mana and one part
constitution, and people call me crazy, heh. What are you? Three
mana one con? Or maybe even four mana one con?
 I check my stats.

Constitution: 246
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 782 + 782

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Something like that. Can I ask you a few
questions?
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Sure, but you will have to answer
some of mine—well, the ones you can.
I’m really starting to like the guy.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Will do.

I ignore other messages as there are at this point a dozen people

chatting, and I don’t have that much time with my limit for Community and
need to save some for later.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - How many groups are there in Easy

Difficulty and how many people started in each? Can you tell me
your floor quests and your average levels?
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Heh, Sset asked the same
questions. Ten groups in total, each group with two hundred people,
but plenty of them moved to Normal Difficulty. One group nearly all
died, and only one person survived out of all two hundred. We think
he killed everyone else, though. First floor—survive for thirty days
in the forest. There were goblins and some wolves, all low level. The
second floor was to stop a powerful mage mass murderer; the third
floor was some post-apocalyptic city with zombies, and we had to
reach the Saint and help to fight it; the fourth floor was to kill the
abomination ant, two-question-mark monster.

Nice answer, short and to the point.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Thanks, what would you like to know?

Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Did you really have to fight five
Calamities, one of which was a giant ant with wings that was over
Level 250 and led tens of thousands of ants?
 Noname (Hell, group 4) - Only four Calamities and the ant didn’t
have wings. He made them with mana. And yes, he was around that
level.
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - Heh, I was testing you. I wanted to
compare your answer to Sset’s. Thanks. My limit is gone so see you
later!

After Channeler leaves, I skim through a few messages and turn off the
Community. Tomorrow, I will check the normal one.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 63
ONE SECOND

Flashbacks – Earth (1 week before Nathaniel got into the tutorial)

“Y es, as I said. Some of the lower-security prisoners have disappeared,

around fifteen women and a similar number of men. Along with the
guards, a doctor, and some of the visitors. An entire block of the
building is gone.”
“Explosion?”
“If it was an explosion, it’s the weirdest I’ve ever heard of. We already
had someone here, asking…no, ordering us to blame it on a gas leak and
declare them dead.”
“FBI?”
“Most likely. The director told us to follow orders and not ask
questions.”
“I’m not getting paid enough to stick my nose into this, so let’s do that.
Did you start contacting the next of kin of the people who disappeared?”
“Yes, we did. We contacted some of them, but there were a few that we
couldn’t find any contacts for.”
“Keep trying.”

“We lost one of our Typhoon-class submarines, sir.”

“Come again?”
“I don’t know how to say it otherwise, sir. We lost contact, sir.”
 “Did ASW not find anything? Is there any chance that it could be a
secret mission from the higher-ups?”
“That’s unlikely. They were supposed to return to restock and change
crew.”
“Their equipment?”
“Intercontinental ballistic missiles, each armed with multiple nuclear
warheads. They had a hundred of them.”
“How sure are we of their disappearance?”
“They were on the surface having a direct line to one of our warships
and got cut off in the middle. We already sent a few ships to their last
known location.”
“Let me know as soon as you get more information. Anything.”
“Yes, sir.”

“Did you hear? The train Matus was on crashed just this morning!”
“What the hell, really? How is he? Is he okay?”
“We don’t know.” A boy takes a few steps and opens the door for a
group of his friends.
They enter the shop and quickly start picking out snacks before they go
to school.
“I heard the train disappeared,” one of the friends says.
“Bullshit, how can a train disappear?” Another of the boys waves his
hand. “I tried to call Matus multiple times, but he is not answering. I hope
he’s okay.”

Two men stand and stare at a car. Well, what’s left of a car. The entire front
end of the red pickup has been torn off, and the engine has been destroyed
and smashed.
“Did someone crash it and run away?”
“Yes, most likely in a tank while hiding the tread tracks.”
“Then how the fuck do you explain this?” one of the men screams. This
car was brand new, barely used.
 The other man points at the tracks in the mud.
“There is no way it was a bear!”
His fellow grabs the screaming man and leads him to the side of the car,
where deep gouges have been left in the door. “Can you still say it wasn’t a
bear?”
“This has to be a prank!” the man screams again, and they start arguing
once more.

Two boys sit high in a shaking tree, phones in their hands, both of them
calling anyone they can. Parents, police, firefighters.
The tree they are sitting in is massive, yet it trembles constantly.
Howl.
The cause is the wolf below them. The wolf is bigger than it should
have any right to be. Its skin is brown, and its eyes emit a demonic glow in
the dimming light.
Once again, the tree shakes and the wolf howls while the boys scream.

Flashback - ??? (1 week before Nathaniel entered the tutorial)

“My lord, we got a message from the palace. It’s about the planet we’ve
been Paired with.”
“That’s an unexpectedly quick reaction.”
“Yes, my lord, they wanted me to point out that that planet has Beyond
explorers. We don’t know the exact number yet, but it’s likely between ten
and thirty.”
“That’s quite a few for a planet that just entered its non-attack phase.”
“I agree, my lord. Would you like me to find out more?”
“There is no need. We would need to ask one of the Rulers for more
information about their tutorial, and we can’t waste our resources like that.”
“As you command. I will try to learn which planets got the same
instance of the tutorial. Maybe we can use them during the last
tournament.”
 “Good idea. You can do that.”

I observe as my newest epic item, the Aqua Arcanum Vial, absorbs water
from the lake I found. It’s been doing that for a few minutes already; a
stream of water continuously flows through the air and into the vial. At this
point, this thing contains more water than it should.
How interesting. How fascinating.
Spatial storage? System fuckery? Can I replicate it? Can I use it to
store…mana? Well, I have batteries for that, but it won’t hurt to have more
mana, right?
Huhu. I don’t have a problem.
At some point, the stream peters out, and I heft the vial. It still weighs
the same, and when I use it, water bursts forth. Holding the item gives me
control over the water, and I swirl it around me, creating some sort of
barrier.
I try to use the water as a projectile as well, and it works. Unfortunately,
the damage is terrible, more like splashing water at someone. The only
advantage is the large amount of water it holds.
While examining it, I try to condense the water and turn it into a thinner
and more pressurized stream, like the ones they use to cut sheet metal.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, and I don’t have much control over the
item. Well, not exactly; it’s more like the item itself lacks control. It feels
like a limitation of the item itself, like it’s not made to be a weapon.
Still, it’s not so bad, so I start filling it again while I look around.
So far, I have met no monsters or detected any presence. When I flew
high into the air, I saw some ruins far in the distance, but I’ve decided to not
go there right away.
I need to upgrade my construct, test my passives, and wait for my
disciple. A disciple…such a strange thing. The floor quest here is unlike any
before, but up until now, there’s been some intent to them.
The first was to cull the weeds and introduce us to the basics of the
system and skills while gradually increasing the difficulty.
The second was to show us a civilization at its peak, with Champions
and an Absolute. The floor ended with a warning and showed us what we
could be capable of. All of this has been shown to us while we’re still weak
rather than being held back for later floors.
The third once again showed us the consequences of misusing our
powers, and we had to rely on ourselves to survive, seek out information,
and come up with a plan to deal with the Saint.
The fourth was the most freehand one. Plenty of options from hiring the
natives, to turning Calamities against each other, and a lot of ways to clear
it. The Fallen Hero for those more suited to a single target, the Colony for
those suited to large groups of enemies, a war between the lynthari and the
humans for the more politically minded, and the Tree as an unmoving static
target for those adept at channeling and preparation.
The fifth floor is to raise and protect a disciple. This all being a tutorial
most likely means that we might be training people when we get back to
Earth, and this is probably meant as preparation. The title of disciple is
important to the system. We met the corpse of a Champion’s disciple on the
fourth floor and heard it mentioned multiple times. I also met Ruby on the
second floor, and she was a disciple of that cockroach-like Absolute.
It all makes me curious. Disciples, candidates, Champions, and
Absolutes. It may take a while, but I’ll get to all this.
The bottle is filled once again, and I put it into my pocket and look at
the pile of items I brought here with me. At least I won’t be bored with so
much work to be done.
But now, the most important part!
I have Mana Overload Absorption and Arcane Resilience, plus an
improved healing passive. All three are epic skills that should be capable of
helping me with the black mana and my new trait. So let’s try it.
Deep breath in, and I activate my [Focus] and consolidate it, [Mana
Manipulation] immediately activating at high power. My two starting
skills. I’m still quite fond of them.
I let the mana reach my eyes. The trait slowly activates, and the world
around me changes. Beautiful waves of mana surround me, the ones I can’t
sense or see without the trait. I don’t even know what they’re called.
Then I start to see the particles of mana floating gently, swirling and
filling everything. Ever-present and beautiful like tiny lights stolen from the
sky. Ambient mana.
Gradually, I feel the pressure on my eyes and brain increase, but I hold
on and continue to take it all in. The longer I do, the more information
flows into me, and the deeper I see into this beautiful, invisible world.
When I feel like it’s enough, I deactivate my trait, and as my head
screams, the information overload stops.
That was good, much longer than without Mana Overload Absorption. I
was worried that it wouldn’t affect my eyes, but it does, and I’m grateful for
that.
After a short break, I start another test, this time generating and storing
a lot of thermal energy inside my body, as much as I can handle. It works
well, and Phoenix Embrace activates, healing and supporting me. Then I
activate my trait again and try it with my healing passive activated.
It starts similarly, but when I start feeling pain in my head and eyes, the
healing thermal power rushes to them, alleviating a lot of the pressure and
fighting against it. Not all of it, but plenty. The only disadvantage is the
amount of focus I need to keep it activated while focusing on my eyes, but
that much is fine, and the amount of time I can keep my eyes up increases.
While at the peak of it, I reach out my hand and create an orb.
Blue turns dark blue with streaks of light blue and purple, then white as
if about to explode, and with a stronger push, it turns black, with tiny sparks
of white light inside the pitch-black orb.
The way mana waves and ambient mana move around the black orb is
fascinating, unlike any reaction I have seen with my limited experience.
Carefully, while using my trait and my skills, I try to control the orb, to
force my will on it. It requires a large amount of mana to do so, but it’s
within my capabilities, then a thin stream of my mana connects to the orb,
constantly supplying it with mana.
Not willing to take it into my body again, for now, I instead use [Focus]
and manipulate it into changing shape.
It turns into a beautiful enigmatic black dagger, but even this doesn’t
feel like its optimal form.
Still, I’m happy, even with the constant pressure.

[Mana Manipulation - Level 43 > Mana Manipulation - Level 44]

[Focus - Level 42 > Focus - Level 43]

Feeling I’m getting close to my limits, I cut off the connection to my

mana, and unable to cancel it, I throw it nearby, where it floats in the air,
gently sucking and absorbing any mana that reaches it.
 For the next hour, I continue to observe it, and at some point, I create a
barrier around it, similar to the one the ants did before to store my black
mana orbs.
Then, for the next few hours, I observe as the orb gradually crumbles.
There wasn’t much mana left for it to sustain itself, and I never intended
there to be.
Overall, I’m really happy with the result. Sure, the black mana thing is
best used defensively at the moment, with its capacity for absorbing huge
amounts of mana and stopping attacks that are way over my head. So that’s
what I will do for now, learn to use it for defense.
The second step is to inscribe my arm again and use the orb to absorb
mana and make it mine in a carefully controlled manner.
The third step is to slowly get it to flow through my body while
maintaining the active state of my healing passive.
The last step is what I’m the most excited about. The black mana feels
like mana+, or mana ultra, or maybe mana pro. The sheer quality of it is
something else, and if I use it to power my skills, it will give me a huge
boost. So of course I intend to use it. Partially, it reminds me of [Mana
Surge], the skill I used to have, just more versatile and much stronger.
I’m about to turn around and go work on my construct, but then I
hesitate in mid-step.
This doesn’t feel right. Since when am I so careful?
Didn’t I already decide to make myself as strong as possible? So what’s
with this tiptoeing, all the preparations, and careful testing?
My heart starts generating a huge amount of kinetic energy, which I
immediately transfer into thermal and compress it even further, golden
flames blazing on my skin.
Then my eyes activate once more, a beautiful hidden world opening to
me, and in that world, I create another black mana orb. I reach out, grab this
orb, and squeeze it.
The black mana fights against me, tries to suck on my mana, to
dominate it all.
And I fight against it. My skills surround it, my mana surrounds it, and I
force it into my body, where it starts flowing through my circuits, the pain
increasing, feeling as if burning iron is pulled through my muscles. But I
push that to the back of my mind and let myself absorb the entire orb,
constantly fighting the mana in my own body.
 I don’t let it. This thing is made of my mana; there is no way I will let it
fight against me.

[Mana Domain - Level 28 > Mana Domain - Level 29]

[Mana Domain - Level 29 > Mana Domain - Level 30]

My domain activates, this time within my body, strengthening my

control over it and all of my mana.

[Mana Manipulation - Level 44 > Mana Manipulation - Level 45]

[Resonance - Level 40 > Resonance - Level 41]
[Redistribution - Level 40 > Redistribution - Level 41]

[Resonance] activates, constantly shifting the frequency of the two

types of mana, matching them more closely, and [Redistribution] helps
too.
I ignore the pain and the pressure and just send a bit more heat through
my body. Any wounds that appear immediately heal under the influence of
my golden flames.
Then, finally, the black mana gives up, and I seize control of it. I move
it, and I use it for a skill. I pick the one I rely on over and over again.
[Focus], powered by black mana, activates, and all the healing that was
being sent through my body rushes to my head, my muscles immediately
twitching, bones cracking. Yet even then, the passive skill only focuses on
my head, trying to keep me alive and my brain from literally melting under
the pressure.
For one second, [Focus] activates. Just for one, one terribly short
second that almost kills me. And in that short moment, I watch as the world
around me slows down to a crawl and my mind feels as clear as never
before.
My thoughts rush through with a speed that feels inhuman, and it
terrifies me.
The moment a feeling of fear intrudes, my mind examines it, reads it,
and I feel a short burst of amusement before it’s pushed to the back,
immediately turning to my situation and examining the effect of black mana
on [Focus].
 The wind blows nearby, and in slow motion, the branch of the tree next
to me moves.
Surprisingly, my body is capable of moving, and even though the world
feels slowed down, I move normally and touch the branch.
Then I watch as my muscles and tendons on my arm tear, bones crack,
poking through the skin, and I pull my hand back, only for it to break even
further.
Only then do I realize what’s happening, all still within that short
second.
The world did not slow down; my [Focus] allowed me to take in all this
information and process it at a speed that feels so inhuman. Then my dumb
ass tried to move my body, and without realizing that moving it at the
current “normal speed,” I would need to move it dozens of times faster than
what I usually do and what my low constitution is capable of handling.
Before the effect wears off, I realize how dangerous it is and move
black mana inside my body, pushing it out and shooting it far away from
me, tearing a few holes in my skin, and overloading my circuits.
Then the sounds come back to me and hit me like a tsunami. Someone
groans in pain, and only later do I realize it’s me.
I fall to the ground, head thrashing, arm broken to pieces, eyes hurting
as if someone stabbed them, circuits overloaded even with my new passive.
Focusing all my attention on keeping thermal energy flowing through my
body and on breathing, I lie there down in the grass near the lake.
For the following hours, I only examine my area and keep up healing
that is mostly focused on my head and brain. After that, I heal my body and
examine my passive.
Then when it’s all done, I lie there and try to take it all in. I spend hours
and hours going over that single second when I felt so…so… I don’t know
how to name it. I just know I do not regret a thing.
Only when I hear rustling and feel a presence behind the trees do I
realize that the twenty-four hours passed and my floor quest has fully
started now.
I look up, and there, poking from behind the tree, a small girl hides. She
is around six years old. She has light brown hair that is messy and seems to
have been cut with a knife, and she is wearing clothes that are more rags
than clothing.
 But the most striking thing about her is her eyes, red like rubies, and the
two small pointy horns poking out from under her hair near her forehead.
And over her head hangs a single word.

[Disciple]

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 64
DISCIPLE

W
hen our eyes meet, my disciple immediately hides behind the tree,
and I feel her mana reaching toward me, examining me. She does
it carefully, extremely so.
I think, out of all of the people I’ve met up until now, she has the most
covert method of sensing another person’s mana. Her probing is almost
unnoticeable, just a whisper in a hurricane. I try to replicate it and examine
her as well, but I can tell she has defenses in place, guarding against her
own techniques, so I ease off.
Sure, I could still do it, but there is no need to freak her out.
Instead, I continue to recline on the grass, enjoying the warm rays of
sunlight on my skin and the slight breeze; the weather is really nice.
Her probing stops, and she continues to observe from her hiding place,
so I open my system messages.

Train and protect your disciple

A disciple was chosen from the tutorial database. This disciple was
chosen for their similarities to you. There is much to be gained. Tread
carefully!
Killing your disciple is not allowed and will be punished severely.
The longer your disciple stays alive, the bigger your rewards for this
floor quest will be.

There is nothing on my disciple; there are no stats, no information about

her.
 Maybe it’s on purpose? The words over her head say “disciple” and
nothing of her level or class. Is this meant to encourage me to bond with my
disciple, in good faith or poor, and learn these things from her?
The system puts a lot of emphasis on the word “disciple,” so it’s
probably some sort of preparation for the future, as I predicted. The system
also said that my disciple was summoned from a database. So that probably
means this floor was created as a “playground” for her and me.
I look toward the tree again, and my silly disciple is still hiding. I’m
extremely curious, and I want to inquire about her race, traits, skills, and
level, all that good stuff. But I know if I do so right away, I will just scare
her even more. So I just close my eyes and wait.
It takes almost thirty minutes before I hear soft steps and the sound of
water; it sounds as if someone is drinking straight from the lake.
Then there is another period of silence and a few more steps, heading
my way; they are extremely careful and soft. The girl stands over me now,
and through sheer force of will, I do not open my eyes.
Damn, I hope she hasn’t pulled out a dagger to finish me off. There’s
still blood on my clothes from my wounds, so maybe she will because of
fear.
Actually, wouldn’t that be a funny way for me to go?
Okay, okay, let’s calm down. I’m in too good a mood from my
“successful” rounds of testing.
Then I almost start when I feel a wet touch on my forehead, but I still
hold myself back.
The little girl with her tiny horns and blood-red eyes continues her task,
gradually, as I realize what that is. She is using a piece of cloth she’s dipped
in water to wipe the blood from my face.
Unable to resist any longer, I slowly open my eyes without looking at
her; instead, I stare at the sky.
She hesitates before continuing. “Does it hurt?” she whispers in a soft
voice.
Her face stays close to emotionless the entire time as I watch her with
my peripheral vision. She is careful to control her expression, very much so.
And it’s an act.
She’s not doing this now because she’s worried about me. No, she is
doing this to look innocent in my eyes, to get on my good side, and to gain
favors. It’s a simple, calculated move. The actions of one who’s been hurt
over and over again and can’t trust people, so she pretends. To survive and
to not get hurt.
I don’t find it repulsive; no, not at all. I find it endearing.
I turn my head, and my eyes meet hers. Just for a short moment, we
look into each other’s eyes before she turns her gaze away.
“Please, don’t hurt me,” she whispers.
Even these words are calculated, to maximize pity. Yet they are real all
the same; the bruises on her body are proof of that. Her arms are pale and
thin, her clothes are made of extremely cheap material, and she has no
shoes.
I don’t answer. Even if I tell her I won’t, she will only pretend to trust
me and expect it all the same. Things like this are best proven with action,
not words.
Carefully, to not scare her, I sit up and face her, taking the opportunity
to examine her a bit more.
Her horns are smaller than my pinkie; her eyes are deep red. When light
shines on them, they become even more vibrant. They are pretty and
contrast beautifully with her brown hair.
“Why are you here?” I ask.
She examines me as well, fixating on my contrasting eyes. For some
reason, they fascinate her, but she doesn’t ask about them.
“I was told that you would be my master and I your disciple. The voice
told me that you would help me become stronger.”
Oh? Did she get a system message? Did the system pretend to be some
godlike being and talk in her head? Or has she been programmed to think
that?
“Okay, so how about this? You won’t lie to me. If you don’t want to
answer my question, you don’t have to. You just can’t lie. In exchange, I
won’t lie to you.”
I know this conversation might be too heavy for someone this young,
but if she is anything like me, this should be reasonable.
She carefully considers this and nods.
Somehow, I find it cute. Her face trying to hide emotions, the tiny horns
poking from her head, and her red eyes.
“Next, I will become your master. I will train you and help you become
stronger. I will make sure no one hurts you and that you have as much food
as you need.”
 Her expression immediately breaks, revealing her suspicions, before she
puts a small fake smile on her face.
“Yes, please!” she shouts, adding emotion to her voice.
Even knowing she’s putting on a mask, while trying to hold on to some
hope, I almost fall for it.
“It won’t be free, obviously. You will have to tell me about your skills,
class, and stats and answer some questions for me—other than ones you
won’t want to.”
“I…will do so.” She nods, and this time, I can tell she is a bit more
serious.
Of course, good things don’t come for free, so she feels more
comfortable when she has to do something for them.
“What is your name?”
The little girl looks at me, eyes wide open, a hint of surprise and fear in
them.
Carefully, she opens her mouth to lie, but then, looking at me, she
whispers, “I don’t want to tell.” Her voice is extremely weak, and I watch
her squint her eyes, her body tensing, expecting a blow.
She could try to lie, but she decided to take a chance and uphold our
newly formed pact. It’s mostly childlike naivety, and I can’t see it as
anything else, no matter how hard I try.
“I see, that’s fine,” I answer.
Her body stiffens even more, and her eyes blink up, our eyes meeting
for a second.
“I don’t know your customs. Can you tell me why you can’t let me
know your name?”
“It’s forbidden,” she answers.
I decide not to push anymore. “Okay. Are you hungry?”
This time, she perks up even more, finally letting herself eye the pile of
things I left near the lake. Materials, clothes, food, mana stones, valuables,
everything I looted…everything I brought from the fourth floor. There’s
plenty there.
“Yes, please…Master.”
I stand up, my body healed but aching, yet I do not regret a thing.
Something tells me that what I just did with the black mana was a bit—just
a little bit—dumb. But I’m sure first-floor or second-floor Nathaniel would
try the same without hesitation. Both of them were risk-takers. Hell, third-
floor Nathaniel and his Kinetic Mana Heart would probably do the same, so
I can’t be left behind by those weirdos.
I will totally try it again as soon as possible. Well, maybe after
upgrading my Kinetic Mana Heart. I wanted to do it before my disciple
came, but, well…stuff happened.
Taking a few more steps, I go through the pile of stuff. Unfortunately,
there are no clothes that would fit her. I scroll through the system shop and
find some, as expected, but they cost 30 shards, almost as much as
uncommon gear.
It looks like the system is trying to make me a few shards lighter.
When I buy them, I pretend to grab them from the pile and set them in
front of her. The clothes are simple, but the material feels nice. A white
shirt, brown pants, and even some shoes. Nothing to sing about, but even
that seems to greatly surprise the little horned creature.
“They are yours, according to our deal. Please wash first.” I grab one of
the towels I brought with me. “I will go scan the area so you will have some
privacy.”
Before she can react, I use kinetic energy to push myself into the air,
higher and higher.
High up, I take a deep breath while keeping myself afloat at the spot.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - This floor quest sucks. I don’t know how
to deal with kids.
Izzy (Hell, group 4) - My disciple is almost as old as me!

Oh boy, I did not think of that at all.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Are you okay?

Izzy (Hell, group 4) - Yes! It’s fun! My disciple is really cute, and
her hair is blue and keeps floating around like fire. I want that too!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - How did Soph handle you getting
separated?
Izzy (Hell, group 4) - I think she almost cried, hehe, but Soph is
dumb sometimes! I can keep myself safe, and I have Noodle with me.
He will protect me too!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Still, don’t do anything stupid.
 Izzy (Hell, group 4) - I’ve already heard it from everyone else （＞д＜）

Well, it looks like Lily is teaching Izzy how to use emoticons… Nice.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Archdeer meat.

I say the password in the message.

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Asshole!

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Please don’t tell me you also have a
disciple.
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food!

What the hell.

At this point, I’m not even surprised; instead, I’m extremely curious.
Unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to get an answer.
Seeing that no one else seems to be joining, I exchange a few more
messages with the two youngest members of group 4 and turn off the
Community.
Still floating high in the air, I reposition myself to lie on my back.
The air here is colder, and the wind is stronger, but the view is amazing,
and I really enjoy the feeling of it. Things like this keep reminding me how
much everything has changed over the past year, and I love it. All these
powers and options that have opened to me and expectations of more in the
future.
Lulled by the wind, I spend a few more minutes like this before
deciding to land back on the ground.
The little red-eyed girl is already sitting there in her new clothes, clean,
but still bruised. The towel is carefully hung on the branch nearby, and I
notice that she even cleaned the branch a bit to not dirty the towel.
All the food I left for her to eat is still there, untouched. My disciple just
sits there in front of the food, stomach growling, eyes flicking at it, not
daring to touch it without my express permission.
“Starting now, you can take any food I have or water and eat it anytime
you want, without asking me,” I say.
 Her pupils expand, yet she still doesn’t take it; instead, she looks at me,
surprise apparent on her face.
She is still suspicious, I see.
With a sigh, I make my voice a bit haughty. “It would be annoying to
have you constantly asking for food,” I say, knowing this is reasoning she
would accept more.
This time, it seems to work, and she nods, immediately grabbing a few
pieces of fruit and slowly nibbling on them.
For a short moment, a happy smile crosses her face as she tastes the
sweet fruit, and she grabs another piece.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 65
BRIBES

I
came up with the best way to ask questions of my untrusting disciple.
The answer is simple. It’s money and items.
Yup.
It’s totally not suspicious, like some random adult offering candy to a
little kid. Not at all.
I’m too curious to spend weeks gaining her trust, so I have decided to
use some things I bought from the fourth floor. I try with rare items, mana
stones, more food, and the little girl loves it, even though she tries to hide it.
After hours of observing her, I’ve come to notice the imperfections in
her façade. It’s easier than usual, probably because it feels like talking to
myself.
“What is your race?” I ask her after sliding a rare amulet to her. The
item is capable of creating a barrier to shield against mana-based attacks.
It’s useless to me, but her hands nearly shake as she takes it.
While she quickly hides it under her new clothes, I notice a subtle and
mischievous smirk on her face. As if she thinks she is scamming me.
“I will need more to answer that,” she says, already becoming braver in
my presence.
She seems to think I’m someone rich and powerful, who has no idea
how much these items are worth, so she’s decided to scam me for more.
How cute.
“Sure,” I say and put a few lower-grade mana stones and a small bag in
front of her.
After grabbing it all, she puts her newly gained things inside.
“I’m half-demon, half-human,” her voice quietly sounds, and she
examines me carefully. “I don’t know who my parents are or which one of
them was a demon.”
“Are demons feared where you come from?”
“People don’t like them very much…” She doesn’t say more.
The half-demon girl becomes more rigid, and it’s easy to see how they
treat her wherever she is from. A young kid without any parents or family,
from a race that is feared and hated. They probably treat her extremely
poorly, all while thinking they did her a favor just by letting her live.
I don’t like that very much. It’s only been a few hours, but she is my
disciple, and my disciple being treated like this shows disrespect for me as
her master.
Okay, it’s decided, before she returns back, I will teach her some nice
explosive skills and where to kick to make it hurt as much as possible. The
little half-demon has a lot of self-control, but she is timid and weak, and
that’s something I can help with.
I take more food and throw in some sweets and set it in front of her. As
if trained, she waits for my question.
“Tell me your level, your skills, your class, and your passives.”
When she hesitates, I add a bit more to the pile.
“Level 6, skills are [Concentration] and [Mana Manipulation]; I have
no class and one passive; it’s common Mana Channeling.”
I nod, and she quickly takes all the food, keeping some on hand to
slowly nom on.
It looks like the system didn’t lie, and even our skills are similar. So
what is the exact purpose of this floor? To train someone like me to become
as strong as possible and then get as high a reward as possible?
Whatever, I will find out sooner or later.
“Okay, my silly disciple,” I say, changing my bearing, much to her
surprise.
I quite like her personality and the skills she has. She also feels like an
underdog to me. Bullied, at the bottom of the ladder, and who doesn’t want
the underdog to win? Especially when this one is my disciple.
Oh no, we can’t have that. I will turn this half-demon into a terrifying
being.
“My name is Nathaniel. Use it if you want or do not; it’s up to you. You
can call me Master or ‘hey you.’ I don’t mind. I will train you, and I will
protect you while you are here. I will ensure that you do not go hungry and
that you have nice clothes.”
 Her expression isn’t exactly trusting, but that’s fine. I will say what I
want to say and prove the rest with action.
“In exchange, I will need information regarding your skills, your
classes, and your growth so we can make you as strong as possible. I might
also ask a few things about the place you came from. As always, you can
decide not to answer any questions you are uncomfortable answering. Is
everything understandable so far?”
She nods.
“Good, now I would like to set a few ground rules. First, never betray
me. I’m trusting you, and I promise that I will never betray you if you don’t
betray me first.”
The little half-demon nods once more, her big red eyes observing me.
“Master…” she asks carefully.
“Yes?”
“Do you not hate me? Do you not find my eyes ugly and horns
disgusting?”
Damn, I’m quite good with kids, am I not? The change is staggering.
Oh, maybe it’s because of the food? Or maybe she feels a kinship with me
as well.
In place of an answer, I lean in close and let her look me in the eyes.
“Do you find my eyes ugly?”
“No! Master’s eyes are beautiful!” she shouts. Maybe she really thinks
that, or perhaps she has a fear of antagonizing me.
“Thank you. I also find your eyes pretty and your horns cute.” Led by
curiosity, I also reach out and touch one of her horns, pulling on it.
The texture is nice, and it doesn’t feel cold; rather, it has a strange
warmth to it. When I move it from side to side while holding it, her head
moves too, and the shock on her face almost makes me laugh.
I let go, and she puts her hands over her horn protectively.
She looks angry, but to me, it’s more like an angry little kitten rather
than anything to be taken seriously. Even as her face tries to remain
expressionless.
“Try filling this mana stone with your mana,” I say and hand her one of
the smaller mana stones I used for practice some time ago.
I take a moment to add some simple inscriptions to the mana stone,
making it easier to infuse it with mana.
 Then I stand up and fly high into the air. Even now, I keep myself afloat
as if I were lying on a bed and position myself so I can see her just in case.
The little half-demon doesn’t seem to notice the anchor I left next to her,
just in case.
Further away, I have some space to think about how I should deal with
her. There are multiple options.
One of them is keeping my distance, training her, and making her as
strong as possible for the best possible reward.
Another one is to be fair, a bit harsh, and use training methods that are
more demanding, producing better results. That would include some pain
from her side and the risk of her hating me.
Of course, I also have the option to become unhinged, treat her poorly,
and train her through fear. She is just a fake, so that wouldn’t be so bad,
right?
I don’t like that last option at all, and there is no need for it.
My disciple seems to have a personality I can appreciate. She seems to
be the type that likes to keep her distance while tending toward honesty
when she has no reason to lie. And I won’t lie, I pity her a bit. As with the
many times before, it’s hard for me to treat kids harshly.
But this is dangerous as well.
I just ended the fourth floor, and Myrra, someone I’ve come to
appreciate and befriend, stayed there with little more than a tiny speck of
hope of Lissandra reaching her. Heck, for all I know, the floor disappeared
immediately. Or maybe even nothing changed. Maybe Lissandra already
counts as a tutorial attendee even though she is not showing in the
Community; maybe the system still has some errors that need to be fixed.
Bringing me back to the main point—should I open up a bit? Should I
allow myself to befriend my disciple, only to end up saddened when the
floor ends?
As I like, I leave it up to future Nathaniel to deal with and open the
Community.
I click on the Normal Difficulty, and a chat opens.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Hello.

One (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Oh, there is really someone
from Hell Difficulty!
 Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - I thought they were making
fun of us.
One (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Noname, how is Hell
Difficulty? Is it true that you have a corgi and a snake that are
probably stronger than us, lol?
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - I think that little girl was
just making fun of us, One.
Patriot (Normal, OnlyDads) - She sounded honest.
Patriot (Normal, OnlyDads) - Hello, Noname!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - I don’t know about the snake, but the
corgi would surely take on some people from Hard Difficulty.
One (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Heh, they are all the same.
Two (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - I told you, all people from
Hell Difficulty have a screw loose.
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Please, Noname, don’t add
fuel to the fire. These two are annoying enough as it is.
One (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - That’s not what you said on
our date.
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Screw off, you made me pay
even for you!
One (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Equality.
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - How is that equality?!
Patriot (Normal, OnlyDads) - What level are you, Noname?
Noname (Hell, group 4) - I would rather keep it to myself. How
come you guys didn’t join our Community?
Patriot (Normal, OnlyDads) - Heh, that’s fine. You don’t have to
tell.
Two (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - You can’t join a Community
that is in a higher difficulty than yours. This means Hell can join
every Community while Hard can join every other than Hell, etc.

Oh? That’s interesting, and it explains why these people haven’t been in
our Community.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - On the first floor, we had to survive for

thirty days in a forest full of monsters that became harder over time.
Cinderbear, battle trolls, phantom goblins. The second was to watch
 the end of the world caused by a skill powered by an unknown rarity
sword; the third was to kill the body of a dead Saint Absolute that
caused the end of the world; the fourth was to kill one of four
Calamities, each of them over Level 250. What were your quests?
Two (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Holy fuck, is he lying?
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - I think that girl said
something similar.
Two (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - They could be both lying.
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - There is no real reason to.
Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Our first floor was similar,
but the monsters were probably weaker. The second floor was to
survive a war between two small nations. The third we had to find
the cause of the Decay. The fourth one did have this race of cat
girls! They were so tall and cute, I wish I could take a picture! There
we had to help free an old capital from the Living Tree.
Two (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - I want my lynthari mommy
back.

What the fuck?

Eve (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - Creep.

Two (Normal, Ominous Latin Name) - I saw you trying to pull
their tails!

I leave the Community before they continue.

It’s interesting to see the differences between each Community, and
seeing Easy and Normal, it looks like a lot of them take it much easier than
any of us here in Hell. The proof will come when we finally meet face to
face, and I’m already curious about their level of skill.
A bit over a month remains until the tournament and more questions
come. What will happen to the floor and floor quest during the tournament?
Will they pause?
I float a bit lower to get a better view of the half-demon below me.
The entire time I’m up here, she keeps working on the mana stone. Her
brow is furrowed, and as she does so, she even ignores the items she’s been
holding so covetously ever since I gave them to her.
 She doesn’t nibble on the food; the bag is forgotten on the side, and she
only has eyes for the mana stone.
Her mask cracks even more, and the corner of her lips lifts up in a smile
as she manipulates her mana and works on the task I gave her.
What she is showing me right now is something I know very well, and
the moment I see her like that, I know I won’t be able to treat her harshly or
keep my distance. No, she and I both share the same love for this thing
called mana.
And just like that, it’s decided.
System, you bastard, the end of this floor is going to hurt, isn’t it?

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 66
TRAIN AND PROTECT

M
y disciple is a weird little creature.
The young half-demon doesn’t notice when I return, and I can
see her shaking slightly, sweat on her brow. However, she still
finishes the task I gave her, and when I move closer, she hands me a mana
stone that contains a tiny bit of her mana. The amount is so small that it
barely penetrates the surface.
Taking no note of that, she wipes sweat from her forehead, and I could
swear for a moment a smug smile flashes on her face.
Wow, just wow.
In the end, her mood changes gradually, as if she comes back to the real
world outside the fascinating qualities of mana, one that contains people as
well. Her defenses shoot up, and her expression firms, an apparent attempt
at hiding her feelings. It’s not good to let a person you don’t trust know that
you like something. It can be used against you.
As I examine the stone, she patiently waits, and I notice that she is still
shaking. Was it too much for her? It could be that; I have no experience
helping someone as young as her train.
“Good job,” I say simply, to her surprise.
The little half-demon doesn’t seem to be used to compliments, and after
a bit of hesitation, she nods. “Thanks, Master,” she says carefully.
I hand the stone back to her. “You can keep it and train when you feel
like it.”
The mana stone contains something like an extremely simple labyrinth.
If she sends her mana through the right circuit and it reaches the end of the
“labyrinth,” I will know.
 I intend to improve her [Mana Manipulation] and to see if her
[Concentration] will help her with it.
Of course, it could all be useless, as my only experience with learning is
from being self-taught, and after becoming Lissandra’s disciple for a short
while, she just threw me down in the tunnels full of giant serpents and imps.
Good old times.
Damn, now I really want to return to those tunnels and beat up every
single monster that’s left.
“Master?” a soft voice sounds, and I return back to reality.
Two deep red eyes carefully observe me when I ask, “Yes?”
“Are you strong?” Her question is somewhat timid but calculated.
I guess she already judged I’m not someone who would react by asking,
“How dare you ask me such a question?”
Still, I give it a bit of thought. Am I strong? Probably?
Out of people from group 4, I’m currently the strongest…of course,
only after our future corgi Archmage. And perhaps Noodle. He is still small
and weak, but our future animal overlords can’t be underestimated.
I did watch other members fighting and spent some time comparing
myself to them, and even then, I can with confidence say that I would be
capable of fighting and winning against any of them.
A fight 1v1 against the Fallen Hero might be possible as well, but it
wouldn’t be as “nice” as what they did, and I would need to put my life on
the line.
I’m also stronger than Myrra, who bears the title of fake Champion
candidate.
My level is 214, but I’m most likely closer to someone at 240 to 250.
Am I as strong as a Champion disciple? Probably if I fought against a
weaker one, but so far, it looks like anyone who’s earned that title is
extremely talented.
As for the Champion, nope, there is no way. From what I know, the
Champion is someone over three question marks, so most likely over Level
450, more likely even higher.
Then there are titles such as Absolute and the title of Ruler—the being
from the Beyond trial mentioned it. Ruler. I don’t know, but it sounds like a
title given to someone even stronger than Absolute. The main hint is that the
Ruler of Greed is someone who has something to do with the tutorial that
was even capable of replicating Absolutes.
 There is also the possibility that the Absolutes are weakened in the
tutorial in comparison to their real strength, but it’s hard to confirm it with
the information I have.
Instead of answering, I ask the question, “Who is the strongest being
you know in the world?”
She answers without any hesitation. “The Hornless Demon for sure…”
She then hesitates. “The Undying Dragon is strong too, and the humans
have the Bloody Hero. I can’t be sure, sorry.”
“That’s fine. Do you know their levels or titles? Champion? Absolute?”
She wipes sweat from her forehead again, and I notice that she is still
shaking. Did she really overextend herself so much?
“I don’t know.” She shakes her head.
“I see. To answer your question, I’m strong and will become much
stronger.” That’s something I’m sure of and have pride in.
She gulps and then asks, “Can I go and take a sip? My throat hurts a
bit.”
“Go ahead,” I answer, and when she starts heading to the lake, I stop
her. “Where are you going?”
“I can drink from the lake. Master’s water is precious…” She stops
when I lift my hand.
Jumping to my feet, I pass by her and examine the lake with my
[Perception]. I repeat it multiple times, but I don’t notice anything.
Then I step closer and cup a bit of water in my hands and smell it, and it
seems normal. “Did you drink from here?”
Something in my voice must scare her, because she only nods, her face
becoming more blank. She is still shaking, and I notice that she is sweating
more and more.
I take a little sip of the water and examine how it tastes.
It’s normal to me.
Yet the entire time we’ve been here, I haven’t noticed any animals or
insects coming to drink from it. There are no fish either.
The lake is calm and beautiful, and the water looks extremely clear, but
I’ve only seen animals far off in the distance.
“Put a finger in your mouth and vomit out as much water as you can,” I
order her.
Hearing the urgency in my voice, she goes to the side and does just that.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Is the water poisonous?
 I try to ask in the Community, but my message gets censored. I make
multiple attempts to circumvent it, but each message gets blocked.
Even that much is enough.
I made a mistake. Even though I’ve put most of my stats into mana, I
have plenty of points in constitution, thanks to tempering, mainly. In
comparison to a Level 6, I’m much more resilient.
So is the water poisoned? It’s possible.
I open up the system shop to try and find some medicine, even though I
haven’t found anything like that before. There are no potions, no healing
tattoos, nothing. When I delve deeper, I find out that even buying water and
food is impossible at the moment. It looks like obtaining supplies on my
own is part of the fifth floor.
Taking a few steps, I stop in front of the little half-demon.
After throwing up, she wipes her mouth and sweat, yet she is still
shaking.
“I-I’ll be fine…” she mumbles weakly and tries to put some strength
into her posture to look stronger. “Just a few minutes.”
Is this silly little girl that the system’s thrown at me worried that I will
leave her alone if she causes trouble?
Seeing that she is still shaking, I start converting kinetic energy to
thermal and radiating it from my body. I even create a thermal orb that I
place next to her and then grab a blanket from the pile of things I brought
with me.
Understanding me, she wraps the blanket around herself, and even in
this situation, she curiously observes the thermal orb. She even wants to ask
me about it but then changes her mind.
Such a dumbass, she reminds me of someone.
“Hand,” I tell her, and she pushes her small hand from under the
blanket.
I take her hand and send my senses through her body, examining it and
looking for something. The best case would be if it’s being caused by mana;
in that situation, I would be capable of getting rid of it.
Another option is to try to somehow apply my passive to her and heal
her. But I don’t even know if that’s possible, and even if it is, I could end up
hurting her badly. Thermal energy isn’t exactly easy to handle.
In the worst case, I could buy an item to give her some sort of healing
like the Ethercrystal Shortsword. The rarity of items with that kind of effect
is usually epic at least, but I can sacrifice around 4,000 shards to not fail the
quest.
After examining her, I find nothing and conclude that whatever is in the
water is biological and not mana-based.
Not knowing what else to do, I just tell her to lie down, and I sit next to
her, keeping a watch and observing her state.
Truly a nice start, damn it. I’m used to people having a higher level; she
is so fragile and so weak like this.
While waiting, I also check my notifications.

The ability to pass your teachings and experience is an important skill,

and the relationship between disciple and master is to be taken
seriously.
Train and protect your disciple for three weeks. After that, they will
return to their world, relying on the knowledge they’ve gained from
you to survive in its harsh conditions.
Remember, the better you do, the higher the reward will be.
Good luck!

So, three weeks. So far, it looks like this floor will be on the shorter
side.
I check on my disciple, and she is still shaking, only her head poking
out from under the blanket. Once in a while, she opens her eyes to check on
me and to look around. It’s like a wild animal watching for danger.
Pretending I do not see it, I let her do so and continue to go through the
system messages.

Side quest: Find out what happened to this world.

Reward: 5,000 shards.

Side quest: Locate the Mirror.

Reward: ???

Side quest: Locate the survivors.

Reward: Food and water supplies.
Side quest: Avoid the sleeping Calamity.
 Reward: Survival.

That’s unusual; the system doesn’t give this many side quests that often.
What interests me the most are the rewards for the mirror quest and the last
one about the Calamity.
I wonder, what are the rewards if I kill it? And more importantly, should
I even try? The system rarely gives these warnings, and the entire quest
seems like a joke.
After checking the quests, I spend my time working solely on the
preparations for upgrading my Kinetic Mana Heart.
Checking on my disciple a few dozen times, I can tell that she is slowly
getting better. She is still shaking, and her small body seems even more
petite, but she is at least sleeping. She instinctively moved closer to me, in
her sleep, as if she was seeking protection.
Poor little thing. Remembering how careful she was, it’s not something
she would usually do, and that shows how big a toll it has taken on her.
As always, the cheeky system needs to throw some bullshit into the mix
to make the floor more difficult.
Just in case, I activate my domain and place traps all around us. Thin
threads of mana that will cut anything that runs into them, thinner threads
that will warn me when they break, and dozens of mana orbs frozen nearby
that I can instantly seize control of for attack and defense.
I even set some triggers that would make another set of mana projectiles
shoot toward any trigger that happens to be activated, this one inspired by
an assassin from the second floor. Obviously, all made by me, in an
extremely janky way.
The assassin would be proud.
Then I also tie anchors to a few projectiles that I shoot as far as I can. In
the worst case, I will grab my silly disciple and just teleport us away.
It feels like an overreaction, but it doesn’t cost me much, so it is fine.
After that, I take a few deep breaths until my heartbeat slows down, and
[Focus] filters out useless emotions as I delve into the upgrade of my mana
heart.
Domain encompasses me, and [Mana Manipulation] grabs control of
my mana, which I channel throughout my body, etching and improving on
the pathways I made before, and “scratching out” the less efficient ones in
exchange for plenty of pain. But that much is fine.
 [Infusion] activates as well, working along with [Resonance] to allow
me to change my body.

[Infusion - Level 20 > Infusion - Level 21]

The process is much smoother than it was on the second floor, and I
connect the new pathways to my Mana Regulator right away, improving on
that as well.
As I’ve done many times before, I delve deep into my mind and body,
and the outside factors lose their meaning and become even more distant.
And here I am. Tinkering and changing things that will make me stronger.
Working with my own power to make it happen. A feeling of satisfaction
permeates me.
I try hard; I get rewarded.
Unlike the real world where you can try extremely hard, do everything
right, and still get screwed over, the world of the system feels fairer.
Yes, even here, there is a difference between talents—otherwise, there
wouldn’t be five difficulties—but a lot of it comes from how much you are
willing to put in. How much are you willing to bleed and hurt just to make
things happen?
I know that I’m not the most talented person ever. My talent lies with
mana, but it’s far from the kind of thing to be seen once in a millennium.
Even Lissandra confirmed it, and she reached a place near the top.
But who cares? Who are they and the system to tell me how far I will
go?
No, I will try hard as I always did, and climb higher than anyone else,
and then it will be me looking down at all these so-called geniuses.
It becomes easier, and slowly, I sense that I’m coming to the end.
Everything falls into place, and the last checks confirm that my creation is
as good as I can currently make it.
I send mana through the improved web of pathways I’ve tied around my
heart, and a new notification sounds.

Congratulations, you have upgraded your second Construct. The name

will be changed, and the construct will be shown in the status under
active skills and over passive skills.
 Well done!

Thermokinetic Mana Heart:

Alongside its ability to compress mana, the heart works as a medium for
converting the rhythmic motions of the heart and mana into two Primordial
energies, Kinetic and Thermal. The Thermokinetic Mana Heart is a
harmonious blend of these forces, offering a reliable and steady source of
power.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 67
WE ARE LEAVING

I
diligently observe my body and my upgraded construct while I slowly
let more mana trickle into the pathways I created or upgraded.
The heart that gigachad Nathaniel from the third floor created in his
moment of genius, or stupidity, slowly activates.
The name is simple: Thermokinetic Mana Heart, so I hope when I
upgrade it for the next time, it will be a bit cooler. Not like it would change
anything, but it would surely be nice. Thankfully, the heart can do
everything I want it to do. It can compress mana, which should make my
skills stronger, as well as my kinetic and thermal energy. There is no way it
will be up to the task of creating black mana, but even that is enough as it
will allow me to practice and prepare for the future.
Checking on my sleeping disciple and observing the quiet forest around
us, I make the decision to test my upgrades. I change the setting on my
Mana Regulator and allow my heart to start compressing the mana it
generates.
As expected, the generation of mana slows down, but the mana it
creates feels different.
It’s a slightly darker shade of blue, though it’s still transparent, and
when I use it to power my skills, I do notice a small difference.
I decide to change the setting again, and it starts compressing it even
more, as the shade of my mana grows darker. The current compression
seems to be fifty percent of what the heart is capable of, so I hold there for a
while.
Right away, I can tell that I won’t get anywhere close to creating black
mana, but this also feels somewhat reasonable. If it was easy to imitate that,
everyone would be doing it.
 My ability to create black mana feels a bit like cheating, and I’m only
capable of it because of [Focus]. Once again, I find myself thinking that it
could be a much stronger skill than I originally thought. As expected from
my most treasured skill. Hopefully, it will grow until I can start making fun
of Lily’s [Disintegration]; that would be nice.
Next, I test my thermal energy generation. Up until now, I had to
transfer kinetic energy into thermal, so it was kind of annoying. Getting it
directly should reduce waste and improve the speed at which I can create it.
When thermal energy flows through my body, I immediately notice the
difference in its quality.
The last remaining wounds from upgrading the construct disappear
nearly immediately, and when I force thermal energy out of my body, it
seems to be a deeper shade of gold than usual.
I watch as the flame flickers over the palm of my hand and control it
carefully.
It wouldn’t be good if the heat it released killed my disciple. I never got
used to fully controlling my powers as people around me grew with me.
The little bit of heat I release might be no problem to someone from group 4
but would probably burn any human from Earth alive. Even the pressure of
my fully released mana could be capable of that.
It’s an interesting thought. My body itself is turning into a weapon, and
if I don’t control it, even walking around without controlling my mana or
constructs could kill people with lower levels. Or it could kill this disciple
of mine. I wonder if that’s part of the lesson of this floor, to learn to control
my powers around much weaker beings.
After putting out the flames, I generate kinetic energy, and it fills
quicker than before. Even its quality seems higher, the same as thermal.
It’s already decided that I will delve more into my Primordial energies
on this floor. I know I’m terribly lacking, and I use them in the simplest
way, and I’m sure there is more to them. There is just so little time and so
many things I want to work on.
“Master?” the little half-demon says in a weak voice.
Our eyes meet, and once again, I admire her red eyes. It may be childish
of me, but I think they’re cool, and the way they contrast with her brown
hair makes them look even more striking.
“Disciple, why don’t you use ‘nya’ after every sentence? I heard about
an ancient half-demon that did so, amazing their foes and companions and
gaining the respect of their peers,” I answer instead.
My good mood leaks through, as it always does after a successful round
of self-improvement. The upgraded construct is a huge success.
“Is Master making fun of me?” she asks carefully.
That simple sentence tells me her level of intelligence is higher than that
of an entire race of cat people.
Half-demons 1, Lynthari 0.
“Only a little bit. Is there anything you want?”
“Can I eat some of the food you gave me as an answer to your
question?”
“It’s your food; you don’t have to ask me,” I answer.
Well, it’s obvious that she wouldn’t trust me given that she’s only
known me for a few hours and might reasonably expect me to go back on
my word.
I watch as she gets out from under the blanket and carefully fixes her
clothes. “I’m sorry, they got dirty. I will make sure to clean them before
returning,” she says. Her old clothes are still carefully folded in the pile
next to her. Rather rags than clothes.
“It’s fine,” I reply.
Then I watch as she takes a bit of the food out and slowly eats it. She is
still shaking a bit, so she wraps the blanket around herself, but she looks
better now, something shown by her getting hungry.
I stand up, grab a bottle of water from my pile of things, and hand it to
her.
When she hesitates, I say, “I will be asking more questions later.”
Only then does she nod and, opening it, takes a few sips.
Bored and waiting for her to get better, I send my senses toward the sky.
Ever since the beginning, I’ve felt something strange in the air, and I’ve had
trouble identifying it. When using my trait, I’m able to see faint mana
waves that don’t seem natural, almost as if they were manmade. Yet another
mystery to uncover. Finding out what happened to this world, finding out
what the “Mirror” is, locating survivors, and even the floor quest. Plus,
there is plenty of information to be collected from the other Communities.
The little half-demon keeps carefully looking me over, trying to get to
know me and get a read on my behavior. She seems to know that her
survival is tied to me and that I seem to have some incentive to keep her
alive. Plus, there was a voice that told her I would be her master.
 “Tell me, that voice that told you about me. Do you know what it is?” I
ask her.
She shakes her head. “I know it’s something very powerful and…” She
hesitates. “I think I can trust it and…”
And maybe I can trust you. She doesn’t say these words out loud, but
it’s clear.
Well, the system does system things as always.
I open my mouth to ask more, but that’s when one of my anchors far in
the distance gets destroyed. The moment my connection disappears, I feel
another connection using my cut-off link to track me, and it locates me
before I even destroy the link.
For a short moment, I feel goose bumps rise on my skin, and far in the
distance, a deep growl resounds.
The presence I sensed for that short moment felt terrifying.
“We are leaving.” I shoot up from the ground.
Without hesitation, I grab my disciple and as many bags as I can,
accounting for the importance of the items they contain. Right after, I use
[Tether] and transport us to another anchor.
The little half-demon sways and throws up what she ate just a moment
ago, a few wounds marking her body.
I tie another anchor to a mana projectile and shoot it as far as I can,
watching it disappear, boosted quickly by generated kinetic energy. In that
short moment, I know that that thing has reached the lake, and I feel it
tracking the remains of mana that linger in the air as it seeks us.
It locates us, and a feeling of overwhelming pressure touches me.
As quickly as I can, I generate a small black mana orb and leave it in the
air before teleporting us again, hoping it will stop the tracking.
After reappearing, I notice a few more wounds on the body of my
disciple. She doesn’t say anything, but I notice how she is clenching her
teeth. I even tried to make the transport as smooth as possible, but she
might be way too low level for that.
Instead of teleporting again, I leave another black orb on the ground
and, holding her to my chest, lift off high into the air.
After reaching a decent height, I use [Regalia] to form a pointy barrier
in front of us so she doesn’t get hurt by the pressure and boost us away.
I gradually boost my speed more and more, as I observe her condition,
my heart overflowing with kinetic energy. I also start radiating a tiny bit of
thermal to keep her warm.
Even while flying away, I can hear a deep growl behind me and do not
stop for an hour until we are far away. Only then do I slow down and gently
land back on the ground.
Immediately, the little half-demon falls to the ground, her small hands
grabbing the grass, and she shakes a bit, about to cry.
But she then forces herself to stop, and with clenched fists, she stands
up. Taking a few deep breaths, she takes a moment, and when she turns to
me, her face is once again calm.
Not knowing what to say, I just nod and start examining our new
location. Trees much taller than normal surround us; some of them have
fallen to the ground and been covered in moss. The area is colorful, full of
verdant grass, vibrant leaves, and colorful flowers.
This place is strangely calming, and I gesture to her as we walk under
one of the great fallen trees to get some shade.
It’s illogical, as something like that will offer barely any defense, but
some primitive part of my mind tries to convince me that we are safe. Yet
another piece of my mind that I silence with [Focus] keeps telling me to get
angry and to go and mess up whatever that thing was.
I know I may be a bit too careful at times, but there is a difference
between being too careful and minimally suicidal.
Even during that short connection, I felt the danger. If that thing is not a
three-question-mark, it’s goddamn close to one, and without the proper
preparations, while trying to protect my disciple, it could end badly. I could
even end up killing her myself by releasing too much mana.
So I push these feelings away. For now.
“Master?”
“Hm? What?”
“It hurts.” As she says that, the red-eyed girl falters, and I grab her
before she falls. “I’m sorry, but it hurts.” Tears appear in her eyes.
Is she trying to gain my sympathy? Is this some sort of a trick?
But no matter how much I look, it doesn’t seem like an act. Her mask
cracks, and tears fall down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, I will endure, I promise, please don’t throw me away,” she
continues to mumble.
Not knowing what to do, I just grab and awkwardly hug her.
 At first, she freezes, surprised by the hug, her body stiff and her heart
beating like that of a scared little bird.
“I will be okay, I promise,” she says again. “Just a few hours.”
I hug her a bit tighter and examine her body.
She is thin, beaten before she ever came to this floor. Then she got
poisoned, and hurt by my teleportation, and then she had to fly at high
speed for a long time. She is so low level too.
It’s my fault, isn’t it?
I don’t have a healing skill I could use for others, and trying to use my
passive could end terribly; I could burn her alive. So instead, I do
something like what Sophie did to me back on the third floor after I almost
died at the hands of the mage hunters that had followed me.
I infuse the tiniest bit of my mana into my disciple and move it, trying
to strengthen her body and alleviate some pressure and pain.
It’s difficult, very much so. Most of my skills are meant to be used for
me and only me. But I keep trying even as I lift off to fly once more. A
barrier surrounds us, and I release a bit more thermal energy, and then,
slowly, I fly toward the ruins of a city I see far in the distance.
There are tall, skyscraper-like buildings covered in vines and greenery;
most of them are cracked, and many have collapsed. The city’s architecture
is unlike any I’ve ever seen, and even I can see that it’s been lifeless for
decades at least.
The system said there were survivors, so I will find them, and they had
better be able to help.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 68
FIRST CONTACT

A
s I’ve been strengthening her body, I’ve come to realize that I’m not
very good at it. It seems I lack the ability to help others effectively.
My body? No problem, I can move my mana however I want; I
can even change my heart and slowly turn myself into a construct or
whatever the end is. To help someone else, I would need much more time to
examine them. Unlike Lily or Sophie, I don’t have that instinctual sense and
innate ability.
Another thing to work on: I hate feeling weak. Sure, personal power is
the most important, but situations like this shouldn’t happen to me.
The little body in my arms is still shaking, and I can feel her getting
warmer and shaking more.
How weak she is, how delicate her body is. Was I like that when I
entered the first floor at Level 0?
Once again, I search through the system shop, but there isn’t anything to
help me.
Another thing I could do is to sell my last remaining rare passive and
buy a weaker passive that would allow me to heal others, but I do not find
anything like that. I barely got any offers to keep myself healed, so I guess
it makes some kind of sense.
I pick up speed, and I cut my arm to examine the healing process behind
my passive skill. Then I stop the passive and try to emulate those
movements with my thermal energy in an attempt to actively heal myself.
In the middle of my third attempt, I reach the city and land on top of one
of the buildings.
There are old, broken, cracked, or straight-up destroyed buildings
covered in greenery as far as I can see. Nature has taken its hold over the
area now that there are no humans to prevent it.
The city is big enough to house a few million people, yet it is empty.
There are trees growing from the roads, shattered windows peering out
from waterlogged buildings, and car-like machines rusting away
everywhere I look.
It all reminds me of Earth, yet it is so different at the same time. Nearly
every building and every road has some sort of circuits running through
them that were once powered by mana and seemed to have been designed to
interact with it.
[Perception] reaches as far as I can, and sensing movement, I move to
observe only to find a few monsters. Sensing my presence, they rush out of
one of the buildings, emitting a loud screeching noise.
They have the appearance of humanoids, with gray skin, red eyes, and
tattered clothes covering their forms. Blue veins run through their skin,
originating from their hearts.

[Veilshrieker - Level 123]

[Veilshrieker - Level 98]
[Veilshrieker - Level 113]

I watch as they screech, summoning more from the surrounding

buildings. Turning their red, glowing eyes on me, they start running and
burrowing their limbs into the walls of the building just to get to me.
They move aggressively, pushing each other away in a show of rage and
bloodlust. They wound each other, they drool, they hurt themselves, and
they strain their bodies just to reach me faster. There is no hesitation in
them, and their eyes are filled with a single emotion.
Pure hate.
I create a field around the little half-demon in my arms so she won’t
hear the screeching and wait.
Two dozen Veilshriekers reach me, and the moment they step into my
domain, I activate [Redistribution], immediately halting them, and they
freeze in the middle of their approach.
I feel them pushing against me, hurting their bodies to do so, and the
blue veins over their bodies become darker, eyes letting out a deeper glow.
But they can’t move at all.
 So, with my disciple in my arms, I step within arm’s reach of the closest
one and examine it.
The monster reminds me of a human, and when I cut its chest open, its
heart looks like mine. Its heart has been converted into a mana heart under
the influence of the system and is now being used to power this being.
My own heart beats, and I move the kinetic energy I collect. A blast of it
explodes through the monster’s head, throwing all the blood and chunks
outward with the pressure.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 123]

The moment the monster dies, I notice its heart moving weirdly, and it
attempts to send out a signal.
In a different situation, I would let it happen just to see what it is, but
right now, I’m not in the position to do so. So I disrupt the signal, and when
I kill the remaining monsters, I disrupt their signals as well.
A warning maybe, or a signal to summon more monsters toward their
killer.
The little half-demon mumbles something in her fervent sleep, and I
hold her tighter before stepping over the edge of the building and falling to
the street where I absorb the inertia of my fall, cushioning my landing. I
release the absorbed kinetic energy in a circle around me.
Walking through the post-apocalyptic city, I try the Community a few
more times and then my Mana Wavelength Iris, all to no success. My
attempts at learning active healing also fail as expected; it will take months
to bear any fruit.
So I continue to move while sending my senses ahead through the city.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 6]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 15]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 2]

My flames burn more of the monsters as I pass through a more densely

populated area of the city, though they seem to be much weaker.
Most of the lower-level ones are shorter, their figures more reminiscent
of children than of adults. But even they show pure hate anytime they see
me.
In the eerie silence of a modern city overgrown with vegetation, their
shrieks sound unnerving. The way they jump and attack me, not caring
about wounds or the difference in our strength, is just as disquieting.
Hundreds, thousands, of them turn to ash in my golden flames, as my
improved heart supplies them readily. The flames melt the sides of the
buildings, turn vegetation to dust, and evaporate the monsters.
And every time any of the monsters die, I cut off any signals they send.
The young half-demon clinging to me doesn’t allow me to move
properly; I can’t even use much mana, lest I kill her with a burst of power.
It’s a valuable lesson, and I gradually learn how to fight carefully from the
fear of hurting her with my mere presence.
As I delve deeper into the city, I finally feel something that seems
human. I take a step toward them, but then another presence can be felt
nearby.
I immediately seize control of my mana and pull it back, using [Mana
Domain] and [Resonance] to hide the mana leaking from my disciple and
me. That done, I quickly jump into one of the buildings and step into the
shadows.
Down in the streets, I can see three humans passing through. All their
clothes seem to be enchanted judging by the way they make it hard to even
see them, their bodies difficult to focus on without using skills. Still, I do
not even try to do so and just stare at them with my senses.
The three of them move skillfully, weaving between the buildings,
constantly aware of their surroundings.

[Blurblade - Level 121]

[Shadow Weaver - Level 146]
[Spectral Scout - Level 123]

They freeze their movement, and even though they’ve tried to remain
hidden until now, their mana engages at full force as they try to run away.
Not even for a second do they think about fighting, and there is a reason
for it.

[Veil Guardian - Level ??]

 From the street between two tall buildings across the road cracked and
covered by grass, a monster takes a step.
The monster looks similar to the Veilshriekers from before; it’s taller,
and the biggest difference is the blades it has in place of its hands. The
blades start at the elbow and are as long as I’m tall, both of them made of
metal with a faint blue shine.
For a short moment, the humans run, but then the monster takes a step,
and the humans falter and fall down, an effect reminding me of a strong
gravity field.
Desperately, the men try to escape and activate their skills, but the
monster seems to disrupt their mana, and while observing the area, it
reaches them.
I can hear the screams, even from my distant vantage point, as the Veil
Guardian lowers its body and opens its mouth, eating the humans alive.
I can hear everything, and I can see how desperately two of the humans
struggle while the monster devours the first one. Exactly like the monsters
from before, the Veil Guardian screeches, full of hate, as it devours the
thrashing man.
When the man dies and stops moving, the monster stops eating too.
The scene repeats with the second human, but the monster seems to be
more careful this time. It eats slower and starts with the limbs so the human
won’t die as quickly.
Once again, the moment the man dies, the monster loses interest and
finishes the last one.
Then it stands up, a tall pale figure, blue veins going through the body
starting at the heart. Two long, deadly-looking blades and blood that drips
from the chin of the monster. Its senses, like sonar, examine the area, and
then it moves again.
And I, without a speck of doubt, know that this is the monster that
found me back at the lake.
I give it one hour, and even during that time, my disciple doesn’t wake
up. No, she seems to be getting worse. She is shaking more, and her body is
hot to the touch.
Well, good job, I guess. I really suck at this, don’t I?
Using the least possible amount of mana to perceive the area around me
and to absorb my kinetic energy as I jump from the building, I walk toward
the three men’s corpses.
 The blood is already dry, and their bodies are cold.
Trying not to look at their faces, I examine their bodies and try to search
for anything useful.
I find a small bottle of water, a tiny pack with some dense food, and
some items, most of them broken, but I take them anyway, just in case.
Quickly, I leave again, reaching the rooftops and continuing from there
as the sun starts setting down slowly. I think it’s called the golden hour,
isn’t it? When the sun’s rays glow with that golden color at the end of the
day, they make any view beautiful. Even this dead city is no different.
As far as I can see, there is building after building covered in green
vines; some of them even have trees growing from their top. Buildings
cracked and fallen, streets unusable and overtaken by nature. Yet in some
strange, sad way, it’s a beautiful view.
(Attempts number two, Owen, can you answer?) sounds in my head.
One of the items in my possession tries to connect to my mind in a way
that indicates an attempt at communication, and I allow it to do so.
Looking through the items I’ve looted, I take out an ovular piece of
metal with two mana stones inside of it and a set of inscriptions I hadn’t
understood until now.
(Owen, please, can you hear me?)
I examine the item and easily find an inscription that acts like a switch.
(Hello, I’m Nathaniel.)
A moment of hesitation before another message reaches me.
(Hello, Nathaniel, I’m Darren. Can I ask you why you have Owen’s
Transmitter?)
The tone of his voice is not nice at all, but there is no wonder.
(I saw a Veil Guardian eating three people, and after it left, I searched
their bodies,)
The silence is longer this time. I don’t think he trusts me.
(Darren, I won’t dance around it. I have a Level 6 child with me, and
she needs medical attention, a healer, or an item. She drank and bathed in
the water of the lake just away from the city.)
(What group do you belong to? No, you can’t belong to any. You
wouldn’t be asking us for help. Are you a wanderer? Merchant? Courier?)
(I can’t tell you.)
(You just told me three of my friends are dead, and I’m still not sure that
you didn’t kill them. Then you immediately ask me for favors?)
 Well, when he puts it like that, it’s obvious it would sound bad.
(I will pay you back. I’m somewhat strong, so I’m sure there are things I
can do for you. We don’t have to meet eye to eye if you don’t want to. Just
leave some medicine somewhere and tell me where it is.)
The start of this floor is far from optimal and has, thus far, proved to be
annoying.
Out of nowhere, I start missing the silly doggo. Being able to pet him or
boop his snout would at least allow me to alleviate some of my stress.
Still, I continue. (There were some things I found on their bodies. A few
mana stones with encrypted information, a weird-looking bracelet, and a
small sealed wooden box.)
Seeing how dangerous it is outside and their low levels, I think most of
the survivors are of similar strength, and for them to go out, they must have
some important mission. Maybe one of the three items.
Darren takes a bit longer to answer, but that confirms it. One of the
items I have is important to him.
(Give us the location where Owen and others got attacked. When we
confirm your story, we will leave medicine in some buildings, and you will
leave the items there. No need for contact at all.)
(Okay.)
After that, I describe my location as best as I can, and the transmitter
turns off.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 69
VITALIST

A
round half a day passes. During that time, I keep infusing my mana
into my disciple. She is still sick and woke up only once, briefly
enough for me to let her drink some water.
When the transmitter in my hands finally attempts to connect me, I
accept it quickly.
(Darren here. We have confirmed your story, Nathaniel. To be honest, I
didn’t expect you to leave the items there as well.)
(It’s a risk from my side—you could take them and disappear—but take
it as a show of my goodwill and the trust I’ve put in you.)
(I see.)
As I wait for the answer, I decide not to tell him about the tiny anchor I
left on one of the items. The anchor I created using my [Tether] will be
used to teleport to their location the moment he refuses me.
If he does so, I will just force them to heal this little half-demon who
has so far only given me trouble.
Darren continues. (You will find what you are looking for in one hour at
this location.) He then carefully describes the area and how to get there.
He also warns me not to attract the attention of any veilshriekers, just in
case.
When our connection ends, I put the transmitter away and look at the
girl under the blanket, with a few thermal orbs near her.
Both of us are surrounded by a barrier that disrupts the mana we are
letting out, making us much harder to detect. The room we are in is dark,
mold growing in the corners, but it’s deep within one of the skyscraper-like
buildings.
 The interior is simple; the furniture has been broken or eaten away by
the passage of time.
“You are causing me so much trouble.” I sigh and poke the sick girl’s
cheek. Then I pull on one of her tiny horns.
Well, it’s probably my fault too, but let’s not mention it. This should
help toughen her up. Back in my day, I went through much worse.
I open the Community and this time click on Hard Difficulty.

Noname (Hell, group 4) – Hello.

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food!

Damn it, Biscuit, what are you doing here?

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Food food.

FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food food!
Samuel (Hard, Legion) - Hello, Noname.
Emma (Hard, Legion) - Another person from Hell Difficulty. Hello,
Noname, I hope you are doing well!
Fox (Hard, Hoarders) - Noname, run or these military psychos will
get their hands on you, lol.
Eagle (Hard, Hoarders) - Run run run run run.
Samuel (Hard, Legion) - Fox, once again, we are part of the US
military. We are not “military psychos,” as you like to call us.
Fox (Hard, Hoarders) - The world is going to shit and you’re still
playing at soldiers. How can you expect anyone to take you
seriously?
Emma (Hard, Legion) - You can ignore them, Noname. Group
Hoarders is a bit more open-spirited than they should be.
Samuel (Hard, Legion) - As Emma said, Noname, just ignore them.
I hope we can talk during the tournament. I will be honest with you.
We don’t know how many people got into the tutorial or how many
rounds there are. Nor do we know what’s happening to Earth, so I
hope you will see some reason and the need for some rules for the
people that make it out of the tutorial.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - We can talk, but I don’t promise anything.
 Samuel (Hard, Legion) - Even that is fine. Sset already told us your
group is from the US, and you can imagine how terrifying an
uncontrollable returner can become to people from Earth. There
need to be rules.
Fox (Hard, Hoarders) - For all you know, the Earth is already
overrun by monsters or people from the first four rounds of the
tutorial. There is no need to feel any responsibility to your country.
They can’t control you anymore.
Emma (Hard, Legion) - Fox, some surely think like that, but not all
of us do. We were given these powers for a reason.
Eagle (Hard, Hoarders) - Heh, you can do whatever you want. You
can try to control all the people from Hard Difficulty, but I’m sure
just one person from Hell would be enough to mess you up.
Emma (Hard, Legion) – Logically, people from Hell are the
strongest, but I don’t think it’s possible for them to fight against
everyone in Hard Difficulty. We have over five times the members.

I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I could take on a few dozen people from
Hard Difficulty, looking at what Cipher, Goldie, and the Frosty Guy were
capable of.
I read a bit longer, but they seem to be too into fighting, so I turn off the
Community, deciding to save my limit and try my luck with more
reasonable people.
Once again, I poke my disciple’s cheek. It’s getting really frustrating
that I seem to be incapable of learning a healing skill, and I start to wonder
if there’s some reason for that. Is it a limit of my talent? Is it just that I’m
not a good vessel for healing skills? Am I blocked by the system?
I don’t mean a passive skill or a trait; I’ve been offered plenty of
healing, but all of them seem to be geared toward myself.
Could it be because of my subclass? Is Pride something that won’t allow
me to heal others? That doesn’t make too much sense, I think. It also
doesn’t feel right that the system would actively “block” something like
that, but it already limits the number of passive skills I can have, so maybe?
Another question to get answered.
Deciding to head to the spot, I pick up the little half-demon and shrink
the barrier. Then I create a small anchor, leave it here, and head outside.
 After moving to the rooftops, I move slowly. I try to keep as much mana
as possible inside of my body and keep it from leaking, so I only boost my
body and jump. The feeling is usually something I would enjoy, but the risk
of failing my floor quest after it already started somehow takes away from
that.
Maybe that was the intention of the system, to give me an annoying
quest and watch me suffer, or just force us into situations where we have to
improvise and adapt.
After half an hour of traveling, I stop on one of the rooftops. This one is
different from every other rooftop I’ve visited, but it’s hard to describe.
Only after I get closer do I start to pick up on it.
There is a weird field around the rooftop. I barely sense any mana from
it, even when I’m so close, and I couldn’t see anything from further away.
Just passing by, even up close, I wouldn’t notice any of it.
Taking a few more steps, I pass through the barrier, and the moment I
do, the scenery changes. Finally, I can see the small cottage on top of the
skyscraper.
The cottage is built out of wood and looks to be cozy and clean, if a bit
simple. The building is surrounded by pots containing hundreds of grasses
and flowers, even a few smaller trees.
It’s like a scene straight from a fairy tale and doesn’t fit in with the
surroundings.
“Please don’t knock over any of my pots, young man,” a voice shouts
from inside.
Walking carefully between them, I reach the door and then enter without
hesitation.
“So brave.” The ancient-looking woman inside giggles, almost
childishly.

[Vitalist - Level 101]

“I only expected to find some items,” I say and stop.

The inside of the cottage is as cozy as the outside, fitted with old
wooden furniture that has been well cared for. The interior is extremely
clean, furnished with carpets and flowers and weird glasses filled with
colorful liquids taking up every surface. I notice several pairs of boots next
to me. The Vitalist herself is wearing a pair of warm interior slippers.
 Deciding that there is no reason to be antagonistic yet, I take off my
shoes while keeping hold of my disciple and step in my socks only.
“So very handsome and well-behaved. An unusual combination
indeed.” The old woman gestures for me to move closer and points at the
bed nearby.
Carefully, I lay the little half-demon on it and step back. Then I let out
some of my mana, using it to observe.
The woman notices and asks, “What would you do if I hurt her?”
“I will kill you before you can,” I say simply to clear things out.
I saw Lily healing a lot of times and even felt it on my skin. I will be
capable of sensing if she tries anything else.
As if expecting that, she laughs again. “Darren warned me about you.
Things like: ‘He saw the Veil Guardian and survived. You have to be
extremely careful!’ or ‘You dumb old woman! Do you have any idea how
many people rely on you? What if he kills you?’”
Her hands carefully touch the little girl, and even after seeing little
horns under her hair, she doesn’t say a word. I, on the other hand, intensify
my observation and collect some thermal and kinetic energy inside of my
body.
Without saying more, she just heals her. The mana she’s using isn’t
exactly the same as Lily’s. The old woman’s mana feels rougher and
weaker, but at this point, I’m not all that surprised.
I’ve long since gotten used to the fact that we people from Hell
Difficulty often have superior skills and abilities.
“Poor little girl. Pummeled, internal wounds, poisoned, tears in her
tissues, high internal temperature, shock, small concussion.” She names
each wound in succession. Then she looks at me. “I can heal her, but what
will you give me in exchange, young man?”
This granny is totally shameless.
“Ask Darren,” I tell her.
“Fuck Darren,” she answers simply.
She is quite feisty, isn’t she?
She continues, “You can still have Darren owe you, but I will want
something as well. The little girl would have died without my help.”
“You would heal her even without me giving you anything in
exchange,” I say.
Her eyebrows move up, and a light flickers behind her eyes.
 What now, Granny? Did you think I wouldn’t notice how worried you
became? How quickly you started healing and your sighs of relief as the
girl got better? Even though she is acting cheeky, the granny seems to be
kindhearted, well, at least to kids.
“Maybe, but I think I will still get something out of you. Some small
service or help. Nothing too difficult because that would annoy you and you
would just refuse. But if I ask for something small, you will help.”
Is there something wrong with my face? Is the system giving people the
ability to read me like a book? Or is it the power of the true extrovert I’ve
heard about so often? The power of someone feeding on the energy of
introverts to survive and learn to read people not with talent but through
sheer quantity of interactions.
“I’m right, I think, hehe. I might ask you later! For now, it’s fine. The
little girl is already healed and will wake up soon.”
Acknowledging that with a simple nod, I pass by her and grab my
disciple, then turn around to leave, only to be met by the old woman
blocking my way.
“Leaving already?” she asks.
“Yes, this place is making me sleepy.” I take another step.
Her smile only deepens, seemingly not bothered that I identified the
effects of the field that’s been set up around this rooftop.
I also identify its source, some small item inside a compartment inside
one of the walls.
She finally lets me pass. “I think you should talk with Darren. He could
find a use for someone like you, and I believe it would be worth it for you
as well.”
“Yes, yes.” I put on my shoes and then turn to face her.
For a moment, I consider releasing some of my mana and startling her
for such a cheap trick with the field that was supposed to make me fall
asleep, but in the end, I decide against it. It seems like I will be dealing with
these people for a while. This kind of “locating survivors” didn’t seem to
count as finishing the side quest.
In the end, I just step outside and knock over a few of her flower pots
while the old granny screams something at me.
I knock down the last one, jump onto the roof, and head back deeper
into the ruined city.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 70
LEVELING UP

T
he field around her rooftop cabin probably wouldn’t put me to sleep,
but if I were weaker, it could be a problem. The natives of the tutorial
are dangerous, and my experiences since starting the second floor have
only confirmed this. Even Thalen, Isola, and Obelia showed their true
colors in the end.
Well, maybe that’s too harsh. It’s clear that they had their own interests
in mind and prioritized them over a random group they’d only known a few
weeks.
I wonder if it’s something that becomes more apparent the longer you
live. Obelia and Isola were probably over fifty years old, probably closer to
one hundred; by comparison, their experience with us was much less than
that. So it’s not much of a wonder, in the end, that Obelia attempted to
kidnap Lily, while Isola was willing to kill me without hesitation.
I do not hate them for that, but at the same time, I have my own
priorities, and I won’t hesitate when it comes down to it. That’s the kind of
world the tutorial has thrown us into.
My weak disciple begins to stir, and slowly, she opens her red eyes.
They are clearer than before, showing no trace of hidden pain.
At first, she seems dazzled by the thermal orbs floating in the air, then
her gaze falls on me before finally settling on the room itself. Her little
body stiffens, ready to jump up and fight, but she meets my eyes again as I
return her gaze.
I don’t say anything, but she calms down.
“You can eat and drink if you want.” I gesture at the supplies next to
her. “Or you can sleep if you prefer, but we need to move tomorrow. There
are also a few mana stones you can practice with if you feel up to it.”
 I leave her to her decision as I sort through the items I looted from the
old capital.
As I’m going through them, I hear movement, as she carefully takes
long, slow sips of water, followed by the sound of chewing. I, meanwhile,
separate the contents of my bags into two piles.
I left some of them at the lake, but none of them are very valuable.
Different varieties of hardwood, iron, old weapons, and armor. Things I
wanted to examine if I got really bored, nothing important. Still, I’ll go
back later, if only to sell them if I can’t use them for anything else.
I found a lot of items during my looting of the capital, but most of them
were in such a terrible state that the system only offered a single shard for
them. Just like that, my plans for the city were ruined.
After that, I chose to focus on quality over quantity; the piles in front of
me now are the items that made the cut.
The first pile contains items I’m currently thinking of selling. Some
rings, mana stones, a bracelet, a small shield, another amulet, and some
chainmail. Each one in the upper tier of rare grade at most.
Then there is the second pile; I intend to keep these. Mana-conductive
paint, pieces of arcanadium, endurium, shards of ethercrystal. The bracelet
from the auction that had a strange reaction to my Primordial energies,
high-grade mana stones, some decent mana batteries, an interesting upper
rare dagger, the epic aqua arcana vial, some more metal, crystals, and mana
stones containing inscribed information.
There is also all the food I have and bottles of water, as well as some
gold and jewelry, in case of need.
Checking the pile, I estimate that the food should be enough to
comfortably last us a few weeks, maybe even months. Most of what I’ve
brought is very calorie-dense. Plus, I don’t need to eat that much anymore
after my body upgrade.
We’re a bit lower on water, but we should have enough for at least two
weeks. I also have an epic vial that I can use to store water. There is
currently a lot of water from the lake, but that’s poisonous, seeing what it
did to my disciple.
“Master?” a soft voice sounds from behind me.
“Hm?” I just ask without turning.
“Won’t you eat with me?” There’s a strange quality to her voice. It’s
hard to describe.
 When I turn to her, she is sitting there, small, thin, her red eyes seeming
to glow even in a room filled with shadows, and small horns poking
through her hair. It almost seems like she sees some importance in eating
together.
Is it some kind of custom?
“Sure,” I say, turning away from the pile and sitting on the floor across
from her.
She smiles, but it seems strained. She is deciding what to think of me, as
I am her.
I’m supposed to be her master, teach her, and protect her. I gave her
food and clothes and started teaching her, yet she got poisoned because of
my inexperience and hurt while we were teleporting.
Yet she can’t just run away from me or hate me for that. Without me,
she would die, and quickly at that.
I can’t change the facts, whether I like them or not; I can only strive to
work on the things I can.
“Is this a custom where you’re from?” I ask as she carefully splits the
food between us, using clean pieces of cloth to set out the food and water.
She does so awkwardly as if she is not used to it, but there is some joy
in her movements. The kind of joy a person experiences by doing
something they always wanted to try.
“Yes.” Her answer is short, and we leave it at that.
When it’s all set up, she waits and looks up at me, and I take the first
small bite from the dried fruit.
She watches me eat, her big red eyes once again reminding me how
young she is. My disciple is even younger than Isabella, yet she is so
different.
Finishing the fruit, I then take a sip of water, and that’s when she also
starts eating and drinking more water.
No matter how hard she tries, her movements are awkward, revealing
her hunger, and when she is nearly out of food, I place a bit more in front of
her.
The little half-demon devours it all, and when it’s done, she says two
simple words. “Thank you.”

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 13]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 26]
 [You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 31]
[Level 214 > Level 215]

Bit by bit, I finally level up. Even these weak monsters seem to count,
and it looks like I was really close to leveling, and they pushed me over the
edge.
All the stat points immediately go to support my ever-growing mana.
The entire time, I keep my eyes on the little half-demon as she fights a
Level 2 Veilshrieker.
This one is smaller and much weaker than the ones I’ve been killing;
they’re too much for her right now.
Wielding the dagger I gave her, she overpowers the creature. The way
she fights is raw and aggressive. That’s how someone weak fights against
stronger opponents. Not to win but to wound and frustrate the opponent
enough that they don’t bother to fight her.
Well, at least she doesn’t seem to be a scaredy-cat, and everything I
teach her, she does her best to implement, taking in my “teachings” like a
sponge. Her [Concentration] helps with that too, even though it’s not as
good as my [Focus].
When she’s done, she turns to me, and I point at another monster that
I’ve been holding with my [Redistribution]. She turns, and I release it, and
then the fight starts.
The little half-demon is nimble and fairly talented. Someone like her
should be capable of reaching a higher level. Unfortunately, unlike those of
us in the tutorial, she doesn’t have to deal with the monsters gradually
getting stronger. No matter how cruel and dangerous Hell Difficulty is,
there is some fairness to it, and on the first floor, the monsters were strong,
but only to the point we could mostly handle.
Unlike us, my disciple lives in a world of constant war and no place to
go and find monsters matching her level. There isn’t even anyone who
would bother to help her.
When she finishes the monster, she turns to me. “Level 9.”
Good, she is close to reaching Level 10, where she should receive her
first trait. This is a point of curiosity for me. Will her system be similar to
mine? Logically, it should be, at least partially, with a few huge differences.
Currently, I’m inclined to think that the system within the tutorial is here to
help us grow stronger faster than we would outside of it. Or maybe I’m
wrong, and the outside system issues quests similar to the floor and side
quests we’ve been receiving.
Even while babysitting my silly disciple, I’m constantly practicing,
especially examining my Thermokinetic Mana Heart and its ability to
compress mana and how much it affects my Primordial energies. Once in a
while, I even compress mana into the black one, just an orb as small as a
grape, and force it under my control.

[Focus - Level 43 > Focus - Level 44]

Compressing and controlling my mana is getting easier in combination

with my new passives and my new trait. That’s when I do it outside of my
body to create a black mana dagger or black orbs. Absorbing it into my
body is something I’ve decided to save for dangerous situations where I
have no other option. Even if I wanted to try, it would be dangerous training
it now, with the Veil Guardian around. The monster seems to have skills that
allow it to track mana to a scary degree. And it being close to Level 300
makes it even more annoying. I thought there weren’t supposed to be any
strong monsters in starting zones, but this one doesn’t seem to care.
(Nathaniel?)
While keeping my eyes on my disciple as she’s fighting, Darren, one of
the survivors, calls over the crude communicator, and I accept the
connection.
(Do you call because you want to pay me for the items I left you since
you only sent me to that annoying granny?)
A short silence. He’s probably thinking about how to pay me back.
Surely.
I fire off a mana projectile, throwing the monster to the side before it
bites into the little half-demon. My disciple doesn’t seem to be pleased and
attacks with more aggression, the dagger stabbing into the monster. As
before, she seems to have some talent for strengthening her body with her
mana, like I used to do at the start of the first floor.
(She said it would be safe to cooperate with you, so I wanted to meet
up.)
Well, it looks like it could be easy to finish at least one of the side
quests, even though this one only offers some food and water as a reward.
 (Maybe later. I will contact you.) Not giving him a chance to answer, I
turn off the communication.
“Come here,” I instruct my disciple.
She lifts her eyes and obediently pushes herself back to her feet, even
though she just started resting after finishing the monster.
“Stab me,” I tell her.
Her expression changes as she activates her [Concentration]. She
thinks just for a few seconds, and then she nods.
Mana flows through her body, and her red eyes seem to shine as she
shifts on her feet, twists her body, and stabs me with her dagger. Her height
leads her to target my belly with the thrust, and I take a small step
backward, causing her to lose her balance as her strike misses.
Quickly reclaiming it, my disciple moves again, taking two short steps
toward me, and lunges again, this time aiming at my leg.
Once again, I take a small step to the side, and she loses her balance.
The third time, she aims at the leg again, but when I change my position
again, she doesn’t lose her balance. Her footwork is slightly different as she
adapts her movements.
“Good, now continue.” I release one more monster from my hold, and it
starts screeching, pure hate in its eyes.
“Yes, Master.” My disciple nods and faces it.
As before, I’m surprised by her cold behavior, but I guess that’s her
skill, even though it’s surprising to see it in someone so young. It reminds
me a bit of Isabella when she was still under Sophie’s [Geas].
A few more hours pass, and with pauses in between, she finally kills one
of the last monsters.
“Level 10!” A happy smile flashes across her face, and she rushes
toward me.
For a moment, it looks like she wants to hug me, but she stops and her
expression changes to nearly scared as she realizes what she was about to
do.
“Traits?” I ask, breaking the silence that ensues.
“I got offered five of them. There’s Mana Circuit, which you’ve
mentioned, and then there are Elemental Resonance, Sensory Expansion,
Arcane Intuition, and Natural Resilience. But, Master, it’s weird. I thought
you were unable to pick your trait and only awaken it.”
 Then she gives me the descriptions. All of them sound useful. Elemental
Resonance to attune her to elements, Sensory Expansion to strengthen her
six senses, Arcane Intuition to move her mana more reflexively, and Natural
Resilience to strengthen her body and make it more resilient or something.
All of them pale in comparison to the first one.
But her note about awakening traits instead of picking them is
interesting. Are only people who go through the tutorial capable of picking
their traits? Is my disciple fake or real? And is it possible that people
outside of the tutorial only awaken traits at certain levels?
“Pick Mana Circuit,” I tell her in the end.
To my surprise, she doesn’t even ask why and just picks it, and that
leaves me at a loss for words. The little girl looks up to me. Big red eyes,
small horns near her hair, and an expression of trust.
The little half-demon tilts her head. “Master? Is everything okay?” she
asks innocently.
I have noticed that she started showing me more trust after I “saved” her
and after I fed her a few times, but this…this feels heavy.
“It’s fine. How many traits can your race have?” I ask, just in case.
Humans can have only three, so I’m curious about others.
“Only four,” the little half-demon says.
“Only four?” I ask.
She nods. “I heard some powerful demons can have five.”
I don’t think I would like full demons.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 71
RULES

“M aster!
Look, look!” A silly half-demon with four undeserved trait
slots rushes toward me, her red eyes mirroring her smile.
She holds up a rare dagger, coated in a nearly invisible layer of
pale blue mana. It flickers and would likely disappear if it struck anything
stronger than air. Yet she is still smiling happily.
“My [Mana Manipulation] leveled up too!” she adds.
I pull my attention away from examining the effects of compressed
mana on my skills and turn to her. “Are you sure you didn’t cheat?” I ask.
That scares her for a moment, but as she looks at me, she quickly
regains her smug expression. “Is Master trying to tease me?”
“Maybe.” I reach out and pull on one of her horns, shaking her head as I
do.
Her small hands try to push me away, but even though my body is
probably the weakest out of group 4, I won’t lose against a Level 13.
In the past few days, she has become so comfortable around me that it’s
scary, and she constantly fights for my attention, always rushing to me
whenever she has a breakthrough in her training. At first, I thought she was
just being naïve and even teased her about it, only to be looked down on by
a six-year-old girl. I swear she looked down at me like I was stupid!
I mean, what the heck!
She responded, telling me it’s fine because I’m her master.
The only way to get confirmation is to have her interact with more
people, so I will use Darren and visit their camp. I can’t let her be too naïve
and trusting.
I would also like her to acquire her primary class before the end of our
three weeks together. I got mine after we entered the second floor, and back
then, I was a bit over Level 20. I hope it will be the same for her.
“What are you working on, Master?” the girl asks as she plops down
next to me.
“I’m testing how much I can compress my mana and how much this
compressed mana changes my skills when I use it to power them.”
She nods, totally not understanding yet looking up at me and listening.
“At first, I thought I would be able to compress my mana more, but at
the moment, it seems to be around twenty percent at most, and that’s using
the full power of my improved heart.”
“I see!” She nods.
She is totally lost.
“Some of my skills react to compressed mana better, and others don’t
react much at all. My theory is that higher-tiered skills don’t benefit all that
much from a twenty percent rate of compression. But it could have more to
do with the type of skill. For example, concentration-type skills like your
[Concentration] and my [Focus] might not get that much of a boost.
Maybe there’s still some threshold that I need to cross before I can make it
work. Maybe twenty percent just isn’t enough. If so, how much is my black
mana compressed? Is it equal to the first stage of Potency? Second stage?
Or am I totally wrong? Is there something else in play? Is [Focus] just
compression, or is it doing something else as well? The last king recognized
the black mana, so what was that? Did he misunderstand? Is black mana
really all that unusual? Do you get black mana when you reach a certain
level? Are there other ways to create it? Is⁠—”
“Master?” she asks, interrupting my train of thought.
“Yes?”
“Are you bullying me because half-demons can have four traits while
humans only get three?”
The mana stone I am holding falls from my hand.
The little half-demon is not smiling, her face is mostly blank, but
something in the way her eyebrow moves and her eyes narrow tells me she
is having a lot of fun.
Cheeky little thing, when did you get so comfortable?
I lean closer and look deep into her eyes, but even that doesn’t seem to
scare her. So I just sigh and lie on the grass, looking toward the sky.
I have been defeated.
 We are currently on a rooftop that has been overgrown with grass,
flowers, and even a few small trees, the cracked material of the building
peeking out from gaps in the greenery.
“My minion, why do you trust me so much? Answer honestly.”
“It’s disciple, Master. Not minion,” she complains.
“Sure, Minion.”
For a moment, she pouts and then lies on the ground next to me, also
looking toward the sky.
“Master is the same as me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m little and dumb, and I can’t explain. So I will find the words as I
grow smarter.”
“Minions do not become smarter. They become dumber.”
“That’s not true!” she complains, and I listen to her chirping for a
minute longer before sending her off to practice as I do the same.

I have finally decided to sell the items I looted from the old capital. In the
end, they might be good things to trade with natives of this floor, but I think
the shards will be more valuable.
In the worst case, I can buy some back at a loss and trade, if I need to. I
don’t think they use currency here as this world seems to be firmly post-
apocalypse.
I receive quite a tidy sum of shards in exchange—5,260, to be exact,
leaving me with a total of 13,542. Enough for an epic passive if I really
want or a few weaker epic items or one stronger.
For now, I decide to keep them. I’m still seriously thinking of buying a
rare passive to examine, then selling it and buying another. Sure, I would
barely get any effect from such low-grade passives, and I would spend
some shards, but I think the knowledge I stand to gain would be worth it.
It’s something I’ll have to add to my ever-growing list of things to try.
My current priority is to fully explore my new construct and the effects
mana has on my body. Another is continued experimentation with black
mana. This time, I would like to use much less; I’ll probably try [Focus]
again.
 Maybe I could use it to run some kind of strengthening skill. Would that
counteract the pressure it puts on my body? Would that mean I could
strengthen my body with black mana and then generate more and use
another skill?
Who the hell knows? More testing is required!
I’m also getting closer to decrypting the mana stone that was lodged in
the corpse of the Champion’s disciple. The stone used to contain a
personality imprint of said disciple; I believe he was called…called…Bob, I
think.
Arcane Archer Bob, we fought him in the ancient mine, where he
guarded the array leading to the heart of the Colony. That guy. I still have
the stone and haven’t given up. Maybe there will be a piece of information
or two. In the worst case, I will ruin the inscriptions and turn it into a mana
battery.

Whispering Echo Stone (epic):

The Whispering Echo Stone is a rare, iridescent mana stone that serves as a
powerful mana battery and harbors an imperfect personality imprint. There
is something encrypted inside.

There is also a new token I found in the system shop. I swear that it
wasn’t there before as I keep checking the shop anytime I have some free
time. I already bought three of these tokens.

Detachment Token:
Used to remove upgrades from a skill, reverting it to its base form.

The description is short, and the price is a thousand shards for one. So,
with these 3,000 of my shards are gone, and I don’t regret a thing.
Symbiotic Transference, Advanced Mana Manipulation, and Dual Focus
Consolidation. All of these upgrades are gone, kaput, reduced to atoms. Yet
I can still use my skills in the same way as before. All of these upgrades
were months and months old, and my mastery over the skill had already
transcended them.
There won’t be any upgrades helping me to master my skills; no, it will
all be on me and me only. I could do it later when 3,000 shards would be
worth much less to me, but I think it’s good to start as soon as possible.
And with this, a new plan came. Maybe I can use the next skill upgrade
token, observe it, learn what I want, and then remove the upgrade. It should
work, right? The price would probably be around 6,000 shards to do so.
That’s 5,000 lost by not selling the upgrade token and 1,000 more for the
detachment token.
With a total budget of 10,000 shards, it’s quite a price to pay, but I don’t
believe that epic is the highest rarity of item there is, no. There should be a
rarity somewhere in the ballpark of ten to twenty times more expensive than
epic. When I am finally capable of collecting those sums on a later floor,
which I logically should be, 6,000 shards will be nothing.
For now, I will buy a new rare passive instead, as they are much
cheaper, and learn from it, yup. The system refuses to teach properly, so it’s
obvious I will use whatever I can to teach myself.
“Master, you have a creepy expression,” I hear somewhere in the
background.
Ignoring the voice of the silver-spoon, four-trait, half-demon girl, I
continue disrupting her mana as she tries to fight against it. This has already
gone on for hours, and she’s not using much mana in her attempts; she can
keep up.
Still, even now, she is unable to fight against it, no matter how many
times she’s leveled her skill in the process.
I freeze as I open my mouth to answer her. One of the mana threads I set
in the streets tears, and a signal comes to me through a thread thinner than a
hair. Nearly impossible to perceive without looking for it.
But, even so, the monster down on the street stops its movement, waves
of mana radiating from it, trying to detect the thing that interrupted it.
I stare over the edge of the rooftop and gesture for my disciple to
remain quiet.

[Veil Guardian - Level ??]

The monster keeps sniffing and looking around, and when its head starts
slowly turning toward our building, I use [Tether] and activate one of the
anchors I left in the buildings around us.
At the other end, a mana orb bursts open, releasing mana and feeding
the inscriptions I’ve painted on the floor in mana-conductive paint. The
inscriptions imitate a barrier-type skill to confuse the monster and to not be
a simple pulse of mana.
Down on the street, the Veil Guardian screeches and rushes toward the
burst orb. Every single step it takes cracks the road, and its movement is
fluid and quick, the blades shining in the morning light.
“We are leaving,” I tell my disciple.
As we planned and practiced before, she quickly rushes to grab her
things, and I do the same. Within a few seconds, we are packed, and I
awkwardly lift her up into my arms; it’s a bit more weird now that she is
awake.
I leave a tiny black mana orb where I stand and start jumping from
rooftop to rooftop to put distance in between us and the monster.
After landing, I create a projectile that I tie an anchor to and shoot really
far away. I fire off another behind that to make the possible tracking much
more difficult or straight-up impossible and jump again.
Then we move down the street, and I continue running for another thirty
minutes while reducing our mana footprint as much as possible.
“What is your level?” I ask.
From my side, she lifts her head, her red eyes meeting mine. “Fourteen.
Master, are you not scared of that monster?”
“Not really.” I grab her for a moment and jump over a crater in the street
caused by an explosion long ago.
As I put her back on the ground, she asks again, “Why didn’t you kill
it?”
“You would probably die if we fought. Also, I don’t think I can kill it at
the moment.”
“Is that monster stronger than you, Master?”
“Probably.”
“And you aren’t scared?” she continues to ask.
So I pause and lower my head to her level. “Silly disciple, listen
carefully.” I pull her horn to make sure she gives me full attention, and
when I let go, she covers it with her hands to defend it.
After finding the right words, I continue. “There will always be
someone stronger than you. Someone more talented. Someone with a higher
level. But, Minion, there is no need to be bothered by that.”
“Disciple, not Minion,” a quiet voice sounds.
 “If you meet such a person, use whatever you can. Befriend them, act
submissive, or use tricks. Spit, bite, kick at the crotch. Prepare to hunt them,
cheat. In the end, it doesn’t matter how strong they are. The winner is the
one that is alive in the end.”
“But isn’t that…dirty?”
“Disciple, are you the strongest person on your planet?”
“N-no?”
“So why do you care? Powerful people can be honorable, and it’s better
when they are. They’re easier to trick or deal with. Remember, you can only
act honorably if you have the strength to back it up.”
Instead of answering, she just nods.
“Disciple, if you die, you won’t be able to see all that is there to see. If
you die, you won’t be able to learn what you’re capable of, and you won’t
eat more sweet fruit.” I poke her nose.
Her red eyes are attentive, and in the morning dawn, their color is
beautifully vibrant.
“You can worry about that stuff when you’re much stronger. You can
find friends you can trust. You can fall in love. You can be honorable if
that’s something you want. But to get there, you need to use everything you
have to stay alive.”
I scan the area around us, and when it feels safe, I continue. “But there
are some rules to follow so you don’t become a savage. If someone shows
you pure and unconditional kindness, try to not betray it, even if it means
you get hurt. Don’t be cruel without reason and always set your priorities.
And never hurt kids.”
I let the silence linger. “Of course, it’s your life, so live it the way you
want.” Before she answers, I stand up. “Let’s continue.”
After a few steps, my silly disciple rushes to join me as we continue
down the street.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 72
THREE OPTIONS

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 131]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 143]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 163]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 138]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 169]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 171]:
…

I
watch as each monster dies one after the other, their hearts pierced by a
small orb of mana that’s been boosted with kinetic energy.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 159]

[Level 215 > Level 216]

My leveling is getting slower, and these monsters aren’t cutting it.

Should I go and try to hunt the Veil Guardian? The asshole is probably close
to Level 300, but with some planning and a few well-placed traps, I should
be able to kill him.
There is only one problem with that.
My disciple walks into the room from behind me, and with her tiny feet,
she kicks one of the corpses.
She looks up at me. “I want to be strong enough to do that too.”
“As I said, there is one word the ancient half-demon used to say after
every sentence, earning the respect of⁠—”
“I’m not going to say that word!”
 Tsk, my opinion on lynthari is going down and down.
Taking a more serious stance, I return her gaze, and even though she is
trying to act like she’s mad, I can see that she’s taken a liking to our banter.
Damn you, system, just how bad did she have it before to enjoy this?
“Minion, it’s time to decide.”
“I’m not a minion. I’m a disciple.”
I continue. “This is up to you, and I want you to consider it very
carefully, so listen closely.”
I take a seat on the ground and gesture for her to do the same. She takes
a moment to dust off a section of the floor before plopping down across
from me. She takes great care not to dirty her new clothes.
Surrounded by corpses, in a basement deep under one of the
skyscrapers, I finally bring myself to ask a question I’ve been putting off for
a while. I have had this silly disciple for five days, and just over two weeks
remain, so it’s time I asked it.
“There are multiple ways we can go about your training.” I lift one of
my fingers. “First, we can continue what we are doing now. Some leveling,
some hunting, and when the time is ready, you will return to your world
much stronger than when you came, with some nice memories.”
She pulls her light brown hair out of her face, and her deep red eyes are
glued to me.
“Second, we take a more aggressive approach. You will sleep a bit less,
we will hunt more, and I will force you to train more and expect more of
you. You will be tired, and you will get hurt.”
The mood turns more serious.
“Third and last, I will put you in danger, and at times, you will risk your
life. It will hurt, you will sleep less, and I will take a much harsher
approach. With this option, you will leave this place the strongest, but the
memories you take back with you will include a lot of pain and blood, and
there is a chance that you will hate me in the end.”
Gradually, I let my words die away, and silence ensues, interrupted only
by the eerie sounds of a quiet room.
The little half-demon opens her mouth to say something, but I jump into
her words. “Think carefully, because when you pick one of the options, I
won’t change my mind later.”
I know it’s a hard decision to make for someone so young, but I trust
that she can decide for herself. Meanwhile, I also believe that I will finish
this floor well no matter which one she picks.
At the same time, I can’t help but wonder what she will choose.
“What would Master pick if you were in my place?”
“Third,” I answer without hesitation.
“Third,” she replies. Just a single word and a determined expression.
“You can think about it some more if you like.”
“I don’t need to.”
“Okay.”
My disciple is currently Level 15, so I release a Level 20 Veilshrieker,
and Minion jumps to her feet at the same moment the monster rushes her.
The first attack throws her against the wall, a painful groan escaping her
lips. The second attack barely misses her head, and the monster’s third
attack painfully bruises her shoulder and cracks the wall behind her. Before
the fourth attack can land, she glances at me.
And I just sit there, practicing my Mana Cycling as usual and observing
the fight.
The fourth attack draws blood, and she rolls on the ground, the new
clothes I bought for her getting dirty and torn. Only then does the
expression on her face change. It becomes more distant, and she grabs the
dagger, lowering her stance and moving her feet the way I taught her.
When the monster charges at her, she waits, changing her grip on her
dagger. The little girl and the monster crash against each other, the
monster’s attack only landing because she allows it to.
And then my disciple shows me the ferocity she learned in her
homeland. The anger she’s kept hidden and controlled the entire time we’ve
been together.
The dagger keeps moving up and down, stabbing the monster as she
takes on some of the weaker attacks on purpose only so she can continue to
attack.
All while her red eyes seem to glow with the same hatred as the
monster’s.
When she is finally thrown off, she rolls a few times to escape the
monster’s reach and jumps back to her feet. Her mana moves through her
body, and she charges again, dodging and stabbing without hesitation.
With a last hateful screech, the monster finally dies and falls down with
a dagger lodged in its neck.
 With bloodied hands, a bruised body, and a wild look in her eyes, my
disciple turns to me. She is breathing heavily, dead on her feet after such an
intense fight, and yet there she stands.
So I release another monster from my [Redistribution].
For that short moment, shock flashes across her face. Then there is a
short moment of fear and anger.
As the monster gets closer, all of that disappears, replaced by a strange
mask of calm settling over her face. I can sense her erratic heartbeat
through the kinetic energy.
Her hand stops shaking, and she falls to the ground, rolling and using
the corpse of the monster she just killed to block a few attacks from the
monster I just released.
While the Veilshrieker continues to bite and scratch the corpse that
separates it from my disciple, she pulls the dagger from its neck, more
blood soaking into her new clothes.
With a scream, she attacks.
The exchange that follows takes even longer than before. She is slowing
down, her mana is dropping lower, and she gets wounded more often, yet
even then she wins.
Falling to her knees, she turns toward me, looking for acknowledgment.
The dagger drops from her hands, and her chest moves heavily up and
down.
She smiles at me proudly.
I lift my hand and show her three fingers. “You picked the third option.”
Then I release the third monster.
Even though I can see the pain in her eyes, she reaches out and grabs
the dagger again. Her fingers are slippery with blood, it takes her two
attempts, but she soon wields it again and immediately rolls behind the
monster, barely avoiding its attack.
My disciple, with sheer force of will, pushes herself back to her feet,
and for a moment, I can see the rage in her red eyes as her demonic heritage
makes itself known.
That rage is not directed at the monster only; no, it’s directed at me as
well.
Before the monster can launch its offensive, she attacks.
“What’s wrong with you!” the granny screams and rushes to take my
disciple from my arms and starts healing her immediately.
The moment she does so, the little half-demon’s face grows less pale,
and her breathing calms down.
“She lost so much blood, and she barely has any mana inside her body.
Why is she so battered!” the granny complains.
“A little bit of training,” I say.
“Training? TRAINING?! Are you insane?” she screams.
I didn’t expect such a show of emotion. I guess she must have a
weakness for hurt kids; perhaps that’s why she helped before. Well, I’m
sure my disciple would be fine even without healing; the problem is that it
would take too long for her to get back into form. If I use the granny, I can
have her train more.
To cut off the stream of curses directed at me, I take out one of my bags
and put it on the table. “For your current and future healing of my disciple,”
I say simply.
“What a goddamn asshole you are! Do you think—” Even as she is
saying that, she opens the bag and peeks inside, and that makes her words
stop as if cut off.
She looks between me and the bag and then starts pulling out its
contents.
Multiple bottles of water, plenty of food, a small bar of chocolate, a few
of my smaller mana stones, and lastly, an upper rare item: a cape that allows
the creation of a realistic but illusory image of its wearer with a duration
determined by the amount of mana used. The illusion even duplicates one’s
mana signature, heat, and smell. Out of the rare upper items, it’s one of the
better ones, even though situational.
“Do we have a deal?”
“We have a deal,” she says, still annoyed.
We leave the cottage on the rooftop an hour later, and my disciple is
following me on her own two feet. Her last fight gained her a level and
even more levels in her skills.
After a few hours, we find ourselves in a secluded place inside one of
the fallen skyscrapers, and I set traps around our perimeter and some
anchors in the event of an emergency. Surrounded by a few thermal orbs, I
sit down to eat.
 Unlike before, my disciple doesn’t move to me, putting pieces of cloth
in front of us. No, for the first time after a few days, she doesn’t ask me to
eat with her and does everything she can to avoid my eyes.
After dinner, I put a tiny mana stone in front of her with a new set of
inscriptions. This one is meant to replicate [Oscillation], and even without
being asked, she immediately grabs it and starts her attempts. A minute
later, her posture becomes less awkward as she forgets about me and she
focuses her attention on the puzzle in front of her.
Hearing the sound of rain, I leave an anchor near her, and with constant
monitoring, I leave the room, heading toward a room with a view of the
outside.
As I enter, the sound intensifies, the sound of rain constantly drumming
on the stone and the road below. The rain is beautiful, and droplets filled
with light blue mana shine under a sky full of dark clouds. The myriad
shining blue droplets light up the dark day, reminding me of the mana rain
on the first floor. Yet this one doesn’t seem to be quite as deadly given that
it doesn’t damage the buildings or the vegetation outside.
Curious, I put my hand outside, and immediately, a dozen or so
raindrops pierce right through and fall to the ground, which they do not
damage at all.
I pull my hand back, and for a moment, I observe it while the blood
flows through it, my hand pierced with a dozen holes that go through the
entire extremity.
Well, it was silly to expect the tutorial to have normal rain.
I generate some thermal energy and send it through my body, healing
my hand nearly immediately.
Then I pull the transmitter from my pocket. (Darren, so where did you
say you are?)
It takes only a few seconds to get an answer.
(Oh, the guy with Owen’s transmitter. Darren is sleeping. I’m Nina.)
(Hello, Nina, does the offer still stand?)
(Sure, here is the location. We can specify the exact time of the meeting
later. See you soon.)
Nina must be less talkative than Darren, given that the connection cuts
off after she describes the location.
Well, it’s time to start working on side quests and find out what this
floor is about.
OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 73
A TERRIBLE NAME

A
s we walk through the streets, I continue to observe the small girl by
my side. She still refuses to look at me, and when our eyes meet,
even for a second, I can see the anger behind them. Surprisingly, that
anger doesn’t seem to be directed at me, and that leaves me confused.
Does she not hate me? I mean, I wouldn’t blame her for it. After the first
fight, I forced her into a few more like it, and this time, we didn’t even go to
the healer. Even now, she is bruised, her clothes bloodied and torn.
Yet I ask her before every fight: “First, second, or third option?”
And as she did the first time, she answers simply: “Third.”
There is no hesitation in her answer, no hate toward me. Still, she
doesn’t invite me to have food with her, she talks less, and she delves into
training, usually not responding to my taunts.
Well, it’s fine even if she hates me. I just need to make her as strong as
possible. Because of her wish, because of the floor quest, because of the
fact she is currently my disciple, and my Pride won’t allow her to be weak.
“I’ve noticed that you haven’t been very aware of your surroundings
lately,” I tell her.
Immediately after, a dozen or so veilshriekers pour from the fallen
building around us and charge. [Redistribution] encompasses them all, and
I stop all of them other than Level 21. That veilshrieker reaches my disciple
and crashes against her before she has a chance to react. A pained scream
escapes her mouth, and I force myself to stop myself from helping.
I watch as she pulls out the dagger, but the monster hits her hand,
sending the dagger away. For a short moment, a look of panic appears in
her eyes, and she looks toward me as if asking for help. I just return her
gaze.
 Her expression changes, the panic disappearing from it, replaced by a
blank expression. She twists her head, avoiding another punch, and then she
bites into the monster’s hand, drawing blood.
A weak, smokey mana emerges from her hand, slowly taking the shape
of a dagger, and she stabs it into the monster’s neck. The dagger dissipates,
not even piercing the skin. The monster throws my disciple aside, and she
rolls on the ground until she hits the side of the building.
The bloodthirsty monster screeches and rushes her again.
Meanwhile, my disciple pushes herself back to her feet, grabbing a
piece of wood from the ground. She quickly coats the stick in her pale blue
mana, bringing it to a point. Her red eyes are calm yet full of emotion held
back by her will, and she charges the monster as well.
She dodges the swing and stabs deep into the monster’s thigh, and the
monster screeches in pain, scrambling to pull it out.
My disciple, not wasting a moment, jumps on the monster and stabs her
fingers into the monster’s neck, coating them in her mana. Again and again,
she repeats the movement, even as the monster falls to the ground and
weakly swings its arms at her. She ignores the feeble blows and doesn’t stop
until her control wavers and her fingers slide off the monster’s skin without
piercing it.
Her chest moving heavily, she stands up and looks toward me.
I weaken my Mantle and then slowly move my mana so she can observe
the process. A dagger made out of mana forms in my hand and then
dissipates.
When I do it for a second time, I feel her senses touching me and
observing the process. Her senses should be heightened after a life-or-death
situation, so I create another mana dagger. And I do so slowly, even if it is
extremely wasteful and inefficient. It should be easier to observe this way,
and she can take care of the rest later. First, she needs to learn how to do it.
When I feel like she has had enough, I let her go so that she can explore
the rest on her own.
I turn to the remaining veilshriekers, still held in place by my skill, and
with a high-pitched shriek, a concentrated blast of kinetic energy tears
through them. Each one dies as half of their body explodes into a vapor of
blood, bones, and flesh without damaging the surroundings.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 16]

 [You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 38]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 19]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 27]
…

Again, side by side, we start walking through the street.

It only takes a few minutes before a weak voice next to me says, “I’m
sorry that I’m weak, Master.”
It’s the first time in days that she’s talked to me. I think about it a bit
more. In the end, I ask, “Weak?”
“Yes…” Her head is down, yet I can feel her using her mana to scan the
area around us. She hasn’t done this since I’ve been taking care of it.
I stay quiet, and after a moment of silence, she continues, “You want to
help, you let me decide for myself, yet I still… I was looking for help from
you. I got scared, and I got angry at you when you didn’t help. Angry at you
even when you were so nice to me.”
What life did she even have to consider what I’m doing nice?
“Minion, that’s your problem,” I say, and she looks up at me.
When she tries to avoid my gaze, I grab one of her horns and force her
to look at me. “You should be angry at me. I’m an asshole,” I declare
proudly. “I said I would help you, yet you keep bleeding under my care and
even risking your life. You are so young, yet I’ve forced you to make such a
hard decision. What am I but an asshole?”
I sense a few monsters beyond the range of my disciple, and before they
can interrupt us, I create an anchor next to them and send a blast of kinetic
energy through.

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 61]

[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 12]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 7]
[You have defeated Veilshrieker - Level 9]

Still holding her horn, I shake her head. “My silly disciple. It’s not you
who is wrong. It’s the people around you. Everyone is an asshole, everyone
is annoying, and everyone is a weirdo. You alone are normal; that’s how
you should look at it.”
 At my declaration, she wants to say something, but I shake her head
more.
“You are weak? So what? Do you plan to stay weak forever? I don’t
think you do. Just do the best you can and give it time. Make your decisions
and follow through. Who cares what anyone else thinks? Who cares if
people call you names and laugh at you? Just nod, smile, and agree with
them. And then, when they least expect it, come back and fuck them up.”
Isn’t it all simple?
“Have pride in yourself, my minion.” I let go of her horn and drop to
my knees so I can look into her eyes. “You will fuck up, you will make
mistakes, terrible ones, but such is life.”
“Master…”
“Yes?”
“I’m not a minion. I’m your disciple.”
“I don’t remember my disciple being such a crybaby.”
“Master is mean.”
“I didn’t hear you.”
“Master is an asshole!” she shouts at me.
I feel a small smile crawl onto my lips. “Yup, I am, so what are you
going to do about it?”
“I will become stronger and beat you up.”
Damn, I’m almost proud of this silly disciple of mine.
As a reward for her dedication, I grab her horn once again and shake her
head. What makes me even more proud is that she actually tries to kick me,
and I let her. There is barely any damage, but I appreciate the spirit.
I let go of her horn once more and sit down, and she joins me. In the
middle of the street, surrounded by empty skyscrapers overgrown with
vegetation, she takes out a few clean pieces of cloth and lays them out in
front of us.
“Will you eat with me, Master?” she asks shyly. As is her custom.
“Gladly,” I reply.
She smiles and takes out a few pieces of fruit and a bottle of water,
which she offers to me. She only ever does it with her food, the food she
bought from me with information, or by completing tasks. She never takes
any of the food I’ve given her access to.
Gradually, I’m coming to realize that she hasn’t been angry at me at all,
nor has she had any ill feelings toward me. No, she was too ashamed,
maybe even scared that I would ditch her if she didn’t do well. There was
anger too, directed at herself, not me.
I watch as she uses a bit of water to clean her bloodied hands and then
takes a sip. When she grabs a piece of sweetened dried fruit, she takes a bite
quickly. Her favorite snack, as I’ve come to learn.
We don’t talk during the meal any more than we did before. Waiting
until we have finished, she grabs the pieces of cloth and then carefully gets
rid of leftovers and dirt that got on them. She carefully folds them and puts
them into one of the bags I gave her.
Observing her and her mana for a bit, I reach out and form a small
dagger out of [Regalia]. I attempt to imitate her mana frequency and
constantly change it with my [Resonance]. It’s not perfect, but similar
enough.
“You will be using this mana from now on. You can train with it as
well.”
She takes the dagger from me thankfully and starts to examine it.
The dagger is dark blue with streaks of light blue mana. I used quite a
bit of it, so I’m sure the dagger won’t dissipate anytime soon. A week or
even more should be fine. I haven’t given it any enhancements. No, the
dagger is mostly normal; the only exceptional thing about it is the mana
circuits I left inside, pathways she can use to train and as inspiration for her
weapon.
The circuits are the only part I’m somewhat worried about, so I will
make sure to check them every time.
“Next, your detection is lacking. Starting now, you will maintain it
constantly and you will focus on making it as efficient as possible. It
doesn’t matter if we are speaking, training, or fighting. Constantly.
Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Good. I like how you fight, so for now, there is no need to change that
much. Some might tell you that you should focus more on defense, but they
are wrong. You can defend as much as you want, but if you don’t have
enough power to kill someone, it’s a waste of time. No, you are lucky to
have me as your master. I will teach you some powerful attacks, and I will
help you avoid some of the small mistakes I made.”
The way she listens and nods at my every word feels heavy. No matter
how she behaves or what she went through, she is still very young and
naïve. But no worries, I’m here!
“We will make you into the most powerful half-demon ever.” I find it
strangely fun. Is this why people like pet simulators so much?
The level of trust she’s giving me feels undeserved, but I will make sure
she won’t regret it. It will be hard, it will be difficult, and I’m sure there
will be times when she will want to cry, but in the end, I’m sure she won’t
regret it. Because if you are powerful enough, you can do whatever you
want and not be swayed by anything.
“Then I will teach you where to kick to make it hurt and what to be
aware of.” She looks like she will become pretty when she grows up, so I
will teach her where to kick a man, or woman who becomes too…touchy. A
few broken arms and well-aimed kicks should show them the limits.
There is a bit over two weeks left, but there is so much I can teach her.
“Master?”
I cut off that line of thought and look at her. “Yes?”
“I lied to you,” she starts, and this time, her voice sounds weak, but she
is not using her skill to escape the emotions. “I don’t have a name. They
always called me…things. The most common was⁠—”
“No need to say more,” I interrupt. It’s clear that it’s not something nice.
“I’m sorry for lying that it is forbidden.”
“I don’t know…breaking our deal like that right away. Is that how you
treat your master?”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice becomes even weaker.
“So to punish you, I guess I will have to do something. Maybe I can
give you a terrible name, right?”
She looks up, her eyes big and shaking.
“Maybe Pipsqueak? Or how about Minion? Nathaniela also doesn’t
sound bad,” I wonder.
“Master?”
“We already have Biscuit and Noodle, so how about Mochi or Omelet?”
“I—”
Not letting her speak, I continue. “Vega…I will call you Vega. It’s
decided, and there is no room for argument.”
For a short moment, her eyes water and cloud over, but she quickly
blinks a few times and wipes them on her sleeve.
Poking her cheek, I continue, “It has a little bit of meaning behind it, but
for now you will have to suffer without knowing. Maybe I will tell you one
day.”
The smile on her face is as big as I’ve ever seen. Gone are the
calculating expressions and plays on my sympathy. The little half-demon
just seems to be happy.
“I’m Vega?” she asks.
“Yes, because I said so. You can complain when you’re stronger.”
She wipes her eyes with her sleeve again. “Master is an asshole.”
“Yup.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 74
THAT WOULD SUCK

I
wonder how much my subclass affects my control over my mana and
even over my black mana.
Sure, it’s obvious that it helps, but my inability to measure it
properly frustrates me. Is the effect stronger the more prideful I am? Is
acting cocky boosting my control?
As always, the system likes to hide such information, and having had
the subclass for months already, I find it hard to compare it to my prior
efforts. The only obvious effect it has is on my mana constructs. My armor
looks nice; the weapons seem well made too.
Great.
I look down at my arm as I finish drawing a set of temporary
inscriptions made with mana-conductive paint and etching them into my
skin. It’s sort of a single-use temporary construct. Sort of. If I’m doing it
properly, it should help me with the black mana.
I’ve been working on examining the black mana and trying to come up
with a way to reduce the strain it puts on my body the moment I try to use
it. I have multiple ideas, and one of them is changing the frequency of black
mana to match mine. The problem here is that it changes constantly; that’s
why I’ve created these inscriptions.
The inscriptions should help me with that, automating the process so I
can focus on the rest. I already tried it a few times with tiny bits of black
mana, and so far, it’s good, but I will know more after I scale things up.
I’ve more or less optimized them to fortify my body with black mana.
Logically, strengthening my body with black mana and then using more for
something else should work, but I’m sure the strengthening itself will strain
my body. Even though it won’t affect me immediately, I’m sure it will be
immense.
That’s why I’ll offset it with my healing passive. I’ve already cut off my
pinkie, and it grew back after a few hours of generating thermal energy and
sending it to the stump.
It’s not as good as Lily’s healing, but I can’t be picky, and I’m happy to
even get that much, given how often I tend to lose my limbs.
“Master, I’m done,” Vega breathes heavily, and I remove the strain I’ve
put on her with [Redistribution].
I’m making it harder for her to move just as Min-Jae did for me in an
effort to strengthen her body. We also spend some of this time practicing
some of the moves I learned back on Earth.
Having been released, she plops down next to me and examines the
inscriptions covering my arms. I feel her senses examining it and allow her
to do so.
“When will we reach the place you mentioned?” she asks.
“Sometime tomorrow. There is no need to hurry.”
Vega nods. “I already learned the crotch kick Master showed me. The
one against people that touch me without my consent!” she chirps
innocently.
“Good job. How about a mana orb?”
“Just really small ones, but I’m putting a lot of my stats into mana as
Master told me!”
Good, it’s all coming together! The goal is simple: to make her build
similar to mine. Just the fact I have reached Beyond with it shows how
versatile it is, and most of the monsters, other than end bosses, don’t really
cause me any problems.
“I also want to let Master know something about my trait,” she starts
carefully. “I wanted to keep it to myself, just in case, and Master never
asked, so I didn’t lie.”
When I gesture at her to continue, she breathes out in relief. “A lot of
demons and some half-demons are born with one trait. I heard there are
some humans too, but I don’t know why.”
Huh, even humans? Weren’t they limited to three traits? Are humans on
her planet different? Is there something else? Are they born with traits they
can’t pick themselves?
 “I think most of the demons start with their demon heart,” she says. “I
have one too. Everyone has a different one.”
“What is a demon heart?”
“The system calls mine a Kinetic Demon Heart. It’s weak, and I was
never really able to use it.”
Okay, is the system playing favorites here? First, humans start with
three traits only, then there are some demons with four, and some more
ancient bloodlines with five? And how is she even alive with a kinetic
heart?
“Minion, how are you not dead?”
“My name is Vega, Master,” she says proudly. “I’m too weak to use it,
and I think it’s one of the weaker hearts.”
I call bullshit; there is no way a Kinetic Mana Heart or Kinetic Demon
Heart is weak. I made my own, and it’s not a trait, so I’m sure it doesn’t
reach the system standards; it should be weaker than any trait would be. It’s
annoying, but it would be straight-up silly if third-floor Nathaniel managed
to replicate a trait at full power. I mean, I like that weirdo and all, but I need
to be realistic.
As for the heart not generating kinetic energy and killing my disciple,
well, that much could be explained by it being a trait as well. Unlike my
own experimental and janky version, hers would be made by the system, so
it wouldn’t make any sense if it killed her.
The other reason could be her low level.
“Minion…”
“It’s Vega.”
“Starting now, you ditch everything other than practicing [Mana
Manipulation] at night. Spend the rest of your days trying to use your
Kinetic Demon Heart.”
“Yes!” she says eagerly and then hesitates. “But how?”
How indeed.
I let my own heart generate some kinetic energy and then gesture for my
disciple to turn around. Sitting in front of me, she turns her back to me, and
I put my hand on it, somewhere behind where her heart should be.
She is still low level, so even with her natural barrier trying to stop me
from affecting her, it’s not hard for me to send the tiniest trickle of kinetic
energy to her heart. Focusing on it, I can sense the movement of her lungs,
heart, and other organs through their kinetic energy.
 When I finally reach her heart, it seems to change its rhythm, as a bit
more mana radiates from it.
My disciple doesn’t say anything as she concentrates and examines it
with me.
I send a few weak pulses of kinetic energy to her heart, and after each
one, its rhythm changes and takes in slightly more mana. I stop there. She
should figure out the rest on her own. She needs to use her own head and
effort. Otherwise, she might grow too reliant on me.
Vega doesn’t even react to me and continues to sit there, her eyes closed
and focused on her heart.
Just in case, I place an anchor nearby and use [Perception] to keep an
eye on her.

The building we are currently staying in is one of the tallest in the city and
offers a sprawling view of the landscape. The top floor has no windows,
and yet the vines’ reach even extends here. As always, most of the furniture
is broken and rotted away, but I don’t mind it that much and just move
toward a circular hole in the wall. The edges of this hole are extremely
smooth, either caused by a skill or a weapon.
I sit with my legs hanging over the edge, and I train in the same fashion
as my disciple.
Slowly, I create an orb as big as my pinkie nail, and the orb turns black
with specks of lights inside of it. [Mana Domain] encompasses it, and I
slide deeper into [Focus].
As always, the black mana tries to fight me, but my trait activates as
well, and I gradually force it under my control. Then I reach toward it, and
my index finger touches it at the same time the inscriptions on my forearm
light up. The black mana orb turns into a liquid or smoke-like substance and
flows into my arm. As it does so, the inscriptions change their color, and it
grows harder to control, but with such a small amount of mana, it is doable.
Over a minute, I let the black mana seep into the entirety of my body,
and then, when I feel ready, I use it to strengthen my body. One of the first
things I ever did with my mana.
 It feels different than using normal mana. Much stronger. My muscles
twitch and spasm while my passive activates and starts healing me. I
concentrate even more and change my approach. [Infusion] activates as
well, and I attempt to distribute things more evenly.

[Infusion - Level 22 > Infusion - Level 23]

Even then, with the inscriptions to help me, I feel the pressure on my
body increase, and over the next few seconds, the black mana dissipates.
After it finally works its way out of my system, I observe the damage,
and it’s nothing to ignore.
I generate a bit more thermal energy and compress it, and the passive
intensifies, gradually healing the wounds.
Well, the progress is there, but it will still take some time. I wonder
what I’d need to use it without any restriction. A substantial increase in my
Constitution? A passive with a rarity above epic, something like Mana
Overload Absorption? Strengthening my Mana Circuit trait could help too.
Letting my body heal, I open the Community. As I type, I don’t even
bother trying to write anything about the dangers of this floor. The system
has been extremely aggressive with censorship lately.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - The system didn’t lie. Disciples are really
similar to us.
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Yes! Mine has nearly the same
skills as mine. The way he uses them is strange, so there is a lot for
him to learn.
Izzy (Hell, group 4) - Mine said she likes my flames. She also tried
to eat them.
Soph (Hell, group 4) - Izzy, just stay somewhere safe and train with
her. Do not risk anything, okay?
Izzy (Hell, group 4) - Yah, yah (>_<)
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - How is yours, Noname?
Noname (Hell, group 4) - She has similar skills and fights like me.
Same as yours, there is a lot for her to learn, but the most important
part is that she actually wants to and has a lot of enthusiasm.
 TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Not gonna lie, she sounds
scary.
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - I bet in a few weeks she could beat your
ass, TheStrongestOne.
NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - Yeah, if she is even a bit like Noname,
lol.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Did you find out what happened to your
disciples before they got summoned?
Sset (Hell, group 4) - Hello, Noname and everyone else. It’s nice to
see that you are here at the scheduled time. As for you, Noname, so
far we’ve come to think that the disciples were close to death before
they got summoned.
NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - Mine was about to be eaten by some
monster.
Izzy (Hell, group 4) - Mine too! She said some group attacked her
village.
Knight (Hell, group 4) - Sorry for being late! Mine almost died as
well; he got attacked and beaten by some noble asshole.

Maya finally joins as well.

Grumpy (Hell, group 4) - I had to heal mine; he was close to

bleeding out.

Looking at what they are saying, I think I will have to ask my disciple
as well.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - Do you think they are real? The system
said they were taken from a database.
Sset (Hell, group 4) - I wouldn’t be surprised if the system
constantly updates that database, so they could easily be real. But
that’s something we can’t say for sure for now.
Izzy (Hell, group 4) - I don’t want mine to be fake.
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - That would suck…
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Got to go, later.
 I use an anchor to reappear next to Vega, just in time to grab her and
stop her from hitting her head against the floor as she passes out. She is
unconscious and breathing heavily. There is barely any mana left in her
body, and she has a few wounds under her skin.
Her heart is beating differently now, like that of a small bird.
Piercing through her natural barrier, I reach toward it and absorb some
of its energy, carefully slowing the pace down to a normal level. For a few
minutes, I help it beat until it feels right and release my hold.
The young half-demon in my arms calms down as well, and the pained
expression gradually disappears from her face.
Reflexively, she moves in her sleep, and her small hands grab the hem
of my clothes, pulling herself closer to me like a small animal looking for
safety and warmth.
This time, I agree with Aaron. It would really suck if the disciples were
fake.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 75
DARREN AND NINA

“M aster?”
“Yes, Minion?”
“Do we really have to meet these people? We’re okay by
ourselves.”
Can you be proud of someone just for trying to be antisocial? Because
damn, I am.
I’m already mentally preparing for having to deal with people. This
time, I’m severely weakened. There aren’t any extroverted members of
group 4 here to absorb most of the damage or who have a good match-up
against extroverts.
Nope, this time, it’s just me and my disciple, who seems to have the
same problem.
All of this is compounded by the fact that we’ve already spent over a
week by ourselves, and neither of us speaks very much. That leaves two
weeks left with my silly disciple and to maybe finish the side quests.
Locating the natives or survivors, as the system calls them in the side
quests, should be the easiest one, and maybe they can help me locate the
Mirror. The reward for that one is listed as a series of question marks, and
that interests me greatly.
Together we reach the part of the city where Darren told us to meet him,
so I sit on a chunk of debris. After observing me for a moment, my disciple
does the same. She even mimics my expression. Then we wait.
Straight away, I notice a dozen or so people surrounding us. None of
them feels close to Level 200, and they don’t think I’ve noticed them yet.
They proceed to carefully examine me. Not exactly me, they seem to be
trying to sense how much mana I’m passively radiating and try to estimate
my strength that way.
As always, I keep Mana Cycling running. Ever since Lissandra taught
me, I’ve kept it up almost constantly. In combination with my Mantle, it
almost fully stops the leak of my mana, and it also constantly improves my
control, even as my reserves grow.
In an attempt to avoid spooking them too much, I’ve been letting a bit
of mana leak. Too little could seem as suspicious as leaking too much. I’m
smart, am I not?
Even my disciple hasn’t noticed anything as she’s been scanning the
area with her delicate senses, but that’s fine; we can work on that.
The strongest member of their group uses some weird skill, and his
voice speaks in my ear even though he hasn’t changed position.
“Are you the one Darren spoke with?” he asks.
I respond with the password he gave me. “Zero, one, three, four.”
Only then does he use a skill to step out of the shadow, keeping his
distance from me.
He speaks normally this time. “You are ten minutes late.”

[Shadow Whisperer - Level 167]

“We did meet a few veilshriekers on the way here,” I answer as I

observe him.
The man observes me as well and then nods.
“My name is Kaiden. Please follow me.” This time, he whispers again
using the weird projection skill, and a few more of his group members
appear.
My disciple seems to be surprised and might even be thinking about
how cool they are, but I have trouble taking them too seriously.
Am I the asshole here? I mean, they probably need to be skilled to
survive here, scavenging for food and water while fighting monsters and
avoiding the stronger ones like the Veil Guardian.
The moment they move, I follow them, and when they speed up, I grab
Vega and run with her in my arms.
She seems to dislike it, but I also notice that cheeky disciple of mine
comfortably resting her head against my chest where my heart is.
“Any problem with my heart?” I ask.
 The group speeds up even more, and I use some of my mana to
strengthen my body and slow down a bit so I don’t pass them. We run
through the streets and occasionally hide in a building while we wait for a
group of veilshriekers to pass.
“Master’s heart is strong,” Vega says to me.
“Is that a good thing?”
“Yes! Demon Hearts are important to demons, and I heard the Hornless
Demon has the strongest ever!”
“Oh really? What does it do?”
Her eyes shine at the prospect of telling me about her hero. “His
heartbeat can be heard throughout the entire world when he gets angry, and
only the human’s Bloody Hero has ever survived a fight with him!”
“Oh, that sounds cool.”
“Yes!” She nods and once again listens to my heart. “But I think Master
also has a strong heart, almost like a demon.”
Well, let’s not tell her that it’s only a cheap knock-off version of a trait,
that it’s terribly inefficient in comparison to traits. And unlike traits, it can
kill me much easier.
“Minion, I think you have a good heart as well,” I tell her and slide
deeper into the shadows, waiting for Kaiden’s signal to continue.
“It’s Vega, Master.” She seems to enjoy the compliment.
Kaiden gives the signal, and I follow him out of the city.
We quickly move between the trees, and he sends a few people to scout
ahead. They return after a minute, and we continue. We run for a minute
longer until we reach a rocky hill with a small passage on the side, which
we enter.
The light disappears as we proceed down a passage just wide enough
for two people to walk side by side. We continue deeper into the hill, and
after a few twists and turns, we reach a chamber that appears to be heavily
guarded and trapped.
My guides signal the guards, and the traps deactivate.
“Quickly,” Kaiden says, and we pass through the location.
The same thing repeats a few more times until we reach a cave the size
of a football stadium. It doesn’t seem to be natural, and its walls are
extremely smooth, with a giant iron door lodged into the side of it. There
are no circuits in it, no mana. It’s just a massive chunk of metal, and it is
currently closed.
 As we move closer, we see a man and woman, surrounded by three
guards. Once again, I carefully leak some of my mana to avoid spooking
them.
Man, that was such a good idea. Nathaniel the sneaky! Nathaniel, yet
another normal guy with totally normal mana.
“Nathaniel, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Darren.”
Darren has brown hair with a streak of gray in it. He is wearing old
clothes like everyone else here, but they’re freshly ironed and free of holes.
He doesn’t have any visible weapons, but his body is muscular and his fists
look like those of someone used to punching things.

[Iron Vanguard - Level 159]

To my surprise, his level is lower than that of Kaiden.

I ignore the fact that there are so many of them surrounding me. “Hey,”
I answer simply.
Vega seems to be less pleased, and I can read it in her expression, even
though she’s back to acting the way she was when we first met. Big eyes, a
slightly scared expression, and making herself as small as possible.
That’s my girl.
“This is my right hand, Nina. I believe you’ve spoken with her before,”
he introduces the woman next to him.
She is younger than him, maybe around thirty. But her expression is
similar to Darren’s. They might even be relatives. Maybe his daughter?
Unlike him, she has two swords on her waist.

[Ethereal Blade - Level 189]

Interesting, maybe Nina is the real boss here?

“So, about my payment for the things I left to you guys,” I start.
“Yes, we will keep our side of the deal. I also apologize for the trouble
with the esteemed healer. She can be…”
“A bit annoying,” Nina offers.
“We don’t talk about her like that, Nina.” Darren turns to me again. “I
would like to invite you inside,” he gestures at the door behind him, “but
we have rules.”
 Does he not know that talking like that will only make me more
curious? Should I force my way in? It wouldn’t be that difficult.
The moment I think about that, mana radiates from Darren as if he is
preparing for a fight.
It seems to spook Nina and the guards around us, and everyone puts
their hands on their weapons and raises up their mana as well.
I don’t even bother activating my skills and just look at him. “Any
problem?” I ask.
“I…” he starts, and I notice his hand shaking, but he squeezes it into a
fist until it stops. He then shakes his head. “Put your weapons away!” he
orders.
Everyone seems to act confused, but they do as ordered.
Did he read my intentions? Some skill similar to Izzy’s [Empathy]?
That doesn’t sound right; I would feel his touch on me. Maybe it’s
something like Cipher’s skill? Some sort of cold reading information
collection skill?
“I apologize for our rudeness.” He carefully searches for his words,
even to Nina’s surprise.
“It’s fine.”
“Thank you. As you said, we still owe you, and we can offer food,
maybe a rare item for your help.” He gestures, and one of the men steps
forward.
He puts down a bag that contains enough dried meat to last an adult
man for a few weeks, and there are even some bottles of water. Next to it,
he puts down a rare cape that seems to have some kind of camouflage
effect.
The way they present them seems to mark them as extremely valuable
items, probably a show of goodwill and an attempt at building a
relationship.
“I would rather ask for information instead, if that’s okay with you. If
you don’t want to answer, I can take the items.” If they refuse to answer, I
will force them to do so. I won’t kill anyone or damage their home; there’s
no need for that. Just a show of power seems to be enough.
To my fascination, Darren seems to read my intention, and even though
he tries to hide it, his hand starts shaking again.
How amusing. Now I really want to mess with them. Should I release
my mana a bit?
 Before I do anything, Darren hurriedly speaks. “Yes, we can do that as
well.” He forces himself to answer calmly.
Nina seems to notice that, and her eyes examine me again. I see her
hand sliding closer to her swords.
“Do you know anything about the Mirror?” I ask.
Darren puts his hand on Nina and stops her from drawing her sword.
After another signal, everyone else around does the same.
A long sigh escapes his mouth. “The Mirror is a relic of the past, and
we’ve been trying to locate it for a long time. The encrypted mana stone
you helped us to retrieve did contain information on it, as well as its
location.”
Oh, lucky me.
“So where is the problem?” I ask.
“The Mirror is to the north, in the Valley overseen by the Bastion.” The
way he says it sounds like that should explain everything.
“Darren, tell me like I’m five and know nothing about this place. What
the hell is the Mirror, what is the Bastion, and what’s with the Valley? Keep
it simple, okay?”
A few of them don’t seem to like the way I talk to them, but it’s not like
I’m rude.
Just in case, I check my disciple, and she looks at me like I’m some sort
of hero. I also notice the way she mirrors my expression and stance and
even looks around similarly.
Damn it, is this Min-Jae syndrome? Why do these weirdos keep doing
this?
“Put simply? The Mirror is, as I said, a relic of the past. An item spoken
of in legends, yet we are unsure of what it does, but it’s likely to be an
extremely powerful artifact. The Bastion is the most secure place we have
knowledge of, the remains of the past with working defensive mechanisms
and other things left behind by our ancestors. The Valley is, well, the
Valley; it’s a place with extremely dense mana radiation. People die just
from coming too close to it. No one from us knows more.”
Well, that’s simple enough.
“Okay, we can stay in touch. I just need a map or something to lead me
to the Bastion and the Valley.”
Darren nods, and I feel my mood improving. Damn, I’m getting better
and better at dealing with people.
 POV - Nina

The young man continues speaking with my father, and I do not take my
eyes off him, not even for a second. For now, I decide to trust my father and
not send the signal to attack.
The man called Nathaniel seems to notice, and when I meet his two
differently colored eyes, I feel my body shudder. His stance remains
extremely relaxed the entire time. I keep looking for a hint of a battle stance
or defensive one, but I see no such thing.
Surrounded by all of us, he doesn’t even seem to mind. But the most
scary thing is the way he radiates his mana.
I would be less scared if he was radiating it in waves strong enough to
drown me or if I couldn’t sense it at all.
No, what he’s doing is much more terrifying. The mana leaks from his
body in perfect dispersion. The exact same amount of mana radiates from
his arm as from his leg, chest, or head.
I can’t even fathom the amount of control that requires or the reason he
has for doing such a thing.
The little girl by his side seems to be one of the unlucky human
mutants, seeing her red eyes and horns; meanwhile, her expression matches
that of the young man.
When he finally leaves, I feel my body and mind relax and immediately
order a few men to make sure he left and left nothing behind.
“What happened?” I ask my father.
“We were lucky, very lucky. Nina, if you ever deal with him in the
future, be respectful, be direct, and never attack him first.”
“Father, explain properly.”
“I used my [Intuition] a few times, Nina. That person did think about
fighting us multiple times and even getting into the Sanctuary. He even
noticed my skill and kept thinking about forcing his way into the Sanctuary
just for the sake of it. Always a half-step away from actually doing it.”
“Do you think he is someone from before the war?”
“I think so. He is strong enough to be of that generation.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 76
MY DISCIPLE IS THE
COOLEST

A
few new side quests pop up:

Side quest: Find out what’s happening in the Sanctuary

Reward: 1,000 shards

Side quest: Help survivors

Reward: 1,000 shards

Side quest: Find out the cause of high mana levels in the Valley
Reward: Mid-epic piece of equipment
Side quest: Reach the Bastion
Reward: Food and water supplies

Side quest: Reach Level 250

Reward: Body strengthening

Congratulations, you have located the survivors! The moment you

confirm, you will receive your rewards—food and water supplies.

Goddamn it, the amount of side quests I’m getting is quite something.
The rewards also seem unusually nice. The best one, obviously, is the body
strengthening for reaching Level 250. Gimme, right now.
Looking at my level, which is currently 217, and with a disciple to take
care of, I would be surprised if I was able to reach it during this floor,
especially since the leveling speed slowed down. But hey, it’s nice to have
something to work toward too.
So the question now is will I head toward the Valley and Bastion, or
stay here and finish some side quests in the area while leveling my disciple
and helping survivors? I mean, the time seems to be limited, with only two
weeks remaining. Suspiciously limited, so I wonder if there are really only
two weeks left.
I can’t really confirm or deny my doubts; I can only wait and see.
Another problem is that in games, you often can leave the quest for later
and return to do it after killing the last boss. But this isn’t a game. What if I
go to the Valley and Bastion and the survivors and Sanctuary get destroyed
in the meantime?
The quests clearly say to find out what’s happening there, and I don’t
think the objective would be to locate where all the cute little kittens are
coming from or who is stealing all the socks.
“Minion, I’m annoyed,” I complain.
“Are we going back to kill them, then?”
“What?! No!”
“I’m sorry, Master, I thought these people annoyed you as well. Do you
want to beat them up and leave them alive?”
Isn’t this little half-demon a bit scary? I mean, she is cute, so I can
forgive her for saying that, but she doesn’t seem to be joking.
“Disciple,” I start seriously, “you can’t kill people for being annoying.
Even if you could, there wouldn’t be anyone left.” As I share my wisdom,
she looks at me, eyes wide open, and listens to my words like they’re
gospel.
“Even if they’re rude? Don’t all strong people kill because of that?”
I hesitate for a moment, and she seems to notice that, but I quickly
answer before she says something silly, “On a scale from one to ten, with
ten being super rude, they were only around a two.”
“Really?”
“Yes, didn’t you think they were cute when they got scared or seemed
like they wanted to fight?” I really mean it. I sensed no real threat from
them, and they meant us no harm. They just wanted to protect themselves
and their friends.
All as I hid my full power with my skillful application of mana. Damn,
I’m still proud of that.
 “I don’t know…” Vega says carefully.
“It’s fine to not know. You will learn. In the end, their primary objective
wasn’t to hurt us or trick us; they just wanted to protect themselves. You
shouldn’t trust them, but you can’t really fault anyone for that as long as
they don’t hurt you or your friends.”
“I think I understand now, Master!”
“Good! As expected of my minion!”
“I’m Vega, not Minion.”
“Anyway, you are getting distracted and your detection slipped up four
times during our conversation. Move your mana…”

Vega falls asleep, barely able to stand at this point. She is bleeding from her
nose, her muscles are sore, and there’s barely any mana left in her body.
Another round of harsh training is behind us.
It’s getting harder for me to force her through such training, but every
time, I push those feelings away.
My disciple, like me, seems to understand the price of getting stronger
and the value of hard work. She pushes herself to the point of injury.
However, I’m here, intervening by either disrupting her mana or infusing
her with my own to strengthen her.
I’m doing it even now.
Lately, I have also started experimenting with changing my mana to
match hers. It’s all thanks to my Mana Wavelength Irises and [Resonance].
I know there are dozens of different, more destructive ways I could use
[Resonance], but lately, I’ve found myself experimenting with changing
mana frequencies.
So I did that with my own mana and tried to match it to Vega’s before I
infused her body with it in an effort to alleviate her pain and keep her
strengthened for quicker healing. It’s more difficult than expected, and I
think I’m still missing something even with my eyes, but it is a step
forward.
Using [Resonance] this way feels weirdly rewarding and comfortable,
and I think it’s similar to Sophie’s situation.
 Sophie has a skill called [Manipulation], and it’s clearly one of the
most powerful skills in group 4. It should allow her to manipulate mana,
fire, water, stone, heck, maybe even manipulate time or Primordial energies
at a higher level. Yet Sophie herself confirmed that she feels strongest when
she’s using it to manipulate monsters or other beings, such as humans. She
is still capable of manipulating other stuff, but that is not where her skill’s
strength lies.
It’s the same case with me and [Resonance], or the twins with
[Connection]; it should do more than allow us to communicate through
their link.
Once Vega recovers, I stop infusing her body and leave a few mana orbs
and an anchor nearby, just in case someone attacks. Then I move a bit
further so I won’t kill her with a sudden burst of mana.
Once again, I create a small orb that I [Focus] and compress until it
becomes pitch black, even darker than the surrounding night in the forest
where we camp sheltered by trees.
As always, it fights against me, trying to dominate and absorb more of
my mana, but I use the inscriptions on my right arm to help me with the
process and absorb it into my body. I control it, force it under my will, and
activate the inscriptions. My trait activates, and I see that hidden and
beautiful world full of mana. In combination with [Focus], the world has
been reduced to shades of black and white enveloped in a deathly quiet, and
the only color comes in vibrant shades of mana.
Then I create a dagger with [Regalia] and use black mana to make the
dagger even stronger.
For a moment, the dagger in my hand starts to compress, changing—not
into a blade of black mana that absorbs all other mana; no, this is something
else.
The next moment, the dagger explodes.
My right arm is deeply gouged as shards of the exploded dagger cut
through flesh and bone. The explosion strips skin and flesh from my arm,
mangling it and nearly tearing it off.
As I look at the piece of flesh and bone that remains, I wonder what
happened. Was it too strong? It shouldn’t be, right? I already made an orb
and other stuff made of only black mana, so using it to power [Regalia]
shouldn’t cause that, right? It should only create a stronger version of it.
 I send my mana into my heart, and it starts beating louder, working as a
medium and turning my mana into thermal energy. That activates my
passive, and a warm feeling fills my arm, slowly restoring it.
It will take at least a few hours to restore it, unfortunately.
Soft steps sound behind me, and knowing about them, I warn my
disciple, “Don’t come too close. You will get hurt.”
The amount of thermal energy I’m releasing is enough to burn her alive
at her level. Sure, I’m controlling it and trying to keep as much inside of my
body as I can, but I’m not going to test it. The little half-demon nods and
sits in place. Her eyes are on the mangled and bloodied remains of my right
arm.
“Does it hurt?” she asks.
“Quite a bit.” I nod.
She then tests me. “Why are you doing it when it hurts?”
Cheeky little thing.
I still answer her honestly. “Both of us know why.”
“Master is as dumb as I am.” She nods profoundly.
“Look, there are better words for it. Maybe determined.”
“Dumb.”
“Or decisive and resolute.”
“Master is dumb. The same as me.”
Goddamn it.
“Listen here, you little jerk. Aren’t you getting too cheeky lately?”
“I do it only because Master prefers for me to be honest,” she says
shamelessly. For a moment, I could swear I saw a smug smile cross her
face.
She is not wrong, but why am I getting bullied here?
I activate [Redistribution] and grab hold of her, not allowing her to
move. “You seem to have healed a bit, so strengthen your body and escape
my hold, or try to fight against it.”
I don’t use much mana in an effort to make it remotely possible for her.
“You can apologize for calling me dumb, and I will let you go, you
dumbass minion.”
She tries to say something, but she can’t because my skill won’t allow
her to do so.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize that,” I tease her. “Just blink three times
quickly in a row, and I will let you go.” Then I continue healing my arm
while examining the thermal energy doing so.
Vega doesn’t blink three times in a row, and by the time morning comes,
she strengthens her body enough to escape my skill. Due to the pressure I’m
putting on her, she cracks a few bones and bruises her body, but even that
doesn’t stop her.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - My disciple is the coolest.

Izzy (Hell, group 4) - No! Seneca is the coolest!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Nah, Vega would wipe the floor with your
Seneca. She is cool as heck.
Knight (Hell, group 4) - My disciple is really good too! He’s from a
royal family or something, so I have him teaching me some of the
basic swordsmanship they drilled into him.
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Noname, only one month left
until the tournament! Are you excited too?
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - Isn’t that a dumb question? I’m sure
he’s already prepared to mess up Savant.
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Oh, that’s true. Savant and that
other guy, Gareth, are probably super strong. But other than them, I
will make sure to beat everyone! Well…maybe not Sset…and
Grumpy…
Knight (Hell, group 4) - That’s cheeky of you, boy. Are you sure you
could even beat me? I got quite a bit stronger.

Maya starts teasing Min-Jae, and I already know it won’t end well for the
boy.

TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - Ha! You have no chance! I can

control my eye much better. I’m sorry, but you are going down.
NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - Damn, Knight, are you going to let him
talk to you like that?
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - Maybe she’s scared of him.

Both of the twins try to add fuel to the fire.

 Knight (Hell, group 4) - And how would you defeat me, oh,
TheStrongestOne? By staring at my cleavage when you think I’m not
looking?

Min-Jae immediately stops responding.

Nice attack, Maya, calculating and knowing where it will hurt the shy
boy the most.

Knight (Hell, group 4) - Next you will say something about

Community limit and leave.
TheStrongestOne (Hell, group 4) - I have to go, Community limit!

The messages appear a split second apart.

Damn, that’s brutal. I almost feel sorry for the boy.

NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - Brutal.

NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - Knight, please stop. He is already dead.

After that, no messages come from the young boy.

I turn off the Community and look at the massive pile of food and big
leather bags filled with water. There is enough food and water to last a
group of ten people for months. It’s my reward for locating survivors.
With a sigh, I activate the transmitter. (Darren? Let’s meet again. I have
some stuff for you.)
It looks like I need to find out what’s happening with the Sanctuary
first.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 77
THE SANCTUARY

O
nce again, we stand in front of the massive iron door leading to what
I can only guess is a bunker, also known as the Sanctuary.
Darren keeps looking between me and the pile of food and water
on the ground.
The entire time, I keep [Redistribution] on Vega so she can try to fight
against it, as I disrupt her mana to up the difficulty for her.
Even though we are not leveling right now, she is raising the levels of
her skills, and my intention is to help her learn how to recreate the effect of
my Mantle. Making sure she can maintain control of her mana is a higher
priority than raising her level.
Vega is getting hurt, and blood leaks from tears in her skin, as more
blood flows from her nose, earning me a few weird looks.
“It’s not poisoned or anything,” I tell Darren when he stays too silent.
“I know that it most likely isn’t, and we can check for and remove the
poison if needed. I just can’t understand where you got it from, and I’m sure
you won’t tell me even if I ask.”
He looks toward me, and I nod, confirming his suspicion, then I
increase the pressure on Vega as she starts to get the hang of fighting my
skills. Did she level up her skills?
“I like to be honest, Darren, and I don’t like it when things become
tedious or take too long. I know you likely have some trouble within the
Sanctuary, and I want you to let me in.”
“You realize what you are asking for, right? There are a lot of weaker
people we are protecting, our families, and our kids. We don’t even know
you.”
 “And you realize that in the worst case, I can get inside on my own.
Usually, I wouldn’t mind taking some time to ‘prove’ myself, but I don’t
have the luxury.”
Nina, who once again stands by Darren’s side, touches her sword, and
our eyes meet.
“Don’t,” Darren warns her and turns back to me. For a second, he
glances at my disciple next to me and then back. “Do I have your word,
Nathaniel?”
“Kind of? If you guys attack me or my disciple, I will fight back.”
“That much is reasonable.”
“Father…” Nina leans closer and whispers something into Darren’s ear,
but he shakes his head.
He reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a mana stone. He
activates it and sends a signal somewhere behind the giant circular iron
door.
The massive door emits a few cracking noises before opening in a slow,
smooth motion. There doesn’t seem to be any mana involved at all, its
motion powered by the combined strength of multiple men and women
pushing it from inside.
They only open the door partway, and when Darren gestures to me, I
release some of the pressure I’m putting on Vega and continue to disrupt her
mana. We follow behind him, along with a dozen guards and Nina, some of
them taking a moment to grab the supplies I left outside.
“Welcome to the Sanctuary.”
We enter into a rough circular tunnel filled with buildings made out of
primarily wood, which mostly seem to act as a space for the guards to rest.
We get a few surprised looks as we pass by them, and the men on duty pull
a series of ropes to close the door behind us.
The inside of the tunnel is made out of stone with gray veins of iron
running through it. It reminds me of the gray stone from the fourth floor, the
one used for the tunnels and orbital base. It’s not like the material is the
same, but the iron veins seem to be strengthening it, and when I send mana
toward it, I sense channels gouged through that are empty and void of
mana. The iron itself seems to serve as durable and mana-resistant
shielding.
We delve deeper into the long, straight tunnel, taking us deeper
underground. Some channels seem to have been cut into the stone to help
with flooding.
I reach out and touch the walls. They are rougher than the floor, almost
as if they were carved out in a hurry.
“Did your group build the Sanctuary?” I ask.
Darren shakes his head. “The Sanctuary is older than anyone alive.
From what we know, it was a bunker built long before the war, left
abandoned and unused. Our ancestors came up with better types of bunkers,
and the Sanctuary was considered to be obsolete. Some of the survivors
found it after the war.”
I listen carefully to what he says, and I can’t help but feel a tingle of
curiosity and excitement. I can’t explain it properly, but this feels like fun.
Even back on Earth, I liked the videos of people delving into old buildings
and exploring them or visiting bunkers from the World War II era. There is
something creepy and exceedingly fascinating about them.
“How old is the bunker, and when did the war start and end? Also, who
fought in that war? And don’t ask me why I’m asking.”
Darren closes his mouth in the middle of the question.
Nina answers instead. “We estimate it’s around one hundred twenty
years old. The war against the Veil started around one hundred years ago
and mostly ended around ninety-nine years ago. For the rest of the ninety-
nine years, the Veil has been trying to wipe out what remains while fighting
the monsters.”
I don’t even have to ask another question as Nina continues. “The Veil
is the creation of the guild of enchanters. Something meant to protect our
cities and help us with our war against the monsters. We don’t know what
happened, but the Veil turned against us and wiped out most of humanity
within days of their activation.”
We stop in front of yet another circular iron door. This one is smaller
than the last but still three times taller than me. Darren sends a signal, and
we wait for them to open.
“Thankfully, the monsters used the opportunity and attacked too, and
that split the Veil along both fronts. That’s probably the only reason there
were any survivors.”
I ask, “And the monsters, what are they?”
“They are just monsters… There isn’t any one species of them. There
are dozens. We believe there are a few really strong monsters either
dominating or manipulating the others into attacking us. The monsters came
here around one hundred twenty years ago and took over some territory in
an event known as the Pairing.”
Huh, that’s interesting. So Pairings can happen even in worlds
dominated by monsters? Or is it something else? Is it another race they just
consider to be monsters? Or are the monsters just weapons of war, once
used by another race, like the Colony and the Living Tree that the lynthari
created?
I partially expect my quest to learn about the fall of this planet to be
completed, but nothing happens. Obviously, that would be too easy.
The door finally opens, and we continue walking deeper, the floor
narrowing and descending into stairs. The echo of our steps starts to change,
and we have more light as well. In the distance, I can hear voices and other
sounds.
Soon enough, the cave opens up in front of us. Vega loses her
concentration, but I let it slide this time and stop disrupting her mana.
The cave, if I can call it that, is a perfect arch with smooth walls, with a
mana crystal at the top of the dome. That crystal emits a gentle orange light
that lights up the entire cave. A wide variety of buildings litter the cavern.
The oldest towers and buildings appear to have been carved from a single
block of stone.
In between those buildings are houses made out of wood and bricks, and
people weave through the alleys and streets as they go about their business.
I estimate there are somewhere between a few hundred, and a few thousand
people. Plenty of them are under Level 20, and there are a lot of kids as
well.
The Sanctuary seems to be a city of survivors, and even now, I can’t
find anyone stronger than me. That explains why Darren was so worried.
“Master?”
“Yes?”
“You can continue,” my disciple says.
I nod and renew my attempts to disrupt her mana.
“Where do you get water and food from?” I ask.
Darren seems relieved, seeing my reaction or lack of it. Did he expect
me to murder everyone or something? Well, I can’t even be mad. It’s fine to
be so paranoid when you have so many people relying on you.
“There are some old facilities we were able to reactivate and power. A
few smaller gardens and a filtration system. We mostly get our water from
the outside and use filtration to get rid of the poison.”
“That must take quite a while to get enough water for so many people.”
He nods. “It’s nonstop work and dangerous too. There is a small aquifer
that slowly fills, but we only use a small part of it. We also keep it
replenished in case we would need to. Then we also hunt animals and have
people that can get the poison out of their meat.”
It still sounds suspicious; even if they did have enough strong people to
bring the water, it would be a goddamn hard task. Do they have items like
my Aqua Arcanum Vial? Something able to contain more water than its size
should allow?
“So what is the problem you have down here?”
Darren exchanges a quick look with Nina, and she steps ahead. “I will
be your guide and tell you as much as we can. Father has work to do.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“I’m glad. I will see you later tonight.” Darren then quickly leaves,
followed by a few of his men.
The moment he leaves, Nina turns to me. “I don’t trust you.”
“Okay.”
Taken aback after my answer, she continues after a moment. “I trust
Father, but he is getting less decisive as he grows older and has more people
to take care of. I believe we could fight you.”
My silly disciple once again stops focusing, and to punish her, I send a
bit more mana toward her. Like a slap on the wrist.
“You should have done that outside, then,” I respond.
“Yes, maybe I should have.” She doesn’t seem to be overly antagonistic,
just the hotheaded type that doesn’t like to hold in their feelings.
A common variation of the extrovert class.
“I would like to see your filtration systems. I have some water with me
and would like to see how it works.” To prove it, I pull out my epic Aqua
Arcanum Vial.
“So you also have a water storage item.” Nina looks at it and then back
to me. “We can do that.”
I follow behind her, and the guards follow us as well.
“How much water can it store? Looking at its shape, it’s at least upper
uncommon or maybe low rare? Ours are usually bigger, and the
compression isn’t that good, but since we can’t fix damaged ones, we keep
using them.”
 I avoid answering her question. “You also said you were able to activate
only some of the facilities?”
“Yes, there are many more, but oftentimes, we don’t even know what
they were used for. We don’t have enough mana to start some or enough
skill to fix the others. And yes, before you ask, I can show you some. They
don’t work anyways, so it’s fine.”
We pass through the streets of the city, and I start noticing that most
people tend to wear homemade clothes, similar colors, and styles. They are
fairly thin, but not overly so, and seem to be at least somewhat taken care
of.
They greet Nina and her guards with a smile, and my guides return
them. For a moment, their faces become less tense.
I glance back at Vega and notice that she is looking around with a
suspicious expression. Her body is tense, and her mana is radiating, ready to
fight. She twitches every time someone makes an unexpected movement
and keeps searching for escape routes.
Her expression is colder than it was when we were on our own. She still
tries to put on the mask to look innocent and defenseless, but it feels fake. A
big difference from the relaxed behavior she exhibits around me.
I also notice that people don’t seem to care about her red eyes or horns.
Either her appearance is somewhat normal or it’s the work of the system.
Pushing through the streets, Nina leads me toward the edge of the cave
where we enter another tunnel, though it’s much smaller this time. It’s still
wide enough for multiple people to walk side by side and better lit. Passing
by a few men and women who seem to be working, we reach another cave,
smaller than the main cavern, but still sizable, with the same domed
construction.
“This is one of our unused filtration plants. You just need to pour the
water you have into the tank, close it, and then send your mana through the
control device.” As if challenging me, she continues. “Do you think you can
do that?”
The smile that flashes across her face tells me that it’s a bit harder than
she lets on. Perhaps she expects me to falter once or twice, or perhaps she is
trying to use reverse psychology on me.
The filtration tank is under the floor. It seems to be really long and
narrow, like a wide tube. At the bottom, I can sense some inscriptions and
other things that seem to help with the filtration.
 Out of that tube comes another that leads into the transparent tank in the
wall that seems to store filtered water. This one is much bigger and empty.
Next to that is the control panel Nina pointed out. Little more than a piece
of iron with some inscriptions and a few mana stones, all connected to the
tank under the ground.
I take out the vial and, while looking at Nina, start pouring the water
inside.
At first, she is smiling as she watches the water trickle down.
Then I control the item and increase the pressure, causing much more
water to flow through.
Her expression turns to confusion, and when I continue for a minute, it
turns to shock.
When I finally stop, the tank, which is probably big enough to fill a
swimming pool, is full. The remaining water in my vial is multiple times
that.
Nina becomes even quieter when I put my hand on the control panel and
activate it, avoiding any broken inscriptions.
A soft hum fills the room, and the water under the floor starts going
through the filtration system, fed by my mana. That water moves through
the tubes and flows into the giant glass tank that encompasses the entire
wall and goes deep into the stone.
I make a few changes to the way I use my mana and find a few slightly
hidden mechanisms in the control panel, turning off a few invisible
switches. The drain on my mana dramatically increases, but the water starts
filling the tank much faster. It pours from the tubes and inside of the tank
like a series of waterfalls, quickly filling it within a few minutes.
Vega, noticing how much I’m enjoying this, pulls on my clothes.
“Asshole,” she whispers so only I can hear.
What are you, Biscuit’s disciple?

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 78
OLD FACILITY

“W erequires
haven’t been using the tank you filled because it’s too big and
too much mana to operate. It’s one of the older ones too,
so it’s not very efficient.”
I listen to Darren and then answer, “Yeah, I noticed. The inscriptions
were quite bad.”
He keeps staring at me.
What? It’s getting creepy. Should I tell him I’m not into men or
something? Does he want money from me?
“Nathaniel…”
“Yes, that’s my name.”
“The tank you filled should be able to supply us with water for half a
year, and if we use it for showers, watering plants, and other stuff, it will
still last for months. Do you even realize how much help you’ve been?”
“If you have a few more tanks like that, I can fill them too. Maybe four
or five?” As I say that, Darren just opens and closes his mouth like a
goldfish. Yet out of all the people surrounding me, he seems to be the least
surprised.
The annoying part is that this kind of help still hasn’t completed the
quest, but I guess that much is to be expected. The reward is 1,000 shards;
filling one tank with water won’t be enough.
“I will fill five more, and then I will take all filtered water from the last
one for myself,” I offer. That amount of water should be able to last quite
some time.
Something tells me that using an epic item as a glorified water flask
would make some people beyond shocked.
 I take the opportunity to ask for more. “I also want to see the other
facilities, the ones you guys were unable to activate.”
“W-why would you help us so much?” Darren’s voice sounds moved,
and I notice that some other people are close to crying.
Huh?
“I feel bad for being so suspicious of you. I apologize…”
What? Why is he talking like that, and why are they looking at me? It’s
creeping me out. I just want to finish the quest and check out some cool
facilities.
“Such a good man. So people like that still exist,” someone else
whispers.
I can’t understand. It’s just a bit of water.
Well, whatever.

After filling five more big tanks and taking one for myself, I’m being led
through the city by Nina once again. A few people already seem to know
what’s happening, so a crowd has gathered, cheering and trying to swarm
me.
Vega doesn’t seem to like it either, and moves closer to me, her body
twitching at every loud noise and sudden movement. Nina seems to notice
and guides us down roads with fewer people, and she even sends some
orders into the transmitter.
After she puts the transmitter away, she looks at me. “You probably still
don’t realize how much this means to us. There are days when we barely
drink water because groups sent to collect it had to avoid the monsters.
There is also constant worry that some of the water collectors will die, and
they do sometimes. I don’t think there’s a single family that doesn’t know a
water collector who died or isn’t worried about someone they know.”
When she says it like that, it really gives me a new perspective.
Eventually, we come to a door embedded in the wall of the main cave.
There are already a few men removing some sort of barricade.
Seeing what I’m looking at, Nina explains, “This door leads to one of
the older parts of the Sanctuary, and we have long since blocked them.
Once every few years, we go in there to see if there’s anything we can do.”
 Damn, is she some sort of hype woman? It’s looking more and more
interesting by the second, and I’m starting to forget where we are.
“Master…” a small voice whispers next to me.
Oh. I come back to myself and start disrupting my disciple’s mana
again. Vega fights against it, and even though I’m limiting my output, she
gets slightly hurt every time she tries to manipulate her mana too wildly.
There are already dozens of small wounds all over her body, but she doesn’t
seem to mind at all. Every time she gets hurt, she only tries harder and
rarely repeats the same mistake twice.
I thought she would hate me or treat me differently. I’m hurting her, am
I not? I was prepared for that and even expected it. Part of me even wanted
it to be that way; it would have made the end of the floor easier. Yet the
little half-demon weirdo doesn’t seem to hold it against me; she even seems
thankful.
Nina had long since noticed our activities, but this time, she turns to me.
“Isn’t that sort of training cruel?”
Both me and Vega look at her, confused.
“There are other ways to do it. I don’t want to jump in between a master
and their disciple, but this way seems to be painful.”
“Yes…?” I say carefully. I mean, sure, it is painful, but that much is
fine, isn’t it? When I look at Vega, she seems to agree, and her expression
matches my own.
Seeing that her men still aren’t done with removing the barricades, Nina
turns back to me. “You could teach her more theory first and gradually
work up to it. She is really young; there is no need to cause her so much
pain.”
Vega answers in my stead. “Master is much stronger than you,” she says
simply. As if that single sentence explains everything.
Something tells me that Vega isn’t talking about levels or skills.
“Nina, we are done!” one of the men finally shouts, and Nina turns to
him.
I notice as Vega shakes her head, seemingly disappointed that she must
deal with such stupid people.
Isn’t my first disciple just lovable?
Nina uses a key to unlock another circular iron door, though this one is
only twice my height. Even after years of disuse, it opens smoothly, and
they send some glowing orbs made out of a glass-like material ahead of us.
Entering, I notice the vents on the ceiling that, unlike the other vents in the
bunker, are not so well hidden.
Even though this part hasn’t been used for a long time, the air here
doesn’t feel any different from the air in the main cave. The only big
differences are the layers of dust and the slight drop in temperature. The
lack of people also creates a different feeling.
We pass through a short tunnel and enter a big room. The room is big
enough to fit an entire house inside, and that’s it. There are no more tunnels,
no doors or rooms. Just this perfect dome.
The floor is covered in inscriptions, and they span parts of the walls as
well.
The room itself seems to be separated into multiple parts. One section is
occupied by pillars made of mana crystals. Another section has a hole in the
floor, and the third section contains several tables and items made of iron
and stone. Most of the things inside are connected with inscriptions.
Lastly, there is a mana stone in the ceiling, similar to the one in the main
cave that mimics the sun.
It’s quiet; there is dust. The technology, mana tech, inscriptions,
whatever you might call it, is over a hundred years old. Left behind and
hidden down in the darkness of this bunker they call the Sanctuary.
Nina says something, but I’m already ignoring her as I reach the part of
the room with pillars made of mana crystals. They are light blue and
partially transparent, six of them, each multiple times taller than me. They
are lined up in a circle, and in the middle of that circle is an iron panel with
a brilliant mana stone embedded into it.
I grab a mana stone from my pocket and throw it to Vega. “Train on
your own for a while.”
Then I disrupt the annoying glass orbs the natives are using. The color
of their light has an irritating quality, and they flicker. The orbs fall to the
ground. In their place, I create a dozen large thermal orbs that start releasing
an even and cozy orange light. I add more thermal energy to them and then
send them to float around the perimeter of the room.
I generate a tiny bit of kinetic energy and release it, blasting away dust
in front of me.
Someone starts coughing and probably cursing, but I ignore them.
When I touch the panel, I activate my eyes and thermal energy to feed
my healing passive. A few of my skills activate at the same moment, and I
start examining the inscriptions. There are so many more of them than I
expected, all intertwined with each other, and each has a different sort of
function. Some lead to the floor, others toward the pillars, and still more to
the ceiling.
“It’s probably a control panel, but our theory is that it needs an immense
amount of mana to jumpstart—all at once, not gradually. One of our
enchanters said that it needs to clear out the circuits. Another one said…”
Nina continues to ramble, but I filter her out.
Well, her enchanters kind of suck. Even Elydor could figure it out.
Damn, I miss the man.
This facility isn’t efficient at all, and it’s likely just as Nina said. It’s one
of the older ones they built quickly and left behind. Old technology. As if
someone found a bunker from the world wars.
The problem is that it needs a certain amount of mana to operate. That’s
because that mana is used to power all the functions of this facility at once;
that’s why you need that much of it. Even keeping it idle requires quite a
bit, and for people not even close to Level 200, it’s too much.
If you feed it mana gradually, it will use it up before you can reactivate
it and switch over to idle mode.
I start collecting mana inside my body and look around the room. I take
a few deep breaths.
Am I childish to be excited by this kind of stuff? Probably a bit, but who
cares? It’s fun.
“Minion.”
“I’m Vega.”
“How is your progress?”
“There is a part that is really difficult, the one with a twist at the end.”
Oh, I remember that one. “What’s the problem with it?”
“It’s hard to…twist mana that way? It’s always slipping by.”
“That’s weird, Minion. That twist is similar to the pathway you are
using to strengthen your feet.”
“What?” Vega looks up at me, her red eyes full of surprise.
“The stone I gave you should help to improve the strengthening of your
body through the Mana Circuit trait you got. Especially the legs and feet. I
also noticed that you stopped sensing your surroundings when you got the
stone.”
“I…”
 “You?”
“It’s my fault.”
I check the amount of mana I hold now, and it seems to be enough, but
before using it, I turn to Vega. “It’s fine if you are curious, but even though
this feels safe, don’t forget where we are. We don’t know these people, and
no matter how nice they are right now, they may turn against us. We are just
strangers they’ve known for a few days. This place feels safe, but this world
is dangerous and can change anytime.”
I myself keep sending my senses as far as I can, no matter what I do and
how much I concentrate on other tasks. This is Hell Difficulty, and even
though there are times when it is safe, danger always lurks around the
corner.
“You tend to rely on me at times, and that’s okay in moderation. But,
Disciple, I won’t be here all the time. Always expect the worst and danger
right behind the corner. Try to be somewhat polite even to people weaker
than you, but always expect them to stab you in the back.”
“But, Master, isn’t it hard? Being nice to people?”
“Of course it is hard. It is very hard, but what isn’t? Not that long ago, I
was a lot meaner and crueler, and it was easy, but at the same time, it felt…
off. I try to be different now, not because I’m being forced to or because of
the way I was raised. I do it because I want to.”
I grab her tiny horn and use it to shake her head gently. “I might regret
this decision later. I might even change my mind. But if I do regret it, I will
be the only person to blame, because it was my decision. Oh, and there is
also an exception to acting nice. If someone betrays you or hurts you or
people you care about, show no mercy. Fuck them up and stomp what
remains into the ground.”
“Master is amazing.” Vega doesn’t even try to make me let go of her
horn, and her eyes are full of admiration.
Such a weird half-demon.
“I am, am I not? So, my first disciple Vega, do you want to make your
master look bad?”
“No!” She shakes her head and kicks my shin. She strengthens her body
to do so, yet there is still barely any damage.
When I let go of her, she returns her focus to the stone as she keeps
watch over the area and the stone. The strain on her is obvious, and I know
the pain she is feeling right now.
 Ready, I turn my attention and channel my mana through the mana
stone and into the circuits that feed it, and from there to one of the mana
crystals.
I release some of my hold on my mana, and it rushes out like a raging
river, but only where I want it to. None of that mana touches my disciple;
none reaches beyond this room. All of it powers the facility. The light on the
ceiling blinks on, along with several mounted on the walls of the room. A
hint of a change occurs as the vents activate and start to filter the air.
Gradually, even the circuits on the floor start glowing faintly and start
releasing a bit of heat. Most of it seems to come from the hole in one of the
other parts of the facility. In the end, even the tables, covered by an old drop
cloth, light up.
Nina’s expression is fun to look at.
“I want to talk with Darren. I have an offer for him. This place is a mix
of a forge and an enchanting workshop, and I would like to play with it.”
I will try crafting some items and examine the other facilities. Three
days. That’s how long I will be staying here.
It’s as much time as I’m willing to sacrifice. After that, I will take my
disciple and head to Bastion and the Valley, and on our way there I will
level her up.
But for now, let’s try having some fun and creating items. I have some
materials from the fourth floor.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 79
CRAFTING

“I gnore
everything and observe my mana. Don’t try to understand it
fully. Pick one thread and watch it. Maybe this one.” I point it out to
my disciple, and she nods, her light brown hair flailing.
There is an uncommon dagger lying on one of the enchanting tables as I
work on it. My disciple is sitting on the table too, because she is too short to
watch comfortably from the ground.
As for the table, well, it’s a table made of stone with iron veins in the
shape of circuits going through. Most of those circuits can be fed and
activated to cause some effect.
For example, there is a set of circuits in the table meant to heat and melt
things. I can channel lots of mana through them and melt the blade of the
dagger or I can use less and melt smaller quantities of metal.
Another inscription allows me to decrease the temperature of an item
sitting on the table, one seems to act like a magnet, and yet another seems to
redirect mana, probably a handicap for people with less control.
I mean, it’s not terrible, but it’s mostly useless to me. I can imagine it
being much more useful to someone at a lower level or with less control.
Another problem is that I don’t know any theory and don’t care about it.
It’s the same as when we went to the second floor and saw all that mana
used in breathtaking ways. The natives there were like people sending
humans to Mars, while our group was like Neanderthals using sticks and
stones. And to be honest, it didn’t change that much. Sure, I collected some
information, but I’ve avoided any proper study of it, and that’s on purpose.
I find it more rewarding and interesting to learn through trial and error.
Banging stones against each other to cause a spark rather than using a
lighter. It feels more pure, more right.
 Yes, it makes some things much more difficult, but I improve the most
through struggle.
So I ignore the table’s circuits and use a bit of thermal energy to melt a
small portion of the blade. I move and concentrate it into a thin thread that
melts the bits I want with extreme accuracy. Then I take a mana stone and
hold it against the dagger, melting the iron around it to hold everything in
place.
Before it cools off, I add a piece of arcanadium, the conductive metal I
looted from the fourth floor.
Not knowing what else to do, I use my fingers to mold the heated metal
as I improve the shape. A skin-tight barrier of mana protects my hand from
any damage. I could absorb the heat, but that would be counterproductive.
When it seems…okayish, I absorb the heat from the blade and the metal
immediately stiffens; only then do I start the inscription.
Vega observes me as I told her, and I could swear she is not even
blinking.
“Can you see mana with your eyes?” I ask her.
Interrupted, she blinks and looks at me. “No.”
“Then close your eyes and use your other senses.”
She opens her mouth to say something but closes it immediately. After
nodding once, she closes her eyes, and I continue. The inscriptions I’m
making are extremely simple. A few simpler ones inside the uncommon
mana stone to direct the mana being channeled through it. And a few more
for the blade itself.
I melt parts of the blade, adding tiny bits of arcanadium. This time, I
even create tiny toothpick-like things with [Regalia] to move the molten
metal. The twins would be proud; they always had fun when I was doing
things in an extremely janky way.
I don’t measure the time, but I’m sure at least a few hours have passed
like that. But in the end, it’s done, and the ugliest dagger ever made sits in
front of me.
As the last step, I permanently etch the inscriptions inside of the stone
and the blade with the use of [Resonance] and [Infusion].
Huhu, let’s see my masterpiece.

Ember Edge Dagger (uncommon)

This dagger has a mana stone embedded in the blade, which absorbs mana
to gently warm the metal. The heat is mild, ideal for causing discomfort
rather than serious burns, making it a subtle yet effective tool.

Is the system dissing me? This description sounds weirdly insulting.

“Do you want it?” I ask Vega, and she quickly nods and takes the
dagger I offer her. She seems weirdly enthusiastic about it, but I let it pass.
Well, I guess that’s the difference between working alone and having
the help of an entire craft guild with hundreds of years’ worth of
knowledge.
Inscriptions aren’t a problem; I know I can make much stronger ones,
and this was just my first attempt. Smelting and this kind of stuff will be
annoying.
There is also the option of using mana-conductive metal for the entire
dagger and avoiding using mana stones at all. In that case, I wouldn’t have
to work on connecting it to the blade. Of course, it would also increase the
cost of the materials.
I watch as Vega happily accepts the dagger, puts it back into its original
sheath, and carefully clips it into her belt. The dagger made of my mana that
I keep restoring is still there too, and is much better than the one I just gave
her. Yet she is happy.
Silly girl.
“Minion, we will continue.”
She joins me without even complaining about being called a minion.
I take out another dagger and mana stone and get into the work.

Razor’s Whisper Dagger (uncommon)

Embedded with a small mana stone near the hilt, this dagger gains a sharp
edge when mana is channeled into it. The effect subtly enhances the blade’s
cutting ability, allowing for cleaner, more precise cuts.

It won’t be getting any points for looks, but so far, it looks fine. I will
sell it to the system shop later. It will be only 20 shards, but it’s better than
nothing.
“Let’s stop here for now,” I tell Vega.
 “Yes!” She quickly jumps from the table, and then, facing me, she asks,
“Will you eat with me, Master?”
“Gladly.”
Even after so many times, she is always happy to hear my answer.
I watch as she rushes to get two clean pieces of cloth and some of the
food I rewarded her with for leveling her skills.
The two of us alone in the facility slowly and wordlessly eat the food
she put in front of us and drink some water from the bottles. While doing
so, I observe this silly disciple of mine.
After a few days with regular food, she is not as thin as before. She is
also wearing new clothes I bought for her and has a few bags that I gave
her, where she stores her things. She is extremely protective of them to the
point of being cute.
Just like before, she has a few bruises and healing wounds, but these are
mostly the products of sparring and practice. The biggest wound seems to
be a massive black-and-blue bruise that covers most of her chest and back.
Vega got it while we were practicing with her Kinetic Demon Heart.
I could have stopped it and made it so she wouldn’t get hurt, yet I
didn’t. I have noticed that she tends to become careless when things go
well. It’s one of my flaws as well. Both of us become comfortable and
fascinated by something, and then because of our overconfidence in our
progress, we become careless. I wonder if it’s caused by our skills. Both of
us rely on concentration skills that help us focus. So my theory is that we
may become less focused when the skills aren’t active.
As if we weren’t used to it, ceding our weakness to distractions and
carelessness.
It’s fascinating to think of.
“Minion, I’ve wanted to ask for a while, but what happened to you
before you got summoned here to be my disciple?” I ask after she is done
packing her things.
She doesn’t complain about being called a minion this time either,
though she hesitates.
She can refuse to answer, as always, so I just give her time.
“I was hungry, very hungry,” she finally tells me. “In my village, there
wasn’t anyone willing to share any food with me, and a few humans even
kicked me when I asked. So I went to the forest. I heard from other kids
from the streets that you could find mushrooms there that would be safe to
eat.”
She pauses again but then shakes her head. “There were monsters in the
forest, and I was running away. Then I appeared near the lake, and the voice
told me about the master.”
It seems like the others were correct. The disciples were about to die
and were sent to us. The question is are they from the real world or were
they generated by the tutorial, like the natives, fated to disappear once the
quest is complete?
Yes, the system said they are from some sort of database, but why
would it only summon disciples that were about to die? There is a method I
thought of that could get me the answer, but I still hesitate to use it.
“Do you know what your world is called?” I ask instead.
“No. Even the village we just call ‘the village.’”
“Country or kingdom where you are?”
“Breck Kingdom, after the ancient human hero who created it.”
“Pairing?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
Well, it looks like I won’t be getting answers to my questions. I can’t
expect much knowledge from someone who spends most of her time
keeping herself alive.
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.” I gesture for her to turn around, and
she does it quickly, as multiple times before.
She doesn’t even shudder when I put my palm on her back, a place near
where her heart is.
“This time, concentrate more on feeling the rhythm of your heart. Do
not think of it as a source. The heart is meant to transform your mana into
kinetic energy. It’s not creating it; it’s just a tool. Think of it as one.”
“Yes, Master.”

After delivering me a few ingots of metal they found in the bunker as they
moved in, Nina leaves. These ingots were probably made a few hundred
years ago and left to be forgotten. Of course, their quality isn’t anything
great, and their conductivity is terrible, but they will be good enough to
practice some smelting.
I already went through some information stored on one of the mana
stones I got from the craft guild for some basic information. We will see
how helpful they are.
“Master?”
“Yes, Disciple?” For the first time, I avoid calling her “Minion.” Lately,
she’s stopped reacting to it, and it’s not as much… Wait, what’s that?
Did a smug, winning smile flash across her face? Why would she have
such an expression? The only thing that changed is that I didn’t call her
“Minion.”
As if to mask something, she starts rapidly blabbering about her
practice, but I’m staring at her, and the gears in my head are spinning.
She always complained about being called “minion,” but then one day,
she stopped. Instead, her red eyes kept observing me, like a cat toying with
a mouse.
Oh, I get it.
I understand now.
This cheeky little thing.
“Good job, Minion. You may continue practicing like that,” I say, and I
pay her my full attention. Once again, she doesn’t complain, but for a
moment, her brow furrows, confirming my thoughts.
This little cheeky minion read me. She acted as if she wasn’t bothered.
She expected me to get bored with her lack of reaction, drop that, and
maybe find something else. Even now, she is sticking to the plan.
“And, Minion, don’t forget to train with the mana dagger I made for
you.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Oh, and Minion, I saw you talking with Nina a bit. It’s okay, but don’t
get too attached.” Every time I call her “Minion,” there is just a tiny hint of
a reaction, and that makes me happy, but I won’t let it show.
“Master, you don’t trust these people?”
“Not much. I will ask you something. How many people do you think
they have here?”
“I do not know.”
“You don’t, but I do. They have over three thousand, one hundred forty
people. It’s hard to say accurately because people come and go, but that is
the lowest estimate.”
Vega’s expression becomes even more confused, so I continue, “Try to
guess how many people go in and out with food.”
“A lot? There are a lot of people to feed.”
“You would think so, right? Well, my dear minion, they have only a few
tens of people going out and bringing back food. There are more of them
pretending to, and it’s not just for my benefit. Most of the people here
believe they are bringing food.”
“I don’t understand, Master.”
“It’s simple. Most of the food they eat comes from a hidden tunnel
inside one of the houses that Darren, Nina, and a few others are staying in.”
Confused Vega also looks cute, so I grab her horn, shake her head, and
let her think for herself.
For now, let’s not eat the food they offer us, and when I’m done with
practicing, I will have to check the tunnels Darren is hiding.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 80
I SPEAK ON BEHALF OF MY
MASTER

POV - Water Collector Oren (A Different Instance of the Fifth Floor)

“D id you check your gloves, newbie?”

“For fuck’s sake, Oren, of course I did. You’ve told me only
fifty times in the past few days.”
I ignore the harsh words from the young man and watch as he dips his
gloved hands into the lake. It’s poisoned, as are most of the water sources,
and the elbow-length gloves are meant to help with that.
“Do you have enough mana to fill the entire vial?”
“Just so-so,” he answers, and I nod.
I quickly check the transmitter, but it’s quiet. Our scouts would warn us
if any dangerous animals or monsters were heading our way. As always, I
can’t help but feel afraid when I’m outside the Sanctuary. But there is no
helping it; we need the water, what I’m doing is extremely important and…
(Human, can you hear me?) speaks a soft voice inside my head.
I quickly send a warning to the scouts with our transmitter.
“We have company,” I shout to Sevil, and he quickly jumps to his feet.
The voice speaks again. (I mean you no harm.) That voice is soft, not
threatening, and it sounds young. Like a young boy around ten years of age.
With a spear in my hand, I start backing away from the lake and the
forest, and Sevil moves behind my back.
“Show yourself!” I shout and squeeze my weapon.
(As you wish,) the young voice replies, and the trees in the forest start
moving.
I freeze on the spot, unable to move, and watch as a massive black body
pushes the branches and smaller trees apart as it enters the clearing. It is a
wolf. A wolf twice my height. Its fur is pitch black without any hint of color
in it. It has a beautiful shine to it.
Each of the wolf’s steps is elegant, and every movement it makes sends
an impulse through my body telling me to run. The monster itself is trying
to not look threatening as it stops nearby, and its calm golden eyes stare at
me without moving closer.
(Do not be afraid, human,) once again, the young voice in my head
implores. Only then do I realize that it really is the wolf talking. A wolf with
such a young voice. Could it still be a pup? There is no way; it is already so
big!
“W-what do you want?” I manage to choke out.
(I speak on behalf of my master.)
“Master?!” A creature like that has a master? How terrifying a being
would it have to be?!
Slowly, the black wolf lowers its head, and only then do I notice another
animal sitting between its ears. That animal is much smaller, barely
reaching my knees. It’s sandy yellow with white markings. It has four short
legs. Its tail is almost nonexistent. But even to me, the creature looks cute.
The terrifying wolf’s master just blinks a few times, its face almost
looking as if smiling. The golden eyes of the wolf move upward, and it
seems like it’s communicating with its master.
(Human, my master requires…food.)
“D-do you want to eat us?” I gulp.
I know it’s useless, but I still try to bluff with the weapon in my hand. In
the worst case, I will buy some time for Sevil to run away.
(Master doesn’t eat humans, human.) Once again, the youthful voice of
the black wolf speaks.
It takes a step closer and lowers its head a bit more. (Of course, in
exchange for your food, the master is willing to pay. I hope you realize how
benevolent the master is!)
As it finishes, the small creature with short legs starts floating in the air
and heading toward us. Its tongue is sticking out slightly, and it moves
extremely slowly, yet the black wolf looks at its master with eyes full of
admiration.
Only now do I realize that its master is wearing some clothes with
plenty of small pockets. The quality of the cloth seems to be better than
anything I’ve ever seen in my life. And from the black wolf, a few full bags
are hanging.
The master stops just a short distance away from us, and then purple
mana radiates from its back, taking on a different shape. That tendril of
purple mana reaches into the pockets, and the creature puts things on the
ground in front of us.
There are pieces of glass, pretty river stones, and some crystals without
any worth.
(Asshole,) a different voice sounds in my head. It’s calm and sounds
maybe even younger than the black wolf. It’s the kind of voice that makes
you drop your guard.
But why did it call me an asshole? Have I insulted it somehow?
I gulp, but my throat feels dry. “I will contact Darren; this is way
beyond me.”
(Leader of your pack? Do it, human!) The black wolf moves closer too,
and lowers its head, sniffing at the pieces of glass and stones on the ground.
Its eyes meet with the eyes of its master, and they seem to be
communicating again.
(I have received wisdom from my master! I shall not call you human
anymore!)
That’s weird.
(I shall call you an asshole starting now!)
What?

“Poor little girl, why hasn’t she run away from you?” the old granny at the
top of a skyscraper asks.
She is done healing Vega. There was an accident with Vega’s Kinetic
Demon Heart. She practiced on her own and pummeled her body to the
point where I had to rush here to heal her. So now, the little half-demon is
avoiding my gaze as much as possible. She seems to be ashamed and
worried I might be angry.
To be honest, I couldn’t feel more different. Sure, she risked a lot, but it
reminds me of myself constantly losing my limbs because I had Lily to
restore them.
 Good old times. Damn, I bet I lost enough limbs to build another
Nathaniel.
The effect field that was trying to put us to sleep is gone, so I make the
decision to stay a bit longer. I observe the insides of the house, and through
the window, I see the garden on the rooftop and a view over the city.
Granny really picked a nice spot.
“Do you know anything about the Sanctuary, the war, and other things?”
“A thing or two, but nothing you wouldn’t be able to get from Darren.”
She snorts and offers some food to my disciple.
Vega eats it only after I nod. She seems to like it, so she politely thanks
her and even plasters a fake smile on her face.
I have noticed it before, but even after almost two days in the Sanctuary
and a few visits to the granny, she hasn’t opened up to any of them. That’s
what they get for picking an extrovert class.
“Where do they get all the food?” I ask.
The granny freezes, her expression changing multiple times in the span
of one second until it becomes an emotionless mask.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she says simply.
“That’s it?”
“Yes.”
Vega sits next to me and looks up, her red eyes curious. I gesture to her,
letting her know that I will tell her later.
When I stand up to leave, the granny doesn’t say anything, nor does she
try to stop me, and my disciple and I leave. I jump over the edge of the
building with Vega holding on to me.
“Are you angry?” she whispers, her face pressed against my chest.
The cheeky little thing is probably listening to my heartbeat. I’ve long
since noticed the weird fascination demons seem to have with hearts.
“Not really. Just be more careful next time.” I don’t have to urge her
more. You learn the best lessons when you can feel them on your skin.
Vega messed up and got terribly hurt too. It’s not something she would
forget, and it’s more effective than me constantly reminding her.
She listens to my heart a bit more and then looks up, a smile on her
face. The little half-demon seems to have confirmed the truths of my words
by listening to my heart.
“Are hearts that fascinating to your people?” I ask her.
 “Yes.” She nods. “It’s…a feeling. I can’t explain it very well. Demons
with strong hearts are admired. They are rich, powerful, and respected.”
“Do you want that?”
“S-should I not?”
“I mean, it’s up to you, but let me tell you a few things. Being rich
might be fun, but I think you would find it just as boring as I do. Yes, pretty
clothes and a house with a nice view are good to have, but in the end, they
are just things.”
I push us higher and slow to a walk across the top of one of the
skyscrapers. Over the horizon, the sun is already setting, the last light
disappearing and the city turning dark. Clouds form in the sky, and it’s
about time for mana rain.
“As for being respected, I don’t think it matters. What matters is how
you see yourself, Disciple. That opinion is the most important. I know you
are still young, but you will learn with time, even though you might not
believe me right now.”
“Then what does Master want?”
“It’s simple: power.” It starts raining, but my barrier protects us.
In the dark city around us, only the tiny blue lights of the raindrops
shine, and when they crash against the barrier, there is a small explosion of
color. It’s pretty.
“I want power, personal power. The one I can consider mine that no one
can take away from me. A power above everyone else.”
My eyes meet those deep red eyes, and she asks, “Why?”
“Because if you are powerful, you can do whatever you want. You can
travel and explore places like the bunker we are currently staying in. You
can go where you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. You can protect yourself
and the people you care for.”
“So I need to become powerful?”
“Minion, I told you that you shouldn’t care what others think, not even
me. Find what you want to do and what makes you happy, and then put
your entire being into reaching that goal. Bleed, hurt, sweat, push until you
feel like breaking apart if needed. Because only then will you be content,
even if you fail.”
“Is that what Master is doing?”
“Why are you asking?”
“I know nothing about Master.”
 “I told you before, most of the things I’m teaching you are my own
theories⁠—”
She interrupts me. “I didn’t mean that. What is Master’s favorite color?
What food do you like the most? What is your favorite skill? Things like
that.”
That’s so silly, I can’t help but be amused. Ever since the start of the
tutorial, things like that haven’t mattered at all. Well, other than my favorite
skill.
We exit the city, and while heading toward the Sanctuary, I answer, “My
favorite color… I would say gray or black, but I’m not too picky. As for
food…maybe pizza? My skill…”
Vega interrupts me again. “What is pizza?”
I look down at her, and with her ear pressed against my chest listening
to my heart, she looks up, her red eyes curious.
“It’s like bread in the shape of a flat disc. You bake it in an oven, and
you put different toppings on it. Cheese, salami, meats, you add tomato
sauce, that kind of thing. Minion, would you believe that there are maniacs
who like them with sweet fruits on top? If you ever meet such a person,
avoid them.”
Even without fully understanding, Vega giggles. “I would like to try
pizza sometime.”
“That would be nice. And what’s your favorite food?”
“Mine?” She pauses as if surprised by the question and then thinks for a
bit. A small, smug smile takes over her face. “When I was younger, a few
kids from the street called me to join them. They wanted to steal some
things from a merchant. I knew they wanted to steal and run, leaving me
behind to take the blame, but I still joined them.”
I use [Redistribution] to absorb kinetic energy from the rain in a
massive area around us. That makes Vega pause, and with big eyes, she
observes as the falling rain slows down to a crawl.
A weird silence fills the area around us. “Pretty,” she whispers and
continues. “I still joined them because I was hungry, but I tricked them.
When they started stealing, I stayed behind and let them distract people.
One of the merchants nearby went to see what was happening. He left just
for a second, but I stole a small sack with some sweet candy.”
She stops, eyes bright, remembering the moment. She pushes against
my chest, and I can feel the warmth of her small body.
 Vega smiles at me. “I ran and ran like never before. I ran until I couldn’t
breathe, and even then I was smiling. Then, in one of my hiding places, I
ate all the candies. All of them, alone!”
Even while entering the Sanctuary, I ignore the guards and listen to my
silly disciple.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 81
PREPARATIONS AND
SECRETS

“I can “It’s
come back later,” Nina says somewhat awkwardly.
okay,” I answer and shift a bit.
Currently, I’m sitting on the floor, and two women are drawing on
my skin. My upper body is bare, and my pants are pulled up high, revealing
my thighs. The women hold brushes in their hands, using some of the
mana-conductive paint I have left.
On the ground in front of them is a design of my creation, and they are
transferring it to my skin.
It’s the middle of day two of my planned three-day stay in the
Sanctuary, and with Darren’s help, I went looking for someone to draw
circuits of my design. Suspiciously, he picked two pretty young women.
Even more suspiciously, they’ve been a bit too friendly as well.
I guess that’s probably Darren’s attempt at tying me to the Sanctuary?
Well, it doesn’t matter. At least they can draw well; otherwise, I would
have sent them away.
Nina nods, and after glancing at me for a moment, she says, “We started
unblocking one of the older facilities. It’s a secondary control room, but
we’ve never had any use for it, and it’s damaged. In an hour or two, it
should be ready as you asked.”
“That sounds nice.” I mean, the current enchanting and smelting facility
is nice, and I tested plenty of things, but who wouldn’t want to see more?
“Also, your disciple tried to stab and bite one of our men when they
tried to help her carry her bag,” Nina adds.
I turn to the side where Vega is practicing. The little half-demon doesn’t
even pretend to not hear and returns my gaze.
 “Good job, but next time, try the kick first. Stabbing is for when
someone means you harm,” I tell her. To that, Vega quickly nods and
returns to her training.
Nina watches our exchange with a mildly shocked expression but then
quickly shakes her head. She takes a step closer. “And if you have time
tomorrow, my father wants to talk with you about something serious.”
“We will see tomorrow.” I lift one of my arms so the woman can paint
it.
Not having a reason to stay, Nina leaves, and I observe the circuits
they’ve drawn on me. It’s annoying that I couldn’t do it myself, but it’s hard
to draw on my back or chest while keeping the lines straight.
Sure, the occasional mistake isn’t a problem, and the first attempts I
made on my arm weren’t that bad. But I want to find out how much things
change with well-drawn circuits. Is there a difference between a wobbly
line and one that’s well drawn? Does making an oval instead of a circle
affect it at all? How much deviation do I need to worry about?
That’s the question I’m asking.
The women Darren recommended are doing a good job. Their hands are
steady, and they are not wasting any paint. They even stopped ogling to
focus on their work. I mean, I don’t blame them, hehe. As my mom said
twelve years, three months, and around five days ago, I’m a handsome
young man.
“Minion, I’m handsome, right?”
“It’s Vega, Master. I’m your disciple, not a minion.” She’s clearly given
up on her attempts at reverse psychology.
“Sure.”
“Master’s eyes are pretty.”
“Only my eyes?”
“Heart too!”
Well, even that much is fine. “I also like your eyes and heart, Minion.”
Even though it is an undeserved fourth trait spot the demons must have
cheated to get.
One of the women giggles, and when I catch her gaze, she smiles with a
slight blush on her face. She quickly averts her gaze and continues.
I send my mana through some of the completed circuits. When mana
flows through them, the paint hardens even more, and I immediately notice
the difference between my wobbly lines and the nicer ones.
 Damn it. I just want to do things in my own janky way.
Sending a bit more mana through them, I activate my Mana Wavelength
Iris and observe the movement of the mana. So far, it looks like everything
is working as it should.
Sure, I could do a construct instead of this, but right now, I hesitate. The
drawings should help me deal with black mana, and I’m not ready to create
a construct for that until I’m sure it’s correct. Anyway, I’m already
preparing another construct, and I’m still working on its structure, and I’ve
recorded it in one of my mana stones. I have no time to create another one.
Unlike lines drawn on my skin, the constructs are much more difficult
and require more of me. They need to be carefully placed and connected at
the right places, and they affect me more deeply.
Plus, there’s limited space inside of my body, and unlike my skin, I
can’t just wash a construct away.
Soon enough, the work is done, and I send both women away before
they make any advances.
Sending mana through my skin, I dry the mana-infused paint and
observe the results. So far, it seems all good, and if it works as intended, I
should be able to strengthen my body with black mana without too much in
the way of aftereffects. And if that works, I should be able to use black
mana to power other skills without my brain melting. That would be nice.
Unfortunately, it seems to be a one-time use as the drawings crumble
the moment black mana flows through them, but even that is okay. In the
worst scenario, I can use black mana without them, though the aftereffects
will be worse.
Standing up, I put my shirt back on and fix it.
“Minion, we are going to see the facility.” I have decided to keep Vega
close to me as much as possible.
“Yes, Master!”
As we head toward the place I expect to find Darren, I observe Vega.
She is still constantly using her mana to observe, and even though she is so
low level, she does it well. Even when I met her for the first time, she did
pretty well with it, and it only improved with my amazing mentorship. She
even keeps circulating mana through her body, an early attempt at Mana
Cycling, as Lissandra taught me.
The fun thing about it is that the more I use Mana Cycling, the more I
appreciate it, and it runs the entire time I’m awake. I even suspect that my
body is reflexively maintaining it while I sleep.
Mana Cycling takes my mana and sends it through my body in the
channels I’ve defined. With a better understanding, you can even stop mana
from leaking. I’m not at the level where I can completely pull it off, but it’s
good enough to trick most people, even some who are higher level than me.
Other than hiding mana, it also improves my control.
We reach the circular door entirely made out of the same metal as the
others. There is already a group of men nearby who’ve already moved the
barricades.
I give time to Nina to greet them and give orders before we follow
through the tunnel that serves as a hallway. Unlike the one from before, this
one is much smoother, and there are even some decorative lines etched into
the walls to our sides. As we pass by them, I touch the wall, and after a
quick examination, I channel my mana through it, causing them to slowly
illuminate our path as I maintain contact.
The light is gentle and easy on the eyes, yet it’s bright enough to evenly
light the hallway. There are a few side rooms, and I peek inside, but most
are completely empty and lack much in the way of interesting circuits. At
the end of the hallway, there is another circular entrance, and we enter a
small chamber.
In the middle of that room stands a single pillar made of mana crystal.
This one seems different from the ones in other facilities, and I can’t quite
put my finger on how; maybe it’s higher quality? It’s a darker shade of blue
as well.
The mana crystal seems to be damaged, or at least the control panel
connected to it is.
“Are you not worried about letting me into the control room? I could
take over and cause all kinds of trouble,” I ask.
Nina flashes me a smile. “You are just that kind of person that rubs me
the wrong way. But I can’t deny that if you had wanted to, you could have
caused much more trouble already without having to bother with petty
tricks.”
“Maybe I’m just playing with you and plotting behind your back.”
“Maybe you are, but I trust my father, and he seems to think it’s okay.
And it’s too late to try to stop you at this point.”
I can’t help but be a bit disappointed. These people gave up that easily
and put their lives into the hands of some random guy just because he’s
stronger than them. Yes, there is logic to it, but it’s still somewhat
disappointing.
Thankfully, at least Vega seems to agree with me, judging by the look
she gives Nina.
I’ve already been collecting my mana for a while, and I put my hand on
the control panel to send a bit through. I quickly identify where the
inscriptions are messed up and search for the secondary pathways, and
surprisingly, they are damaged as well.
In the end, I decided to ignore the messed-up parts. Fixing them would
take too long, and I would have to replace the entire segment. Instead, I just
put an anchor on the mana crystal and send my mana directly to it. There
will be leaks, but I decide I will overcome them with the sheer amount of
mana I will be pushing through.
I step away and continue to send my mana through [Tether], and
gradually, the room lights up. There is no crystal in the ceiling; instead,
beautiful ornaments light up all around the room, and even the mana crystal
starts letting out some light.
Taking a few steps, I reach another control panel, the one meant to
manage this facility. The mana stone that is the center of it seems okay, and
I put my hand on it and send a bit of mana through.
Inside the stone, there are multiple sets of inscriptions, each connecting
to a different part of the Sanctuary. Some seem to be devoted to protecting
the bunker. Others are for heating, water, and air filtration, and that’s just
the start. Several don’t seem to be working, not because of any issue with
the mana stone; it’s likely because those parts of the bunker are ruined.
Looking, though, I still can’t find anything in the hidden tunnels where
Darren and others were getting the meat. Interesting. Maybe they’ve
blocked it on the other side?
Otherwise, there isn’t much interesting to do. Sure, it’s all fun and cool.
I could turn on the heating, send more mana through, and open the door or
lock all of them. I could even use water from the tanks to fight against a
possible fire. It’s something I would otherwise like to play with, but not
with the short amount of time I’ve got on this floor.
“Nothing interesting. Most of the things are impossible to control from
here, and there is plenty of damage in the connections,” I tell Nina and stop
feeding my mana to the mana crystal.
 It gradually dims out, and we leave with her. The door stays open so I
can return later.

“So do you understand what to do?” I ask Vega.

“Yes! I will sit here inside of the barrier, and if something happens, I
will send a signal through your anchor, and you will return.”
“Good. See you later then, okay?”
“I will continue to train.”
I give Vega one more look. She is currently inside my room. It’s a nice
room in one of the original towers in the middle of the main cave. The room
is nicely decorated, and most of the furniture is made of stone with some
soft cushions to cover it.
There is a barrier made with [Regalia] surrounding Vega. It’s powered
by one of the higher-grade mana stones I left with her. I’ve used enough
power to last for hours without using mana from the stone.
Then it can defend against multiple attacks on its own, and if that’s not
enough, it will use mana from the mana stone. I don’t think there is anyone
in the city capable of breaking it quickly, yet I still leave an anchor nearby
so I can return quickly. The door into the room is also blocked by my mana,
along with the other entrances.
Giving a last look to the room and my disciple, I use [Tether] and
teleport to the anchor I left by the hidden tunnels. Then I start hiding my
mana and use [Perception] to avoid people.
[Mana Domain] expands, and I create a few more anchors, teleporting
multiple times to avoid people. There are a few guards inside of the house
over the secret tunnels, but they don’t feel me placing anchors or
teleporting.
Appearing behind the door they’re guarding, I start walking. The tunnel
is dark, and the air here feels different. There also aren’t many inscriptions
or veins of metal like in the other ones. This tunnel feels much newer. Did
they construct it after moving here? That could explain why they weren’t on
the maps inside the mana crystal.
I feel another presence heading toward me, and I reach past them and
place the anchor. Only when I’m about to be spotted do I teleport past. As
with before, the guard doesn’t feel my domain, nor do they notice when I
place anchors or teleport. I send more of my mana ahead and find a small
room at the end of the tunnel. That room currently has a single person
inside of it.
The air takes on a smell like rust. It smells like blood, lots of blood.
I detect the guard leaving and continue to walk toward that room. The
closer I get, the more I smell it, and the heavier the air feels. There’s even
dried blood on the floor and the walls.
Gradually, the light permeates the dark tunnels, and I enter the room.
The room has been painted bright white, yet that only serves to emphasize
the blood covering everything, the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling, all
thrown into stark relief by the bright lights.
There are a few boxes stuffed in the corner of the room, each of them
filled to the brim with severed legs and arms. In another corner, a man sits
on a bed, his legs up, knees in front of his chest. He has long hair covering
his face and is wearing bloodied clothes with short sleeves.
His eyes are cold, and he watches me calmly. I notice a silver metal
collar around his neck and a chain of similar metal tying him to one of the
walls.

[Lifebloom Weaver - Level 206]

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 82
AGAINST THE VEIL
GUARDIAN

F
or a moment, we look at each other. Two men in a small white room
covered in blood, with boxes full of bloody limbs in the corner.
Keeping an eye on him, I find a relatively clean spot and sit on the
floor, resting my back against the wall.
And then I just sit there.
The man’s eyes are calm, and yet they have a weird shine to them. They
are not the eyes of an animal backed into a corner, tired and threatening.
They are more like the eyes of someone who’s given up.
“You are not one of them.” His voice is quiet and rough, as if he is not
used to talking.
“I’m just passing by,” I reply.
“Just passing by,” he repeats.
“Yes. By the way, do you know anything about the Veil, the Mirror, the
Valley, Pairing, war, monsters, or Veil Guardian?”
He seems to be taken aback and chuckles. Even that chuckle sounds
weak and forced. It sounds like he’s laughing at himself.
“You are not going to ask about…” He gestures at the room.
“Is there any need to? Locals seem to have…an interesting diet. That’s
it. They likely forced you into this. At least I don’t think anyone would go
along with this willingly, and the collar around your neck confirms it.”
Another chuckle. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?”
He brushes the hair from his face, his deep eyes staring into mine.
“Fuck knows how long ago I agreed to this,” the man says, to my surprise.
“In the beginning, it was simple, really. They needed food, and I wanted
to help. Probably out of regret or maybe I felt like I owed these people
something.”
“You seem to have changed your mind halfway through.” I gesture at
his neck where the collar is.
His smile shows his teeth; it feels almost threatening. “Do you know
how it feels to have your legs and arms sawn off day after day for decades?
To know what they are doing with them? It doesn’t matter how much you
want to help. After enough time, you can’t take anymore. So get off your
fucking high horse, you brat.”
I ignore the last sentence. “So you want to get out?”
For the first time, he hesitates, almost like pure panic appearing on his
face. “A lot of them would die without…” the man still says, his eyes
changing, a hint of craziness surfacing.
He pulls his knees higher and hides his face. “Kids, men, and women.
Innocent people, my skill isn’t good enough at regenerating others to do it
with someone else or an animal.” He wobbles from side to side, his voice
even weaker than before.
I give him time, and gradually, he calms down enough to look at me,
changing the subject. “The Veil was our biggest hope. Even I contributed.
Everyone did. But none of us knew much. The Enchanter Guild were the
main organizers, and they were very secretive about their greatest creation.
The most brilliant minds on our planet. People treated them like gods.”
Some sanity returns to his eyes. “Oh, how beautiful their promises were.
Every single city, protected by a Veil encompassing the entire planet. A
construct so perfect, it would run on its own, following a set of rules
overseen by a coalition of all the world’s kingdoms.”
Out of nowhere, he starts laughing. “Pairing, we’ve experienced it twice
now. Either we were unlucky or we did something wrong. Who the fuck
would know for sure, what with the system being so cryptic all the time?”
Once again, he laughs like he just told a great joke.
His eyes meet mine again, and this time, they are calm, sane, and clear.
“Now fuck off. I’m tired of your face. Leave me alone. You can take some
and snack on it later.” He points at the box full of limbs, a cruel expression
on his face.
I give him one more look, then activate one of my anchors and reappear
inside the city, on top of one of the skyscrapers. To be sure, I check the
anchor I left near Vega and send my senses through. I get a little bit of
feedback, but everything seems fine.
 Three orbs form next to me, and I start feeding them: one with kinetic
energy, another with thermal, and the last one with mana. Dark blue,
golden, and pale blue to the point of transparency, the orbs follow me as I
jump off the building and boost myself toward the granny. For a short
moment, I enjoy the feeling of wind on my face as I’m flying through the
air until I reach the cottage at the top of the skyscraper. I pass through the
field, which sends her a signal, before entering the house.
“What, did you come to break more of my pots, you brat? Don’t tell me
the kid that was following you died. Where is she?” the Vitalist inquires.
“She is fine. Safe and currently training. I have a question for you if you
don’t mind.”
“No gifts, you still owe me, and you come here asking for more. So
typical of the current generation,” she grumbles, but I notice a hint of
curiosity in her eyes. I think she must be bored, being here alone most of
the time.
“How old are you?” I ask.
That makes her cackle, and she doesn’t answer.
“Are you from before the war?”
“Why would I tell you?”
“What is Veil?”
“Don’t be annoying.” She snorts.
“Do you know a man with the class Lifebloom Weaver?”
“Stop asking—” She freezes in the middle of the sentence. Her
expression changes and turns dark. I [Focus] and try to read her mood as
much as possible. I observe the movements of her body, her face. I even
listen to the sound of her heart as it beats, each one creating the tiniest bit of
kinetic energy I can feel as well as her movements.
“Friend?”
She doesn’t say anything.
“Husband?”
Nothing.
“Family?”
Her heartbeat speeds up, a slight twitch across her face.
“Son? Father?”
“Listen here. Do not even dare speak of this in front of me, or I will
never heal that brat of yours again. How dare you⁠—”
 “He is tied up there. Did Darren tell you?” My words silence her. “I
spoke with him, and he said at first he did it because he wanted to. But now
they use some collar to keep him there.”
She falls silent, and the pause stretches so long that I’m tempted to
leave when she finally whispers, “One hundred twenty-seven.”
“Yes?”
“That’s how many kids younger than ten there are in the Sanctuary. One
hundred twenty-seven.”
“Do they all know?”
She just shakes her head.
What a fucked-up situation.
“Leave.” That word is barely a whisper, more a plea than a threat.
And I do just that. I activate one of my anchors and appear near the
city’s center. I sit on a rooftop with my legs hanging over the edge and
continue to fill the orbs next to me while spinning them around.
The thing, the weird invisible lines of mana covering the sky and
probably the entire planet, is probably the Veil, or at least a part of it. I tried
to touch it shortly after starting the fifth floor. That’s also when the Veil
Guardian appeared, likely summoned by the attempt. The monster’s name
makes a lot more sense now.
So what is the Veil? A construct covering the entire planet? I heard a lot
of praise for the Enchanter Guild from Darren and Nina, though I’ve mostly
dismissed it as a legend. But maybe I was wrong. My current skill makes it
hard to even imagine how something like that would work.
What powers it? What keeps it there? What stops anyone else from
messing with it? How was it created? And then there are the obvious
questions: why was it used against humans and why did it cause so much
more damage than the monsters brought over by the Pairing?
As for Pairing, the man said it was the second, and I would like to know
about that. What are the causes of a Pairing and how is it decided?
Another question: were they paired with a planet of monsters or was
another race using them for war? Like lynthari on the fourth floor with the
Living Tree and the Colony.
The more time passes, the more questions I have, and the shorter this
floor feels.
Taking a bag off my back, I take out a brush and a container with mana-
conductive paint. I start drawing inscriptions on the roof after clearing it.
While doing so, I check the inscriptions painted on my body, and there
seems to be no change from before.
Once again, I check the anchor near my disciple, and making sure
everything is okay, I start using more of my mana to feed the orbs. My heart
beats, and working as a medium, it turns mana into the two Primordial
energies I possess.
I let two hours pass like that, and then I stop feeding the orb. Instead, I
create a javelin over my shoulder. Since I created it with [Regalia], it’s
already tougher than it used to be, but I can’t stop there. I make it denser,
which increases its weight, either because of the skill or the properties of
mana changing. I don’t use [Infusion] to keep feeding the javelin with my
energies or skills. No, I just make it as dense, heavy, and tough as possible.
Focusing on doing that, I’m able to stop it from exploding, thanks to my
improved mastery and skill.
Feeling ready, I breathe in and out.

[Focus]

The world loses some of its color, and the skill filters out some of the
noises. In addition to the three orbs floating beside me, another takes form.
This one is smaller and quickly fed by my focused mana as it turns black,
while I keep it under control with [Mana Domain], [Mana Manipulation],
and [Resonance].
Then I activate my trait, a golden circle appearing around my pupils,
while I channel mana into the inscriptions I’ve painted on the ground and
get ready.
Moving the javelin a bit further away, I look at the sky and [Focus].
Knowing better what to look for, I identify the lines I noticed the first time.
The lines of mana that likely encompass the entire planet.
The Veil.
I touch them, examine them, trying to collect as much information as
possible, already feeling the strain my trait is putting on my body.
And as expected, the monster appears.

[Veil Guardian - Level ??]

 It stands on the rooftop of the building opposite mine. Its red eyes glow
with hate, and a deep growl reverberates through the air, breaking the
remnants of glass in the windows. The blades it has in place of its arms
have a blue shine to them, and I feel its senses touch me.
Not giving it a chance, I nearly deplete the kinetic energy from the orb I
created, and the javelin shoots at the guardian, boosted by all that force. A
sonic boom threatens to deafen me as the javelin breaks the sound barrier
and disappears from its place beside me.
It pierces through the monster’s chest, barely missing the heart, and
continues to fly much further, piercing through everything in its way. The
javelin doesn’t slow at all, the sheer density, weight, and amount of kinetic
energy I used turning it into a terrifying weapon.
The Veil Guardian wobbles on its legs, and red blood seeps onto its gray
skin. It roars, and the blue veins on its body expand. A gravity field
encompasses me and immediately starts pushing me down to my knees with
a force that tears at my body.
I fail to disrupt the effect even with my eyes activated; I’ve expected
this ever since I first saw the monster use the skill.
Not hesitating and according to my plan, I let the black mana seep into
my body, and the inscriptions covering me activate and help alleviate some
of the pressure. The effect of the monster’s skill gets overpowered by the
sheer power of black mana strengthening my body, and I watch the monster
jump from the roof, heading toward me.
I send mana mixed with kinetic energy into the inscriptions on the floor,
and they resonate, shooting all that energy through the skyscraper I’m
standing on.
The building starts crumbling when the energy pierces through it in its
entirety. One of the tallest buildings in the city starts falling to the side.
At the same time, the Veil Guardian avoids golden flames infused with
disrupting mana, and it disrupts the anchors I placed all around the place.
It crashes against my barrier and breaks it, welcomed by another one,
which also breaks. I set barrier after barrier, slowing the monster down.
Then my mana flows and surges from my body.
[Redistribution] activates, and I absorb all the kinetic energy from the
falling building. Gradually, the broken skyscraper slows its fall, and things
become eerily quiet as the pieces of the building slowly continue to fall.
 [Redistribution - Level 41 > Redistribution - Level 42]

I compress thermal energy inside of the orb even more, and a stream of
thermal energy shoots off like a laser.
The guardian avoids it, but it cuts another skyscraper in half, which also
slows as it falls.

[Redistribution - Level 42 > Redistribution - Level 43]

This time, I dash at the monster, using bits of that energy to strengthen
my body in the way symbiotic transference used to do.
The air itself around the monster reverberates with high-pitched sounds.
Wound after wound appears on the monster’s skin, the kinetic energy
threatening to tear apart the extremely durable monster. The sound rises
pitch and volume as its wounds deepen, and the guardian uses its arms to
cover its chest and head.
Finally, the attack pierces its guard, and the monster’s right arm
explodes at the shoulder, falling to the ground.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 83
RESILIENCE BEYOND PAIN

A
nother blast of kinetic energy sends the monster crashing through
multiple buildings. But it seems that I was unable to kill it, even with
the sheer amount of kinetic energy I collected, it not being
concentrated enough because the amount is hard to control.
I grab the severed limb as it falls, and when the guardian rushes at me
again, flames burst forth from me, dispersing on its skin.
The guardian disrupts my anchors, and my kinetic energy seems to be
having less of an effect, the monster changing its barrier to counter it.
My control falters, and the falling buildings move again, falling at
normal speed, the deafening sound of crashing debris filling the area.
I avoid the growling Veil Guardian and use [Regalia] to envelop my
body in a suit of armor and absorb another blow. Mana flows through me,
and I use the kinetic energy I’ve gathered to strengthen my body even more.
I create a sword out of mana, imbuing it with [Resonance], as it collides
with the guardian’s remaining sword arm.
Its blade cuts through my weapon easily as if it wasn’t even there and
slices into my shoulder before I can blast it away with the remaining kinetic
energy from the orb.
I absorb some thermal energy from the other orb, and the wound starts
healing.
Not giving me more time, the monster reaches me, slashing at me again,
and I dodge to the side as a slash removes a chunk of the falling building
we’re standing on. I attack it with its own arm, and the monster dodges, a
deep groan I can feel in my chest reverberating through the air. It screeches
and follows me as I jump from building to building, its attacks causing huge
amounts of damage to each.
 It continues to disrupt my anchors, and even my [Mana Domain] is
restricted. Its gravity skill also continues to put pressure on me, and I feel
black mana inside of my body depleting and inscriptions on my skin
disappearing.
The entire time, part of my mind, with the help of my eyes’ trait,
continues to examine the monster, its mana, and the way it tracks me and
disrupts my external skills.
When the monster tackles me, I let it happen and use [Infusion] to
infuse the armor around my body with thermal energy. Golden flames fill
the armor, turning me into a burning figure, and the Veil Guardian screeches
as its skin burns and one of its eyes is damaged.
Using the opportunity, I once again slash with its severed arm, and the
monster dodges once more. In exchange, its blade pierces through my leg,
and the only thing that saves it is the black mana boosting my movements.
I avoid another stab and try to keep it from tackling me. Flames
compress and blaze ahead like a laser, burning a hole into its eye. The
attack blinds the damaged eye but still doesn’t pierce deep enough to kill it.
For a short moment, the gravity affecting me increases and immobilizes
me, even with my strengthened body, and the monster reaches me,
burrowing its teeth into my leg.
I push it away, and another laser-like attack of golden flames burns its
chest close to its heart as the monster shifts its body. The Veil Guardian
takes a moment to chew on the chunk of flesh it tore out of my leg, all the
while looking at me with its single eye. A memory of a group of three
people being eaten alive flashes through my head.
Landing on the road, I roll away, but once again, the monster holds my
body with extreme gravity and reaches me in a split second. Ignoring my
armor, it burrows its teeth into the same leg it bit before and then, while I’m
unable to move, starts gnawing at it.
The gravity disappears, but the monster holds me, its teeth lodged in the
bone of my shin.
It starts eating me alive, a hateful expression in its eyes.
[Redistribution] activates, and I transfer all the thermal energy I have
into kinetic and bolster it with some of my mana. My Thermokinetic Mana
Heart beats, compressing it all.
Looking at the monster, I send all that kinetic energy into my leg, and as
the monster gnaws at it, I make it explode inside its mouth. The Veil
Guardian gets thrown away, a geyser of blood exploding into the air.
My leg is gone up to the middle of my thigh, destroyed by my own
attack.
I push myself back up, and I feel black mana disappear from my body,
depleted as the aftereffects catch up to me.
With a deep growl, the monster stands up again, half of its face turned
into a bloody mess, none of its teeth remaining, as its blood drips. Yet the
monster is still combat capable, very much so.

[Tether - Level 28 > Tether - Level 29]

Finally, my skill pierces through the monster’s attempts at disruption

with the help of my eyes, and shooting a last weak attack at the monster, I
teleport.
I reappear at one of my older anchors that is barely active, close to
crumbling after days of staying there. With my body depleted of black
mana, I finally have some mental capability to do so and create a small
black orb near where I am. Leaving it behind to remove my tracks, I
teleport to another anchor. I repeat it multiple times, and then inside one of
the smaller buildings on the edge of the city, I fall to the floor.
Thermal energy flows through my body, healing it as much as possible
with the help of passive abilities and fighting against the severe aftereffects
of the fight.
I examine the sword arm of the monster I still hold, but I find no
markings on it, and none of the monster’s mana remains in it after I disrupt
it multiple times. Being separated from its owner and purged of mana, the
body isn’t quite so extremely durable, so I remove the flesh, leaving me
with the blade.

Voidsteel Slicer (Epic)

The Voidsteel used in this blade is renowned for its vibration-absorbing
qualities, allowing the wielder to cut with unmatched precision and
sharpness. The Voidsteel ensures the Slicer is nearly indestructible,
effortlessly cutting through almost any material.
 Then I glance at my leg, which is missing a big chunk. The wound has
already closed, and new skin covers it; as before, when I tested it with my
fingertip, the leg will grow back. Given enough time and enough thermal
energy, my passive will be able to restore it.
Once again, I create a prosthetic made of dark blue mana connected to
the stump of my leg. Part of [Focus] shifts to keeping it up and controlling
it. I try to rotate the ankle, and it moves as a normal leg should.
[Perception] warns me, and I try to teleport, but my [Tether] fails,
disrupted. Instead, I create a spherical barrier around me. Smashing through
the wall, a blade slashes through it, stopped only by the Voidsteel Slicer in
my hand. The sheer force of the attack still sends me crashing through the
wall and outside onto the street.
With a deep growl, the Veil Guardian lands on the road. The monster’s
movements are more careful than before, and it doesn’t rush to attack. One
of its arms is still missing, the blade held by me. There is still a hole
through its chest caused by my first attack. Its skin is burned, and one of its
eyes is blinded, with its face bearing deep wounds and its jawbone gone.
It moves much quicker than I do, and I barely block the next attack.
The blades meet, and I absorb some kinetic energy from the blow. Then
my trait activates again. The world of invisible mana opens up again, and I
feel the strain on my brain. Even more now without black mana
strengthening my body.
Ignoring it, I push through, disrupt the attempts that stop me from
teleporting, and then use [Tether], teleporting to one of the anchors I left
near where the first fight started.
My body sways, and I deactivate my trait. I feel blood in my mouth, and
the prosthetic leg flickers and nearly disappears before I force myself to
keep it up. Using the strength of my body, I start running in between the
skyscrapers on the road covered in greenery. I use [Resonance] and
strengthen my Mantle, keeping as much mana as I can inside my body.

[Resonance - Level 41 > Resonance - Level 42]

I enter one of the buildings near the fallen skyscraper and force myself
to calm down.
My breathing slows down, and I absorb the movement of my heart,
making the beating slow. The Mantle encompasses it all, and [Resonance]
disrupts the tiniest particles of mana that escape my Mana Cycling. I disrupt
the leg made of mana too. Lastly, I control the heat of my body as well,
matching it to the rubble surrounding me.
From the sky, the monster falls, a crater created by the force of the
impact. The silence is deafening as the Veil Guardian reaches the place
where I appeared after the teleport. Its red eye looks around, searching, full
of calm hate.
There are only two anchors left, one near my disciple and the other one
near the old healer on the rooftop with the Vitalist.
The monster takes a few slow steps, searching. Its movements are just
as sharp as before, even with the wounds I’ve inflicted.
A minute passes.
Two minutes pass.
The Guardian passes by the building I’m hiding in.
Three minutes.
It returns again, circles, and searches closer to the area where I am. The
remaining arm twitches toward the ruins of the buildings where it all
started, some of my mana still lingering in the air. After being hit by the
attack, the cleanly slashed stone falls, adding to the pile of rubble.
Then the Veil Guardian changes its strategy. The monster stops where it
stands, and mana explodes from it, encompassing a huge area. Some sort of
domain similar to my [Mana Domain].
Within that sizable area, the gravity increases. And then again. The
gravity keeps slowly increasing every few seconds. It causes more rubble to
fall, and some weaker buildings tilt and crack. The smaller pieces of the
skyscrapers fall from all this height. And the entire time, the monster waits.
For a hint of mana. For a scream of pain.
The gravity increases even more, and another skyscraper nearby tilts.
Standing only on one leg, I crumple onto the ground under that force. I do
not fight against it; I do not use mana other than to keep myself covered.

[Focus - Level 44 > Focus - Level 45]

The effect of the field isn’t as strong as before because of the area it
covers, yet it still weighs me down. It becomes harder to breathe, and I feel
dizzy. The blood in my veins moves slower.
 The field strengthens, and with it, my dizziness strengthens too. I can
feel my heart palpitate. The guardian radiates more mana, and each breath
takes extreme effort. Yet I still do not use my mana to strengthen my body. I
keep it all under control, not leaking it at all, not even a bit.

[Mana Manipulation - Level 45 > Mana Manipulation - Level 46]

My vision blurs, and my body starts to tear, the intense gravity

attempting to pull the flesh off my bones.
Bones all over my body crack and break, dozens of them, as my body
gets pressed against the ground. The pain pierces through my body and
reaches my mind.
There is nothing else, just a feeling of my body getting taken apart, the
pain, and me controlling my mana. It feels like forever, and I barely even
feel a few pieces of ceiling fall on my body, even though they mangle my
muscles and break even more bones.
Out of nowhere, the pressure disappears, replaced by a deep groan, and
then there is silence. The gravity is back to normal, and gradually, even the
sound of falling buildings disappears.
Even then, I lie there for hours. I do not heal my body, nor do I stop
keeping my mana hidden. I just lie there, inside the half-broken building,
somewhere under the rubble.
Only when I hear the rain falling outside do I allow my heart to generate
thermal energy and let it activate the passive that heals my body.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 84
IN A REALLY BAD MOOD

A
day passes, and I remove the rubble from my body, which is now in a
better state. However, it still bears plenty of wounds: cracked bones,
not fully healed muscles, and a significant chunk of my leg still
missing.
It’s raining once again, and I exit the building, letting the deadly rain
fall on my skin, disrupting it with my mana.
[Perception] looks around, and I start walking. I do not use anchors,
worried they might be tracked, and I use only a little mana, not knowing
where the monster is. Just a bit to keep my body strengthened, allowing me
to move faster and cross the rooftops.
It takes a bit longer, but I reach the old granny’s place. At first, I pass by
it a few times. As wrecked as my body is, I can’t locate the place with the
field that surrounds it. It’s either that or the granny changed the field a little.
When I finally locate it, I enter the rooftop, triggering a signal, and the
old woman comes out of the house. Walking between the flower pots, I stop
in front of her, standing on one leg and my mana prosthetic.
She opens her mouth to say something, but that’s when my skill
activates. [Redistribution] absorbs her kinetic energy and stops her mouth
from moving.
“I will be brief,” I tell her. “On another day, I wouldn’t mind a bit of
bickering, but right now, I am in a really bad mood. So now, I will let you
go, and you will tell me what you want from me in exchange for healing or
tell me to fuck off.”
I let go of her, and she staggers backward. Her expression turning
serious. “I will heal you. We can talk about what you did later. If I ask for
something annoying, you can refuse.”
 After that, she heads inside the house, and I follow her. She sends out a
pulse of mana, which deactivates the item radiating the tranquilizing field. I
sit on the chair as she gestures to me.
Her hands touch my shoulder, and warm mana flows into my body,
healing me for the first time.
“What the fuck?” she gasps, and I sense her skill observing my body.
She checks the wounds, feels the imbalance between my attributes, and
peripherally senses my constant control over my mana.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” she repeats, getting a better image of my body
before she starts healing me.
I feel my body sway and my mind spin, but I force myself to stay awake
and carefully observe the entire process. Ready to react if she tries anything
suspicious, I observe the way she moves her mana. Maybe I could learn a
thing or two from her; that’s what I hope for. But in the end, her healing is
similar to Lily’s. Yes, weaker and clumsier, but it’s the same at its core.
As she’s healing me, she uses nearly all of her mana. Her healing
doesn’t restore my leg. Not because she is incapable, but because she heals
the other wounds first. My Phoenix Embrace has healed a lot, and given
enough time, it will heal the rest. But there are advantages to having an
active healing skill, even though she is much lower level than I am.
When she is done, she moves back and sits on the couch in the corner,
catching her breath. Meanwhile, I start generating thermal energy with my
Thermokinetic Mana Heart and sending it to the places where I’m still hurt
and toward my leg. It slowly continues to grow with the help of the passive.
The old woman doesn’t ask anything or bicker with me. When I look at
her, she simply says, “I will ask later.”
With a nod, I push myself back onto my feet and turn to leave. Outside
of the house, I take a deep breath and jump over the edge of the roof,
landing on the road. I absorb the energy of my fall and start running,
transferring some of that energy into strengthening.
I head toward the Sanctuary and am close to exiting the city when I feel
a signal from Vega. It’s a signal I told her to send only if she needed help.
Disregarding the chance that the guardian will track and follow me, I
use [Tether] and teleport to the anchor.
Reappearing in our room, I find Vega in the barrier I made for her. She
is fine and holding a knife in her hand, the one I created with [Regalia]. Her
heart beats, generating kinetic energy that flows through her body.
 Slowly, I turn toward the intruders in the room.
“We were worried! We kept calling for you,” Darren says. “You didn’t
answer for close to two days, and when we tried to open the door, they were
blocked, so we got inside. The⁠—”
My skill encompasses them all: Darren, Nina, and a few men with them
too. They all freeze, unable to twitch a finger, unlike the Veil Guardian I
wasn’t able to grasp.
I glance at Vega, scared, in a battle stance in the middle of the barrier
and then at the intruders. For a short moment, I fight the urge to release just
a bit of my kinetic energy and kill them all. My already terrible mood,
which I’ve been pushing to the back of my mind with [Focus], sours even
further at this situation. Especially seeing Vega scared when I left her alone
for so long without saying anything.
A cone of kinetic energy bursts forth, about to tear the group apart, but
at the last moment, I redirect it, and it obliterates the wall to their left.
A high pitch reverberates in the air, and the wall turns to dust. “Fuck
off,” I tell them and release my hold. Without saying anything, they run
away, Darren pulling Nina behind him.
Glancing toward Vega, I cancel the barrier surrounding her. My disciple
then carefully puts the dagger away but doesn’t relax her body. She looks at
me as if expecting to get screamed at or hit.
Instead of saying anything, I just lie on the bed and close my eyes. “I
wouldn’t hurt you,” I tell her.
“I know, we made a promise,” her tiny voice says, and I hear her taking
a few steps closer to me. “Something bad happened?” I can almost feel her
eyes on my missing leg.
“Yes, a shitty day.”
Not saying anything, she just climbs onto the bed, and I move over as
she lies beside me. Understanding me better than most people here, she
doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t offer words of pity, nor does she ask any
questions. Vega just lies there, and soon enough, I hear her breathing settle
as she falls asleep. Listening to her soft breathing, I synchronize mine with
hers.
I wonder if it’s my personality causing me to be in such a mood.
Knowing myself as well as I do, I think it is. [Focus] probably added to it
by weakening most of my useless emotions.
 The Initiate of Pride could be at fault as well. No matter how I look at it,
I got screwed over by the Veil Guardian. I still don’t think subclasses affect
emotions so much as they reflect the personality of their owner. Maybe I’m
wrong; maybe one’s subclass does affect one’s personality causing one to
embody the concepts named. I won’t know for sure until a later stage.
Something touches me, and when I look to the side, I realize it’s Vega.
She’s moved closer to me in her sleep, and curled into a ball, she is
touching my side with her back. The little half-demon girl looks better than
she did at the start of the floor. She is clean, less thin, and her bruises have
all been caused by training. Once again, she is wearing clean clothes I
bought for her through the system shop.
She gets excited every time I buy her clothes, and I’ve noticed that she
keeps the older ones in a bag. They are dirty, often bloodied and torn, yet
she holds on to them as if they are some kind of treasure. The same goes for
the dagger I made in the first facility, a trash-grade uncommon item. Yet the
dagger has been carefully wrapped in a clean cloth and hidden deep in a bag
I also gave her.
Such a silly little creature.
Careful to not release any of the thermal energy I’m using for healing, I
continue to lie in the bed while cycling my mana.

It takes a few hours, but Vega slowly wakes up and stretches on the bed like
a tiny animal. She then yawns and burrows her face into the sheets before
quickly opening her eyes.
Only then does she remember where she is, realizes what she’s resting
against, and pulls away.
“I’m sorry,” she quickly blubbers and jumps off the bed.
“That’s a great offense. Shall I call you Minion for the day?”
“I’m sorry!” she repeats, not understanding the joke.
“I’m joking. You can calm down.” I comfort her in an attempt to avoid
some sort of silly trauma.
Examining my face, she accepts it as truth, and in the end, she adds,
“Master always calls me Minion, so that’s a dumb punishment.” Vega then
moves closer again. After noticing that my mood is better, she returns to her
normal self.
She is good at reading people’s moods. She had to learn to avoid
catching beatings. She also knows that I, like her, prefer when people act
honestly rather than pretending.
Her eyes examine my missing leg. “Does it hurt?”
“Not really.”
“Will Master have to live without a leg now?”
“It will regrow.”
“Is Master a gray lizard?”
“The last time I checked in the mirror, I was not a gray lizard, Minion.
What even is that?”
Her fingers poke at the skin that has grown over the wound. She looks
at me. “It’s a monster that lives in the forest near my village. They are said
to be really tasty, but they’re fast. They can regrow their legs if they lose
them.”
“Do you have healers? There are people with skills that can regrow
limbs as well.”
Vega nods. “I only heard from songs. They don’t come to the places
where people like me live.”
Of course they don’t. Something tells me that there will be much more
trouble for Lily.
“Minion, if you find a healer by chance, try to keep them for yourself as
much as you can. Learning some healing skills would be good if you get the
chance.”
“I’m Vega, but I will, Master!”
“Good. Something tells me you will need a lot of healing, the same as
me.”
My minion gives me a confused look but then glances at my leg and
probably remembers the wounds she got while training.
Understanding flashes across her face, and then determination follows.
“Will do!” she repeats, but this time, more firmly.
Smart girl.
“Did you get beaten up, Master?” Her question hits me where it hurts,
but she asks so innocently that I don’t even get too annoyed.
“A bit,” I admit.
 She turns around and rushes to her bag, taking out some food and pieces
of cloth. “That’s okay! Master will surely win the next time. As Master said,
it’s fine to lose. The winner is whoever is alive in the end!”
I have no answer for that, and she smiles at me.
After putting two pieces of the cloth on the ground, she turns to me.
“Will Master eat with me?”
“Gladly.”

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 85
ENTIRELY HONEST

Flameheart Medallion (rare)

This copper medallion can unleash a torrent of heat when fueled with
mana. Capable of projecting flames, it serves as both an offensive tool to
scorch enemies and a defensive mechanism to create barriers of heat that
deter attackers.

Edgekeeper Blade (rare)

Cycling mana through this blade dramatically enhances its sharpness,
allowing it to cleave through enemy armor and flesh.

Guardian’s Wristband (rare)

By channeling mana, this steel wristband generates an energy field that can
forcefully repel enemies and their attacks. The wristband’s protective energy
not only guards the wearer but can also be used to push opponents back
during close combat.
Beacon Pendant (rare)
When activated by mana, this brass pendant emits a blinding light. This
intense illumination can be used to momentarily blind attackers, providing
a tactical advantage by disorienting them and making it easier to land
attacks.

N
ot bad at all, if I do say so myself. I’m especially surprised by the last
one. I mostly just copied the inscriptions and the effect of an item I
found on the fourth floor. Still, it did work, even though the item I
made is much uglier and probably doesn’t even break mid-rare.
 “Minion, here, play.” I give the medallion, blade, and wristband to my
disciple. Then I sell the pendant.
Vega quickly and possessively grabs the items and rushes back into her
corner of the facility, where she continues to train her Kinetic Demon Heart
while examining the items.
Just a few hours and my limit of three days will pass, and we will leave
the Sanctuary. The plan is to head to the Bastion and maybe explore the
Valley while leveling Vega until she gets her Primary class.
Of course, the plan has changed a bit given that I spent nearly two days
out dealing with that monster that I will totally repay for everything it put
me through.
The asshole was probably as strong as the Fallen Hero or stronger. It’s
hard to measure it properly without fighting both. It’s also a hunter-type
enemy that can track and disrupt mana, with a tough body to boot.
Well, at least I took its arm and got myself a nice blade made of
Voidsteel or whatever.

Voidsteel Slicer (Epic)

The Voidsteel used in this blade is renowned for its vibration-absorbing
qualities, allowing the wielder to cut with unmatched precision and
sharpness. The Voidsteel ensures the Slicer is nearly indestructible,
effortlessly cutting through almost any material.

The blade is extremely durable and sharp. I also tested it, and it works
well with my [Resonance]. Surely it qualifies as at least a mid-epic
weapon. The only disadvantage is that it doesn’t have a handle, just a weird
metal stump that was connected to the monster’s bones, but I will deal with
that later.
I probably could melt some metal and mold it around the stump to make
a handle, but it wouldn’t be as durable as the blade. It wouldn’t be as
conductive either, and it might crack during a fight.
So for now, I will keep it as it is. I can just form some armor around my
body and hold it in a gauntlet. Simple as that.
“Master, they are ugly,” Vega says as she approaches me holding the
items I gave her. Even as she cradles them with care.
“Forgive me, Your Highness. Next time, I will remember to add some
golden filigree to fit your delicate tastes,” I reply.
 She stares blankly at first, though she smiles after a second. “Okay!”
she says before returning to her corner to continue her studies.
I’m indeed not appreciated here.
I return to the mana crystal in front of me and continue to examine it,
making sure to remember the inscriptions. I plan to use them as inspiration
in the future when I make my own evil lair. I already have a few places in
mind when I return to Earth.
One of them is the Moon. Yup, a Moon Base is on the menu! I have to
think big, don’t I?
Another idea is a floating city. If I improve my kinetic energy just a
little bit, I should be able to make a small island float, right?
Or maybe I can create my evil lair somewhere in the middle of an
ocean.
On top of a mountain, maybe? I could just decide to be a bit of an
asshole and take over a mountain range in Switzerland. Or perhaps some
nice valley in Colorado.
My options are endless.
I find it a bit amusing that there are still four years left in the tutorial,
and yet I’m already thinking about how I’ll abuse my powers after the
tutorial. Seeing the floors within the tutorial, Earth will probably have more
pressing problems than my floating city.
Feeling Darren approach once more, I sigh and place an anchor near
Vega and another near him after expanding my domain. I teleport to his
side, startling him to an acceptable degree, but he quickly calms himself
and starts observing me with that annoying skill of his.
“First, I would like to apologize. We never wanted to⁠—”
“Sure,” I cut him off.
He looks around, and Nina approaches as well. She bows her head too,
followed by the men around them. These are the people that scared Vega
and forced their way into my room. They apologize in unison.
At this point, it starts to grate on me. That’s what I get for not
appreciating Tess while I had her to deal with things. Even good old
Hadwin… Okay, that feels weird. Let’s not think any deeper about this.
“So what do you want?” I ask Darren.
He gestures at his men, and they leave, leaving him and Nina alone with
me.
 “There is something we wanted to tell you, Nathaniel.” He fixes his
clothes a bit and looks straight into my eyes. “I wanted to be entirely honest
with you about a few things.”
“Do you mean your meat farm down in the tunnels?” I ask.
His breathing quickens, and his pupils expand. I can feel the kinetic
energy as their heartbeats speed up even through their natural barrier. Their
stances shift to match.
“I hope you can understand why—” Darren starts carefully.
“Stop using that annoying skill,” I interrupt.
I don’t like the way he looks at me or the way he’s trying to read me.
Sure, I’m a hypocrite—I’m doing the same thing, after all—but I don’t feel
like I owe anything to a bunch of cannibals.
The probing sensation disappears, and the way he looks at me changes.
He starts looking a bit more unsure, as if he was trying to guess my mood or
reaction.
“We have over three thousand people here in the Sanctuary.” His voice
is but a whisper in the halls of the facility. “We wouldn’t be able to feed
everyone without constant deaths. The animals move further out over time
to avoid being killed. There are weeks when we can’t catch anything at all.”
Nina moves closer and puts her hand on her father’s shoulder.
“Trust me, if we had any other option, we’d take it. Of course,” he
emphasizes. “We only give the kids meat we sourced from hunting animals.
And the food we gave to you was always from animals.”
In this, I trust him. I checked after finding out. Well, it’s not like we ate
the food they gave us. I always threw it away.
“Does everyone know?” I ask.
Darren shakes his head. “Not everyone knows. I know what you’re
probably thinking: give people the chance to decide on their own. But,
Nathaniel, even if they knew and had a choice, it would only hurt them. I
know it’s not morally right, and I will bear full responsibility for it and the
punishment, whatever it may be. All while hoping we will find a way to go
on without doing this.”
That’s when Nina joins in. “Father likes to talk a lot, so I will say it. If
you stay here, if you help us, we believe we will be able to get by without
it. We know that you are strong, and if you would help us to hunt just a few
high-level animals once in a while, it could be enough food for weeks.”
 It almost makes me laugh. “Did that man agree to help you, or did you
force him from the start?”
Darren takes over again. “Irvin agreed at the start. He really wanted to
help, but after some time, he…partially changed his mind. So my
predecessor did what he had to. I believe Irvin could escape if he really
wanted to; I think he still wants to help us anyways.”
Finally, the man’s mask cracks a bit, showing his frustration. “I know
how shitty all of this is. I know!” he nearly shouts. “I just don’t know what
else to do. I really don’t…”
A shitty situation, indeed.
“I will be leaving in a few hours,” I tell him.
The facility becomes eerily quiet, even Vega listening to our
conversation.
With a sigh, Darren nods. “I will leave you to your things, then,
Nathaniel. Thanks for everything.”
After he leaves, I move back to the facility where Vega is waiting for
me. “It’s rude to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations,” I tell her.
“But Master does it all the time!” She looks at me, slightly confused.
“Masters can do whatever they want.” I pinch her cheek a bit. “How is
your mana orb coming?”
“It’s still very small and pale blue, but I can hold it a bit longer now.”
She forms one over her hand, showing off the results of her hard work.
At the same time, she keeps sending her mana senses into the area,
constantly wary of danger. Partially, she also does something to her Kinetic
Demon Heart.
Unlike my [Focus], which I tend to concentrate on a single thing, she
uses her [Concentration] a bit differently. Like me, she can concentrate on
a single task, and I can split my [Focus] into multiple “threads.” But Vega
seems to have a better talent for using [Concentration] on multiple things
at once. Of course, each “instance” isn’t as powerful as focusing on a single
thing, but even then, it has its advantages.
I’ve already decided not to stop her from doing so. It will be more
helpful if she does something she has talent for rather than blindly
following my advice.
“Good job.” I hand her a small mana stone. “You can train with this too.
It should help you a bit.”
 “Thanks!” She immediately takes the stone and rushes to the spot where
she keeps all her things. All carefully guarded like the hoard of an old
dragon.
I return to examining the mana crystal for the last time when the
transmitter in my pocket activates. This time, it feels weird, a bit different
from before when Darren used it.
(I hope I got your frequency correct, so answer if you hear me, Mr.
Fucked Attribute Balance.)
(That’s a rude thing to say to a cute young man, Granny,) I send back.
(My old ass is cuter than you.)
Okay, now I really feel insulted.
But she continues before I can answer. (I don’t like to waste my words,
so I will be brief. You owe me, right? Do you intend to pay me back, or
should I forget about it because it means nothing to you?)
(If you ask for too much, I will refuse, but yes, I owe you something.)
(Good. Do you remember the man they keep in the tunnel and use as
cattle? My father?)
(It’s hard to forget.)
(Good. In exchange for all the help I gave you, I want you to kill him.)
The already shitty situation became even shittier.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 86
TO PAY YOU BACK

T
aking a few steps, I reach the open circular iron door that leads to the
facility, and from where I stand, I look toward the city that is in a half-
spherical cave.
As I noticed before, there are plenty of buildings that seem much older
than the others. They are likely the original buildings of the cave. Yet even
they show the passage of time. There are scratches, and there is rust on the
surface.
There are even a few cracks on some taller ones. The newer buildings
are mostly made of wood, with some clay-like material for daubing. The
city isn’t perfectly clean; no matter how people try, there just isn’t enough
water.
People are even wearing clothes that are made from old cloth or leather.
Plenty of them are thin and scarred. Everyone seems to have something to
do, trying to be useful to keep the Sanctuary going.
And plenty of them are cannibals without ever knowing, eating meat
they think comes from the animals hunted outside.
(Why such a change of heart?) I finally ask the granny. (You seemed of a
different opinion before.)
I’m honestly curious.
(Will you do it?) she asks me instead.
I then think about it for a bit longer and answer, (I will free him and give
him the chance to kill himself. The decision will be on him.)
(Ha! Even if it means he might kill himself and most of the people will
die of hunger sooner or later?)
(Weird thing to say after what you asked of me. So is that sufficient to
pay you back?)
 (I guess I will have to live with that much. Yes, consider your debt
repaid.)
After that, the connection turns off, and I break the transmitter in my
hand and watch as pieces of it fall to the ground.
I send my mana ahead, and a thermal orb forms in front of me, which I
start to fill with golden thermal energy.
I’ve officially completed the quest to find out what’s happening in the
Sanctuary, and I’ve already gotten a thousand shards. I also filled more
tanks with water and filtered it, but that hasn’t completed the other one
asking me to help the survivors. I plan to try one more thing, but with ten
days left until the end of my three weeks with my disciple, it’s time to head
north.
“Minion, stay here for a bit, okay?” She doesn’t react, even as I say this,
totally focused on her training to the point where she isn’t even checking
her surroundings.
I would be a bit more annoyed if it wasn’t something I do myself.
Instead of trying to talk to her again, I just create a barrier in front of the
door to the facility and then use the anchor I left on the surface.
With a push of kinetic energy, I send myself high into the air and then
deeper into the forest.
[Perception] fires off as I start looking for animals. Even they are quite
abnormal. In a place where veilshriekers roam freely, only the stronger ones
have survived. Well, them and the ones that have learned to avoid them.
With the speed I’m flying at, it doesn’t take that long, and I locate the
first one.

[Berserk Boar - Level 190]

The boar detects me while I’m hovering in the air. Its eyes turn blood
red. There is no mana, and I detect it as an animal with a full physical build.
I create an anchor near its eye and send a sharp explosion of kinetic
energy through, obliterating half of its face. The monster sways, and for a
moment, it looks like it will fall, but then the wound starts healing, fully
restoring itself. I send three more piercing attacks through the monster, each
burrowing deeper into its head. There, it reaches the skull, which disperses
and reflects the attack.
 As it’s healing, its head little more than a bloody skull, the boar jumps
into the air, using its sheer strength to reach me. A single red eye glows
maniacally.
I avoid it with ease, and when the boar falls back to the ground, I
quickly create and compress a mana arrow. I boost it with kinetic energy,
and it pierces through the animal’s skull. I tried to avoid damaging the body
too much at first; there is no way I won’t show the beauty of a full mana
build to someone focused on physical stats.
The boar wobbles, healing even that wound. The feeling I get from its
body becomes even more dangerous.
With a sigh, I allow myself to settle on the ground, and my mana
radiates into the area.
[Redistribution] grabs and holds the monster, even though its strength
is nothing to scoff at.
I take a few steps, and touching its head, I release the kinetic energy
I’ve collected, exploding most of its head and the entirety of its brain.

[You have defeated Berserk Boar - Level 190]

Then I touch its body and send it through [Tether] to the anchor I left at
the main entrance to the Sanctuary.
I check the side quest, and it’s still not completed. Collecting more
kinetic energy, I lift off again, and [Perception] sends a pulse into the area.
I reduce the amount of details it collects and focus more on extending the
range. Sensing multiple presences, I fly toward them for half a minute and
land on top of one of the bigger trees.
Down in the clearing, there is a group of animals.

[Lightning Bison - Level 122]

[Lightning Bison - Level 180]
[Lightning Bison - Level 165]
[Lightning Bison - Level 198]
[Lightning Bison - Level 201]
[Lightning Bison - Level 200]
 They detect me nearly immediately but don’t seem to be too bothered.
Only two of them that are over Level 200 look at me. Projectiles form over
their bodies like arrows made of lightning and shoot toward me.
Before the projectiles even reach me, I disrupt them and continue to
observe the animals.
They are all probably twice or thrice the size of bison on Earth. Their
fur is brown with streaks of lighter brown that look like lightning. Their
horns are bigger than the horns the ones on Earth have. The horns are
transparent and look as if they have lightning trapped inside of them.
I return fire with a mana arrow as a test.
It meets with a barrier of lightning created by one of the bison, and they
all turn to me. The attacks on my position intensify, bombarding me with a
barrage of lightning, which I continue to disrupt. For a second, I activate
my trait and observe the attack and change the level of disruption I’m using,
lowering the expenditure of mana.
At one point, they destroy the tree I’m standing on, and as it falls, I hold
myself in the air. Behind me, six javelins form, and I start compressing
them, making them heavier and stronger. It’s not to the point of the javelin I
used against the Veil Guardian, but I wouldn’t call them weak, either.
The group of bison senses that, but they don’t seem to be too bothered.
Even their attacks seem halfhearted, as if they are trying to send an
annoying fly away.
It might be me hiding most of my mana or them not having to deal with
any real threats. Hell, they may be dumb as heck for all I know or waiting
for me to drop my guard.
When I feel like all six javelins are strong enough, I turn to them.
Finally sensing something, they form a domed barrier around their
group, the six of them working in unison.
Without hesitating, I release all the kinetic energy I’ve been collecting
and boost all of the javelins right after sending a disrupting wave through
the anchor I left near the bison.
The disrupting wave weakens the barrier, and the heavy and extremely
boosted javelins pierce through the rest.
Each of the mana javelins pierces through the head of one of the
monsters.

[You have defeated Lightning Bison - Level 122]

 [You have defeated Lightning Bison - Level 165]
[You have defeated Lightning Bison - Level 180]

Half of them die immediately, and only the stronger ones survive the
wound. They roar and start collecting mana, lightning flickering around
their bodies.
I use the anchor I left near them and teleport, [Regalia] forming armor
around myself while I take out the Voidsteel Slicer. [Resonance] flows
through the blade, synchronizing with it and making it even sharper and
infusing it with mana-disrupting properties. Before they even react, I
remove one of their heads.

[You have defeated Lightning Bison - Level 201]

Lightning tries to jump from its body to the blade and me, but it’s
disrupted the moment it touches the metal.
The remaining two move at surprising speed, their horns elongating and
the front of their heads emitting a shield-like barrier full of lightning.
I boost my body, dodging the attack and matching the speed of the
monsters. The blade slashes again, removing another head.

[You have defeated Lightning Bison - Level 198]

A lightning attack from the remaining bison disperses on my armor, and

I let its charge hit me. As the attack lands, I absorb the kinetic energy of the
charge, and my body doesn’t even move from the spot. More lightning
explodes all around us, tearing the ground apart and exploding the trees,
giving me goose bumps as I feel the hair on my scalp rise.
I transfer absorbed kinetic energy into strengthening my body and move
to the side and slash again.
The bison tries to block the attack, but the blade ignores all the
defenses.

[You have defeated Lightning Bison - Level 200]

 I calm down my mana and continue to search for any danger while I
step closer to the monster. For a while, I examine its body.
The skin isn’t as tough as I thought it was, and the only part that
interests me is the horns. So I take some time to remove all the horns before
using [Tether] to send them to the Sanctuary.
This time, a big chunk of my mana disappears. The expenditure isn’t as
big as if the bison were alive or if I had to deal with a natural barrier. I’ve
tried it before, but using an anchor on someone who isn’t much weaker than
me is extremely difficult. Well, it’s not like I don’t have enough mana
anyway.
When they are gone, I check the side quest again. And nothing.
With a sigh, I lift off and head toward another group of animals.

After sending through a few dozen more animals, the quest has finally been
completed, and I receive 1,000 shards. The entire time, I made sure I was
hunting them far enough at places where the survivors would never go. I
did it to avoid scaring off the animals they usually hunt.
When I use the anchor to reappear in front of the Sanctuary, the giant
doors are wide open, and it looks like the entire city is there, skinning or
moving the animals inside. They are carefully taking the skins, bones,
organs, everything. Nothing seems to go to waste.
Hundreds of people jostling about, children laughing, adults smiling.
Every one of the unknowing cannibals seems to be happy. Some of them
start to notice me and rush me with big smiles on their faces.
I quickly use another anchor and reappear near Vega. When she doesn’t
react to my presence, too focused on her training, I grab one of her small
horns and shake her head.
She doesn’t even try to push my hand away, resigned to her fate,
knowing that her best option is to hope I get bored. That amuses me even
more, and I continue to wobble and gently shake her head for an entire
minute. The way she tries to hide her annoyance makes it even more fun. To
frustrate her even more, I stop when she is reaching out to push my hand
away.
 “Minion, your awareness sucks,” I tell her. “Anyway, get ready and
pack your things. We’re about to leave. I will be back soon after dealing
with one more thing.”
My senses flow into the Sanctuary, and I quickly find Darren and Nina.
Teleporting outside of the facility where Vega is packing our stuff, I move
toward them.

OceanofPDF.com
CHAPTER 87
HEADING NORTH

A
group of ten or so people, including Darren and Nina, waits for me
near the facility that Vega and I were using. Even though most of
them seem happy, there is an awkwardness to their smiles. It deepens
even more when I reach them.
Before Darren says anything, I interrupt him with a listening finger.
“You can use that annoying skill of yours. It will make things a bit easier.”
He closes his mouth, and his forehead furrows, a hint of worry on his
face.
“I want to thank you for what you did. The amount of food you gave us
should be able to last for years,” he says carefully.
That’s true. Most of the animals I brought were higher level, and just a
little bit of their meat is enough to feed a low-level human. And that is what
most of the survivors here are.
“Good. I want you to tell everyone what they were eating all these
years.”
The smile disappears from everyone’s faces. I don’t fail to notice Nina
watching me with newfound interest. She’s the only one from the group that
seems intrigued.
“I understand where you are coming from, but we just can’t. Even
though the food we have will last for years, the time will come when we
will need…”
His words die off in the tunnel as he uses his skill. His face gradually
pales. He shifts uncomfortably and tries to say something, but no words
come out of his mouth.
I speak in his place. “Darren, I’m this close,” I gesture with my hand,
“to killing everyone standing here. This fucking close to dyeing the walls of
this shitty bunker with your flesh and blood.”
His face pales further even though I’m not even releasing any mana or
threatening him otherwise.
I take a step toward him. “I will go to check on the man down in the
tunnels. I will free him and give him the opportunity to kill himself if he
wishes to do so. Or he can leave and fight you guys. If he really wants to,
he can stay down there. It’s up to him.”
Darren’s mouth opens and closes. He probably wants to say something
about children or women. People dying without food. The same old bullshit.
But I don’t care. They should know. Then they can kill Darren for doing
this to them if they wish to. Or they can embrace what they were doing and
continue doing so, becoming savages. What’s important is the choice
Darren never gave them.
“Sounds good, right, Darren? So meanwhile, while I’m down there with
your surprise meat supplier, you will go and talk to everyone in the
Sanctuary.”
The only one from the group with a different expression from the others
is Nina. She looks relieved. Is this something she’s always wanted to do
without ever finding the courage?
Looking at them one last time, I place an anchor as far as I can and
repeat it a few times until I teleport down to the tunnels. Irvin sits there on
the bed as before, surrounded by blood and pieces of his limbs in the corner.
“One grumpy granny sends her greetings, a Vitalist. Now that I think
about it, I never asked for her name,” I tell him while taking a few steps
toward him.
He doesn’t react at all for a while, so I start examining the silver collar
on his neck.
The collar looks extremely delicate, yet it’s surprisingly tough and
covered in a web of inscriptions. There is no mana stone or anything else.
It’s just mana-conductive metal that takes mana from its wearer and uses it
to produce some sort of disrupting effect.
As I examine the collar, the man speaks, to my surprise. “Her name is
Valery. She is my daughter.”
“Huh, really? She looks much older than you.”
His eyes cloud, and he smiles as if remembering something funny. “She
never cared about her appearance, nor has she ever tried to use her skills in
that way. Always thought of others first.”
 He then looks at me. “There is no use. Darren destroyed the key long
ago, and without it, you won’t be able to⁠—”
“Done!” I say, and the collar opens with a soft click.
Shortly, I check the item.

Null Collar (Epic)

Actively disrupts the wearer’s magical attempts and skills, using absorbed
mana to diminish both magical potency, strength, and dexterity.

“How? Just how?!”

“What do you mean? It was affecting your mana and stats, not mine. I
just needed to find a few switches and deactivate it. It wasn’t that difficult.”
“There is no way…” He shakes his head. “You wasted your time. I’m
not going anywhere.”
I move the thermal orb I had been filling for a long time and let it float
in the air in front of him.
While he looks at it, I explain. “If you touch the orb, it will release all of
its energy. It should be able to kill you just fine.”
Even while talking to him, I observe the collar. It’s as good an item as I
thought it would be. A really nice reward and either an upper epic or close
to it.
“Did you help me and remove the collar just so you could keep it?” the
man asks.
I ignore his question. “Your daughter’s helped me and my disciple a few
times, so I’m helping her in exchange, and you by extension. You now have
multiple options. You can stay here and continue what you were doing. You
can go out and kill Darren and others to get revenge. You can escape and
find your daughter. Or you can just die if you can’t live with memories of
what happened.” I glance at the thermal orb floating in the air.
I take a few steps away from him. “Take your time if you want. The
Sanctuary now has enough food to last them for a few years and find a
different way. And around now, everyone should be learning what they
were eating.”
“How could you…” The man’s voice is quiet, without any energy. “Do
you know how many people might die because of what you have done?”
 There being no need for more words, I take one of the transmitters I
stole and copy the frequency Granny used to contact me. Then I throw the
transmitter to the man. Before he can answer, I teleport to my disciple.
Our stuff is already packed, and even Vega is ready. I take the bags and
throw them over my shoulders.
Vega comes closer and lifts her arms so I can lift her onto my chest.
With a sigh, I do so, and she puts her ear against my chest while I boost
my body and move through the tunnels. Much faster than if she had to run.
The tunnels are empty, not a single human there; all of the presences I
can feel are in the main cave where Darren, Nina, and others who knew
about the tunnel stand and talk to the people. There is screaming, there are
tears, and some of them are even throwing up. Mana fills the air, and
weapons have been drawn.
I reach the entrance to the Sanctuary without being bothered and use
mana arms to unlock the door and then carefully channel kinetic energy to
force it open. The massive iron door slowly opens, and I exit, closing it
behind me in the same fashion.
An hour later, I’m still flying, and there is no kill notification for the
man down in the tunnels.
“Master, I want to learn to fly too,” Vega says.
We are high in the air, flying toward the north. I’m flying much slower
than I’m capable of to avoid hurting her. I also get to enjoy the view this
way. Currently, we are over a cloud bank watching the sunset. As far as I
can see there are only clouds, lit in beautiful golden light. Even after all this
time, it feels somewhat unreal and beautiful.
“Maybe at around Level 150 or 200, you will start flying.” I slow down
and float there.
The eyes of the little half-demon are wide open; she’s still not used to
flying, and she holds on to me like a baby koala. She’s looking around,
taking it all in.
“From so high, everything looks so small and our problems seem
unimportant, right?” I move us lower, and we pass through the clouds and
stop right under.
As far as I can see, there are mountains, hills, giant trees, and valleys.
Once in a while, there are even ruined cities from before the war. And all of
it seems so small.
“I’m not even Level 20,” Vega complains.
 “There is something we can do about that.” I lower us and float toward
the spot where I sense movement.
And it’s as expected. The most terrifying enemy. The animals with the
worst curse. Bambi’s curse. A group of ten deer rests on the small clearing
while two more keep watch. The guards are sending their mana senses into
the forest surrounding them while their antlers shine with a pale blue color.
They are called Windrider Deer, and all of them are around Level 20.
That surprises me a bit, to see how low-level they are. So I fly around a bit,
and only then do I notice that the entire forest where they are is
encompassed in inscriptions that work like the granny’s setup. These
inscriptions don’t seem to be directed at humans so much as they are
monsters and other animals.
Oh my, did we cross into someone’s farm?
“Minion, what do you think about stealing?”
She blinks a few times and then says carefully while gauging my
reaction, “If Master is fine with…”
“Yup, totally fine.”
“I don’t mind it at all!” She then looks around. “What are we going to
steal?”
“We have a few monsters for you to play with. There is something
called Bambi’s curse, and it’s likely to be passed from master to disciple,
knowing the system. So it’s good for you to get experience facing this sort
of monster.”
“C-curse?”
I keep us afloat, maintaining our view of the herd of deer and make my
voice deeper. “It all started with a single fucking deer that a girl called Tess
killed. Disciple, let me tell you, even though I had no prior experience
skinning an animal, I believe I did very well. Yet ever since that day, this
curse has been something I’ve had to live with…”

The last deer falls dead, and along with it, Vega slides against a tree.
Wounds cover her body, her heart is beating wildly, and there is barely any
mana left inside of her.
 “I can choose a Primary class now, Master. I did it…” she gets out in
between gasps for air. Even though she is so wounded, she is happy.
“You stopped checking your surroundings,” I remind her again.
I can see how difficult it is for her right now, but a trickle of mana
extends from her as she starts examining her surroundings again.
Her smile starts to disappear from her face when I add, “Otherwise,
very good job.”
“Thank you!” The smile brightens her face again immediately.
“I especially liked how you dealt with the fifth one. Cutting off a piece
of its antler and gouging out its eye with it was a nice move.”
“The antler was very conductive, Master! I was able to extend my mana
inside of its head!”
“Yes, I noticed that. It also scared the sixth deer, so that’s a bonus.”
“It did?”
“Yes, when you did that, the deer stopped attacking you and went on the
defensive, and that was a mistake.”
“Oh, I see now!”
“Anyway, for now, go through your Primary classes, and when you are
done, you will tell me what you think is the best option. We will then go
over the options, and you will try to defend your choice.”
“Yes!”
“Meanwhile, I will do a bit of skinning and try to smoke some meat.”
“Please be careful not to strengthen the curse, Master!” Vega warns me
before going through the options.

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CHAPTER 88
THE BASTION

W
e unlocked our primary classes after entering the second floor. For
me, it was around Level 24, if I remember correctly. Vega got
offered hers at Level 20.
“I like Kinetic Channeler and Ether Warrior the most!” my disciple says
in the end.
She gets to choose between five classes, unlike the ten I was offered,
and that makes me wonder. Do those choices reflect things she’s done? Or
is there a difference between going through the tutorial and leveling with
the normal system?
“You like Kinetic Channeler the most because it’s connected to your
demon heart?” I ask her.
“Yes!” she says without hesitation.
Damn weirdo demons, half-demons, and their obsession with hearts.
Vega continues, “I like what Master told me before! I want to learn how
to make an atomic bomb. Mana Channeler sounds nice too, but I like using
my body more.”
“Do you like Kinetic Channeler because you hope it will help you learn
how to fly quicker?” I ask again.
“Yes!” Once again, she answers without hesitation.
I can only sigh at that. In the end, she wants to master kinetic energy.
During the fight with the deer, she used it for a split second to try to push
one of the deer away. She failed, but ever since, she’s been practicing and
trying to replicate it.
It’s not a bad choice either. The class will probably synergize well with
her heart. She could use kinetic energy for attacks like me and maybe even
learn to absorb kinetic energy without needing to use [Redistribution].
 Vega also has enough talent to do multiple things at once, so she could
find a way to synchronize it with her skills.
As for [Mana Manipulation], well, she has [Concentration] too. So
just these two skills could be enough to allow her to create mana bombs or
try to learn a skill similar to [Armament].
“Okay, pick Kinetic Channeler.”
With a big smile, she does just that and continues to read the
notifications and her status.
“I got a rare passive called Kinetic Storage, Master! Rare!” She tries to
move and jump to her feet, but her wounds stop her, and she squeaks in
pain. Yet she is still smiling. “My active skill is Kinetic Barrier, and I even
got five points to mana and two to every other stat!”
That sounds like a defensive skill, surprisingly, but damn, Kinetic
Storage sure sounds good. I should look for a similar epic passive later.
Even though I got Mana Reservoir so long ago I still consider it the
strongest epic passive I have. If the passives have low, mid, and upper
grading like items, then Mana Reservoir is for sure upper.
“We will test them later; for now, rest.”
Then, even though I told her to get some rest, I watch as she starts
testing her skills. I’m not even surprised.
She uses her Kinetic Barrier, and this creates a thin, skin-tight layer over
her skin. Vega takes out a knife and prods at the barrier with the handle. I
watch as the barrier gives a bit, and when I activate my Mana Wavelength
Iris, I can see how the “attack” disperses. Some of the attack’s energy even
seems to be absorbed by what I think is her passive.
At the moment, I think the passive works like my Mana Reservoir and
will allow her to store and use stored kinetic energy for attacks. In the
future, she could use it to strengthen her body or maybe do something with
her heart.
So far, so good. What she lacks is a ranged attack, but we will try to do
something about that.
I leave her to her training and open the Community.

Savant (Hell, Alone) - No, I won’t tell you how I cleared the fourth
floor.
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - Oh, come on!
Knight (Hell, group 4) - As if you didn’t expect that answer.
 NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - We just need Noname to beat up Savant
during the tournament. I bet that will make Savant a bit less cocky.
Savant (Hell, Alone) - You’re free to try. I don’t mind if you attack
me all at once either.
NotAaron (Hell, group 4) - Ha! You just cleared the fourth floor,
and we have been on the fifth one for nearly two weeks already!
Sset (Hell, group 4) - NotAaron, don’t forget that it means Savant
killed one of the Calamities alone.
Savant (Hell, Alone) - Why would I only kill one Calamity?
NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - Well, fuck.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Mana is the best stat.
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Food is not a stat, Biscuit.
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - FOOD!

What?! Really?

Savant (Hell, Alone) - At least that corgi makes more sense than
some of the group 4 members.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - How do you like the fifth floor so far?
Savant (Hell, Alone) - Not very much, to be honest. I’m still waiting
for my disciple, so I can gauge things properly.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - I think you will be surprised.

I let group 4 bully Savant a bit longer and then disconnect from the
Community. That reminds me that I should probably check Easy and other
difficulties once in a while. There could be more information to be had.
I glance toward the deer meat hanging on sticks made of mana. I’ve
placed a few thermal orbs nearby in an attempt to dry the meat. It probably
won’t be as good as properly smoked meat, but I used some spices I
brought from the fourth floor, so it shouldn’t be terrible. Sure, it’s not like
we are lacking food at the moment, but it’s fun to try.
Just like my disciple, I refuse to slack off, so I’m examining my body,
trying to figure out how to use black mana more. I’ve also been keeping a
small orb of black mana at my side at all times. I force it under my [Mana
Domain] and keep trying to learn more.
 A few days ago, before the fight with the Veil Guardian, I did another
round of active tempering, which gained me fifteen stats in constitution,
five in dexterity, and five in strength. One point in mana too. That made me
even happier.
My stats are looking nice as always:

Level 218
Strength: 108
Dexterity: 106
Constitution: 261
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 856 + 856

I also have close to 12,000 shards that I’ve decided to keep. I don’t
know what awaits me in the Valley or in the Bastion, so I want to have them
ready. It also might be a good idea to start saving them for a time when I
can buy items and passives of higher than epic rarity.
My pinkie cracks and twists, a rush of mana tearing it apart as I lose
control for a moment while trying to control the black orb.
As quickly as I can, I reduce my output and check on Vega. Thankfully,
she seems fine. I got hurt even with my passives and control because of the
amount of mana I’m using, so I’d rather be careful. I start again, more
carefully this time.
Both of us spend a few hours training like that until I collect some of the
food and pack it.
Vega lifts her arms in the air, and I grab her under the armpits and lift
her onto my chest, where she nestles her head against my chest. Once in a
while, her tiny horn pokes my chin or neck, but I decide to let it go.
Examining the map etched onto the small mana stone, I fly toward the
Bastion. I avoid the places marked as dangerous zones—the domains of
strong monsters, ruins of old cities with active weapons, or places where the
Veil is particularly active. Some of the places I’m avoiding are as big as
small countries, zones where Champion-level opponents clashed, the only
things left behind mana radiation and remnants of skills.
I mean, damn, even after a hundred years or something like that, these
places are dangerous enough to kill people. They probably aren’t dangerous
to more powerful individuals, but it’s still telling. If given the opportunity, I
should check on them without Vega present.
 Our flight continues like that until we reach the mountain behind which
the Bastion lies. I notice Vega starting to get cold, so I generate and release
a small amount of thermal energy, and that makes her cling to me even
more.
When I meet her eyes, she averts her gaze. “I’m sorry, Master.” She
weakens her hold a bit.
“I don’t mind,” I tell her.
Her ruby-colored eyes shine for a moment, and she holds me tighter
again. She is just like a little animal. A baby koala clinging to her mother.
I’m not too dumb to understand that.
Vega has grown up on the streets alone. She is half-demon, and most of
the humans in her village hated her for it. She doesn’t have anyone to rely
on. And she’s what? Six years old? She’s just a little kid. It makes sense that
she’s starved for warmth.
She reminds me a little of Lily, who has similar tendencies, and that
makes me wonder if Lily doesn’t have a similar past. At this point, I
wouldn’t even be surprised if all of group 4 were a bit twisted like that.
Everyone other than me, of course. I’m the most normal person here. It’s
the rest of group 4 that just can’t stop being scary.
As I’m thinking about these things, I pass over one of the larger rocks
and finally catch sight of the Bastion. Just as Nina described it in our
conversations.
The Bastion is what used to be called a Skyhold Bastion, a floating
island if you will. An island big enough to house around fifty thousand
people. Skyhold Bastions were mostly used for war before the collapse or
as guild halls for powerful guilds. Some even served as houses for the rich.
Very few pieces of information were left behind, and there’s barely
anyone left from before the war. And all of it was caused by the Veil.
So there it is, the Bastion. It has fallen to the ground, nestled in between
two mountains, one of which has partially collapsed onto the city. The
stones have buried around twenty percent of the Bastion.
The base of this floating island is a perfect half-sphere with giant
circuits on the bottom and countless smaller ones. Even from afar, I can see
that the circuits are made from a different, crystalline material while the rest
of the base is made of white stone.
There are even a few of the original buildings left standing in the
Bastion, a tower in the middle and a few more all over the fallen island.
There are a lot of structures built by the people who currently live there, and
most of them have been made of wood or stone.
The entire Bastion is slightly tilted to the left, and even from our
distance, its presence feels overwhelming.
Yes, there are people dozens or hundreds of times stronger. People with
skills, items, and other stuff. So building something like this probably isn’t
as impossible a task as it would be on Earth. But still, it’s hard to take it all
in. The Bastion’s diameter is probably on par with the length of Central
Park or the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s hard to say.
I glance at Vega, who can’t stop staring at it. Her mouth drops open and
her eyes widen. It’s a funny sight, so I etch it into my memory.
When I look around, there doesn’t seem to be anything too interesting.
Ahead sit a few more mountains and a grassy plain with a few trees leading
up to the Bastion. To the right stand still more mountains, and behind them,
I can sense immense mana. Yup, even as far away as I am, I can feel the
mana from the Valley.
When I activate my eyes, I can see it, a dark cloud or thick mist that
hangs inertly over the Valley, which is multiple times the size of the
Bastion. And the sheer density of that mana is something else.
I poke Vega. “Keep checking your surroundings, Minion. And you
forgot to control your heart. Try to not get hurt.”
“Maybe I got Bambi’s curse, just like Master!” the little half-demon
says smugly.
I notice that she starts doing what I told her and scanning our
surroundings.
As a reward, I poke her squishy cheek. “It doesn’t work like that.
Anyways, let’s check the Bastion.”
“Yes!”

The story continues in Hell Difficulty Tutorial 4!

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