Ch. 12

「 Anonymous abyss has entered the server #098135. 」

「 Anonymous abyss entered the chat. 」

〚Cinder fox: Oh my! 〛

〚War Maniac: Aye! The newbie's back! 〛

〚Jester: This is the first time you actually remembered a newcomer. I'm honestly surprised. 〛

〚War Maniac: Mind ya' own business you clown. 〛

〚Jester: Are you referring to yourself? 〛

〚War Maniac: You don't have the spite to call yourself a warrior you Pierrot :p 〛

〚Jester: You have no right to say that you war-obsessed idiot^^ 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Oh hello Anonymous abyss! Welcome^^! 〛

〚The potato that sings: Ah~ so it's someone new uwu~ 〛

〚Dark Dragon: I guess it's about time a new constellation is chosen lololol. 〛

〚Hell's chef: Nice to meet you, where have you been all this time? Us constellations that are in this channel are currently in utter disaster! 〛

〚Anonymous abyss: Hi, really?  〛

〚Dark Dragon: Yeah, many of us tried to track down the player who had almost a million in the power rankings, and eventually end up here ^^ 〛

〚Weaponry Sovereign: And that's a tremendous amount of power for a player. 〛

〚The Great Archmage: Hello, newcomer. Now, as I was saying, the female player Y/n might have experienced time and space distortion. The time she spent was manipulated, that'll explain what she meant by the 50 years she lived despite being 26 of human age. 〛

I spoke to myself. Is he talking about me?

〚Jester: I get it~ but it's quite rare for a player to experience that before the tutorial. I guess she's really a worthy player to be sponsoring~ 〛

〚The Great Archmage: Indeed O-O 〛

〚Dark dragon: Hmm... what do you think 'Goddess of Sloth'? 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: Isn't it kind of weird a player experienced something like that though? I mean, anything regarding time would've pass through my ears by now. 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: And for a player to make an appearance after a whole month is just too strange. what kind of player would register after a whole month passed? 〛

〚War Maniac: And a strong one at that too. 〛

〚The Great Archmage: Actually, it's possible with her mana... but where did she get that from a world that was not initially exposed to magic or sorcery? 〛

〚Cinder fox: If she was a player in the early stages then it would've been less suspicious. It would explain her unrivalled powers amongst players because of her talent, but she was just recently registered. Even my avatar couldn't possibly be on par with her. 〛

〚Black Mamba: Before the tutorial too ;-; 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: Then what do you think, 'The bottom of the well'? 〛

〚The bottom of the well: Idk, don't ask me. I'm fine with anything. 〛

〚Dark dragon: But if you think about it, it IS quite odd. 〛

〚Siren's veil: Yeah, like where did she even pop out from? 〛

〚Magma Queen: It's as if she appeared from the surface of Earth only recently and her existence was discovered then. 〛

〚Black Mamba: It's just like she's just existed only of today. 〛

〚Black Mamba: And the abnormality of this, is just... 〛

When I was about to furiously rage text in the chat box but someone had beaten me to it.

〚The phantom ghost: But isn't it fine? 〛

〚The phantom ghost: I don't see the problem with any of this. 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: What do you mean?  〛

〚The phantom ghost: So what if she's powerful enough to annihilate the scenarios? There are no good reasons to doubt her persistence and experience she accumulated over the years. 〛

〚Jester: That's right. I was about to have my say about this whole useless conversation until 'The phantom ghost' had to beat me to it ;-; 〛

She also wanted to speak up for me?

「 ★Jojo is using the private chat with Host★ 」

★Jojo : ["Why are you just sitting there looking at the table?"]

★Y/n : "The constellations are in uproar, so I decided to observe their conversation."

★Jojo : ["Are you in the server's exclusive constellation chat?"]

★Y/n : "Uh huh."

★Jojo : ["What are they saying?"]

★Y/n : "As if I'd tell you."

〚Cinder fox: The female player Y/n must be quite something for 2 high-ranked constellations to speak up O-O 〛

〚Magma Queen: It's hard to believe that there are so many high-ranking constellations in this server... 〛

〚Drunk Monarch: I just came to this server an hour ago since it was on the recommendation list from Jester ^^ 〛

〚Jester: Then ya'll must hear me out. She displayed a magnificent amount of powers in just a short amount of time but that doesn't mean that her hard-work were all in vain. 〛

〚Jester: She showed that her undefeated will can pave her way to success without the help of us sponsors to grant her more strength. Her growth to this extent proved that she's allowed to do whatever she wants and you guys are just making more reasons to justify your point of her being a problem to your avatars. 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: That's just your assumption, 'Jester'. 〛

〚Weaponry Sovereign: That's a long-ass essay XD 〛

〚The potato that sings: And a very motivating one at that too ^^ 〛

〚Dark dragon: That was not my point and I don't have an avatar, but you're right ;-; 〛

〚Cinder fox: I don't have one either :/ 〛

〚Drunk Monarch: I'm just here for the entertainment^^ 〛

〚Hell's chef: And I'm here for the food :D 〛

〚Black Mamba: We could all agree that none of us here has an avatar XD 〛

〚Siren's veil: Well, except for 'Goddess of Sloth' lol. 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Anyway, she's proven that she can grow without the help of the constellation's power and she's setting an example to those who seek strength. 〛

〚Hell's Chef: And she's better than those half-baked avatars. She has accomplished them all without help from moi. 〛

[ Moi is the French word for 'me' ]

〚The potato that sings: 'Hell's Chef' is getting more accustomed to the human's language more than us using the 'internet' slangs lol. 〛

〚Hell's Chef: Merci beaucoup ^^ 〛

〚Black Mamba: Can someone translate that or... 〛

〚The potato that sings: Thank you very much. 〛

〚Black Mamba: You're welcome? ^^ 〛

〚The potato that sings: ...That's not what I meant, the meaning was "Thank you very much". 'Hell's Chef' was just being fancy. 〛

〚Jester: Even though I jest a lot, I have a keen eye at talents ^^ 〛

〚War Maniac: I don't know what in the bloody hell you constellation f****rs were spouting about the time manipulation shit, but I, War Maniac, acknowledge her strength. 〛

〚War Maniac: And why the hell did my words get censored?!? 〛

〚The phantom ghost: That's probably because your words you've selected were too vulgar. 〛

〚Jester: Lolololol nice one 'The phantom ghost'~ 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: But still!! Then what do you think 'The one who seeks retribution'?! 〛

〚The one who seeks retribution: Well she's cool /(;-;)/ 〛

〚Cinder fox: HAHAHAHAH 〛

〚Dark dragon: Lmao I approve XD 〛

〚The potato that sings: He's the most advanced in 'internet' slangs among us in this server lol. 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: 'The Great Archmage'??? 〛

〚The Great Archmage: I have no objections :) 〛

〚Goddess of Sloth: I'm out. 〛

「 Goddess of Sloth left the chat. 」

〚The potato that sings: lol good riddance. Even if she's a mid-ranked constellation, arrogance doesn't look good on her :v 〛

〚Cinder fox: In the name of the stars! If all of the high-ranked constellations in this server agrees to support the female player, we have all the good reasons to sponsor her! :O 〛

〚The phantom ghost: I don't recommend doing that though XD 〛

〚Cinder fox: Why not? 〛

〚Drunk Monarch: (•_•) ? 〛

〚Jester: As you refer to the whole conversation, she'll most likely not accept the offers from any constellation. 〛

〚Cinder fox: That means--! 〛

〚Jester: Yes, she rejected both of our offers apparently ( ͡T  ᴗ ͡T) 〛

〚Cinder fox: But why?? 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Why don't you ask 'The plotter of mischievous acts'? He was utterly devastated when he asked her the reason for rejecting his offer XD 〛

〚Jester: She's bold and fierce for a player, but there's no problem with a brave personality. I actually find these traits great ^^ 〛

Then I spoke to myself.

Wow, I'm flattered but somehow it feels... weird hearing that from her.

〚Dark dragon: She even made a guide which, they are known for their cold yet brutal nature, under her palms. I like her way of dealing things tbh :)) 〛

〚Cinder fox: She really rejected 3 top tier constellations?? In that small amount of time too! She has too much arrogance. 〛

〚The potato that sings: Woah, what was the reason? 〛

〚Jester: I think it was like, "I don't have anything to gain from being your avatar" lololol 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Even I, didn't get that harsh of an answer hahaha :D 〛

「 The plotter of mischievous acts left the chat. 」

〚Jester: Such a boomer~ 〛

〚Black Mamba: How much do you sponsor her on average? 〛

〚The potato that sings: I'm also kind of curious how much a high-ranked constellation would spend on a player of this potential~ OwO 〛

〚Cinder fox: Seeing the excitement from 'Jester', I'm guessing 100? 200 coins per sponsor? 〛

〚Magma Queen: Definitely not over a sum of 1000, you gotta be an idiot if you'd spend that much on a player. 〛

〚Drunk Monarch: Yeah what kind of constellation would empty their pockets for a mere player? Unless they're freakin' deep pocketed, but I don't see why would they spend their fortune on them when the possibility is that the players could waste them on petty things. 〛

〚Cinder fox: 'Drunk Monarch', you seem to talk a lot when you're drunk most of the time. 〛

〚Drunk Monarch: I'm stating the obvious here ;-; 〛

〚The phantom ghost: I guess I'm that idiot then :p 〛

〚Jester: ^^ Me too. 〛

〚Magma Queen: No way. 〛

〚Cinder fox: How much did you spend?? 〛

〚Jester: I think... around 10,000? Maybe more? Hmmm, I don't know... How about you 'The phantom ghost'? 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Yeah I also think I sponsored around 20,000 to 30,000 ^^ 〛

〚Black Mamba: Nuts... You guys are nuts. 〛

〚Cinder fox: The ****? 〛

〚Magma Queen: Language. 〛

〚Jester: Ah~ come to think of it, I haven't seen a word from 'Anonymous abyss' OwO 〛

〚Cinder fox: Who? The newbie? 〛

〚Black Mamba: I didn't notice! He or she hid very well throughout this conversation :O 〛

〚The phantom ghost: 'Anonymous abyss', how come you're not talking? Is it because we're quite the loudmouths? XD 〛

〚Anonymous abyss: Ah, it's not that. I didn't know what to say, sorry ;-; 〛

〚Magma Queen: You don't have to be sorry dear! So rake me up on whether you're a he or a she ^^ 〛

I thought for a while.

I shouldn't be exposing more of my identity if I want to completely pave my way to be a constellation but it doesn't matter if I reveal my gender though.

〚Anonymous abyss: I'm addressed as a she :3 〛

〚Cinder fox: Oh my! 〛

〚Magma Queen: Why didn't I notice it sooner?? 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Wowowow do you have an avatar yet? 〛

〚Anonymous abyss: No, Not yet. I'm just freelancing in some servers, you know, experiencing here and there~ 〛

〚Cinder fox: It's great to get accustomed to the works of the system, I got lost when it was first established too! 〛

〚Anonymous abyss: I was lucky that 'Jester' sent me the notice for constellations. If not, I would be stuck at the chat button for ages XD 〛

〚Jester: I'm glad that the letter I sent helped you in any way ^^  〛

〚Anonymous abyss: Haha although I wish we could talk for a little while longer, but I have some duties I should be attending. 〛

〚Cinder fox: What a pity, we could've talked more if you participated earlier... 〛

〚Jester: Alright, we won't stop you~ 〛

〚The phantom ghost: Okay, we'll be here if you need anything! 〛

「 Anonymous abyss has left the chat. 」

「 You have logged out the chat. 」

I heaved a sigh as I brushed my hair back and massaged my temples.

★Jojo : ["Seems like you're done."]

★Y/n : "Yeah, I'm exhausted. It's weird that I got tired when I don't even need to get a wink of sleep."

★Jojo : ["Ah, it's normal for exhaustion to occur. It's an aftereffect of using two chats simultaneously."]

★Y/n : "I guess I'm going  to sleep on the first day back to Earth."

★Jojo : ["You must be the only human that doesn't require sleep."]

★Y/n : "I use that time to train, I'm doing something beneficial."

★Jojo : ["You? Train?? With that much power???"]

★Y/n : "Why? There's nothing against training."

★Jojo : ["Most humans take that time for a thing called SLEEP."]

★Y/n : "You're practically forcing me to sleep. And it's like you're planning to slit my throat while I sleep."

★Y/n : "And if you worry for me this much, I've already told you I'll be sleeping tonight."

★Jojo : ["...That's not what I meant."]

★Y/n : "Enough of that, I have a question."

★Y/n : "When is the start of the tutorial?"

★Jojo : ["Your question is straightforward as always."]

★Jojo : ["Anyway, it's not fixed yet."]

★Y/n : "Why?"

★Jojo : ["Normally, the tutorial would start after a few months or even in a span of weeks. That's why I said it's inconsistent."]

★Y/n : "They wanted to filter out those who can't accept the changes of the world and dispose those who have no potential before the tutorial, I guess."

★Jojo : ["Somewhat. They're just making sure that the people are able to survive and adapt in dire situations so that they're qualified to enter the tutorial."]

★Y/n : "Then does it mean that the tutorial will start when everyone reached a certain level?"

★Jojo : ["What made you come to that conclusion?"]

★Y/n : "That's the only thing that I can make out with the information so far."

★Jojo : ["You're not exactly wrong."]

★Y/n : "Then I assume I've guessed it."

「 ★Host ended the private chat with Jojo★ 」

I ended the chat as I averted my gaze from the table and looked up at the night sky.

"Even the sky looks... normal."

["Sure, if you think a blazing crimson-like sky is normal then by all means, yes."]

I heaved a sigh without much thought as I stared straight at the far horizon.

A small bird-like shadow was seen from afar as it gradually increased in size. "Well, except the fact that a full-grown wyvern is flying towards our dome in rapid speed."

["What?"]

'BANG!'

["OH MY LORD--!!"] The rabbit jumped.

A gigantic winged beast collided with the dome that covered our base a few yards away from us. The impact made a gigantic ripple sound that resonated across the entire dome. The beast slid down with full friction and produced a continuous squeaky sound on the surface of the visible wall as I could hear some screams from a distance.

["WHAT THE F*CK?!"]

I widen my eyes. "Language. And again, stop picking up useless phrases from the player's forum."

["You're not going to help that poor creature?"]

"Does the word creature refer to yourself?" I raised an eyebrow.

["How dare you call me a creature you-- you!"]

"Human?" I continued as I chuckled sardonically. "Well this human will accept any request on a one-to-one deathmatch. I'm ready to take you on anytime."

["No thanks. I'm good."]

I heaved a huge sigh and spoke. "It was just blinded by the darkness, which, I don't know how the hell it couldn't see a thing when it has clear night vision."

Then, I glanced at the rabbit.

["Don't look at me, I don't have the answer to that either."]

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you really don't know anything besides blabbering nonsense all the time."

["It's not like I'm an absolute being or something."]

"Oh really?" I made a sarcastic remark.

Then one of the boys came out of the house, it was a freshly showered Jimin.

The rabbit immediately blended himself into the surroundings as usual and I uttered a sentence for him to hear.

"You're not sticking around?"

["I'm hiding my presence in the mean time, who knows what'll happen if I were to stay."]

"Alright, suit yourself."

I had my body turned around to face Jimin and smiled. "You're the first one to come out, Jimin."

Jimin scratched the back of his neck as he hid his reddish ears and said. "That's not usually the case though..."

"It's fine," I chuckled as I stood up from my seat and gestured him to an area the grass covered.

I used mana to gather some wood and stones to make a bonfire. I made some seats out of large rocks as I spoke. "I hope you don't mind sitting on the ground."

"No no, I don't mind!" Jimin said, slightly flustered when he spoke.

I snapped my fingers and a blue flame was lit.

"Isn't a bonfire supposed to be orangey?" Jimin said as he looked at the flames.

"I didn't want to use normal fire since it combusts incompletely and cause global warming." I chuckled and continued. "But with everything happening around the world, I think we shouldn't worry about green house effects since magic is utilized instead of the non renewable resources that were used as power."

"And it's rather pretty too." I sat on the rock near the bonfire as Jimin chuckled.

"Come, sit here." I gestured to the seat next to me.

Jimin sat down and shook his feet left to right.

"Sometimes I actually thought about it. Whether is it a good or bad thing that the world became another hell I have to endure." I stared at the meandering flames as I uttered.

"Well, we don't have to worry about the green house effect anymore." Jimin chuckled. "I think it's a good sign."

"I guess you're right." A tiny smile curved at the corner of my lips.

Then, I finally looked at him in the eye and smiled. "Let's teach you some sorcery while we wait for the others."

"Since your magic is derived from the system, you probably won't have any instructions on basic knowledge of the utilization of mana." I paused as I thought for a while.

"To put it simply, everyone will have mana within them. It doesn't matter how much, every being would at least have some in their core."

Then I gestured my hand and utilized the mana surrounding us. Hovering images, curves, objects and lines emitted from them as they danced around the air like holograms as it showed the imagery while I talked.

"Manifested or not, a mage or sorcerer would have developed their magic circles at their core, or simply, their heart." I continued as the holographic image of magic circles dissipated. "For humans, the most ideal would be the heart but some might prefer to manifest it without a medium, like in the middle of their chests for safety reasons."

"And you Jimin, your core is at the chest." I smiled.

"Really? Why?" He widen his eyes as he blinked confusedly.

"Most probably is because it's quite a 'modern' technique to have it at the chest, usually mediums like a skeleton magician or other intelligent lifeforms would manifest at their chests, except for dragons."

"But it might be also that the system can't carve magic circles at the heart when it can risk the host."

"C-Carve?" Jimin sweated profusely as he stuttered.

"To have it at the heart, one must carve their first magic circle at the heart without any mistake or you'll be done for."

"Where's yours Y/n?" He innocently blinked as he looked at me with those gleaming eyes.

"Rule number one, never ask a magician or mage where they store their core at and you should never reveal yours."

"A-Ah I'm sorry--"

"It's fine, that's because you didn't know." I chuckled. "A magician wouldn't recklessly advertise where their core was manifested, but it could still be detected if it's a high tier magician."

"And if there's anyone other than me, tell me right away."

Jimin aggressively nodded his head as he understood.

"Let's start from the basics. I'll just simply brief it to you."

"Normally, magicians need to chant to be able to cast." I said as I looked at him. "The ones who have more experience than one another would have shorter chants, and the ones who walk the path of a supreme sorcerer wouldn't need chants to cast at great speeds."

"In this case, I guess the system cut them short and made things easier for us." I smiled as Jimin chuckled at my reasoning.

"You're now at the first circle and I've strengthened your core a while ago, so it won't be a problem if you were to learn some simple spells." I gestured my hand and created a blob of water in my palm.

"This is water I created from materializing my mana." I smiled as I looked at him and formed the blob of water it into various shapes. "Although it may seem small and harmless but if you use it correctly, it can even cut through metal."

"You can use your own mana or mana from the surroundings but to do that, you have to be at least third circle or one of those once-in-a-blue-moon prodigies." I chuckled. "So use your mana for now."

"You try."

Jimin thought intensely for a good minute or two and finally heaved a plentiful sigh.

"It's all about theory, visualization and creation." I continued as the blob of water twirled in my palm and danced pass my fingers.

The blob of water dissipated and I held onto his right palm.

Then, I've injected a very tiny amount of my mana into his palm as he closed his eyes. "First, you theorize the first circle and draw it in your head and once you're done, visualize the shape and type of spell you want to cast."

"And... voila." I said as I let go of his palm and he slowly peeked at his hand with one eye.

A blob of water with a size of a tennis ball hovered right above his palm.

"Woah!" He looked at his palm, amused by a orb-shaped water ball.

I chuckled at his reaction. "Is this really enough to amaze you when you can shoot literal flames like you're a walking flamethrower?"

"Learning something other than flame-type skills is already amazing!" He said excitedly, beaming with joy. "I thought I could only be using fire balls and flame waves..."

"Well, all that's left is to execute the spell." I pointed to a wooden plank that stood in a distance.

"Don't ask me when I've prepared that, I just did." I averted my eyes from making any contact with him as I nervously giggled.

"Now, I don't have to give you any verbal instructions on how to do that right?" I chuckled as he nodded.

He brought his palm upright and aimed at the plank as he concentrated. And in the split moment, his eyes opened as the water ball had spun and hit the surface of the wood. It made an indent right in the middle as some smoke left traces when the water evaporated.

Jimin silently sulked, his eyes traced my face as he carefully examined my expression.

"You're off to a great start, many can't leave a scratch on their first time." I chuckled as I created the blob of water again. "I chose water as the basic element for your first lesson because it's difficult to control in terms of its runniness. You need quite an amount of concentration to fully exert it's potential."

He couldn't help but to curve the corner of his lips as he giggled.

"Although there are traces of your flames, it's honestly an improvement." I chuckled as I pat his back. "The spell is the exact opposite of fire."

"Water is not that useful in terms of combat, but the alternative way to use it is this." I created a larger amount of water in my palms and in the spur of the moment, ice shards surrounded me.

"Ice. Simple, right?" I chuckled as I raised my hand just right above my shoulders. "Now watch carefully."

I gestured my hand towards the plank target and the shards completely left multiple pierces through it's body.

"And if the opponent is a fire type like you, which is also kind of a bad matchup, you could do this." I gestured my hand flat and the ice melted.

Then, I clenched my hands into a fist and the ice that melted as a water puddle immediately spiked from the ground and pierced into the ruined plank, again.

"It only creates a moment of damage. What you want is to accumulate the damage you've inflicted."

"And if that doesn't work, reinforce it with your spells or coat mana ten times over." With a gesture of my hand, I clawed upwards as the flow of mana coated the ice as the plank of wood collapsed and turned into nothing but dust.

I glanced at Jimin to see his visible shock written all over his face.

"The spell I used was 'disintegrate', which is... exactly how it sounds." I chuckled as I recalled all of the magic. "Although it may seem difficult, the concept is actually much easier to understand."

"Although... The method is more of a clean-kill type of magic." I nervously chuckled as I scratched the back of his neck. "It's basically teaching you how to master killing people."

"But it still depends on how you want it to be."

Then I went beside him and placed my hand over his back. "Freeze, melt and condense. Think of it as the basics of strategic combo casting."

"I don't know if I can do that all at once..." He said with a glum expression.

"It's fine, Just try forming the ice for now." I beamed a smile. "Imagine the cold, you'll have the idea once you get the hang of it."

Then at the corner of my eye, a group of people are coming towards us and I could only see their silhouettes and still sense their identities.

"While you do that, I'll be instructing the rest of the boys." I moved forward to pat his shoulder. "Ask me anything you don't understand."

The rabbit reappeared right beside me. ["Looks like you're actually teaching them. I'm impressed at your lesson with the player Jimin."]

"Thank you."

["Of course, I'm far more capable and superior at teaching others."] The rabbit boasted. ["I'm not saying you're lacking, but it's really not your expertise~"]

Then he continued blabbering. ["I'm just saying I'm better at explaining things, showing the complexity and ideas blah blah blah--"]

I sarcastically smiled and shouted at a distance. "Boys! Who wants to learn how to butcher a rabbit alive using your weapon of choice today?"