The Tutorial Is Too Hard Chapter 241:
Editor: Tide
[What if something goes wrong?]
Of course, attacking the monster didn’t guarantee an increase in my degree of faith . The possibility that the monster would explode and people would get caught in the blast wasn’t nonexistent . If that happened, I’d have to retry the stage .
If I couldn’t obtain the necessary degree of faith, I’d automatically fail the stage and be moved to the waiting room to reattempt the stage; nothing was lost by attempting the stage again .
When I had first entered the stage, I’d inwardly cursed the dragon . However, thanks to the stage it had selected for me, I was able to learn more about the degree of faith and the divine power . If I was able to expand my knowledge of the relationship between the two, there would be nothing wrong in reattempting the stage . In fact, it might be beneficial to reattempt .
However, I was worried about if I failed this stage, that damned dragon wouldn’t let me retry the stage . That cheap dragon would likely send me to a completely different stage .
“Whatever . Let’s just go and fight this monster . ”
[Are you going to leave right away?]
“Yea, we’re going to have to leave soon . ”
[Then please wait a little longer . Let me reassure these people . We need to maintain their faith in us . ]
Ahbooboo called for the attention of the people who were distracted by the image of the monster displayed on the wall . Purposefully, he headed toward the opposite side of the wall, making people turn their back to the monster’s unsettling image . He began his speech with a story that narrated the events of the last few days and affirmed the sect’s doctrines and the greatness of the **** .
In the later half of his speech, Ahbooboo detailed the existence of the monster . How dangerous and heinous that monster was . The information was nothing new to me, so I remained relatively unfazed, but there were people who kept looking back at the wall behind them with a concerned expression .
Ahbooboo heroically proclaimed, “As an apostle, he will destroy that monster!”
[Degree of Faith: 393]
[Degree of Faith: 395]
[Degree of Faith: 396]
Wow, I was impressed . Ahbooboo was surprisingly eloquent, and my degree of faith soared .
I motioned for Ahbooboo to finish up his speech . It would be better to leave sooner, so we could reach the monster as fast as we could .
“Frog, you’d better stay here,” I whispered quietly so others wouldn’t be distracted .
“Kea-ek . ”
The frog stubbornly refused to be left behind, and I knew it was no use trying to change its mind . If I left it behind, it would only sneak out to follow me .
“Haah fine . Let’s go together . ”
Since the beginning, what the frog wanted from me had always been the same .
Let’s go together .
I didn’t want to refuse its request, but the task at hand was a dangerous one . Nevertheless, the frog stubbornly refused to be left behind . It would have been nice if the ring used from before could be used in a reverse manner .
When Ahbooboo finished his speech, we immediately set off to go looking for the monster . Before our departure, I warned people to not venture outside the tower and keep a close eye on the wall .
[Degree of Faith: 411]
Perhaps, because of my usual silence, people took my warnings seriously .
My degree of faith had risen by almost 10 . It was a large increase, considering that, one the first day, I’d only gain 7 degrees even when I busted my **** with greetings .
* * * * * *
Walking on the green plains was a euphoric experience . Of course, there was a devastating monster somewhere ahead, but it wasn’t visible yet .
As the cool breeze caressed my face, and the sound of swaying grass hypnotized me, my mind relaxed .
Somehow, I was reminded of Kirikiri’s field . The first time I had gone there, I felt my narrow perception of the word expand; it was if I had become one with the world . As I walked through the peaceful plains, a similar sensation surfaced .
I frowned as the wind died down and the swaying grass came to a halt . I attempted to make the soft, sweet-smelling grass sway, and slowly called upon the power I had strengthened through accumulating faith . But, moving the grass manually through mana just wasn’t as satisfactory as seeing it naturally sway in the wind .
The limits of this power were still unclear, but as I progressed through the tutorial, I was confident that I’d be able to sharpen my skills .
“Kea-ek!”
The frog croaked at Ahbooboo, who was trying to shove the handkerchief up the frog’s nostrils . At this, Ahbooboo smiled mischievously and flew in circles around the frog . Annoyed, the frog shot out its tongue, trying to catch Ahbooboo, but all of its attempts were to no avail .
[Ha! It’s still 500 years too soon for you to catch me! You son of a bitch!]
“Kea-ek!”
The two of them harassed each other just as little kids would . Their relationship hadn’t been this playful back in the tower . It seemed that the two of them were also under some stress from constantly pretending to be stoic and emotionless . After all, he too, had been doing the same, until he left the tower .
* * * * * *
Before I knew it, I had walked so far that I could see the monster vividly . Along with the horrendous visual came a noticeable stench leaking out from its body .
I warned the frog to stay put and silently watch from his position . The frog no longer put up any resistance, and proceeded to camouflage itself behind the long blades of grass .
[Degree of Faith: 463]
My degree of faith rose once more . Maybe the people could now see me, along with the monster, on the wall of the tower . It was likely that the other towers had a view of this monster on their walls as well .
Before approaching the monster, apostles from other towers came to greet me . Claiming that it was impossible to kill this monster, they proposed a coalition to find a way to achieve the 500 faith count together .
I refused . To me, it was a proposal that had little merit . I wanted to be seen heroically confronting the monster in order to gain faith, but it seemed that no other apostles were interested in doing so .
I turned around and saw the apostles in the distance, watching me from the wall . I stared back at them, unmoving . They definitely thought that I was plotting an elaborate scheme to raise my degree of faith . Well, they weren’t wrong .
[I’m surprised . I thought you’d be fighting with them again . ]
“Whenever I see an apostle, you think I’ll fight them . Isn’t that so, Ahbooboo?” I countered .
The apostles I’d met on this stage differed from the apostles I’d previously met . They differed in the sense that they weren’t official apostles, chosen by god; they were only apostles in name . As of now, the title of ‘Apostle’ was given to me to carry out my duties, but there was a huge difference between me and the official apostles such as the Spirit King . I didn’t want these little fakes to get involved in the fight .
[Yes, that’s true . ]
The closer I got to the monster, the worse the smell got, and as a result, my ears began to water as well . Perhaps the greatest danger of this monster was its repugnant appearance . It was shocking that I, who had seen more blood and corpses than anyone else, was saying so .
Its pulsating heart showed violet blood vessels on the outside, glowing dimly . Sebum and pus were formed in clusters, and dark, red, parasite-filled blood poured out of the organ in streams . Tiny human-shaped parasites were scattered around, chewing and swallowing everything in sight .
And… I’d better stop thinking about it . My stomach felt queasy . It’s horrendous appearance was why I didn’t touch it the last time we met .
[What if it really explodes?] Ahbooboo questioned worriedly .
“We’ll run away before the fire touches the body . ”
I approached the monster, and formed a firearm out of a piece of armor in my hand . The armor was engulfed in flames and the surrounding air became distorted from the high heat .
I got rid of the firearm and casted magic . “Fireball . ”
It was the most basic fire magic in my arsenal . In comparison to advanced fire magic techniques, it wasn’t nearly as hot .
But, it also had its advantages . The spell consumed very little mana, and it was something that was hard to mess up . In addition, the wielder’s physical condition and concentration did little to affect the quality of the spell . The purpose was to shoot a fireball, so the fire was maintained until it reached its designated location; after which, it got extinguished as the mana depleted .
[What are you doing?]
“Comparing . ”
Some of the gods used divine power in the form of spells . Some priests who followed God did the same . So did Ahbooboo .
But I couldn’t use my divine power that way . It moved around and lit up a fire, instead of getting utilised in the form of spells .
It wasn’t long before I’d gotten dangerously close to the monster . I couldn’t afford to get any closer .
I halted, and spoke in a soft voice . “Fire . ”
Once I uttered the word, everything around me was swept away in the fire . The fire impaired vision, so I found it hard to see .
As I focused more mana, the flames grew exponentially . It spread around me in a circle, with no specific sense of direction . The higher it rose, the farther it went .
The fire began to lick at the monster’s body . Its skin sizzled, and the water inside its body instantly boiled and evaporated, leaving trails of steam . If left alone, the fire would probably kill the monster .
Suddenly, tentacles started protruding from all over its body . They glistened with unidentifiable bodily fluids and frantically slapped its own body, desperately trying to put out the flames .
But the monster’s efforts were futile . The flame spread across the skin of the monster and burned at the flesh, pink muscles, and violet nerves . More blood started to boil and its organs began to swell .
The flames frantically sought out another portion of the monster it could burn . Before the monster could get a chance to explode, it had to be completely slayed . In order to do that, rather than destroyed everything in it, it was critical to burn major anatomical structures like the nerves, brain, and heart .
I was unsure when I would run out of mana or when the monster would explode, but I continued to focus on burning the monster .
I felt as though I was a surgeon desperately operating on a dying patient . Or an engineer who’s defusing a time bomb . I didn’t know when it would burst, but it made me more nervous, and my concentration increased .
I had been focused on killing the monster when a message suddenly appeared .
[Degree of Faith: 500]
[You have cleared the 56th floor of Hell’s Difficulty level . ]
[All anomalies and injuries have been recovered]
Alright . We had hit the goal . Now, we could rest easy and burn the monster .
[You’ll be automatically moved to the waiting room . ]
“What?”
* * * * * *
I stared blankly at the waterfall gushing downwards . I was at the lake where I had met the dragon .
“Kea-ek!”
“Yes, I’m okay . ”
I was relieved the frog was worried about me, but I was frustrated at the same time . There were so many things I had yet to accomplish in that stage . I wanted to explore my powers more, attack monsters, and measure the amount of divine power consumed by the Infringement of Control . Moreover, I wanted to research the possibility of using the power for other things besides burning .
I wanted to check the maximum level of faith that could be obtained from one person, what differences each person had, and whether there were any other conditions .
All those opportunities were gone . When the faith level reached 500 and the stage was cleared, all the faith instantly vanished .
[Don’t be too upset . Warrior, wouldn’t there another chance?]
Ahbooboo was right .
My lips parted, releasing a sigh . I slowly walked into the cave behind the waterfall .
The cave looked completely different from before . The stone walls had turned to smooth marble, and the rocky floor was covered with soft carpet . Colorful lights hung from the ceiling .
The bat feces and overgrown vines were nowhere to be found, and a subtle scent of perfume lingered in the air . The once damp, cool cave was now warm with a fire lit in the middle .
That **** dragon **** . It said this wasn’t its house, yet look at how it remodeled the cave . How dare the dragon lie to him?
“It’s irritating . Let’s get rid of this by burning it up . ”
I cast a magic spell . “Fireball . ”
[Stop! No, you devil!] the dragon roared . But I ignored its cries .