Chapter 575 - Uselessly handsome man

Looking intently at the young lynthari disciple, I lift my hand high with my palm open. Above my hand, a golden thermal orb forms from flames of thermal energy blazing across its surface.

Energy floods into it until it expands with an audible thump. It grows from the size of a golden ball to that of a baseball, a football, and finally, a beach ball, and then it is even bigger.

It floats above me, drying the air with its presence as it emits a cracking noise and heat that makes the air shimmer.

In my most ominous voice, I say, "I'm sorry, little one."

I step forward.

The lynthari screams.

I declare, "I forfeit."

Before I disappear, I pull all the heat back into my body in case it lingers and ruins the event for the little one. Ignoring the commotion in the common area and the questions thrown my way, I send out a detection pulse and succeed in locating her only because she allows it.

Still in the common area but under the trees, I teleport to Lissandra.

"You must think this is so damn funny," I say as I stand beside her and turn back to watch the screen.

"Is it not?" she asks from the side.

I decide not to answer the question and instead watch my minion clash with one of the few other demon disciples. It's almost as if she did it on purpose; out of all the signatures near her, she chose to fight the demons first. And damn, my little half-demon is kicking the poor guy's ass.

"Which one is yours?" Lissandra asks.

"Half-demon girl, red eyes, light brown hair. Primarily a user of kinetic energy and mana."

"Found her," she answers as she continues to watch with me.

After my minion defeats the guy and he turns into pale blue particles, appearing in the common area next to his master, I ask, "How did you get all my points during the event?"

"You really don't have a guess, or you just don't want to believe it, little pup?"

"The latter? I mean, at first, I thought you tampered with my notifications because I didn't see any, but then I thought about it and dismissed that idea."

"What conclusion did you come to?"

"You cannot tamper with the system directly. Even the Rulers, probably, cannot do that. Besides, you are still considered partially fake and inside of the tutorial, which should make it even more impossible for you to do so. Any tiny nudges applied to the system around you are done by Rulers. Some might do it to mess around, others to help, while some do it to hurt you."

"Correct."

"So the only option is that, from that little island in the sea, you were able to kill-steal all the monsters before I killed them. All the special grade, all the small ones, and all those killed when the island fell. You killed thousands of monsters in a single millisecond before my attack reached them, without me even noticing the movement of your mana."

"Correct," she repeats.

I look at her to see if she has more to say, but the distant smile on her lips tells me she will not continue on that subject.

Turning away from her, I can only think what a monster this woman is, achieving that even without her full power.

"How far off the Champion rank was that beast at the end?" I ask.

"Very far."

Hearing excited shouts from the common area, I look at the screen again, just in time to see Vega boost herself into the air and crash into a feylith floating there. The feylith girl's hair and eyes turn blue as she struggles to stay aloft with Vega hanging on to her; both are pulled to the ground.

After landing, the feylith lets out a painful groan. My minion absorbs part of the impact with a somersault to cushion the rest. But she does not stop there. Immediately after, she charges the feylith.

Getting to her feet, the feylith raises her arms and fires a blast of flames at Vega. Instead of dodging, Vega steps into the fireball and stomps. At the epicenter, a shockwave of kinetic energy erupts, blasting away the weak, unfocused fire. Before her opponent can even stand, Vega rushes in, slams her fist into her face, and immediately drives a dagger into her chest, piercing through her defenses.

She shows no hesitation, and part of me wonders if she ever considered that she might kill these disciples for real.

But I don't really want an answer to that. I already know it.

"Little pup."

"What?"

"Soon after this tournament ends, little kitten and I will be leaving."

"What do you mean?"

"We will prepare and then depart for Beyond, where I will have my only chance to leave the tutorial. There, I will either succeed or fail. So tell me, which outcome do you wish for?"

"Isn't that obvious? I want you to succeed so that Myrra gets out, and so I can find you later to deal with you for all the things you have done. But why so early? Don't you want to get stronger? Use the system shop to regain a level of power similar to what you used to have?"

"As frustrating as it is to accelerate my plans, I have no choice this time. Each time the little kitten and I pass through the instances of the tutorial, we risk being erased. I have also been warned that more Rulers are watching this instance. At most, we have a few weeks."

"How poetic. You're being screwed over in a similar way to how you're screwing me over."

"Amusing, isn't it?"

"Indeed," I agree with her.

As she looks at the screen, I glance at her profile, and thoughts race through my mind. Part of me wonders if she doesn't push me so hard to be her legacy in case she fails.

Shaking off that silly thought, I turn away from her and back to the screens. In the end, it doesn't matter. Her reasons don't change the way I see her. She chose to be a villain in my path, and she succeeded.

I don't ask her aloud if she truly believes she can accomplish what likely dozens of her versions in previous tournaments could not. I'm also sure those other versions had the same thoughts she does now.

Lissandra carries herself with such certainty that failure is not even a concept she would acknowledge.

***

POV Miwa

Channeler, though weaker than I am, is respected by everyone in Easy and Normal difficulty. Even those in Hard and some in Hell difficulty show him respect. The reason is simple.

What Channeler says often represents the words of Group 4.

What we once thought to be one of the strongest groups in our 5th round now seems to be one of the strongest groups in the entire Earth's tutorial. Group 4, sometimes also called Angry Kittens.

A few days ago, I even heard someone say, "He is one of the kittens," by a guy from Hard difficulty when talking about NotAaron. Or maybe it was NotDennis?

After my last question, Channeler sits quietly and continues to stare at the screen, sitting on the bench next to me. I take the moment to reflect further.

Group 4 has Grumpy, the strongest healer Earth currently has, as rumored after people visited zones from other rounds. She is someone I saw regrow the arm of a Hell difficulty man from the 2nd round in a few seconds. The arm belonged to someone specialized in physical stats, which should make healing much more difficult and he lost it back on Earth so the tournament´s healing aura didn't restore it.

There is also a rumor that she can cure illnesses once considered impossible to treat on Earth or destroy a crippled leg to regrow a perfect one before the healing aura of the tournament activates.

I have spoken to a healer from my group, and even she said such feats should be impossible at our current level without risking harm to the patient or killing them.

That single person makes Group 4 extremely influential, and I cannot help but wonder how many people on Earth would do anything to receive Grumpy’s services, offering their entire fortunes just to cure their ailments or extend their lives.

But it does not stop with her. There is also TheStrongestOne; even with his silly name, he is someone who can fly, a feat that only a low percentage of even Hell difficulty can accomplish. Not to mention his [Telekinesis], with which he is able to lift entire buildings.

Knight, known for her speed and huge mana armor, is even rumored to be recognized by Baek, the tournament winner of the 10th round. Soph, though she hasn't used her ability much lately, can manipulate people, an ability that is among the most terrifying, possibly the most. Then there is Izzy, with her flames that melt through mana and everything else, and her enormous snake.

The Twins can do something many people from lower difficulties consider impossible, namely taking over your skill and using it against you while creating lifelike illusions that even those in Hell difficulty have trouble distinguishing from reality. And of course Sset, with her primordial lightning and ability to kill you from miles away without you even realizing it. I spoke with her a few times during the first tournament and found her someone deserving of admiration.

So the question is: Should I accept Noname's offer and work with them? They are clearly one of the strongest groups, but they have no hesitation in using force against others, as Noname clearly demonstrated during the last event. In response to his actions, multiple rounds will likely band together to oppose him.

Channeler finally answers as I remain lost in thought.

"I think you should join," he says.

"Can you give me a reason?"

"I can. As you said, Group 4 has a lot of conflicts, but who doesn’t? Many groups keep their intentions hidden and wait for an opportunity, but Group 4 is mostly transparent and fair."

Channeler lowers his voice, "And Miwa, I think most of the time Noname doesn't even realize how his actions affect other people and often scare them."

He glances around before leaning in. "I talk to many people from all difficulties, and even those from Hell often do not understand some of the things he does. Barely anyone can fly, yet he does so with such ease and speed. I have heard of groups forming that try to devise ways to counter his mana disruption; they just cannot understand how he can pierce through natural barriers so easily and disrupt their skills. He can also teleport in a way that barely anyone can track or interfere with. And he combines it all with such powerful attacks."

I hesitate, carefully considering his words. "Isn't that something other Hell attendees could do as well, just later on? And he has a lot of mana, so it makes sense that he's powerful."

Channeler smiles, and for a moment, I wonder if he is laughing at me. But instead of feeling insulted, I remind myself that his amusement is likely directed at the absurdity of the situation, not at me.

"A lot of mana?" He looks at me with a big smile. "Everyone knows Noname is an Amplificator, but a lot of mana does not cover it. The most talented people here I have met go for one Constitution to three or four Mana, even with the bonus from the Amplification upgrade. No one knows how many stats Noname has pumped into his mana."

"Please explain it to me. I rarely talk to Hell difficulty attendees, so I do not understand how impressive it is."

"Sure. Simply put, he should be dead multiple times over. For your body to hold that much mana, you need to have a specialized trait, which others suspect Noname possesses, but that alone would not be enough. You need Constitution to support it; otherwise, it will disrupt the balance and the mana will constantly damage your body. The amount of mana Noname holds, according to other estimates, would only be possible above level 350 and possibly higher with the 'right' stats allocation. There is no way he is that level."

I pause, weighing his words carefully. "What are you? President of his fanclub?" I shake my head. "I understand he is powerful, and his group too, but what worries me are his tendencies. As I said, I need to think about it a bit more."

"I'm glad to hear that," Channeler straightens up again and smiles.

"I would have thought you would be happy if I agreed right away."

"That's a reasonable thought, but Miwa, your careful consideration makes it clear that this decision is important to you and that you do not want to change your mind in the future. Isn't such a person better to cooperate with?"

For a moment, I look at him, and he remains unshaken, smiling.

I find myself recalling Noname’s words that day when I observed his work. As he said, Channeler is, indeed, a uselessly handsome man.

***

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