《Schemer's Paradise [Progression LitRPG]》 1 - Taken Calculus and physics books lay scattered around the messy room of a college dorm. The room, originally made for two occupants, had a pile of assorted garbage littering one of the beds, indicating its disuse. The room''s sole occupant wasn''t usually in the habit of keeping such an unkempt living environment, but recent stresses had reduced ordinary troubles to be beneath his notice. Ordinarily Devon would either be studying or reading on chess to maintain his number one position at the campus club, but today he stared at his computer screen browsing the net. He chewed on the end of a pen as his frustration mounted while the pages of useless articles flowed over the screen, one after another. Eventually, his frustration reached a boiling point and he threw the chewed up pen onto the growing pile of trash on the unused bed. He threw his jacket on and shoved his Glock and holster into place above his groin. He tapped the inner pocket of his jacket to confirm the extra two mags and pocket knife within before stepping out the door. While it was technically legal to own and carry the pistol in his area of the country, it was absolutely going against the law to carry it on campus. But given recent events, Devon just didn''t care. He wagered at least half the student body didn''t care, even the ones that had been vehemently anti-gun before. He didn''t even have to wander down the halls to find the person he was about to go looking for. Trey stood in the lounge, banging against a vending machine. "Hey," Devon called out, "Wanna go grab a beer?" Trey looked up at him and shrugged, "Sure, why not." He gave the vending machine one last kick before falling in beside Devon, muttering something about the machine eating his money. Trey was considerably more built than Devon. He was a prominent player in the school''s soccer team, but Devon couldn''t help but wonder why he didn''t do American football instead with how much he liked to tackle people. He had short-cut black hair and was attempting to grow something akin to a goatee, but Devon wasn''t so sure it was working out. Devon himself was pretty lean, with muscle in all the areas that mattered in his eyes. He''d done track in his high school days, but it was never more than a passing hobby to keep himself in shape. His blonde hair was longer than Trey''s and would usually have been set in place with a simple spray product, but he''d let it grow wild in the past few days. Public image just wasn''t something he cared about right now. That reminds me, I need to shave as well, He thought, rubbing the rough hairs on his face. They walked through the campus in the dim light of twilight, neither commenting on the lack of social activity. Even the fraternities were dead these days, a shocking contrast to the start of the semester. Hard to believe it hasn''t been that long since this shit started. Feels like it''s been months since the reports started pouring in. They made it to their normal pub and took their normal corner seat. Despite being busier than usual, an air of somber silence hung over the place. It seemed as though everybody wanted to drink and forget rather than actually do anything. Like they''d already given up on seeing the ones they''d known again. The possibility made him clench his fist in rage. "So, nothing new?" Trey asked. "Nothing useful. Though I''ll tell you this, it doesn''t seem like anywhere is safe. Reports are coming out now that there have been takings in military bases and even the White House." "Fuckin'' hell, man. That really means nowhere''s safe." "Yeah." The takings. That''s what people had started calling the mysterious disappearances that started occurring all over the world only a month ago. Without any bias for age, race, sex, or culture groups of people that were once there were now not. And nobody could give anything more than half-assed reasoning as to why. Why without any reason or rationale his sister had disappeared off the face of the earth. A redheaded serving girl who looked no older than they were appeared beside their table, "Can I get you two anything?" The surprisingly attractive girl asked. "A pint of whatever you''ve got that''s German," Devon said, "I don''t care if it''s on tap or not." "Uh, I think I''ll just take a Kirin if you''ve got any left. Say, we haven''t seen you here before. What''s old man Phil doing hiring such pretty girls from campus?" The girl gave him a smile, "Don''t care much so long as it pays better than a minimum wage food chain. I''ll be right back with those for you." "Swing and a miss," Devon said with a wry smirk. "Hey, you miss every shot you don''t take, you know. You oughta try it some time, might even score." "Not interested." "Yeah well don''t come crawling to me when you''re in your thirties and lonely. I don''t swing that way." Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Can it. You know, I find it ironic that you''re the soccer player, yet I''m the one drinking European ales. What''s up with you and Japanese brands?" "Can''t a man just have favorites?" "When a man''s favorites have a distinct trend it becomes impossible not to feel like there''s some correlation." "I dunno, Japan just makes good shit, okay? Good electronics, good games, good cars." "You like Japanese cars?" Devon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Oh fuck off. You drive a Toyota, don''t you?" "Drive? Yes. Enjoy driving? No." "Whatever." The conversation lapsed as their drinks arrived and they both took slow pulls from their glasses. "So when do you think classes will resume?" Trey asked. "The better question might be if they''ll ever resume. Some people think the world is ending, you know." "I''m not much of a fan of such a pessimistic outlook, and I doubt you''d be satisfied with such an answer either." "Fair enough, I-" Devon''s voice cut off as a feeling of wrongness permeated the room. He wasn''t the only one who felt it either, as a cursory glance around the room showed everyone else also glancing around in confusion. Before he could make a move he felt the world distort and his consciousness was yanked away.
Devon found himself in an empty space devoid of light or features. At first, he thought he''d woken up in the dark confines of a small room, but he realized he could see the hand he stretched out with perfect clarity. How long was I out? And what the hell is this place? Something appeared in front of his eyes before he could try moving around. System instance initializing¡­ Connecting to central intelligence¡­ Done. Establishing subject baseline¡­ Done. Tethering¡­ Devon felt every molecule in his body seem to phase into something else. He screamed and collapsed, but the pain was gone even before he hit the floor of whatever this space was. Done. Welcome to the infinity beyond the limits of your world. You have been chosen as a second stage initiate, congratulations! So it''s one of those scenarios, huh? The floating text proceeded to explain the general situation to him. In short, he''d been yanked into a different universe and was straddled with a system that threw obnoxiously large text in front of his eyes. At that thought the text actually became smaller, much to his surprise. So you can read and respond to my thoughts. Affirmative. If there is any uncertainty of the available functions, they can be displayed at any time. Do it then. Currently available dialogues are as follows. [Status] [Equipment] [Quests] Go down the list. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 1 Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Mana: 50/50 Talents: None. Skills: None. Titles: Initiate, Protected [30 days]. Strength: 7 Dexterity: 8 Vitality: 7 Endurance: 6 Arcane: 5 Talons: 0 [Equipment] Clothing: [Standard Earth Clothes] Accessories: None Weapons: [Handgun], [Knife] [WARNING. You have entered initiation with a weapon that registers as Class D. If you choose to keep this item you will receive penalties.] [Quests] 1. Survive (Variant): Survive to the end of tutorial block #247. Reward: Unique title based on performance. The dialogues presented were almost annoying reminiscent of games Devon had played in the past. There were some parts that didn''t make immediate sense to him, though. What kind of penalty? If you do not choose to discard Class D weapon [Handgun] you will be denied starting equipment and receive a mark of Karmic Disdain. Additionally, exp gained from using [Handgun] will be completely negated. Do you choose to discard [Handgun]? Devon frowned at the prompt. For some reason, he could infer some sort of intent behind the words of everything the system said to him. Most of it had been somewhat jovial so far, despite delivering the news that his life had just been railroaded, but this message was different. It contained an intensity that he couldn''t understand. Define Karmic Disdain. Repeating query. Do you choose to discard [Handgun]? Not feeling so helpful now, huh? Can you tell me what''s in the starting equipment at least? Starting equipment is as follows. Choice of F-Grade primitive weapon. Examples: Bow, Sword, Spear. Leather armor. 5 [F-Grade Healing Pills]. So if Devon chose to discard his gun he''d get a shitty weapon instead, but possibly life saving defenses and healing items. Also, the system would be mad at him or something if he chose the gun. Repeating query. Do you choose to discard [Handgun]? No, I''ll keep my Glock. He felt an oppressive force bear down on him for a second, but it dissipated in an instant. Devon didn''t fully understand what Karmic Disdain was supposed to be, but he knew that the system considered his gun to be something that an initiate absolutely shouldn''t have, and he could more or less assume why. If the system''s goal was to put people on an even starting ground then his gun provided him with an almost obscenely powerful starting advantage. Sure, he''d start with significantly less starting equipment, but he''d gain a weapon that would allow him to escape potential situations where that equipment wouldn''t be enough. Understood. Administering penalty¡­ Done. Error. Karmic balance below admissible threshold. You have lost the privilege of the System''s aid. That doesn''t sound good. Initiate no longer deserving of additional queries. Forcibly terminating quantum rift. Do not expect mercy, Disdained One. Devon once again felt his consciousness ripped away, and the void was gone. 2 - The Overseers of Block 247 When the world rematerialized around him Devon found himself in the middle of a huge crowd. At first, he thought he was back in the pub, but a bright light from above made him shield his eyes as they adapted back to normalcy from that void. The crowd was also far larger than the pub could have possibly accommodated, seeming to be several hundred strong. Looking up he found that he was not back in the pub, but under a clear open sky. Three suns shone down upon him and he scowled. As much as he wanted to tell himself this was all a dream the burning of his retinas from staring at the light and the sensation of the crowd jostling him made him certain that he was not dreaming. "Oi," The voice came with a light shove, and Devon looked over to see Trey next to him, decked out in a set of leather armor, with a shield strapped to one of his arms. Before Devon had a chance to respond a loud voice boomed over the entire crowd, drawing everyone''s attention. The source of that voice was a hulking reptile in the shape of a man, one that wore basic clothing and had a savage-looking sword at his hip. "Attention all you newly initiated!" The reptilian figure called from the small platform it was standing on, but a chorus of panicked voices soon drowned his out. The crowd became violent, as cries of ''Monster!'' or ''Oh shit, run!'' became commonplace. Devon sneered at the crowd''s fervor. It was just like a mob to panic and run wild at the first sight of something they didn''t like, even when they should all realize that the situation they''re in is already far from ordinary. The monster seemed to clear his throat before yelling, "SHUT UP!" over the crowd. But it wasn''t just his voice that caused every member of the crowd to zip it and cower in fear, with his words came an intense pressure that radiated out over the people, subduing them into submission. Once the crowd was quiet he continued, somewhat seeming to read off an unseen prompt, "Uh¡­ Welcome, all you Initiates, to tutorial block 247 of¡­ Earth? As the initialization and tethering process should have told you, you have been chosen to participate in a preemptive scenario to better help your world integrate into the Infinite Realms, a sphere of reality wholly separate from all that you know." Voices started murmuring in the crowd again, but it didn''t evolve into another riot. Devon looked over the heads of the people in front of him and realized the reptilian man wasn''t alone, a group of 20 or 30 others of his kind stood behind him. Some faced forward with a serious expression while some others lazed around, looking as though they couldn''t care less about the confused mass of humans. The reptilian man began speaking again, "I do not know what kind of place you have come from, but know this. The Infinite Realms is a place of fierce struggle, where the pursuit of strength and power is paramount, and the weak are crushed underfoot. You have been graced with the opportunity to get a head start on your less fortunate brethren. "The land around you is teeming with opportunity, and danger. You will find the two go hand in hand in the Infinite Realms. This world in particular is one that has been long abandoned and left to rot, and is an ideal starting place for you to begin your path to strength. We the Overseers of this tutorial will provide¡­ scratch that, actually. Scattered about the land are naturally occurring Terminals, which you can use to trade and acquire new equipment. That will be all." Something tells me they just went off script, and not in a good way. Not for us, at least. "Let us go home!" Somebody yelled off to Dev''s left. Other voices quickly join in, demanding to be allowed to return whence they came. The immense pressure once again swept over the crowd, cowing even the most enraged people. "Listen well, Earthlings," the reptilian man said, rage present on his inhuman face, "You have been tethered, and cannot return to the piddling lives you once held. The only choices available to you now are to fight and survive¡­ or die." Voices once again started to rise up, causing the reptilian to sigh in annoyance before he said, "Oh shut it already. If you wish so badly to return to that infantile planet then all you need do is make it through the tutorial and let the system take you back. But still, like it or not, your backwater world has already begun integration, meaning it will soon be yet another one of the infinite branches that constitute the realms. You''ll be free to travel among those branches as you see fit once you''ve passed your initiation. Now again I say, that will be all." The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Voices again rose up out of the crowd, but Devon had seen and heard enough. He tapped Trey on the shoulder and motioned with his hand that they should scram. Trey nodded silently and followed as Devon pushed his way out of the crowd. The crowd was massive. At first, Devon had estimated that it contained a couple hundred members, but now he saw that it was well over a thousand. Once free of the mass of people Devon finally got a good look at the environment around them. They and all the rest stood within a clearing of trees, with a different environment spread in every direction. The gentle glade they stood in was bordered by three separate biomes. On one side was a vast untamed forest, on another was a plain that stretched further than the eye could see. Devon had to crane his neck upward to see the peak of the mountain that made up the last third. This was the most impressive to Devon, because the slopes were so steep it seemed almost impossible to have formed naturally, not to mention the myriad crags, ravines, and strange formations that jutted out from the mountainside that could be seen along the ascent. Trey whistled in appreciation at the sight, but their attention was quickly called back to the group when they heard shouting from the mob of humans. "You can''t trick me with your freaky costumes and this shit you put in my head," An old man screamed as he drew a gun, "Send us the fuck back or I''ll put a bullet in your skull!" This drew the attention of not only the speaker on the podium, but some of the surrounding lizard people, who looked up in alarm. But just as some looked like they were about to act, the speaker waved them off. The mob, frenzied by the drawing of a weapon, pushed forward with newfound vigor. The otherworldly pressure once again assailed Dev''s mind, but he found its effects to be significantly weakened now that he was further away. Still, even taking the full brunt of the mental assault didn''t stop the crowd, and they pushed forward until they stuck some invisible barrier. Notification to initiates of tutorial block #247. The Overseer''s base camp is a restricted area for the duration of one''s [Protected] status. "You think you can fuck with our heads and think we''ll stop?!" The old man shouted again and fired at the lizard man on the podium. Several other shots could be heard from a few other people who had declined the system''s offer of starting gear in favor of a firearm. Despite all their efforts, nothing got past the invisible barrier in front of the podium. Devon could see the small lead projectiles from the guns fired drop harmlessly onto the heads of the mob below, the inertia of the bullets completely negated by whatever it was that surrounded the reptilian camp. Several others climbed up onto the podium next to the man, drawn by the sound of gunfire. They briefly conversed in a language Devon didn''t understand before they each took out long shafts of wood. Where the hell did those come from? It''s like they pulled them from thin air. Before Devon had time to react to anything else, the reptilians acted with inhuman speed. As one, they threw their javelins, the shafts of wood turning into blurs as they did so. Devon could barely register them having moved at all, and would have doubted his eyes if the result wasn''t so painfully clear. The barrage of gunfire stopped in an instant and blood sprouted as if from geysers in five places amid the crowd where the spears landed. The crowd stood in stunned silence, placated by the irrefutable reality of blood raining down on them. Then there were screams, and the mob turned into a stampede. Gone were the pleas to be returned from whence they came, replaced by the insurmountable desire to flee from this threat that they hadn''t fully comprehended. "How horrible¡­" Trey said. "Mm," Devon murmured in agreement. The people fled in every direction, but most of them made a beeline for the forest and the cover of the trees. There were several small pockets of people like Devon and Trey that remained around the outer edges of the clearing, watching. Once the crowd was mostly thinned Devon noticed one of the reptilians emerge from the barrier of safety their camp provided. It strode among the padded down grass and occasional body toward something Devon could not see. Devon winced as he watched. The reptilians had only thrown five spears, but there were at least ten others lying dead or unconscious on the field. Victims of the crowd''s fervor, people that had been unable to keep up with the pushing mass of flesh and trampled underfoot in the desperate need to flee. The reptilian made his way past the unmoving figures, not batting an eye at the scene. He walked to the corpses that had wooden shafts protruding from their chests, and Devon noticed with astonishment that all of them seemed to have perfectly hit the hearts of their targets. The reptilian then collected the scattered weapons, sneering as it looked at the first of them. So the so-called Overseers don''t have a very high tolerance for defiance. How fascinating. 3 - Going Analog "Oi, did you see that?" Trey asked, looking over the sad scene. "Yeah," Devon responded, knowing Trey wasn''t simply mourning over the sad state of affairs, "They took the guns before they headed back into their camp of safety." So far as Devon could reason, there were three possibilities as to why they''d do that. First, they wanted to force the initiates into the standard the system had set. Clearly, Devon wasn''t the only one who''d thought that having a firearm outweighed the penalties set by the system, despite the system''s insistence on discarding it. If the overseer''s job was to maintain a status quo in the way the system desired, then removing those weapons from people who hadn''t ''earned'' them by getting penalized was reasonable. The second possibility was that they wanted to promote the initiate''s survival instincts. They''d said this place was one where the pursuit of strength and power was paramount. Devon knew that anyone who tried to use a firearm wouldn''t gain any experience from the kills they got, resulting in no real progress being made. If the purpose of the overseers was to push the initiates to gain exp and levels then it wouldn''t make sense to leave them weapons that didn''t serve that purpose. The first two possibilities could exist either in tandem or individually, depending on the overseer''s motivations. And the third possibility¡­ is that guns are a threat to them. The movements of the overseers when they''d thrown their javelins had been inhuman. It was clear as day from that one exchange that their physical abilities were leagues higher than a simple human. Even so, Devon hadn''t found many targets below the toughness of steel that could shrug off a bullet. Thinking about the piece of 21st century technology reminded him of another, and he quickly checked his pocket for his cell phone, only to find it wasn''t there. Most likely it had been taken by the void. Classic. Devon glanced around the clearing and noticed with some small measure of surprise that there were other small groups like him and Trey, standing around and observing. "So, did you just not decide to auto-equip your starting gear?" Trey asked, breaking Devon out of his thoughts. "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, you know. The system or whatever gave us the option to put this gear on before we came here. Actually, where even is your gear?" "Don''t have any. Tell me, how long were you in that space for?" Devon asked, thinking back to how the system had called that void a ''quantum rift.'' "Like an hour at least, why?" "Because I was only there for about five minutes before it kicked me out." "Wait," Trey said, realization dawning on him, "You weren''t standing here waiting for an hour then, were you?" "Nope." "Fuck me, man. Time manipulation? What the actual hell is going on?" "More like a subspace detached from the flow of time, maybe? Anyway, what''d you spend your hour doing? Didn''t feel like I needed more than five minutes to get the gist of things." "I was asking questions and stuff. The system seemed pretty ready to assist with its little onboarding process. Though it shouldn''t matter too much, honestly. Seems I can still pass it questions," He said, looking off into the ether at whatever message the system was showing him. "What, you just think the question and it answers?" "Yeah, like ask it how much exp you need to level up." Okay then. system, how much experience do I need to level up? Devon waited, staring into empty space expecting a notification to appear. When one didn''t show up after several seconds, he frowned. Well, shit. This must be what was meant by Devon losing the privilege of the system''s aid. If the system had stripped him of all its functions Devon might really be screwed. Wait, didn''t I just get another notification just a little bit ago about the overseers? So it shouldn''t have completely left me. What were those basic functions again? Status. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 1 If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Mana: 50/50 Talents: None. Skills: None. Titles: Initiate, Despised, Protected [30 days] Strength: 7 Dexterity: 8 Vitality: 7 Endurance: 6 Arcane: 5 Talons: 0 So that''s how it''s going to be. "It won''t respond when I ask questions, but it seems like I can still access all the basic functions." "Really? That''s odd¡­ What''d you do to piss it off?" Devon frowned, slightly annoyed that his friend immediately assumed it was his fault, but he let it go since he wasn''t technically wrong. Devon simply turned so that none of the other people around the grove could see before he flashed his shirt up and revealed his Glock. He quickly explained everything that had happened during his tethering. "I see, so the system really doesn''t like guns, huh?" "It called it a Class D weapon, whatever that''s supposed to mean." "I think it sorts equipment based on a scale of power. Here, look," A notification popped up before Devon''s eyes. [Starting Sword] Class F "How''d you do that?" "I''m not entirely sure, honestly. I just think about how I want to show the stats of my weapon to you, and it did it." Devon takes out his pocket knife and tries to get the system to display information on it. After several tries he finally lands on the keyword ''Identify'' and the overlay pops up. [Pocket Knife] Class F Devon cursed, "It''s like I''m stuck using an old analog device while you''ve got some spiffy program that does it for you." Trey shrugged, "Yeah well at least you''ve got a gun. Can you examine my sword by yourself?" Devon tried to Identify Trey''s sword after clearing his vision, but nothing came up. "No, it doesn''t give me the popup. Is it because it''s yours?" "Dunno, I can still examine your knife, so maybe not? Oh, I see. You have to equip it within the system so it gains something called Identify Protection." Equipment. [Equipment] Clothing: None Accessories: None Weapons: None Carrying: [Standard Earth Clothes], [Handgun], [Knife] You piece of shit. Devon cursed under his breath at seeing the system use such a cheap trick as to ''unequip'' everything he''d come into the tutorial with. Luckily equipping his three items was as easy as telling the system he did in fact have them equipped. Once Trey confirmed that he was no longer able to examine Devon''s knife he asked, "Anyway, what do you think we should do now? I''m thinking we should probably get started on food and shelter as fast as we can. Those overseers don''t seem too inclined to help." "Yeah¡­ I guess we should, but something tells me there''s something not quite right about them." "I get what you mean, but what do you want to do about it? I don''t think we''ll be able to do anything if we get on their bad side and they decide to get rid of us," Trey says with a glance at the impaled humans. Devon frowns, but then thinks of something. He opens his status back up and takes a look at his titles. After a minute of trying different commands, he opens the details on his three titles. [Initiate] The mark of one who has been tethered from beyond the warp. Exp gain +10% while below level 100. [Despised] You have obtained a mark of Karmic Disdain. Find a way to remove it or be culled. ?????? [Protected] [30 days] Overseers and beings from beyond tutorial block #247 will be penalized heavily for harming those with the [Protected] status. [Protected] status will be removed and penalties applied if initiate attacks or harms an Overseer. Devon had mainly been curious about the [Protected] title, but his attention was quickly called away from it by his second title. What the fuck? The hell does it mean, find a way to remove it or be culled? Is the system going to fry my brain or something if I can''t figure out how to remove its mark of Karmic Disdain? The system didn''t bother answering, of course. Devon quickly asked Trey if his system would answer what the mark was supposed to be, but it wouldn''t answer him any more than it had answered Devon in the void. On a hunch, Devon thought, Quests. [Quests]
  1. [Survive] (Variant): Survive to the end of tutorial block #247. Reward: Unique title based on performance.
  2. [Absolution]: Absolve yourself of the Mark of Karmic Disdain. This quest chain has no time requirement and will only be resolved upon absolution or death.
How wonderful. "Anyway, if the penalties applied by the system are as bad as it makes it sound, then I doubt the overseers will be so willing to off us at the drop of a hat," Devon said, "Remember how those guys shot first? I''ll bet that triggered the system into removing their [Protected] status." "Yeah, makes sense. But still, I''m not too sure interacting with them is such a good idea." "And going forward without potentially vital information is just as bad of an idea." "What exactly are you expecting to get out of them? They didn''t seem very willing to divulge more than they already said, and I highly doubt they''re great conversationalists." Devon thought for a moment while looking over at the overseers before saying, "Ask your system if it knows how they were able to communicate with us. I think they''re using a completely different language when they talk to each other, yet that one was able to speak english just fine when addressing us." "Hmm," Trey said after a moment, "Okay, seems as though they''re using a universal language function. It says it should be a basic add-on purchasable through a terminal¡­ Whatever that''s supposed to be." "A terminal? Didn''t the overseers mention something like that too?" "Yeah, I think they did. They said they should be scattered around the land, right? You think we should look for one of those, then?" "Worth a shot, I suppose," Devon said, casting another glance around the clearing. Most of the other pockets of humans had cleared off by now, nobody daring to approach the camp of overseers. "Which way first?" Trey asked. Devon thought for a moment, "First we need to secure a source of water. I don''t feel like getting lost in a forest immediately, and I definitely don''t feel like climbing a mountain and falling down a ravine." "The plains it is then." 4 - Terminal Devon and Trey made their way into the wide open field of mellow grasses and flowers. Any other time Devon would have thought the place would evoke a calm sense of serenity, but that was a sensation for another time, when they''d dealt with the pressing issues at hand. Their primary goal was a source of water, and to gain a better understanding of the world around them. It was clear they were no longer on earth, as some of the flowers along their path contained hints of alien beauty. Soon enough the gentle grassland gave way to a slightly more rugged prairie with grass and ferns that reached almost head height, and they found their first sign of trouble. "Is it just me, or is that an oversized duck?" Trey asked nervously. Devon just nodded, also taken aback by the size of the thing. It was at least four times the size of a regular duck, and it was feasting upon the carcass of some other unfortunate animal. When he tried to identify it he received; [Duck? - Level 3] I can''t tell if it''s mocking me or not. "Wanna go for it?" Trey asked. "Sure, why not," Devon said, flipping open his folding pocket knife. As the knife clicked into place the duck whipped its head around towards him. Devon only had a second to regret his decision upon seeing the frightening visage of a wolf''s maw attached to the duck''s head, its blood red eyes trained on him. He instinctively reached down for his gun, but the duck was on him too fast. He barely had time to block with one arm before the duck''s jaw latched on, sending a flood of pain up his arm as blood ran down the length of it. Devon frantically stabbed whatever he could reach, but it only made the duck bite down harder. Devon felt like he could feel his bones crunching under the weight of the duck''s jaw strength. The pressure finally let up when Trey approached the thing from behind and swung his sword against its neck as hard as he could, cutting through almost half of the duck''s nape. It wildly flailed around before Trey landed another strike, completely decapitating the creature. Assisted kill - [Mawbird - Level 3] - 13 Talons [Level up. Level 2 obtained.] Initializing Ladder function¡­ Done. [Ladder] function added to list of available functions. Devon cursed under his breath as the System assailed him with messages, none of which he cared about over the pain of his mangled arm. Trey quickly rushed over and presented him some strange ball. At his friend''s insistence he reluctantly swallowed the unknown pill, doing his best to ignore the pain in his arm. And then it was as if the pain was lifted away and Devon could see the world clearly again. He looked down at his arm in astonishment and marveled at the wounded flesh of his arm literally knitting itself back together before his eyes. "What on earth was that?" Devon asked, astonished. "One of the healing items that came with the starting gear. I didn''t think it would be this effective though¡­" Trey was staring at Devon''s arm, equally astonished. The healing wasn''t instantaneous, but it was damn fast. What would have taken weeks to heal took only five minutes for the flesh to stitch itself back together. Once Devon had caught his breath he took a cursory glance over the barrage of System messages. He cursed himself on seeing that only a single creature was enough to level up. If they had been smart they''d have searched for something weaker to start off with. Then maybe they wouldn''t have had to use one of their precious healing items. Sighing in resignation, Devon opened his stats screen. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 2 Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Mana: 55/55 Talents: None. Skills: None. Titles: Initiate, Despised, Protected [30 days] Strength: 8 Dexterity: 9 Vitality: 8 Endurance: 7 Arcane: 6 Free Points: 5 Talons: 13 All of his basic attributes had gone up by one, and he''d gotten five ''free points.'' Devon guessed those were meant to be points he could freely allocate to any attribute he wished, but he found he couldn''t actually invest them without the proper command, which he gave up trying to find after a minute. "What are Talons supposed to be, you think? Are they a glorified points system?" Trey asked, playing with his goatee. "What do you mean?" "You looked at the ladder yet?" "Oh, right," Devon said, quickly opening up the new menu. It forced him to input a He was surprised to find that the ladder consisted of two different dialogues. There was the level ladder and the talon ladder. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 3
  2. Stein - Level 3
  3. Joe - Level 3
  4. Trey - Level 2
  5. Brad - Level 2
  6. Hart - Level 2
  7. Ingrid - Level 2
  8. Devon - Level 2
  9. Ash - Level 2
  10. Ray - Level 2
[Talon Ladder]
  1. Eve - 65
  2. Stein - 47
  3. Joe - 42
  4. Trey - 28
  5. Hart - 23
  6. Ingrid - 19
  7. Devon - 13
  8. Ash - 11
  9. Ray - 8
"How the hell are people level 3 already¡­ Wait, you''re closer to level 3 than I am, if I''m reading this right," Devon said, feeling annoyed that he''d received less exp despite the fact that he was the one that got mauled. "Group split seems to work on a contribution scale, with both the exp and talon split," Trey muttered to himself. Devon sighed to himself, knowing his plight was lost upon his friend. "Anyway, I''m starting to realize we can''t see nearly as far in the brush as I first assumed we''d be able to. Let''s make our way to the forest and see if we can''t find a tree to perch on. We''re not going to make any headway unless we find a way to see over all this brush." "True. Alright, let''s go," Trey said without hesitation. "Wait, can you ask your helpful system buddy what the internal command to allocate free points is?" "Oh, uh¡­" Trey frowned, "That''s weird, it won''t give me a direct answer." "Figures. I''ll just have to work it out myself somehow," Devon said, though he''d already tried every mental command he could think of. They started making their way toward the towering trees, but stopped when they found something half hidden in the brush. Its appearance almost looked like a tear in reality, with a soft white light seeping through. "What the heck is that?" Trey asked, visibly intimidated by what looked like a glitch in reality. Devon tried to identify it and the system came back with [Terminal]. "The system says it''s a terminal," Devon said, "I suppose that''s one thing we were looking for found." "That''s a terminal? The hell are we supposed to do with it?" "How the hell should I know? Try to have your magnanimous system interact with it, see if anything happens." Trey approached the crack in reality cautiously, seeming afraid it would swallow him if he got too close to it. Devon rolled his eyes and stepped forward to reach out and try to touch it, except his hand passed right through the seam in the air as if it was only a mirage. "Yeah, okay. Seems like some kind of shop. Once I get close enough my system gives me an interface to interact with." Devon frowned, once again annoyed that Trey had an automatic process while Devon had to blindly search for some random keywords. Thankfully, it didn''t take Devon too long to stumble upon this particular activation phrase. Access terminal. A large window appeared before his eyes, several tabs sorting various functions. [Teleport] [Function Shop] [Item Shop] [Generalist Abilities and Magic] [Datalog Selection] Curious, Devon immediately tried selecting teleport, just to see what would happen. You do not know any other accessible Terminals. Teleport feature will remain active for [30 days] within Tutorial Block #247. Next, he opened the function shop, to find that there were only four available functions. The first was a map function, which seemed extremely useful. The second was a messaging function, to send messages to other people through the system itself, which also seemed good. The third was called [Omniversal Language Integration]. The final function seemed far and away the most useful, as it was called [Interdimensional Inventory]. Devon desperately wanted each and every one of them, but all of them were listed as costing 100 talons. "I guess we know what talons are now," Trey said, "Seems to be the currency this system uses." Devon looked in the item shop next, and found a listing of a bunch of different weapons with the prefix [Starting]. Listed also was the basic leather armor and healing items. The healing items cost 50 talons each, 30 more than the 20 that the starting weapons cost. Pretty generous of the system to give out five of the things for free before anybody could even afford them. Generous to everyone else, that is. There were also more expensive weapons and armors listed, but their prices quickly ramped up to triple and quadruple digit numbers. But what really caught Devon''s interest was the items beyond the typical fantasy fare. Tents, cots, and all manner of survival items were listed for pretty cheap. He took immediate notice of the fact that there were filled water canteens available, yet no food anywhere on the menu. So the system is encouraging us to spend our time progressing without spending too much effort on surviving. The lack of sustenance available for purchase implies that we''ve got to go out and hunt for our food ourselves, leveling in the process. He looked at the abilities and magic section next, not even feeling surprised that magic would exist. He felt like it would take something above and beyond to genuinely surprise him at this point. There was a list of game-like abilities and magic within the dialogue, just as Devon had expected. He perused the selection for a little bit, taking note of what was available before moving on. There just wasn''t much point in contemplating what he wanted when it was all too expensive or potentially not worth the investment. Arcane was his lowest stat, and he didn''t feel very confident investing in something he was probably pretty weak in. Perhaps most interesting of all was the datalog selection. They seemed to be packages of information, but all of them were extraordinarily expensive. Two that caught his eye were [Integration, Phases One Through Three] and [The Nuances of the Tutorial Procedure]. "I''m getting you a weapon," Trey said suddenly, "What do you want?" "What? Why?" "Well, we can''t just have you get mauled every time we get into a fight. We both know if everything else here is like that duck then your little knife isn''t going to be worth jack." "You''re fine with using your talons on me?" "I mean, yeah. Why wouldn''t I?" Devon smiled at his own foolishness. Situations like this usually devolved into every man for himself before some measure of unity was established, but Trey didn''t feel that way at all. He was a team player to the core. "Grab me a spear then," Devon said. "Suppose it does make sense to diversify our fighting styles," Trey said, reaching toward the crack of light. To Devon''s complete surprise, Trey stuck his hand directly into it before pulling it back, a spear in hand. "Your system tell you to do that?" "Yep. Oh, I should probably also mention this thing," Trey said as a blank black piece of slate appeared in his hand. At first glance, it looked like some sort of tablet, but upon closer inspection it was simply a rectangular piece of black stone. "The hell is it?" Devon asked. "The system mentioned it when I queried about the inventory function. It said that everything stored in the inventory must enter or exit the ''system tile.'' Then, when I queried about what a system tile is supposed to be, it said it''s like a manifestation of an individual''s system, whatever that means." "Well let''s grill your helper AI, since it seems just a little important." 5 - Tile After half an hour spent experimenting, Devon and Trey had more or less established everything they needed to know about the tile. First, the thing was utterly impervious to any form of damage, at least according to the system. This didn''t mean it could serve as a shield though, as any attacks the system registered as being targeted toward a user would phase through the slate plaque. Second, it served as the primary way of looting somebody upon their death. A person''s status and inventory were all kept on the tile, which materialized on its own after death. Any items they had could be freely pilfered by whoever killed them or happened upon their corpse, and the tile would remain for an infinite amount of time until its contents were claimed. Apparently, the flow of time within the inventory was dependent on the level of the function, and some levels could preserve their items forever while some degraded over time. Naturally, every function within the tutorial terminal was the lowest possible level. Third, it could be summoned at a thought and give a visual display of system info to other people. It was also essential for utilizing the inventory function. Devon was extremely thankful the command to summon it was simple, otherwise he was afraid he''d have been unable to even use the inventory function at all. He didn''t experiment too much with his own, content to leave experimentation for when he had a specific use for it in mind. Once they finished getting everything they thought they could out of Trey''s system they moved on to deciding what to do next. They no longer needed to go to the forest for a height advantage to spot water, the terminal sold water for almost nothing. "Why don''t we just hunt more stuff for now? The terminal seems to have most of what we''ll need to camp out, so it''d probably be best to rack up some talons and set up a base camp," Devon suggested. "Alright, sounds like as good a game plan as any," Trey said, nodding. They set off, Trey leading the way while cutting a path through the prairie grass, more to mark their passage than anything else. Soon enough they found another mawbird and readied themselves for another fight. Trey stepped out of the brush first, shield at the ready. As soon as the mawbird spotted Trey it rushed him with wild abandon. The bird struck out its wolf-like jaw as soon as it got close, trying to bite down on any exposed flesh. Trey was ready for the attack, and swung his shield out as the mawbird''s head shot forward, knocking the bird''s head to the side with a resounding thunk. He tried to swing at the bird with his sword, but the shield bash wasn''t enough to stun it, and it leaped out of the way. At that moment Devon leaped out from the brush as well, piercing the side of the bird as it was distracted. The mawbird went into a wild frenzy, flapping its wings and trying to free itself of the spear shaft in its side, but Devon just stepped forward and drove it deeper. However, as he stepped closer the mawbird lunged at him with its trademark maw, forcing Devon to leap backwards to avoid another encounter with those sharp fangs. The bird tried to charge Devon, but the long length of the spear sticking out of its side made it almost impossible for the bird to pick up any speed as it dragged the spear shaft through layers of prairie grass. Trey didn''t let it get very far before he pounced on it from behind, delivering a clean chop to its neck as it tried to chase Devon. Unlike before, Trey''s sword went straight through the neck of the beast, cleaving it in two with one slice. The monster''s corpse flopped to the ground without any more movements as Devon got the kill notification. "I''m starting to regret not asking for a sword," Devon said, envious that Trey''s weapon was able to decapitate the enemy when his spear hadn''t seemed to do more than hinder it. "I think it''s probably just lucky we found an enemy with such an obvious weakness to slashes. I highly doubt everything we encounter will be so uniform. I also put all my free points into strength so I can hopefully finish these fights faster. It feels so weird suddenly being stronger than I was half a minute ago." Devon frowned. His free points were only going to be a bigger issue the further they went, but he still hadn''t found the command to distribute them. He once again started going over potential commands in his head as he retrieved his spear, but once again none of them worked. They moved on, searching for yet more prey. Two more mawbirds were slain in much the same way before they stumbled upon something new. As they moved further into the prairie they suddenly noticed the land turning muddy, and a smell started to permeate the air. "Ah, you gotta be kidding," Trey complained, "I knew it was too good to be true that this grassland would continue to be a nice and pleasant prairie. Of course the tall grass hid a freaking swamp." This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Devon looked over the rather sparse foliage ahead of them and said, "I think this may just be a muddy area. See how we''ve walked into a bit of a basin? I can see the grass thicken again on the other side." "So do you want to go around? I really don''t feel like getting stuck knee deep in mud." "Let''s go around the edge. Where there''s water there''s life, so there will probably be stuff to hunt along the way." They started making their way along the edge of the wetland, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. Soon Devon spotted something moving in a puddle and signaled for Trey to stop. "What do you think it is?" Trey asked. "No clue." "Well, time for your spear to shine," Trey said, patting Devon on the back. Devon frowned, but it was true his spear was much better suited to poking around in the water as opposed to Trey''s sword. Sighing in resignation, mostly annoyed at himself for having suggested the idea of hunting in the marsh, he crept forward. He didn''t have to advance very far before something leapt out of the mud at him. On instinct he batted it aside with his spear, then retreated several steps, trying to lure it out of the muddy terrain so they could better fight it. The creature seemed to be some cross between a crocodile and a salamander, with the massive head looking quite strange to Devon without a crocodile''s many scales. [Crocomander? - Level 4] [Discovery Bonus] This damn system. It''s mocking me by showing whatever name it wants. Devon didn''t know what a discovery bonus was supposed to be, but he didn''t have time to think about it. The creature barreled after Devon with a frenzy that he hadn''t expected. He''d thought he would have to slowly bait the creature out before it dared leave its comfy mud pit, but apparently that wasn''t the case. Devon crouched down with his spear held out before him, ready for the beast. He held his spear aimed straight at the creature, wanting to test its intelligence by seeing if it would impale itself in its fervor. The creature heedlessly ran straight for him, until at the last second recognition seemed to flash within its eyes and it threw itself to the side before its own momentum impaled it. However, Devon was ready for that. He shifted the angle of his spear before viciously stabbing forward, capitalizing on the crocomander''s blunder. Devon''s spear pierced straight through the creature''s neck, and it let out a strangled cry as it started to thrash about in pain. Devon quickly yanked his spear out and took a few steps back while the crocomander turned around to try and flee. Not so fast! The crocomander tried to avoid the next thrust as it fled, but Devon locked it in place by stepping forward quickly and slamming his foot down on its exposed back, momentarily stopping it from moving. He shot his spear forward and pierced a soft spot in the back of its head that the skull didn''t quite cover, driving his spear in as deep as he could. "Dev! Watch out!" Devon barely registered the warning before he instinctively threw himself to the side, barely avoiding a maw of sharp teeth. Devon looked at the mawbird, starting to feel a sense of rage toward the things that wouldn''t stop harassing him. But despite that feeling, he could only dodge again, as his spear had been left in the carcass of the crocomander when he''d rolled out of the mawbird''s way. Devon once again tried to dodge out of the bird''s way, but he found his foot sunk in muck, rendering him unable to move. He hadn''t been careful enough in his dodges and had rolled right into the wet soil. The mawbird pounced on him. With no way to move out of the way and no spear to block or retaliate with, he did the only thing he could think to do. He punched the bird straight in the face. Devon winced at the pain of punching a maw full of razor sharp teeth, but the attack did throw it off balance for a second. However, it only took a moment for the monster to recover, and it viciously sank its teeth into Devon''s arm. Trey arrived next to him in that instant, slicing through the bird''s neck in one clean go. Devon threw the head off into the wetland, where something immediately popped out of the mud and ate it whole. It was a grim reminder that the danger hadn''t truly passed, even with both of the threats at hand dead. Kill - [Crocomander - Level 4] - 42 Talons Assisted kill - [Mawbird - Level 3] - 3 Talons [Level up. Level 3 obtained.] "Sorry about that, I was standing ready to jump in on the lizard and let my guard down. That was my bad," Trey said, a troubled look on his face. "It''s fine. I''d have been in a lot more trouble if you hadn''t been there," Devon said as he looked over his arm. The wound wasn''t nearly as bad as the first time a mawbird had gotten ahold of him because of Trey''s quick action. "Here," Trey said, holding out one of the healing pills. "I think I''ll be fine. We need to conserve those. We can''t just use them at any given opportunity or we''ll run out." "But¡­" A conflicted look crossed Trey''s face. Devon sighed, already knowing what his next statement would be. "I insist," Trey said, pushing the pill into Devon''s hand, "You only got hurt because I messed up, and that''s on me. It''s only right I give back something to repay you." "You and your stupid system of honor," Devon muttered, taking the pill. He knew it would be useless to argue any further. This was just how Trey was, after all. He popped the healing item into his mouth, already looking to retrieve his spear from the crocomander''s corpse. Devon immediately felt that something was wrong. Instead of giving the pain relieving effect the item had given the last time he''d used it, it felt like a blazing heat was spreading from his stomach to the rest of his body. He grasped his chest in pain and took rasping gasps of air. He vaguely heard Trey say something, but he couldn''t hear anything beyond the ringing in his ears as he collapsed and lost consciousness. 6 - Companionship When Devon awoke, it was to the sound of voices and a crackling fire. He opened his eyes, and the absence of daylight made him realize he''d been unconscious for whatever had remained of the day, and the suns had set into night. Devon looked up and saw a single moon, much larger than the one he''d known back on earth. Yet another stark reminder that his old life was dead and gone. He sat up, putting a hand to his head as he felt a sudden bout of nausea. "Oh hey, you''re up," Trey said from beside him. "How long was I out?" Devon asked, looking around. He was back at the terminal, though the spot had changed somewhat since he''d seen it last. Much of the errant grass surrounding the crack of light had been cut down, and there were several tents propped up all over the new clearing. Several campfires blazed, with small groups huddling around each of them for warmth and the comfort of light. The campfire Devon and Trey were next to had one other occupant, one Devon recognized with surprise. It was the redhead that had served them right before they were taken, though she looked a little different. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, but it didn''t take away the frazzled look it had acquired from time spent roughing it out in the wild. Her leather armor already looked completely worn out, like it had borne the brunt of several ravagings. There was also a soft but dangerous glint in her eyes. "A couple hours," Trey said, "The damn system didn''t bother warning me the healing pills would do that if you took another before a timer ran out. I dragged you back here and set up camp, and other people started showing up over time. We''d hoped the terminals would be safe spaces like the overseer''s camp, but there have already been a few monster attacks." Devon looked out at the edges of the makeshift camp and saw several people standing guard. "I see. I do believe we met before," Devon said, turning to the redhead, "But I don''t think I ever caught your name." "It''s Eve. You know you can just identify someone for that, right? Actually maybe you wouldn''t, sorry." Eve? Isn''t that the name from the ladder? Oh, I should probably check that now. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 8
  2. Ray - Level 7
  3. Stein - Level 6
  4. Zane - Level 6
  5. Nix - Level 6
  6. Ingrid - Level 6
  7. Kyle - Level 6
  8. Ash - Level 6
  9. Brad - Level 5
  10. Trey - Level 5
[Talon Ladder]
  1. Eve - 186
  2. Ray - 148
  3. Joe - 143
  4. Nix - 89
  5. Stein - 76
  6. Ingrid - 57
  7. Zane - 54
  8. Devon - 51
  9. Ash - 49
  10. Damon - 48
Devon''s eyes opened wide at seeing the ladder. "How the hell are you already level 8?" He asked in wonder, "And you too, Trey. Everyone is progressing so fast." Eve shrugged, "I guess this lifestyle just fits some of us better than others. I''d guess the majority still haven''t passed level 2 or 3. I''ve been running around like crazy trying to find Phil, but I haven''t had any luck yet." "The pub owner? I thought you were just a random employee." "That''s what I usually tell people, but honestly we''re related. I''ve just stopped here for now because there''s no use searching in the dark like this. I''ll just walk up on a group of monsters I can''t even see and get pounced on." She sighed in frustration. Eve stretched her arms and pulled out a piece of meat from her tile before sticking it on one of the starting spears and holding it over the fire to roast before continuing, "It''s not like stopping was a complete loss though, I have learned a few interesting things," She stared at Devon as she said it. "What do you mean?" "Well, it''s a pretty damn good piece of info that you can''t just spam healing or it''ll knock you out flat. If I had done that when I was hunting solo I don''t doubt I''d have passed out in a bush and been preyed upon by a passing mawbird. Your other situation is also pretty interesting, though neither I or your friend have any idea what causes it." "Other situation?" "Devon," Trey said, "Remember how with every monster we''ve hunted so far, you were always the one that got attacked?" "Yeah, I do, now that you mention it." Now that Devon thought about it, it was rather strange that he''d been the one continually on the receiving end of the monster''s attacks. Even the mawbird that interrupted his fight with the crocomander should have attacked Trey first. He not only would have been closer to the bird, but his guard was down, making him easy prey. Instead, the creature had gone right for Devon. "Well, after you took the second healing item things got a little¡­ hectic. I think I must have encountered at least seven different mawbirds, except none of them really seemed to care about me. They were all after you." "Couldn''t that just be because I was unconscious?" The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "I don''t think aiming for a weakling would normally override something''s basic instinct to protect itself," Eve said, "When I stumbled upon you two there was one that kept gunning for your motionless body even as it rushed into your friend''s blade." "Yeah, it was super weird," Trey said, "It was like they didn''t care about themselves at all, so long as they got a chance to try and kill you." "Maybe they''re all just stupid?" "Nah, the ones I fought all at least had basic survival instincts," Eve said, "So what''s up with that? Surely you''ve gotta know something, or have at least an idea as to why." Devon frowned, confused. Then he remembered the system''s words. Do not expect mercy, Disdained One. "It might be because I pissed off the system, though I didn''t expect the monsters to care that much about it." "How''d you manage to do that?" Eve asked. "I''d rather not say," Devon replied with a straight face. His gun could potentially be a massive hidden ace, but if its existence was public knowledge then it would lose a lot of its strategic value. Eve seemed a decent sort, but Devon wasn''t prepared to trust her just yet. Eve just shrugged, "Well, I guess it''s useful info that you can even manage to piss the system off. I''d assumed it was just an eternally neutral kind of thing. Though honestly, it doesn''t seem all that bad of a thing to be constantly targeted by the beasts." "How the hell do you figure that?" Devon asked incredulously. "Because it makes them easier to hunt that way," Eve said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ah, that''s right. I need to stop applying common sense to the situation we''re in now. She''s absolutely right, if I used my status as a Disdained One to lure monsters to me I could potentially farm exp far faster than anyone else would be capable of. But at the same time¡­ it''d be so incredibly dangerous. Not only would the strategy mean continually throwing himself into dangerous situations, but Devon had a significant disadvantage compared to everyone else. If he couldn''t figure out how to allocate his free points then he''d be continually going into fights weaker than his level should indicate. It didn''t seem to matter too much going against the low level enemies they''d fought so far, but as they progressed Devon would fall further and further behind unless he did something. "Anyway, back to our earlier conversation," Eve said, looking at Trey. "Ah, right. Devon, we were just talking about the so-called integration of Earth, and the takings." Devon immediately perked up, "I''m listening." "So can we all agree that the lot of us have probably been ''taken?''" Eve asked, fetching her meat from the fire. "Yeah," Devon and Trey replied simultaneously. "So does that mean everyone else that got taken also ended up in a tutorial like this one?" "I mean, probably," Trey said. "It''s interesting how big our group is," Devon muttered, "And it''s equally interesting that we''re apparently block number 247 of Earth initiates. I''m pretty sure there have been thousands of takings, so the numbers definitely don''t line up." "I''d bet 15 or so takings make up a tutorial," Eve said, "There were a bunch of different ethnicities mixed in with the starting group, so it''d make sense if a bunch of us were taken randomly from throughout the world. But if the tutorial process is considered a second stage initiation, what''s the first stage?" Devon thought back to all the research he''d done on the subject over the month after his sister had been taken, "I think we can probably regard the very first takings as the first stage of initiation." "The first takings?" "Yeah. The takings started becoming infamous when they happened to large groups of people, but really the first takings were on a much smaller scale. It was so small actually, that nobody even realized something was off until the larger scale takings attracted the attention of the media." "What do you mean?" "For about a week before the takings took the world by storm, missing persons reports increased by over 300 percent. Many of these reports included accounts that were thought to be crazy. Friends and family disappearing before people''s eyes. Office workers sitting down at their desks, but security footage showed no evidence of them ever leaving. Stuff like that." "Wow, you know a surprising amount on the subject." "My sister was included among the list of missing persons that week." Eve''s impressed expression immediately turned somber, "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean-" "Don''t worry about it. We''re all in that boat now too, remember?" Eve nodded, relieved she hadn''t overstepped her bounds. Huh. She''s a lot nicer than her warrior exterior would suggest. "So we think the first stage initiates were put in their own tutorials? That doesn''t bode very well," Trey said with a look of worry. "Maybe, maybe not. I think we can assume by the individualistic nature of those takings that their purpose was far more selective than that of the second stage. Honestly, the second stage feels a lot like buying a bargain bin and fishing around in it for hidden treasures." "Well that''s a wonderful way to describe us," Eve said, muttering ''bargain bin'' under her breath. "Hey, I''m in here with you. But think about it. The second stage takings all happened in places with large concentrations of people. I think the goal of the first stage was seeking some specific kind of person, and the second stage is abducting as many contestants as possible to see if the tutorial can find hidden gems. Like panning for gold." "You and your metaphors," Eve muttered. "Get used to it," Trey said sympathetically, "He''s a top grade academic, there''s no saving him." "Anyway, the real questions are these; what happened to the first stage initiates, and what is the third stage initiation like?" "Oh yeah," Trey said, "That datalog in the terminal did mention a third stage, didn''t it? You think we should save up for that?" The question caught Devon off guard. On one hand, he desperately wanted to know what kind of situation his sister had been put in. He had no doubt she could survive out in the wilderness like this for a month, but if she wasn''t in a tutorial then that changed things. He honestly didn''t care much about the third stage. He hadn''t left that much of true importance behind with no parents and no other relevant family or friends. But even with the burning desire to know the truth of what had happened to his sister, he couldn''t do it, "The datalogs are just too expensive for us right now. We need to put our energy toward survival. There isn''t anything we could do with that information while we''re stuck here anyway." 7 - So-Called Easy Exp Thinking of the datalog in the terminal reminded Devon of something else, "Trey, what happened to all your money?" Trey gestures at the campfire and tents surrounding them, "Spent it on this stuff. Figured we wouldn''t be able to go back out and fight if we weren''t well rested. I also got the inventory function. Oh, that reminds me, here," Trey summoned his tile and took Devon''s spear out of the subspace void used for storage before handing it back. "Agh, dammit. Eve, mind if I loan some talons off you?" "Damn, don''t you think it''s a bit early to start asking for money? We just met like half an hour ago, at most." "Fine then, think of this as buying a service. I''ll return later tonight with info that''ll be worth the talons you pitch in." "The heck are you talking about? I told you, it''s too dark to go hunting so there''s no point buying a better weapon, and I''m not buying you the inventory or map feature. You can get those on your own." "Yes, I agree with everything you''ve said. Still, I need 50 talons. I''m going to buy the omniversal language function." "What? Why would you want that? If you wanna go talk to someone who speaks a different language go buy it yourself." "I''m not gonna use it to talk to other humans. I told you, I''m going to get info that''ll be worth your money. I don''t trust the overseer''s intentions." Realization dawned on her face, "Even if you can communicate with them, if they''re really as shady as they seem, why would they bother talking to you?" "Will you just trust me and give the talons over already?" Eve thought about it for a moment before sighing and accepting. Oh please, you''re number one on the talon ladder. It''s not like you''re strapped for cash. Then he realized that the reason she was so reluctant might be because of the ladder itself. She currently held the number one spot on both lists, and Devon was willing to bet she felt a fair amount of pride in that. She materialized her tile and held it out, "Here, tap your tile against mine to accept the transfer." Devon did as she said and got a prompt. [Trade offer from Eve] Gift of 50 Talons. Accept? Devon accepted the mental prompt, then checked his status to make sure he had enough. He had gotten up to 58 from the crocomander and the mawbird, so he had 108 now. He wouldn''t be left with much after spending 100 on a function, but he had a gut feeling the omniversal language interface would prove itself useful enough to cover the cost. Thinking back to the last encounter he suddenly remembered something else, "Do either of you know what a discovery bonus is supposed to be?" "Yeah, it''s something the system gives you when you discover a creature nobody''s ever seen before. It also lets you name the creature whatever you want. I was the one who named the mawbirds, by the way," Eve said. "What kind of bonus?" "I think the actual rewards probably vary, I''ve gotten three of them already. I got a unique title with the first one, and the other two gave me something called map tokens." Devon would have asked how she claimed the rewards from the bonus, but he knew whatever answer she gave would be wholly useless in helping him figure out how to open his own. He tried several commands to claim the things on his way over to the terminal, but as expected none of them worked. This damn system and its petty revenge. He accessed the terminal and went through its menus until he found the language module and purchased it. If it worked like the other basic functions of the system, even Devon should be able to access it. Omniversal Language Integration. [Omniversal Language Integration] Do you wish to enable this function? Its usage allows the use of communication and understanding of any language registered to the system''s megastructure. Can be disabled at will. How fascinating. The features themselves were pretty basic and self-explanatory, but Devon found potentially unintended nuance within the specifics of the function. Nuances that would be immensely helpful in his current endeavor. He walked back to the campfire and asked for directions back to the overseer''s camp before he said, "Alright, I''m off." "See ya." "Good luck, Devon." Devon made his way back to the central clearing feeling the constant chill of tension. Not only was he about to start a solo espionage mission against a much stronger faction, but he was alone for the first time out in the wilderness. If a mawbird attacked him at this stage¡­ The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He shook those thoughts from his mind and focused. Looking down at himself in the moonlight, he noticed he was still mud covered from rolling to avoid the mawbird. That, combined with the disheveled look he''d acquired from Trey dragging him back to the terminal, gave him the look of someone who''d been through hell. He could use that. He breathed a sigh of relief upon entering the clearing. The way had been clear, even with Devon''s apparent tendency to attract every monstrosity around. Perhaps the hunts of the initiates had left the area immediately surrounding the overseer''s camp devoid of monsters, or maybe the overseers had deemed the monsters eyesores and forcibly removed them. Devon doubted it would have been very difficult for them. He slowly approached the camp of the aliens, looking over the group of overseers. For the most part, they seemed to be operating much like the initiates so far. They''d begun logging the outermost edges of the forest and using the timber to begin construction of what Devon assumed would become housing. Devon also couldn''t help noticing that there were notably fewer of them than there had been during the start of the tutorial. The ones that were here were sitting around a campfire of their own, drinking some strange liquid and talking among themselves. He had several thoughts on how to go about this, but the simplest was maybe the easiest to work with. His goal was to eavesdrop on their conversation to learn more about them, as he highly doubted they''d be friendly enough to have a pleasant chat. His first idea had been to try and sneak around to listen in, but the closest cover to the outer boundary of the camp was several meters away, and Devon didn''t trust his hearing that well. So he went with a strategy he hoped would be entirely unexpected. He walked straight up to the boundary and stared at the overseer''s campfire with a forlorn expression. After a few seconds of standing like that he fell to his knees, looking bone tired. Some of the overseers cast sidelong glances at him, but none of them did anything for about a solid minute. They just kept talking in their strange alien language. Then it seemed as though they finally tired of his presence, as one was elbowed by a companion into getting up and walking over to Devon. He decided on a whim to try examining the overseer. [Overseer Val Kazar - Level 63] A bead of sweat went down Devon''s back. He''d known they were stronger than the humans, but level 63 was a far more significant leap than he''d assumed. "Leave, human. This is not a place for your kind. Your duty is to grow and survive." What was just moments ago a rasping cacophony of hisses to its companions was now a slightly raspy english voice, at least to Devon''s ears. So that''s how it works. Indeed, they''re using it the same way I intend to. "I can''t¡­ I can''t go back out there¡­ I''ll die if I go back out there¡­" The reptilian face sneered at him. Devon assumed it had examined him and found that he was still only a pitful level 3, a far cry from the emerging elites of the group. Devon did think he needed to work on his level to keep up, but for now, he found it to be a godsend. After all, who would assume a pitiful level 3 would spend their talons on a seemingly useless language function, if they could even afford it? "Pathetic human, there is no place that is truly safe in the Infinite Realms." The lizardman spat, and Devon endured the humiliation of the spit hitting his chest. "Stay here if you will, but know that we will watch and laugh when the next monster comes along and tears you to shreds." With that, the detestable overseer turned back around and walked back to the campfire. After a minute they resumed talking over their drinks, once again in a language Devon couldn''t even hope to comprehend. I was right, they truly don''t give a shit whether we live or die. Let''s see if I can find out why. Do you wish to enable [Omniversal Language Integration]? Yes. Suddenly the nonsensical hisses became the same sort of raspy english he''d heard from the overseer that had lowered itself to speak to him. And just like that, the hardest hurdle was past. Devon sat there for several more minutes before he eventually just curled up into a ball on the cold grass, pretending to be as pathetic as possible so the overseers would forget about him. And all the while he listened. He sat there, curled in a ball for two hours or more. At some point he''d lost precise track of time. What he learned from the uncomfortable situation was worth its weight in gold. First, the overseers wanted something out of the tutorial, but Devon couldn''t figure out what. They spoke of using this opportunity to travel to new places and take hold of new possibilities, or advance in position within their clan through the endeavor. Devon had expected something like this. In a place where survival of the fittest seemed to trump all, there was no way someone would be expected to put work in for nothing. So the overseers viewed the tutorial as nothing more than a job to finish, they didn''t consider for a moment the lives that were likely being wasted in the wild even as they spoke. The idea filled Devon with a rage he hadn''t felt in a long time. We are not merely animals to the slaughter. Second, there were worlds beyond this one in the Infinite Realms. A near infinite amount, if the name was to be believed. The overseers certainly spoke as if there were countless unknown places in the universe, all teeming with life and opportunity. The overseers themselves had come from a different planet and were unfamiliar with the environment of the tutorial. This info was particularly interesting because it meant that the overseers were just as unfamiliar with the environment as the initiates, so they would likely be learning about the world they found themselves on in tandem, even if they never deigned to work with a species lower than themselves. Apparently the terminals acted as gateways, portals to other worlds. This feature was currently locked for both the initiates and the overseers alike, but it would open up again as soon as the tutorial phase ended. The third interesting bit was even more important. The reason there were fewer of them here now was because the others had been sent off to do some task, but the task itself was never mentioned. Only that the ones sitting around the fire were glad they didn''t have to take shifts. So there''s a hierarchy at play here. This small group is most likely the leaders of the overseers, while the ones out working are on a lower rung. I wonder if they''re based on some sort of class structure or if dominance is based on power. Devon noticed the moon had progressed more than halfway through the night sky, and wondered if he should call it there and make his way back to Eve and Trey. Then he heard something that glued him to the spot. "It feels like such a waste of time to have to simply watch and wait as these bags of easy experience piddle about." "Now now, friend. Imagine if they were all as pitiful as that one over there? A level 3 with nothing to its name. There''d be no point in the hunt, now would there? Not only is it worth less than the beasts at the wayside, it doesn''t even have anything of value on it." "Yeah, who''d have thought we''d get stuck with a group of initiates with such low starting abilities they''d rely on cursed weaponry? Our luck is truly the worst." 8 - Shots in the Night Devon continued to listen to the overseers, a sense of absolute dread coursing through his body. He was thankful his body was turned away from the overseer''s camp, otherwise they might have noticed the change in his expression he couldn''t control. "True, the cursed weaponry poses a slight problem, but it isn''t anything we can''t manage. Especially once the elders arrive, these pathetic humans will be helpless. There''s absolutely no way a species dependent on cursed tools will be able to thrive in the Infinite Realms. If anything, we''re doing them a favor by killing them off early. Imagine if the poor souls had to live through their planet''s third phase of initiation. They''d be so lost." A round of laughter went around the campfire. "Besides, the fact that some of them had cursed weapons at all means it''ll be more likely for a cursed being to be among them, if not several." "Yeah, but do you think they''ll even be able to survive past the 30 day limit? I wouldn''t be confident in my own ability to survive an initiation while cursed, let alone if I was a pathetic human." The lizardmen started bickering back and forth, and Devon started to tune out the conversation. Not only did the overseers care less about their lives than the food they ate, they were actually planning on exterminating them once the tutorial ended. The information was just too much. This is fucked up. Is every other tutorial like this? What about the first phase initiates, what happened to them? Devon had thought that his sister would thrive in an environment like the tutorial, but that confidence was shattered upon the realization that the ones overseeing the tutorial actually planned on the death of all the initiates. Once again he felt the burning desire to buy the datalog with information on the initiation of new planets, and once again he had to fight down that urge. But it was hard, so much harder than before. Relax, it''s possible that not every set of overseers are like these. It''s entirely possible, no it''s more likely than not that there are other motivations for becoming an overseer. The conversation fizzled out and the overseers started moving around. Devon''s heart initially raced when he heard the movement, but it settled down once he realized what was happening. The lizardmen seemed to have drank their fill of the strange alien liquor, as they started getting up one by one and retiring to tents. Devon waited another hour before daring to move. The only thing he had to fill the time was watching the slow and gentle movement of the moon, and hearing the soft breeze that played tricks upon his ears. And all the while he was tortured by a need to move, to act, to learn. It was perhaps the most painfully slow hour he''d ever experienced. When he did move, he did so while keeping the facade he''d created. He shook and turned, before jolting upright and looking about in confusion. He mumbled to himself, pretending to have awoken from some terrible dream before looking over at the camp of lizardmen and making an expression of fear at them all being asleep. They wouldn''t have protected him, but the weak would grasp onto any straw, no matter how flimsy. He looked back towards the plains, then to the forest before making his way towards the dense trees. His pace quickened as he stepped over the tangled mess of roots and underbrush, the light of the moon quickly being lost under the canopy of trees. Once he felt he was far enough in he ducked into the cover of a hollowed out tree trunk and waited. He didn''t have to wait long. Only a minute after he''d tucked himself away he heard the soft rustle of leaves to indicate his follower. He''d first gotten the notion from the overseer''s conversation. He wondered what exactly what the other overseers could be taking shifts doing. The first thought he''d had was that they were surveying. If the land was new to them it would make sense to send out parties dedicated to getting a lay of the land and establishing some cartography of the area. But after the last piece of discussion, Devon was almost certain what the true purpose of the workers was. His suspicions had been confirmed as he lay out in that clearing beside the overseer''s camp. Amid the sound of the breeze was the soft sound of rustling leaves, and an almost imperceptible sigh of impatience from the forest. They''ve been spying on us the entire time. Keeping tabs to make sure they stay informed on all of our movements. I guess it makes sense, you wouldn''t leave the prize animals out unsupervised. Not when they could disappear and return as monsters in a month. Devon slowly reached under his shirt, drawing his gun without making a sound. He was thankful he carried with one in the chamber, otherwise he''d give himself away racking the slide. The lizardman, or lizardwoman in this case, stalked into view, looking for Devon. He didn''t know how long the overseer had been observing him, but Devon was determined to get some answers out of the thing. Devon leveled his gun at the creature before stepping out of the hollow. The overseer''s head snapped to him as his movement rustled some leaves. "Move and you die," Devon said with omniversal language still turned on. He didn''t know how much of his tone the overseer could recognize, but he knew it wouldn''t mistake the deathly serious look in his eyes. He could see the look of fear in the lizard''s eyes, after all. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. [Overseer Khan Yuk - Level 35] The lizardwoman froze, not daring to move. This confirmed Devon''s suspicion that their guns were in fact a dangerous threat to the overseers. Devon narrowed his eyes, looking the overseer over. He wasn''t sure, but he was pretty confident she hadn''t been in the camp at the start of the tutorial. So they had people in place even before we arrived. Their show of force in the camp wasn''t their true number, but I''d be surprised if they had many more. Devon estimated the overseers should number somewhere between 50 and 70 in total, while the group of humans had been at least 1000 strong. He also assumed based on this scout''s level that the lizard society worked on a hierarchy of power. This woman was only level 35 while the overseer that had been lounging around in camp had been level 63. "How many of you are there, and what levels are you all?" Devon asked. It was important to obtain accurate information if he was to form any kind of plan. The overseer gave no response, only darting her eyes around nervously. "Tell me! How many of you are there, and what levels are the members of your group?" Devon repeated, anger building in his voice. That anger died in the next second as he realized what was going on. The overseer seemed to be staring off into space, but Devon had realized by now that when somebody did that, it usually meant they were looking at their system''s display. The woman seemed to notice the recognition in Devon''s eye a moment too late, as she panicked and said, "Wait, I''ll tell-" Her voice was cut off by a flash and the crack of a gunshot. The bullet pierced the overseer''s head, and they dropped like a rock. How could I have been so stupid? The basic functions available in the terminal. If they were cheap enough that the human initiates, at their bottom line levels could afford them, there was no way the more powerful overseers wouldn''t have acquired them all already. And one of them allowed sending messages to someone else directly through the system. Devon looked down at the overseer and noticed she was still alive, even with a hole in her head. She reached an arm out on the ground, and her tile appeared in front of her hand. Before she had the chance to pull anything out of her inventory, Devon put another two rounds in her skull before he finally got the kill notification. Executed - [Overseer Khan Yuk - Level 35] - 0 Talons New title obtained: [Callous] New quest started: [Rebellion] New profession available: [Schemer] You have murdered an Overseer while unprovoked. Distributing penalty. Title [Protected] has been lost. Applying Mark of Karmic Disdain¡­ Done. Adjusting title [Despised]. [Despised] has become [Cursed]. Quest [Absolution] failed! New quest started: [The Path of Retribution] New quest started: [The Path of Repentance] Profession [Schemer] no longer available due to misaligned Karma. New profession available: [Cursed Schemer] Devon ignored each and every one of the many notifications that popped up in front of him as his mind raced. He needed to move, now. The problem was that if he just left he would only create complications. He looked down at the gun in his hand and grimaced. He had no doubt that this would spark tension between the overseers and the initiates. Even if he escaped, they''d hunt him. And the gun in his hand would be a dead giveaway that he was a prime suspect if they started to conduct searches of the initiates. Even if he ditched the gun somewhere to get later, that wouldn''t cleanse the humans of suspicion. In the worst-case scenario, the overseers would become oppressive and start making examples of the people if the one with the gun didn''t come forward. It would be a disaster. He unloaded the mag and cleared the chamber, catching the bullet as it jumped up into the air. He put both into his jacket pocket, then let the gun fall to the ground. It hurt to have to do it, but the gun would be the overseer''s primary lead in any investigation they might perform. If he removed the object of their search from the pool of leads, it was possible that the heat would die down a bit. At least, that''s what Devon hoped. Still, he didn''t want to leave any ammo within the weapon on the off chance they decided to use it against the humans, hence why he took the extra precious seconds to clear the weapon. It made him feel a bit like a character from a mob movie, doing a hit and then leaving the gun behind. He spared a glance for the fallen tile of the overseer, but left it also as he started running. Taking it or any of the items in its inventory would lead to the same issue as the gun, giving the overseers something to look for. Devon cursed. This might all be pointless if the overseers managed to identify him, but on the chance they didn''t he couldn''t take the risk. He simply wasn''t willing to wager the safety of every remaining human within the tutorial on such a possibility, yet he also wasn''t willing to risk his own well-being by purposefully putting a target on his back. What a shitty situation. He made it maybe 50 meters before he had to duck behind a rock as a lizardman darted through the shadows ahead of him. Thankfully, it didn''t see him and passed by like a shadow. Devon waited only 20 seconds before continuing his sprint. He didn''t know the forest, but he knew his directions enough that he was able to navigate in the general direction of the divide between the forest and the plains. When he finally broke out of the dense canopy of the trees he noticed that the forest was actually up a slope, and overlooked some of the plains. In the distance he could see two orange lights, no doubt campfires of the initiates. He may even have been able to see more scattered across the plains earlier in the night, but by now most would probably have turned in to get what rest they could. He looked toward the light that seemed most likely to be the camp Eve and Trey were at, then cursed under his breath as he saw a dark figure moving swiftly between the tall prairie grasses from that exact direction. Devon jumped into a bush, and the overseer passed him by as easily as the first. He waited almost a minute this time, making sure there were no other fast moving figures in the plains before he stepped out and made for the camp at a dead sprint. 9 - Towards the Mountain Trey and Eve were still awake when Devon burst back into the camp. The nerve-frayed guards initially tried to skewer him when he burst out of the prairie grass, but they quickly breathed sighs of relief when they saw he was human. Trey stood up when Devon made his way over to the fire, "I heard the shots, what happened?" Devon glanced at Eve, not sure if he really trusted her with the information, then remembered she had kind of funded the entire operation. "It''s bad, really fucking bad," He said as he tried to catch his breath. In a hushed voice so as to not let anyone overhear, Devon rapidly laid out everything he''d heard from the Overseers and his encounter with the scout in the woods. "You mean they''ve been watching us this entire time?" Eve asked, aghast, "We have to tell everyone. We can''t just let them do as they please!" "No, Eve stop," Trey said, putting a hand out, "Think about what will happen if we do that. Most people here still haven''t even adjusted to this new environment. If we throw an even bigger problem in their faces then people will break down, and then we''ll be even worse off than we are right now." Devon internally thanked his lucky stars Trey could keep a cool head under pressure. He hadn''t been a star athlete for nothing, and his leadership capabilities were showing through now. Most other people would be panicking or losing their cool, much like the redhead next to them. "So you''re saying we do nothing?" Eve asked incredulously. "Of course not," Trey responded, "I''m saying there''s nothing we can do right now. We have to go with the flow, make sure nobody sticks out like a nail waiting to get hammered down. We continue on as we have been. And we wait." "For what?" "For anything," Devon said, "Once people calm down we''ll see bigger groups popping up, I need you two to be figureheads for those people. Make them trust you so that we can lead them when things get really dicey. Wait and watch how the overseers react. How they respond to the situation will give us information on their methodology. We''ll have to wait and make progress before we can get our hands on any useful datalogs too." "What do you mean we have to be figureheads for these people? Don''t tell me you''re going all nihilistic on me," Trey said. "I have no intentions of dying at the hands of those things, but I need to disappear. I''m heading toward the mountain, I think the terrain will allow me to lie low a lot better than I could in the plains or the forest." "Wait a minute," Eve hissed, "I can''t go around leading people! I-" A thought came to Devon, "Trey, can you query your system about how long until the terminals allow us to venture off this world?" Trey nodded, then went pale, "It says there''s a 40 day minimum planetary lockdown to account for the tutorial." Devon cursed, "I thought it seemed a little too easy to simply hop ship immediately after the tutorial ended, turns out I was right." "So they''ll box us in and hunt us down before we have a chance to escape," Trey said, a dark look on his face. "Yeah, seems that way. Ah, dammit dammit dammit I wish I had time to sit here and rack our collective brains for a solution but I''ve seriously gotta go." "Hey, I wasn''t finished-" Eve tried to say. "Listen," Devon interrupted her again, "I need to go right now before the overseers get their shit together again. Get the messaging function as soon as you can, it''ll let us keep in touch." With that, he dashed off into the tall prairie grass. Under any other circumstance he would have been happy to stay and convince them, but time was not on his side. The sooner he disappeared into the rocky terrain of the mountain the safer he would be. He heard Eve swearing as he ran off into the night. The trip through the moonlit plains would have been extremely tranquil if he hadn''t been sprinting like his life depended on it, which it did. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Unfortunately, he started running into trouble as soon as he made it to the boundary line between the plains and the mountain. Practically nobody had made their way towards the imposing figure of the mountain when people had scattered at the start, which meant that the area he ran through now was markedly different than the fringe areas of the forest and the plains in that the monsters here hadn''t been thinned out yet. Immediately he encountered a creature that had the body of an armadillo and the head of a leech. [Leechhead? - Level 3] [Discovery Bonus] Eve said she got to name the things she discovered, but it sure as shit just feels like the system is grabbing at whatever random thought comes into my head and slapping it onto the thing. The leechhead screeched at him before charging at him with its disgusting mouth wide open. Devon didn''t waste any time exploiting the obvious weak spot, and shoved his spear straight through the creature''s mouth as it charged him. The creature didn''t have the mobility to alter its course, so it couldn''t dodge Devon''s spear. Devon''s spear pierced straight into the creature''s exposed insides, and the creature''s own momentum carried it further down the shaft. It was only able to give one last shudder before it died and Devon got the system notification for it. Kill - [Leechhead - Level 3] - 32 Talons Devon gripped his spear with both hands before swinging it like a polearm, sending the corpse of the poor leechhead sailing into the distance. At least these things are fatally weak to the spear. Agh, If I didn''t have to get my ass moving this would be a prime spot to stay and farm a load of exp. At least these things don''t seem to have nearly as much mobility as the mawbirds, so they won''t be able to catch up to me if I simply run past. *** Val Kazar Orndefauld, leader of the overseers, gazed down at the body of Khan Yuk Haldefan in stunned silence. Rage coursed through his veins, a torrent of emotion like he had never known. These humans, these pathetic creatures had dared to wield cursed weaponry against them yet again. He would find the human that had done this, that had ruined everything, and make them feel the fury of one who had lost everything. However, that only accounted for half of his rage. The other half he directed to himself. It had undoubtedly been a mistake to allow the chief''s daughter to share in the duties of the watchmen. He had known that, but he had still allowed her to do it. His weak heart had been swayed by her earnest desire to improve herself and learn the ways of other people, so as to better the clan as a whole. And now he would pay the price for it. The tutorial had only allowed a small part of the clan to participate as overseers, and would allow only a handful more into the abandoned world before the tutorial process set the humans free. After that, he had no doubt that they would scatter and be lost to the cosmos. He was even more sure that the first one through the terminal after the initial 30 days would be the chief himself, to check on their progress and pick the juiciest pieces of fruit from the batch himself, if they were even worth it that is. And when the chief showed up, Val Kazar would die. There would be no saving himself from the chief''s wrath, and Val Kazar knew that the only thing left for him to do was offer the worm''s head on a platter when he arrived so that maybe the chief would spare the rest of the overseers. Val Kazar looked down at the cursed weapon the human had left behind and sneered, fully understanding the intent behind the action. Yes, I understand, pathetic human. I cannot justify wanton attacks against your people, because you have left the evidence of their innocence here. This cursed weapon shall never more be used against my people, by you or any of your puny kin. He picked the weapon up off the ground and crushed it in his hand. Despite how much power it could exert, the material was flimsier than metal and gave way easily to his higher than average strength. He did not know why the tile was left behind. He could only assume it was some sort of insult, a way of saying Khan Yuk had been so beneath him that her possessions weren''t worth taking. He looked up at the last message Khan Yuk would ever send, still displayed on his system''s interface. [Khan Yuk] Help me. A human named Devon has a cursed weapon and is threatening me. I think it knows The cut-off message indicated the poor girl hadn''t even had time to finish her thought before the bastard had executed her. The part that infuriated him the most was that he''d known that human. It was the one that had begged him for safety outside their camp just hours earlier. The one that had looked so pathetic and miserable as it had listened to their every word. He didn''t know why a measly level 3 would bother spending money on the translator function, it was almost always considered an afterthought to all the warriors of the clan. "Find him," Val Kazar hissed through gritted teeth, "Find the human named Devon and bring him here so we may parade his corpse for all these pathetic humans to see." He looked at the human''s ladders and felt his rage grow even more at the fact that the human known as Devon wasn''t even on either of them. How could a being weaker than a ur-snappa from back home have thrown such a wrench in the plans? The ladder function had been something they''d been forced to pay extra for as well. For the humans it represented a way for them to compete against each other and soar to greater heights. For his clan, it represented a way to identify which prey would be most worth hunting when the time came. 10 - Cursed The path up the mountain was far more arduous than Devon''s stroll through the plains the day prior. He was thankful the area around the base of the mountain was a light woodland, so the sparse trees still gave him some measure of cover by which to avoid detection from the viewpoint of the starting glade. Even so, he was starting to really miss the comforts of home as he pulled his arm free from being impaled on the bone horn of his newest creature discovery. He screamed in pain at the feeling of the horn coming back out of the hole it had dug into his flesh. Once the horn was free a spurt of blood followed it, creating yet another crimson flow down his arm. Kill - [Leafstag - Level 6] - 64 Talons [Level up. Level 6 obtained.] Devon leaned against a rock, breathing and bleeding heavily. He had wounds all over his body, both bruises and cuts. The trek had been a four hour long unrelenting cascade of bestial encounters, but finally, finally, it seemed like he could take a break. Admittedly, it only seemed as though the beasts had been unrelenting because he''d simply chosen to run away from most of them. He knew if he stopped to fight every monster he would get bogged down by exhaustion and likely die from attrition. It also would have left a several mile long spree of bloody death, a rather clear and obvious sign of his passage to any potential pursuers. He propped himself up, knowing he needed to get to the terminal before he got too comfortable. He knew if he lost much more blood he''d lose consciousness and die. It wasn''t the first terminal he''d come across. There had been two others closer to the starting point, but after that he hadn''t seen another recently during his four hour trek. His guess was that the tutorial made them considerably more common closer to the overseer camp. He interacted with the terminal as dawn broke over the horizon. Devon only took a moment to admire the sight of the first sun breaching over the skyline before he navigated through the terminal''s menu and bought a healing pill. He downed the pill immediately and felt blissful relief from the pain. The effect was so abrupt it caused him to almost lose his balance and fall on his ass. He hadn''t realized how tense he''d been, but he wasn''t really surprised. It had been a long four hours. He sat down next to the terminal, glad to finally have a chance to go over the changes to his status page as his wounds knitted themselves back together. The system had bombarded him with messages in a moment when he hadn''t had time to go over any of them, so he only had a vague idea of what had really changed. He tried to bring them back up, but the system refused to react to his bumbling commands. Eventually, he just sighed and resigned himself to going through the changes manually. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 6 Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Profession available. Mana: 75/75 Talents: None. Skills: None. Titles: Initiate, Cursed(2), Callous Strength: 16 Dexterity: 17 Vitality: 14 Endurance: 13 Arcane: 14 Free Points: 25 Talons: 287 He grimaced at the amount of free points he''d accumulated. The leafstag had almost killed him. If he''d had those extra 25 points to distribute the fight wouldn''t have been nearly as difficult. Still, he had to admit even without the free points Devon could feel an improvement in his physique. He doubted he would have even been able to make the four hour trek before the initiation. The second thing he noticed was that the Protected title was gone, which was understandable considering his actions. He opened the two new titles, intent on moving past the loss of his protected status. [Cursed] You have obtained 2 Marks of Karmic Disdain. Find a way to remove them or be culled. ?????? [Callous] Awarded for executing a defenseless sentient creature. User may be more inclined to commit heinous acts in the future. Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane +2. Well I guess Callous explains the inconsistency in my stats. Cursed seems just as ambiguous as Despised was He couldn''t help but feel weirded out by the wording of Callous. Was the description meant to paint a picture of his current mentality, or was the system going to start messing with his mind, pushing him into becoming something he wasn''t? He didn''t have any answers. All he could do for now was be glad for the extra skill points. Next on the list then. Let''s see¡­ Profession. Profession available! Selection includes: [Cursed Schemer] - Perhaps one of the most hated existences in the Infinite Realms, Cursed Schemers concoct plots and schemes to further their own agenda and power. What the fuck. His happiness at getting the command right on the first attempt was quickly replaced with a feeling of shock. He rubbed his temples, desperately trying to remember what it was the system had said at the time. Let''s see¡­ First it gave me the option of choosing the Schemer class, then after Despised became Cursed it revoked it and turned it into Cursed Schemer. Does that mean that Cursed forces me to choose from cursed versions of professions? Devon groaned. The whole thing was too much to wrap his head around. He simply had too little information. He desperately wished his system would sometimes throw him a single bone, but no. It sat there like a damn rock while everyone else''s played the helpful tutor. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Still, despite the intimidating text he couldn''t help but accept the offer of the profession. So far every new function he''d encountered came with bonuses, so he hoped that Cursed Schemer would come with some as well, even if the job was cursed. User has accepted the profession [Cursed Schemer]. [Profession] function has been added. At least it had the decency to tell me that time. Profession. [Cursed Schemer] Level 1 1 Plot available for planning. 1 Scheme available for planning. Great, more commands for me to figure out without any guidance whatsoever. I need to come back to this later. The last thing that he had to check up on was his quest tab, which had received a major makeover since he''d last looked at it. [Quests]
  1. [Survive] (Variant): Survive to the end of tutorial block #247. Reward: Unique title based on performance.
  2. [Rebellion] (Extreme): Defeat the ones who brought you into this world. Reward: Unique title, +10% all stats, +20 all stats.
  3. [The Path of Retribution]: Cleanse yourself of a Mark of Karmic Disdain by surviving a Karmic Retribution. This quest chain has no time requirement and will only be resolved upon absolution or death.
  4. [The Path of Repentance]: Cleanse yourself of a Mark of Karmic Disdain by offsetting it with a Mark of Karmic Affection. This quest chain has no time requirement and will only be resolved upon absolution or death.
The first new quest immediately caught Devon''s attention for several reasons. It seemed like the first quest he''d received that had been activated in response to something he''d done in the world. There was also the Extreme next to the name of the quest. Devon had been wondering what the Variant next to the Survive quest was about, but now he had a pretty good idea. It seemed to indicate the difficulty level of the quest. To succeed with their rebellion seemed nigh impossible while the overseers had level 60 monsters on their side. So it made perfect sense that the quest was listed as Extreme difficulty. The Variant beside Survive was likely accounting for multiple factors. First, how hard the scenario in a specific tutorial was. Second, how the individual went about completing the tutorial. Even in this fucked up lizardman hunting ground the option remained to find a cave to hide in and wait out the storm. The idea likely wouldn''t work for large groups, not with the overseers keeping tabs on them, but the option remained for Devon. Not that he''d actually take it. Devon also couldn''t help but drool at the rewards. He didn''t know what the title would entail, but the stat rewards alone made his eyes pop. Even to someone who could distribute their free points, 100 stat points would be significant. The +10% bonus to all stats seemed amazing as well. He sighed. There was no point fantasizing what could be when he wasn''t even ready to get started on progressing that quest. He moved on to the next two, which were strange. Path of Retribution and Path of Repentance seemed to be branching quests that both effectively said the same thing. Basically, the system wanted him to get rid of the Marks of Karmic Disdain. Funnily enough, gaining another Mark and failing Absolution to go further down the quest chain had actually given him more information on how he had been meant to complete Absolution in the first place. He didn''t have any idea how he was supposed to encounter a Karmic Retribution, let alone survive one. Repentance seemed much easier in comparison, assuming it was as simple as doing an action the system approved of. It seemed a logical inverse of getting Marks of Karmic Disdain. Finished looking over his updated array of system upgrades and curses, Devon turned his attention toward the shop. I know I told those two to get the messaging function as soon as possible, but I think I''m going to have to prioritize the essentials if I''m going to survive out here on my own. The first thing Devon spent his talons on was the inventory function, followed by general survivalist supplies. Once he felt he had enough supplies to adequately camp out he found that he''d spent roughly 150 of his talons. He examined the inventory function, sighing as he knew he''d once again have to figure out how to use its basic operations. Inventory. A blank dialog appeared before him. His tile also appeared next to him, floating in the air. He''d seen Eve manipulate the floating plaque with nothing but a thought and wondered if he''d be able to do the same with a slight bit of apprehension. He sighed in relief when he realized he could at least move his tile around in the air at will like everybody else. Storing items within the tile was another matter altogether. When he tried to shove his bundled up tent into the tile, he was met with an immovable barrier floating in the air. Well, I suppose it had to have some way to screw with me. It''s becoming such a common occurrence I''m starting to get used to the constant annoyance. He ran through a list of likely commands until he thankfully stumbled upon one that worked. Store. A feeling of immense relief ran through him as the tile gave way to the tent and [Tent] was added to the otherwise blank display. If he''d been unable to use the inventory he may have just been utterly screwed. He also realized the tent wasn''t the only piece of text that had appeared in the dialogue. In the upper right corner were the words [78% Remaining]. When he shoved the rest of the camping essentials he''d purchased from the store the number went down to 50. It''s not exactly a huge amount of space to work with, is it? Still, it was better than nothing. Devon shuddered at the thought of having to continue his trek while continually assailed by monsters and carrying a heavy pack. It would not be fun. After some experimentation, he found that the command to remove objects from the inventory was retrieve followed by the name of the item. Interestingly, the system seemed to brick up at this stage if he tried doing anything other than retrieving the specified item from his tile. Even other functions like status simply didn''t activate until he''d resolved the retrieval. More little details to dance around, I suppose. He looked over the contents of the shop for a few minutes, trying to decide what to spend his last 133 talons on. Eventually he picked two of the healing pills and a sword. The healing pills were a no-brainer. He had seen their miraculous power several times now, and to go forward without at least one would be sheer stupidity. Devon had considered buying leather armor instead of the extra pill, but he felt as though he might be able to get by avoiding his opponents altogether better than letting himself get hit. He could feel himself growing stronger with his repeated fights, and his confidence was only growing. He''d had to think about the sword for a bit. He was becoming used to using his spear, but just like the mawbirds in the plains, there had been several creatures he''d encountered on his hike that looked like they would be resistant to his stabs, or had appendages that looked flimsy enough to cut through with a bladed weapon. He didn''t have Trey to back him up anymore, so he needed to learn to be versatile and adapt to new threats as he came across them. His stomach growled, and Devon felt a pang of regret he hadn''t asked for some of the meat Eve had been cooking. There wasn''t much in the way of berries or fruit trees on the mountain ascent, not that Devon would have known what was poisonous and what wasn''t. Thinking of the meat Eve had made him look over at the fallen leafstag. True to form, the system had named it after what Devon thought it looked like, a deer with some kind of plant-like thing growing over it. He was happy it still had a flesh and blood interior to puncture, otherwise he wasn''t sure he would have survived the battle. Devon walked over and flinched when he realized the vines on the leafstag''s body were still moving. Interested, he moved closer. After half an hour of messing with the corpse Devon had some fascinating insights into the creature. The vines and the stag were actually two separate entities. The plant seemed to be some kind of symbiote that lived off the stag. Devon couldn''t tell if the plant had been part of a parasitic or mutualistic relationship, but after a minute of pondering the question he realized it didn''t matter in the end. No matter how the plant and stag had lived together, that life was ended once Devon cut through the vines and ripped them off the flesh of the stag. Once the leafstag had been ''skinned'' Devon threw the entire carcass into his inventory. It was fascinating to watch the tile expand to fit the corpse, though Devon hoped it wouldn''t come in contact with anything else in the inventory. It''d be pretty gross if his healing pills sat alongside a dead and skinned animal. He topped off his inventory by shoving his new sword in there as well, bringing his available space down to just 3%. Happy he''d managed to fit everything he needed into his new storage space, he continued on toward the heights of the mountain. He could still see the crags and ravines that littered the upper reaches, and he hoped that as he went further up there would be more places for him to hide out, at least for now. 11 - Ups and Downs Mere minutes after Devon left the terminal he ran into another leafstag. He cursed under his breath and ducked behind a tree before it saw him. Leafstags were the only monster he''d encountered so far on the mountain that he knew he couldn''t outrun, and he didn''t like the idea of getting gored in the back by the creature''s powerful horns. He could still remember the immense pain from when the other one had stabbed into his arm. He had a decision to make now. He was four hours up the mountain, and he hadn''t left much of a trail to follow unless the lizards had a rather remarkable tracker. He had to decide here and now whether to try to sneak his way further up the mountain or say screw it and start killing everything he came across. Going the stealth route would spare him from unnecessary danger and potentially allow him to remain undetected for longer, but the idea had a few problems. He was noticing a pattern to the ecology of the creatures in this world, one that had seemed to hold true for both the plains and the mountain; the further one got away from the starting point the stronger things became. If the creatures near the upper reaches of the mountain were as dangerous as he thought they would be then remaining passive could end in a fatal result if he found himself surrounded by monsters he couldn''t possibly fight. Devon''s distrust of the overseers had proved correct, but he still believed they meant it when they had said the pursuit of strength was paramount in this world. Going up the mountain stealthily would also cost him heaps of time. It was entirely possible that the overseers would figure out his objective was to get the crags to find a place to hide and intercept him. So in the end he felt his only good choice was to embark upon a path of carnage. He stepped out from behind the tree and entered the vision of the leafstag. The creature immediately let out a big huff and charged him. Devon sprinted towards the thing, sword in hand. Right before they collided Devon leaped to the side, throwing his sword arm out and cutting through a thick layer of vines. He scowled when he rolled to a stop and checked his sword only to find a thin line of blood on it. Damn vines act like some kind of soft layer of protection. He looked up, ready to make his next move against the creature but stopped in surprise when he saw the leafstag limping toward him, the fire of hatred still burning in its eye. Devon couldn''t understand why the leafstag was limping. He''d only cut through the outer layer of vines, barely scratching the thin skin below. Then the realization hit him. He hadn''t noticed at the time, but the flesh of the animal beneath the plants wasn''t lean in the slightest. It had actually looked as though the animal wasn''t that muscular. I see now. The vines act as the creature''s muscles and the animal provides nutrients for the plant to live. What a fascinating creature. But no matter how interesting Devon found the thing''s biology, the fact remained that he needed to kill the thing. Now that its mobility was hindered, Devon shoved the sword into his inventory before pulling his trusty spear out. With a few quick stabs from a safe distance, the leafstag fell. Kill - [Leafstag - Level 6] - 27 Talons Devon spared the poor animal only a glance before moving on. He couldn''t help but notice the system had barely awarded him any talons for the kill, and he thought back to the initial four hour trek he realized the pattern. It seemed the system marked down the talon gain of repeated kills, meaning to effectively gain money you either had to constantly hunt for new things or continuously grind out a single group of monsters. Devon smiled, if the last four hours were anything to go by, new creatures were something the mountain would have plenty of.
Two hours later Devon sat on a stone, panting. Next to him sat the corpse of a spithound. The thing had appeared canine to Devon''s eyes before it had opened its disgustingly alien mouth and spat a glob of acid at him. Kill - [Spithound - Level 8] - 81 Talons [Level up. Level 8 obtained.] Huh, I suppose that makes me even to Eve now. Actually, I suppose I should take another look at that ladder now. Ladder. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 10
  2. Ray - Level 10
  3. Stein - Level 9
  4. Zane - Level 9
  5. Nix - Level 9
  6. Ingrid - Level 8
  7. Trey - Level 8
  8. Ash - Level 8
  9. Devon - Level 8
  10. Kyle - Level 7
[Talon Ladder] Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.
  1. Eve - 596
  2. Ray - 543
  3. Stein - 522
  4. Nix - 467
  5. Devon - 458
  6. Ingrid - 451
  7. Zane - 439
  8. Kyle - 411
  9. Ash - 387
  10. Damon - 361
"Damn," Devon muttered to himself. He''d known he was a lot less inclined to this sort of lifestyle, but the fact that Eve and Trey were still outpacing him was a bit sad after his two solid hours of grinding. But then again, they were likely able to finish fights far easier because they were able to distribute their free points. He was starting to seriously feel the strain of fighting creatures while he had significantly fewer stats than he should rightly have, as the fights were taking longer and longer as the levels went up. Devon could likely have finished creatures off faster if he just went for the kill, but he knew letting his guard down at the wrong moment could prove fatal. He just wasn''t willing to take a hit when he was pretty certain that the healing item''s cooldown still hadn''t reset, though he had no way to properly check that. He might just have to resign himself to being continuously behind everyone else. He opened his status, wanting to give himself a little bit of satisfaction for the progress. However, his eyes narrowed when he noticed something strange. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 8 Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Profession: [Cursed Schemer] Mana: 85/85 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 1], [Sword Proficiency - Level 1] Skills: None. Titles: Initiate, Cursed(2), Callous Strength: 19 Dexterity: 20 Vitality: 17 Endurance: 16 Arcane: 17 Free Points: 35 Talons: 458 The weapon proficiencies weren''t new, he''d gotten those on the way up the mountain and had already checked them out, only to find they didn''t do much of anything. Devon suspected they were something of a gateway to generalist weapon skills, but they would need to be leveled up before giving any real reward. The real inconsistency was in his stats themselves. Unless his math was wrong, and he was a grade A calculus student so he was pretty damn sure it wasn''t, each of his stats had 1 more than they should have. He scoured his status page, looking for a reason for the inconsistency, but found nothing he hadn''t seen before. His first thought was that it was probably due to the Cursed title, as the effects under that were listed as ??????, but discarded the idea after thinking about it. If those points were gained from the Cursed title then I should have 5 unexplained points in each stat, not just 1. He''d gained 5 levels since he''d killed the overseer, so it only made sense that if the title gave an extra point for every level they would be much higher. Maybe it does give me gains, but they''re staggered? Maybe it only dishes out an extra point every 5 levels. He had no concrete answers, and the system was as silent as ever, refusing to give him even the most basic information on how things within it really worked. He sighed in resignation and decided that there was no choice but to move on. He''d just have to wait until the next level to see if he got more ''mystery points.'' Once I get the messaging function I should ask Eve or Trey if they''ve encountered this. It might just be an effect of becoming higher leveled. His race was listed as E-Grade Human, and Devon would be shocked if there was no way to improve one''s grade by some means of progression. It seemed like it should almost be a given with a leveling system such as the one in place. He shook off the thoughts and turned his attention forward. He''d stopped here not only because he needed the break, but because he had finally reached the point on the mountain where the terrain became truly jagged. He sat near the edge of a ravine, a tiny one compared to the ones he could see further up the mountain, but it was large enough that he thought he might have a chance to find a cave or alcove at least to take a rest in. He shoved his weapon into his tile before clambering over the edge of the ravine. It looked to be about 10 meters to the bottom, and Devon still didn''t feel anywhere near strong enough to endure a fall like that without injury. He''d been rock climbing a few times with a friend in high school when he still participated in athletics, so he wasn''t completely hopeless when it came to climbing. Still, it took him nearly half an hour to make it to the bottom. Climbing down was a lot harder than climbing up because it was more difficult to see the rocks and harder to judge their stability. He mused to himself that he was lucky the wall was suitable for climbing at all. If it had been a sheer surface he would have had to search for a way down or make a rope. Both options would have cost him time, though he felt the time pressure was a lot less imposing now that he''d made it to where he wanted to be. Now he just had to find a suitable spot. He walked along the bottom of the canyon, keeping an eye out for any sort of alcoves or caves. After about ten minutes he came to a sort of intersection in the path and frowned. The formation could almost perfectly be seen as a T intersection, with two 90-degree angles to match. That''s¡­ odd. He was pretty sure nature wasn''t supposed to create such neat formations, but then he had to remind himself that this was a different world. Of course, it probably had different rules. If he was a betting man he''d have put his money on the stone being composed in some weird way, like how pyrite clusters formed perfect cubes, or quartz crystals ended up looking like natural monoliths. He didn''t spend long at the intersection, choosing the direction that took him closer to the summit. It didn''t take long, perhaps a minute later, that he heard a chittering and scraping along the stone ahead. As a precaution, he took his spear out of his tile before moving forward. 12 - Respite With spear in hand, Devon crept along the shallow canyon, hearing the sound of chittering and the scraping of stone grow louder. He spotted an opening in the canyon wall on his right and approached it carefully. He had to step over several piles of small stones as he made his way forward. Suddenly, some kind of large arachnid about as big as a medium-sized dog scuttled out of the alcove and dropped a rock it was carrying out of its huge mandibles when it saw him. [Rockspider? - Level 7] [Discovery Bonus] Figures there''d be giant spiders. Feels like we''d be missing something without them. Well whatever, for as freaky as it looks it''s only level 7. It doesn''t seem to have much in the way of defenses either, so my spear should be able to make quick work of it. Then the spider let out an ear-piercing screech, and a small horde of the things came out of the hole in the wall. Devon didn''t bother trying to dissect the situation. He turned his ass right around and sprinted back the way he came. However, the chittering of the creatures only grew louder as he made it back to the intersection. He turned his head and realized in horror that the things were actually faster than him. They climbed along the walls and floor in their frenzied pursuit of him. In a way it made sense, he''d been working his ass off for the past 9 hours and desperately needed food. No wonder he was slow, he was exhausted. If he couldn''t outrun them then there was no choice but to stop and fight. He turned around and thrust his spear forward, skewering the first in line. He quickly retracted his spear, which slid free of the creature easily. Some of the creatures he''d fought had been rather annoying to face with the spear as it sometimes got stuck in the hole he punched in the enemy. He was getting better about removing it, but he was eminently grateful these things didn''t seem to hold any retention on it at all. One of the other spiders leaped toward him, and he managed to skewer it in the air. Its body slid right down the spear, resting on top of his hand. He scowled at the disgusting feeling of spider guts covering his hand, but noticed that the thing didn''t seem to weigh all that much. Which was good, because the next one leaped at him before he had time to fling the corpse off his spear. He skewered the next as well, but couldn''t maneuver his spear properly to get third now that two bodies were stuck on his weapon. He had to settle for knocking it aside. It bounced on the ground, flailing its legs to try and find purchase, but Devon didn''t give it time to get back up. He stomped down on it with all his strength, and the thing exploded under the weight of his attack. Another landed on his arm while he was distracted, causing him to drop his spear in panic as the creature latched on with its disgusting legs. Devon screamed in pain as it used its rock-crushing mandibles against his arm. On instinct, he swung his arm wildly against the wall of the chasm, and the spider burst from the impact. Devon felt even more stinging pain as the spider guts splattered over his open wound. He didn''t have time to give the pain any mind, as the last three all latched onto his body at the same time and started ravaging him with their mandibles. Devon''s sense of pain was overpowered by adrenaline as he dealt with each of them sequentially. The one on his leg exploded as he kicked it against the wall, the second that was attached to his other arm got flung off, its legs failing to get as good a grip as the first that had bit him. The final one was on his back, making a mess of his neck, and for that one he simply reached over his shoulder and grabbed its head before forcibly yanking it off him. He felt pinpricks along his back where the legs all lost their grip. He slammed the creature into the ground and stomped it into oblivion. Devon took long, ragged breaths as he looked for the one he''d flung off. He saw it struggling to get off the ground so he quickly rushed over to it and splattered its guts all over the canyon, just like the others. Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 68 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 26 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 21 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 17 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 15 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 7 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 7 Talons Kill - [Rockspider - Level 7] - 7 Talons [Level up. Level 9 obtained.] If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. His eyes darted down the ravine, looking for any more of the monsters as he tried to control his breathing. Even after he confirmed there didn''t seem to be any others it took more than two minutes to calm the pounding heart in his chest. Devon slowly looked over himself, covered in blood and spider guts. The creatures had taken entire chunks out of his arms and leg where they had bit him. He gingerly reached his hand up to feel his neck but couldn''t bring himself to fully explore the wound by touch. Eventually, he mustered the willpower to move forward, wincing with every move he made. He picked up his fallen spear, angling it down to let the bodies of the two spiders slide off on their own before shoving it back inside his inventory. He limped back along the path at the bottom of the ravine towards the hole in the wall. The short distance that should have only taken him a minute to cross instead took several as he tried to keep weight off his injured leg. When he made it to the mouth of the opening he almost collapsed from sheer joy at the sight of the small, clear, and clean alcove within, exactly what he had been looking for. He stumbled inside and sat against a wall, trying to keep himself out of view of the entrance. He pulled a healing pill out of his tile. Devon wasn''t sure how long the timer on these things was, but some instinct in the back of his mind told him that the two and a half hours that had passed since the last one wasn''t enough for the cooldown to reset. But still, he had no choice. If he left his wounds as they were, not only would he likely bleed out within the hour, but if he didn''t abuse the magical nature of the healing pill the excessive amount of spider guts in his wounds would probably get into his blood, poisoning him. Without any other options, he gulped the pill down and felt the familiar pain deep within his chest before he lost consciousness.
When Devon woke up he took a sigh of relief that the burning pains of the craters the rockspiders had gouged out of his body were gone. He noticed that there was still daylight coming into the alcove from the outside and sighed in relief. He wasn''t keen on hunting in the canyons of the mountain when he didn''t even have the light of day to see by. He started to move to get up, but almost retched when he noticed the smell that covered the interior of the alcove. For a few moments he looked around, wondering what the source of it was before realizing that he himself was the source of the awful stench. The healing item may have resolved the issue of his wounds, but it hadn''t cleaned the layer of spider guts off him. He hadn''t noticed the smell after the fight because he had been so focused on getting to safety and using the pill. Devon stepped out of the alcove after casting a glance both ways down the ravine to make sure it was clear. He ripped off his shirt and trousers and discarded them in a heap on the path outside the alcove. It felt wrong to be almost nude out in the wilderness, but the clothes weren''t helping that much anymore anyway. The shirt and pants looked like they''d been put through every kind of hell imaginable, which Devon supposed they kind of had. Next, he removed one of the several water flasks in his inventory and washed off all the spider guts he could manage. Some of the crap had solidified over the hours he''d been asleep, so he couldn''t remove all of it, but most of it came off. He cleaned off his spear while he was at it. It wouldn''t do to have a slippery weapon in the middle of combat. How dignified I must look, a naked man living in a cave, covered in the innards of his fallen enemies. He stepped back into the alcove and took a fire kit out of his inventory. Within a few minutes he had a fire going in the middle of the alcove. He was thankful the wood provided by the system didn''t seem to produce much visible smoke, if any. A pillar of smoke in the sky would be a dead giveaway to any potential overseers out there. Next, he removed the corpse of the leafstag that had been sitting in his inventory. It had a slight smell to it, as the basic inventory function didn''t help with the preservation of any items within, but it hadn''t been exposed to the elements, so Devon figured it should be fine. Devon had never been hunting before or prepared his own kill, so he wasn''t really sure how people normally went about it, but he knew that guts were generally not to be eaten. However, he didn''t feel like fully butchering the carcass in his nice safe spot, so he just cut strips of flesh off the legs, removing anything that seemed like a tendon before sticking the strips on his spear and holding them over the fire. Time for the moment of truth, I suppose. He''d gained a level in that encounter, and he was deathly curious to check on his base stats. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 9 Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Profession: [Cursed Schemer] Mana: 90/90 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 1], [Sword Proficiency - Level 1] Skills: None. Titles: Initiate, Cursed(2), Callous Strength: 19 Dexterity: 20 Vitality: 17 Endurance: 18 Arcane: 17 Free Points: 40 Talons: 626 Once again he''d gained a mysterious extra point in each of his attributes. That dashed the hypothesis that Cursed was giving him an extra point in every stat every 5 levels, which left Devon completely lost on what the actual cause might be. It once again put the messaging function in his mind. If Devon could ask Trey then he could run the query by a system that actually bothered responding. He didn''t think Cursed Schemer was the reason for the discrepancy either because it seemed weird that the profession would give him a delayed bonus. He''d accepted the class at level 6, but the mysterious extra points had then appeared first on level 8, not 7. He knew he would get no answers, so he dismissed the status screen and pulled his meat off the fire. He had tried venison in his previous life, though he hadn''t thought much of it. So he was amazed when the leafstag meat was absolutely bursting with flavor. The strips he had cut off the animal''s leg tasted almost as good as a top-grade cut of steak. Once he finished everything he had cooked he looked over to the rest of the animal, salivating. But no, he had things to do before the daylight was out. He shoved the rest of the carcass back into the void whence it came and stood up. The alcove made for an excellent field base, but Devon wanted more. Now that he was loaded up with money he felt the need to find a terminal with which to spend it. And that''s exactly what he was going to do. 13 - Of Plots and Schemes Devon opened up the profession dialog as he walked along the canyon, heading toward the mountain peaks he could see in the distance through the crack in the sky. He''d initially thought it to be a singular peak, but the closer he got the more he came to realize it didn''t have a single peak, but multiple jutting pillars that seemed to pierce the sky. This trek is only going to get more difficult. The slope seems to rise by a huge degree from here on out. I can see the canyon walls growing taller around me as I progress. He looked at the dialog, unsure of whether he should even bother feeling excited. So many features of the system were duds for him, so it was hard to get his hopes up for this new one. [Cursed Schemer] Level 1 1 Plot available for planning. 1 Scheme available for planning. The system differentiated between what was a plot and a scheme, but Devon didn''t have any idea what either of them were supposed to do. Maybe it''s something like a system for creating your own quests, but I''m not sure what the point is. He felt like there had to be some value to using the system''s functionality rather than just using your own brain, but the system didn''t bother telling him what that benefit would be. On a whim he thought, Create plot. [Plot Initialization] What is the Objective of new plot? Devon stopped in his tracks, amazed something he''d tried had actually worked. He felt a giant grin form on his face before realizing he had no idea what he wanted the plot to be about. On another whim he thought, Reach the mountain summit. Nothing happened. Well, that''s not entirely unexpected. He thought about how his previous command had been structured somewhat like a line of computer code and tried something else, Set objective as reach the mountain summit. Error. Command rejected. Objective must include a minimum of 1 other entity. Devon frowned at that. The only time he''d seen the system throw an actual error at him was when he was being tethered. Though, that wasn''t what really bothered him. The system had actually specified what he was doing wrong. Why respond now, and not the hundreds of other times I''ve made an incorrect input? Of course, the system didn''t respond. A thought popped into his head for an idea of something to try to input as the plot objective. His pace quickened and soon he was running down the canyon, filled with the excitement of discovery. Soon enough he found what he was looking for. An errant monster was roaming the ravine ahead of him, simply prowling. Devon would have taken the thing for an octopus, had it not been using its slimy appendages to latch onto the walls around it and pull itself forward. [Wallpus - Level 11] Fuck off. Don''t you dare name it that. Devon knew no matter how much he protested the system wouldn''t bother to change its autogenerated name, despite how horrible it was. Set objective as kill wallpus. Error. Command rejected. Entity does not possess the power necessary to elevate task-level command [Kill] to Plot Objective status. Huh, so if I want to make the objective of a plot to kill something, that creature needs to be above a certain level for the system to acknowledge it as a valid target. The system wouldn''t allow it as the target of a plot, but what would happen if he set it as the target of a scheme? It took him almost a minute to figure out the command to scrap the plot, as it wouldn''t let him make a scheme until he got the first dialog out of the way. Cancel Plot Initialization. Unnamed Plot Canceled. Create scheme. [Scheme Initialization] What is the Objective of new scheme? Set objective as kill wallpus. Error. Command rejected. Entity does not possess the necessary political influence, religious influence, or power to elevate task-level command [Kill] to Scheme Objective status. Woah-kay. I was not ready for that. He desperately wanted to sit there and spend more time fiddling around with the system now that it seemed to be in a talkative mood, but the wallpus had noticed him and was approaching as rapidly as its tentacles could manage. He took his sword out of the inventory, eager to get the encounter over as fast as possible. He wasn''t sure where on the creature the vitals would be located, and those tentacles looked awfully susceptible to cutting attacks. When the thing got close enough he swung at one of the appendages, aiming to sever it. However, he heard the clash of metal as his swing was blocked. He leaped back in surprise as the wallpus tried to stick him with a thick footlong needle that glistened with a metallic sheen. The weapon had silently extended out of one of the tentacles when Devon hadn''t been paying attention. Devon quickly reassessed the danger level of his opponent. If he assumed each of the tentacles had a concealed poker then its threat level certainly wasn''t low. Devon wasn''t ready to have to use another healing pill quite yet, so he imagined a way to win without getting poked full of holes. He cautiously advanced forward and swung again, and again his swing was blocked by one of the creature''s pokers. He did this a few more times, testing out the responses of the wallpus. Eventually he got a feel for how the creature moved and began an onslaught of slashes. At first he aimed for the tentacles as before, but he quickly changed the focus of his attacks to the tentacles that wielded the pokers that were blocking his attacks. They engaged in a sort of fencing match for several minutes, neither leaving an opening wide enough for the other to exploit. They stayed that way until Devon made a feint, drawing out the creature''s defense so he could land a sneaky strike against the tentacle. However, the rubbery tentacle completely rebuffed his sword, to his shock. Devon barely managed to dodge the three pokers thrust his way by jumping back. The thing is slash resistant? No, wait¡­ The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. He looked down at his sword and immediately realized the true problem. The edge that had been sharp and precise had been worn down by Devon''s incessant bashing against the wallpus'' pokers. Dammit, I suppose it''s not called a starting sword for nothing. What I was doing was the same as bashing bronze against steel. Of course it''s going to lose its edge. Devon shoved the useless sword back into his inventory and pulled out his spear. He''d wanted to become more familiar with the blade, and he had, but he hadn''t expected it to cost him the sword''s functionality. The wallpus blocked a few of his initial stabs, but Devon wasn''t playing around anymore. He went for feints almost immediately and landed several hits on the creature''s central body. It tried to retaliate with its pokers, but Devon maintained a definitive reach advantage and didn''t have much trouble avoiding the stingers. He breathed a sigh of relief when the thing finally fell to the ground, dead. Kill - [Wallpus - Level 11] - 99 Talons [Level up. Sword Proficiency Level 2 obtained.] [Level up. Sword Proficiency Level 3 obtained.] Skill [Sever] learned. Despite Devon''s frustration with the sword situation, the gains from the fight hadn''t been bad at all. Sword proficiency leveling up had been one of the goals he''d wanted to work toward, but he wasn''t expecting it to level so far in a single fight. He''d used the weapon to kill multiple things so far and had only achieved level 1, so getting it to level 3 in a fight where he didn''t even manage to injure the enemy with it implied that personal mastery over the weapon trumped any sort of ''proficiency exp'' one might get while using the weapon type. It was definitely something to take note of, and a reminder that he needed to work harder on improving his spear technique. He looked up at the sky through the crack in the ground above him and noted the fading light. He still felt like he could go a bit further, but it was far more practical to return to the camp he''d established and spend the night resting. It would be the first rest he''d take of his own volition, and he had to admit it sounded nice. The forced sleep of the healing items left him feeling not at his best, similar to a light hangover. Not enough to put him out of commission, but certainly enough that he felt it would begin to wear on him soon. He also couldn''t contain his excitement about probing the loophole he seemed to have found in his profession. He couldn''t think of it in any other way after the dead silence and lack of elaboration the system had given him on just about anything. It didn''t take him long to get back to the cave, and it only took a few minutes before he had a new fire going and a basic sleeping setup. He roasted more meat off another one of the leafstag''s legs while going through input after input. He wanted to see just how hard he could push the system for info while also learning about what the system considered applicable inputs. Create Scheme. [Scheme Initialization] What is the Objective of new scheme? Set objective as kill God. Error. Command rejected. Target God-level entity not specified. That''s¡­ actually quite frightening. I did not expect that to work. Okay¡­ Set objective as kill overseer leader. Confirmed. Compiling Scheme¡­ Done. Accept Scheme? [Kill Overseer Val Kazar] Tasks available for creation. *NOTICE* Scheme objective coincides with system issued quest [Rebellion]. Scheme rewards will be reduced or negated to avoid Karmic Wrath. That''s a lot. Okay, so I can create tasks under schemes. Can I do that with plots too? It''s good to note that making a scheme have the same objective as a quest will have a reward reduction. That means the scheme itself gives rewards, though it doesn''t specify what kind. Create task. Create new task. Gah. Modify scheme. Modify scheme kill overseer Val Kazar. Please input scheme modification. Create task. What is the objective of new task? Set objective as have a birthday party. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command rejected. Scheme task must contribute to completion of scheme objective. Set objective as Reach level 100. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command rejected. Task difficulty cannot supersede that of scheme objective difficulty. So the system regards reaching level 100 as being harder than killing Val Kazar, huh? Yeah, I remember now. That was the one that met me at their camp. I think his level was in the early 60s, so it makes sense that reaching level 100 would be more difficult, since by the time I made it there it''s probably not any trouble to kill a level 60. Alright, next. Create task. What is the objective of new task? Set objective as supplant Trey as the de-facto leader of the human initiates. Calculating¡­ Done. Confirmed. Task priority set at high. Alright, I think that''s enough of that. I think I have a good enough understanding of how tasks work. Cancel scheme initialization. Reject scheme. Oh for the love of¡­ Exit modification mode. Finish scheme. Finalize scheme kill overseer Val Kazar. Confirmed. Compiling Scheme¡­ Done. Accept Scheme? [Kill Overseer Val Kazar] Tasks: [Leading the Masses] *NOTICE* Scheme objective coincides with system issued quest [Rebellion]. Scheme rewards will be reduced or negated to avoid Karmic Wrath. Deny. Reject. Reject Scheme. Confirmed. Scheme rejected. Create plot. What is the objective of new plot? Set objective as kill Val Kazar. Error. Command rejected. Scope of objective exceeds scope of Plot-level command. Set objective as finish tutorial at number 1 on the ladder. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command suspended. By default, command registers as Task-level and is not a valid input. However, command may be elevated if mandatory Task [Kill Them All] is implemented. Confirm command? A chill ran down Devon''s spine. Even without the system expanding on the purpose of the task Kill Them All, he understood the implications. Reaching the number 1 spot on the ladder was much more akin to a personal goal than a plot. Even though the ladder system incorporated all the humans within the tutorial it didn''t count them as valid entities in the scope of the plot because he could still emerge as number 1 even if he never interacted with anybody else for the length of the tutorial. But there was another way to emerge as the number 1 spot on the tutorial, one so horrific he hadn''t even considered it. If he killed every last other human on this planet then he would by default finish the tutorial in the number 1 spot. He was starting to see the pattern in how the system worked. He could set a personal goal as a task-level objective, but only if the completion of that goal helped progress the plot or scheme as a whole. Reaching number 1 on the ladder was a goal that could be achieved alone, in the same vein that reaching the top of the mountain would have been a personal goal. The difference was that reaching the number 1 spot on the ladder most likely came with very real benefits, which could help him complete a plot or scheme objective. That was how it differentiated the validity of the objectives. For a plot or a scheme to have any validity they had to by nature be harmful or manipulative to someone or something. The very core ideal of the profession was to hinder or harm others to put yourself in a better position. It was disgusting. But it was also fascinating. Cancel command. Confirmed. Set objective as make Eve fall in love with me. Calculating¡­ Done. Confirmed. Compiling Plot¡­ Done. Accept Plot? [Ensnare the Heart of a Powerful Warrior] Tasks available for creation. Reject plot. Confirmed. Plot rejected. Create scheme. What is the objective of new scheme? Set objective as become a god. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command rejected. Projected trajectory too broad for Scheme-level objective. No Grand Schemes available. Set objective as¡­ destroy the system. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command rejected. Projected trajectory too broad for Scheme-level objective. No [Null Value] Schemes available. Override protocol 0 initiated. Error overridden. Continuing calculations. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command rejected. User does not meet base-level spirituality, and cannot interact with the wider System. Override Protocol 00 initiated. Forcibly awakening user spirituality. All of a sudden it felt like a nail was being driven into Devon''s brain, and he screamed in pain. The pain quickly subsided and the messages resumed. Error resolved. Continuing calculations. Calculating¡­ Done. Error. Command rejected. User''s Karmic Influence is not high enough to successfully create a fate-altering Event. Override Protocol 000 initiated. Administering 100 artificial Marks of Karmic Disdain. Error resolved. Continuing calculations. Calculating¡­ Done. Confirmed. Compiling Scheme... Done. Accept Scheme? [Destroy the System] Tasks available for creation. THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT THIS. 14 - Entity From Beyond Accept Scheme? [Destroy the System] Tasks available for creation. THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT THIS. Devon felt a chill go down his spine. He had thought the system to be an emotionless machine, one that administrated reality from some impartial viewpoint. Sure, it seemed like it was messing with him almost all the time, but he knew logically that was just his psychology applying a personality to a series of events he had no control over. This was different though. This message, this one line of text had some kind of intent to it. He didn''t understand how he knew, he just did. It was as though he could feel something looking back at him through the system''s display. Something with an aura so overpowering it reached through the very concepts of space and spirit to touch his soul. And it was oppressive. He felt a sort of pressure intensify upon his mind more and more the longer the message remained on the screen. It was like there was some other presence that was forcing its way into his mind and squeezing it from the inside, trying to crush all that he was into a pulp. A spark of rage ignited in his heart. The presence took note of it and started pressing down yet harder, but Devon fought back against the attack on his psyche with every out of willpower he had. R¡­ Reject Scheme. Confirmed. Scheme rejected. Override Protocol -000 initiated. Checking for artificial Marks of Karmic Disdain¡­ 100 found. Removing¡­ Done. It only took a moment for the presence to disappear, to evaporate into thin air and make him question whether it had ever truly been there. But he knew better. He could still feel the shadow of its alien touch upon his mind. Felt the damage it had done. He had to take a minute to compose himself before he was collected enough to look back at the display. Do not dare to reach for the heavens when the weight of the earth still binds you. Be careful not to overstep your bounds, little schemer. Devon recoiled when he saw the message appear on his display, but relaxed a bit when he didn''t feel the overwhelming pressure that had accompanied the previous message. All that was left in this one was slight vestiges of that otherworldly presence. The last few attempts of creating schemes and plots within the system had been spitballs, things he had no interest in actually doing but things he was mildly curious if the system would even allow through. He most definitely hadn''t expected the system to let ''destroy the system'' through, especially after it had classified becoming a god as beyond the scope of a scheme. He was entirely certain that every single thing that had triggered off his stupid attempt at messing around were things he was most definitely not meant to see. The worst part of it was that he hadn''t had any control whatsoever. The area of the system dedicated to his profession was like an old piece of a database, filled with archaic stuff that nobody really understood anymore and only connected to the mainframe by a single cord that nobody had bothered to unplug. The system''s parallels to a computer could not be understated, from the specific lines that he needed to input to access certain functionality to the way it had run through that entire process without giving the user a chance to respond. ALERT. Signs of tampering evident within onboard system. Oh great. What now? Assessing¡­ Done. Calculating damages to Karma¡­ Done. Damage nominal. Assessment: No Administrator intervention required. Retaliatory Action: Penalty. Administering Penalty¡­ Done. You''ve got to be shitting me. He opened his status, already knowing what he''d find but still wanting confirmation. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 9 Class: [Feature locked until level 10] Profession: [Cursed Schemer] Mana: 90/90 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 1], [Sword Proficiency - Level 3] Skills: [Sever] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Callous Strength: 19 Dexterity: 20 You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Vitality: 17 Endurance: 18 Arcane: 17 Spirit: 10 Free Points: 40 Talons: 725 He scowled at the number next to Cursed, annoyed that it had once again gone up when he hadn''t even meant to do anything. However, he had to blink to make sure he wasn''t seeing things when his eyes went over his stats and noticed there was an additional category that hadn''t been there before. He had to take a mental step back to try and wrap his head around everything that had just happened. If his profession could be seen as an abandoned program within that system, then the things he''d accidentally activated were like backdoor viruses that had been left there. The question was why somebody would create such protocols, and why they seemed to be specifically designed to enforce the objective of destroying the system. He didn''t have any answers, and he didn''t feel too inclined to find ways to get those answers, not right now anyway. Whatever it was that had reached through his display to affect him was something he couldn''t possibly hope to contend with, and he was afraid that if he kept pushing the boundaries it would return, and it wouldn''t be feeling quite so merciful. Still, that didn''t mean he shouldn''t try to understand everything that had happened. Protocol 00 had said he didn''t have base-level spirituality, and then had forcibly awakened it. Devon felt it was pretty safe to assume that''s where his new stat had come from, though he most definitely didn''t understand what it had to do with the ''wider system.'' And after that encounter, he wasn''t in a hurry to find out. It had also completely fucked his karma for a moment. Thankfully that had been rescinded, but he wondered if those 100 marks would have been permanently stuck to him if he had initiated the scheme. He sighed. There was just nothing to do about the situation, and the encounter had left him completely mentally drained. His will to keep messing with the system was gone, at least for the night. He ate the remainder of his food and went to bed. When dawn broke he was ready to set out. He''d only needed six hours of sleep, and had spent the rest of the time leading up to daybreak sharpening his sword. He was thankful he''d had the foresight to buy a whetstone, but it had mostly been because the thing had only cost 2 talons. His goal for the day was to progress deeper into the mountain and find a new terminal. He was running dangerously low on supplies, especially his healing items. He only had one of the things left, and felt dangerously exposed because of it. He also needed some damn clothes. He didn''t have enough water to waste washing his old ones, so they had been left at the wayside. He made his way past the corpse of the wallpus and continued heading toward the summit. There seemed to be progressively more splits in the paths of the ravines as he ascended the mountain. He passed most of them by without a second thought, as getting sidetracked seemed like a surefire way to get lost. It only took him a few minutes before he encountered a new monster. It was another spithound loping along the trench floor. Unlike the first one he''d discovered, this one was walking along with its disgusting flabby mouth hanging wide open, dripping acid everywhere. Devon reached into his inventory, preparing to grab his spear, but then had a different thought. Wait, didn''t I get a skill called Sever? He''d been so excited playing with his profession that he had completely forgotten about the skill. Sever. [Sever] Class F Skill Basic skill that enhances the cutting power of slashes. Devon pulled his sword out of his tile, figuring now would be as good a time as any to try to test out his new skill. The last spithound he had killed he had stabbed to death, as he had found his sword less effective against the creature''s thick mat of fur. He backed up to one of the offshoot paths that spit off and waited. He didn''t much like the thought of engaging a spithound head on in these trenches, they didn''t leave him much room for dodging the balls of acid they liked to lob at him. After a minute he heard the hound approaching and readied himself. As soon as it came around the corner he struck out, willing the skill to activate. His skill didn''t activate, but that wasn''t to say nothing of note happened. As soon as his blade touched the creature''s neck its flesh all but fell apart under his strike. Assisted Kill - [Spithound - Level 8] - 5 Talons Devon instinctively leapt back, disgusted by the sight. Now that he saw the creature from the side he realized it had already been dead on its feet before he had even encountered it. Starting from the back of the animal to the front the flesh almost seemed to be melting, and Devon winced at the putrid smell it produced. He felt extremely reluctant to stick around the swiftly decaying corpse, but he felt like he had to know what had happened to the poor thing. After examining the rear end he found there was a single wound that had blood leaking out of it, a small puncture hole in the coat of the hound. His best guess as to what had caused this was some other monster, a kind that likely used a stinger to inject poison into the victim''s system. Devon shuddered, as the two earth creatures that came to mind from the image were wasps and spiders, both creatures Devon didn''t want to have anything to do with. Spiders he could realistically probably handle, but if the monster was some kind of wasp type¡­ He was probably screwed. *** Val Kazar looked down upon the grave of Khan Yuk. They had just finished the burial rites and blessed her spirit to the ancestors. It would normally have been taboo to do so on an unknown world, but there was no choice. Putting her into an inventory was an even greater taboo, and they could not simply leave her corpse to rot. None of his scouts had discovered the whereabouts of the human called Devon yet, but their problems were greater than that alone. They had a serious issue of manpower. Only roughly 70 tribe members had been allowed to become overseers. This had not initially seemed to be an issue, but now¡­ Keeping tabs on the humans was already taking the focus of most of his force, leaving only a handful of scouts to search for the murderous human. Worse yet, during the event some of his kin lost the humans they had been tracking. Most of these humans did not pose a threat, yet the whereabouts of the ones known as Ray and Zane, some of the ladder climbers, had been lost. Still, all of these things seemed to pale in comparison to the sense of unease he felt. The cause was clear, every member of his clan and likely every human as well had seen it. Truthfully, if his clansmen had not seen it he would have thought he was going crazy. But it had undeniably happened, and none of them knew what it meant. Last night, just as the suns were dipping below the horizon, a message had appeared on the display of every living being in the tutorial. ?/(&@#$)?@!)^$%!@&? The message had flickered and changed over and over again for a period of maybe ten seconds. It was inconceivable. The system was an infallible part of the universe, for it to act like that meant there had been an Event happening on this planet that was far beyond the scope of his understanding. Luckily, the Event had seemed to resolve itself, otherwise he was sure the waves he had felt from it would have been felt by everyone in the tutorial. He just wondered if one of the humans had triggered the event, or if maybe there was something on this planet that had been activated in response to the tutorial. He didn''t know. He didn''t care. He just wanted this damn tutorial to be over already. It wasn''t supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be an opportunity, not a curse¡­ 15 - The First Plot It only took Devon another ten minutes of exploring to find something interesting. He''d found himself at another split in the path, but this one was quite different than the ones before it. The way forward was completely blocked off, and the base of a sheer cliff face stood before him, reaching a couple dozen meters in height. There was a short path off to his left and a longer path off to his right. Ordinarily, he would have just continued right to try and find another split in the path that could take him further up the mountain, but something on the left caught his attention. Against the wall of the cliff face was an opening, a passageway that looked like it led to some kind of small cave. Devon made his way over to the opening. He was only a half hour''s trek away from his current camp, so he didn''t quite need a new one just yet. Still, he figured it wouldn''t hurt to poke his head in and check it out. Past the opening was what seemed to be a large cavernous space, with a familiar crack of light providing a soft illumination to the surrounding walls. A terminal. He softly stepped through the opening, cautiously making his way into the cave. He made it several steps in before he bumped into something sticky on the ground. He tried to pull his shoe free but found it to be stuck to whatever he''d stepped into. A feeling of immense wrongness shot through his being, and he slipped his shoe off before leaping back towards the entrance. Less than a second after he moved a huge figure slammed into the ground he''d been standing on. The light coming in from the entranceway revealed the creature''s eight spindly legs and hulking body. Devon also saw the glint of liquid reflected off a poker that had pierced through his shoe. [Mountain Trap Spider?? - Level 19] [Discovery Bonus] Devon quickly scrambled out of the cave. There was no way he could fight a level 19, especially not one like that. He cursed internally, frustrated that the system had spawned a terminal in the middle of a monster nest. He had noticed something interesting about the monster though. Unlike everything else in this world, it hadn''t seemed to attack him on sight. It had waited until he had stepped into its trap to pounce. Devon wondered if maybe he could use that to bait out an attack and then strike, but he scrapped the idea immediately. There was just no way he could kill a creature twice his level. He sighed outside the opening. The spider''s body was just slightly bigger than the opening in the wall, so Devon wasn''t afraid of it coming after him and took the moment to take a breather. He looked down the ravine that extended alongside the mountain. He debated continuing on that way, but the scramble out of the cave had reminded him just what a pain it was to walk on the rough stone under his feet without shoes. After a minute of thinking he decided to leave the ravine temporarily. He needed a terminal, desperately. Yet if he continued exploring the canyons below he''d be greatly limiting his visible range, and he might miss a terminal that he passed on the surface. So he reluctantly started climbing up the rough stone wall at the end of the path next to the cave entrance. Traveling topside would be extremely dangerous and potentially ill advised if the overseers he assumed were looking for him had made it this far up the mountain, but that was a risk he was willing to take to get some damn clothes. If I don''t find a terminal to get supplies from I''m probably as good as dead anyway. It took him five minutes to scale the wall. It was a much easier climb than the first one since he didn''t have to blindly search for footholds beneath him. He clambered up over the ledge, but immediately regretted his life choices and slipped back down over the edge. Around 30 meters away from him, looking down into the ravine he''d been traveling along earlier, was a reptilian figure that stood on two legs. [Overseer Tal''o Dar - Level 24] The overseer was dressed in some strange chitin battle armor, and held a savage looking axe in its hand. This was terrible. He didn''t know what to do. If he exited the ravine and made a run or tried to hide somewhere the overseer would probably see him and kill him before he had a chance to resist. If he went back down into the ravine he would eventually just get run down by the overseer anyway. It was already looking over the canyon he''d been in just a few minutes ago. If he tried to cross the branching pathway that led to the unexplored portion of the system of narrow ravines the overseer would probably see him cross, so there was no point trying to hide. He was cornered. The only options were to try and run, which wouldn''t work, try and fight the overseer, which definitely wouldn''t work, or try and fight the giant spider, which almost certainly wouldn''t work and would still end up with the overseer finding him once the lizard heard the noise of the fight. Then an idea popped into his head as his mind raced. Profession. Create Plot. What is the objective of new plot? Set objective as¡­ claim terminal. Calculating¡­ Done. Reading user intent to auto-generate Tasks¡­ Done. Accept Plot? [Claim the Terminal] Tasks: [Kill Mountain Trap Spider], [Kill Overseer Tal''o Dar] Accept plot. Confirmed. He made his way back down the cliff as swiftly and silently as he could. Once he reached the bottom he took a deep breath. There was no time to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to try, he simply had to trust his instincts. He stepped out into the intersection of ravines and looked back the way he had come. He saw a scaled face peeking over the edge only a dozen meters away, and the reptilian eyes of the overseer instantly locked on to him. He didn''t have to fake fear this time. He wasn''t protected by the system any longer, and the lizardman had a true motivation to kill him now. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He bolted back to the dead end and went inside the cave. As soon as he was beyond the threshold he pressed himself against the wall just around the door and tried to make himself as still and silent as possible. He silently thanked the heavens that the spider had reset its position at the top of the cavern. Seconds later the overseer burst into the cavern as well. He came to a stop just a few paces away from the entrance, not far enough in to step into the webbing, but far enough for Devon to spring his trap. Devon bodyslammed the reptilian, feeling like he might as well have just bodyslammed a wall. The stat difference between a level 9 and a level 24 wasn''t anything to scoff at, and Devon would have bet money that the shove barely even registered as an attack to the overseer. But that was partially because it wasn''t an attack. The force of the blow was enough to send the reptilian stumbling several steps forward into the cave, where it got its foot caught on a web and tripped, sending it fully into the webs. It only took an instant for the spider to land on top of the reptilian and pierce him with its venomous stinger. The overseer screamed in pain, but the level difference between a level 19 and a level 24 also wasn''t anything to scoff at. The overseer swung its axe with a snarl, embedding the weapon in the spider''s giant body, but found the weapon ripped from his hand when the spider twisted its body away. Then with a great burst of strength, the overseer kicked the spider''s hulking mass off it, sending it a few feet up into the air until it crashed back into the ground 3 meters away. The overseer pulled on the webs around it, pushing them to their limit before they broke with snaps that echoed in the cavern. It got back to its feet and turned to Devon, eyes full of a primal rage. It didn''t care about the spider, under normal circumstances the reptilian probably wouldn''t even have considered it a threat. All it cared about was seeing Devon dead. But the spider didn''t have such reservations. It was already back on its legs when the overseer took a step toward Devon, who was frozen in place. The spider, determined not to let its prey move toward the entrance and escape, hooked pieces of the scattered webbing on the floor around its legs and gave them precise yanks. Large swaths of the webbing from both the floor and the walls of the cavern were lifted up into the air. The spider, like the master weaver it was, converged the trajectories of all those layers to slam into the overseer. The reptilian tried to leap towards Devon and the entrance, but the webbing it had stepped on was strong enough to stop his movement for the moment it took for him to be confined in the trap. The spider made its way toward him at a slow and measured pace. Once it was on top of the poor fellow ensnared in the webs it started pulling more in, dragging in all the webs scattered around the room to create a cocoon around the overseer. Then it stabbed its stinger into the ball, repeatedly. Devon winced as he heard the muffled screaming from within, but continued to watch for perhaps a dozen more jabs before he made his move. There was still one more hurdle to cross. Task [Kill Overseer Tal''o Dar] complete. He took his sword out of his inventory as he slowly stepped forward. The spider was big enough that he wasn''t confident he could reach its head with his spear, so he was betting it all on being able to figure out this damn command in the heat of combat. In his focus on the creature before him, Devon didn''t see the rock he kicked to the side, but the spider heard it. The creature rounded on him, and in the dim light Devon saw a massive slit on its head open up to reveal a massive eye. The instant it locked gazes with him it roared with a bestial rage. How disgusting. So that''s why it didn''t aggro on me like everything else. A creature probably has to see me to become enraged, but since the spider was just acting based on touch impulses from the webs, it only ever registered me as something moving within the web. Devon stepped forward, determined not to be deterred by the overwhelming pressure of fighting something several times larger than him and twice his level. He shoved his fear aside, leaping towards one of the legs of the beast. Activate Sever! His sword made it a decent way into the girthy leg of the spider, but it didn''t go deeper than he thought he could manage on his own. He barely managed to yank the sword out before dodging the stinger of the spider. As I thought, the thing is pretty slow and clumsy on its own, so it won''t bother trying to move out of the way. It''ll just attack with that damn stinger. He swung at another leg, Use Sever. Once again his attack didn''t have the desired effect. He looked toward the thing''s ass, ready to dodge the stinger, but as he started to pull his sword out he felt a massive weight slam into him as the leg he cut into slammed into him. Devon was sent sailing and slammed into the rock wall. He felt the breath knocked out of him as he slammed into the stone, and again as he collided with the floor. He scrambled to regain his balance, but his head was spinning from the force of the blow. He saw the spider advancing towards him slowly but surely. He jogged away, kiting the monster around the cave while he recovered. He picked up his sword that had been tossed aside as well. Once he felt he was well enough he once again moved in. Come on, you bastard! Activate skill; Sever! Devon felt something change in his attack. It was as though he was suddenly able to put twice as much force into the slash, and his sword sailed cleanly through one of the legs. He dodged past the incoming stinger and Severed another one of the creature''s legs as he darted out from under it, trying to make it confused by constantly shifting his position. He realized his mistake when he stepped on something sticky. As he''d been kiting the spider around the cave it had been leaving a trail of webbing that Devon couldn''t see because of the low light. The spider lifted one of its legs and Devon saw a barely visible thread lifted into the air with it. Nice try, but I''ve seen this trick already. Activate skill; Sever. As the spider tried to yank him along with the thread of webbing Devon swung his sword down, Severing the potentially deadly trap. Next he rushed back towards the spider, heedless of the fact that he was dragging what looked like a trail of toilet paper behind him. He Severed the third leg on the spider''s left side, and he didn''t even have to dodge the stinger, the spider''s aim was so off. He saw the spider above him lose balance and quickly dashed back the way he''d come, intending to take the fourth leg as one last precaution. Insufficient mana to activate skill [Sever] His sword stuck into the spider''s leg, but he didn''t bother stopping to pull it out as the beast toppled. He had to avoid the three flailing stumps of the amputated legs as they came down, and scowled when they splashed spider blood on him. The creature flailed on the floor of the cave, but with more than half of its legs missing on one side it couldn''t summon the leverage to prop itself up. It was defenseless, which meant that this was Devon''s victory. He stood back and panted as he admired his work. The spider had been brought low, and its whines sounded pathetic in the ears of the victor. Devon leaned his head back and gave directed a yell towards the roof of the cavern. The scream had come from deep within. It was a cry of victory, earned from the exhilaration of toppling two giants. It took considerable effort to shake himself out of that state of extreme satisfaction. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he returned to the still unfinished task at hand. He quickly took his spear out of his tile and finished off the spider with a few quick jabs to the eye. Assisted kill - [Mountain Trap Spider - Level 19] - 164 Talons [Level up. Level 10 obtained.] [Level up. Level 11 obtained.] New title obtained: [Ambitious] New title obtained: [Giantslayer] Task [Kill Mountain Trap Spider] complete. Plot [Claim the Terminal] complete. Calculating resulting Karmic Influence¡­ Done. Karmic Influence nominal. Calculating difficulty¡­ Done. Complexity set at Normal. Factoring Plot Karmic Influence and Difficulty into reward¡­ Done. [Claim the Terminal] added to Completed plots. [Cursed Schemer] has reached Level 2. Skill [The Mask] learned. [Callous] has become [Vicious]. Classes are available for selection. 16 - Class There were several things to go over from the slew of messages that had come through following the spider''s death, but Devon decided he needed to finish cleaning up the mess he made before he sat down to go over them all. First, he retrieved his sword from the leg of the spider before stowing it in his inventory. Then he had to roll the spider over to get the axe that had been left embedded in the spider''s hulking body. The task was far harder than Devon would have liked. The little rockspiders he''d first encountered in the ravines had been very light for their size, but this monster was every bit as heavy as it looked. Next, he walked over to the cocoon the overseer''s corpse resided in and snatched the tile that had appeared on the floor next to it. Then, finally, he walked over to the terminal. Without hesitation, he brought out his cot and took a seat, finally ready to go over the results of his desperate gamble. Status. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 11 Class: Selection available. Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 2] Mana: 21/100 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 1], [Sword Proficiency - Level 3] Skills: [Sever], [The Mask] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Ambitious, Giantslayer Strength: 43 Dexterity: 44 Vitality: 38 Endurance: 37 Arcane: 40 Spirit: 12 Free Points: 50 Talons: 894 Holy shit. All of his basic attributes had more than doubled, but that was only the start of the changes. He immediately took note of the mana drain he''d accumulated, as it told him several vital things. First was that Sever cost 20 mana to activate, and second was that leveling up did not restore his mana to full, but it did give him the mana from the level immediately. He assumed the extra 1 was due to it passively regenerating. He went ahead and pulled up the descriptions for the new skill and titles next. [Vicious] Awarded for executing a defenseless sentient creature. Enhanced by gloating over user''s victory before an execution. User may be more inclined to commit heinous acts in the future. Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane +4. All stats +5%. [Ambitious] Solo killed an enemy 5 levels higher than your own. All stats +5. [Giantslayer] Killed an enemy 10 levels higher than your own. All stats +10. [The Mask] If your identity is itself a weakness, why not change it? Parameters available upon activation. So titles can give a more adaptive bonus as well as a basic one. Holy hell, 15 extra points in everything? If The Mask does what I think it does then I''ll be able to return to society, as it were. The encounter had been fortuitous beyond his imagination. Giantslayer and The Mask were unbelievably helpful. Under ordinary circumstances, Devon likely never would have gotten Giantslayer. Fighting something like the trap spider with his basic attributes and the inability to distribute free points? Never would have worked. It was only due to luck that he''d happened to lure in an opponent the spider had deemed enough of a threat to spring its true trap, one that Devon hadn''t even expected, on. Truthfully Devon had thought those webs to be stuck to the ground, not left floating to be instantly spun around prey. Still, there was more to go through. When he opened the profession dialog he noticed there was a new option for completed plots, and he quickly opened it. [Claim the Terminal] - Cleared Karmic Influence: None. Complexity: Normal Time investment: ~10 Minutes Reward: All stats +1. Compared to the rewards of his new titles, the 1 additional stat in all of his attributes seemed rather sad. But he supposed that was still basically an entire level''s worth of stats for him, so it was a nice little cherry on top. And finally, it was time for something he had been waiting for. He opened the class selection menu to see what his options were. [Cursed Warrior] (Common) [Cursed Mage] (Common) [Cursed Assassin] (Common) [Cursed Archer] (Common) [Cursed Trickster] (Common) He couldn''t help but frown at each of the options listed. He wondered if everybody else started out with the same broad array of extremely general sounding classes at common rarity. He opened the dialogs for each class down the list. [Cursed Warrior] The path of a warrior that has brought a curse upon themselves. Skillset: Melee focused. Attribute gain per level: All stats +1. [Cursed Mage] The path of a mage that has brought a curse upon themselves. Skillset: Magic focused. Attribute gain per level: All stats +1. [Cursed Assassin] The path of an assassin that has brought a curse upon themselves. Skillset: Kill focused. Attribute gain per level: All stats +1. [Cursed Archer] The path of a ranged specialist that has brought a curse upon themselves. Skillset: Ranged focused. Attribute gain per level: All stats +1. [Cursed Trickster] The path of a trickster that has brought a curse upon themselves. Skillset: Varied. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Attribute gain per level: All stats +1. His frown deepened when he realized all of the classes had the same skill gains per level. He felt that there was something distinctly wrong with this. Shouldn''t classes have a bit more individuality? The only thing that seemed to change between the classes was the skillsets. Still, there didn''t seem to be much of a point in putting the choice off, so he went through the pros and cons of each. He discarded mage and archer immediately. If he was to be expected to battle monsters in the Infinite Realms to gain levels and power he wasn''t going to limit himself to classes that either used a finite resource to attack or couldn''t properly defend themselves up close. These might have been appealing options if it wasn''t for the fact that every monster he encountered rushed him in a frenzy. That left warrior, assassin, and trickster. His gaze lingered on trickster for a long time, but eventually he decided against it. He had initially believed trickster to be the go-to option as it seemed like it would have excellent synergy with his profession. But there was some part of him deep inside that warned against it. He had to take a mental step back to figure out why he felt that way. There was something about the class selection process on his screen that felt very¡­ sterile. His profession had the feeling of an old antique that had been forgotten, and it contained a hint of unknown mystery and danger. But everything in his selection felt very bland and modernized. He didn''t have any evidence, but his gut told him that the skill options trickster gave him would be either similar enough to his profession skills that they canceled each other out, or that the skills provided by trickster would be straight-up downgrades. Warrior and assassin both had very clear connotations in his mind, and both had positives and negatives. Generally, he believed that the best way to handle a fight was to kill the enemy before they had a chance to even attack. The idea of having skills that could kill things faster fit this mentality very well. However, reality wasn''t so kind. He was more than likely going to run into more situations like the one with the rockspiders where he simply wasn''t able to do anything other than deal with situations he wasn''t prepared for head on. And that meant he needed versatility. And he was kind of convinced the system would make the class''s skills all revolve around poisons or something, and that just seemed pointless. Select class cursed warrior. Accept class? [Cursed Warrior] The path of a warrior that has brought a curse upon themselves. Skillset: Melee focused. Attribute gain per level: All stats +1. Accept. User has accepted the class [Cursed Warrior] Skill [Refine] has been learned. He immediately brought up the description of his third skill. [Refine] Everything can be improved. All it takes is time and effort. He once again frowned. Refine sounded a lot more like a skill for a blacksmith than a warrior. He wasn''t even sure what it would do, the description was so vague. He held out his sword, figuring now would be as good a time as any to try it out. He realized the blade on it was once again completely screwed, but he ignored that for now. Activate skill; Refine. Specify target. Did that mean he needed to have a target when he used his skills? He hadn''t felt like he needed to do that when he used Sever. Uh¡­ Set target as starter sword. Nothing happened. Devon cursed to himself, he had gotten so used to his profession giving nice, detailed answers that going back to using the regular system was like coming back to an abusive mistress. He decided to just put Refine on hold for now and experiment with Sever, a skill he knew he could activate. Cancel skill. Skill canceled. Activate skill; Sever. Nothing happened. He growled in frustration, wishing he could somehow force the system at large to conform to the wonderful error filled design of his profession. He glanced over at his status, hoping the +1 to all stats had at least acted retroactively, and noticed something. First, it hadn''t, which pissed him off. He''d lost 5 precious stat points because he''d accidentally killed something that gave him 2 levels at once. Second, his mana had gone down. Mana: 4/100 So the skill did activate, even though I didn''t do anything. Does that mean I need to activate the skill at the exact time I swing, or¡­ He once again held his sword out. He took a practice slice and felt the power of Sever flow through his swing, even though he had only really cut the air. This was a huge discovery for him. It meant that he could queue up a skill to activate before he took the correlated action. He wanted to try out a bunch more things using Sever with this information, but his mana was at rock bottom, so he''d just have to wait. But his mana being low did help him in a different way. One of the only notifications he''d gotten recently of him doing something wrong was when it notified him that he didn''t have enough mana to activate Sever. Activate skill; Refine. Specify target. Set target as rock. Set target as hand. Set target as cot. He ran through dozens of things, but nothing prompted the skill''s activation. Eventually, he got frustrated and started thinking random things. Set target as mountain trap spider. Set target as Sever. Cannot refine [Sever]. [Sword Proficiency] is not a high enough level. Oh. Ohhhh. So that''s how it is. Refine wasn''t a skill meant to be used on objects at all, but rather a skill meant to refine his techniques. He thought back to the samey descriptions all of the classes skillsets had. He was willing to bet money that the only real skill each of the classes gave was Refine, and it was meant to be used on the generalist skills the system gave out. So if he went out of his way to get an archery skill for some reason, his version of Refine wouldn''t work on it because it wasn''t tailored for melee. The information made him doubly glad he had picked warrior over assassin. He had no idea what kind of skills would be considered ''kill'' skills, but he had a vague notion they would have in fact been related to poison. The more he thought about the potential of Refine the more he got excited. He wasn''t sure exactly how much it would actually improve his skills, but it meant he could fully explore weapon types and styles as he pleased, and Refine would always be able to bring a weapon''s skills up to par. He got the feeling none of those skills would be quite as powerful as more weapon-specific class skills, but it didn''t matter. His goal had been to be versatile, and this was exactly what he needed. He finally felt he had looked at and played with his personal gains enough. He put his blunted blade back into his inventory and took a look at the axe he had wrested from the corpse of the beast. The handle on the thing was similar in shape to a standard wood axe you could find in any hardware store, but the blade had the size of a full-on fantasy battle axe. It looked quite like something you would see in a video game. The materials it had been constructed with seemed to be bone and leather, but that didn''t stop it from feeling far more dangerous than his metal starter weapons. [Savage Axe] Class E F-Grade Strength Affinity The axe was certainly a step up from the class F starting equipment, but Devon wasn''t sure he liked the heft of the weapon. Still, it saved him from having to buy a starting axe, and it was an improvement over his own shoddy equipment. He wasn''t sure what affinity meant, but he didn''t really care. He brought out the overseers tile and was grateful that the information stored on the tile immediately linked to his own system without having to search for a command for half an hour. [Status] - Deceased Name: Tal''o Dar Valkurna Race: [E-Grade Vishan] Vishan¡­ good to have a name for them at least. Everything else in the status screen was either had none or 0 listed. Devon supposed that made sense, as a dead person couldn''t exactly have stats, skills, or titles. Even in the Infinite Realms death was the great equalizer. He did take note that spirit was not listed among the base attributes, but Devon wasn''t sure if that was because the overseer hadn''t awakened his spirituality or if the spirit stat was removed on death. Devon leaned toward the latter being more likely, as it seemed far more practical that the system simply list it as 0 like everything else. He moved onto the creature''s inventory next, and scowled when most of it consisted of the exact same set of basic supplies provided by the system. They were of vishan make, but they were essentially the same items. More importantly than the survival items were the four healing pills that sat at the bottom of the list. Devon quickly transferred those over to his own inventory, glad he wouldn''t have to spend 200 of his own talons to restock on supplies. Once he was done with that he noticed a blinking notification in the corner of the dialog. Spatial Bead too far away to access. Spatial Bead, what the heck is that? He thought for a moment, then stood up and walked over to the cocoon the overseer was still encased in. When he got within half a meter the icon disappeared and a second inventory list appeared. Devon''s eyes widened. Somewhere on the overseer''s corpse was an item that actually allowed him to have a second inventory. Devon quickly looked over the new list, and quickly realized that the space within the secondary inventory must be at least two to three times as big. Devon couldn''t help but feel disappointed when he saw the bead was full of junk. It was just random monster parts and various hunks of garbage. Wait, could this stuff potentially be crafting materials? Devon looked down at the vishan skeptically. The reptilian didn''t look very much like a crafter to him, but what did he know of vishan culture? He looked at the cocoon with a sigh. It took almost half an hour to cut open the cocoon and cautiously dig through the overseer''s melting body to find the stupid bead. Still, he had to admit the venture he would have otherwise completely ignored yielded good results even beyond the bead. [Lesser Imbued Strength Belt] +2 Strength [Lesser Imbued Strength Vambraces] +2 Strength The rest of the vishan''s equipment was either melting along with the corpse or completely unsalvageable. Still, free gear was a very good thing to get, even if it did seem to be pretty bottom of the barrel. Just as Devon was content to leave the corpse and everything left on it behind he got a system prompt. Belongings of deceased must be fully extricated before you may close the inventory dialog. So the system didn''t like people just leaving junk in empty subspace. Devon wondered if maintaining those spaces for eternity cost the system some kind of resource, but he dismissed the question. There was so much about the Infinite Realms he simply had no means to learn about yet. He was about to just dump everything in a corner when he thought of something. He looked at the terminal and the cot he had placed next to it and realized he shouldn''t look a gift horse in the mouth. He dumped all the remaining survival supplies he''d bought from the last terminal on the ground around the new terminal and transferred the vishan''s supplies to his own inventory to replace his own. He figured he''d probably use this terminal as a more permanent camp because of its excellent location, and then he''d use the vishan''s supplies for when he needed to establish a forward camp. And also free stuff never hurt to have. 17 - Lockdown Finally satisfied with the results of his struggle, Devon sat back down on his cot and accessed the terminal. He frowned at the immediate notification he got. [Notice] Overseers have enacted a mandate. Teleport function lockdown in effect. [9 days] For more information please consult Overseer [Val Kazar]. So the overseers didn''t want them moving around too much. Or rather, they didn''t want Devon himself moving around too much more likely. They didn''t seem to care so much what the other humans did, but that could have changed since he last checked in. A thought occurred to him and he opened the level ladder. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 17
  2. Zane - Level 16
  3. Ray - Level 15
  4. Nix - Level 15
  5. Stein - Level 14
  6. Ingrid - Level 14
  7. Trey - Level 14
  8. Ash - Level 13
  9. Licht - Level 13
  10. Kyle - Level 13
I seem to just keep falling farther behind. Still, not that much seems to have changed so I think I can reasonably assume everyone is more or less okay. The best thing about the ladder in his eyes was that it allowed anyone to tell with absolute certainty who was still alive in the tutorial. It didn''t extend past the first 10 positions, but it was good enough for Devon. He next went into the shop and bought a set of basic clothing for 5 talons. Going around naked had seriously taken its toll on his mentality, and he didn''t want to live like that anymore. He also spent 20 talons on an abundance of water then promptly washed himself off as best he could. Once he was cleaned and dressed he went back to the terminal to finally get his hands on the messaging function. As always, it took him several tries to get the thing to work, but he was finding that he was spending far less trouble finding new commands as his familiarity with the system''s architecture grew. He still had no idea how to apply free points or claim the several discovery bonuses he''d gotten though. Message known user Trey. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Devon] It''s Devon, you there? [Trey] Took you long enough. I was starting to get worried once you fell off the ladder. [Devon] Sorry I can''t make as much progress as fast as you. I''ve kind of been under a lot of pressure up here. How are things down there? Have the overseers made any moves? [Trey] They put the teleport ban into effect yesterday, but they haven''t made any other moves. I think they probably know it was you, so be careful. [Devon] Yeah, I think so too. I happened to meet the overseer leader when I went to their camp, so it wouldn''t take that much of a leap of imagination to figure out it was the weirdo who sat outside their camp for several hours. How is everybody? [Trey] People are starting to adapt, thankfully. I''ve gathered up a bunch of us and we''re building a kind of settlement out here in the plains. We''ve got some of the more gung-ho people teaching the less enthusiastic people how to fend for themselves and gain levels, but it''s slow. Some people have started showing aptitude for different kinds of professions, like crafting and whatnot. [Devon] Yeah, I have one of those too, although it isn''t too flattering. What''s Eve been doing? Has she stopped hunting even once? [Trey] Not that I''m aware of. She took off pretty much immediately after you left, and I haven''t seen her. I think she must have gone really far into the plains, because I haven''t even heard of any hunting parties sighting her. Either that or she went into the forest. [Devon] What do you mean? What''s up with the forest? [Trey] Heard some shady stuff is going down with the people in there. Something about some gang trying to force people to do their bidding. Apparently they''ve still got guns. Overseer activity is pretty high over there as well. I''d bet they don''t feel like taking any more chances so long as we''ve got people with guns. [Devon] How many people do you there are in your camp and still left in the forest? [Trey] About 300 and gaining every day here, though I''d say more than half are still in the forest. Did you get that weird notification from the system last night around sundown? [Devon] What kind of notification? [Trey] Like a weird glitchy kind. Everyone down here got it, but nobody could make heads or tails of what it meant. Only lasted half a minute at most. I''m guessing you didn''t get that? An odd system event that had popped up last night¡­ That lined up with Devon messing with the system. It was troubling how that little mistake seemed to have so many ramifications he didn''t expect. However, like so many other things, there was nothing Devon could do about it right now. [Devon] Didn''t get it. Did your system AI friend not tell you what it was? [Trey] No, it''s been answering less and less questions as time goes on. It still responds to everything I want to do within it though, so it doesn''t seem to be going away in the same way yours just isn''t there. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. [Devon] I see. Hey, how many stat points did you get at level 9? [Trey] What do you mean? Everybody only gets 1 in every point until they get a class. I did ask the system about that, apparently it''s a racial trait. Some other species get more specialized point distribution, but we humans are just adaptable to everything. The system also said that the points we get will increase when we enhance ourselves to D-grade humans. [Devon] Did it happen to mention how exactly we''re supposed to go about that? [Trey] Nope. [Devon] Classic. Well, I''ve been getting an extra stat point in each of my main attributes for a few levels now and I don''t know where it''s coming from. Mind asking your system if it wouldn''t mind telling you where they might be coming from? [Trey] Hm, it doesn''t feel like responding. Why do I get the feeling everything you do makes the system more and more pissed at you? [Devon] Because you''ve always had good intuition. Mind sharing what class you got? I got one based on melee, but it gives me 1 point in every stat per level. [Trey] I got one that focused on tanking, it gives me 8 more points per level. Did you take a common rarity class? Mine''s uncommon. [Devon] Yeah, the system only gave me common options. What the heck did you have to do to get an uncommon? [Trey] The system said rarity is based on achievements and affinity, but that doesn''t really make sense since I''d think it would consider your solo survival to be more impressive. [Devon] I even killed a level 19 at level 9, and it still gives me garbage. [Trey] Man, you''ve pissed it off bad, huh? Well, the system said that we can evolve our class if we meet certain requirements, or if the class no longer seems to suit us we can pay to change it once we''re out of the tutorial. [Devon] Do you have the spirit attribute? It showed up on my status at some point, but it''s weird. I''m not sure what it''s supposed to represent, besides the obvious connotations. [Trey] Nope. [Devon] More stuff for me to figure out on my own, how wonderful. Well, keep me informed. [Trey] Will do. Trey out. Connection closed. It was both good and bad that the overseers seemed to be hunting him specifically. It meant the other humans of the tutorial would be safe, but it also increased the danger up on the mountain exponentially. Devon desperately wished he could use his skill The Mask and teleport back to the plains and help Trey establish a settlement and help prepare for the eventual clash with the overseers, but the lockdown meant he''d have to travel back down the mountain if he wanted to make it back. Walking all the way back was certainly an option, but the mountain presented opportunities the main group wouldn''t have. They only had 28 more precious days to get stronger. The rate at which the trailblazers on the ladder had been improving was both a sign of hope and concern. They were making tremendous progress, but if it was truly that easy to gain power then the grunts of the overseers wouldn''t only be in the mid-twenties. There was something else bothering him too. Eve should have been back with Trey, helping to establish the camp. Someone at her level would be a major source of inspiration, and could inspire people to grow themselves. And yet she''d buggered off at the first opportunity. Message known user Eve. Connection failed. User does not possess the [Message] function. Dammit. Devon had no doubt that if she wanted to, she could get the function any time she wanted. She was still the top spot on both the level and the talon ladder, after all. Which meant she was being obstinate for some reason. This isn''t the time, damn you. Yet another thing to add to the list of things he couldn''t change. He brought his focus back to the terminal, determined to work on some things he could change. Talons: 769 He went ahead and bought the map function, finally getting all of the basic functions available. He went ahead and opened up the map to check it out. The function was pretty well-rounded, with a simplified top-down view, a view that showed area cartography, and a three-dimensional viewing mode. The cartography mode and the 3D viewing mode would be especially useful when ascending the mountain, but he could probably stick to the simple mode when he went back to the plains or the forest. He could also place custom named pins, which was nice. He looked into the item shop next. He had enough healing to continue without any immediate issues, so there was no need for unnecessary spending there. He looked over the weapons, contemplating. The second best options past the starter weapons were each 200 talons, which meant Devon could feasibly get 3 different ones. He wanted to stock up on weapons and try to get as many proficiencies as he could to pursue his ideal of being versatile. The problem was that even the weapons that cost 200 each were still considered class F weapons. The third cheapest at 600 was also class F, with the earliest class E being listed at 2500 talons. He put the question of weapons aside and took a look at the generalist abilities and magic menu next. Each of the basic abilities cost 100 talons each, but unlike in the item shop they didn''t go beyond the basic tier. He picked up [Respite], an ability that allowed him to restore his physical condition faster when he rested. He was happy to find that the ability went in a new category for passive abilities on his status screen, meaning he didn''t have to bother activating it each time he needed to rest. Next he picked up [Small Presence], an ability that made him naturally less noticeable to other creatures. He had no idea how effective it would be against sentient creatures like the overseers, but he still felt it was worth picking up. He found it interesting the was a corresponding [Big Presence], presumably for people inclined to tanking, like Trey. He moved onto magic next. He''d dismissed the mage class outright, but that didn''t mean he didn''t have any interest in magic as a whole. Due to the system pushing all his stats up at the same rate, he should theoretically be able to wield magic just as good as he could wield a weapon, despite his initial expectations that he wouldn''t have any good prospects in that path. All of the basic magics were listed at 50 a pop, which meant Devon could afford several. They were mainly split between buff, debuff, attack, and imbuement types, with a few utility mixed in for good measure. The immediate purchase was [Light]. He was willing to bet a lot of talons that there would be many caves going forward, and he was not ready to unknowingly step into a trap spider''s lair again. He went ahead and picked up [Fireball] for a ranged option, then grabbed [Lightning Imbuement] for a weapon buffer. Looking over the list he also decided to get [Adrenaline] and [Boost]. They were both physical buffs, and he figured they would make for good ways to experiment with skills. He wanted to grab [Heal] as well, but decided against it when he read the description and realized it didn''t work on the caster, and it flat out told him it conflicted with his class, so he couldn''t use it if he wanted to. That left him with around 210 talons to spend. He needed more weapons if he was to remain versatile, so he immediately crossed a 200 cost weapon off the list. His sword was already all messed up again, and he felt like the more he sharpened it back again the weaker it would become, until it eventually broke. His spear too was looking pretty blunted, and a closer look revealed a slight bend along the pole. Eventually he decided to simply toss the spear and sword in a corner for disposal and bought new ones to replace them. Then he went ahead and bought a two-handed warhammer and a dagger. He looked down at his assortment of starter weapons, thinking about how long each of them might realistically last the further up the mountain he went, then bought an extra one of each for good measure. The last thing he bought was a set of 5 javelins, priced at 10 each. The metal they were made from seemed even weaker than whatever was used to make the starting weapons, so Devon didn''t have high hopes for their reusability. The spatial bead didn''t have that much room left in it besides all the assorted stuff in it, but it was a lot bigger than his basic inventory, so it still managed to fit all of his extra weapons inside, if only barely. Finally, he felt like he was ready to leave the terminal and move on. It was time to hunt. He couldn''t simply let Trey and Eve stay ahead of him forever. 18 - Hunting Devon was glad to return to the sunlight and the crisp air after being in a cave with two corpses at different stages of decomposition. He looked at the unexplored path down the ravine before deciding against going that way. He wanted to try and progress his weapon proficiencies, but the narrow passageway of the canyon made anything other than the spear less than optimal. He climbed the same wall he had scaled only an hour or so ago, this time making the climb in less than a minute flat. He marveled at his own physical ability. It wasn''t just the familiarity he now had with the climb, his stats had more than doubled since he last climbed the ledge. He understood what Trey had meant when he had said it felt weird to suddenly be stronger than just an hour ago. The increase in physical ability felt absolutely liberating, but Devon found he had to focus to control his strength. It was great that he could probably match every Olympic medalist in history, but he had to focus on his form or he lost his balance. There was a small circle of trees near the ledge, so he decided to spend some time familiarizing himself with his new strength within the secluded clearing before he continued his climb. He also took the time to try out each of his new weapons, making sure to get a good sense of their weight and feel. It took two hours for him to feel comfortable with each of his weapons and his new strength. He felt a little sad that simply going through practice swings didn''t give weapon proficiencies, but he supposed that would be too easy. Now, should I take my time going up the mountain or abuse the massive boost I got from those two titles to shoot straight for the top? He decided on the latter. He felt confident he could challenge something at least 5 levels higher than his own, so he wanted to try to push himself. Even so, he didn''t dare take the direct route of attempting to scale the cliff that loomed above his area of safety. Not only would a mistake on the climb still likely cost him his life, he would be far too exposed. He still had zero confidence he could take even the weakest overseer on his own, despite his advancements. Instead he dashed along the edge of the ravine he''d been in, following its path from above. The formation of the growing number of ravines seemed even stranger from above, as he realized just how angular they really were. After a minute he found where the sheer face of the cliff ended¡­ at a sharp 90 degree angle corner, with a matching ravine heading around the other side of it. Devon felt like he was starting to get an idea of what was going on here, and pressed on to search for more clues. The slope of the mountain was beginning to become extreme, with small plateaus separated by steep slides of loose gravel and sharp stones. Devon was walking across one such surface when something burst out of the slope of gravel next to him. He frantically dived away, narrowly avoiding a pincer that attempted to close around him. The creature dragged itself the remainder of the way out of the gravel it had been hidden in, letting Devon get a good look at it. [Rockcrab?? - Level 18] [Discovery Bonus] For once the system had given it a name Devon could actually appreciate. The thing did look exactly like a giant crab with a stone shell encasing it. If I''d been limited by my previous attributes I don''t think I would have been able to avoid that trap. Devon pulled the two handed warhammer out of his inventory. A stone shell would simply rebuff all of his bladed weapons, so he decided to just go with the strategy of smashing it open. The massive crustacean swung its pincer at him, once again trying to crush it in its grasp. Devon knocked it aside with the shaft of the hammer before stepping forward to bring the maul down on the creature. The thing''s skittering legs backpedaled it out of Devon''s range, and he cracked the stone underneath where the crab had been rather than its head. It''s a little more agile than it looks. Devon pressed the advantage, rushing the creature. The thing seemed to realize it had made a mistake, as it swung its claw at him as what seemed like a desperate act of defense rather than an attack with killing intent. Devon leaped over the stone claw, raising the hammer high above his head as he fell back down. The crab once again tried to move out of the way, but Devon wasn''t aiming for something small like the head this time. His hammer impacted the center of the massive shell on the creature''s back, completely shattering it. Several large chunks of slate slid off the creature''s back, revealing fleshy innards. The rockcrab wasn''t dead, though it was clear Devon had grievously injured it. He considered switching to a weapon better suited to piercing the crab''s vitals and ending it, but he decided to stick with the hammer. He had the feeling if he only used what weapon was optimal for a specific situation then he would never truly progress his proficiencies. He needed to challenge himself with each of his weapons, like he had challenged himself with the sword. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He dodged back, avoiding the claw of the enraged crab. It seemed to have thrown all of its survival instincts aside, only caring about killing him. Though that wasn''t anything unusual for Devon by now. Devon danced with the thing for a little bit. The claw itself wasn''t nearly fast enough to actually catch Devon as long as he was careful, so he toyed with his prey a bit as he got closer and closer to his target. He knocked the claw into the air as it once again attacked him by bunting it with the end of the hammer''s handle, then stepped forward and quickly jabbed the handle into the monster''s face. The light blow seemed to stun the beast, giving Devon enough time to then swing the hammer around through the air and bring it down on top of the head, completely crushing the stone plated skull. Kill - [Rockcrab - Level 18] - 149 Talons [Level up. Level 12 obtained.] [Hammer Proficiency obtained.] [Level up. Hammer Proficiency Level 2 obtained.] Skill [Shatter] learned. Devon gave a joyful laugh as he caught his breath. His theory had been correct, it seemed. He briefly looked over the skill description for Shatter, but it seemed to be in the same vein as Sever, so he didn''t spend too long on it. He looked at his stat page and saw he had gained 3 in every attribute, confirming the mysterious bonus was still there after his class acquisition. He was now a single point in all of his stats from his race bonus, class bonus, and the mysterious source. It was a massive step up to 15 per level from the pitiful 5 it had been before. He felt the chill wind at his back and turned around to see the world unfurl itself before him. He realized for the first time just how far up the mountain he truly was. Far, far below he could see the dividing lines between the forest, the mountain, and the plains so clearly. He could even see beyond the plains, where there were some strange formations that he didn''t have a very good view of. They looked like sheer cliffs, but Devon wasn''t sure. He spent several minutes there, taking it all in before he moved on. When he did turn back around, he smiled. He was still only about halfway up the mountain. If the view looks this good from here, just how will it look from up there? He continued his ascent, fighting a couple level 10 creatures, but none of them posed any real challenge any longer, and none of them gave him a level. It seemed once a user broke past level 10 the amount of exp increased drastically. It was just another reminder of how absurd an existence Eve was on top of the ladder. At a certain point the mountain started deforming completely. Slants and slopes disappeared entirely and only flat jutting cliff faces and plateaus remained. It was on top of one of these plateaus that Devon found his second cave entrance, but this one was guarded. [Mountain Ape?? - Level 19] [Discovery Bonus] It really did just look like a large gorilla. It may have been twice the size of a normal gorilla, had flame orange fur, and wielded what looked like a stone quarterstaff in its hand, but it did just look like a gorilla. Devon stepped up onto the plateau, spear in hand. He wanted to get the spear skill next, as he figured it should be easier than getting another skill up to level 2 in one go. The ape spotted him immediately, but Devon wasn''t exactly trying to hide. He needed a real challenge to elevate proficiency, so going full frontal was the best option in his mind. The ape roared at him as he advanced slowly and steadily. He had come to adopt a stance that focused on anticipating the enemy attack and then dodging to counterattack. So while he was prepared for the ape to rush toward him in a frenzy, he wasn''t prepared for the rock it decided to chuck at him first. He avoided the flying stone with relative ease, but it threw him off balance, and that was when the ape rushed forward. Devon found his legs knocked out from under him right before a hairy fist crashed into his face and slammed him against the stone ground. Devon bit into the flesh of the ape, causing it to cry out in pain and release him from the ground. Devon seized the opportunity to get back to his feet, spitting out a chunk of ape flesh as he tried to get the taste of iron out of his mouth. His nose was bleeding and his head hurt a fair bit, but other than that Devon thought he was fine. It''s so coordinated and fast. Devon was coming to realize that a monster''s level accounted for several factors that contributed to what the system considered its total strength. The spithound had been almost as weak as a mawbird, but the fact it could shoot globs of acid elevated it to level 8. The mountain trap spider used its webbing as a trap, and the rockcrab launched surprise attacks on unsuspecting prey. The system took those abilities as the primary point of their strength, and ranked them accordingly. But the ape didn''t have any special traps up its sleeve, it was just strong. Even so, Devon was willing to bet he could beat it. He abandoned the passive stance he''d been using and rushed forward. The ape attacked him with its staff the moment he entered its range, but Devon was better prepared for its speed now. He raised his spear, deflecting the quarterstaff off it, sending the stone pole over Devon''s head. Devon then simply angled the spear down and thrust forward. His heightened stats allowed him to push the spear straight through the ape''s skin and into its abdomen. He released the spear as the ape made an awkward swing with its staff, dodging the clumsy attack before stepping back in and yanking his spear out. He''d learned his lesson about being too hasty in trying to retrieve a weapon from the trap spider already. The ape grew even more enraged at seeing Devon so effortlessly poke a hole in it. It rushed Devon in a wild frenzy, swinging its staff back and forth like a baseball bat without even a hint of the refined technique it had shown before. Devon took advantage of its loss of focus by doing the same thing it had done to him. He swiftly swung his spear downward, knocking the legs out from under the beast and causing it to topple over. He quickly pounced on it and drove his spear into its ribcage. The ape tried to swing an arm at him to knock him away, but Devon simply kicked it aside before yanking his spear out and plunging it viciously back into the beast''s torso. After about five more stabs the ape shuddered and died. Kill - [Mountain Ape - Level 19] - 178 Talons [Level up. Level 13 acquired.] [Level up. Spear Proficiency Level 2 obtained.] Skill [Quickstab] learned. Devon wiped away the blood that had dribbled down from his nose. It didn''t feel like it was broken but the ape''s punch certainly hadn''t been light. Though if I didn''t have the bonus stats from Ambitious and Giantslayer that punch may have shattered my skull. He was running a very real risk by charging forward into encounters with enemies that were complete unknowns. Still, he found that he didn''t feel like stopping now. He looked at the opening in the side of the mountain. That ape had seemed to be standing guard, which meant there may be something worth guarding inside. 19 - Mountain Den Before Devon ventured into the cave he grabbed the ape''s quarterstaff and shoved it into his inventory. The system identified it as another class F weapon, but more disposables meant more utility. He figured he might be able to use any skill he got with the quarterstaff with the spear as well, since they were both essentially just poles. Actually, I should test whether I can use skills with different weapon types to begin with. I would think I could use Sever with a dagger or other bladed instrument, but the system may restrict the usage of skills. He hadn''t used any of his skills in the last few fights, content to let his mana slowly regenerate. However, he decided that it would be a good idea to start experimenting with them a bit going forward, that way he could figure out how best to use them. He took a brief glance at his stats too. Most everything was proceeding as expected, except for one stat in particular. Spirit: 14 He''d noticed spirit didn''t gain boosts from his titles, and it remained mostly unaffected by levels. Mostly. He simply hadn''t taken too much notice of it on levels 10 and 11, as he had more pressing concerns on his mind, but a discrepancy was becoming a lot more obvious now that he was getting 3 points in every stat per level due to his class bonus. Spirit was gaining stats, even if the rate was far slower than all his other attributes. Specifically, it was gaining a single point per level. Since it hadn''t increased to 2 points per level he had to conclude it was either coming from his inherent racial gains or the mysterious source. And if he had to guess it was more likely the mysterious source. He advanced into the cave, and almost immediately his suspicions about the mountain''s structure were all but confirmed. The space he entered was rectangular, like a manmade building. There was also an empty doorway on the far end of the room that led to some adjoining space. Activate magic; Light. A ball of light burst into being before him, illuminating the room. It was nice that the spell only had a starter cost of 10 mana, then would remain indefinitely so long as he maintained it. He looked upon the ruined room under the new light and marveled at how weathered the structure was. Just how old would a ruin have to be for a mountain to solidify around it? The stoneworking was infinitely better than what the ancient humans had used at least. He advanced forward, ball of light illuminating the path ahead. The room beyond was considerably less weathered, likely due to it being more protected from the elements. One path became many as he delved deeper into the ancient structure, until Devon had to focus to stop himself from wandering aimlessly. His objective was to see what the ape had determined was important about this place, so he looked for signs of the ape''s passing. It wasn''t too hard to find them. Even monstrous fantasy apes were still animals, and they seemed to relish breaking whatever stone remnants of whatever culture had once lived here. Whenever he walked into a room with a stone countertop or fixture, he knew to turn around and look elsewhere. Rooms full of nothing but rubble became his guideposts, and he followed them willingly. The notification came as he found a room with two of the apes inside. [Notice] You have entered naturally occurring Dungeon [Mountain Den]. Dungeon rated Class E, level 35. The system all but told Devon he had hit the jackpot. If the ape had been protecting a little nest or some bauble only a primate would consider a treasure he would have been extremely disappointed. But a den? Just how many of the things potentially lurked within the depths, just waiting to be hunted? It could be a goldmine of experience. The high level rating could be an issue, but if it starts to look dangerous I''ll just leave. He went ahead and examined the two chimps in the room ahead of him. [Mountain Ape - Level 20] [Mountain Ape - Level 19] They both seemed obsessed over some piece of shiny metal they had found, and they looked on the verge of fighting over it. Can''t have you fighting each other. Your exp is mine. Devon took out one of his javelins before stepping around the corner of the doorway he was behind and lobbed it straight at the lower level ape. The metal sliver shot forward like an arrow and impaled the ape before it could even react. Devon still wasn''t the best at aiming though, so instead of hitting the torso he had lodged the javelin in the monster''s abdomen. The ape roared out in pain, and the other leaped back, surprised at the dangerous sliver of metal that seemed to come from nowhere. Devon let loose his second javelin, and this time his aim was much better. It skewered the ape through the chest, causing it to keel over. Kill - [Mountain Ape - Level 19] - 72 Talons [Level up. Level 14 obtained.] The other ape was onto him by now, and it roared in rage seeing its fallen brother. Devon had to back around the corner of the door again to dodge the rock the monkey chucked at him. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The oaf of a creature barreled through the door after him, but Devon was ready for it. Activate skill; Quickstab. Devon''s spear pierced the ape''s neck in an instant, the immense speed even surprising Devon. Even more surprising was that the speed effect continued even as he removed his spear, leading to a stab and removal so fast the ape didn''t seem able to comprehend what happened. Still, that wasn''t enough to kill it instantly. With a gurgling sound from its mouth, the ape swung at him wildly with its weapon, a huge piece of slate with jagged grooves along the edge that formed a prehistoric looking sword. Devon didn''t retreat but instead leaped over the wild swing, raising his spear above his head. Activate skill; Shatter. He swung his spear down with the weight of a boulder, and the pole of the spear caved the ape''s head in. Its eyes exploded out of its head, followed by a burst of blood and brain matter before the creature slumped over dead. The spear in his hands bent at a horrible angle as the blow struck. Clearly the pole had not been meant to withstand the impact of a hammer''s skill. Still, the fact that he could use skills with other weapon types was incredible. Kill - [Mountain Ape - Level 20] - 45 Talons [Level up. Level 15 obtained.] It was a bit annoying that the level 20 ape gave fewer talons than the level 19 had, but such was the nature of repeat kills. What was even more annoying was how slow gaining a level was now. It took 2 monkeys, both at least level 19, to level up from 13 to 15. And he somehow got the feeling that even those just barely gave him the levels. A roar from deeper within the ruins snapped him out of his reverie. The ape at the entrance may have been there to repel intruders, but there had been no other apes around to hear its call. In here the cry would have reverberated through the structure, alerting who knew how many more apes. He was in the den now, after all. A multitude of other roars echoed through the halls following the first, and Devon knew he was in trouble. He quickly ran over to the first fallen ape and retrieved his javelins. He also discarded his spear, as it was completely useless to him now that it was bent all out of shape after being forced to bear the brunt of Shatter. Next, he ran. Shit, which way did I come in again? All of the rooms around him had the trademark broken rubble of the ape den, and Devon found himself quickly losing his composure at the cacophony of roars that echoed through the ruin. Devon ran through the ruins, not caring which way he was going so long as it got him away from the scene of the slaughter. He found a stairway that only led up, so he took it. This turned out to be a mistake, as there was an ape at the top. The ape had been running through the halls, but stopped and roared when it saw Devon. Devon cursed and brought out a dagger. The staircase was too cramped to bring out any of his other weapons, so he simply leaped forward, dagger in hand. He tried to plunge the smaller blade into the ape''s neck, but the oversized gorilla just swatted him aside, sending him flying. He flew out of the cramped confines of the staircase into the room beyond. Devon managed to twist himself in the air and hit the far wall feet first, like a cat. He was growing used to having enhanced attributes, and though the apes were strong, they would have to put some real backbone into actually hurting him. He dashed forward off the wall as the ape charged him. The ape tried to tackle him, and Devon decided to throw caution to the wind and accept the challenge head on. However, instead of just tackling back and turning the fight into a wrestling contest Devon struck out like a viper, punching the Ape with all his strength in the center of its chest. He felt several ribs break, and the ape let out a low cough as the air was forcibly pushed out of its lungs. The full weight of the ape slammed into Devon, but the ape itself had lost its will to fight, and simply rolled off Devon while clutching its chest in pain. Devon reached over and pierced its eye with his dagger to finish it off. Kill - [Mountain Ape - Level 19] - 27 Talons Just as he got up and prepared to keep running, shaking his arm to try to work some feeling back into the limb that had just taken an impact that would have completely shattered it before, another ape entered the room, but this one was different. [Strong Mountain Ape - Level 26] [Discovery Bonus] Devon scowled. If the progression of strength was as exponential as Devon thought it was, this one would not be nearly as easy to kill. He threw his dagger back into his inventory and tried to bring out his axe, but the ape was on him before he could pull the weapon out of his tile. The ape bodyslammed him into the wall at his back, and with a loud crash, the wall gave way under the force. Devon felt like he was about to puke his guts out from the force of the blow. He had to shove that instinct deep inside, as when he went through the wall he saw not the ceiling of yet another room, but a cavernous roof far above him. He twisted his body around as he fell by kicking the ape in the side as hard as he could. Devon didn''t have any leverage in midair, so it wasn''t very strong, but it was enough. He turned around just in time to brace himself for impact, but the direct confrontation with the stone ground below knocked the wind out of him again. A piece of stone came down from above, a piece of rubble from the wall they had broken through, and knocked him in the back of the head. He stood up unevenly, the world strangely lopsided in his eyes. He pushed through the pain as best as he could and pulled the axe out of his inventory. He just barely had time to bring the weapon up to block the fist of the ape as it tried to punch him. The ape continued to rain punches down on him that he desperately blocked or avoided. The blood pumping in his ears blocked out everything else as his vision turned to a tunnel. His opponent became everything, and he entered a state of battle fervor he hadn''t felt since the spider. Devon held his axe aloft to block what he thought was another punch, yet the ape reached past his weapon and grabbed the hem of his shirt before yanking him forward for a headbutt. Devon responded in kind, angling his chin down before smashing his skull into the ape''s nose. The ape recoiled, surprised that Devon would turn the tables on it. Devon gave a bestial roar and swung his axe low as the ape staggered. The axehead cleaved clean through the monkey''s knee without Devon even having to activate a skill. The ape brought its fist down in a hammer blow that Devon wasn''t ready for as it fell to its knee, and Devon felt an impact like a sledgehammer rock his skull. His vision blacked out for a moment, but he didn''t allow himself to lose consciousness. He took his axe in both hands and swung it down with adrenaline fueled fury, decapitating the monkey with a single swing. Kill - [Strong Mountain Ape - Level 26] - 243 Talons [Level up. Level 16 obtained.] [Level up. Level 17 obtained.] [Axe Proficiency obtained.] He looked up from the corpse, taking ragged breaths that caught in his throat as soon as he realized just where he was. He had landed in another room, the shell of one at least. The upper levels of the structure it was a part of had fallen away into a dark cityscape enveloped in a massive cavern below. He stood on what seemed to be the third floor room of a building, and he could see a dozen other towering buildings ascending to the cavern''s roof. Devon could see the ends of the cave beyond the outer structures, meaning the space did not go on forever but was an isolated area. A den of apes. Apes that poured out of every opening he could see on the buildings that littered the space. Apes that all charged towards a single ruined third story room. 20 - Memory Devon didn''t hesitate before popping a healing pill into his mouth. He wasn''t sure if new wounds accrued during the pill''s use time would also heal, but the most pressing issue was his current physical situation. The strong ape had done a huge deal of damage to him. His head felt like it could be cracked open if a feather landed on top of it, and he intrinsically felt that several of his ribs were cracked or fractured from the brute''s initial bodyslam. Though even if the healing pill did heal wounds he got as it did its magic, he still wasn''t sure it would help his situation that much. Almost half of the apes he could see converging on his location were the same as the one that had completely wrecked him. A small number of them looked yet stronger still. I need a way out. Now. But he had no idea which way to go. There were apes on all sides, and a glance back up at the way he''d come from revealed a hole in the wall of the adjacent structure at least five meters above him. He couldn''t jump that even if he was in full condition. The healing item cleared his befuddled mind, and he realized with a start that he felt something calling to him from across the ruins. It was a strange feeling, and he immediately distrusted it. But still, no matter which way he chose to go the apes would either engulf him like an endless tide or run him down through the corridors of the endless hallways that linked to this space. He pushed his axe into his inventory before dashing forward. He leaped off the ruined third story room, nearly passing out from the pain of his still broken ribs. He landed on a sort of suspended platform above what would have been roadways. He couldn''t guess its original purpose, but it reminded him of a New York City train line. He ran along the winding platform, heading straight as he could towards whatever was calling out to him. It was a strange feeling, but he had no time to ponder on it. The apes climbed up onto the platform around him, but Devon just pushed himself harder, faster. The pain relieving effects couldn''t keep up with how hard he was pushing his damaged body. His lungs burned with the exertion and the pain from his ribs turned the edges of his vision dark, but he didn''t dare stop running. A hulking figure leaped down from one of the buildings he ran past. It landed in front of him at the very end of the path, sending cracks along the platform from the force of the impact. Its bulging muscles flexed as it bellowed a deafening roar at him. [Mountain Ape Elite - Level 36] [Discovery Bonus] Just a little further! Activate skill; Adrenaline! The sound of his own heart beating blared in his ears as it felt like time slowed. The monster before him swung a quarterstaff, and Devon had to push every muscle fiber in his body to duck below the attack. Even amid the feeling of slowed time, the staff seemed to pass over him in a blur. Devon slid past the ape''s right side, then desperately leaped off the platform. He was close, he could feel it. It was like it was touching on the borders of his consciousness with its proximity. There! On the remains of the street beyond the platform, directly in front of Devon''s trajectory, was a rift in space. It shared an uncanny resemblance to a terminal, but the light that shone through was dark and gray, and Devon thought he could see flashes of orange in it. There was also an ape that trumped any he''d seen so far standing directly behind it, preparing to catch him and rip him to shreds. [Mountain Ape Leader - Level 43] [Discovery Bonus] In the slowed time he perceived he reached out, desperately trying to touch that crack of darkness. As he came within inches of it a system notification popped up. [Notice] The curse within you has awakened the memories of one who remembers another cursed being. Memory Dungeon - [Knight of the Cursed King] Dungeon rated Class E, Level 26. Do you wish to delve into the world of spirits? Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Devon didn''t even have time to give an answer before the rift opened wide and swallowed him whole.
Devon had to close his eyes to block out the intense midday sunlight as he found himself somewhere entirely different. When he had adjusted enough to open them and see again he found himself in the middle of a bustling town square. Tall buildings rose all around him into the sky, each built beautifully by craftsmen more skilled than he could imagine. Citizens walked past him, a strange race that looked almost human, but had wiry limbs and hair that flowed in the breeze like fire. Devon caught a good look at one of their faces and saw their eyes were like gemstones. Is this¡­ the past? The buildings around him were the same as those he had been surrounded by in the ape den, and the system had called that crack in reality a memory dungeon. He opened and closed his fists, and confirmed that this place at least felt real. The sounds he heard, the breeze he felt, and the people he saw, he was certain that all of these things existed. If this is meant to be a memory has the system actually brought me back in time or has it created this space based on a memory? Devon took a step forward, intending to ask the nearest citizen where he was. But when his foot took that step forward every face among the crowd stopped as one and looked blankly in front of them. A system notification? Then each and every face turned towards him. Every hand reached for a tile, and a hundred weapons were suddenly drawn in the plaza. [Objective: Survive Until the Fifth Day] Devon had to leap out of the way as the woman he''d been about to ask a question suddenly stabbed at him with a shortsword. Every person in the square all converged on him with weapons in hand. [Townsperson - Level 4] [Townsperson - Level 2] [Townsperson - Level 2] [Townsperson - Level 3] [Townsperson - Level 4] [Townsperson - Level 4] [Townsperson - Level 3] [Townsperson - Level 1] [Townsperson - Level 2] [Townsperson - Level 3] [Townsperson - Level 4] [Townsperson - Level 1] There were so many of them that identifying them all filled up his display with junk and almost got him stabbed. He pulled out his sword and started blocking and avoiding every attack that came his way. He found an opportunity to strike back at one of the members of the crowd, but when he looked into their face he saw a look of terror and despair, even as they tried to skewer him with a spear. The sight shook Devon to the core, and he leaped away without delivering the killing blow. Dammit, why? I could kill all of these people with barely any effort at all. They have to know that, so why are they attacking me? He leaped up onto one of the platforms that stood over the city square and realized that it was actually a kind of magical track. As soon as he stepped foot on it a small cargo trolley rammed into him, sending him sprawling. He barely managed to roll off the track before it would have run him over. He felt the pain in his ribs as he rolled off the tracks and realized that his physical condition was still the exact same as it was before he entered this place. His injuries were slowly healing, but that meant that he was on cooldown for the healing pill. If he got injured in the middle of this hostile city and had to take another pill before the cooldown expired there would be no saving him. He''d be pounced upon and slaughtered while he was helpless. Even so¡­ He looked at the desperate crowd again, and saw clearer now that they all looked completely terrified. Still, they pressed on in their attempts to kill him. He had to keep himself moving, as he constantly had to dodge offensive magics and weave around people as he ran around the square. He stayed that way for about ten minutes before realizing that the situation was spiraling even further out of control. More and more townsfolk were streaming into the plaza, all terrified, all with weapons. He dashed away towards a side alley, intending to disappear among the shadows of the building. However, a system message popped up right before he could leave the plaza. [Notice] If you leave the Dungeon area you will be forcibly returned to the entrance location. Probability of Memory dissipation upon abandonment: 99% Shit! He slid to a stop right before he entered the alley. If the system spat him back out in the middle of all those apes he was a dead man. And yet he was equally certain that if he did nothing then these people would collapse upon him like a swarm and kill him, even if they didn''t want to. He wasn''t sure about much in this place, but the fact that he still felt the injuries he received from the apes made him absolutely certain his body was real in this place. He scowled. The system wasn''t giving him any choice in the matter at all. He could either become a butcher and murder all of the poor townspeople that came his way, or he could accept death. A spark of rage lit itself in his mind. This damn system¡­ It just keeps pushing and pushing and pushing¡­ Fine. If you want me to be a villain so damn bad I''ll be one. Don''t complain when I one day break you down and make you regret ever choosing to bring earth into your fucked-up realms. Devon forced himself to turn around and face the closest person. It looked like someone who had just been dragged away from the kitchen, as they had a chef''s knife in hand and still wore an apron. He ran at Devon with unbridled fear upon his face. Devon grabbed the hand that held the knife and stabbed his sword into the eye of the man. Screams, cries of fear, and weeping erupted around him, yet the people kept coming. And so Devon started cutting them down. One by one they fell, and as their blood pooled beneath his feet Devon felt something within him die. Something that felt important, like he wouldn''t be himself anymore without this one thing¡­ And yet it was gone. Buried continually deeper within his subconscious as the bodies piled up and the cobblestones ran red. 21 - Blood on the Cobblestones The tram line was really quite interesting. It seemed to use some sort of magic to make the skids on the bottom of the trolleys act like magnets, and it used that magnetic force to push itself forward and backward. The metal used for the tracks and skids was cool too, because when you rubbed them together they slid on each other''s surface like a hockey puck on ice. It really was too bad that those tracks would never see use again. All of the trolleys lay broken along the streets beneath the lines. Devon didn''t know where they''d kept coming from, but they had brought out a new one to ram him with every single time he stepped on those tracks. Each of the buildings seemed carved by hand, impossible though it seemed. All of them towered almost as tall as skyscrapers, and the stone they were made from was super resilient. Perhaps the most interesting thing was that many of them contained murals on the outer walls of the lowest floors. They stuck out beautifully like the vibrant pieces of art spray painted onto the walls of New York City. All of those walls of the buildings that bordered the plaza were covered with blast marks, scratches, and all other matter of spell debris. At one point the people had given up trying to fight Devon with weapons, and they just started lobbing spells at him. None of them had very high mana on their own due to their low levels, but the sheer quantity of spells cast by different people pushed Devon to his limits. Probably the thing that had made this plaza in particular stand out in the city was the wonderfully ornate fountain that stood in its center. It had sprayed water several meters into the air, and it had surely captivated every child that had ever been fortunate enough to pass by. Devon had broken the outer siding of the thing. He''d done it after the dungeon stopped sending people for him to fight, though he wasn''t sure exactly why he''d done it. The spillage swamped the plaza while the water made its way into drainage gutters, making him unable to start a fire by which to warm himself. Perhaps he couldn''t bear to look upon such a beautiful thing after the horrific act he''d been forced into committing. Or perhaps he had done it because he wanted to wash away the blood that stayed behind, even after the system removed the bodies of the people he''d slain. It stained almost everything and the smell lingered, triggering memories of how awful the day had been. But he wasn''t even sure if that was the real reason he''d broken the fountain and washed it all away. Maybe he was just tired of seeing the color red. The people he was killing were all fake. He was certain of that now, had been since the bodies had started disappearing in droves over the course of the day so he could continue to stand on solid ground. It hadn''t made the task easier. Their faces still haunted his conscience, as their screams still rang in his ears. The worst part was not knowing why any of this was happening. He understood now that this dungeon was a construct, most likely put together by the system in a subspace similar to an inventory. But the fact the system called it a memory dungeon implied that someone else had lived through this before as well, or something similar at least. The system wasn''t answering, as per usual, so Devon hoped that there would be some sort of elaboration at the end of this hell. Feeling empty, Devon opened his status. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 19 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 2] Mana: 140/140 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 4], [Sword Proficiency - Level 5], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 6], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Quickstab], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bash], [The Mask], [Refine] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Ambitious, Giantslayer, Lord of Massacre Strength: 82 Dexterity: 79 Vitality: 73 Endurance: 72 Arcane: 75 Spirit: 20 Free Points: 90 Talons: 748 [Lord of Massacre] Title awarded to one who slew 1000 or more sentient beings in two hours or less. +15% All Stats. Lord of Massacre was the reason Devon still felt so horrible, even knowing the people he killed were all fake anyway. For some reason the damn system gave them sentience, even though they were only created to die. At some point Devon had just tried to turn his brain off and go on autopilot, and he had managed to level all of his proficiencies and get every skill for each weapon he had possessed. Though the only weapons that had survived this far were the vishan axe and the ape quarterstaff. His starter weapons simply couldn''t survive the continuous abuse.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. He had done a large amount of experimentation and now knew almost exactly how his skills worked. The system sorted damage into three types; cutting, piercing, and blunt. He could apply a skill to another weapon so long as that weapon was capable of performing that type of damage, but it wouldn''t expend the skill so long as he didn''t activate it. So if he activated Quickstab and Bash simultaneously while using a spear they would each get queued for activation. Then if he stabbed Quickstab would get used, and if he bashed then Bash would get used. They could be used sequentially as well, so he could perform a Quickstab and a Bash afterward in quick succession after activating them both at the same time. How fun, that something so easy for others to do requires so much forethought for me. He could also stack different skills and activate them simultaneously so long as he used the right weapon type. Sever and Split were essentially derivatives, so stacking them just made the effect compound. Shatter and Bash worked the same way. Devon did notice that he had only gained 2 levels, despite slaughtering thousands. He assumed that the system simply stopped giving exp if something was too far below a user''s level. He also didn''t gain a single talon from them, though he assumed that part was to maintain balance in the tutorial. He closed out of the window, feeling even emptier than he had when he opened it. He stared up at the huge moon in the sky, wishing he could sleep but knowing he wouldn''t be able to get any. Instead, he relied upon Respite for as close an imitation as he could get.
As expected, the onslaught resumed the second that all three suns broke over the horizon. However, instead of citizens the system threw rank and file guards at him. [Town Guard - Level 12] [Town Guard - Level 11] [Town Guard - Level 13] [Town Guard - Level 13] [Town Guard - Level 12] [Town Guard - Level 11] [Town Guard - Level 10] [Town Guard - Level 11] [Town Guard - Level 12] They were stronger this time, but there were less of them. And Devon didn''t feel as though he could truly be compared to an ordinary level 12 or 13. His titles simply provided too much power. Still, the guardsmen were an improvement in that they were somewhat trained and well equipped. Though Devon assumed whatever race these people were was a much more magically inclined species, as there were far more mages than soldiers. It made it hard to focus on improving his techniques when he was busy dodging a fireball or magic missile every other second. Devon actually found the day to be far easier than the first, on both his body and his mind. The first day''s need for crowd control was something he did not have an answer for yet, and the guardsmen could actually defend themselves, so they weren''t just sheep to the slaughter. They also had a fair bit of resolve in their eyes. Devon wondered if the system had created them with the knowledge of what had happened in this square the day before, just to give them that extra bit of motivation. And so Devon danced. The dance of combat without meaning was akin to a puppet show where there was simply a bad puppeteer practicing his skills without dialogue or story, but Devon danced all the same. He stole weapons off the soldiers to use as replacements for his own, though they had a habit of disappearing from his hands when the system decided to clean up the piles of corpses. Evidently the system wasn''t keen on letting him keep anything from this realm other than exp and trauma.
[Notice] Seek conflict. When you have found a suitable challenge, the System will issue an ascension quest. Until then, all exp gained will be negated and you will not be allowed to advance to level 21. True to the system''s word, Devon had been stuck at level 20 for most of the day. He didn''t know what the system would qualify as a suitable challenge, but Devon sure hoped that the dungeon he was currently locked in would be considered enough. Val Kazar was above level 60. If he got stuck at level 20 then he was basically screwed in the long run. That, or he''d have to rely on Trey, Eve, and whoever else was high on the ladder to save them. The thought of that possibility pissed him off royally, but he was certain there would be opportunities so long as the system didn''t actively start depriving him of core functions. Ladder. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 22
  2. Zane - Level 21
  3. Ray - Level 21
  4. Nix - Level 20
  5. Stein - Level 20
  6. Ingrid - Level 20
  7. Trey - Level 20
  8. Ash - Level 20
  9. Licht - Level 20
  10. Kyle - Level 20
There were a bunch of people stuck at level 20, enough that he still didn''t even show on the ladder. This did prove that time was moving around the same pace on the outside of the dungeon, so he wasn''t in some quantum locked space like the void the system had created for the tethering process.
[Ascension Quest] Survive until the end of the third day. Well at least that solves that, though I can see why this would be considered an appropriate challenge! The third day sent what seemed to be either adventurers or mercenaries after him, he couldn''t tell which they were in truth. Though it really didn''t matter in the end. [Wandering Warrior - Level 20] [Wandering Warrior - Level 19] [Wandering Warrior - Level 18] [Wandering Warrior - Level 19] He was extraordinarily thankful that the number of enemies on the third day was so much lower than the other two, because even just the waves of four that the wandering warriors came in pushed him to his limits. It was also good that the system stopped adding mages to the mix, because the warriors took his full attention. They wielded a variety of weapon types, from two-sided battleaxes to halberds and zweihanders, but all of them were extremely lethal. If Devon had to guess, they were almost as powerful as the stronger apes, but that was only because they were each well trained with their respective weapon. The apes used primitive weapons at best, or no weapons at all more often than not. The strong apes still would have overpowered them in a slugfest, most likely. Either way, Devon found himself having to use one of his healing items around the halfway point in the day. He had misjudged the distance on a dodge and taken a nasty wound to the stomach. Dammit, if I''m being forced to use these things up on day three, then am I even going to be able to complete day four? Devon ended the day with wounds all over his body, but he had made it through the day. [Ascension Quest Complete] Welcome to the path of ascendancy. [Level up. Level 21 obtained.] Naturally it wouldn''t bother stockpiling the exp from the waves of enemies I killed today. I mean, why would it? He knew the system had told him it would do that beforehand, but it still peeved him. At least it was probably the same for everyone else if it was specified in the seek conflict notice. He looked at one of his last few healing items wistfully before putting it back in his inventory. He could survive his current wounds with Respite alone. Even so, it was a long and uncomfortable night. 22 - End of the Dream Everything changed on the fourth day. The sky was covered with cracks that dropped meteors down onto the planet below. The ground seemed to hum beneath Devon''s feet as he stood to get ready for the incoming waves. A tension filled the air, like something even greater was about to happen, but Devon wasn''t sure what. [Additional objective added: Kill 5 Curse Hunters] Footsteps echoed on the cobblestones as his first opponent entered the plaza. Then after a few moments, Devon had to look around to make sure there weren''t any sneaking up on him. But no, there was only the one combattant. They were dressed in something similar to a cowboy outfit, and Devon could tell they were of a different race than all the people of the prior waves had been. This person, a male Devon assumed, was like a humanoid insect with four arms and carapace-like natural armor It walked into the plaza and fixed Devon with six eyes that covered the length of its face. But even with its slightly intimidating visage, Devon didn''t feel true apprehension until it pulled its weapon out of its tile. Two unreasonably long slivers of metal were adjoined just above the hilt of the weapon. It opened them slightly and tugged them so that they came apart as two separate blades, each wielded by two hands on either side. [Curse Hunter - Level 25] So an insectoid curse hunter that uses giant scissors for a weapon. And they''re 4 levels above me too. Great. Devon had been able to beat the trap spider because though it had been 10 levels above him its primary strength was in the traps it set. Devon did not hold any illusions that this hunter would have the same stipulations. They were the whole package, a fully leveled sentient creature that had gone through the leveling process just as he was doing, even if they were a mere imitation. Devon summoned his axe, and below the falling stars they fought. As their weapons clashed over and over again Devon realized just how lucky he was to have his axe. He had lost the stone quarterstaff on day three, so he only had the one weapon remaining. The blades of their weapons clashed near endlessly as they danced. On the second day the dance of wholesale slaughter had disgusted him, but he had still danced to its tune. On the third day he had danced as well, and though it had been to a better rhythm than day two, it was still discordant and unharmonious having to fend off several opponents at once. But here, on day four the symphony reached a kind of equilibrium. The hunter''s eyes did not contain the fear of death, the righteous anger of the wronged, or the unrefined savagery that the enemies on the previous days had displayed. There was only the thrill that came from dancing upon the thin line of life and death. After an hour of fierce battle Devon finally put an end to the struggle. The insectoid tried to combine their blades and bring them together with Devon in the middle, but he had been expecting the move for a while and already had a countermeasure ready. As the blades combined into one Devon swung his axe with all the strength he could muster. The axehead caught the scissor blades near the hilts in the middle of their closing, causing the hunter to flinch back in surprise. Devon didn''t miss that opportunity, and leaped forward over the scissor blades before landing a solid punch to the face of the insectoid. Devon shifted himself in the air even as the hunter fell backwards, stunned by the blow, and he was ready when their back hit the cobblestones. With a savage roar Devon brought the heel of his boot down upon the hunter''s skull, shattering it. The hunter had been a skilled warrior, but they were ultimately reliant on their dexterity to cut their opponents to ribbons. It had been the sole area it had excelled over Devon, and it had made the duel last longer than Devon would have liked. He still had at least four more hunters to go through, after all. He couldn''t be wasting all his time on the first. Kill - [Cursed Hunter - Level 25] [Level up. Level 22 obtained.] [Level up. Axe Proficiency Level 7 obtained.] Part of Devon was a little surprised an hour of fighting solely with the axe had only netted him a single level of proficiency, but he supposed his technique hadn''t improved much at all since the first day. He had become more of an instinctual fighter, one that focused on reacting rather than following any kind of real technique. And he was reaching the limit of how far that could take him. Devon just hoped it was enough to use Refine on the skills he''d obtained. He popped a healing pill as the next hunter entered the plaza. The first fight had been utterly exhausting, and he needed to restore himself, even if he didn''t explicitly need the healing. He knew if he proceeded at anything less than his best he would get cut down before the healing pill could heal any injuries he might sustain. The next hunter was even less human-like than the first. A disgusting mass sat at the center of a mechanical shell controlled by rods of metal stuck into the disgusting creature. The exoskeleton''s limbs were themselves weapons, and the overall design seemed to draw inspiration from arachnids and humanoids combined, with eight bladed legs supporting a torso with two bladed arms. Devon picked up the fallen scissor blades and once again danced on the line between life and death.
Devon had assumed the waves would stop when night came, like all the other days. He was wrong. He fought a mage in a city lit by moon and firelight as the buildings and streets burned around them. The tension in the air that Devon had felt since the morning had only grown, and he felt it was reaching its zenith as the world seemed to be ending around them.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Devon was eminently thankful that the third day had removed the level 20 limit, as the continued fights with level 25 opponents had only made him grow stronger through the day. Though he had only gained two levels since the scissor warrior, which seemed strange to him considering how high above his weight he was fighting. Even so, the plentiful stats provided by each of his levels were enough to make each fight seem that much less arduous. Devon dodged a beam of light as he advanced toward his enemy. The mage had been playing games with him for the past hour, but Devon could finally sense that it was running low on mana. The creature was some sort of enlightened beastman, as they stood on two feet and wore flowing robes that reminded Devon of a priest. Each of the hunters he''d fought had all been a different species, some exotic and strange while others looked vaguely familiar. The beastman was definitely one of the most recognizable ones, as it looked just like Devon imagined a werewolf would. The mage turned to flee once again as it saw Devon closing in on him, but Devon was done playing that game. He ripped one of the stones out from the street and hurled it at the werewolf. The stone impacted the back of its head hard enough that the stone shattered against the beastkin''s skull. The mage crumpled, and it only took an instant for Devon to plant his axe in the hunter''s back. Some of the aliens he had fought hadn''t truly died when the head was destroyed, so Devon had just been going for the torso. Kill - [Curse Hunter - Level 24] He stepped back, taking deep breaths. He was about to retrieve his axe and prepare for the next opponent, but he felt more than heard a crack that rent the sky. He looked up, captivated. The rifts in the sky had been there since the early morning of the day before, but this was different. Instead of there being a crack suspended in the sky, it was as though the sky itself had cracked. Then something came through that crack. It seemed to be the fist of a god, or a being so large that Devon could not possibly fathom its true size. It was so large that it blocked out the breaking of the dawn as it rushed towards the earth, and Devon knew that the moment it struck the planet he and every other creature on this fabricated world would die. At the instant it struck, time froze. Devon looked around, seeing the world''s destruction captured in a single frozen moment. Devon suddenly realized he was no longer alone in the plaza. He whipped around, ready to dodge any prospective attack, but the figure that sat on the edge of the demolished fountain made no move to attack. It simply stared at the horizon, at the gargantuan fist that was intent on eradicating this world from the cosmos. The figure was male, and it wore a set of plate mail so cracked and frayed Devon doubted it would hold under the lightest of blows. His helmet had been discarded, allowing his hair like fire to blow on a breeze that ignored the broken causality of the world. Unlike the townspeople and the guards and all the others, Devon distinctly felt that this person was real. His physical form was no doubt fabricated, but his soul and mind were genuine. "I''m still not entirely sure what triggered this event, what caused the system to turn everything we had ever known against us. I suppose only the king would know. He was the one that waged that constant war with the system." "Who¡­" "I am a shadow, young initiate. Nothing more than a lingering memory of one whose time ended long ago." "What happened here?" "This was my home. It was a kingdom I built alongside my king, and it was beautiful. It had its issues, but so does every other realm. We had even found a way to lock out the rest of infinity, so that we may live without the constant strife that the system enforces upon the Infinite Realms. Then one day the system decided our king could no longer be allowed to maintain such a paradise, and everything became as you see. "I was locked here, in this plaza, unable to do a single thing as the people I protected received that ruinous quest. ''Kill your protector or die,'' it said to them. I received the same quest you did as well. To survive until the fifth day. I think the system knew that this planet would not live to truly see the fifth dawn," He said, looking at the fist of death that blocked out the morning light. "The system can do that?" Devon asked, aghast. He had honestly assumed the system to be incapable of affecting the physical world beyond allowing users to allocate stat points. The idea that it could straight up kill any of them at any time was insane. "It cannot enforce such commands upon those who have bound themselves tightly to Karma, but it has no such reservations playing with the lives of those who are free of Karma or have not yet awakened their spirituality." "What is the spirit supposed to be?" "You are not aware? Ah, that''s right, you are but an initiate. How you came to awaken your spirit must have been a truly remarkable encounter. Most remain unable to rouse it until the time comes to evolve past their limitations. Your spirit-" A shudder rocked the ground as the fist collided with the earth as time unfroze for a single instant. "Ah, it seems the system does not allow that information to be handed to initiates so readily. Or perhaps it is because of the curse you bear. Either way, I will leave you with this; find the king. I doubt he will have remained as I have, yet he will have surely left something useful for one like yourself. One like him. I am sure he rests near the zenith of our once beautiful city. Ah¡­ He would have been loathe to see our beautiful dawns blocked out by that monstrosity." "Wait! I still have more-" "The system is terminating this spatial instance, there is nothing more I can do. I will shift the entrance coordinates so you are not put in the same situation you were in when you entered." The knight said as the world started to warp around Devon. He found his voice stolen from him as he could only watch as the world resumed its destruction. The knight smiled, a sad look in his eyes as he stood to meet the desolation. A wave of destruction rose from the direction of the dawn, and the knight threw his fist up with a roar of defiance to meet it. A shimmering shield in the shape of a massive dome was erected around him and the plaza as the broken pieces of his world rained down upon the city, burying it under an unending cascade of destruction. The city and shield were buried as one, leaving the image of a knight who was defiant to the last as the final image Devon saw before reality collapsed around him, and he was plunged into darkness. When Devon opened his eyes he was back at the entrance to the mountain den, the corpse of the first ape he had slain still lay nearby in a state of decomposition. He stood atop one of the buried buildings of this city whose name had been lost to time. As light touched the slope of the mountain before him he turned and made himself bear witness to the first of the three suns coming up over the horizon. [Memory Dungeon Objective complete: Survive until the fifth day.] [Additional Objective complete: 16/5 Curse Hunters slain.] This was not the fifth dawn. He had no idea how many dawns had passed since the breaking of this world. It could have been hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions. The system had called this world abandoned, but that wasn''t the truth. It had been killed. There may not even be any living beings in all the Infinite Realms that remembered it had once lived. The memory of that place now existed only within Devon''s mind. And he would not soon forget the terrible anger that such an atrocity filled him with. 23 - Refinement A bout of exhaustion brought Devon back to the present. He had been pushed to his limits continuously for a full day, and his body was about ready to collapse. He took a quick look at the rest of the notifications he''d gotten from clearing the dungeon before he forgot and they were lost to the depths of the system. Solo clear - Class E Memory Dungeon [Knight of the Cursed King] Calculating performance¡­ Done. Addition objective complete, boosting performance¡­ Done. Performance Rating: B Tailoring B-Grade Reward¡­ Done. Reward added to Inventory. New title obtained: [Novice Dungeoneer] New title obtained: [Independant] If it''s in my inventory I''ll just take a look at it later. I need some rest. Devon made his way back down the mountain the way he had come. It didn''t take too long, going down was much easier than going up thanks to all the slopes he could simply slide down. When he finally got back to his humble cave he immediately passed out on the cot he''d left behind. When Devon woke up it was still light outside, which made him wince. The fact that it was still day annoyed him because he wanted to work on ascending the mountain to look for whatever the king had left behind, but he wasn''t willing to ascend in the dark, not knowing what manner of creatures may lay in wait near the peak. He''d just have to check how close night was when he finished going over everything. He took a look in his inventory and quickly found what the system had given him. He took it out and examined it as he held it before him. It was a beautiful ruby red gem set within some kind of amulet. [Amplification Gem] Class E Artifact Charge: 0/100 Amplification Gems can be used to boost the power of any skill, spell, or ability the user chooses on activation, so long as the class of that skill is equal or lower than the class of the gem. Boosted skills do not consume mana, but boosted spells retain their mana costs. Charge is acquired automatically through consuming the spirit of the user''s kills. The system had given him something incredible. The ability to boost his skills to the next level was already amazing, but the fact that it made the skills used this way cost no mana was beyond anything he could have asked for. He just hoped that it didn''t take too many kills for the thing to charge up. Just as he thought that, he noticed something odd. The charge, which should have still been at 0, had increased to 1 of 100. So does it charge passively as well? How strange that the description wouldn''t mention that. Then another possibility occurred to him. If the knight''s words were to be believed, it was exceedingly rare for someone as low leveled as him to have awakened their spirit. If the spirit was used as the fuel for the ability, then it might be siphoning off his spirit to continuously regenerate. Even so, Devon wasn''t certain whether this was a good thing. The description said it consumed spirit, but there was no way for him to confirm whether the spirit it was siphoning off him was simply excess energy or whether it would actually start to harm his spirit. Devon took a look at the attribute in question to see if it had gone down at all and noticed something strange. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 24 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 2] Mana: 165/165 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 4], [Sword Proficiency - Level 5], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Quickstab], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bash], [The Mask], [Refine] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Ambitious, Giantslayer, Lord of Massacre, Novice Dungeoneer, Independant Strength: 124 Dexterity: 120 Vitality: 113 Endurance: 112 Arcane: 116 Spirit: 28 Free Points: 115 Talons: 748 [Novice Dungeoneer] Awarded for a user''s first dungeon completion. All stats +5. [Independant] Solo completed a dungeon rated to be equivalent to the Class of your race. All stats +15%. It went up again¡­ Of course, he wasn''t thinking about the obvious. Naturally his stats had gone up, he had leveled three times since he last looked at the page. What had gone up was the amount of extra mystery points he was getting for each level. By his calculations the increase had first started on level 22, giving him 2 extra points in every stat instead of just the 1 as it had been before. It was also becoming more and more obvious as time went by that spirit was an entirely different kind of attribute from the base five. It didn''t receive bonuses from his titles, percentage modifiers, or the boosts from his profession or class. The only thing it actively benefited from was the source of points he couldn''t identify. However, there was the possibility the new set of points weren''t linked at all to the previous type of mysterious gains. He still distinctly remembered the system welcoming him to what it called the path of ascendancy when he''d broken through the level 20 barrier. It was entirely possible that the points were linked to the path of ascendancy, whatever that was. Ladder. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 31
  2. Zane - Level 30
  3. Ray - Level 27
  4. Nix - Level 27
  5. Stein - Level 26
  6. Ingrid - Level 25
  7. Trey - Level 25
  8. Ash - Level 25
  9. Licht - Level 24
  10. Kyle - Level 24
How the hell did she manage to get to level 31?The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Devon had been fighting constantly for four days straight, and that woman was still advancing beyond him like it was nothing. And she wasn''t the only one. Was everyone else really forging a path of carnage even greater than himself? That seemed unlikely, but Devon couldn''t discount the possibility off hand. He was about to open a channel to Trey to ask him about the mysterious point gains, but decided against it at the last minute. Instead, he tried Eve again. Message known user Eve. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Eve] Kinda thought you''d be doing better up there. Pretty sure you''re about the only one that bothered with the mountain, so you should have plenty of prey. So why the hell aren''t you even on the ladder? [Devon] Trust me, I wish I knew. I have a question, how many stat points do you get from a level? [Eve] Kinda personal, don''t you think? [Devon] The system never gave me helpful tips like it did you guys so I''m stuck figuring stuff out on my own. Please? [Eve] Fine. I still get the 1 point in every stat from the racial gains and the 10 from my class. Still getting 5 free as well. Kinda thought it would go up from getting a class, but guess not. [Devon] Nice rare class. [Eve] You better believe I worked my ass off for it. [Devon] How the hell have you managed to level up so fast? I keep pushing myself to the absolute limit but you guys just keep pushing ahead. [Eve] Well I fell down a hole and got stuck in a giant ant nest for the past few days. I''m lucky there was a terminal down there, the weapons the system gives out are absolute trash. [Devon] I know the feeling. [Eve] Have you at least made it to 20? [Devon] Yeah, passed the quest it gave to break the barrier too. [Eve] Here''s a heads up, it gives another at 30. I''m pretty lucky I had the ant queen to kill, but I doubt such opportunities are going to be very common here. [Devon] Why? If stuff keeps getting stronger the further out we go then shouldn''t we be able to keep progressing by pushing further out? [Eve] ¡­Have you made it to the top of the mountain yet? [Devon] No, why? [Eve] Well I just reached the far edge of the plains today. I don''t think the tutorial is meant to allow us the opportunity to advance indefinitely. I mean, the area that this place encompasses is still massive, but I''m starting to see why the overseers aren''t too concerned about us out-leveling them. [Devon] What do you mean? I could see the cliffs at the edge of the plains when I looked from halfway up, but can''t you just scale them? [Eve] I think you''ll see what I mean better when you reach the top. Anyway, I need to find Phil. I managed to meet up with him on the second day, but a friend just messaged me earlier that he''s gone missing somehow. [Devon] Can''t you just message him to ask where he is? [Eve] It won''t connect. It''s really got me worried. [Devon] Go back and get help from Trey then. You''ll be able to search better with more manpower. Really what Devon wanted was for her to go back and help bolster their fighting power, but he knew it would be insensitive to say that. [Eve] No thanks. I get what you''re trying to do, raise an army to fight back and whatever, but that''s not my style. [Devon] You can''t just ignore the situation. And you can''t seriously believe that you alone can stop every overseer. [Eve] Fuck off. I''m gonna do things my way, and if you don''t like it then too bad. Connection closed. Dammit. Devon thought Eve''s methodology was foolish and naive, but he couldn''t deny that it had validity in a world ruled by the system. You probably could dominate by strength alone if you worked hard enough at it, but if it was as easy as Eve wanted to believe then the overseers wouldn''t have bothered hosting a tutorial for easy exp in the first place. Still, the conversation had been fruitful. He knew now that there would be another ascension quest at level 30, and he knew the level 20 ascension didn''t give out any extra stat points per level. Which meant they were still coming from the unknown source. But that fact frustrated Devon immensely, because there was no explanation for their existence. Devon could accept natural talent, he could accept being gifted help from beyond the veil, but what he couldn''t accept was the unsolvable mystery. The best guess he had was that it was related to his curse, but even that was shrouded in mystery. He sighed. In the end, there was still nothing he could do about it. At least the extra points were a huge step toward enhancing his strength. He may not have a nice class like Eve or Trey, but he was actually gaining as many raw stats per level as Eve was gaining stats and free points. He looked at the amplification gem again and saw it sitting at 3 charge. His spirit stat hadn''t changed, and he didn''t feel any different. Content that the thing wasn''t going to start degrading him, he put the amulet''s necklace around his neck. Now, it was time for something he had desperately wanted to do during the Memory Dungeon, but hadn''t. He looked toward the one and only class skill he had, Refine. He wasn''t sure what proficiency he needed to be at for the skill to work, but he was certain that he''d reached an adequate level in at least one of the weapon types. The real reason he hadn''t done it was the unclear cost of doing so. Every other skill took mana, so he assumed Refine would as well, but he hadn''t wanted to potentially waste precious mana when the system could throw anything at him at any time in the Memory Dungeon. Out here was a different story. Activate skill; Refine. Specify target. Set target as Sever. Cannot refine [Sever]. [Sword Proficiency] is not a high enough level. So level 5 isn''t high enough, huh? Devon figured he would try out the skills going by order of their weapon type proficiency, with 5 being the lowest he could imagine working. Next. Set target as Bash. Confirmed. Refining skill [Bash]... Done. Class F Skill [Bash] has been elevated to Class E Skill [Bone Breaker]. Cooldown for [Refine] for Refining a Class F skill set to 10 days. So that''s how it works. Devon looked over at his mana and confirmed the skill hadn''t used any at all. Instead the skill seemed to work on a rather lengthy cooldown. Devon found it strange that the system hadn''t awarded him any skills at higher proficiency levels, but he was starting to be able to guess why. There were likely a myriad of classes available to normal people, and among those were likely classes that specialized in certain weapons. If he had to guess he''d say it seemed likely that the normal skills that would be acquired by going down proficiencies were locked behind those classes, or more likely each class would have its own unique skill at certain proficiency levels. Well, I suppose it doesn''t matter. What''s important is that I have the ability to grow stronger in the first place. At least the system doesn''t seem to be able to take that away from me. Satisfied with finally knowing what his sole class skill did, he turned to the terminal to do some shopping. He sighed as he looked at the weapon selection. His axe had truly been a lifesaver in that memory dungeon, but it had honestly reached its limit before the fourth day had ended. The axehead was wobbly and the handle looked like a dog had chewed on it from every attack Devon had blocked with the length of wood. Still, Devon was loathe to even consider having to go back to using the starter weapons. He also decided he simply didn''t want another axe. His own had served him extremely well, but he just wasn''t suited to the weapon. So Devon bought the most expensive spear he could afford, the third cheapest at 600 talons. In his mind, the spear was easily the most suitable weapon for him right now considering he could take advantage of Quickstab, Shatter, and the newly upgraded Bone Breaker. He supposed he could get one of the glaives, but he preferred the simplicity of the spear. With that out of the way he also bought two more healing items to refill his completely exhausted supply, a starter spear as a backup just in case, and three javelins to round out his wallet. The javelins had been very handy against the apes, and he found he was getting significantly better at aiming them the longer he practiced. Just for curiosity''s sake, he examined his new spear. It was much closer to the tribal design the savage axe had than the metallic look of the starter weapons, and Devon found that he liked the hardwood handle a lot more than the metal. [Intermediate Spear] Class F The only other thing Devon was going to miss about the axe besides its reliability was the strength affinity. He had noticed it at some point in the dungeon, that his swings just seemed to feel weightier when he swung the axe instead of the starter weapons or any of the makeshift weapons he picked up. He assumed a weapon''s attribute affinity boosted the respective stat when using it. Still, it felt wrong to simply throw the weapon that had served him so well away like a piece of trash. He decided to hold on to it, if only for the sake of vanity. It wasn''t like he lacked the inventory space with his spatial bead. With all that out of the way he stepped out of his cave, intent on checking how much time he had left before nightfall. 24 - Lord of the Mountain Devon frowned when he climbed up the wall of the ravine outside his camp. The opening of the small cave he was stationed in, and therefore the way he climbed out of the ravine, was facing away from the mountain toward the plains, the forest, and the starting zone. So it was weird that after the sound rest he''d had the suns were only slightly higher in the sky than they had been when he''d entered his camp. Then he smacked his head, feeling stupid. A day? I slept a whole day? Time was his most precious resource, and here he was wasting it on beauty sleep. Well, he supposed it couldn''t be helped. He hadn''t slept more than a handful of hours in the entirety of the memory dungeon, so it was probably better he have spent the time to fully recover both physically and mentally before he engaged in more life or death battles. He made his way back up the mountain, killing several things that happened upon his path. When he made it back to the entrance of the mountain den he paused. He had to admit, he desperately wanted to delve back in and get revenge on the apes. Looking back on it, his previous performance was embarrassing. He''d run through those tunnels like a headless chicken, completely forgetting to even check his map and then getting lost in his attempt to flee. Also, now that he''d powered up through the memory dungeon he doubted anything short of the ape elites or the ape leader would pose any real threat to him. At least, on their own. The real danger of the apes was just how many of them there were in those ruins. He also wasn''t confident he could beat the level 43 ape lord anyway. He''d gotten several power-ups, but fighting an enemy almost double his level without a plan still seemed like sheer stupidity. And so he looked toward the peaks. Eve had said there was something for him to see, and the knight had said that the king had most likely left something behind. Devon wasn''t sure what the king might have left that could have survived the eons that had passed since this world died, but it was worth checking out. If he could even find the king''s resting place. And so he climbed. The climb up the side of the mountain became very angular. The slopes that existed here were far too steep to climb, any attempt he made just resulted in him sliding down in a hail of gravel when his handhold came loose. So he instead scaled the ruined buildings that jutted out of the mountain. His climb became a pattern of rock climbing, gentle strolls across the roofs of the structures, and more rock climbing. Even so, it only took him another hour before he reached a point where the terrain leveled out, and a sprawling plateau expanded before him. The ''peaks'' he''d seen before were the tallest of the ruins, ones that had broken free of the mountain and rose skyward in defiance. It made Devon wonder just how this city had been built, because its elevation was truly staggering. There was no human-made structure that could tower towards the sky as these structures must have. And the plaza that had been the setting of the memory dungeon, that too should not have existed where it did. It was simply too high up. I wonder if they created different levels between each of the towering buildings. It must have been quite the incredible superstructure. I wonder if those areas still exist deep within the mountain. If he could find cave entrances to more places deep within the dead city he could potentially find more monster nests to grind exp. But that was a matter for later. The plateau that expanded before him was covered by a dense thicket of trees, and he could already hear the cries of various animals within this small forest. It didn''t take long for him to stumble upon his first monster of the region. It was reminiscent of a prehistoric raptor, only it was built like a truck and twice the size. Its green leathery skin rippled from the countless muscles beneath as it moved along. [Buff Raptor - Level 26] [Discovery Bonus] I swear, the names it picks out¡­ Still, that was how he saw the creature. It did look just like a raptor that had taken an obscene amount of steroids. The raptor roared as it saw him, and it immediately charged. Devon had to throw himself out of the way to avoid its huge body. He tried to counterattack, but the raptor was excellent at controlling its weight, and leapt sideways to avoid the thrust of his spear. Devon wanted to try out his new skill, but found himself reluctant to use it on the first creature he saw. His experience with store-bought weapons was pretty bad, and he didn''t want to put too much stress on a spear using a skill that really wasn''t meant for it. In principle, the spear and the quarterstaff were the same, but Devon had his suspicions that the system gave out weapons that were intentionally weaker in aspects they were not explicitly designed for. The raptor was repositioning itself, so Devon took the initiative. He ran forward in a burst of speed and activated Quickstab. However, he didn''t get the chance to attack as the raptor swung itself around, attacking him with its girthy tail. If Devon had bought a sword he would have tried to Sever the tail clean off, but he could do little against the hulking mass with a spear. Even if he punctured a hole in the thing the full weight of it would still crash into him. And then he''d have to retrieve his spear.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Devon stepped back, avoiding the tail swipe. Let''s go with that, since it wants to play hard to get. Activate skill; Shatter. Next the raptor tried to step toward him and clamp its vicious jaws around him. Devon threw himself forward, sliding across the ground under the raptor''s hulking body. He couldn''t maneuver his spear from that position, but stabbing the thing wasn''t his aim to begin with. He twisted his body and braced himself against the ground with his arms as he kicked both of his legs straight up, into the dinosaur''s stomach. He felt the weight of Shatter flow through his body as his legs impacted the creature, cracking several of its ribs and sending it soaring into the air. This was something he had experimented with during the memory dungeon. The system seemed to consider the body to be a blunt weapon, so it allowed him to channel his blunt weapon skills through his flesh. Using Shatter like this hurt like hell to do though, so Devon wasn''t keen on doing it very often. And he definitely wasn''t going to try using Bone Breaker, as he imagined the stronger skill may actually break his body. Devon had to roll out of the way as the raptor came crashing back down. Then he quickly advanced on it as it was getting back to its feet and Quickstabbed it straight through its skull. It gave only a weak squawk before it collapsed and died. Kill - [Buff Raptor - Level 26] - 264 Talons Devon scowled. He had assumed the memory dungeon was giving him less exp for the kills there since the entities he was fighting had only been fabrications of the system, but it seemed like that might not have been the case. It did just take a rather ridiculous amount of time to level up as he ascended. He quickly moved on and discovered that the forest was chock full of the raptors. He quickly got used to fighting the creatures as he advanced towards the tallest ruin he could see. His pace slowed as he fought the beasts, as each encounter had him using some skill or magic on the beasts as he tested them. He found that lightning imbuement worked exceptionally well, as he could simply touch them with the end of his spear and it would essentially tase them, allowing him to land a quick stab to the chest or the skull. He also sucked one of their corpses into his inventory. He''d run out of leafstag meat and he needed a new source of food. The corpse had been on the very edge of rotting near the end of the memory dungeon and had been rather unpleasant to consume. It may have normally been completely inedible by that point, but Devon had a feeling the inventory somehow worked to preserve it. He was getting close to the base of the tallest ruin, the thing he''d decided would be his primary goal. Just as he stabbed another raptor through the chest he got the notification. Kill - [Buff Raptor - Level 26] - 43 Talons [Level up. Level 25 obtained.] Finally. It had taken nearly two hours of hunting in the forest as he meandered towards his goal to level up a single time. The gap between levels was going to start getting brutal. He walked into a majestic clearing surrounded by cliff walls as he approached the tower. He walked through the valley and marveled at the serene beauty of the place. A tranquil pond sat in its center, surrounded by a vibrant grove of trees. He kept his eyes peeled for trouble, but didn''t spot any as he made his way toward the pond. Even the stones were covered with a vibrant green moss. It was so lush it almost made him forget he was atop a mountain. He was admiring the scenery from the water''s edge when it moved. One of the things Devon had assumed to be a massive boulder shifted its weight, and a giant tail moved into view. Devon quickly took cover behind a tree as a gargantuan head lifted up to survey the clearing. [Voltar Pura, Lord of the Mountain - Level 60] [Discovery Bonus] The creature was massive. It must measure almost twice the size of a T-rex, Devon reckoned. But that wasn''t the thing that froze him in terror. Level 60? That creature could kill me without a spare thought! But it was more than just the creature''s level. The name too was an indicator that this was no ordinary beast. If it had been ordinary the system would have simply called it giant trex or something similar. Instead it had a name and even a title, lord of the mountain. Devon sat cowering behind his tree, thanking his past self he''d had the foresight to get the small presence ability. If that thing spotted him he would die. There was not even the possibility of survival in Devon''s mind if that thing decided to make Devon its next meal. After several tense seconds the monster seemed content that the tranquility of its home had not been disturbed, and lowered its head to continue resting. Devon took the opportunity to sneak back out the way he came, at a far slower and more cautious pace. It wasn''t until he''d made a considerable amount of distance before he realized he hadn''t breathed in what felt like several minutes. Then, with a sense of caution that bordered on irrationality, he found an alternate path toward his goal. It took him an hour to go around that place, as he kept checking over his shoulder to make sure there weren''t any enemies that could potentially give away his location. What few enemies he did find he killed from the shadows before they had a chance to make a sound and wake the sleeping behemoth. Finally, he made it to the base of the towering structure. He entered into the nearest doorway he could find, and thanked the ancients for having the decency to leave stairs for him to climb. He was tired of having to climb the sheer faces of these buildings, and going up by way of stairs was a blessing. Near the top he found a nest of large bird monsters. It was almost boring how standard they were. They could have been taken for hawks if they weren''t triple the normal size. [Tower Bird - Level 32] [Discovery Bonus] Devon didn''t bother trying to fight them. He just walked right on past their nest as he made his way to the top. It seemed like it would be a massive chore to fight a bird, and he was desperate to get to the top. Finally, he made his way out of what seemed like a fire exit on the roof, and gazed out in wonder as the world opened up before him. He instantly understood what Eve had meant, but even still the sight of it was so magnificent that it took his breath away. Eons ago the fist of an errant god had descended from the heavens and broken this world. Devon simply hadn''t had any idea how badly the world had been broken. At the edge of the plains and the forest were not cliffs of stone as he had thought on the ascent. Beyond the boundary of their tutorial was nothing at all, simply empty space. But beyond that empty space were entire biomes suspended in the air, chunks of land so large you could fit entire ecosystems on them. This world had been shattered and broken, that much Devon was sure of. But the energies left behind from that event had somehow reshaped it and cast all of the pieces of that broken land into the sky, where they remained to this day. The cliffs Devon thought he had seen at the edges of their area were not cliffs at all, but the edges of the floating islands that bordered their own. 25 - Monkey Business Devon took several minutes to take in the sight and engrain it into his brain. When he finally felt ready, he opened up the messaging function. Message known user Eve. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Devon] I see now what you meant. Is there no way off the mass of land we''re on? [Eve] None that I saw. The closest one that I could see looked about a mile or two away. [Devon] What''s beneath us? I can''t see what''s below from up here. [Eve] Directly beneath us is a stretch of ocean, but there seem to be continents in the distance. I''d wager we''re about three miles up in the air. [Devon] Shit. [Eve] Yep. Like it or not, we''re stuck up here, unless there''s an island closer on the other side of that mountain. Devon turned around, surveying the land beyond the mountain for the first time. The sight of the rear of the mountain was extraordinary. Devon guessed that when the planet destroying wave of destruction had hit the city most of the tidal wave of rubble had been consumed by the half of the city facing the desolation, because the other side of the city lay exposed to the world. It was incredible to look one direction and see a mountain, only to look the other way and see an ancient city. Devon refocused himself and looked out beyond the landmass they stood upon. [Devon] Doesn''t seem like it. The islands over here are closer, I think, but not close enough that we could make it across. Not in the time we''ve got, anyway. [Eve] Figured as much. [Devon] Any progress on finding old man Phil? [Eve] Didn''t think you cared. [Devon] Just because I''m looking at the big picture doesn''t mean I don''t care. [Eve] You''re really good at pissing me off, you know that? Anyway, I haven''t found any good leads yet. I checked around the camp Trey''s got set up and nobody has seen him. I''m heading into the forest next. [Devon] All right. I gotta go, getting attacked by a giant bird. [Eve] Lol. Good luck. Connection closed. Even in this new world it seems earth lingo will survive. I can''t tell if I approve. Devon shoved such idle thoughts from his mind as he stepped to the side to avoid the talons of the tower bird assaulting him. The bird left a powerful gust of wind in its wake from the flyby attack, almost powerful enough to knock Devon off his feet. [Tower Bird - Level 31] You seem like a good target to experiment on. Devon checked the amplification gem to make sure it was ready and smiled when he saw it had a full charge. The tower bird screeched at him, causing the wind to distort as a gale of blades smacked into Devon, sending thin cuts all across his body. Devon scowled in annoyance. The cuts didn''t feel like anything too bad, but the fact that he''d run into a monster that could use magic set a bad precedent. It was also troublesome how one of the myriad slices that now littered his body was above one of his eyes, causing half of Devon''s vision to run red. Thankfully, the bird didn''t attack him repeatedly from a distance. It seemed to think that its magic attack had weakened him enough, and it swooped in to try to eviscerate him with its wicked talons. Activate Amplification Gem. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. He leaped toward the bird of prey, aiming to meet it in midair. The bird raised its claws in response, aiming to catch Devon out of the air like some sort of fish. Range was ultimately what decided the outcome of the midair clash. Devon''s weapon was longer, and he brought it down upon the wing of the massive bird before the claws could rip him to shreds. Devon hadn''t wanted to use Bone Breaker against the raptors because of how massive they had been. If he had used the spear against their meaty bodies he might as well have been bashing it against a wall, and he wasn''t willing to destroy his spear so readily. But against the wing of a bird? The story was entirely different. The light avian bones within the wing instantly broke apart under the force of the amplified Bone Breaker, but the carnage didn''t stop at simply breaking the bones. The sheer force of Devon''s attack bent the wing at a horrific angle and continued pushing against it until the flesh simply couldn''t withstand the abuse. With a sickening tear the tower bird''s mutilated wing was completely ripped off its body, causing it to drop to the roof like a stone. Devon barely managed to avoid the flailing claws as he too fell back down onto the roof.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. He finished the bird off with a quick stab through the torso, as he felt it would be cruel to watch the poor thing flap helplessly about. Kill - [Tower Bird - Level 31] - 285 Talons Devon looked over his body, annoyed at what he saw. The bird''s wind slicer, while not a real threat to his life, had left him with bleeding cuts all over his body. Now that the adrenaline of combat was wearing off it became annoying even to walk back to the stairwell to begin his descent. He was reluctant to do it, but he eventually popped a healing pill into his mouth so the wounds wouldn''t be a problem anymore. While the cuts themselves were more of an annoyance than anything, he doubted his enhanced vitality actually put more blood into his body, which meant that bleeding out was probably still a very real threat. But if he was honest with himself, even that rationale was something of an excuse to rid himself of the annoying cuts. He was tempted to stay and maybe lure another one of the birds up to the roof to try and eke out a level from it, but he decided against it. Their wind magic was a serious annoyance and Devon was afraid if one of their bodies fell off the roof they might land in the lord''s area, alerting it to Devon''s presence. And if there was one thing Devon absolutely did not want to do, it was be sighted by that thing. He opened his map as he descended the ruin, looking at the 3D model the system rendered for him. He shifted it to look at how the tunnels that composed the mountain den ran through the mountain itself and was surprised to find that the giant cavity that seemed to form the core of the nest was rather close to the forested plateau of the summit. This gave him an idea. He definitely didn''t want to fully engage the apes within their lair again. He got a flashback to the massive horde that had converged on him before he entered the memory dungeon and shuddered. No, he needed a way to either draw the monkeys out of their den or he needed to find a better way to deal with them quietly. Unfortunately, he didn''t have much faith in the latter option. The dense population of the apes made repeatedly encountering them alone unlikely. One, he could take by surprise. He likely couldn''t take out a second or third before it raised the alarm. He put the map away as he reached the bottom. A plan was coming together in his mind, but he didn''t want to get distracted as he snuck away from the lord''s sanctum. He spent the next several hours going from ruin to ruin, scouring them for any sign of¡­ something. He was looking for the resting place of the cursed king, but he had no idea what he was really looking for. He was operating under the assumption that the king had still been alive when the calamity struck, so it wasn''t like he was searching for a tomb or sarcophagus. But none of the ruins looked particularly special either. Some were bigger or smaller, some had domed ceilings or spaces that would once have been interior gardens, but none of them carried the air of majesty he expected from a palace. At most, the fancier places looked like small estates. As he searched he hunted the various beasts he came across, but he didn''t have as much zeal as before. He couldn''t help but feel mentally drained after the single encounter he''d had with the lord of the mountain. Who knew if there were other creatures like that scattered around, simply sitting around waiting for some fool explorer to stumble upon them. When he finally left the forested plateau the suns were going down below the far horizon and he''d gained another level. He''d also raised his spear proficiency, which he felt very happy about. It was almost unbelievable how much it took to level up now. He was hunting creatures a few levels above his own and yet still he''d only gained 2 levels over the course of the day. Almost all the creatures at the summit either fought opponents straight out or were like the birds where they engaged in a sort of guerilla warfare. But there were no more creatures that had the advantage of traps or ambushes. And yet even in the more brash confrontational battles Devon found he wasn''t having too much trouble. He occasionally had to use a skill here and there, but even that felt more like a convenience rather than something he needed. Either I was wrong about the premise of a monster''s level being a representation of their total fighting power¡­ or I''ve become stronger than my level should indicate. The cause was clear. By simple attribute gain Devon was outpacing Eve and Trey both. Even though Devon had a class that seemed definitively worse than either of theirs by point gain per level he had actually been keeping up with Eve''s class after level 21 because of the mysterious points. That plus the extra gains from his various titles put him ahead of the competition. But even with that advantage it felt like he really couldn''t best natural talent. Eve''s lead was proof of that. He also couldn''t distribute his free points, which still aggravated him. He cursed the system as he once again started running over the myriad possible commands he''d thought of over the course of several days. None of them worked. He supposed it wasn''t as bad now as it had been in the beginning before he''d gotten his class and the mysterious gains. He put those thoughts out of his mind as he returned to his cave and cooked up some raptor meat for dinner. The night passed by uneventfully before he retired. When dawn broke he was ready to head out. He''d bought another intermediate spear as an extra and refilled his healing supply. It was taking him less and less time to traverse the mountain, and in what felt like no time at all he was back at the entrance to the mountain den. The apes had a new guard posted, but Devon dispatched it swiftly. He looked at the dialog the system was showing him. Plot: [Monkey Business] Tasks: [Gather Intelligence] He''d been extremely happy when the system had allowed the plot to go through. The main objective was simply to eradicate the ape leader, as Devon felt somewhat confident he could slowly and methodically deal with the remainder of the nest over the next few days once the leader was dead. In some ways the leader was similar to the mountain lord, only to a lesser extent. Devon didn''t feel confident in clearing out the nest while an existence that could easily smash him existed inside, so he wanted to nip that threat right in the bud. He had ideas of potential tasks to implement, but for now he simply needed information. He crept through the ruins, keeping his map open at all times. He wasn''t going to make the same mistake as last time. Devon crawled through the dungeon for what felt like hours, carefully taking down any wandering ape that crossed his path. Any time he ran into any more than a single ape he would carefully back away, taking full advantage of Small Presence to remain undetected. He made his way into the mountain, continually ascending any staircase he could find as he mapped out a path outside the outer perimeter of the den''s central cavity. The further in he went the more he noticed that many of the tunnels were a result of the ape''s digging. The intelligence of the primates was a little surprising, that they could figure out where to dig through to connect two adjacent ruins via tunnel. Eventually he managed to fully plot out a route along the outer perimeter of the central den and wound up at a point on the opposite side of it. He frowned as he ascended a staircase and found his path blocked by a dead end above him. He double checked his map to confirm his deduction before rolling up his sleeves to get to work. He wedged himself as far up on the stairs as he could and pressed his back up against the dead end, getting all the leverage he could manage. Activate Amplification Gem. Activate magic; Boost. He''d honestly found Boost to be a bit of a letdown compared to his other skills and abilities. It boosted his stat points across the board, but only by about 5% normally then 10% while under the effect of the gem. So while he didn''t view it as being worth the mana in a fight, it did come in handy in situations like these. Devon pushed up, throwing all the force he could into the stone ceiling above him. His legs felt like they were going to give out from the exertion, but Devon kept pushing. Finally, the stone above him cracked, and he was able to push the giant rock that had settled on the exit to the ruins away. The stone was too heavy to throw or try to move any further, so Devon simply angled his back and had it roll to the side so it settled beside the exit. After several hours of slowly digging through ancient ruins he found himself back in the densely forested plateau at the mountain''s summit. The exact location was a small canyon he''d discovered with a small stream flowing through it. He didn''t know where the water came from, but it added a tranquility to the area that almost rivaled the lord''s grove. He sat down on the massive stone he had lifted off the entrance to the mountain den. The true Achilles'' heel part of the magic Boost was that it left the user feeling extremely fatigued after its effect ended. That effect was only exacerbated by using the amplification gem on it. He looked up at the sky and smiled when he saw that the suns were still in their midday positions. There was still time left in the day to continue his plot. 26 - Catastrophic Intervention After Devon felt he had fully recovered from the bout of weakness following the amplification of Boost he descended back down into the mountain den. Now that he had found a second viable exit he felt much more confident in taking greater risks. He mapped out passageways and tunnels that led ever closer to the central den until finally he found a real opening that overlooked the entire space. Something Devon noticed this time around was that fluorescent crystals had formed around the spherical cave, creating an ambient source of light. It was interesting what you started to notice when you weren''t forced into pure survival mode. Just how many of these damn things are in this mountain? Eve had said she fell down a giant anthill, but Devon was starting to genuinely wonder whether there were more apes in the mountain den than ants in the bug nest. There were hundreds of the primates. Among their numbers he could see some of the strong ones and even a few elites roaming about, but those weren''t what he was after. After a few minutes he finally spotted the ape leader, sitting atop a perch that seemed to be only for him. The king of the apes, lording over their little world. How funny. Most of the monkeys seemed to be aimlessly milling about, but here and there Devon saw fights break out. It was almost comical how the apes formed circles around the brawls like high schoolers would back on earth. What he took particular note of was the fact that the apes seemed to be getting into fights over shiny rocks. As he absorbed that information he got a flashback to the first pair of apes he had fought in the tunnels of the den. If he remembered correctly, they had also been disputing over some shiny bauble. Devon turned his focus on the ape leader and concentrated on trying to ascertain its strength. Something he''d been slowly realizing was that he was starting to be able to intrinsically grasp how strong an enemy was just by observing them. It wasn''t about level, it was about raw power. When he''d fought the trap spider he had done it instinctively when he was in that state of sublime focus. Again when he was in the memory dungeon he''d been able to tell which curse hunters would be tougher simply by examining them, even though they''d all been level 25. He wasn''t sure if this ability was due to his senses simply being sharpened to adapt to his new environment or if it was something else. Either way, he felt his heart soar when he closely examined the ape leader and realized that despite the level difference, it was only a little stronger than the elites it commanded. So why is it leveled so high? A thought occurred to him. Maybe the leader is able to issue orders to the other apes, and the system considers that an ability worth several levels? Now that he thought about it, it seemed weird that there would be an ape that had been standing guard at the entrance to the den when none of the apes seemed to take anything besides their shiny stones seriously. Devon somehow doubted they just volunteered for watch duty randomly. An idea started to come together in Devon''s head as he felt like all the mental jigsaw pieces started to fit together. Task [Gather Intelligence] complete. Subsequent tasks auto-generated based on intent: [Distraction], [Valley of Death] Devon internally thanked whoever the kind soul had been who had shoved this profession into the system. Or if it was the system itself that had once been so magnanimous then Devon cursed the world for shoving him into the Infinite Realms in a time period when the system had lost its kindness. He looked into his inventory, happy that he had decided to keep all of the junk the overseer he''d looted had lying around in their spatial bead. One of the objects among the sea of garbage was a large chunk of what looked to be a silvery metal. The geometry that defined its shape was odd, but Devon didn''t care about that right now. He was sure all of this stuff had some sort of value, but because the system didn''t bother labeling them as anything other than what he thought they looked like he had no way of knowing. Better to get immediate use out of an unknown than hoard everything he found in the hopes it would someday prove useful. They like to fight over those little pieces of metal, so let''s see what happens when I toss a big one in the mix. Devon retreated from his vantage point. If he was going to do this he needed to be exactly sure of his positioning. He crept back through the tunnels, spending perhaps another hour doing more mapping, finding potential spots, and getting kills to recharge his amplification gem. Eventually he felt he was ready. He sat atop one of the buildings that had been broken long ago and left the innards of what had been the room within exposed. He was positioned behind one of the broken walls so as not to be spotted by the writhing masses down below. Alright, ape leader. Let''s see just how much control over your pack you really have. Devon took the silvery rock that was about quadruple the size of his fist and threw it out into the open air above the den. The rock plummeted into the center mass of the apes and smashed into the skull of one of the weaker ones, killing it instantly and shattering the stone into four shimmering pieces. Kill - [Mountain Ape - Level 16] - 13 Talons The entire den went dead silent in an instant. Devon didn''t dare peek his head back over the wall, in case they were searching for where the mysterious projectile had come from. He sat like that in tense silence for roughly ten seconds, tensing his muscles in case he heard the rushing stampede directed towards his hideaway.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Then the cave exploded into a cacophony of angry screeches and roars, and all hell broke loose down below. Devon looked over the edge to see the fruits of his endeavor, and marveled at just how effective his distraction had been. A brawl that dwarfed every barfight Devon had seen by several orders of magnitude was taking place, and the apes weren''t concerned with holding back. He watched as one of the normal mountain apes picked up one of the shards of the stone and held it aloft with a roar, only for its head to get split in half by the primitive blade of another. That ape then rushed forward to claim the stone and the cycle repeated itself endlessly. Some of the apes didn''t even seem to care about the rocks, instead just fighting the closest ape on pure principle. The only figure down below that wasn''t actively trying to murder its kin was the ape leader, who stood upon its perch and screeched commands at its subjects that went entirely ignored. Devon summoned one of his javelins from his inventory before hurling it towards the leader. His aim had improved by leaps and bounds with the projectiles, but the leader was at least three dozen meters away from him. His flying lance pierced the ape leader through a leg, shaking it from its task. It looked around to try and find which of its foolish kin had dared to attack it before it looked up and to the right to see Devon standing openly on the ledge of the ruined building. Devon could see the eyes of the ape leader change from an enraged but controlled fury to a complete and utter frenzy as it spotted him. It screamed at its cohort, trying to get any of them to follow it to kill this most detestable foe, but none of them listened. None of them could even hear its screeches over their own. So the leader abandoned its kin and charged recklessly at Devon, yanking the javelin embedded in its leg out like it was nothing more than a nuisance. Devon backed up away from the ledge while the leader climbed up, positioning himself near the doorway that led to his carefully planned route. Once the leader vaulted the ledge the chase began. Devon led the stupid ape through all the twisting tunnels of its own den before he finally emerged in the brisk outside air. The crazed ape leader came charging right out into the open area of the forest canyon, completely disregarding the fact that it had been lured right where Devon wanted it. As it came through Devon shoved the massive stone he had lifted off the exit back over the stairs, sealing off the tunnels. He wasn''t sure if the ape leader''s frenzied cries had attracted any of its kin to rally behind it, but if they had then he figured this should buy him enough time to settle things. Task [Distraction] complete. Devon threw himself backward to avoid the ape leader''s wild attack with the stone quarterstaff it carried. He had to recalculate how strong he assumed the beast was, as he was barely able to move out of the way as the stone pole swished past him, almost catching his shirt. He landed on his feet and pulled his spear out of his inventory as the ape once again charged him. The ape led its assault with a stab that was so fast Devon barely even registered it, only moving his head on the instinct that something was coming. He tried to jab forward with his spear, but the ape whipped its still extended quarterstaff to the side, smashing it into the side of Devon''s head, sending him sprawling. Activate magic; Adrenaline! Devon felt his perception of time slow ever so slightly as he got back to his feet. His vision became sharp and focused, though the edges dimmed as he tunnel visioned on the ape leader. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. Activate skill; Quickstab. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement. A majority of Devon''s mana was drained away in an instant, but that was all the time Devon wanted to spend on this fight. A thunderclap echoed through the canyon as Lightning Imbuement took effect. It was one of the spell''s more interesting effects, though completely useless. The ape leader once again rushed toward him, stabbing forward with its quarterstaff. Stone quarterstaff skidded off wooden spear as Devon parried the thrust to the side before stepping in close and ramming the butt of his spear directly into the ape''s face. The ape leader recoiled from the impact of Bone Breaker, blood shooting out of its demolished nose. Devon twisted his spear around as the ape was too stunned to react, its body twitching from convulsions caused by Lightning Imbuement. With a single Quickstab Devon pierced straight through the ape''s chest, his spear carrying enough momentum to reach clear through the body and stick out the other side of the ape. Devon let out a breath he had held, and his muscles started to release some of the tension the encounter had built up. But the ape wasn''t done. Even with its chest impaled and its body twitching from the constant shocks of Lightning Imbuement it reached a free hand forward and grabbed on tightly to Devon''s forearm. Devon winced as it felt like his bone was breaking under the immense grip strength of the ape leader. He tried to pull away and pull his spear out, but the ape had other plans. It kicked a leg forward, knocking Devon''s uneven footing out from beneath him as it yanked his arm around. The ape leader pulled his helpless body along in a half crescent before flinging Devon towards one of the canyon walls. The impact of his head against the solid stone wall caused Devon to black out for a moment, and he opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground at the base of the canyon wall beneath a small overhang of bramble and other plants that jutted out from the sheer wall of the canyon. He got to his feet unsteadily as he pulled his backup intermediate spear out of his tile, and the ape pulled his first spear out of its chest and snapped it in two as a show of defiance. The ape roared at him with everything it had, and Devon felt the challenge within it. He felt the excitement of an extreme challenge once again stir within his soul, and in his mind he saw them both on the line between life and death, dancing. Yes, it''s coming back to me now. Come, you stupid ape! I''ll take everything you can dish out and pierce straight through this situation! Activate Amplification Gem! Activate skill; Quickstab! Devon lowered himself into position, preparing to meet his opponent head on and pierce its head with an amplified Quickstab so fast the ape wouldn''t even know how it had died. The ape lowered itself into a similar position, and Devon noted with wonder that the haze of frenzy had cleared from its eyes, and he saw the same resolution he felt staring back at him. Even through the veil of Adrenaline, Devon felt like time slowed to a crawl as they watched each other with the gazes of hawks, each waiting to see which would make the first move. Each ready to explode forward like arrows released from strings under too much pressure. And then it all came crashing down. A maw that was a full meter in size clamped down mercilessly over the torso of the ape leader, and Devon saw the ape''s legs give a final twitch as the massive teeth of that maw severed its spinal cord. The mental image of the dance along the edge shattered like a mirror and fell apart in Devon''s mind as he bore witness to the end of his hope. As the shards of the mirror fell away Devon saw a glimpse beyond the line, at something that lurked beyond the edge of infinity. He saw Death, and in that moment it took the form of a dinosaur. Plot [Monkey Business] failed. Assisted Kill - [Mountain Ape Leader - Level 43] - 159 Talons [Level up. Level 26 obtained.] [Level up. Level 27 obtained.] The lord of the mountain whipped around and threw the ape leader''s corpse into the wall of the canyon beside Devon, and the impact shattered the stone foundations for a dozen meters in every direction. The undisputed lord raised its head up into the sky and let out a roar so complete it burst both of Devon''s eardrums, and its cry made the message clear. There would be no victor besides the King on top of this mountain. 27 - Resting Place The lord of the mountain lowered its head, and as it did Devon came into its sightline. A primal fear shattered the bonds of shock that had held him, and he dived straight into the gap left in the broken wall of the canyon. He didn''t care that he had no idea if the hole into darkness led back into a submerged ruined building or not, or that the entire canyon wall was about to collapse over the hole. The crater represented his singular opportunity for survival and Devon sure as hell wasn''t going to let it slip by. He heard the massive jaws snap shut behind him as he flew into the hole, narrowly avoiding meeting the same fate as the ape. The lord of the mountain didn''t have another chance to get at him as the shale wall of the canyon collapsed completely behind him. Devon tumbled into the darkness until he hit the floor of the space with a thud. He willed his body into motion scrambling to his feet in his desperate need to move. Activate magic; Light! The last of his mana drained away as the ball of luminescence appeared, illuminating yet another barren room of the endless ruins. The ape''s halfway bisected corpse sat unmoving in the center, but Devon didn''t pay even a sliver of attention to it before bolting toward the first doorway he saw. Rubble exploded from the collapsed entrance as the lord of the mountain tried to dig its way in, unsatisfied that prey had managed to elude its grasp. Devon didn''t even bother looking back as he sprinted forward. He ran through the endless dark corridors, heart hammering in his chest as Adrenaline wore off. It was only when he tripped and slid face first into a rock that he stopped to catch his breath. When he did, he almost keeled over from the amount of pain his natural adrenaline had been suppressing. He''d been able to block it out in the moment, but the ape tossing him against the wall of the canyon had done some serious damage. He had trouble breathing and felt a trickle of blood against the back of his head. He popped a healing pill, not wanting to let the injuries persist as he continued trudging his way deeper into the ruins. He wandered for half an hour more before he felt like there was no possible way for the lord of the mountain to follow him in. Devon wouldn''t be surprised if the lord had followed him several rooms in, as the creature was likely strong enough to bulldoze its way through any and all obstacles. He shuddered at the thought of that thing''s power. He and the ape leader truly were about as significant as ants to it. When Devon finally felt sure he was far enough away from the spot he''d entered he took his camping supplies out of his inventory. He needed rest, and he needed to steady himself or he''d fall apart. Devon was starting to become a lot more familiar with the line between life and death he saw himself on when he fought an equally strong opponent. But being ripped out of that sublime state of mind suddenly and without warning had jarred him to his core. He had been both incredibly lucky and unlucky. The fact that the lord of the mountain had been close enough by to notice their duel and waltz up on them should have decided his fate, but two miracles had occurred. The first was that small overhang of plantlife that was above the place the ape leader threw him into the wall. He felt certain that if that little thing had not been there to block the lord''s view of him from its towering height it would have locked onto him first, and it would have been him that stood there like an idiot as he got devoured. The second was the happenstance that the lord had felt like throwing the ape into the wall directly next to him. Devon rubbed his temples, berating himself that he had let his guard down in perhaps the most dangerous place in the tutorial besides the overseer''s camp. The magic Adrenaline and his intense focus had blinded him to anything other than the ape, letting the lord simply walk up to them without him even noticing. Still, it was just absurdly unlucky that the lord had happened to be that close. The plateau that made up the summit was a few miles wide, and Devon had specifically chosen that canyon instead of looking for somewhere else because of the distance between it and the lord''s grove. Perhaps the worst thing was that he had somehow failed his plot, though he''d technically completed his objective of killing the ape leader. He looked at the failure notification and tried to brainstorm why it failed. The completion conditions for his previous plot that had involved the death of the trap spider and the overseer hadn''t required Devon himself to kill either of them so long as they both died. His evidence of that was that he hadn''t done any damage to the overseer, and even the system at the time hadn''t counted their death as even an assisted kill. Two possibilities came to mind. First, the plot may have failed because though the explicit objective had been completed, the implicit one hadn''t. Devon wanted to kill the ape leader because he wanted the exp that a level 43 would give him, plain and simple. When the trap spider and the overseer had died it hadn''t really mattered what killed them because both the implicit and explicit goal was to claim the terminal in that cave as a safe haven.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Second, it was possible the system considered it a failure on Devon''s part that he hadn''t prepared well enough for outside variables. Though Devon really didn''t think that the lord showing up at that exact moment could have possibly been prevented. Of course, it was also possible that both possibilities were right, and he would have to construct more elaborate and detailed plots lest the system burn them down by claiming they weren''t thorough enough. Devon looked around the ancient room he was in. He hadn''t cleared the general vicinity for any potential dangers, but he needed sleep. He was mentally and physically drained dry, so he laid down to sleep for a few hours. If a spider killed him in his sleep then so be it.
Luckily he didn''t get eaten by a spider in his sleep, but it still felt weird to sleep on the overseer''s cot. There was something about sleeping on the possession of somebody he''d killed that disturbed him on a deep level. But he wasn''t in a situation where he could be picky, so he had to make do with what he had, like it or not. He opened the map function, and immediately he winced when he realized just how far he''d run. He''d actually covered more than half the length of the plateau from underneath, and now sat in a room far closer to the lord''s grove than he''d like. Well, I suppose this is as good a chance as any to look for the king''s resting place. Since he hadn''t found anything up on the surface his next place to look had been the level of subterranean ruins running beneath the plateau. How fortunate that he''d made it here without even having to look for a way in. He shoved his inner sarcastic humor back into the pit from whence it came and threw the cot into his inventory when he realized that he was missing something. He''d somehow lost his backup intermediate spear in his desperate flight. Great, so now I''m back to using the sole remaining starting spear I''ve got, huh? I almost regret buying this piece of junk because I feel like I might just be better off punching stuff to death. Regardless of his reservations, he took the metallic spear out of his inventory before scrutinizing his map. Since he was already down here where he was hopefully safe from the reach of the lord he figured he might as well spend the remaining time left before the terminal lockdown ended exploring. A part of him wanted to go back and finish what he''d started with the monkeys because they were still an excellent source of exp, but the ultimate failure of his plot made the idea of going back for cleanup leave a sour taste in his mouth. So he decided against it. He started making his way towards what he assumed would be the central-most structure. He was using the tallest remaining ruin as a basis for where he assumed the center of the city would have been, but it probably wasn''t the most accurate approximation. The tallest tower was only the tallest tower because it was the tallest tower left. There had likely been at least a dozen other towers that had dwarfed it, but because none of them remained Devon could only make assumptions based on the one he knew. One hour of wandering the endless tunnels of the dead city became two, and three became four as Devon wandered up and down the structure. He found that the further down he went the more evidence of monster activity he found, but he never delved deep enough to have an actual encounter with the creatures in the deep. The knight had said the king would probably be near the zenith of the city, so there was no reason for him to go down. Finally, after more than ten hours of searching, he found something that didn''t belong. Most of the ruins he''d gone through had been remarkably preserved, but there came a point as he was wandering through the structure that the hallway before him was blocked off. He initially thought it to be a cave in, but a second glance told him that wasn''t the case. The floor at the foot of the cave in was broken, revealing a narrow gap that Devon could feel a slight airflow through. Something''s here that isn''t supposed to be. Is it a piece of a building that broke and fell here from above? Devon didn''t feel like breaking through walls, so he went back the way he came and started looking for alternate pathways to the same area. It only took about 20 minutes of navigating the ruins before he found another broken passage, but this time he was able to hop into the open space beneath. Even the empty spaces of the ruins were interesting. Devon was becoming more and more confident about his theory of it being a layered city, because the spaces between the passages seemed to be rooms and structures of their own. If Devon was an archeologist this place would have been a historical goldmine. But he had an objective to accomplish. He quickly climbed through the rubble of the collapsed space to find himself at the entrance of the fallen chamber. The sight within was truly incredible. It was like the grand cathedrals he''d seen pictures of, only they were made with an alien architecture that captivated the mind even more. The next part of the fallen section also took his breath away, but for a different reason. The ground was littered with thousands of tiles. Maybe even hundreds of thousands, Devon couldn''t tell. All he knew was that there were so many of them that they blocked any sight of the floor beneath. He gingerly picked one up, remembering how Trey had said they were supposed to stick around forever. He blew dust off it before considering the fact that that dust may have been the remains of the skeleton of the tile''s owner. Devon opened the system dialog and noted the name of the person whose tile he held in his hand. All of the other information was filled with null values, just like the overseer''s had been. Devon opened the inventory function and sighed when he saw it was filled with nothing but sand. That''s right, the inventory can only preserve things for so long, so it was probably too much to get my hopes up for cool loot. He briefly wondered why he hadn''t seen any tiles in the other ruins he''d gone through, but he figured maybe monsters had collected them over time for some unknown use. He walked into the final part of the structure and finally found his objective. Alone in the biggest and grandest room so far, a lone skeleton sat atop a stone throne, a gold-tinted spear grasped within its bony fingers. 28 - The Cursed Kings Legacy For a moment Devon braced himself to have to fight a skeleton boss, but after several seconds it became clear that the bony figure wouldn''t be getting up. Still, he found it strange that the king''s corpse would remain when all of the others had faded away into dust. Perhaps it was a part of leveling past a certain point. The skeleton held the spear in its right hand, while its left held a tile. Devon approached cautiously and picked the tile up. He opened the status screen to see who he should be offering up his respects to. [Status] - Deceased Name: [Data Purged] Race: [C-Grade Infernari] Devon frowned at the message. Data purged? Is that a result of the system screwing with someone else who was cursed, or was it somehow done manually by someone else in the time since their death? Unable to glean an answer from the otherwise blank status sheet, he moved on. When he went to look in the inventory he noticed an additional function that hadn''t been there on the tile he''d looked at in the room before or the Overseer''s tile. [Datalogs] When he opened it he saw there was a single datalog called ''The End.'' He went ahead and opened it. [The End] I leave this message behind out of spite, nothing more and nothing less. I hope dearly it finds its way into the clutches of somebody who has been cursed, like myself. I hope it aids you on your journey, because the more you prosper¡­ the more the system will suffer. The only title or name that means anything to me is that of the Cursed King. It is, or perhaps I should say it was, my pride. A mark of defiance against the heavens, definitive proof that even a being that had been labeled as cursed could create something wondrous and beautiful, as I have created a home that was both of those things for my people on this world. I erected defenses that even A-Grade beings could not breach alone, and established myself as a shining example to all those who are known to be cursed. I suppose none of this may mean anything to you, so I''ll get to the point. There are many things I have learned on my journey. I have learned much about the system and I have found many ways to use it that even ordinary beings do not know. I have concluded through my travels one universal truth. The system is bound by something to create equal opportunity for all those who exist within Karma''s Path. Let''s start with the most important thing. Even after all my travels, all my experiences, and my near infinite attempts at combination and permutations of known system commands, I could never find the command to distribute free points. But that in itself can be seen as an advantage for the cursed, because within the accumulation of free points lies Potential. The way I see it, free points are in essence crystalized Potential. The system allows the distribution of that potential to allow a user to grow stronger in ways they see fit, giving birth to a myriad different trails along the path of ascendancy. But untapped Potential creates something similar to a chain reaction when it''s allowed to build up past certain thresholds. It overflows, causing that being''s power to rise beyond what it would normally be within the system. Finally, Devon''s greatest concern and his biggest question were answered in one fell swoop. The mysterious points he was gaining were coming from the free points he wasn''t able to spend. He kept reading, suddenly even more eager to read what the Cursed King had left. The tiers of Potential seem to be uniform among most species in the Infinite Realms. The first is relatively easy to get at 30 points. The second requires a significant amount of time to achieve at 100 points. However, this does not come without a tradeoff. The accumulation of Potential creates something akin to a blockage in the distribution of exp. I''m not certain if beings who have higher tiered Potential simply require more exp to level up, or if exp efficiency decreases as Potential increases, but the effect is the same. So that''s it. Devon hadn''t understood how Eve could possibly be so far ahead of him when it felt like all he did was fight monsters, but here was the answer. It wasn''t that Eve was that much better at hunting than he was, though he still couldn''t entirely discount that possibility, Devon simply required more kills to level up. This makes it absurdly hard to specialize in any one thing, but over time the excess points obtained through Potential will compound almost exponentially. By the fourth tier of Potential there will not be anything at an equivalent level that could be your match. Anything other than other beings who have abused the benefits of Potential, that is. The unfortunate truth is that you don''t need to be cursed to take advantage of Potential. In fact, I''ve almost come to believe that it''s considered a requirement for anything above C-Grade. Even so, the existence of Potential is largely a secret, and is usually only known by the elites or beings that have absolved themselves of their curse. Even those who know of Potential outside of the cursed rarely take it to the second step. The third step is almost unheard of because of the immense decrease in leveling speed. The fourth step and beyond is often considered foolish in the extreme, because anybody who wishes a Potential abuser harm can simply outlevel them and launch a surprise attack to crush them before the system rescinds the lock on point distribution.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The lock on point distribution is another reason higher tiers of Potential are considered ill-advised among the elites of the Realms. Once a tier of Potential has been reached it enacts a time limit on when the user is able to distribute points, with the limit being set at the amount of time between the last distributed point and the next instance of intent to distribute those points. Devon found it quite interesting the system put limitations based on the use of Potential. It was almost like it cared about creating a balanced environment for most users. It would be nice if that balance extended to him, but no. Apparently the curse overrode its desire for a level playing field. The greatest piece of advice I can give any other cursed being is this; seek struggle. This is more or less a default for most every living thing in the Realms, but cursed users need to take this concept to the next level due to the vast amount of exp required to reach yet higher. And finally, the biggest warning I can give is this. Whatever you do, do not gain more than ten Marks. The curse can bestow powerful benefits the closer you tie yourself to Karma, but do not be greedy. I went beyond ten, and the state of my beautiful world is the result. Devon felt a chill run down his spine. If he was reading this right, the Cursed King was saying that going beyond ten marks of karmic disdain was what triggered the system to aggressively target the king and his kingdom. He suddenly remembered something Trey had said, that there had been a weird system notification that hadn''t seemed to resolve on the night he''d been playing with his profession. The night the override protocol gave me 100 artificial marks¡­ It was quite possible Devon had nearly flown directly into the sun without knowing it. If that strange prompt that had appeared to Trey and every other member of the tutorial was similar to the one that the citizens of this ruined kingdom had seen in the memory dungeon then Devon was extremely lucky to be alive. Beware also of the Curse Hunters, though I''m sure that should be obvious to anyone who''s lived in the Realms for any amount of time. The remainder of this message will be a list of all the system commands I''ve discovered over my life. Good luck. Devon felt immense frustration at the fact that the king didn''t mention what a curse hunter was supposed to be. He''d fought them in the memory dungeon, but he didn''t fully grasp what they were. They seemed too varied to be a single faction, but if they could all simply be known as ''curse hunters'' then there must be a reason they all hunted curses. Devon looked over the list of commands and smiled. There were many that he already knew, but also several that he''d been wanting to sit down and figure out for a while. Some of them seemed to reference functions he''d never heard of, so he transferred the datalog from the king''s tile into his own. Finally he looked in the inventory, but he wasn''t expecting too much else. The datalog had been the single greatest discovery he possibly could have found, in his mind. An explanation of things within the system that he needed answers to as well as a list of system commands that he could freely use. The importance of it could not be understated. He didn''t expect much more than dust. Since the king had been dead for as long as everyone in the previous room there was no reason to suspect that the cruel march of time hadn''t destroyed anything worth taking. So he was surprised when he found there to actually be items within the king''s subspace storage. There were only three things, all made from what looked like the same type of metal. There was an axehead, a curved sword, and a giant rectangular block of metal. Each of the strange pieces had a contraption attached to them, and Devon puzzled over them until he decided to set them down and take a look at the spear the king still held. It had slipped his mind that it was extremely odd that the spear too had survived until now, especially considering it was exposed to the elements, unlike the pieces within the king''s inventory. He gingerly uncurled the king''s bony fingers and took hold of the spear. Unlike the spears given by the terminal, the speartip was broad and bladed. Along the length of the pole near the ends were strange formations and indentations within the metal that Devon didn''t understand. [Trick Spear of the Cursed King] Class E This weapon was forged in the heart of a dying star, and is nearly indestructible. Despite this, it possesses no outstanding qualities or affinities. It was the first weapon Devon had seen that had a description, and it sent a jolt of supreme joy through his heart. No longer would he have to continuously shill out money for trash weapons from the terminals. At least, not spears. Wait, a trick weapon? What the heck does it mean by that? He took another look at the items within the king''s inventory, and a huge smile spread across his face when he read the descriptions for them. [Trick Blade] Class E This item was forged in the heart of a dying star, and is nearly indestructible. Attachment for the Cursed King''s Trick Spear. [Trick Hammerhead] Class E This item was forged in the heart of a dying star, and is nearly indestructible. Attachment for the Cursed King''s Trick Spear. [Trick Axehead] Class E This item was forged in the heart of a dying star, and is nearly indestructible. Attachment for the Cursed King''s Trick Spear. Devon couldn''t believe his eyes. The king''s weapon was one that actually suited him perfectly. After half an hour of fiddling with the mechanism he determined that all of them could be attached to the spear itself in different ways. The trick weapon could be configured to be a spear, a hammer, an axe, a scythe, a naginata, or a bardiche. He could also use the curved blade on its own as a sword, though he was going to have to get used to using the attachment mechanism as a handle. He supposed it made sense when he thought about it. If the king had been like him, unable to distribute points where he wished, and given a class that gave points equally to every stat, then it was reasonable to assume the king had drawn the same conclusions Devon had about his fighting style. The king, like him, had been focused on versatility, and this weapon was emblematic of that. Still¡­ this is going to be a serious problem going forward. He looked back at the datalog still displayed before his eyes. It seemed extremely likely to him that most of the cursed beings in the Infinite Realms had probably gone above the threshold of karmic disdain during the course of their leveling process. So they would have had the chance to start off the way they wanted, distribute free points, and get a class that suited their particular tastes. Devon had started his journey cursed. From level 1 he hadn''t been able to invest his free points, but that wasn''t even the real issue. The further he went along the path of ascendancy the harder it was going to be. If the cursed king''s words were to be believed it was likely there was nobody else in the entirety of the Infinite Realms that was as unlucky as him. Even so, he had found fortune within that unbelievably bad luck. He looked toward his profession tab and saw Cursed Schemer staring back at him. Even if there were others that had the misfortune of being cursed from level 1 like him, he was probably the only one that had gotten a profession that allowed him to gain power outside of leveling. 29 - Plainstown Devon spent a moment to pay his respects to the cursed king. Truly, he felt as though the king''s final message had helped determine his path should he survive the tutorial, which he intended to. That reminded him, the lockdown on the teleportation function should be lifting soon. Then again, he doubted it would take him very long to descend the mountain on his own with his vastly improved stats. Has it really only been 9 days? The idea almost boggled the mind. In just 9 days he had experienced so much, and changed more than he likely realized. He could shatter world records with ease and duel monsters without a thought. He had stared death in the face and slaughtered innocents by the hundreds. That thought hit a nerve inside him that he thought he''d become numb to. But then again, if he didn''t feel lonely even in a situation like this, was he even still human anymore? I need to go back. I don''t want to be alone out here anymore. He had danced along the line for long enough. He needed a break, at least for the moment. Devon brought up the map function and quickly located one of the exits he''d found while exploring. It took half an hour to navigate back to it, but after that he was out in the sun and the fresh air again. The suns stood high in the sky, a sign that he had indeed been down below the earth for around a full day. If his count was right then this was the tenth day since they''d been taken, though he doubted anyone within the tutorial still used such an outdated expression. We''d only given it such an unremarkable name because there was no other information on what we should call the phenomenon. Of course, now we know what those events really were, the beginning of initiation. Now then, before I head back, Activate skill; The Mask. Skill activation Confirmed. Select visual parameters. What followed was an exhaustive list of ways he could change his appearance. He decided to go for an appearance similar to that of a character in a show he liked. The parameters included options to make himself appear as a woman or even a different species, but none of those options helped him right now. Visual parameters Confirmed. Select display name. He threw in the name Erik Wyld at random. It didn''t matter what his display name was, so long as it was anything other than Devon. As he descended he finally took the time to open something he''d been denied for a very long time. Initiate reward unpacking; discovery bonus. According to the cursed king''s notes, the discovery bonus was treated like some sort of goodie box that needed to be opened. Discovery Bonus tally at 17. Distributing rewards. New Title obtained: [Discoverer] Map Token x16 obtained. [Discoverer] You are one who looks for things as of yet unseen. All stats +3. Map Tokens? He looked in his map function and saw a new option that counted the amount of tokens he had. Then he had to scroll through the extensive list of the king''s commands to finally find the one for using the things. When he activated the map token he saw the previously unexplored region of the mountain suddenly mapped out around him in perhaps a half-mile radius. That extended down below as well, so he was able to see all the ruins over which he walked. This has the potential to be an incredibly powerful tool for gathering information if used right. He took a quick look at the new title, but it wasn''t anything too impressive, just a +3 all stat increase. His descent took four hours, which was longer than he anticipated but there was nothing he could do about that. He was taking a different route than he had before. According to Eve and Trey there was still basically nobody up in the mountains, which meant he needed to start acting even before he reached the bottom. If he happened upon a stray overseer then they were going to get suspicious of a random human lurking about in a strange place, no matter what his display name was. So he was choosing a rather bold option. As he reached the foot of the mountain he proceeded directly into an area that he felt they''d never expect. After all, you don''t usually expect the person you''re hunting to waltz right up to your base and just casually pass on by, do you? He stepped foot into the central clearing, breathing a sigh of relief that nothing out of the ordinary seemed afoot here. The biggest change that had taken place was that there were even fewer overseers hanging around in their camp than before, and it seemed like the ones that were there were only there to rest. Devon smiled when none of them paid him any notice whatsoever.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He passed right on by and continued straight out towards the plains. It was immediately noticeable how much things had changed out in the plains. A walled structure rose out of the prairie grass, and Devon was surprised that there seemed to be guards roaming the wooden walls. Devon wandered around the outside of the wall until he found a gate and made his way inside. Immediately someone walked up to him. "Excuse me sir, but I don''t think I''ve seen you before. Is this the first time you''ve entered Plainstown?" It was a woman who must have been in her late sixties, with a large amount of wrinkles adorning her face. She smiled at him, giving off a kind grandmotherly feeling. [Susan - Level 5] "I guess. Nice name for the place," Devon said back with a smirk. "Yes well, there didn''t seem any point in giving the place a proper title when we''ll be able to leave this godforsaken place just as soon as the tutorial ends. Would you mind me asking if you''ve come from the forest or the wilds?" "How do you mean?" "Well, I simply wish to know if you''ve left the community in the forest or if you''ve done nothing but explore the wilderness. Not that you have to answer, it just helps me know how best to introduce the place, you know?" "I''ve been up on the mountain since essentially the first day." "Oh wow, I didn''t think anyone had the guts to go up there. Okay then, you should know that we have rudimentary crafting and mercantile stations over there, and everyone usually sleeps over on that side of the wall. Do know that if you intend to stay we''ll need you to contribute in some way. Whether that be hunting or crafting is up to you. The terminal is somewhere around the center. I''m starting to lose track of where, honestly. They keep expanding the wall every day." "Good to know, thanks." "Oi, granny!" A boisterous voice broke into their conversation, "Is he another newbie?" Devon turned to look at the newcomer and saw a shirtless young man walking over to them. By Devon''s best guess he couldn''t be any more than 19. Devon examined him as he approached. [Vanir - Level 29] "Oh, don''t you go picking fights again, Vanir!" The elderly woman tried to scold the youth before he got too close. "Oh relax. I''m just here to welcome the newcomers, same as you," Vanir said back. He turned to Devon before continuing, "So, you from the forest or the wilds? Ah, never mind. It doesn''t really matter, let''s fight!" "Uh, what?" Devon asked back, dumbfounded. The youth raised a fist, "Tonight! In¡­" He looked to the sky, "Three or so hours we do a big bonfire, and around it we fight! You should fight me, my goal is to test the strength of everyone above level 25!" Devon couldn''t help but laugh, which made the youth''s gleeful face sour. "You got a problem or something, man?" Vanir asked. "Yeah, my problem is you need to work on your introductions," Devon said, still laughing. When the boy had come up to him demanding to fight Devon had assumed he was trying to stir up trouble or establish himself as a dominant figure. Turned out all he wanted was someone new to join in on a group event. Susan slapped Vanir across the back of the head, "Yes, I concur. You''re going to start scaring people away at the gate if you keep demanding they fight you!" "Oh, come on granny! You don''t gotta ruin the best thing going for me," Vanir said, sulking. The youth turned around to begin walking back into the camps, a grumpy look on his face when Devon called out, "Oi, I never said no." Vanir stopped and turned around, and his grumpy look dissipated like smoke, replaced by a big smile, "All right! You better not back out!" He then ran off somewhere into the camp. "Oh, you really don''t have to do that," Susan said. "It''s fine. By the way, do you know where Trey is?" "Oh, so you''re a friend of Trey''s? I''m sorry but he isn''t here at the moment. He''s out hunting, like he is every day. I keep trying to tell him to take it easy but that boy''s got even more of a fire set under him than Vanir. He''s got a sense of responsibility that nobody else in this camp seems to, and I shudder to think how much worse off we''d be without him." "I see, that''s good to know, thanks," Devon said before heading off into the settlement. He went over to the area the kind woman had pointed out with all the crafters, and his eyes opened wide with how many there seemed to be. There were at least a hundred of them, all bent over their various workstations. Some pounded out metal they''d gotten from who knows where, and others weaved fabrics out of what seemed to be animal hairs. Others were curing and tanning hides, and there were yet more that seemed to be operating butcheries that prepared the carcasses of animals in an open-air environment. He stopped by one of the crafters who seemed to be making protective garb out of a combination of leather and cloth. Devon thought that the finished products looked both aesthetically appealing and effective. "Excuse me, sir. How much for a set of clothing and an hour of your time?" "Depends how that time is going to be used," the man responded, eyeing him warily. "I was wondering if you could give me a few details on how your profession works. I''m not entirely sure how my own relates to others, so I thought I''d ask someone who seems to be pretty proficient in their craft." "Huh. You didn''t strike me as the type to want to try your hand at creating. You look much more like the hunters, living on the fringe and stuff like that." Devon shrugged, "No reason I can''t have multiple skill sets, is there?" "Well, the system seems to disagree. See that chap over there? He started out as a weaver but decided it wasn''t for him, and when he transitioned to blacksmithing the system ditched his weaver profession. So you can only have one profession at a time, it seems." "Interesting. Even still, I''d like to know what you can share." The man shrugged, "Alright then, I''ll show you what I know for¡­ how say 50 talons an hour? Give you time to look over what I''ve got prepared or maybe decide if you want something special made." "You take custom orders?" "For the right price." "Alright then. You''ve got a deal." 30 - Just a Bit of Fun Devon learned a lot from the crafter, and when he walked away almost three hours later he paid a sum of 800 talons to the man for his services. The crafter was surprised first at the complexity of Devon''s request for a piece of armor, and even more surprised when he agreed to the sum of 650 for it. According to the man, most of the hunters usually spent a lot more of their money on weapons than armor. Many of the weapons produced here were made of bone gathered from the monsters out in the wilds. Most of the bits of metal he saw being molded were actually from scrapped weapons the terminal gave out. Now that the craftsmen had spent a decent amount of time honing their craft they were able to produce weapons that were close to matching the quality of those from the terminal, and since the craftsmen didn''t charge as much for them as the terminals a basic economy had risen up within the settlement, with the hunters being the backbone of funding. But what he took real interest in was how the man laid out the general system of every profession he''d heard of. There were three main categories; crafter, gatherer, and processor. Basically, the processors took raw ingredients that the hunters and gatherers brought back and broke them down into useful components so that the crafters could make something new out of them. Devon found it very interesting that there didn''t seem to be dedicated hunting professions, so warriors could freely pick up any one of the three types of professions. I wonder if that would put my profession under miscellaneous. I''d bet there are a lot of professions out there that don''t conform to this primitive standard, but we don''t have the means or the time to discover them. Professions leveled up by producing good results, and those levels brought skills that could be used to better enhance the quality of the work done. Devon took particular note of the fact that the crafter had reached level 8 in his profession and hadn''t gotten a single thing that mentioned improving combat related stats or abilities. Devon found it interesting that all of the skills or abilities acquired by the normal professions seemed to directly increase the quality of products produced. Gatherers found themselves much more drawn to higher quality materials and crafters received straight-up percentage boosts to the quality of works they produced. This was markedly different from Devon''s own profession, where the single level up he''s gotten so far gave him a utility skill. The Mask was undoubtedly a massive boon, but it was distinctly different from the skills provided by the other professions because its use did not technically directly correlate to progressing schemes. Devon could use The Mask for trivial purposes as well as completely nonsensical ones if he so wished. It wasn''t like the crafters Weave, where it could only be activated when weaving. When Devon left the crafter''s station he noticed that the pathways were much more crowded than they had been earlier. He looked up at the sky and noticed that the daylight was quickly fading behind the mountain. Most of the hunters must have returned by now. Seems like the fight pits will be held pretty soon too. I should see if Trey is back. Message known user Trey. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Trey] What''s up? [Devon] I''m back in the area. [Trey] What? I thought you were going to wait for the lockdown to be lifted? [Devon] Changed my mind. Gonna be fighting Vanir tonight, so meet me there. [Trey] Why? I was actually thinking of shutting those down. [Devon] No, don''t. There''s no reason to stop people from letting out a bit of steam. [Trey] And why are you in particular going to be participating? [Devon] To let off a bit of steam, obviously. [Trey] So you want me to leave them because it suits you in particular. [Devon] Yep! See ya there. Connection closed. To kill what little time remained, he went around and purchased some of the food available at the nearby food vendors. He almost cried when he was able to taste seasoned food again, even if it wasn''t quite the same as earth seasonings. The leafstag had been amazing, but there was simply no replacement for actual seasoning. He made a mental note to have Trey send hunters a bit up the mountain so they could bring back some of those wonderful animals. It''s amazing how much useful stuff they''ve found already in this completely foreign environment. After about another hour of wandering around and seeing the sights, he made his way over to the massive bonfire that could be seen throughout camp. Most everyone seemed to be gathered there by this point, many eating dinner and laughing over drinks. It''s truly amazing how adaptable we humans are. We were torn from our cozy lives just a week and a half ago and look how far they''ve come. He saw Trey surrounded by a group of people all vying for attention and smiled. He had a knack for being popular, and Devon was certain he couldn''t have been dropped into this world with a more suitable partner. After all, there was no way all of this could have been thrown together in just ten days if not for the confident hand of a natural-born leader to unify them. Devon walked over, still in the disguise of Erik, and said in a loud voice, "Good heavens, is that you Trey? I never would have thought that the soccer captain who sucked so badly at math would be able to throw all this together." Trey visibly flinched. Devon was the only one Trey had ever dared show his atrocious math score to. Not even his parents had known, because all Trey ever reported back to them was that he passed. As far as he saw it, they were better off not knowing Devon tutored him on the side.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Trey looked at him for a moment before forcing a smile, "Erik¡­ How lovely for you to finally show up," He said through gritted teeth, "Why, it''s been so long since we''ve talked! I''m sorry everyone, but can we have some room?" The crowd of people vying for his attention reluctantly wandered off when they saw Trey''s mind wouldn''t be changed, leaving the two of them alone. "I see now why you weren''t worried about coming back," Trey said, "Where''d you get a skill like that?" "Got a bit of a unique profession that gave it to me. How are we doing here?" "The settlement numbers around 500 people and change. I don''t think there''s really any more stragglers left to be found out there besides the weirdos that simply don''t feel like joining anybody." "And the situation in the forest?" "Interesting, to say the least. Remember those gang members that I mentioned that were kinda putting the boot to everyone''s neck to get them to do what they wanted? They got offed, all of ''em." "Seriously?" "Yep. Chick named Nix, along with her second-hand man Zane, killed them. Now they''ve used that momentum and the affection of everyone in the forest to start their own settlement. I''ve tried to reach out and contact them, but they don''t seem to like the idea of cooperating." "Interesting. What happened to the guns?" "Nix gave them up to the overseers, then several people witnessed the overseers destroy them before their eyes. After that, the overseers came to me and told me that if I didn''t hand over any of the ''cursed weapons'' I might have in my camp they could get mean." "Huh. And do you have any?" "Nope. I don''t think there''s any left in the whole of the tutorial." Devon had wondered why the system had classified his handgun as a Class D weapon, but he was starting to form a hypothesis. It came down to ease of use. If a level 5 with a Class D spear challenged a level 30 with a Class F spear the level 5 would get slaughtered. The strength of a spear didn''t override the advantage that stats gave. Guns were an entirely different story. He, a level 6, had been able to easily kill an overseer 20 levels above him with the use of his gun. In essence, the gun was considered cursed because it was an item that existed outside of the limitations that the system tried to set. "So, what''s the next step?" Trey asked. "Not sure. I need to get in touch with Eve and I want to take a look over at the forest camp. Do you at least know what their numbers are like?" "Similar to ours, if not a little more. They had a big advantage in recruitment because of how everyone ran away at the start. Remember how most people fled towards the forest?" Devon noticed Vanir near the edge of an empty fight ring, looking around. With a smile, he said to Trey, "Looks like I''m up." "You do realize he''s going to wipe the floor with you, right? Vanir is something of a champion here." Devon only smiled as he walked toward the ring. He pulled up the ladder, curious. [Level Ladder]
  1. Zane - Level 34
  2. Eve - Level 32
  3. Ray - Level 32
  4. Nix - Level 30
  5. Stein - Level 30
  6. Ingrid - Level 30
  7. Trey - Level 30
  8. Ash - Level 30
  9. Licht - Level 29
  10. Vanir - Level 29
Vanir hadn''t been on the ladder before, but he was bringing up the bottom now. Devon had no doubt that the youth had been working furiously to catch up to the ones above him. Even so, Devon didn''t think he was going to lose in a fight. "Was starting to think you''d chickened out," Vanir said with a massive grin as Devon walked up. "Nah, I''d never let a dance partner down," Devon said, taking his shirt off to match all the other contestants. Vanir laughed, "I don''t know much about dancing, but I look forward to seeing what you''ve got!" They moved to the center of the ring where Vanir said, "Alright, here''s the rules. No skills, magic, or buffs of any kind. We settle this with our fists, you hear?" "Loud and clear." "Alright. Any style of fighting is allowed, that includes boxing, mma, martial artist shit, the works. Now, I''ll let you decide this next bit. Do we allow grievous injuries, broken arms and whatnot? Lethal shit like neck snaps is of course off the table, but we don''t gotta worry so much about injuries here, ya feel me?" Ah, right. We have healing items here so we don''t have to worry about something that would otherwise be serious. "Yeah, let''s go all in." "That''s what I like to hear." Vanir raised his fist in the air between them and Devon tapped it with his own. They settled into their stances, Devon into one that focused on being reactive, and Vanir on one that made him look like he was about to spring forth at any second. And he did spring forth. Like a rocket he closed the distance between them in an instant, taking Devon by surprise. He barely managed to shift his head aside before Vanir''s fist flew past his chin. However, Vanir''s assault didn''t end there. Devon grunted as he felt a kick land under his ribcage. He tried to retaliate, but Vanir had already made distance away from Devon. He''s slippery, like a snake. Vanir shook out his foot, "Damn dude, you''re built almost as tough as Trey, you know that?" Devon smiled viciously before he rushed forward, going on the offensive. He threw a feint then kicked out with his left leg. Vanir stepped back to avoid the attack before instantly moving back in to counterattack. Vanir launched punch after punch, yet retained all of his slipperiness as Devon tried and failed to counter again and again. Eventually Devon got used to the rhythm of the youth''s blows, and managed to actually catch Vanir''s fist before it could land. Vanir grunted as Devon put all the force he could muster into gripping the fist. Then Devon yanked backward on Vanir''s hand, pulling him in before Devon headbutted him. Devon let Vanir''s hand go as the youth stumbled backwards, reeling. But Devon didn''t let him go that easily. He landed two solid hits to the stomach before sliding around behind Vanir. Vanir wildly threw his arm back, trying desperately to catch Devon with a blow across the face, but Devon simply leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Vanir''s neck, trapping him in a hold. He''d never practiced wrestling before, so it was a struggle to hold on. Devon brought them down to the ground, where Vanir flailed and struggled but ultimately couldn''t resist Devon''s superior strength. Devon released the youth when he felt tapping on his arm. Vanir rolled over, gasping for breath as Devon got to his feet, "Dude, were you actually a martial artist or something?" "Nope. Living out in the wild just happens to pound some fighting instincts into you." "Surely you gotta have a rare class or something then. Dude, I pride myself on being fast but you were right there with me, and it doesn''t feel like you have the strength or endurance weaknesses that accompany that kind of speed." "Common class, actually," Devon said with a smile. Of course, it wasn''t as simple as that, but Devon felt like it might be a good lesson for Vanir to not know that specific nugget of information. "Damn¡­" Vanir sighed, still on the ground. Devon reached out a hand, and Vanir gladly took it before Devon lifted him to his feet, "You''re something else man, I''ll give you that. We should do this again." "Maybe. Got some stuff to do, but I''ll see if I can find the time." Devon walked back to Trey, who had his eyebrow raised. "What?" Devon asked. "Didn''t expect you to perform that well is all. I thought it was weird you came down from the mountain at only level 27, but it seems like your time spent up there must have been quite interesting." "Let''s just say I had some rather painful but useful encounters." "Fair enough. So about tomorrow¡­" Devon rubbed his temples, "Please Trey, I''d like just this one night to relax and think about something that isn''t life threatening. Right now, the best thing for both of us is to just have a bit of fun. It''s the same for you too, isn''t it? I can''t imagine this leader business allows for much relaxation, especially with how you''ve managed to stay on the ladder." Trey looked like he wanted to argue but then considered Devon''s words. He breathed out a long sigh before saying, "You know what, yeah. We never did get to finish our drink before we got transported here, did we? There''s a stand over here that makes a drink that comes somewhat close to booze, even if it tastes pretty awful. Let''s get a drink." "Buddy, now you''re speaking my language." 31 - Nuances of the Tutorial When Devon woke up he crawled out of his tent and stretched freely. He took a big breath in and almost choked on the odor of several hundred other bodies around him. Oh yeah, I''m not alone here. Devon had been living out in the wild so long he''d grown used to the freedom to go through whatever wake up routines he wanted and the fresh air that came with the great outdoors. Well, everything has its ups and downs. He looked up at the sky and realized the suns were way higher than he would have liked to start the day at. He and Trey had partied hard last night, so there wasn''t much helping it. He tapped his head, shifting himself out of fun mode and back into work mode. He went down the list of things he needed to do and decided to start with what felt like the most pressing concern. Message known user Eve. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Eve] What do you want? [Devon] I''m back in the area. You find Phil yet? Eve didn''t respond for several seconds, and Devon didn''t miss the hint of reluctance that came with the pause. [Eve] Kind of. Might need some help. [Devon] Where? [Eve] Forest. Come meet me in the forest settlement''s crafting area. Connection closed. Well that''s vague. But Devon wasn''t complaining. In truth, this was a good thing since he needed to go check out the forest camp anyway. Profession. Create Plot. What is the objective of new plot? Set objective as get Eve back on task. It was becoming an annoyance how much the woman kept going off and doing her own thing. He needed to clear out whatever little things she had tying her down and get her back on track. Even if she still continued to ignore him to go off and level on her own, so long as she did something productive it was fine by Devon. Calculating¡­ Done. Reading user intent to auto-generate Tasks¡­ Done. Accept Plot? [Refocus a Powerful Warrior] Tasks: [Find Phil] Accept plot. Confirmed. He looked at his still available scheme and paused. He still wasn''t sure exactly what his overall objective was. Survive the overseer''s nefarious plans, yes obviously. But he felt that there was something missing in just that, and it frustrated him that he couldn''t figure out what it was. Plus there was the issue that whatever rewards he got from it would be reduced by the Rebellion quest objective. He put those thoughts from his mind and started moving. He wanted to talk to Trey before he left, so he went through the settlement looking for his friend. He eventually found him talking to Susan while looking like he''d been resurrected from the dead. Devon had to hold in his laugh when he saw the massive bags under Trey''s eyes. "Hey, Trey," Devon called out, "You''re not looking so good, you okay?" "Ugh¡­ I never should have suggested we drink that vile stuff¡­ I need a day off¡­" "Looks like I''ll be taking care of internal matters for today," Susan said with a sigh, "Was there anything you needed, Erik?" "I was wondering if anyone bought the datalogs in the shop yet." Susan nodded, "Look over in the crafter''s area for someone they call the archivist. They''re a volunteer of sorts for the task." "Volunteer my ass," Trey mumbled, "I have to pay them 100 talons a day or they keep threatening to offload the job to someone else." "An archivist?" "Yes, well, on the fourth day Trey made everyone pitch in so that a single copy of each of the datalogs in the shop could be bought. Then after everyone was done reading them it was decided that one person should hold onto them for the community, sort of like a librarian." "So I go find them and ask to borrow a datalog?" "Precisely." "Uh, Erik," Trey called out, "Before you go, I wanted you to look at this" Trey brought out his tile and Devon tapped his own against it, initiating the datalog transference process. Devon''s eyes lit up when he saw the intelligence within. "Who made this?" He asked, surprised. "That archivist also stumbled upon a kind of record keeping profession. I had them make a blank datalog that I could fill out myself." "Thanks," Devon said, "I''ll look this over right now and pass it back to you." "Keep it. I''ve already memorized it."The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Devon started off towards the crafting area while looking over the datalog. It was filled with statistical information on the overseers, their number and levels. According to Trey''s findings, there were no less than 67 overseers, with about 10% of them being in the 20s, 40% in the 30s, and 40% in the 40s. There were a total of 7 overseers in the level 50 range, plus Val Kazar as the singular level 63. It took Devon around 20 minutes to track down the archivist and request the datalogs he wanted to read about, then another 20 minutes to read through them. The datalogs he picked out were the two that had caught his eye when he first accessed the terminal, [Integration, Phases One Through Three] and [The Nuances of the Tutorial Procedure]. He started with the one on the integration process of new planets, or ''realms'' as was the more common term apparently. Perhaps the most important concept Devon had to wrap his mind around when going through the document was what it called benefactors. Basically, there were a lot of people around the Infinite Realms that had a vested interest in the people of newly integrated worlds. So these benefactors would broker a deal with the system to acquire the rights to personally initiate those that got taken. Phase one consisted of the system individually nabbing the individuals it felt had the highest aptitude with the system and teleporting them away. These individuals were considered highly sought after, as their latent potential was often extremely high, and so many factions within the Infinite Realms sought to recruit them to nurture them and thus increase their strength in the long run. Phase two was considerably less kind. It basically treated everyone that was left as bargain bin merchandise, and factions simply had to enter a buy-in for the chance to host a tutorial for a large group of initiates. This was still seen as very useful, because it was well documented that the system commonly missed latent potential in initiates, and it was still a good way to bolster a faction''s numbers. According to the document, the tutorial helped expedite the growth of initiates far faster than was normal in the realms beyond. Phase three occurred once all possible tutorials had concluded, and was essentially the process of mass terraforming the newly initiated world. It was supposed to inject massive amounts of mana into the creatures and environment of that world and bring them up to the base standard of the Infinite Realms. Any individual that chose to return to their world at the end of phase one or two were returned at the start of this terraforming. That was something interesting Devon noticed, every individual that survived phases one and two was able to choose to return home, no strings attached. Evidently it was a forced system prompt that was given no matter the circumstances, and it offered a guarantee of return. Going over the document gave Devon an immense sense of relief. While the tutorial process could be abused, like the situation he was in, phase one initiates were generally given a lot of sanctions by the system. Although it didn''t seem like that was even necessary, because the amount factions had to spend to receive the chance to tutor phase one initiates was supposed to be near astronomic. So they were heavily incentivized to appeal to the ones they summoned, or at the end of their tutoring stint the initiate would just run on home. Sis was a phase one initiate¡­ In the month since her disappearance he had suffered immensely, agonizing over what could have happened to her. But now there was all but a guarantee she was fine. He smiled, a thought running through the back of his mind. Something tells me whoever summoned her might regret doing so by now. His sister was something beyond a runaway train, she was a person who reveled in causing trouble and creating problems. Though she almost always saw herself as the good guy in the end, even if she objectively wasn''t. While the first datalog brought him immense relief, the second was considerably less hopeful. The tutorial process was much like phase one in that it offered factions the potential for new recruits, but it was layered in other incentives too. The biggest incentive was the chance to claim new territory. Tutorials are always hosted in what are called abandoned worlds, realms where there is either no sentient life or little enough of it that it''s almost unnoticeable. At the start of the tutorials, the benefactors that chose to become overseers of that tutorial are unable to interact with the world in almost any way. This allows the initiates to either grow entirely on their own or with the assistance of the overseers, but the defining point of the tutorial period is that only the initiates can lay claim to the wonders of these new worlds during the course of the tutorial. Many of these worlds are ones that once held thriving civilizations that collapsed over time due to various reasons, and have left treasures behind. Usually, a tutorial will be hosted in an area of that world the system deems most fitting to give the initiates a fair amount of challenge with the wildlife. After the tutorial phase is over there is the ten day gap between the end of the protected status and the end of the tutorial. It then becomes up to the overseers whether they wish to accept the initiates into their faction or coerce them to return home. Cases where the initiates are slaughtered are rare, but they can happen. The system allows this to happen because it views the survivors of such a conflict to be a benefit to the state of the realms. It also views this conflict as balanced so long as the overseers do not act unexpectedly and violate the initiate''s protected status. Yeah, I guess we''ll all be veterans after this is over, one way or another. Of course I''d get thrown in one of the fringe cases. Just my luck. Still, it meant that if they did manage to overthrow the overseers then the ownership of this world would belong to whoever remained. Not that he''d have any idea what to do with a world of floating sky islands. He took this newfound knowledge and added it to the info he''d gotten on the overseers from Trey and started forming some tactical calculations. Most likely, the overseer''s primary goal was actually the right to claim this world, and they simply saw the exp they could get from slaughtering a few hundred stupid humans as a bonus. After all, it seemed a waste of a month to sit around here when they could go hunting in their own world. Unless their own world is barren, or they don''t have the means to access proper hunting grounds. Devon decided to stop trying to work out the reasons for the overseer''s actions. There was simply too much he didn''t know about them and their culture to make an educated guess. But what he could predict was how they would go about killing the humans within the tutorial. Most of Plainstown''s crafters were below level 7, and the level 20 overseers would likely go through the crafters like a scythe through wheat, but other than that they seemed to have been brought along simply because it would be wasteful for higher leveled beings to mass eradicate low levels. The level 30s and 40s were the primary fighting force, and they would be responsible for dealing with the hunters. And finally, there were the elites, the ones who had been brought along to make sure everything went according to plan. It was extremely lucky that the overseer he''d encountered in the mountain had only been one of the level 20s, otherwise he doubted he''d still be alive. He returned the datalogs to the archivist and headed over to see if the crafter he''d commissioned was making good progress. To his shock, the item he''d ordered was already done. "How¡­ I only just put the order in last night." "Buddy, believe me when I say you''re one of about 400 hunters that needs a constant flow of equipment. I ain''t got time to be taking it slow, and I sure as hell don''t have time for a break. So go ahead, take it. And when you inevitably ruin it bring it back so I can get more exp out of fixing it." The outfit Devon had wanted was something of a unique piece. It was meant to be a marriage of light and medium armor, with plates of repurposed metal woven under hard leather padding for layered defenses. But these armored bits only covered his torso and a bit of his midsection. Devon didn''t care so much about his limbs or stomach when he could pop a healing item and fix them nearly instantly. His vitals were a different story. If he got stabbed through the lung or heart then he would probably die before the healing item could fix him. The entire outfit was light gray, with the pants being akin to old world cargo pants with a good deal of pockets for storing various nicknacks. There wasn''t too much of a point in the storage when he had his inventory, but he liked how loose they were. Finally, he had a two-part cloak to top it all off. One part attached itself to a section around the collar, so it could be freely removed or discarded once Devon got into a fight. The other part attached itself around his waist, almost like a skirt. He''d divided it into two so he wouldn''t have to deal with a single mass. Devon hoped the hood on it would help protect his identity as well as give him a measure of protection from the rain. And he was glad he''d ordered it in advance, because he saw storm clouds brewing on the horizon. I should probably go find Eve before it starts coming down. 32 - Nix It took two hours and asking directions from hunters Devon encountered in the forest to find the forest settlement. He found it quite interesting that it was about at an equal stage of development to Plainstown. He made his way through the settlement after receiving directions from the people at the gate, and it didn''t take him long to find Eve. She was starting a fight with a vendor over something. Her appearance was like that of a wild animal. It had been unkempt since the first night they''d met, but Eve had truly elevated the style. Her frayed hair was tied in a ponytail behind her head and she was dressed in what seemed almost like caveman clothing. It was scant enough that it only covered her chest and crotch area, with some accessories on the wrists and ankles. Devon walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, then had to pacify her when she rounded on him. "Woah! Can we not be starting fights when the old man is missing?" Devon asked, exasperated. "You¡­oh, it''s you." Eve''s fire seemed to die, but it was replaced with a look of distaste, "Wearing whatever face we feel like these days, huh?" "You think I have much of a choice with the overseers everywhere? Also, what''s with that reaction when I''m here to help?" "Am I supposed to believe you''re here to help out of the kindness of your heart? I already know what''s going to come after this. ''Hey, I helped you so now I need you to help me. Come be my willing little puppet so I can pretend I did everything later down the line.''" "That''s a rather robust impression of me when we''ve only met twice." "Yeah well, I know your type, okay? Your kind always seems to think they''re better than everybody else. Don''t pretend you''d be here if you didn''t want something out of it. " "Fine, I won''t. But let me make this clear; I don''t give a shit about claiming I''m better than anybody, at any point. My goal first and foremost is survival. And yeah, the longer you take to get back on track the more pissed off I''m gonna get. So let''s do this already, yeah?" "Sure, whatever." "You said you need help, but you don''t exactly seem to be seeking it from anyone else. So what''s up?" "It''s¡­ complicated. Phil was last seen out in the woods, but the person who saw him said he vanished out of thin air." "What the heck does that mean?" "Hell if I know. Maybe it''d be better if you talked to her yourself. Come on." Eve led the way through the settlement until they reached a large area with a pavilion in it. There was someone who looked to be standing guard, but they didn''t bother even getting up from their seat when they saw that the one approaching was Eve. Clearly the woman already had a reputation around here, one that made people want to stay out of her way. Eve led that way inside, where they found a woman in her mid-twenties looking off into blank space. [Nix - Level 30] She had well-kept long blonde hair and a sharp gaze. Her outfit bore the marks of a hunter, but retained some of the elegance that might be afforded to a nice suit. Without a doubt, she was a person of power within this camp. Nix''s eyes were torn away from whatever system notification she was looking at as they entered, "Hello again, Eve. I see you''ve brought a friend this time." Her gaze sharpened as she looked Devon over, "Is this the one you said went up to the mountains?" "Yep. I''d like you to tell him what you told me, if that''s fine." Nix sighed, "Couldn''t you just have told him yourself? Well whatever, you''re already here I guess. I''ll start at the beginning, just so he knows the whole story. "Phil was with us since day one. He runs a damn good food stand and was one of the most dominant voices against the assholes who tried to put everyone else down around them. He was determined to collect some of that shit he was brewing up, you know that stuff that''s sorta like alcohol? Said the gatherers didn''t know what they were looking for. So I took him around, used the time to do some hunting and such. "Then we get to this big tree and Phil says there''s something weird there. Like a terminal, except green, he said. Now, I don''t have any idea what he was talking about, ''cause I didn''t see anything like that. Then Phil reached his hand out and poofed out of existence." "It was like a terminal, he said? Like a crack in space that a green light poured through?" "Yep. You happen to know anything like that?" "Saw something similar up in the mountains. Can''t promise I''ll be able to see it like he did, especially if you were standing right next to him yet saw nothing." "Mind if I ask what exactly the similar thing you found was?" "...A memory." Nix gazed at him trying to read his expression until she responded, "I see. Well, here''s another question for you. Were there any monsters up there that stood out in particular? Maybe one that had a name before you even discovered it?" Devon opened his eyes in shock, "Yeah, there was. How''d you know?"Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "That''s the third then. Was it called the lord of the mountain or something similar?" When Devon nodded she continued, "Figured as much. We just yesterday had a party discover the den of a monster known as the lord of the forest, and even before that Eve discovered a lord of the plains." "What levels are they?" "Sixty, way beyond anything we''re capable of bringing down right now." "The lord of the mountain was the same. I was incredibly lucky to get away from it when I met it face to face." "The fact you survived such an encounter is indeed a miracle. But still, I find the existence of these monsters to be a bit too much of a coincidence." "Is it really so strange that there''d be an apex predator in each of the different regions?" "No, but that''s only if you consider the real nature of the phrase apex predator. An apex predator is usually a species of animal that dominates the food chain, not a singular existence. Besides which, the lords of the forest and plains were both extremely similar to a nearby species, but it was like the lords were pushed beyond the limits of those species into something entirely new." An image of the lord of the mountain flashed in Devon''s mind. He''d dismissed it at the time, but now that he thought of it, it was strange that the lord was the only raptor that seemed to super-evolve into the massive beast it was. "By the look on your face, I''m assuming the lord of the mountain was much the same. While it isn''t entirely unreasonable to assume that these creatures simply dominated everything around them to attain an enormous amount of power, that is after all the nature of the reality we now live in, I have a different theory. I think the system specifically put them there." "You think the system physically manifested them into existence?" "Either that, or it created a set of events that led to their ascension as lords. I''ve already seen how the system sometimes lines events up in ways that are preferable to it." Is that what happened on the mountain when I was fighting the ape leader? I thought it seemed extraordinarily unlucky that the lord happened to show up just then, but what if it wasn''t a coincidence at all? Maybe the system is just messing with me yet again, getting in my way at every possible moment. "But why would it do that?" "For the tutorial of course." Oh. "I see. So you think the system wanted to create challenges that exist solely to test the limits of what we''re capable of?" "Exactly. I''m assuming you''ve read the datalogs in the shop on the subject by now. I think that since the tutorial procedure exists to promote the growth of initiates it makes sense that the system would want to populate the tutorial with challenges that would push initiates higher than they would ordinarily be able to in the wider world." "That''s all well and good, but I''m not sure how well fighting those things is really going to go." "Perhaps. We''ll just have to see, won''t we?" "There was something I wanted to ask you as well." "Go on then." "Trey, the leader of Plainstown says you haven''t been very responsive to inquiries of cooperation. I was just wondering why." "Because I don''t think our ideologies mix very well." "I''m sorry, what?" "You came from Plainstown, right? What was the prevailing sentiment there? Did people seem like they hunted and worked because they felt like it was something they genuinely wanted to strive in, or did it just seem like they were passing the time until the system lets them go home?" The question caught Devon off guard, and he had to think back to all the people he''d seen in Plainstown. Sure, there had been a few like Vanir and the craftsman he had talked to that seemed like they didn''t mind their situation so much, but many of them were more of the mind of Susan, and did seem like they were just trying to scrape by until the system let them go. If it wasn''t for Trey''s leadership a lot of them may simply have broken down and refused to fight until the end of the tutorial. "I can tell that you know what I''m talking about. See, the majority of Plainstown is composed of people who would rather see the tutorial as some kind of living nightmare, but they''ve managed to hold it together because the system gives them the power to carry on. But the people of Arkania, this town, see it differently. The system isn''t just a means to survive until the end of the month, it gives one the power to decide their own destiny. "When I came to these people they were ruled by fear by men who were emblematic of the old world, who used tools and the illusion of power to dominate and oppress. I showed these people that this world gives us the means to break that cycle and claim real power, to define our own lives, instead of letting others define it for us." "I see, so it''s your intent to create a group that will persist in the Infinite Realms past the end of the tutorial then." "It is. And I don''t want the unity of these people to fall apart by willingly letting in people who are ruled by fear. Of course, I won''t stop anyone from coming and going where they please, but it is my firm belief that our two developing communities should remain separate. Most of the people who felt like they would belong better in Plainstown have already left for it, and I did not offer a single word in protest. To impede upon their right of choice would violate my own ideals, after all." How ironic that such an ideal ideology would cause issues. The ideology Nix, and thereby the ideology of all of Arkania, promoted the seeking of personal strength above all else. If this ideology could be spread to all the people of Plainstown then they would have an excellent chance of actually developing a true fighting force against the overseers. However¡­ That just isn''t going to happen. There''s simply no way for me to change people''s nature. I can no more sway the hearts of the people of Plainstown than I can defeat the overseers by myself. These two groups are indeed like oil and water, and I don''t think it would be a good idea to try and bring them together. "I understand," Devon said, "Thank you for explaining it to me, else I might have assumed you were simply making a bid for power." "And if I had been?" "Then I would have been forced to remove you," Devon said, leveling his gaze at her. "...If anyone else three levels below me had walked in here and made that same statement I would have thought they were stupid or bluffing. But your eyes are not those of an ordinary man, of that I am now certain. Now I am doubly glad I opted to be direct, because you are not someone I would want as an enemy." Devon shrugged and put a hand over his eyes. Had his gaze really changed that much? He supposed it shouldn''t surprise him after his experiences in the memory dungeon. "There''s a man here, a crafter that is a true prodigy. His works are extraordinary, as he can imbue them with stat affinities. He currently only makes weapons for the people I introduce to him, Eve was one such person. If you like, I could introduce you to him." She wants to offer me something Trey can''t, wants to make me indebted to her, or appeal to my desire to grow stronger so I''ll stay here. Too bad she chose the wrong thing to offer. "Thanks, but I''m good. I found a weapon for myself, one I don''t think your craftsman will be able to beat. We should go before it gets too late in the day. We don''t really have time to waste." Nix gave a smile to mask her disappointment, "Yes, of course. Good luck on your endeavor. It would be excellent if Phil was returned to us." 33 - Quest for the Old Man "So, what did you think?" Eve asked as they left the settlement of Arkania. "Since I don''t think you care much about the inter-settlement ideological politics, I really don''t know what you mean by the question." Eve scoffed, "I mean, do you think she might have offed the old man when nobody was looking and dumped his body somewhere?" Devon stopped in his tracks and shot a befuddled glance at Eve, "That''s why you wanted me to meet her?" "Well duh. I mean, she''s incredibly suspicious, isn''t she?" Devon thought for a moment on the possibility, "No, I think it''s probably unlikely that that''s what happened. Let me ask you this, you''ve been asking around about Phil for the past day or more here, haven''t you? So has anybody mentioned any kind of conflict between Phil and Nix?" "No, but that doesn''t mean she didn''t do it." Devon rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on, "So you have no established motivation, you simply think that''s what happened because the story of Phil getting sucked into a rift only he could see sounds a little too implausible for you?" "Yep, basically." "And you make this assumption knowing full well we''re in a place that''s entirely different from the world we know. We are on a sky island filled with magic casters and monsters. And you think Nix, the leader of half of the people still alive within the tutorial, personally murdered the old man for¡­ what reason exactly?" "Who knows, maybe he stumbled upon a conspiracy or something. But the simplest explanation is usually correct, even if it seems the most unlikely. Besides, I''ve asked more than half the people in Arkania by now, and nobody''s seen anything like what Nix said Phil saw." "Yeah, but I have." Eve paused for a moment, "Oh¡­ yeah. So what the hell is it anyway?" She just doesn''t miss a beat when switching gears, huh? "If it''s the same thing I found, then it''s probably a dungeon." "What, like a dungeon in a different dimension?" "Pretty much. Now that we''ve established Nix probably didn''t murder the old man can we get a move on?" Just as Devon said that the clouds opened up and it started to pour on them. Devon pulled the hood of his cloak up and smiled when he felt how little of the water got through. That craftsman sure made a good product. "Ugh yeah, come on," Eve said before she started running through the woods. After half an hour of making their way through the forest, they made it to a small clearing with an absolutely massive tree in the center of it. The thing wasn''t necessarily taller than all the other trees in the area, but it was at least ten times as thick, and as they approached it they began walking on more roots than soil. "Well?" Eve asked, thoroughly drenched by now. "Hang on, I''m looking," Devon said as he surveyed the area. Nothing immediately popped out to him, but there was a distinct feeling of wrongness to the place. The memory dungeon he''d found had seemed to call out to him, but that wasn''t what he felt in this clearing. No, instead it was more like there was something here, but it was desperately trying to avoid his sight. Even so, Devon felt that if he looked at the place just right then it would appear¡­ In the corner of my eye. And there it was. A split in space that radiated green light as it did could not possibly be missed, yet it had done something to deter Devon''s ability to see it. The rift and Devon had engaged in a battle of perception, and Devon had won. "Well?" Eve asked, looking at him like he was crazy. He supposed it must look like that to her, as he''d been spinning around in a circle trying to lock down the spatial tear for over a minute. "Found it, it''s right here." [Notice] A radiant soul obsessed with the pursuit of perfection still lingers here. Spirit Dungeon - [Brewmaster''s Dream] Dungeon rated Class E, Level 35. Do you wish to delve into the world of spirits? "I don''t see anything," Eve said looking peeved, as though Devon was simply trying to mess with her. "You can''t feel it? That sensation that something is here even though you can''t see it?" "Nope." Devon sighed, then started thinking of how to proceed. It was interesting that the dungeon remained open to enter after more than a day had gone by since Phil had disappeared inside of it. He wondered if the fact Phil was already in it could be the reason why Devon had such trouble seeing it, or whether it was due to some other factor.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Well, whatever. Time to see if I can drag Eve in with me. "Come here and take my hand," Devon said. When Eve looked at him like he was trying to pull something he said, "I''m going in after Phil. You can attempt to join me or stay out here soaking in the rain. Your choice." Eve reluctantly took his hand without saying anything. Devon reached out his other hand and tried to touch the rift, but it shrunk back a bit as if recoiling from him. So he stepped forward and thrust his arm forward, plunging it into the crack in space whether it liked it or not. He felt the familiar sensation of being forcibly transported somewhere else as the world blinked out of existence.
Zane watched from the shadow of the trees as the man named Erik disappeared into nothingness, dragging Eve along with him. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Zane] They went in. [Nix] So that guy actually knows what the hell those things are, huh? Phil hadn''t been the first one to disappear into thin air, but neither Zane nor Nix had actually believed the reports until Nix had seen it for herself. Nobody knew where the people who disappeared had gone, and none of them had returned as of yet. Nix and Zane were of the belief that they either wandered into a magical trap or got pulled into some strange subspace. It was looking a lot more likely that it was the latter after seeing Erik willingly dive in. [Zane] Do you want me to do anything? [Nix] It''d probably be a waste of time to just sit there and wait, so why not go back to accumulating power for now. If they make it out then we''ll know in time. [Zane] I meant do you want me to take that Erik guy and make him talk? He only gave you a vague response, right? We need all the information about this place we can get. What if one of us ends up sucked into one of those things by accident? [Nix] Don''t do that. I''m not sure if that Erik guy went through some serious shit up on that mountain or whether he came into the tutorial damaged like our good friend Ray, but he is genuinely not someone I want to have as an enemy. If we play our cards right he''s much more likely to be an asset in the long run. I''m certain he empathizes with our beliefs, so there should be no reason we can''t coexist. We need all the allies we can get, because I don''t have faith that any of those cowards in Plainstown will be of any help by the end of this tutorial. [Zane] Fine. I''ll go back to the hunt then. What will you do? [Nix] Gonna go back to the grindstone on getting that damn ancient weapon working. [Zane] Do you truly believe you can operate that thing? [Nix] I have to try.
Devon found himself standing in a place that looked the exact same as when he''d left. He was still in the forest, and the massive tree stood as it had before he had taken the plunge into the realm of spirits. However, the rain that had been coming down so hard only a moment ago was gone, replaced by sunlight that sent beautiful rays of light through the massive tree''s canopy. "Tsk. So you made it into this place, accursed one." Devon whipped around and saw something entirely unexpected. He saw Phil sitting at an assortment of workstations littered with several vials and beakers of multi-colored liquids, and beside him stood a man in long forest green robes. A man whose hair flowed like fire. [Irin, The Mad Brewmaster - Level 37] "Phil!" Eve shouted from beside him. "Eve! And Devon?" Old man Phil seemed amazed to see them and tried to run over to them, but as soon as he stood up the man with hair like fire shot him a deathly glare, and Phil immediately sat back down. Even as Devon registered the situation, a chill went down his spine. He brought a hand up to his face, though he couldn''t actually feel any difference in texture when The Mask was active. He recognized me? That meant that The Mask had deactivated without so much as a prompt to Devon. For an instant he came close to panicking, thinking that maybe the skill had some time limit that the system hadn''t told him about, but then he realized the much more likely answer. No, if The Mask had deactivated before we came in here then Eve would have shown some kind of reaction. Since she didn''t I can assume that it was active until the instant we entered this place. Which means that it most likely doesn''t work within spirit dungeons. "What the hell are you doing to him?" Eve snarled at the man. "Phil here is helping me complete something that I left unfinished. He''ll be free to go just as soon as he provides a result that is satisfactory." "A result? So this is supposed to be some kind of crafting trial then," Devon reasoned. "I suppose you could call it that. However, you are not somebody who was supposed to enter this place. Our compatibility is less than zero. Just my luck that I would find such a perfect candidate only to be intruded upon by a person who by all rights shouldn''t even know what the spirit is." "And what exactly is it he''s meant to be making for you?" "A brew to top all others." "...Excuse me?" Irin raised two curled fists, passion flowing through his voice, "Yes. For so long I have awaited one who is worthy to carry out my noble task, one who could potentially succeed where I was never able to in life! Here, in the perfect place my spirit has cultivated can my dream finally be realized. At least, that''s the hope." Devon looked at Phil, who looked distinctly unhappy and responded, "And what if he doesn''t want to complete your grand elixir of drinks?" "Hm? Then he dies, of course." No sooner had Irin finished the statement than Eve leaped into the air with a savage snarl, axe bared to strike. Irin raised a hand, and vines shot from the ground to coil around Eve''s limbs before they yanked her back into the tangled mess of a floor where the roots opened up and cast her into a pit so deep Devon couldn''t see the bottom. Then the hole closed behind Eve. Irin scowled, "As much as I hate to admit it, the system won''t allow me to simply smother her to death under the weight of my beautiful tree. However, that doesn''t mean she''ll be able to get out alive either." "I see," Devon said thoughtfully, "Because this space is ultimately constructed by the system to give form to the desire of your spirit you''re being forced to adhere to its idea of what a dungeon should be." "You''re annoyingly bright. But yes, that is in essence what is going on. Now, I suggest you leave while I''m feeling generous or I''ll toss you in that pit with her." Devon looked over Irin''s shoulder and called out to Phil, "Hey old man, how''s it going?" "Not very good!" Phil shouted back honestly. Devon sighed. If Phil expected he could beat the brewmaster''s challenge then this wouldn''t be an issue, but since he couldn''t it didn''t leave Devon much of a choice but to act. "You''re intent on dying with the woman down there?" Irin asked. "Dying isn''t in the plans, but if the start of the dungeon''s down there then you might as well open the floor back up. No need for more theatrics." Irin waved his hand and the floor once again opened up. Devon glanced down and saw Eve fighting what looked to be a tree monster down below. He looked back to old man Phil and said, "Just wait a bit, we''ll be back soon enough." Then he jumped down to join Eve in the fight. 34 - On the Nature of Spirit Dungeons Task [Find Phil] complete. Adding Task [Clear Spirit Dungeon] based on Plot progression. [Objective: Slay Irin, the Mad Brewmaster OR Destroy Spiritual Foundation] Time until Spirit dissipation: 4:59:33 Five hours left, huh? We made it here just in the nick of time. Devon tore his cloak off as it whipped in the wind while he descended and shoved it into his inventory. It would only get in the way in a fight, and he didn''t want it all torn up. He took the trick spear out of his inventory as he fell. The prospect of another dungeon sent a thrill through his spine, as it meant a real chance to finally test out his new weapon. He brought out the axehead and swiftly swung it over the head of the spear and clamped it into place. Devon almost shuddered at how smooth the action was. Whoever the cursed king had gotten to create this weapon must have been a truly transcendent smith. He brought his axe down on one of the limbs of the creature Eve was fighting and felt several small impacts before his axe fully cleaved through the limb. He leaped back as a massive mass was swung at him, and he was able to get a better look at what it was they were fighting. [Treething - Level 32] The creature immediately reminded Devon of the mythical creatures from one of his favorite movies, but the feeling of excitement he had was quickly destroyed when he saw what Eve had named the creature. Treething? You can''t be serious, it''s obviously an ent. Granted, they don''t seem sentient, but still. Come on, unlike me you can actually name the stuff you discover. Still, there was nothing he could do about the disgrace as he looked about and saw several more of them lumbering toward them. He looked back at the one he''d delimbed only to see its arm growing back at a frightening rate. But that issue was nullified a moment later as Eve slammed her axe into the back of the thing, completely bisecting it through the torso. Assisted kill - [Treething - Level 32] Eve hefted her massive axe against her shoulder and said, "They''ve got some kind of core in the center. Break it and they die." She kicked the hunk of now inanimate branches, "Don''t these things give out any money?" "They didn''t last time," Devon responded as he once again dodged an arm of branches that was swung at him. He disconnected the axehead off the spear before shoving it back in his inventory. He''d assumed these things needed to be chopped down, but if they had a core that made things much easier. He stepped toward the ent that had just attacked him, about to stab into its chest when he felt something wrap around his feet. He looked down just in time to see vines that had extended out from the ent''s feet along the cavern floor and ensnared his foot. The roots pulled suddenly, sending him sprawling to the floor. The ent stepped forward, about to stomp him into paste, but Devon acted quicker. Activate skill; Quickstab! He thrust his spear upwards with all the strength he could muster, which wasn''t a lot from such a terrible position. It was enough, as the spearhead pierced straight through the wooden body of the ent and Devon felt it strike something hard on the inside of the creature before the ent shuddered and stopped moving. Kill - [Treething - Level 32] [Level up. Level 28 obtained.] Devon kicked the now brittle and dead roots off him before rolling to his feet. He looked over to see how Eve was dealing with the ensnaring roots, only to wish he hadn''t. Eve''s fighting style was by far the most barbaric thing Devon had ever seen. He had fought more than a dozen curse hunters with a myriad of styles, but none of them had come close to being as primitive as Eve. Her method of dealing with the ents was moving in close enough to hit them with her axe, then when they tried to ensnare her feet she simply stomped her foot into the ground hard enough that it got stuck in the packed dirt of the cave. That way, she remained immobile when they tried to pull her in. Devon reached into his inventory and brought out the trick curved blade before attaching it to the end of the spear to create a naginata. He refused to lower himself to Eve''s strategy unless he absolutely had to, so until then he''d increase the range of his stabs so he wouldn''t have to step into the ent''s ensnaring range. He moved onto the next ent. He stepped close enough to bait out an attack before stabbing into its chest with his naginata. Devon noted with satisfaction that the blade slid through the thick coating of branches with ease, further enamoring his appreciation of the weapon. Kill - [Treething - Level 32] He moved on to the next ent but stopped when he heard Eve grunt in pain behind him. He quickly saw the problem when he looked off to the side and saw a smaller ent fling a mass the size of a softball at him. He dived out of the way, and the ball of compacted dirt and pebbles exploded against the wall behind him. Devon quickly got to his feet before dashing toward the projectile thrower.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. However, before he could even get close the biggest and bulkiest ent yet fell from the tangled mess of roots above their heads and crashed down directly in his path. It was massive enough that Devon''s head only reached the top of its leg, and the presence it emitted made Devon shirk back a bit. But that didn''t deter Eve, who flew overhead with a roar of rage and slammed into the hulking body with a force strong enough to send it toppling. Devon didn''t miss his opportunity, dashing around the fallen giant before striking the smaller ent through its chest. The thing fell off his naginata as a stiff and lifeless mass of branches. They spent the next half an hour battling several waves of the ents before the tree finally seemed to run out of branches to construct them with. Eve and Devon both sat down in the center of the cavern for a much needed rest after the onslaught. He''d gained another level, boosting him to 29, though he could feel that he was on the cusp of 30 as well. Meanwhile, Eve had gone up to 34. Between panting breaths Eve said, "Nice weapon. You pick it because the gold helps make you feel more important?" "Fuck you," Devon replied, panting as well, "You kiss up to Nix to get that axe?" "Damn right I did. I thought you had a crappy common class. How the hell are you able to keep up?" "Cause I''m just that good." "My ass you are. Show me your titles." "Why should I?" "Cause I wanna know. C''mon, out with it." Devon didn''t feel like arguing, so he just sent his list of titles over to her. "Cursed, huh? Hm... yep, looks like you got a bunch of the good ones I''ve got as well¡­ What the fuck is this?" "Huh?" Eve sent back the title Lord of Massacre, with its description in full display. Her look of fatigue was gone, replaced by an air of open hostility. Devon knew that if he didn''t choose his next words carefully he''d find himself on the opposing end of her axe. "I told you, the last spirit dungeon I entered was a memory. That memory was from the final days of the kingdom that used to exist on this world. I''ll just summarize and say what happened was really fucked up, but I didn''t exactly have the option of leaving the dungeon." Eve stared into his eyes for several seconds before scoffing, "Sure, whatever." "You see a colony of another thousand sentient people around here I could have slaughtered?" "I said whatever. So what the hell even are these spirit dungeons anyway?" He sighed. Eve was the kind of person he had the most trouble dealing with, someone who acted almost entirely on impulse yet was keenly sharp in all the strangest ways. Her battle senses were extraordinary. She''d been top of the ladder for almost the entire duration of the tutorial, yet he''d only now had the chance to see her in action. Despite her extremely basic methods of counteracting the ent''s unique characteristics, he had to admit that her actions had very few wasted movements. Even so, I''ve got no idea how she made it as a waitress with how quick she is to pick a fight. Who knows, maybe she''s better with other people than I''d assume, and it''s just me that sets her off for some reason. "I think they''re challenges the system created based on the remnants of souls with abnormally strong wills. The last one I entered was of a knight that watched the fall of his world." "I don''t see how some mad brewmaster could have had a will strong enough to last this long." "I think under ordinary circumstances it wouldn''t have. Do you remember what Nix said about the tutorial creating events that wouldn''t ordinarily exist?" "No. I wasn''t really listening." I take everything back. She''s just stupid after all. "...Then why should I bother explaining it to you again?" "Because if you don''t it''s going to piss me off." "I hope you realize you piss me off," Devon said in a deadpan voice. Eve just stuck her tongue out and flipped him the bird. Despite his annoyance Devon continued, "Nix theorized that the tutorial was artificially creating things that could potentially push initiates past the limits they might otherwise reach. I think these spirit dungeons are one of the ways it''s trying to promote growth. When you were asking around did you hear any mentions of anyone else vanishing into thin air?" "Yeah, a few." "If¡­ Wait, didn''t you think to maybe correlate that to what Nix told you?" "Hm? Nobody else ever mentioned crazy stuff like a rift in space or whatnot." "Even so, shouldn''t the fact that people were disappearing at all make you stop and question yourself?" "I just figured people were settling grudges and whatnot they never could back on earth. Or people going full American Psycho on people around them." "Your faith in humanity is remarkably low." She just shrugged in response. "Anyway, if we assume those were all cases similar to mine and Phil''s where they got sucked into a spirit dungeon, we can also assume that there are a lot more of these spirit dungeons out there. The brewmaster said that you and I weren''t supposed to have been able to enter this spirit dungeon at all, yet it had found Phil to be what it considered a perfect candidate. "I think these dungeons likely all revolve around a central theme, and the spirits that designed the dungeons choose people to pull in that they think fit the theme, and then they block everybody else out. The memory dungeon I found was the same. I felt it resonated with me, almost like it called out to me." "If that''s the case then how did you get us into this dungeon when you said they block everyone else out?" "I think it''s because I unlocked a sixth basic attribute called spirit, and that''s what is allowing me to interact with this dungeon." "That stat have any other uses?" "None that I know of so far." "Okay, so what''s the point, and where does all of that leave us?" "The point is, this dungeon is based on brewing. Which means Phil''s system objective is probably to make something that satisfies Irin. But we''re intruders who aren''t meant to be in a dungeon for brewmasters. So the system had to compensate for unintended participants. What then does that leave us with?" Eve widened her eyes, "An alternate objective that the system didn''t count on." "The memory dungeon I stepped into lasted four days. Phil has been in here for a good while trying to impress Irin, but hasn''t made much progress. By all rights, Phil will likely fail the challenge this dungeon was created for due to its extreme crafting difficulty. But since this dungeon isn''t meant to be cleared by brute force, that means¡­" "That it should be easier to complete, because the system wouldn''t have put many physical challenges in a dungeon meant to be mentally challenging!" Devon looked at the clock, "Three hours and change left. You ready to get moving?" 35 - The Wrong Way to Clear a Spirit Dungeon The next room past the cavern held a crafting station much like the one Devon had seen Phil working at aboveground. He wondered if this was originally meant to be the real location of the dungeon''s primary objective, but Irin had seen that Phil couldn''t possibly survive the room with the ents and instead chosen to have the trial without the first challenge. In the end it didn''t really matter, Eve''s monstrous strength allowed her to easily smash through the door blocking the way forward. After that they found a maze of tangled branches and Eve smashed through that as well. Wall after wall she destroyed, until they found the exit on the other side. Watching the woman in action just further reminded Devon of how much he needed her for the struggle against the overseers. Even with the boosts to his stats that came from potential and all of his titles, she was still head and shoulders above him when it came to raw ability. He was all but certain she had near double his strength, but her movements didn''t feel like they had the pitfall of losing anything in any of her other physical stats. Devon imagined her arcane stat must be in the dumps, but he doubted she cared. She wasn''t the sort to bother with trivial things like magic when she could smash through almost any and all obstacles by brute force. They ran into a colossal ent in the final chamber, but between Devon''s distracting fireballs and Eve''s sheer power they made short work of it. Assisted Kill - [Giant Treething - Level 35] [Level up. Level 30 acquired.] [Notice] Seek conflict. When you have found a suitable challenge, the System will issue an ascension quest. Until then, all exp gained will be negated and you will not be allowed to advance to level 31. "Oi, why do you level up so slow?" Eve asked as she jumped off the corpse of the colossal ent''s hulking body. "System just hates me, I guess," Devon said, dodging the question as he noticed Eve had also gained a level. It made sense that Eve would find his rate of progression slow, they''d been fighting against pretty much everything the dungeon had to throw at them equally, yet they had gained the same amount of levels despite Eve being 5 above him. "Also, I just hit the level barrier." "Mmm," Eve grumbled, seeming not entirely convinced. Devon wondered if he should clue her in on the secrets of potential, but a dark thought held him at bay. If I give up my one and only advantage, will I even be able to keep up at all in the future? He knew it was just his pride getting in the way of reason, but he couldn''t brush aside that feeling. It was true that a stronger Eve and Trey would be a direct benefit in the upcoming battle, yet even so, he couldn''t bring himself to give away his secret. Besides, there was no way to know for sure that would make them stronger for the final battle of the tutorial. The cursed king''s datalog had said the lock on free points could only be removed with the intent to use them. Which meant the system might look within their minds and determine that their real intended time to use those points would be when the final battle came, and stop them from triggering the start of the countdown until then. It was a very real possibility that the misuse of potential would create the issue where someone would need the free points given by the system, but not be able to use them because of the time lock being tuned to the intent to use them. Utilizing potential as someone who isn''t cursed by the system isn''t a decision to be made lightly. I can see why the cursed king said it was considered risky even for the elites of the Infinite Realms. "I guess I''m getting less experience than usual too, so whatever," Eve mumbled to herself. Devon''s ears perked up at that. He''d thought it seemed odd how little exp the memory dungeon had given him when he''d gone through it, even considering how his rate of progression was drastically slower than everyone else''s with the first tier of Potential. Perhaps spirit dungeons do just give less exp than the real world. I suppose it would make sense, everything in here was ultimately fabricated from nothing by the system. They lack the lifeforce of real, living creatures. "Hey, let''s go," Eve said, looking impatient. "Oh, right," Devon looked at the clock as he followed Eve. They still had two hours left, and they both felt like that was likely the last room. Which meant that they had plenty of time to complete the dungeon objective and get Phil back. They ascended a sloped tunnel made of bramble and roots before emerging back under the artificial daylight of the spirit dungeon. There they saw Phil still crafting away, and Irin standing next to him, looking thoroughly pissed off. "You two¡­ never in my life have I seen upstarts as unilaterally irritating. I suppose you''ve come here to engage in some kind of barbaric final fight?" Eve started to walk forward slowly, but Devon held out a hand, stopping her. He half expected her to brush it off, but she actually waited to see what he would do. Devon held out an open palm facing upwards and activated the mental command. Activate magic; Fireball. True to form, a ball of fire burst to life in his hands, and he saw Irin''s enraged face turn very stiff. Devon then turned his hand toward the massive tree and let the projectile fly.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The fireball exploded, but not against the hardwood of the tree. A massive energy shield with glyphs written all across it had burst into form, blocking the ball of fire before it could even get close to harming the tree. "What the¡­" Eve muttered next to him. "The objective prompt we got had two branching options for completion. Either we could defeat Irin, or we could destroy his spiritual foundation. It didn''t take too much deduction to figure out that the tree you tried to bury us beneath was the source of your power, its size is simply too unnatural to not be something important." "All right," Eve said, a savage grin on her face, "So I''ll pummel the stupid brewmaster while you burn the tree up, yeah?" "No, that won''t work." "Why not?" "Because of this," Devon said as he passed her the system notification blinking in front of him. [Ascension Quest] Kill Irin, the Mad Brewmaster. "What the hell? Neither of my ascension quests were anywhere near that. At most it made me kill something four levels above me¡­" Eve muttered, shocked at the system''s disparity. It didn''t even surprise Devon that the system had done this. The last ascension quest he''d gotten had also been within a spirit dungeon, and Devon wondered if it was simply coincidence or whether a pattern was forming. "I''ll take Irin, you focus on the tree," Devon said. "Why shouldn''t we take him together? The quest doesn''t say you can''t have help." "Yes, but if it does fail me because you helped then who knows how long it will be before the system decides to give me another opportunity. Besides, taking down the tree will help, even if not directly. He can hardly focus on two things at once, now can he?" "Good luck," Eve said, hefting her axe. Devon glanced at his mana before dashing forward. Only 105 remained, about half. His fireballs cost 30 each, and he''d used two of them against the colossal ent and one against the tree. But his amplification gem was fully charged from the killing of all the ents, so he had his ace in the hole. Irin stared him down as one would look at a disrespectful child as Devon approached, but a little bit of intimidation wasn''t nearly enough to even waver Devon by this point. His opponent was one who specialized in brewing, not fighting. He thrust his weapon, still in the configuration of a naginata, forward. A small clash occurred as he found his attack blocked by yet another energy shield. Devon had to leap backwards as Irin pulled a rapier out of nowhere and attacked him with it, the silvery metal phasing right through the energy shield. Then, before Devon''s feet could even touch the ground Irin launched three shimmering blue projectiles at him. He tried to move out of the way, but they followed his every move. So Devon swung his spear in an arc, managing to hit two before the third slipped past his defenses. It impacted against his stomach, but Devon didn''t feel like it had left any serious damage. Third degree burns at worst, but Devon could heal those off with healing pills, so he didn''t pay the wound any mind. What he did mind, however, was that Irin had actually pursued him just behind the blue magic missiles. Devon barely shifted his head to the side as Irin''s misty blade left a slice along Devon''s left cheek. But that was about all Devon was willing to let the brewmaster do. Activate skill; Quickstab. The tip of the naginata was pointed away from Irin after deflecting the magical projectiles, but Devon didn''t care. He drove the blunt back end of the spear straight into Irin''s chest. The fiery-haired man stagged back, clearly not expecting the blow. Devon moved to follow up, but a piercing pain shot across his face from where the silvery blade had cut him. The overwhelming sensation almost made him black out, and he fell to his knees before he managed to pierce the mad brewmaster through. "Fool. Initiates never have a clue. Of course the one who mixes concoctions endlessly would be an alchemist on the side, are you stupid? Your arcane is higher than expected, but no matter. Die." Dammit, poison? Irin raised his thin blade, preparing to stab Devon through the head when a massive impact rocked the clearing. Irin looked over towards his tree, a mask of fury on his face. But he turned back to Devon in the next instant, intent on finishing him off. Shit, no time to pull out a healing pill! Activate Amplification Gem! Activate magic; Adrenaline! Devon hadn''t ever wanted to use adrenaline again after it had almost cost him his life in the encounter with the lord of the mountain, but there was no choice. The overwhelming surge of adrenaline through his system instantly shrunk his vision to less than half of what it was normally, his peripherals completely shrouded in a haze of colors. The feeling of pain faded as he heard his heartbeat resound in his ears, his muscles compressing his blood vessels as they strained harder than he''d ever pushed them. He kicked off to the side, shifting his body to keep Irin within his sightline. In Devon''s slowed time he saw the brewmaster''s expression change to one of surprise as Devon resisted the effects of whatever Irin had infected him with. Activate skill; Quickstab. Activate skill; Sever. He felt the last of his mana burn away as his skills queued up. He kicked off the ground behind him, shooting forward toward Irin even as he felt his left eye spasm before he lost vision on the left entirely. Evidently the poison was more dangerous than he''d assumed if it had already done enough damage that the eye closest to the infecting cut had shut down. Irin let off a burst of his magical missiles in every direction as Devon approached, but he paid them no mind, even as he was sure they were all curving towards him from every angle. His muscles threatened to tear themselves apart under the strain of amplified adrenaline as Devon thrust forward with Quickstab. Irin raised his energy shield again, but it shattered under the force of Devon''s attack. The curved blade of the naginata blew past the shattered remnants of the shield before impaling the brewmaster just under the ribcage. Devon almost blacked out once again as half a dozen or more of the magical projectiles collided with him from every angle. Pain that couldn''t be completely negated even with amplified Adrenaline poked through the haze of his mind, threatening to completely disorient him. But he ignored it all, planting his feet on the ground and lifting his naginata with all the remaining strength he had. The blade of the naginata tore a path upwards through the brewmaster''s body as Sever activated. The blade exited Irin''s shoulder, and Devon took immense satisfaction from the look of shocked surprise on his face as his body was lifted into the air from the upwards attack before it fell back down, Irin''s chest split apart with nothing to connect it down the middle. Kill - [Irin, The Mad Brewmaster - Level 37] Another shockwave pulsed throughout the area, but Devon didn¡¯t even feel it as he desperately reached out to pull a healing pill from his tile. He had to guide it into his mouth by feel as his other eye spasmed, and his vision went completely dark. He felt the soothing relief of the item go to work combating everything wrong with his body, but it was slower than usual. Most likely the poison Irin had infected him with was countering some of the effects of the healing pill. And so he stood rooted in place, waiting for his vision and feeling to be restored 36 - Thanks Eve popped a healing pill as she sat down on one of the larger roots of the ruined tree. She¡¯d had to completely expend her mana to use her biggest skill, Heavy Impact, twice. Once against the shield that had seemed near impervious to everything she threw against it, and again against the tree itself. She winced as she looked at her side where one of that lunatic¡¯s magical projectiles had struck her from his last desperate barrage. The wound from the single projectile had done an immense amount of damage, and she was certain that if she¡¯d taken a second it may well have been the end of her. Dammit, is this due to my arcane stat being so low? Arcane was a measure of not only one¡¯s ability to wield magic, but also their resistance to it. She hadn¡¯t yet found any beasts that could use magic, so she hadn¡¯t bothered putting a single free point into the stat. Her class didn¡¯t give her any bonuses either, so her arcane was a mere 40 while her strength was a bit above 300. This is going to be a problem going forward¡­ The beasts she hunted didn¡¯t use magic, but she was certain there would be at least a few casters among the ranks of the overseers, and she could find herself in a disastrously bad spot if she didn¡¯t have a solution to this problem by the end of the 30 day protection period. She looked back towards Devon, honestly expecting him to be dead. Fighting a monster several levels above your own was one thing, fighting something that could think rationally and had built up its own unique path was another. So when she saw the man standing above the decimated corpse of the brewmaster she was shocked. Not only at the fact that he¡¯d survived, but how horrific his condition was. Green veins spread across his face like rivers in the Amazon, covering it in a disgusting network of slowly receding green lines. But that was only the start. Both of his eyes looked like the eyes of a dead fish, dark green glass marbles that didn¡¯t truly see the world. His body too was covered in terrible burns. It looked like he¡¯d taken at least six of the brewmaster¡¯s magical blasts. How the hell¡­ I thought he was a physical fighter like me, but his arcane must be at least double what mine is if not more to have survived those magical attacks. Eve didn¡¯t understand how he could still be breathing, yet he was. She could hear his raspy breaths as the healing pill did its work. The lines of venom slowly disappeared from his face and one of his eyes returned to normal. Eve looked over to see Phil, still sitting at the crafting station, also staring at Devon in wonder. She rushed over to him and embraced him in a big hug, ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re okay! I was so worried when I couldn¡¯t find you after we got separated. Did that freak hurt you at all?¡± Phil patted her on the back, ¡°It¡¯s all right, I¡¯m perfectly fine. I was a bit worried about you at first as well, but then I remembered who I was dealing with. Still¡­ I never expected this of him¡­¡± Phil trailed off, looking toward Devon. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t either honestly. Also, mind if I ask how you know him? I met him briefly before we all wound up here, but I didn¡¯t think you were the sort to consult with such a shady person.¡± Phil gave a boisterous laugh, ¡°Is that how you see him? Dear, I¡¯m sure he¡¯s just doing his best to adapt like everyone else. He was a regular, then I started giving him a discount after he helped me sort out my finances and some other affairs. I really didn¡¯t expect such a brainiac to adapt this well to this place, but I guess you can never tell a book by its cover, eh?¡± ¡°No, I guess you can¡¯t¡­¡± Eve muttered. Despite Phil¡¯s praise of the man, Eve still couldn¡¯t shake this feeling she had about Devon. It constantly felt like he viewed everything and everyone around him as pieces to be used, and she hated the sort of people who viewed the world with that mentality. She wasn¡¯t someone¡¯s toy to be used, period. There was also the matter of his abnormal strength. Trey had informed her that Devon had a mere common class, so there was no way he should even have a chance of being anywhere near her level of power, and yet he was. But the way he allocated his stats was extremely weird. Everybody she¡¯d met, including herself, had chosen to specialize in something, to find their own niche that could draw out their own special talents. But Devon was¡­ a generalist. It felt like he had no specialty, instead building himself to be adaptable to any situation. It was a valid path to strength, but Eve wondered how far it could truly take him. As the final burns left behind by the brewmaster¡¯s magical barrage faded from Devon''s body the realm around them seemed to destabilize, and Eve felt herself ripped from that place.
Devon finally felt the effects of amplified adrenaline wear off as the rain of the world outside the spirit dungeon pattered onto his face. He opened his eyes and reveled in the clarity he could once again view the world in. He tried to look down at the damage his clothing had taken, but a muscle spasm caused him to cry out in pain. ¡°Hey, are you all right?¡± A voice called out. Even before registering the voice as male Devon knew it wasn¡¯t Eve simply because the voice wasn¡¯t stained in a thinly veiled layer of distaste. ¡°Oh, hey Phil,¡± Devon said weakly as he gingerly turned his head to look at the old man. ¡°Are you okay? Here, take a healing pill!¡± ¡°Already took one, and I don¡¯t feel like passing out right now. It¡¯s okay, I think all of my external injuries are gone, and I don¡¯t feel the poison in my system anymore.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I used a skill that had a lot more of a kick than I anticipated is all. I think the healing item¡¯s effects ran out before they could heal my physical condition completely.¡± Ah, what a horrible experience that was. Even more than the excruciating pain of the poison he¡¯d been infected with, the feeling of fighting under the effects of amplified Adrenaline was disturbing. Amplified boost had left him feeling sore after the stat increases faded away, but Adrenaline was a different beast entirely. Where Boost directly increased his stats, amplified Adrenaline instead allowed him to ignore the warning signs that he was pushing his body far past its limits. Only now after the fight did he realize that he had been pushing himself hard enough that he¡¯d literally been tearing his muscles apart to push beyond the limits of his strength.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Once again he looked down, and winced when he saw how damaged his nice new outfit was. The outer layer of leather defense was shot in three places where the magic missiles had struck his torso, but the metal defenses underneath had held true, preventing any damage to his chest or upper back. The same couldn¡¯t be said for two spots around his midsection and one on his leg and another on his arm, where the projectiles had obliterated the outfit. He sighed, realizing that he¡¯d have to go and have it fixed. It had only taken half a day for him to become attached to the outfit, but it already felt like a piece of essential equipment. ¡°Aw, the pretty boy¡¯s sad that his nice clothes got ruined,¡± Eve said mockingly from the side. ¡°Eve-!¡± Phil tried to shush her, but Devon''s response was faster. ¡°At least I have the decency to wear clothes, instead of walking around looking like a stripper or a madwoman.¡± Phil shook his head in exasperation at the two of them as they shared daggers at each other, ¡°Why can¡¯t you two just get along?¡± ¡°Ask her,¡± Devon said before turning his attention to the system prompts that were flashing before his vision. [Ascension Quest Complete] [Level up. Level 31 obtained.] [Level up. Level 32 obtained.] Clear ¨C Class E Spirit Dungeon [Brewmaster¡¯s Dream] Calculating performance¡­ Done. Applying performance reduction for only meeting alternate clear conditions¡­ Done. Dual clear conditions achieved, boosting performance... Done. Performance Rating: B Contribution: 45% Tailoring B-Grade Reward based on Contribution¡­ Done. Reward added to Inventory. Devon quickly switched over to his inventory tab to see what the system had given him this time. Unlike before, when he had cleared the memory dungeon alone, he had a contribution score this time. The system also said that both clear conditions had been achieved, which must mean that the final shockwave he had felt within the spirit dungeon had been Eve breaking the tree. It was good to know that the system penalized clearing spirit dungeons using alternate win conditions and that if a dungeon had two different clear conditions they could be done together to boost the reward. Devon smiled when he saw what the system had given him. It was almost as good as the amplification gem it had given him last time. [Spell Enhancement Token] Select F-Grade spell will be permanently boosted to E-Grade. So it¡¯s making me follow along the pattern of upgrading all of the basics, huh? Despite the token¡¯s extreme value, Devon still knew it was definitely not as good as the amplification gem. Even if the effect was permanent, the gem''s value still exceeded it by a lot. The first drawback was the type limitation. The amplification gem could be used on either skills or magics, while this token could only be used on magic. The gem also had the advantage of being extremely tailored to Devon''s style of adapting to the situation because he could amp what he needed for any given scenario. Once he used the token he¡¯d be locking his choice in permanently, and he¡¯d have to live with the results of that choice, even if he didn¡¯t always need that spell. Still, between the levels gained and the token the dungeon definitely hadn¡¯t been a waste of time. Not that it would have been a waste of time even without those things. Task [Clear Spirit Dungeon] complete. No other immediate tasks auto-generated, but the plot didn¡¯t resolve itself immediately. Most likely the system was waiting to be absolutely sure that the main objective had been achieved before resolving. ¡°Hey, what did the system give you?¡± Eve asked, eyeing him. ¡°I dunno, what¡¯d it give you?¡± He shot back. ¡°Oh, would you two knock it off?¡± Phil said, annoyed, ¡°Come on, the both of you, let¡¯s get back to town before we all get hypothermia standing out in the blasted rain.¡± Phil started leading them back in the direction of the camp. His annoyance at their bickering seemed to have completely outweighed any stress the dungeon might have caused him, which was good. Eve and Devon wordlessly fell in behind him. Eve eyed him from the side, seeming like she wanted to accuse him of something else, but not enough that she wanted to get on Phil¡¯s nerves any more than she already had. After a few minutes of the uncomfortable staring Devon finally asked, ¡°What?¡± Eve visibly recoiled, and Devon shot her a bewildered glance. She looked away and scowled before saying, ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I said thanks, you insufferable twat.¡± Devon looked at her like she¡¯d lost her mind. Never in his life had he heard a less sincere thank you, and it was made worse by the fact that she insulted and scowled at him as she did it. ¡°Look,¡± She said, ¡°I don¡¯t like you, and working with you makes me feel like I¡¯m working with a villain, but if it wasn¡¯t for you then I never would have been able to find that place or get Phil back. So, thanks.¡± ¡°Sure. But-¡° ¡°I know. You want me to be useful or whatever, right? You¡¯re not the type of person who¡¯d do anything for free. So what do you want me to do, go help out your busy boy playing leader or something?¡± Devon was about to say yes and launch into the ways he wanted her to act as someone to inspire more people to work harder on growing stronger back at Plainstown, but a thought stopped him from saying anything. His conversation with Nix had taught him a lot about the situation of all the people within the tutorial. Was prodding the people of Plainstown to grow stronger really going to have the desired effect? It seemed almost as likely that it would just make them burrow into their old-world mentality and try to shut everything else out now that their basic needs for survival had been met. He still didn¡¯t think it would be a good idea to tell anyone about the threat of the overseers in case a mass panic broke out. He could even see some people losing hope entirely in the face of the threat they presented. No, he needed a way to make them work toward the end result he desired without them realizing they were working toward it. ¡°For now just go back to getting stronger,¡± Devon said after a minute. ¡°That¡¯s it? I figured you were going to try to make me your lackey.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of hiring a bucking bronco when you need a plow horse? It¡¯ll just mess everything up.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± He had expected her to take it as an insult, but she seemed amused instead. Truly, he would likely never understand what went on inside this woman¡¯s head. ¡°I still think the idea that you can do everything on your own is foolish in the extreme, but I can¡¯t deny that we need a powerhouse to rely on when things go down. If I distract you with things you aren¡¯t good at then it¡¯ll just be detrimental in the end.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me. Just don¡¯t go calling on me for something stupid whenever you need something trivial done.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, I know.¡± Plot [Refocus a Powerful Warrior] complete. Calculating resulting Karmic Influence¡­ Done. Minimal Karmic Influence. Calculating difficulty¡­ Done. Complexity set at Normal+. Factoring Plot Karmic Influence and Difficulty into reward¡­ Done. [Refocus a Powerful Warrior] added to Completed plots. [Cursed Schemer] has reached Level 3. Skill [Jammer] learned. Jammer? No, before that I want to see the bonus it gave me. [Refocus a Powerful Warrior] - Cleared Karmic Influence: Minimal. Complexity: Normal+ Time investment: 7 Hours Reward: All stats +5 Five points in all his stats was starting to not seem like a ton, but it was at least like an additional level he¡¯d gained out of the endeavor. Now then¡­ 37 - Jamming Message known user Phil. Waiting¡­ Connection established. It was extremely bold to do this while Eve walked right next to him, but Devon wanted to get this out of the way as soon as possible. [Phil] Something tells me I¡¯m not going to like this conversation. [Devon] Yeah, sorry but I want you to do some work for me. [Phil] Some work you don¡¯t want Eve to know about then. I hope you aren¡¯t going to be doing anything shady. [Devon] Not at all. All I want you to do is continue to work as a provider of services within Arkania. I want you to pass along any interesting info you hear to me through these messages. [Phil] You want me to work as a spy? Devon, you could just settle down within the camp and hear everything yourself, why go through all this trouble? [Devon] I¡¯ll be spending a lot more time over in Plainstown, so I might not make it around to Arkania for long periods of time. [Phil] Alright, but why do you want to keep Eve out of the loop? It makes it seem like you¡¯ve got something nefarious going on. [Devon] Because she hates me, and it¡¯ll be a massive headache if she decides to cause problems because of personal differences. [Phil] Hm¡­ Alright, fair enough. Connection closed. Good, now I have reliable sources of information from both camps. I still need to figure out what it is I really want to do though¡­ They arrived back at the outer wall of Arkania, and Devon stopped to take his leave. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading back to Plainstown. I need to get my clothes fixed up, and I don¡¯t trust anyone other than the guy who made it to do it.¡± Phil took his hand, ¡°Any time you swing by I¡¯ll treat you to whatever you want, free of charge. It¡¯s the least I can do to repay you for helping get me out of that place.¡± ¡°Sure, but he¡¯s got better things to do than hang around here, right?¡± Eve said from behind Phil, shooting Devon a glare. Devon gave Phil an ¡®I told you so¡¯ look before he said, ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see.¡± Phil walked through the gates and Devon turned to head back to the plains when Eve called out to him, ¡°Hey, let¡¯s go do more of those spirit dungeons or whatever that was tomorrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we can,¡± Devon said honestly. ¡°What? Why not? Those places would be amazing to grind out levels.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to find them at the drop of a hat. The only reason I even knew to look for that one is because I already knew it would be there. Wandering around aimlessly in the hopes of finding another one? Forget it, it¡¯ll be a waste of time.¡± ¡°Hmph, fine,¡± Eve said with a look that told Devon she thought he just wanted to hog them all to himself, ¡°Be that way.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know any other places that might be good spots to gain levels,¡± He said as she turned around to start walking away. Devon couldn¡¯t help smiling as she turned back around, ¡°What? Where?¡± He just smiled at her and waved as he started walking off, ¡°Tell ya later, okay?¡± ¡°You little¡­!¡± The walk back towards Plainstown was much longer than it should have been since Devon was reduced to walking. He¡¯d shouldered his way through the intense muscle pain to put on a brave face in front of Eve and Phil, but when he was alone he was reduced to a hobbling mess.
Yur Kuzak silently watched the human hobble through the forest. Yur Kuzak had actually been assigned to watch over the human known as Eve, but this one had drawn her attention for two reasons. She had been amazed when it had managed to force its way into a spirit dungeon. That was something not even their chief, the only one among them who had managed to awaken their spirituality, could do. But then, when they had returned with the old one in tow, she had noticed something far more significant. She checked the ladder again, just to make sure. [Level Ladder]
  1. Zane - Level 35
  2. Eve - Level 35
  3. Ray - Level 34
  4. Stein - Level 33
  5. Ingrid - Level 32
  6. Trey - Level 32
  7. Ash - Level 32
  8. Devon - Level 32
  9. Licht - Level 32
  10. Vanir - Level 31
Nowhere on the ladder was a level 32 human named Erik, and yet she was looking at one as she stalked along through the woods. More importantly, there was the one they sought most of all, finally back on the ladder¡­ Still, she wasn¡¯t entirely sure. Of the five level 32s, only two of them were actively being monitored. The other three had managed to slip their tail. Do I dare report in? If I¡¯m wrong it could mean my head, but if I¡¯m right this could be the chance to lessen the punishment that will fall upon the rest of us from the chief for failing to protect his daughter. Nothing was going as it should have been. They¡¯d been told that most fledgling initiate races were weak, pathetic things that usually scurried back to their home planet as soon as they could. They were supposed to be a chance to give the younger generation, the ones around level 20 and 30, a chance to gain a huge burst of experience in one decisive swoop, with the bonus of an entire world to explore and expand upon. But the humans were not what they expected. Instead of floundering in their new reality, they seemed to strive. Several of them displayed potential that far exceeded any of their clan¡¯s own talents, and they were starting to scare her. Even knowing the tutorial procedure would place a hard cap on their growth, the raw aptitude they displayed meant they wouldn¡¯t be so easy to quell.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. It was also starting to seem like she and the rest of the lower levels, who¡¯d initially been planned to reap the biggest harvest of human experience, were going to have to resign themselves to only going for the minority that had decided to invest in crafting instead of strengthening themselves. She estimated if things kept going at this rate the average human¡¯s level by the end would be somewhere around 20-30. This is going from the easygoing mission we were promised to one where we¡¯ll be the ones on the back foot if we aren¡¯t careful. To make matters worse there¡¯s the incident with the chief¡¯s daughter. And Kal¡¯o Dar still hasn¡¯t checked back in, even after 8 days. If something happened to him too, I don¡¯t know what Kal¡¯o Kir will do. Kal¡¯o Kir was Kal¡¯o Dar¡¯s soulbonded, and the two shared a connection worthy of the name. So if something truly had happened to Kal¡¯o Dar then it was entirely possible that Kal¡¯o Kir would do something drastic. I want to go home, Yur Kuzak thought sullenly as she continued to observe the human. Except the human wasn¡¯t there. She stopped, not believing her eyes. Her ability Danger Sense suddenly flared to life, and she instinctively dodged to the side right as a golden spear shot through the air where she had just been standing. It detected me? Shit, now I don¡¯t have a choice. She opened the messaging function and tried to open a line to Val Kazar, but an unexpected notification popped up. [Notice] Jamming in effect. No Messages can be sent or received until user in possession of Jamming skill is defeated, or area of effect is left. WHAT? The idea that a human could get their hands on such a high tier skill within the tutorial was absurd, and yet she couldn¡¯t deny the reality before her. The human came into her view as it pursued her, and beside it she saw its tile floating. A strange pulsing was coming from within the system-given device, indicating that it was, in fact, the one who was jamming her. It had discarded its cloak, and she could see the battle-worn clothing beneath revealed. She¡¯d assumed the human known as Eve had shouldered the brunt of the burden in the spirit dungeon, but it seemed that may not have been the case. Still, it had lost the advantage of surprise, and she was 4 levels above the human. It shouldn¡¯t be an issue to eliminate it by herself now that it had come to it, but some itch at the back of her mind told her to be careful. She had failed to listen to her instincts in the past and paid the price. She wouldn¡¯t be making that mistake today. She brought out her axe and immediately activated both charges of her defensive skill. Two floating opaque shields sprung to life around her, and she readied her axe, preparing to strike back at the arrogant human. As a strength based clan, the shields were extremely effective at shoring up on their otherwise lacking natural endurance. And she was grateful that the human seemed to be a physical fighter, so she wouldn''t have to deal with any annoying spells.
More fucking shields, seriously? Devon brought out the hammerhead attachment with a scowl. He didn¡¯t have a lot of mana regenerated yet, so he needed to open the overseer up before he could deliver a fatal blow. He still couldn¡¯t believe how stupid he¡¯d been. The defeat of Irin and the completion of his plot had blinded him to the fact that those escapades had catapulted him straight onto the ladder. Devon hadn¡¯t understood why the overseer that had been tailing Eve had suddenly switched over to him at first, but it had become obvious once he¡¯d pulled his head out of his own ass. It was a bad habit of his that he tended to zone out the immediate surroundings when looking at the state of the board as a whole. He moved in towards the overseer again, bringing his hammer to bear against one of the floating shields that surrounded the Vishan. The overseer was 4 levels above him, but he was so used to hitting above his weight by now that it barely even registered. The floating shield moved into place to block his attack, and Devon felt a ripple in the air as hammer and shield collided. The clash lasted for only an instant, and the shield shattered into a thousand pieces. But it had managed to completely negate the force of Devon¡¯s attack, leaving him open. The overseer didn¡¯t miss that chance as it stepped toward him and brought its axe down. Devon desperately raised the golden pole of the hammerspear and blocked the descending strike. The resulting clash was far more impressive than what he¡¯d done against the floating shield. Devon was forced to his knee as his already abused muscles screamed out in agony at the strain of the contest. He bent one of his elbows, angling the shaft of the trick weapon to force the axehead to slide along the length of the golden spear. Devon knew if he faced the Vishan head-on in a challenge of strength he¡¯d lose, badly. Devon moved his hand out of the way as the axe slid down the trick weapon, but it hit the connecting mechanism of the hammerhead, decoupling it. With it free Devon shoved the rear end of the spear into the overseer¡¯s face, but the blunt attack was blocked by the remaining floating shield and didn¡¯t have nearly enough force to break through it this time. Devon leaped back, wincing as every muscle in his body screamed in agony. He needed to end this fast, or his body wouldn¡¯t last. But he¡¯d left the hammerhead lying in the dirt, and trying to retrieve it would only leave him open to another attack. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s just a coincidence, but these people seem to heavily favor strength as their primary attribute. If they take a similar path to Eve, then I may be able to exploit that. He didn¡¯t have much mana left after the dungeon, so he¡¯d have to take a gamble on what he did have. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement. A thunderclap sounded out in the forest as his weapon received the magical electric charge. He didn¡¯t bring out any other attachments to put on his weapon, he wanted to see if he could overwhelm the overseer with the speed afforded him by a spear. He stepped towards the vishan and thrust his spear forward, and it clashed against the remaining shield. The floating visage wavered, but it didn¡¯t break. However, he saw the overseer flinch back as some of the electric charge was transferred directly through the shield to the lizard behind it. The overseer only allowed itself to be stunned for a mere moment, however. In the next instant it seemed to activate some kind of skill, and Devon felt a blow in his abdomen, as though somebody had snuck up behind him and punched him in the gut. When Devon looked to see what the cause was, he saw nothing and the pain faded almost instantly. He realized it had only been some kind of underhanded illusion, and the overseer was already bearing down upon him again. Devon wildly swung as he moved his body, and by some miracle managed to hit the axe mid-swing, knocking it aside. In the split-second opening the Vishan gave as it tried to recover its balance Devon spun himself around and slammed his spear against the shield again, whirling it like a quarterstaff. This time the shield broke, and the effect of lightning imbuement was fully transferred to the overseer. As the overseer¡¯s body was racked with convulsions from receiving an electric shock Devon stepped forward and stabbed his spear forward, impaling the Vishan in the neck. Again the overseer¡¯s body was wracked with spasms, but it fought through the electric torture, reaching a hand up and grabbing the spear, stopping Devon from pulling it out. Devon let go of the trick weapon and stepped forward, pulling the curved sword attachment out of his inventory as the Vishan was continually wracked with spasms from having the still lightning imbued spear stuck in its neck. Devon grunted as he used the last of the strength in his arms to stab the curved sword into the overseer¡¯s chest. He felt a bit of the shock from his own lightning imbuement travel through the Vishan¡¯s body and into the curved sword. Still, it was enough. The overseer coughed up a mouthful of blood before its eyes rolled up into its head and it lost its balance, falling over onto the ground. Kill ¨C [Overseer Yur Kuzak ¨C Level 36] - 2794 Talons [Level up. Level 33 obtained.] Devon didn¡¯t waste any time, quickly retrieving his spear and curved sword, as well as the fallen hammerhead. Next, he grabbed the tile that had appeared by the fallen overseer¡¯s side and took the fallen axe as well. This one didn¡¯t seem to have a spatial bead on it, so Devon simply left the corpse as it was and pushed his screaming muscles to run. He didn¡¯t bother continuing towards Plainstown. He turned right around and made for Arkania as fast as he could. It was closer, and the trees afforded him much more cover than the open plains. His jamming skill had notified him that the overseer had tried to open a line of communication at the beginning of the fight, so Devon reasoned it was unlikely it had done so earlier. But there was no way to tell. The people standing watch at the gate of Arkania gave him strange looks as he ran past, but they made no moves to stop him. Their job was to fight off monsters, after all. In their minds, there were no enemies among the humans of the tutorial. He made straightaway for the terminal, and didn¡¯t relax until he teleported back to his hidden cave of safety, where he immediately collapsed on his cot. Groaning from the pain of the immense muscle fatigue he was suffering through, he took a moment to thank his lucky stars the teleportation lockdown had finally been lifted. Devon tried to go over the encounter in his mind, but his body was racked with constant spasms and pains that endlessly distracted him, so he simply took his second healing item in the past hour and passed out. 38 - Waste of Time When Devon awoke he had to get up and stretch, and the act of doing so felt so immensely good after his muscles had been regenerated. He looked at the soft light coming in from the cave entrance and smiled, an entire night had passed while he¡¯d been in recovery sleep. Still, he wasn¡¯t sure there was much he could do today. He looked at the ladder and frowned when he saw he was still on it. He was actually more than just on it, he was in the 4th spot. Honestly, entering the ladder hadn¡¯t even been an eventuality he¡¯d planned on. When he¡¯d come down from the mountain he¡¯d expected his growth to slow or even stop entirely for a few days. Instead, he found himself in the middle of two prime opportunities to level. The dungeon was obviously the greater of the two, but the fact that the overseer he¡¯d killed had given him a level on its own was still significant. For a while now he¡¯d thought of the ladder as a boon, a way to keep an eye on things that he couldn¡¯t always see. Now he realized it also worked against him. He hadn¡¯t been entirely sure that the overseers could view the ladder until now, but after last night he was positive. There was simply no other reason for that overseer to have deviated from their mark to tail him. So long as I¡¯m a high enough level to register on the ladder my movements are extremely limited because any disguise I use will be called into question and I could be exposed. It was enormously frustrating. He needed to gain levels to gain enough strength to contend with the upper echelons of the overseers, but if he gained too much then he¡¯d put himself in their crosshairs and wouldn¡¯t be able to act out in the open. There was always the option of going the Eve route of acquiring as much power as possible before the tutorial ended and ignoring everything else, but Devon had the distinct feeling that was the wrong way to go about it. He and Eve would simply find themselves bearing almost the entire brunt of the enemy¡¯s forces, and no matter how much strength they acquired, he felt certain it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Still¡­ He gripped his fist. The frantic fight against the overseer had been extremely helpful in gauging their strength, as well as his own. Irin hadn¡¯t been a good sample for determining how strong he truly was because the brewmaster hadn¡¯t been a combat specialist to begin with. Also, Eve had been distracting him, so even if the system counted it as a solo kill, it didn¡¯t really feel that way to Devon. But the fight against the overseer had been different. It was just the two of them, and even with Devon¡¯s drained mana and extreme muscle fatigue he¡¯d managed to overcome a gap of 4 levels. His strength had been a far cry from the Vishan¡¯s, but that was to be expected when everyone else could specialize and he couldn¡¯t. Devon had been gaining stats as though he had a rare class, and he had the extra level¡¯s worth of points from his plots. But the real kickers were his titles. Giantslayer, Lord of Massacre, and Independent in particular elevated his stats way above what he felt an ordinary level 33 should be at. He was pretty certain Eve also had them, minus Lord of Massacre, but Eve too was somebody who threw themselves into situations no rational person would expect to survive. Might as well go over it all since I¡¯m thinking about it.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 33 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 3] Mana: 210/210 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 6], [Sword Proficiency - Level 5], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Quickstab], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bone Breaker], [The Mask], [Refine], [Jammer] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Ambitious, Giantslayer, Lord of Massacre, Novice Dungeoneer, Independent, Discoverer Strength: 183 Dexterity: 179 Vitality: 172 Endurance: 171 Arcane: 175 Spirit: 46 Free Points: 160 Talons: 3186 All of his stats had shot up a fair amount since he¡¯d last looked, but the real kicker was the amount of talons he had. He took a quick glance over at the talon leaderboard and winced when he saw himself in the number one spot. Well, it¡¯s not like they can identify me by the amount of talons I have, so whatever. He¡¯d been running low on talons anyway, and the spirit dungeon hadn¡¯t given any. Still, looking over the talon ladder was quite interesting. It was a stark contrast to the level ladder, as almost none of the rankers from high up on the level ladder were on the list of talon rankers. In a way it made sense, all of the rankers most likely spent most of the talons they accumulated on new gear. Nix and Trey in particular most likely had more taxing finances than anyone else as leaders of their respective camps. Devon did find it interesting how the second place on the talon ladder was another ranker by the name of Ray, but he didn¡¯t think much of it. There were likely to be martial artist types out there who had less need of equipment as they relied on their bodies. He looked at the skill he¡¯d acquired as a reward for finishing his second plot, the jamming ability. Frankly, it was far beyond Devon¡¯s wildest expectations of what his class would give him. It made any user¡¯s system within 20 meters fritz out if they tried to use the messaging function, and it even reported back to him when someone tried to send or receive something. This meant that if he wanted to, he could perform targeted strikes against overseers assigned to monitor the humans. If he picked his battles right it wasn¡¯t unreasonable to imagine he could decimate a large number of the level 20s and perhaps even the level 30s all on his own. But that idea wasn¡¯t without issues. He¡¯d already ruined his advantage of surprise twice over now. Devon couldn¡¯t even imagine the possibility that they hadn¡¯t raised their level of caution through the roof overnight. This was the third now he¡¯d killed. There would not be any more easy opportunities. If he still tried to isolate them and systematically eradicate them then his movements would become predictable in the extreme, and it would only be a matter of time before he fell into some kind of trap. If only I hadn¡¯t been forced to act last night¡­ Well, no use crying over spilled milk. He looked at the tile still lying next to him and finally opened it. Unlike the second dead overseer, this one didn¡¯t have anything interesting on them. Even their axe was the exact same, a Savage Axe with a minor strength affinity. He¡¯d have been happy to have another if he didn¡¯t already have the most reliable weapon in the tutorial, most likely. He still had the rest of the crafting materials stored in the spatial bead, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to distribute them. Any action he made with the overseer¡¯s possessions could have consequences, so it was better to just hold onto them for now. Devon sighed, once again looking at the level ladder. Until he went down in the rankings so that he dropped off the chart he was stuck. He couldn¡¯t hunt, or he¡¯d only slow his descent, and he couldn¡¯t warp back to Plainstown yet or he may get singled out. So there was nothing he could do. Nothing except wait around for the others to catch up to him on the ladder. What a waste of time¡­ 39 - Killer Two whole days passed in agony for Devon. The pain wasn¡¯t physical but the mental anguish of someone who wanted, needed, to move, to act and progress their plans. But there was no helping the massively reduced pace of level gains now. He spent that time meticulously designing new masks to use, since there was really nothing else for him to do. His skill saved all the faces he created, allowing him to stockpile an assortment of different disguises. The plethora of extra time also allowed him to stop and think over all the possibilities for what could occur within the tutorial. There wasn''t just the situation with both human factions and the overseers, he needed to think of possible problems that hadn''t even popped up yet, and ways to manage them. The tutorial was something nobody from earth had ever been prepared for, but now that he knew all the rules there was no reason he couldn''t anticipate potential scenarios. Once he was finally off the ladder he teleported to Plainstown to take his still damaged equipment to the craftsman who¡¯d made it. After depositing it for repairs he set off to try and find Trey. He wore the guise of Gregor today. He couldn¡¯t help but smirk when he found what looked like an enclosed command pavilion that was almost exactly like the one Nix had set up in Arkania. He slipped inside and saw Trey talking with Susan. He waited patiently at the entrance and listened to their conversation, which they didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°¡­Trey, please. You have to do something. If that lunatic keeps hunting down rankers¡­ I¡¯m afraid of what will happen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re concerned Vanir might end up in his sightlines, huh?¡± The elderly woman nodded, a conflicted expression on her face. It seemed like no matter how much she wanted to pretend to care about everyone equally, there would always be people she put first, ¡°Please, do something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on it. Trust me, this isn¡¯t something anyone is happy with. I need you to give me time. It¡¯s not like I can just walk out there and challenge him to a duel, can I?¡± ¡°No, I suppose not¡­¡± Trey consoled the woman for another minute before she pretended to notice Devon and made her way out. Trey rubbed his temples before turning to Devon, ¡°So, what can I do for you, Mr¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s Devon.¡± ¡°Fuck man, you gonna show up with a different face every time?¡± ¡°Not likely, but my last identity was¡­ compromised.¡± ¡°Do tell.¡± Devon relayed everything that had happened when he¡¯d visited Arkania, including his meeting with Nix and the rescue of Phil. ¡°Well, it¡¯s good to hear old man Phil¡¯s doing alright at least.¡± ¡°Yeah. What were you and Susan talking about?¡± ¡°Something I was wanting your help with, actually. You been keeping an eye on the level ladder?¡± ¡°Not extremely close, why?¡± ¡°There¡¯s this psycho going around offing people from the list. They¡¯ve gotten at least three of the highest rankers, and they don¡¯t show any intention of stopping. We¡¯ve got a person in mind, but it¡¯s not certain.¡± Something flashed through Devon¡¯s mind, something he¡¯d noticed when he¡¯d looked at the talon ladder, ¡°Is it Ray?¡± Trey looked at him, surprised, ¡°Yeah, how¡¯d you know?¡± ¡°I got just shy of 3000 talons when I killed that overseer, which tells me that any wealth an individual carries is transferred to whoever kills them. If Ray¡¯s been hunting down the people who¡¯ve been the most successful at hunting it makes sense they¡¯d have an excess of cash.¡± ¡°Yeah, the problem is that I don¡¯t actually know anything about the guy. And none of the people that¡¯ve come from the forest camp seem to know anything about him either.¡± ¡°Let me go talk to Nix. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s one to keep her ear to the ground, so she might know something.¡± ¡°All right. Despite how I might have sounded to Susan, this is actually the top of my priority list. If that psycho keeps killing off the higher ranks¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have that much less manpower when the final struggle comes around, yeah.¡± Devon left the pavilion and headed over to the craftsman who¡¯d made his outfit. After submitting it for repairs and handing over 100 talons he opened up the messaging function with Nix, then stopped. When he met Nix he¡¯d been under the guise of Erik. He wasn¡¯t sure how much Eve had told Nix, but if she hadn¡¯t blown his cover as a man of disguises, then there was still the possibility of remaining truly incognito in Arkania. The Mask would make his name appear as whatever identity he wanted in the instance of messaging, so he could still message Nix as Erik if he wanted to. But with that personality being one he wished to abandon, it didn¡¯t seem smart to reach out with it. As far as Devon was concerned, Erik had returned to being the mountain man, and he wouldn¡¯t ever come back down.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. He rubbed his temple, fighting a slight headache. The simplest strategy he could pursue would be to work as an advisor or handyman to both factions, strengthening them so they could stand against the threat of the overseers, even divided as they were. But something within him fought that idea. Not only were there issues with it, it was also¡­ boring. So instead, he teleported directly to Arkania while still under the guise of a man nobody there had ever laid eyes on. Outside Nix¡¯s command tent was a woman who was level 28. When he said he wished to speak to Nix he was turned down flat. ¡°Nix doesn¡¯t have time to deal with every little problem that pops up around here. I¡¯d direct you to Larry for general affairs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here on behalf of Trey from Plainstown, I wanted to talk to her about a string of murders that have been happening.¡± The guardswoman eyed him for a moment before saying, ¡°Nix isn¡¯t here at this moment. I¡¯ll message her, please wait.¡± Devon waited almost an hour before Nix showed up. When she did, she looked like she¡¯d just come back from a bout of hunting, and her increase in level supported that theory. She looked him over before she said, ¡°Come inside.¡± They went into the command tent together, and Nix stared at him expectantly. Devon introduced his persona for the day, ¡°Name¡¯s Gregor, I help Trey out over at Plainstown. We were hoping you could assist us with some information, if it wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble.¡± ¡°So Trey wants to do something about Ray, does he?¡± Devon looked at her in surprise, though he supposed it was probably obvious what he was there for after recent events, ¡°We weren¡¯t even sure it was Ray, to be honest.¡± ¡°Man, you guys are really behind the curve, aren¡¯t you? Yes, the one you¡¯re after is Ray. So what are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°The plan is to stop him,¡± Devon said dumbly. ¡°Right, usually I wouldn¡¯t care too much to help solve someone else¡¯s problem, but he¡¯s been a real pain in my ass as well. He¡¯s hiding out in a dungeon, some kind of burrow in the woods.¡± ¡°Okay, tell us where and we¡¯ll go flush him out.¡± ¡°Not so fast. You think you can just charge in there and expect to come out alive? Even if you went in as a team you¡¯d suffer casualties. This guy isn¡¯t some run of the mill killer of passion, he¡¯s a bona-fide serial killer. Walking into his home turf is like asking to be slaughtered by him.¡± I was actually thinking of using the excessive amount of wood from the forest to start a fire and burn him out, but whatever. I¡¯ll just keep playing stupid and see what she suggests. Even before that though¡­ Create plot. What is the objective of new Plot? Set objective as kill Ray. Error. Command rejected. Entity does not possess the power necessary to elevate task-level command [Kill] to Plot Objective status. Figures. It was quite irritating how the system wouldn¡¯t allow him to create plots for everything he needed, but he supposed such a broken mechanic would never have been allowed into the system in the first place. ¡°Alright, what did you have in mind then?¡± ¡°My second in command, Zane, is good at tracking people. We¡¯ll have him stake out the place and wait for Ray to leave. Then, while he¡¯s gone whatever strike team Trey wants to assemble will enter the burrow, disarm any traps the man has potentially set up, and lay in wait for Ray to return. From there it becomes a simple ambush.¡± ¡°Why not just ambush him in the forest?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s a slippery fucker. I had Zane try that after one of his kills, but he managed to slip away, even with the level difference between them. It wasn¡¯t a bad plan. Though Devon still felt his burning out idea was more practical, he couldn¡¯t deny that it would kill Ray before they got the chance to actually fight him, meaning they wouldn¡¯t be able to claim his talons or exp. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll go with that.¡± Nix frowned, ¡°I was meaning for you to take it back to Trey for him to mull it over. Did he give you full control over this matter?¡± Devon simply tapped the side of his head, and Nix muttered, ¡°Right, system messaging. It¡¯s still annoying to get used to the rules of our new reality, even after almost two weeks.¡± Of course, Devon hadn''t messaged anyone, but he didn''t need Nix to get her suspicions raised about a guy she''d never seen having a concerning amount of authority. ¡°When can you have Zane ready?¡± ¡°He¡¯s out hunting today, and I¡¯d like to keep it that way. We¡¯ll go ahead tomorrow. Have Trey assemble his team before then. Preferably no more than three people.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Devon left after that, not seeing any point in wasting more of the leader¡¯s time. He stopped by Phil¡¯s food stand, the biggest in Arkania, and grabbed a bite to eat before he teleported back to Plainstown. Even in a primitive place like the tutorial Phil still managed to grill up some damn fine food. When Devon returned to Trey¡¯s command space he was nowhere to be found. Most likely Trey had finished all of his most pressing matters to go hunt. Devon did feel a bit bad, forcing Trey into the position of leadership. The man was extremely good at boosting morale, but Devon knew at heart he was a man of action. When he did return, several hours later as the suns were setting behind the mountain, Devon was waiting for him. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have messaged?¡± Trey asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t want to distract you.¡± ¡°Yeah, well as you were lounging around here another person was murdered.¡± ¡°Another ranker?¡± ¡°No, a level 28.¡± ¡°Does their death anger you?¡± Trey stopped and looked at him. Devon himself wasn¡¯t exactly sure where the question had come from. It was only natural that someone¡¯s death should incite anger, wasn¡¯t it? Still, Trey¡¯s hesitant look reassured Devon he hadn¡¯t accidentally crossed a line too far. ¡°It does. But¡­ It¡¯s not like before. It¡¯s hard to explain, but it isn¡¯t so much that their death angers me. It¡¯s more so that somebody is purposefully ruining everything we¡¯re trying to set up, and the setback is what pisses me off.¡± Devon nodded, and Trey continued, ¡°It¡¯s strange, isn¡¯t it? I feel like I should be disgusted with myself for even thinking like that, but I can¡¯t deny that¡¯s how I feel.¡± ¡°This place has changed us all,¡± Devon said sympathetically. That memory had certainly changed him, and even the outside world was exacting its toll on the mentality of everyone else. ¡°So what came from your talk with Nix?¡± ¡°Ray is the murderer, as you assumed. Nix even knows where he¡¯s been hiding out, and we have a plan to make sure he doesn¡¯t get in our way anymore.¡± Devon filled Trey in on the details of the plan, and he nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s you and me go in then.¡± ¡°Just us? You do realize that having the leader of the camp and his second go in alone is a bit of a hairbrained move, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of sitting around, playing little king and hunting in my spare time. I need to do something more, you know?¡± Devon smiled, ¡°Yeah, I know. That¡¯s just who you are.¡± ¡°Damn right.¡± 40 - A New Kind of Normal Zane waited in the cover of the tree canopy outside the burrow of the murderer. He was a little peeved that the plan didn¡¯t involve himself being the one to take out the slime, but there was no use in complaining about that. What he did have serious reservations of was the fact that Trey himself had shown up, and that the only assistance he¡¯d brought was the man Nix had met the day before, Gregor. When he met them to go over positioning he¡¯d been waiting for additional assistance to arrive for them, but when none showed up he¡¯d been forced to just shrug and go along with the plan. If Trey wanted to get himself killed and leave Plainstown without a leader that was entirely his choice to make. Neither he or Nix truly cared what happened to that settlement, so long as they were left alone. They had enough troubles to sort out before the end of the tutorial to bother with Plainstown. He found it interesting that Gregor wore the same kind of outfit the man known as Erik had worn when he¡¯d tracked them to the place of Phil¡¯s disappearance. Zane supposed it was something of a signature design from one of Plainstown¡¯s craftsmen. He briefly glanced at the overseer that was following the Plainstown duo. The reptilian figure was well hidden in the distance, but Zane had grown accustomed to spotting them lurking in the shadows. It was becoming a serious annoyance to lose the one that was assigned to him every time he had to stop by Arkania, but there was really nothing to be done about it. Nothing that could be done for another two weeks at least. His eyes snapped into focus as he saw Ray exit the burrow. Despite the rugged conditions of the tutorial, Ray managed to appear perfectly neat and cordial. He still wore his almost perfectly intact set of earth clothing, and it was neatly maintained. He truly did give off the look of someone who was fresh from earth. Zane supposed that was how he managed to get so close to his victims, he presented them with a glimpse of the world they¡¯d lost before he slashed their throats. Zane followed the man silently through the treetops, leaving Trey and Gregor to infiltrate the vermin¡¯s nest.
Devon and Trey waited for 20 minutes after Ray had left the hideout to make their move. They needed to be absolutely certain that the scumbag was far enough away to not notice, or that he wouldn¡¯t forget something and rush back, interrupting them. Trey wore a two different sets of thick leather protection over his entire body. He still used a shield, but he¡¯d swapped out the sword he¡¯d started with for a bone cudgel with sharpened edges. Devon quickly cast Light once they entered so they could make their way through the cramped space without bumping their heads into anything. They passed three different traps as they cautiously made their way through the tunnel. They chose to leave each as it was so that Ray wouldn¡¯t assume anything was wrong when he returned. When they finally made it to the bottom both of them had to stop and take a moment to appreciate how much effort the man had taken to make the place feel like home. There were faded bloodstains on some of the sandstone walls, remnants of the conflict Ray had doubtlessly gone through to clear this place of monsters, but the rest of the abode was immaculate. Unlike the cave Devon had left as a simple cave, Ray had gone through the trouble of putting down wooden flooring over half the area, and it looked like he planned to cover the other half as well. Too bad he¡¯ll never get the chance. There were a few other fixtures as well, from a clothes drying rack to the cot he¡¯d build up to look almost like a proper bed. Trey decided to hide behind the clothes rack while Devon hid behind the oversized cot. He couldn''t maneuver the spear very well from his position so he opted for the curved sword as his readied weapon. And then they waited. For several hours they sat there until their joints grew stiff and aches and pains appeared in places that young, spry men like themselves should never have to suffer through. Finally, Devon got the message they¡¯d been waiting for. [Zane] He¡¯s entering now. Their breathing stilled until all sound was extinguished from the room. And then the heard soft footfalls enter the room. An unknown voice sighed, then the footsteps started to head away from Devon, towards the clothing rack. They¡¯d agreed that whoever had the better chance of a surprise attack would strike first, and it looked like that was going to be Trey. However, instead of hearing his friend leap out to strike, Devon heard an impact, Trey¡¯s grunt, and the fluttering of clothes. Devon poked his head up just in time to see Trey knocked over on the wooden floor, and Ray¡¯s composed figure standing next to the knocked over clothes rack, a sneer on his face. ¡°Did you think it wouldn¡¯t be obvious something like this would happen when I get tailed the moment I step outside my house? I¡¯ll admit, I never expected the de facto leader of Plainstown to come visit me personally, but I think I¡¯ll have to cut this little party short.¡± The floorboards beneath Trey gave way as soon as he tried standing up, the entire section of flooring giving way on some kind of hinge to plunge Trey into darkness. Devon could hear snarling from below as Trey fell. The flooring came back up into place after Trey passed through, likely on some sort of spring mechanism. ¡°Dungeon monster don¡¯t seem like they¡¯d make very good pets,¡± Devon said, standing up. ¡°No, but they¡¯re good for the easy experience they provide. Even without their leader they keep reproducing endlessly, though it''s starting to become more of a hassle to maintain them than the exp they''re worth. I guess they''re still good for situations like this though.¡± Ray pulled a short curved blade from his tile and readied himself. Devon threw the trick sword he¡¯d been holding onto back into his inventory and pulled out his spear. There was just barely enough room in the cave to maneuver it. Ray lunged forward and thrust the shortsword at Devon. He knocked it aside, but felt a searing pain on his hand as he kicked at Ray, forcing him back. He looked at the back of his hand and saw the gash along the length of it. The wound wasn¡¯t deep, but Ray¡¯s weapon hadn¡¯t gone anywhere near it. Some kind of skill. But is it an illusion or some kind of touch effect? Devon didn¡¯t feel like finding out. He activated Quickstab as Ray once again pressed the offense. He stabbed forward with blinding speed, trying to catch the murderer off guard as he rushed in.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. However, instead of catching the man off guard, all it seemed to do was excite him. Devon saw in his eyes the same frenzy that he himself felt when he danced with an opponent. Ray avoided Quickstab by a hair¡¯s breath, but Devon felt like the man didn¡¯t seem all that pressured by the attack. Devon jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the slash that was aimed at him. He can dodge Quickstab? His dexterity must be absurdly high. If Quickstab could be dodged then continuing to use it would only continue to leave openings for Ray to exploit. Devon briefly considered that Ray might be using a skill to boost his reaction speed to avoid incoming attacks, but realized it didn¡¯t matter. Even if the man needed to use a skill to avoid his skill, it just meant they would enter into a battle of attrition if Devon kept trying to Quickstab. And that was a battle that heavily favored Ray. Not only did stabbing leave him open for Ray to counterattack, but due to being a lower level Devon would more likely be the one to run out of mana first. Devon shifted his stance to use the spear as more of a quarterstaff. Activate skill; Shatter. When Ray rushed in again Devon swung his spear in an arc, trying to hit the man with a superior range of motion. He felt the might of Shatter fill his strike, but it didn¡¯t matter. Ray ducked down and slid along the sandy floor toward Devon, that sadistic smile still on his face. But that was what Devon had been expecting him to do. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. He raised his boot before viciously stomping down, filling his kick with the strength given from Bone Breaker. But Ray moved like a whirlwind. He pushed his shortsword up into Devon¡¯s descending foot before moving aside like paper in the wind. The momentum of Bone Breaker couldn¡¯t be easily stopped once started, so Devon¡¯s foot was brought to the ground with the full power of his skill. The shortsword Ray had stabbed into his foot was sent straight through and out the top. Devon scowled from the pain of having his foot skewered, but the pain wasn¡¯t nearly enough to overwhelm him. He pulled his boot up and yanked the shortsword out at the same time Ray brought yet another one of the weapons out of his inventory. There¡¯s no way he can move that way without the help of a skill, but there isn¡¯t anything I can do to catch him. That wasn¡¯t strictly true, it was just that Devon didn¡¯t like either of his offensive options. They both relied upon his amplification gem. The first was an amplified Quickstab, but if Ray¡¯s skill surpassed the speed of Devon¡¯s amped Quickstab then it would absolutely leave Devon open, and Ray would likely be able to get a lethal blow in. The second option was using amplified Adrenaline, but Devon wouldn¡¯t go down that road again unless he absolutely had to. So he decided to opt for a different strategy. He''d buy time. ¡°Tell me, are your killings meant to serve a purpose, or are you just twisted on the inside?¡± ¡°What an old world way of thinking. Let me ask you this instead; am I the deranged one for killing, or is it this world that is deranged for allowing, no, encouraging me to kill?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re the type to shove all of your sins onto the world to pretend like you haven¡¯t done anything wrong, huh?¡± ¡°Not at all. What I¡¯m saying is that everything is a matter of perception, and that¡¯s truer here than it ever was back on earth. Do you know what I did back on earth? I worked a standard 9 to 5, maintained amiable relationships with friends and coworkers, everything of that nature. I was normal. But here¡¯s what you people don¡¯t seem to understand about this new reality. I¡¯m still normal.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s normal to go around killing anybody you feel like? Funny, don¡¯t see any of the rest of us doing that.¡± ¡°Of course, most still bend the knee to social customs that no longer matter. If the system didn¡¯t like what I was doing then it would penalize me, but instead it rewards me for killing those hapless fools.¡± ¡°Using the system as an excuse?¡± Ray sighed, ¡°This is the problem with all you people, you see anything that doesn¡¯t align with how your view of the world should be as a problem. But what you fail to realize is that your opinions on what others do don¡¯t matter. What truly matters is whether you have the strength to enforce what you believe. And if you lack the strength to do that then your ideals are as meaningless as dust in the wind.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really care about the philosophical debate too much, honestly. I wouldn¡¯t have even cared what you did if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that your actions directly interfere with my objective.¡± ¡°And what, pray tell, is your objective? To stop the overseers? To save all of the people dragged from their ordinary lives into this tutorial?¡± ¡°You¡­ you knew?¡± ¡°About the overseers plotting to kill us all? Naturally. Anyone with half a brain could figure it out.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point of slaughtering people that could help fight against them?¡± ¡°I have no intention of fighting against them or saving anybody here. Once the thirty days are up I shall take all the strength I have accumulated and find a way to leave this place. Even up on this island in the sky there are ways for a resourceful individual to leave. But you never answered the question, so let me ask it again. What exactly is your objective?¡± ¡°To stop the slaughter, obviously.¡± Devon said, but he couldn¡¯t help but notice a hint of hesitation in his own voice. ¡°Is it? There are many ways you could go about doing it, but you don¡¯t seem to be doing any of them. Instead of creating a united front you¡¯ve let humanity divide itself, as it is so apt to do.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Before you give yet another half hearted answer let me ask you this. Do you truly care about more than a select few people here?¡± ¡°Kh!¡± Ray didn¡¯t give Devon the time to respond, instead rushing hm down once again. Devon went on the defensive, blocking every attack Ray made with his new shortsword, but it didn¡¯t seem to matter. For every strike and every slash blocked a new cut appeared somewhere on Devon¡¯s body. So it¡¯s a guaranteed hit type of effect. Still, these slashes do almost no real damage. All they are is surface wounds, and I¡¯ve grown far beyond the point of caring about some measly paper cuts. Their fight continued, and Devon tried to mix in some feints and counterattacks, but Ray was just too slippery. But what unnerved Devon the most wasn¡¯t the accumulating wounds on his body or even his inability to fight back. He saw within Ray¡¯s eyes the fire he himself had felt several times now, the sensation of dancing on that line between life and death. Why? Why can¡¯t I bring forth that feeling as well? ¡°You seem troubled!¡± Ray taunted as he dashed all around, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look like you¡¯re missing something. Did my words strike a chord in your heart? Maybe you¡¯re just like me after all!¡± Devon blocked a savage attack from Ray, who seemed to have entered a battle frenzy. A new slash appeared on Devon¡¯s face, but he paid it no mind. ¡°Sorry, but unlike you I take no comfort in meaningless deaths.¡± ¡°And yet you crave the thrill, that excitement that comes when your life in on the line. I see, you¡¯re confused why it isn¡¯t coming to you now, right?¡± Devon jerked his head up, then scowled at how easily he¡¯d been read. ¡°You know why I¡¯m feeling it and you¡¯re not? Because you failed to realize the true source of that feeling, that sensation. It only appears when you stake your existence on a conflict you desire.¡± ¡°Oh, I desire your death.¡± ¡°Yes, but for all the wrong reasons. To you, I¡¯m just a bother. Something more akin to an annoyance than a true adversary. You want me dead so you can go on to do something, but you haven¡¯t even decided what it is you want to do!¡± Several more strikes blocked, several more slashes appeared on Devon¡¯s body. ¡°So I ask again!¡± Ray¡¯s voice had risen with his bloodlust, and he was all but shouting at Devon now, ¡°What is your objective? Come on! Cast aside everything you couldn¡¯t give less of a shit about and tell me! What is it you desire!?¡± Before Devon could answer the wooden flooring behind him exploded. 41 - Birth of a Schemer Trey climbed out of the hole he¡¯d made in the trap door. His leather protection was scuffed up almost everywhere and he was covered in monster gore, but he didn¡¯t seem any worse for wear. ¡°What, you still haven¡¯t dealt with this guy?¡± Trey said, grunting as he vaulted back up onto solid ground. ¡°He¡¯s a slippery fucker, alright?¡± ¡°You know, if I¡¯d known it was someone who specialized in tanking I probably wouldn¡¯t have bothered knocking you down there,¡± Ray said with a smug grin, ¡°After all, there¡¯s no way someone who¡¯s as slow and bulky as you could ever catch up to me.¡± Ray launched into his barrage of chained attacks once again, and Devon scowled when he realized the murderer was only targeting him. So he wants to take me out first, huh? However, a bright light shone from Trey¡¯s mace, distracting both Ray and Devon. Trey locked his eyes on the fleeting form of Ray and muttered, ¡°Smite,¡± While swinging his mace in the man¡¯s direction. A bolt of pure energy arced between the mace and Ray. The dextrous man avoided it in the split second before it would hit, but the bolt curved unnaturally and the man was blown back into the wall. Activate amplification gem. Activate skill; Quickstab. Devon¡¯s spear pierced forward in a flash, easily impaling straight through Ray¡¯s abdomen and digging into the dirt wall of the burrow. Ray tried to pry the spear out of the wall, but all his feeble attempt accomplished was further damaging his innards, causing a rush of blood to come pouring out of his mouth. ¡°Just because I can take a few hits doesn¡¯t necessarily mean I¡¯m a physical fighter,¡± Trey said solemnly. ¡°Heh, guess I shouldn¡¯t have assumed,¡± Ray said before another mouthful of blood spilled out. Trey stroked his goatee while looking at Ray¡¯s incapacitated figure, ¡°Now, how do we get you back to camp? There¡¯s a lot of people who want justice for loved ones you¡¯ve killed, you know.¡± ¡°Mind waiting a bit?¡± Ray asked through the pain of being skewered, ¡°I still haven¡¯t heard an answer.¡± Ray¡¯s eye burrowed into Devon, demanding an answer with an almost fanatical curiosity. Why do this man¡¯s words resound with me so much? What is it I really want here? When he¡¯d been thrust into this strange place with this strange system it had felt like all of his limitations had been lifted. Here, everyone could become like the make believe heroes and warriors out of fantastical stories. It was true that when he¡¯d first learned of the overseer¡¯s goal his first instinct had been to make a plan to save everyone. It was common sense to look after each other after all, wasn¡¯t it? But common sense on earth wasn¡¯t truly applicable here. Especially not after everything he''d lived through. It¡¯s only been two weeks since we arrived in this place and yet I am already so changed. He knew the cause, of course. The memory dungeon had molded and scarred him irrevocably, and there was no point in wishing for the old and naive Devon back. His first priority was and would always be self preservation, followed by the pursuit of power. Yes, power is essential. Back on earth knowledge and a good career path determined a person¡¯s outlook. But here¡­ here power trumped all. This desire was not born out of greed but rather need. Even somebody as great as the cursed king had been brought low because they hadn¡¯t had the power needed to protect themselves against any possible enemy. I need the power to prevent anything this shitty system will try to throw at me. Yes¡­ even if it pits me against gods and demons. Even if I must abandon who I was and forge a new self, a new ego. Even if I have to go against everything this universe has to offer. The image of that terrible fist descending from the heavens was still fresh in his mind, but now Devon found it to be a symbol of his resolve rather than one of fear. In this world it was possible, even for a cursed being, to become as a god. And it didn¡¯t matter how many stepping stones needed to be left in his wake. Schemer¡¯s Ambition detected. Auto-generating Scheme¡­ Done. Accept Scheme? [Birth of A Schemer] Accept Scheme. Immediate Task auto-generated: [Recruit a Powerful Piece] ¡°Trey,¡± Devon said to his still musing friend, ¡°We won¡¯t be taking him back.¡± Trey looked at him in surprise, ¡°You want to kill him?¡± ¡°No, I want you to kill him.¡± Trey¡¯s gaze hardened when he realized what Devon meant, but Devon just stared back, resolute. Ray stayed blessedly silent, though his gaze widened in expectation and anticipation. ¡°Why? We could easily keep him alive and take him back to face justice.¡± ¡°Yes, we could. It would be quite easy to amputate his limbs and drag him back. That way we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about him trying anything.¡± Ray¡¯s face slightly paled at that, but he still said nothing. ¡°So then why do you want to kill him?¡± Devon said nothing. Trey¡¯s gaze narrowed, ¡°Why do you want me to kill him?¡± ¡°Will you kill him, or won¡¯t you?¡± Devon realized he was being evasive, denying Trey the information he needed to make a critical decision. But this was a test. A measure of how Trey reacted, and whether Devon would have to go down this path alone. When Trey realized Devon had no intention of answering the question he changed his approach, ¡°Fine, let me ask something else. I think our friend wanted to know this as well. What is your objective?¡± Devon looked Trey over, gauging his expression. But Trey was as good at putting on a poker face as Devon was, and his expression revealed nothing.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Even when asked to commit murder there is no hint of confusion in his eyes, no evidence of frustration or outrage in his voice¡­ Very well, if we are at a deadlock then I may as well lay it all on the table. Devon had been toying with the idea for several days now, but he hadn¡¯t had the resolve to even think about actually implementing it. Devon took a deep breath before he said, ¡°I will sow animosity and strife between the two camps to orchestrate an inevitable conflict between them. If this battle occurs on the day that the period of protection ends then the overseers will be forced into a decision. Either they allow their precious farm animals to eat each other or step in to join the fray before they miss their opportunity.¡± Trey frowned, ¡°Is that truly the answer you¡¯ve come to? There¡¯s nothing else? Nothing we can do to bring back some hint of the sanity we once had into this cruel new world?¡± ¡°If there is then it would be news to me,¡± Devon said, ¡°But none of the other options I¡¯ve considered have any real chance of success.¡± ¡°I want to hear why.¡± Devon sighed. It would be irritating to go over several days worth of contemplating, but he supposed there was no other choice. After all, when taken at face value the plan was absurd in the extreme. Yet everything else was flawed in ways that were almost imperceptible unless you looked at the big picture. ¡°The most simple possibility is that of unification. We force the two camps to merge and form a united front against the overseers. If necessary we could dissolve Plainstown entirely and purge the weak to then meld with Arkania. However, this option is mired in numerous factors that we¡¯d have absolutely no control over that could ruin the operation. ¡°First, differences in ideology between both camps will create friction and distrust, but without any spark it will only result in both groups'' focus being significantly diminished. Entering a struggle where unity is paramount with this kind of fractured force would only end poorly. ¡°Second is the biggest and most important problem with any plan involving unity and cooperation; the attrition issue. It¡¯s something we can¡¯t get around no matter what we do, no matter how we do it. ¡°The overseers are monitoring us constantly, which means they¡¯ll witness anything we try to do, including spreading the truth. But the real problem is how they can use what they know. If we unify both camps and create a unified front against the overseers then several things could happen. ¡°If they examine our combined power and find us to be the same weak and pathetic creatures we came here as, which they would know because they¡¯re watching us, they¡¯ll roll right over us. But far more likely what will happen is they¡¯ll see a force they didn¡¯t expect to be nearly as strong as it is, and decide to take a different approach. ¡°They¡¯ll wear us down. They have the extreme advantage in that they don¡¯t have settlements to protect, people to worry about and feed. They¡¯re fully capable of being entirely self-sustaining and organizing coordinated attacks. Any hunting party that scavenges for food becomes a prime target, yet we can¡¯t reinforce the hunting parties or else the base settlements will be attacked instead. The camps would start to starve and likely give in to desperation, throwing any chance of a coordinated effort out the window. This issue remains whether or not we merge the camps, so there''s little point in a merger when it''ll just end the same way. ¡°So unification and fighting defensively isn¡¯t an option. This leaves the option of offense, yet this too is unlikely to work. ¡°You might think I mean we wait till the period of protection is over, gather as much strength as we can before going on the offense as we can, but I don¡¯t because that simply brings us back to the attrition issue. What I¡¯m referring to is preemptively performing assassinations of the overseers before the 30 days are up. Those who struck the killing blows would lose their protected status, but it would be an easy price to pay for thinning their numbers before everyone¡¯s protected status goes. ¡°But if we do that there¡¯s a few things they might do in response. First, they disappear into the wild or retreat back into the absolute safety of their camp, leaving the level 50s who we can¡¯t at the moment kill to keep an eye on things. Then we come back to the attrition issue once the 30 days are up. The second thing they might do would be even worse. ¡°I¡¯ve come to get a pretty good grip on how the system works. If the overseers decide to break the agreement they made with the system for the right to host a tutorial and kill someone before their protected status is up it will most likely levy a mark of karmic disdain on them like it did to me. But these marks would probably only apply to the individual that broke the system¡¯s mandate, and such an individual would be free to do almost anything they wanted." He hadn''t thought about it at the time, but when he''d killed his second and third overseers the system hadn''t offered any words of protest as it had done on that first night. ¡°If the overseers judge us to be a genuine threat before the end of the protection period then they may decide that our existence constitutes a bigger threat than being cursed by the system. Perhaps the most efficient way they could accomplish this would be to assign an executioner. One overseer, anyone in the level 50s or even Val Kazar, could act as the executioner of those they deem to be threats. ¡°The final option is the least likely to succeed but it¡¯s still worth mentioning. We¡¯re on a sky island, but that doesn¡¯t mean the possibility of leaving this place doesn¡¯t exist. One possible solution would be using hang gliders to depart from the summit of the mountain to reach any of the neighboring sky islands. Even if they couldn''t make the journey normally there''s a basic wind spell in the terminal that could be bought to extend the range of the gliders to get to wherever we need to go. ¡°There are other options of escape as well, but all of them require construction of a means of transportation. This might work for a single person, as Ray here was trying to do, but it wouldn¡¯t work for a large group. Or to be specific, the overseers wouldn¡¯t allow it to work for a large group. It would be impossible to keep the work hidden considering the necessary scale of the project, and then we arrive at either the problem of the overseers destroying what we¡¯ve created in an attempt to thwart our plan or the executioner possibility comes back into play.¡± Devon summed everything up, "I suppose you could say every option is a gamble. Instead of any of these options riddled with issues, I will orchestrate a conflict between the humans that comes close to threatening mutual annihilation and gamble upon the overseer''s arrogance and greed that they will not allow their precious exp to be squandered in vain. Instead of a protracted conflict, what I desire is a decisive battle, a singular moment in which every fate hangs in the balance." Trey stopped him there, ¡°If you don¡¯t care for the people trapped here within the tutorial then why don¡¯t you just take that route? It would be extraordinarily easy for you to do with how well you know the mountain.¡± ¡°Because this is the point at which we define ourselves. That¡¯s what the tutorial is, an isolated environment meant to draw out a person¡¯s true character, one they may never have been able to express in their old world and may never be able to draw out in the future. If I run away here and now, then all I will ever be is a coward. This struggle is one that defines our existence.¡± He felt his blood rush at the idea of the scene, ¡°I will create a conflict so muddled and murky that the old concepts of right and wrong are left by the wayside like trash on the road. And upon that stage, that thin line that separates life and death¡­ I shall dance.¡± "I see¡­ So you want me to do the deed because you aren''t sure if I have the stomach to join you on such a venture," Trey muttered softly. Devon nodded in response. Trey looked away, towards the blank cave wall and closed his eyes in contemplation. Devon let him think in silence. When he finally spoke, Trey said, ¡°When we first came here¡­ I thought I must be going crazy. That a world with such game-like principles could exist seemed like something out of a delusion. But when you came to me and Eve and told us of the overseer¡¯s plot¡­ I can¡¯t deny I felt a thrill deep in my heart. ¡°I thought to myself that this was a chance to be something beyond anything I¡¯ve ever dreamed¡­ To be a hero, like out of the stories and comics we¡¯ve read. ¡°But since that time I¡¯ve seen more death in this place than I thought I¡¯d see in my entire life. I¡¯ve asked myself over and over why such a cruel reality would exist, why I¡¯d have the misfortune of being thrust into this horrible situation. I¡¯ve kept myself going because of that dream, that ideal of being able to be a hero to everyone locked in this place. ¡°But you¡¯re right. Banding together and saving everyone is nothing more than vain idealism. If this world is cruel then to survive there¡¯s no choice but to cast aside my naivety and accept that I¡¯ll have to match it.¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Trey looked back at Devon, a fierce fire burning in his eyes, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s better to say that there never could have been anything resembling a hero to begin with in this world.¡± He lifted up his club and stepped over to Ray, whose blood had trailed down the wall and was pooling on the floor. Trey looked the pale man straight in the eye and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve kept your trap shut this long so I¡¯ll give you the chance. Any last words?¡± ¡°Heh. I wish only that I could have seen the storm you two will rip across this world, and all the worlds beyond,¡± Ray said with a smile. Despite the pain and the blood loss Devon still saw that spark of passion within the man¡¯s eyes, and Devon knew he spoke the truth. With a resounding thud and the sound of a crushed watermelon Ray¡¯s head was caved in, sending blood and brain matter all over the cave. Trey took the sight in and breathed in deep. Then he turned to Devon, blood splattered all over his face and armor, and asked, ¡°So, what¡¯s the first step?¡± 42 - The First Step I When Devon and Trey exited Ray¡¯s burrow they found Zane waiting outside. The elusive man took one look over Trey¡¯s blood splattered figure and Devon''s red slicked spear and nodded. They didn¡¯t need to spell out the fact that the matter was settled. Zane left without a single word. Trey and Devon returned to Plainstown in silence. They had already worked out everything they needed for the immediate future within the solitude of Ray¡¯s hideaway. There was no need to further discuss such matters in the open, where anything could be overheard by the overseer that stalked Trey¡¯s every step. The silence allowed Devon to fully contemplate what he¡¯d learned from the fight. Ray had gone further into specialization than anyone else Devon had yet fought. The man had been astoundingly fast, so much so that Devon wondered if he¡¯d bothered investing a single free point in anything else. Despite his guaranteed hit effect, his attacks had all been incredibly weak. Still, Devon couldn¡¯t deny how frustrating it was to fight an opponent so slippery that he couldn¡¯t even land a single attack. I need to refine Quickstab next. I don¡¯t ever want to be in a position again where I lose to overwhelming speed. He felt like he could deal with almost anything else so long as he stayed within his weight class. Overwhelming strength could be avoided, and vitality and endurance could be whittled down. The only other one he wasn¡¯t sure of was arcane. There was just too much unknown there, but since the arcane stat seemed to act as both a measure of skill and resistance then he¡¯d at least be able to take a hit or two. He looked over at the system notifications he¡¯d gotten. Task [Recruit a Powerful Piece] has been completed. Auto-generating Tasks based on intent¡­ Done. Scheme Task [Setting the Stage] added. Potential Scheme sub-Plot detected. Accept sub-Plot? [The First Step] Tasks: [Assume Identity], [Distribute Ill-gotten Gains] Accept Plot. Confirmed. A sub-plot, huh? Devon looked in his list of plots and schemes and saw that the sub-plot took the space of a normal plot. So it¡¯s meant to act as supplementary gains on the path to achieving the primary goal, huh? Basically, the profession was set up so that the biggest goals were prioritized over anything else. If additional power needed to be accumulated on the path to achieving the overarching goal then it would generate a sub-plot to keep the user on track. Else they might feel the need to go off and create unrelated plots only to gain more strength. Devon couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly at how the system called Trey a ¡®piece.¡¯ When Eve had been the target of his previous plot it had called her a powerful warrior, not a piece. Yes, that woman is certainly too much of a wild card to possibly call a piece. A piece is something that I can control, move as I desire. It didn¡¯t feel right to think of Trey that way, but that was the easiest way for him to visualize the world around him. Devon would be the master who moved pieces from the shadows, and Trey would be his linchpin, the one that held everything Devon could not directly touch together on the board. When they returned to Plainstown they went about business as usual. Trey greeted people while Devon went off to maintain his gear. On the surface nothing had changed. But that was just for today. Tomorrow everything would begin.
Lex sighed as she worked on her next project. She¡¯d be lying if she said she didn¡¯t particularly mind the break from her office job the tutorial presented. But after two weeks spent here she felt like she was ready to go back home. She had no talent for fighting, so she¡¯d been relegated to crafting. It had been rewarding at first, but she quickly realized she was falling into the same basic pattern she¡¯d lived back on earth. Wake up, go to work, get paid, eat, sleep. Except here there were none of the friends she¡¯d liked to hang out with, and no family to confide in. She missed her comfy couch and bed, and wanted more than anything to go back and finish the show she¡¯d started before being sent here. Still, she was glad that word had been spread yesterday that the ladder killer had finally been stopped. That was the title people had given to the person who''d been killing rankers. Even if she wasn''t someone who would have been targeted it felt good to know there was one less psycho out there. She put down the piece she was working on when someone stepped in front of her stand. ¡°Oh, Terance!¡± She said, happy to see him. Terance wasn¡¯t one of the camp¡¯s heavy hitters by any means, yet almost everyone knew him because of how much positivity he brought to the camp. He chatted with anybody, and always put on a smile. He was only level 17, but he frequently went out with parties much higher level than him because he played more of a support role. Almost all of the camp¡¯s warriors knew him as a reliable companion, and nearly everyone else knew him as a trusted friend.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Hey Lex,¡± He said, and she felt a soft flutter in her chest at the realization that he¡¯d remembered her name from the single time he¡¯d bought something from her before. ¡°Uh, hi. What do you need?¡± She asked, shoving her recent project aside. ¡°I was actually wondering if you might want to take a look at some stuff I found,¡± He said, reaching into his tile. Lex¡¯s brain automatically switched into business mode as she looked over the things Terance put on the table. There were several different types of materials, but all of them were extremely exotic. Lex hadn¡¯t seen any of their like before, but she innately felt that some of them were very high quality. ¡°Where the heck did you get this stuff? I haven¡¯t seen anything like it¡­¡± Lex asked, bewildered. She knew that they were in a completely different world, but even still. Some of the stuff he¡¯d pulled out of his inventory looked truly alien. ¡°I found this really interesting spot, but I kinda wanna keep it on the down low, okay?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Okay.¡± It was usually standard procedure around Plainstown to share information so as to better the group as a whole, but Lex supposed it was na?ve to believe that everyone shared that mentality. Of course people were going to want to keep prime hunting or gathering spots to themselves. ¡°Still,¡± She said, ¡°A lot of these things are materials I don¡¯t really work with. You¡¯d have much better luck taking it around.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. But I¡¯m not as familiar with what everyone is specializing in, so I figured I¡¯d take it all to someone who¡¯s more knowledgeable.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­. fine, but-¡° ¡°I know, I know. I¡¯m not going to ask for payment for items you can¡¯t properly assess. So how about I come back tomorrow and you can let me know how much each thing was worth, and who I should just take it to direct next time?¡± The request was honestly way outside the bounds of what she normally did, but when Terance mentioned that he¡¯d come back tomorrow as well¡­ ¡°Yeah, okay. I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± ¡°Great!¡± He said, and his smile made her have to turn around, lest he see how hard she was blushing. When she turned back, he was gone. ¡°Someone¡¯s got a crush,¡± The vendor next to her snarkily said. Lex spent the rest of the day going around and assessing the various materials Terance had brought her. She was surprised when everyone who saw them had an even higher opinion of their quality than she did. When they desperately asked where she¡¯d gotten them she just smiled and said it was a secret. Later that evening, about an hour before the suns set over the mountain, she was happily counting out the money she¡¯d gotten from selling Terance¡¯s materials. They¡¯d netted what could be considered a small fortune in this world, almost 1000 talons. Of course, she¡¯d keep maybe a hundred of that for herself since she¡¯d had to spend her day going around and distributing the stuff, but it was a seriously great haul. She noticed entirely too late that the street around her had gotten eerily quiet. When she looked out of her stall to see what was happening she recoiled at the figure that stood before her humble place of business. The large and scaled body of one of the overseers stood before her, its imposing presence cowing any curiosity she¡¯d felt just a moment before. But what truly terrified her was the rage that burned within the creature¡¯s cold reptilian eyes. And those eyes were fixed on her. [Overseer Kal¡¯o Kir ¨C Level 47] The scene that had been burned into her mind on the first day, of the overseers mercilessly cutting people down, replayed itself in her mind. She let out a strangled cry of panic and tried to run away, to flee anywhere she could, but she found a scaled hand around her throat before she could move more than a few inches. She was turned to face the overseer, then lifted off the ground by the hand that gripped her neck. She struggled and beat against it, wondering what she could have possibly done to deserve this. She felt tears run down her cheeks. She didn¡¯t want to die today. ¡°Where¡­¡± The overseer said slowly, its speech forcibly translated in her ears by the omniversal language function. She hadn¡¯t picked the function up herself, she had no need of it, so it must have been the overseer¡¯s doing. ¡°Where did you get the things you had.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question, it was a demand. A demand for an answer she would have to give, or she would die. But she didn¡¯t understand. ¡°What?¡± She gasped out. ¡°The things you distributed today! Where did you get them?¡± It shouted at her, its patience waning. All around the street everyone had stopped to witness the sight of the overseer. They stood in deathly stillness and silence, as though afraid one wrong move would turn the creature¡¯s wrath on them. ¡°Terance¡­¡± It took every ounce of her meager strength to spit out the words that would save her life, ¡°I got them from the hunter Terance¡­¡± She crumpled to the ground, violently coughing as the overseer released its grip on her neck. For a minute she strained to regain her sense of reason. She had survived, it wasn¡¯t going to choke her out there on that spot. She faintly smiled at that before she realized what she¡¯d done. The overseer had never cared about her at all, it simply wanted to know where the items she¡¯d sold had come from. And she¡¯d just served Terance up on a plate. The vendor from the stall beside hers was at her side before she even realized it, helping her to her feet. Together they followed in the wake of the overseer. When they caught up they saw a crowd of people surrounding an open area with the overseer and Terance. Unlike how it had dealt with her, the overseer stood a small distance away from Terance. But it did have a savage looking axe drawn, and its gaze was even more focused than before. ¡°Where did you get the materials you gave to the one known as Lex?¡± The overseer¡¯s body language told everyone who witnessed the scene that it was ready to strike if Terance made a single move. ¡°What? What the hell are you talking about?¡± Sweat poured down Terance¡¯s face as he was forced to stay rooted to the spot, ¡°I don¡¯t have any idea who you¡¯re talking about! I was sleeping all day!¡± Lex felt something break inside her. The man she¡¯d thought had seemed to be the most likable of the group was trying to pin whatever this was on her, when she didn¡¯t have anything to do with the stuff that he had brought her. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Trey, the one everyone looked to as the leader of Plainstown muscled his way into the clearing. ¡°Trey! Come on, tell this thing my guard shift ended earlier so I went to sleep! Remember, I passed off my shift to you personally! I don¡¯t have any idea what it¡¯s talking about!¡± Trey frowned, ¡°What the hell are you talking about? I was out surveying a potential hunting ground today.¡± Terance opened his mouth to say something, but before a sound could be uttered his head was slit in two by the overseer¡¯s axe. [Notice] Overseer Kal¡¯o Kir has killed initiate Terance. Kal¡¯o Kir¡¯s Overseer status has been rescinded. Several cries of panic and anger could be heard from the crowd, but Lex was deaf to the world. All she understood was that the one she¡¯d had a crush on was killed before her eyes. Ah, that¡¯s right. How could I have forgotten? I¡¯d grown so used to the presence of these overseers constantly looking over our shoulders that I forgot what they truly are. Monsters. 43 - The First Step II Val Kazar couldn¡¯t believe how out of hand things had gotten. First had been the matter of the human called Devon killing the chief¡¯s daughter. Then Kal¡¯o Dar went missing. Then Yur Kazak turned up dead. And now¡­ Now Kal¡¯o Kir had gone and killed one of the humans. When the report that the humans of the plains settlement had somehow gotten their hands on strange crafting materials Val Kazar hadn¡¯t paid much mind. He was still busy going over the case of Yur Kazak¡¯s death, and figured it wouldn¡¯t matter what kind of natural treasure the humans had found. It would be theirs in the end anyway. And so the mistake was ultimately his for not realizing the significance of as of yet unseen materials appearing within the tutorial. Kal¡¯o Kir hadn¡¯t been nearly as oblivious. And now Val Kazar had to deal with the aftermath. The dichotomy between the two different camps of humans was something he¡¯d taken as an extremely fortuitous event. The plains settlement would have been perfectly suited for their less experienced warriors to get real-world experience in the takeover of passive settlements, and the forest camp would have suited their more bloodthirsty warriors craving for battle. But now the status quo had been completely overturned in the plains. Most of the humans hadn¡¯t yet evolved past their instincts as pack animals, and would see the death of one of their own as something that could not be overlooked. Still, it wasn¡¯t like the situation was a total loss. Kal¡¯o Kir¡¯s outrage had caused her to put herself in a position that Val Kazar desperately needed. Once the tutorial was over her head would likely be taken by the chief, to make use of her new status as a cursed being. But until then¡­ He would have use for one who was no longer bound by the limitations of an overseer. *** Devon watched Terance¡¯s public execution through the eyes of Gregor. He pitied the man, he truly did. It was entirely unjust that Terance had been used as his catalyst, but that was just the way it was. Terance had simply been the perfect candidate for his plan. Known by everyone and with a reputation to match his popularity, there wasn¡¯t a soul in Plainstown that wouldn¡¯t feel the weight of his death. Most important of all was that he hadn¡¯t been even close to the elite. He¡¯d gone on hunts here and there and helped out in various ways, sure. But in the grand scheme of things his practical value was about nil. The girl, Lex, had played her part to perfection as well. He¡¯d needed someone na?ve enough that they never would have suspected that the person they were talking to wasn¡¯t the person they assumed. It was the greatest danger in his ploy, that the one he interacted with would grow suspicious and examine him. His name would have said Terance, but his level would have immediately tipped them off that something was wrong since The Mask didn''t have a setting for changing what level it displayed, and could only display his true level, 33. In all honesty, he hadn¡¯t expected things to escalate so fast. He¡¯d anticipated a thorough examination of the camp¡¯s goods and activities by the overseers. Not enough to harm them, but enough to plant the seed of dissatisfaction and distrust. That was the purpose of step one, to sow dissent among the humans of the tutorial towards the overseers. The people of Plainstown¡¯s view of the overseers was until now entirely too passive for Devon¡¯s scheme to come to fruition. In the eventual clash that he was orchestrating, if the gullible residents of Plainstown found themselves beset by the overseers he anticipated they¡¯d react much like headless chickens, too confused to do anything but stand there dumbly before they got cut down. But if he planted the seed of doubt in their minds early¡­ The troublesome part was that such a seed couldn¡¯t come from word of mouth. Especially in Plainstown, the likelihood that the people would simply brush off any allegations that didn¡¯t fit how they wished to world to be was extremely high. People were stupid, but that stupidity could still be used if the correct kind of pressure was used. Apply a bit of external force instead of internal, and you got mob mentality. ¡°Murderer!¡± Somebody yelled out from the crowd. Several other shouts and outbursts erupt from the crowd before one rang out stronger than the rest. ¡°Monsters!¡± Lex shouted out. Others around her quickly picked up the moniker and echoed it. Soon the entire area was screaming cries of ¡®Monster.¡¯ ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Trey roared, silencing the crowd with his sheer presence. He turned to the overseer with a look of fury, ¡°Get out.¡± The ex-overseer matched his gaze with a look of disdain, but said nothing. ¡°Get the fuck out, or I won¡¯t be responsible for what happens next.¡± They stared each other down for several more seconds before the reptilian form of Kal¡¯o Kir turned and made for the exit. The murmuring of a restless crowd started as soon as the Vishan was gone, and Trey did nothing to silence it. Susan walked into the clearing and sadly looked down upon the body of Terance. Trey looked to her and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, can you take care of his burial?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Susan said solemnly.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Trey stormed off, but Devon stayed to watch how the crowd¡¯s reaction would develop. Shortly after, Devon accepted the messaging prompt from Trey. They¡¯d decided that all of their conversations that needed to stay between just the two of them would be better kept in a place nobody could possibly overhear. [Trey] That was fucked. [Devon] Yeah. [Trey] Your prediction of what would happen was off by about infinity and a half. How the fuck did this happen? Devon didn''t blame Trey for being aggravated. A death in the streets was a far cry from the economic pressure he''d anticipated. Still, it sped things along much quicker than expected. [Devon] Calm down. Did you catch the name of that Vishan? [Trey] No, I didn¡¯t particularly care. All I noticed was that they were level 47. [Devon] When I was in the mountains I killed an overseer named Kal¡¯o Dar. It¡¯s where I got all that stuff in the first place. The Vishan that we just watched kill Terance was named Kal¡¯o Kir. [Trey] You think they were related somehow? [Devon] Yeah, which would explain why they had such a visceral reaction to us spreading Kal¡¯o Dar¡¯s keepsakes around. [Trey] Even if that¡¯s true, it doesn¡¯t leave us in a good spot. Terance, who was supposed to be a symbol for us, is now dead with his head split open. And even better, they¡¯ve got their executioner now. [Devon] Not so fast. Just because Terance is dead doesn¡¯t mean he isn¡¯t a symbol. If anything, his death will represent something far more powerful than if they''d simply decided to abuse him. [Trey] That doesn¡¯t solve the issue of them having their executioner. [Devon] No, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll be as big of an issue as you¡¯d think. [Trey] What? How is them having someone that can come around and kill us anytime they feel like it not a massive issue? [Devon] Because we¡¯ve forced them to play their hand. It doesn¡¯t matter how powerful a card is, if you expose it to your enemies then by default it loses at least half of its true value. [Trey] We¡¯re not talking about a game of poker here, Devon. [Devon] But the metaphor still works. Since we¡¯ve forced them to play their hand we¡¯ve not only acquired extremely important information, but we¡¯ve most likely ensured they won¡¯t have a chance to play it in the future. We now know for a fact that the executioner possibility is a valid strategy for them. And even better, we know who the executioner is. Kal¡¯o Kir is level 47, as you said. That by itself is also a massive boon. We know now that their executioner is passionate and prone to outbursts. Imagine if they had taken their time selecting one of the overseers above level 50, one who was level headed and could counter anything we threw at them. [Trey] What¡¯s to stop them from still doing that? [Devon] If my theory is right, Kal¡¯o Kir has probably been cursed by the system, same as me. If my understanding of the culture of the Infinite Realms at large is correct, the curse isn¡¯t something you¡¯d take upon yourself so lightly. Most likely, the other overseers will look to Kal¡¯o Kir and be less willing to accept the curse upon themselves when there¡¯s already a perfectly valid executioner among them. [Trey] So you think we need to move in ways that cause animosity between the executioner Kal¡¯o Kir and the humans, but not bring it to the point where either side would go out of their way to attempt to kill each other. [Devon] Right. That would only result in losses for us. [Trey] We¡¯re treading along a fine line here. [Devon] Indeed, and it¡¯s only going to get harder from here. [Trey] So what¡¯s next? [Devon] I need you to fan the flames here while I work on step two. [Trey] It¡¯s going to be a serious pain to manage all of this and work on leveling up at the same time. [Devon] Yeah, you¡¯re telling me. Connection closed. While the crowd remained in a state of distress and outrage, Devon took the chance to look at the other system notification that had popped up. Plot [The First Step] complete. Calculating resulting Karmic Influence¡­ Done. Minimal Karmic Influence. Calculating difficulty¡­ Done. Complexity set at Normal. Factoring Plot Karmic Influence and Difficulty into reward¡­ Done. [The First Step] added to Completed plots. He went ahead and looked to see what it gave him as well. [The First Step] - Cleared Karmic Influence: Minimal. Complexity: Normal Time investment: ~1 Day Reward: All stats +10. Two levels worth of points, huh? Interesting that it gave me greater rewards than the last plot, despite that one being rated a higher difficulty. Perhaps time investment is weighted more heavily when it comes to distributing rewards, or maybe it has to do with how this time around most of the plot was spent interacting with and manipulating people. Somehow I doubt the system views clearing a dungeon as a very schemer-like thing to do, even if it is more difficult. After a while of lingering among the crowd, feeling out all the residents of Plainstown and gauging reactions, Devon decided to move on. He hopped over to Arkania through the terminal and went right to Phil¡¯s bar. It was amazing what the old man had managed to throw up around himself even in this primal world. Once there he drank a lot and shared the story of what had happened with anyone who would listen. Of course, he was only pretending to drink. Still, the crowd that gathered around him quickly swelled to a bigger size than he¡¯d anticipated. Once he was done for the day he took his leave, thoroughly satisfied with how the first step had gone. The people of Arkania, while by nature self-centered, had voiced a huge amount of negativity towards the overseers at hearing of what happened. At first this seemed to be contradictory to their beliefs of self-sufficiency, but Devon knew it was a part of human nature to sympathize with others in a bad spot. And the overseers made a really easy enemy. It was almost comical. If the overseers had devoted even an iota of time to getting to learn about the humans and teach them then it would have been far harder for Devon to turn everyone against them. But the Vishan didn¡¯t see humanity as their equals in the slightest, and that arrogance had led them to believe that they could do whatever they wanted without any consequences. After all, who would expect a family of squirrels to get in the way of a logging operation? Overnight the overseers had gone from being a symbol of fear and doubt to an emblem of hatred. It was amazing how incredible the turnaround truly was, but then Devon supposed he shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Humanity was good at finding enemies amongst themselves, but such conflicts needed time and motivation to brew. But the Vishan weren¡¯t even human, so there was an inevitable moniker that came with creatures of the unknown, creatures that preyed on the weak and defenseless. Monsters. And if there was one thing that hadn¡¯t ever faded from human culture it was the need to rid themselves of monsters that lurked in the dark. 44 - The Second Step Already day 17, huh? It was amazing how capable humans were at adapting. Devon imagined that if his past self before the tutorial could see him and what he was doing now he doubted he would have recognized himself, and not just because he was currently under the guise of The Mask. At the moment he took the form of Noah, a rather nondescript man if it wasn''t for how buff he was. At first he¡¯d thought it would be annoying to limit how many identities he had due to the limited number of people within the tutorial, but he had quickly realized how flawed that thinking was. Now that a lot of the trailblazers that led the level curve had pulled ahead of him, he was much more free to go around stealing the identities of other people. Terance had been a risk because of the level disparity between him and Devon, but Devon was confident that so long as he took the identities of people that were either the same level or one to two above him there wouldn¡¯t be an issue. He absolutely couldn¡¯t assume the identities of people lower level than him because it would be far too easy for a keen-eyed investigator to figure out what was really happening. For instance, if somebody examined him pretending to be somebody else at level 33 and then later examined the one who he was imitating and found them to be level 32 or 31, they''d know something was wrong. That had been the biggest risk with Terance. On the other hand, it was more acceptable to assume somebody¡¯s identity a level above him because it was becoming second nature to assume that people were constantly in the process of leveling up here, and thus a level disparity of one or two wouldn¡¯t matter that much. Noah, the man he was currently impersonating, was a member of a somewhat notorious gang in Arkania. The forest settlement had several smaller factions that had formed out of similar interests or fighting styles that all bowed the knee to Nix¡¯s authority. Most of these pseudo-gangs didn¡¯t have proper names to them, so he simply remembered them as Noah¡¯s gang. Noah wasn¡¯t actually the leader of the group, but he was one of their heavy hitters, so he could act as something of a spokesperson. Devon sauntered through Plainstown, hiccupping occasionally and generally acting like a stereotypical drunk. He bumped into people, then gave them a disdainful scowl when they tried to admonish him. One of these encounters left the other person sprawled out on the dusty path. They got up and started yelling at Devon angrily, and Devon pretended like it had been their fault entirely. ¡°Hey! What¡¯s going on here?¡± A voice rang out, stopping both Devon and the random person he was scuffling with. Vanir? The youth seemed to be doing a patrol of the settlement and had stumbled upon the two just as they were about to brawl. Devon had been about to beat the random person to a pulp, but he suddenly had a different idea that seemed even better. ¡°This asshole tried to push me out of the way,¡± Devon proclaimed, a slight slur to his speech. ¡°The fuck are you talking about-¡° ¡°Okay, okay. Let¡¯s just cool our jets,¡± Vanir said, stepping between them and pushing them apart. The second Vanir¡¯s hand touched Devon¡¯s chest he violently shoved the youth away. Vanir actually apologized to the other person when he bumped into them, placating them enough to be willing to pass off the problem to the youth. Devon saw the scene and scoffed before chuckling a bit. ¡°Something funny?¡± Vanir asked. ¡°Oh yeah. You, this entire place you lot have got set up here. It¡¯s funny, it really is.¡± ¡°And how¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s funny because it¡¯s a gathering place for pussies.¡± Vanir¡¯s face grew dark as a crowd started to gather around them. Truly, this is the best time to act. The dark mood from yesterday still hangs over this place like a deluge that refuses to let up. Ordinarily, people who were calm and level headed could see through somebody purposefully antagonizing them. It would have been easy for people to normally dismiss Devon¡¯s actions as those of a simple bully who¡¯d gotten a bit too drunk. But people already in a foul mood were easy to stir up, to turn that anger into yet more anger with but a few words. And Devon was going to go beyond just a few words. "What''d you just say?" Vanir asked. His expression was deadpan, but Devon could see by his tensing muscles the youth was about at his snapping point. "You need your ears cleaned or something? I said this camp is full of-" "Vanir, stop this at once!" The voice of an elderly woman broke over the crowd. Vanir winced and looked toward Susan, who had made her way to the front of the crowd and was looking at Vanir. "Back off, granny," Vanir said back, "I didn''t start this, but if this asshole is looking for a fight then I''m gonna give him one." "You''ll do no such thing!" Susan marched forward and grabbed hold of Vanir''s arm. "Heh," Devon muttered as he shifted his weight and kicked some of the mud along the path toward Susan. Vanir shook Susan''s arm off and stepped forward, blocking the mud in midair before it could make contact with Susan. "You bastard, attacking the elderly?" "Pah, I''m amazed you people are still holding onto such relics from the past. What''s the point? In this new world they can''t contribute anything with their broken down bodies, so all they are is dead weight." "You¡­!" "Oh, actually wait, that might not be true," Devon said as he rubbed his chin, "I suppose you could use them for monster bait. Then they wouldn''t be quite so useless anymore!"If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Vanir didn''t even bother replying before rushing forward, a dagger drawn from who knows where. Like when they''d fought before, the kid was almost blindingly fast. But Devon could sense that even through his rage, Vanir didn''t have any intention of seriously hurting him. Still not enough. Come on now, you''ll need a bit more hatred than that. Devon simply raised an arm in defense as Vanir dashed past him, leaving a cut on his arm. He scoffed at the shallow cut, "What, are you trying to prove me right? A paper cut like this isn''t exactly anything special anymore, kid." "Vanir! Stop this-" Devon reached out with his cut arm and grabbed the old woman''s hair as she tried to run past him. She cried out as Devon''s grip threatened to tear her hair from her scalp. "Move it, monster bait. You''re in the way," Devon said before tossing the old lady into a pile of mud on the side of the path. Devon did feel bad about how he was treating the elderly woman, of course. But she was the most effective catalyst in this scenario, so he didn''t hesitate to make use of her. The pain and injury of others weren''t things that mattered much to him anymore, not in a world where any and all injuries could be healed in a matter of minutes by a simple pill. Vanir was on him almost before he had any chance to react. It was all Devon could do to throw out his hand to block the incoming stab. Vanir''s knife plunged into Devon''s hand and he growled, "You fucking asshole, I''ll make you pay!" He''s faster than before. Still, he''s nowhere near as fast as Ray was, so it won''t be an issue. Devon gripped his hand down on Vanir''s over the knife and pulled him in before slamming his fist into the youth''s stomach. The boy was sent flying backwards, and Dev winced as the knife was ripped out of his hand. It only took a moment for the youth to be on him again, but now he was much more ferocious. He attacked from every direction, forcing Devon to dodge the flashing knife as it came within centimeters of cutting him open. On one of the attacks Devon saw Vanir''s eyes open wide, and Devon''s instincts told him the youth was activating some kind of skill. Vanir dashed in close before Devon could react and plunged the knife into his gut. Devon felt several other gashes appear simultaneously in his abdomen. He grunted as he tasted iron in his mouth. The youth looked up at him, "Well? have you had enough yet?" He twisted the knife and Devon gasped out in pain, "Or do I need to make-" Venir''s words were interrupted by Devon grabbing his head with the hand that the dagger had pierced through. "Kh!" Vanir cried out as Devon''s blood splashed into his eyes, blinding him. When the youth stumbled back, trying desperately to wipe the blood from his eyes Devon readied a punch. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. Devon''s unwounded fist slammed into Vanir''s solar plexus, and Devon couldn''t help but wince when he felt several of the youth''s ribs give way under the blow. Vanir was launched backwards, and Devon saw the spurt of blood he puked up as he crashed into a merchant''s stand along the path. "Hah! As I expected, you lot can still only barely tie your shoelaces together. Come back when you aren''t quite so pathetic, boy." Devon stood unflinching as he gave the message, ignoring the pain from his heavily bleeding abdomen. He''d learned from Trey that higher vitality and endurance stats somehow gave the body more blood, so the blood loss from the stab wounds in his abdomen wasn''t nearly as much of an issue anymore. One of the crowd members was force feeding Vanir a healing item as well, which meant Devon didn''t need to worry about the youth, despite the fact that his punch had likely damaged several internal organs. Devon looked through the crowd and was pleased with what he saw. Hatred coursed through the faces of every member of the mob that had gathered to watch. That anger wasn''t just directed at Devon, he knew there would also be the subconscious desire to strike back at the group he belonged to. But his role for today was done. "I think you''ve done more than enough, don''t you?" A strong voice rang through the crowd, drawing the attention of everyone. Trey stood there, fully equipped and looking like he''d just returned from a hunt. His blood-spattered figure only amplified the dangerous look in his eye. "Tsk!" Devon spat to the side, "The big shot of the wimps, huh? Fine then, I''ll leave. This place stinks of cowardice anyway." As Devon stalked past Trey towards the terminal he sent a message to the man. [Devon] All right, your turn now. [Trey] Yeah, leave it to me. Step two in the scheme to rile up the residents of Plainstown was extremely simple. Devon would come in and cause a commotion, then Trey would swoop in after the people''s anger had been roused. Not only would this help promote Trey''s status as a leader, but it put him in the perfect position to comment on how awful the people of Arkania were. I plant the seed, then Trey gives it a little positive reinforcement. The encounter had been good for gaining insights too. Devon found the skill Vanir had used extremely interesting. When he examined his stomach back in his mountain hideout he found two identical stab wounds beside the initial Vanir had created when he''d plunged his knife into Devon''s stomach, although they were only about half as deep as the initial cut. He reasoned it was most likely that the skill duplicated any successful attack Vanir made, with the clone attacks being slightly less powerful. What is it with dexterous types and using attacks with guaranteed hit effects? Both Ray and Vanir''s skills applied an effect that seemed unavoidable, but neither was extremely powerful. Sure, in that situation Vanir had essentially stabbed him three times in a single motion, but Devon felt confident that the skill probably had a weakness. Once his stomach was healed and an hour had passed he teleported over to Arkania. He went over to the tent he''d stashed the body of Noah, the one he''d been disguised as. It would be a problem if the person he was under the guise of was able to give a solid alibi after the fact, so he''d enlisted the reluctant help of Phil. The old man had learned quite a lot during his time in the spirit dungeon, and he was able to make an extremely wide array of concoctions besides just drinks. Apparently Irin had called it training in preparation for the true test. He smiled when he saw the still sleeping form of Noah on the cot he''d set up beforehand. This spot had been unoccupied just the day before, which meant there was no reason that anybody besides maybe thieves should have checked on it in the time he''d been gone. If he''d left Noah in his own tent he may have been found by his fellow gang members, thus giving him an alibi. If any of the people Devon disguised himself as could prove they had a solid alibi for the time that Devon spent masquerading as them it might tip off anyone sharp enough to notice the inconsistency that somebody was stirring up trouble. Then the brewing discord between the factions would be turned toward him, the mastermind, and his entire plan would fall apart. Now then¡­ Since there wasn''t a problem with Noah, he moved on to his next course of action. He repeated the process he''d taken with Noah with somebody in Plainstown before disguising himself as that resident and stirring up trouble in Arkania. The Arkanian side of the operation was considerably more dangerous than the Plainstown side. For one, there was no Trey to back him up here. He also had to be mindful that these people were far more likely to lash out with less of a trigger, so he had to be mindful of how hard he pushed here. After a successful incident he backed off, but he found it quite weird that neither Zane or Nix decided to intervene at any point. After he conferred with Phil later that night he learned that Nix apparently hadn''t been seen for several hours, and Zane spent most of his time hunting by himself in seclusion. Still, it didn''t matter much in the end. The day had been highly fruitful. [The Second Step] - Cleared Karmic Influence: Minimal. Complexity: Normal Time investment: ~1 Day Reward: All stats +10. 45 - Compromised Damn it, how long does she intend to make me wait? Devon stood outside the entrance to Plainstown, waiting for Eve to show up. The woman was already half an hour late and had stopped opening his repeated message attempts. He had proposed the idea of the two of them clearing out the remainder of the mountain den dungeon he''d found but had never cleared, to which she''d immediately agreed. Battle fanatic¡­ He truly wondered whether her zeal toward combat was a product of her nature or something she continually forced herself to strive towards due to the unique situation they found themselves in. He thought back to their first meeting and how she had pretty much immediately claimed the number 1 spot on the ladder and concluded it was more likely the former. Of course, he would have liked to clear it himself, but that was a bad idea. With the stats and gear he''d acquired since he last went through it, he doubted any individual monkey would pose any threat. Even so, he couldn''t help remembering the massive horde that had descended on him the first time he''d entered the dungeon. He was still a far ways off from being able to fight against an army by himself. His new skills and strength wouldn''t help at all if he were to get consumed by the horde. Breathing out a long sigh, he once again went over his preparations. He''d fully stocked up on healing items and picked up his freshly repaired armor, so he was good on equipment. Now that he''d finally distributed the crafting materials cluttering his spatial bead he was wondering if he should pick up any and all oddities he found, but if he was honest he wasn''t sure what to look for. According to all the gatherers he''d spoken to this island was chock full of useful stuff to collect, but it seemed a waste of time to bother going around asking for help to essentially level a profession he didn''t specialize in. It''d be really nice if I could find some kind of remnant of the cursed king''s civilization, but it doesn''t seem likely that anything survived. So far the remnants of the architecture was all that remained from that time. He hadn''t found anything useful within either the ruins or the tiles of the people who had surrounded the cursed king. He brought up the ladder and his status just as another reminder of where he and everyone else stood within the tutorial. [Level Ladder]
  1. Eve - Level 40
  2. Zane - Level 39
  3. Ingrid - Level 38
  4. Trey - Level 38
  5. Ash - Level 38
  6. Vanir - Level 37
  7. Nix - Level 37
  8. Kyle - Level 37
  9. Darius - Level 37
  10. Raphael - Level 37
Some of the names that had been prominent for so long on the ladder were gone, never to return to its ranks. A lot of the initiates are starting to level out. There''s far less of a lead between Eve and Zane, and the other elites now. There''s still a pretty big disparity between the elites and the common man though. It was only natural. There was a limited amount of prey within the bounds of this island, so it was to be expected that the initiates'' progress would begin to teeter off the longer the tutorial went on for. He wondered what the average of the elites would be by the end of the next ten days, and if anyone would even be able to make it past 50. So far the only creatures I''ve heard of being above level 40 are the biome lords and the ape leader I fought. It''ll be annoying if most of the elites aren''t mid-40s before the end of the tutorial, but it won''t be as much of an issue as I''d initially expected. This disparity in levels didn''t bother him as much as it once did. The further he grew the more he realized that the further one advanced in levels the more marginal the improvements became. His initial assumption that power would ramp exponentially was based on the flawed assumption that either people would gain stats at an increasingly high rate like he did, which was wrong, or that they would have hit some other kind of boost along the way. But so far nobody had stumbled upon the next tier of classes or race as far as he could tell. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 33 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 3] Mana: 210/210 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 6], [Sword Proficiency - Level 5], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Lightning Thrust], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bone Breaker], [The Mask], [Refine], [Jammer] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement II], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Ambitious, Giantslayer, Lord of Massacre, Novice Dungeoneer, Independant, Discoverer Strength: 210 Dexterity: 206 Vitality: 199 Endurance: 198 Arcane: 202 Spirit: 46 Free Points: 160 Talons: 2875 For example, when he''d gone from level 11 to 12 he''d gotten 3 points per stat for that level, which was about a 6-7% increase at the time. Now when he leveled up he got 5 points per stat, only around a 2-3% increase. Of course, he himself got additional percentage boosts, but those weren''t relevant for approximating the strength of others. He was willing to bet he was something of an extreme fringe case, a true freak of nature. Those boosts are only going to become more marginal as levels increase. Something tells me there''s some sort of threshold to pass before one''s power can once again rocket upward. Perhaps race advancement?The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. He did some quick number crunching. If he assumed most of the elites among the humans and the vishan had uncommon classes and gained roughly 17-18 points per level then by level 45 they''d have accumulated roughly 750 total stat points. Take that up to level 55 and you''d have roughly 925 total points. Quite a big jump, but in terms of relative distance it was only about a 20% increase. It wasn''t as significant of a disparity as he had feared in the early stages of the tutorial. It was still a large step up in relative strength, but it was by no means a gap that couldn''t be crossed, especially if the humans managed to eke out a numerical advantage. The only wild card that he couldn''t predict would be what kinds of titles or completed quests the vishan had up their sleeves to boost their stats. Being from the realms beyond, they likely had access to far more opportunities and information than was available to the initiates, so there was no way he could even guess what hidden cards they had. Even so, thinking about the averages was a reminder of just how beyond the realm of common sense he himself was. Devon couldn''t distribute his free points, so when calculating his total it was better if he just excluded them from the pool entirely. That still left him with a total hovering just above a thousand. Yes, I''m way ahead of the curve due to the unique titles and plots that have contributed towards my total, but for how long will that lead last? His level gains would only be slower and slower from here on, and when he''d tried to initiate another plot the system had rebuffed him, saying that all of his ideas were only task level. He supposed that since the first and second steps had been completed the system considered the hardest hurdles past, and so everything else would gradually feed into the overall scheme. This was precisely why he needed to get back to the grindstone. He could feed the flame of contempt between the two camps passively now that the fire had been lit and Trey was there to help, but he didn''t want to remain content just because he had a lead on everyone else. He could only approximate how many points people had before titles. Not to mention the outliers who had rare classes like Eve and would be even higher than his approximated totals. In fact, he was almost certain Eve was right on his tail in terms of stat total. Speak of the devil¡­ Eve came sauntering up to him from out of the grasslands. She looked around, making sure there were no other unknown figures who looked like they were waiting on someone. Devon supposed this reaction was something he was going to have to get used to when he wore a new face almost every day. "Oi, we ready to go?" She asked, seemingly impatient. "Been ready to go for the past hour, actually. What took so long?" "In case you hadn''t noticed, things are a little crazy right now. I had to put some hotheads in their place in the wake of this stupid feud that''s popped up." "Do you think it''ll escalate?" Devon asked, feigning innocence. "I hope not, but this place isn''t exactly a great spot for bringing out the best in people." She sighed, "I might need some help to calm shit down so Phil doesn''t get drawn into any stupid conflict." Exactly as expected. Eve, Nix, and Zane were the three people Devon absolutely couldn''t allow to catch onto his scheme. Nix and Zane would have the authority and power to shut it down immediately, but so long as they remained in the dark to his machinations they''d see Trey and Plainsville as a potential threat and would be forced to treat them with caution. Eve was an entirely different case. She acted almost entirely as a loner, and the only influence she possessed was based on her reputation as the strongest. The issue came from where her priorities stemmed from. Managing Eve was an important part of his scheme. If they lost their strongest fighter then their chances of surviving would be drastically reduced. According to the datalog on the tutorials, it was normal for a small number of additional overseers from outside the tutorial to appear to assist those present in any way necessary. If the enemy brought in a powerhouse even bigger than Val Kazar then they''d be in serious trouble without Eve, the biggest powerhouse in the tutorial. However, her main concern first and foremost was the safety of Phil, not the lives of everyone in the tutorial. If Eve learned of the conflict he sought to create, a conflict in which Phil''s life could easily be trampled over and destroyed, everything would change. She would shift focus to finding some way off the island for Phil, or more likely she would seek to prevent it from happening at all, and become his enemy in the process. "So where exactly are we going? You said there''s a dungeon up the mountain, but you never specified where." "We''ll be stopping at a terminal nearby first. There are probably other spots on the mountain that would prove to be good grinding spots, but it''d be annoying to have to make the trek every time, right?" Eve nodded, and they set off. Devon explained the situation with the dungeon as they went. "Wait, you already killed the dungeon boss?" Eve asked. "I mean, I myself didn''t kill it, but I did get the assisted kill, yeah. Why?" "Well, usually a dungeon is counted as cleared once the boss dies. Even if you only got an assisted kill I think it still should have counted you as a participant and given you the notification." "What usually happens to the other monsters inside?" Devon asked, suddenly worried he''d accidentally destroyed the hunting ground by isolating and killing the boss. "For naturally created dungeons like a den they stick around, I think the system just doesn''t consider a place to be a dungeon unless it has a boss-type figure inside. But instances like the spirit dungeon we entered¡­" "Probably collapse and take everything inside to the void when the boss dies, huh?" "That''s what I assume at least, yeah." "Oh, wait up," Devon said, stopping their ascent. "What''s up?" "There''s a certain monster that lives around here that I want." "That you want?" Eve tried to ask before Devon shushed her. He led the way in a meandering path until they found what he was looking for. Three leafstags were grazing in a gentle grove. They almost looked like they''d grown out of the ground with how the vines coiled around their entire bodies. As soon as Devon stepped into the glade all of their heads immediately turned to him and the tranquility of the scene was ruined as they were sent into a frenzy at the sight of him. It didn''t matter though, level 6 creatures were no longer a threat to him, and they were each dead within seconds. Devon threw two of them into his inventory before turning to Eve, "Do you want one? I''ve yet to find an animal that tastes anywhere near as good in this place." Eve gave him a strange look, "My mental image of you out here covering in fear from the overseers at the start of the tutorial has been thoroughly ruined now that I know you were really out here being a massive foodie." "It was just a coincidence, I swear. For the most part, that mental image is accurate. Now, do you want it or not?" Eve looked at her system before shrugging, "Sure, I''ve got room." After that, they once again set off. It didn''t take much longer to reach the ravine that had been his base of operations on days two and three, and it wasn''t much farther from there. The trip itself was yet another reminder of how much stronger and faster he''d become. The trek up the mountain that had taken six hours before now only took two and a half as he and Eve proceeded at an inhuman pace. I need to get used to the fact that this is the new normal. They didn''t bother descending into the ravine, instead choosing to walk along above it while being careful not to slip in. However, when they went down into the cave that had served as Devon''s true base of operations for so long he''d started to become attached to the former spider den, he found that it was not as empty as he''d left it. Sitting opposite the entrance on the vishan cot that he''d left behind was the reptilian form of an overseer, revealed by the soft light of the terminal it sat beside. It looked up from the terminal as Eve and Devon entered the space, and Devon felt a chill go down his spine. There sat Kal''o Kir, the overseer''s executioner. Devon''s base of operations that had been undisturbed for so long was now irrevocably compromised. 46 - Accusations "Two¡­ I suppose I should have expected the one named Eve¡­" The ex-overseer muttered to herself. Devon and Eve stood there in the doorway frozen, neither sure what to do. "Well, I suppose I should ask, in case I can spare myself additional curses." With eyes that radiated an intense thirst for blood she asked, "Was it both of you, or just one that killed my soulmate?" Eve was the quicker of the two to break out of shock and answer, "I don''t know what you''re talking about." "Hoh? Feigning ignorance will not save you. I found where my soulmate''s body was dumped nearby like a heap of garbage, and there have been no other humans who have come to this place in the past day. So if you two knew this place was here, it can only mean¡­" "We learned about this place from a friend," Eve insisted, "Neither of us have ever been here before ourselves, we just had directions to guide us." Kal''o Kir paused, then said, "And what was this supposed friend called by?" "Devon." I know I''m still under the effect of The Mask, but isn''t it a bit cruel to throw the guy right next to you under the bus so readily? Still, he had to admire Eve''s quick thinking. If there was one name within the tutorial that would give the overseers a pause, it was his. Kal''o Kir''s eyes widened a bit, then focused on them, "Devon, you say¡­ And where did you last see this human called Devon?" "...In Arkania." "Impossible. We surveil that place at all times. We would have known, would have seen that human if they had dared to come or go." "They teleported into the town and left the same way. Even if you lot keep tabs on the place it isn''t like you can see through the solid walls, right? And it''s not like you can examine everyone at once." Kal''o Kir glowered at her, but said nothing in response. Then the ex-overseer calmed herself and said, "Perhaps I should take a visit to the oversized camp you call Arkania then." "Wouldn''t recommend that," Eve said, "You''ll find it a lot less hospitable than Plainstown, especially after the stunt you pulled over there." Kal''o Kir stayed silent and gave them a small waving motion. It was clear that in her eyes their conversation was over. Devon turned to leave, but Eve''s voice stopped him in his tracks, "Don''t think we''re bugs that you can just wave off, you arrogant lizard." Huh? Kal''o Kir seemed equally surprised that Eve still had something to say. "Tell me, I want to know just what it is you reptilian fucks are doing, messing with our heads like you are." "...What?" "Did you think it wouldn''t be obvious that you shady motherfuckers have some hand in what''s going on in the camps? I''ll bet you think you''re so smart, getting us to turn on each other, to soften each other up before you vultures swoop in at the end to clean everything up." A vicious smile spread across Kal''o Kir''s face, "Is that what you think, little human? What an interesting theory. Yes, I suppose it would be the natural inclination of a lesser race to blame their problems on their betters. Does it make you feel better, to deflect any and all responsibility of your own pathetic species onto another?" The vishan laughed mirthfully, amused by Eve''s accusations. "Why you¡­!" "Eve!" Devon shouted, grabbing her arm, "This is neither the time or the place! Stop trying to pick a fight with something that''s got such a massive level advantage and use your damn head!" She glared at him, then shook his arm off and stormed out of the cave. Devon followed her out with the sound of Kal''o Kir''s chuckles filling his ears. It took Devon a minute to find where Eve had moved off to, but found her atop the cliff over the cave. After climbing up to stand beside her he asked, "What the hell was that?" "Isn''t it obvious? Who else would benefit the most from the division between the two camps but the overseers? First that bitch murders somebody in broad daylight, then immediately afterward everything starts descending into chaos? Tell me that isn''t strange." "But that one isn''t even technically an overseer anymore, what would they have to gain?" "Even if they aren''t defined as an overseer by the system, it doesn''t mean that their connections as a group suddenly dissolved, does it? I''ll bet that she volunteered to piss off the system to further the ends of the group as a whole! She''s at the center of it all. If I can take her out then maybe it''ll send a message to the rest that we humans aren''t simply cattle they can mess about with as they please!"Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Shit, I messed up. It wasn''t so much that any of his actions had been mistakes, but that he hadn''t anticipated Eve''s reaction to everything. It was only natural for people to look for someone to blame when things started to go wrong mysteriously. But he hadn''t paid it much of a thought because for the vast majority of the humans the overseers were still an incredibly imposing presence, something they wouldn''t risk their lives to confront even if they thought they were the cause of all their misery. But Eve was somebody who rushed headlong into her problems, no matter how bleak the outcome looked. The 10 levels between the two of them was simply something necessary for her to overcome in her eyes. And now he had one of the worst possible situations on his hands. Her suspicions weren''t directed at him, which was good, but the fact that she had her sights set on the executioner he wanted to be kept alive was a stroke of terrible luck. Nothing good could come from their clash. If Kal''o Kir killed Eve then his strongest piece would be broken before the final confrontation even had a chance to begin. And if Eve won then the position of executioner would become an unknown that could be filled at any time by any other vishan. Yet another element of the stage that I must dance around. His hands had already been full with manipulating the two camps and finding time to grind out levels. And now he would have to keep a closer eye on Eve to make sure she didn''t do anything reckless. "I agree that everything happening is strange, but there''s just no point in antagonizing them right now. You think a people as self-centered and egoistic would simply give up if you killed one of their members?" He lowered his voice, "I''ve killed three of them, and they still don''t seem very put off, do they? Hell, you saw how that one reacted to us. All you''d manage to do is piss them off!" "Then why shouldn''t I just go around and kill them myself before they have a chance to do any more damage?" "Kill one and you''ll lose the protected status, meaning you''ll be free game for every other overseer out there. What are you going to do if they gang up on you? Can you deal with all of their level 50s and Val Kazar by yourself?" "I can at least kill that one! It''s not bound by the same restrictions as the others, which gives it free rein to fuck with us however it pleases!" "And what if it isn''t the one that''s been messing with everyone? What if you''re wrong and they decide to take care of you the same way that one took care of Terance?" "I''m not that weak! I can take care of myself!" "When I had my ascension quest to kill Irin you didn''t think I could do it. Why?" She stared back defiantly, "Because you''re not as strong as me." "Really? You want to test that, right here and now?" She looked at him incredulously, but he stared back completely resolute, "Come on, I''ll show you that you aren''t as above us all as you''d like to think. And you certainly aren''t far enough that you could take on every overseer left within the tutorial by yourself." She scowled, opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then closed it and continued scowling. Then she turned and said, "Come on, let''s go clear this stupid dungeon already." Eve led the way for a while up the mountain until she remembered she didn''t actually know the correct path and let Devon take the lead again. They ascended much slower now, as he wanted to take whatever time they needed for them both to cool off. It wouldn''t help going into a dungeon completely wound up as they were. "You do realize," Eve said, "That I essentially saved your life today." "...Yeah." If he had unknowingly teleported back there to that place he had always assumed to be his safe haven then he would have been dead before he even had time to register that Kal''o Kir was there as well. "Although, if I''d gone there alone I also probably would be dead." "Really?" Devon asked, surprised. "I think that she was poised to strike down the first human who entered that place, no matter who they were. The fact that we entered together probably threw her off guard, and our combined levels stayed her hand long enough to give us the chance of a dialogue." Well, if she''s cooled down enough to realize that then she''s probably fine now. There was one other thing he''d noticed in the encounter that piqued his interest, but he''d been too on edge to notice at the time. The way the executioner had spoken made it sound like if they continued killing humans they would continue to get marks of karmic disdain, further amplifying their curse. But why? When I killed successive overseers it never gave me more marks. Maybe the system is harder on the overseers if they keep going against the rules they agreed to in the first place. Or perhaps she''s simply mistaken. He didn''t know what message the system had given Kal''o Kir personally, but it was possible that if it had been as vague about the marks as it was to him then she could have assumed that it would penalize successive human kills. Though it doesn''t actually matter how the system works right now. What matters is that even as an executioner Kal''o Kir still won''t go full psycho and kill any human she pleases. Most likely, she''ll only hunt me and whoever Val Kazar wishes for her to kill. Which is also me. Devon wasn''t sure how to feel about the information. On one hand, it was nice that she wouldn''t go around killing people who could potentially be useful, but it also meant that the ways he could manipulate her were limited. He''d been toying with the idea of prompting somebody to go ahead with some hair-brained idea to get off the island to see if it would instigate Kal''o Kir to come in and kill them, but it seemed far less likely now. Still, that didn''t mean it wasn''t worth a shot still. They finally reached their destination, the entrance to the mountain den. Eve stood at the edge of the platform and looked out over the rest of the tutorial environment below, "Wow, this is quite the view. But what''s up with all the weird geography around here?" "You''ll see once we go inside. But¡­" "What?" "It''s strange. I feel like the monkeys should have posted another guard out here by now but there isn''t one." "I''m kind of surprised they were smart enough to post a guard in the first place. None of the monsters I''ve encountered have been that smart." "I imagine monsters probably come in all kinds, so it doesn''t surprise me very much that some are smarter than others. But still, it''s weird that there''s no guard. Are you sure the rest wouldn''t scatter once the leader was dead?" "Only one way to find out," Eve said, stepping into the opening of the dungeon. 47 - The Enlightened Kal''o Kir stared into the light of the terminal, wondering if she had made the right choice. The humans she''d just encountered had almost certainly been lying. This location was far too remote to give accurate directions to someone who hadn''t yet ventured into the untamed wilds of the mountain. No, it was far more likely they knew more than they let on. So that was not what had stayed her hand. It was the looks within their eyes, the complete absence of fear, that had compelled her to stay her hand. In particular, the male of the two had frightened her. Eve''s power and attitude was well known, but the other was a complete mystery. And yet, despite being only level 33 it had shown no hint of the terror that should come from staring down an opponent with a level disparity as they had. He had been shocked at first, yes. But that was replaced by an expression of cold calculation, utterly devoid of fear. And that was what had stayed her hand. From the beginning, these humans had repeatedly proven that they were far more of a threat than the vishan had initially anticipated. Certainly far more dangerous than the majority of the initiates the system fished out of the infinite emptiness as they''d heard. Some among her kin still tried to view them as ignorant whelps, but Kal''o Kir knew that to ignore their fangs would prove to be a deadly mistake. From the very first day, the humans had acted far outside of their predictions. Three of us have fallen, my precious Kal''o Dar among them. How many more will fall before our restrictions are lifted? She paused, having to remind herself that she no longer bore those restrictions. In truth, she could barely even call herself a part of the clan anymore. Once this was all over she would be sacrificed to one of the clan''s most promising elites or likely the chief, so that her curse may further the greater interests of the group. She did not feel any resentment about it, such was simply the nature of the curse. In fact, she almost relished it. All she desired now was to avenge Kal''o Dar. After that¡­ she did not expect she would have the will to continue on by herself. Even so, she wished to reclaim his treasure, so that she may bury him with all the reverence she felt he deserved. It angered her beyond measure that the conniving human that had killed him had managed to discern the value of his greatest and most secret treasure, one that she and he had kept secret from the rest of the tribe, an item that would have promised to boost his otherwise stunted progression. How the human had discerned its value from its appearance, she had no idea. It was, after all, astonishingly ordinary at first glance. That silvery chunk of what looked to be some kind of metal or ore, the enlightenment stone. Even a small piece was worth a fortune, as it was capable of awakening a beast''s spiritual intelligence. There were two uses for it primarily. An enlightened beast would be far stronger than any ordinary creature, so they could be used as a way to force the system into providing an ascension quest if used under the right conditions. Such creatures also gave much larger than average boosts to experience, but using it solely for this was considered a waste. The second use was to give it to a domesticated creature, thereby acquiring a reliable beast companion that could grow stronger alongside you. I will not suffer that human to have such a treasure that we sacrificed so much for. The question was what she was willing to do about it. Val Kazar saw the situation within the human camps as extremely unstable and did not wish to further antagonize them. But if she remained passive as he wished then there was little chance of acquiring more information on the one called Devon. If she remained passive her goal would likely be forever out of reach. But if she took action it was possible Val Kazar would eliminate her before the end of the tutorial for being a nuisance. There was little time. She needed to make a decision, and she needed to do it now. There remained the possibility that she would accrue additional marks of karmic disdain, but that thought was becoming less and less intimidating as her rage built. She destroyed the walls of the small cave, causing it to collapse behind her as she exited. She would have no further use for the place now that her trap had been exposed. Most likely one of those two had already relayed the information of her being there to the one called Devon, and a trap that was known was no more dangerous than an unattended weapon.
"Woah," Eve said as they went deeper into the long-dead city, "Is this entire place a massive ruin?" "The entire mountain was once a layered city, I think. The people who built it must have been quite the craftsmen, because even after seeing the memory of it in its prime I still can''t imagine how they built structures that have lasted this long." "How does a civilization like that even die out?" "It''s better to not know." "Well whatever, how far in before we start finding these apes?" "It shouldn''t be too much further before we get to the point where it tells us we entered a dungeon. Ah, there it is." [Notice] You have entered naturally occurring Dungeon [Mountain Lair]. Dungeon rated Class E, level 47. "Huh? That''s strange¡­"Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. "What is it?" "The name changed. And I''m pretty sure the recommended level went up as well." Eve frowned, "That is weird." "It''s up to level 47 now. If I remember correctly that''s 12 levels higher than it was before." "Huh. Should be interesting at least." "Yeah¡­" "We''re sticking to that strategy, right?" Eve asked. "Yeah," Devon responded. Their ''strategy'' was more of an agreement than any sort of actual tactic. Devon would go through the majority of the apes as they came, with Eve only stepping in occasionally. What Eve was really after was a chance for the system to give an ascension quest. So when it eventually came around Devon would step back and let Eve take care of it alone, while he held off any apes that attempted to interfere. They kept moving forward, but Devon''s sense of unease only got worse as they went on. They passed the point where he''d originally run into the apes, yet all he could hear was their footsteps breaking the desolate silence. "What''s with that huge space up ahead?" After Devon gave her a strange look Eve said, "What? I used a map token." Oh, right. Those. He kept forgetting about those, honestly. He''d only been able to claim his after he''d spent a long time manually mapping out these ruins, and it wasn''t like he''d needed them in the linear spirit dungeon. "That big open space is basically the center of the nest. I didn''t want to make a beeline for it because of some bad memories, but if we can''t find any other apes along the way it doesn''t seem like we''ll have much of a choice." Sure enough, they couldn''t find a single ape as they made their way through the underground labyrinth. Before, the overwhelming number of them had filled Devon with a sense of dread. But now, the absence of any of them might have been even worse. He led Eve to the point where he''d lured the ape leader out, the broken building overlooking the entire ancient plaza. They looked over the edge of the edge and saw¡­ nothing. The last time Devon had been here this area had been swarming with hundreds of apes, but now it was empty. Well, almost empty. Four forms sat in a circle on what was once one of the elevated tramways. The four apes sat in what looked like a state of perfect meditation in the dead stillness of their lair. Eve yanked on his arm and they both stooped back down into cover, "Okay, this isn''t what you described at all." "Trust me, I have no idea what''s going on here either. Last time I was here I used a rock to distract them and they all got sent into a frenzy while I lured the leader away." "So maybe those four are the only remnants of that frenzy?" "Maybe, but where''d the rest of the bodies go then? And what the hell is up with those four? The monkeys I knew went insane over a shiny rock, those four look like Buddhist monks or something." Eve swore, "This is too damn weird. Alright, what''s our strategy?" Devon smiled, "I should have known a little bit of weirdness wouldn''t be enough to deter you." "If I ran away every time a situation smelled bad I wouldn''t be at the top of the ladder." "Fair enough. Well, since I seem to draw the ire of every creature in existence I''ll go out and be the decoy while you strike from behind. When there''s only one left I''ll take it out myself so long as I don''t get injured too badly. I don''t want you hogging all the experience, after all." "All right, sounds good." They made their way back into the ruins before descending several levels. Once they found an exit level to the base of the chasm they split up, each sneaking among the ruins as they got closer and closer to the apes. When Devon felt they were both in ideal spots he stood and started walking through the rubble, intentionally trying to get spotted. I know I''m the one who suggested this plan, but it would be nice if someday every living creature didn''t get hyper-aggroed at the mere sight of me. When he was about 20 feet away all four of the apes turned to look at him as one. He felt a chill go down his spine as they did so. Each of them had a unique appearance, which made each of them seem far more unique than the apes as he knew them. But the worst part was that their eyes seemed to glow amid the dark, soft neon blue lines etched into their retinas that made their gaze seem to pierce into his soul. With a sense of immense apprehension he examined the four of them. [The Bone Architect, Enlightened Ape - Level 45] [Discovery Bonus] [The Flesh Melder, Enlightened Ape - Level 45] [Discovery Bonus] [The Savage, Enlightened Ape - Level 43] [Discovery Bonus] [The Shining Silver, Enlightened Ape - Level 47] [Discovery Bonus] The one called the bone architect had bones fashioned as a kind of armor around its entire body. It also wore a mask that seemed to be made from the skull fragments of more than a dozen of its kin. The flesh melder looked like it had over-indulged at an all you can eat buffet several times, and it was bloated almost beyond what most would call the form of an ape. The savage was ripped beyond belief. Of course, apes like gorillas were already immensely strong, but even so the only thing Devon could even remotely compare it to was the look of an extremely buff man applied to an ape. It was almost as huge as the bloated form of the flesh melder, but unlike the flesh melder the power within its body could be perceived just by looking at it. The shining silver was the most unique even among the outlandish forms of the other three. Unlike the others, it wasn''t bulked up by extra mass or any external armor. It was slim, almost skinny. But the neon blue lines that were present in all of their eyes were present across the shining silver''s entire body. Enlightened apes¡­ They''re just like the lord of the mountain, creatures that have names before anyone examines them. "Devon!" He heard Eve shout out from a small distance away. It seemed she''d gotten a better look at each of them as well and didn''t like what she saw, "We need to pull back! This is too much-!" A pulsating silver light appeared in the palm of the shining silver before it clasped its hands together and closed its eyes, seeming as though in prayer. All around the outer edges of the chasm a shining dome appeared, shining a translucent silvery hue. Devon opened his eyes wide at the sight as it brought back the image that had been ingrained in his mind, one of a similar barrier that once enveloped this area long ago. The purpose of the silvery shield was obvious. Unlike the one that had been deployed here eons ago, this one was meant to block them in so that the enlightened apes could hunt them without fear of them getting away. Suddenly Devon and Eve had found the roles of hunter and hunted reversed on them. He prepared himself to be rushed by all of them at once, for the frenzy to take them, but to his shock that didn''t happen. Instead, they all slowly stood. The bone architect pulled out an ivory weapon spear. The savage flexed their absurdly pronounced muscles. The flesh melder¡­ seemed to vibrate. What truly shocked him was when both the savage and the flesh melder turned away from him to look towards Eve. In an instant they each simultaneously leaped off the elevated platform and launched into their attacks, not giving him time to think. 48 - Blade of Ivory The ape called the bone architect rushed him with an ivory spear. Devon dodged backwards frantically, still trying to wrap his mind around the unexpected turn of events. Two of them went to go focus on Eve! And this shield around the cavern, it''s like they''ve developed some kind of intelligence! Devon didn''t have any idea what was going on, but he knew if he didn''t focus these apes would kill him. He blocked another attack from the bone architect, but when he tried to counter with an attack of his own the ape leaped back. In its place a huge silvery tendril of light pierced through the air, and Devon barely managed to dodge to the side before it ripped through the space he''d only just occupied. He was forced to twist his body uncomfortably as the bone architect once again went on the offensive, stabbing at the place it expected Devon to land. Devon barely avoided the thrust, and once again the ape moved back before Devon''s counterattack could land. He was ready for the silver light this time though, and he leaped backwards to give himself some space to properly assess the situation. So they''re splitting roles between melee and ranged, with the mage sitting in the back. What an annoying strategy. That they were able to strategize and designate roles was as much of a surprise as the fact that one of them could cast magic at all. Devon wondered if any beast had the potential of being able to use magic if they were enlightened. But this wasn''t the time for such thoughts. Well, you lot aren''t the only ones who can use magic. He''d spent his two days off deciding what he wanted to use his spell enhancement token and charge of Refine on. After a lot of deliberation, Devon had decided to use the token he''d gotten from the spirit dungeon to boost his lightning imbuement spell. None of the other spells in the shop had seemed quite as useful, and Devon already knew the effectiveness of the base spell. Let''s see how conductive bone is to electricity. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement II. Nothing happened. Fuck! He dodged another stream of silver and prepared himself to defend against the bone architect, who had taken the second Devon had stood, waiting for something to happen, to advance closer to him again. It was just like when he''d first tried to use Refine. He was missing something among the activation conditions, but because the system wouldn''t tell him what he was doing wrong he couldn''t properly adjust and fix the problem. The spell is called Lightning Imbuement II, which means it''s a direct upgrade to the previous version. So there shouldn''t be any drastic change in the effect, it should still buff my weapon same as before. So why won''t it activate? Maybe there''s some activation condition the system didn''t bother telling me about? Unlike when he''d played around with Refine, he didn''t have the luxury of throwing an endless spew of commands at the system to see if they worked. The situation didn''t afford him that much room to think. He quickly went over the rest of his options. Adrenaline was immediately crossed off the list of viable options, as the tunnel vision that came with its activation would almost certainly get him killed while he had to deal with two separate opponents. Boost also didn''t seem like a good idea because if this became a battle of attrition the aftereffects would cancel out any temporary advantage the spell provided. That left Fireball and all of his generalist weapon skills. Let''s hope my other upgrade didn''t come with some strange change. Activate skill; Lightning Thrust. When the bone architect once again tried to stab him Devon weaved around the pole of the ivory spear and struck out with the golden blur of a counterattack the ape was too slow to avoid. He''d aimed to pierce straight through the chest of the ape, but the bone armor that encased it was sturdier than expected, and it canceled out the force of the thrust. Even so, he heard the ape grunt in pain and saw the armor crack before the ape leaped backward, forcing Devon to do the same lest he get blasted by another silvery ray of light. Devon couldn''t help but find a small bit of humor that only one of his skills with lightning in the name happened to work, but that was only natural. Lightning Thrust was only named so because of the speed of the attack, not because it had any vestige of the arcane energy his spell had. Those bones are pretty tough, much more so than ordinary bones. It was interesting to note that the ape had still grunted in pain from Devon''s attack, even though the force of his spear had been entirely blocked by the ape''s bone armor. It''s like getting shot while wearing a bulletproof vest. It''s a physical barrier, but it doesn''t change the fact that getting hit hard enough is still going to hurt. Now, which do I target first? Devon took cover behind a large piece of rubble while he examined his opponents. The shining silver stood upon what seemed to be the final remnants of the once beautiful fountain in the center of the plaza, orbs of silver light in both hands. Beyond it, Devon could see Eve engaged in a fight of her own with the other two apes. The bone architect was patting down its ivory cuirass, seemingly checking it for damage. He stepped out from behind the piece of rubble he was behind before running towards the shining silver. He didn''t want the bone architect to force him into a drawn-out battle. He''d been able to dodge all of the mage''s attacks so far, but if they started adapting to his movements then he''d be screwed. The mystical-looking ape pointed one of its arms out toward Devon, and he had to dodge to the side as one of the silver rays of light zipped past him. He ran alongside it towards its source in the few moments before the lingering tendril of light disappeared. Activate skill; Lightning Thrust.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. But before he had a chance to actually activate his skill, something emerged from the lingering tendril of light next to him. A bone far heavier than it looked smashed into his side, sending him sprawling. He scurried away, fearing another magical attack while he was weakened, but one didn''t come. Devon looked towards the shining silver, slightly confused, and saw the ape regenerating the orb it had previously expended to shoot at him. Does it need time to recharge shots? Still, why didn''t it attack with the other it holds? Maybe it''s holding onto it as a last resort defensive move? Devon couldn''t understand the rationale of monkeys, enlightened though they were. As the last vestiges of the ray of light dissipated the bone architect was once again pressing the assault, though Devon immediately noticed something different. It no longer held a spear in its hands. Instead, it held an extremely long blade in one hand and a shorter curved blade in another, both made of the same ivory material. For a moment he wondered where the ape had pulled those from, but then noticed something else. The chestpiece that he''d cracked was now fully repaired and unscathed. Of course, it''s called the bone architect for a reason. I''d initially assumed it was a purely physical fighter because of how it''s been engaging me, but it''s more likely a mage/fighter hybrid. That explains why it doesn''t seem overwhelmingly strong, just versatile. But when it came to being versatile Devon was still a step above. The ape had switched up its weapons, so Devon felt it was about time for him to do the same. He reached into his tile and brought out the hammerhead, quickly attaching it to the rear end of his spear. The ape noticed his change in weaponry, Devon could see it in the body language of the beast even if the face was completely obscured by that ivory mask. It shifted its stance, holding the massive blade out in front of it while clutching the shorter curved sword towards its chest. It also stopped rushing him, instead seeming more content to let Devon come to it. Crafty bugger, eh? Now that it knew Devon wasn''t an opponent to underestimate it was being far more cautious, though that in itself was bad for Devon. It was doing what he was afraid of, trying to draw out the fight. If Devon pressed the offense it would fight defensively, and if he tried to target the mage or distance himself the ape would attack his exposed flank. I''ll just have to crush it with everything I''ve got. Still, he couldn''t just throw caution to the wind. The ape''s change of weapons set off warning signs in his mind, and he needed to figure out why it felt the need to change its fighting style. He stalked around the ape in a circle until he was where he wanted to be. In a fight against multiple opponents positioning was paramount, because losing track of the second enemy would result in being blindsided. He positioned himself so that the bone architect was front and center, with the shining silver slightly off to the side in his peripherals. He made sure his view of the mage wasn''t blocked by the bone architect, as he knew the mage could exploit any kind of blind spot. The mage in question had its second silvery orb ready once again, but Devon pressed on anyway. He made the first attack this time, swinging from the side with his hammer. The bone covered ape held out its long blade, and the two weapons clashed against each other. At first the blade contesting his hammer seemed like it would hold fast, but an instant later Devon detected a tremor in it, a sign that Devon was overpowering his opponent. But the ape wasn''t satisfied just blocking his attack. While Devon''s weapon was locked up it stepped forward and thrust the shorter blade forward. Devon yanked his hammer back from the clash and backstepped, but the shorter bone blade extended its length even as he retreated. The length more than doubled before the ape stabbed a few inches of it into Devon''s chest. Then, right before Devon exited the ape''s range, it whipped the blade to the side, cutting a slash across his chest and flinging his blood across the stones. Kh! Devon dodged to the right and then took a few measured steps before steadying himself back into position. The ape swiped the extending blade to the side, flinging the remaining blood off it, and in that short motion the blade returned to the short length it had been before. He''d figured the ape would try a tactic like that with the dual blade setup, but he hadn''t expected the secondary blade to extend. And he certainly hadn''t expected it to be so damn sharp. He felt the wet cut in his padded chest armor. The blade had pierced clean through both the leather hide and the metal inserts beneath. If he''d taken a wound like this back on earth he would have been hospitalized, but it didn''t pose that much of an issue as he was. It''s not that strong on its own, but the weapons it makes are extremely lethal, far more so than anything I''ve seen available to the rest of us in the tutorial. The fact it can manipulate them like that also puts me at a disadvantage. The ape''s fighting style was so tailored to a warrior''s that Devon had momentarily forgotten that the ape was a mage hybrid. He didn''t know what other tricks the ape had up their bony sleeves, but he didn''t care to find out. Now that he knew the ape''s strategy it was time to turn the tables. Activate skill; Shatter. For his plan to work he needed the extra oomph of a skill, but didn''t want to expend the mana on a refined skill or use up his charge of the amplification gem. And he was thankful he''d taken the precaution of storing a weapon on his person instead of inside the inventory. Devon once again pressed the offensive, this time bringing the hammer down directly towards the bone architect''s head. Once again the ape blocked it, but the force of the impact was completely different with Shatter in effect. Cracks ran down the long blade of bone, but disappeared as soon as they appeared as the ape repaired its creation before it could break. Even so, the force of the hammer was too much for the ape to deal with, and its strength gave way before its weapon. Even as the strength in its arm gave out, the ape managed to deflect the blow enough that it impacted on the shoulder pauldron instead of the head like Devon had been aiming for. The ape grunted in pain, but that wasn''t enough to stop it from thrusting the curved sword forward once again. However, Devon was ready for it. He released his left hand from the spear''s length and stepped left, into the blind spot the ape had created by raising its arm to block his hammer blow. In a rapid motion, he drew the curved sword from within the folds of his garb and stabbed with it. He felt the still unused Lightning Thrust activate as the sword pierced into the gap in the ape''s armor at the waist. He angled the stab upwards, aiming to puncture as many of the ape''s organs as possible. Every armor has weak points. The more mobile you need to be, the more weak points you''ll have. Even as the blade went in, Devon knew he''d overextended himself to secure the attack. He didn''t try to draw the blade out, instead opting to fully roll into his lurching motion to the left. It proved to be the correct choice, as he felt the curved blade slash the air where he''d just been. Instead of his torso being hit again his arm was slashed as he pulled the hammer to himself. Even as he rolled past the bone architect he pushed the curved sword lodged within the ape''s body to the side before releasing it as he moved by, forcing it to slice sideways inside the ape. He knew a simple stab to the abdomen probably wouldn''t be enough on its own to take the monster out, but if he could wreak havoc on its innards the chances were much higher. [Level up. Sword Proficiency Level 6 obtained.] He winced at the pain of his arm being slashed, but rolled to his feet before glancing towards the mage''s last location. However, the moment Devon looked that way a blinding light seared his retinas. Completely blinded, he tried to instinctually anticipate how to move to avoid the attack he knew would be coming, but he failed. He felt the full force of the mage''s attack slam into him, and felt searing pain course through his entire being. 49 - Soul of Silver The pain Devon felt wasn''t purely physical, though getting hit by that ray of silver light did hurt like hell. It was more like the ape was attacking something inside, something incorporeal. Like it was attacking his soul directly. He blinked his eyes several times and his vision slowly came back to him. He looked down at himself and scowled. The beam hadn''t damaged his armor at all, it had passed straight through and only harmed his body. He couldn''t see beneath his equipment, but a portion of his arm that had been caught in the silver ray was blistered extensively. Devon focused on the pain he felt inside himself and found it wasn''t nearly as bad as he''d first expected. It was extremely reminiscent of that night he''d played around a bit too much with his profession and the system had forcibly awoken his spirituality. However, the pain he''d felt made it clear that, unlike that time, this ape''s attacks were meant to harm him instead of awaken something within him. Devon looked back towards the bone architect and noted with satisfaction that it was on its knees, leaning against one of its bone blades as it clutched its abdomen. That''s one down. Even if it isn''t dead it''s at least immobilized from the wound I gave it. I don''t know what the hell the silver one is trying to do, but I certainly don''t want to let it continue. Since the bone architect didn''t seem to be able to move Devon focused on the shining silver. But when he turned to face it he was surprised by what he saw. Despite having the face of a primate, Devon could very clearly perceive the expression of complete and utter shock on the shining silver''s face. Devon didn''t know what the ape was so surprised about, but he also didn''t care. Devon dashed forward while the enemy seemed distracted. The orb it had expended to hit him hadn''t regenerated yet either, so he wasn''t going to get a better chance. Huh? Something feels off. Devon brushed aside the feeling as the shining silver visibly panicked. He disconnected the hammer attachment, leaving the spear free to use. He wouldn''t need the raw power for the mage, the spear would be more than enough. The shining silver screeched as he approached, and it held forth the second silver orb within its grasp. Unlike before when it had directed the flow of energy with its palm, it let the energies within the orb run wild. Devon was forced to halt his assault and frantically dodge not one, but a flurry of silvery rays of light. Like a massive array of rockets, they burst forth from the silver orb. Unlike the earlier rays he''d been dodging, these beams of silver did not target him. Instead, they curved at wild angles and shot in every direction across the cavern. He was sure if somebody looked in from outside the dome shield they would look like they were inside one of those plasma balls he''d messed around with as a kid. So it wasn''t a reserve attack, it was a defensive ace! His close proximity to the barrage forced him to continuously duck and weave through the onslaught of magical attacks. However, he wasn''t close enough that they were impossible to avoid, though with every dodge he felt more and more like something was wrong. Still, it was an undeniable fact that the primate had messed up big time. If it had waited for Devon to get a little closer he likely wouldn''t have been able to evade the dense cluster of rays that arced out wildly from the ape''s hand. He dodged one last wild ray of silver before the attack died completely, the energy within the silver orb spent. Activate Amplification Gem. Activate skill; Lightning Thrust. The ape had spent its defensive ace, and though it looked like the enlightened beast had recharged its normal attack Devon was sure it would only take a single decisive strike to finish the battle. He stepped forward, preparing to cautiously launch himself forward and dodge the ape''s last attack. However, he heard a small crunch under his foot. Distracted, he looked down and saw a small sliver of ivory white material underneath the rubble he stood on. A bone? Oh shi- He didn''t have time to react before a dozen ivory needles shot up from the ground around him, piercing through him. The thin ivory spikes came up from around him and impaled him in several places. His foot that he had unwittingly stepped with was completely skewered, as well as one of his arms that happened to be in the air above it. His legs were the worst off, with three separate spears puncturing through him. There was also one through his stomach, limiting the movement of his upper body. He turned his head to where he''d left the crippled bone architect. The ape had shifted positions slightly when he wasn''t looking and had its hand on the ground, touching something between the rubble. Dammit! It waited for me to completely disregard its presence before it sprung its trap!Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. He hadn''t expected the primates to be so crafty. It wasn''t unusual for monsters to have sharp battle instincts, but to set a trap in advance and wait until the perfect opportunity to spring it? It was almost absurd how far above all the other monsters in the tutorial they were. Devon jerked his arm to the side, breaking the spear of bone it was impaled upon. The things had piercing power, but they weren''t all that sturdy. But before he could break any more of the ivory needles he saw the glow of the encroaching silver ray right as it slammed into him. Even as his body and mind were once again engulfed in pain he analyzed the situation. So this was their plan. Pin me down and then hit me with everything they''ve got while I''m immobile. I have to admit, they''re deserving of the title Enlightened. Still, if I can weather this then that means I''ll be the one to come out on top! He could vaguely hear his skin sizzling under his armor, and what had felt like a punch to his psyche before now felt like a blow from a sledgehammer. All he could do was grit his teeth and bear the pain. He was determined, resolute, that he wouldn''t be beaten by some filthy primates that never dared to leave the comfort of their cave. When the last of the silvery beam dissipated he emerged bleeding and burned, yet alive and unbound. Though the beam had no effect on his clothing, it had burned away the ivory pillars that held him in place. The last one that bound him was the one still embedded in his foot, where it had been too low to be touched by the magical attack. Natural adrenaline coursed through his veins as he turned towards the bone architect, intent on finishing it before it could spring any more tricks on him. He ripped his foot off the spike that held him and dashed towards the arcane warrior. Something is wrong. He couldn''t quite describe it any other way than that he felt distinctly unwell. He shrugged it off, of course he felt like crap after the beating he''d taken. The bone architect tried to raise its sword in a weak defense, but there was nothing it could do against the speed of amplified Lighting Thrust. Devon''s spear impacted the ape''s bone mask with far more force than the ivory helmet could withstand, shattering it. But the speed of his thrust felt slightly unwieldy. His spear struck a portion of the mask''s curved features, deflecting the blow so it couldn''t properly pierce into the ape''s head. He spun around with the spear and smashed it against the ape''s exposed head. The ape fell, seemingly unconscious. But Devon wasn''t going to risk it getting back up again, and he quickly finished it off by stabbing through its skull. Kill - [The Bone Architect, Enlightened Ape - Level 45] - 578 Talons [Level up. Level 34 obtained.] [Level up. Level 35 obtained.] Devon whirled, ready to dodge another ray of light. He was sure the mage would have finished recharging by now. But the shining silver wasn''t where it was before and it didn''t have any orbs of light in its hands. It''d thrown all of the enlightened dignity it had possessed away and was almost upon him in a crazed rush. He saw the hand of the ape glowing with the same silvery sheen all of its other magical attacks had and instinctively knew he needed to avoid it. But his body was already overtaxed, and he couldn''t will his legs to move with the urgency he needed. All he could do was raise his arms in a desperate guard. It didn''t matter. As soon as the ape''s fist made contact with him it felt like a truck hit something deep inside his mind. He felt the world shift around him until suddenly something disconnected. Devon looked upon the world and saw it differently. All around him were streams of data, everything linking and interconnected. He looked at the ape and saw not only its physical form. There was something beneath it, something that was also linked to anything and everything around them. Linked to Infinity itself. I see, so that''s the soul. It was fitting for the soul of a beast, enlightened or not. It radiated savage rage and hostility. Devon finally understood the sense of pain he''d been feeling inside every time he took one of this ape''s attacks. It was attacking his soul itself. But there was more to it than that. The shining silver''s magic itself did not damage his soul. Rather, those silvery streams of light merely acted as a means to connect one soul to another so that it could connect one soul to another. Then it brought the strength of its soul to bear against the soul of the one its magic connected to. He understood now why the ape was so shaken by the fact that Devon had survived both of its attacks so far. There was likely nothing in the tutorial that could walk away from one of its attacks, besides maybe the biome lords. After all, it was highly unnatural for an E Grade being to have awakened its spirit. The shining silver was like a playground bully, trampling on everyone else who didn''t even know how to fight back. But now someone bigger than itself had arrived. Not only had Devon awakened his spirit, he''d nourished it since the earliest possible moment with Potential. An ape who''d only just started wielding its freshly awakened spirit could not compare. Devon still didn''t know how to properly use his spirit, but that didn''t matter right now. Everything that lives has certain defensive mechanisms ingrained within them, and his awakened spirit was no different. He let his instincts guide him. Devon reached his hands forward, grasping the ape so it could not escape its judgment. Then he pushed against the ape''s soul. A clash occurred between the two. Spiritual energies swirled and collided in a space beyond the physical realm. Devon''s spirit was stronger, but it had been greatly weakened from the ape''s repeated attacks. Even so, he knew he wouldn''t lose. After a few moments Devon felt something within the ape''s spirit crack, and in an instant the enlightened ape''s soul was crushed into nothingness. The ape''s eyes lost the spark of life, and it collapsed onto the floor at Devon''s feet. Kill - [The Shining Silver, Enlightened Ape - Level 47] - 652 Talons [Level up. Level 36 obtained.] [Level up. Level 37 obtained.] Devon took a ragged breath, then puked out a mouthful of blood. He felt weaker than ever, and his stomach wound had caught up with him. He looked over to where Eve had been fighting and his eyes opened wide in shock at the disgusting sight he beheld. He could see that the tide of carnage from her battle would sweep him along if nothing was done, yet he had neither a weapon that could adequately deal with it nor the strength to keep fighting. He looked to Eve and saw a weapon he''d never expected to see her using. She looked absolutely terrified of the horror that was developing inside the cavern, but within her figure he saw a possibility. He started moving towards her as fast as his ravaged body would allow. 50 - Big Game Hunter There were very few things that Eve feared within the tutorial anymore. In the beginning there had been a great many things that could kill her with barely a thought. But she had evolved past being afraid of the beasts that roamed the wilds, and she stood at the head of all the humans within the tutorial. The only things that still gave her a measure of anxiety were the overseers, the biome lords, and maybe¡­ The overseer named Kal''o Kir in particular scared her. That one''s existence posed a special threat because they weren''t bound by the rules of the overseers, and they could freely antagonize and demoralize the humans as much as they wished. And if their goal was indeed to antagonize the humans, there were several key figures that could be killed to achieve that end. Of course, the leaders of the camps as well as Zane and herself were top of that list, but there was another in Arkania that had done more than anyone to help stabilize the morale of the humans. Phil. So if that fucker wanted someone to target to antagonize the humans, Phil made for a pretty damn good target. The feeling she got looking at the enlightened apes was the same one she''d felt when she''d laid eyes on the lord of the plains. That they were existences far beyond that of ordinary beasts. "Devon!" She shouted, "We need to pull back! This is too much-!" But a system notification stopped her mid-sentence. [Ascension Quest] Kill an Enlightened Ape. Fuck! It was as absurd of an ascension quest as the one the system had given Devon back in the spirit dungeon. No, it was even more absurd given the situation. Most likely, she could take a single ape. But in the scenario they themselves had created she didn''t have the luxury of picking and choosing her fight. If things go according to plan all of them will target Devon. It''ll probably give me a chance to swoop in and kill a single one, but the chances of Devon surviving a coordinated onslaught from the other three are basically zero. If she stuck to the original plan she could fulfill her ascension quest and attempt to make an escape after Devon inevitably died, but she recoiled internally at the fact that she could even consider it as an option. Still, I doubt this shimmering barrier they just erected is any stronger than the one that alchemist from the spirit dungeon made, so I can probably break through it with Heavy Impact if I really need to. Or she could jump into the fray alongside the man and try to weather their assault alongside him. This option posed much more of a threat to her, but it was nowhere near as detestable. But even within that course of action there was no guarantee anything would change. If monster behavior was as Devon described it, they still might ignore her entirely and go for Devon, which would lead to them both being overwhelmed and dead. So she¡­ Just as she was about to decide, she saw two of the apes turn their heads toward her, snapping her out of her thoughts. The savage and the flesh melder leaped off the platform towards her. Hey, this isn''t what was supposed to happen! Even as she complained internally she felt a wave of relief. That decision was one she never wanted to be confronted with again. Being forced to fight these two on her own was much, much, more preferable. The savage flew in first, bringing a massive fist down on her. She swung her custom axe up to meet the blow, and was surprised when it didn''t sink into flesh but instead clashed against a gauntlet made of bone. A gift from your friend, eh? The force of the two blows colliding sent out a shockwave, with the force behind both being almost even. The ape''s blow had the weight of gravity behind it, but she had the leverage of the solid ground beneath her. Eve''s sixth sense warned her of impending danger from the right, so she shifted her stance to deflect the residual energy of the clash with the roided up ape. The ape''s massive bone-encrusted fist smashed into the ground to the right of Eve, blocking the mass of something that had tried to hit her from the side. She frantically moved back, dodging a wild swing from the savage. As she repositioned she saw the flesh melder beyond the hulking form of the savage, its grotesque body seeming to undulate uncontrollably. The savage didn''t give her time to be repulsed by the image of that thing''s flesh moving beneath its skin. It pressed the attack by sending a series of punches her way. She knocked them aside one after the other, amazed by how much effort it took to deflect the blows. The savage''s muscles definitely weren''t just for show, she could feel that if she took more than one direct blow it would probably be the end of her. Even so, she got the feeling the story was the same for the ape. The savage seemed to take the concept of overwhelming power before all else to heart. But she knew all too well that overwhelming strength left other attributes lacking. And that was something she could exploit. Beneath those bone gauntlets is nothing but bare flesh, so if I break them then you won''t be able to take my axe head on! Just as she was about to activate Heavy Impact she felt the need to dodge. So she leaped backward and saw a writhing mass of flesh charge through the space where she''d just been standing. What the hell is that? The mass ceased writhing for a moment after it passed through the space she''d been before it seemed to convulse violently and then it got sucked back in the direction it came from. She looked to the right, feeling a sense of abject horror as the mass of flesh was sucked into the body of the flesh melder. Eve almost couldn''t react to the next onslaught from the savage, she was so taken aback by the disgusting nature of the flesh melder''s ability. She''d thought the malformed ape looked disgusting to begin with, but seeing its ability made her revulsion rise all the higher. She wanted to go and kill that thing before it launched any more disgusting attacks, but she knew the savage wouldn''t give her the space to break away. She also didn''t want to get close to the thing, but that in itself wasn''t a problem. Stepping to the left, Eve tried to position herself better so that the flesh melder wouldn''t have a clear line of sight to launch any more ranged attacks. However, the savage seemed to realize what she was trying to do and copied her movements, refusing to let her out of the flesh melder''s line of sight. Even kept moving and the savage kept pressing the attack, leading them into a perpetual motion that the flesh melder was forced to follow along with. It was lucky the bumbling thing had next to no agility, because it struggled to keep up with Eve and the savage. If it''s lagging behind then I''ll see if I can''t wear down these gauntlets in a few smaller clashes. She was afraid if she pulled out Heavy Impact to try and break one of the bone gauntlets that their clash would lock her in place for more than a second as it had when she''d blocked the savage''s initial attack. The flesh melder wasn''t quick enough to keep up with their fast-paced combat, but if she stopped for anything she was sure it would capitalize on the opportunity to launch another attack at her. So she gritted her teeth and focused on deflecting punches and contesting ones that had less force behind them. And then she moved, and the savage moved with her, always positioning itself so that she was exposed to the bulbous thing that stalked their fight. Pretty smart for an ape, aren''t you? After more than three dozen deflected attacks she finally started to notice a change. The gauntlets didn''t show any external weaknesses, but she could feel it through their repeated clashes. They felt less solid. When the savage attacked her next she pivoted and put her back into contesting the attack. Their attacks canceled each other out for only a moment before the ape''s right gauntlet cracked and fell apart. Her axe left a gouge in the ape''s fist before she jumped back and kept moving. There was no point in overcommitting to the attack when most of its momentum had already been spent breaking the gauntlet. That''s one down. I can keep wearing the other down until it breaks as well. But when the savage attacked next it didn''t use its gauntleted hand. It swung with its exposed right again. The move caught Eve completely off guard but her body, trained by numerous life or death struggles, still reacted instinctually. She swung her axe to meet the blow, but her lapse in judgment was her undoing. The ape opened its fist as it swung, and as Eve''s axe pierced the flesh of its palm the hand closed, trapping her axe within the meaty grip of the buff ape. Eve scowled as she was forced to let go of her weapon and dodge backwards lest the flesh melder get a clear shot. But the savage wasn''t content with simply taking her weapon. It became even more aggressive than it had been before, and Eve found herself on the receiving end of a wild flurry of blows without anything to defend herself with. It didn''t give her enough space or time to pull out a secondary weapon from her tile. Fine then, you stupid ape! You want a piece of me? Come on! She planted her feet against the ground and punched back against the ape''s massive fist. She felt the weight of Heavy Impact flow through her, and their clash sent a shockwave out around them. She winced from the feeling of the bones in her hand cracking from punching a solid gauntlet and from the strain of channeling Heavy Impact through a single limb. Though she was capable of putting out a tremendous amount of force thanks to her incredibly high strength, her body wasn''t able to fully take the abuse if she cut loose with her skills like this due to her endurance not matching her strength. Even so, her Heavy Impact imbued fist demolished the ape''s bone gauntlet, and she saw several of the fingers underneath bend out of shape as her fist plowed forward. The full force of Heavy Impact blew the savage''s arm back, making it look like an overinflated ragdoll. However, she knew even as she saw the savage recoil that the clash would cost her. She turned and put as much force into a leap backwards as she could, but the wave of undulating flesh was too fast. The arm she''d punched with was enveloped, and she felt the mass grip her limb and pull her in towards it. She screamed in pain as it felt like her arm was getting ripped apart, but she gritted her teeth and pulled with all her might.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. With a sickening squelch her arm was pulled free, and she couldn''t help but wince at the sight of it. The extension of the flesh melder''s body may as well have contained a thousand piranhas, because that was what it looked like her arm had been ravaged by. Only bits and pieces of skin remained, almost all of the underlying flesh was exposed to the world. She reached for her tile, intending to pull a healing item out, but with a screech the savage jumped straight over the mass of extended flesh. It swung its fist down toward her, and she desperately rolled to the side to avoid it. It seemed as though her skill had completely broken the ape''s arm, as it only swung with its right while the left hung limp at its side. Eve cursed internally as she continued to avoid the ape''s blows as her vision turned red. The pain from her arm was simply too great, it threatened to blot out the world if she didn''t deal with it fast. She closed her uninjured fist, and when she reopened it an orb of light sat in her palm. She held it to the sky and activated the skill. A blinding flash of light shot out from the orb, and the savage screeched as its retinas were seared by the unexpected light. This was Eve''s defensive ace, a skill called Distraction. Of course, it could be used to blind an enemy before she went on the offensive as well, but she preferred to use it as her emergency defense. Instead of consuming mana, the skill operated on a 15 minute cooldown, so it wasn''t like she could use it repeatedly. She looked over and felt relief that the flesh melder also seemed to be stunned by the light. As quickly as she could, she retrieved a healing pill from her inventory and took it. The pain relieving effects from the item were blissful, but she didn''t allow herself to get distracted. Her arm was in the process of healing, but that didn''t mean she was going to let her chance go by. The savage was shaking its head and blinking its eyes, trying to restore its vision as fast as it could. Eve wouldn''t let it have the chance to ever see anything again. She stepped in close while its guard was down and punched it in the face with everything she had using her good arm. She once again felt the weight of Heavy Impact flow through her as she caved the ape''s skull in with her bare fist. Kill - [The Savage, Enlightened Ape - Level 43] - 538 Talons [Ascension Quest Complete] [Level up. Level 41 obtained.] [Level up. Level 42 obtained.] Eve scowled as she tried to fling blood and brain matter off her hand as she stepped away from the savage''s corpse. She turned her attention to the flesh melder''s disgusting visage. There was no way she was going to get close to that thing. Luckily, she didn''t have to. Her class, Big Game Hunter, was one she''d chosen because it specialized in strength and was tailored to taking down strong enemies. The idea had appealed greatly to her. But it also came with an unintended side to it. She reached into her tile and pulled out something she never thought she''d actually use. It was a massive bow, more than twice the size of the ones used by all the other archers she''d seen. The thing was extremely rough, and it was ugly to look at to boot. Most other archers wouldn''t even be able to pull back the triple woven bowstring, which had proven necessary after only a single or double string had been prone to snapping under the force the weapon exerted. Most of the rankers on the ladder would be lucky to get Nix''s approval to meet her weapon crafter, but because Eve had been top of the leaderboard since the beginning Nix had made an exception. Eve had been gifted both the axe and the bow, though she knew it was simply meant to be an enticement to join Nix''s camp. Everyone wants to pull me this way and that way. Like I care. All I want is to get stronger and be able to protect Phil. Most archers relied on their dexterity stat to be accurate and deal effective damage with bows. The passive skill that Eve''s class came with allowed her to use half of her strength in place of dexterity to aim. She would never be as accurate as a real archer, so things like fast moving targets or slippery enemies would pose an issue. But she had more raw power in her arrows than they could ever hope for. Now that she thought back on it, she probably could have blown at least one of the apes away from a distance before they''d gotten into this mess. She simply hadn''t expected to find these four when Devon had described the dungeon as a place teeming with level 20 and 30 beasts. Eve flexed her still damaged arm. Having her entire arm stripped bare of skin and some of the underlying flesh was a wound that would take several minutes to heal, even with the magical properties of the healing item. Even so, as long as the muscles still worked she could use it so long as she didn''t do anything that would make it take more damage. She could live with the pain. The flesh melder was further away than the savage had been, so it hadn''t been affected as much by her Distraction. Its ranged assault resumed before she had a chance to draw her bow and fire a shot, but she didn''t mind that much now that she didn''t have the savage breathing down her neck. She simply moved out of the way and took aim. Her arrows were as massive as the bow itself, custom-made for the bow. They had to be, both because they wouldn''t be able to fit on the bowstring and if they weren''t oversized they''d lack the kinetic energy she was capable of outputting. She took a breath to steady herself as she focused on her target. The pain of using her arm while it was still damaged cut through the numbing effects of the healing item, but she ignored it. She drew an arrow back, held to be sure of her aim, and released it. Her projectile shot towards the flesh melder at a speed it couldn''t possibly avoid, and the arrow pierced through its inflated body. A geyser of blood spewed out of the wound, but Eve tsked in annoyance. She''d missed center mass, and it seemed like her shot hadn''t been enough to kill it in a single blow. Eve was about to ready her bow to take another shot when a dazzling silver light radiated across the chasm. She looked over to where Devon was fighting the other two apes and saw a dazzling array of silver streams streak across the chasm in every direction. She had to throw herself to the side to dodge one of the errant rays, but when she looked up she realized she wasn''t the only one getting caught in the crossfire. One of the curving beams of silver had directly struck the flesh melder, and when the silver light faded away she saw its body spasming uncontrollably. Sensing weakness, she drew another arrow as the light show died down. With another snap of the bowstring her arrow once again pierced the bulbous ape''s hide. But unlike the geyser of blood that had spilled forth before, a torrent of flesh burst forth out of the hole. Unlike the flesh attacks it had sent her way previously, the mass of meat that spilled out of the flesh melder didn''t seem controlled. It was like the enlightened ape was losing control of its own powers, and Eve didn''t like the idea of letting it run amok. From the beginning the question had been in the back of her mind; Where was the mass the flesh melder was using coming from? Was it generated out of nothing using mana? While she couldn''t discount the fact that it was entirely possible for things to be created out of nothing in their new reality, there was another possibility that seemed far more likely to her. Devon had said this place had been full to bursting of apes before, yet now there were only four. So where had the corpses of the others gone? They hadn''t encountered any at all on their way in, and there were none to be seen here in the heart of their lair either. The bone architect and the flesh melder. They''d butchered their kin to make weapons out of the scraps of their bodies. She drew her bow again, but just as she was about to fire the body of the flesh melder seemed to rupture completely. Its hide tore apart as an unrelenting tide of meat and viscera flooded out of its body. At first she thought it was over, that her first shot and the friendly fire it received had actually damaged it enough that it was no longer able to control its powers and it had been destroyed by them. However, she quickly realized that assumption was mistaken. The flesh kept pouring out of a source at the center of the writhing mass, and the flesh still seemed alive. Vain imitations of hands and limbs sprung forth, grasping for anything they could get ahold of as the tide of meat engulfed more and more of the chasm. How¡­ How could it possibly have contained so much mass within its body? Fleshy tendrils shot out towards the buildings around it, towards the ceiling, and towards her. She desperately avoided all of them, but the mass of flesh just kept expanding and expanding. The tendrils lifted it off the ground, suspending a giant ball of meat that contained the source of it all even as it continued to spill out more and more. If this kept up the entire space within the cave would be swallowed by the unrelenting tide of flesh. Eve''s mind raced. Her arrows could likely still pierce the massive suspended ball of flesh, but she had zero confidence she could locate the source of the abominations within to destroy it. Then with a start she realized the shimmering shield that had been erected around the cavern was gone. Wait, I could escape right now. She didn''t like turning her back to the enemy, but in this situation she could see no other options. There was simply no hope- A hand landed on her shoulder, and she jumped a little from surprise. Next to her stood Devon, who looked like he''d been through absolute hell. His skin seemed like it had been seared over a fire and there were several holes poked through him. Yet his eyes shone with an unearthly light, and patterns of cyan lines like runes ran over the whites around his pupils. They were similar to the lines that could be seen within the enlightened ape''s eyes, yet distinctly different. "You can pierce through that thing, can''t you?" She was shaken out of her state of shock by his question, "N¡­ Naturally. But I don''t know what I''d be aiming for. It''s all¡­" "Don''t worry. All you need do is take aim." Her fear seemed to fade away at the confident and steady tone of his voice. It assured her that despite how bleak the situation was, there was a way through. She took a deep breath and drew her bow. Now that she was fully focused she realized why she''d missed center mass before. There was a slight quiver in her damaged arm, one that was ever so faint but would still throw her shots off course if she didn''t focus. Her breathing steadied and she felt the quiver go away. "Now¡­ See the world through my eyes." Eve felt something alien touch something deep within her. In any other instance she would have violently recoiled, but the state of sublime focus Devon had lured her into kept her cool. The sensation was akin to being given a gentle hug or perhaps an encouraging pat on the back. Something came into view amid that writhing orb of suspended flesh. Something tangible yet incorporeal. It was barely perceptible, but she did not doubt her eyes. She didn''t know how she knew it, but she was certain that was the center of the abomination. Heavy Impact was a skill that could be applied to any of her attacks, no matter the weapon. She felt the weight of the ability flow into the bow and arrow as she focused her entire being on her form. There was no room for error here. Eve breathed in, breathed out¡­ and released the bowstring. Any tendrils in the arrow''s path were severed or obliterated entirely before it punched a hole straight through the horror''s core. She heard a crash from behind the mass of flesh from the arrow exploding against the cave wall or a ruined building. The entire thing froze, then convulsed before the forces that gave it life were unraveled and it all fell to the cavern floor in a giant mess. The goop continued to spread, but it did not possess the will or life it had before as it expanded. It was merely the dead mass settling against the floor of rubble. Then it started to disintegrate. First from the outer edges then inwards it turned to ash that floated into the air before returning to nothingness. Kill - [The Flesh Melder, Enlightened Ape - Level 45] - 562 Talons [Level up. Level 43 obtained.] [Level up. Level 44 obtained.] [Level up. Level 45 obtained.] Clear ¨C Class E naturally occurring Dungeon [Mountain Lair] Calculating performance¡­ Done. Performance Rating: B Contribution: 40% Tailoring B-Grade Reward based on Contribution¡­ Done. "What¡­ What was that?" She asked, amazed. But when she turned to Devon he was no longer at her shoulder. He was collapsed on the ground, unconscious as blood pooled on the stone beneath him. Eve was certain now. When she''d come into the tutorial there had been many things that had frightened her, but she''d overcome the vast majority of her fears. The apes too had now been overcome. All that remained within the tutorial that she felt could truly threaten her were the overseers, the biome lords¡­ and Devon. The man''s power was completely inexplicable. He was almost 10 levels beneath her, yet he''d managed to also take down two creatures that had given her so much trouble. And that sensation¡­ What the hell was that? She noticed with a shock that the man''s injuries weren''t closing, meaning he hadn''t yet taken a healing item. Most likely his focus had been so intense he hadn''t spared a thought for his injuries before losing consciousness. She took a healing item out of her inventory. The man was a dangerous enigma, but it wasn''t like she was just going to let him bleed out. She still had him to thank for giving her the opportunity to rescue Phil. After she fed him the pill she dragged his body behind her as she made her way towards the glowing terminal that had appeared in the center of the cavern. She bought a cot and threw his unconscious body onto it before going to retrieve her axe. She returned to the terminal, content to go over her gains for a while. And once she was done with that¡­ it was time to actually think about what she wanted to do. The decision she''d almost been forced to make before the battle weighed on her mind. From a certain perspective it resembled another choice she needed to make, one she''d been putting off. It''s time to stop thinking with my fists. 51 - Wounded Spirit Devon''s head hurt like hell when he awoke. When he tried to move his arm to rub his temple he realized his head wasn''t the only thing that hurt. His entire body was still covered in burns from the aftermath of the battle with the apes. He looked over towards Eve and saw her sitting by a fire she''d made. There was also a terminal nearby as well, which was strange because he was certain that hadn''t been there before. He took a moment to look over his condition before he popped a healing item in his mouth. Even if the things couldn''t fully heal everything they''d at least closed up all of the holes the bone architect had poked in his body. Ah, I still feel so weak. I suppose that''s what happens when your body is covered with extensive untreated burns. As the healing pill did its work he took a look over the slew of system messages left suspended in his vision. Clear ¨C Class E Dungeon [Mountain Den] Calculating performance¡­ Done. Performance Rating: A Contribution: 60% Tailoring A-Grade Reward based on Contribution¡­ Done. Reward added to Inventory. He looked opened his inventory to see what the system had given him for his best performance rating yet and opened his eyes wide in shock. [E-Grade Rejuvenation Token] Use to instantly reverse causality and restore the body to peak physical condition. Only usable while user''s race is E-Grade or lower. Reverse causality? Forget the healing items, the system had given him something that was a truly absurd item. If he understood the meaning of the description correctly it could instantly heal him from any injury. The healing pills were excellent, but they took several minutes for the effect to run its course, meaning they weren''t an instantaneous problem fixer. But with this he didn''t have to worry about that. Missing every limb? No problem. Burning alive? No problem. It could even potentially save him from more outlandish situations, like drowning. It''d only buy him a few more minutes in that scenario, but it''d be a lot more than what the healing pills could provide. Even as he relished the ideas that swirled in his mind of the ways he could use it he reminded himself that it wasn''t something to use flippantly like the healing pills. The system had given him an ace up his sleeve, and if he played it wrong then it didn''t matter how good it was if he wasted it. So just what the hell was that? Even though he''d been the one to experience it, what he''d gone through in the fight against the shining silver was strange to think back on. There was no hint left of the feeling of seeing the world as it truly was, whatever state the ape had awakened had fallen dormant once again after he fell unconscious. Of course, he knew intrinsically that the ape''s attacks had forced his soul to stir to life and retaliate, but he didn''t understand a lot of the other things he''d experienced or done. He''d just known he could, and so he had. For the first time since that night that felt like it had been so long ago he felt like he understood what the system prompt had meant when it said that spirituality was a base necessity to interact with the wider system. With his awakened eyes he had been able to see. When he''d entered this new reality the system had told him he was being tethered. Since that day he''d assumed that word had meant that his physical form was being bound to the world beyond his own, or adapting it to better be able to gain power. And while these things were likely still true, he''d missed the primary purpose. The system had tethered his soul, the core of his being, to itself. And through that connection he could interact with the world around him in ways it saw fit. Ordinary people only interacted with that structure on a surface level. Killing, questing, gaining levels and wealth. This was the structure the system put in place for everyday beings. But his spirit allowed him to look beyond that limitation, to gaze upon the true nature of the world. He''d tapped into a fraction of that power when he''d located the brewmaster''s spirit dungeon. He felt certain he could do even more than that if he knew how, but he didn''t. All he had done was get a glimpse behind the curtain. That, and destroy the soul of an enlightened ape. If I could learn how to replicate that state I could ascend beyond physical limitations and be virtually unmatched within the confines of this tutorial. Devon focused his mind, searching for that sensation and trying to bring it forth once again. But as he did so a piercing pain shot through his brain like a bullet, almost causing him to pass out. He had to wait several minutes for the pain to pass before he could think clearly again. Of course it wouldn''t be that easy to use. With a sigh, he consigned himself to look at the stats he''d gained from four levels. However, when he looked upon his status screen he received the biggest shock yet. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 37 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 3] Mana: 230/230 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 6], [Sword Proficiency - Level 6], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Lightning Thrust], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bone Breaker], [The Mask], [Refine], [Jammer] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement II], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Ambitious, Giantslayer, Lord of Massacre, Novice Dungeoneer, Independant, Discoverer Strength: 21(232) Dexterity: 18(228) Vitality: 17(221) Endurance: 17(220) Arcane: 17(224)Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Spirit: 4(52) Free Points: 180 Talons: 4105 What the hell happened to my stats? Devon stared in blank confusion at the way the system was displaying his stats. Then as he did some mental calculations he slowly came to realize with horror what the unfamiliar numeric display meant. He clenched his fist, trying to gauge his strength and confirmed his hypothesis. The numbers within parentheses were what his stats should be. The number in front of that was what they currently were. As it stood, Devon''s active stats were no better now than they had been when he''d been a level 10. The only answer he could imagine as the cause was his spirit. He''d just utilized it in a way he hadn''t even known he could, and it had been the first time it had ever taken direct damage. Most likely the ape''s spiritual attacks had wounded it, and that wound was being reflected back onto his physical body. He''d felt the weakness in the midst of the battle, but hadn''t paid it much mind. It was normal to experience a reduction in strength when you get blasted when a beam that left burns all over your body and impaled, after all. His support for this theory was that spirit was the only stat that didn''t line up with where his stats should be at his current level. All of his other stats within parentheses were what he expected they''d be. But spirit was 2 points short, and he didn''t have any answers as to why. This is bad. The spirit was something he''d been hesitant to mess around with because of the extreme lack of information on it. It was something nobody else seemed to possess, and until now its uses had been entirely unknown. The only event he''d correlated it with was when the system had awakened it, and something had reached through the void of space to communicate with him. If he couldn''t find some way to heal it before the protected period expired then everything he was working towards would be worth jack shit. He''d be forced to hide in a cave like some coward, waiting for Trey to bring him good news. That was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. So when he saw a small blip change on the status screen he felt relief pour through his being like a dam being opened. Strength: 22(232) Dexterity: 19(228) Vitality: 17(221) Endurance: 17(220) Arcane: 17(224) Spirit: 4(51) Only two things had changed, and they were so small they were almost imperceptible. The number that represented what should be his maximum spirit had gone down by 1, while his current dexterity had gone up by 1. That was all that had changed, yet it was enough for him to finally figure out what was going on. I was right. It''s like my spirit, or perhaps my soul itself, is wounded. And it''s dragging down all of my other attributes. Of the stats in parentheses, only spirit had gone down. And of the stats in front of parentheses, only dexterity and strength had gone up. It made him redo his calculations, but it was the key to finding the answer. At level 37 his spirit stat should have been at 54, but that wasn''t what it showed in parentheses. It had initially shown 52, and now 51. Taking the ratio of the active 4 to the 52-51 in parentheses gave him the same ratio that all of his other stats had been reduced by. Basically, he had somewhere between 7-8% of the spirit shown in parentheses, and that was the same percentage that was applied to the rest of his stats. So when spirit had gone down the percentage of current stats to ''should be'' stats had been raised, and the increase had been small enough that it had raised both his strength and dexterity along with it, but just barely not enough to raise any of his other stats. In other words, though his five basic attributes would slowly return to how they were, his spirit had been irrevocably damaged. Damn. Well, it''s not like I can''t build it back up again with Potential. I just need to be sure not to run into anything else that attacks it directly. And I shouldn''t try to enter that state again until I have a good enough stockpile that I won''t accidentally kill myself. He reasoned that most of the damage that had been done to his spirit had likely come from the ape, but he had a feeling that a small part of it had come from him remaining in that transcendent state. His reasoning for this was that the shining silver had given him two levels when it had died. Those levels would have given him an additional 4 points in spirit, the same number he was at currently. So it shouldn''t have been possible for him to acquire those levels because if his spirit had truly been pushed to zero in that final clash his soul would have been extinguished alongside the ape''s. The most reasonable explanation was that being in that state drained the spirit. After the clash with the ape he''d likely been left with 1 or 2 spirit remaining, then that had been raised to 5 or 6 after the levels before helping Eve had burned away the remaining 1 or 2, leaving him with 4. If I hadn''t passed out when I did I wouldn''t have even known it was happening, and might have accidentally died without having any idea as to why. Finally finished with his musing, Devon turned to Eve, "So what''s with the terminal?" "Hm? Oh, those show up when you clear a dungeon. Didn''t you know?" "The only other two dungeons I''ve fully cleared were spirit dungeons." "Ah." Devon waited for her to say something else, but she didn''t. She just stared into her fire as if in deep contemplation. "Something the matter?" "I''ve just been thinking." "About Kal''o Kir?" He knew the executioner had been on her mind ever since their unexpected meeting. She nodded, "And everything else as well. The strife between the two camps, what''ll happen in a few days when the protected period is up, all of it. Say, these ruins spread throughout the entire mountain, don''t they?" Devon eyed her cautiously. He didn''t like where this was going but he knew there was no point in lying about it. The answer was obvious for anyone to see, "Yeah, it''s as I said before, the surface of the mountain covers up an entire layered city. I have no idea how deep it goes, but if you go to the other side of the mountain you can see it all exposed to the world." "I see. I suppose it wouldn''t be impossible to just hide out somewhere deep inside until everything is over then, huh?" "...But you couldn''t bring everyone. Even 20 or more people and the risk of being tracked becomes insanely high." "Yeah. But it probably wouldn''t matter for just one or two, right?" His gaze hardened, "You''re planning to run away? To abandon both of the camps and just leave? I thought you were more principled than that." "So did I. But I don''t have any idea what''s going on. Unlike you, I''m not good at understanding the relationships between two factions, I don''t know strategy, and I don''t have a knack for leadership like Trey or Nix. I can''t think of a way to do everything on my own, no matter how much I level up. So instead of letting everything I can''t control slip through my fingers, wouldn''t it be better if I focus on protecting what I actually care about?" "You think Phil would be okay with the two of you leaving everything to sort itself out?" "It doesn''t matter what he thinks. All that matters is that we live to see the end of this tutorial. Or did you actually have something in mind? Come to think of it, I haven''t heard what you and Trey plan to do. Not only do you have the overseers to contend with, now you''ve got this mess back at the camps to sort out." "Trey can worry about the camps. For the overseers I''m planning to put together a squad of some of the higher leveled people in Plainstown to coordinate assassinations on lone overseers. It should help drastically reduce the number of them we have to deal with by the end of the protected period. It''s been taking a while because I''m trying to select people who are trustworthy enough that they won''t blab to everyone else about the overseer''s true goal." He smiled, "I haven''t bothered asking you because you don''t work well in a team, so I don''t think you''d be a good fit." Of course, everything that was coming out of his mouth was a lie. He''d anticipated the question of what he and Trey were planning on doing and had decided to run with the assassination squad story. A squad with such a purpose would never come to be, because he knew that the overseers would adapt to the tactic and most likely prepare ambushes to eliminate it. Eve was silent for a few moments before she said, "I should have figured you''d just lie. I don''t know why I even bothered asking." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" "It means you''re a terrible liar, what else?" This was why Eve was such a troublesome person for Devon to deal with. Not only was she bullheaded and simple, she was remarkably perceptive. Looking back on it, she''d likely realized Devon''s true nature even before he had. She''d treated him with disdain from the instant he came back, after his experiences from the first week had changed him in ways he hadn''t understood. Still, it was true he was a bad liar. Before all this Devon was a somewhat model student and a chess player. Not exactly the lifestyle of someone who needed to practice lying a whole lot. "So you''ll run," He said. "Yeah, I''ll run." "I see. Good luck with that then." Eve didn''t stick around much longer before touching the terminal and disappearing, leaving Devon to his thoughts. Should I have tried to bring her in on the real plan? With her current state of mind it might not have evoked the visceral reaction I''ve been afraid of. No, letting her in on that would have probably only made things worse. What could I have done? What should I do? 52 - Gunpowder Thankfully Devon was still off the ladder, even at level 37. He spent a while sorting things out in his head and collecting everything of value in the cleared-out lair before heading back to Plainstown. In a sense, Eve had made the objectively correct choice. She had cast aside any sense of obligation she had towards anything other than her number one, her primary objective, Phil''s safety. The bonds of family aren''t something that can be so easily dismissed. But it still left him in a slightly troubling spot. In his mind the role Eve had been meant to play was that of a hunter amidst a war, someone who ignored the conflict at large completely to focus only on killing overseers. He''d have to fill the vacuum she''d left behind or else their chances would take a significant decrease. How ironic, now I''ll actually have to put together a squad to hunt overseers. The creation of such a squad, especially within the more passive mindset of Plainstown, was a bit of an issue. It would be troublesome explaining the situation with the overseers while giving a compelling excuse as to why they would be unable to allow the squad to function until the battle between the two camps happened. Still, he supposed it would be as good a use of his time as any. He couldn''t do any meaningful hunting while his spirit was wounded, so all he could do was continue to stir up animosity between the camps and pick out candidates for the squad. Create sub-plot. What is the objective of new plot? Set objective as create task force. Confirmed. Calculating¡­ Done. Accept sub-plot? [Create Task Force] Tasks: [Scouting Out Potential] Accept sub-plot. He''d really wanted to use Eve for this purpose instead. Unlike the squad he''d be creating, Eve was already well aware of the threat of the overseers. That combined with her position as the top ranker meant he hadn''t needed a plot to fulfill the role. Of course, creating a plot for the purpose was always nice because he''d be able to reap the completion rewards. The main reason he''d been content to let Eve shoulder the burden was because creating a squad came with the risk of exposure and a time investment that he could have spent hunting to potentially make the same gains. Though he supposed that was before the apes had given him 4 levels in a single encounter. Devon had to suppress a smile. Technically the squad would be subservient to Trey''s authority, with Devon only acting as a coordinator, somebody who served under Trey. He was becoming used to thinking of Trey''s assets as his own, to be moved and used as he wished. That left the matter of his wounded spirit. There was nothing provided by the system within the tutorial that was remotely related to the hidden stat, not even any datalogs that mentioned its existence. Most likely the spirit was something that wasn''t meant to be awakened within the confines of the tutorial, so the system didn''t bother giving any assistance in the matter. That left only the hard way to build it back up. No, even before that I''d like to find a way to properly utilize it. The final clash against the shining silver had likely been a situation that wouldn''t come so easily in the future. At that moment Devon had been weak, and the ape had been desperate to reclaim its pride as the dominant soul. The circumstances of that situation had led to a clash of spirits where both had stood still, simply weathering each other''s spiritual attacks. But such a clash would not be easy to replicate, and if it meant exposing his soul it could even be considered to be ill-advised. If he tried to instigate a spiritual clash against an evenly matched opponent it was likely they''d exploit his lapsed focus to skewer him before he could extinguish their soul. Even the way he''d used it to see the world around him was primitive and self-damaging. What he needed was something to channel that spiritual energy, like a conduit. The ape had used its magic in just such a fashion. The question was whether it was possible to acquire a skill like that with his limited set of generalist skills. Gah, yet another reason I want to go out and level some more. But no, I need to focus on what I can do right now. Once he made his way over to a mostly unused corner of Plainstown he spent an hour conferring with Trey over possible candidates through the message function while he tinkered with some side projects. Then once he was done with his improvised crafting he made his way over to Arkania. He had to wait half an hour after messaging Phil before the old man came to the back of his ramshackle pub to let him into the back room. "Busy day?" Devon asked. "Every day is a busy day now that the two camps are at each other''s throats. Just as I thought people were beginning to settle into this kind of life trouble pops up and ruins people''s peace of mind all over again. Though I suppose you''d know all about that wouldn''t you, Devon?" The old man tossed him a vial across the room that Devon deftly caught in his hand. "Well, it''s not like I can deny it." From the beginning Devon had known it would be pointless to try and con Phil into giving him the sleeping draft. Even a moron in Phil''s position would have been able to connect the dots when the only alibi people were able to give was that they''d been sleeping off a stint at the bar. So Devon had resorted to guilting the man into giving him what he wanted, reminding him that Phil owed Devon his life and giving sweet assurances that everything he was doing was for the greater good.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. It was almost disturbing how good he was getting at manipulating even those he had considered friends, how capable he was at putting aside his reservations in service to his scheme. "Has Eve stopped by here today?" "No. Why, are you trying to get her involved in whatever you''re doing too?" His face turned dark, "No matter what you say, if you try to use her¡­" "She''s actually planning on taking you and running away from everything." Phil looked taken aback by that, "...Really? Did you do something?" "Don''t go pinning everything on me. She made her own choice." "And I suppose you want me to talk her into doing something else." "Not remotely." Devon knew instinctively that any attempt he made to appeal to Eve through Phil would be seen through at once, and could turn her wrath on him. If she was intent on removing herself from the equation then all he could do was adapt. However, he did find it interesting that Eve hadn''t come directly here. It meant that she was likely going to wait until probably a day or two before the protected period expired to make her move. He imagined she was probably roaming through the endless maze of ruins under the mountain, trying to find a suitable spot where she could take Phil and hide out. Phil sighed, "Fine then. Go now, I still have customers waiting on me." Devon took his sleeping draft and left without a word of protest. Another reason that Devon couldn''t find it in himself to truly be mad at Eve was that taking Phil away from this place before the final battle had already been a part of his plans. Not only would he have been able to pin the kidnapping on the overseers, but he''d put Phil out of harm''s way before the battle. No, maybe it''s better I didn''t have the chance to go through with that. He could only roughly predict how Eve would react to any given prompt, and that may have spelled disaster right before the battle. Even knowing that, he''d been resolute about taking Phil away from the battle before it began. There was no strategic or tactical reason behind the action, but something in the back of his mind told him he''d have done it even if it meant Eve made a mess of everything. Devon was fond of the old man. In the endlessly boring days of university hanging out at Phil''s place had been one of the few pastimes that had felt truly meaningful. When he''d been playing chess and studying it had felt like he was simply going through the motions of life. It was only when he''d been helping Phil out or messing around with Trey that he''d felt like he was truly living. So he couldn''t bring himself to simply abandon the old man in the middle of the maelstrom he was creating between the two camps. He couldn''t help but smile at his own hypocrisy, or maybe it was better to say he was selfish. Devon was completely willing to throw every single human within the tutorial into a chaotic frenzy of death and mayhem except for the ones he cared about. It''s fine if they think of me as a devil or fiend, so long as they survive. If Trey, Phil, and I can all make it through this alive then it doesn''t matter how many sins I have to pile up. Those two were the only ones Devon was concerned about. The only real attachment he had to Eve was their shared connection to Phil, but that was it. And besides, she didn''t warrant his concern when she was about as monstrously strong as he was. He was grateful Trey was capable of handling himself, so Devon also didn''t have to worry about him so much. Since Trey was in a position of power the likelihood of him dying in the battle was also lessened. In myths and fairytales the commander always leads the charge, but reality wasn''t so inspiring. If everything goes as I expect the people of Plainstown won''t need to be led into battle, they''ll charge in of their own free will. Devon assumed one of his many faces and blended into the small crowd inside Phil''s pub. An hour later he had a new identity ready, with the sleeping beauty stashed in an unused tent in Arkania''s sleeping area. Just because his stats were temporarily reduced didn''t mean he couldn''t get work done.
"Water! Bring some water over here!" Vanir shouted out to the panicked crowd of Plainstown residents Vanir had been arguing with Susan over the despicable actions that the people in Arkania had been a part of recently. Susan wanted him to calm down and try to settle their disputes peacefully, but how could he when one of their people had treated her like garbage? He didn''t care about the thrashing he''d received nearly as much as how they''d treated her like something to be disposed of. A resounding boom had interrupted their conversation, and screams prompted Vanir into action. When he got a good look at what had happened he was stunned. A small section of the outer wall had been completely demolished, and he could see wooden wreckage littered all over the surrounding area. The worst part was some of the wreckage and the undamaged segments of the wall were aflame, with plumes of smoke starting to rise. He leapt into action, buying as much water from the terminal as he could before setting to work putting out the fires. His cries for help were quickly met when several other people stepped in to help put out the flames alongside him. In short order the remaining fires were extinguished, leaving people to stare in mute shock at the damage. The destruction of the wall by itself wasn''t too much of an issue, they''d hunted all of the monsters in the settlement''s close proximity to extinction. The problem was determining what happened, and who was responsible. "Vanir," He heard a voice call out. When he turned he saw Trey beside him, "What happened?" "I don''t know," Vanir said, "I was talking with Susan and heard an explosion, then found it like this." "I see," Trey nodded thoughtfully, "I''d like you to help me ask around and see if anybody knows what happened. You up for that?" Vanir couldn''t help but smile, even in the wake of the incident. Back on earth barely anybody would give him the time of day, let alone entrust him with such an important task. But this wasn''t earth, and his hard work to claw his way onto the ladder had given him a measure of respect from pretty much everybody around the camp. He spent the next two hours going around interviewing people who''d been in the area at the time. When he felt he was ready he made his way towards Trey''s massive tent. As he entered he saw several other people who held influence within the camp conferring with each other. Trey spotted him as he stood by the entrance, unsure of what to do. "Vanir, come in. Tell us what people saw." Vanir stood before the small assembly and relayed what others had told him. There were minor injuries among 3 people, but other than that nobody had been hurt. Several people had seen a shady figure they''d never seen before hanging around that wall, but nobody had paid them much mind at the time. One person claimed that they''d recognized the man from before they''d transferred from Arkania to Plainstown. One of the men mused out loud, "Some of the Arkanians had guns before the overseers took them away, didn''t they? It probably would have been easy to deceive the overseers and keep any ammo they''d brought into the tutorial. From there it would have been easy to make a bomb with the leftover gunpowder" "Now wait a minute," Susan protested, "We can''t just go blaming all our problems on those people just because we''ve met a few bad apples." "I''m sorry Susan, but I''d have to disagree," Trey said, "It''s too much of a coincidence to ignore. I think the probability that somebody within Arkania is behind this is extremely high." "Trey!" Susan proclaimed, "We can''t villainize these people at every given opportunity, what if it leads to-" "I''m well aware of what''s at stake, Susan. However, we need to be prepared for every eventuality. We''ll triple the guard, and we''ll have to crack down on anyone who seems suspicious. Until then, I want everyone to keep quiet about this. There''s no need to rile tensions up further than they already are. I''ll commission some of the craftsmen to repair the wall. Everyone is dismissed." Of course, trying to keep such suspicions under wraps was a vain effort, and the entire settlement heard about the prevailing theory behind the attack within the day. 53 - Drastic Actions Kal''o Kir stalked through the dense underbrush of the plains along the outer edge of the island. Her targets were two human hunters, both with levels in the low 30s. By now the humans were being forced to come this far out to hunt worthwhile prey, and their progression was slowing to a crawl. Many of them would soon hit the limit of what they were capable of achieving within the tutorial due to the increasing scarcity of prey. But that didn''t matter to her. What mattered was that the ones she hunted were comparatively weak to the elites of the humans, but strong enough that they may have connections and information that she needed. Val Kazar wouldn''t agree to put pressure on the humans in an attempt to have them give up the one named Devon no matter how much she attempted to persuade him. He continually insisted that it was likely that one wasn''t in the camps because it was unreasonable to assume he could truly evade detection completely when he had so many vishan keeping an eye on the camps. That left the possibilities that either the human named Eve had been lying or Val Kazar was overestimating the vishan. Was it truly so unreasonable that one who had given them so much trouble from the start was capable of exceeding their every expectation? Even assuming Eve had been lying about Devon being in the camps, the fact that she''d either been led there by him or known about the conflict between them was proof enough that she''d been in contact with him. This train of conclusions had led her to the possibility that there may be other humans within the camps who knew about Devon''s whereabouts. It was possible he was actually a well respected member of their community, and the vishan had no idea because of the divide they''d created between themselves and the humans. Even if he hadn''t made any connections within the tutorial, because of the way the system drew in groups of people it was also possible he''d entered with friends or family. Somebody had to know something. But she''d never find out if she stayed passive as Val Kazar wanted her to. I''ll get my revenge, no matter what. Even if I have to burn every bridge left. Even if I become the single most despised creature within this world, if I can just achieve my desire before death then I can be at peace. There''s no choice left but to take drastic actions. The two hunters finished off a kill before taking a break to catch their breath and restore their stamina. Kal''o Kir sensed her moment of opportunity and leapt from the underbrush, bringing a crude wooden cudgel down on one of their heads. The cudgel wasn''t usually her weapon of choice, but she needed something to knock her target unconscious, not dead. The wooden weapon broke against the skull of the human but Kal''o Kir didn''t pay it any mind before she moved swiftly toward the other hunter, who was frozen in surprise. They desperately tried to raise their weapon in a weak show of defiance, but they were far too weak to be a true threat to Kal''o Kir. She knocked their weapon aside with ease and grabbed their scrawny neck before slamming them into the ground. They lost consciousness as the back of their skull hit the ground. She quickly threw both of the unconscious bodies over her shoulder before dashing away, towards the forest. The plains were far too open for the next task, she needed one of the confined spaces that could be found within the many burrows of the forest. Several hours passed before the two hunters saw the light of day again after being released from captivity. Despite being freed, their forms were changed. One of the two was covered in wounds, missing an arm and a leg, and blood ran down their face in two streams from where their eyes had been gouged out. That had been the first subject, and Kal''o Kir had forced the second to watch in horror for the entire process. The second was considerably less injured. Kal''o Kir had thought that if they had both been left in the condition of the first their chances of survival were virtually nonexistent. And she needed them alive. They were to bring back her message that the one called Devon would be given to her, or she would carve up and torture as many humans as it took before somebody finally talked.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. The two hunters hadn''t been of any help. They''d known nothing about the one called Devon and had kept mostly to themselves since the beginning of the tutorial. According to them, they were a pair similar to the soulbonded of the vishan, what they called husband and wife. A worthless pair of ignorant people. Oh well, on to the next. Someone from the forest might have a better idea, that''s where Eve usually hangs out, after all. She hoped she would encounter somebody who had actual answers soon, otherwise she would be forced to get truly desperate. According to the intelligence Val Kazar compiled and distributed to all of the overseers the human known as Devon had been observed only once since the beginning of the tutorial, on that first day. And he hadn''t been alone. There had been two others he''d shared a fire with on that first night. One of them was Eve, who she already knew had been in contact with Devon since. The other was the de facto leader of Plainstown, the one known as Trey.
Val Kazar cursed as he read over the message one of the scouts had sent. That damn fool¡­ She''s threatening to turn this already twisted tutorial into a chaotic hellscape that I won''t be able to predict. In the beginning Val Kazar''s plan had been simple. Leave the humans to their own devices and reap the harvest once their protected period ended. But the humans surpassed his imagination at every step, and Val Kazar knew now that to proceed with such a stupidly simple plan would only end with him leading the vishan to their deaths. No, he needed to treat the situation with extreme caution, as any misstep could spell disaster. He''d already lost three vishan to the humans. How many more of his kin would have to die to succeed in this gambit called the tutorial? According to Kal''o Kir, the human named Eve had said that the one called Devon had been responsible for the death of Kal''o Dar. Val Kazar wasn''t sure how the human had done it so early in the timeline of the tutorial, but he had to admit the series of events made sense. First he kills the chief''s daughter in the forest, then he flees to the mountain where he manages to kill Ka''o Dar. But what about the third, Yur Kuzak? Yur Kuzak''s death was one they had virtually no information about. The one called Devon shouldn''t be within either the forest or the plains, his scouts would have seen him. Even so, Val Kazar couldn''t discount the possibility that the human had found a way to slip past every single vishan, however unlikely such a possibility was. But there was also the possibility Yur Kuzak''s death was orchestrated by another. The system favored the initiates in matters of overseer vs initiate conflicts. When an overseer broke the vow they''d made with the system every overseer and human received a system notification. However, initiates were not given the choice of their participation in the tutorial, so the system gave them the advantage of discretion when they voided their protected status. It was entirely possible there were two or even three overseer killers loose within the tutorial. Val Kazar leaned towards the assumption of two, with the chief''s daughter and Kal''o Dar being killed by Devon and Yur Kuzak being killed by a third party. But with Kal''o Kir''s actions that number threatened to go up drastically. His lower leveled scouts could easily find themselves the victims of wrathful retribution against his kind if he didn''t sort this situation out immediately. It''s time to remove the most prevalent thorns in my side. There were two thorns, so to speak. The first was Kal''o Kir, who threatened everything. The second was the human named Eve, whose existence was an unmistakable danger. He had no idea how she''d done it, but she''s gained 7 levels within a single day at level 40. Such progress usually took even the most talented vishan months, if not years. Of course, the vishan were starved for resources, which was the main factor in their stunted growth, but even so. An individual with such frightening potential could not be allowed to exist. They posed far too much of a threat. His actions would require discretion. He couldn''t allocate so many vishan to the task that the humans noticed something was wrong. The one called Nix in particular was especially cunning. He mulled through possibilities for over an hour before he came to one he liked. The setup for it would likely happen whether he took action or not, which meant he should only need to dedicate two individuals to the task, one of which he''d been meaning to test the mettle of for a while now. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Val Kazar] It''s time to do some work, human. 54 - Leader Kal''o Kir walked into the overseer''s central camp. There were only two level 30s nearby, resting. All of the other vishan were out observing the humans or tending to other matters. She couldn''t help but marvel at the structure they''d managed to whip up while also managing the humans. The overseer camp was to be the center of their new village once the tutorial ended and all the humans were out of the way. So they''d been constructing the central structure since they''d arrived. In simple terms it was an arena, elliptical in shape with benches and walls constructed from the forest''s trees. The arena was a symbol. A reminder that no matter where they went or what world they found themselves in they would always remember their roots, the need to better themselves to fight in the wars and the struggles for supremacy that had given birth to their culture. Val Kazar stood in the center of the open space, practicing the forms of his own war arts. As she entered he stopped, and his eyes narrowed in her direction. "Hello, Val." "Do you have any idea how badly you''re ruining things?" His fury was writ plain on his face. "I haven''t come to argue. I''d like to make a trade," She reached into her inventory and took out an item before throwing it to Val Kazar. He caught the small object and looked at it in surprise, "Where did you get this?" "The humans have them in spades from what I''ve heard. Do you want to know how much those precious items cost in their terminal shops? 50 talons." "That''s all, for such a precious thing?" "Indeed. It''s almost too funny to bear, really. If we''d simply done our job as overseers properly we could have established reliable trade with the humans and gotten as many of those as we''d wished. Instead, we''ve cut off that possibility forever." "I believe you mean you cut off that possibility forever, when you cleaved that human''s head open for all to see." "Don''t act like they would have been any more amiable to talks of trade even before that with how you''ve been treating them from the start. Actually, if we''d only done our job right from the beginning we wouldn''t be in this situation at all, would we?" "Maybe you''re right. You know, you should take that up with the chief when he arrives." "As if I''d get a single word in before I was butchered. I''ll pass, thanks. Anyway, back to my trade." "And what is it you wish to trade for this?" "Give me one of the sealing tokens." Val Kazar bristled, "You know very well that those two objects are not equivalent in value." "I have 20 more of those little things. I believe they''d be of great use to you in the case that things go poorly before the tutorial ends. Besides, you don''t have any use for the tokens currently, do you?" Val Kazar had to think on that. What she was offering was a huge incentive, but the sealing tokens were a limited item. They had only brought two of them into the tutorial and there was no way for them to acquire more. "Fine." Val Kazar transferred the token before Kal''o Kir tossed over a pouch containing the rest of the healing items. The overseer''s leader tried to say something else before she left, but Kal''o Kir was gone in a flash. She had what she desired, and any more time spent in Val Kazar''s presence only raised the risk he would spontaneously decide it would be best to dispose of her immediately. Yesterday was the testing phase. Today we''ll see if I can get some answers.
Shit, I messed up. Devon had warned him, but Trey wasn''t always a good listener. The unity of Plainstown threatened to come unraveled at every new obstacle, so now more than ever he needed to be a symbol to bind them together. A leader. Or maybe that''s just my pride talking. Either way, his ideals had led to his downfall. He''d left with a team of seven, five of which had been almost instantly subdued when they''d walked into a trap. He and the remaining hunter had been taken by surprise when the executioner had dropped down on them from the treetops.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. And now he and the other hunter were bound. The former overseer stepped close to him as it brandished its knife, "Tell me about the one called Devon. I know for a fact you spent time with them shortly after entering the tutorial." "...Fuck you." The knife was brought down on his left hand and he felt two fingers severed. He screamed in pain, but Kal''o Kir''s hand gripped his jaw like a vice, forcing his mouth close. "The only thing I want to hear from that useless jaw is answers. If anything, anything, else comes out this will never end. Now¡­ again. Tell me about the one called Devon." Trey smiled sadistically through the pain, "Fuck you." "...I can already see that we''re going to be here a while."
Devon watched amid the crowd as a mutilated pair of hunters were carried into Plainstown. This was the third incident of its kind in Plainstown, the sixth if the incidents in Arkania were added to that total. He''d anticipated from the start that Kal''o Kir was rash and acted on impulse, and had expected her actions to continue to invoke the human''s ire. But these incidents were far beyond the scope of what he''d expected. Our unexpected encounter in the mountains seems to have lit a fire under her, and she isn''t content to simply wait for results from Val Kazar anymore. Eve laying the accusation of Kal''o Dar''s death had focused all of Kal''o Kir''s rage on him, and it didn''t seem like she''d stop at anything to get to him now. Every single person who returned to the camps from being tortured all had the same message; "Give up the one called Devon or I will never stop." As much as he wanted to lay the blame for these incidents at Eve''s feet for giving his name back in that cave, he couldn''t truly blame her. She''d said the best thing at the time to get both of them out of that cave without conflict. Not even Devon had expected the ramifications of that encounter to be this severe at the time. Still, Kal''o Kir''s brutality only seemed to grow as time went on. Plainstown had never needed a true hospital area before due to the fact that the healing pills were capable of fixing most normal wounds received in hunting expeditions. But the former overseer''s victims came back with wounds that couldn''t be healed with only one or two healing pills. Amputations, disfiguring injuries, and even scalpings were staples of Kal''o Kir''s work. According to the last pair, the monster had even forced the duo to give up healing items so she could continue her cruel methodology without them dying in the process. The cold and rational part of Devon''s mind filtered all of the useful information from the horrific events. Seeing how far the human body enhanced by the system could be pushed before death occurred was good for establishing his own limitations. And one of the longest standing unasked questions had finally been answered. The effects of a single healing pill were well known and extremely revered. Yet once a second pill was taken the recipient would lose consciousness as the healing takes place. What then would happen if a third pill was administered in this state? The first pair of victims had been a husband and wife couple. The husband''s injuries were extensive, far beyond anything anyone in Plaintown had yet witnessed. And so it was decided due to the extreme nature of the victim''s condition that a third healing pill would be given. And 20 seconds after that third pill was administered¡­ the husband''s body exploded. One side of his mind registered all of these facts with the impassive calculation of a machine. But the other side of him raged. One of the two that were being brought through the gates was Trey. He''d wanted to set an example, to show all the residents of Plainstown that they shouldn''t be afraid to go outside the walls. Devon had been against it but Trey had been resolute, saying that they couldn''t expect these people to follow him if he didn''t show them he was somebody worth trusting. Of the two, Trey was far more injured. Devon forced himself to not focus on the specifics of the injuries, lest their grim details completely blind him with rage. However, what he saw as they entered was enough to shock him out of his emotions. There had been outrage when both of the other pairs had returned, but as Trey was carried through the gate there was only silence. Everyone looked upon Trey''s ruined form with different expressions on their face. Some looked on with fear of the future, others with rage at the atrocity, and yet more with unreadable expressions. Devon recognized Vanir as the one who was helping Trey along. Poor young Vanir beheld all of the faces looking his way in tense silence and stopped, cowed by the unspoken pressure of the crowd. The sudden stop of Vanir''s movement seemed to stir Trey into consciousness. He looked up and saw with one eye the faces of the crowd surrounding him. Trey looked upon all the faces and all the expressions aimed his way and spoke. His voice was quiet, but it carried through the crowd as loud as any speech would. "Who are we?" Several of the faces in the crowd turned to confusion. "When we came here we were nothing. A sea of unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar place. Death and despair assailed us at every corner, yet through grit and grime we carved out a place for ourselves amid this cruel and foreign world. So I ask again, who are we?" Many of the confused faces in the crowd hardened. Devon saw fists clench and fear in the eyes of many give way to something else, something stronger. Trey raised a mutilated arm into the air, even as blood ran down his exposed flesh. He clenched his fist and said, "We are the unbroken." The crowd burst into cheers as Trey''s strength gave out and Vanir continued to carry him away. The fervor of the people was infectious, but that wasn''t what put the grin on Devon''s face. He was lucky nobody was looking his way, because they would likely have been chilled by the expression of mirthful malice that he couldn''t conceal amid the excitement of the crowd. Oh, Trey. I''ll admit, I doubted your capabilities for a moment when you went against me and went out there on a foolish venture outside the walls. But in the end, you know how to rouse the hearts of people far better than I do. You used this moment of defeat to evoke a passion from the people of Plainstown that I never could have conceived. Of all the people in the world, I truly could not have asked for a more perfect piece. For all the fear and hatred I can sow amongst these people, only you can unite those dark emotions and bend them to my will. 55 - Forced Hand Devon watched from beside the makeshift bed as Trey awoke. Several hours had passed since healing pills had been administered and Trey had fallen unconscious. The healing item had taken care of the most critical wounds and stabilized his condition, but he still wouldn''t be moving for another day until he went through as many courses of pills as it would take to return him to full condition. Kal''o Kir''s spree of heinous mutilations was yet more proof of how incredible the token the system had given him for defeating the monkeys was. The pills were miraculous items, yet even they had limitations that were becoming all too clear. In the midst of battle they could not be relied upon to fix everything and get you back in the fight. "Shame¡­ I was hoping there would be a cute girl to greet me when I woke up," Trey said. "I could always use my disguise skill to look like one, if you want." "Please don''t. I don''t need such a horrifying thought in my head." Trey looked around, "We''re alone?" "Susan agreed to let me have the room so long as I make you take a healing pill as soon as you wake up. She''s keeping everyone else away so they don''t disturb your rest, but it hasn''t been very easy on her." Devon handed over a healing pill which Trey promptly took. "I see. I''ll have to thank her later." They lapsed into silence before Devon''s expression turned serious, "So, what happened?" Of course, he wasn''t asking how Trey had been tortured or how his team had been ambushed, though that would be good intel for later. He was of course interested in the vishan''s tactics, but his more immediate concern was something else. Even in Trey''s stubbornness in leaving on that expedition, he''d been amenable to tactical considerations. In every kidnapping thus far it had been immediately obvious when someone had been abducted. It''d almost been impossible to miss, as the victims had blinded their acquaintances with messages pleading for help even as they''d been mercilessly tortured. The problem was none of those individuals had been composed enough to rationally communicate while under the knife, leading to a situation where many people sought to help but were incapable of doing so because hardly anything comprehensible came through the system. It wasn''t their fault, they could hardly be expected to think logically while being tortured. When the second pair had been taken Trey had dispatched a squad to the first burrow that the traumatized wife had shown them on her map, but the location of the first tortures was empty. Kal''o Kir wasn''t a moron, she was moving location for every new victim, making sure to leave no traces or hints in her wake. And so when Devon had seen how determined Trey was to head out he''d suggested a contingency. In the event that Trey was captured he had a team on standby, ready to coordinate a search and assault of Kal''o Kir''s new lair. Unlike the individuals that had been previously taken, Trey had connections with nearly everybody in Plainstown and could remotely coordinate them if need be. And most importantly, he was good under pressure. The specific plan was that in the event of Trey''s capture two dozen squads of paired individuals would be dispatched into the woods. Those squads would utilize whatever means available to them to create as much noise as they could. If Trey happened to hear any of that noise he could communicate that and then they could begin the process of elimination on which squad''s noise could be heard, giving them an approximate area to conduct a more thorough search. But when Trey had been captured they didn''t receive any message from him. Even hours after the defeated five in his team returned to Plainstown they received no messages from the man himself. The next time anybody heard anything from Trey was when he''d been found, his abducted partner carrying his abused body back towards Plainstown. "Kal''o Kir used something on me that disabled most of the system''s functions, it said they were sealed every time I tried to access them. The only thing I could use was the status page, so I wasn''t able to send messages out as we''d planned." "Same with the other one who was with you?" "No, Jordan was unconscious the entire time. I think she force-fed him two healing pills to make sure he was out."This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Devon put his hand to his chin in contemplation. This was different from every other case so far. Kal''o Kir''s usual mode of operations was to force the second person to watch as she tortured, then occasionally swapping between victims to keep them guessing which would be worse off by the end. It was a psychological game that kept the victims in constant anticipation and fear. And then there was the matter of her having the ability to disable, or ''seal'' as Trey said, parts of the system. "Why only do this now?" Devon mused. "Maybe she wanted to establish a pattern, then purposefully disrupt it at the most critical moment to throw us off?" Trey suggested. "Maybe. But something about that doesn''t seem quite right. My Jamming skill allows me to block any message attempts within a certain range, but that''s the only aspect of the system it affects. Something tells me skills that interfere with the system will always be limited in some way, lest people figure out ways to circumvent the system''s natural order entirely." "It could be a conditional effect, like maybe it only works on people that are captured." "But then why only use it on you? If that''s the condition then why not also use it on what''s-his-name? A double condition, maybe?" Trey ignored the fact that Devon hadn''t bothered registering the name of the man who''d dragged him away from that hell, even when Trey had just said it less than a minute ago. Instead, he said, "Whatever the case, I think it''s important to know that it wasn''t just you she was asking about this time. She also wanted to know about Eve." Devon broke out of his mumbling trance at that, "What?" "I think she''ll set her sights on Eve next. She wanted to know as much as I could tell her about our wildwoman. Of course, I didn''t tell her anything. Not that I really even know Eve that well, you''ve spent a lot more time with her." "Did she give any hints or clues as to what she might know already?" Devon asked. "Nothing, so far as I could tell." Devon desperately wished he''d gone over to Arkania to hear the firsthand accounts from the forest victims. He hadn''t heard any secondhand accounts of Kal''o Kir asking about Eve, but details could have been lost in translation. The biggest concern was whether Kal''o Kir knew about Phil. If she learned about Eve''s Achilles'' heel then she could coerce whatever she wanted out of Eve. "I need to go to Arkania and hear the firsthand accounts of the victims over there," Devon said, getting up. "Be sure to take your medicine." "Hey," Trey said as Devon was about to leave, stopping him, "I didn''t say anything. Even through all the pain and the unbearable agony I never gave you up. I just¡­ wanted you to know." Devon looked back at Trey, a small smile on his face, "I never doubted you for a moment, my friend."
It took a while for Devon to ask around Arkania, but he eventually concluded that none of the victims from the forest had been asked about Eve. This should have reassured Devon, but it actually made him more anxious. Why only ask Trey? As a part of the overseer''s network, before she abandoned that title, she surely would have known that Eve frequents Arkania far more than Plainstown. So why wouldn''t she have put any of the Arkanians to the question? It was possible the vishan had only decided to target Eve after she realized that she wouldn''t get anything out of even Trey, or that she was so lost in her passion for revenge that she wasn''t giving any thought to her next move, but both of these trains of thought seemed wrong to Devon. The impression he''d gotten of the ex-overseer in that cave was too far removed from those possibilities. And so he was ultimately lost as to her plans. All he knew was her objective, and all he could do was position himself in the best place possible to anticipate her actions. Despite the inconvenience, sometimes he had no choice but to use himself as a piece on the board. He sat down in Phil''s ramshackle establishment and ordered some food, using a face nobody had seen before. He blended into the crowd and soon enough nobody paid him a second glance. Perhaps the thing that bothered him the most about the situation was that he wasn''t sure how to feel about it. On one hand, he didn''t want Kal''o Kir to learn about Eve''s connection to Phil because it would put Phil in danger. But on the other hand, if Kal''o Kir did happen to learn about Phil and she tried to use that information to abduct Phil she would be forced to attempt to invade the most hostile place in the tutorial for her. And Devon would be right by Phil''s side, waiting for the opportunity to cut the mad overseer down. When Kal''o Kir had first become an executioner he''d been somewhat happy that someone brash had taken the role upon themselves. He''d viewed it as a positive because they would likely piss off the camps even more before the end of the tutorial, further supporting the anti-overseer mentality that was growing within the camps. But the spree of tortures had gone far past his expectations, to the point that it was getting close to consuming the flickering resentment between camps he''d created. In short, Kal''o Kir had proven to be far more of a problem than she was worth. It was annoying, but the ex-overseer was forcing his hand. More important than gaining power, establishing a squad, or even creating animosity between camps¡­ Right now the number one priority is to eliminate Kal''o Kir. It was troublesome that he still wasn''t back to full strength, but there was nothing he could do about that. He was back to around 70% of his peak condition. It wasn''t optimal, but he figured it should be enough to stick a blade in the overseer while they were distracted with the camp. Now all he had to do was wait. 56 - Assault Nix walked the paths of Arkania, something she did whenever she needed to get a feel of the settlement''s feelings. It was something she hadn''t been able to do nearly as much recently as she would have liked. Her focus was divided among several projects that had strict deadlines, taking up most of her time. Even so, she tried to make time to be among the people as much as she could. In the beginning, the settlement had only been a means to an end. She and Zane had worked out the overseer''s intentions in the first few days when they''d pooled their money together to acquire the datalog with details on the tutorial. From there they''d conspired to usurp the authority of the gangs that had ruled the forest and establish themselves as symbols to create a unified group. Zane had initially suggested they simply abandon the majority of the humans to their fates, but Nix had rebelled against that idea. Her pride as a human would not allow her to turn face and run when some alien scum thought they could exterminate humanity like gutter rats. And so she needed the manpower of a full camp, who she would willingly send to battle to die and assert their worth in this cruel universe that humanity was a threat to be reckoned with. But over time her thoughts had changed. With every day that passed she saw the people of Arkania more as people instead of tools. Perhaps it was because she was beginning to see a way out of the situation that didn''t require her to recklessly throw them into battle against the overseers. Or maybe it was because of the unbearable guilt she felt seeing people earnestly look to her for support and guidance. She didn''t know. She watched as the massive corpse of a slain beast was dragged in through the main gate, no doubt going to the crafters to be harvested for usable parts and meat. She idly wondered if they couldn''t have cut it up outside and stored it in their inventory, but she supposed the hunters were not butchers. Still, the overall mood in the camp was extremely dour. The only parties that left the walls were massive groups of ten or more, but more commonly people just stayed within the walls. As it was Arkania was verging on being overcrowded. It was lucky there were no additional humans coming to them for shelter or they''d have had to expand the wall to make room. First there was the rising tensions with Plainstown and now there''s the Kal''o Kir problem. Kal''o Kir was an issue that would likely pass once somebody finally managed to kill the former overseer, but Plainstown was a different issue entirely. In a place where she''d thought the greatest threat was the alien menace, it was turning out that no matter what planet or universe humanity found themselves on they would always be their own worst enemy. In truth, she had no idea how to handle the people of Plainstown. She wanted to go over there personally to try and defuse the situation, but it seemed likely that they would only see it as a hollow gesture when she was unwilling to hand out punishments to the people of Arkania. If she started trying to enforce order Arkania would likely fall apart. Arkania was simply structured too differently from Plainstown. Not only were their ideologies completely incompatible, Arkania had much more internal tension due to the fact that it could roughly be seen as a grouping of several smaller groups who all coexisted. They bent the knee to the idea of freedom that Arkania was founded on rather than any single person. Nix simply happened to be the figurehead for that ideal, and so she was the de facto leader. This was the culture she''d envisioned and cultivated, one that wouldn''t be cowed by the threat of the overseers and would fight for the shared dream they all believed in. But now that very same culture stood in the way of her being able to properly handle the situation with Plainstown. If she took action against any of the individuals she could reasonably prove had incited an incident with Plainstown she risked antagonizing the group they belonged to. And since all of the incidents she had evidence of were linked to individuals in different groups she would risk turning half the settlement against her. I have to find some way to placate those buffoons in the plains so this issue doesn''t escalate, but my hands are tied. I just have to keep problems at bay until the end of the tutorial. Then all these little feuds will dissipate in the wind as everyone scatters to Infinity. She wanted to reserve all her hidden aces for the overseers, but if the people of Plainstown wouldn''t let up she''d be forced to annihilate them. It wasn''t a question of whether she had the capability to. Ever since she''d visited that place the power had been available to her. She simply needed to spend a bit more time to ensure its functionality. A commotion down the street drew her attention, and she opened her eyes wide in surprise at the sight of an overseer covered in blood charging down the path. The residents of Arkania moved to surprise in shock as the reptilian bolted forward. [Kal''o Kir - Level 47]Stolen novel; please report. What!? Nix quickly drew her weapon out of her tile, preparing to engage the ex-overseer. Her weapon of choice was a thin sword similar to a rapier, but her crafter hadn''t been able to make something that delicate with the camp''s materials that primarily consisted of bone. And so she''d settled with a short curved sword. Did she come for me? I heard she got Trey over in Plainstown, but that was during an expedition. I didn''t think she''d so brazenly burst into Arkania! Nix forced herself to ignore the amount of blood that covered every inch of Kal''o Kir''s body. It was true the ex-overseer was level 47, but Nix hadn''t expected it to be able to cut a path all the way from the entrance of Arkania to the crafting area with such ease. Nix hastily fell into her stance, even knowing it was futile. Her attention had been too divided to keep up with the elites lately, and there was no chance she''d be able to fend off a level 47. But to her surprise, Kal''o Kir dashed right past her. Nix turned slowly, completely lost. She couldn''t comprehend how the ex-overseer had gotten into the camp and understood even less what its objective was. But as she saw the structure behind her the gears in her mind clicked together. Kal''o Kir burst through the wall of Phil''s bar, bowling over a man who''d been enjoying one of the barkeep''s fine meals. Damn it, of course! Her target is Eve! But why? Why now? Nix burst into action, leaping through the hole in the wall after Kal''o Kir. Almost any other member of the camp was more or less expendable, but not Phil. He was a pillar of the community almost equal in status to Nix, and his connection to Eve made him a valuable asset. It only took Kal''o Kir a second to identify the old man, but that was enough time for Nix to be upon her. She tried to stab her short blade into the back of Kal''o Kir''s skull before the ex-overseer had a chance to react, but it was like Kal''o Kir had eyes in the back of their head. A scaled fist crashed into the side of Nix before her short blade got close enough the pierce the skin. Nix slammed into one of the tables, spilling food and drink everywhere. The blow had hurt, but it hadn''t truly been meant to damage her. When she looked back she saw a figure slip into the blind spot Nix had created. The man brought a long curved ivory blade with a strange handle up in an attempt to pierce Kal''o Kir''s side. But the ex-overseer was ready for even that, and whirled to kick the blade aside. A second ivory blade came out from within the stranger''s clothes and left a gash along Kal''o Kir''s side, but he''d overextended himself to do it. Kal''o Kir''s scaled fist came down from above and delivered a hammer blow to the man''s head, slamming him to the floor. Nix tried to get up and rejoin the fight, but Kal''o Kir was a flurry of action. Even as Nix and everyone else (finally comprehending what was happening) leaped toward the ex-overseer, Kal''o Kir dashed towards the helpless Phil and grabbed him by the neck before dashing straight through the wall behind him. Nix pursued through the second hole in the wall, but wasn''t able to catch up to the level 47''s superior speed. Kal''o Kir burst into the central area of the camp, and before anyone there could register what was happening, touched the terminal at the center of Arkania and blinked out of existence. Damn it! Fuck! Nix took deep breaths to calm herself. She couldn''t change what had happened, so it was important she keep a level head and assess damage and decide on her next course of action. First, establish what happened. It took half an hour of questioning, but she eventually came to the conclusion that Kal''o Kir had entered the camp from within the corpse of the giant beast she had seen hauled through the gates earlier. That explained how she''d gotten past the guards at the front without alerting the entire settlement. Nix mentally filed away every individual associated with the event for later. The question of how and why Kal''o Kir had gotten within the beast and brought into the camp was a dire one, and every person involved would be heavily scrutinized. Nix hadn''t anticipated that one of the humans could be working for the overseers, but it was looking extremely likely right now. Working with the overseers? Wait, no. More likely they were only working with Kal''o Kir, right? But if that''s the case why have none of them come forward about it? The only possible way she could imagine a human working with that monster was if they were threatened, so it didn''t make sense why they wouldn''t come clean after the fact. Nobody in the tutorial would blame somebody for being desperate to avoid being subjected to Kal''o Kir''s knife. Nix tried to find the man that had joined her in counter-attacking Kal''o Kir, but he was nowhere to be found. It was incredibly disappointing that so many residents of Arkania were so slow on the uptake when Kal''o Kir had been running right by them. She''d expected better of her people. So she was disappointed when she couldn''t find the man that had been bowled over when Kal''o Kir had gone through the wall yet still had better reaction time than everyone else that had been in the room. What a shame, he would have been perfect for that. Actually, this might be the perfect time to use that. More than anything she needed to get Phil back and prevent the overseers from capitalizing on the opportunity Kal''o Kir had created to drag Eve out into the open. Nix wasn''t too worried about Eve fighting the ex-overseer in a one on one fight, Eve''s level had exploded recently, leaving even Zane in the dust. Such raw talent could not be underestimated. Most likely, Kal''o Kir felt the need to deal with her immediately before she could be allowed to surpass the ex-overseer''s level. The problem was that it was likely the rest of the overseers saw Eve in much the same way Kal''o Kir did, a meteoric talent that threatened to surpass each and every one of them if left unchecked. Which meant they''d likely attempt to take advantage of the situation and ensure Eve''s death. Yes, this is the perfect time to begin my gambit. 57 - Relay Devon couldn''t believe how unlucky he was. There was nothing more frustrating than being right on a hunch and preemptively putting yourself in the perfect place at the perfect time only for a stroke of misfortune to ruin everything. Well, perhaps not the perfect place. He''d positioned himself in the bar to be against the wall with the furthest distance away from the settlement''s outer perimeter. His logic was that if Kal''o Kir indeed made a play for Phil she''d be the least likely to attempt to breach the settlement from the direction where she''d have to cross the most distance to Phil''s establishment. And yet that was the direction she''d come from. Not only that, she''d broken through the wall of Phil''s establishment right where he''d been sitting. The impact of the wall exploding into the back of his head had momentarily dazed him. It hadn''t been enough to disable him for more than a moment, but that slight delay combined with the blurred vision had been enough to make him miss his mark. In the end, he''d only left a passing graze on Kal''o Kir instead of ripping her open. I can''t believe I missed the perfect opportunity. And now Kal''o Kir had taken Phil. With every action she took the vishan incurred more and more of his wrath. It was almost unbelievable he''d once thought she would be something he could manipulate and bend to his will. In the end she was just like Eve, somebody so far beyond common sense that Devon couldn''t hope to control them. Now he had to figure out what to do next. He had no idea where Kal''o Kir had teleported to, so he turned his attention away from things he couldn''t control and focused on what he could do. He messaged Trey, who was thankfully awake after his second course of pills, and had him relay the status of all the overseers Trey currently had scouts observing. It was impossible to imagine the overseers hadn''t witnessed Kal''o Kir''s brazen act in the middle of the settlement, and observing their reactions would be paramount in determining how the overseers would react. Then he shadowed Nix under the guise of a new face while she went around questioning the people who''d been involved with the incident, so he heard all of the accounts she collected. The conclusion he came to was similar to Nix''s, but not exactly the same. There''s someone working for the overseers. Nix had discarded the theory in favor of the idea that there was somebody working with Kal''o Kir directly, but Devon ultimately thought that theory wasn''t looking at the bigger picture and was too narrow minded. For as much as she liked to think of herself as a realist, Nix still had too much faith in humanity as a species to suspect them without reasonable evidence. Devon didn''t have such reservations. He''d scrutinized every one of the people involved and intuitively felt that none of them had been coerced into the job. None of them showed signs of weakness or instability that would likely have come from being forced to betray your own species under the threat of death or dismemberment. But it was undeniable that somebody was working against the humans, their own people. There was simply no way Kal''o Kir could have gotten into the spot she''d been in without human intervention, and it was unlikely she''d have known to even target Phil unless she''d been tipped off. It was easy to see why it would be favorable for the overseers to manipulate events in this way. Everyone could see that Kal''o Kir was going rogue. She threatened to throw everything into chaos if she wasn''t dealt with. But her target was Eve, someone else who the overseers would want taken care of. The most optimal scenario for Val Kazar was to get Kal''o Kir to draw Eve out in the open, then when the two fought he could send someone to clean up whichever remained. A human associate would have been optimal for not only getting Kal''o Kir into Arkania, but informing her about the importance of Phil to Eve. The question was who. Devon didn''t feel like any of the people who''d been responsible for dragging the massive monster corpse that had been Kal''o Kir''s vessel into the settlement, but he wasn''t exactly much of a sleuth. It was possible none of them had been responsible. According to their accounts, the ones currently in the settlement weren''t the only ones that had been part of the hunting party. Shit. Why''d it have to be in Arkania? If this incident had happened in Plainstown Devon would have been able to use Trey''s authority to conduct an investigation into every name that came up, but he lacked any sort of authority in Arkania. And going off on his own to question members of Arkania could draw Nix''s attention, which he wanted to avoid. Message known user Eve. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Eve] I should have known I''d get a message from you next. [Devon] You''ve already been contacted? By who? [Eve] Phil. That bitch is using him to relay her demands. [Devon] What are you going to do? If Devon was honest, he wouldn''t blame Eve at all for giving him up at this point. He''d fucked up in protecting Phil, so he could only blame himself if things went wrong because of it. [Eve] I don''t know. I just don''t have any idea what I should do. Devon sensed a deep desperation and sorrow in those words he hadn''t been expecting. [Devon] How much time is she giving you? Has she hurt Phil at all yet? [Eve] Hang on. Okay, she says I have an hour to spill what I know before she touches Phil. [Devon] Meet me at Trey''s command tent. Connection closed. Ten minutes later Eve, Trey, and Devon were all together inside his tent while Susan once again kept everybody else out. Eve paced back and forth through the space as Devon explained what had happened to Trey. "So what have your scouts seen?" Devon asked.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. "Nothing unusual. All of the overseers we''re keeping track of have shown no abnormal movements. Although we''re only keeping track of around 20, that''s as much as I could justify to people without explaining why," Trey responded. "And some of those are in the forest as well?" "Yeah, about half of them. I knew we''d need a good split." "Why does it matter?" Eve interrupted them, frustrated. "It matters because we need to know how the overseers are responding. Unless I''m mistaken this event was orchestrated by Val Kazar using a human as his proxy, and the movements of the overseers could give us a clue of their next move. And so far it seems like there''s little out of the ordinary." "So what does that mean?" "It means he wants to keep whatever happens quiet, not stir up any more trouble than Kal''o Kir has already caused. Most likely what he wants out of this situation is your death, Eve. A one on one fight between you two would be the most optimal situation, and after that he''d have one of the other overseers swoop in and finish off whoever remained. A single overseer would suffice, there''d be no need to involve any of the others." Eve scowled, "Dammit, and just as I was ready to leave all this shit behind. Found the perfect spot and everything." "Like it or not, your strength is a beacon. Even so, the situation is partially my fault." "What? How?" "I was there yet I couldn''t stop Kal''o Kir from taking Phil away. I''m sorry, Eve." Eve was silent for a moment before she said, "If you''re willing to take the blame then surely you won''t hold it against me for doing whatever I need to do to get Phil back." "That''s right. If you want to give in to Kal''o Kir''s demands then that''s fine." "But Devon," Trey said, "Her target is you. If Eve gives you up-" "Eve sharing the intelligence she has with Kal''o Kir is a much more preferable outcome than losing Phil, or having Eve rush in without a plan and dying. But it isn''t exactly a very good idea." "Explain why," Eve said, "If I give you up then Kal''o Kir has a different target to chase, and Phil will no longer matter to her." "She won''t have a different target to chase at all. Eve, the problem with the intelligence you can share is that you know nothing of value." "The hell are you talking about?" "Let''s say you tell her I can switch my identity at will. What''s she going to do, remember and categorize every face and level within both settlements to try and spot discrepancies? You telling her I can change my face changes nothing because all she knows is that I''m somewhere. "Then let''s say you tell her my fighting style and weapon, both of which you''ve seen. Then I change what weapon I use. Of all the humans within the tutorial, the number that have actually seen my primary weapon can be counted on a single hand, making it yet another completely useless identifier. "Do you think Kal''o Kir, the butcher of the settlements, will find the goodness in her heart to release Phil in the face of such worthless intel? No, she''ll keep Phil as her hostage and force you to do whatever she wants until she gets to me, which wouldn''t happen because you''d never see me again. And if you took hostile action against Trey or the settlements you''ll be cut down because you''re all alone. Ultimately Eve, you have nothing. No valuable information and no cards to play." "You son of a-" Devon held up a hand, "That''s why I''ll give you a card to play. Connect to Phil and have him tell Val Kazar that I want to talk." "Why not just message Phil yourself?" "There''s nobody in the whole of the tutorial other than you two here in this room that knows that Phil and I know each other, so Kal''o Kir shouldn''t have any idea that Phil is connected to me. It''s probably the only reason Kal''o Kir isn''t torturing Phil. So we need to use you and Phil as a relay so Kal''o Kir doesn''t start suspecting our lovable old man as knowing more than he seems." "All right," Eve said before staring into space, working through a message chain visible only to her. After a minute she said, "Okay, the bitch is there." "Tell her, ''I''m beginning to tire of your childish floundering. It''s pointless and more of an annoyance than anything. So I''ll give you a chance, a singular chance, to confront me. But only if you can beat Eve in a one on one fight. Otherwise you''re just not worth my time.''" Devon was a little surprised when Eve nodded impassively, not even bothering to contest the idea that Devon was stronger than her. "But wait," Trey said, "Isn''t a one on one fight between those two what you think Val Kazar wants?" "That''s right. Val Kazar is betting on them weakening each other to the point that the one remaining will be easy to pick off. But that won''t happen because she won''t be alone." "Eve," He said, pointing at her, "Before Kal''o Kir''s response comes through tell Phil to say this, ''Your response will of course be, ''Why should I believe you or she would honor such a duel?'' Of course, I won''t sit back and run while Eve fights my battle. I''ll be there, off to the side waiting. In the event that anyone other than Eve attempts to interfere with the duel you will be free to end Phil''s life. This is your only chance. Accept these terms or I will cut ties with Eve and you''ll never get another chance to see so much as my shadow.''" "Why would Kal''o Kir ever agree to that when there''s no way she could retain control of Phil in the middle of a duel with Eve?" Trey asked. "She''ll say a close friend will be watching Phil to make sure the rules of the duel aren''t breached. That''ll be the human she''s working with watching over Phil. But Val Kazar won''t allow them to stay within the role Kal''o Kir wants. All Val Kazar cares about is that Eve and Kal''o Kir fight, he probably couldn''t care less about Phil. So he''ll force the human to take action, targeting me. After all, Kal''o Kir isn''t the only one desperate for information on the elusive assassin of overseers." "So you''ll pretend to engage them with only the two of you while bringing the squad I''ve been helping you put together to come in after you''re done?" Trey asked. "...The squad isn''t ready yet." "What?" "They''re not ready. If we let them in on this operation there''s a chance they''ll fuck it up, and the consequences of that could be disastrous. What I''m most worried about is them being seen or springing the trap too early, causing Kal''o Kir and the human to both bolt. Our objectives are to kill Kal''o Kir, kill or capture the human working for the overseers, rescue Phil, and survive." "You can''t possibly expect that both of you will be able to accomplish that by yourselves. Even if you both manage to win your own fights Do you think the two of you are walking armies or something?" You''re right Trey. This course of action isn''t very befitting of a schemer. I''m rushing boldly into danger headfirst. But there''s no time. The only way to accomplish all four objectives is to force them into a decisive confrontation and bet on our victory. "Yes, I''ll gamble that our strength is great enough to overcome this crisis." "And what if Val Kazar sends a high level overseer after you instead of the human?" "I can''t deny that possibility, but I don''t think it''ll happen. Val Kazar will likely be looking for an opportunity for that human to prove themselves and earn their keep of whatever kind of relationship they''ve got going. Most likely the human simply wants to be given safe passage from the tutorial after they figured out what the overseers were planning. I''m sure there are at least a few that have figured it out by now and kept to themselves." Trey cursed, "I hate having to sit here while you two go out and fight the important battle." "We''ve each got our own part to play. Yours is to keep track of the overseer''s movements and let us know if anything seems suspicious. It''s possible Val Kazar will learn of the situation we''re proposing and decide it''s worth it to send more overseers to back up the human and the one lying in wait. If that happens we''ll have to hightail it as fast as we can." "What about Phil?" Eve asked, looking away from her system notifications. "We work something else out afterwards. If that happens Kal''o Kir will likely turn on the human she thought was helping her, and we can only guess how the situation will develop from there. But there''s no use throwing our lives away in a futile struggle. That wouldn''t help anybody." Eve nodded, then said, "Kal''o Kir agreed, just like you expected. She''ll set the location in an hour. How do we deal with the third threat, the lurking overseer, when we''re done taking down our own two targets?" "I hope we won''t have to. If they witness us take down both Kal''o Kir and the human and team up they may decide it isn''t worth the risk to fight both of us at the same time." "And if they do decide it''s worth the risk?" "...Let''s scout out the area before we engage to see if there''s a nearby terminal we can use to hightail it outta there." 58 - Kalo Kir Kal''o Kir stood on the edge of the cliff that hid their village down below in the crag of a twisting ravine. She looked over the endless desert and watched as the red sun dipped below the horizon, signaling the end of another day. Before the sun could set completely a figure appeared, outlined by its sanguine glow. As the figure approached Kal''o Kir spoke, "Cutting it a bit close today, aren''t we? If it''s all the same to you, I''d rather not lose my bond to something as ordinary as the chill night, Dar." While her tone was one of jest, her words held a measure of genuine concern. The heat of the daytime desert turned to a frozen wasteland when the fell moon arose and the spirits of pale light ravaged the surface. "You don''t have to wait so long for me every time, Kir. I''ve been out enough that I''ve memorized the amount of time it would take to get back to the village. I found some good stuff today in a crag I don''t think anyone else has discovered yet." Kal''o Kir shot a glance down at the village before asking, "Anything that would help with your goal?" She could see him clench his fist around the handle of his axe, "I can hardly expect to miraculously encounter materials that would allow me to slip past a realm lock, can I?" Kal''o Dar was one of the clan''s most promising gatherers, gifted at sniffing out treasures hidden in the rocks obscured beneath the sands. It was why he''d been given one of the clan''s only spatial beads, and gifted with the equipment of a warrior above what his level would suggest. And yet despite how much everyone looked forward to his future endeavors, he held a secret within his heart. One that he could only ever share with Kal''o Kir. It was said that in ages past the vishan had traveled the wastes as they pleased, free to thrive and prosper on a world belonging only to themselves. That was before the enemy from a realm beyond their own had touched down and rapidly expanded. That was the extent of history that Kal''o Kir knew or cared about. She was much more concerned with the present, with the war that had raged since before she was born and would likely continue after she died. She wasn''t sure if it was that original enemy or one of the multitude of others that had arrived in the ages since, but one of the myriad factions that warred over their world had put a realm lock in place. A realm lock was something that restricted inter-realm travel, meaning that even if the vishan wished to leave their home in search of a new one, they were unable to. They lacked the military strength to defeat all of their enemies and didn''t even possess the knowledge of how to disable a realm lock. Though, most of the vishan couldn''t care less about such a thing. They''d never been a people that traveled infinity and were stubborn when it came to embracing new things. Kal''o Kir had no doubt the realm lock had been put in place not for them, but as part of one of the other faction''s campaign against another, one that could benefit from inter-realm travel. Despite their diminishing presence on their homeworld, the vishan had never given up their endless crusade against the enemies that littered their planet. A tribe of warriors they fought anyone who looked like they had stuff worth taking, and protected their own territory with a fierce possessiveness. No matter what, they would not give this land, the land of their ancestors, up for anything. If ever a direct assault came upon them it was their solemn vow to paint the sands red with the blood of every last warrior before they buckled. And that was why Kal''o Dar was something of an outsider among his people. Unlike the rest of them who sought only to reclaim the endless desert for themselves, Kal''o Dar looked up at the stars and saw beauty. And he wanted a piece of it more than anything. "The chief brought up a possibility at the summit today. One that would help you achieve your goal," Kal''o Kir said as her bond walked past. Her words brought him up short, "The heck are you talking about, Kir? You and I both know the chief would never even consider something that would help get our tribe out of this shitty situation. I think the old bastard loves how cornered and beaten down we are, like it gives him some kind of rush any time we win a fight despite how broken our forces are." "Of course, he only sees the idea from his own perspective. But anyone with half a brain could see the opportunities it presents." "Well don''t keep me in suspense." "He wants to host a tutorial, with our tribe serving the role of overseers." "What? Why would he want to¡­ Wait, you don''t mean he intends to-" "Yeah, he wants to use all the brand new initiates as a way to boost the levels of the tribe. And apparently hosting a tutorial gives access to a special type of transfer, allowing us to travel to an unoccupied world and completely bypass the realm lock." "...But something like that wouldn''t allow me to leave this place, not in the way I want. I''d simply be trapped under their chief''s rule in a new realm, made to slave away harvesting materials to propagate this endless war. And besides, I wouldn''t want to do something like that to some helpless initiates." "If we aren''t under the threat of a realm lock the the chief won''t have any say in whether you stay or not. We could disappear into the wilds, find a terminal, and go wherever we want from there. As far as anyone else will know we died out in the wilderness."A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Kal''o Dar smiled, "You know, hearing you say ''we'' may still be the strangest part of that whole idea. I remember the days when you cared for nothing but the next battle." "I still love combat, more than almost anything." "Almost, huh?" "Yeah, almost." Kal''o Dar looked down at the village then back towards her, "Alright, we''ll go with your plan then. It''ll be awful to be the hand that subjects a bunch of initiates to the chief''s twisted ambition, but it''s comforting to know it''ll be the last thing I ever do for that bastard."
Kal''o Kir shook herself out of the memory. She stood in the center of a clearing within the forest, waiting for her adversary to arrive. She''d allowed herself to delve into the blissful past as a reminder of all she''d never see again. The fury that remained in her chest of the knowledge that she''d never again see her beautiful home, or be able to spend time with Kal''o Dar. She needed that fury, that drive, if she was to beat Eve. She regretted ever allowing that human to leave the mountainside cave uncontested. In the span of that single day, she''d leapt from the level 40 barrier to level 47. They were now even in levels, but it was more than that which Kal''o Kir feared. The raw talent that Eve possessed was something almost beyond the realm of comprehension. In generations of vishan warriors, Kal''o Kir had never heard of anybody being able to ascend even three levels in a single day, let alone seven. It had taken Kal''o Kir two decades of training and work to rise to the strength she had now. Still, no matter how much potential she has, I have the advantage when it comes to actual combat experience. She wanted to say that thought comforted her, but she knew it''d be a lie. It was a simple fact of reality that the strongest dominated, no matter how much experience one might have. Kal''o Kir couldn''t even reassure herself that she held the tactical advantage. While she''d stipulated that any ranged attacks or traps would be seen by her associate and result in Phil being killed, she still had a gnawing feeling in her gut. She was playing along like a puppet on strings, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was like she was being swallowed by the endless sands, and this was the only handhold available to her. Like it or not, she had to grab on. Or she''d be sucked under for good. Something alerted her to a change in the atmosphere of the clearing, though she wasn''t sure what. It was subtle, yet she knew that any change at all indicated the enemy approaching. She''d cleared out all the nearby monsters, so all that should have remained was the stillness of a forest when a predator lay in wait. Kal''o Kir''s instincts suddenly screamed at her to dodge, though she had no idea why. Her body moved with the refined agility of a warrior bred for battle as she threw herself to the side, right as something crashed down on top of where she''d been an instant before. She felt something rip through part of her leg as she moved, no doubt some shrapnel from whatever projectile had come within inches of killing her. Her rage burned all the hotter inside as she steadied herself. Those fucks! I specifically said any ranged attacks were forbidden. Damn it, so this was nothing more than a trap after all! Fine then, off with the Phil''s head. She raised her arm, about to signal her associate to execute their captive when she saw something move within the cloud of dust the falling projectile had kicked up. "Hmph, so you moved." "You¡­!" Kal''o Kir was shocked at the figure of Eve crouching within the small crater she''d created. How high up was she? Where the hell did she fall from? None of the trees are tall enough to generate that kind of momentum, and I would have seen if she''d jumped into the clearing. "I have something for you, from him." "What?" Eve reached into her inventory and pulled out a weapon before throwing it at Kal''o Kir. She instinctively stepped back to dodge the projectile, but it wasn''t thrown with lethal intent. It fell to the ground at Kal''o Kir''s feet, where she got a good look at it. It was one of their tribe''s axes, one that had been through what looked like a hundred or more battles. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the barely recognizable engraving in the handle just below the axehead. Kal''o Kir''s fury changed, from a boiling rage to something much fiercer. Everything around her faded, leaving only herself and Eve. On the surface she was still like water, but underneath she felt a force ready to explode. Without any further words, she leapt forward, swinging her axe down at Eve.
What the hell was she thinking, leading with a big opening move like that? How the hell did she even get that high? Devon had gone over the plan with Eve before they split up. Eve had presented the axe as planned, and now she had Kal''o Kir''s entire focus. Most likely the vishan would be oblivious to all but the most obvious changes to the environment around her. If she notices anything awry in the forest just outside her clearing it could cause her to act unpredictably. But at the same time, if Eve had managed to instantly kill her then all of the other pieces of this situation would have acted just as unpredictably. He mused over the situation as he watched the conflict unfold from a concealed spot within the forest. Though as much as he''d have loved to watch two level 47s duke it out to measure their strength against his own, he had his own task to attend to. Devon turned his attention to the strands of delicate silk that was his alarm system. It was one of the settlement''s most interesting discoveries, a select few people had a profession that allowed them to collect spider silk. The applications of the material were still being tested, but Devon had found it to be the perfect tripwire. In Devon''s mind, there were several optimal conditions the vishan would likely have for a spy. From everything he''d heard of their conversation the first night, he understood they valued strength. But strength without connections wouldn''t make for a very good insider, so whoever they chose needed both. Or even better yet, strength and influence. One of the threads snapped, prompting Devon to say, "I knew it''d be you, Zane." He turned and saw the man standing less than ten feet away from him, a look of absolute surprise on his face. In truth, Zane''s name had come up from every member of the hunting party that had brought the corpse that Kal''o Kir had been inside as it was transported into Arkania. He wondered how long Nix had spent thinking of the possibility that her second was the spy, or if her blind trust had forced her to discard the thought immediately. "How did¡­" Devon didn''t give him a chance to finish the sentence before he dashed forward, the bone architect''s blades drawn. 59 - Traitor Who the hell is this and how the fuck did he know I was behind him? Zane stopped moments before he would have leapt at the stranger''s back for his surprise attack. His thoughts whirled at the sudden rush of unexpected information. [Jason - Level 37] The man before him was someone he''d never seen before. He''d expected an unfamiliar face, but the one who was supposed to be here was Devon, not whoever the hell this was. The man was extremely portly for someone who was supposed to be level 37. Zane couldn''t believe someone so unfit had managed to climb their way so high. But even more confusing than that was how the man had not only detected Zane''s completely concealed presence, but had also identified him before even turning to look. I was told to confirm Devon''s presence and eliminate him if possible, but what am I supposed to do now? If I report back that there''s just some random dude here then I run the risk of looking like a fool and losing Val Kazar''s trust entirely. Before Zane could properly work out his thoughts the man named Jason pulled out a pair of ivory bone blades, one significantly longer than the other, and leapt into action. Zane desperately brought out his own weapon and defended. Shit! I''ll just have to take him down myself and wring some answers out of him!
Devon''s plan necessitated him keeping Zane off-kilter. The more information he overloaded the man with the less rational his actions would become. Devon needed Zane to be completely unable to make informed decisions, forcing him to focus solely on the opponent in front of him. From the looks of the man, his ploy of calling out his name before turning to face him had been a success. The man barely managed to block Devon''s initial attack, despite being the one who should have had the advantage of surprise. Zane''s weapon of choice was a crudely forged curved longsword made from a hazy blue metal. Its shape was reminiscent of the katanas the ancient earth samurai had used, but lacked almost all of the elegance of those weapons. Even so, the sight of it bothered Devon. What the heck is that thing made of? By now I''ve seen just about every material available to the initiates, scavenged or system-bought, and that hazy blue metal is like nothing I''ve seen before. By the shoddy craftsmanship I can only assume it was made here in the tutorial, everything the system spits out is more or less perfectly crafted. Devon stuck out with the shorter of the two bone blades while the longer was locked in place with Zane''s sword. Zane quickly reacted and stepped out of range, trying to put space between them. He''d been using the bone architect''s blades in the presence of other people as a measure of caution. His spear was extremely flashy with its gold tint, and he wanted to minimize the amount of people who could identify it. Besides, the bone blades were just as sharp as the curved blade of the cursed king, and they had an E-grade arcane affinity to boot. It was a little annoying that the blades had an arcane affinity instead of strength or dexterity, but it made sense when he considered how the bone architect had been more of a mage-fighter hybrid. Even without the affinity they were still some of the best weapons he''d seen within the confines of the tutorial when it came to cutting power. However, Devon couldn''t shake the feeling that using them the way the bone architect had done felt wrong. He wasn''t accustomed to the style of fighting that came with dual blades, so he switched up his stance before he once again threw himself into combat. He led hard and heavy with the bone longsword, pressing the offensive. He didn''t bother capitalizing on any openings he saw in Zane''s stance with the shorter blade as they clashed, not trusting his own unrefined technique. Instead, when Zane attempted to punish Devon when he overextended he used the quick movements of the bone shortsword to parry the blow. They both stepped back, adjusting their footwork to regain their balance. Devon was about to step forward to once again attack when he saw a change in Zane. The man''s eyes hardened, and Devon intrinsically felt that he''d activated some sort of skill. The rugged katana swished through the air as Zane adjusted his footing and gripped the blade with both hands. The blade left afterimages in the space behind it as it moved, like frames of an animation suspended in place. They only lagged behind the blade for a moment, but it was enough to give the sight an ethereal feeling. What the heck kind of skill is that? Why is he showing it off to me like this? Every cell in Devon''s body screamed caution. Even if he couldn''t be compared to Eve, Zane was still the second highest leveled initiate in the tutorial. And though Devon in full form almost certainly outclassed Zane in stats from the immense gains he received through titles and plots, he was still only at about 70% output from his still-healing spirit. Even so, he didn''t feel as though Zane was too superior when it came to physical stats, and he didn''t have the air of a mage about him. Devon still needed to play the role of aggressor, so he stepped in and led with a simple overhead chop. Zane parried the blow to the side, afterimages following his blade''s every move, before slashing out along the length of the bone blade towards Devon. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. Devon moved the shortsword to intercept, aiming to smack the hazy blue sword down into the longer bone sword to lock it in place as Devon kicked forward with a Bone Breaker empowered foot. But where his shorter blade should have intersected the hazy blue sword, it met only air as the image of Zane''s blade passed right through his bone weapon. Desperately, Devon pushed his shorter blade back up as much as he could to block the trail of afterimages and felt the tip of the shortsword connect with solid metal as it met the last afterimage in the trail. The illusion of afterimages seemed to break into pieces as the trajectory of the true blade was intercepted. But Devon''s hasty movements hadn''t truly blocked the oncoming slash, only deflected it slightly upwards. So instead of a slash that would have maimed his arm or chest, he now had to deal with a slash aimed straight at his face. With both of his weapons out of position to block the incoming attack he let his legs give out from under him and twisted his core. Zane''s blade just barely cut above his head as he fell. Devon kicked out one of his legs upwards, feeling the strength of bone breaker fill his kick.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. His foot connected with one of Zane''s wrists, and Devon felt it bend unnaturally even with the minimal force he was able to put behind the kick from his position. Devon''s back hit the ground and he quickly rolled to the side, getting back to his feet as fast as possible. When he saw Zane had chosen to pop a healing pill instead of pursue with a fractured wrist Devon took the moment to analyze the skill the man had used on his sword. An illusion-type skill. How annoying. Most likely the skill let Zane freely change whether his true sword was the one that appeared physical or one of the afterimages left in its wake. The first block against Devon''s sword had been a ploy to reassure him the main sword was still as it should be, leading to a deceptive slash that Devon hadn''t anticipated. Zane wielded his sword in a one handed grip while his wrist was healing and Devon saw the afterimages once again appear. Even if it''s an illusion, it still needs to be plausible or it shatters. The blade hides in the afterimages of an attack, the skill doesn''t create something new. Which means he can''t send out an illusion of an entirely fake attack, he has to commit to it at least a little to give the illusion substantial momentum. He already used a healing pill as well, which means he values being able to fight at full performance rather than being able to stave off a debilitating injury. From everything Devon had seen so far he surmised that Zane''s fighting style was one of unrelenting offense backed by tricks and illusions meant to keep an opponent off-balance. Which meant Devon needed to continue to interrupt that rhythm with his own. Devon rushed back in as Zane''s wrist was still healing, not willing to give the man any breathing room. Zane swung his sword in an arc, evidently trying to keep Devon at bay. Devon halted his momentum for an instant to let the blade swish harmlessly through the open space in front of him. Then, right before the last afterimage passed him by, the illusion shattered and Zane''s sword thrust forward out of the afterimage toward his face. He was ready for the trick, and leaned to the side while bringing the shortsword up to try and impale the man''s arm. Zane quickly retracted his thrust, evading the shorter blade''s reach. Devon once again stepped forward and raised the longsword to bring it down on Zane. As he did he recited an activation phrase in his head. Activate magic, Lightning Imbuement II. He''d done testing since the battle with the apes to understand how the upgraded magic worked and he was quite satisfied with the results, though it still peeved him that such a simple condition had nearly screwed him in the fight against the bone architect. Lightning arced out of the clear sky and connected itself to the bone longsword with a deafening boom. This was what he''d been missing before. In the ape''s cave the ceiling had blocked the lightning''s path, making the spell fizzle out uselessly. Devon felt the abundant electrical charge in the air make his hair stand on end. The potency difference between the unupgraded and upgraded Lightning Imbuement was absurd. The mana cost was equally absurd, at 100 mana per cast. Even so, Devon was excited to finally have an opponent to test the spell against. Zane desperately brought his blue blade up to block, and the two swords clashed in an explosion of arcing electricity. The electric charge traveled through the hazy blue metal into Zane''s body, causing him to scream in pain as he violently convulsed. Then something happened that Devon had not expected. The bone blade that had acted as the conduit for the immense electrical force exploded into a thousand pieces against Zane''s sword. The explosion blew Zane''s stunned body back several feet until he slammed into a tree. As quickly as he could, Devon pulled the cursed king''s spear out of his inventory and threw it like a javelin. If he could pin Zane to that tree then the matter would be settled right here and now. Zane looked up, and Devon could see the flash of recognition in his eyes at the sight of the golden spear flying through the air. Then, in the space of less than a breath, the man was gone as though he''d never existed to begin with. The golden spear impacted the tree with a heavy thud, but Devon didn''t pay it any mind as he whipped out the golden curved sword that had been hidden under his leggings. He dashed forward, searching for any glimpse of the man. After a minute of searching in futility Devon was forced to admit that the man had likely used some system-given means to escape. He retrieved his spear with a scowl and shoved it back into his inventory before he bent to pick up the discarded handle of the ruined bone sword. The testing he''d done with Lightning Imbuement II had been done with his unbreakable weapons. He pondered on why the bone blade had broken as it had and was only able to come up with vague hypotheses. It was possible Lightning Imbuement II stressed a weapon far harder than any imbuement magic he''d heard of, and he hadn''t fully been able to grasp that when he''d tested it on unbreakable weapons. While this seemed extremely likely he wondered if that was all there was to it. The magic had seemed much more potent on the bone blade, as he''d expected it would due to the arcane affinity. However, he wondered if that meant it had forced the blade to bear an even larger burden. To top it all off, the bone blades had never been made with durability in mind. They''d been fashioned from the bone architect''s ability to freely mold them and, for all their sharpness, were less durable than most weapons of their own caliber. He tossed the broken handle aside. The blade was broken and not worth spending any more time on. He felt glad he at least had a second bone blade to rely upon, even if it wasn''t as long. Clearly, he needed to perform more extensive testing of all future skills and magics so he didn''t keep making uninformed mistakes. Devon still had a job to do. If his hunch was right then Phil should be somewhere close by. He needed to find the old man before Eve finished her fight. Turning in the direction of the thread Zane had snapped, he made his way into the underbrush of the forest, hoping to discover where Zane had come from.
Zane landed in a heap in the center of Arkania next to the terminal. He looked at his arm, still holding his sword, and scowled at the sight. The skin around his hand and forearm was extensively cracked and burned, but the damage lessened up his arm. His body was still wracked with spasms as he cursed internally. Fuck! How could I have been pushed so hard by a mere level 37!? I can''t believe I was forced to use the escape token I worked so hard for! It made no sense. He had a rare class and some of the rarest titles in the tutorial. And yet that nobody had managed to beat him. He''d solo cleared a small dungeon and worked his ass off for a C rating to get the system to drop that token, and now he''d already used it. No, not a nobody. I''m sure of it now, I''ve seen that golden spear before. It was a weapon that was almost impossible to miss with how gaudy it was. He vividly remembered wondering where it had come from when he''d seen the man called Gregor, one of Trey''s closest confidants, emerge from the murderous Ray''s burrow. The thought that it could have simply been lent out crossed his mind and was instantly discarded. Nobody would part with such a valuable tool, and it didn''t make sense why he wouldn''t have led with it as his primary weapon if that was the case. No, all of that man''s actions had been planned and coordinated, meant to keep Zane guessing as to his identity. But now Zane knew. That was Devon, the most elusive man in the tutorial. He must have a skill that lets him disguise himself, and that spear is his weapon of choice. The bone blades were just to throw me off, that''s evident from how easily they were used as sacrificial pieces to use that skill to its fullest extent. It was the only thing that made sense. If I let him get away now he''ll slip into the crowd and I may never get a chance at him again. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Zane] He''s there. Send them. [Val Kazar] Good. 60 - Axe vs Axe The axe was the traditional weapon of the vishan. It embodied all of the aspects of war that their tribe held in the highest respect. Strength, will, and sheer power. But Kal''o Kir no longer fought for her tribe. The only thing left that propelled her actions was rage, and the desperate need for vengeance. Caution was thrown to the wind as Kal''o Kir leapt forward with a snarl and brought her axe down upon Eve. She activated Adrenaline and felt her perception of time change, everything seeming to go slightly slower. The use of Adrenaline was highly discouraged for warriors unless certain conditions were met, including assurance that no external forces could interfere with a fight while the user''s peripheral perception was hindered. These conditions had not been met, but Eve was an opponent Kal''o Kir could not afford to hold back on and so she decided it was a necessary risk. Axe met with axe and a shockwave ripped through the clearing from the clash. Kal''o Kir scowled as she felt her own strength being overpowered by Eve''s. Just how absurd is her power? Or maybe she''s simply overinvested in strength. It was common practice past level 20 to make sure every stat was at least somewhat even. Everybody had a fighting style they''d be more naturally inclined to, but creating completely uneven stat pools was an exercise in folly. Sooner or later you''d run into something that was able to completely exploit such weaknesses, no matter what they were. Even so, Kal''o Kir cursed the heavens for how bad of a matchup this was for her. Her rare class, The Unrelenting, was one based on strength and endurance. She was a force that ripped across battlefields, careless of the wounds or burdens she accumulated as she carved a path of carnage through her enemies. She could already feel her first skill, Rapid Regeneration, working to fix the gash Eve''s initial attack had left on her leg. Rapid Regeneration was useful, but it had a set of conditions that made it ideal for protracted battles instead of decisive duels. It was mostly good for fixing smaller injuries, as there was a low bar for how much damage a single use could fix. Kal''o Kir could tell at a glance that the wounds Eve usually inflicted were anything but shallow. It doesn''t matter how many small wounds I can comfortably accumulate, that axe can likely bisect me if I''m not careful. Even so¡­ Kal''o Kir broke off the engagement first, leaping back to make distance. Under the slowed time of Adrenaline, Kal''o Kir had been able to examine Eve''s physical condition in their clash. Though her offensive capabilities seemed unhampered, it was clear to the discerning eye that her muscles had a slight tremor in them. Most likely the result of falling from such a height with only middling endurance. A stray thought made Kal''o Kir wonder what her human associate would have done if Eve''s surprise attack had been successful. Zane had come to her and extended the hand of cooperation on the condition that she assist him in killing Eve. The spark of greed had been there in his gaze, and she understood. Whoever came out on top of the tutorial''s ladder would likely receive a great title from the system, yet on his own his chances against the monstrosity known as Eve were slim to none. Would he have simply killed Phil? Or perhaps used him as further leverage? Kal''o Kir didn''t honestly care. Anything that came after her death was meaningless to her. Even death was meaningless to her, so long as she got what she wanted. I need to either turn this into a protracted battle and wear her down or stun her and take her down before she takes me down. The problem was, Kal''o Kir had no solid ranged options. So her only real option was to attempt to make an opening and deliver a decisive blow. It was almost funny. Eve had enough strength that she could likely destroy almost anyone Kal''o Kir had ever met at their level with only one or two blows, yet because Eve lacked sufficient endurance the same would be true for her. Kal''o Kir felt at her waist with a free hand, ensuring the ring of metal was accessible and that none of the cords had gotten tangled. She noted with satisfaction that her auxiliary weapon was still ready to deploy. She activated her second skill, Rampager, and felt power surge through her body. Rampager acted similarly to the magic Boost in that it gave both her strength and endurance a 20% enhancement and gave her a huge amount of pain resistance, but it didn''t come with the intense muscle fatigue that followed Boost. In general, class skills would always trump general skills of the same grade. Once again Kal''o Kir clashed against Eve, and they engaged in a back and forth of axeblows. Now that she''d increased her physical attributes Kal''o Kir felt mostly on par with Eve''s raw strength. She''d try to lure Eve into a false sense that Kal''o Kir wanted to keep this battle physical before springing her trap. At least, that''s what she planned on doing before she saw Eve''s eyes sharpen. Kal''o Kir instinctively felt the activation of a skill as Eve attacked with her axe in an overhead swing. Every cell in her body screamed to avoid that attack, so she leapt to the side as the axe narrowly avoided her body.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Eve''s axe slammed into the ground with the weight of a meteor, shattering the ground beneath them and causing an explosion of dirt and dust. Kal''o Kir was forced to take several steps back as she tried to see through the cloud of dust. As she did, she heard a thunderous boom in the near distance. She tried to make out what was happening in the surrounding area but couldn''t see anything in the cloud of dust. What was that? What''s happening over there? Anxiety rushed through her heart. The duel between Eve and Kal''o Kir was supposed to be the only thing happening in this region of the forest. A million thoughts flew through her mind, between the possibility of a trap and Zane''s desertion, as well as a myriad of other things happening that she couldn''t anticipate. Her focus was brought back to the present as she sensed something coming her way. She took a defensive stance as around a mount of upturned earth came¡­ a ball of light? Before she had time to react the tiny floating ball seemed to explode, blinding her. Kh! A dirty trick! She anticipated an attack coming from somewhere, but in her blindness she couldn''t tell which direction the attack would come from. If Eve managed to land a hit with that monstrous skill while Kal''o Kir was stunned she had no doubt she''d die instantly. In desperation, she crouched down and leaped forward with all of the strength she could muster. With the boost from Rampager she could jump about 3 meters into the air and double that in distance. She didn''t know where she was moving to, all that mattered was buying a few seconds for her passive skill, Impervious, to kick into effect. Even as she landed roughly and tumbled to a stop she felt the blindness fading away. Impervious gave her a massive resistance to status effects, and was meant to allow her to shrug off detrimental effects like blindness. Still, the fact that it took the few seconds it had to wear off spoke to the effect''s potency. Usually skills like that had a condition to their activation. Kal''o Kir hoped that would keep Eve from using it again, because Kal''o Kir didn''t have any counter to the move except blindly fleeing. Eve didn''t bother trying any more tricks, instead directly pushing towards Kal''o Kir and swinging her axe down. Kal''o Kir sensed the attack didn''t have the weight behind it of the previous attack and so chose to block it instead. The resulting clash blew away all the dust that surrounded them, allowing them to see each other clearly. Kal''o Kir grinned viciously as she saw the look of complete surprise on Eve''s face. No doubt she had expected Kal''o Kir to be still blinded and defenseless. Eve''s rushed attack lacked proper support behind it, and so Kal''o Kir was able to force the downward momentum of the beast''s attack off to the side with only a single hand gripping her axe. With her free hand, she hooked a finger into the loop at her waist and pulled, breaking the weak binding that held her second weapon in place. She whipped her arm around, and three balls of metal swung on strings attached to the ring she held. The bola was traditionally used by the vishan to hunt and capture small game, but it was also extremely useful in battle for any type of warrior because of its unique properties. Kal''o Kir activated the magic Lightning Imbuement as the balls swung through the air. A small thunderclap and shockwave expanded their little sphere of clear air within the cloud of dust as electricity coursed through the metal balls. Lightning Imbuement was well known as one of the most effective spells to use against physical warriors. It didn''t do much damage, but the stun effect made it perfect for creating an opening. The potency of the effect was slightly diminished in a clash of weapons, but when applied to a fast moving object it was incredibly effective at striking exposed areas of the body. The electrically charged balls of the bola slammed into Eve''s side, and Kal''o Kir saw her body spasm. While she was stunned Kal''o Kir swung her axe towards Eve from the side, confident she could embed the weapon into Eve''s chest cavity and finally end this duel. But even as she swung the blade she could see Eve wasn''t nearly as impaired by the electrical charge as Kal''o Kir had expected. With swift movement, Eve spun to avoid the head of the axe, and at the same time swung a leg up into Kal''o Kir''s side. Kal''o Kir felt the same explosive force that had shattered the ground slam into her side, and she felt a multitude of bones in her chest shattering from the blow. She felt very little pain from the attack through the haze of Adrenaline combined with Rampager, but she knew nonetheless it was a critical injury. Why? Why isn''t she affected by Lightning Imbuement? With Eve''s skillset, Kal''o Kir found it highly unlikely the human possessed a passive skill similar to Impervious. It simply didn''t match her style of combat. And yet the only other explanation was that the human had for some reason invested a significant amount of free points into arcane, but that also didn''t make sense. As far as Kal''o Kir could tell, Eve hadn''t used any magic at all during the duel. So why would she have invested points into arcane? Did she invest points in arcane simply to boost her magic defense? But that''s crazy! Physical fighters increased their physical attributes both so they could deal damage and take it. That included the strain their own attacks put upon their bodies. The only people with as much strength as Eve who would increase arcane before endurance were the irrational or stupid. And yet, such an absurd allocation of stats had been Kal''o Kir''s undoing. Desperately, she tried to swing her axe down to catch Eve in the middle of her spin, but Kal''o Kir''s injury stopped her from moving correctly, and Eve''s axe reached her first. In one smooth motion Eve''s axe came up into Kal''o Kir''s armpit and cut straight through flesh and bone, severing the arm entirely. Kal''o Kir vomited blood as her legs gave out, the immense damage to her innards compromising her body''s basic functions. A memory ran through her mind as she kneeled there in numb agony. She remembered the time she''d seen Kal''o Dar dancing with one of the spirits of the pale moon back home. It had gotten lost underground and the detachment from the moon had reduced its destructive tendencies. At the time she''d thought Kal''o Dar looked ridiculous dancing with something so dangerous. Now she thought there was a kind of beauty to it. That memory, as well as the neurons that played it back within her mind, were split asunder as Eve''s axe was embedded in her skull. 61 - Hit Squad Kill - [Kal''o Kir - Level 47] - 3290 Talons [Level up. Level 46 obtained.] Eve breathed out a sigh of relief. She''d been taken completely by surprise when Kal''o Kir hadn''t been very affected by Distraction despite Eve being certain she''d maneuvered the ball of light perfectly. Her ability to manipulate the ball of light''s location was one of the reasons the skill easily justified the cooldown associated with it, and why it could work so well for both offensive and defensive purposes. An opponent''s own sense of caution would compel them to observe any potential threat, and that instinct would lead them right into Distraction''s trap. The last of the remaining muscle spasms from Kal''o Kir''s Lightning Imbuement passed. Eve was extremely pleased with how well her improved arcane stat had given her a measure of resistance to the magical electric current. It hadn''t been nearly debilitating enough to stop her movements in the way Kal''o Kir had intended. Still, I seriously need to put some points into endurance. I didn''t even get hit and yet everything hurts. Eve was content with her glass cannon approach to combat, and thus hadn''t bothered investing too much into endurance. She''d been a lot more concerned with raising her magical defenses after seeing how the mad brewmaster had used a barrage of spells that were able to home in on targets. But now it seemed that her overwhelming strength was taking a toll on her body. She looked back towards her system notifications, about to open her status and dump all of her points into endurance when she saw a notification she hadn''t been expecting. You have slain a cursed being with 2 Marks of Karmic Disdain. As a reward you have gained 2 Marks of Karmic Affection. New title obtained: [Blessed] Huh. It seemed as though she''d gained the positive karma version of Devon''s Cursed title inadvertently. She idly wondered how much more the system would love her if she killed Devon as well, but discarded the thought as soon as she saw the man running out of the woods with Phil slung over his shoulder in a fireman''s carry. Nah. Even if he''s the shadiest motherfucker I know, this is the second time he''s stuck his neck out for Phil. Besides, she liked to believe she wasn''t the type of person to murder somebody just for the potential rewards. "Oi, you gonna stare at me all day? We''re still in the middle of shit creek here, you know?" "Yeah yeah, shut it," Eve said, taking up position with her back to Devon. They stood in the middle of the once idyllic clearing that was now a ruined mess from Eve''s skill impacting the ground, scanning the treeline. "So¡­ what are we doing here?" Eve almost jumped when Phil asked the question right next to her ear. She''d honestly assumed he was unconscious from the way he was slung over Devon''s back. "Waiting to see if the observer will act or stay away," Devon said calmly. "Observer?" "...Nevermind. If they were going to act they would have done so by now. We need to move. Trey messaged that several of the other overseers disrupted their positions. You can probably guess which direction they were seen heading towards." "Ah, wait a moment," Eve said before she quickly picked up Kal''o Kir''s axe, bola, and tile. "Okay, let''s go. Also we need to go grab my bow." "What?" "Just follow me!"
Olan Tir watched as the two humans sprinted into the forest as they continued bickering. He''d been about to move to eliminate the one called Eve when the portly one had appeared out of the forest carrying the one called Phil. He''d received the communication that the human working for them had failed, but even still he hadn''t expected the portly one to find the one called Phil so quickly within the forest. Against Eve alone he had full confidence in his ability to defeat her as a level 55. But against the both of them was a much riskier business. His recently received orders had been to eliminate the survivor of the duel immediately then coordinate with the other vishan closing in on their location to sweep the forest and eradicate the one called Devon, who was apparently the portly one. But this was too fast. None of the other vishan were even halfway to the duel site yet, and the humans were already trying to make their escape.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I''ll just have to follow them through the forest. If they make it to a terminal then I''ll intervene. The highest priority is the portly one, Devon. So long as I don''t allow him to escape the chief''s punishment shouldn''t fall too hard on me. Their chief was known for his short temper and love of his daughter. Olan Tir dreaded the day the protected period would end, knowing if they failed to capture his daughter''s killer the chief may well kill them all. Olan Tir was about to move to follow the humans when he heard the crack of a twig. Immediately, he threw himself to the side right as three arrows flew through the space he''d been crouching in. He saw three heavily armored humans rushing him simultaneously with weapons drawn. An ambush? Now, of all times? He dashed away, attempting to make distance between himself and the ambush when he felt a blade slip into his ribcage. With a scream of rage, he wildly swung his weapon at the rogue that had slipped past his perception but the slippery rat was already retreating back into the shadows, content to leave their weapon buried in his chest. Olan Tir turned, intent on continuing forward in a dead sprint. He needed to break the outer perimeter of this ambush or he''d die. Even a warrior of his caliber would easily get overwhelmed in such a coordinated ambush. His mission didn''t matter anymore, he needed to get out alive. But before he could take even a single step he saw an arc of electricity come from the side. He felt his muscles seize as the miniature bolt of lightning from the black mage connected with his body and the electrical amps caused his muscles and nervous system to go haywire. How could we ever have underestimated these people so drastically? Everything about this ambush was perfect. The class diversity and troop placement were top-notch. They''d drawn his gaze one way to push him into the true trap of the rogue and the mage. And to top it all off, the timing couldn''t have been better. Olan Tir thought he''d been the hunter when all along he''d been the hunted. The paralytic effects of the mage''s shock spell had sealed his fate. If he''d brought one of the mage breaker charms he would have had a chance, but his arrogance and ego had assured him he wouldn''t need such a valuable trinket against a winded Eve or Kal''o Kir. I need to at least alert Val Kazar before I die. This group poses a threat to all of us. Waiting¡­ Connection esta- Olan Tir''s gaze drifted past the system message hovering in front of him, and his eyes locked with a bowman almost perfectly concealed among the trees. Then, before the message request could finish, the wood shaft of an arrow pierced his eye as half a dozen melee weapons stuck him.
Rud N''mas watched from the treetops in muted horror as Olan Tir was slaughtered like a herded animal by the humans. By all rights, Rud N''mas shouldn''t have even been there. And yet she was, and she cursed herself for being so stupidly foolish. For a long time, the young girl with her level in the low 20s had admired Kal''o Kir. She''d been Rud N''mas'' idol, a figure that every warrior should strive to emulate. It was tragic that she''d been reduced to such a state, but such was life. There was nothing Rud N''mas could do to alter her fate, not after everything she''d done. And yet, Rud N''mas wasn''t content to simply let it end and be forced to read the report later. So when she''d heard a duel between her idol and the human known as Eve was happening she knew she''d do anything to witness it. Nobody paid much mind to what the level 20s like her did. Ever since it was determined that the humans were far more dangerous than initially anticipated their role had been relegated to simply being scouts for the remaining duration of the tutorial. No longer would their lives be risked on missions searching for the hated Devon, and they were strictly told to take no action that could possibly be seen as hostile by the humans. That was one thing Rud N''mas liked about Val Kazar over their chief. The chief prioritized results over lives, whereas Val Kazar held the lives of his fellow tribesmen as important above all. She knew he likely wouldn''t even admit it to himself, but the decision to kill Kal''o Kir had hurt him. She could tell. The fight between Eve and Kal''o Kir had been a nailbiter that had ultimately made Rud N''mas want to dive down into the clearing herself and help. But the fight had been decided in the span of only a few seconds, and there had been no room for her to jump in. Not that she would have anyway. She knew she would have been heavily punished for such an action. She''d been significantly less interested in everything that happened next. Olan Tir could handle the humans on his own. Just as the humans ran away from the clearing and Olan Tir prepared to follow she too got ready to get back to the post she was supposed to be at. And then she''d witnessed the ambush. She held her hands over her mouth, scared that any slight sound would alert the hunters to her position. When did they get there? She''d been so focused on the duel that she hadn''t noticed any movement in the forest beneath her. A tear ran down her face at her own foolishness. Stupid, stupid me! If I hadn''t been so blinded I could have warned Olan Tir. If I hadn''t been so stupid he probably wouldn''t be dead right now! She didn''t dare breathe as she watched the humans loot Olan Tir for anything valuable. Then she heard one that looked like the leader say, "Alright, Nix says there''s odd movements among the overseers our scouts have eyes on. We''re done here so we''ll clear out ASAP, before those fuckers get here." "Heh heh, bet they''ll be surprised that us mere humans managed to take down a level 55. Level 55!" "Shut your trap and get your ass in gear!" "Er, right away, sir." Rud N''mas watched as the group of humans left. A minute later the other vishan appeared at the edges of the clearing. With shaking limbs, she climbed down out of the tree that had concealed her location. Her best guess as to why she was the one who''d survived was that she''d inadvertently picked a spot that provided cover from all angles, whereas Olan Tir''s position could more easily be spotted from above or behind. She struggled to convey what had happened to her comrades as she held off a breakdown. Why? Wasn''t I supposed to be a warrior? I just¡­ I just didn''t imagine that someone so strong could be so utterly helpless before initiates. Even Kal''o Kir was completely helpless before the might of Eve. Just what kind of monsters have we unknowingly antagonized? 62 - Report "So what exactly was the bow used for?" Devon asked. He was standing inside Phil''s wrecked bar, waiting with Eve while the old man gathered essential items. The old man wasn''t happy about being forced to leave, but he knew that there was no fighting against Eve''s decision so he might as well have a chance to gather his things before being whisked away. "Hm? Oh, I chopped up a tree so I could sling it around a thick branch and use it to shoot myself into the air. Worked like a charm, though the landing hurt like hell." "I¡­" Devon trailed off, not knowing how to properly respond to that. In the end, he decided it was better to simply not address the matter any further. Eve''s thought processes might as well be those of an alien, too strange for him to properly comprehend. "Oh yeah, you''ve got some of those marks of karmic hate or whatever since you''ve got the Cursed title, right?" "Yeah, why?" Devon said warily. "Here, take a look at this," She said as she passed him a system display of her Blessed title, "The system liked the fact that I killed Kal''o Kir and gave me as many marks of karmic affection as she had marks of karmic hate." "Karmic disdain," Devon idly corrected her as he thought over the implications. Damn, if I''d known that I might have wanted to figure out a plan that involved me killing Kal''o Kir myself. I could have probably gotten my 3 marks of karmic disdain down to 1, assuming they negate each other. Then again, maybe that wouldn''t have been such a good idea. If he lost his status as a cursed being there was no telling what would happen to his class and profession. Would the cursed class and profession remain even after he wasn''t cursed, and even if all that changed was the removal of the cursed moniker would the class and profession remain the same? His biggest ace in the hole was the benefits that Cursed Schemer brought him. Potential helped level the playing field between him and the other initiates, but the stats from his plots truly elevated him. Plus, the benefits and detriments of karmic affection and disdain were still not entirely known. He was very familiar with being cursed and how the system forced him to use input commands for everything and how every wild beast in existence wanted him dead with a passion, but he highly doubted that was all there was to it. And the effects of karmic affection were entirely unknown. "By the way, nice job finding Phil so fast. I expected you to take a little longer than you did," Eve said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Hm? Oh, yeah," He said absentmindedly. The ramifications of that little detail threatened to balloon out of proportion. He''d found Phil wandering the forest while calling out for anybody around. It had been such a surprise that Devon had initially suspected it to be a trap. But no, according to the old man a small group of people had freed him immediately after Zane had left the place Phil had been hidden. By the way they spoke, Phil assumed they must have been part of a larger, well-coordinated, group. He''d described the one who seemed to be the leader as giving off the vibe of ex-military. A military man operating in a group? There''s no way they were there by coincidence. The only possibility that made sense was that they worked for Nix. There was nobody else in the tutorial with the influence to assemble a group like that. If they were independent Trey would have heard about them. The question was what Nix intended to do with them, and if he should do anything about it. She''d played her hand, and he didn''t imagine her to be the kind of person to try to take it back. For now I need to step back and observe. I can''t afford to make any moves right now with Zane loose. Even being here right now is a risk. As an opponent, Zane wasn''t a massive threat. But he was one of the very few initiates who''d seen his spear, and if he had even half a brain he''d connect the two instances. No, it was the fact that Zane could, or maybe already had, reveal his existence that was so threatening. But no matter what he did at the moment, there was nothing he could do about it. Zane was in the wind, and Devon highly doubted he''d be foolish enough to show his face before Devon again. "Oi, Phil! You ready to go or what?" Devon called impatiently. "Yeah, I suppose I''m as ready as ever," The old man said as he came out from the back room. As they were walking back towards the terminal Phil said, "Eve¡­ Are you sure this is what you want to do?" Eve''s gaze hardened, "Absolutely." Phil''s kidnapping had clearly redoubled her resolve. "But to simply leave everyone here behind¡­" "Phil, so long as you''re safe, nothing else matters." Phil could tell by her expression that any further attempts at persuasion were useless. The group teleported to Plainstown, where Devon saw them off.
"You''ve got a lot of nerve showing up here," Nix said, hand to her temple as she sat on the wooden chair in her command tent. Zane stood in the entrance, a conflicted look on his face, "Nix, I-" "Just shut up. I don''t want to hear a single word out of your mouth. Anyone else, I could have accepted. It would have been so easy, just a quick elimination and the problem is solved. But it just had to be fucking you." "I just-"If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. "I should have known this would happen after you suggested we should run away from this crap. I just didn''t think you''d go far enough to be a sellout. What''d they offer you, huh? What could possibly have been so precious that you''d betray everything and everybody around you?" "Your life." Nix opened her mouth to say something else to continue her tirade but was brought up short by Zane''s answer. However, her rage quickly flared back up, "For such a stupid reason?" "Stupid? Sorry, I''m pretty sure I remember us swearing we''d look out for each other no matter what as we stood over mom''s fucking hospital bed." "Don''t you mention her. Don''t you dare¡­" "I made her a fucking promise. One I''m not going to roll over and forget because some losers who couldn''t figure their shit out on their own depend on us now." "So you''ll just give up before even trying, right? You''re pathetic." "I''d rather be pathetic and live than be delusional and watch the only person I care about in this hellhole die!" "Delusional? My squad just took down a level 55 overseer, one of their best. And that''s only the start." "You''ve kicked the hornet''s nest, do you honestly think they''ll just sit around and let themselves be killed off? Your weapon might have worked if it wasn''t for that barrier around their encampment, but as it stands there''s nothing you can do that they can''t counter." "We''ll just have to see about that," Nix said. She wondered how long her traitor brother had been working with the reptilian overseers, how much info he''d given them. Maybe if I''d told him what that weapon could do before it came to this¡­ No, by the time I learned what it could do he was probably already on their side. And I can''t just give that information up in hopes he''ll change his mind. No, he''s a coward through and through. He''d be just as likely to betray me again, and that would truly ruin everything. "Zane," She said, fighting to bring a measure of composure back to her voice, "Leave. Leave and never return. I don''t ever want to see your face again." "Nix, wait-" Nix snapped her finger, and 10 of her elite squad stepped out of the folds of the tent where they''d been hiding. She continued holding her hand high, a threat that she''d snap her finger again. They were siblings, they''d known each other long enough that he would know she wasn''t bluffing. A look of sadness, or maybe regret, flashed across his face before he steeled his gaze. "Fine. But you should know something. There''s a man here in the tutorial you should be careful of. His real name is Devon, but I''ve seen him somehow change his face and the name the system displays to Gregor and Jason. He also uses a golden spear, but I''m sure he won''t be stupid enough to use it. I thought you should know, as he might be the missing puzzle piece you''ve been looking for." And with that, Zane walked out of the tent. "Family business, huh? Didn''t realize he was your brother," Ivan, the man who led Nix''s elite squad, said. "Not anymore. If you see him again, either inside or outside Arkania, kill him." "Very good." Ivan was a man of strict logic. Nix knew if she showed any more hesitation over Zane he''d lose respect for her. He looked at her and asked, "What do you make of his last statement? We observed him engaging a man named Jason in combat, and as he said the man used a golden spear." "We shouldn''t take anything he says at face value. Even so, the existence of such a person would explain the incidents that occur between us and Plainstown. That''s what he meant by missing piece, it would be easy for such a person to orchestrate everything that''s happened. And it makes sense why the only alibi we''ve got for all the involved suspects is that they were sleeping." "The real problem is the other name he said. We can''t take action unless we want to further escalate the conflict, potentially on faulty info." "Gregor¡­ The man who''s one of the close aids to Trey." Nix understood well the potential ramifications of that little tidbit. "We have to question whether everything that''s happened was Trey''s doing or the work of this mystery man. I could see Trey making a play for power, but I can''t imagine any reason why someone alone would try to set up a conflict between the camps." "Who knows? This place brings out the worst in people, we saw that well enough with Ray. We can deal with that later though. If the overseers move as we anticipate then we should be able to settle the matter tomorrow." "You''ve actually managed to get that thing working, then?" Ivan couldn''t hide the look of surprise on his face. It only served to piss Nix off even more than she was already. Everybody keeps underestimating me. I''ll show them all who''s the top dog in this shitty tutorial. "Mobility is still an issue, but it shouldn''t matter so long as they''re all in one place."
"Well, the dog comes limping back," Val Kazar said as Zane walked into the arena the overseers had fashioned for themselves. For the life of him, Zane couldn''t understand why they had wasted so much time on the construction. If they were planning to move to this planet, as Val Kazar said they were, then real infrastructure such as lodging would have been better. "Did you expect me to run away?" "Yes." "You don''t have much faith in me." "Should I? Not only are you a coward who betrayed his own people, you''re also a failure who couldn''t subjugate a human that isn''t even on the ladder. I''m questioning why I even bothered letting you retain access to this area." "I have information-" "I''m sure you do. In fact, I''m sure you did even before Olan Tir, the level 55 you were working with, got slaughtered by Nix''s warhounds! And don''t even try to say you didn''t know about that little detail." It was true, he''d held back as much information as he could when he''d made his deal with the overseers. He was the worst kind of spy, someone who didn''t have the will to fully commit to their treachery and instead relied on half measures. But Zane didn''t care if he was the scummiest person in the entirety of the tutorial, someone who placed bets on both sides of a conflict, not caring who won as long as the person he cared about survived. "Devon," Was the only word Zane said. He knew Devon was the one the overseers wanted above all else. He only hoped the information he had on the man would be enough to salvage his relationship with the reptilian aliens. "Wasn''t there. I have a witness, the one who was there working with Eve was a human named Jason, not Devon." "He has a skill that allows him to change his face and name." "And what evidence do you have of this?" "He has a spear that someone else I know uses." "Is that all?" "A level 37 beat me. Does that sound like an ordinary person to you?" Zane had proved himself worthy of the position of the overseer''s spy by dueling an overseer three levels above his own. They highly valued combat strength, so he''d proved his own. "Knowing the one we seek can change their name and face at will isn''t a good identifier. Tell me everything and I might consider letting you remain. But you''ll have to work far harder from here on if you want me to uphold our agreement." "Of course. Devon is level 37. The other persona I saw him using was Gregor, who is a close associate of Trey''s. He wields a bone shortsword and a golden spear. Oh, and¡­" 63 - Nixs Gambit It''s getting really bothersome, having to swap identities over and over again. With Zane potentially exposing him, Devon had discarded Gregor and Jason from the list of viable disguises. He now stood in Trey''s command tent with the man himself under the new guise of Peter. "I can''t believe I missed something like this¡­" Trey mused to himself. "Don''t sweat it, I''m sure Nix took an abundance of precautions to ensure the existence of her little group didn''t get exposed," Devon said, consoling his friend. Devon finally understood why there hadn''t been any overseer to intercept him and Eve as they''d made their way away from the scene of the duel. Trey''s scouts had trickled in information over the past day that gave them a picture of what had happened. Well, it''s only to be expected that Nix would know about the overseer''s plot. I simply hadn''t expected her to take action so soon, or so openly. The overseers had responded to the provocation swiftly, but without taking any hostile action. The individual overseers that had been scattered all over the place were now consolidated into seven groups, all but one having a level 50. "Is there anything we should do about this?" Trey asked. Devon mused over the situation, "There''s nothing we can do. If we take action as a group Nix will likely see it as a sign of hostility, and could throw everything into chaos earlier than expected. If I were to attempt to do something alone I''d likely get slaughtered. There''s simply nothing I could do against such a well-coordinated group." "So we do nothing?" "We observe and anticipate. Nix has two options before her, to press the offensive or to hold off. She''s proven that the overseers can''t afford to act recklessly. Most likely she intended to force them to reconsider their plan to farm the humans for experience. For many that implied threat would be enough deterrence on its own, but I highly doubt the vishan will roll over so easily. No, Nix has thrown the gauntlet down and they''ve accepted the challenge." "What do you mean?" "The vishan have consolidated their forces into seven small groups, averaging around 8-10 members. If our assumptions are right then Nix''s hit squad consists of about 10-15 people. However, there''s one group of overseers that is oddly different than the other six. "One group has less than the average of 8-10 members, at only seven. But the most notable thing about this group is that despite having fewer units they lack the strength of a level 50. Four level 30s and three level 40s. To top it all off they''re positioned close to a terminal." "So they have a quick method of retreat if Nix decides to send her squad after them?" Trey asked. "That''s one possibility, yes. However, I think the implied message is much more aggressive than that. It''s almost as though they''re saying, ''Here we are, come and get us.'' Instead of the terminal being seen as a way for the overseers to quickly retreat, it could also be used as a point of egress for Nix''s squad if they take the fight to the group of seven and the other overseers respond." "So you think that group is deliberately smaller and lacks the firepower of a level 50 in the hopes it''ll bait Nix''s group into fighting them? But why would they do that? They could have simply consolidated their forces into six groups, each rounded out with a level 50. Then the risk wouldn''t be anywhere near as high." "But then they''d be less likely to actually draw out Nix''s squad. And besides, they''re confident." "Okay, so do you think Nix will take the bait? And who would win if she does?" "Nix only deployed the hit squad as a response to Kal''o Kir''s antics, so the initial action was defensive rather than aggressive. However, the one the squad targeted at that time was neither Zane nor Kal''o Kir herself, but the level 50. Their plan from the beginning was to go after the overseers, and now that her hand is exposed I highly doubt Nix will simply try to take it back. No, I think she''ll take this battle. But as to which side will win¡­ I have no idea." "You can''t even guess? What happened to anticipating?" "I''m pretty good at getting a read on feelings and intentions and the like, but I''m not a military strategist. Furthermore, I don''t have the foggiest idea of either side''s tactics or abilities. No, what I''d like to anticipate is what will happen as a result of this battle." "If Nix manages to win, won''t we end up with the situation you described before?" Trey asked. "Yes, the attrition issue. If Nix wins then she''ll prove to the overseers that remaining outside their camp won''t be worth the risk, and they''ll probably bunker up for the last few days. Then, once the protection period is up the overseers will target any hunting group that goes outside the camps to force the camps to be the ones to bunker up. But any attempt to form a group large enough to confront the overseers will simply result in the overseers instead targeting the weaker crafters of the settlements." "There''s one thing I wanted some clarification on with that," Trey said, "Won''t we be able to counter any of the overseer''s moves? We''ve been able to keep an eye on them almost the entire time without issue. We could simply withdraw smaller hunting parties when the overseers move to attack them." Devon scoffed, "The only reason we''ve been able to keep an eye on the overseers so far is because they''ve let us. Or rather, they''re afraid of the penalties that they''ll incur by harming the initiates watching them. Once the protected period is through we may as well be sending any observers to their deaths."This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Damn it, fine. So why is Nix antagonizing the overseers even with this problem looming over our heads?" "Well, she maybe just hasn''t thought of it. It is a bit of a long-winded and convoluted plan. It''s also possible she''s banking on inspiring enough fear into their hearts that they''ll give up, though I doubt she''s that naive. The only thing I can imagine as a real end goal is that she''s got some card hidden up her sleeve, though I can''t even begin to imagine what it is." "So there''s nothing we can do, and there isn''t enough information to properly anticipate what Nix will do if she wins," Trey summarized, looking frustrated. "Yep. The only thing we know for certain is that things will likely return to normal if the overseers crush Nix''s squad. On that note, I''ll be heading out." "Heading out where?" "To watch, of course."
When Ivan had first entered the tutorial he''d been worse off than most of the other initiates. He was a veteran of the Gulf War, and the abuse he''d forced his younger body to go through had thoroughly caught up with him over the passage of time. So when he''d found himself in a world where might made right, his ailing body had dragged his progression through the mud. Those first ten levels were like hell on earth, but the further he climbed the more he rediscovered the vigor he''d felt in his youth. But the damage had been done. If he''d been only 20 years younger he likely would have been able to claim a spot in the top 5 of the ladder. But that stunted progression had presented an opportunity, or perhaps an epiphany. This epiphany hadn''t come from him but from Nix, the one he served. The unrecognized possess a strength those at the top are blind to. She had assembled this squad around him. It was composed of others like him, the most competent and capable that Arkania had to offer. None of them were well known or recognizable, and none of them had ever had a stint on the ladder. They were an unknown element, both to their fellow initiates and the malicious overseers. Ivan was leading them into what was almost certainly a trap. All of them knew it, and yet none of them wavered. If they succeeded then Nix''s plan would be a success, and they''d be rid of their biggest threat. I won''t let her down. Ivan sent the message to his fellow warriors to proceed. He''d been chosen as the leader because he was one of the only suitable initiates who had real military experience. Of course, he''d never advanced very far in rank, so he''d never been formally given command over any of his fellow countrymen. But he''d been forced to take command in the field twice when his squad''s commanding officer had been killed in action. It was barely enough to qualify someone for a position of leadership, yet it was more qualification than anyone else in the squad had. His troops took position in a half-circle formation around the seven overseers. He''d made a full circle around the lone level 55 overseer, but doing that here would mean his troops would be spread too thin. We''ll bait them into us, then fall upon them with magic and might. The overseers stood near a tree, discussing something. Five of them had spears and the other two wielded axes and massive shields. He raised his fist, signaling his 4 archers to take aim. But before they had their bows even halfway drawn the overseers leapt into action, charging directly into their formation. They spotted us? No matter, all it means is that we don''t get the first shot. They''re still charging headfirst into our formation. Their strategy was extremely simple. Five among them were black mages, a common class that specialized in offensive magic. They would use Lightning Bolt to immobilize the overseers, all of which seemed to be physical fighters. It was the same strategy they''d used against the level 55, one of elegant simplicity. Of course, 5 mages against 7 overseers meant 2 would run free, but they had more than enough troops for that. He signaled his black mages, and five bolts of arcing lightning came from the spots where the black mages lay hidden. Ivan''s eyes widened when he saw two of the spear wielders leap in front of the lightning bolts meant for the shieldbearers. As the bolts connected with the reptilian overseers, he signaled his archers to fire the arrows they still held. However, even as the arrows were released from the bows, Ivan witnessed something impossible. The five spear wielders moved with a practiced smoothness, each of them completely unaffected by the electricity that should have paralyzed them. As one, they each threw their spears at terminal velocity in the direction the bolts of lightning had come from. Ivan didn''t need to hear the screams to know their aim had been perfect, he''d seen the overseer''s perfect spear-throwing technique back on that first day, when his best buddy had been impaled right beside him. The arrows released by his archers soared toward their targets, but the shield bearers stepped up to block as many as they could. Of 4 arrows, only 2 hit their targets in non-vital areas. Ivan''s body moved on autopilot, commanding the melee fighters to move in and engage, even as he felt despair sink into his soul. They maintained the numerical advantage, but their primary strategy had just been utterly broken apart. How? How could they be completely impervious to the lightning? The human fighters descended on the overseers as the five spear wielders reached into their tiles for new weapons. For an instant, Ivan felt hope return. If they could just take them down before they could rearm themselves¡­ But no, that hope was squashed as the two heavily armored shield bearers let out bestial roars that forced the attention of everyone in the conflict on them. An aggro skill!? Ivan couldn''t fight against the instincts that screamed at him that those two needed to die, even as his mind rationally understood that the less armored warriors needed to be taken down first. No, before that he shouldn''t even be stepping into combat himself. He was the commander, meant to give orders from the back, right? As his mind was reeling from hatred and confusion he felt a blade stab through his back and saw the blood-stained blue metal of a curved sword pierce through his chest. He looked over his shoulder even as blood filled his mouth and saw Zane. Of course, that''s how they knew when we were going to launch our attack. I was so focused on the intel of the seven overseers I didn''t stop to think about where this fucker might be lurking. He was hiding in the trees or underbrush, waiting and watching. This prick chose the perfect moment to step out of the shadows and get his hands dirty, when we were all distracted by that aggro skill. Ivan tried to swing his weapon behind him, the mortal wound breaking him out of the trance that aggro skill had put him in, but it was no use. Zane twisted the blade and pushed it sideways along the rib it had slipped past in Ivan''s chest, eviscerating his insides. The last thing Ivan saw before his body fully failed him and he lost consciousness was his squad being cut to ribbons by the overseers. 64 - Charm Val Kazar couldn''t help the feeling of satisfaction at receiving the report that the human hit squad had been completely annihilated. As expected, they use the tactics of a larger force but lack the knowledge of how war works in a system dominated world. Well, I can hardly blame them for that. They still did startlingly well for fledgling initiates. He had no reservations admitting to himself that if the humans had simply been more knowledgeable the outcome would likely have been different. Their adaptability and perseverance was extraordinary, but nothing could change the fact that their exposure to the various facets of system-integrated life was too limited for them to have had a reasonable chance. In short, it could be said the only reason the vishan had won was because of the difference in knowledge and experience. In particular, the fact they hadn''t known about mage-breaker charms was the crux of the vishan''s victory. Charms were something that could be crafted by high-level crafters with skills in creating enchanted artifacts. They were not something that initiates with a poor understanding of the world would be able to create without instruction. Many charms acted as poor imitations of the legendarily effective system tokens, with potent effects that would destroy the talisman once used. Mage-breaker charms in particular were a defensive-type charm that negated the first instance of a magical attack, then broke. There was an upper limit to how potent the attack could be before the charm became ineffective, but they were extraordinary tools against your average mage. Still, Val Kazar was grateful that they had been lucky enough to receive intelligence on the enemy''s strategy after only the single ambush. No, perhaps it wasn''t the first ambush. It''s quite possible Yur Kuzak, our third casualty, was the true first victim of the human squad. It was quite disconcerting that there wasn''t a single hint as to that incident at the time, but that was because we weren''t lucky enough to have a witness. Rud N''Mas'' presence at the site of the duel between Kal''o Kir and Eve was something nobody had expected. Under ordinary circumstances her erratic behavior would have been met with swift disciplinary action, but the information she''d been able to provide had outweighed any amount of resentment Val Kazar had for her actions. After all, though mage-breaker charms were extremely potent, they''d only brought the five with them. It was frustrating how limited the resources they''d been allowed to bring had been, and even more frustrating that they''d actually had to play most of their hidden advantages. There isn''t much time left before the protected period expires. I need to start planning the specifics of what''s to come, assuming nothing else goes awry. The discontent between the two camps of humans was still concerning, but now that he''d robbed the leader of Arkania of her squad he hoped she''d settle down and stop making so many overtly antagonistic moves.
And that''s why I didn''t fancy any potential plans involving direct conflict with the vishan. Devon sat in the concealed safety of a treetop. He''d watched the entire conflict unfold, and found the skirmish thoroughly interesting. Nix''s squad had used a tactic befitting of their larger force, employing a variety of attacks from a practiced formation. In a sense, it was a very human strategy. Devon had never been particularly interested in military matters, but to his knowledge battlefield strategy usually revolved around using people as a resource, or perhaps a tool would be a better way to phrase it. Their leader had divided the squad into three roles. That being mage, archer, and warrior. Their strategy revolved around the mages locking the enemy in place while the archers dealt damage from afar and having the melee fighters clean up whatever remained. The vishan''s approach to war was a stark contrast. They also moved as a unit, but they focused far more on utilizing each individual''s unique strengths rather than assigning them a generalized role. The most concerning thing is how they managed to remain unaffected by those lightning bolts. Devon was willing to bet a lot of money that those bolts of lightning had the same effect as his Lightning Imbuement, so he understood why they''d been a central part of the human''s strategy. And yet the overseers had been completely prepared for it. In fact, their entire strategy seemed to be baiting out those attacks and countering with their precise spear throws.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Well, it''s not surprising they knew about the human''s strategy when Zane is on their side. But still, the ability to negate magic¡­ When the lightning had come out two of the spear wielders had blocked bolts intended for the shield bearers. Most likely they were the only ones impervious to the paralyzing bolts. The real question was what their immunity stemmed from. A class-based passive ability perhaps? Or maybe an item? Either way, I doubt that little trick works more than once because they still targeted the mages first before they could get a second attack off. It was clear now that the attrition issue wasn''t something he needed to worry about in the immediate future unless Nix tried to rally the entirety of Arkania against the overseers. Even if she had some kind of backup squad, which he highly doubted, there was little hope the humans could beat the overseers in a skirmish like he''d just witnessed. The vishan''s tactics and resources were simply too much of an unknown. What''s the next move then, Nix?
A rhythmic thumping sounded throughout the cave as Nix''s fists repeatedly smashed against the ancient stone walls of the ruin. The skin on her knuckles had long since worn away, and the wall she was punching was cracked and covered in blood from her repeated strikes. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all! A man named John watched from the side until he couldn''t take it anymore, "Stop it, Nix. This won''t help anything." John was one of Nix''s most valuable cards. He was something of an eccentric before they were whisked away, a recluse who spent most of his time playing with different crafts while repairing broken electronics to eke out a living. Those skills had been fully drawn out by his chosen profession and now he was by far the most skilled craftsman in the entirety of the tutorial. Nix took labored breaths as she collapsed against the wall, "I was¡­ so close. I was this fucking close!" "I know. But there''s no use crying over spilt milk." Nix gave a shuddering laugh, "Spilt milk? That''s a good one, John. Eve takes Phil and fucks off to who knows where, my brother is a filthy fucking traitor, and now the squad which I''d banked pretty much everything on has been left to rot in the wilds for monsters to feast on their corpses. You''re right, let''s just grab a paper towel and get to cleaning this little mess up." John was silent at that. Nix rubbed her eyes with her palms as she took deep breaths, not caring that it left bloody streaks all over her face and disheveled hair. Finally, she said, "There''s too little time remaining to do anything against the overseers by myself." "You mean you''re finally going to try to resolve internal conflicts before external? Sounds like a great idea to me." "Shut it. I''m not in the mood for sarcasm. I wanted to save this shit situation with Plainstown til after I played my ace. It would have been so easy at that point to get them to piss off, even if I had to threaten them with annihilation." "Oi, I''m not rebuilding this thing so you can use it against other people. If that''s what your plan is then you can count me the hell out." "Relax. It''d simply be a measure of deterrence. Back home with weapons like this there was the threat of mutual annihilation, so we haven''t seen their use for a good long while. But Plainstown doesn''t have anything this strong up their sleeve, so we can be relatively sure they''ll leave us alone for the duration of the tutorial." John didn''t look completely convinced, but Nix knew he''d been working on the project long enough that he wasn''t simply going to cast it aside. "I''d like to remind you that even before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese had been warned beforehand. It still took a live demonstration to get them to back down. I''m fine with that demonstration being against the overseers or maybe the wilderness, but if you dare try to use it against those people without a proper warning I''ll break it before you ever get the chance." "Duly noted." So what''s your plan?" He asked. "I''m going to try and drag Trey to the table so we can resolve our differences like adults. No more of this arm''s length crap. Whether I like it or not, I can''t beat those damn overseers without his help anymore." "But weren''t you saying that might not be a good idea?" "...Yeah. If what Zane said was true, loathe as I am to acknowledge that possibility, there''s potential Trey was the one instigating conflict between the camps." "Wait, what? I never heard about this." "Oh, sorry. Guess I''ve been a little busy over the past day. Basically, Zane said there''s someone with the ability to change their face and name. Ivan and I theorized that such a person could potentially be responsible for this mess between the two camps. But the real issue is one of the identities Zane asserted this mystery figure assumes. That person being Trey''s aid, Gregor." John put his hand to his chin thoughtfully, "I see. So either this mystery man is like a snake in Trey''s pocket, manipulating him from the shadows, or Trey is the real mastermind and he''s using this shapeshifter to do his dirty work." "That''s exactly what makes this situation so damn complicated. If Trey is the one that''s been making the tutorial such a mess then a meeting will be utterly pointless. But I have to be careful how I broach the subject of this mystery man because if Trey isn''t the one pulling the strings then it may sound as though I''m accusing him of being the mastermind." "Talk about walking along the razor''s edge¡­" "Yeah, no kidding." 65 - Parley Trey Trey pulled the overcoat Susan had custom ordered from the crafters for him over his shoulder. He despised ornamental garments like this, but Susan was adamant that maintaining appearances was vital in a time of conflict and uncertainty. Just a little longer¡­ As soon as this is over I can go back to just being me. No constant flow of reports and requests that need taken care of, no desperate rush to gain levels to stave off the inevitable conflict with those damn reptiles. He was tired. Being captain of a soccer team was so much easier than managing the affairs of an entire settlement, but he knew there was nobody else to rely on. Of course, there were others who could have assumed the role, people who likely would have handled it much better than him, but he''d been the first to act. And he was unwilling to give up his seat of authority while there were still things that needed doing. "Are you sure you don''t want to relay everything she says to me? I doubt I could remotely control the conversation, but I could at least help interpret what she says," Devon said from off to the side. His face was different almost every day now, a measure of security to prevent suspicions from anyone potentially associated with any of their enemies. "Don''t you trust me?" Trey asked jokingly. Devon smiled, "More like I loathe being left out." "Now you get to have a taste of how I always feel. Between your mountain adventures, spirit dungeons, and countless other ventures it seems like it''s finally my turn to get to have center stage. Still, it feels weird not having you try to shove instructions down my throat. Especially on something as important to the relationship between the two settlements as this." Nix had sent a messenger to Plainstown only a few hours ago requesting a parley, a meeting between the two established leaders of the settlements to attempt to settle their differences. They''d accepted because there was no reason to refuse. If they blatantly turned Nix away it would seem an overly hostile action in the eyes of Plainstown and could cast doubt on Trey''s intentions as the leader. Besides, Devon had reasoned Nix also couldn''t take any overtly hostile actions without plunging the tutorial into war immediately. "If you say you don''t need any help then I believe you. I''m not so full of myself that I think I''m the only one around here with a brain. I''m sure you''ll be fine." Trey couldn''t help but smile. This was one of the things he appreciated so much about Devon. No matter how far ahead of everybody else he thought, he never allowed himself to grow conceited. It was like that back when Trey had continuously leaned on his friend for help in math, and it was the same now. "Alright, I''m off," Trey said, fully dressed for the occasion. "Good luck." The meeting site was half a mile outside the walls of Plainstown, in an area of the plains that was clear and free. Nix had proposed the spot, and Trey appreciated the subtle ideas behind the spot. It was likely meant to give Trey a measure of security, being so close to his own walls. It also ensured nobody else would be close enough to overhear their conversation, they''d be able to instantly spot anybody within earshot. There was no table or anything of the sort for them to sit around. They approached each other until they were about ten paces away then stopped, content to stand and examine each other. Nix''s appearance was a shocking contrast to his own. While Trey was about as neatly groomed as one could be within the tutorial, Nix had the look of a woman on the edge of insanity. Her hair and clothing were disheveled, and even at the distance they stood apart he could see the raw flesh of her knuckles. Well, I suppose I can''t blame her for being on the edge. She''s had to deal with her brother and her squad in the span of a day. She doesn''t look anywhere near as composed as Devon described her. But still, for as ragged as her appearance, he could still see the light of intelligence and fierce determination within her eyes. "Have you come to offer an excuse for the actions of the people under you?" Trey decided to approach the conversation without broaching on recent events. He wanted Nix to be on the defensive so he could more easily control the flow of conversation. Nix narrowed her eyes, "I would not enforce judgement on the perhaps innocent without conclusive proof. I have not heard anything other than witness testimony, which 21st century research proves to be the least reliable form of evidence." "Then you''ll simply sweep any and all accusations under the rug?" "My people haven''t exactly been untouched in these incidents either, yet reparations are not what I''ve come here for today. Without proper forensic evidence, I don''t care for this back and forth of blaming. Let people sort out their own differences, once we leave this place any lingering petty grudges won''t matter. Most of my people will likely depart for infinity and most of yours will return to earth." "There are those who think that''s precisely the reason why such issues need to be addressed now, while they still can." Nix sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Trey, what do you plan to do about the overseers?" He''d wanted to draw out the conversation a bit more, but clearly she was in no mood for unsolvable puzzles. "I don''t see any reason to share my plans for the near future with you." She scowled, "I know you''re not stupid enough to have completely missed their intentions. If you''ve got something up your sleeve then I''d like to know what it is. Or conversely, if you don''t have anything and you''re putting your bet on some slim hope to last them out then why not assist me instead?"This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Assist you? And how would you have me do that?" "I need manpower. Good, reliable manpower that doesn''t hold any stake in the petty feud between our people." "So you can what? Throw their lives away? Even if I thought I could trust you with them, which I don''t, why should I have any faith they won''t end up like your last squad? Some of my hunters found the site of that little skirmish. Did you see it? How they were slaughtered to the last man without being able to take down a single overseer?" "We can work out a different strategy, we can-" "To what end? Even if we pushed them hard enough to make them take shelter in their camp they''d just come out with a vengeance in a few days once the protected period expires. Then they''ll whittle us down." "If you''ve thought that far ahead then why haven''t you done anything?" "I already told you, I don''t see any reason to share my plans with you. Your little squad failed. Why should I help you make another so you can throw their lives away?" "I''m so close. If I can just get them all back into their shitty little camp¡­" "Then what?" Trey probed. Nix scowled again before steadying herself, "I can deal with them if you help me. That''s all I can say. I give you my word that if you help me corral them into their camp I''ll take care of them." So she does have something up her sleeve. But she doesn''t trust me enough to reveal it. Perhaps she imagines if she reveals her most valuable secret I''ll try to claim it for myself? Or perhaps it''s something she could also use against me and Plainstown, some kind of weapon. Trey closed his eyes and thought over her proposition. He didn''t trust her, but if there was some way to settle the conflict without resorting to mass bloodshed¡­ "No," He said, "If you''re unwilling to extend even the bare minimum of trust then I have no choice but to do the same. You''ve demonstrated neither the intent of reconciliation nor the trust needed to form a partnership. I think we''re done here." He turned to walk away but Nix shouted, "Wait! There was one more thing." "What?" He asked turning back. "I was told by¡­ a source I''d rather not mention that there''s someone who''s been going around disguised as other people. I believe this person could be the cause of the discord between our two groups." He sighed, "You were the one who only moments ago asserted the necessity of forensic evidence, yet now you expect me to put stock in a shadowy figure?" "I was given a name, a false identity my source knew for certain." "That being?" Trey asked, feigning ignorance. "The man who worked alongside you in the Ray incident, Gregor." She''s quite shrewd. She said she believed Devon to be the source of the incidents between the camps before linking him to me, implying she believes he was working alone. Quite a careful phrasing, making sure not to accuse me of being the lead conspirator. "Gregor disappeared on a hunting trip three days ago. So unfortunately there''s no way to corroborate your story. I''ll keep it in mind if any suspicious figures lurking around, but unless you have something solid I think we''re done. Goodbye, Nix." She stood in the field as he walked away. If he''d looked back he would have seen a trail of blood dribbled down her chin from where she''d bitten her lip, but he didn''t bother looking. His business with her was concluded. Once Trey was back in the comfort of his own tent and free of the suffocating attire he took a long sigh as he laid down on his cot. "Well? Don''t keep me out of the loop," Devon said from the side. Trey gave him the gist of the conversation. "She brought you up as well. As you expected, Zane tipped her off to your shenanigans. Phrased it in a way that made it seem like she assumed ''Gregor'' was acting alone, but who knows if she really thinks I''m involved or not." A moment of silence fell over the tent as Devon processed the conversation and Trey was left to his thoughts. After a minute Trey broke the silence, "You know if Nix had actually been willing to share what her plan was and if it involved fewer casualties than yours I would have gone with hers and helped resolve the camp''s problems in a heartbeat." "I thought you were ready for this. I thought you were ready to drench your hands in blood to see those damn overseers fail." "I am. But only because I can''t think of anything else to do to see as many humans as possible live through the tutorial. I''ve been thinking this entire time of alternative ways to deal with the core problems you listed back in Ray''s cave, but I''ve been coming up blank every single time. So if Nix had presented an alternate solution that seemed viable¡­ Devon, I value the lives of people far more than your plan." Devon smiled, "I did think you hopped on board unexpectedly fast back in that cave. Your logic isn''t wrong. My idea isn''t pretty, so if you had come across a different avenue then I wouldn''t blame you at all for changing course." "There''s one other thing," Trey said, staring up at the ceiling of the tent, "How strong would you say you are, compared to everyone else in the tutorial?" "Well I beat Zane without much of a struggle, though I don''t think he used his entire arsenal of skills, so objectively speaking you could say I''m stronger than pretty much everyone else besides maybe Eve. But that woman is something of a monster, so she isn''t really comparable to everyone else." "That''s what I figured. In that case, I have a request. It''s cheesy, corny, and sounds excessively stereotypical. When the battle between the two camps happens¡­ Don''t kill any humans." "You do realize what a battlefield entails, right? People will die. That will be an unavoidable consequence of our actions." "I understand that. But what I''m saying is that with all that strength, there''s no way you wouldn''t be able to defeat people without taking their lives. Maim, bruise, whatever. You could aim for limbs to crush bone or sever, it doesn''t matter. Injuries can be healed with healing pills." Trey looked directly at his friend, "I realize what I''m saying is unreasonable. And I wouldn''t ask it unless you said you were the strongest. Remember that saying that gets repeated over and over again in the comics and movies we liked?" Devon smirked, "You mean, ''with great power comes great responsibility?''" "Like I said, it''s cheesy as hell. But I''m afraid that if you become so lost in your strength you''ll lose sight of who you are. If we abuse our power to kill anyone we please then what makes us different from Ray?" Devon thought over Trey''s words, "Alright, but I''ve got a condition. You stay as far away from the front as you can." "Devon, I''m the leader. They''re going to expect me to lead." Devon''s gaze grew hard, "You will stay away from the thick of the fighting. This is not a request. It is a demand. You do this or I''ll find out where Eve fucked off to and drag your ass over there until the tutorial is over like she did to Phil. I''d like to see as many people survive this tutorial as possible, both for their benefit and my own, but if it means putting your life directly into the line of fire then you can forget the entire thing. I already had to watch you come back from Kal''o Kir tortured half to death. I refuse to allow you to continue to endanger yourself. Unlike me, you aren''t the strongest." Trey smiled, "Sounds like we''re both selfish creatures at heart." "Well, there''s no denying that." 66 - Heart of the Island Footfalls echoed through the empty ruin passageways as Devon made his way deeper into the mountain. An ancient cluster of pipes, rusted near to oblivion, ran alongside him as he progressed forward. The deeper he descended into the ruined city the more the place looked like a proper ruin instead of a system of caves and caverns. The upper levels had only retained the shapes of rooms and dilapidated stone fixtures, but bits of metal and other odd bits and ends were starting to become more common. Devon turned his focus away from the ancient architecture as a skittering rapidly approached from behind. Just as it sounded like it was right on top of him he whirled around and stepped to the side as the ruin crawler barreled past him. The creature was like a mix between spider and centipede, with five body segments and a pair of long spindly legs attached to each. Of course, each segment was about the size of a lion, giving the thing a body bigger than most surface creatures. As it rushed past Devon swung his trick weapon, currently in the configuration of a scythe, and severed the back two right legs of the creature. It screeched in defiance as it rounded on him. Activate skill; Sever. As it once again charged him, struggling to achieve its previous momentum with two ruined legs, he leaped over its head. He landed on the creature''s back and delivered a devastating laceration to the joint between the first and second segments of its body. It screeched again and shook violently, throwing him off its back. But the damage was done. As it once again rounded on him the torsion caused the weakened joint to split apart entirely, bisecting the creature and spilling guts all over the ground. Devon walked up and put the wailing creature out of its misery by bringing the blade of his scythe down upon its head. It''s becoming increasingly obvious why the upper layer of ruins was mostly devoid of creatures. Those more cramped passageways would never have allowed for creatures this big. I wonder if the scaling of infrastructure as I descend is a representation of class division, where the 1% lived in the upper reaches of the city while the majority of the people lived down here in the megastructure. The only other reason I can think of to explain these massive passageways would be that they were meant for some kind of industry or transportation. Kill - [Ruin Crawler - Level 39] - 156 Talons [Level up. Scythe Proficiency Level 2 obtained.] Skill [Harvest] learned. Finally. The primary purpose of Devon''s venture into the depths was to train and acquire as many abilities as possible before the deadline was up. He had started vaguely hopeful for the chance to gain the last 3 levels to 40 and get an ascension quest, but that hope was looking more and more slim as he grinded through monsters without gaining even a single level. This was about the only thing left for him to do. With his trademark face swapping trick exposed, there wasn''t much more mischief he could get up to within the camps. Nix had started a rumor in Arkania that he existed and was the one stirring up trouble, but Trey had dismissed it in front of the entirety of Plainstown as a desperate attempt to deny any wrongdoing. Even so, creating more trouble would only invite more inquiry. And so he worked to refine his skills, both innate and system-bound. He''d decided to try out the scythe configuration of the trick weapon, but the going had been slow. Frankly, he despised the scythe as a weapon of war. He understood now why people had always been dismissive of the weapon''s practicality outside of fantasy. The thing was a tool for farming, not an instrument of slaughter. Devon had almost given it up completely before he''d gotten the first level of proficiency. At that point he''d felt a begrudging desire to progress so he could see the skill that came with the proficiency. Even if he hated the weapon itself, the proficiency would likely come with a skill that wasn''t bound to the weapon specifically, much like how he used the axe skill, Split, on any blade or the hammer skill, Bone Breaker, on any blunt attack. It''d taken several hours of struggling with the obtuse weapon, but he finally had it. Now all he had to do was test it out. He gave the ruin crawler one last glance before continuing on. The thing was physical proof that he wasn''t the first person to have ventured into these catacombs. Not only had he not received a discovery bonus for the first of its kind he''d killed, but he was also very well aware the system would never have named it something so generous as ruin crawler. It probably would have named it something like ''leggy skitterbug'' or something of the sort. Moving forward, he found his next opponent in a large room that housed some contraption that looked like some kind of foundry in the center. Three ruin crawlers idly picked their way through the dust-covered ruins. Having the advantage of surprise, Devon switched his weapon to the configuration of a naginata and rushed in, making as little noise as he could. The naginata was his favorite form of the trick weapon so far since it combined the piercing element of the spear and the slashing element of the blade while also extending his reach. Activate skill; Harvest. He didn''t waste any time, immediately going for the creature''s head. Since he assumed Harvest to be a slash-type skill, he brought the blade of the naginata down on the connection between the head and the first body segment. As the blade connected Devon felt a viscerally familiar sensation course through his being. Then it was gone as the creature was decapitated. Kill - [Ruin Crawler - Level 39] - 138 Talons Ah, shoot. I should have thought to hold back a bit. Even two levels below the average ruin crawler he was overpowering them with ease since his spirit had fully recovered earlier that day, restoring his physical condition. Well, saying the spirit recovered is maybe a bit of a stretch. It''s not like the number has gone back up, just that there are no longer any numbers in parentheses. Thanks to his stats being wildly overinflated for his level he didn''t need to even use a skill to one shot the insectoids. He''d simply been using Sever with his scythe to augment his poor skills with that weapon. Still, that feeling just now¡­ There was no mistaking it. Devon recognized the sensation that he felt with the activation of Harvest as unmistakably similar to the clash of spirits he''d engaged in with the enlightened ape, shining silver. But this was different. The energy he felt flow through his blade was far less raw and primal than what he''d done back then. It was more concentrated, focused through his blade instead of wielded with the precision of a tidal wave. It also didn''t feel as though it had the drawbacks of his previous flailing. He didn''t feel as though the attack put any strain upon his spirit and unlike before where he felt as though he was exposed to existence around him, Harvest felt like a one-way stream.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. This is exactly what I wanted. A way to harness the power of spirit in a way that won''t rebound back on me and damage myself. Even with his spirit ''recovered'' he didn''t dare risk attempting to enter that state of what felt like transcendence again. There were still too many risks and unknowns with it, especially with his spirit being at a mere 6. He quickly killed the second ruin crawler from the shadows without using any skills. Then he went to the third and experimented with Harvest extensively. He wasn''t going to make the mistake of overconfidence again. Lightning Imbuement II had proven that every skill should be tested before using it. Harvest cost more than a standard general skill at 40 mana, meaning he could only use it a max of six times if he combined it with the amplification gem to neutralize the cost. The first five slashes he used the skill normally. He found that no matter how deep the cut he inflicted, the skill was still able to connect his spirit to the ruin crawler''s to land a spiritual attack. The only exception was when his blade skitted off a piece of exceptionally hard carapace. It seemed the attack needed to cut flesh to connect the spirits. The creature died on the sixth attack when he used the amplification gem. It collapsed in a heap, with eyes that seemed as though they''d been burned out. As the creature had accumulated wounds it had grown sluggish and its attacks dulled. This behavior matched what Devon had felt in the battle against the shining silver, whereas his spirit had been depleted his physical attributes had been dragged down simultaneously. Devon couldn''t deny a feeling of slight dissatisfaction with the skill. It had cost his entire mana pool to bring down a monster with spiritual attacks that he could kill without relying on mana at all. Well, that''s probably more the fault of my paltry spirit than any flaw of the skill. I wish I had empirical data on the strength of an unenlightened monster or human''s spirit. Also, he couldn''t deny that it had viability as a debuff-type attack once his spirit recovered. But until then it probably wouldn''t be worth using. He could likely approximate the strength of other''s spirits if he entered that state again, but since he was unwilling to take that risk he would simply have to continue in ignorance. Still, it was a little worrying that Harvest was a general skill. That meant anybody could pick the skill up and utilize spiritual attacks. He was willing to bet that even somebody who hadn''t awakened their spirit could use the skill, though they likely wouldn''t understand its function on the level he did unless they had guidance. At least, any other human wouldn''t understand its function. Though, he hadn''t heard of any humans who''d even tried using the scythe. Most of the tutorial''s humans saw general skills as inferior to their unique class skills. They were still used, but there were very few others who relied on them as Devon did. Of course, that didn''t mean the overseers wouldn''t know about Harvest. But even if they did, it didn''t seem like they preferred its use. The vishan he''d fought in the forest had used a class skill and Eve hadn''t mentioned Kal''o Kir using any strange attacks. Devon continued on with his exploration. No matter how much he''d like to continue experimenting with Harvest, he''d run out of mana and would need to wait for it to replenish. He used a map token before choosing which route looked like it would take him ever deeper. His goal was to see how deep the ruins went, and how much of the island''s subterranean area they covered. It had taken him several hours to reach a depth that reached about the base of the mountain. He looked over his map of the entire island in a 3D view before deciding to head towards the central part of the island while spiraling down. If the ruins spread out under the forest and plains as well as the mountain he wanted to know. As he descended the structures around him became more and more alien as the megastructure twisted around itself. There were great big chasms and rooms whose purpose he couldn''t possibly understand. He walked through an upside down dome with thousands of rusted tubes laying across the floor leading to hundreds of small passageways. There were great big cylindrical rooms with pillars made of some black material that remained perfect even after the eons it had endured. Several small dens of monsters were cleared out as he progressed, but that elusive level up still evaded his grasp. Potential was a massive boon, but the rate at which he leveled was absurdly slow. He wished there were level 45-50 creatures to farm, but the highest level he encountered was 40. There was a space so massive he could hardly believe the rest of the city above could be supported with such a cavity in its depths. No matter how far out he sent his little Light, he couldn''t see either the far wall or the ceiling of the room. Rusted metal wires hung suspended over the emptiness. He idly severed one of them close by, sending it down into the unknown. The alien sound of the wire echoed only twice, once off his own wall and once from below. He waited for a full minute for the echoes from the other walls to reach him, but when they never came he turned away from that place. Even if he knew the floor of the massive place was close by, the eeriness of that space compelled him to turn back. There was no telling what lurked in that deep darkness, that fathomless abyss. He lost track of time as he ventured further and further down into the unknown. There were two terminals he passed, their soft light giving the illusion of bastions of safety within the endless darkness of the dead earth. He passed them by without stopping, pressing on to map as much of the subterranean labyrinth as he could. Perhaps the most noteworthy discovery was what looked like a room full of a series of what were once likely glass vats, or perhaps pods, along the walls. Each of them were shattered, and their contents all lay in various states of dilapidation, but what was interesting was that they didn''t seem nearly as worn down as the rest of the odd bits and ends he''d seen throughout the ruins. He poked through one of the piles and discovered a sliver of metal with a bluish haze to it. When he examined several other piles he found similar pieces of the metal. He dug through it all and collected as much of it as he could. Well now I finally know where Zane got his sword from. No doubt he or somebody else from Arkania delved down here and found another similar cache of this stuff. I don''t have any use for it right now, but since it''s clearly a cut above every other kind of metal within the tutorial I''ll hold onto it. When he''d collected everything he could find he moved on. Eventually, he saw light as the end of a twisting passageway. Approaching it, he saw the ruins give way to open air. The view of an ocean spread itself before him and he couldn''t help but marvel at the sight, especially with the bottoms of other islands visible suspended in air. He couldn''t see the tops of any of the other islands, but it was a gorgeous sight nonetheless. He was forced to quickly leave when he heard the buzzing of insect wings outside. It seemed like there was a nest of flying monsters attached to the outer shell of the island, and Devon didn''t want to pick a fight so close to the edge. So he wandered. He explored the depths as best as one person could, trying to cover as much ground as he could. Whenever he found a new terminal he used it to teleport back to Plainstown and get some rest before continuing onwards. As he''d suspected, the ruins spread out underneath both the forest and the plains. He wondered if there were entrances to the subterranean structures through natural dungeons in the overworld biomes, like the mountain den had been. Didn''t Eve say she got stuck in some kind of ant nest? I wonder if that place was also formed from the ruins beneath the plains. After more than a day of wandering he came across something truly extraordinary. It was another large space. Not as large as the one he''d avoided before, but still gargantuan. However, from the center of this place came a dazzling light that illuminated most of the area. Devon made his way towards that light across dilapidated bridges and platforms that cast shadows on the walls around him. He stayed cautious of the light being a monster''s trap and remained on his guard, but as he drew closer he felt an immense pressure emanating from the light that he doubted a creature of the tutorial could exude. As he approached he realized the light was not one solid object, but a group of large orbs that floated above the chasm below. He didn''t know why, but Devon intrinsically felt that the pressure they gave off was magical in nature, like a sixth sense he''d acquired since being tethered. He looked at his map and realized he was close to the dead center of the island. These things are like balls of pure magical energy. Are they what''s holding this massive chunk of land in the sky? I''m incredibly curious what would happen if I took one but I don''t really want to risk us all falling out of the sky because I was just a bit curious. Devon continued exploring. And killing. And exploring. And killing. Until finally he got the notification. [Level up. Level 38 acquired.] As good as it felt finally gaining a level after so much time, Devon couldn''t deny he was a bit peeved he wouldn''t have the opportunity to at least reach level 40 before the end of the tutorial. He felt he desperately needed that powerup. Not because his physical stats were very lacking, but because his spirit was still far below what he wanted it to be. Even if two levels worth of spirit wouldn''t power up Harvest substantially, he wanted more than a bare minimum to rely on. So, the little schemer desires power, does he? Devon froze. He wouldn''t ever mistake this otherworldly presence, the same one he''d felt when he''d accidentally triggered the scheme to destroy the system. 67 - The Interloper So, the little schemer desires power, does he? Devon froze. He tensed up for an instant, expecting the overwhelming pressure he''d felt before to return. When it didn''t he allowed himself to relax, if only a little bit. Now that he''d grown more experienced he realized this was an application of spirit, one he hadn''t imagined was possible. Whatever was telepathically communicating with him was doing so by connecting their spirits from an unfathomable distance away. With a jolt, Devon realized he could block out this presence if he wanted to. His control of spiritual energy had grown by leaps and bounds from his experience with the apes and experimenting with Harvest. He quickly started putting together a mental barricade. Yes, please do that promptly. It would get rather tiring having to filter out every errant thought that enters your head. Take care not to be foolish and attempt to block me out completely. I don''t appreciate being ignored, and you wouldn''t enjoy a token of my dissatisfaction. Devon distinctly remembered the pressure he''d felt the last time. He was certain no matter how strong a barrier he raised, this presence would be about to shatter it with ease. What are you? He probed. An interested party. You should be thankful I was the closest when you triggered that event. That little stunt lit up this region of infinity like a beacon. I admit, I''m very curious how an initiate triggered a fate-altering event. I also can''t believe you didn''t draw an administrator. I have no idea what any of that means. Devon remembered the system mentioning the fate-altering event and whatever an administrator was, but he tried to pretend he was wholly ignorant in the hopes that this being would give him additional information. No matter. It''s better that such topics remain outside the bounds of a tutorial. The system is known to get¡­ agitated when outsiders give more information than it believes initiates should possess. You called yourself an interested party. What do you want with an initiate? You wouldn''t know this, but fate-altering events aren''t very common. I''m not the only one who noticed that little hat trick, and I''m hardly the only interested party. Believe me, when that tutorial ends you can expect to be headhunted by all different types. Of course, I say headhunted with both meanings. Is that what you''re doing here? Trying to recruit me into something? In the most basic of terms, yes. And how am I supposed to know you won''t just kill me for my marks? Eve''s discovery that killing a cursed being gave out marks of karmic affection was extremely disconcerting. It meant that no matter where Devon went or what he did from the end of the tutorial, he''d have to keep on his toes to avoid people looking to reap that particular reward. I have no need for additional marks of affection at this time, though you''re free to trust or distrust that statement all you like. Frankly, it''d be a bit of a letdown if you were that trusting. What exactly would you be recruiting me for? Unfortunately, I cannot divulge the details. Outside offers are another thing the tutorial process hates. Instead, I''d like to ask something of you. What do you intend on doing beyond this tutorial? I''ll be returning¡­ Devon stopped that thought before it finished. It was a lie, he had no desire whatsoever to return to earth. This being was far too suspicious, there were far too many unknowns associated with it. If possible, he''d rather have nothing to do with it at all. At least, that''s what he''d initially thought. Then an idea had occurred to him. The only objective he''d have left once the tutorial ended was to see if he could find his sister, but searching the entirety of infinity without so much as a single clue where to start was akin to a fool''s errand. On the other hand, if he could secure the assistance of someone powerful with potential connections the search would be considerably easier. Of course, he didn''t trust this presence at all. But so long as he didn''t agree to commit to anything before getting a better understanding of this being there didn''t seem to be much harm in entertaining the idea.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. There''s someone I''d like to search for. They were amid the first phase of my planet''s initiation. Looking for some kind of lost loved one, eh? Well, that''s common enough. If you''re certain they won''t return to your world at the end of their initiation then it shouldn''t be too much trouble to locate them. I wouldn''t have imagined it would be that simple to search the entirety of infinity. Ah. You see, while infinity is as vast as it sounds and the system that governs it is all-powerful, it still takes care to keep things confined to relative proximity. Besides that, only the elite can ordinarily host a first phase initiation, which drastically limits the places to look. In this region of infinity there are three dominant forces. I can almost guarantee the person you''re searching for is among one of them. I still won''t make any promises. Of course. Though you should understand what I seek from a potential partnership is nothing less than extraordinary competence. I so tire of dealing with the mundane. So I offer a test, to prove that you''re worth my interest. Then you can forget it. I''m not going to bother going out of my way proving myself to someone with such a vague proposition. Now now, I think you''ll be interested in this. Before we started speaking you were in the midst of wishing for a way to obtain more strength, correct? Devon didn''t respond to that. He hated thinking about how long this presence could have potentially been spying on him without him knowing. As the presence continued Devon memorized how it felt to have another soul looking upon his own so he could hopefully detect such an intrusion in the future. As I said before, I have ample marks of affection. As a cursed being yourself I''m sure you''d have no way to know this, but marks of affection can be used to prompt the system to trigger certain events ahead of schedule. Devon''s eyes widened, You don''t mean¡­ Indeed. Since the tutorial offers no way for you to rise beyond the status of a lowly level 38, how would you feel if I offered to let you skip the two levels you need to progress and instead trigger your ascension quest right now? Shock rippled through Devon''s system. He''d assumed marks of affection acted as something of an inverse to marks of disdain. Instead of burying the user under heaps of shit, he assumed marks of affection would give a user increased odds of positive system-based events or rewards, such as triggering quests more often or increasing the rarity of dungeon rewards. Even a month after the start of the tutorial Devon hadn''t received any new quests aside from the ascension variety. According to others, there were usually quests associated with clearing specific dungeons or such, but Devon hadn''t received anything like that. He didn''t mind much because his ability to gain stats off plots and schemes outweighed normal quest rewards anyway. But if marks of affection could be used to trigger something like an ascension quest¡­ the ramifications were immense. Why would you be willing to do something like that? Good relationships are built upon a foundation of good faith. In a sense, you could call this a gamble. If you manage to succeed then I would very much like to establish a working relationship. Of course, you''d be under no obligation. So if you reaped the rewards of that trial and chose to embark upon infinity by yourself that would be fine. I make no demands, such hard-handed methods would not be conducive to the relationship I desire. Something about the presence''s phrasing made Devon frown, You make it sound like you don''t have complete faith in my ability to overcome the ascension quest. Even when using marks of affection, the system does not appreciate being tampered with. This usually results in decreased rewards from whatever event was triggered, or more commonly, a sharp increase in the event''s difficulty. Devon felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The system liked to mess with him as much as it could already, he didn''t care for having it levy double negatives against him. But even so, he couldn''t deny that he needed an extra boost in power before the end of the tutorial. Before that, he needed some assurances though. How can I be certain you can find the whereabouts of the first phase initiates? I belong to one of the three factions that dominate this region of space, the empire of the Amber Dragon. I believe we''re also the faction that invested the most into acquiring first phase initiates, but I''m not certain of that. Initiations aren''t something I usually pay attention to. Regardless, it would be easy to acquire the information within my own empire, and I have back channels that I could look through as to the other two''s initiates. I believe details of initiate population is usually displayed when you''re given the option to leave the tutorial, so you''re free to cross-reference that statistic to what I''ve just said when the time comes. A function designed to facilitate more concrete faction building, no doubt. Alright, I''ll go along with your plan for now. I make no promises as to my decision in the future, but I''ll take your ascension quest. Excellent. I shall wait on the world Valterium. I wish you the best of luck, little schemer. [Notice] A benevolent being has shown you grace and given the opportunity for rapid advancement. [Ascension Quest] Kill Voltar Pura, Lord of the Mountain. Fuck. 68 - Title Match Devon took a deep breath, steadying himself. He tried to think if anything was left to do before he potentially threw his life away, but nothing came to mind. He''d finished shaping up Trey''s squad of overseer hunters earlier that day. They hadn''t required much in the way of training, the initiates already had all the experience they needed from the life or death struggles of the tutorial. All he''d done was make sure they met a baseline of competence and put them through a small series of tests to make sure they wouldn''t go off and do anything rash. Then he''d simply told them to await Trey''s orders. Well, not like they''ll have to wait long. The cutoff point is tomorrow, after all. According to Trey, the timer on the title Protected no longer listed days but hours. If Devon''s internal clock was right there were about 20 hours left to go. It would expire just a few hours after noon. [Create Task Force] - Cleared Karmic Influence: Minimal. Complexity: Normal Time investment: ~3-5 Days Reward: All stats +5. If he looked only at the amount of stats he''d gotten from the plot it didn''t seem very worthwhile compared to the other plots he''d completed considering the time he''d put into it. He supposed it was an indication of the system''s preferences in objectives. He hadn''t had to manipulate or lie too terribly to anyone to complete his goal. He looked out over the forested plateau of the mountain from his vantage point on one of the ruined buildings. In the distance he could see his target stalking through the jungle, on a hunt for a scent whose origin Devon knew well. The lord of the mountain was so large that its back arched along the tops of the trees. Seeing the creature, even from a distance, was enough to send chills down Devon''s spine. He had not forgotten the primal fear he''d felt at their last encounter, and he doubted the tyrant had forgotten the invader who had gotten away. Devon wished desperately there was a way around doing this alone, but according to everyone had said roughly the same thing when he''d gone around Plainstown asking for people''s experiences with the quest type. Ascension quests were not something you could have assistance with. They were a task assigned to individuals and any outside interference would fail the quest. He''d assumed as much when he''d fought the mad brewmaster, but the accounts of others confirmed it. But it wasn''t entirely bleak. Ascension quests didn''t have timers on them, so once issued they''d stick around until the user gave notice they had no intention of completing it or the quest was somehow invalidated by circumstance. He even had the command necessary to cancel ascension quests thanks to the cursed king''s command list. This meant time was somewhat on his side. He would be busy preparing in the hours leading up to the end of the protected period, but that still left about 18 hours for him to hunt as he pleased. And there was no requirement to hunt the lord in a single fight. Devon would take his time against this foe, even more cautiously than when he''d hunted the ape leader. He''d use every dirty trick in the book to bring down this behemoth, because that was the only possible way for him to survive. There was simply too much of a difference in perceived strength for Devon to dare confront the beast directly. By virtue of numbers alone, Devon should be in the same general realm of power as the lord. The stats from Potential and his plots had elevated his pool of power far beyond what it had been when they''d last met. Even so, I can''t shake that vision¡­ that feeling of absolute fear from that time. He knew it was simply a mental obstacle he needed to get over, but thinking about something logically didn''t necessarily mean he could accept it emotionally. It was one of the more annoying aspects of being human. In that sense, this was a trial he should have put himself through regardless of whether or not he had a quest to do so. He himself had called the tutorial a place where they defined themselves. If he left this place without conquering his fear it might have created a mental block he would never get over. Enough stalling. He stood up. His target was approaching, as he''d anticipated. The initial location he''d chosen was near the edge of the plateau, with a steep cliff drop off the edge. Devon had slaughtered all of the buff raptors in the area and stacked their corpses in a pile, hopefully creating a strong scent of slaughter that would draw his opponent here. It looked like his plan had worked. He shot a glance towards the cluster of trees that hid a passageway into the underground ruins that ran beneath the entire plateau. If he could manage to kill the lord here then great. But if he felt the situation was getting a bit out of control, as it likely would against such a massive opponent, he still had an escape plan. There was no need to bet everything on a single battle. Time was on his side. Devon dropped down to ground level and took cover around the corner of the ruined building. He held his spear in its basic state and held the hammer attachment in his other hand. The sheer size of the lord of the mountain made Devon discard the idea of using his bladed attachments entirely. Any gashes he made along that massive body would be the equivalent of paper cuts to Voltar Pura.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The spearhead''s needling attacks too would become mostly ineffectual past his opening attack unless he managed to expose some kind of weakness in the colossal dino. Indeed, about the only thing he could count on to deal consistent damage would be his hammer. Blunt attacks combined with his skills would allow him to deal internal damage instead of only superficial external, at least he hoped. The lord of the mountain stopped before the pile of its fallen dinosaur kin and sniffed the air. As it did, Devon slipped out of his hiding spot and rushed forward. His target was the joint in its leg. If he could shove his spear into that sensitive area and give the golden rod a massive blow then he could destroy the connective tissue between bones, completely disabling the limb. But the lord wasn''t nearly as oblivious as he''d hoped. Devon wasn''t sure if it had seen his shadow moving among the bushes or heard him step on a twig, but Voltar Pura let out a great roar before turning towards him. However, it didn''t stop there. It kept turning, swinging its massive body around until its enormous tail smashed into the pile of bodies, sending them hurling through the air. The impact of that blow completely obliterated what was left of their forms, rendering them into mere chunks of meat and bone that Devon had to throw himself to the side to avoid. When he got to his knees he saw that all of the shrubbery he''d been using for cover had all been blown away, and the once green forest was soaked in red. Voltar Pura was also covered in gore, but it didn''t seem to mind so much. Its eye held a bestial rage, entirely directed at Devon. So much for plan A. Devon immediately shifted gears and dashed back towards the ruined structure. He ran through a doorway and immediately threw himself to the side as Voltar Pura barreled straight through the wall behind him. This particular ruin happened to be mostly hollow, with the majority of its interior floors lying in rubble at the base. The lord of the mountain unflinchingly climbed to the top of the pile, swinging its head back and forth as it tried to find where Devon had hidden. Devon clicked the hammerhead into place on the spear. His opening gambit had failed, the spear would have little other uses in this confrontation. He still planned to aim for the joint of a leg, it was the most obvious weak point he could identify other than the head. But he sure as hell wasn''t going anywhere near those jaws without a good reason. He jumped off the broken ledge that had once been the third floor as he tossed a pair of throwing daggers at the monster''s eye. The things had been inexpensive and relatively simple to learn. Their use was more of a distraction, but if he could actually hit the eyes then all the better. As expected, his blades bounced uselessly off the scaled hide surrounding the eye, but it did cause the giant dino to flinch a bit. In the small window that flinch afforded him, Devon touched the ground and burst off it in a cloud of dust, his enhanced physique obliterating the already broken-down rocks beneath him. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. He felt raw strength flow through his arms as he brought his hammer to bear against the lord''s knee. Pure power slammed into flesh, and the limb bent unnaturally as he could have sworn he heard a faint crack. But when the force of his blow was spent it still held true. Devon had to dive under the hulking form of the beast as its maw came frighteningly close to clamping shut on him, then had to dive forward again as it tried to drop itself on him and crush him under its mass. The huge green body of the lord made contact with the ground just as he rolled out from under it. He turned around, but wasn''t prepared for a wall of flesh to slam into him as the creature lurched to the side with the force of three semi trucks, hip-checking him. The force of the impact sent Devon off his feet and he tumbled down the slope of rocks. He barely managed to regain his orientation in time to realize Voltar Pura was leaping through the air after him. He dived to the side as the lord flew by, its collision with the slope of rubble sending up a small explosion of pebbles. The weight of its own mass caused the massive beast to slide down the slope, where it crashed into yet another wall. Devon felt a flash of recognition and scrambled to his feet as cracks could be heard resounding through the structure. That wall Voltar Pura had slammed into was a massive weak point in the remaining structure of the building, and he''d been planning on breaking it himself to bring the roof down on the dino. The stupid behemoth had simply beaten him to it. He dashed outside as the ancient stone building collapsed completely, cloaking the area in a thick cloud of dust. The lord of the mountain roared out from the ruined structure, thoroughly unphased. Devon hadn''t expected the stone to do too much damage when the creature could break through the ancient walls with ease, but he''d hoped it would do at least something. Whatever, I''m still in position. He could see the great shadow of the beast through the haze of dust, and sent a fireball towards the creature. Voltar Pura''s head snapped around at that, and it instantly charged towards Devon. It completely shrugged the fireball off, but the flash of magic had been nothing more than an eye-catcher anyway. It barreled through the space Devon had been only moments before, only to realize the infuriating human wasn''t there anymore. The lord of the mountain turned on its heel, looking for the shape of the insect that dared challenge its rule, only to find that there was no longer any ground upon which to turn. It realized too late it had been lured off the edge of the cliff as its vision was obscured, and it let out a roar as it plummeted down the sheer drop. Devon watched the behemoth crash straight through one of the smaller plateaus that littered the mountain ascent. He couldn''t help but smirk to himself. The thing may not have been hurt by some rocks falling on top of its head, but he was sure it would have felt a fall of that height. Now to find the next location. He knew that a mere fall would not have killed the lord of the mountain. From the beginning, his plan here had not been to kill it. His objective was to layer injuries upon the beast until it was weak enough to hunt without fear of getting taken by surprise. Feeling his head, he winced. It had only been a single attack, but the beast''s hip check had been extremely painful. It had rattled his bones and had likely left him with a concussion. I was right to be cautious. Stats aside, the thing that makes that creature so damn dangerous is its sheer mass. It''s so absurd I have to wonder if the system even bothered considering how stats affect that thing. Devon popped a healing pill as he turned away from the ledge. There would be more than enough time for the item''s cooldown to reset by the time he lured the lord into his next playpen. Time was on his side, after all. He moved his foot to step away from the ledge, but frowned when his ankle caught on something. Looking down, his eyes opened wide as he saw a crimson tendril wrapped around his ankle. He hadn''t seen the thing through the cloud of dust that was settling over the edge of the cliff. You''ve gotta be- He didn''t have time to finish his thought before the tendril snapped taut and yanked him over the edge. 69 - Lightning Devon whipped the curved sword out of his inventory and slashed the crimson tendril as he descended. With it severed, he shoved the sword back into his inventory and prepared for a rough landing. Even as he fell, Devon heard the roar of rage from the lord of the mountain and instinctively felt what was coming. So when Voltar Pura emerged out of the ruin that had collapsed beneath it, open maw raised and ready to snatch up Devon''s falling form, he was ready. Activate magic; Galeforce! Galeforce was one of the basic spells provided by the terminal shop. Devon had no faith in it as an attack spell, but felt it had several potential applications as a utility spell. He felt an extreme gust of wind slam into his side, sending him through the air in an uncontrolled spin. The sound of the lord''s mouth snapping shut could be heard as Devon was propelled away. Devon landed in a tumbling mess on one of the stone plateaus that made up the mountain''s upper landscape. He gritted his teeth as he rolled to a stop, bones aching from the abuse. Most of the fall''s momentum had been canceled out by the sideways Galeforce, but the pain of using something that was technically an attack spell on himself wasn''t insignificant. Still, he''d live. The effects of the healing pill were still active, so minor injuries like bumps and bruises would quickly heal. The bigger issue is¡­ Voltar Pura was clambering out of the pit it had created with its fall, though its bulky body clearly made the task an uncomfortable one. Still streaked along its body was the blood splatter of the pile of corpses it had scattered to the forest above. Now that he actually paid attention to it, it was odd that so much of the blood had remained on the lord''s body even after their roughhousing. Well, I''d expected it to have some sort of ability. All of the apes did, after all. I just hadn''t expected this. Blood manipulation hadn''t been on his radar, but he supposed it matched the pattern so far. The apes had used what was available in their vicinity when they''d become enlightened as a basis of their abilities, it fit the pattern that Voltar Pura would as well. Flesh, bone, and now blood. Still, the lord''s control over that blood seemed extremely lacking. If Devon had been prepared for it, that tendril would never have been able to drag him off that cliff. Even at its most forceful pull, Devon would have been able to keep his footing if he''d expected it. Voltar Pura also hadn''t used the blood before now. Devon doubted it had the intelligence to fight skillfully as the bone architect had, so it seemed more likely the creature simply preferred to fight with its physical strength rather than its skill. No, wait. If its control over blood is based on magic then maybe it doesn''t use it because its arcane stat isn''t very high. It''s possible the monster isn''t capable of using it effectively as a weapon. Well, either way, it''s simply something to take note of and move on. This situation doesn''t favor me, so I need to see if there''s a tunnel I can take¡­ Devon was broken out of his thoughts by an ear-piercing roar. As he watched, the blood that coated Voltar Pura''s body seemed to seep into the behemoth''s scales until there was none left. Then its green hide took on a red-marbled hue, and the air seemed to grow hazy from the heat the monster radiated. What the f- Then it moved. Not with the lumbering motions it had displayed before, but with a speed he could hardly believe. The lord dashed forward with almost blinding speed, angling its body to once again slam into Devon with its broad side. On instinct alone Devon threw himself to the floor, narrowly dodging under the monster''s massive weight. The stone roof of the ruin cracked and threatened to give under the weight and force of Voltar Pura as it spun around to once again attack Devon, and he was forced to give up on his idea of making a getaway. There was no way he could divert his attention off this foe for long enough to find a passageway on the side of the mountain. It''s blood doping. Pretty smart move for such a dumb creature. His gaze locked onto the leg joint he''d targeted previously. The creature''s physical power may have shot through the roof, but its toughness shouldn''t have changed. One more hit to the joint should cause it to collapse. Activate skill; Bone Breaker. Activate Magic; Adrenaline. He felt his perception of time slow as Adrenaline kicked in. Few other creatures would interfere in this region of the mountain, and he would need all the focus he could get against this gargantuan threat. Voltar Pura charged in again, this time with its jaw at the ready instead of a full-body tackle. Devon dashed to the side to avoid those deadly teeth, only to find the tail sailing through the air towards him. He pivoted on one foot before dashing towards the lord''s center of mass, its legs. Ducking low, he allowed the tail to soar over his head as he slid across the pebble-strewn ground. When the danger was past he found himself in the perfect position, right next to the leg he was targeting. Strength flowed through Devon''s limbs as he once again slammed his hammer into the joint of Voltar Pura''s leg. This time he felt the bone within give completely, and with a sickening crunch followed by an even more sickening squelch, the bone broke before piercing through the side of the beast''s leg.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Devon had to quickly jump away as the broken leg gave out and the colossal mass of the lord toppled right onto where he''d been standing. His thoughts momentarily drifted towards what would be the best way to finish the lord off now that he''d immobilized it, but those thoughts were cut short as Voltar Pura''s body suddenly slid across the ground, slamming into him. This damn thing, it kicked off the ground with its one good leg? The impact did little more than knock the wind out of him, but more importantly, it knocked him over the edge of the plateau they''d been standing on. And so he fell off yet another cliff as Voltar Pura tumbled through the air behind him. This damn dinosaur was beginning to really annoy him. Looking down, he managed to shift himself in the air to land on his feet as he landed on the slope a short distance beneath the drop. Pebbles rained down around him as he slid along the loose gravel slope. At least it isn''t another sheer drop I''ll have to save myself from. That thought was blown out of his head as a cascade of pebbles from above threatened to swallow him entirely. He jumped away from the slope and the avalanche that Voltar Pura was raining down on his head with its own fall, and landed on yet another plateau. The lord didn''t manage to make such a graceful transition and slammed into the surface of the plateau with the full momentum it''d gained in its slide. The roof of the ancient structure cracked before the ground beneath Devon''s feet gave way entirely. He fell into a dark space amid a hail of pebbles and rubble alongside the thrashing form of the lord. As soon as his feet touched whatever could be considered ground, he dashed away towards the wall behind him. He didn''t want to be buried amid the stone avalanche, so he sat and waited for the rumbling to cease. But the one responsible for this disaster wasn''t nearly as content to simply wait for the dust to settle. The lord burst out of the growing pile of rubble with a roar that bounced off the walls and threatened to burst Devon''s eardrums. Then it charged him. What the-! Devon barely had time to react as the lord barreled towards him in the tight space. It charged through stone pillars and fixtures as though they weren''t even there before smashing straight through the wall Devon had taken shelter next to. Sunlight lit the space around Devon as the wall fell away, once again revealing the visage of the mountainside. However, he didn''t have even a moment to appreciate the view as he had to follow the lord through the hole it had made. A second later the roof of the abused structure collapsed where Devon had been standing, sending even more debris down the mountainside around him. He landed on another slope, and as he slid down he analyzed the lord in the slowed time of Adrenaline. The bone that was protruding out the side of its leg is no longer visible. Does it have a healing ability too? No, the wound is still there clear as day. But it isn''t bleeding at all¡­ Ah, I see. Based on his observations, Devon could only presume Voltar Pura was manipulating the blood within its own body to force itself to continue moving. It had forced the broken bone back into position and was now manipulating the blood within its leg to simulate normal function. If he had to bet, he''d say that probably hurt a lot. Which might explain the seething rage in the monster''s eyes. He leaped to the side as Voltar Pura tried to snap him up in its massive jaws atop the next plateau. With bated breath, he watched the oncoming avalanche that had followed him reach the lord, but that breath caught in his throat as the lord whipped around and slapped a large part of the rubble with its gargantuan tail, shattering the larger pieces and sending the bits flying towards Devon with terrifying speed. Devon had to cover his face with his arms as the shotgun spread of rubble came at him. He was still airborne from leaping to the side, so he couldn''t dodge properly, not that he could dodge such a wide spread of hail anyway. Several small pieces pelted his arms and left cuts all along his body, but one larger piece slammed into his gut, knocking the wind out of him as he finally met the ground. If it can force even a shattered leg to work then what can I do? I don''t have a blade large enough to sever the limb completely, so my strategy of disabling the beast is out the window. He thought over everything he''d seen so far. Ideally, he''d like to make distance and come up with a new strategy at a safe distance, but he knew Voltar Pura wouldn''t allow that. There was simply no way for him to look for an out as the damn monster kept bringing the side of the mountain down on his head. Blunt damage alone wouldn''t be enough, the thing simply had too much mass. His blade was too small to do anything more than leave shallow cuts. He''d already tried using the environment against the beast, to no effect. I''m just going to have to bet on my theory that its arcane isn''t very high. It was something he hadn''t wanted to use, no matter what. It was simply too flashy, too eye-catching. But in this situation where fleeing meant a high likelihood of getting buried under an avalanche of rubble¡­ all he could do was use everything available to him. Activate Amplification Gem. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement II. A giant bolt of lightning split the sky as rubble continued to rain down around them. The intensity of it caused electricity to arc out from the massive pillar of light and strike a lone withered tree sitting atop the plateau, causing it to explode from nature''s raw might. Devon took his hammer up in both hands and prepared to face the lord head-on. He felt the energy coursing through the weapon in his hands, and he was sure that if he''d used an amplified Lightning Imbuement on any other weapon it would have exploded by now like the ivory sword had.
Val Kazar The sight on the mountain was a spectacle that Val Kazar was sure the entire tutorial could witness. He couldn''t see the specifics of what was fighting, but the avalanche of stone made it clear that they were extremely powerful. The beings within the tutorial who could endure such a contest of might could be counted on a single hand. It must be Eve. There''s nobody else on this island who''s reckless or strong enough to engage such a creature. A flicker of his thoughts made Val Kazar think of the one he needed to kill above all others, but he dismissed that notion. Even if the human was strong enough to defeat Zane, the idea that someone with a level less than 40 would engage a level 60 enlightened creature was preposterous. There was simply no reason to, the risk far outweighed the rewards. No, Eve made much more sense. She''d managed to make it to the level 50 threshold, and the system had no doubt given her a preposterous quest as an attempt to challenge a being with such absurd potential. Val Kazar desperately wished he could go up there and slaughter the woman in the aftermath of the duel that was currently tearing up the side of the mountain, but it was no more than wishful thinking. To do so would cause the system to curse him, and he was no more ready to accept that than he was to send someone in his stead. There had already been too many vishan deaths to take such flippant risks. The chief would be along soon enough, and he would deal with her. He was ready to turn away from the spectacle and continue with his routine training when white thunder split the sky above the mountain. It can''t be. Zane had listed three definitive signs of that human''s appearance. Two identities, a signature weapon¡­ and lightning on a clear day. 70 - Cat and Mouse Electric power coursed through Devon''s weapon as he dashed forward. This contest had gone on long enough, it was time to start really pushing Voltar Pura. The lord of the mountain roared at him as he approached and tried to bite down on his charging figure. Devon was ready for the attack and swung his hammer in an overhead arc. Electrified metal met the scaled nose of Voltar Pura, and Devon could see the lightning arc underneath its red-hued scales as it roared in pain. The dinosaur''s back arched as the electricity locked up its nervous system, paralyzing it. Devon cursed internally. He''d hoped the creature would be paralyzed with its head lower to the ground, but with its back arched the head was raised skyward. It didn''t make for nearly as optimal a target as he''d hoped. Even so, he noted with satisfaction the extensive burns across the monster''s head from the blow. With that in mind, he dismissed his plan of going for the head and dashed toward the legs. Let''s see how much damage this limb takes to really break. Even if it could use blood manipulation to set a fractured and broken bone in place and force the limb to move, Devon knew the leg was still the best place to target. Blood manipulation would only be able to delay the inevitable if he kept destroying the leg with both blunt trauma and lightning burns. The lord recovered faster than he expected, shifting its massive weight to the side as it dodged as best it could. Devon couldn''t help but smile, now it was the one on the defensive. Hammer collided with leg again, and Voltar Pura once again roared out in pain. Devon was about to swing again, but was interrupted by the massive tail of the lord swinging his way. He quickly scrambled out of the way, noting the extremely short duration of the lord''s stun. It''s already gotten past the worst of the paralysis. I wonder if it has a natural resistance to that effect. Either way, the damage the spell inflicts is more than enough. The leg he''d been hammering looked almost completely disfigured. Devon doubted it would take much more to disable it completely. But just as he was about to continue the assault, a system notification interrupted his focus. It was a message request from Trey, which he quickly opened. [Trey] Situation A5. [Devon] Understood. The window closed, its purpose finished. This was something they''d been over, a series of simple phrases to notify each other of potential situations Devon had imagined. It was meant to convey information as concisely as possible, without wasting time on elaboration or explanation. He was glad he''d spent the time coming up with the system, this wasn''t a situation where there was any time to waste on explanations. The A meant overseer movement, and the number represented what parts of the group were acting. 5 was a representation of Val Kazar. As expected, Lightning Imbuement II is too damn flashy. Since the one moving is Val Kazar himself it''s all but certain he knows it''s me up here. The fact that he''s coming more or less alone means he won''t risk destabilizing the overseer''s oversight of the camps this close to the deadline. Still, even if he''s alone I need to finish this immediately. I don''t want to have to fight a level 63 on an empty tank of mana. He once again charged toward Voltar Pura, intending to finish this, but the lord of the mountain was not content to simply sit back and be killed. The colossal dinosaur had positioned itself next to a pile of rubble and had been waiting for Devon to make his move. As Devon charged in, Voltar Pura slammed its tail into the pile of stones, showering Devon in another hail of rubble. Devon pushed through it, determined to finish the dinosaur off before Lightning Imbuement wore off and Val Kazar made it up the mountain. The stones left cuts and bruises all over Devon''s body as he shouldered through it. He readied his hammer, prepared to strike at the beast''s leg, but the sight past the hail of rubble wasn''t as he expected. The lord had continued swinging its tail in a circle while Devon had been distracted by the blast of rubble. Caught unprepared, Devon wasn''t able to avoid the several ton tail. It slammed into him, blowing him back across the plateau. He felt blood rise in the back of his throat, but shoved it down with all the will he could muster and once again charged in. The pains of the beast''s previous hip check returned with a vengeance, and Devon felt his bones creak as he pushed his body despite the damage. Voltar Pura couldn''t maintain its balance after swinging around on a damaged leg, and it stumbled to the side. Devon took the opportunity to rush in and hit the weakened limb with everything he had. The smell of charred flesh filled the air as electricity cooked Voltar Pura from the inside. After a moment of wobbling the leg gave out completely, and the lord of the mountain once again began to fall. He couldn''t help but smile viciously as the beast started to topple, but the monster wasn''t content to let him have the victory that easily. It twisted its body unnaturally to whip its head around even as it fell. Devon yelled out in pain as teeth closed on his arm. The agony of it made his vision run red, but he pulled on the arm anyway, heedless of the pain the yanking caused. He needed to move, he was still directly underneath where the beast was falling and he knew the thing weighed several tons at least, easily enough to crush him if he wasn''t careful. Yet no matter how much he pulled, the damn beast just wouldn''t let go of his arm. Even as its neck twisted in a grotesque way it held firm, seeming determined to inflict as much injury to Devon as it could before its now certain death. Unable to pull away and still in the path of the falling monster''s colossal body, Devon did the only thing he could think to do. He planted the butt of the hammer against the ground and angled the head toward the collapsing body. As Voltar Pura''s body fully fell on top of him the hammer acted as a brace, holding it up and preventing it from crushing Devon. The butt of the weapon cracked the stone beneath them as Devon gritted his teeth against the pain. For a moment he worried if the stone ruin beneath would be able to hold against the weight of the dinosaur concentrated on a single point, but thankfully it held. Voltar Pura''s growls became squeals as electricity continually coursed through Devon''s hammer into the colossal beast''s body. The smell of charred flesh once again filled the air, much more potent this time as Voltar Pura was cooked alive by the magic imbued within Devon''s hammer. Devon chanted in his head Die already, die already, die already, over and over again as the beast tried to chop through his arm. But it couldn''t muster any more strength to do so, and with a final pathetic squeal, it released the tension on his arm as it died. Kill - [Voltar Pura, Lord of the Mountain - Level 60] - 1357 Talons [Level up. Level 39 obtained.] [Level up. Level 40 obtained.] [Level up. Level 41 obtained.] [Level up. Level 42 obtained.] [Level up. Level 43 obtained.] [Level up. Level 44 obtained.] New title obtained: [True Initiate] Ignoring the slew of messages, Devon pried his arm out of Voltar Pura''s maw as the duration of Lightning Imbuement II ran out. His arm was a horrific mess and was bleeding heavily. The beast had managed to bite it along the entire length of the arm, leaving it completely mangled by the late lord''s massive teeth. The severe bleeding presented an immediate problem. If he left such a wound unattended for too long he would certainly bleed out. But he''d already used his first healing pill earlier, so if he took a second he''d pass out on the spot. That wasn''t an option when he knew Val Kazar was heading his way.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Do I have to use that? The rejuvenation token would solve his problem without the detrimental effects of the healing pill, but he was extremely hesitant to use it in this situation. That token was the single greatest ace up his sleeve. To use it when he wasn''t absolutely sure it was necessary would be foolish. No, I can get by without it for now. If Val Kazar manages to catch up to me then I''ll have no choice but to use it, but for now I need to do without. Even with the rejuvenation token, he wanted to avoid a clash with the leader of the overseers. He was low on mana, but even with that constraint he didn''t feel as though a level 63 would be overwhelmingly dangerous. The problem was that his foe possessed intelligence. Val Kazar had left the main overseer camp alone, but if he managed to engage Devon and force him into a protracted conflict there was no reason he couldn''t summon the rest of the overseers while the leader engaged Devon in a game of cat and mouse. Devon slipped out from under the corpse of Voltar Pura and weaseled his hammer out as fast as he could. He then shoved it into his inventory and took out several other items. The first was a tourniquet. Healing pills were almighty, but after Kal''o Kir''s spree of tortures had shown the camps that not all wounds could be healed immediately there had been a call for the creation of basic medical tools. He bound it onto his bicep and pulled it as tight as he could, then scowled when the thing snapped before it could make a sizable difference in how much blood he was losing. The improved physiques that came with the system were incredible, but clearly Devon was reaching a point where his body transcended every material available to the initiates. He considered using magic to cauterize the entire arm but decided against it. It wasn''t worth using his remaining mana for such a purpose, since if he was dragged into a conflict with the overseers he''d be forced to use the token to heal the arm anyway, meaning he''d have essentially wasted the mana to use fireball. The second item was a massive sheet of cloth. Devon bound it around his arm as quickly as he could, ignoring the pain as the cloth was layered over the open wounds. It wasn''t meant as a bandage, his arm was far too damaged to imagine a bandage had any hope of preventing blood loss. No, it was simply meant to keep his blood from splattering everywhere as he made his escape. It wouldn''t do to leave such an easy trail to follow. With every preparation he could make completed, he started running.
Loh Unzak Loh Unzak was beginning to wonder if there was any end to this human''s caution. It had been half an hour since the end of its battle with the lord of the mountain, and it was still taking precautions that almost blew Loh''s cover. Loh, as he liked to call himself, was a stealth specialist. It was a profession that was generally seen as distasteful in their culture, but Val Kazar had appreciated his talents where the chief had not. For that reason, he greatly appreciated Val Kazar''s leadership. Still, he couldn''t deny that appreciation had waned significantly over the past month when Val Kazar had told him to remain as a constant sentinel on the mountain. It was the most dull job imaginable, and Loh hated it. Even so, he couldn''t deny he saw the logic in it. The instant the humans had shown they might be more of a threat than they''d initially anticipated Val Kazar had around a dozen vishan take up permanent posts. Unlike the vishan who monitored the humans daily and were almost completely exposed as they did, those who took permanent posts did so with the intent to remain secret, or to gather information on terrain while staying out of sight. Loh had mapped out the surface of the mountain within the first week, but Val Kazar hadn''t allowed him to go any deeper into its ruins. And so he''d been bored out of his mind, waiting endlessly. But that had changed today. Today a human had challenged the lord of the mountain. A human that summoned lightning. For whatever reason, Val Kazar had forced him out of his dugout in the midst of a meal while he''d watched the show and forced him to follow the human as close as he could. He didn''t understand why Val Kazar had such a fixation on this human, he''d been left out of the loop on just about everything while he''d been alone on the mountain. He knew Val Kazar would have wanted to be the one to pursue the human personally, but Loh was closer. If he''d done nothing the human would have gotten away completely long before Val Kazar arrived. Val Kazar had explicitly told Loh to stay undetected and only to observe the human until he could get there himself, which was fine by Loh. No way was he ready to engage a human who''d managed to take down that behemoth. Gah, again! This human is just too damn cautious! The pest had constructed a mesh of fine threads in the passageway it made its way through. Loh had barely seen them in time to stop himself from triggering the trap. From the way it was made, it was clear it wasn''t meant to spring anything on him but to warn the human that it was being followed. The human had almost immediately delved into the mountain from the first entrance it had found on the mountainside. It had taken serious restraint for Loh to not stop and marvel at the ruins as he tracked his quarry. He was glad there had been no terminals close by on the mountainside. They would have made the chase meaningless when the human could have teleported away safely. Traps or other methods to spot pursuers had been more and more frequent as time went on and the human''s pace slowed, and after almost 20 minutes Loh found out why. It''s injured. The trail of blood had started small, just a drop here and there. Now it was obvious the human was seriously wounded, with large splatters every couple of meters. If it''s still bleeding after almost half an hour of this running around then it must have received a serious wound, one that couldn''t be fixed on the spot. He peeked around a corner before quickly backing away. A glance at his mana revealed that the human had indeed seen him, or would have if his skill didn''t keep him hidden. His skill, Unseen, subverted the gaze of anyone who saw him while it was activated. It wasn''t as though he turned invisible, so if anyone got a perfect view of him they''d still spot him, skill or no. It did serve as a convenient tracker for how often it saved his ass though, as it only consumed mana when it was actively subverting someone''s gaze. The mana cost was horrendous though. It would only provide around 7 seconds of continuous use before he was tapped out. And this pesky human is running me dry. Still, unless I''m mistaken about the layout of this place, shouldn''t that doorway the human just went through lead to a dead-end room? Loh used a map token just to be sure, and found his suspicions correct. The room was isolated, without any other way out. He watched down the hall, waiting for the human to leave. But after ten minutes he frowned. The human still hadn''t come out. Loh almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand press against his shoulder. He quickly turned around and breathed out a massive sigh of relief when he realized it was just Val Kazar. He''d started to wonder how long it would take him to catch up, although it wasn''t surprising considering the labyrinth that was these underground ruins. He put up a hand to signal for Val Kazar to wait, then crept forward. Glancing into the room the human had disappeared into, he frowned when he saw it was completely empty. [Loh Unzak] He came into this room but now he isn''t here. [Val Kazar] What? Val Kazar came up behind him and gazed into the room. When he saw there was nothing inside he gazed at Loh with eyes that shone in the dark with fury. [Val Kazar] You lost him? [Loh Unzak] I''ve been watching this room for the past ten minutes. There''s no way out and I can''t imagine the human using a stealth skill like I''ve got. If they had one they''d have used it a long time ago. Loh breathed a sigh of relief when Val Kazar''s gaze turned from him towards the room. Gingerly, the much stronger vishan stepped into the ruined space that may once have been a small archive. Together, they spent several minutes searching the room, looking for clues. [Val Kazar] Here. When Loh looked over to his superior he saw Val Kazar kneeling next to a stone shelf. He looked to the floor and saw scratch marks, almost imperceptible amid the gloom of the monotone space. Val Kazar motioned him to the side of the bookshelf, and Loh took his position as Val Kazar readied his sword. With a shove, the bookshelf slid across the floor to reveal a small alcove, with the human lying there inside. Loh jumped back at seeing the glistening golden sword in the human''s hand, but to his surprise the human didn''t jump out and try to stick him with it. Val Kazar cautiously moved close and nudged the human''s sword with his own. The golden blade fell out of the human''s hand onto the stone with a clatter. Kneeling down, Val Kazar said, "How cautious. He was waiting in ambush, but we took so long to pursue he must have reached his limit." He raised the human''s arm covered in a blood-soaked cloth to reveal a puddle of blood beneath. "Is it dead?" Loh asked. Val Kazar held a hand to the human''s mouth before unwrapping the cloth. Loh couldn''t help but flinch when he saw the horribly disfigured appendage beneath, but then stared in amazement at the flesh stitching itself together before his eyes. "The system provides the initiates with a healing item of tremendous potency. However, when a second is consumed within a short period it causes the user to lose consciousness" "Who is this human anyway? I haven''t seen this ''Steve'' on the ladder the entire time. And you''d best believe I know every name that popped up on it, I haven''t had anything else to do but wait and watch." Loh knew it was improper to vent his frustrations like this, but could he really be blamed after being assigned that dreadfully boring job? "This is the human who killed the chief''s daughter. He hides under a disguise, but it''s him. There can be no doubt." Loh''s jaw dropped. Quite honestly, he''d thought they''d caught that human ages ago. He once again cursed his luck for getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. "So¡­ we''re killing him now, yeah?" Val Kazar stared at the human with an intensity Loh couldn''t understand. It was obvious that the human needed to die. If it didn''t they risked the chief raining down punishments on all of them, not just Val Kazar. "It will, just not now. Do you have bindings?" "We''re taking it with us?" "Better the chief have a chance to administer his own vengeance so we may be spared that much more of his wrath." 71 - Staked Shit. Devon cursed his luck. He''d taken every precaution imaginable, and still things had ended up this way. He was laid against the ground, pinned in place by several stakes of metal that pierced through his limbs and into the earth. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not muster the leverage to pull the rods out of the ground and free himself. It was a simple yet effective measure for holding a captive when iron bonds may have failed in the face of his raw strength. He''d also been stripped almost naked. The whereabouts of his gear was unknown, and he was sprawled out in the center of the overseer''s arena for all to see. An overseer had forced him to consume a healing pill when he''d woken, presumably so he wouldn''t die from an infection due to the wounds of the stakes and also his still-ravaged arm. The pill he''d taken in the cubby of the ruined archive hadn''t been enough to fully heal the wounds inflicted by Voltar Pura. But his physical constraints were far from the worst of his problems. He once again tried to open the message function and scowled at the notification. [Sealed] The same message resulted when he tried to access his map and, to an extent, inventory. He could open the inventory menu, but attempts to access his inventory''s subspace shoved the Sealed notification back in his face. Practically the only things that weren''t sealed were his status and his profession menu. This is the same as what Trey described when he was Kal''o Kir''s captive. Sighing, he opened his status. Like it or not, he was a prisoner. So all he could do was take stock of his gains from the fight with the lord of the mountain. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] Level: 44 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 3] Mana: 265/265 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 6], [Sword Proficiency - Level 6], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Lightning Thrust], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bone Breaker], [The Mask], [Refine] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement II], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: True Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Lord of Massacre Strength: 320 Dexterity: 321 Vitality: 314 Endurance: 313 Arcane: 317 Spirit: 18 Free Points: 215 Talons: 6738 [True Initiate] The mark of an Initiate that has risen above the tallest hurdle available within tutorial block #247. This is an override Title. Effects of expected Titles acquired during initiation will be consolidated. Titles [Initiate], [Ambitious], [Giantslayer], [Novice Dungeoneer], [Independant], [Discoverer], [Defiant], [Lord''s Bane] have been consolidated. Exp gain +20% while below level 150. All stats +43. All stats +15%. +15% boost to the most invested stat. He''d found it slightly odd when the system hadn''t awarded him with a title for slaying a creature more than 20 levels above his own. In fact it had, but it hadn''t shown up because it had been instantly consolidated into True Initiate. He brought up the individual descriptions for both of the new titles that had been acquired and consolidated, just to be sure of what they did individually. [Defiant] Solo killed an enemy 20 levels higher than your own. All stats +20. [Lord''s Bane] Awarded for slaying a being significantly above one''s own station. +15% boost to the most invested stat. Defiant was simply a linear progression from Ambitious and Giantslayer. The 20 extra points in all of his stats were a massive boon, but Devon couldn''t help but feel a little underwhelmed by the simplicity of the reward for the effort he''d been forced to go through. The other new title, Lord''s Bane, more than made up for it. After some quick mental math, he noted with a wicked satisfaction that since he hadn''t invested any of his free points the 15% boost applied to every stat. He imagined the title was meant to take away a bit of the need to put all of one''s free points into specializing in one stat, freeing them up to round out their abilities better. In contrast, Devon had essentially cheated the system into giving him another +15% all stat bonus. While it was nice that the system had cleaned up his titles, what Devon found most interesting were the titles the system had not included in the consolidation, Vicious and Lord of Massacre. If it wasn''t for those two titles he would have assumed True Initiate simply took in every title acquired throughout the tutorial. Perhaps they''re meant to serve as some kind of identifiers beyond simple achievements. Vicious was far more of a statement on his personality rather than any kind of accomplishment. Lord of Massacre could be viewed in the same light if one looked at it in the way it was a representation of his mental capability to follow through with such an ordeal.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Perhaps the most significant change for him in particular was how True Initiate had leveled up the exp bonus from the original Initiate title. The bonus had gone from +10% til level 100 to +20% til level 150. This would of course be significant to anyone, but to someone as exp-starved as he was it would be a godsend. He turned his attention away from his gains and brought his mind back to the present. Looking at the stakes that bound his limbs to the ground, he mused on his options. From what he could see, three of the level 50 overseers had been stationed around the ring of the arena to watch him. He had no doubt Val Kazar was close by as well, but he hadn''t yet seen the overseer leader. As for the metal stakes¡­ Physically, he couldn''t do anything. With his limbs pinned in a spread eagle position he couldn''t gain proper leverage off the ground to pull them out. That didn''t mean he was completely helpless though. If one looked at the situation from a different angle, he didn''t necessarily have to pull the stakes from the ground if he wanted to free himself. All he had to do was make it so they no longer had any hold of him. Rungs at the tops of the stakes prevented him from simply ripping his arms off them, but even they wouldn''t do anything if his theory was correct. Devon opened his inventory, looking over the list of items contained within. Of course, the overseers had confiscated his spatial bead, so all he had access to was the basic inventory, but what he sought was not a physical item. He''d thought something seemed off when the system had allowed him to open the inventory function at all. After all, why allow him to look but not touch? The list of items was greyed out and inaccessible, but not the separate list of tokens. If it lets me use tokens even while sealed, then that means I still have access to the rejuvenation token. And if it''s as powerful as the system made it sound¡­ The description of the rejuvenation token had always bothered him because it was incredibly vague yet sounded all-powerful. This led to the current question in his mind; If the rejuvenation token has the ability to reverse causality to restore the body to peak physical condition then what happens to any foreign objects that happen to be inside the user''s body? Of course, the first possibility was that nothing would happen and the metal stakes would remain. But if the token had the power to reverse causality then who''s to say it wouldn''t simply overwrite reality and replace metal with flesh? It was a gamble. And frankly, Devon was sick of this information-starved tutorial and the gambles he''d been continually forced to make due to ignorance. Still, this wasn''t a situation where he could even make that gamble even if he wanted to. Three level 50s were not a force he could contend with so flippantly. Two, he could probably take. But not three. At least, not before Val Kazar or other overseers arrived to back them up. Still, I have to wonder why I''m even still alive at all. He''d killed three overseers so far and had ruined their plan to kill Eve. That was more than enough reason to kill him by almost any metric. As always, I''ll just have to play it by ear. If they''ve brought me here for some kind of ceremonial execution then I''ll have no choice but to use the rejuvenation token. But until then I''ll simply bide my time. Devon waited for several hours as the three suns bore down on him mercilessly. Since he could do nothing else, he kept track of time as best he could. He''d awoken in the early hours of the morning and now the suns were nearing the zenith of their rotation across the sky. Only an hour or two more. Looks like I won''t get to be there when everything starts. Well, I''m sure Trey will be fine. He had absolute faith in his friend to carry the plan through, even without him. It would be a burden, having to create an excuse to set things off without the advantage of Devon''s shapeshifting abilities, but Devon was sure he''d manage. At that moment two figures walked into the arena, one seeming to pester the other. It hurt Devon''s neck, but he craned his head as far forward as he could to get a good look at the visitors. It was Val Kazar, being doggedly followed by an anxious-looking Zane. Val Kazar was mostly ignoring the human traitor, instead focusing on something that Devon couldn''t perceive. At the far end of the arena the overseer leader held up his hand and a shimmering crack in reality appeared. A terminal? No, it looks too weak. If a terminal was a hen, then what Val Kazar had just created felt more like a hatchling. Something that was too weak at the moment to do anything substantial. Devon doubted it would remain that way. The leader of the overseers took one look a Devon before turning his gaze toward Zane, "I will tell you one last time, you must wait for the chief to decide your fate, and that of your sister. I never made any promises or guarantees, only that I would put in a word for you." Sister? Val Kazar walked out of the arena without giving Zane an opportunity to respond. Devon couldn''t deny he felt satisfied seeing Zane, traitor to his race, treated like trash even by the aliens he''d sold his soul to. Zane cursed, then began walking over toward Devon after a minute.
Zane "What, you aren''t going to continue following along with your master, little pup?" Devon asked mockingly as Zane approached. Zane aimed a kick into Devon''s side. To his annoyance, the man staked to the ground didn''t show any visible reaction despite taking the full force of the blow. Zane scowled at Devon''s cool attitude. "I swear, if I get the chance I''ll make you regret ever being born¡­" Zane muttered. "Did you want something or are you just here to waste my time?" Devon asked. Zane gave him a derisive sneer. It irked him immeasurably that the man maintained such an arrogant attitude even in this situation. Did he have no sense of what was coming? That his death was close at hand? No, I can''t let him get to me. That stupid overgrown lizard wanted me to somehow prove that this scum is behind everything. He knew the leader of the overseers was simply giving him pointless tasks, none of them cared about something like proof. Even so, it was a directive Zane couldn''t simply ignore. He''d take every chance, every opportunity to increase the lizards'' perception of him. It was the best chance he had at getting what he wanted. Or rather, he''d burned every other bridge and this was his last chance. But how to do it? Should I torture him here under the sun? It seemed the most straightforward approach. Yet, he couldn''t bring himself to do it. Something within the man''s eyes scared him. Or perhaps it was in his completely relaxed posture, as though he was unconcerned with the metal stakes that pierced his every limb. The people that Kal''o Kir tortured would have been crying from such wounds, yet he doesn''t even seem to care. Would torture truly be the optimal solution? A different thought occurred to him. If physical pain wasn''t enough to sufficiently motivate him, maybe Zane could target something else, something he suspected the man did care about. "I was wondering if I should maybe pay your friend Trey a visit. After all, we both know there won''t be much of a chance after the next few days. Kal''o Kir taught me a few things, you know. Of course, he''s already seen most of them, but I wonder what psychological effect a repeat experience would have?" He watched Devon closely and felt a thrill at the sight of thinly concealed rage within. Zane pretended to muse to himself for a moment before saying, "No, maybe it would be better just to kill him. Hmm¡­ so many options. Well, either way, I think I''ll go pay him a visit. Maybe he''ll be a better conversation partner." Walking away, Zane couldn''t help noticing the look in the man''s eye, like a predator watching its prey. Just you wait, I''ll show you you''re not the apex around here. I''ll drag you down, and make you regret ever crossing me.
What a fool, Devon thought to himself. He was rather proud of how good he was becoming at acting, having had many chances to practice at it while masquerading as others. It still wasn''t his strong suit, but all he''d had to do was lay there and let the fool talk himself into a bad idea. It was clear Zane held some dark obsession towards him ever since Devon had beaten the man in the forest. If things went as Devon expected they would, that obsession would be the spark that started everything. Well Trey, looks like you won''t have to come up with something on your own after all. You''ll have a little psycho to do the dirty work for you. Of course, Devon would be lying if he told himself he didn''t have any apprehension about Zane going after Trey. But he trusted his friend and had confidence in his abilities. He looked toward the shimmering crack in reality Val Kazar had left behind, gradually growing more solid, stronger. The die is cast. All that''s left is to see how the chips fall. 72 - Spark Trey Trey found himself pacing in his oversized tent, only an hour and a half before the deadline. It was a habit he thought he''d purged himself of back in college, before which he''d wasted so much time pacing he''d killed all of his productivity. But this wasn''t the time to ponder the resurgence of bad habits. Practically everyone within the tutorial had seen the battle to the mountainside, including him. He''d watched with bated breath as lightning had struck on a clear day. Then that astonishment had burned to ash as his scouts had reported the movements of Val Kazar. ''Understood'' was still the last he''d heard from Devon. Trey had then waited for the next hour for the follow-up response they''d gone over in that situation in case Devon found himself pressed hard enough they''d have to take drastic measures, but had only received radio silence. At first he''d found himself glad of the silence. The stillness on the mountain and among the overseers led to the assumption that the conflict between the leader of the overseers and Devon had been a non-starter. That assumption had been dashed when a scout reported an unconscious human being taken into the overseer''s camp. He should have awoken and sent a message by now. Did they seal his system functions as Kal''o Kir did to mine? Trey was at least certain Devon was still alive. A scout, one of the ones Devon had trained as part of his overseer killer squad, had gone a ways up the mountain and confirmed via spyglass that the overseers had Devon bound in the center of the arena they''d constructed. The entire situation sucked, to say the least. His best friend and biggest pillar of support and planning was locked away in a place that he physically could not access. That means everything is on me now. How wonderful. He would still push through with Devon''s plan as it remained the best option at hand, though it would be considerably harder to initiate now that Devon was¡­ occupied. His friend had anticipated that the best time to act would be immediately after the protected period ended. They knew from the datalogs that there was the chance more overseers would enter the tutorial once the 30 days were up, and their best chance of drawing all of them out into a decisive conflict was to force them into the choice as soon as possible, before any new recruits got their bearings or a good grasp of the situation they were in. He''d already pulled back most of his scouts who had been keeping eyes on the scattered overseers. Keeping them in the field past the expiration of the protected period only served to needlessly put them at risk. Several members of the squad Devon had whipped into shape were stationed around the overseer camp, concealed as best they could be for their proximity. If Devon''s assumptions were correct the barrier around the camp would fall at the same time as the protected period expired, so if it was necessary he could attempt a rescue operation. He knew Devon possessed the rejuvenation token, an unbelievable gift from the system, but without a better understanding of exactly what the situation Devon was in Trey was not content to simply leave his friend to fend for himself. Only a little longer and he may have the chance to¡­ Trey''s thoughts ended abruptly with the halt of his pacing. Something had moved in the corner of his eye, despite the fact that he should have been alone within his tent. Susan would have announced herself or intercepted any visitor. Which means I''ve got an uninvited guest. Whoever they were, they were good enough that a fleeting glance was all Trey had gotten. His hand reached for his tile that appeared in midair on command. He didn''t have his armor on, so he lacked his usual defenses, but that wouldn''t stop him from defending himself. The blade came from the shadows, and Trey instinctively jumped as the blue flash cut through where his leg had been only a moment before. He barely had time to register the familiar face of his assailant before the bone cudgel was in his hand and he swung down toward the fleeting figure. But Trey was far too slow to catch the slippery shadow, and it eluded Trey''s attack as afterimages of that hazy blue blade flashed across Trey''s vision. He''s too fast for me to catch with purely physical attacks. But he also isn''t like Ray, someone who secluded themselves in a cave and only came out to hunt. He was at the heart of Nix''s network of information, which means I should assume he already knows the majority of my spells and has ways to counteract them directly. After all, there''s no way they didn''t spy on me if they thought I was a threat. But even if Zane didn''t know a majority of his spells, it was extremely unlikely Trey could beat the man in a one on one fight. Zane had retained his second place spot on the ladder through everything, while Trey was struggling to maintain sixth. Their level of combat proficiency along with the statistical difference made a slugfest a bad idea. He aimed for the legs. Does he not want to kill me for some reason? But if that''s the case then why come here at all? Trey didn''t have any clue what the man was thinking. All he knew was that his best option was to utilize his greatest asset. He felt mana well up within as he readied his spell, but Zane wasn''t content to let him cast so leisurely. The blade once again flashed through the darkness of the tent, but this time its arc was predictable¡­ too predictable. Trey''s first instinct was to block with his cudgel, but he fought that urge down as his rational mind realized that was exactly what Zane wanted him to do. So instead he raised an arm and winced as the blue sword pierced his flesh.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He felt a maniacal smile appear on his face as he saw Zane''s expression. The man looked shocked that Trey would rather have his arm impaled than block with his weapon. You have no idea how much easier you''ve made this for me, motherfucker. Trey unleashed the magic he''d been storing up, and a burst of tempestuous winds exploded within the tent. Cuts appeared all over both their bodies as a Galeforce backed by a high amount of arcane detonated right on top of them. The force of the localized storm ripped the tent around them to shreds, and Trey heard cries of panic from the area around them. Zane scowled, and Trey''s smile grew all the wider at the man''s anger. Using all the force he could muster, Trey kicked into Zane''s stomach as hard as he could. Zane brought up an arm to defend against the blow, and his expression seemed to expect Trey to have some spell up his sleeve. But Trey did not imbue his kick with any kind of spell. It was a simple kick, and with the leverage it granted him he pushed himself away from Zane, ripping the sword from his arm. Trey had no reason to try and actually hurt Zane, a fact that seemed to greatly confuse Zane. By now the voices were closing in, and Trey heard Susan gasp from the side. Zane''s scowl grew deeper, but he was no fool. He knew he''d lost his one chance and wouldn''t get another. Without a word, he dashed away through the line of tents. "Trey!" Susan exclaimed as she rushed over to him, "Who was that? Why did they attack you?" "...That was Zane." "Zane?" Susan gasped, "No, this is no time for that! You''re injured, take a healing pill quickly before the bleeding gets any worse!" Trey held up his arm and examined the wound inflicted by Zane''s sword. Both sides of his arm were coated in blood from where the sword had impaled his arm and gone clean through. "Yeah, I will. But before that can you assemble as much of the camp as possible? I have something that needs to be said." Susan looked very scared at the implications of Trey''s request. He had never gathered an assembly of the camp before. He was only doing it now, after the man known as Nix''s second in command had tried to attack him. Trey doubted it would take long to gather everyone, his exploding tent had already gotten the attention of most of the camp''s residents. With that worried expression on her face, Susan rushed off to start the process of gathering an assembly. Neither he nor Nix had spread the information that Zane was a traitor to their species. That information was simply too volatile and would lead too many to ask questions that would lead them to the truth of the overseers'' desire. And that, in turn, would spark unrest that couldn''t be controlled. Besides, keeping the lid on that information served another purpose for Trey and Devon. Still, what did he hope to achieve, attempting to only wound me? He went for my leg... Did he hope to immobilize me before attempting a kidnapping, an imitation of what Kal''o Kir did in Arkania? Trey looked at his inventory screen, and his gaze passed over the stockpile of healing pills he had. He''d told Susan he would take one, but the truth was that this injury still had a purpose. But while the injury served a purpose, the excessive bleeding did not. And so he took a tourniquet out of his inventory before binding it around his arm. He couldn''t help but note how the strip of monster leather, the toughest material they''d found so far, strained under his arm. If his stats were any higher it was possible the tourniquet wouldn''t have held at all. After waiting for close to half an hour, Trey finally felt that enough people had gathered. He donned clothes that were meant to appeal to the aesthetics of earth culture, loose and long-sleeved. The meeting place was where the fights were held. A huge crowd, essentially every person who lived within Plainstown, was gathered there. Every eye turned to him as he entered. It took a measure of self-control to maintain his look of stoic dignity. A month ago he would have folded under so many gazes looking to him with such expectation. But he''d had that same month to constantly practice looking like a leader. He took to the center of the fight pit. There was no raised platform, they''d had no need of one. So the best he could do was position himself in a place where the most people possible could hear his words. Trey took in a deep breath, then began. "From the beginning, this place has divided us. It has drawn out our most primal urges for violence and power, but also the goodness within us. There have been those who have killed for mere sport, and those who have lost themselves in their desire for levels. But far more of us have stayed true to one another. "I have hoped, as many of you have, that we would be able to find common ground with those that held opposing views. However, those hopes were shattered today." Trey pulled back his sleeve to reveal the still-fresh wound on his arm and held it up for all to see. "An assassin snuck into my tent a mere half an hour ago. Many of you would not have recognized this attacker, so it is no surprise that they entered the camp uncontested. However, I''m sure all of you would have recognized the name. Zane." Murmurs spread throughout the crowd, but Trey silenced them, "I''m sure those of you who came from Arkania remember that man as not only the number two on the ladder, but also Nix''s second in command. In essence, he is the enforcer of Nix''s will." "I know many of you do not wish for violence, but we have to ask ourselves how much is too much. How much abuse will we suffer before we lash out in retaliation? For a while now I have asked myself this question. But I realized today, when I was alone with an assassin, that I''ve been asking the wrong question all this time. This is not a matter so shallow as petty grudges. "We know from the terminal''s datalogs that when we return we will be the only ones who have had a chance to adapt to the system. When this tutorial ends we will return to earth, and when we do we will be the beacons the people look to for inspiration and guidance. This is not something we chose, but it has become our responsibility as those who were taken regardless. "And so we must ask ourselves, what kind of world do we wish to create when we return? And what kind of world do we want to prevent?" The murmuring around him turned to silence as people absorbed the meaning behind his words. After several seconds, Trey continued. "The people of Arkania bear the same responsibility, but if they are allowed to return then the world they will seek to create will be one we wish to prevent. If we allow things to progress to that point then this conflict will not be limited to just us, but also encompass all the ones we love as well." Trey stopped the pacing he''d been doing around the fight pit as he spoke and stood deathly still in the center. And all he asked was one question, "Are you willing to allow that to happen, or shall we end this before it has a chance to spiral out of our control?" The pent-up anger and frustration that Devon had been building within the people of Plainstown for a while now exploded all at once as the crowd roared all around Trey. 73 - The 31st Day Devon had nothing to do to pass the time but watch as the rift Val Kazar had placed slowly grew in size. He noticed a definitive change in it after about an hour. Instead of the usually peaceful cracks in reality that accompanied terminals and spirit dungeons, this one seemed to swirl with energy from within. Accompanying this change was a system notification. [Notice] Tutorial block #247 Adjustment phase has been completed. Beginning Assessment phase. New quest obtained: [Assessment]. However, user has already fulfilled the completion conditions and obtained the rewards associated with quest. Therefore it shall be marked as completed. Huh. I suppose that makes the first quest I''ve technically completed, strangely enough. According to the datalogs, the adjustment phase was what the system called the first 30 days. As the name implied, it was the period of time the initiates were expected to be able to adjust to the system and the world they found themselves in. Which means everyone else should have also gotten a message informing them of the termination of the protected title. He looked in his quest list, thankfully excluded from the seal he was under, and brought up the quest he''d completed unknowingly. [Assessment] (Hard): Fulfill one of several conditions to earn your status as a True Initiate. Conditions: Survive Tutorial block #247 as the highest level user. Kill one of the Lords of block #247 without assistance. Rewards: Title [True Initiate]. So there are four maximum possible true initiates per tutorial, huh? Still, I can''t believe it considers that to only be a hard task. Sure seems like it would be higher than that. He was sure in a normal tutorial a hectic struggle would have emerged, or maybe started long before the assessment phase, at the sight of the scarcity of the rewards. Most likely there would be fierce competition over the right to fight the lords, and the number 1 would have to constantly watch his back. Well, I suppose none of that really concerns me. More importantly¡­ The overseers that had been stationed across the tutorial had been filing into the arena as he''d looked over the completed quest. They each took position around the edge of the arena, and Devon couldn''t help but notice they were organizing themselves in order of level, with the higher leveled overseers being the ones closest to the rift of swirling energy. So that''s a higher level terminal, huh? According to the datalogs, the terminals found within the tutorial were intentionally limited in what they could do. Then, once the tutorial was over every terminal would shift to a higher level, ones that allowed teleportation not just to other terminals within the tutorial but to other places across infinity as well. I can only assume this one is exclusive to the overseers while the assessment phase is still ongoing. Most likely, they''re about to welcome someone new into the tutorial like the datalogs said they could. He idly wondered whether they always lined up like this to welcome newcomers, or if the tutorial had some kind of ritual importance to them. Well, I guess I''ll find out soon enough. Seriously though, if Trey hasn''t kicked things off yet then I''m basically fucked. There''s no way I can take on every overseer within the tutorial right here and now. Honestly, if he''d known they were going to do a roll call in the hour of truth he may have gambled on the rejuvenation token earlier. Still, he found that even in this situation he didn''t feel too worried. Trey had never let him down before, and he didn''t plan on doubting the man now. Within a few minutes, Val Kazar appeared in the arena just as it seemed the last of the overseers were lining up. Devon wasn''t sure, but he could have sworn he could see a look of intense irritation on his reptilian face. The leader of the overseers placed his hand on the swirling terminal before backing away from it. Within a few seconds, an imposing figure materialized next to the rift in space. Devon noted that the terminal seemed to shrink back into the state it had initially been in when Val Kazar had first placed it. What the heck? I thought they''d bring in more foot soldiers. It would have been in line with their objective of farming us for exp if they''d brought in more level 30s or 40s, to better distribute the gains across their faction. Instead, an imposing vishan had come through. And at the sight of him, all of the overseers around the edge of the arena got to one knee and bowed. [Auxiliary Overseer, Ludra Yuk - Level 74] Fuck. The datalogs had described a point system used in the process of bringing additional overseers into a tutorial. The higher the level, the more points an individual would cost. They must have used every single point to bring forth this monster. But why? Summoning such a powerhouse might offer a measure of security, but it doesn''t do anything to help their objective. Also, why does the name Yuk sound familiar? But even the vishan''s high level didn''t match the feeling of apprehension he got looking Ludra Yuk over. He suspected the armor the newcomer wore was of an exponentially higher quality than anything he''d seen so far. The set of full platemail covered his entire body. "Val Kazar!" Ludra Yuk exclaimed loudly as he put a hand on the shoulder of the other, "I trust things have gone well? I see you wasted no time putting together our seat of power in this new world." "Chief, I have-" Chief? Huh, but it still lists Val Kazar as the overseer''s leader and this new figure as an auxiliary overseer. I guess the title isn''t automatically applied to the highest level then. "Wait," The vishan chief said, his eyes scanning the overseers lined up around the edge of the arena, "Where is my daughter? Where is Khan Yuk?" Sudden understanding washed through Devon like a tidal wave. The memory of the name of the overseer he''d killed on that very first night flashed through his head. "I regret to inform the chief that the overseer Khan Yuk was slain in the course of her duti-" Val Kazar didn''t get to finish his statement before a backhanded fist slammed into his face and he was sent flying over the heads of the kneeling overseers before he crashed through one of the walls on the side of the arena. Any sense of jovial familiarity the chief had portrayed before was gone, replaced by a cold fury. "Who was it," He asked, looking around the ring of overseers, "Who was stupid and foolish enough to plot against me. Or perhaps¡­" His eyes settled on Zane, still rigidly standing next to the spot Val Kazar had been only moments before. "Was it you, you worthless bug?"If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Zane almost seemed to collapse to one knee in the face of the pressure that was being exerted on him. He barely managed to stammer out, "N-No sir." The chief slowly reached his hand out toward Zane as he spoke even slower, "Then who was it? Tell me or I''ll crush your head like a melon." "Chief," Val Kazar''s voice reappeared as he walked back into the arena, "Please, allow me to give my full report before you take any rash actions." Devon couldn''t help but notice that a majority of the scales across Val Kazar''s face had been blown away or into his flesh from the attack, leaving a bloody mess across half his face. But the damage was quickly healing and the scales were swiftly growing back, no doubt due to a healing item. The sight clearly caught the chief''s attention. Devon felt more than heard Zane''s sigh of relief when the chief brought his hand back to his side. "I no longer have any patience for excuses, Val Kazar. So be brief or my next attack won''t be with my fist." Val Kazar bowed before he explained all of the major events of the tutorial so far as well as how the humans had formed two separate camps. "In short, the humans have proved themselves far more resilient than we imagined." "Then the one who killed my precious daughter is¡­" The chief trailed off as his gaze drifted to Devon. "Yes, but I would beg of the chief to wait one more minute. Not only would it be a waste to kill him as he is, I also have an urgent report requiring immediate attention." "...What?" The chief slowly, as if reluctant to focus on anything other than his vengeance, looked back to Val Kazar. "The human settlement of the plains is moving to attack the forest settlement. I do not know what has instigated this aggression, but if things proceed unchecked I believe they will slaughter each other." Devon couldn''t resist smiling. He could only assume after his last meeting with Zane that the man had acted without thought and Trey had used his thoughtless actions as the perfect catalyst. But the real cherry on top was the fact that Zane clearly hadn''t had the balls to admit to Val Kazar that he was the one responsible for the current fiasco! "What!? That cannot happen! If we allow them to slaughter each other then much of what we sacrificed to come here would have been wasted in vain!" Exactly. Unfortunately for you, the conversion ratio of experience per level favors mass slaughter. If you let them kill each other then there will be less to go around for you lot. According to Trey, experience gained toward a level was best looked at as a percentage rather than a definitive number. The percentage of experience gained depended on one''s own level as well as the level of the creature that was killed to gain exp. Killing creatures below your level resulted in exponentially less exp, while killing creatures higher resulted in exponentially more. However, most of the initiates would likely only gain a level or two, if even that, from the battle. That was nowhere near enough for the increased gains to ramp to exponential levels, and therefore if the vishan allowed the battle to happen they''d see their harvest as almost completely ruined. "Chief. I would like to offer a different tactical perspective, if I may," Val Kazar said. What? "Out with it." "It is true that our original objective was to gain as much strength as possible to better fight our foes back home, but I believe throwing ourselves into such a maelstrom of violence would cripple our forces rather than help them advance, as we want. I''m well aware that we also originally intended to merely strip this world of anything useful. However, I have come to believe it may be a better solution to simply relocate the tribe to this world. It would be easy to wipe the humans out after they''ve spent their strength and then claim this world for-" "Stop," The chief said as he slowly drew an axe out of his tile, "I thought you respected your ancestors more than this, Val Kazar. To even suggest that we abandon the place they fought so hard to protect and maintain is disgraceful." "...I would value the lives of my kinsmen who still draw breath. I-" "Not. Another. Word." The chief leveled the axe against Val Kazar''s neck. Devon imagined for a moment the chief might actually kill Val Kazar, but he stopped as Val Kazar held up a small item. An item Devon and every other initiate had become intimately familiar with over the course of the tutorial. "...What is this?" With his permission to speak restored, Val Kazar said, "This is the item that restored my face mere moments ago, chief. It is a restorative of tremendous potency." "Where did you get this?" The chief asked, picking up the small pill and examining it. "It is available to every initiate through the terminal shop. It costs a mere 50 talons." "That is¡­ unbelievable. That something of such value could be given for almost nothing¡­" "Chief, even if you do not approve of my plan, I would still argue there is merit in leaving the remaining humans alive because of these items. If we open up a dialogue after the dust has settled on their conflict there may still be time to engage in trade. We could stockpile large amounts of these items to return with." "Hmph. Your thinking is too shallow, Val Kazar. No, the superior tactic would be to achieve both our goal and your idea. Trade? We have no need of such a thing. All we have to do is leave one human alive. Then we can force that human to purchase as many of these as they can. In fact, this human would serve as a perfect candidate." The chief turned to Zane, "I assume it was you who brought these to our attention?" "I was." Zane''s voice was still uneasy, but he wasn''t stuttering anymore. "You have done a great service to our people. However, while I shan''t kill those I owe a debt to, I still cannot allow you to remain once the tutorial concludes. Do you have any other wishes before then?" "Please, great chief, I would ask that the life of my sister be spared and given the same grace you would bestow upon me." What a suck-up. Though I guess I already knew that. "How many humans are there in total?" "More than a thousand," Val Kazar answered quickly. "One less will make little difference. Very wel-" "However," Val Kazar cut the chief off, "It must also be said that the human in question is the leader of the forest settlement, as well as the one responsible for two of our casualties." A silence settled over the trio as the chief''s gaze slowly slid back to Zane. Zane kept the same position he''d been holding, kneeling with his face aimed at the ground. Ludra Yuk rolled the pill around in his hand as he contemplated. "While that may be the case, if the lives of vishan who may fall in the future can be saved then letting go of what''s done is a small price to pay." Devon knew everyone in the arena understood the choice the chief had just made. They all knew the line about saving future lives had simply been an excuse. But none of them said anything. None of them so much as shifted in place. The chief of the vishan just put the value of the gains he can acquire over justice for the lives of two of his kin. The chief turned to face the center of the arena but did not look down at Devon. He projected his voice so that every vishan could hear him clearly and understand. "Those of you above level 30, take position around the human forces. If you see any snooping around, kill them. Once the fighting begins you will attack from the rear of whichever force you are following. Kill them before they know what''s happening and tear through their ranks like a blade through a leaf. But do not expose yourself to unnecessary harm. "Those of you who are below level 30 will assault the settlements themselves once the fighting begins. Reap all that you can from the crafters who haven''t devoted their time to properly gaining a warrior''s strength." "Go." Each of the vishan around the edge of the arena stood as one and made for the exits. "You," The chief pointed to one of the level 50s, "Accompany the human. Bring the sister back once he identifies her, and ensure they return here safely." Once there was only the chief and Val Kazar left, the chief said, "Finally. All of the distractions are gone, and my daughter can be avenged. You said it would be a waste to kill him as he is, but I fail to see your reasoning." "By killing your daughter before today with a cursed weapon he brought a curse upon himself. It is well known from the stories that killing a cursed individual brings benefits. However, because we have not had such an opportunity in living memory I would advise caution in the manner in which we kill him." "I see. Yes, it''s true that an executioner who did not play a part in the capture of a prisoner is denied a majority of the rewards by the system. You believe it possible the system would deny me the rewards of killing a cursed creature if I merely execute him?" "Of course, the choice is yours." "I am not you, Val Kazar. I would not allow such an easy prize to slip through my fingers. It would be wasteful in the extreme. Despite your incompetence and the mistake of allowing my daughter to die, you have worked admirably enough that I will spare your life. However, do not assume you have escaped punishment when this is over." "Yes, my chief. I shall take my leave to observe and ensure we incur no unnecessary casualties." "No. You will remain. I will not allow this vermin to entertain thoughts of escape, even if such a thought would be grossly mistaken. Human, I will demonstrate the true meaning of despair before you die." Devon could barely keep the excitement off his face. I can''t believe what a perfect situation just fell into my lap. 74 - Chief Devon couldn''t believe how close his plan had been to utter ruin before this egotistic chief had reined everything back into place. When Val Kazar had started talking about not intervening in the human''s conflict out of concern for vishan lives Devon''s blood had run cold. After all, there would have been absolutely no purpose to the conflict happening out there if the overseers simply sat back and watched. And I would have been the architect of a pointless slaughter. But for as poor a measure as he''d had of Val Kazar''s character, his assessment of the vishan''s culture had been spot on. They were bred for war, and that need for violence defined their existence. Still, this chief is a greedy one. Devon examined the chief''s equipment as he walked around Devon, pulling stakes out of Devon''s limbs. Devon made sure to give somewhat believable cries of pain each time one was pulled out. He''s got at least five pieces of truly exceptional gear. The chief''s breastplate, greaves, boots, and axe were all forged of metal unlike any he''d seen any of the other vishan wearing. He could only assume the chief had claimed those relics as spoils of war from the enemies he''d killed. But the fifth piece set Devon''s nerves on end just to look at. It was a bloodred pendant that hung around the chief''s neck. Devon almost felt like he could sense some kind of demonic aura from the thing. It must have a special ability like my amplification gem. I absolutely cannot allow him to think I''m strong enough to be worth using it on, or I''ll have no chance. Devon couldn''t even begin to judge the difference in strength between them. By merit of pure stats, Devon was absurdly strong for his level. So strong a normal level 74 would have likely made a fair contest in an arm wrestling match. But the chief wasn''t normal. He''d clearly lived a life of war, and his equipment was so ludicrously good that even Devon''s uneducated eye could tell it would likely give the vishan an edge against a foe at least 10 levels above his own. I only have one advantage. "Give the human it''s equipment. I want to fight it at full strength. I would take the measure of this species before I exterminate it from this world. On the note of full strength¡­" A powerful grip latched onto Devon''s jaw and his mouth was forced open before the chief shoved the healing pill he''d been holding down Devon''s throat. Coughing, Devon felt his injuries begin to heal as Val Kazar unceremoniously threw his equipment in a heap next to him. This guy massively underestimates me. [Notice] Captivity has been terminated. The seal on affected functions has been broken. Huh. So the system has to consider you as being held captive for the seal to work. Interesting. He went through the motions of putting his equipment back on while the holes in his limbs closed. When he found the amplification gem buried within the bundle he was so surprised he almost dropped the thing, but collected his wits fast enough to quickly put it around his neck. That Val Kazar¡­ Undoubtedly, the reason the chief underestimated him so much was because Val Kazar had failed to properly explain the extent of Devon''s achievements. When it came to his capture, all the overseer had said was that they''d caught him skulking around the mountain. Never once was the fact that he''d slain a level 60 lord while being below level 40. What''s his game? Does he actually hope I''ll overwhelm the chief? I suppose it would be a good chance to then step up and play the hero by saving the chief at the last second. Or perhaps¡­ Devon shook the thoughts out of his head. He''d just have to stay on guard and be prepared for Val Kazar to attempt to intervene in their duel. Though he knew the chief didn''t think of this as a duel in the slightest. In his eyes, this is just a thinly veiled torture session. He''ll play with me like a cat does a mouse, and I''ll play along until an opportunity comes to show my fangs. Once he was finished dressing up Val Kazar threw his final piece of equipment, the golden curved blade, at him from the sidelines. Devon picked it up before immediately putting it in his tile. In its place he brought out the spear and the second of the bone architect''s blades, attaching the bone blade to the end of the spear like a bayonet. Both Val Kazar and the chief took notice of his clearly mismatched weaponry, but Devon didn''t pay them any mind. Message known user Trey. Waiting¡­ Connection established. [Trey] Devon! I was so worried! Do you need help? I have members of the squad standing by, but I''m a bit preoccupied with leading the people of Plainstown.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. [Devon] I know, great job setting stuff off by yourself. I should be fine, the overseers are moving exactly as expected so you should have everyone focus on clearing out their numbers when they attack. [Trey] Are you sure you don''t need assistance? [Devon] I told you before, this is the stage upon which I shall dance. Connection closed. That''s right, this is the perfect stage. His original objective had been to handle Val Kazar alone, since in Devon''s mind he was the only good dance partner amid the tutorial, but this worked just as well. No, it was even better than expected. If either of these two were allowed to leave this place the casualties on the battlefield would be much worse. No, in truth that''s just an excuse. I can''t bear the thought of anyone stealing this dance from me. He readied his spear, and the chief didn''t bother asking if he was prepared before coming at him with the axe. Devon barely managed to deflect the blade of the axe with his spear before he skittered to the side. In his head, he felt himself approaching the line between life and death. That''s right. My dance this time is not an all-out contest of strength. It''s a subtle act, a pretending to be something I''m not. The chief kept coming at him, and Devon kept defending within an inch of his life. As the chief''s bloodlust ramped up he started increasing the pace, and Devon''s defenses lapsed as the chief''s speed became more than what Devon could handle. Cuts appeared on Devon''s body as he failed to parry or dodge some of the chief''s attacks completely. As expected, the chief''s axe cut through the defensive plates in his armor''s chest area like they weren''t even there. He threw out a few of his generalist skills to maintain the illusion that he was struggling for his life, but his expression fell every time the chief either deflected his attacks or his weapon skittered harmlessly across the chief''s armor. A sadistic smile appeared on the chief''s reptilian face as a particularly long gash scored across Devon''s chest. Devon grimaced and desperately lunged forward with his spear. The chief snorted and knocked it to the ground with ease. Devon''s composure collapsed as he desperately tried to retreat, almost dropping his spear in the process. The chief gave him a derisive look as he stepped forward to punch Devon, evidently not willing to end the humiliation with the axe so early. Finally. With the tip of his spear still underneath the chief Devon intoned the activation commands in his head. Activate amplification gem. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement II. A bolt of lightning pierced the blue sky and crashed down into the arena. However, the target of Devon''s magic was not the spear. It was the short blade of bone directly underneath the chief. Imbuement magic only ever targeted one weapon. He''d tested fire imbuement before using the trick weapon in sickle form and found that even though he wasn''t directly touching the blade at the end of the spear it was still a valid target for imbuement. Additionally, he knew from the difference in lightning during the fights with Zane and the lord of the mountain that the arcane affinity of the bone blade affected the size and power of the thunderbolt. The bone blade''s elemental affinity and the amplification gem combined created the most devastating pillar of white fire Devon had ever seen. And it came crashing down on the chief of the vishan far faster than he could possibly avoid. In the briefest of instants as the chief was engulfed in an electrical current with enough wattage to power half a city Devon saw the breastplate seem to suck in some of the arcane power of the bolt before the breastplate exploded, leaving the chief''s torso bare. It''s just like what happened with my previous bone blade. It absorbed so much magical energy it couldn''t take it and exploded from the built-up pressure. Speaking of his bone blade, Devon looked down and saw the blade at the end of his spear hadn''t absorbed any of the energy within the lightning blast. As expected, if something gets in the way of the transference of power the imbuement doesn''t complete. But it doesn''t matter. Devon whipped his spear up, not bothering to hide his true abilities anymore. The chief stood paralyzed, body wracked with spasms from the residual energy the armor hadn''t been able to absorb. Without any wasted motions, Devon plunged his spear into the chief''s chest. But he was far from done. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement II. Another bolt split the sky and pierced the chief once again. This time the electrical energy had nothing to absorb it, and flowed freely through the chief''s body, cooking him from the inside. But flesh is a conduit, and even as it cooked the chief alive the electricity found its way to the short blade of bone lodged in the chief''s chest. When Devon''s previous blade had exploded, he''d hypothesized that the more power went into a weak weapon the faster it would self-destruct. And now Devon''s arcane had gone up by several levels from the fight with the lord of the mountain. The short blade of bone detonated inside the chief''s chest cavity, blowing a hole in one side and sending bone shrapnel through all of the chief''s major organs. Devon whipped the spear out of the chest and flicked off the melted metal mesh that had been his makeshift handle/attachment device. Then he took a defensive stance as he prepared for Val Kazar to leap from his blind spots. However, the act of turning created a blind spot he didn''t expect. He barely saw the glint of an axe blade in his peripheral vision before blinding pain exploded from his shoulder. Devon tried to dash away, but his balance was way off, and as he stumbled he felt a second attack hit his leg. He stumbled forward and tried to catch himself, but the arm that would have stopped his fall wasn''t there. So he crumpled to the ground. He managed to turn his head to look at the chief and his eyes opened wide at the golden glow around the chief, as well as his perfectly healthy physique. Gone was the hole blown open in the chief''s chest cavity, and the chief looked down upon Devon with an expression of disdain. No way, he had a rejuvenation token too? It was the only conclusion Devon could make of the situation. The chief, barely alive, must have been able to give the system the command to use the token with his last shred of will. "How could a being like you have such power? No, it doesn''t matter. You must be exterminated, right now." The chief stepped forward, his gaze locked on Devon. So you used a rejuvenation token to take me by surprise. I can do that too. Come a little closer, asshole. And then a sword sprouted from the chief''s throat. "Too long have we been misguided by your greed and avarice. No more." Then, as the chief gurgled blood, Val Kazar pulled his sword back out of the chief''s throat and in one clean motion decapitated his leader. 75 - Val Kazar 3 years ago - Val Kazar "Well, brother? What do you think?" Naz Kazar asked, looking over the edge of the cliff they sat upon. "I think those west walls are weak and poorly watched. Look, see how the stones have fallen away on the inside and you can see the supports within? And the defenses behind the west wall are almost nonexistent. If we have Ik Hurak slip over the walls and put his hammer to work against the supports we could be inside the base within a minute." "And then the fort will be ours. Haha, you never disappoint, brother! Come, let us tell the chief your plan." Val Kazar nodded before they descended the slope. "Well?" The chief asked 20 minutes later when they regrouped with the warband. Val Kazar told the chief his plan, including the sand ridge they could follow to circle around the base to the west wall while remaining hidden. "Hmm. As always, you come to me with extraordinary brilliance, Val Kazar. However, you seem to be forgetting an important factor." "Chief?" "The time. The fell moon shall soon rise, and with it the spirits of pale light will be upon us." It was true. They''d spent almost the entire day trekking across the desert to reach this fort. "Chief, I must disagree. The spirits of pale light remain docile for the first one to two hours after the moonrise. That would be more than enough time to eradicate the enemy forces and take shelter within the secured fort." "The wisdom of the ancestors states that the pale light corrupts, even when it does not kill. Do you wish to defy the wisdom of those honored ancestors, Val Kazar?" Relying on the ancestors again? But this was no place to voice his concerns of the chief''s reliance on the ancestors to assert his will. "I follow the chief," Val Kazar said plainly. "Hmph. We will assault the front gate. It is the closest entrance and the fastest way to end the battle. Come, my kin. We must seize victory before the fell moon rises and seizes our souls." As the warband moved out Val Kazar felt a hand on his shoulder, "I thought it was a good plan at least, brother. I know you have reservations, but they will hold beyond this battle. Come, let us show them our way of war." "They''ve seen our way of war. Over and over again. Every time we return they adapt and become better at countering our tactics, if what the chief does can be called that. Brother, I fear if nothing is done we will be following the chief to our dooms." The grip on his shoulder tightened, "Hold fast, brother. If your concerns are truly this great then we shall call a council when we return. Until then, I shall watch your back." "Mmm. And I shall watch yours, brother." Three hours later the battle had ended. Val Kazar wandered through the ruined fort as the fell moon rose above him. Where are you, brother? Despite their pledge, the flow of battle had separated them. Everywhere Val Kazar went he saw only death. Death among the enemy and death among the vishan. They''d lost more than half their numbers in this battle. More and more of us die with every battle. We used to dominate these sands, triumph completely over all who tried to gain a foothold in what little territory we have left. He walked through the largest building, the command center he presumed. Finding a stairway down, he found it odd that the fighting had come this far into the building. Were they defending something? Cautiously, Val Kazar descended the steps. Corpses lined the hallway beyond, with one particular figure near the end that Val Kazar couldn''t take his eyes away from. An unmoving body at the end of the line of corpses. Brother¡­ Mind numb, he crouched next to his brother and felt for a pulse, for any sign of life. But there was none. His kin, his other half, was gone. The door beside Naz Kazar''s body opened. Too numb to properly react to anything, he saw the chief exit the room their warband had spilled blood to claim. The chief took one look down and Naz and Val Kazar before turning away and continuing down the hall without so much as a word. Val Kazar looked at the words on the wall beside the door and barely comprehended his system''s language function displaying the translation. ''Treasury.''
Three months ago Val Kazar stood in attendance at a gathering the chief had called in the village. The chief spoke to them all, and while Val Kazar listened, his thoughts were not all on the chief''s proposition.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. How? How do I kill him? Things had only gotten worse and worse since the death of his brother. It was very clear that the only way to steer the village toward healing from their wounds was to remove the source of the infection. The chief had to die. Summoning a council to appoint a new chief had ceased being an option a long time ago. As the chief''s greed grew, so did the power that came from his items. There was nobody left within the village who had the will to stand against him. The chief had two items of absolute power that caused the vishan to lose hope of removing him from power. He boasted of them so none of them would ever forget, and Val Kazar had seen the system description of both and knew it to be true. The first was the Demon''s Pendant, an item that would boost each stat by 50% for a short amount of time but forever reduce that stat by 10% of its true value once the effect was over. The chief, at level 74, already towered over them all, with Val Kazar being the second highest level in the tribe at 63. To imagine him boosting his attributes by 50% was enough to lose hope. The second item was far worse. The rejuvenation token, a token of almost divine power. Even if Val Kazar sprung the perfect ambush, or somehow managed to kill the chief by baiting him into a duel, it wouldn''t matter. So long as the chief had those two items he was all but invincible. "As the leader of this group of ''overseers,'' I believe Val Kazar would make the best candidate," The chief''s voice broke into Val Kazar''s thoughts. His blood ran cold at the thought of being forced to remain away from the village for an entire month, but there was nothing he could do or say against the chief''s will. What sort of chaos will this monster create when I''m not around to clean up his messes? "Yes, chief," Was all he said. Once, he would have had his brother alongside him. Together they may have stood a chance against the chief, even with the treasures that created his impervious defense. But that time had passed, and Val Kazar''s failure to act was one he would have to live with.
As Val Kazar paced around the arena, watching the chief playfully toy with the human, he thought back to when he''d found the human hidden behind that bookshelf deep within the mountain. Of course, his first instinct had been to kill him. A human capable of felling a level 60 lord while below level 40 was far too great a threat to leave alive. Forget allowing the chief his vengeance, this human posed a threat to every single vishan within the tutorial. But then the idea had appeared like a flash of inspiration within his mind. Like a cancer it took root, until Val Kazar had no choice but to act upon it and take the human as captive. He''s allowing the chief to fall into the perception that he''s a mere level 44. As expected, his capacity for deceit is outstanding. He''s perfectly utilizing the opportunity I gave him. Val Kazar didn''t expect the human to actually win, of course. He didn''t have to, so long as he at least broke the chief''s defenses then Val Kazar could take the chief by surprise and assassinate him. The rejuvenation token still stood in his way, but if he waited until the perfect moment he could overwhelm the chief enough to shove his sword in the chief''s gut, or better yet his neck. The chief already used the only healing item I gave him. He won''t be able to shrug off a second vital blow. But what''s taking so long? When does this human intend to make his move? He was just beginning to doubt his judgement when the human summoned the most devastating display of magic Val Kazar had ever seen. It was the same lightning that had been seen on the mountain, but amplified at least threefold. It broke the chief''s defenses completely. Val Kazar readied his sword, but the human wasn''t done. A second bolt struck the chief, and Val Kazar watched in shock as half of the chief''s internal organs were blown out of his body. The human whipped around, clearly anticipating Val Kazar to attack from behind, but that left him open to the chief''s counterattack. As the chief left the human upon the ground, arm and leg severed, Val Kazar made his move. All it took was one singular thrust and then a swipe of his sword and it was over. It was so much easier than Val Kazar had imagined. Kill - [Ludra Yuk - Level 74] - 9743 Talons [Level up. Level 64 obtained.] [Level up. Level 65 obtained.] [Level up. Level 66 obtained.] [Level up. Level 67 obtained.] [Level up. Level 68 obtained.] Now¡­ Val Kazar didn''t waste any time. He bent down and took the remaining equipment off the chief before equipping it to himself. He would properly distribute it among the vishan later, but for now they needed a symbol of strength in a time of great change. I need to bring them all back. I can''t allow them to pointlessly throw their lives away. But as he slipped the Demon''s Pendant around his neck he heard something entirely unexpected. Laughter. The human, with its arm removed at the shoulder and blood dripping from a stump of a leg as it stood propped up against its spear, was laughing. He laughed openly and without reservation. As though he was witnessing the greatest comedy of the ages. As though he''d completely lost his mind. Is he simply delirious on the edge of death? No matter. I should ignore him and pull everyone back. [Notice] Jamming in effect. No Messages can be sent or received until user in possession of Jamming skill is defeated, or area of effect is left. Val Kazar''s eyes widened, and the human spoke as it took a stance, feet shifting through the sand of the arena. "No no no, you don''t get to do whatever you want. I created this stage, and I will have my dance." The human readied his spear, a golden glow surrounding his uninjured body. The arm that had been loped off, there as though nothing had happened. The leg, reattached as if through divine intervention. It can''t be. How can a rejuvenation token be obtained in a place like this? How is it that both my enemies possess the ability to cheat death? No, it doesn''t matter. If his words are to be believed then Zane was correct. This human created this entire situation for the sole purpose of luring out the vishan. He''s been laying the groundwork for this plan ever since he learned of our intentions that first night. And I allowed the chief to send our kin directly into a battle designed with the sole purpose of slaughtering them. Val Kazar readied his sword and activated the Demon''s Pendant. He had to slay this human immediately and undo the jamming. But he would not make the same mistake as the chief. This human, this being of unfathomable strength before him was a true monster, and if he didn''t give his all in this moment then he''d die just as easily as the chief had. "Come," Val Kazar said as the island beneath their feet rumbled. Neither of them paid the earthquake in the sky any notice. They knew they stood upon the line. Anything beyond their duel was simply a distraction. 76 - Dancing upon the Line Assisted Kill - [Ludra Yuk - Level 74] - 9743 Talons [Level up. Level 45 obtained.] [Level up. Level 46 obtained.] [Level up. Level 47 obtained.] [Level up. Level 48 obtained.] Devon couldn''t help but laugh, everything about this situation was simply too perfect. In the moment that Val Kazar killed the chief Devon felt the greatest amount of respect for anyone he''d ever felt. Val Kazar had set everything up perfectly. Perfectly. He''d first taken note of the vishan''s odd behavior when he''d undersold Devon''s strength to the chief. Then he''d returned the amplification gem to Devon, an item that any rational thinker would have seen was an extraordinarily dangerous object. It''s so clear now. Val Kazar would have been too weak on his own to eliminate the chief, but since I caught him by surprise Val Kazar was able to assassinate him. Val Kazar must have known about the rejuvenation token, otherwise his timing wouldn''t have been so on point. Before him was someone else who had bent the tutorial to their will, and Devon felt nothing but the utmost respect for such a perfectly executed plan. And now they were the only ones who remained. But Devon could feel it. The line called to him. His dance upon this stage that he''d worked to create couldn''t end so soon. He wouldn''t allow it. He got the system notification that Val Kazar had tried to send a message as he used the rejuvenation token. There was no point in saving it at this stage. He respected Val Kazar far too much to think he''d be baited into the same kind of trap the chief had sprung on Devon. That''s right, the best move you can make is to call the other overseers back. It''d be easy to overwhelm me with several others. So obviously I won''t let you. Devon opened his status window for a quick glimpse, eyes flicking over two values in particular. Mana: 45/285 Spirit: 26 Well, the description of the token did say it restored the body to peak physical condition. It was a bit much to expect it to restore the incorporeal. He''d drawn his mana a lot closer to zero than he''d wanted to in the first fight with two Lightning Imbuements and two other skills he''d thrown out to maintain the illusion he was struggling. Devon''s eyes were drawn to Val Kazar as the pendant he''d stolen from the chief lit up and his body was engulfed in a red haze. Every single one of Devon''s instincts screamed at him to be cautious of this foe that he''d felt only a smidge of tension towards a second ago. A buffing pendant? That''s quite the increase in stats. He''s got the rest of the chief''s equipment too, so I can assume they''re buffing him even further. If my mana pool had been restored it probably wouldn''t have been an issue, but this situation¡­ Devon felt his insane smile grow even wider. A part of him had worried that the overseer leader would have been too easy. If his mind wasn''t dancing along the line he probably would have stopped and wondered who he was becoming, thinking of an opponent almost 20 levels above him as easy. But that thought didn''t even register in his mind. All his mind registered was the opponent before him and the line. Devon reached into his tile as the ground started rumbling, but he didn''t even notice the odd phenomenon as he brought out the curved blade Val Kazar had so kindly returned to him earlier. Val Kazar sprang forward, not intending to give Devon any time to assemble his weapon. But that was exactly what Devon wanted. Activate skill; Harvest. Twirling his spear, Devon barely managed to deflect Val Kazar''s blade. Then, as the tip of his spear drew Val Kazar''s gaze one way Devon shifted his body, throwing his arm still holding the curved blade at Val Kazar''s chest. The vishan saw through the gambit and stepped back out of Devon''s range, only allowing the tip of the blade to leave a faint line of red across his chest. But it was enough. All Harvest needed to take effect was that smallest of cuts. His Spirit had been at a mere 6 when he''d tested Harvest against ruin crawlers. Now it was 26. It was still a far cry from what it had been before. But if he assumed the average value of an unawakened spirit to be 10, as his had been, then his spirit should now once again be strong enough to trounce upon those weaker than him. The effect was immediate. The demonic aura still surrounded Val Kazar''s body, but Devon''s instincts no longer screamed that the person in front of him had him completely outclassed. Devon shoved the curved blade back into his tile as a red beam of light whizzed over their heads and struck the mountain. [Alert] Emergency Quest issued: [Kill Nix] Karmic link detected. Altering failure Penalty. [Kill Nix] Kill Nix. Failure to eliminate Nix within 1 hour will result in a Penalty. Reward: Karmic Affection.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Failure Penalty: Karmic Disdain. Devon didn''t pay attention to anything the system was showing him. The overlay was simply a distraction, a trick the system used to screw with him. The words on his display didn''t even register in his mind. But they did in Val Kazar''s. The overseer must have gotten something similar, because Devon saw his focus waver as he looked off into space. Taking advantage of the overseer''s distraction, Devon rushed forward. Even without using any skills, he could feel the immense increase he''d gained in strength since the last time he''d fought for real. Val Kazar''s focus snapped back to Devon too late. But just as his spear was about to pierce through Val Kazar''s neck his instincts screamed at him to move. Abandoning his attack, Devon dived to the side. He rolled past Val Kazar as the vishan did¡­ nothing. Heh. Making a fool of me, huh? Only after abandoning his attack did Devon realize the sensation had been familiar. It was the same as the wave of oppression Devon and every other fresh initiate had felt on the first day. I''d wondered what that was. Well that trick won''t work again. Devon once again fell into a stance with his spear. Val Kazar scowled as he readied his sword. They charged each other simultaneously. Sparks clashed off their weapons as they met each other repeatedly. Exhilaration was all Devon felt as their weapons locked together for the briefest of instants before Val Kazar shifted his weight and tilted his sword, forcing it to run along the length of Devon''s spear right toward his face. He leaned his head back to avoid the overextended attack but felt a line of fire ignite under his left eye. With the end of Devon''s spear free from the clash he angled the tip forward and thrust. But like Val Kazar''s, it was a sloppy attack that let his opponent dodge back, putting space between them. Devon didn''t need to check to know his cheek had a long cut on it, he could taste the iron of the blood that ran down his face. Val Kazar took an unusual stance and Devon intrinsically felt the activation of a skill. There was something about the air that made him certain, but he wasn''t exactly sure what changed. He readied his sword as if taunting the overseer to come on, and Val Kazar did not disappoint. As Val Kazar swung his sword in an upwards diagonal cut Devon once again felt the wave of oppression roll over him. This time he shrugged it off, but it still caused a moment of hesitation that Val Kazar used. Devon''s block was a little late, causing Val Kazar''s sword to get far too close to Devon''s abdomen for comfort. It became even more uncomfortable as it felt like tiny blades bloomed from the vishan''s sword, layering Devon''s side with small cuts and ripping his clothing to shreds. He thrust a foot forward and landed a solid kick into the overseer''s gut, forcing space between them as he analyzed the strange attack. Another guaranteed hit type of effect? No, this is different. There''s a strange sensation that reverberated through my spear when we clashed. And this effect is more like what happens to someone caught in the center of Galeforce. A wind-type weapon imbuement then? No, that''s not right either. These cuts are much deeper and more numerous than what Galeforce is capable of doing to me, and it''d be obvious from the vortex it would create. It''s like some type of blade aura surrounds his sword. I need to be cautious. Even half a foot away that effect covered my side with cuts. If it had been active when he''d cut my face I''d have been unrecognisable. Which begs the question of why he didn''t use it earlier. Maybe he was getting a feel for how I move before activating it because it''s costly to maintain. As if to support this theory, Val Kazar rushed back in immediately after Devon kicked him away. Devon could see the fierce hunger within the overseer''s eyes, and a flash of inspiration, or perhaps insanity, bloomed in Devon''s mind. He held his spear out, using its superior range to bait Val Kazar into a preemptive move. As expected, Val Kazar swung his sword as he closed the distance, knocking Devon''s spear aside before swinging down towards Devon. Devon had blocked almost every attack the vishan had thrown his way throughout the fight, so his focus was still on the spear as Devon sidestepped, letting Val Kazar''s blade aura leave cuts all along his body as it passed by. Despite leaving him with more wounds, it put him in the perfect position to take advantage of the opening Val Kazar had made in his haste. These shallow cuts are nothing my high vitality can''t handle. So long as I don''t allow myself to get seriously injured I''m willing to take as many as it takes to strike back. He thrust his spear forward towards an off-balance Val Kazar, certain he''d pierce through the vishan''s chest. Vishan blood splashed onto the sandy ground as Val Kazar desperately blocked the spear with an arm. Wincing in pain, the vishan roared as he threw his impaled arm to the side, dragging Devon''s spear with it as Val Kazar made a frantic slash with his sword. That trick works both ways, you know. Putting his full strength into the spear, Devon pushed it even further to the side, causing Val Kazar to lose his balance from his arm dragging him to the side. Devon whipped his spear back, leaving Val Kazar to stumble as he tried to regain his balance. Devon wouldn''t give him the chance. Thrusting his spear forward again, Devon was intent on skewering his long-standing nemesis. But Val Kazar wasn''t content to go out so easily. The overseer slashed out with his sword in a desperate off-balance attack that cut across Devon''s chest. The aura of blades followed it, turning Devon''s chest into a gruesome mess. But the damage was done. Devon''s spear was lodged firmly in Val Kazar''s chest, and he saw the vishan cough out a mouthful of blood. I thank you, my vaunted rival, for being such a superb dance partner. He felt a pang of sympathy even as he prepared to kill the one responsible for utterly destroying what his life had been, because within Val Kazar''s eyes was a desperation that Devon could tell extended beyond the pursuit of self-preservation. It was the desperation of a man who couldn''t afford to fail because the lives of others depended on him. As Devon pulled his spear out of Val Kazar''s chest the overseer made one last hopeless lunge with his sword, but Devon knocked it aside easily before next piercing the overseer''s skull through his eye. Sleep now and lay whatever burden you held to rest. Devon put a hand to his chest and winced at the pain and the feeling on his fingers. His chest had virtually turned to mincemeat. My armor and ribs saved me. The armor blunted the force of the attacks and allowed my ribs to absorb the rest. Even so, if those attacks had been piercing instead of slashing I''d definitely be dead. Trying to steady his labored breathing, Devon''s eyes adjusted as the natural adrenaline started to leave his veins and the pain of his chest and side started to become much more noticeable. For the first time since the fight started, he truly registered the immense amount of text the system was showing him. Ever since the first notification he''d been looking straight past the semi-transparent text, not bothering to read anything past the level up notifications from the chief. Right, there''s a battle still going on. Come on, the dance is over, it''s time to get your head back in the game. What the hell is happening out there? At the very bottom of the list were two level up notifications and a message telling him to seek struggle, but right above those was a message request from Trey. Good, I need a sitrep so I know what''s going on. However, just as he was about to open the line the message request dropped off the list of notifications. ¡­Trey? 77 - Class B Weapon 13 days ago - Nix "I must admit, I honestly didn''t expect to find a human with such a high aptitude for our technology," Lithian said as he looked over Nix''s shoulder at the work she was doing. "Well, I was going for an engineering major so it shouldn''t be that surprising. Ah, I guess you wouldn''t know what that is, sorry." The infernari stepped back as Nix hoisted up the last piece of the project. It had been several days since she''d entered the spirit dungeon, and she''d be glad to finally get out and talk to people again. When Phil had returned from his disappearance Nix had asked him about his experience. And when he''d told her about the trial that had been given to him, how it had only appeared to him because of his skillset and that location¡­ She knew what she needed to do. Her interest in the disappearances had first started when she herself had found one of the spirit dungeons, but her caution had prevented her from entering it. It hadn''t stopped her from examining the weapon locked behind the case of glass, preserved as if it had been waiting for her to find it. Of course, it hadn''t been preserved perfectly. Nowhere close, in fact. The thing was in ruins, with only the frame and several of the larger segments still together. From the very first moment she''d discovered the thing she''d had Zane scour the underground labyrinth for other places, other preservation vats as she called them, where pieces of the same metal could be found. From there it was up to her blacksmith John to connect the pieces. Of course, I''ll be the one fixing all the internal mechanisms. "I still can''t believe you''re assembling the pieces of it with the help of a blacksmith. The idea of our perfect beauties being constructed from imperfectly forged materials¡­" "Listen, we''re working with what we have, okay?" Nix sighed in exasperation as she picked up the massive array of highly technical mechanisms that were a core part of the weapon''s functionality. "I suppose I can''t argue with necessity. I suppose the more pressing question is whether you''ll be able to finish all the interior parts in time. I imagine those have degraded far more than the exterior." "Once I have the profession it shouldn''t be a problem. It''ll be a massive headache to balance on top of everything else I have to manage, but with the blueprints you''ve given me I don''t imagine it will take more than five days of continuous effort." Lithian sighed, "If only you''d existed a few eons ago, I would have loved to work alongside someone as talented as you." Nix smiled at the compliment. She''d been happy to find that the infernari inside this spirit dungeon was far more hospitable than Phil''s had been. The trial was only to put together a select few of the weapon''s components, but Lithian had been kind enough to give her the blueprints for the rest of the thing. "Are you sure it''ll be able to break through the system''s shield around the overseer''s camp?" Nix asked uncertainly. While she now knew how to put the weapon back together, it''d be a lie to say she understood how it worked. Lithian just smiled, "We were something of specialists when it came to breaking down and subverting the system, so the level of barrier used in a tutorial shouldn''t be any issue." Nix''s current plan was to assemble an elite squad of Arkania''s best and brightest to surgically remove overseers in the field until they decide it''s too dangerous for them to remain in the field. Then, once they gathered inside their camp behind the system''s wall of safety she''d turn the weapon on them. They''d have no idea what happened. She placed the component in place and smiled at her work as a system notification popped up. Clear ¨C Class E Spirit Dungeon [Brewmaster¡¯s Dream] Calculating performance¡­ Done. Performance Rating: A Contribution: 100% Tailoring A-Grade Reward based on Contribution¡­ Done. New unique profession available: [Mana Technician] Spirit dungeon collapsing in: [2:00] "Still, I wonder if your proposed power source will actually work," Lithian mused as the two-minute timer counted down. "I''ll have to jury-rig it, but I think it''ll be a suitable replacement." "A piece of the core of a floating island¡­ what I wouldn''t have given to obtain such a material for myself. The experiments I could have performed¡­" Suddenly Lithian seemed to remind himself of something and shook himself out of his musing. He turned to her with a more serious expression than he''d worn in the entire brief duration she''d known him. "Remember, designate a target and set the thing to auto. Do not attempt to control it manually." "Yeah, you''ve said that before, but you still haven''t explained why." "I suppose the easiest way to say it is that you''ll die. I don''t think the system will allow me to be any more specific than that." "Hmm. I have a question, before we part forever. You implied before that you remember how your world was destroyed. How could that have happened if you had such powerful weapons to defend yourself? Or was there some sort of conflict from within?" "I suppose you could call it a conflict from within, though it was a conflict that was forced upon every single one of us. The system placed something like a bounty upon our glorious king and his knights, and failure to follow through meant our deaths." "That''s¡­ obscene." "Indeed. The common folk were taken by frenzy and the desperation of dying souls. It took a great deal of effort for those of us loyal to the king to hold back the masses, yet we did." "Wait, you sat back and let yourself be killed? Couldn''t you have just used these things against that king and lived?" Lithian smiled sadly, "You could not begin to imagine the principles he and the beautiful world he created stood for. It was a haven for all those persecuted by the system for going against its designs. These weapons were built as one of a series of projects under his order to protect the world from threats that came from infinity. To turn them against such a leader would have been a travesty we could not allow. We accepted our deaths, in hopes that he would live to create another such paradise. It seems it was not to be¡­" Nix didn''t have the first clue how to respond to that. She couldn''t imagine that level of loyalty, and a part of her hated Lithian for his response. Do you think the one who created that paradise was truly happy knowing the ones he''d created it for would die in his name? She felt her consciousness whisked away before she had time to think of a response that would not have hurt her friend as much as her thoughts surely would have.
20 minutes ago - Nix Damn it! I should have known that bastard Trey couldn''t be trusted! I reach out and attempt to make peace and he goes and declares war on me! Well fine. I was planning on using this against the overseers, but you''ve forced my hand, you bastard. I''ll just have to use you as a demonstration of its power so they don''t ever think of messing with me or Arkania ever again! Nix had already rallied the hunters of Arkania and had them marching to meet the army that marched from Plaintown less than ten minutes ago. They marched outwards to meet the bastards in the field so they wouldn''t be besieged in the walls of Arkania. They didn''t have the food supplies to last out such a protracted conflict. I put Marcel in charge, but was that really the right call? No, it was the only call. Zane turned traitor and Ivan, along with the rest of his squad, is dead. There are so few people I can trust left to call on¡­The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She didn''t doubt Marcel''s intentions. He was a rough sort, but good a heart. But he wasn''t so good at using his head. It doesn''t matter. All he has to do is make sure not to allow the people of Arkania to get wiped out before I can annihilate Plainstown. Ivan and his squad had represented a large part of Arkania''s top hunters. Without them, Nix was afraid Plainstown would have the advantage in a straight battle, even with their supposed pacifistic nature. No, they may have been pacifists in the beginning, but it was a mistake to keep considering them as such. They''re simply fellow initiates, ones with enough of a thirst for blood or power to strike first. She rushed down the underground passage that led to the weapon. As soon as it came into sight she felt a vicious grin split across her face. She found the welded iron lever she''d hooked up to the dilapidated entrance above her. It had been another thing for her to fix, but necessary if she wanted to use the weapon at all. The earth started shaking as the cavernous ceiling above her started to move. She quickly ducked under the weapon and threw herself into the hatch to escape the falling rocks. I do wish we''d had time to construct some sort of umbrella so these boulders didn''t come crashing down on my precious relic, but there was no time. I hope the increased armor we strapped around the primary system is enough to protect it. However, she was ripped from her thoughts as she found someone entirely unexpected in the cramped compartment. Someone holding a knife to the highly unstable piece of the island''s core they''d used as its power source. "John¡­ What do you think you''re doing?" "I told you I wouldn''t allow you to use this thing against people, Nix. I helped you build it, which means I''d be responsible for their deaths if I simply allow you to use it to massacre those people." "John. They''re attacking us. This isn''t an act of aggression, it''s an act of self-defense." "It doesn''t matter. A weapon of mass destruction will be a weapon of mass destruction no matter what justifications are used to defend its use!" "What do you want then, John? For us to watch as Arkania and Plainstown slaughter each other?" John''s eyes nervously darted between Nix and the control terminal, "Tell me how to operate this thing and I''ll have it give a demonstration of its power without having to aim it at either army. It should be enough of a shock that they stop fighting." "By the time I explain how it works dozens or even hundreds will have died fighting." John snarled, showing an aggression she''d never seen from the man before, "Then you do it! But if you point this thing anywhere near those two armies then I''d destroy it before it has a chance to kill anyone else." Nix raised her hands in a gesture of submission, "Alright, John. Whatever you say." A particularly large boulder or perhaps a tree from the surface struck the frame, causing John to lose his balance. Nix reacted faster than he was capable of perceiving as she delivered a swift kick to the man''s head, sending him flying backwards into the interior of the frame. She felt a small amount of guilt as she saw the blood leak down his face. Sorry, John. But I can''t let you stop me. The people of Plainstown are simply too numerous and dangerous to leave alive. If I don''t take this chance to annihilate them then there''s no telling what Trey and that man in the shadows will get up to. She felt the inside of the cockpit shudder as the ancient elevator she''d painstakingly restored started to move upwards. Nix moved to the control console and began running the startup sequence. To her joy, it started booting without a flaw. She closed her eyes and felt the machine''s onboard system connect to her own internal system. Error. Foreign influence detected. Calculat{q1^3![i2f] Forcing override command 00738213 Connecting¡­ Connection established. Opirion unit 89423 linked. Nix saw a flow of information pass over her field of view through the system before she was presented with an optical display as well as a request. Sync user Map to Opirion map? Confirmed. Overriding outdated map¡­ Done. Please designate firing coordinates. At that moment she got a message request from Marcel. [Nix] What is it, Marcel? [Marcel] Nix! The ground''s been rumbling like crazy and the overseers just started attacking our flanks! [Nix] Don''t worry about the rumbling, that''s my doing. Has the battle already started? [Marcel] Yes! But we''ve got enemies on all sides now! [Nix] Don''t worry, I''ll only need a few moments more. Open your map and read out your coordinates. [Marcel] What? [Nix] Just do it! Once she had Marcel''s coordinates she closed out of the message window. Just as she was about to enter the coordinates the rumbling of the lift jolted to a stop. Scowling, she looked through the optical display. They were only halfway up, but she could tell at a glance the lift wouldn''t be moving anymore. Something within the opening skyward doors had given, and they were stuck in place, preventing the lift from rising any further. Well, I can hardly expect anything else out of equipment that should by all rights be completely defunct. Time to test this thing''s auto mode. Can you get out of this hole on your own? She looked back to the target designation window and frowned. Based on where Marcel was located she could roughly assume where the Plainstown army was located as well. And if the overseers are making their move right now as well I''d bet they''re sowing carnage through both sides of the field. Which means I can take out Plainstown and a good amount of overseers in one fell swoop. Nix gave the system a coordinate that was a rather generous approximation, mostly likely a little too far back to hit the main Plainstown army cluster. But it was better to overcompensate and miss Arkania''s people completely than undercompensate and wipe both armies out. As soon as she entered the target coordinates into the system she heard the noise of several magical gyroscopes whirring to life around her.
Trey Trey sat back within the defensive line, watching people ahead of him throw themselves upon the weapons of their fellow initiates. And all the while he paid attention to the messages that flowed through the system. He''d already checked in with Devon and was focused on coordinating efforts between the squad of overseer hunters. The overseers that had tried to flank his war group had met with far greater resistance than they''d anticipated, and almost half of them had already fallen. The more concerning thing was the group of overseers who''d somehow completely slipped by the guards he''d left behind at Plainstown. They''d been taken care of in short order by the nearby members of the squad, but not before there had been casualties. The rumbling of the earth distracted him from all of that. Many people around him lost their balance completely and fell to one knee to catch themselves. The din of the fighting ahead quieted for a few moments as the frontliners adjusted before they went back to their furious melee. What the hell is that? From the distance, Trey could see something happening in the forest. The battle was taking place on the plains, as the people of Arkania had all but burst from the trees as the Plainstown battlegroup approached the forest. Large amounts of dust were being thrown into the air, so much so that Trey could see it even over the trees. And then something emerged from the depths of the earth to land with a massive crash. You''ve got to be kidding me. Vaguely humanoid, a metal machine stood a little taller than the trees of the forest. The torso was easily the largest part of it, and Trey could tell even from a distance that the thing looked like it had been thrown together from scrap. That''s what Nix had up her sleeve? A fucking mech? Arcane energy began gathering at the head of the thing, blue at first but the hue became much more red as it seemed to become condensed. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that the thing would likely kill them all without them being able to do anything about it. He remembered a scrap of text from the partial datalog Devon had shared with him. For some reason, he''d been unwilling to share the entire thing, but Trey was sure he had his reasons. ''I erected defenses that even A-Grade beings could not breach alone,'' was it? Who knew something from that time period actually remained? One thing was for certain. There was nothing he could do in the face of such a metal behemoth, especially not at such range. All he could do was watch with every other eye on the battlefield as the concentration of mana seemed to reach some kind of criticality point and an unnatural screech filled the air. But a moment later something impacted against the side of the mech''s head, causing it to swivel to the right. A blinding flash emanated from the concentrated mana before a beam of crimson light shot from the thing, shooting in a perfectly straight line over the overseer''s camp and into the side of the mountain. The entire region around the point of impact was obliterated. Molten rock exploded outward from a crater that must have been at least one mile wide. Of course. It''s a mech with a giant laser cannon. Just what we needed.
Nix Firing sequence interrupted. Anomalous interference detected. "Identify the problem!" Nix screamed at the computer, not caring that verbalizing her commands did nothing to add to their effectiveness. Scanning¡­ Done. Anomalous interference identified. Magnifying. On the optical display, Nix saw a magnified image of Eve holding her bow, seemingly having just released an arrow. You''d screw with me using the equipment I gave to you as a gift? I''ll slaughter you, you bitch! Approximate mana cannon recharge time: [1:30] Switch to manual controls? [WARNING][WARNING][WARNING][WARNING][WARNING][WARNING][WARNING][WARNING][WARNING] Opirion unit 89423 registers as a Class B weapon. Utilizing Opirion unit 89423 will result in a severe penalty. Rage-fueled adrenaline clouded Nix''s mind. There was only one thing she could think about or cared to do. She needed to remove any and all threats to the people of Arkania. By any means necessary. "I hope you''re ready, Eve!" Understood. Administering penalty¡­ Done. Applying 20 Marks of Karmic Disdain¡­ Done. You have been deemed a threat to the system and a target for eradication. 78 - Unbeatable 30 minutes ago - Phil The grating sound of metal on a whetstone filled the cave Eve had brought Phil to. He sat on a chair he''d thrown together as he watched Eve sharpen the axe she''d apparently claimed from the overseer that had kidnapped him. Bringing his attention back to the system notifications before him, he frowned at the number of people messaging him. He''d made quite a few friends and loyal customers back in Arkania, and they kept him up to date on everything that happened on the surface. "Eve¡­" "I''m not going. I don''t care if they''re killing each other or whatnot. Their issue with each other has nothing to do with us anymore." "...Then why have you been restlessly sharpening that axe for the last 20 minutes?" The scraping sound came to an abrupt halt, "I just¡­ I need to make another sweep of the caves and want to make sure my equipment is in good shape." "As if you haven''t already cleared out every single cave system close by already." "Shut it." "Eve, I''m not blind. I know you don''t care for Trey and Nix''s political rivalry, but you can''t pretend you''re completely uncaring. Not to me. I see through your act." "There wouldn''t be any purpose in going. I won''t help either side, and I''m not a peacekeeper who can magically make them all dissolve their issues." "Even if you don''t have a purpose in going, it''d be better to go and do nothing than to not go and regret it later. Heck, it''d be better for you to go so I can stop worrying so much." "Worrying?" "I can''t explain it, but ever since that overseer took me I''ve had this awful feeling. Since the beginning of the tutorial they''ve sat in their camp, watching over us. What do they hope to gain? The one who took me may have been an aberrant, but who''s to say the rest of them won''t follow suit once our protected status is gone?" Nix nodded slowly. "Won''t you at least go and watch from afar? I can barely take watching these messages come in, let alone watching you fidget." "But if I leave and the worst happens there will be nobody to protect you down here." Phil laughed, "As I said, you''ve already cleared out all the surrounding caves. And I''ve got enough dried food to last a month if need be. Trust me, you''ve made it virtually impossible for anyone or anything to get in here and harm me." "...Fine. But I''m only going to watch. Then I''ll come right back." "Of course." *** Eve She had only intended to watch from afar. The conflict between the camps was something she didn''t understand, and she wasn''t about to stick her neck out for anyone else. But when the forest had been disturbed and what could only be described as a giant robot emerged from the ground, Eve knew she had to act. A battle is one thing. If that thing is allowed to act it won''t even be that, it''ll just be an extermination. Still, she didn''t actually have any idea how to bring the thing down. Even from a distance, it was clear the thing had been thrown together hastily. Every piece of hazy blue armor on it was misshapen slightly, and there were large gaps in the exterior plating where she could see the internals at work. I guess those are where I should aim, but would an arrow even do much? Even if I use Heavy Impact, if it simply pierces through without hitting anything vital then it isn''t like it''ll do much other than waste my mana. Engaging it head-on was also out of the question. Even if she was able to do damage to the exposed bits the thing simply had too much mass. Her strength was absurdly high, but she wasn''t delusional enough to imagine it being high enough to deal any damage worth a damn to it. At least, not without getting swatted away like a fly. Those thoughts were wiped away as she saw the thing charging up an unimaginable amount of mana. It didn''t matter if she couldn''t really hurt it. Right now she just needed to stop whatever that was from hitting either camp. So with Heavy Impact active, she loosed an arrow imbued with as much strength as she could possibly put into it. She almost thought her bow was going to give out from the strain. The arrow struck the side of the robot''s ''head'' and the impact forced it and the attack it unleashed to the side. But when it turned back Eve felt a shiver at the sight of the damage her attack had left. A dent. An arrow imbued with her maximum strength and Heavy Impact had only left a single dent against its hazy blue armor. [Alert] Emergency Quest issued: [Kill Nix] Karmic link detected. Altering failure Penalty. [Kill Nix]This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Kill Nix. Failure to eliminate Nix within 1 hour will result in a Penalty. Reward: Karmic Affection. Failure Penalty: Karmic Disdain. What the¡­! She didn''t have any time to contemplate the notification, as the robot started moving simultaneously. It didn''t move its legs, instead seeming to propel itself forward using mana. It didn''t stop to try and move around trees, instead plowing straight through them as if they weren''t even there. So fast! It was on her in seconds, and she was forced to desperately run to the side as it brought a fist down where she''d been standing only moments before. There''s absolutely no way I can fight that thing. The best I can do is try to lose it in the canopy of trees. But no matter what she did, it was no use. The robot doggedly followed her through the forest, carving a path of carnage in its wake. Every time she thought she lost it it just barreled through, wreaking havoc and causing her to move lest she be crushed underfoot. A large branch of a tree collided with her, knocking her into the trunk of another tree. She grunted before looking up and seeing the blue light from before as mana gathered in the weapon inside the robot''s head. I can''t run away from that, it''ll just follow me with its aim. No way will it allow me to ready another arrow either. Just as it seemed hopeless, something changed. A cluster of roots shot out from a particularly dense region of the forest and struck the side of the robot, causing it to lurch to the side and interrupt the charging sequence. What the hell is that? The roots drew back into the forest, and Eve saw the cluster of trees move. Like the writhing limbs of an octopus roots were drawn into that dense mass of forest, until they bloomed outwards like a flower and the trunk of a tree rose above the canopy of leaves. Eve thought she saw a small creature nestled within the hollowed-out trunk before the roots rose up alongside it and covered it in a tangled mass of forest. [Loksri Ipra, Lord of the Forest - Level 60] That''s the lord of the forest? I''d heard it was found, but I had no idea it looked like that! The roots twisted and writhed until they shot out towards the robot. Like a thousand arrows they flew through the air, creating a bridge of mass. The robot swung an arm through the air, knocking the massive barrage of roots to the side. However, many of them just latched onto the robot''s hand, crawling into the cracks between the armor. The robot''s other hand grabbed onto the tangled mess of roots that were latched onto it and pulled. Eve saw the robot''s footing change as it used its hold on the thick mass of roots to yank the lord of the forest out of its territory, and Eve heard the snapping of what sounded like a million twigs as the massive bundle of writhing wood was pulled straight out of the ground. The lord was whipped around and thrown like a ball on a rope, and it crashed into the forest on the other side of the robot. And for the first time, Eve saw the robot''s back. This is my chance! I can strike while its head is turned the other way! She still wasn''t sure if she could actually damage the thing, but she had to try. However, as she put all of her strength into leaping off the top of one of the nearby trees the machine spun. Even with its head turned the other way it sent its arm out on a perfect intercept course with Eve. On instinct, she activated the token she''d gotten as a reward for clearing the monkey dungeon. A shimmering bubble appeared around her, but as the robot''s arm collided with her it shattered instantly. She was blown backwards and crashed into the ground before she even knew what had happened. Ow. Where the hell am I? She felt blood trickle down her face, and one look at the arm she''d instinctively raised to block the arm showed it was bent in the wrong direction. The rest of her body seemed to scream in agony, but that was more from the blunt force trauma of her collision with the ground than anything else. She looked around as she took a healing pill. She wasn''t in the forest anymore. She''d been blown all the way out into the middle of the plains. There was no doubt the defensive shield token she''d used had absorbed most of the robot''s force and saved her life. Its effect was to completely block a single attack, but she imagined an E grade token simply hadn''t been able to compensate for the insane amount of force behind the robot''s arm. Still, the hell am I supposed to do now? She could see the robot and the lord of the forest still fighting in the distance. It would be easy to run back over as the healing item took care of her broken arm, but was that really the right choice? Being away from that goliath of metal presented the opportunity to run. She''d saved the armies from that horrifying first attack. If they were smart they''d have already stopped fighting and started trying to figure out how to placate the robot. No, there isn''t a single person in this place who stands a chance against that thing. Even as a group, it''d just roll right over them. If I leave things as they are then there''s no telling how much death that thing will cause. It''s just unbeatable. As Ever wracked her brain for an idea she looked around again. With a start, she realized she knew exactly where she was. A grin formed on her face from the absurd idea that came to mind. *** Trey Trey ran through the forest at full speed. He didn''t have any clue what he was supposed to do. Everything had fallen into complete chaos. [Alert] Emergency Quest issued: [Kill Nix] [Kill Nix] Kill Nix. Failure to eliminate Nix within 1 hour will result in a Penalty. Reward: Karmic Affection. Failure Penalty: Death. The emergency quest refused to leave his system view. As far as he knew, every other living being within the tutorial had received the same quest, with the same promise of death if they failed. The battle between the camps had fallen apart almost instantly. Nobody cared who belonged to which side when they''d all die equally if Nix wasn''t killed. Even the overseers were taken by the same fervor. They''d abandoned their plan of killing the humans and ran through the forest alongside them. They were a mass of desperate beings all running towards a giant mech engaged with a living forest. Every single one of them knew that to throw themselves into that battle would spell certain death, yet certain death also awaited them if they did nothing. Then Trey saw a blur leap from the treeline and a new figure appeared with a roar of defiance as claws skitted off the mech''s hazy blue armor. Past the desolation of the flattened forest Trey could see what looked like a purple tiger shrouded in hazy mist. He recognized the beast instantly from descriptions he''d heard of hunters that had stumbled upon its territory. [Yurnak Trandar, Lord of the Plains - Level 60] Off to the side he thought he could see Eve as well, and he instantly understood why the lord of the plains was so far out of its environment. He''d seen the mech blow the girl away just a few minutes earlier, saw her fly through the air like a wayward comet. She must have landed in that thing''s territory and lured that thing back here. What an insane plan. He once again tried to get a message through to Devon, only for it to be left hanging again. Where the hell are you, Devon? I kinda really need your help out here! 79 - Death Zane No no no no no. Why? Why is everything going so wrong? What am I supposed to do? Zane watched his sister''s struggle from afar, knowing that to jump into a struggle between that weapon and three monsters was a fool''s errand. But he had to do something. The frenzy that had seemed to take control over every single being within the tutorial was something far beyond his or anyone''s control. At first Zane had assumed only the humans had gotten the death threat emergency quest, but the overseers accompanying his movements had received it as well. He''d had to kill them faster than they could register that the quest had turned them into enemies. As things currently stood, it seemed as though everyone within the tutorial was his enemy. Of course, he wasn''t excluded from the death penalty looming over their heads. But his goal, the one thing he cared about, was that Nix survive this place. He''d been content being the villain who signed the death warrants of all the humans within the tutorial, of course he''d be content to sacrifice his own life if it meant Nix would live. I''d willingly accept such a punishment for my actions if it meant I could save her from this. But what am I supposed to do? The enemy this time wasn''t an alien or even a person. It was the god-like system that seemed to govern this world. How was he supposed to fight against that in the single hour the emergency quest gave him before it would kill him? He once again tried to open a message channel with Nix, only to be denied once again. If I can convince her to deactivate or destroy the weapon then maybe the system will rescind the emergency quest. That''s the only thing I can think of. But simply having an idea wasn''t enough to change the situation. Nix wouldn''t answer him. Getting close would only get him caught up in a brawl he''d die in. There was nothing he could do but watch.
Nix Nix''s system wasn''t responding, and she had no idea why. She also wasn''t in a situation where she could figure out why it wasn''t responding. It was good that the ancient weapon seemed to bypass whatever was wrong with the system, otherwise she wouldn''t be able to control the weapon. But even with the weapon, the situation wasn''t good. Before it had gone on the fritz it had left that cryptic message about eradication. She didn''t know what that meant, but it didn''t matter. What mattered was that she had no idea what was going on with the battle between the two camps. If only Eve hadn''t roped these two into this fight I could have already gotten back to what matters! Damn this wooden bastard! Of her three adversaries, the lord of the forest was by far the most troublesome. It didn''t matter how many of the roots or branches she destroyed, more and more were pulled from the forest around them to assault her endlessly. Eve and the lord of the plains dashed around in the background, occasionally making attacks that did negligible damage. But the weaponized forest threatened to tear the ancient weapon apart. For all the restoration she''d done, the thing was still built upon a horribly aged and weathered frame. She was confident it could still bear the load of the machine, but the roots were forcing their way around the armor plating she''d worked tirelessly to attach to the exterior. They put strain on the frame in ways Nix hadn''t anticipated, and she was afraid if she let it continue then something critical might get damaged. She once again ripped apart the roots assaulting her beautiful machine and tried to back away before the lord could renew its relentless assault. As she did the sensors alerted her to the lord of the plains once again jumping forward to attack her rear. Stupid beast, She thought as she kicked at it with one of the machine''s legs. The lord of the plains was a stark contrast to the lord of the forest in how dangerous it was. It avoided her kick with ease and slipped past to land a slash with its claws against the armored plating. It did no damage whatsoever. It''s slippery, but it lacks weight behind its attacks. Should I just ignore it completely? No, it would be a mistake to assume it doesn''t have any hidden abilities. That tiger is shrouded in some kind of mist. If it has a corrosive effect¡­ I can''t let it do whatever it pleases. But while she was distracted by the lord she felt the entire machine shudder from the weight of a massive blow. Yelling in fury, she swung one of the arms at Eve, who''d used her distraction to slip past her detection and land a blow against the machine. The infuriating woman managed to leap off and avoid the blow. Shifting the sensors, Nix saw one of the pieces of armor on the back of the machine''s torso was slightly dislocated. She knows she can''t deal any real damage to it, so she''s attempting to peel the armor off. It won''t let her! In the instant her focus shifted once again, she felt the machine shudder as roots crashed against it. Her focus was being divided three ways, leaving her unable to deal with each problem on its own. If this continued it wouldn''t end well. The strain on the frame wasn''t the only issue. The sphere taken from the island''s core was shining with worrying intensity. If she stressed it too much she wasn''t sure what would happen, only that it wouldn''t be good. The longer this continued the worse things were going to get. She needed to take a risk. [Warning] Power source unstable. Risk of firing sequence malfunction: Significant I didn''t ask for your opinion, machine! She knew initiating the firing sequence in this situation was extraordinarily risky, even without the power source instability. In its prime, the cannon may have been able to suffer some abuse before malfunction. But in the barely restored state it was in now she was afraid any interference would result in disaster.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Nix heard the orb of power nearby hum with energy as the weapon that took the place of the head activate. Her optical display showed all three of her opponents realizing what she was attempting to do and taking action. The roots bound the machine''s legs in place as they snaked into the crevices between the armor. This time, Nix didn''t bother to stop them. They''d burn away in a moment. She turned her focus to the other two. The lord of the forest was frantically dashing atop the roots and repeatedly attacking the machine''s legs. Eve launched herself into the air, intent on striking while the lord of the forest bound the machine''s feet. Nix was about to knock her from the air again when she realized the roots had bound one of the arms as well. She quickly raised the other arm out of the root''s range, but that small distraction allowed Eve to reach her mark. The machine shuddered again as Eve unleashed another devastating attack, knocking the plate of armor she''d hit before off completely. Firing sequence: 68% Shit! Just as Nix heard the sound of Eve''s axe piercing the hull of her central compartment she saw a flash ascend the side of the machine''s exterior. In an instant Eve was struck in the side, forcing her to leap away from the side of the machine. In the place Eve''s axe had pierced through the hull claws appeared, and Nix heard growling as the lord of the plains started ripping through the much weaker metal of the hull. Heh, so you got attacked by the monster you brought here yourself, huh? Serves you right, Eve. Nix tried to reach around the machine''s back with its free arm, but it was no use. It couldn''t reach where the lord had latched on and was tearing up the hull. Still, the thing seemed to have far less strength than the gorilla woman, so it was having trouble creating a gap to fit itself through. There was a slight amount of mist leaking into the compartment, but that wasn''t something Nix could worry about at the moment. As she saw the firing sequence gauge fill to max she forced the massive machine to bend forward and aimed the weapon downwards. The optical display was overloaded with red light as the weapon fired at the ground, obliterating the ground beneath her and bathing the surrounding area in a sea of flames. The explosive force wasn''t nearly enough to throw the machine itself back, but the thing shook enough that Nix was thrown to the floor of the compartment. Kill - [Loksri Ipra, Lord of the Forest - Level 60] - 0 Talons Kill - [Karl Arkival - Level 28] - 0 Talons Kill - [Ordan Tern - Level 37] - 0 Talons Kill - [Patricia Lost - Level 26] - 0 Talons Kill - [Tony Irving - Level 19] - 0 Talons Kill - [Kate Young - Level 35] - 0 Talons... The names continued until they almost completely filled her vision. What the¡­? She didn''t have any time to think about her display filled with kill notifications. The weapon had reduced the majority of the roots and branches binding the machine''s lower half to carbon. Just as the lord of the plains made a hole big enough to squeeze through, the now free hand of the machine came up to swat at it. It lunged into the compartment as the metal arm slammed into its back half. With half of it inside the compartment, it was thrown against the hole it had made and was torn in half from the extreme force from the machine''s metal arm. Kill - [Yurnak Trandar, Lord of the Plains - Level 60] - 0 Talons As the blood pooled beneath the half of the tiger''s bisected corpse left inside the compartment Nix took an unsteady breath as she surveyed the devastation around the machine and examined its condition. The armor on the legs had almost completely melted away, yet it seemed like the frame was still miraculously intact. Even so, the exposed metal glowed red from the intense heat it had been subjected to. [Warning] Thermal tolerance exceeded. Recommend ceasing operations until cooling complete. Now that''s a suggestion I can accept. Once I figure out what''s going on with the battle, at least. She looked over the wall of kill notifications and widened her eyes at the realization that she knew a few of the names displayed. Why? The flames wouldn''t have been so widespread they''d have reached the battlefield. The only thing I can think of would be that they were running towards me. But why? Nobody in their right mind would have tried to interfere with a conflict like this. Nix''s attention was ripped from the display as she heard the scraping of metal. Her head whipped around and she saw John stand up knife in hand. They didn''t need to exchange words. She understood his intent just by looking into his eyes, but she''d been knocked to the side a few too many times by the conflict and wasn''t close enough to stop him. "No!" Even as she yelled, John plunged the knife into the core. A discharge of energy blew the knife out of the sphere and shredded John''s body to pieces, splattering yet more blood across the inside of the compartment. Nix looked on in horror as the core destabilized before her eyes, gushing an absurd amount of energy outwards. She didn''t waste any time, immediately heading for the gap the lord of the plains had created. There was no way she could prevent the core''s detonation. Her weapon, everything she had wanted to achieve with it, was a lost cause. She stumbled over the corpse of the fallen lord and threw herself out of the hole in the compartment. Sliding down the still bent-over machine, she made her way to the ground as quickly as possible. When she made it back to the ground she couldn''t help but wince at the residual heat. Some of the ground was covered in molten earth, while other places had already cooled enough to solidify into obsidian. Dammit. I should have made sure he was dead. Something in the back of Nix''s mind told her that was wrong. That voice wasn''t hers. She owed John a lot and had repaid him by betraying his trust and getting him killed. What''s wrong with me? It''s like I''m losing myself. No, I can think about this later. For now I need to get away from this thing before it goes. "Nix!" A familiar voice called out to her, and she saw Marcel running across the patches of safe earth. "Marcel? What are you doing here? I thought you were leading-!" Her question was interrupted as Marcel plunged his blade straight into her chest. "W-Why?" She asked as blood rose from her throat. "I''m sorry!" Marcel yelled desperately, tears running down his cheeks. His dismay didn''t stop him from pulling the blade back out and swinging it at her head. At that moment the core above exploded, and Nix could just barely see Marcel''s head caved in by scrap shrapnel before she met the same fate.
Trey The explosion threw huge pieces of metal all over the surrounding area. One of the larger pieces demolished a tree next to Trey before it continued careening into the forest behind him. He''d been lucky to remain outside the blast radius of the mech''s final attack. Only a few dozen feet in front of him the forest, the little that remained of it in this area, was covered with flames. There was no doubt that the fools who''d rushed into that conflict blindly seeking a resolution to the system quest that would kill them upon failure had all died. Trey was willing to bet there was nothing left of the ones closest to the blast. [Notice] Emergency Quest [Kill Nix] resolved. No rewards or penalties applied. So that''s that. "No! Fuck! Nix!" Trey walked through some of the remaining underbrush and saw Zane collapsed to his knees. Tears ran down his cheeks in streams. Huh. I never assumed Zane actually cared about anybody but himself. Zane''s head tilted to the side and he saw Trey standing there. "You¡­" Zane''s voice was so filled with loathing that he sounded like a completely different person, "This is all your fault." Trey opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. There was little point in reasoning with this man. Zane had been useful a few hours ago, but now the man was simply a nuisance that he needed to get rid of. Even so, Trey wasn''t so confident in his strength to believe that he was Zane''s match. The man had been number two for the entire duration of the tutorial. He looked at the message request that still hung suspended, his futile attempt to contact Devon, and closed it with a sigh of resignation. He''d have to settle this battle with only what he had on hand. 80 - How a Commander Fights Zane One thing. That was all Zane had wanted. In a place they''d been dragged to against their will, only one thought had reigned in Zane''s mind from the beginning. For both of them to make it home alive. Why can''t I even have that? Of course, he knew the reason. The reason his plans had fallen apart and Nix had been forced to use that damned weapon. I should have killed this bastard when I had the chance. "You¡­ This is all your fault." Trey didn''t even bother responding as he readied his cudgel and shield. Zane felt his rage boil over at the insult. So this fucker doesn''t even think I''m worth responding to? After you all but murdered my He dashed forward as he yelled, "So you don''t think I''m even worth responding to? After you all but murdered my sister?" The blue metal of Zane''s sword bit into Trey''s shield, significantly compromising its integrity. Trey''s eyes opened wide in surprise, but Zane had expected it. The only weapon Zane had found in the entirety of the tutorial that could stand up to his blade was the golden spear. It''s only natural. There''s no way such primitive weapons could possibly stand up to a material used by the ancients! With a roar of effort, Zane put all the force he could muster into his blade. Trey''s shield split apart into two clean pieces, and blood sprayed out of Trey''s arm as it was nearly severed completely. But as Trey''s shield fell away Zane saw the look of absolute focus in Trey''s eyes, and the shining bright cudgel. Before he could react, a bolt of what seemed like pure energy shot out and collided with his chest, sending Zane flying backwards. He collided with a tree and felt the air knocked from his lungs. His instincts screamed at him, so he pushed off the tree before even recovering his breath as a blade slashed through the air where he''d just been. As he rolled to a stop amid the wreckage of the forest he looked up and saw someone entirely unfamiliar, a warrior wielding a two-handed longsword. [Huel - Level 42] Where the hell did this guy come from? "Your sister, huh?" Trey said as more people emerged from the tree line, "I suppose that explains a few things. I''d offer my condolences¡­ if you hadn''t tried to kill me and Nix hadn''t tried to commit genocide. It seems you two are simply a pair of demon siblings." "The fuck¡­ did you say? Bold words for someone hiding behind a bunch of nobodies." Trey pulled another shield out of his tile as he popped a healing pill and responded, "Well, I''m not nearly as monstrous as you. Besides, this is simply the natural way for a commander to fight." A light once again shone from the man''s cudgel, and Zane tensed up as he prepared for the bolt of energy, but it didn''t come. Instead, the light seemed to expand in a glow that enveloped all the extras that had shown up. A buff, huh? No, it doesn''t matter. It didn''t matter how many extras Trey summoned. It didn''t matter that they were all buffed. None of it mattered in Zane''s eyes. He''d lost the only thing that had actually mattered to him, so now all that was left was his rage. ¡­It''s strange. I''m angrier now than I''ve ever been in my life. Yet I''m also so calm¡­ Like he was in a trance, Zane activated Blade Haze and took a stance as three of Trey''s goons rushed him. His sword left afterimages in its wake as he blurred into motion faster than any of them could react. Most of the skills Zane had seen others use were simple and straightforward powerups or attacks. Blade Haze wasn''t. When he''d first acquired the skill he had wondered what the purpose of the afterimages was. Then he realized that the ''afterimages'' could also be used to show a prediction of his attack instead of simply being afterimages. It was a skill that required intense focus to properly utilize. Zane shifted between future predictions and afterimages constantly to keep an opponent off-guard. Blood sprayed out of the necks of his three opponents as Zane effortlessly slipped past their guards and slaughtered them. In a place where people relied on stats and powerful skills to carry them to victory, Zane had carved his way to the number two spot through consummate skill. Kill - [Kyle - Level 32] - 972 Talons Kill - [Lyra - Level 33] - 87 Talons Kill - [Harley - Level 31] - 409 Talons [Level up. Level 46 obtained.] Did they believe they could overwhelm me with numbers? Unlike these losers that only pretend they''ve pushed themselves to the limit while fighting in groups, I''ve faced several life or death situations against groups of enemies. Three down. Five left. Of the five remaining, only two seemed even remotely dangerous. The level 42 who''d attacked him before and Trey. The other three were all under level 35. Still, something seemed strange to him. There should be the remnants of an entire army in their vicinity, yet these seven had been the only ones to come assist Trey. He must have called them specifically. Perhaps they''re a trained squad like what Nix had. Does Trey want to keep all of the worthless insects out of this so I don''t slaughter them? Something about that thought stoked the cold flames of rage in Zane''s chest. Nix had acted similarly, not wanting to risk the lives of those she thought she needed to protect. Don''t you go acting human now, you fiend. As Zane dashed forward to continue his offensive he saw light once again gather in Trey''s cudgel while he felt more than saw the level 42 preparing an attack of his own. It was a perfect group offensive. However¡­ As Trey launched the bolt of dazzling energy Zane activated his second class skill, Parry. On instinct alone he moved his blade to intercept and in the same instant the bolt of energy collided with it he swept it aside, causing it to deflect off his sword straight toward the level 42. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Parry, like Blade Haze, was a skill that relied entirely on Zane''s own proficiency. It allowed him to deflect attacks that he ordinarily wouldn''t be able to, such as extremely heavy blows or magic. The level 42, in the middle of an attack, couldn''t react in time and was blown away. Zane shifted his attention to the other three, who were already upon him. Unlike with the first three, this trio wasn''t so easy to subdue. They''d seen Blade Haze and already had some idea of how it worked. He managed to sever the arm of one, but the other two remained steadfast in their dogged assault. These two¡­ their levels are much lower than mine, but this buff is allowing them to fight on par with me. Once again the light of Trey''s magic shone, but this time from behind Zane. Damn, these guys are well coordinated. Trey had circled around behind the two keeping Zane occupied and was now flanking him. With a roar, Zane turned around and activated Parry once again, not knowing if his gambit would actually work. As the bolt of energy arced through the air toward him Zane cut downwards, parrying it even as he cut it. The bolt, which would likely have normally continued past Zane''s sword into him, split and was deflected along the edge of the blade to either side of him. The two halves of the attack struck his two opponents. Though each half bolt only carried half the power of the original, it still staggered them enough to allow Zane to slaughter them before they could regain their senses. Kill - [Patty - Level 37] - 162 Talons Kill - [Richard - Level 35] - 781 Talons When he turned back, Zane saw Trey and the level 42 standing together. Trey scowled and activated another spell, one Zane recognized, Dexterity Boost. Meanwhile, a heat wave rippled through the air as the level 42 activated Fire Imbuement on his sword. Dexterity Boost is one of the spells available from the terminals, a single-target buff available only to support classes. The other two spells he relies on must be his class spells. He''s some kind of hybrid between a tank and a mage specialized in support. His arm should be healed now, so they''ll likely come at me together. As if on cue, both of Zane''s opponents dashed forward. Trey led the way, firing off one of his signature bolts of energy, which Zane parried easily. Once he had the timing down, it wasn''t that hard to counter. Trey''s next move was completely unexpected, he threw his shield at Zane. Caught completely off-guard, Zane dumbly batted it aside only to realize it had been nothing but a diversion. From the side a longsword flashed into his vision, and Zane felt a line of pain streak across his face as flames scorched his skin and his right eye went dark. Zane knew from the stinging sensation of blood flowing over charred skin that half of his face had been burned off from the cut that took his eye, but he couldn''t retreat. If he did it would only allow the duo another chance at a combination attack. He activated Adrenaline with the intent to finish off the level 42 swordsman before Trey could intervene. In the slowed time of Adrenaline he could fully utilize the move he''d practiced to kill the one he hated the most, the elusive figure who''d bested him in the forest. As he began to swing his sword, Zane positioned the real blade at the very rear of Blade Haze''s afterimages. Then, with all the effort he could summon, he changed the future prediction more than a dozen times in an instant. The level 42 swordsman''s eyes went wide as he was faced with a burst of what looked like more than a dozen attacks, all in different directions. It was all he could do to raise his sword in an attempt to block as many of them as he could. And that was exactly the opportunity Zane needed. The real sword cut through flesh as it severed the fingers of one of the swordsman''s hands. The digits fell to the ground uselessly as the level 42 cursed and tried to use his sword with his single usable hand. Zane parried a desperate attack and cut through the man''s neck with ease. Kill - [Huel - Level 42] - 1372 Talons A blast of energy struck him in the back, once again sending him flying. That was the tradeoff of Adrenaline, the intense focus resulted in one''s peripheral senses being obscured, something Trey had made good use of. As Zane rolled to a stop he took note of his injuries. Half his face was burned off, he had two large wounds from Trey''s spell, and he couldn''t muster any strength in one of his arms. Using that technique is absurdly draining. It feels like I tore apart every muscle in my arm, changing an attack''s direction that much. Even so, there was now only Trey. Zane swallowed a recovery pill as Trey charged him. But even as injured as Zane was, he still wasn''t injured nearly enough to let someone lesser than him win. Still within the heightened state of Adrenaline, he wielded his sword with his one remaining good arm and intercepted Trey. Trey raised his arm as though he was going to attack with his cudgel before naturally transitioning into a shield bash. But Zane was used to underhanded tricks from the man by now, and simply elected to parry the shield to the side as he swung around the man and brought his blade down, cutting clean through the arm holding the shield. The fiend cried out in pain, but Zane wasn''t done yet. Next he took off one of the man''s legs at the knee, forcing him to fall. He looked down at the pitiful man with enough scorn to burn the world to ashes as he prepared to finish it. Then a thought occurred to him. "No¡­ it would be too easy to simply let you die." He grabbed a fistful of Trey''s hair and pulled his face close, "I''m going to make you regret ever coming to this place¡­ No, I''m going to make you regret existing in the first place. Tell me, do you remember? When I watched as Kal''o Kir made you suffer?" Trey''s eyes opened wide as Zane ripped open that trauma, and at that look of fear Zane''s twisted and scarred face curved into an evil smile. "I think it''s time you and I revisit that place, don''t you think? I''ll make you feel every last iota of pain you''ve put me through." Trey struggled, tried to swing at Zane with the cudgel he still held onto with his last arm, but Zane batted it away effortlessly as he took out a healing pill and shoved it down Trey''s throat. The fiend''s gaze wavered as he lost consciousness. And on the verge of oblivion Zane whispered in his ear, "Don''t worry, you and I will have a lot of time together soon." Before Trey fell into unconsciousness completely Zane saw something unexpected. The man''s eyes, which had lost focus suddenly sharpened as he said, "You won''t get the chance." "Huh?" "I told you I''d show you how a commander fights, didn''t I? I''ll admit, I didn''t expect you to overwhelm us as a group, but it doesn''t matter. It took him long enough to pick up the damn line, but he did. From that point, all I had to do was buy time. What determines a battle isn''t each little skirmish, but the end result. Although, I''ll admit¡­ I got a little¡­ greedy at the¡­ end¡­" Trey''s eyes drooped as he finally lost consciousness. Him? There''s nobody left within the tutorial who could oppose me. Eve got swatted by the creature she herself brought, and was near the epicenter of the weapon''s point of impact. Your friend was in an even worse spot, last I checked. There''s simply no possible way he could have beaten both the chief and Val Kazar. Just as he thought that he felt the effects of Adrenaline wearing off. At the same time as his perception of the world around him returned his instincts screamed at him to dodge. He threw himself to the side as a golden blur passed where his body had been. As he rolled to a stop several feet away he couldn''t help but stare in disbelief at the man who stood before him. [Devon - Level 50] Somewhere in the back of Zane''s mind his instincts screamed at him to run away, but his calm rage smothered them in a renewed burst of hatred. How can he be alive, and here? What the hell happened over there? His state¡­ His condition is so terrible I can''t even imagine how he''s standing. His chest was completely exposed, the armor and clothing that had covered it fluttered in the breeze, no more than useless ribbons. But the wound that lay exposed was almost unimaginable. The man''s chest looked more like pulverized meat than anything that could actually be alive. Enough blood had flowed from it that the entire front of what remained of the man''s shirt and pants were completely stained. He isn''t making any attempt to heal that, which means he must already be under the effects of a healing pill. This is my only opportunity, if I run away now then I won''t have any other chance to make these two suffer! His healing pill had brought the feeling back into his arm, and it was making good progress on his other injuries too. Zane took a deep breath as he readied himself. 81 - Regret As Devon looked down on Trey''s unconscious form only one thought ran through his mind, devoid of any rage or hate towards the man that had done this to his friend. There was only the overwhelming sensation of self-loathing. What the fuck have I been doing? Dancing upon the line? Have I lost my mind? Trey could have fucking died while I¡­ did what exactly? Once the chief died there were so many opportunities to do anything else, but all I could see was the thrill of a fight. Now that Devon wasn''t lost in his craze for battle he realized that Val Kazar had probably never really wanted to exterminate the humans of the tutorial. His true enemy had always been something Devon couldn''t see. No, I did see it. I witnessed their clash of ideologies firsthand and just¡­ ignored it. An alternate possibility presented itself and I pretended as if it didn''t exist. Why? Why did I not even consider changing my course? The events from the beginning of the tutorial played back through his mind as he tried to identify where he had started becoming someone else. And what he found was different than what he expected. ¡­From the beginning, I wasn''t prepared to handle this place. A college student, directionless and bored out of his mind from the repetitive lifestyle he''d led suddenly found himself in a magical place of adventure and intrigue. That was him. When I learned about the overseer''s plot I became convinced I could be some kind of hero. The old knight''s memory broke that spirit down and warped it into something else. Perhaps it was also there I began to enjoy the taste of violence. No, it was. That was simply the person I had to be, otherwise being surrounded by so much death would have driven me insane. My mistake was not realizing I''d changed so much. But Trey saw it. Trey had caught onto the changes in Devon''s personality. That was why he''d said, ''I''m afraid that if you become so lost in your strength you''ll lose sight of who you are.'' Except even Trey wasn''t aware of how far gone I really was. I ignored everything as I lost myself in the thrill of battle. Another line stuck out in the back of his mind, something he''d said back when he''d proposed his plan to Trey. This tutorial is the point at which we define ourselves, right? And what have I defined myself as but an egotistic and bloodthirsty villain? One who was content to ignore his friend''s pleas for help as he satisfied his need for an adrenaline rush. "Oi, don''t go ignoring me!" Zane shouted at him. "...Shut up. I''m not finished deciding what to do with you." A vein bulged on Zane''s head, "What to do with me? What exactly do you think you''ll be doing in that condition?" Devon had almost forgotten he was wounded. It still hurt, of course, but the bleeding had already stopped. Having a monstrously high vitality seemed to significantly bolster his natural healing. At that thought an idea occurred to him, but it immediately reminded him of the side of himself he loathed, and he bit down on his cheek at having to think of it. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. But¡­ is that the only way? "...What''s wrong with you? Why do you seem so¡­ empty? Isn''t he your friend? Or are you so far gone that you don''t even see people as such anymore?" Zane seemed unnerved, and Devon supposed he couldn''t blame the man. "Back in the overseer''s camp¡­ you mentioned a sister, didn''t you? I''m assuming that was Nix." "Don''t you speak her fucking name. Not when you two are the ones responsible for her death." "I see. I''m sorry things turned out this way. She hardly deserved the fate she received." He couldn''t bring himself to hate Zane anymore. Everything the man had done made sense. In a way, he had simply done the same thing Eve had done and discarded everything besides the thing that had mattered most. But unlike Eve, he''d lost his loved one. I can''t find it in my heart to truly hate this man when I can understand what drove him, and why we''re the targets of his rage. But Devon''s feelings meant nothing to Zane, "Don''t you fucking talk like you''re human after what you''ve done!" Zane rushed Devon, activating the skill Devon had seen in the forest when they''d fought before. Afterimages followed the man''s sword as it arced through the air. Then suddenly the images exploded into more than a dozen different attacks. I figured this would be a possible application of this skill. However, in your current state it''s unbelievably easy to counter. Devon''s words had caused Zane to fall out of the calm fury he''d been in, and all Devon could see before him now was a rampaging beast. In response to the flurry of attacks, Devon stepped backward to dodge almost all of them. Then, out of the haze of would-be attacks, one sword broke through as all the other illusions shattered. The blade soared through the air in a thrust straight towards Devon''s neck. Unsure of where the true blade was within the afterimages, Devon let it come within an inch of piercing his neck before he reached up and caught the blade almost effortlessly. Zane''s eyes opened wide in shock, but Devon wasn''t done. He kicked his leg up into Zane''s extended bicep with enough force to break the bone inside and dislocated the limb from the shoulder. The man gasped in pain as he involuntarily released his grip on the blue sword. Devon flipped it around until the handle was comfortably in his hand, then drove it straight into Zane''s abdomen. He pushed it forward with enough force that it pierced through the man''s body to the hilt and took him off his feet. Then Devon pushed on Zane''s upped torso to angle the man backwards before driving the sword forward again, staking the man to the ground with his own blade. Zane let out a strangled cry of pain as he writhed on the ground, but every movement only served to bring a new flash of pain from the sword lodged in his stomach. "Let''s see¡­ The burns on your face seemed to be healing, so I can assume you already took a healing pill. Suppose it''d just be best to give you another." A tear rolled down Zane''s cheek, and the expression on his face spoke of the futile frustration he felt, "Just¡­ fucking kill me already." "Can''t." "Why?" "I promised I wouldn''t kill any humans." "You¡­" Zane''s eyes once again lit with rage, "If you don''t kill me now then I will never stop pursuing you. I''ll chase you to the ends of infinity to make you-!" "Yeah, I know," Devon said as he shoved a healing pill down Zane''s throat, "I figured that''s what you''d say. Unfortunately, it looks like I''ll have to do that after all." He held his hand over Zane''s mouth as the man lost consciousness, not wanting to hear any other scathing remarks or vows of vengeance. I promised I wouldn''t kill anyone, but I''m not sure this is any better. Decon looked out over the wrecked and flaming forest in silence. This was the battlefield of his design, yet it didn''t fill him with any sense of thrill or accomplishment as he''d once believed it would. 82 - End of the Tutorial [Azure Scrap Sword] Class E E-Grade Strength/Dexterity Affinity Of all the equipment Devon had seen during the course of the tutorial, Zane''s sword was by far the best of the human-crafted weapons. It was good enough to perfectly match Val Kazar''s sword, which he also had. But those two aside, this axe is something else entirely. [Mass-Produced Shardaxe] Class E F-Grade Strength Affinity Bonus attributes: 20 Strength Not only was it the first weapon Devon had seen that had bonus attributes applied to it, but the fact that it was called a mass-produced item was even more interesting. Both the materials and the workmanship aren''t like anything else I''ve seen the vishan use. Most likely the chief took it and all his other gear as spoils of war from wherever they came from. Which means even the vishan, who seemed so knowledgeable from the perspective of us initiates, were probably nobodies in the wider universe. There was simply too much he didn''t know about infinity and the system. He wasn''t even sure which was considered a more valuable trait on a weapon, a higher graded affinity or bonus attributes. The bonus attributes provided a very obvious statistical advantage, but he wasn''t fully sure of what affinity did. He sighed and looked through what seemed like a mountain of random items he''d picked up in the wake of the battle. His inventory space had expanded to be several times as large since he''d picked up more spatial beads from the chief and Val Kazar. He carried them in a bag at his hip now because they were annoying to manage. That chief must have been a greedy one, he alone had five beads whereas Val Kazar only had one. One of the things he''d dedicated a rather significant amount of storage space towards, roughly half of his total capacity, was the blue metal that composed Zane''s sword and the giant machine''s armor. It had been blown all over the place in the wake of the machine''s destruction, so it had taken several hours to collect all of it. Even if I don''t know what the metal is, it''s obviously way better than what should be available to us initiates. Even Zane''s sword, which looks about as refined as you''d expect something called a scrap sword to be, is a league above the other weapons available to us. Now that the tutorial was mostly wrapped up he was looking ahead towards what came next. He wasn''t exactly sure what would happen in the future, but it seemed like a given that having more valuable items could only be a good thing. Still, the chief had so much crap tucked away it''ll be a massive pain in the ass to sort through it all over the next few days. I need to go back and see if the lord of the mountain''s corpse is still there too. It''s possible the parts of that beast will also be valuable. Honestly, there''s so much it''s more of a bother to keep track of than anything. Well, at least the other bonuses I got are easier to digest. [Birth of A Schemer] - Cleared Karmic Influence: Moderate. Complexity: Normal+. Time investment: 20 days. Reward: +8% all stats. Instead of giving me a numerical bonus to each of my stats like plots, schemes give a percentage-based bonus. I''m sure as my stats rise higher and higher such percentage boosts will be more and more valuable. [Cursed Schemer] has reached Level 4. Skill [Lie Detection] learned. [Lie Detection] Truth and lies are the true weapons of a schemer, more potent and powerful than any poison or blade. The ability to cut through the words of others marks the true worth of a schemer. This ability has a 20 hour cooldown. Lie Detection, huh? It seems a bit cut and dry, but I can''t deny its usefulness. Going forward it''ll be extremely useful in determining what I can trust and what I can''t. He planned on accepting the invitation he''d been given from across infinity, even though he wasn''t sure he could trust the mysterious messenger. There was too much he didn''t know, and he needed a place with the resources to teach him everything he couldn''t learn on his own more than anything. This really came at the perfect time. Still, a 20 hour cooldown is a bit absurd. Next was the quest that had been left hanging for so long that Devon had almost forgotten it existed. [Rebellion] (Extreme): Defeat the ones who brought you into this world. Reward: Unique title, +10% all stats, +20 all stats. New Title obtained: [Insurgent] [Insurgent] The title of one who brought down those who mistakenly thought they had the right to rule. All stats +10%, all stats +20. This title may impact your relationship with people of authority. I guess the stat boosts listed in the quest were meant as a preview of the title. Well, it would have been a bit much to expect another huge boost along with the promised stat rewards. Still¡­ First it was Lord''s Bane, now Insurgent as well. I feel like the system is trying to paint me as some kind of noble slayer with these title names. There was still the quest to survive the tutorial, but he''d have to wait another 9 or so days before that would finish on its own. He didn''t mind waiting, it wasn''t like there was anyone else he planned on fighting. In the wake of the battle, the overseers had scattered, with less than half their number remaining. Surprisingly, the humans had fared far better. The battle had only just begun when Nix had deployed her weapon, and its appearance was enough to stun both sides of the conflict out of their fight. After that, everything had become a desperate scramble to try and stave off the system''s death threat. That quest¡­ I was too lost to realize it at the time, but that was probably the same type of quest that occurred in the cursed king''s kingdom. But the penalty associated with it wasn''t death for me, it was more marks of karmic disdain. Does that mean I''ve become bound to karma, as that old knight said in the memory? It was one of the many things he needed answers for once he had access to more information. Though perhaps even that wasn''t nearly as big of a problem as the other predicament he was currently facing. Status. [Status] Name: Devon Wells Race: [E-Grade Human] (Evolution pending) Level: 50 Class: [Cursed Warrior] Profession: [Cursed Schemer - Level 4] Mana: 295/295 Talents: [Spear Proficiency - Level 8], [Sword Proficiency - Level 6], [Hammer Proficiency - Level 5], [Dagger Proficiency - Level 3], [Axe Proficiency - Level 7], [Quarterstaff Proficiency - Level 6] Skills: [Sever], [Shatter], [Lightning Thrust], [Lacerate], [Split], [Bone Breaker], [The Mask], [Refine], [Lie Detection] Abilities: [Respite], [Small Presence] Magic: [Light], [Fireball], [Lightning Imbuement II], [Adrenaline], [Boost] Titles: True Initiate, Cursed(3), Vicious, Lord of Massacre, Insurgent Strength: 403(431) Dexterity: 405(433) Vitality: 396(425) Endurance: 396(423) Arcane: 400(428) Spirit: 30 Free Points: 245 Talons: 31438 My stats are being capped. The brackets that had annoyed him so much before were back again, but the circumstances now were very different from when his spirit had been wounded. Unlike before, his spirit was perfectly fine. The much more likely cause was the note next to his race, evolution pending. By the way the current stats are allocated, I assume 2000 is the maximum amount of attribute points an E-grade being can handle. There were a few tests he did to support this theory. First, he activated Boost to give him a temporary increase to his stats. Then he tried equipping the chief''s axe with its +20 strength buff. Both tests resulted in the numbers within the parentheses rising without any change to his active stats. He wasn''t sure whether he should take the current state of affairs as a positive or negative. On one hand, I''m so far above everyone else within the tutorial that Zane wasn''t even the barest hint of a threat. On the other, I''m worried about what''ll happen to the stat points I don''t have access to once I evolve. Yet another unknown. He was hesitant to apply the logic that once he evolved he''d gain access to those stats simply because they were being displayed in a very similar manner to when his spirit had been wounded. A wounded spirit and a pending evolution. How am I supposed to know how similar they truly are? His spear proficiency had also risen two levels from the fights in the overseer''s camp. It''d been a while since his last proficiency upgrade, so it felt about time. He could only assume it had gone up two levels because of how in-tune he had felt with the weapon during the fight. Fighting like that might have been the best I''ve ever felt. But I won''t ever allow myself to repeat it, allow myself to get so lost in my pursuit of a contest that I become blind to the world around me. As he thought that to himself he heard a groan from nearby and looked over to his captive who was finally regaining consciousness. Devon watched as Zane slowly regained consciousness before looking around, "Where¡­" "This was a dungeon within the depths of the mountain. It was a den of beasts before me and Eve cleared it out." "You!" Zane tried to move but found that his limbs were pinned to the ground. "You son of a-! This is-" "Yeah, it''s the same thing the overseers did to me when I was a captive. Pretty effective, I found." A metal stake was driven through each of Zane''s limbs, as well as two in his shoulder and abdomen. "You son of a bitch! I''ll kill you!" "I''d hoped we could have a little chat, but it doesn''t seem like you''re in a talking mood." Well, not that I can particularly blame him. I''m sure there''s a lot of stuff he needs to grapple with. "Tell you what, I''ll just come back in an hour." Devon left the cave and wandered around until he found a good spot for a nap. After a while had passed he made his way back and found Zane much more docile. It seemed as though Zane had struggled with everything he had against the stakes that restrained him, because he looked completely wrung out as he spoke, "Why did you leave me alive?" A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. No, it isn''t that he''d physically tired. I just left him alone here in the dark for over an hour. With everything he must have experienced and felt during the battle it''s no wonder he seems so drained. "I said it before, I promised not to kill anyone." "That isn''t a reason someone like you would base a decision on." As much as I''d like to deny such accusations, I''d be lying. "Hm¡­ I suppose you could say it''s because I don''t feel any resentment towards you. I also have a sister. When she went missing in the first wave of disappearances¡­ I felt like if I could find the people responsible I''d do anything to get her back. So I can kind of relate to your desperation. And your hatred." "Don''t speak like you can understand my pain when you''re the one who caused it! Didn''t you hear me before? You and Trey are the ones responsible for Nix''s death! Even if you let me live I won''t rest until I make you feel every pain imaginable!" "...You know, I was thinking about that accusation. That we''re the reason Nix is dead. I can''t help but think it''s fundamentally flawed." "What? You-" "We orchestrated a conflict between the two camps, yes. But that conflict alone wasn''t what killed her, was it? No, what sealed Nix''s fate was her choice to use that machine of hers. You knew about it too. There''s no way you didn''t when you were her right hand of authority in Arkania." "So what? She only used that thing because-" "Because we attacked? Are you really that naive? Whether it was us who attacked or the overseers, you don''t just let a weapon like that sit around. No matter what form the conflict the chief sought to create took, Nix would have used that machine eventually. And you just let her." "I¡­ I¡­" "You were the one closest to the overseer''s movements and one of the few who knew about that thing''s existence. You were the only one who would have been able to prevent her from using it. And yet you helped the overseers fan the flames of conflict without ever telling anyone about it." "No¡­ No¡­" Maybe that was a bit much. Once Zane seemed like he''d processed Devon''s statements, Devon continued, "Regardless, I don''t feel the need to kill you if I don''t have to. You''ve already seen that you don''t have the power to stand up to me, and I don''t think there''s any need for us to be enemies. So I''ll give you the chance to walk away. Go home to earth, tell whatever family you have about her passing, and grieve. You at least have the chance to do that." Zane said nothing as he looked toward the ceiling of the cavern. "Zane, swear you won''t come after me or Trey and I''ll let you go." "...So you''d heartlessly send all those people to fight each other to the death, but you''d spare me simply because you can somehow ''relate'' to me? I don''t think I''ve ever seen a more twisted form of pity in my life." Devon frowned, but couldn''t refute it. A slightly maniacal grin formed on Zane''s face as he said, "Sure, I promise I won''t ever come after you two again. Swear on my life." I don''t really need Lie Detector right now, but I might as well use it to confirm it works how I assume. Activate skill; Lie Detector. There is no hint of truth within the words of the individual known as Zane. "Well, I suppose expecting a happy resolution was a bit much to hope for." "Just kill me already." "I already said I didn''t intend to kill you, and that holds true even now. Call it pity or what have you. Even so, I can''t allow you the chance to come after us again." Devon was sure that anyone else in his shoes would simply finish the man off. But there was a curiosity that had been crawling around in the back of his mind for a while now. I know I promised Trey I wouldn''t kill anyone, but somehow I get the feeling he''d think what I''m about to do is even worse. Devon pulled two healing pills out of his inventory and walked toward Zane. "You''re putting me to sleep again? Are you going to keep me suspended here in unconsciousness for the rest of the tutorial?" "No, I just don''t want you to be awake for what comes next. I might be cruel, but I don''t intend to stoop to the level of torturing someone." "What are you¡­ Hey, wait! Stop-"
9 days later The remnants of a large pyre smoldered in the plains. Most of the people that had gathered for the mass funeral had dissipated by now, either put off by the smell of burning corpses or busy with preparations to leave. Devon walked over to one of the figures standing off by himself. When the figure noticed his approach he said, "Welcome back to civilization." "Thanks, Trey. I''m guessing you finished the census a while ago, how much of our little civilization is left?" "Around 650 people." "Not too bad, all things considered." "There were even fewer casualties in the first few minutes of battle than you anticipated. The majority of deaths that day were from the blast Nix fired directly at that mech''s feet, at the explosion shortly afterward." "What about the camps?" "There were more casualties inside Plainstown than I expected, and Arkania was a travesty." Something about that statement irked Devon, "What do you mean there were more casualties in Plainstown than expected? Are you saying those guys I spent time training still weren''t ready?" "No, if anything it was my fault. I reassigned half of them to observe the overseer''s camp when you were captured, and by the time you were able to respond to my messages they were delayed in moving back to Plainstown." "I see." On one hand, it irked him that his carefully laid plan had been altered, resulting in diminished efficiency. On the other, it was hard to truly be upset when he knew Trey had only acted out of concern for his wellbeing. It''s not like I can say I wouldn''t have done the same, so I might as well let the matter lie. "What happened to Zane?" Trey asked. "He''s still alive. I said I wouldn''t kill anybody and I kept my promise." "Honestly, I would have been fine with you killing him specifically. It''ll be annoying if he comes after us and tries to start shit." "I took measures to make sure that won''t happen. He shouldn''t pose a threat to either of us now, but if he shows himself before us feel free to kill him. I don''t intend on extending pity on that man further than I already have." "Even so, I think I''d be able to sleep better knowing the man''s dead." Devon was a little shocked by Trey''s display of hostility. He''d never seen his friend display such open resentment towards somebody before. Then again, I suppose Zane did make two separate attempts on his life. And Trey had to watch as Zane mowed down the people around him. "What about the overseers?" Trey shrugged, "The 30 or so that are left have been cooped up in their camp. Doesn''t seem like they''ve got the will to get up to much mischief. By the way, I''ve been hunting and stockpiling free points like you told me I should. You wanna explain why I''ve been working myself ragged while everyone else has been laying about? I swear, I haven''t been able to get a leveling party together even once in the past few days." "Doesn''t that just mean you don''t have to split the exp you get with others? I don''t see the problem." "The problem is that my class is focused on a supporting role. I have a single unique offensive spell and whatever is in the terminal shop. Physical damage isn''t my strong suit when most of my points are in endurance and arcane." "Huh, so what was the perfect class to rally others around you is now something of a hindrance. Interesting." "Interesting my ass. It''s a serious fucking problem considering I don''t ever want to have to be put in a role like this again." "Gotcha. Well, to answer your question, when you stock up on enough free points you start gaining more points per level up overall." "What? Why didn''t you tell me something like that earlier?" "The amount of exp needed per level also rises absurdly high. It''s why I was so strong at a lower level. I never told you because by the time I fully understood it I was afraid you wouldn''t be able to capitalize on it like I did. It also means you lose the agency to pick what stats to specialize in, something that''s a lot more important for you than it is for me." "But if the thing about gaining more points over time is true then wouldn''t it effectively be like stunting my long-term growth?" "I was a lot more concerned about surviving the immediate conflict than caring about long-term growth. Believe me, the only reason I haven''t invested my free points is because I can''t. At some point I''ll hit the next threshold and my exp gains will be stunted even more." "Yeah, well that didn''t stop you from claiming the number one spot on the ladder, now did it? How the hell did you get so much money, anyway?" Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that thing. [Level Ladder]
  1. Devon - Level 50
  2. Eve - Level 49
  3. Zane - Level 46
  4. Trey - Level 44
  5. Kate - Level 41
  6. Sofia - Level 40
  7. Vanir - Level 40
  8. Kurtis - Level 38
  9. Autumn - Level 38
  10. Zack - Level 37
[Talon Ladder]
  1. Devon - 10536
  2. Eve - 6279
  3. Trey - 5623
  4. Zane - 3289
  5. Lloyd - 2876
  6. Celia - 2751
  7. Tanya - 2645
  8. Phil - 2318
  9. Argyle - 1972
  10. Jerry - 1935
When I put it in perspective, I really did gain an absurd amount of talons from the chief and Val Kazar. Even the 10k I left as insurance money easily stands at the top of the talon ladder. Around 20 thousand talons had been invested into something that he hoped would pay off. It was something of a gamble, but he figured it was better to try and invest in something that had good prospects while he had the money than simply wait and let a golden opportunity blow by him. "Well, I did fight a level 74 and 67 back to back." "...I seriously can''t even fathom how you''re alive." A pair of voices behind them interrupted their conversation. "I told you we should have left earlier." "Yeah, well maybe you shouldn''t have taken your sweet time packing stuff up then!" Trey sighed in annoyance, "Oi, this a wake. Can''t you two be a little more quiet and respectful?" Devon turned around and saw two familiar faces he hadn''t expected to see again. Or, at least one familiar face. The other was distorted beyond what he remembered. "Hello, Eve and Phil. I wasn''t expecting you two to come out of your hideaway." Phil scoffed, "After more than a week of nothing happening out here I finally convinced this knucklehead that it was safe enough to emerge from our solitude. Please excuse me, I''d like to pay my respects to the fallen." As Phil walked closer to the smoldering pyre Devon couldn''t help but make a jab at Eve, "You have a cooking accident or something? What''s with the burns?" Almost every part of Eve''s skin that could be seen was covered in patterned burn scars. "I was a little too close to Nix''s stupid bot when it incinerated everything within a three-block radius." "It''s a miracle you survived," Trey said in awe. "Why didn''t you just use healing pills to take care of that injury?" Devon asked, significantly less impressed. He probably would have been more surprised if Eve hadn''t survived. He knew firsthand her absurd tenacity. "That damn lord got me right before the bot did." "The lord of the plains?" Devon asked. He''d heard other accounts of Eve''s battle with Nix''s machine in the wake of the battle, so he had a rough idea of what had happened. "Yeah. That damn tiger had some pretty serious poison or something. I spent almost a week living off the healing pills as they fixed the damage the poison did to my insides. Seems like the magical pills deemed the internal damage more life-threatening than the external, so by the time the poison was done the pills didn''t do anything to heal the burns." "What? But don''t the pills work on all types of injury?" Trey asked, confused. "Not necessarily," Devon said, "If an injury is left for the body to heal on its own the pills seem to consider it as something that no longer needs fixing. I have scars on my chest from the wounds I got from Val Kazar that the healing pill won''t fix." "But that means¡­" "Yeah. If you lose something important but don''t get healing fast enough it''ll be gone forever." Devon said it with a certainty that unnerved the other two, but they both decided not to comment on it. The three of them stood in silence for a minute as they watched Phil pay his respects from afar. After a while, Devon asked, "Where are you planning on going, Eve? There isn''t much longer to choose." "I''m heading back to earth with Phil. What about you two?" "Devon''s convinced his sister is out there, so he''s going to go looking. I''ll be following along since I''ve got nothing better to do." "Oh yeah, I remember her being mentioned before. Feels like a lifetime ago that we sat around that fire on the first night. What makes you sure she won''t return to earth? From what the datalogs said, once the initiation phase ends earth is going to be closed off for a while. If she goes back then won''t you two miss each other?" "I know my sister better than anyone. Believe me, she wouldn''t go back when she''s presented with the reality that we''re a part of now." "If you say so." "Oh, Eve," Trey said, suddenly thinking of something, "If you''re going back to earth would you mind doing me a favor? Since I won''t be going myself it would be nice if you could look after my family while I''m away. Here, I''ll write down their names and addresses¡­" "Shouldn''t that be something you do yourself?" Trey paused as he searched his pockets for something to write with, "I don''t think I''d feel comfortable going back now. I want to make sure they''re safe¡­ But I don''t want them to¡­ I don''t feel like the same person anymore, if that makes sense. I''m afraid they won''t be able to accept who I''ve become." "I see. I can''t promise anything, but if I find the time I''ll swing by. Something tells me earth is going to be pretty hectic when we return." "Whatever you can manage would be great." As Trey passed information off to Eve a notification popped up on Devon''s display. Tutorial block #247 has reached its conclusion. Administering rewards. [Quest Cleared] Survive (Variant): Survive to the end of tutorial block #247. Reward: Unique title based on performance. Highest level title [True Initiate] already acquired. Distributing Ladder bonuses. Level Ladder: #1. +10 Free Points. Talon Ladder: #1. +10 Free Points. Eve scowled as she looked over her own notifications, "Damn it, I can''t believe you took my number one spot when I was too sick to do anything." "Hey, at least we still get free points for our ladder position," Trey said, trying to console her. "How many did you get?" Devon asked. "Nine for both," Eve said. "Seven and Eight," Trey said. Well, that should help kickstart his potential at least. Upgrading most used terminal to Nexus Hub in 1 hour. Please choose a location to be transported to. If none are chosen then you shall remain in the tutorial world. [Notice] Tutorial world''s difficulty has been evaluated at C-grade. Residence is not recommended. So it tampered with this island to make sure it was a suitable environment for a tutorial, huh? A list of locations popped up next. Each listed place had details associated with it such as initiate population and habitability. The first location was obviously earth, but there was also a wide variety of other strange-sounding places. How nice, it''s letting us make informed decisions on where to go next. I wonder if one of these is the vishan''s homeworld. There''s no way to really know since we never really talked to any of them. "What''s a nexus hub?" Eve asked. "One of the datalogs mentioned those," Trey said, "Apparently it''s an upgraded terminal that allows you to teleport to other nexus hubs across infinity within a certain range. There are apparently other restrictions that it didn''t mention as well. Devon, you said you already had our next stop planned out, right?" "Yep. Third on the list, the Empire of the Amber Dragon. Looks like it has pretty decent habitability, which is good, and a pretty high population of fellow initiates." "Hang on, how could you have possibly decided where to go even before the list popped up?" Eve asked, bewildered. Devon smiled, "I received an invitation." 83 - Methodology Once Eve and Phil had disappeared into motes of light Devon turned to his display and selected his destination. The system prompted him with a confirmation. "Well, guess I''ll see you on the other side," Devon said with a grin. "Ah, wait a moment. It''s asking me if I want to travel as a group." "What? I didn''t get an option like that. I swear, the system is messing with me again¡­" Trey laughed as Devon received a popup asking if he wished to join Trey''s travel group, which he immediately accepted. "Ready?" "Ready." He felt the world distort momentarily before his consciousness was yanked away, just like what had happened way back at the start of everything. When he regained his senses he found himself back in the void, but this time Trey was beside him. A progress bar appeared in front of his eyes. As he watched it inched up from 0% to 1% after about half a minute. "Seems like this isn''t exactly instantaneous travel," Trey muttered. "Well considering we might as well be flying through space faster than the speed of light, I''d say it''s fast enough." "I suppose you have a point." They stood in amiable silence as Devon thought over how he wanted to broach a topic he''d been thinking about ever since the battle. "Trey¡­ I think I should apologize." "I thought it seemed like you had something on your chest. All right, out with it." "It''s about my original plan, I-" "You mean the one that ultimately allowed us to prepare for the overseer''s attack and resulted in at least half of the humans to survive the tutorial despite such a grave threat? I don''t exactly see a problem with it." "I just think I was too hasty, too narrow-minded. I wonder if there could have been another way that didn''t end in such bloodshed." "That''s just hindsight talking." "Partially, yes. But it''s also an admittance of my own shortcomings. When I fought the chief of the vishan, the level 74 I mentioned earlier, and Val Kazar¡­ Val Kazar was the one who ultimately struck the final blow against the chief, the leader of their tribe." "A betrayal?" "Or a coup, I''m not sure. Either way, it made me realize that we might have misunderstood the overseers from the start. The chief was the one who gave them the mission to slaughter us. We caught on to that objective and in turn labeled them all as enemies. From there we never even attempted to open a line of communication." "I doubt any attempt at talking would have gone well. If we''d tried to initiate a meeting it would have just turned into an ambush." "But we wouldn''t have needed a meeting. We haven''t needed something like that for a while now." Trey''s eyes widened as he realized what Devon meant, "Of course! We never even imagined trying to use the messaging function to communicate with any of the overseers. But do you really think any of them would have responded positively to that?" "Of course, it''s entirely possible they would have dismissed such attempts at communication completely or done nothing but scorn us. Regardless, we were so quick to define them as enemies we never bothered to think about what their real goal was, or why they were doing it in the first place. If we had expanded our thoughts to include even the possibility of cooperation then it might have been possible to prevent the slaughter altogether." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Devon closed his eyes, "And that was my failure. I was so intent on defining the overseers as enemies that I closed my eyes to any possibilities that didn''t include violence. And because of that, I forced you into an undesirable role. I''m sorry." "Would you stop acting like you''re the center of everything?" Trey said, clearly annoyed, "If we''re going to play the ''I could have done X better'' game then I''m guilty of the exact same thing. Hell, I think everyone was. If we''re looking at it from that perspective then Val Kazar could have also been the one to extend the olive branch, and Nix could have done the exact same thing you''re saying without resorting to the means that she did." "Well¡­ I guess you''re right." "It was a bad situation, and we might have all made bad moves. Hell, if Nix had let us in on the existence of her mech when she talked to me then we''d have had to shift the plan completely. But she didn''t, and because she kept it to herself we went on none the wiser and almost ended up with an even higher body count." Trey sighed, "We did the best we could. Are you telling me you regret the decisions we made?" "No," Devon said, iron in his voice, "I''m regretting my lack of vision, and my obsession with seeing things play out a certain way. If I''d properly explored all the options available and found that they were all dead ends I still would have come to the conclusion that our method was the best chance of survival." "Good. We''re only human, we make mistakes. Instead of apologizing just do it better next time," Trey said as he slapped Devon on the back. Devon smiled, "Yeah, you''re right." I can always count on Trey to set me back on track. It hadn''t just been the sight of the battlefield and mass death that had unnerved him. It had been the feeling that he could have taken different actions, that if he''d simply been more open-minded he could have prevented needless death. But Trey was right. There was no sense wallowing in what could have been. All he needed to do was take what he''d learned and apply that knowledge to his future schemes. If people have to die to protect what I want to protect then so be it, that''s probably the natural order in this new reality we''ve found ourselves a part of. But I don''t ever want to close myself off to better outcomes again. Think more. Plan more. Make more moves. I won''t allow myself to miss any opportunity for the best outcome I can envision. "Here we go," Trey said as the progress bar neared completion, "Any idea what we''ll find on the other side?" "No clue. All I can say is don''t trust anything." "I thought we were going here in the first place because you got invited?" "We are, but that doesn''t mean I trust the one who reached out. I don''t even know who they are. All I know is that it''ll be better to start with a direction in mind than to wander aimlessly." "Well, that''s true enough. Kind of annoying though. We''re going from one place where trust is in thin supply to another just like it." "Not like it would have been any different on earth." "At least there we''d have an idea of what to expect." "Hm. Just expect something magical on the other side of this place. Then the worst that''ll happen is some mild disappointment." "Hah hah." They didn''t have time for further conversation as the bar filled completely and they slipped from the void.
Vanir Everyone else had already gone, until it seemed like he alone remained. There were only a few minutes left until the system would abandon him on this tutorial world. He knew he needed to make a choice, but he couldn''t muster the will to think of the future. Why did so many people have to die? Why did the overseers attack the camps? Who was ultimately responsible for Susan''s¡­ Vanir couldn''t bear to finish the thought. Too many people had died. For what? Trey hadn''t told anyone anything. He''d simply gathered the remnants of the camps and preached about overcoming their differences in the wake of tragedy. But it was obvious something beyond Vanir''s sight had taken place. "So there''s still someone left, huh?" Vanir jumped in surprise and looked over to the person who''d spoken. The figure illuminated by the firelight made him widen his eyes in even greater surprise. "You¡­ Where are your arms?" Rationality came back to him in an instant, the instincts of countless hunts ingrained in him. "Do you need healing pills? I have some to spare." The man laughed hollowly, "Don''t bother. Those things won''t bring back what that bastard took. Not my arms or the lives of the people that lay here." "What do you mean?" "I mean there was somebody responsible for all the deaths that took place. Someone whose actions caused Nix to use that thing, caused the overseers to attack, everything." Vanir instinctively knew the man before him shouldn''t be trusted. There was something wrong with him, he could just tell. It was as though the light of insanity flickered behind his eyes. Even so, if the man''s words had any truth to them, he had to know. "Alright, I''m listening." A wicked smile spread across the man''s face as the last of the fire died out. 84 - New Places, New Faces Well this is oddly nostalgic. Devon and Trey found themselves in the midst of a plaza packed full of people. It only took a glance to tell him that the vast majority of them were human like themselves. However, when he looked beyond the mass of people he saw individuals standing on raised platforms, watching over the crowd. Many of the individuals watching over the mass of people were humanoid in shape, but many of them seemed like mutated versions, with many seeming to take on animalistic or ethereal traits. It occurred to Devon that the reason the system had rated this place as being highly habitable was because the other inhabitants must have extremely similar forms or needs. Now that I think about it, the vishan were pretty similar too. They erred a lot more on the animalistic traits than a lot of the individuals I see here, but they were still humanoids that seemed to live off the same base necessities. I saw some real freaks in the old knight''s memory that didn''t conform to humanoid standards at all. "Hello, hello? Can everyone hear me?" A voice rang out over the plaza, which Devon identified to be coming from a central scaffold platform that looked like it had been hastily constructed over a pre-existing fountain. Atop it stood a rather pretty woman that addressed everyone within the area. "Um, it looks like everyone is here so I''m going to get started. My name is Christine, I was one of the first phase initiates that was summoned to Linouah, or I guess the Empire of the Amber Dragon. Oh, Linouah is just the name of this town. Sorry, I''m not used to speaking in front of a crowd like this," The girl said as she blushed and scratched the back of her head. [Christine - Level 48] They sure chose a cute poster girl. "Uh, I guess I should just pass this out now. I think I just¡­ oh, here we go." [Notice] Incoming databundle [Information Packet]. Accept databundle? Accept. The so-called databundle consisted of three things. The first was a map of the city he presumed they were in which automatically updated his map function. The second was a datalog containing notable establishments and what looked almost like a beginner''s guide. The third was an outline of the basic laws of the empire. "I think most of the stuff in there should be self-explanatory, but I''ll give you all a rundown just in case. There''s the map of this city which should automatically link to your map function in the system. If for some reason you don''t have the map function you can come talk to me after I''m done talking. "The second is something like a list of recommended actions. Some of you have come from empire-hosted tutorials so you''d already know this, but those who came here from anywhere else should know that the empire doesn''t have any sort of strict regimen. "If you want to keep on the path to growing stronger the empire''s military would gladly accept you, with benefits to those who perform well. On the other hand, if you just wanted a chance to live on an alien planet there are also the trade guilds and other places of employment listed. I''ll let you go over the entire list for yourself. "The second datalog is just a guideline of the basic rules in place within the empire. I think it should probably go without saying that if you break them you''ll make the town guards really angry, so I wouldn''t suggest that. "Uh¡­ I think that''s about everything. There''s additional information included in the first datalog that will unlock in around three days, and we''ll be hosting a seminar at that time for everyone who wants to attend as well. Until then you''re free to explore both the town and the wilderness outside the boundaries of the town as well." With that, it seemed as though Christine''s speech ended. Trey turned to Devon and said, "You know, I think I enjoyed this opening speech a lot better than the one our old overseers gave." Devon smirked, "Who''d have ever thought that a warm welcome would be more enjoyable than essentially being told to fuck off." "So what do you want to do? Did that mysterious invitation of yours come with any specifics?" "It didn''t. I guess for now we can just see what''s around. Still," Devon did a quick headcount of the people in the plaza and came to the conclusion there couldn''t have been more than 2000 of them, "Is it just me or does the number of people here seem small?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Now that you mention it, yeah. It does." There had been at least a hundred other tutorial blocks, potentially many more they didn''t know about. Of the alien options to choose from, the Empire of the Amber Dragon had been the second most chosen option by initiates of the tutorials. Assuming all the other tutorials had a similar headcount as their own had, the number of people in the plaza seemed disproportionately small. Devon scrolled through the datalog they''d been given and found the answer to his question, "Oh, it says here that tutorial initiates are randomly split between thirteen different ''starting'' worlds. Guess that''s how they prevent a massive explosion of alien population in any one place." "Good thing it gave us the option to travel together," Trey said, "It would have been annoying to choose what seemed like the same destination only to end up on two completely different worlds." "Yeah, that would''ve been a pain." The two of them moved slowly with the crowd outwards as people left the plaza. A good amount of people flocked to the sentries stationed around the perimeter of the plaza and Christine in the center with questions. Christine in particular seemed popular, probably due to her likable personality. Devon continued to scan over the datalog of useful information as they moved. Bothering their hosts with questions when they hadn''t even finished reading over the information packet was simply inane. It''s sad, really. This document was so well thought out, yet people completely ignore it to waste other people''s time asking questions that are already answered. As Devon saw it, the document answered the vast majority of potential questions. There was detailed information on the topography of the region, local and imperial culture, as well as a list of other ''starting'' worlds and means to travel if someone wasn''t content to stay at Linouah. Of course, the most important information was about employment. Most of the details were along the lines of what Christine had already told the crowd, but it was nice to see more details. There was also provided lodging for the first week, with addresses and even map references. So basically they give us a week of freeloading before they start treating us as unemployed. This system seems very well refined. Unlike the vishan, I''ll bet this place sees initiates come through somewhat regularly. It was also clear the document had a fair amount of human input on it. There were several paragraphs detailing how something differed from earth. Devon groaned, "Looks like the day-night cycles on this planet are several hours longer than what we''re used to. But even worse is that the timekeeping system is completely removed from the day-night cycle." "Well, I imagine it would be hard to keep an accurate record of interplanetary trade unless everything was kept on an unbiased timetable. At least, I assume there''s something like interplanetary trade." "Doesn''t change that it''ll be a bitch to get used to." Trey shrugged. Oh yeah, that reminds me. Trey went abroad for a month on a culture study thing. I bet that prepared him for this type of thing a lot better than I am. Once they made it out of the plaza and into the streets Trey asked, "Anywhere in particular we should head?" "Let''s see if we can''t find any kind of vantage point. It''s nice to have a map, but it''d be even better to get a firsthand feel of the place." As they walked through the city they couldn''t help but be taken in by the scenery. Much of the architecture was foreign, but even still the place had a quaint feeling. Most of the buildings were either made of wood or brick, and the place gave off the general vibe of an alien fantasy setting. "I was kind of expecting something more advanced than this, honestly," Trey said as they walked through a street, "Seems a little¡­ low tech. At least for a civilization that has several planets under its rule." "The travel brochure says this is something they call a frontier world. Maybe this town was set up using only the resources from this area. Despite how rustic the place may seem they do appear to at least have plumbing and running water." "Still, it''s hard to shake the fantasy feeling. I guess I wanted the wider universe to be more outside my expectations." "Again, we shouldn''t attempt to judge technological advancement based on a frontier world. For all we know, this is like the boonies to them." "You think they use magic for all their daily necessities instead of electricity? That''d really complete the fantasy aesthetic." Devon sighed. It seemed his friend was more infatuated with the idea of being in a fantasy world than he wanted to let on. We''ve already been using magic for more than a month by now, shouldn''t you be used to this sort of thing by now? Well, I suppose there''s a difference between using magic to survive in the wilderness and seeing magic in more ordinary situations. Still¡­ "Is it just me, or does the place seem a little empty?" Trey asked. "Yeah, I know what you mean." There were ordinary people walking the streets, but less than he''d expected. But that wasn''t the biggest concern on his mind. "We''re being followed," He said under his breath. Trey shot a gaze to the side at him, then said, "What do you want to do about it? You think they were sent by the one who extended you an invitation?" "Maybe. Only one way to be sure. Let''s step into an alley so we don''t draw any undue attention." They walked for another half mile through the streets before they found the perfect place and stepped off into the wider than average alley. They didn''t have to wait long before a small group of people crowded the entrance of the alley. "They don''t really look like any halfway decent welcome party I''ve ever seen," Trey commented. Trey''s statement was punctuated by several weapons being drawn from tiles. 85 - Magnet for Trouble The armed group staring them down in the alley was a motley mix of races. Two had traces of canine ancestry and one of them looked perfectly human except for the eyes which seemed to contain a cosmos within them. The one who was the leader of the group seemed to be of the same species Devon had seen in the old knight''s memory, with hair like fire. "Just to make sure, you haven''t mistaken us for someone else, have you?" Devon asked the group of thugs. "...Oi, Jen. Check the thing again to make sure," The one who seemed to be the leader of the thugs said to one of the others. "It''s one of them. I''m not certain which, though. This thing isn''t super precise," The one apparently called Jen replied. Devon could see a small object that seemed to glint gold in their offhand. "Then we just get them both. Problem solved, right?" The leader said flippantly. "But if we attack someone who isn''t cursed we won''t be protected by the special exception-" "It''s fine! Nobody knows or cares about some no-name initiates anyway." It''s so hard to make heads or tails of this conversation. I thought they might be related to the one that called me here, but it seems less likely the longer these thugs prattle on. I just can''t imagine someone who seemed as above it all as they did sent these idiots. Then again, maybe this is part of an elaborate ruse, and these morons are nothing but unknowing pawns. Regardless, I highly doubt we''ll be able to talk ourselves out of this situation. No harm in trying to parse some more info out of them though. "Sorry to interrupt, but I''d like some clarification on why we''re being harassed like this. I distinctly remember ''no fighting in the town'' being explicitly stated in the datalog on the local laws." "Shut up! A cursed being or someone who confides with one is no better than a ravenous animal!" "And if I simply screamed for help from the guards?" The leader of the group adopted a vicious grin, "Oh, I wouldn''t do that if I were you. They might make things a pain in the ass for us, but that''d make things soooo much worse for you. Well, not that they can get much worse to begin with." The other one mentioned some kind of special exception. If that''s a legal exception concerning cursed beings that''s very interesting. Either way, if they want a fight that''s what they''ll get. Let''s see what we''re working with. [Jen - Level 56] [Lihnui - Level 51] [Ohry - Level 58] [Nohbin - Level 55] If we were back in the tutorial these guys would have been the cream of the crop. But whereas we only had a month and no outside help to raise ourselves up, these guys look like they''ve been pampered for years. The four thugs rushed them, clearly done talking. "Trey-" Devon started as he pulled the blue scrap sword out of his inventory, but Trey cut him off. "Don''t draw any undue attention, right? Don''t have much to contribute if I can''t use my spells though." Trey had a very conflicted look on his face as he drew his cudgel and shield. Devon winced as he realized he''d probably unknowingly poked at Trey''s sore spot, his less than optimal class. If what the leader of the thugs had said was true then it would be highly disadvantageous for the two of them to draw any undue attention. That meant spells were mostly off the table. Still, I find it hard to imagine they''d be let off the hook if they caused too much of a ruckus, special exception or not. Devon''s tile remained suspended in the air and started emitting pulses in the air around it as he activated Jamming with an extremely short range. The thugs barely seemed to notice as they charged. Two of them wielded short blades in both hands, with the leader brandishing a longer sword and shield. Jen, the one holding the golden object and dagger, followed up the rear. Devon stepped back to make sure he was next to Trey so they could weather the assault together. The leader of the group engaged him while the two with dual blades put pressure on Trey. Blades clashed as Devon gauged the leader''s strength and found it wholly disappointing. The man had the confidence of a rich kid and none of the skill to back it up. When Devon compared him to previous opponents he didn''t even register. Trey wasn''t having nearly as easy of a time as Devon was though. Pressed by two dual wielders who were both a higher level than him, it was all he could do to hold the attackers off. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Devon looked past the three frontliners and saw the one called Jen flitting around behind them, looking for an opening to slip by and flank either Devon or Trey. But due to the confined space of the alley, she couldn''t maneuver around the bodies blocking her path. Alright, I need to wrap this up quickly. Activate skill; Cleave. Activate skill; Split. Dragging out a fight here would be pointless, so he resolved himself to finish it in one blow. You''re the ones who started this, so you don''t have any right to complain how it turns out. Devon gripped his sword with both hands and put everything he had into a horizontal slash. The leader seemed to notice that he was suddenly in grave danger and put up his shield, but it didn''t matter. His sword cut through both the shield and the man behind it before Devon pivoted and continued the slash beyond him. The two dual blade users didn''t realize their leader had died until they''d already also been cut through by Devon''s sword. Kill - [Ohry - Level 58] - 1549 Talons Kill - [Lihnui - Level 51] - 791 Talons Kill - [Nohbin - Level 55] - 862 Talons Moving as fast as he could, Devon stepped into the bisected body of the leader before he finished falling to the ground. Pushing the falling corpse aside, he readied the pommel of his blade as he saw the eyes of Jen open wide in shock. Before she could react, he shot forward and slammed the pommel into her stomach even as she tried to cry out in surprise. The blow knocked the air from her lungs, and even as she desperately tried to take a breath Devon shoved two healing pills down her throat. Her eyes showed her primal fear for only a few seconds before she lost consciousness. "Dude, what the hell?" Trey said as he looked at the three corpses and the slowly expanding pool of blood at his feet. "Oh, sorry. Did you want to want to leave them alive?" "What? No, they came after us so it''s fine¡­ But damn." Devon scratched the back of his head as he looked at the three sorry figures. He could definitely understand the source of Trey''s exasperation. His power had grown so far beyond what someone at his level should be capable of it was absurd. Still, I''d have had to use the amplification gem to accomplish that before. Cleave is pretty useful for larger fights against weaker opponents. Cleave was the upgraded version of Sever, which he''d refined in the days since the tutorial''s battle. He''d badly wanted to upgrade one of the skills he''d already refined just to see what a D-grade skill would be like, but he''d decided he wanted an E-grade cutting skill to round out his attack types. Plus, any skill he brought to D-grade would no longer be affected by the amplification gem due to the grade difference. Regardless, he was glad he''d been able to finish the fight as fast as possible. The alley had forced the thugs to line up in front of them, giving him the chance to kill all three in a single wide slash. "Alright, let''s clean this mess up as fast as possible," Trey said as he picked up one of the tiles that had dropped to the ground next to the corpses, "What do you plan to do with her?" "We need to know why we were singled out. Can''t ask a corpse any questions." "Yeah, but where exactly are you planning on getting her to talk when she wakes up? Sitting here until she wakes up isn''t an option and we don''t know any safe places within or outside the city, and even moving her would be risky." "One thing at a time, Trey," Devon said. He felt an immense sense of appreciation as he watched Trey move methodically, transferring items from the deceased''s inventory into his own. Devon had been more than a little worried they''d need to have a conversation on morality to make sure they were on the same page after the events of the tutorial, but he saw he''d worried over nothing. The people of the two camps had been nothing more than victims of the machinations of more influential individuals. They were ultimately blameless of the situation Devon and Trey had put them into, so it was understandable why Trey hadn''t wanted to kill any more than necessary. But these thugs in the alley were different. These were people who''d targeted them of their own will, and that made these thugs their enemy. He bent down and picked up the golden object in the girl''s hand. Upon closer inspection he realized it wasn''t actually gold, but more like a chunk of amber with runes carved into it. Holding it felt strange, as if it was resonating with him or something. "Trey, catch," He said as he tossed the piece of amber to Trey. Trey caught it and frowned, "How strange. I feel some kind of pull towards you, like it''s attracted to you or something." "Too bad I don''t speak rock, I''d love to tell it I''m not interested." "What do you think it is?" Trey asked as he tossed it back. "If what those thugs said was any indication, I can only assume it''s meant to seek out people that are cursed. The real question is-" "Ah, dammit. This is just my luck," A voice said from the mouth of the alley. Devon and Trey turned to see a man who wore an outfit similar to classy earth attire standing there, hand against his forehead. However, unlike humans, there were bits of his skin that seemed cracked, and Devon could see a soft red glow leaking from those gaps. [Kalion - Level 73] The man sighed and took his hand off his forehead as he read something off his system display, "Let me just make sure I have the right person. You''re Devon¡­ mind if I ask what brings you to the empire?" "I was invited." "By who?" "They never identified themselves, only referred to themselves as an interested party." A fragment of that conversation popped into Devon''s mind as he went over it, a detail he should have taken note of far sooner, "They said they''d await me on the world Valterium." The man groaned, "Yeah, that checks out. Here, take this before you draw any more trouble to yourself." He threw something that Devon caught. It was another piece of amber, but unlike the chunk he''d taken off the girl, this piece was a perfect disk about an inch thick. There were runes on it that dwarfed the complexity of the ones on the chunk by several magnitudes. "That''ll keep seekers off you, for a time. You''re lucky this lot was a group of nobodies, if the designated seeker had found you this might have played out a lot differently." "Who are you?" "I''m your chaperone." 86 - The Chaperone The man who claimed to be the chaperone looked down at the girl slumped unconscious against the wall of the alley, "You''ll need to finish cleaning up this mess before we go." "Go where? I''d like some answers, if you wouldn''t mind." "And I will be more than happy to give them to you, as many as you want. But we''re exposed here. So before some other potential witness comes bumbling along it would be quite wonderful if you disposed of her." "I have questions for her too." "I assure you I can answer any question she can." "Why should I believe you?" The man groaned, "This is too much damn work¡­ Listen, neither you or I are readily equipped to move her, and I''m certainly not going to stand around all day in an alley full of blood and dead people. So either you can either get rid of that witness or you can kiss whatever deal you made goodbye." Devon had to admit the man had a point. They were exposed as they were, and the longer they spent arguing the more likely it seemed like somebody else could come along and find them. He also had no real idea of how to move the girl without drawing a ton of attention to themselves. Besides, he''s right. She''s a witness who knows our names and faces. She''s a vulnerability we can''t leave alive, even after we question her. Devon had purposefully left The Mask deactivated for the transfer process specifically in case his name was what the one who invited him would be looking for. That bid had clearly paid off, but this girl could no longer be allowed to live because of it. Well, it''s as Trey said. They came after us, so no matter what this isn''t on us. "Trey, you come do it. The experience would be wasted on me." "...Alright, sure. You come finish cleaning these three up." While Trey pulled a knife out of his tile and dealt with the girl, Devon dumped whatever was left in the trio''s tiles into his own inventory and finally threw the bodies into his inventory. Once the tiles were completely cleared out he was prompted with the option to destroy them, which he accepted. As the three tiles dissipated into nothingness he looked over the ground. They didn''t really have anything to take care of the remaining blood. "Will this be a problem?" Devon asked the man keeping watch at the mouth of the alley as he motioned to the ground. "No," The man said simply. "Really?" "Not right now it won''t. But your clothes will. You got a spare?" Devon wanted to ask what that meant, but he knew the man would just push his question off til later. Besides, the man had a point about his clothes. He''d pushed the bisected body of one of the thugs aside, and it had left him covered in blood. "Here, I got you," Trey said as he took a spare set of clothes out. Once they were all ready they moved out of the alley and into the street. Devon and Trey''s previous fascination with the city was gone, ripped away by brutal necessity. The man led them through winding streets for about half an hour until they reached their destination. It was a somewhat rundown looking bar near the edge of town. The man pushed through the door and the ''closed'' sign that hung on it. Devon and Trey followed him inside. Once they were in the man locked the door behind them and took a deep breath, "Okay, hardest part should be past. Listen, officially this place rents out rooms. If anyone asks, you''re staying here because you want to get a better feel for the local culture. That thing I gave you should keep the seekers off your back, but it''d be better to err on the side of caution and avoid the free lodging. That place will be like a hunting ground over the next few days." "I think it''s about time we got an introduction and an explanation of the basics," Devon said. "Sure thing. I''m Kalion, and I''m something of a do-it-all for my boss, the one who called you. I should mention that I don''t know the exact details of that encounter and I''m not allowed to tell you who it is I work for. We''ll have a little meeting in about an hour where you''ll be able to talk to them yourself. I''m sure you have more questions, so just ask away." "The group in the alley." "They''re what we call seekers. As the name suggests, they seek out people who''ve been cursed and kill them to gain marks of affection. By the looks of it, that group in the alley was about as amateur as you can get, a side effect of humanity''s unique disposition for showing up cursed." "I think I''ve run into people like them before, but the ones I fought were in a memory dungeon and called curse hunters." Kalion gave a hollow laugh, "Similar, but very different. Here, toss me that piece of amber you took off the gal." Devon did as asked and Kalion looked it over, "Oh yeah, very crude. Definitely amateurs. Here, I think this''ll take a while, so I''m going to pour myself a drink. You two want to try anything? I got an updated list of nontoxics for humans." He put the chunk of amber down on the bar as he started looking over the bottles on the shelf. "I''m good," Devon said as Trey said, "Yeah sure, I''ll try something." Devon shot his friend a questioning look while Trey glanced back with a meaningful gaze. His friend understood that Devon didn''t trust Kalion or the person he said he worked for, so Trey was creating opportunities to gauge them. If Trey ended up poisoned¡­ Devon preferred not to follow that train of thought. It wasn''t a risk Devon would have supported, but Trey had evidently already prepared himself to take it. I guess we''ll never get anywhere if we can''t find a reason to trust these people. I still find the situation from before oddly timed, but it''s entirely possible it was just a coincidence. Devon pulled out a water flask from his inventory as they both sat down at the counter. Kalion poured a drink for himself and for Trey, then took a seat on the opposite side of the bar. "Let''s start with seekers," Kalion said. "Seekers use pieces of the Amber Dragon''s essence like this one to find cursed beings like yourself. They then kill or capture people like you so as to gain marks of karmic affection." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I remember Eve said something along those lines too. "Sorry to cut in," Trey said, "The Amber Dragon? I was a little curious whether that''s supposed to be an emblematic figurehead or whether the emperor is actually an amber-colored dragon." "Your second guess was closer, but still didn''t quite hit home. The Amber Dragon is the patron god and unifying force of the empire. And this little stone is a fragment of its essence, a shard of its divinity made manifest." "Woah there, a god? Like a real, actual god? A physical, unmistakably divine being?" Devon couldn''t help but laugh softly at Trey''s reaction. He''d known about the potential for their existence since one of the first days of the tutorial thanks to messing around with his profession, so it wasn''t much of a surprise to him. But like pretty much everything else about his profession, he hadn''t told anybody. "What, you didn''t have gods where you come from?" "I mean, we did. Kind of. We, uh-" Devon cut in to save Trey, "The existence of the divine was a subject of great debate where we come from. Bear in mind our gods didn''t make a regular habit of descending to our earthly plane and were therefore subject to great scrutiny in the modern era. Frankly, I can hardly imagine the crisis of faith any devout Muslims or Christians are gonna go through when they learn about the gods here. But I''d like to get back on track. What does the Amber Dragon have to do with the cursed?" Trey took a swig, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the concept of divinity was much more palpable here. "One of the core blessings the Amber Dragon bestows upon its faithful is the ability to use its essence to locate the cursed. According to the church, the cursed present a very clear danger to the empire because after a certain amount of time the curse drives them insane, causing them to lash out at anyone around them." Trey shot a worried glance toward him but Devon ignored it and asked, "What''s the time frame on that?" "One or two imperial years I believe." Devon did the quick math and realized that an imperial year was roughly equivalent to two and a half earth years. He scoffed, "What a load of bullshit." "I never said I believed them, but I''d still like to ask what makes you so sure." "The world our tutorial took place on once held a kingdom led by somebody called the cursed king. I witnessed firsthand through that memory dungeon the civilization he had created around him and saw with my own eyes his final words. They were not the works of a man who was losing his mind." "Then why spread such a blatant lie?" Trey asked. "Simple, you spread fear to more easily control the people. That seems to hold as true for this world as it did ours." "I''ll admit, it''s a very plausible theory," Kalion said, "Marks of affection are highly sought after. It''s easy to see why the higher ups would want to villainize the cursed when they could benefit." "I''m guessing seekers are financially inclined to capture instead of kill so they can sell their captives to the highest bidder," Devon said. "Bingo." "This is fucked up. I''m gonna go take a piss," Trey said as he got up and left toward the sign that said restroom. "Shifting away from the theological, I''d like to ask why you said the pools of blood we left behind wouldn''t be a problem." "Honestly, you could have left the bodies too. But I know what you mean, usually murder in the streets is a rather large deal. This three day period after you lot arrived is something of an exception." "A three day period after initiates arrive? Why?" "Oh, not for normal initiates, no. You humans are something else, let me tell you. I mean from what I hear, you guys show up cursed in rates way higher than normal. Then you factor in the troublemakers that showed up in the first wave and you''ve got the perfect recipe for abnormal procedures." The logic clicked in Devon''s head, "So the empire wants to take advantage of the fact that we have a lot more cursed among us than normal. That must be why the streets seemed oddly empty, the people were warned in advance that things would be more dangerous than usual with our arrival. People have bunkered down while the seekers hunt down the cursed that have come in through the initiation''s second wave." "Pretty much. Let me tell you, it''s crazy how long the system took to initiate your world with how advanced your tech is." That''s right, there were probably more armed initiates than would be expected, even given America''s unique stance on gun ownership. I remember rumors that military and paramilitary groups had a higher chance of being taken. But due to unconfirmed reports I never took them to be anything but rumors. "It all comes back to our guns, huh? I don''t suppose you guys''ve got any of those." "We do on higher tier worlds." "Wait, really?" "Oh yeah. Bet you wondered if the entire empire looked like this town, huh? Most E grade worlds are pretty similar, but once you start going up the grades the tech just gets more and more advanced." "That seems¡­ odd." "Why?" "Well if you''re able to use a gun at D grade then why would you settle for anything else? I mean, what''s the point?" Kalion smiled, "You''re still too set in the thinking of an uninitiated. The greatest advantage the system gives is the ability to grow. As a general rule tech can''t grow with you. There are a bunch of ranged classes that lean into using guns, sure. But they''re very limited in what they can do." "Yeah, but how am I supposed to fight against a bullet?" Devon asked, exasperated. Kalion raised an eyebrow, "You just cut three people in half not an hour ago. Do you really think guns are still as much of a threat?" That brought Devon up short. The more he thought about it the more he realized he didn''t know the answer. If nothing else, I''ve seen ranged power that''s far beyond what my old glock could put out. When Eve and I fought the apes it seemed like she could fire arrows with the force of a howitzer. Trey came out of the bathroom at that point and rejoined them, "Damn, dude. What''s in this drink?" "Hm? Oh, that''s one of my favorites. I''ll show you the plant it''s made from later if you''re interested." "Sure, sure." Devon tried to steer the conversation back towards more important matters, "So roughly what''s the tech level of each grade, and why don''t lower grade worlds take advantage of more advanced infrastructure? I can''t imagine it gives marks to people who''d try to use concrete here." "It does, actually. Well, I''m not sure about concrete in particular, but there are planetary restrictions on technological advancements. I think the highest an E grade world could go is maybe a steam engine to run some lights or something, but at that point it''s so much effort for something people could accomplish with magic anyway there isn''t much point. D grade worlds are generally the most populated and are probably pretty close to what you guys are used to." "Wait, really?" Trey asked, clearly unhappy, "You mean if we keep ascending we''re just gonna go back to living in the same old? God dammit, I was looking forward to something more high fantasy." Devon chuckled softly, it seemed he''d been right when he''d pinned Trey''s appreciation for the town''s ascetic. Even so, "You alright there? You seem like you''ve had a bit much." "Nah, I haven''t even finished the glass. There''s no way I-" And he bent over and threw up on the floor. Devon''s suspicions flared red hot and the tip of the golden spear was pressed up against Kalion''s neck faster than Trey could finish throwing up. "What did you give him?" Devon all but screamed at the bartender. "It''s on the nontoxic list, I swear! I didn''t do anything, I swear on the dragon''s claw!" The man put his hands up in a show of surrender, and Devon could clearly see the panic in his eyes. "Trey! Trey, are you alright?" Devon asked as he moved over to his friend, keeping the point of the spear toward the bartender. Kalion didn''t try to move, he just watched with fearful eyes. "Dude, what is in that drink?" Trey asked as he stood back to full height and turned back to them. His face came a bit close to Devon''s and Devon got a whiff of a very unpleasant but familiar scent, one most college students knew. Even students like him that avoided parties sometimes got roped into them by their soccer captain friends. "...What proof was the drink you gave him?" Devon asked Kalion, his anger fading away. "It''s usually an 80%, but I mixed it with a dash of my favorite fruit juice. Brought it down to about 70% maybe? Why? I could have sworn alcohol was on the nontoxic list. I know a nearby doctor if I messed up." Devon couldn''t help but burst out laughing when he looked at the almost empty glass of a 70% drink. 87 - Connected Space Devon tossed back the remainder of what was in Trey''s glass then spat it back out into the cup, "Wow, I can barely taste the alcohol in there, that''s crazy." He took a whiff from the still-open bottle the booze had originated from and recoiled slightly, "Now that, I can smell. What kind of juice did you use?" Kalion responded as he finished cleaning up the floor, "I''m so sorry about this, I didn''t realize humans couldn''t tolerate that drink. I have something that should flush it out of his system if you want. It''s on the-" "Let''s avoid taking anything else from the nontoxic list for now," Devon said with a meaningful look. "Right¡­" "Besides, I think it''s probably fine. The majority of it should be on the floor, it hasn''t been nearly long enough since he started drinking to absorb most of it." From everything visible to him, Devon surmised it was simply the excess of alcohol Trey drank at once that caused him to throw up, rather than any actually toxic effects from either the drink itself or the juice. But just in case, he''d need a more elaborated description of various foods and beverages in the future before consuming them. Puking all over the floor was never fun, after all. Even so, later on I''ll need to make absolutely certain there was nothing else in that glass. If we''re meeting the head honcho soon then I need to save Lie Detection for that conversation, but I''ll ween the truth out from Kalion just as soon as the cooldown expires. "So is alcohol poisonous to humans or not? It''s on the list, so I assumed it would be fine." "It isn''t toxic in lower doses, but our drinks never usually go anywhere near what''s in that glass. And that''s as shots. I''d hazard a guess that we have a much lower tolerance for the stuff than you do, seeing as how you already finished your glass and don''t even seem tipsy." "Well I was, then there was a spear in my face. Tension has a way of pulling you out of it, you know?" "I would''ve thought a bartender would have kept much more up to date about things like this, especially in a town that was expecting initiates." "I''ve been busy setting this place up, okay? Like I said before, I''m a bit of a do-it-all for the boss''s E grade tasks. Ask any of the locals, they''ll tell you I''ve been here for all of two weeks, and most of that was spent getting this place to look somewhat acceptable." "You seemed pretty knowledgeable about drinks for someone who''s only been a bartender for two weeks. And yet you didn''t spend any time researching the peculiarities of human taste." "Drinks have always been my hobby. I just set this place up because I always find the best ways to blend in are somewhat rooted in truth. I''m sure in a month''s time I''ll get told to head to a planet half a dozen systems away to deal with something else." Devon narrowed his eyes, "In other words, you used your current assignment as a way to indulge in your hobby on your boss''s dime for a while." Kalion pretended he didn''t hear that statement as he polished a bottle and avoided Devon''s gaze. At that point, Trey came back from the restroom after feeling the need to wash his face. His friend wasn''t fully drunk, but he was clearly a fair bit past tipsy. Since it didn''t seem like the time for more important conversations, they spent the next hour talking about this and that in an attempt to keep Trey entertained. Devon felt like he had a pretty good read of Kalion from the brief time they''d spent together. More than anything, the man seemed to simply enjoy lounging about and talking. And he hated working, which explained the gruff attitude he''d greeted them with. From the man''s perspective, Devon and Trey arriving here was unusually unlucky for him. Out of thirteen potential worlds for tutorial initiates to arrive upon and thirteen agents ready to potentially receive him, it was Kalion that had wound up being on the right world. The man wouldn''t admit to it, but Devon could tell he was annoyed that he was the one responsible for being their chaperon. Kalion, more than anything, was the type who hated putting actual work in. He''d come to this planet hoping for a vacation where he could sit back and tend to his bar and drinks. Devon and Trey''s arrival had dashed those hopes. "Well, I think it''s about that time," Kalion said, ending the light conversation. He looked to Trey, "You alright to take part in a more serious conversation? Frankly, the boss didn''t expect a tagalong, no offense, so strictly speaking you''re free to sit out." "I''m still not a hundred percent, but I''m settled enough to listen in silence at least," Trey responded. "Fair enough. However, I have some warnings for the both of you before we proceed. Under normal circumstances you wouldn''t even be allowed to meet with the boss without a range of invasive security measures, but the boss has granted you an exception." "How invasive?" Devon asked, curious about the emphasis on that word. "Usually a poison capsule or bomb of some sort at the base of your skull that doubles as both a tracking and listening device. Insurance to make sure you don''t overstep the bounds of privacy." "A rather extensive security measure, isn''t it?" "That''s the type of person you''re dealing with. I''ve got one of my own. In truth, the boss has probably been listening in on the entire conversation so far, though I couldn''t say for sure. Regardless, once you know who they are, if you under any circumstances reveal to any interested party that the piece of amber that conceals your curse came from the boss I can all but guarantee you''d be assassinated in less than an imperial week." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It''s pretty easy from that to assume that whoever the boss is is either an important criminal or political figure. There are too many resources at play here to believe anything else. "Understood. Any other restrictions?" "For now, none. If the boss wants to add some more later on that''s up to them." Kalion led them down into a basement area half-full of kegs that looked a little too clean. Devon supposed he shouldn''t have expected the place to feel lived in considering the man had only moved in over the last month if he was to be believed. Trey and Devon were led into a nondescript square room that only contained a few pieces of basic furniture. The only source of light in the room was a lamp on the small table between the couches. Kalion closed the door behind them before taking what looked like short poles out of his inventory. "You know, furniture alone doesn''t really complete a room," Trey said with a skeptical expression as he looked at the otherwise bare walls and floor. "It''s better to have as few items as possible present when we do this. These are array flags. They''re used to activate a variety of effects, but these in particular are made to link two spaces together. The more objects litter the area inside of the array, the more dangerous the merge can become." "That''s quite something," Trey said, knowingly understating the obvious. "Absurdly expensive though. Definitely not something the average person would be able to get their hands on. And it''s not exactly infallible either. Something like this is only really usable because we''re on an undeveloped world, though I''m not exactly sure of the specifics on how it works so I''d rather you not ask." Devon watched as Kalion set the ''flags,'' as he called them, around the room. There were eight in total and it seemed as though the man was placing them to form a perfect cube, or at least a perfect rectangle, around the room. From the way the man double and triple-checked the flag placements Devon assumed they needed to be precisely placed or the entire thing would fail. When Kalion had first brought them into the mostly bare room and closed the door behind them Devon''s suspicions had flared, but he''d quickly numbed them with the logic that if Kalion''s boss wanted them kidnapped or dead there would be far easier ways to do it. "Alright, you two. Come stand behind this couch with me." "What, are we lining up at attention or something?" "No, we''re just making sure we don''t accidentally overlap with the boss and merge into some grotesque abomination." That shut Trey up, and they both lined up alongside Kalion behind the couch as instructed. After only a few seconds Devon felt the world seem to blur, as though coming in and out of focus repeatedly until a figure stood on the opposite side of the room. It was a dark-skinned woman, almost perfectly human in appearance. But Devon didn''t miss the slitted eyes that followed his face like those of a predator watching its prey. [Daz - Level 278] She radiated power and authority, and sported clothes that complemented that image. The style was completely unfamiliar to Devon, but he could tell at a glance that her garments were likely worth more than the sum total of the earth''s resources before the initiation. They gave her a refined appearance that had a few feral touches here and there. "Hello there, little schemer. It''s a relief to see you accepted my invitation. I''d have hated to have gone through so much effort with nothing to show for it." Devon looked around the room and realized that the walls were gone, and all he could see beyond the bounds of the array flag was the nothingness of the space between worlds. He refocused his gaze on the woman in front of him. She''s created a situation where she has absolute power. Even if Trey and I worked together, she''d likely be able to take us down in an instant, and it isn''t like there''s anywhere to go. "It''s Devon. If you don''t mind, I''d like to hear exactly what you expect from me. You said you wanted a working relationship, but you never specified what kind or why." Daz took a seat in the chair opposite them with the casual demeanor of someone used to authority. Devon could tell simply by looking at her that she was a being far, far above him. His every instinct screamed caution, but he buried those irrational thoughts with cold calculation. He took a seat opposite her, and he saw the sliver of a smile cross her face. "I desire a new piece on the board. One that I can trust to work toward my purpose while not being bound by anything. A piece that moves independently in such erratic motions that it disturbs the rest of the board." "And by the board, you mean the Empire." "Correct. The Empire is like a pool of stagnant blood. Rot festers in every corner of the realm, and yet the divine emperor refuses to change anything. This presents opportunity, and I have no intention of letting it slip by. But for all my efforts, I haven''t been able to make anything more than a few ripples on the surface of the pool. And so I need a piece, one capable of altering fate itself." "Just because I can create a fate-altering event doesn''t necessarily mean I want to. And as far as I know, it doesn''t mean I can actually affect fate in any meaningful way except my previous method, which I don''t intend to replicate." "Whether or not you''re able to affect anything beyond what you did before remains to be seen. It''s a known fact that people with karmic marks are more likely to do something noteworthy than people without. It''s actually such a strong trend that those who sit at the top don''t usually consider those without a mark to even be worth interacting with." "So I''m pre-destined to be somehow more important than someone without a mark of affection or disdain?" "No, you''re about 99% more likely to be absolutely more important than someone without a mark. Naturally, you''re free to off yourself right now and prove me wrong. Break the cycle or whatnot if that''s something you''re into. But assuming you don''t feel suicidal, it''s almost a guarantee you''ll be doing something karma deems important. Whether that something is an action you take or merely being hunted down so whoever kills you can profit off your marks of disdain remains to be seen." Something tugged at the back of Devon''s mind, "You said you wanted a piece on the board. That''s an oddly specific metaphor to use. I want to know how long you were rooting around inside my head when you telepathically broke into the tutorial." The metaphor was simply too close to his own way of thinking to be coincidence. Just how long had this woman observed his thoughts? "Not very long, a minute at most. And I could only perceive surface level thoughts, as going deeper would have alerted you sooner. But I should think the reason that metaphor sounds familiar should be obvious." Daz splayed her hands as she smiled, "We''re two of a kind, you and I. Opposite sides of the same coin. Schemers through and through." 88 - A Meeting Between Schemers Daz sighed, "Now, as much as I''d love to sit and chat for a while, this array''s power is limited. At most, we''ve got half an imperial hour. Even so, I believe face-to-face conversations are much more agreeable to long-range discussions. To speed things along, I''d like to simply put everything on the table. I wish to accept you into my employment. I will pay you with both information and obscuring amber, much like the piece Kalion gave you earlier." The woman leaned forward and Devon saw the intensity in her eyes, "To further make my conditions appealing I shall say this now. Until we can reach an agreement of cooperation I swear upon my spirit, the core of my existence, that I will not lie to you. As I stated before, what I desire is a positive working relationship. And such relationships are based on good faith." "Why would you expect me to trust you when you knowingly brought me to a place where people will hunt me down for my marks?" "You''ll be hunted for your marks no matter where you go, I can promise you that. The difference is that in the Empire we can obscure the means of locating marks with the amber. The curse hunters beyond our borders have no such limitations. If you decide you do not wish to stay within the Empire for any reason that piece you already have should last long enough to get you outside the border." As Devon opened his mouth to say something else Daz cut him off, "I should also mention I don''t expect you to enter my employment today. After this meeting, I encourage you to seek out the imperial archive and do as much research as you desire. Instead of wasting time doubting the facts of the world I present to you, verify them later. For now, next question." Devon frowned. He''d expected Daz to want an immediate answer, but it seemed the woman was used to dealing with cautious people and had already anticipated his suspicion. Well, she''s not wrong. It would be far simpler to verify everything later than to question everything now. So long as there''s no time pressure it shouldn''t matter. "Alright then, you said you''re a schemer. I assume you mean that in a literal sense rather than a figurative one." "My profession within the system is Schemer, yes. What about it?" "I want to know how common the profession is, as well as what benefits it provides. I''m extremely curious about how different cursed classes and professions are from their normal counterparts." "Very well. As far as I know, there are only seven individuals within the Empire that possess the Schemer profession, and I''ve never heard of anyone, even in literature, having the cursed variation of the profession. The primary benefit of the Schemer class is probability manipulation. Simply speaking, so long as I have a scheme listed as active, that event is more likely to happen" Devon felt his breath catch, "To what extent?" "It varies based on the level of the profession, but several centuries in the past there was a rebel leader who it''s said called down a meteor shower as a part of a scheme to overthrow a planetary government." That''s absurd. "From your expression, I''m guessing that the cursed variation doesn''t act in the same way," Daz said, eagerness evident in her expression. For a moment Devon hesitated, but with the amount of knowledge Daz was sharing he figured it wouldn''t hurt too much to share a small tidbit of his own. Besides, probability manipulation is in a completely different league compared to what the cursed variation does. "Cursed Schemer rewards me with stat bonuses on completion of a scheme or plot. For plots, it gives numeric boosts, while schemes give percentage-based boosts." Daz''s expression shifted from eager to intense in an instant, "Are you telling the absolute truth currently?" Devon was taken aback by the instantaneous change in demeanor, "Yeah. But If you ask me, probability manipulation sounds way more powerful." Daz stared down at her hands. Devon could see thoughts racing in her head as she slowly said, "Yes, I would tend to agree. However, the system awarding attribute points of any kind is thought to be fundamentally impossible." "But doesn''t it already do that with level ups?" "No, it¡­ Actually, this is too detailed of a topic for this meeting. Let''s get back on track, you can research the system''s facilitation of physical and spiritual growth on your own." Devon frowned, but couldn''t argue with the logic, "Alright then. I want to know what your end objective is if I''m to work for you. What''s your true goal?" A smile flicked across Daz''s face, "I refuse to answer." Devon cursed internally but could only accept the answer for what it was. Daz had said she wouldn''t lie, but she''d never promised to properly answer every question. This is her way of keeping secrets without having to lie about them. Since she''s also a schemer she''s probably aware I have a skill like Lie Detection, so I can be reasonably sure she won''t lie in general. She''s clearly too smart not to realize that a single caught lie would call everything else she''s said into question, and I''d disappear as fast as I possibly could. Even so, I only have one use of Lie Detection, so I need to save it for the question I need absolute verification of. Devon decided to squeeze as much out of the woman as he could, if only to test what she was willing to talk about. He held up the piece of obscuring amber, "What else does this do besides the obscuring effect?" Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "It acts as a tracker. I hope you weren''t expecting me to not keep track of your whereabouts. That is its only other function though. The obscuring runes on it were too complex to fit anything else." Yeah, that''s what I anticipated. "You said before that you''d be willing to locate my family member. Hypothetically, would that happen before or after I agree to work for you?" "Before. It''d be an inconvenience to locate them and then have circumstances come up that put strain on a working relationship. Tell me their name and I''ll do an idle search through my sources while we talk." "...Sara Wells, my sister." A wolfish grin replaced Daz''s previously neutral expression, and Devon heard Kalion groan behind him. "I''d always heard that marks of disdain carried far more karmic weight than those of affection, but to this extent¡­" Daz mused to herself. Devon narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "What is it?" Kalion tapped his shoulder, "Remember the troublemakers I mentioned among the first wave initiates? Your sister sits head and shoulders at the top of that list." "Officially," Daz said, drawing Devon''s attention again, "Sara Wells is one of the most wanted figures in the Empire. From what I heard, she murdered the viscount that summoned her before disappearing. It''s actually incredibly impressive how she managed to do it too. You won''t be able to find these details in the publicly available information, but she grinded her way up above level 60 before killing the viscount several days before the initiation period." So she did that, huh? Why am I not surprised? Devon knew better than anyone how unique Sara''s worldview and personality was. It was why he had no doubts she wouldn''t return to earth. Not when she was granted the power necessary to fulfill her ideals on a scope far broader than their single planet. "Why is the fact that she killed the viscount before the end of the initiation period significant? Does it give the initiate a mark of disdain?" Following the rules of the tutorial, the protected status that had been applied to Devon and Trey would have worn off in the days preceding the end of the initiation period, but there was no guarantee the first wave operated on the same rules. "No, not to my knowledge. It''s important because it serves as a kind of proof that the act was premeditated. During the first phase of initiation, the initiates are confined to the planet of their sponsor until the end of the initiation. Then once the initiation phase is over a ceremony is held where anyone who wants to return to their homeworld can, and those who want to stay are given special privileges and benefits. By killing her sponsor several days before the ceremony she freed herself of the planetary limitation, enabling her escape before anyone noticed something was wrong and before the full bustle of the ceremony could get underway. Truly, it was an astonishingly skillful assassination." "Okay, so what does this mean in the context of our deal?" "It means it isn''t going to be as simple as I hoped to find her. But she''s probably still somewhere within the Empire, so it''s more a matter of time than anything." "You don''t care that she killed a viscount?" "No, I don''t. Frankly, I''d be more than happy to accept her into my employ as well. Someone that resourceful is an extremely valuable asset. I simply wonder what her motive would have been, or whether we''d have conflicting ideology." "And what makes you think we won''t have conflicting ideology?" "Nothing. I have no idea what your ideals may be, just as you don''t know what I stand for. That''s why I''ll be giving you time to look into my public record and see whether you''re content with working for me." Daz''s expression turned dark, "If you choose not to enter my employ I''ll make certain you exit the Empire and make certain you''re barred from reentry. If you resist then I''ll have you killed." "In other words, you don''t care what I do so long as there''s no chance of me working for one of your enemies." "Precisely. If, when I find your sister, you decide not to enter my employ then I''d be willing to foster a reunion followed by immediate exile. It''d be a disappointing result of the investiture so far, but better that than risk making an unnecessary enemy." "Sounds reasonable enough to me." Devon was devilishly tempted to use Lie Detection on that last statement. As far as he was concerned, there was very little chance Daz would actually allow him to live if he refused her offer. From her position, it seemed like he was a little too valuable of an asset to allow even the possibility of being used against her to not have him assassinated. Most likely she''s telling the truth verbatim, but not mentioning the fact that she would have me assassinated once outside the Empire''s borders. Best not to press her on the wording though, there''s no purpose in ruining a potential working relationship over semantics. If everything she''s said so far is, in fact, the truth then there''s far too much for me to gain here to risk throwing it away over something that might not even matter. The fact that she didn''t care that Sara had murdered a viscount was a very interesting piece of information that told a lot about Daz''s position. Devon would need more details on the Empire in general before he could work out precisely what it meant though. Devon paused before asking his next question. Most likely, it would be extraordinarily obvious he was using system-given means to verify the answer, but it was a question he had to ask. Without a definitive answer, there was no way he could trust this individual enough to proceed. "Since you''ve sworn to speak nothing but the truth, I''d like to know something. How often do you sacrifice your pieces in order to achieve your objectives?" Even without turning around, he could sense Kalion stiffen behind him. The man wasn''t a fool, he was well aware of the risks of working for a person as cautious as Daz. Even so, being reminded of it was like being splashed with a bucket of cold water, or being slapped in the face. Daz had an amused grin on her face. Devon was certain the question came up in most, if not all, of the so-called interviews she did. Or at least the ones where the opposite party felt they had enough room at the table to negotiate. How do I know you won''t just use me as a sacrificial pawn to further your goals? "...In almost every halfway decent game across the Empire, and most that I''ve seen from beyond, there is always the concept of give and take. Of necessary sacrifice. I can only assume your games are similar in that respect. They can be excellent representations of many things. War. Politics. Economy. "I do sacrifice pieces when I deem it to be necessary, I won''t deny that. However, I can say this with every measure of sincerity I can muster. I have no plans or intention of allowing any harm to come to either you or anyone I know to be associated with you. Naturally, that includes your sister." Activate skill- "However. I won''t for a single second pretend that I won''t sacrifice any of you if I deem it to be absolutely necessary. My work contains a myriad of dangers and threats, and I am not infallible. If a situation presents itself that leaves me no option but to cut my losses then I will sever them without remorse or regret." ¡­Activate skill; Lie Detection. There is no trace of falsehood within the words of the individual known as Daz. 89 - Dabbling in Roguery "Line the fuck up, you pisspoor excuses for recruits!" What a drag. Regardless of his personal feelings on the matter, Devon did as instructed and lined up with all of the other initiates who had gathered that day to enlist in the imperial military. He knew very well that it was simply a way of enforcing discipline and attempting to pound it into their heads that they were all the same in the eyes of the military. As if I''d give a shit. Most of the other initiates lined up alongside him were average at best, a motley crew of middling level 20s and 30s. The higher leveled individuals must still be deciding what to do. It probably rubs them the wrong way that they came out of the tutorials as hotshots and their only option for further advancement is through the military. He''d been surprised to learn that the only way for citizens of the Empire to advance past E grade was through the military. The government vigorously shut down any independent groups or individuals who tried to advance through means other than the military. This didn''t explicitly extend to crafters, but because the only demand for their supply was from the military, crafter''s associations were intrinsically tied to the national defense. It was a typical military regime, with the government trying to control everything it could. At least, that''s how it''s meant to appear to the average civilian. The drill instructor finally finished putting them through basic exercises and started moving them to a different area of the base. Devon didn''t miss the fact that the woman put him at the back of the line, or the way her eyes lingered on him for slightly longer than everyone else. As they were led from the courtyard into the larger compound a voice called out, "Ah, private Gregor! Would you mind staying behind? There was a slight issue with your enlistment forms I''d like to go over." [Patar - Level 56] "Of course, staff sergeant," Devon said, sparing a glance towards the drill instructor. By the way the woman paid no attention to the disruption of the otherwise orderly line, it seemed like this was a well-rehearsed procedure at this point. Devon was under the guise of Gregor, one of the earlier masks he''d used during the tutorial. He figured there was no harm in reusing it since the chances of anyone recognizing it were basically nonexistent. So far as Trey and Devon could tell, they were the only ones from their tutorial block who''d arrived at this specific world. Staff sergeant Patar led him out of the courtyard and into an office before taking a seat and asking, "So on your enlistment form you wrote you ''simply wish to advance as high as you possibly can,'' correct?" "That is correct, staff sergeant." Patar smiled, "You can drop the formalities for now, Gregor. I was wondering if you would be interested in a slight deviation in the military advancement chain." And here it is, just as expected. The Empire of the Amber Dragon was, at its core, a military regime. And as is typical for such structures, corruption saturated the entire chain of command from top to bottom. Leaving him with the group of regulars had been something of a two-sided psychological trick. It gave the regulars a sense that even someone far more noteworthy than them was still forced to do the menial grunt work, enforcing a sense of fairness. And it was meant to instill a sense of irritation in the exceptional individual, making them more likely to accept the offer for a different route of advancement. "What kind of deviation, sta- er, I mean, Patar?" Devon did his best to act as though he had no idea what the man was talking about, even though this was going so smoothly it was beginning to bore him. "I''ll be frank, Gregor. The rank and file simply aren''t worth the best resources the Empire has on hand. We reserve the most beneficial items for the most exceptional of talents." "And you think I fit that criteria?" Patar smiled, "It says here you have a common class. Is that true?" Devon scratched the back of his head, "Yeah." "Do you mind if I ask how someone who was skilled enough to make it to level 50 in a month only managed to acquire a common class?" The look on Patar''s face had a note of genuine curiosity. Devon frowned, as though remembering brought back bad memories, "I guess you could say I had a bit of a slow start. I didn''t really have any idea of what I wanted to do in the beginning so I kind of floundered around before reaching level 10. By that point I guess I''d locked myself out of anything except common classes." "How did you manage to excel amongst your peers like that?" Devon decided to draw upon his actual experiences to make his acting more genuine, "I got stuck in a dungeon with some stupid apes. It was either die alone down in the dark or fight to survive¡­ so I fought. And I survived." "So, if I were to ask you what your biggest concern with advancement is, would it be a fair assumption to assume the limitation of a common class would be your answer?" Devon opened his eyes wider in mock surprise, "Yeah, I guess so. I''d heard you have the chance to upgrade it at level 76 when you evolve into D grade. So I wanted to try and advance as fast as possible to reach that point, even if it takes more effort than most of the other guys go through." Patar smiled like he had a great offer for Devon, "What if I told you it''s possible to change your class before then? We could have it changed today, if you so wanted." He sure doesn''t waste any time trying to fetch a prize, does he? He''s acting like he''s doing me a huge service instead of ensnaring someone in an age-old trap. Well, I guess I shouldn''t complain. Just makes my job all the easier. "That sounds incredible, staff sergeant. But how¡­?" Patar waved off Devon''s ''accidental'' slip of the tongue with the rank and continued as though they were the best of friends, "Dungeons sometimes give out things called tokens, you might have seen one or two from the tutorial. One of the rarer ones allows you to undergo a kind of trial to change your class. We keep a few on hand whenever new initiates come through just for circumstances like yours. But¡­ there''s a catch." "Something like that doesn''t come for free, does it?" "You come from outside the Empire so you wouldn''t know this, but the military isn''t just one big amalgamous entity. To encourage persistent growth, each division competes with each other to see which can produce the greatest results. Our division is overseen by Viscount Haddar, and this gift would be provided by him." "So I''d be signing my allegiance amongst the military''s higher ups, basically." Patar nodded solemnly, "The choice is yours, of course. But there are very few of these tokens available, which means this opportunity may not come again. I''m sure you''re well aware there is no shortage of talent within the city at the moment. You happen to be one of the first with exceptional talent to swear your allegiance to the Empire. Don''t you think it would be a waste to let an opportunity like this go?" Devon frowned, doing his best to look deep in thought. He stared off to the side, as though contemplating his choices. Then he looked back at Patar and asked, "Tell me one thing. If I agree to serve this viscount will there be further opportunities for advancement? My goal is to reach the peak of my potential. I only joined up because it seemed like the military is the only way forward in this Empire. But if there''s an even better path forward¡­ Well, I won''t say no." Patar smiled, "If you meet the viscount''s expectations I can promise you that there will be no better avenue towards building your strength. His influence is vast, and he is always welcoming of promising new retainers." Devon smiled, "In that case, consider me on board." "Great!" Patar opened one of the desk''s drawers and started rifling through papers, "We''ll be needing an imperial contract, of course. Can''t make anything official without some paperwork first¡­" Devon frowned and tilted his head in confusion, "Sorry, what?" "An imperial contract. It''s a formal written agreement between two parties. I''d heard you had contracts back in your world, so I figured this shouldn''t be too big of a surprise." Of course, imperial contracts had been a topic of lengthy research over the past few days for Devon, but he wasn''t about to say that. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. "Well, sure. But¡­ Where I come from when you make a deal it''s customary to demonstrate one''s capability before agreements are formalized." Patar stiffened, "What are you suggesting?" Devon put his hands up in an attempt to diffuse any misinterpretations, "No no, I''m not suggesting anything. It''s just¡­ Rushing into a formal contract when I haven''t even seen the initial offer is¡­ unusual for me. You can claim this token exists and works, but I''ve never heard of it and have no way of knowing the truth." The man across the desk relaxed, "Well, I suppose that''s fair. I''m sure everything around here is new to you. Perhaps I was a bit hasty, forgive me." Patar wasn''t even trying to keep up the charade of rank difference anymore. He was acting like a salesman who was so desperately close to getting what he wanted he was willing to break protocol a bit. And that was exactly what Devon wanted. "Would it be alright if you allow me to use the token you were talking about, and then we sign over it? Hell, if it works the way you say it does then I''ll sign whatever the hell you want so long as there are more benefits like it down the line." Patar smiled, "Alright, that''s fair enough. Come on, I''ll show you to the repository." Before they left the room Patar put his hand on Devon''s shoulder and leaned in close, "I''m agreeing to this out of respect to your culture and because you''re new. But make no mistake, if you attempt to snub me or attempt to cut tail and run before signing that document I will make your life a living hell. I will own you, private. Is that understood?" "Yes, staff sergeant," Devon said crisply, noting the return to proper military decorum. "Good. Follow along." Over the next half an hour Devon watched as Patar went through the process of getting what he needed from the base''s repository. Devon didn''t miss the look Patar and the requisitions officer shared as Patar was handed a gray ball with runes adorning the surface that glowed a soft blue. When the ball was passed to Devon he asked, "Is this it, staff sergeant?" "Yes. These rune spheres allow us to store tokens in a more physical medium, instead of having to pass them between people over and over again. Have your system interact with it and you should be prompted with an option to take possession of the token within. Come, let us return to my office. That''s probably the best place to do this, nice and private." Devon quickly glanced over the cursed king''s list of system commands as they walked and breathed a silent sigh of relief when he found the right one. More and more of the commands were starting to make sense as he learned more about the outside world, but there were still several that he had no clue what they were meant to be used with. Some of these commands are so absurdly obscure. If I ever run into something that isn''t listed here I might just find myself screwed. Let''s see¡­ Parse entity; rune sphere. Entity [Rune Sphere] contains system object [E-Grade Re-Class Token]. Extract object; E-grade re-class token. Confirmed. The runes on the surface of the token sphere lost their blue glow as the token was transferred from the sphere to Devon''s inventory. They arrived back at Patar''s office less than a minute later. "I''ll be needing that sphere back if you''re done with-!" Patar didn''t get to finish his sentence as Devon moved faster than the man could perceive and shoved two healing pills down the man''s throat. A few seconds later and the man was slumped against the wall, asleep. Eventually I''m going to need to find alternative ways of knocking people out if I intend on making it a habit. These pills will lose their effect in D grade, so they won''t be my catch-all solution forever. Devon picked up the imperial contract Patar had tried to make him sign and pocketed it. It would be a good reference for when he took another look at the other contract he''d been presented with. With that, he left the room and casually walked through the halls of the base, assuming a different face. It was the first identity he''d assumed that wasn''t human, but since the vast majority of citizens within the Empire were humanoid anyway nobody looked at him twice as he walked through the halls with a false sense of purpose. Taking on another human identity would have gotten him called off by half a dozen other officers looking to pick fun at the new initiates. He was able to avoid being noticed as strange by anybody before he made it to the edge of the base. When he was in a secluded spot he observed the walls for a few minutes before he made his move. Ordinarily a stunt like this wouldn''t have had a shot in hell at working, but since the military doubled as a town guard in this frontier world city their forces were stretched extremely thin with the arrival of the initiates. Just as Kalion had told them would happen, the town was rife with disorder after the wave of deaths within the city, both those of the cursed and of the hopeful citizens and military that had tried to take advantage of the chance to get some marks of affection. The events had deeply disturbed both the townfolk and the initiates, and the promised assembly on the third day explaining to the initiates about the existence of the cursed and the Empire''s duty to eradicate them did little to quell the disturbances within the city. Between that and the military staff being diverted towards folding the initiate recruits into the armed forces and you were left with a division stretched far beyond its limits. Spotty watches on the wall were a direct consequence of these events. And it was something Devon intended to fully capitalize on. He played with the gray sphere in his hand as he waited. According to Daz, their first priority should be getting stronger. That was something neither he nor Trey had any objections to, as they both knew that power would be necessary to survive in the future. There were three issues with their current progression, however. The first, and the one Devon saw as the most pressing concern, was Trey''s class. The further he progressed with a class that wasn''t suited for him, the worse his future prospects were. It had been chosen out of necessity, but going forward it was clear it would constantly underperform. And that was where the re-class token came in. Devon had been concerned Daz wouldn''t even consider Trey worth paying attention to, but the woman didn''t seem to have any issue with extending him the same courtesies she did to Devon. According to her, good pieces were hard to come by. And if he had even a modicum of potential then it was no skin on her back who Devon chose to be his pieces. That had left the matter of obtaining the token. On the open market they were exorbitantly expensive, if they were even available to begin with. However, the military kept several in reserve on starter worlds whenever there was a mass initiation, something the Empire did about every decade or so. It had just so happened to be Earth''s time to be initiated when the Empire deemed it time to hold the mass initiation. And so the condition of the division paired with their desperate need for the token had led them to the idea of stealing it. Actually joining the military was completely off the table. Neither of them had any interest in being so tightly bound to the Empire itself, and it would greatly limit the range of motion Daz apparently wanted them to have. Ironically, if Trey had come to the Empire on his own and chosen to join the military he likely would have been welcomed even more enthusiastically than Devon had been. It made sense, considering his class was perfectly suited for a squad captain or similar roles. But they never would have allowed him to get remotely close to the re-class token no matter how Trey himself felt about his class. In typical military fashion, he would have just been told to suck it up. Devon noticed one of the two lookouts on the wall walking away and saw that the one left on the wall was alone. As usual, due to the lack of bodies the replacements won''t come for at least another hour. He slipped the sphere into his inventory and picked up a stone laying on the ground as he made his way up to the top of the wall. Moving to the point on the wall as far away from the guard as he could, he threw the stone with as much precision as he could toward one of the other buildings within the compound. The shattering of a window made the guard turn away from him, and he dropped down over the wall. Unlike the modern infrastructure Devon was used to, the military compound was built in the center of the city. And like the fantasy settings Trey apparently enjoyed so much, everything was built close to each other. Which meant it was easy for him to dash straight across the street and into an alleyway before the guard turned back around. Well, that''s the hard part over. Now to return to the bar. I can see why the system wouldn''t let me create a plot over that, it was far too easy.
Konzaran watched over the city from the top of the compound''s watchtower, the highest structure in the city. The watchtower wasn''t really meant to be used to observe the city itself, but the wild woodlands beyond the city''s borders. Frontier worlds often had a plethora of wildlife that didn''t take too kindly to sentient presence. He was the one assigned to be this world''s arbiter, the designated seeker who culled the blighted little sheep that poured in during initiation. But he''d already done that. So far as he could tell, he and all the other amateurs that had poured out of the cracks had already wiped out all the cursed beings. Now he was bored. Ordinarily, he would have returned home at this point. But there was one event that stuck out to him as strange even among the chaos that had engulfed the city at the height of the panic over the deaths. The son of the city''s mayor and three of his friends had been slaughtered in a back alley with no witnesses to the deed. They were youths who had skirted the Empire''s rules and advanced outside of the military using the influence of the mayor. Konzaran could only assume they held delusions of glory and had tried to get their grubby little hands on a trophy that wouldn''t be spoonfed to them. The story was hardly unique. There were several cases of vigilantes getting cut down in the process of trying to sniff out the cursed over the past few days. The oddity of the situation was that the youths had all been above level 50. As far as Konzaran had observed, none of the cursed that had trickled out of the tutorials had possessed anywhere near enough strength to take on even half the group. Among his associates, Konzaran was seen as an oddball among oddballs. He constantly followed his whims, even if it got him into trouble more often than not. And yet even with his known personality and track record, he''d still been chosen as the arbiter for this frontier world. Just goes to show that talent trumps all. But now Konzaran''s interest was being pulled in two directions. On one hand, he was desperate to get off this E grade world and return to a planet with decent tech. He''d been promised that the restraints he''d been under for the past year would finally be lifted and he''d be allowed to evolve into D grade when he returned. On the other hand, these deaths piqued his curiosity. He was debating what to do when he saw a figure scale the wall of the military compound. Frowning, he tilted his head at the oddity. It wouldn''t have been surprising if it was someone coming into the compound, he could envision the greed of the newly initiated being stoked by the treasures stored within the armory. But the wall-jumper had been leaving the compound, not entering it. Furthermore, they wore the imperial uniform. A deserter, now? The timing didn''t make any sense. Any attempt by the seasoned rank and file would be ill advised at best because of their increased presence in the city at the moment. The probability of being caught was simply too high to be logical. It also seemed too soon for any of the newly recruited initiates to be jumping ship. It was expected that a few of them would, eventually. But now, after only just arriving? How strange. How interesting. How utterly intriguing¡­