Things have been going quite well for Dante lately. His small fort and army have been expanding slowly, while Virgil has been 'gathering' taxes from the nearest enemy camps. However, 'gathering' might not be the best choice of words, as he was essentially beating the crap out of any foe he found in the vicinity of the fort, exterminating them to the last penny.

These camps were quite interesting, consisting essentially of a group of enemies located in certain spots around the map. They usually had a leader with better stats than the rest, but none as strong as the White Goblin or the Halberd Knight. Fortunately, they were able to locate these camps after they purchased the third-tier map,aka, the Following Map. These camps offered a way to earn Tutorial Coins, and after destroying a certain number of them, additional benefits like resources and Skill Points were gifted as part of completing Hidden Quests. For instance, they received the following for destroying the first camp:

Hidden Quest completed: Destroy your first neutral camp

Rewards:

• 1 SP

• 30,000 TC

• 500 Iron

• 500 Wood

• 500 Stone

And yes, the camps were curiously labeled as 'neutral camps', and intriguingly, the one with the White Goblin did not count as the initial one. This led him to speculate that the goblins might belong to a faction distinct from that of the Bone King. Could they have been at war? Unfortunately, there was no way to ascertain this at the moment. For now, his only course of action was to continue strengthening his forces and Virgil, in anticipation of the second wave that he was sure would come. Given the nature of The Game, it seemed no level of preparation would ever suffice.

In any event, they had destroyed 7 camps (on the way to conquer the 8th) in the past three days, earning yet another milestone reward for their efforts on the way:

Hidden Quest completed: Destroy 5 neutral camps

Rewards:

• 1 SP

• 60,000 TC

• 1000 Iron

• 1000 Wood

• 1000 Stone

The enemies also provided substantial capital, enabling them to save a significant amount, which they spent on infrastructure and, well, in Bobs. Virgil had also maxed out Strength Infusion (level 5), Agility Infusion (level 5), and Conjure Bone Weapon (level 6), with still 1 Sp to spare. Dante had spent 50,000 TC to buy an extra point in Might and Finesse from the vending machine, and another 50,000 TC on the Random Skill Level-Up, which resulted in upgrading Summon Skeleton Warrior to level 5.

It must be noted, to Dante's regret, that after purchasing either stats, SP, or random skill upgrades from the vending machine, the price for the next available purchase doubled. This meant 1 SP now cost 200,000 TC, a Might and Finesse stat cost 50,000 TC each, and the random skill upgrade cost 100,000 TC.

Besides the upgrades, Virgil himself has been growing more powerful through combat, learning to use Strength Infusion to perfection and making more use of his skills in combat. For example, using his summons to disrupt the enemies' momentum, cause distractions, or shield himself from strikes.

He has also improved the use of the skill Conjure Bone Weapon. For instance, Virgil no longer uses just one weapon; he might start a strike with a normal mace and then change halfway to a staff or a bone warhammer. He even appears empty-handed sometimes, just to create a bone flail and crush the skull of an unprepared foe. This has become possible thanks to the level 6 version of the skill:

Conjure Bone Weapon (R1 L6)

• Summons a rank 1, level 6 weapon of choice. Duration: 400 s, MP cost: 22, CD: 80 s.

This last strategy has not only improved Virgil’s combat capabilities but also offered long-term advantages. Dante wanted to see what would happen if Virgil achieved the first realm of mastery in several different weapons. Would The Game give him some extra benefits? Surely… right?

In any case, he had a clear goal in mind, and that was to gain mastery in 5 weapons. They had chosen some with effectiveness against their current enemies: skeletons, in mind. They chose a staff, a mace, a warhammer, a flail, and knuckles. For now, Virgil was still quite far from reaching the first level of mastery in any of them—besides the staff. He knew it would take some time; after all, Virgil had a perfect training partner for the first one, only achieving mastery after possibly more than 100 combats, combats that were always to the death, not normal training spars.

But Dante trusted Virgil. After all, he knew Virgil was a combat prodigy through and through. It would only be a matter of time before he reached mastery in these 5 weapons.

So it was at that time when Dante had just finished 'talking' with Bobs and was going back to eat some snacks and listen to some music—not at all his daily routine—when a smile came to his face:

Virgil leveled up.

"About damn time," Dante had been waiting for this for a while now. Virgil hadn't leveled up since the defeat of the Halberd Knight, not even when he killed the White Goblin and more than 7 camps' worth of enemies. Leveling was getting harder each time.

But it wasn't just the level up that had Dante more anxious; it was the significance of this level up. For one, it unlocked the level 6 options of Strength Infusion and Agility Infusion, but most importantly:

Strengthen Summon (R1 L2)

• Increases the level of all rank 1 summons by 2.

With that skill, Virgil effectively gained another level (his summons too, but nobody really cares about that). Dante was about to distribute the Skill Points when a message from the System appeared:

• Base Essence attribute surpassed 100

• Essence's stat leveled up

• Essence now reduces MP cost of all skills by 0.5% per 10 points of Essence. Effect is multiplicative.

"What!?" Dante had no idea what was happening. He hadn't expected this at all. I mean, maybe the idea of gaining a title or something had slipped through his mind when one stat surpassed 100, but something like leveling up a stat was really unexpected. And he had time to think. A lot.

Well, in any case, it was a good thing. He quickly did the math and found that he had approximately a 5.36% MP cost reduction—well, Virgil had. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

This also made Dante realize that maybe attributes might be much more important than he initially thought. If they could actually level up and give extra benefits, then their significance would just become more apparent at higher levels. For example, he now saw how 1000 points in Essence were much more important than 3000 points in MP. The former not only gave you 3000 MP but also reduced your MP cost by close to 40%.

This was yet another variable in The Game, becoming more complex at every turn. And he had to keep all variables in mind, because any of them could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Dante gave it some thought and decided to spend the two remaining SP on upgrading Strength and Agility Infusion, all the while Virgil was still engaged in combat, finishing off the enemies in the camp.

Name: Virgil

Class: Undead Summoner

• Level: 12(+2)

• HP: 435

• MP: 337.5

• Might: 57(+30)

• Finesse: 61(+30) (while holding staff)

• Mystique: 91.5

• Essence: 112.5

Virgil currently looked strong, much stronger and more skilled than the Virgil who faced the Halberd Knight. However, a worry still crept into Dante. He felt, somehow, that it would never be enough.

---

She still could not believe it. Was that even possible? The idea had come to her head after the description from the Amazonian, but she already had a guess in her mind.

The Game had offered enemies so far in an increasing order of proficiency. It started with plain enemies with no mastery, but then it started showing enemies that had mastered their weapons and footwork. Later on, there had been enemies with a weapon or armor with a strange aura, an aura that gave the equipment a significant boost; they had also seen enemies that suddenly became enraged and gained more agility or strength. Alice had a good guess that the latter enemies had mastered one of their skills, something that gave them this distinct trait. That said, the reality was that they were still no match for Thaleia, with all her allocated boosts, refined technique, and mastered skill, but that was not the important element. No, this was a Tutorial after all, and the objective of a Tutorial was to help you adapt to The Game, as Lumière had told her. Then there must be hints along the way on how to get stronger. And those enemies were the hints.

If Alice had to divide them, then there was a first tier of enemies that had no mastery over anything. They were the plain cannon fodder. Then second, came those that had mastered a weapon or footwork style, or both. Then third came those that had mastered a skill. And then Alice looked at the minotaur, and then came the fourth tier.

But what had they mastered? What was the dividing line? Was it gaining superior mastery of a skill, as in more than Basic Mastery? Or was it something else entirely different? All that pointed to something that was not a combat style, not a technique, but something more primitive, something more essential. But what was more essential than the skills? That was all you had to fight with, right? But then it came to her when the Amazonian started describing the sensation:

"I felt as if I were being crushed by an oppressive force.” ‘An oppressive force? Where did it come from, the arena or the minotaur?’

“When the minotaur's attention was fixed on me, a sense of overwhelming weakness overtook me. It was as though it emanated from the creature itself,”‘ So it was from the minotaur, as she had guessed. Something it could control to a certain degree and enforce to weaken its enemies. But what was it? What did the minotaur possess to command such power? What gave it such strength, such Might … Wait, Might. It couldn’t be, could it? But yes, it had to be; what was more essential than that? Sure, you had several skills, but you only had four of this, four that would stay with you for the rest of your journey. The pillars of your power. Yes, that was it.

"Like being oppressed by Might?" she wrote, interrupting the Amazonian. She saw how the latter was slightly shocked and nodded her head slowly. She was right, as always.

Now the problem was, how to master an attribute?

---

"How did it feel?" crooned the skeletal goblin, its voice a sinister melody as it circled its prey. There, splayed upon the cold, unforgiving ground, lay a skeleton adorned in a ragged robe, bereft of an arm and a leg. Its weapon, a bone staff still clutched in its skeletal grasp, lay discarded a haunting distance away.

"I presume it was exhilarating, wasn't it? Toying with those of inferior might," the goblin taunted, the eerie gleam in its eyes mirroring the sinister dance of its twin daggers. These were no ordinary blades; imbued with a dark, mysterious aura, their edges gleaming with a malevolence that promised death. The silence that enveloped the scene was oppressive, a silent witness to the macabre spectacle unfolding.

"Yet, you possess a certain... resilience," the goblin mused, its voice dripping with a venomous delight. "To dare challenge a White Goblin, especially as a mere Tier 2. And to emerge victorious? Truly, it's a feat worthy of acclaim," it hissed, materializing behind the prone skeleton in a blink, the dagger's point caressing the air mere inches from the skeleton's neck. "Should I offer my congratulations?" it whispered, a sinister chuckle slicing through the heavy silence that hung like a shroud.

With a sudden, brutal force, the goblin's boot connected with the skeleton, sending it careening across the floor in a grotesque ballet of bone and despair.

"Ha! I do hope that sensation thrilled you..." the goblin sneered, reappearing with predatory swiftness behind the skeleton as it struggled to right itself, only to deliver another vicious kick. "Because that, my dear adversary, is a mere reflection of the ecstasy I bask in now."

The skeleton, though grievously battered and utterly vanquished, still burned with an indomitable will, its eyes alight with an unquenchable fire.

Without warning, a skeletal warrior emerged from thin air, standing next to the skeletal goblin and brandishing its mace for an attack. "Oh, but of course," the goblin sighed, with a flick of its wrist, its dagger sang through the air, severing the warrior's head from its shoulders, reducing it to naught but dust. "You had your little tricks, didn't you?"

Approaching the fallen skeleton, the goblin observed the slow, inexorable march of regeneration as the missing bones began to reform. "Alas, how I wish I could linger, to revel in this delightful game of ours," it murmured, tightening its grip on the dagger with a palpable sense of anticipation. "But I shouldn’t be here in the first place." And with a swift, decisive movement, the dagger was plunged downwards.