I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep when I awoke but I was no longer in the forest. I was back in my bed. I got up and checked the room just to be sure. I didn't think the general or his army could do illusions but better safe than sorry. I quickly realized a problem though. I had no idea how to stop an illusion. It wasn't like I had completely memorized the room the System provided. I even tried pinching myself. The sharp pain told me that I could still feel things but it wasn't enough to reassure me. After several minutes of remembering things that only I would know I gave up. Part of me felt ridiculous but something worked in my favor. The energy from the kill still sat in my dantian. It was enough for me to hit level 11.

I pulled up the quest menu and grinned when I saw it was complete. I confirmed the quest and a small box appeared in front of me. The box was identical to all the other ones. I opened it and found an ornate vial covered in small sigils that glowed softly. The liquid inside was a beautiful purple with golden specks that reminded me a bit of Kool-Aid. A quick search showed me the information stone for the potion. I sent a bit of my energy inside and flinched. The information filled my mind and I couldn't help but laugh. The elixir was one hundred percent worth it. It would act as a major boost to my species and improve my class choices once the time came. I only hesitated for a moment before I uncorked the vial and drank it down. A small part of me felt it was stupid to drink a random liquid because a magic stone told me to, but I was okay with it.

Before I could think any further about it my stomach began to rumble. A wave of heat surged through me as I rushed to the bathroom. I mentally swore at the System and whoever created the elixir. Why the hell did this process have to be so horrible? I groaned as I crawled out of the bathroom. The process felt like an eternity but it was worth it. I felt different than before. It wasn't so much as being stronger than before but an upgrade over the last pill. It felt like I had suddenly gained control of all the muscles in my body. It was a bit freaky, moving felt like I was playing a video game with the sensitivity put up to an eleven. I had to take some time to get used to everything but once I did it felt good.

I rolled my shoulders before turning to the rest of my gains. Both of my spells hit the "mastered" rank. Their sigils had become more complicated, looking like model cities. Part of me wanted to review them for any insights into the Tao but I decided against it. Instead, I spent my new attribute points. Once again three points went into Agility. I wasn't sure if I could feel the change or not but I thought my movements were slightly quicker. As if my hand-eye coordination had improved. I tested it for a little bit but decided not to think about it too hard. Ultimately it didn't matter the points were spent. I couldn't help but chuckle at Luck being my third-highest attribute at 52 though. I had a few close calls already so it felt pretty good. Next, I pulled up my title menu and let out a low whistle at my new reward.

Tutorial- Quest 5: Survive The Tutorial Reward: All Attributes +10 +5% to Wisdom, +5% to Agility, +5% Intelligence

If the pattern held then the next one would double the percentage boost. A quick bit of mental math told me that it would bring everything just that much closer to Wisdom. Assuming I wasn't killed, I should sidestep the glass cannon stage and be more of an all-rounder. Now that my species had been improved I didn't have to worry about the attribute limit for quite a while. Which meant I needed to piece together a strategy. I made a mental note to start thinking about it but for now, I was doing just fine.

Now that I had finished everything and the adrenaline from my victory was well and truly spent I turned my attention to my bed. Part of me wanted to go straight back to cultivating but I decided against it. I needed to rest. Even with the changes to my body, I was exhausted. I crawled into bed and was asleep within a few minutes.

I woke up the next day just as the hum began. The soft melodic sound was beautiful music. I practically leaped out of bed. I was seated for the next lesson less than five minutes later.

"Good Day. It looks like there are fewer of you today. We have reached a watershed in your tutorial experience. You have reached the halfway point. Contrary to what some of your fellow participants believe this is not the time to relax. It is the time to push yourself forward faster and harder. The tutorial is a unique opportunity that many in the multiverse would kill to have. For now, though it is time for us to discuss fate and destiny."

I raised an eyebrow at that before scanning the crowd. A surprising amount of people leaned forward to hear what Aina had to say. Most people had either shaken their heads or looked back at the door to the apartments. As if wishing they could go back. Aina continued regardless. "I am sure by now you all have noticed the Luck attribute. It is the only one that you can't directly improve that is because its value is in some ways predetermined. The arguments over how it works are debated throughout the cosmos and I will not give you an overview of all of them." I leaned forward a bit more curious about where Luck played into this.

"Luck is an elusive attribute and it is believed that your luck is more or less static. That it represents the will of the heavens. Now you all gained a bit of luck when you got your "chosen" titles. It is argued that you were always fated to receive that title therefore your final luck attribute is already recorded in the great Tao." A pair of hands shot up and for the first time, Aina ignored them. "As I said there are debates over how that functions. Many have already died in the tutorial did that mean that they were fated for that? If so what about people who simply give up? Before you get any more questions in mind. I can not give you any answers. It is one of the Tao's greatest secrets and no one at my level holds the answers let alone yours. What I can tell you though is that you should continue to aim it higher. Luck permeates everything from your chances to survive encounters to being in the right place at the right time."

"What should our Luck attributes be at this stage?" A male voice called out from somewhere I couldn't see. I turned my attention to Aina more than curious about the answer. They let out a sigh and shook their head. "The average I have seen is around 20 or so." I wasn't sure but I could have sworn Aina looked at me for a fraction of a second before continuing. "Anyway, it is of no importance. You shouldn't be consumed with what others are doing. Cultivation is about finding your path. For now, it is time to get to the main focus of today's lesson. Support manuals. You have undoubtedly become aware of the cultivation manual. Some of you have even earned new manuals through your hard work."

I looked around and found several people nodding in agreement. Which meant that my advantage wasn't quite as impressive. Of course, I doubted that all of them had a manual of equal quality to mine. "There are a myriad of other manuals out there. Body Forging techniques, Beast Mastery, Heart, Arrays, Psyche, and many more. Each one would improve a different aspect of yourself. Ultimately it is up to you to peruse those many paths and it is doubtful that you will encounter those manuals during the tutorial."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"What is Heart Refinement?" I asked before Aina could change the topic.

"It is a type of cultivation that involves improving your heart or your will. It is a rare method in this universe but not unheard of. It has slow gains but it is very valuable when used in the right way. It also helps you to resist illusions and other such effects." I was about to ask what the hell "Psyche Refinement" was but Aina held up a hand to stop further questions. "Today's lesson has concluded. Return to your quarters and cultivate your energy." Before any of us could react there was a flash of light and Aina was gone. I looked around half expecting someone else to appear and do something. When nothing had happened for over two minutes I shrugged and decided to leave.

I spent the rest of the day in cultivation but it wasn't enough to get me another level. I was pretty close though which meant my next assignment would be a good one. I briefly considered trying to limit my energy use but that idea was abandoned. Risking my life was one thing but it was a bit too early to start upping the difficulty while fighting with one hand behind my back.

The next morning I made it to the plaza just before the hum started. I wasn't in the mood for a conversation so I stood off to the side. I increased the difficulty by another stage and waited for the timer to tick down. I did a quick for Ajani and his group but couldn't find them. I stretched and rolled my joints until I felt the familiar pull through space. This time I kept my eyes open, hoping to see just what teleportation was like. Only there was nothing. One moment I was in the plaza and the next I was standing on a white sand beach. The heat bore down on me to the point that I immediately wanted to go back. Thankfully the robes helped alleviate. It still wasn't comfortable. I searched around but there was no clear quest point. No army, no monster, not even a building. The only landmark was a forest to the north so that's where I started to walk. I made it about halfway when the System's voice filled my mind.

Explore the Isle. Reward: System Hub

The lack of details was irritating but I decided to let it go. Ultimately the System wasn't going to give me any more information than it already had. It would also defeat the whole point of exploring if it just told me what to do. I summoned my psychic barrier and discovered an additional use for the spell. It kept out bugs. I wasn't sure if that was because the shield could stop them physically or if they just refused to fly through it. Either way, I considered it a win. I walked for around thirty minutes before a dark blue panther leaped out at me from the trees. My danger sense didn't react to it so I just stared. The panther slammed into the barrier and was knocked away with a yelp. The panther reacted and pivoted while sailing through the air. The panther then formed a ball of darkness in its maw. The ball started at the size of a baseball but quickly grew into a volleyball.

Still, there was no warning so I decided to let the shield take the hit. If the panther represented a common beast here then it would let me know how strong I was. The panther released the attack and it shot forward like a cannon. I raised an eyebrow at the speed but otherwise didn't move. Just before the ball slammed into the barrier it disappeared. I stared at the spot it had been in confusion when I suddenly had the urge to move. Without thinking about it further, I leaped to my left only to find the black sphere rising out of my shadow. An icy chill went down my spine as the attack followed along my shadow. I ducked back and behind a tree only for the sphere to disappear again. I turned around just as it shot from my shadow. This time it was twice as fast.

There was no time to manipulate my energy let alone dodge so I braced with my left arm forward. I braced myself for the pain of my arm being burned or crushed or whatever darkness did. Only the sphere passed through my arm harmlessly. Horror and comprehension hit me a second before the attack passed into my chest. It was a mental attack. It felt like the panther had somehow turned my very soul into a scratching post. My knees buckled as I tried to push through the pain. Tears dripped down my face and my fingers dug into the dirt. When the agony subsidy it felt like the heavens had granted me a reprieve.

I was pulled back to the current moment when I felt the panther's gaze on me. I looked up just in time to see it preparing another ball. I gritted my teeth, blinked back my tears, and unleashed Psychic Blast. The mental attacks met in a cascade of indigo and black that only lasted a moment. My attack utterly crushed the Panthers something that gave me more pleasure than I would admit. It was the panther's turn to whimper in pain. The small revenge was enough to help me get to my feet. I didn't give my enemy time to recover, I pressed my attack. The panther took two more blasts before it finally collapsed. I scanned the tree line while its kill energy surged inside me. Despite the bliss of the kill, my soul felt raw.

I collapsed against the trunk of a tree when I was sure I wouldn't be ambushed. I gave myself a moment to calm down before I started cultivating. I didn't let myself sink too deeply into the method so the energy gain was slower but it helped calm my racing heart. Once I was ready I reviewed the short battle and a shiver went down my spine. The panther's attack was enough to hurt but it wouldn't have killed me. Not unless I took several of them back to back. No, it almost seemed like the animal's goal was the pain. It wasn't hard to see that if a person had to endure it too many times they would just crawl up into a ball.

The thought of being tortured by a big cat sent a current of fury through me. Now that I knew what to expect it wouldn't be hard to fight more of them. Going on the defensive was the wrong move. I needed to force my way through and take them out. I got to my feet and set off through the forest.

I ran into another five of the panthers and it was a bit of a letdown. Outside of a near miss when two of them attacked at once. The battles were over once I saw them. I was pretty sure that they were agility and wisdom creatures which made them good opponents. It also showed the weakness of my build, if I encountered an enemy with strong enough mental defenses to just power through my attacks I would be fucked. Especially if they were fast enough to hit me. There were advantages to the battle though. Was I got the hand of the battle I was able to conserve some energy which allowed me to push just past the threshold for level 12.

I put the points into Perception to help me deal with the fast enemies. That and it was my weakest attribute. I continued until I came across a split in the forest. It wasn't a literal divide but it felt like one. It was almost like the trees in front of me had their killing intent. It made my skin crawl to the point that I decided to let release the hold I had on my aura. I felt the two energies clash with each other and got an idea. Instead of just letting it flow away from me, I decided to wrap my killing aura around my body. A bit like a bubble. I had the mental image of what I wanted to do but doing it was much harder.

I spent around thirty minutes practicing and managed to make more of a blob around myself. Which was useful though. It kept the ominous feeling away and I was pretty sure it would affect people who entered the area. I hoped that would protect me from ambushes. I gave up on improving it further and scanned the trees both in front of me and behind me. No matter where I looked I didn't see any threats so I pushed forward. I half expected to feel something akin to a video game's loading screen when I did. Something that let me know that I had passed from one area and into the next but nothing happened. I just stepped forward. I chuckled to myself and continued forward ready to deal with whatever came next.