Fire surged higher than the walls, trapping the two teams inside its burning circle.
The fire made Angelica's blond hair appear orange, and her eyes reflected the fire inside them.
Angelica looked dangerous when she stood slightly above the flames and looked down at her opponents.
"You are…Angelica. I've heard about you and your clan and sympathies with you. But I cannot allow you to stand in the way of my goal. ENCHANT"
[You have blessed your teammates. All stats are boosted for the next 15 minutes. Stats have doubled]
The strain of using her ultimate skill took its toll on Clair, but she did not care about it.
Clair's team would get many points if she managed to defeat the 'number two' player in this tutorial, and that greed blinded her.
"Everyone, attack."
Clair's side attacked Angelica, and Clair was confident in her win.
No matter how good Angelica was, she could not take a dozen fighters blessed by good support.
"Oh! So, you were a support type? That takes out my desire to fight against you. You must have gone through as much anguish as I did."
Angelica's voice lowered, and it looked like she was giving up.
But then she tightened her grip on her sword and pulled it out.
"However, I have something I want to fight for as well. So, I cannot be slain here."
Rankers appeared from behind the flames, all standing at the same level as Angelica.
There were twice as many players on Angelica's side as on Clair and Elric's.
Everyone had chosen a side during this tutorial stage.
All the confidence drained out of Clair's face as soon as she noticed this.
Her side would be unable to defeat this many enemies in their current state.
Various spells and skills flew toward the two groups below, and Clair panicked.
'I need to bless outside more. I can overcome this difference in number with pure power and-'
One of the spells almost hit Clair.
She was lucky she was pulled out of the way in time, or the spell would have rendered Clair unconscious.
"Get your head together, woman. We are going to die at this rate. Stop your people from moving and get them to support me. I am the closest in strength to that blond woman. I will take care of her."
Clair felt insulted at the notion that her side was weak.
Her pride did not allow her to accept Elric's offer at first glance.
But what use was pried when their life and rank were on the line?
"Fine! I will ally with you…for now. But make no mistakes because I will win in the end."
"Yeah, sure! Whatever you say, lady. Now, support me properly, and I will take care of this instantly."
Clair quickly blessed Elric with her remaining power, and her side noticed.
They were confused but decided to follow her lead and support Elric.
Angelica noticed the change in momentum on the other side, but she failed to grasp how powerful this change was.
She was surprised when Elric broke the fire with lightning as armor for his body, and his sword almost reached Angelica.
She managed to dodge and counter in time, and everyone gasped as this fight ended in a draw for both sides.
"You should drop your spear down. This is my win."
Elric declared as he pushed his sword harder against Angelica's throat.
However, he was not the only one with a weapon against their opponent's neck.
"Oh! So, you want me to drop my weapon? But you are the one on the verge of being killed by me. You drop your weapon first."
Both sides did not look ready to surrender, causing their subordinates to look nervous.
Finally, someone pulled their weapon back, and everyone gasped in surprise to see Angelica stepping back.
"As much as I want to fight you, I don't think we should. I am willing to be your ally for this tutorial. Either way, I don't think we can win against this next boss alone."
As soon as Angelica finished saying these words, a giant fist of magma erupted from the ground and caused it to shake.
They watched as a machine with fists made of fire crawled out of the ground.
Elric tried to kill it with electricity, but the energy bounced off that hard shell without leaving any mark behind.
"So, what do you say? You want to team up now?"
Angelica asked, but it was no longer a question of 'if.' They will not win if they do not team up with each other.
...
Soma allowed himself half an hour to rest before walking toward the second gate.
It was barely a 15-minute walk from his current location, but the environment had become unrecognizable.
The place Soma had unlocked the previous gate was cold, but this was burning hot.
Breathing was difficult since the constant heat caused Soma's throat to dry out faster and faster.
'Ugh, this is hell. I don't think I can survive in such an environment long.'
Soma did not remember such a place in this tutorial section, but he was lucky that he had the answer.
[You consumed an ice crystal. Your body temperature is rapidly cooling.]
[Your heat resistance is rising rapidly.]
Soma breathed a sigh of relief once he felt his body temperature returning to normal.
'Spending money on these ice crystals does not seem like a loss now.'
Getting his body temperature back to normal was normal.
But every section of this tutorial had its troubles to take care of.
For example, this heated section must have a boss who specializes in fire.
"Huh, this is weird. Usually, the boss should have smelled me out and started to attack me already. Why is it not here? Is this some kind of test as well?"
Soma looked around, but there was no one there who could tell him what was going on.
Eventually, Soma counted himself lucky and headed toward the blazing room.
Since they were in the middle of a mechanical pile, even the floor was hot enough to melt one's shoes.
The only good thing about this gate was that the switch was in plain sight, making it very convenient to turn on.
…if you could get to it first.
That was the hardest part.
Soma had a plan in the making for this as well.
All he needed to do was make his threads reach the end control panel, and he could turn on the switch.
Soma returned his hand and tried to throw the string apart but could not reach the end.
So, that meant that it was time to try and abuse the system in place.
"Shopkeeper, I know you are out there, watching me. I want to make a purchase."
Soma called, and an excited fairy immediately made itself known.
"What do you want, dear customer? I can give you anything. Ah, but if you want me to press the panel for you, I cannot do that."
The fairy reminded Soma, but he doubted if that was true.
No rule said that a shopkeeper was forbidden from completing a task or a mission for its customers, but the fairies were firm in rejecting direct help.
"Don't worry. I don't want you to clear this tutorial for me, but I will pay you 10,000 coins if you tie this string to the control panel switch."
Soma offered, and the fairy looked conflicted.
"B-But that is the same as helping you directly. I cannot do that and…"
"You cannot help me? Then, I assume that you do not want my coins?"
Soma asked, and the fairy looked even more conflicted.
"That is…not true. I want the coins, but you are asking for too much. What should I do now?"
The fairy asked in a dilemma.
Soma decided to help her decide once he realized he had the fairy in his bag.
"Don't worry so much. I know that you can get in trouble if you help me out. That's why I am not asking you to pull the liver. I am just commissioning you to tie this string."
"Surely you can do that much for me, right?"
Soma asked, and the fairy slowly looked to be coming around.
"W-well, if it is only tying the string around, then I guess I can do that much. But I will not help you pull the string, alright?"
The fairy asked, and Soma instantly agreed.
He paid the price first to become a binding contract for the shopkeeper, and the fairy headed toward the control panel and bound the rope.
It hesitated briefly before finally wrapping the rope around the control panel.
"I-I did my part. Now, I will take my leave before I get in trouble. You better not get me in any trouble, you hear me?"
The fairy yelled before it disappeared, but Soma did not notice it.
He pulled the panel, and the floor began to cool off. It was finally safe to step inside again.
[Cleared Gate ⅔. Clear all gates to gain access to the main city gate.]