The only good tutorial is a short one, so thanks for hanging in there. Don’t worry, we finally make it out in this chapter. Well... Most of us.

----

Out of curiosity, I had Sam hit me with a [Fire Bolt] when we got back, just to ensure that I actually was immune to fire damage. My HP stayed the same on my status, so with my curiosity sated, we sat around a bit before wondering what to do next.

I was down to 23 HP and 67 SP. The group determined that was a bit low on health to be comfortable. Meanwhile, I was more concerned by the fact that I didn’t get a single level from that fight.

We discussed back and forth about the merits of going out or waiting for my health to come back, and in the end, we decided to get some more info about the second choice before deciding.

We asked around and found one group that didn’t have a [Cleric] that mentioned that they healed up just by resting. The fact that Tim and Sam were also basically out of mana clinched the decision that we would just kill time for a bit. Apparently, [Quick Cast] doubled Sam’s mana costs, so she was down to 1 point left after 12 [Fire Bolts], and Tim had emptied it all with a single [Overchannel].

“Well, if they get their MP back a lot faster than I get my HP, I could always go die again to get back to full.” I joked. The looks the party gave me said that idea went over like a lead balloon. I excused myself and went to my room.

I flopped gracelessly onto my bed and thought I would take a nap for a bit. Then I remembered. Wait. Am I still not tired? Shouldn’t I be exhausted after yesterday, fighting all night, and then this fight today? I tried once again to make myself comfortable, but couldn’t seem to.

I tossed, and I turned for several minutes before I heard a knock at the door. “Hey Titus, are you awake?”

“Yeah, go ahead and come in.”

The friendly neighborhood [Berserker] walked into the room. “I was just wondering if you had a bit to chat. And also if you are doing okay.” I sat on the edge of my bed, and he came and sat next to me.

I frowned slightly. “Well, given the circumstances, I think I am doing about as good as possible.” I paused. “I don’t think it truly feels real yet, so I guess that is why homesickness hasn’t kicked in yet.”

He frowned. “That wasn’t exactly what I was asking about, though that was something I was curious about too. What I am talking about was the fact that you died. And based on what we saw earlier this morning, you have done so more than once. Titus, be straight with me. How many times have you died since coming here?”

I saw no reason to lie. “Dozens. I couldn’t get to sleep last night, so I tried to fight those same five ants over and over again.”

“Dozens,” Garrett whispered. “Titus, do you wish that you were dead? Or that you could simply stop existing?”

“What? No! What on earth would give you that idea?”

“The fact that you have literally gone out there and killed yourself dozens of times!” Garrett shouted as his hand crashed down hard on the bed frame. At the shocked look on my face, Garrett seemed to come to his senses. “I’m… I’m sorry, Titus.” He took a deep breath and then continued. “I am.. More familiar with the symptoms of depression and suicide than I would like to be. I didn’t see very many in you. I was pretty surprised when I saw you respawning at the obelisk again this morning.”

“We’re still in the tutorial, and I have to level and get stronger somehow. So I don’t think dying a few times is that big a deal-”

He cut me off. “It is a big deal. You are learning that it is okay to die. The system specifically told us no respawns outside of here. So Titus, please. Treat this as much like reality as possible. Run away from fights if you can’t make it out alive.”

I almost spoke up to argue, but then I thought a few more seconds. He is absolutely right. This is reality for me now for now. I can’t keep treating death like a game, especially if it will affect my party members like this too. I gave him a small grin. “You really are a wise old sage, just like the [Hero] said.”

Garrett groaned and punched me in the arm. “Not you too! Ah, well, I guess I have yet another spring chicken to look after.” As I rubbed my arm where he punched me, Garrett got up. “Well, I guess I will let you get back to your nap. Sleep well, Titus.”

“Thanks, Garrett.”

He closed the door behind him, and I went back to tossing and turning, trying to get any shuteye possible.

After about an hour of doing that, I heard another knock at the door. “Come in.”

Jake walked in. “Hey Titus, I was just wondering how you were doing.”

I rolled my eyes, “Thanks for asking [Hero], but I’m not suicidal, and I’m doing okay now. I already went over this with Garrett-”

He interrupted me with a cough. “I uhh... Actually meant your HP levels. Has the rest helped out? We still can’t see your HP or anything, and the mages are back up to full mana now.”

Oh yeah. That was the reason why we were resting up, wasn’t it? I checked my status and frowned. “It looks like my HP is still at 22. Wait. Wasn’t it at 23 before?” Then I remembered. “Guess a friendly punch from a [Berserker] is enough to deal damage.”

Jake frowned. “Hmm. No HP regen, either? That can’t be good.” He shook his head. “Well, either way, we are having a team meeting really quick.”

I went out with him and saw that everyone was already there. Then Jake started us off. “We seem to have run into a bit of a snag with our progression. Titus still isn’t level 2, and he almost died that last fight. Also, it looks like he has no HP regen at all. If we keep fighting how we have, it seems likely that we will end up hitting level five first and leaving him behind, or that he will die and his progress will reset again. Anyone have any ideas?”

He’s right. I was so ecstatic about actually getting kills that I forgot the party got way more than I did. I had a thought. “What if we tried the same strategy where we weaken the ants for me, but we make sure that none of you kill any of them? Since they never swarmed when I was fighting by myself, I still think the trigger is one of you killing them.”

“That’s definitely an option, but it will also mean that we won’t be gaining experience... But you know what? I think that’s fine. You’ve pulled in way more mobs than we would have been able to fight otherwise, so I think it is only fair that we get you to at least level three before we continue having the rest of us gain experience. Anyone opposed?” He was met with head shakes and murmurs of “no.” “Okay, then. Let’s go out and get Titus to level three!”

That was how I found myself fighting the five ants again. However, the plan was changed at the last minute. Lindsey wanted to see how well I could fight without the party weakening the ants at all.

While I was fighting for my life, Sam was playing the role of peanut gallery on Lindsey’s behalf. “She says that you should keep your center of gravity lower! Also, try some kicks!”

I grumbled and tried to follow the advice as I took out the first ant. Like Lindsey suggested, I tried some kicks on the second one. They were awkward at best.

Sam snorted as Lindsey whispered something in her ear.

“What?” I spared a moment to glare at her.

“Oh, trust me. You don’t wanna hear that one.” Sam chuckled. “I guess the polite version would be that it would be better for you to stick to punching.”

There was no need to tell me twice. I went back to punching, and Sam went back to playing critic.

“She says your form is sloppy, tighten up a bit... No too tight. Relax... Use your whole body! Not just your arms!...”

The advice came through the entire fight, and despite my annoyance with Lindsey, her advice was sound and made the fight a lot easier. I still ended up getting bit several times, and I came out of the battle at 13 HP, but that was a lot better than I expected. I was slightly upset that I didn’t get a level yet again, but the party just decided to move on to the next fight since I still had more than half my SP.

We continued traveling somewhat aimlessly while looking for enemies when I came across a section of the wall that was nothing but shadow. I was about to comment on it when I noticed everyone just passing it by. “Are we not going to check down this path?”

Andrew brought the torch back closer. “What path? Titus, you’re pointing at a wall.”

“Really?” I waved my arm into the empty space.

That caught Jake’s attention. “Woah! An illusory wall! Nice catch, Titus! We’re definitely checking that out first!”

We passed single-file through the illusory wall. The strangest part was watching Andrew go through as suddenly the light was snuffed out on our side, and the other side was lit up. Huh, it must be an illusion that also blocks out light. Neat.

We then found a room that gave us just enough space to spread out. And inside of it was a single large wooden chest. Jake gestured to me, “Would you care to do the honors?”

I stepped forward, then my eyes narrowed, and I got into a fighting stance before approaching the chest.

“What are you doing, Titus?”

“It could be a mimic,” I deadpanned as I slowly inched towards it in a ready stance.

“You really are a bit too paranoid for your own good. A mimic in the tutorial cave? Don’t be silly!”

Jake laughed. The rest of the party laughed. The chest laughed.

I shouted out, “I knew it!”

The chest deformed. A huge tongue whipped out, wrapped around my leg, and then dragged me into the mimic’s waiting maw.

I shouted out for help, but couldn’t see anything else that happened before its teeth bit into me, it bathed me with acid, and then I found myself back at the obelisk.

I just sighed. “It’s always a mimic.”

----

Jake saw Titus get grabbed and immediately shouted out orders. “Garrett! [Rage] up! You and I need to get him out of there!”

“Got it!” Garrett activated his skill and began yelling and charging at the mimic. Then Jake noticed the mimic take a big gulp, and he could no longer hear Titus screaming.

“Change of plans! Back up and take it out from range! Titus is already down, no point in risking anyone else!” But the [Berserker] neither heard nor acknowledged the orders. Continuing to scream, he began taking large swings at the mimic with his axe. “Garrett! Get back here! It’s too dangerous!” Jake’s orders were ignored once again. That was about the time the mimic clamped down on Garrett’s arm, forcing him to drop his weapon. Instead of trying to pull free, Garrett just started beating on the mimic with his free fist.

To make matters worse, they heard a familiar screeching sound coming from the tunnel behind them. Jake almost swore before he remembered it would be censored anyway. He charged towards the mimic while shouting orders, “Lindsey, try to bottleneck the incoming enemies in that hallway! Andrew get some [Heals] on Garrett! He’s dangerously low! Everyone else we’re focusing down the mimic!”

Andrew’s [Heal] brought Garrett back up to about half health, but he was still taking damage perilously fast. Jake rushed forward and activated his skill. “[Power Strike]!” He landed a solid blow on it, and the mimic let go of the [Berserker]. That allowed Garrett a chance to grab his weapon before frantically attacking again.

The backline also pitched in with arrows and [Fire Bolts] that just barely managed to avoid friendly fire on the hulking [Berserker’s] form.

Meanwhile, the reinforcements had begun trying to enter the room. At first glance, they looked like any other giant ant, but the first hint that they weren’t was that they were slightly larger than normal. The second hint was their behavior.

The first ant charged into the room and immediately saw that its way was blocked by a [Knight]. However, instead of stopping and attacking like its mindless brethren would have, it bull-rushed and tried to push her back. Lindsey caught the charge on her shield, but she was still pushed back several paces.

She tried to counterattack but was surprised when her sword simply clanged off the ant’s carapace. Caught off guard and off-balance, the ant was able to shove Lindsey back into the room even further, which gave the remaining two ants behind it the opportunity to get into the fray. They immediately surrounded the knight, and she was hard-pressed to dodge or block their attacks.

Sam was the first to notice that her friend was in trouble, so she let loose a [Fire Bolt] towards one of the ants. However, she was shocked when its carapace changed to a white color, and the bolt dissipated against it harmlessly.

Meanwhile, Andrew had been casting [Heal] basically every opportunity that he could on Garrett. This was when he learned that it, unfortunately, has a cooldown of 5 seconds.

It was a close thing, but Andrew managed to keep Garrett at about a quarter of his HP, and then Garrett finally finished off the mimic.

Jake looked over and saw the Lindsey struggling with the three ants that had charged in. “Alright, let’s gang up on ‘em! Everyone focus-”

Jake said no more to the party as he suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

What is going on!? He would have shouted out, but he currently didn’t have a body to do so with. It turns out that being turned into light particles for transport is weird. He then noticed some system notifications.

System : Congratulations on hitting level 5 and completing the tutorial! You will be able to spend your points at the obelisk before being sent out to a random town.

System : New Achievement. First!. Class Perk Points Gained 2

Is there any way that I can cancel? My friends are in danger back there! Jake’s thoughts were met with nothing but silence and the obelisk interface opening up. Guess not. Great. Good luck, guys!

Huh. Since I finally have some class perk points let’s see what I can get!

Opening the menu, he was greeted with several options.

Class Perks Available For Purchase (2 points remaining):

Skill Experience Increase - 2 Class Perk Points

Map Interface - 2 Class Perk Points

Enhanced Interface - 2 Class Perk Points

Enhanced Party - 2 Class Perk Points

Jake thought for a minute. Well, Skill experience is a maybe... Can I check my status- It opened up. Okay, can still check that here, good. He went to look at his skills and saw [Swordsmanship] at level 4. Already? Don’t they only go up to 10? In that case, I am probably good on that front. Map Interface probably gives me a minimap or something? That’s a bit tempting. It would be nice not to get lost. And then the last two are really vague. What does Enhanced Interface mean? Or Enhanced Party?

Jake tried to activate his helper fairy, but he no longer had the option. Oh. Was that a tutorial only thing? Dang, I would have grilled it for more info if I had known. His thoughts turned back to the perk options. Well, I want something that will help the party out. So I think that leaves the Map and the Enhanced Party. I would flip a coin between the two, but don’t have one… Here goes nothing, I guess. Eenie meanie minie moe determined the winner to be the Map. Jake picked it and watched it disappear. Wait. Is there a way to see the options I have already selected? I don’t remember seeing any of the perks anywhere in my status.

System: Display obtained Perks?

Oh, that’s convenient. Yes, please.

The same list as before populated, but he noticed two new additions at the bottom.

Class Perks Available For Purchase (0 points remaining):

Skill Experience Increase - 2 Class Perk Points

Map Interface - 2 Class Perk Points - Obtained

Enhanced Interface - 2 Class Perk Points

Enhanced Party - 2 Class Perk Points

Increased Class Experience Gain - 5 Class Perk Points - Obtained (Innate to Class)

Increased Skill Experience Gain (ALL) - 15 Class Perk Points - Obtained (Innate to Class)

Well, that explains why I leveled before everyone else. And what does the ALL mean for skill experience? Does that mean that the one I could have bought was only for a single skill? Yikes. What a rip-off.

Well, obelisk thing or whatever. I guess I am good here.

Jake could suddenly feel his body again and winced at the light of the sun.

----

Backtracking a bit, Lindsey was engaged in a fight for her life. She was bull-rushed back into the room and surrounded by all three of the elite ants.

A bite came from her left, but she was able to jam her shield into the ant's mandibles. She wasn’t sure if that did any damage or not, but at least it kept her from getting chewed on. Next, a bite came from the right, and she was able to block that with her sword, but the ant latched onto it.

It was about this time that Garrett and Jake finally finished up with the mimic, and Jake started shouting out his next set of orders. Lindsey was surprised when they cut off mid-sentence. Where did he go? While still struggling with the ants on either side, she was surprised to feel that Jake was back at the obelisk. How did he die, he was at full HP! Wait. Level 5? Her thoughts were interrupted by the final ant charging her from the front.

With both hands tied up, she only had her feet left. So she used them. She pushed off the charging ant and turned it into an acrobatic backflip that also wrenched her shield and sword out of her enemies’ grip. She didn’t perfectly stick the landing but was pleased with it overall. Don’t think I could have pulled that off with my old body.

She looked up and was shocked that the ant had followed immediately after the flip. She was knocked to the ground, the ant pinned her, and began biting her. Unlike the other ants, these ones did damage. Lindsey’s HP fell by nearly 20% a bite, and the attacks were coming thick and fast.

She felt powerless to stop it, and for a minute, the stoic lady-knight was gone. In her mind, she was back years ago. All she could do was whimper, “Please daddy, no! Stop!”

The ant showed no mercy, and soon Lindsey found herself back at the obelisk. She sank to the floor, pulled her knees into her chest, and cried.

----

Garrett saw very little of what was going on aside from a red haze and enemies that he wanted to slaughter mercilessly. As it turns out, [Rage] is not something to be taken lightly. He charged the closest ant to him and let loose a furious swing. The ant’s carapace changed from white to black, and his swing bounced off completely.

At about this time, a boyish voice shouted out that they had to hit the black ones with magic and the white ones with physical attacks, but the enraged [Berserker] didn’t care. He continued swinging his axe despite its futility, and soon he found himself surrounded.

He continued his reckless assault on his single target, even through the attacks from all three enemies. His ineffectual attack continued right up until he hit 0 HP and collapsed to the floor. His skill finally canceled.

Garrett surveyed the room now that his mind was clear once again. He saw Emilia and Sam trying to cover him with their attacks. He saw a stone-faced Andrew standing by Tim, who was [Overchanneling] another spell. He saw Megan, who looked like she was desperate to [Sneak] away at any chance that she got.

However, Tim completed the spell and launched it in Garrett’s direction. His world became fire. He screamed and tried to roll to put out the flames, but he couldn’t move. Until suddenly, he could. He attracted quite a bit of attention by falling to the floor and then rolling and screaming all the while he was next to a crying young woman.

After a few moments, he finally realized he was out of danger. He sat up straight and looked around the room at the people who were now staring at him.

----

Andrew could only watch in despair as the ants survived his son’s most powerful attack. He looked at the remaining party. All ranged fighters and a [Rogue]. All women and a child. His child. He came to his decision in an instant. “Sam, take Tim and run!” he shouted as he charged towards the white carapaced ants.

One ran forward to meet him as he swung his mace with all of his might. The ant caught it in its mandibles effortlessly. “No, you don’t!” snarled Andrew. He swung a left hook with all of his strength and caught the ant in the side of the head.

The ants head snapped to the side, and it turned to dust and vanished. Andrew stared down in amazement at his fist before he and the rest of the party disappeared too.

----

I had been stumped about what to do when I found myself back at the obelisk, so I figured I would just wait there. It wasn’t too long spent twiddling my thumbs before I saw Lindsey appear. I was about to greet her when she began sobbing. Should I say something to her? Is she going to be okay? I dithered back and forth for a bit but was interrupted by Garrett, who was rolling around like a man on fire. Wait. He might have actually been on fire. Either fire ants or... Tim, you team-killing little sit.

I tried to lighten the mood a little and went over to the [Berserker]. Looking back and forth between them, I said, “I take it things didn’t go well.”

Garrett gave a deep sigh. “You could say that.”

“So.. Uhh… Do we wait for the rest of the party here, or should we go out to meet them?”

“There is no party!” Garrett snapped. He glared at me for a few moments and took a few deep breaths. Then his face fell. “Sorry. What I meant to tell you is that Jake hit level 5, and he is gone. I thought he might be back at the obelisk, but all I can tell now is that he is very, very, far away. And I think the rest of the party is leaving now too.”

“Wait. What?”

“Didn’t you pay any attention? They hit level 5!” His face went through a gamut of emotions. Anger, then sadness, then fear. He started muttering to himself. “What is wrong with me? Why am I so angry? What is happening?”

“Could it be your skill? Maybe it has a bug?”

He gave me a look of pure rage once again but managed to relax it and reply. “That would make a lot of sense actually. This anger feels completely irrational... I think I need a break, and looking at Lindsey, she needs one too.” He walked over to her. “Lindsey? Why don’t you head back and rest for a bit, okay?” He was met with no reply, not even a head shake. “Could you help me get her back to her room?”

We lifted her to her feet, draped her arms around us, and then started walking her to the dorms. She went along without any protest, but we were almost carrying her. Meanwhile, she was staring off into nothing and just barely putting one foot in front of the other.

We were stopped by a group of four adventurers. The [Warrior] in the lead spoke. “Halt demon and savage! Where are you taking that fair maiden?”

They looked familiar, so I thought for a second. “Wait. You guys were that one party. The Doom Furbys or something.”

“IT’S DOOM FURY!” he shouted.

“Oh. My bad. No one else has named their party, so I thought you were just being funny.”

“You dare to impugn my party’s honor?!”

He pulled out his sword, and Garrett was about to reply, but thinking quickly, I cut him off. He called me a demon, right? Well, it looks like you’ve activated my trap card! “Wait. Did you call me a demon earlier? Is that why you are stopping me? I’ll have you know I am a [Half-Demon]! And I bet you just think I have evil things planned for her because of how I look, don’t you? You racist prick!” I folded my arms and did my best, “I’m offended” look. I didn’t have any practice with it, but I figured as a millennial, I should be able to pull it off.

It was sufficient. The [Warrior] tried to stammer out a response, but couldn’t seem to get any words out. Garrett and I just walked right past him to the dorms while his teammates gave him looks that radiated disapproval. The [Cleric] even spoke up, “Not cool, dude. Not cool.”

“You even agreed that we should stop them! Doesn’t that mean that you’re a racist too?”

We left the ensuing argument behind as we entered our quarters and brought Lindsey to her room. She was still not responding to anything, but when we sat her down on her bed, she grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her chest. She buried her face in it, and then we heard a soft, muffled voice. “Please leave.”

We got up, and Garrett gently closed the door behind us as she started sobbing once again. Garrett looked over at me. “I think I am going to take a break too. I’ll be in my room if you need me.” And just like that, I was left all by myself.

What do I do now? I still can’t fight even five ants by myself, but I don’t want to just sit around either. I walked back out into the obelisk room and saw Doom Fury still arguing amongst themselves.

When they saw me come out, they nudged their leader forward. “Okay, fine!” He walked up to me. “My liege, your humble servant-”

The [Cleric] interrupted him, “Like a normal person!”

The [Warrior] sighed. “Okay, okay! Yeesh. Umm. I’m sorry for discriminating against you based on your race. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

I was about to blow him off when I had the beginnings of an idea. The beginnings of a huge idea. “Actually, there is something you could help me out with, and if we play it right, we can help your party out too...”

-----

Garrett had managed to cool down a bit but decided that a nap would be for the best. Nap first, then check on Lindsey, and then maybe see about some food. I am getting a bit hungry again.

He wasn’t quick to doze off, but he slept soundly for a decent amount of time. After stretching out and feeling refreshed, he headed over to Lindsey’s room. He knocked and asked if he could come in and then realized his error. Duh. The girl is basically mute. “Uhh, knock on your bed frame once for yes, and twice for no.” He heard a dull thump inside, so he cautiously entered the door.

Lindsey was still sitting there, holding the pillow but no longer crying. However, her eyes were still red, and her bunny ears were drooping. Garrett took a seat next to her and then put a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away slightly, so he quickly removed it. “Sorry. Just know that I’m here for you, okay?”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Surprisingly, Lindsey was the one who broke it with a single whispered word. “Sam?”

“Ah, yeah. She is level five and out of the tutorial now. You two seemed really close, I bet you miss her a lot, right?” Lindsey nodded confirmation. “You want to go out and try to hit level five as soon as we can so you can meet back up?” Garrett was met with an even more resolute nod. “Alright, let’s get out there! Besides, we need to go find Titus before he gets into too much trouble.” Lindsey gave him a small smile at that.

They walked over to the room and exited, Lindsey first. When Garrett came out, he saw a strange sight. There were hundreds of adventurers milling around the obelisk room. “Why are so many people just hanging out here?”

He heard a shout, “Next group incoming!”

Then a familiar voice, “Remember, wound all of them but don’t kill! When two are left, kill only one of them!”

“Was that Titus?” Garrett wondered aloud. He soon got his answer when a party of adventurers poured into the room with a group of seven ants hot on their heels. The ants immediately switched aggro to Titus and were hit by [Mage Bolts] from several directions.

“Hold two of them back!” At Titus’ command, two [Berserkers] charged and grabbed the ants that were in the back. It was a struggle to hold them still, but they succeeded.

Meanwhile, Titus was fighting the ants as they came at him and slowly dusting one after the other. When he had finally killed all five, he called out, “Okay! Kill that one!” He pointed in the direction of one of the ants. [Mage Bolts] and arrows flew at it, but the [Berserker] holding it was quicker. He threw it over to the side, pulled out his axe, and slew it. The remaining ant started screeching and was answered by screeches from all the tunnels around the room.

“Wave incoming! Get me up!” At that, Titus ran over to the obelisk, and Garrett saw a group of several adventurers form up around him. They made a formation vaguely reminiscent of a cheerleading one and then tossed Titus upward. He managed to reach out and grab the top of the obelisk and then pull himself up. He then calmly sat down on top.

Right as he did, ants began pouring into the room from everywhere. Garrett thought they had encountered a lot before, but where their party had managed to fight off dozens, there were now hundreds if not thousands. Garrett turned to Lindsey, who already had her sword out. “Well, I guess that answers our question about how we are going to hit level 5.” He pulled out his axe, and both of them charged into the fray.

---

While they were having their all you can kill buffet, I was relaxing a bit on top of the obelisk. Truth be told, this was actually the safest I had felt in any of our fights. Not because the ants wouldn’t climb the obelisk, they definitely would if we gave them the chance, but because any ant that got anywhere close to the top would be on the receiving end of a hail of ranged attacks that would immediately knock it (and usually an ant or two beneath it) back down. Not to say that I didn’t have a few reach me, but all I had to do then was just shove them back off onto the ground and wait.

So wait I did. I sat, I twiddled my thumbs, I planned strategy, I shoved the occasional heroic ant back off the side, and then I finally decided to survey the room. I shouted from the top, “Okay, everyone, we are down to 10 ants! Leave them to me!”

Moving over to the edge of the obelisk, I called down. “Landing crew ready?”

“Ready!”

I hopped off the obelisk and was caught by a group of adventurers. “Thanks, everyone, now if anyone wants to help hold the ants down for me that will greatly speed up the process!”

I got a few enthusiastic volunteers and some people that we had to volunteer for the position. However, it turns out that having people hold the enemies down for you while you whale on them makes the fight a whole lot easier. And also makes you feel like a schoolyard bully, but hey, I was taking what I could get.

I finished killing off my last helpless victim when I noticed Garrett and Lindsey walking over towards me. I shouted to the room, “Okay, everyone, take 15 and recharge your SP and MP, then we will decide on the next parties in charge of bringing the ants in. Good work, everybody!”

Garrett gave me an amused look. “I didn’t think I was asleep for that long! How did you get all of this organized?”

“Well, you would be surprised, but Doom Fury was actually a great help with that.” A group walking over caught my eye. “Speak of the devil, here they are. Hey Doom Fury, come meet what is left of my party!”

They walked over, and their leader gave a polite bow. “It is my honor to meet you. I am Richard, the leader of Doom Fury.” He gestured at the [Rogue] beastborn. "This is Nick."

Nick gave a small nod. "Yo."

Richard continued. "Our [Cleric] is Samuel."

"Nice to meet you."

"And finally, our [Wizard] is Ethan."

"A pleasure."

Garrett and Lindsey shook their hands, and Garrett decided to introduce both of them. "I'm Garrett, a [Berserker], and this is Lindsey our [Knight]. She’s a bit shy, so don't feel offended if she doesn't talk to you."

Richard spoke up again. "Is she.. doing okay after earlier? It seemed like you guys had a pretty rough party wipe."

Lindsey gave a shrug and a half-hearted smile, and Garrett did his best to interpret. “I think.. She has been better, but she will make it through. I think she’ll be better once she hits level five and is reunited with Sam.”

That reminded me, “Speaking of level five, how did everyone else level up? What happened after I died to that mimic?” Garrett gave a quick recounting as best he could, though he had to admit he was a bit fuzzy on some of it. It turns out that being in a rage-induced haze makes recall a bit difficult.

He finished with a question. “So how did all of this get organized while I was taking a nap?”

I grinned. “As I mentioned before, Doom Fury. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but they are actually pretty dang competent.”

That line was met with an offended “Hey!” from Richard.

“Oh, come on. You guys introduced yourself with poses. That stopped being cool in junior high. If it was even cool then.”

Samuel, the [Cleric], muttered, “He does have a point.”

“As I was saying, these guys are actually really organized and had some great ideas. After you mentioned the rest of the party had made it out, I was wondering how I was going to level since it was a struggle with a full party. Leveling with only three of us would be impossible. Then it hit me. We were going out and leveling as a party, but there is no reason that I had to level with my party. I figured I could grab another party or two, and they could pay me back by weakening some mobs for me just like you guys did earlier. I brought that idea up to these guys, and they expanded it to what you see here.” I motioned towards the [Wizard]. “Ethan came up with the idea of using this room and inviting anyone who wanted to join. He also came up with the idea of having rotating parties that would pull in mobs into here.” I nodded towards the [Rogue]. “Nick had the idea of using the obelisk after I mentioned that our Lion King impression actually managed to keep me safe for a bit. He also was responsible for showing us how to do a group toss like that. Turns out, his cheerleading really paid off.”

Nick grumbled, “Did you really have to bring up that I mentioned it was a cheerleading move?”

“Samuel, meanwhile, is the reason we have so many people. He suggested that we send out parties to go track down adventuring groups to see if they want in on this. And finally, Richard has been instrumental in keeping order in here and enforcing any of our rules. Things like the rotating parties for getting the ants to the room, the starting ants and ending ants being mine, and even which group is responsible for getting me up on top of the obelisk, none of it would have been possible without him.”

Our discussion was interrupted by another group of ants being kited into the room. “Though.. We aren’t perfectly organized. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo that we were on break. We can chat more in a bit!” I grinned and started running to my new enemies.

Richard called out after me, “Hey Titus, after this wave, there’s something we need to discuss, okay?”

“Got it!” I called back.

Then it was back to the routine. Beat up some ants. Leave two and have one killed by someone besides me. Then run over to the obelisk to get tossed up onto it and chill.

After the wave died down and I hopped down to kill my remaining share of ants, I dismissed the room. “We’re gonna be on break for a bit, everyone! I mean it this time, okay! I’ll let you know when we are ready for the next wave! Good work!” It was pretty uneventful all things considered, but I was concerned that I had still not leveled up. I decided to table that concern for now and see what Richard wanted. “So, what’s up?” I asked the [Warrior].

“I think level four may be the experience cap for the ants that we are drawing in here. We were stuck at level three for quite some time and only broke into level four after killing the fire ants that you draw in with these waves. Then I remembered that your party hit level five after fighting a mimic and those stronger ants with color-changing armor, and I realized that may be the issue.”

I nodded along with his revelation. “Ah. That means that no matter how many times we do this, we won’t ever have people hit level five.” And maybe that means that I am stuck at level one using this strat too. Hmm. I paused and then grinned a wide grin. “Wanna try something crazy?”

----

Richard had gone through a range of emotions during his stay in the tutorial. Shock at finding himself in the new world. Pride when he thought his group was the first to hit level three. Jealousy when he found out that the guy with the [Hero] class was already level four. However, right now, he and his party were experiencing a different one. Terror. “Why on earth did we agree to this!” he screamed.

They had followed Titus’ directions out to an area that had an illusory wall. He claimed that inside there was a mimic, but that the main goal was the ants that should be somewhere around there. The elite ants with color-changing carapaces. The ones that dealt a massive amount of damage per bite. The ones that could run faster than a level four [Warrior]. The ones that he and his party were attempting to kite back to the main room right now.

He was barely hanging on, even with Ethan casting [Mage Bolts] and [Ice Bolts] to knock them off-balance and the [Heals] from Samuel he was down to about a quarter HP. Then he saw it. There’s the obelisk room! One last sprint! He kicked it back into high gear and made it in. “WE COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!” he screamed as the ant took one last bite out of his back.

The ants fortunately all lost aggro on him and ran towards Titus, who was waiting for them with a wide smile. Richard involuntarily shuddered. He really is a demon.

----

To be honest, I wasn’t sure they would be able to pull off kiting all three of the elite ants from that spot back to the obelisk room, but they managed to do it somehow. Wow, the Doom Furballs really comes through in a pinch. I grinned and charged. “No holding back on these ones! Unload on all of them!”

As [Mage Bolts] and arrows rained from around the room, I ran up to the closest one. I then realized I didn’t remember if black was physical or magical resistance. Guess I will find out! I punched the ant as hard as I could. It felt like hitting a brick wall, but at least I didn’t take any damage for it. The ant didn’t take kindly to that and immediately charged into me and knocked me to the ground. I tried to fight it off, but it was way stronger. The ant bit me, and I barely managed to choke back a scream. That was idiotic. I guess I died again. I sighed internally as I waited for one of the chomps to finally deplete my HP bar.

I was surprised to feel the ant above me get knocked off. I looked over to see a [Raging] Garrett screaming and punching the ant with his axe nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t doing anything since the ant’s carapace was still black, but it was an impressive display nonetheless.

Then the ant was hit from the side by three separate [Mage Bolts]. That was enough to convince the ant to change to white, and I watched in surprise as Garrett killed it in two punches.

Both remaining ants stopped, and I celebrated. It worked! They’re gonna call for reinforcements! Then both of them let loose with a screech that was multitudes of times louder than the shrieks we had heard before. The entire room was stunned and covered their ears to try to drown out the noise, except for the [Raging] [Berserker] who tackled and punched yet another one to death.

The ant disappeared, and then after a second, Garrett did too. Oh. Must have been enough for him to hit level five.

The one remaining ant turned its attention to me. I ran like mad.

I was in danger of panicking and forgetting the plan. Fortunately, Richard remained collected. “Let loose! We need to get Titus on the obelisk, or we’ll be overrun!”

The ant was peppered by arrows and spells from around the room, but nothing seemed to stop it. Some [Warriors] and [Berserkers] also tried to take swings at it but backed off when a voice called out. “Clear the area!” I heard a familiar skill called out. “[Overchannel]!” I finally recognized the caster as Ethan the [Wizard] from Doom Fluffy. “Ice freeze my foes. [Ice Bolt]!” A pale blue shard of magic came out of his hand and was soon enlarged and launched in my direction.

The area around the ant flash-froze and was covered in mist. Did that get them? I stared at the area where the ant was before I realized. Wait. I’m staring at an obscured enemy wondering if an area of effect attack killed it. That always means it didn’t!

I turned to run when I was surprised by a sudden shout that echoed around the room. “[Power Strike]!” Richard hadn’t waited for the mist to clear before sprinting to the area, leaping into the air, and letting loose with his skill. The two-handed jumping strike was aimed perfectly at the ant’s head, whose carapace was now white. Richard took down the ant’s remaining health with a single blow. Then he turned to me and flashed a quick thumbs-up before vanishing.

“Okay, I guess that was kinda cool,” I grumbled. Wait. Why’d he only need one ant for level 5 when Garrett needed 2? I decided to table that thought when I noticed that ants were now pouring in from all the tunnels.

This time, the wave of fire and normal ants included a sprinkling of elite ants that were shoving their way through the horde to get to me. I sprinted over to the obelisk and practically shouted, “Get me up! Get me up! Get me up!”

The current toss squad was on top of it, and we were soon in formation. They began the toss… And one of the elites barrelled into some of the tossers and sent them sprawling.

The good news was that they had already started throwing me up in the air, so I shouldn’t have been impacted by them being suddenly being tossed to the side. The bad news was that it was at the last second where I still technically counted as grappled by some of them, and the game-world physics decided that means I should share the exact same change in velocity.

The end result? I flew into the air about a dozen feet, but also way off course. I landed in the middle of a sea of ants. Fortunately, one unlucky fire ant was perfectly in position to cushion my fall, and I landed on it awkwardly.

I stared down at my new unwilling mount and prepared to hold on for dear life. The supremely puzzled ant screeched and spun around in a circle for a bit. I somehow managed to keep hold of it, and was elated to find that the rapid spinning kept the other ants at bay. I chuckled. Looks like their path-finding AI doesn’t know how to handle this. I’ll take it!

Then just as soon as it started, the ant stopped spinning and froze in place. That gave the other ants their opening, and they started nipping at me. Not wanting to be surrounded, I put the first plan I could think of into action. I put my hands on the next one’s head and hopped over onto its back. I couldn’t help the smirk on my face when that one started spinning too.

So, while the rest of the cave was in an epic struggle to kill as many ants as possible, I was busy playing the weirdest game of leapfrog ever. Leapfrog onto an ant. Wait until it stops spinning. Leapfrog onto the next. Repeat.

Meanwhile, reinforcements had kept pouring in, to the point that there were ants basically waiting in a queue to get into the room. I was worried that even with everyone we had there that we wouldn’t be able to clear them all.

Fortunately, they weren’t the only ones with reinforcements. The never-ending horde of ants was now being interspersed with adventuring parties that were coming back to the obelisk. I guess we did aggro basically the entire dungeon. That means parties will either follow the flow of ants back here, or they won’t be able to get any kills at all. I grinned.

I had planned on just continuing my impromptu game of leap-ant until the wave was thinned out, but I missed one vital thing.

The elites weren’t content with waiting in line to fight me.

I had just finished my last hop when an elite charged through its less elite friends and knocked me bodily to the floor. This time I was pinned to the ground with no one to save me. I grabbed its mandibles to try to keep it from biting me, but I was overpowered.

I only lasted a few seconds before I ran out of HP, and my arms fell uselessly to my side. Out of slightly morbid curiosity, I opened my status to see how much damage it did.

Grunting with pain from each bite, I managed to squeeze the words out. “22 damage? Seriously!? How is that okay for a tutorial enemy!?”

The next thing I knew, I was standing next to the obelisk. Surrounded by killer ants. And I also heard screaming from around the room.

“I’m on fire!”

“Why are they attacking me?!”

“Save me!”

There was a momentary lull across the room as the ants all turned and faced me once again. I was used to dying by this point, but the painful way it happened this time pushed me over the edge. My rage boiled over, and the same demonic voice I had used on Garen came out. “HEY IDIOTS!” I shouted at the stunned room. “I. HAVE. AGGRO.” I punctuated each word by hitting the ant in front of me that was now grappling me. The others also started swarming me. “I DIE, YOU TAKE IT. KEEP ME ALIVE. GOT IT?” I started being bit from all sides again.

Spells and arrows were now at least being shot in my direction, but it didn’t do much.

My thoughts went back to my party, and also to Richard’s party, Doom Temper. Why’d all the useful people have to hit level five? I complained as I was grappled, two elites reached me, and I died yet again.

I respawned. In a split second, I took in the fact that there were no regular ants around me, and that I was staring at an elite that had a white carapace. Without a thought for the polite [Wizard] who cleared the way for me with an [Overchannel] I panicked and took a swing.

No one was more surprised than me when its head snapped to the side, it fell to the ground and then vanished.

I had finally started to put the dots together, so I tried to sprint towards another white-clad elite that was near me. The keyword there is tried. After so many fights and deaths, I had finally managed my first level up. Not that there was any notification of that at all.

Have you ever picked up a glass that you thought was full, but it was, in fact, empty? Your hand shoots up into the air as you overcompensate, and you look a bit silly and maybe get a laugh from the other people at the dinner table. The next couple of seconds were nothing but that feeling.

My foot lifted off the ground to take off at a run, but it went way too high. Out of reflex, my arms shot out to try to maintain my balance, but they also overcorrected. The end result was me not making it even a step before I found myself faceplanting on the floor.

I barely managed to roll over onto my back when the elite I had my eyes on reached me. Its carapace was still white, and I somehow managed to deck it while still lying down. It wasn’t enough. It recovered quickly and chomped down on me for 22 of my HP. Screaming bloody murder, I batted out at it with my other hand.

My suspicion was confirmed when that was enough to dust it.

I struggled to my feet, and then shouted out to the room, “The elites are vulnerable to bare-handed attacks! Mages hit them until they turn white, then melees punch ‘em to death!”

My commands were just in time because if it had been a sprinkling of elites coming in before it was now pouring. In some ways, that was actually beneficial for us. It turns out that the elites don’t care too much about their non-elite brethren when there is a juicy [Demon Lord] that they want to go nom on. That meant that they were content with bulldozing through friend and foe alike to get to me, and I am fairly certain they ended up being the ones who killed most of the remaining normal and fire ants in the room.

As elites around the room steamrolled to me and mages around the room were letting loose, I finally decided to be proactive. I ran forward to the nearest white carapaced ant and punched it to death with two hits.

I was a bit more prepared for the level up this time, which meant I still ate dirt, but a bit less violently than before. And this time, instead of trying to fight from the floor, I rolled to dodge an incoming elite and then popped back up to my feet.

I was unsteady for a few moments as I got used to my increased speed courtesy of level 3, but I actually managed to put up a good fight. I was almost completely surrounded, but they were going down to only 2 hits, so I would simply make use of the space that was left behind whenever I killed an opponent.

Meanwhile, around the room, more and more parties were getting disappearing as they were hitting level 5. If I had been paying more attention, I would have noticed the population of both ants and adventurers was decreasing fast.

It was 4 more kills when I tripped and fell yet again. So close! Just one more level! I got back up and dodged around easily.

I felt powerful for the first time in this new world. I felt amazing. I felt untouchable. Then I noticed something was wrong when I killed my eighth ant while at level 4. Shouldn’t that have been enough? Wasn’t it doubling for each? I left that nagging thought behind and kept going. 10 enemies killed. 15. The number of adventurers and the number of ants in the room was drastically decreasing. We were down to 50. Then 25.

However, I wasn’t cautious enough. A stray bite here and a bite to the back there, and soon enough, I had taken 6 attacks. Even at level 4, I still only had 130 HP. Dropped to -2 HP, I collapsed to the floor as my body stopped responding. The ant that dropped me was free to attack me.

I respawned back at the obelisk, ready to go for the next round. I was shocked at what I heard. Or rather, what I didn’t hear. There were no sounds of battle left. I looked over at where I had just been fighting, and there was neither ally nor enemy to be seen. Every enemy and every adventurer was gone. I sank to the ground as I realized.

I would have to hit level five completely by myself.