Hell Difficulty Tutorial

I check myself one more time in the mirror. I'm wearing simple gray suit-like clothes. They are tailor-made, and it took a few weeks to get a few sets. Something I, in the end, let happen even though I prefer my casual clothes.

The clothes are surprisingly comfortable, with gray pants, a similar color jacket, and under it, a black shirt with long sleeves and a vest-like thing that is also gray. In a few places, there is simple embroidery made with a golden-like color.

My hair is also put into a somewhat presentable state.

For a moment, I stare at my reflection, and the weirdo in the mirror stares back at me with his differently colored eyes. Well, I won't be getting any points for the expression my face almost constantly has, but at least I'm handsome, right? My mom said it once when I was nine years, six months, and ten days old, so it must be true.

Then I spend a few minutes thinking if I should create a thermal orb and store it inside my body, but decide against it. A few lynthari could sense it, and explaining it would be a bit… difficult.

“Asshole,” I say to the weirdo in the mirror, and the guy mouths the same words. The words Biscuit likes to use so often.

Finally, I exit my room and walk downstairs where most of group 4 are. Tess is the first I notice. A tall blonde wearing a simple white dress that somewhat looks comfortable and reveals a nice chunk of her shoulders and back.

Curiously, I locate Min-Jae and, as expected, he turns away his gaze from Tess the moment he sees me looking at him.

Oi, you will drool.

I shake my head and stop in front of Tess, “No high heels?”

“As if I would put on such uncomfortable things,” she also eyes me the way I did her, “See, you can be quite handsome if you try.”

“I don't have to be handsome, Biscuit likes me no matter how ugly I look,” I point out. “You look pretty.” I compliment her.

I can see that I made her a bit happy. Who wouldn't like compliments?

“And who is this handsome boy?” I squat down in front of the best doggo.

(Asshole!)

“Yes, yes you are!” I pick Biscuit up and examine the clothes he is wearing. Somewhat, they seem to be even more quality and expensive than the ones I have on myself.

Biscuit is wearing a dark blue jacket and vest, both reminding of a suit, and he also has something like a red tie. All of it fits well and is custom-made. The best thing the silly group 4, probably Isabella, spent money on.

Seeing how handsome he is, I think I would be willing to sell an epic item just to get a few more clothes like that for him. Well, my point of view might be skewed a bit when it comes to money, as epic items keep falling into my lap.

(Food,) Biscuit says after looking at me.

“Oh, really? Thank you, buddy! You too look very handsome.”

“It's so weird how those two communicate,” I can hear Maya somewhere in the background but ignore her.

We fancy-dressed people often have trouble being able to hear people like her, “Where are Sophie and Izzy?” I ask about the two people I decided to take with me.

Sophie to check the items with me and maybe make some people more… cooperative and Izzy to read other auctioneers and give us a nice advantage. I mean, some people didn't like it, but the decision is the most logical.

“Well, that changed a bit. Izzy got sick, and Sophie decided to stay with her,” Tess tells me.

“Oh… so who is coming?”

“Lily and Hadwin,” the blonde sighs. “Before you ask, Lily didn't do anything. I checked multiple times.”

If that doesn't suck.

The first one to climb downstairs is Hadwin, wearing a light blue suit in a style similar to mine. The older man has a short, well-kept beard and a nice haircut. The longer I look at him the more I wonder how much longer I can call him an older man. Hadwin now looks under 40, unlike his real age which is closer to 50. He is still well-built and only a bit shorter than me.

Unlike before when he was bulkier, he is a bit slimmer, yet the muscles are apparent even under clothes, not bulky, but flexible and tough, clearly showing how much he got into swordsmanship. I also check his face and I swear it looks younger than before.

Is it a result of a constitution upgrade or just the sheer power of stats? Or maybe he just enjoys this new “life” that much?

The same as me, he doesn't have any weapons on him.

“Tess, can you help Lily? She has some trouble with her clothes,” he asks.

“I will help too,” Maya says and together with Tess, they go upstairs.

“Nat, you have to buy me something nice, okay?” Min-Jae, still a bit disappointed, asks, “Some tougher or more conductive material for my projectiles would be nice.”

“Sure, I will buy everything useful,” I answer him.

I'm rich.

“Keep an eye on Isabella. If it seems to be getting more serious, come for us,” Hadwin tells him.

“Lily couldn't help?” I ask.

“That's the weird thing about it. Sophie didn't want Lily to interfere and asked us to trust her.” For a moment, a sharp expression flashes in his eyes, “Lately, Sophie has been acting suspicious so I sat down with her and asked her about it. She didn't tell me all, but I think she might have removed [Geas] from Isabella's mind.”

Oh? That really surprised me. Sophie’s [Geas] is something she left on Isabella during the second floor. A construct that did help the young girl deal with the terrifying reality of the tutorial while allowing her to not feel that much fear or regret in certain situations to allow her to fight.

“I think it's the right decision, but the effect of removing it must have been too much.” Hadwin fixed his tie.

“She could have waited a few days,” I tell him.

“Today is Isabella’s 11th birthday,” Hadwin says softly, to the surprise of everyone in the room.

“We didn't know that!” Dennis complains.

“Yeah, they never told us,” Aaron continues, as always, the twins in perfect sync.

“They didn't want to spread it that much. So I think Sophie and Isabella wanted to do it on Isabella’s birthday. Symbolic mostly,” Hadwin´s voice sounds almost gentle.

That's when Tess walks downstairs together with Lily, who follows shyly behind her. The black-haired girl is wearing a pale blue dress that is similar to Tess's, but less revealing, completely covering her back and showing only a bit of her shoulder and the entirety of her pale blue arm. Something she still refuses to fix for me and for her, both of us having an albino-like left arm.

It's not like I don't know the reason, and it's as Lily said once. She is scarily patient and stubborn.

“Say welcome to our Initiate of Lust,” Dennis mutters, and Min-Jae giggles but quickly tries to hide it.

“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t have a Lust subclass!” Lily shouts at one of the twins.

“According to Granny Liss, it’s Radiant Lust, Lily! You should know that!” Aaron shakes his head.

Tess, patient as always, just waits for them to finish, “So, boys, keep an eye on Sophie and Izzy and if anything happens, look for us, you know where. Maya, I will be relying on you the most,” she turns to the other woman.

“Sure, buy me something nice, okay?” Maya smiles at her.

“Only the best stuff.”

“That's what I like to hear.”

Then we leave the house. Me, Tess, Hadwin, Lily, and Biscuit, of course. Tess will be with Obelia as her disciple, and I could take two people with me, but I need Biscuit too, obviously. They would not stop me from taking in my emotional support animal.

It's already getting darker and the streets are emptier than before, yet nicely lit. Having enough time, we walk towards the auction building. Even from afar, we can see dozens of people moving around. Talking to each other, building social circles, greeting old friends, and showing off expensive clothes and jewelry. Seeing all of it, Lily becomes starry-eyed, looking around with an expression that is so excited it makes me stop myself from making fun of her.

I also notice Hadwin looking at her, and the smile on his face seems almost fatherly as if it's his granddaughter having her first big party.

“Hadwin is nicer than you might think, Nat. He has been helping the kids a lot and they like him for it,” Tess slows down and whispers to me, “He just seems to have been lonely on earth. Did you know most of his family died not that long ago?”

Our steps sound on cobblestones, and in the distance, we can hear music playing as we are getting closer to the auction building.

Tess continues, “I think he enjoys having people rely on him and asking him for help.”

“And you are poking both Hadwin and the kids to make it happen,” I answer her back, also in a quiet voice.

“Maybe a little bit,” she flashes me a smile, “But is that so bad?”

“I guess it's not,” I answer to the best, after Biscuit, manipulator of group 4.

When I notice Obelia moving closer, I stop talking and warn others too.

The guild master of Storm Brigade reaches us soon, followed by her attendee Jenna. Both of them are wearing nice dresses that have their guild emblem embroidered into them. Both dresses are in pale blue color. “Excuse me, but I'm rather surprised how well you look in your clothes, Nathaniel,” Obelia says, with Jenna nodding in agreement.

I also notice Lily saying something under her breath that I'm sure is an insult to, according to her, the old woman Obelia.

Feeling my social batteries already going down, I just answer quickly, “Thank you, you and Jenna also look nice.”

One surprised lifted eyebrow from Obelia and a few sentences she exchanges with Tess, Hadwin, and Lily, and we finally follow her inside the auction house.

Just following close to her gives us a lot of attention from other people, and every time someone tries to reach out to sense our mana, I destroy the attempt in a way that should hurt at least a bit. Through the door framed with golden lights, we enter a giant hallway. The walls are full of beautiful paintings, the stone of the floor is smooth and shiny, and everywhere are dozens of powerful or rich people.

And in-between them, lynthari. A race of people-like beings that just have cat ears and tails, towering over everyone. All of them are young for lynthari, confirming that most of the old ones rarely mingle with humans.

“Oh, Obelia, it's nice to see you,” a woman lynthari joins in, her tail short and both it and her ears brown, similar in color to her hair, “I heard you are also auctioning some items, nya! I'm already excited to see it,” the lynthari chirps.

For some unknown reason, my body twitches.

“Thank you, Miss Lynthes, you are charming as always, and I hope you will have a lot of fun tonight,” Obelia answers in her calming tone.

“I will, nya! Who are your friends? I already know smart Jenna, but I didn't see the others.”

“Guild master of Angry Kittens, Nathaniel, his vice guild master Tess, and these are their other members, Hadwin and Lily,” Obelia introduces us shortly and without much grandeur, but it looks like something the lynthari would prefer.

“Ahh,” for a moment, my eyes meet those of the lynthari woman, and her tail twitches and her canines show, “You are Myrra’s…” her tone of voice sounds disappointed, “Shame,” she adds and licks her lips.

With a few more sentences, she leaves, and in my mind, I don't know if I should thank Myrra for scaring them off or be angry that she seems to be so possessive.

Walking around and grabbing some snacks here and there, I continue to follow our small group, and my mood only grows more and more sour, surrounded by all these talking people.

“Your expression is fun,” another lynthari who started talking to us smiles at me, somewhat shamelessly and not scared off by Myrra’s name.

Once again, I wonder why they won't annoy Tess, Lily, or Hadwin.

The lynthari sniffs, and for all I know, he can be trying to sniff my emotions or whatever they do.

(Asshole!) Biscuit shouts, making sure the lynthari hears it, and for a moment, the lynthari’s expression becomes annoyed.

I noticed it long since, but the race of cat people don't seem to like Biscuit, to my surprise. I mean, how could you not? Just look at him, especially now when he is wearing a dark blue suit with a red tie.

“That creature, can you get it away, it disturbs me,” the lynthari sighs in an annoyed voice and with slight disgust in it.

“Well, maybe you should just fuck off if you don't like it here,” I get out of myself.

The expression of sheer surprise I get from the lynthari and people around me is almost funny. I did spend the last one hour and forty-two minutes dealing with their bullshit, surrounded by all this noise and people. And now they will trash-talk Biscuit?

“What? You didn't hear? I said you can fuck off if you don't like it.”

The lynthari man then licks his lips, more amused than threatened, “I can see why Myrra likes you,” he says before gracefully bowing and leaving.

As a reward for that, Biscuit thankfully bumps my leg with his head. Let's not let him know that I partially did it so Biscuit doesn't obliterate that weirdo.

I turn to the person who got us here, “So, Obelia, I'm bored, how about we go and see the items that will be auctioned off?”