Chapter 350: Without a single speck of doubt

Chapter 350: Without a single speck of doubt

Landing on the balcony, I encounter very few people. Everyone from the tutorial is already fighting down there, and the explosions can be heard even at this distance, and I can feel the tremors in the ground, the vibrations shaking clouds of dust from the ceiling.

Once inside, I meet very few guards, only the bare minimum, along with some people in the uniforms of different workers. Further deep inside, the civilians lie in hiding.

Pushing through them all, I slowly pass by the rooms, scanning the area.

Like the exterior, the inside of the Aether Keep feels rough, yet it gives the impression of solidity and safety. There is a cozy feeling inherent in the tons of tough stone blocks surrounding us and the flickering orange light playing across the walls.

After a few minutes of walking through empty hallways, I pass through the door leading to the mines, and the atmosphere changes. The walls become rougher, the tunnels narrower, the lights brighter and the air isn't as well ventilated either.

After some time, small crystals seem to start growing from the walls, along with thin veins of mana-conductive metal. All mere chaff, left behind, not worth bothering with in comparison to the larger deposits deeper in the tunnels.

Surprisingly, the mines are constructed in the same pre-industrial style we once had on Earth, and probably still do in some places. To be honest, I expected something different.

Sure, the walls are rather smooth, compared to those on Earth. The light is sharp and emits no smoke. Even parts of the tunnels were probably constructed much quicker than their counterparts on Earth. There is also no need for wooden supports, it's all been reinforced with the help of skills. And the ventilation works surprisingly well.

Yet... I don't know what I expected. Wouldn't a single high-level individual be able to do this much, almost, on their own? That probably creates its own issues but it also raises more questions.

Is mining just a task reserved for low-level workers, leaving higher-level individuals with greater degrees of freedom, or do they spend all their time fighting? But that can't be it; there has to be money to be made, surely enough to tempt even those with a high-level.

Maybe they have regulations to prevent materials from being mined too quickly, and flooding the market?

That is more likely.

How interesting.

The more I learn, the more I find out how little I know. An entirely new world is constantly being opened up to me.

I expand my domain and place an anchor further ahead to which I teleport, and then repeat this multiple times in quick succession.

In a few seconds, I pass a much greater distance than I did in ten minutes of walking, and I continue until I reach the smaller cave that seems to serve as storage.

There are massive and, from testing, extremely heavy iron boxes. After cutting them apart, I find them to be full of chunks of the mana-conductive metal arcanadium. Something I have some experience with.

In its rough state, the metal is darker, and there are imperfections in it, unlike the ingots I found in the bunkers on the 5th floor.

(You are not going to join? I thought Tess wanted you to be flashy?) I hear Sophie say through the connection made by twins.

Holding a chunk of arcanadium in my hand and examining it, I answer, (You guys have some fun. I’ll do something flashy after you all die.)

(You better not regret it when we kill the serpent and you don't get any points. Check the leaderboard; you are dead last.) After that, Sophie cancels the connection.

I do not even bother checking it and send another pulse into the area.

Locating another stockpile, I move there with a few teleports, and this time open a box containing ethercrystals, a material capable of absorbing mana in its vicinity when properly prepared. A sword I once had on the 4th floor and the ax I found in the 1st event were made of the same material. Both weapons turned absorbed mana into physical enhancements.

As with the arcanadium before, the ethercrystal here hasn’t been processed, a number of the crystals are milky, cracked, or are simply an inferior product. It also seems to make them less receptive to mana.

The ground under me shakes, and dust falls from the ceiling, and the roar of the monster reaches me even down here. A loud crack erupts, and I teleport away as the place I stood ends up buried under a mass of stones.

I teleport a few more times, finding a cache of mining tools. Clothes, masks, and tools suitable for excavation.

Once again the ground shakes and the dust starts falling from the ceiling as if it intends to fall on me, but this time I create a barrier and support the walls, stopping the stones from burying me.

Then I continue to examine the inscriptions on the tools. They’re really simple, yet there is beauty in their simplicity. A great deal of focus seems to have been given to improving their efficiency and reducing mana consumption.

The protective gear is similar. Some parts of it even have inscriptions to keep you warm when fueled by mana. The inscriptions on the clothes have been woven from threads containing bits of conductive material that I have a hard time identifying.

Putting it away, I sit on the ground and look at the barrier holding up the stone around me.

It's a shame that the shop is locked; I could sell a lot of stuff. It's also a shame we can't take items from the events, we’ve known that since the 1st event. But I guess it would be too much if someone took a low arcane item out of an event or tons of materials from the mines.

I release the barrier and watch as the stones start falling, about to bury me there, and at the last moment, I use the anchor I left outside and teleport to it.

Appearing at the tower behind the last standing wall, I sit at the top looking down upon the pandemonium.

The Quake Serpent is now shining a brilliant shade of white, though one eye is still blind. But the monster is moving extremely quickly, belying its size. The lizard rushes towards Lily who avoids its attack, and once in a while, a burst of gray mana pours out from her. She’s still carrying the bag of our limbs on her back.

Great holes have been rent in the monster’s flesh, eaten away by [Disintegration]. Even the monster's head hasn’t come away unscathed, signs of a failed attempt at destroying the brain I would imagine.

Chunks of metal the size of large cars fall from the sky, pulled by an invisible force, striking the monster and dumping an immense amount of kinetic energy from the sheer speed and weight.

I locate Min-Jae who seems to be controlling them. His attacks do cause some damage, but not enough. There is also Brainiac who keeps taking potshots at the lizard’s good eye with his invisible projectiles.

With a horrifying noise, three javelins come flying down, burrowing into the Quake Serpent's head, immediately followed by red and white lightning crashing from the sky and flowing into the weapons.

The monster roars again, thrashing around, killing any monsters and people that get too close.

Even so, there’s not much in the way of damage. The monster still moves, quickly approaching the wall, only to be stopped by a man with a silver barrier surrounding him.

The earth shakes, and the wall is cracking and about to break apart when the strongest native finally moves. His mana surrounds him like a cape and he draws a sword wrapped in a brilliant light as he enters the fray, confidently facing the monster.

The monster rears up, towering high in the air, its white scales seeming almost indomitable.

That's when purple tentacles explode from the ground, each as big as the monster, crawling over its body, tying it down, surrounding it, the tips piercing into the lizard's body.

The monster roars, falling to all fours as the tentacles envelop its face, hooking themselves to its maw and forcing it open.

There Biscuit floats nearby, a purple ball of mana floating over his form. The orb destabilizes, turning bright white, only to be shot into the monster's mouth just before the tentacles weaken and disappear.

Biscuit starts fluttering in the air about to fall down when Min-Jae reaches him and pulls him into his arms, flying away as quickly as he can with his clumsy method.

As the monster tries to spit out the orb, it explodes from within, its jaw reduced to a bloody mess. Blood drips from the gaping hole, and the moment that blood touches the ground it melts the stone, creating a toxic mist.

Even that kills multiple people, even a few of those being protected by Gareth's silver light.

The native knight attacks next, his sword extending much further as he thrusts the blade at the Quake Serpent.

The ensuing fight goes on for quite a while.

Natives, and the people of Hell difficulty come together to defeat the Quake Serpent. More monsters appear to help, separating the groups and forcing them to deal with weaker monsters as well.

Isabella unleashes the orbs she’s been charging all this time, the two of them manage to consume one of the Quake Serpent’s legs in its entirety, taking a big chunk of the beast’s torso with it. The sheer heat generated by the skill kills some of the defenders and forces Lily and Gareth to heal a few of the more important fighters.

The web covering the entire Aether Keep activates finally, strengthening Sophie's skill and its reach. Thousands of ants turn against each other, tearing their fellow attackers apart, some even start crawling up the giant lizard.

And then she takes over more ants. And more. Between the web and her cooperation with the Twins, Sophie controls thousands of monsters, forcing them to fight their own forces, defending even against the opposing army’s attempts to wrest them from her control.

With one final burst, Tess releases a stream of lightning into the giant lizard's head, and finally, the giant beast stumbles.

People from Hell difficulty are hungrier, wilder, and more aggressive. From the way they’re fighting, it almost feels like it’s just another day for them. They do not hesitate when that powerful monster attacks, throwing everything against it.

The silence that fills the common area is eerie, and through the screen, we can even feel a portion of the pressure being generated by the monster. It's not quite like a monitor, it’s more like a screened window allowing “air” to flow through.

Though the system is limiting it, I feel myself getting sick just from the mana being released by the monster.

Even being so strong, people from Hell difficulty die one after another, all of them appearing in the common area, their bodies restored, clothes fixed, and mana replenished. None of them seem satisfied like they’re eager to jump back in and face that horror inside.

So this is why they are where they are.

When a minute remains, I check the leaderboards.

1st (689 pts) - Soph

2nd (576 pts) - Savant

3rd (553 pts) - Sset

4th (551 pts) - Tacita

5th (501 pts) - Grumpy

6th (490 pts) - Gareth

7th (471 pts) - Brainiac

8th (469 pts) - TheStrongestOne

9th (401 pts) - NotAaron

10th (389 pts) - FoodFood

And there is one name right at the bottom

2357th (-99 pts) - Noname

The last remaining person inside the second event finally moves, seemingly unaffected by the pressure that caused the others so much trouble.

Noname is wearing simple, almost casual clothes; he wears no armor, and no visible equipment other than the ax and a weird blade on his belt. Standing there, he seems out of place, careless even. He moves his hand, sweeping the hair from his eyes, and I can see the gold circles appear around his pupils on the screen.

Even now, he maintains his neutral expression.

Some people start talking, complaining about why he hasn’t helped until now, but an orange light radiates from a single man, the pressure bringing the babbling masses to their knees.

“Shut up,” the man says simply, his eyes glued to the screen.

Noname, as if he knows we’re all watching, stretches, and for the first time since I’ve met him, a smile overtakes his face. It's an eager smile, careless, and full of honesty.

He is happy, and it is terrifying.

Noname floats into the air in that unnervingly stable flight of his, almost as if the world is moving around him rather than him moving through it. The ax in his hand glows brighter, and I can swear I feel the heat radiating from the system’s window.

Rotweaver screeches for the first time, the sickly aura it radiates tries to expand again but it can’t, held at bay by something else, something even stronger.

As he swings the ax, golden flames explode. Like a wave, they pour from the weapon’s blade. Small at first, but quickly expanding and crashing into the monster below.

The stone burns red now; corpses are set ablaze, burned to ashes nearly immediately. The flames reach the Quake Serpent, setting even this monster ablaze. They climb up its massive body like a living being.

20th (299 pts) - Noname

Quake Serpent roars soundlessly, a shockwave exploding through the earth as it rushes towards Noname who isn’t even flying all that high, about to take a bite at him.

Something black moves around Noname, and inconceivably the monster freezes in place, its mangled bloody maw wide open around him.

With calm movement, he lifts the ax and once again the flames explode, flowing right into the monster's face and mouth, burning it from inside. The flames feel alive as they eat the monster, turning its giant body into a charred husk while it can't even move.

6th (499 pts) - Noname

The air around him flickers from the sheer heat and the remains of the monster get blown away.

Rotweaver screeches again, the limbs behind its back weave and glow, a more sickly aura radiating from the monster. The remaining reanimated corpses move as one in their offensive.

The ax swings again, the rest of the monsters burned by a flame that envelops the entire area. At the same time, Noname lands on the ground, all around him his golden flames burning, the ground cracked and turned into magma.

Wounds cover his body, but they are slowly healing. The flames closest to him get pulled into the ax.

1st (798 pts) -Noname

After a few steps, he stops, a silence so deep the only sound is the breathing of the people in the common area. All gazes are on the screen as that man stops in front of the monster, surrounded by that hellish landscape. It’s dark and only his flames serve to light the area.

The Rotweaver is burned, the left half of its body missing, three of its eyes are burned out and the aura it had radiated so intensely is just flickering. There are no more corpses to escape to.

On its own feet, the monster tries to run, but with a speed that rivals Tacita's, he reaches it. He grabs the back of its neck and burrows the monster's head into the molten earth.

The smile on his face grows even wider as the crown over his head loses most of its shine, mana flowing into an orb the size of a basketball. The floating orb changes colors in quick succession, from pale blue to dark blue, then gets streaks of light blue and purple all over, and then starts shining bright white with a shimmering of golden light. The sheer amount of mana it contains is hard to imagine.

“That dumbass,” someone whispers, and when I look up I notice it's Sset. “That fucking dumbass,” she repeats.

As if hearing, Noname blinks, a bit of his usual casual face returning, and he glances towards the Aether Keep just nearby.

“Oh,” his mouth moves as if he just remembered something.

But it's too late and the orb explodes, instantly evaporating what remains of the monster.

1st (1298 pts) - Noname

A burst of flames erupts from the center of the ball, in a shockwave sending the remains of the wall and earth into the air. They expand at great speed, destroying everything in their path.

As they are about to reach the Aether Keep, they freeze. The flickering air immolating everything in its way stops, and the heat disappears. The shockwave, nearly visible, flickers in the air.

All of this held at bay by that single body that produced it all.

In that moment I realize that it's only been one year since the tutorial started and that nothing will ever be the same, even if we return to Earth. Our lives have changed, and the Earth will change, all because of him and people like him.

Noname, looking like he is about to break apart, finally disappears, appearing in the common area. With his clothes, and mana restored.

The living weapon and winner of the second event without a single speck of doubt.