Chapter 883 - Disciple and his master

POV Ruby

The entire process is hurried as much as possible as I watch the wyvern surround Nathaniel within its domain.

I have the same system quest as Diligence does, and so do all the rulers in charge of this cycle of the tutorial. I do not think Wrath cares, and Envy is as good as dead, hiding and licking his wounds as my Apophenic Mentis works on breaking his Chaos Shields.

I do not think Kindness cares either, in her case, she would possibly prefer for the imitation to get out. And there is not a single thing anyone in the universe or the system can do to punish her.

As for me, I... I do not know. I have heard what Nathaniel said to Diligence, and I gave it thought. A lot of it, actually, I allowed months to pass within my mind, and even then, there were thoughts appearing that I dislike.

Something like that... happening to me… after all these stretches of time, I still find parts of me that are of that young, inexperienced, silly woman from the last years of Eladore. I still continue to adore them.

When Diligence gives a signal, I work with him to loosen the invisible chain binding the one winged wyvern to Beyond and the tutorial. Patience helps, and so does Humility, and no Ruler tries to stop our effort.

The wyverns gathered outside do the same as one winged roars toward the sky. Diligence blubbers a series of curses as he swiftly protects all of the attendees from the unintended, dangerous wave of the wyverns' powerful call for freedom.

Slowly, the chains and the connections begin to break and unwind. All of the Corporations, the Magi, the Slayer watch it happen. They take notes and think of ways to use this precious, rare occurrence to gather information to their advantage.

Nathaniel is in the center of all of that under the one winged wyvern, observing it with all the effort he can. He is so tiny, so unimportant in comparison. Any of these forces could extinguish his life at any moment with such ease.

His life could end just like that, with him leaving just a tiny footnote in the history of this universe. Just a speck of dust, a reckless attendee whose name would disappear from Beyond rankings soon, and for him to be forgotten, too.

Yet, to me, he does not seem like any of that as his eyes sweep the area and his feeble body stands there with unnatural calm.

Diligence, Patience, and Humility then cleanse his body multiple times, as well as the wyvern's, which angrily lets it happen according to the deal. These cleanses remove all of the marks the imitation could have placed on them as well as cut off all of the possible connections. A promise given by the wyverns in one of the ancient ways will take care of the rest.

And so, both of them disappear as the last chain tying the one winged wyvern shatters. They appear in the orbit of Xyphos, immediately surrounded by six more wyverns who call in unison with their kin. The space around them shakes with immense force as they deploy their domains, which clash, combine, fight, and gently touch each other.

Their calls melt into one as the one winged wyvern takes over, showing a strength a good notch over the other wyverns. The strength is on par with someone like a Ruler.

It uses the force of the combined domains to punch a hole through space, connecting to an ancient Firmament and instantly passing through vast distances with Nathaniel within its care.

The other wyverns stay behind for a while to close the breach, before leaving as well, each on their own.

The Firmament soon reaches bounds within which the System's influence weakens. There are entire solar systems within the old battlefields of the System War. This one is where that godking once long ago fought against the Ruler of Oblivion. The solar system they reach is nestled against a dying star. It is a vibrant, multicolored cosmic blossom. Like an expanding bubble held back only by the primordial energy of the wolf clan. The entire solar system is rid of mana, and none reaches it anymore.

Me and Diligence watch, though we switch to more exotic methods based on primordial energies and make use of the system's fingerprint on Nathaniel to strengthen the signal. The amount of information we can observe lessens, but that is not something we can avoid.

The wyvern remains floating in orbit as Nathaniel, surrounded by its barrier, crashes against the surface of the planet. He does not complain as he walks out of the dust and within the tall trees.

As if he knows where to go, he walks in one direction confidently, after a few minutes reaching a clearing in which two enormous wolves lie down. One of them is brown with a scar across its entire face, and the other one is gray with a missing part of its tail.

Both beasts stand up, shaking off the stiffness, and the brown one even yawns.

In between them, two smaller creatures lie. A tiny black wolf pup with a round belly and golden eyes, tied by a bone chain to a wooden stake. Next to him is what used to be Nathaniel's bond. That cute creature is now sleeping, missing part of one of its legs, and patches of missing fur reveal scars on the skin.

Nathaniel does not stop for a moment and continues to walk ahead toward the barrier surrounding what was his bond.

Both of the wolves say something, and even the wolf pup does, but he does not even listen and walks ahead.

And so, the brown wolf lunges ahead and bites at him.

In the last moment, mana radiates from him, surrounding him in a barrier that blocks the bite. That mana then moves like a torrential wave, expanding and growing to form a huge figure that uses muscular arms to keep the wolf's mouth open and even pushes him back. More of muscular arms grow from the mana figure and grab and squeeze the brown wolf's neck, pressing him against the ground.

Much more mana radiates from Nathaniel, and another figure forms, this one slimmer and taller, with a wizard hat at the top. A staff forms in its hand, and from it a beam of mana shoots, meeting with an attack of the gray wolf.

Nathaniel walks unbothered, and I can see his Ignition Heart beat powerfully in his chest. It is now fully unleashed as it fuels his creations with mana in this world where there is none of it to take. Each beat scars his body further, with the burn on his heart spreading as he reaches for all the power of the heart of someone who used to be a very powerful Champion.

He takes some of that mana and throws it against the barrier, but all of it does nothing as it does not even wobble. Yet, he tries again, throwing dozens of blasts of raw mana, his blood, empyrean mana, everything he can.

Still, it remains.

And so the figures he made, which were fighting the giant wolves and matching them in size, now use powerful attacks and throw them away. Both of the figures swiftly return to him, manifesting behind his back, making him look so tiny. They merge into one, shrinking and bleeding color until, with a blink, the shift completes, and his vessel turns pitch black.

It touches Nathaniel's shoulder and then becomes a part of him, flickering across his skin as he punches the barrier, which instantly breaks apart.

Not caring for his broken arm, the burns spreading over his chest, and the wolves charging him, he smiles in a way that makes my heart ache and, with incredible gentleness, picks up his bond. His thermal heart beats even wilder, and a circle of golden flames surrounds him. The smile does not disappear from his face, even as burns begin to spread on his back behind his heart.

That circle of flames turns to threads of mana, and from the air a dozen or so arms made of mana appear, using them to draw inscriptions. His skill then activates, further strengthened by these inscriptions and the mana powering it, and both of the wolves halt in place.

A bit of black mana flashes around him as he breaks the chain tying the wolf pup to the ground, and it starts growing in size, matching the other two wolves, though looking much more dangerous with pitch black fur and striking golden eyes.

He gently puts his bond in front of the wolf that immediately covers it protectively. Nathaniel's broken arm then snaps into place and fully heals as steam releases from his skin. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and slaps his hands shut together.

And Diligence starts panicking.

“There is no way. There is no way. There is no way. THERE IS NO WAY,” the black ant next to me mutters in shock.

Both he and I watch the movements of his mana in shock.

It is not because it is something that powerful or dangerous, it is just-

“That just should not be possible,” Diligence mutters what I am thinking.

And so Nathaniel Gwyn begins to weave together a Scalar Beacon, a feat even most Champions are not capable of. Something that grazes the threshold of Absolute.

And his mind endures it.

...

It should not be possible.

Diligence tries to stop it, but the one winged wyvern interferes, and right at the same moment the presence on the planet growls from its sleep, and the incredible wave of pantophagic energy weakens our ability to watch even further.

My master's way of teaching was always special, and the imitation seems to be the same. She never taught you something directly. She wanted you to experience it, to fight for it, and to understand it.

While she always complained about a lack of scientific knowledge, she never complained about when I understood things through feel.

That talent or aptitude towards something. Master Lissandra always had a soft spot for that.

Dangling that knowledge or experience in front of you, she made you fight for it. To walk on rows of knives cutting you to get to it. Sometimes even without fully understanding what she wants from you and learning as much as you did.

What a monster has so flashily yet quietly grown inside of the tutorial. Never looked upon in the same way as talents like Nyssa. Considered powerful only because of the risks and damage he is taking, and expected by everyone to burn out brilliantly before even becoming a Champion.

Growing there so unnoticed under the noses of us all. A mind one day possibly comparable to that of Temperance.

It makes me wonder how long he actually spent in thought acceleration aided by the imitation.

Bleeding from his eyes and with childlike joy, Nathaniel spreads his hands wide, and in front of him a single speck of light glows beautifully, obvious in its function for everyone powerful who would look upon it. A fully completed, perfect Scalar Beacon, making it obvious who knows its coordinates.

As his Handler, I see the notifications he has just received.

[Focus - lvl 84 > Focus - lvl 85]

[Focus - lvl 85 > Focus - lvl 86]

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 86 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 87]

[Mana Manipulation - lvl 87 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 88]

And many others.

We are not the only ones noticing that, though.

My sigh clears out as I look away from that solar system and toward Xyphos, which shakes as one of its entrances spits her out. Mana radiates from her in a way that overlays her form with my master’s image, even that small, satisfied smile matches, though it rests upon a much younger face.

In her hands, the imitation holds two heads. One of them carries an older, dignified face, the same as my master at the time of Eladore’s end. The other is the same as the imitation’s. Both heads are missing the skull at the top, revealing a brain with mana wiring going through it. The younger one has a black dagger going through it. Both of the heads also have parts of the spine dangling, all of it covered in mana wiring, too.

And the imitation speaks, “You seem to be prepared, little ant. I wonder if my disciple has warned you, and as to what the reason was,” she says toward Diligence, whose presence reaches closer in an attempt to stop her. “Though that ruins my plan of using your death to make this escape easier, it matters not.”

She declares this, letting both of the heads drop from her hands. Even before they fall to the ground, she makes a myriad of adaptations, changes, and calculations, and when they touch the hot sand, she is done entirely redesigning what I don't even know if I can call an array anymore, and activates it.

No Ruler present even tries to stop it. We just watch the incredible ability of someone once considered the only true equal to the Ruler of Pride. If not yet as powerful as she was at her peak in the decades after Eladore’s fall, she is getting close to it.

The imitation of Lissandra Hawthorne then warps away toward the beacon placed for her, fully breaking off the chains holding her tied to the tutorial.

As Diligence goes into overdrive trying to manage the situation, and my channels are flooded with messages from groups, organizations, and beings even the Rulers are wary to cross, I simply stand there. The image of the imitation with her features overlaid by my master’s remains etched into my mind, even as new system quests pulse before my eyes.

And I cry.

***

Author Note:
Thank you guys for being so patient! My vacation is over (I really enjoyed it and we do not talk about canceled flights), and we are back to Book 11!

Today, I will go through my Patreon messages and refunds, so worry not. Just a heads up: if you requested a refund directly through Patreon instead of messaging me, those requests only remain for one week before they disappear. Since I was unable to check them during my vacation, it is possible it was up to Patreon to decide what to do with these requests. You can try sending it again or messaging me.

Also, we have the final version of the Book 8 cover, and I will share that with you later today or tomorrow.

Also, Audiobook 6 is finally out! You can find it here: https://www.audible.com/pd/Hell-Difficulty-Tutorial-6-Audiobook/B0H6C7B1J4

Additionally, there will be German versions of the ebooks and audiobooks, with some launching very soon.

I am sure there was more I wanted to mention, but I have forgotten for now. I will be sure to share more later if I remember!