Hell Difficulty Tutorial
Chapter 608 – Inseparable

I must admit, this floor is growing increasingly intriguing. First, we have the missing thermonuclear warhead, which I still haven’t located, the mystery of the Ruler Candidate, and now the Champion’s died without even destroying the entire Academy or the continent in the process.

Just a few minutes ago, passing by one of the glass statues, I noticed my reflection in it, and my lips twisted into what almost looked like a wide grin. Most other people might miss the change, but I see my, as some would say, punchable, face often enough to recognize the difference.

The feel of wanting to fight, to level up, and battle monsters or people has been replaced by sheer curiosity and intrigue. Fuck the system and tutorial, but sometimes the floors can be very interesting. It makes me wonder if this is all we get or if there will be more twists to come.

Even the thought of heading to Beyond leaves my mind, and I decide to devote my full attention to this floor.

As I make my rounds through the Academy’s halls, surreptitiously searching for the missing thermonuclear warhead, I observe an extremely erratic mood. It is something you can almost feel in the air and see in the movements of the people around me. The Champion is dead. He was one of nine Champions of this planet and likely one of the ten most powerful people to walk its surface.

Just like that, with no fanfare, only for his cold body to be found by the staff.

I still haven’t managed to pick up any additional information. I am curious about his condition, what killed him, where he was found, and dozens of other questions. But the information has not been shared at all. It is impressive that news of his death even managed to leak at all; I would have expected them to keep it secret. That's what I would’ve done, given how massive the consequences of his death are likely to be.

One thing I know, and that surprises me, is that I would have expected them to lock down the Academy so no one could enter or exit. Instead, they locked the entire region, dozens of square miles, and everyone inside it.

There’s already a huge barrier set up around the entire area, and it’s been said that two Champions are standing guard just outside the barrier.

And despite all that, life in the Academy goes on. Visits to nearby cities or smaller villages are still allowed; they do not seem to care about that kind of movement at all.

I'm also surprised the Champions aren’t here, inside of the barrier, and searching for the killer. What could be the reason? Politics? Are they scared of whoever or whatever managed to kill the Champion so easily?

The whole thing brings to mind the rumored weapon the Absolute left behind, said to be capable of killing even a Champion. Could it be? If so, what kind of maniac is the Absolute to simply leave such a weapon behind for anyone to use?

This is way too much fun.

Heading back to my office, I meet an interesting man.

We’ve already collected information on some of the more famous professors, and the man I bump into turns out to be one of them. I’ve already forgotten his name, but I remember his appearance for a simple reason: he’s a demon, one of the very few demons in the Academy and certainly the only demon professor.

His horns are black with that typical texture I’ve observed in Vega and Lioren. They also curve backwards, but in a manner entirely different from Lioren’s.

He appears older, maybe around forty years old. He has the same white hair and red eyes that most demons have. His hair is on the shorter end and carefully styled into what is probably a fashionable hairstyle. I am not exactly an expert in style. Tess could probably tell, given how often she likes to change up her hairstyle.

Another detail that interests me, and the whole reason I remembered him, is that he is rumored to possess three primordial energies, with void being confirmed and the other two left as the subject of rumor. Even here, it’s viewed as something exceedingly rare.

As I notice the beat of his heart, he becomes aware of mine, and we both stop and stare at each other. So void, and on top of that… definitely kinetic energy. I can tell right away from his pulse. I spent nearly a year with the best and coolest kinetic energy user to ever live. It would be weird for me not to notice.

But he can probably discern the same information from mine. He is a demon, after all, and these guys are attuned to hearts to such a high degree it’s unhealthy.

He keeps looking at me, and I keep looking at him, both of us grasping the other’s power just from these small signs, but not pushing further. For a moment, his red eyes seem to gain that shine, and I almost expect him to smile in that demonic, maniacal way and start talking trash about my heart or try to get into a fight.

Instead, he nods just once and then continues on his way in a very undemonic display of behavior.

I place back the seal on Ignition Heart that I partially lifted, and also stop generating kinetic energy, something I had almost not realized I was doing.

Back in my office, I sit in the chair and put my legs up on the remaining box containing the thermonuclear warhead. Then I open my status and choose a three skills combination token.

I could probably be more patient, but after nine days here, I feel like I’ve already gathered plenty of information, especially with the help of the others. Plus, I would’ve just ended up doing it my way anyway, so there’s no real reason to wait any longer.

“I want to use my three skills combination token.”

You have used an active skill combination token. Please pick three from the following to combine.

Warning: Combining three skills will reduce the level of the acquired skill.

Warning: A combination of incompatible skills may result in inferior skill.

Warning: After combining the skills, it will become extremely difficult to acquire the skills used for the combination.

Please select the main skill of the combination and two supportive skills.

List of available skills to combine:

Perception - Lvl 62

Mana Domain (Pride) - Lvl 61

Mana Crown - Lvl 55

Mana Manipulation - Lvl 67

Ley Line - Lvl 54

Knitting - Lvl 37

“[Ley Line] as the main skill, [Mana Manipulation] and [Mana Domain] as supportive.”

Congratulations, you have successfully combined [Ley Line], [Mana Domain], and [Mana Manipulation]! A new skill has been created.

You have acquired [Ur Line]

[Ur Line - Level 0 > Ur Line - Level 9]

The active skill affected by the effect of your subclass (Pride) has been removed. Please choose an active skill to apply it to.

“Apply it to [Eclipse],” I say, and the effect is applied.

Lately, [Mana Domain] and [Eclipse] have started to feel really similar to me, the only difference seems to be that [Eclipse] is clearly a higher tier skill, so I’ve been wanting to get rid of [Mana Domain] for a while. It will be more difficult to handle my mana without it, but it’ll still be doable.

Before I examine my new skill, let’s try this.

I create a single evil orb 3.0, inspired by Lissandra’s, and then modify it to the point where I begin practicing mana shaping, which even now gives me trouble.

Let’s see how long this will-

Congratulations, you have acquired a new skill!

[Mana Manipulation]

[Mana Manipulation – Level 0 > Mana Manipulation – Level 61]

Welcome back, my precious. It seems like the two of us are inseparable. Nothing pleases me more than giving the middle finger to the system.

Difficult to relearn? Yeah, no. I call bullshit.

Even now, I remain unstoppable! I have experience with the skill, and soon I will catch up and level it back up. I just need to prove my mastery to the system.

Growing impatient, I use [Ur Line] for the first time, and the feeling isn’t much different from [Ley Line]. Externally, I observe it slightly without digging too deep, but for now, it’s hard to even perceive, and I am the one who created it.

It might be the effect of the skill, or it might still be low level, but it is my line, so it is there. Its color is not that pale blue shimmer as before, but something difficult to describe. I wouldn’t exactly call it colorless, but I also can’t say it has any color I know. It seems to shift, while at the same time, it doesn’t quite feel like it’s transitioning through any other colors.

Well, let’s examine this baby. I activate my Mana Wavelength Iris to the maximum and look into the area occupied by the short line I’ve created.

Then I pass out.

I open my eyes, confused, staggered; it takes me a few seconds before I remember what happened.

What nonsense.

I activate my eyes to the maximum and raise the mana flowing through my body. I check just in case, and my passives are active, all of them. Then I look at the same place.

The world turns black.

Once again, I open my eyes, staggered and surprised.

Right away, I activate my Mana Wavelength Iris, and a bit of my mana compresses and turns black, just enough to support my body and mind.

Then I look at the line. And it is beautiful: a short line barely the length of my arm, wavering in the air, unseen and undetectable to anyone without a high degree of skill. The mana around it twists and weaves. Mana wavelengths and ambient mana react to it in such an erratic way that it seems almost impossible to understand or predict. The line itself feels unearthly. Colorless, yet beautifully enchanting. I am not a poet, so simply said, it is pretty and it looks cool.

Then I pass out again.

When I wake up this time, I keep my eyes deactivated and instead use only [Perception] to examine the line, and unsurprisingly, I do not pass out this time. My body does not shut down to protect me.

As expected, the problem turns out to be my Mana Wavelength Iris and the amount of information it can gather, and my inability to process it all. With my other weaker senses, it is fine.

The line is not as pretty, and I barely see the wavelengths. Seen this way, it looks almost like [Ley Line], to the point that it feels almost exactly the same.

Next comes some testing. I stretch it across longer and longer distances. I send mana through, teleport, and perform the basic functions I usually use it for. For now, I decide not to try materializing it. Everything I’ve seen thus far with my trait suggests that it would be a very, very bad idea.

After a few hours, I also conclude that [Ur Line] handles anything I throw at it like a champ. Even this lower level version can transmit almost the same amount of mana as before.

It could probably be used to stun any more perceptive types trying to observe me: just form it in front of me and then watch it overwhelm their senses. That could be fun.

I’ll also have to do some testing with Sophie and the twins to see how well others can perceive it. It is fairly difficult, even for me to notice, so it’s bound to be better hidden than [Ley Line] – if I decide to keep it that way. I already know how to make lines more noticeable to others if I so choose.

It seems like a straight upgrade of an already ridiculously powerful skill. There is also a feeling that there’s something else the skill may be hiding, but I can’t quite perceive it without passing out.

Anyway, I’ll get around to it later. But my idea of surrounding the entire Earth with permanent lines to create my own personal teleportation network still stands.