Chapter 357 - Pump these numbers up (Patreon)

For a short moment, I bask in the gazes of the people, but when Brainiac comes rushing, screaming where the hell I have so many shards from, I teleport away.

I appreciate [Tether] more and more, the way it allows me to avoid people is amazing.

Though the [Connection] twins set up I hear Channeler call, (Boss! Good job with the shards! I don't know how you tricked the system, but it will help a lot!)

(Tricked the system?)

(The amount of shards. Did you bug it somehow? We could use it maybe or…)

(I did not trick. I have that many shards.)

The silence that ensues is quite long, but it warms my cold heart.

Actually, can I even say that? My heart can generate a lot of heat, so maybe it's not that correct.

(Are you serious?) Channeler's voice is quiet.

(Yup.)

(Are you maybe dumb?)

Okay, someone's asking for a beating.

Before I can send a message, Channeler adds, (Do you realize what you have done?! With such a high reward, I wouldn't be surprised if over a thousand people challenge you at once!)

(That would mean thousands of shards for one challenge, after the system's cut. That's not bad.)

(Noname, please… you set a 3rd Floor restriction! I know you are strong, but your restricted Avatar can't defeat hundreds of people from Hard difficulty!)

(It will be fine.)

(It won't be fine! You will lose all the shards. So many!)

(Channeler, my dude. Don't worry, just continue with our plan and let me know when people challenge someone interesting so I can come and check.)

(Will do so.) Channeler gives up, sounding deflated as he says so, and I turn off the conversation.

It's a bit after midnight, yet the common area is lively even as I watch it from afar. In the middle of it, there is a giant screen. Well, not one. Four of them, creating a square so people can watch them from each direction. So far, there is nothing going on on them, and it seems like only one Avatar can be challenged at once.

That's interesting and it adds some complexity to it as the time is limited to 24 hours. Still, there being 31 Avatars means there can be 93 challenges. Joining all of them would cost plenty of shards, so I don't think anyone will join all of them. Especially Easy difficulty, who usually have 50-100 shards at most. Channeler having 150 is quite a bit for them.

Now that I think about it, should I feel bad for trying to get shards out of these people?

Nah, screw them. Anyone who will fight my Avatar will join in hopes of getting a piece of my shards, so there is no need to pity them. Plus, I can consider it as patronage and these shards will be used to make myself stronger, which will in the end help Earth. Probably. I still haven't decided what I will do once we get out, but I think I won't like whoever we are paired with attacking us, so I will most likely fight. Even if only to level up or get some nice loot.

Pushing these thoughts away, I place a few more anchors, teleporting until I reach our house. There I sit on the roof and wait for Lily, both of us planned in advance to do some experimenting. For the next 24 hours, we don't want to sleep as we did before, and staying up for that long isn't even a problem. Plus, I don't want to miss the interesting Avatar fights, so I allow the connection I have to Channeler and a few others to stay so I can have information.

It takes a few more minutes but Lily appears on the roof, a big smile on her face, “Thanks for the warning! You were right, Savant and others were extremely fun to watch when they learned about your additional rewards.” She laughs, a memory flashing behind her eyes. “Brainiac even started calling you sugar daddy Noname and insulted us for not sharing you with them.”

Lily plops down on the roof next to me, a smile still on her face. Her eyes seem to glow. “Dennis said Savant looked like someone told him they pissed into his drinking water for days.”

Oh boy, maybe I should have stayed for longer.

“Tess said Gareth and Adam theorize you bugged the system.” She stretches and lays on her back, “I haven't laughed so much in so long! Seeing Savant make such an expression was priceless.”

“Screw that guy,” I note.

“Yes, screw that guy!”

A silence ensues, neither of us about to start the experimenting we planned to do. Just a short moment to enjoy.

Quietly after a minute, Lily breaks the silence first, her words careful, “Nat, I can fix your arm. Make it so it isn't pale anymore.”

As she says so, I glance at my left arm which is pale no matter how many times I restore it or how much sun it gets. Lily´s left arm is of the same pallor. It's something she could deal with for a long time, I think. The reason why she didn’t is obvious. But the reason why she decided to offer to fix it makes me curious.

“Why?” I ask, turning to her and our eyes meet while she lays there.

“I…” she starts and falters, “I talked with Tess, Sophie, and Maya a lot and I think what I did was wrong.” She looks at me as if waiting for me to say something, but I stay quiet.

So Lily continues, still somewhat awkwardly, “It was unfair of me and I shouldn't try to force myself onto you that much. The girls told me they are even surprised you didn't hate me for that and decided to bear it.”

It's not that difficult for me to read her emotions now. The more time group 4 spends together, the easier it is to understand them. The same as they learn to understand me. That experience is interesting, but not in a bad way.

"So I'm sorry," Lily finally gets out, sulking a bit that I'm quiet and make it harder for her to speak.

But I think it's important for her to say these words out loud with her own mouth. Sometimes it makes one understand their emotions better.

While she waits for my answer, I notice that even as she said so, she seems worried. This black-haired healer of ours is still scared of getting abandoned. It doesn't matter that she understands that it won't happen or that making my arm pale won't change anything.

For her, it's a connection she bears to me, and deep inside she is marked like a lot of us by the trauma from before.

"I see," I say simply.

Lily nods and reaches, "Then I will fix it."

"I see, but nope," I say and pull my left arm back to her surprise.

While she stares at me with her big eyes, I say simply, "I like my pale arm. I think it looks cool."

That silly, hurt healer of ours looks like she is about to cry.

"You will like my minion, she is also a crybaby," I note.

"I'm not a crybaby," Lily quickly wipes her eyes.

"Something in your eyes?"

"Yes, damned dust. This tournament floor is terrible."

"It really is."

A bit longer silence ensues and I add, "Don't misunderstand."

To that, Lily only nods, "I know."

Looking at her and remembering how she used to be a year ago, she really changed and grew up a bit. But who of us didn't? And going through all of it together made us all somehow closer to each other.

Thinking about it, it was the start of the 4th Floor where I decided to give this group a chance and I still remember the conversation I had back then with Lily. Even then she almost cried. Such a crybaby indeed.

As I thought it over, I don't think it was a bad decision, not bad at all, being surrounded by this far from normal group of people.

Weirdos, all of them. Poor old me having to deal with them.

Anyway, I turn to Lily, "Let's try cutting my chest open and see what we can examine about my heart before the system heals the wound."

***

After an hour of testing and a few lame jokes about Lily being close to my heart or holding my heart in her hand, we give up.

Not because of jokes but because of the healing of this floor. No matter how hard we try to slow it or keep the wound open by stopping it from closing, it always heals after a few seconds.

According to the severity of the damage, it can be nearly instant or slower when the wound isn't that severe. Me or Lily causing it doesn't change anything, the healing is the same in both cases.

Well, it's not like I didn't expect that. This healing aura is also the reason why Active Tempering won't work here. For it to work, my body needs to be infused with a special frequency of mana and get damaged. Any sort of healing makes Active Tempering not work.

It's something akin to working out. You need to lift heavy or enough volume for your muscles to get damaged. Then, while you sleep or rest, the damaged parts will fix and become stronger if they have enough fuel in terms of protein and other nutrients. Well, it's not exactly that, but it's similar to Active Tempering.

So, cutting my chest open, I was able to see my heart for the first time. A beating Mana Heart, slightly modified to serve as a medium to generate thermal or kinetic energy in exchange for mana.

The heart was surprisingly normal. It didn't glow brightly. There was no change in how it looked.

Sure, there was some mana radiation as if the chest cavity is shielding the outside world from the leakage, and each beat of the heart creates mana, but that's probably all. Other than tons of inscriptions from my constructs all around, it was normal if you can call it that.

At least it allowed me to gain a bit of knowledge I can use in the future when I try to upgrade it again.

(Noname, they are challenging your Avatar!) I receive a message from Channeler.

How interesting, were my additional rewards and severe restriction that enticing? Or is it thanks to the rumors?

“They are challenging my Avatar, wanna watch?” I ask Lily, who is back to studying the bone of the Champion.

Hearing me, she quickly puts it away, “Yes!”

I offer her my hand, and after a bit of hesitation, she puts her hand into it, and I teleport both of us. Like most of the people from Hell difficulty, Lily doesn't have trouble enduring the process with her stronger body and mind used to powerful skills.

Appearing to the side, we move even a bit further.

(Your Avatar is the first to be challenged,) Sophie sends through the web with the twins’ connection.

She and a few members of group 4 and Hell difficulty are sitting on the benches around the central part of the common area. Some of them are even on terraces with drinks and food to them. It's all being treated like an event to be watched.

(I would expect them to test it out on someone else, no matter how much we tried to make me look weaker,) I send back.

(Eighty thousand shards is a lot, Nat,) Lily joins the conversation. (A lot,) she repeats.

(As Lily said. Plus, it's not that expensive for Hard difficulty, so even if they die, it's worth trying it.)

(So how many of them are going in?) I ask.

(They are greedy, so only twenty members of Hard difficulty. The group is led by Samuel of all people, would you believe that.) I can hear Sophie smile through the link. (He used his sway and tried to limit the number of people who will enter.)

(How does it work exactly?)

(One person challenges the Avatar and a countdown starts. The countdown is 15 minutes, and within that time, anyone can join the challenge, and then they enter together. At first, there was only Samuel and his handpicked group, but the less time remains, the more people join. You should have something in your notification. It's as much our event as it is theirs.)

(You are right,) I send back to Sophie while checking the window.

Challenge 1/3 - 9 minutes remaining

Number of challengers:

Easy - 10

Normal - 26

Hard - 33

Collected challenge fees: 1300

We will need to pump these numbers up.

***

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