Hell Difficulty Tutorial Chapter 802 - Quest objective

The moment the ethereal screen vanishes from view, a new notification is bestowed upon us.

A new objective has been imparted.

The Floor Quest:

Note from the Ruler overseeing the floor's construction:

Before I could even begin to grasp the sheer insanity of this situation, another notification materialized.

The Floor Quest has been temporarily suspended. The objective for this quest has been determined to be incompatible with the tutorial’s intended purpose and thus unachievable.

The Ruler of Diligence has initiated a vote. The Ruler of Greed and the Ruler of Kindness have pledged their support. The Ruler of Wrath and the Ruler of Envy have chosen to abstain from participating.

A new objective has been selected.

The Ruler of Lust has cast a vote against the newly proposed objective. The Ruler of Diligence, the Ruler of Greed, and the Ruler of Envy have voted in favor.

The rewards have been enhanced.

The updated Floor Quest objective has been provided:

The Floor Quest has been temporarily suspended. The objective of the quest has been deemed insufficient by the Ruler of Envy.

The Ruler of Envy casts a vote to extend the quest's duration to one full day.

The Ruler of Lust and the Ruler of Envy have voted in favor of this extension.

The Ruler of Wrath abstained from the vote.

The Ruler of Diligence, the Ruler of Greed, and the Ruler of Kindness have voted to uphold the existing duration.

- The Ruler of Envy.

The Floor Quest has been temporarily suspended. The Ruler of Greed has voted to shorten the quest's duration. The proposed adjustment stems from an assessment that the current difficulty is excessively high. The newly suggested duration is merely 1 minute.

- Ruler of Greed.

The Ruler of Envy, the Ruler of Lust, and the Ruler of Diligence have voted against altering the quest's duration. The Ruler of Greed has voted in favor of the reduction. The Ruler of Kindness and the Ruler of Wrath have abstained from voting.

The duration of the quest remains set at one hour.

The Floor Quest has been temporarily suspended. The quest has been challenged on the grounds that its difficulty is inadequate. The Ruler of Envy has proposed a duration of one hour and one minute.

- Ruler of Envy.

The Ruler of Envy and the Ruler of Lust have voted to increase the duration of the floor quest to one hour and one minute.

The Ruler of Greed, the Ruler of Kindness, and the Ruler of Diligence have voted to maintain the current duration.

The Ruler of Wrath abstained from the voting process.

With the conclusion of these numerous notifications, silence finally descends, and a new timer emerges, commencing its countdown from one hour precisely.

As the luminous formations in the sky begin to fade and their vibrant hues dissipate, the vessel surges forward, accelerating to a significantly higher velocity. Its course is set towards the planet's opposite hemisphere, away from the location of the weredeer. I instinctively move towards... I halt my movement.

Towards where? Towards what purpose? There is simply no conceivable way for us to confront that monstrous entity once it draws near. Not a single possibility exists. Even if she appeared to be lacking in combat prowess, the weredeer had just vanquished this planet's Absolute. Someone who was bonded with this world's Sovereign Spark. Here, on this very planet, where her power should have been at its absolute zenith.

Once more, my gaze drifts westward, and that familiar, suffocating dread washes over me. A considerable number of the crew appear disoriented, as if emerging from a powerful enchantment, yet the captain reconstitutes his composure with remarkable speed. He barks orders while navigating the deck towards the communications mast. Employing a rapid step of my Wraith Dance technique, I position myself beside him.

In our current predicament, he seems entirely unconcerned that I might be privy to his conversation. He merely acknowledges my presence with a fleeting glance before placing a hand upon the shoulder of the telecommunication officer.

"What intelligence have you gathered?" he inquires.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

The feylith, adorned in what resembles a helmet complete with a visor and integrated headphones, its multitude of antennae extending threads of mana to establish a connection with the control panel and the mast, raises a hand, his focus directed towards listening intently. Both myself and the captain remain in patient anticipation, while a few additional crew members draw nearer to catch the transmission.

"Champion Pothas and Champion Qiurass have joined forces and have already eliminated two other champions whose identities remain unconfirmed..."

With a heavy sigh, the captain directs his gaze skyward, a somber expression gracing his features. "Those two were invariably the most formidable in combat among them all. Now, having broken free from her constraint, they will undoubtedly hunt as a pair, dispatching any other Champions before inevitably turning upon each other in a fight to the death, so that one may ascend to become the Absolute."

"W-we must alter our course immediately, Captain. I am relaying this information to the navigation officer this instant! It appears we are presently heading toward one of their engagement zones; Pothas and Qiurass are contending with another champion, potentially Lukas. He is the sole individual who should possess the capability to offer a substantial challenge," the helmeted individual communicates swiftly.

"I am authorizing the change in our course," the captain declares, his voice tinged with resignation.

I detect Tess's voice shouting.

My body reacts instinctively, a blur of motion preceding conscious thought, and I pierce the ship's hull, creating an escape route to the chamber where the others await. As I eliminate a handful of unfortunate passengers and crew members blocking my path, system notifications flicker into existence. I then hurl myself into the room.

Just before I fully commit to entering, I witness the ship captain's torso explosively vanish, struck by an unseen projectile of pure wind. Hundreds of identical projectiles crisscross the vicinity. Their indiscriminate pattern suggests we weren't the intended target.

The vessel shudders as its defensive systems activate, valiantly absorbing some barrages while others relentlessly tear it asunder. I finally reach our compartment, finding everyone already assembled. My perception broadens as I swiftly assess the optimal course of action—stay or flee. The decision is immediate.

"We're evacuating," I declare.

Concurrently, Group 4 deactivates their ambient fields and defenses. I initiate a group teleportation, whisking us and all our collected spoils away from the immediate danger, depositing us with a splash into the ocean several miles offshore.

My gaze returns to the imperiled ship, now subjected to an onslaught of further wind-based assaults that pummel the churning sea. A multitude of vessels, mirroring our own hasty retreat, scatter across the water. A particularly massive impact erupts in the water near our new position, generating a colossal geyser that dwarfs skyscrapers and unleashing a chaotic wave that violently tosses us.

Far on the horizon, the cataclysmic clash between the Champions continues unabated. Persistent tremors, explosive bursts of mana, the heavens illuminated by arcane energies, and the tempestuous winds colliding with behemoths of immense scale, creatures of water towering miles into the sky.

I trigger another teleportation, and then another. By channeling my mana and employing my abilities, I repeat this process dozens of times, swiftly placing markers and relocating our entire group. Even with their defenses lowered, transporting so many individuals, each possessing unique traits, distinct mana signatures, and innate primordial energies, presents a significant challenge. Every one of these variables compounds the difficulty.

[Ley Line - lvl 75 > Ley Line - lvl 76]

[Current - lvl 44 > Current - lvl 45]

We traverse a thousand miles, then another thousand, and yet another, but the distant flashes and mana eruptions from the ongoing battle remain visible. Our journey culminates on a diminutive island, scarcely wider than a city block, composed entirely of sand and a scattering of rocks, devoid of any vegetation.

Upon arrival, I collapse to my knees, drawing ragged breaths. Adjacent to me, the sound of someone retching erupts, quickly joined by others. Lily rushes towards Tess with a distraught cry, swiftly mending a gaping wound in her side that had persisted throughout our rapid transit. Once the injury is miraculously restored, the blonde woman rises and gently brushes the concerned Lily aside. Her uncovered gray eye, freed from its patch, surveys our surroundings with a piercing gaze.

With a flick of my left hand, I release my fragment onto the sandy ground, infusing it with a surge of my mana. It rapidly expands, achieving my height within moments before continuing to grow even taller. I compel my blood to surge with accelerated circulation through my veins, simultaneously conjuring a halo of mana above my head, suffusing it with power drawn from the thermal energy generated by my Ignition Heart. I am poised to manifest my Vessel and imbue my mana with a dark hue, but I refrain for the time being, seeking to avoid attracting undue attention.

The were-deer is located to the west. Three Champions are engaged in combat to the north, and I detect further disturbances to the southeast. We find ourselves strategically positioned between these unfolding conflicts.

Suddenly, a new system notification materializes.

The Ruler of Greed has initiated a vote to revise the quest objective, citing the excessive difficulty level.

The Rulers of Diligence, Kindness, Envy, and Lust have cast their votes against the motion.

The Ruler of Wrath has abstained from the vote.

Ruby is undoubtedly aware of the precise conditions under which her proposals will pass or fail, and she would compel Kindness to align with her if deemed strategically necessary. This development serves as an unambiguous declaration and a potent warning of impending peril.

My Vessel materializes behind me, and the halo above my head transforms into an abyss of pure black, commencing the siphoning of ambient mana and all other energies it can draw upon. I remove my spectacles, inhale deeply, and begin to process the overwhelming influx of information.

[Focus - lvl 77 > Focus - lvl 78]

[Manifestation - lvl 42 > Manifestation - lvl 43]

A sharp cracking sound echoes, drawing all our attention in the same direction.

The egg resting on the sand has now split wide open. From within, a wyvern unfurls itself from a coiled position. Its scales are a pristine white, edged with a delicate blue hue. Its length, from the tip of its head to the end of its tail, is barely longer than my forearm. It possesses two hind legs, and its wings, featuring clawed leathery membranes, serve as its forelimbs.

The infant wyvern trembles, steadies itself, and then shakes again, emitting a yawn. A moment later, its gaze fixes upon us.

Its demeanor is unnervingly placid. Its eyes hold an unsettling intelligence and a chilling coldness. I find myself disquieted by the subtle shifts in the surrounding ambient mana, and the status text displayed above its head only amplifies my unease.

[Wyvern Hatchling - lvl ???]

Its head swivels, locking its gaze solely upon me. If not for those piercing eyes and that intense stare, the creature might appear rather endearing. It then shifts its attention from me to Tess, giving a gentle sniff. A frown creases its brow, and with the tentative grace of a child's first steps, its mana begins to stir.

Already at the ready, my own mana surges, moving to shield Tess. Sharp crackles of white lightning coalesce into a small orb before me, then launch as a bolt aimed at the blonde. My protective barriers shatter one after another, yet they manage to impede and weaken the assault just enough. Consequently, it only sears Tess's arm, exposing bone and flesh even as she channels her own lightning to parry the blow. The remainder of the projectile plunges into the water below, erupting a moment later in a geyser of foam and crackling white lightning.

The Wyvern Hatchling takes another deliberate step. The surrounding ambient mana bends to its will as the diminutive creature effortlessly commands it, as if it were as natural as breathing.

Izzy inquires.

As if catching her words, the wyvern whips its head around to face Izzy.

A new voice resonates within our shared connection. Then, silence falls, and the link that bound us together vanishes.

An even greater torrent of mana floods into the wyvern, lifting it into the air. An orb of white lightning, now the size of a small car, materializes above it.

The projectile collides with the wyvern, which instinctively erects barriers eerily similar to the ones I employed to protect Tess.

My assault is quickly followed by others, including Izzy's fiery attacks, Tess's lightning strikes and hurled projectiles, along with mental assaults and bolts of pure mana. However, the creature, in addition to these defenses, enshrouds itself in the pulsing white lightning. It then tilts its head skyward and lets out a roar that echoes far beyond its apparent capacity, spreading with alarming speed.

Sophie cries out in agony, collapsing onto the sand, her hands desperately clutching her head. Simultaneously, rivulets of blood stream from Izzy's eyes.

"It's calling for its mother!" our empath exclaims.

In that instant, the name of this treacherous floor floods my memory.

Wyvern's Nest. It all makes perfect sense now.