The remaining challenges of the 5th event continue, but other than a few of the more powerful members of Hell difficulty, we don’t pay them much attention. Also, Channeler is already trying to get some last-minute people to challenge a few individuals and beings we wanted to try to challenge before I made them go against Victoria.

“So Nat, your sister…” Maya starts carefully.

“Yes?”

“She seems … nice. Hehe.”

“I see.”

“But damn, why do you both have to fight like that? What kind of combat even was that, regrowing her body and tearing limbs off? She beat Lily down with her own arm.”

“It makes sense if you think about it. Lily’s arm should logically endure [Disintegration] at least a bit, so she used it as a shield.”

“That’s the problem with you, Nat. You don’t even see anything wrong with that. Tess, you said you met his sister a while back. What kind of person is she?”

Tess takes her eyes off the screen and turns to Maya, “She is very polite.”

Maya blinks a few times and gestures wildly at Sophie, who also shakes her head.

I let them talk and jump down to the common area. Upon reaching one of the terminals to start the challenge, I stop and look at the screen. There are so many options for me to challenge, but at the same time, there is only one. The only person I feel anything like admiration for.

“I want to challenge Lissandra Hawthorne, Absolute of Eladore.”

Feeling myself pulled, I do not even examine it and find myself inside the arena. Like everyone else’s, mine is unique. It is a clearing with vibrant grass and purple flowers that cover it in its entirety. A few pillars stand in the distance, crumbling under the weight of their age, and off to the side, stands the ruins of a building that must have been glorious once, long, long ago.

The Absolute Lissandra stands opposite me, just a few steps away. She is as I remember her. Tall, in a black suit that would be more fitting on a male. looking to be around 60 years old, and her hair is gray. But most importantly, there is that absolute confidence of hers, evident even in the form of an Avatar.

A ten-second countdown starts and black mana from an orb I create seeps into my mind, the world starts feeling as if it has slowed down. My Mana Wavelength Iris activates as well, and in this state, I stack layers upon layers of barriers around me, using all of my body’s mana.

Once I’m done with that, I reach into my reservoir and start using that as well, and a third of my reservoir disappears like that.

The second third powers [Redistribution], which I’m ready to use at any moment to defend myself.

The last third I use to further power my mind and eyes while keeping a single black orb in front of me, one last attempt at defending myself.

In these ten seconds, my body gets ruined beyond measure. I’ve used too much mana too quickly and recklessly. All my reserves are emptied in mere seconds. But I just need to endure for a moment.

Ten seconds pass.

Lissandra looks at me and then takes a single step. The step resounds in a seemingly infinite echo, and I feel myself stumble and fall to my knees, barely able to keep myself from fainting.

Another step and the echo continues, but I hold on and force myself to keep my eyes and mind in one piece, staring at the most powerful being I have met so far, not counting the Rulers.

Lissandra stops holding back her mana, and it radiates from her. It moves like a wind that, without any effort, blows through all of my defenses. It’s not even an attack, just the sheer pressure of her unrestrained mana.

All of my efforts are nothing in front of this Absolute.

Then the black orb absorbs some of her mana, and bursts open like a bubble, unable to contain the overwhelming force.

I find myself back outside and for a long moment, I stand there, replaying what happened and trying to decode what my eyes saw. I still have a long way to go, but I don’t feel quite as hopeless as before. I have seen her move her mana, and with it came a tiny bit of understanding.

This kind of knowledge I value more than any reward, more than any item.

In the remaining few hours, we try to challenge the 1st Beyonder, but his Avatar fails to appear. We make multiple attempts, but no combination of words seems to work. Even the Intent or Rulers refuse our summons, but that’s only to be expected.

I also catch Channeler and force him to accept a few upper rare items, making him by far the strongest and richest member of Easy difficulty.

I notice a few members of his group giving him some interesting looks, so I mention that if something happens to Channeler, I will find the one responsible. I make sure this message spreads.

We don’t want my PR guy to get hurt.

Then my mana stones sell, the last few shards trickling into my account from the tournament shop.

Congratulations, your items were all sold in the tournament shop! You have gained 10,346 shards. Ten percent will be taken by the system.

The bidding still went even higher than I could have expected.

There are a lot of goodbyes, many people making friends in the week we’ve had here, that’s far from normal in my book. It takes me months to get used to waking up 30 minutes earlier or later than usual and these people made friends.

Humans can be scary indeed.

Gareth, Brainiac, Lootenant, and even Samuel come to say goodbye. I also notice Tacita standing in the distance. She stares at Lily for a while, but she does take a moment to glance at me. Then she disappears as she is used to do.

We also say goodbye to the twins, who will be separated from us the moment we exit the tournament. They still have wounds on their bodies, something they’ve had to endure the entire time they’ve been here.

As our time approaches its end, I move to the side where, for one last time, I make use of our immortality in this space. I create a big orb of black mana and feed it to my crown.

The result is the same as before. Despite all my training, experience, careful thinking, and inscriptions, none of these help me control it.

After disconnecting from the crown which still manages to steal almost all of my mana, it crumbles and explodes in a shockwave that washes over the entire common area, giving one last scare to the people around us.

A small goodbye from me to them.

Congratulations on completing your 1st tournament! The second tournament will take place 2 years after the start of your tutorial.

In the second tournament, all rounds of the Earth’s tutorial will participate.

Congratulations, you have placed 1st overall in the 1st tournament of the 5th round of Earth’s tutorial. Your reward has been improved.

Congratulations, you have placed 1st in the overall crafter rankings of the 5th round of Earth’s tutorial. Your reward has been improved.

You have rejected multiple event rewards in order to increase your final reward. Your reward has been improved.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Please pick 2 out of 5 possible rewards before you are transported back to the 6th floor where your Floor Quest will continue.

Rewards to pick from:

Passive skill combination token (upper epic)

Trait strengthening token (2nd stage)

Passive skill (upper epic)

Item (upper epic)

,000 shards

“I want the passive skill combination token and the trait strengthening token.”

Passive Skill Combination Token (Upper Epic) - Allows you to combine two passive skills up to upper epic rarity. The resulting combination will be a unique skill that cannot be obtained otherwise. Passive Skill Combination Tokens cannot be bought or sold in the system shop.

Trait Strengthening Token (2nd Stage) - Allows you to strengthen your trait by one stage, either from the base to the 1st stage or from the 1st to the 2nd stage.

After that, the scenery changes and I find myself where I was before we entered the tournament.

Both Aaron and Dennis are gone, the lush grass is replaced by rocky ground and we stand beneath a dark sky with a nebula shining across the bulk of its expanse.

We are back on the 6th floor.

I open my system and check, confirming my suspicions. the system seems to have chosen to feed me just a bit more information on passives:

Name: Nathaniel GwynDifficulty: HellFloor: 6 - Astral PrisonTime left until forced return: 3y 357d 23h 59m 21sTraits (2/3): Mana Circuit 2/3, Mana Wavelength Iris 0/3

Lvl 237Strength: 113Dexterity: 110Constitution: 268Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1015 + 1015

Primary Class: Focused Channeler (Epic)Sub-class: [Initiate of Pride]

Active skills:Focus - Lvl 49Perception - Lvl 46Redistribution - Lvl 48Resonance - Lvl 45Mana Domain - Lvl 40Tether - Lvl 36Infusion - Lvl 29Mana Crown - Lvl 24Mana Manipulation - Lvl 47

Constructs:Reinforcement (Construct)Thermokinetic Mana Heart (Construct)Mana Regulator (Construct)Mana Sovereignty Mantle (Construct)Vortex Core (Construct)

Passive skills:Mana Reservoir (upper epic)Arcane Resilience (mid epic)Phoenix Embrace (mid epic)Mana Overload Absorption (low epic)Cognitive Fortress (mid epic)

Tokens:Beyond difficulty entrance tokenPassive skill combination token (upper epic)Trait strengthening token (2nd stage)

Shards: 135,369

I guess we’ve unlocked a bit more of the system. The Item in my hand is no different.

Flamebearer (low Arcane, Damaged) - Flamebearer held dominion over fire, with a mere swing capable of igniting the horizon. This ax’s blaze once burned with immense fury. Despite the damage and its weakened flames, moments of intense heat surge through its blade, offering a glimpse into its fiery past.

But before I can really think about it another window pops up.

You have been invited to become a disciple.

If you decide to accept, you will be summoned to train and study under your master for 2 weeks.

If you choose to reject, there will be no consequences.

You have 10 minutes to decide.

Do you accept?

Yes/No

Well, this is unexpected.

Three minutes later, each member of group 4 present takes a seat in silence, each processing the news of the invitation I got.

“I think it’s an additional tournament reward. You said you rejected event rewards multiple times, so I think this is part of it,” Tess says.

"It could be it. The message seems to be nearly the same as the one my disciple received before she entered the tutorial," I answer.

“Didn’t you want to enter the third Beyond trial?” Min-Jae asks.

“I wanted to go to trial, get Aaron and Dennis out of the Black Tower, and do a lot of other things. This message has ruined all of my plans.”

“Maybe you’ll get another chance if you reject it now,” Sophie muses. “Or maybe it’s a one-time thing. And what does this even mean? Will you be leaving the tutorial, or will your master be one of the tutorial’s natives?”

“We can’t rule out the possibility of interference on the part of the Rulers either,” I say, shrugging my shoulders.

“I think you should accept it. If the tutorial can be trusted, your master may be able to help you a lot. You might even get someone powerful enough to declare you a Champion candidate, whatever that means.” Tess seems to be pushing the most.

She knows just as well as I that they will face greater challenges if I leave, yet she still does it.

She seems to read my mind for a moment, saying, “Don’t worry about us. We will get the boys out and wait for you to complete the Floor Quest.”

I wonder, is it worth it to push back the next trial of Beyond anymore than the tournament already has? But I have to agree with Tess. The rewards I picked for the tournament are more than amazing, but it makes sense for this invitation to be part of it. There is a weird twisted logic to it.

If I get a capable master, it has the potential to make me more powerful than any other reward I could get. And who knows how much information I could collect? I might even get summoned out of the tutorial.

At least I don’t need to worry about group 4, well, not much. They have a few monsters in their ranks, and Tess will make sure to keep them all alive.

Okay, I guess I’ll just have to follow my gut on this one.

“I’m going to accept,” I tell them.

Then after retrieving a few things from our hidey-hole and leaving the rest with them, I prepare to leave.

I do not use the passive skill combination token as I have a great plan for it but I don’t have enough time to work out all the potential kinks. As for trait strengthening, it’s still too soon to strengthen my eyes. Mana Wavelength Iris is just too powerful as it is.

So just like that, we find ourselves being separated again. Both sides wishing the other luck and telling a few lame last minute jokes.

“I accept,” I say and once more feel myself pulled away.

POV Earth

“Professor, w-we have a problem.”

“Go on, Liam, don’t make me pull it out of you. You young folks are supposed to be direct. Leave the pointless tiptoeing around to oldtimers like me.”

The young man by the name of Liam gulps, “We… we found a spider on the moon.”

“Oh, you did? Maybe it’s just some kind of contamination left over from the moon landings? No, wait, since when do we have telescopes that powerful?”

“Professor, we didn’t use a telescope...”

“Excuse me? Liam, I don’t know if this is your idea of a joke, but if so I’m deeply disappointed in you.”

“We didn’t use any of our telescopes, Professor. It can be seen with the naked eye.”

Silence ensues, and the old man bursts out in a boisterous fit of laughter, but as a minute passes and he sees the unchanging face of his student, his laughter tapers off.

With a serious expression, Liam continues, “The spider in question is the size of the entire state of Colorado.”

POV Nathaniel

I immediately recognize the place I find myself in. The poisonous lake nearby, the weird inscriptions covering the sky. I even recognize the forest around me.

I’ve clearly found myself back on the 5th floor, and by the looks of it, the Veil is in the same state I left it in. It might even be the same instance.

But there is one thing that shocks me more than any other. There are three presences beyond the trees on a small clearing near the lake. I can’t see their owners yet, but I recognize their signatures.

One of them is the murderer from Easy difficulty. The other is a tall lynthari woman and the last…

“Little pup, are you going to come out or do I have to grab you by the scruff of your neck and drag you out myself?”

We were wrong. This was never part of my rewards.