Back in our bunker, Clonthaniel immediately takes some of the inscribed mana stones and starts examining them. The pressure here is much lower than it was in the bunker we left, and it feels like a ton of weight was lifted from our shoulders; only now do I realize how taxing it was.
I take a moment to check the anchor I left behind there, and it seems to be holding up, though it is dissolving quicker than the usual anchors. Even then, we have plenty of time before it will disappear.
"We have about three days before Vega returns; after that, it’s going to be more difficult to go back," I say to my duplicate.
"Speak for yourself. I like Vega and all, but I currently have more urgent issues to attend to, so I will continue to explore the place. You can babysit our cute minion."
"Too bad you won't get that deep without both of us working together. You won't even be able to reach the enchanting facility."
That makes him pause. "I will inscribe some mana stones to help with that."
"Sure."
"Fuck. Okay, we have three days, so let's hurry. We don't have to sleep for a few days, and it should be plenty of time to explore the place. We can also send anything useful back here and continue."
"Sounds good," I reply before opening the Beyond community while I examine one of the mysterious ingots we recovered.
Noname - Gareth, you wanted to speak to me.
It only takes about thirty minutes for him to notice my message. Like the others from Hell difficulty he’s grown accustomed to checking as often as possible, for one second at a time.
Gareth - Thanks for finding time for me, my friend. I should have a few minutes before my disciple runs into danger again. You probably heard about the deaths of two of our members.
Noname - Yes. Did you change your mind regarding your approach?
Gareth - I know you and I are of different minds when it comes to things like this, but I respect your opinion and even Savant's. And no, I haven’t changed my mind, and neither has anyone else from WhiteWing. What happened was unfortunate, but every one of us did our best.
Noname - So what did you want to talk about?
This time it takes a minute for him to answer.
Gareth - You would probably prefer that I be direct, so I will. I hope for your cooperation during the tournament. I tried to say more, but the system blocked the messages.
Noname - can't promise anything without knowing more.
Gareth - I understand that, my friend. I just want you to think about it. In the end, it's not just the tutorial we have to deal with. We also need to think about what comes after, and some things are better dealt with as soon as possible.
Noname - I usually let Sset deal with that stuff, you can talk to her.
Nice try, evil man pretending to be a paragon of justice. Trying to get me to deal with people more than absolutely necessary? Not today.
Grumpy - Noname! My disciple loves being called a minion. ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
Noname - Hello Grumpy, I told you! But be careful. Minions might be cute, but they are tricky creatures.
Grumpy - Will do! By the way, why does number 1 in Beyond never talk? >_<
Noname - Probably going for the mysterious stranger aesthetic. Anyway, I'm going to check other Communities, so later.
I disconnect and check on my duplicate. As before, he sits nearby and continues to examine the mana stones in the robe. I also notice that he pokes some of the corpses with a sword made of mana, probably trying to find out how much power remains in their bodies.
"How’s it coming?" I ask, out of curiosity, as I rise.
He looks at me, then back to the man with the perfectly preserved body. "This guy is something else. I can barely pierce his skin, and the sword gets stuck in his muscles."
I watch as Duplicaniel uses [Resonance] to strengthen the blade of mana. Then, in a show of force, he stabs it into the leg of the corpse. The blade pierces the skin and then stops as if he had hit a rock.
Oh my, isn't that interesting?
"I don't think the guy was a Champion, so maybe he’s somewhere in the ballpark of a danger noodle?"
"That's what I would like to know. It could be someone with a level around 300, with a significant investment in constitution. That or he had some kind of defensive trait," he answers, taking another stab at the corpse.
"Tried voidsteel?"
"Same result," he says. "How the hell did someone like that die?"
"Food allergy?"
"Or he bit his tongue. Unfortunately, the dude doesn't have anything that would help us identify him. No mana stones, no keys matching the others we found. Even the items are all broken, to the point it’s hard to say what they even were. Yet his body isn't damaged at all."
"I don't think someone like that would die from the mana pressure down there."
"I agree. It just pisses me off not knowing."
The duplicate complains and annoys me for the same reason. I'm just that curious. Who was this man, what level was he, and what happened to him? I find all these questions to be fascinating.
I let my uglier self play and open the Community once more.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Channeler?
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Asshole!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Hello to you, buddy!
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FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Asshole!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Sorry, I miss you too!
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food food food!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Oh, you mean the Sanctuary? Yeah, I hope you didn't eat anything.
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Asshole!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Good boy! I got some deer jerky to share with you when I get back!
FoodFood (Hell, group 4) - Food.
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - The hell, Noname, what are you doing to our chat and how can you understand anything Biscuit says?
Maria (Easy, AFK) - I don't mind! Biscuit is cute! I totally want to see him in the tournament. I just hope the others will go easy on him. I don't want him to get hurt.
I remember the purple mana bomb I saw Biscuit create when they fought the Fallen Hero.
Sure, let's worry about our future Absolute.
Noname (Hell, group 4) - How is your mana, Channeler?
Out of the Easy difficulty, he seems to be the only reasonable one.
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - It's difficult! The techniques you told me about are way too hard, Noname!
Noname (Hell, group 4) - Just keep trying.
Channeler (Easy, Steakhouse) - I will, but what the hell is wrong with you? It's impossible to keep this up all the time.
Sami (Easy, AFK) - You don't have to listen to that guy. I bet he lies to look stronger. He said most of his skills are over level 30, but that's impossible. He must be bullshitting.
I check my skills.
Active skills:
Focus - Lvl 46
Mana Manipulation - Lvl 46
Perception - Lvl 41
Redistribution - Lvl 43
Resonance - Lvl 43
Mana Domain - Lvl 34
Tether - Lvl 30
Regalia - Lvl 19
Infusion - Lvl 25
I just make sure to remember the guy's name. I think he said something like that before. Then, after giving a few pieces of advice to my guinea pig… Channeler, I close the window.
My duplicate is looking at the corpse of the man we were unable to damage.
He seems to be thinking the same thing as me, "Do you think he is alive or can be brought back?" he asks.
That suspicion has only grown in me since we brought him here, and it’s been on my mind while I’ve been chatting with the others. Is it possible for someone of that level to pull that off? Turning off his heart while relying on the strength of his body to keep him alive without rotting away? Perhaps there’s something we’re missing.
I think it is, and that's what worries me.
"Let's send him away," I recommend.
My duplicate is already heading towards the body and puts his hand on the man. I can feel him activating [Tether].
The body doesn't move.
"Well fuck," the duplicate uses more mana, and when I reach him, I resonate with his skill and supply it with more power.
The body doesn't move.
"Well fuck," I say, and a barely noticeable heartbeat emanates from the man, as his body’s natural barrier reasserts itself making it surprisingly difficult to teleport him.
Both of us get the same idea and quickly get null collars. The one I got from the man under the Sanctuary and the one my duplicate found in the Bastion.
"Just in case?" I ask.
The duplicate nods, and we place both of the collars around the man's neck.
His heart beats again, and I see inscriptions power up, the effect of the collar activates. Then a text flickers into existence over his head.
[Forged Fury - lvl ???]
The small wounds we caused while trying to damage him close in a blink, and through kinetic energy, I can feel the powerful beats of his heart.
Two silver collars around his neck light up even more, allowing him to keep his constitution while lowering his other attributes, and then the man opens his eyes.
He moves his brown hair from his face, and his strikingly blue eyes calmly look at me and then at my duplicate, and then he turns back to me. I immediately realize that he’s somehow identified that my duplicate is… well, a duplicate.
Without saying a word, he stands up in a single smooth movement and dusts off his clothes. The collars around his neck shine even more, but the man doesn't seem to be bothered at all. He stretches slightly and calmly looks around, ignoring my duplicate and me holding our weapons, our mana ready.
"Take it off," he asks simply, pointing to the collars, his voice dismissing the idea that we might refuse.
Is he bluffing? Seeing his level, he should be between 300 to 450, so he’s not a Champion and he’s far from being an Absolute. The collars are only epic grade, so I would be surprised if they could hold him much longer than a few hours.
If he is level 300, it could be possible for me to fight him if I surprise him, hell, maybe even a bit higher if I work with my duplicate.
But then there is that thought in the back of my mind. The man is wearing clothes unlike the luxurious robes of the others we found. His clothes are made of durable materials but they’re simple and focused on functionality. Craftsman's clothes. There were no weapons among the damaged equipment he did hold.
And then there is his class name.
Without further hesitation, I take a step and, touching the Null Collars, I unlock them one after the other. The entire time the slightly taller man stares at me with his pale blue eyes.
When the collars are gone, his fist moves, and he punches my face. Even though I'm expecting the attack, I'm incapable of dodging it. The blow doesn’t seem to have been very strong, and I only need to take a half step back.
"That's for the collars," the man says. "The next time…"
Mana rushes through my body, entirely focused on strengthening it, and then I punch the man in return.
He also staggers backward, a flash of surprise appearing on his confident face.
As he opens his mouth to say something, I punch him again, and he staggers a half step back.
My mana radiates from my body, and I'm ready to fight or disappear at any moment, yet the man doesn't seem to be threatening us. Our eyes meet, and he just nods shortly. Then he turns around, passes by my duplicate, and heads deeper into the bunker.
Me and Notnathaniel exchange glances and follow the man.
He walks confidently even without light and without hesitation finds the control room where he approaches the central panel.
As I have many times before, he sends a bit of his mana into it and looks at it for a moment. To my surprise, he does something, and a pillar as thick as my arm slides out from the floor next to his leg. On top of that pillar sits a perfectly round mana crystal. The Forged Fury touches it and sends just a bit of mana into it before it slides back onto the floor, and he returns to the control panel.
Right after, the room lights up in a way I and my duplicate were unable to pull off no matter how much mana we ran through the core. Well, before the duplicate stole it or something.
Nearby one of the walls cracks, a crack forms into the perfect shape of a door. The cracked section of stone topples, likely weighing a ton or more.
And the man heads inside as if he owns the place.