JUST… WHAT IF?

Lucien Shuja, son of a Beggar, was definitely supposed to be dead; he had made sure of that by hanging himself, according to everyone that guaranteed that you died. But based on Lucien's experience It might seem that suicide just lead to hell or the tutorial which to be honest is no different.

Lucien had woken up five days ago in this God forsaken tutorial. Now, he is stuck in a forest that he swore was ripped out of one of those western fantasy entertainment. Complete with ungodly monstrosity and superpowered teens, on, of course, a quest, and he wasn’t excluded.

Floors of Tutorial→ ⅕

Current Floor: 1st Nature's Gem

Current Floor Quest: Defeat the [calamity Seeker] and the [Denizens of its web] may the Victor's ascend the tutorial.

Completion Awards: [050.99] Dense Essence and Random Auxiliary of the first Limiter.

And there was a silver box or screen floating in front of him, showing him things that were supposed to explain things to him, but instead it confused him more.

Lucien looked to the side, and the screen vanished upon view of a dead monster that his team had killed this morning just before it had almost helped Lucien to his preferred kind of death, never waking up 'no pain no struggle, fast and efficient.

Lucien sat upon the rock in the middle of the forest clearing he and his team were occupying waiting for sunrise, of course he wasn't the leader, Lucien would never put himself in that death trap. Lucien looked at the full moon in thought. His mind worked as slow as the world's fastest snail, but honestly it felt like it was as fast as the world's fastest racing car. Lucien thought back to his last day on Earth and how he had felt… tired before he had found the courage to take his own life. Life had squeezed him dry of every little will he had left to face it and now… now here he was, alive again. 'It just never stops.' Lucien let out a short dry laugh and one tear left his eyes 'so they weren’t lying when they said life doesn't let go of you until it's done with you.'

Lucien looked at the knife he held and thought of a million ways he could kill himself and be done with it, but of course his hand didn't move he felt so distant from his own body. At least that was how it felt two days ago when he closed his eyes for that [Stitched Mawed Dog] to suck out his soul and end it all for him, but of course he found his knife stuck in the eye of the beast and attached to the hilt was his own hand he hadn’t even known that he had moved.

'What was the dream again?' Lucien thought, his mind flashing back to the past, days both good and bad flashing but only the bad memories were clear. Him and his friends pickpocketing from random people in a crowded street in the market, him learning how to pickpocket, he laughed at the memory but the tide continued, Stopping only on the worst of them. Him pickpocketing a man and seeing that the envelope he had stolen contained a hundred thousand naira, he remembered the joy and later the dismay. He remembered the paper in the envelope with the money and the pocket diary, he still remembered the words in both paper and dairy like his own name, not the back of his hand.

Lucien looked at the moon and remembered the note. Mr. Akasa you have until the end of this month to pay back your current loan of 100,000 Naira and your pending loan of 50,000 Naira. If this request is not met your Car would be taken as ransom. There was more but of course Lucien didn't remember it as much as his name. But he still remembered some of what was in the dairy. Damilola's sickness is getting more serious. That had been the first sentence written in the book. God, please if you're there, please help me. My daughter's sickness is getting worse. I have spent all of my savings on her treatment and there are no results. Lucien still remembered the chill that had passed through his body at that point, the memory and the chill of the night passed through him simultaneously making him shiver slightly.

God, why? Why do you hate me so much? My savings are gone and my wife's shop rent is expired and all my hope is on my salary at the end of the month and now this, sacked from the company I have been working with for years. How do I go about things now? Yes! I can call James and he should be able to loan me some money. After that was a spiral for the worst.

Lucien had grown up in the streets with his mother, and she had passed away when he was just five years old. His brothers and sisters had left him like some disease and he had tried his best to live a good life he went to government schools they were supposed to be free but of course they were not completely free, he didn't know his country back then, even if it had been free he wouldn't have been able to buy notebooks. Lucien had tried getting jobs but with a 50 naira note and a quick "get going" he was set on his way, of course no one wanted a child with a oversized shirt that smelled like the world oldest trash can and infected head on their property so he relented joining the scum that society always so thankfully made. Thieves.

Lucien had never felt sad for anyone he had robbed, why would he? The world had forsaken him so he couldn't be blamed but that dairy had been the start of a rationality that led him into a spiral of depression and shame.

Lucien had wanted to return the money and had told his friends and unsurprisingly they had robbed him dry, And left him with his guilt and rationality, and worst of all, they had left him to be a part of the man, Mr. Akasa's bad luck.

That… That had put things into perspective for Lucien.

After that Lucien had gone back to pickpocketing, cursing himself, but as the days went on he lost the sense of feeling pain for others and embraced it. It was required after all, After that everything became easier and he even rented his own house and bought new clothes.

But…

He had still kept one dream from those days when he had cursed himself.

'I don't want my actions to be judged by money, I want to live a free life, where at least my hard work would be for something.' Lucien laughed at the moon. But of course it always remained a dream.

Lucien looked at the moon, his fake mirth fading like a mask to be replaced with a cold un-expressive face, Lucien looked at the camp around him where his teammates slept his vision went blurry as his mind unfocused.

'Is this the world answering my wishes?' But Lucien didn't know if he still had the will to live, even if his body seemed to not want to experience the pain of dying again. But still he didn't know. He looked back at the moon and the starry skies, the only things that looked normal in this… world? No tutorial.

He looked at the clearing again and jumped to the ground where he curved his thin frame into the shadow of the rock for cover. Of course his eyes fell on the trees that looked like crystals of green and white and they're star shaped fruit's. He closed his eyes and tried his best to fall asleep but of course how could he? surrounded by unknown variables with unknown goals that just wasn't how he was built, humans had many different goals and he didn't want to think what kind of plan they had for him in this world where killing humans, awards the killer with power. Lucien, honestlydidn't want to think about sleeping here.

He laughed 'I thought you wanted to die.' He smiled.

Lucien closed his eyes, his mind in that place in between sleep and consciousness, only that his hearing went up a notch and he lost sense of time, he didn't know how long he stayed in that place he only had perception of the bliss it brought. There were no responsibilities, and responsibilities which for Lucien meant finding a way to buy food before he starves to death. Most people don't even notice how crucial food is, but Lucien knew it too well… too well…

'But that was in the old world' the thought came but Lucien didn't even acknowledge it.

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Lucien also felt something in this place, something he had been putting off since he came to this place, a truth hidden somewhere in the back of his mind. But he couldn’t touch it, it felt just out of his grasp, but…

His calm was broken by a twig snapping, Lucien didn't even twitch, he knew better than that, this was a role he had played all his life, ask anyone "what's one thing about Lucien?" They’d probably answer, "he's a deep sleeper" , a role well played to Lucien's credit. Lucien had always made sure to place weaknesses within his behaviour that he didn't have. What other way to send enemies to untimely deaths than showing them weaknesses that never existed. Few seconds after he heard light footsteps walk away that he most likely would have missed if not for his sensitive hearing, improved further when he woke up in this world, the Vagabonds note had called it the benefit of essence flow enabling.

Lucien took in a deep breath along with a snore, one thing he had learned was that people always had a reaction to being watched like something within them was screaming, so he always made some kind of reaction when someone was watching him while he was supposedly sleeping. Lucien always put on a show when he was with someone or when he had a team around he'd always become someone else entirely, packed with flaws that can be exploited both in character and behaviour. But Lucien knew that wasn't needed at least not while he was in this team because even as himself he was the weakest through and through, so if whoever that was, had tried to kill him he would have only been able to die, or at least, maybe, let out a brief shout and that was if the person didn't of course have some broken speed.

Lucien opened his eyes after exactly two minutes, he had counted, and ended somewhere in between ten seconds and twelve. 'Totally professional' He opened his eyes only Then slowly he got up and crouched looking around, he walked around the rock heel toe, taking stock of everything and everyone in their little "Team" and he felt ashamed for the bunch of superpowered teens, sleeping deeply all because their faithful leader, Arthur had said this was a safe zone and they had all gotten comfortable, even the tough ones seem to have gotten soft and let themselves have some fun in sleep. 'Just absolutely shameful, it seems like these guys can still learn a thing or two from me' Lucien thought with a proud smile on his face but all his depression and curiosity got him back to business.'Still maybe they also know that this might be a safe zone? Yeah probably'

Lucien looked at the leaves that were still shaking from the person's passage, of course he knew whoever it was, hadn’t just walked around a rock for nothing, Him sitting on top the rock at the middle of the clearing hadn’t just been for show for anyone who was awake to watch, he had memorised where all eleven of his teammates where sleeping and Arthur, their faithful leader was missing, Lucien had guessed that the other person if there was any would be Kimmiana but to his surprise it was the four eyed boy, not literally mind you, figuratively speaking. And Lucien hadn't bothered to learn his name, why learn his name when you can just call him four eyes?

Lucien's mind started to work over time but of course his mind was still working as slow as the world's fastest snail, not 'turbo' mind you, if it was Kimmina it would have made sense to Lucien, but four eyes?. 'I guess this isn't sexual.'

Lucien hoped four eyes lived up to his glasses and had watched if anyone would follow after them, 'I don't want to miss this.' Back in Nigeria Lucien was what they called an aproko someone who had his nose in everyone's business, but of course Lucien had the decency to not let them know he had his nose all over they're business. Lucien walked towards the forest but of course not in the direction four eyes and Arthur had walked through, he wasn't going to make the rookie mistake of listening in on their conversation. Passing through their exact path, according to Lucien's book of psychology, when someone hides goodies inside a room and sits on top of a bed waiting for the first child to come get it, his mind isn't on the windows, no, no, no, his attention is on the door. He walked heel-toe towards an open path in the forest, slowly making sure his step was silent, which was honestly not necessary ever since Lucien came to this world or tutorial, his foot had never made any sound upon contact with the earth. He walked through the forest as quietly as he could while he reasoned something that had just come to his attention.

He hadn’t heard Arthur's footsteps or maybe four eyes, he smiled and doubted it. When Lucien got a little bit close he climbed a white tree that emitted a white glow around its base 'huh, this one is different, they're barks are usually crystal green and the leaves white', when he got to the steady branches of the tree he stretched towards the branch of another tree and continued his steps quiet and covered by the buzzing and croaking of insects. The benefits of being a former thief, silence was an old friend.

When he got close enough to listen he stopped and climbed higher until he was in the crown of the tree, hiding among the diamond leaves of the tree, green diamonds, after getting comfortable he focused on his hearing and he felt it hone into the conversation he felt a bit of vertigo for a moment before shaking it off, 'now that has never happened before.' Lucien thought in a bit of alarm.

"... it ends here for you Arthur, if only one of us can survive till the next floor then it'll be me, but I have no illusions." Four eye's said with a conviction worth all the movie awards Lucien did not know about, he even had tears in his eyes.

'Wow! Such conviction… wait why can…' Lucien thought was cut off before he could even start theorising.

"Another nameless… well, let me grace you, Vagabond. Dead without ever reaching the first floor." Before he finished his blade was already shimmering into existence like threads of molten red, it shimmered waiting for Arthur's hand to close around it's hilt and… He did the light imploded the world itself warped as the red light gathered forming the red edge of the blade, across the flat of the blade drawings and written etched into the unbreakable obsidian of the sword danced about the blade like living beings of read horror, the blade was long, about five feet in length and not up to two inches in width, it almost look circular. If anyone told Lucien that the name of that blade was Excalibur he wouldn't even doubt it, blades that have been called Excalibur often looked boring but not this blade, it had a terrible life attached to it that made Lucien shiver and freeze.

Four eyes stood there stunned at the appearance of the blade, a silent breeze blowing through the leaves of the meadow, Lucien had no illusions, there was something about that blade that turned humans and monsters alike into gawking buffoons, and Four eyes was caught as tight as a fish on a hook. Only when Arthur dashed forwards towards him did he finally react, the organic, soft crystal green grass of the meadows given way for arthur as he dashed towards four eyes, the red light the blade emitted casting the meadow in a red light that tainted everything Arthur passed by, foureyes who managed to breakout of his dazzle at the same time as lucien crushed something in his arm, Arthur's eyes went wide and he did another thing that he had never done in front of the team before a red bubble burst out of him in a flash at first sight it looked like a perfect round bubble but it wasn't, it was made of small eight sided polygons, that spun as the bubble expanded almost fast enough to stop the gas of whatever four eyes had done but just almost.

The bubble of polygons grew until it covered a 5 metres radius around the two men. All the polygons snapped into place with a silence that sent chills running through Lucien's spine, the whole forest went silent for that short second that seemed to stretch out for minutes, and then sound came back in a burst it wasn't loud but the return of the night sounds felt like a symphony that could render Lucien deaf, as the sound returned the bubble faded like it never existed and so did the sound of what was going on inside the bubble.

Lucien watched with bated breath as Arthur reached the boy who had just managed to crush what seemed to be a bottle in his hands, Arthur's blade fell with a burning sanguine hue as it fell with a focus towards four eyes but then they both vanished. Everything in the small meadow seemed to go back to normal, Lucien's mind began theorising.

'The bubble?'

Before he could continue. However he heard a sound he dreaded back on earth and had no doubt about him dreading it even more here, where everything is just monsterous. A hiss and then two and more. Lucien froze goosebumps filling his skin.

The bubble of polygons burst into sparks of white light with the same silence that creeped Lucien out, from the sparks Arthur appeared his sword pinning four eyes head to the ground and the meadow was turned to ash, it seemed that four eyes had put up a fight but his end was not something to look at his head was still attached to his spine and his chest was tore open and burning with red light.

Lucien head snapped to the sound of a hiss as it grew closer and out of his peripheral vision saw Arthur backing away from the meadow and from the opposite direction, Lucien saw a huge snake peak its head from in between the crown of two trees, it was as black as the night with dots of gold all over its body and its eye where slits of golden sun's with they're centres dark voids.

Lucien could feel the power emanating from the beast as it slathered towards Arthur who was still backing up, Arthur had seem so powerful just some few moments ago and now this snake was putting him on his back foot, at this moment a smile broke out in Lucien's face as he felt that truth, that hovered above him in that place in between sleep and consciousness, truth.

It was the hope he first felt when he woke up and finally confirmed that this wasn't hell.

It was the elation the messages of the Vagabonds Note floating in front of him had brought.

It was the feeling of not being limited by money but something hard work can get him.

It was the dopamine that had filled his brain when he killed that monster that had tried killing him two days ago.

But… there were always buts.

But life, life didn't give you what you want, not today not ever.

But… How can one hope? What if it's a way to break you all over again?

It was the last defence of a broken man who didn't want life to break him all over again, and tried to end it all but couldn't bring himself to surrender because… because what if?

'Just… just what if?'