Can you hear me?

Grim?

That's me.

Woah, this is so much easier.

Yeah your language sucks.

Wait, I thought you didn't know how to speak?

Sort of? Being inside your head helps a lot. I'm doing a fair amount of piggy backing off your knowledge of your language.

Wait, you're in my head?

Yeah, I'm exploring. Give me a bit to sort through things.

Uh… Sure thing?

Felix picked Grim up and continued to fly back to his tower in Tri-Peak. Just before he landed, he assessed the damage to the city. From above, it seemed pretty minor. There were a few dozen buildings in need of repair, but that shouldn't take too long. He also saw almost everyone celebrating out in the streets. He was happy for them, but also felt no inclination whatsoever to go and join them. He did however, descend from the roof of his tower and lay in his new bed. This was the first time he was actually testing it, and it felt awesome. He didn't think he needed to sleep anymore, with mana regenerating energy for him, but he felt like a nap was in order anyways.

Felix slept for just a few hours, waking up at around noon. Though he didn't need the sleep, Felix felt much better afterwards anyways. There wasn't much he wanted to do, now that the tutorial was complete. He figured he should spend time to create more mana batteries just in case, and recharge the weapons he had created. Maybe he would even recreate the cannon that had sacrificed itself to kill the Kraken. He also needed new boots. First things first though, he checked in with Grim.

Hey Grim, how you doing in there?

He got no response.

Grim? You in there buddy?

He closed his eyes and hunted for Grim's consciousness through his soul seed. He found Grim staring at something in particular and wasn't sure what it was. Upon getting a closer look though, he laughed. He entered his Memory Palace and found a floating grimoire, Grim roaming the shelves.

"Hello. You doing okay in here?"

"You know… you said there was a library in your head. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but there is literally a library in your head."

"Yeah, pretty much. Best part is, to fill it, I just have to walk near a book. I've been meaning to go scan the whole Vault of Secrets. Just haven't had the time yet."

"Well? You have time now. Go go go."

Felix smiled, "Alright, I'll do that today. Anything else, master?"

"Shut up, go scan."

Felix returned to reality and rose from his bed. He picked Grim up and flew out the top of his tower and into the Vault of Secrets. He didn't have to do this right now, as the Vault would exist outside of the tutorial as well, but he also didn't have anything better to do. Felix slowly walked down every aisle and didn't see a single other person in the entire building. It took him just a few hours total, making him wonder why he hadn't just done it sooner.

Grim, how you doing in there?

Alright, I'll go through this later, shouldn't take too long. I sorted through your memories while you slept. Overall, you are one weird guy but at the same time, being you must be pretty sweet. How do you find yourself in the most perilous situation of your life, and end up having a blast?

I don't know, it's just fun.

Uh huh. Henry still owes you some credits.

I don't care enough.

Fair enough, you are stupidly rich.

That I am.

This System is… Odd? Not sure what to make of it.

Felix mentally shrugged.

Can you show me your Soul Garden thing?

Sure? How do I do that?

Just go there yourself, I can follow.

Felix sat down on the floor and entered his Soul Garden. After a few moments, Grim appeared just to Felix's right.

"What do you think?"

"It looks exactly as your memories depict."

"What did you expect?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I just wasn't sure what it actually was."

"Eventually, I'm hoping to make it a real place inside of my soul. For now, it's imaginary."

"Sort of. It's not entirely imaginary, it is kind of like the painting on a jigsaw puzzle that represents how your soul is structured. Kind of."

"Oh, cool."

"You are missing something though."

"What's that?"

"You should represent your conviction somehow."

"I guess you're right, that is an important part of me. What about a monolith of dark stone?"

"Sure, whatever feels right to you is right."

Felix looked towards an area in the sand and focused on his conviction, something between unrelenting and indomitability. He knew he wasn't undefeatable, he wasn't that stupid. He also knew he would fight with everything he had no matter what and if it was possible to win, he would. He crafted a monolith of dark stone with a carving of a man standing atop a mountain on the front. The man had climbed the tallest mountain and become the peak. He was an unstoppable force and an immovable wall, he was indomitable and unrelenting.

"Perfect."

"Looks good. As for making this a real place, you are a long way from that."

"Any idea where to start?"

"You need to open your soul space first. Normally I would tell you to wait until you're older, but then I remember you're a monster. The basic idea is that you choose a point in your soul and stretch it, think of creating a vacuum. Then you fill that space with mana and squeeze it back down again. If you do it right, the mana will be forced into a new space instead of back into the Aether."

"Alright, I'll give it a shot later on. Thanks. I thought you weren't allowed to share things with me? Also what's the Aether?"

"I wasn't, now I can share some things. As our bond grows, the convictions imposed upon me will weaken and I can reveal more. For now I can reveal anything that was basic knowledge where I'm from. I've been meaning to talk to you about your choice of words. ‘Mana Dimension' is convoluted and crude, let's try Aether. For Soul matter, Anima."

"I agree they sound better, but will other people understand me when I use those words?"

"The System is translating everything you say, so yes. It's literally reading your intent so you could just mumble gibberish and it would translate perfectly."

"Huh, that's kind of weird."

"It's one of the things I dislike about the system. Ruins verbal wordplay, at least some of it."

"I guess so, but being understood always is nice."

"Fair enough."

"Anything else I should know that you can now share with me?"

"Nothing urgent. I have a list of creatures we can hunt down for your familiar. I want to experiment with your bond familiar skill. A handful of other, non urgent things. Oh you should check your inventory, I doubt the Kraken just disappeared."

"That thing would never fit."

"If inventories work the way I suspect they do, then it might."

"Alright, thanks. Have fun in here I guess." Felix said as he gestured to his head and body. Back in the real world, Grim was right. In Felix's inventory was one Kraken corpse. He had no idea what to do with it, but he had it.

Tutorial Announcement

The End of the Tutorial.

There are 8 days and 6 hours remaining in the tutorial. You are welcome to stay for the full period of time, but should you wish to leave early, the option to do so will open with 1 week left in the tutorial. In 30 hours, you will be presented with the choice to either continue in the tutorial, or leave the tutorial to begin your life anew. There are no extra rewards or accomplishments for leaving early or staying. The tutorial will not change in the last 7 days. For those of you with nothing left in the tutorial, you are welcome to leave. For those of you with a few things you wish to complete, you are welcome to stay. If you have decided to leave, you have 30 hours to say goodbye and arrange your things.

At that time, the final owners of the settlements in the tutorial will be locked. Staring on the seventh day, no sieges can be declared.

Oh sweet. I was not looking forward to just running down the clock.

Felix had already decided on leaving the tutorial early. There was a whole world out there to discover. In here, well his completionist title spoke for itself. That meant he had 30 hours to arrange his things and be ready to leave. The first thing he did was rush back up his tower and stow his beds in his inventory. He knew the city would exist outside the tutorial, but that didn't mean everything from inside got moved outside.

He had already scanned the library, so that wouldn't be an issue. He quickly bought a new pair of regular leather boots and used his map to find Noah. He found him, with the rest of the city, either still or once again celebrating. He made sure to have his mask on so he didn't have to talk to anyone else. Noah was sitting on a chair next to Amelia around a campfire, in the middle of the road.

"Noah, it's me, Felix."

"Hey Felix. I take it you're planning on leaving early?"

"Yeah. Anything you need from me before then?"

"Not that I can think of. Hey, have you heard this one yet?"

"What?"

"Listen." He said pointing to a young man standing next to the campfire who seemed to be recounting and epic tale.

"The announcement came through, the Kraken had to be engaged to stick around so with a snap of his fingers, a storm was created that kept the kraken at bay. We fought in the war and he watched over us, making sure we survived. Then, after showing mercy to the invading army as they fled, he waited as his storm grew in power before finally, he flew out into the open ocean and engaged, The Legendary Kraken. With another, simple snap of his fingers, a flash of light blinded all who witnessed it, as a bolt exploded from the heavens, smiting the great Kraken. Our hero, took just a single point of damage. That man, he's the leader of this town, the great lightning caller. The Stormbringer. The Herald of Thunder."

"It was 22 points and Stormbringer is a ridiculous name. There's so much more to a storm than just lightning."

"Yeah, but a single point is more poetic. That's definitely one of the better nicknames I've heard so far." Noah snickered.

"That all?"

"Yeah… Look, just because it worked out does not justify your actions. There are still 142 lives that could have been saved if you had participated."

"You're right. Do you want me to transfer ownership of the city to you?"

Noah sigh, "No. It's safer having you as the figure head. I don't want people thinking they can take over just by killing me."

"So you want the target on my back instead?"

"Yes. Much safer."

Felix smiled, "Fair enough."

After a few moments of silence, Felix added, "I'm sorry about everyone we lost."

"Me too."

After a few more moments of silence, "Have fun with the celebrations and hopefully I'll see you outside the tutorial, unless you want to quit as city planner slash manager?"

"I'm not leaving unless you make me."

Felix smiled and nodded then headed up to the top of his tower. There was nothing more for him to do. He could track down and collect the precious resources the world bosses had guarded or-

Minor City: Icewatch

Justin has declared a siege on your city.

If they manage to either slay you or occupy the city, they will be victorious. You will win if they are captured, slain or surrender.

You've got to be kidding me. I guess with the tutorial ending soon they're grabbing onto whatever rewards they can. Normally I wouldn't have cared, but this is weaselly and I want the rewards. . . . . .