…It was not a bad dream.
If Shai would be dreaming, this would be it. The hellscape he had seen was reality.
This moment of peace, however, was not.
***
Shai walked into a familiar room, tapping his glasses, and syncing up his game files. Wordlessly, he logged in, and in the next moment, the room seemed to have extended into infinity.
In the next breath, a new world appeared around him.
He was in a classroom, walking through an automatic door to admire the simple wood and marble combination of desks and walls. The noise of teenagers swarmed his ears. Laughter was everywhere. It was a peaceful scene.
Some people likened a classroom to a jail cell.
Shai likened this place to an oasis.
***
The scene shifted.
Now, Shai was fighting the four-eyed Hark’suv, with Levinas at his side. He would dodge all her attacks, guaranteeing that he would survive. He was the bait, while Levinas was the attacker.
“It’s a weak one this time,” Levinas said, annoyed by the Myrlite Guards who made no attempt to help — only to quarantine.
They refused to lend their aid, for Arthur was the source of the demon. If he died, then all would return to normal. They just had to kill the demon that killed him, and no more would appear. Arthur’s existence meant that Myrlite Academy would always be threatened by an otherworldly force.
They had a duty towards the students… However, Levinas and Arthur were nothing but mere commoners at the bottom of the barrel of the world’s elite.
Although they were indeed pretty talented… more could still replace them.
With Shai’s excellent control over his body, he was able to distract Hark’suv enough that Levinas could kill her.
A Level 1 with peak stats, against a Level 1 without peak stats would obviously yield such a result.
‘If only all the Hark’suvs were like this,’ Shai thought.
Unfortunately, the one who will arrive in the next…
‘…Six hours?’
Would be much stronger.
Thus, Shai would find himself sitting in front of a secret shop, buying a few items. One of those items was the [Scroll of Undead Summoning].
With it, he would be able to summon a large number of undead that were around his level. This would then allow him to at least distract the next Hark’suv that will arrive — this was Shai’s original intent when he used Creation.
However, the allure of having the [Mark of the Undying Legion] was much greater. After all, it was a growth-type ability, and even though he could summon only a few undead at first, it was enough for his needs — given a certain secret.
***
Shai would then move on to use this scroll in his fight with the next Hark’suv, winning only barely, if not for a single stroke of luck. Levinas would get his arms cut off again, but he would have it healed back on just moments after.
It almost seemed like a joke.
But Shai made to make sure that Levinas’ injuries wouldn’t amount to something worse than that. With his lacking fear of death, the boy had the tendency to sacrifice parts of his body.
Thus, came the end of the tutorial portion of hell-mode.
***
After properly budgeting Arthur’s growth, Shai would then move on to empty his stockpile of stolen resources. The tutorial was all about building a foundation and seeing if the player was even worthy of attempting the difficulty.
Therefore, one’s style of clearing the tutorial would drastically change the coming storyline — especially the special intelligent scenarios.
Those intelligent, AI-powered scenarios would sometimes result in the craziest genres of fantasy.
Sometimes, Shai would end up in an endless war.
Sometimes, in a cultivation world.
And sometimes, in a romantic comedy.
The Wizard’s Tower held many secrets, and just as many answers.
It was the reason why Shai fell in love with Chronicles of the Wizard’s Tower…
***
Shai’s consciousness stirred. Stinging light pierced his eyes the moment he opened them.
“Ugh,” He groaned as he looked around.
Upon seeing that he was back in his dorm room, with his unfinished papers and homework still sitting on his desk, Shai knew that he was back in his reality. The smell of blood still wafted out from his clothes.
He checked the time. It was currently early in the evening. Several hours had gone by and Shai had slept over most of the day.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“First thing’s first,”
Shai called forth his Status panel.
[Name: Shai | "One True Maker"]
[Race: Aberrant]
[Level: 1]
=o=o=o=
[Physique: E (2/6)]
[Mind: F (1/6)]
[Spirit: E (2/6)]
=o=o=o=
[Physical Growth: F (1/6)]
[Mental Growth: F (1/6)]
[Spiritual Growth: F (1/6)]
=o=o=o=
[Sensitivity: E (2/6)]
[Combat: F (1/6)]
[Creation: !@$*# (11/6)]
=o=o=o=
[Specialty: N/A]
=o=o=o=
“…The mod has disappeared,” Shai noticed the disappearance of Cellular Control.
Which was weird.
Such a specialty shouldn’t simply disappear on a whim. Even if his race had changed.
“Something else about me has changed, but I don’t know what.” Shai felt an eerie foreboding, but he pushed it down.
He had other things to worry about.
“Originally, Myrlite Academy serves as a means to enter the Wizard’s Tower. I was supposed to use it as a springboard to make sure that I can make the most out of my time in the tower… but alas, there isn’t much I can do now.”
Shai lied down on his bed, still weary from this morning’s insanity.
After a moment of thought, he summoned an undead. Its dull, yet glowing white eyes made for an unsettling blank gaze. Moreover, the stench that it exuded was quite annoying.
Shai then tapped the side of his head, and, using what he knew, assumed absolute control over his zombie underling.
He moved the zombie’s hands, void of any sluggish vibe, and even made a few jumps.
After acclimating for a second, Shai summoned the other two and also assumed control over them. With this, Shai could see through three different visions, and could control three bodies at a time.
However, it was quite taxing.
Not even a dozen seconds had passed, and Shai could feel a migraine incoming. The pain was piercing, forcing him to stop exerting absolute control on all three.
Using it only on one was enough.
It was time to go exploring.
***
“…”
There was a sudden breath, draped in silence and shadow.
***
Sneaking out of Shai’s room, the three zombies moved carefully along the long, marble hallways of the Myrlite Academy complex. Although devoid of any natural occurring trees, there was a lot of techno-magic going on throughout the area, left untouched by the demons who only sought after very specific things. Hell’s Mana still permeated throughout the surroundings, giving the three a lot more strength than they could usually display.
Shai explored the school through his zombies.
Scenes of the massacre appeared before his eyes, but he was slowly growing desensitised to it all. Like seeing things through a cellphone screen.
He could simply glance past it while he searched for more important things that he could use.
There were three places he wanted to explore.
The library.
The armoury.
The treasury.
Yet, he would find himself unable to gain anything.
***
“Empty,”
***
“Empty,”
***
“Empty…”
***
Shai sighed, “As expected. That damn high-level Hark’suv was smart enough to take absolutely everything. Luckily, the dormitory actually holds zero value aside from the mana the buildings use.”
Demons would usually leave no stone unturned, no human alive, and no piece of knowledge left behind. He was simply trying to see if they really did leave nothing behind.
Shai thus commanded his three minions to return. He undid their summoning with a thought and sank back into his bed.
Suddenly, Shai narrowed his eyes.
Something felt off, yet again.
His instincts were yelling at him.
The feeling of being watched had surfaced and wouldn’t go away.
Unable to control his own gaze, his eyes drifted towards a certain corner of the room.
‘Oh shit!’ For a moment, Shai panicked. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
There was a pair of glowing eyes staring straight at him.
“Who—!”
Even before Shai could blink, he found himself face-to-face with a masked figure. He could not hear the figure move nor breathe, but he could see their glowing gaze. It illuminated his face.
‘Shining lavender eyes and a pink demon mask!’ Shai was stunned silent. He knew who this was!
Particularly, that mask. It was made out of a real demon’s face.
Moreover, it was intricately designed, with sharp corners and jagged edges that gave it a menacing appearance. The eye holes were cut out in the shape of an actual human heart, making the glowing lavender eyes of the wearer stand out in the darkness.
The masked figure's sudden appearance was also a telltale sign. Those glowing lavender eyes peered out from behind the grotesque pink demon mask, leaving no further doubt as to the identity of his unexpected visitor.
It was Zarra.
An infamous demon hunter whose reputation was more terrifying than relieving.
“You seem to know who I am,”
Shai gulped. It was clear that he wore his thoughts all over his face.
His smile was crooked.
“Yes, that I do.” He coughed and pried his gaze away from the woman before him, “Who wouldn’t?”
Shai found that he could not act as if he truly did not know of her. The ball was already in the air. The best he could do was deflect, hiding the true reason for his knowledge of her existence.
“Hm~? Am I really that famous? No, no, let's talk about something else.” Zarra’s muffled voice reached his ears like a playful caress, “How are you still alive? It is not in a demon’s nature to leave someone like you alive, you know?”
Shai smiled in reply, unwilling to elucidate.
Silence then pervaded between them. Zarra stared and Shai desperately kept his eyes away. He refused to be bewitched by her stare.
“You also know of one of my abilities. How intriguing~” Zarra chuckled, pulling out a sword. “Unfortunately, those who cannot sate my curiosities have no value.”
Zarra slashed, and Shai felt imminent death approach him.
‘Damn,’ Shai thought.
Meeting Zarra would always result in a coin flip for the players.
It was either death or life, depending on her whims. However, if the player accepted demon blood within them, Zarra would show no mercy no matter what.
‘Has she sensed the Hell’s Mana within me?’
Shai braced himself. His muscles tensed, fully expecting the painful slash that would claim his life.
He looked fully accepting of his death.
Until the last moment.
—Ssuk!
A zombie appeared as a wall between Shai and Zarra’s blade.
However, this bag of bones and flesh was nothing to the sharpness of a demon-slaying blade. Zarra sliced through with her casual movements.
She even scoffed.
“A futile effort.”
However, Shai’s eyes flashed. Hell’s Mana flowed through his Aberrant Circuit, pouring instantly into the zombie at his command.
[Corpse Explosion].
Luckily, one’s own magic could not affect the caster. He cast a generic piece of death magic. Something that did not require any kind of finesse and prior practice.
Thus,
—Boom!
A wave of raw force, blood, flesh, and fragmented bone consumed the small dorm room. Shai used this force to deliver himself towards the window beside his bed.
With the shattering of glass, Shai found himself flying through the air.
…And then in the next moment, he was back in his room. With a blade at his throat.
“Haha,” Zarra pressed her blade against Shai’s skin, drawing a line of blood. “A necromancer who hasn’t abandoned his own life. That [Corpse Explosion] confirms it. You’re indeed an interesting person… What’s your name?”
“Shai. My name is Shai.” Shai could feel the cold blade slowly digging through his skin, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Zarra. I request that you keep me alive.”
“Oh?” Zarra eased the pressure of her blade, “How much are you willing to pay for your own life?”
“My temporary complete loyalty.” Shai answered, with a resolute shine in his eyes.
“Temporary?” Zarra resumed her pressure, “Why would I want that? Do you plan on seeking revenge for this humiliation, little Shai?”
“No,” Shai shivered, “I want a power that you are not capable of giving.”
Zarra’s blade paused. Thoughts seemed to swirl within her lavender gaze. Curiosity like that of a cat.
“A power that I am not capable of…” Her eyes flashed. Her sword disappeared into thin air, returning to its sheath faster than Shai could comprehend.
“You have my attention. Prove to me that I do not have what you seek. Give me a guarantee of your intentions.”
Shai understood the implications of Zarra's words. If it was anything demonic, then...
Shai breathed to stabilise his mood. He was dancing on the edge of the knife again.
Luckily, he had no need for demonic contracts.
...At least, at the moment.