Chapter 244: The Tutorial Floor (16)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 244: The Tutorial Floor (16)
“W-Why are you here?!”
Repupu shouted, watching the grim reaper approach him. The subtle tremble in his voice and eyes betrayed his emotions.
Deeeeng—
A death knell echoed, signaling the end of his life.
Even as a mid-to-high-ranking Administrator, Repupu could not resist a member of the Decagram.
“Repupu, Administrator of the Tutorial Floor...”
Escape was out of the question.
Repupu quickly assessed his situation. This wasn't a trial about to begin. It was a sentencing, the verdict already decided.
An appeal was impossible.
Facing death, Repupu gritted his teeth. It was too late to feign ignorance; there was too much evidence against him.
A top-ranking Administrator, known as a limb of the System, would never appear without proof.
It was reasonable to assume they already knew everything.
'Damn it, damn it, damn it...! Where the hell did the information leak from?'
Administrators of mid-to-high rank and above were permitted some degree of overreach, such as directly sponsoring players or interfering in the Tower's power struggles.
But even for a high-ranking Administrator, there were lines that could never be crossed.
“Accept your punishment for the crime of defying the Tower's rules...”
The Tower was a battleground of sorts.
From power struggles between clans and disputes between players and residents, to proxy wars between the Constellation Clusters—groups of Constellations.
To gain an advantage on such a battlefield, one needed more WP and exceptional talent.
“W-Wait, please! It's a misunderstanding! I can explain everything, so please, calm down...!”
According to the Tower's rules, only the Administrator of a given floor can view a player candidate's status window.
Repupu had been abusing his position as the Tutorial Floor's Administrator to leak information about promising player candidates to a Constellation Cluster he was in league with.
This gave the clans sponsored by that cluster an advantage in recruiting talented individuals.
He had even gone so far as to manipulate test content to prevent certain player candidates from being eliminated.
The list of his crimes was endless.
'Fuck...! Just a few more decades and I could have become a high-ranking Administrator...!!'
He couldn't give up now.
But he couldn't think of any way to escape his current predicament.
His opponent was one of only ten top-ranking Administrators in the Tower; this wasn't a situation that could be resolved with a few clumsy words. A bribe? If that sort of thing worked, the Tower would have collapsed long ago.
'...I can't die like this.'
As the reaper's scythe tightened around his neck, Repupu wracked his brain to its absolute limit.
But no answer came.
A disaster that cannot be resisted.
That is death.
But don't they say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die?
“Th-There's a player candidate who has broken the Tower's rules!”
An idea flashed through Repupu's mind as he faced death.
It was a desperate resolve to drag that arrogant human down with him, even in death.
“...”
His outburst seemed to have an effect; the approaching scythe stopped.
He hid the trembling corners of his mouth, swallowing a crazed smile.
“It's a guy named Kang Hyun-woo! He broke the Tower's rules and colluded with a Constellation to hide his status window—”
“I am aware...”
“...What?”
At the unbelievable words, Repupu slowly raised his head.
“His existence is the will of the Tower...”
It was a short, concise answer, but as a mid-to-high-ranking Administrator, Repupu knew what it meant.
The will of the Tower.
In other words, it wasn't a Constellation that had hidden the human Kang Hyun-woo's status window, but the System itself.
The System, which was supposed to be fair and impartial, helping a specific player?
“What does that m—”
Repupu's question would never be answered.
After all, the dead tell no tales.
*
There was about half a day left until noon.
In that short span of time, I headed to a nearby cave to sort out my thoughts.
After asking the other three to guard the entrance, I went to the deepest part of the cave and sat in a lotus position.
This wasn't some meditation to recover my magic power. It was a desperate struggle to hold on to the thread of enlightenment I'd grasped last night.
'Hoo...'
Luckily, there were herbs growing inside the cave that produced oxygen.
Fresh air filled my lungs.
Smiling faintly at the satisfying environment, I pushed Thought Acceleration to its limit.
In a world where time had slowed to a crawl, I began to think, alone.
Tiring—
[The proficiency of the skill 'Thought Acceleration' has reached its limit.]
[A special mission, 'First Step Towards Transcendence,' has been issued.]
[First Step Towards Transcendence]
[Grade: Special]
[Prove your growth within the accelerated flow of time.]
[Reward: 'Thought Acceleration' skill grade increase]
I had no time to pay attention to the new screen that had appeared.
Within my sinking consciousness, I could only reach out tenaciously for the clue that was just beyond my grasp.
Fire, water, earth, wind, and light and darkness.
Those who wield these six elements that constitute the world are called Elementalists.
They handle elements according to their individual talents and aptitudes, but most of them specialize in a single element.
The reason is simple.
It's too demanding.
People find it difficult to even write with both hands at the same time.
Wielding elements of different systems goes without saying.
I, too, wielded fire and lightning, but since lightning was ultimately a derivative of the fire element, it was fair to say I only handled one element.
Of course, it wasn't that I hadn't tried to handle other elements.
I'd once spent two hours submerged in water to increase my affinity for the water element, and I'd even had Noel help bury me alive to increase my affinity for the earth element.
But in every case, the results were nothing but disappointing.
If I kept investing time in it, I wouldn't have enough for my more important martial arts training.
Inevitably, I had focused on fire and lightning and dedicated myself to my martial arts training.
But the more I thought about it, the more questions arose.
I already had experience wielding light (divine power) and darkness (demonic energy). I'd even overlaid my existing magic with Black Flame, a combination of three elements.
So why couldn't someone like me handle other elements?
Amidst endless questions and hypotheses, I came to one conclusion.
Perhaps I had been overcomplicating things all this time.
The six great elements are the foundation of the world.
Fire and water, light and darkness, are the most representative opposites, but in reality, they are simply elements that form the world in perfect harmony.
I realized it while wielding the Black Flame. Handling different elements wasn't a demanding task, but an entirely natural one.
All of creation does not live by adhering to a single element.
Fish breathe in water, and fire needs oxygen to burn. Even the harsh earth holds water to bring forth life.
Only then did I understand.
The elements exist, in the end, to create harmony.
—!
A vast amount of magic power moved along my magic circuits toward my mana circle, like a raging river from a broken dam.
Regardless of my own will, the natural mana being absorbed through my skin began to far exceed its limits.
The magic power circulating throughout my body, finding no outlet, raged back toward its origin, the mana circle.
The mana circle expanded under the storm-like pressure.
Excruciating pain followed, but I silently observed and regulated the process from within my deep consciousness.
How much time passed like that?
The mana circle, which had expanded to its limit, began to absorb magic power beyond that limit.
It was a kind of struggle to adapt to the forced environment. The will of the mana circle desired survival, not destruction.
And that meant an expansion of its capacity.
The magic power that had been raging like a great storm found its calm, settling in one place and forming a new ring.
It was a thread of enlightenment.
A small, seemingly insignificant realization.
But the transcendence I achieved, using the foundation I had built more solidly than anyone else, became another catalyst and brought about a miracle.
Tiring—
[You have successfully cleared the special mission, 'First Step Towards Transcendence.']
[The 'Thought Acceleration' skill is evolving.]
[Thought Transcendence]
[Grade: Epic (Growth-type)]
[Your thoughts accelerate within a flow of time compressed to its absolute limit. You can move in a limited capacity.]
My magic power, now more than double what it was before, raced through my strengthened magic circuits.
Like a sports car on an open highway.
Above all, I could feel the five rings surrounding my mana circle.
Tiring—
[You have met the conditions for the 2nd Class Advancement.]
[Your class, Mage, has advanced to Magus.]
[Kang Hyun-woo]
[Age: 21]
[Title: Virgin Killer]
[Race: Human]
[Affiliation: Earth]
[Class: Magus - New!]
[Sub-class: Martial Artist]
[Skills: Thought Transcendence - New!, Weakness Insight, Sex Expert, Berserk…]
[Owned Coins: 6,700]
“...I paid a fortune for these, and now they're useless.”
The Aetherwing Boots. I was tempted by the built-in 5th Circle Levitation magic and bought the new shoes for 2,000 coins.
Reaching the 5th Circle was a happy occasion, but for some reason, it left a bitter aftertaste.
'I guess I'll have to sell them later.'
They might make a good gift for Choi Hyena.
In any case, the changes brought by my enlightenment didn't stop there.
Shaaa—
The darkness within the cave approached me familiarly, as if greeting me. Like a spirit.
But unfortunately, I had no talent for spirit summoning.
This was an element. The element of darkness, one that very few could wield.
Perhaps due to the demonic energy accumulated in my dantian and the Black Flame I'd used so much last night, it felt familiar.
“...Something like this, I guess?”
A black magic circle bloomed above my palm.
Drawn by the magic circle, the element of darkness condensed into a sphere, focusing on a single point. The moment it was compressed to its limit, the sphere shot forward in a straight line toward its target.
[Dark Ray]
KABOOOM!!
With terrifying power, dust and dirt swirled in all directions.
“...Ah.”
The cave shook violently, and a stalactite fell from the ceiling above me.
It was magic I created based on instinct, but its power was better than I expected. It seems I won't be short of things to research for a while.
Tiring—
[A-rank advancement reward is being given.]
[Multitasking Thought]
[Grade: Epic (Growth-type)]
[You can now duplicate and divide your thoughts.]
“Multitasking Thought...”
A faint laugh escaped my lips.
I had a feeling that once this matching was over, I'd be incredibly busy with training and research for a while.
The process wouldn't be smooth, but it would lead me to a higher realm.
“Anyway, how long have I been in here?”
I brushed off the dust and got to my feet.
I wasn't sure of the exact time since I'd used Thought Acceleration, but it couldn't be noon yet.
If it were, the others would have come to get me by now.
Just as I was stretching lightly and about to head out of the cave, a new screen appeared before me with perfect timing.
Beep, beep, beeeep—
「The seventh sun has reached its zenith.」
「This is a notification that the tutorial has ended.」
「We repeat: the tutorial has ended.」
「Player candidates who do not possess 500 WP will be automatically eliminated.」
「You will be transferred to the Starting Floor shortly.」
It was the notification signaling the end of the long, long tutorial.