After about ten seconds, the icy cold of the skill stealing mirror entering Ronan's body passed. Deep inside him, he felt a new something settling in, the feeling similar to what he'd experienced inside the chronos forge, albeit far more distant; the murmuring of a power, rather than the raging core of it.

Still, it was the first time he had touched on that part of himself outside of the chronos clan's ancestral grounds. It gave him a route, however winding, to approach sensing and perhaps controlling it in the 'real' world.

Skill Stealing Mirror (Epic) has been successfully consumed!

You have obtained the skill [Lightning Strike (Uncommon)]

Lightning Strike (Uncommon): Transmute your mana into the storm, and strike at an opponent with a bolt of lightning. Spell occurs instantly after channeling period ends. Must be channeled for at least 2 seconds. Damage is proportional to channel time. (Cost: 30 Mana + 0.5% Max Mana per second channeled)

That… is not at all what I was expecting. Ronan was surprised to receive a basic lightning skill from Jenna. Having witnessed her fight firsthand, he knew that all of her lightning bolts were black, and she could cast them nigh-instantaneously.

However, the skill he'd obtained from her had to be the most basic lightning skill available to mages who were lucky enough to get a spell from the myriad skills tome. Which left only one or two possibilities about the rest of her skillset.

Jenna either had such incredible natural talent for magic that she'd manually manipulated the spell. That she was able to sense mana far more precisely than he could was evidence towards that. On the other hand, it could also point to something completely different; Jenna could have a personal trait relating to magic.

Ronan knew from experience how game-changing a personal trait could be. His had started at epic rarity, even in the normal difficulty tutorial. Admittedly, he was sure his performance had something to do with that, but the woman in front of him was no slouch. She might also have an epic personal trait that gave her increased mana senses or magical insight. Possibly both.

While he was disappointed not to have gained an overpowered skill, he was still satisfied with lightning strike. With his own talent for sorcery, it gave him a path to developing lightning-based spells of his own, eventually.

Unlike his previous branch path, Ronan wasn't planning to kill himself right away once he'd used his item. He wanted to explore his home sector after completing a harder tutorial, and see what had changed.

The four said a heartfelt goodbye as the timer counted down to zero. Jenna seemed especially upset, but moreso because she couldn't observe his 'magical poof' skill any more, rather than that she would miss Ronan himself.

0…

Space twisted around him. The same freefalling sensation took hold, as Ronan flew through a void, then the atmosphere, with the colossal planet he now called home looming large in his vision.

As soon as he woke up, Ronan noticed the differences. He wasn't in his old office. When he and Keith had returned, they'd been sent to the rubble of the building. This time, he had spawned in what seemed to be a cave.

Up ahead of him, natural light streamed down faintly through a hole somewhere in the ceiling. By that dim glow, he was able to make out more details of his new environment.

Rather than a cave, Ronan realised he was inside a manmade structure. The walls were brick and mortar, not rough stone. He heard the sound of rushing water. Taking a step towards the noise, he yelped as his foot suddenly encountered air where there should have been hard stone.

By crouching down and squinting, he was able to see a large canal running alongside the walkway he was on. Splash. A shadowy shape launched itself out of the water. Ronan leaped backwards and cast his new skill.

As the electric glow emanated from his hands, he was able to see his shadowy attacker. For two full seconds, he was greeted to the hideous view of a giant rodent with two protruding teeth and lengthy whiskers. The channeling time ended.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

In a flash of white, the tunnel turned brighter than day. The rat was cooked alive instantly. The corpse fell onto the walkway, where it lay smoking.

You have killed [Terrorwhisker Lv.16]!

+103 Copper Credits

+1 [Mana III] Mastery

+Rat Whiskers (Common)

When he read the notification, reality set in. I'm in the fucking sewers.

For two hours, Ronan fought his way through the sewers. The seemingly suicidal rats couldn't understand the threat he posed, and kept throwing themselves at him.

None exceeded level 30, though a few came close. All it took was a single slash of his sword or a well-timed lightning strike to dispose of them.

The first hole in the ceiling, which had lit up the sewer, had been far too small for him to climb out of. Ronan decided to spend a while exploring his new locale.

He'd never even considered the fact that there might be a whole other side to the terraformed city, beneath the surface. It opened a world of possibilities—that he'd been placed here after his tutorial explained why he may not have seen as many people.

At the end of those two hours, his exploration was interrupted not by finding an exit, but instead the sound of voices from around a bend in the sewer tunnel. Human voices.

This soon after the tutorial, Ronan was certain he would be unmatched in combat. Even so, he was cautious as he turned around the corner.

Two people, a man and a woman, froze in their tracks as they spotted him. Dressed in dirty, torn clothes, with startled expressions on their faces, Ronan could tell immediately that they weren't enjoying life down here.

[Daniel - Human Fighter Lv.20]

[Tiffany - Human Rogue Lv.18]

"Who are you?" the thin man with a scraggly beard asked.

"I don't recognise him. Maybe a new tutorial completionist?" The woman said, turning to her companion.

Ronan had no desire to kill random people. If they attacked him, that would be a different story. However, they hadn't shown outright hostility. "That's right, miss. I just finished my tutorial and found myself in these sewers. I don't mean any harm. What are your names?" He knew them, of course, but it was a great way to disarm someone.

The woman relaxed, her shoulders falling. The man was less convinced. "How do we know you're not tricking us to get us to lower our guard?" he said, before turning his head to his companion. "Don't forget what happened to Sammy. This guy could be one of… them."

"Look, man. I don't even want to stay around here. I just want to find a way to the surface. If you can point me in the right direction, I'll leave you be."

That did cause the man to relax, but not in the way Ronan expected. He suddenly burst into laughter. "The surface? Hahahaha. Oh man, that was a good one. You're right, Tiff, he's definitely just finished the tutorial." Once he'd finished laughing at Ronan's expense, the man raised a hand. "Sorry, that was mean. If you want out of here, though, you're out of luck."

Ronan tilted his head. "What do you mean? I saw one hole in the ceiling earlier, there should be plenty of ways out. What about the old service entrances?"

Tiff replied this time. "Sure, there are plenty of them. They're all guarded by the rats, though. Swarms and nests for the most part, but also a few matriarchs. Each of them is over level 60. No way we can kill those monsters." She shivered as she finished, sharing a knowing look with the guy.

Outwardly, Ronan made himself look surprised. Inwardly, however, he was celebrating. That's all it is? I was worried that they were going to say we were truly trapped. That wouldn't have made sense though, with the pillar being above ground. Why make it impossible for the higher tutorial difficulty participants?

"Level 60? That's impressive," Ronan replied with a whistle. "Still, I'm curious. Could you point me in the direction of one of those? I promise I won't do anything reckless."

Tiff looked nervous, looking at the man. They stared at one another for a few seconds, before he shrugged. "What the hell, it's your life man. Don't say I didn't warn you. Follow us."

With that, the pair turned around to return the way they'd come, waving for Ronan to follow after. I wonder if the rat matriarch will have good skills? It might be worth using a branch iteration to steal one.

Twenty minutes of walking later, the tunnel branched off in three directions. "There's a nest down there, with one of the matriarchs. One of our scouts spotted a ladder leading above ground, but the matriarch made her nest right beneath it. Impossible to slip past. When you realise how futile it is trying to get out, follow this path and you'll reach our base. Good luck out there, Ronan," the man, Daniel, explained.

"Thanks for the advice, Daniel, Tiff. I'll see you around," Ronan replied.

Daniel sighed, but he didn't press the matter. With a wave and a goodbye the pair turned around and walked in the direction they'd mentioned.

Their 'base,' was apparently an encampment of sorts. About twenty to thirty humans had gathered after surviving the tutorial and spawning in the sewers. They hunted rats to survive, slowly leveling up. Apparently their leader, Alain, was the most powerful of them at level 28.

Knowing that groups of humans had survived and were fighting on made Ronan happy. The indomitable human spirit never faded, even in this shitty new world. Still, it wasn't his path to join them. Not this time around, anyway.

After watching the pair retreat for a little while, he rubbed his hands and turned down the corridor. It was time to hunt a big mumma rat.

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