Ronan said the same comforting, yet motivating words to Jackson. This time, they felt hollow. He knew Terry wasn't permanently dead, but the fact he'd let the man die to ensure his own growth was… Huh, I'm actually okay with making that sacrifice, he realised. Am I an awful person?

He didn't want to dwell on it. The way Ronan experienced life now was different. He didn't know if his heritage could run out, but there was one thing he knew for sure. When I'm finally done with the tutorial for good, Terry will be standing by my side.

There was one improvement to the previous time. He knew more about what awaited them on the other side of the tutorial. On their home world.

"Hey guys, where were you all before you got brought here? Like back on Earth? Me and Keith were in a meeting in our office in Central London," he said, turning to Dana and Jackson.

"That's a little forward, don't you think?" Dana purred. When Ronan gave her a pointed stare, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Such a brute. I was with my pops on the ranch. Kansas, if you must know. Certainly ain't there now, little Dorothy," she added while tapping her heels together and giggling to herself.

Ronan raised an eyebrow. The outfit and the deadly whip coiled at her hip made a lot more sense now. "That means there's no bias for proximity when it comes to the groups in the tutorial. Was it based on when we finished the previous stages, then? How did I end up with you if that's the case…" Ronan's gaze drifted towards Keith, who did his best to look offended.

"Who knows how our big, evil overlord functions. Don't question it, just survive, big boy. I guess that means we won't be seeing each other for a while after this, huh," Dana said, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Don't cry now. There might not be planes when we return, but I'm sure there'll be a way. Like you said, just survive until then." Ronan turned to Jackson. "What about you, kid?"

"Me and dad are– were from Manchester. We were on a visit to Lyme Park when the shit hit the fan. Who knows what's waiting for me back there?" he muttered, a tear forming in the corner of his eye.

"Alright. That's easier to manage. The world as we knew it has probably changed a lot, but at least there should be a path between cities. I'll try to find you if it's possible, Jackson. You'll have to be patient, Dana," he said with a teasing tone.

"I'm sure I'll find ways to keep myself busy," she retorted.

Every iteration taught him something new. Ronan would use this information to prepare himself for the challenges ahead, smashing through all obstacles until none were left in his way.

"Then… This is goodbye for now. It's been a pleasure," he said with a melancholy smile. "I'm gonna spend the rest of the time sorting out my status. Who knows what kind of monsters will be waiting for us on the other side?"

"Good shout, big boy. See you around," Dana said.

"Goodbye… I'm gonna be all by myself now. Damn," Jackson muttered.

"You'll be fine, mate! Nothing can handle those magic bolts of yours. Just keep throwing them until there's nothing but ashes left," Ronan said, slapping the boy on the back.

"Right. I've got real magic now. I'll burn every monster I find," Jackson repeated, a fiery determination welling up in his eyes as he clenched a fist.

"I'll keep this big idiot safe, don't worry about him," Keith quipped.

Dana snorted, before bursting into a peal of melodic laughter. "Right, thanks Keith. I owe you one."

Keith blushed, but Ronan appreciated his intent. With that, they parted ways to all figure out their statuses and various rewards.

This time, there was nothing particularly complex for Ronan to do. He already knew what was waiting back on their home world and he knew how he would be distributing his stats.

Defeating Magriz'al had sent him soaring all the way to level 43. The loot he earned was almost identical to the previous iteration too, which made a wry smile creep onto his lips. If I get the boss shard every iteration, but my cultivation remains once I reach a new stage… Ronan realised just how overpowered his heritage was. He would make the most of it.

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Along with the 10 free points for completing the tutorial—his rating was slightly different in places this time, but the overall grade remained the same—Ronan had a total of 24 free points to invest.

He decided to shore up some weaknesses as he did the last time. His wisdom was dangerously low and it made utilising magic strike a pain. Once he was done, he looked over his status with an approving nod.

[Status]

Name: Ronan Steele

Race: Human (G)

Heritage: Reverberating Chronosphere (Current Iteration: 8) +

Level: 43

Class: Martial artist (Uncommon)

Fortune: 16 Bronze Credits, 672 Copper Credits

[Stats]

Health: 213/213 Stamina: 250/250 Mana: 53/53

Vitality: 49

Endurance: 52 (+3)

Wisdom: 20

Regeneration: 3

Resistance: 10

Strength: 91 (+6)

Agility: 81

Intelligence: 8

Dexterity: 80

Acuity: 40

Tenacity: 15

Luck: 4 (+2)

Charisma: 4

Available Points: 0

[Traits]

Personal: Inevitable (Epic)

[Skills]

Unified Language Adaptation (Universal)

Relentless Training (Common)

Magic Strike (Common)

Vital Surge (Common)

Mighty Strength (Common)

Critical Experience (Common)

Double Strike (Common)

Magic Money (Common)

Excessive Endurance (Common)

Reverberating Path (Epic) (Blessing)

Impact Leech (Common)

Martial Meditation (Uncommon) (Class)

[Mastery]

Pugilist I 46/100

Mana I 12/100

Sword I 0/100

Shield I 1/100

Staff I 2/100

Spear I 4/100

Stamina I 21/100

Pain 6/100

Anti-Magic 2/100

Perception 11/100

Leadership 3/100

Stealth 0/100

[Cultivation]

Mind: Quartz ★ (0%)

Body: Stone ★ (0%)

Energy: None

Soul: None

[Blessings]

Blessing of Chronos (Boundless)

Minor Blessing of the Temporal Obelisk (Unique)

Ronan had ended up putting a few points into tenacity, luck, and resistance as well as his wisdom. He had enjoyed the benefits of tenacity in a fight when he was using the knight class—the feeling that he could push through any pain or wound to keep beating down his opponent.

Resistance just helped him take less damage, which was always helpful. It should stack nicely with the damage reductions from cultivation, too. The couple points in luck were a bit of a throwaway, but he figured a helping hand from providence couldn't hurt every now and then.

0… Good luck, challenger!

The chime that accompanied the end of the countdown brought him back to his senses. He tended to get lost in the screens and his thoughts a lot these days. It's not healthy, but it's life now… Hard to stay social when you have to watch the same people dying over and over again, he inwardly cursed.

Ronan had spent the first few days after the end of the tutorial in a similar manner as before. He and Keith had explored their surroundings and fought any monsters they encountered—which consisted of foxes with varying numbers of tails.

It was a genuine exploration for both of them, because Ronan had made sure they went in the opposite direction to where they'd encountered Lord Rockmore's goons in the previous iteration. He wasn't scared of the guy, but he wanted more information about the 'pillars' and their locale before preparing to bring him down.

He noticed there were slight variations in the world around him. The items that went up in the marketplace and the exact terrain differed in ways that most people would overlook, but his keen eye and memory had no trouble picking out.

Whether that was due to his actions or just some indecipherable cosmic flux, he couldn't say. What it did mean was that he managed to pick up enough energy aspected elite shards to make a push for the first realm. With one more body shard, he might be able to go for Stone ★★ as well, or whatever realm came next in that line of cultivation.

That night, while Keith was fast asleep and it was Ronan's turn to take the watch, he took out the energy aspected shards and prepared himself for a bit of suffering. No pain, no gain, right?

His new class skill, martial meditation, didn't say it had an effect on energy cultivation. However, Ronan was willing to bet that through some focus and a bit of experimentation he could brute force it.

Even if he ended up harming himself in the process, it wouldn't be permanent. The next iteration would fix all the damage and he'd keep the gains.

A speedrunner's wet dream. It almost sounded too good to be true, but Ronan wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Thus, with this mindset he sat down and closed his eyes, preparing to cultivate his energy.

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