Hell Difficulty Tutorial

Quickly, I read all the descriptions and without hesitation, I pick Mana Wavelength Iris. Immediately, I feel the trait making changes to my eyes, and I squint a bit from the pain as they gradually change.

A terrifying pressure weighs on the city, and from under me, I feel Myrra activating something the Matriarch left behind.

The three giant trees inside of Virelia start moving, branches cracking and leaves glowing. Those trees start releasing leaves that float around the city and frequently interrupt the incoming attacks.

Of course, the trees aren’t normal, the Matriarch said she helped create the Living Tree, didn't she?

Myrra joins me on top of the building, fully armored and her face serious, followed by her bodyguard and 12 enforcers clad in black armor.

“That seemed to work better than expected,” she says.

I nod as I observe the improved level over her head as well as the higher levels of the lynthari with her.

The pressure of all that immense mana from the First One doesn't let up. He still has a lot of the ants he brought with him to attack the city, ants that may be lower in number than the ones left behind but are higher leveled. And currently, the First One is using all of that shared mana and vitality.

Everyone in the city hears the loud crack, and the crashed trunk of The Living Tree starts moving, floating into the air.

[Reanimated Sunseeker Tree - lvl ??]

A text appears over it as the tree floats higher, a gray trunk with branches without any leaves on them. The tree floats high in the air, a sight feeling much more terrifying knowing how much weight is moved like that.

“So these fuckers really were behind the Tree attacking us,” Myrra hisses through her teeth.

I can only nod as I observe the tree create a barrier around itself and even from as far as it is, I can see it releasing particles that are carried toward the city, crashing against the swirling leaves of the three giant trees.

The Sunseeker Tree, The Living Tree used to be a Calamity at the level of a Champion. It was severely weakened after destroying the Old Capital to the point of getting to three question marks. And now its reanimated remains are weakened even further to the point of two question marks. Yet it's still much stronger than the defensive trees left behind by the matriarch.

“Feral one, your weapon?” Myrra asks.

I show her my empty hands and continue to wait.

A gray arrow pierces through the air, and everyone with some sense can feel the disturbing mana it contains. That arrow splashes against the barrier of the Reanimated Living Tree, eating a big hole into it without any problem.

Then, like a falling star, a long javelin pierces through the air. The javelin flies even faster than the gray arrow, white and red lightning trailing it. The blade of the javelin, made of an Ethercrystal shortsword, burrows deep into the trunk of the Living Tree with a thump that I can hear even here in the city.

It only takes a few seconds for the blade to fill with mana from the Tree, and pass that mana through the arcanadium shaft into the Mana sphere core which creates an ever-changing disruptive field.

For a few moments, the tree floats there and fights against the effect, yet soon enough it starts falling down. To get confirmation, I shoot a mana projectile through the hole in the barrier and hit the tree with a weak attack.

The capsized Reanimated Living Tree stays on the ground, its barrier disappearing first, and soon its particles follow.

Its trunk starts to crack, some of the branches even break, and thousands of giant green leaves from the city attack it as well, covering and corroding it. A few minutes later, finally, the notification sounds.

[You have defeated Reanimated Sunseeker Tree - lvl 283]

[Lvl 202 > Lvl 203]

Even though I didn't do much, I leveled up, either because my creation of the javelin was considered an assist, or I was just so close to 203 that even a little bit of experience was enough. Well, I hope Tess and Lily got quite a few levels from it.

I turn to Myrra, "Did you think I wouldn't expect those assholes to try to pull something like this?"

Interrupting my speech, silence fills the city, as if someone absorbed all the sound. It's deafening and ever-present. All the fires burning, the sound of battle, the sound of the wind, all the voices. Everything is gone.

An absolute quiet ensures.

Then a single sound permeates all.

Clack.

As if someone is tearing apart the space itself, a terrifying force washes over the city.

For a long moment, nothing changes, and then everything over a certain height starts falling, smoothly cut. The three giant trees, most of the tall towers, the barriers, all of it cut smoothly and crashing down towards the city on the people and lynthari.

Sound once again fills the city; after deafening silence, they sound much louder.

Then I realize that the attack didn't contain mana, none at all.

I look towards its origin, and a single ant floats in the air. The ant isn't even that big. A black matte carapace that seems to absorb all light. Huge mandibles, now closed after generating the attack. Wings made of mana keep the ant afloat.

Even without focusing too much, I can feel the connection the ant has to all the ants inside and outside of the city. Thousands, tens of thousands of threads leading back to him, like a bonfire surrounded by specks of light trying to compete against it.

The First One.

For a moment, I feel as if our eyes meet and the ant disappears, the bombardment of the city continues, more dangerous now that we lack the protection of the trees and barriers generated by the towers.

(Javelin,) I say through the [Connection] the twins created.

I watch as the javelin Tess used to attack the tree pulls itself free and flies back to where I think Tess is. Then I let the twins get my location and, piercing through the buildings in its way, the javelin flies towards me, and I grab it after absorbing its kinetic energy. I inspect it for a moment, it still seems to be fine, and the inscriptions are working as well.

(We already got one ant alive, the next time the First One attacks, we will help Sophie mess with his [Hive Mind], as planned,) Dennis transmits.

(He will expect that,) I remind them.

(Of course, he will,) this time it's Sophie talking, (But it doesn't matter, I'm ready for it. That piece of shit will pay, I will make sure of it.)

(Fuck Sophie, you are so cool right now, I might fall for you,) Aaron interjects.

(Don't, just help me,) she sends.

(Of course, as planned. We also owe him big time,) Aaron continues.

(Yes, we owe him a lot,) Dennis adds, and his voice sounds more serious than usual.

(Nat, I still haven’t used your severed arms, so my next attack will be even stronger!) Lily also joins the conversation.

(Save some for healing, I plan to go all out for a while,) I remind her.

“We are ready,” I say to the lynthari surrounding me.

With a nod as acknowledgment, they start preparing as well, skills circulating in and out of their bodies, armors, energies, and some connection they have among themselves. Tails erect in a threatening display, pupils glowing, eyes wide open, hands squeezing weapons.

And I wait for my trait to finish altering my eyes.

The next attack is a golden flame, much bigger than I'm capable of creating. Funneled by the First One, powered by thousands of ants. The leader of the Colony is attacking from far behind the walls of the city, out of range of Sophie and the twins.

It's not a problem for him. The flames sweep into the city like a wave, momentarily crashing against the walls and barriers that the Lynthari and humans have erected.

Myrra and the enforcers wait with me, even now holding back and relying on the other warriors within the city to activate barriers and inscriptions fed by thousands of mana stones, gradually becoming more and more depleted.

“He doesn’t seem to want to enter the city,” Myrra says through her teeth, her posture more threatening than I’ve ever seen.

(I can mess with [Hive Mind] 

to try to get him into the city,) Sophie sends.

(Don't,) I warn her, (Stay hidden, the moment you do something he will send all the ants against you,) I look around the city which already seems to be 20% destroyed, it hasn’t even been that long since we started.

While talking, I continue examining my new trait. Unlike the Mana Circuits I got before, this one seems closer to being active than passive. I’ve already gotten a grasp of how to activate it, and I even think I can keep it active near indefinitely, if not at my level.

If there were trait rarities, I'm sure this one would rate quite high, just from observing the changes it makes to my eyes.

(Here he goes!) Tess shouts through the connection.

He appears again, just like before, all sound vanishing from the city and then a single snap resounds, the attack destroys dozens of buildings and barriers, cutting in a straight line.

This time the First One doesn't disappear. Even before Sophie uses her [Manipulation], I feel a gaze on me, and this time I'm sure I meet the compound eyes of the Colony's’ leader. A clear challenge.

[Hive Confluence Sentinel - lvl ??]

Then a disgustingly huge amount of blue mana starts radiating from the ant. Every time I think it's enough, more and more of it flows from him, feeling never-ending.

(I can't do anything! There is too much mana!) I hear through the connection.

All of that mana surrounds the ant floating in the air, moving, changing, shaping, and forming something like my [Regalia]. The mana takes the shape of a giant ant with the First One burrowed somewhere in the middle.

This doesn't feel like the most efficient attack possible, no, this feels more like a message. A show of power, as the ant surely knows what I used down in the tunnels. This is a challenge. Loud and clear.

The giant ant made of mana takes a step, its leg destroying a massive building that it dwarfs easily. The attacks crashing against the ant amount to nothing at all, not even sending a ripple through the mana construct continuing to move towards me, like an unstoppable force.

“Heh,” a giggle slips from my lips.

Myrra shouts something, and I nod, without listening, and she and her enforcers all disappear to attack the First One.

I feel a smile crawl onto my lips as the giant thing continues moving towards me, and even launches dozens of projectiles. The projectiles— javelins made of blue mana—crash against the building I'm standing on, even though they are unable to damage the gray stone.

I disrupt the javelins that hit my body and continue to watch.

Heat starts collecting at the center of the giant mana ant, and from the mouth of the First One, a golden flame roars at me, a flame as thick as my arm with the appearance of a laser.

The flame splits apart as it reaches me as I just manipulate the heat that reaches me and redirect it instead of wasting mana to control it.

Then the First One tries to compress mana like I do with my [Focus]. A ball of mana floats in front of the ant, an orb as tall as me, immediately compressing and turning blue, purple, and light blue. The First One tries to compress it even more, he tries to focus it into a smaller point.

And he fails.

Unable to replicate what I do he gives up and instead of the orb turning black, it starts glowing white, preparing to explode.

The enforcers and Myrra start attacking the giant figure and tear the attack apart, causing it to explode and finally deal some damage to the ant.

And the entire time, I just watch. With a big smile on my lips.

“You little shit,” I say out loud.

I raise the javelin in my hand high into the air, blade pointing towards the sky. Over the tip of the blade, a small orb of mana materializes, barely the size of a golf ball. Mana flows from me into that ball, filling it, turning it blue with streaks of purple and light blue until the orb starts shining white and is about to explode. Then, I push further and use my [Focus].

I do something the monster in front of me wasn't capable of doing.

Warm healing mana flows from the crown on my head into me, supporting me and fighting against the strain as I compress all that mana. The orb turns pitch black with tiny dots shining inside of it like stars in the sky.

Then, I poke the orb with the tip of my javelin, and it starts absorbing the black mana. The blade of the Ethercrystal Shortsword starts cracking. Even the upper epic weapon is unable to handle it.

I fight against the pull on my mana, and my heart beats three times, powered by the entirety of my mana, generating a huge amount of kinetic energy.

I change the setting and use all of my mana to strengthen my body, grab the javelin, and my right leg slides backward as I get into the stance. While my muscles scream, I throw the javelin and the moment it leaves my hand, I boost it with the kinetic energy I collected and leave an anchor on the handle.

Before I can even blink, the javelin reaches the ant and stabs the huge mana construct. The massive amount of mana surrounding the ant, a result of thousands of colony members powering it, vanishes in an instant the moment the black blade of the javelin touches it. The blade of the javelin cracking even further.

I activate the anchor and reappear next to the javelin, which I grab and float in the air, facing the matte black ant in front of me.