Chapter 776 - Important things

[Thorncrown Tyrant - lvl ????]

The old demon doesn't even bother to unwrap the chocolate. He just bites straight through the foil, spitting the shredded plastic onto theground like trash. There’s something about his expression that irks me. I find myself hoping the chocolate bar missed quality control. I hope it’s loaded with lead or whatever other fancy toxins Earth can cook up.

The demon is exactly as expected: old. He looks even older than the vice guild master of Primordial Knights. His horns are the longest I have seen yet, growing from his forehead and twisting to the sides before curving back. He walks slowly, slightly slouched, while resting against a staff taller than him. That staff is made of white wood with a top that splits into branches, similar to the tree over his house.

Tess tries to say something, but he smacks her on the head with the staff with a speed that neither of us is able to react to. For a moment, I deeply enjoy the expression she makes. Her gleeful amusement from winning the bet vanishes, replaced by surprise at the action.

"I’m not interested in what you have to say," he spits out a piece of the chocolate wrapper in a disgusted manner while looking at her. "I have nothing to say to trash with Primordial Lightning."

Tess’s expression twists again, and I’m unable to take my eyes off it. She doesn't even look my way, surely knowing the glee I’m feeling.

Then, the staff hits the top of my head as well. "What are you snickering for, boy?" the old demon snorts. "A thief with a heart that isn't his own."

He muses for a second. When I try to speak, he smacks me again, then hits Tess again for no damn reason. While I have my mana crown active, Tess has her [Lightning Crown] out, so he just bashes the sides of our heads.

"No talking from you two," he says, then pointing toward the group. "Send in these twins to tell me what you want. The rest of you, stop being a bother and wait somewhere out of my sight."

Without even waiting for us to react, he hits Tess’s head with his staff one more time, turns around, and retreats back into his house.

***

Group 4 has a quick, hurried meeting as we gather around the twins.

“Are you sure you don't have some hidden primordial energy? A fragment?” I ask them, "Maybe that is why he called you two in."

“Maybe he considers them the dumbest and easiest to get answers from?” Maya muses.

“It could be connected to their [Connection] and [Sensory Deception]. Maybe it has something to do with his domain?” Min-Jae guesses.

“Maybe we just don’t seem to be dicks like most of you,” Dennis counters.

“Yeah! Apparently, we have faces that inspire trust,” Aaron adds. “Handsome, too, they said.”

“I didn't feel any ill intent from him,” Izzy says.

“He is a Champion or close to it, isn't he?” Sophie asks.

“Probably,” I agree before turning to the twins. “Ask him if he heard about my bet with Tess and decided to wait one hour just to screw me over.”

“He could probably hurt any of us without having to try tricks like these,” Tess says, ignoring the confused expressions Dennis and Aaron make at my request. “But the risk is still there.”

“Let’s send Biscuit with them,” Maya says, and all the conversation stops before all the heads look down at the corgi in his adult form. Biscuit senses the gazes on him, so he stops sniffing the weird stone on the ground, looks up, and tilts his head.

“Maya, are you maybe a genius?” I look around at the others. “This should be enough.”

All agree, and soon after, the twins leave with Biscuit floating by their side and knock on the door, which opens on its own. Then all three of them are let in, and the door closes. Only then does the group relax somewhat, but most of us keep an eye on the house and just enough mana flowing through our bodies to burst into action if needed.

I’ve always found it fascinating how we can be talking and joking one second, yet be combat-ready and prepared to fight for our lives the next. Most of the people from Hell difficulty are like that. Joking, laughing, eating, but if something happens, just a split second is enough for them to burst into a fight. It contrasts them greatly, even against the people from Hard difficulty.

Turning away from the house, I watch Tess as she rummages through one of the bags. I stay still, just observing her. I continue to stare at her even as she stands up, smiling happily as she holds a t-shirt in her hand. When she turns and notices me looking her way, she flinches in surprise, but then her smile widens even more.

Of course, I know why she is doing that. Plenty of us feel tense because of the end of the floor coming and the experience we have from previous endings like that. So she likes to throw in jokes like that to make the others ease off a bit. I think these jokes are especially effective when done to me, and that’s why she attempts to do it that often.

As she throws it, I catch the short-sleeved shirt and look it over. It’s black, covered in dozens of light brown geckos. One on the left side is printed to look like it's peeking out from the chest pocket, while the others are scattered around in funny or cute poses.

I let go of the shirt and absorb its momentum, causing it to halt mid-air while I go and pull my current shirt over the top of my head.

Tess lifts her eyebrow at that. “Still a lot of scars,” she says.

“Yes,” I agree with her and look down. A diagonal one across my chest, some on my side, a crossed one on my shoulder, and some on my forearms as well. Then there is the unnaturally pale left arm starting at my shoulder, and many more. Even my body, while muscular, is slimmer now after the body upgrade. As if it were made denser.

I move my hand and touch the scar on my chest. “Lily tried, but couldn't remove them either, so I guess they are part of me now.”

“Maybe it is a mental thing. There are theories that the way you see yourself can affect how you look. Similar to how what I perceive as a bigger [Sacrifice] can give me a bigger boost,” Lily says from the side.

“That gives an advantage to fucked-up people, right? Just don't perceive things in a logical way, but in the one advantageous to you,” I say and put on the gecko shirt.

“Well, guess who ended up in the Hell tutorial?” Tess says as she sits down and once again turns to look at the cottage. Her javelins continue to float near her with bits of Primordial Lightning flickering on their blades.

***

The twins and Biscuit return two hours later, with Biscuit carrying what looks like a big bone that he chews on happily.

Dennis scratches the top of his head, and as his hair shifts, I catch sight of bruises on his scalp. Meanwhile, Aaron has none and seems quietly pleased about it.

“We haven’t learned that much, but there are a few things you’ll like! Oh, and before we forget, send back a few more chocolates. We told him about light chains that work on solar panels, so include one of those too. And a telescope. He said we have ten minutes to send it in before he comes out and deals with us,” Aaron says.

“I see,” I nod. “About the fact that he waited for one hour just for me to lose the bet…”

I don’t get to finish as Min-Jae asks, “Whose theory was right about the floor?” while Maya and Sophie move to gather the required items, listening to what the twins say.

“No idea,” Dennis shakes his head and turns to whisper, “The guy is a dick. Told us we have one hour to leave, but gave us a map with interesting places as well as regions where older Absolutes’ or Champion’s bodies are, so we might gather some stuff.”

“He wasn't that bad,” Aaron disagrees. “He told us a bit about the planet. He also knows it as The Pit, and apparently, it isn't even that big, possibly smaller than our moon.”

“What about the gravity?” Min-Jae interrupts. “It would be much weaker, but it is stronger than Earth’s. Though it’s hard to estimate with the stats we’ve got.”

“Nat? What does your hummingbird constitution say?” that asshole Dennis asks me.

Knowing why he asked, I shrug. “It feels stronger than the one on Earth when I visited it.”

Min-Jae turns to me. “I wondered. Your Strength and Dexterity are decent, so how much does Constitution even influence the sense of gravity for you?”

“Not much, but I sometimes check things like these. I think it all changes with the settings of the floors. Otherwise, I don't think we’d be able to move that much on the second floor. Eladore is one of the most powerful planets, so I bet even a level 0 baby is likely physically much stronger than a common adult earthling.”

“I never thought of that!” Min-Jae says excitedly. “How is it in Beyond, then?”

“Gravity there feels stronger than any of the floors we’ve visited so far, and the lower the floor, the stronger it gets. There is also a pull on your mana towards the deeper floors, so it forces better control and…”

“Okay, how about we return to the important things?” Sophie says.

"We are talking about important things," Min-Jae says, voicing what I’m thinking.

Aaron then picks up and shares what they have learned. "He didn't tell us what this planet is for, so as to 'not ruin the fun of finding out.' He said we will see in a week when something called the Cycle ends, and the Harvest starts."

His brother nods. "He warned us to be careful, or we all die, though he said we should be safe because that 'creepy eyed asshole' should be able to protect us if we don't stick our noses where we shouldn't."

"It is a bit rude to call Nat that, but he has a point," Izzy says.

I am amazed by the certainty she knows it was meant to be me. Meanwhile, I’m fighting between annoyance and the fact that it is also likely meant as a compliment. In a way.

The others begin to talk and pull more information from the twins while I turn to look toward the cottage. If that guy was just a bit weaker, I’m sure I could do something petty, but it doesn't seem to be an option.

In what we have learned, there is also a warning, and the danger level is emphasized especially regarding the harvest that will start on our last day here. Harvest... I think of that word. With the connection to what we have seen, it starts to form an idea, though there are still options and a few new questions.

I won’t even pretend I already know what it’s all about, and instead I’ll wait it out. That’s what I like to do. Let others move around like headless chickens, slowly put things together, gather mana, and then, as Minion would say, kaboom. So that is what I continue to do, as it has worked out so far. Gathering more mana while partially listening to the conversation.

It is obvious that the start of the Harvest and the end of the floor colliding isn't a coincidence either, and then there is that part about us being safe if we don’t stick our noses where we shouldn't. But what if I don't mind some danger? What if I want to get my grubby hands where they shouldn't go? But to do that, I need to make sure the others are safe. After all, I can steal things and abuse the system for thousands of years to come, but there is only one group of assholes that somehow became my friends.

Slowly, I switch on some combat minds and combine others. The flow of my mana changes as well, and certain constructs ramp up their activity. A bit of my emotions cool off, and I suppress them slightly, just enough to not get overtaken by my curiosity and tendency to throw myself into danger.

I can go on for over a week without sleeping, so that’s exactly what I will do, and to feel better about myself, I open my status to glance at it before closing it.

Name: Nathaniel Gwyn

Title: Absolute Candidate

Difficulty: Hell

Rank: S, Radiant Gold

Guild: Primordial Knights

Floor: 9 - The Pit

Time left until forced return: 1y 261d 17h 3m 46s

Traits (2/3): Preeminence Eyes 1/4, Mana Physique 2/4

Lvl 388

Strength: 371

Dexterity: 349

Constitution: 115

Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1870 + 1870

Primary Class: Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane)

Sub-class: [Adept of Pride]

Active skills (9/10):

Focus - Lvl 77

Perception - Lvl 73

Redistribution - Lvl 76

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 78

Ley Line - Lvl 74

Eclipse (Pride) - Lvl 67

Empyrean Lance - Lvl 39

Manifestation - Lvl 39

Current - Lvl 39

Constructs:

Physical Fortification Matrix

Mana Flow Control

Mana Sovereignty Field

Kinetic Mana Heart

Sealed Ignition Heart (Partially Sealed, 1/3)

Combat Cognition Frame

High-Density Thought Network

Thermal Flux Controller

Passive skills (5/5):

Mana Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic)

Mana Wavelength Tyrant (Mid Arcane)

Subdermal Combustion Weave (Mid Arcane)

Mana Wave Predation (Unique Arcane)

Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector (Low Pristine)

Tokens:

Send a single item to your disciple (up to epic rarity)

Passive skill combination token (low arcane)

Beyond visitor token - 1 year (unlocked after tutorial)

Beyond 7 day stay token

Beyond 14 day stay token (x 24)

Shards: 6,139,706