Hell Difficulty Tutorial

POV Nathaniel

The reward for this floor's reigning dumbass goes to Tess, who remains unconscious even with all the work Sophie and Izzy have done for her.

All we know is that Lissandra found her and Biscuit, then knocked Tess unconscious because the blonde kept trying to kill her, screaming all the while. Lissandra also confirmed that there weren’t any mimics inside Tess anymore and that she found her deep in underground escape tunnels leading out from a nearby lumoran secret base that had been destroyed.

It seems the blonde somehow got rid of the mimic on her own, and that’s definitely going to be a story. After I confirm that she’s safe and everyone else does the same, we find ourselves being pushed out the door by an annoyed trio composed of Lily, Sophie, and Izzy so that they can finish examining her. They don’t tell us anything, but it seems like Tess may have really done something that was probably pretty dumb, even by my standards.

That also puts the deal I made with Lissandra in a strange situation. All the effort I put into the tournament feels like it was for nothing since Tess handled everything on her own, with a little help from the best corgi of the 7th floor.

The award for best doggo and protector of the dumbest person on the 7th floor, of course, goes to Giga Biscuit.

Once again, Biscuit seems to have eaten something again, just like last time when he decided to nom on that creepy deer; however, unlike before when it shrank him, this time it’s made him as big as a horse.

Yup, a corgi as big as a horse.

He is still sleeping, and like the dumbest person of the 7th floor, he hasn’t woken up yet. Occasionally, he even burps in his sleep and twitches as if he’s managed to upset his stomach.

Cute. I hope he’s ok though.

Another cute thing is that even though he’s gotten so big, he’s returned to his "adult form" and has the same proportions as a normal corgi. And though those proportions at this size should be unsettling, it just comes across as extremely cute. Taking the opportunity, I lean against his belly, which moves gently in time with each breath as he sleeps. Even the other members of Group 4 seem content to climb over him, like they just cannot get enough of this silly corgiant.

Everyone is worried about Tess, but after talking to Lissandra and Sophie, I think it’ll be okay.

Sophie probably knows what happened, though she seems to be waiting for Tess to wake up before discussing it further. She also believes that whatever Tess did, she did it in a way that can be reversed by Tess herself, possibly through some sort of double self-hypnosis, or if not by the simple passage of time.

In the end, it seems increasingly likely that Tess didn't need any help at all, and that’s created some mixed feelings inside of me.

So, although Tess should be fine on her own in a few weeks or months, Sophie and even Lissandra are working hard to shorten that to days. Much of the work is being done by Sophie, while Lissandra helps as much as she can. It is hard to tell since Lissandra keeps her emotions so tightly in check, but I bet it’s been just as infuriating for her. She made such grand promises, and now everything’s gone to shit because of whatever this dumbass girl did.

Like everyone else, I can only wait for her to wake up. At least I don’t break down crying and hugging her unconscious body like Maya did, or clinging to her like a baby koala like Izzy.

Having processed all that, I take the opportunity to clear my mind and check my status for what feels like the first time in a long while.

Name: Nathaniel Gwyn

Title: Champion Candidate

Difficulty: Hell

Floor: 7 - Battlefield

Time left until forced return: 2y 350d 23h 45m 6s

Traits (2/3): Mana Wavelength Iris 2/3, Mana Physique 0/3

Lvl 307

Strength: 240

Dexterity: 231

Constitution: 429

Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1627 + 1627

Primary Class: Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane)

Sub-class: [Adept of Pride]

Active skills (10/10):

Focus - Lvl 65

Perception - Lvl 62

Redistribution - Lvl 63

Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 61

Mana Crown - Lvl 55

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 66

Ley Line - Lvl 54

Eclipse - Lvl 37

Empyrean Lance - Lvl 22

Knitting - Lvl 37

Constructs:

Reinforcement

Mana Regulator

Mana Sovereignty Mantle

Kinetic Mana Heart

Sealed Ignition Heart (Fully Sealed, 3/3)

Passive skills (5/5):

Mana Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic)

Mana Fortified Mind (Low Arcane)

Mental Attunement Loop (Mid Arcane)

Mana Wavelength Tyrant (Mid Arcane)

Subdermal Combustion Weave (Mid Arcane)

Tokens:

Beyond 3 day stay token

Beyond 1 day stay token

Shards: 39,631

I’m especially happy with [Focus] and [Mana Manipulation]. Even though it’s been so much harder to level them recently, I still managed to push myself during the tournament. The memory of the numerous deaths still lingers. It’s almost like a scar, except the mark has been left on my mind. Every time I think of these deaths, I cannot help but shudder a little. But at the same time, I know I would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Eclipse] also gained several levels, especially from the last event. [Redistribution] leveled up, too, thanks to the sheer amount of thermal energy I had to channel back there. I believe I leveled it about three times in a row, which is quite incredible considering the high level of the skill.

Of course, [Knitting] leveled up as well, given all the weapons I made for Channeler and the others. But we do not talk about skills with such names. We do not even think of them, because it might normalize the idea, causing me to slip up and say the name aloud. And we certainly can’t have that.

Regarding my passive skills, on the other hand, I’ve been gathering quite a fancy collection: three mid-arcane skills, one low-arcane, and one unique passive. And damn if I don’t appreciate that. After all, going by everything I’ve learned, I don’t think there’s more than a few people in the entirety of Earth's tutorial who can say they even have one mid-arcane passive, and that’s if they’re lucky.

Which brings to mind the passive skill combination token the system offered me, which would allow me to combine two mid-arcane passives. Using it for anything lower would be a waste.

I look them over again and consider the potential combinations, and no matter how I combine them, none of the results seem particularly good. If I chose this reward, I would probably need to purchase another mid-arcane passive specifically for the combination. That would require saving up another 500 thousand shards, and that could take a while. Therefore, I rule out this reward.

Next, there are some new passive skill options: one mid-arcane reward passive, valued at somewhere around 500 thousand shards, and another, which is simply 500 thousand shards. Both options are appealing, but they don’t really interest me all that much. I don’t think I’ll be needing the shards at the moment. If I had to pick one, I would probably just take the new passive skill instead. A passive skill reward would probably offer three or five passives to choose from, some of which could be valued closer to 600 thousand shards and would have a fair chance of being tailored to me. However, I already have several new passives to manage and training to consider, which might change the direction of my build.

Lastly, we come to the two rewards I’m most interested in: the two 30-day beyond stay tokens worth 600 thousand shards. Admittedly, there are significant disadvantages. It would mean being stuck in Beyond for a long time, especially since I doubt anyone from our "expedition party" could afford to stay that long. There's also a significant risk that I’d wind up wasting part of the token and not being able to do anything while I'm there, which would be a huge waste of time.

Nonetheless, it attracts me greatly. I’ve been wanting to go and spend some time more or less alone for a while, so I am more or less leaning toward choosing this one, but I’ll have to give it a few more days for further thought. I might even wait until the end of the floor and see what rewards it brings before deciding.

Lastly, we have what’s clearly the most insane and probably the best reward I’ve seen yet: a token that would allow me to combine three of my active skills into one.

Ever since I saw it, I’ve been thinking and theorizing, and my mind remains full of ideas. However, like the previous option, it carries a few big risks. Combining three skills means there is a much higher chance of incompatibility. Worst of all, some of my skills may not be available for combination, which would only result in an inefficient outcome, a wasted token, or possibly forcing me to wait years for another opportunity to combine them. But if it works, the resulting skill could be extraordinary.

It also makes me wonder just how rare this kind of reward is. I haven’t seen it anywhere so far, so it might be incredibly valuable. I am quite likely the first person from Earth to get it, while the average Hell enjoyer might never see it. Still, I am a gambler at heart, so I think I’m going to risk it.

I lean back and bury my head in Biscuit's fur, enjoying the feeling of his rising belly. After glancing to my left and watching Group 4 fuss over an unconscious Tess, I look away and start thinking again, this time about the way I rejected Lissandra’s declaration.

My logic is fairly simple.

There must be a way to become an Absolute without a declaration, possibly even a candidate. Why though? Well, the first generation of each planet can only be declared over the course of the tutorial, and I think it would be foolish to rely on that alone.

There might be higher floors where such declarations grow more likely, but I also can’t quite imagine a planet going without an Absolute simply because they were unlucky enough not to be declared over the course of the tutorial.

To be declared an Absolute candidate, you need to be vouched for by someone capable of such judgment, and meeting Absolutes and surviving the experience seems to be extremely rare. So I’m absolutely sure there has to be a way.

Another thing, I got a good chance to watch the others during the tournament. Even though I went in with a good bit of hesitation, now that it’s over, I can say with confidence that I am strong. Really strong. I was better than any of them, and I’ve earned that title. Even Lissandra was ready to declare it herself.

But I can also say that was unusual for her, especially after all that talk about me only being able to become Champion at best and her declaration that she’d be the villain standing in my way. I think she must have lowered her standards just to declare me, since she’ll be leaving soon, and given that she’ll either die or escape the tutorial.

This is not something I can accept. Some time ago, I would have welcomed the handout, just like when I accepted the Champion Candidate declaration. But now I’ve seen what I’m capable of compared to others. So why not push myself just that little bit further and do it on my own?

That also ties into the last part of my thinking: the rewards.

If I can become an Absolute Candidate on my own, before my next primary class upgrade or even before I get my third trait, it could turn out to be something truly special. I’ve known for a long time that the system takes a variety of factors, including my past performance, into account. I also know the next primary class upgrade probably won’t happen until I’ve reached level 450 and the tutorial ends. But for now, I can channel my inner Savant and just be patient.

And once everything clicks into place, it will all be worth it.