Hell Difficulty Tutorial Chapter 649 – Spark

I send back.

The voice in my head replies.

This time, I follow it properly and confirm that it’s coming from the mark that was placed on me when I entered the tower.

I ask.

(It seems that way!)

I blink a few times and glance around. Then I decide I should sit down, so I move over to a nearby bench.

I ask.

The voice sounds like a man in his thirties, maybe, but it has a strange sort of innocence to it.

I pause my thoughts there. Yes, that totally sounds like a Champion, even though this one is really fascinating. I would have guessed it was someone who could split their mind like me, who’d messed up somewhere and created some sort of split personality. But he said that is not it. So maybe it is something more like duplication, intent, or an avatar, or something similar?

Leaning back, I notice myself tapping my finger on the back of my hand as I think. Maybe it really is something entirely different. But what? A Champion who acts as the main mind, meaning that the one I am talking to is something like a logic core that thinks it is the mind or the Champion? An artificial mind? A program?

Maybe he’s a new kind of race, kind of like a seven-headed hydra, each head having its own mind?

It could also be some kind of fancy trait, a passive ability, or a skill.

I ask.

Well, that’s it then.

I try again.

I see no reason to lie, and so I give my name to likely one of the greatest introverts I have ever met.

My respect for the guy grows by a notch. I couldn’t imagine doing something similar, but who knows. Maybe in a few hundred years, I’ll have the chance to go on a training arc like that.

Spark lets out a laugh.

I answer, filtering out the background noise a bit.

While sitting on the bench, watching people move around, I anticipate the next question.

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I repeat.

Spark says as he introduces another part of this city´s King.

That new voice joins. It sounds the same as Spark’s, but it lacks the excitement and innocence. Instead, it carries less emotion and sounds deeper overall.

it asks right away.

Spark sounds a bit louder now.

I say.

For a moment, he falls silent before speaking again.

I sit on the bench and stare into the space in front of me.

Some of these don’t feel like the others.

Both Spark and Marble wait patiently while I make a difficult decision.

Spark probably doesn’t realize how close I am to picking that one.

Marble says.

A third voice joins the conversation. It sounds the same as the other two, just stricter.

Spark says, and I can hear fear in his voice.

I feel Marble trying to slip away, but something holds him here just like Spark.

Marble says.

Marble’s voice softens a little.

Spark warns.

I reach towards my bag next to me and pull out one of my last, and according to our calculations, around 100 thousand dollars’ worth bar of chocolate. I take only a few pieces before I carefully package it and put it into the bag while eating the ones in my hand.

After a bit of fighting, the conversation shifts when Marble says,

Then there is a long silence, and in peace I finish the chocolate.

I say.

This time Veil addresses me,

As I do so, Veil recites the oath,

I confirm its reality by the feeling of weight these oaths have, and observe the entire process. As always, calling the system as a judge is a very interesting process.

I say.

Then these three presences, through the mark placed on me, start examining my body. It isn’t as creepy as I expected it could be, and it doesn’t feel all that intrusive either. They’re being very careful about it and never go any deeper than they need to. And the mark serves as a great boon to the process. With their work, it expands through me and allows for a deeper scan.

While they do so, I continue to hear their voices.

When it’s finally done, Veil leaves after a brief thanks.

Only Marble stays, and from him I get two pieces of information.

About a certain Absolute who escaped the tutorial and threatened to destroy the first two Beyond floors. Something Marble and the other parts of the King noticed, and even feared, as it was happening, finding themselves unable to push back against that incredible power.

The second piece of information connects to this as well. The Ruler of Envy is dead, killed by the imitation of The Ancient Monster that once tore through the Beyond. She is now trapped on the 12th floor, where her fate remains uncertain.

And the last piece of information I get is for free. The death of the Ruler of Envy means one of his Masters will sooner or later be crowned as the new Ruler of Envy. Then they will gain privileges and the opportunity to pass through the floors the same as the Rulers before them and head deeper into the First Dungeon to prove themselves.

They might stop at the 11th floor like the other Rulers did. Or maybe they will head deeper, to the 12th floor, in an effort to kill the monster entrapped there.