Atlas scratched the back of his head, looking at the mole the size of a semi. “Do we have to do this? Why can’t we just be chill and not bother each other? Doesn’t that sound so much better?” Atlas asked, preparing himself for another fight. He swore that once he killed this boss he was going to find a bed and go to sleep.
And not one that was brought upon by blacking out. That wasn’t real sleep.
The mole snorted at him, turning its head this way and that, before ‘looking’ in his direction. It didn’t seem like it had eyes, so it most likely didn’t see him. It more likely smelled him.
That was an odd thought.
Atlas decided to just get this over with, activating Blur and zooming towards the creature.
The mole raised its claws, swiping at him. Atlas ducked, sliding under its claw and punching upward with gray mist cloaking his fist.
The mole vanished, and Atlas punched empty air. Atlas launched himself away, weary of a counter attack.
What had just happened? The mole just… vanished.
There was a loud drilling sound, and the mole appeared in front of him again with a slide of rocks and dirt.
… did it just come out of the ceiling?
Now on guard, Atlas’s eyes turned a glowing red color, and he felt his body move instinctively, ducking out of the way of a large boulder that tried to take his head from his shoulders.
Now even more on guard, Atlas rushed the giant creature using Blur to go faster than the naked eye could even track.
He slammed into the moles side, gray light flooding the moles middle. He gripped the moles fur, shoving himself off and dodging the moles claw.
If he had been even a second too late, he would have been in trouble.
This was a game of hit and run. Each of Atlas’s attacks were deadly, but if he got hit, he was a goner.
The mole disappeared again, going through the ceiling. This time however, Atlas was ready, jumping out of the way as the mole slammed down where he had been just seconds prior.
He lashed out with his fists, hitting the mole three times before using Blur to get away. The moles claw swiped through empty air, and Atlas could see that it was growing weak from the extended exposure to Reaper’s Touch.
The mole reached down, scooping up a handful of crystals and throwing them with the force of a rocket launcher.
Atlas panicked, diving out of the way and feeling Moonwalker help him go just a little bit further. The crystals hit one of the houses, ricocheting and almost hitting Atlas.
Atlas decided enough was enough, and he pulled all the stops, using Blur and Full Might at the same time.
Atlas moved so fast it was as though he teleported, slamming his fist covered in gray light into the mole's giant skull.
There was a loud *crunch* as the mole's skull capsized, gray fluid leaked from a large crack in its head.
The mole let out one last, sad snuffle, letting out a final shudder as it collapsed.
Atlas let out a sigh, crumpling on the ground and ignoring the annoying messages that appeared in front of him.
In just a few short moments, he was asleep.
***
Atlas awoke to over a dozen messages cluttering his vision.
Grumbling, he sat up, stretching and reading them.
LEVEL UP!!! X12
You would usually get some skills at this point, but because of your title, you instead gain +20 free stats, enjoy!
Atlas continued to swipe away the clutter, finally getting to the good stuff.
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 2!
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 3!
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 4!
You have leveled up your skill Full Might (S) to level 2!
Some nice skill upgrades, but there were still more notifications vying for his attention.
You are the first player to kill all three types of bosses! Reward: Title
Title Gained! Boss Slayer: You deal 100% extra damage to bosses (Minibosses, Bosses, and Hidden Bosses) You instinctively know when a boss is within a mile of you.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Atlas felt a tingling sensation spread throughout his body.
After examining himself, he didn't notice any changes so he continued to read.
Skill Gained! Fistfighting: C grade. You understand the basics of hand to hand combat.
You have leveled up your skill Fistfighting(C) to level 2!
You have leveled up your skill Fistfighting (C) to level 3!
You have leveled up your skill Fistfighting (C) to level 4!
You have leveled up your skill Fistfighting (C) to level 5!
You have leveled up your skill Fistfighting (C) to level 6!
Atlas wondered why he was just now getting this skill, but he wouldn’t complain. There was only one more message waiting for him.
I am sorry for the inconveniences caused by my brother. Here are some invincible clothes as compensation. PS, please note, these clothes cannot be damaged, but you can still be hurt through them. This is simply to make it so that you can keep your clothes while also not making you indestructible. -The System of Gear
A black suit appeared on Atlas, resembling his old suit, but instead of a white shirt, both his tie and shirt were black. It also came with a cool cape and belt.
Soulbound Item gained! Reapers suit: A grade. This suit cannot be destroyed, but it does not block any damage received. All reaper abilities are twice as effective while wearing this suit.
(System tip, Soulbound items will level alongside you, and will become more potent the longer you own and use them. Soulbound items can never be lost but they CAN be taken. You can only own up to 3 soulbound items. You will always know the location of your soulbound items.)
You are the first player to receive a soulbound item! You gain a title.
Title Gained! Strong soul: You can now own up to four soulbound items, and they can never be taken from you.
Not the best title, but definitely better than nothing. Now his clothes couldn’t be taken from him again.
… onto bigger and better things.
Now. How to get out of here.
Atlas decided his best bet was to go back in the way that he had tried running before.
Using Blur he ran out of the crystal village, using the technique he had used before, running in a zig zag and focusing on every step he made.
Blur was quickly becoming one of his main abilities, so it would be good to level it up as high as he could to improve his combat capabilities.
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 5!
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 6!
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 7!
He continued to build up speed running so fast he left an after image.
Atlas was struck with an idea.
Running as fast as he could, he ran over to the wall, jumping sideways and continuing to run.
He didn’t slow down running on the wall like some sort of superhero.
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 8!
Atlas almost tripped on a section of the wall that juted out, but he regained his balance by falling onto the floor and then jumping back up.
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 9!
He was so close! He pumped his soul into his legs running so fast that his legs became a blur of motion.
Taking a deep breath, he ran sideways, going upside down.
For a brief moment. He was running on the ceiling, forcing himself to stay moving.
And then gravity took over.
Atlas fell, but in a flick of his legs, he landed on the ground, still running.
You have leveled up your skill Blur (A) to level 10!
Blur (A) -> Blitz (S)
Atlas grinned, and pumped his legs ever harder.
He shot off like a bullet, running multiple times faster than he had been before. As he ran, he noticed that his body was nothing but a blur when he looked down, he couldn’t even see himself, only vague shapes.
Blasting through the cave, he let himself get carried away. The wind rushed past his head, making his black hair flap wildly on his head.
He closed his eyes, basking in the feeling of the wind rushing past him in all directions.
That was not a smart choice.
He felt his body slant upwards, and he opened his eyes, only to find himself soaring through the skies, over a hundred feet in the sky.
Glancing backwards, he saw that he had exited out of a hole in a hill, which had acted like a ramp, throwing him into the air.
He narrowed his eyes, glancing around wildly for some sort of tall tree or lake that he could land on.
There was nothing close by that fit that category. Atlas fell, plummeting like a rock towards the ground.
Crap.
He closed his eyes, focusing all of his magic into slowing himself down, hoping that it would work.
Skill Gained! Aerial mobility (A): You can control your movements easier in air.
Spell Gained! Air manipulation (B): You can control the air around you slightly.
Synergy found! Spell and Skill (Aerial mobility and Air manipulation) have formed into skill: Glide (A)
Atlas needed no further prompting, activating the skill immediately.
He felt the air give around him, carrying him slowly downwards. He was still falling, just slower.
He leaned towards the tallest tree that he could see, using his body to control his movements.
You have leveled up your skill Glide (A) to level 2!
Atlas continued to position himself in the air, trying to make his descent as calm as possible. After a few more long and tense moments of just slowly floating, he was close enough to grab the tree.
He sighed in relief, hanging on to the tree and deactivating his skill with a thought. It had been a while since he checked his status sheet. He opened it and divided his stats into all of his stats except for strength and dexterity.
Atlas Channing
Level: 82
Class: Reaper
Subclass: Lifestealer
Titles: Moonwalker, Skiller, Lucky, Boss Slayer, Strong Soul
Skills: Reaper's Touch (S), Weak Lifesteal (B), Reaper’s Senses (SS), Full Might (S), Blitz (S), Fistfighting (C), Glide (A)
Spells: Drain (S)
Talent: Complete tutorial
Potential: Complete tutorial
Stats:
Endurance: 177
Constitution: 177
Strength: 265
Dexterity: 265
Wisdom: 197
Intelligence: 197
Free points: 2
He decided to add his final two points into STR and DEX. When he was satisfied with his status, he turned to his new predicament.
How was he supposed to get down?
He let go of the tree, activating Glide again and slowly coming to a stop on the ground. He couldn’t believe how effective this skill was, and couldn’t wait to level it up. Just the thought made him almost drool at the thought of flying through the skies.
He settled on the ground, scanning the lush forest around him. It was time to start growing his skills absurdly. He was going to grow so much that he would be able to face the final boss. That was his plan.
Just as he was about to start however. There was a very loud ringing noise and a large message appeared in front of him.
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
Just as that message disappeared, it was immediately replaced with a dozen others.
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
…
ANNOUNCEMENT!!! A PLAYER HAS BEATEN THE FINAL BOSS AND ESCAPED THE TUTORIAL!!!
There were over 100 messages, maybe even 200. It boggled his mind. How had so many people already beaten the tutorial? Was he really that weak?
His motivation to grow strong only became bigger. He was going to get out of this tutorial, and he was going to prove he was the strongest.
It was then that he remembered that there was a chance that all of those players were from easy difficulty.
Nah.