“So where exactly are we going?” Cire asked, following along with Drake.

  “Nowhere special. I just want to go there when we leave,” Drake said turning his head slightly to answer her.

  “Sounds special… If you want to leave everyone early to go there… Did something happen there?”

  “Could say that. But just enjoy being alone with me alright? We get to just rex for the st day, browse the shop.”

  “That’s true I guess…” Cire said suspiciously.

  Drake scoffed and guided her through the forest at a casual pace, looking at the various items in the tutorial shop.

  He had already found the items that Natto had mentioned earlier, worried about them possibly getting sold out if he didn’t grab them immediately.

  [Language Book of the Myriad Races] [S-Grade]

  The use of this book allows one to understand all spoken and written forms of nguages throughout the multiverse.

  [Quest Voucher: A Land All Your Own] [E-Grade]

  A quest voucher able to be redeemed at any system-sanctioned center help building.Will expire after one year.

  The two items had already cost him a pretty penny and had eased his worry of them being sold out. It seemed that certain items were only avaible to certain people. Natto expined that it was a combination of accomplishments, titles, and max TP earned during the tutorial.

  For example, he, Shigure, and Bjorn could see the Quest Voucher, whereas anyone else they knew could not. As for the Language Book, it seemed to be avaible so that everyone in the tutorial could purchase it if they wished. It was also retively affordable for everyone at a price of 5,000 TP, whereas the Voucher was 100,000 TP.

  Drake was sure that he would be able to get the other items he was eyeing on the way to their destination so he was taking his time, enjoying the walk with Cire. The st 30 days had been mostly training for the both of them, giving them no time to be together outside of a few select days and nights.

  They talked and walked comfortably through the forest that Drake remembered vividly from his time trying to improve and level up rigorously. They even passed many of the same routes he fought through. Passing the Outpost B Drake had single-handedly taken. The fake army he still left within the forest outside of their old Outpost.

  Drake even thought they had passed the first pce he met Bjorn. He could have sworn that part of the river looked familiar, but all the rocks were the same so who could tell for certain.

  “These are pces you fought at before you met all of us?” Cire asked as Drake pointed them out casually.

  “Yeah,” Drake smiled, “I was alone for most of the beginning. The first person I met was actually Bjorn, then Natto came out of an egg. That was a weird one.”

  “An egg? Like a chicken egg?”

  “It was bigger, more like an ostrich? I had to use some blood sacrifice to get her to hatch too. Spooky stuff,” Drake said giving a flutter of his fingers.

  “So you’ve always just had one thing after another since coming to the tutorial…” Cire said.

  “Suppose so. I roughed it alone for the most part until I somehow got Natto then met Theo and rescued everyone else.”

  “Hmmm….” Cire hummed putting her hands behind her back, “So are you going to keep me in the dark about where we’re going until we get there?”

  “Yup,” Drake smiled pointing to a clearing in the forest, “And we’re there.”

  Drake’s face turned solemn as he looked into the clearing, in the middle was a mound with no marker that had since become overgrown by the grass around it. Beneath it the nameless person he met on the day he became a Dual Css.

  This was where Drake decided to push forward and give it his all.

  He left Cire at the edge of the clearing, walking up to the mound as he pulled a sword from his inventory.

  “Hey there. Remember me?” he chuckled wearily, “As promised, I came back at the end when I changed who I was. Literally….” he said giving a bit of a listless ugh, “This sword isn’t the original, but I think it’s just as nice.”

  Drake slipped the sword into the mound of dirt, the gravestone repced.

  “Who’s that?” Cire asked gently.

  “No idea,” Drake answered.

  Cire paused for a moment looking at the mound pensively.

  “Were they important?”

  “You could say that,” Drake smirked, “This is where I killed my weak self. If it wasn’t for what happened here, I may not have ever gone on to be so strong and save everyone I did… Thinking back, I kinda wish it happened sooner… Maybe… Maybe I could have done more.”

  Cire squeezed Drake’s arm no words needing to be said.

  And that was because Natto said it for her. Popping out of the side of Drake’s head she spped him.

  “Will you stop this self-loathing! It is becoming insufferable! How many times must I tell you, it is not your fault nor duty to protect every piece of idiotic buffoon that walks this tutorial! You are not god!” she yelled.

  “Not yet,” Drake smiled.

  “You are not even E-Rank yet! Leave your dreams for when you are asleep!”

  “But I don’t sleep anymore, so I only have when I’m awake?” Drake ughed.

  “Ahhh!”

  Drake gave a genuine smile and ugh before pulling out some supplies and pcing them nearby. Water, food, camping gear if you could call a luxury bed, chairs, and flooring camping gear.

  “Might as well be gmpers at this point,” Drake nodded looking at the setup.

  He looked back towards the mound where Cire and Natto were still talking and moved to grab their attention.

  “Alright. About time we see what this tutorial shop is all about yeah?”

  “I don’t have that many points, so I’ll just watch along with you is that ok?” Cire asked.

  “Of course, do you want me to get you something? Speaking of something did you get any bonus rewards?” Drake replied, throwing the question right back at her.

  “Bonuses? No… I didn’t get anything like that. I wasn’t anywhere near the top after all,” she answered with empty eyes.

  “It’s okay we can’t all be special like me. Ow!”

  Cire had punched him in the gut. Obviously not hurting him, but Drake felt like acting the part was necessary for these moments.

  “Ass…” she mumbled.

  Drake just smiled, pulling the boxes from his inventory.

  “Guess we look at these first.”

  [Epic Armor Box] [F-Grade]

  Contains a css-specific random piece of non-set armor or accessoriesRoll using the bck die before opening for useBound to Participant: Drake WallenCannot be traded

  [Epic Weapon Box] [F-Grade]

  Contains a css-specific random piece of non-set weaponryRoll using the bck die before opening for use.Bound to Participant: Drake WallenCannot be traded

  Drake currently had two of each in his possession as well as 20 of each stat pill. The pills were not bound to him like the boxes so he had given the vitality pills to Cire ahead of time. The more health for a mage or support css the better.

  “It’s been a while since I used this,” Drake mused pulling the die from his inventory, “So what happens to this thing after the tutorial?” Drake asked.

  “Disappears…” Natto said snidely.

  Drake frowned, “Really?”

  “Were you expecting it to be a key item of some sort? Change into an epic weapon maybe?”

  “Well, yeah kind of,” Drake nodded.

  “It is an item created specifically for participants of the tutorial for the new inductors of the multiverse to make it intentionally more difficult. How skills are gained outside of the tutorial is completely different. I have told you this.”

  “I know, just wanted to make sure… Geez,” Drake scoffed, throwing the die to the floor.

  While Drake was less stressed over rolling than he had been previously. He had the ability to get exactly what he wanted now that he had the massive pool of TP at the tips of his fingers.

  But, there was one thing a gamer always kept.

  His need for better loot.

  His eyes bulged as his skills took hold, increasing his perception and seeing the die roll slowly to a stop.

  First a 17, then to a 5, next it turned slowly double bouncing to a 19 and finally halting, skidding to the ground, 12.

  “FUUUUCKKKKK!” Drake yelled.

  Cire pointed at Drake seeing him roll for loot for the first time, “Has he always done that?”

  Natto nodded.

  “That’s cute… In a weird sort of way…” Cire mumbled.

  Natto looked at Cire incredulously, “Are you broken? Never mind, I take that back. To love a man like him you must be…. I lost a bet for wonderful candy over this… It was rigged! Rigged I say!”

  Drake ignored them, sighing before opening the chest to his first Epic Armor.

  “Oh, that’s pretty…” he swooned.

  [Ice Wyvern’s Crystal Eye Earing [F-Grade] [Epic]

  Increase Ice Based damage by 163 - 208+40 to Intelligence+10% to Spell Critical Rate, +20% to Spell Critical DamageLimit 1

  “Oooo… Spell Crit….” Drake drooled, holding the item to the fading sun, the crystalline blue capturing the orange spectacurly within the earring.

  “That is gorgeous, can I see it?” Cire asked hearts practically in her eyes.

  “Sure,” Drake said tossing it to her.

  He quickly bent and picked up the die ready to keep the process going.

  One after the other he rolled, getting retively average numbers for each chest. For the st Armor Chest, he rolled a 13. For the two weapon chests 15 and 9 respectively. The results were better than expected but the weapons were not honestly suited for him.

  “Is it because I’m a dual css?” Drake wondered, looking at the weapons.

  “Yes, that is exactly why…” Natto sighed, sitting down next to Cire, a bag of food popping into her hands.

  “Damn. Makes sense. But…. Damn…” Drake mented.

  [Lower Basilisk Wrist Guards [Epic] [F-Grade]

  315 to 364 Physical Damage Reduction282 to 290 Magic Damage Reduction15% Critical Hit Reduction+20 to Strength, +15 to Dexterity, +50 to EnduranceBattleworn wrist guards made from the tough hide of the Basilisk species. +30% defense proficiency.

  [Mana Infused Knuckle Cws [Epic] [F-Grade]

  628 to 644 Physical Damage110 to 125 Magic Damage10% Increase to Critical Strikes+20 to Strength, +25 to Dexterity, Reduces consumption of Stamina for skills by 1%Well crafted three bded gauntlets made with a basic smithing technique infused with mana to increase the efficiency of the bdes and durability of the weapon overall.

  [Lightning Storm in a Bottle [Epic] [F-Grade]

  4 to 12 Physical Damage568 to 700 Magic Damage10% Increase to Spell Critical Strikes+20 to Intelligence, +15 to Wisdom, Reduces consumption of Lighting Based Spells by 1%Can only be worn in the off-hand.Bottled Storms from the Pnet Arabath the home of the never-ending storm. Mages of the pnet often gift this to fledgling Mages to supplement their growth.

  “So these are kinda awesome but Set items are significantly better huh?” Drake asked slipping the wrist protectors on, “Oh comfy….” he smiled.

  “By design yes. Set items will always give better effects while the set effects are in full use. You may find unique items that surpass them, but they will be far more specific in use. That orb for instance. It is rather strong for an F-Grade item, even at Epic Grade. But it is only effective for Lighting spells,” Natto expined.

  “Well,” Drake said looking at the shimmering and crackling bottle, “It isn’t all bad, I can use this for my disguise on the outside.”

  “Disguise?” Cire asked finally done admiring the earring and handing it back to Drake.

  “Yeah,” Drake replied, taking the earring and repcing his right ear, “I’m going to be specifically a Mage on the outside until I can’t be. I don’t want people to know just yet that I’m a Dual Css. I’m strong but I don’t know who else might be able to take me. It’s better to sow more misinformation I think for now. At least until we all get back together and we can start building up our strength as a whole. And knowing who’s our allies and enemies and all that is a good way to pace it too,” Drake expined, fiddling with his neckce.

  “Well? What do you see?” Drake asked opening up his hands.

  Cire was confused, then realized he meant identify.

  “Um…” she said squinting, “Drake Wallen… Level… 13..?” she said confused, “You picked a pretty low level, didn’t you?”

  Drake smiled, “Yep, I want to know who will pick on the little guy for one. My inner Cid Kagenou is coming through… But also this is retively the average level I think if our tutorial is anything to go off of.”

  Drake heard a snicker come from Natto but didn’t think anything of it.

  “Imbecile till the end….” Natto muttered through bites.

  Drake opened the tutorial shop now ready to start buying with his deep pockets.

  “Alright, let’s see what this baby has to offer!”

  Drake and Cire sat down at the table a few feet away, Natto trotting along as well until she took a seat on the table with her bag of snacks.

  “Let’s see…. There's quite a lot here… But the price goes exponentially up for the rarity…. That’s really. Wow, that’s a ripoff! 1 Million points for a single Stat Pill?! I found like 50 of these in the King’s Hoard!”

  Natto ughed and shrugged, “It is the Dragons. What did you expect? Do you believe they would give up their treasure for mere shekels?”

  Drake grounded his teeth, his expectation of coming out with a bunch of good stuff shattered.

  “Well, I can still get a lot… I just have to be more selective I suppose,” he sighed.

  Paging through the rge selection, he browsed the Profession books, seedlings, skill stones, weapons, armor, potions, anything, and everything.

  He paged through the entirety of the shop not wanting to miss a single opportunity for something that may be useful for him now or ter. Even before adding a single thing to his cart, the sun had long passed below the horizon. The night took hold of the area as Drake summoned floating fireballs to illuminate the surroundings.

  “Hmmm,” he mused, then noticed Cire fast asleep on his shoulder, forcing a smile from him.

  He quickly picked her up and put her to bed inside the tent, small grumblings from Cire as he did.

  Coming back out of the tent he got back to his shopping, finding a few things he knew he would need right away.

  He looked over at Natto who had long since finished her snacks and was slightly drooling on the table asleep.

  Drake poked her awake.

  “Hey, Natto.”

  “W-what?” she said groggily.

  “There seems to be a pack of set equipment here, Rare Grade. Is it worth getting? It is giving me limited access to what’s inside, but based on the beling I think it’s good.”

  “What is the name?”

  Drake turned the screen around and pointed at it, “Asuran War Garb Set, Rare Grade. It’s 30 Million Points though.”

  Natto looked over the item for a moment then nodded, “Yes it does seem made for you based on the name. But unfortunately, I can not tell you either way if it is an advisable purchase. I can tell you that it is worth much more than mere Tutorial Points at the least.”

  “So that’s a yes,” Drake said hitting the add to cart button, “What about this?”

  [Spirit Ink Tattoos of the Asurans [Rare] [F-Grade] 10,000,000 TP

  Natto looked at Drake like he was dumb, “Do you really need me to answer this? It has Asuran in the name Drake.”

  Drake smirked, “Just making sure.”

  Continuing to add things to his cart one by one he paged through the store.

  [Lesser Fire Drake’s Burning Eye Ring [F-Grade] [Rare] 3,000,000 TP

  Increase Fire Based damage by 80 - 131+10 to Intelligence+5% to Spell Critical Rate, +5% to Spell Critical DamageLimit 1

  [Lesser Earth Dragon’s Petrified Eye Ring [F-Grade] [Rare] 3,000,000 TP

  Increase Earth Based damage by 100 - 110+10 to Intelligence+5% to Overall Spell DamageLimit 1

  [Large Dimensional Compartment [F-Grade] 5,000,000 TP

  300x50 Dimensional Space BagRequires one Inventory slot. Must be pced in Inventory to be equippedStores Items in current state indefinitely, does not include living entitiesDrops on death.Only 1 may be equipped at a time

  “Ok that does it for accessories and I know I’ll need that inventory space in the future… There’s a reason games always charge micro-transactions for space after all. Now, for the stuff I’m going to be using for my pn….” Drake hummed, “Oh wait, there’s that as well.”

  [Small Dungeon Dimension Anchor] [F-Grade] 500,000 TP

  Anchors a Dimensional Space. Producing a Small Dungeon Anomaly.Does not provide the Monsters within the Anomaly.Anything trapped within the Anomaly space when anchored will forever be anchored to it.

  “I have no idea if this is going to pay dividends but a Dungeon sounds just like what I’ll need ter on. Too bad I can only get one from the shop.”

  Next Drake filled all he could into his cart with skill stones he thought would be valuable to people on the outside, as well as material and seeds much like his man-eating pnt. But mented being unable to get a particur item he spotted in the process.

  [World Tree [Epic] [F-Grade] 100,000,000 TP

  A Growing Monument to the Elven Lineage.This tree must be grown over centuries but gives massive beneficial growth buffs to its citizens.Only one may be pnted on a pnet at a time.

  “It would have been nice to get this. Really drive home the fantasy feel ya know?”

  “You would be asking for trouble if you even could purchase that…” Natto expined, “World Trees are beneficial in many ways to worlds. They inspire and encourage growth of all kinds in both the citizens and monsters of the world. They also bear fruit of all kinds of surprising things. Not to mention items made from the Tree are always in demand no matter the Grade. You are better off not having one right off the bat. Especially with no Elves to properly care for it.”

  “Hmm, well that’s unfortunate…” Drake sighed, “But I got almost everything that I wanted regardless. Thankfully the skill stones I picked up were duplicates from stuff I had before so they weren’t too much. And the profession technique books were pretty inexpensive also for some reason. But time to blow my load!” Drake chuckled hitting the purchase button, Natto rolling her eyes at the joke.

  But she only scoffed and looked at Drake in contempt for so long, before a rge box appeared and crashed into the table, snapping it in half and sending her flying off into the distance.

  “Isn’t that just karma,” Drake ughed, then frowned looking at the table, “I really liked that table though…”

  Arthur_Inverse

  I would like to give an extra thank you to my T1 Patrons :

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  An extra ordinary extraordinary thanks to my Only T4 Patron: Cameron M.

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  P.S. If I ever miss you in the shoutouts please just send me a message on patreon.

  [colpse]