Hell Difficulty Tutorial

Is this the place our precious group of traitors have been trying to reach? Hurrying, desperate to find it. Scared to let someone else find it first or the corpses turn into lurkers, which would probably render the area impossible to scavenge? They might be dead, but going by their equipment, they must have been powerful, a group like Eugan's would have never been able to take them.

Hell, that they might not even know how long the corpses have been lying there since they must have spotted them and been unable to retrieve the equipment. These corpses in front of me could probably turn into lurkers at any moment. The lurkers respawn after a year anyway.

Moving from corpse to corpse, I use my senses and quickly collect the items. There is a pile of upper epic ones, armor, some orbs, and more. There are even plenty of materials and mana stones with ciphered information.

There are also some interesting clothes in the bags, with threads spun from a range of different materials, allowing them to fit normally while retaining the durability of upper rare armor. Not to mention the variety of metals stowed with them.

And these are just the items they had on them while traveling. They’re not going to be on par with my arcane alloy, but they’re not far off either. I do wonder if they had anything more valuable stashed away somewhere, maybe something they left with their guild?

Of course, the most valuable are the three items. Likely the things Eugan and her group were after. Items they were willing to kill for. Three damaged arcane items.

 

Bloodthirst (Arcane, Damaged) - Bloodthirst once thrived on the essence of life, growing stronger with each battle. Its hunger for blood has lessened, but it still sporadically draws strength from fresh wounds, offering glimpses of its once insatiable power.

 

Echo Gauntlet (Arcane, Damaged) - The Echo Gauntlet was once capable of replicating any spell or ability it encountered, up to a certain level. Though its power has waned, it can mimic nearby magical effects with unpredictable precision.

 

Golem Heart (Arcane, Damaged) - The Golem Heart could animate stone and metal, bringing golems to life. Now, its core is cracked, but it sporadically imbues nearby objects with a flicker of life, allowing them to move and respond to commands for short periods of time, echoing its once grand animating power.

 

Bloodthirst is an interesting one, if only because of its description. It Grows stronger with each battle and has a thirst for blood? What does that even mean, what are the effects? As it is now, it is a claymore with a heavily chipped blade and damaged inscriptions. Its blade is made out of a white metal with an eerie blood-red shine to it.

The Echo gauntlet, already on my right hand, looks more like a glove and covers everything up to a point slightly above my wrist. It's made out of smooth and supple light brown leather, and the inside is covered with myriad threads of material woven into inscriptions. The back of the glove is covered with a few damaged strips of black metal etched with inscriptions of their own, protecting the back of the hand.

The effect sounds way too powerful, so I'm already curious about its limitations. I expect the effect to be limited by level, amount of uses, or excessive mana costs.

It's interesting anyway.

The Golem Heart on the other hand is a piece of clay-like material that seems a lot tougher than it should be while hiding secrets all its own. It's light brown and smooth. However, it seems to be missing a small piece as well.

These items are amazing, even now I could sell the whole lot of them for a nice sum of shards, despite any reduction in payout from the damage.

Flamebearer alone has given me an idea just how powerful arcane weapons, even damaged ones, can be.

So now I have these three, a staff from the mage lurker we met at the start, a dagger and mace from Roculus, and a pile of upper epic weapons.

It's quite a lot and they come from a group that was probably pushing elite status. The higher end epic items alone would have been a nice addition for any group. Not to mention the materials. There’s so much at this point that I’m starting to wonder if there are storage items available. Soon I won't be able to carry it all.

Surprisingly, Shayna isn't trying anything. Despite my apparent distraction and relentless hoarding of items, she doesn't attack. There isn't a single attempt from her, nor is she acting strange. Sure, there is a hint of greed in her eyes, but that's it, she doesn't ask for weapons or offer any complaints.

"Do you think there might be a good reason for the lurkers to be avoiding this area? Even accounting for the ones the group lured away, we should have more on our trail given the ones we killed. This is too unnerving," Shayna says while looking around.

"Isn't it obvious?” I ask. “We’ve probably entered the territory of a powerful named lurker. More likely than not the guy who did this," I clarify, gesturing at the corpses.

As we speak, I keep an eye on the area, scanning our surroundings and Shayna with my mana. Watching for any signal she might try to send the group. Roculus was one of them, so why the hell wouldn't she be? Sure, it would be weird for her to stay with me, but who the hell knows how these people think.

"So why aren't you taking any of the items?" I ask, taking a more direct approach.

"Because we’re probably going to die anyway. Just take them if you want, I don't want to die carrying all those bags on my back." Despite her words, she seems calm. Determined even.

There is some truth to her words but I don’t plan on dying.

"So what kind of item do you want? You should take something." It pains me, but I offer nonetheless. Without her, I would have been in a lot more trouble. I'm not stubborn enough to deny her that.

Out of nowhere Shayna smiles, almost shyly, "I already took one when you weren't looking. I found a ring on one of the corpses," she admits.

Okay, give me back my feelings and take back what you just said.

"Show me," I challenge, and she does so right away.

 

Phantom Ring (Arcane, Damaged) - This Phantom Ring once provided unparalleled stealth and silent movement. It now intermittently bestows the wearer with heightened stealth, making them nearly undetectable for short periods of time.

 

Such a cursed object, it even has a phantom in its name. It should be destroyed.

Checking the timer, I confirm that I have less than an hour until my Stay Token wears off. Hopefully, when it does, I find myself back on the 6th floor. It wouldn't make much sense for the system to keep me here. I hope... It would also mean I wouldn't have to reach the safe zone, unlike Shayna.

Looking at Shayna, I sigh. I must be getting soft.

"Use the ring and run away."

My answer seems to surprise her, her eyes and hair changing color and taking on a pink hue, "It clearly didn't help its previous owner."

"Just slow down your heartbeat as much as possible, and if you think there’s someone tracking you, stop and don't move. You should be fine otherwise. I don't even think I would be able to detect you if you were using a damaged arcane item to hide. And I'm quite good at detection."

For a moment, she just stares at me, blinking slowly and hesitating, "Are you sure? You seem to have a plan, but..."

"Go before I take that ring."

That brings a thankful smile to her face, her hair color changing to bright yellow. "I guess you have a plan. Okay then, I’ll see you, Noname. You know my name, so look for me the next time you come to Beyond. Good luck," she says briefly.

Everyone is on their own here, their life has to take priority, so she doesn't hesitate much. It's completely reasonable, and the short time we’ve survived here together can't be valued over your own life. It's as simple as that.

I watch as she jumps over a few craters and stops at the top of one of the hills, waving back to me for the last time before putting the ring on. She slowly disappears from my sight, her smile the last thing I see.

Then I'm left alone and spend a short time examining the corpses, looking for anything useful. I go through their pockets, and clothes, and find a few more further away. They all seem to have been destroyed in the same way - an explosion of raw force from a very powerful body. It even seems like some of them got stuck in place, unable to move under the force that eventually tore them apart.

Well, it seems to be about time, I need to start getting ready.

I turn around, take a step, my arm moves swiftly, and I reach into the air to grab an invisible wrist. Oscillating mana coats my free hand, and I slash the air in front of me.

Shayna slowly appears, materializing from the air, her severed arm falling to the ground with the ring on her finger as blood sprays from her shoulder.

I’ve got her other arm now, held by the wrist, in her hand is a dagger made of that transparent, difficult-to-sense mana of hers. Pointed at my eye in an attempt to penetrate my brain.

She tries to attack me again, but I bury my hand into her leg and tear off a chunk of flesh, disrupting her concentration with the pain. I add an extra punch to her chest for good measure, breaking a few ribs in the process.

Even in this state, her disruption crashes into me along with a barrage of projectiles created from her mana.

I block it off easily and then fire off a disruption of my own, causing her to lose control of her skills.

Shayna then stands there, missing an arm and bleeding from her leg.

"I thought you had finally let your guard down around me," she says simply.

Finally, let your guard down, she says. There are no excuses, no lame explanations. She just breathes heavily, staring into my eyes with a determined gaze, constantly trying to retake control of her mana.

In the end, These arcane items really seem to be worth that much to some people. Enough to risk their lives for, enough to cloud their thinking. Just a hint of opportunity I given her was enough.

If she asked, I would have split the items with her evenly. I feel like that would have been fair after what we’d been through. I would have never betrayed her over a few measly items. But she had a different opinion; she wanted it all, even if it meant killing me. As of this moment, all the good feelings she had fostered in me are gone.

I let thermal energy coat my hand and touch the stump where I severed her arm, causing the wound to sizzle, her flesh burning as my heat cauterizes the wound and stops the bleeding. Then I do the same for her leg where I tore a piece off. The air fills the disgusting smell of burned flesh, and sweat beads on her forehead, as her hair starts turning gray. I think it's the first time they are showing real emotion instead of those she wanted to show.

“Noname, listen, I…” she starts, but before she can finish, I coat my finger in oscillating mana and stab it into her side.

Then I send thermal energy through.

When she opens her mouth to scream, I use [Redistribution] to hold her movement, and only her eyes show the pain.