He had enough time to release his skill before his aura slammed into the necromancers. Maximilian gritted his teeth as the impact caused his bones to tremble. His aura was weaker than the necromancer. His had been released while the necromancer had begun to run out of steam. Which allowed him to hold out. He looked at the emaciated human caught between the attacks. Electricity and rot warred within its body. As soon as the stalemate ended, he activated Severing Disc. The emaciated man recovered a moment later and rushed him. Maximilian waited until the creature was close enough, he unleashed the disc. Without its master the creature was fast enough to dodge. The blade cut through its neck and continued onto the necromancer. The armored mage gave up on breaking the spell on the door and formed a shield of ashen grey energy. The disc cut into the shield but was too weak to make it all the way through.

  Maximilian followed it up with an imbued Static Bolt. The bolt hit the barrier as it was repairing itself. A spider web cracks spread from the impact point a moment before Maximilian arrived. He launched a straight punch imbued with spiritual energy into the barrier. A barrier that shattered like glass. Before he could follow up his instincts screamed of danger. Before he could react a black beam of energy shot out and into his chest. His chest tightened as black veins spread across his body. He stumbled back and fought to breath as the necromancer's barrier fell. "I don't know who or what you are but I must thank you. I lacked the power to break the array." The necromancer's words faded into the background as he fought to breath. A cold gauntleted hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him into the air. "Your life will do well enough."

  Maximilian tried to activate another skill only for rot to surge into his body. His world blurred as a horrid weakness spread through him. It felt like he had reached in and wrapped his hands around his heart. A pain unlike anything he had ever imagined spread through him as a beam of necrotic energy shot out of his chest and into the door. He closed his eyes and retreated as deep into his mind as he could. Hoping against hope that the pain would go away. When something changed. Something inside him snapped. Anger, fear, exhaustion and dozens of other emotions surged as he found the will to keep going. He opened his eyes and stared down at his attacker. His fingers feebly gripped his wrist. He reached deep down and released his Dao. Electricity exploded along with his killing intent. The chamber was brought under his control. A field of uncontrolled power, terror and blood lust.

  The necromancer lost control over his body and dropped Maximilian. For the first time since this insanity began he let his emotions run wild. The world shimmered around him as if none of it was real. As if the only thing that could be considered real was the blood lust. He held up his right hand and Severing Disc formed before he realized what happened. Only the skill was growing. It consumed spiritual energy until it had doubled in size. He relished the power for a moment before he could stop himself. The necromancer had gotten to his feet but it didn't matter. Maximilian launched the skill and it tore through the air between them. The necromancer's body held up for less than a second before he was bisected. The look of surprise on the mage's face brought a smile to his lips before he crashed. The adrenaline disappeared like a thief in the night leaving only the pain behind. He collapsed, face down on the hard ground. Get up. Get up. Get up He thought as if it would make his body listen. The sound of metal on stone filled his ears as a new panic sat in.

  He wouldn't die like this. He couldn't die like this. The cruelty would be too much. He won. He won. His fingers dug into the stone as he fought to stand up, to leave before the guards arrived. I won. Let me out! He screamed his thoughts to the Network as he tried to force the anger to return. He felt someone enter the room. One person followed by three others. He tried to command his spiritual energy to move to activate another skill but he couldn't. It was like sludge in his dantian. His instincts warned him of the danger but there was nothing he could do. He closed his eyes, before he was engulfed with white light. Tears dripped down his face as he tried to process all the emotions that washed over him. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that before he opened his eyes. When he did he found himself back in his apartment. On the cold ground. A blinking light in the corner of his vision told him that he had notifications to deal with but he didn't care. He wasn't in the mood to deal with that or anything else. Instead, he got to his feet and went into the bathroom. He wanted to get cleaned up and then go to bed. He would deal with the quest and his rewards when he woke up.

  He woke up sometime later with a groan. Phantom pain shot through him like a lance until he had calmed down. He sat up in bed and looked around. The lack of a proper sun or clock made it hard to know what time it was. Or whether it was morning. Not that it mattered. He was sure that it wasn't yet time for him to go to the meeting. He took a breath and surveyed the situation. He didn't remember getting the kill energy, something that was testament to the pain he had been in. Despite that the energy he received was impressive. It made up for the entire dungeon and then some. He wasn't sure if he would level during the next session or the following quest. Either way he would get some benefits. Next, he decided to deal with the quest rewards.

  Quest 7 Complete. Quest Grade: A. Reward Distribution has begun. Tutorial Title has been improved.

  Tutorial-7th Quest: Complete the Seventh Quest of the Tutorial. Reward: All Attributes +10, All Attributes +10%, Potency of All Attributes +5%

  Reward: Nystal City Trial Token, Network Center,

  As soon as he finished reading the prompt an item appeared in his lap. It was a slip but very different from all the ones he had seen so far. It was all black and had a name across the front. The name was Nystal city, but it didn't explain what it was for. He figured it would let him go to this city but when he tried to infuse it with energy it was stopped. What made it strange was the lack of array. It was a name. He tried a few more things before he placed it in his bag. He was confident it would get explained soon so it wasn't worth worrying about. He searched for the second award, but nothing appeared. He tried a few vocal commands, but nothing happened. He figured the Network wouldn't refuse him a reward or at least it wouldn't without telling him. Which meant it was something dangerous. Something he couldn't use nor or something the Network would give him at the end of the tutorial. Which sucked since there was no guarantee he would survive. He was confident in his chances, but he would've preferred something he could use right now.

  He checked for any new titles but found nothing. Which was disappointing. He would've assumed killing the—he paused as the realization hit him. He had once again killed a person. Or something that was like a person. He took a breath to calm the anxiety in his chest. He had done what he had to do. "It was him or me." He spoke those words several more times as he tried to convince himself. Tried to forget how much he had enjoyed that moment. How the electricity had felt. The power he wielded. He passed his mind's eye over the symbol for Severing Disc and found it had improved. Something that hadn't made him feel better but did make him feel stronger. He would need the power. He wasn't confident in going up a difficulty. Not after that battle. He checked if his Dao comprehension had improved but it didn't. He could tell he had made some progress, but it felt far away. Which was fine for now. He wanted to practice with it a few more times before it got stronger. It was already hard to tame so he didn't need it to get any worse. He sat in bed for a few more minutes before he decided to get moving. He managed to take a bath and get dressed before the familiar hum spread through the building. He nodded and stepped outside to join the procession. A short while he sat as Thrawn began another lesson.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  "Good day fledglings. You all have no doubt noticed something odd about your last quest. Or rather you should've. Those of you who qualified have received the same reward. An object called the 'Network Center'." He held up a hand to ward off the raised hands and the start of several questions. "We will discuss the other reward as well. Be patient brats. Now the Network Center is the anchor that you will use to rebuild your world. It is what marks you as a recognized leader on your world. Without it you can't buy structures, shops and connect to the greater multiverse. Without nothing you build will matter in the eyes of the Network."

  Maximilian sat up at that explanation. The way he phrased that worried him. If the number of leaders were limited than what would happen when the limit was reached? He doubted people would accept that which meant a bloody war would begin. Or at least small scale fights. Thrawn continued his explanation before he get too far down the rabbit hole.

  "Now Network Centers are not created equal. The ones you all have access to are Rank 1 or basic centers. They provide the simplest benefits and are thus the most common. The most important benefit is access to the class system. Upon reaching the correct level each of you will need to find a center to finish your evolution. Which means he or she who controls the center controls the power of your world." Thrawn's grin made Maximilian's skin crawl. It was filled with blood lust and anticipation. As if he couldn't wait to see what would come next. Maximilian gritted his teeth and took a breath. As far as he knew Thrawn was irrelevant to the situation. He wouldn't return to Earth with them, and he wouldn't be able to do anything once they left. He needed to focus on surviving and then rebuilding the world. "That being said the centers also allow you to build a rank 1 settlement or a village as it often called. You will have a limited selection to begin with. Because you all are in the tutorial it is your performance here that determines what you can buy. People outside will not have that privilege."

  Maximilian cocked his head at that. If his understanding was correct, it meant people could get centers outside of here. Or after it was over. If that was the case, then there could be more leaders than he thought? Either that or something would force them to fight after you made a village. He figured that his center had to be pretty good. Assuming that everything he did until now counted. Even if he low balled his efforts to being middle tier it should place him in a good spot. The major question was what he should buy and where he should form the village. Assuming he had a choice.

  "With that having said I imagine you would like to know how to use the centers. You should have learned that it's impossible while you are here. That is by design. The Network controls this space and once you all leave it will cease to exist. Thus, wasting your center here would hurt a lot. Once you leave you have freedom to place it wherever you like. I would suggest you think about it before you do. Building a village in the heart of a monster invested forest is not the wisest option. Though it could be fun."

  Maximilian ignored that last part. Thrawn let the group ask a few questions which let Maximilian theorize for a moment. He first instinct was to focus on the normal things. Places for food, water and everything else life needed, but was that right? His body had evolved by a wide margin. He didn't need to sleep anywhere near as much nor did he need to eat. With that in mind his priorities shifted. He still needed somewhere easy to defend but also filled with cultivation resources. Further he had to consider what the Earth would be like. As far as he knew the planet would be unrecognizable.

  "Well with that part complete it is time we shifted to your other reward. The Nystal city token is a trial token. It is for an even that will begin after the tutorial is over. When its time you will break your token and the Network will transport you to Nystal city. Before you ask I have no idea what the city is or the nature of the trial. It is always different from tutorial to tutorial. What I can tell you is that it is a opportunity for you to get stronger. Such opportunities will become rarer as you advance. Once you leave here you can send a bit of energy into the token to track how long you have until its time for the trial. I would suggest you not waste the opportunity."

  "Are we able to sell or trade it?" A man called out from three rows in front of Maximilian. "If we don't want to take part I mean."

  Thrawn chuckled and nodded. "Of course, you are free to do with the token as you will. With one exception your tokens only work for people from your world. You won't be able to sell it to anyone of world. Should you somehow get the chance."

  Maximilian considered selling his for a moment, but knew he wouldn't. So far, everything the Network provided was more than worth it. If this trial provided another title than it could increase his strength. Far more than what money could ever hope to. At least he assumed so. It would be kind of stupid if you could buy a new title. Though if you could sell tokens, you should be able to buy more of them out there. He doubted all trial tokens would be region locked. He would have to keep an eye out for someone selling something interesting. It would give him a good chance to leave the planet and get stronger. Maximilian listened as people asked more questions but there was no new information. Thrawn revealed that they could use Earth's cities as your village, but it wouldn't work the same. The centers would give you control over a limited area around itself. If you wanted more, you had to expand it by force and by upgrading the center.

  Further, his hunch was proven correct. If two or more centers were placed close to one another, all sides would receive a warning and then a quest. Where one side would have to take out the other. As they upgraded their villages into cities, and whatever came next. The areas would grow and develop. Soon after nations would form, the question was would there be a limit? Or would they be forced into a literal world war? He clinched his fist as the dwarves disappeared. He hated this. He hated feeling a game piece on someone's board. An item to entertain someone else. Of course, how different was it from the old world? There were no powers, but Earth had two World Wars and almost had a third. People are more powerful than any of them. People who played by rules no one knew to determine the fates of all kinds of innocent people.

  He sighed and shook his head. It wasn't all bad. They had the chance to change things. He had the chance to change things. His stats proved it. He had to be amongst the wealthiest people on the planet. Which meant he was one of the few. He could fix the world. He was lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized he was back at his apartment until the door opened in front of him. He took a breath and made his way into his cultivation chamber. All his dreams of grandeur would have to be dealt with after this was finished for now, he had to focus. He wanted to store as much energy as possible before tomorrow's quest. He sat down and started circulating the Nine Lightning Canon. Energy surged into his dantian. Tomorrow would be interesting.