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Chapter 591 - Start of the 5th event
🕑 Added 2025-04-06 08:53:24 +0000 UTC5th event: Tyrant's Arena will start in one hour! The event will take place in an area selected by the system, picked specifically for Earth's tutorial attendees.
The event will last one hour.
There is only one winner of the event - the last one remaining within the area. Everyone else will be considered a loser.
Note: It is possible to forfeit the event by simply thinking or saying “I forfeit.”
Note: At forty-five, thirty, fifteen, and five minutes remaining before the end, the barrier surrounding the event area will shrink rapidly.
This event will mark the end of the second Earth tournament. Attendees will then have 24 hours on the tournament floor before returning to their respective floors, where the Floor Quests will continue.
Good luck!
I close the window, get out of the bath, and dry myself with thermal energy I let seep out of my body, which evaporates all the water. I teleport back to my room and think that if I continue to do that, I might become too lazy. Still, I create an arm made of mana that grabs clothes from the bed and brings them to me. After putting them on, I use kinetic energy to float toward the mirror and another mana arm to turn it toward me.
In it, I see my reflection. I am wearing extremely comfortable black sweatpants and similarly, comfortable running shoes that I am sure will explode the moment I perform some quick movement. Or maybe not? What if I use kinetic energy to try to prevent it from happening? It could work.
My look finishes with a gray hoodie, all of it clothing I bought from Gloria. The familiarity of Earth's clothes, instead of the gear I got in the tutorial, is weirdly calming and comfortable. I enjoy the feeling of the fabric and its stretchiness. I’ve even used one of Lily’s scent cubes she collected and has kept since the 6th floor, so the clothes have that fresh, citrusy smell.
Another of my mana arms opens the door, and I continue to float just slightly above the floor as I head outside of the room.
Near the stairs, I run into Maya, who stops in surprise, shakes her head in disbelief, and says something about a friggin ghost.
As many times before, we all gather in our living room. Everyone does last-minute checks and goes over our plans and countermeasures.
I feel a sense of relief. Soon, it will all be over.
Even the passive I bought 24 hours ago, after finally gathering enough shards, seems to have mostly taken effect. It cost 580 thousand shards, more than Mental Attunement Loop, so it better be worth it.
Once again, I reread its description.
Subdermal Combustion Weave (Mid Arcane) - Beneath the surface, the user’s body directs thermal energy into precise micro-combustion patterns. These patterns purge infections, neutralize toxins, and repair tissue through focused heat. Powered by primordial thermal energy, the passive grows stronger the more primordial energy it draws. Harmful substances are broken down before they can spread, and injuries are healed cleanly, leaving no lingering damage. Only total destruction can stop the weave.
Ever since the event began, I had a role planned for this passive, and it should play a major part in the final stage. It works especially well with Ignition Heart. Of course, nothing comes for free, and there is a drawback to this passive, but it's something I’m willing to endure.
As the final minute ticks down, I stand up. A memory of Lioren that stayed with me flashes through my mind, along with the determination he showed as he walked toward his end without a hint of hesitation.
I would like to think I would be the same at my death, and I wonder if that is also how my Duplicate felt during the 5th floor when he challenged Gaiathra.
With that feeling coursing through my body, I look at every member of group 4 and say, “I know my sister and I'm sure she said some wild shit.”
Their expressions confirm that, even without words. She was always like that.
“I can say one thing too: if I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be here. As simple as that. Take it as you will,” I tell them.
I check the timer once again, the last seconds ticking down, and say, “But now, let's kick some ass.”
“All the asses!” Dennis shouts first, after which his brother and Min-Jae join.
Maya shouts something that suspiciously sounds like, “Fuck Victoria, I ain't no parasite.”
There are a few more shouts, and then we disappear, pulled into the event.
I expect all of us to be separated again, but this time we stay together. Around us are empty streets and cars, with skyscrapers rising on all sides. The final event seems to have taken inspiration from an Earth city, or maybe several and created the Tyrant's Arena zone to match.
Feeling the connection to my mind, I let it in and accept it, connecting to the web that the twins set. At the same time, I start working on what I have planned and begin surrounding my Ignition Heart with pre-prepared arrays made of Ley Lines. I redirect a bit of my mana and most of my [Focus] to that while keeping some reserved for detection and defenses.
The rest of the group prepares as well. I share some presences through the link, and Min-Jae floats into the air, tearing off some road signs and pieces of the buildings with [Telekinesis] to kill these people right away.
Dennis and Aaron, together with Sophie, work on the web. Noodle expands in size, becoming twice as long as a bus, and slithers into one of the skyscrapers where he crashes into more people. Izzy, Maya, and Lily stay nearby, ready to defend the others.
I continue with my preparations, and once the surroundings are clear, after a quick conversation, I teleport all of us to the top of one of the skyscrapers, then to the tallest one I can find.
There’s nothing else to see, just buildings upon buildings stretching toward the barrier miles away. Roads, parks, shopping malls, cars, and more fill the space. It looks like a city on Earth, eerily empty and slightly distorted. There are too many skyscrapers, the layout stretches on for too long across an unnaturally flat landscape, and something about it all feels off.
Of course, the fights are in full swing with smoke rising between the buildings and multiple skyscrapers already crashing down. Lightning, fire, mana projectiles, and poisonous smoke fill the air.
(Lily, Beyonder on your eight o’clock; physical stats focused. Maya, two Hell difficulty and five Hard difficulty on your six, mage types. Izzy, down on the street, a group of a dozen Hard difficulty enemies; Kim, a mile in the distance, a group is setting up and observing us.) Sophie continues sharing information.
Every target is quickly dealt with, and afterward, they wait for more. Soon, the twins are also done with their part of Sophie's web, so they create their own with the help of [Sensory Deception] and then also join in the hunt.
During this time, I keep peeling away the seal on my Ignition Heart. The thermal energy inside me keeps combusting, passive activated by the wounds I inflict on myself and the heat that seeps into my body. It's a twisted cycle. As I lift the seal further, more thermal energy floods in and harms me, but that also strengthens my healing, allowing the cycle to continue.
The only problem is that it hurts. It hurts like hell. I don't know if it's because my [Focus] isn't high enough to handle this kind of damage, or if it's because the energy is purer now that I'm lifting the seal so much. It might also just be how the passive works, a price to pay for tapping into primordial energy at this level, the kind of power that existed before the system.
Of course, it's something I can endure, even if the pain threatens to cloud my mind. I keep going, and more thermal energy gathers inside my body.
Meanwhile, most of my mana is being saved. One reason it hurts so much, and why the thermal energy causes this much damage, is because I'm holding back as much mana as possible.
(They found us,) Sophie says out of nowhere, and I can see she is manipulating the air in front of her to create some sort of telescopic effect.
At the top of another skyscraper, quite far away, stands a group of people.
Derick, Maxim, Klara, and Hector. In total, four of the tournament winners. Each is accompanied by at least three people, likely powerful Hell difficulty attendees, most of them probably from Beyond.
(You got them?) I ask.
(Sure, just focus on your stuff,) Sophie answers absentmindedly and continues to give orders.
So I do just that while keeping a small part of my mind focused on what is happening.
Sophie's shadow seeps into the area as she deploys her arrays, Logic Cores and activates Golem Heart. Pieces of the skyscraper we are on twist and bend; metal, glass, and concrete form the shape of a huge spider with long legs. Blackie seeps into it and then jumps onto the roof of the building next to us.
Min-Jae floats into the air and leaves with both of the twins who hide him.
(Maxim has the weakest mental defenses, so I will try to get him before he uses void energy. If that can be used to defend against my attacks, I will switch to Hector.) Sophie quickly sends, (Don't hold back, Lily; you will have to handle at least two of the Kings. Maya, focus on defending; Izzy and Noodle will help you. The boys will do some sneaking around.)
Just as we make our preparations, the other side does the same. Not many more people arrive, but even though their group numbers around 20, they’re likely the best they have to offer, all of them equipped with information about our capabilities and strategies.
But we also came prepared, and their problem is that they’re likely well prepared for me but not for Group 4.
Sophie attacks first with a cruelty she has not shown yet during this tournament.
The 11-year-old Maxim hesitates for a moment and then lifts his arm; from his side, a huge shadowy wolf steps out and then bursts open before anyone can react. An impressive disruptive wave washes over the group, and a whiff of it reaches even where we are, carrying that weird feeling of primordial void energy.
Some of their preparations fall apart, and Maxim raises his hand, drives his fingers into his neck, and tears out a large chunk of flesh in a spray of blood.
Hector shouts something, likely a curse, and slides into a pose to throw the spear he has at Sophie. In the last moment, the anger on his face disappears and it becomes blank. He twists and instead throws that spear at Derick at incredible speed.
Derick dodges smoothly, and the spear shoots through several buildings in an instant before slamming into the ground. He then avoids Hector's follow-up attack and grabs him in a chokehold, his forearms glowing brightly for a moment before Hector's expression returns to normal.
Dying, Maxim lifts his arm one last time, and from his shadow, a dark serpent coils out, slipping past defenses and disrupting mana. It kills three Beyonders who can barely fight back without their mana, focusing especially on the two trying to heal him.
A few projectiles reach us. Segments of the Web Sophie set up ignite with bursts of light as they intercept the attacks, while a swirling flame barrier of green, blue, and purple flares up, burning the rest mid-air.
Then, like a meteor crashing from the heavens, a firetruck plummets toward Derick and the others. Threads of mana lash out, wrapping around it mid-air before slicing it cleanly apart. The shattered pieces rain down, flung aside by a force that feels like telekinesis.
Another truck follows, but it's redirected in an instant. The attackers adjust, shifting their focus to a distant zone where I’m sure the twins have scattered decoys to hide Min-Jae.
A quiet moment stretches. The wind shifts slightly, carrying dust across the rooftop.
I let some of the thermal energy seep out of my body, shaping it into a thick, rotating halo of fire that settles into the air above me. It turns slowly at first, pulling in more heat as it moves, the motion steady and controlled. With each rotation, the pressure builds, and the space around it starts to warp from the heat.
There’s no urgency, just the sense that things are starting to line up.
***
Comments
Viridi_Legio
Narrative energies aligning. Soul Harvester distrupted
A B
Edit suggestion: pre-prepared -> prepared
jax rammus
Man, Derrick is such a loser. Imagine constantly ganging up on one dude just to constantly fail
venkata siddhardha yarlagadda
Acting like what?!
Mark Bullock
Nate is a king
Mark Bullock
Thermal is acting like black man?
William Johnson
Building up to a boom.
RingoSeto
u less he wipes nearly everyone else at the same time
RingoSeto
shower whole arena with a huge amount of thermal energy.... everyone but he dies probably
RingoSeto
no slots available
RingoSeto
would end up being thermo kinetic mana crown probably
David McCreight
Still wondering whether Tess and Biscuit will have experienced any time passing when they get back from the tournament.
Maedae
I've seen people theorizing a second crown skill, but he doesn't have the slot. Imagine he upgrades his [Mana Crown] to just [Crown] and can store anything.
Moon Winchester
Can people have multiple armaments? Like Mana Crown, Thermal Ring, and Kinetic Cloak.
Colton Carey
I second that!
Colton Carey
What a BANGER. But also blue balls like all hell we neeeeeeeed it
Colton Carey
Nasty. But I agree!
Colton Carey
I think cockroach talked to Vic and they agreed to fuck with him to help him grow. I can see them getting along oddly well…
Johnny
Love Nat’s version of reassurance for group 4 lol. Funny thing is from him it probably was very effective
Colton Carey
Dude this is so hype!
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
If he can make his own thermal crown. Could he do also like a Kinetic crown later on. Storing kinetic energy, might allow him to mimic a Dexterity crown or/and a Strength Crown, covering his weaknesses in those areas. Then he'd have infinite mana, strength, speed, and have super regen (aka constitution)? That sounds OP
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
he pulls the heat that he is generating. It's the excess that's getting stored in the fire crown. He's not pulling the heat from the environment
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
I have a hard time conceptualizing Liss, lying about something, or attempting to deceive someone. Like would you ever try to deceive an ant to get it to do something you want? There are plenty methods of threatening/motivating Nat without lying. Taking his life, his sister's life, his group's life. But it's quite possible that Tess and Biscuit already have the problem solved by the time group 4 comes back. They are highly capable, themselves.
Maniac000
I bet once Nat wins Lissandra will say she was lying about Tess having a mimic in her and that she made a deal with her to stay behind (maybe gave her a big time training regiment) in order to push Nat even farther.
Zaim İpek
It would be nice, but he doesn't have the [Skill] for it. And he is maxed on skill slots. So a lot would need to change for him to get a crown, ring, or mantle skill for it.
Raymond
She's weirdly sentimental. I think she'll declare him reaching the minimum bar of absolute candidate. Kinda on theme for the tourney right? He subdues all the kings (champions). Even when he was "applying" to be champion She said he'd be able to reach low absolute (which is all current absolutes in her opinion) . Also she declared ruby an absolute candidate and though he didn't equal her, he's only had 2 years. So she maybe isn't as good. Remember that Lisandra is constantly gas lighting Nat because she thinks he grows better that way.
Grappleshot
He's preparing his totally evil ritual, and no one can stop him.
granndfunk
His entire buildup will only be for lissandra. The rest of group 4 will handle everyone else, perhaps Nat will do something for Savant or tacita (or in a surprise move they both forfeit for Nat), but this thing he is building will only be for lissandra at the end.
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
yep, especially considering no restrictions at all? and teamwork is allowed too? and he still hasn't been punished for the last event? this event about to be hard
Arme nd
Wait he gonna get a second crown? Fire crown?
C Smith
Everyone is saying it's s nuke but it's sucking in the heat. What if he pulls ALL the heat from the zone dropping it to absolute zero. Guess that prob wouldn't kill the stronger ppl.
Nikolas Maniotis
Since only one person can win Nat will probably have to fight Lissandra at the end. Probably some final test or something
Michel Kommers
I think this event is way too easy for group 4, Coachroach must have something stored for them.
starhunter34
I wonder if Victoria will cause Nat problems during this event; although, I doubt it’ll line up with what Lis wants if she does. It’s mostly just speculation based off her comments to the rest of his group
Andrew
Thank you!
firte
Don’t forget The Almighty Biscuit!
Arnon Parenti
I love how deceptive this attack is, making everyone believe it has a long buildup when it's actually his natural state after buying the passive, so takes less than a thought to deploy, he has to stop thinking about holding it back and it's already blasting away.
Arnon Parenti
He has to beat every cockroach with a regeneration skill Humanity has put forth, not going to be easy without dropping the literal sun on them.
D Pryor
I'm starting to think this Cerim guy is an Asshole!.... all hot and bothered on Saturday night and he only puts the tip in!! Geezusssssss!!!!
RingoSeto
chapter is too short... we need 10 more like it pls.... ... our fix must be sated
RingoSeto
heal as he is hurt.... he is becoming a lily....
Sedjet
It did mention working with even the barest trace left.
Sedjet
Nat out here making his own second crown without the systems help.
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Joseph Serret
Hes going to hit them with a fucking thermo nuclear bomb. Jesus i love nat when he goes nuts. Also. Soph can take down kings. Damn so we got what what, 4 kings in group 4, nat soph tess and lily. The rest are also peak hell difficulty... damn.
Jayden Martinez
I'll take that bet, five mile crater with at least another few miles of damage from the shock waves
FarFromLogic
I assume he replaced his previous healing passive with Subdermal Combustion Weave, does repairing tissue include Bambi's curse, would it regrow an arm?
FarFromLogic
aaaaah, I need more, always the perfect cliff hanger and Lissandra hasn't shown up yet either
XPDev
tftc
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
you good?
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
nah, liss takes by force, makes deals or threatens. Asking is not her thing, even if your theory was it
Val the mysterious Jedi
First, that fix we get after waiting is always worth the pain, second sophy is going to get a lot of hate, she just showed why mind mages are scary. Great opening fight, also real scary the tutorial attendees are seeing what hell and beyonders can do to a city. My money is nat novas a mile around them.
Leyphelio
If forfeit is possible, then death will probably at some point be possible too, like in the last tournament...
Mads jæger
how expensive are High Arcane passives? a mil or two? maybe more?
Rocotrap
I don't think it's a crown, it felt more like keeping the energy outside cycling
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
mathulu
He keeps getting more and more powerful. I wonder what kind of prize he might be able to claim if he wins this tournament. Especially since he's opted for better rewards each time. Kind of think liss is going to ask him to spend his reward on her and thats part of her reason she needs Him to win.
Oaktree
Things are heating up you could say their about to go nuclear.
Emmanuel Martinez
His arcane passive paired with the ignition heart’s release causes a steady stream of suffering. Relatable. I, too, live in constant state of pain and misery.
nando daltes
Did nat get fire crown Or is it just a pseudo fire crown?
venkata siddhardha yarlagadda
Maybe but probably not. Do you remember her fight against her avatar? Thousands of avatars and attendees died instantly and lioren(whitey) barely survived by running away with all he got. That was just from an initial clash. No matter what, even if nat is able to use the champion heart to the fullest, he won't be able to beat an absolute. He's just not at that level.
Belmont Igneul
Oh that’s op
LawBear2005
I mean, there is a good reason mind mages are hated. The other rounds of the tutorial are going to have to spend some time on anti-manipulation skills or they are going to get screwed over in the future.
zoarian
Also you say there's 5 kings but only list 4: "Derick, Maxim, Klara, and Hector. In total, five of the tournament winners."
Budgie
20v1 seems doable, but they forgot that the Corgi overlord allowed some more of his subjects to take part in this so called tournament
Le Frog
I'm guessing he is preparing for a fight with Lis, he already stronger than everyone else before getting his new passive, so all this preparation has to be for Lis.
Venno
Looks like thing are heating up…. 🥁
zoarian
Subdermal Combustion Weave sounds metal af. Good tie in with his class. Imo, Nat needs to get a teacher for thermal energy - maybe on 8th floor? Hoping for big fuck-off lasers of doom this round. Also, the passive seems tailor made against Tacita and Savant. Tacit does precision strikes, whilst the weave needs to be totally destroyed to stop working, and Savant mostly does radiation poisoning, which the Weave will purge.
Bartlomiej Głowacki
Difference between 5th round and the rest seems funny at this point, Sophie taking over 2 kings XD
Funny guy
Danks fur da chappie! :0
Alexikon
I'd Nat becoming a phoenix?
Claro reyes
Thank God today isn't a Thursday.
Dr.Awkward
Let's gooooo!
Niclas Elmers
Tftc
