Chapter 13: Ch 13: Cost of the human life [pt2]
People had run away from the starting point to save their lives, and it was relatively safe to come out of the Absolute protection space now.
But Soma had no intention of leaving his safe space during the whole round.
"What's wrong, human? You are not going to hunt other humans to get coins?"
The shopkeeper fairy asked, trying to entice Soma into killing more humans.
Usually, Soma did not like to respond to such provocations, but he decided to make an exception this time.
"I have no intention of giving you fodder for your necromancer dealer. Or is it a mad scientist this time? Or even a priest that wants to practice on dead bodies? Who is your owner?"
The fairy was triggered.
"I do not have an owner! I might have a broker, but that is fair trade. Ah, I need to go. Someone wants to trade a body with me."
The angry fairy disappeared, leaving Soma alone on the platform once more.
He was aware of the human presence a few meters away from him.
Desperate people were waiting for him to get out of his safe space and be killed.
An hour passed, and the people waiting for Soma finally showed themselves.
"Come out and fight, you bastard! We will get 10,000 coins if we kill you. So, hurry up and accept my challenge."
The bulky man from before was back and had the boss with him.
The blood on his fist indicated that this man had already killed someone.
Some had done questionable things to survive, so he could not question someone else's morality.
"Sorry, but I have no plans to participate in this tutorial stage when I can just pass by sitting here. There is no incentive for me to go out."
Soma reminded the players, causing them to grit their teeth.
"Fine! Don't come out. But your dead meat once this shield expires…when will it expire again?"
The boss asked, trying to be brave.
Soma did not need to humor him, but he decided to do so anyway.
"24 hours. This shield will remain active for the whole duration of the tutorial stage. So, if you want to waste your time stalking me, do so."
Soma smiled at the group of players waiting to kill him.
His calm attitude irked those players even more, and the boss gritted his teeth.
"Bullshit! You must come out sometime to care for your needs, right? You cannot keep hiding all the time."
The boss reasoned, and it was a good question.
That would have been the case if Soma was still human.
But once a player reached level 30, their needs and body functions changed.
Soma could easily resist his body's needs for up to three days without harm.
And the more Soma leveled up, the larger this span would become.
"So, you are waiting for me to come out for those insignificant things. Well, you're out of luck since I won't need to go shit for a few days at least."
Soma informed the boss, causing him to grit his teeth.
Before the boss could attack, the buff man placed his hand on the man's shoulder and pulled him back.
"I understand. It looks like you are a lost cause for us. We should head back and-"
A knife embedded itself into the buff man's neck, and he died without being able to utter a single word.
The others watched this in surprise and instantly looked toward where the knife had flown from.
Katherine stood on the other side of the platform with another knife in her hand, and she charged toward the small group.
Usually, it would not be difficult to subdue a girl and take her out.
But Katherine was quite a few levels above the people she was attacking.
She had also gained a knife-related skill, allowing her to wield it more easily.
The group of four was no match for her, and Katherine single-handedly killed them all.
"Are you going to try and kill me for my prize money as well? But as I already told those people, it will be useless to go after me."
Soma also informed Katherine, wanting to see what she would do next.
Katherine was smart, and she was resourceful.
She had also seen Soma in action before.
It was an easy decision for her to make.
"I have no intention of fighting or killing you. I will reach the threshold of 50,000 coins without your help. The hidden chests have been of significant help to me."
Katherine had found another way to win this round but would still sell these corps.
"Shopkeeper, I need to make a purchase."
The fairy appeared in front of Katherine with its greedy eyes.
"My fair lady, please hand those corpses over to me. I need to buy them fresh to get the best value."
The fairy made quick transactions before it twirled around and disappeared.
Katherine checked her system and sighed.
"I need 10,000 coins, so I will go and farm now."
Soma looked at Katherine, who had just to leave.
Katherine's eyes looked at Soma with intent that he ignored.
'This girl wants something from me, but let me pretend I did not notice anything.'
Katherine stared at Soma, and he stared back without saying a word.
Finally, Katherine got the message that Soma was not interested in anything she had to offer him, and she eventually left.
Soma watched her leave, and he also noticed other human presence leaving the vicinity.
"Finally, some peace. This tutorial sucks. There is no reward except coins, which is not enough to participate in this bloodbath."
Soma was kept out of this competition for the betterment of humans and to ensure their survival.
His bounty was too big, and it would cause all humans to either target Soma or look for his protection.
Both options were annoying, and Soma wanted to avoid dealing with them.
He spent the whole day relaxing in his safe space, and 24 hours passed eventually.
[Tutorial four has concluded. All passing participants will be transported to the sight of the final trial.]
Soma finally exited his safe space and waited for the loading to finish.
The world he was currently in faded from around him, and Soma found himself in a space-station-like space.
Everywhere he looked was dominated by metal and other sci-fi-themed architecture.
Soma was also alone in his location.
[The fifth tutorial stage will begin shortly. You can team up with as many players as you can. The final reward will be calculated according to how many enemies you killed and their final rank.]
Soma looked around the place, trying to remember what he knew about this place.
[The planet you are currently at is heading toward a nuclear sun. You must stop it before it crashes into the sun and kills everyone on its surface.]
[It will take fourteen days to reach and crash into the sun. Your task is to stop the plant from charging into the sun before it's too late.]
The announcement was cut off, and Soma sighed.
The plant he was currently on was a relatively large one.
It would take an average person about three days of driving to run around the whole surface.
And that included having no bathroom stops or anything else.
'Still, it is advantageous for me since I already know where the control room of this planet is. I will have to visit that place within a week.'
This test was a trap, and the real way to clear it was to find the control room within the first week.
The tower might have said they had two weeks, but it meant the players would be left alone on the planet's surface for the next two weeks.
But since the planet was made up of metallic substances, it would start to heat up soon.
And that was where the trap lay.
Once the temperature had risen significantly, it would be impossible for an average human to move around.
"The administrator of this tutorial is such a cunning bastard. He told us everything but nothing significant at the same time. Most people would have found out about the reality of this situation the hard way."
Soma sighed as he walked around.
A dog made of scrap rushed toward Soma, suddenly to bite him, but Soma swung around and countered that attack.
His strings cut through the delicate wiring of the mechanical dog, and it died within seconds.
[Congrulations, you are the first to kill a monster in the final tutorial. 500 coins had been rewarded.]
[Master of String's proficiency increased by 1%. Current percentage: 2%]
Soma was surprised to see that message.
He did not know his skill could evolve like this, but he was happy to take any trade.
Somehow, he felt that leveling up his skill would be worth it.
'Hmm, should I check whether my other skills can be leveled up? I never checked them out thoroughly.'
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone