cerim
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Chapter 742 - Hello
🕑 Added 2025-11-24 09:53:54 +0000 UTCThe rest of my time before the tournament, I spend in Beyond, only returning to the ninth floor to go over some things with Lily or to observe what Maya and Sophie are working on with thought acceleration. I take a lot of notes from that, adding everything to my own preparations.
Biscuit moves with me in and out of Beyond as he wishes, and during these weeks, he becomes infamous in the Headquarters of Primordial Knights. I often sense his primordial energy as he "plays" with yet another of the countless demons who throw themselves at him.
While I notice different, challenging looks from demons toward me after the Humility event, the looks they give Biscuit are adoring, almost loving. I am sure these lunatics would die for him if needed. Or try to steal him, but they can try that only over my dead, cold manaless body.
As expected from the future overlord, Biscuit is taming these lunatics so easily.
There was an incident when he and I visited the third floor of Beyond, and Doc tried to grab him and sprint into the lab while screaming excitedly, but we do not talk about that.
After that, I slip into a steady schedule. Training, preparation, experimentation, item crafting, Ruby, who visits every now and then, Biscuit time, dueling demons, examining items I have gotten from the Ancient Armory, and the low pristine armor from the guild master of Eternal Clowns.
It all feels comfortably busy, even though at times it feels a bit too much.
I also sell the named residence I got from the event and manage to get ten million shards. Seven million I get right away, two million will come in a year, and the last million a bit later. All the transfer fees are handled by the buyer, whoever they are. I could probably have gotten better value if I tried, but I chose shards instead of materials or items.
Combined with the many items I sold through the auction, the ones I crafted and sold, even managing to create a few low arcane items and one mid arcane with help, I have gathered a lot of shards.
I mean, really a lot.
Just a few days before the tournament, I spend twenty two million of them and buy a low pristine passive.
These passives are a bit different from previous grades, and there are fewer of them. While I can see thousands of arcane passives, there are currently only dozens of pristine ones. According to the information I purchased, the pristine passive offerings are tailored more specifically to me, and the system provides them based on my performance.
Ruby congratulates me, saying I am one of the few attendees to receive a pristine passive and also one of the youngest, since I achieved it much earlier than most. Getting such a powerful passive should influence my body upgrade as well.
With that all, my shards now sit at a mere four hundred fifty thousand, but I do not feel bad about it at all.
The last few days feel longer than before. Where previously a week felt like it passed in a blink, it now feels like a single day stretches into a week. Yet even with that, I have a feeling that I cannot find enough time to do everything I want. So I make the only smart decision.
I take a break for one entire day during which everything moves into the background.
I do not train, I do not experiment, and I even force my curious mind to shut the hell up so it will not drag me into some new construct idea sparked by seeing a random attendee walk past with an interesting mana signature. For the morning of my rest day, I become the laziest creature to ever exist, or at least close to it.
Waking up at what feels like three in the morning, I go right back to sleep to get my eight hours, even though lately I only need two to four hours to function at my best. Biscuit, who syncs to my sleeping schedule, takes advantage of it and climbs into my bed, now the size of a labrador, and we fall into dreamless sleep again.
When the morning finally comes, I spend two more hours in bed, just lazing around, covered under the blanket, closing my eyes until I drift into that comfortable state where I feel like I might fall asleep again, even though I know I will not.
After that comes breakfast, made from the food I bought the day before. In my gecko pajamas, Biscuit and I leave my room in the guild headquarters and move to the small kitchen nearby, which, even at this time of day, is completely empty.
Here, Biscuit gets his ancient deer jerky with a side of sparkling water. He barks at that water a few times as it “bites” him. Meanwhile, I make a simple omelet from whatever egg this is, big as two of my fists but tasting just like a chicken egg. I add a fresh pastry, and for dessert, I eat one of my last Earth chocolates while Biscuit gets an expensive dog treat he enjoys.
I do not wash the dishes, I just leave them in the sink.
Then I return to my room and sit on the balcony, enjoying the light on my skin with Biscuit in his puppy form resting on my lap. It is one of the most beautiful days I have had on the fourth floor. A light breeze presses against me, the air carries a touch of chill, yet the light keeps everything comfortably warm.
Later, during that day, I visit Weslin, where we talk about random stuff. I meet Ruby and Kindness in the city, where they make me pay for a sweet drink from a street vendor. I cannot help myself and try to ask about the third tournament, but everything gets censored again.
I spend a few hours with Tess, Lily, Leticia, Luna, Jean, and Spacepup, who have reached the fourth floor as well. It is the first time Luna meets Biscuit, who is in puppy form, and she keeps moving around him, speaking in that creepy way where her maw is open and a human woman’s voice comes out without her mouth moving.
The golden retriever does not seem to know what to think of the corgi, switching between playful excitement and raised fur on her neck in fear. Biscuit, in sync with my laziness, ignores it all and just dozes on my lap, burping once in a while because of how much deer jerky he ate today.
Jean especially catches my curiosity when I notice the ambient mana reacting in a strange way as it comes into contact with his body. Usually, I would try to estimate his strength since, in my eyes, he is more interesting than many others because he is a single stat enjoyer, but not today. Still, it is easy to see he is much stronger than last time, and his Physique and all the mana around him seem… I force myself to stop.
No one talks about anything tutorial oriented and instead, the topics are casual. Favorite movies and shows, funny situations from Earth, past money problems they had, countries they visited, what they saw there, and foods they tasted. They argue about whether Hawaiian pizza should be allowed to exist and which candy brand is the best.
Sometimes I join the conversation, but most of the time I sit and listen with my hand running down Biscuit’s back.
When I feel like I have had enough socialisation, I stand up and say goodbye to all of them, thanking Jean for letting the day pass without a challenge, something that seems to surprise him, but causes him to smile and energetically tap my back with his huge hand. I don't mention to him that it cracked a few bones.
Back in my room, I pull out the tablet I got from Izzy, connect the external hard drive to it, and play the pirated version of The Lord of the Rings. All three movies, and obviously the extended editions. Biscuit watches with me, his eyes following the screen with curiosity, and once in a while, he reacts to what happens. He barks in anger, stares in awe, or makes sad noises.
The day ends, and as the next one begins, I open my status.
Name: Nathaniel Gwyn
Title: Champion Candidate
Difficulty: Hell
Rank: A, Shimmering Silver
Guild: Primordial Knights
Floor: 9 - The Pit
Time left until forced return: 2y 1d 1h 19m 36s
Traits (2/3): Mana Wavelength Iris 2/3, Mana Physique 2/3
Lvl 349
Strength: 315
Dexterity: 293
Constitution: 476
Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1753 + 1753
Primary Class: Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane)
Sub-class: [Adept of Pride]
Active skills (9/10):
Focus - Lvl 74
Perception - Lvl 70
Redistribution - Lvl 71
Mana Manipulation - Lvl 75
Ley Line - Lvl 69
Eclipse (Pride) - Lvl 59
Empyrean Lance - Lvl 35
Manifestation - Lvl 25
Accumulation - Lvl 49
Constructs:
Reinforcement
Mana Regulator
Mana Sovereignty Mantle
Kinetic Mana Heart
Sealed Ignition Heart (Partially Sealed, 2/3)
Mental Frame
Thought Maze Circuit
Thermal Flux Regulator
Passive skills (5/5):
Mana Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic)
Mana Wavelength Tyrant (Mid Arcane)
Subdermal Combustion Weave (Mid Arcane)
Mana Wave Predation (Unique Arcane)
Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector (Low Pristine)
Tokens:
Send a single item to your disciple (up to epic rarity)
Passive skill combination token (low arcane)
Beyond visitor token - 1 year (unlocked after tutorial)
Beyond 14 day stay token
Beyond 7 day stay token
Beyond 30 day stay token
Shards: 449,606
As I check my status, I go through the other windows I have access to. In between them, I check all four Beyond rankings, with one of them especially grabbing my attention. The one that only resets once a thousand years, and will reset soon, in probably twenty to thirty years.
Exploration Leaders
1. Christoph (6th Floor)
2. Adrian (6th Floor)
3. Voss (5th Floor)
4. Nyssa Volare (5th Floor)
5. Orion (5th Floor)
6. Zenith (5th Floor)
Closing the window, I move toward the Quiet Circle, whose location I was told, and I sacrifice fifteen stats in Constitution to enter the fifth floor of Beyond.
I do not stay there, not even for a few seconds, and I head back to the fourth floor of Beyond in Megacity before my curiosity gets the better of me.
Then I return to the Quiet Circle, where I sacrifice another fifteen points in Constitution to step onto the fifth floor, only to leave again.
Instead of sticking to my earlier plan, I push myself much further and keep going back and forth.
In total, I do it 25 times, which lowers my Constitution to 101, and I gain 100,000 shards from the quest each time I repeat it.
The difference is noticeable right away, but it is something I expected. The subminds I created for this task activate, taking care of the wildly roaring mana and my body that weakens even further.
I use a few active skills and observe the process to see if anything feels different, but it is not as simple as that. It will take time for my body to adapt to my active skills again, even though my body is much weaker now and my skills feel more powerful in comparison.
***
Just a few hours before the tournament starts, I exit Megacity once again and teleport to a cave where I left a mark after buying information on the enormous number of powerful monsters located there. It is around twenty miles from Megacity, but I am more than capable of long range teleportation when I need to.
There, I pull all the mana accumulated in the manifested crown over my head, something I have been gathering for over a month, and I watch the time tick down.
Just a few minutes before the moment arrives, I start moving all that mana and create a cube in front of me. I chose that shape because of my recent experimentation. In the shape of an orb, mana can gather and remain stable, but a cube makes it bounce wildly against the inner walls. It becomes more unstable, much harder to control, and the final explosion grows stronger. I suspect that a pyramid would increase the effect further since evil pyramids were the most difficult shape for training, but that is for future testing.
It is time to level up. I have held myself back for way too long.
The air around me starts shaking as I channel all that mana and continue to control it within that shape. The cube is pale blue and transparent, and inside it, the mana keeps bouncing, spinning, and moving unpredictably. Through the sheer amount it compresses, becoming tricolored, and I push further until small sparks of gold and white appear in the core, glowing more brightly than everything else.
Mana radiation in the area rises, something I can see with my eyes and feel a sting on my skin. A low shimmer rolls outward as mana bleeds into the air, warping the light and leaving the ground cracked where the pressure hits hardest. The closest trees sag as if under a sudden weight, and the air thins, pushing steady, audible tremors through the area.
This cube is the most powerful attack I have made so far without any doubt. And I just chuck it down into a deep, long, dark shaft where it lights up the walls as it falls.
Then I teleport back to Megacity and watch from a distance. I know the shaft is very deep and the monsters occupy caves across a wide area, so I do not expect to see anything from here. Still, I know what an explosion that deep looks like, and I want to be sure.
I count thirty seconds, and then the notifications start appearing.
From twenty miles away, I see a thin tricolored line stab into the sky over the canyon’s ridge, so straight it looks as if drawn with a ruler. The blue outer glow stretches higher than the nearby clouds, while the gold and white core flickers like a pulse going through the vein.
[You have defeated Deepcore Mauler - lvl 399]
[You have defeated Ironshell Behemoth- lvl 386]
[You have defeated Deepcore Mauler - lvl 403]
[You have defeated Basalt Tyrant - lvl 402]
...
[Lvl 349 > Lvl 350]
[You have defeated Deepcore Mauler - lvl 396]
[You have defeated Ironshell Behemoth - lvl 401]
[You have defeated Deepnight Harrower - lvl 406]
[You have defeated Deepnight Harrower - lvl 399]
...
[Lvl 351 > Lvl 352]
[You have defeated Basalt Tyrant - lvl 389]
[You have defeated Netherbite Colossus - lvl 415]
...
Notifications keep popping up for a while, rapidly one after another until after a few minutes they slow down to one every few seconds, then later to even longer pauses. Finally, they stop with the last one.
[Lvl 366 > Lvl 367]
And a new one appears.
Level 350 status reached. Your body enters a superior phase of structural refinement.
A necessary body upgrade is pending.
Your body will undergo an upgrade that enhances the density and resilience of its living material. Heat, cold, force, and absence of atmosphere fail to disrupt the cohesion of your body, granting you a body that endures extreme environmental conditions or overwhelming skill release.
This upgrade also greatly strengthens your natural barrier.
Note: Following the upgrade, your physical structure will become much more dependable regardless of the extremes of your environment.
Individual enhancement: Your Mana Physique becomes more deeply integrated into your body and is affected by the body upgrade, also allowing for further trait strengthening.
Well done!
Just a few seconds remain until the tournament, and I already feel the changes gradually applying to my body, messing with my constructs, unwinding them, and sending them haywire, further influenced by my much lower Constitution and the pressure of mana flowing through my body.
Almost without realizing it, I find myself inside my mental space. It is that never ending white room where I cannot tell where the floor ends and the walls begin.
There, only one thing exists. A black drape hanging on a wooden pole that does not seem connected to anything. Something I remember as part of the room I grew up in with Victoria.
I hear a giggle and notice small feet poking out from under it as the person behind the drape tries to hide. For some reason, that person, a child judging by the size of the feet, is missing one sock.
“Can you see me?” a young voice asks.
“A bit,” I answer.
“You truly must be a genius to have such great perception.” The drape shifts, and a young boy walks out. He has black hair, and one eye is brown while the other is gray. Around his shoulders is an old, bleached out red blanket as he smiles at me. “The time has come.”
“Yes?”
“Yes. You do not remember it, but you were here before and asked me to hide the information that I will give you now. Then it is up to you to decide if you want me to keep hiding it or if you want to keep that knowledge for now.”
I stare at him, fragments of old thoughts surfacing. Oh… Sneakythaniel.
He tells me the information, and I fall into deep thought.
Then I make my decision and appear back outside, only to be greeted a few seconds later with another notification.
Congratulations on your 3rd year in the tutorial!
The tournament preparations have been concluded.
During the duration of the tournament of Earth’s tutorial, all Floor quests will be put on hold. The tournament will have a five day duration, and you can decide to participate or not.
More information will be given after entering the tournament floor.
Would you like to participate in the 3rd tournament of the Earth’s tutorial?
Yes/No
I accept, and appear inside, and the moment I do, I know I am truly fucked.
The healing aura and impossibility to die that existed here during previous tournaments is gone, and the pending body upgrade continues shifting my body, completely ignoring my careful planning that relied heavily on the tournament’s healing aura.
And that one sentence from the block of the notification I read confirms it further.
It is now impossible to die during the events. You will be healed and moved to the common area the moment your life is considered at risk.
Important note: It is now possible to die outside of the events.
A powerful force presses against my body, breaking it further, and I start activating Lily’s healing marks one after another, currently not even having the mental capacity to use thermal energy with all the chaos I am handling. My mana, my thermal energy, and kinetic energy spread outward, causing people nearby to shout and rush away from the pressure.
My minds keep splitting and combining as needed while I take over and start modifying my preparations, which now feel so useless, and only a bit over half of them remain usable.
It takes only a few seconds, and all the generated mana and thermal energy become more and more uncontrollable. The pathways and the cycling I have been using become much more difficult as new problems appear constantly and break just as quickly as I fix them.
I clear my mind and let only a small part of it observe the area.
All of Earth’s participants have been placed on a single floating island, and opposite us floats another one. The rest of the world is a pitch black void, with no ground below or anywhere else. Just two floating islands in the darkness beneath what feels like a distant starry sky and a small sun above.
The other floating island must belong to the planet we are about to face in this tournament, and they decided to test our reactions, because multiple attacks rise from their island and head our way.
***
POV Lily Chen
The area we find ourselves in explodes in a burst of mana, and a transparent red half figure rises into the air, tall as a building. It raises one of its arms high, and a large staff appears in its grip. It waves it swiftly, drawing inscriptions into the air, and a huge barrier forms to block the bombardment of attacks coming from the other floating island.
I look at it only for a moment before I rush toward where Nathaniel is. He is impossible to miss as his mana and thermal energy keep shooting into the air, and a huge circle has cleared around him with a few people from Hell difficulty stacking barriers so the pressure does not kill the lower difficulty ones.
I send a burst of [Disintegration] in front of me and carve a hole through the stacked barriers, stepping inside and slowing to a walk as I approach him.
Where I expected him to be in agony, barely alive after seeing that notification about the missing healing aura, he is the exact opposite. The earth around him is scorched, the air thick with mana so hot and sharp it damages even my body. Most of his clothes are gone, long white scars tear through his body, staying on his skin even as my healing marks close them.
But Nathaniel stands there tall and proud. There is not a single trace of desperation on his face, even with him feeling only a step away from death.
The closer I get, the more my body is destroyed as the pressure and heat press against me. I doubt anyone else in Earth’s tutorial could survive this other than me.
His eyes turn toward me, but he does not try to push me away or convince me otherwise, even though he sees my wounds. He trusts my decision and lets me make it. I know he would even if it were the wrong one. It is one of the reasons why… I shake my head and smile. He likes to say it, but we all, here in the tutorial, have some serious problems.
My skin catches fire, and my hair and eyebrows burn off while my skin sizzles away, only to return instantly as I heal myself as fast as the damage forms. I cannot even speak as the heat and pressure burn my vocal cords, but I force myself to smile at him, and he shrugs back.
Nathaniel reaches out his hand, and I touch it, sending my healing into him as I examine his body and begin working on the changes we need to make for all of this to function.
I know he will not let me help much, only enough for him to get a better grasp so he can handle the rest on his own.
We do not get much time. Barely a few minutes later, the red figure with the staff that was defending the floating island turns and towers over the barriers that the other Hell difficulty people stacked here. It flickers and passes through, and with it, a man appears. From the descriptions, this must be Christoph.
His and Nathaniel’s eyes meet for the briefest moment before Christoph smiles. “Oh, so you know.” Then he turns to me. “Would you mind giving us a moment of privacy, young lady?”
Something presses against me and throws me away from them, landing me outside as Nathaniel and the man get surrounded by an impenetrable red barrier that blocks any view inside.
***
POV Nathaniel
Once Lily is gone, the difficulty rises, though I keep my composure. I stand here with my mana roaring around me and golden flames devouring the air, while it all feels like I am trying to patch dozens of holes in a boat, stopping the water with my bare hands.
Yet it does not matter. Even if everything turns against me, I will not give up. I will keep moving forward, my focus set firm, and nothing in this world will break me. Nothing and no one.
Then I allow a smart part of my mind to turn to the man in front of me.
A spike of healing from a mark fixes my throat just enough for me to say, "Hello, Adrian."
He scratches his cheek and gives a brief smile. “I prefer being called Christoph, so why do we not talk about it?”
Comments
Moon Winchester
Who is Adrian again?
ara
Thanks for the great chapter.
lunatic
Interesting... i feel there must be passive upgrade tokens. I think combining an arcane and epic might result in skmething weaker than the sum of their parts.
Registered Hex-Offender Nax 116
Mana Wave Predation (Unique Arcane) X Mana Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic) would be a potent combination
Daniel Carcedo Alonso
I think there is a big plot hole here. From the point of view of any A ir S rank It is almost imposible to go beyond the 5th floor so they should max their benefits in beyond. There's the posibility to get 100k shards for every 15 stat points, if i was them i would get my constitution as low as posible and then go for a mana tempering or any other way for quick const stats. It was said that It was harder the higher your constitution but with better control and knowledge and low stats It should be posible to get 50 stats every hour, let's say 1000/day, in 5 months 150k, 1 billion shards. 1 billion shards and you end the tutorial with 5 peak pristine pasives or min mid pristine. For any normal A or S rank they would gladly take It and slowly get their constitution to normal levels after the tutorial. You could patch It saying that It is not so easy or that the tempering or geting stats works in another way. But even if you can not get 1 billion in 5 months what about 20-30 months.
Admiral Combustion
The top beyond guy from like 300 years ago
ShyviaAngel
Quick someone help me who is Adrian again
Krzychu0304
There was no indication whatsoever that Chris was Nat's relative, although during the second tournament, an older man (it could have been Chris, but it's not certain) approached Nat and told him he wanted his children to be like Nat. This sparked speculation that Chris was Nat's father or grandfather. Personally, I don't like this idea and consider it poorly supported.
Borbino the great
Definitely an enemy I think lioren wanted him dead and Nat will definitely want that
Brian Latta
Wow, such an epic chapter, thank you for the good stuff. That casual level up of 18 felt so good, just blew right through 350 with a fabulous new bomb, and the other big bomb, Adrian!!!!!!! We could speculate so much about how Christoph is Adrian, but the simple solution seems to be he's the red guy? Am I missing something there? That solution doesn't explain why Christoph started out in Beyond and was so advanced even before he allowed the red guy to integrate with his mantle or whatever it's called. I don't get why some folks are suggesting Adrian is somehow related to our Hero, Nathaniel. Did I miss some foreshadowing? I get that his mother has a strong character which the siblings inherited/learned., but I thought the father was murdered by the sister? Someone suggested Adrian is their grandfather? Anyway, I'm still wondering what sort of creature Biscuit will eventually be revealed to embody. Will he be one of the primordial beings like the Bear? Someone from the distant past, pre-system and above the Rulers? Again, such an amazing chapter - 100% top notch and everything I'm here for.
Brian Latta
Shut your mouth Lily will not die!!!!!!!!!
zoarian
For sure 1 more. Tbh, I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to fill all of his stuff with pristine passsives. The later he is in the tutorial, the more powerful he will become, which means more dangerous quests, better loot, etc. Also his crafting will be substantially better so it'll sell for more
Psyren1596
Long chapter!! Nice
Vladimir Khorikov
What was the chapter?
Nicolas
Fuck yeah, Cerim always reminding us he is the goat! HDT is just so good, nothing can compete!
Malkym Lesdrae
mind blown...me, not Nat.
Morde24
Also, necessary thanks for the extra long chapter that I thought would never end, was afraid would end, loved every second of, and still left me with a cliffhanger.
Morde24
Nat is perfectly willingto agree to something stupid to get out of dying. IMO if he perceives it as a necessary sacrifice to survive then it's a temporary thing, and totally fine for Nat, but if he is "Placing Christoph over him" like the earlier offer meant, then total no.
Morde24
HOLY HUGE CHAPTERRRRRRRRRRRRR. So I feel like the wraith is Adrian and took over Christophs body, but then how did Christoph 1. Get into beyond and 2. Get into the Tournament. Now theoretically he got into the Tournament because now he has control, or the way he took over works differently than a mimic, but can't think of how Christoph got to beyond. Maybe his initial skill gave him the wraith, the wraith absorbed something Adrian left, and that led to the takeover? (Sorry for one paragraph, haven't figured out how to newline on mobile)
Johnny
Huuuge chapter with so much to process. Thanks Cerim!
tishane Imperial MageKiller
Bro the way you put this together I swear it was in a secret chapter you read in the book lol, I think you might be on to something though maybe a latent mind link or cache though once introduced to mana instant update situation like his clone on earth always studied everything from combat history to philosophy etc then when he's put in beyond the mana initiates a download or mind link and boom instant pack a punch while fighting he does everything he can to upgrade himself while planing.
Melih
Nat still has 2 more years ahead of him. So I think and hope he can buy 1 or 2 more Low Pristine passives
Arme nd
Nat walking through Megacity, meeting rulers and his friends all while in gecko pajamas crack's me up so much😂
WhiteLeeopard
Skills change your body, the lower the constitution the faster those changes happen, but it's also more dangerous as it's meant to be a gradual process (90% implied 10% theory)
Manther
Here's my attempt at making sense of Chris being who he is and somehow in the tutorial: Because the System should only choose 'planet natives' for the first gen, and should automatically initiate any planet it (any mana) comes into contact with, Chris should never have touched mana before the planet was initiated and he was pulled into the tutorial. SO: After Adrian completed his own tutorial and became an Absolute on his own planet or whatever, he dove deep into biochemistry and cloning experiments. In a completely mana-sterile environment, he grew a copy of himself in a test-tube (with some latent memories via gene editing), before supermanning it off to earth in a spaceship propelled without using mana in any way. His clone (Chris, not Adrian exactly) then grew up on earth without any magic powers, and then Earth was integrated via whatever plans Adrian set up beforehand. Chris was then chosen by the system for the first gen, but put in Beyond because he was either too strong, or possibly disqualified from doing tutorial floors again (due to connection with someone who had done them before). Note: in this theory the real Adrian is possibly still alive somewhere else.
Stoney
Thanks for the extra long chapter! <3 The pristine passive name is clear to indicate what it does but am totally looking forward to seeing more details. Also thanks to the comments explaining who Adrian is. I'm sure that's going to get touched on though If someone could clarify/explain why having a low constitution before the body upgrade occurs is beneficial that would be great.
Manther
I disagree, gonna post my own theory in a sec. But any System being landing on earth should be an immediate initialization event, and any such individual should never qualify to be part of the first generation. I think it'd have to be a whole new body that was created and had never been exposed to mana for even the slimmest chance of getting into the tutorial.
Krzychu0304
My little theory on how Chris got into the tutorial: The only known way to get into the tutorial is to find yourself on a planet undergoing integration and be recruited into the tutorial by the system. We can basically say that he lived on Earth cut off from the system (his talk about getting old and feeling like his body was failing him). It's also fairly safe to say that he came to Earth as an absolute (a matter of pairing). Moreover, in order for Chris to be able to get into the tutorial (he had to pass as a local), he was forced to cut himself off from the system and its benefits. It's hard to say why exactly he did it (maybe some kind of deal with Greed(ARG I can't remember if her name was Ruby or Roxy) about being a weapon against Pride?), but it's almost certain that by starting over in the tutorial, carefully planning his build based on his knowledge and experience, he has the ability to become much stronger than he was before + in the tutorial you can gain things that are practically impossible to obtain in any other way (either artifacts from floors or things from the system store (remember, it doesn't exist outside the tutorial)).
TBONEMAN
He is the last person to get to the 6th floor. He knew whitey.
Kirin
Thank you for trhe chappie!
Gavriel
I wonder what awesome effects Nate will get from the I have no constitution thing, and also what his new passive is
AFunkyLad
WAIT WHO’S ADRIAN I FORGOT!!!?????
Reps A
well, this pretty much cements Christoph as an enemy possibly?
Jonathan Nading
I’m guessing in case he wanted to kill Nat to protect the secret. He didn’t really know Christoph when he decided to forget the information and if he could put it off until the tourney (when he assumed he’d be invulnerable), that’d give him some breathing room
Mister Cakers
Christoph is likely to offer his aid to Nat in exchange for Nat stepping aside and letting Chris become absolute. The problem is I just don’t see Nat agreeing to that and I have no clue how he’ll survive Christophs retaliation.
Hms
Oh shit. Whole chapter went in directions I would have not expected starting from him losing all those precious stats 🥲
Gutz
Adrian... Why would he want to forget about that guy ? And what is he doing in earth's tournament ? And how ?
Manther
I agree Danny.
Andrew Miller
Big chapter today! I liked the length. Honestly halfway through I thought it was just going to end and be a total rage bait.
Matthew Hay
I think that wouldn't count because a champion level being possessing a sub-champion body is not an unweakened champion. It would only work if he has already leveled beyond 450 and become a literal champion. He was only 40 something levels away, but it seems like that would still be a stretch for only a few months in beyond.
Boyo
This chapter was peak Nathaniel
karmaslap
I didn't think so, but if Adrian parasitized/healed their father's body it'd be a 2nd twist
Liam Zay
I want to see a single stat enjoyer who goes all in on constitution
Liam Zay
When I saw he made it to floor six I was pretty annoyed, but I'm better with it with the end if chapter reveal. Still confused on how he is Adrian though
karmaslap
Well, biscuit would have been at least
MrSlouch
Tyftc!!
BlunderNinja
TFTC!!! Pure gold!!!🔥🔥🔥
Steven McNeeley
Yeah I was trying to understand why he sacrificed all that Constitution as well. I wish they also talked about the new pristine passive he got
Abomb1723
And the beyond quest where he met with the demon absolute
Edmund Dillon
Tftc!!! So curious whats going to happen!
Oaktree
Pov Samuel Five seconds into the tournament and Nathaniel is already causing panic, I watch as the hell difficulty members around me try to block the mana and flames coming off him. Barely noticing the attacks coming from other island, I’m too focused on the living disaster in front of me. Looking away from the mana storm in front of me only when a red giant suddenly appears, to seemly block all the attacks with ease. Thought that only distracts me for a moment at one person breaks the through barriers, Lilly earths best healer, even she seems to be struggling to get close to the man in the center of the storm of mana. And then that man appears next to him un affected by mana that im certain would kill most of the people here. Theres only one thing running through my head, “ oh great theres another one”. Another insane monster to had to the list. Pov everyone else The mana maniac is at it again. Looking at Christoph Who the hell is this guy, Mana grandpa??? The red wizard of oz?
TwistedVanity
BIG BUT HERE....If Adrian is the Adrian from the explorers list who did the tutorial a thousand years ago. HOW? The system doesnt allow anyone to do the tutorial twice. And beyond is part of the tutorial. Nat recognised him? so likely from whiteys memories? But his sister also k new something about Christoph. And he acts as though they are related? So is there something else going on? But it fits the theory as to how earth could be paired with another world by already having an absolute they knew nothing about.
Ansordia
I think the rulers are unaware or they find it funny that someone firced their way into beyond and loce the increase in intrest... How he did it though is up for grabs... My favourite is that he body snatched Christoph started the intragtion of mana to earthand because his body is on earth or he is deemed strong enough they were instantly paired with another planet....
dk10238
Did everyone conveniently forget Vic went to prison for killing their dad? It literally can't be his father.
dk10238
So you're saying Nat would 100% be the absolute of earth if Adrian hadn't snuck his way to earth
Arme nd
I believe he is 7th place now, Used to be 6th.Nvm different list.
John
OMG, cerim - this is my favourite chapter so far! Thanks so much for it!
Abhishek
Cerim.. i tip my hat to you sir. This is Absolute cinema!
Bob
Nat energy is so wild that during events they should use a catapult to throw him in the enemy base and 💥!
Bob
Adrian can be human and come from another planet. Ruby pushing the system to incorporate new world can be a way for Adrian to find a world that will be incorporated and be selected for the tutorial. He is perhaps a weapon against pride.
Bob
Yes
Bob
Yop
Bob
It seems logical indeed. Rules of the start of a pairing, one absolute goes to another planet.
Blooper
Where is Lyraen's name on the Beyond's top 10 list?
Kevin
I’m wondering how Adrian being in the tutorial is possible. It likely took the interference of multiple rulers and or Adrian was on par with Lissandra in skill and power. At the very least the rulers would have had to agree to his presence.
Apollo Greed
Nice chapter! What a twist!
Kevin
Christoph is both Christoph and Adrian I believe. It is possible I guess that the avatar is Adrian and Christoph has just been learning from Adrian but the writing makes me assume Christoph = Adrian.
mitchell kaiser
Thank god it’s not Thursday.
Kevin
Adrian isn’t the most memorable of characters since he only showed up in name and he hasn’t actually had much relevance to the plot until now. Also a lot of people really tunnel visioned on the family relation theory for Christoph.
Kevin
No, Adrian was a beyond tutorial explorer from around 1000 years ago. He is most notable for his history with Lioren (the demon who taught Nat kinetic energy).
Michel Kommers
I think it's nat grandfather.
Jacobi
I’m suddenly not so mad christoph is so strong, it all makes sense now.
Schmidt
Ooooh that’s a good theory I just assumed he stuck out and onto an uninterested planet but it would make since if we got a call back to Loren
Schmidt
And he started in the beyond because he was already there :)
Ivan Jelenić
\(o.0)√
Ivan Jelenić
So, is he going to face off with Adrian, and that will count as "10 s against a champion level being", since Christoph killed a champion and lvl 5 or something.
Budgie
I mean I would love to read more, but thanks for taking this Chapter as far as you did. Really nice how it all fits into the story. Also just randomly mentioning the new passive, Christoph on Floor 6 as rank 1, Atomic Mana Cube version 0.1 and the tutorial being a war outside the events. Thankfully this is the most normal group to ever attend the tutorial. I just love people having to stack their barriers only to deal with Nats' energys going haywire during his upgrade. Can we get a small little empyrean lance to the other island pretty please?
Benji
Completely forgot who Adrian was, so thank you for the comments. So he's over 1000 years old, and earth has been in its tutorial technically that long, and had weird shenanigans happen. His age now makes his name suspect. Is he supposed to have been Jesus Christ because of choosing the name Christoph? That would have been 2000 years though, so maybe just very religious? I'm excited to find out if Nat pushes this or lets it go. Thanks for the chapter!
Ivan Jelenić
He'd die with 0 in everything lol
Ivan Jelenić
Is Christoph the human, and the avatar thingy Adrian? Or the opposite, or neither.
Mint
Tbh i thought he was going to sacrifice all his stats but mana for some unique body upgrade imagine what the system would provide to someome with 0 in all stats but mana
Krzychu0304
My conspiracy theory that Adrien=Christof came true;)
Liam Zay
Each of the beyond ranks has a color associated with it and they all had an adjective too. I don't know if the colors actual mean anything or if it's just to easily identify at a glance
Lance Beam
TFTC. Dun, Dun, DUUNNN!!! I wasn't expecting Christoph to be Adrian. This may be the reason for the irregularities in Earth's pairing. Also Biscuit.
Mister Cakers
Hyped, though I was hoping he’d achieve absolute candidacy before the body upgrade.
Ken Horne
I just wanted to chime in as many others are saying, I didn't know it was him! \(^o^)/
Adrian Rake
That was an epic chapter for sure. Thank you cerim 🙂👍
Danny
Wtf ?
Damian Karis
He HATES constitution
ein Google Nutzer
"I will not give up. I will keep moving forward, my focus set firm, and nothing in this world will break me. Nothing and no one." I guess his personality and his skill is aligning more and more. Wonder what would have happened if he put the pride enhancement on this skill or how it will develop when he reaches level 100
Adrian Rake
Good theory 🙂👍
TRexBert
Adrian was the first Attendee in the past 1000 years reached the 6th Beyound Floor! -> Chapter 644: "And who the fuck was that Adrian guy? You saw the rankings, right? That maniac managed to get there all on his own almost a thousand years ago. Frigging monsters. I bet that asshole’s an Absolute by now somewhere outside of the tutorial.”
Andrew
Thank you!
zoarian
At this point, it's fair to say 9th floor Nat > 3rd floor Nat. Reducing his constitution to 101 and doing the body upgrade... as expected, the System is an Asshole, fucking up his prep
Fdrugc
Who is Adrian?
Vigli2020
This low of a constitution not only makes the imbalance with his mana stat greater, but leaves the other stats in an imbalance,and since he doesn't rely on them that often, or at all, it should have even a bigger impact. I hope this also gets explained after the upgrade is done.
Fdrugc
Wow this is huge thanks
Konrad Pagacz
Holy fuck was that good
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
Killing a champion prolly not that hard when you are some sort of reincarnated absolute or whatever Christoph/adrian is. Even if Christoph stronger, it Don’t really matter. It’s Earth versus another planet and Nat is “King” still. And calling himself a genius, I think that was supposed to be sarcasm by sneakythaniel. And yes I think he knew about Adrian from whitey. Only reasonable explanation.
Fdrugc
"Rank: A, Shimmering Silver" What does Shimmering Silver mean?
jax rammus
Ah thus explains how he's so powerful, he's done all this before
Terri Harris
Wow! Thank you for the extra long chapter! Still trying to wrap my head around Christoph being Adrian. What? How? Who? Is he even from earth? I thought Adrian was a guy from a previous tutorial, and friends with the demon Loren who taught Nat about kenetic energy? So many questions. Or, did the Spirit of Adrian take over Christophs body the same way Loren was almost able to take over Nats? Love this story! So much fun! Especially the best Corgi ever!
Val the mysterious Jedi
Great start to the arc but had no clue who Adrian was, also hope nat deletes an enemy island, manna daddy needs to spank some kids
Ansordia
A very good demon who was the top explorer of beyond during Lioren's time... But how he is here again... And how the bloody hell his name is Christoph is beyond me... The system really ought to regonise shit like this... Hell it seems that nothing really stop from other Absolutes to enter the tutorial once again using an inplantation method... That is just stupid... Shouldn't beyond be crawling with them? Also we might be paired with another Absolute capable planet because the system DOES regonise Adrian's original body as dangerous enough... Even though its dead and Adrian left his old body going into Christoph... So he might be able to return to his old body once the tutorial is over.. Transfer all the stuff that can be... Then kill Christoph and rule over earth as Adrian.... But that is so stupid in my mind.
I Is Patron
So Adrian became an Absolute but most likely was killed. He had some kind of escape skill that turned him into a 'ghost' Taking over someone in system might be risky since the absolute that killed him will find him again. So he finds a world not in the system yet and waits for tutorial to starts and steals a poor sods body. Rulers notice this but they are bored and this looks fun so they allow it under the condition he starts in beyond.
Kradish
It'll be interesting to see the backstory to this - Christoph started in Beyond, so was Adrian already possessing him as wraithdaddy at that point? Or was Christoph an earthling gigachad that got possessed early in the tutorial? Did Adrian have a reincarnation arc and end up as Christoph? Maybe a side effect of levelling a skill high enough? We've seen with Lissandra that tutorial attendees can be taken over and still show up as old name... Or Adrian found a planet about to be integrated and system selected him, but that wouldn't explain the name change.
frozzi
Damn that's must be the biggest chapter to date, ty for it. So much info though, that's just insane. Pristine passive that's gonna boost his mind speed, Chris killing Champion by himself ( GL to Nat with tournament this time ), Nat using his schizophrenia to call himself genius (very normal behaviour btw), Chris being Adrian for some reason..Did Nat found him just from Whitey memories?
Desoxyephedrine
Why do so many people think Adrian is his father?
Woodstock179
...omg(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Daniel Playford
Whats the point in commenting this? Is it to show other people you were "smart" for knowing it all along are you saying indirectly that its a bad reveal because of how "obvious" it was? Or is it a compliment because the foreshadowing was done correctly and so this makes complete sense? I'm genuinely curious.
Kristaps Kramins
i'm guessing that is his father :D
Twotons
Adrian regression arc coming up?!?
Thedevilsdemon
Who the **** is Adrian? Was it his father?
Sir Supports Alot
It's possible that adrian and chris might share the same body or he found some sort of cultivation legacy or something
Twotons
I thought Adrian was around whitey days the number 1 s rank back when?
Sir Supports Alot
The lower the con the more the powerful skills change his body
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
Oh my god. He realized who Christoph was from Whitey’s memories….. such great, cohesive writing.
Ivan Jelenić
Is Lily going to die/sacrifice to save Nat, or is Christoph/Adrian going to help him, or fight him?
Ivan Jelenić
Very super duper giga epic chapter!
Pierre-clément LAMBRIX
I'm wondering why he lost constit stat for? Was he doing it on purpose to get a better body upgrade?
Ivan Jelenić
Is Adrian an ultimate body snatcher, or better yet, a person snatcher? That way he can be someone else and avoid some of the system, plus get a fresh start each time. Also the reason why he could trap the red wraith, and why he has the avatar thingy.
Flo Zilla
And if adrian went to earth on a beyond quest, possibly to kill a first elf clone, he could have gotten the coordinates and went there after the tutorial.
Bartlomiej Głowacki
WHAAAAAAT
Just a dude
Adrian is Nats dad right?
Ansordia
Adrian... Are we supposed to know who that is? Is he an old bully... A family member... My memory isn't doing me any favours. Edit: After reading peoples comments... I am even more confused how is he alive? And how come the almighty system regonises he has a different name? If he was Adrian wouldn't the status still display that? Would this mean he is an alirn hermit?... I'm beyond confused right now!
Sushitrash
The Adrian theory was correct, I'll be damned... His reaction using Kinetic Motion was too great a telling and Lioren was friends with Adrian, no doubt he has memories
Sir Supports Alot
Wasn't expecting most of these things who let cerim cook?
Flo Zilla
So i guess Nat knows because he saw Adrian in Liorens memories.
Lizy Flore
I wonder if the planet Earth is being paired with is Adrian’s home planet
Tsorov
We're getting buttered up for a fucking cliff at the end of the week! I feel it in me bones
Nerø
HOLYYY SHITT I WAS RIGHT! IT IS REALLY ADRIAN! TFTC
Charles Simon
1. Christoph (6th Floor) 2. Adrian (6th Floor)
Lizy Flore
Dude seriously 😂 He is being mentioned in that chapter, he is the (previously) 1st rank that cleared the fifth floor a thousand year ago (or more)
frankie doerr
So what’s the catch cerim you dropped a massive nuke on us it’s only Monday and we got a extra long chapter I feel like we are getting buttered up for something devious😑
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Rene Duvall
PEAK!
WyZuXiRuS -
goddamn man this is why I read this awesome story
EDMANGO
Was Adrian revealed in another chapter I can't remember
frankie doerr
Wow
RJ Barnes
Can you give context? I feel like I’ve been an avid reader but apparently not because I’m officially lost
Isaac Lung
It was obvious from the beginning who “Christoph” was going to be
Gwiddion
The person that cleared the 5th floor during liorens tutorial. They knew each other and were competing. I suspect Adrian had something to do with liorens death.
RJ Barnes
Can someone refresh my memory on who Adrien is?
Zion Davis
Tftc?
Gwiddion
YES I so hoed he was Adrian.!!!!
Aoth the Arcane
Uhhhhhhhh
Dune Black
Who the fuck is adrian ?
Claro reyes
Tftc!
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
