Plot and Counter-Plot

 "Did you learn those movement Skills from your Master?" Andrea asked him in a shaky voice, filled with rage and contempt.

 "Yes, he helped me to establish a foundation on those movements. Later I practiced them continuously to make them better. But as my world didn't have an ounce of mana before the System's 'Awakening' procedure, I never felt any improvement. Thus I stopped practiced them anymore. But now, I can feel them clearly."

 Andrea asked him in a shocked voice, "So, are you telling me those movements can still be improved?"

 Nehar sighed and shook his head dejectedly, "I really don't know. Before, while battling, I felt like there must be something more that I'm missing, but I wasn't able to quite catch on it."

 Andrea sucked in a cold breath after hearing his answer.

 Is he telling me that those movements can still be improved then?

 Those movements are already in the Epic Grade, a S rank Skill level.

 And there's still a chance to improve them?

 What should I do?

 I've been stuck at Level 499 for the last four and a half years. Even after trying everything, I couldn't get past the 1st Transition Stage.

 Should I try my luck with that Movement Skill?

 That Skill was not even registered in the System's Database, otherwise, the System would never give a precious Authority like 'Privilege' to a wastrel like him.

 Though that Skill is currently at Epic rank, if I can understand its essence and improve it, it would probably rival a Semi-Legendary rank Skill.

 And if I try again with that new Skill after thoroughly improving it with my other Semi-Legendary rank Skill to break past the barrier, there's at least a 25% chance I would achieve success.

 Yes, I should get that Skill on my Skill List to attempt the breakthrough once more.

I need to join the 'Slayer Hall' as fast as I can. I had already delayed it enough. If those three seats get filled, I would miss my chance to progress further and become a King or even an Emperor rank Expert.

I was only able to become an Administrator because of my Family Connections despite not being able to cross the threshold of Level 500. Those bastards in the Department always look down upon me because of my inferior qualifications. I tried to improve my Level and Energy Cultivation for more than four years but to no avail. And those scheming sons of bitches are now targeting me from the back. I've no intentions of staying here anymore and doing the duties of an Administrator like a dog of the System. But before I move out, I need to get this Skill to improve my understanding and Energy Cultivation on a general level and then I'll kill those scheming sly bastards with my own hands, before leaving the Department.

 I need to become more powerful than I am now.

 Only then I can take those sons of bitches down with my own hands.

 Andrea tightened her grip.

 Nehar didn't fail to notice the change in her expression.

 So, she took the bait. Good job Andrea von Rocheveron for walking into my trap all by yourself.

 Nehar was certain that she would take the bait after he laid it skillfully. Although Andrea currently was a High-Ranker, she didn't achieve a very high level. High-Rankers were a general term used to designate Players from different worlds with a certain Level and Rank.

 High-Lord, Slayer, and Dominator, those three were under the category of High-Rankers in Nehar's past life, which was the same in this timeline too.

 Currently, Andrea was at the peak of the High-Lord Rank and trying everything to achieve a smooth breakthrough and enter the rank of Legendary Slayers.

 Although it looked like a single-level difference, the reality was far from that.

 To get a breakthrough from the High-Lord Rank to the Slayer Rank, one had to pass the barrier known as the 1st Transition Stage.

 In simple terms, this barrier not only judged the Level and Energy Signature of a Player, but it also judged their Skill Comprehension and Understanding of Combat Techniques. If any of them were lacking even by a little bit, there would be no hope for success in breaking through the barrier.

 Thus only increasing one's Level while madly rushing upwards in the Tower will never help in the long run.

 If your goal is to become an Expert, try to invest time and effort in your Skill Comprehension and Combat Techniques from a very early stage.

 These things can never be done overnight. 

 Nehar knew these things very well from his previous experiences and when Andrea appeared here, he instinctively sensed that she hadn't broken through the barrier to become a Slayer despite having the required Level and an enormous amount of Energy inside her. 

 After all, Slayers always had a different kind of dominant and oppressive energy shrouding them than all others.

 Even if they didn't want to show off, they couldn't do so.

 Nehar already knew that Andrea was quite famous for her Battle Techniques even in his past life.

 Only then did he understand that the woman was lacking in the department of Skill Comprehension.

 And he decided to lay out another trap for her.

 First, he deliberately mentioned that he hadn't mastered his skills thoroughly under his Master's tutelage, which made the woman sad and angry at the same time.

 Then he took the chance and made a small remark that the Skill could become more powerful than it is now in his hands. Although it's a small chance, still it's worth the try.

 With this, he made Andrea think again about his Skill, which was only at Epic rank at this moment.

 The woman is only lacking in Skill Comprehension and now I'm providing her a new Skill that the System didn't have in its database before.

 If she somehow gets her hands on this new Skill before anyone else and masters it by understanding its essence, not only she will be able to increase the Skill's maximum level and potential, but she will also be able to compensate for the lackings in her own Skill Comprehensions with those understandings.

 Thus there will be a chance for her to achieve a smooth breakthrough this time.

 Now, the only thing Nehar wanted to know was what she would do.

 'Will she try to rip me off by threatening me or by some underhanded methods to get my Skill? Or will she offer me valid exchanges for my Skill…What will you do now, Andrea?'

 Nehar continued to observe her patiently.

 Andrea coughed dryly, and told him, "I'm here to give you the Final Reward. As you've used the Privilege given to you by the System, you can access the Tutorial Shop before anyone else. Not only that, you can look over and choose any Skill or Items ranging from Common Rank to Unique Rank at most, as you have created an Epic rank Skill from scratch. In simple terms, you are eligible to browse freely and choose any item or skill to your liking if you have enough Tutorial Points to actually buy them. The Privilege only helps you to unlock the Shop before anyone else when the Tutorial hasn't even started and look up to all the Skills and Items in the Tutorial Shop tiered up to the Unique Rank, which is one level lower than your newly created Skill's rank. And if you don't have enough TPs, then nothing can be done about that."

 Nehar already knew them, still, he listened to understand things more clearly.

 "I understand", he replied after hearing her explanation.

 "Oh and one more thing. You can buy at most one Skill and one Item from the shop even if you have enough TP to buy more. Remember, only one from each category."

 Nehar frowned slightly after hearing it, as he didn't know of it.

 But then he understood what she meant.

 Only by offering him up to Unique Rank Skills at the very beginning, the System had itself broken the balance of the Tutorial Phase of this time. And if there's someone who had more TPs, then it wouldn't be a challenge anymore.

 Most of the Players or rather Participants still had Inferior Grade Skills or at most some Common Grade Skills with the lowest rank possible, 'D-'.

 Even when the shop opens later, they wouldn't have the authority to go past the Common Items or Skills.

 It was only possible for him because of the Administrator-ranked Privilege.

 Nehar didn't reply anymore as he called out, "Open Tutorial Shop."

 [System Alert: You have unlocked the Tutorial Shop before anyone else in the Tutorial Phase. Achievement Unlocked.]

 [System: Achievement 01: First One to Unlock the Tutorial Shop. Reward: 20 TP]

 [System: TP Collected: 10915]

 Nehar chuckled lightly.

 'Well, that was something new.'

 [System: Current Categories available: 1. Weapons, 2. Items, 3. Skills,

4. Accessories.]

 [System Alert: You can choose only one Item from each category at most!!]

 Nehar commanded again, "Open Weapons."

 A long list consisting of various Weapons opened up in front of his eyes.

 [1. Common Dagger (Common) – Cost: 550 TP. 

 2. Dagger of Iron-Blood (Common) – Cost: 700 TP.

 …

 …

 17. Dagger of Sylvester (Uncommon) – Cost: 2700 TP.

 …

 …

 42. Sword of Moon-Light (Uncommon) – Cost: 3500 TP.

 …

 …

 75. Bow of The Crippled (Uncommon) – Cost: 4250 TP.

 .....]

 Nehar didn't bother to check them as he scrolled down again and again.

 Andrea watched his actions and scoffed.

 Nehar didn't mind her as he was currently searching for a specific item among them.

 [633. Holy Sword of Ragner (Rare) – Cost: 10000 TP. 

 634. Holy Sword of Ninth Maiden (Rare) – Cost: 11000 TP.

 ...

 …]

 Nehar didn't stop scrolling.

 He crossed over all the Common, Uncommon even Rare rank weapons, but still, he didn't choose anything from them.

 While scrolling he had also seen the cost of those above weapons.

 They were hella expensive for the current him.

 At most, he would be able to buy a Rare weapon for now. As for the Unique Weapons, he didn't want to wound his fragile heart anymore, thus he skipped them altogether.

 Finally, he reached the point, where various cursed items were placed.

 In general, Items 01 to 600 were all Normal Category Weapons, and Items 601 to 900 were all Holy Category Weapons. Among them, several were of Common, Uncommon, Rare, or even Unique Rank weapons.

 And from Item 900 to 1000 were the den of the various Cursed and Sealed Weapons.

 Yes, their number was quite small if compared to the others.

 Because most of these items were of no use to others, as many were present in the sealed forms.

 And if someone didn't know how to break a particular seal or a rare seal from some Ancient Family, then even if they bought those weapons, it would be meaningless.

 And most importantly, if one were to hold and use these weapons without properly releasing the seals on them, they would be cursed immediately.

 Most of these curses reduced a Player's stat levels; some even reduced their Health and Mana by a huge margin.

 Thus, there weren't many who would gamble in buying these weapons, even if they could provide overwhelming power and potential after the removal of these seals.

 Nehar started carefully looking for the particular item he was looking for after arriving in the cursed section. 

 Andrea looked at him with a shocked face.

 "What are you doing? Why are you looking for items from the cursed section?"

 Nehar didn't answer and showed his hands to stop her from asking any more questions.

 Andrea scoffed looking at his behavior.

 'This guy, does he think he could even handle those cursed weapons at his level? Even the High-Rankers don't choose them for their use and he is searching for something from them. He surely doesn't have a brain. I was right. I should take that Skill from him by any means; otherwise, it would be a waste in his hands.'

 'As for his Master, if I meet that person someday, I will then inform him that his precious disciple offered me his most precious Skill along with some others before dying, to avenge his unjust death in the hands of those Higher Existences.'

 Andrea looked at him coldly.

 'Sorry Raven. Though I don't even know your real name, you've to die for me. I'll get that Skill from you after giving you a little inspiration in the form of torture in the Blood Chamber. Once the Tutorial ends, you'll be imprisoned there for breaking the rules of the System as you had too much knowledge about it beforehand. Then, I'll take the Skill from you and leave you for the Higher Existences and Stars. Surely, they would also want to know about your Master who crossed between the worlds ignoring the Principles of Causality that easily. They will be the reason for your death while I will reap the benefits. After I go back, I'll just to have entice them by writing a dazzling report about you, Raven.'

 Andrea grinned wickedly.

 Nehar saw her vicious smile from the side of his eyes while scrolling down the Items.

 'So, you have chosen the wrong path to murder me off. And you even choose to do it in an underhanded way.'

 Nehar sighed.

 For once he thought that this woman would be more understanding, but it seemed all of his thoughts were for naught.

 'You think you can easily capture me, torture me, and then kill me off after getting hands on my Skill just because I'm at Level 4 and the System will not hinder your path as an Administrator after the Tutorial is over?'

 Nehar understood her thoughts and schemes perfectly.

 'She will imprison me by showing some evidence; most probably my huge knowledge about the Tutorial Phase and the rest, once the Tutorial is over. Then she will torture me to get her hands on my Skill and once she has that she will deliver me to those existences who are currently interested in me. And it's obvious in the meantime she will be the one who will deliver the news about my illusory Master to their followers, to stab me in the back once more. Those people at the top will be very interested in knowing my secrets and when they would find that I don't have any, they will either imprison me again or bury me in an unmarked grave.'

 Nehar silently applauded the woman in his mind.

 'Even if you are not a demonic individual, you're quite similar to them Andrea von Rocheveron.'

 'Alas, you just screwed everything up by showing me your dark vicious smile. You should've maintained your cold and aloof nature in front of me till the end.'

 'Well, it's not your fault after all.

 How would you even know that the person in front of you is the Fiendish Emperor Of Darkness, who killed millions and tortured their souls in the bottomless pit of the Abyss in his previous life and then suddenly came back to the past to live once more?'  

'I killed and tortured that many poor souls so that I can discern your innermost dark thoughts just with a glance.' 

 'This time, you chose to fuck with the wrong opponent Andrea and you will pay for it dearly.'

 'Had you not chosen this path for me, I would've gifted you that Skill with some proper compensation. After all, I don't even need that Skill in the long run.'

 'I have many other Skills which rank higher than it and I also have the improved version of '.

 'Only if you had contained your greed and resisted the temptations of trampling over a weakling of Level 4 under your feet.'

 Nehar sighed and silently muttered under his breath.

 'When I go up later, I'll make sure to annihilate the Rocheveron Family from existence before they become a threat to me.'

 Andrea remained blissfully unaware of the fact that only by revealing a vicious smile, she had exposed her inner dark thoughts to a mere Novice and woke up a dangerous beast who should never be provoked.