Michael sat down on the stone dais and looked at Tairy, who stood in front of him with his arms crossed. Michael raised an eyebrow.


    “…What?” he asked.


    Tairy slowly shook his head.


    “I’d never heard of anything like that. Even if it’s related to your unknown secrets, it’s utterly unbelievable.”


    Michael shrugged.


    “It is what it is. You were the one who told me not to talk about it.”


    Tairy nodded with a serious expression.


    “I meant it, kid. Now, more than ever. Me and others found out about it, but you really shouldn’t even mention that you can deal with the Consumed Territory like that to anyone else. Don’t try to explain anything. This is the kind of secret that can’t be found out.”


    Michael furrowed his brow, slightly confused.


    “…Sure, I get that there’s no point in letting others know about my abilities, but why are you being so adamant about it?”


    It was the question he’d decided upon after careful consideration.


    I need to know how rare this is.


    If a Light Dragon’s Blessing was one of the only things that could allow one to do this, Tairy was completely right. No matter what, Michael shouldn’t let any God of War or their subordinates even catch wind of this. Nevertheless, the possibility that this ability wasn’t so incredible also existed. He needed to know which was reality.


    Tairy let out a deep sigh.


    “Listen. It’s one thing to slow down the Curse’s progress or diminish its effects. It’s another to keep it from invading you at all. The Curse of Darkness isn’t some feature limited to a Tutorial Zone. I had never even heard of anyone resisting it like that. Just don’t tell anyone else. At all.”


    Michael narrowed his eyes before quickly nodding.


    “But let’s just forget about that and never talk about it again. Now, the stuff you need to know,” Tairy continued while shaking his head. “The Consumed Territory consists of the very center of the Tutorial Zone’s underground. In its heart is the Abyss, which you shouldn’t enter. This is the stuff you already know.”


    “The Forgotten,” Michael interrupted before Tairy could continue. “They were people, weren’t they? Is it related to what you said about the Curse existing outside of the Tutorial?”


    Tairy nodded with a frown.


    “The Consumed Territory is the area that was taken over by the Curse. This naturally includes Villages. Yes, the Forgotten were people, but not anymore. Devoured by the Curse, there is no inkling of intelligence left.”


    “How am I meant to clear an area consumed by a Curse that can overwhelm even actual Villages?”


    Tairy raised an eyebrow.


    “You aren’t. The only way to ‘clear’ the Consumed Territory is to overcome the Abyss, which is impossible. The Consumed Territory exists as a zone of greater danger and rewards for powerful contestants, but it’s not supposed to be cleared.”


    Michael furrowed his brow.


    “…If it exists in the Tutorial Zone, it’s meant to be beaten. This includes the Abyss.”


    Tairy let out a deep sigh as he shook his head.


    “You don’t get it. How many Tutorial Zones do you think happen at the same time? Or how many people are introduced as contestants? There are those with talents you can’t even dream of. Generational geniuses with a much better starting point than yours. Yes, the Abyss is part of the Tutorial Zone, but that doesn’t mean anyone can beat it. I’ve never seen it happen.”


    Michael’s eyebrow twitched.


    “To begin with, you’re only human. Humans have great potential but next to no initial perks. It’s a very different story from a variety of other Races,” Tairy continued. He looked at Michael with a complicated look. “Trust me, Michael. Don’t enter the Abyss. You’ll only end up as a corpse, regardless of your secrets.”


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Michael clenched his fists. His determination to tackle the Abyss wavered. Tairy was an experienced Mage who was also classified as an important NPC. Even if he didn’t know the full extent of Michael’s abilities, it stood to reason that he had a good idea of them. For him to be so adamant about avoiding the Abyss, it should be a true danger zone. However, there was one fact that fueled Michael’s desire to enter this death trap.


    The Blessing.


    The Consumed Territory was home to the Curse of Darkness. But, Clyranth’s Blessing had already shown its ability to counter the Curse, to the extent of keeping it from invading his body entirely. Tairy had said he’d never seen anything like it. Since the Abyss was the heart of the Consumed Territory, it stood to reason that the Blessing might be effective in there, too.


    But it won’t be easy.


    The Blessing had granted him his greatest Skills, but it wasn’t a ‘win button.’ Clyranth had helped him enough. It was now up to him to Level up and strengthen himself as much as possible before going inside the Abyss. Michael narrowed his eyes. For his mother and friends, as well as his own safety in this new world, he needed to grasp at every opportunity to become stronger that he could.


    “Old man,” Michael called out after a few seconds of silence. “The Consumed Territory is the best way for my current self to become stronger, right? Now that I’ve gone inside and then returned here, what else can you tell me about it?”


    Tairy scoffed and crossed his arms.


    “That’s what I was doing before you interrupted me, brat.”


    Michael winced. It was true.


    “…Anyway, now that you know that the Territory includes destroyed Villages, the next thing you need to know is that the consumed Villages can be a great source of strength.”


    Michael tilted his head.


    “What do you mean?”


    “I told you what the Consumed Territory is supposed to be. As such, it’s only obvious that it contains rewards proportional to the danger. Each Village contains equipment, artifacts capable of increasing your stats, free Stat Points, and more. You just gotta find them while fighting past the Forgotten.”


    Michael rubbed his chin.


    Equipment, huh?


    The Elder Chief’s Staff was still the only piece of noteworthy equipment he had. The scarcity of pieces of equipment in the Tutorial Zone was almost strange, in a way. Were they concentrated in the Consumed Territory? No, that didn’t sound right. If only a select few could tackle the Territory and get rewarded with equipment, the disparity between them and the other contestants would only grow larger.


    As his thoughts reached this point, Michael froze.


    …No. The System was never fair.


    The mere existence of his draconic bloodline and Blessing were proof enough. In that sense, this Tutorial Zone wasn’t different from Earth at all.


    “Apart from that, there are naturally the Forgotten themselves,” Tairy continued, dragging him out of his thoughts. “They’re only a shadow of their former selves, but they still give the greatest amount of XP out of any enemy in the Tutorial. That’s matched by the difficulty of killing one. If you can consistently defeat the Forgotten, you’ll Level up faster than anyone else.”


    Michael nodded.


    “That’s not a problem. It becomes difficult when there’s more than one, though.”


    Tairy narrowed his milky eyes.


    “…I don’t wanna know how you know that. Either way, that’s basically the limit of what I can tell you. It’s nothing much, but you know how it is.”


    “Yeah, I get it. Anyway,” Michael took a deep breath and stood up on the dais. “I’m going back in. No time to waste.”


    The Tutorial would end soon. Before then, he needed to become as powerful as possible and, ideally, clear the Abyss. Even if it meant getting injured.


    Tairy frowned.


    “…Fine. Be careful. Come back if you feel like it’s too much. The Consumed Territory isn’t something you need to face. It’s okay to return to ordinary Dungeons.”


    Michael smiled at his master.


    “I know, old man. Then, I’m off.”


    He jumped from the stone dais onto the dirt floor, gave one last glance at the tree with blue mana leaves, and strode out. He could feel Tairy’s mana and aura shift with every step, but he didn’t turn back.


    There are too many powerful enemies in my future.


    Any chance to become stronger needed to be seized.


    With stable steps, Michael walked through the roads of Bluestone Village, then out of its main area. Following the route in his memories, he dashed past the stone columns with practiced ease, boosted by his Dragonheart. Once he activated Illumination, his speed only increased.


    Traversing the rugged stone ground like it was perfectly flat, Michael finally managed to glimpse the Curse of Darkness’ barrier in the distance. The entrance to the Consumed Territory. Without hesitation, he approached it. Taking one last glance at the barrier’s size, Michael stepped inside its domain. The wave of darkness covered him from head to toe, making him feel a chill down his spine. This time, however, something was different.


    He took a few steps forward and looked around.


    Now this is much more manageable.


    Instead of being unable to see almost anything without Illumination, he was now capable of grasping his surroundings. They weren’t perfectly clear, but part of his vision had certainly been restored.


    Nodding to himself, Michael evaluated the scenery before his gaze locked onto an area where the Curse seemed to be thicker. Naturally, it meant that it was where he was headed. Risk and reward went hand in hand.


    He started running, this time much slower than before, straining his senses as much as possible. For a while, Michael only ran past large rocks. Gradually, the remains of wooden houses started to appear. This only made him raise his guard.


    His ears twitched as a sound dug into them. As fast as he could, he drew a cross with his staff.


    “Mana Shield!”


    A heartbeat later, the projectile slammed onto the side of his head.