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Chapter 677 - A World on Fire
🕑 Added 2025-08-18 08:48:15 +0000 UTCI considered it for a few seconds and came to the smartest possible decision in the current situation. As much as I think there is to gain from meeting more replicas and from killing them to improve this quest's rewards, I still keep coming to the same conclusion.
How the hell could that even compare to getting my grubby hands on the Fragment?
Do that bunch of elves think I am some dumb fool who will run at them after they spent seven days straight preparing to kill me?
I mean… I want to… but maybe next time.
So as the base splits into two, the piece I am on starts falling toward the planet. I checked it properly, and I am sure I am alone here, the rest of my colleagues being on the other half.
I watch as the other piece uses thrusters to keep itself in orbit. At the same moment, more of that metal melts, covering the holes that were created and blocking my view into the base.
There is no question that I would love to have a face-to-face talk with Io and test out how much I need to twist his neck before it breaks, if he is still alive. I would also like to see the face of that gray asshole, if he is also still alive. But damn, I am too curious about the Fragment to pay them much attention. I just separate a small part of my mind that I lovingly name Assholethaniel to do the mental trash talking, which makes me feel better right away.
While the base around me shakes, I keep checking the timer for the end of the quest, and the direction I am heading is showing on the panel in front of me.
I cannot do that much except rely on the calculations the last elf made and watch the trajectory while feeling the vibrations as the base tries to hold on. I could probably try to absorb the kinetic energy of the entire base, but at the speed it is heading down and the mass it contains, something in the back of my mind tells me it would not be a good idea.
Something else keeps nudging me to try it. I bet it is Assholethaniel.
At least this plan seems to be working well, as expected of the most smelly elf in existence. Even with only half of the base, it manages to change trajectory, deal with missing parts, force out propulsion, and follow the protocols that make it head toward where the Fragment is.
This is going suspiciously well...
I surround myself with as many layers of mana barriers as possible, infusing them with thermal and kinetic energy to absorb the heat and the impact.
The base explodes around me, breaking apart into dozens of massive chunks and hundreds of pieces the size of cars and buses. All of that, together with me, continues to fall toward the surface.
Two golden suits nearly the same as the one I saw before appear among the debris and charge to attack me, one of them riding a lizard-like gilded monster with six legs and two heads. Unlike the last time, these suits also have glowing blue inscriptions poking through the gold plating.
Either the replicas triggered a self-destruction from the part of the base still in orbit, or it was set off by the two replicas on this section that I somehow missed.
How petty of him to destroy it, and with it an aid that would help me to collect the Fragment.
Using kinetic energy, I move behind one of the huge pieces of debris, which explodes as the two heads of the lizard both shoot orange lasers at the same time, one from each eye.
I absorb the momentum of the debris in front of me to hold them in place, then send bursts of kinetic energy at them, launching them like shotgun pellets toward the lizard and the elf in golden armor riding it.
The lizard darts forward, leaping from one piece of debris to the next with incredible agility.
Even now, we continue to fall toward the surface, speeding up the closer we get to the burning planet.
My body moves almost on its own as I sense mana building up, while the place where I stood is struck by a barrage of nearly invisible cutting attacks. These carve deep holes into the side of one of the larger pieces. I keep zapping around, flying, moving between bigger and smaller pieces, using them as footholds or launching them at my opponents.
At this point, I do not even take this fight seriously because there is a much bigger problem. Most of my mind is focused on modifying one of the arrays I have stored in the back of my mind.
To keep the replicas from getting too cocky, I fire an [Empyrean Lance] or two in their direction while making sure I still have the Low Pristine cage on me. As much as it might not be too useful and will probably be unable to hold the awakened Fragment without the base and its protocols supporting it, I have a plan.
The planet below us fills more of my view, and the falling debris starts creating bright streaks of flames as it plunges downward. Smaller pieces start breaking apart under the stress of the heat, splitting into even smaller fragments.
I dedicate a part of my mind to create and maintain a pointy barrier in front of me, absorbing the heat generated around it. Gradually, the air resistance builds back up, and the weightlessness disappears. The entire time, I keep activating the healing marks Lily left me, still having plenty of them left.
Out of nowhere, intense shockwaves explode in the air, created by larger chunks of the base, and push smaller pieces farther out, creating an even bigger field of debris. The pieces with weird shapes start twisting, spinning, and changing direction as they tumble unpredictably. One of them crashes into the piece where the lizard and the elf are standing, and both of them are sent flying through the air.
The lizard is already burned, but the elf in the golden suit seems completely fine. Before they can reposition properly, my lance pierces both of them.
[You have defeated Gilded Scintilizard - lvl 381]
[You have defeated Replica of the Last Elf - lvl 102]
[Lvl 333 > Lvl 334]
The remaining elf tries to use that distraction, but the chunk of the base he is standing on explodes as I teleport one of my tricolored orbs there through [Ley Line]. He is hurled through the air, spinning wildly as he shoots off in another direction, moving faster than I toward the planet.
I give it a few moments to see if he uses some sort of propulsion or item to head back toward me, but nothing like that happens. He spins, continuing to plunge downward uncontrollably.
The remaining pieces around me start glowing even more, and tails of heated-up material trail behind them, something I should probably have learned about in school.
I push myself toward the piece I was on when it all started. The panel where I was watching the trajectory and reaction is still here, though of course it is not working. A burst of kinetic energy I create pushes it away from me. I continue strengthening the barrier around me while slowing myself down.
The debris beneath me now falls toward the planet like a rain of fire, crashing against each other and breaking into more fragments that almost instantly evaporate.
I halt my movement once I decide I am low enough, then float in place.
An armor I have been working on forms around me. It is not dissimilar to the one I usually use, but bulkier and partially inspired by what the last elf was doing. Of course, the effect of my subclass still refuses to allow it to be ugly, so some shapes change automatically to make it more visually pleasing while keeping the simple design.
The timer shows five minutes remaining when I boost myself toward the area where I sense the highest concentration of heat.
Somewhere below me, the first pieces of debris slams into the planet and sends a shockwave through the air, something I can feel even up here. The temperature keeps climbing, and when I pass beneath the clouds of smoke, lit from below by the flames burning on the surface, I finally see the planet itself.
A molten wasteland stretches as far as I can see, with patches of solidified stone that only wait to be melted. The air itself feels like it is burning, and something like a powerful wind coming from where the Fragment is keeps sending twisting lines of flame spiraling around. It is just like one of those close-up videos of the surface of the sun.
I head straight toward it with complete confidence that I can endure it for a few minutes at least.
[You have defeated Replica of the Last Elf - lvl 104]
Getting the notification surprises me. I would expect him to survive longer with that suit on.
The wind-like pressure keeps pushing against me, forcing me to use more strength. It becomes so unstable, and there are so many wisps of flame cutting through my armor, that I am forced to land. As I get closer, I continue forward on foot.
The armor around me expands to create larger buffer zones as the heat rises. I keep channeling that heat, absorbing it, moving it through my body and armor, then releasing it out of my back to shed it and use it as propulsion to move faster.
Barely a minute remains, and I attempt to speed up.
[Redistribution - lvl 67 > Redistribution - lvl 68]
I let my mana manifest to create a pale blue hexagonal shining barrier segment in front of me, but right away it starts melting even as I keep remanifesting it, attempting to stack more layers. Whips of flame lash against it, cutting through and melting it, but I keep pushing through.
[Manifestation - lvl 9 > Manifestation - lvl 10]
[Focus - lvl 68 > Focus - lvl 69]
A bigger flare explodes toward me. My minds all connect and go into overdrive, trying to absorb as much heat as I can. I take it all into my body, where it swirls, trying to get out of control, bouncing inside until it destroys me. My heart, even without me doing anything, speeds up. I can hear it pounding in my ears.
Ba dum. Ba dum. Ba dum.
A constant sound of heartbeats, strong enough to shake the world, is nearly drowned out by the screaming flames around me. Then I realize I am screaming too, from the pain and the pure thermal energy flooding my body. My passive healing struggles to keep up and feels ready to fail at any moment. Thermal energy keeps combusting under my skin, restoring what is burned away, but there is far too much of it. I grab some of the energy I gather, gather it, and move to push it out.
[Redistribution - lvl 68 > Redistribution - lvl 69]
I take all that bouncing energy inside my body and channel it through me, exploding it behind my back.
Congratulations, you have acquired a new skill!
[Accumulation]
[Accumulation - Level 0 > Accumulation - Level 9]
[Redistribution - lvl 69 > Redistribution - lvl 70]
It launches me forward through flames. Even with all my defenses, the heat melts the skin from my body and chews into my flesh. The sheer temperature makes my passive combust constantly, sending healing bursts through me. I start using two healing marks from Lily at a time whenever the flames begin to damage something important.
Then I see it.
The Fragment of the First Star.
Not floating in the air or lying on the ground, but glowing behind the forehead of the velnar’s kneeling body. His form barely resembles a living being, more like a charred statue.
When I lift the Pristine item, I notice its surface is already slightly melted. I open the cage and shove my hand into what remains of the velnar to grab the Fragment. The charred figure crumbles. As I draw my arm back to place the Fragment in the cage, I realize my hand is gone, burned away, and vanished up to the elbow.
The Fragment lies on the ground. It looks like a pinkie-long transparent pale orange crystal with orange and white flames dancing inside it, surrounding a core hotter than anything I have ever seen.
I collapse weakly to my knees, my movements sluggish and awkward. I press the cage into the dirt and scrape earth over the Fragment to force it inside. It takes a few tries, but once it is in, I slam it shut.
As if someone flipped a switch, the heat from the Fragment vanishes everywhere except around me. It is still enough to turn me to ash in minutes, but after what just happened, it feels like a cool breeze in summer.
Then the cage starts melting from the inside.
I watch it and glance at the timer, morbidly curious about which will happen first: the fragment melting through and killing me, or the quest duration running out.
In the end, I am lucky. The timer ticks just as the cage begins to break, and I feel myself pulled away, reappearing in my handler’s room. The pristine cage floats in the air near me, but the Fragment inside is calm, unmoving, almost as if afraid of the being in its presence.
My handler sits behind her table, red hair, yellow eyes, not bothering to pretend to be someone else.
I stand while turning my back to her, activating my last healing marks to restore my body, and using my passive too. It takes long minutes, during which neither of us speaks, but slowly my body repairs itself. It is far too quick for the wounds I had, so I am pretty sure she is helping somehow, though I do not say it out loud.
Only then do I slowly realize I am butt naked.
Before turning around, I weave a rough pair of mana pants, just enough for now. Then I make a manabloc chair and weakly sink into it across from her. I cannot remember the last time I felt this drained. My head throbs with a dull ringing, but at the same time I am calm. As if every emotion has already burned itself out.
"Hello, my dear, favourite handler. My most favourite, even."
"What in the unholy fuck is your problem?"
***
Comments
D Pryor
Nat would indeed make an excellent greed
Gwalmeich
"Oh, look! The unyielding power of the sun concentrated in a small fragment. Let me just put it in my box. Totally normal behavior."
Ava
He's such a greedy bastard I love it
андрей ткач
i thnk you need add focuse here
Seamus Harley
Just a thought, what if he combines Accumilation, Redistribution and Mana Manipulation at some point to maybe get Control. One of the starting skills Lissandra had. I was wondering for a while what he would have to combine to get that.
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
Joseph Jenkins
I wonder if he can now accumulate mana? 🤔
CptJimmy42
He was total to loot, did you think a minor pristine object is enough for the Mana Man of Pride? Nope he had to go and use the system to his advantage yet again, for a "better" prize. Future him will figure it out, cause screw that guy.
Greg Lambert
This was such a fun chapter. I can see this playing cinematically with no words, just music.
Jon
I think Nathaniel will now blackmail Greed for (millions of) shards: if she doesn’t buy the pristine artifact containing the fragment of the first star, he’ll inevitably show up on the Beyond Floor and annihilate everything there (including himself, of course—but hey, that’s just « normal » Nat). I don’t think Greed can realistically deal with a devastated Beyond Floor in front of her fellow rulers (remember when Lissandra made the same threat… all the rulers completely lost it).
Andrew
Thank you!
13L00D13ANE
Not by a long shot. Hes had multiple times where time skips have accounted for more than a few lvls. I feel like the oldest was when he went to fight stuff in the forest on the second floor(the boars before the weredeer ordeal) but there was also the time in the astral prison where they passed 6 months. I feel like i could come up with a couple more but im not recalling.
tishane Imperial MageKiller
Not gonna lie as soon as I found out about the fragment I would have wanted it too😅
facetiousk
Nat: "I'm perfectly normal." Ruby: "Mhm, mhm... If not unhinged, why unhinged shape?"
DarkRain
Mostly because the skill doesnt have much to do with actually eclipses. Its main goal is to eclipse away control. Sure it drains colors but thats mostly its domain effect and i dont remember it ever doing anything that isnt just visual
Manther
Just realized 4 levels happened off-screen between ch 675 and 676. Is this the first time leveling up hasn’t been recorded in a chapter?
William Johnson
I imagine he's hoping she'll pay him for it.
William Johnson
See this is the problem, all these weirdos can't understand the thought process of a super normal guy like Nate.
Ralph
Such a good read
Nemesis
Forget candidate, i am pretty sure he would immediately be fully invested 😀
Nemesis
Don't listen to him, it's just a cruel trick!
V
I going to say Ruby is annoyed with Nat making mana pants, nothing else. All about them cheeks. TFTC.
Thomas Bell
Nat so greedy even Greed is shocked!
TBONEMAN
Nathaniel finally decided he is too normal and started giving himself multiple personality disorder.
Baramus
Hah, relying on Greed to contain the fragment for him is both crazy and genius. I’d like to think he’s not expecting her to let him keep it, but maybe he’s banking on her wanting him to be a stronger ‘weapon’…
TheOne320
She probably planned everything to happen like it did.
zoarian
Daymn, what a chappie. First level 70 skill, Focus at 69, new skill too! Accumulation seems very fitting, I can see it evolving into Conduction or merging with Redistribution. What is he going to do with the Fragment now? Sell it? Absorb it? Ngl, a bit disappointed Eclipse wasn't a bigger part of the capture. It's such a nice thematic set-up: Eclipse > First Star, cmon!
Themo Grulld
"My head throbs with a dull ringing, but at the same tim,e I am calm in a strange way, as if every emotion has already burned itself out." The comma is one letter shifted . And further above you wrote " I grab some of the energy I gather, gather it, " have you meant to use compress or something alike ? Thanks for the fiery chapter.
Terri Harris
Now how will he cram the fragment into his chest making it part of his ignition heart. "Oh, Ruby, could you maybe give me an assist, I just need to put this little fragment thingy into my sealed ignition heart. Oh and could you maybe help me keep it contained? I promise to owe you one. And you can keep all of my quest rewards. Please? What do you mean? I'm the most normal."
Alexander
Who says he won't do that anyway?
Liam Zay
Honestly Nat is doing the rulers a favor. He was put into hell difficulty, but didn't see any hellfire, so he got some of his own.
Adrian Rake
Ending is just epic 😂🥹👍
ChildConsumer
..."I just tried sealing the the fragment of the first star and its burning me alive"? Haven't heard that one, can you send a link?
jax rammus
Atta boy!
Benji
I am so excited for this conversation XD
WhiteLeeopard
What did Ruby expect when she sent Nat on this mission?
Sondadir
I think you all know that I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: Hello,I'm Nathaniel Gwyn, and I have a plan."
rams
well ... it is also peak pride to believe that you could harvest a world destroying fragment
Nerø
One of the best chapters of this book so far! I'm hyped af🥵
Rad
Bo Burnham has a short song that’d fit this chapter just right.
Sergei Hartwig
It feels like thursday, but im happy its not. Cant wait till tomorrow! As always Amazing Chapter!
Oaktree
Ruby starting to realize it would have been a very bad idea if nat chose greed over pride for his subclass. Nat would be over here with a pokemon mind set of got to collect them all and end up have every fragment and primordial energy out there.
Oaktree
Everyone: don’t even try to get this power it will kill you. Spiteful nat: challenge accepted. Everyone: wtf is wrong with you. Nat: what do you mean im the most normal guy here.
asdsa fasfas
Now that's just rude, especially coming from her. Nat is the most normal person in Hell tutorial, hell maybe in whole tutorial too
XPDev
Banger chapter. TFTC
XPDev
WHAT
Bob
Maya have a similarly named skill, which make her more and more stronger during a fight.
baggytoques
This chapter is so peak. 🥹
tost
TFTC! The last question - is it from A****lethaniel or the reply?
Emmanuel Martinez
This chapter is SO Hot, I kinda want to write a smut fanfic of HDT after reading it. Maybe something about Nat, Current Ruler of Greed, and a Mana Cock. Maybe next April. Or February? In the 14th definitely.
Fdrugc
Tftc also ruby is wrong nat is completely normal and there is nothing wrong with him also i wonder what the new skill does?
Amelgar
Yep, that was badass.
Sadyix
Nat once again proving to be the most normal person in the Tutorial
Joe Woodhouse
Nat receives a notification: Congratulations, you have been declared an Asshole candidate by a person judged by the system to be capable of such a declaration!
frankie doerr
Just needs alittle background music staying alive by beegees might be appropriate
Seijax
Nat taking full advantage of the fact that the Last Elf is the most-of-everything elf
Anthony Duenas
Nat is a savage Definitely my favorite MC
Seijax
Somehow, reading Nat think "I have a plan" does not fill me with confidence lol
frankie doerr
How fucked is it that you can impress the personification of greed by your greediness aka stupidity
Claro reyes
Tftc
Uuds
Thank you for the chapter. Typo: the same tim,e I am -> the same time, I am
Borbino the great
Even a ruler is like what the fuck is wrong with this guy I love it😂
Snake With An Aurora Borealis
Greed, saying that? HAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
