At the very bottom of what used to be the Abyss, Michael stared at the two notifications with a complicated expression.

He didn't need to open the information of the Rune of Shadows to know what it did; just like his Blessing, it was as if its abilities had been burned into his mind. The Rune was entirely centered around keeping him out of the sight of the gods, regardless of whatever kind of scrying abilities they used. To the people who met Michael in person, the memories about him would even appear to be blurry, as long as he willingly wished them to. It was a curtain of darkness that sought only to hide his existence for as long as possible.

"…Thank you, my friend," he whispered, hoping that his words could still reach the Umbra.

He knew it was a futile hope. The disappearance of the Curse of Darkness was evidence enough. Veilthar no longer existed. A Mythical Beast that had survived for millions of years had perished, just like that. All for his sake.

Michael felt as if he were carrying the weight of the entire world on his back.

He didn't really care about the revenge of the Dragons or killing Erasil, or whatever else the Mythical Beasts hoped he would do. Still, at this moment, this feeling manifested itself. Alongside it was the burden of knowing that he would need to become much stronger to protect everyone and everything he cared about.

A few other System notifications suddenly appeared before him. Unlike the others, however, they were entirely black with golden letters, making Michael frown.

[You have cleared the Abyss. The Consumed Territory has been completely cleansed.]

[You have accomplished a near-impossible achievement!]

[Your reward will be revealed once the Tutorial ends.]

"Are you fucking serious?" Michael asked out loud, but the System messages heartlessly disappeared without addressing his words.

He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temples to sort out his thoughts. The fact that the System had considered this a 'near-impossible achievement' meant that, somewhere out there, there were Tutorial participants who could defeat a Mythical Beast, even if weakened. No, maybe there was only a single one.

Erasil is the only one who could have possibly done something like that.

Michael cursed under his breath. It didn't matter. His mission hadn't changed.

Fuck that. I'm not worrying about that right now.

He wasn't in any mood to deal with the System's bullshit, not when he felt like the weight on his shoulders had only increased. The reward didn't matter. There was only one thing he wanted to do.

One day left in the Tutorial.

It was enough time to go back to the Villages and talk to his mother and friends, including Tairy. Deep within his chest, he felt an urge to see them again. Even if he hadn't really noticed how much time he'd spent fighting Veilthar, now that it was all over, he was left with a single, overwhelming feeling.

I miss them.

To him, it had been two years since he'd last seen everyone. Two years of a continuous, bitter, life-and-death struggle that he had just barely survived. He was tired. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to go see Mom and the others.

With a sigh, Michael dismissed the notifications and clenched his fists a few times, trying to gauge his current strength. His stats hadn't increased by much themselves, despite the time he had spent in the Abyss. However, it was an entirely different story for his Dragonheart and his experience with his Skills. He opened his Dragonheart's information.

[Hybrid Skill

Hatchling's Dragonheart (C): the most precious organ for a Dragon is their Heart. Dragon blood flows through your veins, spreading throughout your body with every beat of your Dragonheart. Your vessel, mind, and soul are empowered. Your body has completely accepted your Dragonheart, allowing it to reach greater heights.

Significantly strengthens your body, mind, and soul – effects are greater when willingly activated. Significantly increases mana recovery speed.

Greatly increases mana absorption speed. Significantly increases spellcasting abilities. Significantly increases the learning speed of spells and Skills.

Increases the effectiveness of all mana and mana-related Skills, including spells. Improves casting time. Higher proficiency and a higher Wisdom stat result in greater effects.

Enables the creation of Circles.]

At first glance, the Skill didn't seem to have changed much apart from its name and rank, but that wasn't all. Michael read the Skill description again. Some of the adjectives had changed, and most importantly, he could tell how much stronger his Dragonheart was.

The Passive effects are a bit greater than the D-ranked version's Active effects.

It meant that it was as if his current self had his previous Dragonheart active at all times. Without hesitation, Michael activated his Heart. It throbbed powerfully before sending a wave of energy crashing within his body. His blood roared in his veins like a flood that had broken through a dam, spreading the power throughout him in a flash. He felt his muscles tense up, his bones be filled with newfound power. Every corner of his body became dramatically stronger. At the same time, in the face of all of this, Michael felt a strange pride bubble within his chest, one that he recognized. His expression darkened.

So, you're back.

It was expected that the unnatural pride that had affected him before would return now, since his Dragonheart had fully adapted to his body. It was likely that other draconic traits would appear to hinder him, but his only choice was to wait and see. He would deal with everything in his own way as it appeared.

Taking a deep breath, Michael looked up, keeping his Dragonheart active. Through the long scar far above him, he could see the ceiling of the underground. Michael lowered his center of gravity. A moment later, he leaped, his feet strongly pushing against the stone ground. He shot upward like a bullet for over thirty meters before landing on the ravine's wall and sinking his staff into it like it were butter. Without wasting any more time, he started his climb.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Progress was swift, but the ravine felt endlessly deep. Even after climbing for many minutes, Michael was only halfway there. With a sigh, he continued. Eventually, he emerged from the scar, using the wall as a springboard to leap through it and out of the Abyss. He looked around.

"…I guess it's not that different," he said to himself.

Around him, the land of what used to be the Consumed Territory could be seen. Simply put, it was a wasteland. It was only far in the distance that Michael could see the destroyed Villages. The main difference was that everything was covered in a blue hue instead of darkness.

I guess the Tutorial has recognized it as me clearing the entire Consumed Territory.

Truthfully, Michael still had no idea what the criteria for beating the Abyss even were. Veilthar's Abyss couldn't have been the only one, so how was any Tutorial participant supposed to defeat a Mythical Beast, no matter how limited or weakened they were?

I must have missed something. I'm sure beating the Abyss doesn't mean killing the Umbra inside it.

Still, it was a pointless conversation to have with himself. He had succeeded in his delve, and that was all that mattered.

Shaking his head, he got his bearings and started running toward Bluestone Village, supported by his Dragonheart. Naturally, the journey was even shorter this time around. Easily surpassing his previous maximum speed without Lightspeed, Michael ran until he reached the entrance to Bluestone Village, which had now become so familiar. Ignoring the strange glances, he walked through the dirt roads toward Tairy's place. The stares from the dark elves felt especially piercing, even though they didn't whisper to each other. Michael furrowed his brow, aware of what this could mean.

On the way, Michael didn't hear any conversation out of place, but it was only a matter of time before the other participants noticed that the Consumed Territory had disappeared to give way to Bluestone Village Territory. As in, he had possibly less than an hour before someone noticed that Bluestone's Territory had grown far too much out of nowhere.

I want to talk to everyone I need to before that happens.

Michael sped up.

In less than a minute, he arrived in front of Tairy's house. This time, instead of sitting on top of the stone dais, Tairy was pacing on it from side to side, like a tiger in a cage. His head snapped toward Michael, milky-white eyes staring straight at him.

"Kid!" Tairy said, almost shouting, as he jumped in place.

As he was about to speak more, Tairy caught himself, then took a deep breath with one hand over his chest, only to slowly breathe out. When he looked at Michael again, he seemed calmer.

"I'm glad you're fine," Tairy continued, this time sounding a bit more composed.

Michael smiled at him and got closer to the stone dais.

"I'm back, old man. Were you worried?"

"Yes," Tairy replied in less than a second, making Michael blink. The old dark elf gritted his teeth. "You fucking did it, didn't you? You went into the Abyss. And you cleared it. That's why I can tell the Consumed Territory has disappeared."

Tairy's voice got progressively louder as he spoke, as if his previous calmness had been a lie. Michael blinked and smiled bitterly, trying to find the words to reply.

"I told you over and over," Tairy continued as he stepped closer to Michael. "Not to go there. That even if you went deep into the Consumed Territory, the Abyss was the one thing you needed to avoid. So why the fuck didn't you listen?"

The dark elf clenched his jaw and grabbed Michael's shoulders roughly.

"…I'm so glad you aren't dead, kid," Tairy finished, looking both angry and happy at the same time.

Michael smiled at the dark elf who had been his mentor for the past few months. He grabbed the man's wrist.

"…Yeah. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

Tairy nodded firmly and took another deep breath, then let go of Michael's shoulders and stepped back.

"So? What was in there? What even happened?"

Michael looked at his teacher. Now that the cat was out of the bag and Tairy knew what he'd done, he didn't want to leave his teacher without any kind of explanation. At the same time, the less anyone knew about him clearing the Abyss, the better.

No, if Tairy felt it, then Sullivan and the other 'NPC' teachers also did.

He cursed in his mind.

"A man," he replied, carefully choosing his words. "We fought. That's all I can say, really."

Tairy's expression changed as understanding seemingly dawned upon him. He slowly nodded.

"I guess you won. I knew you were strong, but damn. You're a monster, kid. Probably the strongest Tutorial participant I've ever seen."

"No," Michael quickly replied. "I didn't even come close to winning. It just turned out that way."

Tairy raised an eyebrow, then grinned.

"How did it feel to be outclassed for the first time since the start of the Tutorial?"

Michael scoffed at Tairy's playful teasing, unwilling to explain that he had been forced to the brink before awakening his draconic lineage.

"Like shit. Can't even tell how many times I almost died. For a while, I really thought I had died. So much darkness all around, there wasn't even anything else to look at."

Tairy chuckled, turned around, and beckoned to Michael, who followed him. The two of them sat on the stone dais. Tairy stared right into his eyes.

"It was a pleasure teaching you, kid. But I'm sure you don't want to listen to an old man rambling for too long, since you still need to see your mother and friends. Just know this – the Tutorial is, in the end, just a Tutorial. I can tell you're unreasonably strong, but that doesn't mean you'll have an easy time with everything that will come afterward. Always keep your guard up, never underestimate anything or anyone."

Michael nodded with a grin. It was especially true in his case. His future enemies surpassed Tairy's imagination.

"Still," Tairy continued with a smile. "Work hard enough and I'm sure you'll be noticed by the gods. From there, your life will change entirely. If not by the gods, then I'm sure powerful people will be willing to support you. I hope you survive, kid. Regardless of the reward you got for clearing the Abyss, I'd say you're ready."

Michael smiled. Wasn't survival the best one could hope for in this kind of world?

"I hope you survive too, old man. You're also one of my friends. I'm glad I got this chance to talk to you."

Tairy laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, yeah. You breathed some life into what I thought was going to be a boring Tutorial. It's unfortunate, but I still can't bypass the System's restrictions and tell you too much about what will come afterward. And it's better if I don't know more about you than I already do."

Michael shook his head with a sad smile.

"I don't mind. And yeah, I agree. What's going to happen to you after this?"

Tairy also shook his head.

"Can't say. But I'll be fine."

"You never told me what you get out of the Tutorial."

"Because I still can't," Tairy grumbled. "Now, listen. Since you're still here, let me give you one last piece of advice, since you're probably over the required Level for another Skill selection already. Remember our conversation about how you should guide your choices. I'm sure you'll do fine without me already, but just don't forget them. You've barely learned any decent Second Circle spells, and you haven't even touched the edge of the Third Circle. Even if your mastery of magic can't keep up with your stats, don't neglect it."

Michael smiled and nodded. It was all true. He could go through another Skill selection right now, and doing so with Tairy by his side was probably the smartest choice. Still, he wasn't in the right headspace for that. The weight of the years he'd spent inside the Abyss was growing increasingly heavier, as if his brain had only now just started to accept them. There was only one thing he wanted to do.

"I won't. You were the one who told me. How could I?"

Tairy blinked before smiling sheepishly.

"What's all this flattery all of a sudden? I already told you I'll be fine. I won't die, kid."

Michael gave his friend a sad smile.

"I hope so, old man. Thank you for everything. I hope we'll see each other again."

He extended his hand. Tairy shook his hand firmly with a scoff.

"I doubt we will. But if we do, know that you'll always be welcome. I'm glad we met."

Michael stood up and patted the old dark elf on the shoulder. With one last nod to each other, both Michael and Tairy turned away from each other.

Michael leaped onto the nearest house, threw Tairy a glance over his shoulder, and leaped to another house's roof, in the direction of Yellowbright Village. At the same time, he cast Whisper, supported by his strengthened Dragonheart.

Now that he'd talked to his teacher, he only wished to spend this last day with his family and close friends.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.