"What?" Everyone looked at me in shock as they received their own notifications.


    "Did you guys misunderstand something? Did you really think that the System would be so crazy as to pit us against each other for no reason? Or kill me if I failed?"


    "What do you mean?" Mille said, her body still shaking from the failed technique that would have used her life force and not just Mana.


    "I mean, the only punishment for me failing this quest is that I would have to stay here in the cabin until completing the next challenge. I didn''t plan to kill you all over this."


    "But you killed the gremlin!" David exclaimed.


    "Yeah. And he still has some revival points, doesn''t he?"


    "So do I..." the man added quietly.


    I shrugged. "You can consider it a sort of punishment for the misbehavior of his kids."


    "You really scared us there," Arabella said as she sighed with relief.


    "So what''s next?" Constantin said. "I had a hunch that you wouldn''t really just slaughter us to achieve your goals, unless there''s no other way. I assumed the System might tell you that you had to complete the challenge to survive, or at the very least, gave you a big incentive. But it seems that wasn''t the case."


    "Yeah, I just wanted to watch you in action, and let me say you''re not half bad. The gremlin was the one who gave me a real surprise. He would be a menace on the battlefield. By the way, Ms. Cardinal, how much did the System help you? It seems you didn''t use any of the Skills or other powers."


    "Unfortunately, I could only use it to add to my attributes. I couldn''t even get an Archetype," Mille said. "And without an Archetype, no Skills. Though, at the very least, I got some good equipment," she pointed to her daggers.


    I nodded to myself before asking, "Are you not a bit pissed that the System evaluated you as weaker than that lord of poison, despite you having a higher level?"


    "Not at all. While I am confident that I would have killed him in battle, I can''t deny that his ability is more powerful in general."


    "Or maybe the System just realized my plan and decided to play along," I added. "After all, if you were the one without a barrier, I wouldn''t be able to kill him without killing you first. And then you would realize way too soon that I wasn''t fighting you seriously. That wouldn''t go well and wouldn''t show me the true extent of your abilities. But next time, maybe try not to be so desperate to sacrifice your life."


    "That technique I was about to use has a 10% survival rate, and those who survive it end up even stronger. The result depends on willpower and luck... and I have no lack of either."


    "Well, whatever. Now you guys are safe. Is there anyone among you crazy enough to stay with me for the next challenge? You can leave if your mission is already accomplished, but I decided to complete all nine rotations," I said.


    "And so do I," Arabella said, to my surprise. But I wasn''t the only one shocked by her revelation. "Or rather... I have no choice, but to complete all the challenges."


    "Wow, did the System force you into the Madness difficulty?" Mille said, looking at the other girl with pity.


    "Force me? Why? No. I chose it. As soon as the System gave me the choice, I knew that I either reach the apex or die trying—just like showbiz; it''s survival of the fittest."


    "The fittest, you say? More like the luckiest." I shook my head. "The System says it itself—it''s not exactly fair. It just wants to force a bunch of people into impossible situations and see how many survive. How do you think it works? Let''s say ten million people on the planet choose Madness. Though some would be forced into it, like those who defy the ''normal rules,''" I pointed at Mille and Constantin. "And then among those who made this choice, with or without any serious achievements, some would just be luckier than others. In the end, only a few would survive. If you flip a coin, there''s a 50% chance for tails and heads. But if 10 million people throw the coin, someone among them could hit heads 50 times in a row, not because they are special, but just because that''s how big numbers work. And all other of your qualities? They wouldn''t be nearly as important as this dumb luck."


    "It seems you don''t understand how I think," Arabella said with a faint smile. "My life was never easy, and my starting point was at the bottom. And yet, I worked hard my entire life to become someone worthy of recognition. In the end, I defeated all my competition and used everything I could to become the girl on the billboard. A celebrity. An idol, some would say. Some would badmouth me, and others would admire me, but no one would be neutral about me. I earned fame, I earned money, and I achieved what most people couldn''t even dream of."


    She continued after a grave pause. "And now everything is gone. In this new reality, would anyone care about some Hollywood actress? No. As soon as that mysterious message appeared, I knew that life as we knew it before had ended. Everything I achieved before no longer mattered—its only value was in the 500,000 temporary points I earned and spent."


    "Wow! That''s... a lot?" I raised my brow. That was more than everyone else on my team combined. And then some. And then some more. No wonder she had advanced so fast in such a short period of time.


    "If I have to live as mediocrity, as someone whose fate lies in another person''s hands, I would rather die. And I think I have way higher chances to succeed than most who choose this option."


    I smirked as nodded towards the Cardinal. "Yeah, yeah, girl. And now look at this one. Her name is Mille, and she can kill you a hundred times in ten seconds. That''s your competition."


    "C''mon man, she''s also a fierce girl," Antipucker added. "Arabella, right? Do you want to try the best sword in the world? I''ll show you the peak!"


    She looked at the hilt in confusion. "Calm down, bro," my finger tapped on the hilt.


    "Now that I think about it, you didn''t explain why your sword hilt talks," Arabella said. "Did you get it from the System?"


    "Who are you calling ''it''?" the sword bristled. "I am he, I am a man, the all-powerful Archblade Omnislayer! I put all other men to shame!"


    "Okay, Antipucker. Shut up," I said. "So, does anyone else want to stay? We don''t have much time left before the cabin reaches the ground."


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I want to... uh..." the male participant said hesitantly as he gave Arabella a guilty look.


    "Why are you looking at me like this?" Arabella said. "I don''t care if you stay or not, David."


    "But if I stay here, won''t your challenges be easier?" he asked.


    "Do you have any revival points left?" I asked.


    "Only one."


    I paused for a moment. I could try to convince him to stay, maybe ask Arabella to use her charms on him. But honestly, I doubted the difference would be that much. After all, the System obviously tried to screw me over.


    Before I could make a decision, Arabella opened her mouth. "You can leave now. But then I''ll know for sure that you''re just a coward. I don''t want someone who lacks courage to be a part of our team. I don''t need icompetents by my side. I tolerated you and your group long enough. If you can''t be helpful, then it''s time we go our separate ways."


    "I am not a coward!" David objected.


    The girl looked right into his eyes. "You can leave if you want, but think about what''s next? If you stay here now and survive, you will advance by leaps and bounds. Just think about what kind of reward awaits you. Honestly, that''s your best shot at surviving until the end of the Tutorial and leaving it with some actual power. And if that''s going to be the case, then I will see a reason to continue our cooperation. David, make your choice and make it carefully."


    He closed his eyes for a moment before his face filled with resolution. "I will stay. Even if I won''t do much, at the very least, this should lessen the burden on you all."


    "You?" I looked at the vampire pair.


    "We will leave," Constantin said. "Our levels aren’t low enough to decrease the challenge. If anything, our presence would make it harder. As the System just showed, it doesn’t pull its punches with you. I’m sure you’ll survive, Mr. Wyatt, but the risk of us becoming scapegoats is too high. It’s not worth it."


    "Fine by me," I said. "See you later. Just wait until I complete the challenge—I’ll have some questions about you vampires."


    I thought the conversation was over until Eleanor—the silent woman who kept her face and body hidden—tugged at Constantin’s sleeve, shaking her head vigorously.


    "What? You want to say something, Eleanor?"


    She started gesturing. If it was sign language, it wasn’t one I recognized—not that I knew much about it.


    "You don’t want to leave? You want to stay?" Constantin frowned. "You realize how dangerous this is, right?"


    She nodded.


    "You’re staying no matter what?" He sighed. "If something happens to you, how do I explain it to the Elders? Are you sure I can’t convince you?"


    She shook her head.


    The vampire exhaled heavily. "I guess I can’t force you. Fine, I’ll leave you under his care." He turned to me. "Sorry, Mr. Wyatt. It seems Eleanor has made up her mind, and I doubt I can change it."


    "She’s a capable fighter, from what I saw. It’s not such a big deal. And she’s a big girl already—she should know the risks."


    "Yeah... a big girl. Right," Constantin muttered, glancing at Eleanor with a complicated expression. "I suppose she knows what she’s doing. Who am I to stop her?" His tone was uncertain, like he wasn’t entirely convinced himself.


    Eleanor tapped his shoulder gently, looking at him with something between reassurance and apology. Constantin sighed again, rubbing his temple before finally relenting.


    "Alright, take care, everyone," Constantin said with a bitter smile. "Looks like I’m the only one leaving. Guess I’m too old to take risks with you young people."


    "Yeah, too bad," Mille said. "I was hoping to sacrifice you if things went south."


    I shook hands with the vampire. Moments later, he opened the door, and Space Mana whisked him away as the cabin reached the lowest point of its rotation.


    Now, I was left with four people—two relatively combat-ready, two not so much. But supposedly, their presence would make the challenge easier.


    "I don’t know about you guys, but I really need to recover my powers. Who knows what’s coming next?" I said, settling down by the fireplace. Despite looking like a normal wooden cabin, there was no furniture here. "Wouldn’t a couch be nice? We’re spending half the ride just waiting to reach the top. The System sure is stingy."


    The Aether density here was about the same as in most of the Tutorial zone, which was disappointing compared to the density at the peak of the Ferris wheel. But beggars can''t be choosers. It could have been much worse if it were close to none, like back on Earth. I watched the fire flicker, its flames fluctuating with Space Mana.


    After a few minutes, Mille joined me on the floor. "What an interesting technique you use to replenish Mana," she commented. "I haven''t seen anything like it before." She tried to mimic me, taking the same pose and attempting to guide the Aether to her midsection, but, of course, she struggled to achieve any success. Even if she had her Mana Sense, it couldn''t compare to mine. In fact, it was quite lacking compared to a typical cultivator at her level back in Luminosa.


    There was also the difference—Fighters had worse Mana Sense than Casters, and Primalists were superior to both at the same tier. As for Mille, she barely qualified as a Tier 4 Mana Fighter in this regard. I guessed her type of Aether cultivation wasn''t great for developing one''s spirit.


    "Just use the method that feels familiar to you, Mille. Trying to mimic me won''t help you short-term," I advised.


    "If you don’t mind, can I ask what you two are doing?" Arabella asked. By this point, the quiet vampire had also joined us on the floor, though amusingly, she lay down in a pose reminiscent of a corpse. I wondered if vampires needed to cultivate too, and if they did, did they do it in sarcophagi or something?


    "You know, talking doesn’t interrupt my meditation, so I can explain what cultivation is and how to recover your Mana properly," I replied. Sure, Mana would recover naturally over time, but using cultivation techniques, meditation, and focusing on recovery was much more efficient than distracting yourself with other stuff. I usually only did it when necessary, though—after all these years, it could get pretty boring and the increase in efficiency wasn''t worth it.


    I began to explain and even train the normal actress from Earth, as well as David, who turned out to be a programmer back on Earth. It was refreshing to have a regular conversation—until we hit the elephant in the room: how I was so strong. Even Mille gave me a curious glance.


    "Why am I so strong? Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m the protagonist, and the author decided to make me strong," I said with a serious expression. "By the way, you’re all side characters, so you’re going to die sooner or later. For dramatic effect."


    After a moment of silence, Mille snorted, and Arabella chuckled lightly.


    "That’s a long story, and you probably won’t believe it anyway," I continued. "If I were you, I’d be more curious about that lady and the vampires. After all, they’ve been on Earth all this time, having superpowers like those from comics, movies or video games."


    "That doesn''t surprise me as much," Arabella said, "as I heard rumors among the higher-ups in Hollywood. They were just rumors, of course, but many believed there was some truth to it—that behind the scenes were influential people with supernatural powers. I thought maybe you were one of them."


    "Nah, what influence? I was missing for the last ten years. I couldn’t even play my favorite games."


    As we talked about nothing important, some more time passed before my Mana reached 90% full. Recovering 40% in just over half an hour was a great result. Mille, on the other hand, seemed to be still half empty—her recovery method wasn’t as effective as mine, plus she had pushed herself to her limits fighting against me.


    We all were standing, waiting, preparing for whatever the System would throw our way next. We knew it wouldn''t be pleasant. The stakes for me were higher than they seemed, since I was unable to leave the cabin. This time around, I was limited in the time I had to complete my main objective and fix all the cabins needing maintenance before the last of them finished its rotation and the attraction itself ended.


    The System message appeared:


    [8th Rotation Challenge: Chuckle Time Special]


    [Objective: Watch Chuckle Time without dying or going crazy]


    [Reward: System Points based on performance. Also, you won''t die or go crazy!]


    It was a rather short and bland description, yet it was terrifying in its own right. Because that was one source of power I didn’t understand, an existence that made me feel anxiety and even a hint of dread—Mr. Chuckles.


    And now I had no idea if I was truly prepared for whatever challenge he was about to give us...