Hard Mode Awakening Challenge

The horker suddenly seized, dropping its club as a spear erupted from its neck. Tram took two steps back, keeping his shield at the ready as he looked around to find the second horker guard already dead.

"You're scary!" Tram exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled from his helmet. "I only had to deflect a single strike in the time it took you to drop the first one and take the second from behind."

"I got it already," Lana said, coming up to stand beside Tram as Ian looted the corpses. "Two workers and two guards were all I needed, apparently."

Ian looked over at her confused expression. When she opened her mouth again, Tram nudged her with his elbow.

"Yeah, we can talk about it later," Ian said, before changing the subject. "So, you have the SP you need to buy the prestige skill now?"

Lana nodded. "Already purchased. It can't be activated inside the dungeon, though."

"I've got mine as well," Tram said, sheathing his sword. "I ended up with just enough after you pulled us out of the dungeon the other day. So, we are now completely set. We just need to wait for the AO to finish processing our removal from Peerless."

Ian began walking back with them to the portal. "That makes sense. I take it everything has already been submitted?"

"Yeah, it has," Lana replied as they both nodded. "I made sure to receive copies of all the forms and get the tracking number. I even called and verified the AO actually received it because I wouldn't put it past Peter to try to screw us over one more time."

"Completely understandable," Ian said, nodding in understanding. "If I can get that tracking number from you, I'll send Claire a text when we get out of here. I don't know what she can do about speeding up the process, but I'm sure she can at least get you two passes onto the AO campus to come meet with us this afternoon."

"That would be awesome," Tram said. "What time do you want to meet up today? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you have no intentions of calling it a day yet."

"Yeah, I was planning on heading back into the village," Ian said with a smirk. "I'm hoping to get enough levels today to finish upgrading one of my skills. So, I'll probably be here for at least another six to eight hours.

"What do you two have going on?"

"Finding a new place to live is the first thing we should probably do," Lana said with a sigh. "We've been living in the apartment provided to us by Peerless. We don't actually have much, but we need to be completely moved out by the end of the day."

"I'm just gonna shove the majority of our stuff in my item box," Tram said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Now that I don't have that stupid armor, I have tons of space for the clothes and stuff we have."

"I know, but I'd prefer it if you didn't have to carry all my stuff around for longer than necessary. It shouldn't be hard to find a new place to live."

Ian thought back on how difficult it had been for him after the whole Avra incident. Hopefully they wouldn't deal with anything as crazy as he had.

Ian saw the portal and nodded, "Okay, so how about we meet up around four this afternoon? That would let you all meet my sister, as well as get some good food afterwards."

"We will definitely be there, Zero," Lana said, giving him a warm smile. "It's kinda nice having some hope again."

He returned her smile as they walked through the portal. As the dungeon checkpoint came into focus, Ian pulled out his phone and was surprised to see messages from Claire waiting for him.

"Hold up," Ian said, rereading the messages and smiling. "Claire already sent me a couple of texts. She said that she has already taken care of processing the paperwork correcting your records."

"Wow, that was quick," Lana replied.

"Who's Claire?" Tram asked.

"She's my Keeper," Ian said, as he got a nod from Tram in understanding. "Most know her as Keeper Withers, which is who you should ask for when you get to the AO. She wants to meet with you two this morning to discuss different possibilities regarding your lodging. She also wants to help you both with identifying a couple of possible skill paths."

Ian turned to see Lana blinking at him.

"Uh, what's up?" he asked.

"Why is she so keen on helping us if she is your Keeper?" Lana asked skeptically.

"Well, she's gonna be yours, too. Of course, she would want to help make sure you have everything you need. Which is great, because Claire is one of the best at what she does."

"Oh, hell yeah!" Tram said, pumping his fist. "This day is getting better and better!" He turned to Lana and nudged her. "Let's get out of Zero's hair. He has baddies to kill, and we have stuff to move. Besides, the sooner we get our stuff and get away from those dorms, the farther we will be away from that gaslighting witch."

"Alright, just stop pushing," Lana said, nudging Tram before turning to Ian. "We'll catch you this afternoon. Be safe in there."

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"I will," Ian replied, getting a clap on the shoulder from Tram as they walked past him.

As the two turned to hurry off, he heard Tram say, "How much do you want to bet she's waiting back at one of our dorms?"

"I really hope not," Lana replied. "But that sounds exact—"

The portal enveloped him, bringing him back into the horker's domain.

"All right," he said to himself. "Let's go funnel those piggies and earn some levels."

*~*~*

Ian looted the horker on top of the pile and peered out of the entrance. He'd spent nearly an hour trapped inside this particular building as he killed what he could only assume to be every single horker living in the village. As another one tried to climb through the opening, he lunged, activated Magic Soul, and killed the creature with a magic spear through its eye.

Congratulations! You have defeated an enemy more than 50 levels higher than you. Experience rewards are doubled. You have earned 1 level. You have achieved level 597. You have been awarded 20 skill points!

"Nice," Ian said, smiling to himself. He had easily surpassed his leveling goal for the day and was getting happier at every additional level. Unfortunately, it was taking more than a handful of horker guards per level now. The change was making the dungeon less appealing with its low drop rates, even if his current farming method was relatively safe.

Reaching out, he looted the freshly killed horker and waited for another to climb through the hole. After a tense moment, he moved closer and shrugged when he saw there weren't any more left.

"About time," he mumbled, quickly sticking his head out to make sure it was clear. He had slowed down on killing every other group to ensure he didn't get close to mana fatigue. Though, even if his mana was fine, he had to admit he was beginning to get worn out. Killing hundreds of anything would take its toll on an adventurer, and Ian felt mentally exhausted.

Walking out into the street, he looked over at the gate. He couldn't see either of the guards there, which means they were probably part of the group that had surrounded the entrance to the hut he had been stuck in.

"I probably killed them two or three times if they kept respawning."

He quickly jogged through the gate and ran back out into the fields. Slowing to a walk, he spent the next twenty minutes gaining his bearings as he made his way to the portal.

Walking through it, he sighed at the sights and sounds that assaulted him. A huge crowd was stuck behind cordon barriers, keeping them out of the entrance and exit paths for the dungeon.

In a way, Ian was starting to find the entire situation comical. He could already hear them asking questions about his ex, Peerless, and the upcoming tournament. He knew he was going to have to move past them eventually, but instead of moving towards the crowd, he walked over to where Mavis was sitting on a bench.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the man of the hour," she said, giving him a huge grin. "While you've been busy in there, lots of interesting things have been going on out here."

"Oh yeah?" Ian asked, sitting down. "Did Peerless do something stupid?"

"Well, yeah, but that's small news. One of the lead adventurers from one of the enlightened realms has decided to personally gift our planet with enough essence stones to hold the tournament."

Ian blinked. It was pretty rare for anyone to receive anything other than information from the other planets, and even that information was apparently heavily regulated by the dungeon curator to ensure Earth wasn't being given things beyond its current capabilities.

"Huh," Ian said, not really sure where this was going.

Mavis just stared at him with a huge smile. When he didn't say anything further, she chuckled to herself. "It takes us nearly ten years to save up enough essence stones to hold the tournament. This adventurer has graciously offered to do it from his own personal wealth. They've even decided to deliver it in person—which is an even greater essence stone expenditure by at least an order of magnitude. The only stipulation he gave was that he be wanted the opportunity to meet with you."

"What?" Ian replied, shocked. "But I'm just a low-tier adventurer."

"At the moment you are, but for how long?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You jumped almost eighty levels today in a little under six hours."

"Well, yeah," he said with a shrug. "I found a way to funnel the enemies into a kill zone where I could hurt them, and they couldn't hurt me. It's not like I'm actually fighting them using real combat skills. I'd be overwhelmed if I fought them the normal way we are supposed to."

"The normal way?" Mavis scoffed, looking at him like he had two heads. "Any adventurer worth their salt is going to find a tactical advantage and use it—mercilessly. This isn't a video game, and it's not cheating. Thoughts like that have gotten a lot of people killed. I wasn't talking about your tactics, though.

"You are one-shotting monsters far outside of your level range—monsters most people struggle with in a one-on-one fight at equal levels. Sure, you lack sustainment for your damage, but imagine when you get proper mana regeneration skills? What happens when you reach a point that you can keep magic soul going indefinitely?"

Ian opened his mouth to argue but closed it. She wasn't wrong. It was his goal to reach that point. Claire had already shown him exactly what he needed to do to accomplish it, and he would have it before level 2100 if he didn't have to deviate from his current skill plan. It could be even sooner if he happened to prestige between now and then.

Mavis sighed as she looked between him and the crowd. Turning her full attention back to him, she quietly added, "You're like a snowball rolling down the mountain. Everything in your path is going to get swept up or crushed as you gain speed. I already thought you were moving, but I have it on good authority that you are still almost sitting still. As long as you keep a good head on your shoulders, I'll continue supporting you with everything I have."

Ian nodded once. "I appreciate it, and I hope to live up to everyone's expectations. Though I will probably slow down here shortly. I need to develop my team before I get so far ahead that they won't be able to catch up."

Mavis just snorted and arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm not sure how anyone can catch up to you at this point. However, I've been informed by Prophet that your party doesn't need a sixth member. While Glade Runner will not be joining you full-time, Claire is actually gearing up to run again once your party catches up to her. Your sixth is someone you haven't met yet but will come to you soon."

Ian pondered that for a second before asking, "Do you know who it is?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Though with who else is in the party, I'm sure she has helped identify the best line-up you could have to ensure everyone's safety. Just as I'm also sure there are other options available for you if you wanted to create your own path.

"However, I've learned to mostly trust her insights. She may not be guiding you towards your absolute best future, but she will definitely point you at one of the better options. She has way too much to lose if your team isn't the best it can be."

Nodding, Ian had to agree. There is no way Claire's mom wouldn't find the future that worked best for her daughter if given the option. He caught himself when he realized he was being far more trusting than he would have been just a few weeks prior, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Well, follow me, and we can get you back to the AO," Mavis said, standing up. "Claire said you needed to talk with your two new members."

"Please lead the way," Ian responded with a genuine smile.