-Clank
The sound loudly resonated throughout the clearing when the enemy, Mechanical Monkey, attacked Soma.
He used his own Mechanical Monkey to defend himself against that attack, and the collision of metal on metal produced a deep, irritating sound.
'Ouch! That sound made my head hurt. That impact caused my head to hurt.'
The loud collision sound caused Soma to clutch his head and step back.
The momentary loss of his senses caused Soma to become a target for the enemy to attack him.
Sharp claws gazed at Soma's arm, and poison began to spread through his system immediately.
[Your poison immunity is fighting against the poison in your system]
[You have been badly poisoned.]
Soma bit his teeth at the flair of pain he felt in his arm.
The poison was beginning to affect Soma's arm, making it go numb.
"Tsk, this is annoying."
Thankfully, Soma had an immunity potion left over from the last round.
[The immunity potion has offset the effect of poison. Your status has been reset.]
Soma breathed in relief as the pain went away.
The enemy attacked Soma, and he instantly defended himself with the Mechanical Monkey he controlled.
Metal collided with metal once more as Soma pushed his weight behind his puppet to hit the enemy.
The enemy monkey was taken by surprise and took the full weight of Soma's puppet.
[Mind's eye has been activated.]
The weakness of the monster before Soma shined brightly in his eyes.
Since this was a tutorial stage, these enemies had similar weaknesses.
Soma struck the monster in its weak spot, and the Icy Jewel did the rest.
The monster tried to escape Soma's monkey's hold on it, but Soma maintained his power.
Ultimately, the struggling enemy had no choice but to give up.
The pressure got too much, and it exploded.
Unlike the corpse before, this one was unsalvageable, breaking apart when Soma tried to move it.
"Tsk, I cannot use this one. But it is for the best since I cannot take the burden of two puppets right now."
Soma sighed and walked from behind the Mechanical Monkey to look at this place.
The key had to be nearby since the guardian had been guarding it.
Most people would not think much of a random high-level monster they had to fight in the tower, but Soma had learned not to overlook coincidences.
He had yet to look around the dungeon, but Soma was willing to bet that this corner was special.
His instincts told Soma to look around this place since it was special.
So, Soma did that.
And soon landed that key he was looking for in his hand.
The key was placed in a keyhole, and Soma had to unlock it to get it out.
"Looks like I managed to hit the jackpot this time. This key looks just as shiny as it did in my memories."
Soma held the key in his hand and stood up.
The monsters became lifeless when Soma took out the key, and the scrap yard was deadly quiet.
It was time to head out to his next location.
[Congrulations: you have found a key to unlock the next part of the tutorial.]
[10,000 coins have been awarded.]
[4 skill points are rewarded]
...
"Big brother, are you sure this is where we will find the 'key' to clear the tutorial? How can we trust anything that bastard fairy said to us?"
One of Elric's followers questioned once he noticed how quiet the scrap yard was.
The dead bodies of monsters around the group greatly concerned the group.
"Oh god! Are all these monsters dead? Who did this? Or is it a trap?"
Elric bit his lip since he did not want to answer these questions.
The truth was - he was not sure what was going on either.
"Big brother, are you sure the shopkeeper told us the truth?"
The 'little brother' Elric had taken under his wing asked.
"I've told you before, little bro. The information bought from the shopkeeper cannot be false, or the shopkeeper will be penalized heavily. The fairy we bought information from did not have the guts to endure the punishment."
Elric had been taught about the tower ever since he was a kid.
He might not have been lucky enough to be born inside the tower, but Elric still had the advantage of knowing about it beforehand.
But even his world's knowledge about the tower was limited since anyone who went in had yet to return.
Elric had decided to climb it when he was younger, and growing up had not dulled his desires.
So, despite his kingdom's reluctance to send their heir to the tower, Elric ended up coming to the tower.
And the first thing he did was establish a network of strong people around him to help him with his goals.
"I know what you said, big bro, and I don't doubt you, but those fairies are shrewd. They will do anything to get our money. I am sure they might have also twisted the truth this time."
Elric heard the reasoning of his followers, but he could still not make himself believe their words.
"I still don't think that is the case. The fee we paid for the information was too high. Let's keep moving through the yard, and we might find the answer to our question."
Elric moved past his little bro and headed toward the center of the scrap yard.
The dead monsters increased in volume as he neared his destination.
"Oh my god! Is that monster…dead? Who could have done such a thing?"
Elric was surprised by the sight before his eyes.
The dead body of the Mechanical monster in front of them was as high as 10 feet.
Even Elric would have had problems dealing with a monster of this size.
"Big brother, do you think it is "her"? That bitch is the only one who had enough support behind her to take down a boss. She must have had one of her subordinates take this monster down for her."
Elric looked toward his little bro with a surprised expression.
"Do you believe that Fairy Princess Clair is behind this? This does not look like her handiwork."
Elric looked toward the dead monster in front of him and the brutal but effective way it had been killed.
He had only met that ego-centric maniac once but could tell it was not her handiwork.
"Well, boss, I can't think of anyone else who could have killed such a strong monster in the tutorial stages."
Elric could only think of one other person who could have killed such a strong monster.
'Did that man named 'Soma' kill this monster? But how? Did he manage to kill such a strong opponent? Did he do this alone? Or did he team up with someone after he rejected me?'
Jealousy surged through Elric once he realized Soma had rejected him, and the man teamed up with someone else.
He did not care if he was jumping to conclusions too soon.
Elric had made up his mind to see Soma as an enemy of his.
"It does not matter who took down this monster, but we can be certain of one thing - the person who took it down has the key we need to get from here. We should start looking for the control room now."
Elric had no choice but to admit his defeat.
But his situation as the 'loser' would not last long.
'I will become the number '1' player during this tutorial at all costs.'
...
Soma looked at the group running inside the Scarp yard while he was leaving.
'Elric must have paid more than enough money to get information about the tutorial and how to clear it. He must be so disappointed to find the place empty already.'
Soma did not feel sorry for Elric's situation.
Paying coins was a decision Elric had made with the possibility of failure in his mind.
The heavy monster that carried Soma's body out of the Scrapyard made a lot of noise, and there was no way to ignore that noise.
Soma was not surprised when one of the other players came to check out what was happening.
The group of four noticed the giant monster first before they noticed Soma.
"Everyone, get ready to attack the monster. Do not let it get near us."
Someone yelled and fired bullets at Soma.
He blocked them using the Mechanical monkey as a shield, but the bullets kept firing until someone finally noticed the mechanical monkey was carrying a human.
"Everyone, stop right now. I think we should change our approach to this situation."
The lady, who looked like the group's leader, finally stepped forward and stopped them from uselessly attacking Soma.
He had never seen this man before, but Soma could tell that this lady was a cunning one.
Soma needed to be on his toes, or this female's greed would engulf him.