Chapter 59: Choose your primary ss
"Hey, Maya. Don''t tell me you''re still butthurt."
It doesn''t work and her eyes are calm as she takes a step.
Then a stone as big as my head flies at her, hitting her chest at full speed. Only her skill saves her from a terrible wound.
She flies through the air and rolls on the ground a few times, while lightning crackles around her body, seemingly ignoring her armament.
A scream escapes from her mouth.
What''s most surprising is that she wasn''t able to dodge it at all, even with her high dexterity. That is how fast the stone flew.
"Not a single step more!" Tess nearly screams, and it feels as if the ground is shaking and the stones spin around her faster than before.
She turns to Sophie and points her finger at her vehemently.
"Sophie, I swear, if you try something, you''ll be the first to go. I''ll be able to sense that much." Tess points at the brte, who pushes her sister behind her back and then just lifts her hands up in the air defensively.
"Tess, you can''t be serious. That guy is freaking crazy." Hadwin steps closer, and I feel mana activating in his body, as he is about to disrupt Tess''s skill.
He takes another step, and two stones hit him in quick session. He flies even further than Maya and quickly gets back on his legs, seemingly only slightly hurt.
"Crazier than you all? Don''t talk such nonsense, Hadwin. Tell me, what happened to Damon? To Dominic, to Jacob?"
One more stone flies at Hadwin and hits him again, making him fly and roll even further on the grass.
His groan sounds more painful this time, and he tries to get back on his feet.
"Keep your goddamn ass on the ground, or you''ll get some more," Tess hisses sharply, and the older man stops moving.
Darn, it.
What the hell!
Why are you so cool?
"Tess, I think Sophie is trying to use her skill," I say, and the named girl instantly puts her hands higher and screams.
"Bullshit! I''m not doing anything!"
It almost makes me smile, seeing all of them like this.
"Stop, Nathaniel. I know you''d like to get rid of them, but at least wait until we find out what the second floor is about, okay? I don''t like it any more than you do, but we might all need each other."
I guess that''s it.
Survival > revenge.
Let''s not get emotional and destroy useful tools just because of some hurt feelings from someone trying to kill me. Dangerous, annoying, and sometimes not even that useful tools.
Yup.
For now.
Sure, it feels as if I am only postponing it further and ying with fire, but that''s the situation we are in and unlike them, it seems that I can control myself much better.
Still, Maya seems to want to take revenge for me beating her, probably by only beating me as well. I do not feel much bloodthirst from her. Sophie wants to turn me into one of her pets or pawns that will keep her and her sister safer. The problem is Hadwin. The older man seems to be seriously considering killing me.
First I need to acquire more information about the second floor. What if its the ce where I absolutely need as many people as possible?
I check the surroundings with my perception, but I don''t sense anything.
So now, let''s check out the notifications.
<strong>Congrattions! You have cleared the 1st floor of the Hell difficulty tutorial. Wee to the second floor: Mana-Infused Kingdom.</strong>
<strong>Congrattions! You can now choose your primary ss. Your offered choices are based on your performance up until now in the tutorial.</strong>
<strong>You have acquired one skill upgrade token.</strong>
<strong>You have acquired one skill point.</strong>
<strong>You can now use Community, with a time limit of 10 minutes per 24 hours.</strong>
<strong>You have acquired 5 stat points.</strong>
Well, darn, that''s a lot.
Something pokes me and I look down at the doggo.
Sorry, Biscuit, I barely have cloth to cover my rear end. Where do you think I''d be hiding more food?
Also, please stop; it hurts when you bump into my leg. Only my mana strengthening is keeping me awake.
I get back to it and invest the 5 stat points I got, three into mana and two into constitution, through my clenched teeth. I want more mana. I need more mana!
Then, I check my skills:
<em><strong>Focus - Lvl 10</strong></em>
<em><strong>Mana Maniption - Lvl 10</strong></em>
<em><strong>Mana Perception - Lvl 9</strong></em>
<em><strong>Oscition - Lvl 5</strong></em>
<em><strong>Kic Redistribution - Lvl 8</strong></em>
<em><strong>Armament - Lvl 2</strong></em>
"…"
Okay, I expected only <strong>[Mana Maniption]</strong> at level 10 so this makes it difficult to decide.
Let''s think about it a bitter; now, I want to see my sses first!
<strong>Well done! You sessfully entered the second floor. You can now select one of the sses. The sses are based on your actions and performance up until now within the Tutorial.</strong>
<strong>Choose with caution!</strong>
<strong>Force Adept:</strong>
<em>A novice ss that harnesses the power of various forces, allowing the user to control and manipte energy and momentum duringbat, benefiting from their strong affinity with mana.</em>
<strong>Mystic Tamer:</strong>
<em>A novice ss that uses their magical affinity tomunicate with, control, and enhance magical creatures, forming bonds and empowering their allies.</em>
<strong><em>Ether Warrior:</em></strong>
<em>A novice ss that blends martial prowess with basic magical abilities, creating a versatilebat style that relies on both physical strength and innate magical energies.</em>
<strong>Mana Channeler:</strong>
<em>A novice ss that centers on the cirction of mana within the body, leveraging the user''s innate talents to reinforce their physical attributes and refine theirmand over magic.</em>
<strong>Mana Striker:</strong>
<em>A novicebatant who channels their innate magical energies into powerful physical attacks, enhancing their strength and agility in battle.</em>
<strong>Force Archer:</strong>
<em>A novice ss in which the user employs their magical abilities to enhance their archery skills, creating powerful force-based projectiles.</em>
<strong>Kic Defender:</strong>
<em>A novice ss that specializes in mitigating the force of iing attacks, providing protection for themselves and their allies by subtly manipting energy and momentum.</em>
<strong>Focus Ascendant:</strong>
<em>A novice ss that underscores the value of mental concentration, empowering the user to augment their magical prowess, maintain focus duringbat, and increase their ability to rapidly adapt to changing situations in battle.</em>
<strong>Mana Scout:</strong>
<em>A novice ss thatbines their mana perception skills with stealth and tracking, allowing the user to locate hidden enemies, magical items, and areas of high magical concentration.</em>
<strong>Mystic Armorer:</strong>
<em>A novice ss that focuses on creating and reinforcing equipment with magical properties, enabling the user to fashion basic magical weapons and armor as well as enhance existing gear.</em>
O-Okay, this list seems even longer. Are 10 offered sses good, normal, or bad? Are these sses any good?
I look around again to distract myself a bit, and it seems that everyone is doing the same as me - picking their sses, everyone except Lily, who is looking into the air with an empty look in her eyes. Her hand is touching me, and I feel warm mana healing my wound.
What should I do? I''m terrible at stuff like this.
What can I even say?
It will be fine? You didn''t mean to blow off your friend''s head? It''s not your fault?
Sigh.
Even my stance towards her has changed a bit. Her skill is that terrifying.
How is it even possible to hurt a level 26 "named" monster with a level one skill?
Are there tiers of skills? Can it be that some skills are just so much stronger?
I don''t know.
I want to know.
While looking around, I see that Kim takes a nce at Lily, and his eyes are full of hate.
This could be a problem.
He and Kevin were best pals back on the first floor.
My eyes meet his, and after a second he turns away. I need Lily, so you don''t dare put your hand on her. That''s what I try to tell him wordlessly.
Then, once again, I feel someone bumping my leg.
<em>(Food?)</em>
"…"
Gosh darn it, Biscuit! Do you want to eat my leg or what?
He senses my mood and stops, then runs towards Hadwin, who is still sitting down on his rear end. I watch as he starts booping the older man, and then hear a short scream from him.
"What the fuck!"
Oh, can you hear Biscuit now too? Wee to the club.
Tess moves closer to me.
"We can''t join themunity. It says the person with the highest level from the group needs to enter it first."
Huh?
That must be me, I guess.
"Did you pick your ss already?"
"Yes, I will tell you more when we have fewer people listening."
Sounds good to me.
Okay, let''s do it like this: first, I will check themunity, then I will upgrade my skill - maybe I will get offered more sses after doing it, or maybe the ones I have will change.
As for the Community, there might be useful information on sses there.
"Community," I say and I get the notification.
<strong>Congrattions onpleting the Floor quest for the 1st Floor. </strong>
<strong>You belong to group 4 in the Hell difficulty tier of the 5th tutorial round. </strong><strong>As the highest-leveled one in your group, please select a name for your group prior to essing themunity, as well as an alias for your own use on the forum.</strong>
I pause and with a long sigh, I close my eyes, my<strong> [Mana Perception]</strong> still watching people around me and scanning asrge an area around as I can.
Then I read it again, and again, and again.
What the heck, system?
What''s your problem?