Hell Difficulty Tutorial Chapter 788 - Contraband

We slip into the city without any hassle. Not a single guard in sight. The array brands a mark onto each of us. Memories flood back of the Local King from Beyond, who pulled off a similar trick in his tower, pulling Spark, Marble, and Veil into my thoughts. It even jogs my mind about all those times they mentioned spotting attendees stumbling over their feet in bids to seem mysterious or scary over the last 500 years.

The answer still shocks me to this day.

With Tess holding Lily, I run my usual check on the knocked-out healer and tweak her nose. Still nothing, even after so long.

Deeper into the city we go, then Tess silently passes Lily to me and signals Izzy to come along. They break off from us and start chatting with locals. An Empath paired with Tess's link for communication, plus her outgoing personality, makes these talks a breeze for them.

Izzy holds nothing back this time, freely scanning emotions. Her skill guides us swiftly to the local branch of the Information Guild. Tess and Izzy enter, with Tess carrying some of our lower-value goods and materials to trade.

They emerge just a minute later. "No items accepted, so I need to sell a few for local currency," Tess states plainly. She ducks into another shop, comes back with cash for us to grab food and drinks from a nearby stall, then proceeds to the Information Guild.

Local money consists of mana stones shaped into coins pierced by a central hole. Folks thread cloth strands, mana, or precious metals through them, dangling the lot from their waists—a flashy local custom, I figure.

I briefly fret if the feylith might spot Izzy as an Empath, but I dismiss it. Tess would've weighed that risk and warned her. Besides, I've only crossed paths with two Empaths so far: Izzy and Adrian. Mind mages outnumber them, so Sophie faces steeper odds of detection than her sibling.

An hour's wait passes. Tess returns, first selling more of our stuff in a nearby building, then leads us through the calm yet bustling city. Feylith, humans, and selari bustle about, many in rougher shape than ours, so we blend right in. Self-interest rules everyone here, letting me pause to soak in the surroundings.

So alien compared to Earth cities, it captivates me, and I ponder when such wonders will turn everyday. Twenty-one years on Earth dulled normal urban thrills for me. Will the System normalize this in a decade, or does endless variety demand centuries? Time alone knows.

We venture into wealthier quarters, where Tess secures a full floor high in a tower. It boasts breathtaking vistas of the encircling circular park, a panoramic sweep of the city and lake, plus soaring flying ships.

Little chatter as we unpack, shower, and swap outfits. It drags longer than normal, like everyone's scrubbing away the ninth floor's lingering trauma.

Freshened up, we gather in the lounge spilling onto a terrace with views of massive trees, other towers, and the far-off lake. Food awaits—likely Tess's doing again—and we dig in.

Halfway through the meal, Tess speaks up. "Only one healer in town can treat Lily. He'll cost a fortune, but none of us minds that."

Her gaze sweeps the room, confirming her hunch. Seeing that stirs warmth in my icy, haughty hearts. They'd back me the same way, and I'd return the favor without hesitation.

"But," Tess continues, "she might pull through solo and emerge tougher. Plus, the healer could peg her as a rival powerhouse healer, sparking major trouble, among countless other risks to weigh."

"Izzy and Sophie say she seems stable, so maybe hold off a few days?" Aaron suggests, eyeing Lily on the couch. "She's tougher to kill than the whole group put together, probably."

"Before heading to Beyond, I'll leave my left arm with her. Could prove useful if she desperately needs it," I declare.

"How romantic," Maya chuckles from nearby, reclining back to stare at the ceiling. "When Lily wakes, she'll rage at her own weakness and dive into another brutal training binge."

"Totally her style," Tess nods. "On the egg... I skipped intel there. Extreme caution required. A full-blooded wyvern hits Absolute monster tier at maturity. Champions would kill for it to bond or experiment—plenty envy the vyssari's white lightning bloodline."

"Now I wanna try too," Dennis admits. "But quests like this usually have safeguards, or some real-world event the tenth floor mirrors, blocking us from keeping it."

"A wyvern isn't foo…" I start, then halt. Like the others, I swivel to Biscuit, who wags his stubby tail—and his whole rear—under our collective stare. "Or maybe it is…"

"He scarfed that nerfed Champion deer, remember?" Dennis enthuses. "That's where his mini antlers came from, landing him in a food coma. Imagine cute little wings or wyvern lightning from the egg? Perfect timing if he munches it right at quest end!"

"He can't devour an unborn baby, tutorial or not!" Izzy protests.

"What if it's a wicked baby wyvern?" Dennis counters.

"You hush and don't translate!" Izzy jabs a finger at me. She inhales deeply, shuts her eyes, then opens them softer. "I get it's fake, just tutorial stuff. But some lines I won't cross. Don't want us normalizing them."

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Seeing no rebuttals, she grins mischievously. "What would you slackers do without me? Secured this spot for two months—overpaid, sure, but it has a shielded lab to mask our loot signatures and that phony wyvern limb. Tomorrow, another Information Guild run for details. We're loaded. Fun fact: one Absolute and eleven Champions rule this planet. The Absolute, a Lust subclass, commands everything; her Champions serve straight under her."

Awkward laughter from Aaron breaks the quiet. "Lame to say, and kinda grim with Lily down, but... looks like she's got real competition now."

A few snicker, some sigh, but I catch Izzy's fond smile at Aaron.

"Solid beginning—all issues solvable," Tess rises with vigor. "Nat, relax and hit Beyond without dying on floor 5. Sophie, same, or Frontier boots you. I'll stick around a week or two. Maya? Shopping trip for a better eyepatch than this rag?"

I could linger, but restlessness drives me to act—maybe charge a Champion. Normal urge, really.

I'm perfectly normal.

True to word, I pause by Lily before leaving. Shifting the Fragment of the Nameless Tree from left hand's back to right, I sever my left arm and place it by her.

Passive skills ignite, regrowing the limb. It'll take a while, but I barely miss it. Long accustomed to rerouting Mana Cycling around absent parts.

Gazing at our healer, I marvel briefly. Such might, struck down so suddenly. I never saw it coming—no buildup, no ultimate boss, just random elite beasts.

Finally leaving, I brush hair from her face and flick her nose. Then to the lab—Tess was spot-on: shielded, stocked with gear, sleek modern lines, gleaming metal. A pale-blue scaly arm chunk—or paw—huddles in one corner.

Not huge, roughly twice a polar bear paw, but even as a botched fake wyvern piece, power pulses from it.

A few strides bring me to the table holding our two flawless acquisitions.

Ring of Preserved Stasis (Low Pristine) -

Prism of Dimensional Friction (Low Pristine) -

Something tells me Low Pristine loot like this shouldn't drop so easily. Likely the tutorial's ceiling. Newbie Champions start with such gear. Ten million shards minimum in System shops, and nothing better spotted yet.

Two right here. Truth be told, no interest in handling them now. Useless for the fight ahead, so in petty revenge for their hassle, I flick them off the table. They clatter to the floor, rolling into a corner.

Farewells said, I tell Biscuit to stick with the crew—for their aid and his distraction from the ferret fiasco. One last glance at creepy Blackie in the shadows, then elevator down and out the tower.

Straight out of town without pause. Miles later, airborne, Sneaky Mode engaged, kinetic energy locked tight. I rocket back our entry path, accelerating relentlessly, sonic boom ripping the sky. Mana ahead forms a clear cone, letting me surge even swifter.

The land blurs beneath. Higher up, it slows a tad, landscape crawling. Trip stretches as I skim lakes, weave trees at breakneck pace, pierce and top clouds.

Flying this wild never palls; I pump kinetic energy nonstop to sustain it.

At our spawn spot, I plummet, devouring momentum and shockwave. Halt so abrupt it'd vaporize tougher foes than me.

Some things have vanished.

Lycan left-hand fingers— all four—gone.

Dusk Deer corpse missing too.

The right hand now sits amid a mile-wide forest, central tree scraping skyscraper heights. Mana leakage saturates everything; miracle no one's clocked it.

Full throttle from go, I pulse my mana shield and arrow to the hand's aura. Trees block as I near; mana blasts fly, shocking me. Some shrug hits, others regen insanely fast.

Half-dozen blasts rivaling level 350-400 monster killers later, I hack through to it.

Proximity demands every ounce just to endure. Air thickens, mana density prickling skin like myriad needles.

Mana arm conjured, focus maxed for stability, but contact erodes it instantly. Constant mana flood barely prevents dissolution.

Grab secured, backlash erupts. Raw force surges the mana limb, crashing into me like lava in veins. Sight swims, ears bleed, grip holds.

Clamping the "contraband," I activate Beyond Stay Token. Pressure vanishes in blissful release, dropping me gasping to the floor.

Looking up, Ruby's my hope. Instead, a massive black-carapaced ant stares back, devouring light.

The Ruler of Diligence.

Destroyer of the Ancient Armory.