Chapter 6: Ch 6: The Second tutorial [Pt2]
"Ahh, I don't know what you are thinking of doing, but do not let it affect the balance of this tutorial any more than you already have. Give me your hand, and I will transport you to the first floor and reward you with 10,000 coins."
The administrator held his palm open, waiting for Soma to take it.
A few seconds passed by, and nothing happened.
"Sorry, Admin, but I have no intention of heading to the first floor. I still want to participate in all the tutorials."
The Administrator looked taken aback by these strange words.
"You want…to take all the tutorials? Are you aware that you can die during these tutorials?"
The administrator asked to make sure if he heard right or not.
"I know that I can die, and I know that a lot of people will die. But still, I want to take these tutorials."
Soma assured, causing the administrator to frown.
"Fine, have it your way."
[You have received 10,000 coins as a reward for your efforts.]
[Congulations: you have been rewarded with the skilled Master of Mana Manipulation. Mana handling capabilities have been increased by 10%]
[You have unblocked the mana function and mana infusion. Master of mana Manipulation enchanted the skill to level 2]
The three announcements were made at the same time, making Soma surprised.
He looked at the administrator with cautious eyes.
Nothing in this world was ever done for free.
And unless it came from the system, you could not look down on any message and gift you received.
"Don't give me that look, kid. Since you refused to take any compensation for your efforts, I needed to give you something. Otherwise, the system would punish me as well."
That…made sense. But Soma was still not fully trusting this man.
This administrator would have to earn Soma's trust.
[Congrulations, The second tutorial is now over. All those who qualify can move on to the third. You have to trail one hour before the beginning of demolition.]
The system announced above everyone's head.
Soma looked up as well, and his eyes dilated at the timer.
"You should get heading out now, kid."
The administrator reminded Soma before remembering something he wanted to ask as well.
"Hey, what will you do with all the cores? You collected way more than you needed, right?"
The administrator was curious about Soma's plan, but the human only grinned.
"You will have to wait and watch what I do. There is a reason I collected all these cores after all."
Soma assured before he waved the administrator off.
His actions looked rude in the administrator's eyes, but the transaction had already been made.
There was no point in both parties staying back now.
"Tsk, this kid is weird. Dealing with him was like dealing with a high-level ranker. And that kid was not even afraid of my presence. How weird."
The administrator admitted before he walked back to his observation room.
He could already feel the headache he would have to deal with because of what happened here.
...
"Shopkeeper, are you there?"
Soma asked, but no one answered.
The fairy that was supposed to greet him did not arrive this time.
"Shopkeeper, where are you?"
Soma asked once more, and he finally got a response.
The fairy that arrived was different and had tended to him until now.
"Apologies for the late response. There was a complaint about one of my coworkers misusing their powers, so an inspection is being conducted. What can I help you with?"
The fairy asked with a sharp voice.
This fairy was not playful or flashy like the ones Soma knew from the past.
"I would like to make a selling request."
Soma asked the fairy, causing it to frown.
"A…selling request. May I have a look at your level?"
The fairy asked, not assuming Soma was a low-level player right out of the gate.
Soma opened his window to show his flashing level 20, surprising the fairy.
"Reaching level 20 in the second tutorial already? Impressive. What would you like to sell?"
The fairy asked, and Soma opened his inventory to show the cores.
"I would like to sell these cores. 100 coins for each. Please include a note saying they can exchange their possessions to gain coins."
Soma informed the fairy, now abusing every aspect of the shop.
The fairy looked even more shocked once it heard Soma's words.
But in the end, it was a fairy and made to do its work.
That did not include questioning the decision of its customers.
"Understood. Your account for the shop has been set up. As per customs, the shop will take a 5% cut from any sale you make. Is that alright?"
Soma wanted to say that it was not right.
He would rather sell these cores in person and not have the shop penalty be a thing.
But something told him it would be better to keep his fame in check until he remastered his skills.
He walked toward the door where the second trail ended and watched the people cry out in outrage.
Fractions were already fighting over resources, and humans were killing each other.
"Oh, you survived? Thank you. I got lucky because of you and survived as well. Although, I do not have enough money or resources to head to the next floor."
The older adult who had stopped Soma before met his eyes again.
It looked like the older man had difficulty surviving in this place but somehow managed to hold on.
Soma was not a considerate person.
Instead, it would be better to say that he was sly and only cared about himself and his gain.
Still, he decided to help this older adult out this time. He did not even know what prompted him to do such a thing.
"Granmps, how many cores and coins do you have?"
Soma asked, and the older man instantly looked at his inventory.
"I have…twenty cores and 4000 coins. Why? What's wrong?"
The older adult asked, now worried all of a sudden.
But that much was enough for Soma to gather everyone's attention.
"I think you have enough to buy the cores from the shop. They are 100 coins each, after all."
Everyone heard Soma's voice—all those panicking stopped suddenly and looked at the shop.
And there it was - the cores they needed to pass this tutorial.
But there were only a few left.
The older man was stunned by this sudden stroke of luck but did not question it.
Instead, he suddenly bought 30 training cores and then looked at Soma.
"Should I buy you these cores as well, young man? You saved my life twice now. I feel like I should repay your favor."
The older man sounded genuinely thankful, and that made Soma feel odd.
'When was the last time someone looked at me with such an open and honest expression? I don't think even my companions felt this purely for me.'
Reaching the top generally meant having to suppress a person's feelings.
So even if you got along incredibly well with a ranker, it was impossible to tell their genuine feelings.
Many people who betrayed humanity were rankers who stayed with humanity for a long time.
'Let's not go there now.'
"Young man, how many do you need?"
The older man asked, making Soma realize that he still needed to answer the older man was asking him a question.
"I already have enough. Let's head out to the next tutorial now."
Soma pushed the older man, and everyone else who bought the cores quickly fled.
Finally, the timer hit zero, and Soma looked at the sky.
It was tinted red, and something flaming was heading toward the ground.
'Farewell, earth. You were my home for a short period of my life, but I will never be able to forget what I felt here and the life I lived.'
Soma walked through the portal, and a giant meteorite bombed the earth behind him.
[The demolition begins. Nibiru has struck the earth. The planet will be destroyed in fifteen minutes.]
It took everything in Soma not to turn around and help the people out.
But as he was currently, he could not fight against those elder entities that were the outer gods.
'I am sorry. One day, I will avenge you all. But that day is not today.'
Soma kept walking until he emerged from the portal and into a forest.
[Welcome to the site of your third tutorial. Your goal is simple - find and reach the treasure room of this island. You have seven days to achieve it before you all drown.]
"Seven days? Are you kidding me? I-I just want to rest."
"We have seven days, right? Then let's sleep for now. Rest is important to let our bodies and minds rest."
Most humans were exhausted at this point and quickly lay down.
That was a foolish decision since this was right in the middle of an open grassland.
Soma looked around, but the older man he had saved was no longer there.
And since that was the case, Soma decided to head out and kill a few monsters. He needed to gain more skills to survive what was coming.
'The first four trials are made to get people to adapt to their new reality. But the fifth trial is where the real difficulty begins. I must ensure that I break that record and receive the 'special prize' for that round.'
That was the first thing Soma decided to do for his return trip.
But before that, he needed to finish reading the document his companion had made for him.
Some finally had access to the system, and he could see that file taunting him from within.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone