The air in the Abyssal Caverns didn't just smell of sulfur and rotting flesh; it felt heavy, like a physical weight pressing against my lungs. It was the kind of atmosphere designed to make a player feel the "Nightmare" difficulty before they even saw their first monster.
To my left, a jagged wall of obsidian dripped with something that looked suspiciously like bioluminescent bile. To my right, the darkness chattered.
I checked my status. Level 1.
Any other student—Kaelen included—would have looked at that number and the Level 10 Shadow Stalkers prowling the tunnels and promptly suffered a nervous breakdown. A normal freshman would try to fight their way through, drawing aggro from the entire floor, and end up as a simulated snack within seconds.
But I wasn't here to play a heroic fantasy; I was here to execute a speedrun.
I reached into the pocket of my bespoke, weave-steel reinforced uniform and felt the cold, gritty metal of the [Ring of Shadows]. I didn't need to be a high-level assassin to use its primary function. I simply willed my mana into the iron band.
"Activate: Stealth."
A shroud of cool, grey mist curled up from the ring, wrapping around my limbs until I became nothing more than a distortion in the air. The Shadow Stalkers—horrific, multi-legged things with too many eyes—scuttled past me, their noses twitching. They couldn't see me. They couldn't even smell me.
The S-Rank artifact I'd plundered from Kaelen's "destiny" was doing exactly what it was designed to do: making the impossible trivial.
I didn't waste time. I began to run.
I ignored the small fries. There was no point in wasting mana or durability on Level 10 mobs that only gave a pittance of experience points. Efficiency is the only true virtue of a villain.
As I scrambled over a jagged ridge, a waking Stalker lashed out blindly. Its claw grazed my cheek, drawing a thin line of red. The sharp, hot sting of real blood trickling down my face was a stark reminder: the Pain Limiter was disabled.
I wiped the blood away with a grin. The pain didn't scare me; it only made the victory sweeter.
As I landed, a small counter in the corner of my vision showed the real-world time elapsed: 03:12.
I smirked. Kaelen's group had likely been inside for forty-five minutes and hadn't even cleared the first floor yet. He was out there playing the game the way the developers intended—struggling, sweating, and 'growing' through hardship. Meanwhile, I was bypassing two hours of scripted combat in ten minutes because I knew where the finish line was.
The tunnel widened into a massive, vaulted chamber. In the center stood the Abyssal Knight.
He was a Level 20 Elite, a towering monstrosity encased in jagged, midnight-blue plate armour that seemed to absorb the faint light of the cavern. He held a greatsword that was easily six feet long, its blade wreathed in dark, necrotic flames. He was the "Wall" of the tutorial, meant to be defeated by a full party of students working in perfect unison.
I looked at him and saw a collection of pixels and pathfinding scripts.
"Time for the exploit," I murmured.
In the original Eternal Sword game, the Abyssal Caverns were notorious for being rushed during development. The terrain was beautiful, but the collision boxes were a disaster. I walked toward the far eastern wall, where a small, unassuming rock ledge jutted out about four feet above the cavern floor.
To a human eye, it was just a rock. To the AI, it was a geographic anomaly.
I climbed onto the ledge and deactivated my stealth. The Abyssal Knight let out a guttural, metallic roar that shook the very foundations of the cavern. He lunged toward me, his greatsword raised for a crushing overhead strike.
I didn't move.
As the Knight reached the base of the ledge, his animation suddenly jerked. He hit the invisible wall of the collision box and froze for a split second. Then, his "Seek" protocol kicked in. He tried to path around the ledge to reach me, but because the ledge was tagged as "unreachable terrain" despite being accessible to the player, he entered a logic loop.
The massive, deadly Elite began to run back and forth in a tight, three-foot circle at the base of my feet. He roared, he swung at the air, and he hissed—but he couldn't step up.
"This is how you grind," I said, a bored smirk tugging at my lips.
I raised my hand, pointing my index finger like a barrel. I didn't need a legendary staff or an ancient tome. I just needed a basic Mana Bullet spell—the most mana-efficient, low-damage projectile in the game.
Pew. Pew. Pew.
Small bolts of white light struck the Knight's helmet, chipping away at his massive health bar.
12 damage. 11 damage. 13 damage.
It was tedious, so I decided to multitask. While the Knight looped mindlessly, I opened the [Villain Shop] interface with my free hand.
[ Purchased: Mana Efficiency (Rank B) – 800 DP ]
A warm sensation washed over my mana circuits. My bullets instantly doubled in brightness and velocity.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
24 damage. 26 damage. Critical Hit: 50 damage.
The grind became a slaughter.
I watched the boss's health bar slowly bleed out, his roars becoming more desperate and his "looping" more frantic. It was utterly devoid of the "heroic struggle" Kaelen so dearly loved. To an observer, it would have looked pathetic—the richest heir in the world standing on a rock, shooting magical pebbles at a frustrated demon.
But I wasn't an observer; I was the accountant of my own power.
Ten minutes later, the final bolt struck home.
The Abyssal Knight let out one last, distorted scream before his entire body began to glow with a violent, white light. Then, he exploded. Not into gore, but into a torrential cascade of gold-tinted experience orbs that flooded the chamber and rushed toward me like a tide.
[System Notification: Boss Slain!]
[Experience Gained: 25,000 (Nightmare Difficulty Bonus Applied!)]
The heat of the mana rushed through my veins, a sensation of pure, addictive growth that made my red eyes flare.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[...Level Up!]
[Current Level: 10]
In twelve minutes, I had reached the level cap for the entire Tutorial Chapter—a feat that usually took the Protagonist two weeks of "training arcs" and "near-death experiences" to achieve.
A shimmering gold chest materialized in the center of the room, far more ornate than the wooden boxes found in Normal or Hard mode. I hopped down from my ledge, my boots clicking on the stone with a rhythmic finality. I flipped the lid.
Inside lay a heavy, leather-bound tome that radiated a deep, pulsing violet aura.
[Item Found: Skill Book: Shadow Sovereign (Legendary)]
My breath hitched slightly. In the original game, this skill was only obtainable by the "Shadow King" boss in the endgame. Finding it here, in the hidden Nightmare Tutorial, was a Major Plunder of the world's balance.
I tucked the book into my inventory, and the System chimed with a notification that made my smile widen.
[ Major Plunder Confirmed: Endgame Skill Acquired Prematurely ]
[ Kaelen's Future Power Curve: -40% ]
"Sorry, Hero," I whispered. "But I think I'll be taking the lead from here."
[ Hidden Achievement: First Clear (Nightmare) ]
[ Bonus Reward: +2,000 Destiny Points ]
[ Current DP: 2,600 ]
A blue portal opened behind the chest—the exit to the Academy courtyard.
"Time to go," I whispered. "I believe I have an audience waiting to see how a 'monster' survives the abyss."
I stepped into the light, leaving the broken AI and the empty cavern behind.