Elias waited for the next tutorial.
This time, he was ready.
He stood still, eyes alert, legs slightly bent, braced for the floor to vanish beneath him. Not again he thought. It had caught him off guard twice already, but he wouldn't let it happen a third time.
Seconds passed. Then minutes. Nothing happened. Growing restless, Elias glanced at his system panel for the fifth time.
Just as he was about to mutter in frustration, a light appeared in front of him, a ripple in space, and out of it formed a swirling portal.
---
Tutorial - Hell Mode
Objective: Be the Last One Standing.
---
"Huh? Doesn't sound too bad... I hope," Elias mumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes.
His confidence surged. He had survived worse already, hadn't he? With his Shoulders squared, he stepped into the portal without hesitation.
The world spun after that.
Then suddenly, he stood in the middle of a vast, grassy field surrounded by others.
But these weren't ordinary people.
They were human yes, but everything else about them screamed otherworldly. One wore impossibly advanced mechanical armor, blue lights glowing across its joints. Another, clad in red and black silk, carried the poise of a martial arts master. A third stood with a flowing cape and intricate robes, clearly a mage. One didn't wear anything at all. They wore gear or clothing that looked like they came from different times, and different worlds.
Elias frowned. Just What kind of place is this? he wondered.
The man in robes spoke first.
"Are you all Hell Mode players as well?"
One by one, the others nodded. Elias hesitated for a second, then gave a slight nod too.
"I see," said the mage. "Then that confirms it. This trial is only for Hell Mode participants."
"Then I'm guessing we all have the same goal," said the martial swordsman, arms crossed.
"Be the last one standing," the armored man confirmed grimly.
Elias blinked. "So… do we just… kill each other now?"
Silence. Then, almost in unison, they began moving into fighting stances.
Elias' heart pounded. His fingers twitched toward his system interface. He didn't want to kill anyone, but he really didn't want to die, either.
Tension thickened in the air like a coiled spring. Every breath, every shift of muscle, felt like it could ignite a bloodbath.
Then chaos.
The naked man with the traits of a chimera roared, his body morphing grotesquely as wings sprouted from his back. He took to the sky, trying to escape the battlefield. But the man in advanced armor raised an arm, unleashing a focused laser that scorched the sky and clipped the chimera's wing.
Before the beast could hit the ground, the martial swordsman closed the distance in a blur of motion. His blade arced upward, glowing with ki, slicing through bone and sinew. The chimera hit the grass in pieces.
Elias didn't even have time to process it before a series of magic missiles whistled through the air, headed straight for him.
He ducked instinctively, rolling to the side. Dust burst around him. The mage stood a few feet away, palm outstretched, wearing a calm smile on his face.
"Haha. Sorry, it's nothing personal," the mage said. "I'll make this quick."
Elias scrambled to activate his skill. "Cosplay:—"
But before he could finish the phrase, glowing runes spiraled toward him. A binding spell. His limbs locked in place as if shackled by invisible chains.
He was frozen.
"Don't struggle," the mage said calmly, walking toward him. "It'll be painless I swear."
No. No, no, no... Elias' thoughts screamed. Not yet!
He watched helplessly as a white-hot beam of magic blasted from the mage's fingertips, and pierced straight through his chest.
A hole formed right at his heart. Blood poured from the wound and Elias collapsed.
Soon the world faded around him.
The mage turned away. Nearby, the martial swordsman and the armored man had continued their duel. Sparks flew as energy blades clashed with fists glowing from internal power sources. The mage joined the fray, casting high-level destruction spells that exploded the artillery shells in the armored man, killing him in the process. The swordsman managed to deflect most of them, though his breathing was labored. He was strong, but he was getting tired. The mage was running low on mana, but he pressed the attack with relentless efficiency.
And beneath them, in a pool of blood, Elias gathered the last of his breath.
His breaths were ragged. Weak. But in the final moments, a desperate memory returned.
A role... He once played an immortal in a romance fantasy series. The role really didn't fancy him that much but the pay was good, but more importantly, he played an immortal...
With trembling lips, he whispered.
"C-cosplay: Im..mortal Regin…"
A burst of energy exploded from within him. His body filled to the brim with life, then arched unnaturally.
His skin paled, his eyes dimmed like lifeless stones, and the gaping hole in his chest sealed shut with a steam.
Elias gasped.
He was alive.
No… not alive.
He was immortal... For the next fifteen minutes.
"Ahh… You almost had me there," he whispered, grinning wide.
Above, the battle still raged. Fire rained from the sky, wind blades carved trenches in the earth. The two powerhouses fought like demigods. Elias, wide-eyed, backed away and slipped into a cave at the edge of the field.
He watched and waited.
Up in the air, the mage unleashed his final spell, an arcane meteor that split the sky.
The martial swordsman, too slow to evade, raised his blade in defense. But the blast was too much. His body crumpled to dust.
The mage landed with a thud. Bruised and exhausted. But he was victorious.
Or so he thought.
He waited for the notification but none came.
He narrowed his eyes.
That's when he heard it, soft footsteps behind him.
"Cosplay: Jack the Ripper," a voice whispered.
A blade slid across his throat in the next instant.
He staggered, choking, eyes wide. Blood splattered across the grass.
Before he collapsed, he looked up and saw Elias.
The same man he'd just killed. Only this time, his smile was impossibly wide, and his eyes gleamed with glee.
"Don't worry," Jack whispered, echoing the mage's earlier words. "I'll make this quick."
Then silence.
The wind stilled.
Bodies lay scattered across the field.
Elias who cancelled the cosplay, stood alone.
---
Tutorial - Hell Mode Cleared
Congratulations. Welcome to the Tower.
Level Up!
You are now Level 15.
---
Elias looked down at the corpses around him.
He didn't speak at first. Just stood there in silence.
Then gave a breathless apology.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
He clenched his fists, trembling.
"…Damn this Tower," he muttered. "Damn it for making us do this."
A portal opened before him.
Its swirling energy beckoned him forward.
Elias took one final look at the battlefield.
"Hey! Are you bastards listening?" he shouted. "Can't you just… send me home?"
No answer.
"…Shit."
With heavy steps, Elias walked forward, into the unknown.
Into the Tower.