Chapter 929 - Exceeding the expected range (Patreon)

A bolt of lightning crashes from the sky, and Tess steps out of it.

She is about to say something, but I hold my hand up. “It's nice to see you without you trying to stab me with an arrow, but I've got a lot of notifications to go over. And I'm way too curious about them, so if we don't have all the kaiju gathered somewhere nearby to jump me, I don't care.”

Tess still opens her mouth, and her eyes make it obvious she has many questions, but at the last moment holds herself back and closes it.

After that, she just slides down onto the grass and combs it with her fingers.

I drop down as well and close my eyes. Just for a few minutes, I don't want to see anyone from Group 4. At least until what just happened doesn't feel so fresh. Otherwise, I'm going to keep getting this annoying feeling.

So, to distract my overthinking self, I open the notifications and go over them chronologically.

[Selective Adaptation - lvl 59 > Selective Adaptation - lvl 60]

[Selective Adaptation - lvl 60 > Selective Adaptation - lvl 61]

[Selective Adaptation - lvl 61 > Selective Adaptation - lvl 62]

***

[Selective Adaptation - lvl 69 > Selective Adaptation - lvl 70]

Well, this is nice.

[Attunement - lvl 43 > Attunement - lvl 44]

[Attunement - lvl 44 > Attunement - lvl 45]

[Attunement - lvl 45 > Attunement - lvl 46]

***

[Attunement - lvl 49 > Attunement - lvl 50]

These two are the only skills that have been leveling up during the thought acceleration, and it kind of makes sense as I have been using them directly to help me stabilize my mind. It happened before with Lissandra as well, so I'm not surprised. But mixed in with all of it, I see a few different level-ups, even though they shouldn't be here.

[Manifestation - lvl 72 > Manifestation - lvl 73]

[Weave - lvl 58 > Weave - lvl 59]

My best guess is that it happened when thought acceleration ended, or when the time in the mental space equaled the time outside.

And then there is this thing. Honestly, I did not expect it and would probably have liked to do it differently. The result is also unexpected, so I don't know how to feel about it.

Congratulations, you have successfully combined [Selective Adaptation] and [Attunement]! A new skill has been created.

You have acquired [Calibration]

[Calibration - Level 0 > Calibration - Level 9]

Well, one of my subminds is already experimenting with it, so I can get angry or happy later. There is also an obvious message about the kill, though it makes me wonder how the System grades gods and demigods and decides on their levels and such.

I think there is a lot of room for getting scammed, as they aren't as common a target as monsters, so the System might be giving me fewer levels than I deserve.

Before going through further notifications, movement on the edge of my senses brings my attention to the small group. Sophie, Blackie walking on tiptoes while carrying pieces of red armor, and Izzy cradling a sleeping Noodle. Each of them seems battered, and both Izzy and Sophie are almost entirely without mana.

Couldn't be me.

They all sit down around after Tess gestures for them to stay quiet and keep glancing between me and the blonde.

Peacefully, I continue delving into the status window in front of me.

[You have defeated Essian Nightmare Lion - lvl 649]

[Lvl 469 > Lvl 470]

[Lvl 470 > Lvl 471]

[Lvl 471 > Lvl 472]

[Lvl 472 > Lvl 473]

[Lvl 473 > Lvl 474]

[Lvl 474 > Lvl 475]

[Lvl 475 > Lvl 476]

[Lvl 476 > Lvl 477]

***

[Lvl 486 > Lvl 487]

Congratulations, you have defeated a Demigod!

Congratulations, you have become the highest-leveled tutorial attendee in the past 1,000 years.

Congratulations, you have become the highest-leveled tutorial attendee in the past 2,000 years.

Congratulations, you have become the highest-leveled tutorial attendee in the past 3,000 years.

Well, well, well. I'm glad and disappointed I didn't level up past 500. Getting my mid pristine Synergy Feed upgraded to upper pristine could’ve been really bad.

Actually, how sure am I of that? Just because of that message from the system about complete bodily destruction? I bet I could tank that with some effort. Maybe I'm just too cautious. After all, why shouldn't I get my rewards? I can take it on. I feel fresh, in a good mood, my steps are light, and my body is in a state that I like to call peak performance. Yes, I can do it! 3rd-floor Nathaniel would do it, I'm sure.

What? What is that feeling of my cowardly subminds trying to hold me down? Is it because they crave what I crave and don't want me to have it?

Or are some of them... maybe, just maybe, a bit like... that man? That beauty-mark-under-the-corner-of-his-left-eye, overly patient man? I apologize for using a slur.

I also have a question. What had Adrian been doing for me to end up as the highest leveled tutorial attendee? Or is it possible he is excluded from the rankings? And if he isn't excluded and is in them, is there a reason not to get the highest level possible? I will have to ask Ruby.

Sometime during all of this, Maya gets back too, carrying Lily and Dennis over her shoulders like two sacks of potatoes. With care corresponding to that title, she drops them onto the ground.

I know that with the way our bodies are, even a fall from a multi-story building wouldn't so much as cause a bruise, yet it feels a bit wrong.

I give the two human-shaped potato sacks a glance, confirming that they too are almost without mana, but otherwise fine. Though, if your mana reserves are so pathetically small, can you even call yourself "fine"?

Sometimes it is difficult for me to imagine having a problem such as running out of mana. I must continue to do my best to never end up like them.

Once again, I glance at the window and scroll down. The notification about the completion of this floor isn't here, but I can see the portal to the 13th floor next to me. I know the notification about clearing it and the rewards will appear only after I enter the 13th floor, along with all the rewards.

So that should be it, right?

Yet I have even more notifications appearing anyway.

Alert: Narrative irregularity confirmed. Progression has deviated from the floor’s designated parameters. Floor completion greatly exceeds the expected range of completion.

All Rulers assigned to this cycle of the tutorials have been notified.

A warning given to the attendee Nathaniel Gwyn has been noted.

The use of a disciple summon token outside of its intended function has been noted.

No additional external interference has been detected.

The Ruler of Diligence has rejected a request for evaluation and verification.

The request has been resubmitted.

The Ruler of Diligence has rejected a request for evaluation and verification and terminated the line of communication.

The Ruler of Wrath has validated the assessment and dataset.

Notice: Despite irregularities, the main quest objectives for Floor 12 have been fulfilled. Completion is officially recognized, and the rewards have been increased in accordance with performance.

The weight of the Warning has been increased.

That doesn't sound too good, I can't help but think. But it is what it is.

What I also don't like is my Constitution. There might be a small problem with it.

It currently sits at 9, where previously it was 10. It just decided to drop by one point, and I wonder how worried I should be.

I don't think the System did it because of a warning, and it's more likely a reflection of the state of my body, but it just dropped, and that brings a bigger worry.

If Constitution can go down, Mana likely can as well, and we can't have that.

Using my trademarked brand of humor, I decide to think about it later while I turn back toward the volcano where the city and the skeleton of Tariel the Undying used to be.

That kindred city is more or less still there, but the damage to it is noticeable. I don't even have to run my scans to know that thousands are likely dead. And even though I know they are just recreations of the tutorial, I think I would still feel bad for some of them.

While looking that way, I open my status, and instantly the notification popup attacks me like so many times before.

Additional personalization parameters unlocked. Four options generated for selection.

You can select one of the following:

Passive skill combination token

Three active skills combination token

Active skill evolution

Trait evolution

Note: Any of these options will be influenced by your Mana Primarch (Unique Pristine) Primary class.

I cancel it out before it even loads in full resolution and wonder if there has ever been an attendee so blindingly fast at closing System popup windows. Then I go to put the stat points I have gained into Mana, only to notice that they are already used.

At this point, I begin to wonder if I have made a submind that instantly puts acquired stat points into Mana before I can even entertain the blasphemous thought of raising my Constitution.

[Calibration - lvl 9 > Calibration - lvl 10]

Oh, here we go.

I shift my thoughts to my new skill and to the bits of information my submind has gathered about it.

It seems that I'm able to calibrate myself. Duh. Unlike [Selective Adaptation] or [Attunement], it is a more... well, active process, though all of these skills are active skills.

[Calibration] requires more knowledge, even with the fact that I can rely on the System to take on most of the effort of using an active skill. Though I don't like doing that and try to do it as personally as possible to increase my mastery over my skills.

Plus, I have a suspicion that Lissandra would climb out of whatever hellhole she went to chill in if I even thought of relying on the System to that extent.

So, judging from that fact, I would say that [Calibration] is quite high-level. But I wonder how it would compare to the [Adaptation] that I actually wanted. Is there still an option to get it? Is [Calibration] a lower or higher tier? Or maybe the same, just different?

My decision to celebrate or complain is still postponed, but so far, [Calibration] seems to allow me to "calibrate" myself toward the things I can perceive and at least partially understand.

There is a slight distinction from [Selective Adaptation], which seemed to allow me to adapt to a bigger range of things, while [Calibration] requires some base knowledge from me, but in exchange seems to be able to calibrate myself to an even greater extent. I can also calibrate myself to multiple things at once, as much as my mind is able to endure to keep up.

Another advantage is that this [Calibration] seems to be able to last longer, and it kind of makes sense. [Selective Adaptation] worked more or less on its own, and [Calibration] is a more active effort from me.

I also might be able to calibrate my senses, not to mention my constructs and who knows what else.

My theory is, and always was, that if someone else used the same skills for a combination, the resulting skill would be different. I just think this sort of stuff is always personalized. I have been told many times that the System likes to evolve and strengthen, so it's possible [Calibration] just fits me more. Even if I kind of dislike the System being the one to decide that.

These are my current rewards, with me having a fun time trying to imagine what I would get if I passed through the portal onto the 13th floor. After all of this, it is likely something else.

Plus, there is something else. Bits of the Demigod's mind that I have torn into.

Yes, I made copies of some of that asshole’s memories. Flashbacks that I currently keep quarantined. Just these three memories.

It strongly reminds me of the situation from not that long ago and the trouble it all caused, yet, so what? I have faced that guy already, even if it was wounded and weakened. These three memories are so incomparably weaker. I wouldn’t mind round two.

The last member of Group 4 to come back is Min-Jae. Even in the state he is in, he pulls himself along with [Telekinesis] in that jittery, twitchy way that shows his exhaustion. A few times it even looks like he might drop, but he still pulls himself up by the bootstraps and lands nearby.

It is a bit cool, I have to say, as I watch him take a few steps. But then his body shuts off, and before he falls to the ground, Tess catches him. She says something about a good job before the boy dozes off.

Then he goes onto the potato pile.

Since I'm done with the notifications, I look at Tess with a question, and she speaks, "I wonder. What would you say if we stay on this floor a while longer and do something that you would call a perfect clear?"

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