Chapter 95 - Restored (Patreon)

Attention, a milestone reached. Entry into Irreversible Narrative Progression has been detected for all the groups. In accordance, the Community Interface will now be deactivated for all groups within Hell Difficulty of the 5th round of the Tutorial.

Well, that's interesting, isn't it? It seems that the end of the second floor is getting closer and closer.

“Nathaniel, did you get the notification as well?” Kim moves closer to me, breathless and with small wounds all over his body. I also feel that he is under the effect of his [Gravity Well], using it to increase gravity on him and to train.

I'm kind of jealous, but he does the same every time I ask him, so I forgive him.

He still doesn’t feel as comfortable with me and I see that he is still not over Kevin's death. But I guess that's something only time will solve.

“Did you try to access the community?” I ask.

He nods, “I can’t join it and Aaron and Dennis are the same.”

I've already tried it too, and I had the same result as he did.

That's it, I guess. More information would be nice, but it just wouldn't be the system we love and hate. Mostly hate.

My level is currently 68 so I still need a bit more for that side quest.

Side quest:
Reach level 75

Rewards:
Upgrade token

And as for the main quest.

Floor quest:
Witness the end of the world.

It talks only about witnessing. The first floor's floor quest was to survive.

So does it mean witnessing is safer? Or is it just the weird way the system said it? Another thing is, is the end of the world the same for every group in hell difficulty? There could be things that they or we do that would change it for the group and blocking the community probably serves to make us focus on our quest.

Overall, the community feels more like moral support than a place to share information. Sure, we can exchange tidbits of info but the system censors a lot of it. So I have a feeling that the community serves just as a place to vent and not feel alone.

Still, would the system be so caring after putting us here and in such danger?

Well, there is no time to worry about things I can´t change.

“Ruby, level 110 for me, if you will,” I ask the redhead.

I just need to become stronger, prepare as much as I can, and then give it my all.

But first, the goal is to level up and improve my skills as much as I can.

[Shadewalker Panther - lvl ?]

The Shadewalker Panther emerges, its sleek figure slowly becoming visible. Its fur is a deep midnight black as if absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Its lean, muscular body moves with graceful stealth, each step soft and calculated.

The panther's eyes gleam a vibrant green, radiating an eerie glow. Its tail sways low and controlled, a silent metronome ticking off the seconds until an attack.

What I can feel from it could be best described as lethal elegance.

The monster immediately charges at me, running as if it's floating, yet moving with terrifying speed.

I slide inside the comfortable [Focus] and the world loses its colors, only mana remaining colorful. [Perception] warns me as I feel the panther collect mana on the end of its tail.

A shield made out of [Armament] appears in front of me, big enough to cover my entire body, and the next second the attack hits it, leaving a deep gouge in it.

At the same moment, I feel mana from my shadow. It swells and the panther jumps from it, all with terrifying speed.

[Redistribution] fires up immediately, yet I still get thrown away, hit by one of the panther's paws carrying much more strength than expected from its lean figure.

I let myself be thrown away and roll on the ground a few times before jumping back on my feet. The mana moves in my shadow once more and I change absorbed kinetic energy into thermal, sending vibrant yellow flame right at the panther.

The monster opens its mouth and eats it.

What?

Another attack with its paw and I block it with my arm made of mana, still getting thrown away. As if making fun of me by using the same strategy, my shadow swells once again but when I turn to it, there is nothing.

Even the panther's presence disappears and I can’t see it with [Perception] and not even with my eyes.

Five orbs made of mana appear around me and I make them spin. The panther uses one of the orb's shadows and jumps right at me and at the same time, [Disruption] hits him, slowing him down. My arm made of mana expands and grabs the monster that starts scratching it widely, leaving deep gouges in the arm.

Yet, before one of the orbs hits him, he disappears once more, even under the disrupting effect of my mana.

Two more attacks fly at me and I dodge them, slinging one of the orbs in that direction but missing.

Once more the panther disappears.

This time I dash right towards the small wisp of mana that I track to the tiny shadow of one leaf of grass swaying in the wind.

The world feels as if coming to a stop as I absorb as much energy from the swaying grass and wind and at the same time [Disruption] activates, boosted massively by [Mana Surge].

The panther appears, immediately attacking me, and its tail swings, sending some slashing attack at me that disappears in the disruption field around me. At the same time, a thin cone as thick as my arm shoots towards the panther. It consists of a bright yellow flame and the panther eats it again.

At that moment another cone hits him, this time made out of kinetic energy and it blows off a piece of his neck.

The beautiful monster with fur dark as the night sky tries to disappear again but my [Disruption] knows what to expect. I feel the pattern of his skill and find the weakest part that I disrupt, making it fail to trigger, the skill falling like a house of cards.

Once again, another cone of kinetic energy hits the monster, and the orb made of mana expands next to him, releasing thin tendrils of mana covered in wildly oscillating energy, leaving deep gouges in the monster's skin.

The panther's eyes glow in a green color and he disappears one more time, this time into its own shadow, only to reappear again, healed, but much smaller than before.

A few attacks shoot at me and he starts running away, jumping from one shadow of the grass to another, moving terrifyingly fast.

“Woah, what an annoying guy,” I hear Ruby say, as she transfers her voice for me to hear even though she is standing so far.

Then the panther gets engulfed in her mana and appears next to me. Confused but immediately trying to run away only to be grabbed by my mana arms and his head squeezed.

[You have defeated a Shadewalker Panther - lvl 106]

[Lvl 68 > Lvl 69]

“Nice.” I can’t help but say it out loud to Ruby's confusion.

*****

I gain four more levels and a bit later Ruby’s master appears again, this time with a young, petite, black-haired girl.

Lily seems to be terrified and immediately runs to me, for a moment it looks like she will jump into my arms but she sees my face and pauses for a moment, slowing the walk and stopping near me. There are some tears in her eyes as she looks towards Ruby’s master.

“Nat, she just appeared in my room, just out of nowhere and then she kept asking me questions and just brought me here. What's happening?”

“Be quiet for a moment, okay, Lily?”

I take a step towards the grey-haired woman, keeping Lily behind me. I don’t think she would hurt her but it should make the girl feel safer.

Briefly, our eyes meet, her firm gaze meeting mine. I can see that she still hasn’t given up, still desperately looking for an answer.

For a moment I feel pity and realize the situation she is in. Just how many copies of her were made before for other people in the tutorial? Tens, hundreds?

A copy of a once proud and powerful woman turned into the toy of the system. Back prompt for this stage.

“Push him harder.” That's the only thing she says to Ruby before she disappears again.

I put some time into calming Lily down. I talk to her carefully, making sure she feels safe. Slowly, I can see her getting calmer. The fear starts to leave her eyes and she becomes less anxious. She starts to become more cheerful and I can't help but notice she's got something on her mind, something she's eager, almost impatient, to share with me.

So, I steer our conversation in that direction, patiently and slowly until she feels ready to spill it. Eventually, she takes a deep breath and finally says what she's been holding back.

“I think I can restore your arm now.” Her smile is bright and like a child, she reaches out and puts her hand on my shoulder.

I barely stop myself from stepping back.

What?

All of this feels strange. It just came out of nowhere, too quickly.

“I got a new skill.”

I feel her mana trying to enter my body and for a moment I let my mana fight back, pushing hers away, but in the end, after looking at her I just sigh.

Sure, I'm worried about the circuit, flow, and all this stuff, but the longer I wait the worse it will become as I will most likely continue to grow stronger faster than Lily.

Her eyes meet mine and I can see no bad intentions in them.

Just simple, gentle kindness and a small smile on her lips.

"You must have suffered a lot," she whispers. I feel her mana probing my body as she uses more and more of it, preparing to heal me. Strangely, I sense some connection between her and my body. What is she doing?

“This skill is called [Sacrifice]” she says.

Called what?

Immediately my mana rouses up as I try to stop her, but it's too late and my mana barely detects her mana as something dangerous now that I let it in.

"Be a bit more careful and take care of your body, okay?" Her smile is so gentle that it makes me feel guilty.

Warm mana engulfs my body and at amazing speed, I see my left arm growing. Bone, nerves, veins, flesh, circuit, mana pathways. Everything appears and looks exactly the same as in my right arm.

As if it had never been obliterated, my left arm is restored to perfection. The only difference is its striking paleness, the new skin never having been exposed to the sun.

Amazed by the result I am late to notice and Lily's body falls against my chest, breathing and seemingly okay but unconscious.

But I notice one thing.

An empty sleeve of her dress at the place where her left arm used to be.