<… 3 Seconds>

<… 2 Seconds>

<… 1 Seconds>

 

When the teleportation commenced a bright light blinded me... Closing my eyes, I prepared to move soon as the teleportation ends.

Eventually, the light faded and I shot open my eyes.

Briefly noticing, then ignoring the basic stone dungeon type area around me. I rolled forward as fast as possible.

Five paralytic arrows whoosh above my head. Deadly silence hung throughout the cold stone corridor for about 2 to 3 seconds.

Then, the mechanical sound of pistons occurs behind me.

Deadly poisonous spikes shot up toward the position teleported to.

Breaking out in cold sweat, I sat there and contemplated my idiocy.

I’ve actually arrived here… before I had some doubts whether this was actually happening.

If any doubts remained, though the pain from rolling on the stone corridor and whizzing of the arrows above my head had cleared them all away.

Honestly, when I made the novel, I wanted to portray Hell difficulty... as well, actually being Hell difficulty. As in, something a normal person would never be able to survive.

In other novels, I'd seen had done a decent job of it... but, at the time, I felt that they seemed to be lacking in actual difficulty.

...But, as I glancing backward, toward the silent metal spikes and arrows, I felt like murdering my past self for being overly zealous about the difficulty.

This trap combination alone likely killed off all participants without some type of foreknowledge, regeneration perks, or something equally overpowered.

After all, anyone intelligent when teleported to a new place would stand still and quickly assess the surroundings. Especially, in something called Hell Difficulty… Yet, doing that would almost certainly get you killed or severely injured immediately.

Life isn’t like a novel where people can have unlimited willpower, bullshit genius level talents, and random knowledge about on how to build a steam engine.

At least, my life isn't like that... I don’t know about other people.

I wouldn’t even know how to make a bow, nevermind anything else.

Fortunately, foreknowledge of this deadly trap allowed me to plan for it before teleporting here.

Feeling the cold air of the surroundings, I staring back at the spikes and slowly stood up.

Theoretically, this room should be safe until I step out… but, glancing toward the dangerous looking hallway... I'm not really reassured by that.

I don’t have enough data to fully trust my foreknowledge yet… and considering the designers of Hell Difficult room would have to be some sort of malicious sadist (subtle jab at past me). I wouldn’t really be surprised if there are other ‘presents’ lying around the teleportation room that I didn’t design.

Without stepping anywhere, I leaned over to peer into the unnaturally straight hallway. There are patterns various magic patterns all over the floor and wall. Along with various holes for arrows and spikes and various puzzles.

Altogether, it was a very malicious looking hallway. Simply looking at it caused me to wince... unlike Rin, and the other protagonist characters, I don’t an amazing superpower, ability, knowledge, training, or luck that going to help me survive this.

I’m also not under the impression I’m skilled enough to dodge all the traps... or solve all the puzzles with my limited foreknowledge of them.

Let’s not avoid mentioning, I didn’t even write the entire hallway in the novel.

After describing the hallway in the novel, I only wrote in detail the first couple traps then simply wrote, “Despite the clear horror of the hallway and obvious maliciousness of the designers, it was only a matter of trail and error for Rin to reach the resting station.”

Nearly anyone else surviving the tutorial, beside Rin, should have been near impossible... but, considering I needed a decent cast of characters, I gave everyone in Hell Difficulty cheat level superpowers and abilities and was done with it… Not particularly helpful for my current situation.

Fortunately, I also did a side-story POV with Stanley!

As a useless otaku, but comedic relief character, he failed to dodge every arrow and was paralyzed when grazed by an arrow. However, due to his extraordinary luck, the spike mechanism malfunctioned and simply fell to the ground harmlessly in his paralyzed state.

Eventually, he crawled toward the wall to help him stand up and pulled on a brick to help him get up, which coincidentally triggered a switch which disables the majority of the traps.

At the time, I explained this as it was actually a way of solving the corridor. With the switch meant to help anyone with powerful observation and mental powers, but not strong physical type powers.

Looking down that corridor though, I’m starting to doubt any of the others actually made it through the full difficulty corridor…

Carefully listening for any possible mechanical traps, I apprehensively stepped toward one of the walls looking for the switch. Around fifteen minutes later of tensely searching I found something that resembles one and cautiously triggered it.

Nothing seems to have happened?

I immediately decided to spending another period of time to ensure there isn’t another switch around the room…

Okay… I’ll admit that I might, possibly, be slightly delaying stepping out into the death corridor… But, seriously, can you blame me? Even with most of the deadly deathtrap disabled, there's still probably like 20-30 other deathtraps not disabled…

I mean, I imagine a system message being like…{Odd of survival increased from ‘Certain death’ to ‘99% chance of death’}.

Even with the certain deathtraps disabled, my chances of survival haven't really improved much, unless I somehow figure out an ingenious strategy to survive this…

Hesitantly looking around, my gaze landed on the arrows on the floor.

Picking one up, I lobbed it toward a glowing pattern made in runes on the floor (that didn’t look very disabled). Flying through the air spectacularly, it land just before the glowing pattern.

Staring at it for a second, I cautiously began moving toward it.

BANG! A giant explosion went off blackening most of the walls around it and slightly throwing me off balance.

Well, that’s one trap disabled… collapsing and resting my back on the floor. Shit… I regret choosing Hell difficulty already.

[Several hours of meandering later…]

Fortunately, the hallway wasn’t as difficult as I initially thought.

Well, beside the magical sigil traps that create explosions, or some of the other horrible traps... or the sigils that seemingly do nothing.

Not really sure which is scarier, when the explosion goes off I know the trap is sprung... When it does nothing, I feel like I’m walking toward an unexploded bomb that could go off at any moment…

Okay… So, maybe I’ve almost died like ten times to various spike traps and arrow traps…

But, at least at the puzzle sections, like here, I get to rest without having to worry about a deadly trap kill me… Unless I make a mistake in the puzzle… Yea, sort of learned to be careful with the puzzles after arrow shot out of everywhere the first time…

These puzzles would be much easier to figure out if the instructions for them were in a language I could read…

Surprise! Surprise! The inhabitants didn’t account for the fact that we speak entirely different languages when designing their puzzles, I don’t really remember this being a problem for Rin though…

Also, makes me question why the system is speaking in English? Am I going to have trouble talking with Rin? Focus! That’s a problem for later.

I can do this, I’m almost at the resting area… Okay~ The solution to this puzzle should be… three tiles forward then two to the right whilst avoiding touching various trap triggers in the puzzle...

When I reach the last tile, I rolled to the right. Dodging underneath a poisoned arrow… AND THE DOOR IS OPEN!

Yea… Public Service Announcement: The traps go off, regardless of whether you succeed at the puzzle. Learned that the hard way, my left shoulder still leaking blood and hurts from that paralysis arrow…

Is that it? Doubtfully gazing forward into the now open white door decorated with a red plus, which signified the rest area. Cautiously stepping forward, there shouldn’t be any more dangers until after the resting point.

The resting station should allow me to get some of the food, water, and potentially some sleep later on.

Although… the food is slightly poisoned, it’s not deadly poison!

Remember kids! When in denial, always look on the bright side…

Still, the poison should simply cause nausea. It shouldn’t matter if I allow my body to slowly build immunity to the poison by eating small amount.

The rest area had a similar appearance to a kitchen with a refrigerator packed full and various supplies. It’s also the only entirely safe area in the entire Hell difficulty tutorial, if you exclude the slightly poisoned food.

Nibbling on some snack chocolate bars that were in the fridge, I started to plan. Specifically, I need a plan on how to deal with Rin assuming I can even interact/speak with her.

Part of problem with interacting with time travelers is that they can carry grudges or gratitude from alternative timelines that I will never have experienced. Since I’m planning on specifically seeking her out, to obtain her protection, I’ll need to be extra careful.

Specifically meaning, in life and death situations I can never abandon her… since I’d never know whether I’d have told her a lie in aborted timelines, I can only answer truthfully to her or dodge, distract, and give partial truths to sensitive questions.

I put down the chocolate bar as I began to feel sick from the poison in it.

If everything happens similar to my novel, Rin should take 8 days to go through the tutorial. Meanwhile, everyone else who survives should take 15 days to 30 days. The trap portion of this zone, which I already completed, was merely the short version of this area. The other bit of the tutorial will take longer, as it is basically a wilderness survival with various monsters.

I should at least be able to get some use out of my ability now… though, I still have no idea how effective it is. If I’m lucky, I might find an inheritance left for survivors of the procedure. If everything goes the same, Rin should collect one that has a powerful sword from somewhere in the wilderness zone.

Anyway, this rest area is a transitional area, where people go from dealing with traps to dealing with monsters. After the rest area, the tutorial opens up into a forest area where the candidates have to survive and search for the teleportation beacon. When the survivor activates the teleportation beacon they’ll head to the next zone.

Knowing the way this place is set up provides several advantages.

My first advantage is foreknowledge, meaning I know a basilisk like monster is guarding the beacon.

The basilisk is a 50-foot long monstrosity that can regenerate almost indefinitely, unless it brain is destroyed, alongside its ability to permanently turn something to stone once a day by simply glaring. The basilisk itself is a near unkillable monstrosity, which Rin had to avoid fighting in the novel (due to basically being instantly killed whenever attempting to fight it).

This overpowered basilisk is something I’ll have to avoid. While <Rank 10> of The Unnoticed ability might, keyword being might, prevent normal monsters from noticing me, I can’t risk the basilisk seeing through it.

Making my first priority to improve The Unnoticed to [Rank 7] or [Rank 8] as soon as possible. Otherwise, I don’t have any confidence in working against such a monstrosity.

Growing powers specifically can improve in grade from purifying corrupted mana, which basically leaves me with two options.

I can waiting around and meditating to absorbing mana, which could take anywhere from a month to possibly a year depending on the concentration of corruption in the mana… Or I can use the second, much faster (yet infinitely more dangerous), method kill monsters.

Monsters were initially formed from condensed mana and collect more over time. Thus, whenever someone kills a monster those particles of mana dissolve into the surrounds and a proportion gets absorbed by the killer's body.

To speed up my abilities growth to a decent margin, the best option is killing monsters and absorbing their mana. My body should absorb the corruption in the mana improving my ability and purifying the mana for use with spells. Only one small tiny problem with this method… I have no experience fighting.

Dodging? I’ve gotten decent at that thanks to the trap section. Turns out once you get stabbed with an arrow, you learn to avoid other arrows quickly.

Fighting? I’m in trouble… Still, I really don’t have a choice.

One of the usages of purified mana is that it can cast insanely powerful spells. Even if it is used inefficiently, it is still extremely powerful. Simply grab some mana pour in intent and you’ve cast a spell. Invisibility, fireballs, or pretty much anything else is possible. Provided you have enough mana for it.

Leading to the main problem with magic... mana doesn’t regenerate automatically. If you want to cast another invisibility spell or something you have to completely recollect the mana for it.

Basically, mana is like a battery that when charged anything is possible, but the only way to recharge it is killing more monsters or slowly absorbing it from the surroundings (which would take forever to get enough for an novice like myself to actually cast a spell with).

Any drop of mana used in a spell is reabsorbed into the surroundings and most monsters won’t provide enough mana to make it profitable to use mana on killing them. Making mana basically a last resort used almost exclusively in life and death situations and an extremely bad idea to use it casually…

In the novel, this was irrelevant to Rin. Her superpower prevented her from using mana for spells… although, it didn’t prevent the collection of mana.

Inadvertently, leading to some misunderstandings between other characters. As creatures can approximately sense the amount of mana in others. This provides an interesting intimidation type effect, as simply having enough mana can scare away weaker monsters and wildlife.

If everything goes the same as before, on the fourteenth day the basilisk should be distracted by another monster and leave for two days to deal with it, leaving the teleportation beacon open. If I didn’t end up with a stealth type power, I would probably be forced to use that opportunity to escape… since I have this power, though, I should take advantage of it to give myself more options.

Before thinking any longer, I should clean off my wounds. It’s sub-optimal that I ended up wounded, but honestly I’m probably lucky to have even survived that first corridor… Though, It wasn’t that bad once you got used to the utter craziness of it.

Never really understood what people meant when they said people can adapt to almost everything before today.

Standing up, I collected several sharp knives and a few snacks from the cooking supplies lying around the kitchen and stuffed them into a small bag nearby. Putting water on a nearby towel, I proceeded to start cleaning the various wounds on my body.

Okay… that should be good enough to prevent infection. Throwing down the blood soaked towel and I proceed to store another one for later.

Alright, no time to waste… although I called the stage wilderness survival, as long as I don’t stray to far from the safe room, I should be fine for food and water.

The main difficult is from this stage is the insanely powerful and dangerous monsters. Due to my power, I shouldn’t have to worry about ambushes from monsters (hopefully) and should be able to relatively safely travel through the forest.

[Several hours later…]

BORED… Wow, this is boring… While almost dying every few seconds isn’t exactly fun, at least it wasn’t boring. I've been walking through the wilderness for what feels like hours and literally nothing has happened… No random monster ambushes, no man eating plants attempting to murder me, no animals, nothing!

In the novel, Rin was running into stuff all the time. Interesting things like man eating plants, deadly monster wolfs, flowers that attracted and ensnared her to use her as fertilizer. I know that I probably shouldn’t be complaining about not being eaten by man-eating plants… BUT, come on! Literally nothing’s happened since wondering into the forest.

Besides the strange glowing plants (that I avoid touching for obvious reasons), deadly vines, and other obviously deadly plants, I feel as though I’m strolling through normal woods instead of a Hell difficulty survival wilderness.

Technically, speaking the wilderness around me is still incredibly dangerous. Just… it feels kinda mellow and boring compared with the part with deadly traps and puzzles.

Well, whatever… if I can find the lake, I should be able to get started collecting mana.

The lake should be to the east of the resting zone… but, considering I’ve been traveling for what feels like hours, I’ve probably taken a wrong turn somewhere… Ugh, I should start heading back toward the resting area before it gets dark.

[Several frustrating days later…]

Okay, so… you know how I said that lake should be to the east? Yeah… must have actually meant west… Whoops… guess my memory isn’t that great. To be fair, I wrote that part of the novel a long time ago.

Anyway! The important thing is I got here eventually with minimal life threatening encounters! (Notice: Due to my general stupidity, lack of danger perception, and absence of any type of wilderness training. ‘Minimal’ is actually a complete and utter understatement.)

Scattered across the beach of the lake, there were small monster clam that has razor sharp shell with the hardness of diamond. These monstrous clams open up their mouths and secrete a smell to attract small animals into their shell. Clamping down and cutting off the part of anyone stupid enough to their body into their mouth and feeding on it.

Basically, these monsters are dangerous if you put something in their mouth, but otherwise relatively harmless.

Approaching a clam, I proceeded to throw a nearby rock into its mouth and watched as it crushed it to dust. Wow, that's dangerous... it clamped down at an incredible speed.

Quickly! Grabbing the clam, I stuck a knife from the rest area inside the seam of the shell. The knife plunged deep into key muscles essentially preventing the clam from opening and closing it shell. Great! Now, we have an essentially defenseless clam.

Although I say defenseless, they’re contain deadly poison… so I can’t actually eat them... But, I’m not doing this for food, but rather for the mana.

For most slightly intelligent things in the forest, it's far easier for them to kill other things for mana. They would never bother to actually kill these clams… however, for me, this is probably the only thing I’d be able to (relatively) safely kill without significant risk to life and limb.

In the novel, Rin simply used these clams to create arrowheads that were poisonous to kill larger monsters. She had the advantage of knowing how to make and shoot a bow. Compared to her… well, I simply don’t have the skills to do that, nor the time to learn.

The amount of mana these clams will give me is probably minuscule… Still, mosquito meat is still meat. I should collect as many of these monsters as possible then head back to the rest area to cook them.