—BAM! Karina falls face-first to the ground.
"AH! You idiot!" Serene quickly brushes her bruised face, red. She wobbles her head around, smiling at Serene. Serene pats her back while hugging her.
Leon's gaze fixates on the octopus tail, his fingers delicately lifting it from the surface.
With a slow, deliberate motion, he turns it over in his hand, studying its intricate details.
"Here it is."
He looks as his body is back to normal height before he got transported to the tutorial. Suddenly, he finds himself standing before a foreboding, decrepit chateau, its dark façade looming ominously. As he steps forward, his boots sink into the black liquid seeping from the ground, its texture resembling of liquid nitrogen.
"Aren't you going to welcome your guest?"
[All stats have been disabled.]
[You are in the presence of Istria, the tower "???"]
Leon blinks, and in an instant, he finds himself in a dimly lit hall.
Large pillars rise around him, adorned with gothic paintings. Rows of reptile-like creatures, on each pillar, almost stone-like but shining like metal, almost humane but inhumane, and their fangs dripping after their gazes fixated on Leon.
Leon smirks while not maintaining eye contact, 'Haven't seen these fucktards in a while.'
...
A person-like thing comes down, a white gown, everything white like the moon. Even the moon had spots but on her clothes, nothing, not even a single stain was present. Before her kneeling humans, their decapitated heads in their hands, holding like they are offering their heads to them. Each head smiling, with their eyes in tears as if they are in some kind of euphoric episode.
"That is a little disturbing, Istria," Leon mutters.
The person doesn't reply.
The woman floats before Leon, she bites her lips, quivering in anger.
"Why aren't you offering anything to me?"
Leon smirks while he suddenly grabs the neck of the person, grabbing it like so hard that his hands are almost inside her throat, bending her white muscles and even neck bones poking him.
WHOOSH! Each reptile-like creature also surrounds him with spears directly to his throat. Leon raises his head a bit, "You ask for an offering, even though you committed '#####' in the tutorial, huh?"
Istria looks over to the creatures, unbothered she's being squeezed like a bottle's neck wrung by a thirsty man, and speaks, "Away."
...
"You must be a player, beforehand. To be knowledgeable about laws about this world." Istria opens her white hood, revealing her face of dark hair, red eyes, and a single mole under her face.
Leon tightens his fingers around her throat, "Get my mother's face outta your filthy body."
Istria snickers.
"Or?"
"Stop messing around or I will make you regret your existence." Istria grabs his hands before making him let go of her throat.
Istria snickers, "You Kaiser's are so much pain in the ass, always serious."
"Kaisers?"
She snickers, "Oh, you don't know that your "sister" is here?"
Leon's face remains stoic, but a fiery rage simmers beneath the surface. His jaw clenches, knuckles whitening as he struggles to conceal his seething anger. He presses his nails on his hands so much, that it starts to bleed.
With a forced calmness, he speaks, "Oh? Sophia is here too." The intensity in his eyes, almost made it bleed blood. He breathes heavily, almost like someone hyperventilating during a panic attack.
"So, what is that you want?"
"I want you to give me the 'Tears of Zarothoth' now."
Istria watches him with a blank face.
"Whisperer of the void's tears, he won't be happy."
Leon scuffs, "If they find out what you did on the tutorial, everyone won't be happy."
...
"Tsk, tsk." Istria scoffs. Her face transitions resembling Sophia's, "If you want, I can kill her you know." Istria speaks while pointing at her own face.
"Just do what I tell you."
Istria scoffs and pulls out a pink-cased small glass bottle, with a Hello Kitty sticker on it. She places it on her palm before extending it towards him. Leon's eyes are twitching and with a forced smile, he speaks, "Istria, fuck is this?"
"Zarothoth's tear."
Leon sighs and extends his palm, as soon as the tear falls on his hands. It swings down at the ground, leading him to fall on the ground too.
"OW!"
Istria shrugs her shoulder.
"What in the actual Mjölnir is this?"
"Alright time's over."
"Wait, one more thing." She rolls her eyes and gives a pouch full of something.
Istria claps before Leon teleports right where he is.
Serene pats his head, "You okay? Leon?" Karina stands up slowly extending her hands for Leon to catch and walk. His eyebrows frown and tries to brush it off but he sees the bright face of Karina, almost blinding.
A few minutes later, He is in the middle of Serene and Karina, both hands interlocked with theirs walking on the muddy dim cave like it's some kind of field trip. BADAM!— A thunderous sound comes from Karina's stomach, scaring the living shit of those two beside her.
"I'm kind of hungry, Serene." Serene doesn't maintain eye contact and walks as fast as she can, leaving Leon and Karina behind.
He shouts, "Hey? Where are you going?"
He looks up to Karina before freezing in fear. With a delirious grin, she charged forward, convinced she had finally found her next meal.
"Leon! Oh, sweet succulent Leon!" Karina cried out, her eyes wild with hunger.
Leon extends his hands, palms facing her forward, his heart pounding as he realizes Karina was mistaking him for food. "Karina, wait! It's me, Leon! I'm not food, I promise!"
Leon checks his pocket real quick before something pokes him. She lunged at Leon, her arms outstretched, ready to devour him whole.
Leon brings out the octopus's hand and hurriedly shoves it in her mouth.
"Phew!"
Karina chews on it again and again while Serene comes out of her hiding.
"Tastes like dried meat but it's a bit sour and moisty also." Karina turns over to Leon, "What kind of meat is this?"
"Human."
"What?!!!" Karina spits it out and places it on her hands.
"Can't you see it's an octopus, how dumb can you be?" Serene speaks with an exhausted face.
"Hey! Look! The end of the tutorial." Leon screams, waving them to come forward.
"Hurry up and buy a ticket!" A sound resonates right in front of them, a big screen that instructs them, how to buy tickets. Those three look at the screen and the title of tickets, Normal tickets, and Premium tickets.
"Single premium ticket," Leon speaks.
Karina and Serene look over to Leon, surprised.
"D-do you have money though?"
Leon intentionally drops his pouch, and the sound of coins hitting the ground echoes in the space around him. His action catches the attention of those two, who turn their head. Karina gasped in surprise, while Serene eyed the scattered coins with interest.
Leon, with a sly grin on his face, bends down to pick up the spilled coins one by one, making a show of his wealth.
"150 golds each." The screen reacts.
Serene and Karina grinned with their eyes, fixated on the coins.
"U-uhm, Leon-
Leon raises his index finger, shaking it around, "I am not paying for it."
"But." He smirks.
"But?"
Leon speaks with confidence, "Join a sign of tribulations with me." Leon sighs internally, that these people will reject in a matter of seconds.
After Leon's unexpected proposal, Karina and Serene exchange surprised glances before nodding in unison.
Karina responds first, her voice steady with determination, "Count me in, Leon."
Serene follows suit, her eyes shining with resolve, "I'm with you too, Leon."
Leon's doubts dissolve in an instant as he witnesses their lightning-fast agreement. He smirks
as a blur of flame engraves on their forehead, before disappearing.
"Here." He passes a pouch.
"There are exactly 300 gold in my pouch." Leon passes it to Serene. Karina looks at both of them, in surprise as they exchange conversation. She rubs her chin for a while, racking her brain for something.
'He only gave money to Serene but where is mine? I don't want to be stuck here.'
She suddenly walks over to Leon, her eyes all teary.
"B-but Leon," Karina speaks. Leon gets confused and thinks, 'I haven't even told her that I am not going to be with them, why is she already crying?'
Leon rubs his nose and, with a hint of sadness speaks, "No need to cry, We will meet again-
Before Leon can finish his words, she speaks, "Leon, my little brother. Give me money too. I don't want to live here."
"What?"
"Yeah, You gave Serene all the money, and on top of that, you gave her more money than needed," Karina complains while rubbing her eyes constantly. Serene drags her away while sighing.
"Alright Leon, I'll do as you say. Let's meet again." Serene smiles. She picks up Karina and looks at her, "I will explain it to this idiot on the way."
...
Leon sighs, bending his neck side by side. He breathes a sigh of relief, 'I got a saintness in my hold now.'
"Just you wait, Sophia."
"I will show you that Nature can be cruel, but I will be crueler."