After everything he had been through, his body demanded rest, and for once he didn’t resist. Twelve straight hours passed in silence, broken only by the occasional rustle of forest life outside the ruined camp. It wasn’t until the harsh midday sun pierced through the gaps in his hut and beat down on his face that he finally stirred, drenched in sweat and groggy-eyed.
Blinking against the blinding light, he sat up, joints stiff and muscles sore. He let out a long breath and rubbed his face. Guess I needed that, he thought as he swung his feet off his small bed.
When he finally stood, Max turned to tidy the hut. It wasn’t much, a simple structure left behind by the encounter with Aura Image Administrator, but it had offered him shelter. A place to rest and recover, and even some answers he hadn’t expected to find on this island. Rolling up the bedroll and putting away his bed, he doused the ashes of the fire pit. Finished packing away his last few supplies before he paused at the doorway and gave the hut one last glance.
“Thanks for the roof,” Max muttered, shouldering his pack. “Time to move on to better things.” Or at least that’s what he kept telling himself.
The mountain loomed in the distance, its peak swallowed by the shimmering barrier that marked the next stage of his journey. That was his destination, the final stage of this tutorial. But then what? Not wanting to worry about things he can’t control, he set out to reach his destination.
The trek wasn’t easy. The deeper into the forest he went, the more he realized things had changed. The air itself felt charged, thicker with mana, and the wildlife… was different. Stronger.
His first encounter came with a squirrel bounding across the branches above. At first glance it seemed ordinary, until its fur bristled with sparks and it dove at him with startling speed. Solaris Edge flashed upward in a blur, only for the squirrel to twist mid-leap, claws skittering across his armor with enough force to spark. Max growled and pushed back with a burst of flame that scorched the creature from the air.
He crouched by the twitching body, frowning. They’re tougher now…
[System Prompt]
You have slain a Level 18 Electrified Squirrel.
Special Ability: Can manipulate electricity in its surroundings.
Reward: 360 Credits
Loot Obtained: Crackling Squirrel Tail (Uncommon)
- Residual electricity arcs across the coarse fur.
- Can be used as a reagent in alchemy or crafting to imbue minor shock properties.
Max rolled the tail into a cloth scrap and tucked it into his satchel, not knowing if the electric aspect would mess with the storage function of his ring. “The System must’ve powered up the beasts when the final zone unlocked. Just can’t let me stroll through without a challenge.”
But the real test came when the underbrush exploded with motion and two massive boars thundered into the clearing. Each beast was the size of a small horse, tusks jagged and gleaming, bristled hides dark as iron. Max raised his staff and unleashed a Fireball straight at the first — only to curse as the flames washed harmlessly across its hide, leaving little more than singed hair.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Of course” Max said as he tried to pull out his sword to block the other boars attack.
The second boar slammed into him with bone-crunching force, sending him sprawling against a tree trunk. He rolled aside just in time to avoid its tusks goring into the bark where his chest had been. Solaris Edge hummed in his hand, runes glowing faintly. Steel met hide, sparks flying — but the blade only carved shallow lines into the thick flesh.
“Great. Thick skin and magic resistance. Just what I needed.”
Dodging around the snapping tusks, Max hacked relentlessly at the weak points in their hides, sweat pouring down his face as the fight dragged on. Each swing of Solaris Edge carved shallow grooves into the boars’ armor-thick flesh, but it wasn’t enough to drop them quickly. His muscles burned, arms heavy with fatigue. At last, he managed to hamstring the first beast, its massive body crashing to the ground with a pained bellow before he drove his blade deep into its neck to finish it. The second roared in fury and lunged, but Max braced himself and poured mana into Solaris Edge, the runes along the fuller blazing as he met the charge head-on. The flaming arc split through one of its eyes, biting deep into the skull in a spray of gore that finally brought the monster down.
[System Prompt]
You have slain two Level 19 Steelhide Boars.
Reward: 380 Credits
Loot Obtained: Steel Tusk (Uncommon) ×2
- A dense, sharpened tusk resistant to heat and impact.
- Useful in crafting or alchemy to create armor-piercing effects.
Special Ability: Resistant to magic.
Max wiped his sword clean, chest heaving. His forearm throbbed from deflecting a glancing blow, and his robe bore fresh tears, but he was alive. He slipped the tusks into his storage, shaking his head.
“If the wildlife’s like this now…” he muttered, “…then the final zone’s going to be hell.”
Later, he paused under the thick canopy, experimenting with the new skill he’d gained in the goblin caverns. Shadow Merge. At a thought, his body melted into the shade of a massive oak, his form vanishing into the darkness. The sensation was eerie — his skin felt insubstantial, his heartbeat muffled, but his senses stayed razor sharp. A deer bounded past not ten feet away, never noticing him. Max shifted, testing, moving between patches of shadow like a wraith. With another thought he re-solidified, the forest snapping back into color around him.
“Yeah,” he breathed, lips curling into a grin. “That’s going to be useful.”
By the time he reached the mountain, the sun was dipping low, painting the sky in streaks of orange. Sweat clung to his skin, his canteen was nearly empty, but the sight before him erased all fatigue.
The mountain rose like a monolith, its base wrapped in a seamless wall of shimmering light. The barrier towered high into the sky, vanishing into the clouds, its surface rippling like water disturbed by a stone. Standing this close, Max could feel it thrumming through his bones, as if the air itself vibrated with restrained power.
He frowned.
“The first barrier disappeared after I completed my quest…” he muttered. “So why is this one still here?”
Cautiously, he reached out with his hand. The surface rippled at his touch, cool and weightless — but instead of fading, it pulled.
A sudden understanding dawned.
“It’s not just a barrier… it’s a portal.”
Bracing himself, Max stepped forward. The world twisted, colors bending, sound vanishing in an instant. His stomach lurched as if he’d been yanked through a tunnel at impossible speed.
And then — stillness.
Max staggered, blinking against the sudden shift. The barrier behind him shimmered faintly, no longer blocking a mountain, but standing like a doorway into something else entirely.
Another island.
Another tutorial.
His heart thudded in his chest. Whatever waited here, it was bigger than anything he’d faced yet.