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Chapter 575 - Uselessly handsome man
🕑 Added 2025-03-13 09:38:01 +0000 UTCLooking intently at the young lynthari disciple, I lift my hand high with my palm open. Above my hand, a golden thermal orb forms from flames of thermal energy blazing across its surface.
Energy floods into it until it expands with an audible thump. It grows from the size of a golden ball to that of a baseball, a football, and finally, a beach ball, and then it is even bigger.
It floats above me, drying the air with its presence as it emits a cracking noise and heat that makes the air shimmer.
In my most ominous voice, I say, "I'm sorry, little one."
I step forward.
The lynthari screams.
I declare, "I forfeit."
Before I disappear, I pull all the heat back into my body in case it lingers and ruins the event for the little one. Ignoring the commotion in the common area and the questions thrown my way, I send out a detection pulse and succeed in locating her only because she allows it.
Still in the common area but under the trees, I teleport to Lissandra.
"You must think this is so damn funny," I say as I stand beside her and turn back to watch the screen.
"Is it not?" she asks from the side.
I decide not to answer the question and instead watch my minion clash with one of the few other demon disciples. It's almost as if she did it on purpose; out of all the signatures near her, she chose to fight the demons first. And damn, my little half-demon is kicking the poor guy's ass.
"Which one is yours?" Lissandra asks.
"Half-demon girl, red eyes, light brown hair. Primarily a user of kinetic energy and mana."
"Found her," she answers as she continues to watch with me.
After my minion defeats the guy and he turns into pale blue particles, appearing in the common area next to his master, I ask, "How did you get all my points during the event?"
"You really don't have a guess, or you just don't want to believe it, little pup?"
"The latter? I mean, at first, I thought you tampered with my notifications because I didn't see any, but then I thought about it and dismissed that idea."
"What conclusion did you come to?"
"You cannot tamper with the system directly. Even the Rulers, probably, cannot do that. Besides, you are still considered partially fake and inside of the tutorial, which should make it even more impossible for you to do so. Any tiny nudges applied to the system around you are done by Rulers. Some might do it to mess around, others to help, while some do it to hurt you."
"Correct."
"So the only option is that, from that little island in the sea, you were able to kill-steal all the monsters before I killed them. All the special grade, all the small ones, and all those killed when the island fell. You killed thousands of monsters in a single millisecond before my attack reached them, without me even noticing the movement of your mana."
"Correct," she repeats.
I look at her to see if she has more to say, but the distant smile on her lips tells me she will not continue on that subject.
Turning away from her, I can only think what a monster this woman is, achieving that even without her full power.
"How far off the Champion rank was that beast at the end?" I ask.
"Very far."
Hearing excited shouts from the common area, I look at the screen again, just in time to see Vega boost herself into the air and crash into a feylith floating there. The feylith girl's hair and eyes turn blue as she struggles to stay aloft with Vega hanging on to her; both are pulled to the ground.
After landing, the feylith lets out a painful groan. My minion absorbs part of the impact with a somersault to cushion the rest. But she does not stop there. Immediately after, she charges the feylith.
Getting to her feet, the feylith raises her arms and fires a blast of flames at Vega. Instead of dodging, Vega steps into the fireball and stomps. At the epicenter, a shockwave of kinetic energy erupts, blasting away the weak, unfocused fire. Before her opponent can even stand, Vega rushes in, slams her fist into her face, and immediately drives a dagger into her chest, piercing through her defenses.
She shows no hesitation, and part of me wonders if she ever considered that she might kill these disciples for real.
But I don't really want an answer to that. I already know it.
"Little pup."
"What?"
"Soon after this tournament ends, little kitten and I will be leaving."
"What do you mean?"
"We will prepare and then depart for Beyond, where I will have my only chance to leave the tutorial. There, I will either succeed or fail. So tell me, which outcome do you wish for?"
"Isn't that obvious? I want you to succeed so that Myrra gets out, and so I can find you later to deal with you for all the things you have done. But why so early? Don't you want to get stronger? Use the system shop to regain a level of power similar to what you used to have?"
"As frustrating as it is to accelerate my plans, I have no choice this time. Each time the little kitten and I pass through the instances of the tutorial, we risk being erased. I have also been warned that more Rulers are watching this instance. At most, we have a few weeks."
"How poetic. You're being screwed over in a similar way to how you're screwing me over."
"Amusing, isn't it?"
"Indeed," I agree with her.
As she looks at the screen, I glance at her profile, and thoughts race through my mind. Part of me wonders if she doesn't push me so hard to be her legacy in case she fails.
Shaking off that silly thought, I turn away from her and back to the screens. In the end, it doesn't matter. Her reasons don't change the way I see her. She chose to be a villain in my path, and she succeeded.
I don't ask her aloud if she truly believes she can accomplish what likely dozens of her versions in previous tournaments could not. I'm also sure those other versions had the same thoughts she does now.
Lissandra carries herself with such certainty that failure is not even a concept she would acknowledge.
***
POV Miwa
Channeler, though weaker than I am, is respected by everyone in Easy and Normal difficulty. Even those in Hard and some in Hell difficulty show him respect. The reason is simple.
What Channeler says often represents the words of Group 4.
What we once thought to be one of the strongest groups in our 5th round now seems to be one of the strongest groups in the entire Earth's tutorial. Group 4, sometimes also called Angry Kittens.
A few days ago, I even heard someone say, "He is one of the kittens," by a guy from Hard difficulty when talking about NotAaron. Or maybe it was NotDennis?
After my last question, Channeler sits quietly and continues to stare at the screen, sitting on the bench next to me. I take the moment to reflect further.
Group 4 has Grumpy, the strongest healer Earth currently has, as rumored after people visited zones from other rounds. She is someone I saw regrow the arm of a Hell difficulty man from the 2nd round in a few seconds. The arm belonged to someone specialized in physical stats, which should make healing much more difficult and he lost it back on Earth so the tournament´s healing aura didn't restore it.
There is also a rumor that she can cure illnesses once considered impossible to treat on Earth or destroy a crippled leg to regrow a perfect one before the healing aura of the tournament activates.
I have spoken to a healer from my group, and even she said such feats should be impossible at our current level without risking harm to the patient or killing them.
That single person makes Group 4 extremely influential, and I cannot help but wonder how many people on Earth would do anything to receive Grumpy’s services, offering their entire fortunes just to cure their ailments or extend their lives.
But it does not stop with her. There is also TheStrongestOne; even with his silly name, he is someone who can fly, a feat that only a low percentage of even Hell difficulty can accomplish. Not to mention his [Telekinesis], with which he is able to lift entire buildings.
Knight, known for her speed and huge mana armor, is even rumored to be recognized by Baek, the tournament winner of the 10th round. Soph, though she hasn't used her ability much lately, can manipulate people, an ability that is among the most terrifying, possibly the most. Then there is Izzy, with her flames that melt through mana and everything else, and her enormous snake.
The Twins can do something many people from lower difficulties consider impossible, namely taking over your skill and using it against you while creating lifelike illusions that even those in Hell difficulty have trouble distinguishing from reality. And of course Sset, with her primordial lightning and ability to kill you from miles away without you even realizing it. I spoke with her a few times during the first tournament and found her someone deserving of admiration.
So the question is: Should I accept Noname's offer and work with them? They are clearly one of the strongest groups, but they have no hesitation in using force against others, as Noname clearly demonstrated during the last event. In response to his actions, multiple rounds will likely band together to oppose him.
Channeler finally answers as I remain lost in thought.
"I think you should join," he says.
"Can you give me a reason?"
"I can. As you said, Group 4 has a lot of conflicts, but who doesn’t? Many groups keep their intentions hidden and wait for an opportunity, but Group 4 is mostly transparent and fair."
Channeler lowers his voice, "And Miwa, I think most of the time Noname doesn't even realize how his actions affect other people and often scare them."
He glances around before leaning in. "I talk to many people from all difficulties, and even those from Hell often do not understand some of the things he does. Barely anyone can fly, yet he does so with such ease and speed. I have heard of groups forming that try to devise ways to counter his mana disruption; they just cannot understand how he can pierce through natural barriers so easily and disrupt their skills. He can also teleport in a way that barely anyone can track or interfere with. And he combines it all with such powerful attacks."
I hesitate, carefully considering his words. "Isn't that something other Hell attendees could do as well, just later on? And he has a lot of mana, so it makes sense that he's powerful."
Channeler smiles, and for a moment, I wonder if he is laughing at me. But instead of feeling insulted, I remind myself that his amusement is likely directed at the absurdity of the situation, not at me.
"A lot of mana?" He looks at me with a big smile. "Everyone knows Noname is an Amplificator, but a lot of mana does not cover it. The most talented people here I have met go for one Constitution to three or four Mana, even with the bonus from the Amplification upgrade. No one knows how many stats Noname has pumped into his mana."
"Please explain it to me. I rarely talk to Hell difficulty attendees, so I do not understand how impressive it is."
"Sure. Simply put, he should be dead multiple times over. For your body to hold that much mana, you need to have a specialized trait, which others suspect Noname possesses, but that alone would not be enough. You need Constitution to support it; otherwise, it will disrupt the balance and the mana will constantly damage your body. The amount of mana Noname holds, according to other estimates, would only be possible above level 350 and possibly higher with the 'right' stats allocation. There is no way he is that level."
I pause, weighing his words carefully. "What are you? President of his fanclub?" I shake my head. "I understand he is powerful, and his group too, but what worries me are his tendencies. As I said, I need to think about it a bit more."
"I'm glad to hear that," Channeler straightens up again and smiles.
"I would have thought you would be happy if I agreed right away."
"That's a reasonable thought, but Miwa, your careful consideration makes it clear that this decision is important to you and that you do not want to change your mind in the future. Isn't such a person better to cooperate with?"
For a moment, I look at him, and he remains unshaken, smiling.
I find myself recalling Noname’s words that day when I observed his work. As he said, Channeler is, indeed, a uselessly handsome man.
***
Comments
Andrew Miller
I'm of the opinion that the absolute candidate has already been named and is the guy who spawned in the beyond. It's not that the current Nat doesn't deserve it, it's just that the candidate has already been named and Liss can't name a second until the first is... Well .. disqualified.
Mads jæger
The hardest choices require the strongest of wills
Zaim İpek
Liss is attempting to bypass the standard tutorial exit and instead escape through Beyond. So she would end up in whatever part of the universe that is located. It's a real location in the real world, not a simulation within the standard tutorial. It's so far away, that there is a good chance we wouldn't see Liss or Myrra again until Nat becomes a champion and able to actually use teleportation/portal coordinates.
Zaim İpek
Oh! You are right! I somehow didn't put those pieces together. So even more so, this is the only version of Myrra we can ever get.
Cody
In chapter 571 Myrra states her subclass is greed and we already know Ruby is the Ruler of Greed. So unless Myrra was lying about her subclass, she can’t be a Ruler
Zaim İpek
I'm not as sad about potentially losing Liss as I am sad about potentially losing Myrra. There is still potential in this story for some new itteration of Liss to escape from a future tutorial for a different planet. She won't be the same. But it will still be Lissandra. But this is most likely the only chance any version of Myrra will ever have (except that I also suspect Myrra is one of the rulers, but it's just not the same. Ruler Myrra is not Nat's silly friend. Only this version is.)
Zaim İpek
In spite of himself . . . he and Lissandra have the exact same sense of humor. He probably won't ever admit it to himself.
Josh
Are we not gonna talk about Nats Thanos moment right there? Very based of him to enjoy scaring the child
Jonathan Nading
Hmm no, those are good points. We know Nat is a cut above the other Champion candidates, and that Liss’s standards are far higher than just anyone who can declare someone “a candidate”.
asdfmeepman
Thats what my thoughts were! Honestly, im hoping for this to be true. If he shows he is a cut above his entire planets members, i only see this as absolute quality. I also think their little roundtable discussion about what to do when they get back to earth might have been subtle forshadowing
Sir Supports Alot
Pushing him as hard as she can to see if he is worthy of it yaddy yadda
Sir Supports Alot
I reckon liss may have this tournament be a perfect chance to have nat prove himself worthy of absolute candidate, and with another fight before she leaves ofc
Sir Supports Alot
Absolute candidates aren't champions, per say, or at all for all we know, they are like champion candidates but still a cut above, still crushed by a champion, but with a vast amount of potential more than a champion candidate has
RatOverLord
Ruby was not a Champion.
Johnny
Really hoping this isn’t the end of Cockroachssandra…sucks that either way the personal training will come to an end. Hopefully she’s imparted enough wisdom so he can start to duplicate some of her outrageous mana feats
Jonathan Nading
Yeah, I feel like an Absolute candidate would surely need to be a Champion, at least before even being considered.
RingoSeto
probably have to beat the 1st floor middle boss .. u know the one others run from or use squadrons of ppls just to hope to beat
Borbino the great
She’ll be back
Zaim İpek
I wish this chapter focused more on Vega. Maybe the next one will.
Zaim İpek
He will have to do more to prove himself first. She will have to give him the Absolute Candidate challenge immediately after the tournament if it's going to happen at all, since she is planning on leaving so soon.
Woojoe
305 was chapter 537
13L00D13ANE
I think there are two ways to get out. *Fully* be accepted by the system and gain 'authority' or 'legitimacy' of an attendee, or circumvent the system and go outside it. If she does the first, she would be an earth attendee, but if its the second then id agree with you, Krazo.
13L00D13ANE
Yeeeeaahhh... i think youre making a joke, but ill humor you. I genuinely think that if Lyss had actually expected her disciple to slaughter a bunch of children, Nat would have fought and tried to kill her then and there.
Jonathan Nading
What level is Nat right now? I seem to remember he was just over 300 like 50 chapters ago..
asdfmeepman
I really hope liss names nat a absolute candidate.
Memelord Steambath
And it's an unofficial event, he'll be fine
Gio
Nat did not fail the event; Lissandra failed the event. Vega is still in there.
Kenny
That would be a disappointment, after all the mystery surrounding the man. Also he has the attention of multiple rulers, they probably wouldn't like if Lissandra tried to do anything to him.
arnumart
So now that Nat has failed a event how are they going to save Tess?
Mark Bullock
Minwa is the woman with the cool prosthetic arm nat wants
Andrew
Thank you!
granndfunk
Oh, phew. Thought that event was going to go a bit worse for Nat. Glad Liss still has some humanity left in there
mitchell kaiser
Thank you!
Greendalf
The hard difficulty crafter with the metal arm
mitchell kaiser
Remind me who is Miwa again? (The pov we had)
TheOne320
Good thing the wolf cannot participate.
Krazo
Probably not. During transit between tutorial and Earth tutorial should always recognise tutorial constructs. Lissandra cant go to earth without purging herself out of the tutorials hooks, and Hadwin identity is probably one of those hooks
Greendalf
So if/when Liss gets out, they’d be sent to Earth because their tutorial instances are bound there?
Mads jæger
I think she'll escape nlby taking over the status of the first beyondet
Asekhan
Vega can now get a clean win
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
Val the mysterious Jedi
Damn I wanted more minion highlights, I was laughing so hard when she spawn rushed the other demon. I yelled Fuck him up Minion!!! ✧\(>o<)ﾉ✧
Edmund Dillon
Roach will be missed, wondering what's going on in the beyond 🤔🤔TFTC!!
Oaktree
Do kinda want to see the stats of other earth attendees to get an comparison of just how much more mana nat has compared to everyone else.
Oaktree
Wait till they learn nats been cheating and using mana to gain constitution through his burden enhancement inscription and active tempering or whatever it was called.
Funny guy
Danks fur da chappie! Nat scaring peeps without even realising it is so Nat
Nick
Just have to wait for her shenanigans in Beyond.
Nick
I believe the guide in beyond said it’s been tried before. This might be the first time she has been challenged like Nat has not accepting her as his true master because she ultimately failed.
Grappleshot
Do the same things and leave to make a fortress on her old planet or another after stealing his princess.
FoodFood
tyftc!
Arnon Parenti
Crazy people simply can't fathom the thought process of the only sane person in the tutorial.
zoarian
It's kind of a shame Liss is going to leave cause her relationship with Nat is great, but it makes sense from a narrative point of view. It's hard to maintain tension and suspense when group 4 has an Absolute in their pocket.
Ansordia
So happy that is was just a "screw you" from Liss... And not an actual mandatory event to win at... So if I read it right, Liss will remove the mimic and then enter beyond? I wonder how she intends to escape... Like what Nat said I doubt he is the first person who met Liss, revealed she is fake, entered beyond, revelaed beyond is a thing.... Or it could be a first considering how moronic someone would need to be to enter beyond
Jayden Martinez
I honestly don't know what will be scarrier. That she sniped every monster without him noticing, or what Nats gonna do once they're out of the tutorial and fight for real
TheOne320
I am happy he forfeited. While it would have been amusing, it is better to let the minions fight amongst themselves.
Nate El
It is annoying to have to take the words of so handsome a man seriously. I have such a coworker.
Borbino the great
Lissandra accomplishes her goal 100% I think she’s still has some of nats mentality going on which is going to be the thing that lets her accomplish her goal
Borbino the great
So happy to be proven right about how lissandra was stealing his points
Venno
Sucked in roach
