Chapter 597 - Reigning dumbass of the 7th floor

The reward for being this floor's reigning dumbass goes to Tess, who remains unconscious even after all the work Sophie and Izzy have done for her.

What we know is that Lissandra found her and Biscuit, then knocked Tess unconscious because the blonde kept trying to kill her and was screaming at her. Lissandra also confirmed that there is no mimic inside Tess anymore and that she found her deep in underground escape tunnels leading out from a nearby lumoran secret base that had been destroyed.

It seems the blonde somehow got rid of the mimic on her own, and that’s definitely going to be a story. After I confirm she’s safe, and everyone else too, we’re sent away by an annoyed Sophie, Izzy, and Lily, who are examining her. They don’t tell us anything, but it seems like Tess really did something that, in my opinion, was probably pretty dumb.

That also puts the deal I made with Lissandra in a strange situation. All the effort I put into the tournament feels like it was for nothing since Tess handled everything on her own—with a little help from the best corgi of the 7th floor.

The award for best doggo and protector of the dumbest person on the 7th floor, of course, goes to Giga Biscuit.

Just like before when he nommed on that creepy deer, Biscuit seems to have eaten something again; however, unlike before when it shrank him, he is now as big as a horse.

Yup, a corgi as big as a horse.

He is still sleeping, and similarly to the dumbest person of the 7th floor, he has not woken up yet. Occasionally, he even burps in his sleep and twitches as if he has upset his stomach.

Cute. I hope he is fine.

Another cute thing is that even though he is so big, he is in his "adult form" and has the same proportions as a normal corgi. Such proportions at this size would normally unsettle me, but it is extremely cute. Taking the opportunity, I lean against his belly, which moves as he sleeps and breathes. Even other members of Group 4 climb on him and just cannot get enough of this corgiant.

Everyone seems worried about Tess, but after talking to Lissandra and Sophie, I think it is going to be okay.

Sophie likely knows what happened, but she is waiting for Tess to wake up before discussing it further. She also believes that whatever Tess did, she did it in a way that can be reversed by Tess herself, possibly through some sort of double self-hypnosis or with the passage of time.

In the end, it’s highly possible that Tess didn't need any help at all and that creates mixed feelings inside of me.

So although Tess should be fine on her own in a few weeks or months, Sophie and Lissandra are working hard to shorten that to days. Much of the work is done by Sophie, while Lissandra helps as much as she can. It is hard to tell since Lissandra keeps her emotions nearly perfectly in check, but I bet it must be infuriating her. She made such a grand promise, and everything became chaotic because of whatever that dumbest person did.

Like everyone else, I can only wait for her to wake up. At least I do not end up crying and hugging her unconscious body like Maya did or clinging to her like a baby koala as Izzy did.

To clear my mind, I check my status after a long time.

Name: Nathaniel Gwyn
Title: Champion Candidate
Difficulty: Hell
Floor: 7 - Battlefield
Time left until forced return: 2y 350d 23h 45m 6s
Traits (2/3): Mana Wavelength Iris 2/3, Mana Physique 0/3

Lvl 307
Strength: 240
Dexterity: 231
Constitution: 429
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1627 + 1627

Primary Class: Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane)
Sub-class: [Adept of Pride]

Active skills (10/10):
Focus - Lvl 65
Perception - Lvl 62
Redistribution - Lvl 63
Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 61
Mana Crown - Lvl 55
Mana Manipulation - Lvl 66
Ley Line - Lvl 54
Eclipse - Lvl 37
Empyrean Lance - Lvl 22
Knitting - Lvl 37

Constructs:
Reinforcement
Mana Regulator
Mana Sovereignty Mantle
Kinetic Mana Heart
Sealed Ignition Heart (Fully Sealed, 3/3)

Passive skills (5/5):
Mana Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic)
Mana Fortified Mind (Low Arcane)
Mental Attunement Loop (Mid Arcane)
Mana Wavelength Tyrant (Mid Arcane)
Subdermal Combustion Weave (Mid Arcane)

Tokens:
Beyond 3 day stay token
Beyond 1 day stay token

Shards: 39,631

I’m especially happy with [Focus] and [Mana Manipulation]. Even though I know it’s much harder to level them now, I still managed to push myself during the tournament. The memory of the numerous deaths still lingers. It is similar to a scar, except this one remains on my mind. Every time I think of these deaths, I cannot help but shudder a little. But at the same time, I know I would do it again without hesitation.

[Eclipse] also gained several levels, especially from the last event. [Redistribution] leveled up too, thanks to the sheer amount of thermal energy I channeled there. I believe I leveled it about three times in a row, which is quite incredible considering the high level of the skill.

Of course, [Knitting] also leveled up as I made many weapons for Channeler and the others. But we do not talk about skills with such names. We do not even think of them, because it might cause me to consider it normal and then slip up and say the name out loud. And damn, we cannot have that.

Regarding the passive skills, it is quite a fancy collection: three mid-arcane, one low-arcane, and one unique passive. And damn, from what I have found, I think there might be only a few people from the entire Earth's tutorial who have even one mid-arcane passive if they were lucky.

One reward that comes to mind is the passive skill combination token, which would allow me to combine two mid-arcane passives. Using it for anything lower would be a waste.

I check them again and consider the combinations, and no matter how I combine them, none of the results seem particularly good. If I chose this reward, I would likely need to purchase another mid-arcane passive specifically for the combination. That would require saving up another 500 thousand shards, and that could take a while. Therefore, I rule out this reward.

Next, there are passive skill options: one mid-arcane reward passive which is valued at around 500 thousand shards, and another which is simply 500 thousand shards. Both options are appealing, but they do not interest me as much. I do not think I need shards currently. If I had to, I would likely choose a passive skill instead. A passive skill reward would probably offer three or five passives to choose from, some of which could be valued closer to 600 thousand shards and tailored to me. However, I already have several new passives to manage and training to do, which might change the direction I'm heading in.

Lastly, there are two rewards I am most interested in: the two 30-day beyond stay tokens worth 600 thousand shards. Admittedly, there are significant disadvantages. It could mean being stuck in Beyond for a long time, especially since I doubt anyone from our "expedition party" could stay that long. There's also the risk of wasting part of the token and not being able to do anything while I'm there, which would be a huge waste of time.

Nonetheless, it attracts me greatly. I have wanted to go and spend some time mostly alone for a while, so I am more or less leaning toward choosing this one, but I will give it a few more days for further thought. I might even wait until the end of this floor and see what rewards it brings before deciding.

Lastly, there is clearly the most insane and likely the best reward: a token that would allow me to combine three active skills into one.

Ever since I saw it, I have been thinking and theorizing, and my mind remains full of ideas. However, like the previous option, this one carries risks. Combining three skills means there is a much higher chance of incompatibility. Worst of all, it might turn out that some skills would not be available for combination, resulting in an inefficient outcome, a wasted token, or possibly waiting years for another opportunity to combine. But if it all works, the resulting skill could be extraordinary.

It also makes me wonder how uncommon this kind of reward is. I haven’t seen it anywhere so far, so it might be incredibly valuable. I am quite likely the first person from Earth to get it, while the average Hell enjoyer might never see it. Still, I am a gambler at heart, so I think I will risk it.

I lean back and bury my head in Biscuit's fur, enjoying the feeling of his moving, rising belly. After glancing to my left and watching Group 4 fuss over an unconscious Tess, I look away and start thinking again, this time about my rejection of the declaration.

My logic is fairly simple.

There must be a way to become Absolute without someone declaring you, possibly even a candidate. Why? Well, the first generation of each planet can only be declared during the tutorial, and I think it would be foolish to rely solely on that.

There might be higher floors where such declarations are more likely, but I also cannot imagine a planet ending up without Absolute ranked people simply because they were unlucky and not declared in the tutorial.

To be declared an Absolute candidate, you need to be vouched for by someone capable of such judgment, and meeting Absolutes or surviving them must be extremely rare. So I am almost absolutely, sure there is a way.

Another thing, I watched the others during the tournament. Even though I went in with some hesitation, now that it’s over, I can say with confidence that I’m strong. Really strong. I was better than any of them and earned that title. Even Lissandra was about to declare it herself.

But I can also say that was unusual for her, especially after all that talk about me only being able to become Champion at best and her being the villain standing in my way. I think she simply lowered her standards just to declare me since she’ll soon leave and either die or escape the tutorial.

This is not something I can accept. Some time ago, I would have welcomed such a handout, just like when I accepted the Champion Candidate declaration. But now I’ve seen what I’m capable of compared to others. So why not push myself just that little bit further and do it on my own?

That also ties into the last part of my thinking: the rewards.

If I become an Absolute Candidate on my own, before my primary class upgrade or before I get my third trait, it could turn out to be something truly special. I’ve known for a long time that the system takes these factors and past performance into account. I also know the next primary class upgrade will likely happen only after level 450 and once the tutorial ends. But for now, I can channel my inner Savant and just be patient.

And once everything clicks into place, it will all be worth it.

***

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