The Tutorial

Kai felt the key bind to his soul, and a visual indicator appeared in the form of several blue sparks showering around him - the same indicator that came with anyone that chose their gift. Among everyone around him, he was the very first to have this effect appear.

The people nearest to him stepped back, suspiciously eyeing him, wondering what was going on.

Kai ignored them, moving on to [Difficulty Selection].

For certain levels, it was possible to choose a difficulty rating. The higher the difficulty, the better the rewards, but, of course, the worse the harder the quests got.

<Before accessing the [Tutorial], you are allowed to select your difficulty. The higher the difficulty, the grander the rewards. Remember, Ascender, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Now then, choose wisely, for once your difficulty is set, it cannot be changed.>

<Easy>

<Hard>

Kai, in the past, had obviously chosen the <Easy> difficulty. The [Tutorial] itself was a fairly straightforward mission. Ascenders were teleported to a generic fantasy walled city with a five day countdown.

At the end of the countdown, a demon invasion would occur for two days or until it was defeated.

The <Easy Difficulty> only had one quest, which was to survive until the city held the attack off. That was not too difficult to do if you only focused on hiding, but at the same time, it yielded practically zero rewards.

No more hiding, though. Kai had spent an eternity hiding in the dark. Not again. Like inputting a cheat code, he sent a mental message to the system.

'Acknowledge difficulty: Returner'

<The Trials acknowledge your request. You will challenge the [Tutorial] on the Returner difficulty, the highest there is.

Struggle, Ascender, and attain might beyond your wildest dreams. Or fall.

May fate be on your side.

Note: Your soul does not have the mark of a Returner. You will not face rank penalties on your body and skills.>

Kai nodded. He was relieved that he could access the Returner difficulty despite not technically being one.

With every Wave, the Spire reset its levels.

Returners were those from past waves who started fresh on the [Tutorial] of a new Wave. They had a distinct advantage over other Ascenders because, overall, they were more used to fighting and scrapping for their lives.

On top of that, they retained their combat and magic experience, meaning once they entered the [Tutorial], they would be granted their relevant Technical Skills back.

For example, if a Returner was an expert swordsman, then they would still retain their [Swordsmanship] technical skill and the corresponding martial arts that came with it.

To compensate, the Trials enforced significant penalties on Returners, locking their retained skills such that they could not exceed the D rank until the end of the [Tutorial].

This, on top of the nigh-impossible number and difficulty of quests given on the Returner Difficulty meant very few, if any Ascenders ever chose to return.

Kai, though, was technically not a Returner. This was his first time ever stepping foot in the Trials and the Spire. It looked like he would not face any such restrictions.

Though, even if he had, he could have worked around it. The same way Dane Denholm did: with summons.

Penalties affected the Returner, but not their summons, which was especially useful if you picked up a strong summon early on.

'I wonder…is he going to be there?' thought Kai. He was thinking of Dane, of course.

In the past, Kai had been a part of the very same [Tutorial] mission as Dane. He had seen Dane walk around with his overpowered summons, mowing through everything with seemingly god-like luck.

It was part of why Kai had idolized Dane so much.

Dane, with a white uniform, the same uniform as Kai, a uniform that was meant to represent weakness, walking around with his head held high, knowing he was strong - it was inspiring.

Now, though, when Kai remembered that image, he didn't feel inspiration.

He didn't see someone to look up to.

He saw competition.

If the timeline was still the same, that meant one thing: Kai was in a race. He and Dane would be after the same powerups.

Conflict was inevitable.

Conflict that, for the first time, Kai wanted. It was part of the reason why he didn't choose the [Shining Key Fragment].

To join the fragments together, he needed to be friends with Dane who likely would pick that fragment up. And Dane was his killer.

The Dane of this time might not know who Kai was, but Kai could not forget. Not after what he had suffered.

Kai was going to kill Dane. That much, he had resolved to do.

"You there, you chose your Gift pretty quickly? Was that a mistake? Or did you happen to realize something?" The black uniformed woman, the same one who had cast Kai a dirty look, walked up to him.

This 'loading zone' before the [Tutorial] was an absolute safe zone. There was no physical threat here, so Kai did not bother being on guard.

'Hm,' thought the woman as she inspected Kai. 'He's not half bad looking aside from those awful dead eyes. A shame he's just a white uniform, and he's all skin and bones. So fragile. He'll die soon.

I've just gotten to Gift selection…but he chose his Gift so early - was that just stupid rushing? No, he seems too calm for that. Maybe he knows something. I'll get what I can out of him and leave him if he has nothing.'

"Look." She showed her black uniform sleeve to Kai. "I have a black uniform. You know what that means, don't you?"

Kai did not respond, so she continued, slightly annoyed. "That means you have to listen to me. I outrank you. I'm going to be forming a squadron when I get into the [Tutorial]. If you have any useful tips for your superior-," She lingered on that last word. "I'll consider letting you join. Believe me, with that white uniform, you'll need all the protection you can get."

Kai noted that a small group of about a half dozen flocked around the woman, respecting her black uniform. That uniform, combined with her confident aura, gave her a charisma that locked in lesser colored uniforms like a magnet.

And technically speaking, the rules did say that the lower uniformed were supposed to follow higher uniform colors. This was to maintain a sense of military order among the new Seekers so that they could have some semblance of organization in facing the Trials.

But those rules were from earth.

None of those applied anymore.

Especially not to Kai. He was done with rules meant to make the weak serve and grovel under the heel of the strong.

"So? You have anything you want to tell me, hm?" The woman stared at Kai, her grey eyes steely and cold. It was obvious she did not feel a hint of warmth for him. He was just a tool, a potential tip for information, nothing more.

Kai, at first, was just going to play dumb and ignore her, after all, once he got into the [Tutorial] he probably wasn't going to encounter her again for some time, if at all.

Nobody within each other's vicinity in the loading zone teleported to the same location in the [Tutorial] to prevent Ascenders from organizing before the mission even began.

The System introduction, the one Kai skipped, mentioned this, so almost everyone here should have known that. Even then, there were people flocking around the black uniformed woman in the hopes that maybe they could regroup with her later.

Kai came up with an idea.

If she wanted to use him as a tool, a means to fulfill an end, then why couldn't he do the same with her?

"Actually, I did find something interesting," said Kai, plastering an ingratiating smile on his face. "I scrolled way down the Gift selection and saw these items. Key fragments. They look like they have the potential to lead to some great rewards."

"Hm…you're right," said the black uniformed woman as she used her finger to scroll through her system screens.

Though, to Kai, the screens were invisible.

While she did so, Kai moved on, not wanting to spend more time with her. Already, he was in a bad mood being on the receiving end of uniform-based abuse. The same kind he had spent a lifetime enduring.

[Accessing the Tutorial…]

A white light shone around Kai, starting to teleport him away.

"Hey, wait - white uniform!" began the woman.

But Kai was already gone.

***

Kai materialized in the middle of a forest. Tall trees and thick, lush green undergrowth rose up all around him. The earthy smell of rain on fresh soil drifted into his nose.

With sparkles of white, the iron buckler and clay talisman materialized in his right and left hands respectively, recognizing his left as his dominant side. System messages appeared before him.

<Background:>

<Volt City, part of the proud kingdom of Pyre, is under great distress! A war with the demons has begun, plunging the city into chaos. From the north, scouts with panic glazing their eyes report the movement of demonic troops to descend upon the city in five days!

In response, Elia, the goddess of dawn and defender of Pyre, has summoned you mighty Ascenders from another world! Show this kingdom your mettle, proud Ascender!>

<1. Defeat All Bosses>

<2. Defeat All Optional Bosses>

<3. Defeat the Hidden Boss>

<4. The Hero Must Not Die!>

…

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