Chapter 412 - Handler (Patreon)

Okay, I'm getting more and more curious about what waits in Beyond.

Before I can turn around and level up a bit more, now that the King of the Forest is dead, I get sent away from the trial. Obviously, the system wouldn't let it pass.

Stepping out to the bleak wastes of the Astral Prison, I sense some weaker monsters nearby and release my mana a bit, which scares them off. Their level is low anyway and I want to think. But before that, I send a message.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - 3rd trial completed.

Sset (Hell, group 4) - congratulations. I'm curious to hear more when we meet.

Savant (Hell, Alone) - took you a while.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - just the right amount of time. I'm surprised you didn't forfeit your third trial.

Savant (Hell, Alone) - how many limbs did you lose this time?

Tacita (Hell, Luce) - ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

Noname (Hell, group 4) - welcome to the 6th floor

Tacita (Hell, Luce) - |ʘ‿ʘ)╯

Sset (Hell, group 4) - we have no idea when she came to the 6th floor before you ask.

NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - hell, she could have been here even before us and trolling us during the tournament.

NoAaron (Hell, group 4) - are you dumb? There was no restriction during the duels.

NotDennis (Hell, group 4) - are YOU dumb? There was no text showing the floor during duels.

Tacita (Hell, Luce) - (⚆ _ ⚆)

Noname (Hell, group 4) - is everything fine so far?

Sset (Hell, group 4) - we took over the place we attacked and have some natives we get information and learn from. The system will censor most of the things I would like to write here so I will tell you more in person. But I can tell you that this floor won't be short.

Noname (Hell, group 4) - got it. I will continue with my stuff.

Closing the Community, I reach the place where I hid my items. Standing there, I look over all of them and think about what I should take with me.

The most valuable things are mana stones from Lissandra, containing mana shaping exercises, improvement of Mana Cycling, and the stone with the Restrictive Training Emblem.

Then there are these items:

Arcanite Alloy (Low Arcane) - Arcanite Alloy is a meticulously engineered blend of a dozen metals, each chosen for its unique resonance with arcane energies. This alloy was designed to amplify magical powers. Despite the complexity of its creation, items forged from Arcanite Alloy will be durable and capable of channeling immense magical forces.

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.

Then there are plenty of mana stones with information I collected from the floor, plenty of metals I collected for experimenting. Pieces of bones from the bone fortress, pieces of bone from the snake that attacked Veil ignition station no. 2, also called the Cinder.

Lily still has the finger bone of the Champion from the 5th floor. A few voidsteel blades, an epic water bottle, plenty of clothes, food, water, and more. It's a pretty big pile now that I look at it.

In the end, I take some time to wash myself and put on clean clothes. I wear a black shirt, rolling up the sleeves, and gray pants. I also put on shoes. Then I take all the things Lissandra gave me. I take Flamebearer and Arcanite Alloy as well, and a few smaller pieces of the bones.

Waiting for my body to fully heal and my mana to fully replenish, I sit and open the system shop and look for new additions.

Beyond One-Day Stay Token - 9,999 shards

Beyond Three-Day Stay Token - 29,999 shards

Beyond Seven-Day Stay Token - 69,999 shards

…

Firstly, what the actual hell is with the pricing? Is the system shop really trying to pull some cheap marketing pricing strategy? Second, what the actual hell is with the prices?

Just the seven-day stay is worth almost as much as the cheapest arcane item. Actually, wouldn't a 10-day stay token cost the same as the weakest arcane item? If I used all of my shards, it would give me just 13 days there, and I don't think there are that many people having as many shards as I do.

“I want to sell Beyond Three-Day Stay Token,” I try.

Do you really want to sell the following item for 1 shard?

Beyond Three-Day Stay Token

Yes/No

“No,” I say, and the window disappears.

Yeah, seems about right.

Anyway, it's time to go, and I jump to my feet. Testingly, I send a burst of mana through my body, a mana version of stretching, and I warm my body a bit.

As many times before, I watch the wound on my body heal. It's a slow process that I still find very fascinating: the bones healing, muscles reconnecting, tendons reaching towards their cut-off parts.

It takes a few more hours, even with as much compressed thermal energy as I'm using. The entire time, I'm impatiently waiting, my body urging me to move, and my mind already thinking of Beyond.

Then, with the ax on my back and mana ready to be activated, I use the token.

The world around me twists and changes until I find myself standing in a different place.

“Welcome to Beyond,” a soft voice sounds from nearby.

It seems to be around midnight, and I stand on the polished and perfectly smooth black stone that seems to stretch on forever. There is nothing as far as I can see. No hills, no trees, no mountains, no clouds. Just straight and perfectly polished black stone flooring. The sky is full of beautiful stars and nebulas. The most amazing night sky view I have seen in my life, even counting pictures I have seen on Earth.

Turning to the side, I find the woman who greeted me. She is sitting on the chair behind an old wooden table on which she has stacks of papers, plenty of mana stones, and some items I fail to identify.

There is no text over her head.

She is a bit older than me, her hair black with a bit of red mixed into it, and her eyes are calm and curious, brown in color.

“I'm your handler.” and as she says so, she looks at me, her head tilting to the side.

She then looks back at the paper she holds and starts reading, “Nathaniel Gwyn, 22 years old from Earth, 5th round of the tutorial. Completed all three trials and entered Beyond just one year and a few weeks into the tutorial. That's a really good time, and you aren't even the 1st one from Earth to come here. Your planet seems to be a nice addition to the system.”

She leans back in her chair, her eyes moving on the paper, “A few really good skills, already with a unique epic passive, oh, and plenty of shards for someone of your level,” her eyes expand in surprise at that. “Pride, Wavelength eye, winner of your 1st tournament. Good, it's nice I got you.”

“Why is it nice?” I ask.

“Oh, the handler will be getting a small percentage of all the shards you will make in the dungeon and through Beyond quests and some other stuff.”

Great, so now even this woman will be taking a cut.

“Would be good if you explained more,” I note.

Finally, she looks up from the paper and snorts, “Don't be impatient. You have potential, but you are currently just a small fry here. And you should already know that I will be limited by the system in what I can share currently. The tutorial is just set that way and the rules reach even here to Beyond.”

As she stands up, she walks from behind the table and looks me up and down, her eyes staying on my face.

“First, hide your Mana Wavelength Iris, second, hide one of your primordial energies. Just having one is rare enough so don't walk around showing two until you are stronger. I mean, it could be fine to show it all, but as you are now, there is no point in bringing that much attention to yourself. Third, I got access to some of your records and checked a few things and I recommend you to not use what you call black mana.”

“Would be nice if you could tell me the real name of it.”

“Ten thousand shards.”

“What?”

“I will tell you for ten thousand shards.”

“Is it really such valuable information?”

“Not really, I just test to see how many shards I could make off you.”

She seems to be serious. Looking at her, I answer, “No.”

“Five thousand shards.”

“No.”

“Cheapskate, you have plenty of shards,” my handler sighs and then sits at the desk of the table. She is wearing clothes that are entirely gray and a mix between formal and casual. “Anyway, there are a few things I can tell you and some you need to discover on your own, so listen carefully but consider it on your own too. This advice is not something set in stone, and every handler has their own, so here is mine.”

She makes sure I listen and continues, “Beyond is on the edge between the real world and the tutorials. It was created a long time ago by the cooperation of multiple Rulers over a very special place called the First Dungeon. Got everything so far?”

“I do, please continue.”

“You are from the 5th round, and your 1st tournament just ended, meaning your tutorial's rounds should soon be synchronized in preparation for the second tournament. The point is that after the synchronization you will be able to accept Beyond quests. You will learn more about them later.”

“How long will pass on Earth while five years pass in the tutorial?” I ask her.

She seems to be thinking for a while or checking something and answers, "Five years, but it's not as simple."

“Got it. Another question, how many other people like me are you a handler for?”

“Good question,” my handler smiles. “Average for each handler would be a few dozen. To become a handler, you must have the ability to do that. Either with your skill or you should be able to use one of the items made by the Ruler of Diligence.”

That sounds interesting. Are handlers maybe Absolutes or Champions? As I open my mouth to ask that, I see her looking at me, and instead, I stay quiet. Something in her eyes makes me not ask.

“You will appear on the surface of Beyond after we are done here. Leave it as quickly as possible and find one of the entrances into the First Dungeon. If you are unlucky with the area where you appear, you will die. The surface is dangerous even to someone on the verge of becoming a Champion, and it's recommended to go there in bigger groups only. Got it?” she asks seriously.

“Yes. Any hints at how to find the entrance?”

“Can't say.”

“Got it.”

“After you enter the First Dungeon, you will find yourself on the Entrance floor. You have only three days, so for now just look around, maybe trade, and collect some information. Check the rankings as well. Try to avoid guilds and do not join any group or expedition. Do not enter the dungeon at any cost, and do not go to the surface. Take it slow, and after you get back to your floor, do some side quests to earn more Stay tokens. I would recommend one week at least so you can start exploring what Beyond offers. Got it?” she asks again.

“Yes. How much more can I ask?”

“Not much, I told you most of the allowed information. The rest would be censored. The system wants you to discover it on your own. Where is the adventure and fun of exploration in having all information spoon fed to you?”

“What’s your name? This shouldn’t be censored, right?”

The woman lifts her eyebrow and looks somewhat amused. She then moves and sits back behind the table.

“I might tell you in the future. Also, I know you Pride guys tend to do things your own way but consider the advice I gave you.” She pauses and seems to be listening to something. “Well, our time seems to be gone, so good luck. I will see you the next time you enter Beyond.”

Before that feeling pulls me away, I think of grabbing some paper or mana stones from the table but decide against it. It could end up very badly for me.

Appearing on what I guess is the surface of Beyond, I rouse mana under my skin and redirect most of it into defenses. My crown activates, and I also slip into [Focus] to help me with skills and concentration.

I do not take the warning she gave me lightly; she didn't seem to lie or exaggerate.

Beyond is barren, very barren. The place where I appeared is eerily quiet, and there is no wind at all. It's early morning, looking at it, but I can't find any sun in the sky. Yet there is light, and the blue sky is mixed with the orange color of dawn.

The first difference is a huge increase in gravity pulling on me. Then another one is a constant attempt of something to take my mana. Only gradually do I realize it's the planet doing it, trying to pull my mana and send it somewhere downwards.

I then send my senses into the area around me and nearly immediately feel something touch them. From miles away, some being senses my use of mana and immediately detects me, tracking the exact spot I'm on.

Without any hesitation, I release all the kinetic energy I'm able to and start running and then flying away from that presence.

I do not use my mana sense anymore; instead, I concentrate on keeping as much of my mana as I can inside my body while kinetic energy keeps shooting me ahead.

As I run, I can hear a sound reminiscent of small and constant explosions.

Just from that short touch of mana on me as it detected my senses, I know I have no chance at all. Even so, I'm getting ready for the worst option, mana collecting inside my body, and I'm ready to activate all my trump cards.

A constant wave of detection is sent over the area, but the being seems to have trouble finding me now that I'm not using my mana externally. It is still a mile or two away, a distant explosion sounding from there as I run and fly, searching for the entrance to the dungeon.

And the presence keeps coming closer from the sound of it. This way, it will take just a minute to reach me.

Ready for everything, I boost myself high into the air and send my senses as far as I can, immediately feeling that pressure on me again. The rest of my kinetic energy pushes my body towards the cave in the distance, whose entrance has mana radiating from it.

Already running out of kinetic energy in my core because of how much I use, I start creating more with my heart and using mana to boost my body and shoot projectiles behind me.

The view around me turns into a blur, and the explosions behind me slow down. This time, it's less of them, but stronger, and the air reverberates even here.

As the cave comes into view, I rush inside, crashing against the walls as I fail to slow down in time, and then continue running inside.

An explosion sounds, and I feel something hit me. The world spins, and different sounds rush to my ears.

There are cobblestones under my body, and I find myself surrounded by surprised people and buildings. All of it is located inside of a huge cave, like a medieval-style city thrown in.

I look down, and both of my legs are gone, ragged wounds over the knees, pieces of my bone and flesh showing while I bleed profusely.

Generating thermal energy inside my body, I let my passive close the wound and recreate missing limbs with ones made of mana.

Ignoring the looks I'm getting, I check my body and items and head somewhere more quiet.

***

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