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Chapter 749 - Should have expected that
🕑 Added 2025-12-03 09:45:25 +0000 UTCThe third event starts, leaving the disciples behind while their masters enter inside. The minion tournament should take place before the last event, with me still wondering if the black wolf will participate.
I do not enter this event, as I do not want to be kicked out right away, and it seems like Lily doesn’t participate either. The very same who had promised me she would join it now remains behind inside of the barrier with me.
“I thought you were okay and could join the event,” she snorts.
“I lied. I thought you said you would join the event.”
“I lied,” Lily says simply.
“You know what? You are a fucking stubborn musclehead. Just join the goddamn event and get some damned points finally instead of just sitting here.”
“Fuck you,” she answers.
I blink a few times, feeling my annoyance rise. “You know what? Fuck you too! I told you I'm okay.”
“Try guessing how many times you have passed out for a second or two, and I had to heal you without you even realizing.”
“Bullshit. Nothing like that has happened.”
“Two times.”
“I may not have emphasized it correctly, or maybe mentioning it like ten times wasn't enough. I don't want you to sacrifice any more for me. At this point, this is something I can do on my own.”
From where she sits, she shrugs. “I'm sure of that. Even unconscious, you continued to circulate your mana, and I am sure you would survive just okay. Maybe just with a few more scars. I have never seen anyone as stubborn as you, so I know you could have been okay on your own.”
I force myself to calm down. “So, Lily The Bulldozer Chen, why don't you just go to the event?”
She smiles weakly. “Just in case. I want to be absolutely sure it doesn't go wrong and that I won't regret it in the future in case something unexpected happens. In some ways, I'm still a little bit pathetic and scared, so I do that. What are some tutorial event rewards in the face of that? I'm plenty strong even without them. So, what are we doing?”
We exchange a gaze. I look at her, still annoyed, but she doesn't look away at all, and in the end, it is hard to bring myself to stay angry.
With a groan, I stand and wave toward the stacked barrier, a structure created and powered by several people from Hell difficulty, along with the mana batteries linked to it.
The air around me resonates, and after a ripple, the barrier breaks into tiny particles that rain around us. The pressure around me blasts them all away like they are particles of dust carried by the wind, before I force my mana back under my control. Standing there, I close my eyes and take ten deep breaths in and out.
When I open my eyes, all the mana and thermal energy are pulled back, contained inside my body, where they continue to clash. None of it is seeping into the area anymore. Not even a speck of it.
“We will look for the thermonuclear warheads Tess has bought here for me,” I tell her and start walking towards where the residence our group rented should be.
On the screen, there are thousands of people standing in the middle of the circular cobbled area surrounded by thousands of dungeon entrances around the edge. These entrances are all different. Some are a door made into an old tree, others are steps heading into the ground, others might be a circular hole as if made of liquid mercury, or a stone arch showing an area inside. From the description, I know they are all dungeons, not dissimilar to the ones that will start appearing on Earth.
None of them is marked to indicate their difficulty, and it is up to people to try to estimate it. Somewhere, it might be done simply by checking how much mana it radiates, while plenty seem to be hiding it. So, if you aren't careful, you can end up in a dungeon that contains a Champion grade monster, at least here, in the tournament. I hope none like that are on Earth. Or... maybe it would be fun if they were.
I stop again and close my eyes. Another ten long breaths and a new scar forms on the side of my thigh. At the same time as I'm improving, the body changes are becoming more far-reaching. I observe them the entire time, and I can feel them. I can see how much more my body is becoming fitted for what I need.
The future consequences be damned, but going along this path, I don't think that after this tournament, there will be more than one or two attendees capable of facing me in Beyond. In a way, Nyssa, with her Primordial Blood, and I are a bit similar now, with the difference that all I'm doing is voluntary.
It is a cost I must accept, but I feel it is necessary. Otherwise, I will be just thrown around and manipulated by people stronger than me. And, after all, I think I have already decided to kill Adrian, but let's have Sneakythaniel hide that for now.
Adrian is also one of the many people participating in the event, currently waiting with all of them for the time when the doors will open, and they will be able to enter. He alone stands near one of the most unassuming doors, just talking shortly to a person or two as they stop by.
After watching for a while longer, I take my eyes off the screen just as we enter the forest nearby.
It is a weird feeling to walk around now so freely, though the area is empty and all of the attendees are inside of the event. I just spot a few young kids at places, disciples of Hell difficulty people. Most of them just look our way and don't try to talk to us, and I don't make an attempt at conversation either.
As we are reaching closer to the residence of group four, I notice multiple mana signatures. At the same time, my mana attempts to lash out, but I forcefully strangle it and grab it under my influence to force it back to the raging river flowing through my body.
Yet another notification rings, adding to the many of them since the start of the tournament. Just as we are reaching Wolfy lying there, I check them all.
[Perception - lvl 70 > Perception - lvl 71]
[Redistribution - lvl 71 > Redistribution - lvl 72]
[Eclipse - lvl 59 > Eclipse - lvl 60]
[Eclipse - lvl 60 > Eclipse - lvl 61]
[Eclipse - lvl 61 > Eclipse - lvl 62]
[Accumulation - lvl 49 > Accumulation - lvl 50]
[Accumulation - lvl 50 > Accumulation - lvl 51]
[Accumulation - lvl 51 > Accumulation - lvl 52]
[Accumulation - lvl 52 > Accumulation - lvl 53]
[Accumulation - lvl 53 > Accumulation - lvl 54]
[Manifestation - lvl 25 > Manifestation - lvl 26]
[Manifestation - lvl 26 > Manifestation - lvl 27]
[Manifestation - lvl 27 > Manifestation - lvl 28]
[Manifestation - lvl 28 > Manifestation - lvl 29]
[Mana Manipulation - lvl 75 > Mana Manipulation - lvl 76]
I thought the skills were supposed to be harder to level up the higher the level they are. Was everyone lying to me?
When we reach Wolfy, my mana is all forced back into my body, causing him to sniff towards me. He doesn't say anything, just shows his teeth in a way that looks like a dangerous smile, especially with his maw so huge over me that it looks like he could eat me in a single bite. In that moment, he doesn't seem young at all, but just like a dangerous predator. A beast with a body made for killing and devouring.
Then the moment passes, and he puts his head back on his front paw. Only then do I see Izzy's disciple, Seneca, sleeping against his body. Her blue hair is longer now, yet still continues to reach towards the sky and move as a flame would.
There is probably a question why Wolfy doesn't get annoyed by that or make her stop, but I do not ask and instead head towards the residence. Lily, after greeting the black wolf, follows behind me.
“Let go of me, you six-armed lunatic!” we hear just as we enter the huge log cabin. Maya’s disciple, the lythari Enan, fights against said six-armed lunatic. That lunatic, called Deva, is Sophie’s disciple and doesn't seem surprised, unlike Enan, by our presence. I had sensed her mental magic detecting us.
She doesn't let us bother her and continues to use two of her six arms to choke Enan from behind, while two more keep pulling on his ears. I'm sure he is physically stronger, so he likely doesn't fight back, worried he might hurt her, which she exploits fully.
“Oh, look who is here, the liar who apparently is owed an answer to a question from the Warden himself. Tell me, liar, who have you met as of late? Maybe you have been taught by the Magi? Did you become friends with one of the Twelve? Or did you by chance meet one of the last Elfs' replicas?” Deva laughs at her words as she shouts at me.
“Actually…” I start.
I don't get to finish as she screams, Enan having bitten into one of her arms. She starts punching him while shouting at me, “Don't say anything! I don't believe you! Damned liar! LIAR! LIAR! Demon-like Maniac! I know from my master how you are, and I…”
I refuse to listen to the rest of it and continue upstairs instead.
“Your reputation is in shambles right now,” Lily notes to no reaction from my side.
I hear her chuckle behind me. It causes me to stop, and I take another ten deep breaths. Then I continue again.
"So, where do you have the warheads?" Lily asks me when I enter my room.
"Knowing Tess, they should be here," I reach and pull the blanket off the bed to reveal the two boxes partially sticking from under it.
"I should have expected that..." Lily whispers.
It takes me a few moments to take the wooden tops off to reveal two metallic cone-shaped warheads. Both of them are now entirely covered by inscriptions painted by mana conductive paint, and, more importantly, they are inlaid with melted wire of conductive alloy to make something more stable.
There are multiple mana batteries, Logic Cores, nodes, secondary circuits, tertiary circuits, mechanical switches in case of failures, and such. A lot of it is inspired by what Vance did when he kept stealing them on the 7th floor. I remembered some, and Sophie remembered more. Then we had a lot of help, some hired between Beyond specialists, and some volunteered, like a certain catboy.
Of course, we also had some people from Earth help, even going as far as buying any device with e-books that could contain relevant knowledge. To say simply, a shitload of work went into it, and I'm certain I can make them go, as a minion would say, kaboom.
The question remains if that explosion will be bigger than anything I can create on my own currently. Sophie, and I certainly think so, especially after we modified them into a synchronous explosion and added certain alloys and mana stones filled with chemicals that should react really well to an explosion of this kind.
Enough to evaporate a city or a smaller country? Likely. Enough to kill a Champion with such defenses as Adrian? I don't think so. I'm just curious to test if I could survive them too. I want to burn off the eyebrows of that creepy alien jerk, and I want to see them go kaboom, the results of months of work.
All three of these things can come together during the last event. I just need to endure that body upgrade of mine and push myself far enough where I don't get kicked out the moment I enter. Though that seems now even more difficult than it would be when the body upgrade just started.
Once again, I feel the rusty taste of my blood in my mouth and feel my body weaken.
I'm sure Lily would notice and be annoying about all that soon, so when I turn to her, I don't let it show. Instead, I swing my arm and, with the palm of my hand, audibly slap the surface of one of the warheads.
It causes her to jump up and let out a squeak. "That was so childish, lame, and mean!" she shouts at me.
So I repeat it once more, getting a nearly identical reaction.
She waits for a few seconds to see if I do it the third time, and doesn't say anything but stares at me with a blank expression, though I notice the corners of her lips tugging upwards.
Comments
Vinnie
did you get rid of your editor? There are so many grammatical errors
Avedi Musungu
I hope Adrian isn't killed off too soon. He should survive until the end of the tutorial at least.
Xander479
When Nathaniel told Sneakythaniel to hide the info about Adrian Sneakythaniel told him he had already been there earlier to hide something else. Do we know what that was yet?
Manther
Too stubborn to give up now and turn around, determined enough to keep working at it 24/7 to make it work.
Andrew Kluttz
Yeah, he's literally on death's doorstep and too stubborn to change. I've complained enough. This story is no longer for me.
Audrey WJ
I think Lily could survive it, she might have to sacrifice a lot of limbs but I think she could between growing bones, her heals and disintegration based barrier of some kind.
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
facetiousk
My favorite thing about Nat is how insane he genuinely is. 😂 I am confident that I would be Lily levels of crazy. Maybe Morwag (for the love of the game)... But I HIGHLY doubt I'd even reach 3rd Floor Nat, let alone 3rd Tourney Nat! 💀
Bob
She should become an acolyte of cuteness under the best corgi.
Morde24
There really is something nice about the way Nat earns his progress that doesn't feel like gratuitous number goes up at all. The way that skills mean different things in different contexts, are limited, and have numbers that mean things does a lot, and I can't imagine the amount of behind the scenes work that has been done to make it happen this seamlessly and impressively
Sondadir
That would be terrifying ! I hope he will get something like [ Mana Control ], he is lissansra disciple after all.
Woodstock179
Another tantalizing chapter. I both love and hate being caught up. Nat has slowly (not slowly at all really) gotten to be my favorite isiki/ game system story MC 😅 cannot wait to see him finally get back at.....well at most everyone "stronger" than him really 🤣
Melih
He had mentioned that he wanted a skill that would support the experiments he does with his mind using Focus, but I do not remember when (I am sure it was before he got Accumulation). It is possible that with the new passive he acquired this may no longer be necessary
AFunkyLad
It’s amazing how every time I see Nat leveling his skills a bunch, my reaction isn’t “Yeah go Nat, you’re amazing” it’s” oh shit he’s really fucked up”
Balsamic ThunderThighs
I wonder how much mana he will have by the end of this body upgrade...
Kirin
Thank you for the chappie! Nat is gonna be able to hold more mana, what more could a Mana Daddy want?
Ivan Jelenić
[Mana] incoming after the body upgrade.
Flo Zilla
This really makes me wonder what nat has planned for his 10th skill. I doubt that there is no plan for it, just that he isnt ready for it yet.
Ivan Jelenić
I want MOAR of Earth chappies and other attendeess perspectives! But too many and it probably hurts the writing.
Michel Kommers
Stop shipping Nat and Tess, they don't have anything in common. Lily is the girl but only in a few more books.
GloinJr
I think it's impossible or at least far harder. Liz described tutorial takers as spoiled by their access to all the tokens they get. Outside the tutorial, passives might be inherited or created by skilled mana manipulators (along the lines of a very powerful construct), or there may be a market for extra tokens tutorial takers have. Maybe you can get tokens from dungeons? Either way it's def harder outside the tutorial. Now that I think about it, there must be tokens outside the tutorial, as Nat had that teacher during the academy arc that taught him passive theory and build crafting, which implies there is some method outside the tutorial for the system to offer you a list of passives
TheOne320
I hope so. He is annoying.
TRexBert
Does anyone know how attendees receive tokens for trait upgrades, passive skill combinations, etc. after completing the tutorial? Is this even possible?
Andrew
Thank you!
Madje Tobi Marc'Avent Tchona
Ehhh. I kinda agree apart from the Liss considering him scary part. I mean it’s Liss
Raynor Moore
I love this novel
Oguz Kilcan
I think Mana Physique should be or will be 2/4. He received a benefit for it when the body upgrade started.
blaw
Maybe he uses it to supress the mana inside himself?
TRexBert
These are the current stats based on Chapter 742, with updates made since then. Name: Nathaniel Gwyn Title: Champion Candidate (2/3 Requierments for Absolute Candidate) Difficulty: Hell (Beyound) Rank: A, Shimmering Silver Guild: Primordial Knights Floor: 9 - The Pit Time left until forced return: 1y ~362d ?h ?m ?s Traits (2/3): Mana Wavelength Iris 2/3, Mana Physique 2/4 Lvl 367 Strength: 315 Dexterity: 293 Constitution: 101 Mana (Stage 1/3 - Vast Mana): 1753 + 1753 Primary Class: Mana Weaver (Unique Arcane) Sub-class: [Adept of Pride] Active skills (9/10): Focus - Lvl 75 ^Chapter 744 Perception - Lvl 71 ^Chapter 749 Redistribution - Lvl 72 ^Chapter 749 Mana Manipulation - Lvl 76 ^Chapter 749 Ley Line - Lvl 69 Eclipse (Pride) - Lvl 62 ^Chapter 749 Empyrean Lance - Lvl 35 Manifestation - Lvl 29 ^Chapter 749 Accumulation - Lvl 54 ^Chapter 749 Constructs: Reinforcement Mana Regulator Mana Sovereignty Mantle Kinetic Mana Heart Sealed Ignition Heart (Partially Sealed, 2/3) Mental Frame Thought Maze Circuit Thermal Flux Regulator Passive skills (5/5): Mana Kinetic Conversion Reservoir (Unique Epic) Mana Wavelength Tyrant (Mid Arcane) Subdermal Combustion Weave (Mid Arcane) Mana Wave Predation (Unique Arcane) Cognitive Hyperprocessing Vector (Low Pristine) Tokens: Send a single item to your disciple (up to epic rarity) Passive skill combination token (low arcane) Beyond visitor token - 1 year (unlocked after tutorial) Beyond 14 day stay token Beyond 7 day stay token Beyond 30 day stay token Shards: 2,949,606
Little Watchmaker
So glad Nat himself has confirmed this upgrade’s future potency. Everyone loves to talk like they know him better than he knows himself, like he’s just stumbling through mistakes he cant see. I wonder if any of them actually predicted what his end goal was. The elite people seem to expect him to fail and only hit about 25% of what he’s aiming for, they treat him like he is as a tragedy, but they completely underestimate his tenacity. And the fact even if it goes wrong, he will adapt. This upgrade has been in the works for a long time, and he’s been patient. I genuinely hope that when it’s all done, a lot of people are shocked by the final outcome. people like ruby, and Nyssa... there's a reason Lissandra considers Nat scary. the rest just haven't figured it out yet.
Gutz
I can't get around how he leveled Eclipse. The rest is understandable, but Eclipse is kinda off topic here no ?
Melih
Yes, there is a wiki where descriptions of most of his skills are listed. You can find it by searching 'Hell Difficulty Tutorial Wiki, Nathaniel Gwyn' on Google
NerdyFellow
God why does Lily have to be so cute
TYRELL GRAY
I should be, but that if he has mastery of it.
Melih
A day shall rise when every minion trembles in awe as the power of Nat sweeps across all realms!!
John
Is somewhere a place where we have the current describtion of all his skills? I sometimes get confused with redistribution/eclipse, wich one is the one that freezes mana or people in place?
John
Does his skill Accumulation allow him to accumulate other things than mana and primordial energies? other stats? material? liquids? Health? Time?
Fdrugc
Tftc isn't the last event soon for this plan?
Arnon Parenti
PettyThaniel strikes again, and again.
Adrian Rake
Thank you for the chapter. Nat is as crazy as always 😉👍
Bartlomiej Głowacki
the lythari Enan -> lynthari
Terri Harris
So much fun!
Stoney
TFTC! I think Nat not participating for the majority of the tournament is a good way to shake things up a bit. Although I do wonder if removing the healing aura is a way to prevent Nat from being too OP. Which leads into the body upgrade being quite substantial (supported by this chapter too). I must have glazed over how significant it is because the impression I had was that it was a fairly standard thing. On the one hand, I don't see how many more ways you can write from normal/hard attendees about how Nat is OP. On the other, I want to hear normal/hard attendees talk about how OP Nat is XD Same deal with Earth POVs - it's like a lot has been explained but still I want to hear more about them. I feel like the frequency of both are pretty accurately/well spaced out though.
Erebus
I’m rereading all the books at the moment, on the 5th book right now. And in it (6th floor), nat says this : - “I’m from Ruminous Border. My name is Elydor,” I introduce myself. - And I only now understand the reference after reading all the books within a short while. When readin on RR and Patreon, was so spaced out that I forgot. Lol this has nothing to do with this Patreon chapter. But it was just minutes ago, when I went 😮 as I realized the reference haha
TYRELL GRAY
Most likely, but it won’t be worth it. The moment he achieve his goal, sacrificing his constitution points isn’t worth it.
Lance Beam
TFTC.
TYRELL GRAY
And a demon absolute who almost killed him
Michael Williams
I wonder if nat is going to use this time to prepare a surprise for their competition and blow up their island and thereby winning the tournament through a technicality/scheme. Would be interesting and a little funny.
Konrad Pagacz
Nathaniel slowly becomes that guy. I can't wait to see the results of his body upgrade.
I Is Patron
Nat finally going to use Chekhov's Nuke
caeven
ngl Im still firmly sailing the Tess ship, but I like lily more and more, the more screen time she gets.
zoarian
Nat: Is that your tail, or are you excited to see me? Doc: Yes!
Nemesis
A random question: do you think Nat could include Constitution in his body training again, and then sacrifice it for shards periodically using the floor 4 quest? That is assuming it doesn’t become harder to regain those lost stats over time.
zoarian
Nat is farming Accumulation like nobody's business. I reckon that's the 2nd most compatible skill he has after Mana Manipulation. I wonder if part of the skill increase is also due the "catch-up" with what he actually achieved in an inferior body, though mostly it's cause surviving is so difficult.
Oaktree
Just realized that Doc is gonna have a heart attack from joy when he sees what nats done.
Nemesis
So are all of group fours disciples treating Nat as a liar now? Because I thought the only one accusing him before was Lily's disciple
Rocotrap
Maybe him being normal... Who knows
Rene Duvall
Need more disciple content 😔
TYRELL GRAY
I remember two or three chapters ago I said nat was going to kill Adrian. I was damn right.
Oaktree
Deva learns that nat has interacted with the last elf kindness, greed, the intent of envy, a copy of The Absolute who killed envy, and adrian. Sophie tells her hes not lying, proceeds to lose her mind.
Val the mysterious Jedi
Ngl I would kick a nuke if I could, also love nat is going to kill fruadrian
Oaktree
I thought the skills were supposed to be harder to level up the higher the level they are. Was everyone lying to me? Between this and being lied to about how hard it is to get skills again, nats gonna start to wonder what else hes been lied to about.
GFreem
Gotta love the casual 'Yeah I think Im gonna kill this guy' from nathaniel tftc
Claro reyes
Tftc!!!
vEnviouz
TFTC!!!
okatmosphere
Tftc!
Bobby
Tyftc!
Irvinwop
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