Chapter 16 - Feast of EXP and Tsunami of Skills (Patreon)

Nova had a dilemma. With the now recovered Vitality, he would be able to explore the >Normal Tutorial easier, but at the same time it might be possible to go higher if he could maintain his Healing Breathing.

He realised that Breathing Techniques were quite powerful and it would allow him to operate at one stage higher than what he was used to.

And that was all thanks to the Healing Breathing, since his brain wouldn't immediately fry, he was able to be a lot quicker in everything!

Calming Breathing to maintain his mind, while Healing Breathing would heal his brain. A perfect combination that would allow him to bypass those traps!

There was also the fact about the Final Boss. He really wanted to go after her, but he was worried that without magic or Aura, he would be unable to do so!

Nova made a decision.

He would stay in the 'safe zone' and practice his Healing Breathing until it was good enough to use in battles and then he would embark on the >Hard Tutorial!

Nova smiled and started training...

...

[Healing Breathing Lv.Max/1 (✦)] - [Calming Breathing Lv.Max/1 (✦)]

This took him a lot of time, but he realised that he couldn't have two breathings active at once for the time being, so he settled on Healing Breathing.

Over time, there also appeared more people here. It seemed like they returned from somewhere, since Nova could vaguely remember them.

There was also Nina, Sabrina and Tom, but he ignored those since he had a mission to accomplish! And that mission would start today!

>Hard

Nova appeared in that familiar hallway, but this time he was already using Healing Breathing while focusing intently all around him.

Thanks to his heightened senses, most traps were not an issue, but there were certain combinations that would not allow him to pass unharmed.

He struggled for quite some time before he finally managed to pass most of them, but...

He still died. Even if he had the Bleeding Resistance, it would become useless the moment he had too many injuries...

He had to repeat this many times, but the situation didn't change all that much.

Pierced by a spear.

Legs squashed by falling ceiling.

Arms tattered by arrows.

Feet slowed down by slimy substance.

And so on...

It was a gruesome thing to try and pass the first part of this Tutorial, but there were also some good news.

[You have experienced so much pain that your body is getting used to it!]

[You have obtained: [Pain Resistance]!]

He was now more inclined to go through this thing and since his body hurt less-!

...

[You have cleared the first part of the Tutorial!]

[Reward: 100 Existence Coin]

[You are entering the second part of the Tutorial.]

It took a lot of work, since the traps changed each time, but Nova was fortunate that he didn't take too much damage.

He walked into the second part of the Tutorial. It was dimmer than the >Normal difficulty, but that was expected.

What was very different was the fact that this place was a lot more overgrown.

There was moss and water everywhere, like no one took care of it.

There was a lot less light thanks to the fact that many torch stands rotted. Only some were still standing or those that were bolted into the wall, but moss was covering them too, so it was only a matter of time before something happened...

Nova walked cautiously through here. His boots were soaking wet and he felt a chill going through his body.

There was also a strange odour in the air.

[You are under the effect of [Plantification]!]

[Current Progress: 0.01%]

'It seems like this place has a time limit.' Nova narrowed his eyes.

He still didn't hurry forward, since there was plenty of time.

Walking slowly was essential for his survival in this strange difficulty.

...

This part of the place was also flooded, so stealth was pretty much impossible.

Splash Splash

Nova heard quite sloppy footsteps somewhere in the side path. He tilted his head gently, wondering what it was.

Soon some iron helmet popped from behind the corner, startling him.

"Huh? A zombie?" Nova was startled, because that zombie had one huge-ass flower on its head.

'Could that be the [Plantification]?' Nova shivered. That would be terrible! He didn't want to become a mindless monster!

'I will have to buy more Return Stones.' Nova nodded gently. 'Maybe I can solve this debuff if I eliminate the effect?' Nova narrowed his eyes. It would be impossible to burn this place, but it should be possible for him to find out what is causing this!

'It will require a lot of trial and error.' Nova sighed. He walked forward towards the 'zombie', trying to slash at it.

For some reason, the 'zombie' didn't defend and fell in one hit!

[Level Up!]

[Class: {[Commoner Lv.50->51], [Mortal Lv.50->51], [Trainee Lv.50->51]}]

Nova wondered if there was some kind of strange increase in EXP in this place, since it was a lot more dangerous than the previous place.

As he pondered upon this, more footsteps were heard coming from the hallways.

Nova panicked when he saw their numbers, but at the same time this would be a great opportunity to substantially increase his Level!

Nova's eyes burned as he thought about this. He would be able to reach max Level with them if nothing went wrong! Then he could just change Classes to the 'normal' type and continue on his adventure without worry!

Drawing a nice arc, Nova broke the necks of several enemies.

[Level Up!]

Levelling was much faster than he expected, so it seemed that depending on your location and circumstances, you were able to earn more than you were supposed to!

Nova smirked as he almost broke his wooden sword on that metal helmet. "Oops. I still have to be careful, even if they are weak." He withdrew that strike, making sure that he would not hit their armoured parts.

The most troublesome thing was only those armoured parts and their numbers. It felt like there was an endless wave of them, which prompted Nova to just slurp the experience.

[Level Up!]

It was sound to his ears as the bodies crashed into the water lifelessly, or maybe they were already dead?

Nova tilted his head, but avoided hitting the flowers around the zombies' bodies. He had a feeling that his [Plantification] could increase sharply if he agitated it.

There was an issue with this strategy, since the ground was now littered with flowers, but fortunately the other zombies didn't trigger the flowers.

[Level Up!]

Nova smirked happily as he heard the constant notification of his Level-up. It should be possible to reach the Max Level at this pace!

There was also plenty of time and zombies, since his [Plantification] didn't progress as quickly as he expected.

Nova was happy in here, because his sword corroded more slowly than in the previous difficulties.

[Level Up!]

"It's the power of decaying bodies!" Nova proclaimed, as yet another 'zombie' was killed by him.

They now completely littered the hallway and Nova could not retreat further back since he was almost in the first part of the Tutorial.

'What will happen when I cross that line?' That was a good question, one which he should've verified a long time ago, but better now than never?

Since his sword was slowly being battered by the endless wave of 'zombies' Nova stepped through that 'separator' and all of those 'zombies' stopped in their tracks.

"How strange." Nova tilted his head. This was truly magical. It felt like he was standing on the other side of the mirror and they were unable to see him.

Nova tried another test. That test was using his sword from his place. Would it reach the 'zombies' or not?

He expected his sword to bounce, but the sword easily slew yet another zombie.

"What the hell?" Nova couldn't help, but say out loud. He could still kill those 'zombies' on the other side, while the 'zombies' didn't react to him?

'This is puzzling...' Nova narrowed his eyes. Was this some kind of portal that connected two instances, or was there something more about this?

He didn't know, but he really wanted to find out!

Crunch

...

Nova sighed happily. He had such a grand loot, that his eyes rolled.

[Commoner has reached Level 60, please choose one Skill: [Fated Love], [Busy Body], [Memories to Remember]]

[Mortal has reached Level 60, please choose one Skill: [Craftsmanship], [Smart Brain], [Knowledge = Power]]

[Trainee has reached Level 60, please choose one Skill: [Leader], [Rebel], [Womanizer]]

[Commoner has reached Level 70, please choose one Skill: [Cooperation], [Negotiation], [Forgiveness]]

[Mortal has reached Level 70, please choose one Skill: [Mad Inventions], [Resource Management], [Storage Management]]

[Trainee has reached Level 70, please choose one Skill: [Busy Body], [Trainer], [Sword Enlightenment]]

[Commoner has reached Level 80, please choose one Skill: [Charismatic Glance], [Envy], [Pathfinder]]

[Mortal has reached Level 80, please choose one Skill: [Genius], [Lust], [Miserable]]

[Trainee has reached Level 80, please choose one Skill: [Militaristic Leader], [Pride], [Last Squad Standing]]

[Commoner has reached theoretical Max Level, you can't progress further!]

[Mortal has reached a theoretical Max Level, you can't progress further!]

[Trainee has reached theoretical Max Level, you can't progress further!]

'This is troublesome. I need to fix it and max out my Level as soon as possible!' Nova narrowed his eyes.

##################################################

[Fated Love (❂)]

[Passive (Unique) - God's Guidance: God may be with you. God will guide you. (Condition: Believe in Fated Love)]

'I do believe in that, but I don't believe that they won't backstab me after a while...' Nova sighed.

[Busy Body (✦)]

[Passive: You will encounter more events. (Condition: Sticking your nose everywhere you can!)]

[Active: Once in X amount of time, you will be able to trigger a special event! (Condition: Unknown)]

'This sounds like a lot of annoying things would happen to me...' Nova frowned.

[Memories to Remember (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - Hyperthymesia: Whenever you are with other individuals, you will remember everything! (Condition: Brain-related Trait)]

'Hyperthymesia is only cool if it doesn't overwhelm my brain...' Nova sighed.

[Craftsmanship (✦)]

[Passive: Whatever you create, it will have a higher Quality ceiling. (Condition: Familiar with the Item)]

[Passive: You are less likely to fail during creation. (Condition: Familiar with the Item)]

'This is a must-have if I want to keep Reinforce Equipment!' Nova narrowed his eyes.

[Smart Brain (✦)]

[Passive: Your brain processes information and gives you hints. (Condition: Brain Trait)]

'Kind of meh, since this can easily turn into paranoia...' Nova shook his head knowingly, since he already was past that stage...

[Knowledge = Power (✦)]

[Passive: Converts your knowledge into bonus damage, but it depends on a chosen weapon. (Books = Max Damage)(Condition: Insight =>100)]

[Active: Converts your Insight into a one-time knowledge bomb! (Warning! You will lose half of your insight!)(Condition: Insight =>200)]

'While not useless it's not versatile enough.' Nova didn't like this one. 'Moreover, you would lose Insight if you activated it, which is just a waste.'

[Leader (✦)]

[Passive: You can lead others better! (Condition: At least 10 Soldiers)]

[Passive (Unique) - Sharp Eyes: You can see some Stats and Skills of your Soldiers! (Condition: At least 50 Soldiers)]

'Useless. I still want to be solo.' Nova shook his head. He didn't have memories of his past life, but he still knew what those strange things did, so he only lost memories of people and how he behaved towards them. 'As such, there is no need for me to be with others.' There had to be a reason why he did that, so he would follow a different path this time.

[Rebel (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) Can't be translated: You can slightly bend the Rules! (Condition: Can't be translated)(Can't be translated)]

'This just screams: Pick me.' Nova chuckled, anything that would give him an advantage in this place was welcome!

[Womanizer (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) Won't Meet!: Your partners will never meet if you so wish. (Condition: At least 10 affairs)]

[Passive: You have an easier time finding potential affairs. (Condition: Groomed, Empathetic, Alcohol)]

[Active (Unique) - Blackmail: You can blackmail your affair partners and gain benefits! (Condition: Scum, Varies)]

'You won't convince me to take this...' Nova snorted disdainfully.

##################################################

[Cooperation (✦)]

[Passive: You can cooperate with other Classifications. (i.e. If you are Ranged Classification, you won't shoot your allies.)(Condition: Different Classification from you)]

'This would be quite useful. It would allow me- No wait, it sounds like it's only one-sided for me, so other Classifications can still hurt me.' Nova sighed. He almost picked something bad.

[Negotiation (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - See-through Eyes: You are able to see the desire of your 'opponent'!]

[Active (Unique) - Let's Negotiate Sir/Ma'am!: You are more convincing to your 'opponents'!]

'Very useful!' Nova smirked.

[Forgiveness (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - Begging on the Knees!: You are more likely to be forgiven, no matter what you do!]

'Yeah, no.' Nova ignored it.

[Mad Inventions (✦)]

[Active (Unique) - Crazy Fuck: You can invent the craziest things you can imagine! (Condition: You need at least some understanding of it)]

'Sounds cool, but I don't have much knowledge about things, so I would have to find some kind of old library that has such knowledge, before I can use this...' Nova shook his head.

[Resource Management (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - Efficient: You are more likely to save resources when using them!]

[Active (Unique) - Let me see this!: You can efficiently manage the resources in your possession and save space by storing them properly!]

'Must-have in this place!' Nova's eyes shined.

[Storage Management (✦)]

[Passive: You can store more resources!]

'Dammit! I can only pick one!' Nova was frustrated.

[Busy Body (✦)]

[ -||- ]

'No.' He already rejected this one, so he would do it again.

[Trainer (✦)]

[Passive: You can point out a bad form. (Condition: Familiar with the training)]

[Active: You can teach others your form. (Condition: Familiar with the person)]

'This is really cool, but does very little for me.' Nova was not against this, but it was not useful right now.

[Sword Enlightenment (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - Sword ??? Descendant: You are naturally gifted at wielding Swords!]

[Passive (Unique) - Sword ???'s Body: You are quicker at learning Sword Skills. (Possible to learn certain Sword Skills!)]

[Passive (Unique) - Enlightenment Edge: You deal more damage with Swords. (Condition: Familiarity with the given Sword)]

[Active (Unique) - ??? Possession: You will be temporarily possessed by ??? allowing you to use his full arsenal! (Condition: ???)]

"This just screams pick me, again." Nova chuckled.

##################################################

[Charismatic Glance (✦)]

[Passive: You are more likely to attract favourable attention when you stare at someone. (Condition: Beautiful/Handsome)]

"No. Next." Nova said disdainfully.

[Envy (?)]

[???]

"No idea what it does, next." Nova sighed.

[Pathfinder (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - Lone Explorer: You will always find a path to your destination.]

"This is a cool one. Definitely useful in the Dungeons!" He became more talkative as Skills got more ridiculous.

[Genius (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) Computer Mind: You are able to process absurd amounts of information quickly. (Debuff: Genius)]

[Debuff:

You will feel negative emotions much more often.

You can go insane from the amount of information.

Insomnia.

Depression relapses.

...]

"Why?" Nova didn't understand why someone would pick this.

[Lust (?)]

[???]

"Another one that I don't know what it does, but when I look at the other two Skills... This might be the safest pick?" Nova hated this a lot.

[Miserable (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - I live in Misery: You are more powerful the more miserable you are! (Debuff: Misery)]

[Debuff: Negative events often happen and they often result in unavoidable deaths.]

"Just no, I already have enough negative events!" Nova glared at it.

[Militaristic Leader (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - Leading the God's Army!: You are able to easily lead everyone and maintain their morale! (Condition: At least 100,000 Soldiers)]

[Active (Unique) - Raise those cups!: You are able to raise morale through Alcohol and women. (Condition: Enough to satiate at least 50% of your Army)]

"Skip." He sighed.

[Pride (?)]

[???]

"Skip." He didn't need to pick the [?] option this time.

[Last Squad Standing (✦)]

[Passive (Unique) - I, alone, am enough!: You deal increased damage if you are alone or with a small pack. (Condition: Varies)]

[Passive (Unique) - Comfort of Pack: You can regenerate faster with your pack! (Condition: Varies, Outside Combat)]

[Active (Unique) - Last Roar: You can turn into a monster for X minutes! All your stats will be enhanced! (Condition: Varies)]

"This is screaming, pick me! And I'm also interested in the last part." Nova smirked.