Ch 14: The last tutorial begins [pt1]
[Mind's eye gained exp. Current evolution process: 2% -> 5%]
[Master of Stealth gained exp. Current evolution process: 1% -> 2%]
[Master of mana Manipulation evolved. Current progress: 1% -> 3%]
[Master of Sword has risen in proficiency. Current process: 1% -> 5%]
It turned out that Soma did have other skills that could be levelled up.
He had not bothered to check them out since he was still determining if they would be helpful at higher levels.
But since they all had the potential to become more powerful, Soma decided to train them up just in case.
Training these skills was simple - keep using them whenever he could.
The initial level-up was easy, but all the subsequent ones required too much effort.
Soma had to grind a whole day to get to where he was, but the exp after that was like a drop in the ocean.
"Tsk, my overall level must be too high for this tutorial stage. I must look for better opponents to gain more experience and level up faster."
This was the sad reality Soma was in right now.
To level up, he needed to head toward the ranked floors.
"Well, I already wasted enough time. I guess I should look around to see if I can find any boss to fight."
Soma put everything into his inventory and was ready to leave when lightning attacked him.
The attack was strong, and Soma was lucky to have Icy Jewel in his hand, forming a thin layer of ice before him.
Lightning hit the ice, causing it to crack in an instant.
An arrow flew toward Soma's face from another corner.
Soma changed the trajectory of the arrow rushing toward him by smacking it lightly to make it fly toward the man running toward him.
The lighting user looked startled at the sudden change of direction the arrow took.
Lightning reduced the arrow into pieces, giving Soma enough time to attack the lightning user.
Icy Jewel was seconds away from striking the lightning user, but he had fast enough reflexes to help him dodge it.
"I am sorry, Elric. I will aim better next time."
The archer yelled, and Soma finally got a better look at his attacker.
The youth's red hair looked like a fire when the sun's light fell on top of it.
Crackling Lightning covered the youth's body, giving it an eternal look.
The arrow burned before it could get to the red-haired youth.
"Are you here to try and kill me?"
Soma asked the red-haired man, no elf.
He knew who Elric was, or well, going to become
'To think that the fist of fire and thunder sought me out first. It would have given many rankers sleepless nights just to think about it.'
Soma would not say that he was 'rivals' with Elric in the future, but he would not go as far as to say that he was indifferent to Elric.
It was not for the lack of trying.
Elric was just…a little bit too enthusiastic and loud-mouthed.
And too eager to fight anyone he considered 'strong.'
'I still remember how Elric chased after me for a month to get his 'rematch.' I do not want to relieve those difficult times.'
Soma was thankful that Elric did not consider him a 'true' opponent and was not constantly harassing Soma for this.
Otherwise, he would not have gotten peace in his life.
"My name is Elric, and I am looking for people capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with me. I am here to scout you out for your endless potential and-"
"I am not interested. My fighting style does not suit a team-type fighting style. So, you can drop the idea of making me your teammate."
Soma instantly shot Elric down before he even heard the entire proposal.
Elric looked a little lost at that moment.
Someone like him had never been shot down before.
Soma had heard from someone that Elric used to be a crown prince before he was sucked into the tower.
He was from one of the lucky worlds where you could choose to go into the tower or not based on your skill level.
Even that world had yet to survive once the elder entities had gained control of the tower.
Soma had all the plans of forgetting this fight and going his own way when Elric decided to block his way.
He dodged the spear that Elric aimed his way, piercing the tree before him.
"Tsk, what do you think you are doing? You could have hurt someone with your toy."
The spear came clashing toward Soma's face, and the light that bounced off its surface could blind Soma.
Cracks of Lightning covered the spear's edge, breaking the tree as soon as it stuck it.
But Elric was not done yet.
"Stay in your place, you little bastard. Hey, don't let him do what he wants."
Elric yelled at his team, telling them to go after Soma.
'Oops, I triggered the young prince more than I needed to. He is coming at with a murderous look in his eyes.'
Soma almost bit his lip as he faced the thunder.
The thread almost snapped in half, unable to take the pressure of power pressing against Soma's side, and he was sent flying.
"Elric, be careful. You will hurt one of us if you are not careful."
Someone from the other side yelled at Elric, but the man did not care.
Soma needed to do something before he was slicked in half by that spear.
'Think, Soma, think! What can you do to save yourself-!'
The pieces of string that had fallen on the ground shined, and Soma was suddenly struck with an idea.
He tugged at the mana-filled strings and gritted his teeth when pain struck him.
But as soon as Elric stepped on the strings, Soma pulled them.
"Fuck! What the hell-! When did you-!"
Elric complained as he looked down at his bleeding foot.
The enemy looked surprised at Soma's sudden attack and quickly gulped down a bottle of healing potion.
"Sorry, but I would still like to work solo for now. You can easily find another person to fill your team."
Soma replied to the raging man he had just left behind.
Elric fumed as he was denied what he wanted by Soma, but there was nothing he could do about the situation now.
...
Escaping from Elric was more manageable now than in the future (past?).
Soma breathed a sigh of relief as he clutched his healed side.
"Oh god! I came so close to dying so many times. A little bit more force would have ripped me in shreds.'
Soma breathed a sigh of relief as he allowed the adrenaline to rush out of his system.
Any decision made under its influence was not one that Soma could not trust.
He only pulled his head up after he had significantly calmed down.
"Looks like this trail has a mixture of people and races. I am sure that the final tutorial is the same as the one I partook in my last life. Then…"
'Is it possible that the people participating in it are different this time?'
Soma did not say these words aloud, but he was thinking about it.
This revelation had a lot of consequences for him.
'If the tutorial is changing, then the possibility of the future changing is also a big possibility.'
This was a good thing.
This was the 'one thing' that Soma was here in the past to do.
"I just need to keep up what I am doing, and I will be able to change the future."
Soma pushed himself up once he was done resting.
13 days remained on the countdown that would signal the end of this tutorial, and Soma was ready to head out now.
The first thing he needed to do was to find the key to the control room.
It was easier to find the control room than it was to find the key.
Soma knew the location of the key from his previous memories.
It was a gamble to go after the key at this point.
But Soma decided to risk his memory being right and went after the place he remembered in it.
The map provided by the system was detailed, and it showed all the places appropriately.
Soma quickly headed toward the lace marked as 'Scrap Yard' since that was where all the waste on this planet was recycled.
Coincidentally, it was also where most monsters were dumped, and the security was tightest.
It had taken five days and over 100 causalities to find the key and another 200 to acquire it.
That was one of the heaviest death tolls Soma had seen in his life up until this point. (not counting any war)
There will be no death toll this time since Soma will handle the Scrap Yard monsters himself.
But first, Soma needed to find a specific item that would help him distract the scrap monsters.
And that item could be found in the yard nearby.